#sann

[milk-carton-whump]

Happy Birthday to our dearest Moya. Lots of love to you & we miss you deeply.

@albino-whumpee

[lime-ether]

QUIT THE HITTING AND FINISH THE JOB

I don't have the skill to make edits so-- here animation

[jestidibujosrandomsxd]

MY VERSION💞🌷 //-Lyra🖋🧤🌱 -x-Sann🍉🖤📝-//

REAL VERSION! ^^🌷 (by Kaaatie)

[littlefeather-wolf]

Chief Iron Bear, North Dakota, 1868 ...

Iron Bear (a.k.a. Bear Chief -kuunNx tee shan) was a Sahnish Head Chief. He was born when the Sahnish were living along the Grand River, in the late 1700s. His place of birth was the village on the west bank. The Sahnish were living in two villages on both sides of the river at the time.

[elektroyu]

Still not good with using the sketchbook for sketching, but here's some scribbles and ideas from the last 12 months or so. At least it's better than nothing at all!

Originally I wanted to do an ACEO or two, but so far I only did 1 sheet of sketches today 😂

[risingpakistan]

رنی کوٹ

رنی کوٹ 62 کلومیٹر پر پھیلا ہوا دنیا کا بڑے قلعوں میں سے ایک قلعہ ہے۔ کراچی سے پانچ سو بائیس کلومیٹرز کے فاصلے پر، دادو کی جانب سفر کرتے ہوئے راستے میں ایک چھوٹا قصبہ آتا ہے، جس کا نا م سن ہے۔ اس سے تھوڑا آگے بائیں طرف مڑتے ہوئے تقریبا 30 کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر رنی کوٹ نظر آتا ہے۔ سندھ کے دیگر قلعے مختلف مٹیریل سے بنے ہیں۔ مثال کے طور پر مٹی کی پکی اینٹیں اور پتھر وغیرہ مگر یہ کوٹ مقامی پتھر سے بنا ہوا ہے، جس میں چونا، چیرولی اور مقامی پتھر استعمال کیا گیا ہے۔ اس کوٹ میں اندر تین چھوٹے قلعے بھی موجود ہیں جن میں میری کوٹ، شیر گڑھ اور موہن کوٹ شامل ہیں۔ اس کے درمیان سے ایک برساتی نالہ گذرتا ہے، جس میں چشمے کا پانی بھی شامل ہے۔ جس کو ”نئیں” کہا جاتا ہے۔ سندھی میں” نئیں” کا مطلب برساتی نالہ ہیں۔ ��س کی وجہ سے اس کا نام رنی کوٹ پڑا۔ رنی کا مطلب ہے بہتا ہوا پانی۔ گرد واطراف میں یہاں کے گبول، رستمانی اور کھوسہ رہائش پذیر ہیں، جو کھیتی باڑی کا کام کرنے کے ساتھ مویشی پالتے ہیں۔ شہر کی زندگی سے دور یہ ایک پرسکون تفریحی مقام ہے، جہاں جا کر انسان تازہ دم ہو جاتا ہے۔ شہر کی آلودہ ہوا سے دور یہاں کی فریش ہوا میں سانس لینے کا لطف ہی الگ ہے۔ ایک کھلی جگہ آپ کا استقبال کرے گی۔

آپ سیڑھیوں پر چڑھ کر اوپر جائیں گے تو دور آسمان کے مٹیالے اور نیلے رنگ خوش آمدید کہیں گے۔ ہوا خوشگوار تھی اور اس کا جھونکا مقامی جھاڑیوں اور جنگلی پودوں کی خوشبو ساتھ لے کر آتا۔ اس قدامت میں ایک عجیب سحر تھا۔ میں فقط یہ سوچ رہی تھی کہ یہ کوٹ کس نے تعمیر کروایا ہو گا۔ اور وہ بھی ایک دور افتادہ جگہ پر۔ نامورآرکیلوجسٹ اشتیاق انصاری نے اپنی کتاب سندھ کے کوٹ اور قلعہ میں واضح تحریر کیا ہے کہ ’’اس قلعے کے قریب جاتے ہی طلسماتی کشش آپ کو گھیر لیتی ہے۔ یہ قلعہ سحرانگیز، پراسرار اور افسانوی داستان جیسا دکھائی دیتا ہے۔ کوٹ کے اند بڑی فصیلیں ہیں اور ان پر برج بنے ہوئے ہیں۔ چونکہ یہ قلعہ پہاڑ پر تعمیر کیا گیا ہے، لہٰذا اوپر جانے کے لیے اونچی سیڑھیاں تعمیر کی گئی ہیں۔ کوٹ کے اندر کنواں اور تالاب موجود ہیں۔ گائیڈ نے بتایا کہ ساسانی سلطنت جو فارس (موجودہ ایران) میں 622 غ سے 156 تک قائم رہی۔ ممکن ہے کہ حملہ آوروں سے بچنے کے لیے یہ قلعہ تعمیر کیا گیا ہو، یہ قلعہ کسی معمے سے کم نہیں ہے۔ ہم لوگ جیسے جیسے کوٹ کو دیکھتے گئے تجسس بڑھتا رہا کہ آخر اس کوٹ کے خالق کو اس کی تعمیر کا خیال کیسے آیا ہو گا۔ اس کی تعمیر کے حوالے سے کئی مفروضے تخلیق کیے گئے ہیں۔

رنی کوٹ پر سندھ کے محقق بدر ابڑو نے بھی کتاب لکھی ہے۔ دوسرے محققین بھی رنی کوٹ پر کام کرتے رہے ہیں، اگر قبل مسیح کی تاریخ کا مطالعہ کیا جائے تو قلعے کی تعمیر کے حوالے سے کہا جاتا ہے کہ اسے یونانی، ساسانی اور کچھ محقق اسے ٹالپر دور سے منسوب کرتے ہیں۔ جب کہ ’’ سائرس اعظم’’کا نام بھی لیا جاسکتا ہے۔ سائرس کا اصلی نام گورد یا کورش تھا اور عبرانی میں اس کا تلفظ خورس بتایا جاتا ہے۔ بسیار ارمیا اور دانیال کے صحائف میں جابجا اس نام کا ذکر آیا ہے۔ عر��ی میں خسرو یا خیسرو کے نام سے جانا جاتا ہے، جس کا پارسی نام چیہ تھا۔ یہ قدیم فارس (ایران) کا عظیم شہنشاہ تھا۔ جس کا عروج قبل مسیح 955 سے 530 تک رہا۔ اس کا شمار دنیا کے بڑے فاتحین میں ہوتا ہے۔ اس نے غیر معمولی شجاعت کے باعث ایک امیر سے ترقی کرتے ہوئے شہنشاہوں کی صف میں جگہ پیدا کی۔ اس نے تین بڑی سلطنتوں میڈیا، لیڈیا اور بابل کو زیر کر کے فارس کی چھوٹی ریاست کو عظیم الشان سلطنت میں بدل دیا۔ جو کورش کے حکومت کے خاتمے تک، سلطنت ایشیائے، کوچک اور اناطولیہ سے لے کر دریائے سندھ تک پھیلی ہوئی تھی۔ اس کے بعد، اس نے دریائے سیحوں (سندھ) اور دریائے جہوں کے درمیانی علائقے صغدیہ کو فتح کیا، یوں ان کی سلطنت ماورالنہر اور ہندوکش تک پھیل گئی۔ 

ممکن ہے کہ دی گریٹ وال آف سندھ (رنی کوٹ) سائرس اعظم یعنی کورش اعظم نے تعمیر کا حکم دیا ہو، بہرکیف اس کوٹ کی تعمیر ایک حیرت انگیز تخلیق ہے۔ یہ اپنی نوعیت کا منفرد قلعہ ہے، جو اپنی بناوٹ، محل وقوع اور تاریخی تناظر میں ایک شہ پارہ ہے۔ کسی دور میں کہا جاتا تھا کہ یہاں پریاں آتی ہیں، لہٰذا اس کا نام پریوں کا تڑ پڑگیا۔ یعنی پریوں کا تالاب۔ وہاں پریاں تو نظر نہیں آئی مگر لینڈ اسکیپ خوبصورت تھا۔ خاموش اور باوقار۔ نیلے آسمان کے نیچے پہاڑ ماضی کی بھول بھلیوں میں گم تھے۔ اس کوٹ کے ارد گرد آبادی نہیں ہے۔ یہ بالکل الگ تھلگ اپنے وجود میں انفرادیت کا حامل ہے۔ یہاں کئی پوشیدہ غاریں ہیں۔ جن پر سائینٹیفک انداز میں کام ہونا چاہیے۔ آرکیالوجسٹ و انتھروپالوجسٹ اس پر مزید کام کریں۔ اس کوٹ کی بلند چوٹی کا نام ہنج چوٹی ہے، جو سطح سمندر سے دو ہزار فٹ بلند ہے۔ ہنج یعنی ہنس پرندہ ہے۔ میری دوست جو اس جگہ ہر موسم میں وزٹ کرتی رہی ہے اس کے بقول یہاں سورج ڈوبنے کا منظر حسین ہوتا ہے۔ میں سمجھتی ہوں کہ اس جگہ پورے چاند کی رات کا منظر بھی خواب ناک ہو گا۔

میرے خیال میں نوجوانوں میں تاریخ کا شعور بیدار کرنے کی ضرورت ہے۔ موجودہ وقت میں نوجوان تاریخ سے ناواقف ہیں۔ سندھ کی تاریخ کے مختلف ادوار میں منفرد رنگ ملتے ہیں۔ یہاں مستقل گائیڈ مقرر ہونا چاہیے۔ بڑے شہروں سے ٹورسٹ بسیں چلنی چاہئیں تاکہ لوگ اس حیرت انگیز کوٹ کو دیکھ سکیں۔ حالیہ سیلاب نے اس کوٹ کو جو نقصان پہنچایا ہے مگر انڈومینٹ فنڈ ٹرسٹ اس کوٹ کی بحالی کا کام کروا رہے ہیں۔ قلعے کو عالمی معیار کے مطابق محفوظ کرنے کی ضرورت ہے، کیونکہ ماحولیاتی آلودگی کی وجہ سے آثار قدیمہ کو شدید خطرات کا سامنا ہے۔ یہاں پر دنیا کے جدید قلعوں کی طرح سہولیات ہونی چاہئیں تاکہ آنیوالے لوگ یہاں رک کر آرام سے قلعے کو وزٹ کرسکیں۔

بلقیس سکندر 

بشکریہ ایکسپریس نیوز

[bookishdiplodocus]

The Neurodivergent Writer’s Guide to Fun and Productivity

(Even when life beats you down)

Look, I’m a mom, I have ADHD, I’m a spoonie. To say that I don’t have heaps of energy to spare and I struggle with consistency is an understatement. For years, I tried to write consistently, but I couldn’t manage to keep up with habits I built and deadlines I set.

So fuck neurodivergent guides on building habits, fuck “eat the frog first”, fuck “it’s all in the grind”, and fuck “you just need time management”—here is how I manage to write often and a lot.

Focus on having fun, not on the outcome

This was the groundwork I had to lay before I could even start my streak. At an online writing conference, someone said: “If you push yourself and meet your goals, and you publish your book, but you haven’t enjoyed the process… What’s the point?” and hoo boy, that question hit me like a truck.

I was so caught up in the narrative of “You’ve got to show up for what’s important” and “Push through if you really want to get it done”. For a few years, I used to read all these productivity books about grinding your way to success, and along the way I started using the same language as they did. And I notice a lot of you do so, too.

But your brain doesn’t like to grind. No-one’s brain does, and especially no neurodivergent brain. If having to write gives you stress or if you put pressure on yourself for not writing (enough), your brain’s going to say: “Huh. Writing gives us stress, we’re going to try to avoid it in the future.”

So before I could even try to write regularly, I needed to teach my brain once again that writing is fun. I switched from countable goals like words or time to non-countable goals like “fun” and “flow”.

Rewire my brain: writing is fun and I’m good at it

I used everything I knew about neuroscience, psychology, and social sciences. These are some of the things I did before and during a writing session. Usually not all at once, and after a while I didn’t need these strategies anymore, although I sometimes go back to them when necessary.

I journalled all the negative thoughts I had around writing and try to reason them away, using arguments I knew in my heart were true. (The last part is the crux.) Imagine being supportive to a writer friend with crippling insecurities, only the friend is you.

Not setting any goals didn’t work for me—I still nurtured unwanted expectations. So I did set goals, but made them non-countable, like “have fun”, “get in the flow”, or “write”. Did I write? Yes. Success! Your brain doesn’t actually care about how high the goal is, it cares about meeting whatever goal you set.

I didn’t even track how many words I wrote. Not relevant.

I set an alarm for a short time (like 10 minutes) and forbade myself to exceed that time. The idea was that if I write until I run out of mojo, my brain learns that writing drains the mojo. If I write for 10 minutes and have fun, my brain learns that writing is fun and wants to do it again.

Reinforce the fact that writing makes you happy by rewarding your brain immediately afterwards. You know what works best for you: a walk, a golden sticker, chocolate, cuddle your dog, whatever makes you happy.

I conditioned myself to associate writing with specific stimuli: that album, that smell, that tea, that place. Any stimulus can work, so pick one you like. I consciously chose several stimuli so I could switch them up, and the conditioning stays active as long as I don’t muddle it with other associations.

Use a ritual to signal to your brain that Writing Time is about to begin to get into the zone easier and faster. I guess this is a kind of conditioning as well? Meditation, music, lighting a candle… Pick your stimulus and stick with it.

Specifically for rewiring my brain, I started a new WIP that had no emotional connotations attached to it, nor any pressure to get finished or, heaven forbid, meet quality norms. I don’t think these techniques above would have worked as well if I had applied them on writing my novel.

It wasn’t until I could confidently say I enjoyed writing again, that I could start building up a consistent habit. No more pushing myself.

I lowered my definition for success

When I say that nowadays I write every day, that’s literally it. I don’t set out to write 1,000 or 500 or 10 words every day (tried it, failed to keep up with it every time)—the only marker for success when it comes to my streak is to write at least one word, even on the days when my brain goes “naaahhh”. On those days, it suffices to send myself a text with a few keywords or a snippet. It’s not “success on a technicality (derogatory)”, because most of those snippets and ideas get used in actual stories later. And if they don’t, they don’t. It’s still writing. No writing is ever wasted.

A side note on high expectations, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism

Obviously, “Setting a ridiculously low goal” isn’t something I invented. I actually got it from those productivity books, only I never got it to work. I used to tell myself: “It’s okay if I don’t write for an hour, because my goal is to write for 20 minutes and if I happen to keep going for, say, an hour, that’s a bonus.” Right? So I set the goal for 20 minutes, wrote for 35 minutes, and instead of feeling like I exceeded my goal, I felt disappointed because apparently I was still hoping for the bonus scenario to happen. I didn’t know how to set a goal so low and believe it.

I think the trick to making it work this time lies more in the groundwork of training my brain to enjoy writing again than in the fact that my daily goal is ridiculously low. I believe I’m a writer, because I prove it to myself every day. Every success I hit reinforces the idea that I’m a writer. It’s an extra ward against imposter syndrome.

Knowing that I can still come up with a few lines of dialogue on the Really Bad Days—days when I struggle to brush my teeth, the day when I had a panic attack in the supermarket, or the day my kid got hit by a car—teaches me that I can write on the mere Bad-ish Days.

The more I do it, the more I do it

The irony is that setting a ridiculously low goal almost immediately led to writing more and more often. The most difficult step is to start a new habit. After just a few weeks, I noticed that I needed less time and energy to get into the zone. I no longer needed all the strategies I listed above.

Another perk I noticed, was an increased writing speed. After just a few months of writing every day, my average speed went from 600 words per hour to 1,500 wph, regularly exceeding 2,000 wph without any loss of quality.

Talking about quality: I could see myself becoming a better writer with every passing month. Writing better dialogue, interiority, chemistry, humour, descriptions, whatever: they all improved noticeably, and I wasn’t a bad writer to begin with.

The increased speed means I get more done with the same amount of energy spent. I used to write around 2,000-5,000 words per month, some months none at all. Nowadays I effortlessly write 30,000 words per month. I didn’t set out to write more, it’s just a nice perk.

Look, I’m not saying you should write every day if it doesn’t work for you. My point is: the more often you write, the easier it will be.

No pressure

Yes, I’m still working on my novel, but I’m not racing through it. I produce two or three chapters per month, and the rest of my time goes to short stories my brain keeps projecting on the inside of my eyelids when I’m trying to sleep. I might as well write them down, right?

These short stories started out as self-indulgence, and even now that I take them more seriously, they are still just for me. I don’t intend to ever publish them, no-one will ever read them, they can suck if they suck. The unintended consequence was that my short stories are some of my best writing, because there’s no pressure, it’s pure fun.

Does it make sense to spend, say, 90% of my output on stories no-one else will ever read? Wouldn’t it be better to spend all that creative energy and time on my novel? Well, yes. If you find the magic trick, let me know, because I haven’t found it yet. The short stories don’t cannibalize on the novel, because they require different mindsets. If I stopped writing the short stories, I wouldn’t produce more chapters. (I tried. Maybe in the future? Fingers crossed.)

Don’t wait for inspiration to hit

There’s a quote by Picasso: “Inspiration hits, but it has to find you working.” I strongly agree. Writing is not some mystical, muse-y gift, it’s a skill and inspiration does exist, but usually it’s brought on by doing the work. So just get started and inspiration will come to you.

Accountability and community

Having social factors in your toolbox is invaluable. I have an offline writing friend I take long walks with, I host a monthly writing club on Discord, and I have another group on Discord that holds me accountable every day. They all motivate me in different ways and it’s such a nice thing to share my successes with people who truly understand how hard it can be.

The productivity books taught me that if you want to make a big change in your life or attitude, surrounding yourself with people who already embody your ideal or your goal huuuugely helps. The fact that I have these productive people around me who also prioritize writing, makes it easier for me to stick to my own priorities.

Your toolbox

The idea is to have several techniques at your disposal to help you stay consistent. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by focussing on just one technique. Keep all of them close, and if one stops working or doesn’t inspire you today, pivot and pick another one.

After a while, most “tools” run in the background once they are established. Things like surrounding myself with my writing friends, keeping up with my daily streak, and listening to the album I conditioned myself with don’t require any energy, and they still remain hugely beneficial.

Do you have any other techniques? I’d love to hear about them!

I hope this was useful. Happy writing!

[vincekris]

Sanne Sannes

[mugeesworld]

Sigh..... And like every teachers pet ever, he turned out the same way.....

....

Ik what you are 😐🫵

He looks like the teachers pet. Like he has a rolling back pack.

Just.... Hold on....

Definitely the type to threaten to tell on you for everything.

Will write your name on the board if you even sneeze while the teacher is gone.

Has a tantrum when told no💀

Hair is definitely greasy and the only reason it's staying in place like that is cause of the grease.

I love sanji but Lord. This does not do him justice😭

[sunnie-angel]

Sunnie!! I am insane over this concept of Jason marveling over how sensitive his partner is... and now I'm thinking about Jason being feral when he returns from patrol and NEEDING to bury his face between their legs. All he wants is to make them feel good. Oh also, breastplay. I know in my heart he likes his mouth occupied <3

Yes! Yes! Like Jason loves fucking his partner, that’s a given. But as soon as he finds out just how sensitive they are? Well his new favourite place is with his head buried between their thighs seeing how many times he can make them come on his tongue, then his fingers, and only then his cock. (He’ll mix up the order sometimes but he’s pretty set in his routine). Also? When your thighs are wrapped around his ears and he can only taste you, when his fingers are occupied with curling just the way you like and pinning you down so you stop squirming too much, Jason can block out the whole world. It’s a particularly handy trick when patrol doesn’t go so well and all he wants is to block out the world by drowning himself in you. On those nights he likes to make it a competition to see just how many more times than last time he can make you come.

Jason has eating you out down to an exact science. He knows when to give you flat broad strokes of his tongue and exactly how much suction on your clit sends you over the edge. How many fingers to give you before the stretch gets overwhelming and he can feel you spasming. Knows exactly how to walk you right up to the edge of orgasm before pulling away and making you swear in frustration. He’ll push you over the cliff’s edge so many times your thighs will be soaked with it and he’ll still know exactly how to keep you begging for more. When your thighs are trembling and you’re riding that knife’s edge of overstimulation and pleasure, that’s when he knows you’re almost ready for his cock. He won’t give it to you yet though, wants to wait until he’s got you pliant and begging to be fucked even though you were squealing about it being all too much moments ago.

No, what he does next is become gentle. Moves up your body to mouth at your breasts. His chin is obscenely wet, smears of your slick making your breasts shine from where he devours them. Takes his time with biting and sucking at each breast, catching a nipple between his teeth before soothing the sting with a drag of his tongue. Kneading the other breast with a large scarred hand so it doesn’t feel lonely. All the while he’s sliding his cock through the mess you’ve made between your thighs, the tip just catching but not going in any further. Slow maddening strokes a background to the attention he’s paying your chest but driving you mad all the same.

Finally, finally when you’re coming apart at the seams pleading with him to finally make you full, does he relent. Sucking hickies into the soft flesh of your breast he’ll slide in. And because he knows you so well, he’ll have you right where he wants you. Uncertain of if you want to pull him closer or push him away. The scrape of teeth and the pleasure pain of being stretched full almost too much to process. Punched out breaths turning to high pitched whines as you cling to him, cradle his head to your chest and let him take control of you pleasure until there’s stars behind your eyelids and you can’t feel anything beyond Jason.

Jason takes a lot of pleasure in just how sensitive you are after you’ve come for him too. He enjoys how even the gentlest featherlight stroke of your thigh sets you twitching. How the aloe gel he rubs into your sore breasts makes you murmur and squirm at the sensation. Even when the main event is over, there’s a thousand ways for Jason to play with your sensitivity and he’s not in the habit of denying himself your pleasure.

[mirtylebuns]

my oc's on a special simblreen post - they're scared? why?! maybe a ghost? Nah, isn't nothing… 🕸️🎃👻

[europeansculpture]

Sanne van Tongeren (*1978)

[baby-mama-family-tribe]

[led-by-beauty-again]

Sanne Vloet

[albino-whumpee]

I´ve got a million things to do but this was fun enough to try to do. 

@sideblogformindtrash @milk-carton-whump definitely not prompted by our discord convo jajajaj

[elektroyu]

Tell us about your OCs! Give us a quick introduction and something about them that makes you happy!

Ok this is probably going to get a little messy and long, but I'll try. Thank you for asking this, you have no idea how happy I am right now 🥹 Also be aware that I love Catboys and winged humans. Also mostly old sketchy art.

What I love about them is more or less the same for each of them: most of the main characters of each story have traits that I saw or still see in myself, so I have a strong personal connection to them and the bonds they share with the other characters. I also simply love their appearances, drawing them makes me very happy (I just don't do it very often because I struggle with expressing things).

Mura's Voice

Arokhal & Kharazhak: Aro works quite successfully under his father Orazhar, who runs the "military" of the remaining population of their winged race, but he's generally disliked by most of his peers for being arrogant, aloof and uninterested. He makes sort of an effort for the young ladies of high society, who do enjoy his charisma and a chance to get in his bed, but most are aware that he's not serious about it. Khaz is Aro's mura (a type of magic that runs in certain bloodlines) and they share an intimate bond. Khaz has been mentoring Aro in secret since he was young, which made him outstanding in using the mura magic.

Amin, Padavoz & Haizur: Compared to the rest of the cast Amin sometimes seems a little boring and him being the nice-guy-from-next-door type doesn't exactly help that, either. However, he has quite a few demons to deal with even before Aro forces him to go into the parallel world (don't have a name for it yet). Being there doesn't lessen his struggles at all, but over time things get rolling and he has to come to terms with himself and his problems and wants. Not the least of his problems are the two muras inside him who both don't necesarily care about his wellbeing, let alone seek any sort of relationship with him. Padavoz, who is regarded as just a myth nowadays, sees him as just a vessel and tool and doesn't care about anything save for revenge for the hand he was dealt. Haizur barely has any sense of self and thus is struggling a lot with the WHY of life and existence, which simply renders them unable to have any connection to others. They're the most unhinged and unpredictable character in his story, you never know if they'll help or sabotage or do nothing at all if a dangerous situation arises.

Kavi & Oru: Kavi is a bright, happy boy from a good family. Being the mura bearer of the family is something he takes very seriously and is proud of, even though Oru is by far the weakest mura anyone has ever seen. On top of being weak, Oru tends to be distractable and airheaded, so Kavi not only needs to be the responsible one of the two, but he also needs to find solutions mostly by himself. Despite this, he really loves Oru a lot.

Karakal, Orazhar & Kamavokh: Karakal (and his mura) may or may not have a place in the final story, but if he does he starts off as an antagonist. He's lived a sheltered, but pretty secluded life in a remote town and doesn't know who or where is parents/ family are, nor why he grew up the way he did. He's hotheaded and never backs down from a challenge. He's also determined to find out about his family. Orazhar is Aro's father and head of the "military", whose goal it is to preserve the muras and general magic abilities of his people. Since these abilities get lost the more their race mixes with humans they strive to strengthen the bloodlines and at the same time prevent more mixing. He knows this will require lots of sacrifices, but he's willing to do what has to be done to achieve his vision. Kamavokh is technically just Aro's direct subordinate, but is often seen substituting him on duty. He's also the closest thing to a friend Aro has. He's good at what he does, has a good heart and strives to always do the right thing.

Inra & Sann: These two originally had been a fixed part in the story, but over time I changed Inra's role and discarded Sann entirely. I'm thinking of giving them their own little side story some time. Inra is a yavomur (shapeshifter) and because that's basically the dirty, undesirable counterpart of mura bearers he considers himself lucky Orazhar lets him work for him. He's not happy about the situation, but as long as he's just doing scouting and tracking work and not required to kill people he goes along with it. He discovers Amin in the human world and later also tracks them for Orazhar. During one of his visits to the human world he meets Sann. Sann was originally still in high school and very involved in Padavoz' issues, but I think I'll change her into an adult and keep her removed from the main story entirely. I now imagine her as a relatively successful writer (she probably writes fantasy romances), who loves plants and cats and her quiet peaceful life, but she feels something is missing. She gets an idea of what that could be when she meets Inra (in his not-shapeshifted form finally; at first she only meets him in cat form). They quickly form a deep bond, but unfortunately he can't stay in the human world forever. He needs to figure out what kind of life he wants to live, and she needs to decide if she wants to leave everything behind for him or vice versa.

Feline Fabric

Aurel, Ivo & Miriam: Aurel is stubborn, self-centered, quick to anger and has no regard for others, which is his way of coping with the circumstances in his life. His owners are an elderly pair who never could have kids, and while the husband realizes that Aurel is a very bad fit for them his wife keeps holding on to her expectations, which results in constant friction in the household and ultimately in Aurel being literally confined in the house (barred windows and all). He desperately seeks attention, though, and, once outside, finds a very willing recipient in Ivo. Ivo is a fashion designer who works for a big label and makes a very good living from that, but finds himself art blocked more and more to the point of barely being able to work at all. He secretly dreams of working in the very niche market for mokat* fashion (* = catpeople, term may change if I can think of something better) and when Aurel appears this gets rammed into his face full force. His head immediately gets swarmed by idea after idea and he really latches onto that despite everyone cautioning him about Aurel's lacking personality and bad influence. He finds himself getting caught up in Aurel and his seductions way more than he should, which causes him to nearly go mad. Miriam is Ivo's fiance and sees pretty clearly what's happening between him and Aurel. She tries to warn Ivo again and again that he's going down a dangerous path where she wouldn't be able to follow, and she starts to hate Aurel for trying to take away the life with Ivo she dreamed of.

Rajnish, Miral & Numa: Rajnish has a knack for healing (and magic, although that's not widely accepted as something real and not part of the main story). He's one of the rare voices of reason that Aurel is willing to listen to (because 1. he doesn't immediately judge Aurel by his behavior like everyone else and 2. they share a fondness for sensual activities), and he's guiding him to a place to live and his old mentor when things with Ivo get out of hand. Miral & Numa have their own little side story about finding themselves a new life apart from their old master. Miral is desperately trying to hold on to his old life, even though he hates it, because he doesn't see the possibility of anything else. At least he has food and shelter and a good standing. Numa unintentionally challenges that when he arrives there, but takes a liking to him enough to also intentionally try to encourage Miral to take life into his own hands and decide something better for himself.

____

I mean I have more OCs, but these are the ones that I tend to think about the most and I reaaallyyyyy want to draw all these things as comics some day 🥹✨