mothdapple

[mothdapple]

Warriors Fic Recs:

All of my fic recs in one place! I will update it with new recs as I come across them, and if you have any recs to share with me, please don't hesitate!

also knows how to slander, by @regicidal-optimism (rating: T | complete)

and who shall wear the starry crown, by @regicidal-optimism (rating: T | complete)

ashes, by @mallowstep (rating: T | incomplete)

Burn Up the Light, by Lorwell (rating: G | complete)

Choices, by Jeffrey Dahmer (rating: G | complete)

Cold Bloodlines, by @mothdapple (rating: T | complete)

dog days, by @goosewhisker (rating: G | complete)

Even the Returning Sunlight, by @secondyearpigeon (rating: T | complete)

Firestar and Sandstorm: The Lost Moons, by Sandstorm16 (rating: T | complete)

Flightless Dove, Poison Ivy, @acaciapines (rating T | complete)

How unfair, by @troutfur (rating: G | complete)

i'll come back to you someday soon myself, by @mallowstep (rating: T | incomplete)

Incogitance, by Kiwikirk (rating: T | complete)

in the name of all things good and holy, by @creed-of-cats (rating: G | complete)

i’ve met the myth hanging over you, by @kudossi (rating: T | incomplete)

make a mighty sound, by @solacefruit (rating: G | complete)

Meteor Shower, by Storm that Twists in Spiral (rating: G | complete)

oh mama (dont fuss over me), by hawkeyemorelikehawkaye (rating: G | complete)

prayers to medea, by @creed-of-cats (rating: T | complete)

The Adder, by Prin Pardus (rating: G | complete)

The Challenge, by Jeffrey Dahmer (rating: G | complete)

Thorns, by aer-of-ice (rating: T | complete)

turn to dust all that I adore, by @solacefruit (rating: G | complete)

Ringing Bell, by Hissing Willows (rating: T | complete)

Snatched: The Story of Snowkit, by Prin Pardus (rating: T | complete)

Snowmelt, by @kudossi (rating: G | complete)

Under the Storm Soaked Sky, by Silentwinds (rating: T | complete)

we don't belong (but we're together), by @acaciapines (rating: G | complete)

[mothdapple]

Shaken Roots: Starlight update— I'm now halfway done with the pre-posting chapter backlog! If I keep up this rate, SR: Starlight should start releasing chapters in September :)

As we get closer to then, I'll keep you updated with any changes!

[mothdapple]

If it’s okay to self-rec, I’m currently working on a TNP rewrite titled Shaken Roots! Shaken Roots: Midnight, Moonrise, and Dawn are complete and I’m currently working on writing SR: Starlight! My main goal with the rewrite is to try improving on the flaws of TNP, while preserving the spirit of the arc. (So there are plenty of changes, but the overarching story remains more-or-less intact.)

A different TNP-set fic that I’ve been obsessed with recently is Flesh and Bone: a Stormfur/Hawkfrost retelling of TNP, and it’s sooo good!

… in the mood to read fics abt tnp

[mothdapple]

this is pretty much feathertail and stormfur

[mothdapple]

They say the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself. But how can I do that when my heart is already in a constant state of conflict over my desire to write tragic sapphic romance, and my equally strong desire for my girls to be happy?

[mothdapple]

Can we please get a hint towards who the pov characters will be pretty please in The new prophecy: Starlight? (alright i do get why you wouldnt lol)

sure! I’ve actually already revealed them in a different post, but I don’t mind sharing again :)

Tawnypelt will have a POV in Shaken Roots: Starlight, and Crowfeather will come back for another POV!

[mothdapple]

I'm of two minds about this. I definitely think Hawkfrost-Mothwing and Curlfeather-Frostpaw's relationships are interesting parallels to draw attention to. There is also most certainly a double-standard in parts of the fandom when it comes to Curlfeather, with her being treated somewhat unreasonably harsh. But I also don't think the situation with her and Frostpaw is exactly equivalent to Hawkfrost and Mothwing.

I think the biggest thing to consider is the power differential in their relationships. Hawkfrost and Mothwing are littermates, so while it would be nice if they took care of each other, Hawkfrost is not obligated to protect and care for Mothwing in the same way that Curlfeather, as Frostpaw's parent, is. Curlfeather telling Frostpaw about her schemes and using it as blackmail like Hawkfrost did with Mothwing wasn't necessarily out of concern for Frostpaw— it could have just been that Curlfeather didn't need to blackmail Frostpaw to control her, since she knew that Frostpaw already had such complete and utter trust in her as her mother, that she'd do anything Curlfeather said anyway. (Which is something Curlfeather pretty much confirms in that flashback scene with Splashtail.)

When push comes to shove, Curlfeather definitely loved her daughter more than she loved power, and I would not say the same about Hawkfrost and Mothwing. (He certainly loved power more.) But nevertheless, Curlfeather's scheming with Splashtail did put Frostpaw's life at risk, both via the dogs and more indirectly via Splashtail's attempted assassinations of Frostpaw because Curlfeather was the one who put her in the middle of her giant mess. Because of that, Curlfeather is not winning any "great mom" awards from me lol.

warrior cats fandom double standards

[mothdapple]

Cold Bloodlines LGBT+ kitties!!!

I've been wanting to draw a pride piece with some of Cold Bloodlines LGBT+ characters for a long time now, but have just never gotten the chance to do it. This month seemed like the perfect time, though, with this June also being the 1 year anniversary of Cold Bloodlines' completion. So I'm glad I managed to squeeze it in before the end of the month :)

Characters shown here and their identities from left to right:

Mottledflame (they/them) intersex and nonbinary, Larchtail (she/her) pansexual, Frostmask (she/her) demiromantic and demisexual, Pineshade (she/her) bisexual, Murmurstep (she/her) lesbian, Salt (he/him) gay, Pepper (he/him) gay.

[mothdapple]

Bored and tired and feeling like drawing squirrelcrow

[mothdapple]

Cold Bloodlines LGBT+ kitties!!!

I've been wanting to draw a pride piece with some of Cold Bloodlines LGBT+ characters for a long time now, but have just never gotten the chance to do it. This month seemed like the perfect time, though, with this June also being the 1 year anniversary of Cold Bloodlines' completion. So I'm glad I managed to squeeze it in before the end of the month :)

Characters shown here and their identities from left to right:

Mottledflame (they/them) intersex and nonbinary, Larchtail (she/her) pansexual, Frostmask (she/her) demiromantic and demisexual, Pineshade (she/her) bisexual, Murmurstep (she/her) lesbian, Salt (he/him) gay, Pepper (he/him) gay.

[mothdapple]

I've been writing the next chapter of Silverhawk's Legacy, and I need to come up with a name for Silverhawk's and Emberdawn's unnamed-in-canon son!

He will be a ginger tabby, and I've decided on the prefix Sun-. I'd really love to use the name Sunstrike for him, however, that is technically a name already used in canon (albeit by a minor, background character.) Still, I generally like to avoid reusing names when I can.

[mothdapple]

squirrelflight @ crowfeather

[mothdapple]

Do you have an idea when you’ll start releasing Shaken Roots: Starlight? I’m so excited to read more SquirrelCrow!!! Also I’m sorry if the question is rude 😅

It makes me very happy to hear that you’re excited for the next fic! I wish I could give you a better estimate, but unfortunately I don’t have a solid timeline on the release quite yet.

I’m making good progress and have completed a few chapters (several of which with some fun SquirrelCrow scenes 👀) but I’ve got some more to go, since I like having 10 completed chapters before I start posting. I know that sounds like a big buffer, but doing it that way for the other fics in the Shaken Roots series has actually been really helpful with allowing me to keep a consistent chapter release schedule once I do start posting them.

Also no need to apologize! I don’t mind people checking in about it as long as they’re polite :)

[mothdapple]

I put this together for the writer of "Whispers in the Cold" (the sequel fic someone is writing of Cold Bloodlines on AO3!) But I thought I'd share this here too, if it's of interest to anyone!

These are the ending allegiances of Cold Bloodlines (as in what the allegiances look like as of the end of the final chapter of the fic.) The doc also includes a ShadowClan family tree! And obviously spoilers for the whole of Cold Bloodlines.

Below the cut is the ShadowClan family tree by itself: (Again, spoilers!)

[mothdapple]

Yes there's a typo in the first option but I am not redoing the whole thing

[mothdapple]

I'm going to give my thoughts on the StormClan's Folly Sneak Peak so spoilers for that below the cut!

Oh boy where do I begin. Firstly, I want so badly to like this book! Many Warriors fans (myself included) have wanted a "soft-reset" story where we get a book in a new time period and a fresh cast of characters for years. So I was so hoping this book would be set in that huge chunk of mysterious time between the end of DotC and SkyClan's exile from the forest, but instead we are squeezing it between SkyClan's exile and Mapleshade's time. I don't love that, but it seems like they are angling to use SkyClan's exile and the twoleg activity that caused it as plot points, so I'm reserving judgment on that choice until we get the whole book.

I don't love the decision to frame this book as Stripestar and Galestar reminiscing in StarClan about their lives either. The prologue just felt pretty unnecessary to me. I would have much preferred to make their meeting as apprentices the prologue and then jump ahead to them being adults with chapter 1.

The first chapter could have maybe had Gale(warrior name) at her first Gathering as WindClan's brand new deputy. She could look at Stripestar, who'd become leader of ThunderClan a few moons prior, and think about how different their lives are now than they were at their very first Gathering. As she thought about him, we could establish what her relationship with Stripestar had been like since their first meeting (did they continue to be friendly at Gatherings as apprentices and drifted apart as warriors? Had there been a dramatic battle between WindClan and ThunderClan soon after their first meeting, so they never really talked again after that first night? There are so many possibilities. What happened???) And we could also see Gale and Pebblenose's dynamic as mates before they broke up, and see Fogdrift and Stripestar as mates before Fogdrift abruptly dies like 2 pages after being introduced lol.

My last gripe is with the style of writing. Some of the word choice at times rubbed me the wrong way and took me out of reading. I strongly suspect that the book was written by a new author (as in, not Cherith or Kate, who recently retired.) Hopefully I get used to it.

Okay that was a lot of complaining, but on the positive side, several of the names are quite fun (I love you already Tinyclaw. And we get our first -flower boy name!) And I do love the fact that Stripestar marries the woman who (accidentally) killed his first wife. THIS is the type of absurd drama I keep coming back to my silly kitty-cat soap opera for. Great choice.

[mothdapple]

I got Poolcloud on the Cold Bloodlines quiz 😁 speaking of, who do you imagine would mentor his kits? (Besides Lichenkit who would be a mc)

Aw yay!! I love Poolcloud!

Hm I had not really thought much about that yet, besides Lichenkit who would definitely be a medicine cat as you mentioned. But I do think that she and Elmclaw's personalities would actually mesh really well as mentor and apprentice, as a bonus.

Sprucekit would desperately want Pineshade to be her mentor, but I don't think Sedgestar would actually allow it. Because they are quite close already, I can see Sedgestar being concerned that their already established familial bond could get in the way of their mentor-apprentice relationship.

I think Sedgestar would instead assign Weaseltail to mentor Sprucekit. Weaseltail is a well-respected, senior warrior who hasn't had an apprentice since Swoopstrike, so it's high time he trained another. (Weaseltail is also Sprucekit's grandfather, but they aren't as close as Pineshade and Sprucekit.) Weaseltail is very even-keeled too, and would help guide Sprucekit in balancing out her more impulsive tendencies.

I think Sedgestar would give Mudkit to Marshnose. Marshnose was one of Dampfang's closest allies in ShadowClan, and I'm sure Sedgestar has been keeping a close eye on him since Dampfang's exile. But he's also a senior warrior, and if he's not shown any concerning behavior since Dampfang's exile, I think Sedgestar would be willing to give him another apprentice to train as an opportunity to prove himself. Mudkit is also a confident and bold kit, and he would do just fine under Marshnose's training, even if Marshnose is at times a bit harsh.

With two senior warriors who have had previous apprentices training his littermates, I could see Sedgestar giving Fogkit's training to a younger warrior who's not yet had an apprentice. I think he'd assign Yewstorm as his mentor. Yewstorm is a kind, but serious and mature young warrior, and Fogkit is the most timid of his littermates. I think Yewstorm would help build up his confidence without overwhelming Fogkit.