merry christmas @hollyfurs!! you have such a lovely array of characters that you portray, and i was honored to draw a few of them for your secret santa!!
Who are your top two/three favorite cats in each clan you are in?
i am cheating a tiny bit by using this version of the ask because i have one that asks for just two ocs per clan, but...here you go! under a read more because oh man, i had a lot to say.
NETTLECLAN
Berryclaw: an answer that surprises no one! i’ve been out here loving and cherishing this girl from the moment she was just a little baby, and for good reason! berryclaw’s such a well written and rounded out character who feels genuinely real. she has believable motivations, a character arc that has developed at a steady pace, and overall is just...impossible not to love. maybe i’m biased because i’ve always had such strong ties to her through swanface and crowstorm, but i genuinely think berryclaw is just the perfect sort of character to cheer for. she tries so hard to be perfect, striving to be the very best, and i think her current situation makes that super interesting...she’s really being faced with a future that she didn’t fully plan for right now, and i am beyond excited to see how she continues to grow and change according to her new circumstance!
Wrenclaw: do i have a thing for -claw cats in nettleclan? maybe. but really, wrenclaw is a character i’ve always been baseline fond of that i’ve found myself enjoying even more lately. she has a similar setup to berryclaw where she’s always trying to be the best, except with wrenclaw i feel as if there’s a more overt pressure on her to be great. berryclaw has had a lot of support throughout her life and though she’s certainly suffered, she at least had a stable mother and siblings who always loved her...wrenclaw, though, is a golden child who got the short end of the stick, i feel. i always imagine that she’s so obsessed with being perfect because she knows just how dysfunctional her family has always been and she wants to make something of it, make honeyflame proud, stand out in comparison to her siblings...but she has such a compelling internal struggle over it and i just really, really adore her.
Halfstream: an old classic...halfstream is, i think, my longest standing favorite oc in the group at this point. i’ve loved him since the days of og nettleclan, and i still absolutely adore him. his development from an angsty, violently angry apprentice who forcefully shoved everyone away from him into...well, a still grumpy but more mature and stable warrior who has a family that he loves is just too sweet. i’m typically not a fan of blatant asshole characters, but halfstream has always been more than that for me...he’s sympathetic because he’s always known his own flaws, even when he felt like the world was against him. he didn’t remain stuck in his suffering, either; instead, he clawed his way out of it to become the cat he is. he still retained his sharp attitude, of course, which i think is so important (i can’t imagine him ever truly mellowing out), but he’s able to be at least somewhat happy now as a full grown adult with a definite place in his clan. seeing his love for his kits also always makes my heart so soft, even if that love didn’t go over so well in some cases...sorry for snowclaw, halfstream. i still love you.
CREEKCLAN
Sparrowheart: how can you not love sparrowheart? he’s got an undeniable charm, both in the roleplay and as a character. i love him because of all the ups and downs he’s been through, the struggles with his heritage and the way that affected him in creekclan, the internal conflict he’s had over his time as deputy and how he chose to step down...and now seeing him as a settled in father i feel like he’s really found a good place to be. he seems genuinely happy, and that makes me happy, because i absolutely adore this boy. sparrowheart manages to both be a source of happiness, laughter, and joy without ever becoming a joke of a character himself...he’s understanding, sympathetic, kind, and incredibly well rounded. he might not be in the spotlight now as much as he was in his past, but i’ll always have a spot for him in my heart.
Currentstar: woah, two toms in a row? wild, i know, but...currentstar is another absolute favorite character of mine. i didn’t give him a lot of thought for a good while, because for a long time he was little more than a background character, but with his recent development under snow, he’s become an absolute standout for me. i love the contrast of his more traditional style of thinking and leadership, and i also adore the arc he’s been written to have...from kithood, currentstar’s always been expected to be the mature one, the golden child, again...i think i just have a thing for characters who have high expectations resting on their shoulders that are just, yknow, doing their best to meet those expectations. really, though, currentstar is an absolutely unique character within not only creekclan but the group as a whole, and i’m so glad to see him settling into his role as leader of creekclan.
Carpfang: ah, my ultimate weakness...an angry, snarky girl who covers up her vulnerability with an attitude. carpfang has always been a literal black sheep in her litter and in her family, and though i also adore her sisters, she’s always been the standout one for me. her way of coping with the cards she’s been dealt in life is objectively not the healthiest, but it’s undeniably interesting and also very understandable. the dynamic she has with brightheart and cherrysong is so incredibly sweet, and i adore watching her interact with marigoldpaw...her protectiveness over those few cats she holds close makes her more than just a bitchy outer shell, and that makes her really special to me! i think she has a lot more room to grow and develop into herself, and i’m excited to see how her arc continues with time.
JAGGEDCLAN
Stonefang: okay, so. technically she’s not a jaggedclan cat right now, maybe, but it would be a crime to not include her here. stonefang is so masterfully written that sometimes it feels less like i’m reading roleplay posts and more like she’s a character in a novel...her arc is absolutely brilliantly planned, and yknow, i’m really starting to realize that i have a thing for protagonist / hero-esque characters, BUT. that aside. stonefang’s storyline isn’t the only thing that makes her one of my favorite cats. her personality is amazing as well. she’s got such a big heart and is so deeply selfless that she’s willing to sacrifice herself to save her family, her home, those that she loves...watching her struggle with palestar’s return and the thought that maybe she’d been wrong all along was so genuinely heartbreaking and tragic. that doubt shook her to her very core, and was such a huge turning point for her, and GOD, i just...adore stonefang. i adore every interaction she has with her clanmates, with those around her, how motherly and kindhearted she is...i truly think she’s one of the best characters in the group as a whole. stan stonefang!
Eveningstorm: i am usually not one for sweet and soft characters, and for a while i wasn’t sure where i stood on eveningstorm, but with time she’s grown to be a favorite of mine. i’ve talked about her before, but one reason i think i’ve been drawn to her in particular is that...yes, she’s soft in that she’s kind and compassionate, but she has a certain determination to her, a hardness beneath all that fluff. she doesn’t let anyone step all over her or the cats that she loves, and her sweetness is so nicely balanced with her energy that she’s just...compelling. she doesn’t have any big dramatic backstory to build her up, but instead, her appeal comes from her relationship with her clanmates and the place she has built for herself. i genuinely forget sometimes that she wasn’t a jaggedclan born cat, because she belongs there so perfectly. even if she’s not my usual type, eveningstorm is a character that i really adore, and she’s such a lovely presence to have around in jaggedclan.
Swallowpaw: another cat who i absolutely could never have predicted being on a list like this, except this time to an extreme. though i never hated swallowpaw, i remember thinking of her as, well, an absolute fucking menace of a character. she was always sticking her nose into trouble, bragging and boasting and starting arguments, and sometimes characters like that aren’t ones you’re attracted to, but...i don’t know how, but she got me, somewhere along the way. her struggle with her bloodline and how deeply affected she was to learn that she wasn’t all that she’d built herself up to be was such a tragic thing for a character so young to endure, and the way that she handled it with turning against her father and carving out her own path to purposefully lift herself up to that sense of importance she feels she deserves...it’s really brilliant to me. swallowpaw still isn’t the sort of character that i look at with the lens of her being perfect, an angel, can do no wrong...instead, i love that she does do wrong, and also that she’s been set up for such a difficult life from the very start. she’s not a good person, and that’s so intriguing, because she is sympathetic when you really lean back and look at her. i wouldn’t really call her a villain, per say, but she’s certainly a more antagonistic sort of character, and i absolutely love her for that. she’s so interesting that i always want to see more of her.
FOGCLAN
Lilystorm: of all of the former fogclan cats turned traitors (turned fogclan cats again, in lilystorm’s case), lilystorm has always been one of the most intriguing for me. the fact that her loyalty to palestar wavered for just long enough for her to run away and then returned full force, strongly enough for her to feel such deep regret...it’s such a brilliant setup for a character that stands out from the crowd. nearly every other fogclan cat was happy to leave, but lilystorm remembered the good times, which i think is a super realistic and well done take on the situation as a whole. she’s always been so consistently well written, sticking to her personality and never wavering or seeming out of character...and despite not being as kind or as soft as some others, i think lilystorm’s always been a very sympathetic cat, at least for me. she clearly struggles a lot with internal conflicts that she’s never truly been comfortable with voicing out loud, and i can only imagine how difficult it must be for her to not really have anyone that she can fully confide in. she’s so determined to be strong that she tries to erase her vulnerability, and that’s so compelling to me...overall i just really adore lilystorm and think she’s one of the best and most unique fogclan cats around, former or current.
Bramblefang: when bramblefang first started to exist as more than an npc in fogclan, i was instantly hooked. i think that i really just enjoy perspectives that vary from the typical, immediate response that a lot of characters seem to have to fogclan and to palestar, which is an instant “oh, she’s obviously Bad and Evil” sort of deal. bramblefang was a cat who had been through enough hardship to be vulnerable to the sort of masterful manipulation palestar had weaved, and seeing his anger at hollyfur for abandoning him and their clan was so excellent...and then he started to change, started to see the bad in his situation, and i still found myself super attached. bramblefang’s a loyal character, through and through, dedicated deeply to those he loves, and i think that’s perhaps his biggest appeal. he’s no standout hero who’s going to be bold and act overtly out against the higher powers, but watching him begin to realize that the leader and clan he dedicated himself to in his weakest moments is maybe not as wonderful as he’d thought...it’s super intriguing.
Dippernose: so, a trend throughout all my favorite fogclan cats is that they’re all characters who have, objectively, found themselves on the wrong side of things at one point in time...but that’s why they’re so special and so interesting, in my opinion. it’s easy to make a character who is good, who understands right from wrong, who sees everything clearly, but it’s so much more fun to have someone who doesn’t. dippernose fits that perfectly for me, and her belief in fogclan and in palestar is made all the more interesting because of her relationship with her brother. what do you do when the cat you care for most is the practical opposite of you? dippernose’s development feels like it’s just beginning to take off, so i don’t have as much of an essay to write on her, but right now i really enjoy the unique feeling she brings to the clan...she feels very realistic to me, a young cat who doesn’t quite know what to believe in as she’s being torn in so many different directions. i’m really excited to see more of her as fogclan progresses!
TRIBE
Spark Feather: spark feather is an absolute darling little lad. i’ve been fond of him from the start. his sunny disposition and cheerful nature transforming into something more bitter and reserved has been such an interesting process to watch, and though i doubt he’ll ever go back to the spark he was before raven and flickerclaw left, i like to see the little bits of his old personality shining through now that the tribe is once again settled down. overall i think that spark feather is just a really enjoyable, easy to root for character that you kind of can’t help but adore...he was left behind by his closest friend and had his whole world altered, but despite it all, he made it through alive and okay. i really admire his steadfast determination and the slow healing he’s been able to do, and i’m always excited to read any roleplay he’s involved in.
Aspen Snow: can you have spark feather without aspen snow? probably not. aspen snow is another case of bad girl with a bad attitude, and boy oh boy does she have justification for it. like spark feather, she’s suffered so much in watching her brother basically walk away from her and from their home, but unlike raven and spark feather, aspen snow and flickerclaw...well. it feels like there’s something still there, still lingering. watching her cope with anger is always so intriguing but so upsetting, and i wish that she could just catch a break for once, but the world seems determined to keep tossing difficulties her way...despite all of it, though, i think aspen snow remains strong...as strong as she can, at least. i obviously adore her dynamic with spark feather and i think she has some other really sweet hidden gems of relationships within the tribe despite her more standoffish nature. she’s just fun to watch, in the end, and i really enjoy her!
Butterfly: though butterfly is a fairly new character in the tribe, i’ve really been enjoying her and how she’s already being set up for such a heartbreaking storyline. she was born into a world with no one truly willing to care for and cherish her, which is tragic on its own, but the way that she’s already growing up to realize that the world she’s dreamed up isn’t all it’s made out to be...god. she’s an absolutely precious little angel that you can’t help but adore, and watching her get built up only to be broken down is just so upsetting...i’m super excited to see where she goes now that a semblance of the truth has been revealed to her! i think she could grow up to be one of the tribe’s most interesting characters.
