tabby's trying

tabitha, he/they, 28. i'm whimsical, damn it! the rat race can't catch me!

[tabithesis]

magpieclan ;; moon four

moon zero | moons one and two | moon three

StormClan accepts Tallstar’s apology at the Gathering, and any lingering chagrin is smoothed over. Tallstar still wishes she could have come across more competent from the start.

An aging kittypet becomes aware of MagpieClan. While a “Clan” of three old rogues would not normally inspire confidence, he has always yearned for adventure, but only in the sunset of his life has he embraced the possibility. He has joined the Clan at the age of 206 moons, and has taken the warrior name Daisyshade.

As Tallstar, Silvershriek, and Cresswhisper go to patrol their new, tentative borders, they encounter a DappledClan patrol. Although the land that MagpieClan sits on is far from desirable, Silvershriek snarls: she won’t let an established Clan tell her where she can and cannot hunt. DappledClan reels with the insult.

Tallstar shall have to spend the next gathering making peace with DappledClan.

Current fresh-kill: 97. Required fresh-kill: 10.5

[tabithesis]

magpieclan ;; moon three

moon zero | moons one and two

moon three

Cresswhisper has gotten fleas. Silvershriek tells him that he looks a fool, scratching like he is.

Tallstar lets her eyes glaze over as she watches fish in the river, looking for omens in their patterns and shapes. She decides that, at the coming Gathering, she will attempt to smooth things over after her blunder with StormClan. She dares not invite hostilites now.

Cresswhisper—in between itching—paces restlessly, worrying for the future of the Clan. Somehow, its existence has solidified for him: it’s not just a pact between rogues anymore. Silvershriek notices his fresh commitment, but still doesn’t regret calling him a fool.

Current fresh-kill: 97. Required fresh-kill: 9

[tabithesis]

MY QUEST TO EVISCERATE MY PARTNER IN CHESS

my partner is beautiful and wonderful. i love them immensely and will cherish them for the rest of my life, and thereafter as some kind of little gay ghost.

THAT BEING SAID. my partner is freakishly good at games. any games. their wordle solve rate is a crisp 100%. they can solve an expert-level minesweeper puzzle in 94 seconds, and are constantly beating their pb. their knowledge of competitive pokemon is encyclopedic to a degree that is staggering and also kind of hot.

and every time we play chess, they eat my liver like prometheus' eagle.

the first time, it was cute. i hadn't played chess in, like, a decade (i learned a little bit in high school, but felt like i was done after i beat my dad). so naturally i'd get my ass beat.

we've played twice since then, but the thing is... after your liver gets eaten a few times, the novelty kinda wears thin.

thus: a quest undertaken. a gauntlet thrown. i am going to gain the requisite skill to eviscerate my partner in chess.

presently, we are doing long-distance. it's very hard and stupid and it makes me sad. however, in september, when we go back to school, we will be living together.

this means that i have exactly sixty-nine days (nice) to become the next magnus motherfucking carlsen.

with a $5.99 copy of The Mammoth Book Of Chess (New, Fully Revised and Updated Edition), a free chess dot com account, and literally no ELO score because i am too afraid to play real people, i will gain the ultimate power.

i'm gonna smite them real good. my training montage starts now.

(please send me your best chess advice. i have no idea what i'm doing.)

[g-w-m-beloved]

What really helped me was the Building Habits series by Chessbrah on YouTube. It's a slowrun from 0 elo to over 2000 I think, and Aman explains EVERYTHING.

Watching GMs play can help, and GothamChess has a lot of coverage of high-level games.

I would challenge you to play some games against some bots if you're too afraid for real people; playing is the only way you can improve.

Also, definitely learn the Fried Liver Attack and Traxler Countergambit.

Good luck!

[tabithesis]

thank you so so much for your advice!! i'll give those channels a look!

i've played a bunch of games against bots, but i'll do that maybe a liiiiiiiittle bit more before i'm ready to play against real people. i don't want them to laugh at me............

but i'll get good and i'll show them who's boss! thanks!

[tabithesis]

magpieclan ;; moons one and two

moon one

Tallstar’s attempts to ingratiate herself with nearby StormClan are met with disdain. She doesn’t understand the culture of Clan cats—not anymore—and will have to work harder in order to join their ranks once more.

Cresswhisper is unused to living near other cats—especially such strong personalities as Tallstar and Silvershriek. He retreats into himself, curling up in a state of shock.

Still, Cresswhisper is dragged on a hunting patrol, which is successful.

Silvershriek monitors Tallstar’s actions carefully.

Current fresh-kill: 84. Required fresh-kill: 9.

moon two

Cresswhisper’s shock has abated, and he begins to integrate himself into the small Clan. Silvershriek, who has decided that he poses no threat to her, soothes him with a bit of old wisdom.

When the Clan goes on patrol, Cresswhisper attempts to return the favor by telling a story about his mother. Under the terse circumstance of solidifying their new borders, however, Silvershriek reproaches him for his lack of focus.

The demands that Tallstar make of herself as leader are beginning to wear on her.

Both Cresswhisper and Tallstar feel a burgeoning romantic interest in Silvershriek, but Silvershriek only has eyes for Tallstar.

Current fresh-kill: 92. Required fresh-kill: 9.

[tabithesis]

magpieclan ;; moon zero

A ragtag band of aging loners and rogues, urged on by the aching in their bones, have come together in the wastes at the margin of a great black forest.

Though well-used to independent living, the time for self-sufficiency has left them, and they have decided, if shakily, to live as Clan cats. Thus, they've founded MagpieClan, though their ability to thrive in community... remains to be seen.

TALLSTAR ;; The architect of this new venture, Tallstar is an exacting she-cat of 109 moons. She brooks no nonsense--her uncanny talent for prophecy makes her certain that all affairs must move toward her own vision of fate.

CRESSWHISPER ;; A vanishingly shy tom of 120 moons. Pursuant to some half-forgotten never-forgotten trauma, he has lived his life as lonely and inconspicuously as possible. Still, he is cautiously grateful for his inclusion in the new Clan--although he doubts his ability to stand as Tallstar's deputy.

SILVERSHRIEK ;; An icy, calculating she-cat of 102 moons. Silvershriek is physically smaller and weaker than most, and owes her survival to her keen observational skills. Though she feels some chagrin that Tallstar passed her over for the role of deputy, she must admit that she doesn't quite trust Tallstar's ambitions herself.

[tabithesis]

i bought this book a couple summers ago and never finished it... i don't know why, i really enjoyed the stories i did read ( you can see that the edges are a bit dinged up from hanging out in my backpack for a while! i wanted to finish it! adhd is just weird!!)

so it seems the only thing to do is start back from the beginning and read all those gripping stories again! and then have even more!! i'll report back with how i felt abt it!

[poketcg-art]

Skarmory -- Aya Kusube

[dear-ao3]

[tabithesis]

MY QUEST TO EVISCERATE MY PARTNER IN CHESS

my partner is beautiful and wonderful. i love them immensely and will cherish them for the rest of my life, and thereafter as some kind of little gay ghost.

THAT BEING SAID. my partner is freakishly good at games. any games. their wordle solve rate is a crisp 100%. they can solve an expert-level minesweeper puzzle in 94 seconds, and are constantly beating their pb. their knowledge of competitive pokemon is encyclopedic to a degree that is staggering and also kind of hot.

and every time we play chess, they eat my liver like prometheus' eagle.

the first time, it was cute. i hadn't played chess in, like, a decade (i learned a little bit in high school, but felt like i was done after i beat my dad). so naturally i'd get my ass beat.

we've played twice since then, but the thing is... after your liver gets eaten a few times, the novelty kinda wears thin.

thus: a quest undertaken. a gauntlet thrown. i am going to gain the requisite skill to eviscerate my partner in chess.

presently, we are doing long-distance. it's very hard and stupid and it makes me sad. however, in september, when we go back to school, we will be living together.

this means that i have exactly sixty-nine days (nice) to become the next magnus motherfucking carlsen.

with a $5.99 copy of The Mammoth Book Of Chess (New, Fully Revised and Updated Edition), a free chess dot com account, and literally no ELO score because i am too afraid to play real people, i will gain the ultimate power.

i'm gonna smite them real good. my training montage starts now.

(please send me your best chess advice. i have no idea what i'm doing.)