#yall ask for lore and i give u the FULL ESSAY

[angst-and-fajitas]

Tell me more about the oc in ur pinned post!!

Sorry to keep ya waiting, had to let my poor burnt fingers rest for a while before I could type again!

BUT you're in luck! Even though Owl is only part of the supporting cast of The Ragtaggers, he and his team are some of my faves and have a lot of lore to em!

As a bit of background info, the plot of ragtaggers centers around a society of adventurers called the Venture Team Association and several individual Venture Teams who have grown disillusioned by its corruption. The oc from that art, Owl (he/him), (also known as The Snowy Owl of Northmallow) is the former leader of a small but famous team, team OWL, which is composed of him, his sister Lark, and their cousin Woodpecker.

Plot-wise, I'll give you the short, non-spoiler version of their story from my notes:

"This former fan-favorite team was renowned across the region for their skill until they were publicly discredited and disavowed from the Venture Team Association after challenging VTA Councilwoman Michelline's support of the occupation of Northmallow and the Satto Mountains. Now, they work silently and tirelessly to support the rebellion against the Duchess of Northmallow and to protect the refugees fleeing her rule."

The three were all raised as hunters and trackers, and Owl is an absolute deadeye with his bow. Owl was mute from birth, but his tribe has a naturally high deaf population so he and his team all use their specialized sign language. Personality-wise, Owl is very serious, strategic, and competitive, in sharp contrast to his much more light-hearted and playful teammates. Back when they were a Venture Team, he was always driven to try and become the best of the best in all challenges and competitions. He was confident to the point of seeming cocky at times, and he loved the fame and appreciation that their team's success brought. But after turning their backs on the VTA, his fire has become a single-minded determination to regain his people's control of their homeland, regardless of public opinion. He learned that being a hero to the public eye was very different to being an actual hero. Owl often pushes himself too hard, and his teammates have to keep him from overworking himself. He often feels guilty for allowing he and his teammates to be manipulated by Michelline for so long.

Concept art for owl's design, featuring him without his mask! Owl would've been in his early twenties when he and his teammates first joined the VTA, but now they're in their early thirties by the time the events of Ragtaggers take place.

I've also got the old (2019) design I did of their old team badge:

And this is the point where I'm putting the LONG, lore and spoiler heavy version of the team's backstory under the cut! Because I wanna add it and I don't mind if people read it, but maybe someday when I get to publishing, I'll have to cut it LOL

Long version from my notes:

Team OWL was a legendary Venture Team, led by the Snowy Owl of Northmallow. These three skilled trackers and hunters specialized in mission types such as escort/convoy and bounty hunting, but the needs of the cold northern area where they worked led them to expand their range to disaster relief & prevention and search & rescue missions as well. Team OWL was renowned for their incredible skill and teamwork and their high mission success rate. They were fan favorites across the region, holding records for the most team victories in the New Terrace Championships, and were the poster child of the Venture Team Association for many years until the VTA publicly disavowed and disfellowshipped them.

     The publicized split between the VTA and Team OWL was a source of major controversy and tarnished the legacy of this iconic team for years to follow. Publicly, the VTA claimed that the disfellowship was due to a breach of the VTA code of conduct regarding the use of metal-bladed weaponry—a rule that was put in place to discourage lethality for all Venture Teams and promote a focus on peacemaking. However, those aware of the current events in the region during that time and those familiar with Team OWL know that the actual reasoning was far more complicated.

     All three members of Team OWL were residents of Northmallow, with leader Owl and member Lark being native to the northern tribe. Historically, the Dauger Silver Co. had wrested control of the Satto Mountains and the Northmallow area away from tribal authorities during the massive economic stress and refugee crisis resulting from the Day-Night Calamity. The prosperity of the Satto silver mines kept the local economy afloat, but Dauger took advantage of the situation to replace the local tribal government and establish his own family as a monarchial-feudal government to rule over the Northmallow area as Duke. As the crisis settled, the loss of democracy, stifling of tribal control and culture, and oppressive tax rates drew the ire of Northmallow's citizens, especially when the silver mines dried up and the Dauger Silver Co. no longer even contributed to the local economy. Rebellions were suppressed by the Dauger family using military force in order to maintain control.

     Team OWL joined the VTA during a time when tensions in Northmallow between the duchy and tribal alignments were at an all-time high. Although the three were sided with the tribal group and disapproved of the Dauger regime, the team was told repeatedly by VTA Councilwoman Micheline that, as representatives of the VTA, they had to formally remain politically impartial and could not endorse or take sides in political conflicts. They grudgingly accepted this rule and continued their work, climbing the ranks of the VTA and gaining fame. When tensions between the new Duchess of Northmallow and the tribes reached a boiling point, resulting in another refugee crisis, Team OWL went north to check on the situation. To their shock, they found VTA peacekeepers aligned with the Duchess' militia, forcefully keeping rule over Northmallow and threatening the refugees.

     The Owl led his team back to New Terrace in a rage. He confronted Micheline about the situation and her hypocrisy, who threatened the team with disfellowshipment. Michelline, as it turned out, had been a former captain to the Dauger family, and retained ties and funding from them. They tried to call her bluff and come forward about her hypocrisy to the public, but she beat them to the punch. Before they could try, she publicly discredited them on false premises and engineered a public backlash against the team that prevented them from gaining any sort of platform.

Slandered and betrayed, the furious Owl swore off the VTA, and took his team back to the Northmallow region. They set up base there and and began to spearhead the rebellion against the Dauger regime. Their knowledge of the area and hyper-specialized skills allowed them to protect the refugee camps, strangle supply lines and reinforcements, and take out other Venture Teams who were sent by Michelline to try and remove them. Without the public eye on them, Team OWL no longer had to hold back or behave themselves.

Still, despite their skill that allowed them to hold the line against the Duchess almost single-handedly for years, the conflict came to a stalemate that was only later broken with the assistance of Team Ragtaggers.

#ok time for me to TAKE A BREATH HOOOOFFF thats a lot right there LOL #emma writes #team owl #ragtaggers #my ocs #alora #yall ask for lore and i give u the FULL ESSAY #asks #emma draws