#she was the inspiration for my cinderpelt

[birdsong-warriors]

[karamaranth]

It's my turn ! I absolutely adore the concept of this challenge and i've decided to participate ! My very first Warrior Cats challenge, whooo ~ So, it was the first time i draw Crowfeather, Cinderpelt and Ashfur, and i did a bit of research to add my own headcanons to their designs. Let's take a look at all of them, shall we ? Bluestar : Pretty straight foward for the pretty blue. I already designed her, and she's the character i draw the most for Warrior cats. I give her the red stain, as a little nod to Little Pistol, aand black pointed ears... because of her sister youknow. Crowfeather : I don't have a big opinion on this fella, except that i didn't want his fur to be a blueish gray. The only blueish gray is Bluestar and her childrens in my head ! So, i've decided to go for a pretty green. Like that, he will look really close to his daughter Hollyleaf. And why the long fur ? Because asian long hair are handsome and I headcanon him as a handsome boy. Cinderpelt : I had a big headcanon for her. Her fur. I'd always visualise her with a brownish gray, that looked like burning wood. A warm dark gray, to go against the yellow and dirty gray of Yellowfang ! And her bushy fur come from some art i've seen of her. Also, i've found a cat who look pretty close to my headcanon and took inspiration from his fur. For her eyes, i've decided to go for a really dark and desatured blue, so it won't clash with her fur. Ashfur : Also a big headcanon for him. Since i saw his "You must destroy" design, i've headcanon him with a cream belly and a dirty gray. I've decided to go for a pink gray, more on the light side. For his eyes, he got those heart shaped pupils and i've give him glowing clear blue eyes. In ancient greece, blue eyes were believed to be a sign of insanity, and I feel like those beautiful glowing eyes (that no other cats would have) give him a creepy vibe.

[wc-confessions]

Since it's disability pride month I am dedicating this confession to lesser known/underrated disabled WC characters!

Everyone knows and loves cats like Briarlight and Brightheart, but there's quite a few others that aren't talked about as much

First off, One-Eye and Halftail, the two first arc elders. They don't show up much due to being in the Elder's Den, but when they do, they're a delight to see. I love One-Eye's bickering with Smallear and how she helps Brightheart a bit in A Dangerous Path! They're also the parents of Mousefur and Runningwind! One of whom dies fighting Tigerclaw in the same book Halftail dies of smoke inhalation after the fire. I like to think Runningwind rushed into battle against Tigerclaw impulsively since his father had died not long ago. Mousefur, on the other hand, takes after her mom in the new prophecy and onwards as a grumpy old lady lol. Very great characters, I love them a lot!

Speaking of the 1st arc, Brokenstar. He's honestly a really entertaining and threatening villain, and people don't talk about him much or his disability. Him and other cats with damaged tails like Berrynose and Finleap aren't really talked about in conversations about disabled characters. I find Brokenstar very interesting, not because of his motivation (or lack there of lol) which is pretty generic, but because of his lasting effects on the clans. His reign directly or indirectly led to several key events in the first arc or beyond. Tigerclaw becoming the deputy of ThunderClan was caused by Brokenstar killing Lionheart (canonically, we don't know who killed Lion, but I think it was Brokenstar), him being still alive led to Nightstar not getting nine lives and dying in Rising Storm. Which led directly to Tigerstar taking power. He directly killed several cats, but his orders and actions led to many more that wouldn't have happened had he not been leader, which I will not list out because this confession would be way too long. Another thing I like about him is that he is a fantastic villain in OOTS. People often depict the main leader of the Dark Forest being Tigerstar or Mapleshade, but in reality, it's actually Brokenstar. Tigerstar is more of a secondary leader to him. Brokenstar was the first Dark Forest cat to cross into the living world, and he later seemingly detects StarClan cats at the border to the Dark Forest somehow and confronts them, so Jayfeather and Spottedleaf have to sneak in, and he leads Flametail into the Dark Forest so Ivypool can ghost kill him (but this plan was foiled by Tigerheart), and in The Darkest Hour, Ivypool refers to the plans as "What Brokenstar is plotting". So yeah, he's the leader of the DF, not Tigerstar, and Tiger wouldn't have gotten very far without him lol. Crazy how we got multiple disabled leaders and deputies in the first arc and then not ever again, unless you count Berrynose lol

Next is Volewhisper! Who has quite a few parallels with Cinderpelt! One of their back legs were both injured by a villain's scheming (Tigerclaw's trap for Bluestar and Brokenstar making kits fight rats), they were both then inspired by a senior clanmate (Yellowfang and Nightpelt), and Cinderpelt chooses to become a medicine cat while Volewhisper chooses to be a warrior instead. I find him very fun and he's one of my favourite characters in Exile From ShadowClan!

The next cat I wanna talk about is a bit controversial due to some pretty bad writing choices by the team. Finleap. I really really loved him in Darkest Night and River of Fire. He and Twigbranch had a really sweet relationship, and I love how he follows her to ThunderClan. I also hate Sandynose, but that's besides the point. They were really cute and I liked them a lot... but then The Raging Storm happened. Where instead of focusing on the actually interesting plot of Twigbranch struggling to be a mentor, they decide to make her nice, sweet, and sort of goofy boyfriend... a jerk. He's rude he gives her the cold shoulder, it's awful, and so out of character. At least he actually does apologize for it and improve his behaviour, which I admit was a sweet moment in an otherwise pretty bad plotline. Then, after that, he's sort of a background cat. He briefly stands up to The Impostor after Twiggy is punished. In Sky he has a sort of friendship with Nightheart. He and Lionblaze laugh at Nightheart after he gets bit by a Squirrel, but later in the book Nightheart thinks of him in a positive light and he's one of the first cats that Night thinks of telling about Sunbeam. Overall fun guy, nice character despite one really bad book (which is basically every warriors character lol)

Some other underrated disabled cats who I don't really have as much to say about:

Fallowfern (deaf)

Shrewtooth (PTSD)

.

[troutfur]

I got the image in my head of Bluestar, as her mental state declines after Tigers betrayal, seeks comfort in a remnant of someone she knew.

With almost all the cats she loved gone from her life, and are in distant Starclanin. Blue is increasingly is drawn the thickets at the edge of the territory (Which have grown out quite a bit) because of the sense of lingering familiarity to them.

Not necessarily a pleasant or good familiarity, but the nostalgia and memories of happier times are there nonetheless.

Just taking a long walk and resting for a minute around the tendrils of the thistle for a moment

So, this mental image inspired a whole ficlet out of me, so, enjoy!

The half-moon hung on the starry night sky as Bluefur walked towards the RiverClan border. She'd just had an argument with Cinderpelt, having forbidden her from making the trip to the Moonstone. And after that and so many moons cooped up in her den she just needed some fresh air.

She felt a tug on her paws, leading her to the RiverClan border. Right at the point where the ThunderClan forest gave way to the sandy banks of the river there was a tangle of thistles, standing tall and proud. She sat about a fox-length away from it and simply dwelt in the silence.

The stubborn plant was the most peculiar thing. Any enemy warrior that tried to cross invariably left with nasty cuts in their pelt, but most ThunderClan warriors could pass through it unharmed. Bluefur was different, though; although never a major injury, the plant had a knack for getting tangled in her pelt or leaving little scratches on her if she tried to go through.

"I never thought I'd be seeking your company, you know?" she meowed eventually. "Seems you are doing well for yourself. I remember a season or two ago I had hope you were finally going to wither."

There was a pause.

Bluefur was unsure what she was expecting before continuing. Could he reply in his current state? Could he even hear her?

"I've been thinking about you a lot more lately," she continued. "I presume you are aware of what your apprentice tried to do."

Out of the corner of her eye, Bluefur noticed a very slight hint of movement in the thistles. Without taking a moment to consider that it could have been the wind or her imagination or something else of the sort, she took that as a response.

"I just..." Bluestar gave a long sigh. "I didn't think you taught him like that. You were many things. Aggressive, rash, sharp-tongued... But would have you killed me to become leader?"

There was another pause. The thistles seemed to remain still this time.

"Did I soften too much?" she meowed. "Was that my problem? Was that that made him think he had to do it?"

Bluefur looked at the ground between her front paws as she went over her memories of these last few years she'd spent as leader. After a few moments she stood up to walk closer to the thistles and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd just... taken your offer back when I could."

The thistes rustled vigorously in that instant, and Bluefur flinched. After a couple heartbeats she took a step closer to the thistles once again. "I wonder if you could have come to love them too," she said with a wistful sigh. "Much as raising Whitestorm alongside you made me want to pull my fur out, we didn't do a bad job at all as a team."

The thistles seemed to part slightly, giving her a look the the other bank of the river through its branches. Snowkit... Moonkit... Mosskit... In a sense all three of them had died that night, even if two grown warriors now wore the pelts of the former two.

That pregnancy had come at the most inconvenient time. They had only agreed to remain as empf that long for the Whitepaw's sake. The moment he had his warrior ceremony they had been planning to break up the nest.

But of course he knew immediately that he could have never sired her kits. As much as the idea of half-clanners being associated with him disgusted him, however, he was willing to not denounce them under one condition: step out of the running for deputy. Giving them up had been the only way to get out of check.

As she was lost in thought, the thistles reached out to caress her face. Bluefur immediately raised a paw to her cheek where she felt the thistle connect to her. She held it there for a moment then looked at it. There was no blood drawn.

Bluefur relaxed, letting out her first genuine laugh in many moons. "The things I put up with for Snowclaw..." she meowed. "You really were named well, you know? I still remember how itchy your fur felt back when we were all in the same pfurr. Not having to put up with it any longer is enough to make all those freezing nights in my nest worth it."

Bluefur stayed there for a few more moments, dwelling in the peaceful quiet of the night, before standing up and returning the way she came. The thistles rustled one more time as she left, and she turned to look over her shoulder. "Goodbye, Thistleclaw."

[adr-n-sketchy]

Speedy contribution to the Gray warrior cats with blue eyes prompt allows for my immense love and appreciation of @tennelleflowers's Drawing a __! series that's really helped me to understand and be able to break down character design. Hopefully it's pretty obvious who's who

More character thoughts below the cut but tldr; this was fun and I want to do another set. Maybe torties or amber-eyed tabbies outside the Tigerstar line

Bluestar's design was definitely heavily heavily influenced by the StarClan's Trials MAP that came out a few months ago. But also, my perception of Bluestar has always been influenced by the og SSS warrior cats design as well. I wanted her to look regal and angular without seeming too fierocious immediately, because she is also a very warm and mothering figure to those in her circle. I gave her tufted ears because I thought it'd be fun that that's where Whitestorm got his, even though I'm pretty sure they're from Thistleclaw.

Cinderpelt's design is the only one I can fully claim as mine originally, stemming from a sketch dump I did a few weeks ago when I was playing around with face shapes. I really wanted her to have prominent fluffy cheeks that only perk up more when she grins. I also wanted her to have soft, curved ears and be very fluffy - I don't think the books have ever described her as specifically fluffy, but I hc fluffy Cinderpelt and will not be taking any further suggestions. I know she matured a lot when she became a medicine cat apprentice and then medicine cat, but I hope she never lost her adorable sunny grin and her enthusiasm

Ashfur, I wanted to draw while he was still in his good-natured era. I haven't read New Prophecy in a hot minute but, other than his drama with Squilf, I remember him being a very respectable warrior. I wanted him look good-natured and almost unassuming, because no one expected him to be the villain leading up that fire scene. Afterall, he was trusted to mentor Birchpaw, the clan's sole new apprentice at the time, and then Lionblaze, who was both the grandson of Firestar and the son of the deputy - both hugely high honors.

Finally, Crowfeather definitely feels the least inspired of the designs, but my mind only has so many ways to illustrate angular and cranky Crow boy - long profile with large angular ears and not much fluff anywhere. I gave him a gray nose as opposed to the others' pink ones to try and make him look more stoic. The little tuft of fur on his chin is the most "facial hair" the man-boy can grow, but maybe he's come to believe that it makes his look stoically wisened from all he's lived through

[multifandomfern]

Cats and explanations under the cut

Mother and Kit: Speckletail and Snowkit

They didn't get enough time. They both deserved so much better. Would've loved to see Brackenfur mentor Snowkit and Speckletail being a proud mother. I also would've loved to see Speckletail showing everyone that her kit could be a warrior. It would've been such an inspiring story where she constantly loved and supported Snowkit which gave him the help and confidence he needed to become a great warrior. There was so much potential with them but Snowkit had to be killed off :/

Father and Kit: Crowfeather and Breezepelt

I know they're the worst, but I really liked them in Crowfeather's Trial. I enjoyed them slowly understanding and getting closer with each other. They'll never have an amazing relationship, but I like the one they built. Also I find it funny when Crowfeather former edgy boy cringes at Breezepelt being an edgy boy. It's interesting and amusing to see Crowfeather realize that Breezepelt is like him.

Grandparent and Grandkit: Crookedstar, Featherkit and Stormkit

I love thinking about them. Poor Crookedstar already lost so much family then he lost Silverstream. That must've been so sad, I understand here he wanted his grandkits. I love imagining him playing and spoiling them. He learned from the past not to ignore them because he's scared and grieving. So he gives them so much love, and in return the kits adore him.

Siblings: Leafpool and Squirrelflight

They're so different, but they still care so much about each other. Squirrelflight keeping Leafpool's secret and Leafpool supporting Squirrelflight when Bramblerstar is a jerk. These two have so much love and care for each other, and I really enjoy it. Not much to say because my words really can't explain it well enough.

Friendship: Needlepaw and Alderpaw

So I considered doing the og trio Firestar, Graystripe and Ravenpaw, but I've been reading AVOS, so I did these two instead. Their friendship was the best thing in The Apprentice's Quest. I loved Needlepaw being annoying yet caring to Alderpaw. She was reckless and overconfident, but she still helped him. She even helped ease his anxiety sometimes. Then Alderpaw gave her care back and the inclusivity she wanted. They had such a fun friendship really sad how it turned out.

Mentor and Apprentice: Yellowfang and Cinderpelt

Honestly don't remember these two that much, but Yellowfang has always been a favorite of mine (at least alive Yellowfang, she becomes awful in Starclan) and I really love Cinderpelt too. I love energetic excitable Cinderpelt tiring old grumpy Yellowfang out. I love Yellowfang having to keep Cinderpelt calm or having to tire her out. I love them comforting each other. I love Yellowfang supporting Cinderpelt after her accident and then sharing an understanding. Yellowfang wasn't the kindest, but she definitely cared for Cinderpelt. Cinderpelt was more fast paced, but she definitely realized that Yellowfang did care.

♂️♂️ Ship: Ravenpaw and Barley

Of fucking course these two are my favorite!!! Ravenpaw was always a favorite of mine, I related to him and felt so bad for him. He deserves love and happiness and Barley is perfect for that. Barley living alone at his barn finally gets some company. He slowly gets more used to Ravenpaw, and they get more vulnerable with each other. Together they heal from past trauma and find peace in each other. They are the other's rock and comforter. They have such a sweet relationship where they help steady and improve the other.

♂️♀️Ship: Fernsong and Ivypool

They're really sweet together. I know Fernsong was only shown having that one line, but I still imagine him being the first nursery king. I love Ivypool enjoying patrols and hunts but always checking up on her mate and kits. Honestly I think a lot of my favs are more interesting in my head than the books but that's not stopping me from putting them on here. Anyways Ivypool and Fernsong are sweethearts who knows how to always support and soothe the other.

♀️♀️Ship: Feathertail and Tawnypelt

These two compliment each other well. Feathertail being more reserved while Tawnypelt is more outgoing. Feathertail being more gentle while Tawnypelt is more rough. Despite their differences they both are loyal and caring cats. They would have a good relationship, I'm sad we didn't get to see more of them together. I like to imagine that Tawnypelt fell for Feathertail when she helped her after the rats. Then maybe after Feathertail would start to fall in love too. Also they'd be over to bond over their trauma and heal together which I love.

If you read through all of that here's some 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

[bonefall]

Thoughts on the warrior cats ultimate guide? I love that book, I'd read it to my little brother a lot for fun and we would look at the cute cat pictures. It is canon for Rock to tell stories to dead kits... interesting?

I'm very favorable to most of the field guides, with Code of the Clans being my favorite. It's been my favorite since I was young, honestly, it was a very formative book for me growing up.

The Ultimate Guide actually came out during the time I wasn't reading Warrior Cats, after OotS made me ragequit as a kid by 'killing' off Hollyleaf and replacing her with Dovepaw (I love dove now though I got better).

I've never had the desire to pick it up though, it just sort of seems like retellings of stuff we already knew, mostly inspired by Cats of the Clans instead of the other field guides... which...

If you're thinking of the framing device of Rock and the kits, you're probably thinking of Cats of the Clans! I wish I had nicer things to say about it, Anon, because... I'm so sorry, I think it's by far the worst field guide in terms of original content.

I love that framing device where Rock is telling stories to kittens (and I plan to keep it for my rewrite in a very "I HATE CHILDREN HOW DO I MAKE YOU ALL LEAVE ME ALONE" way), but this book also did these other things,

"ThunderClan is the best and most noble Clan of all and they never attack unjustified and they love the warrior code more than you but hey I don't take sides."

"Also ShadowClan is literally evil. Be quiet Blossomkit this is only your first microaggression. This is not taking a side btw"

"The Tribe has such stupid names and they're so useless, anyway I'm a neutral observer"

"StarClan didn't mean for Cinderpelt to get hurt :( and she proved herself worthy of a second life by uhhh not letting her brother's children get eaten"

Rock ships Bramblesquirrel "He's the only one who can match her fire not contain it" cringe post from hairless rat

"Ashfur only ever tried to protect Squilf and was very loyal when he tried to kill his ex's three children. I'm still a neutral observer btw and not a writer self-insert."

I've actually like, always hated this one particular line in Brightheart's segment where Rock says that kits "shriek" when they see her face. Like... what the actual fuck. No, if a major member of your community has a big scar, in a society where big scars HAPPEN A LOT, it's normal to that child.

This entire part is like "Brightheart's life sucks so bad because shes so ugly, and people scream and wail and piss when she walks by, and she can't look at her face in the water without wanting to cry. Cloudtail understands though because his mom eats friskies. This is comparable."

Formative experience little Bones sitting there reading this like, "Brightheart's beautiful and super super cool. this is fucked up"

Aaaaaand lastly this is THE book where we get the Nightcloud Slander.

"Nightcloud should stop being such a bitch because she's the only one of Crowfeather's mates lucky enough to live with him"

"And also she's jealous and arrogant for... reasons"

"And she's overprotective of Breezepelt for Reasons"

Remember kits; if you're a male warrior, you're Protective and Ambitious. If you're a female warrior, you're Jealous and Arrogant.

Also Heatherpaw was selfish for meeting Lionpaw in the tunnels somehow because????? Rock Is A Neutral Observer, Remember

In a nutshell, this book makes Rock suck and was basically full of the rancid takes you see in a bad website article. It's got everything you hate to see in WC.

In any case though, god, you can't knock the old Wayne art. It's always an absolute delight.

[birdsong-warriors]

A short comic about grief that I initially wrote two years ago when my sister died. She was a huge inspiration behind how I wrote Cinderpelt. This takes place at the end of The New Prophecy.

Reminder that Midnight in this AU is not a normal badger but an Ekorus Ekakeran, a prehistoric mustelid. I've just been obsessed with the idea for years, lol.

Next

Read Swifthawk's Chance

[iamfabiloz]

If you're still doing the prompt thing, BrambleFire except it's not a ship, they just love each other as father and son because Tigerstar is a terrible parent to his kits.

One firedad coming up! 👍 this was supposed to be firestar n bramble post the darkest hour but I accidentally wrote fireheart a bunch of timez so it’s more of an AU hc thing now lol where fire isn’t as suspicious of bramble before Bluestar dies 😔 also the setting was inspired by this map!

A pale snowflake drifted down from the sky and onto Bramblepaw’s nose, making the apprentice sneeze. The specks of frost raining down on him melted almost instantly against his warm tabby pelt. Bramblepaw chortled delightedly, reaching out with a paw to bat at the falling crystals. The apprentice’s training hollow was covered in snowfall, only a few withered stalks poking out of the white. Bramblepaw stood a few paw steps deep in it, his pads tingling. Fluffing up his brown fur against the cold, he crouched and then leaped, paws first into a thick pile of snow.

Crisp, coolness enveloped his pelt as the apprentice rolled around erratically, purring. The snow crunched beneath his weight, thawing slightly because of his pelt’s warmth.

“There you are!”

A familiar bemused voice rang out. A ginger tom came into view, his muzzle screwed up with worry. He hurriedly rushed to Bramblepaw’s side, his thinner-furred frame shivering against the cold.

Bramblepaw stopped his shuffling and got up, clumps of ice sticking to his pelt.

“Hrm? Oh, hi Fireheart!”

Bramblepaw jumped to his paws to greet his mentor, twitching his dark brown ears.

“Don’t ‘Hi Fireheart’ me,” The deputy grumped, flicking a chunk of snow off Bramblepaw’s shoulder with a flame-colored paw.

“I told you to wait for me by the oak tree, not to go charging off into the woods while I helped Cinderpelt carry herbs!” Fireheart chastised, raising an eyebrow.

“My heart nearly stopped when I found you gone! I doubled back to camp to recheck and have been looking for you for at least half an hour!”

Bramblepaw scuffled his paws abashedly on the frost covered floor.

“Sorreee Fireheart I got distracted by the snow! I wanted to see if the hollow was full of it or not, and it was!” Bramblepaw bounced excitedly for a second, before remembering he was in trouble.

“I lost track of time, I meant to go back to the oak tree but I forgot. I’m sorry.” Bramblepaw bowed his head, looking genuinely ashamed.

Fireheart took a deep breath and sighed. His ginger frame relaxed and his green eyes seemed to lighten.

“You’re lucky your usually such a good apprentice! If you were a tad more troublesome, I would give you tick duty for the rest of the day! Don’t run off again or I’ll tell Goldenflower! And then she’ll decide your fate,” Fireheart meowed, his voice taking on a gentler, teasing tone.

Bramblepaw’s pelt seemed to glow with happiness from the praise and he growled in mock offense.

“Nooo!! She made me clean out all the dens for the whole day that one time Ashpaw dared me to catch a swamp toad and eat it.”

Fireheart snorted, a plume of frosty air coming out of his nose. “And then Cinderpelt had to give you watermint for your bellyache because you ate it whole. What were you and Ashpaw thinking? Maybe I should retract my previous statement of you being a well-behaved ‘paw.” Fireheart queried with a purr.

Bramblepaw laughed, bringing a paw to his muzzle.

“I am well behaved!” Bramblepaw straightened his posture and raised his nose high in the air. “See?”

Fireheart chuckled, poking Bramblepaw’s side with his tail. “You look like your posing for a portrait!” The deputy teased, tipping his head slightly to the side.

Bramblepaw huffed unmaliciously, dropping into a crouch and sticking a paw deep into the slush. With a flick of his foot, Bramblepaw sent a snowball flying square into Fireheart’s chest. The ginger cat staggered back a paw-step, before growling playfully in return. He charged towards Bramblepaw, who darted off with a squeak. The flame-colored cat chased his apprentice playfully around the hollow, ice crunching beneath their feet as they ran. With a mighty bound, Fireheart was able to get in front of Bramble and cut him off. Bramblepaw let out a shrill mewl, as he skidded to a stop. Finally in position, Fireheart rolled a clump of snow beneath his paws and fired. The snow hit Bramblepaw’s forehead, and the little tabby flopped over dramatically. Fireheart trotted over to his fallen foster-son and ruffled his frosty head fur.

“Perhaps we should call you Bramblefur.” Fireheart teased, patting Bramblepaw’s fuzzy head as the apprentice lay in the snow.

Bramblepaw screwed up his muzzle. “I wanna be called Brambleheart after you, or Brambleflower after Mama. Or oooh, uhh, Brambleheartflower!” Bramblepaw’s tail twitched excitedly. Fireheart blinked, feeling extremely touched. “I’ll let Bluestar know,” he murmured gently. Bramblepaw mrrowed and sat up, snow coating his back. He bumped his head against Fireheart’s shoulder affectionately, beaming. Fireheart purred, blinking warmly at the kit.

Without warning, Bramblepaw shot off, his stubby paws scrabbling in the snow.

“Race you back to camp!”

The apprenticed squealed, scampering past a thin tree.

Fireheart rolled his eyes, amused, and then began to run happily after his foster-kit.

[miss-kittyy]

Rewriting Briarlight and Longtail’s Deaths

So I am disabled, like very disabled, I am %50 of the teenagers ever diagnosed with my special combination of pain disorders, and I also unfortunately hyper fixated on warrior cats, which is bad news for me because warrior cats is super ableist, and to add insult to injury, the fandom can also be pretty ableist.

My biggest problem with the majority of “anti-ableist” AUs is that they “fix” the ableism stemming from the narrative and able bodied characters by making the disabled character less disabled, this so bad for many reasons. I’ve talked more about in other posts. The justification that real life disabled cats are less doesn’t make it not ableist, since when was warrior cats meant to be realistic? If you’re making an au where the disabled cats function like actual disabled cats you also have to make all the cats genetically accurate, and retcon Lionblaze lifting a tree.

My problem with warrior cats is not that the disabled characters cannot become full conventional warriors, I’d like it if they got to choose what duties the perform instead of being crammed into the medicine den, but I don’t care about Cinderpelt not being able to complete a marathon. Most of the fandom seems to think the issue is that the disabled character are not useful enough, instead of the way that able bodied characters deny of them agency and make remarks like “you wouldn’t want to return to a life like her’s would you?”. Disabled people do not need to be “useful” to be worthy and empowering.

It’s very obvious that most of the fandom just wants the disabled cats to be more palatable to abled bodied people, so I’ve decided to make my own rewrite instead to hopefully make myself feel better. A lot of these things are inspired by my own experiences and not every disabled person is looking for the same things in representation, this is totally self indulgent.

The goal of this AU is to highlight the many unique and valuable aspects disability and how being disabled does not infringe upon anyone’s worth, ever.

- Longtail doesn’t die in the storm, Briarpaw is still injured, but he’s found besides her, trying his best to help her cling to life.

- after Briarpaw begins to recover he stands up to Millie and other cats insulting her quality of life, he says her journey will be hard, but it is one worth taking.

- She asks him why he’s an elder, and he decides to request to have his warrior ship restored as Briarpaw is dreading the life of an elder.

- On his first patrol the cats accompanying him insist on speaking to him in an incredibly infantilism tone, and whispering amongst themselves over what he can or can’t do, without consulting him,

- He initially gives up on patrolling after that insufferable experience.

- Briarlight begins to create marks and blobs on the wall of the medicine den using crushed up dead herbs she asks him to retrieve some berries for her, and he complies.

- Jayfeather shows him how he navigates the territory with the help of some of the sighted cats, and Mousefur is quick to volunteer as his guide. He finds her company surprisingly empowering. He realizes that it was not his blindness which was limiting his abilities, but the other cats attitudes.

- Mousefur and Longtail return with mouthful of berries and herbs, Briarlight describes to him what she’s drawing on the side of the den and he helps he mound the materials into paint.

- The cats begin to pop into the medicine den to see Briarlights painting and soon Jayfeather has to kick her out occasionally so they’d stop crowding him, she’s given the walls of camp to decorate instead.

- She begins to illustrate Longtails stories of the old territory and Bloodclan, and this new form of storytelling becomes a tradition amongst Thunderclan.

- because more young cats are aware of the clans history it becomes harder for the dark forest to recruit them, unfortunately, Blossomfall’s resentment towards her sister means she never cared to listen.

- Ivypool is still recruited and trained like in canon, given her relationship with the dark forest was much more emotionally charged and manipulative than just plain lies.

- at a gathering Longtail meets Grasspelt who inquires about Briarlight, Longtail is surprised about how little he knows as the she-cat had mentioned how well they got along as apprentices. Despite Millie nagging him not to tell him the truth about her daughter he does anyways, but puts much more emphasis on how well she’s doing than Millie expected. Grasspelt thinks this sounds really cool and decides that he is going to see her and her paintings, and that nobody can stop him. Longtail makes sure to put any opposing cat in their place, but Briarlight is a very respected Clanmate, so most warriors don’t say anything.

- Briarlight is nervous and doesn’t want to come out of the medicine den at first, but when Grassheart darts into the den holding berries and flowers for her to paint with she quickly warms up to her visitor.

- Grassheart is happy to tell Briarlight that he’s never been able to be a “functioning” warrior, and that he has always imagined that his spirit is shaped different, the medicine cat says his body is normal, but he’s never been able to keep focus in a fight or react as quickly as he should be able to while hunting. (He’s autistic because I say so)

- As dusk nears he’s visually hesitant to return to Riverclan and when Longtail inquires on why he says that he hasn’t felt so “here” for a long time. On the way back he wanders off and comes back with a chipmunk, when returning to Riverclan territory his father, Mintfur, is shocked to see his catch. After talking with his family a bit he realizes that it was the noise from the river that was making him so tense and dissociated, Brackenfur, who was escorting him, notices that he keeps rubbing himself on the ground and wincing.

- For the next couple moons Grasspelt returned to Thunderclan to bring Briarlight plants that only grow in Riverclan territory, he begins trying to fish from the quite lazy stream in their territory and soon both him and Briarlight have got it down.

- Longtail notices the sadness present whenever Grasspelt left and exclaims that it’s rather stupid that he’s living somewhere so unsuited for him just because of words long repeated.

- Grasspelt confesses that he feels the same, but knew he wasn’t supposed to say anything. Briarlight tells Longtail that her and the Riverclan warrior had been thinking of each other as mates for moons.

- Longtail accompanies Jayfeather to the next half moon meeting where he proposes his addition to the warrior code, “no cat should be confined to laws which harm them due to an inherent physical or spiritual difference.” (Cats don’t really know how brains work, so they see mental disabilities as a difference within a cats spirit)

- A moon later the leaders meet to discuss this proposition, it is accepted and Grasspelt makes the journey to Thunderclan for the final time.

- Grasspelt is renamed Grassspirit when becoming a Thunderclan warrior, unlike prior renaming of disabled cats this is a celebration.

- Grassspirit spends most of his time taking care of the elders and kits, he’s incredibly compassionate especially with kits and is able to solve many problems within the nursery.

- When twigkit and Violetkit arrive in Thunderclan Briarlight and Grassspirit help raise them, after Violetkit is taken Briarlight and Twigkit paint her on the side of Thunderclan camp.

- Briarlight still gets sick and her illness progresses without any treatment, Grassspirit notices her trying to hide it and when Longtail finds out he’s very upset. Jayfeather frantically treats her, expressing his frustration that she didn’t tell them sooner, the second Millie steps out she breaks down and explains that she just wanted to deal with it herself, and perhaps if she were successful Millie would finally treat her like an adult.

- Longtail gives Millie a stern talking to, he tells her that Briarlight is a warrior of Thunderclan and as her clanmate she should show her some respect.

- Millie is inherently very reactionary, as she had not realized the full extent of her suffocation, but eventually after a couple moons her and Briarlight begin to rekindle their relationship, like adults.

- Blossomfall sees how Brairlight wasn’t basking in their mother’s attention like she imagined, and feels the urge to seek out an actual sisterhood after ignoring Briarlight for moons and moons.

- Briarlight isn’t really mad at her sister, and understands why she felt the way she did. Jayfeather suggests that Blossomfall help Briarlight with her painting, Blossomfall seems put off with the suggestion of being her sister’s assistant.

- The interactions that follow are less than ideal, Blossomfall commends Briarlight’s able friends (Thornclaw, Poppyfrost, Alderheart, etc) for being so nice to her, as if that’s not what friends do. She seems very sad the entire time, sighing when her sister dragged her legs around with her mouth to sit more comfortably, even though she was completely fine. When watching her paint she comments that it’s good she has “something to keep her busy”, and finally she expresses her view, of Briarlight’s injury and her (Blossomfall’s) suffering being all worth it because of her talents, as if her life was not worth living to begin with.

- Briarlight tells her that if that’s truly what she wants she’s going to have to put more effort into understanding and respecting her way of life, and that she won’t apologize for their mother’s actions.

- When Blossomfall has her kits they take a liking to Auntie Briarlight, and Blossomfall seems to have reflected on their past interactions, trusting her sister to watch her kits. Briarlight teases a bit, a subtle way of telling her not to rush things, but they do begin to feel like something close to sisters.

- Right before Briarlight’s Nieces and Nephews are made warriors Longtail dies of Greencough. Throughout the entirety of his sickness he kept his sense of humour, his mean streak, and his immense love for what he had made of his clan.

- At his vigil Grassspirit began whaling like a bird in new-leaf, he insists that the vigil is too sad, and that Longtail wouldn’t want everyone moping around, for Starclan’s sake, his life was good. Standing amongst them, Longtail’s spirit can feel every cat in Thunderclan standing around him, singing the song of a life well lived.

[indrawzcord]

warrior cat designs/remakes (pt1)

u can use any of them with credit

Designs here are:

Firestar | Mapleshade | Darktail | Dovewing | Sasha | Hawkfrost | Scourge | Sleekwhisker | Ivypool | Blackstar | Ashfur | Bumblestripe | Crowfeather | Cloudtail  | Ashfoot | Deadfoot | Swiftpaw | Redtail | Cinderpelt | Longtail (20 designs in this post! 20 so far)

based off of my old Firestar designs (i will post old designs separately). Made colors more soft! changed the pattern on head and removed the lighter underbelly.

didn’t change much from the previous design, i just really liked the old one. I did fix the stripes

found the old one ugly a bit all over the place (i rushed the old designs) so i decided to fix that. Made him a Siamese since that’s how i imagined him at first.

made the colors softer and work well together. stub tail.

The colors were too bright for my liking so i changed that. Her fur is more od a grayish purple since i found it pretty

the colors were too bright and didn’t flow well (it wasn’t my favorite design when i first made the old one) so i fixed it, giving him colors that flow well and his frosty eyes.

This is a design i didn’t have a design for previously. I originally was gonna make him half white and half black/dark grey but i just didn’t know how to do that and make it look good so i did this. his design is symmetrical except for what is shown that isn’t symmetrical

i liked the old design i made for her but i changed a bit made her fur a little less curly and made the colors softer

also really liked the old design but i just changed the face marking a little and the design on the back changed a bit. I was a huge fan of (Used to say Sagutoyas but uh after what she did nah man) so the design is inspired by her Ivypool’s design.

the old design was super rushed and ugly and i didn’t like it when i made it, probably my least favorite of the old designs. I also completely forgot what Blackstar looked like when i made it so i came up with this.

funky fire lad. 

i find him and Ashfur uncannonly similar so i made their designs similar

floofy boy! he’s my favorite. Has design aspects from his parents.

i was not about to make a cat one full color and add no other colors, i just don’t like that. (i don’t like when a character has only one color on the fur to work with, it feels bland an boring so i try to avoid that). I was going to make some grey markings but my brain told me to do this instead

Crow mama. Made her foot kinda bubbly/ashy. ovalish eyes (i started focusing on eye shapes after i made this one.

love him. I know his foot is twisted but I thought his foot was just injured badly when i first read the books and its gonna stay that way

Idk, just winged it and i like it a lot! this is definitely at top 5 designs i liked the outcome of. His color sceme is also similar to Cloudtail for some reason?  just wanted to do that. eyes are a bit pointy.

Stumpy tail! I hope his design is animation friendly enough. eyes point at the top.

BABEYYY! i messed up when i was coloring the lines but i already merged the layers so oh well

I think this is the most complex design i made but i noticed that a lot of Longtail designs are complex. Hope this is still animation friendly tho

-

and that’s it

[violetshine-appreciation]

warrior cats as vocaloids (and occasionally other vocal synths)

so uhhh i was watching a bunch of moonkittis “warrior cats as __” videos and bc i am autistic and have warrior cats AND vocaloid as a Special Interest i decided “hmmm what if.....warriors as vocaloids” so!! thats what im gonna be doing. moonkitti if u make a video w the same premise (which i highly doubt) u owe me $2000000 /j

also uhhh im only doing cats from arcs ive read, which are tpb, tnp, po3, oots, and (most of) avos. so no dotc or tbc characters unfortunately

firestar - hatsune miku. this one is pretty obvious. firestar is The Warrior Cat. miku is The Vocaloid. It Just Makes Sense

graystripe - kasane teto. now i KNOW teto isnt a vocaloid but idc graystripe would be teto bc shes silly and often associated w miku

ravenpaw - avanna. bc idk. actually yknow what im not gonna provide explanations for all of these that would take too long LOL

bluestar - meiko

tigerstar - big al. sorry

yellowfang - sachiko

cinderpelt - xin hua

spottedleaf - megurine luka. as much as i hate to say it bc luka is one of my fav vocaloids and spottedleaf is one of my least favorite characters.....spottedleaf is often described as being very VERY beautiful in universe and well. i think luka is very very beautiful. so unfortunately one of my fav vocas has been kin assigned to one of my most despised cats :(

sandstorm - akita neru. a fanloid but still fitting imo

cloudtail - gachapoid. sorry

brightheart - oliver

longtail - yohioloid

darkstripe - tonio. sorry

scourge - utatane piko

bramblestar - arsloid

squirrelflight - nekomura iroha

leafpool - chika

feathertail and stormfur - kagamine rin and len

tawnypelt - ia

crowfeather - yowane haku

hawkfrost - yuezheng longya

mothwing - yuezheng ling

ashfur - fukase

lionblaze - kaito

jayfeather - yuzuki yukari

hollyleaf - gumi. bc i kin them both

cinderheart - lily. bc gumi/lily is one of my comfort ships and so is hollycinder

breezepelt - zhiyu moke

sol - solaria (synthv). im sorry i had to make the pun

rock - ibm 7094. aka the first ever computer to sing. bc hes an old ass man

fallen leaves - hibiki lui

half moon - galaco

dovewing - aoki lapis

ivypool - merli

tigerheart - hiyama kiyoteru

flametail - xingchen/stardust

dawnpelt - akikoloid-chan

blossomfall - sonika

briarlight - mo qingxian

bumblestripe - kevin. as in. the synthv. kevin. simply bc i think its funny

mapleshade - mayu

alderheart - dex

sparkpelt - daina

twigbranch and violetshine - meika hime and mikoto

needletail - ruby

sleekwhisker - cul

darktail - kaai yuki. bc i think its funny

onestar - otomachi una. bc i think its funny

rowanclaw - seeu. bc i think its funny

leafstar - kokone

hawkwing - kamui gakupo

tree - tree. as in. the utau. yes there is literally an utauloid that is just a tree

ANYWAY thats all for now but i may add more if i get Inspiration. i hope u enjoyed this extremely specific crossover brought to u by: my autism

[halodwolf]

R :smile:

send me a Letter of the alphabet and ill randomly doodle and tell you some stuff about one of my ocs that’s name starts with that letter!

you get.... rosetta ridge! you know her

vespertine's girlfriend and resident doctor of the ridges. two generations ahead of her in her family were purebred turkish vans and she retains the features pretty strongly. she's very vocally against the war which doesn't bode well for her considering her family has historically advocated to drive the keys out of the mountains. the ridges actually went a long time without a doctor until she just started doing it, learning in secrecy from their former doctor nefel who was forced out of his position by their leader. nefel had no formal battle training and was killed during nerros's assassination, where rosetta promptly stepped up into the position despite their leader's complaints.

i got a lot of my inspiration for her from cinderpelt, personality wise. she's very kindhearted and compassionate and does not give a damn about borders or history. she acts out of the goodness of her heart and demands the safety of everyone in any given situation, no matter who's side they're on.

she gets some tattoos later on that i haven't designed yet so she's featured without them lol

[asphodeline-lutea]

Del, you can't just say that and not follow up on the AU!

XDDD you really have a point! I should have posted about at least the main one of the AUs ages ago, buuuut still haven't until now XD

I don't have much time these days, as it's only 1 month till final exam now, so I'll just try to explain it shortly... although I might or might not write a fanfic for this one day!

(Update: Actually, I spent much more time than I planned to on it, and final exam just finished today... oh well)

I'll start by telling the story of Cinderpelt and Cinderheart from the Warriors series, which gave me the inspiration for this AU. (For those who have read those books and knows the story, you can just skip this part) When she was an apprentice, Cinderpelt wanted and was training to become a warrior. However, she accidentally fell into the trap of the evil cat Tigerclaw and injured her leg seriously. She could no longer become a warrior, as she couldn't hunt or fight properly, and had to become a medicine cat. Much later, StarClan (the bunch of dead cats living in the sky) wanted to give her a second chance of becoming a warrior, so they gave her a test of some sort, and then she was reborn in the body of Cinderheart. But Cinderheart also had her own spirit and didn't know that Cinderpelt's spirit was sharing a body with her, until some time later. At last, Cinderheart, with knowing that the spirit of the medicine cat Cinderpelt was also inside her body, chose the path of a warrior, and Cinderpelt's spirit was set free.

When I first thought about an AU where Hiccup the Second was there watching Hiccup the Third, I immediately remembered this story. And I found that it can even make sense. Hiccup the Second was the only Hiccup, out of the three we know, that never got to become a King of the Wilderwest. What if he was given a second chance, like Cinderpelt in that story? And Hiccup the Third sure had sort of a connection to him, for example, finding his book in Book 6 and knowing what the next line would be. What's more, in Book 12 it literally had this:

"But still, somehow, a tiny part of him[Hiccup the Second] was here, in the raggedy, awkward shape of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

And this is why I really could develop this AU, I really can, and so surprisingly it's going to fit with the story quite well

For a bit of the AU's timeline, I had Hiccup the Second go free from Hiccup the Third's body near the end of Book 12, just as Furious was about to leap into the ocean and swim away. Both Hiccup the Third and Furious see him, but the others around do not. I imagine him walking towards Furious, smiling with tears in his eyes, turning around and waving a final goodbye, before turning back again and jumping into the sea after his dragon brother. (And NO I am definitely NOT crying)

Also, I'm not sure if Hiccup the Third can see him all the time or something, I would prefer if he could only sense him instead. I was thinking that he would be able to hear a few of Hiccup the Second's thoughts but not exactly sure where they came from, and be able to feel strong emotions from Hiccup the Second (example: some scenes from Book 8). But I also have Hiccup the Third realize that Hiccup the Second was sharing a body with him, probably some time between Book 8 and 9. And perhaps Hiccup the Third will be able to sense Hiccup the Second more often after that, maybe even communicating with him through their thoughts. And, Hiccup the Second could probably talk to him in some dreams. Also, for some reason I don't think he'll tell all this to Fishlegs or Camicazi, at least not until (the events of )Book 12 has ended for some time.

Okay okay that's it for now! I really wrote a lot this time!! I'll post some more later if I think of anything I want to add to this AU, by the way this AU is my favorite one so far!!

[wormstar]

How did you come up with the idea of 'signature herbs' and what ones have you used so far?

ahhhh i only saw this now. lets see

i think it started off in equal parts as a 'lore' and design thing there was no priority really.... it was inspired by all the more modern wc art ive seen where healers have herbs as like accessories. i think i just went alright could it be done practically and i decided having 'wires' of grass and vine that form belts for herbs was interesting. which then lead on to a broader consideration for how itd be convenient when healing a whole camp or going on a journey to collect plants. and naturally then i decided hey how can i make it distinct for every cat. hence the idea of certain cats having herbs that set them apart from one another came to be and i just started incorporating that in designs

this is what i initially wrote about the concept when i was first developing it

important distinction is while if a herbs in use its effectively 'reserved' for the foreseeable future, cats can share herbs between generations if the time difference is long enough

also i did come up with this while an interest in flower symbolism was like. occupying a good part of my mind. so though sometimes i just picked certain herbs for good color contrast and nothing else i occasionally did dip into specific meanings - in particular to stay grounded i interpreted the kind of 'cures' herbs served as as metaphors for character arcs. like i picked chamomile for barkface cause he was the one guy supporting tallstar's journey out of the clans, shadowsight got lavender cause he died once or whatever and kept the whole starclan ordeal in obscurity you get it. alternatively mudfur just has dandelion for no reason

whenever i come up with systems like that in anything i write i always have exceptions cause i think its a very like. interesting exercise. so certain cats dont have signature herbs at all - leafpool doesnt to vaguely represent how little control she has within the healer role and by extension her relationship with starclan rendering her unimportant, hawkheart uses the whole belt system but doesnt have an herb because sadstuck about him being a warrior or whatever, jayfeather doesnt cause hes a bitch, etc. and ofc the opposite excess, hollyleaf keeps holly leaves leftover from when she served as a healer.

going through old posts manually these may be wrong and i just forgot what the hell i drew but who cares. list is:

spottedleaf has ferns which arent technically an herb. pretty sure yellowfangs was meant to be celandine flowers which eased eye pain. flametail had either rosemary (again hides death scent) or some random flower i added for contrast. already mentioned shadowsight and barkface.... i still like the idea of mothwing having lavender but ive talked about her having no decorative herbs and only carrying practical ones before and i think that fits even more. runningnose also has lavender. echosong just had roses (solely ornamental) which were meant to play on the whole idea of skyclan being an overdone facsimile of the clans. alderheart has deathberries because of course he does and puddleshine had coltsfoot (i think that one was random). i dont know why i gave cinderpelt nondescript berries at all

[mallowstep]

What about any Swiftpaw or Snowkit au ideas? Do you have any of those like with Shrewpaw?

i've answered this before, i believe, but i don't know where the post went lmao.

uh, so. i will probably never write a swiftpaw au because! while i like the idea of it, part of why the dogs are so terrifying is because of what happens with them: they kill swiftpaw and mutilate brightpaw.

so, i'd have to kill brightpaw to keep it meaningful, and i don't want to live in a world where cloudtail can't love his wife.

i'm sorry, i just have some lines i refuse to cross /jk

the closest i'll get is the night circus au? uh, in that one, they're all loners. so swift pulls bright from a burning building, and then they meet cloud a few months later, and they live w/ him and princess in a stable in a travelling circus.

swift is significantly less injured, bright is more or less injured to the level she is in canon. it's not really described in their fic ("relativistic") because no one involved cares about it, but it's there.

in a proper swiftpaw au, i'm not sure what i'd do. legitimately, i don't know. probably more swift/bright/cloud hours, because i refuse to live in a world where cloudtail can't love his wife.

i do want to do a loststar au at some point! where she keeps the name lostface bc it's a mark of what she survives (n also she's thinking about swiftpaw and how she lost him) and yeah?

swiftpaw's ghost might get to be a character in that.

i think, if i kept just swiftpaw alive, i wouldn't have an interesting story, because it would be basically the same but cloudtail couldn't love his wife. (it would also have a lot of down the road implications because no brightheart means no whitewing means no dovewing. you've discovered my secret the reason cloudtail and brightheart need to be alive is for dovewing.

no actually i refuse to accept them dying in any other way than within a week of one another.)

anyway.

so in a swift + bright survive au, i think! for interest's sake, i'd probably just have fun focusing on cinderpelt treating her sister and swiftpaw, who's...not really her maara because cinderpelt's litter got broken up, but still close to family.

goldenflower would be involved too i love her. i love her so much.

maybe i'd have swift like? be a therapist. not literally just. someone needs to learn how to get cats to talk about their problems.

so yeah that's that.

as for snowkit!

i've considered it, and at this point in time, i don't feel inspired, but that doesn't mean i won't.

i really like the idea of cats learning to cope with a deaf cat. like, as i've said several times, my world is not a better one, it is a different one.

so we'd probably deal with the effects of language deprivation, how home sign turns into a language, etc. maybe for interest's sake, we'd have cloudkit be deaf later on? just a thought, not sure.

anyway, brackenfur (brackenfur) would mentor him, and he'd take longer than usual to become a warrior, because he has just fundamentally more to learn. i could make him a medicine cat, and honestly, i think the clans would have a bigger problem with a deaf cat than a blind one, but i just don't like forcing cats to become medicine cats.

right so brackenfur would mentor him, and he'd never be the Best warrior, but that's okay! we don't need every cat to be the best warrior. it's okay to just be average.

not really sure where i'd go with it.

the reason i chose to do a shrewpaw au was because shrewpaw's death closed off a story option. when shrewpaw died, squirrelpaw's romantic interests were realigned. so by letting him live, i had an avenue to continue the story down.

however, swiftpaw and snowkit don't provide the same avenue for a story. letting them live doesn't open a previously closed door or change how a plot would play out wait.

wait.

i take it back: this is what i'd do for a snowkit au.

we open on bracken...paw? probably brackenpaw. his mentor sucks. fireheart mentors him, his sister gets hurt, etc., etc.

then! then. speckletail's kit. snowkit. and brackenfur is just like that, he's just a good guy! like that, so he starts hanging out and he wants to mentor him.

and he does! and that means that he gets to be deputy instead of...maybe greystripe? but more likely brambleclaw.

yes. that is what i would do in a snowkit au.

see what i mean about opening new avenues? swiftpaw in particular feels like a dead end to me, i just can't find a way to get his story to open up a new idea, which is a shame, because i do think there's a lot of potential.

but right now, i'd get the same drama by just writing some canon compliant brightpaw one-shots, y'know?

<3