#if ashfur is in her found family he’s like. the family cat

[bonefall]

Better Bones ThunderClan Family Tree: Draft 1.1

[ID: A massive image of the ThunderClan family tree for Better Bones, with every starting ancestor marked with yellow, every joining kittypet marked in pink, and all of the Firekin cats marked in orange.]

You may also want to see:

The RiverClan Family Tree

The SkyClan Family Tree

The Three Strict Rules

The ThunderClan Family Tree Diagnosis, to compare

Several days of research, drafting, and meticulous nitpicking has brought us here. As much of a family tree fix as I can manage alone, including over 200 cats!

There are NO OCs in this graph. Everyone you see here is from Su Susann's Missing Kits, mentioned in a field guide, or directly from forgotten allegiances. A few characters have been renamed, shuffled, or intentionally removed.

1.1 update: Imgur link was replaced with smaller image that Tumblr is able to handle.

Just like RiverClan's, below the cut is Renamings, Removals, and the Changelog.

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

Fallowpaw (BOTC) -> Fallowhawk (Repurposed)

Oatwhisker (COTC) -> Oatbell (Conflict)

Beechfur (BOTC) -> Beechfeather (Conflict)

Seedpelt (MV) -> Seedwhisker (Conflict)

Seedpelt (PC) -> Seedfall (Conflict)

Rabbitleap (TC) -> Rabbitbone (Conflict, Honor title)

Rockfall -> White-eye (Honor title)

Pheasantfeather -> One-eye (Honor title)

Mistlekit -> Mistleclaw (Save)

Cricketkit -> Cricketclaw (Save)

Tulipkit -> Tulipflight (Save)

Chestnutkit -> Chestnutface (Save)

Elderkit -> Elderberry (Save)

Sorrelstripe -> Duststripe (Sorreltail does not die in the Great Battle)

Graykit -> Fernkit (Ferncloud confronts Ashfur in the Dark Forest)

Hollyleaf -> Fallenleaf (I don't even know how to summarize this, Go Read This)

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

Lilyheart needs no children and the clan had more than enough cats already. Honeyfur, Leafshade, and Larksong are cut.

Larksong's roles have been absorbed by the composite cat, Hollylark.

On that note, Hollytuft is the other half of the composite.

Brightheart is a frequent surrogate for cats in other Clans; Snowbush, Ambermoon, and Dewnose may show up elsewhere, but NOT in ThunderClan.

Eaglewing is cut.

CHANGELOG: When a group is referred to as "Characterkin," it refers to the common ancestor with that suffix. For example, Firekin refers to cats with Firestar as a common ancestor.

Daisytoe and Flashnose COULD still be siblings without issue but I decided to leave it off for better visibility

Squirrelwhisker and Beetail are probably siblings but Re: better visibility

Icecloud is now born AFTER the Great Battle; they are named after Iceheart, the cat who was Scourge.

Foxleap is now a CloudxBright child

Rockfall becomes the mate of One-eye, and attains an Honor Title; White-eye, for losing an eye to infection.

One-eye's pre-Honor Title name was Pheasantfeather, she also lost an eye to infection.

They both found this VERY amusing.

Halftail is now a child, not One-eye's mate, fixing a very frustrating retcon where One-eye was not the oldest cat in ThunderClan.

Mistlekit becomes a warrior named Mistleclaw, who died in a very serious sickness during Spottedleaf's Plague

Graystripe is now Dappletail's son, and his littermate Featherkit died in Spottedleaf's Plague

Cricketkit becomes a warrior named Cricketclaw, and was the littermate of Darkstripe.

Tulipkit and Chestnutkit were taken from other litters and given to Robinfuzzy, to create an in-between generation for Dustpelt and Raven, as Robinfuzzy would be too old.

Tulipflight and Chestnutface died in, you guessed it, Spottedleaf's Plague.

Though he was ultimately renamed for conflict reasons, Rabbitbone is sporting an Honor Title. He was made the head chef after Mumblefoot became deputy.

Speckletail is the niece of Doestar now, and strongly desired to carry on her legacy.

Oatbell's name refers to the bell-shape of some flowers, such as bluebells, gorse, and oat berries.

Hazeltail does not die of greencough, she is saved by Jayfeather. Mousewhisker is going to leave for RiverClan in ASC (minnowmouse shippers stay winnin'), and Hazel will be taking any noteworthy actions he does in ThunderClan

Fernsong is now an ex-kittypet who joins along with Stormcloud and Jessy. His old name was Fiddles.

Blossomfall's kits were conceived during a stay with The Kin, the father(s) are not known.

Redtail and Spottedleaf are now the children of Rosetail

Redtail and Runningwind are the parents of Sandstorm and Longtail.

Patchpelt is now the father of Willowpelt, adding a generation between Willow and AdderSwift.

The Three Seedpelts

There were THREE Seedpelts to begin with. I decided to split them into 3 characters.

The oldest Seedpelt keeps her name; she was deputy of ThunderClan when SkyClan was exiled, and stepped down in protest. She joined Ripplestar's Rebellion, and was condemned to the Dark Forest when she died.

She has a striking resemblance to her descendants, Ferncloud, Elderberry, and Ashfur.

The next was Seedwhisker. He was the brother of Mapleshade.

He lived the rest of his life in regret at his cowardice, having not spoken up for his sister or nespring, and became a supporter of the Queen's Rights in spite of Oakstar's opposition to them.

His new name comes from an accidental misprint, he was called Seedwhisker once in canon.

The last was Seedfall, who could have plausibly been Seedwhisker in the timeline, but I decided that Adderfang could use a sibling.

Firekin is now HARD defined

It means that you are directly descended from Firestar and Sandstorm. (Who were btw in a QPR)

Cloudtail is not counted in this category because Fireheart botched the claiming of the Queen's Rights when bringing him to ThunderClan, admitting he was his nephew and voiding his right.

Firekin only tracks through direct descendants as a result.

Squirrelflight is infertile and will always be. All Firekin can trace their way through The Three, and ergo Leafpool.

Ivypool and Dovewing are technically the bio-offspring of Poppyfrost and Jayfeather, but this is not widely known, and they are raised by Cinderheart and Lionblaze.

Sparkpelt and Alderheart are no longer Firekin. Nightheart and Finchlight are Firekin through their other parent, Hollylark.

Hollylark was conceived through supernatural methods (and by accident).

Flywhisker and Snaptooth were foundlings adopted by Toadstep and Lionblaze; but they are leaving the Clans in a similar way to Canon.

The Tigerkin Family

Goldenflower's only mate was Tigerclaw, unlike canon where she was with Patchpelt to have Swiftpaw and Lynxkit.

Brambleclaw becomes Bramblestar just after BB!Po3, and Squirrelflight doesn't get back with him after the secret is revealed

His kits are from Jessy, who was temporarily named Sweetbright.

She cat-divorced him shortly after their kits were born, taking Alder with her. The human named him Louie; Bramblestar changed it back when he returned

Both of them have a very complicated relationship to their father.

The Dustfern Fixes, Fernkin Broadly

Elderberry was saved to fix an age gap; Ferncloud is closer in age to Dustpelt, and Ashfur is from a litter born just before Brindleface's murder. Elder was the sibling who was part of the Dog Relay Race.

Dustpelt was also not a mentor yet, as he was too young. Instead, he was undergoing a secondary apprenticeship under One-eye for construction work.

Cloudtail was Elder's and Fern's best friend growing up, but NOT an adopted brother. This is to avoid Whitewing x Birchfall being adoptive first cousins.

Because Brackenfur dies in BB!Po3 and wasn't alive to sire them, Seedpaw and Lilyheart have been swapped over to Dustfern.

Dustpelt died saving them in the Great Battle, reinforcing a den wall against invaders.

Spiderleg and his children are not dying unceremoniously as Greencough Fodder and a TBC kill. All three are alive to the current arc.

Lilypaw watching her sister die to save her was formative. She has no interest in romance, but is much more caring and nurturing than her grumpy face suggests.

Because Whitewing and Birchfall no longer have Dovewing and Ivypool, they get Spotfur and Duststripe instead!

Because Sorreltail didn't die in the battle, Duststripe is named after her grandfather instead.

For a similar reason, Spotfur's child Graykit is now named after their great-grandmother instead. Graystripe lives out the rest of his days in the mountains; Ferncloud must confront her brother.

[thunderc1an]

AU- Squirrelflight and Crowfeather get together. They have the 3- Crow stays in Windclan and Squirrel stays in thunderclan. No one questions who the father is because she-cats are still allowed their privacy (but people still talk). The pair are not really together anymore, but they aren’t completely separated- it’s just very complicated. The two are very stubborn cats.

Holly is angsty because she doesn’t know who her father is- but still strives for people to respect her because it doesn’t make her any less of a good warrior. (Things still take a downwards dive once the secret is revealed).

Brambleclaw is more like Squirrel’s and Leaf’s older brother figure- treats the three as family (as he had a very strained relationship with his father- and wanted to give the three a healthy father-like figure in their lives)- and they latch onto him for support. He doesn’t become deputy, and doesn’t try to work his way to become leader- as he’s scared of the thought of having ambition. He never got close to hawk, preferring his found family over his blood family.

Ashfur is still angsty towards Squirrel, but the fire scene plays out differently.

Nightcloud and Crowfeather doesn’t happen (they’re on good friend terms). But Breeze is still a thing. His angst comes from the fact that he understands that Crow is his biological father, but he wants him to act like an actual father towards him.

[the-owl-tree]

I liked “only warmth, only love” and re-read that specific scene every time I’m having a breakdown but I know it’s ass. It was disrespectful to Bristlefrost too, if we’re thinking about it. Not her dying, but the how. It was unnecessary to double down on her wanting to be nothing but a baby making housewife even in her final moments. She didn’t even think of her family who’d been shunning her up until that point and how she’ll never see her mother again. I always found that more sad. That arc just kinda left a bad taste in my mouth because it really felt like they stopped caring about a cool concept

I think it's one of those things that works as it is and I don't think it's the most egregious example of the book's misogyny, it's a big event that has an impact on everyone. A code is added! Other characters are impacted! But I guess it's similar to Silverstream to me where her death has profound consequences on the plot and characters other than Graystripe, but the added context of how other she-cats are treated, the double standard of mothers versus fathers, "the purpose she-cats is to bare children", the expendability of she-cats to the writers, and so on and so on. Ya know? Good on its own, but the series' poor writing decisions and issues bring it down upon further analysis.

It could be argued that it is in line with Bristlefrost's "boy crazy" character to fantasize about kits and that it does thematically work as a symbol of her "defying borders" contrasted to Ashfur enforcing the code. But, you know, the context of it all...it's just kind of an eyeroll moment after they kept reducing her to pining after Rootspring. I really do wish that her final fantasy was her whole family together, both Dovewing and Ivypool and Tree and Violet and so on, no borders to stop them. I think it adds more relevance to her building that bridge her mother and aunt couldn't in their lifetime, and it's just...better? Her imagining surrounded by loved ones (loved ones that we know) while Ashfur is forever alone, clinging onto a love he will never have.

I think it's fine to like the death, totally understand why people adore it, but eh....I guess I'm a little cynical about it lol

[bozawarriorsposting]

Following up from my last post about this AU, this is some info about the four damned souls on 'probation' and their Overseer

Mudclaw

The ““““Leader”””” of the group

Spent his entire life with the ambition of becoming leader, grew up with stories of his great ancestors and what a Warrior should be

Devoted himself to his clan and lived every second of every day as the ideal Warrior cat, revered the Stars and it seemed it payed of as he was made deputy

Stolen from him and given to some sniveling coward making googly eyes at a Thunderclan kittypet

VERY bitter

Tries to take charge in every situation, the other three tend to fight him on this depending on how dire it is

Gruff, blunt, cold, and easily irritable

“Ends Justify the means” as a lifelong motto, and they are doing Starclans will, so the Ends MUST be good

Despises the other three, but this goes for all of them

Does find some enjoyment in these missions, it's something to do, a chance to prove himself,

makes it feel less like his life is over

Can manipulate mud and physical matter as a spirit, very good for dropping trees on cats, Starclan has a sense of humor

Ashfur

Felt fully vindicated by Starclan’s decision to let him in, and was happy to watch as Squirrelflight and her wretched family suffered

Yet… they did cope with it, and while everyone back in the real world recovered, Ashfur was still dead, still alone

His obsession emerged again as Ashfur found that his death was as empty as his life

He HAD to do something…

Yeah, Starclan decided to nip that one in the bud

PISSED at them for shunting him here

He thought he was proven right with his entry into Starclan, then they let his murderer in too

WILL try and take revenge on the stars… at some point

Dubious honor of being the most amoral out of the four

I mean, its neck and neck all the way down

Tends to keep his unhinged nature in check

Pretty good liar,  capable of disguising his true self

Still gives everyone else the creeps so they still don’t trust him

Thinks he is far more clever then he actually is

Generally acts as a moody, if very vindictive. Will sometimes just get very Overdramatic about something tho.

Ability to possess living cats, that and also limited emotional manipulation for more discrete methods

Needletail

Out of the four, the one that most recognizes she messed up

Which isn’t saying much, she still sees her rebellion as justified, and Rowanstar as being more culpable just because of how weak he was

Rebellious teenager turns into a very rebellious ghost

She isn’t doing this for Starclan’s approval, she wants to be in Starclan when Violet dies so she can apologize for everything

Has something resembling a moral backbone

Still self serving in the end, and it’s not hard to have moral standard higher then zero

She tends to go along with the plans, but makes her displeasure abundantly clear

Is very caustic, snapping at everyone more than the others usually do

On the lighter end, she might play pranks on the rest of them, the others will find it funny as long as it doesn't happen to them.

Sometimes plays contrarian just for the sake of it

She is surrounded by stuck up fanatics that will do whatever Starclan tells them to, so why not screw with them a little?

Doesn't actually mind this As much as the others, She was bored and tired in Starclan with nothing but constant reminders of her mistake, now she is a ghost and gets to do spooky stuff occasionally, kick ass.

While Needletail is bothered by some of the stuff they do, doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy scaring some apprentices out of a forest because "Starclan's Will" or something.

Power is either luck control or something that similarly is unpredictable and upends everything

Appledusk

Is having the worst time

Was looked down upon in Starclan, he was an average warrior, and is now solely remembered as a consequence in what is the equivalent of an old wives tail

He wasn’t particularly ambitious or anything, but it does sting to be known as nothing more than what happens when you have a cross Clan relationship

Then suddenly THIS happens

Out of the four, he is the most afraid of ending up in the dark forest, for obvious reasons

Would have the thing most resembling a moral compass, but has absolutely zero spine

Is essentially resigned to doing whatever Starclan tells him so he can get back up there

Has also been dead the longest out of the four, so there is some disconnect between him and actually living, more like a loose memory at this point

In life was a smooth talker, real womanizing charmer, a real sleazy asshole

And he still acts like that occasionally

But under the surface he is just exhausted, wants to go back up to starclan and rest until he fades

But nope, he is going back down to the mortal plain, risk getting murdered by his ex, and have to work with a bunch of War Criminals

His power is warding of some kind, while the other three affect the physical world, he makes sure they don’t get attacked by the things lurking in the forest, or for other starclan spirits to find them and ask exactly what they are doing

Clear Sky

Very much enjoying getting to lord over other cats again

This was more or less his idea with what to do with at-risk Starclan cats, is trying to keep it on the down low in terms of activities

Not a secret, he did get the thumbs up from the rest of Starclan, but he does keep their operations vague in terms of what exactly happens

Starclan gets what it wants, prophecies come true, who is paying attention to the details

What does it matter if some mortal lives get ruined

Been dead for so long that the idea of a mortal life is almost unimaginable to him

Is proof of why Fading exists

Represents Starclan at both its most self righteous and amoral

He is morally right because he is the stars

You know the Vast from TMA? that's essentially what he can do

If you piss him off, you will be getting the worst case of vertigo of your life at best

Falling forever in a pocket dimension at worst

Falling from the very real sky and into the very real ground as a sort of midpoint between experiences

On the mortal plain, a clear sky means that he can observe almost everything from above

The Four learn to fear a bright sunny day and a cloudless blue sky, for it means that their “Benefactor” is watching

[mothdapple]

Ashfur’s mind returned to the question of why Hollyleaf had been avoiding the crowded areas of StarClan and found his quiet glades and hollows in the first place. Could it be that, like him, she felt like she was a misfit in StarClan? That the other spirits here were corrupt, selfish, and complacent? She had faced a trial as he had, but, unlike Ashfur’s, Hollyleaf’s trial had been for good reason— she’d murdered him! Still though, Ashfur supposed that in her head, she might view it as unfair. 

Ashfur found himself weirdly sympathetic to her feelings. The more time that passed in StarClan and the further he drew away from the time when he was actually alive, he felt more of his grievances with Hollyleaf fading away, echoing the way that he’d also come to forgive Squirrelflight.

It was still wrong of Hollyleaf to kill me. Like, how it was right for me to punish Squirrelflight, Ashfur thought. But, I don’t think that I really care that much anymore that I died.

One day, Ashfur and Hollyleaf found themselves back in the birch tree grove, the same one where he’d first encountered her.

Ashfur’s eyes were partially closed as he half-dozed in a warm pool of sunlight, drifting slowly in and out of consciousness.

“I’m not sorry for it, you know.”

After days upon days of silent company, at first, Ashfur thought he’d dreamt the sound of Hollyleaf’s sudden voice. But, when he blinked open his eyes and glanced over at her, finding her already glaring at him, her expression surprisingly fierce, he knew that she had actually spoken.

Ashfur’s brow furrowed.

“What?” he asked, his voice coming out raspy from disuse.

“I’m not sorry,” Hollyleaf repeated, her tone firm. “And, I want you to know that. When I got here, they asked me if I was sorry, and I said yes. And, it wasn’t a lie because I am sorry for a lot of things.”

Hollyleaf lashed her tail, looking more animated than Ashfur had seen her since she’d arrived in StarClan. “I’m sorry for hurting Squirrelflight, and Leafpool, and Bramblestar, and my brothers, and any other cat who cared about me. I’m sorry for leaving ThunderClan. I’m sorry for breaking the Warrior Code… But you? You threatened me and my family. I’m not sorry for killing you.”

Ashfur met her defiant, blazing green eyes, and their color and expression were so identical to Squirrelflight’s, it made Ashfur’s breath catch in his throat. 

“…I’m not sorry either,” Ashfur whispered, and his heart clenched in relief to finally say something entirely truthful for the first time in moons.

Hollyleaf gave a curt nod, looking away from him.

“Yeah. I didn’t think you were.”

-Ashfur's Purgatory

I'm still really proud of this scene! Thinking about how Ashfur and Hollyleaf would have interacted in StarClan just totally fascinates me, and the idea of them having this conversation is what inspired me to write the entire "Ashfur's Purgatory" fanfic in the first place.

In my eyes, Ashfur and Hollyleaf in StarClan make really interesting parallels for each other. Ashfur blames everyone else for what happened, and thinks he was justified for every choice he made. He feels like he is entirely worthy of StarClan and is disgusted by the cats in StarClan who would question him being there. Meanwhile, Hollyleaf feels a lot of guilt for the pain she caused others (spilling the secret at the gathering, threatening Leafpool, running away, etc. etc.) but the one thing that she does feel justified about was killing Ashfur. Still though, she's carrying a lot of guilt about whether she is truly worthy of her place in StarClan and feels like a bit of imposter there.

This means they both end up being very lonely in StarClan and finding some weird solace in each other's company, while the whole time, their deeper emotions on the situation are worlds apart from each other-- Ashfur thinks about how they both feel wronged by StarClan, when Hollyleaf is actually thinking "I’m not supposed to be here. But neither are you."

[transparenthologramrebel]

The dusty orange she-cat bounced along the fence following after Ash.

"So where are you from? I know you're not from around here! I know everybody from around here!" she mewed excitedly.

Ash stifled a growl.

"Somewhere far away." he grunted not looking at her. His belly continued to yowl hungrily. He needed food soon or he wouldn't last much longer. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate.

"You have a lot of scars! Did you leave where you're from because it was dangerous?" The she-cat asked continuing to follow him.

"No." Ash snarled. He stopped and looked up at the rouge. Her blue eyes beamed at him excitedly. "Shouldn't you be chasing me off your territory?"

The she-cat chuckled.

"Why would I do that? We have plenty to eat around here! Also you look like you need some help! If you want I can take you back to where my family is and we can get you something to eat!"

Ash snorted.

"I don't need help from some rouge. Leave me alone!" he growled before storming off.

"Can you at least tell me your name? Mines Ember!" The she-cat called.

"Ash!" Ash called back rolling his eyes.

He lashed his tail. Ember reminded him of Squirrelflight as an apprentice. Memories of the old forest and lake flooded his mind. He excepted rage to twist his belly once more. Yet to his surprise it didn't. Instead his belly twisted with sadness, wrenching his gut. He thought of his sister and mother and his fond kit-hood. What he would give to go back to those days. Before he knew it he found himself feeling home sick.

Uh yeah scene from Ashfur's exile in my au. I just wanted to do this little doodle for fun. I don't think I'll go back and add like shading or anything. So yeah Ash journeys through leaf-bare while absolutely getting the shit kick out of him by the elements and other obstacles. He tries to make it back to the old forest to live out his days but he becomes lost and ends up in an poverty stricken mountain town that was once a large coal mining operation. He meets a group of local cats who take him in. There he is able to process what hes done and come to terms with how terrible of a cat hes been. He then starts working towards being better and getting redemption.

[a-vampire-culturelover]

An Warrior Cats Au Idea

So I came across an au that swapped the Fire scene from Po3 with Mapleshade and a flood, and thought to myself to make my own take on that kind of au!

-Mapleshade's secret ends up coming out a moon after the kits are born, with Oakstar being the heartless prick he is and exiling her and the kits out of thunderclan. While Mapleshade somehow manages to get the kits across the river to Riverclan territory, she herself is swept up into the currents of the waters and drifted off to the barn, presumed missing/dead by the clans while she recovers.

-The kits end up in Riverclan with Reedshine, who's already bearing kits from Appledusk, and Appledusk barely knows the kits are his, only knowing one slighlty resembles him and another resembles Mapleshade, although he had ensured to himself he'd much rather keep his reputation as loyal in riverclan than ever come clean of his forbidden relationship, moving on with Reedshine. The kits can't clearly remember Mapleshade save for a few moments they cherished of when they were in the Thunderclan nursery, but get accustomed to Riverclan life. They get renamed of course since Riverclan doesn't know what they're names are;

Petalkit -> Bluebellkit, Patchkit -> Maplekit, and Larchkit - Carpkit. Maplekit was named this by Appledusk due to looking similar to his mother, although the rest of the clan see this as a coincidence. Appledusk begins to catch on and is aware by the time of their apprenticeship that they are indeed Mapleshade and his' kits, but never tells the rest of the clan. Eventually Reedshine does have her kits, which the older three treat well and care about the rest of the clan like family.

-Meanwhile, Mapleshade has been recovering in the barn, having found out her kits were alive and well but in Riverclan. Chalking it up to Appledusk caring for them, she sees nothing wrong with it, not knowing until later about Reedshine. She assumes that when the time is right she could just walk right over to Riverclan, greet her children, and nothing would be wrong would it...?

-She inevitably finds out about Appledusk moving on and starting new with Reedshine, angering Mapleshade to a boiling point. she plots her vengeance as she realizes her kits dont even remember her, treating Reedshine like their mother and Reedshine's kits like their siblings.

-Of course her kits are oblivious, and inevitably get their warrior names, save for Carppaw who became a medicine cat aprentice.

Carppaw -> Carpsnap, Maplepaw -> Mapledusk, and Bluebellpetal.

_On their first gathering, everything goes well until a flood blocks the three and Appledusks halfway into going home, Mapleshade having jumped to confront Appledusk. After some bickering Appledusk is left no choice but to tell the three that him and mapleshade are their parents, much to their own shock.Mapleshade had tried coaxing her children to her side once more, but was met with cold glares and sad looks, as she fled and eventually died before the three could see her again. Mapleshade still ends up in the Dark Forest, planning on destroying the clans for ruining her perfect life with her kits all those moons ago.

-Carpsnap, Mapledusk, and Bluebellpetal are all confused and upset, telling riverclan and being shunned for a while until eventually being forgiven, as their heritage was originally unknown and was never their fault to begin with.

-Mapleshade actually replaces Ashfur's role later on TBC as its main antagonist, possessing Mistystar to first break and dissolve Riverclan as vengeance for the clan having taking care of her kits when SHE should have, and maybe her kits come back as reccurring characters in the arc to communicate with Rootspring alongside Mistystar to stop what's going on.

Ashfur also ends up being swapped with killing similar to how Mapleshade did in canon, although he never manages to kill but one cat. Angered and displeased with how she had chosen Brambleclaw over him, he had taken advice from Mapleshade to get vegeance by killing cats close to her.

-he first had killed Sandstorm, killing her in a skirmish outside camp so that he would not be the first to come to mind. Thunderclan mourned her loss and never looked close at the grey fur left in Sandstorm's claws from struggling to fight back, something Leafpool notices.

-he then attempts to kill Brambleclaw via deathberries, knowing he would be flattened and killed in a landslide but the bigger and stronger deputy. However due to it being noticsble and treated in time, his life was saved in the medicine den much to Ashfur's disappointment and bitterness. Leafpool noted of how Brambleclaw mentioned on the side how the squirrel with the berries had been offered to him by someone..

-Finally, he attempts to kill Leafpool after failing to kill Brambleclaw, hoping to break her heart the way his was. During what would have been the fire scene, it was instead Leafpool trying to run as Ashfur attempting to push her into the fires below to burn to death, although he had been stopped by Squirrelflight and The Three. Unlike in canon, Squirrelflight tells the truth to the Three but tells them that she loves and cares for them despite not being her actual kits, and lets them know they're Leafpool's. They're still heartbroken and taken aback, but this nonetheless eases the harsh road downhill for them all later. Ashfur, a bit shocked by these relevations, decides to take his chance and attempts to kill Squirrelflight while her back is turned, but falls to the firey depths of the camp below and dies, going to the Dark Forest. While he was there, wallowing in his misery of not winning Squirrelflight's love, Mapleshade had convinced him with her plan, which would lead to very different events in TBC later on.

[exocynraku]

pls tell me more about the shadowsight is hollyleaf’s kid au im curious and intrigued

ok! i was gonna put all this in the og post but i didnt feel like it lol -shadowkit is born in the tunnels when hollyleaf is still down there, being raised mostly by fallen leaves. hollyleaf still decides to go back to thunderclan because she trusts that fallen leaves can take care of shadowkit -for pretty much shadowkits entire life from kit to young adult he was in the tunnels, hangin out with fallen leaves, occasionally rock and eventually hollyleaf's ghost after she died -shadowkit does get renamed to shadowpaw by his parents but they dont give him a warrior name (sorta like ravenpaw) - holly, fallen leaves and rock keep shadowpaw a secret in the tunnels for as long as hes in there - everything is fine and chill until holly, fallen leaves and rock suddenly disappear from the tunnels, no where to be found. shadowpaw also starts having dreams about a mysterious grey spotted cat............. shadowpaw (who is teenager aged (in cat years) now) FREAAAKS out and does what he has never done before; leaves the tunnels

-shadowpaw appears from the tunnels on thunderclan territory, closer to shadowclan. he hears a patrol coming and tries to run but the sudden transition from full darknes your whole life to bright white light is hard for him so he cant escape, and gets caught by a rebel patrol (remember those cats in like stemleafs group i think who tried to kill bramblestar? those guys) -squirrelflight is part of that group, and notices his interesting resemblance to hollyleaf. squilf questions him, and he admits he's her son. the patrol is shocked, and decides it would be quite dangerous for him to be brought to thunderclan, so they bring him instead to the gathering island, because they think thats maybe the safest place for him -once squirrelflight and jayfeather are kicked out/leave thunderclan, they go to stay with him on the island, and thats sorta the rebels "home base" now lol. they talk alot about hollyleaf and then shadowpaw brings up the fact holly, fallen leaves and rock disappeared, and shadowpaws dreams, which squilf and jay immediately know have something to do with ashfur - squilf and jay explain holly and ashfurs situation when they were both alive and shadow is very shocked! - shadow is able to help the clans figure out whats up with ashfur because ashfur is in shadowpaws mind, speaking to him and trying to manipulate him into teaming up with him instead, but shadowpaw tricks him, and takes the info ashfur gives him and gives them to the clans - ashfurs whole plan with shadowpaw was to manipulate him into helping him kill bramble's spirit, and bring squilf to the dark forest, then kill him, to get revenge on hollyleaf (if that makes sense) - rootspring and shadowpaw team up and figure out that holly, fallen leaves and rock are trapped in the dark forest with all the other cats, and hatch a sort-of plan to rescue them, but need to find a way to actually get into the dark forest first - everything after this is pretty similar to canon, squilf gets dragged into the moonpool, the med cats & others figure out how to get into the dark forest, and the plan to rescue squilf and bramble begins! - literally everything after that is just like canon lol, bristle dies, snowtuft dies, darktail shows up and then dies, ashfur dies blah blah blah blah blah - oh oh, also, bristlefrost sacrifices herself to kill ashfur and save squirrelflight, instead of shadowpaw this time - shadowpaw is happily able to reunite with holly, fallen leaves and rocks spirits - and after, everything is alright now (other than bristles death), and the clan leaders give an offer to shadowpaw; to join one of the clans - shadowpaw REALLY wants to join thunderclan becuase he gets to know his family some more, but eventually decides on shadowclan, because his eyes have trouble adjusting to thunderclans sunny territory, but is mostly fine is shadowclans forest - shadowpaw starts training under puddleshine, but has trouble, since he has absolutely no connection to starclan, except for hollyleaf (fallen leaves and rock move on to the ancients afterlife (which also might just be starclan but im not sure)) - shadowpaw eventually gains his med cat name; shadowsight!!!! (sorta during early river) and thats kinda it story wise? theres so much text here that i cant post it all (i have more cool facts lol) so ill reblog this and put it in there!

[theanoninyourinbox]

What if during the fire scene, Firestar went back to the camp because he couldn't find his daughter and grand kits, overhears Ashfur ranting in front of his Squirrel and his terrified grand kits and Firestar sees red and just barrels through the flames and slams into Ashfur, making him fall into the flames and perish.

Fire leads his family to safety but they straight up saw him murk a cat with no hesitation. How would this change things?

Or Before the reveal, Firestar somehow finds out what Ashfur did, decides he has to take things into his own paws and he's the one who murdered Ashur by holding his head in the water until he stopped breathing, making it look like he slipped and drowned. Then acts 'surprised' when his warriors find the body.

Would any one find out what he did? And if so, how do you think they will react and will this change their perception of the TC Leader?

Ohoho this is just -chef kiss-

First of all, I believe Firestar would be more likely to just Yeet That Idiot into the fire than drown him. Firestar has killed and would definitely Shrek Ashfur for threatening his family, but to lure a cat (even a threat like Ashfur) to their doom feels more Tigerstar than Firestar. That’s what happened to Cinderpelt - lured to a trap meant to kill - and Canon Firestar would NEVER do that.

He sees Ashfur blocking Squirrelflight, blocking his grandkits - one Ashfur’s own apprentice! - hears the screams of a jealous fool, unrelenting in his hate. Firestar sees, and Firestar B U R N S. He throws himself forward, and with the fury of an angry father-grandfather-leader knocks the gray tabby into the searing flames. The yowls that aren’t muffled by the roar of leaping fire cut off abruptly. Firestar leads his startled but grateful family to safety, and speaks honestly when asked about the missing Ashfur. He went mad, Firestar says, and tried to burn his clanmates. I would have done the same for any of you. May he find peace inStarclan. Ferncloud and the clan mourn, and the when word gets out, that Firestar will still protect his clan from threats within, the Gatherings are tense. But eventually all settles, save for a wary unease in the dreams of traitors.

However, a Firestar who’s more…feral, so to speak, more protective to the point of violence? A Firestar who might have killed Tigerclaw in Bluestar’s den in revenge/to protect Ravenpaw? A Firestar that slew Scourge with no guilt? That Firestar definitely would Drown a Dirtbag, no questions asked.

He threatened my grandkits, my daughters, my Clan, Firestar says to the watching stars. As I slew Tigerclaw, as I slew Darkstripe, I slay this threat. He gathers his family to him, and opens the secret of the Three to them. Brambleclaw is wounded deeply, but knows that even if he had just found loner kits, he would have loved them the same. Leafpool shudders, offering to step away from her role, but Firestar tells her of Yellowfang and Brokenstar, and that no one - Starclan or Mortal - will judge her. Not while he’s here. Sandstorm agrees, and the group promise to stand strong together. Hollyleaf trembles at being a half clan cat, but Firestar gently teases her, I wasn’t even a clan cat once, what does that make me? She relents, and the family keeps their silence. Until Ashfur’s spirit descends into a Gathering, and brings his accusations. Firestar speaks truth - I killed one who would destroy our clan with his words, one who threatened his clanmates because he could not take NO for an answer. You can judge me when you find yourself here, with a threat from within. Thunderclan is split between confusion, horror, and pride. The other clans demand punishment, but the clouds remain clear, and when Firestar joins Starclan, Ashfur is nowhere to be found.

This was fun! And a good question Glitter! I might do one of these a month, made me do Big Brain Think Time! Always a good time!

[cryptidclaw]

Hmm wait hear me out for po3 rewrite

Sol and his cult(?) pop up in the third book with an omen…

Fire scene happens but instead Ashfur’s is like ‘I can’t let your bloodline go on anymore!’

Squilf shoots back that their not her bloodline, claws his cheek and throws him into the fire. He survives and gets nursed back to health by Sol’s cult.

He goes to River Order, and Hawkfrost immediately accepts him (They are mates after all)

A moon or so later, the current deputy (insert generic cat here) mysteriously ‘disappears’(Sol works with Hawkfrost to make that happen)

Ashfur gets appointed deputy

Back in Thunder Order, Hollyleaf comes to terms with her Half- Order parents and doesn’t spill the secret cause adopted family is real f*** you Erin Hunter

But instead Ashfur reveals it at the gathering. The Orders vote on whether or not Squilf and leaf should be punished. Blackfoot says that they shouldn’t get punished (Stonefur’s ghost may or may not have influenced that outcome…)

Ravenscourge votes no, Fireheart votes no, and Onewhisker and Hawkfrost vote yes. Onewhisker throws a fit like the little s*** that he is, and reveals that Blood order doesn’t even follow the rules( Raven and barley are mates, and Barley is the Healer)

This causes a whole uproar, and Hawkfrost and Onewhisker are disgusted to learn that most cats don’t even like the rules telling you who you can and can’t date. Clouds cover the moon, and the Gathering ends.

Then the Eclipse fight happens, but it’s River and Wind order teaming up against Blood Order. Thunder Order is like hell no and fights with blood order. Eventually, Hollyleaf kills Ashfur, and Hawkfrost dies too. This is the climax of the ark, and when the rules on who you can and can’t date change.

The new leader of the River Order is Willowfeather, and Falconclaw decides to join River order to help rebuild and get to know his other mom better.

Notes:

Hollyleaf becomes deputy after Squirrelflight steps down

Jaywing chooses to become a healer

Holly/cinder rights, whether platonic or romantic.

And that’s my take on ROC power of three!

OMG THIS IS SO GOOD

you just found a way to piece together all my vague ideas or Po3 !! ur amazingggggg

Imma use this!!! I may tweak/change some things, but this works so well!!!

Gosh I really love the idea that Blood Order plays a big role in the plot!!

I really need to finish writing my plot summaries for TNP and Po3... atleast this helps me with the Po3 plot summary easier lol

[bonefall]

I never really put it together but it is kinda odd that Frostpaw’s siblings are named Graypaw and Mistpaw. I mean we already have Graykit named after Graystripe in TC and Mistpaw just immediately makes me think she’s named after Mistystar.

Idk. I’m pretty fond of the three kittens being the real offspring of Reedwhisker but I know in the Bones rewrite quite a few cats are up to be his kittens. Maybe Mist is named after Reed’s mother and Frostpaw is a reference to HawkFROST. Idk about Gray maybe the cats just didn’t have a good enough idea for him

Anything going on with their line so far? Like with Curlfeather, her mother, Jayclaw?

I'm heavily leaning towards Reedwhisker being the sire of Curlfeather and Podlight, for Duskfur. Duskfur always found him attractive and a good choice of parent for her kits, but Reedwhisker was never really able to move on from Hawkfrost.

He sired the kits and agreed to help, but was distant. Not really a 'parent' but a little more involved than the average no-coparenting Honor Sire. He didn't name the kits either. Truth is that he had a lot of names picked out with Hawkfrost and it felt wrong to use them.

It does feel odd that the litter just happens to have super relevant names, I remember when TBC was coming out, people were wondering if it was a chronological goof that they were born BEFORE the Ashfur Fight and not after. bristleFROSTKIT, GRAYstripeKIT, MISTystarKIT.

Though, Graystripe isn't a Light in the Mist in my redux; Ferncloud is. We'll see how the shuffling goes; maybe I'll just indulge and change Graypaw's name to Fernpaw or Cloudpaw. I won't be deciding that until ASC is done though.

Anyway bonus thoughts for you;

Curlfeather

FASCINATED with her in ASC so far, I don't want to touch her too much until the arc is done though. But I do plan to make sure it's clear that Curlfeather is a competent and respected senior warrior in preparation for ASC, and she probably encouraged her children to be invested in medicine because of her ambitions.

Duskfur

I could have sworn she was a brown-black cat with a warm, fluffy orange belly. It was incredibly clear in my mind and I was taken aback when I found out she's apparently a brown tabby.

Anyway I'm definitely seeing her as the sort of person who likes to say her mind, but rarely puts her money where her mouth is. Talks a bigger game than she's willing to play.

She's also around the same age as Birchfall, and was probably one of the apprentices who created Paw Soup during the Great Journey.

Jayclaw

My INCREDIBLY specific headcanon is that he is a fantastic dancer, and this is why Curlfeather fell in love with him.

He was an easygoing guy, a lot like his brother Owlnose, who never desired power or status. Content to do his day's work and spend his free time playing games, Curlfeather was drawn to him because he was charming, handsome, and his relaxing aura was infectious.

Jayclaw was going to be a den dad, but was only able to raise his kittens for a month before dying in a fishing accident. He was a sweet dude and his death hit his family hard.

[blorboclaw]

WC Anastasia AU. I don't know how. Too many different ways of doing it. The best part is that all of them have the craziest crackships.

(also to understand the following you've got to understand first that I never really considered Barley/Ravenpaw as a romance but more as a "found family/old, grim loner adopts shy rookie/whatever is going on with the batfamily")

First way, the Ravenpaw/Leafpool way: Leafpaw is kidnapped by the twolegs but can't escape right away. The Great Journey happens without her. She's amnesiac, roaming next to the Highstones, when Ravenpaw and Barley find her.

They know Firestar is still looking for his (they're convinced: dead) daughter and think she looks enough like Leafpaw to hold the illusion and maybe Firestar will be able to grieve if "Leafpaw" comes to him and then choses not to be part of the clan. Worse scenario, she wants to stay and she finds a whole family ready to welcome her, so win-win.

They spend the journey telling her facts about the first arc/the history of her family, the herbs (what they know of it at least) and her family and early life. (on the tune of "you can learn to do it" -> "You were born in a den made of bracken... / A den made of bracken? Could it be... / You knew catmint's uses when you were only three (moons old) / Catmint uses, me? / And the catmint... / Looks like that! *ravenpaw puts catmint under her nose* / You made faces and all the elders laughed!" etc etc). the "I don't believe we told her that??" moment is when they are like "Cinderpelt's the medicine cat" and she answers "And I recall her twisted paw" or something, which even Ravenpaw didn't necessarily remember right away since he only met Cinderpelt once, for the battle against bloodclan.

The Tribe is Paris. They meet Stormfur, who's Sophie in this version. He says she looks just like Squirrelpaw and he will help them bring her to Firestar.

They arrive around the lake. Floss just leaves the camp with her youngest kitten, who's vaguely ginger. They're interrogated by Daisy, for plot reasons since she's the only one in the camp who's old enough to play the part but new enough not to remember Leafpaw or anything before the Great Journey. She asks how Leafpaw escaped the Twolegs and Ravenpaw and Barley flinch because hey they didn't know that one either... And Leafpaw just says "there was this tom... a gray tabby... he opened the cages..." basically, speaking about Graystripe. Daisy goes inside Firestar's den and all they hear is Firestar saying ""nice to see you again but "I can't take it anymore all the rogues and loners around just bring me ginger or brown cats in hopes to get in the good graces of a clan leader, I'm not seeing anyone else now OK?" and Daisy tries to protest but hey it's a leader and she's shy so she can't.

She then says they should bring Leafpaw to meet Firestar at the opera at the gathering, and they reunite when she smells Squirrelflight's scent on him and she's like "wait is that my sister's scent??" (since cats can't really replicate the scent without the cat or part of the cat, he knows she can't have been taught it).

Then Leafpaw goes after Ravenpaw who's already leaving, dejected, after some clan cat told him off for leaving the clans but still coming to the gathering (probably Ashfur ngl) and they're both ambushed by ghost!Tigerstar on the bridge to leave the gathering island. She manages to remember Starclan (which the loners Barley and Ravenpaw didn't even think to tell her about), which allows Yellowfang and Spottedleaf and everyone to come to her help.

Then Leafpaw and Ravenpaw elope or whatever I don't really remember how the movie ends.

[wclovewhatismortal]

I just binged Love What is Mortal in two days and I just want to say - you're an amazing writer, the way you were able to weave a story that not only fits into the warriors universe, but expands on things we'll probably never learn in canon in a way that makes sense (also it was definitely better written than any of the newer books, plz take over for the Erins) is amazing. I really hope we get more warriors content from you in the future!

I do have a couple of questions though if that's ok?

Generally speaking, what's the time frame of Love What is Mortal? If I recall correctly Leafpool mentioned the flooding from Bramblestar's Storm in one of the earlier chapters and it ends with Juniperkit and Dandelionkit meeting Hollyleaf so I'm guessing it ends right at the beginning of AVoS or a little before the beginning?

I feel like it was heavily hinted that Ashfur either went to the mortal realm and started the whole Bramble possession arc, or went to whatever exists outside of starclans itself (likely the place where Jake resides.) I did see in one of the asks you answered that Mudclaw would still be hunting Ashfur down, so I'm just curious if we'd ever get maybe a novella or a snippet of that scenario depending on where Ashfur went exactly? Or maybe if not a fic to read, would you be willing to explain what might have occurred?

The last thing I'll ask right now is about Patchkit and Larchkit, are they still with Appledusk? Or was Petalkit implying they faded away? I thought it was probable it was the former, but reading about how many kits get left without families or kin around because they are still waiting for closure or something that will help them move on, made me think perhaps those two were able to move on after spending time with their father whereas Petalkit chose not to stay with him.

Again, I really love your work!! You deserve a good break and some good food. Make sure to drink water and rest! Sorry if all these questions have been answered or are a bit much, feel free to not answer them if you don't want to!

You binged it in TWO DAYS? I'm impressed! LWIM is 226,638 words, which according to the website Wordcounter is the equivalent of 503 pages. You're freaking awesome!

Thank you for the nice words! LWIM really was a passion project for me. It's fun to take the afterlife of warrior cats and expand on it, seeing as it's so ripe with potential. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and I'd be happy to answer your questions!

You're right as to the timing: it ends a little bit before the beginning of AVoS.

You might be wondering how Ashfur's shenanigans factor into that timeline. As of the end of LWIM, he escaped from Starclan. Now, he's out galavanting somewhere in the greater afterlife. Neither Sorreltail nor Mudclaw are particularly interested in letting him get away, but I think they'll meet some resistance from some of Starclan on that.

As for Ashfur, he's going to try to stir up trouble for Starclan. He knows what he wants to do, he just has to figure out how. In one of the latter chapters, he taunted to Hollyleaf about the plans he has for Squirrelflight and Bramblestar.

If I were to write a sequel or short story, it would probably take place not long after LWIM, and follow all the way through into TBC. Sorreltail would be the POV character, on a quest to track down her half-brother. Mudlcaw would undoubtably be involved, but as to what capacity, I'm not sure. If they can get along, a Mudclaw & Sorreltail dual-investigation might be fun. I think Sparrowfeather would make an appearance in this, as location-wise he would probably be somewhere in the broken remnants of the PONS.

You're right on the money with Patchkit and Larchkit. They stayed with Appledusk until they were able to make peace with their own lives and with what happened with Mapleshade. They have long since faded away. On the other hand, Petalkit disliked Appledusk so much that she ran away and never found closure with him or herself. She's not in a great place at the end of LWIM. For all intents and purposes, she feels abandoned by pretty much everyone: Mapleshade, for making reckless choices that bound her for an eternity to the PONS instead of Starclan; Appledusk, for his presumed infidelity and perceived lack of interest in being a parent to her in the mortal realm; Patchkit and Larchkit, for not agreeing with her revulsion of Appledusk and finding peace without her; and Snowfur, who she has a lot of mixed feelings for. THAT one is a whole can of worms that she'll have to sort through.

Now Petalkit is with Hollyleaf. It's what Mapleshade would've wanted: someone trustworthy watching over her.

Perhaps, Mapleshade wouldn't have had qualms with Sorreltail watching over her too, but that might be a little too painful for our calico protagonist. The death of Honeyfern is very fresh for her, and after all, she still has work to do.

Thank you SO much for reading my story, and for sending an ask!

[amethyst-halo]

I know the feeling- I know the traveling sections of the warriors books tend to be- relatively disliked- but I think they have a lot of potential for fun character interactions, situations, and found family

Always up for hearing bout AU’s- so shoot friend, Whatcha got? :3

sure ! this explanation is kinda long for how short a time span it takes up whoops; i also don't remember every detail but i remember the outline

i think i've talked abt it a little before here, but the gist is when ashfur gets into the living world, he brings some of that weird black water with him. except because it's not where it was supposed to be, it doesn't kill anyone who falls in; instead, they get teleported to some random location far from the territories, which ashfur doesn't know.

as such, when puddleshine stumbles across it, ashfur panics and shoves him in so he can't tell anyone. and puddleshine gets dropped in the middle of nowhere.

to everyone else, it looks like he just disappeared. shadowsight starts panicking because he's not even fully trained yet and why would puddleshine just leave? when they can't find him (or the black water), alderheart goes to help shadowsight keep things running.

except shadowsight is still investigating. and he discovers something that gives away some of ashfur's plan. and so ashfur, on a high from this cool pool he has, throws him into the pool too.

shadowsight wakes up under a birch tree at the edge of a field of flowers. as he gets a grasp on what's happening, he starts to panic; he's alone, in the middle of nowhere, what is he supposed to do? but he quickly realizes there's a familiar scent, and he follows it to where puddleshine is shuffling around in the flowers doing god knows what.

both are relieved to see someone else; shadowsight's glad he's not alone and also that he found his mentor, while puddleshine is a little alarmed to find shadowsight there but relieved to not be alone anymore. they discuss what they know, and the only lead they really have is the black water. but, of course, they can't investigate much from where they are.

puddleshine shows him a den made out of a few big rocks, which is their base of operations while they figure out what to do.

a few days later, right after she graduates from her apprenticeship, bristlefrost appears in the middle of the night. and she scares the shit out of them both by standing ominously over shadowsight while trying to figure out how to wake him up. they catch her up, and her only lead is that she was thinking about why their ancestors have been so quiet and if shadowsight's visions have any relation.

rootspring appears a few days after that, after wandering around at night and accidentally finding ashfur, who tackles him and knocks him out before throwing him into the pool too. he has no new leads.

they get a little break from new guys as some assorted stuff happens, like shadowsight getting fuckin struck by lightning and brambleclaw like. dying and reviving and stuff like that

alderheart shows up next after also being tackled, and he also doesn't have much to go on but he catches everyone up on what's been happening

at this point i think i never really planned beyond that but i was planning on havin needleclaw and sunbeam and maybe more show up over time. i think i was thinking abt having any exiled cats from brash's tyranny show up bc they're tossed to the pool instead of just exiled. regardless this was a self indulgent thing in the same vein as the funny little road trip au of "wow they're separated from everyone and found family ensues"

[eldritchstarclan]

Romantic Relationships in Eldritch AU: Fireroot and Squirrelflight

Basically everyone in the warriors fandom can agree on one thing: The Erins have written some of the worst romantic dynamics into Warriors. I don't know how anyone that experiences romantic attraction can screw it up this bad, but they did.

Some relationships are important in the series, some aren't, and many, MANY relationships feel like they were shoehorned in.

Today, I want to talk about Fireroot (briefly) and the poster child of those bad dynamics-- Squirrelflight.

Fireroot

In this AU, Firestar is a medicine cat. Therein lies the problem.

There's not much to say here other than the fact that I have decided Squirrel and Leaf should replace Cloudtail-- that meaning that the two are Princess's kits. It provides anonymity to their gene pool, and also allows for more equal age between Brambleclaw and Ashfur.

Speaking of...

Squirrelflight

Poor Squirrelflight is constantly the victim of emotional abuse, and it's never acknowledged in the series.

So it gets addressed in this AU. To remove it would wound the plot severely, but having her take action would make it so much better.

So... Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are friends initially. Not exactly healthy friends, but friends. She, unfortunately, suffers from a lack of respect from senior warriors, peers, and apprentices, despite how social she may seem, and therefore, has few close friends.

She's flirty with Brambleclaw-- nothing serious-- but Leafpool is called on the journey as well as Brambleclaw, so she stays behind, and finds companionship in Ashfur. At first, it's normal, but he asks to go steady, and that's when the problems start.

She's never separate from him, which seems okay at first, but no matter if she wants to be alone or not, he seems to cling on. When confronted, he just goes 'I hate being away from you.' Squirrelflight-- unfortunately unfamiliar with the difference between love, loneliness and codependency, accepts this as part of a relationship. He's also asking many times if she loves him, needing to constantly hear it.

It only gets worse when Brambleclaw returns. The two begin competing viciously, and Squirrel doesn't speak up this time, too exhausted by being around Ashfur, and fearful of losing her only equals.

Before long, she's cornered by Ashfur, and finally, she decides to make a choice, feeling that 'neither' was not an option. She chooses Brambleclaw, who has much more tolerance for her personal space.

This means Ashfur turns the cold shoulder, jealous and seething.

And thus, she finds herself isolated-- outside of her sister, parental figures, and Brambleclaw, she feels horribly lonely. Although family is good companionship, they're often busy, and not the same as having unrelated friends.

When she begins caring for the Three, it becomes apparent how anxious and explosive he can be; the two argue, but they keep the kids out of it-- or at least they try.

They usually avoid being together while spending time with the kits. Both of them are aware of how horribly mangled their relationship is, but they're unsure how to deal with breaking up, so they just do their best to give the kids a happy upbringing.

It ultimately falls apart when Hollyleaf tells everyone the truth about their heritage. Brambleclaw, put under the pressure of remaining formal as a deputy, the fear of his relationship with the kids collapsing, anger that Squirrel hid it from him, the knowledge that Holly killed Ashfur, and overwhelming denial, snaps at Holly, spilling the truth about the murder, causing the clans to fly into a rage that such a traitor existed, as well as causing ThunderClan to chase her into the tunnels.

That's when the already-strained thread snaps between him and his family, as well as his respect from Brightheart-- or Brightstar in this case, due to her status as leader, causing him to be removed from the role of deputy due to his poor handle on the situation.

Finally free from her relationship, Squirrelflight found herself further shunned due to her part in hiding the scandal, but over time, people began to acknowledge her loss, and finally, cats gained a deep respect for her.

She lost everything, but she picks up the pieces, and she moves on. Her kin aren't angry at her for lying-- not the three, even. The three are angry at Leafpool, but Squirrelflight cared for them since they were kits.

Brambleclaw does not seek to reconcile, and neither does she. The two come to a ceasefire, and she finally comes to find her true place in ThunderClan, able to stand as her own cat without someone attached by default.

[catgirl-catboy]

What are ur thoughrs on ppl who deffend brambletrash and excuse him being a POS to squirrelfight judt bc "she wqs mean to him when she was an apprentice" or something along those lines ? Bramble stans have to be the most migraine inducing people EVER

Disclaimer: I stopped reading around Bramblestar's storm, and while I keep up with the fandom and don't mind spoilers, I'm only talking about the canon until that point. Otherwise, I don't have a fandom license.

And the TLDR of it is: I personally find them annoying, but with the Warriors fandom being full of Bramble bashers and antis, it kind of makes sense why they are that way. Most of these people are trying to pre-emptively defend themselves from unwarranted negative opinions of their posts.

Okay, I don't like people that defend characters on principle, (even I defend Miu a little bit since she suffers from poor translation choices people might not know about) because people should be able to like the most toxic characters imaginable without having to explain themselves to strangers.

Trying to say your fave didn't do anything wrong isn't healthy to fandom. That being said, with the current fandom culture, I understand why they did it.

Warriors writing has changed so much over the years, that arc 2 bramble and current bramble are different people, and not in a "he grew up and changed as a person sort of way." Saying that inconsistent warrior cats writing is completely uninvolved in this current squabble is a D tier take.

That being said, I don't like that all of the conflict resolution for Arc 2 (Squirrelflight being mean to Bramleclaw, but also Brambleclaw treating Squirrelflight like a dumb kid when that isn't who she is anymore) was mostly offscreen. We had a whole writing piece on when she decided to take in the kits, and we couldn't spare the time for one flashback?

(Tangent, I hate the warriors writers for treating infertility like a tragedy, and not just that they'll have to adopt kits now. People in my family are infertile, and it just rubs me the wrong way. Like, if you get a vision from Starclan that you're never going to be able to birth kits, and then some kids "randomly" show up, people will be sympathetic to you if you ask to raise them once they are weaned.)

You could argue these conversations didn't happen, but I think with their power of three characterizations seeming more stable, I'm personally assuming they did.

The one thing I really disagree with in the "Brambleclaw bad" narrative (and this is coming from an Ashfur fan!) is that he's a dick for not wanting to talk about it with her. She lied to him for years, which is even longer in the cat equivalent. She only came clean to him due to outside forces demanding it. What else could she hide from him with a clean conscious?

So Brambleclaw not wanting to talk with his ex after she lied to him for years? Makes perfect sense, and if it happened to me I'd probably be right with him. The only harsh thing that I WILL say to bramble about this, is that it was interfering with his job duties of deputy. Because like it or not, at that point in time he has her boss.

If he's unable to treat her civilly, he should have either stepped down as deputy, or gotten another warrior to help him be more fair.

But this is a man who found out the love of his life was being dishonest to him for most of the relationship, and probably has Green Day or MCR playing in his brain the entire time.

I don't think they should have gotten back together. I really did like the way the idea of Bramble beginning to notice other she-cats was handled really well, and is a logical step to getting out of his slump.