#No canon I don't want three Darkstar's

[brightblueflare]

BLAZING SKY AU TIMELINE

1850's - early 1900's - The Clans are formed, and the warrior code is created and expanded.

Summer, 1914 - Flystar's Reign starts.

Spring, 1919 - The destruction of SkyClan's forest begins.

Early Fall, 1919 - The Law of the Wild is added to the warrior code.

Late Fall, 1919 - Flystar dies, and Cloudstar succeeds him.

Early Winter, 1919 - SkyClan attempts to retake a patch of the forest that now belongs to ThunderClan. War breaks out, and the starving SkyClan cats, despite their persistence, are no match for well-fed, healthy ThunderClan warriors. In the future, this event is known as Cloudstar's Last Stand.

Mid Winter, 1919 - SkyClan has now lost most of their territory, and Cloudstar opts for the diplomatic route and asks the other leaders for help during the Gathering. However, none of them are willing to help. SkyClan leaves the forest. Only Birdflight, Cloudstar's mate, and their kittens Spottedkit and Gorsekit remain behind, taken in by ShadowClan. SkyClan swears to never look to the stars again.

Late Winter, early 1920 - Larkstripe (WC), Molepelt (ShC) and the other seers protest SkyClan's exile. Larkstripe, fully supported by Molepelt, goes on strike.

Early Spring, 1920 - Swiftstar's (WC) successor, Dalestar, separates Larkstripe from her kitten, Ripplekit, in an attempt to break the strike and discredit her for having a kitten, frowned upon but not yet forbidden by the law. This is the codification of the Seer's Vow. Birdflight nurses and raises Ripplekit in ShadowClan.

Mid Spring, 1920 - SkyClan reaches the gorge.

Fall, 1927 - Dawnstar passes, and her new deputy Ripplemoon becomes Ripplestar. On his first Gathering as leader, he stated that something had to be done about SkyClan. Either the Clans would give up their territory willingly or Ripplestar would make room. Start of Ripplestar's Riot.

Late Summer, 1928 - Gorseclaw betrays Ripplestar, and the Battle of the Full Moon takes place. Clanmates fight each other, littermates shed each other's blood, Gorseclaw kills Spottedpelt, and ultimately, StarClan themselves made the fifth oak, the symbol of SkyClan, fall on Ripplestar. The fall of the tree killed him, and put and end to his rebellion. Three laws are added to the warrior code, to ensure a riot like his never happens again. Gorseclaw joins ThunderClan.

Summer, 1932 - SkyClan disbands. Only a small number of cats remained in the gorge. A network was created to maintain the former Clan connected. This is called Spiderstar's Plan.

Spring, 1935 - Late Fall, 1940 - Redstar's and Cloudstar's descendants and their allies face each other in the ThunderClan Civil War for their Clan's leadership. The result is the death of many warriors, and Flarestar's, granddaughter of Redstar, victory.

Spring, 1942 - The cats of the gorge start receiving outside influence from towncats and travelers. The seer role is split in two.

Late Summer, 1942 - Formation of the Skybloods within ThunderClan.

Winter, 1950 - Amberheart, descendant of Cloudstar, is chosen as Flarestar's third deputy. Her descendants (Oakstar, Pinestar and Tigerstar) would rule ThunderClan for many seasons to come.

Summer, 1953 - Amberstar becomes the first Skyblood leader of ThunderClan.

Spring, 1963 - Froststar of ThunderClan takes Sunningrocks. Applestar of RiverClan fights her on it.

Winter, 1975 - Mapleshade's Vengeance takes place. Furious at Mapleshade's kittens exile, Darkstar of RiverClan suggests a new law: Queen's Rights, or the Kitten Protection Law.

"Mapleshade may have brought them to the river, but it was your foolishness, your short-sightedness and your cruelty that put them in that situation in the first place, Oakstar. No kitten should die for the crime of being born."

Early Spring, 1976 - Oakstar launches Crusades and attacks the towncats. Houndstar from ShadowClan joins in.

Winter, 1980 - BloodClan is formed in response to the Crusades. Towncats start fighting back against the Forest Clans.

Early Spring, 1981 - Houndstar falls back, and agrees to codify Darkstar's proposed law. Three kittens dead is, after all, a great loss.

Fall, 1982 - Heatherstar from WindClan ends tunneling and starts the WindClan-ShadowClan War.

Summer, 1984 - Pinestar's Choice begins.

Summer, 1986 - The Great Hunger in ThunderClan takes place.

Fall, 1989 - Yellowfang's Secret and Tallstar's Revenge begin.

Winter, 1991 - Pinestar becomes leader and ends the Crusades.

Spring, 1994 - Bluestar's Prophecy and Crookedstar's Promise begin.

Winter, 1996 - BloodClan's leader is killed, and Pinestar leaves both to find the peace of being a housecat and to aid BloodClan during their political crisis. Sunstar becomes leader of ThunderClan.

Spring, 1997 - Tallstar becomes leader of WindClan.

Summer, 2001 - Bluestar becomes ThunderClan's leader, and Crookedstar RiverClan's.

Fall, 2001 - Raggedstar dies, and Brokenstar becomes leader of ShadowClan.

Early Spring, 2003 - Into the Gorge begins.

And that's the timeline before the AU kicks in. Rusty/Firestar starting his journey on 2003 sounds about right.

CHANGES

Birdflight and her kittens take shelter in ShadowClan, not ThunderClan, after Molepelt, ShadowClan's seer, offers them a place in the Clan. Dawnstar is the least adamant that SkyClan leaves the forest, and considering Redstar's attitude and the previous battles (which in this AU is total war) with SkyClan, it seems unlikely for him to take Birdflight and her kittens in. Plus, ThunderClan can't be the "good guys" Clan like in canon, and MisunderstoodClan deserves good things from time to time.

The Law of the Wild (the "warriors reject the soft life of kittypets" rule) wasn't created because of Pinestar's defection, but because Flystar was tired of his warriors leaving the Clan to live comfortably while the rest of them starved.

The Seer's Vow is made maliciously. Dalestar (prev. Darkstar, CotC) argues that Larkstripe (prev. Larkwing) is breaking her vow by having a kitten. However, back then, while taboo, it wasn't forbidden by the law. This was made to discredit and hurt her, and to control the seers.

Ripplestar (CotC) isn't fighting for power, but to free territory for SkyClan to come back to. He's also Birdflight's adopted son.

The three laws that were added were the Leader's Rights (to not be questioned), the First Tasks (visiting the Moonstone as an apprentice at least once, and sitting vigil after obtaining a warrior name), which were tradition but not codified yet, and the Full Moon Truce (no fighting at Gatherings)

Time was added between Cloudstar's Journey (and Ripplestar's Riot) and Mapleshade's Vengeance. This was done simply to add more drama related to SkyClan's exile and the descendants that stayed in the forest.

The "a queen can choose not to name her kittens' father" rule that was forgotten after the first arc in canon is made into a consistent law. Done in response to Mapleshade's kittens being exiled because of their parentage, and hotly debated even decades after its creation. Watch out for those that argue against it.

Heatherstar starts a war with ShadowClan to conquer a part of their territory she was interested in, and ended tunneling (a harmless/defensive tradition) so her Clan could focus more on fighting on the offensive.

BloodClan is formed earlier, in response to the Clans' raids. They're also a neutral entity, not pure evil.

SkyClan hasn't been forgotten by the Forest Four, but their exile is treated as justified and deserved.

[bonefall]

Bonefall RiverClan Family Tree: Draft 1.2

Subtitle: The whole hog. It's EVERYTHING folks. I did it all the way back up to Darkstar's Commandment. Nearly 8 generations of cats. This has taken several days and meticulous work and I DID IT.

[Update 1.2: Swapped the birthing parent between Sedgecreek and Greenflower to Sedgecreek with the honor sire being Duckfur, made a note of Harelight being an honor title.]

Caveats as usual:

Check out my Info for Family Tree Reworks, including my 3 Strict Rules and general guidelines.

This tree is still subject to change, especially for modern RiverClan.

I made some doodles this time lmao I hope you enjoy them

If you want to check out my diagnosis and see the canon family tree, it's over here!

Under the cut: Renamings, removals, and changelog

RENAMINGS: Format: Old Name (Origin) -> New Name (Reason)

Molewhisker (CotC) -> Moletooth (conflict)

Snaketooth (CotC) -> Snakestream (conflict)

Oatpaw (CotC) -> Oatbelly (save)

Sloefur (FQ) -> Sloefall (conflict)

Perchpaw (MV) -> Perchshine (save)

Magpie (CP) -> Magpiesky (repurposed)

Swankit (TPB) -> Swansong (save)

Copperpaw (Po3) -> Copperwing (save)

Wavepaw (AVoS) -> Waveshine (save)

Shimmerpelt (BS) -> Shimmerbright (conflict)

Shadepelt (AVoS) -> Shademuzzle (conflict)

Mintfur (Po3) -> Mintflower (conflict)

Rushtail (OotS) -> Rushfish (conflict)

Carpkit (Missing Kits) -> Carpwhisker (save)

Bluefur (the one and only) -> Bluemoon (better)

Emberdawn (LH) -> Emberdusk (conflict)

Duckkit (Missing Kits) -> Duckfur (save)

Dragonflykit (Missing Kits) -> Dragonclaw (save)

Heronwing (AVoS) -> Heronflight (conflict)

REMOVALS: These may be shuffled to another litter at a later time, but for now, are effectively cut.

Grasspelt, because I would like Grasswhisker to be an old lady who was friends with Briarlight.

Nightsky and Breezeheart are currently dead as kits to further torment Icewing about losing Beetlewhisker in the Dark Forest. Like StarClan's mad at her.

Robinwing had a conflict name anyway so I just killed them as an apprentice because I want more young deaths.

Lizardtail. Being effectively replaced by Hollowflight, but may have been Hollow's original name before earning an honor title. (the honor title is for betraying the dark forest and running a marathon across the lake to fetch help during the Great Battle-- the name would become Hallowflight.)

The drowned kits of Mosspelt and Frogleap, Robinkit and Woodkit, are gone. I may use them at some point.

Pikepaw from Battles of the Clans. Holding onto them in case they're needed.

Gorseclaw. It is more tragic for Harelight to be the only surviving sibling, plus there was a name conflict anyway.

I completely missed the following cats and it's the only reason they weren't used, and I'm making a note of them here for my own reference should I ever need them;

COTC: Brindleclaw, Graywing, Foxwhisker, Foxclaw, Hayberry and kits Minnowkit and Wildkit, Sunspots, Fernleaf, Blackbee, Kinktail

Lightningpaw and Lilyflower gave Crookedstar a life

THERE WILL PROBABLY BE MORE.

CHANGELOG: I tell you why I did the things

Code and the Clans and Darkstar's Commandment

There's a lot of weird quirks around Code of the Clans, namely that there are two Darkstars associated with two different commandments in two different Clans. If that weren't weird enough, one of those Darkstars is very similar to the MAPLESHADE'S VENGEANCE Darkstar, but these are canonically three different people???

In my rewrite, no lol there's Darkstar of RiverClan, known for Darkstar's Commandment/The Queen's Rights, and Dalestar who created the "don't question your leader" commandment in response to Ripplestar's Rot.

I also snatched a bunch of the cats out of the CotC story to explain the confusion!

Aspentail (the magic spirit who assists the battle) was Darkstar's sister, and Perchpaw's mother. She is going to have a small but emotionally important role as part of StarClan in Darkstar's Commandment.

Splashheart was Perchpaw's father, and Splashfoot was named after him.

Moletooth, Nettlepad, Lightningpelt, Oatberry, and Meadowpelt are all repurposed from another CotC story, conflict-renamed when necessary.

I was going to allow Darkstar's lineage to peter out since Perchshine is going to go live at the barn, but Mudthorn had a mate slot open and I had a stroke of whimsy realizing I could have a kitten join RiverClan from the barn.

Magpiesky is Magpie from Crookedstar's Promise, now a sibling of Fleck and Mitzi instead of a child of Mitzi.

"Magsky" is now the one who brings young Stormpaw to the barn; Domino was her mother but she tries not to talk about her outsider heritage too much because... Clan Culture, y'know.

She was able to join because Volestar was gracious, citing her Darkstar blood.

Appledusk and Reedshine's children, only named in authorial statements, have been broken up and reworked. Willownose and Shyheart belong to other cats and only Applefrost remains; Duskwater has been made into an AppleReed kitten.

I really like how it's two kits, named for both parts of Appledusk.

Duskwater's mate Oatbelly was a victim of Mapleshade.

Rainflower is now the Appledusk descendant, not Shellheart. Her mom was killed in the same storm she gave birth in.

Greenflower

Greenflower's sibling was Duckfur, previously a Missing Kit described as her dead child. Needed more fodder.

I am probably going to make her mother Dragonflykit, the other Missing Kit described as a dead child. I need a good name though. Dragonflyclaw? I kinda want to drop the 'fly' suffix and make the name Dragonclaw because that's cool as hell

MAN what if Clan Culture has a concept of 'dragons' but it's actually a large dragonfly that flies like a hawk, bites like a snake, and swims like a pike...

1.1 UPDATE: Added Dragonclaw as Whitefang's mate and Greenflower's mother.

Greenflower and Sedgecreek were not capable of having biokittens, Duckfur was the honor-sire and Sedgecreek gave birth to the kits.

Greenflower loudly announces this during TigerClan to display their loyalty to the Code, Sedgecreek feels extremely uncomfortable having their personal information aired like that.

Swallowtail fell in love with Rainwhisker on the Great Journey, and became pregnant shortly before his death in the WindClan Rebellion!

The kits are Rainstorm and Rippletail.

Swallow named a son after her forbidden mate. It was BOLD, because Rainstorm is practically Rainwhisker's reflection.

Sedgecreek tries to forgive Greenflower and make amends, but Greenflower turning on their daughter Swallowtail when Ripple and Rain were born was the last straw.

Mudfur and Brightsky

I needed Mudfur's genes because as you can see things get pretty tight, since there's less named characters the further back you go

Say hello to Carpwhisker! She's a sweetheart. Previously a Missing Kit, I picked her over Waterkit or Oatkit.

Voletooth is named after their famous ancestor.

Volestar actually gave the family their spots, and they are all quite large like she was.

Brightsky is not actually dead. She left to become a kittypet, and only Hailstar and Mudfur know this. It was kept secret.

The other two kittens stayed with her.

Sunfish's Bloodline

Frogleap doesn't need kits. Society has progressed past the need for Frogleap kits.

Sunfish's lineage is continued through Grasswhisker. I am fond of Grasswhisker for like no reason. I just think she's Neat.

Her sister Vixenleap actually dies in Mudclaw's Rebellion

Dapplepaw is going to get eaten by a fish in Po3

Grasswhisker can't catch a break and that's how I like it

I made Lakeheart older because I like the idea that she was named after their new home and that effect kinda lessens if she isn't one of the first RiverClan births here.

Harelight and Tragedy

Like I mentioned before, Gorseclaw's getting cut completely. It fits Harelight's story a LOT more for him to tragically lose all of his siblings in TBC.

Denied the ability to mourn his sister Softpelt, being forced to bury Dappletuft like a rogue, Harelight is becoming a Light in the Mist next to Misty. He has a bone to pick with the Impostor.

He's kinda becoming a blorbo ngl.

I imagine he's very polite and a bit silly, but more astute than people give him credit for.

Based on ABSOLUTELY nothing he keeps reminding me of Donnel from Fire Emblem. I have NO idea why I keep thinking of him.

Me trying to reference a greek tragedy about simple mourning rights being the ironic downfall of a tyrant but all I can hear in my head is "YEEEEHAW"

Anyway

I am probably going to cut more warriors, too, to make way for some of the more interesting warriors to stick around. No one cares about Brackenpelt.

UPDATE 1.2: Harelight's first name was Harefur! Mistystar likes to 'match' the names of siblings according to a theme; SoftPELT, DappleTUFT, and HareFUR were all hair-related!

Harelight is an honor title because he is now a Light in the Mist, alongside Mistystar herself.

Graymist and Pouncetail, Mallownose and Sneezecloud

In-canon Shadepelt was acting like an elder when she was barely 2 years old. Lol. Lmao, even.

She is the mom of Pouncetail and Graymist now. I think this is a very funny idea. They are very silly as siblings.

Mallow is Pounce's son and Sneeze is Gray's son.

Mallownose and Sneezecloud are no longer siblings; but they are cousins who were really close growing up because they both lost their littermate!

Mallow lost Robin, and Sneeze lost Duck.

I made them more distantly related because I KNOW there's going to be some kind of romantic drama between Frostpaw and Splashtail in-canon and I want that to be less weird.

Sure, they're far enough in-canon to not break my Three Strict Rules, but still, I wanted to fix it really hard in advance.

1.1 UPDATE: Father of Sneeze has been changed from Voletooth to Beechfur. This may change again.

Copperpaw has evolved into Copperwing

He's called Copperwing because I was planning to have him replace Robinwing, and then I ended up using Robinpaw anyway as a kill… but the name remains.

Got hit with sudden inspiration to make him REALLY shiny and I leaned into it. Him and his kits are sparkly even for RiverClan cats, lmao.

Waveshine and Shimmerbright are pretty evocative of that, I hope! I'm glad I was able to use the -bright suffix at least once.

I approached my renamings with Mistystar in mind; I like to think she tries to give cats "thematic" names. For example, Rushfish is named after his dead brother. Heronflight, Perchwing, and Sneezecloud are sky-related. She even gave Lake and Otter the same -heart suffix.

The SwanMoss Family

Swansong, a surviving child of Graypool x Rippleclaw and the adopted brother of Mistyfoot and Stonefur, is replacing Frogleap. SWANSWEEP.

For a LOOONG while I was planning to make Willowshine the oldest child of Dawnflower, but now that I've definitively worked out the specifics of my tree, I can say with confidence that she works best as a Mosspelt kitten.

Because, y'know, unlike canon Mosspelt's mate isn't dead.

I put Troutstream in here because I feel like she looks like Swansong, who looks like Rippleclaw.

I kinda like her as a family outlier, she's a huge jerk... but she is a PRETTY jerk.

I think Mossyfoot was badly influenced, and her death made Trout grow up.

Icewing and Mintflower, Dark Forest 'curse'

Mintfur is now Mintflower because there needs to be more boys with the -flower suffix.

Also he is an ex-tribecat. He had to take refuge in ThunderClan when the Clan got dangerous during Stormfur and Brook's exile, but Mistystar invited him back when she gained power.

I'm killing Icewing and Mintflower's second litter. I think it's a lot more tragic for Icewing to feel like StarClan is punishing her by not letting her have more kittens.

The fact she trained in the Dark Forest and brought her son Beetlewhisker in with her is haunting.

On that note, Petalfur... either needs more to happen with her, or I'm replacing her on the Beaver Quest. Rippletail dies on it, the other RiverClan cat really needs to have some amount of importance in OotS and possibly beyond.

Other things

Havenpelt is an ex-rogue who used to cause problems, but eventually was badly injured and RiverClan took her in for healing.

I am not fond of Lizardtail because he's boring, in spite of having really interesting kids. He is either going to be combined with Hollowflight or axed completely; more DF Trainees need to survive.

If it's an honor title, it's going to become Hallowflight. The title will come because he defects from the Dark Forest Attackers and runs a very long distance to get help/warn the others before collapsing from exhaustion. A sacred marathon of sorts.

Mousewhisker x Minnowtail REAL. Mousewhisker joins RiverClan after TBC, so we'll have to wait for ASC to be completed before I can give any details. But this is set in stone.

[compacflt]

I know you said that you aren't the pinnacle of military knowledge that people think you are but know a damsite more than I do about the US military than I do, so I have a question. Do you have any idea how long the Darkstar project would've been going on for in canon? It can't have been a few months but I also don't know if it would be years and years? I know Mav has an award for being a test pilot that I think is dated 2007 (I may have imagined that) but that doesn't mean the Darkstar project was going on for over ten years? I think the F-18A took 8 years from testing to being approved, so it can't be far off. Just wanted your opinion. Thanks :-)

awright here’s my opinion (not an expert)

the darkstar is canonically a Lockheed Martin “skunk works” (super duper secret) surveillance and reconnaissance (SR) spyplane, as evidenced by the skunk works logo on the vertical stabilizer (left is darkstar, right is me with the SW logo on the SR-71 blackbird at the udvar-hazy museum this summer).

we can look to see how long other SW projects have taken to develop in the past. the SR-71, for instance, was first suggested as an “undetectable spyplane” idea in 1957. the lockheed A-12 oxcart, which would provide the framework for the SR-71, had its first flight in 1962, five years later. the finished SR-71 was introduced into USAF and CIA service in 1966. so a 9-year development for the fastest-ever air-breathing jet, with 4-ish of those years being flight testing (ish because the A-12 had to be heavily adapted into the SR-71 which had its first flight in 1964).

Lockheed’s been teasing its blackbird successor, the unmanned aerial vehicle the SR-72 “son of blackbird,” on its socials recently. i saw someone say: “soft-launching its new death machine like an instagram influencer with a new boyfriend”

leading many to believe this is what happened

note however that the SR-72 son of blackbird is an UNMANNED aerial vehicle (UAV) which is why in my fic I specifically said this

note also that most of aircraft development is just that—development. Flight testing (i.e. where mav would get hands-on involved) doesn’t come until very very late in the development process. For the plot of my fic’s sake I had mav go out to NAWS china lake in 2003, but in TGM during the Hard Deck scene Penny says something to the effect of “you got sent out to the desert three years ago for pissing off that other admiral” and mav goes “that was three years ago? 😀” (cute!) so that’s the longest mav could’ve canonically been involved with the darkstar project. (For my own purposes i made it like a year, for those two sections of the story to neatly flow into each other—from 2015ish to 2016. I know TGM takes place in 2020 [i know but idfc] Maybe LockMart has had this tech [probably not high hypersonic like in the movie] for that long anyway and it’s just been so heavily classified that we didn’t know about it till very recently. Definitely possible.)

[unrealwasteland]

Roosmav fic recs: G and T rated

Explicit fics get a lot of love in this fandom, but there are also many amazing fics with lower ratings, and I made this rec list to highlight some of my favorites. As always, I'm trying to include a little positive note on each fic, and I hope it doesn't get too repetitive because there are only so many ways to say I absolutely loved something.

No archive warnings apply to any of these fics.

live with me forever now by apfelhalm 700 words, G, no archive warnings apply magical realism

"Wow", Mav chuckles, "65, can you believe that?" "You don't look a day older than 60," Rooster says, but what he really thinks is: 50, more like. His own temples and mustache have been starting to turn grey a couple of years ago, but Mav's hair is still jetblack. Maverick may or may not be immortal.

This is a wonderful little ficlet. Technically an AU, but it definitely feels like it could be canon.

out in the wide open plane by Lacerta 3k, G, no archive warnings apply canon divergence: aircraft mechanic Bradley, accidental confession, reconciliation

He didn’t expect they’d run into each other, not like this, not here, in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert. One reason why he took this post in the first place was the luxury of not working with hotheaded fighter pilots. The main appeal is still the birds, of course – the state of the art jets, fastest to ever exist. From the day he joined his first aeronautics class, Bradley knew working on cutting-edge aircrafts was his real dream come true. He should’ve known Maverick would be enticed by their allure, too. * When Bradley talks to himself in the empty hangar, he's sure Darkstar is the only one listening to his confession.

This is very beautifully written. The accidental confession scene means the world to me.

half of my heart by plingo_kat 4k, T, no archive warnings apply post-canon, getting together

As a kid, Mav always seemed larger than life. Whenever Bradley would see him he’d always have a new story, some cool activity to do, be appearing at the door with a kiss on the cheek for his mother and slinging his leather jacket onto an only lightly occupied coat hook along the hall. And during the mission training, he’d flown circles around the best pilots Rooster knew, himself included. It was only after they’d been released from medical, poked and prodded and provided with various compression braces and pills, that he gets to learn Mav the man: someone who lives alone in the desert and likes it, who can be the life of the party but can also spend days saying nothing at all except the occasional soft endearment to his machines.

Lovely and really well written. I adore the characterizations in this one.

Blood is thicker than water, but blood is even stronger by Fuddlewuddle 1.5k, T, no archive warnings apply post-canon, fluff, sharing a bed

Mav and Bradley are at a hotel and have to share a bed. It's everything Bradley wants but not sure he's allowed to have.

This is super sweet. Lovely take on the "only one bed" trope.

the first four knuckles by thekookster 6.5k, T, no archive warnings apply background relationships, pov outsider, character study

eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, twenty-nine, thirty-three— and the question remains: who is Bradley Bradshaw, really?

This is an incredibly well written Bradley-centric fic. The last chapter especially is a work of art.

some bunny to love by notyourwinter 4k, T, no archive warnings apply shapeshifter au, crack treated seriously

He'd asked his mother once, when he was a kid, why it felt so much easier to be a rabbit sometimes, rather than human, and she hadn't had an answer. She just gathered him up in her arms and said, "I know it's hard to be different, sweetheart. But you're my Bradley bun, and I love you." It's Top Gun: Maverick, except sometimes Rooster is a bunny.

Amazing take on such a cracky premise. This is cute and fun and I highly recommend reading it.

The next 3 fics have been included on my previous rec lists, but they deserve to get mentioned again:

Coffee Corner by Brenda 4.5k, T, no archive warnings apply coffee shop au, fluff and humor

"Wow." Bradley's future husband frowns — very attractively — as he grabs an apron and puts it on, deftly tying it in the back. "Wow?" "Shit, did I say...sorry." Bradley wants to sink right into the ground. "I'm not...you're real, right?" Because Bradley's pretty sure he's still asleep and having the best dream of his life.

The 'fluff and humor' tag is on point – this is a really fun and heartwarming fic.

I can't promise you anything, but I can tell you I'll never leave by othersideofthis 6.5k, T, no archive warnings apply western au

“Didn’t think you’d show your face around here again,” is the first thing Pete says when Rooster turns up at the ranch. Not “hello,” not “how you doing.” Not “don’t you know it’s been 15 years and I’ve thought about you every day.” No.

I love western AUs and this is really good. Perfect example of how to include canon elements in an AU setting.

can't start a fire without a spark by hazelmotes 5.5k, T, no archive warnings apply 5+1 things, crack treated seriously

Five times the people around Maverick and Rooster thought what is with these two? and one time they didn't have to. In which there is scheming, reminiscing, wagers, long-suffering sighs, sex toys, and Springsteen. Always, always Springsteen.

This fic was a lot of fun to read, and the different POVs in this are super well written.

[bonefall]

For your rewrite: 1. Do you think Mapleshade could also be haunting Oakstar's bloodline too? Considering that Pinestar, Tigerstar the first, Bramblestar and Tigerstar the second are all related to Oakstar. I think it would be interesting. 2. Maybe Pine(star) joined Bloodclan in some form of "atonement" for Oakstar being the reason behind it's formation thanks to his crusades. Have a nice day!

Mapleshade

Honestly, I don't think she would! When you go through Mapleshade's Vengeance, she's really well written... as someone utterly self-concerned.

I think she does love her kits, but the idea that she's really doing it For them? I think it's her justification. Note the three people she wanted "revenge" on-- Ravenwing, Frecklewish, and Reedshine. All of these people personally offended her in some way, intentional or not.

If it were truly about justice, she would have targeted Oakstar. She would have been attacking Ravenwing because he didn't do something at the exile. But she didn't, and that's not her motive. It's not about justice, it's about revenge. Cold, spiteful revenge.

So, in my rewrite, I want to follow that thread. StarClan gets justice for the kits in the form of Darkstar's Commandment... and Mapleshade continues to torment Appledusk's lineage, just like canon, because justice wasn't the point.

Plus, Mapleshade is used too much in-canon. I want to explore some other demons! IF Tigerclaw is haunted by anyone (and it's something I'm considering changing because... don't like his actions being caused by Literal Demons tbh) it'll be Thistleclaw, maybe a dappling of Silverhawk or Maggottail.

Pine(star)

It absolutely needs to be connected in some way to Oakstar starting the Crusades. The rewritten story of Pinestar's Choice is even going to be called "Pinestar's Crusade" as a sort of reference to how traumatic the crusades were for him-- but I'm still mega fuzzy on the details

I know he was close to Crystal, who founded BloodClan.

Instead of atonement I'm thinking of tying it into the death of Hal (since the timeline's getting rearranged a bit). Hal's death would leave a power vacuum in BloodClan, which Pinestar would leave ThunderClan to help resolve-- maybe Brick and Russetfur were actually children of Crystal? Or grandchildren? Or maybe Russetfur is Brick's daughter...

(Jake btw matters much less, as Chelford cat culture is matriarchal)

He also happens to take two lives with him, which prevents Sunstar from getting any. No more instances of cats 'relinquishing' their magical spirit lives, y'know? Not a fan of it. Makes things too easy.