#I have some traits that are selected for within Clans while also avoiding getting TOO specbio about it

[bonefall]

Is Heartstar being small typical to Shadowclan, or is she just independently tiny? Which clan would be the largest or smallest?

She's actually just tiny, and it's very odd for her her entire bloodline. Her grandfathers in BB are Tigerstar and Brokenstar, who were notoriously massive. Her parents, Tawnypelt and Rowanstar, inherited that size.

Maybe Heartstar inherited it from Rowan's mom, Newtspeck. Her uncle Littlecloud is also pretty small. Heartstar is smaller, though.

By weight, ShadowClan is actually the smallest though. It's a result of the harsh winter conditions of a freezing marsh, and the benefit of being less heavy on soggy, unstable ground.

RiverClan is the shortest Clan, though. I try to consistently design them so that they're longer than they are tall. Thick tails, stout legs, small ears. Notably otter-like.

[skekheck]

So something weird happened to the original ask where the “read more” cut off ended up in the ask itself? Tumblr go home, you’re drunk. So I’m just making this it a separate own post.

But anyway as it turns out while typing all of this I have a lot of headcanons for the mystics apparently. Here’s a nice, big list of the ones I can think of:

>The mystics are the ideal versions of the urSkeks: they are creatures without “darkness” or “evil”. The mystics avoid the skeksis because on an unconscious level they don’t want to associate with them for being their “dark halves”. This self hatred is deeply rooted from the urSkeks who wanted to remove their “darkness” using the Crystal (which in my opinion wouldn’t have worked anyway) instead of actually mastering it. This could go deeper, as urSkek society might have instilled toxic projections on individuality and positive traits like ambition and passion being considered bad. While only a handful of mystics have made contact with the skeksis at some point, the majority avoided them.

>I feel like as a whole, the mystics know who they originally were to some extent but are in complete denial about them being one with the skeksis. The reasons for it are the ones I stated in the above headcanon. I also feel like because they know they are not from Thra that is why they keep to themselves and try not to interfere with what goes on around them.

>UrSan can use a weird type of water magic that not only let’s her breath underwater but anyone else she wishes to as well. Amri meets urSan for the first time in Tides where they’re both underwater and he has no trouble breathing. They left their meeting ambiguous if it was a dream or not, but I think it happened.

>The mystics leave the gelfling to their own devices, but on rare occasions they intermingle with them. According to Tides, the Dousan ways are quite peaceful and their views (especially surrounding death) are thanks to a mystic who taught them their ways. UrLii may be the only one to have any kind of relationship with one currently (being Maudra Argot). He’s kept a secret from the rest of the clan, but I think he’s been friendly with the other maudras before her. I especially feel the mystics who frequent outside the valley developed friendships with selective gelfling over the years.

>UrSan and urVa met each other the most out of all of the mystics living outside of the valley because of their life styles frequently cross paths with each other. They have short chats before going their separate ways.

>Aside from skekGra and urGoh, skekSa and urSan interact the most out of all of the pairs. They meet on occasion when the Mariner needs a map or any kind of guidance through the Silver Seas. But I also think they meet for non-business reasons too.

>Besides urZah, urSen is one of the more spiritual mystics and being more finely tuned with Thra. This could be the reason why he had a premonition of his own death years before it happened. UrSen kept his imminent death to himself, but urZah (and maybe urSu) figured it out.

>urZah’s the most cynical out of all the mystics. Maybe he was taken advantaged of when he was younger or as ZohZah, but it made him distrustful  even to the other mystics. The only friends he’s ever made were with urSen and Jen where the latter helped him to be a little more trusting of others.  

>The mystics who live outside of the valley still live in the places they did in the books. So urSan inhabits her stone tower near Ha’rar and urVa lives in his dirt hovel within the Endless Forest. But at least for the two I used as examples, they leave their homes for long periods of time.

>Since apparently he’s considered a rebel by mystic standards, urSol challenges the mystic ways (but that’s not saying much). Like his skeksis counterpart, he acts as an adviser to the leader (urSu and then urIm when the former died). He has suggested getting more involved in the affairs of Thra and do something about the skeksis, but the others wouldn’t budge from their beliefs. Being a mystic, urSol wouldn’t pressure it any more afterwards but it would bother him. When urGoh (and skekGra) spoke of unification, his suggestions came more frequently. By the time the skeksis and mystics reappear in the sequel comics, it’s then that urSol decides to stop being the adviser and become more proactive.

>Following the above headcanon, urSol was inspired by urGoh’s pleads for unification. He arranged a meeting with skekSil to talk about it, but knowing the Chamberlain it didn’t end well. UrSol barely left the valley afterwards until Jen came along.

>Another urSol headcanon: I think he was the one to suggest to raise Jen and tell him about his destiny. While urSu agreed to take care of the orphaned gelfling, he wanted to keep Jen in the dark about his fate. The Master felt it would put too much pressure and stress on the child who’s already gone through so much. UrSu wanted Jen to have a normal childhood. UrSol agreed, but the two set up a compromise where urSol would teach the gelfling things that would help him on his journey without telling him why he was doing so. Because of this, Jen is as close to him as he is with urSu.

>urVa is depressed about the state of his relationship with skekMal. In the series, although he refers to him as his dark half, the Archer calls him by name and seems sad about having to end the Hunt for him. Given that the two live in the same area, they had opportunities of meeting each other. They may have had a slightly better relationship when they were younger and used to hang out on occasion. But it was when skekMal became more wild and obsessed with the Hunt did it crumble. The Hunter is the one responsible for all the animosity between the two and urVa has no ill-feelings for him. SkekMal might have told urVa he wants nothing to do with him anymore (likely in a brutal manner) and urVa respected his wishes even if it pained him.

>Like in the books, urVa has the x scar on one of his hands. He probably got it from skekMal (whether he carved it himself or by other means). He finds himself staring at it sometimes.