#inside looks

[aspenclimbcolony]

Timber

Role: Retired

Age: 8 years

Pronouns: He/him

Family: Mother: Snake, Mate: Mouse, Children: Scarlet, Burn, and Branch, Grandchildren: Flash and Robin

Timber is the town grump who manages to always put a negative spin on things. No one really bothers him about his snark though because he’s the only retired cat in the colony (the oldest is allowed to talk crap essentially) Gale would yell at him but he doesn’t care enough. Splash will tell you that Timber isn’t actually that old and retired early due to arthritis. The truth behind Timber’s crabby and angry demeanor is that he’s lonely. If he wanted cats to come around you’d think he would be less rude. No one really comes around anymore to see him besides Branch and Gibber. Gibber is Timber’s main caregiver and constantly tries to cheer him up.

[aspenclimbcolony]

Gale

Role: Protector

Age: 4 years

Pronouns: He/him

Family: Mother: Buttercup, Father: Gibber, Siblings: Shimmer and Chirp, Mate: Cricket, Child: Fox

Gale spends must of his day silently judging other cats as he believes other cats aren’t good enough to waste his breath on. He believes he’s above it all. He’s sarcastic and wry, rolling his eyes constantly. If Gale doesn’t like you, he won’t say anything but it will be obvious. The only cats he cares about are Pine, Shimmer, Cricket, and Fox. The rest, especially Scarlet’s whole family, he could live without. Cricket and Gale got together because Cricket loves to groom, and Gale has tons of fur, so they were basically made for each other. Gale’s a smug asshole, but he’s Cricket’s smug asshole. Despite his bad attitude, he’s a valuable asset to the colony as he’s the colony’s best tracker and detective. He’s very good at observing changes in his surroundings and within other cats.

[aspenclimbcolony]

Shimmer

Role: Protector (unofficial historian)

Age: 4 years

Pronouns: She/her

Family: Mother: Buttercup, Father: Gibber, Siblings: Gale and Chirp, Mate: Shale, Kittens: Firefly and Moss

Shimmer has had a pretty unlucky life. At 2 years old she was attacked by a coyote and it severely injured it. Not to mention she went into labor shortly after, as she was heavily pregnant. The healers tried their best to their best to save her and the kittens, but none of the litter survived. Shimmer was left with some nasty scars, a missing eye, and a limp front leg. Unrelated to the coyote attack is her crooked tail. When they were kittens, her brother, Gale, stepped on and broke her tail. Due to her injuries she can’t do everything she used to do, but she is still a formidable opponent; in physical and mental battles. Shimmer’s nice, don’t get it twisted, but if you cross her she will hold a grudge. Shimmer is the town historian. Ask her anything about Aspen history and she has an answer, and an opinion. Since she’s lost a lot of her kittens, she is very protective of the ones she currently has. The reason Shimmer’s so skinny is because she’s got a hyperactive metabolism.

[aspenclimbcolony]

Shale

Role: Second ‘n command

Age: 5 years old

Pronouns: He/him

Family: Mate: Shimmer, Children: Firefly and Moss

Shale is Pine’s best friend, like a brother to her. More favoritism? Who can say. Shale takes his job very seriously. He never smiles while he’s working. Shale is large and intimidating, but he’s secretly a big goofball. He has great expectations for his children. He wants them to accomplish great things one day. This can make very strict with his children, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have fun with them. Shale is a bit stupid when it comes to understanding other cats’ emotions. Shimmer teases him about this but it’s all in good fun. Before becoming second, he was a healer. And before that, he was a farm cat. He got that scar on his back from his farm days. He moved to Aspen at age one because he hated fighting so much.

[aspenclimbcolony]

Kestrel

Role: Head Hunter

Age: 3 years

Pronouns: He/him

Family: Mother: Hemlock, Siblings: Cricket, Cliff, and Splash, Mate: Talon, Daughter: Sheer

Kestrel is a tom with the wisdom of a cat several years his senior. He’s a great hunter, swimmer, and teacher as well. He often enjoys swimming in Fox creek as well as fishing. Kestrel loves kittens; finds their view on the world refreshing. He enjoys giving them advice as well. He tries to teach them to swim and fish but none are keen to it. Kestrel knows a lot about different types of animals. He doesn’t believe in fairies or ghosts like how his siblings or mom do. He’s just a down-to-earth, chill, easy-going type of cat. Some find it strange that Kestrel and Talon got together. Talon isn’t known for her smarts, while Kestrel might be the smartest cat in the colony. Kestrel admires Talon’s honesty and humor.

[aspenclimbcolony]

Pine

Role: Leader

Age: 5 years old

Pronouns: She/her

Family: Father: Gibber, Mother: Magpie

The leader and cat on top is Pine! She became leader around 2 years ago, shortly after becoming second ‘n command under Flicker, her great-uncle. She hasn’t escaped criticism for this however from cats who believe she was chosen due to nepotism. Some also don’t agree with her ideals. Pine doesn’t let any outside cats join Aspen which upsets many cats who have outsider lineage, which includes her second ‘n command. There is some tension between the two because of this, however they are still best friends. Pine is worried that maybe she isn’t the best leader and maybe she should step down, but no one can doubt her unwavering sense of duty and loyalty to her colony.

[brokenfrontier]

Inside Look: The Junction - My Error Strewn Path to Publication

Inside Look: The Junction – My Error Strewn Path to Publication

Our Inside Look feature at Broken Frontier provides creators with the opportunity to share exclusive commentaries on their comics projects with our readers, giving insights into the genesis, process and themes of their work. It’s one of the oldest regular features at BF, first appearing on the site back in the mid-2000s and also one of our most well-received. Today’s edition comes from 2021…

View On WordPress