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overgrowth-wc · 1 year

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The morning of the Gathering Trial dawns, but there is still much to do. A last minute complication throws a wrench in their plans. Where's the fun in everything going smoothly?

Briarmask crouched on top of the fence, searching for any signs of trouble before she called her companions to join her. It was still dark, the sun not yet risen, but they needed to finish their errand before the sun rose and two legs started swarming about. It was time to finally bring Cloudclaw and Whitefoot home. Shadowclan had been searching without success since they first learned of their disappearance. Rosestar had sent out a couple other patrols in the past few days, but they hadn’t seen the Thunderclanners anywhere. The last area of Town close enough to the territories to search was the place around where Cookie lived, and so Rosestar had sent out the cats most familiar with that area to look.

The plan was for her, Batflight, and Shadefur to use their knowledge and sources in the Town to locate the Thunderclanner’s as quickly as possible. Shadefur in particular had grown friendly with a certain group of cats during his adventures with Tulip, and they were hoping at least one of them would have the information they needed. Shadowclan shared their love of rumors with Town cats, and asking around would probably yield the quickest results. The other patrols had only heard that yes, there were two newcomers from the forest, but they had passed through quickly and hadn’t been seen since. While the area around the park was quite far from Thunderclan territory, Snowdrift’s family had been missing for almost two weeks. Plenty of time to wind their way to the only speck of green in the stone wasteland.

Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Briarmask waved to Batty and Shadefur, the two warriors quickly joining her on the fence. Without a word they set out, weaving through yards to head to one of the more populated alleys that was close to the park. At this early hour cats would be up and about, looking for food and such before the two legs really got started for the day. There was something… off, to Briarmask, however, as they neared their destination, and it wasn’t until they stepped into the typically bustling alley that she was able to pinpoint it.

There was a suspicious lack of cats around.

By this point, they should have seen at least a half dozen loners, with another dozen or so in the alley. The dumpsters here were rife with food, the buildings that lined it the sort of places two legs gathered to eat. The popular feeding ground attracted all sorts of characters, but as the Shadowclan warriors turned the corner, they saw barely a pawful scattered around. Briarmask didn’t recognize any of the few scavengers but, thankfully, it seemed Shadefur did. He made a beeline towards a scraggly calico, the old molly gnawing away at some bones. She hissed at his approach before seeming to recognize who it was.

“G’mornin’, Shade.” She croaked. “Sorry for the rude greetin’, I couldn’t see it was you in this gloom. What’re you doin’ here so early?” Despite her cranky appearance, what with her flat, scowling face and fiercely narrowed eyes, she sounded friendly enough.

“Good morning, Dotty.” Shadefur greeted respectfully. “I’m here with my friends, Briar and Bat, to look for some other forest cats. A mother and son, the mother is gray and white, the son just white, both super fluffy-“

“And don’t know a trash can from a tree?” Dotty interrupted, sounding amused. Thank the ancestors, Briarmask thought, nearly sagging forward with relief. They’re here after all. At Shadefur’s eager nod, the old molly snorted.

“We’ve been callin’em Spots and Claws. Got here a few days ago now, haven’t been havin’ an easy time of it. I ran into ‘em myself a not a day past, tried to give ‘em a few pointers. Last I heard they’ve been hangin’ round the park.”

“Thank you for the help, Dotty, it means a lot.” Shadefur mewed, glancing down at the old molly’s meal. “Can I catch you something for your trouble?” The calico purred, tail curling up in delight.

“Well now, I wouldn’t say no to somethin’ better than these here bones. You’re a doll.” Giving her a fond nudge, Shadefur turned to his companions.

“You two go on ahead, I’ll catch Dotty something really quick and catch up.” The mollies nodded, giving their own respectful goodbyes before heading out. Elders were elders, even if they weren’t clan cats, after all. The fact Dotty managed to survive on the streets so long was nothing short of a miracle and a testament to her own capabilities.

“We should see if she wants to come back with us,” Batflight suddenly whispered, throwing a glance back towards where they just came from. “She shouldn’t have to be out here on her own.” Briarmask hummed in agreement. Great minds think alike.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Shade hasn’t already started trying to convince her, knowing him.” She replied, fond. “But yeah, we can try and help get her to come with us.” Elders were classified as protected cats under the Code, so it wasn’t uncommon for Shadowclanners to try and convince any elderly cats they came across to come back to the clan to receive proper care. Most refused, but some, especially the lonely or ill, would take them up on the offer. Dotty looked like she didn’t have anyone else taking care of her, which meant she needed their help. If we run into her on the way back, we can see if she’ll come with us.

In no time at all they were at the park, and again, there were very few cats around. It made Briarmask worry about what could be going on, but for now, she needed to focus on finding Snowdrift’s family. She shot Batflight a glance.

“I’ll go left, you go right, meet in the middle?” A returning nod and the mollies were off. Briarmask headed immediately towards where the bushes were densest, close to where Tulip had made her den. The Thunderclanners would probably look to hide in the environment they were most comfortable with in such a foreign place, and sure enough, that familiar scent of leaf litter and oak hit her nose when she was only a few tail lengths into the bushes. Treading carefully and opening her mouth to get a better scent, she followed the smell towards a gnarl of bushes. The scent was getting very fresh when she was suddenly bowled over, pinned in place by a very fluffy ball of rage. Ah, there he is.

“Get away from us.” Cloudclaw snarled, and it was disconcerting to see such a familiar face twisted in such an unfamiliar expression. Damn, he and Snowdrift really are twins. The tom’s odd eyes were wild, and Briarmask had no interest in seeing if he’d use those wicked claws of his to back up his warning. Despite her instincts screaming at her to fight or flee, she consciously relaxed her body, trying to use her most placating tone to soothe him.

“Snowdrift sent us to find you,” she mewed, “Nightrock said you two had vanished, we’d hoped that you’d come to the Town.” Thankfully, the white tom didn’t try to claw her, but he kept her in place, eyes narrowed in suspicion. When in doubt, always name drop.

“My brother is dead,” he said harshly, but there was a hint of reluctance in his tone, “and I don’t appreciate you bringing him up, bog rat. And how the hell would you hear anything from Nightrock?” Snowdrift had worried that his family would be suspicious, seeing as they only had what they learned from Stonestar to go off. While they would be disbelieving towards him about who really attacked or killed Snowdrift, for all they knew he really was dead, and the other clans were seeking to attack Thunderclan in retaliation for Stonestar’s crimes. You’ll have to tell them something only I know, the medicine cat had advised.

“He said you had a crush on Mintfrost when you were apprentices,” Briarmask blurted out, and the tom recoiled as if she had struck him, backing away a few steps as he tried to deny it.

“No- that’s not- he promised he’d never- wait,” Cloudclaw abruptly halted, tripping over his words as he sputtered and stared. “Wait, he- you couldn’t know- Snowdrift is alive?” And now his odd eyes were glittering with tears instead of aggression, and Briarmask finally felt like it was safe to get up. Easing herself onto her stomach, she nodded.

“He’s alive, and so are Mintfrost and Turtlepaw, although Mintfrost is in rough shape. Stonestar attacked them, but they were able to get to us in Shadowclan. They’ve been sheltering in our camp since.” The white tom was blinking rapidly, trying to keep his tears at bay, and gave her a firm nod.

“Come on,” he said, tossing his head, “my mother is this way. She needs to hear this.” Briarmask followed after him until they reached the center of the cluster of bushes. A ball of gray and white fluff was tucked under a bush, hard to see amongst the barren branches and patchy snow.

“Mom, help is here,” Cloudclaw called as they drew close, and Whitefoot slowly lifted her head, eyes unfocused. She seemed torn between suspicion and relief when she caught sight of Briarmask next to her son.

“What’s going on,” the queen rasped, and Briarmask almost flinched as the smell of infection hit her nose. Whitefoot shakily pushed herself into a crouch, and the pointed molly caught sight of a nasty wound on her leg. Oh stars, is that a rat bite?

“She’s from Shadowclan. Snowdrift is safe, and so are Mintfrost and Turtlepaw,” Cloudclaw mewed quickly, moving to press against her side- tears started to drip down her face at the knowledge her son and clanmates were safe. “She’s here to take us to them.” The Thunderclanner gave her a glance as he spoke and she nodded, dipping her head to Whitefoot.

“My name is Briarmask, I’m a friend of Snowdrift. Two of my clanmates are around, we came to find you two when we heard you had fled the forest. Now, let’s get going before it gets light, and the two legs come out- are you okay to walk?” She was concerned about the queen’s leg. Rat bites were nasty things. Between the wound and the infection, it would be difficult for her to make it back to camp.

“I have to be,” Whitefoot mewed simply, delicately pawing away her tears before carefully rising to her feet. “Cloud, be a dear and help your mother, hm?” Cloudclaw was all too eager to comply, and Briarmask quickly shuffled over to the queen’s other side. Together, the warriors supported her as they made their way back to where Briarmask had split off from Batflight. By now, both of her clanmates were waiting on the sidewalk, bent close together as they exchanged urgent whispers. Two dark heads swiveled towards the trio as they approached.

“Praise the ancestors,” Batflight sighed as they met them, “we were hoping you two would be here. Shadefur has more news, but let’s talk as we go, the sun will be up soon.” Being the stronger of the three Shadowclanners, Shadefur moved to help Whitefoot, and together with Cloudclaw was able to basically lift her off the ground, taking most of the pressure off her leg. As they wound their way back to their territory, Shadefur filled them in on what he had learned.

After catching a couple mice for Dotty, Shadefur had asked her about the lack of cats hanging about. To his surprise and horror, the old molly had been confused he didn’t already know. Apparently, a large number of cats had been recruited by that three-legged molly and her bone eatin’ mate, promised hunting rights in the forest if they accomplished some goal for them. Starving in the middle of winter, many cats had agreed. At least twenty, probably more, Shadefur murmured as they approached the final fence, Whitefoot gasping for breath. We need to tell the others about this as soon as we’re back. When Batflight expressed concern for the old molly he snorted. I’ve been trying to get her to come to Shadowclan for a bit. She said to come back and ask again after we handle ‘whatever nasty business is going on now.’

They went along as fast as they could, what with Whitefoot needing a few breaks. The poor queen was burning with fever and pain, teeth gritted as she gamely tried to keep pace. They thankfully made it back into the swamp before the sun broke the horizon and caught sight of the camp just as it’s rays began to peek through the sparse clouds. Batflight and Briarmask pushed into camp first, greeted by an anxious Snowdrift, stoic Mintfrost, and sleepy Turtlepaw. She gave them all a bright grin, moving quickly out of the way so the Thunderclanners could come in behind her. Cloudclaw didn’t even wait, just bolted straight towards his brother. Snowdrift scrambled forward, and the twins crashed into each other with joyful cries. Thank goodness most everyone is already awake.

“I thought you were dead!” They wailed at the same time, and Briarmask couldn’t help but laugh at their matching melodramatic tones. Cloudclaw had both forelegs wrapped around Snowdrift’s neck, crushing his brother into his chest as he babbled accusations and praises to the ancestors.

“Honestly, mom always said you were trouble- thank the stars, and here you are, in Shadow-“

“Mom!”

Whitefoot had finally made it into the camp, slowly sliding to the ground besides Shadefur, who was pressed up against the queen in concern. Snowdrift shoved his brother off, hustling to his mother’s side, a worried Mintfrost close behind him. Whitefoot was crying now, a bright smile on her face as she reached towards her son with a shaking paw.

“Oh, thank the ancestors, I knew your father wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” she purred, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Snowdrift’s shoulder. She switched her gaze to Mintfrost, eyes creasing in happiness. “And don’t worry Mint, I didn’t believe for a second that you’d hurt my boy- oh no, your tail!” The splint was finally off Mintfrost’s leg, but the wound from where her tail had been removed was still swathed in cobwebs, Fernfire and Snowdrift paranoid about any potential infection so close to the deputy’s spine. It was obvious, as she crouched next to her clanmate, that her tail was completely gone.

“We can worry about my tail later,” Mintfrost mewed drily, nudging Whitefoot as Snowdrift fussed over her wound. “What did you do to your leg?”

“I was trying to find food and got cornered by some rats.” Whitefoot shuddered, nose crinkling in disgust at the memory. “I fought them off, but one managed to get a bite in. I tried to keep it clean, but Snowy is the healer here, not me or Cloud.” Speaking of, Snowdrift was done with his assessment, now flitting around anxiously as he encouraged Whitefoot to her feet.

“Come on, mom, let’s get you to the den and patch you up. Fernfire is an expert on rat bites.” Given your average Shadowclan warrior was statistically more likely to be bitten by a rat than any other clan warrior, Shadowclan healers had the treatment of such wounds down to an exact science. Whitefoot would be well taken care of. The fluffy family trooped off to the medicine den, their bright coats sticking out in the dark and dreary camp, murmuring gratitude and blessings to the others as they left. Mintfrost expressed her own sincere thanks before heading off after them, limp noticeable but doing nothing to slow her down, a now awake Turtlepaw close on her heels. The Shadowclanners were left sitting in the clearing, staring after them as snowflakes began to drift from the slowly lightening sky.

“Well,” Shadefur mewed, “that’s that. Let’s go speak to Rosestar.”

_______________________________________________________________

“Of course he’s recruited a pack of blood thirsty rogues to do his bidding,” Rosestar whined, slumping further into his nest with a ferocious frown. “Why can’t any of these things go according to our carefully laid plans?” To no one’s surprise, their leader was less than pleased with the news of the Town cats joining forces with Stonestar. He was already in an off mood- apparently, while they were gone finding Whitefoot and Cloudclaw, two Riverclanners had shown up with news that Nightrock had fled to their territory. They too had reported that Stonestar had brought Town cats to Thunderclan, but nobody knew how many until Shadefur had spoken to Dotty- it seems the Thunderclanners themselves were having a hard time keeping track of all the new faces in their territory. Approximately two dozen cats, on top of the dozen odd warriors left in Thunderclan, meant the odds of them making it to the Thunderclan camp without major casualties just got a lot worse. “And I love our Town friends, I do, but they don’t have a sense of honor when it comes to a fight. They’ll go for the throat first and ask questions later, which will force us to do the same.” It will be a miracle if no one dies tonight. Shadefur shuffled his paws before hesitantly speaking up.

“I know we should add more warriors to our patrol to help combat the new numbers, but honestly, I’m worried that Stonestar will play dirty. He knows we’ll come for him tonight. What if he sends some rogues to our camp to strike while we’re away? We have fifteen kits right now. We’d make the perfect target.” It… was a good point, although a difficult one to consider. Would Stonestar be willing to go to such lengths? Or would he not want to waste fighters on such a task? Was Shadefur paranoid because of his children? Could they afford to take the risk? Rosestar seemed conflicted, tail swishing as he thought.

“The idea crossed my mind,” he said slowly. “I would be loath to leave the kittens sparsely protected. At the same time, if there is no attack, it means less warriors to defend their clanmates in the fight.” A world-weary sigh. “Let me think. Go get something to eat and take a rest. Batflight, Briarmask, you two are some of our fastest. I want you to go to Windclan here in a little bit and let them know the new information. Tell Houndtooth and Snakepelt I want them ready to head to Riverclan. Those little wet paws said they’d have someone wait at the bridge for our response. I’ll have figured out what I want to do by the time everyone is ready. And send Marshfoot in here when you see her. She should be back from hunting soon.” The deputy had been working tirelessly to get her clanmates prepared for the fight, leading hunting patrol after patrol to make sure they were well-fed and energized. The spotted molly had left around the same time they did that morning, so hopefully she would be back soon. Marshfoot needs her rest too before tonight. As the warriors bid their goodbyes and left the den, Batflight took charge.

“Alright Shade, go spend time with your babies. I’ll let Dad and Snakepelt know about playing messengers and wait for Marshfoot. Briar, why don’t you go make sure Crow isn’t getting into anything?” Easy outs, which Briarmask and Shadefur appreciated. Nudging her best friend goodbye, Briarmask trotted off towards the warriors’ den, where Crowcall had taken to lurking. The tom was mostly healed, the tenuous infection that had taken a brief hold of his wound and prolonged his stay in the medicine den gone for good. Now, he was insisting on being part of the war party, not just a witness to be delivered, although Rosestar was uncertain on if he should allow him to fight or keep him with Fernfire. With the new information about the rogues, he might get his wish after all, she thought grimly to herself. She couldn’t say she was thrilled at the idea of him going into battle so soon after recovering from such a bad wound, but this was their way of life, and like he said- they had sworn their oaths, and they would honor them.

Sure enough, Crowcall was sitting outside the den, tail swishing idly as he stared into the distance, lost in thought. Briarmask sidled up to him, putting on a face of mock concern as she drew closer.

“Everything alright in there? I can practically hear your brain rattling around-“

“Ha ha, very funny. You shouldn’t make fun of things others find difficult you know,” he joked, snapping out of whatever had distracted him. Crowcall pressed his forehead against hers, and she couldn’t help the way her tail curled up in delight. It was a few weeks of this now, this thing between them, but it still made her heart skip a beat. Pulling back, she took on a more serious look, giving him a quick rundown of what had happened. He seemed pensive as she finished, looking over at the nursery in concern.

“I agree with Shade,” he murmured lowly. “At the very least, Stonestar knows Rosestar has kittens of his own in the nursery right now. We know he’s a fox heart, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try and divide our forces by sending a group to our camp- he probably wants us bringing as few warriors as possible. Even just the threat is enough to have us torn.” Briarmask hummed in response, leaning into his shoulder.

“With the amount of cats we’re taking as witnesses and guards, that leaves the three other warriors, the two young apprentices, the three queens, and the two elders in camp. I know that if pressed, Brooksong and Lizardspots could fight, but I’m nervous to count on that.” Houndtooth, Blackear, and Snakepelt would be staying in camp, as they weren’t part of the group that saw Stonestar and Featherfall. The two younger apprentices, Loudpaw and Beetlepaw, would also be staying, as they were only just nine moons and Rosestar didn’t want them in battle. Webpaw and Spiderpaw, however, were only a moon shy of their assessments, and would be coming with the war party. Of the three queens, Brooksong was really the only one who could fight, and the two elders… well, Lizardspots would do it whether he should or not, but Tallstone was half blind and deaf these days. So, if Stonestar sent a few rogues with no qualms about killing… Could he afford to send them? Could they afford to take the chance?

“It’ll be up to Rosestar and Marshfoot, I suppose,” Crowcall mused, watching as said deputy ducked into the leader’s den, having just been led back into camp by Batflight. “Well, no use worrying about it. Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Briarmask spent the next little bit eating quietly with Crowcall, trying not to let the somber air of the camp affect her. It was jarring to see her clanmates, usually joking or lounging, seem so tense and solemn. Families and friends were gathered all around the camp. Frogthroat, Lizardspots, and Shadefur were sitting outside the nursery with the queens, watching the kittens play and speaking quietly to each other. Batflight and Houndtooth were sharing tongues on one of the logs the lined the camp, for once not huffing or bickering. Spiderpaw and Webpaw were eating with their grandparents, nodding seriously to the instructions and advice the older cats imparted, last minute tips they hoped would keep their grandsons safe should worse come to worst. Loudpaw and Beetlepaw were curled up near their den with Turtlepaw, whom they seemed to have adopted as their own. Their mother, Snakepelt, groomed their ears- she had been relieved when Rosestar asked her to stay behind, wanting to keep an eye on her children. Her mate, Dampwhisker, had died not long after they were born. Snakepelt was rarely away from her children after that, and Loudpaw and Beetlepaw didn’t deserve to lose their mother at such a young age. Hopefully, they would be safe in camp, if Stonestar didn’t try his luck…

It wasn’t a pleasant scene, and Briarmask was all too eager to get out of the oppressive atmosphere, not wanting to think about who she had lost, who else she might lose. It was a relief when Rosestar and Marshfoot emerged, looking tired. Briarmask didn’t envy them- she didn’t know if she could handle having the weight of lives on her shoulders like they did. She and Crowcall dipped their heads as the two approached, eager to hear their decision.

“I have decided to throw myself on the mercy of the other leaders,” Rosestar said drily. It was a testament to how much he valued the safety of the kits, queens, and elders, seeing as he would typically rather eat crowfood than ask another clan for help. He much more enjoyed offering favors and having the other leaders depend on him instead. “It’s simply too much of a risk to bring another warrior or two. I’m sure Shalestar in particular will have no problem bringing more cats. She’s been baying for blood this whole time. Looks like she’ll have the fight she’s been itching for.” Marshfoot nodded.

“There are simply too many kits to risk even one cat getting past our defenses. If you could collect Batflight and head out now, you should be back in enough time to rest before tonight. Try not to tire yourselves out too much, but, well- be quick.” Briarmask felt like she could sprint there and back, the realization that this was really happening, that by this time tomorrow the fates of many would be decided, sending energy sparking through her limbs. Bidding a quick goodbye, she hustled over to where Batflight and Houndtooth were, summoning Batflight with a jerk of her head. Houndtooth watched reluctantly as his daughter trotted over to her friend, fixing both mollies with a firm look.

“Be careful, and don’t dally. It’s not good to be out alone right now. There’s smoke in the air, it feels.” Briarmask was tempted to tease, but the atmosphere in the camp was sucking all the humor out of her. Smoke in the air indeed. Instead, she and Batty reassured him that they would watch out of for each other and graced him with affectionate licks before heading out, his familiar grumbles trailing after them.

________________________________________________________________

Briarmask didn’t exactly mind Windclan territory, but it was a bit… exposed for her tastes. And gorse and heather weren’t exactly fun to forge your way through, which meant they had to follow rabbit trail and other little paths through the dense growth in order to get around. Still, it was better than the barren expanses of short, spiky grass. There was truly no way to hide there, not with their dark coats. Makes sense that most Windclan cats are pale colors. Cream, light brown, and pale gray seemed to be the predominant coats present in Windclan, helping the lean warriors sneak up on their flighty prey. And, it seems, other cats.

As if her thoughts had summoned them, three Windclanners suddenly appeared over the crest in front of her and Batflight. They quickly made their way down to the Shadowclanners, who kept their faces neutral and their posture relaxed. While the three clans were in an alliance at the moment and they wouldn’t be chased out, it was best to be as friendly as possible. No warrior liked outsiders in their territory, after all.

“Well met. I’m guessing you have business with Shalestar?” The patrol leader, a brown tabby tom, greeted without preamble. At their nods, he cast a glance at one of his companions. “Kiteclaw, run ahead and let Shalestar know we’re coming.” The molly took off without a word, and the tom beckoned Briarmask and Batflight to follow him. He and the other warrior took off at what barely qualified as a lope for them, but was more of a run for the two mollies. By the time they arrived at the Windclan camp, Briarmask was struggling to hide how much the trip had affected her. Batflight didn’t seem as bothered, however, which caused Briarmask to shoot her a dirty look. Batty caught it, giving her friend a wicked grin.

“You need to eat more,” the black molly teased as they were escorted into the camp entrance. “You’ll never be a healthy, strong warrior with your dining habits.” Another glare.

“It’s Leafbare, if you didn’t notice,” Briarmask snipped under her breath, not wanting the Windclanner’s to overhear. Although, with their bat ears, it probably couldn’t be helped. Thankfully, Shalestar was waiting for them in the camp clearing, accompanied by Palesky, Gorsestorm, and Teaselpaw. Briarmask offered them all a respectful nod.

“Greetings, Shalestar. We come with more information. Have you been visited by Riverclan yet today?” The gray leader’s ear twitched.

“Yes, a few hours ago. They said Stonestar has recruited rogues to help him fight. Have you learned something else?”

“Yes- a trip to the Town this morning revealed that approximately two dozen Town cats have been promised hunting rights in the territories if they aid Stonestar.” Shalestar’s eyes grew wide, mind obviously spinning as she digested the news. Teaselpaw looked almost frightened, shooting an uncertain look at Gorsestorm besides her. Briarmask cleared her throat before continuing. “It would seem that puts the opposition at approximately three dozen. The added complication is that the Town cats will not hesitate to use deadly force in a fight. We will need to proceed with extreme caution.” Shalestar lashed her tail.

“Of course, there would be last minute complications. Did Rosestar have any propositions?” A moment.

“Well… Rosestar is of the opinion that we need to add more warriors to our party in order to combat the threat. Unfortunately, doing so would put Shadowclan in a potentially hazardous position. We are the smallest clan right now, and with the number of fighters and witnesses we promised will only leave three warriors behind to guard our camp. Rosestar worries for the safety of the kits and elders should Stonestar decide to send fighters to our camp, seeing as we share a border and he knows Rosestar, at least, has kittens at the moment, not even accounting for the other- well. Dozen.” Teaselpaw and Palesky looked horrified at the thought of kits being harmed, but Shalestar and Gorsestorm wore matching grim expressions.

“Just having that be a possibility is enough for Stonestar to benefit from- he knows you can’t take the risk.” Gorsestorm said. “I also wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Rosestar humbly asks that Windclan and Riverclan help us in this regard, given our differing situations. We have nine warriors, five of whom are critical witnesses, and the two apprentices alongside Fernfire, Snowdrift, Mintfrost, and Teaselpaw.” Worsening their situation was the fact that most of their available fighters were also witnesses for the Trial. Worse came to worst, they would only need to provide two, but that still left them with only nine fighters and six cats to protect on the way to camp. “He acknowledges the plan was for Windclan to provide eleven fighters as well, but asks that you consider bringing more, for the safety of all involved.”

Shalestar didn’t need much convincing.

“I’ll bring thirteen warriors, in addition to myself and Palesky. Windclan is blessed to have many full warriors at this time. Seeing as there’s barely any risk to our camp, we can afford to leave only one guard. Sound agreeable?” Briarmask could have yowled her relief to the stars, but managed to keep it to a grateful nod, Batflight offering her own sincere thanks. So, fifteen from Windclan, technically eleven from Shadowclan, if Riverclan agreed to bring more… that would put the numbers about even, which, while not great, was a vast improvement. Before, it seemed they would have outnumbered Thunderclan two to one, an excellent way to ensure little bloodshed. Now they could only hope that the three clans together would be enough to survive the night.

Ancestors protect us.

“Excellent,” Shalestar declared, rising to her feet. “You may rest here for a moment if you wish, but I understand if you’d like to return home. My thanks for the new information, and tell Rosestar not to worry about favors.” With that, she turned and stalked off towards her den, a somber Gorsestorm and worried Palesky right on her heels.

“Shalestar, what about Little…” The deputy’s words trailed off as they got further away, leaving Briarmask and Batflight with a worried Teaselpaw. The apprentice jerked her head towards one of the many tunnels in the camp.

“Come on,” she mewed. “I’ll give you some travelling herbs for your trip back.” Obediently the mollies trotted after her, Briarmask curious to see what a Windclan den looked like. How odd, for cats to live like rabbits. Despite her initial assumption that the under ground den would be claustrophobic, it was actually quite cozy. Just enough light came in from the tunnel to see what it looked like and kept it from feeling too oppressive. Teaselpaw had them sit near the entrance as she fussed with some leaves that were stored in nooks carved into the walls. So basically like Fernfire’s den, just with less bugs. “Here,” the apprentice mewed, slightly muffled by the leaves in her mouth, “I’m not giving you a lot so you can still rest, but this should help make the return trip easier.” While the taste of travelling herbs were never pleasant, Briarmask and Batflight gratefully choked them down. They could use all the help they could get.

“Forgive me if this is prying,” Batflight mewed, staying crouched so she could make direct eye contact with the short apprentice, “but I know Windclan has kits as well. The deputy’s, no less. Is Shalestar not concerned for their safety?” Oh, yeah, that was a good point. Teaselpaw glanced down before speaking hesitantly.

“Well, Shalestar wasn’t planning on keeping them in the camp,” she mewed. “We were gonna move Littlestream, the kits, the elders, and the most important herbs to a… safer location. So even if someone comes to our camp, they won’t find anything important. Not that I expect any rogues or Thunderclanner’s to really know how to find us.” And that was true- Shadowclan was more at risk because there had been enough Town cats at their camp before, meaning that an ill intentioned rogue could probably figure out how to get there based on their own knowledge or simply asking around. But what Town cat had ever been to the moor?

“That’s good then,” Briarmask said, stretching out with a yawn. “At least that’s one less thing to worry about. Thanks for the herbs, Teasel, but we should probably get going. See you tonight, alright?” The poor cream molly looked even more anxious at that but nodded gamely. Briarmask gave her an affectionate bump before leading Batflight out of the den, the two mollies stopping to bid their goodbyes to the patrol leader before heading out. Once back out onto the short turf, Batflight turned to her with a wicked grin.

“Wanna race home?”

“Oh, don’t even start.”

________________________________________________________________

They made it home about mid-morning, happy to have made good time. The mood of the camp seemed to have brightened with the rising sun. Now, cats were bantering and bragging, beginning to get themselves steeled for tonight. Even Mintfrost was lounging in front of the nursery, regaling the kits with a tale of the mighty founder of her clan, Thunderstar himself, and how he once drove a bear, some legendary forest creature, out of his territory. It was funny, to see the normally blank faced molly so animated, the kittens piled before her and listening with rapt attention. It seemed the usual babysitters welcomed the break. Frogthroat and Brooksong were gone, presumably in the nursery, and Tulip was speaking quietly with Shadefur near the warrior’s den. Rosestar was lounging with Pinenose atop the log that their den was under, looking out over the clan with a proud gaze. He perked up when he saw the two mollies enter camp, waving them over with his bright tail.

“Not even going to sit up and greet us, uncle?” Briarmask mewed, mock offended as they came to a stop in front of the log. Rosestar flicked his ear dismissively.

“I’m conserving all my energy for tonight- don’t question the wisdom of your leader or I’ll put you on tick duty. Now, what did Shalestar say?” He was pleased with the news they had brought, and was even more pleased when Houndtooth and Snakepelt arrived while they were still talking, bearing good news of their own.

“Oakstar has pledged every Riverclanner of fighting age,” Snakepelt said, relief coloring her tone. “He said he would ask Windclan to take his three elders, since they are spry enough to make a trek to the moor. That way he doesn’t have to leave a guard at camp. If for whatever reason Shalestar refuses, the elders said they would hide elsewhere on the territory, but I don’t see Windclan having a problem with it.” Houndtooth let out one of his ferocious huffs.

“Honestly, she better not,” he griped. “One more warrior can make the difference between life and death, especially with such an even match.” Batflight opened her mouth, ready to chastise him for his negativity, but Rosestar merely grinned.

“Ah, but we have what those rogues do not, and that will be what saves us in the end.” He was met with a variety of looks, ranging from amused to deadpan.

“Honor?”

“The Code?”

“Vengeance?”

“The power of friendship?”

“No,” he retorted, torn between amusement and exasperation. “Literally years of dedicated fighting skill. Honestly, you expect us to be bested by a pack of rogues with no coordination or professional instruction? Disgraceful.” Briarmask laughed at that, feeling a little better about the situation. Yes, tonight would be dangerous, and yeah, death was a possibility. But that was the life of a warrior. What mattered was that tonight, they would honor their Code and their ancestors, and justice would be delivered. The spirits of those murdered would be released, and peace would finally return to the territories.

Hopefully.

The clan seemed to all be in camp together now, and after Mintfrost finished her story, old Tallstone came out and told them all stories of Shadowclan’s founding, the way Shadowstar found their clan, how different heroes throughout history had fought successfully against impossible odds, even speaking of the battle that lead to Rosestar becoming leader of Shadowclan.

“Long ago, before many of you here were born-“

“Tallstone, I am not that old-“

“- there was a fierce war waged between Shadowclan and a group of rogues who desired parts of our territory for themselves. Our leader then, Ivystar, had plotted our attack well. She had sent out trackers who found where the rogues had made camp and decided to strike on the night of the new moon, when our skills would be most deadly. However, there was one thing that nobody had accounted for. These rogues had in their employ a dog.” Tallstone paused dramatically, allowing for the appropriate gasps and murmurs of disbelief to fade before continuing. “They had struck a deal with the beast to fight for them, and when Shadowclan launched their attack, the dog was waiting. It howled like a creature from the darkest pits between the stars, rushing to attack young Damppaw, when Ivystar leapt to intercept the assault. In doing so, she saved her apprentice, but lost her own life. It was her final one, and as her warriors watched her fall, many began to despair.” Loudpaw and Beetlepaw perked up at the brief mention of their father, Snakepelt’s eyes glinting with an affectionate grief. “But then, the deputy, Roseheart, threw himself over the leader’s body and challenged the dog before all the gathered cats. The fighting paused, as everyone waited to see how he would defeat such a deadly opponent.” Rosestar was now looking both embarrassed and uncomfortable, shuffling next to Pinenose as cats turned to shoot him awed and disbelieving looks. Briarmask had briefly heard the story before, of course, but never in such… dramatic detail, and she couldn’t help but feel a different kind of respect for her goofy uncle. “Miraculously, when the dog lunged, Roseheart sprung straight into the air, landing on its face and slashing at its eyes with wicked blows. The dog, blinded, howled miserably, taking off into the darkness towards the Town. The rogues, terrified at such a show of strength, immediately followed after it. Victory secured, Roseheart led his clanmates back home, carrying Ivystar’s body himself, where they honored both her sacrifice and the success of our new leader.” Story finished, cats began to jokingly cry out Rosestar’s name, his kittens leaping up to tug at his ears in their excitement.

“Alright you lot,” the pointed tom called, wincing as Sparkkit gave a particularly harsh tug. “I appreciate an ego boost as much as everyone, but don’t let Tallstone convince you such an act is something extraordinary. I know, in similar circumstances, any one of you could rise to the challenge for the protection of this clan.” Finally getting his son to settle, Rosestar drew himself up and cleared his throat. “It is now just after sunhigh. I expect you all to eat and rest now, as this evening, when the sun sets, we make for Fourtrees. Enjoy your time together, and I pray we may all have these happy days together in the future.” Sobering, the gathered cats moved to follow orders. Instead of splitting off as they had earlier, they now clustered together as one clan, passing out food and weaving around each other in a sad parallel to Lizardspot’s retirement ceremony. Some of them might fall tonight. This might be the last chance to share a meal and time together. As Briarmask sat with her friends- leaning into Crowcall, Batty brushing her other side, Shadefur and Brooksong in a bragging contest about their respective kits, Tulip hesitantly offering her own rebuttal, the passel of kittens running throughout the crowd and the three little ones sleeping against their mother’s side- watched her family from across the clearing- Rosestar playing with his kittens, Pinenose lounging nearby, Houndtooth lecturing the apprentices- listened to her clanmates around her- Blackear reminiscing with Bluebird about their son and daughter, Snakepelt laughing as Loudpaw and Beetlepaw offered their mentors some cheek, Browntail and Clayfang mock outraged in return, Marshnose pressuring Frogthroat to name his son after her as Tallstone competed against her bid, Lizardspots rolling his eyes- gaze catching the Thunderclanners spread out amongst her clanmates- Fernfire fussing as he went to each cat and checked on their health- and her chest tightened at the thought of any one of them dying.

Ancestors please, she pleaded desperately. Watch over us tonight.

________________________________________________________________

Evening came much too swiftly.

Briarmask stood with the rest of the witnesses and war party, watching as Rosestar spoke quietly to Lizardspots and Fernfire. The three queens, two elders, the three guards, and Whitefoot stood in the clearing, a mixture of determined and anxious. The kittens had been bundled away, and everyone had already bid their goodbyes- once Rosestar finished with his final instructions, they would be on their way to Fourtrees. The air was practically crackling with a static tension as Rosestar turned to face his warriors, Fernfire serious besides him.

“Brothers and sisters of the marsh and pines,” he addressed them formally, “our friends of oak and overgrowth, we face a battle tonight, the likes of which these territories have not seen in generations, and ancestors willing, will never see again. While the stakes are high, and the odds are close, I am confident in not only our ability to succeed in our goal, but to triumph.” Yowls and caterwauls rung out as the warriors responded, and Rosestar gave them a moment before he continued. “We go now to fight, not just to protect Shadowclan, but to protect all clans, to render justice and bring peace to our lands once more. And, should the worst happen, and any of us fall tonight, I want you all to know it has been an honor to not only be your leader, but a clanmate to all of you. I ask now for the ancestors blessing upon us, as we go to fight in their name.” Stone faced, Fernfire stepped forward.

“I ask now for Starclan’s blessing upon each and every one of you. May your strikes be true, your feet be swift, and your courage never fail. Should you fall tonight, may the ancestors welcome you with the honor you deserve. By their blessing, may we all live to see the dawn tomorrow.” With that, he moved through the crowd, each cat bending so that he might press his nose to their forehead, murmuring blessings as he went. Snowdrift stepped forward to bless his own clanmates. By the time they finished, the camp was awash in a golden glow. Rosestar raised his tail, fur burning like fire in the evening light, and called his warriors to him.

“Shadowclan! We go now, for justice and glory!” And with that he raced out of camp, his warriors streaming behind him like a dark river, until only those left behind sat in the camp clearing, each one fervently praying for the same thing.

Please, let them come home safe.

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#warrior cats fanfic #warrior cats #warriors ocs #warrior cats ocs #my writing #wc overgrowth

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lafflanes · 1 year

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i decided to write down all the names on the name generator in Toontown Rewritten for convenience sake (since the TTR wiki doesnt seem to have it, and TTR has more names in the name generator than TTO did), and i thought itd be useful for other people as well!!

the list is under the cut, theres a looooot of names so i just grouped them by letter

please let me know if i left out or misspelled anything!

Title: Aunt Baron, Big Cap'n, Captain, Chef, Chief, Coach, Colonel, Cool, Count, Crazy Daring, Deputy, Dippy, Doctor, Dr., Duke Fancy, Fat Good ol', Grand ol', Granny, Grumpy Judge King Lady, Little, Loopy, Loud, Lucky Madame, Master, Miss, Mister, Mr., Mrs. Noisy Prince, Princess, Prof. Queen Sergeant, Sheriff, Silly, Sir, Skinny, Super Ugly Weird

First: Abigail, Albert, Alice, Alvin, Angel, April, Arnold, Astrid, Astro, Aurora B.D., Banjo, Barbara, Barney, Bart, Batty, Beany, Beatrix, Bebop, Becky, Bella, Bentley, Beppo, Bert, Billy, Bingo, Binky, Biscuit, Bizzy, Blinky, Bob, Bonbon, Bongo, Bonkers, Bonnie, Bonzo, Boo Boo, Boots, Bouncey, Bridget, Bruce, Bubbles, Bud, Buford, Bumpy, Bunky, Buster, Butch, Buzz C.J., C.W., Candy, Carol, Casper, Cecil, Chester, Chewy, Chip, Chipper, Chirpy, Chunky, Claire, Clancy, Clara, Clarence, Cliff, Clover, Clyde, Coconut, Comet, Cookie, Corky, Corny, Cranky, Crazy, Cricket, Crumbly, Cuckoo, Cuddles, Curly, Curt Daffodil, Daffy, Daphne, Darla, Dave, Davey, David, Dee Dee, Dinky, Dizzy, Domino, Dot, Dottie, Drippy, Droopy, Duchess, Dudley, Duke, Dusty, Dynamite Elmer, Ernie Fancy, Fangs, Felix, Finn, Fireball, Flapjack, Flappy, Fleabag, Flint, Flip, Flora, Fluffy, Freckles, Fritz, Frizzy, Funky, Furball Gale, Garfield, Gary, Giggles, Ginger, Graham, Grouchy, Gulliver, Gus, Gwen Hans, Harry, Harvey, Hazel, Hector, Holly, Hoppy, Huddles, Huey J.C., J.J., Jack, Jackie, Jacques, Jade, Jake, Jay, Jazzy, Jellyroll, Jenny, Jester, Jimmy, Johnny, Jonah, Joyce Kiki, Kippy, Kit, Knuckles Ladybug, Lancelot, Leo, Leonardo, Leroy, Lily, Lionel, Lloyd, Lollipop, Loony, Loopy, Louie, Lucky, Lucy, Lulu Mabel, Mac, Maggie, Marigold, Mary, Max, Maxie, Maxwell, Melody, Midge, Midnight, Mildew, Miles, Milton, Mitzi, Mo Mo, Moe, Molly, Monty, Murky Nathan, Ned, Nelly, Nutmeg, Nutty Octavia, Olaf, Olive, Olivia, Orville, Oscar, Oswald, Ozzie P.J., Pancake, Patsy, Patty, Peaches, Peanut, Pearl, Pebbles, Penelope, Penny, Pepper, Peppy, Petunia, Phil, Pickles, Pierre, Pinky, Pippy, Poe, Popcorn, Poppy, Presto, Punchy Rainbow, Raven, Reggie, Rhubarb, Ricky, Robin, Rocco, Rodney, Roger, Rollie, Romeo, Rory, Roscoe, Rose, Rosey, Rosie, Rover, Roxy, Ruby, Rusty Sadie, Sally, Salty, Sammie, Sandy, Sassy, Scooter, Skids, Skip, Skipper, Skippy, Slippy, Slumpy, Smirky, Smudge, Snappy, Sneezy, Sniffy, Snuffy, Soupy, Spiffy, Spike, Spotty, Spunky, Squeaky, Star, Stinky, Stripey, Stubby, Sunny, Sunshine, Susan, Sylvia Taffy, Tammy, Teddy, Tegan, Tex, Tom, Tricky, Trixie, Truffles, Tubby, Tutu, Twister Ursula Valentine, Velma, Veronica, Vicky, Violet, von Wacko, Wacky, Waldo, Wally, Wendy, Wesley, Whiskers, Whitney, Wilbur, William, Willow, Winnie Yappy, Yippie Z.Z., Zach, Zachary, Zany, Ziggy, Zilly, Zippety, Zippy, Zoinks, Zowie

Last (first part): Bagel, Banana, Barnacle, Bean, Beanie, Biggen, Bizzen, Blubber, Boingen, Bumber, Bumble, Bumpen Cheezy, Crinkle, Crumble, Crunchen, Crunchy, Cuddle Dandy, Dizzen, Dizzy, Doggen, Dyno Electro Feather, Fiddle, Fizzle, Flippen, Flipper, Flower, Fluffen, Frazzle, Frinkel, Fumble, Funny, Fuzzy Giggle, Glitter, Google, Grumble, Gumdrop Honey, Huckle, Hula Jabber, Jeeper, Jelly, Jiffy, Jiggle, Jingle, Jinx, Jumble Kooky Laffen, Lemon, Loopen Mac, Mc, Mega, Mizzen Nickel Octo Paddle, Pale, Pedal, Pepper, Petal, Pickle, Pillow, Pinker, Poodle, Poppen, Precious, Pumpkin, Purple Razzle, Rhino, Riddle, Robo, Rocken, Ruffle Slimey, Smarty, Snaggle, Sniffle, Snorkel, Sour, Spackle, Sparkle, Squiggle, Super, Swinkle Thunder, Tinker, Toppen, Tricky, Tweedle, Twiddle, Twinkle Wacky, Weasel, Whisker, Whistle, Wild, Witty, Wonder, Wrinkle Ziller, Zippen, Zooble

Last (second part): batch, bee, beep, berry, blabber, bocker, boing, boom, bop, bounce, bouncer, brains, bubble, bumble, bump, bumper, burger, butter chomp, corn, crash, crumbs, crump, crunch dazzle, doodle, dorf face, fidget, fink, fish, flap, flapper, flinger, flip, flipper, fluff, fuddy, fussen gabber, gadget, gloop, glop, glow, goober, goose, grin, grooven, grump hoffer, hopper jinks klunk, knees loop, loose marble, mash, masher, melon, mew, monkey, mooch, muddle, muffin, mush nerd, noodle, nose, nugget paws, phew, phooey, pocket, poof, pop, pounce, pow, pretzel quack roni scooter, screech, smirk, snooker, snoop, snout, socks, son, song, sparkles, speed, spinner, splat, sprinkles, sprocket, squeak, sticks, stink, swirl tail, teeth, thud, toes, ton, toon, tooth, twist whatsit, whip, whirl, wicket, wig, wiggle, wire, woof zaner, zap, zapper, zilla, zoom, zoop

#doing this made my brain turn to soup #also i find it so amusing that cookie is a name in the generator #anyone who follows my main can probably guess why lmao #strato says #toontown #toontown rewritten #save

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lesbian-ashe · 2 years

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a compilation of TI doodles (mostly Ashe lol) over a few months that I've had sitting in my files! all but one of these are pretty old lol lots of feminine Ashes in here, I don't really think she'd like dressing like that but I think she might have some fun trying on different outfits for Firi or something, (who loves how she looks normally but this is a new and different cute and it's fun!) maybe they're her outfits?

#ashe TI #aesling #firi #firi TI #fishe #hector #prince aiden #ashen knight #ashen prince #dont TI #batty TI #dotty #thrilling intent #diana's rad art #markus velafi

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imjustthemechanic · 3 years

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The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage

We all knew Peggy was going to go look for Steve one way or the other.

Peggy’s call to Daniel was very brief. “It’s me,” she said to him. “I’m coming home.”

“You are?” He was surprised. “What about Dottie?”

“Thompson seems to believe he has everything well in hand. He certainly no longer needs me around to be somebody who ‘thinks like these Russian girls’.” She held the receiver away from her mouth as she heaved a frustrated sigh, not wanting to subject Daniel’s ears to the roar. “This is going to blow up in his face and I want to be as far away as possible when it happens, so that nobody can claim it was my fault. You don’t happen to have anything that needs investigating in Australia, do you?”

“No,” said Daniel. “The platypus is very odd, but scientists assure me it evolved on this planet.”

It wasn’t much of a joke, but jokes were not Daniel’s forte, and Peggy chuckled appreciatively regardless. “I have such a story to tell you, darling,” she said.

“Maybe you can tell it over dinner,” he suggested. “It’s been a while since we did anything outside of work. We’ve both been busy with the Underwood case, and now that it’s out of our hands maybe we can relax a bit.”

Peggy’s first reaction would have been to say that she was tired and annoyed and not looking her best, and to request that they put it off until later… but Daniel was right, it had been a long time. Peggy was not very good at ‘dating’. She was simply not the sort of person who could turn herself off for a romantic evening when there were other things weighing on her mind. She and Steve had never dated – they had worked together, enjoying each other’s company in that context until they came to an agreement that they wanted to continue doing so for the rest of their lives. It had been the same with Daniel. The ordinary sort of courting rituals were a bit of an afterthought.

“Dinner sounds lovely,” she said. “But nowhere fancy, please. I’m still not looking my best and I don’t want to have to dress up.”

“Just good ordinary food, I promise,” Daniel told her. “Tomorrow night?”

“It’s a date.”

Before she headed for the airport, Peggy did try to drop in at the Automat to let Angie know she had to leave again, but unfortunately Angie was not working. One of her co-workers, an older lady called Pearl, promised to pass on the message.

By the time she finally got off the last plane in Los Angeles, it was very late, and all Peggy wanted to do was take a long, hot bath and collapse into bed. She decided to forgo the former in order to give her face one more day, but unlike the night she’d first been sprayed, she managed to put off the latter until she’d at least changed into her nightclothes.

In the morning she did feel very much better, and since it was three hours earlier on the west coast than the east, she even managed to wake up at a reasonable hour. She took her bath, which stung only a little, and by the time of her dinner date with Daniel, Peggy was well on the way to feeling like herself again. As he’d promised, they didn’t go anywhere formal, just a little diner that served hamburgers and chips with milkshakes.

“You said you had a story to tell me,” Daniel said.

“Mmm,” Peggy agreed, her mouth full of strawberry milkshake. “Do I ever! I assume Thompson gave you at last some details of what happened at Sing Sing.”

“Only the bare bones.”

“Right.” She dipped a chip in mayonnaise. “Well, I and two men sat guard outside Fenhoff’s cell half the night, only to hear a fuss at the room next door. They determined the next day that she’d made herself a suppressor out of lipstick tubes…”

“That sounds like something you’d do,” Daniel observed with a smile.

“I am a bit hacked off she thought of it first,” Peggy agreed. She went on to tell him how Lake had been taken into custody more or less by accident, and the embarrassing interview that had followed. Then she told him something else.

“I went back in the middle of the night,” she said. “You see… when Lake came to see me here, pretending to be Agent Russel, she left a letter in my purse. I got fingerprints off it to compare to the ones we found in her room at the Botticelli Gardens so I know it was her. It had six numbers and a drawing.” Peggy grabbed a napkin and wrote them out, with the doodle of the shield below them, and pushed it across the table for Daniel to see.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” he asked.

“It can hardly mean anything else, can it? But it does – I spoke to her about it.” Peggy took the napkin back and stuffed it in her purse, intending to destroy it later as she had the original letter. “She said she’d been there, and she described the crash and the wreckage, and how we would find him if we looked. I know it’s a trick of some sort,” she added. “I asked her why she was telling me this and she insisted it was out of the goodness of her heart, which obviously isn’t suspicious at all… but she wouldn’t make it sound suspicious unless she wanted it to, and so…” She shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest idea what to make of it all.”

Daniel nodded slowly. “And now it’s going to haunt you,” he said.

“It already is.”

“Peg.” He reached for her hand. “I know you’re still in love with him…”

She shook her head and pulled away. “Don’t start, Daniel. I’ve told you before, it’s not a competition. Steve will always have a place in my heart but he’s dead, and I love you. I’m not ‘settling’ for you, I’m not…”

“Peg,” he repeated, holding up a hand. “I’m not trying to compete with him. I’m just saying…”

“Sometimes I wonder if I even do remember him,” Peggy said, “or whether I’ve just overlaid him with some childish fantasy. A man who isn’t there can be anything I want him to be.”

“I’m not trying to compete with him, I know I can’t do that,” Daniel said, “but I also can’t ask you to forget him, and I know you won’t feel like you’ve done right by him if you don’t make every attempt you can to bring him home.”

Peggy hung her head. She knew that was where he’d been going, and she’d been hoping that if she talked about other things long enough, he’d give it up. She should have known better. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. “Every so often I tell myself I have forgotten, I tell myself I’m over it, and then something happens like this, or like that bloody vial, and I find myself thinking…” She had not worn makeup, and now she was glad of that as she reached up to scrub treacherous tears out of the corners of her eyes. “Was there something I could have said or done to change his mind? It’s not that I didn’t try, but he didn’t need to die like that! Life could have gone on. Even if it wasn’t life with me, he gave so much, and he deserved so much more…”

Daniel wordlessly handed her a handkerchief. She blew her nose.

“So it’s… it’s not so much that I’m still in love with him,” she managed… though if she’d said she wasn’t she would have been lying. “It’s just that I listened to a good man die, and there was nothing I could do. He said it was his choice, but it wasn’t the same as Barnes. It just wasn’t. So I stood there at the Stork Club wearing that red dress he liked and hoping for a miracle but feeling like a fool. And of course, he never came.”

Daniel reached for her hand again, and this time she let him take it. “I think a lot of us were hoping for a miracle,” he said. “He’d been missing before and he’d reappeared, so it didn’t seem possible that this really was it. I always promised myself I’d find some way to thank him properly for saving my life, and then I never got the chance.”

Peggy didn’t trust her voice not to break if she tried to speak again, so she just nodded miserably.

“If I do want to repay him,” Daniel added, “I can think of worse ways to do it than by bringing his body back.”

She looked up sharply. “Daniel…”

“It’s a trick, I know, you said it’s a trick,” he held up a hand. “And I know you think the best thing to do is leave it alone, even if that’s not what you want to do, but now that we have this information, I don’t think we can just do nothing with it. Our job is to defend the security of this country, and if there’s a possibility the Soviets know where Captain Rogers’ body is and we don’t, that security is at risk.”

Peggy shook her head. “If they know, they have him already. They wouldn’t risk letting that leak to us.”

“Then we need to determine that,” said Daniel. “And honestly? If we don’t do something…”

“… it’ll eat at both of us for the rest of our lives,” she finished for him, wiping her nose again. “I wish I hadn’t told you.”

“No, I’m glad you did.” He paused. “You didn’t tell Thompson, did you?”

“Of course not.”

“Okay, good.”

“The problem is, I’m pretty sure this is exactly what she planned,” Peggy said. “It’ll drive us batty until we go and check, and when we do there’ll be nothing there. We’ll have wasted the government’s time and money and we’ll look like fools.”

“So we’d need to secure private funding, then,” Daniel said thoughtfully.

Peggy’s eyes narrowed – there was only one thing that might mean. It was hardly an unreasonable idea. Howard had already spent months of his own time searching for Steve, and he still occasionally revisited the quest with new ideas and technology. He certainly had the money. There was just one problem. “If you think I’m going to let Stark go about this unsupervised you’re mad, Daniel Sousa – and you and I both know that I am out of vacation days.”

“You still have sick days,” he said.

“I’m not sick.”

“You were injured in the line of duty.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Peggy shook her head.

“You were attacked with a chemical weapon…”

“It was essence of paprika, Daniel, I will live!”

“… with a chemical weapon,” he went on in mock outrage, “and Thompson didn’t even offer you time off to recover! I am going to insist you take at least two weeks, to make sure there are no long-term side effects. Imagine what that stuff might have done to your lungs!”

“You’re hopeless!” Peggy informed him, but it was difficult to sound angry when she was actually so relieved. Daniel knew her far too well – it would have just gnawed on her mind until she finally had to sneak off and see for herself. She would be bitterly disappointed, she knew, when she got there and found nothing but ice and ocean, but at least she would know. “So… if we find the crash site, we take the credit, whereas if we don’t, Stark takes the blame? That’s very underhanded. Have you ever considered going into politics?” Her joking had just the narrowest edge of hysteria on it, but if that were what kept her from lapsing back into tears, so be it.

“Wow,” he said. “That may be the meanest thing you ever said to me.”

“You deserve it for taking me from tears to laughter and nearly back again in a single dinner!” Peggy waved a chip at him. “I’ll call on Stark in the morning. Heaven knows, if somehow he finds out about it through some other channel I won’t have to worry about whether I can sleep at night because he’ll never give me a moment’s peace about it as long as he lives.”

“Just tell him to keep it on the down-low,” Daniel said. “You don’t need a bunch of press following you. And we definitely don’t want Lake knowing we fell for it.”

“Don’t worry about Stark, he’s as subtle as an angry hippopotamus,” Peggy snorted. “And as for Lake… something tells me she already knows.”

That night, Peggy decided to try that bath she’d been wanting, and found it not too terrible. She felt an odd mix of dread and elation, a weight off one shoulder and a new and worse one on the other. Dottie really was still her responsibility, but she was so fed up with the affair that there was a level on which she thought if Thompson wanted the case, he could bloody well have it. As for the matter of the coordinates…

No matter how much Peggy wanted to hope they might find him at last, in her heart she knew whatever was at that spot in the arctic, it wouldn’t be the mortal remains of Captain Steve Rogers. The question was what it would be. The best possible outcome was just barren ice. The worst was… something Peggy probably wouldn’t be able to think of and couldn’t prepare for if she tried. She would just have to be ready for anything.

#fanfic #captain america #agent carter #peggy carter #steve rogers #steggy #fix it fic

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twigstarpikachutroll22-studios · 3 years

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A running list of reasons I really kind of vibe with the Spiral and would probably be an avatar of it if I had to be an avatar

- I am all about that “random XD” type of humor.

- I love super bright colors and a major hallmark of my aesthetic is just throwing as many of them together at once as I can whenever possible.

- I vibe hard with the idea of madness and just being totally off-the-walls unhinged.

- I very often describe myself as “bananas, bonkers, nuts, batty, wacko, cuckoo, loopy, loony, dotty, kooky, mad, redorkulous, a bit of a lunatic, and a complete nutfish,” and I take being called crazy as a compliment. Though, to be fair, I never quite think of that as like something actually being wrong with how my brain functions, I think of it more as having so much unique personality that some more boring people can’t handle it and think something’s wrong with me, which I do 100% see as a good thing.

- Between my eccentric personality and my neurodivergence, I’m no stranger (ha ha ha) to seeing and processing the world somewhat abnormally. And I am proud of that.

- I’m rather often inclined to ask questions like “why do all the letters of the alphabet make the sounds they do? what if they were all switched around, like Z made the sound of F which made the sound of G with made the sound of O?” and “what if llamas were sapient and part of our human society?” Basically questioning the fundamental nature of how a lot of things in this world or society work, finding the idea of having them flipped upside down and sideways to be just plain fun.

- I’ve never been super grounded in “reality,” I’ve always spent a lot of time lost in a million other worlds inside my own head, and I’ve always kind of preferred things that are supposedly “made up” to things that are “real.” Like, feeling more connected to my imaginary friend than to some of my non-imaginary friends, or caring more about what goes on in books and tv shows than about what goes on in my own life. Preferring animated shows or movies over live action ones to the point that if it’s live action it tends to be a turn-off for me. Playing pretend all day every day in elementary school and spending tons of time in online roleplay once I hit middle school and no longer had the chance to play pretend irl.

- I am disturbingly good at lying to myself, convincing myself not to believe a painful truth that hurts too much to think about, no matter how obviously it stares me in the face.

- I may or may not be a maladaptive daydreamer.

- To other people I don’t like to outright LIE, but I do enjoy that thing where you use tricky wording to make it sound like you’re saying something you’re not while giving yourself enough room to go “technically I didn’t lie, I didn’t SAY I was going to do X thing” when people think you’re going against your word. Which I mean. Is still deception. And trickery. One could argue there’s MORE deception and trickery in that than in a straight-up lie.

- For the past several months or the past year or so, I’ve been doodling swirls a lot. I don’t know why. But whenever I pick up a pencil to doodle, I just find myself drawing swirls. Lots of them, clumps and clusters of them in different sizes together against each other to look like clouds or the bodies of sheeps. It’s weirdly satisfying. I’ve collected a massive pile of post-its and papers just covered in tons and tons of clusters of swirls. Or should I call them spirals?

#tma

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skippyv20 · 4 years

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Dear Skippy, a riddle interpretation made with love and humour in celebration of MM Anon returning. So wonderful MM Anon, thank you. Skippy, Thank You for being your usual wonderful self, and keeping that door open. This interpretation contains no truth and only fun. LH Anon

doctor gone batty………

Actual Dr Jane Goodall interview

“My colleagues at the Royal Society for the Protection of Bats were delighted with the arrival of a rare male bat pup. Like all pups born at the Royal Society HQ, he was named after a member of the BRF, this one was dubbed Prince Harry.”

“Since his release into the wild, Prince Harry is finding life outside of the Royal Society challenging. He is sighted almost daily near the Royal Society HQ and doesn’t seem to have yet ‘flown the nest’ so to speak.”

“Night tracking indicates that there is a recently acquired spouse on the scene who has restricted his hunting abilities. We are concerned that he has lost weight.”

“The spouse displays desperate flirtation and attraction techniques but all indications to date show that Prince Harry does not want his offspring to grow up like that, in the wild.”

“We have to bring him back into the fold of the Royal Society for this rare breeding line to continue.”

LA for dummies ………

INTERNAL MEMO - Sunshine Sachs LA Office

Action with urgency

Contact Splash News, advise client has received parcel previously delayed in UK under non-essential freight notice. Call time on location 1100 hours.

Contact Meghans Mirror, advise client will be dressed in Dorias hand me down yoga-wear (details to come). Pitch as ‘recycling clothes’ and tell them to get A into G with sourcing designer samples, it has been months now.

Contact upmarket baby shop, advise client will return goods, including feature baby pacifier for full refund after images published.

Contact Archewell Foundation, advise client appearance fee from shop is to be publicised as donation following boom in sales

All invoices and timesheet hours are to include the job code reference ‘MM042 - Dummy for her dummy’

Doctors Within Borders ……… social insistence …………

Following the epic success of her voiceover in ‘Elephants Without Borders’, PH has been caught out again pitching his wife’s talent in the hopes of furthering her A List career. In a phone call to the BBC investigative branch he was insistent that her expertise and contacts could be used in the planned documentary ‘Doctors With no Borders’. The documentary, conceptualised by writers who hang out on certain Tumblr blogs, focuses on medical professionals who have been paid off to endorse medical fiction. In regards to the segment about surrogacy cover ups PH was to have said “Oh yeah, she’s invested. I mean interested.”

hugs not bugs………

“I was just cruising around, enjoying the musty odour of the building. I’m attracted to sparkly things so went to check out this headpiece, worst luck, it was cubic zirconia not real diamonds. Then it happened, I flew a little lower towards the face. I still have bad dreams about that close up view. I was trying to get away and she kept waving her hand around, it was like she was trying to catch and cuddle me against my wishes.”

Fly remembers the wedding of MM and PH

absolutely isolated

The new TV series, funded by O, features MM, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusing PR pawn who spends her time failing to lose weight and chasing bizarre fads in a desperate attempt to stay young and “hip”.

MM is joined by magazine fashion director JM, whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and desperate promiscuity far eclipse MM’s.

MM is reliant upon the support of her half sister SM, an aspiring writer whose constant care of her immature sister has left her a bitter cynic.

The series also stars DR in a supporting role as MM’s dotty, sarcastic and often thieving mother who appears, usually in the background, in nearly all of the episodes.

Scooby as MM’s utterly brainless personal assistant also features in many of the episodes.

Only review

“I give this one star because it is real reality TV. I can’t give it anything more than that as the storyline is blatantly ripped off from Ab Fab. The title is a highly offensive play-on-words amid a global pandemic, but I guess it shows the same sensitivity as writing motivational messages on bananas for ladies of the night”

Kate. ……… “ not a whisper ma’am ……… St George’s chapel of course!!……………

Jeopardy MM Edition!?!

Answer: Kate

Question: Whose husband does MM most want?

Answer: Shout

Question: What initiative did MM try to hijack during her time in the BRF?

Answer: St George’s Chapel

Question: Where was MM when she realised that her game was up?

Oh thank you! Such fun! You are brilliant! We need the laughs for sure!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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cheeriosmiles · 4 years

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Thrift Store Haul!

CW: talk of Death of a parent

(I’ll show pics later on!)

So we went to the thrift store so that big sis could get a computer desk and they had six dollar bags of stuffies, so naturally I got a bag! right now I’m cuddling with new favorite, her name is Dotty! she is a lamb! I wanna get more stuffies but we dont have enough space considering we only live in a one bedroom :((

OH I FOUND A BEANIE BABY THAT STILL HAD THE TAG!!! they’re name is batty and they are super cute! No one is allowed to play with Batty, they got put up with my other tagged Beanie Babies, Legend and Roxie. Legend and I have the same birthday!

I also got chiccy nuggies! Big Sis drove and I paid! we’re gonna have mcdonald’s breakfast this morning but not for a while yet! I’m gonna get some sausage mcgriddles! mmm! yummy! oh and hashbrowns!

I’m having a bit of a hard morning, I’m thinking about my dad and how I will never get to see him again... he’s been gone since my senior year of high school and never got to see me graduate and that hurts so much... ugh i miss him so much! somedays it really doesnt feel real at all... I keep expecting him to call and tell me how much he loves me and how proud of me he is.

#sfw smolspace #thrifting #stuffies #sfw agere #sfw age regression #death of parent

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creamecream · 4 years

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Name: Vampyressa Graywing

Nickname(s): Vampy

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Species: Humanoid bat monster

Birthday: April 12th

Pet: A gray-purple vampire bat named Dotty

BFFS: Batrina Graywing (sister) Myskia Graywing (sister)

Romantic Interest(s): Johnny Spirit (ex-boyfriend)

Name: Batrina Graywing

Nickname(s): Batty

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Species: Humanoid bat monster

Birthday: April 12th

Pet: A gray-purple vampire bat named Dotty

BFFS: Vampyressa Graywing (sister) Myskia Graywing (sister)

Romantic Interest(s): Kieran Valentine (ex? boyfriend? leave her alone...)

Name: Myskia Graywing

Nickname(s): Minnie

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Species: Humanoid bat monster

Birthday: April 12th

Pet: A gray-purple vampire bat named Dotty

BFFS: Vampyressa Graywing (sister) Batrina Graywing (sister)

Romantic Interest(s): Ava Trotter (ex-girlfriend) Bonita Femur (crush?)

#bleh oh god finally I've been working on them for so long #I thought of them like over a week ago I've been working on this picture for like three days I got distracted #and I've been sitting on posting this since this morning #I just got very distracted ugh I feel honestly pretty mad about it #here are the bat girls the bat triplets #yes they are identical besides the colored strip in their hair and their eyes #I'm honestly not sure what to do with them #they are bats not vampires I will stress not vampires are bats #monster high #fan characters #vampyressa graywing #batrina graywing #myskia graywing #edit: I fixed a good amount of this I skipped over without really thinking yesterday

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twigstarpikachutroll22 · 4 years

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First “30 days of Autism Acceptance” prompt

April 1: Introduce yourself. Talk about who you are as a person.

Boinga! My name is Twig and I love Trolls! It started to be one of my biggest Special Interests ever from the day I saw it (November 5th, 2016, a day after it came out) in 7th grade. The whole reason I got a tumblr account a few years ago was to start interacting with the rest of the Trolls fandom. I had no idea what I was signing up for when I joined this website and now I’m stuck. XD

Technically my 16th birthday was last month, but I still like to think I’m eternally seven and a half in spirit.

My favorite color is shmerulean. I watch a lot of cartoons. I’ve sworn countless times to never utter a curse word in my life. I carry confetti in my pockets to throw whenever the occasion calls. It’s all in different shades of yellow because “I got that sunshine in my pocket,” get it? I’m a bookworm, writer, artist, and theatre kid. I also like to sing. I believe in anything magical, supernatural, paranormal, etc. in nature that I’ve encountered in books, movies, tv shows and the like. I believe every fictional world is real and there could well be secret doorways or portals or whatever between this one and any of them. And I hope to heck and back that I can find one. I’m an ambivert. I’m asexual and aromantic. I can do a pretty accurate Spongebob laugh. I’m biracial, part Greek and part Chinese. I’m in the School for Good and Evil fandom. I have an imaginary friend who I’ve known since 1st grade and at this point my friendship with her has gotten to the point where we pretty much consider ourselves queerplatonic partners. I spend way too much time on the internet. I hate the taste of sweets. I was born strong-willed as heck and grown-ups have called me “difficult” more times than I can count. Honestly one of the things I like best about being autistic (and, heck, a bunch of other parts of my identity) is it means I couldn’t follow all the rules society wants me to if I tried, and basically just living my life as the person I am is in itself a big “froomp you” to all those rules. You could say I’m bananas, bonkers, nuts, batty, wacko, cuckoo, loopy, loony, dotty, kooky, mad, ridorkulous, a goofy goober, and a complete nutfish. And I would happily agree. Don’t say I’ve lost my marbles, though, because I can see my marble collection in a plastic baggie on the desk I’m sitting at right now.

Some might say I view the world through rose-tinted spectacles. I say too many people walk around wearing shades all the time these days.

And yeah, I think this is a good place to end this post. Happy first day of Autism Acceptance month y’all! Woop Woop!!

#30daysofautismacceptance #2020

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cranked-up-live · 3 years

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@drummybear @cglvision @lotusinstitute @falcon1907-blog @iosinfernale @dangerouslyenigmatic @s-a-mm @greekromangods @jess12985 @dilyndoesit @glowing-grass @thelittleseawitch22 @imlearningsopleasebekind @ahmadhamada1988 @rose---child @whatthatcrystaldo @evieshka @thundermoonrabbit @moonlight-is-my-middle-name @batty-queen @argenfit-blog @interspecieslesbianism @sucrose-goddess @spellsandmatcha @absolutely--divine @kobraa-kidd @courtesanconfessional @tiffanygladiator @dottie-cupcakes @tenderlvr

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

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daughter-of-the-prophet · 6 years

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Flemeth (Tv Tropes "Origins")

Affably Evil: In keeping with her being Ambiguously Evil, she's always immensely polite, gives good advice, would rather compromise than fight, and saves the lives of the protagonists in the first and second story. Of course, according to Morrigan she's forced her daughter to watch her rape and murder men, gains her immortality by stealing the bodies of her daughters, and her plan in the first story all along was to get Morrigan impregnated with the soul of an Old God. Still, for all that, she acts like someone's batty grandmother.

Age Without Youth: In her myths, she was the World's Most Beautiful Woman. When Ilona meets her, she's an old hag. Morrigan claims Flemeth takes over her daughters' bodies to regain her youth.

Ambiguously Evil: There are plenty of stories about Flemeth doing evil things, but you never actually see her commit any truly atrocious acts. Morrigan, for instance, claims Flemeth is a body snatcher, but Morrigan is also a liar as manipulative as her mother.

Ambiguously Human: So mysterious and powerful that some state disbelief that she's even a person at all but rather something...else. Inquisition reveals she's the Elven goddess Mythal merged with a human woman.

Body Surf: Morrigan claims Flemeth raises daughters and teaches them magic so that she can easily possess them.

Captain Ersatz: Shares many elements with Baba Yaga, as an Ambiguously Evil centuries old decrepit witch who lives in a hut deep in the forest and most consider nothing but a legend with which to frighten children. Much like Baba Yaga, some of the stories about Flemeth involve kidnapping and eating children as well; Flemeth herself rolls her eyes at that notion. "As if I had nothing better to do!"

The Chooser of The One: She comes after Duncan, but she's the only reason Ilona and Alistair survive Ostagar. She repeats this with Areida Hawke in the next story.

Cryptic Conversation: She talks in nothing but hints and riddles, and will generally tell Ilona to come to her own conclusions instead of asking her to give them to her.

Death by Sex: Morrigan claims that this is one of her favourite pastimes, luring Chasind men to her bed only to kill them afterwards.

Demonic Possession: Some of her legends claim she's a centuries old mage possessed by a demon. Most people who meet her agree she's something even scarier than an Abomination though.

The Dreaded: Fereldan mothers frighten their children by telling them Flemeth will come to get them if they don't behave, and even adults are uneasy at the mention of of the legendary "Witch of the Wilds".

Enemy Mine/Evil Versus Evil: Subverted. She suggests that this is the reason she rescued the Wardens from Ostagar and is sending Morrigan with them, but as it turns out, she has other reasons.

Even Evil Has Standards: One of her legends involves a nobleman buying Flemeth from the witch's destitute husband on Flemeth's suggestion. But when the nobleman has her former husband killed instead, Flemeth slaughters the nobleman and his entire estate. In Morrigan's version, Flemeth did it because she refused to be married to a man with no honor. Interestingly, the castle the nobleman ruled was Highever, and the chain of events she set off led to Sarim Cousland's ascension to Bann, and the eventual creation of the Teyrnir of Highever. (This is particularly interesting with Ilona being the youngest child of the Cousland family, since it suggests that Flemeth set events in motion centuries ago which led to Ilona being the one to save the world.)

Evil Laugh: A brief but spooky one, when she seems little more than a Talkative Loon.

Flemeth: "Oh, don't mind me. You have what you came for."

The Fair Folk: The Dalish Elves see her as a legendary and dangerous spirit of untold power, Asha'bellanar.

Familial Body Snatcher: The true source of Flemth's immortality.

Grand Theft Me: Morrigan claims the secret to Flemeth's immortality is that she keeps transferring her spirit into new bodies (specifically, those of her daughters).

Hand Wave: No explanation is ever offered for why she rescues Alistair and Ilona from the Tower of Ishal. Once the truth about the dark ritual is revealed, it does make more sense; however, while her rescue of Alistair is understandable with regards to the ritual, it's never explained why she would trouble herself to rescue Ilona. On the other hand, this may have been a simple case of foresight; we know from The Darkspawn Chronicles that alone, Alistair would have failed utterly.

Hidden Agenda Villain: She has some sort of questionable plan involving the Old Gods, dragons, and more. However, the goal or even the specifics of this plan are left entirely unknown through the first two stories.

Humanoid Abomination: In Witch Hunt, Morrigan states that Flemeth may look human, but she's something far worse than a demon, blood mage, or abomination. In Dragon Age II, Anders is somewhat unnerved that Justice doesn't know what she is either. Dragon Age: Inquisition reveals that she is apparently the Elven goddess Mythal possessing a human woman.

Hyper Awareness: Seems to be at least somewhat aware of Ilona Cousland and Areida Hawke’s coming destinies just by having a look at them. The first time Ilona meets her she offhandedly bemoans that Ser Jory is unlikely to survive, but it is not her place to choose.

I Have Many Names: Fereldans call her "The Witch of the Wilds". The Dalish elves, meanwhile, call her "Asha'bellanar" (the Woman of Many Years). Even "Flemeth" is just the Chasinds name for her.

Alistair: “What do we call you? You never told us your name.“

Flemeth: “Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind call me Flemeth; I suppose it will do.”

I Was Quite a Looker: Though rather elderly looking when Ilona meets her, Flemeth's stories claim she was legendarily beautiful and attracted suitors from all over the world.

Meaningful Name: The Dalish refer to her as Asha'bellanar, the "Woman of Many Years," hinting at her power and apparent immortality.

Mrs. Robinson: Given her immense age, this is technically in effect with any man she supposedly lures to her bed before killing them.

Multiple-Choice Past: There are multiple separate accounts of her origins, ranging from a powerful demon possessing female apostates through the ages, to a beautiful mage who became an Abomination to take revenge on the man who killed her husband, to some sort of shadowy fallen god.

Never Mess with Granny: She may seem like an unassuming, dotty old woman, but she can also turn into a dragon and rip your head off.

No Need for Names: Discussed.

Flemeth: “Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it'll do.”

Noodle Incident: Flemeth did something horrible to the Templars over the ages who tried to hunt her, though the specifics are never revealed.

Older Than They Look: Certainly, she looks old, but not as old as she actually is.

One-Winged Angel: Turns into a giant purple dragon in battle.

The Plan: Morrigan was sent with Alistair and Ilona in Origins in order to forward Flemeth's unknown plan involving resurrecting an Old God in a human body.

Progressively Prettier: Her witch form in Dragon Age II, while still aged, is far better looking than the liver-spotted old hag she appears as in Origins.

Really 700 Years Old: Lampshaded by the Dalish, whose name for her translates as "the Woman of Many Years."

Retired Monster: Despite the horrific acts she is said to have committed in her legends, these days she just quietly lives in a hut deep in the woods. It eventually turns out she's just biding her time while her daughters act out different elements of her unknown plan.

Scaled Up: In battle, she transforms into a dragon.

Shapeshifter Default Form: In the second story, she half-jokingly points out that for all Hawke knows, the dragon could actually be her real form and it's the witch that is merely the illusion.

Shrouded in Myth: Her history has been told so many times as a legend that no one knows what the truth is - except for Morrigan, who heard it firsthand from her mother and believes that Flemeth's own version is the true one.

So Beautiful, It's a Curse: In her backstory, her legendary beauty and men's desire for her dictated the course of her entire life. While she has a Multiple-Choice Past, every version of her tale agrees that she was beautiful and that such beauty brought her no joy in life.

Solitary Sorceress: Flemeth initially appears to be just an elderly "apostate" mage hiding out in the wilderness from the Chantry's enforcers when you first meet her.

Tyke Bomb: Morrigan is the latest of many daughters she's raised to terrorize the Korcari Wilds. And provide her with a new body for when her current one gets too old.

Unreliable Narrator: Her legend has undergone Adaptation Decay over the centuries. While Morrigan tells Ilona what Flemeth claims is her true past, she notes that it is unwise to take anything that Flemeth says at face value, though she believes her story is the most accurate. In Witch Hunt, Morrigan says that Flemeth isn't a human, a blood mage, or an abomination. How long she hasn't been human, or if she ever was, is unknown.

Voluntary Shapeshifting

Wham Line: Alistair reacts this way when she reveals her identity.

Alistair: (stunned) “The Flemeth? From the legends?”

Wicked Witch: The Chasind seem to think so. She's old, wrinkled, lives in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, cackles, and is rumored to be widowed and a stealer of children. ("As if I had nothing better to do!")

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #flemeth #the witch of the wilds #tv tropes

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