#fellidate

[iamfabiloz]

I love and heavily relate to Nightheart because of how much he reminds me of how I used to be from like 14-16. I genuinely do not think that I have ever found a fictional character to be more relatable before, for better or worse! A lot of this may be from the fact that I heavily relate towards his identity + name change issues (I am FTM trans so I’ve been through similar) and in my perspective I really do believe that he’ll come to realize later in the arc that part of his issues are his OWN fault - he’s pushed everyone away and then wallows in his own self-pity, not realizing that he’s gotten himself into this in the first place. He keeps taking out his insecurities onto others, believing that the world is out to get him - IE thinking Squirrelflight, Flipclaw, Thriftear, Finleap, Brightheart, etc are all purposely trying to hurt him when they’re… clearly not. He even gets defensive when Sunbeam calls him by his old name without possibly having known any better. Although I do think that Sparkpelt’s actions at the beginning of Sky in particular are pretty questionable… very guilt-trippy and manipulative, I guess? But other than that and Myrtlebloom’s off-handed snarky comment, nobody is really attempting to target him at all. They don’t understand WHY he wants to carve out his own identity within the clan, and he’s too insecure about it to actually explain the situation to his clanmates in a reasonable manner. He thinks that he has a deeper kinship with Bramblestar due to their similar identity struggles and such, but all Bramblestar does with this trust is use it to get back at his wife for some petty reason - which is quite sad, really. I genuinely believe that the point of Nightheart’s character is to start out highly insecure, rash, and defensive as he’s figuring himself out on the inside, and will develop into a much better person once he’s done so and can learn to be happy within his own skin. In this case, I actually would have to say that I think some of the transgender undertones were intentional on the writing teams’ part - obviously we won’t get an openly transgender character in the series, but I do feel like there are some underlying themes in Nightheart’s story that definitely parallel transgender peoples’ experiences a bit too much to be a coincidence. Maybe this is a bit of my own bias speaking here, but he reads as very much transmasc / FTM to me personally. I don’t think any of this justifies his behavior / the rashness of his actions, of course, but I think that’s the point. He’ll (hopefully) be able to carve out his own identity and life in ShadowClan without constantly feeling as if he’s in Firestar’s shadow, and he’ll learn and grown because of it. At least, that’s my interpretation of how things are most likely to play out - and how I HOPE it plays out, because that would send a really good message to the audience out there. It took me way too long within my own life to realize that it was me pushing everyone around me away and not the other way around, so I would hope that these books can help show people that they’re not always in the right, even if it might feel that way in the given time - and that it’s okay to recognize that fact and learn from it. Sorry for the rambling, I just really wanted to share my perspective on this!

Ooo this is a really interesting take, n ur opinion is totally valid!! And tbh I agree w u about relating to Night, bc i see some of my worst traits in him too, especially when I read river for the first time KWJW those feelings kinda faded w this book, w all the weird stuff goin on, but yah I get what u mean. Also yeye im trans too, and I can see some of the stuff ur talking abt n how trans ppl can connect to nights character.

And same I really really hope nightheart has a character arc or smth and the narrative realizes he’s in the wrong and makes him take responsibility and figure out his issues so he can be his own cat n understand where his family and tc clanmates r comin from!! Erins please don’t make us have read nighthearts misery hour chapters for an bummer ending AA the idea for like an unreliable narrator and pov who’s in the wrong is rlly interesting in concept but the way the Erin’s have been executing it is rlly weird n insufferable 2 me oof JWJW Erins please have ONE writer who knows what their doin!!

Was cool to hear ur thoughts about night :0 this makes me reconsider him a little JWJW picks him up by the scruff n shakes him, kitty u would be so much better if anyone else wrote you

#warrior cats #ask #fellidate #asc spoilers #asc #sky spoilers #river #a starless clan #nightheart

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Not really spoiling anything, but as someone who has managed to read the book early I can say with 100% certainty that Nightheart was not mean to Brightheart, Jayfeather, or Alderheart. In fact, his conversation with them was actually quite touching - he realized that they cared for him and could also understand his struggles. I’m pretty sure that the op of that spoiler page on the wcrpforums just straight up lied for clout or something, which is disappointing in all honesty. Also, Squirrelflight is NOT NEARLY as bad as that person made her out to be, either - she’s actually being quite rational. And she’s not mistreating Bramblestar here, either - another inconsistency between the book and the spoiler page. Sort of frustrating that so much misinformation got spread around via one user’s very biased perspective

Thanks so much for the clarification, this is very helpful!

It’s really frustrating how these biases occur and give people the totally wrong ideas about characters. I’ve noticed this is usually a problem specifically about Squirrelflight on the wcrp forums because most of the few regularly active users there despise her with a passion.

I wish they just put one of those orders to bookstores on these books that they are not allowed to release them to the public before the release date - I don’t like it when the books get leaked early because of things like this.

#fellidate #asc spoilers #sky spoilers #warrior cats spoilers

[amethyst-halo]

Being 100% honest here, I feel like a lot of the recent fandom hate towards Sunbeam and/or Nightheart seems to be very… overblown?

I think Night was well within his right to leave ThunderClan, personally - Sparkpelt, Squirrelflight, Finchlight, and Lionblaze have all been shown so far to have put needless pressure on him to conform to a VERY high standard set by someone that he never even got the chance to know before he was born, and is lambasted for it when he dares to request a name change as a means of carving out his own sense of belonging within the clan. That is toxic. Is it a bit too self-loathing about it for my taste? Absolutely. But he’s still being reduced down to someone else’s identity by his family + being shunned by them for expressing any sort of individuality outside of it, which is not a healthy living situation to be in at all. I feel like some of the fandom is making it out as if Night openly believes that everyone around him hates him, when that’s simply not the case - he openly acknowledges that he has been shown nothing but respect and support by Alderheart, Jayfeather, Bayshine, Sorrelstripe, Finleap, Brightheart, and Twigbranch. It’s really just his immediate family that’s the problem - and I think that, in such a case, it would be the healthiest option for him to get away from them. With Sunbeam, I don’t think that it’s ooc for her to be a little bit insensitive with Lightleap’s feelings - she’s been previously characterized to be a bit oblivious and aloof, in my opinion. She doesn’t seem to pick up on that stuff as easily as others do, and that’s something that she’ll probably have to work on. She still has good intentions at heart, but just goes about expressing her feelings rather poorly - and really doesn’t give herself time to process her thoughts before acting. I just think that people have judged these protagonists a bit too harshly considering how early on we are into the arc - I highly doubt that Nightheart’s angst or Sunbeam’s obliviousness will be something that isn’t improved upon as the series goes on. Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, and Ivypool are some examples of this - characters grow and develop throughout the books, overcoming their flaws to some degree, if that makes sense!

hi!! yea i can definitely see where ur coming from here. i think for sure there are some harsh judgements this early in the series, yea.

i personally don't have- and i think most others don't have- a problem with nightheart's reasons for doing what he does. it's absolutely toxic for him to be put under the pressures he's facing and it's probably the healthiest for him atm to leave that situation. most of my and others' problems from what i understand is that a: the characters around him are being forced out of character solely for nightheart's arc- specifically female characters i.e. squirrelflight sparkpelt and finchlight (and also lionblaze who is honestly completely in character imo), and b: his arc COULD have gone to his mother, a noted firestar clone, instead. he Shouldn't have to be put under these pressures and he Should be allowed to carve out his own place in the clans. the erins just think the only way to do that is for everyone to bully him even if they never would, and they won't give the arc to someone who could have had it earlier and would possibly fit the role better. and ig i don't know for sure bc i don't have the book yet, but iirc he does think a few times that everyone hates him, whether or not it's true and whether or not there are exceptions. idk if he ever Says it outside of the end of sky, but i feel like i remember seeing a few places where he thinks it at least; it's pretty open to the reader imo, i just dunno if its open to the characters

i agree with u on sunbeam! she feels like she's in her own head a lot and not picking up on everything around her. i think her feeling bad about lightleap and blazefire makes sense bc (from what i understand) romantic feelings are just Like That sometimes. she might like... be feeling them at a bad time or something, but she isn't acting on them from what i can tell rn. she was, kind of, when she got herself hurt, but she feels like she's trying more to keep it to herself now. some of her reactions are out of place, but she seems to know that and is trying to minimize her outward responses. she's juggling her feelings for blazefire with her argument with lightleap with her stress from literally everything else going on, and i think it's understandable if her feelings get a little mixed up in there somewhere.

yea though, i agree with u! i'm willing to give both of them a little more time before solidifying my opinions i think- granted, am already biased but askjdhjs y'know

ty for ur thoughts!!!! i like having convos

#I THINK I COVERED EVERYTHING i am notoriously bad at reading askdhjhdjkff #long post #asc sky #asc spoilers #warrior cats spoilers #wc spoilers #sketch answers #fellidate

[theoutcastrogue]

“There were three of them. They were immediately and absolutely recognizable as adventurers; rogues who wandered the Ragamoll and the Cymek and Fellid and probably the whole of Bas-Lag. They were hardy and dangerous, lawless, stripped of allegiance or morality, living off their wits, stealing and killing, hiring themselves out to whoever and whatever came. They were inspired by dubious virtues.

A few performed useful services: research, cartography and the like. Most were nothing but tomb raiders. They were scum who died violent deaths, hanging on to a certain cachet among the impressionable through their undeniable bravery and their occasionally impressive exploits.”

– China Miéville, Perdido Street Station

#Perdido Street Station #China Miéville #rogues in fiction

[everybody-loves-purdy]

It is quite funny to me how the very same people who believed that Fireheart was in the right for going behind Bluestar’s back to stop a needless battle in Rising Storm will also actively shit on Squirrelflight for doing the same exact thing in SQH and ASC.

I once saw someone say that the reason that Fireheart was in the right and Squirrelflight was in the wrong was because Squirrelflight was more arrogant.

I wish I was making this up.

#it was one of those times I tried to give the wcrp forums another whirl and immediately regretted it #fellidate

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Honestly at this point seeing anyone who still ships TigerDove is a massive red flag. I’ve been rereading the books recently and the way Tigerheart treats Dovewing reminds me so so much of how Thistleclaw treated Spottedleaf in her novella. It IS grooming, and I really wish the fandom could recognize that and stop romanticizing it, because it really isn’t okay.

To be fair, a lot of people who I have talked about with about TigerDove completely forgot about a lot of their relationship in omen of the stars, especially the part where Dovepaw was an apprentice and he’s not - I’ve even come across a few people who ship it based on avos and never even read oots. So I feel a most of the problem comes from people who ship it not remembering or even knowing about the absolute red flag train wreck that their relationship started out as.

But sometimes there are people who I’ve seen (in regards to the apprentice thing- and this isn’t an argument exclusive to this couple) say that because it’s a thing that happens that makes it ok, which is something I definitely disagree with. I’ve also seen people say that oots doesn’t matter because their relationship is good now (I only think those two are in a good place now only because Tiger is getting exactly what he wants out of Dove). TigerDove completely warped my sense of a healthy relationship as a kid, to the point where I even had an OC fanfic where the OTP main character couple was a full grown tom getting with a brand new apprentice (I was about 12 when I came up with this I think?).

A lot of the problem I feel is that TigerDove just hasn’t had a huge YouTube callout like some other warrior cat couples have received.

#fellidate #grooming tw #pedophillia tw #Dovewing #tigerstar #Tigerheartstar

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Yay, I’m really excited about the Mothwing and Hawkfrost minis! Darkstripe is an interesting choice as well, I’m guessing that this will mean that he will either be getting a novella at some point next year or will be a major character in the next graphic novel. I’m glad they made Crookedstar as well, his mini looks super cute!

I was really hoping that the one that ended up being Darkstripe was Nightheart though, because I think it would be nice if we actually got some merch of the newer characters. Most of the minis we have rn are from arcs 1-2, with the exception of Ivypool + Jayfeather. Newer characters would be neat, it’s crazy that we don’t even have Hollyleaf, Shadowsight, or Bristlefrost minis at this point, they’re all quite popular characters

I really really hope we get some newer character merch soon. I really want more dotc stuff and I really want anything official to do with newer modern characters. I need Needletail and Darktail merch in my life.

But it is odd that popular modern characters like Shadowsight, Alderheart, and Bristlefrost haven’t got anything at all yet. Each of those three most definitely outstrip Darkstripe in the fandom in terms of popularity.

Also I do find it very odd there’s no Hollyleaf yet we’ve had two Jayfeathers.

#fellidate #warrior cats minis

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I’m actually so excited that the plushies for this year are Hollyleaf and Bluestar - when I was a kid and first reading the series, those two were my favorites easily, and I distinctly remember that I had wanted plushies of them SO bad. It is kinda crazy to see 10+ years later that it’s finally happening, childhood me would have flipped

That’s really cool, glad that dream has been filled for you! That’s really cool coincidence that they’re both coming at the same time too!

#fellidate #warrior cats plush

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I think that the Erins should deal with the whole Bramblestar situation by Bramble retiring and eventually dying, and have him apologize earnestly to Squilf once he’s a ghost in StarClan as she gets her nine lives. And also NOT have them end up back together, but maybe Bramble could be like her ‘spirit guide’ when she needs to speak with StarClan and the two could actually have a healthy friendship again. They just… rlly do not work in a relationship at all, especially when there is a literal power imbalance between them due to their leadership positions

I wish. That would be a really good way of handling things. They do work well professionally when they’re not a couple.

#fellidate

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Some cats I see as having floppy / folded ears for some reason:

- Frostpaw

- Nightheart (one folder ear, the other is straight)

- Finleap

- Curlfeather (not folded froward but instead curled backwards if that makes sense)

- Dovewing (ears perk up when using her powers but are normally folded)

- Flywhisker (ears curled upwards)

- Briarlight, kinda? I see her ears as quite large and floppy

- Beenose

- Princess (one folded ear, this would be where Nightheart gets it from)

- Gorse Fur

- Littlecloud

Other general random appearance headcanons I have are these:

- Spiresight has super tiny pupils and has extremely short fur that is entirely black, and is also extremely skinny - he looks like a living shadow, basically

- Frostpaw is white with some very pale gray gradients on her ears and paws, like a very very light colored Siamese of sorts

- Hawkfrost is scrawny and sleek like his mother and doesn’t look much like Tigerclaw at all - Mothwing, on the other hand, looks a bit more like him in terms of shape

- Twigbranch is quite tall and has an extremely long tail that looks kinda like a tree branch. She also has some pale brownish coloring on her along with the typical gray

- Violetshine’s fur shines a purple hue in the light, hence her name

- Heathertail has purple eyes

- Finchlight is a chimera, half of her looks like Larksong and the other half like Sparkpelt

- Rock and Jayfeather’s eyes both have tiny galaxy-like specks within them if you look at them close enough

- Turtle Tail has a stubby tail

- Gray Wing’s ears have a distinct wing-like shape, which is what gave him his name

- Owlnose has barn owl patterns / colorations

- Eaglewing has bald eagle patterns / colorations

- Blazefire is a little bit chubby

- Harestar has very large and rabbit-like ears

I like these a lot!

I think Turtle Tail’s stubby tail is actually canon

#fellidate

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Ideal leaders / deputies for this arc (these probably won’t happen but it sure would be nice)

ThunderClan: Squirrelflight as leader w/ Nightheart as her deputy

ShadowClan: Tawnypelt as leader w/ Sunbeam as her deputy

RiverClan: Mothwing as leader w/ Lizardtail as her deputy

SkyClan: Needleclaw as leader w/ Rootspring as her deputy

WindClan: Crowfeather as leader w/ Heathertail as his deputy

I like the idea of Nightheart mellowing out and getting a Talltail-like arc, I like those options - these are my ideal (although not necessarily realistic):

TC: Ivystar with Twigbranch deputy (I feel Squilf is just too old at this point personally)

ShC: Sunstar with Blazefire deputy (I think it would be neat if they became comfortable working professionally despite their personal awkwardness in the past, also him as deputy would be a big F you to Berryheart).

RC: Froststar with Gorseclaw deputy

SkC: Hawkstar with Rootspring deputy

WC: Heatherstar with Nightcloud deputy (I feel that this is very unlikely to happen, more so than the others)

#fellidate #asc spoilers #sky spoilers #warrior cats spoilers

[everybody-loves-purdy]

My headcanons for ASC so far!

- MTF bisexual Sunbeam

- Transmasc asexual biromantic Nightheart

- Aroace queerplatonic Frostpaw

- Genderfluid lesbian Lightleap

- Lesbian Gullswoop

- Aroace Duskfur

- Genderqueer Finchlight

- Gay Bayshine

- MTF Fringewhisker

- Aroace FTM Splashtail

- Gay FTM Owlnose

- FTM Bisexual Polyamorous Blazefire

- Bisexual Curlfeather

- Transfem lesbian Whistlepaw

- Lesbian Myrtlebloom

Excellent

#fellidate #asc spoilers #sky spoilers #warrior cats spoilers

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I hope that Harestar lives, but that the rest of the leaders get replaced. Ideally, we’ll end up with Cloverfoot leading ShadowClan and Hawkwing leading SkyClan - I have no idea who would end up leading RiverClan at this point in time, though. As for ThunderClan, I think Bramblestar is almost certainly going to retire / be forced to step down in this arc due to his obvious PTSD issues - but I also really don’t think Squirrelflight would / should become leader after he does so, given her age. Personally, I’m hoping for Spotfur, Cinderheart, or Ivypool to take his place instead. Or maybe even Whitewing!

I feel like the most likely candidate for ThunderClan leader will be probably Ivypool given that she’s a fan favourite, has merch, and was up for having an SE until Riverstar won the poll. But I love any of those suggestions for TC leader - I would also like to throw Twigbranch in the mix. I feel personally the most likely outcome is Ivypool leader and Twigbranch deputy based on how both have been written recently, especially in regards to how they’ve interacted with Squirrelflight.

As for RiverClan, I’m currently rooting for Gorseclaw, he seemed like he would make a very good leader given his short appearance in River when he helped retrieve Reedwhisker’s body.

#fellidate

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Cats who are Asexual Biromantic Transmascs (Bc I am an Asexual Biromantic Transmasc and I heavily relate to / enjoy them aaaa):

- Flametail

- Nightheart

- Jagged Peak

- Rootspring

- Blazefire

- Ashfur

- Finleap

- Beetlewhisker

- Harestar

- Splashtail

- Juniperclaw

- Puddleshine

- Tallstar

- Fallen Leaves

I like these hcs!

#fellidate

[everybody-loves-purdy]

VERY unpopular opinion, but to me personally The Apprentice’s Quest is the worst book in the series by FAR. I’ve been rereading the books recently and while I really do like the rest of AVOS as a series, Alderheart is a worse protagonist than even Lionblaze or Brambleclaw to me, simply because of how boring he is. I can’t connect with him at all: I think that his POV role should’ve gone to Puddleshine or Fidgetflake instead if we’re being honest. The entire book just felt like a rushed and poorly-written fanfiction to me, just very… uniquely bad. Twigbranch and Violetshine at least felt like actual characters to me, but Alderheart and Sparkpelt were just… there, I guess? But what made AVOS good in my opinion was the villains and a few of the side characters - I really enjoyed Darktail and his followers, and loved Needletail, Puddleshine, and Finleap too. It was just Alderheart’s POV that really brought the whole series down for me tbh

I have to disagree with you about Alderheart and the apprentices quest I’m afraid. I love Alderheart and deeply connect with him - especially during that book! Maybe this could be the source of our disagreement perhaps? I really like the apprentices quest personally for a lot of reasons, I personally like how it sets up the characters, I like Sandstorms death, I love how the cats don’t know that somethings up with “SkyClan” but we as the audience know something is very wrong, I love how the kin is outed (the Mistfeather scene) - I could go on, to me it does have its flaws but I personally find it overall a strong arc opener. But I get why you disagree, and I totally respect that opinion.

At least we can agree on Needletail and Darktail being great (also Puddleshine, I personally don’t like Finleap though lol)

#fellidate