#also the ‘clan’ is very loosely structured

[the-soul-starved]

I need more dst x warriors content blease

whatever u have I would love to see 🥺

Ahh thank you!! I very much enjoy making warrior cats aus I am very happy you like them as well :]

Here’s a few more since they are so fun to do!

[barrenclan]

PATFW: Animal Name Systems

As more non-Clan characters get introduced to the story, I’ve been having fun coming up with the naming systems for various animals. In real life there would probably be more natural variety within a whole species, but also making up little systems is fun so I don’t care. Also, as a technical note, obviously none of these names are in “English”. They’re in whatever language animals speak. So, like, Hacksaw is not literally “hacksaw”, it’s the animal word for that object. 

Cats - with the exception of warriors (who obviously have an incredibly specific naming system), cat names tend to be more loose, and can be named after many things. In general, they are shorter. House cats are also an exception, as they are named by people and so their names can be very different. Ex. Cashew, Summer, Rowan, Egret, Thrasher, Jackalope

Wolves and coyotes - like cats, wolves also have a more loose naming system. Often wolves are named after someone else, to honor them. Coyote communities are heavily linked to wolf communities, so their rules are similar. In general, they are longer. Ex. Coldbreath, Nightshade, Lucky-Foot, Antlerhorn, Ranger

Deer - deer are always named after plants. No exceptions to this. Often the plants are ones that the parents admire or enjoy. Ex. Wild Rose, Juniper, Hyssop, Maple, Lingonberry

Mountain lions - they are named after some kind of aspirational trait at birth that their parent is hoping they fulfill. Sometimes this leads to funny, ironic circumstances, but usually the kitten is shaped by their name and strives to embody it. Ex. Ferocity, Swiftness, Cunning, Power, Caution

Porcupines - for the first year of their life, porcupine kits are named after the order in which their mother gave birth to them. Ex. First, Second, Third, etc. When the porcupine has come of age, they are given their adult name. These names are short and functional, usually no more than four letters. Ex. Mud, Snap, Snow, Blue

Falcons - chicks are never given names by their parents, and are generally treated as indistinguishable when young. Once they leave the nest, falcons name themselves whatever they like. Frequently these names are inspired by human artifacts, as falcons (and many other bird cultures, as well as raccoons) value their liminal relationship to humans. Ex. Hacksaw, Highway, Black-Wing, Perils, Artemis

Bears - at birth, bears are given short, silly names, meant to be inconsequential. Ex. Fuzz, Seed, Bug, Baby. When they come of age, they are given an adult name by the eldest bear, whether it’s a large group or just a family. These names are structured as some kind of brag about the individual’s qualities, to impress others and display dominance. They are composed of two words in the trait separated by a hyphen. Ex. Longest-Claws, Fiercest-Roar, Strongest-Jaw, Thickest-Pelt. However, if the bear is disliked or considered weak, they can be also be called a version of this structure that is an insult. Ex. Dullest-Mind, Weakest-Strike, Softest-Heart. The greatest shame of all, though, is an adult bear forced to keep their childhood name. 

[official-darkforest]

i am SOOO unbelievably thrilled by your anthro au omg. do you have fashion ideas for the characters? like their favorite outfits, fabrics, etc? imo one of the best parts of anthro characters is deciding how they'd express themselves through their clothing :]

I HAVE A FEW ALREADY!!!! i dont have many specifics because theres so many characters ahd i havent drawn them all yet LOL but i'll share the ones i do have at least SOMETHING for

im also trying to keep these reasonable for the time period and location, as in my au the clan cats are mostly rural and in small towns set (mostly) before the 2000s so most may dress more modest and conservative (especially if theyre older and very religious)

squirrelflight - the best i can describe her sense of fashion is that it ranged from tomboy as a younger girl and is currently closer to a working class butch. im not sure if masc would be a more appropriate term since i dont hc her as a lesbian (shes bi) but she dresses "like a man" and owns a lot of jeans, slacks, and button-up shirts of all kinds of fabrics and patterns. she also enjoys bright colors as well, but as she got older her fashuon sense got a little more sensible and less "loud" like it was in the 60s and 70s. she also has glasses like her daddy once shes like 35 or so. she and firestar dressed very similarly, and a lot of her shirts and neckties are things she stole from his closet

feathertail - very feminine. hippie adjacent, lots of loose and flowing garments and jingly pieces. breatheable clothes and open toed shoes. her favorite swimsuit had some little frilly bits on it i think. often combines neutral earthy tones with blues and whites

crowfeather - lots of handmedowns from his father. clothes you can do farmwork in like jeans, overalls, hardy flannel/denim shirts and boots. never grew out of this and still dresses this way and he likes it

jayfeather - he looks like a modernized (as far as the 80s goes) version of his father - same hairstyle snd way of dress. he isnt too formal but does have some more preppiness to his clothing style (polo shirts and sweaters). he avoids full button downs since buttoning them himself jjust gets frustrating since he cant match them up every time. new wave band shirts. he also wears orange tinted glasses to protect his eyes (in this au i wrote that hes able to perceive shadows and light pretty okay, but not much else beyond that) And Kinda As A Fashion Statement cuz it goes well with his facial structure and hairstyle i think

lionblaze - hes like if the stereotypical jock and stereotypical 80s rock+metal enthusiast had a baby. muscle tees and bandanas, ripped jeans, those absurdly short shorts, crop tops, etc. he's a drummer i think if that matters LOL

ivypool - punk, also sorta like joan jett to an extent. very homemade, tho sometimes she gets lazy and doesnt really commit to the outfits all the way (but definitely has the mindset, dint get me wrong). one of those girls with a chest small enough to go braless 99% of the time; wears a lot of tank tops and sleeveless shirts LOL

bone/brick/scourge - just google "the outsiders movie" or "greaser" and you'll get the idea. tho i imagine these three in particular also have some kind of bare minimum formalwear scraped together from their escapades. theyre kinda like the jetts/sharks from west side story if that helps at all

daisy - she combines flowing, pretty dresses with a sunhat and work boots. she also teaches horseback riding and owns a few (its a business she runs w smokey and floss. i think its be funny if they were polyam ITS MY AU I CAN CHANGE WHAT I WANT) and she has horseback-appropriate clothing as well

poppyfrost - THEE preppy girl of the 80s. big hair, perm and all. dresses with pastel colors. her sisters cinderheart and honeyfern are pretty similar, tho i imagine honeyfern is a little more sporty and cinderheart takes inspiration from madonna once shes trying to court lionblaze

hazeltail - long haired country girl butch. enough said

spottedleaf snd cinderpelt are nuns lol

[bonefall]

I tried to use search before asking, so apologies if this has already been covered, but I was wondering - what's the dynamic between humans and housepets in BB? The original books tend to frame housecat life as dull and stifling even in the eyes of housecats themselves, in line with the popular opinions among people who oppose the idea of keeping cats indoors. Is that maintained here, maybe in light of the fact that cats in this universe are highly intelligent animals whose needs are less likely to be met by the common pet owner, or are there housecats in BB who are happy with their housefolk? Are there housecats who see and bond with their housefolk as family? How well do humans meet their pets' needs, broadly speaking; does Albion hold similar perspectives and/or policies to the UK on cat care and stray management as far as indoor-outdoor?

This is where the logical conclusion of cats having been sapient all along kind of starts to clash with canon's... weird thoughts on what normal cats should be able to do

For the record: Unequivocally I advocate for keeping cats inside. Outdoor cats are bad, for the cat and for the environment. This goes for the UK too, your cat is not special, it is a killing machine, England did not evolve to accommodate millions of free predators.

(An overpopulation of predators starves and kills the excess, and then prey populations rise in turn in a natural cycle. Domestic animals are fed by humans which keeps the population artificially high, interrupting this cycle)

But, the thing is:

REAL cats are not sapient. They're animals. BB cats have human intelligence.

(Even canon... that's not a cat. Cats don't form language, or make government, or have a concept of land stewardship.)

SO here's how things are different in Albion;

Only domestic cats are sapient. Something about domestication quirked cats, specifically.

This ONLY hit cats; probably because they domesticated themselves instead of on purpose by humans.

Lynxes, servals, lions, etc, exist but are nonsapient.

Probably because of their ancestry, cats don't naturally form large, structured society. The average clowder is a loosely connected group of friends and family.

It's normal and not damaging for cats to go several months living alone, unlike a human. They don't NEED to live in groups.

So culture can die pretty quickly if a clowder is interrupted in some way. They don't have a problem with taking their closest relatives and striking out.

SEE: The Nomadic Group that BB!Jake/Sparrow is part of, Wind Coalition homesteads, the cats that live in the various farms above Ravenpaw and the Barleys.

3 - 5 is the group average. Usually half of the members will be related and kittens leave at a certain age (usually 2 or 3)

15 cats is a large clowder. Clan cats are an anomaly with densely populated "Clans."

but Clan cats are absolutely put to shame by the tribe, which has 3 Wards which are practically cat cities of 50+

The most common types of romance closer resemble BloodClan's matriarchy or Smoky's polycule. Clan cat romance is also an anomaly.

The average size of a litter is 2, as opposed to canon which is 3, and opposed to reality which is 4 - 8

They are also very unlikely to ever birth more than 6 litters. Most reproductive cats will have 2.

Like humans, they also don't have a litter at the first onset of puberty. First litters tend to come around 2 years.

So to begin with, these cats aren't like real ones. A single pair of real cats can have over a hundred children in their lives.

They also have a more drawn-out adolescence. 6 months is the START of puberty; similar to being a 13-year-old human.

But anyway, onto HOUSECATS

Unequivocally the best way of life, even for these cats.

They do have a habit of jimmying open objects, more than real cats. There is a large market for "pet aware" design, like inlaid locks on windows, chains on fridges, and jams in drawers.

However. They are just as lazy.

Feline-specialist biologists have to come up with "tricky" trials to test their intelligence. Cats do not care about pleasing humans like dogs do.

Rural areas are best for keeping these cats. They do really well on farms.

People who keep cats in car-infested or dense areas are advised to keep their cats indoors. Not only are cars and crowds a danger, but ferals are often hostile towards so much crowding.

In some ways, you can compare these cats to monkeys more than cats, with their troop structures.

AND SPEAKING OF MONKEYS...

Like monkeys, problem clowders are subject to animal control raids. It is NOT unheard of that a clowder gets territorial or starts biting people.

Usually the individual cat is captured and dealt with. Sometimes the problem is so bad that there will be a roundup.

That's excessively rare though. These are very politically unpopular, people love cats.

And cats love people! There's really bad and awful people out there, and really bad and awful cats; but they're the exception, not the rule.

There's a sentiment in the universe that dogs are direct and cats are roundabout; cats are occupied with puzzle toys and novelty, dogs like to be commanded.

They respond to music like parrots. Jessy can change a record in her owner's victrola. Her owner is a himbo and just thinks it's a trick her previous owner taught her, not stopping to question how she had an old owner who also had a victrola and taught her how to change records. In 2012

Cats are still easy to keep, in spite of all the additions. A really smart cat can be entertained with toddler toys. Most are fine with a friend and 30 mins of playtime a day.

They do a lot of sleeping.

Most cats do get neutered and spayed at 6 months. Housecats don't usually see it as a big deal, or chalk it up to the price of a good home.

Clan cats find that SHOCKING and sickening. How can you think something like that is not a big deal??

But they just... don't. BloodClan too.

Clan cats are taught to fear lots of aspects of housecat life, which feeds into their xenophobia. It wasn't always THIS bad-- it really turned for the worst under Flystar of SkyClan.

But anyway forget them for a moment

There ARE a few downsides of being a housecat. There's a total lack of agency here, for one

Bumble and Turtle Heart couldn't control their owners adopting Tom. Twolegs often take kits at a certain age, and you may never know where they went.

A human can die and not have a home for you to go to. They can be abusive or neglectful. A new one can be brought in who hates or can't be around cats.

Problems, but, not INHERENT ones y'know? Most housecats do have good homes.

Anyway, TL;DR

BB!Cats are slightly different than real cats because I am leaning into the fact that they speak a real language, with the higher intelligence that implies.

In addition, I treat Housecats as a "Culture" to fix, on the same level as the other canon groups that get treated as inferior to Clan cats (Tribe, Guardians, etc). "Culture" because, obviously, Every Single Housecat Ever doesn't share a culture lmao. But I hope that makes sense.

[fromwhenceucame]

Today was Not Great so it’s time to make my first ever real post on here I guess !!

Shoutout to @thehardestwater for giving me that one post about turning your favorite characters into warriors, I did that and thought about them way too much

First we have Chaeya, let’s go !!

I very, very loosely used real warrior cat design concepts in the fact Kaeya doesn’t have an eyepatch but instead a big ol’ scar (in star-shaped format). A lot of their designs are inspired by aspects of their outfits, like how Childe has the darker ginger around his chest/neck like his scarf, and Kaeya’s white fluff is his actual fluffy thing (but this time on his body, wow). I had to make Childe’s stripes swirly like water and Kaeya’s spots like stars (also the moon-shaped ear fluff, that idea came to me from a warriors MAP I watched but I don’t remember which cat’s design it was anymore or which one it was :’) and also the fur on Kaeya’s back was inspired by another cat design of him I saw and I really wanted to include it)

In their warrior cats land, there’s 7 clans for each nation — so Childe’s in Snezhnaya clan (Snowclan) and Kaeya’s in Mondstadt clan (Windclan (very original)).

Childe is a highly respected cat in his clan, and they do things a little differently out there! There is no leader/deputy structure; instead, there’s the 11 Harbingers (“omens” instead, since “harbinger” isn’t a word I’ve seen in warriors as far as I know) who support their leader, the Tsaritsa… I don’t know off the top of my head if we know how many cryo archons there were before the Tsaritsa, but the original was definitely “Snowstar” and currently her name is “Icestar.” Childe is basically number 11 of Snowclan’s deputies…

As for Kaeya, he’s essentially Windclan’s acting deputy while the actual deputy (Jean) is the acting leader while the REAL leader (Varka) is away doing whatever he does. There’s a horseplace very close to Windclan (ironically similar to the real Windclan) that Kaeya knows everything about, the horseleader if you will, and he strongly enjoys watching them graze and gallop around when he’s not busy with clanlife. Pretty much everyone in the close-knit Windclan respects Kaeya because he is very cool (Kaeya does not agree with this, but okay). Also! The original “Windstar” (Venti) basically stepped down the moment Windclan was made, he’s not interested in that life.

And as for names !! They make me scream :]

Snowclan’s 11 Omens all have a new name based on what omen brought them to that position, that are formatted like the older clan names/tribe names, too. Originally, Childe was “Floodpaw” before he disappeared for a few days and came back a lil silly. After that, he was re-apprenticed to an Omen and given the full name “Floodripple” with his Omen name “Dark Waters of the Abyss” … sometimes I break my own rules (I don’t think “abyss” is a word warrior cats know) and that’s okay. Floodpaw probably still found a whale out there wherever he went to get trained by Skirk.

Kaeya would be “Frostwind” — the leader having honored him for his loyalty to the clan despite his loner roots (having been abandoned as a kit and taken in as usual, maybe Diluc is “Flametalon” for his fierceness because they definitely become warriors before The Incident) (Frostwind definitely doesn’t think he deserves that name, but okay).

Additional thoughts, Jean is “Dandelionroar” and has been acting leader for too many dang moons now. Barbara is most likely a medicine cat, but Albedo and Sucrose are also in that vein so maybe this Windclan does things a bit differently in regard to medicine cats. Dottore may be the medicine cat in Snowclan but he’s not. A very good medicine cat. Arlecchino’s Omen name could be “Flames of the Crimson Moon”

And yeah that’s all I got \o/ stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 when I post my other favorites from fe3h (Dimtiri + Sylvain + Claude) and hsr (Dr Ratio + Aventurine) my goal is to have a whole lot of them done before artfight next year — I hope they were neat, thanks for reading !!

[fauxmystique]

Dungeoneer's Guide to Monstrous Races

Chapter 2: Gnolls Now I must admit, dear readers, that I am biased here. Gnolls are a particular fascination of mine, and though I seek to omit any biases from these entries, my inherent glee in their existence may peek through every once in a while. Gnolls are a tall (7 ft average) bipedal/quadrupedal species closely related to awakened hyenas. Typically each gnoll is as strong as two standard humans, though much less creative. They are brutish, crude, and throw fantastic parties. As long as you don't mind the ensuing orgy and possible cannibalism.

Gnoll packs are typically found to the south of great deserts upon the savannas and plains of the world. Unlike goblins, gnoll birth genders are more statistically distributed, including intersex members.

Aside from the inherent danger in having a 7 foot tall hyena-man that can punch through a tree trunk, every gnoll is capable of SOME basic magic. Though most cannot cast spells, they each have the aptitude to craft HEXES and CHARMS. Adventuring Guilds usually attempt to clear out gnoll nests before they can become too entrenched, as after a few months the areas they inhabit are so full of minor negative effects that any who set foot in them become almost immediately lost, ensnared, and used for sport.

Gnolls are a playful people, for the most part. They take great delight in games and napping, as well as the eating of "fine meals". Oftentimes they trade with lizardmen who dwell in swamps nearby for various kinds of meats to use, as both species are carnivorous by nature.

Gnolls revere the natural world to a fetishistic degree. They willingly allow themselves to be charmed by Fey creatures, as they share a delight for games and recreation (as well as being fantastic in the art of bestial lovemaking which some Fey enjoy).

It is recommended that no less than 3 rank 2 adventurers attempt to kill a gnoll, for as soon as you kill one you will have to contend with the rest of the pack. They are fiercely loyal to one another, and do not forgive ANY grievance, no matter how slight. Fortunately, they take payment immediately and in kind, meaning that they will usually take one of the adventurers as recompense for the packmate they lost.

Being captured by a gnoll clan is not a pleasant experience, by any stretch of the imagination, and usually involves several months of unintentional psychological warfare. The HEXES they frequently make for fun (which do not affect them) turns the mind to mush and the legs to jelly, until all you can do is beg for more. Eventually this culminates in the unfortunate begging to be turned into a gnoll themselves, thus gaining the pack a new and powerful member. It is recommended that, should a party member need to be sacrificed, the order of operation is thus:

Elves first, then the healer, then the tank, then the mage. Under no circumstances should a Necromancer be allowed to be captured by a gnoll pack.

Ah, I have digressed. The social structure of a gnoll pack is a loose hierarchy wherein the most magically gifted typically "rule". The Gnoll Shaman advises the Gnoll Pack Leader (who may very well be MORE powerful than the Shaman themselves). There is also usually a roughshod council of sorts, consisting of the "best" gnolls in the tribe. I have my own names for these roles, but to use gnoll terminology: The Big, The Bad, and The Soft. Hilarious, I know.

"The Big" refers to the largest, most physically powerful gnoll in the pack. A Gnoll Big can typically take 5 human foot soldiers in combat.

"The Bad" refers to the most playful member of the pack. Likely a trickster, this one is always getting into trouble and making a mess of things. Their input is usually used to decide what NOT to do.

"The Soft" is the most dangerous of the three. Gifted in black alchemy and trained by both the Pack Leader and the Shaman, the Gnoll Soft is both the stealthiest and the most cunning of the group. A Gnoll Soft is almost always a female rogue adventurer who has been turned, though sometimes a normal gnoll can manifest these tendencies as well.

[shoechoe]

Hiiii attacking your ask box while I procrastinate 😛

So regarding Passione’s structure: Been doing a lot of reading lately on the mafia and have found that interestingly, the Neapolitan mafia is generally much more fragmented than other mafias in Italy, particularly the Sicilian and Calabrian mafias (the Cosa Nostra and ‘Ndrangheta respectively).

That is to say, the “boss of bosses” model seen in other mafias is not really present in Calabria and Naples, where the gangs are instead smaller and more numerous, controlling many minor sectors of criminal society instead of one broad huge, organization blanketing massive swathes of the land.

This makes me think about the odd way that Passione’s hierarchy is illustrated when we’re being given exposition about it in the story. Although Passione is depicted as this pervasive, all-powerful thing, it seems to be very horizontally organized overall, which makes me wonder: Is Passione a singular gang, or is it meant to be more of a replacement for the Camorra in the story altogether, i.e. a loose coalition of clans operating broadly under the same roof, but generally independent from one another?

Or is it some weird mix of both? Each “squad” seems more like its own distinct thing than a unified part of a larger whole given all of the infighting, but everyone ultimately takes orders from Diavolo anyway. I wonder if the Camorra also still exists in this universe, parallel to Passione…

The structure of Passione seems to be rather lacking in middlemen altogether: there aren’t many “tiers” of it to climb. There’s the grunts, then squad leaders like Bruno or Risotto, then caporegimes like Polpo, and then directly above that is Doppio+Diavolo.

The structure at the top is definitely fucked backwards no matter which way you look at it because Doppio/Diavolo is his own boss and his own henchman at the same time and he doesn’t seem to have a consigliere or any other personal advisers—just his personal guard, who seem to mostly just be… hitmen? There doesn’t seem to be much evidence that Cioccolata, Squalo and Tiziano et al. conduct much business for the gang. They’re just… attack dogs, I guess ?

(To note, the official illustration of Passione’s hierarchy says that the position that belongs to Doppio should be a consigliere, but this is more of a non-combative, lawerly, legal-counsel type role which is something that Doppio appears by all accounts to be woefully inadequate for, so this doesn’t really make sense.)

There’s also oddly not much mention of blood relatives within Passione: I don’t think we hear of any gangster characters who are actually related to one another, which is highly unusual for the mafia. Is it because near everyone seems to be a stand user, save bottom-tier lackeys like Luca? Do they put less stock into blood relations in Passione because of this (and maybe also because of the boss discouraging such things)? Do they skip over most of the formalities of being “made” because they find the stand arrow test to serve as a sufficient initiation? This is the stuff that keeps me up at night.

That is some very interesting real-life context. The only gang I've read a book on so far is Cosa Nostra, but organized crime in Italy definitely goes beyond that and varies from mob to mob. Personally, I doubt there was too much thought put into how Passione replaces the real-life mob structures in Italy; Araki was probably just thinking "media-like depiction of an Italian mob" and didn't pour himself into study of real-life mob structures or anything.

I always kind of assumed other gangs were practically irrelevant, since conflicts with other gangs are never mentioned and Passione seems to be so powerful that it's basically the "main" mob in Italy due to its high concentration of Stand users and monopoly on the drug trade. (Though Purple Haze Feedback isn't canon, it does make a point that Passione is powerful beyond powerful in terms of mobs with Giorno in charge.) Though, there really isn't enough info given to tell, just like a lot of things with the mob in VA, lol.

I have also noticed the whole "consigliere" deal before- I made a post about it some time ago. Personally I get the feeling that VA was just using "consigliere" functionally as a synonym for "underboss", since they mention a "right-hand man" in the structure. It's a little annoying and inaccurate, but what can you do?

The lack of family dynamics playing a role is definitely something I noticed Passione strongly breaks away from real-life mobs in. The concept of family is extremely important in most real-life Italian mobs, with gang higher-ups often operating within families and successors being sons of the boss. Passione, on the other hand, seems to have absolutely none of this.

This also makes Diavolo's hatred and avoidance of family really interesting, and indeed, what causes Vento Aureo's attempts to have Passione mimic a "typical mob structure" come out extremely broken. There is nobody planned to take over if something happens to Diavolo because Doppio is his underboss (who wouldn't work as a successor for obvious reasons) and he cut off all potential family and connections to people besides himself. I guess that just goes to show Diavolo's sheer confidence in himself and his distrust of anybody else that might replace him. He also might have just truly not given a shit about what will happen to his empire after he dies.

Passione is, in my opinion, a pretty simplistic idea of a mob. It's written just enough to get a vague idea of what it's like and also to get the plot working, but upon further inspection, you really realize just how vague it is as an organization. It makes me want a prequel to see how Diavolo started all of it even more lol.

[elbiotipo]

Notes on technology in Campoestela:

Most spaceships are single-stage-to-orbit. They have rather standard jet engines to lift off from the ground like a standard plane.

To get into orbit, they use a rocket engine that uses a solid fuel made of a HIGHLY combustible (yet stable) carbon-nitrogen compound which allows a better fuel than anything previous. This was first discovered by Iranian scientists who named it "Nafta".

(sí, Beto tiene que estacionar su camión espacial para cargar nafta)

Nafta was a big discovery on its time, allowing cheap SSTO rockets. Nowadays it's produced in many worlds and widely available. It also has uses as weaponry, but it's not that efficient.

Nafta is used for lift-off and orbital burns. For manuevering in space, there are small jets on the nose and tail of spaceships, similar to the Space Shuttle.

Spaceship piloting is still not an easy task, but it's comparable to being a jet pilot, about 4 or 5 years to master. Hard, but something on the reach of many people. People from the generation ship clans are a bit more used to it and often represent an outsized part of space pilots, but there's always many wellers (from down the gravity well) who get their licenses too.

The hardest thing is always landing. Especially given all the different gravities, atmospheres, orbits and such you have to learn in each different case, even with all the automation in the world. Many spacers feel confident sticking to one or at most two or three planets they know.

Pilots that only do shuttle or cargo runs in the same star system or planet are called "Starters", because they go around the same star. It's rude, but many spacers do it.

FTL travel is another thing. FTL travel is done using a ring-like structure that projects a bubble around the ship and takes it to a (completely made-up for the setting) dimension called the Aether. The Aether is one of the meta-dimensions (there might be more) that uphold reality. Conveniently, you can use it as a shortcut to travel between stars, which project "shadows" on the Aether.

The Aether has its own navigation, with currents and whirpools and areas of thick dark matter (which, for cinematic purposes, actually look like bright nebulae) There are routes that are easier to travel and navigate, and these are where the most visited worlds are. Even stars that are close in real space might be very hard to get in Aetheric space, so there's routes that can take you all over the galaxy in a week, while many other places are out of reach.

Navigating the Aether is very similar to flying a plane through a cloudy sky. Some spacer says it's even easier than flying in real space.

Staying on the aether depends on how much you can keep the fields upholding your "bubble". This depends on the energy of your ship. Big ships can travel all over the galaxy but they have enormous energy consumption requirements.

Smaller ships (such as Beto's Mastropiero) dock with a ring-like structure that allows them to make short jumps. The average jump in an explored route is about 12-48 hours, so it's much like aircraft flights.

Exploring new aetheric routes is something that is very romanticized but in reality is a tedious process of jumping, cataloguing new systems (many of them empty and useful only as refuelling stations), seeing where the streams go and end, how they change, and more.

There is no FTL radio or live communication. There is a kind of aetheric radar that allows you to see incoming ships and do some morse-like communication, but it's not very efficient, there is no such thing as a galactic internet (though it's said ancient civilizations had one)

Aether travel engines require very sophisticated manufacturing and materials, which were hard for humans to develop. This was long only in the hands of governments and corporations, but after the Machine War, accessible aether starships hit the civilian market.

Smaller ships are still used by governments (more like loose "leagues") to do what big ships can't: supply satellites and equipment to remote bases, small-scale transport of engineers, researchers, aether "meteorology" and exploration, etc. This is very much like bush planes in remote regions or the role of Aeroflot in developing the USSR.

While humans in the setting, like most species, are composed of many different leagues, cultures and organizations, their technology is remarkably consistent. This is because cheap and reliable spaceflight depends on very reliable standarization. Some of the spaceship parts used six centuries after Gagarin are still the same used in the Soyuz. The ISO is perhaps one of the most enduring legacies of human civilization, along with FIFA.

[warriors-ideas]

Au where ravenpaw is scourge that I’ve had in my head for a bit. Tw for the dynamic between tiger and raven that I’ll be describing (tigerclaw being a terrible, abusive mentor, though no violence it mostly just the psychological aspects)

So tiny still goes into the woods like the original scourge story goes, but this time Tigerclaw is a young(er) warrior when he attacks tiny. Bluestar/fur (she’s either right on the precipice of becoming leader or it’s her early leadership) defends tiny, takes him back to camp where he stays for a bit (a few moons since he’s younger than an apprentice) to heal his wounds, but eventually ends up joining the clan — believing that if he goes back home the twolegs will throw him in the river like his siblings told him. He’s named Ravenpaw when he comes of age, and is apprenticed to Tigerclaw; bluestar(or sunstar) seeing this as a way to force a bond between the two.

When Rusty joins the clans, Ravenpaw is notably the oldest apprentice because he’s been held back by Tigerstar for not suiting his standards. Raven’s personality is extremely different; he could be seen as timid, but he’s also largely very monotonous, straight forward (on most things) and kinda cold. He bonds with firepaw because they’re both ex kittypets, but generally Fire can tell something is off.

Ravenpaw carries a resentment towards clan society and structure that increasing as he ages and with every “failed” assessment. Tigerclaw has manipulated the clan into thinking he is a good mentor — that it’s Ravenpaw and his Kittypet origins that make him such a lackluster apprentice. When he kills the adder later on he’s sure it’ll give him his Warrior name, only for Tigerclaw to completely disregard him and his catch.

The relationship between the mentor and apprentice are strange, Ravenpaw only speaks to Tigerclaw when spoken to — and when he does occasionally speak out of turn he tenses up, like he’s majorly fucked up. There’s a palpable fear there, but also a hatred that is beginning to outgrow the fear; these conflicting emotions causing Ravenpaw to finally admit to what he saw when redtail died.

Tigerclaw isn’t fully aware Ravenpaw saw what happened, though he has a hunch — and Ravenpaw, though fearful of him has learned to mask his emotions in order to survive under him, had done a pretty good job of not looking too suspicious to his mentor, (I’d imagine here he never passes out, but almost does tell the clan before tigerclaw enters camp) at least until tigerclaw is pronounced deputy. In the heat of the moment and the rage he’s built up towards tigerclaw, he tells firepaw what he saw that day, confident he can trust Firepaw due to their shared heritage (in more ways than one but they don’t know that yet).

Not long after this, the rumors about Ravenpaw being a traitor start to really spread like wild fire, which is only fueled into an inferno when ShadowClan steals ThunderClan’s kits as cats begin pointing the finger at him. Instead of what happens in book where firepaw and Greypaw escort him to the barn — Ravenpaw vanishes after the kits are goe, similarly to how yellowfang also vanished, though…they do find Yellowfang. They never find Ravenpaw. It’s assumed ShadowClan killed him by the rest of the clan, but Firepaw — now Fireheart has his sights aimed at Tigerclaw.

The rest of the story follows loosely as it is in books with the main changes being that Ravenpaw is not at the barn, and it’s assumed he’s dead.

Until scourge shows up.

Ravenpaw this whole time had decided he was better off out of the clans as a rogue than anywhere near Tigerclaw — so he runs to the city. Ravenpaw is notably more adept to survival in harsh environments due to his training, though still a bit naive. Cats begin to take interest in his hunting skills, but that interest peaks when ravenpaw is seen playing with a dog tooth lazily one day, something he keeps carrying around. The lie starts that he’s fought a dog one on one this way, and eventually spirals into the scourge mythos he builds for himself, BloodClan built as both a mockery to the clans that never fully accepted him and his own way of improving on where they failed; where everyone was an outsider, a loner, rogue or kittypet, and no “true” clan cats existed. Scourge becomes cold and cruel, fully metamorphosing into this detached, power hungry figure that Tigerstar meets. The Tom is barely able to recognize Ravenpaw as scourge, and when he does…he’s somewhat impressed, though, believes the previous power he held over him will be easily translated into their business agreement here, so he foolishly takes his chances at manipulating Scourge.

Eventually, when scourge is reintroduced to the clans with a “clan” of his own, Tigerstar openly tries to challenge him…a challenge which is easily dealt with by his former apprentice. Firestar, having recognized his friend tries to reason with him — but Scourge is done, he gave the clans chances to change in his own eyes, gave cats like Tigerstar second chances and they never did. The only solution now is revenge for all they put him through, all they put anyone who didn’t “fit their standards” through. He gives Firestar a chance, though — join BloodClan, he’ll be given the respect the clans have never afforded him. Firestar declines, the war goes on.

During the battle, after Firestar has come back from his first death, he doesn’t kill scourge, instead, he offers him a second chance because as much as he hates what he’s become, he knows why he fell down this path and it isn’t too late — there is still good in Scourge. Scourge, having trained with Firestar and watched him grow, having entrusted him more than the entirety of the clan is moved by this, and he surrenders to Firestar, BloodClan retreating, but without scourge at the head.

Having surrendered scourge knows he cannot return to the city, knowing BloodClan will think him weak and kill him on sight, so, Firestar and greystripe escort him to the barn where barley awaits. Scourge changes his name Raven, ditches his collar and claws and lives out his life in peace with Barley who ofc he becomes mates with. Years down the line, when WarriorClan is built it’s definitely influenced by a chunk of Raven’s stories about his time in the clans. (Monkeystar is 100% their kid)

There’s also the alternate ending of Raven/scourge going on to rebuild SkyClan himself and influencing the concept of daylight warriors though probably never becoming the clans leader.

🐦‍⬛

[limitlessscion]

Watch me bypass the muse to ask you to talk more on your thoughts on Gojo's relationship with the concept of power. So... please, feed me? 🥺

He summarized his thoughts pretty well in the last post, in that he'd define power as the ability to impose one's will upon the world, which is also his understanding of what sorcery is.

Satoru was born and raised with the idea that strength is the most important aspect of someone's worth, and that as someone destined to be the Strongest, he would be someone who could do whatever it was he wanted (aka, power.) This is enforced to him through the highly traditional structure of clan society, where the strongest held positions of power over those who were weaker than them. ( he was too young and too embedded in the culture to be able to examine things like why men dominated those positions, when women were rarely given the same opportunities to have developed their sorcery in the same way. )

Satoru actually grew up in an extremely restrictive and controlling environment and he felt quite stifled as a child. There was an idea that he had no control over his own life because he wasn't strong enough, yet, and part of the drive he had in obsessing over sorcery is in order to gain his independence and taking agency over himself.

Over his life, his strength allows him to have a lot of say over what happens; it was what allowed him to take over his clan by force. It means he can be rude to people and not face any consequences. It's being able to tell the higher-ups that he won't hunt down and kill Suguru. It's being able to advocate for Yuta and Yuji's lives. A huge amount of Satoru's power comes from his status as a monstrously strong sorcerer; when he truly wanted something, what was anyone going to do to stop him?

Arrest him??? Fight him??? Hah!

At the end of hidden inventory though, he does internalize that power is not the same thing as strength, though the latter is still a major component of the former. There are things that he wants that he can't achieve simply by being able to fire the biggest laser. He couldn't save Yu when he wasn't there for it. He couldn't save Suguru when his best friend didn't want to be saved. It could have saved Riko, but he hadn't been strong enough at the time and he can't change the past anymore. He could make little progress in the broken system of jujutsu politics, where clans bickered and fought among themselves rather than help achieve common goals, where students were isolated and fed to a brutal system that stole their childhood years.

Not that he does too much to really reconcile this idea. He still seeks to perfect his sorcery and push the boundaries of what's possible, and he seeks out strength in others. It is a big component of what drew him to Megumi; it wasn't really about Toji at all, who was just a thread that led him to the boy, his focus was entirely on the boy's potential. He projects this need to create something better for the next generation by making them stronger, all of them of that no one is left behind— with some ideas of radical systemic change by simply tearing down the old structure once the students have been fully won over to his way of thinking and stable enough to handle the transition.

One final thought is that a related note is how Satoru always feels in control. It's how he was raised and how his technique and position as the strongest sorcerer affects his perception. Even when things are going bad, his will rarely falters and he regains it quickly; if he believes there's any avenue for action to be taken, he is confident of its success. Just look at how chill he becomes after his initial outburst at Kenjaku; supressing his emotional reaction and regaining a measure of control is something he's very good at; it is equal part delusional and a part of his genius. It's what makes him such a dangerous sorcerer. You need a few screws loose to be a powerful sorcerer after all

This also makes it so that taking away his sense of control is the easiest way to break him down. It's most easily seen in how sensitive he is to unwanted touch in any situation where he can't use Infinity; something he's usually very casual about become completely intolerable when he can not freely decide what gets to touch him.

[tired-reader-writer]

Since I'm stuck unable to draw for now, I'm gonna focus my restless energy on AU headcanons instead bc clearly that's the logical thing to do:

The clan has a bunch of healers, yeah? They have a roster of teams and stuff and they have a scheduled structured sort of thing for patrolling the villages within Shapur's family lands to offer healing services. The duration kinda varies depending on how far a particular group is travelling.

Teen!Isfan was part of those teams, not sure if he continued to participate in the tradition as he grew older, as his duties as heir sort of took up more of his time, but by the time Shapur has to leave for Sindhura he is not part of it anymore.

However, Arslan still very much is!

What this tradition does is that it helps build a good relationship between the clan and the local folk, as well as between the ruling family and the civilians and the clan as Shapur clearly approves of it and his two children actively participate in this.

After Arslan is deemed strong and well enough to walk long distances again post-Ecbatana, he asks to be given permission to get back to work again. His brother agrees hesitantly, but not before being scolded by Farangis for hovering too much, lol.

It was agreed that Arslan's group (him, his milk brother, a couple other healers, plus Elam who was curious) would journey to only the villages closest to the castle though, for concern of his health.

Elam thought Arslan would ride a horse, he's kinda surprised he's gonna walk throughout the entire trip, even if it's only for close villages.

(the ones venturing beyond Shapur's family lands, they'd ride, or maybe they'd just ride a cart)

Arslan just says “ah well it's been like this always, we can hitchhike a ride on some wagon or something if I get tired”

He wears smth like his #2 outfit from the design sheet for stuff like this

It's also a good opportunity to gather rumors and information

So that's one part of it

Remember how I mentioned the villages building fortified walls?

For the project to start, Isfan and village chiefs/representatives would probably have to stamp out the details together, dunno where, maybe in the castle, maybe in one of the villages, unclear still

Arslan also travels round the villages for this as well, to see how things are coming along, to boost morale, as Isfan's representative. He rides a horse this time around. He also wears the family colour, smth like his design #1 from the sheet.

Kazai kinda occupies a steward-like role in the castle? He's surprisingly good at managing the household staff. He knows how to take care of a household (even if the castle is larger in scale than what he's used to), to care for gardens and livestock, to organize people, to prepare a feast, and to entertain.

Arslan was encouraged to pursue his interests and hobbies in this AU, while there's a loose set of expectations to live up to as a son of a noble household even if not by birth, he's not in so rigid a station as a Crown Prince or even heir to these lands, he's pretty much given more freedom here than in canon. He's in a grey area between two cultures, and so receives education from both. He mostly learns what would enable him to eventually take Kazai's role as a pseudo-steward kind of figure, to maintain the castle and inventory and stuff. Mostly background work but hey, both uncle and nephew enjoy it.

I guess that sort of leading the household staff, maintaining the castle, preparing feasts, that sort of stuff would normally be taken care of by the lady of the household with the aid of stewards, but there's no lady and... Kazai is the lord's spouse so yeah.

Eihon... dunno where exactly to put her yet, maybe she lives outside the castle in the clan village, maybe she is called to live in the castle so that she can teach Isfan and later Arslan, I still don't know. She is a village chief, though.

Isfan learns the art of healing under Eihon, and some sort of craft, because the clan values craftsmanship and creation. He was encouraged to learn something, as sort of a hobby.

Kazai likes to take his kids (the 22-trio, Ranna, Arslan) out on roadtrips of sorts to nearby woods to teach them how to navigate forests and mountains and how to survive in the wilds if need be.

Kazai is very good at teaching, and often displays this pure-hearted, childlike elation at watching his disciples fumble for a solution to a problem together, heads gathered and cooperating.

Pretty sure Farangis is being taught with the aim of her eventually becoming clan chief? or at least the chief of the healers.

Not sure what role Gieve occupies. Courier definitely, info gatherer, errand boy LMAO

Ranna currently lives in the village, not in the castle, though she and Arslan are close friends.

Kubard, Merlaine, and Irina and ber entourage arrive at Gorgan just as they're beginning to build fortified walls?

Man I really want Merlaine to meet Arslan. I need to make it happen.

I don't know how to end this.

So uh, here, have this... thing.

[aishangotome]

Main Story Chapter 18-03: Among All of Nature (在萬物之中) | Light  and Night 光與夜之戀

Chapter 18-01

♡———♡

I've always wanted to understand my own talent. Logically, I should be eager to do so, but for some reason, I feel a little apprehensive.

Because of my talent, am I also being watched by invisible eyes like the people who were recorded?

You: Tangyuan, what about my name?

Jesse: It's not there.

Jesse seemed to have anticipated my concerns and answered quickly.

Jesse: And it's just similar, but not really that alike.

He paused, sat up, blinked his eyes slyly, and said in a small voice:

Jesse: Even if your name was really in there, I would have secretly deleted it.

You: If I remember correctly, you just joined the Lianshan Society for a day and you're already starting to break the rules.

Jesse: But I've known you for over ten years.

Jesse: I've done a lot of things for you in the past that were against the rules.

I looked at him seriously, and he looked at me seriously too. After a while, we both laughed.

You: What about your talent?

Jesse: The Xia family and the Lianshan Society have a relationship, so it's normal for it to be recorded. Don't worry.

Jesse didn't seem to be bothered by this at all. He seemed determined to follow his own ideas no matter who was watching him. I was also infected by this.

You: Tell me about it. I want to know more about them.

Maybe then, when the enemy attacks, I won't have to hide in the closet until the last minute, watching the people around me get hurt.

My gaze turned to Jesse's forehead, which was mostly covered by loose hair, but if I stared at it, I could still see a few intermittent, unhealed white marks.

Jesse: Cough, cough, don't stare at me, look at this.

He pulled out a small notebook from somewhere and unfolded it in front of me.

You: You even took notes?

Jesse: It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to things related to you.

Jesse: The database records a type of talent called perception talent, which is the ability to perceive certain things through contact.

Jesse: In a serial theft case four years ago, the perpetrator was able to know the internal structure by touching the safe and the surface of the keyhole.

Jesse: Also, a commercial fraud case twenty-one years ago.

Jesse: The Lianshan Society found that the complainant could sense whether the other party had malicious intent by shaking hands when signing the contract.

Jesse: But that's all, they can't see any images, and they don't know what the other party is thinking specifically.

This one seemed to be something my talent could do a little earlier.

Jesse: And then... that's it.

You: That's it?

Jesse: I guess it's because only cases with clear time, location, and people involved are entered into the database.

Jesse gently flicked the page, looking a little annoyed, his brows furrowed, and he suddenly looked much more mature.

You: You're so reliable, Tangyuan.

He froze for a few seconds, then suddenly lowered his head again, turning over a page, his ears twitching unnaturally.

Jesse: Are you listening to me carefully?

You: Yes, go ahead and continue.

Jesse: From what I've seen so far, the medium used by people with this talent is also fixed.

Jesse: For example, metal and the human body. If you don't touch a specific medium, you can't use your perception ability.

You: But I've touched a lot of objects and people, and I can feel emotions, even images and sounds.

Jesse paused. Unconsciously, he had already reached the last paragraph of the notebook.

Jesse: I don't know what the basis is either.

Jesse: The Lianshan Society believes that there is a peak for each type of talent, and they call this peak "the power of God."

The power of God, I froze, and the words from the blood clan letter I saw in Evan's study came to mind again.

You: What does the peak specifically refer to?

Jesse: The records are very vague. It refers to having no limitations and being able to form offensive and defensive means based on the characteristics of the talent.

You: Tangyuan, the day at your house, I used a baseball bat to injure Lu Ting.

You: But it wasn't a real "baseball bat."

You: I don't remember how it happened, I just know I was very emotional and swinging it around.

You: I didn't actually touch Lu Ting, but he was still injured.

Jesse: You mean, this is the offensive method of perception talent?

I nodded, there were more things that worried me.

You: I heard that the wound never healed. In the blood clan's records, this is something only a god can do.

Jesse must have heard about gods for the first time because he looked as confused as I did.

Unconsciously, the sun had already set in the west, and Jesse and I were still huddled on the floor, but our sitting posture was much more upright.

The power of God, is this just a set code name, or does God really exist in the world and have countless connections with me?

In the past few hours, we carefully recalled our previous experiences and found that this so-called offensive method is related to the intensity of my emotions.

Starting from being restrained by the spirit clan elder in the hospital, I had no power to resist until his act of extracting memories made me more and more angry. The situation was similar at Jesse's house last time.

Emotions overflowing into reality, maybe this is the annotation.

I clenched the chopsticks in my hand and took a deep breath.

You: I'm ready.

Jesse: Are you sure you want to try using it now?

You: Neither the Lianshan Society nor the blood clan records say that conducting power trials will bring bad results.

You: No matter who it belongs to, why it came to me, the person using it now is me.

You: Hmm... I want to control it better, maybe I can discover something in the process. Also...

Jesse looked at me, quietly listening to me analyze the reasons for wanting to test my talent so eagerly. The biggest one, I hesitated to say.

You: Also...

Jesse: Also, because I happen to be here.

Slender fingers wrapped around my hand holding the chopsticks, his palm dry and warm, absorbing the thin sweat from my fingers.

Jesse's tone was drawn out.

Jesse: I'll make you feel very safe, right?

Yes, this is the biggest reason.

He doesn't say many things, but he always understands me - whether it's the thirst for power or the fear of the unknown.

I closed my eyes, which had been a little sore since just now, and nodded seriously. Jesse's light laughter came, with a hint of satisfaction.

Jesse: Miss.

I opened my eyes, and Jesse motioned for me to open my other palm. He quickly drew something on it with his fingertips, like a pattern or a cursive word.

You: What is this?

Jesse: A spell, the last preparation. It will make you twice as effective and invulnerable to all poisons.

Such a powerful spell? I raised my palm to look, but nothing changed, and there was no special feeling.

You: Is this considered effective?

Jesse: Yes.

He curled my fingers back, making me hold the lingering itch in my palm.

Jesse: Whether you become stronger or not, whether the process is smooth or goes wrong.

He paused, as if seeing through my mind.

Jesse: Whether it's a god or not.

Jesse: You will always be you in my eyes, not another person.

These words were familiar, he had said them to me in that dim laboratory.

You: You said before that I was your amulet.

Jesse: So, I want to be your amulet too, can't I?

Jesse looked at me with a smile. Only this pair of green eyes in the world could hold so much warm light.

I closed my eyes. This shouldn't be necessary, but I wanted to concentrate better.

There must be all sorts of emotions deep inside me. I want to try to amplify them, bring them out, and see how this little wooden stick in my hand changes.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Many seconds passed, I tried to unravel the tangled mess of emotions, unraveling a little bit of happiness, a little bit of nervousness, a little bit of anticipation, but the familiar feeling of explosion still didn't come.

You: Does it really have to reach a certain degree?

You: Tangyuan, maybe if you didn't comfort me, my nervousness would have reached the critical point.

Jesse: It's all my fault? I think you're too tense.

A smiling voice came from my ear, and I felt a light touch on my knuckles. It turned out that Jesse had not let go of my hand.

Jesse: Have I told you about the time I learned to draw talismans?

You: No, I thought you were born knowing how to do it.

Jesse: It's not wrong to say that I was born with it. People with psychic talent can avoid a lot of rituals.

Jesse: But there is a new rule, the mind must be unified from beginning to end, without the slightest fluctuation, otherwise it is easy to attract wandering souls.

I remembered how Jesse drew talismans, it only took a few seconds.

You: You draw so fast, it shouldn't be difficult, right?

Jesse: It's very difficult, I couldn't do it at first, I thought I was very focused, but I didn't know what I was thinking.

Jesse: Master couldn't stand it anymore and told me not to waste time, I might as well draw something I wanted to draw more.

Although my eyes were still closed, my mind was no longer on digging into my own emotions.

You: Did you listen to your master?

Jesse: I could only try it, drawing randomly on the talisman paper. I didn't expect him to be right, the things I drew like this actually had an effect.

He didn't explain it clearly, which made me even more curious.

You: What did you draw randomly? What kind of effect did it have?

Jesse: It's a secret. Anyway...

Before I could object, Jesse coughed lightly, his tone already changed.

Jesse: In cultivation, sometimes following your heart can lead to success. I think this should apply to you too.

You: Your half-finished example is not convincing at all.

I complained, but I still listened to his words. But now my heart probably just wants to know what he drew randomly.

Just thinking about it, a warm current came from our overlapping hands, and flashes of light flashed before my eyes.

A tall and thin young man was lying on a wooden table, surrounded by many crumpled talismans, as if someone had angrily crumpled them, covered with symbols I couldn't understand.

He was holding a vermilion pen, still drawing something, his strokes light and slow, and it took a long time to finish.

At this moment, golden lines spread out from under his hand, and a familiar voice sounded in the room.

??: Tangyuan.

You: Isn't that my voice?!

The young Jesse in front of me was obviously startled, he stood up and looked around, but found nothing.

He suddenly reacted and eagerly grabbed the pen, as if he wanted to write another talisman. But until his knuckles were white, he did not put the pen down again.

The paper with the fading vermilion color slipped to the ground, and it turned out to be words on it.

Y/N, Amour.

The palm of my left hand seemed to be burning, Amour, the exact same handwriting had just been drawn there, every curve was the same.

A warmth that didn't belong to me surged into my heart, mixing with the one that belonged to me, colliding in my chest, unable to find an outlet.

I opened my eyes, and the chopsticks bent into an incredible arc, almost like a heart shape, then instantly collapsed, wood chips flying everywhere.

You: Tangyuan, be careful!

I didn't care about myself, I called Jesse first.

I tried to guide this thing, along my right arm, to my fingertips, and then up, and up again.

Jesse: That was close, it's a good thing I took protective measures.

Jesse exhaled and turned to look at me, and I also looked at him, dumbfounded. He smiled and reached out to brush the ashes off my head.

Jesse: What's wrong with you? Shouldn't you be happy that you succeeded?

You: This is... following my heart.

I can clearly perceive that a large part of what I used just now was Jesse's emotions. So I can use other people's emotions to attack.

Maybe it's a side effect, but that burning feeling is still in my chest. I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say yet, and silently repeated the word.

Jesse's eyes widened, rarely a little flustered.

You: What you wrote in my palm...

Jesse: It's just a random French word I learned!

You: Amour, love?

Jesse: ...... It's love. I must have just thought of it.

Then what about the talisman I saw? I really wanted to ask this, but Jesse gently covered my mouth.

The room was quiet. After a moment, he removed his hand and turned to sit facing the setting sun, as if he had exhausted a lot of energy, his hands supporting him on the floor.

Jesse: Give me a break, Miss.

Jesse: At least for now, don't ask any more questions, wait until later...

As he spoke, Jesse fell silent again. I crouched beside him, the golden-red light hitting his earlobes, making them look a little flushed.

He hadn't shown such a shy gesture for a long time since we reunited.

There was an inexplicable sense of loss, but no matter what he was going to say or not say, I decided to cherish this moment first.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 18-05

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[turtlenovela]

The Blue Pragraphs - 49 Kids and NOT Counting

Welcome to the Blue Paragraphs! These are parts I cut from my fanfic's final draft, since I felt they were slowing down the story's flow in the long run. They always contain additional information that may or may NOT appear in the story again

If you'd like to have a glass of sunshine, enjoy banter, digs at TLC shows and want to spent a little more time with the whole Hamato clan and Barry at Todd’s place, this is for you

Chapter 9 ½ - 49 Kids And NOT Counting!

"Here," Todd said, serving the Hamato clan his famous lemonade, "after a glass of sunshine," the world will look a little brighter."

"Blasphemy!" Draxon shouted, hitting the tabletop with his fist that the lemonade glasses jumped. "This kretin defiles my creation with inferior-science-based mass production!"

"Barry, whatcha talkin' about?" April asked.

"The turtles," he explained, pointing at them, "they are a state of the art masterpiece, maybe even my magnum opus! And this disgusting individual just steals their unique DNA and copies them in the most profane way possible."

April made a sour face at this utter lack of empathy for her surrogate brothers. "Getting copied and mass produced is something every brand should get used to," she said, callously smiling."

Also it's outrageous," Splinter complained, "that this dweep dares to break our family tradition. "Yes, I might have stuck to these traditions quite loosely, but my grandchildren being about to be taught kung fu instead of ninjitsu? Unthinkable!"

"This is the only thing that worries you?" April hissed, her eye twitching. 

"I think," Todd said, "these kids should decide themselves what kind of martial art they want to learn. Then he patted Draxum on the back. "Well, not everybody can perform great alchemy. So they had to settle for cloning. I'm sorry your work got copied. But now the precious little beans are there and need our love and care."

Thanks to Mickey, Todd was still blissfully unaware of the true crime background of this whole affair. Just like Casey Jr., who also sat at the table at Todd’s puppy rescue station.

Raph sighed: "Now we'd need someone like you, Todd, but who's as great at kid rescue as you are at puppy rescue."

"Oh," Todd stated, "you have a master architect among you."

"That’s not the problem," Donatello said, trying to repress a flattered smile. "Sure, I can build new hideouts any time. But what we need is funding to fully and constantly care for our kids."

"Oh yes," Todd agreed, "funding is always a problem."

Raph cleared his throat. "Talking about funding," he said and eyed his second oldest brother suspiciously: "Raph might not be the brightest candle on the cake, but you can’t even make me believe  that you build all your shiny tech from scratch. You must have your own way of funding - probably one neither pops nor I would approve of." 

Don tried to look as hapless and innocent as possible. 

"I always suspected that, but was afraid of asking," Leo remarked, frightened. 

"Well, uh- I recycle a lot and due to the mystic tech powers I developed, I additionally could cut down on costs-," Tello stuttered sheepishly. 

"Purple", his father began in a benign tone, "I won’t judge you, when you tell us how you earn money."

"Dad, he doesn't fall for that anymore," Leo remarked dully.

Dee's expression turned from anxious to annoyed and he informed his fam: "Let me tell you this: I can either afford funding for my inventions OR provide for our kids. And I don't think such sacrifice would be in your interest."

Mickey changed the topic. "Why don't we sign a contract with TLC?" He suggested.

"Very funny," Leo said. 

"No, for real!" Mike stated. "I mean, think about it! Sure, they exploit people. But they helped these huge weirdo families to make a living, pay for surgeries and stuff. Also they loooooooove teenage parents, fundamentalists and unhealthy family structures in general. And all of this is yesterday's snow compared to reichsburgers, mutants, yokai -"

"It's official now," Lee interrupted him, "Miguel has lost his marbles."

"Aw man!" Mickey moaned. "Maybe such a program would help people to see more in us than just monsters."

"Yeah, completely broken freaks for instance," April remarked. 

Leon sighed, looking at Casey, who just raised his eyebrows. "Currently," he began, "I only see one way to start our own fund."

"Not another one of your fishy and highly dangerous getting-rich-fast schemes!" Splinter protested. 

"Dad, these were getting famous fast schemes," his son corrected him. "Over the years April applied for so many jobs, I stopped counting. And Casey and his mom work as camp counselors. Sooo the most obvious solution for us is to get jobs."

This speech caused a little bedlam: Mickey stuffed a thermometer in Leo's mouth. Raph complained: "But we already have a job: to keep New York's criminals at bay!"

"Do you even know the horrors of teenage work places?!" Donnie cried and then whispered: "Customers - you have to talk to them and smile!!" He ended his sentence yelling in panic.

"You're aware that even if all four of you start to work hard," April pointed out, "you'll be far from providing for 49 kids. "We have to start somewhere," Leo replied. "We can't sit around and wait for a benevolent sponsor."

"Okay," April said, "who are you and what have you done to Leo?"

Only Casey proudly smiled at his former sensei. 

[grandmaster-anne]

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence: The difference for me, personally, was I was determined to stay in the Navy and I was able to do that. That gave me a career in addition to supporting my wife for many years.

By Robert Hardman | Published 17 August 2019

There has always been an other-worldly quality to Tintagel Castle, the mighty fortress of Arthurian legend which straddles its clifftop ravine on the North Cornish coast.

Last Sunday, the two sides were reunited for the first time in centuries thanks to a new £5million bridge straight out of a fantasy novel. 

It was in Tudor times that the narrow strip of land which once connected the mainland part of 'King Arthur's Castle' to its island citadel fell into the sea.

Since then, any visitors have been forced to scale 148 steps cut in to the rock. For the old and infirm, it was out of the question.

Now, though, Tintagel is reunited — much to the relief of the locals. Up to a quarter of a million tourists each year are now expected to use this 21st century drawbridge — as I have just done. 

With a gentle bounce underfoot and an alarming gap in the middle, it is an exhilarating experience.

But this crossing also heralds an important new era for many of this country's greatest historic treasures. And supervising it all is the Queen's son-in-law.

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, husband of the Princess Royal, is one of the most low-profile members of the Royal Family but, as chairman of English Heritage, he is in charge of some of the most famous structures in the world.

He is the chief custodian of more than 400 hallowed national sites — ranging from Stonehenge and the Battlefield of Hastings to Shropshire's Iron Bridge and Osborne House — not to mention all those blue plaques on the homes of bygone greats.

On his watch, the whole lot has been turned into a new charity. And it has never attempted anything quite like the new bridge to 'King Arthur's Castle'.

So, ahead of the opening, I sat down for a rare and wide-ranging interview with the boss to discuss a range of issues, from government subsidies and HS2 to marrying in to the Royal Family, the prospects of a new Royal Yacht ('not now') and the pain of losing friends on active service.

What is instantly clear is that Sir Tim is much more than a figurehead. 'We're very ambitious. 

We want to do things that are a bit spectacular,' he tells me as we study the plans for Tintagel. 'This is a leap. The whole point about it is accessibility.'

He recalls his first visit to Tintagel, negotiating the cliff in deep winter. 'I first went down on a wet January day and I think it's one of the most dangerous things I've ever done climbing down those steps!'

People had been mulling over the idea of a bridge for years, to no avail, until Sir Tim's arrival. 

He got in touch with his friends Julia and Hans Rausing, members of the Swedish Tetra Pak clan, though he is modest about his part.

'I know the Rausing family and made an initial contact,' he says. The family trust made a generous grant of £2.5 million, the largest in the organisation's history. What had been a nebulous idea could suddenly take shape.

One might expect to find a risk-averse, steady-as-she-goes approach from a retired admiral in charge of a lot of old buildings (particularly one whose official address is Buckingham Palace). 

Sir Tim, however, speaks frankly and clearly feels he is on a mission — against the clock.

He was appointed chairman of English Heritage as it was being cut loose from the state. 

Pre-2015, it had been a public sector body with two roles: running historic sites such as Old Sarum and Audley End but also acting as the planning regulator for all listed buildings.

Then the Government split it up. A new state agency, Historic England, took on the regulation while all the historic sites went to a charity under Sir Tim. 

It would retain the 'English Heritage' title but was given a grant of £80 million to get started. After that, it would be on its own.

Since most of English Heritage's sites — hill forts, remote ruins and so on — are open and free, it falls to a minority of paying landmarks such as Tintagel to subsidise the rest.

'When we get to the end of our capital grant in 2023, we've got to produce enough running income to cover our running costs plus additional income to invest,' says Sir Tim. 

He might talk like the chairman of a FTSE100 company but his position at English Heritage is unpaid. 

Yet he clearly loves it and has just been appointed for a second four-year term. And he is not afraid to get political defending his patch.

For example, he is adamant that the Government should slash VAT on conservation work. 

'I would love to see VAT reduced on historic buildings. We've been fighting that battle for a long time.

'It would make a huge difference to the historic fabric of this country and it would provide a lot of extra jobs.'

He rattles off tourism statistics — £30 billion gross added value to the economy — and wishes ministers would listen. 'I'm pleading on behalf of the historic environment. 

'I don't think the Government is "anti" but I think it could be more "pro". This is not a loss to the Treasury. There are benefits to the Treasury.' 

He is also a fan of big, contentious projects such as the proposed road tunnel beneath Stonehenge and HS2. 

'I'm supportive of HS2 — so long as we can do it in a way that is sympathetic to the countryside — because I believe very strongly in linking the North and the South of the United Kingdom.'

Having risen to the top of the Royal Navy during his 37-year career, Sir Tim has taken a number of public and private sector roles. 

Aged 64, he maintains a schedule on a par with that of his famously busy wife (with 518 public duties in 2018, the Princess Royal still tops the Royal Family's league table of engagements).

Until his term of office finished this summer, Sir Tim was also vice-chairman and de facto head of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which maintains the memorials and graves of 1.7 million men and women all over the world. 

There, too, he ushered in a programme of innovations. The son of a Royal Navy officer who served in World War I, Sir Tim is keen to ensure we never forget those killed in all conflicts. 

In 1982, he was serving as navigation officer in the destroyer HMS Sheffield, when he was summoned to Northern Ireland to lead a maritime patrol against IRA gun-runners. 

In his absence, Sheffield headed to the South Atlantic without him. On May 4, 1982, she became the first major casualty of the Falklands War when an Argentine Exocet missile killed 20 men and sent the ship to the bottom of the sea. 'I vividly remember watching the news,' he says.

'My first thoughts were of friends. Several officers were killed, all of whom I knew.'

They are always in his mind when he attends the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph (a monument which, oddly, is maintained by English Heritage rather than the War Graves Commission). 

At the age of 28, Lieutenant Laurence received a Mention in Despatches for his work in Northern Ireland and was marked out for higher things. 

He was seconded to be Equerry to the Queen in 1986 (meeting his future wife in the process) before returning to sea in command of his own frigate.

In December 1992, he married the Princess Royal in a low-key winter ceremony at Balmoral (a moment of respite at the end of what the Queen had, days earlier, called her 'annus horribilis').

'Everybody who marries a member of the Royal Family has to craft their own way of doing things,' says Sir Tim. 

'There's no book of how to behave when you marry the Royal Family.' The experience has left him with a deep admiration for two royal consorts.

'I'm a huge fan of Prince Albert. He designed and built Osborne with William Cubitt. He also designed and built Balmoral Castle. 

He had an incredible mind. Bearing in mind how young he was when he died and what he achieved, he was an extraordinary man.'

So is Albert his inspiration? He smiles and points to a more recent role model. 'I think I've gained more from the Duke of Edinburgh obviously because I know him very well. 

He is somebody who has supported the Monarch, but also done a huge amount in his own right. 

Think of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and the number of young people who have been through that.'

The Duke had been one of the Navy's rising stars when the sudden death of George VI put a stop to all that.

Sir Tim has great sympathy for his father-in-law. 'The difference for me, personally, was I was determined to stay in the Navy and I was able to do that. 

That gave me a career in addition to supporting my wife for many years. It was suggested that the Duke should leave the Navy when the Queen became Monarch.

'I think, looking back, it might have been possible for him to stay for a bit which might have been good. But anyway, that's what happened.' 

Sir Tim's first close encounter with the Royal Family came during a short stint in Britannia as a young 'season' officer.

He joined the Royal Yacht in the Gulf in 1979, with an early setback. 'I came back through the Suez Canal on my back because I'd picked up a stomach bug in Saudi Arabia.' His favourite memories are simply of making an entrance.

'The impact of the Royal Yacht coming in with the Queen on board is unbelievable,' he says.

It is now more than 20 years since Britannia was decommissioned to become a tourist attraction in Leith. Millions of us would dearly love to see a replacement.

Sir Tim thinks it could be a long wait. 'I don't think, at the moment, it could work,' he says. 'I won't say that it won't in the future because the tradition of royal yachts goes back to Charles II.

'The Queen is probably not going to do trips in the way that she has done in Britannia in the past. In a new reign, perhaps the moment may come when they say: 'Well, come on, We're a maritime nation. 

'We are good at the sea. We connect with the world through the sea. Perhaps we should have a ship in some form that can represent our nation overseas.'

Britannia, like the monarchy, the English language and so much else — including our great historic sites — are examples of soft power. So do we make the most of them?

'Probably not. I think we could make more of them,' Sir Tim reflects. 

'The story that we try to tell through our English Heritage properties is of a nation developing from its roots, developing the rule of law, developing good governance, developing civilised structures.

'I think that is something which most countries overseas appreciate more than many people in Britain actually.'

He points to some conversations he had during this summer's state visit at the Palace.

'I spoke to several people in President Trump's camp who appreciate what Britain has contributed and can contribute.' 

Does it bother him when, say, a hectic royal tour with the Princess goes unnoticed back home?

As one who never sought the limelight in the first place, he is relaxed. 'My observation of those trips is that they have an impact overseas, which is very significant and not always appreciated.

'There's a great poem called the Laws Of The Navy, written in about 1900. One of the verses is: 'If you win through an African jungle/ unmentioned at home in the Press/ Trouble not, no man sees the piston/ But it driveth the ship, none the less.' I love that. 

Sometimes you have to go overseas and do your bit and just accept that people won't notice it. It's part of life — as frustrating as the fact that it rains on Mondays!'

So what next after spanning the chasm at Tintagel Castle? Sir Tim is keen to see a broader range of names on Britain's blue plaques. As for new sites, he'd like to take on some 'brilliant' old Lancashire cotton mills, despite friendly competition with the National Trust.

And he would dearly love to house the Bayeux Tapestry at a purpose-built site at the Battle of Hastings in Sussex when it makes its long-awaited first visit to Britain in the next few years.

He sees no reason why the capital should hog it. 'It's good for people to get out of London — and Battle is not that far.' He also wants to see English Heritage push its £5-a-month membership scheme — with free entry to all sites — over the one million mark.

Some might lament the fact that great landmarks such as Stonehenge, the Cenotaph or Dover Castle depend on rattling a tin.

Sir Tim sees it as an opportunity: 'It's much clearer, now that we are a charity, for people to know what they are giving money to and how we're using it.'

At Tintagel, the results are plain to see. Sir Tim believes the new bridge would probably never have happened in the days of state control. 'It would have been difficult,' he says. 'We needed the independence of thought.'

Walking across the slate-lined pathway over the dizzying void — in fact it consists of two bridges with a three-inch gap in the middle for thermal expansion — I have no doubt this will be a splendid addition to the Cornish landscape.

Project manager Reuben Briggs points to the steel 'dampers' which will prevent a wobble like that which plagued London's Millennium Bridge and says that the design can withstand a hurricane.

The main problem I foresee will be the queues flocking to pay homage to King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad and the other knights of the Round Table.

Being gallant chaps, I trust they'll make a space for Sir Tim.

[bonefall]

OOOOGH okay Skypelt related questions: Since their ancestors were Rats, did Spiderstar only take the -star suffix as tradition? No nine lives? Nowadays, do Skyclan leaders only get their lives from Skypelt or can they get a mix of Starclan and Skypelt? How's Cloudstar coping with his Rat Crimes now that he's been freed and in Skypelt?

Spiderstar

She wasn't able to get the full 9, but she did receive at least 3. Their "Piece of Heaven" was crumbling, but hadn't yet completely fallen apart at the moment of Cloudstar's death.

They had no particular place where she could have gone to get those lives, so she climbed to the very top of the farm's silo where Cloudstar had just died. As the Clan mourned the hero who had kept them together for all this time, Spiderstar was pressing her entire body against the cold, silvery metal of the human structure.

Those bastards had taken their forest from them-- they least they could do for her was lend her their towering mockery of a Moonstone.

The first moment she knew something was about to go very, very wrong was the fact that Cloudstar was not one of the cats present to give her a life.

In Skypelt, she is the Patron of Adaptation. She has dominion over getting used to things, over not being too rigid that you overlook the correct solution, and of innovation especially through learning from others.

Because of her, baby spiders are sacred. SkyClan has immense reverence for the idea of "crafting wings" out of silk to fly away on the breeze.

Cloudstar

Was horrified and shameful of what he had done as that horrible monster, but Skypelt is much more forgiving than Silverpelt.

He kept his promise. Even as he lost his mind, his body, and his Clan, he clung to that vow when there was nothing else to hold. He is a hero to them, even after what he'd done, they love him as they do all of their family.

In self-inflicted penance, Cloudstar is Skypelt's primary fetcher. He's akin to the Grim Reaper for SkyClan tradition, unlike the other Clans who almost always send a fetcher who was close to the recently deceased. He is a Patron of Oneness (Paokepba en Ul-Arra), giving him dominion over reunions, collaborative efforts, and even Gatherings.

It's not quite a Patron of Unity, though it would be a close translation. It's Ul-Arra. Wholeness. Togetherness. In SkyClan, it also has an association with "reformations."

Skypelt Giving Lives

Modern SkyClan highly values self-reliance, as a result of their past. It's why they maintain Skypelt instead of fully integrating into Silverpelt, they are adamant that they are not subservient to anyone else's ancestors but their own.

This doesn't mean the two are totally separate. Think of it sort of like a small bubble connected to StarClan-Prime. Spirits can go back and forth between the two, but Skypelt could leave again if it ever wanted to.

So to answer your question, SkyClan leaders could receive lives from Silverpelt warriors. In practice, this is VERY rare and considered a huge honor.

If you wanna check out the old draft of Leafstar's Leadership Ceremony, it's over here! I'm probably going to make a new draft sometime soon, since BB!Firestar didn't actually loose any lives so far. I want him to the "the fire that lights the new torch," kicking off the ceremony by transferring one of his lives to her, because that seems super cool and very fitting of him.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

If layline MC has a creation starter then maybe she shows up with an egg that they know its theirs to care for by its parent. and out come the most gangly little horse thing wobbling everwhere. its arcs are not there yet it looks cute in an almost ugly way. It comes up to their Thighs and only starst growing when the Plottm starts happening.It still only grows to be around a head taller than them and is like an affection cat. Its a scardy cat and hides behind is parent half the time. No one knows how it Eats. They blink and food has bite out of it. I think this still puts little MC as the one who is doing the Plottm and not have something do it for them. ( I assuming they themselves are throwing down with the corrupted Lords and Ladies (maybe I dont know the plot yet) and Still have that nice companionship. and baby arceus is cute in my mind)

No one knows its a god. Laventon is excited only bc He got to witness a brith of a magical creature that probably has only been hearsay before.

[ Anonymous: I thought I saw a tag about creation starts on ley lines but now I cant find it so maybe I made it up so apologies if I randomly threw that into the au think tank out of nowhere ]

no you saw correctly! it wasn't a tag, it was the first paragraph of this other reply lol. i do think babi arceus is always a very cute idea whenever it comes up

...but man. plot. plot plot plot. you've asked a question about The Plot now i have to think about it. i feel like it isn't just the nobles being frenzied again, since that feels like just doing canon again and i kind of want to get further away with it? i don't know, this is all very loosey goosey thoughts and i'm bad at putting my vibes ideas down on paper, but i feel like if the nobles and wardens and pearl/diamond as a whole are still a structure in this world, they're like, much more of a background thing? like, they have this noble soulbond so i guess they do exist, but the actual plot is some other much different Fantasy Quest and they're really just other characters on the adventure. if that... makes any sense at all.

like, is hisui even a thing? i feel like the clans might be much more spread out as a whole... if they're even clans, and it isn't just the wardens and leaders forming a structure with no other regular people involved. like every individual warden looks after a certain area, and they all report to adaman and irida, but those are the only people in diamond and pearl. and they just sort of... orbit loosely related towns and villages etc. and then they all get dragged into akari's situation, maybe because akari&co went to adaman and/or irida as a user of a primal magical force who could maybe shed some light on the situation (they couldn't, but they got caught up in the adventure for their own reasons anyway.) i guess since they're all picking up and leaving, their jobs are also much less important than they are in canon? like it's not such a huge deal for them to just wander off for a while.

this might all sound like complete nonsense, i don't know. like i said it's just vibes in here.