thunders-warcats-stuff
thunders-warcats-stuff
Thunder's Warrior Cats Dreamscape
547 posts
Icon is my warcats fursona, Thunder, by warriorsredux who is the best friend ever! Header is a graduation gift. Side-blog for a Warrior Cats stuff. So far it's Just a Dream but I might add more as i clean up my main blog.
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
thunders-warcats-stuff · 3 days ago
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Clans' Exceptionalism
A friend of mine (@angeljoy-wildbreath) has a headcanon that veers into their AU territory but their headcanon was
"the European foxes and badgers in the Old Forest territory were made hostile by generations of interaction with The Clans when they shouldn't have been and wouldn't have been otherwise"
And I went on a rant about how the Clans inspire malevolence and antagonism. (Fair Warning: I Curse A Lot when I am excited or stressed!)
"… Like how rival clowders are tense but, uh, generally "respectuful" but then you have The Clans and… well? Everyone Hates Them.
I am not surprised by BloodClan's existence. I am shocked it didn't happen waaaay earlier than fuckin Bluestar's Prophecy! Do you know how many exiled Clan cats would take advantage of the city? How many housecats and town cats who were taken down by Twolegplace Raids probably itching for revenge?
Canon is ripe with "The Clans need to be knocked down ten pegs" but it never happens! If The Dark Forest cats were smarter they'd have stoked hatred in the Twolegplace cats and wiped out the Clans but they themselves are Clan cats and thus xenophobic shitheads!"
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 4 days ago
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Almost-canon BloodClan question
BloodClan should have been a thing way way way earlier than Bluestar's Prophecy.
What are some other ways BloodClan could have gotten started?
(readmore because I want someone's genuine idea because I am interested!)
I personally have them as splinters of SkyClan (and later on, interested housecats and rogues/loners) trying to make a place for themselves where they didn't have one previously.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 4 days ago
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Where... do people say the books "deserve respect"??? I thought the whole thing keeping older fans here was "we all know it's a trash fire that sometimes makes good s'mores" ???
i do understand people's frustration with how persistently negative fandoms can be, but at the same time when the equivalent is a space where everyone is expected to be overwhelmingly optimistic and accepting and uncritical of even the worst shite in a series and take everything at obtuse face value then yeah fuck I'd pick the haters any day. especially with a series as bad as this one. do you know how annoying it is to have to justify the fact alone that you Have Criticisms.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 5 days ago
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there are some headcanons where it's like. 'i would enjoy this as a light seasoning in fic but certain chunks of the fandom have become more committed to this than the actual canon and made it load-bearing in scenarios where it simply doesn't make sense'.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 5 days ago
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Putting the term "male gaze" on top of the fridge until everyone remembers that it refers to a cinematographic trend and not the act of looking at things while being a man
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 5 days ago
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Any time I see someone defending GenAI in academics I'm reminded of a video Oz Media made a bit ago about a guy studying to be a nutritionist who realized they fucked up once he got to having to do labs. The TL;DR of it is the person used ChatGPT to cruise through foundation courses and through nutrition coursework, but realized as labs were looming they didn't actually *know* jack-shit. Direct Quote from their post: "LABS START NEXT MONTH. AI CANT PIPETTE LIQUIDS. i have to measure nutrient densities IN PERSON. what happens when i blank out and cant explain the krebs cycle to my professor's face???" Even the basics made no sense to them; tried to brush up on chemistry but couldn't understand page 1. And it was a couple of years worth of STEM they needed to learn.
And the whole time I laughed at their suffering because they put themselves in this boat. They didn't study, they didn't learn, and now they have to deal with the consequences.
That's the fundamental problem with cheating on your courses as a whole. Eventually you will have to actually do stuff and you're either going to be prepared for that or you aren't.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 6 days ago
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I feel like we need a refresher on Watsonian vs Doylist perspectives in media analysis. When you have a question about a piece of media - about a potential plot hole or error, about a dubious costuming decision, about a character suddenly acting out of character -
A Watsonian answer is one that positions itself within the fictional world.
A Doylist answer is one that positions itself within the real world.
Meaning: if Watson says something that isn't true, one explanation is that Watson made a mistake. Another explanation is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a mistake.
Watsonian explanations are implicitly charitable. You are implicitly buying into the notion that there is a good in-world reason for what you're seeing on screen or on the page. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie all the time because they're from a desert culture!")
Doylist explanations are pragmatic. You are acknowledging that the fiction is shaped by real-world forces, like the creators' personal taste, their biases, the pressures they might be under from managers or editors, or the limits of their expertise. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie because somebody thought they'd sell more units that way.")
Watsonian explanations tend to be imaginative but naive. Seeking a Watsonian explanation for a problem within a narrative is inherently pleasure-seeking: you don't want your suspension of disbelief to be broken, and you're willing to put in the leg work to prevent it. Looking for a Watsonian answer can make for a fun game! But it can quickly stray into making excuses for lazy or biased storytelling, or cynical and greedy executives.
Doylist explanations are very often accurate, but they're not much fun. They should supersede efforts to provide a Watsonian explanation where actual harm is being done: "This character is being depicted in a racist way because the creators have a racist bias.'" Or: "The lore changed because management fired all of the writers from last season because they didn't want to pay then residuals."
Doylism also runs the risk of becoming trite, when applied to lower stakes discrepancies. Yes, it's possible that this character acted strangely in this episode because this episode had a different writer, but that isn't interesting, and it terminates conversation.
I think a lot of conversations about media would go a lot more smoothly, and everyone would have a lot more fun, if people were just clearer about whether they are looking to engage in Watsonian or Doylist analysis. How many arguments could be prevented by just saying, "No, Doylist you're probably right, but it's more fun to imagine there's a Watsonian reason for this, so that's what I'm doing." Or, "From a Watsonian POV that explanation makes sense, but I'm going with the Doylist view here because the creator's intentions leave a bad taste in my mouth that I can't ignore."
Idk, just keep those terms in your pocket? And if you start to get mad at somebody for their analysis, take a second to see if what they're saying makes more sense from the other side of the Watsonian/Doylist divide.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 7 days ago
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"nobody is more tuned in to warriors issues than warriors fans" you fucking people couldnt even hate nightheart
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 8 days ago
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Reblog to give prev the power to write their fanfiction
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 9 days ago
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Can you imagine the shenanigans of nine different cats who may or may not agree with your actions being able to pilot your body after you lose a life?
For instance, Brokenstar's time in Twolegplace (because I suspect he had all nine lives when he was kicked out of ShadowClan but he came back with one layer on) would have been absolutely batshit! Literally every cat would have been like "how many ways can we make you die painfully?"‏ ‎‏
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‎Bluestar would have made completely different choices but also, depending on who the cat is and how well-traveled they are, they could be finding out about Misty and Stone being her kittens when Misty and Stone themselves find out!‏ ‎‏ ‎‏ ‎
Also depending on how much control the leader can wrestle away, they might be fighting an internal battle with the cat possessing them. So Bluestar wouldn't call poor Brightpaw Lostface but she would probably do something equally horrible to prove that StarClan has forsaken her, even with a StarClan cat piloting her.
Because she knows they exist, she's not Cloudpaw. She just thinks they all hate her and want her and her Clan to die horribly. No StarClan cat will get past That
Spitballing a concept here, what if the cats who grant leaders a life get to pilot the body after they lose each life? Perhaps that is why they are given the suffix -star. They are StarClan warriors given a second lease on life after a leader's death. Also gives the choice of who grants a life more weight and internal politicking as whichever cat is chosen has to themselves have leaderly qualities.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 10 days ago
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Canon Adjacent Jay and Bright's First Day Out
"Showing Off"
"Okay, the first thing I need to do is get an idea of how your senses work compared to mine.
We're at the top of the ridge that encloses our camp.
I'm going to close my eyes and you're going to tell me what you can hear, feel, smell, and otherwise sense around you as well as how far away it is.
Start whenever you're ready."
Jaypaw sat there, mouth half open in stunned shock. Was Brightheart actually going to teach him?!
He did his best to pull his thoughts together and inhaled deeply.
"ShadowClan lives closer to where the sun sets than we do. And not just because the stench of them is strong enough to scare a rabbit.
The tang of the pines tells me there can’t be much undergrowth, so the cats who hunt there must be good at stalking in open air and flushing out their prey.”
He turned his head in the opposite direction.
“I can smell the moorland from where the sun rises. The wind comes in a great unbroken sweep, undisturbed by trees.
The cats who live there must be fast and small to hunt in such open territory.
They don't even have the trees to hide them like we do and ShadowClan does. Makes me wonder how they deal with predator birds...”
Brightheart's breath hitched as if she were in pain and her paws shifted uncomfortably.
"Hopefully better than we did," she sighed.
"Who knows. Snowkit might be with us today if we'd asked them after the fire..." Brightheart trailed off, lost in thought.
Jaypaw decided not to say anything. She seemed distressed by the very idea, and it wasn't likely that getting her attention would go well. After a few heartbeats, Brightheart shook herself out.
"Birds won't hurt us here." She murmured shakily, voice cracking with grief. "I won't let you end up like Snowkit. Keep going, your report is interesting."
"RiverClan live across the lake, even if I can’t catch their scent. It’s hidden by the scents from the lake and the water-scent itself, which are stronger today because of the wind.
I *can* say that RiverClan will feel the coming rain first because the wind is driving the waves this way. I can hear them slapping against the shore."
"Well done, Jaypaw. Here's what I can tell."
She practically repeated everything he said, with a few extra details he hadn’t noticed. She couldn't tell the water-scent like he could, but she could tell him about the scents from the lake. She also noted several things about how WindClan and ShadowClan hunted, as well as where the Clan scents were fresher versus where they were weaker. When Jaypaw asked why she needed to know that, Brightheart said it helped her detect and avoid a patrol by when cats were most likely to be around.
Talking it out
“My sight were stolen from me,” Brightheart said quietly.
“I was stupid and cocky as an apprentice. We all were.
Bluestar wasn't herself, ThunderClan was breaking down, Firestar was doing his best to lead in her stead without the help, experience, or reliability of anyone else in the Clan…
it's a wonder we're still around to teach the next generation.
Longtail might tell you the same thing, though he was a bit older than me when he lost his sight.
We had to compensate for something we'd lost. You've been doing that your whole life, without ever needing to struggle for it.
Things like walking and not tripping or bumping into objects is hard, for me and Longtail both. I bet you use your whiskers to figure out what's in front of you. It took me quite a bit to learn to do that.
But what do you do when there's just open air? When a cat is moving too fast to sense? When the rocky ground cuts off too suddenly? Do you have answers for those yet?”
“No,” Jaypaw growled, hot with embarrassment.
“That's okay. Nobody’s perfect and whoever says they are is full of maggots.”
Jaypaw laughed despite himself.
“It's just something to work on when we train.”
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 11 days ago
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disabled cats in warriors: i am...useless...I can never be a warrior...I am a burden to my clan...at least in starclan I will run again...
disabled cats in real life:
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 13 days ago
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Was watching this video someone did about the race to get rid of the dog pack
(https://youtu.be/zwPSkMcH-KU?si=3IyACE0Sp43OdD4t)
and the first thing you see is:
Ash and Fern just get done burying their mother and they ask to go with the runners. Whitestorm encourages this, saying "their grief will make them strong" or something like that.
And I had to go back to that part in Dangerous Path, because *where's Cloudtail?!*
And then I kept reading and Fireheart absolutely blew him off and I was like "okay, Ow!"
If there was any proof that the Erins don't consider adoption valid, that's definitely one of them.
I think Cloud should be bitter over that. His siblings got to grieve thier mother and help the Clan.
He didn't, and ... What for?
Because he didn't share the same mother? Even though she raised him and claimed him as her own? Even though she nursed and encouraged him?
Where is *his* chance to grieve through action and battle? The other two got it!
Fireheart definitely drank the Clan kool-aid there and it shows. Now, to be fair, no one thinks rationally under pressure. That's not what I expected.
But that is what people see you and your truest self. See how you really feel about things and see the world. Fireheart was very firmly enmeshed into the Clan and that bit proves it.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 16 days ago
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This might be horrible and that's ok. I haven't read Bluestar's Prohpecy in ages, but I remember loving this scene. Crookedstar's always been one of my favorites, so it was nice for them to form some sort of relationship. It was mentioned that he was big for an apprentice I think (?) so that's why he's bigger than her.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 16 days ago
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leafpool warrior cats is like if god called mary a dirty slut for having jesus outside of wedlock and wouldn't let her into heaven despite saying her child was necessary to save everyone
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 20 days ago
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THE CLAN CONFERS
“What happened to Cinderpaw was not your fault,” Frostfur began quietly. “Technically, it was hers. But really, it was just an accident.”
“A better mentor could have kept her in camp,” Fireheart mumbled. “I bet if it were Whitestorm, this never would have happened.”
“If Whitestorm were her mentor, he’d have lost all his fur trying to keep up with Cinder,” Speckletail snorted, amused. “And this still would have happened. It’s a slim part of the forest. Monsters often flail trying to keep their footing. Any cat who went there would have to deal with the exact same thing. Stars, Bluestar’s sister did just that, but she wasn’t as lucky and she walks with the rest of our ancestors.”
“What?” Fireheart rasped, heart suddenly pounding in his ears. What’d you just say? Bluestar had a sister?”
“Whitestorm’s mother, her name was Snowfur,” Frostfur added, rising slowly to her paws and creeping toward Fireheart. “Are you okay?” She asked, concerned.
No, Fireheart was not okay.
He was definitely not okay.
This had happened before.
Cats had been hurt on that part of the Thunderpath.
So why would Tigerclaw want Bluestar to be there? What could he possibly have needed?
Fireheart pondered his sister’s words of Tigerclaw setting a trap for the grey molly.
“I need to talk to Dustpaw.” He mumbled, feeling faint.
He shook himself out, got to his paws, and shook himself out again.
The heartbeat in his ears only got louder.
“I’ll come with you.” Frostfur muttered, worried.
“We all will. Fireheart, what’s the matter? What are you thinking right now?”
“This has happened before.” He said. “Cats have gotten hurt on that part of the Thunderpath. We all know it’s dangerous. I should have explained why. If I had just told her why, she wouldn’t be-!”
Fireheart cut himself off with a stifled hiss.
“I need to talk to Dust. And then I’m going to ask Tigerclaw a few questions.”
The last word edged into a growl that raised the fur on several pelts, including his own.
The queens scrambled after him, even Brindleface with her new-birth belly swinging below her.
“Fireheart-!”
“Dustpaw!” The orange tom snarled as he charged into the clearing.
“Apprentice, den, apprentice den…” He muttered, eyes roving wildly.
“Dustpaw!” He all but howled. “Come here! It’s about Tigerclaw’s message from the Thunderpath.”
The brown tom scrambled into view from the corner of Fireheart’s eye and skidded to a stop in front of him.
“What?!” He snapped, annoyed. “We’re the same age, y’know. You can’t just order me around because-.”
“Not now!” Fireheart snapped. “The Thunderpath message from Tigerclaw. Do you remember exactly where he was? Did he say what or where the evidence of ShadowClan was?”
“What? Um… foxdung. Is that really important?”
“Yes, dammit! Do you remember or not?!”
“Just give me a heartbeat! All I can remember from that day is Cinderpaw. Let me think…”
Fireheart nodded and shifted from paw to paw, impatiently.
“The scents of ShadowClan were thicker than usual. Too inside the border. They didn’t just drift over the Thunderpath.”
“Did he say that or did you smell it?”
“Both…. I think. The scent was thick, but he put it together for me. Said Bluestar needed to give the final say but she’d want proof first.”
“Yes, she would.” Whitestorm agreed, hurrying over to them. “What’s wrong, Fireheart? Why are you asking this?”
“Because accidents like this have happened before,” Frostur growled. “Cinderpaw isn’t the first cat hurt by the Thunderpath. And Tigerclaw knows that.”
“He asked for Bluestar!” Dustpaw insisted. “She knows how to handle the Thunderpath. She wouldn’t get hurt.”
“She has before,” Speckletail muttered grimly. “Fireheart, sweetie, are you absolutely sure Tigerclaw was waiting by the thinnest part of the Thunderpath? That’s not just where Cinderpaw went? Tigerclaw was actually waiting there?”
“Yes. I could smell him but I couldn’t see him until it was all over. He didn’t take long to get to me and Cinderpaw.” Fireheart recalled numbly. “That incompetent good-for-nothing fox’s dirthole had the nerve to be stunned when he got to us! Like he wasn’t expecting it!”
“Because he wasn’t expecting Cinderpaw,” Dustpaw mumbled, eyes wide. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Yes, you should have,” Fireheart sighed. “A message needed to be run and you did that. What happened afterward was on me and Tigerclaw.”
“He needs to answer for that,” Frostfur growled. “Because if it hadn’t been Cinderpaw, it would have been some other cat. Adults have been hurt on that stretch of the Thunderpath, is he trying to get someone killed? Did he even think about that at all?!”
“And why did he even need evidence, anyway? He’s deputy, isn’t he? Lionheart’s led missions without Bluestar being there. It’s what we did for ShadowClan. He could have investigated himself.” Mousefur added from out of Fireheart’s view.
The ginger tabby glanced up to find that cats had crawled from all parts of the camp to sit before him and Dustpaw and the queens.
“So… what, he endangered one of us on purpose? Even if it hadn’t been Cinderpaw, he expected someone to get hurt? He expected Bluestar to get hurt?!” Halftail snarled.
“That’s… that’s madness.” Whitestorm snapped suddenly. “No, he couldn’t do that. It makes no sense.”
“I… I think it does,” Dustpaw mumbled warily. “It makes a lot of sense. He did it to Ravenpaw.”
“What?!” Cats chorused.
“You’re right.” Sandpaw choked out, coming to stand beside her friends. “Ravenpaw was always a shy cat. He tried so hard to impress Tigerclaw. He killed an adder at Snakerocks three months into his training and it still wasn’t good enough for his mentor!”
“He sent a kitten to Snakerocks?!” Brindleface spat, alarmed. “Whatever for?!”
“It was our hunting assessment,” Fireheart recalled soberly. “And that’s not the only thing he did to hurt Ravenpaw.”
“Who’s dead,” Someone said flatly. “Tigerclaw’s apprentice is dead because… because what?!”
“He’d been told to hunt in ShadowClan territory,” Greystripe recalled, voice raspy as he stumbled over to stand beside Fireheart.
“You don’t have to do this.” Fireheart mumbled sympathetically. “You’re still sick. Get some sleep. I can explain.”
“We can.” Sandpaw and Dustpaw added.
“We were there for it.” Sandpaw said. “Tigerclaw never liked Ravenpaw. Never liked Fireheart as an apprentice either. He thought you both were too soft. That he deserved better than to have to train you.”
“I remember.” Fireheart scoffed. “And now we might never see Raven again. I’ll never know if he lived to make it out of ThunderClan territory or not.”
“We have to believe he did.” Greystripe insisted. “He got to somewhere. Hopefully the Twolegplace or something.”
“Wait, he’s alive? But why did he run?”
“Did you not hear that Tigerclaw tried to get him killed?!” Dustpaw snarled. “Tigerclaw made us think Ravenpaw was weak! That he was working with ShadowClan! That he’d been responsible for stealing Frostfur’s kittens. That everything bad happening with ShadowClan was his fault! And we all believed it!”
“He was convincing enough. Just because Ravenpaw didn’t spend time with many cats doesn’t mean it’s anyone’s fault but Tigerclaw’s.” Fireheart insisted. “But what good does having any of this out in the open do? Cinderpaw’s accident as just that. He didn’t mean to get her hurt.”
“But he meant for someone to get hurt. He can be brought before Bluestar on that alone!” One-eyes growled. “Before you add the fact that he menaced his own apprentice literally to death! And we’ll never know for sure. He’s gotten two kittens hurt or worse, and he needs to answer for that!”
The Clan howled their support.
“Someone wake Bluestar! She has a decision to make.” Halftail growled.
“Not yet, dear,” One-eye said, loud enough for the cats within earshot to protest.
“The next Gathering is barely a quarter-moon away! Bluestar is in no state to make sudden decisions like that! No leader would be! She needs time, so Togerclaw, by extension, will get time as well. He will sit as our deputy for one last Gathering, and when we get home… when we return from that Gathering, he is going to regret it!”
Cats howled in unison and Fireheart laughed, relieved.
Even if it wasn’t for what Ravenpaw saw, Tigerclaw would be punished. And hopefully, if the Stars were merciful, he would never be able to hurt anyone like he had hurt Ravenpaw ever again.
TIGERCLAW’S TRIAL
“All cats old enough to walk, gather before me! There are yet more problems to put to rest!”
Cats streamed around Fireheart and Brackenpaw from where they sat at the center of the camp with Cinderpaw. She’d just completed the last of her morning exercises, and Yellowfang said she could try walking around the camp!
“Come back the instant you feel anything more than the usual dull pains, kit. Flame, Bracken, don’t let her protest! Carry her if you have to!”
Orders given, Cinderpaw had scrambled outside with a joyous yowl and paced the way to the center of the grassy clearing.
Now she, her brother, and her mentor were surrounded by their Clanmates, most of them waiting patiently but a few looking confused.
Bluestar sat before the Highrock with Whitepelt and Halftail on either side of her.
“It’s time!" Whitepelt snarled.
The crowd before her jeered, the noise sending a steady thrum through Fireheart’s wiry frame.
“This morning, the elders came to me with concerns about our deputy’s conduct. They say he has endangered cats of his own Clan and never sought to answer for the actions he took. I would ask you all now, has Tigerclaw truly done such heinous things as the elders say? Are they enough to demand his immediate removal?”
“Yes," Many cats chorused, Fireheart included.
“Bluestar!" Longtail caterwauled, pitching his voice above the crowd to be heard. “I would speak on what I’ve heard!”
“Longtail, I hear your request. Come sit by us so the Clan can hear you and pass their judgment.”
The brown tabby did so, staring straight ahead.
“What are you doing?!" Darkstripe snapped. “You can’t possibly believe the kittypet!”
“It’s not about him being an outsider, Darkstripe. I remember my training, and if it was anything like yours… then we should be counted among the cats Tigerclaw has hurt. I’ve had to modify what I learned to make it safer for Swiftpaw. For Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw when they train with us. For Brightkit and Thornkit when they ask to prepare for their own apprenticeships! I know what Ravenpaw went through, even if you were kinder about it. He must be judged.”
“Then speak, youngster, and let us do so," Whitepelt rumbled.
“As you all know, I am Longtail. Darkstripe and I trained with Tigerclaw the most, though my apprenticeship was later passed to Lionheart. He had to do a lot of work to make up for what Tigerclaw instilled in us. We trained with our claws in battle practice at the Hollow long before it was appropriate. We learned moves that would sooner kill a cat than get them to back off. We flashed our teeth at each other and our peers. And he said it was right, and he said it was justified. Because we were playing at being warriors, but warriors had to know more than how to hunt. Fighting was, and still is, his lifeblood.
“Fireheart asked Dustthorn the nature of the message that Tigerclaw sent. If it was supposed to be where the Thunderpath is thinnest. If he only smelled their scent or was there something solid, like prey scraps or dirt? Dustthorn said there were thick scents. I believe him because there is no reason to lie.”
“So what’s this about, Longtail?" Tigerclaw drawled boredly, sharp eyes betraying his rage.
“Why would you want any cat to rush to the thinnest part of the Thunderpath? The place where monsters skin their paws and flip Twolegs out of their bellies? Where cats have gotten hurt before? And why ask Bluestar if you didn’t have proof beyond the smell of the marshes?”
“I had proof!" Tigerclaw growled, lunging to his paws. “Are you questioning my judgment?”
“Your judgement?! A kitten is permanently injured because you couldn't make a decision. How can I trust you to so much as breathe properly, let alone your judgement?!” Bluestar snarled.
“You know what happened to Snowfur!” Halftail roared. “Even as an apprentice, you were told why the Thunderpath was avoided. You know good and well that even a StarClan cat would hesitate! Why would you send one of us to bear that fate? And why didn’t you intervene when you saw a kitten near the road?!”
“He didn’t the first time," Sandstorm scowled.
“What was that, foxheart?" Tigerclaw snapped. “I can’t say I heard you right!”
“I said you didn’t the first time, you speck of dirt!" Sandstorm spat, fluffing her fur up so that she looked twice her usual size. “Ravenpaw came back smelling of ShadowClan with prey in his jaws! That you ordered him to catch! He had to have crossed the Thunderpath, but you didn’t care! You made him! And now we don’t know what’s happened to him!”
“You said he’d died.”
“We don’t know for sure," Fireheart snorted coldly. “but even if we did, why give you the satisfaction of running a cat off when they did nothing to you? He was your apprentice!”
“He was weak!”
“We were all weak!" Sandstorm snapped. “We were apprentices! Would you look at Swiftpaw or Brackenpaw and send them to catch prey in ShadowClan just because they’re smaller than you?!”
“Bet he would!" Dustthorn growled. “I know the training Longtail and Darkstripe got from Tigerclaw. I was Darkstripe’s first apprentice. Longtail was right to say Darkstripe was kinder than Tigerclaw when they trained for themselves, but not with me. Not by much. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on any apprentice. But Ravenpaw and Fireheart had it the worst of all of us. Ravenpaw had no other cat but Tigerclaw to teach him. Fireheart got to train with Bluestar, but he was pushed harder than most of us. Tigerclaw has ruined the apprentices under his care, and the cats we went on to become will ruin the kittens you give us if we follow his lead. You have to train an apprentice to become deputy, Tigerclaw. How dare you call what you did to us training?!”
“How dare you?!" Cats picked up Dustthorn’s last words. “How dare you hurt our children?!”
“We looked up to you!”
“You were supposed to protect them! Teach them how to defend themselves!" Whitestorm snapped. “Have you never let go of what Thistleclaw taught us? Did you truly believe his coldness was to be passed down?”
“What the dirt else was I supposed to believe?!" Tigerclaw roared, bristling as he dug his claws into the ground. “That’s what I was taught! How do you think I learned, if not from Thistleclaw?!”
“You should have done better!" Halftail snapped. “Longtail, a cat whose training you oversaw, had to adjust his mentoring because what you taught him wasn’t fit for the kitten he’d been given to train! Why couldn’t you do that with Ravenpaw? With Fireheart or Dustthorn? With Darkstripe, who you actually mentored?!
“We trusted you to do better!" Bluestar said quietly, a fierce growl rattling her frame. “We thought, with time and other cats to use as examples, that you could help cats. I never thought you were capable of passing down these vicious methods… but apparently, I was a fool to have ever trusted you.
“So. Since we have established that you’ve harmed cats you were given the honor of training, I call your mentorship into question. I’d be well within my rights to strip Darkstripe of his warrior name and have him redo training. But it’s been too long and there is nothing that he could learn from that. But you… Tigerclaw, you were no one’s mentor. As such, you cannot remain my deputy.”
Cats gasped audibly, Tigerclaw included.
“No!" he howled, astonished. “Bluestar, you were never wrong to trust me!”
“Where is Ravenpaw?!" the blue-grey leader snarled. “How was he allowed to just disappear with no word from any of us?! You turned us all against someone who wasn’t even close to getting his name!”
Cats yowled their agreement, voices sharpened by horror.
“I knew he needed more time than Fireheart, or even more than Sandstorm and Dustthorn. But this… you ensured his death, Tigerclaw. You tried to kill a kitten-! For reasons none of us will ever be able to pry from you, I’m sure.
“But you tried to kill a kitten. And when you failed, you made sure he would regret ever having been born. No one can trust you, let alone with the safety of our kittens. And likely not even with the safety of ourselves.”
“He also tried to kill you, dear girl," Whitepelt growled.
“Yes," Halftail spat, unsheathing his claws. “Yes, you very much did try to get my heart-kin killed. I should claw you to pieces where you stand!”
“And a kitten was caught in your trap instead. My kitten. Why didn’t you save her, Tigerclaw? You had to have smelled her before she got to the Thunderpath. Why didn’t you save my girl when you were the reason she was there in the first place?" Frostfur snarled.
“I’m not the one who called for her!”
“You called for someone!”
“Cinderpaw is her mentor’s responsibility. Take that up with Fireheart.”
“He accepts his part in it, even if I think he doesn’t have one. You, however… This was your idea from the beginning. It’s not Fireheart’s fault that my kit got hit by a car. She was running an errand for you!" Frostfur roared.
Cats howled around them, and Fireheart felt Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw hunch over and burrow into his side.
“It’s okay, kits," he purred anxiously, fluffing his pelt and lifting his front paws to let them hide under him. “We’re not the ones they’re mad at.”
“They’re talking about me!" Cinderpaw mumbled bitterly. “They….”
“They’re talking to Tigerclaw. It sounds like… it sounds like he’s the reason you went to the Thunderpath. He’s the reason your leg is mangled!" Brackenpaw spat.
“What…?!" Cinderpaw gasped, shaking so violently that Fireheart felt himself do the same. “But he’s…!”
“A warrior, yeah.”
“Why…?”
“He meant for someone else to meet him there," Fireheart explained gently. “An older cat who knows how to navigate monsters. But he also meant for them to get hurt. That’s what the Clan is yelling about. That’s why everyone is angry.”
The apprentices didn’t know what to do with the knowledge they’d just received. Bracken’s mouth worked as if he were chewing his favorite freshkill but no noise made it past his lips. Cinder curled up so that her nose was tucked into her flank and her tail wrapped over her ears.
“I just wanted to help," she whispered miserably. “I thought… that’s an apprentice job. I know how to take a message. We’ve both done it before.”
“Yeah," Fireheart mumbled glumly. “This really isn’t fair to you at all, Cinder.”
“If I were any bigger I’d drag him onto the Thunderpath and see how he likes getting hit!" Brackenpaw growled, uncharacteristically vicious.
“Huh, there’s an idea," someone grumbled.
Fireheart was too focused on the apprentices to see how the rest of the Clan fared.
“Bluestar! The kits came up with a brilliant punishment," the cat who’d just spoken called out. “Drag Tigerclaw onto the Thunderpath and see how he does!”
Yowls of agreement filled the air. Fireheart would have missed the hitch of Goldenflower’s breath if he hadn’t been sitting right next to her.
“That’d be too unreliable," Bluestar dismissed the cat’s snarled advice easily. “but you are right to say we must discuss the matter of punishment.”
“Hasn’t he been punished enough?" Darkstripe whined.
“NO!" The crowd roared, drowning out his pitiful mewls.
“For the near-murder and almost certain maiming of two kittens under his charge, I sentence Tigerclaw to exile. He does not get the customary three days to leave us. I want him out! Chase him from all Clan territory and spread word to the other three Clans that there is a kitten-mauler among us. Tell them he followed in Brokenstar’s pawsteps if you must. And I would hear the answers of each leader. Tigerclaw will never be welcome in this forest ever again!”
“Oh… Holy shit!" Fireheart mumbled, so shocked that he recalled an old swear from his housecat days.
Hanging out with Princess was rubbing off on him.
Was this really happening? They didn’t even know what happened to Redtail and they were ready to kill Tigerclaw with no questions asked!
Speaking of Redtail…
Fireheart closed his eyes and gathered all the courage he could.
“I know why he hated Ravenpaw!" The ginger tom blurted out.
The crowd was quiet by then, and several of them turned to stare at him.
“What?" Bluestar asked. “Did Ravenpaw tell you before he disappeared?”
“Sort of. Ravenpaw saw something at Sunningrocks. Something Tigerclaw did. And Tigerclaw didn’t want whatever it was getting out, so he made the Clan hate Ravenpaw. And, as we just discussed, he was really good at it.”
Fireheart got to his paws, brushing the apprentices’ backs with his tail as he stepped around them and prowled forward.
“So," Fireheart growled, glaring at Tigerclaw. “What did Ravenpaw see? What happened at Sunningrocks?”
“That skinny little scrap of mouse-meat didn’t see a thing, mewling rat. Quit spewing lies.”
“Then why did you hate him?”
“Because he was a weak, good-for-nothing pile of bones! I couldn’t make anything of him!”
“Foxdung to that!" Fireheart roared. “He saw something! He was stars-struck terrified of you! Why did my friend run off everytime he so much as smelled you? What did you do?!”
Tigerclaw lunged forward, knocking aside several cats as he barrelled through the crowd and landed squarely on Fireheart.
“Because I killed Redtail, you stubborn little thrush," Tigerclaw purred eerily, bringing his face close to Fireheart’s and digging his claws into the ginger tom’s neck and stomach. “just like I’m about to kill you!”
Fireheart gasped for air that wouldn’t come as he thrashed in Tigerclaw’s deadly hold.
Suddenly, as quick as the dark brown tabby had tackled his opponent, he was ripped off.
“YOU WHAT???!!" Someone roared as the crushing weight suddenly lifted.
Fireheart staggered to his paws and coughed. Gagging as air filled his battered frame.
Cats surrounded him, confused and peppering him with questions.
“Are you alright?!”
“Can you breathe?”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Why would you do that?!”
“Back off!" Sandstorm yowled. “He needs space.”
Cats did so reluctantly, stepping back a few paces but still forming a ring around him.
“Fireheart!" A few young voices called. “Fireheart! Fireheart!”
The crowd parted as four small shapes hurled themselves at him, whining and mewing.
“Are you okay?!”
“That was amazing!”
“Did he hurt you?”
“You sure showed him!”
“Are you-?!”
“Step back!" Yellowfang snapped impatiently. “He’ll be fine, let him catch his breath.”
“Fireheart!” Cinderpaw and her siblings mewled frantically.
“Why’d you do that?!” Thornkit asked worriedly.
“We needed to know!” Fireheart heard Mousefur say. “Tigerclaw had to say it for himself. We wouldn’t have believed it if Fireheart had said it alone. We might not have even believed Sand and Dust alongside him.”
“I’m having a hard time believing it now, even with Tigerclaw having just attacked Fireheart right before my eyes.”
“Clanmates, for the murder of a beloved member of my leadership, this traitor’s sentence is now death!”
Cats gasped.
“Bluestar… are you-? Why not let him remain in exile?!” Whitestorm called out, voice thick with shock.
“This is now a cat who has attempted to kill two kittens and might do so again! This is a cat who has successfully ended the life of his own deputy in cold blood! We do not know his reasons and he’ll likely never tell them! This cat must join his ancestors and be judged by them in turn!”
“Yes, Bluestar!” The crowd murmured solemnly.
“Having Tigerclaw killed by force would stain too many hearts, and we cannot afford to cast blame in this time of uncertain safety. So. There are herbs that can kill a cat if too much is eaten. Tigerclaw will take these herbs, and we will bury him with the others. Yellowfang, someone will keep watch over Fireheart. Get me what is necessary for this task.”
“Of course, Bluestar.”
Yellowfang wheeled around and tore through the crowd. Fireheart lost sight of her in a matter of heartbeats.
Blue-grey fur filled his line of sight and Fireheart blinked as hard as he could.
“Bluestar,” he rasped. “I’m sorry it happened like this.”
“Better here and now than to have him attack someone more openly. I honestly can’t believe… they’re children, Our Clan’s most precious joys. Why would he…?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Whitepelt sighed from somewhere nearby. “It’s really not fair to any of them. If we ever find Ravenpaw, we should bring him home. He deserves the Stars themselves singing his praises.”
“He knew all this time. And we just turned on him so easily…” Frostfur whispered. “I thought he stole my kittens. But he was barely a kitten himself. How could I…?”
“Tigerclaw made it easy to,” Whitestorm sighed. “It’s not fair to any of us, what he did. Least of all to Raven, He deserves far more than a place to call home, he should get remorse from every single one of us.”
“What for?” Longtail scowled. “There’s a difference between acknowledging Tigerclaw’s wrongs and excusing a failure.”
“The only failure was Tigerclaw’s failure to prepare that boy for the world!” Goldenflower snapped. “You know what Swiftpaw is like. Would you send him to hunt at Snakerocks?!”
“No!” Longtail yelped.
“Would you send him across the ShadowClan border?”
“You mean the stars-forsaken Thunderpath?!” Longtail snarled. “StarClan better strike me if I ever do! I’ll be right there with him if he ever needs to cross it!”
“Tigerclaw didn’t do that for Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw didn’t do that for any cat whose training he monitored. You can’t call Ravenpaw a failure for surviving what was done to him! I won’t have it!” Speckletail snarled.
“Fine!” Longtail growled. “I think I get it now, anyway. But what makes you think we’ll ever find him? I’d get as far away from *here as possible if everyone turned on me.”
“We have to try!” Harefoot insisted. “Or what kind of cat can we call ourselves? Could you live with it if it turns out he died?”
“No!” Several voices whined, horrified.
“He has to be alive!” Dustthorn urged. “He has to be!”
“It’s done!” Yellowfang called out. Cats staggered back, alarmed, and the crowd parted like water around a rock, giving Fireheart a clear view of the dark, unmoving lump that was once Tigerclaw, deputy of ThunderClan.
Fireheart knew without a doubt that this would stick with him for as long as he lived, and likely long after.
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thunders-warcats-stuff · 20 days ago
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I think I really prefer the term "rehabilitating' for a villain who's going through a character arc and becoming a better person, over 'redeeming'.
Not only does it take away the culturally christian connotations that "redeeming" has, but rehabilitating also better shows the context of, you know, actually putting in the work and effort to overcome their problems.
From now on, for me, it's not a "villain redemption arc" its a "villain rehabilitation arc."
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