Skullstar (or Skullface, for those who want to offend a certain cat) is an unnerving enigma that most cats can’t comprehend fully. Erratic, joyful, and oblivious to mortal emotions, Skullstar tries his hardest to replicate the position of a leader without understanding the responsibilities that come with it. As a result, he puts most of DreamClan leader duties onto Bubble, at the detriment of almost every other cat in the clan. In essence, Skull is irresponsible— but well meaning.
It is unknown what Skullstar’s origins are. Not even he fully remembers how he came to be in the dream world. There is one thing for certain, he is tethered to the dream world in a way that no other cat is, and as a result is able to bend reality and physics to suit his needs. Skull is able to float, teleport, disappear and appear at will; something he is not fully aware most cats can’t do. He also uses terminology that confuses other cats. Instead of the word “twoleg” he calls them humans. Instead of the word “monster” he uses the word car. So on and so forth. He does it so casually that cats have to question his origins. He seems to know so much while acting completely oblivious.
Skull is closer to Lionmane than he is with most other cats. They have frequent hushed conversations in the medicine den when no one else is there. He seems… bothered… by the fact Lionmane is not all there most of the time, but with all his powers and otherworldly abilities, he can’t undo whatever happened to Lionmane’s psyche.
On the contrary, Skullstar frequently butts heads with Thriftclaw, the ex-rogue who has no faith in him as a leader. This makes him want to try extra hard to impress them, only to be faced with disappointment each time. Thriftclaw’s rejection of his attempts to be a worthy leader frustrates Skull. Despite this dislike of Thrift, he tries to remain passive with them in hopes they’ll eventually open up to him.
Usually when a cat ends up in the dream world, Skullstar assigns them a name and declares them an apprentice until they earn their warrior name. For some reason though, Skull skipped apprenticeship entirely with Motleypatch and gave her warrior name immediately. The purpose behind this is still unknown. However, he is certainly attached to her in particular— possibly because she’s new?
Bubble is Skullstar’s right hand cat and assistant in anything he does. He likes that Bubble is subservient and agreeable, but also finds him to be an annoying distraction sometimes, and thus keeps him busy by constantly having him be sent on errands. These jobs are often pointless and tedious, but Bubble doesn’t seem to be at all bothered by them.
Skullstar, despite being leader, happens to be very welcoming to cats in DreamClan’s territory that aren’t a part of the clan. It’s how new trapped cats end up in DreamClan, and it’s why Sunshine and Moonlight are able to roam around without conflict. That being said, Skull does not know how to respond to Moonlight’s flirtatious behavior and gets bashful over it.
The corrupted are terrified of Skullstar, and his presence keeps them away from DreamClan. He never explains why they are repelled by him, and quite frankly doesn’t have an answer for it. He’s just glad he doesn’t have to raise a paw to fight them.
This concludes the first Yapfest (AKA: me talking about the origins and relationships of various cats). It is fitting that Skullstar is the first cat to be talked about. Of course, to not spoil the story, there is still a lot left out about Skull that I deliberately skipped over. I absolutely will take requests for future Yapfests! Just comment who you want to see next, and if enough people request it, I’ll talk about it!
