#ddd!rootspring

[shadowsight]

it would be great to hear about bris for the ddd au!! or snowtuft if youd prefer

for bristlefrost, I think hers would be a superedition called Bristlefrost's Spirit. and it'd be a double meaning w/ how she's a (lost) spirit, but also how she learns to keep her morale up when the various other cats (toms) she's defined herself by (first stemleaf, then rootspring, and also in a non-romantic sense the impostor) are lost to her. she has to figure out she is when she has no clan or mate that needs her. what does she need herself? who is she?

I think snowtuft would have a novella called Snowtuft's Regret or Snowtuft's Memory. he's my favorite "secondary" character in this au so forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but I love the idea of him learning to use his memory-walking powers on himself and his life in the old forest as tigerstar's lackey returns to him full force. at the same time, his friendship with spottedleaf blossoms in the duplex. he's plagued by the thought that she and bristlefrost and all his friends in the duplex would shun him and damn him to just as lonely of a life he had in the dark forest if they found out. when it's too much to bear, he confesses his past to spottedleaf.

and all she has to say is: "I know."

[shadowsight]

placing bristlefrost in ur inbox gently

ack I never did these! bristlefrost is one of those characters that I started liking a lot after her story was over in canon. largely because of her (imo) really unique and impactful send-off. she'd kind of lost my interest once her chapters stopped being about being conflicted over the impostor and started being about rootspring instead, but they won me back once they remembered that she's her own character. iirc they also made her a strategist in the df battle against ashfur which is a role we don't get to see a lot? usually cats are just super strong or super loyal, but she's both of those and she got to be the brains of the operation.

I also really like her in my ddd!au (which I haven't updated a ton but it still has a fond place in my heart!) I like her being this unofficial adoptee of a bunch of outcasts. redwillow, antpelt, and snowtuft are bristlefrost's dads/uncles and that makes 0 sense in canon and makes complete sense here

last thing: the "searching for her and finding her dying dream of a long and happy life" thing rules. best part of alitm

[shadowsight]

when rootspring searches for bristlefrost in the earth with his powers, his thoughts play through the old radio in her room in the duplex. he’s the first thing she sees or hears when she arrives there.

[shadowsight]

I have stuff for the ddd!au that I’ve been sitting on since I don’t have time to write it out all nice! but since the whole au came out of a post I didn’t think twice about I’m just going to list some duplex story moments around bristlefrost’s power and rootspring that have been living in my brain (and my drafts)

• bristlefrost’s power is the radio that lets her tune into the living world, but it’s difficult to control at first

• it’s also time-agnostic and so she hears into the future, the past, or the present at random when she first discovers it

• it might be easier to tune into rootspring (and other cats related to the sisters) since they have a connection to the afterlife

• bristlefrost definitely connects with her ivypool once she has a hold of rootspring. like “pass the you phone! I wanna hear my mom”

• that connection makes the whole “ivypool finds out that bristlefrost is in some sort of afterlife with hawkfrost” moment possible. that could be the first time bristle gets through to ivypool but the line goes dead after since it’s tied to emotions and it shorts out because ivy starts to panic

• there’s room here to work in rootspring and his family — especially after that ask earlier about tree’s dad, root! I like the idea of bristle learning about rootspring’s family and imagining what it’d be like to be a part of it (I’m about to listen to tree’s novella so I’ll have more later)

• also — if I can use the parents to get hawkwing in here that’d be great because I like him a lot after reading his super edition!

• rootspring, unaware at first that bristlefrost still has a connection to the living world, eventually moves on

• she knows, she watches him move on

• rootspring and shadowsight grow close after surviving the impostor and the dark forest together, as well as going through the strained guilty grief that comes from surviving a day that others (especially bristle) didn’t

• it doesn’t take long for them to become close friends, but they take a lot longer to admit that they feel something more

• but they do! and they’re happy together

• (I’m not too pressed about canon compliance but since the code and its interpretation are changing rn, maybe I’ll incorporate that. ideally the medicine cat “no mates” rule gets removed because it sucks)

• eventually, bristlefrost does manage some kind of two-way connection even temporarily and is happy he’s living his life even if it has to be without her.

• bristlefrost didn’t get to join rootspring’s family the way she’d hoped for in life (although they are in their own way still family I’d say!) she’s found a family of her own in the duplex.

• sometimes, a family is a girl and her gay aunts who share a murderer, three uncles who trained in hell together and now just share a cool apartment (oh my god they were roommates), and maybe even the guy who she died killing.

I genuinely hope this doesn’t make any bristleroot shippers upset — that’s part of why I was holding onto this. I just love mess and tragedy and falling apart, and then the slow-going, up and down journey that’s putting yourself back together after.

[shadowsight]

when rootspring finds out about the after-afterlife, he doesn’t know who to go to. he almost tells tree, but he feels responsible for roping his father into the whole impostor mess. he seems so happy these days now that he has work to do mediating between the clans as they renegotiate the warrior code. why disturb that busy peace?

when he tells violetshine what he can piece together, his mother doesn’t react at first. rootspring is a little put off. this is big news, isn’t it?

violetshine slowly asks him to tell him if he believes all the spirit-killed cats are there. he thinks so, yeah. even rogues? even rogues.

she hasn’t thought much about darktail since she and needletail took him down for the second time. for the first time, she regrets it.

violetshine doesn’t know how to break it to her son that the love of his life is trapped with the worst cat she’s ever known.

[shadowsight]

double death duplex au masterpost

in which the faded spirit cats end up in a sitcom-like apartment complex.

(spoiler warning for the broken code, including a light in the mist)

this au has grown a lot and gained traction, so I’m making this post to make the au more navigable!

I love getting asks! feel free to send asks about specific characters, hcs, story ideas, whatever!

ddd!au navigation

the first post - here

#ddd!au - all posts

4/30/22 edit: the old tag #double death duplex will stay on posts that already had it, but #ddd!au is the main tag!

#ddd!au art - au art (thank you artists! feel free to use this tag as well)

#ddd!au plot - using plot loosely. what happens and character development, things that happen

#ddd!au musings - working out the au

#ddd!au duplex - how the duplex afterlife itself works

#ddd!au powers - ideas for powers

#ddd!au asks - what it says on the tin

edit 4/30/22: the old tag #double death duplex will stay on posts that already had it, but #ddd!au is the main tag! and instead of #ddd!art it’s now #ddd!au art, etc.

more below the cut: au-specific character tags, ship tags, and who’s roommates with who. if you like this au, rbs are super appreciated!

ddd!au characters

in alphabetical order. main characters are bolded. if you don’t see who you’re looking for, drop me an ask!

#ddd!antpelt x

#ddd!ashfur x

#ddd!bristlefrost x

#ddd!brokenstar x

#ddd!clawface (dark forest) x

#ddd!darkstripe x

#ddd!darktail x

#ddd!emberdawn x

#ddd!frecklewish x (explanation & disclaimer)

#ddd!frostpaw (living - asc river spoilers) x

#ddd!hawkfrost x

#ddd!hopekit x

#ddd!ivypool (living) x

#ddd!juniperclaw x

#ddd!mapleshade x

#ddd!mosskit x

#ddd!onestar x (starclan)

#ddd!raggedstar x

#ddd!redwillow x

#ddd!ripplestar x

#ddd!root x

#ddd!rootspring (living) x

#ddd!scourge x

#ddd!shadowsight (living) x

#ddd!shredtail x

#ddd!silverhawk (dark forest) x

#ddd!snowtuft x

#ddd!spottedleaf x

#ddd!tree (living) x

#ddd!thrushpelt x

#ddd!tigerclawstar x

#ddd!tigerheartstar (living) x

#ddd!violetshine (living) x

#ddd!wishkit x

ddd!au ship tags

#ddd!spottedfreckle x (spottedleaf x tc frecklewish)

#ddd!bristleroot (bristlefrost x rootspring) x

#ddd!SnowAnt (snowtuft x antpelt) x

#ddd!RedAnt (redwillow x antpelt) x

#ddd!RedSnow (redwillow x snowtuft) x

#ddd!trio (antpelt x snowtuft x redwillow, has roommate posts too) x

ddd!au roommates

spottedleaf, bristlefrost, and ashfur start off as roommates. spottedleaf had her apartment to herself before the two of them show up

snowtuft and antpelt are also roommates, and they grow close to redwillow

the three of them are like bristlefrost’s cool uncles/big brothers who look after her along with spottedleaf

tigerstar and hawkfrost live together

darktail is an enigma - no one knows if he even has a room

darkstripe wants to be tigerstar’s roommate

spottedleaf leaves to move in with her girlfriend frecklewish

then, bristlefrost is taken in by snowtuft and antpelt (and maybe redwillow too) where she’s much happier

ashfur is left alone to confront his issues (and the dirty dishes)

and that’s where we’re at so far!

P.S. I know a duplex isn’t an apartment complex - the name stuck and I was originally imagining a duplex. that first post was something I typed out and posted without a second thought before work one day, and now it’s snowballed into this big beautiful story and I’m thrilled!

[shadowsight]

was going through your ddd!au and I saw the post about Bristlefrost listening to Rootspring through the radio. It’s been in my head ever since, so i drew u this! She’s sleeping while his voice comes through the speaker

thank you for drawing this!!! she looks so soothed and happy 🥺 and she deserves it, she’s been through enough! this looks so good!

I like how it’s small enough for her to curl up around so now I’m thinking that part of her ability could be that she can take it with her whenever - like it starts out as this big ol console radio and she’s sad to leave it behind when she needs to move so the poof! it’s a handheld radio now and she can have it with her all the time.

[shadowsight]

I think I might have a post about ddd!root that I saved to my drafts instead of posting but: he becomes bristle and co’s cool grandpa! and he’s faded rather than double-dead, so he can come and go from the duplex as he likes. he brings news of the living world sometimes. and he’s pleased that his grandson rootspring takes after him, in looks, name, and in forging his own path.

[shadowsight]

Unlucky number 13!

13 - ivypool (on this list of ddd!au characters)

Ivypool doesn’t sleep the night after Rootspring tells her that he can feel Bristlefrost’s consciousness out there. It’s great news, and it’s terrifying at the same time.

It’s like how she felt when her daughter went into the dark forest without her, except this time there really is no way for her to follow. And, she remembers often with a shudder, she’s there with Hawkfrost of all cats. And she can’t protect her.

Ivypool does find solace as she hears, through Rootspring, that Bristlefrost has cats she cares about there. And cats who care about her, who stand by her and love her as much as she loves them. That’s all a mother wants for her daughter after all.

asks are open - send a number between 1 and 35!

[shadowsight]

ooh okay okay.. non bad ddd! guys what about root? (trees dad) since he's a loner he doesn't really go to either starclan/df and it would be REALLY interesting for him to interact with bris, i imagine hed look alot like rootspring

oooOOOOOOOHHH

this idea slaps!

confession I haven’t read tree’s novella yet (I actually just got the audiobook for the one that has his yesterday!)

I’ll have to figure out what his personality is like once I read it! so I’ll circle back and expand on this with his character in mind, but I love the idea of bristlefrost realizing her almost grandpa-in-law lives down the hall lol

imagine the insight she could get into why rootspring’s family is the way it is by learning about tree’s past! I imagine she just knows the bare bones about him: that tree was a loner, alderheart had an omen to go find him, now he’s in skyclan, tiny bit of knowledge about the sisters from when they return in tbc (not sure if bristle had been born yet when they first showed up near the lake? squilf’s hope right? I’ll edit this if I look it up)

there’s something so compelling about how bristlefrost’s relationship with rootspring never really was — they didnt even have true a “honeymoon period” because their relationship was almost entirely a “what if.”

which means they never got to the point where you learn, piece by piece over time, the hard and buried and ugly and “let’s talk about something else” parts of each other’s family histories.

also wait did tree name his son after his dad? did rootspring even know? that’s ~juicy~ I extra can’t wait to read it now bc I’ll be scavenging for tidbits to work into the au

[shadowsight]

bristlefrost or honeyleaf (the last og skyclan deputy)!! hope u feel better :>

thank you, I’m doing better than when I first asked for asks! :)

I don’t think I’ve gotten to honeyleaf - haven’t read skyclan’s destiny (or finished dotc yet) and I think she’s in skyclan’s destiny but what a cute name!

bristlefrost - I actually didn’t like her much at the beginning of the arc since she was a narc but she rules in the last book or two.

also, her being a narc wasn’t bad writing - I think she’s actually pretty well defined early on. but making rootspring the focus of a bunch of her chapters in a row when nothing else is happening for her was kinda eh. it isn’t bad to have the one female character have a romance arc imo, but it is when it sidelines her development!

I binge-listened to(?) most of the broken code so a lot of the books leading up to alitm blur together for me, but I really liked her in the end. I love those last moments. also love how she buckles down in the dark forest and is basically acting as a commander/leader when earlier she was in a position of leadership (deputy) that she wasn’t experienced enough for. shows how much she grew! also I like her connection with spotfur. I like how it wasn’t a typical “I’m just jealous of her because she’s with my crush” type writing.

also I love ddd!bristlefrost and her collection of ghost uncles (and now!ghost aunts too with spottedfreckle! how about that)