#ofnd: rust

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Spoiler question: how exactly does Rainfall die?

In the aftermath of Laurelstorm’s betrayal, Rainfall is shaken to her very core. She becomes a husk of her former self: unable to eat, to care for herself, much less lead. It comes to a point where her neglect is actively hurting her community: She doesn’t name a liaison. She spits on anyone who attempts to approach her. She tries to banish Laurelstorm’s newborn kits with Monarchmask. Her refusal to name Swift and Pigeon lead to the deaths of two bright, promising young cats (Swift and Bright) and the near-death of another (Pigeon) in their attempts to prove themselves to her.

But Rainfall ignored it all, too consumed in her niece’s betrayal and attempted murder to so much as lift her head…

And Firefall has enough.

He approaches her one evening, after he set the day’s patrols; the camp is nearly completely empty. He settles himself at her side, offering her food and herbs - one final ditch attempt to make her rise to her former glory, one last try to get her to rise. She refuses him and lashes out; her claws connect to his cheek, and he reels back, eyes flashing. He sighs… and murmurs to her his latest decisions. He has renamed himself: Rustfire. Rainfall tries to protest, but he silences her with an icy, “if you wanted to have any say, you should have remained orator.”

“I am orator. I am your orator, your superior. You cannot change the name I gifted to you.”

“No… not anymore.” He inhales, straightening. Behind him, Sandstorm and Minktail slink into the den; Sandstorm’s eyes are cold, and Minktail’s glitter with grief. Rainfall bristles, shoving herself upright as Firefall-Rustfire, goes on. “If you are allowed to lead, to continue as you are, you will destroy the Woodruff. Your home. The community you swore to protect has already been hurt enough by you. And I cannot allow it anymore.”

He steps back as Sandstorm and Minktail step up. Rainfall hisses, and turns to Rustfire a final time, attempting to plead… but he turns away. His ears lay flat against his skull as Sandstorm and Minktail work together to silence her dying screams.

In the aftermath, Sandstorm becomes orator, with Monarchmask as her second in command… and Rustfire, his change of name made official by Sandstorm, keeping his place as allay.

#old faces new dawn #ask #spoiler questions #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #ofnd: rainfall #ofnd: rust #ofnd: minktail #ofnd: sand #thesilliestofgals #snowkit anon #FUN FACT #THIS WAS ONE OF OFND’S BASE INSPIRATIONS #WOOOO #I FINALLY GET TO SHARE IT

[nightly-ruse]

Old Faces, New Dawn

A fresh beginning from a darkened past

I am so happy with how this came out. This is for @spottyistired and their rewrite i am just so intrigued by, featuring Rust (Firepaw), Ravenpaw, Bearpaw, Sandpaw, Gracklepaw, Spottedleaf, Dreamtongue, Shiningstrike, Scourge and lastly Wolfstorm. The designs and lighting was super fun to do and I hope you like it Spotty!

(ID- the whole poster has a dawn lighting and background with the main five lit in a yellow, pink, and orange light. The antagonists are lit in a mix of purples, blues, golden, and pink. Bushes are behind the protagonists with a oak tree on the left and pine trees on the right.

Firepaw/Rust is standing in the center with a split pelt, the left a dark brown and the right a orange tabby. His right ear is torn, and he has one amber and one green eye. His front paw is forwards with his tail puffing up behind him, a unsure expression on his face. To his left is Ravenpaw who is a lanky black and white cat with a pretty purple eye and fang similarly to a snakes, his ears are tall like a bats. They are looking at Rust with a curious, and knowing expression as if they can see something the chimera cat cannot. To the right is Bearpaw who is crouched down and looking at Rust, his fluffy tail sweeping over Rust’s left leg and a smile on his face. He is a brownish gray color with a darker heart marking on his cheek and sweet golden eyes. Sandpaw is on the other side of Ravenpaw and is crouched down as if she’s about to pounce. She has a mischievous look in her green eye and her tail, which is grey at the end, is swooped to the left. On the other side of Bearpaw is Gracklepaw who is rather standoffish with a spiteful/angry expression looked towards Ravenpaw, he is brown and white with a underbite.

Above Rust is Wolfstorm who is looking straight forward with blank orange eyes and a unknown expression on is face, his mane fluffed out. He is a gray and white with a moon in his chest and markings across his face. To his left is Shiningstrike who is looking upwards with blank golden eyes, she is orange, brown, and cream with a tear like marking down to her chin. On the right id Scourge who is looking downwards. A blank blue eye and black tufty hair almost covers his face and his muzzle and chest is bare of fur. Two necklaces hang over his chest, the top with three claws and the bottom with a talon and a bird skull. Above Grackle is Dreamtongue who is facing the left with a downturned face and a green X as his pupil. He is a red tabby with white fur falling down from hid ears, and a tusk decorating his face. A green breathe comes from his mouth and is reaching out, as if to grab onto those he wishes to persuade. Across from him is Spottedleaf who is looking up with a golden star pupil and golden mist wrapping around her face. She is a brown, red, and white cat with purple and pink petals decorating her fur, a entranced expression on her blank face. Written across the poster is “OLD FACES NEW DAWN” with a lighter corresponding color behind the black bold text. End ID)

#night knacks #ofnd fanart #ofnd!rust #ofnd!ravenpaw #ofnd!bearpaw #ofnd!gracklepaw #ofnd!sandpaw #ofnd!wolfstorm #ofnd!shiningstrike #ofnd!scourge #ofnd!spottedleaf #ofnd!dreamtongue #firestar #Ravenpaw #graystripe #sandstorm #dustpelt #leopardfur #scourge wc #spottedleaf #brokenstar #whitestorm #tigerstar

[spottyissleepy]

36 and Fireraven

"It's alright dear, just close your eyes. I'll be there when you wake."

That moment when you receive a request that’s Scarily similar to what actually happens in the story

#ofnd #ask #doritopaw101 #prompt challenge #firepaw #Fireheart #firestar #rust ofnd #ravenpaw #ravenpaw ofnd #tw blood #blood #blood tw #implied death #im doing full danganropa and pulling out the bright colored blood #my homestuck is showing

[spottyissleepwalking]

spotty quick gimme a complex ofnd design 🤞 (i need for comms examples)

UMMMMM Rust’s new design, mayhaps? :O

He’s pretty complex without being Overboard ^^’

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Crying y’all have no idea how many attempts this headshot took I hate him so much-

#pls enjoy #as I pull all my hair out in frustration #not kidding when I say it took me TEN PAGES out of my sketchbook #like full pages of firefall headshot doodles #to get to this point #old faces new dawn #OFND: rust

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Sandstorm: *screaming and yelling in anger*

Firefall: “Look at all that rage…”

Sandstorm: *still screaming and yelling*

Firefall, blushing: “She’s mad as hell and I’m here for it.”

#incorrect quotes #incorrect ofnd quotes #IF YALL WANNA SUBMIT SOME ILL LOVE ALL OF THEM #old faces new dawn #ofnd: sand #ofnd: rust #sandstorm #Fireheart #firepaw #firestar

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Rust? How do you see your family?

“… My what?”

“If you’re talking about my parents, or blood or whatever, I don’t have any.”

“Closest’ I’ve got to ‘family’ are Pine, and Scourge, and Haggler… and I guess Frazzle too, but don’t tell her I said that.”

“Uh… they’re fine, I guess? Not sure what you really want me to say…”

“Pine has good stories and lessons. Scourge looks out for me. Haggler too. Frazzle taught me how to fight.”

“What more could I want than that?”

#old faces new dawn #ask #x-critter2022 #in character asks #ofnd: rust #dynamic sketch pose!!! yay!!!! #my internet is down so I’m trying to sketch and draw and such T^T #fireheart wc #fireheart #firepaw #wc firestar #firestar wc #firestar #warrior cats rewrite #warriors au #warrior cats au

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

What’s your thought process when working on characters and their personalities?

For most characters that have a canon equivalent, I either expand upon their backstories and personality traits, OR I crack down hard on them… or it’s projection central lmao. ALSO LISTS!!!

For I think the most prominent example for ALL of these would be our dearest first arc protag, Rust/Firefall!

One of my biggest personal pet peeves in protagonists are the “super peppy, can-do-no-wrong, flawless and faultless” types; they just get under my skin and make it crawl to no end. So, obviously, canon’s Fireheart/star just… didn’t hit with me. I loved the concept as a character (the outsider coming into a new culture and way of life, and growing alongside it) for a protagonist, but he was just too… much, for my personal tastes. The Erins presented him in a way that literally made him seem as though he was perfect, which is the WORST thing you can do for a character and a story.

Nobody is perfect. Nothing is perfect. And to pretend as such is not only limiting from a storytelling standpoint, but it’s also frustrating from a consumer’s standpoint. So, how did I go about fixing this?

Pick out and exemplify the flaws.

Through my research, I (gratifyingly) learned that Fireheart isn’t perfect, but his flaws are so minuscule that it’s hard to miss. But what I did pick out from him?: He struggles listening to authority figures, he’s somewhat impatient, he’s incredibly gullible bordering on naivety, and he has a habit of harboring grudges. And these are the aspects that I based Rust around, while still granting him a few of his inspiration’s more positive traits, most notably: loyal, empathetic, and with a strong moral compass.

He isn’t a character that IS flawed via a writing standpoint (though I’m probably biased), but he is flawed as a character, as a person. He’s not a “bad” person by any means, but he’s also not “good”, either; he’s in a pretty deep gray area, and I’m rather proud of that.

The best advice I can offer as a rewriter, specifically, is to take a character’s traits and swap them around a bit. Ask: “Why is this a bad trait? Why is this a good trait? What makes this character interesting? What makes them dull?” I also highly encourage Moonkitti’s character talkings; they were a huge help for characters such as Runningwind.

#(twirls my hair) rust is super autistic coded #just how I like em #old faces new dawn #ask #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #doritopaw101 #ofnd: rust #firepaw #fireheart #firestar

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Twirls my hair. OFND Firesand for the bingo…. (Everybody acts surprised)

I care them deeply

#old faces new dawn #ask #ship bingo #sandstorm #fireheart #firestar #ofnd: sand #ofnd: rust #they’re like… soulmates during wartime #quite literally #petty-arsonist

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

OOUUGHHH THE CHILL THAT SETTLED UPON MY BONES WHEN READING ABOUT RAINFALL'S DEATH...

Another spoiler question: how does Rustfire die?

YALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW FUXKIN BADLY I WANT TO ACTIVELY WRITE IT OUT-

Perhaps I will just. Start writing random scenes out of order… I’ll think on that…

Much more, ah, simply… He goes out the way he came in: by the claws of Scourge.

The two face off in the aftermath of a horrific battle between the fealty and the Bloodbound. Both are battered and weary; Rustfire’s leg was pinpointed as a weak spot and savaged, Scourge’s throat was slashed and his mask shattered. They face off, eyes burning…

“You’ve changed.”

“And you haven’t.”

And they leap, a furious bundle of former father and son, brothers once bound by something outside of blood, and, when everything settles, Scourge’s still claws rest buried in Rustfire’s throat, and while Rustfire heaves, his friends, his family - Sandstorm, who’s entire ear had been ripped off. Minktail, who’s eyes had been irreparably damaged during the battle. Bearbelly, who was now a loyal member of the Riverward, Drizzledance at his side. Ravensong and Jackdawclaw, both sobbing openly - surround him, huddling close, soothing him while his life drains away.

#ALSO THE DIALOGUE IS MEANT TO BE VAGUE AS TO WHO SAID WHICH #old faces new dawn #ask #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #thesilliestofgals #ofnd: rust #fireheart #firestar #yes most of these deaths will be carried over into ailurocide….. #this death hits the hardest for me #I hope y’all enjoy it

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Sand: Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat?

Raven: >:O language

Bear: Yeah watch your fucking language

Jackdaw: OKAY WHO TAUGHT BEAR THE FUCK WORD?

*incert character*: 'The fuck word'.

Rust: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time

Bear: Oh my god they censored it

Incert character: Say fuck, rust.

Bear: Do it, rust. Say fuck.

THE FUCK WORD, CRYING

Realistically, only Rust would know what the f word is…. It was Rust. Rust taught Bear the fuck word

#old faces new dawn #ask #pigeonpelt #ofnd memes #ofnd: rust #ofnd: raven #ofnd: sand #ofnd: jackdaw #ofnd: bear #firepaw #fireheart #firestar #warriors au #warrior cats au #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #ravenpaw #sandstorm #dustpelt #graystripe

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Hey I couldn't find this post for months but; this reminds me of Rust

🥺

It is, it’s he..

#old faces new dawn #ask #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #x-critter2022 #ofnd: rust

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Firefall: You killed him

Laurelstorm: he died of natural causes

Firefall: you call dying from talons to the neck “natural causes?”

Laurelstorm: Obviously. Dying when you’re claws in the neck is the most natural thing in the world

Laurelstorm: It would have been really unnatural if he’d survived

CRYING I can absolutely see them having this very interaction

#old faces new dawn #ask #incorrect ofnd quotes #incorrect quotes #ofnd: rust #ofnd: laurelstorm

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

beats u over the head with these (made in clangen cat maker !!)

attempted to make firefall, mosquitonose, rainfall, and ravensong ! ravensong was a lil bit of a challenge

WAAAHHHHHH I’LL CRY THEYRE AMAZING

I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH AAHHH HSJHDD

I also think it’s very interesting that Ravensong of all of them was the most challenging :OOO

#old faces new dawn #ask #figgybeans #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #ofnd fanart #ofnd: rust #ofnd: rainfall #ofnd: raven #ofnd: mosquitonose

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Sneak peak of Rust’s new upcoming design….

#old faces new dawn #OFND: rust #important lore alert #important lore because the way rust looks has MASSIVE impacts on the story #firepaw #wc firestar #firestar #firestar wc

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Did anything in particular cause Rustfall to survive the darkpath disease where others died? Was it just good luck?

All the luck Rust has is bad luck hsjfbnf

Rust survived because he spent most of his life going between the forest and the stonelands/ruins; he had more of an immunity to radiation than the likes of forest-born fealty cats. He was still affected by it, of course, and it left him with several lifelong-lasting side effects, but he managed to survive it.

#old faces new dawn #ask #x-critter2022 #ofnd: rust