#when your clan goes starless

[clanborn]

star climax that i would personally enjoy: splashtail's got frostpaw pinned in their final confrontation, he's this close to finally killing her, and all of frostpaw's fears culminate and leave her frozen, unable to struggle free. curlfeather, through sheer willpower ignited by this immediate threat to her daughter's life, summons all the energy she can muster to project her image into the physical world, visible to both splash and frost. her sheer fury, her mangled corpse--here, present, clawing her way out of splashtail's dreams and into a waking nightmare, here to drag him down to hell with her--spooks splashtail to the core. this either frightens him so bad he suffers cardiac arrest, or he instantly bolts and abandons the clans forever (for the case where he could be brought back as a villain who is ideally no longer lame). once more, curlfeather saves frostpaw's life, this time from beyond the grave, so great is her love for her daughter. with the image of her bloodied mother burned in her mind, frostpaw's conflicted feelings bubble to the surface, feelings she's desperately forced underneath a layer of anger and resentment. frostpaw faces the truth: that her mother manipulated her for her own gain, but also that her mother loved her, and ultimately cared for frostpaw more than her own life. curlfeather was not entirely good or bad, she was simply just a cat, a flawed one, one capable of both good and bad things. hidden in all of her misdeeds was a cat that could be forgiven--and in turn, frostpaw too could be forgiven, and no longer needs to blame herself for every misfortune that had befallen her and her clan. frostpaw is also just a cat, a child under incredible duress, forced to make decisions that no child should have to make. she thinks of every cat that pushed that responsibility onto her--yes, her mother, but also splashtail, her older clanmates, every clan cat around the lake that turned a blind eye to her desperation. even starclan--her all knowing, benevolent ancestors--had stood by while she suffered, had caused her suffering, had used her not unlike the way curlfeather had. what made them different? why was curlfeather punished by cats who were no better? why was frostpaw punished for doing everything right? what distinction did starclan make between "good" and "bad" when all cats were capable of both, including starclan, in all its alleged, unerring kindness?

frostpaw once again does starclan's bidding, touches her nose to the moonpool and receives her nine lives. with each life, cats flash before her vision--harelight, riverstar, jayclaw--but they aren't the cats she sees. in her mind she sees curlfeather, blood on her paws and love in her eyes, and newly named froststar decides what sort of leader she will be. this is the last time she will follow starclan's path, no more will riverclan be subject to their will and their hypocrisies. relying on starclan is what destroyed them, their ancestors standing idle as riverclan tore itself apart for their favor. no more will riverclan force warriors and apprentices in certain roles, no more will it allow complacency, letting desperate voices go unheard. splashtail rejected starclan, but that is not what drove his bloodthirst and desire for power. under froststar's leadership, power would not solely lie in the paws of her and starclan, but shared among her clanmates, unable to be ripped away by a lone instigator, shattered by a single break in the chain.

maybe she'll be the kind of leader curlfeather wanted to be. maybe she'll be better. either way, froststar will lead riverclan into a golden dawn.

[wonderswritings]

Starless Lovers {14}

Summary: They fell from the sky. We roamed the earth. We were always meant to clash. 

Warnings: The 100 Themes, Angst, Death, Blood, Unrequited Feelings, Slow Burn, Possibly more to come

Pairings: Lexa x Sister!Reader, Bellamy Blake x Fem!Reader (eventual) War was brewing. But with the defeat of Mount Weather, that war is now over. We’re living in peace now. And Skaikru is no longer the enemy. It’s time we learn, Blood must not have blood.

Starless Lovers Masterlist | Tags

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“I really don’t see why I have to do this.”

“She won’t see me, Esmeray. Please, we need her.”

“You mean you need her.”

Lexa sighed.

“Esme, please.”

“Fine.”

You huffed softly as you stood up.

“But if this goes the way I know it will, I get to say I told you so.”

“Deal.”

Lexa grinned softly as she watched you walk towards your bedroom door.

“Thank you.”

You hummed softly as you left your room. Clarke’s room was in the floor beneath yours and Lexa’s. Making your way to her room, you knocked, giving her a few minutes before you opened the door.

“What part of ‘I won’t see you’ was unclear?”

You grinned slightly, closing the door behind you.

“Wrong sister.”

Clarke looked over her shoulder, glaring slightly at you as she huffed, turning to look back out the window.

“Lexa has respected your wishes for a week, Clarke.”

“Want a cookie?”

You snorted a soft chuckle, shaking your head as you walked further into her room.

“Mature.”

“Says the one who was worse when she came to Camp Jaha.”

You shrugged slightly, sitting down in one of the chairs.

“I don’t like Skaikru.”

“I want to go home.”

“Funny.”

You nodded slightly as you cocked your head to the side.

“I said the same thing when your people held me for two months.”

Clarke turned towards you, confusion on her face.

“What?”

You hummed, slightly nodding.

“What? Did you believe you were the only one who has suffered since Mount Weather?”

Clarke’s jaw clenched, shaking her head.

“Why are you here, Riheda?”

“We have bigger concerns.”

“We don’t have any concerns at all.”

“We do. Lexa is hosting a summit with Skaikru at sundown. You’ll be returned to your people then.”

“She went to all that trouble to capture me just to let me go?”

“She went through all that trouble to save you.”

“You know when I could have used saving? When she abandoned me at Mount Weather.”

You shrugged slightly.

“Clearly you didn’t need her help.”

Clarke scoffed, shooting you a deadpanned look.

“Cleary. Why aren’t you angry with her? She left you to die.”

You nodded slightly, looking over at Clarke.

“We’ve already had this conversation Clarke, in Mount Weather. Our people come first. I cannot fault her for saving our people. Besides, they told her I was dead. She worked with the facts that she had at the time.”

“She betrayed us!”

You nodded as you looked Clarke over with a calculating eye, cocking your head to the side.

“What would you have done Clarke? If their leader offered you the same deal? Save your people at the price of mine? Would you really have chosen differently?”

Clarke clenched her jaw, shaking her head.

“I don’t betray my friends.”

“You did. You had friends in Mount Weather.”

“Those deaths are on you too, and Lexa.”

“I helped you, Clarke. I gave myself over to save your people. I was prepared to die for your people. And how did they repay me? They kept me prisoner for two months. But-”

You slightly shook your head. Playing the peace keeper was not your style, it was more Lexa’s, but you still had to try for her.

“It helps no one to dwell on the past, and that’s not why I’m here. You’re right. Lexa is not just letting you go back to your people. We want something more. We want your people to become our people. Lexa is offering Skaikru the chance to join our coalition, to become the 13th clan. No one would dare move against you because that would be moving against the Commanders.”

“Just leave me alone. I’m done. Do you understand that? I left.”

“You can go back. You can’t run away from who you are, Clarke. Join us. Bow before Lexa and your people will be safe.”

“Bow?”

Clarke glared, shaking her head.

“You and Lexa don’t give a damn about my people. I know why you’re here. I made Lexa look weak at Mount Weather, and now the Ice Nation is exploiting that. Well if she wants the power of Wanheda, kill me. Take it. Otherwise, go float yourself because I will never bow to your sister, or you.”

You smirked, nodding slightly as you stood.

“I think I like this version of you Clarke, pissed off and angry at everyone in the world and yourself.”

“I’m not-”

“You are. You’re allowed to feel your feelings Clarke.”

You slightly shook your head as you walked towards the door.

“But don’t let your feelings cloud your actions. We both know the consequences of that.”

Clarke clenched her jaw at the slight innuendo about Finn, but you were trying to reach her one last time before you left.

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You walked into Lexa’s room, Lexa standing up when she saw you.

“How did it go?”

“Clarke is angry. At you, and herself.”

Lexa sighed, sitting down as you walked towards her.

“Will she do it?”

You shrugged slightly as you sat down.

“I believe, in the end, Clarke will do the right thing.”

“That’s helpful.”

You shrugged slightly, a small smile on your face.

“You’re welcome. I did my best. But I’m not the peace talker, you are.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

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You walked next to Lexa as the guards opened the doors of the throne room, both of you walking in beside each other.

“Spek daun kos yu Heda’s.” (bow for your Commanders)

As we walked forward, all the ambassadors except Azgeda’s ambassador bowed. Titus glared at the guy as he continued standing, Titus stepping forward.

“Azgeda na spek daun fou yu Heda’s.” (Ice nation will bow before your Commanders)

Lexa sat down on the throne as you moved to stand next to it, your arm on the back of it, glaring at the ambassador.

“Heda’s beda spek daun fou Azgeda.  Oso get in nou gon fis op treaties kom oso veidas.” (The Commanders should bow before Ice Nation. We know not to make treaties with our enemies)

“Heda’s spek dauns fou non.” (the Commanders bows before no one)

Lexa slightly lifted her hand, shaking her head.

“Stand down, Titus.”

“Em seintaim prefers veidas slenge.” (she even prefers the enemies language)

“And you will use it, too, in honor of our guests this evening. Now sit. We have more important matters to discuss.”

“Yes, we do. For example, why is Wanheda still alive? If this is your weakness again, Azgeda will happily step in.”

“Is that why your army has moved so close to Polis because you believe the Commander is weak?”

“Oh, those are just military exercises.”

Indra scoffed, taking a step forward.

“Exercises? You crossed the border into Trikru land, an army within striking distance of our beloved capital.”

You slightly tilted your head to the side Lexa stood, walking around the throne, looking out the window.

“A mistake that was quickly rectified, as you well know.”

“The Ice Queen doesn’t make mistakes. She makes threats.”

Lexa slightly rolled her eyes, turning and looking at the ambassador.

“There’s no need to argue about this again. Please-”

Lexa nodded towards the balcony. “Come join me.”

The ambassador smirked at Indra and Titus, shooting you a glare as he walked forward.

“Let us speak in private. I have a question for Queen Nia.”

“And I’ll happily deliver-”

You smirked when Lexa kicked the ambassador in the chest, sending him off the ledge as he screamed. You had to stifle a laugh as Lexa turned, addressing the other ambassadors with a glare.

“Would anyone else care to question my decisions?”

The ambassadors that had stood sat back down, no one willing to stand against Lexa after that show of strength. “Good. Then let’s begin.”

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You looked up when the doors opened, watching as Clarke walked towards Lexa and you as the singer sang. Lexa was standing on the step in front of you, while you stood on the step above, slightly behind her as Clarke kneeled in front of Lexa. Roan followed suit, and the others kneeled as well.  

“Hail warriors of the twelve clans.”

“Hail, Commander of the blood.”

“Rise.” 

Everyone stood, Clarke stepping towards Abby and Kane.

“We welcome Skaikru to our halls in the spirit of friendship and harmony, and we welcome Clarke kom Skaikru, legendary Wanheda, Mountain Slayer. The reason for this summit has changed. We are not here to negotiate a treaty with Skaikru, but rather to initiate them into the coalition.”

You glanced around the room as the clans started to murmur, sharing a look with Lexa.

“To symbolize this union, the leader of Skaikru must bear our mark.”

Abby looked up at Kane, nodding.

“The honor should be yours.”

Kane nodded as he looked at Lexa.

“Present your arm.”

Lexa motioned with her hand, and you watched as one of your people walked towards him with a poker. Kane lifted the sleeve of his jacket, groaning when the poker was pressed into his arm. Everyone turned when the doors slammed open, your eyes widening when you saw Bellamy, holding a grounder in a headlock, a gun to his head. Clarke made a face, stepping forward.

“Bellamy?”

Titus glared as he stepped forward while you made your way to Lexa, slightly standing in front of her.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“The summit’s a trap. We need to get you out of here.”

Clarke turned, glaring at you and Lexa.

“What the hell is going on?”

Lexa slightly shook her head as you moved to stand more in front of her.

“I don’t know.”

Bellamy let the grounder go, looking over at you, nodding slightly.

“It’s the Ice Nation.”

One of the Ice Nation delegates stepped forward, shaking his head, glaring.

“These allegations are an outrage. The Ice Nation never stormed this summit with weapons, breaking our laws. That was the Skaikru.”

The man with Bellamy and Octavia shook his head, huffing as he looked at Abby and Kane.

“We’re right about this. The two guards you left behind are dead already. We need to go, now.”

“How did you come by this information?”

Octavia made a face as she looked around their small group.

“Where the hell is Echo?”

You tensed at Echo’s name as Bellamy shook his head, looking around.

“What’s going on? Where the hell is she?”

“Bellamy, maybe we were wrong about this.”

“I don’t understand.”

Kane walked forward, taking Bellamy’s gun from him.

“Stand down.”

“Bellamy, Bellamy, come in. The grounders attacked Mount Weather.”

Bellamy reached down, grabbing his radio.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s gone. It’s gone. They’re all gone. Sinclair and I are the only ones left. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“You should have never moved your people back into Mount Weather. The Ice Nation did what Lexa was too weak to do.”

You turned, glaring at the delegate, slowly tilting your head to the side.

“Would you like to lose your tongue?”

You took a small step forward, raising your voice.

“This is an act of war. Sentries, arrest the Ice Nation delegation, including Prince Roan.”

Abby stepped forward as the Sentries stepped forward, forcing the Ice Nation delegation to their knees before they dragged them from the room.

“We need to get home. If they attacked Mount Weather, Arkadia could be next.”

“I agree.”

Lexa nodded, looking at Kane and Abby.

“Go, marshall your forces. We’ll avenge the attack together.”

Indra stepped forward, nodding at Lexa.

“I’ll escort them.”

Bellamy looked over at Clarke, nodding slightly.

“Clarke, we need to leave, now.”

“We need an ambassador from the 13th Clan to stay here in Polis.”

“It’s not safe here.”

You turned, looking at Bellamy, nodding.

“Clarke will be safe here under our protection.”

Lexa stepped forward, placing her hand on your arm as she nodded at Bellamy.

“She will be safe under my protection, you have my word.”

You shot Lexa a look, looking over at her.

“Ours.”

“Mine. You’re going with Skaikru.”

You shook your head, turning towards Lexa.

“I am needed here. We are at war. I am the commander of your armies.”

“I need you there.”

“Lexa-”

Lexa shook her head, standing to her full height, a slight glare in her eyes as she spoke.

“That is an order.”

Your jaw ticked as you nodded once, your gaze lowered.

“Gon bilaik hedplei, Heda.” (at your command, commander)

You stepped forward, lifting the side of your dress up from the ground as you looked at Bellamy.

“I will ride out and meet you and your party in ten minutes, do not wait for me.”

Without sparing anyone a second glance, you walked out of the room, catching Bellamy telling Clarke to come home to her people.

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When you saw those of Skaikru who couldn’t ride in their Rover, you slowed your horse down. You weren’t particularly in a hurry to join them, still upset over Lexa commanding you to join Skaikru.

“Hey.”

You startled slightly, spaced out, seeing Bellamy walking next to your horse, causing you to raise a brow as you glanced down at him.

“Bellamy. Surely you were offered a horse. You did not wish to ride?”

Bellamy shook his head.

“After what’s happened, I’d rather walk.”

You hummed, guiding your horse to stop, Bellamy making a face as you got off your horse, leading him by his reins as you nodded at Bellamy.

“Come. We shall walk.” 

“Riheda, you don't have to-" 

“Consider it payback, for walking with me in your camp." 

Bellamy grinned slightly.

“I wouldn't call that walking. We only ever walked medical in circles." 

“Then next time you shall have to take me on another walk and show me something that isn't metal and cold.”

"I guess I will." 

Bellamy grinned, turning towards you, walking backwards, his head cocked to the side.

“Unless of course, this counts." 

You laughed softly, shaking your head.

“No. I'm afraid this doesn't count as we are not alone and I know this path like the back of my hand. I could walk it with my eyes closed." 

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[meguwumibear]

angsty toge writing warm up

"I'm the only one left you know," Toge tells you, slumping down next to your exhausted form. "From my clan, I mean. The higher ups think the technique is dangerous and have outlawed it. Those who inherit it anyway, well..."

This is the most he's spoken in years. The words don't feel right on his tongue. They take up too much space. He has to think real hard to force them out.

"That's awful," you say, rolling onto your side to get a better look at him.

The two of you were dispatched hours ago to deal with a second grade cursed spirit. The assignment wasn't supposed to take very long, but it seems jujutsu society is struggling to understand curse rankings these days. The curse may have appeared weak, but it's technique was anything but. Somehow, someway, it had nullified your own.

Toge noticed first after his command to explode went unheeded. His purple eyes widened in surprise as the curse continued its attack as if he had said nothing at all.

With no cursed technique to rely on, the exorcism took a few grueling hours. You took turns brawling with the monster while the other attempted to pour their limited cursed energy into a tool. You're both a bloody mess by the time the curse finally fades away.

The curses death did not return either of your techniques to you.

"How long do you think it'll take for our techniques to return?"

There's a nasty gash on Toge's forehead, right above his left eye. The curse was strong and had sharp, pointy claws. Toge wasn't able to dodge all of its attacks in time.

The sorcerer is flat on his back, staring up at the starless sky. The light pollution from the nearby city blocks out even the moon's light.

"Don't know," he shrugs. "Maybe never."

There's a sad little smile on his lips when he replies. He doesn't roll to meet you as if he's worried looking you in the eyes will allow you to see past them into the crevices of his brain.

"Would it be so bad if they never came back?"

"Dunno," you shrug. "I don't feel particularly attached to mine. I think I'd miss the school though. And Yuuta and Maki."

Slim fingers pick anxiously at overgrown blades of grass, "you could probably stay on if you wanted. Use cursed tools like Maki. I'm sure they'd even give you glasses if you needed them."

What goes unsaid is louder than what does.

"You wouldn't stay? Even knowing what you do?"

He doesn't respond right away. It's been some time since he's had to communicate more than a greeting or affirmation. His thoughts have spent so much time stuck in his own head, they aren't sure how to come out.

"It would be hard to leave."

It's getting late. The two of you were due back hours ago. The starless sky is vast but your time on Earth is short.

"Let's go," Toge says and instantly regrets. He hadn't felt his technique return but the way you jolt forward confirms it's back. It isn't one of his usual commands. He didn't even realize he'd put any cursed energy into the words.

How could he be so careless? He knows better.

"Mustard leaf," he manages, turning from you. "Cavier."

"Toge," you try, reaching out to grab him. "I'm not hurt. I know you didn't mean it. It's alright."

He doesn't let you touch him. He doesn't want your comfort or sympathy. There's no point. Your techniques have returned which means you can both go back to your training and exorcising.

Would it be so bad if they never came back?

For society maybe, but not for him.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

With Thunder released, I think it is almost time to finalize some plans for WCR!A Starless Clan.

Needless to say, MASSIVE spoilers for A Starless Clan, especially book 4, Thunder.

Under the cut are some IDEAS. NOTHING HERR IS FINAL YET AND ALL IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Behold, my chaotic note-taking in its raw, unfiltered form.

So. First concept: All leaders are at one point either deposed or killed.

Mistystar dies the same awkward way, but with more emotion this time. She is the leader most of Riverclan has known either all their lives, or most of their lives. However, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Mistystar had dementia. She was holding on by threads before she dropped dead.

Leafstar dies suddenly as well due to a massive heart attack, falling off of Highbranch and breaking her neck. The problem here is, ex-deputy Waspwhisker JUST SHOWED UP. This leads to the release of Waspwhisker's Adventure, where he and the other kidnapped Skyclan cats come home.

'so what'd I miss?'.mp3 moment

Tigerheartstar is dethroned. Berryheart's group is too powerful, and Puddleshine does agree. At least, with staying out of Riverclan. Shadowclan just had a major Greencough epidemic and Birchkit is dead due to it, they needed his support. Shadowsight is also missing.

Cloverfoot, however, picks Berryheart as deputy (Berryheart will have also had an apprentice by this point) and goes off to the Moonpool, only for a larger than normal gray fox to kill her. It leaves Berryheart alone, and, much to Sunbeam's horror, allows her to go to the Moonpool.

Splashtail also races up behind her, and the 2 earn their names.

Enter Splashstar and Berrystar. Frostpaw was too late.

Frostpaw also now time travels with Nightheart, Shadowsight, and Whistlepaw. Nightheart is an idiot who never studied history (though he did study Camp Keeping and Glyphs), but the other 3 (especially Whistlepaw) know to take on differently styled names, referencing heroes they heard of in stories.

Shadow Eyes, Whistle, Frosty Paws, and... The other guy who inspired Night Heart, first deputy of Riverclan.

"Stop laughing at me I PREFERRED LEARNING GLYPHS"

Harestar passes after a long, brutal battle with Blackcough. His Deputy, Breezepelt, is about to go to the Moonpool with his new Deputy Heathertail and Kestralflight, when the dog pack attacks AGAIN. I'm not sure if it kills Breezepelt, but it sure as hell leaves him out of commission. He will, tragically, not become leader. In wake of the events, Heathertail turns to the one cat she has always been able to vent to. Lionblaze. Not as a lover, just friends.

Since Squilf steps down in Squirrelflight's Freedom, she... also won't become leader. I love her so much, but her not becoming leader means Leafpool lives longer, and she actually gets the rest she deserves with her sister and new husband Shrewfeather. Hey, at least she gets to keep being Squilf. I love Squirrelstar but I don't like that name very much, doesn't feel right. I want some canon cats to get caught up on it too because Squirrelflight is such a good name, and she's good humored enough I don't think it would bother her. ANYWAY

Hollyleaf is deputy, and Bramblestar does not want to give up his position, he isn't happy that his Clan now fears him, and that makes him lash out because he 'always knew they were suspicious of me'. Self fulfilling prophecy, my boy. Maybe stop using your huge size and BOOMING voice to get what you want.

When the Clan uses their votes to vote him out, the vote starts with... Dandeliontuft. She completes her arc. She was the first to know that Bramblestar was replaced when he started paying more attention to her, and now she is going to take down the real one.

Is Bramblestar had a nickel for every time he has been snapped at by golden tabby mollies he was related to, he would have 3 nickels. Not a lot, but he doesn't have a concept of money, so that's okay.

They vote against him because his leadership has been nothing but disaster. Which....

Fair enough. Ashfur wasn't his fault but there's a reason no one thought he'd been replaced for a WHILE, longer than in canon. Bramblestar was not liked, most cats were gunning for Hollyleaf to be made leader.

He tries to fight back against this, that he was blessed by Starclan, this is unfair, they were only doing this because of his father, what would Firestar think?

For the second time in Clan history, in broad daylight, a lightning bolt strikes. It is taken as a very clear sign. Starclan has made its approval of Hollyleaf QUITE clear!

But! Boom! A wild Lionblaze and Heathertail appeared!

Lionblaze used Announcement!

"THE MOONPOOL IS CURSED"

it's super effective...

Well, that sucks. But Hollyleaf is smart. She knows that something will be done about it, but in the meantime, take leader names, pick new deputies, and build yourselves up. Skyclan is about to break into civil war, Splashstar and Berrystar are coming down on the other Clans to purge 'outsider blood' and make them "pure" again.

Hollystar names Lilyheart or Rosepetal her deputy. Haven't decided yet.

I know Frostpaw is gonna stay in Windclan for a while, trying to unravel the mystery behind Curlfeather and her group, because there needs to be more to it than what she has been told.

Sunbeam is done with Nightheart's whiny crap, and will probably end up with Myrtlebloom or Finchlight, or back with Lightleap. He is told to get over himself.

Lightleap is now a POV and is struggling with being enough, throwing herself into more and more reckless situations and overworking herself. She needs to prove herself, in her own eyes.

Frostpaw has an epic escape from an animal hospital, also Smoky died of pneumonia between arcs. The three new barn cats are Rosey (tortoiseshell molly with green eyes), Whiskers (black tom with long white whiskers), and Muffin (white tom with blue eyes, deaf in one ear). They had no idea what would happen, but they are young and panicked at the sight of Frostpaw's wounds, calling for the Twolegs, who rush Frostpaw to the vet. She trusts them through her fear, as is her nature.

Jury's out on if she still gets spayed.

Fringewhisker loses her back leg to Berryheart's trials, before she and Spireclaw flee Shadowclan, heading for Skyclan. It may be a shitstorm over there, but at least they will be safe.

Frostpaw is determined to know what is causing the curse, and to get to the bottom of it.

The arc ends with the villains winning, leading to the next arc, Dark Times, because we need to take it easy on how disconnected the arcs are.

Arcs 9 and 10 are Homebrew.

Dark Times and Beyond The Stars.

Also, the book names for A Starless Clan have begun to shuffle, I know the first one is River and the last WILL be Star.

[lucy-the-demon]

Warrior cats, a starless clan, book 5, wind review.

As always , spoilers for the series and for this book

Review down below

So I had to read it twice because the first time I read it I was in a bad mood and I was stressed out over things at the time so it kinda went blank one, through one ear (or eye because i don't use audiobooks) and out the other

So I re read it and looked at other reviews to fully grasp what was happened

I mean your gonna have to read this book to know that's going on in the 6th book but it's a lot of Filler so I'll give you the rundown of what happens first before stating my personal opinions on the book itself

Alrighty let's get this overwith..

* cracks open a pepsi*

So the book starts with Frostpaw going to the gathering to announce splashtail is a murderer and he shouldn't be riverclans leader and starclan told her it wasn't gonna end well

In previous books her visions weren't true until she actually started getting real vision from starclan And she had admitted her visions at first weren't true before she got real visions so the other four clans don't believe her when she mentions starclan speaking to her

Which is frustrating for the reader knowing Frostpaw is telling the truth.

So they call her a liar and splashtail exiles her from Riverclan for speaking against him, so tigerstar the 2nd let's her stay in his clan and the park cats that Frostpaw brought with her stay in thunderclan

Tigerstar the next day starts a clan meeting where he wants the cats to tell him their grievances, frostpaw speaks up at the meeting telling him that her clan suffered the most from him showing up and taking control, which makes the other cats speak up, afterwards he tells her that he was nice enough to let her stay but she tells him it was her clan who suffered and not his where he respects her for being strong and speaking her mind and afterwards she asks if she can sneak off to Riverclan tigerstar 2 tells her she can but she can't bring his warriors with her.

She accepts this than spies on the Riverclan camp where splashtail is doing battle training and finds out he hasn't gotten his nine lives yet, Mothwing catches her but doesn't say anything and goes to a spot away from the clan where they talk about how splashtail is running the clan. Mothwing admitting she doesn't like how his rule is going and when they talk about him getting his 9 lives Frostpaw gives the idea that hes gonna push it off until the other cats just accept it. Which scares Mothwing about starclan abandoning Riverclan making them 'a starless clan' as the title implies

So in sunbeams pov a few chapters later sunbeam and nightheart see a windclan patrol and breezepelt tells her that he saw berryheart and the other two near the windclan border and that berryheart looked bad which worries sunbeam. So she asks her leader, squirrelstar, if she can see if her family is okay, squirrelstar allows her but don't get caught.

Meanwhile on the half moon medicine cat meeting, frostpaw goes with shadowsight and puddleshine to the moonpool where the other cats question if she should stay but overall lets her stay podlight and mothwing show up and theirs a short argument between Frostpaw and podlight over whos the true medicine cat and podlight admits that splashtail hasn't been taken to the moonpool to revive his lives, to the dismay of the others But it ends shortly so they can visit starclan at the moonpool.

Frostpaw sees a vision of a shadow looming over the lake and the water draining which implies that splashtail is going to destroy Riverclan to the reader, but in-universe skyclan and Riverclan and windclan med cats dismiss this vision as Frostpaw is the reason for the destruction, where the other medicine cats take it seriously and say " if it was fake why would she make herself the shadow in Riverclan" (not the graphic novel)

Sunbeam visits her mom and sees she got a nasty cut on some glass and it's getting infected and later when she gets back nightheart is keeping watch for the medicine cats while sunbeam is getting herbs to help her mom. When alderheart and Jayfeather come back sunbeam tells him to stall them, where nightheart asks them about Frostpaw, which makes the med cats and him talk about the vision she got with squirrelstar, so squirrelstar and nightheart go to shadowclan

They talk about the vision and what Frostpaw saw while spying on Riverclan which makes them worried about where this was going

The next few chapters Frostpaw and puddleshine hide in a bush at the moonpool to see if splashtail went to the nine lives ceremony, he comes with podlight and they mock the ceremony unknowingly in front of the two med cats. Splashtail saying " if we see reedwhisker again I could kill him a second time" while the two mock the ceramony with no intention of actually doing it riverstar jumps out of the moonpool over the two toms and looks at frostpaw and puddleshine

The two toms joking about the ceremony don't notice him at all even as he jumped over their heads, while Frostpaw and puddleshine see him clearly and know that podlight is a fake medicine cat.

The next chapter ( I think) sunbeam gives the herbs to her mom and berryheart refuses, so sunbeams dad and brother say they'll put it in her prey to make her eat it. Sunbeams brother telling her she will need a medicine cat soon to prevent her from dying as her wound has gotten worse. Sunbeam makes a plan to get her mom to Jayfeather and alderheart in 3 days

But she gets caught by a windclan patrol as she goes home and has to stay in their camp for the night and so the next day squirrelstar is about to punish her before tigerstar 2 shows up and tells them about what frostpaw and puddleshine saw and squirrelstar wants to wait until they have windclans side because leafstar refused to hear tigerstar 2 and the med cats out

After tigerstar 2 and the shadowclan patrol leaves squirrelstar punishes sunbeam by not allowing her out of camp and to do apprentice duties. Which Sunbeam is upset knowing she can't help her mom get to a med cat in 3 days like she promised her brother she would

So 3 days later she asks nightheart if he could help them and he does but they didn't show up, nightheart says something like" it's probably because it's me" because y'know berryheart is a Karen who hates the fact her daughter loves nightheart a thunderclan cat while her daughter was shadowclan and shes bitter because she's a Karen

So anyways harestar( windclan ) says they'll think on their decision and when the gathering comes Frostpaw calls out how he mocked starclan at the 9 lives ceramony and splashtail ignored her and calls her a liar, where tigerstar 2 calls it out as well and they ask what harestars decision is and he's on splashtails side which crushes Frostpaw, and after the gathering two riverclan cats on Frostpaws side tell her they plan on turning more cats against splashtail which gives her hope.

And waffle becomes a thunderclan apprentice and becomes wafflepaw along with bristlekit, greykit and stem kit getting their apprentice names.

That night Frostpaw has a vision that a tree is going to crush the windclan nursery so she starts to go to windclan

Sunbeam is finally able to leave the camp again and is hunting with her patrol when a storm starts to come, they go into a bush and see frostpaw going through the territory she tells them she has to go to windclan and leaves to go to the border soon after going into the bush for shelter.

The patrol come back to the camp and Sunbeam and nightheart are working on securing the elders den putting branches up to help the elders from being cold.

Meanwhile Frostpaw sees a windclan patrol and tells them she needs to see kestrelflight the cats constantly shrug her off rudely until she tells them her vision of the windclan nursery getting crushed from a tree, since they don't have trees nearby they basically call her stupid but bring the med cat so she'll leave. Kestrelflight shrugs her vision off too, and Frostpaw instead of going back to shadowclan runs to thunderclan where she tells squirrelstar about her vision and gets help from nightheart and sunbeam

As they run to windclan lightning strikes a tree and a large chunk it it starts flying towards windclan and then crushes the nursery, whistlepaw trying to get in to save her sister leafkit with some work Frostpaw gets whistlepaw to get out and she does and has wounds.

They move enough branches for Sunbeam to get in and she rescues leafkit and gets her back to her mom unscathed

After a while of helping in the medicine den, kestrelflight apologies for how she acted to Frostpaw and forgives whistlepaw for lying to the clan that Frostpaw died seeing now why she did it And harestar finally believes Frostpaw has real visions and is the true medicine cat for Riverclan.

The day after they get back to their clans tigerstar talks to squirrelstar about the recent news with windclan and how they can't fight unless Riverclan takes action and Frostpaw plans to spy on them so nightheart and sunbeam offer to join her which she accepts

And wafflepaw tells nightheart how he let wasp go to Riverclan and the cats are freaking out, until Riverclan rudely gives back wasp and threatens them with violence if they catch another cat spying and wasp decides to go back to the park

So Frostpaw, Sunbeam and nightheart have to be careful to not get caught so they go the path through windclan and spy on Riverclan

Splashtail having cats use their claws on each other and it turns out mothwing, icewing and duskfur left Riverclan after they stood up against him and splashtail wants to kill them. Harelight asks him if he's being too harsh and splashtail kills him in front of their clanmates. Turns out berryheart joined Riverclan and splashtail makes her their deputy To the spying cats horror.

So now Frostpaw has to find the 3 missing cats before splashtail kills them too

And that's how the book ends

Actual review

So I kinda find it funny how berryheart is becoming the very thing she swore to destroy. And her being so hateful to other clans caused her to also want to be hateful to shadowclan. She's literally " you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain"

I forgot to mention but in the prologue splashtail says in his inner dialogue that he won't get his 9 lives because he thinks he shouldn't have starclans blessing, I think that will make him easier to get rid of than he thinks

And I doubt berryheart is going to become leader next book I think she's gonna die before she even thinks about it

So you know how curlfeather died to save frostpaw

Well I think berryheart gonna die saving Sunbeam

Remember how In the broken code bristlefrost saved rootspring from drowning and how at the end she died saving shadowsight?

And about who's gonna be riverclans leader, either mothwing, Frostpaw or bee.

Mothwing is My least favorite choice because she's cannonically an atheist and how she feels happy to be a medicine cat I feel like it would ruin her character

In thunder bee had visions about being near a bunch of cats they didn't recognize and perhaps that means he will be leader to Riverclan

And Frostpaw becoming leader sounds like a stretch but perhaps bee comes to Riverclan after berryheart and splashtail are dead and makes Frostpaw the leader without her needing a warrior name Because riverstar seems to have been giving her lessons on being a leader, and she seems much more like a leader as the books have gone on. The only issue is if she is going to become leader, who will she meet at the 9 lives ceramony? Not a lot of people in her life has died for it to make up 9 cats.

I guess we'll just have to wait till November when the book comes out

The only issue here is that the book feels frustrating knowing that Frostpaw is right and that the cats who are on splashtails side are wrong. It's a little frustrating to read and it makes you feel like these cats are stupid despite the fact it makes sense considering she acknowledged she used to have fake visions.

Of course they wouldn't believe her but it's still frustrating

And leafstar uncharacteristically is on splashtails side, despite often being on the side of the good Guys, I get it they needed conflict but idk.. I hope next book she realizes splashtail is the bad guy because jeez this isn't in character leafstar..

That's it bye..

[whitherwanderer]

3 // altar (extra credit)

Gig type: Transport Objective: Grab a package, get it over the Night City border, then give me a call to arrange a handoff. Location: San Luis Obispo, SoCal < ɢᴘꜱ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴄᴏʀʀᴜᴘᴛ > Details: A client of mine is waiting on a package of goods that you can’t get in NC by the usual means. Not without customs picking a fight anyway, and that’s something my client would like to keep clear of. Don’t ask me what’s in the package; the fewer questions we ask, the better we get paid. All you need to know is where the pickup in SLO is, and once you arrive with the goods over the border—quietly, I’d hope—give me a call. If all goes well, I might even have you handle delivery for some extra eds. Normally I wouldn’t trust a new face with a job like this, but I’m willing to make an exception. I know what clan you rode with. I’m truly sorry for your loss, but understand that I’m not offering you pity so much as an opportunity to get back on your feet, make connections. I need reliable drivers and you need the cash. Don’t make either of us regret this, sister. P.S. There’s still mines leftover from the war out there in the Badlands. Watch your step.

There are few pleasures as simple as firelight, warm beer, and the gritty feeling of road dust in her teeth. Well—sure, some of those aren’t exactly “pleasures”, but they do bring a measure of normalcy that Sif had sorely missed.

Even the metallic tang of oil smoke and sharp scent of hot rubber are welcomed like old friends when she pulls up the hood to take some creative liberties with the engine of a sad little Colby she’d taken a shine to in a used car lot. Battling pre-war maps through scarred mountains for days on end (whoever installed the shocks in this poor gal should be shot), smacking the navigation console every time it flickered (it's not the wiring, she's checked it three damn times), the same freeze-dried synthscop for every meal—and somehow there’s calm to be found in these familiar devils that can’t be wholly ruined, despite knowing there could be a landmine in the sagebrush just a few feet in any direction.

Maybe it’s just good to be back in the saddle again, driving across the cracked blacktop and over parched, painted desert hills. Or maybe the siren song of Night City lights bathing the mountainside in a cool glow is just close enough to moonlight to fool her into a lowered guard. Whatever it is, she can’t take her eyes off of the array of neon holo that scroll, endless, into the black haze of a starless California sky. Who needs stars with lights like that?

Love at first sight isn’t a belief Sif holds in any serious regard, but the thought crosses her that this might be the feeling folks are trying to put to words.

To have heard the warnings about some pretty face across a room. Night City will chew an outsider like you to pulp and spit you back out, nomad.

To consider how you measure up. It’s not much but I’ve passed your name to a fixer. Prove yourself, and you’ll have solid work.

And to make the first move, feeling your heart stirring in your chest when you realize neither of you wants to be at this party anymore. The radio kicks on about 20 miles out. The first voice to greet her booms, “GOOOOOD MORNING NIGHT CIT-AY!” like she's already caught in its web.

And now here she is, stuck with that flutter between hope and despair that keeps every moth drawn to the neon in a tight orbit around the City of Dreams. No one could possibly take in a sight like that and not let it swallow them whole, irrevocably changed once you made it—if you made it—to the other side.

Sif was never much of a religious type, but she knew an altar when she saw one. After all, Night City doesn’t take prisoners. Only converts.

[stargleam-star]

My thoughts on Wind

Finally finished reading book 4 of A Starless Clan. I've got a lot of opinions on it, as expected. It's going to be long and rambly. There will be major spoilers under the read more. My thoughts might only make sense to me so I understand if nobody wants to read this, but I really want to get out my feelings on this book

Shout out to @shadowfern for sending me the link to the pdf! Tysm again!!!

Let's start this off by talking about the best girl in the whole world: Frostpaw. Oh my sweet baby. They really put her Through It this book. She was so right to come forward during the gathering in chapter one to speak out against Splashtail.

But then Duskfur. Oooh my god Duskfur. Literally what was her fucking damage? Frostpaw is her freaking GRANDDAUGHTER. But I guess because Frostpaw mentioned Curlfeather being an evil mastermind, Duskfur was pissed about it? Which is understandable. Who wants to hear that their child is a murderer, someone who organized the death of important figures in your society?

But then she goes on to accuse Frostpaw of being a liar and a manipulator because *gasp* she was a manipulated teen who couldn't figure out what was right and what was wrong!? She was tricked by Curlfeather into being a medicine cat, as Splashtail reiterates. She does eventually get real visions, though. However, because she had a few false visions, nobody will believe her about them. But like. Frostpaw is a kid essentially, with not a lot of training yet, and who doesn't have much of a guide when it comes to visions because Mothwing doesn't get them. How was Frostpaw supposed to distinguish what was real and what was a dream all on her own?

Regardless Duskfur is a bitch in the first chapter who backs up Splashtail and his condescending speech about how much Frostpaw had been through and how much of a poir little meow meow she is because of it

And then she proceeds to get exiled. Her clanmates know she's been through so much, and yet they allow her to be cast out from her home away from the support of her family

A family which comprises of mostly bastards at this current moment, including Duskfur, Icewing, and Podlight. Shout out to the do-nothing siblings Graypaw and Mistpsw though

I hate the characterization of Icewing in this first chapter because she doesn't do much. Podlight is another creature entirely. He's so vile. Gives off evil henchman vibes, almost on the same wavelength as Darkstripe

I'll come back to those cats later, let's get back to talking about Frostpaw. After getting exiled she has to frantically look between the leaders to see who might take her into their clan, so she doesn't become a rogue. Squirrelstar almost agrees but because she doesn't want to cause trouble she hesitates (we'll also get back to this characterization later). Tigerheartstar instead offers Frostpaw a temporary place in Shadowclan

If I had a nickle for every time Tigerheartstar took in an exiled Riverclan medicine cat I'd have 2 nickles. Which isn't a lot but its weird it happened twice

I love the dynamic between Frostpaw and Shadowsight. I've seen people shipping them but I literally cannot picture them being romatic with each other. I get big brother little sister vibes from them. I feel like Puddleshine's wariness of Frostpaw was dumb, though.

Puddleshine did eventually come around, when he snuck to the moon pool with Frostpaw to see if Splashtail would go to get his nine lives. I hate how he didn't start believing Frostpaw until Riverstar appeared though. Splashtail and Podlight sitting around, laughing about how useless Starclan is and how they're literally at the moon pool just to say they went, doesn't convince Puddleshine that Frostpaw was telling the truth. But Riverstar hopping over their heads unseen just to wink at Puddleshine and Frostpaw convinces him. Ok.

Great job guiding the living btw Riverstar. Clearly not doing anything or saying anything beyond that one tiny scene was helpful

Anyways, Puddleshine, finally believing Frostpaw, goes with her to tell Tigerheartstar about everything was great. Actually I hate to say if but I really liked Tigerheartstar this book. He was literally the only tolerable and competent leader throughout the entire thing. Even better than Squirrelstar

Speaking of Squirrelstar. Oh boy.... What the hell did they do to her?

I expected the Erins to do one of four things with Squirrelstar. 1) Kill her by the end of this book (and say she lied about getting her nine lives). 2) Make her a very aggressive leader. 3) Leave her character alone and write her as she has been. Or 4) make her incompetent and have her be the first deposed leader

Instead, they made Squirrelstar the most do nothing leader imaginable. To the point where other characters in the text itself were mentioning how she's doing nothing at all, and how unexpected that is. Squirrelstar states she doesn't want to shake things up because of being a new leader. She's trying to gain the other leaders' respect

Which I could understand. If this was any other character in the entirety of warriors, minus Firestar. Squirrelflight was always the type to be headstrong doing things her own way, to follow her heart, and do what needs to be done especially for the good of others. Squirrelstar even mentions that about herself! "As Squirrelflight I'd agree with you. But as Squirrelstar I'm afraid I can't." There is literally no difference though, she's still the same cat!!!

I understand she's also trying to protect Thunderclan and keep her warriors safe. She's responsible for all these lives. But she was responsible for them before as well! She was deputy ffs. A clan deputy is responsible for the lives of their clanmates as much as a leader is. Squilf even acted as temporary leader, and still did not behave like this at that time! I don't understand why she had to be written as someone too hesitant to act because of fear of being judged. Squilf was literally never like that before until this book. She's basically a new character and I think I hated this most of all out of everything else in Wind.

Actually none of the leaders except Tigerheartstar want to act in this book. Squirrelstar and Harestar both want to wait to stop Splashtail until Riverclan is ready to stop him. In the old books though, if there was something going on in the other clans the leaders didn't like, they'd fight about it (for example: how Shadowckan and Winclan teamed up to raid Thunderclan after discovering they were housing Brokentail as their prisoner. Or how Lionclan first formed to stop Tigerstar from ruling over all the clans.)

Also now that I mention fighting, there are literally no battles waged in the entire book. The closest thing we get is the battle training in Riverclan camp where Splashtail was forcing cats to fight each other aggressively with claws out.

And the most violent 2 scenes in the book were when a tree fell on Winclan's nursery, and Splashtail killed Harelight in front of his clan because Harelight dared to have a different opinion than him

Harelight deserved better tbh. He was one of the best characters in the story and he barely had a part to play. Rip king

Let's talk about some other characters now. Nightheart for instance. He was actually also tolerable in this book. I like how his character has progressed. He's growing up and isn't as much of a jerk like he was in the beginning, good for him.

I liked his relationship with Wasp and Waffle. Though I'm surprised neither of them insisted on following Frostpaw. Especially with how determined Wasp was to become a Riverclan cat. I'm shocked he didn't loyally follow Frostpaw wherever she went due to her connection to Riverstar. Instead both cats went with Nightheart to Thunderclan which was fine for a while

Nightheart makes for a good mentor, surprisingly. I like the way he taught Wasp and Waffle about things. Though I don't like that he was chosen to be Wafflepaw's mentor. It makes sense, but like other characters said, the apprentices could have gone to more experienced cats than Nightheart and Co.

The relationship between Nightheart and Sunbeam is cute here and there but their chemistry is almost non existent. Sunbeam has more chemistry with Finchlight, Bayshine, and Myrtlebloom than Nightheart. Finchlight should steal Sunbeam from Nightheart sorry not sorry

Sunbeam's turn now. Once again her chapters felt the weakest compared to the other POVs. She doesn't really bring anything new to the table, her perspective shows nearly the same things Nightheart's does and her personality is kind of generic. The only thing she has is mommy angst, and love for Nightheart. She worries about her family in most of her chapters, when they don't really want her around unless she helps them and/or stays with them. Berryheart is especially mean towards Sunbeam. She feels betrayed, sure, but that's still her kid who's trying to heal the disgusting infection that slowly killing her. Look at that Sunbeam's so uninteresting I started talking about Berryheart instead. Let's dive into that more

I didn't think Berryheart would have that much influence over the plot anymore tbh. But this stupid cat is gripping it tightly with the tips if her grubby little paws refusing to let go. Throughout most of her mentioned moments she's slowly wasting away from a nasty wound she obtained by being too stubborn to get off the road. She refuses treatment from Sunbeam because she didn't agree with mommy dearest and follow her to exile so now Berryheart's basically disowned Sunbeam (its never stated but implied by her behavior).

Another reason Berryheart refuses medicine is because they are "clan herbs" and she refuses anything from the clans. Although idk how she was able to tell the herbs came from a clan vs Sunbeam finding them on her own but whatever. Then several chapters later she's magically joined Riverclan and proclaims to be one of the most loyal cats there??? Idk how Berryheart went from being a diehard Shadowclan loyalist, to a bitter rogue hating all the clans, to a Riverclan cat. Sunbeam thinks it might be due to Berryheart fighting to survive but by the time she's shown in Riverclan she seems almost back to full health. Maybe she's planning to destroy the clans now, from the inside out, starting with Riverclan. Who knows. I guess we'll find out in the next book or two. I'm disappointed Berryheart didn't die and that they're continuing on with her as a villain. I'm on the fence of whether I like her being a villain anymore. On one hand, yay a villain who's clanborn and a female. On the other, she's a really annoying and a poorly written villain

Moving on to other, more minor characters: Mothwing Duskfur, and Icewing. We don't see much of them (especially past the first chapter). When we do, though, they're talking to Frostpaw about how right she is and how none of them want Splashtail in power anymore.

This is an especially surprisingly development from Duskfur who earlier was very outspoken about accepting him. The in-story excuse is that Riverclan just wanted a leader finally, and were willing to accept that Podlight suddenly wanted to be a healer and magically had a connection to Starclan which told him that Splashtail was their new ruler. The real excuse is that it's piss poor writing and the Erins make whatever cat do whatever is necessary for the plot, even if that means their personality needs to takes an entire 180 in the middle of the book.

Icewing is still pretty useless in the story, which is a shame because she had a decent roll last book. Mothwing's character stayed somewhat the same, though. She's still kind of mean to Frostpaw. She's sort of a do-nothing, too, but not as much as the leaders. She wants to make a change but doesn't act at first because then Riverclan would be left without a proper medicine cat, which is a more valid excuse for her inaction compared to Squirrelstar's, Tigerheartstar's, and Harestar's.

Lightleap was mentioned in one chapter and she had an attitude. What a tragedy. Blazefire and Dovewing weren't mentioned at all which was a huge loss, because we lovewing Dovewing here, and I just think Blazefire is neat (I like his name, I'm biased purely because of that)

Whistlepaw was really good in this book, as she was in the last. I feel like she was unjustly punished for helping Frostpaw as I stated in this post here, I won't repeat myself about that point again. I liked her during the Windckan chapters, when the tree fell on the nursery. Her mentioning the kit she was trying to save, Leafkit, was her baby sister was sooo nice. The Erins rarely write cats acknowledging younger siblings as such so that was cute. It made the worry and care Whisperpaw expressed during that scene all the better because it wasn't just a medicine cat trying to do their job and save someone. It was a sister desperately trying to get to their sister. Whistlepaw is my second favorite character in this arc next to Frostpaw and not just because of my next point.

Whistlepaw × Frostpaw is the most superior ship in the book, and dare I say throughout the current arc. Their dialog with each other once Sunbeam rescued Leafkit was so gay it was amazing. Like legit their interactions with each other here as well as through most of A Starless Clan have more chemistry than any other pairings do

Also this is random but I feel like either Whistlepaw or Leafkit will get a POV next arc. Probably Leafkit because the writers took the time to describe what she looks like even though Leafkit only appeared for this one scene. Please Erins give us a Winclan POV

I suppose I should talk about Splashtail now. He's a really lame villain tbh. I'm glad we have a clanborn bad guy for a change, but he literally sucks. He wants to be leader because he wants to make Riverclan stronger, great. And then he proceedes to do that by having his warriors beat the shit out of each other to toughen them up and make them seem like the strongest clan. Ok. Idk how that accomplishes anything rn. I'm sure this means Riverclan will get to cause the one fight scene that happens next book, hooray /s

No but seriously I see where this whole evil Splashtail plot is going. He doesn't like Starclan because he doesn't want to listen to what they say or follow their rules. The moral of this arc is going to be that following Starclan is the right thing to do, they are the ultimate good, and anybody who doesn't follow Starclan is a dirty heretic. It's christian religious propaganda and I'm tired of it, but whatever I'm to obsessed with these stupid cats to stop reading

Overall this book was very disappointing and boring. I'm sad to see this arc taking such a boring turn, and I'm worried about what the next books will bring. The arc was so promising and now it sucks, tragic

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Members of the Frostpaw Defense Club rise up!

I give this book 3/10 Stars

[notwarriorswiki]

If Nightheart starts as a warrior at the start of River does that mean the drama with his change from Flamepaw doesn't exist in your rewrite?

It still happens, just as content in The Broken Code that Bristlefrost will witness when his adoptive mother Hollystar is struggling to navigate the shitshow ThunderClan is in dealing with Shadowsight, while also trying to be there for him in dealing with his bloodline.

Nightheart's family issues are less derived from Firestar and a legacy, and rather that his dad is dead, and his mother Sparkfire tried to kill Hollystar and Willowshine, so - yeah that's why he feels like no one likes him. He's still a brat, and overall my plan currently is to still have him be rather wrong in his assumptions about his clanmates, but again I haven't written A Starless Clan yet rewrite-wise since it's not done. We'll have to see how Nightheart's story in canon goes!

[command-game]

Recent seasons have been harsh on all the unfortunate souls who live below the now starless sky. In order to survive, a band of cats have come together to found a new clan and a new way of life...but will they survive under the moonless night?

Hello! Welcome to New Moon (Empty Skies), which may be the first Warrior Cats command game on Tumblr!

...So. What does that even mean?

A command game is a type of game in which a group of players each take control of a character, then make the character take actions that impact their setting through the use of “commands”. Every command is prefaced with a "/", then an action (hunt, patrol, play, bond, forage, gather, or heal are the most useful commands, but more on that later), and last brackets or parenthesis around the name of your character. This probably sounds a bit confusing, so here’s an example: 

/hunt with … (Wishstar) 

This command would be sent to this account’s asks, and it will send Wishstar out on a hunt. When the ask is published, other cats may join Wishstar by replying with the same command. Let’s say Silverpaw decides to do that:

/hunt with Wishstar (Silverpaw)

Now, Wishstar and Silverpaw will both return with prey for the prey pile, and the clan will have some food to eat this moon. Of course, next moon, more hunting commands will need to be sent out. A moon, of course, is a month in the game, although in real life, a new moon will everytime we update (bi-tri weekly).

Each moon is like a “turn” in the game, in which all cats will be able to perform a set number of commands. Until the moon “closes” and signals its end, cats will be able to edit what commands they’ve decided to perform with /cancel. Let’s say Silverpaw changes their mind and would actually rather not hunt: 

/cancel (Silverpaw)

As long as Silverpaw cancels the command before the moon is closed, they will no longer join Wishstar’s hunting patrol. Commands will also be answered and take effect after the moon is closed:

Wishstar hunted and caught 4 prey!

Once all commands are answered, information about the next moon will be published in a new post. This information will include the season, how much prey the clan has, any events breaking up the clan’s daily routines, a “clan news” containing a list of notable events from the prior moon, and every living cat’s profile and stats (name, appearance, skills, bonds with other cats, health, etc—these will be expanded on in a more complete information post). 

That about sums up the basic premise of command games, although a lot of information has been omitted for brevity’s sake. Basically, to very quickly summarize, you get to control a cat and do clan-y things like hunt, patrol, heal, have kits, make friends with others, fight stuff, die, and generally have fun! And of course, if you have any questions, whether it’s about something we’ve covered here or not, feel free to shoot us an ask (please don’t disregard the “an ask” part)!

More information, specific information, will be written soon, and the same goes for sign ups. (!) But, for now, just give us a moment, stuff is coming soon! If you want to be tagged when sign ups come out, just leave a comment about it :)

Also, a note for ethos or whatever: command games are not new to the world, just (probably) to Tumblr! This is a planned out, tested game, with years of history, and multiple games have been run by both admins. They first became a thing on Wattpad in late 2017/early 2018, and though they kept a consistent community for several years, they’ve since declined in popularity over there. But especially during their peak, command games as a whole evolved tremendously from what they were at first. From the first game's creation (UnitedClan), to many famous (Withering Flames, Mind Games, the DriftClan Trilogy) and infamous (Sparkling Sands) incarnations, all have been unique and varied, introducing different game mechanics and ideas—murder, differing clan structures, pets, genetics, and even lore.

[warrior-cats-hot-takes]

Pinned Post

Guidelines! They are very important for a confession blog because people can VERY easily get out of hand! 1) Confessions that include usernames will not be posted.

Like, callout posts? If you send in something like "I think that [person] is a racist because they like berryheart", that is not gonna get posted. However! If you send in something like, "I think people who like Berryheart are racist", I WILL post it. So that you can get clowned on.

2) Me posting a confession does not mean that I agree with it.

I might, I might not, there's no way to know so do not try to ask. If you ask for my opinion on something, there's a low chance that I'll actually respond.

3) Really fucked confessions are not going to be posted.

If you have death threats in your confession, it is not going up. This includes joking about it, such as, "I'm going to [something something] Squirrelflight fans because I fucking hate her!" I do not care if you post character hate, but don't include fucking death threats? That's weird, bro.

Rules will be added as they become necessary! I am forgetful, so I won't know right away what needs to be prohibited! Please be patient with me ^^" As for other information, that section is right here! Below the little cut off line so that this isn't too long and rambly! (It's nothing totally important, you don't need to check before sending in a confession, just a little mascot character!)

I'm gonna talk about the blog mascot and just how they will work and function?

This is the guy! He's a silly character with a silly name, not meant to be taken seriously at all. I also don't plan to add reaction images for every post because that sounds exhausting, but when you think "who is the blog admin?" think of him! He's. basically a fursona I guess??? Like he's not but also yeah that's the purpose he is gonna be serving here. Some information about the character: - Their eyes stay closed most of the time, rarely ever open. They're practically unseeing? Like, most of the day they just rely on their ears and whiskers to get them where they need to go. This is because the world, as they see it, is overwhelming. It's too bright and it hurts their eyes. But they do open them sometimes! - I thought it'd be silly and fun if their eyes were like "based or cringe"? Like, if you drop a bad take around her then she's just gonna slowly open the red-x eye to look at you judgementally? I thought it'd be funny! - Curiousmind is not in a clan at all, and nobody really knows what clan they originally started in? He just stays with a clan for a few days and then goes to a different one. When he visits, he hunts for them and helps with any chores. If you asked me why the clan cats LET him do that, especially since we're experiencing A Starless Clan rn which is all about the borders and the crossing of those borders, I,,,,,, don't really know. I don't have a reason, that's just what Curiousmind does. If he ever is attacked and told to leave, he will do so right away and then tattle to the other clans about it.

[crispy-chan]

✿ STRAY KIDS MASTERLIST

✎ - ongoing  ✓ - completed   ↳ - sequel 

♡ - fluff  ♤ - angst  ♢ - action  ♧ - fantasy 

 f/s/e2l - friends/strangers/enemies to lovers  

✎﹏ot8/mini mlists

a fairytale that lasts m.list ♡♤♢♧ | ✎  → ot8 prince!au, fairytale!au (coming soon)

— ❛❛ In which you embark on eight different journeys set in eight different fairytales with eight different princes. ❜❜

stray kids as brooklyn 99 quotes

reaction to you being scared of heights

how would stray kids tickle you

stray kids as jobs they’d be doing if they weren’t in a band

 ✎﹏ bang chan

✿ SERIES — 

maze of memories ♤♢ | ✓ → hunger games, career!chan; ft. felix︙76.9k  

— in which you try to survive the games with your district partner felix, but you catch the attention of the career from district two.

christmas evel: the heist ♡♢ | ✓ → heist!au, dystopian!au, humor, ft. ot8︙19.5k

— you’ve always had a strange affinity for the outlawed holiday. your boyfriend never understood your dangerous fascination with something so incredibly illegal. now, when you’ve decided to hold a christmas party that could very likely get you killed, will he and his friends help you? successfully pulling off this insanely risky heist will mean you get to host the party of the century. but if one thing goes wrong, the government will come for you all… 

(part of the hoi ficmas event)

✿ ONESHOTS —

misjudged  ♡♤♧   → red riding hood au/retelling ︙ 7k

— when you try to figure out the reason why the boy was shunned, many secrets from the past are revealed. it all seems to be rooted back to the fateful day, almost a decade ago, when his mother saved a young man's life.

arcade. ♡♢ → gang!au, highschool!au︙ 6.9k

— he loved you...ever since you two were little kids. but he learned that loving you is a losing game

yellow wood ♡♤♢  → the darkest minds!au, runaway!au, dystopian, superpowers ︙ 29k

— after a horrible disease had spread across the world, killing most children, the ones that survived were left with special powers. not long after, the government began rounding up all of the remaining children, sending them to camps in hopes of “treating” them. but you all know the truth… they were never worried about the kids that might die. they were afraid of you - the ones who lived…

✿ DRABBLES —

forget  ♤︙ 0.5k

 ✎﹏lee minho

✿ ONESHOTS —

clandestine ♡♢ → cop!au ︙8.3k

— where despite the odds, you end up sleeping over at the house of an officer, who offered you shelter. 

a song of ice and fire  ♡♤♢♧ → royalty!au, arranged marriage!au, historical romance, drama, love triangle, ft.guard!jisung︙35k

 — when you agreed to marry the prince of the crimson clan in order to sign a peace treaty, it feels like your entire life is crumbling down in front of your eyes. forced to move to another kingdom, you’re afraid of being shackled in a loveless marriage. minho’s reputation precedes him, and the stories you’ve heard aren’t exactly great. yet the seemingly perfect kingdom has many secrets, along with a dark history that goes beyond anything you would’ve imagined…

✎﹏seo changbin

✿ ONESHOTS —

in another lifetime ♡♤  → coffee shop!au, reincarnation!au, greek gods!au, bad boy!au, s2l, f2l︙ 21.7k

— after a painful breakup with your ex, you find yourself spiralling into an abyss of self-doubt. but when changbin, a new (and insanely attractive) customer starts frequenting your cafe, you realize that there's more to life than what you previously thought. there's an air of familiarity around him, and you feel this unexplainable pull towards him—almost as if the two of you were meant to be from the start...

✿ DRABBLES —

starless: xr - 0325  ♡︙0.6k

✎﹏hwang hyunjin

✿ ONESHOTS —

neverending story  ♡♤  →  high school!au, memory erasure!au, s2f2l ︙23k

— while your memories are erased at the end of each year, hyunjin won't let it stop you from experiencing love. 

✎﹏han jisung

✿ ONESHOTS —

a story rewritten ♡♤♢ →  ft. hyunjin, high school!au, zombie apocalypse!au︙6.7k

— if waking up in an entirely new world where you can't see anyone's face isn't bad enough, hyunjin—the only person whose face isn't blurred in this twisted world—turning into a zombie surely is.

awaken ♤♡ → ghost!au, college!au, mystery︙14.5k 

— ten days ago, you heard someone knocking on your apartment window. seven days ago, you saw a bloody fingerprint on your table. today, you found a stranger lying on your couch. wait a second, is that blood on his hands?!

heat waves ♡ →  established relationship!au, suggestive︙1.8k

— jisung's favorite past time is kissing you.

happier ♡♤ → college!au, comfort, romance︙20k 

— after volunteering to become a subject for jisung's psychology final, you assume your monotonous life will simply go on. but suddenly, there's a lot more drama in your life and you feel yourself plummeting. but there's hope - especially when jisung vows to change that, taking you on fun 'dates' in order to restore your faith in happiness and show you why life is truly worth living.

✿ ONESHOTS —

slip n slide  ♡ val. day︙1k

 ✎﹏lee felix

✿ ONESHOTS —

felix navidad ♡ → royal!au, baker!au, s2l; prince!felix︙5k 

— when the crown prince asks you, a lowly baker, to help him win the annual baking competition, you can't resist the sweet deal he proposes. during the course of 14 days, lee felix learns that there are as many ways to mix batter as there are ways to fall in love with you.

✿ DRABBLES —

happy skrrrtday ♡ bday blurb┆0.8k

✎﹏kim seungmin

✿ ONESHOTS —

astronaut  ♤ ♡ →  astronaut!seungmin, high school!au︙6.3k

— in which your genius childhood best friend chooses space over you.

↳ serendipitous [ alternate ending ] 2.6k 

✎﹏yang jeongin

✿ ONESHOTS —

pushover  ♡  → f2l, high school!au︙13.4k

— despite everyone and their mother knowing that you and jeongin have a thing for each other, it will take a lot for you both to realize that.

burning sunflower  ♡♤ → hanahaki!au, high school!au︙6.8k

— watching him play soccer did many things to you, and falling in love may just be one of them.

✿ bts masterlist ︙ navigation

© crispy-chan — all rights reserved. Do not copy, repost, translate, or claim as your own.

This is the only tumblr account I write on, so if you see my work elsewhere, please let me know ! 

disclaimer: everything here is purely fictional and written for the purpose of entertainment. It does in no way shape or form reflect on the idols or their personalities and beliefs.

[sunnymoon-sunshine]

Mapleshade is another character who I feel Did Not Deserve The Canon She Got. She was introduced to us as a villain, and yet I ended up feeling more sympathetic to her than anything.

One of the very frustrating things I remember about Crookedstar’s Promise, to me, was just how many lost opportunities there were. Don’t get me wrong - Crookedstar’s Promise is one of the super editions I like the most out of the ones I’ve read (up to Yellowfang’s Secret) and I feel it was. Decent. The problem lies in the fact that it follows the then-obligatory writing procedure for Super Editions: The main character must suffer. They must be alone through all of this. There are only a select few they can trust, and even then those can be snatched away.

If I were to change one itty bitty teeny tiny minuscule thing, it would be using that to my advantage.

Mapleshade’s origins are linked strongly with her lost kits. Those kits she adored, who were lost to the river after she was cast out by a leader with a grudge against RiverClan. She lost everything, and resorted to violence to avenge her kits’ needless death.

So, a change in the narrative: Instead of Mapleshade preying upon Crookedjaw’s insecurities, slowly taking away everything he loves, instead...

Mapleshade, who witnessed Stormkit’s fall and cursed StarClan’s silence as a mother abandoned her kit, and a clan seemingly gave up on him. A promise to make sure Crookedkit reached greatness, one way or another.

It would be difficult at first. He’s a frightened kit, and a spineless leader snatched his name and let his birth-giver grace him with the name Crookedkit. She spends many nights in the dark forest, where the bleak starless sky is offset by Mapleshade’s soft face. There’s no warmth in her fur, but there is in her purr as she promises Crookedkit that it will be fine. “You’ll be a warrior,” She promises the trembling kit. “I guarantee it.”

She trains him personally. Mapleshade was quite the warrior during her living days, a fierce fighter with a knack at bird-catching. She comforts him at night, and when his apprenticeship is delayed, she takes matters into her own paws. She trains him herself, beginning with the basics and going from there.

RiverClan thinks it’s odd, how Crookedkit seems to have picked up on apprentice-level things so quickly. It was tempting to blame Oakpaw for showing his brother how to fight, but those were specifically ThunderClan moves. No one is sure how he picked up on them.

During his apprenticeship, he proves himself capable, hardy, and strong already. He bulks up, grows bigger than his brother, and makes friends. The clan, many of whom took to avoiding him to appease Rainflower, starts speaking to him again. The other apprentices adore him. And yet there are really only two cats he trusts completely - Brambleberry, the medicine cat, and Mapleshade.

When he begins to strike up a friendship with the fierce and ambitious Bluepaw of ThunderClan, Mapleshade quickly steers him away. He only later would know that her absolute insistence comes from a wish to protect him from the cruelty of ThunderClan. It works, for the most part - he only speaks to Bluefur again after she loses her sister, to offer his condolences. Mapleshade be damned, if he lost his brother he’d yearn to hear words of comfort too.

Her voice is loudest when he becomes a warrior. It’s loud enough to mask the fact that Rainflower doesn’t speak at all.

When Rainflower dies, Mapleshade’s hiss is loud and clear in his ear. It’s filled with venom and hate, and he’s frozen stiff as she tells him to leave her to the foxes. “She didn’t deserve a son like you.” Mapleshade spits out, and Crookedjaw doesn’t know what to do. It doesn’t feel right.

She creates the false sign so that Crookedjaw will be chosen as deputy. It’s what he deserves, she knows he’ll make a fantastic leader - it’s written in the stars, after all. When he finds out, he’s crushed, and she doesn’t know why. She gave him the position he always dreamed of having, didn’t she?

Things start spiraling out of control. He starts doing stupid things, he’s not focusing on leadership enough, he’s not ambitious enough. She’s done so much for him and he’s wasting it on some fanciful love life. She can tell you from experience that it’s a waste of time - isn’t that right, Appledusk? When his brother starts vanishing from camp, she only offers a shrug, even though he’s sure she knows what’s going on. When Oakheart arrives in the dead of night with a couple of abandoned kits, Crookedstar has a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. When he goes to talk to Mapleshade, she’s oddly quiet, staring up at the sky of the forest she roams, which always seems like it’s blanketed by clouds threatening rain. They sit in silence for a few minutes, before Mapleshade breaks the silence.

“She lost a kit.” And then, “I’m glad he took them in. He’s a far better cat than Appledusk. You should make him your deputy next - you can trust him.”

He jokes that he hopes he wouldn’t have to replace his deputy. But he does do his best to support his brother, and notices - with a feeling of dread growing in the pit of his stomach - that Bluefur, while she’s new deputy of ThunderClan, looks ragged and distraught. She lost her kits, apparently. He silently promises they’ll be taken care of in RiverClan. After all, his mate is half-clan too.

From about this point on I have no idea where to take this. My instinct is to have Mapleshade push him to fight ThunderClan, and Crookedstar’s hesitation and refusal to fight them so soon, given Oakheart and Bluefur’s situation. That, and a lack of empathy for the loss of his mate, makes him turn his back on Mapleshade. She’s not as bad as Rainflower, but she’s her own kind of awful parent.

Silverstream never knew anything but love from her clanmates. Her adoring father always reminded her of just how much she was loved, but never told her what to do. Never shoved her in any direction, and let her make her own choices. Silverstream grew up confident, beautiful, and had the opposite kind of kithood that he had. And that fact made him feel a little pride. RiverClan as a whole changed from his days. He finally felt as if he could be at peace.

too bad silverstream’s confidence and lack of any real pushing didn’t really help oh god, now she’s in a relationship with a thunderclan cat, oh god she’s got the airpods in silverstream stop

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

Even though Skybranch leaves for Skyclan in the end, I wanna improve the relationship she has with her foster soblings/foster mom and dad.

Snowbush is The Dad. He loves his kids loads and would do anything for them, he extends that to Twigkit. He is devesated seeing her leave but he knows Thunderclan fucked up with separating the 2. He always asks her how she's doing at Gatherings. How is Violetshine? Are you eating enough? Is your den comfortable? What's it like in the camp, is it safe? Are you alright? Any celebrations lately? Do you miss us?

Lilyheart is an amazing mom, she loves playing with her children, and treats them all equal. She also took classes in history, which she tries to teach them as much as she can, though Twigkit already has a special interest in cooking. It also devastates Lilyheart when Skybranch leaves, and she fussed over her before she goes. She would be the mom that asks you to call her loads when you move away. She learned to make Skybranch's favorite food for her at Gatherings. She cries over her at night, she misses her so much.

Honeyfur is the first born, the big sibling. She looks like the grandpa she never got to meet, build wise. She wants Twigkit to feel welcome, but also is a bit of a friendly rival. Loud and boisterous and a bit much for Twigkit, who would rather hang out at the cook-pot. Later in life, the 2 child/mate free girlies love hanging out at Gatherings and After Gathers. Honeyfur is also a gossip QUEEN who would talk Skybranch's ears off if she could.

Larksong thinks Skybranch is ABSOLUTELY part of the Prophecy. He thinks she'll have a power, like the Star-Blessed 4. They just have to 'unlock' it. Many bumps and bruises ensue. These two are gonna give Alderpaw and Sparkpaw a stroke. Thankfully for Twigpaw, it stops after they enter apprenticeship, with Rosepetal keeping Larkpaw very busy. They relatively keep in touch, until Larksong's passing. Skybranch wishes she had been in Thunderclan just a little bit longer, then, or at least been there for Sparkpelt.

Shadeleaf (Leafshade renamed because Leafpool isn't dead) is... Her least favorite. Shadeleaf is rude to her, very possessive over her parents, and has that good old Clan Xenophobia. Shadeleaf is the type of person who "tells it like it is" only their version of honesty is "How much can I insult you and get away with it?" Snowbush and Lilyheart love their children, but Shadeleaf needs a firm hand that she won't be getting any time soon until A Starless Clan. Skybranch and Shadeleaf don't hang out at all afterwards. Skybranch feels no need to be around a cat that made her feel like an outsider when she didn't even want to be there in the first place.

[bewitchingbooktours]

The Lizard Queen Series by H.L. Cherryholmes

The Lizard Queen Series - Abridged

300 years ago, in a nameless world, a prophecy passed unfulfilled. A secret society that formed to prevent its occurrence believed it was their doing, while the secret society created to ensure that the prophecy came to pass wasn’t certain it had been stopped at all. Eventually, the prophecy of Lacáruna, a female from another realm and the only being who can read the Lizard Queen’s language, fell into legend.  What no one realizes, however, is that Amy Darlidale is just a tad late.

Amazon

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book One

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798589724 ASIN: B081593C32

Number of pages: 496 Word Count: 235,000

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

Taking a break from a stressful workweek, Amy Darlidale, a recently divorced CEO, goes out for a morning jog, crosses paths with an orange lizard, and suddenly finds herself under a starless sky confronted by oddly marked and strangely colored people claiming she's there to rescue the world from evil’s grasp and expand it Along with the young companions who found her, Licha and Jandro, the swaggering Colonel Dack Sangcertigre—a member of the secret society sworn to protect her—leads Amy in search of a plan to fulfill the Promise of a New Morphósis, which will save them all.

Confronted with raving rulers, military machinations, and crafty clergy, Amy quickly realizes there is much more at stake than merely finding the prophecy. Fires rage, clans and townsfolk are massacred when leaders proclaim a great evil has returned. While Amy searches for and finds clues within the first of nine mythic journals regarding this world’s origins, she begins to see visions and receive messages from forces unknown.

Even as she tries to understand the extent of her power others have become aware of it as well. Soon a new group with its own mysterious agenda believes Amy may have another fated purpose and only she can save herself from their terrifying trap.

Amazon

Excerpt Book One:

 “I saw an orange lizard today.” “Orange? That’s an unusual color for a lizard isn’t it? I’ve seen red ones.”  Amy Darlidale looked at the wall just above her therapist’s head. She’d seen the family photo dozens of times but had never given it much attention. This was the first time she’d noticed the pendant his young daughter wore. Was it a circle within a circle? It was difficult to make out from a distance. “Maybe your red lizard mated with a yellow one and produced my orange lizard.” John chuckled. “Maybe. Where did you see it?” “That’s the interesting thing.” Amy stopped bouncing the leg she had crossed over the other. “I saw it in my office. It ran across my desk.” “You’re kidding. How do you suppose a lizard—of any color—made it up to the twenty-seventh floor of your office building?”  “Maybe it crawled through the pipes.” Amy glanced out the window and resumed bouncing her leg. Pen in hand, John leaned back in his chair. “You seem rather distracted today.” Amy’s gaze drifted across John’s desk. When he started seeing her alone, he’d moved from the couple’s area to the desk. She liked it better this way. “That damned lizard. I saw it first thing this morning, and I can’t get it out of my head.” She uncrossed her legs. “I feel a bit silly for saying this, but it stopped and looked at me.” “There’s nothing unusual about that. A deer-in-the-headlights response. Animals often momentarily freeze when they think they’ve been caught.” “Probably.” Amy pictured the incident in her mind. “But that wasn’t what it seemed like at the time.” “What did it seem like?” She returned her focus to the pendant on the girl’s neck in the family portrait. It was a circle within a circle. “I swear it was looking at me.” She remembered how the small creature had scrambled up a pile of reports centered at the far edge of the desk and stopped there. “We sort of locked eyes for a moment. I had the oddest feeling she had been waiting for me to notice her.” “She?” Amy looked at the therapist. “What?” “You said she not it.” “I did?” “Yes. Why would you assume it was female?” “I don’t know.” “Was there some sort of marking that gave away its gender?” “No, there weren’t any markings. She was just orange. Bright orange like a…well, like an orange. Her underside was slightly more yellow.” “Okay, so you and the lizard locked eyes. Then what?” “Then she blinked a few times and ran off my desk. I shouted for my assistant and we looked in every corner and under every piece of furniture but never did find it.” “So what was it about this incident that you can’t get out of your head? Not being able to find it?” That he would assume what bothered her was the lizard’s disappearance didn’t surprise Amy in the least. John was a marriage counselor, which was why she’d started seeing him in the first place; unfortunately, despite the bi-weekly appointments for nearly a year, she and her husband, Peter, hadn’t been able to work out their problems and eventually divorced. Peter got the SUV and the boat; she got condo in Palm Springs and John. They sold the house in Brentwood. One issue that had brought the (then) couple to see a therapist was Amy’s inability to let things go. Her husband said it bordered on obsessive. Amy believed she was just determined. As it turned out, John tended to side with her husband on that particular topic and even after the divorce John still thought it was something Amy needed to work on. That’s when she started seeing him only once every other month. “No, it wasn’t that I couldn’t find the lizard. Although, I will admit that was frustrating. I’m guessing I can’t get it out of my head because, for some reason, it made me think of my father.” “What did it remind you of?” He seemed anxious to hear her answer, which also came as no surprise; Amy seldom talked about her childhood. Something else that annoyed her ex-husband. “I suppose it made me think about when he married my stepmother. A few months after their wedding I became very ill. My father said that he found me unconscious and rushed me to the hospital. I was in a coma for three days. The doctors never found out what was wrong with me.” She paused to clear her throat. Talking about her childhood always made her uncomfortable, mostly because she remembered so little of it. “But to get back to your question, the way that the lizard looked at me was exactly how my father was looking at me when I woke from that coma. I remember opening my eyes and seeing my dad watching me as if he were waiting for me to notice him. That’s what the lizard seemed to be doing.” John tapped his pen on the notepad. “I find it interesting that the first thing you said it reminded you of was when your father married your stepmother and not that you were in a coma.” Frowning, Amy asked why he found it interesting. “Why don’t you tell me?” He smiled wryly. Amy hated that smile; John only used it when he knew how she would respond. “Maybe it’s because I found my father marrying Alice more traumatic than being in a coma.” She laughed. “All right. So seeing the orange lizard brought this all back to you. My question then is why do you see it as a distraction?” As she adjusted her jacket, Amy wished she hadn’t brought up the lizard. She’d only done so because she hadn’t had anything else to talk about and didn’t want to waste a session. “I don’t really know. Seeing the lizard just brought out…a feeling, I suppose.” “What feeling?”

“If I knew,” she said, mimicking his smile, “I’d be the therapist.”

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book Two

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798571132 ASIN: B08159BRTX

Number of pages: 594 Word Count: 279,000

Formats available: Paperback and Kindle

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

It’s become increasingly clear that an all-out war is being waged by the Arañalianza, the alliance bent on making certain that the prophecy is never brought to pass, and their opposite, the Trotéjo, which is sworn to make certain it does. Although Amy Darlidale has passed tests of wits and endurance far beyond what she thought possible, she struggles for insight into the role she is presumably intended to play in this world.

Jolted by the sacrifices her protectors have had to make, she forges ahead while new relationships surface and new truths are revealed. Forced to rely on her own instincts, along with the limited knowledge she’s gained of this world in her quest, she must find a way to acquire the remaining Extiguos to piece together the prophecy.

Despite feeling constrained in her ability to combat otherworldly forces she cannot comprehend, she must now overcome a foe that poses an unimaginably sinister threat.

Amazon

Excerpt Book Two:

Amy had expected to be taken to some sort of a cell, as had happened too many times before, but instead Quoia and she were taken from the cliff tower into another part of the istanté enclave. Her mind continued to reel from the events that had occurred in the past hour. After having been abducted in Últimojo, right under the noses of her friends, and unceremoniously carted from one end of Rescatazo to another, she’d thought her ordeal was coming to an end when the clan’s spiritual leader revealed that she was a Trotéjo comrade. But no. Once again, the irony of not heeding the mysterious message sent by an unknown source while she had been out at sea wasn’t lost on her. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? Actually, she had. Silly her. All of this had come about simply because she’d been curious as to what an adividria—an alleged diviner of fortunes and dreams—actually did. She had been called one, which had also occurred while she’d been out at sea on the Pen-Mai II, because someone had assumed only a quimera capable of evocasado, this world’s version of magic, would be able to read the Extiguos. Just outside of the Eyes of the Ultimate Cathedral in Últimojo was a long row of tents commonly referred to as Charlatan Shacks and she’d visited an adividria there. What followed led the adividria, Nayel, to believe Amy was something her Ojor Mountain clan in northern Rescatazo had been looking for. And because of that belief, Amy had been rendered unconscious, snatched up, and dragged unwillingly up the river and across the land only to learn that Nayel had been wrong and she wasn’t what the istanté clan was looking for after all. Now, instead of becoming the clan’s newest spiritual leader, she was to be thrown to the wolves (in this instance, to something called a vueltó) that outsiders had never bested. Her only consolation was that her abductor and the current spiritual leader-cum-Trotéjo comrade’s son, Quoia, was being tossed into the ring along with her. The broad-shouldered, pale-skinned quimero hadn’t been very happy to learn his fate any more than she had. In fact, he probably had been even more stunned by the turn of events than she. Amy would have felt a bit of smug satisfaction over that, if not for the staggering sense of dread crawling up her legs. The enormous, ugly istanté guards with the muscular hunched shoulders silently led Quoia and her to a room with a floor covered entirely in pillows except for a small path along the edges. Adorning the walls were more than a dozen swords of varying sizes. The room opened onto a large empty yard surrounded by high walls. The guards left them and closed the door, locking it from the outside. Quoia immediately scanned the weapons on the wall, as he circled the pillow-covered floor. Light from the flickering lanterns shined off the perspiration dotting the skin of his bald head. When Amy had first seen him—well, not the first time, the first time she’d only caught a glimpse of him before he covered her face with a rag soaked in something called cañart that had knocked her out—she’d noted that their pale-peach skin-coloring was very similar. With his square jaw and button nose, he could have passed for human, if not for the small curved horns just above his temples. The tall quimero was body-builder big with a neck as wide as his head. When he found a sword to his liking he removed it from the wall and held it out. “Take this. It should be easy for you to handle.” Amy stared at the sword in silence. “We call it a cuchelgado. Ranjeros call it a sword.” “I know what it is and I don’t care what it’s called. What I don’t understand is why we’re going to a circus. Actually, let me amend that. What I don’t understand is why any of this is happening.” 

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book Three

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798130117 ASIN: B08157XT4V

Number of pages: 657 Word Count: 309,000

Formats available: Paperback and Kindle

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

With all of the Extiguos now in their possession, Amy Darlidale and her companions feel they are close to discovering the truth, but that they are also running out of time.

This world seems on the verge of shrinking much faster than anyone anticipated when the surrounding nations gather for war against Pliada. The Trotéjo and the Arañalianza also plan to assemble before the mountain upon which La Reina’s castle sits, and stakes have never been higher. The quest to learn how Amy must bring about the New Morphósis has brought her full circle and the truth about her destiny as Lacáruna finally seems within reach.

But much blood continues to be shed as all sides race toward the inevitable conclusion of the journey. Amy must summon forces from deep within if she is to save this world—or is it too late?

Amazon

Excerpt Book Three:

Amy looked at the blank pages and couldn’t believe her eyes. So she closed them. When she opened them again, however, nothing had changed. The final Extiguo was no longer visible to her. “It’s gone.” Dack was giving out instructions as to which direction the others should face while Amy read the last third of the Extiguo. “It’s gone,” Amy repeated. Dack stopped and looked at her. “What?” “The words are gone.” She held up the book with the pages facing outward, even though she knew he wouldn’t see it as she did. To anyone native to this world, the symbols that were the written language of La Reina were still stamped upon the pages. “I can’t see any of the words.” Dack, Licha, Jandro, and Madu scrambled to gather around her. Sitting as she was on the footboard of the carriage that had delivered goods to the hundreds of Trotéjo hiding in Naclaquí didn’t make this easy, so she stood up. Licha pulled at Amy’s arm until the book was low enough that she could see it. “I don’t understand,” the quimera with the alabaster-white skin said. “I thought that the words didn’t disappear until you’ve read all of it.” Flipping through the book to be certain the pages were blank, Amy said, “They haven’t until now.” Madu peered over her shoulder. “Why now? Why would they disappear on you like that now?” Amy removed the lupercas, the pince-nez reading glasses, from the bridge of her nose. No point in keeping them on when there was nothing to read. “I don’t know why. It’s never happened before.” Jandro looked up at her. His eyes were wide and seemed to be floating in the black pools that were the ovals encircling them on his face. His blue-gray skin was almost silver in the glow of the moonlight. “You’ve never gone so far into one of the Extiguos and then stopped,” he said. “Could that be why?” Frustrated, Amy threw the paluz to the ground. “I don’t care what caused it. All that matters is that I can no longer read it.” She looked at Dack. “What are we going to do?” He stared at the green light of the paluz at his feet. “There doesn’t seem to be anything we can do.” “But we don’t know how it ends.” Madu’s voice went up an octave. “Yes we do,” Jandro said. “La Reina creates the—” “Not that!” Madu said, his voice higher still. The tall, lanky quimero began to pace. “Not what’s in the Translation, but what’s in the actual Extiguo. None of you seem to comprehend that nearly all that Amy read so far is nowhere to be found in its translation. For all we know, the Winged-One really did create the Morphósis and La Reina became Lacáruna.” “Control yourself, Madu,” Dack said. “Hysterics are never constructive.” “And I can assure you I am not La Reina,” Amy added. Madu closed his mouth and drew in several breaths through his long nose. He ran his hands through his thick, dark red hair a few times and slowly his shoulders relaxed. “I didn’t mean that literally. I’m only conjecturing that anything is possible.” “We shouldn’t have left.” Licha looked up at Dack, whom she stood beside. “We should have remained in the building when you sent out the group disguised as us. Amy should have kept reading.” Jandro came between them and, surprising everyone, shoved Licha back. “Stop being an idiot. We couldn’t have stayed. You heard what Dack said. Whoever caused the explosion could have sent someone to storm into Winfred’s room and what would we have done then?” “Enough.” Amy put Winfred’s lupercas in a pocket and rubbed her eyes. “Instead of focusing on what we don’t know, how about focusing on what we do. I was more than halfway through the Extiguo. We have plenty of revelations to discuss and mull over.”

About the Author:

H.L. Cherryholmes, author of The Lizard Queen Series, The Reminisce, Come Back for Me, and A Slight Touch was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico but has spent most of his adult life in California. He has a BFA from University of New Mexico and a Master's degree in Playwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, he lives in SoCal with his husband.

https://www.hlcherryholmes.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HLCherryholmesBooks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1398789.H_L_Cherryholmes

[willreadforbooze]

Hello fellow boozie readers!

If you haven’t heard about #Booziebookathon, it’s our week long readathon we host every year! We had such a blast hanging/reading with you guys!

Sam’s Update:

I got a lot of reading done this week, it was Booziebookathon, Dewey’s Reverse Readathon, AND NEWTs.

What Sam finished this week:

  Booziebookathon Gin: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: There was the Sam before Evelyn Hugo and the Sam after Evelyn Hugo. I will never be the same. I’m gonna drunk review it.

Booziebookathon White Wine and Smirnoff Ice: Demon in the Whitelands by Nikki Z. Richard: I did not enjoy this very much. I wanted to, it was such a unique concept but it was choppy and very little was answered.

Booziebookathon Beer and NEWTs Charms A-level Exam: Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed: This was a really cute quick story and I really enjoyed it! It shows the ins and outs of indentured servitude on this planet. 3.5/5 shots.

NEWTs DADA A: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel: These books are fab. It’s really hard to say what I did and didn’t like because the audiobook is just so good and so much happens that it’s hard to describe.

What Sam’s reading now:

  NEWTs Transfiguration A: Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera: This is a book about a newly-out lesbian on an internship on the other side of the country. I’m still at the beginning but I’m loving the bits of Spanglish, and the crazy hippies, and the tone overall. I can’t wait to keep going.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Buddy reading with Ginny and Liz and also for book club. I’m ready for more, but I don’t want to say any more thoughts because we still have to discuss as a group. I might figure out how to work this into my NEWTs but it’s not currently there…

Ginny’s Update (Aka Reads-with-the-wind):

Hi Everyone, good to have wrapped up the BoozieBookathon! Happy August, we’re only a few weeks away from going back to tolerable weather. I’m already looking at my closet looking forward to jackets and jeans and basically not being a walking sweat-being as soon as I walk outside.

Currently Reading

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: This is still for a book club, I’m still reading it slowly. There was a pretty big twist and I’m enjoying seeing it ripple out. 

The Ten thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow: I grabbed this book from bookcon and I am so looking forwarding to reading this.

Finished (aka ALL THE MF BOOKS)

Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move by Katherin Lanpher: this was one of my books for Boozie Bookathon and it fulfills my Gin challenge (book on tbr forever). Also technically fulfilled white wine. This book is an autobiography that focuses on change and really how to move between what you expected things to be and what things actually are. I really enjoyed some of the chapters, but I also don’t necessarily feel ridiculously drawn to the city of New York and found some of the descriptions a little tedious. 3/5

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman: IT’S THAT TIME! I’m reading the fifth book in this series that I adore. Irene is being called in to act as mediator in a conversation between the Dragons and Fae. This book was delightful. I also enjoy a mystery where all of the players are on the table early. (If you’d like to start at the beginning, my first review is here.) Most definitely writing a review.

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews: Some people have crazy wild powers and one of those people is going crazy. Neva is tasked with bringing him in ssafely. Except dude is kind of a psycopath. Neva ends up working with pretty much the strongest other person, Mad Rogan (I know, that name…) who is trying to snag one of Adam’s (I think it was Adam) co-conspirators. I’m unsure of how I feel about this book. The plot was wild and a lot of fun, but some of the romance felt weird due the question of where consent should come into play…. I’m going to keep reading because I like the universe but will keep an eye out for consent issues.

All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle: This is a bookcon book (that I finally got around to) and I’m planning on writing a review, so brief summary. On Deena’s 17th birthday, her sister goes missing. She follows some loose threads to learn a lot more about her family history and the “family curse.”

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh: I’ve read a few of the books that come much further in this series but I really liked them and decided to come back to the beginning. Sascha is a Psy who has been taught emotion is weakness but is struggling to uphold the “Silence.” Lukas is the head of his clan and is trying to find a serial killer. Also they fall in love. Sascha is a lot of fun and it would have been completed different to read this book first when I didn’t already know about some various things. Still, a romp of a read! 4/5

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole: Alyssa Cole is an always read for me now. I might prefer her contemporary things, but dear god is this series great. Marlie is the illegitimate daughter in a white family, which has given her a protected status but still a status of “other.” Ewan was responsible for torturing the Rebs captured by the North and then was captured himself. He escapes from prison and hides in Marlie’s house with her help. Due to circumstances she ends up as trapped as she is. This book was lovely. Ewan had a slight level of autism (I assume, it’s never directly diagnosed) but is one of those people who one sees his deficiencies rather than the things that made him wonderful. Marlie is just a brilliant character and the way they worked together was great! I enjoyed watching them learn their own self-worth. 4/5

Minda’s Update:

Booziebookathon is complete! Now full focus is on NEWTs Readathon for the rest of the month.

What Minda finished this week: 

  The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson (Beer) – This book was kind of a trip—girl taken from her cult family resents having to readjust to life in society. Definitely recommend!

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (Whiskey & Champagne) – Slog is the best word used to describe how I felt about this one.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Shot & White Wine) – Loved this one! Super short and just what I needed after the above. Counts for the first part of the Ancient Ruins exam for NEWTs Readathon!

The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon (Vodka, Gin, and Red Wine) – I did like this one and it was on the shorter side, but not as much as I feel I could have from the premise. I thought it was a weird decision to have only one person tell the perspective of three. Also counts for Ancient Ruins exam.

What Minda is reading now:

  Kindred by Octavia E. Butler – My final read for the Ancient Ruins exam, this has been on my TBR for a bit. Excited to see how it goes! 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Counts for the first part of this History of Magic exam! I got really excited about this when everyone picked it up at BookCon.

Linz’s Update:

Booziebookathon is OVER and I can finally get back to The Starless Sea *takes nap*

What Linz read (jmj what didn’t I read):

  Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay: Published this summer, this book is about a Filipino-American teen who goes to the Philippines to find out the real story behind his cousin’s murder. This book could not have spoken to me more and it was EVERYTHING.

Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab: I’m glad I finally read this sequel to This Savage Song but it wasn not nearly as solid a book

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi: I sat on this book foreeeever; it’s about an alien race approaching a Hollywood agent to help them be introduced to the human race. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, and it was super tell-y and monologue-y

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas: EXCELLENT romance novel, could have used like 1-2 more sex scenes

All Systems Red by Martha Wells: A bombass novella about a science team’s mission gone wrong and the android sent to protect them, told from the android’s perspective.

SLAY by Brittney Morris: Thanks Jesus I managed to get a copy of this book at BookCon because I do NOT know what I would have done if I had to wait til its release. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this is about a black teen girl, Kiera, who created an underground computer game for the black community. One of the players is killed in real life over a dispute in the game, and a lot of shit happens. It’s an incredible book and I’m absolutely reviewing it.

What Linz is currently reading:

  The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton: a forthcoming novel about women’s relationships and racial identity, told by a mixed-race mother in the modern day and her ancestory, a former slave. It’s the only challenge I didn’t finish for Booziebookathon, but it’s not a book that you should rush through.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: THANK GOD I CAN FINALLY GET BACK TO THIS, I don’t know what I was thinking starting it 2 days before Booziebookathon.

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

Weekly/Booziebookathon Wrap-Up: July 29 – August 3, 2019 Hello fellow boozie readers! If you haven't heard about #Booziebookathon, it's our week long readathon we host every year!

[bewitchingbooktours]

The Lizard Queen Series

The Lizard Queen Series - Abridged

300 years ago, in a nameless world, a prophecy passed unfulfilled. A secret society that formed to prevent its occurrence believed it was their doing, while the secret society created to ensure that the prophecy came to pass wasn’t certain it had been stopped at all. Eventually, the prophecy of Lacáruna, a female from another realm and the only being who can read the Lizard Queen’s language, fell into legend.  What no one realizes, however, is that Amy Darlidale is just a tad late.

Amazon

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book One

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798589724 ASIN: B081593C32

Number of pages: 496 Word Count: 235,000

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

Taking a break from a stressful workweek, Amy Darlidale, a recently divorced CEO, goes out for a morning jog, crosses paths with an orange lizard, and suddenly finds herself under a starless sky confronted by oddly marked and strangely colored people claiming she's there to rescue the world from evil’s grasp and expand it Along with the young companions who found her, Licha and Jandro, the swaggering Colonel Dack Sangcertigre—a member of the secret society sworn to protect her—leads Amy in search of a plan to fulfill the Promise of a New Morphósis, which will save them all.

Confronted with raving rulers, military machinations, and crafty clergy, Amy quickly realizes there is much more at stake than merely finding the prophecy. Fires rage, clans and townsfolk are massacred when leaders proclaim a great evil has returned. While Amy searches for and finds clues within the first of nine mythic journals regarding this world’s origins, she begins to see visions and receive messages from forces unknown.

Even as she tries to understand the extent of her power others have become aware of it as well. Soon a new group with its own mysterious agenda believes Amy may have another fated purpose and only she can save herself from their terrifying trap.

Amazon

Excerpt Book One:

 “I saw an orange lizard today.” “Orange? That’s an unusual color for a lizard isn’t it? I’ve seen red ones.”  Amy Darlidale looked at the wall just above her therapist’s head. She’d seen the family photo dozens of times but had never given it much attention. This was the first time she’d noticed the pendant his young daughter wore. Was it a circle within a circle? It was difficult to make out from a distance. “Maybe your red lizard mated with a yellow one and produced my orange lizard.” John chuckled. “Maybe. Where did you see it?” “That’s the interesting thing.” Amy stopped bouncing the leg she had crossed over the other. “I saw it in my office. It ran across my desk.” “You’re kidding. How do you suppose a lizard—of any color—made it up to the twenty-seventh floor of your office building?”  “Maybe it crawled through the pipes.” Amy glanced out the window and resumed bouncing her leg. Pen in hand, John leaned back in his chair. “You seem rather distracted today.” Amy’s gaze drifted across John’s desk. When he started seeing her alone, he’d moved from the couple’s area to the desk. She liked it better this way. “That damned lizard. I saw it first thing this morning, and I can’t get it out of my head.” She uncrossed her legs. “I feel a bit silly for saying this, but it stopped and looked at me.” “There’s nothing unusual about that. A deer-in-the-headlights response. Animals often momentarily freeze when they think they’ve been caught.” “Probably.” Amy pictured the incident in her mind. “But that wasn’t what it seemed like at the time.” “What did it seem like?” She returned her focus to the pendant on the girl’s neck in the family portrait. It was a circle within a circle. “I swear it was looking at me.” She remembered how the small creature had scrambled up a pile of reports centered at the far edge of the desk and stopped there. “We sort of locked eyes for a moment. I had the oddest feeling she had been waiting for me to notice her.” “She?” Amy looked at the therapist. “What?” “You said she not it.” “I did?” “Yes. Why would you assume it was female?” “I don’t know.” “Was there some sort of marking that gave away its gender?” “No, there weren’t any markings. She was just orange. Bright orange like a…well, like an orange. Her underside was slightly more yellow.” “Okay, so you and the lizard locked eyes. Then what?” “Then she blinked a few times and ran off my desk. I shouted for my assistant and we looked in every corner and under every piece of furniture but never did find it.” “So what was it about this incident that you can’t get out of your head? Not being able to find it?” That he would assume what bothered her was the lizard’s disappearance didn’t surprise Amy in the least. John was a marriage counselor, which was why she’d started seeing him in the first place; unfortunately, despite the bi-weekly appointments for nearly a year, she and her husband, Peter, hadn’t been able to work out their problems and eventually divorced. Peter got the SUV and the boat; she got condo in Palm Springs and John. They sold the house in Brentwood. One issue that had brought the (then) couple to see a therapist was Amy’s inability to let things go. Her husband said it bordered on obsessive. Amy believed she was just determined. As it turned out, John tended to side with her husband on that particular topic and even after the divorce John still thought it was something Amy needed to work on. That’s when she started seeing him only once every other month. “No, it wasn’t that I couldn’t find the lizard. Although, I will admit that was frustrating. I’m guessing I can’t get it out of my head because, for some reason, it made me think of my father.” “What did it remind you of?” He seemed anxious to hear her answer, which also came as no surprise; Amy seldom talked about her childhood. Something else that annoyed her ex-husband. “I suppose it made me think about when he married my stepmother. A few months after their wedding I became very ill. My father said that he found me unconscious and rushed me to the hospital. I was in a coma for three days. The doctors never found out what was wrong with me.” She paused to clear her throat. Talking about her childhood always made her uncomfortable, mostly because she remembered so little of it. “But to get back to your question, the way that the lizard looked at me was exactly how my father was looking at me when I woke from that coma. I remember opening my eyes and seeing my dad watching me as if he were waiting for me to notice him. That’s what the lizard seemed to be doing.” John tapped his pen on the notepad. “I find it interesting that the first thing you said it reminded you of was when your father married your stepmother and not that you were in a coma.” Frowning, Amy asked why he found it interesting. “Why don’t you tell me?” He smiled wryly. Amy hated that smile; John only used it when he knew how she would respond. “Maybe it’s because I found my father marrying Alice more traumatic than being in a coma.” She laughed. “All right. So seeing the orange lizard brought this all back to you. My question then is why do you see it as a distraction?” As she adjusted her jacket, Amy wished she hadn’t brought up the lizard. She’d only done so because she hadn’t had anything else to talk about and didn’t want to waste a session. “I don’t really know. Seeing the lizard just brought out…a feeling, I suppose.” “What feeling?”

“If I knew,” she said, mimicking his smile, “I’d be the therapist.”

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book Two

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798571132 ASIN: B08159BRTX

Number of pages: 594 Word Count: 279,000

Formats available: Paperback and Kindle

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

It’s become increasingly clear that an all-out war is being waged by the Arañalianza, the alliance bent on making certain that the prophecy is never brought to pass, and their opposite, the Trotéjo, which is sworn to make certain it does. Although Amy Darlidale has passed tests of wits and endurance far beyond what she thought possible, she struggles for insight into the role she is presumably intended to play in this world.

Jolted by the sacrifices her protectors have had to make, she forges ahead while new relationships surface and new truths are revealed. Forced to rely on her own instincts, along with the limited knowledge she’s gained of this world in her quest, she must find a way to acquire the remaining Extiguos to piece together the prophecy.

Despite feeling constrained in her ability to combat otherworldly forces she cannot comprehend, she must now overcome a foe that poses an unimaginably sinister threat.

Amazon

Excerpt Book Two:

Amy had expected to be taken to some sort of a cell, as had happened too many times before, but instead Quoia and she were taken from the cliff tower into another part of the istanté enclave. Her mind continued to reel from the events that had occurred in the past hour. After having been abducted in Últimojo, right under the noses of her friends, and unceremoniously carted from one end of Rescatazo to another, she’d thought her ordeal was coming to an end when the clan’s spiritual leader revealed that she was a Trotéjo comrade. But no. Once again, the irony of not heeding the mysterious message sent by an unknown source while she had been out at sea wasn’t lost on her. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? Actually, she had. Silly her. All of this had come about simply because she’d been curious as to what an adividria—an alleged diviner of fortunes and dreams—actually did. She had been called one, which had also occurred while she’d been out at sea on the Pen-Mai II, because someone had assumed only a quimera capable of evocasado, this world’s version of magic, would be able to read the Extiguos. Just outside of the Eyes of the Ultimate Cathedral in Últimojo was a long row of tents commonly referred to as Charlatan Shacks and she’d visited an adividria there. What followed led the adividria, Nayel, to believe Amy was something her Ojor Mountain clan in northern Rescatazo had been looking for. And because of that belief, Amy had been rendered unconscious, snatched up, and dragged unwillingly up the river and across the land only to learn that Nayel had been wrong and she wasn’t what the istanté clan was looking for after all. Now, instead of becoming the clan’s newest spiritual leader, she was to be thrown to the wolves (in this instance, to something called a vueltó) that outsiders had never bested. Her only consolation was that her abductor and the current spiritual leader-cum-Trotéjo comrade’s son, Quoia, was being tossed into the ring along with her. The broad-shouldered, pale-skinned quimero hadn’t been very happy to learn his fate any more than she had. In fact, he probably had been even more stunned by the turn of events than she. Amy would have felt a bit of smug satisfaction over that, if not for the staggering sense of dread crawling up her legs. The enormous, ugly istanté guards with the muscular hunched shoulders silently led Quoia and her to a room with a floor covered entirely in pillows except for a small path along the edges. Adorning the walls were more than a dozen swords of varying sizes. The room opened onto a large empty yard surrounded by high walls. The guards left them and closed the door, locking it from the outside. Quoia immediately scanned the weapons on the wall, as he circled the pillow-covered floor. Light from the flickering lanterns shined off the perspiration dotting the skin of his bald head. When Amy had first seen him—well, not the first time, the first time she’d only caught a glimpse of him before he covered her face with a rag soaked in something called cañart that had knocked her out—she’d noted that their pale-peach skin-coloring was very similar. With his square jaw and button nose, he could have passed for human, if not for the small curved horns just above his temples. The tall quimero was body-builder big with a neck as wide as his head. When he found a sword to his liking he removed it from the wall and held it out. “Take this. It should be easy for you to handle.” Amy stared at the sword in silence. “We call it a cuchelgado. Ranjeros call it a sword.” “I know what it is and I don’t care what it’s called. What I don’t understand is why we’re going to a circus. Actually, let me amend that. What I don’t understand is why any of this is happening.” 

The Lizard Queen Abridged

Book Three

H.L. Cherryholmes

Genre: Fantasy

Date of Publication: 12/7/19

ISBN: 9781798130117 ASIN: B08157XT4V

Number of pages: 657 Word Count: 309,000

Formats available: Paperback and Kindle

Cover Artist: Ryan Valle

Book Description:

With all of the Extiguos now in their possession, Amy Darlidale and her companions feel they are close to discovering the truth, but that they are also running out of time.

This world seems on the verge of shrinking much faster than anyone anticipated when the surrounding nations gather for war against Pliada. The Trotéjo and the Arañalianza also plan to assemble before the mountain upon which La Reina’s castle sits, and stakes have never been higher. The quest to learn how Amy must bring about the New Morphósis has brought her full circle and the truth about her destiny as Lacáruna finally seems within reach.

But much blood continues to be shed as all sides race toward the inevitable conclusion of the journey. Amy must summon forces from deep within if she is to save this world—or is it too late?

Amazon

Excerpt Book Three:

Amy looked at the blank pages and couldn’t believe her eyes. So she closed them. When she opened them again, however, nothing had changed. The final Extiguo was no longer visible to her. “It’s gone.” Dack was giving out instructions as to which direction the others should face while Amy read the last third of the Extiguo. “It’s gone,” Amy repeated. Dack stopped and looked at her. “What?” “The words are gone.” She held up the book with the pages facing outward, even though she knew he wouldn’t see it as she did. To anyone native to this world, the symbols that were the written language of La Reina were still stamped upon the pages. “I can’t see any of the words.” Dack, Licha, Jandro, and Madu scrambled to gather around her. Sitting as she was on the footboard of the carriage that had delivered goods to the hundreds of Trotéjo hiding in Naclaquí didn’t make this easy, so she stood up. Licha pulled at Amy’s arm until the book was low enough that she could see it. “I don’t understand,” the quimera with the alabaster-white skin said. “I thought that the words didn’t disappear until you’ve read all of it.” Flipping through the book to be certain the pages were blank, Amy said, “They haven’t until now.” Madu peered over her shoulder. “Why now? Why would they disappear on you like that now?” Amy removed the lupercas, the pince-nez reading glasses, from the bridge of her nose. No point in keeping them on when there was nothing to read. “I don’t know why. It’s never happened before.” Jandro looked up at her. His eyes were wide and seemed to be floating in the black pools that were the ovals encircling them on his face. His blue-gray skin was almost silver in the glow of the moonlight. “You’ve never gone so far into one of the Extiguos and then stopped,” he said. “Could that be why?” Frustrated, Amy threw the paluz to the ground. “I don’t care what caused it. All that matters is that I can no longer read it.” She looked at Dack. “What are we going to do?” He stared at the green light of the paluz at his feet. “There doesn’t seem to be anything we can do.” “But we don’t know how it ends.” Madu’s voice went up an octave. “Yes we do,” Jandro said. “La Reina creates the—” “Not that!” Madu said, his voice higher still. The tall, lanky quimero began to pace. “Not what’s in the Translation, but what’s in the actual Extiguo. None of you seem to comprehend that nearly all that Amy read so far is nowhere to be found in its translation. For all we know, the Winged-One really did create the Morphósis and La Reina became Lacáruna.” “Control yourself, Madu,” Dack said. “Hysterics are never constructive.” “And I can assure you I am not La Reina,” Amy added. Madu closed his mouth and drew in several breaths through his long nose. He ran his hands through his thick, dark red hair a few times and slowly his shoulders relaxed. “I didn’t mean that literally. I’m only conjecturing that anything is possible.” “We shouldn’t have left.” Licha looked up at Dack, whom she stood beside. “We should have remained in the building when you sent out the group disguised as us. Amy should have kept reading.” Jandro came between them and, surprising everyone, shoved Licha back. “Stop being an idiot. We couldn’t have stayed. You heard what Dack said. Whoever caused the explosion could have sent someone to storm into Winfred’s room and what would we have done then?” “Enough.” Amy put Winfred’s lupercas in a pocket and rubbed her eyes. “Instead of focusing on what we don’t know, how about focusing on what we do. I was more than halfway through the Extiguo. We have plenty of revelations to discuss and mull over.”

About the Author:

H.L. Cherryholmes, author of The Lizard Queen Series, The Reminisce, Come Back for Me, and A Slight Touch was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico but has spent most of his adult life in California. He has a BFA from University of New Mexico and a Master's degree in Playwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, he lives in SoCal with his husband.

https://www.hlcherryholmes.com/

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1398789.H_L_Cherryholmes