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bl4ckorch1d · 8 months

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SHACKLE // Buckthorne Woods

Male Naga OC / GN! Reader

1.5k Words || AO3

Slight horror themes.

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The forest was almost deadly silent, an oddity for such a usually lively place. One place once visited by many turned abandoned acres. Though it wasn’t a mystery, the nation needed a specific place for the things they deemed ‘unsightly’ for their aesthetic modernized cities. It seemed not even the birds wanted to stick around, not wanting to become prey to either fangs or claws.

Buckthorne Woods, a name known by many and feared just the same. It only seemed like a few years ago until the humans decided ‘monsters’ can’t roam free on their own free will anymore. Almost seems like they got bored of fighting themselves and moved on to a different area of the food tree. While the woods were certainly one of the largest in the nation, it still was nowhere near big enough to hold every ‘monstrosity’ that roamed the land; their population almost became cut in half due to this. Not much of a chance for a bloom either, while the forest dwellers stay among their own types and don’t fight with each other over land, most refuse to bring a child into such a hate-filled world. Some kinds are becoming almost extinct; mostly the less humanoid they look, the lesser their number is.

A waterfall was all that truly broke the silence in this specific part of the forest, a beautiful sight almost no one will ever know exists. All that accompanied other than the lush forest greens was a small opening to a cavern, only lit by the sun shining into it.

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The water rippled against the paddles that ran through it, a canoe accompanied by a lone fisher. Setting your canoe under light shading, between the endless green that surrounded your figure. With the paddle set aside, you are in high hopes for fish above the average. With your dominant hand gripping your fishing pole, in a single swoop, you swing the line into the water. A small splash accompanied the bobber as it broke the surface tension of the water. The rays of the sun crack through the open spaces of shade, your skin embracing the slight heat. Eyes steady for any slight pull, you sit there tense. A slight tug on the pole, “Finally, a bite.” you hum to yourself. As you go to start reeling in, your body suddenly drags forward, slamming at the edge of the canoe almost tipping over. You try balancing yourself all while whatever was hooked squirmed around violently in the water, splashing and sending slight waves in all directions. Stubbornly, you began pulling back in panic and hurry, but all this action resulted in was a loud snap. Your back harshly hits the bottom of the canoe, as it sways from side to side. “Damn it”, you thought to yourself, “Should have brought spares.”, as you looked down at the snapped pole.

At this point, your only goal was to find your way home after that experience. The river only went in one direction, and you swore you remembered which way you came from. So why did it feel so ominously wrong? Paddling through the water, you had expected to find the subtle tracks you left behind to get back out of the forest. The endless overgrown verdure shielded most of your view, but you could hear the heavy sound of water crashing against itself. You knew at that moment that you were completely lost. Your phone was rendered useless without an ounce of service, and the map you brought was drenched from the fishing disaster. The idea of making it back seemed like a pipe dream. It was late evening, and by the time you could even make it back to your fishing spot, the forest would be enveloped by complete darkness. Heading on towards the sound of the water, your eyes were met with an enchanting sight. A waterfall with almost crystal clear water in the pool below it, the scene looked straight out of a magazine. Looking past the constant pouring, there was a cavern hidden slightly beside the falls. Seemed to be your last resort for a place to reside. Paddling on, you dock your canoe as close to the cavern as you can without it getting completely flooded. Grabbing any salvageable supplies, you adventure forward to the mouth of the cavern.

Nothing seems odd at first glance, a few spiders with their webs seem to be the only company you’ll have tonight. You drop your bag only a few feet into the cavern, far enough to be protected from the elements but close enough to still see outside. The cavern seemed to split into many tunnels further along and that just seemed like a horrible idea to adventure in your current state. Luckily your small blanket had survived the onslaught of water, a small comfort in your hellish predicament. If it wasn’t for the bed of rocks you laid on, you could almost trick yourself into thinking the waterfall was a sound machine when you shut your eyes.

◦ • • • • • • • ◦

Pains shot up your left leg, and you could feel the bile burning in the back of your throat as you lurched awake. Your eyes water as you lose the fight against your nausea. Choking as the last bit of bile makes it out of your mouth. Reaching for your backpack so you can fish out your thermostat to rid the aftertaste of vomit. Instead of the bag, your hand meets straw. You aren’t where you fell asleep. Panic rises in your system as you notice your left leg has swollen like a balloon and the leg beside it has a glistening silver shackle around it.

You try to make sense of the rest of your surroundings. You seem to be at a dead end of one of the tunnels you spotted earlier. A small fire lights the area with the smoke billowing out into a tiny hole within the wall. If that hole led outside, it seems it is still night. You can’t spot your bag anywhere in the room, there wasn’t much of anything other than the small straw bed you laid upon and the small fire. Oh, and of course the shackle around your ankle that seemed to glisten as it taunted you. Yanking on it seemed to only deliver more pain to the opposite leg as you slightly moved. The chain connected to it was rooted deep into the cave wall, you’d need a jackhammer to even hope to remove it.

Seems like you really should have listened to all the warning signs you saw at the entrance of the forest, instead of delusionally hoping no harm would have come to you. Now you lay prisoner to some mystery creature. Yelling seemed pointless as no other humans would be anywhere near the entrance of the cavern, and you couldn’t tell how deep you were into it. The noise would also likely attract whatever trapped you, but that almost seemed better than willowing alone in pain. So, you did as any white girl would do in a cheesy horror film and yelled out, “Is anybody there?” . . . A weird mix of relief and disappointment washed over you as silence was your only response. Not even the slightest rustle, only the crackling of embers.

A sigh escaped your lips, almost masking the slight foreign noise just outside from where you could see. Nausea hits like a typhoon once you lay eyes on who you guessed to be your captor. A naga male, he could almost be mistaken for a model if it wasn’t for the tail that replaced where legs would be. “The rabbit finally awakens I see.” A silky deeper voice, one that overenunciated its s’ by quite a bit. His tan upper half shifted as he went to throw the sticks into the dying fire. Once he moved closer you could finally get a good look at him, his snake side resembling a ‘tiger snake’ with the black and yellow banding. A sharp jawline matched, with sharp golden brown eyes. Black hair tied messily into a bun. Could be worse, much better than some smelly goblin at least. Your internal monologue was disrupted as he moved to you, getting closer to your swollen leg. “Suprised it hasn’t turned purple yet.” He let out a snide hiss as he poked it, his smile widening as you whimpered out in pain. “But don’t worry, it’s only been mere hours. It’ll swell much more by morning.” A prideful huff as those sharp eyes glanced down at you. He was obviously mocking you, and you could only grit your teeth in response. His hand swatting at you, “No need for that, I’m not going to let it get that bad dear.” The tone made him seem so condescending that you wouldn’t be surprised if he bit you again, right in the same puncture wounds. “Now, give me a second, don’t go anywhere!” . . . Maybe a goblin would have been better. His form quickly slithers out of the area leaving nothing but the sounds of embers once again.

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whispering-clan · 5 months

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What are the other clans names if you don't mind me asking?

Roaringclan, Singingclan, Weepingclan, Echoingclan, and Growlingclan!

Roaringclan's territory is half hilly meadows/moors and half oak & birch forests. Their dens are dug out abandoned fox dens.

Singingclan's territory is bordered by a river which has an off shoot that goes through their territory. They r the fishers and swimmers. The rest of their territory is forest.

Weepingclan is also bordered by the river but their territory is more marshy, their camp is surrounded by willow trees.

Echoingclan lives in caves by the ocean, their territory is made up of caves, the beach and oceanic habitats.

Annd Growlingclan lives further down the mountain in a rocky terrain that also reaches the ocean edge, though most of their land that touches the ocean are cliffs.

#there are a LOT of clans lol #cryptid answers #Whisperasks #whisperingclan

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beljar · 7 months

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Franz Kafka's Letters to Milena

[April 1920]

Meran-Untermais, Pension Ottoburg

Dear Frau Milena

The rain which has been going on for two days and one night has just now stopped, of course probably only temporarily, but nonetheless an event worth celebrating, which I am doing by writing to you. Incidentally the rain itself was bearable; after all, it is a foreign country here, admittedly only slightly foreign, but it does the heart good.

I’m living quite well here, the mortal body could hardly stand more care, the balcony outside my room is sunk into a garden, overgrown and covered with blooming bushes (the vegetation here is strange; in weather cold enough to make the puddles freeze in Prague, blossoms are slowly unfolding before my balcony), moreover this garden receives full sun (or full cloud, as it has for al- most a week)—lizards and birds, unlikely couples, come visit me: I would very much like to share Meran with you, recently you wrote about not being able to breathe, that image and its meaning are very close to one another and here both would find a little relief.

With cordial greetings.

[Prague, July 16, 1920]

I wanted to excel in your eyes, show my strength of will, wait before writing you, first finish a document, but the room is empty, no one is minding me-it’s as if someone said: leave him alone, can’t you see how engrossed he is in his own affairs, it’s as if he had a fist in his mouth. So I only wrote half a page and am once again with you, lying on this letter like I lay next to you back then in the forest.

There was no letter today, but I’m not afraid, Milena, please don’t misunderstand me; I’m never afraid about you, even if it sometimes seems that way and it often does-it’s simply a weakness, a mood of the heart, which knows exactly why it’s beating nevertheless. Giants have their weaknesses as well; I believe even Hercules fainted once. With my teeth clenched, however, and with your eyes before me I can endure anything: distance, anxiety, worry, letterlessness.

[Meran, June 4, 1920]

Friday

To begin with, Milena: What’s the apartment you wrote from on Sunday like? Full of space and empty? Are you all b yourself? Day and night? In any case it must be sad to sit there alone on a beautiful Sunday afternoon opposite a ‘stranger’ whose face is nothing but ‘stationery which has been written on.’ I am so much better off! Although my own room is small, the true Milena is here, the one who ran away from you on Sunday, and believe me being with her is wonderful.

You complain about uselessness. It was different on other days and it will be different. The one sentence (on what occasion was it uttered?) shocks you, and yet it really is so clear and has already been spoken or thought with this meaning countless times. A man plagued by his own devils takes.

Franz Kafka, from Letters to Milena, 1920 // Romantic Letters II by Lisa Audit // River Rock Separation by Joshua Schicker // Woman's Letter by Harrison Fisher // Woman Reading by an Open Window, 1888 by Amaldus Nielsen // Reflective Distance by Tom Reeves // Personal Archives of Correspondence, 1897-1908, 1912-21 (Pen and Ink on Paper, B/W Photo) by Enrico Caruso

Van Gogh's Letters

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fatehbaz · 1 year

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Paul Van Damme and Fortuna Vargas Mejía met 28 years ago in Puerto Villarroel, a village in the Bolivian department of Cochabamba. Van Damme was a Belgian marine biologist who found in the lagoons of the Bolivian Amazon “the closest thing to a sea.” Vargas was a native of Cochabamba who had worked as a navigator for 12 years before becoming a fisherman, so he knew well the Amazonian rivers and lagoons [...].

At that time — the 1990s — commercial fishing had just begun to boom in Puerto Villarroel, a municipality located on the banks of the Ichilo River in the Mamoré Basin [...] of the Bolivian Amazon. [...] Until then, the area and its forests had been well preserved and was home to a mainly Indigenous population. People from the Moxo and Yuqui Indigenous groups lived in communities along the banks of the river [...]. Little by little, people from other parts of Bolivia started to move to the urban center of Puerto Villarroel and its outskirts, leading to it eventually becoming the main and largest commercial port connecting western and eastern Bolivia. [...]

These investigations eventually led to the study of the bufeo, or river dolphin (Inia boliviensis), a species endemic to the Madera River Basin, the largest population of which is found in Bolivia. As a predator of small- and medium-sized migratory fish, the river dolphin’s presence is viewed as an indicator of aquatic and riparian habitat health. Put another way: It is very sensitive to any changes in the ecosystem [...].

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In murky waters such as those of the Ichilo River, the dolphin was often seen shimmying to the rhythm of the waves and then disappearing, and it was a mystery as to where it would rear its head again. Sometimes, when the observation boat passed through warmer and clearer waters, small groups of 4-5 dolphins would appear in groups [...]. Last year, nature photographer Alejandro de los Ríos captured a pair of dolphins with an anaconda in their mouths. It is not known if they were playing with it or about to devour it, but the image was featured in news outlets around the world [...].

Until 2006, I. boliviensis was thought to be a subspecies of the Amazonian river dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, but [...] it was identified as an independent species. This differentiation, however, is still in the process of being recognized internationally. [...]. That is why, in the Bolivian Red Book of Vertebrates, it is considered a Vulnerable species, while for the International Union for Conservation of Nature it is listed as Endangered. [...] Far from the debate, experts in conservation, biology and ecology have reacted with astonishment to the findings about Bolivia’s only fully aquatic mammal. Details about these aquatic mammals include [...] they behave differently whether they are in dark or clear waters; the mothers and the whole group take care of the offspring; and not only do they not want their offspring to go near the fishing nets, but they seem to reprimand them when they do so. Such findings are “new and fascinating” information, according to Lila Sainz, wildlife officer for WWF-Bolivia. [...]

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[T]he presence of the dolphin has been reported in nine protected areas across Bolivia. [...] [T]he animals tend to migrate long distances [...]. “We have to take into account that I. boliviensis moves through rivers, but the other aquatic systems it uses, such as lagoons, meanders, and the surrounding habitat all are also important,” said Gabriel Tavera, a biologist [...]. “Furthermore, a number of these protected areas flood with water during the rainy season, meaning the bufeo can also swim through flooded forests,” he added.

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Image, caption, and text by: Rocio Lloret. “Scientists and fishers team up to protect Bolivian river dolphin.” Mongabay. 12 April 2023. As translated by Matthew Rose. Story first published in Spanish at Monabay’s Latam site on 29 November 2022. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

#endemic species #amazonia

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monosminecraftmania · 2 months

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Color!au [hermitcraft fantasy au]

so i got two notes on the previous post so here i go talking about this

(yes this is going out like a month late but shh i had stuff ;a;)

here's a full roster of everyone and everything. Hopefully this will turn into motivation for me to write but yeah. until then here have this

again, if anyone is interested in seeing close ups/detailed drawings of anyone just send me an ask and i will gladly draw them. pls im desperate

if we get 3 notes i'll. share pictures of the kingdoms.

(long long post. read at your own risk >:3)

Going Alphabetically

Bdubs - Astronomer of Flax - Lives at the top of the castle - Comically small. No don't ask it's a sore subject - Made himself a glittering cloak of "stardust"

Beef - Resident of Varie - Lives on the outskirts of the kingdom - Travels only for paints or supplies - Good friend of Etho's

Bigb - Cerule resident - Has a cloud frog as a familiar - All it does is make his shoulder slightly moist - Runs a cookie shop

Cleo - Naga, Resident of Uaine - Graveyard guardian - Made herself arms of enchanted scraps the dead leave behind - Her human disguise is a gigantic ballroom dress.

Cub - Dungeon engineer of Mauve - Will never share the recipe for totems of undying - Creates labyrinths and puzzle rooms with a small chance of death - Sources most materials from Scar

Doc - Cursed Archeologist of Uaine - Pissed off a moss spirit so now his skin's green - Can't breathe good - Cut off his own arm and made a new magic one

Etho - Crown Prince of Varie - Half fox, but vertically - Has a heavy limp so people speculate he carries old battle wounds - Very bad at hiding the fox bits.

False - Royal Knight of Amara - Gilded Eagle Hybrid. Eagle wings and colors but the feathers appear to be shimmering like metal - Kingdom is usually very calm so she spends most of her time hanging out with Stress and fishing - Kicks ass when she has to.

Fwhip - Fisher in Ochre - Gem's business partner and the less violent one of the two - Deals more in accounting than actual fish - Fixes boats on the side

Gem - Fishwife in Ochre - Not actually married. Married to THE GRIND. - Runs a fishing boat and market by the widest bend of the river - Can and will use this trident.

Grian - Geologist in Claret - That's some funny lookin floating rocks - Owns a mansion that's shared with several other people of science - Named one of the rocks Brian. Pronounced like Grian.

Hypno - Beekeeper in Flax - Has a little bee farm that he sells honey and candles out of - Has a little magic and mostly uses it to make his flowers bloom - Honestly just happy to be here :3

Impulse - Service Demon in Flax - Resident fiekind (trickster demon). Does favors for gold or food - Invented the farming plow for a request once - Will absolutely abuse vague requests and play as many tricks as possible

Iskall - Magic Blacksmith of Uaine - Makes magic weapons of all kinds, mostly swords - Has golems to help him with his work, mostly just handling hot metal - Charisma + 20. He will flirt with anything that breathes.

Jevin - Slime Amalgam - Hides in the topmost tower of Azure's castle. - Stole pieces of gargoyles to camouflage and has been collecting feathers for wings - Just a silly little guy, living his best life.

Jimmy - Whistler - Guardian of the Wishing Cave - A great guy until you realize he's evangelizing for a cult - Hasn't touched grass in years

Joe - Magic researcher in Viridian - Puts random mushrooms in his mouth - Purely curious and gets a pass from most forest spirits - Looking into the forces of death to write a funny book

Joel - Strength Bryd (forest spirit) in Uaine - In the common tongue it's pronounced Ogre - Covered in tattoos that may or may not be his past victims - Fell in love with a fish. How did it end up like this.

Jono - Local Bard of Amara - Half Dog musician who's found a nice spot in Amara to settle down - Shirts are for losers - Can beatbox amazingly well with sharp teeth.

Keralis - Holy Water Spirit - Currently napping in the big ball chained to the temple roof - Granted Xb his wish to safely walk on land - Kind to a fault

Lizzie - Resident of Amara - Half fish hybrid - Washed up in the marshes of Uaine after a storm once and rescued by a handsome ogre. - Has an army of cod.

Martyn - Servant of Claret - A Watcher - Ren's shadow - Really needs a hug

Mumbo - Wizard of Claret - Subject of all of the bad luck - Collects scriptures and studies the magic of his kingdom - Also hosts a great magic show for kids

Pearl - Royal Architect/Librarian of Azure - Started as a stable girl who threw a tomato at the design for the royal library. And instead of being arrested, she was hired to redesign it. - In charge of the upside down library - Her dragon is named Bikkie.

Ren - Crown Prince of Claret - Half dog and proud of it. - Twins with Jono who moved away to the neighboring kingdom - Curious to a fault

Sausage - Mauve Resident - Construction worker for the many dungeons and attractions - Works well with wood in the morning - Way too enthusiastic

Scar - Travelling Merchant - Sells all the wares! Even wares that don't exist! - Yes the cane is magic - Makes an annual trip across the country to Mauve

Scott - Azure Merchant - Collects fashion articles from all over the country - Runs a ferry business on the side - Might know something.

Skizz - Resident of Cerule - Chosen by a phim and gifted a pair of angel wings and a halo - Encourages body positivity! Because love yourself you jerks - Trusts blindly and with open arms.

Stress - Goat/Beast hybrid in Amara - Retractable fluff for an instant winter coat! - The hooves are more like paws, but she's got incredible balance - Runs a tea shop with odd but tasty blends.

Tango - Fire spirit - Holy spirit of fire who's honestly just confused why he's so popular - Kidnapped by Scar and escaped to Gem all within a week - Hides in Gem's fireplace

TFC - Blacksmith of Varie - Specializes in actual tools, not weapons - Has a side business of stone sculptures. Buy one get two small ones free - Has a familiar, but no one knows what it is

Wels - MC - Surname revoked. Formal title "Wels, Knight of the Realm" - Banished from his home and travelling to a faraway land - His horse is named Worse, but pronounced like 'horse'

XB - Resident of Azure - Book collector and moved out of Amara to pursue his love of books - Got a blessing from a water spirit so he doesn't suffocate - Learned flight magic and swims through the air

Xisuma - Vagabond - Originally from Mauve. Travels the lands at every opportunity - No one has ever seen his face - Incredibly helpful travel guide

Zedaph - Royal Engineer/Alchemist of Mauve - May have invented cocaine. And gunpowder - Designs elaborate gauntlets for the bold to test their strength - Decided two extra arms were a good idea

#phew that was long #hermitcraft #hermitcraft au #im not tagging everyone #though it would be funny to #fantasy au #original au #i love this au #all i need to do is love the grind more so i can actually write this thing

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kiastirling-fanfic · 10 months

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hi kia, happy friday! "And if you’re good maybe they’ll be light on you, long as you dance just like they want you to" for an inquisitor perhaps !!

Thanks Blue!! Here's a brief scene on the way to stabilize the Breach.

@dadrunkwriting

Characters: Dascha Cadash, Varric Tethras, Cassandra Pentaghast, Solas Rating: T? references to drugs (lyrium) Words: 505

Dascha ran for a living, but she didn’t run with her hand on fire up mountains for a living with demons raining down on her and it was starting to show. She ran lyrium, she ran low to the ground through forests, delivering goods to clients who didn’t want their habits known.

She knew she shouldn’t have gone to the Conclave to begin with, knew it wasn’t where she was most effective, but orders were orders and she’d gone and now she was here, running up a mountain.

Then another pulse took her to her knees.

“Solas! See to the prisoner!” Cassandra snapped when Dascha’s stubby legs failed to keep up crossing a frozen river. “We need her alive when we reach the forward camp if we’re to see this through.”

“Of course, Seeker.” Solas was as demure as any noble daughter and led Dascha too a rock outside a burning hut. A fisher’s cabin in summer perhaps, but in the dead of winter it was just on fire and likely unoccupied before it became so. He allowed her to lean on it - too tall for her to sit anyway, and she didn’t need the leg cramps a proper rest might bring - as he examined her hand.

“So,” the voice of one Varric Tethras cut through, “let me guess: Fellow surface dwarf, maybe part of the Carta?” Maybe he thought he was being companionable, but it just made Dascha’s hackles rise.

“What makes you say that?” Dascha was guarded at best. What was he after? Not that he had to be after something, but Varric Tethras? Rumor had it he was affiliated with the Coterie, so he wouldn’t bring up the Carta off hand.

“I can tell a proper Orzammar dwarf from twenty paces.” Liar. Or. Well. Dascha had never been proper anything. Maybe he was right. “Also, you have that shifty-smuggler look to you.” That much she couldn’t deny. She was a smuggler.

“Takes a criminal to know one,” Dascha huffed. Solas stopped his prodding about then and Cassandra gave a very military looking wave, It wasn’t dissimilar to the gesture used by the Carta in their regular hand signs to mean get a move on.

“At least you admit it,” Cassandra growled.

“Being a criminal in general, yes. Not- not to whatever this is. I’m a smuggler, that’s it.”

“Well you know what they say; one man’s smuggler is another man’s terrorist,” Varric grinned and clapped her on the back and it did nothing to endear him to her. “Who knows; if you’re good they might be light on you.”

“So long as you dance the way they want you too.” Solas seemed a little less agreeablefor the moment, his kindly mask slipping that was likely for Cassandra’s benefit in retrospect. Apostate and- whatever a Seeker was. Some kind of templar by the way Cassandra was taking out those demons. “Don’t tell me you believe in the Chantry’s justice, Master Tethas?”

And just for a moment Varric seemed less jovial. “Keep walking Chuckles.”

#dadwc #dragon age fanfiction #Dascha Cadash

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pickerelstripe · 10 months

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ClayClan Masterpost

Masterpost for general ClayClan world-building. ClayClan is a fanclan residing in a Maine wetland, inspired roughly by Acadia National Park. Their territory is a freshwater swampy forest. There’s rivers and ponds clogging the wetter sections, while the ground dries up fully elsewhere - one border fades into a small lake. There’s low mountains and a little twolegplace in the distance. Summers are comfortable, winters are freezing, and it’s often cloudy year-round.

Below the cut: Upland camp and Lake camp, relationships with outsiders, what it means to be a Clan cat, ranking system, activities, and links to lore posts

Religion

ClayClan worships a pantheon of gods. More information can be found here: Religion Masterpost

The Two Camps

ClayClan has two camps; Upland and Lake! In Claymew, their names are Shelpan and Uloban. Upland camp is located on a dry hill in the woods, while Lake camp is tucked into a boggy island on the lakeshore. They’re about an hour’s hike away from each other.

Both are well furnished, but Upland camp serves as the Clan’s center of operations and is where the leader resides. Cats move between camps freely. Warriors typically pick a favorite depending on their various skills (skilled fishers stay at Lake, skilled climbers stay at Upland, etc), while the captains and acolytes cycle between them to keep an eye on things. Apprentices generally travel with their mentor. Queens traditionally raise their litters at Upland, where it’s safer, but there’s occasionally the odd-one-out who prefers their kits grow up at Lake.

No matter what camp you’re in, everybody gathers together for ceremonies in Upland. The one exception to this is warrior ceremonies - apprentices can pick which camp they become a warrior at! It’s tradition for an apprentice to pick the camp that lines up with their best skills.

Relations with Outsiders

ClayClan believes that their gods shine on anyone who lives willingly in the Clan. Due to this, loners and kittypets are welcomed in as long as they dedicate themselves to the community. There’s no shame in having outsider blood.

ClayClan cats may also mate freely with outsiders, under two stipulations:

The mateship must not come before loyalty to ClayClan

Resulting kits must be raised in ClayClan

This practice keeps the gene pool diverse. ClayClan is cordial with loners and has a good reputation among local wanderers.

What It Means to be a Clan Cat

To be a ClayClan cat is to be a part of the community, embodying the traits that Hyaash and Mrrha represent - fighting, hunting, teamwork, creativity, and community. Living in ClayClan ties you into the whole, making you more than just a mere cat. They believe that this is the system the gods intended.

Ranking System

ClayClan recognizes nine ranks in their social system. These ranks are generally the same as canon WC, and so only the unique ranks will have in-depth explanatory notes.

Leader (1) Head of the Clan.

Deputy (1) Organize everybody; report to the leader. Chosen by the leader from among the captains. A captain must have either trained an apprentice or raised a litter before being eligible for deputyship.

Acolyte (2-3) Healers and religious advisors. Believed to have a special connection to the gods - only they are capable of creating sculptures with religious significance.

Captain (2) Organize the warriors; report to the deputy. Captains are elected by the warriors and serve for one season (three moons) at a time, though they may be voted in for several seasons in a row. The leader chooses their deputy from among the captains, so it’s a very sought-after position among the warriors. Warriors must have served for a full year (twelve moons) before being eligible for captainhood.

Warrior Adult cats who hunt, fight, patrol, etc. There’s an informal role among the warriors known as a messenger - messengers are swift endurance runners who travel between the camps to ferry news, fetch help, etc. Any warrior may take up the mantle of messenger.

Apprentice Cats between the age of six and twelve moons who are in training to become warriors or acolytes.

Queen Adult cats who are expecting or caring for kits. The term ‘queen’ is ungendered in ClayClan society - mollies, toms, and jacks may all be queens.

Kit Cats below the age of six moons.

Elder Senior cats who have retired.

Activites

ClayClan has a very active arts culture - they sculpt clay, tell stories, and act in plays! More information can be found here: Arts Masterpost

The role of a leader

Why ClayClan doesn’t have gender roles

More on mud-kittens

#clayclan #masterpost #warrior cats #warriors worldbuilding

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allthebrazilianpolitics · 5 months

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‘Many different Amazonias, Amazonians’: The cultures of Brazil’s Amazon

Brazil’s slice of the Amazon rainforest is home to 28 million people.

Renowned for its stunning biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest region is also home to a vast array of people and cultures.

“People usually think that the environment doesn’t contain and include people, but it does,” said soil scientist Judson Ferreira Valentim, who lives in Brazil’s Acre state. “There are many different Amazonias and many different Amazonians.”

From small villages of thatched homes to the skyline of Belem rising above mist on the river – a view sometimes called “Manhattan of the Amazon” – Brazil’s slice of the Amazon is home to 28 million people.

Many communities are linked by water. Along the Tocantins River, a tributary of the Amazon, yellow school boats pick up children from wooden homes on stilts, and fishers throw scraps of the day’s catch to river dolphins that frequent the docks. Families linger beside river beaches at sunset, the water a relief from the heat of the day.

Other communities are linked by rural roads, which often wash out during heavy rains, or newly paved highways – which bring better access to schools and hospitals, but also, often, deforestation.

In the forest itself, there is often no path. Acai picker Edson Polinario spends his days under dappled sunlight that filters through the canopy of virgin rainforest, often with just the company of his large black dog.

Continue reading and see more pictures.

#brazil #brazilian politics #politics #environmental justice #amazon rainforest #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

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adventuressclubamericas · 1 year

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Flat Phryne Canada Road Trip

Flat Phryne's adventures on the way to Miss Fisher Con in St. Paul continue. Her Canadian road trip begins in...LONDON !

No, not that one, the other one. The forest city in Southern Ontario, or also known as 'Half Way Between Detroit and Toronto'. And it also sits on the Thames River. (How Original!)

The City of London acknowledges that it is situated on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron. Or in English, The Chippewas of the Thames First Nation; Oneida Nation of the Thames; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation, who all continue to live as sovereign Nations with individual and unique languages, cultures and customs.

No road trip can begin in Canada without a Timmies, a coffee or tea from the Tim Horton's coffee shop. Will Flat Phryne order a Medium Double Double (Two Cream Two Sugars) or have a steeped Earl Grey?

Flat Phryne then made her way to Toronto, the largest city in Canada. Behind her is the CN Tower, the most prominent structure on the waterfront, once the tallest free-standing structure in the world.

While in Toronto, she checked in at Noonan's Irish Pub for a special event called ChickJam, an evening of music by an all female ensemble.

It's a fundraiser for Garner Theatre Productions, who supports theatrical and musical productions, especially by women. Phryne had a grand time hooting and dancing and was even persuaded to take the mike for a song.

Phryne ends her road trip on the shores of one of the jewels in Canada, the Great Lakes. The scenery leaves her breathless.

Where will Flat Phryne visit next ? Stay tuned ! https://www.missfishercon.com/

#MissFisher #MsFisher #1920s #1920sfashion #1920sstyle #1960s #1960sfashion #1960svintage #1930s #1930sfashion #1930sstyle #1930svintage #shanghai #melbourne #mnhistory #flapper #phrynefisher #adventuressescluboftheamericas #adventuress #stpaulmn #stpaul #saintpaul #saintpaulmn #saintpaulminnesota #saintpaulhotel #london #ontario #toronto #canada #flatphryne

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richardsletters · 1 year

Photo

“Hi, my warmest regards to you and Sid. Recieved your letter. Glad to hear Sid is doing well in baseball. How is his soccer game? Have you been watching the World Cup Games? So you have a pillowcase with my image. cool :) How long did you live in Desert hot springs? Heres a few websites... vocation vacation.com - cupid.com and match.com - drinkzamu.com (its a nutritions drink by Olivia Newton John the singer). Movies... Memories of a Geisha - Antwone Fisher - Kiterunner - School of Rock - Drag - The Reader - From Dusk Till Dawn 1996 - Flypaper. Books...Photo Books by Nobuyoshi Araki - The Rottweiler by Ruth Rendell - Unseen by Mari Jungstedt - Coldest Blood by Jim Kelly - Intensity by Dean Koontz (this one was a movie also) I'll have to check out that book you mention...Horns. I liked Sid's message. :) Yes you can send what he did in class. Send pictures of him if possible. Heres a few interesting facts... Amazon river passes through Brazil Venezuela Columbia Peru and Bolivia it is covered by Rain Forest it is four thousand miles in length also in south america there is andes mountains they extend for 4500 miles. The bahamas off the coast of Florida consist of about seven hundred islands. Colorado river rises in the Rocky mountains and flows through Colorado Utah and Arizona where it passes through the Grand Canyon to the gulf of California it is 1440 miles in lengh heres a few questions... when talking with friends do you say your body is fairly sensitive? Do you think you can never get enough of a good thing? Do you enjoy the feeling when a cat rubs up against you? Do you think people should live for the pleasure of the moment? Ok bye for now. Stay as sweet as you are.

Love Richard"

" Drawing enclosed"

#richard ramirez #richard ramirez letters #the night stalker #olivia newton john

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chroniclingworlds · 4 months

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Flageliforms

The Flageliforms and their close relatives the Inmania have a spring-loaded proboscis attached by a highly flexible band of connective tissue, which can be shot forward at blinding speed to impale prey. The Flageliforms in particular produce a whiplike crack when launching their proboscis.

Dagger-tongues:

Pictured: the western Dagger-tongue, living in the Three Lakes region of Ejoa.

These small forest-dwelling species live across Axane, Ejoa and Amki, and hunt Prong-Mouths, Mud-Probers and many other small animals. They also commonly scavenge kills from other predators. Solitary and elusive, they are difficult to observe in the wild. They mate and brood their eggs in burrows excavated with their sharp front claws, and spend much of the day underground, emerging to hunt at night.

Whip-tongues:

Pictured: the black-striped whip-tongue, which can be found in the semi-arid regions between the Ejoan Great Savanna and the Silver Desert.

The whip-tongues are truly the ultimate survivors of the Flageliforms. These dynamic creatures hunt a huge variety of species and seem to thrive in nearly every habitat across Axane, Ejoa and Amki. The only places where they are absent are the most extreme alpine regions and inhospitable deserts. Although not as big or ferocious as their cousins the Moon Dogs, they more than make up for it in adaptability. While mostly solitary, they will sometimes hunt cooperatively to take down larger prey. The one fully domesticated Aconch species, the Musdor, belongs to this group.

Moon Dogs:

Pictured: the golden Moon Dog, which is found in the temperate rainforests of the Ever-Reaching River of Axane.

The biggest Flageliforms, these pack hunters live in the forests and tundras of Amki, Ejoa and Axane, using their high intelligence to coordinate attacks on large animals. While not as big as the Inmania that share their habitat, they have strength in numbers against both their prey and potential predators. Packs of Moon Dogs seem to have distinct societal roles and complex communication, and are considered some of the smartest animals on Varin aside from the Doloformes.

Fishers:

Pictured: the river wolf, found in the Thira River of Ejoa.

This unusual branch of the Flageliforms took a very different approach to life, taking to the water and becoming semi-aquatic. Although they only live in large rivers, they are excellent aquatic hunters and feed on a variety of Hexapod and Itchyomorph species. They are frequently seen gathering in groups to bask on logs and rocks. Their preferred habitat often brings them into competition with River Tigers, and although the Tigers have size to their advantage, the Fishers rely on strength in numbers, and a pack can easily defend themselves from a Tiger looking for an easy meal.

#planet varin #speculative biology

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spottyissleepy · 2 years

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What’s your plan for the tribe?

Ah, the Tribe of Rushing Water!! Not a fan. At least, not of canon’s Tribe, since, even before I discovered why it made me feel this way, I always felt as though there was something… Off. About it, and the way that they interacted with the Clan cats.

So we’re scraping that completely! :D

OFND’s tribe is inspired by @featherheartwarriors’s; their concept for a nomadic, river-following Tribe was really interesting, so I took that and incorporated some elements that I personally found would be interesting for a nomadic society.

So! The Tribe of Rushing Water is a nomadic group of various animals, though most commonly cats. On occasion, their ranks will be bolstered by a fox and her cubs joining them on their journeys, or a stray vulture, etc etc. All are welcomed into their ranks, so long as they pose no threat to their way of life and are respectful, and willing to share their life stories.

Due to their close proximity with water, they are known to be skilled swimmers and fishers, but also skilled healers as well. They are a deeply empathetic bunch, and knowledge is a very highly-held aspect in their culture, so many of them have a vast array of knowledge about herbs and the like beneath their belt.

My Tribe is very big on the value of life and the tales that can be told behind each one, which is where their naming also comes in:

A Tribe member receives their name through a journey of self discovery. A few moons after they reach adulthood, a Tribe member is given a huge celebration in honor of the life they lived within the Tribe, and then the following morning, they are sent off, with the knowledge of where the Tribe is headed next. During this time, the cat in question goes on a journey of self discovery. Oftentimes, they follow the moon, a branch of the river, or a specific star in hopes of stumbling upon a sight or event that they can name themselves after. Sometimes this event happens within a week, others experience it within days, but for far more it can take almost up to a year.

This event is held as incredibly sacred to them, and oftentimes these cats are accompanied by their littermates or those close in age to them from the Tribe while they seek to find their events.

An example:

A cat who follows an eagle as their guide may name themself “Eagle That Soars Through Clouds”, or, if they’re more dedicated to a more unique or meaningful name, might decide to name themself after a rainbow that the eagle passes, and name themself “Misty Mountains Where Rainbow Hangs”, or something akin to that.

Groups of young Tribe cats may decide to name themselves of the same event. A group who experiences a forest fire may each name themselves after a specific aspect of the event- the beginning, the aftermath, the heat, the source, etc.

(If you guys have any name and event ideas, send them to me, and I’d love to include them in my story! <3 )

There’s far more to them then just this (and I am VERY excited about Brook’s whole deal; she’s a much bigger character in the second arc because I love Brook and she deserved better) but this is just my baseline ideas :D

#ofnd #ask #spotty speaks #flippythegodzilla #the tribe of rushing water #warriors #warrior cats #warrior cats au #warriors au #warriors rewrite #warrior cats rewrite #brook where small fish swim #wc brook #brook wc

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redotter · 10 months

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PAP chapter 2: the witch

When she looked back to her life, Manu's memories were always divided into three equally long acts: her childhood in Papura, her coming of age with the coven, and the rest. It didn't matter how many new centuries she lived through, they never took away from the importance and heaviness of those first twenty years.

Papura was a small fisher settlement on the Danube Delta with barely a handful of houses, if the houses were the size of lentils. The wetlands were murky, the grass tall, the roots reaching for the never-ending muddy bottoms of rivers. Water blended into dirt in rich aromas, then evaporated into the air, thick and slow, always lingering. Birds came and went in flocks so dense they could have been mosquitoes. The Black Sea was just a boat trip away. Everything about Manu’s birthplace was full.

[...]

Ibrail was a harbor town right before the Danube broke off into the Delta, immense compared to everything Manu knew until then. The coven was modest, gathered from the Alps to the Urals, from the Baltics to the deserts down south. Witches from different environments used to specialize in different arts, but as their numbers fell, cultures converged.

They would meet every full moon, in a clearing in the woods. From the sweet dryness of July to the sharp beauty of January, witches always celebrated nature and expressed gratitude for the seasons. [...] They would light a fire and open wine bottles. Some would bring instruments, but all would sing and dance regardless. In the deeper shadows, the older girls were often kissing and touching each other. Manu loved the dense party atmosphere as much as the exhausted euphoria of dawn, when the night became rarer and quieter, and the forest smelled differently. Every full moon, Manu returned to her bed content with joy and belonging.

#renu's writing #oc: manu #wip: postapocalyptic polyamory #writers on tumblr #writeblr

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sebeth · 1 year

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The World Of Ice And Fire: The Rhoynar (Revised 12/8/22)

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

The Rhoyne is the “mightiest river in the world” and its many tributaries spread across western Essos. The Rhoynar refer to the river as “Mother Rhoyne”.

The Rhoynar, like ancient Egypt, grew rich off “the bounty of their river” and developed a “civilization and culture as storied and ancient as the Old Empire of Ghis”. The civilization was famed for their fishers, traders, teachers, scholars, and workers in wood and stone and metal.

The Rhoynish cities were known for their art and music. The cities were fiercely independent, each with its own ruler.

The most famous cities of the Rhoynar were:

Ghoyan Drohe in the Velvet Hills, known for its groves and waterfalls

Ny Sar, the city of fountains, alive with song

Ar Noy on the Qhoyne, famous for its halls of green marble

Sar Mell, pale and filled with flowers

Sarhoy, sea-girt with canals and saltwater gardens

Chroyane, the greatest city, a festival city with its great Palace of Love

Gender equality was the norm among the Rhoynar. A trait that passes on to Dorne after the great migration led by Nymeria. Cities could be ruled by either a prince or a princess and women “fought as fierecely as the males”.

The Rhoynar had their own magic – one based on water. “It was said the Mother Rhoyne herself whispered to her children of every threat, that the Rhoynar princes wielded strange, uncanny powers…and that their cities were protected by ‘watery walls’ that would rise down to drown any foe.”

Quick recap on known magic systems:

Rhoynar – water

Valyrians – fire & blood magic

Children of the Forest/Greenseers – nature, specifically weirwood trees

R’hollor – fire

Others – Ice and death

Faceless Men – Death

Warlords of Quaith – Evening of the Shade (weirwood-derived?)

Drowned God/Merlings – water

Asshai – Death and Shadows

Euron’s upcoming apocalypse – Everything up to and including the kitchen sink, will feature lots of blood and death magic

A peaceful people, the Rhoynar were still a formidable foe to the Andals. The Rhoynar warriors were known for their silver-scaled armor, fish-head helm, tall spear, and turtle-shell shield. The spear would also become a famed weapon of the Dornish.

The Rhoynar lived in peace for centuries, not interested in expansion, content to live near the mighty river – “their home, mother, and god”. Besides the occasional skirmish with “savage people in the hills and forests”, life was golden.

The Rhoynar is the clear winner of the ancient civilizations we’ve encountered so far: gender equality, culture and love of nature, no slavery, no colonization.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The Rhoynar’s ending began with the fall of Old Ghis.

Up next, the Rhoynar versus the Valyrian Freehold.

#twoiaf #asoiaf #game of thrones #Rhoynar #Mother Rhoyne #Essos #a song of ice and fire

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gorgonarcher · 3 months

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8th Game - Legend of Five Rings 5e

So, from one game that uses the twenty-questions to another. This one uses twenty questions in a bit different way than 7th Sea, in that it uses the questions to serve as the Steps of character creation.

Legend of Five Rings is a fantasy game inspired by a mixture of East Asian mythology and history, though primarily Japanese. The earlier editions were about what you expected from 90s and 00s RPGs based on Japan. 4th edition in particular had a number of essays included that I remember poorly. I picked up the game in the 1st edition and almost dropped it after 4th until I heard that Fantasy-Flight Games picked it up and given my pleasant surprise with how well their Star Wars game worked along with word from people reading the playtests that they fixed a lot of the problems with appropriation in prior editions.

Also, the is a primarily human setting, but there's a couple of options for playing inhuman characters, including a culture called the Shinomen Naga which one of the supplements released rules for.

Though we only have a single school for them.

Since we are going to be using the Naga, we're going to be using a revised version of the Twenty Questions for dealing with folk outside of the Great Clans of the Rokugan Empire that is the usual focus of the setting.

There are a few supplements that present revisions to the Twenty Questions appropriate to the themes of the supplement.

Part I: Core Identity

The first two questions come in under this section and usually those are:

1: What Clan does your character belong to?

2: What Family does your character belong to?

For the revised version in this supplement we instead of these questions:

1: What region does your character come from? What was your character's upbringing?

2: What is your character's past and how does it affect them?

Question 1: What region does your character come from? What was your character's upbringing?

The region is going to give the character a bonus to a Ring, which are the stats of the game, one Skill, and their starting Glory skill.

There are three regions:

Rural Farmland

Forest

Mountain

The Naga mostly live in a vast forest called Shinomen Mori.

So, Forest is the likely region, but there are some mountains in the area and on the edges, and while most humans wouldn't recognize it as such, they have their own farmlands. The Naga in setting have been asleep for unknown ages, but they've woken up and started re-establishing their realms.

I'm going to say she's from one of the farming areas, either orchards or fish farms around one of the rivers deeper into the forest.

Rural Farmland:

Earth +1

Fitness +1

Glory 34

Now upbringing will get her one of two possible Ring bonuses, bonuses to two skills, and starting wealth and status.

Status modification is a little bit different from what I'm used to in this game. Usually, you get a starting Status flat, but I'm assuming that's because the standard you're dealing with samurai of the Great Clans and in this case we're dealing with people outside of that status group. Gaijin have a default Status of 0 and the book advises you to decide the character's status in their own culture based on the tables in the main book. I'm going with a Status of 19 in Naga culture, which is the high end of where laborers, artisans, and military conscripts sit.

We have a couple of options:

Craftsperson

Farmer

Hunter or Fisher

Temple

I sort of want someone on the periphery of Naga society, more likely to become curious about humans than the core. I'm thinking a farmer, from one of the orchards that used to be deeper in the forest back when the forest was much larger.

Farmer gives her:

A choice of +1 Earth or +1 Water, I think I'm going for Water. Rings are more about personality and the adaptability implied by the Water Ring interests me.

+1 Labor, +1 Fitness

Status Modification +4

Starting Wealth: 2 bu

Everybody starts with 1 in every Ring and 0 in every Skill, so with the bonuses above we have.

Rings

Air 1

Earth 2

Fire 1

Water 2

Void 1

Skills

Fitness 2

Labor 1

Social Stats

Glory 34

Status 4/19

Now on to Question 2.

Question 2: What is your character's past and how does it affect them?

This is an entirely narrative question, which usually don't show up until later in the 20 questions. This is a backstory that will cause problems for the character whenever it comes up. Most of the sample pasts are very much centric on the culture of the Great and Minor Clans of Rokugan, so we'll have to come up with something unique for our Naga farm-girl here.

I'm going to go with a bit of The Fugitive here.

Soon after our character awoke, she wandered off into human lands, unfortunately for her, this coincided with the appearance of something else snakish, either a yokai or an actual oni. It was vicious but luckily for her not very powerful. She was able to kill it, which left no body. However, she had no witnesses to this fight, so there's a lot of humans that think she is the monster and investigator that had been hired to tracking the monster is seeking her out.

Part II: Role and School

There are two questions to this section.

Question 3: What is your character's school and what roles does that school fall into?

Now, we already know this as the way they define non-human characters is through their school. Now, as a note, we could also say give her a samurai or other human school because there's numerous canonical examples of humans with supernatural heritage. But we are going to go ahead and use the Naga Seer above anyway, as it is the simplest example.

This gives her two Rings, several skills, some starting techniques, starting Honor, a school trait, starting gear, and a list of which techniques the school has open access to.

So, for this case the Shinomen Naga Seer Tradition gives her:

Earth +1

Water +1

Skills: +1 Courtesy, +1 Fitness, +1 Martial Arts (Melee), +1 Martial Arts (Ranged), +1 Meditation, +1 Performance, +1 Survival

Honor: 55

Available Techniques: Kata, Rituals, Shuji

Kata are martial techniques, Rituals are rituals, Shuji are social techniques.

Starting Kata: Striking as Water or Crescent Moon Style

Starting Shuji: Shallow Waters, Stonewall Tactics, Weight of Duty

I'm choosing Striking as Water for the Kata as it can be used with Ranged attacks.

For the Shuji, I'm taking on the Weight of Duty which lets her recognize what sort of obligations a person has.

And then we also have the following:

Bend Perception (School Ability): When you choose this school, determine what illusion your character has perfected with your GM. Your character can seemlessly switch between their true form and this alternate form within a matter of seconds. When using this school ability, you can still use your true form’s features, such as your tail. Any character witnessing you do so sees something narratively appropriate based on your illusion. A character must make a TN 6 Theology or Survival (Void 5) check to see beyond your illusion. Additionally, you increase the damage dealt by your tail by your school rank.

Starting Outfit: Naga armor (Physical 2, Supernatural 1), yumi, quiver, nagi-nata, traveling pack, personal pearl (sacred).

And now we move on.

Question 4: How does your character stand out within their school?

This is a free choice to add another extra dot to a Ring. We can't add to Earth or Water because the max you can gain in character creation is 3 and we've maxed both of those out. So the different Rings imply the following traits:

Air - Grace, eloquence, empathy

Earth - Thoroughness, patience, calm

Fire - Creativity, passion, drive

Water - Adaptability, friendliness, awareness

Void - Self-awareness, insight, mysticism

So, I'm looking for something that pushes towards curiosity, but curiosity can be applied to Air, Fire, and Void. I think I'm going for Air though for the better Empathy.

This makes her final Rings look like the following:

Air 2

Earth 3

Fire 1

Water 3

Void 1

Part III: Honor and Glory

This has two questions designed to discuss what your character's Giri (Duty) and Ninjo (Desire). These are narrative hooks meant to be in conflict with each other.

Question 5: Who is your lord and what is your character's duty to them?

The Naga character doesn't have quite the same relationship with Duty and Desire that the samurai do. The Seer school are Bushi and Courtier, but I don't think she particularly has the duty of a full Naga warrior. I do think her duty to the Naga in general would fill in for her Giri. She'd be trying not to give too much away to the humans that may not immediately consider them trustworhy. So, while she's traveling among humans, she tries hard not to reveal herself, using her illusion to hide herself as human.

Question 6: What does your character long for, and how might their past impact their ninjo?

This is one of the revised questions. The normal one is as follows:

What does your character long for, and how might this impede their duty?

This is similar, though. I think she's intrigued to see how the world has changed since the Naga went to sleep and is wandering about seeing human culture, unfortunately with people pursuing her, she's had to be extra careful to avoid attention where she can.

Question 7: What is your character known for?

This is another revised question where the original is:

What is your character's relationship with their clan?

In this case, the question is whether she is known for something positive or negative. And the answer is that she is mostly known for something negative. People believe she's a monster of some sort.

If she'd had a positive reputation, she'd gain +5 Glory. But with a negative reputation, she gains 1 rank in a skill she has 0 in.

The skills are as follows:

I'm going to say she's picked up a rank in Culture from observing humans.

Question 8: What does your character think of Bushido?

Because of how the Rokugan Empire claims almost all the land in the area, it is impossible to get through life without having at least some dealing with the tenets of Bushido. I don't have clear memories of what the Naga philosophies are, precisely, but I am aware that they are significantly different in some ways from those of the Samurai. The two cultures have some mutual enemies in the form of the Shadowlands, nor are they expressly enemies themselves, but there's room for them to be enemies or allies in the future.

If her belief aligned with Bushido, I'd give her +10 Honor. But because I am going with the idea that she only knows a little bit about Bushido and is sticking to her own beliefs, I'd get 1 rank in a skill from a list of skills normally associated as "Low" skills.

That said, Honor is supposed to be about your own belief in yourself and is separate from how other people feel about you, I could say that this would be based on her following along with Naga philosophies.

But I still think that the slightly off-normal for the bonus skill would work better. If she was fully in accord with Naga beliefs she likely wouldn't have wandered out into the human controlled lands.

So that is a choice of a rank in one of the following: Commerce, Labor, Medicine, Seafaring, Skulduggery, or Survival.

And because of how she's been using illusions to pass as human and avoiding attention, Skulduggery feels appropriate.

Part IV: Strengths and Weaknesses

This where we introduce the character's Advantages and Disadvantages. And also at this point we've passed all the sections that were revised for the supplement including Naga.

Question 9: What is your character's greatest accomplishment so far?

This is pretty easy as we've already mentioned it. She defeated a monster shortly after waking up and is now mistaken for it. So I'll want an Advantage that represents that fight. These are Distinctions, which are more about physical, supernatural, or social advantages.

These are easily home-brewed, and it is encouraged to do so, but I want to look through the pre-built stuff to see if there's something that works already.

Sixth Sense seems to work for this. Advantages come with a narrative and a mechanical aspect, Sixth Sense looks like this:

So, basically, it was a creature that depended on ambushes and as she was able to sense it ahead of time, she had an advantage that she used to kill it.

Question 10: What holds your character back the most in life?

This presents a the idea of a Disadvantage, these are similar to Advantages in that they have a narrative and a mechanical aspect to them. This one is the opposite of a Distinction... an Adversity that deals with physical, supernatural, or social limits.

I think what probably holds her back the most is the idea that she's not sure if there are other Naga around or alive. She still feels a duty not to reveal them to the humans, in case there are others, but by the same token she feels so very alone.

However, that sounds more like an Anxiety. So I think I'm going to go back to the Fugitive thing and take Whispers of Cruelty to give mechanics to the rumors she has following her.

Question 11: What activity most makes your character feel at peace?

Ah aha, here is where we get Curiosity. This is where we pick a Passion which, as with all Advantages, has a narrative and a mechanical aspect, and deals entirely with emotional well-being and Curiosity is one of the pre-built versions.

Question 12: What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most?

And at this point, we can add in Loneliness which is a prebuilt Anxiety, the mirror to Passions dealing with mental health, from the Emerald Empire supplement. She's already wandered far away from the other Naga, so other Naga do not know where to look to find her through the Unity (a telepathic ability the Naga share with each other) and she's not well trained in projecting her thoughts, so she's already moved well past the range at which she can hear the thoughts of her kin. It's made her increasingly fear that she was the only one to wake up.

Question 13: Who has your character learned the most from during their life?

This would be an elder Naga who taught her much about archery and farming throughout her life. This comes with one Advantage, either a Distinction or a Passion, one Disadvantage, either an Adversity or an Anxiety. And 1 rank in a skill related to the relationship.

In this case I'm going to say that she has Keen Sight to represent how she was trained to find both targets and to see developments in the land and crops. Whether the fruit in the orchards was ripe or blighted.

However, she is also very clearly Gaijin in both appearance and culture.

And then I'm giving her 1 rank in Martial Arts (Ranged)

At this points stats look like this:

Air 2

Earth 3

Fire 1

Water 3

Void 1

Skills

Courtesy 1

Culture 1

Fitness 3

Martial Arts (Melee) 1

Martial Arts (Ranged) 2

Meditation 1

Performance 1

Labor 1

Skullduggery 1

Survival 1

Part V: Personality and Behavior

Question 14: What do people notice first upon encountering your character?

Well, if her illusion is not up, then the first thing most people would notice about her is that she's a great big snake person. Without that, however, her garb is archaic and also a bit alien. The last time Rokugani and Naga interacted with each other, when they were fighting the Foul (Shadowlands) together, the empire was not yet officially formed. She dresses very much like a culture that has not been seen in living memory (excluding certain gods still around) because she is someone from a culture that has been asleep for ages.

The most distinctive bit of aesthetic gear that she has is a green and gold body wrap, something like an overlong scarf that folds over one shoulder and then wraps around her waist.

Question 15: How does your character react to stressful situations?

This is basically a tell that happens when she does what the game calls "unmasking" one way to clear Strife or stress. It might not be a part of every such event, but it's basically a quirk or mannerism that pops up as stress threatens to overwhelm them. In this case, I think she tries hum to herself to calm down, and perhaps instinctively coils in on herself, which might create a sign people can hear through her illusion and give her away.

Question 16: What are your character's pre-existing relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions?

She has mostly interacted with the peasants as she travels, and her gaijin appearance tends to set them off. She doesn't have much contact with the samurai of the clans, but she's being tracked by a Crab Clan Inquisitor and is not enjoying that at all. She's probably had a couple encounters with other samurai from Crab Clan or other minor clans, aside from those that would be part of the the group they're part of. Think of this through the lens of the Fugitive (or the A-Team) where she'd help the locals and move on before Javert/Zenigata catches up.

Part VI: Ancestry and Family

Question 17: How would your character's parents describe them?

Naga are raised by the community without direct knowledge of who their parents are. She was found to be a bit more inquisitive than most of her people found appropriate. But they couldn't fault her kindness or the efforts she takes to be helpful.

Question 18: Who was your character named to honor?

This isn't really how names are done with the Naga. And sadly, I can't find an easy place where the game talks about Naga names. They don't all even seem to have names or else go by titles with the definitive article in front. In this case, I'm going to say that she just tells people she's a "traveler" and Time Lord style she gets called "The Traveler".

This question is connected to a mechanical benefit usually one rolled. I'm going to look through a bit through some of the alternate charts. Not finding anything designed for Shinomen Naga specifically, I'm going to go ahead and roll on the basic chart. Getting a 1, that's a Famous Deed associated with one of her ancestors, in this case probably one of the many Naga that raised her, or their overall bloodline. And this comes with an heirloom and rolling a one on that is a weapon. So let's say that her yumi (a sort of bow) has the durable quality and someone from a related clutch managed to kill a powerful oni with a bow.

Question 19: What is your character's personal name?

So, yeah, I apparently folded this question in with question 18. Question 18 was more to do with your character's family past and overall family reputation. And then you choose the name at this question. So, that would be The Traveler.

Part VII: Death

Question 20: How should your character die?

This is a purely narrative question and goes into giving something of the theme of what the character is willing to sacrifice or what fatal flaw will lead them to their final end. In this character's case, it's going to be that she will likely get in over her head helping people and either go down in the effort, or be caught up by her pursuers and unable to convince them she means no harm.

So, the end result of this character is as follows:

The Traveler

Rural Farmland, Orchard Farmer, Shinomen Naga Seer

Rings

Air 2

Earth 3

Fire 1

Water 3

Void 1

Skills

Courtesy 1

Culture 1

Fitness 3

Martial Arts (Melee) 1

Martial Arts (Ranged) 2

Meditation 1

Performance 1

Labor 1

Skullduggery 1

Survival 1

Techniques

Kata: Striking as water

Shuji: Weight of Duty

Advantages

Distinctions: Sixth Sense, Keensight

Passion: Curiosity

Disadvantages

Adversities: Whispers of Cruelty, Gaijin Culture

Anxieties: Loneliness

School Ability

Starting Outfit: Naga armor (Physical 2, Supernatural 1), yumi (durable), quiver, nagi-nata, traveling pack, personal pearl (sacred).

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