#BB!Yellowfang

[bonefall]

“She would also pitch fits if Sagewhisker came instead. It was very easy to twist her tail into leaving her alone” i’ve just been imagining sagewhisker angrily asking her why she wants shroompelt so bad and lizi biting back with “because i know that if my kits got sick she’d actually treat them instead of leaving them to die.” i can’t imagine sagewhisker was too popular after she refused to help cloudpaw and shroompelt showed that actually she could’ve

YOWZA

CANON NOW

[warriors-official-art]

Title: Yellowfang’s Secret

Arc: Super Edition

Country: China

Type: full cover art

Characters: Yellowfang and Brokenkit / Brokenstar

Artist:   刘野  Liu Ye

Source: https://warriors.huijiwiki.com/wiki/Category:%E5%88%98%E9%87%8E%E7%BB%98%E5%88%B6%E7%9A%84%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%87

[longnose-gar]

My part of my art trade with @spottyissleepwalking​! Featuring  his warrior cats rewrites characters, specifically Yellowfang’s (or Chanterellefang ) family tree!

This was a joy to make! your rewrite is a absolute gem!

Click for better quality

-Russulpath Xx, XOXO, Dd, wdwd, wsws, AA, McMc, ll Long-haired, red mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Brackenfoot Xy, b1b1, dd, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, LL Short-haired, fawn mackerel tabby tom, with no white spotting

-Reishibelly Xx, XOb1, Dd, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, Ll Short-haired, red and cinnamon mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Waxcapwhisker Xy, XOY, Dd, wdwd, wsws, AA, McMc, Ll Short-haired, red mackerel tabby tom, with no white spotting

-Chanterellefang Xx, XOb1, dd, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, Ll Short-haired, cream, and fawn mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Featherstorm Xx, bb, DD, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, Ll Short-haired, chocolate mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Rhema Raggedclaw Xx, BB, Dd, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, ll Long-haired, black mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Roughwing Xy, Bb, DD, wdwd, wsws, AA, McMc, Ll Short-haired, black mackerel tabby tom, with no white spotting

- Sors Dreamtongue Xy, XOY, dd, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, ll Long-haired, cream mackerel tabby tom, with no white spotting- -Darkstripe Xy, XOY, Dd, wdwd, wsws, aa, McMc, Ll Short-haired, red tom, with no white spotting

- Aroges Foxheart Xx, XOXO, DD, wdwd, wsws, aa, LL Short-haired, red ghost-tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Mint Xy, XOY, DD, wdwd, wsws, aa, Ll Short-haired, red ghost-tabby cat, with no white spotting

-Marigold Xx, XOB, DD, wdwd, wsws, Aa, McMc, Ll Short-haired, red and black mackerel tabby molly, with no white spotting

-Snailface Xy, bb, Dd, wdwd, wsws, aa, LL Short-haired, chocolate tom, with no white spotting

-Hornwort Xy, XOY, Dd, wdwd, wsws, aa, Ll Short-haired, red ghost-tabby tom, with no white spotting

-Moss Xy, XOY, dd, wdwd, wsws, aa, LL Short-haired, cream ghost-tabby tom, with no white spotting

[hades-pa]

anyone who read the Warrior Cat books would die for them and that is a Fact™

[warriors-but-cats-die]

thunderclan — year one — greenleaf

back in the easy clan bb...

redtail lives! that's a key difference! usually i report births, ceremonies, and deaths, but it's a key difference: he lives.

spottedleaf dies, and yellowfang replaces her, as per in canon. rosetail also dies as she does in canon, and bluestar takes over mentoring firepaw.

(she feels bad about the whole situation.)

ravenpaw runs away, joining barley on the farm.

and brindleface has her litter, fernkit, ashkit, elderkit, and tulipkit.

[ironxkid]

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄  !

list your fav characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people.

mcu - Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Carol Danvers, Maria Rambeau, Monica Rambeau, Maria Hill, Nicky Fury, Phil Coulson, Maya Hansen, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and a bunch of others sdgjhfgdshj 

warriors - Alderheart, Squirrelflight (Working Partners give her a bREAK oh my god), Shrewtooth, Ravenpaw, Cinderpelt, Yellowfang, Firestar, Sandstorm, Fernsong, Crookedstar, Brambleberry, Shadowsight, Tawnypelt, Littlebird, Newtspeck, Badgerfang, Twigbranch, Fidgetflake, Stonefur, Willowbreeze etc.

wings of fire - Clay, Tsunami, Starflight, Glory, Sunny, Whiteout, Mangrove, Sundew, Willow, Mandrake, Umber, Moonwatcher, Winter, Turtle, Gill, Blue, Cricket, Hazel, Fathom, Indigo, Darkstalker, etc.

animal crossing - Goldie, Zucker, Isabelle, Tom Nook, Timmy and Tommy Nook, Blathers, Celeste, Digby, Flora, Spork, Pompom, Fang, Cyrano, Kid Cat, Midge, Diana, Axel, Muffy, Fuchsia, Coco, Alfonso, Julian, Vic, Nan, Big Top, Colton, Vesta, Apollo, Diva, Puddles, Francine, Rudy, Mira, Ketchup, Bruce, etc.

bones - Vincent Nigel-Murray, Temperance Brennan, Seeley Booth, Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins, Zack Addy, Camille Saroyan, Lance Sweets, James Aubrey, Daniel Goodman, Caroline Julian, etc.

the librarians - Cassandra Cillian, Jacob Stone, Eve Baird, Ezekial Jones, Jenkins, Flynn Carson, and a few others I’m forgetting rip fdgshjdfshj

star wars - Rose Tico, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, R2-D2, BB-8, Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Bodhi Rook, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, K-2SO, Mon Mothma, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, etc. ((don’t talk to me about the last two movies fdsghjfdgs))

pacific rim - Mako Mori, Raleigh Becket, Stacker Pentecost, Newton Geiszler, Gottlieb, Herc Hansen, and Chuck Hansen ((I’ve only seen the first movie))

wolf’s rain - Toboe, Blue, Hige, Kiba, Tsume, Cheza, Quent Yaiden, Hubb Lebowski, Cher Degre, Gramps, and Gehl ((maybe a few others? it’s been a hot minute since I’ve watched the anime dsfghjf))

jurassic park - Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Lex Murphy, Tim Murphy, Robert Muldoon, Sarah Harding, Nick Van Owen, Eddie Carr, Billy Brennan, Erik Kirby, and probably a few others I’m forgetting fsgdfds

tagged by: @fullofmemories

tagging: anyone!!

[cryptidslugreads]

listen..im not sayin they gay but..they gay

bluestar an yellowfang def got smthn goin on, bluestar roasted the shit outta firepaw but as soon as she realized it was yellowfang she was like omg..ok we bringing her back to camp, ily lets help you out bb 

[themissinglynx]

A while back, I made a WC world where the fanclans (which are 100+ members each) are constantly threatened by monsters. This is an AU placed in that world. It includes accurate genetics and a traditional naming style (know that wildlife from all temperate forest/plains biomes are able to be used as prefixes). A thing to note about the culture of these clans is the wardens, cats of any given rank (warrior, messenger, healer, seer, etc) who are trained to fight the monsters. Upon finishing their training, they are given a suffix with a more metaphorical meaning. Most clan members have a body part as a suffix. Through only their name, one can discern the appearance of a cat, their greatest characteristic, and their rank.

This first cat here is Moonflower, interpreted as a blue lynx point with white-spotting. Her dad was a blue point and her mom was a blue and white tabby with her own father being a point. Her genotype is something along the lines of: oo (no red) - BB (black) - dd (diluted) - Aa (tabby) - TmTm (mackerel) - Ww (some white) - cscs (siamese point). Her blue eyes are caused by her pointism and her pink nose is due to the white around her muzzle.

Since she’s a pointed cat, she was born white, earning her the name Cloudkit. Her warrior suffix -belly was given due to her motherly nature. She first married Stormtail and had one kit from that, Bluekit. Stormtail divorced her after Bluekit’s birth, and she needed time to recover from the divorce. A few years after Bluepaw’s apprenticeship, Cloudbelly married her childhood friend, who just returned from training in the Guard, Goldenthorn (Sunstar). Within their first year of marriage, they bore Bluefur’s half-sister, Snowkit. Cloudbelly lived beyond her canon death and was able to watch her grandchildren be born and some of them grow. She sadly died of a monster attack in her village, which also took the lives of Pebblekit (Mosskit) and Snowfur. Her grandchildren are Stonetree, Mistwind, Pebblekit, and Whitepad.

This second cat here is Goosefeather, interpreted rather closely to canon. He’s a blue tabby with white-spotting. His genotype is something like this: o (no red) - BB (black) - dd (diluted) - Aa (tabby) - TmTm (mackerel) - Ww (some white) - Ccs (normal coloring). He has amber eyes, but could’ve had anything from green to hazel to yellow or even gold (although it’s hard to draw differences between amber, yellow, and gold). His nose is split between gray and pink because of the mixing of pelt colors there.

Goosekit’s prefix was given in reference to the Greylag goose, though many who hear his name first think he’ll be brown or black in reference to the Canadian goose. His potential as a seer was noted by his predecessor, Icepelt (Cloudberry), who encouraged him in that direction. While training, he possessed an innate sense of the will of the gods, earning for himself the -maw suffix. Shortly after earning his full name, he started gaining awful nightmares he could only interpret as visions from the gods. As a result, he doesn’t sleep often and has become somewhat stressed from his horrific nightmares. If he were fully human, his hair would grow prematurely gray at 20-something because of how stressed he is. He’s the oracle for the gods and the spiritual leader of his clan! And the gods have decided to curse (or possibly bless?) him with these possible visions and the greater expanse of civilization’s enemy. He took an apprentice in Spottedpaw for the seer position, but froze to death on one especially cold winter night before he could fully train her. He maintained good relationships with his nieces (especially Bluetuft, she often looked to him for spiritual guidance), one healer from his colony, Fogface (Featherwhisker), and Murkstorm (Yellowfang).

Also, I’m gonna be putting this up on my DA in a while! Go check it out! It’s the same username in the signature.

[geneticallyrealfictionalcats]

Marigoldkit Cempasúchil Headcanon

Canon:

This kit and her kit brother are killed by a kitsune (a red fox).

Comments:

The Warriors book series take place in England in the UK and the character's name is Marigoldkit. How do marigolds tie into British culture, whereas they totally tie into Dia de Muertos (10/31-11/2). Therefore, it makes more sense for Marigoldkit to be from Estados Unidos Mexicanos instead.

— Headcanon —

Familia:

Cempasúchil (Canon Name: Marigoldkit): Black mackerel torbie with low grade white spotting; Genetics: Aa, Bb, Dd, Oo, Wsws, McMc, tata, Ccs, LL, JbJb

Hermanos

Mento (Canon Name: Mintkit): Grey self; Genetics: aa, Bb, dd, o, wsws, McMc, tata, Ccs, LL, Jbjb

Bigote Nuez (Canon Name: Nutwhisker): Chocolate barred ticked torbie with very low grade white spotting; Genetics: Aa, bb, Dd, o, Wsws, McMc, Tata, Ccs, JbJb

Hermanas

Amarilla (Canon Name: Yellowfang): Grey barred ticked torbie with extremely low grade white spotting; Genetics: Aa, Bb, dd, Oo, Wsws, Tata, Ccs, Ll, JbJb

Serbal (Rowanberry): Chocolate self tortie; Genetics: aa, bb, Dd, Oo, wsws, McMc, Tata, Ccs, LL, Jbjb

Mamá

Floraviva (Brightflower): Orange mackerel tabby full color (cryptic black torbie) with low grade white spotting (tuxedo); Genetics: Aa, Bb, Dd, Oo, Wsws, McMc, tata, CC, Ll, Jbjb

Papá

Helecho (Canon Name: Brackenfoot): Chocolate solid point; Genetics: aa, bb, Dd, o, wsws, McMc, Tata, cscs, Ll, JbJb

Joke:

ShadowClan = El Clan de La Sombra

ShadowerClan or WideBrimmedHatClan = El Clan del Sombrero

Warriors kids/young adult book series: (c) Erin Hunters

[sunnywarriorcatsdesigns]

Yellowfang

Headcannon:

Bb-XoXo-CC-Dd-dmdm-wdwd-wsws-aa-tata-spsp-McMc-wbwb-ii-EE-ll

Genetically accurate:

BB-XOXO-CC-Dd-dmdm-wdwd-wsws-aa-tata-spsp-McMc-wbwb-ii-EE-Ll

[bonefall]

[ID: Pencil sketch of Stumpytail from Warrior Cats, spelled 'Stumptail' instead. He is clapping in one picture, and purring in the second]

Saw someone talking about Stumpytail and my hand slipped

BB!Stumptail is a stupid man and he's my son, idiot with a heart of gold. One of Nightstar's supporters who survives Runny's Plague. A true himbo is very hard to kill, of course.

I don't know how long he lives, but I've been toying with the idea he can have a cute background role as one of the heavy lifters in Blackstar's Po3 Bog Project. I just think it's super cute for him to be one of the best diggers in ShadowClan.

Also I didn't mean for his clappies to look like stims but... looks like stims to me. Yellowfang’s family has autism running through it, I might give it to the big lug too. His mom Rowanberry was autistic so it would be super fitting.

[warriors-official-art]

Title: Yellowfang’s Secret

Arc: Super Edition

Type: illustration

Country: Russia

Artist: Leonid Nasyrov

Characters: Yellowfang

Source: https://warriors-cats.fandom.com/ru/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%8B-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8_%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8

[bonefall]

one of the most frustrating things to me with the mapleshade/birchfall situation is its like. the only time since into the wild where the books acknowledge queens don't have to reveal the fathers of their litters. when mapleshade tells beetail (? the deputy whats-his-face) shell be raising the kittens alone, he accepts it without question. this implies her lying about birchface being the father was unnecessary, but in Bluestar’s prophecy everybody immediately assumes thrushpelt is the father the minute bluefur is known to be pregnant, and bluefur not correcting this is treated as a reasonable decision despite it being the SAME situation! it's just the authors want mapleshade to be unreasonable so this time it's bad actually.

The in-universe Queen's Rights are so poorly defined and utilized that the BB!Queen's Rights are essentially an entirely original framework. They sometimes exist in the books and sometimes don't, depending on if the writer remembers them or not.

They actually seem to not be a thing in Bluestar's Prophecy, from what I remember. Thrushpelt offers to be the pretend-father as a result.

It seems to have protected Fallowtail though, until Reedfeather decided to kidnap his kids.

Featherstorm's first litter, Raggedpelt and Scorchwind, are bullied for being fatherless and face constant speculation.

Same with Flintfang, Blackstar, and Fernshade. They're not even actually halfclan, Blackpaw holds his tongue and refuses to reveal the truth to stop bullies.

Brokenstar faces open bullying from his adopted siblings for not knowing who his mother is (but also he stops Yellowfang from telling Lizardstripe about it because he overheard a conversation where she told her friend she feels like the baby is stealing milk)

StarClan pushed for Squilf to lie to Brambleclaw for this reason, because they assumed (correctly) that having HalfClan suspicion would make it harder for The Three to be accepted into ThunderClan

So if a queen has "a right" to not reveal parents, it's not very protective. Your kids are going to face bullying and discrimination regardless of how loyal you actually are, or who the dad is.

But yeah suuuure Mapleshade was evil and horrible for not correcting Frecklewish. I can totally accept that in this completely arbitrary situation that somehow it would have turned out better if she told her No and left the whole Clan speculating.

[bonefall]

is hawkheart allowed to be a nuanced or at least fun character in better bones? on my knees begging after so many aus of “hawkheart goes straight to hell because he loves murder and nothing else” and “hawkheart killing an enemy during a battle where the invaded his home to destroy his medicine supply and immediately and long term endanger his clanmates actually means he put his clan in the wrong”. he has so much fun personality across his appearances and i love how hes one of the few characters who we’re allowd to see is multi faceted based on whos perceiving him (yellowfang sees him as curteous, bluestar sees him as cruel, tallstar sees him as gruff but kind, etc)

WHO IS BEING MEAN TO MY SON?? I LOVE HIM. What is it about WindClan that just sucks the ability to have nuance out of a person??

BB is about that. It's about pointing out how the extreme emphasis on war pits good people against each other, and people die over pointless bullshit. I spoke about it in passing once before but the Killing of Moonflower is something that I plan to expand on with Bluestar's Flowers.

When Bluepaw was young, she hated Hawkheart. Blamed him for killing her mother, NEEDED to believe it was StarClan's will that they went into glorious battle that day. She was insulted when Pinestar and Heatherstar entered talks after the vigil-- was her mother's life really only worth a couple squares of linen??

But Bluefur eventually makes friends. From ShadowClan, RiverClan, and even from BloodClan-- and there's two members of the little group from WindClan. Hoprunner and Ashfoot.

Meeting them starts to put things into perspective. She hears the story from the other side. Ashfoot was still a kit at the time, sick and being treated in the Cleric's Den. She remembers a ThunderClan warrior who burst in, and how terrified she was before Hawkheart shot out from the shadows... but she didn't know that was Bluefur's mother.

She just knew that if Hawkheart hadn't stopped the nameless warrior that night, she would be dead. Even if Moonflower hadn't even touched her, without those herbs, Ashkit would have died. Ashfoot wouldn't be standing here before Bluefur.

I haven't planned out her reaction yet, but it's something that should absolutely shake Bluefur. She probably ends up leaving the get-together early because she needs to be alone with that. Everything she's ever had to believe about Moonflower's death, that it was noble, that it was StarClan's will, that she was the strongest warrior and thus worthy of the front line...

How can she reconcile that with the trembling image of one of her best friends, someone she loves more than almost anything, sick and terrified in Moonflower's shadow?

It's hard to hate Hawkheart after that. She still wants to. But how can she? Who's even left to blame, if she can't be mad at her own Clanmates, and she can't be angry at WindClan?

But, anyway that aside? Hawkheart's a neat background character. I like him a lot. He's never going to have a starring role, but I think what he does do is very important.

[bonefall]

Okok so i rlly did assume that the whole brokenstar is the broken tree thing was 100% custom to the AU but theres apparently actually in story dialogue for that?? Someone apparently says Shadowclan is gonna get punished for Skyclan in the book and brokenstar is implied to be that punishment

Question for you to feed ur family with: Are Hope and Wishkit still named if they were fading kits, if they even still exist in the AU?

You'd be surprised HOW MANY people actually totally forget or miss that Brokenstar being a "manifested curse" is actually not my original idea. That's actually something that comes from Yellowfang's Secret. I did make the idea that he was once the 5th tree at Fourtrees, but "Brokenstar is a reckoning for the exile of SkyClan" is implied by an ancient spirit of StarClan in one of Yellow's dreams.

Anyway,

Hope and Wish wouldn't have been named if they were fading kits; BUT I honestly love their names so much, and ShadowClan is SO ridiculously small, that I'm thinking of just........ nabbing 'em. Putting them somewhere else in the timeline.

I joked around about using the Hammerclaw name for a cat in ShadowClan and I might just do it. This guy who is this TOTALLY uncanny tigerclone, looks JUST like Tigerstar for no reason. Give him Hopekit and Wishkit and bam I've got a free, clean line.

Funfact: BB's cultural expansions would let me use "hammer" as a suffix freely, BUT I'd actually name him after the Yellowhammer. A cute little songbird.

As for Hope and Wish, they could also get full warrior names, which would be fun. Blackstar would be super mean with their titles lmao, "what kind of names are hope and wish. baffling. im naming your children hopenose and wishbone."

[bonefall]

So I decided to read through Bramblestar's leader ceremony from the original Ultimate Guide today- and I had a thought: have you chosen what cats give him his lives in Better Bones already? Granted, I'm sure you'll gut some of the canon placements for not knowing him in life (Lionheart) or being alive by the time he becomes leader (Goldenflower, Ferncloud, Mousefur) but Bluestar imparting clear judgement is a fun virtue considering his actions are anything but. Plus, Jayfeather could always gripe about it when he argues with Bramblestar. 'Wow Bramblestar, you sure displayed clear judgement when you asked me to let Sunrise BLEED OUT IN CAMP!'

I hadn't picked yet actually! I also haven't read his leader ceremony in aaaages. I never really liked it, felt full of TPB fanservice and didn't really say a lot about Bramblestar as a leader.

(But tbf that is probably because the writers have no idea what they're doing with him. He's generically noble and they have a double standard against female characters, so they just use his man pain to make the girls in his life feel wretched without examining WHY having defiant women in his life bruises his ego so easily)

But anyway, I don't have a FINALIZED thing yet, but here's a rough draft. It's a total overhaul. A big difference in BB and Canon is that Bramblestar is leader BEFORE the reveal, and long before the Battle of the True Eclipse. So all of these picks have to be from Po3 and before.

(BB context: Firestar was killed offscreen during the Fire Scene in an assassination, Ashfur took advantage of the situation to attack the Three. It was an arson set by Whiskernose and carried out by Thornclaw, Breezepelt, and possibly Harespring. Ashfur is still on the run, suspected of killing Firestar to hurt Squilf because he failed to hurt her kits)

(also if you want FULL full context go look at BB!Hollyleaf's character summary)

Gorseclaw -- Righteousness. His progenitor ancestor who set history into motion by betraying his siblings during Ripplestar's Rot, and whose curse continues down through the generations. He tells him he's proud. He SEES how much he's struggled. He's had to make hard choices that everyone else thought would be easy, and he understands. But he's done the right thing... and he tells him to keep doing it. Bramble briefly feels hot with shame-- did he really have so many ancestors in the Dark Forest that he had to hear from someone so ancient? Tigerstar, Pinestar, Oakstar... this life unsettles him and sets the tone for the rest of the ceremony

Snowcarve (Snowkit) -- Opportunity. The last time Brambleclaw saw his little uncle, he was carried off by a hawk after shoving one of them out of the way. He stands as a proud, starry adult before him: the age he would have been. He "speaks" through unfamiliar glyphs that form beside his head, and Brambleclaw knows somehow that this is the writing that he had been working on before his death. Snowcarve commands that he watch for that which he would have missed, to listen to those who are different and have new ideas, for opportunity is silent and tender. If your mind and heart are closed to what could have been, you will miss your chance and never know what you could have had. Brambleclaw tries to bring up that he's sorry he didn't save him-- Snowcarve taps his ear and shakes his head, giving him a stern glare. The words say, "you did not need forgiveness. It was my choice and I have never regretted it." In fact, he can wave his tail and welcome the next life;

Yellowfang -- Judgement. She asks him, "Would you ever blame a kitten for what someone else did?" Bramble is confused, "Of course not?" "Then stop blaming yourself for what others have done for you. I ran back into that fire to save my herbs and leeches. I put myself there, and Firestar knew that. Stop confusing blame for experience, guilt is not wisdom, pain is not good judgement."

Feathertail -- Kindness. A little bit of understanding goes a long way. When you get wrapped up in your anger, or your fear, slow down and consider the feelings and intentions of others. You'll find that most people are good. (He accepts the life but stops himself from arguing with her-- ok, sure, but what about everyone who isn't? He has a bit of a thought spiral wondering if the wise cat he'd travelled with had changed or if she was ever wise at all)

(Idk which elder is dying in Po3 yet, if it's Frostfur or Mousefur, but one of them gives a life) -- Confidence. There was a time where their own judgement lapsed, and they pinned their anger on him. They apologize for it, and tell him that this life is for living in spite of that. The strength to mind that you can't control what other people think of you, and the firmness to commit to what he believes is right.

Brackenfur -- Negotiation. To remember that every action sends a message, to understand that you must remain calm and make the right concessions to accomplish greater things. Don't let emotions like anger, offense, and spite cause you to ruin something you may have worked hard to build. (Brambleclaw is by the halfway point totally missing the point that these cats are trying to teach him nuance and mindfulness, and mostly feels betrayed and confused. He knows most of these things... and did the elder not just tell him to have confidence in himself in spite of people who hate him?)

Speckletail -- Courage. When everyone runs away, you run TOWARDS. People will rely on you now, and StarClan will give you the power to protect them. No storm, no beast, and no tyrant will find its way through you. When he takes the life he feels the rage and FEAR she did when she ran towards the bulldozer, the pride in her power as she attacked the human, and learns that Thornclaw was wrong when he told them she looked satisfied on the way down. After kicking him out she was terrified, but overwhelmed by relief and LOVE that her grandson was safe. It makes him collapse, and as he gets back up he's in tears, asking "i thought this was a life for courage, you were afraid!!" And Speckletail puffs her chest up proudly, "Courage is being terrified and doing it anyway."

Swiftpaw -- Acceptance. He has no warrior name. He has no adult form. When Brambleclaw asks him for his title, he simply says, "I give you this life to know when to accept what you cannot change, and the wisdom to see what you can't control." Brambleclaw can't help himself, this ceremony has been a horrible experience, "what a terrible life!" Swiftpaw dips his head solemnly, "yet without it, what a terrible death." But Swiftpaw also reminds him, this is not a part of his life that he cannot change. He can move on with only eight lives, and he will understand. But Brambleclaw says no, "I have a clan to protect. This is one of the things I can't control." He is surprised by how soothing the life is when he gets it though. He doesn't feel any of Swiftpaw's pain as he died. It's not about that. It's the quiet embrace of the void, the shouting as the patrol finds him and Brightpaw, falling away into silence, accepting that he is dying, and that it's okay to let go.

Firestar -- Trust. It HAS to come at the end.

Firestar opens up by asking Brambleclaw what's wrong, seeing how exhausted he is. He responds, his voice trembling, "I hoped it would be reassuring, but I feel more lost and powerless than ever. How can I be responsible for so many people? How will I protect them all? I will be blamed for everything that goes wrong and never know if I made the right choice!" Firestar goes hm, genuinely and sympthetically, "Those are very heavy and legitimate doubts for a new leader to have. I felt the same things when I was in your paws. He waves his tail, "So, I will give you the value that it took me many years to learn, something you were not given and so feel you cannot give. With this life I give you TRUST. You will face many trials in the near future, Brambleclaw. Your truth will crumble. Secrets will be revealed, friends will turn out to be foes, those you think are enemies may be allies, but you must not lose the ability to find the good in all of them. Remember that trust is a choice and an honor. Apply it wisely, but bestow it generously."

Bitterly, but with what dignity he can have in this situation, Bramblestar murmurs sadly, "So there will be betrayal, but I must still trust? I had hoped that you, of all ancestors, would not speak in riddles"

Though the world is blurring and the spirits of StarClan are fading away, he catches something pained and complex in Firestar's expression. Like he has so much to say, doesn't have the exact words to express it, and he's running out of time to find them.

"There were no riddles," he shouts already sounding far away, "Listen to what we have told you and you will find the way!"

(Basically he's shouting "WE WERE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD ACTUALLY!!!")

We wouldn't get to see this happen in Cruel Season though, since it would be offscreen and not important to the plot of that book. I'd rather get it into Bramblestar's Thorns, which is about Alderheart, Sparkpelt, and the ways that they've been impacted by him as a toxic father.

The ceremony is written to highlight his major flaws. Especially the way that he's bursting with doubt, pain, and immediately tends to make things about himself without realizing. Bramblestar is a very unhappy person, and he often extends that misery to other people.

he's a tragedy to me, man. All these people turning out to tell him that love and faith exists for him and he can't even see it.

Anyway, bonus, some other thoughts for possible lives; (still possible some of these guys get swapped out)

Lionheart, his uncle, who died before he was born. He'd give a good life for wisdom but I think these others are a lot stronger.

Birchface, one of his Tigerkin ancestors in StarClan. Decided against him in favor of Gorseclaw; I think Gorse's both more interesting AND his distance is a good point of doubt for Bramble. They had to go back 4 generations to find a direct ancestor who isn't damned to hell. Birch would have just waffled about admitting mistakes anyway, still too fearful to admit that he is responsible for getting Frecklewish and Oakstar damned.

Bluestar, a leader who contributed to the death of his brother and mistrusted him when he was young... but honestly I feel she is kinda irrelevant. He didn't know her well.

Elderberry, one of his apprenticehood friends and the twin of Ferncloud/older sister of Ashfur. It could be cool for her to give a life of mercy and ask him to be rational about Ashfur's crimes (starclan won't say outright that Ashfur didn't do it because they're not entirely sure he was uninvolved until after his death in a few chapters, Dark Forest influence hiding the assassins), but it's actually a lot more important that StarClan is trying to warn him about the LEADER he will be and fatal flaws he will display for arcs and arcs, not waste a life on teasing the plot of a single book.

Cinderpelt, his cousin who died tragically. There's no reincarnation thing so she could be here to give a life, but I think the current list is a lot stronger.

Lynxkit, his oldest sister. Strongly considered her for acceptance but I think Swiftpaw's WAAAY stronger and I don't need both of them.