The Unspoken Rules: Roleplay Tips

[~Macmanus~]

Hey, everyone, and welcome to The Unspoken Rules: A list of tips that I have personally picked up after years of Roleplaying. Keep in mind, these tips are personal opinions: You are welcome to ignore them, but I have found them rather useful to my own roleplaying, and they may be useful to you as well


Parts of this Thread:
Character Sheets/Forms
Making a Roleplay
Roleplaying Tips
Making a Warrior Cat Roleplay
Some People are too Strict About Banning Warrior Cat Names

I will add to and edit to this list as I see fit

[~Macmanus~]

Character sheets/forms are an incredibly fundamental and important part of any roleplay. This sheet is the introduction to your character, and lets us know a bit bout him/her. Let us see one of mine, as an example:

Character: The Lieutenant
Name: Remus Xanthos
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Primary Weapon Power: Remus' Greatsword burns like fire when it cuts, allowing him to slice through materials like wood, skin, and bone with burning ease. He can also use it to cut through thin metal, although it is a little bit more difficult.
Alternate Weapon: Hidden wrist blades in gauntlets on both of his wrists.
Personality: Remus once carried a very similar personality, to his brother, Apollos. The two always stood side by side in virtue and honesty. After his master's death, Remus sank, believing that the virtue that he carried so proudly had blinded him and that it was partially his fault that Lord Bartok was killed. He turned away from Apollos and Apollos' ways, and even though he is deeply upset and has lost faith in the Empire, he still attempts to remain moral and virtuous.
History: Remus was born before Apollos, and the two grew up on the border of the city together. By insistence of their parents, the two were raised as fighters and hunters, with exceptional skill in both areas. Their father forced them to spar with each other with real swords since they were 6 years old. Remus received his scar when he was 10 when he and his brother attempted to fight off a pair of bandits attacking a caravan. They were defeated and one of the bandits held him down and cut his face to remind him of the event. Ever since that day, Remus has taken his sparring a lot more seriously and became such a good warrior that he was employed into The Seventh Rank.
Other: Remus has a deep grooving scar along the left side of his face, that reveals part of his bottom left gums and teeth. His beard is unable to grow to cover the scar correctly, so it is prominent even through the thinner parts of it. Unlike in the picture, Remus has a goatee.

[Side note: My character sheet mentions another character, Apollos, who is played by someone else in the roleplay. Always make sure that the other player is okay with your character being linked to theirs: I asked if it was alright, and he agreed)

We learn a lot about Remus from this sheet: We learn his name, his age, his sex, the way he acts, why he acts that way, and how he looks. A lot of people like to leave their history out of the character sheets, but I think history is important: From Remus' we learn that he must be a good fighter, that he is caring and honest, why he has his scar, and the close connection that he has with his brother. Determing his personality tells us how he will act later in the roleplay. For example:

Scene: Remus witnesses a lady's purse being stolen:

-Response 1: We can determine from his history and his personality that he is willing to go into danger to do good, so he may try to take the purse from the thief and return it to the lady

-Response 2: We can also determine that he was injured last time he acted selflessly, and may be frightened to do so again. He may attempt to ignore the happenings, although he is also stated to be virtuous, so he may feel bad for ignoring the event

-Response 3: Perhaps you would like to have Remus aid the thief, rather than stop the thief? This makes no sense, according to his stated personality and history, and may seem very out of character, unless he has a good reason.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next tip, is one on God-Modding. Many people know these rules, but I feel it is important to state my opinions here anyway:

I once made a character for a My Little Pony roleplay, who was a griffon. I wanted her to seem like the "odd one out" or the "social outcast" In her character sheet, I stated one of the two options below. Can you guess which one I used?

Option 1: Snowcloud is frightened by ponies. She tends to avoid them because she fear that they hate her, although the only reason she believes this is because her old griffon friends constantly used to warn her that ponies hate griffons and treat them badly.

Option 2: Snowcloud is frightened by ponies. Everypony is mean to her and bullies her and treats her badly because she is a griffon

Did you guess correctly? That's right, Option 1! Now then, what is wrong with Option 2, anyway? The problem with option 2, is that it does not give other's characters any room to act differently. It is stated that everypony currently treats Snowcloud this way, meaning that the only way one can respond to your character is by agreeing, and having their pony bully Snowcloud, or disagreeing and having their pony pity Snowcloud. Their response options are critically minimized, making her unfun to roleplay with.

Another option is Option 3: Snowcloud is frightened by ponies. She grew up in Cloudsdale instead of Griffonstone, and the ponies there always used to bully her and tread her badly

This option states that the bullying used to happen, but does not necessarily have to happen anymore. The roleplay takes place in Canterlot, not Cloudsdale.

[~Macmanus~]

Starting a Roleplay seems soooo hard, right? Not so, if you know what you are doing!

(Disclaimer: I am not an expert on starting roleplays, but then again, I generally do not like starting roleplays anyway, so no skin off my back. I have been in a lot of roleplays, however, and I can spot things that mark a roleplay that has a better chance of surviving than one that does not)


SCHOOL ROLEPLAYS:


One quick tip that I have, is not to NPC the teachers! I have seen school roleplays survive with NPC teachers that anyone can play, although it is generally a better idea to pin the teacher's actions to someone, whether allowing the players to play teacher as well as students, or having the roleplay owner play the teachers as well.


OWNING A ROLEPLAY:


Creating, and therefore "owning", a roleplay is tricky stuff! Especially since owning a roleplay is more like being a GM than being a roleplayer. You can still play in the roleplay as well, but other players will generally rely on you for information like the setting, location, and important events. You also have to keep track of all of the players' characters, and the roleplay itself. Nothing kills a roleplay faster than an absent owner!


"ROLES" Roleplays:


"Roles" Roleplays, or roleplays with set roles, may seem a little scary to play. For example, in a lot of pairing roleplays, you may see specific pairing "Roles", like the "Queen Bee", "The Jock", "The Shy Girl", etc. In my post above, Remus belonged to a "Roles" roleplay, where he played in a role called "The Lieutenant"
The issue with these roleplays is that they heavily rely on characters: If you leave the roleplay, and your character carries this important role, it could leave the roleplay in jeopardy! I would recommend not joining one of these unless you are quite committed. However, they can be very fun, so do not be afraid!


"Ranked" Roleplays:


Ranked Roleplays are a little bit different than Roles Roleplays. In a Ranked Roleplay, there are a few roles, but the roles are not as heavily stated. For example, in a Roles Roleplay, you may see something like this in the Character List:

The Brain
[img]Image%20here[/img]
Roleplayer Here
Power:
- The Brain is a hard worker, always trying to do his best. He works well with others, and prefers to treat people better than him with respect, if only to watch what makes them better than him so he can better himself. He has an obsession with the sky and a fear of heights. He feels close to Quinn, even if she does not return the emotion. His assistant is Aeron, The Ignored.

While in a Ranked Roleplay, you may see this:

Medicine Cat:
Name/Gender/X Moons/Played By-

In the Roles Roleplay, your character is practically written out for you. All you have to do is give them a name and make a character sheet that will fit the Role

In the Ranked Roleplay, you are given little information about the character. All you know is the character's rank, and you must make a character that fits that rank in order to get the Rank.

Important: Ranked Roleplays work much better if the owner plays the highest rank, at least in the beginning of the game. Remember, the leader (Alpha, Principal, King, President, etc.) knows the setting better than anyone else. After all, he/she had to earn such a high rank, right? If there are two groups in the roleplay, the owner should play the leader of only one, preferably the dominant one.

ACTUALLY MAKING A ROLEPLAY THREAD

There are a few unspoken rules I see in Roleplay thread creation:

The Thread should start with at least four posts from you, which are as follows:

1st- The Introduction
This post may contain a bit of information about the roleplay, maybe a summary to its plot. I like to put a poem here

2nd- The Plot
This post should give a detailed summary of the location, a more detailed summary of the plot, maybe some backstory, etc. Also a good place to put roleplaying and character rules.

3rd- The Character List
A list of the characters, which includes any important information about them (For example, their name, their gender, a link to their form, their roleplayer)

4th- Extra Information
A good place to store any other information necessary.


DISCUSSION THREADS:

It is a good idea to have Discussion threads for roleplays. This is a separate thread in which users can discuss the roleplay "out of character", store their characters, and suggest elements and events for the roleplay. Remember to put a link to the discussion thread somewhere in one of the four first roleplay posts, as well as put a link to the roleplay in the Discussion thread!

THE FIRST POST:
Okay, you have your roleplay, all set. You have all four of your important posts, you have a bustling discussion thread, you have many eager roleplayers. Now, it is time to start your roleplay! But wait, how do you do that? Why, with the first post, of course. As the roleplay owner, it is your right to make the first post. But, my friend, what is the first post, anyway? It will look a little something like this:

"The sun rose over the horizon, blanketing the sky in bright rays of pink, soon-to-be blue. To the west, clouds were rolling in, most likely to take over the sky later that day. An eery silence rested over Twilight; rather unusual.
By the walls surrounding the castles, the Draconics scouted animalistic. They hungered for anything, whether trespasser or unauthorized leave. A few took to the sky, hanging low over the ground, while most paced on the ground on the search for prey.

Inside the walls of Twilight, light crept through windows and cracks. The silver and red banisters hanging on the inner walls blew gently in the breeze. Dust blew up softly, catching on to the spider webs in the cracks of the bricks. Here and there, a mouse skitted, searching for food. Twilight was old, and had its fair share of history, in these millennia-old walls.

In the courtyard in the center of the building, stood a tall statue of a woman, although who she was was unknown, as the statue may have well been as old as Twilight itself. By this statue, sat a large red dragon, wings curled tightly, sitting properly like a dog."

The First post lets us know the exact time, weather, and feeling of the very first minute that our characters feel when the roleplay begins. From this post, we learn:

1- It is Sunrise
2-It is cloudy, will possibly rain later in the day
3- The draconics (Creatures stated in the plot of this roleplay) can be seen in the sky, and seem to be very active.
4- The castle the main characters live in (Called Twilight) is very old, dusty, and full of mice and cobwebs
5- The roleplay owner (me)'s character is introduced, and where he is located is stated. I followed this first post, with this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Miles~~~~~~Location: Courtyard~~~~~~~Tags:Open~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles curled his neck back and stared up at the sky. He did not like morning much: That's when humans were first getting up and were usually pretty whiny. He snorted.
The small red dragon stood up and stretched his wings out, one at a time. His golden eyes glistened as he watched the castle light up around him. As if on a summons, a jet black shape burst into the sky. Miles knew that this was The Recruiter, a creature almost as old as he was. A brother to him? No, Miles' understanding of the beast was more limited than he would admit. He assumed his ancient companion was off on a hunt for more children to bring to Twilight.

This post is the first that is posted about this character, the one that introduces him to they story, which leads on to my next part:

INTRODUCTION POSTS:

Every character gets an Introduction post. This will usually teach us about some fundamentals about the character in question. What do we learn about the character above?

1-His name is Miles
2-He is in the Courtyard
3-He is alone
4-He is a dragon, and a small red one at that
5-He thinks lowly of humans
6-The Recruiter (an unknown character that is mentioned in the plot of the roleplay) is now visible flying
7-Miles does not like to admit error, as he seems unwilling to admit that he knows little about the Recruiter. This hints that Miles is a leader-type character, who would most likely not like to admit when he is flawed or mistaken

[~Macmanus~]

Note: This list will be added to as I think up new things

Tip 1: Something to avoid during roleplaying is to roleplay in a way that forces other players. For example, in a roleplay I was in once, a character constantly spoke about how sad and lonely she was, regardless of who was talking to her or why at the time. The only three ways that characters could respond to her was to ignore her and look like a jerk, respond negatively or change the subject and look like a jerk, or coddle her and not look like a jerk. It was very difficult to play with her.

Tip 2: Remember: In-Character fights should NEVER become Out of Character Fights!

Tip 3: Be appropriate. This is a site for everyone, after all.

Tip 4: If you created a roleplay and it is dying, do not harass the players who let it die. Life gets in the way sometimes. Revive it how you can, but once it gets to the point that everyone has lost interest, it is time to let it die gracefully. You could also try making a V2

Tip 5: Try to make your characters fit the roleplay's canon. In a roleplay set in the middle ages, characters won't be able to reference cars or mobile phones.

Tip 6: Saying things like "Orbs" or "Oculars" instead of eyes (or any other unnecessarily fancy word instead of a body part, like "Audits", "Cranial", "Grippers", or "Ectoderm") in my point of view, doesn't make you sound smart. Instead, it just makes you sound out of place, especially in an animal roleplay. If you want to sound smart by using fancy words, try words that actually fit: You would never say "Lanterns" instead of eyes in real life. You may, however, say pretty words like "Russet", "Nepotism", "However", "Offspring", "Sleek", or "Ebony" in real life, and they sound like rather intelligent words, even if they do have simple definitions.

Tip 7: The Roleplay's Owner ALWAYS gets the final say in what is and isn't allowed, especially on necessary decisions

Tip 8: Being the Roleplay Owner does NOT give you the right to bully or harass roleplayers

Tip 9: I would recommend not using fancy fonts to make your posts. They can be hard to read or even not show up at all on mobile, and can turn roleplayers away from your roleplay.

Tip 10: Writer's Block is an okay excuse for a bit, but then it just gets old. I mean, we've all been there, but not posting for like 10 days and only saying "writer's block" is kind of rude. A good way to fight writer's block is to try to power through it anyway.

Tip 11: Please, please PLEASE do NOT start your Intro post to your roleplay with a word and it's dictionary definition. That is so cliché it hurts.

[~Macmanus~]

Some words of advice for making the best Warrior Cat roleplay:

- If you invented the clan, PLAY THE LEADER. As stated above, the Leader knows the Clan, the territory, and the sociology better than anyone else, so it should be played by the user who has the same knowledge.

-If you play a Medicine Cat, it is good to have a good herb guide. They are pretty easy to find, and I will link a few later

-Not every Medicine Cat has to go and break the No-having-kits rule, you know

-When inventing a clan, mix it up a little: A random clan living in a random place gets boring: How about cats with wings, a clan on the move that does not have/want a permanent home, a clan with a currently evil leader, or a clan of something other than feral house cats?

-A prophecy is not a plot! A prophecy helps a plot. A prophecy's purpose is to warn or alert of an event that will happen, but the prophecy itself is not an event. Whoever made the prophecy should think up its meaning before making a prophecy for it.

-A normal kit cannot beat a normal Warrior

-It actually would be fairly easy for two or three cats to fight a badger. The Erins make badgers look to be the size of sheep when they fight cats, but badgers are not actually that big. Even one cat could probably beat a badger, although the chances are slightly lower. Foxes may chase cats, but will usually run like mice when the claws are unsheathed

-Tortoiseshell Toms: There are two ways to generally make a tortoiseshell tom. The first one involves the way that everyone always tells you when they whine and moan about "oh, it has to be sterile and it's sickly and weak and..." blah, blah, blah.
There is actually a second way that a tom can be tortoiseshell, not genetically horrific, and not sterile: Chimarism. This basically means that two embryos were fused together: One fetus dies and the other ends up wearing part of the dead one's pelt. When this happens, the survivor proceeds as normal, even if he has some weird spots on his coat. Two things about this though: It's rare (1 in several thousand), and the cat does not have his sibling's genetics. Basically, if a black and white cat wears part of his ginger brother, his genetics are still that of a black and white cat. His kits will not inherent ginger.

[~Macmanus~]

[Note: This post is borrowed from my DeviantArt]

Here is a list on my thoughts on some of the well-known banned Warrior cat names:

(Note, this is my opinion, feel free to have your own)

Red is names that I agree should be banned, Green is names that I think should be accepted. Blue means "in some cases yes, in others no"

(Remember, you don’t really have to name a kit until the kit can open their ears and eyes or walk anyway. Some humans don’t name Premie babies until they can take their babies home, and since kits aren’t really anything but suckling balls of fur for a few weeks, a mother can hold off on naming them until they grow a little. You can use this for names like Quiet, Silent, or Mumble. However, it takes months before eye colour comes in, so the kits should have been named by then, and shouldn’t be named after eye colour still)

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the end of the day, the roleplay owner's rule is law. If they say you cannot name a cat something, you must respect their decision, even if you do not agree. It is their roleplay, after all. If you do not like it, make your own ;)


Arch- There was a cannon cat named Archeye. Furthermore, an arch is a shape, and cats do know what shapes are.

Prefix Named Strictly After the Cat's Personality: And how would the mother know this? I mean, she can tell if the kit is loud or quiet, big or small, pushy to other kits or more timid, but don't give your cat the prefix Rabbit or Hare only because she is a fast runner, Squirrel because she's a good climber, Badger because she fights like one, Fire or Sharp because of her claws. She was named before she could run or climb or fight or unsheathe her claws.

Gemstones: I agree that Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond etc. have no place in Warrior cat naming. These are very well known as gemstones, not colours. Copper, Gold, Silver, Ebony, and Pearl, however, are also known as colours. Even though the former gemstones mentioned can be colours, their colours in relation to cats makes no sense (Cats cannot be ruby, sapphire, emerald, or diamond. However, they can be golden (diluted ginger), copper (russet) pearl (light grey or cream) and ebony (black). For ebony, some people use the excuse of the ebony tree, although this is only applicable where ebony trees are located, like with Orchid, Cherry, Maple, etc.

Dog: The explanation usually given is that “Dogs are big and stupid, who would want to name their kit after a dog?” Well, do you know what else are considered, brutish, stupid, and monstrous? Badgers, Wolves, and Foxes, yet all of these names have been used. By the same logic, Rat, Mouse, Shrew, Vole, Rabbit, Squirrel, and other prey animals shouldn’t be used because they animals are all small, cowardly, and eaten. If Foxleap, Squirrelflight, Badgerfang, Mousefur, and Wolfheart (all cannon cats) exist, than so can your Dogclaw or Dogtail.

Ocean: Unless you have an oceanside or noncanon clan, I agree with this. A clan who lives near the ocean may know what the ocean is called, but the canon clans just happen to not know what it is.

Fall and Spring: These don’t really work for a prefix, but as a suffix, to me, it sounds like a cat who is good at jumping or leaping.

Seasons other than Fall and Spring: Autumn, Winter, and Summer do not work, due to cats not knowing what they are. However, Spring and Fall are both also verbs.

Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, and Sky: The four clans don't know about Skyclan, so Sky is fine to them. I personally don't find a problem with these, anymore than I would have a problem with Tiger, Lion, or Leopard.

Butter and Dragon: Bumblestripe’s name was Bumblestripe, not Bumblebeestripe. By this logic, Dragon and Butter can be used (Dragonfly, Butterfly) I personally do not like the way they sound, however, so I won’t use them.

Burning, Burnt, Charred: As a changed name these are absolutely fine. As a birth name, they might work to make a kitten sound tough, like Blaze, Flame, or Fire, or to refer to a russet-coloured cat, although I don’t think they’d be common.

Enchanted, Wish, Dream, Sparkle, Glimmer, etc.: Don’t. Although Shine, Shining, and Bright aren’t so bad, and are much more realistic than Sparkle or Wish and sound nicer than Glimmer. Glimmer has been used in cannon, as have Shine, Shining, and Bright.

Grizzly: Works fine if your clans are located somewhere with Grizzly Bears.

Jump, Pounce, Quick, Rapid: are fine for kits who have long legs and are not named immediately after birth.

Silent, Quiet, Loud, Mumble: Are fine for kits who are not named immediately after birth

Echo: Works fine for a kit not named immediately after birth and "echoes" their littermates mews. Also occasionally used for a cat who looks like their parent or a recently deceased cat, although I prefer the first one

Marble: I wouldn’t use it because it sounds unnatural to me, but it technically is a fur colour.

Star, Paw, Kit: Starstar, Pawpaw, Kitkit

Strong : A good name for the biggest kit in the litter.

Sweet: A kit born within sweet smelling flowers could be named this.

Vixen: Vixentail was a canon cat. They've also mentioned vixens and foxes separately in the books. I wouldn’t use it, but there isn’t any good reason why you can’t. I just don’t like the way it sounds.

Sun and Moon: This is going to be a fun one. The Hunters explained that Moon is not sacred or makes a cat seem sacred. Nor is it an insult to Starclan. However, it does make a cat sound more beautiful than his or her clanmates. By that logic, why do we have prefixes like Claw, Brindle, Bark, and Mud, or the suffix Face (Three of those prefixes have been used with the suffix Face)? In my point of view, they all make a cat sound pretty ugly. Even though Hunter apologized for Moonflower, they later named a Thunderclan cat Ambermoon (I will excuse Harveymoon, as this cat is from Skyclan). Sun has been used several times as well. The name Moon isn’t actually sacred, and in my eyes, as long as you don’t mean it as an exceptionally pretty cat, you’re fine (I’ve used it twice, once for a black Tom and once for a black she. Both Moonkits had a sibling named Sunkit :P)

Ghost, Spirit: I’m pretty sure Starclan cats aren’t referred to as ghosts. They are just Starclan cats. Regardless, don’t. Unlike with Moon and Sun, this would be offensive.

Angel, Demon, Devil, God: Warriors don’t know what these are.

Cactus, Cocunut, Almond, etc: Only if the plants in question are native to where your clan is.

Damaged, Broken, Torn, Etc. These generally work for renames, but may work for given names when applicable (WhiteEye, Brokenstar)

Names that go together (Greycloud, Rainstorm, Snowstorm, etc.) As long as the suffix is applicable to the cat as well as the prefix, it’s fine.

Naming kits after a cat: This is fine, and happens in real life a lot anyway.

Naming kits after what the mother wants in the kit: I generally wouldn’t do it because it seems uncreative to me, but it is perfectly reasonable.

Death: Don’t.

Hollow: Good if not named immediately after birth, for a kit with a raspy or "hollow" mew.

Green: The only logical reason to name a cat this is after eye colours, which we shouldn’t do.

One, Two, Three: Good for a rename, like One-Eye. I will never, however, excuse Onekit-Onepaw-or Onestar (Onewhisker would be okay if he had one whisker, however, he was said to be named this way for the fact that one of his whiskers is whiter and longer than the others. However, I would prefer Whitewhisker or Longwhisker or something. Onewhisker makes no sense to me.)

Song: Sounds better as a Suffix. The arguments for this are the fact that cats don't sing, and that birds don't technically "sing" rather "chirp". The first argument is bad because cats don't have wings either, yet that is an acceptable suffix. The second argument is bad because a bird "song" is a loud, obvious, pretty noise. They don't know lyrics, obviously, but it is still a song. This is a good suffix for a well-spoken cat, who is good with their words.

Fancier Words, like Aqua or Lunar: These don't seem to be in the cat's vocabulary or dialogue, so I am iffy about them.

Feather: It is argued that the prefix or suffix "feather" means nothing, Scarlet_wolf points out how feather can not be used to describe a color or texture, since feathers come in different colours and textures. While yes, they do come in different colours, feathers are most often soft, and all feathers (belonging to the birds around the canon clans, anyway) are light. This could mean a small kit as a prefix or a light-stepped cat as a suffix.

Named for the weather they were born in: If that weather was exceptional, like born during a howling storm or in a raging blizzard, go for it. If it's a light rain or gentle snow, maybe not so much.

-Credit to Scarlet_wolf, since some of these names that I argued for on on their against list. And credit to everyone else who has an against list that I argued from/agreed with.

[~Macmanus~]

Comments:

"I love that you managed to explain the prefix Moon. Whenever someone sees my character with that name, they all automatically tell me "No, that isn't acceptable." Even in roleplays where the leader is named Sunstar, it occurs. The cats of the clans do look to it as an omen occasionally (clouds covering the moon, the eclipse, etc.), but they also see omens in Fire (Firestar), the clouds (Cloudstar), and everything else. However, arguing with roleplay owners over this has always seemed silly to me. :3"

I really liked the section regarding names in Warrior Cats roleplays. I've noticed a lot of Warriors rps that allow non feral-born cats to join the Clan, like how ThunderClan accepts Millie and Firestar.

Now, I often see people fall into the pattern of giving previous non-Clan rogues, ferals, housecats, barncats, etc. Clan names and either incorporating or disregarding their previous names. If a housecat was named Freddie, the person usually changes it entirely, like to Foxfur or Snowfall. If a rogue or feral was named Smokey, the person might change it to Smokefur or Nightsmoke.

The thing is, people always change their cats' previous names.

Firestar didn't want to keep his ties to his life as a housecat, so he happily accepted the Clan name Firepaw. Millie felt like if she changed her name, it would change her identity, too.

I think it's important for every Clan cat who lived without a Clan name for any extended period of time to have some sort of inner conflict about it. Names are a very important part of the Warriors series. Firestar was unknowingly named in allusion to a prophecy, because fire is an "other" and for it to save the Clan would be strange. Firestar came from the housecat world, and was at first also an "other".

It's also important to note than many non-Clanborn cats don't change their names at all. Millie never wanted to change her name. Brook didn't, even though she went from Tribe to RiverClan to ThunderClan to Tribe again. Daisy had a whole scene about deciding that her name was good enough for her, and Millie did, too. Purdy found his name perfectly fine.

"You can rely on my loyalty until the day I join StarClan, and you must believe that I will live and die to protect ThunderClan. But I don't want to change my name. I have always been Millie, and I see no shame in it."

That's what Millie said in response to Firestar wanting to change her name. Several ThunderClan cats disagreed with her, and I think it's important for people to recognize this conflict in their own non-Clanborn characters.

Snookthorn of SkyClan was also a good example. It's only mentioned in passing that he changed his name from Snooky to Snookpaw between Sharpclaw and Leafstar arguing about the daylight-warriors, but later he says this:

"I have the courage to know what I truly am. I am a kittypet. Twolegs are not my enemies, and I never want to see that look in their eyes again."

He thanked Leafstar for his warrior name, and loved being accepted, but decided instead to leave the Clan. He didn't feel like he belonged, and because of that he didn't want to stay. He said that he was grateful for the friendships he'd made, thanked Billystorm and his favorite warrior, Bouncefire (who was a total jerk to him, by the way), but that he knew who he was.

This passage made me cry a little, actually. It's a critical example of cats trying to fight against names dictating sides, like the argument over daylight-warriors in the SkyClan super edition.

"I thought I could do it, but I can't. Living as a Clan cat is making me something I don't want to be- fierce and wild and unwelcome among Twolegs. I'm honored that you think I'm good enough to be a warrior, but it's not something that I want. Not anymore."

His name wasn't his identity. Neither would Millie have been content with a warrior name, or Daisy, or Brook. Brightheart was very grateful when Firestar changed her name from Lostface, because she didn't want to be depressed about her physical flaws; she wanted to be proud of her strong spirit.

In summary, I just think it's important to note that there are more names than Clan names, and some cats would rather be a kittypet or keep their Twoleg-given name than conform to the standard.

Thank you!

If you have any critiques or comments, please PM them to me (I want to keep this thread clean ;) If they are respectful, I will post them here

If you have any questions, likewise, PM them to me, and I can either answer them in PM, or post both the questions and the answer here, your preference. I can also keep you anonymous, if you would like me to post your question, comment, or critique here, per your request.