#harriertail

[harriertail]

past lives

#this is part of a rlly convoluted hc i have about their names dw comic pending #ive had it for years i just cant nail it down rn #warrior cats #tigerstar #leopardstar #illustration #leopardclan #tigerclan #harriertail

[trinitywc]

very, very happy to announce TGL#2 is called The Endless Winter and will be releasing July 31st on AO3 and the first chapter is up now! 

#nuclear winter BABY #full cover releasing soon!!!!! #warrior cats #warrior cats ocs #warrior cats oc #the great light #harriertail #sort of

[tcoswc]

Severed Ways Announcement 2: Electric Boogaloo

HELLO. I’ve been gone and busy and will continue to be gone and busy in a few weeks because I am a gene colorist for Paw Borough! Check it out, Kickstarter’s coming in a couple months.

ANYWAYS. I’ve been busy with moving and being burnt out and working on cat stuff. TCOS is still happening, in fact here’s a fun little preview of the cover I commissioned @harriertail​ for - 

So! While I do have the skeleton of the whole book finished and ready, I have drafts of just the first five chapters done. My game plan right now is to finish those and have those uploaded on a schedule before going on break again while I work on other stuff, mainly Pawborough color work. Here’s a schedule that I’m crossing my fingers I’ll be able to keep up with.

May 7: Allegiances & Prologue

May 14: Chapter 1 (Ottercall)

May 21: Chapter 2 (Thornpaw)

May 28: Chapter 3 (Sunnyheart)

June 4: Chapter 4 (Wolfpaw)

June 11: Chapter 5 (Wolfpaw)

After these, I’ll be going on hiatus again. Partly to draft out the next five chapters, but also to work and take a break. See you all Saturday!

#op #not cat #updates #ottercall #harriertail #the clash of stars

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Deadcall

Aliases / Nicknames: Dawnkit, The Moon Killer, The Gathering Butcher

Gender: tom

Sexuality: bisexual

Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, Softcall (adoptive mother), Harriertail (adoptive father), Driftfang (adoptive sister), Rippleswan (mate), Harrierpaw (son), Magpiepelt (adoptive son), Fernswan (adoptive daughter)

Other Relations: Harriertail (mentor)

Clan: Thunderclan

Rank: warrior, loner

Characteristics: kills for pleasure, sociopath, forces victims to admit to their actions, dumps bodies in the lake

Number of Victims: 38

Number of Murders: 38

Murder Method: mutilation, hindering movements

Known Victims: several unnamed warriors, kittypets, and rogues

Victim Profile: cats who committed serious crimes

Cause of Death: strangled by barbed wire, suicide

Cautionary Tale: N/A

Story:

It was almost funny.

The memory, the moment in his life that would set all of his future actions on a certain path, was hardly a memory at all. He had been so young, it all so foggy. A she-cat. 

Blood pooling onto the grass, coating his fur.

An angry tom.

What was clearer was being taken in by Harriertail and Softcall. He was raised as their son and the brother to Driftfang, who treated him no different than blood, which is to say they fought often, but always cared for one another.

Back then, Deadcall hadn’t been Deadcall either, nor Deadkit. He was Dawnkit. Quite the cynical kit he was. He never wanted to play, nor listen to elder stories, or.... do anything, really.

He just never saw the point in it. Never got the point in....feeling things. Joy, happiness, what have you. He did get the point in anger, perhaps the one emotion he felt for sure.

The leader had given his name to him unexpectantly, apparently because his tail was practically ‘dead,’ unable to move with his will. His parents and sister were angered by this, and tried to comfort him, but Deadpaw didn’t care. It was kind of cool.

It would later be ironic, too.

He got into a lot of arguments with the other apprentices for cutting up prey and stashing it away in a secret spot.

It was Harriertail who took him to the side and explained what Deadpaw already sort of knew: he was different, and not in the good way that the heroes in stories were. He was different in a way that, if anyone found out, he could get in big trouble. He needed to pretend to be what others would view as ‘normal.’

Harriertail seemed to see the trouble growing in his son, and when he saw that he couldn’t put out the fire, he decided to nurture it away from killing cats and instead on killing prey. 

But it could only last so long before it wasn’t enough. Not even fighting harshly in battle was enough. He didn’t know why he was like the way he was. The only reasonable time he hurt someone in anger was just after Softcall died of illness.

Another apprentice was trying to bug him. Normally, Deadpaw could hold back with Harriertail’s lessons, but he was in no mood to do so now. The apprentice had to be sent to the medicine den for the next several days, and Deadpaw was stuck caring for the elders.

During this time, Harriertail took him aside and explained to him why he was the way he was, or at least, why he suspected it.

Harriertail knew everything. 

The she-cat, her blood, her mangled body, had been his mother. The tom was her mate, Deadpaw’s father, who killed her for a reason that made Deadpaw want to shout at the Stars. 

He killed her because she ate his mouse.

For that reason, because he had killed his own mate and son’s mother, leaving them both in a pool of blood for who knew how long before Harriertail found them, Deadpaw was different.

He was strange because of that.

He wanted to kill because of that, because of his father.

He hated the thought of disappointing Harriertail, the only reason he managed to hold back. But then Harriertail granted it to him. He went further than that, he taught him in secret lessons how to effeciently kill the hardest prey-- a cat. They practised, Harriertail mainly playing the victim in which Deadpaw had to sneak up on and catch if he ran.

The training did work on his body. Deadcall became incredibly skilled at hunting and fighting, and his fur rippled with the taut muscles beneath.

One lesson was greatest of all: only kill those who deserve it.

The teachings stuck with Deadcall. Even after Harriertail died, Deadcall imagined he was still there, guiding Deadcall’s actions. He knew it wasn’t real, but it influenced him anyway, the angel to his demon.

Every now and again the storm would rise up, bloody waves smacking against the shore, louder and louder and harder to ignore. 

Then he would kill, and it would be quiet again for the next moon. He liked to kill during the gatherings, for it was easier to slip away unnoticed whether or not he was supposed to go to the island. First, he had to slip away a lot to find cats that fit the description for someone bad enough to deserve death, then he would slip away to be certain, then he would slip away to kill them.

When he killed them, he enjoyed playing it out, scratching them up, often hindering their movements. Above all, he enjoyed making them admit to what they had done before he ended them. With no one around to see, he waited until the island and beaches were empty before filling the bodies with rocks and dumping them in the lake.

But then the worst thing happened: he felt something.

His mate, Rippleswan, was only supposed to be for appearances. No one thinks the tom with a family would do anything bad, but she and her two kits loved him. And when Rippleswan had Deadcall’s son, they became... they truly became his family, all of them.

He loved them.

And that meant he had something to lose.

He tried to stop, to hold himself back, for their sake, but it could never stick. The waves were too demanding, the glow of the full moon too intoxicating.

Then Rippleswan was murdered, and Deadcall’s son, Harrierkit, had been left in her blood. 

So he left. He wasn’t a good cat to be around them. Harrierkit had to be raised by his older siblings, now warriors, and not by a killer. So many deaths because of him. Even Driftfang had died because of him, slain in battle by an angry warrior grieving their brother’s dissaperance, not knowing he lay just at the lake. When some of the bodies were discovered, the blame was placed on an innocent warrior who was executed because of it.

He lived alone, unconnected, until years later when a young cat showed up at his paws and announced himself to be Harrierpaw, Deadcall’s adult son that ran away before he could be given his warrior name.

His life was nothing how Deadcall had hoped. His older littermates did their best, but Harrierkit was placed under the care of the new queen, Waterbelly, who was abusive.

Harrierpaw told Deadcall that he knew Deadcall ran away because he could see the darkness in his son and wanted nothing to do with it.

Deadcall tried hard to show him that he did care, but how could he explain why he left without also having to explain to his son what a monster his father was?

Eventually, he gave up, and told him the truth. Then, believing that Harrierpaw was set for the same dark path he was, he vowed to teach him as Harriertail taught Deadcall. 

He did just that, but when it came for the real lesson, Deadcall letting a cat that had hurt Harrierpaw bleed onto the stone, Harrierpaw realized that he was wrong. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, not like this. Worse, his father needed to be stopped.

And Deadcall agreed.

Before, he felt nothing. The only joy, any emotion, came from murder. But he grieved for his parents, his sister, his mate. He loved and missed his two adopted kits, and it broke a heart he didn’t think he had to leave them and his son behind.

So many were dead because of him, even those who were innocent.

He was a monster, and he needed to be stopped. He took it upon himself, not wanting to traumatize his son further.

He was not surprised to find himself in the Dark Forest, the only shock coming from discovering an afterlife did exist. He only hoped that his son would not join him.

Additional Information:

--How did Harriertail know so much? Well, :)

--Ref by Turukhan

--He’s not so much fluffy as he is ripped.

--Congrats on anyone who guessed. He is based on Dexter!

--His left front leg is gray on the left side and brown on the right side, while his right leg is gray on the right side and brown on the inside, kinda making it look like he has one brown leg in the middle when they’re pressed together.

#wc #wcoc #wc oc #warriors #warriorsoc #warriors oc #warriorcats #warrior cats #warriorcatsoc #warrior cats oc #place of no stars #dark forest oc #dark forest warrior #dark forest resident #dark forest #deadcall #murder #suicide #suicide tw #harriertail #harrierpaw

[bugflowered]

happy ultimate guide zine restock day! ty @harriertail for letting me shill my loving onestar agenda

#realized i only posted rhis on twt can you believe……… theyre going to fire me from being a blogger #please click on this 2 see the texture tumblr HATES paintings #anyway BUY THE CAT BOOK!!! HARRIERTAIL IS SO EPIC #warrior cats #warriors #wc #art #onestar

[quiverpaw]

creep

#my art #squirrelflight #ashfur #ashsquirrel ? #for day 2 of harriertails wctober 2022

[lightleapfan]

what is it about hollyleaf that makes people create their most magnificent magnum opuses in her image...the mere second someone thinks about the fire scene for too long some sort of switch flips that sets off a mental rube goldberg towards the peak of human art for the next couple months

#text #hollyleaf #SOO MUCH ICONIC WARRIORS STUFF IS HOLLYLEAF #scotland. usay. okashama. dizzy. the wolf. sin triangle. have it out. harriertail's redraw of that really cool eye art. #not to mention the countless portraits and doodles and map parts and other digital pieces on tumblr twitter IG etc etc. #WHAT IS IN THAT WARRIOR CATS WATER THEY SIPPING?/????

[needlepine]

what about umm needletail for bingo?

Thank you to the brave soul who asked for Needletail, you are about to get a manifesto

Soooo basically ummmm uhhh so like um basically ummm so uhhh like

Needletail, right? (This is gonna run long, surprising no one)

Needletail has been my favorite character since I first started reading AVoS, which was probablyyyyy like 2018. Before her, my favorite character had been Crookedstar for like A DECADE almost, so I didn’t really expect to find another character I like as much as him, let alone more 😭 A combo of her characterization, place in the narrative, and wasted potential are what make me like her so much and yes you’re about to get an essay explaining all three

First and foremost, I am drawn to rebellious female characters, in general as well as in warriors. Needletail specifically is a little shit who clearly needs an attitude adjustment, acting as a foil to shy and insecure Alderheart. She also foils him in her allegiances, being willing to shortsightedly drive out her own clan, while Alderheart worries for the future of SkyClan and wants to bring them to the lake. I think that’s fun.

Bringing it back to: Needletail is mean. She is mean and rude, and yet Alderheart and Violetshine get to know her beyond that rough exterior. I see a lot of ppl talk about how “Needletail was a terrible friend and sister,” but I argue that it’s more nuanced than this. I believe we see her truest self with Alderpaw in The Apprentices’ Quest. She’s still rebellious and nosy and loves to speak out of turn, but she’s also well-meaning most of the time. Once Darktail comes into the picture, we see less of this, and I think we can and should blame Darktail for this.

I want to stress: she named HERSELF Needletail after Darktail. She was apprentice-age when Darktail started manipulating her and the rest of her friend group. She already had a rebellious streak, and the Kin encouraged it and told her she was right to rebel against her “weak” leader. They fostered a lack of empathy toward her clanmates. Even when she did finally start to come to grips with what she’d done, she was too scared to speak or act out against Darktail, who would (and DID, in the end) kill her for contradicting him. I will die on this hill that Needletail’s story arc was a tragedy about manipulation and desperately trying to right the wrongs she helped to enact. She had Darktail in her ear from a young age, and she did terrible things under him. Those things can coexist. For me though, it doesn’t erase the fact that she chose to try to do right by Violetpaw and the RiverClan prisoners in the end.

I’ve already touched on her place in the narrative as a foil to Alderheart, but she’s also a great tragic antihero in her own right. She made bad decisions and then slowly lost just about everything she cared about as a result of events she self-centeredly didn’t think would affect her. She lost Rain, she lost Darktail’s trust, she lost her former friends, she lost her place at the top of this new hierarchy. So, when she was faced with losing Violetpaw too, she made another decision (a rare selfless act) so that Violetpaw could not only escape, but rally the rest of the clans to get rid of Darktail for good. Her death scene is one of the most iconic and emotional scenes for me, and even though I adoreee Needletail, her sacrifice was well-built up to and well-written. I wouldn’t do anything to change it (THAT BEING SAID! It won’t stop me from my self-indulgent Needlebloom au where she gets to live and ACTUALLY atone for her crimes before getting to settle down and live her life. I wouldn’t want to change canon but I can have a lil self-indulgent au. As a treat).

And speaking of aus, I’ll wrap this up with Needletail’s wasted potential. I could go on but this is already really long lmao. I think above all that Needletail probably shouldn’t have gone to StarClan, or at least should have delayed going to StarClan. HEAR ME OUT. What if she had been there guiding Rootpaw/Rootspring in TBC? She could have had the “unfinished business” angle where she died young and felt like she wasn’t finished yet/still owed it to the clans to help them. Ik she got to kill Darktail in the Dark Forest alongside Violetshine (this scene was For Me and I loved it btdubs), but wouldn’t it have been so much more satisfying if she’d been around the whole time? Rootspring could’ve had someone else to confide in, and it would also give him a reason to actually have a full conversation with Violetshine, who SO frustratingly got shoved into the “Warrior Cats Background Mother Figure™” role immediately after she wasn’t a pov anymore. I guess TLDR, for such a big personality, Needletail fell away into the bg really quickly, and I def think she coulda been used more in TBC, given all the ghost shenanigans going on.

If you read this far, you’re a real one and I hope you enjoyed my ramblings on Needletail lmaoooo and ty again to anon for asking me to discuss the elephant in the room. Not sure whether I’ll answer more bingos after this one, but we’ll see!

#ask meme #needletail #also shouts out to harriertail once again #this time for spitballing that ‘needle guides root’ au #in love with that idea #WHY didn’t they do it 😭

[pickerelstripe]

wctober #2 - creep

#furbert art #heart rot #timberstar #warrior cats #wc oc #warriors oc #hi im doing wctober with heart rot kitties! :] #ill be posting the fun ones haha yesterdays was boring bc I had to rush it #but todays is more fun.... treat it like a proof of concept I might redraw it in the future #btw im using harriertails 2022 list its awesome

[mommyclaws]

DAY 1 : ALONE

There is no isolation like the kind inside of your head.

#Inspired by Harriertail's October prompt list. i wont be doing everyday but just a few i liked #warrior cats #art #Bluestar #<333 #blood tw #its rushed but i kinda like it tbhhh!!!

[harriertail]

#idk i think about why she named him tigerkit. she did love her father. just not who he was #tawnypelt #tigerstar #tigerheart #tigerclaw #warrior cats #shadowclan #illustration #harriertail

[beetleshade]

Day 1 - Warrior

#warriors #wc #badgerfang #wctober #harriertail's wctober #clantober #animal death #blood #very anime i know lol

[warrior-cats-project-otd]

The Warrior Cats project of the day is Somewhere Only We Know by Harriertail x! This beautiful PMV shows Ravenpaw and Barley's relationship, its ups and downs, and it's really sweet moments. The backgrounds are pretty and well done, the expressions on the cats faces are easy to read, and the poses are nice too. This PMV is extremely emotional and tugs at your heartstrings, it's adorable and heartbreaking at the same time.

#warrior cats #warriors #wc #warriors project otd #Harriertail x #warriors pmv #warrior cats pmv #ravenpaw #barley wc #barley warrior cats #youtube

[bonefall]

🍃The Apprentices Quest!

"DO we need StarClan?"

It's such an interesting question because like... from an analysis standpoint, StarClan does absolutely nothing for the cats except draw out conflict and make things harder. Not in a compelling way either-- it's just frustrating, because they COULD provide answers, but simply don't. For some arbitrary "uhh they gotta figure it out idk" reason.

Like, take the opening part of Bramblestar's Storm where Firestar is in cat heaven, thinking about how frustrating it is that he has to be the one of the vague, unhelpful shmucks that plagued his own life. Firestar would NEVER just take that as an answer, he's always challenged status quo, and he finds no logical reason to abide this dumb rule. He just accepts it, because That's How We Write StarClan.

As much as I adore the idea of their unique religion, I think it's really telling that TBC was so compelling; the only arc where the cats couldn't access StarClan at all, descending into their own paranoia to please silent gods.

So, I think IN CANON it would be much better if the writers stepped away from using StarClan. Their writing is better without it, so,

No. We Don't Need StarClan.

BUT

In my rewrite of course I care too much about religion as a theme and spirituality as a concept to just leave it untouched. I think StarClan could have been one of the best parts about the WC series, if they'd been allowed to keep their godlike aspects, and remain as mysterious and awe-inspiring as TPB and the surrounding field guides of that era made them.

#warrior cats analysis #Harriertail Ask Game

[the-owl-tree]

hi what are your thoughts on the territories of the clans?

i feel like they're the closest things to reasonably understanding why the clans live separately even if they aren't fully fleshed out lol each terrain being suited to the different clan's needs is a cool aspect and i enjoy it

i think i just wished there were some more iconicity to the locations, i think as silly as it was the sunningrocks battle remains iconic because it's a) has a title that can immediately help you understand what it looks like and the appeal and b) the river changing is like...interesting with the religious themes of the group, maybe it is a sign from the cat gods who knows

compare that to newer books where most of the battle areas are described as strips of woodland or just land, there's no names to help understand what it looks like, the appeal, etc. it's bland! i like locations within the territories with names and history, i think the lake territory not being as thoroughly named as it could be is disappointing from a world building perspective (i think it would've been sweet if there were locations named after cats who had been lost on the journey or apprentice's got the chance to name places after winning a contest)

as much as i do like the lake territories, moreso the actual lake than the rest, i'm more nostalgic for the old territories because i can recall names from it (though maybe that has to do with my memory rather than any actual part on the books...though while looking at avos' map, it's not a very ""meaty"" looking thang)

realizing i strayed off topic a little but like. borders don't carry enough weight to justify the violence around them and while i think death over piss lines is commentary in itself i just know that the erin's are not thinking of them as anything more than Super Serious borders and we're meant to take everything about them at face value (boring!)

#warrior cats #deer rambles #idk why i rambled so long on this #it became more about locations than territories my bad lol #borders and territories could work #but they dont mean enough since no one has any problem traversing them #i think harriertail saisd they should be bigger and i agree

[trinitywc]

The plan/draft is finished but much like last time im super not happy with the scene order + flow so…

#might try what i did last time and just pick up writing from the middle and fix the start when i get there??? hm #i wanna finish the clantober pieces on harriertail dot tumblr dot com but once thats done its TEW from here #i think i have a beta reader im not too sure tho