#Lionblaze is Proud and Protective

[bonefall]

That poll was pretty helpful actually, I didn't realize that a major thing a lot of people are looking for is for the Clans to be roughly equal in population. I guess that just didn't cross my mind??

Keeping that nugget close now, though... I'll try to make sure BB!WindClan is roughly equal to BB!ThunderClan.

[grossrottie]

LionAsh but Ashfur is a blushing bride.

YESSSSSSS

what’s that one meme where it’s like

Lionblaze: you’re the most repulsive tom I’ve ever met

Ashfur: I throw my used car batteries into the ocean

*cut to them being married, with Ashfur in a wedding dress looking shocked af*

[scourgebff]

more from the hollycinder partners in crime au, their little family ( original concept/au idea by @the-owl-tree )! i imagine dovewing got cinderheart’s build with hollyleaf’s striking features while ivypool is leaning more towards hollyleaf’s tall stature but cinderheart’s recognizable markings.

holly’s disappearance into the tunnels after upending the entire normalcy of thunderclan had left quite a stir in her wake. ivy and dove grow up trying to make sense of and deal with her legacy in their own ways. cinder is in the middle, fiercely protecting her daughters’ youth from a world which wants to press the weight of everything on their shoulders far too readily while also struggling to figure out her own identity.

very detailed brainrot under the cut

it seemed like an ironic twist of fate in the eyes of lionblaze and jayfeather that dove was to take holly’s part in the prophecy, quickly sweeping her under their wing and closely guiding her paws. the lingering worry that she would stray from them and onto a dangerous path as holly had- doubly so since lion was made dove’s mentor. lion is fiercely protective of dove, seeing in her a bright potential and genuinely wants her to succeed. however it is quite clear to everyone that he’s projecting his sister onto her, for all her talent and resourcefulness going beyond the shadowy pelt and leading to heightened expectations. dove swallows down her discomfort at the pressure, wanting to make everyone proud and live up to their expectations, not only as warrior but as part of a prophecy so much larger than herself. one that she feels is partially to blame for driving her other parent away, as jay eventually reveals to her to full truth, leading to feelings of guilt she doesn’t even particularly understand. torn between stars and shadows, her paws wander over clan borders in search of an answer or escape for herself while discovering things she’d never expect.

meanwhile ivy feels like a spectator in her own life. listening in on near constant rumors and gossip about her family that she isn’t even included in, instigated by a cat she doesn’t even know. getting even further frustrated by just how passively helpless to remedy anything she is. while cinder treats the two girls completely equally, ivy isn’t blind to the practically palpable anticipation thunderclan holds towards dove. she’s a prodigy, with the undivided attention of both the clan’s healers and one if not the strongest warrior as a mentor, sent on journeys and given extra assignments as cats discuss how promising she is- yet also the level of suspicion cats hold towards her for being related to both a traitor, a healer, and a windclanner. ivy is of course of the exact same blood, yet she might as well not exist to anyone but dove and cinder bar a few extended family members. feeling isolated yet reluctant to try and burden her already troubled closest kin with insecurities she feels are ‘insignificant’, ivy meets hawkfrost who seems to not mind listening. in fact he says he relates to her, having a controversial family history himself. ivy asks for advice, ending up gaining confidence with his helpful suggestions and in turn drawing closer to the dark forest. she seems more well adjusted, yet in truth she’s merely getting better at lying and giving cats a spectacle to notice her by. while her social life improves, the unease in her grows as she’s gradually lured into working for the dark forest. ivy with new confidence and supposedly trustworthy new friends feels as if she can balance the danger despite rising escalation.

cinder, ivy, and dove remain extremely close. there is certainly friction between ivy and dove, however cinder is incredibly involved in their lives. refusing to let them lash out at each other and drift apart, she’s reminded all too painfully of her bitter last interaction with holly. she regrets how they ended, strangely enough considering how she didn’t regret dirtying her paws with blood to cover up holly’s sins. what she will not tolerate however is disrespect against her kits, growing estranged from her childhood friends jay and lion upon seeing how oddly they treat dove. it’s an uncomfortable situation, yet dove and ivy both are incredibly grateful to always have cinder in their corner. just for her they’ll set their reservations towards each other aside to form an at least temporarily stable truce. that being said, cinderheart being a reincarnation of cinderpelt actually has relevance to her character here that can be a whole other post on its own so i won’t go into it.

holly is more washed than a rack full of clean dishes icl. fleeing into the tunnels was a temporary solution, made at the peak of her mental crisis she initially tries to ignore how horrifically she treated so many cats. pushing it aside, and trying to restart herself. yet she can never forget cinder, even when she leaves the tunnels to become a wanderer cinder’s loyalty always sticks out so clearly. the kindness that holly had pushed and pushed and pushed until it broke and now here they were after that blow-out argument upon the gathering’s aftermath. a lot can be said for the time she’s out living as a rouge, but she eventually will have to come back and face her horrible past mistakes. unfortunately not before meeting a cat who might change everything for the worse- darktail C:

there’s some more i could mention because the cinderholly brainrot is infectious but i already rambled enough sorry TY IF U ACTUALLY READ THIS LOL UH </3 reward for making it down here is the fullbodies of these very normal not tortured individuals i consider them an equally normal amount

[booksofstars]

okay au where bristlefrost is a dovetiger kit and littermates with shadowsight, lightleap, and pouncestep:

bramblestar pulls what rowanstar did with violetshine and twigbranch and makes the couple give her to thunderclan. before shes given to thunderclan, she promises shell protect her siblings and see them again some day. shes especially adamant to shadowkit, who she was the closest with.

shes raised by daisy and squirrelflight respectively, both enraged at bramblestars actions.

ivypool, slowly but surely, grows closer to her niece. by the time bris becomes a warrior early, theyre just as close as bris is with her respective mothers.

slowly, bristlepaw bonds with her birth mother as a mom and her siblings as, well, siblings. 3 moms for bris!! shadow and bris are inseparable again pretty soon. slowly, though, bris notices somethings upsetting about shadowpaw.

after she rescues rootpaw, they begin to bond too. she eventually introduces him to shadowpaw and the three are incredibly close. theyre so proud when she tells them she’s become a warrior early, as are dovewing, tigerheartstar, and her sisters.

then bramblestar dies, and unknown to everyone, gets possessed. she defends her brother harshly against those accusing him of murder. bris can remember what bramble did, and resents him for it. but she’s too afraid to stop him, fearing he'll rip her away from all she knows again. he blackmails her for much of the arc to keep her, at least to his knowledge, underpaw.

like in canon, she joins the rebellion. specifically after watching her mom squilf get kicked out violently, and bonding with spotfur and stemleaf. she confides in her best friends about this, as well as her 3 moms. rootspring and shadowsight join her. she firmly remains on squilfs side from here on

when shadowsight goes missing, shes the first to know what mightve happened. why else would bramblestar and berrynose have come back to camp covered in blood? she runs to tell rootspring, and they go to find her brother together.

eventually ivypool confronts her niece. she can tell that bramblestar has been abusing his power over her, considering her experience with hawkfrost, and shes worried. and bris spills everything. ivypool decides to join the rebellion, becoming squilfs second in command of sorts.

mostly goes the same from here. bris is still bullied into being deputy, a rebellion member, etc. shes significantly more devastated by the death of her friend stemleaf and former mentor rosepetal, though.

shes enraged to hear what ashfur did and is still doing to her mother squirrelflight and to her brother shadowsight, even moreso than she is at what hes been doing to her

bris is just as happy as in canon to not be deputy, and is thrilled when her mom squilf and her aunt ivypool become the unofficial leader and deputy. she still goes to find the sisters with rootspring too, and still realizes she loves him. etc etc. she also still promises to her now dear friend/aunt spotfur that shell help raise her kits.

though terrified of the fact that ashfur is free, she is PISSED when they imprison shadowsight, and has to be held back by dovewing from clawing lionblaze. she advocates for his freedom immediately. the rest of her canon continues as usual because i think its great but:

ivypool talks with bris before she dreams into the df for the final time. she tells a bit of her story with hawkfrost and the dark forest, and makes her promise to make it back safe for everyones sake. but bris ends up being unable to keep that promise, as everyone knows.

everyone is devastated, even more than they were in canon (which i think is very good, but this isnt a post about how much i love tbc). dovewing and ivypool end up confiding in eachother, mourning together alongside shadowsight, rootspring, lightleap, tigerheartstar, and squilf at the moonpool. spotfur is devastated when she gets the news of her nieces death.

ivypool and dovewing go together to ask rootspring to try and see bris at the gathering, and the same scene as happens in canon occurs with dovewing giving fernsongs poignant advice. they, doves remaining kids, bris' other moms, spotfur, and tigerheartstar all remain a family. like in canon, they regard rootspring as family now too (alongside his immediate family). they continue to share bris' story for generations to come, as the light in the mist.

dovewing and ivypool finally start to heal and grow close as sisters once more. they will never be as close as they once were as kits, but its a close second.

dovewing tells her one day about bristlefrost’s promise to her siblings, and they break down crying together. bris died fulfilling her kithood promise: to protect her siblings (and by extension, her family and the clans as a whole)

[moppything]

im thinking about an au for power of 3. it'll instead be power of 5, one cat in each clan (including skyclan). they will no longer be related to firestar and will now be the children of the prophecy cats who journeyed to the sundrown place (brambleclaw, tawnypelt, feathertail, and crowfeather). Midnight the badger is the one who bestowed powers upon these children to assist the clans against the future battle. each cat has their powers based upon another animal's.

dovewing is the daughter of brambleclaw, her extreme hearing and sight resembling the birds eye view of a soaring dove.

lionblaze is the son of tawnypelt and rowanclaw (replacing tigerheart), like the proud and noble lion he is named after, he possesses tireless energy in battle and can endure injuries for longer than the average cat.

jayfeather (now named koiflash, name subject to change) is the child of feathertail. they are able to breathe for much longer than any other cat underwater, as well as being able to influence other cats emotions, particularly enforcing feelings of perseverance.

hollyleaf (name will be changed) is the daughter of crowfeather (now named crowstorm) and nightcloud. im not entirely sure what her power will be yet, but im thinking possibly seeing the future? though it'll only be a limited amount of time ahead. either that or something related to extreme hindsight.

and the final member of the power of 5 is sol. he is not related to any of the sundrown cats, but was blessed by midnight in order to help protect skyclan and to bring them back to the four lake clans. sol is nearly just as flawed as he is in the original books, he cares a lot for gaining power and influence. his name will likely be salamandersun. not sure about his power yet.

anyway that's all I have thought up for the au so far! feel free to ask any questions

[fruityvermint]

@ my last post on this au, which I'll call The Three's Dads for now. Here's more on Ashfur and Jayfeather's relationship

It's unrealistic to assume Ashfur would be,, completely cooperative with this. He'd definitely have beef (AGAIN) with Lionblaze as an entire entity and I think he'd just be very awkward with Hollykit (specified as Hollykit cause their relationship would change, for better or worse, as she gets older) BUT I think he'd be very protective of Jaykit, and when Jaypaw's like I want to be a warrior, and the clans like 'ehhh' Ashfur would go "Yeah, there's no way I'm raising a pussy, I'LL mentor him." Firestar goes ":/ sure" cause he wanted to give Lionpaw to Ashfur cause he's clearly losing it, but whatever.

I think he'd do a pretty decent job. Brightheart is his sister-in-law, so I think she'd be comfortable to offer help and know he'd accept, which he definitely would. As proud as he is, he wouldn't know how to quite work around Jaypaw's disability, while Brightheart would have a better idea. Ashfur would be very proud of Jaypaw, I think he'd boast about him a lot, and he'd also be a big influence of Jaypaw's sass and sarcasm.

I think they'd be close, and Jaypaw would also teach him kinda how to open up and be less insecure because they both struggle a lot with that.

[wc-moonsinger]

When I was younger I made a multi-generational story about the kin of Firestar. At the time, the kin were born to Lionblaze, but now these descendants are now distantly related to Firestar, but are all part of prophecies because of him.

Stories below the cut!

Shrewstar is the newest OC, but is the oldest out of the group. His warrior name was Shrewfire and he is a great leader but does some questionable things. When he was deputy and had to protect his clan from evil, he was very harsh with the warriors at the time and banished many due to not knowing who to trust most. In the end, he succeeded in his prophecy and welcomed every cat back with a sincere apology. He soon became leader and lead his clan with peace on his mind.

Willowwisp is the granddaughter of Shrewstar and grew up to be a very beautiful molly. She had many suitors, but wasn’t ready to take a mate. She was granted a quest to save Shadowclan and went out for many moons to help them. On this quest she met Granite, a pale ginger tom, who helped her complete her quest and they returned home. Shrewstar granted Granite his warrior name, Graniteheart, and he and Willowwisp were very happy mates.

Firetail is Willowwisp’s brother and grew jealous of his sister. He was strong and brash and when Willowwisp left for her quest, he was given a prophecy of danger within the clan. He struggled so much trying to figure out this danger and days before his sister returned, he figured out that the deputy was corrupt and killed them before they caused any harm. He never took a mate and grew to become a cranky elder along with his sister.

Sparkeye is the son of Willowwisp and grew up proud to be a descendant of Firestar. He was had a prophecy about lost kits and he vowed to not return until he completed his quest. He was gone for so long, his clan thought he was dead. But he showed up with a mate, Moon(claw), and her kits, Emberkit and Whitekit, which he adopted. These were the kits he needed to find. He was a strict father but was very proud of what they accomplished as they grew up.

Emberhaze was very in tune with Starclan even as a kit and became a medicine cat. He lived a very normal life until he got stuck in a ring of multiple corrupt medicine cats. He kept his mouth shut until the time came and outed them all out and they were promptly banished from their clans. He and the remaining medicine cats helped train new medicine cats for the clans and afterword became the voice of Starclan for all the Firestar descendants afterword.

Whitefire was named after her grandmother, Willowwisp, and was just as pretty. She was a boastful warrior growing up and was given a prophecy by her brother that a predator threatened the clan. She went on a solo patrol, thinking it was a fox or something easy to take care of, but was caught off guard by a rather large badger. She fought hard and sustained many wounds. She should’ve died in that fight, but she was revived by a black furred fox named Midnight. she was returned home and became very reclusive and anxious. She takes a mate, thinking that’s what she needed, but they broke up soon after. Whitefire has a few surprise kits, but was too anxious to provide for them, however she tried her best to give them attention.

[mud-castle]

That was my Main AU! Like it ended up being that all five clans thought Ashfur was such a great and helpful listener, and such a wonderful tom. In my AVOS AU fucking Onestar confides into him first, and Ashfur STILL hasn't broken the habit of napping with his eyes open (he's actually gotten really great at it, he blinks and everything!) And somehow he wakes up to Bramblestar nodding proudly at him? And Squirrelflight is beaming? Sandstorm saying that their mother, Brindleface is proud of him for getting Onestar and Windclan to join the battle field.... he has no idea but okay. This has happened before. At least it's not winter and surprise kits. Cats still think he's the father of Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather. He admits, looking at Crowfeather, they...sort of look alike. His claws dig into the ground as the Windclan tom snaps at Breezepelt, and Ashfur stands up to go talk to Jayfeather--Jayfeather had been his apprentice, Before he'd decided to become a medicine cat. If there's one cat Ashfur will always listen to, It's Jayfeather.

(Ashfur personally asks Firestar and Brambleclaw for Jaykit as an apprentice, in my AU. Brightheart gets Lionpaw. Later, Ashfur will get Sparkpaw and then her son, Flamepaw. Yeah, dude's long lived.(it's actually an accident--during the great battle Ashfur was badly wounded protecting dieing Ferncloud and knocked out Squirrelflight and 0was still fighting hard when Ferncloud called him over to say goodbye. During this, Fern gave Ash all of her unused life force-accidentally. So Ashfur is still a 'young in body, at least, cat.' When he realizes this in my AU, he's horrified.)

Jay and Ash have a great mentor/apprentice relationship that never quite goes away--it develops into a father-son relationship. Brambleclaw grew close to Holly and Lion in my AU, but never Jay (because of his coloring, but for Jay it was his eyes.) Ash was the one who played with Jaykit, treating him no different from any kit. After the truth comes out it takes a bit for their relationship to heal. But yeah. The whole AU revolves around Ashfur and his 'listening ability.' It's gotten him into so much shit. Dovepaw: "Ashfur was in my dream too, Starclan told us both!"

Ashfur: *has not actually paid attention to what the meeting was about.* "Yeah, they sure did. We should really do something."

Jayfeather: *sighs.*

Ivypaw: *looks at Jayfeather.* "That's your dad?"

Jayfeather: "That's the one I recognize as my dad."

ASKRRTSRETJRL I LOVE THIS!

ASHFUR IS THE REAL FOURTH WITH THE POWER OF SOLVING PROBLEMS BY NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THEM.

Ashfur *wakes up*

Clan: OMG I can't believe you brought world peace!

Ashfur: ???!!!

[everybody-loves-purdy]

What if the scene played out like this instead:

Leafpool is out in battle, helping injured cats when suddenly Mapleshade attacks her. Mapleshade does the speech she did to Sandstorm but slightly different- ‘you broke the code just like me! Why do you escape the same punishment I got! While my kits were left to die, your kits were loved and cared for even after the truth came out! While my mate turned his back on me, yours still cares about you! Starclan helped you while they betrayed me! I’ll make you sorry!’

And she raises her paw to kill Leafpool, Crowfeather leaps onto Mapleshade in rage- ‘no! I won’t let anyone hurt her!’, while leaping defensively in front of Leafpool. Mapleshade suddenly sees Appledusk in front of Reedshine- being reminded of Appledusk risking his life to save Reedshine but since we are reading in Dovewing’s POV, we just see Mapleshade widen her eyes and Dovewing describes it as ‘it seems she’s reliving a hated memory’. Enraged, the two cats fight. During the fight, Crowfeather gets tackled by Breezepelt- distracting him while Mapleshade turns to strike at Leafpool. Only for Spottedleaf to leap in front of Leafpool, taking the killing blow. Spottedleaf and Leafpool do have a close bond so that’s good enough reason for her to save her. Sandstorm, enraged at the sight of her daughter almost getting killed, also leaps at Mapleshade, attacking her and chases her off like she did in the original scene. Lionblaze can come and attack Breezepelt to aid Crowfeather- then the original scene between them happens. Once Breezepelt gets chased off, Crowfeather goes to the shock and grieving Leafpool. (Firestar isn’t this scene.), Spottedleaf will tell Leafpool she doesn’t regret risking her spirit life(?) for Leafpool and how she grew into a strong she-cat; that Firestar and Sandstorm are very proud of her, that she’s happy Thunderclan has her as their medicine cat. As Spottedleaf fades, Leafpool will notice Crowfeather and says what she said in the book, ‘maybe none of this would have happened if we just ran away like we planned’. Crowfeather looks hopeful before he comfortingly nuzzles her and like the book, saying it wasn’t meant to be but he doesn’t regret it. Some dialogue can be added with Crowfeather saying something like ‘I thought I was gonna lose you..’

Dovewing can then run off into battle after this- and it came be revealed Crowfeather led Leafpool to camp as he’d be there when the dying Hollyleaf gets carried into camp. He will then grief alongside Leafpool as Hollyleaf dies. I tried to add Breezepelt and Lionblaze into this scene- maybe Breezepelt can be enraged when he sees Crowfeather protecting Leafpool and Lionblaze just came to his dad’s aid.

This is so, so much better

[mosspetal]

WELL I WAS BORED SO I WROTE A SPOTSTAR NINE LIVES CEREMONY

shadowsight is there because Spotfur requested that he would be. don’t think too hard about it

let’s hope this read more thing works

Spotfur shivered, her long fur rippling in the wind. “So how do we do this whole Moonpool thing again?”

Shadowsight giggled. “You just touch your nose to the water and close your eyes. StarClan will come to you,” he said gently.

Shadowsight watched as Spotfur hesitantly dipped her nose to the water. He saw her flinch at the cold, but settle into a sleeping position, closing her eyes. He quickly followed her, touching his nose to the water.

Shadowsight woke up, finding himself in a lush forest. This must be what ThunderClan looks like in StarClan, he thought. He glanced to the side and saw Spotfur next to him, her teal eyes fixed on something in the distance. He peered forward, and saw a group of StarClan cats walking towards them in the distance. Spotfur pricked her ears up, staring curiously at the approaching spirits, as if she was looking for someone.

She’s looking for Lionblaze, he realized. Lionblaze had never been his biggest fan, but he was Spotfur’s father, and he knew they had been close. Finally, the group was close enough to them to pick out the cats. Shadowsight didn’t recognize all of them, but he saw Lionblaze, Bramblestar, and Stemleaf in the group of cats.

The first cat stepped forward. She was a warm brown she-cat, with one blue and one amber eye. Rosepetal, recognized Shadowsight.

“Spotfur,” greeted Rosepetal warmly. “You’ve come so far.”

Spotfur beamed with pride.

Rosepetal touched her nose to her shoulder. “With this life, I give you mentorship. May you always look out for those in your care. And may you realize the strengths of those in your Clan— especially your friend, Bristlefrost.

Shadowsight watched Spotfur, frozen to the spot, as she closed her eyes and let out a long breath. Shadowsight could feel a hint of the soft caring and quiet observance that came with that life, though he knew she would be feeling many times that.

Spotfur opened her eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured softly.

Rosepetal dipped her head. “No, thank you,” she replied, smiling. “And tell Bristlefrost I’m proud of her.”

The next cat stepped forward. She was a calico with warm amber eyes, though Shadowsight didn’t know her name. Judging by her look of confusion, neither did Spotfur.

The unfamiliar cat laughed. “You look confused,” she said teasingly. “Hasn’t Brackenfur told you about me?”

Spotfur’s eyes widened. “Sorreltail?” she asked.

Sorreltail smiled. “That’s right. I died in the Great Battle, you know. Protected my kits with every breath I had. But I didn’t regret it. I had a good life.” She touched her nose to Spotfur’s shoulder, though she had to stretch to reach it.

“With this life, I give you joy. May you enjoy the beauty in life, and always remember: there are better times ahead.”

Spotfur smiled, closing her eyes, and Shadowsight could feel the pure warmth and sunlight that came with this life. She eased, all her joints relaxing, as though she was remembering every little moment that brought her joy.

Sorreltail pulled away, stepping back, as Spotfur opened her eyes. Sorreltail laughed once more. “Remember, there will always be better times ahead.”

Another cat stepped forward, a white she-cat with little patches of cream and gray, and brilliant blue eyes. Next to Spotfur, Shadowsight realized that the shape of their muzzles, the angle of their ears, and even the distinctive spots next to their right eyes looked very similar. He realized they must be related.

Spotfur tilted her head. “Who are you?” she asked curiously.

The white cat laughed. “Aren’t you a bold one! I am Frostfur. I've been told we look quite similar.”

Spotfur reached up to touch the three spots just above her right eye. “You have these too!” she exclaimed.

Frostfur nodded. “Yes, we are kin. And for that reason, I’m here to give you a life for the love of a mother. You love your kits more than anything in the world, don’t you? Now that you are a leader, every cat in ThunderClan should be like your kits. Protect them with your life.”

Shadowsight saw Spotfur struggling, as if she was rooted to her place. Then, he felt a wave of ferocious fury wash over him. Is this what Dovewing and Tigerstar feel like? he wondered.

Spotfur slowly stopped struggling, and opened her clear, ocean-blue eyes. She seemed to be filled with a new understanding. “Thank you,” she whispered softly. Frostfur ran her tail along her flank, before stepping back to the group of cats.

A gray and white tom stepped forward. Shadowsight recognized him as Dappletuft, one of the cats who died trying to kill Ashfur.

Spotfur’s eyes lit up. “Dappletuft!” she cried. “I’ve missed you!”

Dappletuft purred, rubbing his cheek against hers. “I have as well, my friend. Don’t forget to tell your kits about me!”

Spotfur nuzzled him. “I won’t,” she whispered softly.

Dappletuft touched his nose to her shoulder. “With this life I give you proactivity,” he said proudly, as if he hadn’t expected to be able to give someone a life. “Never hesitate to solve a problem before it gets out of hand. If cats had just been proactive, so much tragedy could have been avoided.”

Spotfur took the life, a mix of fury and grief battling on her face. Shadowsight knew she must be feeling the same emotions Dappletuft felt in his last moments of life. His heart ached with grief for the young lives taken too early by Ashfur’s greed.

Dappletuft stepped back. “May StarClan light your path, my friend.”

Another cat stepped forward, a tiny white and gray tom. Shadowsight recognized his Clanmate Conefoot. He looked bright-eyed and enthusiastic, just as he did in life.

“Spotfur!” he said cheerfully. “Glad to see you fulfilled your dream!”

Spotfur stooped down to rub cheeks with him. “It’s good to see you,” she purred.

Conefoot had to stretch to reach her forehead. Shadowsight suppressed a laugh at how huge Spotfur was compared to him. And she’s already the biggest cat I know, he thought.

“With this life, I give you curiosity!” said Conefoot cheerfully. “Always look closer. You can’t solve problems if you don’t know what they are! Use this to guide your decisions as leader.”

Spotfur widened her eyes. It was as if she suddenly understood, suddenly knew so many things she never thought about before. Then it was gone, and her expression eased into quiet comfort. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered softly.

Conefoot purred. “We will always be with you.” He stepped back to sit next to Dappletuft, the two of them twining their tails together.

He caught Spotfur staring at their closeness longingly. She noticed him, and quickly muttered “they can be together like they never could in life.” He knew she must be thinking of her mate Stemleaf, who seemed worlds away now. He tried to offer her a comforting glance, but she looked away, as if she wanted to be left alone in her grief for her mate.

The next cat stepped forward, a cat Shadowsight recognized immediately. There was Bramblestar, looking just as he did before the impostor took over his body. Shadowsight saw Spotfur tense up, as if expecting an attack, and Shadowsight knew she would have a hard time seeing him as anyone other than the impostor. Bramblestar dipped his head. “Greetings, Spotfur.”

Spotfur slowly eased up. “It’s you? Bramblestar?” Her tone was still nervous. Bramblestar sighed.

“Yes, it’s me.” He touched his muzzle to her forehead. “With this life, I give you independence. You must go forth, make your own decisions, trust your own thoughts. You were one of the only cats willing to stand up to Ashfur at first. I hope you’ll carry these values with you as you take on the role of leader.”

Bramblestar stepped back. There was a bittersweet tension in the scene, as if Spotfur couldn’t quite disconnect him from Ashfur. Then she whispered, so softly that only Shadowsight could hear, “I wish you had treated Squirrelflight better.”

So it wasn’t about Ashfur, realized Shadowsight. But before he had time to mull over that, another cat stepped up. It was a small, green-eyed tom, with a pelt the color of flames. Shadowsight’s breath caught in his throat. Could it be…?

Spotfur stared at him, awestruck. “Firestar?” she whispered.

Firestar nodded. “It’s me. My dear great-granddaughter, I wish I could’ve met you. I think we would’ve gotten along very well.”

Spotfur still seemed stunned that Firestar was talking to her. “I— wow,” she stammered. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

Firestar touched his nose to her forehead, stretching up. “More of an honor for me, young one. With this life, I give you perseverance. You must push on, stronger than before. Never stop fighting for what is right.”

Spotfur tensed up, as if preparing for battle. Shadowsight guessed that is what the life that Firestar gave her felt like. Then, she eased up and smiled. “Wow,” she whispered, again. “Firestar.”

Firestar winked. “Tell Squirrelflight I love her!”

Firestar stepped back, leaving room for a big golden tabby to move forward. Lionblaze, thought Shadowsight, his heart sinking. I hope I don’t have to talk to him. But Lionblaze’s attention was all focused on his daughter. His eyes were filled with such warmth, such love that Shadowsight was wondering if this was even the same cat that he knew.

“My daughter,” he said teasingly. “You’re even bigger than I am!”

Spotfur laughed. “Get used to it, Dad,” she replied brightly.

With the two of them standing next to each other, Shadowsight was struck with their resemblance. They were both huge, bigger than even his own father, Tigerstar, with deep, resonating voices.

Lionblaze touched his nose to Spotfur’s head. “With this life, I give you loyalty,” he rumbled. “Loyalty to your Clan, loyalty to your friends, but most importantly, loyalty to yourself. Trust in your decisions. It is your duty.”

Spotfur smiled, taking the life with a burst of warmth. Lionblaze stood there, with his muzzle to her head, before finally pulling away. “Lead well, Spotty,” he teased her.

Spotfur ducked her head, embarrassed. “Dad, I’m a Clan leader. Can we stop with the nicknames?”

Lionblaze laughed and stepped back. “May StarClan light your path!” he called.

And finally, the cat meant to give her final life stepped forward. Shadowsight saw her eyes widen as a skinny ginger tom stepped forward, his white patches glowing in the moonlight.

“Stemleaf,” cried Spotfur. “It’s you!”

Stemleaf purred. “My love. How I’ve missed you.”

Spotfur leaned forward to touch noses with him. She moved hesitantly at first, but then in a flash, she was wrapped around her mate, cuddling with him for the first time in moons.

Stemleaf looked at her sheepishly. “I just wanted to apologize for— you know. Ashfur kinda made me attack the kits, and—“

Spotfur cut him off. “That wasn’t your fault,” she said firmly. “Only his.”

Stemleaf looked relived. “Well, I guess we should probably get on with this whole nine lives thing, you know?”

Spotfur nodded. “Yeah I… guess we should.”

Stemleaf touched his nose to her forehead. “With this life, I give you love. Be it romantic, platonic, familial, or anything in between, always remember to open your heart to those you are meant to protect.”

Shadowsight saw her eyes brighten. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I do too,” replied Stemleaf, his light green eyes brimming with warmth.

Stemleaf turned to face the StarClan cats. He twisted his head to look at Spotfur.

“I pronounce you Spotstar,” he yowled. “Leader of ThunderClan!”

“Spotstar! Spotstar! Spotstar!” chanted the StarClan cats. Spotstar stood, frozen with wonder, until they all quieted down.

She stepped forward. “Thank you,” she called, addressing the StarClan cats. “I won’t let you down. I’ll bring the Clans what they need.” She breathed out, then looked up, determined, like she had been preparing for this moment her whole life. “I’m going to change the warrior code,” she said firmly. “The Clans need change. The rule about forbidden relationships has never caused anything but harm. Code 13 has allowed many horrible leaders to rise to power. Not all codes are bad, of course. Kits should be protected at any cost, and we shouldn’t kill pointlessly. But the Clans are at a point when the whole code isn’t serving us anymore. That’s my goal as leader.”

The cats looked stunned, but then a speckled gray cat called out from the back. “She’s right, you know.”

The she-cat stepped forward. “I am Raincloud,” she announced. “My leader, Darkstar, created the 13th code. I knew it was bad then. This past few seasons has only proven that.”

Spotstar smiled at her. “Thank you, Raincloud,” she said.

Shadowsight looked at Spotstar, and was shocked to see that she was starting to fade. “It’s almost morning!” he called. “We have to go!”

Spotstar nodded. She cast one last sorrowful glance at Stemleaf.

“We will meet again, my love,” he murmured gently.

Spotstar smiled at him, before closing her eyes. Shadowsight quickly followed suit, and found himself standing next to the Moonpool.

Bristlefrost quickly walked forward to nuzzle her friend. “Did you get your lives?” she asked excitedly.

Spotstar nodded. “Yes. I’m Spotstar now.” She looked at Bristlefrost warmly. “Rosepetal wanted me to tell you that she’s proud of you.”

Bristlefrost grinned proudly. “Thanks.”

Spotstar purred. “Let’s go home.”

Bristlefrost nodded. “You know, Icekit got up to some really funny mischief today…” The two of them vanished out of the bushes, talking like old friends would. As Shadowsight walked out of the clearing, he couldn’t help but think that with the two of them as the leader and mediator of ThunderClan, the Clans just might face a better future.

[daily-whistlepaw]

I would like to hear more about the individual Whis variants!

You probably know bratty whis the best. simply an inverse of my main whis; loud, proud, fluffy, and pink. i choose pink for bratty whis because i have a history of not really liking that color in the past, so this was my way of really consolidating that i now do like that color.

tyrant whis came to me when i wanted to draw a whistlepaw based on a bird. I wanted to do something new and discovered the drab water tyrant. I knew that this would be the new whis design when I saw it. They are small, very small and extremely loud. simply a bratty toddler forever. i made her somewhat yellow because of the colorpicking on the reference images and because i wanted them to have a different hue than main whis

poet whis exists because i wanted to draw a whistlepaw for every color of the rainbow. it’s not really a personality, but i thought it would be fit. this whis is refined, elegant and beautiful. she would definitely be a storyteller and a good one at that. i also choose the prompt poet as a hommage to Sappho somewhat because i was thinking about her and her poetry a lot during the time i decided what purple whis would be.

tiny whis was simple to design actually. red had very much a murderous connotation for me, and making her minuscule would make the entire thing funnier. I made her as conventionally cute as possible; short legs, big eyes and head… but also very red. the red pupils are probably what gives me very uncanny valley feelings when i look at her. because she is a murderer. not in canon, but if i choose canon this whis would probably be either the very morally gray ””””protagonist”””” (PoV) or flatout an evil meddic. poisoning cats for the likes of it.

jokester whis is what she’s named. a jokester (crowfeather hates her). this whis is pretty much a member of the annoy crowfeather squad (consisting of sorrelstripe, flywhiser, snaptooth, brindlewing, smokehaze, woodsong, appleshine, songpaw and herself (plus lionblaze, breezepelt and fernstripe as honorary members). as for why he only has one eye,,, i didn’t want to draw the other one,,, well she’s also light blue

floomfy whis is fluffy, simple as that. She is the mom friend everyone wants to have. kits would love to hide in her fluff (if there were any kits in windclan seriously) a lovely lady that’s colored orange because colors of the whis again

punk whis is punk whis. rebellious, loves kits and wants to protect them from the stupid code… this whis is very funny becasue i went batshit creating her, she can have a crest, fangs, freckles… everything. anyways she’s as green as i was able to make her be.

(alolan) vulpix whis was the first whis variant I created. i was drawing vulpixes that day experimenting with the pencil brush and it felt good. making those vulpix doodles made me realise that whis did have some vulpix vibes. mostly the same personality as main whis, albeit a little more energetic. this would be the mon i use for her in a pokemon au

tobi kadachi whis is purely wish fulfilling. i love my tobi kadachi, artemis, i use in monster hunter stories 2 so i wanted to draw her. and whis was the perfect opportunity.

sparklecat whis is unapologetic. She's a very vibrant blue, she has earrings, bows, necklaces and every fun thing I could imagine. i decided she would also constantly float because why not

rat whis and mew whis were mostly me trying new things to draw. They were fun tho.

[bonefall]

What is Lion/Jay/Holly's relationship with Bramble like pre-reveal (it wont let me put a question mark pretend theres one here) I can't imagine them having a good relationship even before he stops being their father.

Similar to canon, BB!Brambleclaw wasn't a great father. I like him a lot as a character, his ego fascinates me.

Jayfeather

Of all his siblings, I think Jay was the 'wisest' in regards to Bramble. He kinda saw his reaction coming, or, was the least surprised by it. Probably because Bramble was never as prideful about him as he was about his two young prodigies.

All Jay's life, people are coming up with their ideas of him and refusing to let him change their minds. Brambleclaw was no different. Jaykit becomes Jaypaw, training under grunckle Longtail to become Jayfang, and then eventually earning an Honor Title as Jayfeather. At no point in this process did Brambleclaw stick up for him, in fact, Longtail filled that role more than Bramble did.

Longtail was the one who fought for him, challenged him when he was repeating the Clan's tune, taught him that his limits are drawn by HIS body, not where everyone else says they are. Brambleclaw...

He wasn't distant but he wasn't present in that process, either. He rarely talks about Jay as an individual-- he's spoken about in terms of the other two 'looking out' for him. He let him wander in the safe beech patch just above the camp with Poppykit when he was old enough, but Squilf was equally involved in that decision.

Forgotten middle child energy. Brambleclaw could be approached but rarely went out of his way for Jay. He could be a source of comfort but they weren't close. It didn't make the public disowning hurt any less, though.

Lionblaze

He was so proud to be Brambleclaw's son. Lionblaze adored both of his parents, all he ever wanted to do was to make them happy. There was a time where he felt like the strength in his claws was because of his blood in his veins.

Then he was given to Ashfur as an apprentice.

He was BRUTAL. Lionpaw knew he had a lot of potential to live up to, but he didn't know that training would be this hard and painful. He didn't know that what was happening to him wasn't normal... and Brambleclaw was the only one who had been told about it.

He did nothing. Ashfur had "explained everything" to him, buttered him up about how Strong his son was, how Proud he should be, how much like him Lionpaw was turning out. When he heard the same story again from the perspective of Lionpaw and Hollypaw, he ended up shrugging it off.

Lionpaw walked away thinking that you're supposed to suffer for strength. Not even that he "deserved" to suffer; no, he thinks that you don't have gain without pain. This is an expected part of life, and one day, he will be the very strongest in ThunderClan.

Going to the Tribe later taught him something else; that the point of strength is using it to protect others. So if you must suffer to be strong, and being strong means giving that to other people... what's left for you?

When Brambleclaw disowned them, Lionblaze IMMEDIATELY realized that this is why Squirrelflight lied. To protect him. he's obsessed with this, protecting his Clan. His love and respect for Brambleclaw soured with pain. If he has any left for Brambleclaw, it's hidden deep down.

He HAS no father. He has a mother. He looks Brambleclaw in the eyes and spits, "That's all I've ever had."

Hollyleaf

She was always the most promising of the Three. Apprentice of the deputy Brackenfur, Firestar's honored grandchild, daughter of two members of the Sundrown Patrol. Holly was forging alliances in other Clans as soon as she'd changed her career path.

She was very close to Brambleclaw. He spoke very highly of Holly and Lion, always seemed to 'have their backs,' at least in Holly's eyes. He used to tell her that she had to be an example for her brothers, and help him keep them in line.

And that extended to Lionpaw's Abuse. She learned it is necessary to hurt the ones you love to protect them in the future. She was taught that she is the most mature of her siblings and is therefore responsible for them.

He turned on her just like he turned on her brothers, but she was quick to accept this, turning her hatred on Leafpool and Squirrelflight. No more lies, no more Codebreakers.

After her 100-year-long timeout, she was shocked to come back to Bramblestar being the only one being petty. At first she was even a bit relieved, believing that at LEAST he was still holding her accountable for her horrible deeds in Cruel Season. That would have been cathartic-- it's nothing compared to what she did to the Kinships of the Lake, but it's some consequences from a living cat. Any consequences.

But... it's not about anything she did wrong. She stepped out of the tunnels to living, weeping family who missed her as much as she missed them. Their actions are based on love and yearning. Bramble's are just based on being fucking mad at his ex-wife.

Everyone thought she was dead and he can't take a break from giving Squirrelflight the Cold Shoulder long enough to welcome his daughter back like a father would. His greeting is the same as any other leader welcoming a warrior back after they've been gone for a while.

But, hey, if she's disappointed at him it's a nice break from being disappointed at herself. It's nice to care about these sorts of things again, and besides, she has crunchy leaves to step on with her CORPOREAL BODY. It's so nice to have MASS again

[nobettercrowfeather]

fooorest of secrets?

🌲Forest of Secrets -  Make an AU/rewrite for… (free choice for asker)

This isn't very original but I LOVE AUs where Jayfeather becomes a warrior instead, like he wanted, under Brightheart's mentorship. He's named Jayflight after his mother, and Leafpool is both proud Jay is able to fulfill his dreams but also saddened she won't have her son with her 24/7 (I always felt like that was something that brought Leafpool great joy even though they never really mentioned it in the books much, I think?)

This got out of hand and became a complete rewrite I used to keep in my head so here's... more:

Jayflight would work especially well when working as a team with his sibs, I feel. They actually sort of hinted at that in the books, with each of them being 'one of his eyes', so it's just... frustrating that it didn't happen to me :') he wanted to be a warrior, he wanted to have a mate and kits. He even begged Rock to let him live as Jay's Wing so that he could finally have the life he's always wanted. But just because he's talented with herbs and 'useless' otherwise he's shoved into the medicine den.

Continuing on The Power of Three AUs I would've very much prefered Lionblaze to have died in Hollyleaf's stead. Think about it... he's killed 1.5 cats on accident already, and nearly killed his own dad, all in a fit of rage. He struggles with his power making him aggressive. Wouldn't it have been perfect if he was the one to have killed Ashfur? Lionblaze also trained in the Dark Forest, so if HE was the one to protect Ivypool, his apprentice's sister (and sort of his own, since he, Cinderheart and Dovewing worked so close together) and saved her to atone for his misdeeds?

Hollyleaf could still run away upon learning the truth about her parentage, maybe even because she knows Lionblaze killed his clanmate, an unforgivable breaking of the code. Her experience with Fallen Leaves makes her see the code in a different way, namely that they're just a bunch of rules which at some point never existed, which is vital experience for her to eventually become Hollystar. Yes! I think she should've become leader, with Ivypool as her deputy.

Despite Squirrelflight being my favorite character, she shouldn't have been deputy imo (Bramblestar's mate and... too old!). Instead it would've been wonderful if Bramble made his kit his deputy to show how proud he really is of them. He feels bad about not making Jay deputy, but he tells Bramble he never wanted to, anyways.

Lionblaze's kits could have either been born before he dies, or (preferably) they could've been Jayflight's kits, with... I'm thinking Icecloud. Holly never has kits!! That's very important haha. I feel like she's the only she-cat ever to reject the idea of a mate and kits in favor of leadership, and she stays that way!

I'm also thinking Cinderheart might actually take Jayfeather's place as a medicine cat, after Lionblaze dies? Something about it being her own choice... StarClan gave Cinderpelt a second chance at a warrior's life, but I would rewrite her to be very attracted to the life of a medicine cat and for the moral to be that even with an unharmed leg, Cinderpelt would have chosen the path of a medicine cat, since she seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of working under Yellowfang! She might even take over Leafpool's spot considering... I think Leafpool's punishment should have stayed, not because she deserves it, but because there have to be consequences to make the code interesting at all, beyond 1 in every 100 cats going to the DF.

Also... I just think there's a lot of other things that should or at least could have been added... more drama between the tNP cast after settling into their territories, Dovewing and Ivypool's conflict being more satisfyingly resolved, Firestar and Sandstorm being more torn up about all that their daughters are suffering through, possibly some thick rivalry between Breezepelt and Lionblaze, Brambleclaw and Lionblaze caring AT ALL that the DF they used to train in is attacking, literally the entire Dark Forest battle... I would dedicate a full book to that what with there being 11 BOOKS OF BUILD-UP TO THAT....

Anyway, that's a lot, but PoT and OotS would have been my favorite arc if they were A: combined and B: written differently :')

[fencesandfrogs]

cloudtail’s daughter: hollyleaf

alright, continuing my long running deluge of words, we move on to hollyleaf.

ah, hollyleaf. canon did you dirty. luckily, given your lifespan, i can do whatever i want with you. as long as you end up in starclan. also i haven't read squirrelflight's hope so i don't know the deal with that.

right. but as far as i'm concerned, i get to do whatever i want to do with her, and that means i'm...less making tweaks to her character and more giving us more of her, and smoothing out her character arc, because it's all a mess, you don't need me to tell you that.

alright, as per usual, warnings/disclaimers/we: this is for my cloudtail's daughter au. this goes pretty off the rails from canon, so i suspect it'll be coherent, but i still think either the main au explanation or the dovewing post is a better place to start.

2.5k words, 10min read. the least organized of all of these (no section headers).

right so i'm not really sure where to begin with hollyleaf, but i think the best place is the earliest one yet: roughly the fire scene. because hollyleaf is breaking one of my cardinal rules: don't mess with what came before, and so it's best we start there, i think.

right, so hollyleaf, as we know, takes the news about her parentage badly. and i'm not taking that away, mostly, but she doesn't devolve quite so quickly. because i just. don't like it.

hollyleaf is smart, she's loyal, it's a reasonable decision for her to fall of the rails as such, but i just really don't like it. i want hollyleaf to fall apart and come back together. i want her to have to deal with the consequences of her actions. and in this essay i will.. no but i'm getting ahead of myself, we'll do all that. first things first, though, hollyleaf keeps herself together, until she realizes ashfur isn't going to let this stay secret.

so she kills him.

and the truth comes out pretty fast. like no one is 100% sure but everybody knows.

and that? that is what really cracks hollyleaf.

right so remember in my worldbuilding post when i said something-something-i-don't-care-about-hollyleaf's-story? yeah turns out that was a fucking lie.

because i realized that i couldn't really make this work unless i knew why hollyleaf came back because well it's kind of a big deal. so i had to figure it out, and i was hyper proud of myself for realizing she could save dovepaw from the tunnels, and then i was like "well people have a lot of questions for her," to the point where one of the chapters in fading echoes is titled "questions" and it's just straight up people questioning what happened to her.

so. she still goes into the tunnels. and she meets fallen leaves. and they hit it off, probably a little faster. (tbh i'm still not interested in writing this, just what happens).

and she chills walright, continuing my long running deluge of words, we move on to hollyleaf.

ah, hollyleaf. canon did you dirty. luckily, given your lifespan, i can do whatever i want with you. as long as you end up in starclan. also i haven't read squirrelflight's hope so i don't know the deal with that.

right. but as far as i'm concerned, i get to do whatever i want to do with her, and that means i'm...less making tweaks to her character and more giving us more of her, and smoothing out her character arc, because it's all a mess, you don't need me to tell you that.

alright, as per usual, warnings/disclaimers/we: this is for my cloudtail's daughter au. this goes pretty off the rails from canon, so i suspect it'll be coherent, but i still think either the main au explanation or the dovewing post is a better place to start.

right so i'm not really sure where to begin with hollyleaf, but i think the best place is the earliest one yet: roughly the fire scene. because hollyleaf is breaking one of my cardinal rules: don't mess with what came before, and so it's best we start there, i think.

right, so hollyleaf, as we know, takes the news about her parentage badly. and i'm not taking that away, mostly, but she doesn't devolve quite so quickly. because i just. don't like it.

hollyleaf is smart, she's loyal, it's a reasonable decision for her to fall of the rails as such, but i just really don't like it. i want hollyleaf to fall apart and come back together. i want her to have to deal with the consequences of her actions. and in this essay i will... no but i'm getting ahead of myself, we'll do all that. first things first, though, hollyleaf keeps herself together, until she realizes ashfur isn't going to let this stay secret.

so she kills him.

and the truth comes out pretty fast. like no one is 100% sure but everybody knows.

and that? that is what really cracks hollyleaf.

right so remember in my worldbuilding post when i said something-something-i-don't-care-about-hollyleaf's-story? yeah turns out that was a fucking lie.

because i realized that i couldn't really make this work unless i knew why hollyleaf came back because well it's kind of a big deal. so i had to figure it out, and i was hyper proud of myself for realizing she could save dovepaw from the tunnels, and then i was like "well people have a lot of questions for her," to the point where one of the chapters in fading echoes is titled "questions" and it's just straight up people questioning what happened to her.

so you know everything is fine until a thunderclan apprentice stumbles into the tunnels, hurt and scared, unable to protect herself.

hollyleaf and fallen leaves protect dovepaw, a flood happens, i haven't worked out the details and i'm fairly tired ATM, so please forgive my handwaving.

so yeah, dovepaw is with them for three days.

hollyleaf basically gets caught by cinderheart when they're going back, so she's like "well guess now i gotta see my family" and cinderheart is like "yeah u idiot we all miss u n i love u but i am dating ur brother now" and hollyleaf is like "fair enough i have a ghost boyfriend" and they're all good

everyone has a hell of a lot of questions for hollyleaf. i have a whole chapter dedicated to it. here are some of them, and some of the answers.

brambleclaw: why didn't you tell me? (no, he hasn't learned from squirrelflight how unhelpful this question is) hollyleaf: because you're the deputy and there's no guarantee you wouldn't out me, considering you were still disowning me

dovepaw: yo so there was another cat with you wasn't there? hollyleaf: ohhh yeah i have a ghost boyfriend sorry forgot to tell you that

squirrelflight: do you still hate me? hollyleaf: mom i'm so sorry i love you so much

and then hollyleaf is home. i mean jayfeather won't talk to her but that's a few books from now, when they have ghost partners, okay?

but before that, she has to go do beavers, and she never gets a real proper chance to make up with everyone

(don't worry, she'll get the chance before she dies.)

right so dovepaw has her beaver stuff and hollyleaf tags along because Nine Is A Holy Number

really, i just need a narrator on the beaver quest, and for reasons i've mentioned but will explain in a moment, it can't be cinderheart.

so i have this symbolism going where dove/ivy start and end the series (what, i'm big on structural symbolism. i put thought into everything. especially since i'm limited in these books with what/how i accomplish, so the things that are entirely mine, like who narrates what, is carefully thought out). anyway that's because they have turning points in their relationship in the first and last book. they fall apart at the midpoint of growing shadows, and they aren't fully repaired ever, but they get closest at about the midpoint of the last hope. that's a symbolic thing, that they've come back to where they've started, but not quite. can't go back, even if you regret.

regret is a big theme in this series. ivy and dove are a pair in part because they're bound by all of these regrets that keeps stacking up.

now, the natural choice for a narrator of the beavers would be cinderheart. she's a substitude lionblaze as far as this book is concerned. however, cinderheart needs to be the main narrator when she takes dovepaw to the tribe. she just does. so we could do two cinderheart books in a row, but then where do we put lionblaze? he's not really a major character in the second arc, he basically does nothing. i guess we could have him deal with sol, but cinderheart's arc is supposed to be she learns how to solve problems in different ways, and that's why she's able to tackle sol. so, like, fine, what if we make cinderheart and lionblaze arc one narrators, and have sol be a background thing? i mean, if i did it for the dark forest, i could definitely do it for this.

so that does create one problem: regret doesn't bind cinderheart to lionblaze. regret is a theme through cinderpelt and cinderheart. lionblaze is a sexy lamp. he doesn't mean anything, he's just a love interest to challenge cinderheart. so. it feels bad to me to artifiically pair them together and imply they have a dynamic like that.

and the larger problem is what it does to hollyleaf and jayfeather.

see, hollyleaf and jayfeather have this aborted forgiveness arc, that plagues jayfeather. i'm going to write a jayfeather super edition so help me god, but that's for another time. anyway, hollyleaf is trying to make up with everyone, but jayfeather won't let her.

and he's never going to get the chance to make amends, because she dies in the last book.

but anyway, if we make hollyleaf and jayfeather the exclusive narrators of books 4 and 5, we imply their character arc happens. there. and that's...not what happens.

it's aborted. they're decoupled, desynched. they have a moment of synchrony, where they have this shared experience, but it's not enough. hollyleaf is in jayfeather's past, and he's tryign so hard to move forward. it's all ~very symbolic.~

right. back to the present day, hollyleaf has to go to do the beavers mostly because i said so, but also because i'm cautious about drawing false parallels. i think it was cinderheart's essay where i said this is the only part of it i have control over (was it earlier in this essay i've worked on this for like 3 days) and so i want to do it right. but also, she's going to be a good narrator, becuase she's covering a lot of ground, and i think hollyleaf is pretty interesting.

so hollyleaf, my dear, terrified of breaking the code, hollyleaf, watches dovepaw and tigerheart get...close.

and this is. well, hollyleaf has seen what happened when people date illegal options. and it's not good.

so she spends most of the book just kinda panicking, waiting for the moment this goes south.

beavers happen, it's the same as the books, i'm super uninterested in that plotline to the point of memery. hollyleaf is fine, everything is fine, dovepaw is sad now because cats died, everything is fine.

so i mentioned at some point or the other that dovepaw begins sleeping on top of tigerheart. dovepaw, at this point, is fully grown, but she's on the smaller side. she's a standard to small cat. tigerheart is a tigerstar clone, and tigerstar has some maine coon genes or something because he's massive. so uhh you know she probably could literally sleep on top of him but it's not quite that, it's more she's curled up and he's kind of curled up around her, but not as a concious thing. it's similar to when u accidentally wake up cuddling someone bc u shared a bed and that's that. but less awkward.

anyway hollyleaf is like "cinderheart cinderheart we should do something this is a problem," but if u remember from cinderheart, cinderheart is also being nagged by cinderpelt about this.

so cinderheart doesn't want to hear it and hollyleaf is pretty much "whelp guess i'll just die" and by die i mean quietly glare at tigerheart and shower dovepaw in love and affection.

anyway yeah after that hollyleaf does nothing for like two books.

or one book? i guess beavers is book two anyway look she misses her gf but cinderheart is in the mountains and then she's like "oh wait i have a ghost bf i should talk to"

so hollyleaf spends more and more time in the tunnels. this book actually takes place at about the same time as distant whispers. there's not 100% overlap, but it's close.

right so jayfeather (i swear i wrote dovefeather this is the problem with having 3 linked aus god) follows hollyleaf into the tunnels and he has his whole time travel sequence/half of it i still haven't decided what i'm doing with it.

and hollyleaf and fallen leaves have good ole interpersonal drama, where they're trying to be a thing but hollyleaf belongs in thunderclan and yes, this means that hollyleaf is the character who gets the singular book, because jayfeather is extremely isolated from the main plot. in fact, the only reason i keep the time travel plot is because canon. not that i don't like that it exists but for it to have been executed well it needs to be less disjoint. which is why i think i'm breaking A Rule so i can put it all in oots so it's more logical. but that's a different rant.

anyway, there's a quasi-religious conflict where hollyleaf is like "just go to starclan" and fallen leaves is like "my whole problem is how i can't do that"

uh yeah idrk exactly what happens it is once again 3am so uhhh yeah ghost cats she considers leaving thunderclan bc jayfeather won't talk to her lionblaze is away she's still mad at leafpool and squilf is in an abusive relationship and hollyleaf is still pretty young, y'know? that's a lot.

firestar is like "grand daughter i love you dearly but can u maybe uh can u maybe make up your god damn mind"

anyway so hollyleaf and fallen leaves have a bit of a fight, he's like, "i'm keeping u back," she's like "ur not" but she knows he is, etc etc it's very sad and dramatic

so they kind of break up? it's a lil complicated but basically they're not talking to each other for a while, they're on the cat equivalent of "taking a break" ig

alright, so then book 5 happens, and it's jayfeather and cinderheart prepping for the great battle. idk. hollyleaf chills w lionblaze in BGCH and makes friends with ivypool. it's chill. i mean, it's not, but it is.

book six, hollyleaf is the only one to stay in thunderclan. she's kinda j chilling til the battle. and then. and then. oh this is the good part.

she sacrifices her self for ivypool.

yeah. okay, this is super disjoint, so i'm going with it. hollyleaf? done.

[wednesdaywarriorswc]

so since my expanded crowfeather kills ashfur AU actually gained some traction i’m gonna expand on some different parts. today: Breezepelts involvement.

-He’s born to Nightcloud and Crowfeather,the couple aren’t mates but they both love and dote on their son.

-he’s 4 moons younger than holly jay and lion.

-he’s generally a good cat. determined to prove himself as a strong warrior. he gets a crush on heatherpaw pretty young.

-he notices heatherpaw sneaks out some nights and follows her to the mouth of the tunnels one night. he waits for her to come back before confronting her on what she’s doing. she explains it’s harmless and her and lionpaw are just having fun and begs breezepaw to not rat her out. he agrees not to but tells her she can’t carry on forever.

-he’s heartbroken but continues to try and be her friend. his crush becoming slightly obvious to most cats but heather and breeze.

-the tunnel scene with the siblings when they almost drown still happens and breezepaw gets jealous of lionpaw as he’s strong and brave.

-the dark forest recruit him under the pretence of making him a strong warrior and gaining heatherpaws heart. he quickly realises that the dark forest is evil and when he mentions this to his DF mentor, he’s given a vaguely threatening comment about “wanting to be stronger” and that “you wouldn’t poor heatherpaw to find out would you” with the implication of hurting her.

-he continues to train there in fear but puts on a brave face becoming very respected. when he becomes a warrior and antfur is seriously getting into it he becomes more and more afraid.

-he decides to tell kestreflight and onestar what’s happening. they’re in shock and angry but use this to their advantage and breeze becomes windclans DF spy. the clan begins to train more with moves breeze teaches onestar in secret.

-he’s warned by kestrel not to tell anyone else in case he gets in trouble but he decides to tell heather tail and crowfeather. crow tells him he’s doing a good thing and that he’s proud of his sons bravery.

-one night antfur wakes him up and says crowfeather just snuck out. they follow him and see him meeting up with leafpool and they overhear that ashfur knows leaf and crow had kits and he wants to announce it to everyone.

-breeze drags antfur away and he’s confused and angry and upset that his dad lied to him and broke the code so much. antfur wants to stir up trouble in honour of the dark forest but breezepelt tells him he won’t have to as ashfur seems pretty set on doing it. antfur agrees to keep quiet and leaves. breezepelt stays out on the moors all night unsure what to think.

-breeze is cold to crowfeather and nightcloud for several days and is eventually pulled aside by his dad who asks him what’s wrong. breeze explodes at him asking him why he did it and did he love them and can he be trusted. crowfeather begrudgingly answers his questions and tells him he loved leafpool. but it’s been over a long time. and although they’re his kits. he’s never had any contact and they don’t know. for their safety. and it doesn’t change a thing about how he loves breeze.

-breezepelt accepts this. but doesn’t forgive him immediately. his upset fuelled partly by the almost relationship between lionblaze and heather tail.

-at the next gathering crowfeather goes hunting during the day and ashfur isn’t there like breezepelt and antfur thought he would be. antfur is stressed havoc hasn’t been wreaked but breezepelt just shrugs and tells him maybe he wasn’t invited to the gathering this moon.

-a few days later breezepelt and crowfeather go hunting together and crows request, to try and fix their relationship. they bump into jayfeather and leafpool gathering herbs at the border and jayfeather and breezepelt awkwardly leave as leafpool wants to talk to crowfeather.

-crow and jay awkwardly talk about mundane things. breeze says he knows crows their dad and he doesn’t resent jay and his siblings. it’s not their fault they exist. jay is surprised but is grateful for his kindness. leafpool and crowfeather get angry and upset with each other and they leave. confused jay and breeze say goodbye.

-crow says that hollyleaf has been accused of ashfurs murder and is being put on trial in camp. she’s in a makeshift prison and is being looked at and treated like dirt. breeze says he’s sorry and asks if it was hollyleaf. he gets angry for a second and says no. it wasn’t. breeze realises it was him. and they’re silent the whole way back to camp.

-brokenstar and tigerstar ask breezepelt what he knows about the situation in training as they’ve heard what happened from the thunderclan trainees. he tries to protect his father but he gets pinned down and reminded if he doesn’t comply heathertail is such a pretty she cat and it would be a shame for her to have horrible scars.

-he tells them it was his dad and they use this to their advantage. Antfur announces it to windclan and makes breeze back him up. windclan send crowfeather to thunderclan where he isn’t punished considering ashfur did try to kill fire star and squirrelflight and was conspiring with hawkfrost and is left to windclan. windclan demote crowfeather to apprentice and he isn’t allowed to leave camp without a warrior present and he isn’t allowed to go to gatherings, all this indefinitely.

-crowfeather accepts his punishment. he sulks but works hard to protect himself. breezepelt takes this time to start forgiving crow seeing him so broken and hurt and lost.

-next moon at the gathering they get an announcement that hollyleaf died in a badger den collapse in thunderclan and they hadn’t been able to retrieve her body. everyone is shocked and nobody talks to breezepelt on the way back. heathertail gives him comfort and says it would be best for crowfeather if it came from him.

-he tells crowfeather what happened and he collapses into himself. his daughter died because of him. crow asks to go out of camp to mourn in peace. onestar allows this is breezepelt goes with him. allowing him to mourn without judgement.

-after awhile crow tells breezepelt to head back as he needs a minute on his own and he’ll join him. breezepelt figures out what he’s going to do and gets heathertail and tells her he’s going to the tunnels to find hollyleafs body. she agrees to go with him as they both know what can happen if you lose your way in the tunnels. they’re far behind him but manage to catch up as he gets to a tunnel entrance crowfeather wasn’t running and didn’t know where he was going.

-he’s cross the two would put themselves on the line for him but grateful they would help. breezepelt tells him it’s not fair his own kid can’t be buried and that crow would do the same for breeze. crow says he’s do more for breeze at even the implication of danger.

-when they’re in the tunnels fallen leaves greets them, recognising heathertail from her time down there. he agrees to take them to hollyleaf as she’s dying and trapped under a rockfall and he’s struggling to maintain her. they dig her out together and take her back to windclan. promising to tell fallen leaves if she makes it.

-she does survive. with a broken back leg and lots of muscle damage and scratches. the clan wants punishment for crow disobeying orders but onestar declares that he suffered enough thinking she was dead. having to dig out your daughters corpse is punishment enough.

-over the next moon hollyleaf begins to heal, crow and breeze repair their relationship and crow becomes friends with hollyleaf. hollyleaf tells breezepelt to stop being afraid and to tell heathertail he loves her as he doesn’t want to miss the chance and regret it forever.

-breezepelt manages to work up the courage and tell her. she tells him she likes him too and they work towards being mates. breezepelt is the happiest he’s been in moons but knows what the dark forest could do to her so tells her to keep it secret from antfur. she’s offended to have to hide their relationship but she agrees in the end.

-hollyleaf goes home after two moons of healing, they told thunderclan she was there almost immediately. accusations were thrown but nothing came of it in the end. she’s happy to go home and crowfeather tells her he loves her and her siblings and that he hopes they don’t hate him.

-life goes on for a few moons, the dark forest recruits more cats and breezepelt continues his charade.

-when ivypaw joins the df he tries to subtly warn her to stay away but she doesn’t get it and he gets worried for the apprentice.

-he’s forced to go to the moon pool with brokenstar when poppy frost goes in an attempt to wreak havoc. jayfeather puts up a good fight and jay is horrified after everything they’d been through breeze would trust them. breeze pins down jayfeather and tells him “if you know me so well read my mind then” when in is mind he tells him to pin down breeze then leap forward and brokenstar would be right there.

-they win the fight defeating brokenstar and jayfeather asks why he helped them while he was attacking them. breeze tells him he doesn’t believe in the df ways and is a spy for windclan. they’ve been training for a fight against them since he was a young warrior with the skills he learns from them. but antfur is a true believer so he’s in danger all the time.

-jay tells him ivy is their spy and they confer on matter between the clans from then on. they gather the leaders and tell them what’s happening. and agree to train their clans with the two apprentices help. breezepelt tells the leaders to not be so harsh to all the df trainees when the fight comes. they’re threatened in the df if they want to leave and some don’t even know it’s true purpose.

-when it comes to the final battle. breezepelt pretend to be on the df side and stands with them. the clan inc. crow, night and heather are shocked. he gives them a fake sneer and then throws himself at the nearest df spirit, attacking them, pinning them down and killing their spirit. he’s accused of being a traitor to the df and he agrees that he is and the battle begins properly.

-at the end of the battle he finds out about ivypools death and feels a strong sense of guilt and responsibility. he fully forgives his family after the battle. telling them he doesn’t hate them and that life is messy and he loves them.

-after the battle, ashfoot still dies and onestar makes breezepelt his deputy. crowfeather is so proud that if he couldn’t become leader he’s glad his son could.

[boogawa]

hc where briarlight notices that jayfeather is constantly in and out of his den, barely being there to help her with her exercises, and too tired to talk in general. she’s too polite to ask him to spare some time for her, but soon becomes lonely on her own. leafpool seems to be busy too, and whenever she tries to spark up conversation with alderpaw, the young tom seems too nervous to be around her.

briarlight doesn’t want to think they’re ignoring her, but it starts to feel that way, and she can’t help but get frustrated. she doesn’t want to vent her anger to jayfeather, because she respects him too much, but when he keeps up this strange agenda, she goes to confront him finally.

she hauls herself out of the den, ready to demand answers, when her father, graystripe, meets her halfway, and she can see the love in his warm, golden eyes. millie is there too, and blossomfall, bumblestripe, leafpool, alderpaw, almost the whole clan is there, and most importantly, jayfeather too.

briarlight notices that the path graystripe guides her on is lined with white flowers, carnations, daises, lilies, tulips, roses, you name them. briarlight watches leafpool approach, who gently places a crown made of flowers on top of her head, and walks with her to the heart of their camp, where the flowers lead to jayfeather. 

bramblestar is there with him, looking on proudly as she arrives, with lionblaze close to his brother’s side. she stands in front of the sightless cat, who manages a look of such gentleness, it nearly melts her heart. leafpool sits beside squirrelflight, whose eyes glow almost as bright as the sun, and graystripe joins millie, heads close together as they watch their kit lovingly.

bramblestar addresses the clan with just a few words, thanking the clan for gathering today, and then it’s jayfeather’s turn to speak.

“so yeah,” jayfeather begins, voice rough yet soft, “i’m sorry for being all over the place for these last few days, and not being there for you when you needed me, but i worked hard to get all this done, thanks to everyone here, especially alderpaw, who kept this all a secret even though we all know he can’t lie for a couple of mouse-tails.”

mews of amusement came from the clan, and alderpaw ducked his head, embarrassed.

“i want to thank bramblestar,” jayfeather turned to his father, “for letting me do this. i’m truly grateful for all you do, and i’m proud to be your son. i wouldn’t want anyone else standing beside me in this very moment.”

bramblestar dipped his head, gaze fond, and jayfeather continues.

“i want to thank leafpool and squirrelflight for finding all these flowers, because starclan knows it took them awhile, and lionblaze for listening to me as i recited my vows over and over until i got them right.”

lionblaze nudges his brother playfully, and jayfeather just flicks his nose with his tail, turning towards the crowd.

“and i want to thank the clan for coming today, because i know it must’ve been a surprise to you all, that i’d be planning something like this. but thank you again for being so accepting. yellowfang would’ve chewed me out, that’s for sure.”

more laughter spreads through the clan, and jayfeather turns back to briarlight.

“but i couldn’t help it because it’s just so hard not to love you for all that you do. you show me that everyday that life is worth living despite its hardships. you inspire me always, with your strength, humor, and kindness, and i could never repay you for what you give me.”

briarlight felt her chest swell, and her heart pattered against her ribcage, but she let him speak, not wanting to interrupt him.

“i wouldn’t know what blue is, until i looked into your eyes, but since i’m blind, i can’t see anyway, but it’s the thought that counts, and i’m horrible at this, so i’ll just say what i think matters.”

jayfeather might not be able to see, but he can feel briarlight close to him, and that gives him enough courage to say these words.

“i love you, and i’ll love you despite everything. i don’t mind cleaning up after you or changing your nest all the time, or massaging your chest when it gets sore or stiff, or even doing your exercises with you. that’s what it means to be in love, and i love every second of it.”

jayfeather breathes in briarlight’s scent, and moves towards her.

“i know i didn’t give you time to make your own vows, but i felt like i needed to do this now because i wanted to have the chance to tell you. i wanted you to know, because it felt right, and you don’t have to say anything. just listen, okay?”

briarlight feels his whiskers brush her face, and she stretches forward to nuzzle him, blue eyes trained on him, and only him.

“i love being with you, and i never want that to change. i don’t care if we can’t have kits, or walk around the forest, or hunt together; i’m blind and you’re crippled, so we match each other anyway.”

briarlight snorted, pressing her nose against his, “you’re such a furball.”

“i love you,” jayfeather says, again, “i love you, and i want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me, of course. i’m not that big, strong warrior who can be there to protect you, but even seasoned fighters leap away from nettles, and i’ve got plenty.”

“i don’t need a big, strong warrior,” briarlight murmurs, “i never did.”

“then, you’ll be with me?” jayfeather whispers, looking hopeful.

“always,” briarlight promised, and she meant it.