LADY'S GOT GILLS | oleander

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OLEANDER OLEANDERKIT ⁎⁺˳★
↳ Penned by Meghan | Heartchart | Pinterest | Playlist
—— OLEANDER. Noun. A poisonous evergreen Old World shrub that is widely grown in warm countries for its clusters of white, pink, or red flowers. Named after her pale fur, and the name's connection to her rogue colony. | KIT. The kitten suffix.
*✶。 AFAB girl [♀] | She / her pronouns
*✶。 03 moons old | Ages every 20th | Created July 20, 2024
*✶。Kit of SkyClan | Lonerborn; came to the Clans with her mother, Lovage

  • WILLOWY LONGHAIRED BLUE SILVER TORBIE WITH PALE SEAFOAM EYES / TOYHOU.SE
    ↳ LH blue silver ticked torbie with low white; carries non-silver, solid, non-ticked
    *✶。 Scent: Milkweed, spring water, salt
    *✶。 Voiceclaim: Dark Sun Gwyndolin

    Small and willowy, Oleander is as delicate as her namesake. She is not only short, but thin as the stalks of her namesake, limbs long and knotty, paws big, kitten belly round compared to the rest of her. Her ears stand too tall on her slim, angular face; her tail is too long, and easily stepped on. Her fur hangs off of her in long, thin ribbons, like shallow rivulets running down a stone. But as Ollie grows into her frame, her proportions will even out, and she will become an undeniably beautiful warrior.

    Bright pink skin rings her ice-light eyes, mouth, and ears like halos. Her nose is a berry bloom on her face, further accentuated by the white stripe that licks up her thin, protruding muzzle. Oleander's pearl-blue and oat-cream fur knits together with the help of white lace splashed about her pelt.

    In adulthood, Ollie is still thin as a rail and cut like a cold, gleaming opal. Her bones are sharp and visible beneath her skin, but not for lack of nutrition. Her long fur is thin, skirting just beyond her skin and then fading into thin wisps. She is still delicate, but she is sharp and not so easily blown over; not so petal-soft.

    —— Scars: An insignificant nick on the nose from her journey to the Clans that will heal and fade in time. Otherwise, no scars to speak of.
    —— Accessories: Decorates herself with small wildflowers and leaves

  • INTJ : "ARCHITECT"
    CHAOTIC NEUTRAL | 5W6 : "THE PROBLEM SOLVER" | X. WHEEL OF FORTUNE

    ( + ): Curious, investigative, risk-averse, imaginative
    ( / ): Dreamy, aloof, independent, superstitious
    ( - ): Suspicious, icy, selfish, unempathetic

    Oleander's primary objective is to survive. Born of an unstable home and thrust into one that may not entirely accept her, she concerns herself quickly with understanding the new rules of her life. She takes a passionate interest in her clanmates, though not as their peer; rather, her curiosity drives her to investigate them as a researcher investigates her rats. She constructs ideas of ideal SkyClan warriors who do not exist (yet). She makes suggestions to change the rules that all of the Clans have already agreed to. Her curiosity and drive for problem-solving do not heed social convention. Despite her wish to succeed as a SkyClanner and fit in, she stands out sorely among her new clanmates.

    But for as clinical as she can be in her studies, Oleander is quite imaginative, often lost to her daydreams at the edges of camp. In kithood she loves to indulge in games with her siblings and whatever friends she makes, often taking on villainous roles with gumption. She enjoys pretending, imagining herself in other bodies, imagining others in her own, projecting her spirit across space and time. Part of her curiosity extends into the lives of others — into realities she has dodged. Could a version of herself be a rogue in Nightshade's colony now? What if her mother had found ThunderClan, or RiverClan instead of SkyClan? All of these possibilities entertain Oleander in her isolated play.

    While her education on Clan life begins early, Oleander takes great investigative interest in the teachings that SkyClan passes down onto its young. StarClan, the warrior code, and other such ideas are all foreign to her. Assimilation is not necessarily her goal, either — rather, she enjoys challenging these notions with the learning she has done already. She carries different dreamy superstitions with her than most of the Clans obey. She takes an interest in scrying, interpreting certain natural phenomena as ‘omens’ from mother nature, or StarClan, or whatever she’s supposed to believe in.

    At her worst, Oleander is a frigid girl with little regard or care for others. She loves her family, but beyond them she cares not for SkyClan’s cast of characters. If she feels her needs are not met, she will meet them herself, no matter what it takes; she will break rules fearlessly, though not before calculating the risk of doing so. She also thinks little of casting others aside for her own benefit. If they want to stand in her way, they can — but they should not expect her to step over them softly.

    With an imagination as active as hers, Oleander is also prone to overthinking. The trauma she endured, however secondhand, has shaped her industrious mind into an anxious one. Her anxiety manifests as a general awareness of the dangers that may come to pass, and the intrusive thoughts that accompany them. She may act irrationally in response to these fears, such as opting to sleep outside of a den to avoid a collapse, or refusing to eat certain pieces of prey that she feels could be unsafe or on the pile too long. Oleander will not realize that these thoughts are irrational without IC intervention, and will believe that she is perfectly logical about avoiding danger. Anxious episodes will be properly tagged and come from my own experience with general anxiety disorder.

    TV Tropes: Creepy child, wise beyond their years, dissonant serenity, light is not good
    Motifs & themes: Unicorns, cream, sinew and fish bones, mercury, antlers, moonlight on the water, moths, poison, fawns and the white wolves that eat them, opalescence, iridescence
    Inspirations: Loosely inspired by Dulcinea Septimus and Ianthe Tridentarius of The Locked Tomb series

    —— Important notes: I would like her personality to be largely determined by IC dev, so this is subject to change!
    *✶。 Driving motivations: Maintaining what she has, succeeding for the sake of her family and reputation in SkyClan, her innate curiosity for how the world works
    *✶。 Fears: Losing access to her family or interests, being unsuccessful as a warrior, her former rogue colony (specifically Nightshade), death
  • LOVAGE xx LAUREL | Generation 2 | Sibling to Birchkit and Mercurykit
    ↳ Mentored by N/A | Mentoring no one

    Oleander loves her family fiercely. They are the only constant in her short life wrought by change. She seeks the company of her siblings and seeks the love of her mother more than she ever approaches strangers. Strangers even within her own Clan are potentially dangerous individuals — while Oleander isn't completely averse to making new friends, she likes to observe before she takes the leap.

    With Lovage, Oleander feels a stone in her chest. Something horrible happened to her mother. She cannot understand it in her youth, though she consistently engages in kit games based on the story she has heard in an attempt at understanding and sympathy. She may ask her mother uncomfortable questions without realizing it. I'm open to whatever IC consequences this will bring Ollie!

    With Birchkit, Oleander feels much lighter. Her sister is bright, beaming, and unafraid of the world that Oleander has grown suspicious of. She will often engage her littermate in scientific pursuits like figuring out the best ratio of dirt to water to make perfect mud, or counting distinct geological features about camp (read: anthills). She envies Birchkit's kindness and may also use her as a tool to meet others. They are similar, holding similar values and being curious about similar things, but still distinct in their own ways. Oleander is an icicle of a girl when compared to her sister. She does not resent her for this.

    *✶。 Loves Lovage, Birchkit, Mercurykit
    *✶。 Friends with Who
    *✶。 Likes Who
    *✶。 Dislikes Nightshade
    *✶。 Loathes Who

    All opinions are in-character and do not reflect that of the roleplayer.
  • SINGLE | UNDETERMINED SEXUALITY | INTERESTED IN NO ONE & TOO YOUNG TO LOOK
    ↳ Speaks in #D1E6F0 | Thinks in italics

    Towards her clanmates, Oleander is generally neutral; she wants to fit in to the Clan, sure, but she does not feel the need to be particularly liked in order to be successful. She accepts engagements easily, though she will not initiate such things as freely. Generally disposed to neither kindness nor unkindness.

    Towards other Clans, Oleander is infinitely curious: with laws that forbid her entry or fraternization with them, her curiosity can only intensify. Once apprenticed Ollie will certainly participate in as many border patrols as possible in an attempt to study the cats she is forbidden from engaging with. Gatherings will also be a favorite event of hers. This rule against cross-clan friendships and relationships is one I anticipate Ollie breaking, though not for sure.

    Towards cats outside the Clans, Oleander is sympathetic. She was once among this caste, after all, though she remembers very little of that time. However, her sympathy does not extend to them all: Nightshade's colony is one entity that Ollie feels very strongly about. Her fear-born vitriol for them is so acidic it could melt steel. She tends to regard all outer-clan cats with suspicion for this reason, though can easily put herself in their paws, unlike some of her Clanmates. Her sympathies may end her up in trouble.

    As for romantic interests, Oleander... doesn't often have any. Maybe once she grows up a little!

    WILL NOT START FIGHTS | WILL FLEE | WILL SHOW MERCY
    ↳ Open to: N/A ; Closed to: permanent maiming, death ; Reach out about anything else!

    —— A kitten, Oleanderkit cannot put up a fight. She is defenseless and will only hide or flee if faced with battle.

    *✶。 I like to roll for attacks but will adjust to keep in line with my character's strengths / weaknesses. I do always strive for fairness in battles & try to let most hits land, unless I'm avoiding certain injuries. Please feel free to reach out for battle plots, as I love plotted fights as well! I also tend to write battles aggressively, but don't take this to mean all attacks should be hitting — that is up to your discretion.
  • Note: All of Ollie's plots are subject to change as she develops ICly! These are what I have in mind as I create her but if she ends up a very different character I don't want to force her into these paths.

    CARS, THEY WERE PASSING: I think it would be interesting for Oleander to have suffered some sort of respiratory illness as a kitten as a result of the strain of her journey with her family to SkyClan. She would be treated for this and make a full recovery, but would suffer certain long-term effects like asthma. The illness would not prevent her from performing well as a warrior, but would certainly present challenges as she trains. She would not see it as a deterrent to her becoming a warrior.

    WAVES, THEY WERE CRASHING ON THE SHORE: I'd like Oleander to eventually become an antagonist or villain of some sort! Not necessarily an evil character; she has morals and loves her family. But coming from a cruel place can influence a young mind — as can instilling a dreamlike view of the world on them. I think this in combination with her willingness to challenge SkyClan's way of doing things could turn her into quite an antagonistic character among the Clan.

    I definitely believe she would break the cross-clan relationship rule, though this might not be necessary; but on an even darker level, I feel that she could potentially find herself in a similar situation to her mother down the line. Afraid of romance but caught between the affections of someone in SkyClan who loves her and someone outside of SkyClan who she loves, what might Oleander do to resolve herself of the stress of choice? IDK I'm really just spitballing.

    FINGERS WERE BURNING THE PAGES THEY'RE TURNING: Although Nightshade is an NPC, I think some sort of reckoning with his rogue colony would be appropriate for her character and closure. Oleander worries that Nightshade and his cronies will come back for her and her littermates — an idea not helped by the general hostility for rogues that SkyClan holds. I think it would be interesting for Ollie to talk to other former rogues in the Clan about their lives before SkyClan in an attempt to understand how they are different from Nightshade and his gang.

    As for the reckoning itself, I think it could be awesome for Oleander (including siblings / Lovage if desired!) to face Nightshade and kill him for what he did to their family <3 Fulfilling my dream of awesome coolgirl committing righteous violence covered in blood. Admittedly a self indulgent plot LOL but could be fun regardless :- ) And again could be fun for the whole family if desired!

    AND I WANT MORE: Birchkit's noble attitude and ability to see the good in cats is one that Oleander struggles to keep up with. While she certainly doesn't believe every cat to be evil, everyone has undeniable qualities that could taint them — including Oleander herself. Her own struggle to fully relate to others can make it difficult for her to see the good in them or herself. I could see this attitude rubbing up against Birchkit's, producing a worry in Ollie that she might not be 'good enough' for her sister, or that her sister sees her as something that needs fixing. I think these possibilities could be interesting and should be explored as long as IC allows. Would this fear drive them apart? Would it bring them together? Is Oleander's fear even founded in reality? If Oleander were a truly bad cat, would Birchkit still seek to cleanse her of that sin? These are all compelling questions to me!

    blue: #d1e6f0
    purple: #C9CBEC
    pink: #F5D7D7
 
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