Things Almost Every Author Needs To Research

I... did not know that 6 month old cats were that big I kept imagining them as the size of slightly bigger kits

Yeah man, this is the lie that the warriors animation community has been perpetuating for a while. Mostly out of ignorance haha Here is a growth video of a kitten to ten months old which is about the time between kit to warrior in canon (though it might be more like warrior at 12 months, but it varies quite a lot), and here is a picture of that cat at 6 months old, seen at 0:16 in the video. It starts to make a lot more sense that this is the age that kittens are allowed to start battle training and even participating in defending their clan, because they are at six months old physically capable of doing so. Many breeds of cats keep maturing in their density and weight until 3-5 years of age, but the bulk of growth always happens in the first six months.

Truthfully I think a lot of people depict apprentices as tiny children because that is easier to differentiate on screen, especially if animation designs are exaggerated where certain characters are huge for dramatic effect (think often tigerstar the first and characters like lionheart). This isn't actually wrong to do, and can be a very effective choice in communicating the age of certain characters without having to tell the audience in neon lights that this character is an apprentice.

but it should be a choice, and some discussions I have seen about the warrior cats online makes the assumption that all apprentices are tiny and helpless (maybe based on these depictions? unkown) when the reality is that at six months old, non-fictional cats enter adolescence, they are almost always desperate for independence and 'leave the nest' so to speak, and can in fact raise their own litter of kittens (not an uncommon occurrence in wild cats, but I do not recommend this for the health of the animals and discourage owners from this practice). I'm not sure that there is much point in comparing the physical development of cats to people especially regarding a fictional series, (and granted I'm just a fan and not an expert) but If we are talking about real-live physical cats at six months old, they're more comparable to 14-16 year olds than tweenagers 11-13, by ten months we're talking about late adolescence, maybe 18 year olds. Think about it, plenty of people in high school get misinterpreted as adults, that's the age range we're talking about. I understand that this is a hot debated topic in fandom as apprentices are often interpreted as younger characters, but I find it more interesting to depict them closer to a feline's realistic development, at least in an artistic sense, and probably will continue to do so.

A Collection

Love a woman with a tail. Something she can betray her emotions with, something to dress up in fun little accessories, and something I can grab during... heh, well, you know.

The phrase "my name is _" has been ruined for me. Like oh you have a name. Your name is something. Like Edwin. Did you also make the mimic. Was it also difficult for you to put the p

me & my commanders saw you from across the bar and we're perplexed by your vibe. can we study you

STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES | THE INFINITE VULCAN

does anyone want to see my deltarune madoka magica crossover

My entry for the Short Story contest

ah, well i didnt get chosen, oh well! guess I'll share it with you all, even though it's not Petalkit's Shadow related, haha :] it was quite hard to write a whole scene in just 500 words. Hope you enjoy!

plain text under cut for accessibility!!

Adderfang pushed his way into the nursery, his amber eyes gleaming with warmth.

“Grandpaw!” Tigerkit squeaked, bounding forward.

“Good morning, little one,” Adderfang purred, bowing to touch his nose to Tigerkit’s head. Then, he turned his gaze to Leopardfoot, his daughter. “How are you this morning?”

“Pinestar hasn’t come to visit them today,” Leopardfoot dodged his question, drawing her tail in closer. Two more kits sat at her belly; tiny, sick, and barely strong enough to feed. 

“No cat’s seen him,” Adderfang tried to comfort her. Tigerkit wriggled his haunches and pounced on Adderfang’s long, thin tail.

“Yee-owch!” Adderfang yelped, jumping dramatically away from Tigerkit. “Great StarClan, look at his claws. He’s got the makings of a great warrior for sure!”

Tigerkit puffed out his chest proudly, and Leopardfoot felt a spark of affection. Once as weak as his sisters, Tigerkit now stood strong enough to pounce and play like a proper kit. But despite Tigerkit’s miraculous recovery, she couldn’t suppress the worry that Nightkit and Mistkit would never follow in his pawsteps. 

Tigerkit was the weakest, Leopardfoot told herself determinedly, watching Tigerkit dart after Adderfang’s tail. If he survived, so will his sisters. 

A commotion outside the den roused Leopardfoot from her thoughts. 

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting!” called the unmistakable voice of Pinestar. Leopardfoot and Adderfang exchanged a glance. 

“Need help getting the kits out?” Adderfang asked. Leopardfoot nodded graciously. Nightkit and Mistkit were so weak, Leopardfoot always worried each opportunity to see their father would be the last.

When Leopardfoot and Adderfang managed to get the kits into the clearing, Pinestar stood at the base of the highrock, the cats of ThunderClan crowded around him.

What’s going on? 

“Sunfall will make a good leader,” White-eye nodded to the deputy. Slowly, Leopardfoot pieced the situation together, watching Pinestar turn towards the gorse tunnel. Dread and disbelief settled in her belly like a cold, hard stone.

He can’t be-

Desperately, Leopardfoot surged forward, bundling her kits along. At the last moment she slid in front of Pinestar, blocking his path to the gorse tunnel.

“Pinestar, what about our kits?!” she pleaded, gazing into his eyes. She searched them for something, anything to show that he might change his mind. “Won’t you stay to watch them grow up?”

Nightkit and Mistkit mewed pitifully. They sat at her paws, next to Tigerkit. Pinestar flicked his tail uncomfortably, and Tigerkit followed it with wide, alert eyes. 

“They’ll be fine with you, Leopardfoot,” Pinestar mewed, looking away.“I’m not a father they could be proud of. But I will always be proud of them.”

Unable to speak, Leopardfoot’s blood turned to ice. She watched numbly as Pinestar bent down, addressing Tigerkit in a low voice. “Especially you, little warrior. Be strong, my precious son. Serve your clan well.”

Something unknowable flashed through Pinestar’s eyes as he gazed at his son.

Then, he turned to the gorse tunnel, and was gone. 

Enabran Tain’s rolling pin collection.

that’s it. that’s the post.