#poor kestrelflight

[bonefall]

I LOVED hearing about the Ripwater episode!!!! Could you discuss whichever episode that would include Jayfeather‘s warrior training perhaps? If not I’d LOVE to hear about any other!

Jay's warrior training happens across lots of them! He only pivots to being a Cleric near the VERY end of the arc. He's considered fully trained after "saving" Hazeltail by secretly kicking Moleflight's ass.

Jaypaw -> Jayfang -> Jayfeather

Blackstar's Bog Project seems to be the conflict so far that's going to be featuring Jaypaw's training the most, though, the way that most of these episodes end up being centric for one of the three.

Jaypaw will be dominant in ShadowClan-related episodes because his first rival shows up here; Owlpaw, later called Owlclaw.

If you recognize that name, it's either because you know he's the secret brother of Kestrelflight and Harestar, or you remember that he's the father of Weaselkit and Happyface which causes familial problems within Violetshine's adopted family. Noteworthy recurring ShadowClan cat!

Head's up this one's way less organized than Ripwater's

Pre-Bog Project; The beginning of Jaypaw's apprenticeship Ableism and Longtail

Before Blackstar begins the bog project, I want there to be a decent amount of battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.

At the time, The Three are kits or young apprentices. For the most part, they're born into a world where they mostly know ShadowClan as this kinda distant, scary thing that the older warriors fight a lot.

When they become apprentices, it doesn't help that ShadowClan's presence is sharp. They have a very dry, dark sense of humor which can mask bullying. They cite the Warrior Code a lot and take blasphemy seriously. It's not always obvious when they mean what they say or if they're being sarcastic

This is especially bad with ThunderClan cats. Tawnypelt had a REALLY hard time adapting to this culture back in TNP.

there's one major fight Jaypaw takes part in between the two, as a young apprentice. Enter Owlpaw.

It's REALLY important that in this fight, Jaypaw gets his ass kicked.

Owlpaw is the third oldest lakeborn cat. He's big, mean, and vicious. He is a DIFFICULT opponent, he really is an Owl to a Jay at this point. Bad Bad Leroy Brown type shit

This curbstomp messes with Jaypaw baaaadly, shaking any confidence he'd gained in the short time where he's started training with Longtail.

When Jaypaw FIRST becomes the apprentice of Longtail... it wasn't actually welcome. Jaykit's ceremony was nearly delayed, as if Firestar was just going to pass over him.

An objection was raised, as it was wondered what would happen with Jaykit. The poor kid was put on the spot, when he'd just been expecting to get given a mentor the same as his siblings.

When Firestar and Brackenfur had an awkward answer, Longtail leapt in heroically, demanding to be un-retired so he could come and mentor his grand-nephew.

While most of the Clan saw this as impressive, Jaykit did not. It was humiliating and embarrassing!

It was like they were just going to skip over him, and "the only mentor I could get was another useless cat, like me..."

Jaypaw is dealing with a lot of shame through internalized ableism. It's that kind of sticky misery where you just end up hating everything you touch. NOTHING is good or okay. Everything is awful and if you try to tell me otherwise I will double down.

The type that you can't reason with. So Longtail trying to get through to this kid was already hell.

He was trying to be motivational and uplifting. "We'll prove them wrong, together!" and "Stick with me kid, I'll teach you everything." and "There's lots of ways to be a warrior, we'll find what works best for ya."

It does not work. Jaypaw is determined to hate him, dismissing him as being insincere and fake-nice.

And when that first fight comes up, Jaypaw's spent however long as an apprentice being difficult and his first real matchup is against ShadowClan's Youngest Blender

So of course, Owlpaw toys with him like canon. Keeps dodging and taunting him, making little jabs, commenting on how weak ThunderClan must be to put him out on the battlefield.

After the fight ends, Longtail tries to let Jaypaw mope for a bit about it, lick his wounds, recover.

But he just ends up at his lowest point, and snapping at Longtail that he'll never amount to anything anyway, "a blind warrior isn't worth anything."

And Longtail's LOST his patience. That's IT.

"Get up right now and fight me."

"wh... what?"

"Maybe you're used to everyone else just letting you say whatever dumb thing, but when you insult yourself, you insult ME. And I've got the Right to Challenge over my honor. So GET UP."

Over the course of this fight, Longtail uses it both to coach him on how to properly move, and also to let Jaypaw blow off steam. He taunts him to just let his claws out, while keeping his own sheathed.

And during all this, Jay can barely get a hit in. The fight ends with Longtail easily pinning him to the ground, and he reminds him,

"Don't wanna be a blind warrior? Fine. I can't teach what you don't want to learn, you tell me and we'll find other options, but if I EVER hear those words come out of your mouth again, it's personal."

And after THAT, it clicks for Jaypaw. It's personal. Longtail didn't need to do any of it, stand up for him, mentor him, he wants to.

When he insults himself, or when he thinks of Longtail like he was some cheap option, it hits both of them.

Longtail is an excellent warrior-- and a warrior defends their honor.

Still, Owlpaw remains, and these aren't just internalized thoughts only he has, "don't get mad at me for insulting your honor. I was just repeating what Owlpaw said to me. He said a blind warrior isn't worth anything at all. And it's like the whole Clan agrees, but they just don't say it."

"Then we'll kick his ass," removes his paw from his apprentice's back, "We'll kick all their asses. But you're not going to go around agreeing with them before you even learn how to fight."

The grand irony of this is that after making this promise to kick Owlpaw's ass, having this as a goal in-mind, Firestar begins the fruitful negotiations with ShadowClan which will result in a period of sweet peace. There aren't any battles to get into between them for a while.

So Owlpaw continues to be this sort of "goal" on the horizon. Jaypaw wants revenge against this specific person, while also being forced to work with him at various points, as ShadowClan is their ally.

Something interesting I plan to do is to secretly write Breezepaw as being a MUCH stronger fighter than Owlpaw ever was. Owlpaw is big and strong, but it's BREEZEPAW who's the truly vicious fighter of the Po3 apprentice generation. A cat that Jaypaw faces off with several times, and has a difficult time fighting because of Breeze's aggressive, straightforward fighting style.

Jaypaw fights best against cats who try to get out of his grapples, because he can turn it against them. When a cat is so ferocious that they don't relent at all, meeting him with even more biting and scratching, it effectively counters his unique style.

Between his brawls with Lionpaw and Breezepaw, Jaypaw has no idea how overleveled he is lmao

Bog Project

There's two times that I want to zoom into the Bog Project in Po3.

The first one is when they FIRST construct the dam that destroys the pine plantation, including an altercation with human plantation workers who come to try and dismantle the dam. The Clan cats run circles around them as the humans are too heavy to not sink into the mud. I want someone to jump off the dam, bounce off a person and knock them over with a SPLAT, and then jump back on the dam in one smooth movement lmaoo

(Switch over to the researchers for a second and they're actually scrambling to get the area turned into a different classification of protected site during this. Unknown to ShadowClan, they really do just have to buy some time.)

The SECOND time is when they're simply repairing some damage, Owlpaw starts a fight with Jaypaw and swings the first blow, and Jaypaw realizes it's time to take this man to Clown Town.

The fight begins while they're up on the dam, trying to figure out where a leak is or some other minor thing.

Owlpaw starts REALLY getting into it with Jaypaw. "I can't believe they put me up here with you. It's like they want you to have a little accident so I can say I have no idea what happened."

I'm REALLY TORN between Jaypaw either playing this as peacefully as possible, so it's completely Owlpaw's fault they got into it... or realizing he can totally goad this fight and then be able to say it wasn't his fault because Owlpaw threatened him first: "Bold of you to talk about little accidents. Ur mom"

I'm leaning towards Jaypaw goading it after Owlpaw started it, realizing that snark is a very useful tool. Thinking back to how he used to call himself useless, how Longtail used it to make him unload all his pent-up anger and aggression. It has a purpose.

and that purpose, right now, is making an opportunity to put this git in his proper place.

But either way, when Owlpaw starts lashing out at him, SO much like that first fight, Jay notices something REALLY interesting

Owl always tries to stay out of the line of his whiskers. The blows are hard clobbers, but he's not really scratching because he doesn't want to get close

Jaypaw stays perfectly still, UNNERVINGLY still, and takes one, two whacks. Then he knows that his opponent favors his right paw, and he's about... 2 mouselengths away.

Owl lifts his paw again, and in one, smooth move, JAYPAW LUNGES

Caught square in the belly, they roll back along the wall

Owl recovers, twisting onto his opponent, hissing and scratching to untangle, and they tumble right off the side in a clattering shower of sticks and daub

They make a SPLORCH as their bodies splatter the mud below them

"THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING" -Lionpaw probably

The entire construction crew gathers around. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Owlpaw seems to be getting wise, trying to wriggle out of the grapple to win back distance, but Jay hears Longtail's words of wisdom echoing in his head

"To know his own limits,"

He never lets his opponent out of range of his whiskers, Owl breaks away only to expose his back to a vicious opponent

Jaypaw grabs his foe by the neck, rears up and dunks his face down in the mud. SPLAT!

"AND EXPLOIT THEIRS"

Owlpaw screeches in rage, snorting muck out of his nose, blinded

The big bully has no idea to slow down and think about where the blows are coming from, or anticipate how his opponent moves.

Jaypaw's jaws close down viciously on his shoulder, and in a flash, he's wrapped around him like a snake.

Trying to buck him off is only causing Owlpaw to sink into the mud

Jaypaw only releases his lock long enough to command; "SAY UNCLE"

Terrified, like a rabbit with a weasel with its fangs dangerously close to its pulse, he obeys; "UNCLE!!"

Jaypaw disentangles and hops off, and it's only now that he registers the size of the crowd.

Hazelpaw, Poppypaw, Cinderpaw, both of his siblings, every ShadowClan apprentice, plus all the warriors who were assigned to the project

Most are cheering, others murmur with awe or hiss with frustration, Owlpaw's mentor is helping him out of the mud, asking him what the hell happened back there

Jay is GLOWERING. He can't help the smug smile that paints his face, or the pride that washes through his veins, though he nonchalantly flicks the mud off his tail.

but the gloating is cut short. Longtail's rough tongue passes over a swelling lump next to Jaypaw's eye, and a little cut he didn't realize he'd gotten had started to sting.

"Knock it off!" He grumbles, doing nothing to stop him, "you're embarassing me!"

"Embarassing?! I'm so proud out of my fur I just might cry about it and embarass you even more!"

In the aftermath, Owlpaw is the one who gets blamed for the fight on the wall. Though Longtail freely admits that his apprentice can be rude, Owlpaw is the one who escalated it to blows.

That said, no one really "gets in trouble" for it. It's written off by both Blackstar and Firestar as an "apprentices will be apprentices" moment. BB!Battle cats can have battles without holding a formal hearing in parliament about it.

What DOES happen that Jaypaw finds bizarre is that when he gets home and the news spreads, Bramblestar is one of the first cats to start gloating. He feels odd about how odd he feels about it.

But after his father has given his ear a proud lick and explains the situation to Squirrelflight who gives a proud lick to the other one, Jaypaw examines the feeling. He tries to think of other times Brambleclaw has been this proud of him, and that's when it clicks; there are none.

Lionpaw is an accomplished fighter at this point, having landed the fatal blow onto Ripwater. Hollypaw is at the forefront of nearly every diplomacy meeting alongside her mentor, Brackenfur. But Jaypaw.. well, most of his brawls have been little skirmishes. Not really "achievements."

It's not like Brambleclaw has been absent or anything, so... he's not yet sure what to do with this feeling. It's quickly buried as the other apprentices dogpile him, begging for the full details.

Assorted closing thoughts for other episodes and such;

Jaypaw's power is plane-hopping. He can move freely between supernatural realms-- dreams, heaven, hell, Earth. He can interact, physically, with anything on these planes.

No more magic empathy. Society has progressed past the need for magic empathy.

He's going to get several little moments in other episodes where he helps to heal others, especially when Cinderheart breaks her leg.

Becoming a Cleric is a choice that should have significant build-up, since he chooses it over Poppyfrost.

I think the REAL inciting moment that he decides to commit to the bit is that he ends up having some kind of dream where Moleflight (Poppyfrost's ill-fated brother) visits him, just after getting his warrior name, and Mole says, "you will be an excellent warrior."

Jayfang: "theres no way youre just being nice to me. What are you trying to stop me from doing."

He also really likes giving advice and listening to people. Enjoys a good little debate, but I kinda want to show him visibly sharpening his emotional intelligence as Po3 goes on.

It starts with Longtail, who whittles that aimless cynicism into something earnest and constructive.

I also want to work in some scenes where Longtail explains to Jaypaw how much he reminds him of Swiftpaw, his "uncle."

Sootfur too, sometimes. In the humor.

Jay: "Great track record, two dead kids."

Longtail, very quiet... only to break the tense silence himself, "Sootfur, no. Swiftpaw... yes. I should have been a better mentor."

Everyone knows a mentor is meant to teach an apprentice. But Longtail realizes that an apprentice is meant to teach their mentor, too.

And he wouldn't be worthy to guide another paw if he hadn't learned his lessons from Swiftpaw.

"I taught him to ignore his limits. I made him think that he had to "prove" himself to be worth anything. It was something my mentor taught me, which was something his mentor taught him. Jaypaw, there's going to be things you can't do, and when they come, you'll hate me for stopping you. But I'm not here to raise another brave fool who dies to prove a point."

Jaypaw also meets Rock at various points through BB!Po3, especially when StarClan isn't being straightforward about answers or they end up in the tunnels.

Rock is VERY gentle with Jaypaw, but no one else. If Jaypaw hadn't been in the tunnels that time the WindClan kits went missing, he probably would have just left them all to drown lmao

The first hint The Three discover about their powers, and the prophecy at all, comes through Jaypaw inadvertently ending up realm-hopping. I'm keeping it on standby for him gaining access to information through dreams.

Before he eventually pressures Dovepaw to spy on other Clans, he was using his own powers to gather what info he could.

Thankfully, he doesn't discover how much power this actually grants him, or what he can consciously do with this, until OotS.

[jayfrost-designs]

Up next is this lanky boy. ^^ As you can see, I went in a completely different direction with his design this time than I did before. But I'll get into that in a bit. Shame that such a cheery apprentice turned into such a grouch later in life, but I guess living with Onestar as your leader for so long will do that to ya. :P

Kestrelflight has no physical description given besieds his pattern, so I came up with my own for him. The more oriental WindClan look seemed to suit him best, so that's what I went with. I wonder if anyone ever noted at the Moonpool gatherings how similar he and Jayfeather look, though Jayfeather is a much more stunted-looking oriental cat. Poor little Harestar's now stuck between two lanky tall boys as his deputy and medicine cat. XD

For his pattern, Kestrelflight is described as a mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers. The best way I could think of to abide by this description while also keeping him looking realistic was to give him the finnish mutation - a form of vitiligo that lightens the pelt except for on the points (face, ears, legs, tail) and gives the cat these white flecky spots throughout the pale part of the pelt. Male common kestrels in the UK have heads and tails that are a different shade from the body, so that part kinda fit as well. He has no confirmed eye color, so I gave him yellow eyes.

Overall, I'm not totally happy with the design, but it works.

[yuridovewing]

hiiiii razorverse questions for u (sorry if these have been answered! tumblr isnt letting me search this update): 1) what is kestrelflight my specialist little guy doing? HOW is he doing? 2) whats mousewhisker up to. my second specialist little guy. po3 apprentice generation is literally my favorite

YAYYYYYYY THANK YOU!!!! i haven't said anything about either of those characters yet, so here we go!

Kestrelflight

-Unlike in canon, Barkface was unfortunately never around to train him- he died back during the forest destruction, succumbing to a combination of old age and sickness. The lack of a medic was a big contributor towards the WindClan Civil War. Mudclaw insisted on assigning a new medic, while Onewhisker insisted on waiting for a line to StarClan to be discovered so they could choose- and he also didn't want to force anyone into the position, even temporarily, so instead, Leafpaw spent a lot of time in WindClan as a temporary medic.

-MASSIVE point of contention. The cats were uncomfortable that he was once again letting a ThunderClan cat into a major position of power, while others insisted that they should appreciate Leafpaw's help when they had none. (This is also where LeafCrow starts here btw)

-It was only worse when they DIDN'T get an immediate sign, and yet no one was up to the task, so for a while WindClan just didn't have a medic. Leafpool eventually had to return after the scandal she committed with Crowfeather along with Cinderpelt's "death", and the clan was now vocally against letting another clan's medic help. But Onestar's fatal flaw is his stubbornness, and he was determined to keep his foot down and not turn back on his decision to wait for a sign. He was trying to keep his morals sooo bad.

-Finally though, they got Kestrelpaw, a young tom who had both the will and the signs to back him up. Poor guy had to deal with becoming an apprentice early at 4 moons though, they put him to work the instant he got the sign. They had StarClan be his mentor. Thankfully there were no serious epidemics or anything during his apprenticeship, but it was still a stressful time and he second-guessed his decision constantly.

-If this sounds familiar, it's because he's a parallel to Puddleshine. Kestrelflight is NOT pleased about being banned from helping the poor guy in AVoS- he knows EXACTLY what it's like in his position, except Puddle didn't even have a sign to back him up! He wanted to be a secondary mentor for the little guy, especially when the yellowcough epidemic nearly wiped out ShadowClan. He was PISSED about this.

-He actually starts off the series being a bit of a doormat, he's overly permissive and lets people walk all over him. Onestar doesn't like this and wants his medic to stand up for himself more because "we can't afford to show weakness" (Sire is projecting!). But after the debacle with Hollyleaf and Willowshine along with the dark forest, he becomes more cynical and less willing to deal with people's shit. Hence him breaking the embargo Onestar set as a "fuck you" to him specifically. (side note: since the Darktail plot is changed to not involve Onestar as much, the embargo plot may or may not stay. I do still plan to have him die in this arc though)

-He was close friends with Hollyleaf and Willowshine, though he definitely felt like a third wheel. He was aware of their relationship but never wanted to say anything out of fear of getting any of them in trouble. In fact, I'm thinking he helped hide Hollyleaf's pregnancy for the most part, though I'm not quite sure how. When Hollyleaf ran away, he was crushed and he tried to support Willowshine however he could, but she was very closed off after the incident and never stopped mourning the chance to know her kits, so he ended up losing her in a way too. It got somewhat better when Ivypaw was briefly a medic, but of course that didn't last.

-He actually had a crush on Jayfeather and was happy when he was briefly a medic, but it never really went anywhere sadly.

-Might hit him with the nby beam. Not sure yet though.

Mousewhisker

-In TNP, he's mostly handled the same as he is in canon! He's a kit that's accepted into ThunderClan with his family after he's in danger of being taken away and euthanized by the barn humans. I don't really have any additions to make there.

-I could be totally misremembering him, absolutely, but I always perceived him as a studious kid who seems like a goody two shoes, always giving an apple to the teacher and getting all As, and is sorta seen as stuffy for it, but in reality he loves to go behind people's backs and break the rules. He's got a sneaky streak! He spies on people a lot and he's no snitch- he'll help you sneak out of camp if he thinks he can get some fun out of it.

-Loves to "erm, actually-" people though. He's a teacher in the clan and he drives some of the apprentices crazy.

-He sneaks out consistently to meet with Minnowpaw/tail. The both of them decide to start training in the Dark Forest because they believe the DF cats' goal is to reform the code, and they want to remove the part that keeps them apart. This does not end well for them. Oops.

-Btw! I keep going back and forth on who the RiverClan three are, but I think I'm gonna shake up the family tree quite a bit here and make them Minnowtail, Beetlewhisker, and Rippletail. If canon doesn't care about their actual canon relationships and timelines then neither will I, these guys have the most material for me to work with so here we go. They're all Icewing's kits and after Rippletail's death, Minnow and Beetle and their mom all align with the Dark Forest, until Beetle also dies. Minnow is the sole survivor of her three.

-I'm not sure what Mousewhisker really does in the narrative himself, he's definitely just a supporting character to the RiverClan three's plots. I think the entire family is aware of him, and are actually cool with it and agree to try and get rid of the law so they can be together (Minnow and her sibs are also halfclan, Icewing has a leg in this too). Proto RiverClan family coup?

-He miiiight take Hazeltail's place death-wise, except he dies in the great battle instead of offscreen greencough. He fights for the clans, but ultimately gets killed trying to protect Minnowtail. Minnow may also be pregnant but idk who her kits will be. Poor girl goes THROUGH IT in The Last Hope.

[nightly-ruse]

So far while reading ASC River the cats are interesting. Only to chapter 5. I’m gonna do little summaries as I read to keep my notes in order.

I’ll probably do a second part at the end or middle of the book. It’s a given but ASC River spoilers below

Flamepaw acts like Sparkpelt never raised him bc we literally know she raised them. Like she wasn’t there when they were really only newborns. He is kinda funny I like how he tried to ping pong off a tree that was funny. He also missed a mockingbird bc he got nervous and just rushed at it. The fact his grandma Lilyheart is training him is kinda interesting tho she isn’t expanded much besides being a shyer, outward thinker. She doesn’t like him speaking up at the gathering and is upset by how his poor performance reflects onto her. He doesn’t seem to be close to any other cat but does wish Sorrelstripe was his real mother (another note against adopted parents being a characters real parents plz stop doing this). At the gathering Flamepaw speaks up about the cats moving clans rule saying that the cat who is leaving should be put down to a apprentice role when they move. He is then laughed at by everyone with a few snide remarks about his own apprenticeship issues which is super funny. Graypaw is actually kinda antagonistic to him, kinda love the kid already. As he’s leaving the gathering he helps Bramblestar who states that he’s fine, Flamepaw doesn’t believe this, they talk about his apprenticeship and Bramblestar tells him to do better but for some reason Flamepaw doesn’t have any issue with this despite him being upset anytime it’s mentioned by anyone else. Also Flamepaw just doesn’t believe the story around everything in TBC he just cannot understand how a cat could be possessed or a spirit lost forever.

Flamepaw so far has a want to impress but also hates having any expectations put on him unless it’s from Bramblestar. He fails his first assessment and his mocked at the gathering making him angry at Lilyheart for bringing him here. He doesn’t believe that TBC events really happened which is interesting. Has a tense relationship to his mother Sparkpelt who he thinks didn’t raise him, notably she is much more interested in his sister Finchlight and the two seemingly grew closer when they were exhiled by Brashstar together. He wants to speak up more and hates cats having control over him, specifically saying that leaders should rotate leadership during a argument over the Leadership law being made. Repeatedly brings up him not resembling fire despite being named Flamepaw in just the first five chapters. Talks to Sunbeam once when she tells Graypaw and a few others to stop teasing Flamepaw so she can listen to what Mistystar is saying, tho she does audibly question why he’s named Flamepaw when he doesn’t look like a flame which pisses him off. Doesn’t seem to have any friends. L.

Frostpaw is the new explicitly short healer of Riverclan. She so far isn’t fleshed out too much mostly complaining about the long walk to the Moonpool that her little legs can’t take. She as a kitten dreamed of her dad Jayclaw before he died and supposedly some bad storm. She doesn’t seem sure she’s really connected to Starclan but Curlfeather is the one to reassure she does. She doesn’t like to be babied but also relishes when she was one, missing her mother curling up around her specifically when it was cold. SHE IS ONLY A QUARTER MOON INTO HER APPRENTICESHIP. This is important and I’m noting it. When she’s at the moonpool she isn’t too attached to any cat besides Alderheart who she thinks is nice, Jayfeather is intimidating and kinda scary, no personality for Kestrelflight, no personality for either Fidgetflake or Frecklewish, Shadowsight apparently doesn’t share dreams with Starclan like Mothwing, and Whistlepaw is energetic and kind pretty eager to have a new friend. As stated before her brother Graypaw is a little silly and quick to give a remark on someone else, Flamepaw specifically. Nothing on her sister so far. Off note but she also says Mothwing has beautiful eyes so more Mothwing is beautiful content :).

Frostpaw so far doesn’t like to be babied but misses feeling cared for. She’s unsure of her abilities specifically her connection to Starclan but prides it as the most important job a healer does. She is overwhelmed by other cats but that may also just be because she is a new apprentice. Her mother Curlfeather clearly babies her and is really supportive, she doesn’t think much of Jayclaw beside that he’s gone making me think he died pretty early on. Her siblings are just a passing mention. Mothwing is kind of strict on her giving a disapproving look when she says Chevril root is for coughs even though she got the two previously asked questions right. Willowshine is mentioned many times specific relating to Frostpaw and is the only cat she can see in her moonpool dream, the rest just shifting stars like the surface of a river. Whistlepaw could be a friend and Frostpaw thinks the windclan healer is a little eager. Alderheart is kind immediately.

Sunbeam lounges with her totally soon to be mate Blazefire and apparently loves to do so. She brings up wanting to be a mentor which is cute, Blazefire says he doesn’t really want to be a mentor bc he likes to do what he wants. She is asked to hunt with her friend Lightleap and she agrees. The two catch some mice and discuss how Pouncestep chased away a dog by hopping into a tree and leading it away from Shadowclan. Lightleap remarks that she would’ve just jumped down and fought it. Sunbeam is concerned. She tries to talk to her friend by they are distracted by a squirrel that is on a particularly thin branch. Before Sunbeam can speak Lightleap launches up the tree and makes a great leap across the branches, she believes the cat made it before Lightleap comes crashing down as the branch bends. Sunbeam runs under and is crushed, wrenching her back and dislocating her shoulder. Immediately Lightleap is upset and after asking if Sun is okay she asks if they can keep the real reason Sunbeam got hurt a secret. She just got out do trouble for crossing Riverclan boundaries and didn’t want to get in trouble with her dad again. Sunbeam agrees and the two go back to camp where they lie about how she got hurt and Lightleap soon runs back to grab their prey. She is annoyed by this. Shadowsight isn’t convinced that a young cat like Sunbeam could get this hurt by just a trip and with some pressing gets Sunbeam to tell him the truth.

Sunbeam so far likes the rules and doesn’t get risk taking, she likes to be with those she perceives as friends and is pretty loyal. She wants more in life in particular Blazefire as a mate and a apprentice to keep her busy. She does spill the beans about how she really got hurt to Shadowsight though which I definitely don’t think will come up again wink wink wink/sarcastic. Very blunt. I cannot express how blunt this girl is with her words. She just meets this kid and says his name is kinda dumb which is hilarious. She also doesn’t seem to measure her actions very much. So far that’s it with her.

Some other thinks of note:

Bramblestar is traumatized and explicitly out of it. He’s also the only one who can bring up any of Flamepaw’s blood without getting any mean words. I don’t really care about him.

Rootspring is very traumatized. Dude is slow and depressed. Immediately at the gathering he goes up and sits next to Ivypool. He’s also the one to silence the outcry about the Clan swapping rule with no one having the gull to argue the guy who lost his mate forever.

Cats are outraged about the leaders can be taken down rule which is crazy. They think it should be harder when the rule currently is that 3/4 of the clan must agree, including all healers, all the other leaders as well, and then Starclan. This is never going to actually work that is a huge amount of cats.

Birchfall is weirdly against the rule changes. He doesn’t want the clan swapping or leadership change rule put in place. But then at the gathering at the announcement of Tigerheartstar and Dovewing’s kittens being named Rowankit and Birchkit, presumably after him, he’s all grandpa like.

Lilyheart is a sort of unsure embarrassed cat who does not like Flamepaw messing up. That’s kinda it for her but I like it

[need1etail]

The Clans: literally dying

Kestrelflight: "Can I get an apprentice? Can I please get an apprentice?"

[bootlegwarriorsquotes]

Jayfeather and Kestralflight maybe? For the incorrect quote thingy?

Kestrelflight: How's Thunderclan, Jayfeather?

Jayfeather: meh.

Kestrelflight: How's being a medicine cat, Jayfeather?

Jayfeather: meh.

Kestrelflight: How are you, Jayfeather?

Jayfeather: meh.

Kestrelflight: Can't you summon up more than an inch of enthusiasm for our conversation?! Doesn't anything make you happy?

Jayfeather: Hmm...yes. There is one thing you could do to make me happy.

Kestrelflight: There is?! What is it, tell me? :D

Jayfeather: Go away.

— n/a

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Thank you, for the ask/request, @a-wanderin-whirlybird - I hope this is okay x3

[kipswarriorcats]

send help i can’t stop thinking about my “power of 5″ au so i sketched some babies

basically the premise is that leaf and squirrel are pregnant around the same time so squirrelflight takes the original 3 and raises them with alder and spark. here’s some things abt it! (sorry for long post)

alderkit and sparkkit were born a few days before lionkit, jaykit, and hollykit. sadly, juniperkit and dandelionkit were stillborn. since a litter with 7 kittens is pretty much unheard of in warriors, poor squirrelflight has to mourn them in secret (like yellowfang with wishkit and hopekit).

instead of being manipulated into taking the three, squilf is actually the one to offer to raise them. while in the hollow tree, leafpool nurses all five kittens while squirrelflight is out hunting for them.

unless i can think of a better mate/father of the kits for squirrelflight, brambleclaw in this au isn’t a jerk and actually has a healthy relationship with his mate and babies. they both raise all 5 with equal love, but hollykit in particular has a special bond with her dad.

sparkkit and lionkit are an absolute TERROR together. they loooove causing mischief and have been punished to pick tics off the elders more times than they can count.

jaypaw gets to train as a warrior like he wants to. instead, it’s hollypaw and alderpaw that switch roles. alderpaw starts as birchfall’s apprentice then trains as a medicine cat under leafpool. lionpaw’s mentor is stormfur instead of ashfur, and sparkpaw’s mentor is sorreltail!

the three also learn they’re adopted much sooner, since i felt like the “big reveal” in the original took away from what the arc was supposed to be (clans vs dark forest). squilf takes all five apprentices out one day and tells them the truth. learning they’re adopted doesn’t really change anything: they’re still littermates, squirrel and bramble are still their parents, and leafpool is still their cool aunt. leaf is kinda sad about this but accepts it soon enough.

the rest of the clan doesn’t know the truth yet, for the sake of leafpool’s protection. hollypaw IS kinda mad about it for a little (but not as mad as if she’d been kept in the dark for longer). eventually she forgives them for breaking the code and things go back to normal.

all 5 cats also have a power, hence the name “power of five.” lionblaze and jayfeather keep their original powers, and sparkpelt gets dovewing’s power (i haven’t thought yet about how dove and ivy fit in, but they will have a role! maybe they’re the ones to take down darktail? idk)

hollyleaf’s power is stealth. she can’t turn invisible, per se, but she can blend into the shadows effortlessly. if she doesn’t want to be seen, she won’t be--making her an excellent spy against the dark forest.

alderheart’s power is speech. he can calm any enemy, or convince any cat of anything. it’s a big help when convincing skyclan to return to the lake and help fight against the dark forest, and then again in convincing the other leaders to let them stay.

just for shits and giggles i’m gonna say that puddleshine and needletail were also born around this time. alderheart, a disaster bi, falls in love with both of them. he goes to aunt leafpool for advice often.

jayfeather also has cross-clan relationship troubles when he meets kestrelflight, the windclan medicine cat, at the border. it’s a whole complicated thing, and they have a bit of an on-and-off relationship.

lionblaze is still mates with cinderheart, and sparkpelt becomes mates with either icecloud or foxleap (not sure which yet)

the fire scene still happens with ashfur trying to kill all 5 cats. instead of spilling her secrets, squirrelflight yells at her kits to run and leaps for ashfur’s throat. the two cats tumble down into the fire, ending with ashfur dead and squirrelflight narrowly escaping with her life. she’s heavily scarred and never quite the same after that. 

hollyleaf does get stuck in the tunnels, but this time purpose so she can learn the secrets of the clans origins. her siblings are terrified not only for her safety, but terrified because the great battle looms ever closer. she befriends fallen leaves and learns about the ancients. she does the whole time travel thing instead of jayfeather while in the tunnels.

the great battle happens. the clans are losing ground on thunderclan territory when they hear a familiar yowl. hollyleaf bursts out from the tunnels, leading a swarm of ancient spirits to their aid.

meanwhile, alderheart is helping other medicine cats on skyclan territory. jayfeather leads a battle patrol on windclan territory. lionblaze is defending the riverclan camp, and sparkpelt uses her senses to stand guard for shadowclan.

brambleclaw gives his life to save hollyleaf from hawkfrost. his mate, kits, tawnypelt, and firestar are at his side. with his dying breath, he asks that squirrelflight replace him as deputy. lionblaze, jayfeather, and sparkpelt track down and kill hawkfrost to avenge their father.

firestar and tigerstar battle. squirrelflight becomes squirrelstar and makes either hollyleaf or ivypool her deputy. her nine lives are from firestar, brambleclaw, juniperkit, dandelionkit, shrewpaw, feathertail, ferncloud, ravenpaw, and dustpelt (who dies in battle instead of between arcs).

oh and avos and tbc still happen, just need to figure out how.

hopefully more stuff about this au to come! i like it a lot

[hybbat]

Speaking of my son, I still mildly resent the POV cats for constantly lumping Harestar in with Mistystar in supporting the imposter.

Harestar was significantly more resistant to the idea of exiling despite his fears to the point that he outright states he isn’t going to and Crowfeather was the one that had to volunteer to leave, seemingly just so that everyone would stop hounding Harestar into doubting himself and keep the peace. And Harestar immediately jumped at the first chance to invite Crowfeather back the second he could (and also seemingly never named another deputy while he was gone.) The second he loses a life and thinks he has a leg to stand on to stand up for himself against the imposter and codebreaking nonsense he does.

The way the cats talk about him when he’s not there you would think he’s hanging on every word the imposter said and throwing out cats left and right like Mistystar, but he’s actually shown more so having difficulty appeasing his clanmates and standing up to much more assertive and older leaders whose words are supported by some unfortunate coincidences. Made worse by Crowfeather’s absence since the older, grumpier warrior seems to be the poor boy’s spinal support.

He’s a lot closer to Leafstar but with a lot less confidence and experience, even if he ended up falling on the other side of the coin. And it’s at least partly imo because his clan didn’t get to have a POV cat to be constantly showing him the truth, while Kestrelflight , the only one that could tell him anything, ditzed around with telling him what little he knew.

Even then, once again his rejection of the info is offscreen. The offscreen Harestar we get second hand summaries of and the one we see onscreen are two very different cats.

[warriorgrayfawn]

Gorge Colony Allegiances

I figured it was time to make one of these and then update it over time to see how it develops. As of now, I still have to draw Brightpool's kits as well as Star Marigold's stray kit. I'm also thinking of adding more elders. Read more below.

Leader

Star Marigold - Fluffy pale yellow she cat with blue eyes (Family: Parents are Sunfur and Kestrelflight. Recently taken in a stray kit as her own now known as nightdust.)

Deputy

Foxthorn - Red tom with big black paws and blue eyes (Has a soft spot for the medicine cat)

Apprentice: Blossompatch

Care Wing

Mistleaf - silver tabby she cat with green eyes (Family: Cousin is Sparrowfeather.)

Soldiers

Honeywhisker - pale ginger she cat with green eyes.

Leafbreeze - white and brown tabby she cat with blue eyes.

Frogclaw - Silver tabby tom with green eyes. (Apprentice is Stormbreeze and Mate is Brightpool)

Nettletuft - Black tom with green eyes. (Family: Mate is Minnowspring and kits are Stormbreeze, Maplebreeze, Blossompatch, and Crowsight)

Sparrowsong - Brown tabby tom with golden eyes. (Apprentice is Maplebreeze and litter mates are Mothstep and Acornfluff)

Acronfluff - Dark brown tabby tom with hazel eyes. (Family: Mate is Rowanspots and litter mates are Mothstep and Sparrowsong.)

Owlwillow - white with orange and brown splotches she cat with blue eyes. (Family: Mate is Ravenflight and kits are Doepond, Rowanspots, Ebonystripes, and Gingerfluff. Apprentice is Crowsight.)

Ravenflight - White and brown tabby she cat with blue eyes. (Family: Mate is Owlwillow and kits are Doepond, Rowanspots, Ebonystripe, and Gingerfluff.)

Lilytail - Unusually spotted golden and brown tabby she cat with golden eyes. (Apprentice: Sparrowfeather)

Doepond - Dark ginger and white tom with green eyes. (Family: Parents are Ravenflight and Owlwillow. Litter mates are Rowanspots, Ebonystripe, and Gingerfluff.

Ebonystripe - black tabby tom with blue eyes. (Family: Parents are Ravenflight and Owlwillow. Littermates are Doepond, Rowanspots, and Gingerfluff.)

Gingerfluff - white and orange splotches she cat with green eyes. (Family: Parents are Ravenflight and Owlwillow. Litter mates are Doepond, Rowanspots, and Ebonystripe)

Minnowspring - Calico she cat with blue eyes. Expecting. (Family: Mate is Nettletuft and kits are Stormbreeze, Maplebreeze, Blossompatch, and Crowsight.)

Apprentices

Stormbreeze - Mostly black calico tom. (Mentor is Frogclaw. Parents are Nettletuft and Minnowspring. Litter mates are Crowsight, Maplebreeze, and Blossompatch.)

Sparrowfeather - Brown tabby she cat with blue eyes. (Mentor is Lilytail)

Maplebreeze - Black with orange splotches she cat with green eyes. (Mentor is Sparrowsong. Parents are Nettletuft and Minnowspring. Litter mates are Stormbreeze, Blossompatch, and Crowsight.)

Crowsight - Black and white tom with blue eyes. (Mentor is Owlwillow. Parents are Nettletuft and Minnowspring. Litter mates are Maplebreeze, Stormbreeze, and Blossompatch.)

Blossompatch - Mostly white calico she cat with green eyes. (Mentor is Foxthorn. Parents are Nettletuft and Minnowspring. Litter mates are Maplebreeze, Stormbreeze, and Crowsight.)

Nursery Aide

Rowanspots - White and dark ginger spotted tom with blue eyes. (Family - Mate is Acornfluff. Parents are Owlwillow and Ravenflight. Littermates are Doepond, Ebonystripe, Gingerfluff.

Nursery

Brightpool - orange and white tabby with brown eyes. (Family: Mate is Frogclaw. Kits are Shadepuddle, Otterswoop, Pricklebush, and Dawnpuddle)

Mothstep - Golden tabby she cat with striking green eyes. (Family: Mate is unknown. Litter mates are Sparrowfeather and Acornfluff. Kits are Applepatch and Rosewind)

Elders

Kestrelsong - White and pale yellow she cat with blue eyes. (Family: Mate is Sunfur and kit is Star Marigold.)

Sunfur - Orange mottled tom with brown eyes. Has poor eyesight and hard of hearing. (Family: Mate is Kestrelsong and kit is Star Marigold.

[mercypaw]

redid my kestrelflight! this is one ive been meaning to redo for a while bc i made some poor design choices on my old one that i have since learned better abt

what do you mean hes canonly grey? looks pretty brown to me

[fencesandfrogs]

names. leaders. meaning.

i’m working on a master post with a list of my influences but i’m impatient and i have my own ideas. warrior cats lore post. bracketed numbers are things that broke flow but i wanted to include. under the cut.

THUNDERCLAN leaders are addressed by their name. there is no honorific, just bluestar or firestar or pinestar. the names of a leader become hallowed names. no kit will be named bluekit for many seasons after her death, until those who knew her have passed, and her name is just another in the list of leaders kits are taught. their names, kits are told, are powerful. just as kits can be summoned by their name, so can a leader. firestar’s compassion and fairness will be with us as long as we remrember his name.

a kit’s name is its mother’s choice, although a generous queen might allow a tom some input. kits are named for what they look like and what their mother wants them to be. dovekit for a grey kit who deserves peace. ivykit for a grey kit who deserves to put down roots.

after the great journey, these peaceful names have been more common. everyone wants to stay, be stable and calm. it won’t be until all those who made the journey have passed for it to even be possible for the old fighting to start again. maybe then, more grey kits will be named stormkit for power.

and their warrior name is always for them. recent leaders may have made unique choices, but perhaps older leaders were too conservative. bluefur and snowfur, from the same litter no less, is a tad unoriginal. but a kit is named for who their mother wants them to be, and a warrior is named for who they are. names describe who we are. [1]

SHADOWCLAN leaders are addressed by their name at times, especially during the day, but during hallowed and holy times, they are addressed by star seer. never in front of other clans. this is a powerful name. kits are taught this from birth. the stars are their ancestors, and the leader has been blessed by nine. it is only fair to show reverence for that. but the other clans do not understand this. they would only dishonor the tradition.

a kit’s name is chosen by all the queens in the nursery, and sometimes the elder queens. the mother has final say, but she is only first among equals. it takes many heads to remember as many warriors who have borne a name as possible.

when tawnypelt insisted on tigerkit, they decided it was a dangerous name. that’s why they had dawnkit and flamekit. because firestar was the downfall of tigerstar, and the dawn is a peaceful time. tigerkit would turn the power of his father for good.

their warrior names are, similarly, a more open discussion. leaders discuss it with mentors and senior warriors and medicine cats. hints are often dropped to the apprentices. their names must complete what the queens started. tigerheart so that he would remember it was the strength of his heart. puddleshine so that he would be able to find the light of starclan. names shape those they are given to.

RIVERCLAN leaders have a litany of names. weather caller, storm seer, spirit walker. a new leader being made is a chance to find another for the list. these names are to honor leaders for the role they play in their lives. the names themselves, mistystar, crookedstar, leopardstar, they are not held with the same reverence as in thunderclan and shadowclan. a leader leaves behind their claim to that name, becoming known by that only by their friends from before.

a kit’s name is chosen by the queen and her mate, regardless of the father. [2] they are chosen to honor the kit and the name. silverkit, out of love for trinkets, hoping their daughter would feel loved. graykit, hoping for a peaceful life, like still water. featherkit for a half-thunderclan kit, that they would not forget their blood, even though they would be raised riverclan.

stormkit was a debated choice. graystripe was not silverstream’s mate. he had little say over their names, but in lieu of either silverstream or her mate, stormkit would have to stick. it would come to honor spirit and power, courage to stand on your own. stormkit would have a new meaning, a new honor, after that.

their warrior name is chosen to honor their environment, to honor them. silverstream, for a daughter who had grown beautiful and loved. feathertail for a riverclan cat who knew where she belonged. crookedjaw for a warrior who had grown into the hardship he had dealt. the bearer of a name changes its meaning.

WINDCLAN has no name for their leader but their name. tallstar. heatherstar. harestar. but their medicine cats are honored. kestrelflight might become spirit seer in honor of a bird’s vision, and barkface could become moor healer, a tribute to the gift of herbs of the moor. no one decides on these names, but the clan agrees. it is not a name gifted in haste. only one medicine cat can ever have another name at a time, but to receive it is honor.

kits are named for prey and plants. harekit for a kit who looked fast and wry, crowkit for a kit with the old power of tunnelers. heatherkit for a kit with a pelt apt for stealth, and barkkit for a kit who looked out of place on the moor. the queen suggests, but the medicine cat confirms. without a blessing from starclan, no name could be a good omen. [3]

barkface didn’t like breezekit, he said it was a poor chosen name. said the kit was too solid for a name like breezekit, that rabbitkit or gorsekit was better. nightcloud asked if he was forbidding the name. barkface said he would not deny a queen to choose the name of her only kit. but breezekit would only bear ill wind.

warrior names are chosen for accuracy. breezepelt for a cat with a thin pelt. heathertail for a skilled hare runner. a leader seeks approval from a medicine cat, that they will bring no misfortune for their chosen name. _crowfeather _was a shocking interruption to begin with, but made worse that barkface could not ensure it was not ill-fated. names describe our future.

SKYCLAN has no honorific for its leader nor its medicine cat. to treat them differently would be to devalue their role. they are part of the clan as any other, and that is why they can lead it. so the names of a leader are not hallowed, but fought over once they have passed. the first kit to be named leafkit will be of the first litter born after leafstar loses her last life. [4]

a kit’s name is chosen with careful consideration. they may go unnamed for up to a moon as the queen searches for a good name. a cat who passes away while a litter is unnamed is almost sure to find themselves reborn in a name. firekit, stormkit, harrykit. all named for who was, but isn’t anymore.

firekit and stormkit may seem like they started this tradition, but it was harrykit far more than the other two. skyclan proved they would form their own clan, make the rules work for them, and that meant names like harrykit. it was honoring not just who was but also who they were.

so far, warrior names have been chosen exclusively by leafstar, and no one has complaints. the other clans might protest, but their names are a mark of what skyclan is, now that they live with the others. a warrior’s name is an honor, either in memory of another, or to bring honor to the name being given. violetshine that both names might enter the skyclan canon, frecklewish for a granted wish, _billystorm _for the she-cat that helped shape their clan. names honor those who came before.

PERHAPS THEN it’s not strange for bramblestar’s names to be unique. he has lead his clan during a strange time. and if riverclan’s names grow similar, that is because they know what they love. names have meaning. they always do. [5]

[1]: this is my explanation for the elder’s names in series one. i’ve also seen some lostface commentary i like.

[2]: cats can have multiple fathers in one litter. not going into it. this has nothing to do with adoption stuff. i mean it could, but i’m specifically saying it doesn’t.

[3]: other clans do get medicine cat approval, but it’s a formality, a wives’ tale.

[4]: modern skyclan, as per usual. old skyclan used -sky as a sort of friendly greeting? a personal, in thing? skyclan’s territory was furthest from high stones, so they probably weren’t super spiritual. leafsky. cloudsky. and so on. not in front of other clans, though, who would interpret it as extremely disrespectful, both to the leader and to starclan.

[5]: to be clear, i did this not to justify naming choices, but because i thought it worth my time to spend an hour (holy shit i can’t believe i’ve done this for an hour) writing lore about various names. i try to ground these things in canon, but this is for wing & feather (i.e., jaywing and dovefeather world building), so i don’t mind changing things. i don’t want to change names if i can help it, though. that said, when people say the old names were good: come on, man, i love bluestar’s prophecy, but really? bluefur and snowfur? i guess that means i have to say thunderclan is literal in their names.

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Hi again ‘Purdy :) it’s pebblewhisper again. Your rabies wind clan pov sounds amazing bcz 1 windclan pov and 2. Harestar getting rabies. Could you remind me a bit on whistlepaw? I looked up the wiki and must be missing a puzzle piece in my brain because it is not clicking as there isn’t much info on her 😅. It could be because i am switching between time lines so often and the last thing i read was the last hope. What did you think of firestar’s death scene btw? Would love to hear how you felt when u first read it/how u feel about it now. I am reading the original guide secrets of the clans rn before bed and under thunderclan’s list of “significant medicine cats” it goes: cloudspots...featherwhisker, and spottedleaf. Um. UHM HELLO WHAT ABOUT GOOSEFEATHER?!?! What is this goosefeather erasure??? Excuuuse me!?! I turned to my bf and he says “maybe starclan didn’t want to include him because he was crazy”. 😭 Also i wish we knew more about him visiting w both star clan and the df. Wish that novella was a SE! Am i crazy but have we seen goosefeather in the afterlife? (Prologue or something in starclan?) I am fuzzy on goosefeather rn for some reason. Can only think of snippets while he is alive but not after his death. (Like is he only in starclan or does he appear in both places after he dies?) Sorry for the long message it is nice to catch up tho! Would love to hear more about the whistlepaw/harestar thing also omg could u imagine breezepelt w rabies 😳

Hi again Pebblewhisper!

Whistlepaw hasn’t physically made an appearance yet they are a WindClan warrior apprentice (I think they’re supposed to be female but Kestrelflight referred to them as a male in the last book so for now gender fluid or trans Whistlepaw for the win lol), and basically in Darkness Within Kestrelflight talked about how he would like to take Whistlepaw on as an apprentice very soon since they seem interested in being a medicine cat - so hopefully we should get to meet Whistlepaw next book.

And yeah Firestar’s death scene - when I first read it was very sad and pretty cool and then was like “wait - that was a dick move for StarClan to drop a tree on him like that” and now although now apparently he was a gonner before the tree got dropped on him I still find it kind of funny how in my mind he wasn’t dying quick enough for StarClan so they dropped a tree on him to help speed up the process lol

Yeah this Goosefeather erasure is unacceptable- poor guy deserves better - and yeah I would have definitely been down for a Goosefeather SE rather than a novella - but I still do love the novella. About Goosefeather being in StarClan I did have to check up on that because I wasn’t 100% sure but he does appear in StarClan in Bluestar’s Prophecy and The Last Hope.

To be honest I imagine Breezepelt with rabies might not be too different lol. But yeah Harestar could have easily got infected a while ago and not noticed so this mysterious disease could seem like it comes out from nowhere I wouldn’t be surprised if the cats thought that StarClan had cursed Harestar - and even if Harestar loses a life and becomes fine, if he bit or scratched anyone they could potentially start showing symptoms after a few weeks leading to even more panic - and since it has such a long incubation period in cases maybe there could be paranoia growing in WindClan over who would show signs and when with cats turning on each other and trying to isolate to avoid being infected - and maybe a small group could turn to a more extreme version of their religion to try and appease StarClan so they can be spared from their apparent wrath. And since rabies has no cure once it’s symptomatic I can’t imagine how desperate and despairing Kestrelflight and Whistlepaw could get. And maybe if news spreads of this disease the other Clans could think that WindClan is cursed? Rabies could genuinely be so interesting

Never apologise for a long message - it was nice to catch up! Sorry for rambling a bit about rabies there at the end lol

[canon-notcanon-warriorcats]

Having one medicine cat and one sometimes apprentice per clan is dumb as hell. They should have at least 2, maybe 3 or 4, fully trained medicine cats per clan. Not only would it free the medicine cats up to take mates and kits but it also assures the Clan isn’t totally fucked if their only medicine cat dies without a successor. Poor Puddleshine being pushed into being the only medicine cat when he’s barely old enough to be an apprentice, it’s like letting a 13 year old be a doctor.

yeah like when the clans had like 10-15 cats per clan it made more sense but now each clan has like

30-/50/ cats in it like there should be like at least 3 medicine cats per clan

poor kestrelflight, he’s like 9 years old, he should be retiring in a couple of years but he hasn’t even gotten one apprentice yet

[ghoulsoftheclansasks]

Bio: Dapplecloud of ThunderClan

Name: Dapplecloud of ThunderClan (formerly Berry as a kittypet and loner)

Description: Dappled ginger tabby and white she-cat with very dark blue eyes and a long thin tail.  Has a thin body and large ears.  Has a set of scars on her belly.

Rank(s): Kittypet, Loner, Kit, Medicine Cat Apprentice, Medicine Cat

Age: 68 to 76 moons (Speckle’s Blaze), 94 moons (Lavender’s Stream) 

Personality: Loud yet shy, gentle, intelligent, patient with others, untrusting, but caring to those under her charge.  Tends to her looks frequently.  Does not like most cats from other Clans.  Is helpless in battle.  Will help any way she can.

Notable Skills: Medical knowledge, deep spiritual connection, hunting, fast running speed

Weaknesses: Poor battling skills, swimming, cold weather resistance, defense against attacks

Powers, If Any: None

Brief History: Dapplecloud was born as a kittypet named Berry to her mother Mottleflower (formerly Briar) and father Jack.  She formed a close bond with her Twolegs’ daughter Maria Bell from a very young age.  Maria was bullied for being wheelchair-bound; this made Dapplecloud aware of those with different needs early on.  She spent her first moons on Maria’s lap, making friends around the neighborhood, and avoiding her brother Patches’ bullying.  All of this changed around her fourth moon.

Shadow demons from the Dark Forest wreaked havoc on Dapplecloud’s neighborhood as she was walking with her mother.  The shadow demons killed most of those in the area, including Jack, Dapplecloud’s uncle Matt, her littermates, Maria, and Maria’s parents.  To pour salt on the wound, the taint the Dark Forest left on their souls prevented any of them from passing in peace.  Dapplecloud left her home with her mother after she made a promise with Death; he would inform her when the taint from the shadow demons ran out so she could travel back and say goodbye to her family.  

She began receiving strange dreams after her family’s death of tending to hurt cats in a large community of felines.  It felt natural to her.  The dreams persisted as she and Mottleflower settled into ThunderClan.  Their medicine cat Jayfeather realized Dapplecloud was meant to become his new apprentice.  He needed to fill the voids left from Leafpool leaving the lake and Alderheart becoming a warrior.  He took her in despite the misgivings of several Clanmates.  He trained her for the first six moons of her apprenticeship, and supported her when Mottleflower was murdered during her ninth moon.

Dapplecloud’s training nearly came to an end during her twelfth moon.  She woke up at the Moonpool to cats from every living Clan attacking her and the other medicine cats present.  The attacking cats separated her from Jayfeather.  They slashed at her belly on the Moonpool’s shore.  Puddleshine of ShadowClan drove them off, but her severe injuries made Dapplecloud lapse into a coma.  She awoke to Mothwing of RiverClan tending to her.  The golden tabby gently informed her that her mentor was presumed dead from the attack.

The Moonpool incident had many consequences.  Dapplecloud found she could not trust most of her Clanmates anymore.  How could she, when several of them attacked her at the Clans’ holy site and presumably killed her mentor?  She developed a series of slash-shaped scars on her belly.  Bramblestar punished those who participated in the attack.  Mothwing became Dapplecloud’s mentor for the final moons of her training.  She has continued to lose many friends over the years, but Dapplecloud remains strong against those wishing harm on her Clan.

Mentor(s): Jayfeather of ThunderClan/the Moon Tribe, Mothwing of RiverClan

Allies: Most of ThunderClan, Puddleshine of ShadowClan, Sunpaw/heart of ShadowClan, Harespring/star of WindClan, Kestrelflight of WindClan, Lavenderpaw/stream of WindClan, Leaftail of WindClan, Blackbirdfoot of WindClan, Dunlinwhisker of WindClan, Buzzardleap of WindClan, Brackenflower of WindClan, Willowshine of RiverClan, Nightpaw/frost of RIverClan, Mothwing of RIverClan, Mossleaf of SkyClan, Maplepaw/storm of SkyClan, Jayfeather of the Moon Tribe (formerly of ThunderClan), Death of the Discworld

Rivals: Most non-ThunderClan cats, Snowbush of ThunderClan, Yarrowheart of ThunderClan, Limpetcloud of ThunderClan, Finchkit/paw/talon of ThunderClan, Patches

Enemies: Dark Forest cats, Breezepelt of WindClan, Hank the Dog, most cats involved in the Moonpool Incident

Kin:

Briar/Mottleflower (deceased) - Mother

Jack (deceased) - Father

Cloudy (deceased) - Sister

Rudy (deceased) - Brother

Patches (deceased) - Brother 

Olivia (deceased) - Aunt

Magic (deceased) - Uncle

Ace (deceased) - Uncle

Matt (deceased) - Uncle

Rosie (living) - Cousin

Ed (living) - Cousin

Abigail (deceased) - Grandmother

Rascal (deceased) - Grandfather

Sabrina (deceased) - Grandmother

Tank (deceased) - Grandfather

Fallowwhisker (living) - Mate (eventually)

Patchheart (living) - Daughter (eventually)

Cypresscloud (living) - Son (eventually)

Briarflower (living) - Daughter (eventually)

Mallowface (living) - Son (eventually)

[stimmypaw]

stimmypaw reads Thunder & Shadow, another blog post

much like the first time, I am continuing to read A Vision of Shadows for the first time and sharing my thoughts as I go! This post of course has a bunch of spoilers for Thunder and Shadow. It’s all in the read more, have fun!

I'm so glad echosong is okay but what will she do??? Where will she go??? I'm so worried

I don't like it that Briarlight is stuck in the medicine den all day, love to see her playing with kits and showing her strength tho she's so sweet and good she deserves better

Now littlecloud is sick too???? Fuck!!!!

Also seems Needlepaw and Alderpaw haven't managed to get along better yet, maybe Alderpaw can talk to her through Leafpool since she's going to Shadowclan?

Also graystripe is awful as always and I love him 2 bits

I love Rowanstar's character too, he's so stupidly proud. Shadowclan has a fun trend of having a long line of mediocre to awful leaders and I feel bad for Tawnypelt, Shadowclans braincell who should be leader.

Jayfeather is gonna miss his friends

YES, SKYCLAN!!!! SKYCLANNNN

Twigkit lifting her front paws im 💖💖💖💖 AAAAA BABY

Graystripe :] he's silly

Omg feather time

If something bad happens to this feather ill fraud my taxes I will commit many crimes this delivery must happen safely and if anyone takes it from violetkit I will Kill

Omg sleekpaw don't be so mean poor littlecloud :c medicine cats are important!!

I see alderpaw leaving his feather behind alderpaw get it to violetkit Now

Oh God imagine being puddlekit, shadowclan needs to get its shit together real fast

Leafpool is just that picture (i do not see) while trying to process the mess they got her in

OKAY SO I'm glad he's getting along with needlepaw and that he can finally give violetkit her feather but LITTLECLOUD GUYS??? LITTLECLOUD?????????

My heart melted with violetkit, this was so sweet, why are the queens so mean to her??? She's just an autistic icon bro!! Like every cat I like in these books.

Alderpaw: hey I have an idea, why don't we commit crimes?

Needlepaw: FINALLY I THOUGHT YOUD NEVER ASK

VIOLETKIT POINT OF VIEW FINALLY???? FUCK YES YESSSS YES YES SHADOWCLAN TIME IM SO HAPPY THIS IS SO COOL

Last time this happened the character immediately died tho

Hm

I am suffering for violetkit

i wish violetkit would spend more time with leafpool im sure she’d be caring maybe?? maybe im just desperate for violetkit to be loved

no one here knows how to treat a kit

OH YES YESSS

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS SSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATHEYRE TOGETHER AGAIN

im so sad

im 

broooooo

aaaaa i hope needlepaw treats violetkit better from now on, this is hearbreaking.

Fuck I knew it, the rogues are coming for them aren’t they? And where’s Skyclan now????? fuck fuck fuck

ok I have no clue who Fernsong is but he’s funny already why is he like this what is happening why is he blocking them from looking at Honeykit while talking about how worried he is about her?? Absolutely misterious I love him

  Jayfeather 🤝 Yellowfang

 “I don’t want kits around me”

oh the girls are fighting

oh the girls ARE fighting

furzepelt had a cool name im sorry to hear he only existed to die immediately :c

onestar also is very proud, im glad he accepted help this time tho

SPARKPAW MED CAT MOMENT HAHAH

i forgot bumblestripe was a cat and i was wondering if it was just a typo for bramble

also what’s up with dove and tiger??? i forgot everything about their relationship in the previous books because i don’t care about it and the erins tend to write some pretty boring straight couples

the way they’re described makes me feel like needlepaw and sleekpaw are just differently colored versions of each other at times, are they related?? they don’t seem to be.

and here’s the bit that’s previewed, oh boy, it must have been seriously scary being violetkit, but i hope they don’t convince her the clans hate her :c thunderclan likes her shadowclan just sucks

What do these background cats want from Twigkit???? To shoot lasers out of her eyes?? I guess she isn’t magical or anything but also she’s just a kit??? Firepaw was also just a kittypet and he’s a big deal :/// y’all just don’t get it, I hope Twigkit doesn’t get Dovepaw’s protagonist anxiety

I know Twigkit is being scolded but this scene is just so cute like Jayfeather is just tucking her in a moss bed while being mad at her for leaving camp

Thats another one I need to draw i love them

SPARKPELT YESSSSS YESS SYE SYES YES 🎊🎉🎉🎉🎊🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈💖💖💖💖💖💕💖💕💖💕💖💕💕

Mothwing ableist????? That's cringe

Omg poor kestrelflight

Jayfeather misses Leafpool so bad, Puddlepaw must feel awful though

OLD AGE? H HOW OLD IS LEAFPOOL THEN???

?????? OH GOD IM LOVING THIS???

This apprentice rebellion is Nuts its so good oh fuck!!! I'm loving whats happening here its awful and perfect

Violetkit is getting bitter :c she needs 2 be embraced and loved stat

She is also clearly getting some bad dependency and abandonment issues, desperate to do anything to please so she won't be left alone again :c

FUCK NO NO NO AAAA NEEDLEPAW WHAT WWERE YOU THUNKING??????? JESUS POOR VIOLETKIT

Kitnapping, this is bad

Oh, very interesting

These apprentices and rogues are so smart god this is a perfect plan

Twigkit absolutely is the sunshine

I love her interactions with Alderpaw, I wish she had gotten to see her sister

In comparison Violetkit looking around camp desperate for attention is awful

Oh fuck bribing

NEEDLEPAW DONT BE MEAN TO VIOLETKIT :C

Oh fuck ou fuck the 4chan kids are angry

??? BRO WHAT??? DONT KICK OUT VIOLETKIT, THATS WHY YOUR APPRENTICES TURNED INTO ANCAPS DAMN

I'm angy

Oh no

Something bad happened :c

Bramblestar: good day!

Rowanstar: Oh Is it??? You could say that while starving in winter, cringe ass

Mistystar: its not winter tho

Onestar: well you're fat

God rowanstar must be obliterated

Hey where's the rowanstars maps use idk loon on a lake or something this man has angst!!!

I appreciate Ivypool is her mentor, at least Someone is honest about whats going on and hey they can both relate on the fear of not being special! Ivypool can be very good to Twigpaw im counting on her

Oh fuck

Violetpaw sounds like she's in trouble with the rogues :c aa

AAAA TWIGPAWWWW AAAA

Violetpaw don't be mean about your sister :C she misses you so bad

Sleekwhisker is like that dad that let his kid starve until she learned to open a bean can she didn't want

Holy fuck

Aaaa violetpaw D:

Jesus christ that was awful

That was so intense I was so nervous for Violetpaw, I'm really happy for her now aaaa

Another gathering already? Wowie

I hope Shadowclan gets those herbs soon :c

I see he appeal in FernIvy and I appreciate it

Violetpaw and Twigpaw sharing a den my heart......this is IT

Jayfeather: I want to steal

I'm listening to Burn Pygmalion! and "viscious kin" is very fitting for this series ehhehe

I love violetpaw and twigpaw btw

IM CRYING

I cant believe Alderpaw is an all lives matter kinda guy

Yesss rebel get those herbs alreadyyy

Starclan has agreed to let kestrelflight kill onestar, goodbye onestar /j

Epic I love you harespring

Alderpaw being confused at Jayfeather saying he is proud is the Best

What an ending! Terrifying and hopeful at the same time, I am very excited to see the hijinks Bramblestar and Rowanstar will get into and how they will go searching for Skyclan, it was PAINFUL to have that prologue talking about them with 0 hope of them showing up again Nothing Nada Zilch, feels like that and the ending were just 2 remind us that that was still the major plot point hahaha, I appreciate it I guess. I'm glad Violetpaw and Twigpaw are on uh good terms despite it all, not very ideal and they're both upset but they still consider each other siblings and know they care about each other :'0 Alderheart getting his name is epic too!!! I was hoping he would soon. I loved everything about his interactions with Jayfeather here, loved all the characterizations really it was just top notch, Onestar being a bastard, Needletail, OH AND SHADOWCLAN JOINING THE ROGUES, top notch!!!! The ancap apprentices were a riot.

This was a good book!!! Flowed very nicely and smoothly, reading in shadowclan's point of view for more than around 3 chapters was great. I can barely wait for the rest!!! Will Violetpaw find belonging in this new era of Shadowclan??? Or will she leave again??? Will Alderheart somehow figure out where Skyclan is and get them together at the lake??? Will Twigpaw get all the spicy details of Dovewing's secret romance with Tigerheart??? Who knows!! But I am very excited to find out what happens next :D

[windsclan]

Can we hear more about your rewrite? Princess gets a girlfriend? 👀

Sure!! In my rewrite, Princess and Rusty were adopted by the same family and live together. Princess follows Rusty to his meeting w/ Bluestar, claiming that she ‘wants to meet the cats taking her brother away’. While Graypaw and Rusty are quick to show respect, Princess actually talks back and is surprisingly fiery. Her personality is pretty much the same from the books but instead of only being gentle and sweet she has a prickly side. Bluestar is impressed with her bravery and offers to let both of the siblings join. Princess reluctantly agrees--she wants to keep Rusty out of trouble. She’s given the name Briarpaw.

As a new warrior, Briarpaw--named Briarcloud--joins with on the patrol (along with Fireheart, and Graystripe) to go save WindClan. There she meets a set of older apprentices; Whitepaw, Runningpaw and Webpaw. She finds out that the siblings were adopted into the clan after being abandoned as kits. Briarcloud bonds with all three of them over it. A few moons later, after ShadowClan is dealt with, Briarcloud meets Whitepaw again--now a warrior, Whitetail. Their personalities work very well with one another and they grow close over their shared out-of-clan pasts. They meet again outside of the Gathering, and it becomes a standing date. Whitetail is very practical and kind, blunt when she needs to be but very compassionate. Briarcloud is sweet and kind of soft-hearted, though she has a tongue as sharp as the plant she was named for. They get along quite well and don’t really care that they’re breaking the code.

Eventually Briarcloud finds out she’s expecting kits and moves into the nursery. She falls in love with being a nursery queen and stays there after her kits are born. However things aren’t completely easy. She goes into labor while on a walk and, panicking and close to Fourtrees, wanders onto WindClan territory. Thankfully she’s found by a patrol that’s made up of Whitetail, Morningflower, and Webfoot. Morningflower is an experienced queen and a close friend of Briarcloud’s after she helped bring WindClan home, so she helps her. Webfoot is initially furious but swears to keep his sister’s secret out of loyalty to her. Five kits are born. Briarcloud wants some of them with her, but she also doesn’t want Whitetail to be cut off from their children, so a decision is made. Cloudkit and Dewkit, the first and second born, go to ThunderClan with Briarcloud. The younger three kits, Willowkit, Emberkit, and Weaselkit go to WindClan. 

Whitetail claims to have found the kits, while Briarcloud returns home. There are plenty of questions but eventually both clans get used to the new additions. Cloudkit and Dewkit are a menace to the clan lmao. Eventually, when the clans leave their territories, Briarcloud decides to leave ThunderClan to join WindClan. She and Whitetail settle down, happy to be together at last. Dewspots leaves to be with her mothers, while Cloudtail stays with his uncle in ThunderClan.

Much later they have a second litter, which is Harespring, Heathertail, and Kestrelflight! 

I’ve officially rambled lmao so sorry for the essay but yeah! That’s what I have for them. Things actually go over alright for them due to it staying a secret in ThunderClan for quite some time and because Tallstar never gave a shit about out-of-clan relationships lol. 

Poor Fireheart can barely take it, though, finding out his sister has a WindClan mate while he’s already stuck dealing with Graystripe’s forbidden relationship problems.