Warrior Cat Clichès

Part 10 - But Daddy, I love him!

A/N:  Whenever someone else follows me I have to choke back a scream because I don't know why yall keep doing it, however much I appreciate your support.  The reason that I haven't been active for so long is a mixture of school demands (I'm getting to the narrow end of it now) and the fact that I'm busy working on something else for you guys!  Unfortunately, it won't be a Warriors story, but rather a crossover with my good friend @im_your_lionheart between Vocaloid and Undertale.  It's actually kind of funny because lion knows like a total of two Vocaloid songs and I've never played Undertale in my life.  We've been working on it for a couple of months now, and I think we're about half way through it.  We're going to finish it completely before we start posting so that our readers don't have to wait a long time between chapters, but that's it, really.  

Also, I don't feel like I have much more to say in this guide.  I might do one or two more chapters on requested subjects after this, but I'm finally ranted out lol.  I'd like to thank everyone again who has followed, commented and voted on this guide, because the Warriors fandom will always have a special place in my heart.  

oOo

Yes, my friends, it is time . . . to discuss romance.  And generally how a lot of fics make me cringe because of it.  There are some things that, after a while, get old, and I'm going to talk about a few now.

#1 - Romeow and Juliet

If there is one thing that you take away from this chapter, I hope that it is this:

Unless you are very confident in your writing, can write very well, and this is not the central focus of your story, do not create a forbidden inter-Clan romance.

Don't do it.  Not in the least because it is not handled very well by most people, this 'forbidden romance' has become alomst taboo in the Warriors fandom.  Because everyone and their kitchen sinks write them into their fics, and often it's without any sort of original twist on the trope.  It creates your main character, almost invariably a she-cat, whose entire apprentice life revolves around pining after some strong, mysterious RiverClanner and meeting up with him at night.  

Honestly if the Clans get any more interbred then they might as well all merge into one big Clan. 

Some twists/ideas that can work forbidden romance into a story if written correctly:

-    Side character gains a crush on a cat from another Clan, but elects to ignore it due to their Clan loyalty.

- Character meets a cat from another Clan who appears to be the perfect mate, but was actually sent by their Clan leader to get them to reveal Clan secrets.

- Or yanno, just write a nice plot where two cats from the same Clan actually just fall in love and work together (or not) to overcome the struggles of what's needed to have a strong a relationship.  

#2 - One tom likes her ?1?1?!? bUt????!!1  anOtHEr tom also likes her? ?!1?1?!

Look, it's just unnecessary.  I read a popular fic where the main character has like four possible love interests as an apprentice.  'Oh, will she choose the mysterious cool guy, the jerk, or the shy but nice guy?'  

I've said this many times before, but I'm going to say it again:  The best romance plots delve deeply into the feelings, commitment, problems, weaknesses and strengths of a relationship.  The characters should compliment each other's personalities, and complete each other, despite and external or internal factors that might cause tension between them.  

Because I can't think if good analogies, I'm going to tell you about two characters of mine who I feel give a fresh outlook on Warriors romance (this is not saying that I am a good author, in fact I very much dislike the one-shot that I wrote about them because of the cringy dialogue).

Foxtail is my main character, and he's a russet and brown tomcat who lives in ThunderClan (one of my only TC OCs).  He's extremely socially anxious, and has a habit of stammering and babbling when he gets nervous.  His best friend, Blackstripe, who is a generally chill guy, already has a mate in the fiery Emberstrike, and teases him about his inability to talk to his crush.  His crush is Hazelflight, who is a bright socialite with a mischevious streak.  After a talking to from Blackstripe, Foxtail finally tells Hazelflight how he feels, and is estastic to find out that she likes him too.

They enter a relationship, but Foxtail generally feels inferior.  He feels that an outcast like himself doesn't deserve a beautiful she-cat like Hazelflight, although she frequently reassures him that she finds his awkwardness endearing.  Hazelflight encourages Foxtail to find within himself the ability to enjoy life, and to live adventurously.  Foxtail finds himself as her rock, and they can genuinely say that they are each other's best friends.  

(They later have kits and it's amusing to see Foxtail's protectiveness over his daughter, who ends up as bright as Hazelflight)

Oppose that to the four way apprentice love square above.  Do you see what I mean by exploring a relationship?  You can truly create something beautiful out of a Warriors romance story if you put the effort into it.  Of course, this doesn't mean that you can't pull off two love interests.  It's just that once again, most people don't have that level of skill required.  

#3 - Oh look he's dead

0/10 would not recommend.  Killing one side of the relationship dramatically always ends up as a revenge plot, and one that isn't well done at that.  I have two solutions for this: let the poor cat live, therefore forcing you to find a more creative way of inspiring heroism, or don't make the death a matyr.

Another thing which I would personally like to see is a mate dying, but then the other exploring their grief in a healthy way.  Supportive friends and family feels hell yeah.  

But yeah aside from that most deaths of a mate end up in some form or another motivating the cat that's left to either become a mass murderer or fight the bad guy.  I just,,, it's so overused at this point.  There's no good way to go about it anymore.  Most of the time too it's the male who dies and creates the bitter/strong female character.  The problem often isn't in the death itself, but how it's used.  If you want to kill a love interest, I would just like to ask you to take a good hard look at why.  

Anyway, that's about it.  This has been Lazerkat's Warrior Cat Clichès and I'll see yall around.  Out!