Post by !Gingernose on Oct 30, 2014 1:49:01 GMT
Hello! I'm here to describe different sorts of warrior cat naming. Specifically, Traditional!
If you're just inquiring about a single trait or a certain prefix or suffix (whether on a cat or just on its own), feel free to just ask, form-free. I'll answer questions about possible suffixes/prefixes for cats, as well as any unlisted prefixes that you might want to use.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
NAMING
TRADITIONAL CLANS
RESOURCES AND USEFUL LINKS
SUBMITTING FORMS
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NAME STYLES IN THE WARRIORS FANDOM
There are three naming styles to warriors, to my knowledge: Canon, Lyrical, and Traditional.
Canon names are names that have both parts of a name taken directly from the books. Anything that's shown up there is free game. This form of naming has a lot of possibilities, but stuff that doesn't really make sense. Stuff like Nightwind or Breezeshine.
Lyrical names are names that are either made to sound pretty and poetic or represent only a part of a cat (in a nontraditional way). These names can be things like Moonwish or Featherwing or Birdmask, for a few examples of 'pretty' names.
These names make little sense in reference to the cat or their ablities - and only times they make sense is when they're in reference to part of a cat (or if they have some symbolic meaning, like Brokenwish or something). For example, Redlegs would be for a cat with, well, red legs, though with that logic the rest of their body would (most likely) be ginger as well. Naming for one body part or section of the body can be unreliable and doesn't help one find a cat in a crowd as much as naming for the entirety of a cat. (This also goes for eye-color names; kittens have blue eyes at birth, and therefore wouldn't give reliable eye-names.)
Traditional names follow a unique style and system when applied to a cat, and make the most sense, though some people argue that the naming style is too restricted. The system can seem repetitive and stale at first, but it's actually rather interesting, since these names give more information at a glance than other naming styles, giving each cat a unique and understandable name.
Traditional prefixes are based on a cat's fur color or size. For example, let's say there's a little black kit. We'd name him Crowkit, for his crow feather-colored fur. (We wouldn't use Bird- here, because Bird- represents any bird; this makes pinpointing the cat's fur color rather difficult.)
Suffixes are based on a cat's skillset, traits, or personality. For example, our Crowkit doesn't show notable skill in fighting or hunting, but he's generally docile and easygoing while being impossible to rile up. His emotions don't change very often, as he's a stable cat. This would earn him the -cloud suffix, which represents a docile and easygoing cat who has a serene disposition and no notable skill in anything else. The opposite suffix to this would be -storm, which represents a cat whose emotions consist of two distinct high/low periods - this one's harder to pull off in a character, generally speaking, but not impossible at all.
At this point, you might be worried about the uniqueness or notable-ness of a name. You may be worried that your character's name doesn't define who they are, or that other people will have cooler names than yours has.
Let me tell you this, though; a good character shouldn't just rely on a pretty or interesting name; traditional naming is built on the idea that a cat earns its name like everyone else and earns one that fits who they are. This means their prefix will be unique in their Clan, fitting to their fur color, and their suffix will reveal their proficient / notable skill or personality to whoever they're introduced to.
Prefixes are not allowed to repeat. if you had two gray kits who had the same skill at battling as the other, they could be named Sootclaw and Cinderclaw, and even if there's very little difference between the two in skill proficiency, their personalities could be totally different, and the prefixes would reflect this (in that they aren't the same cat).
If there's a cat that shares a whole name with your cat in another Clan and you're not sure how to introduce them, you just address them as "Cinderclaw of ___Clan" and "Cinderclaw of ___Clan" to differentiate the two.
Cats rarely share the same prefix, but every cat has a chance at a different suffix than another!
And the best part of traditional naming is that the names are natural and realistic to the setting! These names are based on things the cats would know about and see in regular Clan life, rather than Twoleg things, or things from places the cats aren't from. Most suggestions are given based on the assumption that your cat is in the traditional English setting. If you submit a cat that's *not* in this setting and uses a name from a different area (considering they are from a different setting), please make note of it.
Additionally, a cat can have a 'traditional name' that is lyrical or canon! But they're only traditional if they follow the guidelines. (Ravenfoot would only be traditional if the cat with the name was black-furred and was agile and fast on land, for example. If they're not black-furred or fast, their name isn't traditional.)
(Keep in mind, also, that -eye, -ear, and -jaw are reserved for name-changes/re-naming, and -leaf is reserved for medicine cats, but medicine cats don't always have the -leaf suffix!)
==TRADITIONAL CLANS==
Traditional Clans are only slightly different (normally) to the canon Clans. However, these can be more flexible than the canon setting purely because you can choose how the ranking system is set in place, as well as how StarClan exists in your setup and how the Clans came to be. You can also change things like lore, myths, common beliefs, and popular opinion. (Among these is what the Clan thinks is beautiful in cats - which you should keep in mind when writing a -face cat.)
These Clans are named after the territory, rather than the first leader - which is impractical, moreso because of how poorly names are represented in canon (you'd think they're named after surroundings, but then the Hunters revealed that wasn't the case and muddled it up). A Clan should be named for their territory in some way - if there's a prominent feature the Clan would pride themselves on, they can name themselves after it. IF it's on a hill, you can name the Clan HillClan. If it's bordering on a river that no other Clan does, they could name themselves RiverClan or BrookClan or CreekClan. If it's in an oak forest, OakClan could be the name.
Here are some things you might ask yourself about your Clan:
- Does the name reflect a significant part of the territory?
- If not, does it go by the first-leader-is-clan's-name rule?
- If neither, is it just a random name made to sound fancy/lyrical?
- Do the native cats have any actual clan average? If not, why do the pelt colors/fur length/body builds differ?
- Does the clan have any 'unique' skills that other Clans in the vicinity do not?
When you've gone down and you think it fits the Clan guidelines traditionally, feel free to send in a form.
==RESOURCES==
Acceptable traditional prefixes can be found here, and a complete list of suffixes here. Click on a prefix or suffix and it'll take you to a summary of what they mean - mild cursing warning for the links within, though.
Kaz's Offspring Predictor! Kaz does some real neat kitten predictions between cats of your choosing. Feel free to drop on by!
I have a character/trait generator here if you're stuck on a character.
Realistic kitten litter generator, though it doesn't list tabby genes.
Guide to pelt colors in cats, as well as eye color/white spotting.
For those of you who want to try figuring out genetics for your character. I won't answer questions about litters, but I could probably answers questions about dominance in some genetics.
For those wondering about the origins of traditionalism. Also covers why certain suffixes were chosen to be traditional.
"Writing Character Profiles" on Springhole.net is extremely useful for writing roleplay biographies and the like, and allows for more thought in regards to character making.
"Common Problems In Roleplaying Characters" goes over some of the more recurring issues that people write into their characters.
==SUBMITTING FORMS==
Keep in mind that I will be giving advice on more than just the name, and I will be giving a traditional alternate name - but remember that this is purely advice, and that you don't have to follow my suggestions if you don't want to. I can do private reviews if you PM them to me, I wouldn't mind helping out at all!
And please remember to keep the history and personality somewhat short - I don't need the cat's whole life story in fanfiction format.
Cat Review Template:
Cat's name:
Gender:
Description:
Personality, skills:
History (optional!):
Anything else?:
Clan Review Template:
Clan name:
Territory:
Clan Average / Average build/fur color/fur type:
Signature skills / Unique Skills (whether in contrast to fellow Clans or otherwise):
Anything else?: