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
I've always been confused by this, but if you choose to be nonbinary and not Trans, does it mean you are born as intersex?
Not necessarily—nonbinary is just an identity that does not correspond to any specific sex. Right now in the character creator, you can choose cisgender or trans/other. There will be a choice to expand on trans/other in Act 2. :)
Hi! I was wondering, how many chapters are planned for SSTE? Since MCs bonds and their love for their friends and family will be a central theme, I'm assuming MC will inevitably end up becoming closer with the rest of the cast, but for some MCs that road will probably be.. Slow. Reluctant. Painful even. So I'm curious about the pacing and stuff!
Answered in the FAQ in the pinned post! :) I have the storys plot planned out and I map those points down more concretely as I get to each part, so I have only a rough estimate of how many Acts I will map those events into. 🤔 but yeye mc shall become frens with everyone whether they like it or not. Get Loved, Idiots 💖
Wait, does Samira know how to make whatever this world’s version of HRT is? Can she be our girlypop diy hrt supplier?
(Nah but seriously, we know she’s fond of producing medicines, and transitioned at a comparatively early age. Would she have helped trans Mc transition in some way? Cause if so; omg awwww)
She sure does :) 👍💖 Her surrogate mother provided her with her HRT meds growing up, and she knows how to administer them to others now too. Early Act Two has a choice eventually that will expand on a trans MC’s identity, and I’m thinking that will include a choice on if MC transitioned young or somewhat recently. If older, Sam would have helped, yup 👍:3 💖🐛🌈✨🏳️⚧️ and she can still supply meds etc if it was younger
You're jealous because Rynn has other friends. I'm jealous because they're not my friends (yet. this is a threat). We are not the same. Slash joking slash reference
Fr tho I think my mc would be a bit relieved to see him this familiar with other people too.
That might probably serve as a bridge between my mc and the circus (is this their team name now?), hmmmmm. Cause like, if Aurynn doesn't hate them, I guess they could be fine 🙄. Maybe. Surely his taste can't be that horrible (there's us and Samira after all).
mimicry is a common bonding behavior in social species ☝️ time to put on your clown makeup
OOH IM DONE!! Thank yous for the references🫶 random daro drawing #1 ⬇️
The refs i used from you guysss⬇️⬇️
Pose😗⬇️
OMG YOU FINISHED THAT SO FAST!!! :O I didnt even have time to answer your other ask :O BUT AAAA 🐛👍💖🌈✨🤙👀‼️🙏🫣🫵😳👌💖 SO PRETTY!!! I love the refs you used and all the gold looks so pretty on Daro!! I love the hair pulled up like that too and the pose def suits them!!! :3 AMAZING BEAUTIFUL WORK AS ALWAYS 👏👏👏👏💖💖💖 Thanks so much for sharing!!!
I'm just imagining a MC whose workout regiment looks like it's extremely light but is constantly carb loading. Later on they find out MC uses gravity magic like it's training weights to make the workouts difficult. Someone asks to join MC's training and gets the realization when MC starts using the magic on them.
It's even funnier if it's a guard who was trying to prove a point.
sweating profusely after lifting less than one (1) singular (gravity assisted) gram
I've had this thought for a while now but I wonder how a AU would work where Celestyl's king isn't planing anything shady, nour would still have to marry Kieran but there wouldn't be a risk of nour dying? 🤔 How would kieran, nihm or L's romance work? Though MC would probably not even properly meet them in that AU now that I think about it? That's kinda sad. Idk why but it's kinda interesting to me to imagine that kind of scenario
A fun AU to think about, though I cannot picture it being a possible scenario 🤔—Novan’s motivations are a product of his past and he moves with calculated reason, and had those events not happened, no one would have been in this situation. If he still were somehow king but wasn’t planning anything with Nour, he would not need to marry Kieran off to Nour, and the marriage would not happen, esp for…other reasons. 😬💔🤙
How often in the scenes they are in, does Nihm act with overtop/overdramatic childishness like a cartoon (all of them, 50% and so on)? Is it possible to avoid them (to an extent at least) without completely messing up the story? Is it possible to avoid any character in general (as much as possible) without completely failing?
English is not my first language, sorry
No. If any particular character in the main cast is going to grate at you so, this really isn’t going to be the game for you, nor do I need to hear about it or offer some form of workaround to tailor your experience. You will have to spend time with everyone and get to understand them—the story heavily hinges on MC caring about and loving their friends/family/etc.
Is there anything more profoundly human than to cry?
Orphaned from a young age, you do what you must to survive. But what happens when something sinister disrupts the mundanity of your everyday life?
You begin as a child born to a native mother and a colonist father. Although you are shaped by both cultures, neither has always been eager to claim you.
Amidst war and an ongoing colonisation, you must find your place within the Kingdom of Yawa, or die trying.
Ascendant is an Epic-Fantasy inspired by the ancient Kingdom of Majapahit. This interactive fiction also draws inspiration from ancient manuscripts (such as Pararaton and Negarakertagama,) colonisation and local Southeast Asian folklore, but is otherwise entirely fictional in nature, and therefore, does not contain 100% historical accuracy.
Features:
- play out your backstory
- play as female, male, or nonbinary
- decide the fate of those around you
- face the consequences of your own actions
- play as one of the mythological races based on Southeast Asian folklore
- romance your companions
- or have short (and long) flings
- delve into the magical Kingdom of Yawa and discover its secrets
- uncover your family's secrets
TW: Heavy, mature themes and discussions, such as body horror, war crimes, sexual themes and discussions, cults, religious trauma, colonisation impact, banning of native languages, child abuse, and other potentially triggering materials
DEMO | Playlist
Note: As the local indonesian law bans NSFW content, I will adhere to it by making future sex scenes non explicit (i.e. not mentioning any body parts and focusing more on the intimacy rather than the sex itself,) as otherwise, I'd have to do 12 years in prison. 😭🫶
Romance Options
The Knight, Arya Civa (M)
"Hell could not claim him,
yet he yearned for its still and icy embrace."
As the miracle son of the Mahapatih (prime minister,) Civa is raised to be a great warrior and to someday lead the Yawan army to glory.
However, you see cracks forming underneath his composed elegance as he bears the expectations of those around him.
Playlist | Moodboard
The Serpent Spy, Laoly Gülo (F)
"There she stood,
venom drips from her tongue as she stayed blindly devoted to a lost cause."
Born into a family of Naga performers, it didn't take much for her to fall in love with the art of Ronggeng dancing, captivating her audience wherever she goes.
Yet you realise early that her charms conceals an ulterior motive.
Playlist | Moodboard
The Winged Scholar, D. Solisa (F/M/NB)
"So sang the winged creature,
its voice heavy with longing as it casts its gaze unto the void."
D's future is as bright as their mind, set to be one of the best poet Yawa has ever seen, they shouldn't have to hide their real identity.
But with everyone carrying their own prejudice beliefs about the winged people of Wandan island, it was easier said than done.
Playlist | Moodboard
???
"Faithless, pathless, kinless.
How cruel had the world treated you...
and yet, you persist."
You won't be meeting this character for a while, don't worry about them :))
If MC reflexively smashed a bug, would Nihm kill them reflexively on sight back
Alektis would—zero hesitation. Nihm would scream and drop to cover the bug with their own body and take a shoe to the face, and if they couldn’t they’d drop to their knees in despair
