#They'll get a lot more apprentices after that age

[bonefall]

you may have answered this before, but do you have any thoughts about fixing some of the ships with age disparities? i know some of the age disparities are bigger than others, so for cats in particular it probably wouldn’t come across as anything strange if both cats fall in together after they’re above a certain age, but nonetheless… it’s still odd to see ships that are completely saccharine, like bracken/sorrel, and remember that tpb specifically featured scenes where one was a warrior & one was a kit, even if he was a very Young warrior at the time…

I don't mind answering questions multiple times! At worst I'll just answer privately with a "I answered this here (link)"

For age disparities, my hard cutoff for romantic ships is 4 years. When it's above that, if I can't fix it, it's an honor siring. I used this for Leopardfoot and Pinestar (and actually im reconsidering leopardfoot as an adderswift kit. I Hate You Adderfang. I Hate You Swiftbreeze.)

For Bracken/Sorrel, I rule that that one is fine because Bracken shows no interest in her when she was inappropriately young, and was NOT her mentor (eliminated mentor/apprentice pairings completely as well).

For Blossomfall/Thornclaw, that one was utterly eliminated and Blossomfall's litter is sireless (she actually had a stint with a rogue).

For Dust/Fern, I'm still actually trying to fix that one since the political drama of TPB is pretty tight (it is actually a plot point that Ash and Fern are apprenticed when they are, to whom they are apprenticed to), and I'm fixing that by preventing warriors from taking apprentices before they're two years old, besides Fireheart and Graystripe... and Graystripe's utter failure to train Brackenfur is why the code is amended.

For Tiger/Dove, Tigerheart is shuffled out of the older litter and into a second one for Tawnypelt, so he's around the same age as Dovewing (and they are actually apprentices on the beaver quest together! Tigerpaw's mentor is Marshwing, son of Tallpoppy, one of my kit saves)

[fallenclan]

random cat-specific headcanons

or i guess. canons. since im the guy who made the clan.

-silverbelly is extremely soft on any cat/kit that joined the clan young. especially if they're around the same age she joined the clan, 3 moons. she always takes extra care to show them around camp and assure them if they ever need medical attention she wants them to come and tell her, and she promises she'll help. because of this, a lot of cats who joined the clan young are also very soft on her in return, and will sometimes just come to the medicine den to hang out.

-Wormshade has TERRIBLE allergies. the worst. in newleaf his nose gets extremely itchy and he keeps scratching it even when Flyspots keeps telling him not to. sometimes it makes the scar on his nose hurt from all the itching, poor fella. his kids (Beefreckle & Mothspots) make fun of him endlessly for this.

-on the topic of FlyWorm. flyspots absolutely BEGGED wormshade to name their kits after bugs when they came along. wormshade wanted to name one of them after Nick, but agreed that Nickkit was a weird name and they went with bugs instead.

-Maplestar & Applebranch both forget that Honeygleam is dead sometimes. every so often they'll be hanging out and instinctively go to say something to him and find he isn't there.

-Silverbelly still has some of the dried herbs that were always stuck in Stormsight's pelt. she found them on her fur after the vigil and tucked them away in a little crevice. sometimes when she's really missing him she'll lie down and rest her face on them.

-about 80% of the clan is under the impression that Juniperfoot, Myrtleclaw, and Sandsnap are dating. this includes Ospreyswipe (Juniper's brother).

-when Hawkwish lost her leg, Applebranch helped her with her physical therapy, giving her tips on how to improve her balance after losing a limb. this brought them really close, and now sometimes Hawkwish will go to the elder's den after a long day and hang out with her grandma, who is happy to listen to her vent, chatter on about nothing, or just sit in silence and wash her granddaughter's ears.

-Eaglestripe & Hawkwish were never very close to Rabbitpounce. he didn't mean to have kits with Molesong, and (with Molesong's permission) wasn't really interested in raising them. he was more like the socially awkward uncle to them than a dad. despite this, Rabbitpounce was the one who gave Eaglestripe her full name when she went to receive it at the glow-cave.

-Willowsplash and Bub are the WORST EVER cats to get in an argument with (closely followed by Bluefern, Evie, & Newtscar). they will not only verbally tear you to shreds (backing each other up the entire time) but they find any and all attempts at retaliation funny. absolutely infuriating couple that loves to get silly with it.

-Bluefern and Newtscar were best friends since they were kits. they grew up in the nursery together, and then they were apprentices together. when Evie joined the clan, they would sometimes laugh about how they both had a crush on him, and along the way, they realized they both had a crush on each other, too. they became mates with the hope that Evie would soon join them.

-Waspflight often feels overshadowed by her siblings, but covers up this insecurity with an energetic personality, and lots and lots of jokes. she had a little crush on Salmonskip when they were apprentices, but grew to see her more as a sister when Salmon and Moosefall started to date.

-Mossfrog isn't sure how she feels about possibly being deputy one day. she knows that a lot of the clan expects her to, since she was always a prodigy and graduated so early, but she's terrified of the idea of being in charge of an entire clan, even if she does like the idea of being able to look after them. sometimes she wishes she could be deputy without the expectation of being leader.

-most of the cats around his age have a crush on Myrtleclaw. hes charming like that.

-out of all of her siblings, Hailcrash was always the least close with Moonstep. they got along, sure, but they weren't best friends--despite this, she still relies on him a lot, even if she's a little older than him (Moonstep is the youngest of all Toro's kits).

-Maplestar was always the leader of the bunch (the bunch being him, Honeygleam, Applebranch, Silverbelly, & Dawnshine) when they were young. he was the most mature, and a good decision maker, so he often found himself reining in Honey, Dawn, and Apple's chaos, and stepping up when Silver was too shy to. because of this, they would sometimes jokingly call him Maplestar. Applebranch always secretly thought he'd make a great leader; turns out she was right.

-Boulderstep still sometimes worries that clanborn Fallenclan cats don't trust him, since he came from a clan that was, at the time, at war with them. Fallenclan is on better terms with Shallowclan now, but he still makes a point to avoid their borders, and not mingle with any Shallowclan cats at gatherings.

-on the topic of gatherings. the first gathering that Maplestar attended as leader, he almost called it quits and went home. he still thinks that he's never felt as awful as he did in that moment, as all the clans watched him step out of the crowd and jump to the top of the gathering rock, where his father had stood for as long as most cats could remember. the only thing that kept him there was Applebranch grinning at him from the crowd, even as she cried.

-though Sorrelstem still misses Otterslip, the memory of him has become less soft over time. she never went out looking for him (though she often wanted to), but she always told her kits that he was on the right side of history. sometimes, as time went on, she wondered if that was true.

-Teddyfluff was glad that Otterslip got exiled. he gave him the creeps. he would rather die than admit this to his beloved wife.

-Crowflame tries not to show it, but sometimes he's insecure about his scars. he's easily the most scarred cat in the clan, and some cats (especially kits and apprentices) will stare at him, or make a remark. Blizzardfang (his mate) has become excellent at figuring out when he's feeling especially awful. if complimenting how handsome he looks that day doesn't work, she'll simply stand on his scarred side and press up against him until her fur covers the injury. he pretends to be mad, but secretly loves being close to her.

-Yewberry has a very short temper. Brambletuft has helped him soften it a little, but he still finds himself set off by some things--particularly if any cat brings up Otterslip. he'll snap at them to shut up and forget about the past, and usually stalk off. more lighthearted things that make him mad are when Ivybounce calls him "little brother" (he's only a few minutes younger, thank you very much) or when people laugh about how much bigger Brambletuft is than him (he is NOT that small. fuck you).

i will be doing more of these. peace & love forever

[raayllum]

my crack canon quartet timeline bc @jelzorz did one and it's useful bc there's a decent amount to juggle

as always said quarter is Rayllum, Corvus/Terry, as well as aged up!Soren/Opeli and aged up!Ezran/Claudia. Y'all know the drill by this point

Relevant ages:

Opeli is 11 years older than Soren

Ezran is just under 7 years younger than Claudia

There's a rough alternative in which Claudia stays working with Aaravos for likely longer than she will in canon (aka for another 3-4 years) but for the sake of canon compliancy as its own interesting route...

Post-S7

Operating under the assumption that S6/S7 is wrapped up within a year / it takes about a year for everything to be somewhat stable (and that Opeli survives S6/S7...)

Ezran is 13, Callum is just shy of 18, Rayla is shy of 19, Soren is 21, Claudia is 19, and Opeli is 32.

Claudia and Terry's relationship did not survive all the upheaval, and after a short stay where they're both at the castle as friends, Terry departs for the western Katolis border for a fresh start (and to meet other, more open-minded humans). Claudia and Soren (taking a leave) go to Del Bar to reconnect with their mother and her family; the relationship is established, if perpetually strained.

Callum stays on that year as high mage, but he and Rayla know they'll be happier long term in Xadia / he can do more good studying and teaching the arcana to others by leaving. They move to the Hollow Wood (just magic-y, human friendly, and Moonshadow-y enough for them), a bustling Moonshadow city that isn't far from the Silvergrove (which let Rayla back in, but she likewise wants a fresh start). Callum teaches/studies manual connections to arcanum, and Rayla learns physical therapy and eventually teaches it, apprenticing in the city. They also appreciate the Anonymity that comes with a life away from court/Katolis. [ 20k oneshot detailing this first year away is outlined in my head ] They make sure to visit regularly though

Having a vacant High Mage position, Claudia and Soren come back, and she tentatively takes it up, at first more informally and then in title. (She has the Sun arcanum and it suits her). She brews a lot of remedies to help her body heal from the dark magic use over the years, as well as ones for Ezran as king and Opeli (stuff to ward off carpal tunnel and sore throats from talking a lot). Also plenty of hot brown morning potion. Claudia apprentices with Mavi, the castle physician.

Soren and Corvus start dating (Soren is like 22, Corvus is 24) and Moonshadow elf reintegration at the border starts, particularly in Ellis' town thanks to the Moon Nexus. Upon invitation, she comes to live at the castle as a veterinarian and Lujanne's Moon arcanum protege. Rayla and Callum get married (aged 20 and 21 respectively). Soren asks Corvus (and Opeli) to dance at the wedding

Wanting ultimately different things from life, Corvus and Soren break up a couple years later. Soren is 24 going on 25, and begins to take more notice of Opeli, as Corvus leaves to do more inter-Pentarchy reconnaissance for Ezran at the western border of the kingdom. He flirts with her, half-jokingly, and Opeli flatly shuts him down, and they become closer friends as Barius grows older and less likely to attend council meetings, and with Corvus as a buffer (as Opeli was always closer to him and more like minded)

Ezran is around 15 and strikes up a courtship with Ellis, but it is short lived. They stay friends, he introduces her more formally to Queen Aanya, and the two girls take an interest in each other. Soren (25-26) and Opeli (36-37) become quite good friends, often addressing each other affectionately as Captain and Cleric, respectively, Soren helping her learn how to defend herself (thank you jelly for the headcanon), and sharing snippets of poetry with each other. When Opeli has to travel home after her father's death to help put her estranged family's affairs in order, Soren accompanies her for safety reasons

Ezran is 17, and begins to develop some burgeoning feelings for Claudia, who still sees him as a young friend / more little brother figure. He and Soren go on a trip round the Pentarchy for about half a year for diplomacy reasons, and then come home when he's 18 going on 19. The time away and shifts in looks/personality allows Claudia to start seeing Ezran as more of an adult, but not totally as a love option (yet consciously anyway). Soren suspects there's been a shift on Ezran's end

Terry (24-ish) and Corvus (29-ish) meet at a pub and think the other person looks Strangely Familiar. However, there are plenty of elves and humans of all sorts out here at the borders, especially since Katolis and Duren's western borders open up the rest of the Pentarchy, and more elves are returning to their abandoned Nexuses / travelling to sell wares and help remove the spaces that dark magic previously filled. They become good friends, even if Terry is far more close-lipped about his past, and are dating for a little while before realizing why/how their pasts are intertwined. After a good laugh, some questions, and even more tears, they keep on going

Soren, who is 27, begins flirting more openly with Opeli (38) again. She finds herself surprisingly flustered, although they don't court plainly, it does eventually get there emotionally to the point there's Something going on, but Opeli firmly keeps it in limbo / is convinced that Soren will lose interest (we shall come back to this theme)

Ezran is 21 and helps officiate Ellis' and Aanya's wedding. He asks Claudia to dance; she accepts (under Opeli's hypocritically judgmental eye, tbh) and Soren likewise begins to think there's something persistent there on both sides. Callum and Rayla roll back into the Pentarchy for it and stay for a few weeks afterwards at the Banther Lodge with everyone; Callum is able to be civil with Claudia. He and Rayla (26 and 27) are pregnant with their first child.

Around 22, Ezran confesses to but is turned down by Claudia, who cites that she is too old/broken/damaged for him and that it'll pass, in spite of the fact she's fairly certain she is 1) mutually in love with him and 2) this is permanent on her end, not wanting to ruin his life 'again'.

A few months after, there is an attempt on Ezran's life from a pro-human anti-reunification extremist; Claudia's remedies save his life and the distance between them dwindles further. A concerned Callum and Corvus return from the castle, although Callum is doubly stressed as Rayla is 7-8 months pregnant back at home (the freed from coins in-laws have come to lend some help as well).

It becomes apparent that Claudia and Ezran are courting, quietly, to Opeli and to Soren, although most of the rest of the staff remain oblivious. Claudia is fearful of what everyone will say, and Ezran doesn't want to scare her off, so they keep it a secret. Opeli is greatly disapproving, partially due to the age gap but mostly due to Claudia's history, but Soren steps in to defend his sister and make sure Opeli doesn't spoil their happiness. Unhappily, she backs off

Corvus, visiting in the castle for the first time in a while, notes the changes between both pairs, and also discusses his relationship with Terry to Claudia and to Soren, who are happy for them (if find it mildly weirdly awkward/hilarious that their former partners are together). While Opeli, Soren, and Ezran make a trip to Xadia to go visit Rayllum and the new baby, Claudia goes to visit Terry, and the two renew their friendship properly; she encourages him and Corvus to get married, as Terry is beginning to plan for it

Shortly thereafter, Soren (29-30) and Opeli (40-41) start a physical thing, although Soren knows that it's More than that even if Opeli won't quite say it out loud. She subsequently backs off her disapproval of Claudia and Ezran, leaving the two confused and delighted respectively, although Claudia puts the pieces and respects her brother's privacy. Opeli tries to put up some more distance, fearing she's grown too attached / being quietly jealous when Soren has another woman interested in him, she eventually fesses up and the two are fully a couple. Opeli steps down as High Cleric but remains on the Council

At 23-24, Ezran proposes to Claudia (29-30), who full on panics, and flees to her mother's home in Del Bar. Ezran follows, and Lissa is very dryly aware that the King of Katolis is on her doorstep, but gives the two time to talk and her daughter some marginally helpful advice. A letter from Terry likewise helps. Claudia gleefully, tearfully does accept the proposal and goes back home, even if she's nervous about finally telling Callum (and Rayla's had some suspicions for a while now)

Callum and Rayla comes home for Soren (31) and Opeli's (42) winter wedding and stay a few weeks with their firstborn son, Raeven, who's around 2-3 years old. Rayla is pregnant with their second child. Ezran explains that he and Claudia have been courting for just under 2 years and that he intends to marry her. Callum does not take it well, for a variety of reasons, and it's one of the biggest, if not biggest, arguments the brothers have

Rayla and Callum leave, and the brothers don't speak to each other for 4-5 months, till Rayla needles that he wouldn't want Ez to meet the birth of their baby, and Callum folds and apologizes. He's not happy about it, but it's Ezran's choice and he can't stop him

Soren (32) and Opeli (42-43) are unexpectedly pregnant with twins (Opeli being a future sister-in-law of her king is not something she ever suspected, never mind that her children would marginally be in line for the throne and cousins with said heirs). Claudia and Terry swap ideas for their weddings (because Corvus beat Terry to the proposal punch) even if she's a bit more overwhelmed by a Royal wedding and mildly amused she's still having one, it's just not to Callum the way she'd always assumed it would be when they were young

The Sorpeli twins (Briella, she/her, and Brynn, she/they) are born in spring pretty close to the second Rayllum fanbaby, Juni (she/her). The births both go smoothly. Ezran (25) and Claudia (31) are married.

Callum remains civil but still a bit colder with Claudia until she (now 32) and Ezran (26) are having their first child, and there's complications in the birth/pregnancy due to prior dark magic use. He warms up a lot, seeing first how worried Ez is and how continually loyal/devoted Claudia is to his brother, and the fact they named their baby Sarai II doesn't hurt either. A few years later Claudia and Ezran have their second and last son, Daryenn. They take trips every once in a while (alongside Soren and Opeli sometimes) to go visit Corvus and Terry and their couple of kids as well

Assuming everyone here 1) lives throughout the show and 2) an epilogue doesn't show who anyone else is married to except Rayllum (in which case for Claudia in particular I will have the time of my life writing a Clauderry divorce fic) this is my canon, this is my endgame, no one can take it away from me, Thank You Goodnight

[snailchaser-the-medicinecat]

How does starclan reacts to Spottedleaf's lies?

Super sorry for answering this so late, I've been super busy LMAO I try to answer asks as quickly as I can, so thank you for being so patient!

This will contain some spoilers for my fic, even if I might tweak some things before then, so know this is subject to some possible changes! It'll also contain some mild horror and themes of being watched, so fair warning!

It's nothing big at first, for a while she actually flies comfortably under the radar, the problem only really starts getting recognized by Starclan once they tell the clan the false prophecy, uncomfortably close to before whenever Spotted receives the 'Fire will save our clan' one, and gets worse once Yellowfang gets there and starts working alongside her. A lot of the plan hindered on the only other medicine cat around being her and her apprentice, so Yellowfang appearing threw a massive wrench in things. Yellowfang does agree not to reveal the fact she's faking her and Tigerclaw's prophecy, but can't promise she'll be able to keep her safe from everything that may come her way because of it.

She starts to avoid the night sky after that, doing her best to only go out during the day, or when the stars are hidden by clouds. But that doesn't always help her when she starts to feel watched near constantly. She's not exactly sure if it's a manifestation of guilt or Starclan themselves, at the time, but she starts to have dreams if not hallucinations of silent starclan cats, just... Watching as she tries to gather herbs. It's extremely rare for Starclan to decend from the sky, much less for no good reason. They don't tell you how dead and lightless an otherwise glittering Starclan cat's eyes can look when they stare at you so blankly. Nothing proves they're no longer alive more than that.

Yellowfang tries to comfort her through the days, but she out of anybody can tell it's starting to weigh on her- She does her best to make her feel a bit more secure, but having another cat with Starclan's gifts so nearby only makes things more unsettling.

Starclan is very different in this AU, being a lot more reserved and ominous, much closer to a coalescence of all the spirits of their ancestors that started having their lines between eachother smudged long ago. The clans have this image of ethereal starry passed family members who watch over them and keep them safe, but if you look deeper, there's something beneath the surface. They don't actively try to stop Spottedleaf, since this is likely a new type of crime, faking a prophecy not for power, but for something as simple and small as love, so instead they just judge. They know she knows they're watching her, and they plan to keep doing it until she dies, even if she tries to shut Starclan out of her mind later.

She does start trying to shut out Starclan once she realizes she's pregnant with Tigerclaw's kit. She knows the clan will see them as something special due to the prophecy that allowed them to be born 'within the code', and she doesn't need twice the stress with Starclan still lingering around her during the whole thing. Unfortunately, with her having such a strong connection with Starclan, and Tigerclaw having his own ties to it for wildly different reasons, their son ends up having a much, much higher connection than a majority of medicine cats do, even from a young age. Spotted isn't sure whether they passed it down to him, or if Starclan felt a bit sadistic and decided to play along for now, but for a while, the starry figures that stalk her through the forest seem to dissipate. She can't tell why, though, but she can feel in her bones that they'll be back for her.

Tigerclaw doesn't have a direct link with Starclan, but he does actually get his own glimpses of them, though his seem to be more based in malice. They've obviously never been too fond of him, and since Pinestar refused to kill him as a kit, they've let that demand go, but a lingering distaste for him never faded. He's been plagued with nightmares his entire life, but something about the ones he started getting once Starclan discovered their lie seemed to be less copy-paste with a few adjustments, and more personal. Deeper cutting and more unnerving. Ones he couldn't shake even with Spottedleaf at his side every night.

[nebowskii]

Its 4AM, i can't sleep and i want to ramble about the hauted train station chapter i barely developed

CW: sensible themes?? Child abuse, gore-ish stuff

Its basically located in a district that was build in a very cursed area of the land, awful things and emotions have taken place there and still does, murders, suicides and disappearences are not uncommon so naturally, onryos are not uncommon either

havent decided it's full history on these places but there are two main cases for the train station specifically

The coin locker case

Where a mass of raw meat came from inside a coin locker and killed multiple demons by taking their heads only, after that, that single coin locker was missing from the place but some in the neighborhood have mentioned seeing a single locker in random tight corners between building

The other is the cursed boy (temp name lol)

Where a young boy who was accompanied with his mother in the station, got hurt and almost kidnapped by an onryo, luckly his mother was there and protected him as best as she could before an exorcist came to take care of things. It was found out that the reason behind the sudden attack was the boy its self, he had a soul that naturally atracted these type of spirits, many exorcists tried to get him to work for them from an early age as a young apprentice but they never got a response

WITH THOSE SAID, the characters from these cases are them!

(Left) Klaus being the cursed boy, part of his early childhood was bothered by exorcists trying to convince his mother (who was badly injured that night) of letting him be their young apprentice and "bait" without even thinking about the trauma that she and him went through

And (Right) Locky, being the mass of meat who killed multiple by devouring their heads. he's an onryo and is result of his mother leaving him to die and rot inside the coin locker while he was still a baby

(note. NAH LOCKY DID NOT ATTACK KLAUS' MOTHER, THAT WAS ANOTHER ONRYO +locky's case was around mid? 90s while Klaus' was on early 2000s)

This chapter would be about them getting over their past in a way..? Since they both blame themselves for what happened

Meanwhile having them stuck in that underground station, and it's not like they can just walk on the tracks cause they'll just end up in the same place like a loop

These are just a few of some old visual concepts

Honestly there is more to this and... Isnt at the same time cause I was suppose to be working on other areas of the story so expect stories to change a lot again LOL

But hey brrrr it's fun even tho my writting is OERGH anyway im tired now

[dovestorm-wc]

Re-submitting

Name: Downhill

Gender: She-cat

Sexuality: straight

Rank:Queen

Age: 29 moons

Mate: Badgergrowl

Kit(s): Marshkit, Hillkit

Discription of look: A creamie-white she-cat with very long fur and creamish-silver tortoiseshell points(Legs, full tail, muzzle and ears) and blueish-purple eyes(idk if purple is a thing for colors in Sims3)

Personality- Friendly, a good hunter, and adventurous. Often exploring everything.

Story: Downhill is a former member a clan that was destroyed. She travels with her mate and 2 kits hoping one day she’ll find a place that looks like a clan to call home. Often, she tells stories to her young kits about her old home. And how she would run around the moor and catch lots of hares.

—

Name: Badgergrowl

Gender: Tom

Sexuality: straight

Rank: Rogue(Former clan cat)

Age: 30

Mate: Downhill

Kit(s): Marshkit, Hillkit

Discription of look: a black very skinny, short furred tom with big ears and a light gray stripe from his muzzle to where his tail connects. His tail is fully light gray with a white bit on his chest and has amber eyes.

Personality: Territorial, Hunter, and adventurous

Story: Once was a loner who was brought into the same clan as Downhill as an apprentice. Soon becoming a rogue again after it gets destroyed, lucky saving his expecting mate. Now travels along side his mate Downhill and 2 kits.

—

Name: Marshkit

Gender: she-cat

Sexuality: None yet

Rank: Kit

Age: 1 moon

Mother: Downhill

Father: Badgergrowl

Littermate: Hillkit

Description: Gray fluffy long furred she-cat with tortoiseshell points(like her mother) and amber blue eyes(one blue, one amber). Has a white splotch on her neck.

Personality: Up to you!

Story: was born 1 1/2 moons after her parents ran from their destroyed camp and have been traveling sense birth.

—

Name: Hillkit

Gender: Tom

Sexuality: none yet

Age: 1 moon

Mother: Downhill

Father: Badgergrowl

Littermate: Marshkit

Description: Large skinny light silver tom with a little dark stripe from his muzzle to tail end. His tail is a even darker silver while he has a white patch on chest. He has dark silver points inherited from his mother. (Ears, muzzle, legs) and has purple-blue eyes.

Personality: up to you!

Story: was born 1 1/2 moons after her parents ran from their destroyed camp and have been traveling sense birth.

—

Sorry if this is too long! But it would be nice to see them! Maybe they could join your clan?

Welp... Time for my first cat edits. At the time of me receiving this ask and writing this response, I have already made Downhill and her kits. Luckily, I hadn't finished saving them yet, so I can pop in real quick to add Badgergrowl and make any necessary edits. Like the kits having swapped genders and Downhill's eyes changing.

Also, whether or not they join a group in Warriors of the Wild will be luck of the dice. I don't control when cats join the clans and community, nor who joins. I play with aging turned off, so they'll still be around if I throw them into the world for later use.

Now, on to the alterations.

Starting with Downhill, the only alterations were her eyes and traits. Because I have an obsession with purple, I have a purple eye set saved that I can alter slightly to add some blue.

I think the last one looks best. So that's Downhill finished.

Next are the kits, since I already have a base to work with. Apparently, along with the gender swap, the kits' coats have changed as well.

Here's the new Marshkit. Getting the colors just right and trying to give her a unique tortie pattern were the hardest parts.

Here's Hillkit's new design, much more difficult than his sister or previous version. The stripe from muzzle to tail was so difficult to get done. It's not perfect, but good enough.

Now to add Badgergrowl to the mix.

Here he is! He was easier because I just took Hillkit's coat and altered it.

Hope you enjoy!

[miraculouslyhopeless]

the colour of you | a miraculous au

1: green | ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ

summary:

Marinette doesn't really care if she never sees colour. She doesn't really mind if she spends the rest of her life designing in black and white, as long as she can design.

Adrien doesn't care either. Or at least that's what he tells himself. But when their paths cross at one of his father's photoshoots, and the world explodes into colour, not caring is no longer an option.

tags: extraordinary attorney woo x MLB crossover, autistic!marinette, Soulmates AU, when you meet your soulmate you can see colour, there are no miraculouses, No ladybug and Chat Noir, adrien only models sometimes, marinette is an apprentice fashion designer for gabriel, Wholesome!gabriel, gabe and his son have a good relationship, Emelie is alive for now

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42069225/chapters/105623520

all chapters: https://www.tumblr.com/miraculouslyhopeless/tagged/mh%20tcoy

please do not repost or edit my work without credit. reblogs are greatly appreciated, and help me more than likes do.

"Coming, maman!" Marinette bounds down her stairs, running up to her mother. She stands before a delicious feast of baked goods, dusting off her apron.

"How do they look?" Her mother asks bashfully. Marinette knows that her mother knows just how good she is, so she simply grins. "As good as they always do." 

Sabine laughs lightly, pulling her daughter into a hug. "You little flatterer, you."

"What's the special occasion?" 

"Not much. I just felt like baking for my amazing daughter, is all."

"All of this? You have an ulterior motive."

"I do not." Sabine, in fact, does have an ulterior motive. She knows it's her daughter's first official day at her new apprenticeship, under the world-famous Gabriel Agreste. If Marinette is forced to share out baked goods with everybody, she'll have to touch hands with her soulmate. Right?

"Maman, I'm not a child anymore. I can't buy my way to a job with chocolate croissants. You know that." Marinette laughs. She doesn't doubt her ability to move up in the ranks, which is partially why she rejects her mother's baking. She's known as the brave designer who does what no Colourless person would do. Her designs are only in colour. Sometimes, the designs look ridiculous, but her overall craftsmanship seems to have won the hearts of Paris, and at the ripe age of eighteen, she's landed a position that people fight for their whole lives.

She reckons that even if she never met her soulmate, she'd be fine. She's met her match in her designs. But a small part of her likes to hope. Likes to dream that someday, she'll see her designs in all their glory, that she'll never have to second guess her colour choices again. It's a big dream, one that she doesn't know the possibility of. 

Unlike most people she knows, she still hasn't met her soulmate. And she refuses to get in a relationship with anyone who isn't. She's met a few guys who she's liked a lot, but the pain of having to choose would hurt her. After all, if you reject a soulmate, you lose your ability to see colour. And the chance of getting another soulmate after you reject the will of the gods is near nil.

"Take them anyway, ma cherie. You never know."

Marinette sighs, and packs up the baked treats. She considers just eating them on the way in, but she knows she'll regret it in the end. She decides that she'll donate the snacks to the security. Surely they'll appreciate it more than the people in Gabriel's office.

"I'm going now! Have a great day, and say bye to papa for me!" Marinette calls as she runs out of the bakery doors. She's got a deadline to keep to.

Working for Gabriel has been everything that Marinette ever dreamed of, and she's only ever worked with him as work experience. But as university season came, she realised that she was going to need to make a decision. Luckily for her, Gabriel Agreste made it much easier for her with his offer.

The office she's stationed at isn't very far away from her. In fact,  if she takes the metro, she'll get there in less than ten minutes. Even so, she leaves early so that she can enjoy a peaceful walk through the streets of Paris, even though she's lived here her whole life. 

She imagines what the hordes of people look like in technicolour, what the parks and shop fronts look like. When she was a child, her mother would take her to a park and run her hands through the fresh grass.

"This," she would whisper. "Is green. Green is the feeling of grass under your toes and the leaves of a plant. Green is nature and safety." 

Green would always be one of Marinette's favourite colours.

As she makes her way to her new place of work, her phone rings.

"Alya?"

"Hey, girl! How's the first day of work looking?" Alya was one of the people Marinette envied. She had no trouble loving whoever she wanted, whether the world burst into colour when she saw them or not. As far as Marinette was concerned, she still hadn't seen her first glimpse of colour, and she even claimed to not care. 

"I'm not even at the door yet. How are things going for you?"

"Oh, you know. It's going." Alya sighs. "You know Nino can see colour?"

Marinette gasps. If Nino can see colour and Alya can't… It's Marinette's worst nightmare. She never would have wanted that for her best friends.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't sweat it, girl. He says he doesn't care." The tremble in Alya's voice tells Marinette that despite Nino's words, Alya cares. "He says my eyes are brown, the colour of tree trunks."

"That's not very romantic, is it?" Marinette grins, knowing that that's what Alya thinks. Quite frankly, Marinette wouldn't mind being compared to a tree, or anything from nature. In fact, she loves the idea of it.

"No, it's not," Alya laughs. "I should let you go. Have a great day, okay? I'll be thinking of you whilst I'm in my journalism lecture."

"Alright," Marinette grins. "Have a great day. And pay attention to your lecture. Just because you have a famous blog doesn't mean that you get to slack off in class."

"Whatever," Alya mutters a goodbye and logs off, leaving Marinette to the sounds of Paris again. She doesn't know how she'd fare in Alya's position, but she's glad that she doesn't have to face it.        

[geodax]

📓

Put “📓” or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about.

There's this modern AU I've been thinking about (but will probably never get around to writing) where at the beginning, Obi-Wan is a journalist in hiding after a very... unfortunate encounter with Maul. He has difficulties walking and other complications from Maul’s work.

While in hiding under the name Ben, he meets Cody, who works in the Mandalorian embassy in DC. Obi-Wan is initially very suspicious - there’s a lot of people looking for him and he’s afraid to let anyone close again - but slowly he starts to let Cody in. It’s all fluffy and sweet for a while, but then Obi-Wan’s past catches up to him and eventually Obi-Wan has to reveal who he is to Cody.

Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan under his wing in college and introduced him to the Jedi, a group/society that exists throughout the world to help people. They have their own language and tattoos so that they can identify each other. The Jedi live as teachers, doctors, activists, advocates, diplomats, etc. There are a few politicians too though most Jedi stay out of the limelight. They'll pool their resources when needed, but most Jedi function as individuals or pairs. Masters recruit apprentices as they see fit, teaching them the language and Jedi tenets - which are pretty similar to what it is in canon (selflessness, compassion, service, etc.) Most Jedi only ever meet a dozen other Jedi in their lifetime. It's a lot looser an organization than it is in canon.

So with Qui-Gon as a mentor, Obi-Wan became a journalist. He traveled all over the world, stepping on the toes of bad people, saving lives, generally trying to do the most good he can. Qui-Gon traveled with him for a while before retiring back to the college he found Obi-Wan at.

Things go well for a while, but then Qui-Gon is murdered. He was investigating a mysterious organization called the Sith and was killed for getting too close, though Obi-Wan doesn’t know that at first. Obi-Wan tries to pick up where Qui-Gon’s investigation left off, but the trail goes cold. He takes Qui-Gon's apprentice, Anakin, as his own. They become an excellent team of investigative journalists. (Obi-Wan and Anakin are closer in age in this AU). Ahsoka joins them too at some point as a photographer.

Obi-Wan continues to investigate the Sith, who are also trying to investigate the Jedi after they discovered Qui-Gon's investigation. Obi-Wan starts to investigate the Oppress Gang, who he thinks might be involved with the Sith. He breaks into one of the gang’s house, where he finds the files that have a lot of evidence about the Sith and their records. He is so distracted that he doesn’t notice Savage Oppress sneaking up behind him and is knocked out.

Maul figures out Obi-Wan is a Jedi and realizes that Jedi don’t work alone, so he shoots Obi-Wan’s knees, then drags him to a secondary location before Anakin can come to his aid.

Maul tortures Obi-Wan for information on the Jedi, eventually revealing that he was the one that killed Qui-Gon. Anakin eventually gets the FBI involved and they raid building, freeing Obi-Wan and arresting Maul.

But Obi-Wan can’t go back to being a journalist. Maul knows who he is now and could probably send other Sith after him, so Obi-Wan starts distancing himself from the Jedi. The damage Maul did to him is too great for him to continue his high risk work and he has lots of powerful enemies that he made as a journalist. So he goes into hiding.

Cody is fairly somewhat freaked out by everything and definitely a little terrified, but he still cares about Obi-Wan and wants to help him stay alive. Eventually, things come to a head. Cody is captured by Maul, who is still trying to learn about the Jedi, but is more upset with Obi-Wan for killing Savage during the rescue, so it is personal this time. Maul uses Cody as bait to lure Obi-Wan into a trap. Cody makes a few unsuccessful escape attempts, but during that, finds out about his own family ties to the Sith, via his father, Jango, who had been working for them for years. Jango wants Cody to join him and continue his work as a mercenary and work profiteer.

Anyway, there’s an epic final confrontation, lots of whump - yes, I know its probably unnecessary, but that’s how I roll - and eventually both Cody and Obi-Wan are safe. They hand off the rest of the investigation to the Jedi and decide to settle down together.

But Palpatine is still out there. And Anakin - as well as several other Jedi - have revealed themselves in the process of rescuing Cody and Obi-Wan from Maul. I haven’t decided where things go from here, but mostly it just goes from bad to worse for Obi-Wan, Cody, and the Jedi.

[cicadagaze]

behold! more sparklecats!

some info on them under the cut :]

Inkstreak is a HauntClan warrior, and currently the youngest (at only a little over a year old)! he's a bit quiet, but he's a fantastic hunter. they also have pretty big dreams and they hope they'll be important enough to have their skull kept after they die (that's a HauntClan thing. yeah, they're disturbing like that)

Frogpurr is one of the HauntClan elders, they're around 11 years old. they're pretty frail, have failing vision and hearing, and they're also often physically ill, but somehow they're still kickin! she's a very beloved clan member, and she's just everyone's parent tbh. they're the actual parent of Acidbite tho!

Fawnsky is one of MythClan's menders! he's the oldest mender (there's currently two menders and one mender apprentice), and he's around 10 and a half years old. he was originally a warrior apprentice, but when the whole Parsleymoon shit went down and MythClan was left without a mender, he decided to switch over to become the next mender. he used to be very energetic, but in his old age, he's definitely slowed down a lot. now he spends most of his time teasing younger cats

Cloudrush is one of VeilClan's menders, and he's probably the oldest cat in all the clans at almost 14 years old. he was Parsleymoon's bestie, and still misses him dearly :( after the whole Parsleymoon shit went down, he's actually the one who trained up Fawnsky to be the next mender! despite his age, he's still doing pretty well, albeit losing some of his hearing. and half blind, but that was due to injury, not due to age. I love this man to death <3

Rosecreek is MythClan's current deputy! she's around 4 years and is Poisonsoul's second deputy. she's the quiet and regal type, but she's very good at her job and she's not afraid to put cats in their place if she has to. her back leg was born twisted like that, and she cannot put weight on it at all. but it never stopped her from achieving her goals, and she will definitely be the next leader :]

Shiverpaw and Frostpaw are VeilClan apprentices, both about 7 moons. they're siblings, and were born to two kittypets, tho one of their parents was actually a former VeilClan warrior!

Frostpaw pretty quickly decided that they did Not like the kittypet life, and so they ran off to go join their one parent's former clan. they're quick-tempered but eager to learn, tho they really hate their mentor, Iriswillow </3 it's they/them on they/them violence. Frostpaw just thinks Iriswillow is too chill. their warrior name will be Frostsnarl!

Shiverpaw honestly is terrified outside of the comfort of her former home, but she wanted to stay with Frostpaw, hence, she followed them. she's a bit of a crybaby and not very good at fighting, but she's proven to be pretty decent at hunting! clan life is definitely not easy for her, but she refuses to leave her sibling, so she won't leave. despite Frostpaw's attitude, the two are actually very close! her warrior name will be Shiversight!

Drizzlemoon is a RuneClan queen, and Moonkit, Shadekit and Ripplekit are her kits. she's around 2 years and this is her second litter. she's a very sweet lady who treats all kits like they're her own. she'll likely be like Ferncloud and have a lot of litters because she just really loves raising kits. I imagine eventually she'll just decide to stay in the nursery as a permanent queen.

as mentioned, Moonkit is one of Drizzlemoon's kits, she and her brothers are all almost 3 moons old. she's the most energetic and is always tackling her brothers or otherwise getting into trouble. she's a kit you can't really take your eyes off of because she can and Will cause mischief. she was named after her mom because of how similar they look, and her warrior name will either be Moonpounce or Moonsplash!

Shadekit is probably the second most energetic, but mostly in his curiosity and impulsive nature. he loves running around camp and exploring and he's probably the most impatient to become a warrior. him and Ripplekit are VERY close. he unfortunately does not make it to a warrior, and dies as an apprentice :( but I think his warrior name probably would've been Shadestorm or Shadewing

Ripplekit is the calmest of the three, and he really only runs around to follow Shadekit. whatever Shadekit does, he does too. he's got big dreams, but at the same time, he's not so sure about growing up. him and Shadekit probably visit the elders a lot to listen to stories. he's also a HUGE mama's boy and loves her very, very much. if I were to write some books on these Clans, Ripplekit would be one of the protagonists! his warrior name will be Rippleshade, after his brother

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Twigkit And Violetkit Clan-Swap AU

I'm so glad I recently reread AVoS for one of my recent rambling discussion posts cause having the memories fresh in my mind works great

Especially since I'm already forgetting the second half of AVoS already dfska

Also, I don't go into detail about the big plot points, but they still do happen. This is more just about the changes the sisters go through.

And I kind of ignored the 'our mom is dead' plot now that I've finished it dfskjahfd

idk why I forgot about that point

So when the choice is made between Violetkit and Twigkit, Rowanstar decides that Twigkit is the best option, as her smaller size would make her more sneaky

Twigkit is taken away and Violetkit screams and cries and has to be held back by Alderpaw to stop her from chasing after Twigkit

Over in ThunderClan, Violetkit isolates herself, despite the best attempts to comfort and console her to the point she's attached to Alderpaw every moment he's in the camp. She doesn't want to play, she just wants her sister.

Alderpaw does his best to be there for Violetkit, but he feels as if his attempts aren't working, as trying to get her to open up is hard.

Luck turns on his side as Honeykit seems determined to be Violetkit's friend and she seems patient as Violetkit struggles to open up.

Over in ShadowClan, Twigkit is trying her best to make friends, despite Pinenose being disinterested in raising her and Needlepaw wanting nothing to do with a clingy kit.

Twigkit is constantly hurt at being left out and Puddlekit seems to be the only one okay with spending time with her. The two are shaky friends still, though, as his littermates pick on Twigkit and he's not a very bold kit to stand up against them.

When Grassheart's kits are born, Twigkit is very wide-eyed and curious about this new life and she asks Grassheart a lot of questions, all of the answers making Twigkit curious about the kits, but still feeling strangely detached from the idea that kits happen

Twigkit appoints herself as a big sister figure to the kits, despite still being a kit herself, and she's more than willing to teach them everything she knows - which may not be much, but she's excited to have company that looks up to her.

She also is saddened when Puddlekit is made an apprentice early, as it makes it harder for the two to hang out

Alderpaw and Needlepaw have the kits meet up and Twigkit and Violetkit are happy to see each other. Twigkit asks Needlepaw if this means she's going home to her sister and Needlepaw has a visible negative reaction, but Alderpaw is the one to answer.

Alderpaw convinces Needlepaw to bond with Twigkit and Needlepaw agrees, though she isn't too thrilled, especially after Twigkit's question

Over in ThunderClan, Violetkit is finally getting along with the other kits, though she's still rather withdrawn and isn't as high-energy as the other kits. Still, she sticks close to Honeykit now and it gives Alderpaw some room to stretch his legs and know that Violetkit isn't alone.

Alderpaw is still worried, but Jayfeather is dismissive about it, stating some kits are just strange like that, but Alderpaw is worried that Violetkit isn't taking well to being apart from her sister

Violetkit, meanwhile, still thinks of her sister a lot, but is getting along great with the other kits and is slowly branching out to others.

When she gets too overwhelmed, though, she finds herself going over to Daisy a lot more, who comforts Violetkit and lets her lay and rest in silence for a bit.

She also talks to Daisy the most, about not being Clanborn and about missing cats and Daisy becomes one of Violetkit's biggest rocks that keep her grounded. Lilyheart still does her best when she can, but Violetkit is more bonded to Daisy.

Twigkit is dragged out of camp by Needlepaw, who also brings Sleekpaw. Twigkit has many questions and concerns but is silenced.

When Twigkit is introduced to Darktail's group, she's on edge and frightened of these cats, wanting nothing to do with them. When Sleekpaw and Needlepaw try to introduce her as a non-Clanborn kit, Twigkit tries to lie and is called out for it.

When approached by Darktail, the kit tries to run but Needlepaw stops her and scolds her. She explains to Twigkit that these cats are important, but Twigkit doesn't believe her. Still, she stays silent and obedient, sticking close to the apprentices.

When the time comes, Needlepaw borderline threatens Twigkit into silence and Twigkit agrees.

Violetkit isn't sure that she and her sister are special, as she hears whispers about it echo through the Clan. She wants to believe and Alderpaw and Daisy assure her that she is.

This brings little comfort as she worries if ShadowClan thinks her sister is special and how they're treating her.

Violetkit asks Alderpaw what makes her and Twigkit special and Alderpaw talks to her, that it's not just the prophecy, but the fact the two of them are survivors and that they'll grow to be great cats.

This helps a little, but not much

When Sparkpaw becomes Sparkpelt, Violetkit is confused on why Alderpaw looks disheartened but still goes over to comfort him, leaning against the medicine cat apprentice and letting out tiny purrs.

He accepts this as comfort and thanks her

When Twigkit is brought back to camp by Sleekpaw and Needlepaw, they're busted by Tawnypelt. When confronted, Twigkit runs to Tawnypelt and tells her what happened

Needlepaw is outraged, as is Sleekpaw

While the arguing in ShadowClan is going on, Twigkit stands by her conviction to tell, as she believes the reason she's special is because she's supposed to help ShadowClan and she's trying to trust what her gut says

But her gut starts to twist with worry as the fighting goes on and she's worried she's on the wrong side of this battle, though she does not believe Needlepaw and Sleekpaw are in the right

Birchpaw and Lionpaw, for the first time, seem willing to be on her side, as both of them agree that the other apprentices aren't in the right. This brings some comfort, but she's still worried, as she's trying to hard to figure out why she's special.

Needlepaw blames Twigkit for her getting in trouble and quietly claims to her that the kit owes her a huge favor for being a snitch.

Twigkit does not agree with this, but her guilt makes her feel differently and she isn't sure what to do

When Needlepaw demands Twigkit go tell Rain she won't be able to see him, Twigkit objects, stating she's just a kit and shouldn't go out alone

Needlepaw counters by saying that if it wasn't for Twigkit she wouldn't be barred from leaving camp

Twigkit winces in response and caves in, sneaking out of camp. Twigkit, however, hides for a portion of the night until she's found by Pinenose and Grassheart. The two scold her for causing so much worry and she once more tells them the truth on what happened.

Alderpaw tries to take Violetkit out to meet with her sister, but they are found by a ShadowClan patrol. Alderpaw lies and learns that Needlepaw and Twigkit are in trouble, cause Needlepaw snuck Twigkit out of camp.

Violetkit feels terribly guilty and Alderpaw assures her that it isn't her fault

Violetkit isn't sure about that

When they return back to camp, Violetkit slumps down in the nursey, feeling like it's her fault. Alderpaw tries again to comfort her, but to no luck.

Daisy takes over and assures the tom she has it from here and just quietly lays down with Violetkit, waiting for the kit to be ready to talk

Meanwhile, when confronted, Needlepaw tries to lie, but Twigkit is insistent. What doesn't help was Needlepaw already being in trouble for sneaking out of camp

Needlepaw is even more furious and threatens to leave

Rowanstar openly invites her to leave

More apprentices side with Needlepaw and he lets them go. Twigkit is in shock. Needlepaw makes a scolding remark on how ShadowClan can keep their 'non-special kit', referring to Twigkit, and Twigkit is hurt.

She wants to believe she's special..

Twigkit becomes Twigpaw and is apprenticed to Tigerheart. Violetkit becomes Violetpaw and she's apprenticed to Stormcloud.

Stormcloud is a kind and understanding mentor and he makes it clear from the start that there are things he's still learning about aspects of Clan life and mentoring is a big one.

He is open about his former life outside the Clan and this makes Violetpaw look up to him, seeing his life as a possible future for her own - a proud warrior who came from non-Clan origins, special or not.

Violetpaw also has been sneaking off to spend time with her biological sister, Twigpaw, and the two talk often about what's going on.

During one of these short meetings, the duo is attacked and they're almost snagged away by who is revealed to be Needletail and Sleekwhisker. The two she-cats are thankfully chased off by a ThunderClan patrol [consisting of Stormcloud, Squirrelflight, Dovewing, and Lionblaze], who scolds the two for being alone.

They are notably not scolded for seeing each other, but are warned they got lucky that is wasn't a different patrol or a ShadowClan patrol.

Stormcloud takes Violetpaw to the side and offers to look out for her if she ever goes off to see her sister, but she has to be honest with him.

She promises

Twigpaw hurries home, grabbing a hidden away lizard as she does so.

Tigerheart isn't impressed with it, but he doesn't scold her. He does express he isn't happy with her hunt and she's aware he suspects something, but he makes no comments about it

They return to camp as Leafpool prepares to leave, as Puddleshine is a full medicine cat now, despite his young age. Twigpaw is sad to see her go and grabs some gifts from her nest for Leafpool to bring to Violetpaw - a cluster of soft, fluffy feathers and a shiny rock she had found while out exploring

Leafpool agrees to take them to Violetpaw and Twigpaw is happy at the news. Tigerheart looks like he wants to pass a message, but doesn't.

Only a couple days later a strange illness starts popping up and Twigpaw is quick to ask if Leafpool is going to come back. This isn't met positively.

A patrol is sent to WindClan and returns with only bad news, as Onestar refuses to share herbs

The gathering passes with only more bad news

Violetpaw is growing worried for Twigpaw, especially as the illness spreads and she convinces Stormcloud to watch out for her as she goes to check on Twigpaw.

He agrees but becomes hesitant when they reach the border and she wants to cross it.

He warns her not to, but the thought of her sister being sick stresses her out

She sneaks in anyway just to bump into Twigpaw who had been sneaking out to make sure Violetpaw was okay and that the disease didn't spread into ThunderClan.

The two talk for only a moment before a small ShadowClan patrol, consisting only of Crowfrost, Dawnpelt, and Scorchfur.

Twigpaw is scolded and Violetpaw is taken as a hostage. Violetpaw doesn't like this and Twigpaw doesn't stop apologizing to her sister.

Dawnpelt assures no harm will come to Violetpaw, that they just want ThunderClan's help in getting the lungwort for their Clan.

Twigpaw feels terrible about this. Violetpaw is angry, but not towards her sister. She decides she hates ShadowClan and she wants to get Twigpaw away.

While together, Twigpaw is out helping around ShadowClan the best she can, which only makes Violetpaw more nervous, as she helps Puddleshine get water for the cats and bring him herbs when he's getting overwhelmed.

He's very thankful for Twigpaw and Twigpaw shines with the praise.

Violetpaw decides she doesn't think Puddleshine is being sincere, as she believes he wouldn't put her sister this close to sick cats if he was.

Twigpaw mentions how she doesn't like how certain things are normalized - like violet outbursts between apprentices - but she believes the reason she's special is that she's meant to help ShadowClan

Violetpaw doesn't buy this and it only makes her more upset

insert the "we're not special" audio

Things are awkward between the two sisters, even as Bramblestar and the patrol come in.

They demand Violetpaw back and scold the Clan for taking a young apprentice into a sick Clan when she could've fallen ill.

Violetpaw, for a brief moment almost doesn't say anything before trying to demand Twigpaw is taken back to ThunderClan with them

Bramblestar explains they can't do that and Violetpaw doesn't believe they can't just that they won't

She has to be basically dragged out

Some cats are upset and Crowfrost falls sick

With some help from the medicine cats coming together, the Clan gets lungwort, but not in time to save Kinkfur, Wasptail, and Crowfrost.

Tigerheart is the new deputy and Twigpaw is proud of her mentor

Cats are refusing to go to the gathering, despite Twigpaw's best attempts to try to talk to them. Tigerheart informs her that not everyone is reasonable.

She doesn't like this.

Darktail takes over ShadowClan.

She likes this even less.

She tries to leave with Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart, but Darktail holds her back and doesn't allow her to leave. He says his cats have more use for a 'special' cat than them.

Twigpaw is scared

Violetpaw is still mad about what happened, but she's not mad at her sister anymore. She just wants to see her and apologize. Even if she doesn't believe they're special, she feels terrible about yelling at her, especially since she has few friends [granted due to her own withdrawn nature]

She becomes worried when only three ShadowClan cats arrive at the gathering and none of them are Twigpaw

Bramblestar takes in the wayward ShadowClan cats and Violetpaw is quick to ask them about Twigpaw. Tigerheart reluctantly informs her and she is even more angry at ShadowClan for not saving her.

After the gathering, Stormcloud personally helps her trespass to try to save Twigpaw and the two are caught. Violetpaw says she just wants to see her sister.

Rain and Needletail assure she will before chasing off Stormcloud, giving him some nasty injuries before dragging Violetpaw back to camp.

Violetpaw finds that she and Twigpaw are both prisoners now

The four Clans come together to try to fight The Kin, but it doesn't end well and Twigpaw and Violetpaw are still being held.

Darktail seems to know more about these sisters than he's letting on and keeps a close eye on them when he can. When he's not around, there's always another one of his cats close by.

Twigpaw apologizes for ever thinking they were special and Violetpaw stops her, apologizing for what she said.

Twigpaw admits she's scared and Violetpaw quietly admits she is, too

After a couple days, the two are allowed to roam camp, but are still being watched at all times. Violetpaw and Twigpaw try to help the elders and are quickly stopped and reprimanded for doing so.

They try again and are separated for the day as punishment.

He allows her to take a mouse to Puddleshine and while they're there, Rain approaches, wanting to talk to Darktail alone.

Twigpaw pretends to go, but stays behind, wanting to at least try to see what's going on and hoping for information on why Darktail wants to keep her and her sister

She gets no news and only witnesses Rain attempt to kill Darktail. Darktail then kills Rain.

Twigpaw is horrified and Darktail is very calm about the whole situation. He pats her head before sending her off, calling her special once again.

Twigpaw no longer wants to be considered or hear the word special.

She tells Violetpaw and Needletail what happen and Needletail is horrified. Before Twigpaw can say anything, she leads the two out of camp and asks her to repeat it one last time.

She does.

Violetpaw suggests hunting and they go hunting. Needletail seems to be questioning her loyalty, but not out loud.

Darktail brings in some kittypets; Zelda, Loki, and Max. They are made to hunt prey, eat it, and stay.

Darktail expresses to Twigpaw that he plans on turning these kittypets into useful fighters. Twigpaw doesn't feel too sure about this. Darktail makes an offhanded comment on how she's not much like 'him', but doesn't answer any questions, instead walking away and leaving her confused.

Violetpaw finds herself being led into a dream by what looks to be Alderpaw/heart. She follows him and he stands by her as they share a vision of a barn.

Violetpaw, not sure if this is real, asks him what that was about.

Alderheart believes it's about SkyClan.

She asks about SkyClan and he tells her what he can. He also reveals he suspects that whatever kin she may have besides her sister may be with them.

For the first time in her life, Violetpaw feels a strange determination.

She wakes up and Needletail notices something's up. She asks her about it and Violetpaw explains.

Needletail seems unsure but Violetpaw wants to try to find this barn and these cats.

Needletail 'accidentally' lets Violetpaw escape. Violetpaw runs for her life.

Violetpaw is in the middle of escaping when a pack of dogs spot her and chase her down. She manages to escape, but passes out after doing so.

The last thing she sees are twolegs.

Twigpaw is worried for Violetpaw, but Needletail has informed her of what's going on and what's happening.

Twigpaw, meanwhile, has been trying to at least make the kittypets comfortable, since they're forced to stay here. Loki and Zelda are the most thankful.

Twigpaw goes to rest, noticing Darktail is heading out another hunt for Violetpaw. This makes Twigpaw more worried, as she isn't sure if it's better for her to be found or not.

She is later woken up by Dawnpelt, who invites her to escape to ThunderClan.

Juniperclaw and Strikestone is there, too.

Twigpaw is nervous, as she isn't sure what will happen to them and she's not sure what will happen to the cats here, whom she has a lot of sympathy for. She tries to talk Dawnpelt out of it, but Dawnpelt seems set.

She goes back to sleep, but holds onto her worries for Dawnpelt and Dawnpelt's sons

When she wakes up, Darktail is ready to take over RiverClan. Twigpaw tries to protest, but Darktail won't hear any of it.

The takeover of RiverClan happens. The dead are left to rot and the wounded aren't allowed to get help. Max, Foxnose, Heronwing, Petalfur, Pinenose and Shadepelt died.

Twigpaw comforts Loki and Zelda.

While out with Raven and Needletail, they help sneak some ThunderClan cats in. Raven doesn't like this.

RiverClan prisoners aren't being fed and Twigpaw is being watched closely by The Kin to keep her from feeding them.

Darktail confronts Twigpaw about the herbs and Twigpaw tries to lie, but is called out for it. She is forced into telling the truth and when she does, she fears for Needletail's safety.

Needletail is placed with the prisoners and Darktail thanks Twigpaw for her cooperation.

Twigpaw starts working to gain Darktail's favor, using it as a shield so that she can help as many cats as possible. He seems none the wiser as she sneaks herbs and prey to Needletail and the RiverClan cats.

While out hunting, Twigpaw sneaks away from the patrol and manages to make her way to ThunderClan.

ThunderClan is relieved to see her and she asks about which cats made it. Sadly, not a lot have, as Dawnpelt was killed trying to escape.

She asks about Violetpaw.

There has been no sign of Violetpaw at all.

This makes Twigpaw super worried and she fears the worse.

She works with ThunderClan to make a plan to rescue all the prisoners and make an opening for cats to escape.

When she returns to camp, making sure to bring prey back with her, she waits until night and Zelda allows her to see the prisoners. She tells them all the plan and they're willing to worth with her.

Needletail is the least sure, but Twigpaw assures her that everything will be fine

Needletail still isn't sure

Twigpaw starts sneaking cats out, beginning with the wounded and the elders.

She meets up with ThunderClan and they safely bring the cats over.

They get Snowbird and her kits out next before deciding not to risk any more cats. They agree to meet up again three days later.

Before they leave, Alderheart gives Twigpaw some poppy seeds to put Darktail and his cats out cold after a suggestion from Tigerheart. Twigpaw tells Alderheart to let Tigerheart know she's doing her best for her Clan

Alderheart confirms that Tigerheart already knows. He also mentions how he, personally, is proud of her and Twigpaw beams with happiness.

All this time, Violetpaw has been with twolegs. She has been working on her escape plan and she's now making her way out. She hasn't forgotten her sister or Alderheart or the barn.

She is worried, however, for her kin

She does find the barn, but it has been abandoned. Unable to find any sort of scent, Violetpaw feels herself wanting to give up, as she doesn't believe she's able to do this.

Violetpaw ends up falling asleep and having a dream that tells her to follow the blood trail in the sky.

Violetpaw wakes up, confused, and hesitantly follows the instructions

She is surprised when she finds a Clan of cats, having been on the verge of being convinced that SkyClan didn't even exist

Violetpaw approaches them nervously, more scared than she had ever properly felt but SkyClan is very welcoming and they're excited to learn that she's from ThunderClan.

She talks to Hawkwing and Leafstar and they're not too fond of Darktail. She also learns that Hawkwing is, in fact, her father. He is reminded so much of her mother when he looks at her.

Violetpaw informs him he has another daughter, too. She's worried about Twigpaw. Hawkwing is now determined to do what is best for his daughters.

They start heading towards the lake territories together. As they walk, Violetpaw finds she feels very at home with these cats and it soothes her heart.

Twigpaw is preparing for what she's about to do and part of her feels guilty that she's doing this. But at the same time, she wants to save these cats.

She is caught and Darktail decides to drag out Needletail, Zelda, and Loki. He wants these cats to die to punish Twigpaw.

Darktail is going to drown them. He gives them the chance to live by killing Twigpaw. Needletail pretends to take it, but uses it as a chance to get Twigpaw to escape. Loki and Zelda manage to fight off the cats and start trying to escape with her while Needletail fights Darktail.

Zelda pushes Twigpaw along as Twig tries to turn around to save Needletail. Loki informs Twigpaw they can't save everyone and that they need to keep moving.

ThunderClan encounters them and they send Twigpaw to ThunderClan camp while they go rescue the prisoners, who at this point are fighting back.

Right before she reaches ThunderClan camp, Twigpaw and Violetpaw are reunited and Twigpaw almost breaks down as she pulls her sister close and starts crying, the reality of everything just kind of crashing down on her in that moment.

Violetpaw is very comforting and assures Twigpaw that it's going to be okay.

Hawkwing, curious by the name, asks if this is her sister. Violetpaw confirms. Hawkwing, ecstatic, introduces himself as Twigpaw's father.

Twigpaw welcomes the comfort of her father and explains to them what all is happening. They make it back to ThunderClan's camp and wait for the cats.

As StarClan confirms that SkyClan being there is okay, Hawkwing is trying to talk his daughters into moving to SkyClan with him.

Neither she-cat is sure about the idea right away

They make plans to take down Darktail and, of course, Onestar is being difficult.

As Twigpaw and Violetpaw join the patrol to talk to Onestar, they talk about the idea of moving. Twigpaw firmly believes there's a lot she still needs to do and she doesn't feel right leaving ShadowClan.

Violetpaw still doesn't like ShadowClan, but she understands, saying she's not sure about leaving her adopted ThunderClan siblings and Alderheart.

Darktail is attacking WindClan when they get there, he chooses to leave with a cryptic message to Onestar, and Onestar has all the leaders gather to talk about it.

Onestar then explains his relationship to Darktail when the leaders get there.

The five Clans come together and the final fight with Darktail happens, leading to the deaths of Onestar and Darktail in the lake.

Loki and Zelda are informed they're free to go home, but the two stick with Twigpaw for the time being, the cats wanting to make sure she's okay first. Loki and Zelda are very close to Twigpaw.

ShadowClan is going home and Twigpaw asks if she can stay with her sister for a moment and consider some things. Rowanstar isn't sure, but Tigerheart allows it.

Hawkwing tries ones again to convince his daughters to join SkyClan. They're still not sure about it.

There is a large debate in ThunderClan on what to do with SkyClan. Twigpaw defends her sister's choice and Violetpaw is starting to feel like she did moons ago when she didn't feel like she fully belonged.

In her eyes, SkyClan is seeming like a better option.

However, at the same time, she wants Twigpaw to come with her, as she doesn't want Twigpaw to go back to ShadowClan.

Tensions are high in ThunderClan camp with so many cats there. There's especially tension in ShadowClan and Twigpaw really wants to be helpful.

Adjusting in hard and Bramblestar is about to make Violetpaw a warrior when Violetpaw announces she's going to be moving in with SkyClan, who is in the process of making their new camp

Violetpaw has Twigpaw - and by extension, Zelda and Loki - help her help SkyClan. She's working hard on trying to talk Twigpaw into moving to SkyClan.

Twigpaw still isn't sure, but Zelda and Loki seem interested in SkyClan and she's close to the two of them.

And after this my memory of events are muddy

but what I have to follow up with is;

Violetpaw becomes Violetshine and of course gets with Tree when he comes into the picture [again, my memory isn't the best]

Twigpaw decides to stay in ShadowClan and upon her return she earns the warrior name Twigsong. She ends up in a polycule with Zelda and Loki, who are given permission to keep their old names.

Twigsong helps a lot with ShadowClan after Tigerheart leaves to find Dovewing and when Tigerheart returns as Tigerstar, he is very thankful and gives her Cinnamonpaw as her apprentice.

It's also implied he's considering her as another option for deputy if anything happens with Cloverfoot

When SkyClan is chased off, Twigsong, Tree, Zelda, and Loki come together to bring them back and it cements that Zelda and Loki want to stay and that they're very fond of Twigsong.

Violetshine still checks on ThunderClan often and is still close with her adopted sister, Honeyfur.

[dragon-swords-prophecies]

I would love to hear more about Ennas bakery! :D And you know, anything pertaining to dragons and/or elves in any of the WIPs.

Hi!!! Thanks for the ask!!!! :)

So I actually don't know a lot more about Enna's bakery than what I've already said, but here goes: the former owner was a half dragon named Sasha, who retired and left it to Enna to manage and run. Sasha has died of natural causes by the time frost & Fire happens (she was like 900. First of Enna's parental/mentor figures not to be brutally mrudered) and Enna took over for the next 16 or so years, until she got a year old message from Anne that kick-started Angel's Daughters.

But when Enna left town, she retained ownership of the bakery and left it to her apprentice, Charlie, to run, and eventually gave them the deed to the place. She put a large portion of her funds into rebuilding it when it got destroyed in the second Dragon War, and the bakery is still called Marie's. Because Sasha had kept that name that was named after the previous owner (some 700 years ago) and then Enna had come along, going by the name Marie, and now Charlie and it and kept the name.

Now. Dragons.

So there are two types, Frost dragons and fire dragons. Fire dragons can have copper, red, black, green, gold, or bronze scales. Frost dragons can have silver, white or blue scales (and another color that I've forgotten the name of).

They breathe the breath weapons of their type, either ice (frost) or fire. Dragonfire is deadly, so is dragonfrost. A direct blast will kill you instantly, most of the time. And then the weapon gets more powerful with age of the dragon increasing.

And elves!

There are three main subraces, wood, sun, and moon elves, and two much less common subraces. Twilights and Shadows, which aren't so much Elven subraces as sort of elves who've been changed. Shadows live in Shadow, the realm of the dead, and Twilights live deep underground, in huge cities built in massive caverns.

Shadows serve Illa, Queen of the dead, and Twilights follow some goddess I don't know yet. I may have to make up a new one for them.

Among Elves, especially wood elves, they're an entire culture behind braiding your hair (is this because I want the men to have long pretty hair? Perhaps *shrug*). Only partners, close family members, parents, or someone you trust deeply can braid you hair, apart from yourself. It's this massive sign of trust and love, and there are dozens of different braid styles and they vary from region to region.

And to not let someone braid your hair that could before is this massive sign of distrust, and to do it is a whole big deal. Generally it signifies some sort of massive betrayal on the part of the person who is no longer allowed.

Oh! And sometimes they'll braid things into their hair, especially for special occasions. Wood elves like to stick flowers in with the braids, and it's a style often used for weddings or funerals.

[keirangoldenwatch]

2,4,7,8

Heheheh. I'm going to answer these for Tenku'lohi (of course), but do them out of order. I actually wrote out a whole freaking side quest to go with her original "follower meme" ages ago and never put it up. Now I get to share it. >:3c Excellent.

But first, the shorter answers...

2. Can you flirt or pursue a romance line with this character? (One need not strictly lead to the other.) How does the character react? What’s the storyline like? Which player characters can take these options?

Tenku'lohi can be flirted with plenty, but will not allow the PC to pursue a proper romance. She's not interested in a relationship--partially because of who the PC is (romancing a Sith is sorta lethal, and she is only recruitable by the Warrior or Inquisitor) and partially due to something in her personal quest. She's here for non-serious flirting and double entendre though.

Depending on the outcome of said quest, she comes around to the idea post-KOTFE (ala light side Jaesa) for both male and female PCs. Yay!

Speaking of Jaesa, a flirtatious Sith Warrior would get a hard "Kark No" right off the bat if he's been showing signs of romancing DS Jaesa. Tenku'lohi is NOT about to risk death just because of his crazy-in-love apprentice. Similar scenes could pop up for the other romances (she doesn't want to break Vette or Ashara's heart--but may admit that she finds taunting Quinn more fun than she should) but that one would be funniest. Just. "I am flattered, my lord. But I choose life."

8. What kind of commentary do they offer while following you into different areas?

Fairly polite and respectful lines. She wouldn't complain about harsh conditions like Hoth Tatooine, or ruins like Taris--and she would have nothing but pleasant words when meeting new people. She may come across as a bootlick just due to how little she backtalks or complains around the PC.

The only exception to this is if the PC brings her to Quesh, and the immediately begins to ask when they'll be leaving "this disgusting planet". She'll grumble and hiss all through Quesh's story (doubly so for the Sith Warrior, after they're betrayed). It stands out a lot against her usual mannerisms.

7. What are some notable points in this character’s questline?

Alright. Here comes the cut. Basically a mini-fic in there. Just. Yep.

Tenku'lohi starts off as just another agent or assistant on the ship, being friendly and polite towards the Sith in charge. This changes around the middle or end of Act II depending on which class she's with--middle for the Inquisitor, whom she's already a little more comfortable with, but end for the Warrior due to their being more Sith-y--when she approaches them about encrypted messages being sent from the ship to an unknown location. She subtly pushes the PC to look into the matter themselves, but they can push it onto her instead for a decent chunk of disapproval.

Her next few interactions are strange. While she continues to act as nice as she did before, she's noticeably straining herself and holding her head more in conversation. This culminates in her collapsing during a conversation--when the PC asks about the encrypted messages, no less. Tenku'lohi claims that she's fine regardless of how the PC approaches her afterward. When she leaves the infirmary, though, Jaesa (LS or DS) comments that "she's screaming on the inside". This only happens with SW.

Around the middle of Act III, the PC catches Tenku'lohi on the tail end of a call in her quarters, hearing: "--tell nobody about me or what we have discussed, including your master. Keyword: copycat." The PC can choose to speak to her immediately and question who she was talking to, but all Tenku'lohi will do is insist that it was nobody and that the PC should leave her alone--but the PC will continue to get approval the more they push the matter. It ends with her complaining of another headache and leaving for the infirmary.

Finally, Tenku'lohi will approach the PC, requesting a brief visit to Dromund Kaas. Whether they ask to join her or not, she will quietly beg them to come along, starting the short quest "Keyword: Copycat". On Dromund Kaas she leads them to the Imperial Intelligence building--the PC can hear mentions of it being disbanded once in the instance--and to a private room. There's a short ambush, Tenku'lohi slices through a locked compartment and draws out a syringe, then she begins to explain.

It turns out that Tenku'lohi and few other agents, including a "Cipher 7", had been part of the first (and last) team to use the Thesh Protocol serum willingly. What had started as an attempt to overcome "mind-altering chemicals" turned into the very thing that Intelligence claimed it was overcoming. When the higher-ups decided to use Thesh as a leash instead of a shield, the remaining agents--including herself--were silenced. Most of them she had lost contact with, assuming they had died, but Cipher 7 had simply vanished, leaving behind not a single trace.

(This is why she hates Quesh so much. She knows the chemicals are being made there, and knows that they're still being used on clueless new agents, but due to her programming she cannot seek out or destroy or even talk about it with anyone. So she just loathes being on the planet--and so close to the thing that ruined her life.)

Tenku'lohi had been controlled since first meeting the PC, forced to keep an eye on them and report on them regardless of her personal feelings for them. She had resigned herself to acting as a puppet for Intelligence for the rest of her life. But then she spotted messages being sent without any memory of them--and became suspicious. A little digging revealed that Cipher 7 had managed to contact her, and had hidden the memories of it through thesh. They had arranged a drop for her, which included a fresh drought of the chemical used to alter their minds. Because of Cipher 7's tampering she was finally able to tell the PC about what was going on...

...but she wasn't able to give herself the chemical. That was a lock in her subconscious that, despite Cipher 7's best effort, they hadn't been able to break. That's why she brought the PC--because she trusts them enough to help her.

The final choice in this quest is whether or not to use the chemical to free Tenku'lohi, and permanently deactivate the thesh protocol--or to change it for their personal use, and turn her into their own agent, unable to betray them.

Choosing to free her nets a whole ton of approval, and a now fully herself Tenku'lohi will be indebted to the PC, and swear to follow them for as long as they'll have her. (Taking this choise is also the only way to ensure a romance with her is possible post-KOTFE). However, rewiring the thesh protocol for the PC's personal gain loses them all respect, trust, friendship--anything positive from Tenku'lohi. She comes to despise them, even she she can't say so aloud.

On top of being very evil, the latter choice also cuts off the potential romance, and permanently turns Tenku'lohi against the PC. Which leads into...

4. Can the player at any time cause this character to leave? Is it possible to get this character killed?

Yep, but only by taking the dark side choice at the end of her quest. Once the post-game stuff occurs and Tenku'lohi meets the PC again--assuming they're the SI or SW who recruited her and then enslaved her--she immediately draws her blaster. Once the PC was out of the picture, Cipher 7 found her and had to inoculate her a third time. While it did finally, finally free her, it also caused irreplicable damage to her psyche. Chunks of her memory are gone, she suffers from delusions and seizures...all the fun stuff the Agent got to experience in Act II! And she blames it all on the PC.

Regardless of if the PC is apologetic or not, Tenku'lohi will refuse to join them again, and will leave should they remain remorseful--despite it all, she won't shoot them if they haven't moved to hurt her. But the PC can also choose to fight her and wins, getting the option to kill her, imprison her, or let her go (although at that point is somebody really going to let her leave? SO MANY DARK CHOICES WERE MADE TO GET HERE). If she's killed she's, well, killed, and if she's let go she's never seen again, but if she's imprisoned she gets eventually broken free by the still alive Cipher 7.

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Session 11

Horse On First

A half-elf conwoman (and the moth tasked with keeping her out of trouble) travel the Jewel in search of, uh, whatever a fashionable accessory is pointing them at. [Campaign log]

Last time, our heroes made contact with the Deathseekers, and opted to accompany them back to Barley to take care of some unfinished business. While the high-level adventurers take care of the dragon, the party goes to deliver a book and pick up some clothes from the tailor. No drama here, probably!

In the morning, the party is woken by a visitor to the inn. Looseleaf... acquires a new bit of background thanks to an excellent History roll.

The maid is here to retrieve the party, as the Deathseekers are about to set out. One thing that's somewhat surprising is that the deathseekers aren't riding giraffes, like normal people- they're riding these weird, hulked-out short-necked hornless giraffes that- and there must be some mistake here- are apparently called "whoreses"? It's weird. The best their Nature rolls can get is that they sort of resemble an exotic striped creature called a "zebra", maybe.

Lady Greatholder is there, with two of her maids- one of whom is an elf, who's staring at Oyobi in undisguised horror. To non-elven eyes, Oyobi might look normal, dressed sort of sporty, even- but to an elf's keen sense of propriety, she might as well be wearing an ahegao t-shirt and hammer pants.

Traveling conversation is light.

Looseleaf: "What are these things, anyways? They look like recolored zebras." Benedict I. (GM): You must've misheard something, because Doon says "What, you've never seen a whores before?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...pardon me?" Looseleaf: "Is this- this is a pun, right? Like, I'm supposed to ask why you call them whores, and you'll answer, 'because we're riding them'? Is that the joke?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: Oh, god, this is an elaborate gaslighting prank. They are going to try to convince Saelhen to call this thing a whore, and then they will laugh, and she cannot even blame them, because that would be hilarious if she did it, probably. Benedict I. (GM): "Is there something wrong with the whoreses, ma'am?" the human girl asks. Looseleaf: "No, like, you're calling these animals whores, and despite the fact that I wasn't allowed to look at those magazines when I was younger, I'm relatively sure that the Common word 'whore' refers to a lady of ill repute of a brothel- I'm making this worse, aren't I." "I didn't learn the wrong word did I. Oh gods I totally learned the wrong word didn't I. The books that taught me Common were messing with me weren't they." Benedict I. (GM): Lady Greatholder and Doon absolutely lose their shit, as does Oyobi, who's been grinning ear to ear this whole time. Kevin speaks up. "Ah, no, it's- H-O-R-S-E. Hor-suh." "They're from up north." Saelhen du Fishercrown: Saelhen covers her faint smile (read: shit-eating grin). "How novel." Looseleaf: Looseleaf emits a quiet buzzing sound not unlike the sound previously emitted by John Human. This is moth for 'quiet screaming'.

The party doesn't really withhold any details about Arnie and the tower- they just make an appeal for Arnie to be treated with as much mercy as they can muster. Doon implies that he was in a similar place when Lady Greatholder found him, so she reluctantly agrees to stay the hand of JUSTICE.

On arriving in Barley, the Deathseekers go over their plan, in the broad strokes: they're going to post up in the tower, and lay a trap for the dragon using Arnie as bait. By Arnie's reckoning, it'll take a little over a week before the dragon's next visit, so the party has some time to kill in town.

Their first order of business is to visit Chitch, a local lizardfolk farmer who was kidnapped by Lumiere:

Chitch seems surprised that they didn't get kidnapped or tortured- and even more surprised when they claim to have information on his missing daughter's whereabouts.

They hand him CHOSS BOOK, the diary of the girl who was raised in Lumiere's tower as his apprentice. He starts reading it, and his tears of joyful disbelief turn to anger as he reads through the contents- which describe an evil torture wizard raising his daughter as his own, and using her as a test subject.

When he's about halfway through, he puts it down, grabs his pitchfork, and starts strapping on his armor- intent on heading for the tower to kill Lumiere. The party has to hastily explain the situation and exhort him to finish reading the diary, please- Lumiere is already dead, and Choss is safe in Wheat.

Chitch thanks them for the information, and presents them with a reward- apparently, before fleeing to Barley to settle down with his infant daughter, he was a lieutenant commander in the fleet of one Umidono Kaiden, an elven naval commander attempting to take control of the lawless Cutthroat Isles. He gives them his jeweled badge, which could sell for a decent chunk of cash or potentially be useful if they ever need to deal with Kaiden in the future. Orluthe is the one to pocket it, as the rest of the party hems and haws over accepting such a gift.

SNext, they head to visit Kensa Kanthalga to pick up Saelhen's torn kimono- and after a lot of paranoid second-guessing re: heading directly for the Kanthalga house via the grass, go through the Temple of Diamode in front of it first, to update Malath on the situation.

They find her continuing to train the town militia in spearwork, in preparation for what she assumes is an impending assault from Wheat.

They... do not mention Arnie, because mentioning the culprit is Arnie could potentially fan the flames with Wheat. Instead, they mention that the murder weapon was found there, as was evidence of a dragon. Malath seems skeptical that a dragon would stealthily kill with a tiny weapon, and somewhat perturbed that Deathseekers are in town, but agrees to notify the town that the Deathseekers are at the tower handling the dragon issue, so no one does anything dangerous like going over there.

(Incidentally, Vayen has vanished, and Looseleaf's bugged medical kit has indicated that he's gone over to the tower. Hm.)

So, they pass through the temple and visit Kensa in her home. Kensa answers the door, wearing...

...ah.

See, Kensa assumed that after they went to the torture tower and didn't come back for several days, that they were dead or torture-enslaved- and like, the dead or torture-enslaved don't need a stylish kimono, right?

So she is suitably mortified when Saelhen shows up at her door, not dead in the slightest.

Benedict I. (GM): Kensa's down pretty quick, wearing the pink dress from before (if somewhat more disheveled), holding a folded kimono. To her credit, it looks very well-repaired- you can't even tell it was damaged. "I- my apologies! Here you are, ma'am!" Saelhen du Fishercrown: Saelhen takes it. "While I have you here, would you like to hear a secret about this dress?" Kensa Kanthalga: "I- er, of course! Thank you!" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "When I was of an age comparable to yours..." She leans in conspiratorially. "I hated this thing. I fell down in it in front of a ballroom full of people and I very honestly wanted to take a scissor to it." Kensa Kanthalga: "N-no way...!" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "I keep it because it was a gift and because I sometimes need it. But if it gives you pleasure to wear it, then it is accomplishing far more with you than it ever did for me." Kensa Kanthalga: Her eyes widen. "R-really?!" Saelhen du Fishercrown:"I do still need it, to be clear. I, ah, don't mean to get your hopes up." Kensa Kanthalga: "...Oh." "No, of course..." You totally got her hopes up. Looseleaf: Not only did you get her hopes up, you even got Looseleaf's hopes up. Saelhen du Fishercrown: To be fair, "prove that elves can be assholes too" is right there on her character sheet.

And as far as payment- Saelhen just implied that Kensa would be allowed to cut out a swatch or two of the silk during repairs, which Kensa immediately jumped on without discussing further payment. Except...

Then Saelhen... gives Kensa some advice.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Now, in your shoes, considering that I might have been still alive, what I would have done was this: cut out squares, maybe handkerchief-sized, here and here. 'One or two,' as I specified." The places Saelhen indicated on the kimono are... not great places for there to be handkerchief-sized holes. They would render it pretty much unwearable. "I didn't ever specify where the swatches should be cut out, true. And so you could certainly chalk up the issue to youthful enthusiasm and indiscretion." "A lady like myself could never do something so crass as ask you to pay for a dress you'd taken time out of your busy schedule to repair, working to the bone over long hours. And I certainly wouldn't have had use for something I couldn't wear or repair myself." Kensa Kanthalga: "I- wh...?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "And so you would have had the swatches -- and, shortly, the entire dress with it." Benedict I. (GM): She is so confused. Is this lady trying to give her advice on how to grift her??? "That's- but that'd be...!" "I couldn't do that!" Looseleaf: oh my god is saelhen trying to recruit an apprentice is THAT what this is, Looseleaf thinks Saelhen du Fishercrown: "You could, dear."

Saelhen is trying to recruit an apprentice conwoman.

Saelhen retreats, at this point- they'll be staying for a week or so! There's time to lay groundwork!

Next time: some downtime in Barley, before the night of the dragon fight and the execution of Saelhen's master plan.

[yuppe]

Since I'm bored, I decided to write some tidbits about Kilmay, my minuscule brain-fetus belonging to the Arcana world. CRINGE IS COMING.

- The name came from the Kilimanjaro - Since Vesuvia is named after Vesuvius, why not another, more subtle volcano-inspired name? Btw, the demonym is Kilmaya, not Kilmayan. Because it's fun.

- It's in the Clouded Mountains - if you don't know where that is, it's like down and to the right of Prakra, in this map:

Right above the Fennekh desert.

- It has a cloud forest biome, in case you don't know what a cloud forest is, it's also called a montane forest. It's an area with foresty mountains, where there's a lot of humidity and therefore most. It's also quite chilly, too. Quite a few of them are in Central and South America. Oh yeah, and it's always at least a little windy. Yay for breeze. Nay for heavy af winds. It also has earthquakes I guess? not decided on that one.

- The culture is... Confusing. It's inspired by everything and nothing, since I can never really get fixed on one thing. But one thing is certain: CLANS.

- Here comes the wacky worldbuilding: in this place, children only spend the bare minimum of time with their birth families, usually only long enough to wean them. After that, they are taken to be raised together with other kids, living in a sort of "temple" (in quotes because the name doesn't fit: it's not actually any kind of religious institution. It's more an orphanage, except if everyone grew up in an orphanage. I know this sounds bad, but I'm trying my best to make it sound neutral: it's just part of their culture. they can contact their parents if they want, okay? think of it as a boarding school.

- As they come of age (like 17 or so?) they'll be accepted into a clan, which contrary to the name (again) isn't only a family: clans are more like a mix of a very very extended family (with no or little blood ties), a tribe and a political party. they'll find an occupation in their clan after a few years, but are usually assistants and errand-runners before that. oh, and from temple to the end of their "apprenticeship" they'll usually be in collective quarters, though apprentice rooms are MUCH smaller and less crowded than temple kid rooms.

- They're pretty religious. Again, all my concepts keep being scrapped and recycled, but I want it to have something with weaving and spinning. Might borrow a famous worldbuilder's idea that had the world being a spindle which a goddess is weaving yarn from out of the stars.

- They're insular as hell. pretty much the only kingdom with stable ties to Kilmay is Prakra, since they share a similar ancestry (idk, maybe it was founded by Prakran immigrants??) and any countries related to Prakra and their royal family, like Vesuvia.

- The two languages are similar-ish, but I believe a Prakran would think Kilmaya sounds like archaic Prakran. Oh yeah and for some reason there's three cases. Yk how in English we have lowercase and uppercase? yeah, that but add a super-uppercase. why? idk, ask the goblins in my mind.

- They like capes. because yes. oh and they've got a sort of totally not """warrior troupe""" very lightly speaking. they're more performers than actual fighters, "warrior-poets" in a way. think Koream hwarang. they're an independent institution.

(you actually still reading this shit? that I applaud.)

- yes, you can be clanless. still trying to think about how that would come to be. children of clanless parents tend to have a bit of a harder time during their temple years because of that. I don't think it would be very common either, you wouldn't be unclanned for anything

- here comes the slightly problematic part: I wanted them to call magicians something different, but the only word that made any sense was shaman, but... yeah. I'm considering an alternative, since I feel like if I do that my head will be hunted across all four corners of Tumblr. definitely don't want that.

- they were also affected by the plague, nowhere near like what happened to Vesuvia, but yeah. A good few people died there too.

and I guess that's it for now. bye!!