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Post by ~Sapphire~ on Feb 23, 2019 16:55:27 GMT -5
I should have clicked on this before now tbh. The world you're creating seems really cool so far. Ahh that makes sense, sorry for coming across all serious then lol. I just wanted to make sure I guess. Mint's on my side because she's a very nice and tolerant person I'm trying to take a step back from all that drama now.
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Post by Brownie on Dec 21, 2019 4:26:06 GMT -5
honestly resetting sleep schedule is the absolute worst. you have the two options of: stay awake for 24+ hours or have a 5hr day and neither is particularly appealing. of course me wanting to binge watch a few shows puts a fair bit of votes in the stay up option which is why I'm here while my phone is charging so I can continue watching netflix until the sun rises again.
I don't want to make a thread being like uwu I'm here for 10 mins cuz honestly never gonna check that thing again. And yall have my discord at this point anyways. I just wanted to remember for a bit what it was like all those thousands of hours I spent on here. and it probably was thousands I didn't really realize it back then but I have a few steam games with 500-600 hrs on em and it feels like less time than I'd ever spend on here so I'm betting it was a good portion of my free time way back when.
anyways I end up doing like three of these a year so gotta make it count.
I've been adapting a lot of ideas as people of the writing mentality often do. This one eventually became some minor civil war plotline which is hilarious because I've always wanted this to be a focal point of some sort of project and instead its more the backdrop on which the actual main characters dabble with. Thats the one downside is that wars feel a lot less personal on a large scale like, with the whole warriors scene losing three or four cats is huge deal and much death and doing the same or even proportional in a whole city is either unfathomable or just throwing numbers. loses the impact. kinda sad but whatcha gonna do. Just glad I can be using it for something, and all the characters are already there for my other side of the civil war. No need to make sympathetic other side because all these peeps already have motives. particularly because the place I set the whole thing doesn't do war often, so having a good v evil was never going to go over well. Having two sides that both have their own reasons for doing this war was the hardest part of coming up with this plot and having one side already made (both if you count me having the original plotline plotted) made the whole process a ton easier. NOw just to make an evil king that is also morally ambiguous to still have loyal followers and people trying to assassinate him at the same time in a world that is idealistic and utopian enough to have a really harsh view of crime o joy.
anyways hope yall are doing well. I think about yall both more and less often than I would have thought. More in the sense that I often want to just hang around here. Less because well, when I was around here I could never imagine a world in which I wouldn't just be hanging around all day every day. Now I have other things to fill that void. Honestly don't know if the exchange was worth. I still like this more than I could ever know and it did make me overall more productive. Now I just have stupid comp gaming and if that isn't a time sink with nothing you can write home about. Every tier you go up in comp just adds more to the insanity of it all. And then you know so much stuff is happening and getting farther but you can't really sit down at christmas dinner and explain how much bigger being in open brackets vs invitationals actually is without sounding like a massive nerd. Moral of the story I should have stayed writing instead.
I have been. Kinda? I have nothing to show for it, but honestly even when I was just here fanficing I rarely had anything to show for the depth of worlds I was building in my head. So many things that are on google docs that never make it into drafts. And as you all are fully understanding of, if the worldbuilding doesn't make it to the page its as if it didn't even exist in the first place. big sad. I still won't stop conlanging. too fun. I did get farther on nano this year than ever before. got to 22k before I had to call it quits and focus on classwork. midterms hit HARd bro. And I was reaching a block because my characters were not wanting to mesh well it all sounded so fake when I tried to put the two plots together. SO most of it ended up being one side or ther other or a few scattered scenes of battle leading to the Big Climax War. I did have two friends that made it thru tho! which is awesome! And congratz to all yall that did nano this year too whether you finished or not.
Its been like 15 mins hopefully that's enough phone juice to get me to sunrise. Love yall. Miss yall. Keep being awesome.
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Post by mintedstar/fur🦇 on Dec 22, 2019 4:27:20 GMT -5
Love ya and miss ya too! *raises a hand in hi*
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Post by Brownie on Aug 28, 2020 2:48:41 GMT -5
8 more months update. It really is like another world, but in other ways, its just the same. So odd how everything can be so out of sorts with everything and I'm still deciding what kind of yogurt to get when I drop by the store and making magazine collages like I'm back in middle school. I don't know how to put this feeling into words, but when I do I'll be sure to write on it. It is such a phenomenon and yea I know it's because we have to cope somehow but its still very bizarre to think about. that's about it for that though, I don't really want to talk much on Real Life Things right now. Just stressed, depressed and with a plethora of new and exciting health issues that I can finally start managing and stop ignoring now that I'm not broke af. Also guess who found out they had a food allergy by almost dying to a sandwich this month(it's me; also didn't almost die, it was a 'mild' attack but it was still absolutely terrifying; it is now my greatest weakness and arch nemesis) on another note, I've been doing some animating !! I'm not that good at it, very slow and I still hate anatomy and have NO clue what a background is, but it's been fun! And it gave me an ending to DAN which is like, at LEAST 7 years too late but hey I got it now and nothing can stop me from letting it sit on a google doc for the rest of eternity. Honestly though, I loved that project because of how spontaneous it was, but I WILL have to rewrite everything for continuity sake (no one pointed out the random color and pattern changes of out lovely characters, but I see them every time I reread and it hurts my SOUL) let alone Raintalon just kinda.... sucks and Moss just flips between having morals and being evil for no reason other than plot half the time. I have a better understanding of how her character should work and what triggers her and why now, so that should be an easy fix, but it still is a 'ground up' rewrite in the making and I don't really feel like undertaking that hence the animatic, which follows the whole plotline in a condensed, 3 minute song. ezpz. We'll make it happen, folks, one day.gimme like 3 years to actually finish it and we're golden. I'm also working on a secret project. Two, maybe? The first started as a spoofy idea that turned wicked serious half way through and is actually coming out alright (though suffers again from 'evil needs better motive' syndrome). The second is a rework of a collab I had with Skyfall wayyyy back in like 2014 or something. I didn't save ANYTHING so I'm running from memory and my memory of it was foggy at best since we really didn't get past the worldbuild and the very basic of plot. but there were at least 12 different clans, lots of politics, and crazy kings so it was totally worth revisiting. Fun as a concept, probably won't go too far with it. Dunno. I struggle with pacing for multi-plot kind of things and I don't want to go too slow and take forever to get to the civil war, but I don't want to go too fast and not give characters any time to develop personalities and conflicts outside of that war. That's about it! hope yall are safe and healthy. maybe writing. reading good books. Yeah go do that. as a treat have this little bit from DAN that I don't remember writing but is cute old cats being cute “‘Ay, Mossclaw. Yer back late, everyone’s be back for ages. Where’d ya go off ta, daisy pickin’?”
I waved a greeting to Barknose and picked my way to an open patch of sun near the old tom. An rugged tortoiseshell she-cat was beside him stretched on her side, her tail flicked comfortably over Barknose’s back. “We hunted outside the borders today.”
Barknose snorted and kicked his companion with a paw. “Ya hear that? When we’d be just apprentices me ‘n Snow’d go all the way past that ol’ shack near ShadowClan, remember? With tha’ ol’ grouchy tomcat who’d scrape out yer eyes before he’d give ya the time o’ day. Unless you’d give ‘im some catnip. Then he’d be harmless as a little butterfly he was.”
“Yes, yes, you and your little Snowpetal never ceased to cause a ruckus. A tiny thing she was, yet absolutely fearless.” The she-cat’s voice was like nothing I had ever heard. She hung onto her words, drawing out the vowels and rounding the harsh edges in a musical manner.
“Aye, she burned bright and fast that one did,” Barknose said with a smile. “Ah, where’d me manners? Mossclaw, this’ll be Dapplesong. Ya perhaps haven’t met, she don’t get out much these days.” He leaned closer to me and continued in a stage whisper, “but she be runnin' all over the lake back when we be small. A wild one.” He winked as Dapplesong’s tail tapped against his back, one dark paw placed possessively on his side.
I dipped my head towards the ShadowClan elder. “Nice to meet you, Dapplesong. You have a beautiful voice.”
“That’s where she gets ‘er name. Rowanstar’d be completely stunned by ‘er. Along with everyone else she be meetin’ of course,” Barknose said. Dapplesong purred but gave no other reply.
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Post by Brownie on Aug 28, 2020 20:49:24 GMT -5
also because I wasn't really comfortable defining lgbt characters when I started this, I'll clarify things now as a fully evolved Gay
Redthorn is very gay. She defines herself as lesbian and has a relationship with Larkfall before falling for Nightpool.
Nightpool herself is questioning. Firmly on the ace spectrum, but she doesn't really understand romance and throughout debates whether her feelings are ever romantic or platonic. Though I love RedxNight, in canon she is ace-aro.
Larkfall is pan. She's also a hot mess and very manipulative, which doesn't give her many dates. After Red leaves her, she would immediately gravitate towards Troutfang.
Beespots is trans and straight. He came out shortly after his apprenticeship, and honestly no one was surprised. It was very obvious to him who he was and there wasn't anything more complex than that.
Flickerstorm is non-binary, asexual and biromantic. They have struggled a lot with their identity and secretly liked Olivefrost for most their apprenticeship. They hated him for not standing up for their group like Bee and Night, but they are very perceptive and recognized his pain from Larkfall. It made them really feel for little Olive boy and they always regretted not reaching out more to him, even if they recognized they had plenty of issues to sort out themselves at the time. They also had a crush on Night for her kindness, but never acted on that either. They always sought to be as helpful to her as possible, feeling like she needed their support. Flicker is a qt.
Olivefrost is straight. If Flicker reached out to him, he wouldn't say no. I think they would be good for each other. Olive doesn't make emotional connections easily, so it would be very difficult for him to get to a point where he would reciprocate Flicker's feelings, but they are patient so it could totally work out. Besides that, he hasn't had a relationship yet and hasn't really looked or thought it important.
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Post by Brownie on Sept 1, 2020 17:05:42 GMT -5
More worldbuilding just for the sake of minor characters getting concrete characterization.
Crystalflight is pretty amazing tbh. She fits a similar role to Brightheart in the original arcs (minus tragic backstory) where she is a warrior who also has been taught some healing and medicine for the battlefield and can help Smokeleaf when needed.
I put one of her key character traits as 'stoic'. Crystalflight is a very logical and quiet cat by nature. She isn't one to butt into anyone else's problems without permission, and is a great cat to confide any concerns or secrets with. She often has good advice, particularly for younger cats struggling to find the right path. She is rarely strongly opinionated on anything, but currently hates Pebblefoot for killing her sister right in front of her eyes. She also is currently struggling with some survivors' guilt for not being able to help either of her siblings that night, nor Speckledusk, who also died nearby.
Crystalflight and her siblings were Smokeleaf's training partners when Hollowberry was teaching him to fight after becoming a medicine cat in full. Both she and Thistlestorm showed interest in herbs due to Smokeleaf's blabbering, and she picked up many things during their combat training. While Thistlestorm soon grew out of it, Crystalflight was a quick study and retained most of the knowledge, making her a good candidate to help treat the greencough outbreak the winter before the coup. Since Flintpaw was still young in his training and too weak to directly treat any cats, it was with the help of Crystalflight that Smokeleaf managed to slow the spread of sickness.
After that, Crystalflight managed to pick up a few more responsibilities, helping Flintpaw learn as well as herself. By the time Smokeleaf leaves to find council with StarClan after the border skirmish, he trusts Crystalflight and Flintpaw enough to manage without him for that short time so long as a battle doesn't break out.
After this, Crystalflight is relieved of most guard rotations and patrols. Instead, she is a part time student of Smokeleaf's, learning herbs and medicine, and a full time mentor. She works directly under Mistdapple to create battle formations and strategies for the quads and spends all rotations teaching what is learned to the quads individual training sessions. She is very well respected and holds a lot of power in the Clan. When Sunstorm was injured, she was offered her brother's position as deputy, but refused on the grounds that she wanted to spend more time learning medicine due to Flintpaw's deteriorating condition and the fact that they would need more healers for the war that was looming.
She was also the one to recommend Lakewing and Mistdapple to the position, seeing in them teamwork that reminded her of her own siblings.
Her superior memory and ability to pick up skills makes Crystalflight the jack of all trades, and her word is valued over most others. She can cut an intimidating figure and uses her position to cow others into pushing harder in training and from slacking. Her laid back, quiet personality still comes to the forefront, but behind lurks a rage over her sister's death and brother's injuries that frightens her in its intensity. She doesn't quite understand the feeling, and will find it very hard to control once loosed.
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Post by Brownie on Sept 2, 2020 1:46:06 GMT -5
Lets do two more, just in case.
Acornsnow is not a cat you would want to have at your back. She's a decent fighter when it comes down to it, but she would much rather flee a fight than risk anything herself. She has little loyalty for FireClan, as all her family is in BlossomClan. The only exception to this is Badgercloud, whom she is absolutely and utterly devoted to, going so far as to leave her Clan to be with him. After all FireClan is going through with the coup, Acornsnow is trying hard to convince him to run back to BlossomClan and away from all the drama and danger, which he is quite on the fence about.
It was already hard for FireClan to accept Acornsnow as a warrior in full, hardly being out of her apprenticeship and from a rival Clan to boot, and the small she-cat doesn't make it any easier for those willing to try. She has no desire to help FireClan or be friendly with any of the cats there. She is only a whisker away from disdain at any given moment, and it was quickly accepted that she would not attend any patrol without Badgercloud at her side. Even with him serving as a mediator, Acornsnow rarely puts forth any effort to be helpful. She detests the conflict and politics, particularly Mistdapple, who she feels threatened by. Since arriving, the two had often fought, once or twice even with claws. If they weren't so pressed for warriors, FireClan would have thrown her out at the first chance they had. But it wasn't clear if Badgercloud would follow, and the loss of two warriors --even if one couldn't be trusted to stand and fight or even do her job properly if she didn't feel like it-- wasn't worth the risk of angering her.
Badgercloud, on the other hand, is a pretty average cat. Son of Pebblefoot, he was stunned when his father took place in the coup. He claims to have no prior knowledge of the revolution or any of the plans, nor does he harbor any sympathies towards his kin. Ravenstar (and Mistdapple) have pushed him several times about the matter when things get heated, leaving him feeling isolated and alone in the Clan, targeted. Alongside Acornsnow pushing him to run, he is seriously considering going to BlossomClan even though he hates running and hates leaving his Clan in a bad spot.
He doesn't fully trust Acornsnow either. Once, when their relationship was only a scattering of secret meetings on the borders, he was enthralled with her beauty, her complements, and her fiery confidence. But she moved way quicker than he was prepared for, and left him with little option than to defend her when she came to FireClan after being named a warrior. He loves her and tries to push her to be nicer to her adopted Clan, but after being the target of much of Ravenstar's interrogations, he found himself being pushed closer and closer to Acornsnow.
Badgercloud is good friends with Lakewing. He was the one that often pushes Lakewing to go out of his comfort zone and helps the shyer tom socialize. Badgercloud was always the more outgoing of the two. He takes time to listen to Lakewing's concerns with his deputyship and, at the start of all this, offered to lead more patrols than almost any other to help his friend out. Though now, feeling a bit more helpless, thinks that going out of his way is futile.
He would have had a crush/short relationship with Mistdapple before Acornsnow, which is where the two she-cats base most of their animosity (mostly on Acornsnow's side, though Mistdapple hates seeing Acorn being absolutely useless and wants better for Badger, who has been her brother's best friend since they were all kits).
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Post by mintedstar/fur🦇 on Sept 7, 2020 16:07:31 GMT -5
Clicky clicky.
Hey Brownie! How ya been?
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Post by Brownie on Sept 8, 2020 14:12:38 GMT -5
last month was really really rough but things seem to be looking up! A lot of the issues that started up last month (family, relationship, health, friends) are slowly being worked out and going back to normal which is a huge weight off my shoulders. I've been doing a lot of my own projects in my spare time and even started going outside more often which is something I sorely needed. I'm just glad things seem to be settling down.
wbu? I heard you finally got a new computer, gratz!
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Post by mintedstar/fur🦇 on Sept 8, 2020 22:21:17 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that things are calming down for you! <3 That is so great to hear and I'm hopeful that the trend will continue. Wish I could go outside. But if it isn't heat then it's ash. I was walking more earlier this year.
Yes! I did! It's a reeeeeeeeeally nice computer too!
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Post by Brownie on Dec 13, 2020 0:32:14 GMT -5
I just wanted to say that when I started drafting for this, it was hella rare to have any popular literature with LGBT rep
and now I've been reading so much cuz covid has been keeping me away from screens and pretty much every book I've read has at least one gay/les/nb character. And most of them aren't just token representation or gay-is-my-personality but actual characters with arcs and that's hella cool.
anyways, the queerness in checkmate was partially because I was hella closeted and questioning when this plotline came to be and I put a lot of myself into those characters. I'm just glad that people are starting to be more open and use LGBT characters as actual people instead of politics and that makes me happy.
carry on with yalls day.
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