Feathy 🐾

xenofiction sideblog (mostly watership down+warriors) furry and aspiring wildlife biologist 🌱 handheld books > audiobooks > ebooks 📚SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!📚 🐺SAVE THE WOLVES🐺

[prince-hazel]

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Introduction 🕊️

hello!!! my name is feathy (pseudonym). my pronouns are she/they! i’m autistic and animals/xenofiction are my special interests! this sideblog is mostly dedicated to warrior cats and watership down, but i will also talk about the other xenofiction i’ve consumed. my preferred method of consumption is: books > movies > tv shows > video games > audiobooks > ebooks. most of what i talk about here is books. asks of any kind are always open, whether it be discussions, recommendations, or just to chat!!!! i love people:)

Xenofictions I’ve Finished:

Watership Down 📚🎬

Tales From Watership Down 📚

Warrior Cats (TPB-Po3, Some of TFA, Some Super Editions/Mangas) 📚

Wings of Fire (TDP-TJMP + Some of TLCP and Darkstalker) 📚

Fire Bringer 📚

White Fang 📚

Ratha’s Creature 📚

A Wolf Called Wander 📚

Charlotte’s Web 📚🎬

Wolfwalkers (If it counts) 🎬

Bambi (1+2) 🎬

Animal Farm 📚🎬

Felidae 🎬

Black Beauty 📚

Xenofictions I Want to Pick Up:

The Plague Dogs 📚🎬

Survivors 📚

Bravelands 📚

Call of the Wild 📚

Wolves of the Beyond 📚

The Books of the Named 📚

Bambi, a Life in the Woods (and Bambi’s Children) 📚

Guardians of the Ga’Hoole 📚🎬

Redwall 📚

Watership Down Netflix Miniseries 🎬

Watership Down TV Series 🎬

Xenofictions I’m Rereading/Getting Into:

Warriors 📚

Pioneers:

Richard G. Adams: Born in 1920, he is best known for his standalone book, Watership Down. Originally, it was an oral story told to his two daughters on a long car ride, but after their insistence, he wrote it down and published it. It went on to be a huge success, getting several visual adaptations and even a sequel written by Adams himself, Tales From Watership Down. He went on to become an avid animal welfare activist during his lifetime. Sadly, December 24, 2016, Adams passed away due to heart complications. Read more about him here.

Kate Cary: Main writer for the Warriors series, well-known for her phenomenal work and passion for her craft. She is a passionate cat lover, and has been since she was a girl. After submitting a sample of her writing to Victoria Holmes, a writer at Working Partners, she was offered a position alongside both Homles and Cherith Baldry to work on the Warriors series under the single pseudonym “Erin Hunter”. She was well-loved by her community, and known to interact directly with her fanbase under her website “Blogclan”. To the dismay of her fans, Kate Cary officially stepped down from the position on November 4th, 2024. Read her farewell interview here. Her current work is not publicly known, but it is assumed she works for another company now. Read more about her here.

More TBA

[prince-hazel]

neurodivergent warrior cats: why clear sky/skystar has ocpd

clear sky is one of my favorite characters in dotc. i think he is a perfect example of a morally gray antagonist done right. warrior cats as a series has often struggled with one-dimensional villains. as much as we love tigerstar (heh) his motivations are largely unrelatable. same goes for brokenstar, sol, thistleclaw, etc. so having a villain (or rather anti-hero) with clear, understandable motivations, was a breath of fresh air. i’m going to make another post focusing on clear sky’s role as a villain another time, so stay tuned!

i struggled to pinpoint an exact condition on clear sky for the longest time. npd didn’t feel right to me, but after analyzing him further, i landed on obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (ocpd), a condition that often goes unrecognized. so, let’s go over it!

typical disclaimer, absolutely no ableism is tolerated. also, spoilers for dotc if you haven’t read it yet!

the first symptom clear sky displays is rigid obsession with rules and organization. his main, defining trait early on in the series is his obsession with borders. it gives him a sense of comfort and control, though, problems arise when he begins to strictly enforce them at the detriment of others. this can also be interpreted as perfectionism, as we see that his main goal is power and protection for his group. this could partly be why he exiles jagged peak and frost.

another thing we blatantly see within clear sky is his aversion to criticism and extreme scorn for others’ flaws. when storm and thunder dare to question his authority, instead of trying to reason with them, he simply kicks them out due to his own pride getting in the way. when it comes to jagged peak especially, he perceives his limp as a threat to his group. we also see him being highly critical of other cats’ actions, such as gray wing and tall shadow, despite his own apparent weaknesses.

the next symptom is excessive devotion to work. it is also noted that said devotion tends to result in the neglect of loved ones and recreation. well, take jagged peak and gray wing for example! his relationship with them crumbles due to his obsessive tendencies, and his never-ending cycle of hunting and establishing boundaries. he even pushes away his mate, storm.

the next two symptoms i’ll be discussing are: excessive doubt and indecisiveness and extreme caution to avoid perceived failure. the best example i can give of this is his arc with one eye. because he struggles to act quickly when one eye takes over, he ends up losing his leadership. we see his internal struggle when deciding how to handle the situation, and it’s this faltering moment that weakens his authority. he is always so preoccupied with what he’s doing wrong, that he struggles to do what’s right. i believe this is a perfect example of these two symptoms

the last symptoms i’d like to go over are unwillingness to compromise, fixation on a single idea, and black/white thinking. when fluttering bird sends him a prophecy, he immediately comes up with his own interpretation (notably, the one that puts him in control) and is stubbornly set on it. despite the other founders making it clear that they aren’t interested in his plan, he tries to force it anyways, because he believes his way is right. not only that, but he has a tendency to see things as all good/all bad, thus, black/white thinking. his opinion of gray wing in particular is constantly changing, depending on how agreeable he is. he sees certain things and other cats as either good/evil.

while i might have missed some things (i’m just now starting book 5 of dotc as of writing this) i feel that clear sky’s behavior perfectly matches the symptoms for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. leave your thoughts in the replies!

[blunky]

I read Watership Down for a book club and pretended that the main cast were all he/him butches on a quest to find femmes for the warren. And then drew them as anthros, as one does.

Hazel x Bigwig x Hyzenthlay is real to me

[prince-hazel]

i crammed in some work, and finished my easter story! it’s about 8,800 words long, so it’s a pretty hefty read. only one chapter though!

not very ship-centric, but hyzenthlay/hazel and fiver/vilthuril are background ships

mainly hyzenthlay and hazel centric

an original character is introduced, but she’s not the center-focus of the story

i may or may not write a sequel next year if i can find the time

‼️TW FOR ANIMAL DEATH.‼️ it’s mentioned very briefly, but it’s there

https://archiveofourown.org/works/83407296

[prince-hazel]

hey y’all!! here’s a oneshot i made for mother’s day, which centers around clover. it’s not super amazing since i wrote it all in like 20 minutes with no beta read, but i hope you like it regardless!

i have an easter story coming up soon that’s way longer and more adventurous. yes, i know easter ended forever ago!!! i decided to write it on a whim xd

anyways, here’s this!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[bunnyfunction]

get in loser we're going hopping!!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

By Japanese illustrator いわき絵のぼり絵師 辰昇 @enoborishinsho

* * * *

“Human beings say, "It never rains but it pours." This is not very apt, for it frequently does rain without pouring. The rabbits' proverb is better expressed. They say, "One cloud feels lonely": and indeed it is true that the sky will soon be overcast.”

― Richard Adams, Watership Down

[prince-hazel]

transfem blackberry wasn’t even a concept to me until i saw that they genderswapped her in the 1999 show, but i’m honestly living for it now

long live the trans bunnies

[prince-hazel]

neurodivergent warrior cats: why hollyleaf has npd and is possibly autistic too

hollyleaf is one of my favorite cats in the third arc, and possibly in the series overall. its a bit amusing to me, because as a kid, i absolutely hated her. i couldn’t stand her when i was reading po3 (but honestly, i couldn’t stand any of the protagonists in po3). in my opinion, po3 is a pretty weak arc overall, but i grew really fond of hollyleaf while reading it a second time and find myself connecting her “infuriating” and “annoying” behavior to neurodivergency. so, i’m starting this analysis series in honor of her!

do not be ableist under my post. you’ll be blocked. npd is a valid disorder, people with it are not inherently evil. do not demonize them or their disorder. same applies for autism, but i feel it’s less important to clarify (because, let’s be honest, most of you are autistic anyways).

also, spoilers for po3 ahead. if you haven’t read it, i’d skip this post.

first and foremost, let’s talk about her possibly having narcissistic personality disorder

hollyleaf grapples heavily with her need for self-importance. she very much wants to be special, the center of attention, and admired. this was my first, glaring sign for her possibly having npd. while self-centeredness on its own is not a telltale sign of npd, it is the core foundation of it.

we see that not only is hollyleaf self-centered, but very insecure, as narcissists are. as soon as people are not paying attention to her, or she begins to undermine her own talents, she becomes aloof, snappy, and upset. her whole life revolves around this prophecy that makes her more special and powerful than anything else. when she finds out she isn’t part of it, she breaks down completely

another thing she cares about a lot is her reputation and her image. she obsesses over it. while the other two are more focused on squirrelflight lying to them, she’s more worried about what others will think of her. that’s what leads her to kill ashfur. she doesn’t want him to tell everyone. and when she does spill that secret, it’s on her own accord. it gives her a sense of control that most narcissists crave

this next part is speculative, and NOT explicitly stated in the books, but rather my personal interpretation of her character. i personally believe hollyleaf became friends with willowshine and cinderheart because she also viewed them as special in some way. narcs tend to surround themselves with people they perceive as being at their social status. cinderheart was reincarnated, and willowshine is a medicine cat. i think that she does truly like both of them, but part of the reason she puts so much value into their opinions is because she believes they’re the only cats who will truly understand her.

something else that is not explicitly stated, but subtly shown, is hollyleaf’s lack of empathy. to clarify: in order to be diagnosed with npd, you HAVE to have some kind of empathy struggles. hollyleaf, as we’ve seen before, gets caught up in her own feelings and thus disregards others’ emotions. she has trouble seeing other perspectives and feeling their pain. this honestly goes for all 3 of them, who struggle to understand squirrelflight and leafpool’s hurt in comparison to their own. hollyleaf especially, acts the most outwardly cruel to both of them. she directly exposes them in front of everyone as a means of getting back at them.

we’ve talked a LOT about how hollyleaf is likely narcissistic. however, i mention in the caption that she may also have autism. i have a bit less cohesive evidence for this, but i figure it’s still worth mentioning, as autism is initially what i connected hollyleaf to. as someone who’s autistic, many of her traits and behaviors early on resonate with me heavily, which is why i got so attached to her

the first, most obvious trait, is her rigid stance on rules and hierarchies. she spends a LOT of time thinking about the warrior code and scrutinizing herself and others for not following it. this is something we also see in narcissistic hierarchal thinking (which, npd actually has quite a bit of overlap with autism)

we also see this in the lack of empathy mentioned earlier. empathy and socialization is something that autistic people really struggle with. in fact, it’s one of the first telltale signs!

she also has a strong sense of justice. we see that she’s willing to make exceptions for herself when it comes to breaking the warrior code, and uses righteous reasons to justify it. in that scene where she goes into riverclan, thereby breaking the warrior code, she makes an exception for herself on the basis of it being for the best of the clans

lastly, she has an extreme reaction to change. she had a specific plan for her life, and when that plan was thrown off course, she got extremely upset. i think hollyleaf’s last moments in po3 are akin to a narcissistic crash and an autistic meltdown at the same time

thats all i have to say on the matter. tell me your thoughts in the replies/reblogs, especially if you’re neurodivergent yourself! :)

[milanesa42]

“The employees need a larger salary” “hmmmm large celery”

[prince-hazel]

so, i recently finished black beauty. here are my (very few) thoughts:

the only word that really comes to my mind when talking or thinking about this book is… boring. even though the book is relatively short with a big font, it was quite a drag to get through. it was simultaneously slow-paced and fast-paced all at once, and characters were hard to keep track of, simply due to the fact that our protagonist moves around constantly. not only that, but my main gripe and main dislike with black beauty is that… there’s so MUCH focus on the humans. i feel as if i knew nothing about black beauty himself throughout the entire book. most of the text was describing the humans, his owners, or their conversations and politics. personally, i wanted to read about the horse…

i do have some good things to say, though! first and foremost, the book itself is beautiful. the art, cover, and trim are pleasant to look at and hold. the book itself uses flowery, soft, and fluffy language that i think works to create a comfortable atmosphere. the scene is also set well, and i can almost physically feel the setting. personally, i am a sucker for upper-class antique living. even though it’s heavily romanticized, i can’t help but indulge. also, the horse characters i enjoyed quite a bit. ginger and merrylegs were fun to learn about for the short time we knew them. lastly, i like the overall message of the book, which promotes animal welfare and scorns animal abuse. it was common for the time to outright abuse horses, and i’m glad that sewell took a firm stance against it

my dad is actually the one who recommended it to me when i was a kid. i found a copy at half-priced books going for super cheap, so that inspired me to get it and read it. overall, i give it a 5/10. just meh.

[javaskullz]

You have nothing to apologize for. Now and forever.

[starfaerie-moved]

This is a strong competitor for cutest thing I’ve ever seen

[moreanimalia]

@why-animals-do-the-thing

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

It’s cute and also a demonstration of rabbit hierarchy. From what I can tell, buns will sit on other buns to demonstrate their social status. Soooo the brown bun is sort of a dick by continually pointing out that she’s better than the white one, but it can still be adorable at the same time.  

[prince-hazel]

here are some things that make a good xenofiction series (in my opinion):

1. animalism

the most important thing to me is how animalistic the characters are. i don’t want to feel like i’m reading about humans in animal bodies; i want to feel like i’m reading about animals with human characteristics. they shouldn’t know what certain human behaviors/objects are, especially by name, unless they’re in close proximity to them! the story should take into account the natural behaviors of said animals. for instance, in richard adams’s watership down, the language and culture of the rabbits revolves around their natural instincts: ie, digging holes, going “tharn” (paralyzed with fear), and going up above ground to eat (silflaying). when writing a xenofiction book/series, you should ask yourself these questions:

what does this animal species do? what is this animal species known for? what human behaviors would confuse this animal? how would this animal describe things that are unknown to them? how does this animal interact with other animals of its own species? how long does this animal live, and how would that affect its perception of the world?

2. relationship with humans

typically, most animals will have a bad relationship with humans if they’re wild, and a good one if they’re domesticated. this does tie into the first question somewhat, but i think this focuses more on their proximity to humans and how trusting or naive they are about them. though i didn’t like the book much, one thing i liked most about jack london’s white fang is the unique approach to the relationship between animals and humans. white fang is a wild wolfdog, yet as he lives around humans, he begins seeing them as gods. i felt this was especially interesting to read about, because it breaks our stereotypical idea of how a wild animal would think about men! when writing a xenofiction book/series, you should ask yourself these questions:

is the animal domesticated or wild? how close to human civilization does this animal live? will this animal encounter humans on a daily basis? what experience has this animal had with humans before? does your animal know a lot about humans? what do humans think of your animal? how much would humans know about your animal?

3. environment

the environment and habitat of your protagonist plays a big part in setting the mood. look beyond your character’s habitat, and figure out how their habitat has affected their evolutionary traits. the big ears of a fennec fox allow it to repel heat, while the folded nose of a seal allows it to maintain heat. these details may SEEM minuscule, but they help you to better understand your animal. clare bell’s books of the named don’t focus on modern animals, rather fictional prehistoric ones. however, these fictional animals (big cats, specifically) don’t feel fantastical, because bell has such an amazing grasp on the traits of their closest real-world counterpart, the mountain lion. this proves, that when writing about fantasy creatures, a good grasp of real animals can really help you make your story come to life! when writing a xenofiction book/series, you should ask yourself these questions:

is my animal real or fake? is my animal from mythology, or is it made up? what real animal is my creature based on? what are the traits of said real world animal? what is my animal’s habitat? how do my animal’s physical traits help it survive in its habitat? what is my animal’s closest counterpart? how long has my animal been around? how many of my animal exist in the wild? is my animal solitary or social?

i hope this has been helpful to you! happy writing! <3

[prince-hazel]

honestly hazel and firestar are genuinely direct parallels of eachother. both are not traditionally masculine, strong, charismatic leaders. they’re just emotionally intelligent and because of that, they become pioneers, legendary heroes even!

i think we need to continue this trend of soft, kind boys who lead with their heart and care for their subjects deeply. i think firestar and hazel are two of the only male protagonists who embody this fully

[humminberg]

We stan bigwig in this household what an absolute legend

[prince-hazel]

drawing of my beasty :)