#blambleclaw

[disturbing-woods]

the kid!!! little sneak peek for the Eat Your Young MAP

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[troutfur]

I find the idea of leadership in WC clans working on succession by tanistry to be a really interesting possibility. It could work not only to better justify the amount of nepotism going on but also I think making the clans more explicitly based off celtic clans could help them shave off some of the vaguely Native American-appropriating vibes they carry due to careless worldbuilding and thoughtless use of terminology like "medicine cat".

For the uninitiated, succession by tanistry works thusly: at the ascension of a new chieftain/king, the clan elects their successor, called a tanist. A tanist must be an adult descendant of the previous ruler. Thus, so long as they're of age, the current chieftain/king's siblings, children, niblings, grandchildren, grandniblings, and so on are elligible to inherit.

I'm not working out a full family tree just yet, but pondering how this might apply to ThunderClan as we see it in Into the Wild alone brings up interesting possibilities. For instance:

What are Redtail, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw's relationships to Bluestar? To each other? Presumably, they would've been close family so what does this say about Tigerclaw's ruthlessness in seeking to be elected as tanist/deputy?

Does Fireheart's ascent to deputyship thus imply he was adopted by Bluestar? Did she do it because of the prophecy? Did she think it meant he was supposed to be leader one day? How does this tie to the Clans' views on adoption?

And bringing it a little forward:

Would Brambleclaw, on account that the last leader was Bluestar, still be descended from the last leader and therefore elligible for deputyship? Or would he be too far removed from the direct line to be considered? Could Firestar have adopted him in turn? Or did he end up turning to the DF in frustration at the fact he won't ever be allowed to bring his ambitions to fruition? Was Tigerstar's pitch perhaps "If that kittypet hadn't meddled, I'd be leader right now and you could be deputy"?

Is the Clan perhaps expecting Squirrelpaw be perhaps considered a good candidate for deputy/tanist once she comes of age? Would she fell pressured to grow up into a good candidate? How does she feel about this whole system?

Overall, very interesting stuff. The wheels are turning on my head but I've got more questions than answers at this stage.

[purpuddle]

100 WARRIOR CATS CHALLENGE

#38 BRAMBLESTAR