Arrrrrtttttt

Old warrior cats art blog, revived! I'm just a gal in her late 20s who's been reading warriors since approximately 2005 and it will never let me go.

[amberbydreams]

8 years later, I'm reviving this as my warrior cats art blog! I don't draw warrior cats super super often but I've been rereading with a friend and redrawing cat designs along the way, so I'm gonna start posting recent art and such!!

Will be uploading a backlog of warrior cat drawings daily for a little while!

If you want to find my animations, though they're old, I'm amberbydreamsart on youtube! Those are the only places to find my wc art right now

[amberbydreams]

ONCE AGAIN! I RETURN TO TALK ABOUT NEW CAT BOOK!!

Reminder: I am intentionally positive in my reactions/reviews!! There's more than enough warriors complaining out there i'm here to have fun with my cat soaps ^^

That said!! I am not gonna lie, this was a slow one lol. I am starting to suspect this will be a less beloved series overall. I will probably be rereading it within a years time as I reread along with a friend who's reading warriors for the first time, her aim is to catch up before book 5 of CS. We'll see if it slogs on reread or not

But! I still had fun reading it, as I always do. Warriors is nothing if not entertaining. This book has made me immensely more interested in Starlingpaw in specific. Last book he seemed like a lovable buffoon who was on the verge of growing up into a more responsible cat, but honestly after this book I'm wondering if he's going to have a darker turn overall. His ego and determination in doing what he thinks is best right now damn the consequences is growing to a concerning level by the end of the book, and I have a feeling helping moonpaw run away is going to have consequences.

Speaking of Moonpaw! I am still enjoying her quite a bit as well. When her arc was first getting set up I did worry that it was going to be a story of ThunderClan failing in helping a struggling child, in essence, and it's been nice to see cats having learned from the past and overall do their best to genuinely support her, and let her struggles be a lot more interior than inflicted on her by her clan. Tree pointing out that clan cats are weird busybodies is always delightful, as well. It is still a little bizarre to me to read warriors promoting meditation and mindfulness, but also very nice! I did feel like her running away was inevitable considering how the stakes and her struggles were going, and i'm interested where it's going to go! Goldenpaw sure is in danger.

Tawnypelt's story was the slowest this book, but I am very glad her arguing with her sonleader part is done. That was a liil exhausting, though Tigerstar's insanely stubborn nature and deep nepotism have amused me as always.

I.. really really enjoyed the writing on Bramble's last few days and funeral. Not gonna lie, Jayfeather and Tawnypelt saying their goodbyes had me super choked up, and most of the funeral as well. Though I wish there weren't instances of what seems like... unintentional depictions of abuse cycle between bramble and squirrel in these books, that aside I've honestly always been a bit of a Bramble fan, I loved him in TNP as a kid and recently re-read Bramblestar's Storm and really enjoyed him there again too. He's honestly been the longest-relevant character in all of warriors and it does feel like we're getting into a new era with him gone.

Soo. yuup! Definitely another of the slow ones, as far as warriors books go, and I think I did enjoy Hidden Moon more than this one, but still solid moment in there that kept it goin. Interested to see what's up with the rest of this arc!

[amberbydreams]

Iiiiiit's time for amber talks about the new warriors book again!!! Note: I am intentionally positive about the books, don't come here expecting biting criticism! Post will have spoilers for the entirety of hidden moon

with that! aaaaaaa i had fun with this one :D Starlingpaw had me cringing with his awkward child has the wrong idea about his place in this prophecy routine but i enjoyed having a lil guy making mistakes on the roster. I thought his processing of his role in Kitescratch's death was done in a nice way, the focus on how his own distorted thinking about it was leading to some self-isolation was fun and interesting - and mirrored how moonpaw was getting caught up in the same cycle. His trip to the tribe was paced really well I thought! I do honestly enjoy the tribe as a group and it was nice to have a short sweet visit to them

also lmao i have been saying for a few years now that I really hope crowfeather dies a deputy because crowstar would be so very tiring. sooooo uh.... sorry that my thoughts killed him if he was your boy xD;; rip dude, glad you died fighting an eagle and saving your clanmate though that was great. I did genuinely for a moment wonder if starlingpaw was gonna die since he had just been thinking happily about what he was gonna do in the future.. i was like oh no dont think too happily about your bright future in proximity to this eagle he'll dramatic irony you out of this world

As for Moonpaw!! I enjoyed her a lot more in this book. I never made a post about The Elder's Quest because it felt like a very neutral book to me - not much to talk about, it was clearly just set up that we'd have to see whether it would pay off or not. And I'm hopeful so far! I honestly really enjoy her dynamic with Jayfeather, I've enjoyed him like, begrudgingly stepping up to be her troubled teen guidance counselor. Just sitting there like 'okay strange extremely dramatic girl. what are you tying yourself in knots about this time'. I liked the slow escalation with Morningkit throughout this book... poor Brambleclaw cannot get a break from getting pulled into a twilight stage between life and death by variously malevolent spirits. Poor Starlingkit seems to be the next ghost seer of the family too - really hope he gets to have a better talk about it with Tree later. I want to talk to tree more again. Honestly Morningkit is reminding me a bit of Freedom from Wings of Fire, which in my book is a great thing. I loved the complicated dynamics of managing an immature child's emotions about a genuinely unfair thing and having to find a way to stop something that's not trying to be truly malevolent but still is lashing out and hurting people. I'm really interested in where it's going in the future, especially since it seems like it's not going to be kept in secret for much longer now. Tawnypelt's consideration for not wanting to isolate Moonpaw considering her own apprenticeship was a nice touch too. They actually did a real good job with some lore callbacks in this book that hit right <3 one thing i love about warriors is how much dang history we have at this point and i know they're a little fanbaity but i still love the callbacks. Crowfeather having a pining moment about feathertail was so fun and cute. Thinking of it, he was mentioned to be solemn after the meeting, I wonder if he was told that he was totally not making it back home Speaaaking of Tawnypelt! I enjoyed her time in this book a lot more than the last one too. It was nice to give her time to do something other than argue with her son - though she did plenty of that too. I still have mixed feelings about where they're going re: her place in shadowclan but the time spent on her relationship with brambleclaw was nice and i have just generally been a sucker for her time talking to the oldass cats we've known for forever. As much as I would like warriors to stop leaning on TNP/PoT era cats to be the foundations of their plots I do also love these characters and enjoy spending time with them. I can excuse this series being a bit of a nostalgiafest for now.

Overall, I enjoyed this one more than The Elder's Quest and I honestly feel like if they manage to payoff decently on the various buildup they've been doing in these books that this could turn out a pretty decent arc! It's definitely a little slower paced but I don't mind that if it manages to still make some interesting developments.

I am honestly really uncertain on whether this is going to turn out to be a moving arc or not at this point. I'm very interested in what direction this series is going to go, I think it's been the most open-ended that we've had in a while. It was obvious from the start that AVoS was going to be about skyclan coming back, that TBC was going to be about ashfur and some dark forest shenanigans, and that ASC was going to end with a new riverclan leader being announced by the end of each of their second books. We still don't quite know where we're going other than having to deal with morningkit at this point - and honestly I wouldn't be terribly surprised if morningkit was basically sorted by the end of next book.

Overall I'm actually more excited about this series now that I've read hidden moon than I was before! At the very least I think I'll have fun finding out where it's going.

[amberbydreams]

Iiiit's time for new warriors book thoughts!!

As always, I am intentionally overall positive in these because i think there's enough negativity in warrior cats!

StormClan's Folly was fun!! I am a sucker for the Rolling Tragedy type of warrior cat books, Hawkwing's Journey is probably my fav super edition and while that was definitely better than this one, I still had a good time reading it!! We don't always get a like... Guy Who Is Extremely Wrong About Things perspective in warriors and having the character arc of Stripestar being a lil idiot was fun to me, and Galestar going through her own emotional journeys through it.. I had fun with it!

I can see why people are probably going to discount it as a boring useless travel book but I bet it's gonna have some cult fans in a similar way to SkyClan's Destiny. Sure it doesn't connect to anything but it still gave us an interesting little tale.

One thing I do wish is that it took time to give us a little more of the other members of StormClan's thoughts on everything. It ended up very much feeling like Galestar, Stripestar, and their clingers-on who don't really matter. I can see how that can be kind of the point - it wasnt about the clan for either of them it was about the two of them - but at the same time it cuts us off from seeing how this is really affecting the cats they're dragging through their problems. It makes me wish there was a third perspective for like, Whitestep or something to see on the ground what's actually happening in the Clan itself (honestly, not a bad idea for a fic! there's a lot of potential in other perspectives throughout the disaster of stormclan)

I do always enjoy a Warriors book where part of the conclusion is maybe not living in a clan is for the best sometimes - we already knew where Galestar was going to end up but I still enjoyed seeing her get there and sorta realize how much she was being sucked down by her own old culture and responsibilities. Damn do I feel sorry for her sister though, that's a cat who got a raw deal.

I am not surprised that the gay boys were very very sparsely mentioned in the actual text but I am pleasantly surprised by them being directly called mates in the text. That's a first in warriors - the way ravenbarley is phrased in the graphic novel adaption is ambiguous enough that a contrarian could point out that he never says that his mate is barley so it technically didn't confirm much more than Ravenpaw's Farewell did, but in this one there's no other way to read it. I suspect one of those cats' pronouns will be switched in some translations, but I do hope that whatever experiment with including the gays in their books they were doing with this one goes well enough that they do more in the future.

Overall! I had fun reading it. I've never really minded a warriors travel book and I think the relationship drama was enough to carry through anything repetitive in the book. I don't think I'll pick this one up for a reread especially soon, but I don't think it's one I'd skip in a full reread either!

[amberbydreams]

boy I am so excited to spend the next three years completely ignoring any and all discourse about moonpaw and her voice in her head

[natalieriess]

Sara and I are auctioning off 4 iconic original Warriors: The Prophecies Begin Vol 1 inked pages for charity!

We've never sold originals online before, but are excited to get these pages out of our closet for some good causes. Check out Sara's thread here on Bluesky (or here on twitter) for more information and updates!

FAQ and links to listings under the cut:

"Fire Alone" Prophecy (Page 4)

ThunderClan Camp (Page 26)

ThunderClan Life (Page 65)

Fireheart and Graystripe (Page 260)

FAQ:

“I want to buy one, but I missed out on the auction/want a different page!”

Situation permitting, we will be selling more of these later down the line. We want them out of our closet and into paws that will appreciate them! Further sales will not be auctions and will be priced in the $100-300 range depending on complexity. We’re thinking ko-fi but haven’t settled on a storefront yet.

“Will you be doing more auctions for different charities?”

I would like to, but let’s see how this one goes first!

“I don’t see a page I really want-- will you be selling X page?”

Once we start selling more originals, you’re free to ask us to list a specific page, but we can’t promise it.

“Pages look a little different than they do in the printed book– what’s up with that?”

The lineart gets edited a bit once they’re scanned before color. You (might) get to own versions of these drawings no one else has ever seen before!

“What are the blue marks on the page?”

Sara uses a blue pencil to transfer rough drawings to the bristol board for inks, which are edited out for the final page.

“Do these come pre-framed/matted?”

No, but they will be bagged.

“When is the auction running from?”

Monday, November 11, 2024 - Monday, November 18th, 2024

“Do you ship internationally?”

Yes! The buyer will have to pay for the shipping, same as domestic.

“Will you ever be selling originals from other books (Dungeon Critters, Bawk-Ness Monster, Dibbit and Boo 2, etc.)?”

Let us know if you’re interested in these, actually! We still have most of the original pages for EVERYTHING Sara’s inked in the past several years, and would love them to go to good homes.

[smgoetter]

Original inks for sale! 100% of the proceeds will go to charity! Check it out!

[amberbydreams]

Aaaalright it's ASC Star Thoughts time!!!

Disclaimer as always; I am intentionally positive about warrior cats! I enjoy reading it and I enjoy thinking about the canon materials! If you want critique there are plenty of blogs for it! :D

SO. Long chattering about Star under the cut!!

I had such a fun time with this one!! I think it was paced decently, certainly better than Wind which was pretty clearly filler. Frostpaw's conflicts were always the most interesting part of the series so having the Nightheart and Sunbeam stuff done and shifting full attention to RiverClan has helped the back half of this series a lot imo.

I honestly really enjoy how they concluded Berryheart's story. Her being so deep in delusion that she can't help but destroy herself was a pretty solid move and I think they did a good job with Sunbeam's conflict between loving her mother and seeing what she'd become. It was a little weird to have a full funeral for her when it's something Warriors hasn't done previously - but I would rather have more discussion of how death affects these cats than less in these books so I'll fully take it and hope that it's a sign of where things are going!

Deeply enjoyed Frostpaw and Splashtail's final fight. I got into warriors as a little kid who was pumped to read something with viscera, so describing Frostpaw slashing out Splashtail's ankles was excellent, 10/10. Fun times.

absolutely LOVE the implication that Curlfeather may have doublekilled Splashtail the moment he landed in the Dark Forest. Would love to see that depicted. The weird dynamic between spirit Curlfeather and Splashtail was honestly excellent to read. Love being haunted by your past mistakes. Also extremely funny that we have never gotten an explanation of how Splashtail arranged for dogs to tear Curlfeather apart, absolutely wild.

I thought the denoument kept tension pretty well, on Frostpaw's deep exhaustion from the horrors she's experienced and not wanting to have any more responsibility on her, the eerie call of the afterlife, some callouts on her clan continuing to see her as a tool instead of a child they ungratefully heaped all their worries on. Good stuff. It was interesting to see Squirrelstar's handling of the weird political moment.

I am a little upsetti bemused at no one taking Mallownose's rightful pointing out that they were perfectly able to organize patrols and keep the prey pile full without a leader. I think the conclusion coulda been a liiil stronger if it was more like.. the clan was functioning without frostpaw but still better with her. Making the point of 'live for the people who love you' a little stronger than 'live so the country you grew up in doesn't cease to exist'.

I was certain Icewing would be our new leader after Ivypool's Heart came out, it was pretty clear she was shaping up to be the obvious choice. I hope we get to see more of the dynamic that was shaping up between her and Ivypool now that they're a leader and a deputy!! and excuse for them to chatter more, very good.

Frostdawn is a perfect name, too!! I'm honestly very excited to see her being not the main character in the next series, I hope she has a happy and peaceful time as a chilled out, tired medicine cat. Whistlebreeze very cute too. I love that they got their names together <3

Sooo yeah! Honestly, this series was so fun. I think I need to reread the post-vicky series all before I even try to put them in a ranking, but I think of the post-vicky series this might be fighting with TBC for top spot- I enjoyed the intensity of drama and intense cerebriality of TBC but Nightheart and Sunbeam were stronger of an arc than what happened with BristleRoot and I think this series ended up paced better overall.

I'm genuinely super excited to start the next series, ever since we got the blurb I've been crazy curious what the full conflict's gonna be!! I'm worried they might do my girls Tawnypelt and Leafstar dirty but hopefully not... honestly tempting to reread some old SkyClan in preparation though!! I haven't read SkyClan's Destiny in foreeever and Hawkwing's Journey may be my favorite super edition so.. why not :3

Still weirded out that it's coming in January though. Warriors books have been an April - November staple of my life for like 15 years of my life - I caught up and was active in the fandom starting sometime just before the release of Twilight in TNP, and I only wasn't actively reading books as they came out for a few periods since; I fell off for one or two book releases in OotS and then the first half of DotC, because I was in late high school with OotS finished and wasn't active in the fandom enough to realize that they'd changed their minds about ending the series there xD I found the multi-animator-project community sophomore year of college, caught back up, and have been reading release by release again since!! These books have caught me bad lol.

[amberbydreams]

I'll make a proper post later but just wanted to say!! Read Star, had a great time!!! As usual warriors books are my fun silly soaps, pretty solid conclusion to this arc!!

anyone who hasn't read ivypool's heart is gonna feel like the conclusion's a liiittle outta nowhere tho lol.

will make a full post of thoughts when i wake up sober

[amberbydreams]

I have been making a post on warriors book thoughts whenever I enjoy a book enough to give thoughts on my other blog, but now that this one's not completely dead...

Ivypool's Heart Spoilers!

I really enjoyed this one!!! It was a little bit slow of a journey book at times but I've never minded a journey book, and I really really liked having this set of characters. I was surprised how much icewing backstory they recalled - I didn't remember beetlewhisker at all myself lmao - and it definitely endeared me to her when I didn't think much about her at all before

genuinely, having a book about how to process grief without certainty of reunion was.. sorta cook of warriors to do? I think they actually did a pretty decent job of looking at it as a concept and processing it. I don't mind that ivypool didn't think back to shadowsight or thriftear much at all during it, grief can be a selfish, completely inward-turned thing. and the conclusion she came to is something that works even if you don't have any spiritual belief - seeing your memories of someone in the world around you and wanting to appreciate that you knew them even if you never will again is a perfectly mature way to cope with complete loss. i was a little impressed having this sorta.. view on grief come up on such an otherwise afterworld-absolutist series (albeit softened a little bit with the whole confirmation that spirits do return to the elements and abstractly enjoy the experience)

StormClan is such a ClanGen Challenge Clan energy, I sorta love it. Do not mind canon warriors content getting even more bizzare and fanficcy, it's fun no haters allowed

I also think it's super fun to see genuine wildcats in the series!!! it bolsters my 'the cats are in scotland actually' thoughts about warrior cat location and I thought they were fun. I don't think it's gonna happen because of how small of a population they have established the wildcats have but i would have LOVED one to decide to come back and join like, shadowclan, and just have one massive actually wild cat among the ferals towering over everyone else. I just think it's neat.

I think this book completely solidified icewing for leader, I thought when the preview came out that it would make her absent for the essential time when Star needs to conclude, but the ways they've shown her to have the deep love for RiverClan and qualities Frostpaw mentioned makes me completely certain it's her now. Especially having her know meditation - as much as it is a retcon to imply that some of the older riverclan cats knew this as a thing all along - really solidifies it, and I don't mind that retcon as it appears in effort to move in a the-clans-have-their-own-culture direction that we all want

so. yeah! it's not the best super edition ever but I really enjoyed this one! I thought the focus on grief processing was really nice in a series that sorta... disdained grief before and how fun it was to have ivypool, dovewing, and icewing be old ladies reminiscing about their lives and the things they've learned as mothers honestly made me look forward more to seeing how they do tawnypelt and leafstar POVs next series!

[amberbydreams]

Aaand to round out the family; Tawnypelt!!

[amberbydreams]

Brambleboy!! Just finished re-reading TNP so he's in uncertain lil guy phase here

[amberbydreams]

Our sweet Goldenflower! Talk about a mom who had a rough time.

[amberbydreams]

Warrior Cats is a Book Series of All Time

So. Uh. When my friend who is reading warriors for the first time, and doesn't know any spoilers, got to Starlight, I accidentally hyped up the chapter where we first see Tigerstar in the Dark Forest way too much, because it was agony trying to keep the spoiler from her.

So I made this to send to her once she got to the Dark Forest. You're Welcome.

[amberbydreams]

Our favorite fluffy lesbian medic

[amberbydreams]

next on redraw + reread: Silverstream! I love her descriptor of having dark stripes, that silver with really dark/near black stripes coloration is stunning

[amberbydreams]

next up on reread + redraw: my favorite little terrible man, Darkstripe.

[amberbydreams]

Next up on reread + redraw: everyone's favorite grump cat, Yellowfang!