#So even before I got to TNP I would have known there would be a problem with that lake

[bonefall]

this isn't a question about your rewrite but as you are The Warrior Cats Pro i figured id throw it out there... why is it that, even though there have been way more books taking place at the lake territory, both in the main wc series and beyond, than the old forest territory, but the forest territory is still so much more memorable and always what i think of when i think of warriors, and the lake feels so uninteresting and forgettable?

because the lake map FUNDAMENTALLY sucks baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalloons.

In a series about border drama and forbidden relationships, they have put a huge, impassable obstacle smack in the middle of the map. You ever heard the expression, "Tall fences make good neighbors?" This is supposed to be the BAD NEIGHBORS series and they have put the world's tallest fence in the game.

The lake was a fundamentally bad idea. Simple as that.

It was so bad I reworked the Lake Map for my own rewrite.

I made more contested land, such as putting field maples which produce syrup just beyond the Wind/Thunder gorge.

Added Northern Islets and Southern Delta which have value to several clans

Expanded RiverClan's territory so they can hypothetically reach ProtagonistClan, RE: Northern Islets.

I need to make Draft 2 but I also added more uncontested landmarks akin to the old Forest landmarks. For example, ThunderClan now has a patch of old-growth forest. Places like the Owl Tree and Snakerocks are super important as flavorings.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I think my most controversial Warrior Cats opinion is that I actually really like the Cinderpelt-heart reincarnation plot. Or at least I would really love a version of it without all teh ableist implications. StarClan realizing that teh “no kits for medicine cats” rule is hurtful, and also that disabled cats are often pushed into roles they don’t want and aren’t suited for, and they reincarnate Cinderpelt for those reasons, not because a disabled life isn’t a full one. Cinderheart feeling pressure from teh clan, maybe even her family or even Lionblaze, to be a medicine cat when she finds out. It has potential idk.

I liked it at first, because... Admittedly, I read Po3 before I read TNP and before I finished TPB.

So Cinderpelt was this mysterious, not quite known character to me. I went and read TNP and thought "hmm. I wish it had been more 'this is happening because your life is going to be cut short now due to the move to the lake and that isn't fair because you were supposed to live a long time so go become your niece, really sorry about the badgers, xoxo PS sorry about your mom slowly starving to death in the forest'"

Instead it hinges on her having had "not a full life", which.... When I went EVEN FURTHER back and finished TPB.... She did. She loved Medicine. It was HER choice. The Erin's forgot, made a weird retcon that has become her entire character: "I loved my teacher and didn't tell him", and had Lionblaze be the... Reward for that?

I liked it, it was just done for a stupid reason. Another one of those "we wrote this plot point to make sure a character does xyz" instead of just... Writing it. Snowkit's death is the most egregious example of these writers pretending they have no control over these fictional cats.

I have some controversial opinions of my own.

The Lake territory is cool but also sucks. We need to either leave the Lake or start redoing things about it. It has no landmarks to hang out at or have what I call 'set pieces' whatsoever, and more importantly no threats (thunderpaths, snake rocks, gorge, the tree with a huge Owl, Carrionplace) and I'm pretty sure the writers feel this way too since we leave the Lake once an arc. I wouldn't mind moving territories again, to a more dangerous but still natural place.

Breezepelt should be a permanent Queen. I know it would mean seeing less of him (which I dislike) but him being a gentle parent and helping others raise their kits would be a PERFECT wrap up to his arc. As much as I desperately want Breezestar I think he would fit more as a perma-queen.

A trip to the distant future or past would be both good and bad. A whole new cast would be kinda cool but let's be honest, these writers suck. What is needed is a whole new writing team of people who actually LIKE the books.

I never really liked canon!Riverstar that much, we really didn't know anything about him because DOTC is less Dawn of The Clans and more "pwease like our power trip fantasy oc who knocks up a girl his son's age 🥺". I genuinely cannot remember anything River Ripple even does. He just... Isn't there. Maybe more prevalent in the last 2 books but I never got past the first 3 chapters of book 5 and never opened book 6 aside from looking at its last scene and rolling my eyes. Petal's death was where I drew the line, the narrative bending over backwards to make Clear Sky a poor sad baby crossed it.

• I've come around thanks to Bonefall but I genuinely hated Star Flower as a kid. The way she was described was uncomfortable, annoying and made it feel like the writers were trying to force you to think she's this gorgeous, perfect cat, it made her boring, bland, and anything with her in it a slog to get through because of the way Thunder spoke about her, going on and on about her beautiful she was, getting worse when Moth Flight's Vision described her with purple eyes to go with her star-shaped pupils... Also, I was really attached to Petal, who died suddenly when Star Flower entered the picture, and I was on the assumption Clear Sky and Petal were going to get together, while I didn't like Clear Sky, I just wanted my favorite to stay alive unlike every other female character. Starf also suddenly becoming a helples damsel in distress added to the annoyance so badly that I actually never finished DOTC, and it made me take a break from the series altogether. I really wanted her to be playing the long game. A sincere thank you to Bonefall for helping me reread who this character is, and while the way our 'Camera' describes hee is still annoying, I can at least look past that and see the roots of this character.

I love Leafpool, and Hollyleaf. Met a lot of Leafpool fans who seem to think Hollyleaf is this monster when she very much reads as someone who cannot handle their religious and emotional abuse based trauma and lashed out at the wrong person. What she did to Leafpool was awful but she was basically an irrational teenager. Just like apprentice does not always equal child, warrior does not always equal "grown ass adult who should get over it". Her own existence went against every single thing she believed in and was told by her own mentor to never ever question.

As sweet as the scene with Dandelionkit and Juniperkit in Starclan was... There was really 0 point in giving Squilf 2 dead kids, other than "the writers hate her". The only thing I can see a point for it is for a long-shot setup to Squirrelstar for some lives seeing as you just know they absolutely forgot about Squish's friends.

• I think Ivypool has somewhat of a right to be upset with Dovewing. HEAR ME OUT. She is allowed to be upset, NOT take it out on Dovewing. She also needs to learn that she helped drive her sister out, but the writers are allergic to that kind of thing in favour of "make character a background conservative. If female = mom. If mom = soft until politcal debate scenario." She is allowed to be sad and upset that her only sister is gone, she just needs to acknowledge she messed up, as well as lots of Thunderclan cats messed up.

It's time to kill Brightheart, Brackenfur, Thornclaw and Cloudtail. Enough is enough, start retiring cats who were full warriors when TNP started. Tawnypelt should be in the Elders den and Oakfur should be rotting in hell for what he let happen to Berrynose. On that same note, I hope Russetfur went on trial for that and her attempt on Firestar's life. I like her but good GOD, that was egregious, and looks even more pathetic when Yellowfang's Secret reveals she herself wasn't Clanborn.

Tigerheart's Shadow is a good book (aside from that one 'territory' bit, you know the one) and this series could go FAR if they embraced the mysterious mystical elements they set up, people are far too harsh on the experimental things.

Moonkitti makes good points sometimes but I need younger fans to stop taking everything she says as gospel and start thinking for themselves; case in point the recent Mapleshade drama that REEKS of "if I was Orpheus I wouldn't have turned around". The writers call the Moonstone the Moonpool every time we revisit the forest, do you really think they remembered The Bridge? Did YOU remember the bridge or did Moonkitti point it out? Also, with how cosmically doomed from the start the story was, the water probably would have overtaken the bridge and STILL swept them away. For every one good take Moonkitti has they seem to have more than a few bad ones.

My silly one. FERNSONG SHOULD HAVE BEEN NAMED AFTER HONEYFERN AND BEEN A HONEYFERN CLONE APPEARANCE WISE. No problem with him being named for Ferncloud but could they PLEASE acknowledge that Cinderheart is Honeyfern's sister too? Poppyfrost named her baby boy after Molekit and Lilyheart named her daughter Honeykit despite never having met Honeyfern, and those don't feel like coincidences.

I dislike the Tribe as its concept, but I like some of the characters that came from it, know what I mean? I like OG Stoneteller (though I always pictured him very differently. I saw him as gray tabby with white paws!) I think he is an interesting character, and Outcast was a huge letdown with having him be wrong. It would be a nice change in story if the Clan cats had tried to push their way, only for it to NOT work, for there to be a different way to do things, or a trick the Tribe used in the past that they "could give another crack at", and for the Clan cats to learn that their way of life is not a golden standard. Could you imagine Hollypaw learning this? I also really like Brook. I dismantled her and I know she is a play on the stupid "Indian princess" trope. I love how sweet she is, though I hate how it was painted against the Tribe. I plan to keep that wisdom and kindness, while also making The Tribes just as good a place to live.

I don't think Tawnystar would've been a good idea, as good as a name like that sounds. She, like Bramble, is too old, and the writers can't stand killing off Arc 2 characters in favour of killing off Arc 3 and 4, we would have been stuck with her and the writing for leaders atm SUCKS. Tawnypelt also just... Isn't that great. While I like her, I don't think she would be a good leader. Same goes for Mothstar, though I feel like they could have it done better if they do have it happen by making her not want the 9 lives. After the absolute Christian slog ASC has been about "non believers" it would be cool to see her prove that wrong and put this shitty arc's hinge point in the ground once and for all.

I'm tired of Med Cat protags. We've had one since TNP barring Dawn of The Clans when arguably it would have been the most beneficial from Pebble Heart or Dappled Pelt. Leafpool was cool because she was the first, Jayfeather was kinda cool still because of blindness and being part of the Prophecy, and while his POV in OOTS was a necessary evil, we did not need Alderheart. There is no reason to have Alderheart be the POV when Sparkpelt has the objectively more interesting setup and Alderheart's "anxiety" works better when we can't see through his eyes, as the authors don't know what actual anxiety is. Shadowsight and Frostpaw are alright, through Frostpaw's pov suffers around Nightheart and she does suffer from Camera POV Syndrome at times... Not helped by her being a Female Warriors Character with all the lovely things that come with it. Shadowsight was cool until the writers completely fumbled the bag and made him rude, argumentative, and dropped his epilepsy for no reason. All this is NOT helped by the new retcon that you're just "born different" with some kind of inherit special connection to Starclan, like it wasn't some kind of learned thing, hence Cinderpelt struggling with it as a lot of the time she was on her own!

Let Daisy retire and let Sorrelstripe take over the nursery. These new characters are in desperate need of personality, let Sorrelstripe be a feisty, confident midwife who won't let Queens be bullied into things.

[gemsgamegems]

Out of respect of current/future players, and to the developer, I won’t be posting spoiler images BUT I will be discussing minor spoilers so reader beware.

Heheheheeh y’alllll.

So Chronicle 1 has two routes available to play: The Nightmare Prince and Victor. Also known as the last two routes I was least interested in 😂 (the plan was to do all the routes. Eventually. But I wasn’t in a rush for these fools. Except now I love them both???)

On The Nightmare Prince:

I GOT THE GOOD ENDING ON THE FIRST TRY, SUCK IT!!!

Ahem...I mean, TNP is an utter sweetheart, I would die for him, his VA did an amazing job bringing him to life, and the CGsssssssss ahhhhhhhhh I’m so soft 🥺

This route also really deals with ableism in a way I haven’t see much in the visual novel space, and I’m appreciative of the direction the route took, the conversations had, and I hope other visual novels will delve into these topics too. I mean, it’s a reflection of the world around us, so why not?

But yes. I love TNP. And it’s very hard not to use his real name. Please play the route and put me out of my misery guys....

On Victor:

Ohhhhh the grumpy types. Where would the Otome genre be without them?? I love TNP but Victor’s route hit the sweet spot for me. Maybe it’s the slow(er) burn nature of this route, maybe it’s the reserved nature of Victor and watching him slowly start to care (AND NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE FEELINGS TEEHEE) for me. I dunno. I was so satisfied!

While I didn’t luck out like on TNP’s route, I got the neutral ending, so I’m a little scared to replay right now in case I get the bad ending before the good ones 😭 send help!

Overall thoughts and feelings:

I’m slowly making my way through the Jellyfish Parade backlog (too many fun games, too little time 😭) and I really have to say that while wip Ocean Pearls is still my top favorite, BA comes veeeery close second! I love our girl Aureve (so much so that I didn’t even bother to change her name, nothing I came up with would have fit anyway). Romance is a huge draw for me in my gaming, but nothing makes me happier than seeing the player character have a sense of agency and purpose outside of her romance options. And between the two routes, I loved seeing her pursue her interests and the relationships she develped with the other androids. 

(next stop, Diego and Roman!! 👀👀👀💛)

[mallowstep]

With Feathertail being paired with Brook in the Misty au, who does Stormheart end up with, if anyone? Also along those lines, does Brook choose to join Riverclan to be with Feathertail? Do they end up raising a litter of kits together later on? Who confesses their feelings first?

misty au spoilers below the cut, in case folks care

it's funny bc like i can't remember what i've shared on here. i'm like 90% sure i've shared every ship i've worked out but -- you know it's been...god it's been like 3wks since misty au infested my brain. i think. time blind.

okay.

feathertail/brook stuff

so they have! a lot of stuff going on, but i'll cut to the chase. there's some cultural misunderstandings, feathertail learning to talk about her trauma, and dating a single mother.

brook and feathertail bond after feathertail kill...it's sharptooth, right? yeah. that's when they start to bond. they got on fine before that, but when the other questing cats go back to the clans, brook and feathertail grow closer.

i'm -- not one for confessing emotions? sorry? so they don't have like. a moment. feathertail and brook just grow close together and like. i have to figure out tribe courtship stuff before i can say much more, but feathertail can't do the bringing-gifts thing (for riverclan, trinkets), so she befriends brook's family.

they have...i think it's about two months together? i'm really, really not sure. the timeline for tnp is kind of weird. i haven't done that math. either way, even if feathertail wanted to stay with brook (over staying with her kits, mistyfoot, etc.), the mountain is too cold to be good for her, so that's a nonoption.

brook eventually joins riverclan. i haven't decided exactly why, if the stuff in outcast matters, etc., but she joins riverclan. might make irregular trips to see her kin tho. not sure.

i haven't decided if they raise kits together, but probably not. feathertail would feel like -- she couldn't play with them as much, couldn't take care of them as much, and she'd feel bad. feathertail is very around the nursery anyway.

i'm very much not decided on that, tho.

stormheart's mate?

stormheart and shadepelt get together! they actually start to court pretty early on. i'm lingering on posting stormheart's first fic because it ends after both "like this morning reveals to me" and "in the tide of her breathing," the two contenders for "next fics in the series," but it also starts at the same time as "after the foxes have known our taste" and "i didn't care much how long i lived."

anyway, shade/storm stuff begins in that, and continues in the background of the series. i'm not sure when things get official, but i'm about 65% sure i want them to be the adoptive parents of the three.

[puppypaw-wc]

Mothpool AU Rambles - Po3

I made some Mothpool hypokits.

Quailwing (named after Mothwing and equivalent to Jay) is a dilute chocolate mackerel tabby tom with blind blue eyes (blue is inherited from Mothwing).

Russetleaf (named after Leafpool and equivalent to Holly) is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-cat with green eyes (green is inherited from Leafpool who carried the gene from her parents... she’s also a demigirl cuz I said so).

Lynxcloud (equivalent to Lionblaze) is a fluffy reddish-orange mackerel tabby tom with amber eyes (inherited from Leafpool).

I got the genetics from a genetic generator (I changed them a bit though...) so they should be accurate.

Excuse me as I rant about an AU idea I had-

So basically.

Leafpool (at the time Leafpaw) ends up getting really close to Mothwing while Squilf is out and about.

Mothwing feels comfortable telling her that she’s trans and just didn’t want to tell anyone outside of RiverClan, because she already knew she was by the time she was apprenticed so why would anyone care? Plus she didn’t want to get discriminated against even though at this rate the Clans are used to same sex couples (Firestar and Graystripe are a thing, Sandstorm’s also there) and trans cats (Firestar, Sandstorm, probably a lot of others)...

Anyways, most of TNP goes the same, but then Leafpool ends up having kits with Mothwing instead... Mothwing is surprised to hear this, but the two of them, Squirrelflight and Ferncloud (who Leafpool decides should nurse the kits... Mothwing has other thoughts though) go to have the kits away from the Clans.

The first born is a chocolate she-kit (you’ll see...). Before even seeing his eyes or anything Leafpool knows that she should be named Quailkit, so she is.

Next is a chocolate and red mackerel torbie she-kit. Mothwing names this one Russetkit, having heard of ShadowClan’s deputy and her friendship with her mother Sasha.

Lastly is a fluffy red she-kit (they trans boiiiiiiiiiiii). While Leafpool wants to name her Mothkit, Mothwing advises against it and Squirrelflight decides to name her Lynxkit.

When it comes time to go home though, Lynxkit has established a bond with Mothwing, who already wanted at least one of the kits to come to RiverClan. Leafpool bids her daughter and Mothwing farewell and brings Quailkit and Russetkit to ThunderClan.

Quailkit soon decides that he/him pronouns fit him better after getting to know his grandfather Firestar, and in RiverClan Lynxkit does the same upon getting to know Mothwing, who he has a close bond with, better.

The only cats who know the truth in RiverClan are Leopardstar, Willowpaw and Mothwing, while in ThunderClan many more know the truth - Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw (vaguely;he knows the Three aren’t his and Squilf’s kits but doesn’t know who they are), Firestar, Sandstorm and the nursery permaqueens.

The Three get apprenticed. Russetpaw is excited to be a medicine cat apprentice, while her brother Quailpaw is determined to become a warrior and overcome his disability. Meanwhile in RiverClan, Lynxpaw is excited to become a warrior, despite his crush on Willowpaw slowing his progress down a bit.

Now here, Quailpaw and Russetpaw don’t switch roles. While Russetpaw does still struggle with herb meanings and such, Leafpool gives her ways to remember them, through little rhymes or short songs. Quailpaw gets training in his dreams from Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Cinderpelt (though Cinder’s presence is weaker due to her also being by Cinderpaw’s side as a guardian angel/imaginary friend to her, more on that later), learning how to hunt through both sight and smell.

Eventually Russetpaw goes to RiverClan to make sure everything’s okay, before getting stuck due to Twoleg doing... I don’t know what they were doing during Dark River. During her time in RiverClan she bonds with both Lynxpaw and Willowpaw, the latter of whom she was already close to due to medicine cat meetings.

Now, in the canon books, Lionpaw meets with Heatherpaw in the tunnels. Here, however, instead we have Quailpaw meeting with Minnowpaw... I’m not sure where. Perhaps they were exploring ThunderClan territory and accidentally overstepped the borders, Quailpaw falling into the tunnels and them LARPing there? Anyways, both want to be warriors despite both having short fuses. Unlike in the canon books where after saving the WindClan kits Lionpaw and Heatherpaw’s friendship fades away, Quailpaw and Minnowpaw keep being friends, talking at Gatherings and occasionally asking Russetpaw, Willowpaw, Leafpool or Mothwing to tell them something or give them something when they come over to help. The kits they save here are Sneezekit and Mallowkit.

And as in the canon books, Lynxpaw trains in the Dark Forest. Tigerstar mentoring him honestly makes sense to me - there’s probably been several leaders named Tigerstar who have been colored like him given Tigerheart. Anyways, Tigerstar tells him he just wants to help him hone in on his powers. Of course, he wants to, so he trains in the Dark Forest.

Oh, also Russetpaw does have a power! At first Quailpaw tells her about his power and she pretends to be the one with it. However, after a bit, Leafpool figures out the facade and confronts Quailpaw about it. Russetpaw’s power takes longer to manifest, but she does have it, and it’s getting cats to tell the truth, basically hypnotizing them. She uses it a bit before she runs away into the tunnels to get cats to confess to breaking the warrior code, but after the reveal she decides that maybe she shouldn’t do that and instead uses it to figure out who’s training in the Dark Forest.

Anyways, onto Outcast!

Due to Brook and Stormfur formerly taking refuge in RiverClan, Leopardstar decides that one of their cats should go to the mountains as well alongside Crowfeather, Breezepaw, Squirrelflight, Tawnypelt, Quailpaw, Russetpaw and Brambleclaw. Lynxpaw volunteers, and his mentor (Dawnflower, Minnowpaw’s mom) therefore goes as well. Mothwing considers going, but ultimately doesn’t, instead deciding to teach Lynxpaw some herbs due to not fully trusting Russetpaw’s herb skills. He becomes a bit interested in them, but not enough to become a meddie.

After watching Lynxpaw during the battle with the rogues, Quailpaw tells him and Russetpaw a prophecy.

There will be three, kin of a great leader’s kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. Look for the sharp-eyed quail. Listen out for the lynx’s roar. After both of these events have come and gone, peace will come on a gentle russet leaf.

Russetpaw is certain that she and Quailpaw are two of the cats in the prophecy, simply believing that Lynxpaw’s prefix being mentioned is just a coincidence due to the commonality of the prefix.

Lynxpaw doesn’t know what to think about it.

The prospect of being important excites Quailpaw. The cats who doubt him won’t any longer when they find out he’s a prophecy cat! Or at least, that’s what he hopes...

Eclipse goes about the same... aside from Lynxpaw not wanting to fight Quailpaw! He just became friends with him, and might be in the prophecy with him!

Sol tells Lynxpaw that he can explain the prophecy. Lynxpaw decides that he should tell Mothwing and Willowpaw about it, and firstly tells the latter of the two.

Willowpaw and him both agree that the great leader is likely Firestar, but could also be one of the original leaders, leaving Heatherpaw and Breezepaw as possible candidates. Lynxpaw tells her that Quailpaw told him the prophecy, and she says that they’re possible candidates too. He starts to have low self esteem after this, but Willowpaw comforts him and the two basically get together but they don’t realize cuz they’re dumbasses.

The two of them then go to tell Mothwing. At first she’s hesitant to believe them - she’s never really seen StarClan as much of a higher force then the living cats, they’re just dead cats, they’re as reckless and at times mouse-brained as they were when they were alive. 

But she sees the glow in Lynxpaw’s eyes. It reminds her of what she loved about Leafpool. She sees Leafpool in the son she could never treat as her own. Believing Willowpaw to have received the prophecy (mouse-dung, we forgot to tell her that Quailpaw told me the prophecy), at the next Moonpool meeting she gives her her medicine cat name - Willowshine.

Due to how valiantly he fought in the battle, Lynxpaw is given his warrior name of Lynxcloud. Minnowpaw is given her warrior name at this time as well, as is Pebblepaw, with those two being named Minnowtail and Pebblefoot like in canon.

Quailpaw is also given his warrior name by Firestar, that being Quailwing after Mothwing.

Long Shadows is mostly the same except for one minor change, that being that Jay’s Wing is now named Quail’s Feather. Flamepaw, Dawnpaw and Tigerpaw help the Three fake an omen to get Blackstar to believe in StarClan again like in the canon books. The fire scene is also slightly different... but anyways, Russetpaw gets her full name of Russetleaf.

Now the fire scene... the whole reveal happens but afterwards Squilf reassures Russetleaf and Quailwing that she loves them as if they were her own kits, and that Brambleclaw does as well. 

Quailwing takes a while to accept it, still being confused about his power... StarClan has given cats powers before, but for all he knows he’s just a kittypet or rogue or loner who was brought to the Clan at a young age. And how does Lynxcloud fit into this? Eventually though, he accepts it, deciding to try to help whoever the Three are with whatever the prophecy requires them to do.

Russetleaf, however, can’t accept it. She’s a disgrace to her Clan and has no right to be a medicine cat. She should’ve known she wasn’t in the prophecy, she doesn’t have a power at all... Cinderheart notices something’s wrong and talks to her about it, and they get together and she starts to feel better, even if she realizes that she’s breaking the code... she’s stopped caring anymore.

Eventually though, Russetleaf’s power appears and she’s confused. She accidentally uses it without realizing after Quailwing finds out that Leafpool’s their mother, in an attempt to figure out who their father/sire is. Also yes, I did shuffle events... partially cuz I forgot the order they happen in.

Russetleaf carried the blood red berries in her jaws as she entered camp. No one questioned her, though she saw a few cats giving her weird looks. I have to do this, she thought.

As she entered the medicine cat den, Leafpool looked up at her, fear in her eyes.

“Russetleaf, what are you-” Russetleaf cut her off.

“I know now,” she hissed, “Mother. I may not know who our father is, but-”

The medicine cat cut her off. The tortioseshell tabby noticed that her eyes looked... focused on something else, as if in a trance.

“While she’s not your father, per-say, Mothwing sired you, Quailwing and Lynxcloud,” her mother mewed, “now, may I please leave the den?”

Her eyes looked normal again halfway through her second sentence. Still confused, Russetleaf nodded, allowing Leafpool to exit the den.

What did I just do?

She experiments with her power, seeing who may’ve broken the warrior code. Mousewhisker (relationship with Minnowtail), Squirrelflight (hiding the truth), Brambleclaw (same as Squilf), heck, even Firestar (giving prey to RiverClan, giving Yellowfang prey and eating some of it before bringing it to the Clan, hiding Graystripe’s relationship with Silverstream, probably more)! ... all of them admit it.

She begins to feel... power-hungry. While the Dark Forest has been unable to recruit her due to her loyalty to ThunderClan, they are able to do one thing: will her to kill Ashfur. Leafpool had taught her some fighting techniques she’d learned from Cinderpelt and Mothwing, she knows a decent amount, and uses them to kill Ashfur. To keep her Clan safe.

This starts to weigh her down. She feels terrible. She broke the code... but she did it to keep her Clan safe! ... didn’t she?

She can’t keep it inside any longer. She tells everyone the truth at a Gathering. Mothwing and Leafpool are exposed. Firestar doesn’t want to make her give up her position, but Leafpool insists on it, scared of what Russetleaf could do. Leopardstar, who’s always been a code junkie even if she made two half-Clan cats deputy, made one of Tigerstar’s kits temporarily deputy even though she (I think) knew he was Firestar’s son, allowed one of Tigerstar’s kits who was formerly a rogue to be a medicine cat, relinquishes Mothwing’s position.

Lynxcloud says he wants to talk to his siblings, and they all go to the tunnels. Russetleaf needs to tell someone what she did... so she tells her brothers. And she runs in. And it seems as if she’s gone... dead...

But two young kits have potential.

[daikenkki]

You know what? I'm going to talk about Thomas, the books and the show. I want to share my thoughts on it all. Read this if you want, or ignore it, I don't care. The Railway Series was clever. What set it out from other children's books was its age-wide appeal. When writing the stories, Wilbert Awdry did have the children's thoughts in mind, but also those of the adults, who would have to read these stories an untold number of times. So, unlike the basic sentences or "fantasy" worlds, Wilbert kept it close to reality. Think about it, if the engines and vehicles didn't have faces, you could easily take the series as being real. All accidents were based on fact, and the engines acted like engines. They didn't have hands, or bent around. They acted like real locos, but felt human. They have all human emotions - joy, sadness, anger, envy, you name it. Characters would often bicker. They didn't always get along. There was a sort of locomotive hierarchy on Sodor, with big express engines at the top, and grubby shunters at the bottom. Despite being children's books, the Railway Series was never afraid to go to more mature areas. Scrapping (death) was occasionally mentioned, along with other darker tones. And the language. How many children do you think knew words like "deputation", "indignation" or "sagacity" before reading the books? That's what made the books clever. It was a series for children, but why stop at appealing to just them? Obviously the TV series soon followed. Allowing a new generation to meet Thomas and his friends, but also letting the adults, who have known the early books, reunite with their old friends. Being older, obviously one sees that the series is made with models, but to young children, it seemed real. I hope I'm not alone here when I say I used to think Sodor was real. I remember being 4 or 5, and seeing a helicopter high overhead and thinking "It's Harold! He's going to Sodor! I wish I could go too!". Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and all the other team members clearly cared for Thomas. Seasons 1 and 2 kept to what the Awdrys have written. But they would soon run out of stories, they even commissioned Christopher Awdry to write a book so they could have stories to use. Obviously, they would soon have to make their own stories, and with Season 3, they did. It did lead to some controversy. Wilbert wasn't happy, because it strayed from his books and some of the new stories weren't the railway realistic world previously established. Episodes like "Henry's Forest" stuck out. Yes, they weren't super accurate, but still tried keeping the balanced, real world of the seasons and books prior. With Season 4 they went back to the "real" routes. "Rusty to the Rescue" was controversial, in that it ignores the Bluebell Railway routes of Stepney and having Rusty star was an odd choice, though it helped the season flow from narrow to standard gauge. A few flukes, some may say, but all in all, true to Thomas' routes. Sadly, in March 1997, Wilbert Awdry passed away. After that was the series' first major change, Season 5. Praised by some, disliked by others, but it has to be agreed. Season 5 was the first to shake the series' formula. No RWS adaptations, while not as a bad thing, it was the first of many changes for the show. Then came "Thomas and the Magic Railroad". It flopped. No longer was Sodor the realistic railway, but now supported by magic. Magic. Keeping an island of 6 (then 9) engines running aimlessly about, with a human population of 1. Engines can now drive themselves, no engine crews needed. The movie failed. Britt Allcroft soon had to sell Thomas, and in the eyes of the public, it was now just another kids show. Season 6, ignoring TATMR, tried to keep on like Season 5, but without the dark tones. It was a cosy, and friendly world now. Then, Hit Entertainment bought Thomas. Season 7 was in production, but changes clearly showed there, with the new title "Thomas & Friends", and helped teach kids that friendship matters. Don't be rude or disrespectful, but help one another, and be a team. It was now plainly shoving the morals. But it was more apparent with Season 8, Hit's first season. Engines now travel where they please, no one is assigned to one branch line, engines roll around light or with silly loads. Fish in open wagons, huge sailboats on a flatbed, balloons, streamers, all sorts of things. It had extra runtime for episodes, but it was basic now, a show just for kids. It slowly fell from season to season. Yes, it wasn't completely terrible, there was still the odd good story. But it wasn't the realistic, complex world it was. Toy sales started to drive parts of the show. Characters who appear once, have 5 different merch lines sell them, and never appear again. It had to make money. It had lost its charm. It dropped further with the CGI switch in "Hero of the Rails" and Season 13, becoming even more kid-friendly, the 3 strike plots were more frequent, morals were pushed more, and everyone would always be happy and smile. If someone was rude, they had to learn their lesson at the end. The realism went away again, with more aimless driving, the drivers apparently being driven by the engines, not the other way around. Thomas was at a new low. Of course, it didn't last. Mattel then bought Thomas, changed the formula again, by bringing in a new head writer, Andrew Brenner, who had previously worked on magazine stories, which were the basis for some Season 3 episodes. Brenner and his team brought life back to Thomas, they made it feel more real, kept to its roots, Sodor started to feel like it was a real railway again. Yes, it wasn't perfect, but miles better than what came before. In 2015, the RWS turned 70, and was a great year for the franchise. It even gained another special, "The Adventure Begins" to mark the anniversary. Thomas was getting back to what it had been, continuing with Season 20 and a little of Season 21 as well. Come 2017, and it suddenly fell down. With Mattel in full creative control, toys would be made, but they wanted to cut corners, redesign TrackMaster to be cheaper to make, redesign Take-N-Play to be cheaper to make, start forcing ridiculous scenes in specials so that big playsets can be made, because gotta make money. Then Thomas Wood happened. Why paint the full model? Saves money on painting parts. Oh, and let's get rid of TNP, rework the couplings, released as a new range called Adventures. They introduced new toys, that weren't so comparable with the older stuff, so people didn't buy as much. Mattel then thought redesigning them again would fix the problem. They got lazy. They wanted Thomas to generate stacks of cash, but it didn't, so they cut corners. Mattel started to waver, they needed more money, so they redesigned the show as "Big World! Big Adventures!" which also saw Edward and Henry scrapped from the main cast for two new female replacements named Nia and Rebecca, designed to please the extreme feminist groups who slammed the lack of women in the series. The series had been going for what, 33 years? All of that was Thomas and his friends on Sodor, with the occasional trip to the Mainland. But it failed to make enough money, so Mattel sent Thomas round the world to China, Australia and India, for a new marketing opportunity to make more money. It was said the team were stuck with keeping the stories on Sodor, but were they? BWBA fixed something which was never broken to begin with, they ignored what was established, they ignored everything, except Thomas and minority-pleasing international characters. They feel having him tour the world will make the series better, but that's not the true Thomas. First of all, the characters are a mess. Thomas loves his friends, yet he is fine with ditching them in an instant? It wasn't thought properly, just dived right in. Thomas was a world with talking trains, as real as possible. It had age-wide appeal anyone could enjoy. It wasn't a fast-paced bouncy kiddies' show. The Season 22 finale taught kids about numbers and counting, which is something those other shows do. Thomas is now just a run-of-the-mill kids' show, where being trains is a hindrance, and lost everything that made it special. They kept trying to change Thomas, even when it didn't need changing, and now Thomas has forgotten what it was, and run its course.

BeattieWell

[ashwinkumar1989]

Where were we? Ah…at SUR; 18520 LTT-VSKP express having followed us all the way. To refer to how this began in the first place, please refer https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/05/11/rescheduled-train-blues-part-1/ . 11018 KIK-LTT express arrived on Platform 5 behind an EMD (with an electric type LT horn) at 15 10, 20 mins late. As I feared, 18520 finally overtook us here. Meanwhile, KYN WDM3D 11355 shunted our slip coach S10 to PF2 – this coach had been attached to the rear of our train at Daund; coming from 11040 Gondia Kolhapur Maharashtra express – 11040 arrives at Daund at 02 45. 11027 is supposed to depart Daund at 05 05 as per schedule; so this would usually mean a close to 2.5 hours wait for passengers travelling in the slip coach. However, with 11027 being rescheduled by 4 hours and further getting late by more than an hour on the way; the wait for these beleaguered passengers would have more than tripled. Ah, the domino effect a maintenance block at AJJ more than 1000 km away can wreak!! :O

Meanwhile, the BCNA freight on PF4 departed towards Pune. I was already feeling sleepy after the lunch and our train’s progress added to that 😛 . So I retired to my UB. When I finally woke up about 2.5 hours later, we were speeding through small forests, meadows and a village with lot of stone cottages, temples and cemeteries. Reached Shahabad at 17 56, 5 hours 43 mins late. Nearby, I saw Dr. Ambedkar Nagar on the right with Jai Bhim flags, a Buddha statue and boys playing cricket. We crossed 16382 CAPE-CSMT Jayanthi Janata express with mega-offlink SPJ WDM3D 11495; my friend railfan Jyothish KD had seen its counterpart 16381 with the same link a few days back! :O Then came the perennial Kagini river (the board read ‘Cognee’).

  Now there was a TSR of 30 kmph over the bridge; earlier the trains used to speed through 😦 . There was a Steam Chamber in the Sleeper factory on the left. Saw twin KYN WDG3A Shaktis in a siding. There were many BCNA rakes as well as a BOXN rake in the yard on the left, as we approached Wadi. Pulled into PF2 at 18 12, 5 hrs 22 mins late; having made up some 20 mins due to slack. On the right was 12702 HYB-CSMT Hussainsagar express with a massive offlink; twin WDG3As – 14675 of VSKP trailing. It seemed to be a day of offlinks! 😉  To our irritation, lights were not working in our bay for a brief while – to add to the already messed-up schedule of the train! 😦 Our EMD was detached, and the electric loco to take over all the way to MAS was AJJ WAP1 22013.

There was a delicious irony in the fact that the loco to haul us till our destination belonged to AJJ; given that AJJ was the source of all our troubles! 😛 Meanwhile, I was able to capture the KYN Shakti twins that I had seen earlier – WDG3As 13579 and 13571 (non-DBR). 13579 had a really sharp HT horn. Also, the locos seemed to be coupled the wrong way – the Short Hood of 13579 was coupled to the Long Hood of 13571.

We departed at 18 33 (5 hours 38 mins late), after a long halt of 21 mins. Saw BZA WAP4 25033 and another brick red WAP4 on a siding in the left. We crossed a BOXN freight headed by twin blue WAG7s before Nalwar. Passed through meadows, small forests, a viaduct on a road in the distant left, a town with a lot of huts and cottages, and mountains in the distant left; before Yadgir. Now it was really dark and there was hardly anything to see outside the glass windows. So I settled down into reading “Stardust and Fire”, a book of poems by Neha Kabra; a very well-known poet and a friend of mine. We had a watering halt at Krishna station in Telangana.  

I heard some ALCO chugging and saw an ACC Cement rake crossing – the chugging could be heard long after the train skipped the station! 🙂 We departed at 20 10, 5 hours 55 mins late. Saw two Plasser machines in a siding on the left. There was a TSR of 80 kmph before the bridge. The river was only 50% dry 😦 . Meanwhile, I went to the loo and found that the water from the taps was quite warm; thanks to the summer heat! 😛 There was a brief unscheduled stop at Yadalapur on the mainline. I had a Veg. Thali for dinner – it consisted of 3 Chapatis, Jeera rice, Dal and Chana Masala; and was quite satisfying. The total fare (lunch and dinner combined) for me was Rs.190 (70 for the Veg. Biryani and 120 for the Veg. Thali) – however, inexplicably; the pantry guy didn’t have even Rs.10 change (which is supposed to be basic!) and so went to other coaches to obtain the change! :O The wait was really annoying, since we were all looking forward to sleep.

It turned out that the whole change fiasco was a red herring, as the pantry guy eventually returned with one of his fellow staff; who had apparently complained about one of my co-passengers refusing to pay the fare – since he found the fare too high (as against the official IRCTC food rate list and menus – https://www.irctchelp.in/irctc-latest-food-menu-rates ); and some of the food items he had asked were not provided. However, I was not really in a mood to argue with the staff in favour of my co-passenger; I was just tired and retired to my UB after paying the fare for the food I had ordered. Had a solid sleep of close to 10 hours. After I did my usual morning routine; we were speeding through the Chennai suburbs – blasted through Sevvapet Road. We overtook locals at Pattabiram, Avadi and after Villivakkam. Crossed a freight before pulling into Perambur at 08 21, 5 hours 28 mins late. Here predictably the coach almost emptied.

I spotted AJJ WAG7 28680 and ED WAP4 22665 in the BBQ Trip Shed. Saw LGD WAP4 22515 in the right as we finally crawled into MAS. There were twin APU-fitted TNP WDMAs (trailing – 16882R) on the right – most probably assigned to 22601 MAS-SNSI superfast. Came to a stop on the customary PF1 at 08 41, 5 hours 11 mins late. Not bad – we had been rescheduled by 4 hours and got delayed by an hour further in Maharashtra itself; and then mostly maintained the overall 5+ hours delay throughout. There was a long walk from my coach till the terminus exit; the coach being at the rear of the rake. Then I had to walk a while further to Park Town station after crossing the road. There I took an MRTS local till Thirumayilai (Mylapore) after standing in a long queue to get a ticket – I didn’t get a seat, but there was quite enough space to stand with my luggage. After that it took a 10-15 mins walk to finally reach my home around 09 30. It was a really long journey, but the AC comfort took away most of the potential hardships.

Hope you were not bored by this long blog containing 2 parts! 😛

Technical Terms

APU – Auxiliary Power Unit (specifically for charging the loco batteries when it is idle)

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

LT – Low Tone

HT – High Tone

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

DBR – Dynamic Brake Resistor (usually mounted on the roof of the loco)

MRTS – Mass Rapid Transit System (partly elevated local train network in Chennai)

Station Codes

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or just Kurla Terminus)

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

KIK – Karaikal

KYN – Kalyan

SUR – Solapur

CAPE – Kanniyakumari

CSMT – Mumbai CST

SPJ – Samastipur

HYB – Hyderabad

AJJ – Arakkonam

BZA – Vijaywada

ED – Erode

LGD – Lallaguda

TNP – Tondiarpet

SNSI – Sainagar Shirdi

BBQ – Basin Bridge

  Rescheduled Train Blues – Part 2 Where were we? Ah...at SUR; 18520 LTT-VSKP express having followed us all the way. To refer to how this began in the first place, please refer 

[bonefall]

Motivations of Dark Forest Trainees -- Planning

So I'm going to flesh out the Dark Forest and its inhabitants. First I need to compile a list of everyone who trained in the Dark Forest, and a brief summary of their motivations.

So if you guys have any input, weigh in!

First though-- Removals and Openings

Birchfall is not going to train in the Dark Forest. He's being changed to Dovewing's mentor, and a source of comfort to her as opposed to her father Lionblaze. He has too much going on.

Larkwing is also being removed. Sedgewhisker was very young and there’s no need for her to have kittens when she’s barely 2 years old, let alone have that kitten in Dark Forest training.

There were 18 DF trainees without Birch. 4 River, 3 Shadow, 4 Thunder, and 7 Wind. I'm willing to bump that number up to an even 20. Maybe even more if there’s some enticing ideas.

So far there are 18 trainees on this list; that makes 2 open spaces.

The Trainees so Far

WindClan

Breezepelt, naturally Motivation: Neglected and abused by father, mother attempted to assassinate Onewhisker. Sees The Three as a symbol of Crowfeather hating him and being heirs of destiny. Changes: Apprentice is now Furzepaw, not Boulderpaw, and he encouraged Furze to train in the Dark Forest with him. Kills Firestar in early OotS.

Harespring Motivation: The pressure StarClan put on his brother Kestrelflight made him think that it can't be all that good... so maybe the Dark Forest isn't as bad? Plus, he would like to meet Mudclaw, and was an old friend of Breezepelt. Changes: Apprentice is now Boulderpaw, who he never got involved in his Dark Forest training.

Furzepelt Motivation: Breezepelt encouraged her to join him. Changes: Grows very close to Antpelt and Sunstrike, becomes mates with Sunstrike (sapphic)

Antpelt Motivation: Old friend of Breezepelt Changes: It was not known that Ivypool killing him as a spirit would kill him forever. It came as a shock to everyone-- and it's how the DF cats learned that spirits can be killed by the living. Spirits can't kill other spirits. This situation makes Ivypool blame herself for his death.

Sunstrike Motivation: Dissatisfaction with Onestar; possibly thinks Breezepelt would be a better leader because her parents were hurt in a battle that was lost. Changes: Surviving instead of Whiskernose (because i like her more), disabled after the battle.

Whiskernose Motivation: Xenophobia, ambition. Feels Onestar is weak like Tallstar before him. Changes: Dying instead of Sunstrike (because i like him less), helps to start the fire in ThunderClan to make an opening for Thornclaw and Breezepelt to kill Firestar. One of the older trainees.

RiverClan

Minnowtail Motivation: HalfClan relationship with Mousewhisker, gets recruited by Cloudberry and Ryewhisker. Changes: Going to lean in more to Minnow and Mouse having a secret relationship. Mouse eventually moves to RiverClan in TBC or ASC.

Icewing Motivation: Curiosity, influence from mother Skyheart. Knew that Mistystar lied about how Leopardstar died in BB!TNP, but only found out this way that she was murdered. Gets hooked after this, realizing that the training could give her power. If Mistystar murdered Leopardstar... what does that say about her fitness to rule? Might want to become deputy. Changes: Needs to be clearer that she's Beetlewhisker's mother. I would like her to do more, generally. Mate, Mintflower, was a Tribe cat. Sedgecreek, current deputy, narrowly survives a dangerous situation and decides to retire; that was definitely part of a DF plot.

Beetlewhisker Motivation: Supporting Icewing Changes: Brokenstar is no longer part of the Dark Forest, so someone else will kill him. Probably Thistleclaw.

Lizardtail Motivation: Bullied by Mossyfoot (apprentice of Minnowtail) and Troutstream. Changes: Becomes Hallowflight as an honor title after swimming across the lake and running another mile to get help, betraying the Dark Forest.

ShadowClan (I actually like that it's the least represented Clan for once so I'm not looking to add any cats here)

Applefur Motivation: Jealousy of Marshwing, desire to be a ferocious warrior. Changes: Will probably kill Brackenfur. Generally beefed up.

Redwillow Motivation: ??? (Seems aggressive; true believer?) Changes: Change mentor to Applefur?

Ratscar Motivation: ??? (I'm thinking dissatisfaction with Blackstar's rule) Changes: Ratscar raised his sister Snowbird after their parents died. An adult warrior during the WindClan Massacre, he's the oldest trainee and this should be noted.

ThunderClan

Ivypool Motivation: Pushed there by Lionblaze. Eventually has her jealousy and alienation from Dovewing exploited. Changes: Daughter of Lionblaze now. Waking-world mentor is Brightheart. Dark Forest mentor is Hawkfrost, who has a redemption arc.

Blossomfall Motivation: Jealousy over Briarlight, dissatisfaction with Bramblestar Changes: Graystripe needs to be more involved as one of the reasons Blossomfall is training here.

Thornclaw Motivation: Secret supporter of Thistle Law. Wants power. Changes: Deputy of ThunderClan under Bramblestar. Was in on the plot to kill Firestar and was probably aware of the plot to eliminate Brackenfur. Dies in the Great Battle and goes to the Dark Forest in death.

Mousewhisker Motivation: Wants to be stronger... but also likes the chance to hang out with Minnowtail. Changes: His waking world mentor is Iceheart, the cat who was once Scourge.

Spiderleg Motivation: Training with his mentor, Thornclaw. A Thistle Law supporter who regrets his time with Daisy and seeking to make ThunderClan strong again. Changes: He comes extremely close to killing his son Toadstep in the Great Battle, and regrets his time here deeply.

These cats need to have perceived grievances with their Clans, which Tigerstar and his group are trying to help them achieve. The Dark Forest will actually be getting a plan in this redux; they are putting their trainees in power by trying to kill their rivals and Clan leadership.

The Dark Forest spirits will also be getting their own motivations, which Tigerstar had to consider while he was coalition building.

[bonefall]

Reply roundup: Maples, Flowerscar, Educators

Inbox still closed (I have sooo many asks) but here's a few quick answers to the replies✨

"Who was educator before Ferncloud? Who's the educator in other Clans?" @halogenwarrior

Dappletail was the Educator before Ferncloud! There's a tiny note in the upcoming outline for Firestar's Quietus where she decides to pass the torch to Fern before her death in TNP proper.

In other Clans, I simply haven't chosen the educator. WindClan and ShadowClan are still pending their Family Tree overhauls before I can comfortably pick one, but something about RiverClan is telling me they had strokes of pretty bad luck with theirs.

I think Lilystem (Shade and Heavy's mother) was one once, but the mentor/apprentice line was probably broken by TigerClan and Mistystar had to choose a new one in TNP. So if there's a background blorbo everyone's got who would make a good teacher feel free to shout them out.

(Re: Can't be Sedgecreek because she becomes deputy <3)

Mosspelt seems like a good choice.

"Are there maples in England?" @ashestosparks

Three! I'm only using two of them.

The only native maple is the Field Maple (Acer campestre), which is a pretty interesting tree in general. This is the one that produces edible sap that ThunderClan will want to trade for, and it has a unique quirk; it HATES forests.

It's so named because it likes being in open field environments. As a forest progresses outward, the population of field maples will also dance on the outskirts, attempting to avoid shady conditions. They like to stand as the lone tree in hilly plains, where the wind can scatter their samaras far and wide. So, only WindClan has access to these.

There's also the introduced Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). A Sycamore Maple is relevant as the tree that produces the tarspot-blighted leaves that Fireheart uses to channel Spottedleaf, but I won't be including Norways at all. Sycamores are also absent from the Lake Territories.

In Clanmew the word for "Sycamore" is not the word for "Maple." Clan cats don't see these as the same tree.

(Mapleshade's name is kind of a mistranslation, but Sycamoreshade would be pretty long in English. Maplewhisker/star of SkyClan would also be a Sycamore.)

"Do humans notice ShadowClan's project?"

Yes! Stay tuned!

"Who is Flowerscar?"

A background cat in ShadowClan I have become unreasonably attached to

Her canon name is "Flowerstem" and I wanted to conflict rename her so I could get some more cats with honor titles. ShadowClan is kind of low on non-Tigerkin prodigal fighters, so I've decided to beef her up from just being a background cat into a recurring strong brawler.

She's pure silver with a big, gnarly scar across her face and down her shoulder from where Bramblefake lands a nasty slash on her.

ShadowClan's family tree is so bad that I will be throwing it out completely, so it remains to be seen if she's going to remain the daughter of Grassheart and Stonewing, or even if Whorlpelt and Snaketooth are going to stay as her siblings.

"How do the cats enter the afterlife in BB!TBC and what are the rules?"

The sisters are still going to get a feature here, using their collective powers. They don't do it for the Clans, though, they do it because they understand very well that there is an evil god being born and he must die.

It is also in memory of Leafpool, a stranger who still died for them because it was the right thing to do.

Fallenleaf is also going to come off the bus for a moment to lend her strength to this massive channeling. They have just enough juice to send 2 cats from each Clan.

"Is Larkstripe in the Dark Forest?" @thesnailphilosopher

Sadly no. StarClan took pity on her and her courage in this instance. After the code change, they're much harsher on Clerics, but Larkstripe had lost everything in pursuit of saving 1/5th of StarClan.

If they had known she wouldn't be the last to push this issue, and that there would be a bloody rebellion a few years later, they would have been much angrier and sent her to the Dark Forest. But at the time, they decided to end this sad situation quietly.

She was one of the few to vote in favor of allowing Ripplestar into StarClan.

[bonefall]

Going just by TPB and TNP, out of Ashfur, and Brambleclaw, who would you have had picked if you were in Squirrelflight's place?

Also, did petty!Ashfur name Brindlekit after his mom?

And if it had turned out the 3 were Squirrelflight's and Ashfur's, how do you think that would have gone over?

Who would you pick?

Well... I sort of don't like the way the question is posed, you know? I've been in Squirrelflight's place before and I picked the Brambleclaw, not because it was a logical choice, but because I loved them. Because they made me feel needed and important in a time I felt aimless.

(Nevermind how much of that is caused by the abuser's attempts to shame and humiliate you. That's difficult to realize when you've taken the hook.)

She shouldn't have had to be with either one, but when she broke it off with Ashfur, it's easy to forget that Ashfur also started mistreating her. The wretchedness she felt was something she brought up with Leafpool, praying that she'd made the right 'choice.' That's when Leafpool shares her StarClan Shipping Dreams which makes Squilf feel better about it all.

But it shouldn't have to have been a choice!! And I think Ashfur suddenly cutting her off (and probably causing a schism in her friend group) contributed to Squilf feeling like she had to make a call here instead of realizing it's a false dichotomy.

I think Sweet Nothings/Petty Ashfur, with many years of experience and introspection, kinda realizes this and is horrified by it. He could have helped her, but in his spite, he made her life so much worse.

Anyway,

Brindlekit

Yep! She was named after his mom. He named Brindle and Squirrel, Hawkfrost named Frost, Reed named Ash.

The Three: Ashfur x Squirrelflight Edition

I think it's a neat thought, but when I really examine it, I don't see how very much would change. There really isn't much scandal in it. They were both full ThunderClan warriors who were dating, Bramble would have known Squilf was pregnant when they got together, so... the most this secret being revealed would do is make a mildly awkward gathering.

And canon Ashfur? I don't think it would really matter to him very much. The reason she was able to get him to NOT kill her kids is because they weren't Squirrelflight's. He wanted to hurt her, but she used the truth of their parentage to say it wouldn't matter if they live or die.

which bothers me immensely btw in WHAT world would anyone ever just be like,

"Ok I believe you. You definitely don't love these kids you ran towards a fire to save, obviously, they're adopted ugh. Let me just let these three witnesses walk away from my attempted murder-- I'll find some other way to hurt you later :)"

Sooo... what would it matter if they were Ashfur's kids, y'know? It was never about them being Brambleclaw's children, it was about hurting Squilf.

Just sort of seems like a less twisty twist that wouldn't even work, unless you wanted an AU where the Three die at the hands of their crummy biodad