[M:0]
Post by Karma on Jun 28, 2009 11:35:23 GMT -5
FAQ: Freaking Anticipated Questions and Frequently Asked Questions.
AKA "Word of Karma". If you ask a question about Reversals canon, it's either going to get answered vaguely ("That's for people to decide for themselves") or it's going to shoot down some theories you might have had.
Please use this board to ask questions. They'll be placed in this thread after they get answered.
Q: Why is the forum called "Reversals"?
A: ...Eh, there's actually a couple of reasons for this.
Q: Can I be staff?
A: Talk to the staff application board, not me.
Q: Can my character really not be something like a lynx? It's not like I'm asking to role play a tiger! Lynxes aren't that much bigger than domesticated cats!
A: Unless we choose to have a plot that needs a big(ger) cat character, no.
Q: Hey, I have a really good idea for a forum-wide plot or a "secret" of some sort for the forum (like a secret board), but I don't want to spoil it by posting it on the Questions and Suggestions board. What should I do?
A: PM me (Karma) and we'll talk.
Q: Why are all the board descriptions so... weird? I mean, all the IC boards (for the most part) have serious descriptions, but boards like the Announcements board just have off-the-wall random ones. In fact, the board IDs are weird, too!
A: Because I'm serious business. No, really, it's because it's fun. We're here to have fun. Therefore, my thought process was like this:
Q: Can I have characters in different groups?
A: Go ahead.
Q: Can my character leave his or her group and join a different one?
A: If you role play it out plausibly, why not? You don't need staff members checking up on when your character is going to do something drastic. That goes with two group leaders declaring war on each other or something; a staff member doesn't have to "okay" the battle decision. If the leader wants to declare war, then go ahead. We ask that you tell us (not ask) if something that'll affect a lot of people's characters happens so we can add it in the "Plot" header for other people to know. It's not much of a war if say, only half of the role players with cats in Ruinplace know it exists. Sure, you might somehow role play that your character doesn't know about it, but if they're not a kit, I doubt they wouldn't be told about the war. (Even then, kits are notoriously able to find out information, somehow...)
Q: Can I role play this specific breed of cat?
A: These cats are wild; it's unlikely that your cat's going to be purebred unless he or she is a runaway pet of some sort. I'd discourage referring to your cat as a specific type of breed if he or she is either a loner by birth or a group-born cat; it can damage some suspensions of disbelief. Just describe the cat's breed without mentioning the breed (e.g. "he has short blue-grey fur" could possibly be taken as "Oh, he looks like a Russian Blue"), or you can say, "looks like breed X" without saying "he is breed X". Also, for the record, calico and tabby aren't breeds. They're markings/types of coloration. (Seriously! Do you want to give these poor guys an identity crisis?)
Q: Can my character be the advisor, leader or heir of a group?
A: Matters that pertain to characters remain with the characters. In other words, role play it out. If your character wants to become leader... well, try getting all buddy-buddy with the current one in hopes of being named heir or something. Keep it IC, folks.
Q: The forum's glitching out and looks weird! Something's wrong, here!
A: Did you find an error in the code or some broken links/images? PM what the problem is and where you found it to an upper staff member (Admin/G-mod).
Q: So, I want my character to have a non-traditional name, but to have lived in the group all his/her life, or I want my character to be a loner who joined the group in the past. Does that mean I need to get the permission of the person who role plays the leader of that group?
A: Yes. You see, a leader would have to have okayed a non-traditional name or a loner coming into the group for it to have actually happened. Think things like this through: would it require a leader's approval to happen? If so, ask for permission, because just saying "my character was a loner and came into the group" is effectively powerplaying the leader's history. And as we all know, that's no good.
Q: Do Ruinplace cats know that humans created the places they live in?
A: Yes, they do! While the groups' cats are mostly a myth to the city cats, the wild cats most definitely know that the city exists. Consequently, they've seen similar things to what Ruinplace has the remnants of, and have long since come to the conclusion that humans created them. They know that humans constructed the Skytower, too, but it was made holy by Skytail and the other Cats of the Sky.
Q: Is there any way for a cat without a heritage in a group to control an element?
A: As of right now, no. Wouldn't it defeat the purpose of needing a heritage in a group if anyone could just waltz over to some secret place and gain magickal powers?
Q: Why did you put in prefixes? They're unnecessarily complicated
A: Have you ever watched, read or played something from another country whose native language deals in honorifics? (Japanese, of course, is probably most familiar to people at this point, but there's plenty of other languages out there with honorifics.) More often than not, in character interaction, honorifics or titles play a role in showing what another character thinks of another one. This often plays out in the Warriors books, too! In the original series, Longtail and Darkstripe tauntingly call Fireheart and Graystripe "Firepaw and Graypaw" as an insult. Because Reversals does away with "name suffix equals rank", this effectively also did away with a level of potential character interaction. As a replacement, I shoved in the prefix system. It's not that annoying, is it?
Q: Why exactly did you alter the main Warriors clan systems, anyway? Like why aren't they called something similar to OceanClan, ForestClan, CliffClan and DesertClan and why do they all believe in different deities instead of the same one?
A: The original incarnation of Reversals, as stated before, was slated to be located in an exact replica of an area in San Diego. Now, think for a second: in the books, we have the Tribe show up for the first time. They have different traditions, believe in a deity different from StarClan... and they're within a journey's distance from the Clans! Since the books supposedly take place somewhere in Britain (based on the animals, geography, seasons and such) San Diego is definitely farther away from the Clans than the Tribe was. So, doesn't it make sense that the traditions would be radically different?
Q: Okay, so the traditions are different from the Clans. But why don't all of the groups believe in the same deity?
A: Whereas in the book series where all of the cats came from the same group and just branched off into their own, the cats here "developed" independently of each other. They arrived at different times from different lands; why, Crashingwaves believes that their founding ancestors came across an entire ocean! Sunnysands thinks that Shadowtrees cats are descended from either a group of traitors to the Sun or shadowy, dark savages who live in the forest, and that their own (Sunnysands) cats came from a far-off land.
Q: Why exactly do Shadowtrees and Sunnysands have such a visible rivalry? Both of their origin myths basically take shots at the other.
A: It's not just Shadowtrees and Sunnysands. Ruinplace and Crashingwaves have had a long history of fighting for control of the western cliff. At least Shadowtrees and Sunnysands keep it in their myths and off the battlefield!
Really, these groups have different beliefs and different though similar goals at hand, not to mention the whole opposing element deal. It's only natural that they'd fight each other from time to time. It happened in the books, and they had a lot less to be divided about. Myths tend to be full of propaganda about the other groups to (hopefully) prevent cats from trying to run out on their own group to join another one or go be loners.
Q: But Crashingwaves and Sunnysands are opposing elements, too, and so are Ruinplace and Shadowtrees! Why don't they fight?
A: They do. They just don't fight as much. Besides, a lot of their conflicts aren't just based in their differences; it's their pasts or a current desire for more territory.
Crashingwaves and Ruinplace have similar territory; therefore, it'd be easy to get used to if one of the groups took it from the other, whereas Crashingwaves would have a hard time adapting to a nearly waterless desert and Ruinplace wouldn't be at home in a forest that blocks off a lot of the wind.
Sunnysands and Shadowtrees continue to dislike each other partially due to their origin myths, which they believe to be their actual history. (Whether it is real history or not is for you to decide for yourself!) In Shadowtrees lore, fire burned down the forest. In Sunnysands lore, cats from the forest nearly killed Sunpelt, their iconic hero and founder, and blocked up the only source of water for Sunnysands using rocks and grass, clearly referencing Shadowtrees cats' ability to control the earth.
It's not really much of a surprise that they're fighting. After all, would you be best friends with someone whose ancestors tried to kill yours?
Q: Why are the deities what they are? How did you choose what the groups worshiped?
A: I'm not sure if you noticed, but all of the deities have an opposite in another group.
Cats of the Sky versus Yggdrasil, the speaker for the Earth. (Though the cats actually worship the Earth and not Yggdrasil, they usually go to the Yggdrasil tree to pray to the Earth.) The Sun for Sunnysands and the Moon for Crashingwaves are opposites, though the Ocean is still a popular deity to believe in.
The opposites thing goes another way, too; the Sun could be seen as an opposite to the Earth, in which case the Sky is opposite to the Ocean. It works regardless of whether Crashingwaves decides it believes in the Moon or the Ocean.
Q: Who is the real deity of Crashingwaves? Is it the Moon or the Ocean?
A: That's for you to decide for yourself! A cat can receive revelation from either the Moon or the Ocean, probably based on who he or she believes in as an individual... so, what could this mean?
Q: So, are they both the real deities?
A: *laughs*
Q: Do the names in the origin myths mean anything? Like, Skytail and Cloudfur, and Wavefang and Rockclaw.
A: Well, they kind of do.
As we humans know, the moon is effectively a piece of rock in orbit. This is where Rockclaw's name came from. Wavefang's, obviously, simply refers to the ocean. Though Wavefang worshiped the Moon and Rockclaw worshiped the Ocean, their rivalry mirrors that of the (then) future rivalry between Moon believers and Ocean believers. Perhaps it's not such a good sign that one of the half-sisters killed the other at the end of the myth... In the same myth, Wolfpelt's name references how he believed in maintaining a strong group/pack with himself as the unquestionable leader, his appearance (Wolfpelt had grey fur and yellow eyes), and because the name would seem evil to a cat audience, as wolves, though a myth, are portrayed as monsters significantly bigger than cats. Plus, Wolfpelt was Wavefang's father; wolves are associated with the moon, and Wavefang was the one who started the Moon worship.
Sunpelt has a "glow" that surrounds him, as constantly noted by the shadowy cats in the Sunnysands origin myth. They call him the "glowing one", and it's implied that this is because of his endless devotion to the Sun. Of course, his name is still a reference to the Sunnysands deity, the Sun. That's outright stated in the myth. Maybe he had a different name in the past and changed his name when he started worshiping the Sun?
Yggdrasil's name goes beyond Shadowtrees lore; it has nothing to do with the Earth or any other Shadowtrees myths. As some may have already guessed, it's a reference to the tree of life in Norse mythology. Since Yggdrasil turns into a tree at the end, this cements the reference into the ground. Yggdrasil himself even references the Norse; he mentions that his great-grandfather came from a "faraway land", where the name Yggdrasil (also the name of said great-grandfather) is important. Maybe Yggdrasil also has a distant relative named Odin or Ratatosk... In Yggdrasil's myth (in Shadowtrees, not the Norse ones), Flaresoul is just a very stereotypical Sunnysands name due to the fact it has to do with fire. From the very start of the myth, even a young kitten who's never heard the story should be able to identify Flaresoul as the antagonist because of her name.
Skytail and Cloudfur are simply very Ruinplace-sounding names, being connected to the sky. Even though at that point Ruinplace didn't worship the sky because the Cats of the Sky didn't really exist back then, these names are perfect for a pair of Ruinplace heroes. Like kittens identifying Flaresoul as the antagonist early on in Shadowtrees, it's easy to figure out that despite what she did wrong before, Skytail is the hero of the tale. And, of course, her name references the Skytower and the Cats of the Sky.
Q: What did Ruinplace worship before they worshiped the Cats of the Sky?
A: Nobody's really quite sure because the Cats of the Sky origin myth is one of the oldest ones in Ruinplace. If your oldest myth is the one that outlines the origins of the deity you still believe in and there aren't any written records of any sort, how are you going to figure out what your ancestors worshiped before then? The wind is probably a good guess, though. The name of the antagonist in Ruinplace's myth, Galefang, supports this theory. Since cats are named for their group's element or deity, Galefang's name could mean that Ruinplace worshiped the wind at some point.
Q: Crashingwaves and Sunnysands myths outline where their ancestors came from as well as why the group worships a particular deity; why don't Ruinplace and Shadowtrees mention where their ancestors came from and only talk about how their deities started?
A: Well, first of all, Sunnysands doesn't talk about the origins of their deity; it's made clear that Sunpelt and the others were communicating with the Sun long before they came to what is now Sunnysands territory. Crashingwaves is the only one whose myth talks about both their deity worship and where their ancestors came from.
Why only Crashingwaves? I procrastinated on their myth for the longest, so they got a little compensation bonus.
Plus, the Shadowtrees myth doesn't talk about how the cats came to worship the Earth; it only talks about Yggdrasil, who is not the real deity of Shadowtrees, but is rather the spokesperson for the Earth, so to speak. Thus, Ruinplace is really the only one whose myth talks solely about the deity.
Someday, there'll be an entire "myths" board stuffed full of myths for people to read, and these myths will fill in the gaps in some of the groups' histories. That'll be much later, though, and of course, there'll be plenty of contests for people to submit their own myths to be put in the board.
Q: What's the rule on capitalizing things here?
A: If you're talking about the sun going down as if the sun were an object, don't capitalize it. If you're talking about the Sun speaking to Sunpelt or another cat, you capitalize it. If you're talking about Wavefang and Rockclaw swimming across the ocean like it's not a deity, don't capitalize it. However, if you want to say the Ocean carried Wavefang and Rockclaw to safety, capitalize it. A cat would feel the grainy earth underneath his paws, but a cat would say a prayer to the Earth. Generally speaking, if you're using it as an object, don't capitalize it. If you're mentioning it as a deity, capitalize it. "Cats of the Sky" is always capitalized.
Names of cats and places with special names (e.g. the Skytower, the Floodnest) are capitalized. Camps (e.g. Shadowtrees camp) are not and otherwise none too special places (e.g. the Crashingwaves/Sunnysands border, the waterfall, the river). Names of groups are always capitalized, but if you're saying "the Crashingwaves group", you don't capitalize group.
It is not written "RuinPlace"; it's Ruinplace. Shadowtrees, not ShadowTrees. SunnySands is not a group; Sunnysands is. And finally, Crashingwaves and not CrashingWaves.
End pet peeve rant. I'll really only flay you if you mess up on capitalizing group names; the deity thing is tricky for me, too, and I mess up on it a lot.
Q: How many magickal moniez do you get per post?
A: 25.
Q: What's with the member rank names? (e.g. "No One Mourns The Newbie", "Popular".)
A: They're references to the Broadway musical Wicked. All of the ranks are either parodies of its songs' titles ("The Admin and I" is a parody of "The Wizard and I") or are simply the song titles ("Defying Gravity", "Popular").
Q: What about "Flyness Point Distributor"? Where did THAT come from?
A: Inside joke I couldn't resist adding.
Q: Why do you role play three of the four leaders?
A: Please mutiny against them so I won't have to.
Initially, I was planning on four other people having the roles of the leaders, but I could only manage to get three. "Okay," I decided. "I'll just take whatever one they don't want." Sunnysands, Crashingwaves and Ruinplace got taken. I was left with Shadowtrees; thus, Dawnfang was created.
Due to sudden issues that popped up in their lives, though, the other three people who were going to role play leaders couldn't do it anymore, and I was running out of people to turn to. After all, Reversals' opening date was literally just a few days away, and not many people like being made to create characters on a short notice like that. Not any I know, anyway. Thankfully, I got someone (luvz pai) to take Crashingwaves, but I didn't manage to get anyone else who could take Sunnysands and Ruinplace. Thus, we got Lionclaw and Shadowtail to take the roles that were left.
I like to call this, "The Big Leader Problem And Its Admirable, Mysterious Solution".
Q: If kits don't get officially named until they're two moons old, what are they called until then? Would the kits make up names for themselves?
A: It's a case-by-case basis; parents might refer to them by order of birth (One, Two, Three) until they're officially named, or the kits very well might give themselves names. However, the kits are very young before being named; two moons is roughly the equivalent of a three-year-old in human years, so while they'll recognize the lack of name, they probably don't have enough self-identity for it to really be an issue.
Do remember that this tradition has become a little more uncommon as of late; some kits are named at birth or shortly after instead of two moons.
AKA "Word of Karma". If you ask a question about Reversals canon, it's either going to get answered vaguely ("That's for people to decide for themselves") or it's going to shoot down some theories you might have had.
Please use this board to ask questions. They'll be placed in this thread after they get answered.
Q: Why is the forum called "Reversals"?
A: ...Eh, there's actually a couple of reasons for this.
- I'm a fan of "title drops", namely where a seemingly random or unrelated name suddenly comes up in the middle of the episode/chapter/whatever and you go, "Oh! So that's why it's called that!" If I'd named the forum something like "Warriors of America" (ignore the fact that it sounds stupid) then the title drop wouldn't have been able to happen or would have less of an impact because the title makes sense without the "title drop".
- Initially, I'd codenamed the forum "San Diego Warriors". The setting deviated too much from San Diego to actually be called that. I needed a new name.
- So if I needed a new title that was vague enough for a title drop, why 'Reversals', of all things? The "cats can control the elements" idea wasn't initially part of the forum; I came up with it when discussing the idea with a friend and trying to figure out a way to make the forum a little more different from other Warriors forums. When I thought, "Hey, that's actually a pretty good idea!" it ended up being a total reversal of what the forum was initially going to be; it was going to be 100% realistic: no whacked out deities like StarClan, no nine lives and no crazy prophecies. Now, in a lot of ways, it's a lot less realistic than the Warriors books. I mean, we've got cats able to spit fire and manipulate the weather. While there's definitely some people who'd prefer a totally realistic setting, I think the magick makes things a lot more fun. So, since I'd just reversed my own way of thinking (I'd previously been thinking that a different forum from all the others = a realistic one) I decided to call the forum "Reversal". Reversal was taken, so I just added an 'S' at the end and got Reversals.
Q: Can I be staff?
A: Talk to the staff application board, not me.
Q: Can my character really not be something like a lynx? It's not like I'm asking to role play a tiger! Lynxes aren't that much bigger than domesticated cats!
A: Unless we choose to have a plot that needs a big(ger) cat character, no.
Q: Hey, I have a really good idea for a forum-wide plot or a "secret" of some sort for the forum (like a secret board), but I don't want to spoil it by posting it on the Questions and Suggestions board. What should I do?
A: PM me (Karma) and we'll talk.
Q: Why are all the board descriptions so... weird? I mean, all the IC boards (for the most part) have serious descriptions, but boards like the Announcements board just have off-the-wall random ones. In fact, the board IDs are weird, too!
A: Because I'm serious business. No, really, it's because it's fun. We're here to have fun. Therefore, my thought process was like this:
- Step One: Make funny board descriptions
- Step Two: ???
- Step Three: Profit
Q: Can I have characters in different groups?
A: Go ahead.
Q: Can my character leave his or her group and join a different one?
A: If you role play it out plausibly, why not? You don't need staff members checking up on when your character is going to do something drastic. That goes with two group leaders declaring war on each other or something; a staff member doesn't have to "okay" the battle decision. If the leader wants to declare war, then go ahead. We ask that you tell us (not ask) if something that'll affect a lot of people's characters happens so we can add it in the "Plot" header for other people to know. It's not much of a war if say, only half of the role players with cats in Ruinplace know it exists. Sure, you might somehow role play that your character doesn't know about it, but if they're not a kit, I doubt they wouldn't be told about the war. (Even then, kits are notoriously able to find out information, somehow...)
Q: Can I role play this specific breed of cat?
A: These cats are wild; it's unlikely that your cat's going to be purebred unless he or she is a runaway pet of some sort. I'd discourage referring to your cat as a specific type of breed if he or she is either a loner by birth or a group-born cat; it can damage some suspensions of disbelief. Just describe the cat's breed without mentioning the breed (e.g. "he has short blue-grey fur" could possibly be taken as "Oh, he looks like a Russian Blue"), or you can say, "looks like breed X" without saying "he is breed X". Also, for the record, calico and tabby aren't breeds. They're markings/types of coloration. (Seriously! Do you want to give these poor guys an identity crisis?)
Q: Can my character be the advisor, leader or heir of a group?
A: Matters that pertain to characters remain with the characters. In other words, role play it out. If your character wants to become leader... well, try getting all buddy-buddy with the current one in hopes of being named heir or something. Keep it IC, folks.
Q: The forum's glitching out and looks weird! Something's wrong, here!
A: Did you find an error in the code or some broken links/images? PM what the problem is and where you found it to an upper staff member (Admin/G-mod).
Q: So, I want my character to have a non-traditional name, but to have lived in the group all his/her life, or I want my character to be a loner who joined the group in the past. Does that mean I need to get the permission of the person who role plays the leader of that group?
A: Yes. You see, a leader would have to have okayed a non-traditional name or a loner coming into the group for it to have actually happened. Think things like this through: would it require a leader's approval to happen? If so, ask for permission, because just saying "my character was a loner and came into the group" is effectively powerplaying the leader's history. And as we all know, that's no good.
Q: Do Ruinplace cats know that humans created the places they live in?
A: Yes, they do! While the groups' cats are mostly a myth to the city cats, the wild cats most definitely know that the city exists. Consequently, they've seen similar things to what Ruinplace has the remnants of, and have long since come to the conclusion that humans created them. They know that humans constructed the Skytower, too, but it was made holy by Skytail and the other Cats of the Sky.
Q: Is there any way for a cat without a heritage in a group to control an element?
A: As of right now, no. Wouldn't it defeat the purpose of needing a heritage in a group if anyone could just waltz over to some secret place and gain magickal powers?
Q: Why did you put in prefixes? They're unnecessarily complicated
A: Have you ever watched, read or played something from another country whose native language deals in honorifics? (Japanese, of course, is probably most familiar to people at this point, but there's plenty of other languages out there with honorifics.) More often than not, in character interaction, honorifics or titles play a role in showing what another character thinks of another one. This often plays out in the Warriors books, too! In the original series, Longtail and Darkstripe tauntingly call Fireheart and Graystripe "Firepaw and Graypaw" as an insult. Because Reversals does away with "name suffix equals rank", this effectively also did away with a level of potential character interaction. As a replacement, I shoved in the prefix system. It's not that annoying, is it?
Q: Why exactly did you alter the main Warriors clan systems, anyway? Like why aren't they called something similar to OceanClan, ForestClan, CliffClan and DesertClan and why do they all believe in different deities instead of the same one?
A: The original incarnation of Reversals, as stated before, was slated to be located in an exact replica of an area in San Diego. Now, think for a second: in the books, we have the Tribe show up for the first time. They have different traditions, believe in a deity different from StarClan... and they're within a journey's distance from the Clans! Since the books supposedly take place somewhere in Britain (based on the animals, geography, seasons and such) San Diego is definitely farther away from the Clans than the Tribe was. So, doesn't it make sense that the traditions would be radically different?
Q: Okay, so the traditions are different from the Clans. But why don't all of the groups believe in the same deity?
A: Whereas in the book series where all of the cats came from the same group and just branched off into their own, the cats here "developed" independently of each other. They arrived at different times from different lands; why, Crashingwaves believes that their founding ancestors came across an entire ocean! Sunnysands thinks that Shadowtrees cats are descended from either a group of traitors to the Sun or shadowy, dark savages who live in the forest, and that their own (Sunnysands) cats came from a far-off land.
Q: Why exactly do Shadowtrees and Sunnysands have such a visible rivalry? Both of their origin myths basically take shots at the other.
A: It's not just Shadowtrees and Sunnysands. Ruinplace and Crashingwaves have had a long history of fighting for control of the western cliff. At least Shadowtrees and Sunnysands keep it in their myths and off the battlefield!
Really, these groups have different beliefs and different though similar goals at hand, not to mention the whole opposing element deal. It's only natural that they'd fight each other from time to time. It happened in the books, and they had a lot less to be divided about. Myths tend to be full of propaganda about the other groups to (hopefully) prevent cats from trying to run out on their own group to join another one or go be loners.
Q: But Crashingwaves and Sunnysands are opposing elements, too, and so are Ruinplace and Shadowtrees! Why don't they fight?
A: They do. They just don't fight as much. Besides, a lot of their conflicts aren't just based in their differences; it's their pasts or a current desire for more territory.
Crashingwaves and Ruinplace have similar territory; therefore, it'd be easy to get used to if one of the groups took it from the other, whereas Crashingwaves would have a hard time adapting to a nearly waterless desert and Ruinplace wouldn't be at home in a forest that blocks off a lot of the wind.
Sunnysands and Shadowtrees continue to dislike each other partially due to their origin myths, which they believe to be their actual history. (Whether it is real history or not is for you to decide for yourself!) In Shadowtrees lore, fire burned down the forest. In Sunnysands lore, cats from the forest nearly killed Sunpelt, their iconic hero and founder, and blocked up the only source of water for Sunnysands using rocks and grass, clearly referencing Shadowtrees cats' ability to control the earth.
It's not really much of a surprise that they're fighting. After all, would you be best friends with someone whose ancestors tried to kill yours?
Q: Why are the deities what they are? How did you choose what the groups worshiped?
A: I'm not sure if you noticed, but all of the deities have an opposite in another group.
Cats of the Sky versus Yggdrasil, the speaker for the Earth. (Though the cats actually worship the Earth and not Yggdrasil, they usually go to the Yggdrasil tree to pray to the Earth.) The Sun for Sunnysands and the Moon for Crashingwaves are opposites, though the Ocean is still a popular deity to believe in.
The opposites thing goes another way, too; the Sun could be seen as an opposite to the Earth, in which case the Sky is opposite to the Ocean. It works regardless of whether Crashingwaves decides it believes in the Moon or the Ocean.
Q: Who is the real deity of Crashingwaves? Is it the Moon or the Ocean?
A: That's for you to decide for yourself! A cat can receive revelation from either the Moon or the Ocean, probably based on who he or she believes in as an individual... so, what could this mean?
Q: So, are they both the real deities?
A: *laughs*
Q: Do the names in the origin myths mean anything? Like, Skytail and Cloudfur, and Wavefang and Rockclaw.
A: Well, they kind of do.
As we humans know, the moon is effectively a piece of rock in orbit. This is where Rockclaw's name came from. Wavefang's, obviously, simply refers to the ocean. Though Wavefang worshiped the Moon and Rockclaw worshiped the Ocean, their rivalry mirrors that of the (then) future rivalry between Moon believers and Ocean believers. Perhaps it's not such a good sign that one of the half-sisters killed the other at the end of the myth... In the same myth, Wolfpelt's name references how he believed in maintaining a strong group/pack with himself as the unquestionable leader, his appearance (Wolfpelt had grey fur and yellow eyes), and because the name would seem evil to a cat audience, as wolves, though a myth, are portrayed as monsters significantly bigger than cats. Plus, Wolfpelt was Wavefang's father; wolves are associated with the moon, and Wavefang was the one who started the Moon worship.
Sunpelt has a "glow" that surrounds him, as constantly noted by the shadowy cats in the Sunnysands origin myth. They call him the "glowing one", and it's implied that this is because of his endless devotion to the Sun. Of course, his name is still a reference to the Sunnysands deity, the Sun. That's outright stated in the myth. Maybe he had a different name in the past and changed his name when he started worshiping the Sun?
Yggdrasil's name goes beyond Shadowtrees lore; it has nothing to do with the Earth or any other Shadowtrees myths. As some may have already guessed, it's a reference to the tree of life in Norse mythology. Since Yggdrasil turns into a tree at the end, this cements the reference into the ground. Yggdrasil himself even references the Norse; he mentions that his great-grandfather came from a "faraway land", where the name Yggdrasil (also the name of said great-grandfather) is important. Maybe Yggdrasil also has a distant relative named Odin or Ratatosk... In Yggdrasil's myth (in Shadowtrees, not the Norse ones), Flaresoul is just a very stereotypical Sunnysands name due to the fact it has to do with fire. From the very start of the myth, even a young kitten who's never heard the story should be able to identify Flaresoul as the antagonist because of her name.
Skytail and Cloudfur are simply very Ruinplace-sounding names, being connected to the sky. Even though at that point Ruinplace didn't worship the sky because the Cats of the Sky didn't really exist back then, these names are perfect for a pair of Ruinplace heroes. Like kittens identifying Flaresoul as the antagonist early on in Shadowtrees, it's easy to figure out that despite what she did wrong before, Skytail is the hero of the tale. And, of course, her name references the Skytower and the Cats of the Sky.
Q: What did Ruinplace worship before they worshiped the Cats of the Sky?
A: Nobody's really quite sure because the Cats of the Sky origin myth is one of the oldest ones in Ruinplace. If your oldest myth is the one that outlines the origins of the deity you still believe in and there aren't any written records of any sort, how are you going to figure out what your ancestors worshiped before then? The wind is probably a good guess, though. The name of the antagonist in Ruinplace's myth, Galefang, supports this theory. Since cats are named for their group's element or deity, Galefang's name could mean that Ruinplace worshiped the wind at some point.
Q: Crashingwaves and Sunnysands myths outline where their ancestors came from as well as why the group worships a particular deity; why don't Ruinplace and Shadowtrees mention where their ancestors came from and only talk about how their deities started?
A: Well, first of all, Sunnysands doesn't talk about the origins of their deity; it's made clear that Sunpelt and the others were communicating with the Sun long before they came to what is now Sunnysands territory. Crashingwaves is the only one whose myth talks about both their deity worship and where their ancestors came from.
Why only Crashingwaves? I procrastinated on their myth for the longest, so they got a little compensation bonus.
Plus, the Shadowtrees myth doesn't talk about how the cats came to worship the Earth; it only talks about Yggdrasil, who is not the real deity of Shadowtrees, but is rather the spokesperson for the Earth, so to speak. Thus, Ruinplace is really the only one whose myth talks solely about the deity.
Someday, there'll be an entire "myths" board stuffed full of myths for people to read, and these myths will fill in the gaps in some of the groups' histories. That'll be much later, though, and of course, there'll be plenty of contests for people to submit their own myths to be put in the board.
Q: What's the rule on capitalizing things here?
A: If you're talking about the sun going down as if the sun were an object, don't capitalize it. If you're talking about the Sun speaking to Sunpelt or another cat, you capitalize it. If you're talking about Wavefang and Rockclaw swimming across the ocean like it's not a deity, don't capitalize it. However, if you want to say the Ocean carried Wavefang and Rockclaw to safety, capitalize it. A cat would feel the grainy earth underneath his paws, but a cat would say a prayer to the Earth. Generally speaking, if you're using it as an object, don't capitalize it. If you're mentioning it as a deity, capitalize it. "Cats of the Sky" is always capitalized.
Names of cats and places with special names (e.g. the Skytower, the Floodnest) are capitalized. Camps (e.g. Shadowtrees camp) are not and otherwise none too special places (e.g. the Crashingwaves/Sunnysands border, the waterfall, the river). Names of groups are always capitalized, but if you're saying "the Crashingwaves group", you don't capitalize group.
It is not written "RuinPlace"; it's Ruinplace. Shadowtrees, not ShadowTrees. SunnySands is not a group; Sunnysands is. And finally, Crashingwaves and not CrashingWaves.
End pet peeve rant. I'll really only flay you if you mess up on capitalizing group names; the deity thing is tricky for me, too, and I mess up on it a lot.
Q: How many magickal moniez do you get per post?
A: 25.
Q: What's with the member rank names? (e.g. "No One Mourns The Newbie", "Popular".)
A: They're references to the Broadway musical Wicked. All of the ranks are either parodies of its songs' titles ("The Admin and I" is a parody of "The Wizard and I") or are simply the song titles ("Defying Gravity", "Popular").
Q: What about "Flyness Point Distributor"? Where did THAT come from?
A: Inside joke I couldn't resist adding.
Q: Why do you role play three of the four leaders?
A: Please mutiny against them so I won't have to.
Initially, I was planning on four other people having the roles of the leaders, but I could only manage to get three. "Okay," I decided. "I'll just take whatever one they don't want." Sunnysands, Crashingwaves and Ruinplace got taken. I was left with Shadowtrees; thus, Dawnfang was created.
Due to sudden issues that popped up in their lives, though, the other three people who were going to role play leaders couldn't do it anymore, and I was running out of people to turn to. After all, Reversals' opening date was literally just a few days away, and not many people like being made to create characters on a short notice like that. Not any I know, anyway. Thankfully, I got someone (luvz pai) to take Crashingwaves, but I didn't manage to get anyone else who could take Sunnysands and Ruinplace. Thus, we got Lionclaw and Shadowtail to take the roles that were left.
I like to call this, "The Big Leader Problem And Its Admirable, Mysterious Solution".
Q: If kits don't get officially named until they're two moons old, what are they called until then? Would the kits make up names for themselves?
A: It's a case-by-case basis; parents might refer to them by order of birth (One, Two, Three) until they're officially named, or the kits very well might give themselves names. However, the kits are very young before being named; two moons is roughly the equivalent of a three-year-old in human years, so while they'll recognize the lack of name, they probably don't have enough self-identity for it to really be an issue.
Do remember that this tradition has become a little more uncommon as of late; some kits are named at birth or shortly after instead of two moons.
