Writing Fanfiction Is Hell Why Do People Do It. How Are People Writing Over 2-3k Words. On The Regular.

when I draw them it’s like if I saw something and started just. pointing at it excitedly with various excited noises

Back at it again with my ClanGen game! You might remember me talking about ClanGen. You may naturally assume I've picked it up again recently and decided to draw my clan's ten founders, and that I spent a few days to a week making this. And you would, naturally, be wrong. I started this in February. I drew the first eight cats. All that was left was Morningpaw and Creekpaw. But I just. Stopped. And forgot about it. Until a month or so ago, when I FINALLY drew the last two cats. And then I forgot about it again until a week or two ago, when I finished it up, and I'm now posting it.

These cats are from HeronClan, a fanmade Warriors Clan that lives by the sea. They are the Clan's founders. You might have noticed the 2:3 adult to child ratio, which was an accident, and resulted in Rowanstar getting four apprentices: Wolfpaw, Webpaw, Morningpaw and Creekpaw. I can only imagine what that must have been like. Mouselarch was the only warrior at the beginning, too. I'm now in the 30-somethingth moon, and the Clan has wayyy more members now; I'm thinking of drawing another list of cats once I get to Moon 50, but we'll have to see.

Here are the traits/skills of each cat, so you can get a bit of a feel for their personalities:

Rowanstar: calm, unusually strong fighter

Toadheart: careful, great teacher

Skystripe: faithful, great hunter (pain)

Mouselarch: strange, good teacher

Wolfpaw: patient

Ganderpaw: ambitious

Hillpaw: ambitious

Webpaw: loyal

Morningpaw: compassionate

Creekpaw: cold

I started this game before the experience system changed, so that's why the apprentices don't have skills yet.

Anyway, I've been procrastinating on this thing for long enough, so here it is! Enjoy.

Yah, that was about night, sorry about how esoteric I decided to be, but I saw your posts about her and I just got to thinking about the... logistical problems with trying to fight a bunch of dead people, let alone the fact it's a religion.

HI. HIII. THANK YOU. I TOOK THIS AND I RAN. I warned about me spewing a really lengthy response and I did oops

(so StarClan isn't really a religious aspect of the colonies at all. in-universe this is because when Alpine was founded, it was made out of cats who either already had established religious beliefs (gods, basically, it’s not very fleshed out because it’s not important), or weren't religious at all (for example, Night). Personally, I just don't find interest in exploring religion lmao. A lot of wc oc stories have already done it, and probably done it better than I ever could.)

So, StarClan's very much a more government-ish figure for the colonies BUT YEAH obviously there’s gonna be weird stuff going on with it even if it’s not a religion, they’re dead cats in an afterlife lol.

Silverpelt refers to the afterlife here basically, and StarClan/dark forest are only one part of silverpelt. It’s only specific to the colonies. Also present everywhere in the Clans’ territories is silverstone - a green coloured mineral that is believed to give the Clans a greater connection to silverpelt, and subsequently StarClan

I love the eldritch takes on StarClan, but in my story that stuff’s more rooted in silverstone. StarClan is just a bunch of normal dudes lmao

StarClan might have power in influence, but in terms of physical, real, tangible power they can’t do much. They have no control over silverpelt, no control even over the dark forest, and the only control they have, really, is of the colonies through the codes and stuff

In terms of experience, Night's as old as the oldest StarClan cat, as established above, so she's at the very least equal in combat and strategic experience to Ashcloud, who I would say is in charge of the cat equivalent of '''''military''''' activities in StarClan (not much, they don't have a need to fight).

I can make the argument that she has more experience, considering she was the second-highest-ranking authoritative figure in Alpine's early civil war, and the clans haven't had anything close to that extent of fighting since. Their modern training probably isn't cutting it anymore.

(Like, if most of StarClan is a) made of cats who haven't ever experienced active conflict, and b) commanded by cats who think the dark forest will never be a problem, how would they really fare against a dark forest army that Night's essentially been training for war for literally over 400 years, when the barrier between them and the dark forest inevitably fails? Spoiler™: they don't fare well lol)

The key is that StarClan's arrogant. They don't think the dark forest will ever be a real problem for them, so they don't prepare for it or try to prevent it. Of course Night's going to win (initially)

Night later 'loses everything' as Silver implies, it’s not because StarClan had all the time in the world and had more experience than her. It is technically because of StarClan returning, but it's tied much closer with Rainpaw's involvement (not relevant rn) and a rooting in Night's internal struggles at this point (becoming what you hate). 

a lot of Night's character after she destroys starclan (into part 3 of SL)  is very much involved with like. a character caught between what's defined her existence for a long time to the point she cant remember who she was before, and the certainty that she can’t get back to that person even though she needs to, and she needs to because becoming something equal to or worse than her enemy is an unbearable thought..? if that makes sense

It's complicated, but this essentially culminates in a fall out between her and Finch. Then enter: the destructive cycle metaphors that this whole story is built on.

StarClan ‘working so great as an enemy because fighting them is something that is only ever going to hurt you more than them' is SO TRUE AND YOU WORDED IT BEAUTIFULLY.

exactly what happens with Night. After everything, they didn't really change, while she lost a lot. But it’s one of those situations where it can’t have gone any other way. She can't get what she had back until starclan's defeated, but defeating starclan renders it impossible for her to get. Either way she loses. 

Your point about StarClan being eternal and therefore the colonies being eternal also is also very true and very fun.

I might even say, in this instance, that StarClan and the colonies are eternal through silverstone, and by extension so is their destruction.. :]

Sorry for word vomiting so many words in a tumblr post. I doubt anyone will read this all but. I had fun.

Thanks for answering my ramblings about Starclan!

If I may pull some last nonsense because It's 3 in the morning and I am feeling very yappy, Night is very "Captain Ahab from Money dick" coded. Chasing down something vast and in her obsession sealing her own downfall.

It is very funny to think about the Starclan cats remaining just going "We are doomed, we have lost it all, our hubris shall now be eternally damne-" sees the ball of issues that is currently running the dark forest and having a breakdown "Oh.... Well, maybe we won't be that doomed after all."

YEAH THANK YOU FOR FEEDING MY THOUGHTS

i'd agree that sounds very Night, the main idea (?) behind her character for me is self-destruction/downfall as a result of the cycle of destruction/violence etc, like i use a snake a lot in her art because that originated from ouroboros imagery lol.

and honestly that is pretty much exactly how it goes.. T_T so sad. rip dark forest.

i survived no posting new art february, have a Night that i drew a few months ago

yes she IS flipped around the wrong way. thanks for noticing. no i didnt mean to

alternatively, has being in silverpelt warped your perception of time? you feel like you're same as you've always been, but suddenly you're back in the world of the living and the entire world context has changed. youre a living piece of their ancient history. they speak a different language. you feel like no time has passed at all but suddenly you're unable to ever be just a living cat again because you've been dead 500 years. forget being yourself again, can you even be a person (cat) again?

sometimes i feel really stuck on how to characterise characters like Night and other starclan cats who have been dead for so long because i cant really comprehend how exactly that would change you. fading isnt a thing in this universe. youve been dead for centuries. tiny little things in life havent been relevant for that long because youve forgotten what being alive was.

while i dont characterise my starclan as god-like figures the oldest of them certainly aren't just little cats. WHAT ARE THEY??

art of comic characters again

annndddd art of a future comic character ?!?

really drawn to characters who are copies of someone else and/or hollowed out inside. which could mean anything

NIGHT

I'd die for you/kill for you type relationship 😒

Art trade with @smewduck !