FAQ - answers to some questions
(more will be added once I have more to go off) - indented and in quotes is a question, below is an answer :)
“How often do you post pages?”
Uploading will be pretty consistent because this is more of a low-effort comic (compared to my bigger projects) and everything is pretty much laid out for me because I’m using the novel version I wrote as a younger kid for plot (very helpful! Though the spelling errors, dyslexia was kicking at that age 😬)
“Where else can I find the comic?”
Mostly here on tumblr for now! Certain pages I like will grace my DeviantArt but I don’t want to put too much effort into its ComicFury (link - and effort means answering questions, if you have any just send an ask here :)) until I’m sure I can take it on regularly because I already have like five projects there and I don’t want to seem like I’m getting greedy lol.
“What is the comic about?”
To avoid the inevitable paragraph-long response this would be if I don’t shorten it into a vague little response, it’s three cats trying to overcome the notorious dangers of their world, reunite with their kin, and stand their ground against the coming storm. The next answer will better elaborate on this.
“What even is the lore for this? I’m so confused 😭 “
I hate to say it, but confused you should be—I was as well when I remembered I made this and read the first chapter and remembered why I stopped (it got too confusing to keep straight).
What it was (based on): a game some friends and I played in elementary school that I developed into a story with cats (because I am autism nice to meet you) where they were trapped in a game until they killed a cat (the antagonist renamed to Smokeflame) and until then he tries to kill them all and if he does he wins (?). It was named Warriors of the Forest —> The Warriors of the Forest and the first book can be read here (TW: blood, gore, trauma, grief, def don’t read if you’re homophobic—oh also don’t be homophobic).
What it now is/has developed to be: the world is one unique to the story, though one without much specification so anything unspecified can be up to interpretation for anyone, your guess is as good as mine because it’s too complicated to explain it lol. Maybe they’re on a slightly disconnected peninsula like prehistoric Alaska, which would explain the climate too, that’s my interpretation if you would like the creator’s direct input about that. Any cats who are surviving are welcome to travel on their own, with frands, or make/join a clowder of cats, like Pouncecamp. Smoke is still prevalent but he’s just a tyrant, not an other-worldly cat who kills for fun. So… slight improvement.
“How did you come up with the premise/was there intricate forethought/ inspiration?“
I’m always embarrassed to admit that no, there was not much forethought on my part for this story. I like to just write and see where it goes and thus. That occurred with this.
There’s always going to be inspiration for something, even if it can’t be put to words. Naturally I was inspired by Warriors in certain elements, and now rewriting it I want to entertain certain aspects I abandoned when I was writing it when I was younger because they were edgy and I was conscious enough to hesitate on how I could properly handle it, so those are resurrected; I’m also a fan of What Lurks Beneath by ArualMeow (@/WhatLurksBean here on tumbylr) and want to bring some of the color schemes and looks into it with some neon-ish palettes and scratchy backgrounds so big art inspo. I guess I always had a story in my head for it but it has evolved far from that now so in short: not much forethought but now adapting it to a comic a lot of thought.
“Where can I find this many times aforementioned novel?”
The link to the first one: link, link to the second one: link, I currently am remaking the second one so I’ll include link when it’s done, link to the character index: link. Be warned, I was 11-12 when I made this. Oh and also blood, graphic violence, gore,
“Can I make fanart/fan characters for the comic?”
Of course!! I don’t think I can be more clear in saying fanart is for sure *accepted and fan characters are awesome, and may even get put in if I like them or need background characters :) (*don’t make them do anything weird, that’s distasteful and they’re just cats bro 😭 but my general permission for fanart is always given, excluding inappropriate content within it)
Greetings from me, the author. I’m an Arizona-based disabled and pretty gay freelance artist and creator of stupid projects usually surrounding an assortment of queer animals. I was born April 2011 so do with that what you want.
“Aren’t you too young to be handling these topics?”
I believe you can write about any topic as long as you research and ultimately appropriately present it; for topics like grief, trauma, and mental illness, I am no stranger to these, both through personal experiences and asking around. I may be young but (regrettably) I have no shortage of experience with some of the rougher topics; specifically for assault I got the input of one of my closest friends (who is admirably open to talking about it); we’ve actually both been assaulted but they’re overall just more mature than me and have an extensive knowledge on psychology and the like from an undergraduate degree (which may seem uneducated but it is one of their fixations and they are genuinely very smart with it I don’t know how to phrase it). I can be immature, but everyone can be. I may be more prone to responses with “lol” at the end of sentences but I promise I am really doing everything I must to present things correctly.
“What does it mean for the abuse listed in the sensitive themes list, what abuse does that pertain to?”
Along with themes of trauma and violence, there is abuse in this comic. It isn’t shown graphically, it is solely within implications and flashbacks that we see one of the characters was sexually abused, which motivated some of their actions and left them with unresolved emotions and trauma. There is also physical abuse as well as mentally abusive actions and mind games to put them into simpler words. This abuse is more prevalent/less off-screen than the SA but is not graphically pictured and a majority is more implied/context clues than anything.
“What is the motive for some of the names in Lythronax’s clowder/his own name?”
My autism lol. But in serious-speak, I’m obsessed with prehistoric things, and when I remembered the translation of the name of the dinosaur Lythronax (Lythronax argestes, a genus of North American tyrannosaurid) it felt fitting and I was on a Mesozoic high because I’d just finished a work of some of my favorite dinosaurs and it seemed absolutely a fit and I thought it’d be a nice nod to my obsession. Lythronax translates roughly to “gore king” which is an equally rough (but fitting) surface description of Smokeflame. Same with Tore and Pachy, though they don’t describe them as well and just sound cool/roughly fit, just a nice nod to my favorite fixation.
(NOTE: I, too, get a little prickly when I see animals named in ways that don’t make sense for their surroundings, like a parrot in the Amazon named Couscous or a snake in the desert named Glacier (aside form human interventional naming) but I’m making excuses for Smokeflame because I’m obsessed with dinosaurs and this character is very important to me)
How would these cats know these animals and their names? Well. Doesn’t matter too much to me. Make up your own reasons if you need a justification; mine is that I like dinosaurs :)
“When/where is the comic placed?”
I picture it as a jungle-y place that has certain aspects of the time of slightly prehistoric Alaska (like that of the Walking With Dinosaurs movie with the Pachyrhinosaurus) or a mix of the nature. As for when, that can be interpreted. Since there will be no interference from humans, whose looks and behavior could define the time it takes place in, it’s not too definite, but since these are “domesticated cats” at least genus-wise, know it must take place in the last few thousand years lol.
“Is this comic inspired by Warrior cats/what is their relation?”
Their relation is NONE! Respectively, of course. The inspiration is there because I was like ten when I wrote the first book and obsessed with the series, but I didn’t want it to be a fan comic so I turned it into a pretty *original idea (*as original as a ten year old can get lol). It is also like WC with clowders of cats and roles (though besides leader they aren’t definite roles, kind of just cats being there) but I’d rather explore how the two are unalike. Different religions, lore, a subterfuge of power, and a tyrannical cat named after a dinosaur.
Real inspiration is drawn from independent projects like What Lurks Beneath and Waves Always Crash and Jumanalpelko, all comic which I highly recommend. They all have amazing art but what runs deeper is amazing and the stories are so original and interesting, it pulls you in immediately. It may not be my place to say so but I would very much recommend checking them out, if not for the comic then for the art and lore because they’re fascinating (TW for violence, gore, blood, sickness, and trauma).
As for Warriors, feel free to identify all the similarities you’d like, but because of how much it has evolved, I personally don’t feel the series is that connected to its Warriors cats roots anymore.
“How many chapter will this comic be?”
As many as it takes until it’s over :) It’s (at least for now) three acts, each with around 14 planned chapters, but if things go in a direction I don’t like plot-wise I’ll move that around, so it’s indefinite but with a generally sound progression. I’m not going to give you a full estimate, so don’t worry about that.
“There are trans cats, how does that work? What is the deal with HTR for them?”
There are trans cats, but not really hormone therapy treatment. It is the wild and they aren’t…. humans….. with that technology, but they still have a variety of gender identities (even if they’re not really in terms we’d understand, they don’t specifically have words like trans, gay, lesbian, just what a cat likes to be called by and who they like, for lack of a better term explanation) and expressions. I’m not sure how to explain it, it just kind of is, and fits. Like Spider, he is transmasculine and identifies as a male/a trans tom, and I suppose his nature is just masculine and additionally fits his appearance. And Camellia, she is a trans molly and is naturally feminine so perhaps it’s predetermined or she just grew to be that way. I’m not too sure, but does it really matter? They’re just cats who happen to be trans so I find it doesn’t matter too much since it’s not an aspect of their personality.
But also trans kitties I love :3
*also, quick intervention, you can head-canon any character you’d like to be any gender identity or orientation you’d like, as long as canonical stuff doesn’t go against it (please be respectful of set orientations, disabilities, genders, and the character’s nature themself with head-canons) you can additionally headcanon them as adhd, autistic, spd, etc., as long as it’s not specified that they are not that or are something else; there are a bunch of neurodivergent-coded characters so I don’t blame you for making that canon within them :) just be respectful
“How can Dark be transmasculine but still use she/her?”
Dark is indeed transmasc, but she doesn’t identify/affiliate with being a male, and many transmasc individuals still use she/her and/or a variety of other pronouns. Reminder that you don’t have to be a trans man to be transmasc and gender doesn’t always equal pronouns :) Much like me, she’s transmasc but doesn’t think of herself as a guy, she just is. like existing. She doesn’t care if anyone calls her he or him or they (she is she/any, like myself, so her gender experience is written off my own pretty much lol), she just prefers she/her to any of them. It’s all about what a character is comfortable with.
“What does it mean when the character index says Smokeflame’s gender is ‘indescribable’😭?”
It means it is simply unable to be put into words. I don’t know how to make it any more vague lol. He was originally a character whose gender I didn’t care much about because he was a really hard guy to decipher, then it was agender transmasc, then it was scribbles I couldn’t translate, now it’s just him being himself. He’ll never reveal it, I think (and I won’t share if he’s trans or cis because he may be a villain but I don’t want people misgendering him :( so), and I think it’s kind of cool and adds some mystery to him.
“Where can I find information on a character?”
A majority of the character’s important history can be found in this cheap character index, but if you have any questions about a character, don’t be afraid to send in an ask for any desired information :) if they aren’t answered, it’s probably either because it’s invasive you creep (joking. Maybe) or spoilers!
BOUNDARIES (limits of questions)
Please do not send me overly invasive or personal (you can relate yourself to it, but until I know how to explain my ties to it I don’t want any invasive comparison with myself to this comic or the characters) questions about experiences that led to the creation of this comic, the characters being “wrong” and how some of their choices (mostly murderous) are inhumane (I know that, that’s why the cats who do these things are the villains). This is a comic and idea I hold very close to myself and connects me to something I no longer know and a person I can never see again and I don’t want people making assumptions when they don’t know the whole story. That said, it is almost a little therapeutic to write about some of the themes, even if they’re way out of proportion because they’re cats and I can make it that way lol.
Sorry that got a little serious, but I am very serious about not sending me asks like that, especially if they’re demanding.
Aside from that, comment and ask whatever you’d like. Obviously problematic and vulgar asks are not going to be tolerated (I may use great vocabulary but I am also still a minor so think about that before sending an ask in if it is inappropriate) but if you have a question about any lore or character motives I can explain without getting into spoiler territory, I’d be happy to answer them :)
