#lurking-in-asphodel-fields

[canisalbus]

personally fascinated by the genres going on here. it's like hurt/comfort, comfort/hurt, wholesomeness but also very much blood. like you were given the options to either do one or the other but you dumped them in a bowl and drank them both when no one was looking

Why settle for one when you can put your little guys in all sorts of situations.

[hinterland-clans]

how do each of the clans feel about outsiders and is it different for kittypets, loners, and rogues?

good question! i go into detail on this on the toyhou.se pages for each clan, but here's a rundown:

kittypets:

Glenclan is okay with accepting them into their ranks, as long as they prove themselves loyal to their Clanmates. Foxtuft and Hawktalon both have kittypet blood.

Pineclan, being the closest to twolegplace, is the most accepting to kittypets, though Vinestar tested this a bit with his strict loyalty values. Blackreed, Heronstalk, Thicketburr and Mistybush, Sunbelly and Curlear, and Jadewing started as or are descended from kittypets.

RiftClan will accept former kittypets or their descendants as long as they can prove their loyalty, though they can be less than accepting towards their Clanmates who seek out relationships with kittypets. Oceanroar and Whiskertail both have kittypet blood.

rogues: this goes for all three Clans, but the general definition i use for rogue is "cat(s) who are hostile towards or were banished from the clans." therefore, all three are very wary towards their like. Examples include banished cats like Tangleswirl, or rogue bands like Tempest. It is rare for a rogue to be brought into a Clan, but it does happen, like with Perry and Honeyglow.

loners:

GlenClan tends to be a little hesitant towards loners, generally harmless but still outsiders. They have a great relationship with the North Face band, where Jaystorm and Hawktalon originate from. They will accept loners into their ranks.

Loners hold immediate value to PineClan cats for the outside knowledge they can bring. They are seen as outsiders, but can easily trade information for other resources the Clan has. They will accept loners into their ranks, including Nitfeather.

RiftClan is wary of all outsiders, but will hesitantly accept a loner into their ranks if they need immediate aid or can prove their loyalty. A cat taking a loner as a mate can be harshly looked down upon, but if their mate were to join the Clan they would be peacefully recieved.

[banana-breaded]

Bryce Lawrence was an excellent plot device

both in how he represented the failings of the Twelfth Legion and how he presented Nico with a clear enemy in "HoO".

Starting with the latter, Bryce pursued Nico and co. in order to find Reyna and bring her back to the Romans to be unjustly tried and convicted. For what? He didn't know. Not until he overheard her confiding her darkest secret into Nico. Upon hearing this information he scorns Reyna for her past, for something that wasn't her fault or even bad, and promises that she will feel pain and shame when he informs everyone of it.

Quoting directly, Bryce says, "I can't wait until your little secret comes out."

This sentiment is then repeated in italics, serving to represent Nico's thoughts (since it's in his point of view) and how he therefore zeroed in on this statement. He did so because of his outrage for how his friend (!) was being treated, yes, but also because of how the statement mirrored his greatest fear.

Nico was petrified of his own secret being revealed, and being presented with a callous, cruel person who would obviously not accept him and instead revel in his despair was, as seen in the book, a switch being flipped for him. It's mentioned that whenever Nico felt like someone was judging him, he'd usually push them away by yelling at them. This means his typical response was one of anger, and in this case the anger was entirely justified.

Nico was tired of lurking in shadows, tired of fading away. Symbolically, he felt as if he couldn't be himself, not in broad daylight, in the view of others. He was tired of hate and grief welling up inside of him and not having an outlet, having someone to talk to because of his inner turmoil (though he was getting there with Reyna).

In that way, I think him disposing of Bryce was a release. To do so, he revealed all of his secrets, all of his darker emotions (which was most of them) and completely eviscerated a target, a clear enemy, in the process. I think that how easily this was done also serves to show that Bryce is nowhere near strong enough to endure what Nico has.

He did this not only to protect his friends, but to stand up for himself. Murder is usually not a condone-able thing, but since Bryce was explicitly portrayed as an unrepentant killer who delighted in harming and slaying innocents even if it meant ending the world, we can give Nico a pass on this one.

On a side note, I actually think Nico's way of getting rid of him, albeit dark, was merciful. Bryce was transformed into a nameless, voiceless, presumably personality-less spirit. This indicates that he probably ended up in Asphodel rather than the Fields of Punishment, where he was undoubtedly going otherwise. Personally, I think an eternity of nothingness is preferable over an eternity of excruciating pain, so Bryce got off easy.

And to address that first initial point, I think it's incredible that for all of the rules and structure of Camp Jupiter, they still manage to fail on so many fronts. Like in the case of how easy it was for a corrupt Apollo legacy to seize power, for one, and how that same legacy would be able to impale a fellow camper and get away with it.

No wonder Octavian took such a liking to Bryce.

Another failure would be how they decided that, rather than trying to detain or reform a murderer, it would be better just to unleash him onto an unsuspecting world of mortals. "Not our problem now, even though this unstable and cruel person who is more powerful than the average citizen, and who has a history of killing things, is now allowed to rampage without being monitored." Wouldn't you know, he ended up being a problem for the good guys (and likely committed several atrocities in the period in which he was left unchecked). Who woulda thunk it?

Needless to say, Nico's story has always been the most emotionally charged, the most filled with symbolism and growth, and the least fun for a character to experience*. No wonder he's such a fan favorite.

*seriously, everyone else had several wacky, zany adventures along side a large group of close friends, and the silliest things that ever happened to him up to this point were being turned into corn (not pleasant) and wearing funky shirts, and in the first scenario the people with him didn't even really want to be near him. and of course, he went through an ordeal, so yeah, not fun.

[lurking-in-asphodel-fields]

this post: https://www.tumblr.com/lurking-in-asphodel-fields/761369177989775360 is ai art

whoops thanks man

[fixing-bad-posts]

love it when you talk ab stuff when people send blank things. go off (king?queen?royalty??)

use whatever title you want :Þ

thank you for appreciating it, it's my excuse to pretend i'm tumblr famous haha

[hinterland-clans]

for pride headshots: Bouncefoot or Meadowmoth! Both nursery guardians that I think are really cool <3

here's bouncefoot! we love a den dad

[areallyneatcicadashell]

@lurking-in-asphodel-fields @apcatgirl

u 🫵

I love when there's characters that are pair bonded and you know that wherever one of them is the other is also gonna be there.

[amethyst-halo]

oh my god!! just realized!! Juniperclaw isnt reincarnated squilf kit isnt he like one of the cats from the sleek whisker generation??? for months I could not figure it out and I figure that I tell u bc I realized from scrolling in your blog :skull:

ajdjs yea! juniperclaw is sleekwhisker’s littermate

[the-erins-forgot]

I love these designs :0000 do you have any tips for making characters look related but unique? also h o w t o d r a w f l u f f y c a t s h e l p

Awww, thank you!

When it comes to making character look related, I usually mix and match traits of their parents and/or other relatives, as well as include some unique traits.

Here's a bit of an example of what I mean with mixing and matching:

Even though Stagleap and Doespring have the same inherited traits in ear shape, eyebrow shape, and facial markings, they're still unique in their eye shape, nose shape, fur length, and color.

All three sublings are also unified by having the exact same amount of whiskers and other similar markings (specifically the ears and lighter eye brows, which they also share with both of their parents).

As for fluffy cats... This is the best way I can explain it:

Basically, first make a fluff-less sketch, then when adding fluff keep in mind to make it somewhat curvy instead of straight, and the fluffier you want them to look the further keep the fluff from the fluff-less lines.

[strelles-universe]

remind me to go through this later bc holy fuck your blog is cool and you've only got like 1 like on each post!

Aww thank you :D do you want me to just @ you the next time I post something?

[moonpawscathoard]

:( aw poor newt kit. hope he doesn't get too much trauma

Newtkit is lucky to have some good siblings to back him up, thankfully!

Newtkit just has to deal with a lot . . . especially when Sandwhisker finds out about his mates affair.

[wolfythewitch]

:( why do you keep showing up in my "Based on your likes!" I follow you already

LMAO Tumblr's silencing me true and real

[posi-pan]

newfound discovery of myself but I kind of have the same experience as gender fluid and pansexual anon! I'm a bit of the opposite though. Ever since I had a crush on a girl, I found myself more comfortable in my femininity(I'm transmasc) but occasionally when I think about guys I feel like my gender shifts to be more masculine. It's very interesting to me that other people have felt similarly

that's so cool and interesting to me. i love hearing about pan people sharing experiences 🥰

[areallyneatcicadashell]

@pokkiheart @eggwug @lurking-in-asphodel-fields @apcatgirl @morgueandtomb

sending you hugs 🥰 and bugs -> 🐝🐞🐜🪰🪲🪳🦟🦗

[mallowstep]

OH THERE ARE INVITE CODES hmm ok so the thing is I already signed up with my email so I'm not sure if that would work? I guess I could try, you want me to dm my (anonymous) email to you?

also from what I could tell the story is very interesting! currently I am in head empty no reading ability mode though khgkjh so I can go back and read it again

hm i don't know what the waiting list is like these days (i wanna say it was like...three months when i joined? but that was AGES ago i mean YEARS ago), but i'd be happy to send you one.

i don't believe they give out invitations these days, but when i joined, every user got nine, so i've got eight left. if you send me your email, i'll send the code or w/e, and you can change the email once the account is through.

i don't know if you can get off the waiting list so you can change emails or something...uh. i'm not an ao3 expert by any means, i've just been using it for a long time.

anyway i'm glad you're enjoying it! i say i don't have a plan but i DEFINITELY do have a plan, it's just not detailed or far reaching. my desire was to create characters and have them live their lives, so i suspect it's going to got very soap-opera vibes, with a revolving focus and what not.

i'm quite a bit of a fan of cloudkit and his story, tho. i came up with halostar's story and shadestream's story independently, then realized they fit together REALLY well. so. he's a natural choice for getting caught up in matters.

[warriors-name-generator]

:0 wait the ask game is still open? -> :eyes: What do you think a cat named Ibisgrove would look like

Ibisgrove: a tall dark grey mackerel tabby tom with a white streak of fur running down the middle of his head. he has a white muzzle, chest, underbelly and front paws. his eyes are stern and yellow. His fur is somewhat ruffled at the chest and tailtip.

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it's been a hot second since i answered any asks (sorry about that) but im gonna try and slowly get back into it!