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Featured one-shot: How can you love someone who hurts you with the color of his eyes?

There is something; Crowfeather isn't able to place exactly what, about his kit, that becomes familiar to him at the worst of moments. It's the amber hue - the vivid shade, the gentle light - tender and wondrous in his young age. The kit is the sort of painful constant he has tried to avoid - has avoided - for months, as one might avoid flames, tight spaces, or sunlight. It doesn't take much more than a single look from him.

At these moments, Crowfeather feels as though he is living in a world of ice. Any movement had been frozen out of him, and any breath would be enough to drive thousands of ice shards through his skin. He becomes painfully aware of how destructive is the life he leads; a life of constant restraint, of minute control, of erratic heartbeats and an unpredictable, terrible need when he sees her. He feels himself slipping in between his own claws. He must hold on all the tighter. His kit makes that necessary all but daily. The kit forces him deeper in.

The child stared at him with eagerness and curiosity once, waiting for him to be like the other fathers of WindClan and indulge in the sparse moments that he's able to spend with his kit, share a mouse or two and even teach him a few battle moves behind mama's back. Crowfeather could never look him in the eye at these times.

His kit hates him, of course.

He is young, and there isn't much he knows. His beginnings were flawed, and his future is practically nonexistent. He fails to comprehend the power he has by his mere being, over this inscrutable, frigid, dark-clad tom that he calls his father, there to be blamed and hated. Unaware, as he very well should be, that there are nightmares behind those eyes.

But he cannot slip into weakness again, in front of his family and Clanmates. He has no time to maintain the fragile border that separates him from a loveless nothingness. He wants his kit away from him.

And so he hurts his boy. He turns a blind eye to success, and berates him for his failures. When the child speaks, he does not listen, and so he does not hear. And it was his mate that filled their child with spite meant for him over a tryst settled long ago. He knew that it was his fault, however, that he was never there when he was needed, and though he acknowledges it, he doesn't bother putting in effort to change the fact. He can't.

Crowfeather angers and alienates, and it hurts. He has always been much better at that than anything else. It's easy, and it works, because his boy now hates him.

He remembers his son running after him one day as he walks off, desperate, with a familiar angry edge to his young voice as he demands - pleads - for his father to, for once in his life, look at me, in the eye! Don't ignore me!

And as he does, he regrets it. In his boy's eyes, there is a flame, as well as a desperation, need, and fragility that a cat like his son would hardly ever know. An expression and a maelstrom of emotions that didn't belong to him, but her. Crowfeather feels his composure diminish.

The child looks at him and sees empty eyes, and Crowfeather wills himself to see nothing back - but that doesn't matter, of course. Even when the wall cracks, and he feels warm blood and breath inside of him, he seems to see, faintly, something short of a ghost within the tom. Something that had once been different with him, to him. Even then, tighter now, his throat constricts, and he cannot, will it as he may, open his mouth to speak to his son and say any one of those words.

You look so much like her.

"Breezepelt, don't stare at me like that. Ever again."

Written by: Cuppa Tea
Original topic: wcrpforums.com/thread/4330/love-who-hurts-eyes?page=1&scrollTo=476093


Review for the featured one-shot:
1. How did you get the idea for How can you love someone who hurts you with his eyes? ? When you got the idea when was the point when you wrote it down?
I had wanted to write a story focusing on the relationship between Breezepelt and Crowfeather for a while, but I didn't know exactly what the plot would be or how I could really make it interesting. One day I was just looking up descriptions of different characters to refresh my memory and I noticed how Breezepelt and Leafpool had the same color, so I was like "whoa I could totally do something with this! O:" and thus this oneshot came into being.


2. What or who got you interested in writing?
In general, I'm not sure. I've always had an interest in writing. On the forums, however, my good friend Shadowface gave me the inspiration to publish my own Warriors-related works on the WCF thanks to her wonderful Clans of the Valley series.


3. When you made the title for How can you love someone who hurts you with his eyes, did you play around with any other titles or did that one fit from the beginning? Why did the title fit?
I'd say it fit from the beginning, because I soon as I made the connections between Breezepelt and Leafpool's eye colors I knew exactly how I wanted this story to go.


4. How long did it take for you to write the story?
Sounds ridiculous, but a few hours lol. It's not even 1,000 words long. I'm just a reeeallly slow writer, RIP.


5. Which, if any, authors or books have inspired you?
Erin Hunter and the Warriors series have definitely inspired me to write for warriors. As for style, I'd say either George R. R. Martin, Tolkien, or Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. I don't think this one-shot in particular reflects that though lol.


6. What part of the story was the hardest to write? The easiest?
I think the hardest part was writing the "scene" where Breezepelt demands Crowfeather to really look at him, and driving home just how much Breeze reminded Crow of Leafpool and how important his memory of her was to him. I had to play around with the imagery there.
The easiest was writing about Crowfeather's perception of the hateful feelings Breezepelt had towards him because it was based a little around my own personal analysis of his character. I see Crowfeather as a father who disregards his child but is still very observant of him because hey, that's his son.


7. If you were reading the story instead of writing it, would it the type of story you would read? Why?
Definitely! And I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything lol. It's just that introspective stories are some of the greatest fanfics out there. It's interesting to see fan authors take another's characters and delve into the psychology that the original author may not have touched upon, especially by gathering the most minute of details and making connections. It's exciting because you might just see those characters in an entirely new light afterwards, or learn something you've never even considered before.


8. What is the most surprising thing a fan has ever said to you?
Honestly any compliment ever lol. I still don't have much faith in my writing.

9. If your characters were human and they went to school which would be the poplar kid? The loner? The one that tells all the jokes?
psst does this question still count if these aren't my characters o:

10. Which song would be the one that reflects your story the most?
Oh, I'm not sure. I didn't really write this with a song in mind, and any song that I like that I can think of doesn't really pertain to this story lol. I'd guess I could say Before There Was Color by Halou to embody Crowfeather's desperation for Leafpool and his constant attempts at forcing it down.
Interviewed by mintedstar/fur

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Articles:
Here's another article I typed up about the WFF World. It's a lot shorter, and you don't have to use it, but it was still fun to type up!

With the flight over from the old forums many new threads and ideas have started popping up in WFF. One of these is the new WFF World created by WCRP user Brownie.
“The concept for the wffw is simple: we as a community create a single world that anyone and everyone is free to write in. It's like a huge co-write that never stops!”

The thread focuses on five clans (StormClan, BreezeClan, IvyClan, StreamClan, and MoonClan) and allows writes to create their own stories or fanfictions using them. One doesn't even need to be a great writer to participate, they can join for the fun and improvement that's bound to happen. A person doesn't even have to be a huge fan fiction writer, One-Shots and short stories are welcome and added.
“Use one-shots to show snippets of time, or create an entire story showing a new problem the cats have to face.”

However, the idea for a growing world for everyone to use, cannot thrive on its own. Head over to the thread and create a story in order to help this little community grow, because we can't do it all on our own.
“We're always looking for new blood writers to help grow our family!”


For more information go to the WFF World wcrpforums.com/thread/3610/world-officially-running-come-write . All quotes are created to WCRP user Brownie.
Article written: lazy penguin

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~A Fresh Start~
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Socrates)
With the transfer over to the new forums, WFF was bound to run into trouble. However, it's been three months and this forum still seem to have a lack of community.
“It's like that unity that used to bond us together is gone.” (WCRP forums user » ∂єα∂ ❋ ƒℓσωєяѕ «)
While the cause of this is still unknown, one can still make a logical assumption. The old WFF was composed of threads such as the Tuesday Challenges and W.R.F.U. side by side people's narratives. Other challenges such as elimination challenges often popped up, and many members would participate in these exciting activities. However, in recent days threads such as these have become even more scarce. Even with a tidal wave of new writers coming in, the old sense of community is lost in confusion. It seems that only a few deserving stories get attention, and the only ones striving for the missing connection are those who were active in this section on the old forums.
Although some might say the community is too far back to salvage, there's still a chance for success if everyone pulls their best effort forward.
“The community that we all knew may be gone, but even if it is, can't we build a new one?” (WCRP forums user mintedstar/fur)
If everyone chips in, the WFF community can return, attracting more writers and helping them improve and feel welcome.
So what can you do?
The simplest answer is to read. Read people's stories that have been posted, even if they only have one or two chapters up. This will help everyone feel like they belong, and create a more eased and relaxed tone for the place. Even if a person sucks at writing, they can still read and aid a writer in the process of creating a story.
Write. Everyone has the potential to be a fabulous author, but many don't stick to their stories because they don't become “popular”. Honestly, this is one of the stupidest ways to abandon a fic.
“Create what sets your heart on fire and it will illuminate the path ahead.” (Karma Voce)
One should write because they enjoy it, and should never lose sight of that. If people do this, then they'll be happier and be able to spread their cheer forumwide.
Create and post unique topics. Not only will these draw attention to one's stories, but they will also grab the eye of someone who may not be familiar with WFF. Contests spark a flame of friendly competition, while reviews and editing services help new writers improve. Threads like public libraries can draw attention to lesser known stories, and older mentors can help train people unused to writing novels. Anything you can think of that will help the section grow and develop would be greatly appreciated.
Spread the word. If everyone participates in making this place better, than there's almost no way it can fail. Tell everyone your plans and help others create their own. If we do this, our little subsection can shine like gold.
“I trust that it can be great again. In fact, I know it can. We are starting out in a new place, with new faces. But I still think this will work.” ( WCRP forums user mintedstar/fur)

Article written: lazy penguin
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