#I'm not saying Starclan is evil

[snailchasers-den]

How does starclan reacts to Spottedleaf's lies?

Super sorry for answering this so late, I've been super busy LMAO I try to answer asks as quickly as I can, so thank you for being so patient!

This will contain some spoilers for my fic, even if I might tweak some things before then, so know this is subject to some possible changes! It'll also contain some mild horror and themes of being watched, so fair warning!

It's nothing big at first, for a while she actually flies comfortably under the radar, the problem only really starts getting recognized by Starclan once they tell the clan the false prophecy, uncomfortably close to before whenever Spotted receives the 'Fire will save our clan' one, and gets worse once Yellowfang gets there and starts working alongside her. A lot of the plan hindered on the only other medicine cat around being her and her apprentice, so Yellowfang appearing threw a massive wrench in things. Yellowfang does agree not to reveal the fact she's faking her and Tigerclaw's prophecy, but can't promise she'll be able to keep her safe from everything that may come her way because of it.

She starts to avoid the night sky after that, doing her best to only go out during the day, or when the stars are hidden by clouds. But that doesn't always help her when she starts to feel watched near constantly. She's not exactly sure if it's a manifestation of guilt or Starclan themselves, at the time, but she starts to have dreams if not hallucinations of silent starclan cats, just... Watching as she tries to gather herbs. It's extremely rare for Starclan to decend from the sky, much less for no good reason. They don't tell you how dead and lightless an otherwise glittering Starclan cat's eyes can look when they stare at you so blankly. Nothing proves they're no longer alive more than that.

Yellowfang tries to comfort her through the days, but she out of anybody can tell it's starting to weigh on her- She does her best to make her feel a bit more secure, but having another cat with Starclan's gifts so nearby only makes things more unsettling.

Starclan is very different in this AU, being a lot more reserved and ominous, much closer to a coalescence of all the spirits of their ancestors that started having their lines between eachother smudged long ago. The clans have this image of ethereal starry passed family members who watch over them and keep them safe, but if you look deeper, there's something beneath the surface. They don't actively try to stop Spottedleaf, since this is likely a new type of crime, faking a prophecy not for power, but for something as simple and small as love, so instead they just judge. They know she knows they're watching her, and they plan to keep doing it until she dies, even if she tries to shut Starclan out of her mind later.

She does start trying to shut out Starclan once she realizes she's pregnant with Tigerclaw's kit. She knows the clan will see them as something special due to the prophecy that allowed them to be born 'within the code', and she doesn't need twice the stress with Starclan still lingering around her during the whole thing. Unfortunately, with her having such a strong connection with Starclan, and Tigerclaw having his own ties to it for wildly different reasons, their son ends up having a much, much higher connection than a majority of medicine cats do, even from a young age. Spotted isn't sure whether they passed it down to him, or if Starclan felt a bit sadistic and decided to play along for now, but for a while, the starry figures that stalk her through the forest seem to dissipate. She can't tell why, though, but she can feel in her bones that they'll be back for her.

Tigerclaw doesn't have a direct link with Starclan, but he does actually get his own glimpses of them, though his seem to be more based in malice. They've obviously never been too fond of him, and since Pinestar refused to kill him as a kit, they've let that demand go, but a lingering distaste for him never faded. He's been plagued with nightmares his entire life, but something about the ones he started getting once Starclan discovered their lie seemed to be less copy-paste with a few adjustments, and more personal. Deeper cutting and more unnerving. Ones he couldn't shake even with Spottedleaf at his side every night.

[bonefall]

With the discussion and the mention of the voice being described as 'sinister' I don't think this is the case anymore, but reading the chapter with Moonpaw in it after reading the prolouge made me guess that starclan actually intentionally made Moonpaw fuse with her sibling so the sibling could be a guide and companion to Moonpaw.

It's still leaning into the problematic nature of portraying the fusion of two embryos as one 'killing' the other but the idea is that bc they're fused in she's kinda in this inbetween-worlds state where she can relay info from starclan to moonpaw like a messenger or a gaurdian angel, and that their conflict with eachother would be more akin to normal sibling conflict.

"You're annoying I hate you!"

"Well I hate you too!" *gives moonpaw the mental image of her crossing her arms and turning her back to her*

"... sorry"

*still giving her the silent treatment*

"seriously???"

See, that's cute. That's ideal, imo. Like you said, it still leans into the problem of implying Vanishing Twin Syndrome/Fusion Chimerism is akin to one sibling "killing" the other, but I think this kind of dynamic would have enough love and complexity to soften that.

It's usually not about eliminating all problematic aspects, that's impossible-- just being aware of them, addressing them when necessary.

After all, that's why BB's goal is generally to "address," not "eliminate." (Within my personal comfort and ability ofc, see the content warnings)

From what I've seen of the Chimerism/Vanishing Twin critique, what seems to be requested in representation is positive portrayals, not total elimination. Duality as a point of love and pride, guiding each other.

Fusion Chimeras are rare though-- and usually identified because of visible intersex traits at birth, so I'm also gonna be looking over at the intersex community to see what they're looking for in portrayals too.

And, from what I'm seeing from the pwDID in my inbox, audience, and around the fandom, what they're usually looking for is complexity in alter/headmate characters. Not "evil voices," but fleshed-out personalities, especially when those headmates have a "purpose" in the function of the system.

(Like, for example, an alter who is loud and abrasive to stand up to threats and protect the rest of the system. Or one who is very caring, good at resolving conflict and making the system feel comfortable. Personalities which were formed for a reason.)

Not necessarily always benevolent-- sometimes you do have to deal with a bad headmate, or adjust the behavior of an alter. Like a roommate you have to evict or have a meeting with. Complexity. Not just vague entities.

All that to say, Sibling Headpaw sounds like it would be the best way foward. I hope this is what we get in canon 🙏

[rudymentari]

ur like. the curlfeather guy to me. how do u feel about the recent preview

Thank you sm all I've ever wanted

I'm glad to see Curlfeather again. At first I was worried they'd make her anger only about Splashtail ruining her plans and not address him trying to kill her kit, so I was glad when they did bring it up in a way that wasn't so flippant as her first mention of it. I wish they'd leaned into it a bit more.

Her description was definitely very gorey, even for warrior cats. I love all the fanart people are making of the scene but I'm going to keep focusing on the mostly curlfeather-centric video I'm working on rather than singular pieces- you might see it referenced there once it's out

I loved having a lot more Duskfur presence- as Curlfeather's mother, I have a Lot of thoughts about her. I like her characterization in the excerpt and her interactions with Mothwing and Frostpaw. I'm glad Frostpaw is allowed to be angry, as well

I think there's something to be said about Splashtail and his relationship with Curlfeather. Even if he was already an ambitious cat with violent tendencies, she Was an older warrior who in a way completely uprooted his life before he even finished his apprenticeship, a warrior who is still haunting him after his death. It's something I'd love to explore, but only in an ideal world where half the fandom didn't already believe Curlfeather was a wholly, entirely evil cat with nothing but malice behind her every action. I don't really want to encourage that.

Not saying I think none of the things she did were wrong. But I think it's infinitely more interesting to explore a character's complex feelings and motivations than label them as evil for evil's sake. I do believe she wanted what was best for her clan and her kits, and believed, if everything went to plan, that her kits, including frostpaw, would never have to face the negative consequences her actions ultimately brought. I also think there are legitimate reasons for her to feel the way she does about Starclan. I could make a multi-hour video essay on this with books excerpts and all. But I refrain

[t4twnyclaw]

retconning Curlfeather moments (River + Sky vs. Star.) spoilers V

Curlfeather isn't as heartless as how Frostpaw remembers her as. ofc fFostpaw has every right to demonize her mother I just mean like as a reader I never got that vibe. I remember in Star when comparing Curlfeather to Jayclaw she said something along the lines of "Curlfeather never gave me affection unless I had earned it." but in River, it seems like Curlfeather is the opposite:

"Her mother, she knew, would have stopped before Frostpaw even needed to ask, curling herself around her as a shelter from the wind."

“It’s not your fault, Frostpaw. I would willingly die countless times if it meant keeping you safe.” <- First thing Curlfeather says when Frostpaw sees her in 'Starclan'.

Also the two examples Curlfeather gave to Frostpaw to convince her she's a real medicine cat- were completely valid examples that she in no way could've even faked. (Jayclaw's death and a storm.) Sure, Curlfeather could've...hyped Frostpaw up about her visions but she didn't somehow plan Jayclaw's death or a storm. And I'm not defending Curlfeather; she's still manipulative in other ways (managing Frostpaw specifically in order to conceal Reedwhiskers body/discovery etc)

Also, Curlfeather is mentioned as "Having stars in her pelt." So was she originally in Starclan or is it an Ashfur situation where she just has stars in her fur for no reason. and speaking of this- in Sky, Curlfeather was the one that said "You have to look beyond the obvious choice." in regards to telling Frostpaw who the new leader should be. Curlfeather could've said splashtail or her evil brother podlight but she didn't... like she's depicted as being neutral/in Starclan yet in Star...

[kangoneko]

Inner Moonpaw Theory

Following the release of the first three The Elder's Quest chapters, most fans seem to agree the voice inside Moonpaw's head is Moonpaw's sibling. I think this makes a lot of sense, and is what I'll be building this theory upon.

Side note: in this post, I will be calling Moonpaw's voice "Inner Moonpaw." While it's unclear at this point if the voice would want a different name or not, the only reason Moonpaw is called Moonpaw is because of the appearance she gained after absorbing her sibling in the womb, as explained here:

Therefore, it is completely possible the voice inside her would also want to be called Moonpaw, and is what I'll be defaulting to.

Anyway, onto the actual theory...

This blurb has caused a lot of discussion: Why would Inner Moonpaw become sinister? In the first chapter with Moonpaw, while they annoy Moonpaw, they are mostly benign and even helpful at points. This makes me think they aren't out to get Moonpaw, at least not yet.

I've seen people say Inner Moonpaw grows resentment towards Moonpaw. Whether this is because Moonpaw is in control of the body or because Moonpaw has been somewhat dismissive and rude to the voice is unclear, but I find both ideas intriguing. Regardless, I want to offer a new idea.

I think Inner Moonpaw is actually receiving visions, and I'm going to hazard a guess that they aren't being sent from StarClan. I'm not saying that means they're from the Dark Forest... or that the ones sending visions are evil... just that the visions might seem more "sinister" for this reason, and that it's affecting Inner Moonpaw.

This would also mean Inner Moonpaw would most likely be forced to become a Medicine Cat if she wasn't absorbed by Moonpaw. With this in mind, it's not too outlandish to surmise that this will mean Moonpaw will be forced into the medicine-cat den this arc for a period of time, similar to what happened to Rootspring in The Broken Code. But similar to Rootspring I think Moonpaw won't become a Medicine Cat, and it will be because Inner Moonpaw is the one receiving visions. I also think this arc is trying to distance Medicine Cats more from the divination role with the way Leafstar was sent a direct message from StarClan instead of her medicine cats, so I'm sure that'll be relevant to Moonpaw leaving the medicine-cat den, too.

Personally I believe a combination of receiving these visions and feeling resentment or frustration towards Moonpaw could lead Inner Moonpaw to become more sinister. I think this could lead to some very interesting character development with both Moonpaws if handled correctly.

On the whole I'm very curious to see how Inner Moonpaw will be handled this arc. Considering the title is called Changing Skies, I think it has two meanings: that the Clans will change territories (change skies), and something regarding Moonpaw. The moon is a celestial object, so I wonder if Moonpaw's own sky will change. But what could that mean? Could it be related to the voice inside her head, the twin she absorbed? What if Inner Moonpaw eventually takes over the body, and becomes Outer Moonpaw? Or will Inner Moonpaw "change skies" and enter a new body...? So many questions!

Anyway, thanks for listening. 🌗 The Moonpaws are occupying my thoughts lately and I am so excited to learn more.

[zwyragpina]

Mapleshade’s Novella is about Grief. Not Vengeance.

I don't like to debate about this book because there's no reasoning with people who are the equivalent of brick walls. (Maple and Freckle fans) But it's very frustrating to see that people lack critical thinking skills to the point that Mapleshade's novella has been severely misinterpreted for the last eight years. The book isn't about vengeance, and if you guys took the time to analyze the characters and see what core thing they have in common, you could easily understand that this book is about grief. 

There is no good or evil in this book, and nobody was made to be a hater. Hating any character would be foolish because the majority of you will criticize a character for doing something and then turn to defend another who has done this exact thing. That's not to say none of them have flaws, but hating any character when they are literally the same with different fonts is useless. 

The Mapleshade novella is a book about grief, and there is no good or evil UNTIL Mapleshade kills. With that being said, absolutely no one in that book deserved to die or suffer; yes, that included Oakstar and Appledusk. Not sure why I'd have to specify, but you weirdos hate fictional images to the point of wishing death and saying horrific things along the lines of wanting to torture and beat them if they were real.

Grief is a very complex emotion and makes us say and do very irrational things that we might not mean or really feel after the spur of the moment. Grief makes us do things that we would've done otherwise if we didn't feel it. The situation of Oakstar exiling Mapleshade and her kits is easy to judge and view from an outside standpoint because the readers themselves weren't there to experience or see just how deeply Oakstar's grief affected him. 

If you only sympathize with one of the characters in the book, then you don't understand what it is to feel grief and pain. Nobody has the ability to sympathize with and understand others if they cannot place themselves in another's situation and understand how they could've dealt with that situation. It's easy to just say what you would've done, but it's not until you actually understand what it is to suffer. From the start, Oakstar was shown as a kind fella, albeit very vindictive, which is understandable considering his POV of the situation with Birchface and Appledusk. 

Oakstar's grief is fueled by the betrayal he feels from a clanmate who he trusted deeply, who led him to believe that she was carrying his deceased child's kittens and being led to believe for 4 months that she was the mother of his grandchildren when in reality the cat he deeply trusted took advantage of his trust and used his deceased son's name to cover up her "crimes" and the fact that her children were fathered by the murderer of his child.

With all of these events hitting him so fast, realistically, if you were in this situation, what exactly would you do? You would want the person who hurt you to leave and be out of your space. I'm not saying that it was okay for Oakstar to banish innocent children, but it's understandable why he did that. His exile of the children was backed up in the fact that he believed their presence in the camp would bring danger. And Frecklewish, being his only child left, he'd want to do anything he could to protect her. On top of that, it was StarClan themselves who sent the sign that they would be dangerous, so if anything, the children being banished were entirely StarClan's fault. Their incompetence in this book and the grief that every character feels play a major role in this book. 

The same point I made for Oakstar also applies to Frecklewish. I often see people paint her as this sad victim when in reality she is far from that. She is very vindictive and an asshole, which are traits that were developed because of her grief. Her grief over knowing that her trusted friend lied to her and betrayed her brother's name caused her to attack a mother in front of her terrified children. Her grief caused her to lash out and wish harm on those who never deserved it. Grief isn't just sadness. It's anger; it's rage. 

The same thing can be said for Appledusk. While I don't condone cheating in the slightest, and while it isn't relevant at all to our conversation of grief, I would like to note that he did in fact love both of his mates. Him risking his life to nearly drown for Mapleshade and their kits says it all. Him jumping to take the killing blow for Reedshine and laying down his life says it all. 

Before the exile events occurred, when he met Mapleshade at the river and saved Patchkit, the text notes that while he's speaking to her, there is a deep, deep longing in his eyes, which does show that he cares and loves her despite it all. He tells her that he’s proud of her and that she and their kits are strong. Does not that say enough about how much he admired her?

 Boiling him down to a simple cheater with no other personality traits is ridiculous and shows a lot of peoples lack of reading comprehension. "Well, if he loved her, he wouldn't have.-“ These are cats. Just because they have sentient-level human thoughts does not mean you should go applying human morals and actions to them when they don't know what that is. The only thing from human society they understand is murder.

Appledusk risked his own life to jump into a flash-flooded river to save Mapleshade and stayed with her to comfort her when he brought her onto the bank. He was willing to jump in that river again when she told him their kids were trapped. Moving onto his grief because I need to explain this in as much depth and my own analysis as possible since people don't seem to understand a character's nuance or what that word even means. 

When Appledusk returns to her after trying to save their kits, the text notes that Mapleshade wouldn't see his expression and that he came wordless and didn't speak to her while taking her to their children. He had completely shut down, which is a factor also caused by grief. From my own experience of grieving and going through different stages, shutting down is a common thing that occurs in those grieving who can't feel anything other than intense sadness. 

Appledusk shutting down and turning Mapleshade away wasn't written in just for him to be an asshole. That wouldn't make sense considering the very obvious theme of this book. It's written to show how differently grief can affect others. Anyone would shut down if they had to witness the sodden corpses of children, especially if it was the parent themselves. 

During chapter four, before getting to RiverClan camp, Appledusk remained quiet and despondent until after he heard Mapleshade admit that she had purposefully led their children into a flooded river during a storm despite what he had told her early about keeping them away from the river to ensure their safety. He isn't aware of the full situation of what happened back in ThunderClan; therefore, his actions and grief are motivated solely by what he knows.

Appledusk's talking tone is shifted to being stunned, which is being shocked. It's as if your heart is dropping because you've just learned of a terrible situation or truth. Earlier in the book, Appledusk displays a great concern for the lives of Mapleshade and their kittens if ThunderClan were to find out the truth. They both willingly risked their own lives and the lives of their kittens to keep seeing each other despite how cruel the warrior code is. Which I should add, neither of them is in the wrong, and neither deserved to be punished. 

I believe this is why he referred to his actions as being a mistake, because otherwise, if he and Mapleshade had never gotten infatuated or just been more careful, then their innocent children wouldn't have had to suffer. Not sure how anyone interpreted this as him calling his wife and children mistakes, but that also just proves the point that this fandom doesn't have good media literacy. You could understand every character's POV and emotions if you just read back on some parts of the book or just took the time to actually understand each of their grief and how they handled it. 

The book also notes that Mapleshade almost winced at the pain in Appledusk's eyes when he says that. He doesn't hate Mapleshade or his children; he never did, but his grief caused him to think irrationally and not clearly think the situation through, and his grief prevented him from actually wanting to understand why Mapleshade did what she did. "I should have never betrayed my clan by meeting with Mapleshade" is a thing he says out of grief because his meeting with Mapleshade led to so many conflicting actions that harmed those around them that didn't deserve it. 

In fact, their meetings ended up hurting each other. Mapleshade's recklessness cost them their lives and their precious babies, which Appledusk then views as it being her fault and views her as a killer, which isn't a bad thing. It's an irrational response, and he feels that he hasn't had time to process the events happening. It's why he tells Darkstar he will regret everything he did because all it did was, in the long run, unexpectedly come back to hit him in the ass when StarClan ire killed their children. 

When Appledusk explains why Mapleshade and their kits were here, the text notes that his voice falters. To falter means that the speaker cannot speak normally because they're feeling emotions too intense for them to understand, which is an action also caused by grief. The pale brown warrior shook his head. “Why should I? It’s your fault that these kits are dead. I never want to see you again.” 

I will repeat this point again that Appledusk is refusing to help her because of the intense grief he feels. 

"It's your fault that these kids are dead; I never want to see you again" is a thought and emotion that stems entirely from his grief, not because he wants to "save his own ass" or wants to "suck up." Which to add during this, he never tried to defend himself when Darkstar was planning to exile him. It was Reedshine and Reedshine only. Meaning that he wouldn't have cared if he was cast out with Mapleshade as well. I do think that if he had been exiled, either way, he wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere near Mapleshade. 

Appledusk is the only character (besides Myler) who showed Mapleshade any sympathy for what happened. He feels sympathy because he had time to calm down from his grief; he refuses to harm her and only tells her to leave because he still cares for her. She is his past mate, the mother of his children, and someone he deeply trusted and still even admired. He obviously doesn't hold any more ill will toward her anymore unlike Frecklewish because he has time to calm down over the intense grief he felt losing his children, and he understands that she is hurting too. 

Some will say I'm defending these characters too hard because they "wronged" Mapleshade, which isn't the case, but I'm fine with that. Appledusk and Oakstar are particularly interesting characters to me because they both did things that directly affected and harmed each other. Appledusk accidentally killed his son, and Oakstar unknowingly led Appledusk's children to a cruel and untimely death.

I understand the book perfectly, so no criticism anyone has about my analysis will bother me. I used to hate this book despite it actually being so messy. But after taking a deeper look, I admire it a lot. It just took having more sympathy for all the characters and developing better comprehension skills for me to understand what it's truly about. 

Also going to say I'm not putting the blame all on Mapleshade either. I think the only ones truly to blame for any actions in the book are StarClan and Mapleshade when she chooses to murder. StarClan could've solved a lot of these issues but chose not to. They've been shown in other books to step in and interact with the living, but they chose to let everything spiral. I don't think Mapleshade was at fault for lying because she never actually said it was Birchface, and that assumption was pushed onto her.

However, I do fault her for the children dying. Oakstar and Frecklewish played an inadvertent role in those children dying as well. Frecklewish for suggesting and instigating the exile in the first place and Oakstar carrying it out. However, like I said before, StarClan's omen of these children being dangerous played a role in why he also exiled them, so it's more StarClan's fault than anyone else's. 

[bonebabbles]

Wind Begin

HOKAY finally cracked Wind open. My expectations are pretty low, because I'm anticipating that this is the book where ASC takes a downturn.

I will say going in that I am still trying to enjoy the book, I haven't flipped into Total Hater mode with this arc just yet. But I'm honest about how disappointed I am in the direction of the story since Book 4, because I'd been hoping for a more grounded, less StarClan-centric plot for once.

Naturally I have a huge bone to pick with the theme of "EVIL ATHEISTS RUINING SOCIETY" so I'm going to get pretty sensitive towards it, bonus points if somehow they manage to pencil in a "XENOPHOBIA IS FINE ACTUALLY" somewhere

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I'm not trying to be rude, but I feel like you're going way too far to punish Brambleclaw. Thistleclaw, the child groomer, doesn't receive this treatment. I don't understand the point of bringing him back if you're going to portray him as the most evil cat in history. Brambleclaw is buried outside, while most of the evil cats are buried within the clan's territory, which seems very extreme. If you hate him so much, don't include him in a rewrite. It will feel just like what you hate the Erins for, "forcing too much on Brambleclaw." If you dislike a character, don't focus on them. Like Jesus Christ, my friend wasn't wrong, you have a hate boner for this cat. I mean no offense, but it's weird, dude. Real weird.

Why is it that the minute I post bramble facing consequences for actions I get bramblestans in my inbox assuming I hate him? I think what's weird is very clearly trawling the tag to look for posts like mine so you can write an essay. What you should be doing is drawing him with green eyes, it looks good.

Cause if you knew this project, you would know that Thistleclaw isn't a child goomer anymore, technically. He is Ivypaw's Dark Forest mentor (which... is grooming people but not THAT way), as Hawkfrost has a proper arc now and... Doesn't die in Sunset.

I will say one thing though, I did actually forget one thing to mention that you caught! He isn't on Thunderclan's MAIN territory. I mean... what do you call a border that shifts ALL the time? It's the Thunder-Shadow Niagara Falls.

It's where Tawnypelt is going to be buried! Under a pine tree. (It's also close to a lungwort patch Rowanstar is the protector of, territories NEED landmarks)

Also.... I don't truly hate him hate him! Sure, he sucks but he isn't real. And as a character? Dude, he's FUN. He's a self fulfilling Prophecy, he has good moments, in WCR, he is still a POV during TNP and is buddies with Cinderpelt. He's canonically a giant PUFFBALL of an animal and I've never been against adding your own pets to Xenofiction! I am also the biggest advocate for the Give Brambleclaw Green Contacts Organization. I'm giving him more moments with his family, and while those relationships get REALLY strained, it's a story. He wouldn't be interesting if he was a cardboard cutout of a cat. I think he's interesting in a way that is both intriguing and frustrating.

He's messy.

He loves his daughter Dandeliontuft, but she's the spitting image of his mother who died right after swearing to never speak to him again, and Dandy is nearly mute... It's hard to think about. Abusers are not unfathomable monsters with no redeeming qualities. He still cried when he thought Lionpaw was buried alive.

He does show up to Starclan, but when he sees the smoldering scorched earth, it's a clear message. He wasn't welcome, and he will not be staying. It's not like the actual literal groomer Stormtail, who got poisoned repeatedly, had all of his relationships ruined, and chased out of Starclan every night by a living and dead Goosefeather until his spirit eroded due to his refusal to move on. Tom got eaten alive and his spirit consumed by One Eye.

He's a ghost now. He's gonna have a long, long time to reflect on what he's done. How badly he did hurt others. He's been around too long, and his generation needs to be done away with. I think he'll find peace wandering the land, being a cat ghost.

He's not an evil cat, he's just stubborn. Stuck in the way he was taught to be by the Clans.

[clangenrising]

Are you ever afraid of falling into the "outsiders evil, clan cats good & better than them" thing that the main series does? cause canon goes HARD to make the clans seem perfect and all outsiders & weird & evil & wrong (I'm not saying you are doing this btw, just curious!)

Good question! I am very conscious of that and try to make sure that not only are the Clans just as flawed as the cats outside avoid the Xenophobia that is present in the main series. Cause there is a LOT haha

Because I write RisingClan week by week and don't do too much to plan the plot past a month or so (aside from the results of my ClanGen playthrough) my writing is never going to be as careful as a story that I might write and edit in its entirety before posting but I have a few things I do to try and make sure it avoids those harmful narratives.

I make sure that the outsider cats that I write are nuanced and three dimensional. Yes, a lot of the outsider cats in the story right now are dangerous and bad people, but a lot of them are just cats existing in the world and unconsciously supporting the harmful systems they are apart of. When it comes down to it, OUTSIDERS are not the ultimate enemy, authoritarianism and fascism and all the other isms that the city cats perpetuate are the enemy.

I also make sure that the Clans are flawed too and that I try to address those flaws in the story. I'm not sure when it's going to come into play, but eventually I want to tackle the Clans' relationship with StarClan and the problems that spring from that. I also want to address the in world xenophobia that Clan cats have and have our characters overcome it. Who knows how well I will do that but I'm looking forward to trying.

So, yeah! If you are looking for more warrior cats content that addresses the xenophobia and authoritarianism in the series, I highly recommend checking out @bonefall who is rewriting the plot to address those topics instead of erase them. I spent a good 20 minutes searching for a particular post of theirs about why they decided to tackle fascism and authoritarianism in their writing that I remember really liking but tumblr search is garbage and I couldn't find it. Still! From the little I have consumed of it, I think their stuff is very good and you should go check it out!

[featherdawn]

overall thoughts on the book: it was mid at best. frustrating at worst.

things I liked:

- sunbeam. I love u sunbeam my girlie my sweet cheese. I don't even have much to say I just. really like reading about her

- splashtail. he's trying so hard and barely succeeding. he reads like he's so out of his depth. it's so funny. he's intimidating, I guess, in that he killed harelight without hesitation or remorse, but like. he should've killed wasp too if they really wanted me to fear him. this is all going to crumble beneath his feet just u watch

- podlight. it was also kinda funny to see him be a massive cunt to frostpaw, in a fucked up kinda way. evil medicine cat if u squint

- the way it feels like the plot is moving. we saw frostpaw gather support and evidence of splashtails bullshit. it's an incredibly low bar but this is warrior cats

- breezepelts tiny tiny appearance in the beginning

- appleshine and woodsong being cunts. I support women's wrongs

- Squirrelstar. I love u bbg

- edit: oh my god I forgot curlfeather in the prologue. she's so good. i love u queen u are so right about everything.

things I didn't like:

- motives for driving splashtail out. I do not care that he doesn't respect starclan, starclan has given me no reason to respect them either. I care that he is willing to kill his clanmates.

- nightheart. he's not as bad as he used to be in terms of the misogyny and such, but now that his arc is over its clear how fucking useless his pov is to this arc. we gain nothing from it. not only in this book, either; the whole arc. he's an accessory to sunbeam and frostpaw in my mind, and it doesn't help that only 1 chapter involves something that neither of them could witness. get him outta here

- the unwillingness to fight. this is WARRIOR CATS god damn it! I didn't come here for this "I don't wanna spill blood :(" bullshit! if this was the first arc splashtail would've been ripped a new asshole by now!!!

- the unwillingness of the authors to kill. I've mentioned already wasp should've died; we gain nothing from him living. he leaves anyway. use this to show splashtails brutality! have whoever bring his body back as a warning! there was no reason to keep him alive. also leafkit could've died but that one I'm more indifferent to.

- how the berryheart plot line progressed. it felt forgotten about in the second half, only to come back full swing. she's suddenly riverclans deputy??? huh??? why are u there berryheart this isn't like you

- I have an incling fear they're setting up nightheart to be deputy and I do not like it. it should be sunbeam. not just bc I like her but bc she shows more signs of leadership; 2 of her tasks involved leading, the way she went in for leafkit, the way that she will do what's right regardless of the morals (yes, I know they say nightheart will do that too, but recently he only seems to do it when someone else is already doing it too. accessory character.) at the very least she should've gotten to be a mentor. grr

[nanistar]

How did you go about making your story Saltburn's Clan? I really love how fleshed out and interconnected things are, it's really good! I want to make my own story, too, but I'm struggling to know what steps to take to get there and where to start. So, how did you go about it?

this one is really hard. i get a decent amount of people asking me how to start/how to write a comic, but never how to start/write a story.

truthfully, i don't really know. i have always been a more oc oriented person rather than fandom oriented. when i was in middle school i tried writing fanfiction but was never as attached to the canon character as i was with ocs. now oc x canon, however, i could roll with. all this to say, i have always had oc stories floating around in my head, so starting a story itself is easy for me. following through is not, i have to really hit a vein early on.

so when it comes to story, what do you like? i like 70s and 80s grungy sci-fi and gory/campy horror (alien, event horizon, the thing, evil dead) niche and hostile biomes with highly adapted creatures (like deep sea or deep desert) and i love specbio, even if i'm far from an actual scientist. i also love bastardizing Christianity because the themes and motifs are. (chef kiss) Delicious. (a lot of these inspirations don't come into play for SBC but since i was 15 or so i've been working on another story, starting the comic, cancelling it, rewriting it, completely wiping everything but the core characters. most of these themes are more appropriate for them)

and what sort of character tropes do you like/don't like? i personally am uninterested in writing stories of younger people discovering the world around them and discovering who they are. i love to read them, but i've already lived through that situation and don't want to have to work through it again. another thing i'm personally bad at writing is will they/wont they romance stuff. that's why i like established adult characters with established relationships. Saltburn and hollowspur are both 5 years old and have been dating for about 4 of those years. we know that they love each other, as they visit and play around, and sleep over often, but we also know that they are independent and self-sufficient without each othersince we know that they live apart and have no interest in moving in together. (this is all shown, not told, in chapter 1) i did not start saltburn's story and setting with the intention of making it into a comic, or even to share it with tumblr or anyone other than my friends, outside of drawings that i did for myself and posted. she was just a little kitty cat who lived in my head for a while. i talk a bit more about it here, but basically when it came to actually coming up with the setting, i knew i wanted it in the desert so i researched biomes and found ones that would be good for clans.

warrior cats in particular lends itself to a really good jumping off point for stories, as it already has an established hierarchy and society so you dont have to think TOO hard about it. but also you can modify it to your own discretion. i'm personally sick of starclan's interference so i didn't want them to have anything to do with the story, plus there are a lot of better "starclan is evil/fucked up/has bad intentions" stories out there than i could do (@the-exiled-comic, the dog star, ect) . i also didnt want any clan v clan drama because weve had enough in canon. from there i established that cross clan relationships are fine and joining a clan that fits you better is okay too. then i filled out the clans, i started with sunclan and did marshclan last. through drawing that huge list of characters i was able to set them up with families and histories along the way because i could look at similar coat patterns and stuff and assign them as family. briskwater and hollowspur were always siblings, but hawkwasp being from briskwater's litter came a bit later. i knew i wanted flickerstar to have exes and a lot of kids so i came up with a bunch of names first and figured the rest out later. having these established histories that go back helps make the world feel lived in.

saltburn's unusual design came before the creation of moonclan, though i knew i wanted a 4th clan at this point. i decided there would be a clan that lived in the mines and came out at night, and then eventually worked them back so that they were instead banished away deep into the mines. there is a lot of moonclan lore that i have not revealed yet (we will learn all about them this upcoming chapter) and most of it has stemmed from the question: If life is so bad for them down there, why hasn't anyone left yet? because a major plot point form moonclan is that nobody knows they exist. SO there has to be something, physical or otherwise, keeping them down there. when you build a world you gotta ask yourself WHY a lot, and figure that out too. why are the surface clans so friendly with each other? because they don't need to compete for resources and are able to spare some. why hasn't anyone left moonclan? well...

anyway a lot of these things will come naturally the more you think about it. and tbqh, i did not go into the comic with all this lore and stuff planned. it has come to me as i work. moonclan's [Redacted] has been rewritten like a dozen times as i come up with cooler ideas. when i plan a scene, i usually wrote a short kinda vague script for it, and then work through it as i do the pages. an 8 page scene takes a month to do, so I have a lot of time to mull over the dialogue, so i don't worry about writing it all down ahead of time.

but beyond all that. i personally can't go "i want to write a story" and then do it. i have to work it over in my head and as doodles for a long time before i get anywhere that i'm happy with it. it comes naturally to me i just sorta zone in and focus on stuff.

[snailchasers-den]

What about Tigerclaw x Spottedleaf has made you like the ship so much? I don't dislike it but I don't quite understand it either.

Well, the thing that kicked off my initial interest was the scene they had together in the first book, which I read as some type of flirty banter as a kid, and it later on snowballed from there the more I thought about it nowadays, I think LMAO Since then it's been like, my all time biggest ship in warriors, and I think about them all the time, even if I can't post about them a ton, I check the tag regularly and kinda just rotate them in my brain LMAO

It's customary at this point to mention I'm writing this while extremely tired, as I do most of my asks, so fair warning if any of this is kinda clunky. Other people have explained it WAY more eloquently than me, so if you're curious, I recommend looking in the SpottedTiger tag, cause others explain it in way more concise and understandable ways. I write most shit like I'm a madman at a whiteboard, but if that's your jam, you've asked the perfect person.

It's really a mixed bag why I started liking it-? A whole lot of things added up and got me hooked.

The difference in demeanors is fun, with Tigerclaw being threatening and ambitious and dramatic, while Spottedleaf is sweet and compassionate, yet extremely sassy, I feel like they'd play off of eachother nicely even in just comedic, non-romantic scenes.

Depending on how you want things to play out, you can basically sway how they effect eachother in however many different ways you want- Want an evil Spottedleaf AU? Tiger manages to convince her to join his side and we have a fun evil medicine cat. Want a however good Tigerclaw and a fluffier AU? Spotted is what he needs to soften him up just enough to not go feral and try taking over the clans. Want to tear them apart and have it be super tragic and kinda fucked up? Tiger still gets Clawface to kill her because he knows he can't bring himself to do it and knows she's his weak point. Something more canon-compliant? They were had a secret relationship before she died, and he sees her in Tawnypelt (I have a fic based on that idea, I love it. Obsessed with Tawnypelt resembling Spottedleaf by coincidence.) They're super flexible in that you can basically tweak and twist their story in so many different ways depending on how much you adjust the scenarios or their actions.

Make them mushy and sweet! Make them a badass medic/leader villain couple! Make them divorce eachother 3 different times and be bitter exes who throw snark and cold one liners! Make them be a tragic failed love story! Make them somehow make it work? Make them gay toms! Make them lesbians! Make them polyamorous with a cat of your choice! They're so versatile, and I love seeing anything people do with them.

I also like to throw a lot of religious/Starclan related things into the mix personally, because in different ways they both have connections with it in ways a lot of cats don't, and it can be both a good connecting point, and make it have an extra air of tragedy which I play VERY hard into in my False Prophecy AU. LMAO Spoilers for the AU that aren't really spoilers since I've drawn it before, but Tigerclaw doesn't actually commit a lot of his atrocities in that AU (Hence why I don't call him Tigerstar) and still goes to the Dark forest primarily due to literally lying about Starclan's word when they already wanted him dead from the moment he was born and 'corrupting a medicine cat', (And whatever else they could get him on, probably him being a bad mentor or having bad thoughts. They just wanted him in hell.) meanwhile, Spottedleaf, the golden girl of Starclan, despite being the one who ACTUALLY directly lied about their word and broke the code, is given a second chance and let in because 'She only loved too much'. (Because if they're going to say that line for someone like ASHFUR, I can twist it and use it for my AU in a more sinister manner, since Starclan is morally questionable here.) The ending of the AU's story also heavily relies on the afterlives, and though I won't go into it here since that's not what this ask is about and I genuinely do want to write it someday, I think it's a really fun way to twist things for them. It has such a poignant, vivid energy it carries with it, and I don't think it would feel the same with really any other pairing.

They're closer in age than most ships with them seperately, which is super nice, and makes it really fun to imagine them interacting as apprentices and their feelings building from those times into adulthood-

If you want to consider Spottedleaf's Heart, that could actually add to it too, seeing as they were both victims of Thistleclaw, likely even around the same time, and could seek solace in eachother over it- They're the only ones that truly understand, and that could drive them to want to protect eachother from other threats because they know they've been hurt in similar ways and don't want that to happen again.

I tend to imagine Tigerclaw to be a big ass Maine Coon while Spottedleaf is fairly small, and that just adds to it for me, since I think it makes the fluff between them 10 times better. My favorite warriors ship dynamic is when one of them is very, very fluffy and the other can basically just. Sink into their fur like a pillow. Hence why I also like MothCrow. I'm both unpredictable and incredibly predictable.

I also just don't really like a lot of Spottedleaf ships? She's one of my favorite characters, but I don't like basically any of the other pairings I've ever seen for her. Definitely don't like SpottedFire and never did, I see Mousefur as very very aromantic and relate to that, so SpottedMouse is very much not my jam- Anything else tends to be a rarepair or just something I don't really vibe with- She's not shipped with as many people as you'd expect. SpottedTiger was like striking gold for me- (Though Spottedleaf/Runningnose is also a nice one I think about from time to time, and is where I got Snailchaser as a character from LMAO)

Tigerclaw has always stood out to me and registered in my mind as being a romantic in a way too? It's a unique trait for a villain, especially in warriors, so I love emphasizing it, since god knows the Erins don't and won't. I know a lot of people like to joke about him kinda sleeping around or being a womanizer with him having two mates, but I love taking his multiple mates and interpreting it in more of a romantic sense- (And also I headcanon him as Polyamorous, but that's just me) He wasn't a good partner at all in canon, but something about imagining if he was makes him 10 times more compelling to me. He's a romantic! He's a family man! And he's a sadistic wanna-be dictator with the ambition needed to wreak havok and take over Shadowclan! Those traits 100% clash and that's the point. Putting him with Spottedleaf further complicates that by pairing him with a compassionate medic who does not at all share his lust for power. (Or might deep down, who knows! It's up to the writer!) I think it'd be fun to see internal battles and how the actual good traits he has fuck with his plans.

Though, if you know me at all, I'm also just really weird and love rarepairs and crack ships for Warriors. Hell, I basically made up the MothCrow tag on here by cautiously posting about Mothwing x Crowfeather- Even if my stuff's not completely canon accurate, I write in much more 'what if' scenarios and heavy AU usage. It's more fun and interesting to me to write in a more speculative "I love the version of this character that exists only in my brain" way, and out comes the stuff I make.

[bonefall]

heyyyy bonefallll!!! So uhm. Wind released. And if you read it, what do you think of it?

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I started ASC off with a lot of excitement. I had known to not get my hopes up, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like they actually had something meaningful to say about the problems in Clan society. For once, it felt fresh.

A conflict based on a murder mystery and a power struggle, political radicalization within another Clan with anti-Clanswapper bigotry turning violent, and the reluctant heir of a legacy sprawling several generations. Like a dark echo of TPB, implying the root issues had never been truly addressed by Darkest Hour. The Clans still have a terrible ruling system. The culture is still bigoted. Firestar failed to destroy the obsession with legacy-- he just founded a new bloodline.

And even if it wasn't THAT deep, it was at least a grounded plot that was based in the characters more than faith in StarClan. If Nightheart's arc about legacy fell apart, I'd still enjoy watching him struggle, lose people, grow, and find his purpose. Or seeing Splashtail juggle the power he'd managed to snatch and was just not smart enough to hold onto. Or the cool fights that would surely result from an invasion of RiverClan.

Wind tossed it. It was already having a downturn in the previous book, but this is a book that seems so afraid of having interesting conflict that it spends 75% of its time debating if something interesting should happen, and 25% of its time barking, "EVIL HEATHENS WHO HATE GOD WILL DESTROY OUR SOCIETY!!"

I can't get over how awful Splashtail's "descent" is. He's having a dumbass atheist stoner debate with Podlight when they go to the Moonpool, musing that maybe you have to eat 9 mice to get 9 lives, and then 2 appearances later he's foaming at the mouth with a dictator speech and kills harelight no miss.

They even seem to have tried to replicate Stonefur's execution but badly. It's jarring. Splashtail had a big dictator speech, killed the beloved deputy suddenly, and the whole camp looks Super Scared and Upset so that you know it's the Evil Leader and not a systemic problem.

His "TALENT FOR MANIPULATION" is saying he heard Curlfeather murmur evil plans in her sleep and (apropos of nothing) accusing her teenage daughter of "getting the wrong idea" about his adult romantic interest in her. I keep coming back to this because the ENTIRE book's plot is based on this successfully smearing Frostpaw's reputation.

you may be tired of hearing it, but I'm definitely more tired than you because I had to read and analyze an ENTIRE BOOK founded on it.

The plot is endlessly arguing over if they can trust Frostpaw or not, gathering "evidence" to this end, while Sunbeam and Nightheart's POVs uselessly languish in ThunderClan doing mentoring stuff.

Im SO sick of being forced to sit in thunderclan while more interesting things happen offscreen. stop adding MORE cats to ThunderClan, you already have Stormcloud and you do NOTHING with him why are they also getting WAFFLEPAW

Everyone's praising the fact that the book can remember previous entries, but actually, I'm going to drop a hot take; It's actually bad if they CAN obviously reference old material, and then it doesn't influence the actions the characters take. They namedrop Nightstar several times and then come up with excuses for why they still need to sit around and do nothing!!

THAT'S WORSE, ACTUALLY.

SCALDING TAKE, I'd RATHER see the cats have the memories of goldfish if the alternative is "We remember Nightstar! We're simply going to purposefully disregard Nightstar, because the plot needs to happen"

They also muse that maybe Splashtail's evilness is making all the RiverClan cats act evil, and they'll go back to normal once he's removed. This has been implied before, but never so blatantly stated.

But most of all, I can't stop going back to "Godless Heathen Bloodlust." What a fucking joke. For a shining minute it looked like we were going to have interesting villains, but no, they really are just coming out and saying that lacking faith is an indicator of a moral failing. What makes Splashtail so uniquely bad and scary is that he "disrespects the ancestors" (hey podlight. what if eating 9 magic mice gives you 9 lives? woah dude look at this. the bugle chips look like claws. lol haha) and hates love and peace and won't even let Jesus guide him.

The scenes with Frostpaw and her allies are the only parts of this book worth reading. Shadowsight, tigerHeartstar. Clinging to Whistlepaw like she's a life preserver. save me windclan

[sparrowlovesskittles]

Thunder review time I guess??

I'm gonna be real I don't have much to say about Sunbeam or Nightheart this is gonna be 90% rambling about Frostpaw

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

Sunbeam

- I like her trials, especially the one about training the kittens hehehe.

- I like her bonding with Nightheart's family and learning to find a place in ThunderClan even when he isn't there!! I think it's a really important aspect of switching clans actually. The cats should be able to be comfortable and happy with their clan even without their mate by their side.

- She really gets some good girlboss moments in!!!!!!! You GO Sunbeam yell at Cherryfall!! Publicly shame Berryheart several times in a row!!!!!!!!

- God is it just me or does she have SO much chemistry with Myrtlebloom

Nightheart

- Him and Frostpaw bonding is quite sweet :)

- Love him nearly drowning in a covered pool and it sounding all scary and dramatic and then we switch to Frostpaw's perspective and she's just like 'that idiot nearly drowned in a tiny little pond the other day ugh 🙄🙄'

- Literally WHY did he just run away without telling anyone at all that's so funny and why does NO ONE even bat an eye LMAO?? Poor Sunbeam

-Idk man he's just kinda there

FROSTPAW

- GIRLIE!!!!!!! MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! POOR BABY!!!

- Shoutout to Frostpaw the first warrior cat to be canonically spayed!!!! That's so funny I love how Smokey is just like 'yeah that happens lmao' and her and Whistlepaw are just like 'huh. okay then'. Anyway from now on I'm drawing her with a nicked ear like they do to cats in TNR programs

- Speaking of Whistlepaw. THEY'RE SO SWEET! AND GAY!!!

- Girlie is a mess she's so traumatized literally just nearly got murdered and she fucking SNAPS at StarClan when they refuse to tell her shit. AS SHE SHOULD!! SHE DESERVES TO!!!! RIVERSTAR IS FUCKED UP FOR DOING THIS TO HER, ACTUALLY.

- OTTERS!!!!!!!! About time they got mentioned again, the last time was like literally TNP I think. It was implied otters lived at the lake but now Frostpaw confirms they don't anymore (but the elders definitely know about them). When are we getting the Minnowtail's Genocide novella where she plans the mission to drive the otters out of the lake and then marries Mousewhisker huh warrior cats??????

- Why was Frostpaw more traumatized by climbing a tree than she was by literally being chased by a dog. DGMW it's a good scene, I'm INCREDIBLY glad her PTSD was mentioned in the first place, but I feel like it's kinda weird for her to struggle with the tree when one day earlier she encountered a dog and just sort of... hissed at it a bit and then moved on.

- The park cats have canonically survived for longer than the clans and I am so sorry but that's BS. You're telling me no one in the past like 100 years killed these cats or TNRed them??? How many parks have they been through at this point??

- Frostpaw learning to meditate is so good though actually. Especially when she realises how fucked up the clan system is. If she doesn't fuck up Splashtail and then fuck up StarClan and fix the entire clan system in the next two books I'm gonna riot.

- I adore that she's FAR more distraught about Curlfeather being evil than she is about Splashtail. Like yeah! That's her mother!! That would fuck her up, Actually!! It's refreshing for a character to have familial relationships that are more important than their romantic ones.

- Frostpaw also feels like such a genuinely realistic victim. When she admits that she feels like it was her fault Splashtail was able to manipulate her because she was so naive? And then the park cats all cuddle her and tell her that it wasn't her fault and that HE'S the fucked up one? That scene actually made me cry a bit ngl.

- Hehe Frostpaw meditates now she's a true hippy stoner.

General

- WHY DID THEY PULL A RISING STORM ON US. FROSTPAW JUST STAND UP AND SHOUT AT EVERYONE. ITS NOT TOO LATE. ARGHGDHDHDJDHSJDJHS (I understand she's going through a lot and is very panicked but come ON)

- I like the more personal vibe of this book- the conflict is largely internal, with her realising in her own time that Splashtail was evil. It's not the big dramatic scene I was hoping for- but at the same time it's kind of... Nice? I think it's cool. And I'm sure there will be more drama left to come!

- My prediction for the next two books is that she gets rid of Splashtail and then spends the remainder of the arc yelling at StarClan and fixing the clans. Ideally then I think we should have a soft reboot and jump forward in time, the clans are all operating under new rules, none of the cats are the same, etc. But that's not terribly likely to happen.

- YEAH DOVEWING YOU YELL AT IVYPOOL!! Ivypool deserves it honestly. Dovewing took none of her shit and that's beautiful.

- SQUIRRELSTAR!!!! I wasn't initially too jazzed about this, and I still have my grievances, but I think this is the right time for her to become leader. Go girl give us conflict!! Give us drama!!!!!!!!

- Riverstar is a dick lol??????

[wc-confessions]

mods dont have to post this, i am just very angry right now. id understand if this is controversial. i just want someone to hear this.

i just got off of wcue. i was a spectating. there was someone in the clan named w//ndigowisp. i am not good at confrontation, but being a native who sees ca like this every day of my life (literally.) i had an urge to actually say something. this has been something that has bothered me for a very, very long time. it is extremely personal to me.

my friend and i approached them as kindly as possible to inform them about the issue with their name. i was gentle with my wording- i know not everyone knows about the weight behind it. i know some people do not do well with being confronted.

and instantly we were told that they "knew what they were doing," and that we were making them uncomfortable. my friend pointed out that i, a native, have to be uncomfortable with this almost all the time. we were told that it did not matter because it was fictional, even though cultural appropriation extends beyond warrior cats.

after they were told that i am a native, they started going on about how rude and mean i was being. it was at this point they were prioritizing their own comfort over respect for native culture.

the person with the name asked their friends if they could serverhop because they were getting anxious. one of their friends told me to die (through the euphemism "go to starclan") right before they left.

my friend left, but i did not. someone had politely asked for a little more elaboration after overhearing our conversation.

after that, someone brought their gaggle of friends over. 3-4 of them. they were telling me that they were cherokee, and that it was chronically online to be uncomfortable with this. all i had asked for was for them to respect native culture. i was told that i am stupid and sad for caring about this. i was told to 'let people enjoy things.' it is not just the name i am upset with. as i said before, cultural appropriation extends beyond warrior cats. ca is the last step of colonization.

you could argue that there are bigger issues. i agree. but there is nothing wrong with being uncomfortable with cultural appropriation (i cannot believe i have to say that), and you should not go after other natives for it. i did everything i could to be kind, but i am still painted as awful and mean.

i wish i could say wcue is not always like this. in my own personal experience, anti-indigenous racism runs rampant there. i have blocked most racists i see. my blocklist is almost full- roblox has a limit of 100 users. only about 10-20 are from before i started blocking them.

again, mods don't have to post this, but i am still very hurt and very angry. sorry for the long post. if, by any chance, any of those people see this- i am sorry, but i'm not going to swallow my discomfort and hurt for the sake of white comfort.

as someone who was raised to believe in the spirit in question, it IS disrespectful to be using the name - i was told from a young age to never speak the name of it due to its nature and how it will bring misfortune to both myself and my people (and because of this, i go out of my way to avoid using its name, even if censored)

i dont think these people realize that not all native americans share the same beliefs, either. there are very specific groups who believe in this spirit, primarily those of us who are from canada, the great lakes, and the appalachians (i don't believe the cherokee nation is a part of this particularly grouping, but correct me if im wrong!). that name should not have been used or even encouraged to be used. it reeks of a lack of respect for many native american cultures and cultural appropriation

having a complaint about that spirit's name being used is not "chronically online" - there is a very real and genuine belief that usage of the name will bring evil to you, and this belief has been around since before chr*st*pher c*lumbus even came to the americas. it feels like most people think "chronically online" means "bipoc bringing up racism" nowadays because they feel entitled to speak over us (as always)

i'm very sorry you had to deal with those people, anon. i myself would've been extremely paranoid about the encounter, and you have every right to be upset over what happened. i hope you are well

-mod ashensky

[griffincloud]

desire or nightmare for peachleaf :3

Sorry for not getting to this sooner ^^", I was busy and now I'm sick so I may not be super coherent in my rambling

So this will require a "brief" worldbuilding synopsis since Peachleaf is very much intertwined with the non-WC canon part of this WCOC story. But basically, there are basically 3 levels/tiers of existing (best wording I got): you're either alive, in limbo (sort of like The Dark Forest but not really? You don't go there if you're evil; described as "having a paw between being alive and dead" by Tuftbee), and fully dead/StarClan. Most cats go from living straight to being a StarClan cat upon dying, but if you for some reason have some form of "unfinished business" or cannot accept your death, you are now stuck in limbo. A spirit cannot leave this state once stuck there and this limbo state isn't good for the "health" of the spirit. The spirit will slowly become sick or "corrupted" by their feelings of hate and turmoil over their death; if enough time passes, the spirit will fully "corrupt" and become unrecognizable from their former selves. The speed at which this happens relies on how well the spirit keeps themselves at peace, but no spirit is immune from corrupting as spirits are naturally emotional creatures

Corrupted spirits are known to attack and kill the living. But the presence of non-corrupted spirits isn't good either; extended exposure to one unknowingly causes sickness and unexplained stress usually manifesting as anxiety or paranoia

This is where Shepherds come in. Shepherds are unique in the sense that they can see spirits (as cats cannot see spirits with the exception of corrupted spirits when they're about to be attacked by them/when the spirit shows themselves to the cat first) and are gifted the power to help spirits pass on and purify the corrupted spirits. Each Shepherd is born from the same family, descended from the first Shepherd's littermates as Floodfog never had kits of her own. When one Shepherd dies, the eldest kit of the next litter born after they pass will become the next one. Peachleaf is the 11th Shepherd, succeeding Icefern

Now, onto the actual questions...

Desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

To have a voice in the clans (whether that be by taking up a higher-ranking role or otherwise). This isn't a bad desire at all, but she still tries to word this to herself as just wanting to serve the clans and make them better in an attempt to be humble/coy. She doesn't like to draw much attention to herself paradoxically

She chooses to be a Medic since she genuinely wants to help other cats and that is something she feels strongly about, but being a well-respected member of her society is a plus to her. She tries to work hard and aid her leader and clanmates any way she can to earn or keep their respect, even if they already respect her because she's their family (by blood or not)

Nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

Peachleaf has nightmares about seeing her friends, family, and clanmates become corrupted spirits because that means she could not help them not only in life as a Medic but also not in death as a Shepherd. As for how she copes with the idea, I can't particularly go into that too much as that would be leaning into spoiler territory (which I would love to talk about with just mutuals if anyone is curious but it's maybe not the best idea to go into that too much publicly if I wanna turn this into a comic one day) but let's just say, she copes with it in ways that progress the plot. But she largely keeps these fears to herself as she feels it is her burden to bear (and has been sworn to secrecy by Tuftbee, her great-grandmother and the 8th Shepherd as she feels that's what you're supposed to do) but she does console in a select few cats about her duties and fear of failing those duties such as Sterletcurl, Ripplingbreeze, Sizzlingpond, Xanthiawing, and of course Tuftbee

Prompts List