Gloria (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} twapa) wrote,@ 2004-07-08 17:10:00 |
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| Current mood: |  accomplished |
| Current music: | Slothradio - www.slothradio.com |
consume oldness!!
Somebody please buy this for me: Electricity 2 sampler
Now I'm going to talk a little about the original story from which most of the characters in Unitled! originate... complete with ancient artwork!!
1. Twapa.
You can see a lot of "older" (circa 1999) pictures of Twap on my Yerf gallery... That year sort of represented the shift between the "old Twap" and the current version. You can see a lot of transitional images between the "semi-anthro" and the plantigrade, human-proportioned form she has now.
So, what do we know about "old Twap"?
- She was born to Domysarii and Neferlith, the king and queen of Critteria, on a stormy night in autumn at Sierra Armada, the captial city of Critteria. She had 3 brothers born in the same litter: Timisari, Tommi, and Timmi (the runt).
- Twap grew up mostly in Critter City, a sheltered settlement nestled deep in a valley in the jungle/forest that stretched over the south of Critteria.
- Twap's childhood friends are often referred to as the "Critter Kids". They included:
- Megan Acacia Redsquirrel
- Spencer Jeremy Leastweasel
- Ferey (pron. FEE-ree) Fox
- Wren Blacknose-Stoat
- Brushtail Possum
- Riki Ringtail
- Chatter Cat
- Capy Capybara
- Rocko the Linsang
- F.S. Flying Squirrel
- etc...
(Note: Not all of the above were included in the group at the same time. The first 6 are the ones with the longest run, and kind of represented the "final cut".)
Twapalena was sort of the ringleader. She has always had a very commanding, mischevious, and intelligent personality. In that respect, she hasn't changed much at all. Her violent side came out a little later, but she's always been quite tempermental. In her early years, though, she DID have much more of a sense of wonder and curiosity and the general "young heroine" thing going for her. There's always been a bit of duality to her nature, as there is today.
- As a young teenager, Twap moved out of the ancestral manor in the roots of an ancient oak tree, to a more private location where she created an extensive underground system of tunnels, complete with things like airlocks, booby traps, etc... as well as a nice, comfortable home. I used to have a diagram of all this, but I can't find it right now. She also had an extensive library which included a section of shelving which moved to reveal a secret passage to a set of tunnels which extended under the town and to other locations in the valley...
- The Critter Kids went to school part of the time... The rest of the time they were having wild adventures... fighting with birds, reptiles, otters... other school children... There was quite a little society of young creatures in Critter City, all organised into various... gangs, essentially. There was a good deal of strife between several of the factions... though the Critter Kids were friends with some of them (notably, the rabbits and hares who all sort of banded together in a decidedly Redwallish manner...). One of the most frequent antagonists was Sydney Quoll.... yes. THAT Sydney Quoll.
- So, then there was this "incident". In most versions it involved Timmi being kidnapped by an evil rat "king", who obviously wasn't really a king, but a rogue warlord guy who we later find out was working for Zirrus. Being the closest to the scene of the crime, Twap and her friends set out to rescue her beloved brother. A lot of running about, being captured and escaping, sneaking, fighting, etc... At this point, another key player enters the picture: Xheotris. In this battle, Twapa gets a notch in her ear and Timmi gets one of his legs crushed.
- So, Twap, at this point, begins suspecting that something fishy is going on. While spending some time at her parents palace in Sierra Armada, she begins to uncover a plot by Zirrus, the king's aloof and cunning minister-of-something-or-other who has plans to eliminate ALL possible heirs, and take the throne himself. This is a big task, given that the Kangaroo rat dynasty has many, many members in far-flung parts of the kingdom... Unfortunately, Zirrus is able to pass the kidnapping of Timmi off as the work of a rebellion which he then proceeds to prove his loyalty by completely crushing. Sneaky.
- Twap spends much of her teen years studying science and nature, two things she loves second only to Timmi and her three best friends (Megan, Ferey, and Spencer).
- At about 18 years of age, Twap, who has become increasingly angsty, sets out alone to wander the land. Whether she's trying to find out the extent of Zirrus' treachery, or is simply filled with wanderlust is anybody's guess. Probably a bit of both.
- She ends up in a city at the northern border of Critteria, nearly dead from exposure (having not taken into account the harshness of northern winters). She is rescued and taken into the care of Sefra Firebrush, the son of a wealthy merchant, and distant relative of the royal family... His parents are both dead, leaving him a lovely house and a good deal of money... unfortunately Sefra isn't very popular about town, since many people believed his father was guilty of dishonest busines practices, as well as being extremely arrogant in regards to his bloodline (Being a remote outpost, the citizens of Sefra's hometown naturally feel a bit of superiority and independance from the crown, and have little respect for anyone who would lord his ties to the throne over them).
- Well, in the course of time, Twap and Sefra are married in a small, private ceremony. They have two children, named Acacia and Jeremi, and settle into a happy, reclusive, yet comfortable life. Twap has kept her identity secret, so none of her friends or family from back home know about any of this. For awhile, Twapalena knows true happiness and contentment in the simple life of a wife and mother.
- Unfortunately, Twap's happiness is shattered when the city is attacked by another small army of "rebelS" (who are actually in Zirrus' pay). Among them is, of course, Xheotris, who has caught wind of Twap's presence in the city and is coming after her, driven by his bizarre love/hate obsession. In the ensuing chaos, Twap and Sefra put their children in the care of their nurse, who attempts to smuggle them out of the city. Unfortunately, they are captured by the enemy, and eventually sold into slavery. In the meantime, Twap and Sefra wind up facing off with Xheotris, and Sefra dies defending her.
- Twap is grief-stricken and escapes into the countryside, where she wanders in a delirium for quite some time. Unfortunately, this means that the trail of her children is untraceable by the time she regains her sanity. In despair, she returns to Critter City...
- ...Only to find out that Timmi has taken ill and is on the verge of death. Twap rushes to the captial, where she is able to see her brother one last time before he succumbs. Twap believes that Zirrus is responsible for somehow poisoning her brother (because he knew too much about Zirrus' plans), and confronts him. Zirrus, of course, denies everything, but realises that the game is afoot. He escapes from the city before he can be arrested, and then orders an attack on the palace by his army of rebels. In the ensuing chaos, Twap's parents and Timisari are killed.
- Zirrus retreats to a fortress he has been preparing in anticipation of a situation such as this. Twap and Tommi rally an army of the remaining loyal soldiers and civilian militia and attack Zirrus. Ironically, it is Xheotris who shows up in the end and kills his father, Zirrus.
- Life returns to normal for quite some time. Zirrus has been thwarted and his followers scattered, and although tragedy has devastated the family, Tommi becomes the ruler of Critteria. Twap returns to Critter City where she returns (though somewhat less enthusiastically) to her studies. Her friends have all grown up and are starting families of their own... even Timmi, it seems, had gotten married about a year prior to his death, and his young widow and infant son, Miles, have taken up residence at the oak mansion in Critter City.
- Several years later, Twap is again called to defend the peace of Critteria... Xheotris arrives at Critter City with a band of mercenaries that represent the last of Zirrus' followers. Xheotris has tracked Twapalena down and wants to put an end to the angst between them.
- It all ends with a sword duel between Twap and Xheotris in which they mortally wound each other. Xheotris is finished off by an interloper: his own son, Arxyllis who seeks to take his place as the leader of the gang.
- Twap dies in the arms of her nephew, Miles, surrounded by her oldest and dearest friends... After her funeral, Critter City is again attacked, by Arxyllis, and burned to the ground. Miles and the others are all forced to evacuate and eventually they end up refugees in Sierra Armada, and a lot more stuff happens... but that's another story. :P
And here are a couple more random pics:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/t
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/t
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/t
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/t
Hope you all enjoyed that! Next time I'm going to delve a bit into the evolution of Xe! Won't that be a treat! ^_^
