#Rainstar | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

qozico · 1 year ago

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RAINSTARS NINE LIVES

Rainwillow stood before the moonpool, shivering ever so slightly. Am I really ready to be the leader of this clan? Am I really worthy? He trembles with each doubtful thought. He turns to look over at Iceeyes.

"Go on, it is time, Rainwillow. It is time to walk with Starclan and come back to your clan as Rainstar." The old tortoiseshell dipped her head as signal for him to step up to the moonpool. Rainwillow takes a deep breath, and lays down at the edge of the pool, and gently dips his nose into the cold water, laying down and gathering his tail and paws beneath him. Shortly after he's gotten comfortable, he can hear the old medicine cat lay down next to him and dip her nose into water, causing soft ripples of water to hit his nose. A deep breath, and both slip into sleep, jolting up seconds later to find themselves in the same spot, but surrounded by glowing cats, all murmuring and watching. Rainwillow looks around to see Iceeyes beside him, the medicine cats eyes now clear of cataracts and shining bright green.

"Your eyes! You can see!" he exclaimed.

"My eyes are clear in my dreams. But nonetheless, it is time for you to meet your ancestors." She points her nose ahead, and when Rainwillow looks up he sees before him, the great golden cat he had just laid to rest the night before.

"Dawnstar!" His eyes glowed as the giant she-cat approached him.

"Rainwillow, my dearest friend." She dipped her head down to be closer to his. "You have made me so proud. I know you will lead Creekclan well." She presses her muzzle to his forehead. "I give you a life with the strength to lead this clan to a new world, far from the lands you know. You may struggle now, but you will find your strengths later on."

Rainwillow's paws buzzed with a rush of electricity, almost knocking the small tom over. What does this mean? Another land? A new world? But before he could ask the great leader before him any questions, she stepped back away from him, revealing a small, black tom.

"Coalheart!" He gasped at the sight of his own father, finally standing before him again. "I can't believe its really you..."

"It is, my son, I have finally found you again, I have missed you so much." Coalheart's golden eyes glistened. He pressed his forehead to his son's, and Rainwillow flashed back to being a young, naïve apprentice, just wanting to be included, following his father to that fated clearing where he was taken from him. He shuts his eyes before he can see the twolegs snatch his father away. "I give you a life for loyalty. I have spent my life dedicated to you, and died searching for you, and you will carry that same loyalty towards your family and clan." He mewed.

A rush of energy hit Rainwillow's heart. I'm ready. He thinks and pulls back to look at the old tom again.

Coalheart rubs his face against his son's one last time, and silently steps away, the sadness growing in his eyes as he drew further away.

On his left, Rainwillow sees a sleek, brown tabby approach him. He doesn't recognise this cat, but he knows that he is someone very important to his clan.

"Hello, Rainwillow. I am Creekstar, the first leader of Creekclan." Rainwillow's eyes widened at the realisation that this is the great cat who started this clan. Creekstar touched his muzzle to Rainwillow's head. "I am so glad to see my clan fall into such great, powerful paws. I know you will lead them well. I give you a life with the courage to keep our clan safe, no matter where it takes you." The once great leader lifts his head and meets Rainwillow's eyes, and he feels a surge of pride in his chest. I will make you proud, Creekstar.

As Creekstar steps away, a large grey tabby steps up to Rainwillow.

"You do not know me, my life ended just before yours began, but I have been watching you from Starclan. I am Riverwing, I was Creekstar's first deputy. You have grown up to be a fine young warrior, and you will make a great leader." He dipped his head to touch his muzzle to Rainwillow's head. "I give you a life with the selflessness. I gave everything for my clan, and i continue to watch over and protect my clan even from Starclan. You will lead your clan with your clanmates in mind before yourself. You have always shown that you will care for others first, now show your clan how you'll do it as a leader." He lifted his head to meet Rainwillow's eyes once more, and his large orange eyes glinted with starlight. As the large cat stepped back, a familiar face came into view. The beautiful grey she-cat approached Iceeyes first, both meeting eyes and pressing their heads together.

"I missed you, my love." She whispered.

"I have missed you too, Rainfeather." Iceeyes spoke with a broken voice. The two lovers spent a few more seconds together, and then Rainfeather stepped to be in front of Rainwillow.

"I have been watching you closely, my friend." Her soft, calm voice send a shiver of relaxation through his body. "You have made me very proud, and I thank you for protecting our daughter, Rabbitpaw. She will make you proud when she is your medicine cat." Her green eyes were filled with pride and relief. She silently lifted her head to press her nose to Rainwillow's head. "I give you a life for hope. Hope for the future, hope for your clan, and hope for your family. Never forget, we are looking out for you, you will get through the darkness that lies ahead." As she stepped back, a small rush of anxiety hit Rainwillow. The darkness that lies ahead? What is going to happen? But he couldn't do any more worrying before Rainfeather stepped away, and a face he's missed very dearly was revealed.

"Cloudpelt! Its you!" He cried out, running up to the small blue she-cat. "I missed you so much, the kits miss you too!" He meowed as he buried his face in her soft coat.

"I have missed you so too, my dear." She mewed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Ashkit and Cinderkit will grow up strong with you as their father. I give you a life for wisdom. Be wise and raise our kits well, raise our clan well, and make us proud again and again. I know you can do it." She drew back to meet Rainwillow's eyes once more, before stepping back so a small black kit could step up.

"Oh, Rockkit, I am so sorry for what happened, I've missed you so much." Rainwillow dropped down to meet the kit's eyes.

"It is okay, you do not need to apologise." His tiny voice sent shivers through Rainwillow's spine. "You will raise my brother and sister well. I will always be with you and them." He lifted his tiny nose to touch his father's forehead. "I give you a life for offering second chances. Some cats are not how they seem. I may seem young and unwise, but I know many things from my time here. Be strong, father, do not grieve me alone." As Rainwillow opened his eyes, the tiny kit gave him one last smile before leaving. As he stood back up, a face that was unfamiliar, but comforting to see, appeared before him.

"My son, I know you have never seen me, but I have watched over you for many moons, I am so proud of you." She whispered, and he felt a rush of warmth. His mother. Grayleaf. He had only heard of her, but now, he sees so much of himself in her face, he knows she truly is his long lost mother.

"I- I can't believe it's finally you. I am so glad to finally meet you." He whispered back, and they pressed their heads together.

"I give you a life with a mother's love. I have never stopped watching over you, I have never stopped loving you, I will always be with you, Rainwillow." Her gentle voice reminded him of being just days old, eyes not open, suckling with his brother. The only moment he had with his mother. The warmest memory in his heart. As the sweet she-cat stepped away, a young black and grey cat stepped up to Rainwillow.

"Riverpaw!" Rainwillow gasped as the small tom touched noses with him.

"Hello brother, I have missed you so much, you have grown up to be so strong, and so brave, I am so proud of you. I give you a life for patience. Time may move slowly when things dont look bright, but I know you have the strength to carry on no matter how long it takes." Rainwillow felt a sharp rush of pain through his body, and took a deep, wavering breath.

"It is over." Dawnstar whispered in his ear. "We are so proud of you. Welcome, Rainstar."

His new name echoed around him, every cat raising their voice to call out, "Rainstar! Rainstar!"

Rainstar sat up straight and looked around. "Thank you, all of you." He meowed. "I will lead my life and my clan by the lives you have given me, I will make you proud." He turned to meet eyes with Dawnstar. "I hope i will forever make you proud." He dipped his head to her in respect of the leader who had guided him here.

"Go on, Rainstar, lead Creekclan with all your heart. We will be with you always."

#i wrote this like two years ago #finally posting it in hopes its actually good #creekclan #warrior cats #warrior cats oc #rainstar #wc #wc oc

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yuridovewing · 6 months ago

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How did you make Rainflower worse? I'm really interested.

Rubs my hands together. I made that woman RANCID (Putting this under the cut because I predict it’ll get long and I wanna throw up a CW for abuse of power, child abuse, victim blaming, humiliation, and ableist abuse. Also disclaimer: haven’t reread Crookedstar’s Promise in a minute, and I want to, so this is subject to change)

Razorverse Rainflower… or as she’s properly called… Rainstar.

Just gonna plagiarize @/bonefall’s structure and stuff here lmaooo. Gonna list what I don’t care for about the canon version, what I’d like to do but am not sure how to go about it exactly, and what I know I want to do.

Canon:

-So, Rainflower. We all know her, she’s The Bad Mom. The one who renamed her son something ableist for the purpose of humiliating and disowning him. The one who never apologized, barely made any attempts to support him further, and fucked up Crookedstar’s self esteem and drove him into Mapleshade’s claws.

-I don’t have an issue with her being portrayed like this at all. Rainflower herself, as she’s presented in the book in a vacuum, is fine. I’m very anti “oh lets never talk about serious topics in kids content” because that’s an easy slippery slope into book banning to me. Her actions are portrayed as horrific, and if I remember correctly, Crookedstar doesn’t forgive her. No reconciliation. With several kids properties (and WC itself if we’re being honest) making plotlines about how you have to forgive your abuser or you suck, that’s honestly sort of refreshing. You’re not obligated to forgive your mother because she’s your mother. Fuck that. The ableism adds a whole extra layer to this as well because while I don’t remember specific caretaker abuse in the book, plenty of victims have spoken up about relating to Crookedstar. She really is the recipe for an intentionally awful character.

-That being said… man, it’s kinda weird how this random ass queen apparently has the power to rename her child something derogatory in the eyes of their god and the leader who is in charge of all this is like “yeah sure okay”, and everyone else is like “oughhh that bites! ah well though what can ya do? sorry infant, we’re cool with calling you a slur forever” and that is never addressed or seen as weird and we’re supposed to love all these other characters and see them as role models for Crookedkit.

-It makes RiverClan look Pretty Bad, Dude. Which would be cool if it was intentional-there’s actually a line in Cats of the Clans that implies Crookedstar struggled because of societal expectations, not just his mom’s disowning. I kinda wanna reincorporate that. Like, Rainflower isn’t just One Bad Mom, she’s a product of her environment, she has a clique of cats that think just like her.

-Also… while I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing in a kids book, yeah, Rainflower is pretty flat. Not completely- my best friend read the book recently and he actually made a great point that Rainflower’s kind of a bad mom even before the accident because she brags and brags about her kids, but doesn’t really look out for them, which makes them get hurt. She thinks her kids fart rainbows until one of them makes her look bad, after which she disowns and treats him poorly. But aside from that… there’s not much to her. She gives birth in a storm and has sentimental names because of that, she is a doting mama until she isn’t, and you could also say she’s vain.

-Again- all that is perfectly fine.

-But… and this may read as a little controversial to the fandom crowd… I like to add a bit more meat to abusive characters.

-Not necessarily by making them sympathetic, although that’s one way to do it if done properly and with the tact and attention it deserves.

-But I want to make them read more like people. People who have families and friends, who have hobbies and favorite foods and silly weekly routines. Who have fears and anxieties, who care deeply for the ones they love. Who are charming and well liked.

-Because abusers are not identifiable at a distance. They’re not always obvious. They’re not ugly, or constantly acting like douchebags.

-A lot of abuse falls under the rug because of the abuser’s status in reality. A man that beats his wife could have his family rally behind him because… well, they grew up with him. That’s not who he TRULY is. What did the wife do to provoke him? No no, this man also has an important job, he has a lot of connections and people willing to stick up for him. “I’ve talked to him before and he was just the nicest man! He would never do anything like that. Maybe he was just having a hard day. His job is so hard, you know!”

-A mom who stalks and beats her kids? Well, she’s so sweet in public! She tutors the neighbors kids, you can’t possibly expect us to believe she’s hurting her own! They must be problem children anyways if she has to keep her eye on them.

-That aunt who emotionally abuses her nespring? Well, she’s got such an important job higher up and she has connections (and eyes) everywhere! There’s no escape no way you could expect us to believe that such a helpful person could be so cruel!

-(And in cases of romantic relationships there is typically victim blaming in this line of thinking. “How did you not know they were abusive? Surely you noticed SOME of the signs? You’re not innocent here. You chose this. You can’t expect me to be sympathetic.” This doesn’t apply to Rainflower, but since I’m talking about fandom abuse, I think it’s worth a mention.)

-These people can’t be abusers. Because they’re human. They’re loved. And if that’s true… doesn’t that mean you and I are also capable of abuse? That people we know and trust in real life could be abusive? People we look up to? No, no. Of course not. Abusers aren’t human. And as long as we slot them as inhuman entities, as Other, that means we could never become like that. Ever. Anyways, I just got done rewatching all the silly pirate movies, he’s so funny and charming! How could that evil inhuman bitch EVER think he abused her? She is a demon who should rot in hell for making me feel bad about my best celebrity friend. She should’ve just put up and shut up.

-(Really hope it’s obvious, but I know what fandom I’m talking to, so I’m gonna slap an /S here for that whole paragraph)

-And I can’t help but see parallels of that when I look at fandom and you have people going “you’re an abuse apologist if you think this abusive character had a backstory or motive!” or “This comic is bad because it portrays an abuser as having a pleasant relationship with their sibling!”

-The reality is that no one is born evil. No one crawls out the womb ready to commit war crimes or whatever, no matter what Warrior Cats tries to tell you.

-A big thing that allows abuse to fester is power. Familial abuse is so common because the children are under the care of the adults around them that have every right over their autonomy. Becoming a parent is to have power over a small, vulnerable person… and so of course, that creates an environment where the adults are practically welcome to take advantage of that.

-Of course someone might not notice their friend is a child abuser. Their friend probably doesnt have intoxicating power over them, so they don’t see that behavior. And if that friend somehow does hold power over them… well, all the more reason not to rock the boat, right?

-Okay I’m rambling at this point so let’s bring it back to Rainflower. I’ve seen a couple people try to flat out woobify her, which is something I don’t particularly care for personally, but it’s led people to be kinda volatile to those who do try to add… More, to Rainflower. “Oh, you must do that because you don’t think her abuse is that bad!” Even when that’s not at all what people are saying.

-Rainflower isn’t real. The way she’s handled resonates with people, and that IS real, and should be respected. (Again- I’m not saying it’s bad to portray her as pure evil. I’m sure that’s liberating for some people who grew up with a parent like her! Different strokes for different folks)

-But that doesn’t mean we’re not talking about fiction at the end of the day, and no, we are not toning down abuse by daring to ask why Rainflower is the way she is.

-And that’s what I’m gonna ask.

What I’d Like to Do:

-So, Rainstar is leader now. That’s my answer to the awkward way the original renaming is handled.

-I like readings where she’s thoroughly punished, or that Hailstar was biased in her favor and had to be humbled for it later. But I felt particularly spiteful about the “Listen to your leader no matter what or you’re a heathen!” law they’ve only recently let up on (only to mock the change if I’m reading it right) and I was like. Actually let’s play around with that.

-The idea here is that Rainstar is someone who uses her power to abuse those around her. She doesn’t really need to be leader to abuse Stormkit, she has structural power over him as his mother and a warrior, but I wanted her to be leader because… jesus christ can you imagine having your abusive parent be your leader as well? The one who decides what route you take in the clan? Who has autonomy over you for battle patrols? Who can humiliate and punish you with no repercussions? Where your clanmates sticking up for you could be systematically punished for doing do?

-I still need to figure out the timeline here. If she dies at the same time as in canon, how long this goes on for, all the cats that are Team Crookedjaw or Team Rainstar, etc. I’d like him to still have good moments to breathe in between all this, like Brambleberry is still important and advocates for him a lot, his friendship with Willowbreeze and his brotherhood with Oakheart, the barn cats are still helpful to him after he returns. I do think she dies relatively early though. Crookedstar becomes a leader very young.

-Basically though, the idea is that Rainstar is a perfectionist that’s intoxicated on power. Growing up, she seemed to be a perfectly kind warrior. She and Shellheart were a great couple and she was excellent friends with Hailstep and Echomist, even if she could have a competitive streak.

-But… her grandfather was Appledusk. Who died at the serial killer Mapleshade’s claws before he met his kits. Who was also a codebreaker, and implied to have not been the best mate to Reedshine.

-Though the clan forgave him, there was a pressure on his lineage to not repeat his mistakes. After all, if he never had an affair with Mapleshade (broke our wonderful code!) this may not have happened.

-Applefrost and Duskwater made it as top standard warriors, with Duskwater having been deputy before she retired. There wasn’t a single blemish on their records.

-Rainflower felt this pressure throughout her life. She felt confined to clan life, doing whatever she was told. If she was told to jump, she asked how high. She was perfect. A model warrior for the apprentices to look up to. Always smiling and happy to join patrols, attend festivals, taste test meals, etc. She was just what she needed to be… with no room to breathe. No room to fail.

-And of course, because she’s just a cat, she did fail. Like taking too much food at mealtime. Or falling asleep during her vigil. And when she did, it was scandalous. She was berated by her former mentor and parents, cats whispered about how clumsy she was, how she probably couldn’t be leader after all.

-Rainflower would recover, as would her reputation. She climbed the ranks with a raised head and tail. Never faltering if she could help it. Gathering several loyal supporters.

-When she finally became leader though, it was like some of the pressure gave way. She still followed the code, still did her part, she was still exceedingly popular and was responsible for very smart negotiations with the other clans, even managing to work through a sturdy alliance with Heatherstar.

-But… she had more agency atop her clan. Sure, she still couldn’t fail, not ever. But if she had to, say, give a warrior humilating tasks for speaking to her in a tone she didnt like, she could. If her mate and deputy, Shellheart, did something she didn’t like, she could leverage her power over him, with the clan’s support even.

-It was only a matter of time before things got worse… When Oakkit and Stormkit were born. Duskwater died in the storm around the same time they took their first breath. Applefrost had died years prior. Rainstar took pride in her kittens, but the pressure was on once again- never fail. Don’t make us look bad. Don’t make me look bad. If you fail, then I have failed.

-And when Stormkit cracks his jaw that fateful day, he failed. She failed.

-She saw him as a humiliation. Something to be ashamed of. Perfect Rainstar’s son, disfigured.

-When Brambleberry informed her that he would be permanently disabled from now on, resentment began to brew. Even though Stormkit was still healing, she became colder and harsher to him. Propping up Oakkit as her golden child, her winnings. And putting down Stormkit as her failure, something to be ashamed of.

-She essentially dehumanizes Stormkit (and Oakkit to an extent). They are extensions of her. They are something to be idolized. They are something to throw around when you need to release stress. And that’s just what she does when she renames him Crookedkit and decides to keep him a kit forever.

-He doesn’t even get the privilege of being an elder. Elders gave something to their clan and are honored and supported since they’re frail now. Crookedkit didn’t do anything worthy, he acted like a child, and ruined himself, so he gets to stay a child. Forever.

-Crookedkit was unfortunately subject to a lot of public humiliation and pressure during this time. (I’m wondering if Shellheart still dumps Rainstar here. Their mateship is dead either way, but he also probably still tries to suck up to her to keep his deputyship. Kinda torn on whether he flipflops between supporting Crookedjaw or Rainstar because of it… Leaning towards him being just on Crooked’s side, but I also like him having to be a tiebreaker between Brambleberry and Rainstar)

-When Crookedkit is denied his apprentice ceremony for several moons, he runs away to the barn, where he gets properly trained. This is a wip, I wanna reread the book and see how they handle this in canon, but these cats stick around for the rest of his life. Bonefall even had one go back with him in Better Bones, so I think I may take a page out of his book and do that too. (Maybe with a different cat though lol) They remain a support system for him.

-Oakpaw also deals with similar pressure, as well as his mom worshipping him (and knowing he’ll be humiliated like his brother if he “fails”). As a form of escapism, once Crookedkit runs away, he repeats history and starts a secret friendship with Bluepaw, the troublemaker ThunderClan apprentice.

-There is that divide in the clan still. Several cats were indeed outraged at Crookedkit’s treatment… but what can they do? Rainstar will punish them if they help. And she has more supporters than not, for one reason or another, whether it’s her former mentor (undecided, he’s an elder I think) or her friend Hailstep. All of which vouch for her, claiming she has the right to handle her son and clanmate the way they want. And besides… he can’t even eat right, how will he be uuuuusefullllllllll

-Oh yeah there’s also the whole “this society is pretty ableist and is unaccommodating to disabled people” thing. Crookedkit struggles to eat! He deals with pain in his jaw all the time, he slurs his words and cant pronounce certain things. Like in canon, he finds support for this in the barn, not in the clan.

-After he comes back for some reason or another (WIP), he’s nearly full grown and imposing, and now that hes uuuuusefullllllllll (so now he’s ok) Rainstar does relent and let him be an apprentice. But his apprenticeship is long and grueling. She refuses to let him go to gatherings, she constantly attacks him over his training and hunting, she gets pissed if a border patrol sees him, she has him perform tasks that upset his jaw (like helping with construction).

-Crookedpaw is freed, however, when dogs are found in the territory. The two major losses? Shellheart and Rainstar. The deputy and leader.

-And a squirrel with a crooked jaw was found on the freshkill pile.

-(with a note that say “Shadey says hi!!! xoxo kys”)

-To say this caused outrage would be an understatement. Crookedpaw would be going from apprentice to leader! He’s underqualified! Forget not having an apprentice- he’s been one for years!

-But. StarClan’s will can’t be denied, Brambleberry says. (Unsure how much she Knows.)

-So Crookedpaw becomes Crookedstar. A false prophet leader.

-From there I think he’s like a proto Onestar? No civil war but he does deal with a ton of pressure and the psychological weight of having to lead the cats who enabled his mom to hurt him. Still figuring out how he was a leader… but he is kinder to his family. He vows to never leverage his power over Silverkit, ever.

Other Stuff I’d Like to Change But I Dunno How:

-God I hate the ableist names so tbh I’d like to nix that here. Make Crookedstar an honor title like in BB (I really like honor titles so I wanna try them out myself) But I don’t quiiite know how to make it work in this context.

-I think I’ve said this before but I want Mapleshade to have haunted Rainstar too. Maybe put some ideas in her head and made her insecurities worse. My only thing is that I dunno how much influence Mapleshade has at that point. I think Crookedstar was where she upped her game and got more power.

Okay if you read all of this, bless you, thank you <3 this took me a minute so I appreciate it. Also if anyone has any tips or criticism I’d welcome them! Especially on all the abuse talk, some of it came from my own feelings and experiences but I would hate if I funked up the wording or misunderstood something. We’re all capable of harm after all and I am not exempt from that. Also if any of the talk was upsetting, I’ll go reblog some kitten pics as a detox.

#warning: i get pretty into it. this may be upsetting to read if you are an abuse survivor #i also talk abt my feelings on how fandom percieves abuse #mail #snarkysneasel #razorverse #rv!rainstar #rv!crookedstar

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