#anyways. His name is sol and he is trans

[mysandwichranaway]

my catboy in a dress, as you asked o7 @sheridan-le-fanu

[tortiefrancis]

🌻🪻 warrior cats intersex headcanons

inspired by @intertrek 's post of star trek intersex headcanons, here are some of my warrior cats intersex headcanons (or semi-canon intersex characters). i'm basing them off certain intersex variations that have been reported in domestic cats, but it was hard to find info on that, so apologies if i get anything wrong!

-> 🌻🪻 squirrelstar

ID: Two images of Squirrelstar from Warrior Cats against the Phox and Carpenter intersex flags. She's a ginger she-cat with a white paw and green eyes. /End ID

squirrelstar was intended to be infertile by the writers, but they never made it canon in the books, though it was a popular headcanon in the fandom for a while. still, i would have liked that to be true, as there are few if any infertile cats in the books.

keeping this in mind, i think she has some sort of uterine dysgenesis, so she would either be unable to have kits or have a much a harder time. it's not super common in cats and is also comorbid with kidney problems, but not always! i think it could explain her fertility problems and would be nice to see represented on screen, since infertility and intersexness can be very difficult topics to process, specially for women.

-> 🌻🪻redtail

ID: Two images of Redtail from Warrior Cats against the Phox and Carpenter intersex flags. He's a tortoiseshell tom with yellow eyes. /End ID

redtail is almost canonically intersex. tortoiseshell and calico cats are almost all "female" because of how the genes for this fur pattern are passed down through the X chromossome, however, they can be "male" if they have two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome, thus being XXY. this is equivalent to klinefelter syndrome in humans, however im not sure it affects cats the same way. this would mean he's infertile, though, and he's supposedly had kits before, so...

i wanted to post this mostly because i love redtail and because the fandom kind of ignores the existence of intersex people in favor of a trans headcanon- and listen, as a trans intersex person, i don't mind this, but we can have both!

-> 🌻🪻sol

ID: Two images of Sol from Warrior Cats against the Phox and Carpenter intersex flags. He's a calico tom with pale yellow eyes. /End ID

sol is just like redtail- as a "male" calico cat- or tortoiseshell, I'm pretty confused which one he is -he would have XXY chromossomes! as far as i know, he doesn't have any litter of kits canonically, so this doesn't interfere much with the canon, unlike redtail.

i also see many trans headcanons for sol and few intersex ones, so once again: we can have both.

-> 🌻🪻scourge

ID: Two images of Scourge from Warrior Cats against the Phox and Carpenter intersex flags. He's a black tom with a white paw and blue eyes. /End ID

scourge is funny for me because it's a pretty new headcanon. he's a very small cat, hence why his kittypet name was tiny, and in humans, many hormonal, gonadal or chromosomal variations come with shorter height or stunned development as a symptom/trait. in cats, i can find some evidence of this happening, though very little. one case i found, however, was of a cat with a chromosomal variation very similar to De La Chapelle Syndrome, who was smaller than average and had a mostly "female" appearance. of course, cats can just be small, just like humans are short sometimes, but i'm here to have fun, ok?

i also think scourge being intersex would be fun since he's a villain, and to be honest, not all intersex characters need to be good guys, we can have some evil in the mix. makes it fun! and since he's kind of related to squirrelstar, and in my headcanon she's also intersex, maybe there's a genetic variation that runs in the family, through jake!

-> 🌻🪻moonpaw

ID: Two images of Moonpaw from Warrior Cats against the Phox and Carpenter intersex flags. She's a ginger and black tortoiseshell and chimera she-cat. /End ID

sorry for the picture, only "official art" available. anyways, moonpaw is a chimera cat! this means she has two distinct sets of DNA, this is usually caused by embryos fusing. as i understand, most chimeras are intersex (don't want to say all because im not sure about this, so sorry), usually with a chromosomal variation, though others may occur. so much like redtail and sol, she is almost canonically intersex!

not much is known about her yet, but i think we need to show more love to intersex women, so any intersex woman rep is welcome to me (if well done). she's a newer character, so it would be neat if the authors took this chance to make it canon, but i doubt it, and i also doubt they'd do a good job...

-> well, that's all of them. i liked making this, i honestly want to make more but unsure what characters to do next. if you have your own headcanons, please share! 💛💜

[ukuraichu]

i was a teenage exocolonist is so fun so much so infact that i ran to my laptop to post my thoughts because i simply have so much to say and therefore have to type a lot.

ANYWHO. im going to document some things about my current runs. I've played the game twice and have amassed about 18h in the 2 days i've had it (woah.) so the hyperfixation is truly hyperfixationing. anywho x2. RAMBLING TIME. (under the cut)

SO IN MY FIRST RUN, i play as sol (they/them). i LOVE my dad, i love my mum but she's a little tough on me. i know she scolds me because she's worried about me and she just wants me to do well but it still. AHHH. i get frustrated and lash out sometimes. but i still love my mum. my childhood friend is marz, who i think is really cool but also i like to compete with her! she can't be the only coolest person ever. i don't remember what i picked as the augment though. ANYWAY.

i wasn't very close with tammy, but when she passed her presence was heavily felt. especially in the secret funtimes club. she would have loved to make friendship bracelets with us. i was enamoured by the very serious and focused and locked in autistic girl (tangent) who i grew up with. i went to classes mostly as an excuse to spend time with her and so that she would like me and pay attention to me, to think that we were of equal standing. her best friend was marz and i was jealous. i asked anemone to be my best friend and she said yes! but we grew apart over time anyway. I did some exploring, but not a lot of it. not enough to see a lot, but enough to sneak out with Dys. I explored and found a pet Hopeye, affectionately named Fungle (after the among us map LOL). I didn't know Dys very much though. he ran away, or went missing, or maybe blew up the colony when i was growing up. i never saw him again.

there was a famine and my mum died. my dad died soon after because of the shimmer. i never found out why. i just locked into robotics and engineering more and more. i named the little robot Ronaldine.

i don't remember the specifics of everything. the finer details are blurry. i just remember dedicating a lot of time with tang and spending time and time again with her, over, over, over. i didn't save the colony. we fell and died. also i didn't like the helios. but i was an obedient kid for the majority of my life up until my dad died and i started to become less obedient.

i grow old, i think. i made a lot of mistakes, but i still grow up. my partner at the time tang, becomes dejected and apathetic and hyperfocused on what happened to dys. i can't save her and she separates herself.

i start again

i wake up again

run 2!!!!!

this one went better. TLDR i saved tammy, not tonin or mum or dad i didnt know how. i become best friends with dys but also date his sister but also flirt with dys and his alien lover sym who i also flirt with but have to decline his advances because im dating tang and i cant tell her i made out with an alien </3. i also spent A LOT of time in the SFC, and work with marz to campaign to overthrow the government. also marz is one of my best friends in this run. also my nemesis, markedly, because i stole her dream job. but because im so close to sym like wow so close, he takes me to meet his big alien leader and is like. homie. i dont like humans but sym likes you and we could like. collab or something idk. like a peace plan. i accept his peace plan, im thinking so forward. so i bring about peace to the world. my mum and dad would have been so proud. i grow old and tang grows old and we break up but the love we shared was still there.

WAHHHH,...., thinking.

also i did NOT clock that tang was trans in the first run. when she said her body was modified i thought she meant. she literally used to be an actual robot. not genome therapy. my bad. love you tang. also when i become best friends with dys and he said he always knew she was his sister RAHHH it made me RGAHSGGFSDF because WOW. theyre literally SOUL BONDED whether they want to be or not. i want them to reconcile i need to get them to talk. idk how i build rex's bar but i WANT IT RAHHH

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

i think this is a good example of the situation(tm) with spain and fascism and how it's very different to other european countries like italy or germany.

this news article says that the government pays more than 9000€ per year to mantain franco's tomb (and by the government it means, well, the taxpayers). for those who don't know, francisco franco was a fascist dictator (friend of hitler and mussolini) that ruled spain from 1939 til 1975. he died peacefully. in his bed. after 4 decades of ruling. this is one of the key points regarding all of this.

and you might be thinking... well, the right wing party must be the ruling party for this to happen! lol no. we are currently under a pretty left-leaning government (this will probably change next month btw, there's general elections on april 28th). this is the government who passed the so-called trans law. and, most importantly, this government exhumated franco's body from his monumental funerary monument to a normal cemetery.

this is the monument in question, btw, it's called valle de los caídos (valley of the fallen) and it was built by the people franco sent to concentration camps throughout the country.

and yes, you read that well. franco's body was here until 2019. the monument was visited (and still is visited) by tons of fascists, who would do the nazi salute, fly the francoist flag, and chant francoist chants. all while the police was just there (but that's no surprise, isn't it). now, those people just go to the new location of franco's tomb.

oh, btw, on april 24th 2023 (4 days ago as i'm writing this post) there was another exhumation in the valley of the fallen (i just found out that since 2022 its name officially changed to 'cuelgamuros valley'. sure), this time of josé antonio primo de rivera, son of the dictator of spain from 1923-1930, and founder of the falange española, a fascist organization that became the only political party during the franco regime (yes. this is the equivalent to the nazi party) that btw still exists as a political party. so that's also lovely. this shouldn't come as a surprise, as la legión española, the military faction most closely allied to franco before, during, and after the civil war, still exists and they parade sometimes. you've probably seen these guys, there's a weird thing where people thirst over them on twitter:

anyways, this all boils down to the continuist nature of fascism in this country. fascist symbols are not banned, and neither is the flag or the hymn. i heard so many times the cara al sol (the francoist anthem) in high school sung by the kids who thought being a fascist was cool. again, franco's body wasn't exhumated until 2019 and with tons of polemics, delays and protests (protests!!!!). primo de rivera's wasn't exhumated until this very year (also with protests). and, meanwhile, there's more than 1000 mass graves still unearthed in spain, most of them filled by republicans who either were killed during the war, or right after it. one of them is the poet federico garcía lorca, considered one of (if not the best) writer in spanish history, and killed for his sexuality in 1936 by francoist soldiers. and, with him, thousands of people have been lost to time. in 2022 (83 years after the war ended) the government opened a 'mass grave searcher' on the ministry website, in order to look if your lost relative had been discovered.

i've talked about this before, but as another example, my great-grand father was unjustly sent to prisioner in 1939 for being a republican. he even spent some years in death row before being released after 5 years. he was officially pardoned by the government in 2017. he died in 1989.

also, something that has been particularly evident during this government, is that fascists are very much alive and have a ton of power. and politicians are either one of them or scared of them. keep in mind that spain has had multiple military and fascist uprisings and coup de états in the 20th century, it's very recent history. that, summed with the terrible job done during the transition period of not divorcing themselves with the francoists or just banning everything to do with them (that 'terrible job' happened because well. there were a lot of fascists there), makes for fascism being painfully present in spain all throughout the 20th and 21st century, so it's always been here, and very obviously so, and that's why it's so fundamentally different from other european regions.

this is what happens when fascists win and fuck up everything. spain is a perfect example of it. i love maps, but everytime i see alternative history maps (and there's a ton of them) that are like 'europe but hitler won ww2' i get the irk because 1) the person making that post is probably a nazi, and 2) that's just what happened in spain. the 'nazis won au' is just 20th century spain. and the consequences of that still ooze to this date. so yeah. that's all i have to say i think.

[seajelly-sillyjeans]

hast thou got original characters? (invitation to tell me about them if yes)

YES I DO HAVE OCS

theres this guy named misere and his best friend when he was like 15 was named sol. (or soleil ig but people really only call him sol) and there was this one group of really awful people that misere was a part of, but he didnt know just how awful the things they did were because they never actually told him anything or took him anywhere (they had him cuz he was a good liar) and sol really hated these guys. long story short they get in this huge fight and then they drop contact and so misere is walking around all lonely and vulnerable because he really only had sol. and then because he was so vulnerable some guy comes and snatches him up! fucks him up real badly in a mad-scientist-experiment kind of way. he now lacks a hand (the guy tried to replace it with a paw but gave up), has cat ears (one is cut in half cause misere tried to take them off. shit hurt like hell), blind in one eye cuz the guy also tried to enhance his vision to a cat-like level and gave up on that too, and a cat tail that somehow remained intact idk. misere thinks the cat features are cute now though he doesnt mind and he has a prosthetic hand anyways. growing around your trauma and all that. me fr. he shot the guy that did that to him and was banned from the country and put in prison for a little while. for this next part its important to know that misere is a trans guy and really only socially transitioned when he was about 17 (never plans to physically transition) so sol still thought he was a girl when they split apart from each other. so sol actually comes to mis' homeland (misere lives there) because he needed a change of scenery and his family sucks anyways. but he didnt know mis was there. misere sees him out on the street one day and they make eye contact and misere just fucking runs away. sol doesnt realize its his old bff and was like why did this fucked up guy run away from me. so he goes after him like "wait!! !" and eventually corners him. mis almost knocks him out before sol is like "WAIT OH SHIT? I KNOW YOU" and then plot happens idk i dont feel like making up that part ill do it later. but now theyre gay. also sol was really glad? jealous? idk, but he was feeling some sort of way realizing misere wasnt lonely anymore and he didnt need him. i gotta go now goodnight

[penguin--person]

🖊tell me abt a blorbo I haven't heard much abt at all :3

you get photosynthesis

synth my buddy synth is an iwatex oc of mine!! i dont focus on them enough.. dont give them enough attention.. smh.. shame on me.. this will contain some iwatex spoilers. here's their relationship charts that i made a few months back! there's an error in anemone's (red/orange girl) teenage thing. it means to say "vace's dislike of synth rubs off on nem"

some of this has changed, but most of it has remained the same. synth is cool. she's trans! which way? yeah! he realizes that during the game, so, sol can help him out and such.. he're younger than sol, also.. her birthname, which they like still, is nudibranch! dib for short:) then, when she realizes she's trans, she keeps their legal name (bc he's lazy lol, and as i said, he likes it) and then have a more public name, which is photosynthesis.

they choose that name because he's rlly a big flower guy. his job is agriculturist! and, florist in the side:) it doesn't pay too many kudos, but he likes it!!! knows all about the vertumnian.. vertumnilian? flora, and loves learning more about it!! however, you can't feed the colony on flowers. so!! their main job is agriculturist, they help maintain the land and all the jazz that agriculture involves. therefore, they're close with cal, and therefore, tammy!! i also imagine sol:) since their mom is head of geoponics

she's just cool... she's nice, love to tease her friends (cough cough go check out @/aru-art 's oc inca theyre buddypals), love to pick them up and carry them around, help them, make jokes.. she's also a bit. skittish..? no.. hm.. whats the right word, i wonder...

he's easy to persuade, i suppose? he's not naive. he dislikes the helios. cough cough vic my good friend vic. he won't help you if you're him them to kill someone. but , if you're good friends, he won't report you, if your reason is good enough, or if he trusts you enough. if you're friends, he'll also help you hide the body. he's v loyal 👍

he's just a chill gal... doesn't like that everyone is like, ohhh what are we gonna do the vertumna wants us dead. bc she thinks that they can coexist with vertumna. just have to show it they dont mean harm. but, whos gonna listen to a little kid who eats dirt lol

has a "what's the point of anything if there's no time to stop and smell the flowers" mindset, sorta.. theres no point to just surviving. you have to live.

HE GETS WITH NOMI ‼️‼️SHE DATES THEM ‼️‼️QPR MOMENT... i also think sol could pair her up with someone. or, try to, lol.. that'd be funny i thin.. but nomi is a safe bet 💪💪💪marz also, i think.. anemone maybe? tangent, if you squint.. worlds most swag yuri polycule on vertumna right now

anyway shes cool 👍

[those-weird-twolegs]

so. i heard y'all are firefans. (+ holly bc its part of this convo)

(continuing the conversation) "What is Firestar’s personality and arc here?" - mod dorito

"He’s barely changed, the other clans just hate and fear him because he has established enough strength, power, and connections that if you openly oppose him, he can fuck you up if he wants to. He wouldn’t, but he could." - mod soda

"he’s “above that”"

"Pros of being a prophetic child and all"

"Cons: trauma" - mod dorito

"true" - mod soda

"Fire spends a lot of his days worrying and sometimes in full-blown panics in his den with sandstorm and his daughters. It’s a clan secret that The Great Firestar is nothing more than a mask, an illusion created to protect thunderclan."

"He isn’t the confident, happy cat everyone thinks he is"

"He’s traumatized, panicking, and worst yet, he doesn’t know who his allies are, because his own half-brother killed him"

"granted, he’d only recently figured that out when it happened, but he wanted to have a private chat with scourge about it. Unfortunately though, scourge killed him as soon as they were alone."

"He knows he shouldn’t have taken it as hard as he did. But having learned he had a brother, and his brother was his enemy of all things, he’d hoped to convert scourge and actually have a relationship with him."

"It actually took fire maybe 15 minutes to stop crying to himself after he regained consciousness. He was so distraught that his own brother didn’t even want to hear him out that he couldn’t bear seeing him again… but he knew he had to. He knew he had to kill his own brother. He couldn’t stand the idea…"

"But he did it anyways."

"He did it before he could think, ambushing scourge as he was about to kill tawnypaw, and killed his own brother with a swift bite like he was nothing other than prey"

"In a way… he knows how swiftwish feels now." (swiftwish post comes next)

"How’s the xenophobia?" - mod dorito

"Its bad for most cats (fire is an exception still because he has a bit of blind faith) but after holly and ivy team up it starts getting better" - mod soda

"holly+ivy team up happens after holly leaves the clans for a bit post-df battle" (this was rewritten)

"because fuck holly dying like that"

"she didn’t die she just became a loner"

"she meets fallen in this time and is like “wow you’re fucked up. just like me fr. never talk to me.”"

"also idk why but i like the concept of sol meditating???" (relevant for details i will reveal in a more in-depth hollyleaf post)

"like, bro gets down in a loaf, closes his eyes, and just. t h i n k s."

"i imagine shit just rapid fires at hollyleaf after the secret gets out, between her mental break and sol then theres the fact shes not exactly welcome back by anyone but those closest to her. and they might not forgive her even so soon after everything harmful she did. i dont even think she’d know how to change which is why ivypaw befriending a hollyleaf (loner or back in the clan) strikes me real good. hollyleaf looking at this baby like “training in hell is Not going to solve your problems. here. let me help” holly helping others and slowly learning how to help herself thru that and she eventually teams up w ivy after she becomes a loner and gets a nice break and self discovery journey" - mod haze (the hollyleaf pioneer. we love mod haze.)

"yes" - mod soda

"what if… she transes her gender a lil and then changes her name" (she is mtf here)

"she names herself fox berry… like the berry" (this has been changed to snowleaf, like snowberry due to future edits to her design and character.)

"yes omg" - mod haze

"hollyleaf discovering she trans later in life is so real of her!!!!!!"

"nd. it’d make sense i think!! she’s been such a stickler for the rules and always [n]eeded guidance only when shes finally on her own does she get to figure out who she is and what she wants, not dictated by a code or any other cat"

"him being a late bloomer is kinda cute. he realizes “maybe i like being a tom. just maybe” - mod eva

"or maybe. she was a tom" - mod soda

"and then became woman"

(the rest is spoilers for the holly(snow)leaf post + discussing the afterlife and things related to it)

swiftpaw's wish clan culture rambles, c/ped from disco, written by mod soda

Introductory speed notes:

thunder group-hunts and eats raw food if they have to, they often fell one or two antler-less deer every shedding season and their scores from these huge deer-hunting patrols are greatly valued.

wind sundries herbs, meats, and some spices. going with the logic that they can only use herbs and spices that wont kill them, though.

river dries their river reeds, and then weaves them into baskets used for: trade, transport, and occasionally given a top, filled with water, and lined with cotton in the winter to keep it from melting too easy, and the water is filled with various raw foods. they freeze the water, preserving the food until the end of winter when their bought supplies from the solstice are running out.

shadow cooks and smokes whatever meat they get their hands on. frog? cooked or smoked. rat? cooked or smoked. traded goods? cooked or smoked. crows/ravens? cooked or smoked. they are renowned for their amazing skills in preparing the best looking and tasting meals. they are, however, also known for not having the best foods for trade, so they tend to bring valuables they find in the carrionplace, by the thunderpath, and in the swamp.

Note: below is a poorly formatted + edited discord conversation.

"maybe it used to be that shadow cooked and smoked the food they got from hunting and wind dried, but ever since brokenstar and tigerstar tried to assimilate the clans their traditions are all mucked up" - soda

"shadow less than wind tho"

"and because of brokenstar they now cook as well"

"They couldn’t before?" - dorito

"All clans can cook, but shadowclan is renowned for their excellence at it." - soda again

"Since cooking and smoking food is the best way to preserve food in the wild swamps of the lake and forest (yes we’re making the lake pine forest a swamp forest because swamp ≠ pine in skills), shadowclan had to perfect their talent and skill."

"as for windclan, they preferred drying their meats, herbs, spices and snacks."

"But then, obviously, brokenstar tried to force shc traditions on wc and vice versa and. things got muddled."

"Shadowclan can now dry things, if they really try hard, and windclan now knows the basics of making actually amazing foods" "now all shadowclan is known for is their food presentation"

"Brokenstar takes over windclan?" - dorito again

"For a short bit yes" - soda p3

"then they revolt and get driven out"

"And then ofc, moons later, thunder and wind and eventually river and shadow are forced to merge to defeat tiger + bloodclan"

"at first, windclan is uneasy about it, but willing for lionclan to happen because it has to. But then riverclan joins and they start seeing clan cats sharing their traditions and god, it’s horrifying to the more traditional windclan cats."

"Do the clan have their own exclusive traditions or holidays?" - dorito p3

"Yes" (looking back w/ what i have now, not really) - soda boogaloo

"Windclan, thunderclan, and riverclan celebrate the summer solstice as it brings about wonderful times of prosperity for their traditions. Shadowclan celebrates summer too, but it’s not as big as the winter solstice."

"To them, the winter solstice is when they’re able to appreciate the power of their fires most, and the act of cuddling around a fire and sharing tongues with clanmates is invigorating to them."

"Shadowstar is the one who brought fire to the clans, so shadowclan was always known for their amazing flames. But eventually, for the safety of the other clans, they had to learn to share their flames, but keep their best tending secrets to themselves."

"This was so less cats got sick from hunger and cold during winters, ofc"

(brief diverge) "Difference in clanmate + family dynamics?" - dorito boogaloo

"Shadowclan is more closed off and independent, while windclan is very communal and open. Riverclan is more like shadow, but not as strongly independent, and thunder is more like wind" - soda v5

(diverge over) "anyways— It’s said the five four original clan leaders brought their skills to the forest."

"Shadowstar brought fire tending, Wind brought sun drying, Thunder brought hunting, and River brought weaving."

"In secret, though, many of the revolutionary ideas were from skyclan, who was the clan that was the best of all at smoking meat. They were forced to teach shadowclan their ways before leaving, however, so the clans could continue to have the tasty smoked steaks and such (scrapped this part)"

"(Note: not necessarily clear sky. just skyclan.)"

"It is “unknown” to most cats why the ideas stopped flowing in after some time."

"The last warriors of skyclan were actually able to build makeshift shelters better than ever seen in a clan before, as all of their last cultural ideas were stolen."

"hrmmm would thunder have brought useful hunting techniques and such specifically? as they would all Know how to hunt id think :0c they could also be attributed to the mutual respect between cat and prey and giving thanks for it" - mod haze

"Yeah— He brought up the idea of group hunts!" - mod soda

"Since thunder was born on the forest territories, it’s more like he just brought in the idea of herding prey, and eventually developed and evolved it into herding whole deer fawns"

"A skyclan cat was the one to propose [killing] adult deer after they shed their horns"

"It was considered bonkers at the time to herd whole adult deer, but it was actually genius when it turned out that cat had meant that you wait until antler-shedding season"

"Shadowstar along with Fire could bring the art of trapping and ambush" - mod dorito

"Yes! That was back in the days before the clans fully formed, though, and the fire later was no longer offered to the other four clans after they did" - mod soda

"Clear sky brought. very little value to the table in hindsight. Many thought he was a skilled tactician, but once he died, everyone looked back and realized he was just manipulating people."

"Many even refused to call him “skystar”"

"Even his own clanmates refused him that right after his death."

"In the old days, every clan had a little of all five skills — Experimenting, Cooking/Smoking, Drying, Weaving, and Hunting."

"But as things progressed, they began refining them, until it came to be that Skyclan cats were the best at experimenting and smoking meat, Shadowclan were best at cooking, Windclan were best at drying, Thunder at catching, and River at storing (weaving)"

"Riverclan had developed the skill of insulating cool places with ice and cotton w/sky’s help a few moons before disaster began striking skyclan"

"So riverclan knows how to refrigerate stuff and has the best resources to do that with (running river water + later sterilizing it through an early skyclan invention (charcoal water filters) and then freezing it in a basket with the food you wanna preserve until later inside)"

"it’s less a practice done to store food for all of winter and more done to store until the butt end of winter and early days of spring, when prey are barely starting to come out again and their dried/cooked/smoked food from the last solstice festival is running out"

"the festivals are dropped during the great journey because of how much of a toll it took on the clans"

"but later they get picked back up in the form of daylight gatherings at the lake territory when those become things"

"The daylight gatherings are more common than the festivals, and so the clans find it much easier to survive the inbetween weeks and they therefore have less animosity"

"Now, let’s talk about windclan. Windclan was vastly known for their amazing skill at drying herbs and meats quickly and efficiently. While not as tasty, things like dried meat, herbs, and spices (on occasion) were better to get through winder months with, so the clans were very reliant on the windclan drying process. This is part of why brokenstar took over and tried to eradicate the drying traditions."

"(To be clear, the clans used baskets and such from riverclan to transport their goods and tradable valuables to and from locations such as half-way camps and festival locations)"

"(Halfway camps are usually created halfway into the territory towards fourtrees/the island, and are locations for reprieve in the territory if you’re out too long or hurt/injured.)"

"(Clans with 2+ full medicine cats will have the excess med cats wander through the halfway camps and base camp to help heal any warriors who are resting there, injured. Halfway camps are also easy quarantine areas, but MUST be doused with hot water afterwards, as this is the only way the clans have found they can prevent further outbreaks in warriors who go back there.)"

"(This is part of why bluestar is so worried about kits in into the wild’s prologue. they only have one medicine cat, and per the ways of the clans, that is simply Not Good.)"

"When brokenstar eventually tries to assimilate shadow and windclan, he is fought against by Deadfoot and Tallstar, but they are sent fleeing past the borders as their clanmates are asleep or too confused and scared to fight. Windclan is communal and giving, so the idea that a clan would want to assimilate with another in such a violent way confuses them greatly."

"When tallstar and Deadfoot come back, it is with firepaw, greypaw, and the barn cats (of which there are multiple at the time). The barn cats rally the windclan warriors — hell, even some shadowclan warriors fight back (looking at nightpelt & others) — and soon, shadowclan is forced out in the middle of the night."

"No one knows which shadowclan warriors it was who fought back, either, because everyone was so confused and exhausted in the fray of the fighting that they just. couldn’t tell it was even shadowclan warriors"

"They just think that fire and grey brought more than they actually did"

"Tallstar lost a life in that fight, and so did every barn cat except barley, who was very upset at the loss of his friends, allies, and colleagues (of which there were 3)"

"This is also around the time raven joined barley, but barley insisted the young cat stay home and protect the barn."

"So, after that, the windclan cats were not sure what to do. They struggled to rebuild their clan, and were finally doing well (but not the same) again when tigerstar proposed the merge."

"Some of the cats born or raised during brokenstar’s rule over windclan were all for the idea of assimilating their cultures. They wanted more skills, more options and opportunities, but they were all shut down and forced to think like the rest of their clanmates by mudclaw."

"Of course, these young warriors and apprentices had no idea that tiger was worse than broken. Hell, some of them thought tall was weak and soft because he wasn’t like broken, who they remembered strongest from their childhoods."

"When this was discovered, everyone was appalled and showed them the horrors of what brokenstar had truly been doing through… less than helpful means."

"Honestly, it’s mudclaw’s willingness to and skill at stamping out these quarrels and horrible beliefs that makes him the prime candidate for deputy in tall’s eyes after deadfoot’s death."

"Anyways, windclan still wants desperately to get their old traditions of drying back, but it’s not the same now that shadowclan knows their secrets. And now Firestar wants to merge his clan with Tallstar’s, to defeat tigerstar…"

"To say they were uneager to merge clans again would be understating the problem."

"Of course, the elders’ fears came true. Thunderclan and Riverclan and Windclan youngsters began to train together, teaching each other the individual ways of their clans. This was put to a stop as soon as the clans went back to their individual camps, but things were never the same, not to those elders."

"Of course most of the bleeding of culture faded over the next year or so, but that didn’t change the fact that what was done was done."

"And then… we have thunderclan."

"“Let all those whose lives are forged from the blood they spill gather under the highrock for a clan meeting!”"

"Little thunderclan, being forged on the blood of prey animals and the act of hunting animals heavier than one can ever hope to carry on their own. Thunderclan, the ones known as regal and generous natures, despite the absolute cruelty and chaotic ways they treat their prey with."

"Thunderclan, the ones who just can’t seem to keep their opinions to themselves, thunderclan, the ones who always have to get their ways, thunderclan… the one who was founded by a child."

"It isn’t helpful that the cat prophesied to save the clans came to thunderclan. It isn’t helpful that he became loud and obnoxious like the rest of them. It isn’t helpful that he became their leader."

"Do the rest of clans get the prophecy?" - mod dorito

"crookedstar and tallstar do. brokenstar does not." - mod soda

"thunderclan is the most hated, the most annoying, the most brutish fighters, and they’re aware of it. They know the other clans won’t fight their will because if they try, they might risk making themselves a target for the great warriors of thunderclan, a target of the greatest leader ever, even. Firestar isn’t like that, but he will make it known when he thinks his course of action is the best. Which is all of the time."

"Is it firestar’s idea? Yes? It’s great, keep going. Is it anyone else’s? No, stop it."

"Do they fight over Firepaw?" - mod dorito

"Uhhhh not really? Crookedstar is more occupied holding riverclan together and tallstar is trying to repair windclan. Neither can really take on the responsibility of a prophetic child." - mod soda

(the rest delves into more cat and arc-specific lore instead of culture stuff.)

[puppypaw-wc]

Mothpool AU Rambles - Po3

I made some Mothpool hypokits.

Quailwing (named after Mothwing and equivalent to Jay) is a dilute chocolate mackerel tabby tom with blind blue eyes (blue is inherited from Mothwing).

Russetleaf (named after Leafpool and equivalent to Holly) is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-cat with green eyes (green is inherited from Leafpool who carried the gene from her parents... she’s also a demigirl cuz I said so).

Lynxcloud (equivalent to Lionblaze) is a fluffy reddish-orange mackerel tabby tom with amber eyes (inherited from Leafpool).

I got the genetics from a genetic generator (I changed them a bit though...) so they should be accurate.

Excuse me as I rant about an AU idea I had-

So basically.

Leafpool (at the time Leafpaw) ends up getting really close to Mothwing while Squilf is out and about.

Mothwing feels comfortable telling her that she’s trans and just didn’t want to tell anyone outside of RiverClan, because she already knew she was by the time she was apprenticed so why would anyone care? Plus she didn’t want to get discriminated against even though at this rate the Clans are used to same sex couples (Firestar and Graystripe are a thing, Sandstorm’s also there) and trans cats (Firestar, Sandstorm, probably a lot of others)...

Anyways, most of TNP goes the same, but then Leafpool ends up having kits with Mothwing instead... Mothwing is surprised to hear this, but the two of them, Squirrelflight and Ferncloud (who Leafpool decides should nurse the kits... Mothwing has other thoughts though) go to have the kits away from the Clans.

The first born is a chocolate she-kit (you’ll see...). Before even seeing his eyes or anything Leafpool knows that she should be named Quailkit, so she is.

Next is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-kit. Mothwing names this one Russetkit, having heard of ShadowClan’s deputy and her friendship with her mother Sasha.

Lastly is a fluffy red she-kit (they trans boiiiiiiiiiiii). While Leafpool wants to name her Mothkit, Mothwing advises against it and Squirrelflight decides to name her Lynxkit.

When it comes time to go home though, Lynxkit has established a bond with Mothwing, who already wanted at least one of the kits to come to RiverClan. Leafpool bids her daughter and Mothwing farewell and brings Quailkit and Russetkit to ThunderClan.

Quailkit soon decides that he/him pronouns fit him better after getting to know his grandfather Firestar, and in RiverClan Lynxkit does the same upon getting to know Mothwing, who he has a close bond with, better.

The only cats who know the truth in RiverClan are Leopardstar, Willowpaw and Mothwing, while in ThunderClan many more know the truth - Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw (vaguely;he knows the Three aren’t his and Squilf’s kits but doesn’t know who they are), Firestar, Sandstorm and the nursery permaqueens.

The Three get apprenticed. Russetpaw is excited to be a medicine cat apprentice, while her brother Quailpaw is determined to become a warrior and overcome his disability. Meanwhile in RiverClan, Lynxpaw is excited to become a warrior, despite his crush on Willowpaw slowing his progress down a bit.

Now here, Quailpaw and Russetpaw don’t switch roles. While Russetpaw does still struggle with herb meanings and such, Leafpool gives her ways to remember them, through little rhymes or short songs. Quailpaw gets training in his dreams from Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Cinderpelt (though Cinder’s presence is weaker due to her also being by Cinderpaw’s side as a guardian angel/imaginary friend to her, more on that later), learning how to hunt through both sight and smell.

Eventually Russetpaw goes to RiverClan to make sure everything’s okay, before getting stuck due to Twoleg doing... I don’t know what they were doing during Dark River. During her time in RiverClan she bonds with both Lynxpaw and Willowpaw, the latter of whom she was already close to due to medicine cat meetings.

Now, in the canon books, Lionpaw meets with Heatherpaw in the tunnels. Here, however, instead we have Quailpaw meeting with Minnowpaw... I’m not sure where. Perhaps they were exploring ThunderClan territory and accidentally overstepped the borders, Quailpaw falling into the tunnels and them LARPing there? Anyways, both want to be warriors despite both having short fuses. Unlike in the canon books where after saving the WindClan kits Lionpaw and Heatherpaw’s friendship fades away, Quailpaw and Minnowpaw keep being friends, talking at Gatherings and occasionally asking Russetpaw, Willowpaw, Leafpool or Mothwing to tell them something or give them something when they come over to help. The kits they save here are Sneezekit and Mallowkit.

And as in the canon books, Lynxpaw trains in the Dark Forest. Tigerstar mentoring him honestly makes sense to me - there’s probably been several leaders named Tigerstar who have been colored like him given Tigerheart. Anyways, Tigerstar tells him he just wants to help him hone in on his powers. Of course, he wants to, so he trains in the Dark Forest.

Oh, also Russetpaw does have a power! At first Quailpaw tells her about his power and she pretends to be the one with it. However, after a bit, Leafpool figures out the facade and confronts Quailpaw about it. Russetpaw’s power takes longer to manifest, but she does have it, and it’s getting cats to tell the truth, basically hypnotizing them. She uses it a bit before she runs away into the tunnels to get cats to confess to breaking the warrior code, but after the reveal she decides that maybe she shouldn’t do that and instead uses it to figure out who’s training in the Dark Forest.

Anyways, onto Outcast!

Due to Brook and Stormfur formerly taking refuge in RiverClan, Leopardstar decides that one of their cats should go to the mountains as well alongside Crowfeather, Breezepaw, Squirrelflight, Tawnypelt, Quailpaw, Russetpaw and Brambleclaw. Lynxpaw volunteers, and his mentor (Dawnflower, Minnowpaw’s mom) therefore goes as well. Mothwing considers going, but ultimately doesn’t, instead deciding to teach Lynxpaw some herbs due to not fully trusting Russetpaw’s herb skills. He becomes a bit interested in them, but not enough to become a meddie.

After watching Lynxpaw during the battle with the rogues, Quailpaw tells him and Russetpaw a prophecy.

There will be three, kin of a great leader’s kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. Look for the sharp-eyed quail. Listen out for the lynx’s roar. After both of these events have come and gone, peace will come on a gentle russet leaf.

Russetpaw is certain that she and Quailpaw are two of the cats in the prophecy, simply believing that Lynxpaw’s prefix being mentioned is just a coincidence due to the commonality of the prefix.

Lynxpaw doesn’t know what to think about it.

The prospect of being important excites Quailpaw. The cats who doubt him won’t any longer when they find out he’s a prophecy cat! Or at least, that’s what he hopes...

Eclipse goes about the same... aside from Lynxpaw not wanting to fight Quailpaw! He just became friends with him, and might be in the prophecy with him!

Sol tells Lynxpaw that he can explain the prophecy. Lynxpaw decides that he should tell Mothwing and Willowpaw about it, and firstly tells the latter of the two.

Willowpaw and him both agree that the great leader is likely Firestar, but could also be one of the original leaders, leaving Heatherpaw and Breezepaw as possible candidates. Lynxpaw tells her that Quailpaw told him the prophecy, and she says that they’re possible candidates too. He starts to have low self esteem after this, but Willowpaw comforts him and the two basically get together but they don’t realize cuz they’re dumbasses.

The two of them then go to tell Mothwing. At first she’s hesitant to believe them - she’s never really seen StarClan as much of a higher force then the living cats, they’re just dead cats, they’re as reckless and at times mouse-brained as they were when they were alive. 

But she sees the glow in Lynxpaw’s eyes. It reminds her of what she loved about Leafpool. She sees Leafpool in the son she could never treat as her own. Believing Willowpaw to have received the prophecy (mouse-dung, we forgot to tell her that Quailpaw told me the prophecy), at the next Moonpool meeting she gives her her medicine cat name - Willowshine.

Due to how valiantly he fought in the battle, Lynxpaw is given his warrior name of Lynxcloud. Minnowpaw is given her warrior name at this time as well, as is Pebblepaw, with those two being named Minnowtail and Pebblefoot like in canon.

Quailpaw is also given his warrior name by Firestar, that being Quailwing after Mothwing.

Long Shadows is mostly the same except for one minor change, that being that Jay’s Wing is now named Quail’s Feather. Flamepaw, Dawnpaw and Tigerpaw help the Three fake an omen to get Blackstar to believe in StarClan again like in the canon books. The fire scene is also slightly different... but anyways, Russetpaw gets her full name of Russetleaf.

Now the fire scene... the whole reveal happens but afterwards Squilf reassures Russetleaf and Quailwing that she loves them as if they were her own kits, and that Brambleclaw does as well. 

Quailwing takes a while to accept it, still being confused about his power... StarClan has given cats powers before, but for all he knows he’s just a kittypet or rogue or loner who was brought to the Clan at a young age. And how does Lynxcloud fit into this? Eventually though, he accepts it, deciding to try to help whoever the Three are with whatever the prophecy requires them to do.

Russetleaf, however, can’t accept it. She’s a disgrace to her Clan and has no right to be a medicine cat. She should’ve known she wasn’t in the prophecy, she doesn’t have a power at all... Cinderheart notices something’s wrong and talks to her about it, and they get together and she starts to feel better, even if she realizes that she’s breaking the code... she’s stopped caring anymore.

Eventually though, Russetleaf’s power appears and she’s confused. She accidentally uses it without realizing after Quailwing finds out that Leafpool’s their mother, in an attempt to figure out who their father/sire is. Also yes, I did shuffle events... partially cuz I forgot the order they happen in.

Russetleaf carried the blood red berries in her jaws as she entered camp. No one questioned her, though she saw a few cats giving her weird looks. I have to do this, she thought.

As she entered the medicine cat den, Leafpool looked up at her, fear in her eyes.

“Russetleaf, what are you-” Russetleaf cut her off.

“I know now,” she hissed, “Mother. I may not know who our father is, but-”

The medicine cat cut her off. The tortioseshell tabby noticed that her eyes looked... focused on something else, as if in a trance.

“While she’s not your father, per-say, Mothwing sired you, Quailwing and Lynxcloud,” her mother mewed, “now, may I please leave the den?”

Her eyes looked normal again halfway through her second sentence. Still confused, Russetleaf nodded, allowing Leafpool to exit the den.

What did I just do?

She experiments with her power, seeing who may’ve broken the warrior code. Mousewhisker (relationship with Minnowtail), Squirrelflight (hiding the truth), Brambleclaw (same as Squilf), heck, even Firestar (giving prey to RiverClan, giving Yellowfang prey and eating some of it before bringing it to the Clan, hiding Graystripe’s relationship with Silverstream, probably more)! ... all of them admit it.

She begins to feel... power-hungry. While the Dark Forest has been unable to recruit her due to her loyalty to ThunderClan, they are able to do one thing: will her to kill Ashfur. Leafpool had taught her some fighting techniques she’d learned from Cinderpelt and Mothwing, she knows a decent amount, and uses them to kill Ashfur. To keep her Clan safe.

This starts to weigh her down. She feels terrible. She broke the code... but she did it to keep her Clan safe! ... didn’t she?

She can’t keep it inside any longer. She tells everyone the truth at a Gathering. Mothwing and Leafpool are exposed. Firestar doesn’t want to make her give up her position, but Leafpool insists on it, scared of what Russetleaf could do. Leopardstar, who’s always been a code junkie even if she made two half-Clan cats deputy, made one of Tigerstar’s kits temporarily deputy even though she (I think) knew he was Firestar’s son, allowed one of Tigerstar’s kits who was formerly a rogue to be a medicine cat, relinquishes Mothwing’s position.

Lynxcloud says he wants to talk to his siblings, and they all go to the tunnels. Russetleaf needs to tell someone what she did... so she tells her brothers. And she runs in. And it seems as if she’s gone... dead...

But two young kits have potential.

[latefrequencies]

okay so here’s what i did this weekend. idk if i’m leaving tumblr or not. i haven’t been using it a lot lately, mostly bc i haven’t felt like i’ve had an awful lot to say in general. i’m either going to go away or else start using it again in full force but i do want to tell you what’s happened.

ever since the start of this year, my boyfriend Dylan and I have been making plans for me to move in with him so I don’t have to live with my family any longer (they’re very LGBT-phobic - i was closeted the entire time - but in addition to that were also just really controlling and manipulative and idk i’d go so far as to say abusive esp considering that i have a background of heavy abuse that my family’s behavior doesn’t come close to, but suffice to say it’s Not Good). anyway we were making plans for me to run away from them and move in with him, much like was the case five years ago when i left my father’s house. we figured out the logistics of things like how I’d get to school, where we’d keep my stuff, and so forth. every time I hung out with him at his house, i’d sneak some of my stuff there so that i’d have less of it to take with me when it came time to actually leave, and all throughout i kept trying to plant hints with my family that i might want to live with Dylan at some point and that i knew how to figure things out if i “had to” leave suddenly or whatever (which wasn’t a wholly unreasonable idea given that I live with my grandparents and What If One Of Them Dies but w/e)

this Friday, on the 20th of February, we finally made our escape and I moved in with him.

we loaded up all my stuff minus my instruments in his car (which i said I was going to give to my friend, who is also called Dylan, I’m henceforth going to call him DM as those are his initials - anyway it was not a total lie bc i did have some stuff i wanted to give him and we were gonna hang out with him first, but that’s how i explained having all my stuff outside the house like that), with the plan to come back to get my instruments, say that we “forgot something” and leave a note that i wrote, much like the one i wrote for my dad and that my aunts gave him after i left his house to live with my grandparents. in it, i addressed a conversation i had with my aunt just that week where i talked about things like how i had wanted to move out of my dad’s house even before my family helped me but i didn’t have friends who would help me but i do have friends who can help me with things now, what if i’d left a note at my dad’s house and left it at that without my aunts meeting him face to face about it, my aunt claimed that she cares about my wellbeing and wants me to be in situations where i can feel free and okay and like i’m actually getting something out of life, et cetera.

we met up with DM and his friend Sol, I was nervous as fuck and was more than a bit high on clonazepam and ashwagandha, i told them what i was doing (DM knew i was going to do this At Some Point, Sol didn’t). they were both happy for me. Dylan and I decided then that we’d leave the public place we’d met up at, i’d get my instruments and leave the note (i’d made multiple photocopies of it so different members of the family could all have copies). we did so, i got my instruments, the last thing i did was leave the note, Dylan and I got into the car and I put on “I See Through You” by Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats because i felt like it was really good getaway music. for anyone in my situation who likes stoner metal and needs a good getaway song, that was indeed the perfect soundtrack and i am never ever going to forget how i felt as we left that place for good.

we hung out with DM and Sol for a few hours at DM’s house. i kept feeling afraid that my family would try to call me or message me (i explicitly told them not to call me in the letter). they didn’t during that time, but after i got home with Dylan, Teacher Aunt tried to phone me twice and had sent me a text asking me to call her, saying it wasn’t anything bad. it might not have been related to the note though because she ended up sending a message saying something to the effect of “I got your note. We love you.” Nurse Aunt later sent a text saying “We love you. Text us if you and Dylan need anything.” As every LGBT person knows, “We love you” is family speak for “Come back so we can fix you.” Anyone who knows me knows that I won’t be falling for it.

last night was the first night my boyfriend and i were able to fall asleep together, and this morning was the first morning we were able to wake up together. he made breakfast for us and we talked about things and we both agreed that we were happy that we’d finally done it and we’d finally gotten me out. i’m going to start medically transitioning as soon as possible (DM, who is trans himself, knows all about how to go about transitioning and has agreed to help me with that). i’m going to work on legally changing my name and gender too. by the time i graduate, i’ll hopefully be able to pass well enough that i won’t have to out myself to future employers. 

my aunt sent me a text in which she told me i needed to call her (for reasons that were actually fully reasonable and i did need to call her about them, i’m not going to get into it). i did so and we talked about it and she claimed she wanted to respect me and knew that i was afraid that my family wouldn’t love me and they’d judge me and she wanted to assure me that that wasn’t the case. despite that, she continuously addressed me by my birth name. unsurprising. i might have to call or text her again, but i’m almost definitely not going to have to see her face to face again. and if and when i do, i’ll probably have been on testosterone for a bit so haha fuck you aunt, she’s gonna hate it and i’m gonna love it.

anyway. i’m doing okay. i’m doing better than I have in my entire life. a lot of things are going to change but most of them are going to be for the better. i’m not going to have to be around anyone i Don’t Want To Be Around. it’s exclusively going to be people who actually respect me and accept me. (i mean i’m sure i’ll encounter some shitfucks now and then, the world is full of them and i can’t expect everybody to be decent, my point is that they won’t need to be part of my life now). on Monday, i’m going to meet with my German teacher and tell him what happened, which seems like a weird thing to do but he’s one of the few people in my life who seems like he cares about me in any specific individual way (he says outright that he cares about all of his students), and being that i still have that psychological need for the approval of authority, i’m going to tell him because he’s certainly going to approve and he’s the only authority figure who will. 

but. yeah, i’m living with my boyfriend, i’m going to probably spend a lot more time with DM too (and I’m becoming better friends with Sol too, AND after talking to a classmate in my German class about the situation - we had some time in class where we just talked about whatever together so i told him i had great weekend plans - anyway there’s a guy in my German class called Mitch who I might end up becoming friends with, yay). and also i don’t need my family’s approval for who i’m friends with anymore, which used to be the case but No Longer. so my social life is gonna get a lot better. and everything’s going to get a lot better. this is the thing that i’ve been waiting for. longtime followers of my blog undoubtedly have been waiting for this very day as well. i’m happy to tell you all that that day has come. 

[thewhumperinwhite]

I'm sorry I don't know your OCs very well but I absolutely adore tma so I'll ask: slaughter, buried and desolation (my favourite entities) for any OC of your choosing :) -S

HILARIOUS BC THOSE ARE LEGIT THE THREE THAT SCARE ME THE MOST LMAO

🔪 the slaughter - what’s the most violent thing your character has ever done? how did they feel about it? have they ever killed anyone? what would/does it take to get them to act violently, or take a life?

I'm gonna answer this for Art because in a very bleak way I think his answer is the funniest?

So Art and Karim met when Karim was on his initiation meeting for the Coven (i.e., Bring Me Back Proof That You Killed Someone) and Art happened to be on the same deserted part of the city docks For The Purposes Of Killing Himself, and Karim was like ‘.…..there’s a mutually beneficial arrangement in here somewhere,’ but then can’t actually go through with it because he’s, you know, Not Actually A Murderer, so after they sleep together he just drains about a pint of Art’s blood to maybe give to Micah later and let’s Art sleep it off.

So Art wakes up miserable and dizzy and not dead, and draws the conclusion that Karim was lying to get Art in bed. And he really expected not to wake up-- was kind of depending on it, in fact.

So, the most violent thing Art has ever done was throw a heavy ceramic lamp at Karim’s head the morning after they had sex for the first time. Which could have done some real damage, if it’d hit him. Thankfully he was too dizzy from blood loss to have good aim :)

⚰ the buried - when had your character felt the most trapped? How well do they handle confinement?

Sol Michaelis Does Not Handle Confinement Well.

This is my official assurance that the problems Sol has with his father are not in any way related to him being trans. Vic Michaelis didn’t.... necessarily seem to hear Sol when he told came out? But he certainly wasn’t mad. It’s just that Sol’s dad is, uh... a mad scientist strict about his work hours and unwilling to be interrupted during them, even by his children. And Sol was a rambunctious kid, and probably too neuroatypical to reliably remember to be quiet, even when he was punished for making noise. 

So, partly as a punishment and partly as a way of Keeping Him Quiet, Vic would routinely shut Sol in the hall closet for increasing increments of time.

Which is... bad, admittedly. He always hated it, every time; by the time he was moving up into the sixty-minute range he would often be in tears by the time his dad unlocked the cupboard and let him out. But it’s also bearable. And it also Doesn’t Fucking Work, because Sol doesn’t usually realize he’s being loud until he gets yelled at for it. It almost feels like routine after a while.

Then, when Sol is 11 and his sister is 9, Vic has an important breakthrough in his home lab and runs off to tell his colleagues about it, forgetting that Sol is locked in a very small storage closet and the key is in Vic’s pocket.

Sol’s in the dark for over six hours, him screaming and crying inside the closet, his sister Karine and their nanny apologizing and trying to jimmy the lock on the outside, and Sol has an extended panic attack when he realizes it doesn’t matter if he begs or if everybody forgives him, the key just isn’t here.

When he gets home, Victor Michaelis unlocks the door, apologizes distractedly, and shuts himself back in his lap, and Sol never really forgives him.

🔥 the desolation - what’s the most precious thing your character has ever lost?

ggggg this is why I hate the desolation nothing freaks me out more than Losing Things That Can’t Be Replaced ANYWAY,

This might be obvious and kind of an easy out, BUT.

Andry has been learning to fence since he was eight years old.

His fencing master was a brittle, stick-thin old man named Toryn who taught with a heavy oak stick in his hand, which he would rap sharply against Andry’s knuckles or ankles when his form was poor. Asher, years later, would balk at the old man’s harshness and leave several lessons in a huff, but Andry appreciated his firmness. He rarely hit hard enough to bruise, just sharp quick jabs that were grounding more than painful. And when Andry could go a week without earning a single blow, the old man traded the stick for a foil and beat Andry mercilessly in every bout, holding nothing back, until Andry’s first victory, when he was fourteen, made him so proud and overwhelmed he had to shut himself in an empty room and cry for a few minutes afterward. 

By the time Andry was fifteen, he was routinely winning the fencing tournament at Colomur’s yearly festival, and by the time he was fairly certain the other contestants weren’t letting him win because he was the prince--but even then, he never won easily against Old Toryn, who sent him stumbling to the dust on the training room floor more often than not, and was the only man in Colomur whose smiles Andry felt he ever truly earned.

The old man was frail by the time the siege of Colomur House was really underway; he couldn’t survive on the decreased rations the blockade brought and he refused the food Andry tried to sneak him, sneering at the stolen bread and meeting Andry’s eyes to say that he was no longer the swordsman Colomur needed to survive these Northern invaders--and that Andry had better watch his footwork.

There is a moment, near the end of the siege-breaking battle, when Andry is surrounded by corpses, when he wonders if he’s made the old man proud, yet. That is, of course, before they cut off his hand.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

what's the die thing that you mentioned in the tags of that d&d post?

I know you said to disregard this ask because you checked back through my tag, but I am…reading the rules set for the DIE RPG and I am…expiring with glee, so I’m going to actually subpoena this ask as a chance to grandstand about my current favorite comic.

DIE, the current comic coming from the excellent Kieron Gillen, is basically what would happen if DnD and Jumanji had an extremely goth baby, ft the artistic stylings of Stephanie Hans.  If any of those words in any configuration made sense/interest you, this is my usual plea to trust me and buy the trade paperback that just came out, Fantasy Heartbreaker, rather than reading the rest of my hollering.

Anyway, on to the hollering.

DIE focuses on six friends who played a game when they were teenagers.  That game went great!  Right up until it sucked them all inside, trapped them there as their characters as they fought to escape, and kept their game master–permanently.

Now the five that are left are in their forties and have never told a single living soul what happened when they went missing for two months and came back short one person (and, in the case of Angela, short one arm).  When it becomes obvious that someone is trying to remind them of The Game That Shall Not Be Named, they get together again to try and figure it out, and…

Well, they end up right back where they started, courtesy of their long-lost friend and game master, Sol, who’s been sure to keep the world of Die in perfect condition just for them.  If they want to go back, Sol either needs to agree to leave with them, or he needs to die.

Roll the title card.

The characters are:

Dominic Ash, star of the show: Dom is a chronically depressed man in his forties in the real world, who tragically lost his best friend in a mysterious accident and has drifted from his friends ever since.  In the game, she’s Ash, the ethereally beautiful Dictator, who can make you do anything, feel anything, with a word and a smile.  The Dictator archetype is basically a bard, if bards were fucking eldritch horrors of emotional mind-control, and Ash is…terrifying, mostly because when she’s feeling desperate, everyone is fair game.  I’d die for my monstrous wife.  Also I firmly believe Ash is a trans woman accidentally living her truth in a nightmare world, and neither God nor Kieron Gillen can stop me.  In fact I think Kieron Gillen may agree with me.

Angela: Ash/Dom’s little sister, who lost an arm in Die the first time and now is absolutely ruthlessly determined to escape in time for the custody hearing for her kids.  She’s the Neo, which is half rogue, half cyberpunk warrior, and all addict–where most adventurers steal gold for the sake of the gold, the Neo’s powers are all dependent on being able to pay.  If you can pay, you can hack reality, full on Matrix-style.  If you can’t pay…well, I guess you have a knife, huh?

Chuck: the Fool, and the only one who was willing to face the idea of a fantasy novel after their first trip to Die.  In fact, he made a killing as a famous author of fantasy novels, all while working around Ash’s geas against speaking of their misadventure.  As the Fool, he can do anything, fight anything, survive anything, as long as he’s cocky and careless and grinning.  He’s unkillable as long as he doesn’t give a damn.  Whether or not his friends survive is…less certain.

Matt: a loving father who has long since gotten a handle on his teenage depression, which makes it inconvenient that he’s the Grief Knight.  Emotion Knights are unstoppable tanks, able to take anything anyone throws at them and dish it out twice as hard–but only as long as they’re immersed in their Emotion.  Matt’s their fighter, the one they depend on to save their asses when everything goes to hell, but it’s been a long time since he grieved hard enough to kill a dragon.

Isabelle: a brilliant and beautiful bilingual bitch, their Godbinder.  The Godbinder is half demonologist, half mafia godfather–Isabelle does favors, and she reaps the rewards.  I feel like all you need to know about Isabelle as a person is that the first time she summons a deity, he tries to get uppity with her and she snarls “You’re just a god, now do it.”  God she’s…so sexy.  I had other stuff to say about her but…listen…the power.  She’s so hot.  I love everyone in this bar but especially Isabelle and Ash.

Sol: Die is a game and Sol is the Master.  Reality is what he says.  And he says that he wants his friends to pay for leaving him.

The first arc, now compiled into Fantasy Heartbreaker, is INCREDIBLE and I’m going to tell you absolutely nothing else about it because it’s so good.  PLEASE read this incredibly fucked up DnD-as-horror-movie Jumanji comic.

[lawful-evil-novelist]

please! I do not know your drow characters, please tell us about them!

Ok, I have a lot of drow characters so I’ll try to keep this...short.

So a few of my characters were NPCs in campaigns I took to writing while working with certain original characters but eventually the characters morphed their own personalities separate from the NPCs they came from and honestly the only similarity left is like, they have the same name, class, and gender.  This includes like, most of the main characters of Page Prince.

The Xilbrindas brothers are numbered at three, Xandaer or Xan, Soluun or Sol, and N’arl.  Their house was destroyed when the youngest was around 8 or 9.

Xan is a few years short of 270 and is a fighter, he’s the oldest of the Xilbrindas brothers and is the most removed from drow society, deliberately so.  Xan is quiet and reserved, it’s pretty much a large question as to whether or not he’s actually nice or just doesn’t like murder.

Soluun is the middle brother at around 150, is a fighter as well and a gunslinger.  Soluun is the most typically drow-like of the brothers, basically, he’s clung to drow values as a way to cope with not having a family anymore.  Soluun and Xan hate each other but Soluun’s relationship with N’arl is a touch more complicated.

N’arl is the youngest brother, being only about 50 or so, and is the only spellcaster; he’s a wizard.  N’arl, separate from his fairly confident brothers, is a nervous wreck.  He’s constantly anxious and has a very low opinion of most of his skills, a sole exception being his skill with poisons and antidotes.

Nym is N’arl’s father, but he’s kinda the worst.  Nym doesn’t actually care about N’arl beyond “this is mine” and left N’arl to be raised by Soluun because he was constantly running around.  He’s a thief, backstabber, and all-around sucks.

Fel’rekt is one of two drow that are invested in making sure N’arl is safe and happy, he is the one better at that job but in fairness, Fel’rekt has the conviction of a bull and I love him for it.  Fel’rekt, as a side note, is also trans, thought that would be a good detail to add.

Krebbyg is that second drow, he’s also Fel’rekt’s boyfriend and is...he’s kinda quiet.  Like he cares about N’arl but that amounts mostly to him prodding N’arl in the ribcage and telling him to eat or threatening Soluun with sharp weapons when he’s a jerk.

Varis Baenre is a precious spoiled brat blessed by the drow gods and is fucking smug as hell about it, he’s great, he’s such a little shit I love him so much.

Lyssa is a drow rogue who is a ball stubborn anti-Lolth sentiment and her rejection of Lolth can be succinctly summed up by her own words: “Fuck the Bitch Queen of Spiders”.  So yeah Lyssa’s fun.

Jysanna Myafin is actually my only drow matron.  Jysanna is basically just a drow ranger and a mom at the same time.  Like a good mom, she knows what she’s doing and doesn’t treat her kids like crap.

Myrae Myafin is Jysanna’s eldest daughter, she’s a bard and is superbly extra, like, too extra for her own good but I love her anyway.

Vierda Myafin is Jysanna’s middle daughter, she’s a sorcerer-rogue multiclass and her motif is, surprise surprise, spiders.  Come on I needed one drow that had the spider motif might as well give it to the one whose nickname is Matron Slayer.

Nalfein 100% gets his name and premise from the Legend of Drizzt character that dies in chapter 1 of Homeland and I have no regrets.  He’s a drow necromancer blessed by the drow goddess Kiransalee, he is charming and frighteningly intelligent.  He’s basically the person that threatens you with a very happy smile on his face.

December is one of my first drow characters, she’s a sorcerer/fighter and has silver dragon blood in her veins.  December is best described by the anecdote of her both cowing an entire room of kobolds into submission and also by adopting like four of them.

Zarifrax is a lich, he is a dramatic as fuck lich and is also blind, like his matron stabbed his goddamn eyes out because he did something he wasn’t supposed to but she didn’t cut out his tongue, which is a only downside for the people who don’t like getting murdered with words.

Morgan technically doesn’t count because he’s only half drow but since the other half is sun elf I’m counting it.  Morgan is Xan’s boyfriend and a wizard.  He’s friendly and cheerful and has a biting wit, mostly to disguise a lot of self-worth issues because being half drow among sun elves is not a recipe for a happy childhood.

Savan is Varis’s technical guardian, he’s the drow in charge of Varis when Varis’s actual guardian, his uncle, is doing stupid shit, which is, granted, most of the time.  The best way to describe Savan is “Rosa Diaz if she were a drow”.

Mindra is a paladin of Eilistraee and is very eager to prove herself.  She’s that gay paladin in love with the moon, by the way.

Eryn Fey-Branche is a drow warlock who made a pact with a celestial being; she’s the drow I play for Curse of Strahd.  She’s a smartass with generally good intentions and has a small gift for mimicry.  She’s mimicked her boss on several occasions and also cusses people out in drow sign while talking to them.

Last but certainly not least is Izze, Izze is a small drow warlock who made a pact with the actual drow god of slimes and oozes, That Which Lurks, Ghanadaur, and is, while a typical little shit for drow, is also infectiously cheerful and friendly.

[fluidityandgiggles]

Sleep Is For The Weak - Chapter 7

Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 5, Last Chapter

Writing Masterlist - for previous chapters not otherwise linked, Read on AO3

Notes (I guess): I decided to post this earlier than usual, both in honor of fanfic writer appreciation day and because I finished writing this one yesterday, and I was going to schedule it, and just not worry about anything... and then there was a power shortage and as I’m was writing this, on Tuesday, I had to rely on my phone to provide me with wifi. God bless... (Well, I have wifi now, don’t I?)

I just thought that after all the angst of the last two chapters you’d appreciate a bit of sweetness, and where this chapter started almost as harshly as the last two, it’s just. So sweet. And fluffy. And I feel so happy that I managed to do such a thing. Well... that and prove to the world that I’m a massive nerd. (If you really want to know, some of Emile’s rants in this chapters are based on actual answers I gave in my finals. And those of you who know me well enough know that I studied theatre in high school...)

Thanks and credits go to @broadwaytheanimatedseries for the initial idea (and for being there to listen and talk about ideas with when we hang out, which happens a lot more lately actually), to @whatwashernameagain the absolute angel for Keep Him Safe and for being incredibly awesome (and for the German translation of one of my favorite quotes ever), to @anony-phangirl and @asleepybisexual for their usual contributions that shall never go un-thank-ed and uncredited, and a special one to @winglessnymph who is the person and inspiration behind a good chunk of Emile’s background and who, after showing them a screenshot of this chapter, just said “my old high school can burn, but yes at least Emile survived”.

Tag list (sort of): @bunny222, @ab-artist, @secretlyanxiouspersona, @your-username-is-unavailable, @virgilcrofters, @why-things-go-boom, @ilovemygaydad, @violetblossem

Trigger warning: period appropriate transphobia (the early 00s were not exactly trans-friendly). This chapter in particular also has mentions of alcohol and drug use.

—————

"But I want you to come!"

"Leah, sweetie, I can't come. I'm going to Emile's. But I'll see you sooner than you think, okay?"

"Okay… but it's not going to be fun. Rachel is two and she's boring and I don't like Mom."

Leah called every day after school. Remy could've been in a class, or at a group meeting, or taking a shower, and she would call every day after school. It was somewhat adorable.

But now was no time to deal with adorable.

"Emile, my darling, my precious, my sweet sweet love," Remy declared at the beginning of their morning sols 20 class last Monday, "can I come over for thanksgiving?"

"Didn't you say you have to see your mom?" Emile whispered over his cup of tea, struggling to get comfortable. The weather got extremely cold lately, and at thirty-six degrees at eight in the morning, not even the four layers and giant thermos full of tea could keep Emile warm enough to survive morning classes.

India literally asked him if he's not supposed to be used to such temperatures, which earned her a lecture on hypersensitivity and illness caused by stress.

"But it's Linda! Emile, babe, sweetheart, darling, dollface—"

"Don't call me bubbeleh and I'll consider it."

"It'll be worth it. I promise—"

"I need to ask my mom, and my sister is coming to pick me up because I'm kinda scared of flights, and Minnesota is kind of far away."

"Alright. I don't mind."

He really hoped Nathalie would agree.

"I don't want to be here alone," Leah half-whined.

"I know, babe, but it won't be long. Trust me."

He let her talk about school for a good while more, at least until he could hear Linda screaming at her to stop holding the line. It was horrifying. He didn't remember her doing it much.

Then again, she was barely home anyway.

The call disconnected rather quickly, right on time for his appointment at the psych clinic. The grad student who claimed Remy as his personal project was supervised today by the head of the department, as part of his research, which meant Remy had to be on his best behavior.

It also meant he'd get misgendered. Which was a thing said student, whose thesis was on gender dysphoria and gender identity (same subject as his big project for AP psychology back at Bronx Science, really), made sure to not do.

This was going to be fun.

——

"You went to the Bronx High School of Science, right?"

"Yeah? Gurl, why you asking me? I told you that already."

"A 4.0 GPA, went to a gifted program in Columbia—"

"Why are you asking me questions you already know the answer to?"

"Dr. Freeman wanted to hear those for himself," Remy heard the guy - Michael, his name is Michael, stop calling him "the guy" - mutter to himself as he typed away on his laptop.

"What makes you think that you're a boy, Miss Harris?" The doctor asked, pushing his glasses up. What a prick…

"Well, considering how I was quite literally diagnosed with gender identity disorder by a licensed psychiatrist, I don't think I am. I know I am."

"And yet, you've enrolled into Harvard under the name Rebecca. Is there any explanation as to why?" Freeman looked directly at Remy. "You're an intelligent young person, and enrolling under your preferred—"

"I didn't know I could do it, and now I have, like, no idea how to change it in administration."

"Biologically speaking, Mr. Harris, the concept of sex is very non-binary." The older man's gravelly voice seemed to chill even Michael, still taking notes. Suddenly he didn't seem so evil.

"First of all," Dr. Freeman said, "in sexual species, you can have female be XX and males just be X. For example, in insects. Female birds are ZW and males are ZZ, for reptiles it's temperature differences that female or male make. In some flatworms it's a penis fencing competition. Some fish like clownfish and parrotfish can have females become males because there are no males left, and the New Mexico whiptail lizards are a female-only species who reproduce asexually. Some species, like cuttlefish, have males act like females in order to get close to the females. And fungi have thousands of sexes. And that's not even getting close to humanity."

The doctor cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee. "You can be male because you were born female but have a 5 alpha-reductase deficiency, and so you develop a penis in puberty. You can be female because you were born with XY chromosomes but you're insensitive to androgens, or because your Y is missing the SRY gene, both of which would result in developing a female figure. You can be male because you were born with two XX chromosomes but one of them does have the SRY gene. You can be male by having two X chromosomes and one Y, or a female by having only one X chromosome. And you can be male or female by being born in the wrong body for your brain.

"As I said, there is no such thing as two biological sexes only. So I'll ask you this again. Why would you enroll as a female named Rebecca if you know that you are neither?"

Remy had no idea how to respond. The professor looked at him, straight at him, and Michael kept typing away…

"...I told you, I had no idea I could do that."

"I'll write you a note to give to Vivian in administration. She'll take care of everything, you just need to provide her with a name."

"It's Remy—"

"I hope you understand that this isn't legal, it's only official. I don't have a doctorate in psychology just to explain what's the difference between the two to my students."

Remy nodded nervously, swallowing air. "Yes sir."

——

"Your suite is so much more comfortable than mine," Emile wiggled on the couch, petting his bunny, as Remy was making him a cup of tea. "You can… clearly see Leah was here."

"The marks on the wall? Yeah… she brought her scooter with her and wouldn't stop running into the wall with it."

Emile giggled - how much cuter could this boy get? - and scratched Mycroft's head a bit. "I asked my mom and, yeah, my grandparents and my uncle and his family are coming over, so it wouldn't be that much of an issue if you came over, but…"

"But?"

"We're having thanksgiving at my grandparents' on my dad's side. So it might be a bit of an issue. I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. It's okay, we didn't plan for this or whatever. I'll watch over Leah and you take care around your family, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun with her. She'll really need it."

"I know and I'm willing to suffer for that."

The kettle started whistling. Remy filled the mug with the boiling water and took it to Emile.

Just yesterday Emile screamed "I waited five minutes and the weather didn't change, get your shit together, Boston" at the sky when it started to snow. It wasn't even that much, Remy had seen bigger storms and he was sure that Emile did too - he was from Minnesota, after all - but it was still somewhat funny. After asking, Emile explained that in Minnesota, and basically all around the Midwest, "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes".

Remy didn't think he meant it literally. He probably didn't.

"How's India doing?"

"Midterms."

"Cool."

Emile was muttering something to himself in a language Remy didn't understand. He let Mycroft go and the bunny just sat there, on the couch, looking happy enough.

"Hey Remy, what's the Hebrew word for thanksgiving?"

"...I'm a Christian from New Jersey. Why are you asking me?"

"I don't… I don't know. My parents are expecting me to call my cousins before thanksgiving and they don't know English or Dutch yet… not that I know that much Dutch either, but… wait, you're from New Jersey? I thought you're from Manhattan."

"Only since I was five."

"Oh. Cool."

Remy moves the bunny and sat down next to Emile, who leaned against his side and put his head on his shoulder. His hair was incredibly soft, Remy was never quite able to stop running his fingers through it, and the whole situation just… made Remy feel like everything was going to be okay. Just… don't move from this spot, where the his adorable, tiny friend was cuddling up to him and muttering to himself in a different language, and everything will be alright.

His hair smelled like jasmine and seawater. And Remy was torn between admitting to himself just how much he liked it, and wondering if Chris would be jealous.

"You went on a date, right?" Emile raised his head, his hair tickling Remy. "I just…"

"Yeah, I did." And it was a bit better than Halloween. Chris was… way more interesting when not in parties, apparently. For one, he did not talk about his crush on Harrison Ford, and he did talk quite a bit but at least it was about law school and not Indiana Jones. It was… it was great.

"Huh… that's nice." And then, "a friend once asked me on a date. I had to say no."

"Why? Was something so wrong that—"

"No… I like that guy, but… he's the same guy who always paid me to bake weed brownies for him and his friends, and that's not very appropriate, right?"

He had to do a double take. "Weed brownies?!"

"Yeah… my school was the druggie school, you know?"

"No… I didn't know."

"Yeah… it's not like my parents couldn't afford to send me where my sister went, but they were worried about how the stress would affect me so I went to a public school. And… at least I only ever sneaked vodka in water bottles and baked weed brownies, I never, like… held someone's hair out of their face in the bathroom or had to keep someone from killing themselves, which now that I say it out loud just sounds so bad and I totally would've done it if I had to but—"

"Emile, babe, you're making me worry. Like, really."

"Sorry… I never ate weed brownies, though. I'm sensitive to weed."

This… this was the thing that baffled Remy about Emile. This… tiny, pure, angelic thing, with the soft hair that always smelled like jasmine and seawater and the bright, sparkling eyes. His soft little friend whose sunny disposition never faltered, not even in the darkest of times, and whose dedication and determination shone through everything he did.

Emile Picani, the sweetest human Remy ever met, was used to sneaking vodka into school and baking weed brownies.

Fuck.

"How do you even find out that you're sensitive to weed if you don't, like, smoke weed or whatever?"

"You have to decarboxylate the weed to activate it, which basically means heating it up, and the smell gives me migraines, so… that's how I found out."

Yeah, because that's so much better.

"But I mean, good riddance. Can we watch Mulan? I want to do something…"

"Aren't you reading that Sartre thing?"

"No Exit? I already finished it." Emile sipped on his tea. "I don't… get it? I can see why Estelle and Garcin will never achieve an epiphany, but Ines came in already aware that she's amoral… can't she just… leave Hell?"

Gilliam gave the class an optional assignment, to read and analyze No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre. It wasn't even going to go into their final grade, but he did say that it might be very important to the next semester when they study Freud ("and how he almost ruined the entire field of psychology, more or less"), so Remy chose to leave it for Christmas break. Or maybe not even read it.

"It's something like sixty pages, it's shorter than Hedda Gabler or The Cherry Orchard… it's an easy—"

"Question one, what the fuck is Hedda Gabler, and question two, what cherry orchard?"

Emile's eyes lit up and he almost jumped in his seat, spilling some of his tea on his lap and causing Mycroft to hop a bit farther. "Did you ever do theatre?"

And off on a rant he went, explaining every little nuance and allegory in both the plays ("so like, back in Ibsen's time, realistic theatre was meant to portray real life and keep the three unities, so Hedda shooting herself off-stage is meant to shock the audience as well as preserve the unity of place, which is pretty much…", "you know, the reason it's called Hedda Gabler despite Hedda being married to Jorgen Tesman is to show that Hedda sees herself as the daughter of General Gabler first and the wife of Jorgen Tesman second", "the cherry orchard is never really in scene ever, so it's kind of like a fantasy, or trying to hold onto a thing that isn't there anymore, like the Russian aristocrat's status, so when middle-class Lopakhin buys the orchard and orders to start cutting it before the others even left is like an even bigger sign that the aristocracy has fallen and there is no place left for it in the modern Russian society, in the face of the upcoming bourgeoisie and their budding materialism").

It was worse than Leah talking about betta fish. Well… no it wasn't, but he couldn't bring himself to shut Emile up… he was too cute to be told to shut up.

"So I just… I don't get it. Ines should be able to pick herself up and walk out the door, so why isn't she doing it?"

Emile was out of tea by the time Remy caught him looking at him with questioning eyes and realized he'd completely zoned out.

"Maybe… societal pressure?"

"Maybe… but it still makes no sense. She's in one room with two incredibly selfish people… can I boil some more water?" Remy nodded and Emile practically jumped out of his lap. The cold immediately hit Remy with a wave of disappointment. He wanted to hold Emile just a bit longer...

"Then again," Emile kept ranting, "this is the play that coined the term ‘Hell is other people'. L'enfer, c'est les autres. De hel zijn de anderen. Hagehenom hu hazulat."

"How many languages was that…?"

"Four." Remy choked. "I don't speak Dutch or Hebrew very well, I told you that. I only know the basics because of my family. But I do know this saying in five languages. I think... My oma and opa really like saying it. But I don't remember how to say it in German."

This boy was impossible.

"No, no, I do remember it. Die Hölle, das sind die anderen."

And Remy absolutely loved him. (A bushel and a peck.)

"And I only know how to say it in German because my neighbors are German. So like… I really only speak two languages."

"That's still way more than me, babe."

"Well, enough about me! I want to hear more about your date! How awesome was it?"

Oh, it was great. Chris didn't talk only about himself, he was actually interested in listening to Remy talk about his interests, they had a lovely dinner and went to see a slightly better than okay movie (he was not going to tell Emile that The Ring gave him nightmares for three days after watching it though), and he kissed him when they got back to Harvard. Nothing big, everything was nice, and they were going on a date again in early December. Nothing could be better.

Except the voice in his head, calling him a liar.

"That sounds very nice," Emile muttered as he plopped back down next to Remy and put his cup of tea on the table. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. The Two Towers and Chicago are supposed to come out in December. And I promised my sister I'll go to see both of them with her."

A comfortable silence settled in. Remy tried to focus on anything but how nice it was to cuddle Emile, especially today that all his suitemates had other obligations. It was almost time to leave for thanksgiving - those who left for thanksgiving anyway - and… it meant he wouldn't see Emile for a week.

He didn't think he was a fan of the idea.

"Can we please watch Mulan? I haven't seen it in forever!"

Remy had to oblige.

——

"Hello?" The tiny voice that came through the phone made Remy so happy, and he had no idea why. "Who's that?"

"Leah, aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?"

"Remy oh oh oh Remy I have so many things to tell you so yesterday I went to the park and I found a shiny rock and—"

"Leah, I called to tell you and Linda that I'm coming over for thanksgiving." The high-pitched scream almost ruptured his eardrum. "But you have to be on your best behavior, okay? I know it's a very hard thing to do, babe, but it's for Linda."

"Okay! I can behave very good!"

"I know you can, sweets. I just need you to promise me that you will."

"I promise that I will! Pinky promise! When you get here it'll be a pinky promise, okay?"

All that was left was to hope that thanksgiving won't be such a disaster.

If it was, though, Remy would start considering smuggling Leah with him to Cambridge.

[fatal-blow]

“Did Orden ever think about ending the war?” Benjal demanded.  “Your country had an embargo put in place on us.  You killed wildlife in your oceans by putting in mines, you were so obsessed with keeping us down here.  By Sol, Orden forced their prisoners of war to fight in gladiatorial matches, and you can't deny that because Eli fought in those matches!

“I know there were things wrong with Solvan,” he continued, “but Orden wasn't a pillar of morality either.  No one's a winner when it comes to the war.” He looked away with a shake of his head. “It doesn't matter anyways. Solvan's gone.  Orden's won now.”

Name: Benjalidius-Veen Nivul

Gender/ Sexuality: Trans man/Bisexual

Race: Human

Nationality: Solvani

For someone so young, Benji’s achieved a lot in his life.  He started out an orphan, adopted by his father back before he’d transitioned.  His prodigious talent with magic pushed him ahead in school, but when he came out as trans--a brave thing to do in Solvan--he switched schools and was allowed by his father to transition.

Still, Benji’s father wasn’t very supportive despite allowing him to do what he wanted, using the right pronouns, everything.  He stopped talking about Benji outside of the home, and often outright ignored him.  Fortunately, around this time Benji met Eli, an old war veteran turned shop owner who was vastly more supportive of him.

Eli became a father to Benji, helping him with schoolwork and pushing him to be the best he could.  Benji graduated at young age with a shocking five schools of magic under his belt.  It wasn’t long after that he was welcomed into the Akatan Council, becoming their youngest member and a voice that chose to speak up for all the values that Eli taught him.

It was probably Eli, and his own gender identity, that made Benji as open minded as he is, a precious skill after the World Goes Quiet and he’s forced to work with people from so many different walks of life.  He helped balance out the more conservative side of the Council, advocating for progressive laws that could have changed Solvan for the better.

Overall, Benji’s got a lot of potential as a leader!  He’s a good speaker and an empathetic person, but his insecurities hold him back from being more.  It takes a lot of prodding from Eli to step up.  Benji needs to be more confident in himself, his abilities, and the things he likes (especially when the things he likes involve a certain Ordenian couple).

Benji’s just as determined to restore Solvan as the next guy, but he also sees the potential the world has if it were forced to start anew.  He’s acutely aware of Solvan’s failings, how they were a long way from being solved, and his ability to see both sides of an issue is rather invaluable.

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[ut-girl666]

Personally, in mine, the Primes don’t typically care.

Optimus happily answers to ‘Orion’, mainly because it’s Elita and Megs saying it, who are his family. (Wife & older brother.) In Alive!AU, Megs and their parents, Eclipsical and Evergreen almost never call him ‘Optimus’, instead they call him Orion, partially because Op has told them that’s his preferred name when he’s not actually being ‘Prime’. So in public light, he’s Optimus. At home or with family, he’s Orion. It’s kinda how he separates the two halves of his life, and keeps his work/life balance in check.

Rodimus honest to god doesn’t care. He doesn’t have a preference, so he lets Elita, Arcee, Silver, and co., and Blurr, Hardhead, and Springer call him ‘Hot Rod’, and he lets Op, Mags, Perceptor, Megs, and LL crew call him ‘Rodimus.’ Drift can call him either, though Drift mainly uses ‘Rodimus’. He doesn’t care, so long as you’re not bringing out his full name with it. Then he’s already gone.

Zeta, he prefers ‘Zeta’ from most, but with his mate Lilacwing, he doesn’t mind her using his former name, and refused to have his creators call him that. He wasn’t Prime at home, he was still their sparkling.

Alchemist? Haha, ppl literally use it all the time, fuck man, he named a bar with it, why does he care? That’s how he’s known! And he loves it! So long as you’re not causing trouble in the place or particularly pissing him off, he’s not intimidating, big, strong, leader, ‘Alchemist Prime’; he’s ur bartender, Maccadam. He’s chill.

Amalgamous - ppl forgot his fuckin name. He doesn’t care. In fact the only person even remotely around today that knows it, is his conjux Wintegreen. Just call him ‘Amalgmous’ or ‘Amal’.

Prima - that’s literally his name. literally for real. that’s his name. stop calling him ‘primus’. he’s ‘prima’. he always has been. he is just genuinely so frustrated that cybertronians ever since he disappeared into the Matrix’s Spark Realm, ppl forgot he was actually their god, not primus.

Then the actual trans characters of mine;

My main Trans Character, Evergreen; Do not, bring out his dead name. He does not go by it anymore, period. That name and identity is dead, and he doesn’t want it mentioned. Eclipsical will murder you on the spot, and Megatron might accidentally let his sword ‘slip out of his hand’, and right into your kidney. He’ll rip it out and turn it into a kebab for his snake.

Solus Prime also, don’t use his dead name. She was left on life support when he was re-named as a Prime. The only person who knows his dead name is his Conjux, Luma. Sometimes she’ll simply say ‘Sol’ when he doesn’t want to use either, when it’s just the two of them. Or to go back to old days, when he first started the transition, and she lovingly called him/them ‘Sol’, even as just a friend, and they started falling in love.

In terms of simple change of name & preferred one in use?

Megatron is like Drift. He changed his name, and normally doesn’t go by or answer to ‘Megatronus’. He lets Optimus do it occasionally, but otherwise he’ll merely ignore you, if you use it and it’s not in reference to his pen name or gladiatorial name. He casually prefers to go by ‘Megatron’. It helps him remove the association of his identity with The Fallen.

Drift mainly uses ‘Drift’, but occasionally when he and Roddy are in ‘teasing’ mood, he’ll let Rod use ‘Deadlock’, or when he’s just referring to way back when, to be proper. Anyone else will get stabbed. Tho I imagine he might let Wing do it on occasion…

anyway, just my thoughts! Those are at least how it works for me, in my AU. Hope that helps a little! :).

TRANS-TRANSFORMER QUESTION;

Is calling a Prime by their original designation equivalent to deadnaming? Or is it like a maiden name thing? Or a nickname...?

Like refering to Rodimus as Hot Rod after he's been Primed. Or Optimus as Orion Pax. Or even Drift as Deadlock

All takes are welcome! I just want to know what other people think~ (please don't start fights in the comment section though)

[newtcloud]

I’ve noticed some people seemed interested in my TawnyFeather + kits AU, and I have some news for you, it’s actually part of a much larger AU/fix I think about occasionally.

I do work with a traditionalist (more info) worldview, I list the original names the first time the cat is mentioned. Some cats are slightly genetically changed, I mention the changes as well. (I want to make family trees, one day maybe) I talk from Clan to Clan here, and it’s a lot and a little disorganized haha

Hope you enjoy reading my thoughts!

Windclan

For starters, Mudclaw remains deputy. When Ravenstar (Tallstar, he is black with little white now) is close to dying he calls Mudclaw in for a private meeting. When Mudclaw arrives he sees Crowpaw (he doesn’t receive his name in the mountains, also he has amber eyes) leave and enters. Ravenstar is honest about his fears, and Mudclaw listens critically. He vows to try and keep peace, and earn the other clans’ respect in a less violent way. Ravenstar also tells him to respect what Crowpaw chooses to do, Mudclaw doesn’t understand what Tallstar means with this until Crowpaw says that he needs to leave to sort out his thoughts. He allows it, and prays that he is safe.

Mudclaw becomes Mudstar, with lives (not literal lives, but more in a guidance way, as is more common within traditionalism) for Compassion, Clarity of judgement, Diplomacy, Patience, Love, Wisdom, Endurance, Loyalty, and Understanding of other viewpoints.

Oatwhisker (Onewhisker, brown and white tabby) becomes his deputy, and Starclan shows approval by granting access to the island. The two become good friends.

Windclan and Thunderclan still grow apart, but less so. Mudstar is not hostile, but also asserts their rights to decline help. Firestar is a little saddened, but respects the decision. With time the two clans change that distance to a more casual relationship.

Since Crowpaw is gone, Nightcloud has kits with a loner, Sleetkit (Breezepelt, now a lighter gray) and Antkit (Black molly). They grow up to become Sleetpelt and Antfang, they’re both a little hot-headed but ultimately strong young cats.

Crowpaw returns after several years, changed into a more wise man. He asks Mudstar to be let back, and he accepts after remembering Ravenstar’s words. Crowpaw becomes Crowheart and lives his life without mate/kits.

When Darktail arrives Mudstar is mad that Oatwhisker kept this a secret, but doesn’t have any reason to punish him since he never broke the law. Oatwhisker dies with Darktail, which Mudstar grieved over for the rest of his life. Sedgewhisker succeeds Oatwhisker, and she becomes Sedgestar when Mudstar dies of old age.

Shadowclan

Tawny’s kits are born a lot earlier, and they aren’t really just The Three In Shadowclan for their earlier life. Tawny teaches them about their family in the other clans, and stands up fiercely when other cats try to tell them they’re not Shadowclan.

Rowanclaw is their foster father (he’s trans) and when he has his own litter Tawny + kits help with raising his kits: Redkit/paw/whisker (Redwillow, red and black torbie, predominantly red) and Darkkit/paw/nose (Olivenose, black and red tortie, predominantly black). Tawny and Rowan are close friends, but never mates.

Sol still appears and causes a ruckus, and it’s resolved the same way.

Russetfur retires from her position before she’s killed in battle, she becomes an elder but remains fairly active because she can. Nobody dares to stop her anyway, and her death shakes all the clans. She is succeeded by Tawnypelt.

When Blackstar dies in the floods, Tawnystar succeeds him. She names Rowanclaw deputy.

Tawny’s kits themselves are largely themselves:

Reedtail (Flametail, brownish-red tabby with white) was really sickly as a kit (Tawny didn’t have an ideal pregnancy, with stress from journeying and malnutrition), he often had to stay in the medicine cat den. Littlecloud let him help so he wouldn’t grow bored while he was staying there, when Reedkit was ~7 moons (apprenticed late) he chose to become a medicine cat because he loved the work and wants to help cats as sickly as himself. Littlecloud was very fond of him, and the two were often called “like brothers” by the other medicine cats. He dies from shock after falling in the freezing lake while playing with his foster siblings. Littlecloud was devastated, and mentored no other cats until Mudleaf’s (Puddleshine, brown and white tabby) enthusiasm made him cautiously less stuck in his grief.

Goldenstorm (Dawnpelt, cream and grey calico) was a go-getter, happy to give her opinions and overall quite the troublemaker. She keeps senior warriors on their toes, and Tawny is never surprised to find her at the root of mischief. She has kits later in her life, and is heavily scarred but lives through the Darktail era. She is renamed Scarredpelt, and wears the name with pride.

Heronfur (Tigerheart/star, silver black tabby with white paws and chest) is mostly the same. He’s your average tom, with a penchant for bad ideas. The romance with Dovewing is gone, and he doesn’t become deputy/leader.

Thunderclan

The three are Maplecloud’s (Leafpool, dark, brownish-red ticked tabby) kits, but no-one knows who the other parent is. She steps down as med. cat after she discovers her pregnancy, many cats were skeptic, but her willingness to give up her dreams made them sympathetic. When Cinderpelt dies, she takes up the med. cat duties again.

Foxkit/paw/storm (Jayfeather, red classic tabby), becomes a warrior, his mentor is Brightheart. Maplecloud was overjoyed to see him succeed as a warrior. I personally am not a fan of the whole prophecy in the 3rd and 4th arc, so I scrapped that lol. He’s a cranky warrior that bites off more than he can chew to prove himself, Brightheart helps him accept himself. It’s a long journey, but he is enjoying his life more and more as he grows older.

Emberkit/paw/heart/star (Hollyleaf, black and red tortie), becomes a warrior with a strong belief in the code, highly intelligent and has the qualities of a leader. She is a beloved warrior, deputy and eventual leader. She becomes mates with Smokepelt (Cinderheart, gray and cream and white tabby with a broken leg).

The two have three kits:

Patchfur (Hollytuft, gray and cream lynx point)

Ryestripe (Sorrelstripe, gray and brownish torbie, predominantly brownish)

Ashcloud (Fernsong, grey and white)

Lionkit/paw/claw (Lionblaze, still a fluffy golden tabby), is a strong fighter and the definition of beauty. It was no surprise that he had flings across the borders sometimes. He’s bad at making good choices, and is grateful that Emberheart acts as his brains sometimes. He is the surrogate father of Smokepelt and Emberstar’s kits.

Ashfur doesn’t betray anyone, never had a thing with Squirrel and he dies when he helps Maple and Squirrel save the three in the fire.

Brambleclaw (Reddish-brown tabby) never takes up the position of deputy, Hornetfur (Brackenfur), becomes deputy instead. Bramble gravitates towards an uncle role with Maplecloud’s kits, and is saddened to learn that his attempts towards having kits with Squirrelstorm (Squirrelflight, ticked red tabby, no white) are failing (He’s infertile, they have a loner surrogate around the time of TFA).

Alderkit/paw/pelt (Alderheart, brown tabby with a little white) takes interest in med. cat duties, and succeeds Maplecloud.

Gingerkit/paw/pelt (Sparkpelt, predominantly red torbie with white paws) looks a lot like her grandfather, very excitable.

Pigeonkit/paw/whisker (Dovewing, Gray with odd eyes, deaf and blind on the blue eyed half of her face), has good senses, but ultimately wasn’t meant for he life of a warrior, she becomes a kittypet and still lives near the lake. Foxstorm was her mentor. Her sister visits her occasionally.

Silverkit/paw/claw (Ivypool, silvery gray tabby), was Emberstar’s apprentice when she was a warrior. She’s a good fighter, though at a young age she was often bitter that her sister seemed to get more attention. Emberheart helped her realize her own strength, and she became deputy under Emberstar.

Riverclan

Riverclan was too ignored for me to change much sadly. I still had a few things:

Mothface (Mothwing, golden lynx point) is very close to Maplecloud :) Many jokes are made that Lionclaw looks like her :) ;) Her brother Kitefang (Hawkfrost, brown lynx point) used her to gain power, the two were close and she never hated him after his body and plans were discovered. She doesn’t believe in Starclan still, and is respected. Miststar (Mistystar, ticked gray tabby, Russian Blue green eyes) covers for her lack of belief, and knows she’s valid and a good med. cat.

Riverclan doesn’t let Darktail mess with them, Miststar isn’t leader for long, but still is the oldest living one for a while. Rookstar (Reedwhisker, has green eyes now) succeeds her and his deputy is Minnowtail.

(Also in case my vague smilies are too... vague, Mothface is the mother of the three and loves her children very much despite not seeing them often)