#???spottedleaf didn’t really make sense as a love interest

[kittycattalk]

k i'm gonna talk about my warriors kitty cats experience now. uhm, i haven't read them in years u guys be nice pls. feel free to ignore this bc i am just gettign all my thoughts out there starting w uhmmmmmmmmmm what is it. TPB? ITW? whatever they call series 1!!!

i'm gonna read a wiki + wikipedia's summaries on them as a whole + my opinions from what i remember so this will be rlly like. shitposty

[ausilotus-battle-cats]

Sometimes I imagine a rewrite for Warriors lore and stuff lol so here’s the ideas I’ve had.

- Let’s get this one out of the way: StarClan isn’t as infuriating as it is now. For the whole series it serves as a mysterious plane of existence for dead cats. And the characters barely ever get to see it. Even StarClan cats don’t show up in dreams outside of leaders and medicine cats, cuz I feel like that would make their connection to them feel more sacred. The only difference I’m thinking would be the 3? Maybe? But to some extent I guess. I’m thinking the Dark Forest and StarClan battle will still happen but it’ll be different, I’ll just have to think of it.

- Also don’t make StarClan perfect in every way. Let them make mistakes but don’t make them infuriating like they are in canon.

- Redemption from the Dark Forest is possible. Idk I just hate the idea of eternal torture for cats who, in life, had the ability to redeem themselves cuz they’re living being. Why would that change in death?

- No ableism. Obviously. Example, let Snowkit survive the hawk so that idea I had many posts ago can happen. He becomes Brackenfur’s apprentice, Brackenfur learns new hunting/fighting techniques as he mentors Snowkit. Snowkit basically invents cat sign language. He’s a warrior now. Just don’t make it, lack for a better term, inspiration p0rn to be like “disabled cats can do ANYTHING an abled cat can do”, still show that their disability affects them without making them out to be pitiful.

- Spottedleaf’s Heart. Events will still happen but make the red flags MORE OBVIOUS and let Spottedleaf tell others what happened to her so cats from an outside perspective can further drive in that “yeah, that was fucked up”. And by extension, she develops no feelings for Firestar at all.

- More of a personal thing that I just like the idea of; Scourge’s backstory is a lil different. Idk if I wanna share details cuz I… might make it into a comic someday?

- The spirits fading thing doesn’t make sense to me. Just…. get rid of that lol. Spirit death is still possible cuz of the Dark Forest and StarClan battle but outside of that, it’s extremely rare and only caused by another spirit cat.

- Romance is actually written well lol. Make gay relationships more obvious. Let Ravenpaw and Barley call each other mates dammit.

- Hawkfrost actually having some nuance with his feelings towards Brambleclaw. Like “you were my brother!” Kinda stuff. Not to make him the good guy obviously, just to make things more interesting.

- Better continuity. Just general writing improvements.

- Another thing about StarClan actually that I forgot to mention; due to StarClan being more mysterious and only connect with leaders and medicine cats, it makes cats who don’t believe in them more believable.

- The Tribe of Rushing Water doesn’t constantly need help from the clans.

- Going back to better romance but I just wanna mention this: write Bramblestar better. Actually make him likable and not accidentally written as an abuser. And by extension no misogynistic writing.

- Maybe make the traveling books more enjoyable? Personally I didn’t have a problem with them but I know others do. I like the idea of the traveling books cuz for some reason I love imagining the new sceneries and stuff. But if there’s a way to make people enjoy them more then yeah lol.

- Have some later arcs be more grounded in reality. I know oots and tbc are very StarClan and Dark Forest heavy but let’s get a break from those and have an arc about, idk, rabies. I remember when people theorized Bramblestar had rabies and idk just the thought of cats’ loved ones become really aggressive and an outbreak amongst the clans is interesting to me. Another grounded in reality arc could revolve around a villain medicine cat. Make some literally chilling villains.

That’s all I can think of for now. I might work on my own rewrite of the series idk, I’m not a writer.

[mud-castle]

Spottedleaf’s Heart

Every medicine cat eventually experiences the cruelty of Starclan.

Don’t you just love it when the ancestors you worship use your past trauma to coerce you into fighting a known enemy warrior and kidnapper instead of getting help?

It does not make sense to me that Spottedleaf tried to fight Clawface while he was stealing kits inside camp. She clearly couldn’t win like just go for help? Scream? Yell? You are inside camp? Tf?

So here she’s outside camp collection herbs when Starclan leads her to find Clawface going to ShadowClan with Thunderclan kits. Spottedleaf has history, as you can see, so I’ll put that below the cut

Okay, explanation time. So, Spottedleaf’s Heart never happened in this AU because no...just no. 

Spottedpaw had wanted to become a medicine cat since she could talk. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case and she was given to Thistleclaw as an apprentice. Spottedpaw made for a terrible warrior apprentice. She didn’t want to lay a paw on anyone and she found the flowers and herbs far more interesting than the clan borders. She was (read: is) seen as weird as she can honestly just go on tangents about herbs and flowers and hey, Thistleclaw, I know Iwas supposed to be hunting, but I saw these flowers and they reminded me of the ones in Featherwhisker's den! Thistleclaw straight up hated her soft behavior and most of the clan saw her as a lost cause. Spottedpaw really wanted to impress her mentor, but she jus couldn’t.

One day, while out with her mentor, they encounter a Riverclan patrol encroaching on Sunningrocks. Thistleclaw gets pissed, as he does, and immediately starts a fight, despite only having his apprentice, who can barely fight, to back him up. Thistleclaw yells at Spottedpaw to fight, but she freezes, horrified. She didn’t want to fight, she didn’t want to hurt these cats, and she didn’t want them to hurt her. So, she turns tail and runs, Thistleclaw screams after her, calling her nothing but a coward.

Spottedpaw makes it to camp and tells Bluestar what had happened. Bluestar  quickly sends out a patrol to back Thistleclaw up. Spottedpaw leads them to the area. When they get there, she freezes and doesn’t take another step. Bluestar nudges her aside and catches sight of Thistleclaw’s dead, mangled body floating in the river, turning the water red.

Spottedpaw was given to Featherwhisker as an apprentice soon after that. She is still considered a weirdo, but she is a very talented medicine cat. She takes a liking to Firepaw for being seen as out of place like she was. And Starclan help you if Sandpaw ever hears you talking smack about her auntie.

Spottedleaf never forgot the last words Thistleclaw ever told her. And she never forgave herself for leaving him to die.

[butchhamlet]

And for the characters, peril wingsoffire, orsino twelfthnight, ippolit warandpeace and uhhhhh firestar warriorcats

PERIL WINGSOFFIRE (yes i run a shakespeare blog yes im about to encourage you all to read wings of fire the children's books about dragons because they genuinely hold up and still slap)

Sexuality Headcanon: i think peril is bi i think that's her right Gender Headcanon: on the one hand i'm hesitant to hc peril as a trans woman because she's. a walking weapon and i feel like that could get dicey. however it could also be interesting as a reason why kestrel might not recognize her as an adult. + in the sense of... scarlet supporting her gender as long as peril does shit for her as another form of manipulation A ship I have with said character: peril/sunny maybe? i can't think of a reason why that one would be bad and i think they both have so much bright energy just in different directions yknow... like sunny is so sweet in a way most people (dragons) aren't to peril, and also i'm envisioning sunny curling up to sleep near peril because her heat reminds her of the desert :) A BROTP I have with said character: i don't really ship clay and peril romantically because i feel like peril really needs to sort out her own self-worth with regard to clay (and i'm glad that, at least as far as i've read, the books haven't shoved them together + have put an emphasis on giving them time to figure it out! we stan actually well-written het romance). however i DO think they are buddies and character foils and he's the only one who can hug her so he should A NOTP I have with said character: i guess peril and scarlet?? because of the obvious reasons?? maybe peril and turtle as well because idk i just like them as friends A random headcanon: i know most jewelry melts when it touches her, but turtle's an animus, right. i think he enchants her some jewelry that won't melt & she's so incredibly touched because she's never been able to wear bracelets before (bonus points if it's ugly as fuck but she's enthralled anyway) General Opinion over said character: peril my bestie my beloved. i had mixed feelings on her until her POV and now she's my best friend she's so much fun and her arc is so good

ORSINO TWELFTHNIGHT

Sexuality Headcanon: one of the most bisexual characters ever, actually Gender Headcanon: generally i think of orsino as a cis man (and presumed straight until he meets viola and Figures Some Things Out), but i also once read a fic where orsino is a trans bear and that concept is so god tier A ship I have with said character: orsino and violacesario :) A BROTP I have with said character: i think orsino and olivia become friends after the events of canon! i'd like to imagine he apologizes for being The Way He Was and they get to bond over being... very lonely people figuring out their relationships to love A NOTP I have with said character: orsino/olivia. dude she said to fuck off stop showing up at her HOUSE A random headcanon: he plays like five instruments very well but when it comes to singing he's tone fucking deaf. at first viola is like "why do you have other people make music for you" and then they hear him sing and they're like.... ah General Opinion over said character: i'll admit of TN characters i probably think about him the least? but i think his character arc is really interesting (and can be played in a very dark direction but i'm ignoring that because i'm in nice-headcanon-land)

IPPOLIT WARANDPEACE

Sexuality Headcanon: we know this man is gay Gender Headcanon: i haven't thought in depth about ippolit's gender but an agender ippolit could be cool. to balance out his siblings. the kuragins got one of each /s A ship I have with said character: ishpolit ofc <3 (the fact that this fic is unironically good. shakes my fist) A BROTP I have with said character: the obvious answer here is ippolit and lise but for whatever reason i read this and "ippolit and dolokhov" popped into my head. can you imagine dolokhov leaving either kuragin's bedroom in the middle of the night and ippolit is still awake doing weird shit downstairs and he's like "hi!!!" [waving] and dolokhov is like. hi? A NOTP I have with said character: ippolit and lise... he's a gay man and he wouldn't know how to have an affair if it bit him anyway A random headcanon: i'm partial to a neurodivergent ippolit but that's because i like to look at comic relief characters and go "oh me?" General Opinion over said character: i fucking love him im obsessed with him my war and peace blog url is literally lesbians4ippolit what else do i have to say

FIRESTAR WARRIORCATAS

Sexuality Headcanon: am i allowed to stand here and be like "firestar is a lesbian because he's my oldest comfort character and i'm a lesbian" Gender Headcanon: see above. A ship I have with said character: firestar/sandstorm i know it's basic and canon but literally who is doing it like them. WHO is doing it like them! shoutout to the post that's like "firesand walked so hiccup/astrid in HTTYD could run" like fucking say that A BROTP I have with said character: i know the obvious answer here is firestar and graystripe and i do adore them but i feel so much more passionately about firestar and cinderpelt like. ;-; A NOTP I have with said character: firecinder there is literally no reason to be like "actually cinderpelt loved him!" let them be friends. i also have a seething hatred for firestar/spottedleaf, kept burning in my body from when i was ten apparently. he's a married man why is he getting homewrecked by a fucking ghost and why does this keep happening for like... sixty books A random headcanon: he and bramblestar never said so in as many words, but they both considered him bramblestar's real father. (and they both knew it; they didn't have to talk about it to feel it.) General Opinion over said character: . this is so embarrassing. hopping on my shakespeare blog to admit that my oldest and deepest and #1 comfort character ever in my life is cat jesus from cat game of thrones for children

[mallowstep]

Please tell us more! Why did Moth take Jay and not the other two? Who ended up being Jay's mentor? Do they not have any other traditions that could take the place of proving the river accepts cats? Does Jay get looked down upon because of that? How's his fishing skills? Does he get a mate in this au? Anything else you would like to share? Every time I see you post a new au idea I immediately get obsessed lol

why did moth take jay?

because that was the prompt and i liked it. holly goes to windclan because she looks like nightcloud, and lionkit goes to thunderclan because he looks like squirrelflight, and that just leaves jaykit.

who's jaypaw's mentor?

beechfur.

can he be accepted another way?

okay so. being accepted is not like. one thing. it is just. something that proves you are meant to be here. it can be something small, it can be something large, but there's always something. for example, for spottedpaw in stolag, it's this:

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he continued, "Even you, Spottedpaw, carry the blood of the River." He blinked, slowly. "You wouldn't belong here if you didn't, but look. Greypool's kits are sleeping by your side, same as any other cat, and don't think I haven't seen the way you watch the water. You carry the divine in you."

it's a small moment, but this is when the whole, blood of the river thing is explained to her. and that's enough.

my other example would be dovepaw from icbtyssm, but (a) spoilers and (b) most dovepaw scenes are like, 4k words. but for her, it's a very private moment before she's even decided to stay in riverclan. she has a more dramatic moment, but being accepted is when you prove you can do what only riverclan cats can do:

As time went on, only cats with the River in their blood could see the water spirits the Moon made, and they were the strongest swimmers and the best fishers.

so basically, there are three main methods: be able to see spirits, be a good swimmer, or be a good fisher.

jaypaw is blind, so he can't see a spirit (it's specifically a visual thing. riverclan's medicine cat traditions are actually quite visual. they would of course adapt as necessary, but i think for a cat not proven to be riverclan, the clan would have a hard time accepting, "i didn't see a spirit but i did perceive one" as a valid thing).

and swimming and fishing is what they learn during their apprenticeship.

it's how most cats prove themselves! they learn to swim and fish and it proves that they belong. again, it's not like...a formal moment, but it is. it's a little ambiguous, because of riverclan's general culture.

anyway, he can't prove himself as a kit, so leopardstar can't mentor him.

(also jumping in at the end: there are other ways to prove you're part of riverclan. there's no specific list. those three are the big ones that most cats use, but there's no set list.

for example, spottedpaw is accepted by the kits of riverclan treating her like "any other cat."

so there's always, like, a way for a cat to prove themselves. but they might have to find that way out, y'know?)

does jaypaw get looked down upon?

it's complicated.

riverclan believes that cats who carry the river's blood are divine. it's a whole thing.

so in that sense, yeah, he's spiritually inferior to his clanmates until it's satisfied that he belongs.

and that is a huge sore spot for him. because he feels like a riverclan cat from birth. and riverclan you know, just one drop is enough. "the divine cannot be diluted" is a really common idea in my riverclan fics. it comes up in "there's holy water, undiluted; i see the divine", "denouncement", and "the blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine."

but he just, needs to be accepted. it's worth mentioning that riverclan isn't trying to be exclusionary. it's just saying, riverclan cats like to swim and fish and you need to be able to do that to be one of us.

because they don't actually care who your birth parents are, as long as you can effectively pass a citizenship test.

but kids can't take the test, so jaykit grows up with this background worry of what if i fail. and passing isn't complicated. it does not take a lot to pass. but that's after he's been an apprentice.

which is why when breezepaw points out he's not a clan cat by birth, jaypaw gets pissed. like yeah, jay is painfully aware of that.

however, riverclan doesn't strictly look down on him. it's more that. hm okay like, the ending for the story of the river forming riverclan ends in "the river flows in us all" and jaykit knows that, he's not included in that "us all" yet.

but in every other respect, riverclan understands he could be. he's just a kit.

so. it's Complicated.

i don't think any other kits would tease him tho. willowkit would beat them up.

how's his fishing skills?

i'm not sure! i need to do some research into blind cats and fishing. i suspect he'd be able to dive, but i'm not sure. he can't fish in the standard riverclan sense, i don't think, but he should be able to do at least some form of fishing.

although even if he couldn't fish at all, riverclan would still love him.

does he get a mate?

yeah kestrelflight. jaykestrel and hollywillow feat. kestrel and willow pestering each other about their significant others every half moon.

anything else you would like to share?

i'm really excited to explore riverclan from yet Another angle. i know it might be a while before i get here, but for me, like.

riverclan is interesting because of their whole "we're all divine" thing because on one hand. it's why they're so accepting. because they're all divine. if you're different, you can't be worse. you're just different.

it's baked into their spirituality.

but (a) that's not the same as feeling like you're an equal and accepted, and (b) jaykit isn't know to be divine, and he knows it would be so much easier if he could just see.

i don't particularly like narratives about jay wishing he could see in General, but it's definitely a pretty sore spot in this au specifically because it would make matters a lot easier.

anyway, it's a very "once you're one of us, you're one of us, but if you're not, we're all above you" sense.

(again, this isn't put on jaykit because he's a kit and hasn't had a chance, but it's not like he's not aware of that fact.)

but i created this because it's an interesting idea that has given me so many good stories to tell:

spottedleaf being accepted into a very spiritual clan as a very spiritual cat; the fact that it's not enough for her to be fated to go to riverclan, she is also shown to be accepted

mistyfoot hanging on to this idea that she is riverclan, she is divine; that no matter what happens, she is better than tigerstar, that what he is doing to her (and featherpaw) is fundamentally wrong, that there can be no true justification

leopardstar grappling with the fact that tigerstar ruins riverclan; that she is divine and he is mortal and yet he disgraces her, that she is riverclan and she has brought it down

(along with some unpublished ones ;3)

but now i get to add

jaypaw, riverclan by birth (although he doesn't know that), needing to prove himself; all of riverclan wanting to accept him but needing the spiritual significance of proof that he can't provide until he's reasonably old.

[kelpyart]

There's just something SO relaxing about finally drawing and designing canon characters how I always imagined them reading the books ;; Also- I have the other ones done (The Prophecies Begin and The New Prophecy) but wanted to do a few touchups on them before submitting! Anyways- super fun challenge! Next is going to be a wall of text as to why I designed them like I did and maybe some head-canons I have for them... Darkstripe - I gave him more of a dark gray/brown tint like the trash that he is. His eyes are SUPER PALE YELLOW just because I thought it'd be neat to be light that pale yellow, reflective color. I wish his relationship (half-brother) with Graystripe would have been developed more. I know you can't go into all relationships like that, but I feel like they are complete polar opposites with the same mother, so that could have been a really interesting sub-plot to be explored. My headcanon would be that he always looked down on Graystripe because of how his mother took another mate after his father died. Also he smells like stagnant pond water. Redtail - Ahhh Redtail, my boy. I haven't read Redtail's Debt, so I may be wrong on a few of these things but... Let's star with the design. You can't see the fullbody I have for him and Spottedleaf, but Redtail is large patches of ginger whereas my Spottedleaf is much more speckled. Other than that, they have the same color pallette! I 100% stan Trans Redtail. This is one of my favorite headcanons and I love it. And this can totally still work for him being Sandstorm's parent which is ok with me  Or not! That's fine too! I just stan Trans Redtail! Redtail is in love with Runningwind but when Sandstorm is born, Sandstorm's surrogate mother becomes Brindleface. Also, I absolutely would have loved to change the books so that Redtail, not Spottedleaf, was Fireheart's StarClan guide. ALSO Go read Redtail's Choice on Tumblr?! It's so good!? Like really! Go read it!!   Longtail - So I always had this idea in my head that Longtail was always pretty vain- always viewed himself as an extremely good looking character, so when Firepaw shredded his ear, more than anything, his pride was hurt, but also his good looks (at least, to him!). Longtail becoming deputy would have been so much great character development and I would have loved to see that- would have really showed his maturity away from Tigerstar/Darkstripe and really prove not only his loyalty to ThunderClan, but to Firestar and I LIVE for that. Every single Longtail design I see is 100% valid and I LOVE the ALL of the different designs in the community (but I am WEAK for cinnamon / cinnamon silver). He really did NOT want to mentor again after Swiftpaw, feeling that Swiftpaw's death was his fault- it really took some persuading for him to be willing to mentor again. After Longtail was blinded, Goldenflower took care of him, helping to guide him, encourage him, and describe his surroundings to him after they made it to the lake territory and they formed a really strong bond over him doing the best he could with Swiftpaw and both of their shared experiences with Tigerstar. Ace 100%. Yellowfang - I always LOVED Yellowfang in the original arc, but after that, my love for her kind of burned out a little...I didn't like how she *lied* to Squirrelflight saying that she would never be able to have kits and pretty much guilted her into raising the three but... I digress. In Squirrelflight's Hope, she literally gave the middle finger to Moth Flight about having kits and THEN making the rule for medicine cats not to have kits. Her relationship with Raggedstar was horrible, toxic, and borderline (if not fully) abusive and I hate it. The only real headcanon I have for her is that basically, Cinderpelt was the daughter that she had never had, so I like... love that. So, as Cinderpaw recovered from her accident, Yellowfang worked herself tirelessly trying to find any way that she could help Cinderpaw's body and soul heal. She talked and met with other medicine cats, studied the bones in prey, and other various methods, trying to figure out how to help the apprentice. She was tough on Fireheart, but always had a sweet spot for Cinderpaw, often taking her treats while Cinderpaw was recovering. Sandstorm - Sandstorm isn't the typical definition of beautiful but is beautiful in her own strong, independent, hard-working way. Her morals and ethics are what make her so beautiful. I completely agree that she is slightly larger than Fireheart, and much larger if he had the same length of fur that she does. She's a big buff and I love her for it. I completely wish she would have had a scene where she went absolutely feral on Tigerstar for killing both of her parents. Like wtf regardless of her family tree, Tigerstar literally killed Redtail, Runningwind, and Brindleface and she didn't beat his ass for it and I hate that.  Also- Sandstorm only had one litter because she hated being pregnant because she's too much of a busy-body and too risky during border skirmishes. She hated being told to sit out or rest while others were risking their lives. Also- small ear gang I love her Cinderpelt - Cinderpelt- my girl ;; A lady who deserved more but totally made the absolte best of the life she was given. Yellowfang made her into the hardened, no non-sense medicine cat she is and I adore her for that, even telling Tigerclaw to shut up. I love it. I read a headcanon once (which I fully support) that she was given her name Cinder-PELT after the Silver-PELT, to always remind her of her connection to StarClan and how she met her destiny like a true warrior. I personally hate CinderxFire. I don't like it one bit. She doesn't need a relationship to be the badass that she is. She's stocky and strongly built, contrary to a lot of medicine cats- she has the build of a warrior and the size to back it up. Also heck on the Erins for not exploring more about the relationship between Brightheart and Cinderpelt, being sisters and also Cinderheart having to take care of her after she was mauled by a dog and then subsequently named Lostface. I also wish I could have saw Cinderpelt take a chunk out of Bluestar for being so horrible and naming her beloved sister that. Also she was super honored to mentor her old mentor's daughter. I love it. Templated by my friend Jayie-The-Hufflepuff || The Prophecies Begin Design Challenge II Template

[warriorsredux]

RE: Feedback for the Redux.

(I wanted to give you really in-depth feedback. Unfortunately, it ended up being way longer than I anticipated. I figured it would be easier to send this as a submission rather than breaking it up into a million smaller asks. I hope that’s all right!)

Note: I put this under a readmore to save space, but I have read it all and thoroughly agree with it. Thank you so much for the feedback, man!

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I want to briefly talk about my personal relationship with Warriors - not because I want to talk about myself necessarily, but because I want to provide some relevant context. You see, I was first introduced to these books in 2004, about when I was nine years old. You could argue, in some ways, that these books defined a large part of my childhood, and were extremely influential into my teenage years and early adulthood. When I wasn’t fantasizing about colonies of talking feral cats, I was gleefully writing fanfics and roleplaying online. Those were my first tentative forays into writing, and would ultimately set me on the path to refine and hone those skills in the years to come. I was obsessed with the mythology and lore of this world, with the sprawling cast of characters, with the steady publication of new entries into the series.

Now, kids tend to not have the best critical thinking skills. Which is why it took until my late teenage years to realize that my cherished books were really, really not that great. The mythology and lore that I’d praised were starved of any creativity, steeped in the cliches of the fantasy genre, and prone to collapsing under their own weight when subjected to even the smallest amount of scrutiny. The characters that I adored? They were blighted with similar cliches, lacking in any sort of growth or development or depth; sustained only by archetypes and whatever retcons the authors thought would sell the most books, either through hype, drama, or fanservice. Exacerbating all of this was the publisher’s insistence on milking the franchise for whatever profit nostalgia could still yield. They weren’t writing more books because they had new, interesting ideas they wanted to explore - they did it because this series was (and still is) fucking lucrative. As I thought about these things more critically, and became more informed on social issues, it became impossible to unsee the uglier aspects of the franchise - the ableism, the queerbaiting and lack of representation, the depiction of minors and adults (Dustpelt and Ferncloud, Thistleclaw and Spottedleaf) having romantic or sexual relationships, the blind nationalism and eugenics/persecution of minorities (non-Clanborn cats) and characters of mixed descent (half-Clan cats). People far more informed and far more eloquent than myself have discussed those issues in-depth elsewhere, but suffice to say, I was understandably upset by these things. No amount of nostalgia could blind me to those flaws.

And yet, for some reason, I never really stopped loving Warriors. Or put more accurately - I never stopped loving the potential of Warriors. That was the thing that I kept coming back to. The wasted potential of a series depicting the lives of feral cats, and their brutal struggle to survive in the wilderness, all the while deeply immersed in their own complex societies and cultures. It became painfully clear to me that the thing I loved about Warriors was the sandbox nature of the franchise, and all the ways fans were able to explore that untapped potential. With that realization now achieved, Warriors slipped into the back of my mind, accruing cobwebs as the years passed. Occasionally those dormant thoughts stirred whenever I saw a piece of fanart on my dashboard, or I passed a new release while browsing the local Barnes & Noble. Sometimes I even entertained the fleeting thought of writing AU fics again. But by and large, Warriors had been retired from my thoughts.

And then, in 2017, I found the Redux.

While writing this segment I had several false starts, in no small part because I didn’t know what to talk about first. It was like someone had gone through my thoughts with a steel-toothed comb, and took every disappointment, every what if, and turned it into a reality. Holy shit, look at this blog! Look at the meta commentary! Look at all of the worldbuilding! I could clearly see just how much passion and attention to detail was put into developing the plot and the characters. How many hundreds of hours went into correcting the broken genetics of the canon characters. Suddenly, the Clans had culture - real, living, breathing culture! There was a pantheon of deities and demigods. A deliberate intention behind the naming tradition beyond slapping two words together because they sounded pretty or made for a trite pun. This. This was the story Warriors should have been. This lone blog managed to conceive an original lore for the Clans, while further developing the canon plots beyond their base elements. What three authors failed to do, one person achieved on their own.

You made forgettable characters interesting. And you made interesting characters unforgettable.

I lived for every scrap of content you created - the asks, the deconstructions, the amendment posts, the art, even the fucking shitposts (because they were just genuinely wholesome and funny). The Redux wasn’t just a source of entertainment, either - it introduced me to the idea of writing an AU that was sustained by meta-analysis, and grounded in critical reception of the series’ flaws (both technical and social). Your work eventually inspired me to create my own Redux-style worldbuilding/AU blog for a series that has similar issues to canon Warriors.

The Redux deserves all the praise it gets, and you should be extremely proud of what you’ve accomplished. Even if the Third Arc wasn’t finished or the Fourth started, it was still a helluva ride, one that I’m so glad I got to participate in.

But, of course, you asked for feedback, so I can’t spend the entirety of this post throwing roses at your feet. So, onto the constructive feedback.

I think a lot of my thoughts are going to echo what other people have previously said, but for me, the biggest setbacks in the Redux were the following:

[1] Pacing. This is going to sound weird, but this isn’t a criticism of the Redux’s length. Rather, it’s more about how that time was spent. While I really like how you adjusted aspects of the Redux’s plot in order to still tangentially align with the books’, it sometimes felt like the chapters were there just to connect points A and B. I knew this was a retelling of the original series, so I already had a vague idea of what the general storybeats would be. What appealed to me was how the story would get to those points. Let me give you an example: in Arc 1, we’re told in chapter 10 that Murkpelt is roaming the territories, and poses a threat to the Clans. Immediately in chapter 11 we’re taken to the scene where Firepaw finds her while escorting Spottedleaf. We’re told about ThunderClan’s efforts to track her prior, and about the looming tension in the wake of this invisible threat. But that’s the thing - we’re told that by the narration in just a paragraph or two. We’re not shown what that looks like. The setup is supposed to be everyone being on edge, but Bluestar’s lounging by the stump when the scene begins. It’s a little dissonant, and it has the unfortunate problem of contradicting the narration. It would’ve been so cool to see a chapter or two where Firepaw’s still trying to immerse himself into Clan life, and his questions are met with terse answers or impatience. Undercut his (and the reader’s) learning with other characters being brusque with him, or short-tempered, or something. And then that could lead into Greypaw or Ravenpaw consoling him and explaining why the situation is so serious. Then Firepaw could ask something like, “Have there ever been instances like this before with rogues?” Which could organically lead to a conversation where Greypaw or Ravenpaw bring up relevant lore/worldbuilding. It’s little stuff like that which would’ve helped with immersion and pacing. I think it would have balanced the two out, by providing pseudo-downtime where the audience experiences the world as the characters do. (If that makes sense.) Or, to provide another example: we never get to see Tres Idiots mentoring Snowpaw. In chapters 5 and 6 of Arc 3, we see Raventhroat struggling to develop a signing system he can use with his apprentice; and then, after a few chapters he’s perfectly narrating the Bright-Eyed Crow to Snowpaw. I think that showing us scenes where the two were actually working out the kinks would have done more to develop Raventhroat’s character arc. He went from being a meek, timid apprentice to an eloquent warrior, and him becoming a mentor is supposed to be a definite part of that journey. It would’ve have been so cool to have plot-relevant scenes broken up by smaller ones where we watch Raventhroat gain confidence through each small success he makes with his apprentice. I’m not sure if I’m conveying exactly what I want to say, but I guess the TL;DR would be something like - I would’ve gladly welcomed either more chapters, or longer ones, if it meant we got more scenes like this.

[2] Utilization of the worldbuilding. You mentioned this already in response to another ask, but if you could go back and change anything, it would be incorporating more lore/adhering the Redux to its lore more strongly. Your worldbuilding is perhaps the strongest part of the Redux by far. You gave us a conlang, traditions, folk stories, Clan stereotypes - so much fascinating material - but it feels like its integration was based solely on whether or not it was relevant to the plot at hand. Unless there was a reason why it was brought up, then we’d never get to see a ThunderClan cat freaking out near a ShadowClan seer and refusing to approach them at a Gathering. Or listen to Mistfoot share a poem with Greystripe and Fireheart (after being goaded into it by Silverstream). Or watch as Redtail politely interrupts the elders and asks for their opinion on an important matter. Or listen to the Clan getting together after a loved one dies and share stories about their life. Or watch as Sandpaw/Dustpaw use their age and seniority over Firepaw to terrorize him with stories of Yrrun and Terror. On one hand, I absolutely understand why a lot of lore was relegated exclusively to the Amendment section - it’s important to strike a balance between what’s interesting versus what’s relevant. You don’t wanna just throw worldbuilding trivia at the audience apropos of nothing. On the other hand, I really wish I’d seen a much larger integration of your worldbuilding into the story, because it’s so fascinating and so god damn good.

[3] Utilization of the characters. One of the things you tweaked, that I absolutely loved, was choosing to introduce Silverpaw in Arc 1 at a Gathering. Not only does it create a realistic basis for her friendship with Tres Idiots, but it fixes the canon’s issue of her saving Greystripe out of nowhere and then developing a relationship on that alone. That was fucking great! Same thing with Rainpath - it was so awesome for Fireheart to get a friend in another Clan (ShadowClan, of all Clans). It broke the mold, and their interactions were just delightful. But outside of those examples, sometimes it kinda felt like the side characters didn’t really exist? I remember an old piece of writing advice, but I can’t recall who it’s attributed to: “Treat your side characters like they think they’re the main characters.” Because they absolutely are. I might be some passing stranger in another person’s life, barely a blip on their radar, but I have my own vibrant story. Everyone does. In the Redux, it sometimes felt like minor or side characters weren’t living their own lives outside of their interactions with Fireheart and his friends. Mousefur’s the most fluent speaker of Fang in ThunderClan? Cool. How did she learn that skill? Who taught her? Does she have a friend in WindClan who’s been teaching her new words at Gatherings, or whenever they happen to cross paths while on border patrols near Four Trees? Not only is that character trivia interesting, but it could provide foreshadowing/become relevant later on. When the Clans meet to discuss how to deal with the dogs in Arc 3, perhaps someone suggests having their most fluent Fang speakers act as interpreters/diplomats, and try to broker some sort of peace/understanding with the dogs. Things like that. Basically, it would’ve been nice if Fireheart’s life intersected more with the goings-on of his Clanmates, or if his own goals/agenda were sometimes inconvenienced by the goals/agenda of others.

I think those are my major criticisms. More integration of lore, a slower/steadier pace that accommodates showing over telling, and finding ways to have the personal lives of minor characters interact with the story. Maybe adding in some additional subplots that are congruent with the main plots, and occur simultaneously, in order to keep chapters busy. That sort of thing. I hope what I provided wasn’t overwhelming in any way, and ends up being useful for either the Redux or any of your other writing projects.

As an aside, thank you. For creating this humble niche community within an even larger fandom. For asking for feedback from your readers. For being someone who makes mistakes, but eventually endeavors to learn from them, and ultimately, become a better person. I know this sounds kinda sappy, but I really do mean it. <3

(For the record I wrote this at like five in the morning, so if there are any grammatical errors I’ll be kicking myself in the ass for those.)

[puppypaw-wc]

Mothpool AU Rambles - Po3

I made some Mothpool hypokits.

Quailwing (named after Mothwing and equivalent to Jay) is a dilute chocolate mackerel tabby tom with blind blue eyes (blue is inherited from Mothwing).

Russetleaf (named after Leafpool and equivalent to Holly) is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-cat with green eyes (green is inherited from Leafpool who carried the gene from her parents... she’s also a demigirl cuz I said so).

Lynxcloud (equivalent to Lionblaze) is a fluffy reddish-orange mackerel tabby tom with amber eyes (inherited from Leafpool).

I got the genetics from a genetic generator (I changed them a bit though...) so they should be accurate.

Excuse me as I rant about an AU idea I had-

So basically.

Leafpool (at the time Leafpaw) ends up getting really close to Mothwing while Squilf is out and about.

Mothwing feels comfortable telling her that she’s trans and just didn’t want to tell anyone outside of RiverClan, because she already knew she was by the time she was apprenticed so why would anyone care? Plus she didn’t want to get discriminated against even though at this rate the Clans are used to same sex couples (Firestar and Graystripe are a thing, Sandstorm’s also there) and trans cats (Firestar, Sandstorm, probably a lot of others)...

Anyways, most of TNP goes the same, but then Leafpool ends up having kits with Mothwing instead... Mothwing is surprised to hear this, but the two of them, Squirrelflight and Ferncloud (who Leafpool decides should nurse the kits... Mothwing has other thoughts though) go to have the kits away from the Clans.

The first born is a chocolate she-kit (you’ll see...). Before even seeing his eyes or anything Leafpool knows that she should be named Quailkit, so she is.

Next is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-kit. Mothwing names this one Russetkit, having heard of ShadowClan’s deputy and her friendship with her mother Sasha.

Lastly is a fluffy red she-kit (they trans boiiiiiiiiiiii). While Leafpool wants to name her Mothkit, Mothwing advises against it and Squirrelflight decides to name her Lynxkit.

When it comes time to go home though, Lynxkit has established a bond with Mothwing, who already wanted at least one of the kits to come to RiverClan. Leafpool bids her daughter and Mothwing farewell and brings Quailkit and Russetkit to ThunderClan.

Quailkit soon decides that he/him pronouns fit him better after getting to know his grandfather Firestar, and in RiverClan Lynxkit does the same upon getting to know Mothwing, who he has a close bond with, better.

The only cats who know the truth in RiverClan are Leopardstar, Willowpaw and Mothwing, while in ThunderClan many more know the truth - Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw (vaguely;he knows the Three aren’t his and Squilf’s kits but doesn’t know who they are), Firestar, Sandstorm and the nursery permaqueens.

The Three get apprenticed. Russetpaw is excited to be a medicine cat apprentice, while her brother Quailpaw is determined to become a warrior and overcome his disability. Meanwhile in RiverClan, Lynxpaw is excited to become a warrior, despite his crush on Willowpaw slowing his progress down a bit.

Now here, Quailpaw and Russetpaw don’t switch roles. While Russetpaw does still struggle with herb meanings and such, Leafpool gives her ways to remember them, through little rhymes or short songs. Quailpaw gets training in his dreams from Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Cinderpelt (though Cinder’s presence is weaker due to her also being by Cinderpaw’s side as a guardian angel/imaginary friend to her, more on that later), learning how to hunt through both sight and smell.

Eventually Russetpaw goes to RiverClan to make sure everything’s okay, before getting stuck due to Twoleg doing... I don’t know what they were doing during Dark River. During her time in RiverClan she bonds with both Lynxpaw and Willowpaw, the latter of whom she was already close to due to medicine cat meetings.

Now, in the canon books, Lionpaw meets with Heatherpaw in the tunnels. Here, however, instead we have Quailpaw meeting with Minnowpaw... I’m not sure where. Perhaps they were exploring ThunderClan territory and accidentally overstepped the borders, Quailpaw falling into the tunnels and them LARPing there? Anyways, both want to be warriors despite both having short fuses. Unlike in the canon books where after saving the WindClan kits Lionpaw and Heatherpaw’s friendship fades away, Quailpaw and Minnowpaw keep being friends, talking at Gatherings and occasionally asking Russetpaw, Willowpaw, Leafpool or Mothwing to tell them something or give them something when they come over to help. The kits they save here are Sneezekit and Mallowkit.

And as in the canon books, Lynxpaw trains in the Dark Forest. Tigerstar mentoring him honestly makes sense to me - there’s probably been several leaders named Tigerstar who have been colored like him given Tigerheart. Anyways, Tigerstar tells him he just wants to help him hone in on his powers. Of course, he wants to, so he trains in the Dark Forest.

Oh, also Russetpaw does have a power! At first Quailpaw tells her about his power and she pretends to be the one with it. However, after a bit, Leafpool figures out the facade and confronts Quailpaw about it. Russetpaw’s power takes longer to manifest, but she does have it, and it’s getting cats to tell the truth, basically hypnotizing them. She uses it a bit before she runs away into the tunnels to get cats to confess to breaking the warrior code, but after the reveal she decides that maybe she shouldn’t do that and instead uses it to figure out who’s training in the Dark Forest.

Anyways, onto Outcast!

Due to Brook and Stormfur formerly taking refuge in RiverClan, Leopardstar decides that one of their cats should go to the mountains as well alongside Crowfeather, Breezepaw, Squirrelflight, Tawnypelt, Quailpaw, Russetpaw and Brambleclaw. Lynxpaw volunteers, and his mentor (Dawnflower, Minnowpaw’s mom) therefore goes as well. Mothwing considers going, but ultimately doesn’t, instead deciding to teach Lynxpaw some herbs due to not fully trusting Russetpaw’s herb skills. He becomes a bit interested in them, but not enough to become a meddie.

After watching Lynxpaw during the battle with the rogues, Quailpaw tells him and Russetpaw a prophecy.

There will be three, kin of a great leader’s kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. Look for the sharp-eyed quail. Listen out for the lynx’s roar. After both of these events have come and gone, peace will come on a gentle russet leaf.

Russetpaw is certain that she and Quailpaw are two of the cats in the prophecy, simply believing that Lynxpaw’s prefix being mentioned is just a coincidence due to the commonality of the prefix.

Lynxpaw doesn’t know what to think about it.

The prospect of being important excites Quailpaw. The cats who doubt him won’t any longer when they find out he’s a prophecy cat! Or at least, that’s what he hopes...

Eclipse goes about the same... aside from Lynxpaw not wanting to fight Quailpaw! He just became friends with him, and might be in the prophecy with him!

Sol tells Lynxpaw that he can explain the prophecy. Lynxpaw decides that he should tell Mothwing and Willowpaw about it, and firstly tells the latter of the two.

Willowpaw and him both agree that the great leader is likely Firestar, but could also be one of the original leaders, leaving Heatherpaw and Breezepaw as possible candidates. Lynxpaw tells her that Quailpaw told him the prophecy, and she says that they’re possible candidates too. He starts to have low self esteem after this, but Willowpaw comforts him and the two basically get together but they don’t realize cuz they’re dumbasses.

The two of them then go to tell Mothwing. At first she’s hesitant to believe them - she’s never really seen StarClan as much of a higher force then the living cats, they’re just dead cats, they’re as reckless and at times mouse-brained as they were when they were alive. 

But she sees the glow in Lynxpaw’s eyes. It reminds her of what she loved about Leafpool. She sees Leafpool in the son she could never treat as her own. Believing Willowpaw to have received the prophecy (mouse-dung, we forgot to tell her that Quailpaw told me the prophecy), at the next Moonpool meeting she gives her her medicine cat name - Willowshine.

Due to how valiantly he fought in the battle, Lynxpaw is given his warrior name of Lynxcloud. Minnowpaw is given her warrior name at this time as well, as is Pebblepaw, with those two being named Minnowtail and Pebblefoot like in canon.

Quailpaw is also given his warrior name by Firestar, that being Quailwing after Mothwing.

Long Shadows is mostly the same except for one minor change, that being that Jay’s Wing is now named Quail’s Feather. Flamepaw, Dawnpaw and Tigerpaw help the Three fake an omen to get Blackstar to believe in StarClan again like in the canon books. The fire scene is also slightly different... but anyways, Russetpaw gets her full name of Russetleaf.

Now the fire scene... the whole reveal happens but afterwards Squilf reassures Russetleaf and Quailwing that she loves them as if they were her own kits, and that Brambleclaw does as well. 

Quailwing takes a while to accept it, still being confused about his power... StarClan has given cats powers before, but for all he knows he’s just a kittypet or rogue or loner who was brought to the Clan at a young age. And how does Lynxcloud fit into this? Eventually though, he accepts it, deciding to try to help whoever the Three are with whatever the prophecy requires them to do.

Russetleaf, however, can’t accept it. She’s a disgrace to her Clan and has no right to be a medicine cat. She should’ve known she wasn’t in the prophecy, she doesn’t have a power at all... Cinderheart notices something’s wrong and talks to her about it, and they get together and she starts to feel better, even if she realizes that she’s breaking the code... she’s stopped caring anymore.

Eventually though, Russetleaf’s power appears and she’s confused. She accidentally uses it without realizing after Quailwing finds out that Leafpool’s their mother, in an attempt to figure out who their father/sire is. Also yes, I did shuffle events... partially cuz I forgot the order they happen in.

Russetleaf carried the blood red berries in her jaws as she entered camp. No one questioned her, though she saw a few cats giving her weird looks. I have to do this, she thought.

As she entered the medicine cat den, Leafpool looked up at her, fear in her eyes.

“Russetleaf, what are you-” Russetleaf cut her off.

“I know now,” she hissed, “Mother. I may not know who our father is, but-”

The medicine cat cut her off. The tortioseshell tabby noticed that her eyes looked... focused on something else, as if in a trance.

“While she’s not your father, per-say, Mothwing sired you, Quailwing and Lynxcloud,” her mother mewed, “now, may I please leave the den?”

Her eyes looked normal again halfway through her second sentence. Still confused, Russetleaf nodded, allowing Leafpool to exit the den.

What did I just do?

She experiments with her power, seeing who may’ve broken the warrior code. Mousewhisker (relationship with Minnowtail), Squirrelflight (hiding the truth), Brambleclaw (same as Squilf), heck, even Firestar (giving prey to RiverClan, giving Yellowfang prey and eating some of it before bringing it to the Clan, hiding Graystripe’s relationship with Silverstream, probably more)! ... all of them admit it.

She begins to feel... power-hungry. While the Dark Forest has been unable to recruit her due to her loyalty to ThunderClan, they are able to do one thing: will her to kill Ashfur. Leafpool had taught her some fighting techniques she’d learned from Cinderpelt and Mothwing, she knows a decent amount, and uses them to kill Ashfur. To keep her Clan safe.

This starts to weigh her down. She feels terrible. She broke the code... but she did it to keep her Clan safe! ... didn’t she?

She can’t keep it inside any longer. She tells everyone the truth at a Gathering. Mothwing and Leafpool are exposed. Firestar doesn’t want to make her give up her position, but Leafpool insists on it, scared of what Russetleaf could do. Leopardstar, who’s always been a code junkie even if she made two half-Clan cats deputy, made one of Tigerstar’s kits temporarily deputy even though she (I think) knew he was Firestar’s son, allowed one of Tigerstar’s kits who was formerly a rogue to be a medicine cat, relinquishes Mothwing’s position.

Lynxcloud says he wants to talk to his siblings, and they all go to the tunnels. Russetleaf needs to tell someone what she did... so she tells her brothers. And she runs in. And it seems as if she’s gone... dead...

But two young kits have potential.

[warriorsfireandwater]

🔥 The Three

I'm not sure how popular/unpopular these opinions are but here they are!

Overall: Cool concept, poorly executed. The powers of the three had literally no bearing on the outcome of the battle, the reason for them having powers was "IDK, something old decided it". It would have been interesting if their powers weren't necessary for the battle and this WAS a plot point - such as StarClan warriors desperately finding a way to impart powers onto some cats to stop the battle and making up a prophecy about it - but if they had been three regular warriors the Clans still would have won.

Jayfeather: I'm really... tired of him and his attitude. His grumpy boy routine was entertaining when he was a POV character but now it just makes me roll my eyes. He has NO character development. I'm not saying he has to mellow out completely and become a sweet guy, but he genuinely... just doesn't have an arc that requires some kind of development? Which feels silly considering the personality he has and the conflict he has as a character early on. Any major life decision has been forced on him and he just goes along with it (complaining is not actual conflict). He should have either a) said "get bent" to Spottedleaf and kept trying to become a warrior despite the challenges OR b) became a medicine cat but learned to love the role and understand it's importance... but he does neither and so his conflict here is just irrelevant and not compelling. He never fights anyone on what he wants to do, he just makes mean comments about everyone and never grows up in any meaningful way. Also sidenote I find his romance with Half Moon really weird... same with Hollyleaf and Fallen Leaves. They're VERY long dead :|. They're not bad ideas but they're not really executed in an exciting enough way to really be taken as seriously as they are, IMO.

Lionblaze: Really really bland and could have been SO much more interesting. He had serious aggression problems hinted at throughout PO3, but then they just... don't mean anything. He should have had some kind of a foil to his power because he really IS the most powerful of the three. It would have made his arc much more interesting if he had some kind of internal conflict, because he has even less conflict going on than Jayfeather does.

Hollyleaf: I love Hollyleaf and I wish she hadn't died. She dies a hero which is nice but I feel like... it kind of undermines the whole point of her making a return to the Clans and trying to do better. She had the most compelling story to me - a character obsessed with upholding the code totally dissing it by murdering someone after her whole worldview is shattered by the truth about her parents - and it could have been resolved in a more impactful way. It also, while surprising, wasn't the most shocking of the OG three to kill off, considering she'd already been 'dead' for almost all of OotS. I think it would have been really surprising if it had been Lionblaze that had died, and would have given a pretty solid moment of "oh crap, maybe we CANT win this battle if the Dark Forest can kill our unbeatable warrior". It's not like they already hadn't set up that he CAN be hurt by DF warriors, as he had been hurt in his dreams before.

Dovewing: I used to hate Dovewing but looking back I really like her. I don't like her as much in AVoS, but I think she got a lot of shit from the fandom in OotS for no good reason. She had way less time than the og three to adjust to having powers (I'm pretty sure she found out the day she was apprenticed), and didn't have siblings that had the same experience to fall back on. She was VERY young and not prepared to take on the burden of saving the Clans. I'm not a fan of her and Tigerheart, but I'm not surprised she ran into a relationship with him. I think it made sense for her character and provided relief that she REALLY needed from ThunderClan.

[maplewind-au]

Retrospective Author’s Notes

I just crossposted this note to the Wattpad and AO3 copies of Maplestar’s Light, but I’m going to post it here, too.

Hi there! My name is Razeru. First of all, thank you very much for reading my story!

I think, if you've read my story, you can surmise that I love Mapleshade. She's grown to be one of my favourite characters in Warrior Cats; her story, narratively, is written the best - in my opinion - out of most of the super editions and novellas.

Keep in mind, these words are coming from someone who grew up with these books, and also gets big mad about the things the Erins have pulled on other characters, like Squirrelflight (specifically Squilf, actually. They keep doing my girl dirty, and I'm so angry).

I took a read through my story again recently, and passed through the comments both on this Wattpad copy of the story, and the AO3 mirror. I really and truly appreciate all the love, but some people did seem to misunderstand the intention behind some things in my story, so I feel like I owe a bit of an explanation to you, my readers.

I offer this explanation because I've chosen to abandon the MapleWind AU entirely. There's too much in retrospect that I'm unhappy with, too many story ideas that don't connect narratively - it just makes a poor story. So, this is basically a big spoiler chapter for what would have happened, if I continued.

The remainder of this letter is just going to be me giving a word vomit about this story, so feel free to skip down to the bottom if you're only curious about closing remarks or projects surrounding other upcoming warriors works.

Alright. First and foremost, I want to address something specific. Mapleshade's story, as it was in canon, is a multidimensional story that a lot of people see as black-and-white. I, personally, see it as a fantastic narrative where not a single character is in the right, at least not in the context of the Clans - or morally, in some cases. This being said, a lot of the arguments about Mapleshade are usually "she's absolutely terrible and deserved what she got" / "she did absolutely nothing wrong and everyone else should be suffering" - both of which are... Very, very dangerous views to take on any person or character. When I wrote Maplestar's Light, my intention was to explore the idea where a few cats stepped out of the norm that seemed to affect this specific generation of the Clans and offered sanctuary.

WindClan has always felt like the most lax Clan out of the four, to me. With their history of welcoming in strangers and making kindly bargains with the other Clans in their times of need, it made sense to me that if a wandering cat passed out on their territory, they would reach out and help them. I chose Heatherstar specifically for this story because she was such a revolutionary, and wasn't afraid to shoot down any cat's words if she felt someone was going to get hurt.

Moreover, this AU explores the idea that instead of sleeping in Myler's barn and then going on her rampage, Mapleshade simply collapsed into grief - so Ravenwing, Frecklewish, and Appledusk all survive. Temporarily.

While Mapleshade is taken into WindClan, Mapleshade's kits are restless, and it's their turn to be angry - assuming StarClan spirits know everything (and it's heavily implied, in the first series, that they do), they pull strings just like the canonical iteration of their mother would. Ravenwing, Frecklewish, Appledusk, and - moreover - Oakstar, all suffer painful deaths as a result of the angry StarClan kits. To add insult to injury, all four lose their lives to the river while patrolling it - or are tricked into falling in. The kits drag them down until they drown.

Ravenwing and Oakstar are the only two who are able to make it to StarClan themselves, if only because of the good acts they've done to balance out the karma. The kits, however, are able to swing judgement on Frecklewish, who attacked their mother, insulted them, and was fine to watch them die, and Appledusk, who was willing to have them to begin with, who failed to save them.

This is unhealthy point of view, but they died as kits. All they know is the anger and betrayal.

On to the future.

Maplestar and Palebird have the three kits; Finchkit, Larkkit, and Firekit. Some people didn't seem to get it, and I thought I wrote it to be obvious, but Firekit is supposed to be THE Firestar in the future. With Maplestar at the helm of WindClan, ShadowClan is unable to drive them out. ThunderClan, however, is much weaker after their constant battles with RiverClan and the loss of not only Redtail, but many other great warriors. ThunderClan is driven out instead; WindClan, in their graciousness, would allow them to share the territory until something can be done about ShadowClan's terrible leader, and three Clans would unite against the one to protect their way of life.

During their time in WindClan's camp, Firepaw would grow close to the ThunderClan apprentices Ravenpaw, Graypaw and Sandpaw. Following the battle against Brokenstar, not only do Firepaw and his siblings get their warrior names, but so do the ThunderClan apprentices who participated (Sandstorm and Dustpelt included). Fireheart realizes during the night of his vigil that he doesn't want to lose his ThunderClan friends, and while meeting his family on the battlefield would be painful, he would feel worse fighting Graystripe or Ravenflight - the latter tom being the only cat Fireheart has met that makes his heart flutter.

The following day, as ThunderClan returns home, Fireheart goes with them. Yellowfang, in turn, has joined ThunderClan, having been a crucial asset to getting them in and out of ShadowClan. In return for the WindClan warrior, Spottedleaf stays; Spottedleaf had been attacked by a ShadowClan warrior the day before the battle, but Hawkheart protected her with his life. Feeling indebted, she swore to finish training Barkwing and serve WindClan just as she did ThunderClan.

The rest of the story would have gone similarly to canon, with a few minor changes; for one, WindClan and ThunderClan would forever have a close bond, not only through the blood of their Clanmates, but also through Bluestar and Maplestar, who exchanged each other's stories and bonded over how similar they were. Cinderpelt would have still gotten disabled, but through saving the ShadowClan apprentice Littlepaw from a monster; while she picks up healing from Yellowfang, she remains a warrior in spite of her leg. Swiftpaw narrowly survives, and Brightpaw lives with her scarring still, taking inspiration from Cinderpelt. Fireheart and Ravenflight become mates and have kits - Squirrelflight and Gingerpool.

I had further plans for TNP and PO3, but they're sort of lost to time at this point. The general ideas surrounded Brambleclaw - renamed Brambleflower - taking after his mother instead of his father, and being close friends with Squilf, but not mates. Gingerpool and Crowfeather do have kits, and Squilf does take them, but claims they were loner kits that she chose to raise. Bramble was their nursery parent, having chosen to be a queen instead of a warrior, and took care of them while Squilf went about being a warrior, only tuning in to feed them and sleep with them. Jay would have become a warrior named Jayclaw and Holly, an albino in this AU, would go on to be Gingerpool's apprentice and become Hollysnow. Jay is blind, and Holly is a selective mute. Lion would still have his powers of strength, but use them unwisely, and he would be the one to wind up having a crisis and revealing the secrets of his origin before disappearing into the caves.

The general idea for the OOTS arc of this AU was to give Ivy powers and still have her train in the Dark Forest, under Lionblaze - who is very much still alive, but misaligned. Dovewing would be given the opportunity as well, and only take it when she learns Tigerheart is also training there. Their struggles would surround a constant sibling rivalry, one that would deepen once Jay and Holly figure out Ivy is the third cat. I also threw around the idea of a deaf Ivypool, either from birth or caused by something much later - just to complete the "See/Speak/Hear No Evil".

The underlying, long plot to the AU was that Petalkit, Larchkit, and Patchkit effectively replaced Canon Mapleshade. Maplestar recovered, then seemingly forgot about her previous kits and replaced them with Fire, Finch and Lark. Petal, Larch and Patch want stupid, special Firestar and his bloodline to suffer for being their replacements. Technically, they were still spirits of StarClan, but pulled the strings in the Dark Forest.

Oh, boy. Those sure were a lot of words, huh.

I hope I'm not disappointing anyone by discontinuing this story. Again, looking back on it, I'm very unhappy with the way I was handling certain subjects and aspects of the story - and I'd rather kill it before I get carried away again. I've always held the belief that taking time and writing a more consise and well-placed narrative is much better than writing it quickly and breaking characters and morals. Mapleshade is a character I do want to do justice by, and Warrior Cats is a great sandbox to play in!

All that being said, I am still writing Warriors works. On AO3, I've published a couple smaller one-off stories that explore the idea of Tigerclaw not getting twisted up by Thistleclaw, and getting Scourge to join ThunderClan instead. You're welcome to read them if you haven't yet!

And I'm not done with Mapleshade, either. I'm currently working on a new, seperate Warriors rewrite based on the same time (with better allegiances); the working title for it, right now, is Falling Petals. I don't want to give too much away, but if there's enough interest, I might post a teaser excerpt to this story! There's no telling when I'll be finished with it, but I would much rather publish a finished work in full than post it by chapter and run the risk of losing interest or being unhappy with what I've put out.

A final project I'm working on is a personal Warrior Cats story called Rising Storm - it'll surround some OC Clans and Characters instead of rewriting canon material, and I'm looking for a main platform to post it on when I crack into it! If you're interested, I could use some beta readers when I start working on it, so please get in touch if you want to help out! If you know any non-Wattpad or AO3 websites I could publish the story on, please do let me know. I'll likely crosspost here, but I don't actively post on here too often, so I'd rather it not be the primary host.

I think that's everything I wanted to say! Again, thank you so much for your continued interest in my work. If you'd like to see more of what I do, look for the user 'ghastimafrix' on Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, deviantART, AO3, and toyhou.se! I do a lot more than just write Warriors, and I'm always happy to chat.

Stay frosty, y'all!!

[curiositys-cat]

okay SO we know that warriors thrives on forbidden love-- and my thoughts are that while that's not a bad thing, interclan and medicine cat love is getting a little old. But with Starclan more present than ever, the possibility of a whole new level of forbidden romance occurs-- between a cat in Starclan, and a cat in the clans. This has been explored a little, with spottedleaf and fallen leaves and half moon, but I think the idea has a lot more potential if really pushed. These romances were neither fleshed out nor ever realized in a sense meaningful to the plot for more than the drama of their inevitable separation.

So-- my proposal. Two cats, one living, one dead, who didn't know each other in life, grow close as the dead walks in their dreams. The living cat has a message they must carry, or a small journey to complete. Once it is over, Starclan rules that they should be sent no more guidance, as their part is done-- the cat sending the prophecies, who has grown curious about the living cat, and maybe even started to feel for them, disagrees.

So the cat from Starclan watches them go about their daily life and slowly grows to know the living-- not reaching out, because it is forbidden, but longing for a chance to speak to the cat they have felt like they've known for so long. Finally, a crisis occurs, and Starclan elects a messenger and a cat to receive the message. The dead cat is chosen, but the living is not. Dead cat sneaks out to the dreams of living cat and gives them the message instead; things go poorly as a result. Living cat reaches out to confront dead cat in their next dream, pulling on the bond that the dead cat has spent the last year's forming. This is the start of their actual relationship. Not romantic yet, but new and exciting and most certainly not allowed.

To what extent will the dead cat go in order to join their lover with the living? We know cats can be reincarnated, and we know that they can be possessed. We know that with sufficient reason, the dead can appear physically enough to fight a battle. This gives a huge potential for a villain plot-- or likewise, perhaps trying to incur the death of the living cat in order to make them join the dead. Maybe the tragic reuniting of the two when something goes wrong, after they've decided that what they have isn't healthy; maybe spending too much time with the dead is like to kill you, and living cat doesn't want to die. Maybe it means unfettered access to Starclan, a bit like Jayfeather has, and gaining some of the real power that they wield, able to give prophecy unrestricted, to grant lives or send dreams or even change the way that fate will spool-- there's a lot of vague lore with Starclan that could go pretty far, story wise.

And think of the kits! If they could exist, what could they be?

It's a little odd as an au, but I think it's got a lot of interesting ideas that could be pushed to some tasty extremes when things go wrong.

[cloudbatcave]

Firestar’s Quest - REMIXED (10.2)

and we’re back on the bullshit. 

“I promise you,” he added, “we’ll do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t settle in our territory.”

brah it was already there. you’re going to have to kill it. or just wish really hard that it goes elsewhere. you can’t be patrolling for it always, that’d be a waste of time and manpower. catpower?

“Ferncloud didn’t look convinced”

Yeah I wouldn’t be either, what with the whole “let’s not kill the badger now and just follow it for some reason despite it being a very clear threat that already murdered one of us.”

“They’re badly shaken,” Graystripe commented

I for one always sleep better at night knowing that my leader makes well-informed, decisive choices.

“This is a bad time for them to lose their mother.”

Is there ever a good time to lose your mother? Sandstorm’s logic either operates on a level I don’t understand, or more likely, it doesn’t exist.

Firestar nodded sadly. “It’s the first cat we’ve lost since the battle with BloodClan. I think it’s hard for all of us to understand that even if we’re at peace with the other Clans, the forest isn’t completely safe.”

That makes perfect se - oh, no, wait, all of these cats know full well what Clan life is like and know it’s often dangerous and harsh because they were raised this way.

No, Firestar, it’s because death is a sad and traumatic thing as your narration has told me repeatedly and yet you put forth THIS bullshit reasoning instead.

It’s the inconsistency that bothers me more than anything! I’m used to Firestar being an idiot, but usually what he says and does at least matches up with his internal monologue. Not so in this chapter, apparently.

“She was much loved.” Dappletail rasped, smoothing the gray warrior’s fur with one forepaw. “And far too young to die. She had much more to give her Clan.” 

“I know,” Firestar agreed, feeling hollow with grief.

See? Dappletail the minor character gets decent dialogue that shows her emotions. Firestar does not, for some inscrutable fucking reason, even though he’s the protagonist and thus the one we’re supposed to sympathize with. Spoiler alert, but I sympathize more with Sootpaw in this one chapter than I will with him during the whole damn book.

That’s four hundred more pages in which I will feel flickers of sympathy that are always rapidly extinguished by whatever massively stupid thing he does next. 

“He had been with Willowpelt when the badger attacked Sootpaw, but he had been unable to save her. Call yourself a leader? He asked himself savagely.”

Oh, would you look at that, finally some internal narration that isn’t as cardboard as a rice krispies box! Tragically it won’t last. 

Shame, because if Firestar’s self-doubt, guilt, and helplessness over his limitations as leader were ever explored in any depth he might actually be sympathetic. He’s young! Practically the only reason he’s in charge is because everyone more qualified conveniently died off! It’s very reasonable for him to be feeling this way.

But they’re never lingered on, just touched on in throwaway lines that get passed over because status quo is god and Firestar must forever remain a blank slate for me to scream at.

He decides he can’t leave his Clan to look for SkyClan, because even if he can’t protect them from everything, they need him. Sensible!

“Firestar looked up at Silverpelt, wondering if the starry warriors approved of his decision. But the glittering specks of light seemed very far away, and they gave no answer.”

It’s actually something of a sad moment to see Firestar looking to StarClan for validation, as is his habit, despite knowing they’ve lied to him, and it makes sense because he’s desperate right now. 

but naturally by the end of the book his faith will be totally restored and nothing changes, because god forbid someone be negatively changed by a crisis and also remain a titular good guy.

Willowpelt gets buried. Firestar goes to sleep and, not unusually, is dreaming. For some reason instead of Spottedleaf, his former lust, we get Silverstream, Graystripe’s dead lust and baby mama. 

She catches him a fish, and tells him that the life she gave him for loyalty is for what he knows to be right.

“I always knew it was right for me and Graystripe to be together, even though we came from different Clans. There are some things that are too big to be contained in the warrior code.”

...right, that romance that essentially killed you because you wound up having your children on your own to hide them being half-Clan and bleeding out. I’m glad that felt right, Silverstream.

I’m not going to comment on whether she’s right or not, the morality of the warrior code is its own big discussion I don’t feel like having right now, but the validity of this advice is...low, at best, because it doesn’t really mean much.

You could argue Firestar should go help SkyClan, or what’s left of it, because it’s the right thing to do regardless of his other obligations. However, as he points out earlier, his first duty is to his Clan. Not that SkyClan is less worthy of help, but going to help them is a gamble; while he has lives to use up, leaving his Clan would immediately make them more vulnerable to attack by other Clans. 

But Silverstream addresses none of this and basically tells him to be a Disney princess and follow his heart.

Not useful advice for a guy who, as we just got a very graphic reminder of, is responsible for several lives.

Firestar wakes up and ponders this sage wisdom from beyond the grave.

“The warrior code did not account for everything that happened beneath the stars, and now he had to make amends for what the other four Clans had done so long ago. Since a StarClan cat had come to tell him this, was it the will of his warrior ancestors that the lost clan be restored? Perhaps StarClan even felt guilty for what they had allowed to happen.”

There’s a lot to unpack here.

While this is true - naturally, there are other morality systems and ways of life out there - Firestar is, as Clan leader, expected to both obey and enforce the code. There’s literally a tenet in it saying that the word of the Clan leader is the warrior code. He’s slightly important, both as a symbol and in genuine power given his nine lives and authority.

So it’s not really optional for him, just sayin’. 

Also, I don’t buy this turnaround from StarClan for a second, mostly for reasons I’ve detailed in past blogs (namely Bluestar’s attitude toward the whole thing, but admittedly Bluestar is terrible and I probably shouldn’t judge everyone just because she behaved badly) and while I wouldn’t cite guilt as a reason, I would say that StarClan wants Firestar to do the dirty work because they know they can easily influence him by using people he trusts to whisper in his ear (Spottedleaf, Silverstream).

I wind up being basically proven right later, but that’s a ways off.

Additionally, this raises the question of - just how united is StarClan? We’ve seen them disagree before, and Bluestar said the complete opposite when Firestar visited the Moonstone. Does Silverstream speak for them all now, or just herself? Is this genuine remorse from her, all of them, or just manipulation agreed on by her and them? Is she being coerced? 

We never know, because StarClan is always assumed to be morally in the right; even during this book, the idea that they can make mistakes doesn’t stick, because the characters still rely on them wholeheartedly. It’s annoying and it prevents a lot of exploration that would actually make them interesting.

StarClan’s approval itself is fairly worthless in-universe in regards to their poor judgment and general impotency, but I’m treating it as meaningful in the context of Firestar’s belief and how they’re using it to push him one way or the other. 

doing actual in-depth analysis makes these posts longer (who could’ve known??) so I’m once again stopping here and I’ll hopefully finish in the third part.

[mallowstep]

In the seer au, with Jaypaw going to Windclan and working with Leafpool, would that lead to trouble later on if cats find out about him being Leaf/Crow's kit? Because seers aren't supposed to be in their families clan?

i don't want to say too much about it, lest i show my cards for the next few fics, but uh. okay i'm going to talk about the end of "it's been promised to another" which, if you're not up to date with stoalg, well (a) spoilers but (b) the end of ibpta has discussion both of death/exile and abortion.

anyway so saying the problem here is seers aren't supposed to be in their family's clan is like saying, "yellowstone just erupted, and also there's a power outage."

i mean yeah those two things Sure Are problems, but one of them makes the other basically irrelevant.

as far as the cats are concerned, jaypaw isn't related to crowfeather and leafpool. (short of like. he couldn't have kits with a half sibling that would be Bad.) but squilf adopted leafpool's kits, leafpool's kinship ties are broken, that makes them squilf's kits.

so Even If there wasn't a bigger problem, the being leaf's kit thing wouldn't be an issue.

she didn't even nurse them for longer than like. a quarter moon?

anyway. crowfeather is definitely irrelevant here. he didn't raise them in the Slightest, he's not their dad.

(they have no father, they have two moms. squilf and mothwing. mothwing isn't supposed to be a parent but uh. well. she Loves Them a Lot a Lot a Lot.)

but yeah, nominally at least, the cats wouldn't hold jaypaw's bio parentage against him in any way.

being in windclan is definitely highly sus for him, because they take this stuff The Most seriously, but they also. so as a reminder, the status at the end of iaffl is

mothwing and flamepaw in thunderclan

spottedleaf and kestrelpaw in riverclan

cinderpelt and willowpaw in shadowclan

leafpool and jaypaw in windclan

(some of them may have their full names but i'm being quick.)

and so there's really no possible solution to the problem? like. okay, so...jaypaw and willowpaw are a Potential swap, since both flamepaw and kestrelpaw results in someone returning to their birth clan, but shadowclan wouldn't want to give her up because she knows all the Clan Specific Deal. (jaypaw would know stuff for windclan, but significantly less.)

anyway, you see the difference between ideals and politics here. ideally there wouldn't be a problem, but the clans would not like it.

but of course! leafpool is a seer. and so figuring out What to Do about Her is way much very much the bigger problem.

at the end of ibpta, she basically has three choices: die, be exiled, or abort her kits. she chooses option four: try to avoid her other choices.

like, the clans are uh, very much Not Pro Choice. okay general reminder: my warriors worldbuilding does not reflect my views about the world. i am not trying to build a good world, i am trying to build an interesting one.

anyway.

when your infant mortality rate is ca. 50%, every kit's life is precious. killing kits (including unborn ones) is a crime punishable by Instant Death.

leafpool is a seer so who fucking knows what would happen, because harming a seer is punishable by anything from a Big Time Long Term punishment to Exile to Death. highly dependent on the level of harm (accident, accident but serious, any level of intentional harm), but like. cats know who the seers are. it's important to know before you bring an apprentice to battle.

god it's been Ages since i rambled about stolag's world building. mothwing's piece is like. the biggest chance to expand on that and it's through such a low-battle time it doesn't come up. why must i be like this.

so yeah so! who knows what would happen bc by that logic you get: leafpool kills kits → leafpool must be killed → leafpool either has to kill herself or whoever kills her must be killed

(you might be saying, "wouldn't a murderer for punishment purposes get immunity?" to which i say, "this is not that type of world. the rules about seers trump every other rule. even where it doesn't make sense.")

anyway, obviously that's not super relevant because that doesn't happen.

if leafpool was discovered when she was pregnant or nursing, the kits would have been given to a windclan queen. they may or may not be told about their birth, but the other clans certainly wouldn't.

leafpool would be exiled or killed. it's not super clear what would happen, but either way, she would lose everything.

kestrelpaw is the oldest apprentice, i believe, but willowpaw would be chosen for obvious reasons. windclan is probably best equipt to deal with this Particular situation, because windclan elders share the burden of knowing the whole hymn. so willowpaw would have people to teach her everything she needs to know.

willowpaw would receive her full name after learning the full hymn, and windclan would have to trust that the stars would guide her to oversee the correct rites. (singing days, fasts, and approving names of kits.)

(and who would name her? she would be instructed to pray on it and starclan would give her a name. not sure what i would name her. windclan doesn't have any sense of passing names on, so while if this were in thunderclan or shadowclan she would be named willowface, willowbark, or willowleaf with some level of certainity, there's no such convention.

i might name her willowshine or willowlight.

which might give away that her name isn't necessarily going to be willowshine in stolag.

but i digress.)

anyway! that makes willow the youngest medicine cat, and cinderpelt the oldest (without an apprentice). so shadowclan jaypaw instead.

anyway! yeah the fact that she's his mother is certainly a problem, but it's almost insignificant to the greater problem that a seer had kits.

a scuffed knee compared to a broken femur, if you will.

so yeah, there'd definitely be a problem, it just wouldn't have much to do with the family relationship. if, say, he was a squirrelcrow kit, windclan would be a-okay with him staying, because crowfeather isn't his father in any meaningful sense.

hope that makes sense! sorry i started rambling about politics again.