A very belated postscript. Well hell, I forgot one of the most important details, not related to the name situation but anyway. Hans?--was not killed by a Trench Rat. Was killed by Schavitz's motorcycle, being driven by Eisen. In effect, Schavitz hires Adel to kill innocent ppl when Schavitz is indirectly responsible for Adel's son's death (he was wrestling with Eisen for control of the bike).

Eisen, BTW, after Schavitz's death ends up confessing all the lurid crimes the general involved him in, incl. Hans's death, before he too takes his own life.

I should clarify a crapload of major characters die in my story.

Anyway that's all for now. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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A possible connection between Zierenwald & the Waldvolk, bolstered by the likely connection between Adel's & Klemper's families. All of it seems connected...why not this?

Was Zierenwald once a bigger, more bustling settlement in the distant past? Big enough to lend its name to a duchy...?

As I said...I wasn't seeking this, & it seems a bit outlandish. Yet not overly so, given that the connections between Adel, Klemper, the Waldvolk, & Zierenwald have already been placed. A major theme of this story is the unexpected & intricate ways in which everyone is connected to everyone else, & this would simply reiterate that. I can easily imagine Adel telling Klemper his name & Klemper exclaiming, "You're lying!" Yet Klemper is folkish & superstitious...it'd make sense to him.

The idea's getting stronger but I don't know if I can/should commit. I'm used to von NN. ;_; #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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As I zoned out, for some reason Adel's unknown name came to mind, does he even reveal it just to Klemper, as they're so close...? And then abruptly another association popped out.

Klemper is the Hero of Zierenwald. The villagers even dedicate a statue to him. Zierenwald is a made-up name I got from a random generator but very roughly it seems to translate to "Ornamental Forest." I assumed some liberties, like maybe the trees are pretty, thus the weird name, possibly corrupted over the years. I just wanted a German-sounding, not TOO nonsensical name.

I suddenly noticed the village name's connection to the Wald--the forest--possibly the same one the Waldvolk live in. The villagers are not Waldvolk but they're geographically close, is there an association...? Cont. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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So...OK. That's the background. Now the outlandish idea. Adel's family name is never meant to be revealed, in the story because it feels cursed & he wants no part of it, in reality because it's supposed to be so rare nobody else carries it & I have no idea about rare names. So sister Edelgard erases it from existence before disappearing. If I were to reveal it I'd presumably have to completely make up a name.

Adel's & Klemper's families & fates are already linked through their shared geography, the vast eastern farmlands near the forest. Adel becomes even more closely linked to the Waldvolk after he moves into the forest himself although he's not one of them. The farming families, like Klemper's, aren't Waldvolk but are connected via trade & work. It's a delicate ancient association that persists over the generations. Cont. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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Klemper's unit is the one to find Ratdog's old family castle, & Klemper finds defaced photos of Ratdog as a boy. Ratdog confirms to him it's his old home & he's a duke; given the geography, it's likely Klemper's ancestors long ago worked the farmland of his ancestors. Klemper's feelings regarding him remain unchanged.

After the war Ratdog/Adel & Klemper plan to spend their lives together but Klemper ends up shot by a child member of the Volkssturm, ironically. Adel basically loses everyone he loves throughout the storyline & eventually, after the birth of his grandson (named Hans), takes his own life, freezing to death presumably like his sister. Pretty depressing all around. Cont. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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Ratdog, now a 1st lieutenant, requires a sort of chaperone/bodyguard as he has no military experience. He's assigned PFC Godfrey Klemper, a former child soldier & decorated--yet disgraced--war hero. Klemper is from a long line of peasant farmers & joined the Wehrmacht at age 13 after losing his parents & home. He was promoted to sergeant & became known as the "Hero of Zierenwald" for preventing a rogue Wehrmacht unit from torching the fictional village of Zierenwald; however, after being accused of a relationship with a male partisan, he was stripped of his command & demoted, barely escaping prison & possible death. He's disgruntled by Ratdog's easy promotion but takes the job as his "babysitter."

Ratdog & Klemper hate each other at 1st but eventually grow close. Again, that could fill up several posts. Cont. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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War breaks out. Adel avoids conscription as the Waldvolk kind of scare the Wehrmacht forces. Hans is killed in a hit-&-run. A passing motorcyclist, Sgt. Eisen, says the culprit was a Trench Rat, American forces working in Germany (this is complicated enough to warrant its own set of posts). Adel takes up his rifle in revenge & becomes a sniper targeting Trench Rats. Earns the notice of a corrupt general named Schavitz, who requests a visit. Adel goes to his castle, meets Eisen, who works for him, then Schavitz. Schavitz says he can get him a sniper position in the Wehrmacht, bypassing all the hard work/promotions & avoiding getting in trouble for draft dodging, if he continues killing Trench Rats. Schavitz lost an eye to a Trench Rat so makes Adel--now named Ratdog--his personal sniper. Cont. #writing #anthro #furry #writingcommunity

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Adel von NN is from a long line of farmer-nobles, I won't get into specifics but his family has some weird practices & almost completely goes extinct. His mentally disturbed sister kills their parents & runs off into the snow presumably to die herself so Adel's the only one left. Sis is the one who eradicated their name on everything in the castle BTW. Adel leaves his home & noble background behind, builds a house in the woods where these really rustic isolated ppl called the Waldvolk (forest folk) live, spends his days getting drunk & having one-night-stands on visits to the city. Gets a woman pregnant, she leaves the baby to him. He's a really sucky dad at first but learns to love the kid, names him Hans. Raises him alone.

Oh, right!--that's these 2 I posted previously. Cont. #writing #anthro #Furry #writingcommunity