#i like that she's the leader of a bunch of loners instead of rogues

[lightningwaters]

[warriorssurvivalandstuff]

I'm not one for crossover-style AUs but ugh, I saw someone else on discord talk about it and that actually fits. Warrior cats are mostly having religion wars these days and Hollow Knight's plot is basically the aftermath of two gods fighting.

The Radiance. The sun but in the image of a cat-like being with various moth features, antennae and wings maybe. Golden and long-furred, of course. She created a tribe of cats and naturally had their following. Rad is still only present in dreams and is powerful in the realm, her creations are physical, but she also grants them mind powers in the form of herbs. She's relatively chill in the dream realm until her cats forget about her and goes absolute haywire then. With her remaining power, she took the spirits of the Pale Wyrm's clan (and more) to recharge, using their bodies and tainted minds to spread her memory beforehand.

Pale King and White Lady. Two pure white cats that seemed to glow who claimed to be born from the moon itself. The Pale Beings are not as strong when it comes to mind powers, but he and WL has a calming quality, a sort of aura that turns the alleyway brutes agreeable. Before their arrival, most of the cats that would be under their rule were scattered rogues and loners that quarreled often, with a few exceptions. The two made rules for the place, set up a system, etc. Made the place orderly and safe. PK does a lot of negotiating with neighbouring groups, one to keep peace and with a slight hope to annex more territory. And after the Radiance fiasco he sought outside help for vessel creation and dreamers. WL talked Unn into letting her have a part of the herb garden.

Void and Ancient Civilisation. They were said to have been once a great clan like what PK has but looked to the power of darkness, which are a cat's natural environment. Nowadays it's mostly gone, with just a few roaming around and spreading tales. The remaining ones are eerie and weird, can draw energy from the air and do some magic. PK sought them out after the sun goes mad and used their power to create vessels.

Unn. She created and leads a bunch of healers and cats interested in vegetation. She is actually a sheep. Her cats wear flowers and stuff on their fur, mostly by mushing the stems into their pelts until they stuck there. She gave a part of the land which she grew special plants on to White Lady after gentle persuasion and disappears later on, her cats grow worried.

Nightmares. Can't really put them as the dark forest? Weird creepy "cats" with differing level of fire manipulation, they also try to scare everyone and absorb their fear. Like to visit sites of fallen cat groups where loss from battle is common.

Moths. Creations and previous followers of the Radiance, well-learnt in visiting the dream realm and trance-inducing herbs. Some can read your mind, some can draw out objects from memories and some just talk to ghosts. And the Radiance. They're pacifists and so are intriguiged by the moon cats that can calm the most battle-scarred brute into a friendly guide. They decided to follow PK and WL instead and forgot about Radiance.

Mantis. One of the orderly "rogue" groups that have a code of honour. It functions like an arc one canon clan. Hostile, warrior code above all, clear boundaries, or death. No deputies though and leader candidates duel each other until satisfied. Won against Deepnest with their tactics and craft.

Deepnest. Largest rogue group, takes a large stretch of dark forest with a tunnel system. Border skirmishes with the mantis are frequent as they keep trying to take mantis territory, it's a kill on sight if they meet. Though most warriors are simpleminded and function on bloodlust, higher ups are pretty crafty with their new members, the weavers. Weavers can make stuff like nets and protective domes out of grass and animal fur, which is used for hunting and basic traps. They can also do some magic.

Hive. Closed off group of cats who is really just their queen with a hundred bodies. Very sharp and incredibly long claws. Can somehow taste sweet and eats honeyed ham. Mouse.

Mushrooms. No idea on this. That one big mushroom in Fungal Core knows what PK knows so I guess I'll have to put it in somehow.

Jellyfish. It seems like Monomon is the one doing most of the stuff and she might be creating test tube babies. I have literally no idea. But she's a Dreamer ughhh.

[squishy-rocks]

"Im so sorry..." (Mistlefrost, warriors AU)

HEYYYY

I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER AU

This one is about Mistlekit, you know, snowkits sister who just escaped into the void? Yeah well I wanna give her an AU.

In this AU Mistlekit and Snowkit are really close, love sleeping together, playing, etc. But, speckletail is over protective of Snowkit,hates him playing in case he gets hurt. Its obvious from a young age Speckletail loves Snowkit way more, often ignoring Mistlekit for him, though Snowkit is pretty oblivious to the fact. Mistlekit doesn't hate Snowkit, and still loves her brother very much, but her mum, not as much, and the two often play when they're supposed to be sleeping so they can still have fun. One day when Mistlekit was just chilling she heard everyone yell hawk, and realised that Snowkit couldn't hear, naturally she went to try and help but was held back. She watched as the hawk carried her brother away, far, far away. For obvious reasons she was destroyed, but Speckletail decided to take her anger out on her, yelling that it's her fault, she should have been watching her brother! After this Speckletail just ignored her daughter, in too much pain from Snowkit to care. For obvious reasons Mistlekit grew bitter, and angry. Cat's would often compare her to her brother. She's so determine in her training, just like her brother, she's so pretty, just like her brother, she can pounce so high. Just. Like. Her. Brother. After all this time she grew to hate everyone but her brother. She grew bitter, and when she was gifted her warrior name "Mistlefrost" as frost is the beauty that goes paw in paw with snow. She was furious.

One day when she was stalking she heard her mother say how Snowkit would have made a much more worthy warrior than her daughter. And another cat have the gull to talk about how precious and sweet her was. This was her last straw. 

That night she asked to meet her mother outside. Instead of waiting in the open she hid, and pounced on her mother, attempting to kill her, screeching that snowkit was perfect, huh? She's so much like him, right? So why does she not love her!? Would snowkit ever do this!? After a long struggle Speckletail lost, her daughter biting her throat until she could feel no more struggle. Though, another cat sees this and tells Bluestar, after this she is exiled and becomes a loner, until she bumps into a small back cat, she claims he's the leader of a bunch of rogues, called Bloodclan, who plan to attack the clans. Mistlekit likes the sound of this and joins. When the battle comes she tries her best to fight aginst her clan, the ones who compared her, the ones who though her brother was better. And even if she agreed, she hated it. She was eventually killed in battle. She woke up in the dark forest and went to sit at the border of the dark forest and Starclan, only to see her brother walking towards her, she broke down crying, yelling how she should have been there with him, she's the one who should have been took, but he just hushes her, and reminds her that she will always be her sister, smart and unique. She cries with him at the border, and the two often sleep besides each other at the border, just as they did as kits. Though they will always be separated by a line, even if Mistlefrost regrets how bitter she was in her past life and had made amends with the clans, will always be confined there, and has even made a den in the bushes at the border. Maybe one day Starclan  will allow her to join them, but she won't be holding her breath on that

I think this has been poorly written- but I hope y'all like this AU!

Have a good day y'all!

Also by no means so I hate Speckletail just had to make her mean for the AU to work

[xavierfiles-blog]

Anatomy of an X-Team: The Template

There are a lot of models for how to assemble an ensemble cast.  Some of it is going to be dictated by the show’s concept and setting – Star Trek modeled its cast after the functions of a ship at sea (or space as the case may be): A captain, first officer, helm, security, medical, engineering. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is about a police precinct, so you’ve got a captain, sergeant, admin assistant, and a bunch of detectives. B99 is instructive here because you have a finite few jobs that need to be filled and an ambiguous pool of other characters. How many? How do you choose? The answer is going to lie in both the way you want the characters to interact with each other (group dynamic) and the types of stories that you want to tell.

Over the X-Men franchise’s long history, the size and membership of the rosters of the various teams has changed a lot. Sometimes a set of characters works very well, and others not. While there are a lot of contributing factors to whether a particular run is successful, the team roster is the foundation on which the stories that make up that run are built. They are the ingredients that the creative team uses to make their X-Men cake. I would argue that there is are seven necessary roles to be fulfilled in an X-Men (and X-Force, X-Factor, etc) team which give a creative team the tools they’ll need to tell solid X-Men stories.

I call these roles collectively as The Template – mostly because it seems to be the model that Marvel used in the 80s and 90s when expanding the X-Men franchise. They are: The Home Fires, The Team Leader, The Girlfriend, The Best Friend, The Heavy, The Innocent, and The Outsider. Together, they make up the essential structure of an X-Men team and allow the book to tell the types of stories we’ve come to associate with the franchise – stories of redeemed adversaries, outlandish adventures, and finding a family in a hostile world.

The Home Fires

This character usually stays at the team’s base of operations, working as a point of communication for the team as they go on their adventures. Professor X was probably the most notable example of this type of character, and while his role had a lot to do with holding the thematic “Dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans” core of the books, that isn’t an essential part of the role. In fact, the function of this role is usually about technical and logistical support and spouting exposition for the benefit of both the team and the reader.  “Team, you have to go to the Canary Islands because there is a mutant in distress!” that sort of thing.

Often, this is an older character so in the team dynamic, they played a parental or mentorly role, dispensing wisdom along with moral guidance. This isn’t a requirement, though, and in some runs, this role is more like a dispatch operator.

Art by John Byrne, Terry Austin, Glynis Wein

The Team Leader

This character is the most classically heroic on the roster. The Boy Scout.  He (or sometimes she) does as it says on the tin – leads the team in the field, directing action in a fight, thinking strategically, always trying to do the right thing and the most good. The Team Leader is the team’s ethos in application, featuring in stories where that ethos is put to the test.

The Team Leader feels responsible for all the other members of the team and usually has a closer relationship to The Home Fires than the rest of the team, both because of the mentor\mentee dynamic and because the Team Leader’s feelings of responsibility for the team make him feel isolated. The Team Leader is often paired up with The Girlfriend and\or The Best Friend in order to alleviate that. Team Leaders without those relationships tend to come off as robotic, aloof, or off-putting which can cause a problem for the roster as the Team Leader is the face of the team to the readership.

Many times, The Team Leader is meant for the reader to project their aspirations onto. The Team Leader is who the reader feels they are (or who they could be) at their best.

Art by Andy Kubert, Matt Ryan, Joe Rosas

The Girlfriend

This character is most defined by their frequent emotional support and nurturing behavior. Like The Best Friend, The Girlfriend is often a supporting character in other character’s stories (with some famous exceptions), opening up isolated characters like Team Leaders or Outsiders or nurturing Best Friends or Innocents. This character is often female (the name comes from the most famous example: Jean Grey), but not always. As a matter of fact, Banshee often finds himself in this role.

The Girlfriend is often relegated to a supporting role, rarely getting the spotlight (with a few notable exceptions). And to be clear, not all romantic interest characters are The Girlfriend. Trish Tilby, for example, couldn’t claim this title. This is a role about supporting and nurturing the team, not just who a team member is dating.

Art by Stefano Caselli, Frank Martin

The Best Friend

This character is genial, charismatic, and typically lighthearted. But don’t be fooled, he’s ride or die and when the chips are down, he’s got your back.  This character is often a fan favorite.  Where most characters have their share of detractors, few fans can say an ill word against most Best Friend characters.  

Best Friends are usually featured in buddy-duo type stories, and give more isolated or closed-off characters a way to open up.  In many ways this character is the hetero-male counterpart to The Girlfriend, serving a similar function, but in a different context. Where the Girlfriend’s tone is soothing, The Best Friend is often more lighthearted.

Art by Larry Stroman, Al Milgrom, Glynis Oliver

The Heavy

Cape books are all about punching and astounding feats of strength and so they demand that there be one character to lift the heavy stuff, endure the unendurable, and to punch harder than anyone else can punch. Someone’s gotta carry that weight, and it’s usually The Heavy.

Because this character has very simple requirements, The Heavy also sees the widest variety in form and personality, from the gentle giant Colossus to the goofball Strong Guy, to the angry and revenge driven Warpath. The Heavy can also be the Team Leader as in the case of Captain Britain. If any character exemplifies how flexible The Template can be, it is The Heavy.

Art by Paul Smith, Bob Wiacek, Glynis Wein

The Innocent

If The Team Leader is the character that a reader is meant to aspire to be, The Innocent is the character the reader feels they are. The Innocent is meant to be a reader insert. This character is young and naive and emerging into adulthood with all the discoveries and pitfalls that entails. Sometimes The Innocent is a rescue, a victim given refuge or a stray orphan that the team has found (sometimes both!).

As well, this role gives the book the opportunity to plainly explain its themes as if it’s new information. The Innocent is a character who is constantly learning lessons, but ironically, is also the least flexible role in The Template – it takes a very long time for an Innocent to be allowed to grow into another role. X-Men stories often don’t use their regular Innocents, instead inventing brand new one-off characters to serve that role (for a lot of reasons).

However, The Innocent fits into the widest variety of stories, from the standard Marvel coming-of-age-super-powers-as-metaphor-for-entering-into-the-adult-world stuff, to supporting characters to remind Outsiders, Home Fires, and Team Leaders what they’re struggling for. They also play off of Heavies, Girlfriends, and Best Friends – letting them explain the team’s ethos and giving some lower stakes situations in which to play their own roles. Although many times The Innocent can be a cloying, cutesy, annoying tag-along, (or even a Mary Sue) The Innocent is critical in helping a book convey its central themes.

Art by Sam Keith

The Outsider

The Outsider is just that, an Outsider. He is a loner, a wild card. He is unfamiliar or even hostile to the group’s core values, the role is about revealing the themes of the story by way of contrast. The Outsider does something out of line which gives the Team Leader or Home Fires (or sometimes Best Friend or Girlfriend) a teachable moment. “Bishop, in the dark future you come from you might have killed suspected criminals, but that’s not how we do things here.” In this way, they share some purpose with Innocents.

But unlike Innocents, The Outsider is a more flexible position – a major part of their story is redemption and reconciliation into the group and that can only remain unfulfilled for so long before it either leads to conflict or fizzles out.  Rogue, for example, entered the team as an Outsider, but quickly integrated and transitioned into a Heavy, and even a Team Leader.  

Outsiders tend to be fan favorites – they’re often independent, roguish, and appeal to the id of the typically adolescent audience in a different way to Team Leader (superego) and Innocent (ego).

This role is often where an X-Men team is out of balance, either with too many because they’re often fan favorites and their loner streak gives some space for development into a solo series or too few instead relying on the antagonists to carry the weight of this role.

That’s the theory, anyway. It’s no panacea – no matter how closely the team roster adhered to The Template, it wouldn’t make The Draco a good idea. But I’d argue that the tightest, clearest, and most consistent runs on the various X-Men franchise books all had this team structure in common. And similarly, the roughest and most directionless runs are those that feature teams with vacancies in The Template or doubled-up on too many roles. Bear in mind, too, that this isn’t a rigid rule. These are tropes and can be as valuable when adhered to as when subverted.

Next time we’ll put the theory to the test by looking at some case studies where we’ll see how closely teams followed The Template, how those characters played off each other in their roles, and whether the stories told during that time were served by the team dynamic.

Anatomy of an X-Team: The Template was originally published on Xavier Files