#Welcome back to ''projecting onto Warrior Cats'' hour with Bones McFennelposter

[bonefall]

hmm. if sparkpelt is no longer related to firestar due to her blood with jessy. maybe everyone expects nightheart to effectively "overcome his bloodline/kittypet roots" like firestar did?

I decided I wasn't going to rework arcs until they're finished so that I don't get attached to anything that might get undone (like Bramblestar rabies), but, I will say that I am MEGA excited to examine how Sparkpelt not being Firekin affects her strained relationship to Nightheart

Because, Sparkpelt's life in the Bonefall Rewrite has been marked with intense admiration of Firestar's legacy. Bramblestar taught her that he saved their bloodline from disgrace. Firestar ended the reign of Tigerstar and mentored Bramblestar into the 'honorable leader' of ThunderClan, and that they must always remember to be humble.

A demon used to haunt their bloodline, so to his credit, Bramblestar made sure that Sparkpelt learned her family history.

But it was a very heavy legacy, and Spark often felt like there was a weight on her. The weight was less that of expectation, and more that of intergenerational trauma. Bramblestar is emotionally abusive. Two mates have left him, his clan is very divided on his leadership, and though he does LOVE his son and daughter... they are often mistreated.

(Abuse is a topic very personal to me; I tag this as CW Abuse btw!!)

They have a very bitter, painful love. The type where you desperately want to see your parent get better, but they never do. You want to cut them off and stop playing their games but you can't. The sort where you never know if you're going to see them and have a nice time, or if they're going to say something that pisses you off for an entire month.

Sparkpelt's new mentor, however, is Squirrelflight. She understands Bramble and his tangling thorns better than anyone else in the Clan, and she's there to help Spark through her complicated relationship with him.

I think Bramblestar decided this in a moment of clarity, knowing himself, knowing that Squirrelflight would make a perfect mentor. But most of the time he can't believe he did this, CONVINCED that Squirrelflight is turning his child against him, that he's let her make another rebel in ThunderClan JUST to spite him

Anyway, I was going to get into Hollylark too, but this is already getting long. Just know she's a funny little girl too, and they were childhood friends.