#Allow them to be the ONLY cats in a Clan who are allowed to regularly use weaponry

[bonefall]

Do Clerics have like. Doctor-patient confidentiality in general?

[Shrek meme: "They don't even have HIPAA"]

Nope. ZERO protections babey, the Cleric is a tiny Pope without a funny hat. They can do whatever they want unless the OTHER unaccountable religious cult leader decides to do something about it.

Cats like Featherwhisker, Spottedleaf, Runningnose, and Jayfeather are hit with realizations about this. For a few simple restrictions... you have nearly unquestionable power. You answer directly to StarClan. The amount of influence you have over a Clan is actually kind of insane.

The "Leader's Rights" and "Cleric's Vow" commandments were attempts to reign in the power of Clerics, with a lot of collateral damage. The Cleric is only overruled by the direct command of a leader, which means that the Cleric can ALWAYS act first unless the Leader pre-empts them.

Pearstar was a Cleric who violently overthrew Morningstar, before the invention of the Leader's Rights. The Leader's Rights were created in response to Larkstripe's Cleric Strike.

[eeveekitti]

Hello!! Are you interested in joining a long-term Warriors roleplay with a welcoming community, completely unique lore, and a plot driven forward by the individual roleplayer?

For those who are, you're in luck!! I'm hosting an rp called Of Wind and Water on Lakeside Tales: Reborn, a Warriors-inspired ROBLOX game! This story revolves around two Clans, RippleClan and BreezeClan, and their dispute over a new and monumental idea: taking back control of the old territories, abandoned long ago...

More information below the cut if you're interested! [Warning for a lot of text lol]

Characters shown are: Wolfstar [mine], Heatherwhisper [@bright--paws], and Mudpaw [@aphantom1409] Aspenash [@paintedcomputer], Deerstar [@starsofthestorm], and Goldenflower [@cronicspotifyuser]

THE CLANS RippleClan, Grace & Stealth This Clan, with a knack for swimming, sneaking, and fishing, has a laid-back environment and lax attitude towards the Warrior Code; notably, outsiders are allowed in and around the Clan, including being mates with Clan cats. BreezeClan, Strength & Mercy This Clan, with a focus on spirituality, is the stricter of the Clans. Holding their faith in StarClan and its Code above all, they care deeply for the world around them, and fight with a ferocity unmatched to defend it.

WE OFFER -As said before, a welcoming community! I'm very proud of the small community we've already made, and feel it'll come to be a safe and happy place to be. -Opportunities for you, the individual, to make your own story within the greater plot! I encourage side stories and complex character/world-building! -Gatherings and Half-Moon meetings will be worked into the session schedule. -High ranks don't, and will never, require an audition; just ask me beforehand ^^

The only requirement for joining this rp is that you are above 13 years old.

[P.S if you haven't done rp on ROBLOX before, or are inexperienced with rp in general, don't worry! We are happy to help guide you along and teach you anything you need to know!]

CONTACT If this has gotten your interest, and you'd like to join, there are two ways to do so! 1. Join the LT:R Discord server, and contact me through there! I post ads for the rp regularly there, and shouldn't be too difficult to find ^^ 2. If you don't want to join the server, no biggie! Just DM me here on Tumblr, and I'll give you my Discord to send you the server link there!

Hope to see you there!! Thank you for reading :]

[wc-confessions]

i think it’d be cool if they implemented leader meetings. like, the clans gather every moon of course and the medicine cats meet every half moon. but i feel like the leaders should have an opportunity to speak to eachother somewhat regularly under a truce. like, clan relations could be so much improved yanno? and it’d be so fascinating to further explore the dynamics between the leaders as well through this.

i feel like having the leaders meet once a season to have a private meeting with just the four/five of them would be really interesting to see.

having their meeting only take place once a season makes sense to me too, it wouldn’t encourage too much friendship between leaders because the meetings would happen too infrequently but it would allow for some closeness/understanding that could be really beneficial to all clans. they could each go accompanied by one or two guards who have to stay posted a certain distance away - ensuring the leaders don’t get ambushed but still allowing for as much privacy as possible.

this would also allow for tensions to ease during their discussions - at gatherings they have to put on a certain face for the benefit of looking strong in front of the other clans, but with some privacy that might change.

i wish we would see something like this become a thing in the future!

.

[moths-wc-aus]

boarclan lore post :3

BoarClan lives in semi-subtropical area near a large, very deep salt lake. Snow starts falling in late November and has usually completely melted by mid to late February.  Snow stays as a relatively thin layer, and it rarely gets deeper than an inch or two. Summer gets incredibly hot, regularly reaching 100°F by August.  Cats combat this by getting most of their work done early in the morning before sunrise and nearly everything finished by midday.

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The Clan is named after a story about their first leader, Glisterstar.  The legend goes that the territory once belonged to a herd of boar, and Glisterstar killed them one by one, losing three lives in the process.  She named her group BoarClan to honor the lives of the beasts she fought and to give her warriors their fierce spirits.

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BoarClan's camp is settled in a large pit with tall, steep walls.  Tunnels, the entrances covered with bushes, wind their way into the camp.  The first sight upon entering is the rocks and boulders that litter the ground, giving kits plenty of room to climb and explore.  The fresh-kill pile is kept buried to better perserve food.  The leader makes announcements from the Highledge, a slab of stone just above the camp with a path leading to the ground.  It is not their den; instead, they sleep inside a large bush.

The nursery is protected in a den woven into the roots of a large tree.  Apprentices sleep under a thorn bush.  The divers sleep in a hollow shielded by a thorn bush while the scavengers are under a thorn bush.  The healers sleep and store their herbs underneath the camp walls.  The mentors get to rest under a tangle of woven reeds.  There is an extra den under the roots of a large tree, used for prisoners or quarantined cats.

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In the center of BoarClan's camp is a large clay bowl with images of big cats and boars carved into its sides.  This was made long ago to collect rainwater, as the salt lake BoarClan lives beside is undrinkable.  It can comfortably fit five fully grown cats inside.  There isn't much clay in the territories, so where exactly BoarClan got enough to make such an impressive bowl is a long-lost mystery.

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The guide interprets omens and prophecies from the environment.  Storms, fires, droughts, seasons arriving early or late, or a cat's birth are all possible omens, and a guide must interpret them carefully.  Another duty guides have is to give advice to anyone who asks, and to guide them along the right path in life.  BoarClan's guides are the only spiritual leaders in the Clans who are allowed to have kits!  In DoveClan and ShimmerClan, it's believed that earthly attachments will tarnish and destroy a cat's connection to communicate with the afterlife.

[wander-wren]

you know, i have a cool warrior cats name concept that i’m probably never going to get to write into a fic, because i have so much else to do that wc is indefinitely on the back burner, and even the fic i have the idea for would take….a long time to develop (it’s overwriting epitaphs, part, uh…6? 7? so)

but i want the masses to know about it, so here we go!

this sprung from the base idea of forming leader names with star as a title, rather than a suffix, ie star fireheart, star mistyfoot, etc. i dont know if i got that from someone else’s warriors au (i’ve seen it a few different times), or came up with it independently. i’ve been sitting on this for a long time.

anyway, i was thinking about how nice that formation sounded in my brain for many months, but i didnt know what to do with it. then i thought about medieval/anthro aus, and how those sorts of characters always seem to introduce themselves with either a title or a “son of [name]” or both.

so, i decided to combine the two and have a system where cats put their mother’s prefix ahead of their name like a title. for example, this would lead to a family line going Sand Squirrelflight -> Squirrel Lionblaze -> Cinder Fernsong -> Ivy Bristlefrost. cats would always introduce themselves like this to strangers, would use the titles for higher-ranked cats out of respect even if they knew them well (less commonly in their own clan, but still regularly), and would use the titles in any formal ceremonies.

“wait, but leafpool is lionblaze’s mom” yes, let’s discuss rules and exceptions!

so in warrior cats universe the mother is the much more important/present parent 95% of the time, so her prefix should always be used, not the father’s. however, if a cat does not know their biological mother’s name or does not consider her important enough to them (like a death in childbirth or loner abandonment situation), they can then take the prefix of their next-closest parent(al figure). if they don’t consider any specific cat worthy of that position, they take the prefix of the leader. for example, i don’t think fireheart knew his mom’s name, so he would be Blue Fireheart. they have to decide at their apprentice ceremony, though it’s not really a “decision;” the leader will only take their opinion into account if it is an aforementioned gray area.

this is very, very strict among the clans. family lines are already taken seriously in the books; in a world where this was normal, it would be even more serious. you can’t just decide that you don’t like your mom in a fit of teen angst and become Lark Nightheart. first of all, any cat in another clan who knew you or your parents would immediately know your family drama, and second, your clanmates would not allow/use it, generally. it is far more about who your mom is biologically than who you feel is worthy, which is why i was specific with my caveats above. someone like crookedstar (crookedjaw, rather) could make a compelling case for switching from Rain to Shell, though it would probably still be hotly debated in the clan.

i imagine jayfeather, lionblaze, and leafpool, being in a weird, unique situation, would’ve been allowed to choose which prefix to take. in the gap between the fire scene and learning leafpool is their mom, they wouldn’t have had the option to not be titled, though i imagine none of them were super thrilled to keep using “squirrel.” i wonder how fireheart might have felt if they took his prefix? i wonder if any of them (hollyleaf?) took “bramble” in solidarity with him also not knowing the secret? very messy. i wonder what they all settled on after the leafpool part came out. it’s not something i’ve speculated on too much.

jayfeather, at least, doesn’t have to worry about it, because i also decided while writing this that medicine cats get a separate title like leaders: moon, for the moonstone. this is because all of them are separated from their kin and become family to the whole clan; their connection to starclan matters more than their blood. so, Moon Jayfeather.

and yes, this would do even more to reinforce xenophobia, and likely cats would weaponize it that way. as delightful as it is to think that this gives us “Princess Cloudtail,” it would make him stand out from the others for the rest of his life. he could use “brindle” or “blue,” of course, but given the canon emphasis on his kittypet status i don’t see it happening.

so, wait, what happens in overwriting epitaphs part 6 to cause this system to come into play?

well, i want to write a sort of pyrrhic victory in the great battle. the clans win, but at the cost of about 3/4 of their population. the remaining cats coalesce into one clan, and a lot of cultural shifts happen.

this one starts as a combo of getting used to new clanmates and remembering the dead; family is one of the first things cats talk about. perhaps you’ve been under a rock and don’t know breezepelt. well, his parents are crowfeather and nightcloud. ah, the cats from the journey, interesting. it’s a little out there, forgive me, but i imagine this morphing into cats automatically including family when they introduce each other, which becomes putting your parents names before your own in a sort of casual way, like “yeah, let’s get that whole song and dance out of the way and move on with the convo.” or, again, in a spiritual honoring the dead way. i suppose it would depend who is left alive and how religious the clan still is after the whole ordeal.

somewhere in there, mistystar (the one surviving leader, you go girl) decides to change her name to mistyfoot, to put herself on more even footing with her warriors, which gets turned into Star Mistyfoot to keep some of the respect/separation in it. that leads to, slowly, the other titles forming, probably first among cats who only had one known/important parent to start with (Daisy Mousewhisker, for example. just take out a comma). and voilà, new tradition.

(all the way at the end, i realized that some cats are gay or trans. in that case, kits would take the prefix of whichever parent did more of the birthing/nursing/kit-rearing. it might also be possible to hyphenate, but again i imagine it would be frowned upon just for breaking tradition, and because it could just sound like a warrior name if you said it fast. but i could get behind Tawny-Rowan Tigerheart, because i believe in trans rowanclaw and they’re both pretty close to their kids.)

[troutfur]

On Hatching From the Egg of the Material Form: StarClan and the ancestor-worshipping religion of the Clans (Part 1).

A clan oracle dresses the body of a dead clanmate in a variety of aromatic herbs while reciting a litany of incantations in preparation for the deceased's empf and nyams to share tongues and curl up with them one last time. Through this rite, the body of the deceased is incubated like an egg until their spirit hatches from it in its true form, that of a bird befitting of the warrior's character. Without this rite, they are unable to ascend and dwell among the stars and instead remain forever anchored to the earth.

A funerary vigil is perhaps the most important ceremony a Clan cat will ever go through. The denial of one is a punishment even harsher than death and being away from an oracle who can perform it is a source of great anxiety for cats away from home. It is why exile is thought of as a harsher punishment than death, for the former all but ensures a damned afterlife unlike the latter.

Of course, not every clanmate's body can be retrieved. For this reason the oracles have on their arsenal an alternate ritual said to accomplish the same ends. In ThunderClan it is known by the name of The Rites of Lightningtail, after their first deputy and first known recipient of them. But even though these rites have just as ancient a pedigree many a warrior remains skeptical of their efficacy.

Clan cats are generally aware that there is variance in the performance of these rites from Clan to Clan, and opinions on whether this affects the efficacy of the ritual shift back and forth regularly. Thus being allowed to collect their dead after a battle may at any point in Clan history be a complete non-issue, afterall any oracle would never deny funeral rites to an honorable enemy warrior, or it might be a hugely important leverage that a victor can use to secure dowright extortionate peace terms.

What is clear though in the minds of a Clan cat is that any outsider group's funerary rites could never be effective. These secrets were revealed to Clan cats and Clan cats alone, there's no way anyone outside the line of transmission of the oracles has access to them.

When someone unworthy of a funeral dies within Clan territory it is the number one priority to haul their body across the border. This is not only done as to prevent attracting carrion eaters but also as to prevent the spirit from bothering the living. Border marking involves a special incantation for just such purpose, preventing the passage of the any malicious spirits. Though it traps the malicious spirits whose corpses were never carried across just as much.

Plenty of cats whose bodies were washed away by the river or were left to rot on a battlefield or suffered a gruesome death at the jaws of a predator without having the Rites of Lightningtail performed on them are believed to be forever wandering Clan territory and seeking revenge for being denied a chance to ascend to the stars.

[clangenwritingexperiment]

Moon 105

Frostfreckle was bitten by a snake and died. The entire clan notices that Freezespots seems to take the news in an unusually poor way. Freezespots can't let any cat know that they are the one who will be suffering most of any. They cannot confide in their kits, they cannot confide in their fellow medicine cats, they cannot confide in their leader. They must suffer this ultimate heartbreak alone. Maybe this was Starclan's punishment...

The clan grieves deeply for the patient and wise Frostfreckle. They will be remembered by most as a cat they could all talk to about their problems and feelings. A cat that always knew what to say and when to say it. A cat that loved and was loved. They will be missed.

Pepperbuzz's lungs are feeling much clearer and they are ready to hunt once more.

Sharphare's leg was injured by a twoleg trap.

Wolverinepeak was worried that their advanced age would result in complications during their pregnancy but they were thankfully able to deliver two healthy kits safely. Crestkit and Emberkit.

Dewpaw, Deltapaw, and Sablepaw have been made apprentices under Flaxstripe, Hilltalon, and Primwave.

Mantisears and Swiftspark have become mates!

Eggsong was attacked by a dog while out on patrol. they came out of the fight with a bite wound.

Frecklecry has found and adopted a three moon old kit named Mole. They are given the new name Molekit and welcomed into the clan.

Clamtrail was not only almost dragged out to sea but they also caught whitecough. The medicine cats are scrambling to keep this cat alive and breathing.

Garlicclaw caught greencough. They whine and lament from their nest that they can't go see their kits like this. Honeymurk has snapped at them more than once to stop and that complaining does nothing but annoy the cats around them to which Garlicclaw huffs and says, "My kits would enjoy my whining..." thus staring the whole cycle over again.

Quietmask's leg has become swollen with infection to the point where Honeymurk considers traveling to one of the other clans for advice.

Riverpaw and Heavypaw have become warriors named Riverfin and Heavydawn. They are celebrated for their courage and strong will.

Pumpkinpaw, Runningpaw, and Blizzardpaw have been made apprentices and were given to Oddspots, Sneezedazzle, and Conchblaze!

Frecklecry was caught in a twoleg trap and has been lost!

A kittypet was found wandering Starlingclan territory when a patrol found them and confronted them. Instead of being scared by these thin and scarred wildcats like most kittypets are, this cat happily pranced up to the patrol and asked to join. The cats reluctantly led the friendly kitty to camp where Hopstar allowed them to become a warrior named Peachwhisker.

Peachwhisker was immediately injured on their first hunting patrol by a fox. As Jumblepaw treated the former kittypet they brought up how they were wild now and injuries like this happen regularly. And that no cat would blame them if they decided to go back to their twoleg. "Are you kidding me? No way I'm going back! That was the most fun I've had in ages! And I fought it off! By myself!" The cats outside listening in almost purred with amusement. Maybe this kitty was tougher than they first thought.

Cragshadow's tail stump has become infected. Honeymurk scolds them about proper washing technique and needing to pay more attention to their missing tail.

Redocean caught whitecough.

Crookedbracken has a new scar from a now-healed injury.

Garlicclaw died from Greencough.

Petunianight caught greencough and had their leg injured by a twoleg trap.

Quietmask's infection is only getting worse.

Weaselpaw and Hyacinthpaw have become full warriors with their new names. Weaselcrash and Hyacinthquill. They are both celebrated for their observance.

Pondfrost saved Pumpkinpaw after they fell into a river.

Eggsong's bite wound has left a scar on their pelt.

Sharphare's leg will unfortunately never be the same but at least it's still functioning.

Petunianight's greencough has turned into whitecough.

Riversand was bitten by a snake but survived!

Molepaw has been named an apprentice and given to Duckflow to train.

Bearpaw has proven themselves to be an exceptional warrior so they are named Bearrain in honor of their risk-taking.

In the process of driving off a dog, Dewpaw got a torn ear.

Ratdrizzle and Rabbitsoar died in an unexpected flood.

Cragshadow died of their infected wound.

Whisperpeak is expecting kits!

Oddspots has caught whitecough.

Clamtrail's lungs are feeling much better.

Dolphinfade caught whitecough.

Splashtooth's leg was caught in a twoleg trap and was injured.

Riversand is expecting kits!

And so is Sloepelt!

Quietmask died of their infected wound.

Weaselcrash caught yellowcough.

Jumblepaw has been named Jumblebud!

Dewpaw's ear has healed, not that it matters because they also caught whitecough.

Barnaclepaw has been made an apprentice and was given to Heavydawn to train under.

Barnaclepaw broke a bone after an unfortunate encounter with a fox.

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

Major Arc 5 Story Changes/General Summary Part 2

We’re on to the second half of Arc 5 baby! Will Darktail succeed in taking over the Clans? How does this story end? Find out below!

Onestar leads an attack on The Kin alongside the other Clans to get his daughter and granddaughters back and drive The Kin out, but is forced to flee after encountering Darktail on the battlefield, causing the Clans to lose the battle and Mistystar to lose her final life. Reedstar becomes RiverClan’s new Leader and names his mate Hawkfrost as his Deputy. He is also very, very angry with Onestar for causing his mother’s death

Canon continues, with some snippets of Heathertail, Brindlekit, and Smokekit’s life with The Kin thrown in. She befriends another mother with kits named Amaryllis, a nice older tom named Blowfly who seems to genuinely regret joining The Kin, some elderly cats, and more. When the Clans win the battle and Onestar and Darktail kill each other, Heathertail brings Amaryllis, Amaryllis’ three kits Hound, Spore, and Morel, Blowfly, and the two elderly cats Sting and Frost with her and her kits back to WindClan. Only Houndkit, Sporekit, and Morelkit take Clan names

Twigpaw returns with SkyClan. Pebbleshine enthusiastically reunites with her mate, friends, and family, and both Lavenderpaw and Twigpaw join their parents’ Clan. Later on, two familiar faces pop up in SkyClan’s new territory, looking for a new place to live: Loki and Zelda, two of the kittypets who had been forced to join and fight for The Kin and had befriended Lavenderpaw. While they had tried to return to their housefolk after the battle was won and they were allowed to go home, Loki had been so badly injured and scarred that their housefolk no longer recognized them and chased them off as a stray. Zelda refused to leave her datefriend behind and chose to join him as loners. They are welcomed into SkyClan with open arms paws and become apprentices: Lokipaw and Zeldapaw

Canon continues until Molewhisker of ThunderClan and a SkyClan patrol go back to the gorge to look for their missing clanmates. They find Fidgetpaw, Nettlesplash, Mintclaw, Palekit, Gravelkit, Nectarkit, Mistfeather and Gertiefang’s two orphaned kits Glorykit and Dewkit, and a former Kin cat named Dragonfly living together in the gorge. They also rescue the kidnapped Frecklewish from Twolegs. On their way back, they find the rest of SkyClan shacking up with Ravenpaw and Barley, who were happy to help. Most of the SkyClan cats choose to leave to go to their new lake territory except for Cherrytail, Clovertail, Waspwhisker, and Birdwing (in canon, these cats were the ones taken by Twolegs who never returned), who choose to stay by the barn. Molewhisker and Cloudmist start getting kinda into each other as well

Canon continues until Tree does his ghost thing (which Lavendershine, Zeldasong, and Lokishade think is rad as heck- and kinda hot in a spooky way). Tawnystar doesn't resign. She is way too stubborn to give up on herself or her remaining clanmates. Twigpaw and Finpaw return to ThunderClan. Twigpaw is not forced to do her entire apprenticeship over again because that is dumb. She is just given a bit of a refresher with the help of now-Warriors Sparkstorm and Juniperleaf (named after Sandstorm and Hollyleaf and Leafpool respectively)

Things are canon-compliant from there until the ShadowClan Leader thing (once again, Tawnystar is still Leader) and the storm hits. Two displaced kittypets named Fuzzball and Velvet temporarily join ThunderClan; Alderheart becomes close with Velvet and Jayfeather discovers what it’s like to be a father to the most annoying kit imaginable when Fuzzball imprints on him. After the storm, the two leave, but end up returning so regularly to see their friends in the Clan and to help out that they end up becoming ThunderClan’s first Daylight Warriors

Also, Briarlight doesn't die from the sickness because I love her and she deserves to live forever. Unfortunately, a cat still needs to die (need that heartbreak!). So, after struggling his entire life with sickness and weakness, Driftpaw passes away in the Medicine Den surrounded by his family and friends. His Star Name is Driftdream 

Goldenheart, Dovewing, and the missing ShadowClan cats return- minus poor Hollowkit, who was carried off by the owl before Goldenheart or his parents could do anything about it. Dovewing stays in ShadowClan permanently and has Goldenheart’s kits. In ThunderClan, the Dark Forest cat in Bumblestripe’s ear starts to whisper louder

And with that unsettling information, everything else is canon-compliant

[its-elvie-innit]

I actually told this to my 16 now 17 year old coworker when the topic came up recently, but as someone who is just out of high school high school IS genuinely one of the most interesting settings for Doing Things you can possibly interact with. I think that's why so many stories are set there.

Don't get me wrong, high-school is NOT the most interesting thing you will ever do. But it is a pre-built similar universe that almost EVERYONE in American, Canadian, and (the equivalents in English speaking countries ) European world has gone through.

Everyone reasonably knows each other, it's an isolated community that interacts with other isolated communities (other high schools) that hosts community events regularly (things that could be classified as clubs, competitions, pep rallies and concerts. Even events that involve the larger, more general community like elections being hosted during the day)

Everyone's experiencing a lot of things for the first time. Everyone's growing and changing with their interests at a rate that is much easier to track than in real, grown-up life. Everyone has free time. Most of the people who go to school live right next to the school or within 10 minutes of it when you're in a populated area. That means the people who go to school have easy access to each other unless you're out-of-district. There's a TON of different pre-built meetings, events, conflicts, that you have basically written for you already in your head, because a lot of people have probably done those things already!!!

Speaking of quote un quote "pre-built", you have so much of the story written for you that you can mix and match. A built-in ending for a relationship, hopeful, ambiguous, sad, happy? That's graduation. A climax of events? Prom. What if you have a platonic story, well, let's think of haikyuu here, volleyball game at the end of the season. This can be applicable for SO many stories and all of them are very clear cut in how you write them, which not only allows for an easy plot but also plenty of subversion. People go through a lot in high school. It's kind of a thing.

If you're going for the stereotype, too, you get the added bonus of appealing to a YA audience by giving them cliques. In a huge amount of YA fiction, you have a bunch of little clubs the reader can put themselves in. Harry Potter has the houses, Divergent had..whatever they were doing, the Hunger Games had the districts, Warrior Cats had the clans, Percy Jackson had the godly parents. If there's one thing people love, it's self-identifying as a unique little group, ESPECIALLY teenagers who are looking for a sense of identity.

You also, like, can't get out of school. Even people who skip still go sometimes. If they don't, that's another plot line, isn't it? This forced attendance is literally the EASIEST WAY to make conflict happen. In the real world you would have to have someone, I don't know, bump into an ex or a love interest in a grocery store, multiple times, or into a potential friend or enemy in a way that would allow them into the main plot line which is really hard to do because real people don't normally invite strangers into their book club on an everyday basis. In high school, the ex is in your math class. The book club was posted on a cork board in lunch. The love interest is your lab partner. Almost all popular tropes are insular. Coffee shop au, flower and tattoo, even university aus, which almost ALWAYS involve at least one character in the dorms. That's for a reason.

On an off note, being teenagers allows your mcs to be stupid in a way that wouldn't be acceptable for an adult who has to work and pay taxes. People want their characters to be stupid sometimes. It makes it way easier to make the obvious stuff happen.

It might feel weird to be left out of so much media as someone who's grown out of the stage where you think being a highschooler is cool and interesting, but that's okay. All you have to do is remember that you don't have to do calculus anymore, and they do.

Part of getting older is realizing how absolutely insane it is that basically every form of media is constantly trying to convince us that the most interesting moments of the lived human experience are happening in HIGH SCHOOL…… girl who gives a flying fuck what 16 year olds are doing.

[the-erins-forgot]

Shadowclan Overview

Silent, clever, and elusive, cats of Shadowclan value intelligence and the peace of mind that comes with a calm, quiet life. Founded by The Leopard of Shadow, this Clan has made its home in the dark moist marshes of the north-east, thriving in the dangerously unstable terrain thanks to their ingenuity. Shadowclan cats wield the Umbra, a power that molds the darkness itself to their will.

To other Clans, Shadows have a reputation of being cold and aloof, always keeping to themselves and withdrawing from conflicts that don’t involve them. At the same time, they’re great at solving problems through smarts alone and give plenty of chances to resolve confrontations peacefully (though under Yewstar’s recent rule they’ve begun to act more aggressive).

Shadowclan cats allow much outsider blood amongs their midst, and it clearly shows. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, often ones rarely seen in other Clans, however there is something that unites almost all of them. Their long flexible bodies and lightly-stepping feet make them perfect for slinking around the wetlands without making a single sound.

Due to the sheer amount of human-made trash being thrown away in their territory, Shadows are some of the only cats who are known to not only use them for practical purposes, but also learn from them how to craft their own tools. Shards of glass, sharp rocks, and larger metal and plastic bits are often used as rudimentary cutting tools, with softer materials like cloth being used for grip. Ropes, rubber bands, and long paper shreddings are regularly used for tying things together. Being naturally innovative, Shadows come up with more and more ways of using their resources every single night.

It is believed that Shadows have a much more refined sense of touch within their paws than other cats, being able to notice the slightest give within the marshy dirt and often noticing small imperfections within their inventions by simply running their paws along them. Some cats even come up with crazy stories of cats descended from the Leopard’s original followers being able to feel the earth vibrating from rats scurrying around the Carriontrap on the opposite side of their territory, although most Shadows deny that as hyperbole.

[ailuronymy]

Something I've been thinking about, but never quite got around to sending in.

Do you think it would be reasonable for queens to, if they wanted to, wait to name their kitten? Especially if the queen is pointed, or is expecting a case of fever coat. I know normally the thing to be done is just to name the kitten as normal and have the name changed later on if necessary, but what if the queen wouldn't want it to have to change for some reason or another- like if they were naming it after someone, or just didn't want it to be too confusing for the kit

Hello there! Thank you for writing in. There’s sort of a lot in this question, so I’m going to try to tease it apart and answer it in sections. 

To begin with, I think I disagree with the premise that changing names is too confusing, particularly within a culture where names regularly change forms. For one thing, young minds are actually considerably more flexible about things than older brains tend to be--they’re in the process of developing their worldviews and beliefs, after all, so the more they are exposed to, the more able they are to adapt and learn from those experiences. A lot of a child’s cultural knowledge comes implicitly from experiencing the world.

There’s also the fact there are actually many real-world precedents of cultures throughout history that have a much more fluid approach to the concept of “changing” names than the contemporary, bureaucratic West. 

For example, there were historical periods in Japan where it was frequently the case that people would change their personal names many times throughout their lives. These names might have been “work names” (names taken and used only during a specific period of employment) or to represent a change in status or allegiance. For people of certain class or background, it was part of a coming-of-age tradition when assuming adult responsibilities--i.e., leaving behind their childhood name and adopting a mature one instead. (Remind you of anything?)

Likewise, there are many other cultures (I am thinking specifically of many First Nation Australian and American nations, but I’m certain there would be other examples as well) wherein people gain many names over their lifetimes, to be used under different circumstances, including childhood. Different family and community members might use different names for the same person based on kinship ties, and basically what I want to demonstrate is that this was and--for many continuing cultures--is normal. It’s not confusing, because it’s a part of culture that is learned from a young age. 

For a third and final example, many cultures have a concept of a “death name” or posthumous name: a name used for a person that is deceased, in place of the name/s they had in life, as that previous name is no longer acceptable to use. This is a cultural feature that both Japan and many Indigenous Australian nations have in common, albeit obviously the exact customs regarding posthumous names and their use vary greatly between the many cultures that feature them. 

tl;dr: I’m not sure that kittens would find the changing of names unusual or confusing. I personally feel that’s an example of bringing a specific, modern Westernised lens to a fictional culture that I don’t think necessarily needs to be there. It’s not an inherent truth. Of course, in your world and writing, you can write your cats and clans however you want--and if that includes confusion over customs, that’s entirely to your discretion. But I did want to flag this in case it was something you were taking for a granted fact. 

To actually answer the question you so kindly sent in: I think it comes down to how you’ve set up your work re: how long a queen can reasonably wait to name a kitten. For instance, in a clan who doesn’t typically name kittens for the first moon due to high infant mortality rates, I feel like that it would in fact be strange to name the kittens before that first moon is up and might not be allowed by clan custom. 

Alternatively, for a clan that names their kittens on a specific day--e.g., the night of the full moon, or the first dawn after their eyes open--then it might be considered a big problem to delay the kitten’s name past that point. It might be viewed as inauspicious, or simply inappropriate. 

So my advice in this instance would be to decide what each of your clans does as their norm, and from there consider how the clans as a cultural unit would feel--and react--to cats breaking or ignoring that norm! That’s honestly a great way to approach any world-building and results in a really rich, real-feeling world. I hope this helps a little! 

[lochnessghost]

dream smp warrior cats au

i’m stupid and dumb and for some reason folks liked my last post abt the wc au so here is my interpretation of season 1 of the dream smp as warrior cats baby!!! SO pretty much the au is that everybody was a part of one big clan (no name yet so ill just call it the smpclan,, i want to do a more realistic name but my brain hurts) that’s led by dream aka swiftstar along with his deputy sapnap aka darkflame and the medicine cat mosseyes (george). eventually a warrior called sootfur (will) and his apprentice bigpaw (tommy) decide they’ve had enough after swift and dark become more tyrannical and break off to start their own clan, manclan (this is a canon name for it, bigpaw suggested it as a joke and they ran with it) and sootfur becomes sootstar. he gives bigpaw his warrior name, bigclaw, and names him his deputy. bigclaw needed an apprentice before he could become deputy to be officially recognized, so sootstar used a loophole where bigclaw’s best friend sparrowpaw (tubbo) was made his apprentice a couple of minutes before sootstar made him a warrior too—sparrownose. the three, along with sootstar’s half-kittypet son foxfoot (fundy) and their friend brambleflower (eret) started manclan and defended it for a couple of moons. the declaration of independAnce is all of them putting their clawmarks in the great tree (l’mantree). you know the rest of the story bla bla bla the discs are two gems bigclaw found as an apprentice in a twoleg trash bin. sootstar steps down as leader, as he never truly got nine lives and everyone demanded they find out who starclan truly chooses as manclan’s leader, and starclan chooses an smpclan cat called rambelly (jschlatt). he becomes ramstar with duckstep (quackity) as his deputy. he makes bigclaw and sparrownose apprentices again, saying sootstar’s ceremonies were invalid because they were not backed by starclan, and then exiles bigpaw and sootfur from manclan. sootfur and bigpaw go off and live in a cave they find. their little group has no name besides ‘the exiled’. they meet a rogue called boar (technoblade) who helps them navigate the lands outside of the clans. soot rejects the clans completely, dropping his suffix and swearing revenge on manclan. despite soot’s protests, bigpaw keeps his warrior name and begs soot to at least attempt to mentor him and help continue his warrior training until he’s ready to become a real warrior (they both admit his training still wasn’t complete when soot made him a warrior/deputy) when they return (he believes they’ll return one day, soot doesn’t). soot begrudgingly agrees, but his training is less warrior training and more dangerous, intensive militant training. meanwhile, sparrowpaw is mentored directly by ramstar, mostly so ram could keep an eye on someone who was so close to the exiled, bigpaw in particular. after a few more moons of training, sparrow regains his warrior name, now sparrowpelt. he keeps the exiled up to date on what’s going on in manclan. bigpaw gets a little jealous when he finds out about sparrowpelt’s warrior ceremony, but doesn’t act on it. ramstar eventually plans a big feast for the clan to ensure loyalty, which sparrowpelt helps plan. he informs the exiled of this.

soot confesses to bigpaw that he was born a loner and that boar is his brother. he uses his rogue ties and help from his brother to plan to sabotage the clan’s feast. their plan is simple: they use sticks to take fire from a twoleg campsite and catch manclan’s territory on fire. surprisingly, swiftstar, who has become more of a rogue after allowing manclan to take up the spotlight, offers his help in this. the plot goes as normal, with the plan to usurp ramstar after he becomes incredibly insufficient as leader, and boar offers everyone tooth-clad collars as extra protection from their necks getting bitten (the vault scene). soot gives bigpaw his warrior name despite no longer being a leader, and everyone backs it, saying even without a leader, he’s earned it. he is once again bigclaw. the fight goes on regularly. ramstar had actually used up all but one of his nine lives doing various reckless activities, further proving his lack of respect for starclan, having only used them for his personal gain, and dies after choking on some of the prey he’d been hoarding for himself. no one helps clear his airway and he dies.

sparrowpelt is made leader of manclan and makes bigclaw his deputy. the cats rejoice, but meanwhile, soot fetches fire from the twolegs with swiftstar’s help. he sets the woods on fire and is then confronted by his loner father, a yellow cat named crow (philza) who came to see what his sons were doing in the clans’ territory. crow kills soot after he begs him to. the woods catch fire very quickly and boar leads them to safety by the edge of twolegplace. however, he makes his big speech and reveals that this was a trap and breaks the lock on a fence, releasing three massive dogs into the burning woods. more story, the cats eventually deter the dogs, bla bla bla. this is all i’m going to write for this post because JESUS CHRIST i did not realize how long this would be, but if you’re interested in hearing the later arcs’ warrior au type deal lmk! idek if this makes sense but you know. i might post some more art of this au as well,, you can check some warrior designs i did for michael and revived!tommy here, and the designs i did for the dreamteam and apprentice bigpaw here! here are some misc doodles as well! part 2 has been posted!

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Goldenflower Becomes Mates With Leopardstar AU

I'm going in this with only a vague idea

cause there was a lot of things I could do

so I'm gonna go with the idea I like the most and roll from there -

After Tigerstar's death, but before with BloodClan, Goldenflower starts going to sunningrocks to grieve, not wanting anyone to think she still loves her former mate, since he was a terrible cat

A couple days before the BloodClan battle, she finds Leopardstar there, staring into the water with an intense look.

Goldenflower is nervous and Leopardstar assures she doesn't want a fight. The two sit in silence, neither of them talking. Though it's strange at first, eventually the two are at peace with each other and leave feeling a little more at piece without anything spoken.

The build up to the battle with BloodClan, the two had been sitting in silence together and when day comes, they greet each other calmly, like long-term friends

The fight breaks out and Leopardstar and Goldenflower are holding their own quite well. However, three BloodClan cats gang up on the RiverClan leader, attacking without mercy. Goldenflower runs to help her, saving her from losing a life but earning a nasty slash across her face in the process.

The two fight off the cats and Leopardstar aids the ThunderClan molly to the medicine cats after the fight, worried about her bleeding face

Goldenflower loses use of one eye, but is okay otherwise. She and Leopardstar have their first full conversation then, fretting over each other and talking about their families to calm their nerves.

A couple nights later, they meet at the sunningrocks again and talk more and more.

Over the next few nights, Leopardstar and Goldenflower learn a lot about each other and eventually the topic turns to Tigerstar. Goldenflower admits she loved him for the longest time, but she could never forgive him, nor would she want to be near him again. Leopardstar talks about how she thought he'd make RiverClan stronger, as she was struggling with her confidence as a leader, only for him to make everything worse.

Leopardstar starts crying, grieving over Stonefur and saying how she should've never let him die, talking how he would've been a much better leader than she is.

Goldenflower tries to comfort her, but Leopardstar shakes her head, saying she knows she wasn't a good leader, but then saying how she wants to improve, to make up for her mistakes by doing her best to protect her Clan with all nine of her lives.

She follows that up with thanking Goldenflower for helping her.

The two say goodbye that night and Goldenflower's mind is filled with Leopardstar.

It's a few moons later and Firestar is gone on a mission [to revive SkyClan, but Golden doesnt know that] She and Leopard had been meeting up often and their friendship has been getting more and more intense, with a couple of nights that the two spent sleeping in a makeshift nest at sunningrocks.

Goldenflower had made up her mind and has already spoken to Brambleclaw about leaving and informs Graystripe, who is the acting leader. Graystripe is saddened that she wants to leave ThunderClan, but doesn't stop her.

She has a heartfelt goodbye before going to sunningrocks. Leopardstar is waiting there.

The two go to RiverClan and Leopardstar and Goldenflower nuzzle each other after it's announced she's joining.

Goldenflower had some trouble adjusting at first, but becomes close with Mistyfoot, Blackclaw, and Mosspelt - the three of them helping her learn camp and the traditions of RiverClan Meanwhile, Leopardstar shows Goldenflower the basics of swimming before admitting that she's a bit of a drypaw herself, not liking the water despite being a full RiverClan warrior.

Goldenflower is instantly cautious of Hawkpaw and Mothpaw, especially since they both resemble her ex mate in their own ways, but she fights back these worries and helps Leopardstar mentor Hawkpaw.

She becomes a second mother to Mothpaw and Hawkpaw, especially after Sasha leaves. Her and Leopardstar treat them like their own kits, Goldenflower showing her mate how to be patient with younger cats.

After Mothpaw and Hawkpaw becomes Mothwing and Hawkfrost, the two actually start talking about possibly having kits of their own. Even as warriors, she's as supportive of the two as she is of Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw, whom she visits regularly and sees at gatherings.

While The Chosen Cats are gone finding the territory, Goldenflower and Leopardstar have put a pause on trying to find help having kits, only to learn their most recent donor had actually been successful and Goldenflower is expecting.

Leopardstar becomes fiercely protective of her mate, giving up her own prey to make sure Goldenflower eats.

During the move from the Forest to the Lake, Goldenflower tells the news to her biological kits, Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt, before turning and informing her adopted kits, Hawkfrost and Mothwing. All four are happy for her and excited to meet their younger siblings.

While the cats are deciding territories, Goldenflower has her kits - a golden tom she names Lionkit after her brother, a brown and golden tortoiseshell she-cat she names Sunkit, and a dark ginger tom named Brightkit.

When Hawkfrost dies, Leopard and Golden grieve heavily for the loss, unaware that their adopted son had been training in the dark forest with his biological father, Tigerstar. Lion, Sun, and Bright grieve, too, as they had a fairly positive relationship with their older brother.

As warriors, Lionkit becomes Lionfrost, Sunkit becomes Sunwing, and Brightkit becomes Brightwater. Sunwing, at this point, has come out as a trans tom and has a lot of support from his mothers and brothers. Lionfrost is stubborn and loud and can be quite hard to be around as he doesn't handle having his opinions challenged. Sunwing is patient and a jokester, with cats finding it easy to be around him. Brightwater is quite and reserved, but very affectionate to those close to him.

It's also not long after they're warriors that, with more help from a donor, Leopardstar is expecting their second litter of kits and is rather nervous about being a queen. Goldenflower comforts her and promises she's there with her.

Everything is going well until Goldenflower ends up getting really sick. Leopardstar is worried, but isn't allowed near her mate.

Goldenflower is still sick by the time Leopardstar has their other kits - Flowerkit and Mudkit, twin golden-brown mollies who look like darker versions of Leopardstar.

Thankfully, Goldenflower recovers and is really happy when she can meet her kits. Goldenflower teases Leopardstar about the name Flowerkit, but the leader acts like she doesn't know what her mate is talking about.

When the battle in Eclipse takes place, Flowerkit and Mudkit had just becomes Flowerpaw and Mudpaw. Mudpaw is outraged when she isn't allowed to go, but Flowerpaw doesn't seem to mind. Both are shocked when the eclipse happens and it's around this time that Flowerpaw feels a greater power tugging at her paws.

Leopardstar ends up passing away only a couple moons after her daughters earn their warrior names - Flowerpelt and Mudfang.

A few notes

Flower and Mud have lineage from The Sisters before they even know who the Sisters are, as the tom that helped Leopardstar was distantly from the Sisters. Neither can see ghosts naturally, but Flower has a higher sense for when ghosts are around than Mud does

Goldenflower retires not long after Leopardstar passes and is quick to defend Mothwing when Mistystar is mad that she doesn't believe in StarClan

Neither toms that helped them are important or have names, but they were both two different loners - an idea had by Goldenflower to avoid having kits with a Clan tom who'd want kits with someone else in the future.

Mistystar has Brightwater as her deputy, finding him easier to talk to and sees him as being a good leader after her. Sadly, Brightwater ends up being killed by Darktail and his Kin, making way for Flowerpelt to be deputy after him.

[victorluvsalice]

Sims Challenge Wednesday: Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines!

Hi all! We’re putting the usual Newcrest Adventures updates on pause for a week because I recently finished a little project I’ve been working on for a little while now -- doing Sims 4 challenges for two of my other favorite video games, Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines and Fallout 4! Yes, I’ve mentioned wanting to do this before on the blog, and now, finally, I’ve completed the initial drafts of each challenge! And I figured, who better to share them with than all of you. :) So let’s start off with the VTMB challenge!

(Oh, and note -- yeah, I just saw in the tags that someone’s actually come up with a VTMB-inspired Legacy challenge for The Sims 4. Mine’s a completely different one-generation challenge, but I am intrigued to see what’s going on with the Legacy version!)

VTMB SIMS 4 CHALLENGE

Premise: It all started out so well – a night out at the clubs, a flirtatious wink across the dance floor, a trip back to a seedy hotel room to get it on with your new partner. . .and then suddenly, in a mix of pain and pleasure, you find yourself lacking a heartbeat. And then some other people storm in, and you find out that:

A) you have been changed into a vampire

B) the person who changed you did not have permission to change you into a vampire

Your “sire” is put to death for disobeying the laws of the vampire underworld – but the rulers of your local city decide that you can be allowed to live. So long as you run a bunch of errands for them, of course. . .your only way out? Make some allies, make some money, gain a ton of power, and keep your head down until you can kick every one of these people’s asses personally. That is, if you (un)live that long. . .

This is a challenge loosely inspired by the experience of being the Fledgling PC in the video game Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines. The goals are to become a Grand Master Vampire, graduate from a shitty apartment to a decent one, and defeat a bunch of other vampires in duels to prove yourself.

Packs required: Vampires, Get Together, City Living, Eco Lifestyle, Island Living, Cats & Dogs/Cottage Living

Your Sim: Create your “Fledgling” in CAS. Your Fledgling should be a Young Adult. You may start them out as a vampire to start the challenge immediately, or start them as a human, make a sire for them, then have them changed in-game to gain a few days to build skills and enjoy sunlight. (Remember that the sire must be killed after your Fledgling starts their change! I recommend locking them outside in the sunlight.) The challenge starts the moment the Sim transforms fully into a vampire.

Each Fledgling vampire in Bloodlines belongs to one of seven clans – Brujah (clan of rebels and brawlers), Gangrel (clan of loners and animal lovers), Malkavian (clan of mentally ill people and oracles), Nosferatu (clan of warped looks and computer specialists), Toreador (clan of lovers and artistes), Tremere (clan of magicians and scholars), or Venture (clan of leaders and those of rarefied tastes). Pick one clan for your Fledgling and assign them an appropriate personality trait –

Brujah – “Hot-Headed”

Gangrel – Either “Cat Lover,” “Dog Lover,” or “Animal Enthusiast”

Malkavian – “Erratic” (you may sub in a custom trait for mental illness if you have one)

Nosferatu – “Geek”

Toreador – Either “Art Lover” or “Music Lover”

Tremere – “Bookworm”

Ventrue – “Snob”

Optional: Also assign your Fledgling the “Kleptomaniac” trait as, in the original Bloodlines game, you do end up stealing a lot of stuff to sell to vendors for quick cash.

Optional: If you’re strictly following how vampires work in Bloodlines, leave your vampire’s Dark Form identical to their normal form except for their fangs (except if you’re playing a Nosferatu – then instead customize the Dark Form to look like their post-transformation Orlockian-self (think Straud’s Dark Form) and have the “regular” form be the disguise they wear around humans to fit in). However, if you really want to do a custom Dark Form, I’m not going to be the one to stop you.

Their World: Set up the rest of the save file according to the below guidelines:

Your fledgling must live in a terrible apartment in either San MyShuno or Evergreen Harbor. This apartment must have a low-quality bed, a low-quality kitchen, a small low-quality bathroom, a TV, and a desk with the cheapest laptop. It must also have at least the “Filthy” lot challenge. Upon moving there, set their starting money to $100 (this is the amount they got for expenses).

Make or download at least three or four other vampires (depending on if you want to use the premade Vladislaus Straud or not) and make sure that they live in nice apartments/houses and are at least Master rank (cheats are totally allowed for this). These vampires must all be part of the same club (your choice for the name), with one chosen as the leader – this is the club that “rules” over all the local vampires and is making sure your Fledgling doesn’t step out of line. Set them up to meet regularly either at one of their homes or at an appropriately-kicking nightclub. Club activities are at your discretion, though remember – if they’re in public, they shouldn’t break the Masquerade by showing off powers or drinking plasma!

Make one “Independent” vampire and set them up however you wish, though they must be at least Master rank as well. They may be important to your Fledgling later!

Make sure you have at least four nightclubs (obviously they don’t have to all be in the same world) for your Fledgling to visit on the regular.

Goals:

Your Fledgling is looking to complete the following:

Become a Grand Master vampire, with all the power and perks that entails

Complete the Master Vampire aspiration (they may work on other aspirations as well)

Earn at least $5,000 simoleons

Move into better digs (either a better apartment or their own house)

Defeat all the members of the ruling club of vampires in Vampiric Duels

Rules:

Your Fledgling is not allowed to get a normal job, as per the rules of the council. Your Fledgling is only allowed to earn money by selling items they have made or found (or swiped, if they have the right trait) to other Sims, or by doing Odd Jobs. Any Odd Jobs that your fledgling finds that come from the ruling council (that is, if you see their picture by the job description) must be prioritized.

Your Fledgling may drink from plasma packs both purchased and homemade, but cannot use plasma fruit while the challenge is ongoing. (This means no doing the Good Vampire aspiration until you’ve completed your goals!)

Your Fledgling may drink from Sims, but must not break the Masquerade in doing so. They must either isolate the Sim they choose to drink from and compel them for a drink; or they must isolate the Sim and flirt with them at least five times before asking for a drink (to make it seem like they’re asking to make out or woohoo instead of drink their plasma). Either way, they must not be seen feeding by other Sims. The Fledgling is allowed five slip-ups – after that, the challenge is failed and they are put to death.

Your Fledgling must get to know the ruling vampires – a friendly relationship, however, is very much not necessary. They are going to be battling them sooner or later for the right to live life on their own terms!

Your Fledgling must follow the rules of their clan when purchasing powers: All vampires may purchase the Garlic Immunity, Vampire Creation, and Child of the Moon powers. Brujah vampires may purchase the Detect Personality, Vampiric Strength, Vampiric Slumber, Supernatural Speed, and Influence Emotion powers. Gangrel vampires may purchase the Bat Form, Vampiric Strength, Vampiric Slumber, Dampened Emotions, and Beyond The Herd powers. Malkavian vampires may purchase the Cast Hallucination, Command, Irresistible Slumber, Deprive Needs, and Influence Emotion powers. Nosferatu vampires may purchase the Eternally Welcome, Vampiric Strength, Irresistible Slumber, Odorless, and Mist Form powers. Toreador vampires may purchase the Eternally Welcome, Vampiric Charm, Mesmerize, Supernatural Speed, and Influence Emotion powers. Tremere vampires may purchase the Occult Student, Command, Manipulate Life Spirit, Deprive Needs, and Immortal Pleasures powers. Ventrue vampires may purchase the Detect Personality, Command, Mesmerize, Dampened Emotions, and Beyond The Herd powers. No vampires may purchase the Sun Resistance or Tamed Thirst powers.

Your Fledgling must also follow the rules of their clan when it comes to weaknesses: All vampires must purchase the Withered Stomach weakness – human food is indigestible to them. Brujah vampires like to rebel and fight – they should get into a fight with another Sim at least once every three days. They may fight the ruling vampires, but it doesn’t count as “defeating” them until they do it in an official vampire duel. They are also encouraged to purchase the Sloppy Drinker or Insatiable Thirst weaknesses. Gangrel vampires prefer open spaces and animals to being around people – they should have at least one pet (probably a cat or dog, although if you think you can fit a chicken coop or animal shed into their final home. . .) and prioritize socializing with that pet over socializing with other Sims. They are also encouraged to purchase the Uncontrollable Hissing or Undead Aura weaknesses. Malkavian vampires must deal with their madness – they should indulge their whims as much as possible (no matter how little sense they make – hell, the less sense the better), and you’re encouraged to let them do their own thing as much as possible as well (full autonomy on, people!). They are also encouraged to purchase the Uncontrollable Hissing or Fitful Sleep weaknesses. Nosferatu vampires are all warped by their curse into visions of pure ugliness – they should stay in their Dark Form as much as possible and only “put on their human disguise” to go to a club – and even then, they can only “keep up the illusion” for four hours. Being seen on a community lot by a large group of mortals in your Dark Form is a Masquerade violation, so keep track of the time! They are also encouraged to purchase the Dayphobia or Undead Aura weaknesses. Toreador vampires are mesmerized easily by what they personally consider beautiful, and are also a little more sensitive to the fact that they’ve become undead monsters – they should spend as much money as they can on beautiful artwork for their homes every three days, and spend most of their time admiring lovely objects and/or Sims when they’re out and about. They are also encouraged to purchase the Guilty Drinker or Eternal Sadness weaknesses. Tremere vampires are insular and ill-trusted by other vampires, and are so focused on their scholarly pursuits they lack physical fitness – they should not bring any of their relationships with other vampires up above “Acquaintance” (barring the Independent, see below), and should not improve the Fitness skill (or any other physical sport-related skill) above 5. They are also encouraged to purchase the Sloppy Drinker or Dayphobia weaknesses. Ventrue vampires may only drink from certain kinds of people – they should pick a distinguishing feature (hair color, eye color, personality trait, etc) and then only drink from Sims with that trait. They may drink regular plasma packs, but cannot drink ones made from fish or frogs. They are also encouraged to purchase the Guilty Drinker or Insatiable Thirst weaknesses. Optional: Your Fledgling can take the Thin-Skinned weakness no matter their clan, but I actually wouldn’t recommend it – while it fits with the World of Darkness lore, your Fledgling is going to have to be active during the day for their Odd Jobs most likely. Basically, take that one at your own risk!

Your Fledgling may befriend your Independent vampire – in fact, this is encouraged, as the Independent vampire can teach them a new power! Upon becoming friends with the Independent vampire, your Fledgling may learn one “out-of-clan” power that does not conflict with any of their weaknesses.

Your Fledgling must visit a nightclub once every three days to socialize, dance, and generally pretend to be human. If they can find a way to make money at the club or discreetly feed, even better.

Your Fledgling must “officially” defeat all members of the ruling vampire club in Vampiric Duels in order to break their hold on their unlives. Once this is accomplished, they may get a Freelancer job or sell things direct from inventory instead of to other Sims to pay the bills, as they are no longer under the club’s thumb.

Optional Hard Mode – Four Factions: There’s not one club, there’s four – and none of them like each other! Make three extra clubs, each with at least four vampire members, to represent the four main factions of the original game – the Camarilla (the “official” vampire government, kind of stodgy), the Anarchs (rebellious and looking for more freedoms), the Sabbat (want to revel in their monstrous nature), and the Kuei-Jin (Asian “vampires” who are trying to take over the area; feel free to make them a different kind of occult altogether!). Your Fledgling may choose to join any one of these clubs, or none of them. If they join a club, they have to defeat the leaders plus one member of each of the other clubs in Vampiric Duels to earn their freedom; if they go Independent, they just have to take down all four leaders.

Optional Hard Mode – Limited Map: Your Fledgling can only travel between the worlds of Evergreen Harbor (Santa Monica), San MyShuno (Downtown L.A.), Del Sol Valley (Hollywood), and Mt. Komorebi (Chinatown – it’s the closest we’ve got, just stick to the more city-like neighborhood). Their initial bad apartment must be in Evergreen Harbor, and they must upgrade to one of the best apartments in San MyShuno.

Optional Hard Mode – The Sequel: Your Fledgling is actually the protagonist of the ever-in-production Bloodlines 2 – aka, they’re a Thin-Blood, and their Embrace was REALLY illegal. Adjust the rules as follows:

Thin-Bloods often don’t show signs of any clan, but they are generally hunted and killed just for existing. If you have StrangerVille, I would recommend the “Paranoid” personality trait, but otherwise, customize them as you see fit.

After buying their shitty apartment, you must set their starting funds to zero – they did not receive anything for expenses, because. . .

They’re not under the thumb of the ruling vampires, they’re on the run from them. To be caught is to be killed, so your Fledgling must avoid their notice. Do not attempt to interact with them before you’re powerful enough to take them on, and avoid any Odd Jobs that come from them. (They may still talk to the Independent vampire, who doesn’t care about the politics.)

Their lack of clan means they may choose from almost any of the available powers (aka, anything but Sun Resistance and Tamed Thirst), but must have double the points needed to buy them before they can purchase them (due to their weak vampire blood). They also cannot sire new vampires, so they cannot take Vampire Creation. Befriending the Independent vampire allows them to purchase one power for normal cost.

[mallowstep]

What happened to Reedwhisker in your AU? In Canon, he is Mistyfoot and Blackclaw's only surviving kit. (Tbh I have NO IDEA how the poor boy survived Tigerclan in Canon. He was an apprentice, his mom and uncle were locked up, his remaining siblings were also locked up-I-... sometimes I look at some of your information on your Misty AU and think about that with THAT Canon fact, that Reedpaw, somehow, escaped the prison hole and torture but had to watch Tigerstar with his Mom, him abusing her, his uncle 'killed,' his brother starved, his sister being abused to where she gets sepsis, and eventually this child grows into a Tom. Something...Misty doesn't like.... This poor fucking child. I think about Reedwhisker alot and what he saw, and just....like...I'm glad this is such a fucking horrible thing to say) you didn't keep him alive like in Canon in your AU, but sometimes the idea of him living through the Misty AU like in canon...that keeps me up at night. Like. Him, alone in the apprentices den until Twanypaw shows up, him wondering Why He was so special not to be targeted by Tigerstar as well? Him, eyes wide as he watches Tigerstar playing house with his mom, his father being an absolute dick, Mudfur doing his best to both keep an eye on Reedpaw and keep him out of sight, just...this child has seen shit and....just Reedwhisker making himself smaller around Feather and Misty, or being the first to jump to their defense at any perceived slight. Just him.

ah, reedwhisker. yes, i feel with you. i too wonder a lot about him in canon, to the point where i often forget he lived through tigerclan.

i killed him because i really, really, really wanted tigerstar to say,

"Ah, I'm sorry," he says. "They're dead, aren't they?"

to mistyfoot. that's pretty much it. that and -- i needed her whole first litter of kits to be dead for the emotional arc, but i could've killed him during the great battle for those purposes. primrosepaw is said to die of greencough, and so in the misty au, that's how reedpaw died as well.

but. putting that aside for the sake of digging into the absolutely wonderful angst of him not dying that i sadly, due to narrative, had to pass up,

(see this is part of why i like talking abt ideas. i don't Have to worry about Story Arcs. i'm allowed to just enjoy myself.)

okay so -- uh i should put a cut in yeah.

cw: sexual assault

okay so -- i have dawnpaw down as an apprentice at the same time as featherpaw and co, so reedpaw is thankfully not Terribly alone. also, cedarpaw and rowanpaw of shadowclan but -- dawnpaw doesn't talk to them. and nor would reedpaw.

Dawnpaw watches her with barely veiled contempt. "Ignore her," Rowanpaw says. "She's like that with everyone." Dawnpaw flicks her tail. She doesn't eat with them, and the only reason she sleeps in the same den as them is by necessity. Heavystep beckons her over. "RiverClan thinks they're all that," Rowanpaw says. "You know how it is."

rowanpaw you socially inept idiot.

anyway, i think...maybe it's best if he escapes through subterfuge? maybe tigerstar doesn't know that he's mistyfoot's kit and no one tells him and when they realize what's happening -- if they can save just one apprentice, of course they would lie about it.

(also, for added angst, in the misty au, blackclaw and mistyfoot fall out because the combined stress of losing four children and mistyfoot being revealed as half clan. so -- blackclaw and mistyfoot are like. way better in this. hnng.)

oh yeah. he has a lot to watch dear god in heaven. he'd prob be made to fight featherpaw too? like oh my god. ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

okay if i wrote the misty au like this, the scene where featherpaw beats dawnpaw would be replaced with featherpaw beating reedpaw. just so you know. that angst would be there. and mistyfoot is like "aw fuck."

because they can't talk about reedpaw even in their prison. they could be overheard, and then reedpaw would be -- maybe killed. or featherpaw would be. or both of them. so they can't say a word about it, ever, ever ever ever.

and -- i think. oh god. i dunno. i think -- i mean it's hard for everyone. obviously. but featherpaw knows mistyfoot intimately, like. the way you do when you go thru something with someone. you understand and predict their reactions in a very specific way.

and stonefur and stormheart are both angry. stonefur is a lot "colder" of an anger, and stormheart doesn't have any published pov, but he's angry.

but reedpaw -- reedwhisker. he knows but did not experience, he's angry but also aware of how his anger would be perceived by his mother and sister and. oh. god. the angst.

and -- god. he wouldn't even like. okay so maximum angst would be keeping the line about kits and tigerstar just -- doesn't realize reedpaw is one of mistyfoot's kits, which means that tigerstar knows that blackclaw and mistyfoot are mates, which means that reedpaw can't even look to his father for comfort. he's got dawnpaw, and again, sharing a den with shadowclan apprentices. so he just -- has to pretend that this is all dispersonal.

like of course he feels bad about it -- all of riverclan does -- but he can't let on that this is his family. hnng.

and oh my god like. yeah. tawnypaw and reedpaw as "way too aware of the misty/tiger shit."

tawnypaw as "my father is raping someone regularly and is proud of it and he wants me to be supportive of it?"

and reedpaw as "my mother is being raped and we're not even supposed to be upset about it and i think he would probably kill my sister if i let on that they're my family so i just have to be okay with this despite being extremely not okay with this."

(and mistyfoot as. oh my god mistyfoot. i'm so sorry.

like this scene

Mudfur tries to approach her, as she walks back to Featherpaw, but she doesn't acknowledge him. That is the condition, she thinks, because no one is walking her back. They are watching her, of course, but she walks freely to Featherpaw.

like oh my god. oh my god. what does -- like. ahhh. she's hurt in this scene -- maybe visibly, maybe not. certainly -- clan knows what happened last night. and now she's walking across camp and she's -- if she derails or acknowledges anyone then -- she doesn't know what will happen but she doesn't think it'd be good.

and she really wants to know is if her son is okay. is he okay is he okay is he okay. but she can't do or say anything. mudfur can't do or say anything. blackclaw can't do or say anything. they all have to keep this secret and -- oh.)

yeah. i don't know who reedpaw's mentor is...oh. no.

okay here's a fun idea. shadepelt as reedpaw's mentor. she's a little young but hear me out. reedpaw gets reassigned to a shadowclan mentor because shadepelt might have corrupted him and. oh. oh my god.

anyway. wait that's actually. because pre-rescue, shadepelt and mudfur and all of riverclan are keeping reedpaw out of sight. just. trying to not to fail everyone. but now his mentor is like.

his mentor is blackfoot. you know. one of. oh my god.

tawnypaw and reedpaw as "we're supposed to be from okay to supportive of this" oh my god.

and reedwhisker would wrack up so much survivor's guilt. feathertail would -- probably be scared of him. she really only fights shadowclan cats but -- they want reedpaw to prove his loyalty. and she doesn't want to be -- that's her brother, she loves him -- but she can't help it.

bet she Tries To Hide It.

reedwhisker would Definitely step in. i think he'd blame blackclaw. for not doing more. yeah. that's good angst. he'd also.

okay so. when stormpaw comes back. reedpaw has been -- they've had not even a day of freedom. and he's already juggling all of this complicated stuff but then stormpaw terrifies featherpaw and reedpaw is so mad at him.

like. she wanted to see you, was happy to see you -- how do you fuck it up that bad?

it's not that it's actually stormpaw's fault, but reedpaw feels like it is.

all of the apprentices are now At Odds with one another. ahhh. angst.

and i think -- yeah. he'd actually probably be mad at stormpaw for a while. it'd be mutual.

because stormheart is like -- why didn't you do something? and reedwhisker is like -- why didn't you come back for them? and.

yeah. and the whole thing makes Feathertail Feel Terrible and when they realize that she's been caught in the crossfire now they just are angry at themselves.

god. anyway. thanks for giving me more angst to ramble about.

<3

[sparrowminder]

Any advice for setting up Discord roleplays (Warrior Cat ones) so that they're successful once launched? O:

I’ve only really participated in the setting up of SoTC, and none of us expected it to get nearly as huge as it is. I’ve been in a couple rp servers that I haven’t been a part of running, but I didn’t really stick with them for long. When I was younger, I also set up a bunch of rp forums, and all of them flopped. But here’s some things that sounds like good advice that I think contribute to the success we’re having with SoTC, and are things that I look at on the occasion I join other rp servers.

1. Identify your hook. What makes the server interesting and unique that’ll set it apart from others? I love seeing people’s fanclans, but these days just having a set of good fanclans with a bit of worldbuilding is not enough to draw me in. There needs to be a hook, either a plot hook or a systems hook, to draw people in. With SoTC, our hook is our clan assignment system, so secrets get revealed in character rather than everyone knowing everything, and our skills/dice system, which is complex under the hood but still easy to use because of our use of custom commands. We also have fun plots, but those are not our main draw. 2. Identify your core audience. The server may be 13+ in rating, but are you aiming it mainly at that age group, or is it really intended for experienced rpers and you just want to leave it open to younger and newer folks? We ended up changing SoTC to 15+ because, while we all knew some 13 year olds who were fine, we had a lot of them coming in and not understanding our systems or having no prior experience rping in paragraph format. You don’t need to do this, but it is helpful to know who the rp is for. While it’s nice if it can be accessible to people who are outside of that audience, you don’t need to bend over backward to accommodate everyone. 3. Strive to make the channels easy to navigate and information easy to find. Categories should be ten channels max, preferably fewer if you don’t need that many. Pin relevant information. Name channels clearly. Use emojis (sparingly) to make categories and important channels easy to identify visually. I see more and more rps having a separate website (tumblr, carrd, etc) for information that doesn’t fit well in Discord, but make it crystal clear if you do this that there is important information there. 4. For goodness sake, be ready to moderate. Be as clear as possible about your expectations for members so you can let people know when they are breaking them. I’ve stepped in a couple servers that had really specific rules and systems regarding in character stuff but very minimal rules about being respectful to other members. Unless the server is intentionally a small, semi-closed community (I consider Feline Fiction to be one, for example, as we rarely have folks join and they’re usually invited by existing members), you cannot expect “be nice” to be enough. 4a. This is a rule that I penned and later introduced to SoTC, that I highly recommend if you want to be able to keep everyone feeling safe and like...generally not doing the uncool stuff that I did when I was a clueless 13 year old on rp forums. I am ok with people taking this particular rule because I personally wrote it and have used it in multiple servers now, and I think it is really important to have something like this to foster a safe community.

“If the mods feel you are playing a disabled, mentally ill, or LGBTQ+ character disrespectfully, we’ll have a chat with you first, but if you don’t fix it this constitutes a warning and the character will need to be changed. Remember, LGBTQ+ cats are allowed and wholly supported! They are also accepted in-character so please no homophobic/transphobic cats.” In SoTC we also have rules where you shouldn’t play a mental illness unless you have personal experience with it (as in, you actually have it) and roleplaying abuse is banned. These, and the no in character -phobia clause, may not be necessary rules if you are specifically dealing with mature/darker themes, but that will be something you’ll need to be ready to moderate. 5. Have an advertisement plan. Disboard is a simple and effective method, but the more you can do the better. Many rp servers do partnerships, the adapted version of forum advertisement, where selected partner servers are allowed to post blurbs and updates in specified ad channels. Tumblr doesn’t hurt, if you can post updates semi-regularly. Make your hook clear everywhere so that people can immediately tell whether the concept interests them. Other folks, feel free to add what makes you interested or uninterested in an rp!