#LET THE BATTLE CATS BATTLE

[bonefall]

Do you have a design for Bright Storm? I'm fond of the wise older figure thing you're doing with her

I do NOW

Made her, as well as a revamp of my old Thunder Storm design (I last drew him like a year ago!!) in preparation for some character summaries I plan to bang out after finishing a couple drafts, but Bright in particular gets requested so much (anon you're like the 4th person) that HERE, lady girl and her son be upon ye

I'm thinking about doing the BB!DOTC character summaries in "family" posts, so they're all grouped together the way I plan them to act in the story. Every family is telling a little mini-story of its own, in a way, from the Frost family and their inventing prowess, to the Heart family and how the kits react to Bumble's exile, to the Storm family and how they grapple with Clear Sky's influence.

I wanted to make sure Bright Storm was very large and powerful looking, but in a round, kind of "humble" way. She downplays her strength, her intelligence, and even her better judgement.

So she has these big cheeks, fluffy primordial pouch, poofy tail, keeps her head low-ish. Tends to deny compliments.

I was commiserating with my partner the other day about how intelligent characters aren't allowed to be thick-bodied. So between my fat, beloved Bumble the translator and Bright Storm the wise woman battle strategist I'm feeding us both

I needed to "finalize" their stripe pattern, because I actually plan for TIGERSTAR to have the same one. I'm probably going to update my Tawnypelt and Bramblestar designs to have it too; if they don't look better with Goldenflower's.

I just like the irony and bitterness of it. That these ancient stripes, once so associated with compassion and righteous fury, turn into a "legacy" so divorced from what Thunder Storm and Bright Storm stood for.

Becoming a symbol for the idea of modern ThunderClan and the culture of the new times, not the principles it was founded on.

Also I HAD to do the design thing where Thunder Storm's stripes look like top surgery scars lmao, my beloved transmasc boy

Anyway, I've decided that Thunder Storm was a REALLY dark orange. It bugs me a little, especially in-canon, that he looks nothing like either parent. So in BB he's not too far off color-wise from his mama.

I also removed the old "mane" and replaced it with combination white chest + his father's shoulder burls. The mane is going to become a Forest Cat trait, which is why it's going to get so prominent in ThunderClan.

Instead, Mountain Cats have a REALLY high concentration of ear tufts in their genes. They're also huge and generally hairy.

Funny enough though they're also "oily." They come from the Lake Cat population which was pretty water-resistant because of constantly dealing with the lake, and they haven't lived in the Mountains long enough for natural selection to get rid of it.

It's going to become SUPER advantageous for those who move to the River Kingdom, but become less prominent in the other populations.

But for now, Mountain Cats are kinda... well, naturally 'stinky.' That's not a BAD thing to cats who are animals who LIKE strong smells, but it is a notable trait that I'd like The Wind Runner in particular to comment on.

Thunder Storm: "Well? What did she say?"

Bumble: "Ummmmmm......"

Thunder Storm: "be honest"

Bumble: "she says she smelled you coming when you were upwind. rudely."

99% of the time when I'm changing character eye colors, it's to make them NOT blue because there's too many blue-eyed characters in WC imo. BUT.

I think it was another tiny waste to have the narrative constantly stressing Clear Sky's blue, blue eyes, almost like they're hypnotizing, and then they never really comment on what Thunder's eye color signals to other people.

So I've got an idea; instead of amber, Thunder Storm has ELECTRIC BLUE eyes. Almost green, like his mother's minty ones.

Intense as his father's, but more focused. Sharp. Shocking.

Side note: in my research I actually learned it's easier for tripod cats to RUN than it is for them to walk. They can "canter" like a horse, but when they go slow they have to hop. Taking this into consideration.

I put a splash of white on the little bit of lower limb that Thunder Storm has on the leg, so it sticks out a bit more. I don't want it to be hidden I want it to be prominent

I also figured out a hilarious trick for Bright Storm to pull on Sky's Clan at some point lmao

Thunder's crew is in conflict with Sky's cats and the attacks are getting more and more frequent. They decide they need some extra time to carry out some kind of hunt or diplomatic mission, but Bright Storm only has a small group of cats to pull off a stunt with.

She knows she can't fight them head on, but she NEEDS to buy her son more time, so she hatches a plan.

Clear Sky values his intelligence and his ferocity very much. To a fault, even. He loves to outsmart his opponents and overpower them-- so Bright Storm gets all her cats to build a very large, very tall, nearly impenetrable wall out of briar thorns. There's only one way in; the well-guarded tunnel they've constructed in the front.

It would be a challenge for a lesser cat. But Clear Sky, clever devil he is, realizes they've made a fatal flaw; they've built their camp right next to the trees. His fighters don't need to jump over the wall or push through it, the oaks are their allies!

So, while Thunder's cats are all surely sleeping, he gathers his best men and come through the canopy. In well-trained patrols, they swoop down into the camp and prepare for battle.

and no one is there.

You see, there was only one way in... and only one way out.

And Clear Sky and his best fighters watch with HORROR as the tiny crew of guards seals that entrance up like the neck of a bag. There are no trees to climb INSIDE the wall, and it's too tall to hop out of. It won't hold them forever, but it will hold them JUST LONG ENOUGH.

Bright calls this little plan "Operation Timeout."

[gongyussy]

"we know how to move our bodies, but i didn't know how to manage my heart, so you need help for this"

hi we need to talk more about judo gold medallist christa deguchi.

[zeropro]

Now we just need Starscream with some kitties to complete the trio of goobers and their pets :D

pspspspsps

[egophiliac]

Do you have any final theories/desires for Book 7 Part 12?

(slamming fists on table) I DEMAND MORE CHE'NYA

[lovegiroke]

Just thought of this

Thought about the cursed cat Alastor replacing squished adam

[woffiecocoa]

My commissions are open!!!

What I specialize in is Objects, Humans, and Furries.

$10 Headshots

$12 Half Bodies

$15 Full Bodies

$20 Character Design

+ $5 for complex shading

+ $5 for extra characters

Accepting Venmo and Cashapp at the moment. Dm further for Paypal

Will do any fandom, ones I specialize in are in the tags

More examples under the cut:

[avoidmint]

I did some spur of the moment sketch requests over on Twitter last night! I was having fun playing with a new brush. I asked for characters or ships people wanted to maybe see me tackle after I did Whispangle.

Here's the requests I got! Mostly!

[plumdale]

Back to my university apt and classes start tomorrow I genuinely feel sick to my stomach 😓

[saturnaous]

I think Alphonse should get to be a bitch sometimes. Just an absolute cunt. The most moody teenager. Utter bastard with an attitude.

[canon-notcanon-warriorcats]

i love how absolutely evil the brokenstar mini figure is, like look at him

like his EYES, he looks very fitting considering he's (debatably) THE most evil cat in the series

AND HE HAS DEATH BERRIES IN HIS MOUTH, I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE UNTIL I TOOK THIS SCREENSHOT this is literally brokenstar moments before his death, that's crazy

[freshmmeat]

more spock with his funky little alien cat but aos this time (they find each other in every universe)

sort of redraw of this post

[bonefall]

I have a question: I haven't read DOTCs but I have read the guides, and the guides Grey Wing is my fave and I've been warned he gets absolutely destroyed in the DOTCs books..so, what are the differences in Guide Grey Wing and SOTC Grey Wing?

BOTC!Graywing only has about a paragraph or so of information on him, and it points towards him being an ancient warlord type. I really like and miss this version, because it reminds me of something straight out of the Seven Military Classics.

We know that he was specifically an ancient leader of WindClan, back before leaders took -star as part of their names. Using some simple deduction from the history we know from SOTC, this means he was a leader before there were official Clans, and before Windstar. Just warring groups without borders.

Onestar refers to him as a tactician, and explains that he invented the practice of strategic placement using stones and drawings in his den like a little kitty war room.

These tactics mostly have to do with battling in open fields, so we can assume;

There were a lot of battles taking place in the moor

Graywing the Wise was involved in a lot of battles, so he could develop and test these ideas.

It's not much, but it's interesting. Paints this idea of a Moorland Warlord... Moorlord, if you will.

DOTC!Gray Wing has a couple of scenes where he's talking strategy or vaguely referencing a tactic, but he spends 3/4ths of his VERY short life having meltdowns at the idea of combat because Hurting My Sweet Brother Makes Us Just As Bad :(

(Camera pans and Sweet Brother Clear Sky is tying a woman to train tracks and cackling maniacally)

MOST of his life is this. He's like 2 years old when he dies of asthma and he only started having opponents to plan battle against in the last few months.

Most of the fights he's involved in before that are spontaneous-- and even less are commanding armies as was implied in BOTC.

He also half leads "WindClan". He's a joint leader with Shadowstar for a while. Anyway, DOTC also tosses him a pity mate because his first two love interests got fridged. His adopted kids like their abusive biodads more; one of them even vows to avenge Tom the Wifebeater, a man she met once who got her mom killed.

Aaaand that's the difference. I think it's obvious I like the BOTC take more.

[hrokkall]

Some species of KC I’ve seen around Tumblr

In order: My own design, @longelk, @scover-va, @antarctite, @fruit-sy

[Original Template]

[rileys-battlecats]

If you haven’t already answered this yet, can I ask why MicaClan chose the territory they currently live in? It seems like an interesting decision to choose such a different area to try to survive in. Although the more lush area probably means less droughts and higher elevation could possibly mean less flood risks, avoiding the two major issues that caused them to move in the first place. They still have to relearn everything though in such a different area. Or was there less thought behind it and it was more just get to higher ground to avoid the water and then they got tired of traveling and decided to stop once they were sufficiently high up?

Also can I ask what kind of border threats they faced when establishing their new territory? Were there other groups of cats? Was it mostly predators and dangerous animals? Did dogs or twolegs pose a challenge to their borders?

Sorry I kinda have a lot of questions haha I just really like your story and characters and settings and everything and wanna know all I can about them and get a deeper knowledge of everything

I AM SO HAPPY TO RECEIVE THIS QUESTION

You're right that there were material aspects as to why they chose to settle where they did; the mountain seemed like a good place to avoid any more catastrophic floods with the high elevation, the spring-fed stream that runs through the territory also seemed like a guarantee against any future droughts, and the area had plenty of prey to feed the clan. But the real deciding factor was the soil!

The idea was basically that they found a place where the very ground seemed to be blessed by Starclan. I've written about this on the blog before, but it was wayyy way back and I haven't mentioned it again since then HAHA, but I based Micaclan's territory on a place I used to hike every now and again. The area used to be the location of a mica mine, and the ground there still sparkles with all the tiny shards of minerals in the ground (which is actually why they're called Micaclan; I gave them the name before I'd fully decided on the clan not being from the area originally lol). So they basically were like "if this isn't a sign from Starclan then I don't know what is" and set up camp! It ended up being the right choice in the end, because they found the Moonmirror in the abandoned mine on their territory, which gave them much needed access to Starclan (even if they can't use it outside of emergencies).

For border threats, I imagine them dealing with all sorts of things, especially in the beginning when they were just establishing their borders. I think of micaclan's territory being far enough from human civilization that they don't have to worry about construction or cars or anything, but close enough that they have a human hiking trail acting as one of their borders, or at least having a hiking trail close enough that they have to deal with the occasional stray dog or human. In addition to this, predators like black bears or coyotes would make trouble for the clan, and maybe a mountain lion drifted through the territory at one point (which would have been a harrowing time indeed).

As for rogues or other groups of cats, I think they might've brought that trouble with them! It's hard to conceal a big group of cats traveling in search of a new territory, and I think they drew some unwanted attention on their way up to the mountain. Maybe other groups noted them, and decided to let the strangers do the hard work of staking out a good territory before swooping in to take their place? I don't think there were any other cats living where Micaclan ends up, so they wouldn't be contesting land with any other resident cats. Those that threatened their new borders were usually looking to try to take their place. Basically they were like "so the weirdos you pegged as 'death within the month' 5 moons ago are actually now thriving and looking well-fed and healthy living on the mountain? I guess it can't be THAT dangerous, why don't we live up there instead? they can find somewhere else again, they're obviously good at finding nice territories."

the general gossip on micaclan as a group through the years basically goes like this: I heard there was a big group (a clan?) passing through looking to set up a new territory, hope they don't settle here -> apparently that big clan that passed through a few moons back is living further up the mountain? wonder how long it'll be before they're eaten by bears -> there's a big group of cats living further up the mountain, maybe the mountain makes for a good territory after all... -> there's a weird cat cult up the mountain and if you step on their turf they will Kick Your Ass

[juniperhillpatient]

Even though I am so stressed out (it’s money stuff. y’all all know what it’s like. I feel like we’re all going through it right now.) I am NOT going to be a bummer for Christmas this year!!! I refuse!!! I started so strong this year getting excited the day after Halloween!!! If anyone sees me on here doom posting comment that you’re spraying me with water like a cat who’s getting in the Christmas tree PLEASE. I’m not going to be a bummer for the holidays I’m not.