@TheSilverFox please jump on this wagon with me.
@Ventomology: do the thing
me: okay
Alright, I've had this story kinda floating around in my head the last couple months, but it only really took shape Thursday. I'm also a bit exhausted from the plot tangle that is BATP, so I present
Past the Breakers
Queer Romance with Magical Foxes
The Backstory:
There's only two things I can write: high fantasy and vaguely creepy poetry. This obviously isn't poetry; it's actually distantly related to BAtP (distant enough that this story probably won't become a plot tangle too). Long story short, The Creator barged into an empty dimension, created a universe (yay!), made a family out of his AI partner and a few people he grew out of vats (yay?), got on the nerves of a remnant from the last universe (not yay!), picked a fight, won, etc. The Creator looked at what was left from that fight and decided "you could make a world out of this," so that's what he did. He populated one continent with humans, and another continent with all the less violent and volatile creatures The Creator and his enemy had made.
And it was all going great, but the humans were too busy worshiping The Creator to do anything useful or productive. He wasn't a big fan of that, so he offered some humans the chance to get on boats and sail over to the other continent. Oh, and then he lifted the human continent up into an alternate dimension/'heaven' thing, but that's not really important right now.
What matters is that there was now a bunch of empty ocean, blocked off from the other continent by some pretty big walls. The Creator also wasn't sure what to do with some of the more violent and volatile creatures he and his enemy had made. So, he decided to kill two birds with one stone by making a new continent (ugh, so many continents), and sticking them on it.
A couple millennia later, those creatures mellowed out some, so might as well see what they're up to.
The Setting:
The story is set in and around a village of kitsune by the coast. By village, I mean a group of grass-roofed adobe houses grouped kinda closely together, surrounded by farmland. They grow wheat and corn, since, despite being next to the sea, the place doesn't have super fertile soil (think the white cliffs of Dover). Also some sheep and cows grazing around, because why not.
By kitsune, I essentially mean bipedal foxes who grow additional tails about every 12 years or so. Their magical power increases with every tail, maxing out with the 9th (though no one's really lived long enough to see what that having nine tails might be like). The older the kitsune, the stronger they are, which actually relates to the only form of government the village has. Foxes with more than a couple tails usually rally together as warriors if the village is ever attacked, with the one having the most being the head of the guard. Head of the guard is not a prestigious position, and it rarely comes up, but it's the closest thing to a leader the town has.
And by coast, I mean a set of cliffs with the occasional sandy beach and inlet. It's not exactly a safe place, even if you don't consider all the big and dangerous creatures swimming around in there.
The Characters:
Xain (pronounced basically like Zane), a two-tailed kitsune. A fisherman in a time and place where nobody else wants to even go near the water, he lives in what used to be his parents' house, a little ways from the village. When his parents died of illness, he and his sisters moved closer to the village, but he found it wasn't quite to his liking. Now he goes fishing with his father's rod, line improvised from some of the clothes his oldest sister sends him, and a spear. Otherwise, he's generally busy keeping the house clean, fending off his concerned and controlling sisters, and being insecure. Getting close to growing his third tail.
Idiot (placeholder name until I can find a good one), who is an idiot. Also a fox, which is a pretty important distinction. He has one tail, a pretty fixed amount of magical ability, and is the sole character not from this continent. An adventure who had wide eyes and a lot of money, but now finds himself a little jaded and a lot broke. Getting stranded in a strange place with people who don't understand a word he says can do that to someone. Likes maps, keeps tons of drawing and notes about everything and everyone he runs into. Just a little bit of an ego.
Yisele, a two-tailed kitsune and Xain's older sister. Very friendly, chaotic, happy-go-lucky person. Social butterfly of the village, keeps trying to get Xain to come back and embrace all the uncertainty and fear of being outside his parents' home. Xain likes to think he has enough uncertainty and fear already.
Yisele's wife, a three-tailed kitsune. Daughter of the head of the guard (who has five tails). Adorably romantic and good at punching things, an effective combination.
Verta, a three-tailed kitsune and Xain's oldest sister. Mother of two. The calm and rational sister who decided to take it on herself to keep her siblings safe. Which means she can be pretty controlling and harsh, though she's extremely defensive of her family. Got Xain to work on her husband's farm for a bit, hasn't stopped trying to get him back there. Picked up weaving from her husband, and usually makes clothes for the villagers. Was a warrior once or twice, has the scars to show for it.
Verta's husband, a three-tailed kitsune and Xain's brother-in-law. Father of two. Doesn't talk too much, but generally a friendly and calm person. Definitely the person Xain goes to when he wants to get his sisters off his back.
The Plot: Not too sure? Right now I just have idiot washing up on shore, befriending Xain, them overcoming mutual language barriers, Xain's sisters showing up, etc. Oh, and bipedal saber-tooth tigers who grow fangs so large they can accidentally impale themselves, and definitely won't show up to cause havoc down the road. But, whatever I decide to do, assuming an 18+ rating from the start probably should help.
Spoiler! :
Gender:
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