Planning my character for WC (Replies welcome!)

[Synical]

Heya! So, I'm putting this thread in this area (mostly cause I currently can't access the discord for proper character planning due to account issues) to get some input and opinions on my character that I'm making for Windclan!

A couple of things I do know about him.

• - He's a rogue/loner who will lurk on the edges of Windclan after finding out one of his old friends now lives there. He'll eventually join, but I want to actually roleplay the plot of him struggling with joining the clan formally and giving up his "freedom" as a rogue/loner. I'm planning on having him help Windclan in small ways until something big comes along and he helps them in a major way (Begrudgingly, according to him)
  
  
  
• - I know he's a gray colored, tabby cat with a "sneaky" face but a sharp tongue. He's got green and yellow eyes (not dual colored. Think like a green and yellow hazel)
  
  
  
• - He's not a genius or anything, but he understands how other cats work despite being a loner, because he drifts in and out of populated areas a lot
  
  
  
• - I know that he had some other loner friends growing up from kit-hood and they all treated each other like family, but eventually they got separated.
  
  
  
• - I know he would be considered a young warrior—he doesn't have a whole lot of experience, but it's enough.
  
  
  
• - I know he's into male cats more than he is females—but prefers the platonic company of female cats because he meshes better with them and he's gentler around them. Not because he thinks they're weaker, it's just he doesn't feel like he constantly has to prove how "masculine" he is around them.
  
  
  
• - He's a good fighter, and spends more time than most other cats, possibly any other cat, learning new fighting moves. He's one of the types who believes deep down that he was bred to fight and survive. He's not wrong, his parents had him explicitly for this purpose, but it's clearly done a number on his mental state because he often pushes himself past exhaustion to train.
  
  
  
• - He tends to be the type to show affection more through silent actions hidden by harsh words. I.e. if your cat breaks their leg around him, he'll probably curse them out every way he can think of and call them three kinds of idiot even as he helps them back to camp slowly (so he doesn't inadvertently injure them more). You might a get a gruff apology when he knows he's in the wrong, but also you'll probably get silent gestures to make up for prior mistakes—look, he basically has a harsh exterior and a squishy inside, okay //wheeze

So if I can get opinions on any of those, that'd be great!

But, also, I need some ideas and opinions for some other things.

• I noticed there's already a character named Flint on this site. I don't know how popular the character is, but in case they are super popular, I need to come up with a new name for Flint(my oc) to avoid any confusion there. I don't wanna step on anyone's toes with my character there (;ﾞ°´ω°´) His name Flint is supposed to represent both his brittle and flammable personality and the color of his fur, which is a gray-ish with tabby stripes. It was also supposed to fit a fire motif, because of some backstory stuff. But I've decided to just keep the first reasons, not the second.
  
  
  
• I'm not sure how far we're allowed to go with romance on this site between characters—I've been in some pretty strict places where characters making overt comments on their preferences for partners (physically speaking) is frowned upon. But Flint (My OC, name pending) has always been pretty open with his preference for other male cats—and the features he finds most attractive about them. He's not the type to comment on anything NSFW, but he's definitely made comments in the past about how he prefers toms who are taller and stronger than the average cat. Do you guys think that sorta thing will be a problem here?
  
  
  
• Flint's past is a bit.. Finicky? I know that he doesn't have the greatest relationship with his family members (if any of them are even surviving) and that he's the second youngest tom of his litter (but his little brother is dead and it's a whole backstory thing). He resents his dad (who is an asshole) and has issues about his mom. But, this makes it kinda hard to figure out the timeline of the other facet of his past, which is that he had a bunch of other kit friends that he grew up with as a rogue and they all thought of each other as family—but they split apart. Do you guys think I can just make these two events happen simultaneously?
  
  
  
• How likely is it that he probably has a bit more experience with medicine than the average clan cat? It's no life-saving stuff, but he can probably cure some of his own minor illnesses(stomach upset, a small chest infection like whitecough or something like that, treat his own fevers, etc) and mild to moderate wounds (a scratch from a nail, a slash from claws that doesn't go too deep). I like to think he picked up a few things from some older, more experienced rogues/loners, but I wonder if this counts as a good enough reason for him to not have experienced clan medicine cat training, without breaking the rules of cats needing to be taught by a medicine cat.
  
  I think the best backstory for it would be that since he's a rogue/loner, he's used to have to treat his own injuries/illnesses, and so he demanded (read: asked bitingly while fidgeting and bringing offerings to maybe get them to listen to his request) that some of the older rogues/loners around the city he came from teach him how to take care of himself. I think it could also play into his family issues and personal issues but that's for another topic entirely.
  
  If not, I'll just not add this idea in.

I'll probably have more ideas for Flint (again, name pending) in the future, but I wanted to get some input on these current ones and see what y'all thought? I wanna polish him up while I'm waiting for some things to settle.

 

[Floppie]

okay first of all i LOVE the sound of this character! a joining arc like that could definitely be interesting to explore and I love seeing reoccurring loner characters!! But saying this it may be TOUGH as well because of the nature of Windclan. Their leader, sootstar is...fiesty. & after a grace period (ends the 18th of august) she won't be accepting any outsiders into windclan unless they're 10 moons or younger <//3 so that may be inconvenient depending on how long you plan for this arc to last

Abt. the name Flint he didn't have much of a presence here, but he had a HUGE presence on the site 95% of our current members have come from, and he was also a windclan cat <//3 normally i'd say to do what you want, but honestly I would recommend changing their name since flint of windclan will bring very specific things to mind for many of us here :'D as well as flint of riverclan

Comments on sexuality as long as its nothing nsfw, I don't think you'll have any issues :)!!

His past you could maybe say that he & his family lived in a smaller sort of cat-colony along with a few other kits, or there just happened to be other kits that lived around the same area that he would bump into and eventually became friends with?

How likely is it that he probably has a bit more experience with medicine than the average clan cat? not.. likely tbh. while we would allow knowledge like cobwebs to stop blood, poppyseeds, very simple stuff of that nature, we don't allow much past that </3 so maybe he could use cobwebs on light scratches, but he wouldn't know about treating infection/ how to treat whitecough/fevers/ or anything like that​

 

[Synical]

Abt. the name Flint he didn't have much of a presence here, but he had a HUGE presence on the site 95% of our current members have come from, and he was also a windclan cat <//3 normally i'd say to do what you want, but honestly I would recommend changing their name since flint of windclan will bring very specific things to mind for many of us here :'D as well as flint of riverclan

So, uh, about this. Cause I feel like it's the most important part to address right this second

Did the Flint you're talking about from Windclan happen to have a suffix? Cause I played the one that interacted with Eaglestar, Wolfsbane(before he became Wolfbite), Petalpaw/kit, Poppywish, etc. etc. So like.. Probably a year to two years before the site closed down?

 

[Floppie]

So, uh, about this. Cause I feel like it's the most important part to address right this second

Did the Flint you're talking about from Windclan happen to have a suffix? Cause I played the one that interacted with Eaglestar, Wolfsbane(before he became Wolfbite), Petalpaw/kit, Poppywish, etc. etc. So like.. Probably a year to two years before the site closed down? I was Cyaniphier, if that helps?

I'm referring to Flintfur played by Blitz :)!! he's here too but he's dead lol @FLINT. <- this bastard. many of us were on another site (that also got shut down <////3) between now and FF (I myself was never on FF)​

 

[Synical]

I'm referring to Flintfur played by Blitz :)!! many of us were on another site (that also got shut down <////3) between now and FF lol

Ohh, I see, I see! Thanks for clearing that up, although it is disappointing that I still haven't found the roleplayers from that time (Ｔ▽Ｔ) I miss them a lot and miss roleplaying with them.

Do you think it will be alright if I said I wasn't planning to give Flint a suffix? Cause like.. He's pretty attached to his name (it's one of the issues he has about his parents because he both hates the name because his dad is the one who chose it and yet likes it because, well, it's his name) and the concept of identity is pretty important to him.

I'm guessing since you've brought it up though as a potential issue that the memories with the other character aren't super great? Or maybe they are? /genq /nf

If I do change his name, do you have any suggestions for what I might change it to to keep a similar idea?

okay first of all i LOVE the sound of this character! a joining arc like that could definitely be interesting to explore and I love seeing reoccurring loner characters!! But saying this it may be TOUGH as well because of the nature of Windclan. Their leader, sootstar is...fiesty. & after a grace period (ends the 18th of august) she won't be accepting any outsiders into windclan unless they're 10 moons or younger <//3 so that may be inconvenient depending on how long you plan for this arc to last

I'm thinking of this arc lasting a good long while—or at least long enough for him to become solidified in most Windclan cat's minds as a "helpful rogue" and someone they can rely on if they ever have to travel outside of their territory. It will probably be incredibly difficult, especially since I'm also noticing the nature of Windclan. Then again, I probably won't be having him until past the 18th of August, so it's probably something I need to discuss with the high ranks of Windclan before I start having Flint thinking about joining the clan!

(Which... Idk, could take months irl. I wanna play around with him struggling with the idea of being not "one" but "one of many.")

His past you could maybe say that he & his family lived in a smaller sort of cat-colony along with a few other kits, or there just happened to be other kits that lived around the same area that he would bump into and eventually became friends with?

This is actually a pretty good plan. I could say that he used to sneak away from his parents whenever they were getting too much and ran off with the other kits outside of their cat colony (cause the other kits definitely weren't part of the colony) to play, and then gradually, more and more of them kept disappearing/leaving/dying until he showed up to their meet-up spot one day and was totally alone. I love the thought of him just sitting in that area, crying softly to himself before he decides out of anger that he doesn't need anyone. (But he wants someone to stick around, even though he tells himself he shouldn't.)

How likely is it that he probably has a bit more experience with medicine than the average clan cat? not.. likely tbh. while we would allow knowledge like cobwebs to stop blood, poppyseeds, very simple stuff of that nature, we don't allow much past that </3 so maybe he could use cobwebs on light scratches, but he wouldn't know about treating infection/ how to treat whitecough/fevers/ or anything like that

This is disappointing, but I totally understand and will respect the rules on that!

..Would any rogue/loner, speaking strictly of NPCs, have more extensive medicine knowledge than that? It seems a bit odd if they didn't, considering they don't have clans but there are so many rogues/loners, and they often get injured just as much as clan cats, if not more.

 

[Floppie]

Ohh, I see, I see! Thanks for clearing that up, although it is disappointing that I still haven't found the roleplayers from that time (Ｔ▽Ｔ) I miss them a lot and miss roleplaying with them.

Rlly >:0?? we have a TON of ff refugees here! I am not one of them but Blitz Krieg played Brightstar of Windclan and waluigipinball played birdbones of Windclan (the last Wc leader and mc I'm pretty sure) Ephemera also played blacknight of windclan. pin lead ff skyclan at some point, regina / vespertine lead either dark or bloodclan (I cant remember </3) at some point, etc etc.. point is we have a LOT of those guys! I couldn't tell you specifics since I wasn't there but they're def around I prommy >:)

Do you think it will be alright if I said I wasn't planning to give Flint a suffix?

Because of wcs rules under Sootstar, he would have to take a clan name eventually </3 Some clans are more flexible about this though! Namely Skyclan and likely others but sky is what I have at the top of my head

I'm guessing since you've brought it up though as a potential issue that the memories with the other character aren't super great? Or maybe they are? /genq /nf

flintfur is a BASTARD, yeah whenever u say flint folks will probably think of evil evil stink man by default, he was also sort of involved in the plot that indirectly killed the last site? long story LOL

If I do change his name, do you have any suggestions for what I might change it to to keep a similar idea?

hmmm, burn, spark, ash, strike, sharp, stone, jagged, wildfire, slate, glint

Then again, I probably won't be having him until past the 18th of August, so it's probably something I need to discuss with the high ranks of Windclan before I start having Flint thinking about joining the clan!

I gotcha! If it is a long term, dedicated, well thought out plot MAYYBE an exception could be made? definitely talk to Ava (sootstar's player) about it! here's a link to Windclan Plotting & Chatting where you can get a reply :)

I love the thought of him just sitting in that area, crying softly to himself before he decides out of anger that he doesn't need anyone.

MY HEART <///////3

..Would any rogue/loner, speaking strictly of NPCs, have more extensive medicine knowledge than that? It seems a bit odd if they didn't, considering they don't have clans but there are so many rogues/loners, and they often get injured just as much as clan cats, if not more.

icly, likely yes, but as far as site rules go we wouldn't allow any played characters to possess that kind of more extensive knowledge!​

 

[Synical]

Rlly >:0?? we have a TON of ff refugees here! I am not one of them but Blitz Krieg played Brightstar of Windclan and waluigipinball played birdbones of Windclan (the last Wc leader and mc I'm pretty sure) Ephemera also played blacknight of windclan. pin lead ff skyclan at some point, regina / vespertine lead either dark or bloodclan (I cant remember </3) at some point, etc etc.. point is we have a LOT of those guys! I couldn't tell you specifics since I wasn't there but they're def around I prommy >:)

I hope so!! I miss them like,, a whole lot. Part of the reason I decided to go back to FF (only to find it a ghost town) was I was looking at our old roleplays that I saved to my google drive (that I had to abandon to focus on college) and went ",,,I miss roleplaying Flint and with these guys. I remember how much fun it was" and the nostalgia (and the want to play Flint again) nipped at me a good week and a half before I went "Yeah, okay, I'll go back to FF and see if they're still hanging around."

Imagine my surprise when I saw the site was completely closed down! From what I've heard from rumors, it was a bunch of drama (which I don't wanna know if it was, but) and/or funding issues (which I think is more likely, tbh, if only cause.. I mean. There can't be much money in running a roleplay forum that doesn't have ads on it)

Because of wcs rules under Sootstar, he would have to take a clan name eventually </3 Some clans are more flexible about this though! Namely Skyclan and likely others but sky is what I have at the top of my head

flintfur is a BASTARD, yeah whenever u say flint folks will probably think of evil evil stink man by default, he was also sort of involved in the plot that indirectly killed the last site? long story LOL

Σ(゜ロ゜;) uh, yeah, you know what. Those are both good reasons to change his name (especially since another Flint just came into existence /lh) so I might have to strongly consider new options! ...especially cause I can't think of any suffixes (at least in my head) that will go well with Flint.

hmmm, burn, spark, ash, strike, sharp, stone, jagged, wildfire, slate, glint

These are all pretty good suggestions, tbh. I think I wanna avoid Ash and Jagged (If only cause of the book characters associated with those names,,,), but Spark, Slate, and Burn sound pretty good! I think out of the three I like Burn the most, although that might be a bit too on the nose with the flame aesthetic, and I'm not sure what a good suffix would be for it! I do, however, think it's a good rogue/loner name, so hmm! Maybe he changes his name completely, abandoning even his former rogue/loner name?

I gotcha! If it is a long term, dedicated, well thought out plot MAYYBE an exception could be made? definitely talk to Ava (sootstar's player) about it! here's a link to Windclan Plotting & Chatting where you can get a reply :)

I'll be sure to pop into there and discuss it with them when I get his bio done! I think his bio (when I post him) will probably be more focused on his past to start out with versus his present (and then after more plotting is done and as his story goes on, I'll add more into the "present" section of his history section for his character bio yes yes.) so that I can establish a good character background for him.


Side note!

icly, likely yes, but as far as site rules go we wouldn't allow any played characters to possess that kind of more extensive knowledge!

You have no idea how much of a relief that is to hear, if only cause most sites I've been on where they've had a rule similar to this one, they've treated the rogues/loners as idiots and have been like "No, the only ones who have *any* medical knowledge are *medicine cats* because *rogues/loners* in the *books* don't *have* medicine." They basically treat rogues/loners like idiots, totally disregarding the fact that the medicine cats had to learn it from somewhere and their ancestors were also probably rogues/loners, and the knowledge of the medicine was passed down from generation to generation. Logistically, it simply doesn't work if there are not rogues and loners who also have knowledge of medicine.

Plus too, you have the tribe, which also knew medicine, and were definitely not medicine cats, and were instead Healers with their own remedies (if I recall correctly.)

,,,Can you tell I feel very passionately about the treatment of cats outside the clans in the fandom //wheeze

 

[Floppie]

Imagine my surprise when I saw the site was completely closed down! From what I've heard from rumors, it was a bunch of drama (which I don't wanna know if it was, but) and/or funding issues (which I think is more likely, tbh, if only cause.. I mean. There can't be much money in running a roleplay forum that doesn't have ads on it)

I KNOWWWW THAT MUST HAVE SUCKED <///3 yeahhh I've heard dramatic tales from the ff refugees here.. it did not sound pretty </3 spoiling just cause you said you don't want to know but its not detailed based on what I've heard from others, it almost definitely was due to drama tbh, I couldn't retell it accurately even if I wanted to but the snippets I do know are so not good </3

I like Burn the most, although that might be a bit too on the nose with the flame aesthetic, and I'm not sure what a good suffix would be for it! I do, however, think it's a good rogue/loner name, so hmm! Maybe he changes his name completely, abandoning even his former rogue/loner name?

Understandable! this is totally valid to do <3 it could potentially be turned into a suffix by the leader if you wanna go for something different yet the same? could be kickass tbh

They basically treat rogues/loners like idiots, totally disregarding the fact that the medicine cats had to learn it from somewhere and their ancestors were also probably rogues/loners, and the knowledge of the medicine was passed down from generation to generation. Logistically, it simply doesn't work if there are not rogues and loners who also have knowledge of medicine.

OH RLLY??? im honestly not terribly involved in the fandom outside of this and that's SO WEIRD TO HEAR YEAH the only reason the rule exists is because I've heard stories on the past of ff where mcs would be obsolete because randos would whip medicine knowledge out of nowhere OTHERWISE YEAH?? itd be ridiculous to say that there isn't a single non-clan cat with medicine knowledge they are in the same forests they have the same herbs bruh

 

[Synical]

I KNOWWWW THAT MUST HAVE SUCKED <///3 yeahhh I've heard dramatic tales from the ff refugees here.. it did not sound pretty </3 spoiling just cause you said you don't want to know but its not detailed

Spoiler

based on what I've heard from others, it almost definitely was due to drama tbh, I couldn't retell it accurately even if I wanted to but the snippets I do know are so not good </3

Dude, it really did suck! I was so looking forward to being like "would any of you like to rp Flint and the others again?? I know it's been a while but—"

And thank you for spoiling, but what I meant was I didn't want to know the details of the drama if it was, in fact, drama! I should have been clearer on that, that's my bad.

Understandable! this is totally valid to do <3 it could potentially be turned into a suffix by the leader if you wanna go for something different yet the same? could be kickass tbh

I could see it becoming a suffix, actually! That makes me wonder what the prefix would be though.. Burn is a hard name to find a prefix for, I think. I think a prefix based more on his appearance would be interesting too, or something based on his fighting style (which I'll probably go into later). So, names about those would be appreciated too, I think. Rock names are also on the table so long as they're mostly grey, I think!

I'm currently looking as well, but I'm so picky about names unfortunately.. Although I really do like the suffixes Blaze and Gaze as well. But I kinda want a sharper prefix. It's really hard! ( ´△｀)

OH RLLY??? im honestly not terribly involved in the fandom outside of this and that's SO WEIRD TO HEAR YEAH the only reason the rule exists is because I've heard stories on the past of ff where mcs would be obsolete because randos would whip medicine knowledge out of nowhere OTHERWISE YEAH?? itd be ridiculous to say that there isn't a single non-clan cat with medicine knowledge they are in the same forests they have the same herbs bruh

Yeah, no, it's horrible! Clearly all they make rogues/loners for is to join a clan—which, okay, yeah, my plan is for Flint to join a clan eventually too, but I want it to mean something in his past instead of like.. Just being a stepping stone to join a clan. I want Flint's past as a rogue/loner to have an effect on how he interacts with other cats (a learned every cat for themselves mentality and a tendency to want to spend his off-time alone cause he needs to destress from being around so many other cats, for example.) And I want it to have an effect on how he views clan life

(He doesn't get their rituals—why would you have a fancy get-together for all of the clans when you could just.. send emissaries to clans to work out disagreements and/or surrender agreements? What do you mean you guys have rules about not stepping over each others' borders??)

I actually support the idea of having this rule in place for only Player Characters, because it does cut down on the amount of randos just suddenly curing deadly diseases left and right. I'm just glad that it doesn't apply for NPCS as well, because that just flat-out wouldn't make sense. PLUS. It gives some really cool openings for potential characters for massive plots as well—a rogue healer NPC saving an evil cat who was exiled and that cat repaying the rogue healer by taking over the clans for them, mayhaps? /hypothetical

EDIT: Side note, how did you spoiler in your original message so it showed up as the blurry spoiler instead of the box? /genq

 

[Blitz Krieg]

I WANTED TO HOP IN CASUALLY because this character idea sounds SO COOL...

Flop p much answered everything already but I saw mention of my stinky man Flint and had to jump in LOL he was essentially a villain in WindClan on the last site we were all on before this site (in between here and FF). I brought him over briefly for backstory purposes here for other characters, but ultimately he was mostly relevant on the last site.

As for alternative names for Flint, I couldn't help but come in with some suggestions as well that are similar-ish?
Chert, Shard, Charcoal, Coal

FF did indeed shut down due to drama involving the community and admins there. The owners ultimately made the decision to shut it down after a lot of user backlash on some decisions that were made.

And yeah flop is on the nose, past sites had issues where random cats would just heal and such so it pretty much made the emedicine cat role useless; in order to protect their job we put that rule in place!

(I know I'm late but I wanted to join the convo lmaooo)

 

[Synical]

I WANTED TO HOP IN CASUALLY because this character idea sounds SO COOL...

Thank you!! I love him to death—also, thank you for helping me get his genetics in order! I still very much appreciate it! :D

As for alternative names for Flint, I couldn't help but come in with some suggestions as well that are similar-ish?
Chert, Shard, Charcoal, Coal

Oo! I didn't even think of Shard or Chert! I like Chert the most, tbh. It matches the original reason why I chose Flint (I like the hissy sound with the low sound in the middle and the harsh end. It kinda sounds like a dynamite going off if you sound it out)

So I'll probably go with Chert! Plus, nickname could easily be Cher or Chip, which are both short and sweet and kinda cool too.

FF did indeed shut down due to drama involving the community and admins there. The owners ultimately made the decision to shut it down after a lot of user backlash on some decisions that were made.

And yeah flop is on the nose, past sites had issues where random cats would just heal and such so it pretty much made the emedicine cat role useless; in order to protect their job we put that rule in place!

The fact that there was some drama doesn't surprise me, Feralfront was full of Drama™ since before I was Cyaniphier, there was literally a "Feralfront Confessions" account on Tumblr, I think, that was just full of people being absolutely ugly to each other. It was horrible! Also.. ...Not to sound like "I knew all along they were bad", but there was some.. Iffy Vibes about the admins even when I was Cyaniphier. You got the idea that they were just really annoyed every time they had to be called in to answer a question.

Yeah, I figured about the medicine cat thing too! It was part of why I said that he wouldn't have any knowledge of any major, life-saving stuff. I get really annoyed whenever I do take on a medicine cat role when a bunch of randos pop in and they're like "Oh, I'll help you cure your broken leg! //hands on hips like a superhero//" and everyone is just like "Lmao do medicine cats even serve a purpose loool."

So I don't mind at all that the rule is there!

(I know I'm late but I wanted to join the convo lmaooo)

Feel free! This thread is still open to everyone even this far into the discussion! I would love to get some opinions on other aspects about Chert that you guys might have comments on too—like things you'd love to see in his backstory and any critiques you might have for his character! I am completely open to suggestions (although, forewarning, I reserve the right to reject any I don't really like)

 

[Floppie]

OMGGG I LOVE CHERT blitz out here with the huge brained words <333

Side note, how did you spoiler in your original message so it showed up as the blurry spoiler instead of the box? /genq

[ispoiler]text[/ispoiler]

:)!!

 

[Synical]

OMGGG I LOVE CHERT blitz out here with the huge brained words <333

[ispoiler]text[/ispoiler]

:)!!

Thank you! :D

One last question before I continue this thread—how exactly can I add a thread label to the thread? There might be some sensitive topics ahead with Chert's backstory as I come up with it, and I wanna have that label there for anyone else who might join the thread.

 

[Floppie]

when u go to post a thread there's a silly little dropdown menu :)

​

 

[Synical]

I noticed there's not a drop-down for this thread or making a thread in this board, so I guess I'll just have to make sure I put the TWs and tags before I start launching into discussing Chert's backstory! Speaking of, my next post will probably contain that!

 

[Floppie]

AH yeah theyre typically on rp boards, b ut im sure a tw or cw at the top of any other post will do fine :) excited to see it!!​

 

[Synical]

So, I was thinking more about Slate, and I've come up with a couple other basic things I've decided on to flesh out his backstory some more. TW for some kinda sensitive topics, like emotional abuse and intimidation as an abuse tactic. A lot of this is stuff I've researched, because I'm a former psychology student and I know about some of the effects it can have on people.

• Like I said already, Slate's dad is not a great cat. Actually, he kinda really sucks ass, but he's not obviously an asshole to an outsider's perspective. Or at least Slate grows up thinking a lot of the things his dad did were normal until he met his friends, and no adult around him thought it was out of the norm either. TW:Abuse and intimidation as an abuse tactic He used to yell and throw tantrums a lot, and even though he wouldn't physically hurt his mates and kits, he still controlled them through the looming threat that he might and that he had of being bigger and stronger than them. Basically, he used to intimidate Slate, his siblings, and his mother into submission.
  
  
  
• Because of this, Slate grew up being not only self-reliant, but he learned that his best defense mechanism was to keep all of his emotions close to his chest and then one day he'll die and cover them up with a massive amount of bravado and grumpiness. Sarcasm too, probably! I think instead of learning a fawn response like his dad was probably expecting, Slate learned the fight response to deal with his issues. Or at least, he did after he got older. Speaking of.
  
  
  
• Slate leaving his family was probably driven by the first time he got into an argument with his dad that involved claws and blood being drawn. Tw: Disownment, more abuse, homophobia He probably was disowned shortly after, because "how dare he hurt family." Nevermind the fact that the fight started cause his dad found out about Slate's attraction to members of the same sex and he was attempting to shout Slate into submission again, and Slate was just tired of it and started to yell back. Things got violent pretty quickly after that.
  
  ...Slate's mother didn't put a stop to the fight entirely (though she did step in when it looked like Slate's dad was considering killing Slate) and neither did any of his siblings, so he kind of decided to leave after the fight, and was told not to return.
  
  
  
• I think Slate probably has a facial scar of some sort left over from his dad's claws, but I'm not certain of the approximate location yet! He certainly isn't blind, and it's not a super serious scar, but it definitely left its mark, and Slate tends to flinch at touches coming near to his face outside of a fight. He's also incredibly self-conscious about his appearance because of this scar.
  
  
  
• He already doesn't have super high self-esteem (Appearance is one thing, but he constantly pushes himself to master every new skill he comes across—or at least know enough about it to be considered experienced in it—because of this insecurity leftover from his dad) but the scar kind of solidified Slate's terrible self-image of himself. He won't speak on it, though, but it shows up in the little ways like expecting perfection from himself in every way possible. This is also kind of fueled by the fact that he learned from a young age (probably half-way through what would be considered apprenticeship for clan cats) that anything less than his best, every day, could result in death in the city.
  
  
  
• Slate's relationship with his mom wasn't great either. She was.. ..Difficult to please. Her and Slate's father originally had the kits to help support the colony as future guards and fighters, so Slate and his brothers were taken at a very young age and were already being taught how to protect the colony with their lives. If Slate's dad was the stick, his mom was the reluctant carrot.
  
  Those small glimmers of compliments and praise she would give Slate when he excelled past his siblings was somewhat of a goal for Slate.
  
  
  
• Tw: Codependency On that note, Slate was the one kit of the litter that Slate's mother "trusted" him with her emotional problems. He was somewhat expected by her to take care of the emotional needs her mate wasn't, and often would confide in her child. Not meeting this expectation often lead to Slate getting the cold shoulder from his mother with passive-aggressive behavior, guilt trips, silent treatment, or even belittling him. Comparing him to his older siblings was common as well, and unfortunately, it fueled part of Slate's insecurities.
  
  
  
• This way of raising their kits was not without physical consequence on the other kits, either. TW: Kit death Slate's youngest brother, Rust, ended up dying due to the extensive training. He quite literally simply would not get up one day after a harsher than usual training session. He was already the weakest of the litter, but his death both solidified Slate's ideas about his parents from a young age (they'd only been four moons at the time) and began to fuel the lifelong resentment that Slate would have for the two of them.
  
  
  
• This isn't to say there wasn't good moments between Slate and his parents, and even his siblings, but asking Slate about them is only met with a raised lip and a roll of the eyes, maybe even a lash of his tail. He detests his family even as much as he still cares about them. That all being said, he can remember fond moments after a training session with his brothers laughing and relaxing by a murky but cool river after a long day of bone-breaking drills.
  
  
  
• Despite all of these things, Slate's real family, as far as he's concerned, are his friends.

Which, I'll probably go into in my next post after this, because this post is kinda long as it is and I wanna get opinions and critiques for the backstory so far!

 

[ghost]

//slides in here
I'm not sure if we were around ff at different times or not. I had Tansyface (eventually -star!) in ShadowClan for about 2 years before the end came.

Can I say I already love Chert? With all of my heart and soul?

As far as where the scar is, some potential facial locations:
- around one of the eyes: I know you said he has full vision, but he could still have a scar near one of his eyes and have this! I suggest it mostly because when cats fight, the eyes are a commonly targeted area
- on the nose bridge: same reason as around one of the eyes, although this could be more incidental than purposeful for cats (although with the excuse of anthropomorphic-given intelligence it could very well be purposeful)
- on one of the ears: another commonly targeted area, with the bonus (?) of being an area with easy to break skin that tends to bleed quite a bit. I've always quietly enjoyed the aesthetic of a split or pocked ear
- on one of his cheeks: less targeted compared to the others, and on IRL cats cheek scars tend to be far less visible due to cats' fur tending to grow thicker on their cheeks than around their eyes and nose, but you could always say the scar is visible anyway (either due to having short fur maybe or because cats fur can sometimes grow in white over a place that their skin was damaged)

Other than on the head, other commonly targeted areas on cats are their bellies, legs, and the base of their tail. Belly and leg wounds tend to happen if the cat is caught in a wrestle, while wounds at the base of their tail tend to happen in territorial disputes when one cat is being driven out.

 

[Synical]

//slides in here
I'm not sure if we were around ff at different times or not. I had Tansyface (eventually -star!) in ShadowClan for about 2 years before the end came.

I think I remember you, actually! Tansypaw was one of the apprentices who got kidnapped in a bloodclan plot, right? Or am I thinking of a different character? You were around about the time I was, I believe, or you were at least just starting out with Tansy when I had to leave for college.

Can I say I already love Chert? With all of my heart and soul?

You may, you may. /lh

- on the nose bridge: same reason as around one of the eyes, although this could be more incidental than purposeful for cats (although with the excuse of anthropomorphic-given intelligence it could very well be purposeful)
- on one of the ears: another commonly targeted area, with the bonus (?) of being an area with easy to break skin that tends to bleed quite a bit. I've always quietly enjoyed the aesthetic of a split or pocked ear

Honestly, I also like the idea of a split and pocked ear for Slate, if only cause split ears are fun to draw, yes yes. But I also like the idea of him having a nose scar from his dad. Maybe a mixture of both? I definitely think a nose scar would have been intentional from his dad—it would have scarred and left a mark on Slate, kind of a symbol of his disobedience to the rest of the colony.

Other than on the head, other commonly targeted areas on cats are their bellies, legs, and the base of their tail. Belly and leg wounds tend to happen if the cat is caught in a wrestle, while wounds at the base of their tail tend to happen in territorial disputes when one cat is being driven out.

I think most of his scars probably come from territorial disputes with other rogues and loners in the city after he was chased out of his colony by his parents, so I think he probably has some scars on his belly and legs. I also think maybe he has some flank scars and maybe a back scar. But this is also good info to know for future fights on this site! I'll make a note of it

EDIT: Admittedly I'm a bit leery of ones near the base of the tail, because it might look kinda strange to see scars around that area in a character design. The few sites I've been on have looked upon scars like that as just kinda... "strange".

 

[Synical]

So! I said last night I would do some backstory on Slate's friend group that disappeared. BUT, I'm doing something a little different. Since I know that a lot of people are looking for connections to other characters (and admittedly I am too), I was thinking that Slate's friends and where they disappeared to are kind of left ambiguously open. There's a lot of rumors about what exactly happened, some rumors say they died, others say they simply.. Disappeared.

Which means that at any point (provided that they ask me and the other roleplayers for the other characters //wheeze) someone can create a character that might be friends with Slate from before even showing up around Windclan. It could even be someone already in a clan. All they would need to add is how they met Slate and all the rest of his friends.

That being said! Some basic things to keep in mind about Slate's backstory in that area

• Slate actually has a lot of friends—probably around six or seven friends minimum. Not all of them have to be played, but any who aren't played will probably will be killed off/Slate had a fight with them/whatever.
  
  
  
• There is definitely one friend that Slate actually looks up to—it's probably an older male character, older than Slate but not by much. He definitely looked up to this cat and molded most of morality after the very few glimpses of what he remembers of the other cat. Technically, he's chasing after this cat's shadow, or clinging to an ideal that doesn't actually exist. It'll probably be the roughest relationship out of any of the characters. This is mostly cause Slate has ideas about how this person should act and the other character probably doesn't match those ideas. I also think that this cat may have been Slate's first crush. It does not have to be reciprocated—in fact, I think the story would work better if it wasn't reciprocated.
  
  
  
• I would love it if Slate had a couple of friends who are softer as well. People who can remind Slate that being soft with other people and more emotionally vulnerable is not a bad thing. No matter how much his dad and his past experiences have told him. They don't have to be male or female, even nonbinary characters would be cool. But I want these friends to be cats that Slate protected alongside his idol/crush friend, or at least supported in whatever way he could back then.
  
  I think their relationships could be varied—some of them might not need Slate to protect them anymore, some of them might notice the broken edges of Slate and offer to help him figure them out, and some of them might even still rely on him. So, a lot of varied options for character relations here!
  
  
  
• Slate and these friends of his basically were their own little found-family unit—but they didn't stay together. One by one, they all splintered off for different reasons. This is partly due to backstory reasons, but also I want to give Slate a reason to strike out on his own and go find the clans. I'm thinking he hears a rumor that one of his old friends is actually in Windclan and mistakes Windclan for a colony—which he has horrible history with the concept of colonies and decides that he probably needs to go stop his friend from making a horrible mistake.
  
  
  
• For the most part, Slate's story with his friends will be revealed in the story, but I'm not gonna come up with any concrete details on it unless there are people who want to play these friends, and then we can probably get together and discuss the plotting for that!