It's just cat stories

[solargoose]

Scrambled Rewrite Resources Masterlist

The Prophecies Begin

Allegiances - TC1, RC1, SC1, WC1. TC2, RC2, SC2, WC2. TC3, RC3, SC3, WC3.

Family Trees - Thunderclan, Riverclan, Shadowclan, Windclan.

The Fic - Fic Cover

Shadow and Blood

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

Shallow Roots

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

Solar Winds

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

Bitter Gifts

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

Shadows Within

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

The Prophecies End

Not out yet. - Fic Cover

Thanks for Reading!

[ao3org]

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[solargoose]

Inoticed some people calling you goose is that fine or like what do we call you?

Did I....did I never make an intro post??

I guess not. 4 years on this blog and I've never actually introduced myself, wow.

I like people calling me Goose! I'm ok with Goose, Solargoose, or SG. And I primarily use she/her pronouns but I also like they/them and I'm neutral on other pronouns.

[solargoose]

Have you ever changed something because of ther eaders?

If I was going to do that I would have to do a lot of rewriting, some of y'all have gotten pretty good at figuring me out!

In all seriousness, no, I haven't. I know there are some people who get upset about twists or plotlines getting guessed, but my take is that it just means readers are paying attention and my foreshadowing is working. And that's exciting!

That's part of why I love seeing people's theories, whether they're correct or not <3 what do you mean people are reading my writing and then thinking thoughts? Thinking thoughts about the words I made? Beautiful, stunning, amazing, fantastic.

[solargoose]

My birthday was last week, and as a special treat for me I dusted off my first ever warrior cats fanfic, complete with the original author notes from ffnet!

The first time I reread this, years ago, I was so embarassed. I don't even really remember why, to be honest, I guess just because it's a thing I wrote when I was young. But now I think it's kinda cute. I can actually see some of the things that eventually became hallmarks of my writing style. The tone I use when the elders are telling the story is pretty similar to what I've used in SR for the elders' stories and the grave-crawlers. Obviously there's some rough bits - why did my girl Willow have to cross every clan's territory? There was no need to zig zag like that lol. But I was a kid and I didn't have the map in front of me, and also I had an idea that I wanted to run with even if it didn't make perfect sense. I was just having fun, and I think that's nice :)

Elder's Tails - Originally published May 22, 2011, under the username WolfFang of LeafClan (I changed it to Hysterical Insanity later).

A/N I don't know what exactly inspired it, but here it is anyways. I don't own Warriors, however much I wish I did! I do own the cats named in this story, though. Also, the unnamed mother in this is actually called Willow. Just though I'd throw it in there. Her Tribe name was actually Willow That Grows By Quiet Stream.

The old black she-cat chuckled quietly at the hoard of kits surrounding her gold colored den-mate.

"Oh, come on, FireWhisker, they won't leave until you tell them another." Her rasp was met with a cheer from the kits and a snort from the elder tom.

"I believe it's your turn, YarrowTail. Besides, you are better at the Tale of the Five Kits." A sly grin crept onto the tom's face; he knew he had won.

"All right," she conceded, "listen up. BitterKit, stop pacing. JuniperKit, leave MossKit's tail alone. Here is a tale of a time long past; only seasons after ThunderStar had joined StarClan….."

A single, silky brown she-cat paced the borders of a place where a great number of cats dwelled. She had lost her mate when he had strayed across the border once, and she was not keen on getting herself and her kits killed as well. But she had to cross.

Finally, after a moon of deciding, she waited at the border until the patrol of cats that guarded it came along. The she-cat recognized a grey tom and a golden she-cat that had been in the patrol that killed her mate. She wavered, but padded up.

"Greetings. I need permission to cross your territory." Though met by hissing and spitting, they eventually agreed to escort her through.

However, as soon as her kits - 5 silver she-kits in all – came tumbling through the bushes and were gathered together with her tail, the grey tom spoke in outrage.

"We agreed you would cross, not them as well!" More spitting and hissing, but eventually they reached an agreement. One of her five kits was to become a ThunderClan Warrior. (You see, the leaders at this time were quite corrupt.)

Sighing with grief, the she-cat handed over Swift, the eldest of her kits, and was granted passage to RiverClan territory.

There, she was met by the same welcome, and the same price. From RiverClan to ShadowClan, one kit. And so Sure was given up.

The same event occurred in ShadowClan and WindClan. Clear went to WindClan, Frost to ShadowClan. Now the she-cat was left with only her youngest kit, Star.

Star and her mother traveled a long time, padding away into the mountains. Star became strong by the time they reached the mountains, where a friendly group of cats, called the Tribe of Rushing Water, took them in.

Many moons later, all the kits were accomplished. SwiftStrike was the quickest of wit in a battle, SureFoot the best swimmer, ClearSky the best rabbit hunter, FrostWing the most silent in the night, and Star That Shines On All the strongest prey-hunter. But they were unhappy, and soon Star set out to find her siblings. Her mother told her the way and wished her luck, though she was too old to accompany her now.

Star's long journey was perilous, though exact dangers were forgotten in time. Soon enough she reached the edge of the Clans and plunged in to find ClearSky, FrostWing, SureFoot, and SwiftStrike.

She did find them, and soon enough she had adopted a space at Four Trees, where she belonged to every Clan and no Clan, for her sisters were all quite high in standing.

But peace did not last, and a great battle between all the Clans came to be. Only the sisters stood apart, wondering at the foolishness. Clouds covered the sky, but no rain fell. At last the Clan sisters tore their own leaders off whoever they were fighting, while Star climbed to the Great Rock and let out a yowl that shook the very ground. The fight broke up in time to look up and witness a great happening. The very stars of the sky had come down, falling and dancing about Star and her sisters, before taking them, green eyes blazing, to Silver Pelt where they became true stars, shining down with rays of peace. And so SwiftStrike's quick wittedness, SureFoot's surefootedness, FrostWing's stealth, ClearSky's speed, and Star That Shines On All's strength was passed through their rays into each cat, and for many moons there was a great time of peace. A time so peaceful, it rivals even the Great Journey….

"That's the end." YarrowTail breathed at last. JuniperKit cocked her head.

"So, they all became Stars That Shine On All?" FireWhisker chuckled from his nest. The three kit's mother padded over, emerald eyes laced with amusement.

"All right, kits, it's time to sleep. I hope you behaved and didn't cause any trouble." She mewed.

"No, not at all QuietWillow. They were perfect little warriors." YarrowTail smiled up at the young queen.

QuietWillow smiled and herded her kits into the nursery before disappearing in herself; a flash of silver fur and green eyes…

A/N That's all for now, folks!

[solargoose]

Wait if Crowfrost dies then what about Dawnpelt's kits?

A little peek behind the curtain - even before I decided to kill Crowfrost, he was never going to be the father of her kits. Apologies to anyone who liked that ship, but the timeline got weird and I had to decide which version of reality I was going to stick to.

Canon Crowfrost is introduced as a warrior in Eclipse, and I don't think there are any descriptions of his age. If we assume he was a young warrior, that puts him being born just before arc 3. Which would make him a bit older than Dawnpelt, but not the biggest age gap by any means. If he wasn't a young warrior, he would've been born during arc 2 or possibly earlier.

Except the timeline for the arcs has shifted. Arcs 1 and 2 have very little gap, arc 2 and 3 have a wider gap, and Dawnpelt might not even be born until arc 4. Now, luckily Crowfrost is unattached - the only parental info he has is from a fb post, not canon, so I could have just pushed him back to be born later, but then I got sidetracked by that non-canon family info, because it turned out to be fascinating.

According to that fb post, his parents were Dawncloud and Smokefoot. Dawncloud already has a whole host of prequel-related timeline issues, and Smokefoot is introduced as a warrior in The Sight. Considering that Dawncloud died in Arc 1, Crowfrost would have to be super old or the first recorded kit born to a Starclan cat. It was obviously never made canon, but the weirdness of it captivated me.

Anyway I had a different idea for Dawnpelt's kits by this point, so I figured I'd put him in arc 1. I was going to make him Dawncloud's kit, but I realized he looked similar to Whitethroat and figured I'd make them brothers.

[solargoose]

The last few chapters of Scrambled Rewrite have been way less depressing than before them (you know the whole situations occuring). And these questions have been quite wholesome as well so I have to ask. Are there any BIG tragedies in Scrambled and if so, can you give a range on how many tragedies there are? This totally isn't because I'm paranoid and scared... TOTALLY not...

Thanks for the question! Lol yeah I try to balance the Things are Happening chapters with a few Good Times chapters to keep things from being a total slog, glad to hear it's working! :)

For the prophecies begin, I'd say it's roughly comparable to canon. There's actually a few deaths I'm getting rid of (not to say those characters will remain alive forever, but they live a little longer), so there might actually be slightly fewer? But I like to really dive into the emotional aspects of the story, so the remaining ones are maybe a bit beefier. It probably evens out!

I'm counting 5-6 real tragedies left in TPB, with a sprinkling of emotional moments that aren't exactly tragedies but might pull at the heart strings. The remaining tragedies in this part are all canon as well, so if you've read canon arc 1 you're probably all set, no major worries.

For the rest of the parts, it's hard to say because while I do have an outline, it's not chapter by chapter. It's probably similar - roughly the same number as canon, just changes to the how and when.

But not every arc matches exactly with it's canon counterpart - for example, canon arc 4 Omen of the Stars, vs SR part 4 Solar Winds. OotS has the final battle and Solar Winds doesn't, so it's way less tragic than canon.

I hope this answered your question, and feel free to ask more if you have them! :)

[solargoose]

Hey so turns out this was kinda a lie. It wasn't at the time, but that's the hazard of writing such a long fic!

So let me clarify now that the major tragedies are all canon (Silverstream's death, for example), but not all canon tragedies happen in this au (can't give an example yet but you'll know them when they happen, or rather when they don't happen), and minor characters may still die/have other bad things happen to them that don't happen in canon (for example, the most recent chapter of SR).

[solargoose]

Thanks for answering my last one! I hope it's okay to ask another, this is kinda 7 but more so I want to know your favorite opening description, if that's alright?

Oh absolutely! Thanks for asking, it's absolutely alright to send in as many as you want :) Sorry this took me a bit to get to lol, it kind of got away from me.

I think my all time favorite goes to Toast at the End of the World, the first short story in a post-apocalyptic slightly sci-fi/fantasy anthology I've been working on off and on for years.

Five years after most of the moon crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, Kate’s toaster caught fire.

I think it sets the tone of the story really well. A catastrophic event happened years ago, but the more important thing is that some lady named Kate is having a terrible day. The whole theme of the anthology is how, even in the face of terrifying, world ending events, a lot of elements of daily life continue on. The moon broke apart, falling into the ocean and causing the entire coastline to shift radically, throwing a large number of things into chaos. But Kate still has to make toast for the guests at her bed and breakfast, and now her toaster is on fire.

Waaaaay better than the original first line, the first draft started with the sentence I used to be a fan of the apocalypse genre. Followed by a paragraph of, quite frankly, trite ramblings that got way too close to just spelling out the point of the story directly. That was written December 2020, and the most recent draft (where I nailed that opening) wasn't written until May 2025. Never delete your drafts, you might come back to them later with more experience and write your favorite thing!

I think a close second is the start to a novel that I've been chipping away at, called Portraits of the End. The opening line of this one actually hasn't changed at all from draft 1 to draft ?? whatever I'm on now.

The End, when it came, was golden.

Mysterious, evocative, impactful. I wish I could say it's some kind of masterful writing technique that I learned and can explain, but uh this one came to me in a dream. PoE is just fully a dream I had, with the weirder dream elements replaced. I mean, the dream ended with the legendary pokemon from Sun and Moon doing a dance that summoned a cosmic kitten that ate the End, and some of the titular portraits were actually of Marceline and Bubblegum from Adventure Time living in a log cabin, and the younger brother had a potato that could detect ghosts soooo...

The End was a strange golden light/radiation storm that destroyed the Earth and sent the surviving humans into space. Decades later, the End is approaching one of the new human settlements. The main character has to protect her family while also dealing with the Queen's strange fixation on her, unraveling what happened during the End of Earth as well as what's going on now.

If you're sensing a theme, this one was also from 2020! Lot of grappling with exisistential dread and the dull routine of daily life that year, huh?

[solargoose]

8 Favorite dialogue in your wip?

Thanks for asking!

I think I might've already answered for already published SR chapters (or at least I answered about my favorite moments? Something similar idk), but Sandstorm checking for bees and Cinderkit trying to learn about bones are up there.

I was going to look through my non-warrior cats wips but tbh there are so many of them...what if instead I gave you out of context dialogue from future SR scenes? I have a habit of writing out future scenes when I have a vivid idea of them, so I have a collection of some things from the distant future lol. But! I'm not going to say who says them or when, and some of these are from really far in the future (like, multiple arcs away)

Under the cut cause it's long and I guess some people may not want to read them.

"I loved the parts of him that were gentle, but I hated everything else."

“The cat who killed her must have been strong.” [Name] murmured. “Would you tell me who it was?”

"You chose this just like me"

"And I will bring us into a new age."

“Cats don’t come here unless they’re troubled by something.”

“You know, it’s been so long, I don’t quite recall what my name was. Why don’t you pick one for me?”

“I hadn’t hoped to see you again so soon."

"Even if our claws cannot strike your enemies, Starclan will never abandon the clans."

“I love him more than words can say, but…I can’t sit idly by and watch this anymore.

[solargoose]

I hadn't actually thought about why Brokenstar did stuff. Is that something you'll get into later?

Thanks for asking! Probably a little bit will be revealed later on, but he won't have time for a full monologue anytime soon, so I'll answer more in depth!

Basically, my idea for Brokenstar's motivation was that he thinks he deserves power and respect, resents the fact that he had to work for it, and views himself as having worked harder than other cats (even though he probably worked about the same as the other warriors overall).

Some of it is his natural personality. If he were a kittypet, he'd be the sort to wake you up by screaming to feed him breakfast, then wander off and not eat once you're up. If he were a regular warrior, he'd make small changes and demands when leading the patrol, like oh no we're not hunting there, I want to hunt over here.

But this was really encouraged by Raggedstar and Clawface while he was growing up. There was a mix of pressure (you have to work harder than other cats, you need to be the best, the strongest, a leader among the other apprentices) and an encouragement of arrogance (you're the son of an important cat, the clan owes you respect, how dare that cat speak to you that way, leadership is in your blood).

The result being that he doesn't want to wait for a natural leadership opportunity (working hard means making your own opportunities, plus this is what he's owed). He deserves to be in charge, and other cats have only ever been beneath him, so why not just get rid of the ones in his way?

And then he has power, and it's his right to exercise it however he sees fit. Except cats keep telling him he can't? The warrior code restricts what he can do, and he doesn't even really care about apprenticing cats young or who eats first, he just can't stand that his authority (the authority he worked so hard for and also was born to wield) is being challenged.

That's why he punished Flintfang. Brokenstar wasn't ever going to give him another apprentice, but the fact that he said he would refuse if Brokenstar tried just can't be allowed. But he can't force him to take on an apprentice, both because they're fresh out of kits but also because apprentices are meant to be a sign of his favor and if Flintfang simply refused to take the apprentice out it would undermine his authority further.

That's also why he hates Yellowfang so much. Her being his biological mother and not raising him or telling him...maybe that would mean something, if he went to cat therapy, but that hasn't been invented yet. Instead, he's focusing on the power she secretly held over him. If she'd revealed this secret before he became leader all of his power would've been taken away. He had no way of stopping her, and he didn't even know the secret existed. She had total control the whole time, and it enrages him.

[solargoose]

Considering the convo around Darkstripe rn I think I know the answer, but 17 for the writing ask game? Also curious about 25

Thanks for asking!!

17- Are your protagonists always the “good guys” and your antagonists always the “bad guys” or do you like to do anti-heroes and grey morality?

I love love LOVE heroes who could've been villains and villains that could've been heroes! For me, agency is a big part of morality. If they aren't chosing (or trying to choose) to do good/evil, then they're just a guy in a situation. And don't get me wrong, there are definitely great stories out there about guys in situations! They just usually aren't written by me lol. Also, if they're chosing to do the things they do, there's also the wiggle room to have a hero chose to do something bad, sometimes for a good reason, sometimes not, and for a villain to do something good. How many bad things do you have to do to become a villain? Can you be a hero in the eyes of some and a villain to others, and how will you deal with that? I <3 questions!

I also enjoy villains who think they're choosing to do good but their definition of good/what they're willing to sacrifice to achieve it is what makes them a villain. Not every antagonist has to fall into that, but I do love getting my lil racoon paws into villain motivation when I can. To use SR as an example, Brokenstar didn't think he was improving Shadowclan, he just thought he deserved to do whatever he wanted. But Tigerclaw did think he was helping Thunderclan, and that all the awful things would be worth it in the end.

25- Do you start your novels with dialogue or description? Do you end your novels with dialogue or description?

I almost always start and end with description. I like to ease into my stories rather than starting in the middle of something more intense (although when it comes to reading, I like both equally), and description gives me more wiggle room for the pacing. I do sometimes end chapters with dialogue, especially if there's something dramatic I can use.

Buuuuut admittedly the main reason I don't typically start or end with dialogue is cause I'm bad at it. I think I'm fine at dialogue overall, and sometimes I write really good lines, but there's a lot of weight on the first and last lines of a story. Your hook has to draw people in, make them curious, but not be too confusing without the full context. And I'm not great at coming up with lines that do that.

Similarly with ending, the end of a story has to set the tone you want people to leave with, and I think I'm better at doing that with description than dialogue. I wish I had that kind of knack for dialogue though. My favorite book series ends with dialogue and it makes me absolutely feral (The Emelan Series by Tamora Pierce my beloved <3 <3 "It's always us"!!!!!!! It's! Always! Them!!)

[solargoose]

Ah. Heck. I forgot that I was going to post the comparison of my first warrior cats fic and my latest for my birthday today. But work was absolutely atrocious (admittedly at least part of that atrociousness was my fault though)

Oh well. It's my birthday, I can celebrate it whenever I want lol expect that sometime this week probably. Or next week.

[tartts]

unique writing asks🖋️

What themes would you like to write about that you feel don’t get explored very often?

What are some common elements of stories you are tired of seeing? What would you avoid writing about?

What loves do you tend to write about? Agape (unconditional, spiritual love), Eros (romantic, passionate love), Philia (affectionate, platonic love), Philautia (self-love), Storge (familial love), Pragma (enduring love like between long-married couples), Ludus (playful love, infatuation you feel during the “honeymoon period”), and Mania (obsessive love that leads to madness and jealousy)

In your works, is blood thicker than water or is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb? (Are familial ties or friendship ties more important?)

Would you rather write a happy ending that soothes the soul or a tragic ending that hurts the heart?

What point of view do you tend to write in? Do all of your pieces use the same POV? Do you have strong opinions on the POV used in novels?

Favorite description in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

Favorite dialogue in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

What scene was the hardest to write for you and why?

What scene was the most fun to write for you and why?

Set the scene for us. What are your settings like and do you have any pictures saved that represent them? Do your characters travel and see more than one? What are their names?

What is the fashion like in your wip? Do you have any pictures saved of outfits your characters would wear?

What traits do you share with your original characters or what traits do you wish you shared with them?

If you’ve written more than one story, what traits do your protagonists tend to share?

Why physical quirks do your characters tend to have? Eyebrow raising, picking nails, biting lips, pacing, crossing arms, etc.

What motives do you give your original characters? What drives them? How much tragedy did you subject them to?

Are your protagonists always the “good guys” and your antagonists always the “bad guys” or do you like to do anti-heroes and grey morality?

What writers have inspired you with their use of language? What are some of your favorite quotes?

“For fans of ______!” What works would you say are similar to yours?

If you were published and had complete control over your covers, what would it look like? Do you have any specific artists that you’d like to illustrate it? Do you like when characters are pictured on covers or do you prefer inanimate objects?

How do you come up with titles? Do you use placeholders or tend to change your titles while writing the first draft?

How do you come up with character names? Do the names have a special meaning? If so, what are they?

Do your prefer reading series or standalone novels and does that reflect on how you write?

Do you let your story evolve as you write or do you meticulously plan everything prior to writing the first draft?

Do you start your novels with dialogue or description? Do you end your novels with dialogue or description?

What do you feel like you need to work on as a growing writer? How can you improve?

Do you have playlists for your wip? What are some of the songs in it?

Do you need background noise to write? If so, what do you listen to?

How do you share your writing? Do you use any writing websites and, if so, share your profiles!

What is some of the best writing advice you’ve read or received? Why does it work for you?

[solargoose]

I am asking this as an anon to be safe; but I am really hyped how you are taking the story so far. Is that a Darkstripe redemption moment I might be reading? 😆

No worries if you’re taking the story in your direction, it’s awesome reading so far 👍

Thanks for asking!

I won't spoil where his arc is going to end up, but I will say that I want as many of the characters as possible to be more complex/interesting. There are too many characters to give all of them an equal amount of spotlight, but I want the main protagonists and antagonists to be dynamic. And that includes Darkstripe! I think lackey/sidekick type characters can be so interesting when you look at what they're like when the boss isn't around. Why did he follow Tigerclaw, how many of his misdeeds are because of Tigerclaw and how many are his own choice, what will he do now that he's on his own?

Whether he ends up going full villain like in canon or manages to redeem himself...well, I'll go ahead and tell you I have a side story planned out with him as the POV character called Darkstripe's Choice (working title, I might change that, but that should give you the vibe I'm going for)

[solargoose]

Wait wait wait is the gift rubbing off on cloudkit connected to how the three get their powers?????

Weeeeeell I can't answer that without spoilers...

On a completely unrelated tooooootally random note, remember when I shared a screen shot of my notes long ago?

That sure is a long couple of bullet points, isn't it? ;)

[solargoose]

Sorry for the late notice, but no new chapter this weekend. Got slammed with work at the last minuteand wasn't able to finish up the next chapter. Should still be good for Monday though!

[solargoose]

Srry if this is a dumb question but was that the change to graystripe you were talking about or is there more coming? I rly like it, just curius :)

Not a dumb question at all, thanks for asking!

This chapter introduced the major change, but it'll be an ongoing thing. There'll be some other changes to things like how long Graystripe stays in Riverclan and the circumstances of his leaving, but at the core of it is this emotional beat, that Graystripe's grief and guilt are causing him to struggle to connect with his kits (as well as how those feelings change over time based on what he does/doesn't do to cope with it).

My main frustration with cannon Graystripe isn't really how he acts, it's how flat he is. His relationship with Silverstream is a big deal plot-wise. It leads him to neglect Brackenpaw's training, puts a huge strain on his relationship with Fireheart, and ends with him switching clans. But Graystripe, as a character, just kinda...floats along? Other than being sad about Silverstream, he doesn't really express a lot of opinions or feelings about the whole ordeal. I went back to reread the chapters where he leaves Riverclan, and while Fireheart thinks of Graystripe's kits a few times and says he can see pain in his eyes over leaving them, Graystripe doesn't actually mention them at all. That's free emotional real estate!

I know there's a few reasons they did that. Partly, I'm sure, it's that they didn't know if people would actually care. The early arcs were also still kinda figuring out how much of the characters' behaviors were cat-based vs people-based, and irl toms don't always help raise kittens (sometimes they do! There are some good cat dads. It's just less common.). Graystripe was the first father (ok technically Oakheart was the first but you know what I mean), so it makes sense that he'd suffer the most from this toms don't raise kits mentality. Plus, early arc characters just didn't talk about big feelings as much in general.

BUT! That's the fun part of doing a rewrite instead of a write. I can get my grubby little racoon paws in there and play the justification game. We know how he acts, so what would explain it? Well, I've seen families fall apart after a parent dies. Sometimes families pull together, sometimes the remaining parent struggles to connect with the kids. That sure seems like a possible explanation for Graystripe's behavior to me!