Twine WIP author and illustrator (they/them). You can call me Fen. Currently writing Stygian Sun: Total Eclipse, a dark fantasy interactive story. Patreon https://www.patreon.com/FenofCattails
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/fennyth
Check out my art blog @fennythofcattails-ifs https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fennythofcattails-ifs and my website at https://cattailsart.carrd.co/
Nsfw blog @stygian-sun-if-after-dark
After the deaths of your four oldest siblings, taken from you by war, your older sibling, Nour, once fifth in line for the Solar Imperial throne, is now the heir.
This day never should have happened.
As recompense for the ravages your kingdom’s war has inflicted upon the Lunar kingdom of Celestyl, and as assurance it will not happen again, your sibling is to be sent to Celestyl to marry the Lunar King’s heir. An arranged marriage, meant to unite the kingdoms. Or, at least that’s how everyone prefers to phrase it. But you all recognize this for what it really is: a guise. Your sibling will be a political hostage.
And—Theia, grant you guidance—you have had a premonition this is not the worst to come. Should your sibling go to Celestyl, they will not survive.
So you will take their place.
Stygian Sun: Total Eclipse is a dark fantasy interactive fictional story where you play as the sixth child in the proud and grandiose Solar Imperial Dynasty and leave your homeland for a foreign country, where you will take your sibling’s place in an arranged marriage to the heir to the Lunar Kingdom. But something sinister simmers on the horizon—you have felt it in your premonitions; apprehension crawls beneath your skin, foreboding pricks at the back of your neck, dread sinks low and heavy in your stomach. Theia is warning you—of what, you know not, but you have seen the way the Lunar King looks at you. His stare, the dagger, and you, the sacrificial lamb on the altar.
Beware the wolf, little lamb.
Content Warnings: "Stygian Sun: Total Eclipse" contains many upsetting themes, such as arranged marriage, child abuse, child neglect, child death, death, murder, violence, gore, sexually suggestive scenes, optional sexual content, suicidal themes and ideations, and more. "Stygian Sun: Total Eclipse" is intended for mature audiences 18+. Viewer discretion is advised.
Customize your MC's name, gender, pronouns, appearance, personality, and sexuality. Play as straight, gay, lesbian, bi, poly, and/or asexual. MC intro post here.
Shape your personality through your choices and see how it affects dialogue with other characters.
Navigate through the difficulties of court life in a foreign country.
Develop your magic—powers bestowed upon you through your divine bloodline.
Romance one or more of five romantic options, including your betrothed, the Lunar heir; your charming and overly flirtatious retainer; your acolyte, a priestess in training; a kind yet darkly mysterious Celestylian noble; or a peculiar and chaotic mage.
Develop deep and lasting friendships or make enemies. Platonic relationships will be just as deep as romantic ones.
Uncover a sinister plot that threatens everything you hold dear—and decide what you will risk to protect it.
Nour Al’Teia, your older sibling. (Gender dependent on MC’s.) Non-RO Once fifth in line for the Solar Imperial throne, Nour was perfectly content to play a supportive role to Parim, first in line, and the rest of their siblings. Now first in line for the throne, Nour is doing their best to step into a role they were never prepared to fill. Despite their best attempts to reassure you, you can tell this weighs more heavily on them than they let on.
Luca Lupine, your childhood friend. (Gender Selectable. She/her. He/him.) Non-RO Your childhood friend who, at the age of 13, perished in a fire, consumed so completely you were left with not even a body to mourn. Ever since then, whether as a manifestation of your guilt and grief, through some connection beyond the planes of life and death, or through some other means unbeknownst to you, they appear in your dreams, aiding you in parsing through visions and prophecies. [View: Character Profile]
Kieran Zeleskas, the Lunar Heir. (Gender Selectable. She/her. He/him.) RO The Crown Prince/ss of Celestyl. Though not of noble birth, events put into motion by their father have elevated them to this position, one they seem to have adapted to rather well by all appearances. Stoic and aloof, they seem less than pleased about this arrangement between the two of you. You’re inclined to agree. [View: Character Profile]
Alektis de Celestys, the lone princess. (She/her.) Non-RO The adoptive sister to Kieran. The slaughter of her family during the coup that brought Kieran’s father to power has rendered her irascible and hostile to most everyone. Though she mostly keeps to herself, with only her retainer, Nihm, for company, you often find her tumultuous glare trained on you, a complex look on her face you can’t quite decipher. [View: Character Profile]
Nihm de Circené, the guardian. (They/them.) RO Devoted retainer to Alektis and last surviving member of House Circené. Kind and sociable, Nihm is well-regarded in both noble and commoner social circles alike. However, their warm and affable disposition cannot completely hide the apprehension in their gait, nor the trembling in their hands. Still, they do their best to welcome you in a place where everyone seems dead-set on hating you. [View: Character Profile]
Aurynn Anouar, the retainer. (He/him.) RO Seeming to have appeared from out of nowhere, Aurynn rescued you from a dire situation during your first battle experience, and afterwards was appointed your retainer and has served you as such ever since. Charismatic, laidback, and flirtatious to a fault, Aurynn tends to either charm or annoy everyone he meets. Despite his insistence that he is an open book, sometimes you can’t help but feel the opposite; indeed, everything about him seems shrouded in secrecy. [View: Character Profile]
Samira Nahdiri, the priestess. (She/her.) RO Certain events left her family deeply shamed and nearly destitute until her exceptional accomplishments as a healer elevated her to the renowned position as your acolyte, drawing upon the power of your blood to learn healing magic in her pursuit to become a priestess. Strong, loyal, and compassionate, she is devoted to caring for her family above all else, and she counts you among them. [View: Character Profile]
Lilith/Lucien de Arcanis, the mage. (Gender Selectable. She/they. He/they.) RO The adopted heir to House Arcanis, a line of powerful and highly skilled mages. Wild-eyed with a wolfish grin, their peculiar and eccentric mannerisms tend to unsettle their peers, leaving them rather isolated in social circles—a circumstance which doesn’t seem to bother them one way or the other. For better or worse, it appears they’ve taken a rather intense interest in you. [View: Character Profile]
Poly Options (subject to change): any ROs will be able to be romanced independently or simultaneously.
Sibling Character Art: Farah, Nour, Aurora, Parim, Ember, Castor
princess dresses for the job she wants (charming sixth born wastrel) instead of the job she has (sister impersonator) to avoid the job fate thrust upon her (dynast of the theian empire)
AAAA OMG SHES GORGEOUS!!!! 💖🐛🙏‼️✨😳🫣🌈🫵👀 Your style is SO pretty and I adore her big wavy hair and the colors!! Love the whole design!! 💖So so beautiful!!!💖🐛🌈✨
WAAAAAAHGGHHHH‼️‼️‼️🫵🫵🫵😳🫣💖🐛😨✨🌈👀🙏😳 They look like a revenant 👌 delicious >:3 This is SO cool!!! I love the coat the mist and the peek at them glancing up 🫣 AAAA THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING!! AMAZING!!!👏👏😳🫣🫵🌈‼️✨👀🐛💖😨👌🙏😱🛐💖‼️👀😳
Is it possible for the Ro's that think MC is Nour to confess their love for MC while saying Nour's name instead of MC's real name, because they still don't know about the switch?
Asking because I want my MC to suffer, like imagine the love of your life finally confesses to you and they say your siblings name instead 💀
Yes bc i too want mc to suffer wanting to hear their own name on ROs lips but not being able to tell them 🤝 and the ROs realizing they didnt even know MCs real name this whole time after the big reveal
(tho i did get my ass handed to me for not previously having considered….other circumstances 😔 so i will, ah. Rectify that particular situation ☝️ )
as someone who is currently busy obsessing over mc's siblings, i crave any crumbs of info about them i can get. pretty please indulge me 🥺🥺🙏
what are their favorite colors/flowers? what kind of animal would they be? what is an object that has significance/symbolism to them?
my current guesses for that last q are that for parim it's his tea set, aurora that darling music box/hairbrush, ember his bow,, the rest im stumped on 😓😓
and as an added bonus (if you can) may we pwease get a description of the appearances of all the siblings retainers/mothers? i was to make sure im visualizing them as they are :)
also i kind of hate you for what you did to the siblings and istg i WILL find you if you do anything to my wonderous darlings farah and nour. fen. fen that is a threat THAT. IS. A THREAT.
Answered under the cut for length! :)
Answered fave foods here, fave flowers here, and fave colors here! :) 👍💖 If tumblr’s search function will be kind to you, I also have a lot of other asks on the sibs you can hopefully find by searching their tags, ie “sste: aurora” :3 (also at first I read it as fave animal not what animal theyd be so I answered that lol)
Parim: fave animal is birds ofc 🦜 fuckin dork. His tea set meant a lot to him—it was a gift from his mother and he treated his sibs to tea with it. So did his spear—his sibs’ names are all carved into it. His retainers were Yari—a slight, slender, freckled copper-skinned person with brown eyes and straight brown hair in a ponytail (and i did imagine them both with spectacles 🙏)—and their sibling Sandris—a short copper-skinned person with wavy brown hair, freckles, and amber eyes. Both are cousins to Zain.
Aurora: she’s not huge on pets and doesn’t really have an overall fave animal, tho she does admire lions and does enjoy hearing the birds singing from Parim’s balcony next to her room—makes for a nice accompaniment to her bow harp. Her bow harp and music box and comb would be some of the more symbolic items to her. Music was part of her, just as her family was. Had only Artemsa for a retainer—large barrel-chested woman with blonde hair pulled back and icy blue eyes.
Castor: slightly dismayed at how much of a cat magnet he is, tho he does indeed have a soft spot for them; he could be found in his little nook in the library with a couple cats napping near/on him as he read. He values his matching locket with Ember and his carving tools. He carved a lot to take his mind off things and sent things home or gave them to his siblings. His retainers were Acanthis—an olive-skinned woman with long brown hair and green eyes—and Cleometra—a woman with ebony skin, violet eyes, and short black coily hair.
Ember: fave critters would be beetles and skinks and other reptiles and amphibians. They like the slimies and the creepy crawlies. 🦎🪳🪲He does treasure his bow as it was a gift from his aunt, but it’s not irreplaceably precious to him—he values his matching locket with Castor and always carried a compass Farah gave him in his pocket so he could always find his way home (oops). Their retainer was Yasmin, a tall bronze skinned person with black dreads.
Nour: loves all animals, really (but fears snakes and similar reptiles and big bugs); wasn’t allowed to have pets by their mother, so made do playing with their siblings’ pets. Particularly fond of herons, tho—symbol of protection, beautiful, and the namesake of Zain’s noble house. They value things Zain and their siblings have given them over the years, as they have been Nour’s only friends—right now though, Aurora’s comb probably holds the most symbolism with them now. They harbor immense guilt over her death and their self-image has suffered further (this is brought up in a short story from their POV on patreon/kofi). Their retainer Zain is a broad man with terracotta skin, dark brown eyes and short dark hair.
Farah: loves servals (she still has a raggedy stuffy—that is supposed to look like a serval—that Luca made her as a gift for when she was born, and Farwah has been her friend for years now) and reptiles, amphibians, and creepy crawlies (great for stuffing down someone’s shirt)—courtesy of Ember being such an excellent influence on his baby sis. She values keepsakes from her siblings—their letters probably hold the most significance to her now. She has no official retainers yet—just a guard rotation.
Most of the consort’s more detailed descriptions are also in the demo, but here they are below for ease:
Lady Safina: very tall/statuesque, onyx hair in thin long braids, cool umber skin and dark nearly black eyes
Lady Soleil: sandy blonde hair, gray eyes, and light sand-colored skin
Lady Najaat: plaited ornate straight sienna hair, warm brown skin, henna eyes
Lady Helia: bubbly, fat, golden-blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes
Also I can at least promise no more siblings will be slain. But ☝️ I will graciously bestow you more sibling trauma (and nicer memories—I’m not a complete sadist). Parim and Aurora got their dream sequences in Act One and next Castor and Ember will get theirs :D 👍 and mayhaps i will sketch the retainers and consorts one day
When you answer angtsy asks and I just look at the screen like this
This is who u r hurting. Btw. I won't let anyone get hurt ever again! I'll be the Mongoose to Fate's Snake! Just don't ask me to be genuine or nice or soft or non-manipulative or understanding or not self destructive.
The boat meeting was such a whiplash after everything in Theia! I started giggling while still kind of crying over everything before. Had some funny moments though, my MC is still kind of upset about the whole affair. So beyond some necessary “pretending to be Nour” stuff during introductions, they haven’t acknowledged anyone much. Which meant when Nihm showed up part of me was going “no but we’ve upset Nihm!” From seeing your posts about them.
Also, Aurynn’s “what’d they do to my boy” was absolutely hilarious, I almost lost it and confused my poor mother
Leaving Angst Town for Clown Town like (and also we never left Angst Town)
Mildly angsty idea: Mc who hates their appearance actually finding comfort and relief in wearing the veil, only for them to have that ripped away once the disguise gets ruined. Bonus points if the first time they see themself after baring their face again is around the other ROs so everyone can see how uncomfortable Mc suddenly is with reflections/mirrors. Love a little self hate and unfounded shame.
Poor self-conscious MC being the center of (unkind) attention on The Marianne and at Celestyl 😔💔🤙 baby gettin stared at way too much
I can't believe it took me this long to discover your IF and also finally had the time to play it 😭 I've been scrolling through your blog so I can STOP my absolute yearning (as well as curiosity) @ L... I'm so intrigued oogh...
Can I ask how you'll summarise each route in a few tropes? I know Aurynn's route would be so much angst... along with L's based on what I read thus far! If this is done, I apologise for asking again 😔 I haven't read all the posts so far since I just finish playing the latest update just now!
Also heres some flowers 🌻💐 for writing AND illustrating the IF. Its so amazing so far oooghh.... I cried during the flashbacks for all the siblings & can feel the MC's grief like my own 😭 absolute wonderful writing right here!!! Also can't wait for the next update and see more of clownfest dynamics 🫶
Thank you sm!!! :3 💖🐛✨🌈 I’m so happy you enjoyed it and it’s always so humbling to hear my story made people cry!! T-T 💖 Thank you sm for sharing your kind thoughts—they really make my day!! :D
Also, I can’t answer tropes bc some of them are too spoilery. I did answer something on angst levels a while back but couldn’t find it, but I answered another here if that suffices lol :)
Perhaps a bit of a niche request? But I was wondering if we'll ever get a chance to properly see MC's military/battle side come out. Even for gentle and healing MC's like mine, there's sure to be significant difference between them in court playing the part of Royal compared to them in battle mode. I hope I've explained that well.
Additionally, if such a moment ever happens will people comment on how different or how not different MC acts when slipping into that mode and those habbits? Like will they comment on a gentle MC beating several bandits or whatever with a spear?
P.S. Will MC ever get a moment where, perhaps in the heat of battle or stress, they are fighting beside someone else and for a moment MC perhaps forgets about the past and suddenly a siblings name slips out? (Okay I realise that these are super specific but are scenarios I can't get out of my head, thanks in advance!)
Yes, MC will have combat moments and you can choose to play a more brutal MC—people will react to that. >:3 (very delicious for the parallels with Castor’s spiral)
I’m not sure about the last part specifically, but there will def be moments of where MCs sibling trauma will bleed into certain things in various ways 🤝
Kieran: soft lil squishy heart perfect for fingering. My poor loyal soft-hearted baby doomed to a life of unrequited devotion. Earn their confidence and use it against them. Betrayal stings the worst.
It will be a horrifying reveal [of mc's identity] for everyone, MC included >:))
oh. oh no. why.
i'm getting the same feeling as when you made me promise to meet farah under the tree :(
idk if you've answered this before, apologies if so, but how angsty is each RO route? on a scale of 1-10 , or maybe angstiest > least angsty if everyone is a 10 thats easier
All of the routes will have angst as they follow the plot and their own arcs, but there is some variation in the severity and timing.
Comparatively, Kieran’s is probably the least angsty, though as I said it is still going to have its pain, especially towards later endgame reveals. 💔
Samira’s is going to also follow a slower progression in terms of angst, with a ramp up as you progress further and its very pinnacle during endgame events. (>:3)
Nihm’s is going to be less angsty in the beginning, but as you progress, it will ramp up to be rather brutal. I’ve been very mean to them. :3 💖🐛👍
Aurynn and L will follow a more angsty route throughout and will ramp up as they progress through their respective arcs and the plot.
Just calling in to say that after getting my scraggly ass in gear and playing through the updates (I was late to the party 😭), as soon as Kieran said ‘prithee’ I set my phone down, gazed into space with determination, and said to my empty apartment “I’m gonna fuck this dork-ass loser SO hard he may die.”
I hope the later chapters can allow my gentle MC to be more bold or super emotionally invested in L as the relationship progresses. They need to suffer too because of their pettiness (I say this with love) I wanna see my MC bite them too ☝️
But of course, the biting can be so so mutual (chomp) 💖
Since the game allows you to be insecure about your looks; how would the R/Os react to an MC that is very shy about their body and face. I'm sure this may come up in game so no worries if you wish to skip this for spoiler reasons lol
