#Tigerstar and Firestar brothers AU

[mothdapple]

Pinestar is Rusty’s Father AU

I know there’s no way I’m the first person to come up with this AU, but it’s been stewing around in my brain for a while (like the Smudge!Scourge AU) so I wanted to talk about it! The AU really intrigues me mostly because I see a ton of new possibilities for interesting dynamics between Firestar and Tigerstar. So here’s a break-down of how I’d imagine it playing out book-by-book for the first arc, going over where I see deviations from canon. (Long post below!)

Book 1

Rusty is born to Nutmeg, but his father is Pine (the former Pinestar) instead of Jake. Rusty is an only kit and Pine is very protective of him. Pine lives nearby and visits him often, even after Rusty is given to a new home, and plays an active role in his life. (However, Nutmeg lives further away, or she and her humans move, leaving Pine and Rusty only with each other.)

Pine warns Rusty about the forest and the dangers of the Clans. He does not tell Rusty that he was once a leader, but he does admit to having been a ThunderClan cat named Pinestar. However, Pine had grown tired of the Clans’ pointless fighting and chose to leave. Despite Pine’s overall negative view of the Clans, Rusty is a very curious kitten (who is also getting forest dreams, sent by StarClan) so is only intrigued more by Pine’s warnings. The main thing Pine speaks fondly of in ThunderClan is his former mate and kit, Tigerkit, wondering if they are okay. Because Rusty is an only child, he is super interested at the thought of having a brother. He imagines Tigerkit to be the strongest, best warrior in all the Clans. However, Pine remains very insistent that Rusty never go into the forest, and Rusty reluctantly promises him he won’t.

Pine is very old however, and when Rusty is around 6 moons old, he dies. Rusty is devastated by the loss of his dad, and he becomes quite lonely. He longs for more family, but he is unable to visit Nutmeg. Rusty’s StarClan forest dreams keep getting stronger too, adding to Rusty’s discontent. Feeling like he no longer belongs in the twolegplace and after convincing himself that he is no longer bound to his promise to his dad to never go in the forest (since Pine has died,) Rusty leaves his home to go join ThunderClan, wanting to find his long-lost brother, Tigerkit.

Rusty runs across a ThunderClan patrol led by Bluestar, and she allows him to come with her back to camp, mostly because of his pelt color matching with the “fire alone will save our clan” prophecy (which Bluestar and Spottedleaf still receive in this AU.) But Rusty’s reception in ThunderClan is less than stellar. Rusty eagerly announces that he wants to join the Clan because his father was Pinestar, a ThunderClan cat. However, he is quite shocked as ThunderClan is disgusted by this, viewing him as the son of traitorous leader who abandoned his Clan. (So Rusty now has to deal with that added baggage, in addition to being a kittypet.) Rusty is saddened that ThunderClan views his father so negatively. Rusty had no idea that his father was once leader, and the Clan’s opinion of him doesn’t match up with Rusty’s memory of his father as a noble cat who just wanted to live out his old age in peace. However, the entire Clan is so insistent about Pinestar being the worst, Rusty starts to doubt his own memory of his father, thinking he might have not known Pine as well as he thought he did. But, Rusty wants to work hard to prove himself to them, and also in a way, clear his dad's name by becoming a good Clan cat himself. Rusty is renamed Firepaw, but is not given a proper mentor because Bluestar declares that because of his heritage and kittypet roots, he will be in a probationary period where he has to prove himself worthy of being a true ThunderClan cat.

Also, of course when Firepaw joins, he is so excited to meet “Tigerkit,” asking about him right away. Firepaw is super impressed by Tigerclaw’s strength and size. Naturally though, Tigerclaw wants nothing to do with Firepaw. He is disgusted by the reminder of his weak, pathetic father (especially because Firepaw so strongly physically resembles Pine.) Despite Tigerclaw’s cold and sometimes outright cruel demeanor, like with the rest of ThunderClan, Firepaw is still determined to prove himself to him. He continues to admire Tigerclaw regardless of his poor treatment of him.

After a little bit of time passes in which Firepaw trains, Tigerclaw does seem to come around to Firepaw, and he starts acting warmer to him. After “testing” him in some dangerous situations, Tigerclaw has realized that Firepaw is more competent than he first believed, and Tigerclaw is smart enough to see that Firepaw's blind admiration could be used to his advantage. By exploiting his love, Tigerclaw is able to manipulate his naive little brother in almost however way he wishes. Tigerclaw and Firepaw “grow closer.” This results in Firepaw seeing being the best warrior he can be and strictly following the code to a T "just like Tigerclaw,” as the best way for him to shed the shadow of his heritage and become a great ThunderClan warrior.

Because Firepaw admires Tigerclaw so much, it takes him way longer than in canon for him to realize anything bad about Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw had still killed Redtail, and Ravenpaw witnessed it. Ravenpaw tries to warn Firepaw that Tigerclaw is dangerous when he sees his friend growing closer to him. Ravenpaw even gets desperate enough to eventually try to tell Firepaw about the murder, but Firepaw thinks Ravenpaw must have been mistaken. There is no way Tigerclaw would ever raise a claw against his own Clanmates! 

Because Ravenpaw is never taken to shelter in the barn by Graypaw and Firepaw, Ravenpaw is quietly murdered by Tigerclaw, permanently silencing him. Firepaw is greatly sadden by Ravenpaw's sudden death but of course suspects nothing of Tigerclaw. Firepaw also becomes better friends with Dustpaw and Longtail thanks to Tigerclaw's influence. After Ravenpaw’s death and Firepaw completing the probationary period, Tigerclaw is even named Firepaw's official mentor, allowing Tigerclaw to sink his hooks in even more deeply.

Because of Tigerclaw’s influence, Firepaw does not help Yellowfang when he finds her on their territory. Instead, he and Tigerclaw chase her off ThunderClan land as they would for any trespasser. This results in ThunderClan being without a medicine cat when Spottedleaf is killed by Clawface. Bluestar is deeply distraught by this development, and starts to lose faith in herself and in StarClan. Bluestar feels as if the “Fire alone” prophecy is ThunderClan’s only hope, and she pins it all on Firepaw being the chosen one. This results in her starting to show clear interest in him over the other apprentices. This does not go unnoticed by Tigerclaw, although he doesn’t know why Bluestar is so interested in Firepaw.

Lionheart dies in the fight that drives Brokenstar from ShadowClan and Tigerclaw becomes deputy of ThunderClan after his death, like in canon. Fireheart and Graystripe also earn their warrior names, but Sandstorm and Dustpelt had gotten theirs first (Tigerclaw insists on Firepaw receiving thorough training, even though Bluestar seemed eager to make him a warrior as soon as possible.) Book 1 ends with Fireheart (unknowingly) firmly under Tigerclaw’s paw, and Tigerclaw appreciating more and more the benefits of having his half-brother’s undying loyalty, especially with Bluestar being so fond of Fireheart.

Book 2

With Brokenstar driven out of ShadowClan, Fireheart is picked out by Bluestar and Tigerclaw to go retrieve WindClan. However, Sandstorm (not Graystripe) is picked to accompany him at Tigerclaw’s insistence. This is a careful calculation on Tigerstar’s part. Almost all of Tigerclaw’s biggest supporters are the younger warriors. Fireheart and Graystripe are good friends, but Tigerclaw thinks Graystripe is a bit of a buffoon. He believes Sandstorm to be much more competent, and although Sandstorm deeply respects Tigerclaw, she has never gotten over her disdain for Fireheart and his soft kittenhood. Fireheart is Tigerclaw’s most loyal follower, and Tigerclaw wants a united group of allies, so getting Sandstorm to at least tolerate Fireheart is critical to that.

Neither Fireheart or Sandstorm are happy about being paired together for this mission, but they inevitably bond over the course of the journey to get WindClan and come back. By the end of it, there is even a spark of romantic tension between the two. Tigerclaw is quite pleased that his plan worked so well when they return.

Fireheart is shortly after given Cinderpaw as his first apprentice (thanks to a suggestion by Tigerclaw to Bluestar, who is happy to favor Fireheart due to the prophecy.) But, Cinderpaw is hit by a monster and gravely injured. ThunderClan is still without a medicine cat, so Cinderpaw is taken to WindClan for treatment. Because WindClan feels indebted to ThunderClan for retrieving them, Barkface is happy to care for Cinderpaw in repayment. As Fireheart grieves over his injured apprentice, Tigerclaw is there to comfort him. Tigerclaw reveals that Goldenflower is expecting his kits when he promises Fireheart one of them to train as a new apprentice.

While Fireheart had been gone saving WindClan, Graystripe had started his affair with Silverstream. When Fireheart discovers it, he is very upset, even more so than in canon due to his apprenticeship under Tigerclaw. Fireheart and Graystripe have a huge falling out over it, and Fireheart puts the final nail in their friendship’s coffin when he rats out Graystripe to Tigerclaw, telling him what he knows about Graystripe’s illegal relationship. Graystripe is punished (not as much as Tigerclaw would have liked, but Bluestar has a soft-spot for cats caught in cross Clan relationships, who’d have thought.) Meanwhile, Fireheart grows closer to Dustpelt, Sandstorm, and Longtail, integrating fully into their friend group and leaving Graystripe on the wayside. 

Cinderpaw survives her injury and decides that she’d like to be ThunderClan’s medicine cat. She stays in WindClan for the time being, still recovering but also starting medicine cat training under Barkface.

Like in canon, Brokenstar and his rogues attack ThunderClan’s camp, but they are defeated. Brokentail is blinded by Fireheart, and Bluestar decides to keep him prisoner rather than execute him immediately.

Book 3

Despite Graystripe’s punishment, his desire to see Silverstream isn’t totally killed, and Fireheart catches him in the act of meeting with her again. Silverstream is now pregnant, and Fireheart explodes at his former friend. He and Graystripe start arguing about how RiverClan is "evil" for all the fighting over Sunningrocks and the ThunderClan cats who have died there, with Fireheart spouting a lot of Tigerclaw's talking points. Silverstream gets angry and cuts in that that RiverClan has lost cats in those battles too. In response, Firestar says something about how Tigerclaw was just avenging Redtail by killing Oakheart. This is when Silverstream drops the bomb of "what are you talking about, Oakheart died in a rockfall." 

Fireheart rejects her words in the moment, but they still linger over the next few weeks. Of course he wants to believe Tigerclaw’s story over hers, but this in combination with what he was told by Ravenpaw before he died plants the first seeds of real doubt in his mind. Fireheart almost wants to go back and ask Silverstream for more details, or proof to back up her claim, but before he can, Silverstream dies giving birth. Goldenflower takes in her kits to care for alongside her newborns (Fireheart’s niece and nephew.)

WindClan and ShadowClan find out that ThunderClan is harboring Brokentail. In response, Barkface stops training Cinderpaw, who returns to ThunderClan, putting ThunderClan in a difficult position. They really have no reason to protect Brokentail, but they will look weak if they bend to WindClan and ShadowClan’s demands to hand him over. RiverClan has also demanded that ThunderClan give them Silverstream’s kits. Bluestar is paralyzed by the threats from all the other Clans and with ThunderClan still not having a fully trained medicine cat, she is growing more paranoid about enemies and illnesses and becoming convinced that StarClan has abandoned her Clan. Tigerclaw urges Bluestar to kill Brokentail but also strike against WindClan or ShadowClan preemptively— both Clans are still recovering from Brokenstar, and it would be much easier to take them on separately than if they band together. Fireheart agrees with him, saying that ThunderClan cannot afford to look weak. But, Bluestar cannot make a decision, so she does nothing.

WindClan and ShadowClan attack ThunderClan’s camp, and ThunderClan is saved by the appearance of a RiverClan patrol who had conveniently come at the same time to retrieve the kits. But, the fight is a humiliation for ThunderClan— being attacked by two Clans in their own camp and requiring RiverClan’s assistance to drive WindClan and ShadowClan out. During the battle, Brokentail retreated to the empty medicine cat’s den to hide. Once the fighting is done, Fireheart goes inside to get him, only to see Tigerclaw standing over Brokentail’s wheezing body, blood all over his muzzle. Brokentail dies in front of him, and when the shock finally dies down, Fireheart asks Tigerclaw why he did it— Bluestar had not ordered them to execute him. Tigerclaw argues that Brokentail had only brought ThunderClan problems, which Bluestar had been too indecisive to solve, so he took matters into his own paws. No one will know it was him anyway— Brokentail could have easily died in the fighting. Fireheart is a bit troubled by Tigerclaw’s disregard of Bluestar’s orders and his duplicitous means, especially given his newfound doubts about Oakheart’s death, but Fireheart agrees with Tigerclaw’s assessment of Brokentail. He easily agrees to keep quiet about it.

Graystripe decides to give RiverClan his kits and leave with them. Fireheart has one more conversation with his former friend before he goes. Graystripe has grown more wary of Tigerclaw recently, especially after seeing his influence on Fireheart. He warns Fireheart that he’s changed from the cat that Graystripe used to know, and to not let Tigerclaw turn him into someone he’s not. 

Book 4

Bluestar’s mental health takes a steep decline after the attack. She is now showing signs of dementia in addition to her paranoia. But ThunderClan at least has a fully trained medicine cat again. Thanks to Tigerclaw’s negotiations with Crookedstar about the return of Silverstream’s kits, Mudfur agreed to finish Cinderpaw’s training, and she is now Cinderpelt. 

Tigerclaw is more or less running ThunderClan single-handedly at this point, with Bluestar staying mostly in her den. Tigerclaw is also using Fireheart as his righthand man as a sort of pseudo-deputy, sending him on errands and trusting him to organize patrols when he is busy with other things. Fireheart is pleased his brother has so much trust in him, but he is still has questions about what happened that night Oakheart died. He attempts some investigating of Tigerclaw to further tease out the mystery of what really happened in the battle where Oakheart and Redtail died, but without an eye-witness (like Ravenpaw was in canon,) Fireheart isn’t making any headway. This isn’t helped by the fact that he still loves and admires Tigerclaw, so he is not at all sold on the idea that Tigerclaw is actually bad.

But, Tigerclaw is indeed still manipulating Fireheart and using that to ask him to do some seemingly harmless favors. One of these favors is interacting with Brokenstar’s rogues, who Tigerclaw had gathered up just outside of ThunderClan territory. Tigerclaw talks Fireheart into believing that these rogues were misled by Brokenstar, but they can be truly good, loyal warriors, if given a second chance. Fireheart is unsure, but he trusts Tigerclaw enough that he does not argue with him about it. 

Then the rogues launch an attack ThunderClan. Their scents and pelts are disguised with mud, but Fireheart has gotten to know them well enough by now that he recognizes some of them anyway when he gets close. Fireheart is shocked that the cats he and Tigerclaw had been helping betrayed them. Worried about Bluestar’s fragile health/mind, Fireheart rushes to her den to see if she’s safe, but it is already too late. Bluestar is dead and Tigerstar stands over her body, blood dripping from his fur. He tells Fireheart that he tried to save her but got here too late and the attackers killed her. The battle ends and the attackers vanish back into the night as quickly as they came, having also killed Runningwind and Brindleface. No one in ThunderClan knows why these cats attacked, or even who they are, but Fireheart knows. And he knows that Tigerclaw knows. 

Fireheart is extremely confused and feels betrayed by Tigerclaw, not understanding why he hasn’t said anything to Fireheart about Brokentail’s rogues having been the ones who attacked them. But, seeing the fragile state of ThunderClan, he resolves to wait to speak to Tigerclaw. He remains silent in public about it as Tigerclaw comforts the mourning Clan. Tigerclaw wants to leave to go to the Moonstone right away, but Fireheart insists they speak privately first and Tigerclaw finally relents. Fireheart tells him that he knows those cats were Brokenstar’s rogues; the cats Tigerclaw has been having him bring food and messages to. Tigerclaw does a good job gaslighting the heck out of Fireheart, insisting that he must be mistaken. Fireheart’s confidence is shaken (maybe he did make a mistake? But they looked so familiar.) Still though, Fireheart has other doubts about Tigerclaw. He wants to ask if he was also mistaken about Tigerclaw being alone in the den with Bluestar, with blood on his muzzle, just like how Tigerclaw was alone in the den with Brokentail. But, Fireheart stays silent for now. He doesn’t want to say the words aloud and give such a horrid thought life.

Tigerclaw adds in charm and manipulation to his gaslighting. He “comforts” Fireheart, saying that it’s completely understandable that Fireheart’s stress and grief was getting the better of him and making him think he saw something that’s not there. But, Tigerclaw reassures him that while Bluestar’s death was terrible and tragic, it really perhaps ended up being for the greater good. Bluestar made their Clan weak, but Tigerclaw will make ThunderClan powerful, strong, and safe again, especially “with Fireheart at his side.” Having no solid evidence of Tigerclaw’s wrongdoing beyond knowing that Tigerclaw knew Brokenstar’s rogues somehow, Fireheart remains quiet, but the unshakeable trust he used to have in his brother has been broken.

Tigerclaw prepares to leave for the Moonstone, but not before he names Fireheart his deputy (seemingly to reward his loyalty, but also to keep a close eye on him.)

Book 5

Tigerstar returns to ThunderClan as their new leader, and Fireheart begins his role as deputy, although he feels like he’s constantly keeping an eye on Tigerstar. Fireheart wishes he had someone to confide in about his concerns about him, and he starts to miss Graystripe. Although Fireheart has close friends in ThunderClan like Dustpelt and Longtail, and a blossoming romance with Sandstorm, he knows they are all too loyal to Tigerstar for him to bring up his doubts. Fireheart starts to feel isolated.

Tigerstar, however, is well liked as a leader in ThunderClan. The Clan is shaken after Bluestar’s death and the vicious, mysterious attack, but Tigerstar promises to keep ThunderClan safe. He increases patrols and there is no hint of any dangerous cats in ThunderClan’s territory or nearby, reassuring almost all of ThunderClan.

Fireheart receives more and more intense dreams from StarClan. Throughout the previous books, they have been in contact with him this whole time, telling him that he is destined to right the wrongs of his father. Fireheart had previously thought they meant that they wanted him to be a great warrior of ThunderClan, like how Pine could not. But, in this book, Bluestar finally appears to tell him to his face that no, that’s not what StarClan means— they mean that his destiny is to stop Tigerstar. She tells him that StarClan always knew Tigerstar would harm ThunderClan. Pinestar had the power to end Tigerstar before he began, but he was too weak to do so. So now Fireheart had to fix his father’s mistakes. Fireheart puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that she is telling him that StarClan ordered Pinestar to kill his own kit, and even though Fireheart has his own doubts about Tigerstar, he is horrified by this. He argues that his father did the right thing by not killing an innocent child, but Bluestar says that Tigerstar is NOT innocent. Fireheart gets angry and says that Pine disobeying StarClan and leaving ThunderClan is proof that StarClan cannot control a cat’s destiny, so why couldn’t Tigerkit have grown into a better cat, and why can’t Tigerstar change his ways now? So far he’s been a decent enough leader of ThunderClan. Bluestar becomes furious, but the dream fades before she can say anything else. Fireheart wakes up, still wary of Tigerstar but determined to not follow StarClan’s orders to murder him in cold blood. He has seen good in him, so there may be a way to save him even if StarClan gave up on Tigerstar as soon as he was born.

A fire tears through the forest, and Tigerstar loses a life or two futilely trying to save some of the Clan’s elders. Fireheart sees this as proof of the fact that there is good in Tigerstar, and that he truly cares about ThunderClan. Maybe he really has been acting in the best interest of his Clan this whole time. Maybe Fireheart really had been mistaken about what he thought about the rogues and Bluestar. (Or maybe, even if Tigerstar killed Bluestar, maybe it was necessary for the good of ThunderClan. Maybe she really was too weak and leading ThunderClan down a bad path.)

ThunderClan shelters in RiverClan territory after the fire. Crookedstar is weak/ill and it is clear to Fireheart that Leopardfur will be leader soon. He notices that she and Tigerstar spend a lot of time alone together (an almost uncomfortable amount of time.) Fireheart wonders what Tigerstar is up to, and he also notices how uncomfortable Goldenflower also seems about the situation. Fireheart tries to awkwardly reassure his sister-in-law that he doesn’t think Tigerstar is interested in Leopardfur “like that.”

Fireheart is also happy to see Graystripe again, and the two strike back up a tentative friendship. Graystripe says he’s sorry to hear about Bluestar and asks how things have been now that Tigerstar is leader and Fireheart deputy. Fireheart considers telling Graystripe his doubts on Tigerstar, but because of the fire and his Bluestar dream, he decides against it, instead just saying things are good. Graystripe knows Fireheart well enough to sense him holding back. He doesn’t press, but he says that he’s willing to be there to talk with Fireheart if he ever needs it.

ThunderClan returns back to their camp and starts trying to rebuild. However, Fireheart is stunned when Tigerstar suddenly comes back to camp the next day with Brokentail’s rogues. ThunderClan is immediately on edge about this, but Tigerstar introduces them to ThunderClan as loyal cats who want to find a home in a Clan again. ThunderClan is hesitant about them joining, but Tigerstar tells the Clan that they need help rebuilding after the fire, and the cats have promised to work hard. 

Fireheart recognizes one of the rogues as someone that he saw at ThunderClan’s camp the day of the attack. Despite Tigerstar’s masterclass gaslighting, when Fireheart sees this cat, he knows in his bones that he witnessed this cat kill Brindleface. At the first chance he gets, Fireheart gets this cat alone, corners them and tells them that he knows they were there during the attack, threatening to tear them to shreds if they don’t tell him why they attacked the camp. After enough beating up/threatening, the cat spills that Tigerstar had promised the rogues a place in a Clan again if they staged a fight against ThunderClan, but that’s all they know. Fireheart’s head is spinning after this revelation, but he is still desperate to cling to the idea that Tigerstar was still somehow acting in ThunderClan’s best interest. Fireheart asks them that if Tigerstar told them to stage the fight, then why did the cat kill Brindleface, Tigerstar’s Clanmate? The cat shrugs desperately and responds that Tigerstar ordered them to make it “convincing.”

Book 6

Fireheart is shaken to his core after the rogue’s revelation, all the fragile barriers of denial and optimism he’d put up in his mind about Tigerstar crumbling down. He realizes the full implication of everything— Tigerstar probably did kill Redtail like Ravenpaw said, and then Fireheart knows he killed Brokentail, and then he had the rogues attack camp so he could likely kill Bluestar, not caring about his other Clanmate casualties in the process.

But, Fireheart knows that Tigerstar can’t learn what he knows yet; not until Fireheart knows what to do with this information. Fireheart threatens to kill the former rogue if they don’t stay quiet about this conversation, and they promise they will.

A few days pass with the rogues helping and hunting for ThunderClan, and the Clan grudgingly accepts them into ThunderClan. Fireheart meanwhile, has been spending the days ruminating. Should he just reveal Tigerstar’s actions to ThunderClan and put the judgement in the paws of the Clan? Should he talk to someone one-on-one about it first? Should he talk to Tigerstar about it? 

Before Fireheart decides anything, a Gathering happens, and ShadowClan doesn’t show up. Their elderly leader, Nightstar has seemed weak lately, but an entire Clan being absent is odd. The day after the Gathering, Tigerstar announces that he is taking a patrol to ShadowClan because he is “concerned” about their neighbors. Fireheart is brought along on the patrol with a group of Tigerstar’s most loyal followers, including the former rogues.

The former Brokentail rogues guide them to ShadowClan’s camp and they find the Clan in shambles from illness, which they are just now finally recovering from. ShadowClan is far too weak to do anything to the ThunderClan cats, but they are not pleased that they are there at all. The ThunderClan cats realize that Nightstar has died, and so Tigerstar imposes himself/ThunderClan under the guise of “helping” leaderless ShadowClan. He orders the ThunderClan cats to hunt for ShadowClan before they leave. Tigerstar also orders the stronger ShadowClan warriors to leave for ThunderClan camp with him so they don’t also get sick from their other Clanmates. ShadowClan protests that they can’t leave their sick Clanmates behind, but they are convinced by Tigerstar and the former rogues (their old Clanmates) that Tigerstar has their best interests in mind. (And besides, they are too weak to fight back.) Tigerstar leaves some of the old rogues in ShadowClan to keep the sick ShadowClan cat’s “safe” (guard them) and to hunt for them, and ThunderClan leaves.

On the trek back to camp, Fireheart talks to Tigerstar and protests this course of action, saying that ThunderClan needs to worry about itself and healing from the fire, and not with ShadowClan. Besides, taking even the healthy ShadowClan warriors back to camp may risk exposing ThunderClan to illness. Tigerstar shuts Fireheart down by snapping at him to stop questioning him, and he knows what’s best for ThunderClan.

ThunderClan has mixed reactions to the new ShadowClan cats in camp. Even Sandstorm is questioning things despite her loyalty to Tigerstar. Fireheart knows now he must talk to someone about his worries with Tigerstar, but he still fears Sandstorm is too close to their leader. He seeks out Graystripe on the border, and confides everything (what’s going on currently with ShadowClan and what Tigerstar has done in the past) to him. Graystripe believes him since he’s been wary of Tigerstar for a while (he was Ravenpaw’s friend too, and wonders to Fireheart if Tigerstar could have “silenced” him.) Graystripe is very worried for his old Clan, but he tells Fireheart he can’t do anything to help. Crookedstar died and Leopardstar is now leader. Leopardstar doesn’t like Graystripe so he has to keep his toes in line if he wants to stay in RiverClan. Graystripe urges Fireheart to tell ThunderClan the truth, but Fireheart despairs that in comparison to Tigerstar, he is still a “kittypet” and the Clan will always believe Tigerstar over him. He has no witnesses for anything besides the rogues who attacked the camp, and they are likely more scared of Tigerstar than him, so they’d stay quiet. Graystripe tells him to have more faith in himself and his Clanmates.

Tigerstar begins to integrate ShadowClan into ThunderClan more, until there is no more ShadowClan. Tigerstar declares their joint Clan by a new name, TigerClan, promising a glorious new era for the forest.

Many cats are troubled by this but are too scared or too influenced by their peers to speak up. Fireheart is becoming more and more troubled as Tigerstar starts to show more tyrannical traits. It doesn’t help that Fireheart’s sleep is constantly disrupted. His dreams are haunted by annoying StarClan almost every night, sending frantic messages and pleas for him to stop Tigerstar. Despite his connection with Tigerstar, Fireheart is on board with stopping him now, but he doesn’t know how to go about it.

Fireheart tries one final appeal to his brother, hoping the cat he used to believe in was still in there somewhere. He talks to Tigerstar privately, laying his cards on the table. He tells him that he knows that Tigerstar always has ThunderClan’s best interests at heart, but ThunderClan is meant to have its own identity— they are meant to be separate Clans. It is wrong to join with ShadowClan. Fireheart begs him that it’s not too late, Tigerstar can still change course and be the amazing leader for ThunderClan Fireheart knows he can be. In response, Tigerstar’s paw flashes out, hitting Fireheart across the face so hard, he’s knocked to the ground, seeing stars. As Fireheart lies there in a daze, Tigerstar snarls that he is a great leader, and if Fireheart ever questions him like this again, Fireheart would no longer be deputy, and he’d be lucky to still even be a TigerClan cat.

Fireheart knows now it is past the point of no return. Tigerstar announces a new alliance with Leopardstar, having RiverClan join the TigerClan fold. Tigerstar seems to have realized he may have pushed Fireheart too hard, though, since he changes tactics. He is back to acting reasonable, trying to spin the action as something good for Fireheart since it will reunite him and Graystripe, and it will prevent more fighting and bloodshed between the Clans if they are united. Fireheart agrees with him, knowing he has no choice but to do so. On the inside, though, the gears have started turning. Fireheart fears he may be running out of time to reveal Tigerstar’s crimes to everyone. He is so powerful now that he is at the helm of three Clans. How could Fireheart ever hope to stop that?

After spending some time carefully judging Sandstorm’s attitude on the whole thing, Fireheart finally confides in her everything that he knows about Tigerstar. To his immense relief, Sandstorm has enough doubts in Tigerstar and enough love for Fireheart by now that she believes him and is horrified. She wants to announce everything to everyone immediately, but Fireheart tells her that they need to be careful since Tigerstar is so powerful with so many allies (Leopardstar and the former rogues mostly.) Sandstorm points out that Fireheart used to be Tigerstar’s most staunch ally, so, like him, cats may change their mind if they trust them enough to tell them the truth. 

Fireheart finally agrees with Sandstorm, but he thinks they still need to gather more supporters before they say anything, just in case. The pair (plus Graystripe in the old RiverClan camp) start looking around for more disaffected cats. They are easy to find in ShadowClan, Russetfur emerging as the natural leader of the group, and Graystripe has some luck with a few in RiverClan as well. However, Fireheart and Sandstorm are having a lot of trouble trying to navigate their Clanmates who are naturally the most loyal to Tigerstar.

Meanwhile, Tigerstar continues to escalate. He announces his plan to unite all the Clans in TigerClan, and starts threatening WindClan to join them or else. Regular battles against WindClan begin, but Tallstar learned from Brokenstar and WindClan turns to guerrilla warfare to survive. WindClan moves completely underground in the tunnels, where no other Clan can follow or find them. They only come out when it’s safe to hunt or to launch winnable attacks against smaller TigerClan patrols before retreating back into the tunnels. 

Tigerstar grows increasingly frustrated and angry at WindClan’s holdout. WindClan’s ability to navigate through the tunnels and appear seemingly everywhere throughout the forest is also making him paranoid. This just gets worse when Tigerstar catches wind of the stirring rebels. He starts capturing and killing “traitors” (although his focus is suspiciously focused on half-Clan cats.) This includes RiverClan’s former deputy Stonefur (who was really in the forming rebel group) but also cats Tigerstar just does not like, or Tigerstar finds rude/spoke out of turn. Not long after the executions begin, Tigerstar also orders Mistyfoot, Graystripe, his kits, and Russetfur to be imprisoned for treason. It is obvious that they will all be executed.

Fireheart finally decides he cannot wait any longer. He sends Sandstorm to take a desperate message to WindClan to ask for their support, and tells the rest of the rebels to ready themselves. As Tigerstar assembles all of TigerClan to hold the trials/executions of the prisoners, Fireheart jumps forward to interrupt Tigerstar’s rant about the traitors. In a heartbroken speech, Fireheart announces all of Tigerstar’s crimes, accusing Tigerstar as the real traitor and tyrant. Fireheart says that he used to admire Tigerstar so much, but he has spent seasons lying to him, and ThunderClan, and everyone. Tigerstar has betrayed the very nature of the Clans by attempting to conquer them all and killing his Clanmates, and must be stopped. Once Tigerstar recovers from the shock of Fireheart suddenly standing against him, he snarls for someone to seize his brother. But as Tigerstar’s loyalists head towards Fireheart, the rebels leap from the crowd to protect him, yowling for the rest of the cats to join them in overthrowing Tigerstar. 

Absolute chaos breaks out, with some cats joining fighting on the side of rebels, others staying loyal to Tigerstar, while others simply flee, not wanting to be in the fight at all. It is brutal, with Clanmate against Clanmate fighting at times, and neither side making much progress until slowly it seems the Tigerstar loyalists are gaining the upper hand. But, the tide is turned as Sandstorm arrives with WindClan in tow for back-up. 

A bloodied and injured Tigerstar finds Fireheart in all the fighting, determined to kill him for causing all this. But, Fireheart doesn’t attack, instead telling him to end it and order his loyalists to stop. The fighting is only hurting everyone, with Clanmate against Clanmate, and TigerClan is now outnumbered and has clearly lost. Tigerstar furiously snarls that he hasn’t lost until they’re all dead, and he’s lost every nine of his lives. Tigerstar launches himself at Fireheart, and they fight. Fireheart is unable to overpower his brother alone (for emotional reasons but also just because Tigerstar is a beast even when injured) but Sandstorm and Russetfur come to his aid and together they kill Tigerstar. The fighting ends with his death and the capture of Leopardstar, who remained loyal to him. 

Once the dust settles a grateful ShadowClan goes home, making Russetstar their new leader. Leopardstar is exiled, and Mistystar takes her place as leader of RiverClan. ThunderClan tries to piece themself back together after Tigerstar’s death, and despite it all, Fireheart still grieves for his brother. Fireheart goes to the Moonstone, where StarClan thanks him for righting the wrongs of his father and saving the Clans. Fireheart retorts that he didn’t do it because of StarClan’s prophecy, but he did it because protecting his Clanmates was the right thing to do. But, Fireheart still believes that cats should be free to make their own destiny regardless of what StarClan says. Despite Fireheart’s back talk, StarClan still grants him his nine lives and it concludes with Firestar becoming leader of ThunderClan.

And that’s the end! I’m curious to hear any thoughts on this, so leave a comment if you’d like. And, by the way, I don’t think I’ll ever write any fanfic for this AU myself, but if this inspires you to want to create something, go for it! Just please credit me in someway if you stick really closely to my outline, and let me know about it regardless because I’d love to see it :) 

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I really love the "Tigerstar is Swiftpaw's dad" AU. It doesn't change that much storywise, but it just makes it really tragic with Tigerstar sending the dogs that kill him and him wanting to prove himself.

To be honest I really thought for the longest time he WAS Swiftpaw's dad.

God... Tiger spying on Gatherings and not seeing Swiftpaw there. Overhearing apprentices gossip.

"Did you hear what happened to Brightpaw? I hope she doesn't get an infection."

"Better than what happened to Swiftpaw."

But... What happened to Swiftpaw? Where was he? Was he hurt?

Tigerstar getting his 9 lives and seeing his son standing in the crowd, glaring at him with a look that chokes him. He sees the glittering scars and puts 2 and 2 together. That was his son, his baby, his precious boy so full of potential and life and so stubborn and proud. Why was he not given a name? Why did Bluestar treat his son like this? She gave a name to the bastard kittypet child, but denied his son? She's to blame of course, not him, he would have named him Swiftstrike or Swiftfang, something respectable and powerful. His son... Sitting there with his other lost child, lost so young, they both look so unhappy...

Seeing Swiftpaw amongst his own victims as he keeps dying over and over again. Begging them each time to help him. Help me Swiftpaw, please, please, you love me, I'm your father you need to do something you need to save me please Swiftpaw please don't let me die I'm your papa I love y

Watching his other sons, another child of his lost too young, Tadpole was so much like him too, fearless and strong.

Comparing Hawkfrost to Swiftpaw in the horrible way that parents do. Come on Hawkfrost that was sloppy, Swiftpaw had that technique down and never left apprenticeship, you'll avenge me and your brother, Firestar was deputy he could have said something, it would have saved your brother's life.

Seeing Swiftpaw during the Great Battle giving a blessing to Firestar. Realizing he gave Firestar a life and just... Losing it. Firestar stole his son from him, and let him die, and his perfect son still gave him a life?! Why?!

Oh it all just goes perfectly.

Although... It does give Tigerstar the widest family tree EVER.

Lynxkit, Swiftpaw, Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, Tadpole, Mothwing and Hawkfrost. Oof, gift giving events have gotta be a nightmare.

[twistedtoms]

Could you possibly elaborate on your Tinyheart AU bc it looks veeerry interesting!!

Of course, if you don't mind my messy ramble and doodles!

It was mostly inspired by my friend vana's/twistedclaw's AU spin on the idea and the fact I was pissed as a kid they introduced such a cool edgy character perfect for my interests, just to kill him in the book he was introduced- before the manga was a thing.

Seeing himself in Scourge [But unknowing of the half-brother thing yet] and a similarity of his time of proving himself to Thunderclan with the fight with Longtail, Firestar lets Scourge go despite his reluctance. They had the same path, the only thing that kept Scourge from having a life like Firestar was the patrol he ran into before Firestar.

Licking his wounds, Scourge wanders the forest to survive on his own and actually learn to hunt like a real forest cat, like in his mother's stories, an angry rogue who wanted to get back at Firestar like he had with Tigerstar. That anger settled to nothing after a while and with nowhere else to go after the battle and loss of Bloodclan's best, Scourge returns to Firestar who again pities the small cat and offered him a place in the clan only if he can prove himself and take on duties after awhile of being a prisoner- somewhat as like when Bluestar had offered Firestar to join when he was the age Scourge was when he ventured out.

It is still going!

[splashspeck]

In case no one can tell I'm lowkey in love with the concept of Hawkfrost being the Three's father. Cause like. The Drama.

Leafpaw, a medicine car apprentice with a deep connection to Starclan from a young age, whi meets Hawkfrost in the midst of the worst moons of her life. Her sister is off on a journey, believed missing, her clan and all four clans are in the brink of disaster nearly daily.

Then we have that one scene from Canon where Hawkfrost saves her from a dog. And Leafpaw in this au is Enamored. Butterflies in the stomach and all. Finds out that this is Mothwing's infamous brother, and maybe she has a crush on the charismatic bad boy that saved her life.

Hawkfrost initially just wants to use this to get better opportunity for killing Firestar. Hawkfrost has daddy issues and just wants to make Togerstar proud. But over time he starts finding himself genuinely fond of the Thunderclan medicine apprentice. She has an outlook on life he never really considered, a genuine care for those around her regardless of clan, and understands the feeling of wanting nothing more than to see your sister, your sole sibling, happy.

Long story short, Tigerstar still manipulates Hawkfrost into trying to kill Firestar, idk what his reasoning is but Hawk truly believes he's doing what's right for the clans. But Brambleclaw won't go through with it, and Squirrelflight brings help... only for Leafpool to watch her secret mate's lifeblood flow into the lake, fulfilling a prophecy she wished she'd never heard. Now she has no mentor, no mate, and a litter of illegal kits the children of an attempted murderer.

The Drama Yall

[willicewc]

Finally a new post !! I have been sick for a while now but I am slowly getting better ! Have a drawing of Squirrelflight and Shrewpaw/tail in my au where he lives :)

[The next part of the text might contain spoilers !]

I heard that we might get Squirrelstar in the next book ! I really hope she actually gets to be leader !

I am kind of... Sick of Bramblestar ? Don't get me wrong, he was nice in the first arc as Bramblekit / Bramblepaw, in the second arc he was alright for the first three or four books (to his defense, Squirrelpaw was a handful !), but he just really became... a bit of a jerk afterward in my opinion ? I don't enjoy his relationship with Squirrelflight and I really think they should have broken up for good after the revelation of the Three's parents, because Bramblestar keeps having some... "red flaggy" behaviors :( Like the red flags had already started at the beginning of the relationship when Squirrelflight told Brambleclaw that Hawkfrost could not be trusted, and Brambleclaw ignored her, for her to be right all along ? Or later, Brambleclaw being incredibly mad at Squirreflight for saying the Three were her's because she was literally told to by Starclan to do so, when Brambleclaw did way worst by plotting with Hawkfrost to become the leader of Thunderclan in very sus ways ? And he never, ever told her that Firestar lost a life because of him and his brother ? It's very unfair to me... Idk man, Brambleclaw kind of turned out to not be a good partner :( (I hope everything was understandable there in this part, my english is really rusty when writing !)

I know that the Erins intended to make Bramblestar "the better Tigerstar", him having to show his whole clan that he would never turn out like his father and that he would be the best leader possible but... but it really turned sour to me ? He was meant to be at least a nice, well-meaning character, but somehow in the way he turned out to be a bit of a jerk.

I personally don't really like Bramblestar, but I kind of understand why people like him, he has a cool character arc in the second arc with Hawkfrost, having to fight to show that he is a loyal, kind warrior, and in the end, making the choice to kill his power-hungry brother instead of his leader.

Anyway back to the drawing, I have this au where Shrewpaw doesn't get hit by a car and becomes Squirrelflight's mate. Maybe, just maybe, Shrewpaw was killed off because he was too much of a rival to Brambleclaw ? Seeing from the few interactions between Squirrelpaw and Shrewpaw, they were good friends and Shrewpaw was a gentle, nice boi. I really do think that if Shrewpaw had lived, he would have ended up being Squirrelflight's mate !

I might be a bit rusty on the lore, it's been a long while since I read the books, so if you have any corrections or inputs, don't hesitate to tell me ! :)

Also once again, sorry for any writing mistakes ! And thank you for all your reblogs and support !! It means a lot to me !! :)

[fishbaitslime]

Leafpool/Hawkfrost hypokits? Pls and thank you

hawkfrost and leafpool i think met at a gathering and leaf was immediately charmed by him. In my heart she has a thing for bad boys lol so she fell for him hard. hawk thought she was pretty and nice but defo was encouraged by tigerstar to get with her- but he did actually have genuine love feelings for her.

in this au, i think hawkfrost’s plans succeed in killing firestar, also killing brambleclaw. with no witnesses, he spins the story as him stumbling upon brambleclaw having trapped firestar, already taken the leaders lives- and hawkfrost in-turn fought brambleclaw to stop him before he moved onto the rest of thunderclan.

this kinda turned squirrelflight and leafpools relationship a bit sour, squirrel blaming hawk (rightfully) and leaf being like “you can’t see past your own nose and accept that bramble was just bad.” which thennn escalates to leafpool deciding to join riverclan as a medicine cat, the two becoming a leader medicine cat iconic duo power couple.

id like to think eventually hawkstars treachery is revealed which results in a lot of angst… perhaps ill make this an actual au lol

EAGLEFROST is our jay stand in. He’s still blind but becomes a warrior bc idk fuck the erins he can do what he wants. He’s revered throughout riverclan for his battle prowess and cunning, making for a skilled fighter even as an apprentice. This is partly due to having been trained in the dark forest all his life alongside his siblings. Eaglefrost isn’t dumb, he knows his family history.. he just is torn between honoring his legacy and doing what’s right. Renamed Eagle- because i think Hawk would talk Leafpool into a little more of a Cooler Bird Name. Then -frost as a kind’ve reference to his canon name being from his canon father, but also bc of his cold and calculated battle shit <3

TIGERLEAF is our lion, and our replacement medicine cat! I think Tigerstar would want a spy on the inside to starclan, so Hawk would probably fake a sign that would make he’s sons destiny within the medicine den. Tigerleaf is actually a very sweet soul, taking after Leafpool a lot and not at all his father or siblings. He is the voice of reason of the group, and he is usually the one to tell right from wrong. This leaves him within a lot of turmoil. His family is everything and that means their safety and success should be valued above all… right? Tiger- is because, again, I think Hawk/Tiger would disapprove of the Lion- prefix so yeagh. Leaf bc he plant doctor forever<3 but also his mom

TADPOLESTORM is our holly, and she is my favoriteee. Raised within the dark forest along her siblings, Tadpolestorm has been trained to be vicious but more importantly- fiercely loyal and obedient. Instead of the warrior code, Tadpolestorm is absolutely obsessed with helping her family. She know’s of (almost) all of Hawkstar’s deeds, and holds those secrets close to her chest. She would do anything to insure her father, mother, and brothers are safe- anything. Hawkstar has chosen her as elected deputy, and one day, leader. Tadpole- is from hawk’s brotherr and -storm is bc sheee a bit crazayyy (/affectionate)

despite all of this stuff, i do think Hawkstar does genuinely love Leafpool and his kids..he’s just got a lot going on.

warrior cat hypokit requests are open!

[everybody-loves-purdy]

This for sure has been thought of before but the Great Journey would have been better if Hawkfrost was on it so that he and Bramble could have more moments together that will make Hawk's downfall and death that much more impactful to him and to the audience.

They could have heart-to-hearts about Tigerstar, making the Dark Forest training more interesting....they could talk about Bramble's bond with Tawny, who's on the journey, and how it kinda matches Hawk and Moth (which is another thing that makes future events sadder) (and maybe he and Squirrel could bond here, with both their sisters being back home and being med cats).

Maybe the reason Hawk joins is because Tiger visits him in a dream to tell him to see what's up at fourtrees and he sees the cats meeting. Later he begins to think that maybe he should be leader of one of the Clans. He did help find the new territories, after all, and how bad can Tigerstar be if his father was the one to help him begin the journey to find it? (and maybe whispered advice throughout the journey).

(side note--maybe Tiger 'helping' the cats on the journey by speaking with Hawk and Bramble helps to convince him more realistically that Tiger wants to train them not for nefarious reasons, because Bramble believed him far too easily let's be honest).

I just think it was a missed opportunity. Instead of introducing him as a kinda obvious "this guy is gonna be a problem later" thing, he's introduced like a non-pov (or maybe pov) protagonist that is at first seen like a kind if not peculiar guy who falls lower and lower until he's killed by Brambleclaw.

And before this, Brambleclaw thought that he's not just his brother--he's like him, someone whose loyalties were doubted because of Tigerstar. He has a sister he cares about, a mother who, when he talks about her, reminds Bramble of Goldenflower.

And he thinks "he's like me."

And Squirrelpaw talks to him and learns that they have the same sense of humour, they both like bugging Bramble, they both have a sister med cat who they love and is back home worrying about them, they both live in the shadow of their father--good or bad. Squirrelpaw confesses that she's such a nuisance because she doesn't want to be compared to the great Firestar. Hawk tells her that he feels trapped by his parentage as well.

And she thinks "he's just like me."

That's what makes it so impactful in the end, because not only is he corrupted, not only is Bramble forced to kill him, but his evil isn't just a sign of his own downfall, but of how close it could have been Brambleclaw himself, or Squirrelpaw, or someone else who saw Hawkfrost in themself and who now has to wonder "will that be me?"

This is so good, I love this AU.

Hawkfrost is just a bundle of missed potential honestly. There’s so much more that could have been done with his character than what we got.

[booksofstars]

For your RC!Firestar AU, does Scourge have a role in it? Is he still the same, or a different character?

he does! instead of having a grudge against tigerstar (who he doesnt know in this au), he has a grudge against leopardstar. it plays out much the same until his near death. in a mirror of his first introduction to the clans, firestar rips off scourges collar. he announces that riverclan holds no grudges and intends to trade with bloodclan to give them the resources they so desire in exchange for bloodclans twolegplace tools and resources. scourge, touched, agrees. since the clans never leave, bloodclan remains a valuable ally to riverclan and later windclan as well. scourge does remain in bloodclan, but he often comes to visit and dotes on his nieces. he offers to kill brambleclaw several times for otterflight (squirrelflight). he and firestar dont know theyre half brothers, but they certainly act like brothers anyways. firestar does a lot to embody riverclan as a prosperous and friendly clan following the path that riverstar did.

i imagine he lives until the broken code, where he makes good on his threats towards bramble (even if he is possessed). he dies in what would be graystripes place, carrying otterflights message to hawkfrost (who replaces ashfurs role). bramble and hawk are both leopards kids

[bonefall]

So what is Sparkpelt's relationship with Firestar going to be in BB rewrite since she isn't going to be Firestar but female? I'm assuming she's going to be completely different looking from cannon Sparkpelt too.

[ID: Better Bones AU's version of Sparkpelt. She is an auburn tigerclone with jagged stripes, a cream beard and mane, and raptor claws.]

BB!Sparkpelt is so different it'll make your head spin. GoodBYE Fireclone Sparkpelt, HELLO Tigerclone Sparkpelt

Also I decided that the KEY Tigerkin Family Trait is going to be raptor claws. A large index claw, and pointed talons on the back toe. They also tend to be large, tiger-themed, and have 'beards.' It's sometimes remarked that they bear a similarity to Thunderstar!

BIGGEST CHANGE, which I think is pretty well known by now, is that Sparkpelt is NOT Squirrelflight's child. Her mom was Jessy, from a brief relationship that ended in a brutal cat divorce. Squilf remains infertile, she cannot have children.

Instead, they are Mentor and Apprentice. Just as close as a parent and child.

Below the cut: Sparkpelt in,

Bramblestar's Thorns

Squirrelflight's Horror

BB!TBC and ASC setup

Bramblestar's Thorns: The AVoS-era replacement for the loss of Alderheart as a POV in that arc. Sparkpelt gets a POV alongside her brother covering her early life.

Her mother Jessy is a genius inventor. She joined during the SE, ThunderClan's Tempest, along with Fernsong and Stormcloud. Her name was briefly Sweetbright.

She had a massive fight with Brambleclaw shortly after having their children, which escalated and she wasn't willing to stay if he was going to treat her like that.

Alder was taken back to twolegplace. Bramblestar kept Sparkkit.

Spark loves her dad but...

He is an emotionally abusive person. Your relationship with a person like that is always unstable.

"He's not always like this." She wants him to be better, she blames herself for upsetting him, she loves him, he makes her feel like dirt, she doesn't want to be near him, she feels bad enforcing boundaries...

To give Bramblestar credit where it's due, however, he taught her very well about their family legacy. From Tigerstar all the way back to Oakstar, that they have a long line of pride and ambition.

Firestar, in these stories, was presented as someone who saved them from disgrace. By opposing Tigerstar and giving Brambleclaw power, he was a hero to them as well.

She's named after him, too. Firestar was Bramblestar's beloved mentor.

This pressure of legacy was something shared by her childhood best friend, Hollykit, child of Fallenleaf and Cinderheart.

Spark had her issues growing up, and resented Jessy massively for leaving her and taking her brother. When Alder came back because of his visions, she turned a lot of frustration onto him

Him coming back felt like she suddenly couldn't be so angry at Jessy. She had to be nice about the person who ripped her brother away, broke their family, and even turned Alder against her with how he defends her

It's not accurate or justified, but that's how this emotionally repressed teenager expresses complicated emotions.

In a moment of clarity, Bramblestar personally chose Squirrelflight as Sparkpaw's mentor. He knew that she would be the person his daughter needed, someone who would teach her to stand up for herself, and to do the right thing.

...But unfortunately most of the time Bramble does not have that level of insight. He rues this decision constantly, convinced that Squilf is intentionally turning his daughter against him.

Squirrelflight's Horror: The replacement for Squilf's Hope

This book is about Squirrelflight reconsidering her relationship with Bramble, when the Sister Situation happens. Ultimately it ends in Squilf going on trial in StarClan, less because of her 'transgressions' in life and more because of Fire Alone as an ideology being tested.

But this isn't about Squilf this is about Spark.

Similarly to canon, Hollylark suffers a horrible poisoning and passes away as their kittens are born prematurely.

Sparkpelt is shaken badly by this. They were childhood friends, they were expecting a litter, like canon she experiences postpartum depression.

Squilf wins her trial, but desperately decides she needs to get home because her apprentice can't lose a mate and a mentor at the same time.

I don't want to end this SE on the note that Sparkpelt is finally moving on from the death of Hollylark... I don't think she can "get over it" quickly the way canon implies.

In general this part of Spark's life is much more delicate. She needs more time, recovery is slower, there's a lot more pain here. But she is loved and supported through it.

BB!TBC and setup for ASC when it comes

By the time of TBC, she's finally recovering. Her relationship with her kittens has improved.

When the imposter happens, it threatens to destroy everything she had built.

She gets covered in scars from a dog attack, and is eventually exiled.

Finchpaw follows her, making a name for herself as a brave Firekin descendant who opposed a tyrant.

In this arc, a lot of Firekin act as a 'unit,' this family tends to think alike and work closely because of their shared legacy. Squilf, Spark, and Finch are in lockstep as major rebel figures.

Flamepaw is left out of this, because he chose not to follow them.

When Flame eventually rejects his name in ASC, a major contention he has is that "MOM ISN'T EVEN FIREKIN WHY DOES SHE CARE"

The answer is, that rejecting the Firekin side of himself is like killing the part of him that is Hollylark, and rejecting a family she feels accepted into and part of.

THAT SAID; I do not rewrite arcs until they are done. Details of ASC are sparse and only fragments. I need to know its conclusion before working backwards to make that conclusion stronger.

And that's BB!Sparkpelt! Very different from canon, but I love the gal.

[maplemouse-warriors]

OLD GROWTH AU

An AU where the first six arcs are all shuffled around! I wanted to see how long I could keep the Clans in the Old Forest, and play around with a different order for the arcs while still keeping the core plot points and storylines intact. I had some help from @wsoupofpain , and I am super down to talk about this AU at any time!

The Broken Code

POVs: Spottedleaf and Redtail

Thistleclaw, after being killed by Rosetail for grooming Spottedpaw, is accepted into StarClan. He begins planting false signs and eventually possesses Raggedstar, encouraging the Clans to punish and exile codebreakers. The Clans must come together to defeat him.

Brokentail kills his father, Raggedstar, ousting Thistleclaw from his body. Redtail then kills Thistleclaw’s spirit after Spottedleaf utilizes death berries to bring her brother’s spirit out of his body. Redtail becomes deputy.

Culture changes to be more about working together, and encourages treating the Code as being up to interpretation.

The Prophecies Begin

POV: Firestar

Tigerclaw attempts to take over ThunderClan, and eventually the whole forest. Firestar works to stop him, stopping Brokenstar and saving WindClan in the process. Eventually, the Forest Clans must defeat BloodClan, a ruthless group from the Twolegplace.

Culture changes to be more inclusive in WindClan and ThunderClan; ShadowClan and RiverClan are reeling from their support of Tigerstar.

A Vision of Shadows

B1: POV Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw. Squirrelpaw is sent on a journey to rebuild SkyClan. Brambleclaw tags along, and they successfully re-establish SkyClan, saving Petalnose from her Twoleg. In the Forest, something seems to be wrong with ShadowClan…

B2: POV Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt. In SkyCan, the journeying cats must help the new Clan fight invading rats to ensure that SkyClan can survive. In the Forest, Tawnypelt details the worsening condition of ShadowClan under Kin rule, including its eventual dissolution. Some of the remaining ShadowClan cats take refuge in ThunderClan, but many remain with the Kin, and a few simply vanish altogether.

B3: POV Feathertail and Squirrelflight. The Clans band together to drive the Kin from ShadowClan. In the chaos, Tallstar and Deadfoot are killed, leaving WindClan leaderless. The remainder of the Kin retreat to Highstones.

B4: POV Crowfoot and Leaffall. WindClan goes through a Civil War, caused by Tallstar and Deadfoot’s deaths. Before Tallstar’s death, Deadfoot had considered retiring and Tallstar had publicly planned to make Mudclaw deputy. However, Barkface finds a sign of a single slash mark and believes it to indicate that Onewhisker has been chosen by StarClan. However, the Clan cats are unable to reach the Moonstone. The two sides clash, and StarClan smites Mudclaw to end the conflict. The Kin leave Highstones soon after, allowing Onestar to become WindClan’s leader. His first act is to isolate the Clan.

B5: POV Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw. Tawnypelt goes on a little journey to retrieve cats who fled ShadowClan during the Kin takeover, helping to re-establish the Clan. Feathertail comes with her and joins ShadowClan because they are in love. ThunderClan grapples with a yellow cough outbreak. The Clans argue internally about how much they are obligated to help their neighbors when struggling themselves. With all the Clans preoccupied with their own difficulties, the Kin easily take over RiverClan.

B6: POV Squirrelflight and Leaffall. The Clans begin planning the attack that will drive the Kin from RiverClan. Leaffall and Crowfoot leave and return; Cinderpelt dies in the battle; Onestar and Darktail fall over the side of the Gorge while fighting each other, but Onestar is grabbed by Leaffall and Crowfoot, who in turn are grabbed by their families, such that there is a huge group keeping Onestar from going over the edge. With Darktail dead, the remaining Kin members flee the territories for good.

Power of Three

POVs: Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf

The Three are born and Jayfeather and Lionblaze grow into their powers. Hollyleaf is revealed to not be one of the three. Hollyleaf reveals their parentage and kills Ashfur, then flees the territories.

Instead of visiting the Tribe, they visit SkyClan.

The Dark Forest begins recruiting, starting off with cats like Lionblaze and Hawkfrost who have familial connections to the Dark Forest.

The New Prophecy

POVs: Dovepaw and Ivypaw

Journey Crew: Lionblaze and Dovepaw; Heathertail; Goldenheart (Tigerheart); Stormfur and his apprentice, Rainpaw. They swing by SkyClan and Harrybrook joins them; on the return trip they go through the Tribe.

SkyClan joins the Clans on the Great Journey, and live with them at the Lake, taking their canon territory.

Dark Forest trainees are able to recruit other cats on the Great Journey, when the Clans are not in communication with StarClan or the Dark Forest. Ivypaw is the POV where we see this in action.

The Moonpool is “discovered” by Jayfeather via time travel.

The WindClan Coup is replaced by the RiverClan Succession Crisis. After Leopardstar dies, Mistyfoot takes control of RiverClan despite not being able to go and get her nine lives. She chooses Hawkfrost as her deputy. After Jayfeather discovers the Moonpool, Dovewing is sent to RiverClan to share the news. While speaking with Mothwing, she hears Hawkfrost trap Mistyfoot in a fox trap, and runs off to help. Mothwing follows, and the two of them arrive in time to save Mistyfoot, although Hawkfrost is killed by Mothwing in the struggle.

The RiverClan Succession Crisis occurs during the last book of the series; the various problems the Clans encounter while settling in are shuffled to be earlier.

Omen of the Stars

POVs: Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Ivypool

Relatively unchanged other than most characters being older, and SkyClan being present at the Lake. The Clans must fight against the Dark Forest and their supporters.

Hollyleaf returns with a variety of Clan cats that left the Clans at one point or another, including some SkyClan warriors who chose to remain at the Gorge, some Kin members who want to join or rejoin their Clans, and some other rogues or loners who are interested in the Clan lifestyle. These additional numbers help to make a difference during the battle against the Dark Forest.

Culture changes to be a bit more open to outsiders, including a formal method for joining (or changing) a Clan. Collaboration between Clans is much more common.

[screechingmusicstarfish]

tw for mental and physical abuse also violence because this is warriors we’re talking about

okay this is technically a rewrite, but I like to call it an au okay so the story starts when hollykit and her siblings become apprentices, Hollypaw is trying her best And her mental leafpool tells her she’s doing great, but Hollypaw knows that she’s lying because she has the power to know what’s the truth and what’s a lie. meanwhile, Lionpaw is having a terrible time with his mentor Ashfur because he says he’s not good enough to be his apprentice and physically hurts him so when he was sleeping, tigerstar goes into his dreams and tells him to join the dark forest so he can become a stronger cat and he accepts but the thing is Lionpaw has the ability of super strength and and can’t be defeated unless he chooses to but he doesn’t know this and he almost kills Hawkfrost. while he’s training in the dark forest his brother Jawpaw Is being a bit snappy to his mentor Brightheart, she doesn’t mind this but leafpool thinks he’s better off as a medicine cat one day while he was sleeping, Tigerstar goes into his dreams but spottedleaf stops him then tells Jaypaw that his destiny is supposed to be a medicine cat, Jawpaw gets a bit angry and says crowfood i’m not gonna do that you mousebrain, he goes away also I forgot to mention he has the ability to go into anyone’s dreams, so one day he accidentally goes into Lionpaw’s dreams and sees that he’s training in the dark forest so he tells Firestar about about it and then tells to swap mentors with Holypaw because he doesn’t want to become a medicine cat, Firestar is surprised but does what he says and Lionpaw is relieved to have a kind mentor but Hollypaw isn’t so lucky because Ashfur is a terrible mentor but she’s a better hunter and Warrior than Lionpaw

[troutfur]

could you expand more on your bramblekit dies au 👁️👁️?

As you wish!

It's a Hawkfrost-centric piece by the title of Anima Sola, the lonely soul in Latin, after the Catholic images that depict a soul in purgatory which one is encouraged to pray in order to convince God to let them out early so they can move on to heaven. Bramblekit is depicted like that, a lonely and scared forever child, engulfed in flames and so very afraid of the horrors lurking in the dark forest.

The only ones Bramblekit ever lets approach him are Tigerstar, who found the lost and confused kit wandering after his death. Hawk wanders into the DF soon after him, Sasha, and Moth arrive in RiverClan and encounters him. They soon become friends and Tigerstar uses this, as well as his telling of events in which Bramblekit's death was a deliberate murder by Firestar, to rope Hawkfrost into his plans.

Hawkfrost gets to grow up while his older brother is a forever baby who will never have that chance. Tigerstar's lies ignite a fire of indignant vengeance in him.

(In a departure from my usual policy of not coding the cats as Christian I let him have some of my Catholic trauma. As a treat.)

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

Anthro!AU. There's no real timeline for this.

Names follow 3 formats. Let's grab... Dovewing!

Dovewing is also called Dove, Miss Wing, and Dove Wing.

Turtle Tail is also called Turtletail, Miss Tail (or Miss T) and Turtle.

Cats like Millie or Snake will sometimes take last names, but highly prefer their single name.

Bramblekit absolutely took a cookie when offered while he was at Frostfur's house, thinking they were chocolate chip, only to get oatmeal raisin. He hated it but was too polite to spit it out.

Snowbird cut Ratscar off from seeing his nespring when she found out about his connections to a cult called The Place of No Stars.

Blossompaw and Briarpaw regularly swam in a river nearby their house, with Bumblepaw on watch for anyone coming who might get them in trouble.

Briarlight also put flame stickers/decals on her wheelchair. She sometimes rotates them out for seasonal stuff, like holiday themed ones. She put a weed sticker on it once for 4/20 and Millie threw a fit over it.

During the nasty custody battle between Goldenflower and Tigerclaw, Swiftpaw told Tigerclaw he never wanted to see him again, he would rather be dead than have his father hold any custody of him.

Smudge regularly visits and babysits Squirrelkit and Leafkit, he wishes Firestar would move back to Kittypet Town, but understands that his best friend is happier in Clan City.

Leafpool was in a very bad situation when she was pregnant with her triplets, as Crowfeather left her with nothing when they broke up. She pretended that she was going to be a surrogate, as Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were having trouble conceiving. That was the lie.

Squirrelflight works as a professional chef. Ferncloud works as a stay-at-home mom but makes plush for her friends and their kids, as sewing is her passion. Thornclaw is a PE teacher. Ashfur is a drama teacher. Brambleberry is a chemistry teacher. Leafpool is a doctor. Cinderheart is a receptionist at the hospital Leafpool works at.

Hollyleaf and Cinderheart were "borderline dating" for MONTHS before Jayfeather snapped and screamed at one of them "just spit it out already!"

Jayfeather is a programmer, and works at making more video games and controllers accessible to blind folks like him! He works with Snowtail (Snowkit) who also works helps out gamers who are HoH.

Scourge is a lawyer, who helps Firestar find the evidence that Tigerstar murdered Redtail during an election.

Turtle Tail is preschool teacher, and works with Sorreltail and Snowbird. They work together at Kit School in Sanctuary Lake Elementary School/Preschool.

Clan City has 5 main districts, for the 5 Clans. Everyone is generally very proud of their home and where their family came from, and xenophobia seems to be on the rise... Many come over, but just as many are driven out by the harsh attitudes of the locals.

In another time, there are more districts. Jingo District, Blood District, and Warrior District. There is also Mountain City, and Gorge City where people in the Sky District lived for many years following a massive disaster that forced everyone to evacuate, they lived with the locals there for years, giving a mjor economy boost to a dying city, and caused quite the controversy when they left.

Guardian Village is nearby as well, traditional people who live amongst ruins, as well as many dotted Sister Settlements, where a semi-nomadic traveling group sets up camps. There is The River Kingdom, a valley where a group of secretive cats live in peace, also called The Park by outsiders.

In another time, the 5 founders of Clan City, Skystar, Thunderstar, Windstar, Shadowstar and Riverstar, settled there together after disaster swept the area. Shadowstar came from Mountain Village, plauge causing some cats to leave for hope of a better life, Windstar came from a village on the Moor that was destroyed by wildfires with her fiance Gorse Fur, Skystar came from what would later become Rogue Town, bounced through orphanages with her brother Fox, Thunderstar was born to 2 Mountain Cats, Clear Sky and Bright Storm, soon after arriving in the area, and Riverstar came from the River Kingdom to escape a flood with his young niece Flutter.

[yuridovewing]

The Prophecies Begin: Changes

Last edited: 11/29/2023

I wanna start making posts about what I'd change in each arc for this au (I wanna start making art soon) so here we go: Tweaks I would make to TPB. This will be updated overtime and isn't expected to be complete when first posted.

Family Tree Changes:

-Longtail and Sandstorm are Tallstar's nephew and niece from Finchsong (saved kit) and Smokemask (filler oc). They're from different litters, with Longtail being a singlet, but Sandstorm's siblings were unfortunately stillborn, and Finchsong didn't survive the kitting. Because there were no nursing queens in WindClan, she was temporarily sent to ThunderClan and nursed by Nightdapple alongside Dustkit and Ravenkit. When she was weaned, she wanted to stay where she grew up, and Longtail left WindClan to be with her.

-Tigerstar's sisters live(d)! Mistpaw left the clans to live with her father, but Nightdapple became an archivist, keeping track of the clan's history. She's the mother to Dustpelt and Ravenpaw, who's father is an unnamed ThunderClan cat who died before they were born. She dies of greencough either before TPB alongside their mother, or sometime after Tigerclaw is exiled.

-Sandkit did view Nightdapple as her mother, but the Thunderstar dynasty explicitly does not claim her because of her heritage. Tigerclaw especially did not accept her as a niece, so she never knew him as an uncle or anything.

-Spottedleaf and Redtail were Rosetail's halfclan kits, and were extremely close. Spottedleaf is especially torn about her brother's death.

-Firestar and Scourge are full brothers through Jake and Quince, from separate litters.

-Firestar and Sandstorm get together earlier in the story, and Squirrelkit and Leafkit are born during "A Dangerous Path".

-Lionheart and Goldenflower are twins through Speckletail and their litters are close cousins who grew up alongside each other. Cinderkit and Brackenkit are from a slightly older litter than Brightkit and Thornkit. Swiftkit and Brightkit were especially close.

-Swiftpaw and Lynxkit are Tigerstar's kits from an older litter with Goldenflower.

-Graystripe and Darkstripe are full brothers from separate litters, and Willowpelt is their mother. (Willowpelt's parentage is undecided as of now, but she is no longer an Adderswift baby) Their father is undecided, but he is not in his sons' lives, and Willowpelt eventually moves on with her childhood friend, Whitestorm.

-Snowkit lives to become Snowtail and gets together with Ferncloud.

-Brindleface's litter was sired by a loner.

Storyline changes:

-Dustpaw is now Longtail's apprentice, and the both of them jeer at Rusty when he first arrives. Dustpaw is the one who fights Rusty and tears off his collar.

-Both Spottedleaf and Redtail give omens to Fireheart. StarClan's connection to the earth is very limited, and they cannot speak to Warriors very well, so they can't outright tell him how Redtail died.

-Spottedleaf is a morally gray character after she dies and until OotS, she becomes a spokesperson for StarClan and sees their visions as instruction. She believes she died early, so soon after delivering the "fire alone" prophecy, so that she could fulfill this role. She sees it as a personal slight when StarClan is "disobeyed". She isn't like this as much in TPB when she's recently dead and Fireheart doesn't have much of a reason to disobey her/StarClan, but we see this most with TNP and Po3 where she tries to force cats along a set path, IE Jaypaw.

-Whitestorm, Sandpaw and Longtail go with Fireheart and Graystripe to find WindClan. Bluestar isn't sending out fresh warriors to find a new clan on a whim. Sandpaw runs away so she can come along, and this is where she and Fireheart really start to build a genuine relationship.

-Squirrelkit gets poisoned by Darkstripe, not Sorrelkit. This is what breaks Firestar during The Darkest Hour.

-BloodClan is built up to throughout the series: in Fire and Ice for example, Fireheart will meet one of them at the border, though they are unnamed. BloodClan is the result of the clans' violent xenophobia, made up of cats who were brutalized by the clans and driven from the forest. Scourge's relationship to Firestar is also foreshadowed, as Firestar remembers his mother Quince mourning her older kit, Tiny. Firestar realizes their relationship and realizes that all this time, he's been the exception to the clans, not the rule. And even that's a stretch. The clans created BloodClan- this is what Thistleclaw and Tigerstar's ideology did. So when the battle comes, he defeats Scourge yet spares him, gaining his respect. While the clans all heal from the battle, they set up negotiations with the group and start to move forwards and start challenging the xenophobia in their system. Firestar offers Scourge a place in ThunderClan, but he denies. When the clans leave the forest, BloodClan remains a trade spot, similar to SkyClan.

[chelseareferenced]

I might have a vague power of three/omen of the stars au brewing in my brain because I am way to far behind in the series to actively try and catch up so here are my basic ideas.

Three is Four from the start because God that plot point was stupid and I hate it and it added needless drama when we all knew it was Firestar because it's always Firestar. The four are Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf and Breezepelt because drama but wait there's more.

Squirrel x Crow who have Holly and Breeze. Ashfur is just a dude not an asshole, he dated Squilf for a week but could see she was unhappy because she was in love with someone else and let's her go. Now Brambleclaw is the asshole because I don't like him.

Hawk x Leaf but it wasn't a serious thing looking back on it, more like a summertime fling that resulted in children being Jay and Lion. Hawkfrost is just a little ambitious, has a good relationship with Mothwing, fully supports his ex and sister being in love and tells awful puns.

Holly and Breeze are raised in Thunderclan, Crowfeather lives there with them and Brackenfur is deputy instead of Brambleclaw because as much as Firestar doesn't want to admit it, Bramble is an asshole and Sandstorm yells at him whenever he is remotely rude to Squirrelflight. Holly is mentored by Ashfur who becomes like a fun uncle and Breeze is mentored by Brightheart because fuck you Firestar you promised her an apprentice.

Holly becomes Hollyfur in honour of her mentor because Ashfur is just a cool dude and her power is being able to sense when cats are lying and occasionally, forcing the truth out of them. Her early arch is learning when to call out lying and when to let it slide.

Breeze becomes Breezeflight after his mother and gets Dovewing's power because it's there, might as well use it.

Lion and Jay are raised in Riverclan because they deserve POV chapters and it's the clans best kept secret that they're Leafpool's kits but after that whole Tigerclan incident they all collectively agree to keep quiet about it and Hawk becomes a den dad in the nursery and even after his kits are grown he stops by to help the queens when he can.

Lion is terrified of his power especially because he has nightmares about being like Tigerstar and begs Mothwing to let him be her apprentice, she agrees. Lion's power is still the same but he figures out he can use it more defensively than offensively, if there's a battle he's there acting as a shield while he heals. He's named Lionflower because pretty name.

Jay is a lot happier, he's not forced into being a medicine cat and it's only really the queens and younger cats who worry over him. He gets to be a warrior and is mentored by Reedwhisker (Pouncepaw is mentored by Blackclaw instead) his power is the same as in the books and he occasionally helps his brother out with starclan symbols and prophecies, he gets to have secret meeting with his brother as well and is named Jaystep.

Certain Starclan cats (the loudest being Goosefeather) tell the more involved spirits to back the fuck up and let them be kits. But no one trusts Bluestar, Yellowfang and Spottedleaf to behave so they all get a Starclan assigned bodyguard/spiritual mentor

Hollyclaw gets Whitestorm

Breezeflight gets Thrushpelt

Lionflower gets Oakheart

Jaystep gets Crookedstar

EDIT: I have unintentionally implied that both of Bluestar's "romantic partners" and her nephew are away that she will not stay away from the Four and I love it.

Also Crookedstar yells at any Starclan cat who says Jaystep belongs as a medicine cat (cough cough Spottedleaf and Yellowfang)

[aroaceashfur]

tigerblood's curse

so crooekdstar is appledusk's great grandson.

in this au, mapleshade haunts oakstar's bloodline. brambleclaw is oakstar's great grandson.

oakstar's son, pinestar, eventually becomes leader after doestar. pinestar then has a son, tigerstar who does all his canon stuff. then you have bramblekit. judged by his clan and abandoned by his sister and even looked down upon by his mentor, he is visited by mapleshade who empathizes with him, saying that she too was ostracized from her clan. she makes bramblekit promise to her that he will be loyal to thunderclan above all else.

so death begins to follow brambleclaw.

his half brother swiftpaw dies brutally. his uncle snowkit is taken by a hawk. his foster sister feathertail is impaled by a stone. his foster brother stormfur leaves the clans. his half brother hawkfrost kills his mentor and leader firestar.

brambleclaw is recruited into the dark forest by mapleshade somewhere in this. tigerstar doesnt know mapleshade cursed brambleclaw so tigerstar is just happy to see his son take after him