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.Ā
This day never should have happened.Ā
As recompense for the ravages your kingdomās 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 Kingās heir. An arranged marriage, meant to unite the kingdoms. Or, at least thatās 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.
AndāTheia, grant you guidanceāyou 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 siblingās place in an arranged marriage to the heir to the Lunar Kingdom. But something sinister simmers on the horizonāyou 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 youāof 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.Ā
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 magicāpowers 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 dearāand decide what you will risk to protect it.
Nour AlāTeia, your older sibling. (Gender dependent on MCās.) 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. Youāre 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 Kieranās 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 canāt quite decipher. [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 canāt help but feel the opposite; indeed, everything about him seems shrouded in secrecy.Ā [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 circlesāa circumstance which doesnāt seem to bother them one way or the other. For better or worse, it appears theyāve taken a rather intense interest in you. [View: Character Profile]
Poly OptionsĀ (subject to change): any ROs will be able to be romanced independently or simultaneously.
Sibling Character Art: Farah, Nour, Aurora, Parim, Ember, Castor
If MC reflexively smashed a bug, would Nihm kill them reflexively on sight back
Alektis wouldāzero hesitation. Nihm would scream and drop to cover the bug with their own body and take a shoe to the face, and if they couldnāt theyād drop to their knees in despair
Can mcs with gravity powers safely jump from a high place? If yes - how would the ros react if they had to hold on them to get down as well? (They're not together yet but there's some level of trust) Who's having a good time and who's screaming like a baby?
Kieran: feels awkward/tense and doesnāt know where to grab orā¦where not to..? š° andā¦this is already WAY too close and MC be tellin em to get closer like ?????!!????
(āøāøĀ¬` āø Ā“Ā¬āøāø)
Nihm: they trust you! :D ššāØš holds on tight but isnt scared
Lilith/Lucien: donāt gotta tell them twice! any excuse to cling to mc šš :3
Samira: also awkward and huffy/grumbly; already flustered she has to get this close to MC but youre tellin her shes gotta hold on even tighter???? Are you teasing at this point?? Just let her fall and die ššāļø
Aurynn: holds on nonchalantly and then switches to clinging to MC like a baby koala and high-pitched squealing once they actually step off the ledge; heās too pretty to go SPLAT š«
Hello helloo, long time no see, Fen! Hope you're doing alright!
College kept me very busy for a while there, got other interests, and honestly I was kinda afraid of the emotional damage this story gives me
Finally read the latest couple updates and Aaaaaaaaa, omg, Faraaaah, my sweet little girl, I hate having to break our promises to her! Also I knew it! I knew the teapot would be repaired! Yes! The trade with our mother was unexpected tho, but I really loved that scene, and I expected our father to be much.. idk, harsher? Interesting that foresight powers seem to make you prone to dissociation, makes sense
Also hey Fen? Fen what's with all the mentions of Luca and stars? Fen Im keeping my eyes on you
Also, a couple small questions, I think it was mentioned before we'd take one of our sibling's weapons with us to Celestyl, but it was Nour's things that were sent ahead to the boat, so how will we get our things? And second question, weren't they expecting Zain along Nour? Would there be some confusion as to why Aurynn is there instead?
And I had a dream with Kieran, L and Nihm this night after reading this story again, specially L, they were dragging me throug a super market for some reason (interesting that I'd have a dream with them, same as MC has dreams with a certain friend of theirsš¤...) and as soon as I woke up I had the idea for a sste AU with httyd.. idk how exactly it would work yet, but like.. does anyone else see it? Idk, I just woke up, still kinda groggy
Hi hii good to see you again! :3 š
Sorry to baby girl Farah ššš also Iām glad you like the scene with mcs momāI had to rewrite that dang thing so many times before I finally got it to where I was happy with it. And MCs father has defā¦.cut himself out of life after certain events. He used to be much different. also Luca just likes stargazing idk what u mean
Answered your question on Zain/Rynn here; also MC had their weapon strapped to their back. MCs or Aurynnās illusion would have masked it from Artemsa and her guards. MC will have a convo with Sam and Rynn in the next update that will cover a lot of the reasoning for this sort of stuff. š
Also dream L was dragging you along to find Rynn who was looking for clothes in the soup aisle /ref
Thanks sm for reading and sharing your thoughts!! :) šš
I've thought about it a million times and this is the first time I'm Actually doing it BUT I've been meaning to just say how much I love the Luca/Lupine scene with PC which talks about care, and love, and kindness, or some combination of those things? Nour with the snake, and then trying anyway because you care even if it is hopeless? It gets me every time! I adore it. It's just--breathtaking, and soul hurting in a way that is healing. Each time I do a play through, I'm sure I get stuck on that scene three times.
Not sure if this makes any sense, but I hope it does. The entire IF is incredible and I love all the characters and the world building and the intricacies all coming together. But I think that scene changed my brain chemistry in a way I hope will stick with me forever.
So anyway, this ask is really just a bit of a love letter to your IF and that scene in particular <3
Aaa thank you!!! ššš„¹ That was one of my favorite scenes to write, and I had notes on it for a while before I finally got to the scene. It was an important moment in establishing the core theme and motivation of the story and also as a part of Lucaās own character. :3 š Iām so happy that scene resonated sm with youāthank you for sharing!! šš
I love how you write the relationships between all the siblings, both living and dead. You paint such a clear picture of the family dynamics and the holes left by the absence of the eldest four.
I think a lot of times when a character is dead before a story starts, they're written as more of a platonic ideal of the role they held, like so many fictional dead parents. But all your characters seem so real; we're not mourning generic older siblings, we're mourning Parim and Aurora and Castor and Ember.
Anyway, I appreciate all the care that went into characterization. I'm not usually a crier, but I've found myself sitting very still and blinking wetly while reading certain scenes.
Thank you!! :3 šš Iāve read a lot of stories too where I wished I could have known the person who died better or if I did, that their absence was something more meaningfully profound rather than a role as like a parent figure being taken away etcāI donāt usually get to see grief explored beyond the immediate aftermath so I wanted to explore that in my own story. Iām glad everyone has enjoyed the sibs sm (even tho I killed most of em oops šš)āIām always a sucker for deep platonic/familial relationships š
Some of the anons have never experienced a codependent pseudo-romantic friendship between two teenage girls based on shared mental illness before you both slowly drift apart in the span of ten years and talk to each other less and less eventually only texting to wish happy birthday and to notify one another that you're both transgender now and despite not having talked properly in years you still think about how it would have been to hold their hand that one time in front of the train. And it shows.
Fen!Ā hi! First of all, congrats on the update! Your writing is as scrumptious as always! And thanks for the baby shampoo update, first time i don't cry reading sste. <3Ā
I loved the shift to the clown circus, it feels like these gremlins escaped your brain fully formed. I actually giggled at Kierans suffering with whatever Deidre was (What is she??).Ā
L kicking Rynn down the stairs is very much me if I let my intrusive thoughts win.Ā IĀ fear I must romance them now.Ā
And myĀ headcanon is that my MC will be very platonically jealous of Rynn. What do you meanĀ heĀ has a whole cabin in Kierans ship?? One thatĀ hasn't been touched in six years sinceĀ he disappeared?? Aurynn, why are you calling Kieran "my boy"?? I thought I was your boy???Ā š„ŗš„ŗš„ŗ
I don't want to ramble too much, but I love Alektis (and the tension betweenĀ her and Kieran) and precious baby Nihm (couldn't not shake theirĀ hand). My random unfounded theory for this update is that Nihm is the reason they're sleeping in the cargoĀ hold.Ā
Forehead kiss to you, wonderful job <3
Thank youāIām glad you enjoyed it!! :3 šš Kieran is def long-suffering after too many insect related accidents š Deidre is a lil green fruit beetle tho šŖ² so yo ship is safe Kieran š and your MC prolly boutta get a whole lot more jealous (also the first time MC is seeing him actually interact with anyone with that level of intimacy/familiarity aside from mc and sam)
Iām excited to explore more of Kieranās and Alektisā relationshipāits very complicated and strained rn š and yeye L def relegated them to the cargo hold for a reason >:3
Thanks sm for reading and sharing your thoughts!! :3 šš
The way mc's personality is written is so good. I love that we can play someone who's charming but in a more sinister way if we also go for the manipulating trait. Or someone who's imposing but at the same time pretty open with their feelings. I've a question about the traits, if that's okay?
We're now locked to two traits, does that mean we can fail some speech checks if we don't use our main traits? For instance: If the MC is gentle and I choose imposing response will that fail because that's not what mc is "good at"? Or is it more for flavor text?
Thank you! The personalities are fun to write :) š
Itās mostly for flavor when MC acts significantly out of character. There wonāt be stat checks on personalities, but there may be instances where MC might like fail to properly perform a choice, such as a sincere MC failing to lie convincingly when choosing a manipulative choice.
"L is the type to be in love with all their friends platonically and/or romantically" Would it be possible to include this in L's description and character profile? It would be nice to know that a RO is already in love with someone else. I know that's a dealbreaker for a lot of people. And that way, people won't be surprised when L shows romantic interest in someone other than the MC.
L experiences falling in love platonically and/or romantically to a degree with all their friendsāplatonic and romantic devotion are blurred boundaries to them and often overlap or are fluid, with one form of devotion not being more powerful or āspecialā than the other. If they love in a way you donāt like, thatās fine, but no, I donāt feel the need to add a disclaimer to their profile or description.
I understand we all have our preferences, but itās not my responsibility to cater to anyoneās specific preferences. Some people will like it, some wonāt.
What are the RO's tolerances for spicy foods. I'm just imagining Nihm dying from eating spicy foods that MC learns to make. Extreme spice tolerance MC isn't allowed to cook for anyone due to how hot the food is.
Huzzah I answered that for the ROs and sibs here~ š¶ļøš„š
