#to Lionblaze having relationship problems

[knockknockitsnickels]

"People are mean to Lionblaze his chapters aren't boring" You fools. I love Lionblaze because his chapters are boring.

[willicebattlecatsblog]

I’d just like to say that you and your comics about Lionblaze have made me care for him and his character more than canon ever could dream to, thank you. I never actually gave him much thought before and saw him as annoying, but now I’ve seen the possible potential he could have as a character because the booms just screwed up his personality, and I love seeing your Lionblaze content. I especially love seeing him as a med cat and him getting closer with Leafpool

Your comment means so much to me,,, I am so happy I helped you appreciate the Lionblaze,,,,

Canon did him so dirty by wasting his potential making him ''standard warrior main character''

The canon will give pieces of his personality, but all these pieces are so incredibly under-exploited and incomplete

As an example, him having moral OCD in PoT is genuinely a really good idea knowing the extent of his power, but they just throw this plotline under the rug in the next book (knowing that it's very hard to get rid of OCD lol) Like we see him losing it in the mountains, we see him going ballistic on Crowfeather and Heathertail. Lionblaze knows how dangerous he can be if he isn't always holding back in battle, and it scares him so bad he has vivid nightmares about killing his loved ones. I think it's the first real time in Warriors we had a main character who had the full potential of becoming a villain the moment he stops holding back. Like that's genuinely really good storytelling, and they just??? throw it away in the next book like it never happened????

This dude kills Russetfur, which should have been his worst nightmare becoming reality. That's it, he finally killed someone. Because for just a few seconds, he got so worried about his leader being attacked and probably killed that he stopped holding back. And yet this is less of a plot point than the obviously accidental death of Flametail. Like Jayfeather tries to save a cat who is drowning and is called a murderer during a Gathering, but Lionblaze who kills Russetfur in front of at least 20 cats, that's fine he was just being silly. Like the writers were writing Lionblaze like crap on purpose at this point they had completely given up on him lmfao

We also see his compassionate and empathetic side shine a few times, mostly when he is the one who forgives Squilf and Leafpool the easiest and the fastest. Lionblaze idolizes Brambleclaw and shows a genuine affection for his dad several times and it's genuinely wholesome. Lionblaze has a few really sweet moments with Leafpool and Squilf in OotS :) i cherish these scenes so much.......

He isn't perfect of course, far from it, he can be a douche (mainly to Heathertail, Breezepelt and Dovewing), he is hot-headed and doesn't think before he speaks or acts, he struggles to communicate properly, he often has a weird tunnel-vision in OotS and doesn't listen to Dovepaw's problems with the care it deserves. For most of PoT, despite going through some tough training as an apprentice and later as a newly made warrior, he is almost completely oblivious to the fact that his own mentor Ashfur as a personal beef with him. As someone with the autism rizz, Lionblaze's communication skills are just so autistic to me. This dude has almost no friends, even his ex-apprentice Dovewing isn't on very friendly terms with him (understandable because he was a bad mentor tbh), he feels safe only around his close family, and messes up almost every friendship and relationship he has because he is incapable of communicating properly. Him trying to date Cinderheart was just Lionblaze being absolutely incapable of understanding her point of view, and then proceeding to literally self harm by letting a ShadowClan massacre him to show Cinderpelt he could be harmed on his own will ?? Like what goes on in the Lionblaze's head ?? is he ok ???

Also they could have made him a medicine cat.... I yearn for the Lionblaze medicine cat plotline so much...... Lionblaze being so incredibly scared of hurting anyone again after his nightmares, or after killing Russetfur, that he just drops all the warrior duties and hides in Leafpool's den all day...... also Jayfeather could have been a warrior 100%, we clearly see him fight very well when he is in tandem with one of his siblings, he is capable of running on ThunderClan territory with no issues once he learned the layout, like there's so excuse anymore StarClan just wanted to ruin his life for entertainment

anyway

They could have done do much more with the Lionblaze.......

[skyscratch-wc]

Daisy's Kits

These kids really had so much potential wasted-- I mean you've got two sets of kids with objectively bad fathers and a mother who isn't from Thunderclan originally and is a permaqueen. Plus, there's so much background stuff going on. Toadstep looking up to Lionblaze? Berrynose and Lion's rivalry? Mousewhisker in the Dark Forest and his possible relationship with Minnowtail? Rosepetal mentoring so so many cats? Poor Hazeltail doesn't get much love in canon unfortunately.

Anywho, here are my headcanons for these kids:

Hazeltail

Mischevious, rambunctious, and the go-getter of the older Daisy trio.

Asexual lesbian who has a big ol crush on Hollyleaf when they're kids. She eventually settles for being Mousewhisker's wing-woman

She likes to call Berrynose "Little Brother", much to his frustration

She's a really good big sister to Rosepetal and Toadstep, and supports Toad as he goes through his issues with having an absent father in Spiderleg

Mousewhisker

Hopeless romantic in a relationship with Minnowtail

He and Minnowtail agree that they don't want any kits, that would be too much drama and a lot of hassle. Instead they just enjoy being together and frequently meet down by the lake at night. Hazeltail tags along as a scout/guard in case other cats notice them

He and Hazeltail are collectively referred to as "the twins" since they are inseparable. If you see one, the other is likely nearby

He was brought to the Dark Forest because of his frustrations at the code and how it prevented him and Minnowtail from being together peacefully. Also because he felt left behind in a generation of very import warriors (the Three, Cinderheart, etc.)

Overall, he is probably the most easy-going of his siblings, especially post Dark Forest. He gives off serious stoner vibes y'know

Berrynose

angry man with a chip on his shoulder and some serious self-esteem issues around his small stature

he's a tiny kitty with a lot of anger

Berrynose is bisexual and had a crush/rivalry with Lionblaze as kids. Nevermind the fact that Lionblaze is *huge* compared to Berry and could probably just sit on him to win a fight. He got over Lionblaze and then moved on to Honeyfern and then after her death to Poppyfrost. The guy has some mild commitment issues

Has problems with Mousewhisker's half-clan relationship, but would never say so to his face

The most insecure about he and his siblings not being clanborn

He does his best to have decent relationships with his kids, Cherryfall and Molewhisker, since his father was completely absent from his life

Rosepetal

Lifelong mentor who loves teaching the teens, she would totally be a high school teacher if she were a human

Sometimes ends up as the therapist of her siblings, especially Berrynose and Toadstep.

She's the most patient of her siblings, and as a result is the closest with her angry brother, Berrynose

She doesn't really have the same issues Toadstep does with Spiderleg, she sees him as a deadbeat but doesn't really get too worked up about it. She knows he doesn't really care and therefore won't put energy into a relationship with him

She's aromantic and really has no interest in a mate or kits. She does enjoy the exploits of her siblings though

Toadstep

the youngest brother with some big self esteem issues

He has the hardest time with the fact that he has a deadbeat dad. He spends a lot of time trying to impress Spiderleg when he's younger, despite his siblings constantly telling him that it really isn't worth it.

Toad actually ends up fairly close to his grandparents, Dustpelt and Ferncloud. They become secondary parental figures after his mom and really help the kid gain his footing, especially as an apprentice and young warrior.

Toad really looks up to Lionblaze and sees him as a big brother in a lot of ways. Lionblaze originally didn't return the sentiment but over time has warmed up to Toadstep

Toad frequently gets dragged along on his older twins' (Hazeltail and Mousewhisker) adventures, much to his simultaneous irritation and amusement.

They all really love their mom and would defend Daisy from anyone who says she isn't contributing to the clan. The Twins in particular are very defensive of Daisy, saying that she teaches every young kit and supports all the mother cats of the clan. That is just as valuable as being a warrior.

[bramblewhisker]

Warrior cat relationships were better in arc 1

I just hc that they never changed. I think it opens the door for so many more interesting relationship dynamics if we don't force two cats having kits together having to mean that they are monogamously tied to each other, or even anything more than friends, necessarily.

The broader warrior cat society has undergone some interesting changes since the first arc. The clans' inevitable move from several independent at-best-non-hostile groups to an interconnected and interdependent society of "nations" is natural and interesting. It's been what's driven a decent chunk of the narrative for multiple arcs now. That's all cool.

But the way interpersonal relationships worked in arc 1 is significantly more interesting (and fun for shipping) than the heteronormative, monogamy-driven shift that happened starting with arc 2. I don't even think "mate" was uttered a single time prior to arc 2.

The key element, raised several times throughout arc 1's plot, is the idea that a queen is under no obligation to say who the father of their kits is. You get the sense that it's a social faux pas to ask or even wonder publicly (though I'm sure it was the source of untold amounts of gossip every time). This could be because the father is from a different clan (something that's ~illegal~ but everyone realizes is necessary for some good old genetic diversity), but it could also just be because the kit-making was a purely transactional thing.

Take Brindleface, whose kits were retroactively assigned to Whitestorm. Were they "mates"? The text doesn't really support that. More likely the two of them decided that they would make some good, capable ThunderClan kits together, had the necessary interactions to make that happen, and then went about their separate lives again.

I think about Firestar and Sandstorm. They're the subject of the first use of the word "mates" in the series iirc. But are they? Sandstorm definitely had a crush on him, and they spend a lot of time together, but mates? I think they work a lot better as really good friends and confidants who decided to have a litter of kits together. Sure, she still shares his nest sometimes, but we all know that Graystripe is in there as much if not more. Firestar's got a wife and a boyfriend and no cat has a problem with it. It's great.

As another example, think about Lionblaze and Cinderheart. They spend a huge chunk of Omen of the Stars boring everyone to tears with their relationship angst. I say it's better if the two of them decided, hey, Cinderheart's brains and Lionblaze's brawn would combine to make some pretty great kits. So they decide to periodically have some kits, but everyone knows Lionblaze is dating Berrynose, come on.

It doesn't always have to be transactional. Dustpelt is the ultimate "I love my wife so much" guy, and he and Ferncloud have kits as a natural consequence of their romantic relationship. But arc 1 gave us such a better vehicle for storytelling by letting us decouple romantic/sexual relationships for the act of making more kits for the clan. I choose to believe that never changed.

[the-owl-tree]

How did Hollystar and Cinderheart's relationship start in poolverse?

friends to courting to covering up a murder buddies to awkward and distance to lovers my beloved :D

Like in canon, they were friends as apprentices and pretty good ones! Hollypaw got along with the sister trio really well, having a sometimes-not-so-friendly rivalry with Honeypaw, a laidback friendship with Poppypaw, and a really close friendship with Cinderpaw. There's no sparks yet as Hollypaw is wrestling with her crush on Willowpaw and the small fallout between them that happens when she returns to being a warrior.

Feelings later arise as young warriors where the two begin tentatively courting each other, ThunderClan settling into a (unknowingly brief) time of peace. This period is where they're both settling nicely into their own lives, really coming together in their identities and ambitions and places in their Clan. The two begin to drift when Hollyleaf begins to seek the role of deputy, her ambitions and distancing from Cinderheart causing a bit of rift in their courting.

Then the fire happens, and everything falls apart. Hollyleaf isn't the same, distant and snappy and angry and Cinderheart is unsure how to help. It's only when she catches Hollyleaf prowling out at sunrise, following Ashfur to the river...and messily murdering him, that she realizes something is very wrong. I've mentioned my HC for this before so i'll just breeze over this one, Cinderheart is the one who pushes the body in the river and cleans the blood and mud off of Hollyleaf.

Hollyleaf becomes very dependent and clingy to Cinderheart after the ordeal and Cinderheart, despite feeling awful about it, loves the way that she's gotten Hollyleaf "back". The dependence, the way they can both cling to each other...it makes her feel wretched about how good it feels. It's their binding secret, the glue that keeps them together.

Until it's not.

The gathering goes the same in canon, Cinderheart wails in betrayal at what Hollyleaf's done, and in the end, Hollyleaf disappears into the tunnels. Cinderheart is left angry and betrayed and heartbroken, spending a good amount of OOTS in a depression at what's happened. I'm tempted to have her and Lionblaze briefly enter a mateship for a little bit, but eh not sure what it adds other than giving canon a nod.

When Hollyleaf returns from the tunnel, the two avoid each other for a bit. I'm tempted to have someone give Hollyleaf the push to talk to Cinderheart, leaning to either Squilf or Jayfeather (they need to be blunt to snap her out of her daze!). Eventually, the two do talk things out and steadily become on good terms again...then to friends...and once again confidants.

It's only when the great battle is over, when the two realize that they've won and both of them immediately begin racing across the territories to find each other and make sure they're alright, practically crashing into one another as they cling onto each in an embrace that they realize they can try again. The great battle aftermath is where they officially become mates with noooo problems at all-

hey bramble where you going. whaddya mean holly is leader now hEY WAIT-

but thank you for asking!! some ideas i've had to play around with these two's relationship in poolverse is:

hollystar learns cinderheart is a reincarnated cat. she says something stupid lol

cinderheart and hollystar talk about holly's reluctance to let poolkit near leafpool. (since holly is living, i'm keeping the wonky relationship for character development)

a short one but i like the idea of the two talking about their apprenticehood crushes. hollystar is very surprised at how every cat seemed to know she had a big dumb crush on willowpaw

[awsydawnarts]

Fully of the opinion that having Cinderheart mentor Ivypaw was a huge mistake from a writing standpoint. The point of Ivypool as a character is that she feels neglected and overlooked in comparison to her sister, which makes no sense when her mentor is Cinderheart, who is kind, intelligent, emotionally mature, and overall perfect mentor material for someone dealing with Ivypaw’s problems. The fact that Ivypaw has a great mentor really undermines Ivypool’s feelings of neglect and makes her insecurities and negativity towards Dovewing less justified. If Ivypaw had had a bad mentor, it would have went a long way in helping create that feeling of insignificance and made it easier for the dark forest to take advantage of her. It would have also helped create a more interesting relationship between her and Hawkfrost, who would have wound up truly being her mentor in a way her Clan mentor wasn’t. It would have deepened both their characters and made Ivypool’s ultimate betrayal more impactful in the end.

Who should have been her mentor instead? Berrynose, without a doubt. Not only would it have been funny to watch Berrynose and Lionblaze be mentors alongside each other, but it would have been a way to help justify no one noticing the poor mentoring going down. Of course Lionblaze, mentoring alongside him (who is usually too busy with Dovepaw and the prophesy to notice anything else anyway) wouldn’t be taken seriously when complaining about Berrynose’s mentoring, since they have their whole rivalry. Berrynose, in general, seems like he would make a poor mentor, and I’m pretty sure he goes out never having had an apprentice? Firestar and Bramblestar are both smart enough to realize he wouldn’t do well, but maybe this was an attempt by Firestar to have Berrynose learn something and grow as a person. Also, right after being assigned an apprentice he and Poppyfrost have their kits, which would leave him with little time for Ivypaw. On top of that, no one wants to hang out with Berrynose, so they wouldn’t be spending much time in group training, and I can see Berrynose being possessive and not letting others work with his apprentice even though he’s not doing it, especially Lionblaze. Give Briarpaw to Cinderheart to ensure that no other warriors eager to have an apprentice are hanging around to pick up the slack (and to remove the whole Thornclaw mentored his mate’s sister thing…) and you have a recipe for a lonely, isolated, neglected apprentice, who gets stuck doing the menial chores and none of the training, and is desperate for someone to give her the attention she needs to grow-perfect dark forest prey.

[transparenthologramrebel]

The Dovepaw problem.

So the next chapter of cots is in the works but Im really struggling with motivation to write it. Its's a Dovepaw chapter and honestly she's one of the harder character's for me to write. I just dont find her....interesting???? Especially right now because I feel like the true heart of her character is the relationship with her sister which I cant develop until she gets back. Yet this chapter is important for her character because it has to do with her powers and her going from feeling like she's an outsider in this prophecy with powers that are totally useless to being like maybe I can do this. Which is interesting. It should be interesting! SHE SHOULD BE INTERESTING! She is a kid with the weight of the world on her shoulders suddenly and shes barely an apprentice! But compared to Hollyleaf, Ivypaw, Lionblaze and even Jayfeather who I have also written the least she just kinda falls...flat????? Even in canon I always found her to be flat and the least compelling which only got worse for me with her whole Tiger drama. Maybe its just me? Maybe I'm just writing her too much to be this happy go lucky charge ahead forward kid. Maybe its just because I havent gotten into the meat of her story yet with Ivypaw. A part of me wishes I had just erased her from the prophecy all together, but that wouldn't have felt right. Shes a part of this story and she has impact on it. Shes important to it. And yet she feels so so boring to write. I would really love some help from you guys on this. Please tell me if you have any suggestions.

[bonefall]

Can we hear about Cinderheart and bpd?

So last night I spoke to my partner about BPD cats, and we chatted about the various things that should be more common in portrayals of it. I decided I want three characters to show a good "range" of cats with it; We banged out Squirrelflight right away, and eliminated Holly shortly after

We were waffling on who should be the next two; they don't know anything about Warrior Cats so I would suggest and talk about some characters and we'd consider pros and cons of that particular one having BPD. Eventually we just started talking about artists that made relatable art, and Edvard Munch of all people came up

Something that gets lost a lot in discussions about BPD is that... it's not just the "Bad Relationship Disorder." It's a mood intensity one. We were talking specifically about The Scream, you know, this painting,

And how Munch painted it because, in his words,

"I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."

And Partner said that they REALLY related to that sudden intensity of their surroundings, because they looked at the night sky during a mood drop and were overwhelmed by the sudden darkness that was just, everywhere all at once, more vast than they were capable of comprehending

Me, brain floating in a soup of funny battle cat: "hey thats just like this one scene where cinderheart catches a bird"

So I posted the scene from Sign of the Moon and talked about the canon context, and how that context will be made different by my rewrite, and they were like "Yeah that's relatable, it's the way she starts overthinking out of nowhere and the mood crash that came with it"

So that was when we checked off Cinderheart as one of the characters I'm going to approach with BPD in mind, so that I can focus on how this affects her emotional state and how she copes with it. Her simplicity will let me just explore her during the relaxed, episodic version of Po3 that I'm planning to do.

She's also especially unique since none of the conflicts of canon, nor the one I'm planning in the rewrite, has to do with abuse.

In the Bonefall Rewrite, she has conflict with Lionblaze over his neglect/endangerment of their children for unrelated reasons to the health of their relationship... and it doesn't happen until late OotS/early AVoS. Leaving plenty of time for Cinderheart to have her stories.

We're also considering Lionblaze having BPD, especially to have a male character with it. BPD is often stereotyped as "Crazy Girlfriend Disorder" so we think it'll be good for a boy to have it too, and it could give the two of them common ground to discuss their emotions.

If not Lionblaze, then I could see Breezepelt having it, especially because he is becoming a major POV character in Bonefall AVoS and won't be having any relationship problems with Heathertail when they get together at the end of the arc. But anyway-- this post is about Cinderheart.

[morningmask27]

Hawkfrost X Whitewing?

WhiteHawk three au. Birchfall pulled a Thrushpelt. Ivy is the actual third, and a bio whitebirch kid. (Yeah plant 3 with neglected bird sister this time <3)

Fennelrush (Lionblaze) is strong and stubborn and a great fighter. He still has his canon powers and he's not going lightly with them. He definitely has killed a few cats accidentally during fights. He's a meathead, but in Very Rare occasions he makes a good decision. He has anger issues though. 

Flaxroot (Jayfeather) still blind. They're smart and cunning and have a position between warrior and healer. They do patrols and hunt and have trained as a warrior apprentice, but since fights are slightly too much for them they usually (read Usually) avoid participating in them. They also have a huge knowledge of herbs and are thus a sort of extra healer for the clan. They still have their canon powers and they don't use them sparingly.

Falconstrike (Hollyleaf) is the one training in the dark forest. Falcon is obsessed by the code. She wants to be the strongest warrior of the clan too, she wants to be a respected warrior and maybe even leader, who knows, it's an interesting position. She's also very motivated by the kin of tour kin prophecy, she's special, guys, she's special! Right? She trains with Hawkfrost because he promised her the keys to becoming a strong and respected warrior. 

White has her kits right after Hawkfrost died. She's having a mental breakdown when Birchpaw finds her and after Whitepaw explains the situation, this young kiddo proves how he has a heart of gold by suggesting he pulls a Thrushpelt and say he's the father of the kits. White accepts and yeah. Some cats still judge them for their "accident" bit it's better than half clan prejudice. White and Birch raise the kits together and the two start to become quite closer romantically. When the three are nearly warrior aged White is expecting kits again, this time from Birchfall. These are Dovewing and Ivypool. 

While the three are apprentices, Flax, like in canon learns of the kin of you kin prophecy. Flax understands quickly it talks about them and their siblings. Falcon tries very hard to find her power, but fails to do so. 

The three are amazing older siblings to Dovekit and Ivykit, but one night Falcon overhears White and Birch argue over if they should ever tell the three that Birch isn't their bio dad. White doesn't want to tell them, but Birch kinda does want to. Falcon is very shocked by that and then her dark forest mentor, Hawkfrost, taunts her, making her go mad. She's angry and confronts White and Birch in presence of Flax and Fennel. The two brothers are horrified. White confesses to everything, the three are furious. 

Falcon also fully learns that she isn't a part of the prophecy, but Ivykit is. Having inherited Dovewing's canon power. This makes Falcon become even angrier and she threatens Dovekit and Ivykit to punish White. (keep in mind Dove and Ivy are about 4 moons at that point and realize very well what's going on). Eventually she breaks and runs off. 

"little" drabble of the story, all in Whitewing's PoV.

I knew I should never have hung out with Hawkfrost. I knew he was a terrible cat and he didn't care about me, but he was the only cat I felt free around. My parents are amazing, but I have to be perfect around them, and they had their own problems in their relationship then and I didn't want to be involved. Hawkfrost gave me a way to escape the situation. He was funny and witty and never coddled me. He challenged me and laughed when he lost, he complimented me. Most cats in ThunderClan did, but these felt real, realer than any repetitive statement about a good catch by a clanmate, even though I knew he didn't feel anything for me. 

I knew things would go wrong. I was still a -paw. Not that I was too young, I was barely a few moons younger than Hawkfrost, but the destruction of the forest had delayed my warrior ceremony and then, I decided to wait until Birchpaw was ready too, to not leave him alone in the apprentices den like I had been. That status of -paw did definitely make things complicated when I discovered it. 

It was shortly after Hawkfrost had been found dead by the border, a foxtrap bored through his neck. I had to pretend very hard it didn't affect me. Why would it? He was a cat from an enemy clan, why would I be sad about his death? I felt sick. I had trouble doing my work because of how weird my belly felt. I thought it was because I mourned him. 

I would have never thought it was because I was expecting kits. Leafpool was surprised, but I was horrified. I quickly escaped the den after begging Leafpool to not tell anyone. I ran into the forest and found a quiet spot. I began crying. I couldn't believe how badly those meeting with Hawkfrost ended. I knew it was him, I wasn't close to any other cat, but I still somehow hoped it wasn't. 

StarClan must have heard me and felt pity because Birchpaw found me. Usually he can't find a mouse when it's right in front of him, so StarClan must have definitely sent him my way. He saw my tears and became worried. And asked what was wrong. I like Birchpaw, but I wasn't about to tell him what I had just learned, but he kept on asking. He wanted to know if I at least could tell someone, which I knew I couldn't, so I began crying again. 

He silently pressed himself against me and let me cry. When I had ran out of tears he asked if I was ok again. I wanted to stracht his ears of, but his worried eyes made me decide to keep that for another time. He waited in silence for a response. I felt doubt tugging at me, but I told him anyway. I told him everything. From my parents to the meetings with Hawkfrost and the kits I was expecting now. I broke down crying twice while explaining everything and wondered why he was still there. 

When I was done he silently nodded. I had never seen him so contemplative as that day. He was deep in his thoughts for a few heartbeats before looking at me. Determination visible in his eyes. 

"We can say the kits are mine." 

I was taken aback by what he had just said. 

"It would still be awkward to explain, but at least some of the problems would be fixed, right? If the clan knows both parents, they're less likely to be prying." 

I had honestly underestimated how smart Birchpaw could be sometimes. I thought about it for a very short moment. It was the most sensible option. The kits would be treated as fully clanborn kits and everything would be fine, but I needed to be sure about one thing. 

"Would you genuinely be ok to be called the father of kits that aren't yours?" I needed to know. It all depended on him. If he was ready for this charade I'd go along, but he would have to play along. 

"Yes, and I'd even love to be involved in taking care of them if you're ok with that." 

He looked at me with such kindness. I then knew I had found a cat I should treasure. 

—

"What do you think about Flaxkit for the white and cream kit?" He asked me. I nodded with a smile. 

"It fits them." I answered. I then looked at the gray and white kit. It looked like it'd be a strong cat. 

"Would Fennelkit suit the gray and white kit?" I asked. Birchpaw had jokingly suggested having a theme for their names, but I liked the idea. 

"It is beautiful." He answered, adorating brimming from his eyes. 

"Then Fennelkit it is." I affirmed. We stayed silent for a while. Neither of us really daring to say anything about the brown and white kit. I had seen the faces my parents had made when they saw it, I had seen Firestar himself flinch. I know brambleclaw looks a lot like his father and I know that kit looks like brambleclaw a bit. All that didn't change the fact this kit needed a name. 

"Is Falconkit too close?" Birchpaw softly asked. I looked at my kit. This brown and white kit that had an uncanny ressemblance to one of the most feared and hated cats, whose son had fathered these kits. 

"Falconkit would definitely suit them." I agreed. It would just be a name, nothing more. Their brown fur could be explained by Dustpelt, it was going to be fine. The kits would be fine. 

—

"You know I can also stay in the nursery." I said. I looked at Birchfall, who had just recently gotten his name. I had gotten mine as soon as the clan knew I was expecting. It was mostly to not have a -paw in the nursery, but it was still very awkward. The clan had looked at me so weirdly. I didn't dare to look anyone in the eye that day and nowadays it's still hard sometimes. 

"It's fine- oomph-" he was cut short by Fennelkit and Falconkit running into him. The three kits were growing every day. They were definitely going to become strong and big cats. 

"As I said," Birchfall began after extirping himself from the two kits, "I like spending time here with the kits." I smiled again as I watched Flaxkit jump on Fennelkit's back. The two rolled until they hit my paws. They looked up and smiled at me. I smiled back and helped Fennelkit on his paws. 

"Thanks mama." He mewed. 

"If you're so sure." I answered. I couldn't help but smile as the kits swarmed him again. 

"We got papa!" Flaxkit yelled. 

—

I felt weird again. I thought I recognized the feeling from somewhere, so I went to ask Leafpool and Honeypaw about it. I was pregnant again. This time I was surprised, but also so happy. 

Birchfall and I had been growing closer since we raised Flaxpaw, Fennelpaw and Falconpaw together. They have grown up so well and I'm very proud of them, but I was also excatic about the idea of having kits with Birchfall. I knew they'd grown up wonderfully too. 

—

"We can't keep it a secret from them eternally" Birchfall stated. I felt my fur bristle. 

"We raised them together to protect them from having to know it." I argued back. 

"I had suggested this to protect them from the Clan judging them, I never thought you'd also want the kits not to know the truth." Birchfall lashed his tail as he spoke. I cringed unintentionally. What if they don't take it well? What if they hate us for having kept this a secret for so long? What if they want to learn more about Hawkfrost? I surely can't give them more details, but he definitely isn't a good cat? How would they feel of they learned that? I kept wondering. Birchfall looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

I shook my head. "Sorry Birchfall. I don't think it'd be a good idea. They might want to know who their father is and become angry." 

"What? Do you mean I would not be their father if they learned the truth?" He tensed up, his claws flexing repetitively. 

"No, you wait, that's not what I meant-" I tried to reason, but he was already walking away. 

"I'll be taking care of my kits if you need me." He said. 

I stood there and watched him leave. I heard some faint rusting from behind me, but I only looked in front of me, to where Birchfall had left. 

What have I done?

—

"Tell us who it is!" Falconstrike yelled. She had her fur fully bristled out in anger as she looked at me. I couldn't more, not only because my kits were looking at me, but because I knew I had to say something. 

"Tell us, now. Tells us who our father is!" She approached her face scarily close to mine, snarling from disgust as she looked me in the eyes. 

"Falcon, I-" I stammered. How could I explain this without hurting them? How could I feasibly explain that their father is dead and from another clan?

"What do you mean from another Clan?" Flaxroot asked incredulously. They stared right at me. Fennelrush and Falconstrike looked horrified. 

"Uh, yes. Your birthfather isn't Birchfall. He raised you and loves you three so much, but his blood isn't in your veins." I began explaining. 

"Then who is it?" Fennelrush asked. He looks so much like Hawkfrost when he thinks like that. 

"You weren't going to tell us our dad is Hawkfrost, right?" Flaxroot exclaimed. Their eyes were wide. How can they know all those things? I took a deep breath. 

"Yes, your dad is Hawkfrost, but he has nothing to do with you three. You are still my and Birchfall's kits. We love you. We didn't tell you to protect you from how the clan would react." I pleaded. 

"How could you love is if you lied to us all our life? We didn't even know who we are!" Flaxroot snided. 

Falconstrike growled. "you lied to us. You broke the code and we are born from a crime and you never told us. We should have never been born, but you should have never even been allowed to approach us." She approached me again, slowly and with her claws out. She growled again and lifted a paw to hit me. 

Fennelrush pushed himself between us. "Falcon, don't do this!" Falconstrike's hit deflected weirdly. Not hurting Fennelrush at all. She landed clumsily on the ground. "she might have lied to us, but you can't just attack her like that." He stood in front of me, but mostly paid attention to Falconstrike. She glared back at him and growled. He didn't move until she stood up and didn't make another attempt at attacking. 

I watched horrified as my kits fought each other because of me. I never wanted any of this to happen to them, why couldn't they just live a happy life? 

— 

"I can hear a cat yelling." Ivykit said. I worried a lot about her lately. She often heard things that no-one else could and loud sounds overwhelmed her terribly. 

"They're in need of help!" She yelped. "We need to go find them!" She looked at me desperately. 

"Sweetie, are you sure you heard things right?" I asked, hoping she'd tell me it was a lie or something. 

"No, mama, this cat needs help!" She stubbornly responded. She looked a bit further away and saw Flaxroot passing by. 

"Flaxroot! Flaxroot! Please, I need help to help a cat!" They stopped in their tracks as Ivykit ran to them. I followed her hesitantly. I knew they were still angry at me and I didn't want to make things worse. I prepared to scoot Ivykit away, but Flaxroot asked Ivykit. 

"What do you mean by a cat needs help?" They looked at her. 

"A cat in the first is yelling in pain, we need to help them!" She responded hurriedly. 

"Ivykit, please-" I tried to keep Ivykit from bothering her sibling. 

"No, you, stop." Flaxroot snapped at me. I shut my mouth immediately and looked at what was happening. 

"Tell me more about that cat, Ivykit." Flaxroot gently nudged her. 

She stood confidently. "a cat in the forest needs help. They are in pain, we need to save them." 

"Do you know who that cat is or where they are?" Flaxroot asked. 

"I- uh. I can hear water not too far from them?" She tried. 

Flaxroot narrowed their eyes while Ivykit was lost in her thoughts. At this point a patrol emerged from the entrance. 

"We need a healer!" Brackenfur yelled, "a WindClan cat, Heathertail, got attacked by a fox by the stream and no-one knows where Kestrelflight is!"

Flaxroot immediately turned their head towards the patrol. "Leafpool and Honeypaw are out gathering herbs, but I can grab some and go with you." 

Brackenfur hurriedly nodded. "yes, please, she's been at the stream for a while, I don't know how long she still has if her wounds aren't treated soon." 

Flaxroot nodded. Before they went to the healers'den they turned their head to Ivykit again. "We will be talking again after this is done, okay?" 

Ivykit happily agreed. 

—

"Falconstrike, no-" I exclaimed. I tried to get closer to where she was standing with Dovekit and Ivykit, but when I tried she just pressed her claws deeper in Ivykit's fur. Ivykit let out a pained squeak. 

"Don't. Come. Closer." Falconstrike slowly threatened. I obeyed her, but kept my eyes focussed on Ivykit and Dovekit. Dovekit was cowering from behind Falconstrike's legs and Ivykit was pinned on the ground by one of Falconstrike's paws. 

"Please, Falconstrike, why are you hurting your siblings?" I asked. I hoped it at least make her reconsider, but she just spat at me. 

"Those aren't my siblings, I don't have the same blood. Because of you!" She yelled. The two kits peeped in fear from Falconstrike's anger. "you broke the code and that caused us, and then you believe you can just have better kits after that? These kits don't deserve to live, just like we shouldn't have been born!" She yelled.

"Falconstrike, this isn't true. Please, don't take out your anger on these kits, they are innocent. If you need to punish someone, it's me. Hurt me if you need to, but leave the kits out of this." I bowed my head down. Please let this work, please, Falcon let the kits go. Falconstrike looked hesitantly between me and the kits. She didn't move and furrowed her brows. 

Ivykit let out a small cry while she was thinking and Falconstrike broke out of her thoughs. "oh, shut it, you worthless kit!" She hit Ivykit on the face. Ivykit yelled out in pain and covered her face as well as she could with her paws. I briefly saw red, this was too much. I sprang on Falconstrike, pushing her off Ivykit. Dovekit ran to her sister and dragged her away, out of me and Falconstrike's path. 

We rolled over the forest ground until I had her pinned under me. She struggled to escape, but I had more experience and kept her stuck on the ground. She eventually gave up after a long struggle. 

She let herself go limp. "come on then, finish this. You brougt me here, so now finish me." She blankly said. I stared at her in pure horror. How could I ever hurt her? She's my kit and I love her. 

I let her go as I said: "Falconstrike, you are my kit. I can't kill you, I love you too much for that, no matter what happened." 

She stood up and glared at me. "No matter who my father is, huh? Is that why you replaced me and my siblings by these two worthless spawns?" She raised her voice again. "I- I-" her voice broke. She fought back against tears as she looked at me. I tried to comfort her, but she pulled away from me. "don't touch me!" She yelled. She took a step back and then turned around. She ran off. I watched her leave. When I knew she was gone I slowly turned around to find Dovekit and Ivykit. They need me right now. But so does Falconstrike. How could I mess this up so badly?

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

So major changes to AVOS, please let me know what you think. The seasons are going to be changed as well for Aesthetic.

Main POVs are Sparkpaw/pelt, Violetkit/paw/shine, Twigkit/paw/Skybranch, and later on, Puddleshine. Alderheart has very, very few chapters. Mainly his are only at the beginning of Apprentice's Quest.

Violetkit is put into Windclan with Needletail as Heathertail and Breezepelt's firstborn daughter (Smokehaze and Brindlewing being born with her earlier). I don't know which queen fosters her but I have the feeling it'll be a "unofficial oc". One of the unused names from the Kittypet vote that Wafflepaw one.

Windclan is struggling with their arrogant, selfish leader, but Shadowclan is struggling with their "I never wanted to be here in the first place" leader who refuses to act.

Heathertail mentors Violetpaw, but it is hard for her. She put herself up for ages as an independent cat but now has to watch her father admit that:

A. He wanted to run away from Windclan and become a kittypet

B. He sired a child with a kittypet that he planned to run away with.

C. Then turned his back on them both, tossing them out when Smoke revealed she had been wanting to be in Windclan the whole time, telling them they would never succeed despite Brushclaw being a successful warrior and Windclan being welcoming at the time.

Sparkpelt is only not wanting to help Skyclan because Molewhisker DIED on the way there, and her beloved grandma Sandstorm was murdered by Darktail. She doesn't want to face that trauma again so soon, and people won't stop talking about how Firestar wouldn't do this.

Shadowclan and Windclan both get wrecked, Shadowclan fusing with Riverclan (setting up future tensions) and Windclan merging with Skyclan.

Shadowclan's territory is burnt up badly by Darktail, who now has Windclan's territory as his own.

Violetpaw does not attack Twigpaw, instead she is simply shoved into her, she still feels bad about getting her hurt, even if it wasn't her fault. Needletail helped raise her, but she has complex feelings about this, she doesn't like Needtail's love of violence and Needletail (with Onestar) suggesting the separation.

Ivypool is not a bitch about Dovewing's love-life, instead she does want to go on the patrol, but Bramblestar is the one preventing it. Twigpaw sneaks out anyways with Lionblaze and Fallen Leaves' help (as they were on guard duty), going with Spark and Ivy to find things out. Which oddly lines up with Violetpaw sneaking out as well. The two sisters go it alone, though Sparkpelt fusses over them.

More under the cut!

They see the spirit sign and grieve together. But Violetpaw needs to set things right with everything going on with Needletail. Twigpaw isn't as deterred, and she finds Skyclan.

When Riverclan is attacked, they aren't driven out completely, it is just a display of power, the battle is a stalemate, Mistystar losing a life, and a chunk of Riverclan being taken prisoner.

The Kin are fucking HUGE. They're a big group, enough that the Clans are genuinely having to fight hard for this.

Upon this, Sandstorm's sacrifice, the weaponization of fire, and Violetpaw's misery that she herself inflicted, Needletail realizes this is beyond fucked up. She still gets imprisoned with the starving Riverclan cats though.

Violetpaw's espionage really fucks with her. She is constantly looking over her shoulder. Her relationship with Needletail is strained as hell but Needletail sacrificing herself to save Violetpaw caps it off. It saved her life but it doesn't undo the harm Needletail caused.

In the end, Onestar does die doing the right thing for once. Does he go to Starclan right away? Absolutely not. Prison Sentence for you, boy. But he feels he deserves it and is fine with going. The problem is reflected on the Clans, and while some have the xenophobic knee-jerk reaction to just blame Darktail, a lot of cats realize that the rebellious young cats of the Clans have a point.

Chunks of Kin cats join the Clans, happy to be away from Darktail. Sleekwhisker remains though, swearing that Darktail will live on, his legacy will remain. No one knows what she means by that...

It is deep into Winter and things are TENSE. Food is scarce, and cats are restless. Thunderclan has welcomed in Skyclan, under the pretense that they will find a home eventually.

They're trying, but when the Leader and Second in Command of Thunderclan are at odds, things are split.

Sparkpelt isn't given a 180 to make Alderheart look better. Jayfeather is anti-Skyclan, Cherryfall is anti-Skyclan (mainly because of Mole's death), and some others. It's a sensitive topic (though Berrynose is very much pro Skyclan because if they leave his son died for nothing)

Violetpaw actually gets to break down to her family and cry, because she is not thankful to Windclan for taking her away from her sister, and penalizing her for being different. She tells Harestar otherwise, not wanting to be rude.

Twigpaw says she wants to finish her education first, and continues on a bit in Thunderclan, miserable as she is, she wants to prove to them she is worth something.

Violetpaw is kitty autism, she struggles with social cues and understanding emotions sometimes such as Hawkwing speaking about Pebbleshine making him happy. Twig is also kitty adhd, she is hyper curious all the time, and interrupts others often, which can get on Violet's nerves. But Violet can also be blunt which sets off Twig's RSD.

Twigpaw is named Skybranch after she returns to Thunderclan, the third name Bramblestar has ever confidently given a cat after Lilyheart and Seedfur. She gets it later though, since things in Thunderclan are tenser than a bowstring.

Finpaw still loses his tail, but Violetpaw and the other apprentices are his buddies rather than Twigpaw.

Sparkpelt receives the Prophecy "The Dark Sky must not herald a Storm" after finding Needletail's spirit near the Windclan border during a solo hunt. She tells Alderheart and he stupidly tells the rest of the medicine cats.

All the apprentices want to see Twigpaw, so they all have a secret meeting at the lake where she breaks him out of his shell and he talks about his insecurity about his tail. They bond with these secret meetings and he joins Thunderclan.

Sparkpelt is angry Alderheart went to the Twolegplace when he said they'd go together, he doesn't want attention but NEEDS to be the hero. He gets into a fight with Dandeliontuft and Sparkpelt when they save him because he's insecure.

Ivypool and Tigerheart BOTH go after Dovewing, working together and finally reaching an understanding (Super Edition: Tigerheart's Light)

Snowbush doesn't die, but his leg is amputated.

Violetshine gets together with Tree and Zelda, who stays with the Clans (along with Loki moving to Shadowclan)

Twigpaw is finally given her name, Skybranch, but she doesn't look happy. When pressed during the ceremony, she tells Thunderclan that she has made her choice. She'll always have some love for them, but she loves her sister more. Skybranch leaves for Skyclan with Finleap, and does not come back.

Tree is also a tolly, going by they/he pronouns.

Briarlight doesn't die from the sickness. They immediately move her into Hollyleaf's old Tunnels area, watched over by Hollyleaf and Strawberrytuft (renamed Hollytuft)

Yarrowleaf and Conefoot are found and want to rejoin the Clans instead of Yarrowleaf and Sleekwhisker.

Leafstar is no longer as angry, instead she is visibly stressed out trying to keep everyone happy, and asks the cats of the others Clans "no more shuffling around right now, PLEASE. Skyclan needs more time to settle and find our old clanmates."

Fuzzball actually (completely by accident) gets through to Jayfeather, and when Jay realizes when an ass he's been, he finally changes for the better. Still sarcastic, but less mean spirited, more wanting to actually joke with others. Fuzzball stays in Thunderclan, becoming Fuzzyleaf, a Keeper. He is Jayfeather's mate. His job is to organize and help keep the camp clean.

The Clans like the idea of a Mediator but there is struggle on who to pick for the other Clans.

Sparkpelt and Dandeliontuft are running around playing nurse while this happens, wanting to help their brother out.

More than just Yarrowleaf's kits are taken. I haven't decided who yet, however. But this results in not only Rowanstar's death, but also Conefoot. Died protecting his nephew and niece against their own father, killing Nettle as he drops from blood loss.

More related to Tigerheart's Light, but more Guardian cats come along too.

Blossomfall and Ivypool are mates, their sire is Thrifty, a Loner tom. He looks just like Thriftear! Blossom gives birth just as Dove, Ivy and Tiger get back, the kits slightly overdue, as if they were waiting for their other mom...

Ivypool and Dovewing have a proper goodbye, and there are no hard feelings. None of the shit we got.

When Alderheart visits Velvet in a rare POV for him to bring back her Fishy, he promises that he will come back, that he will visit her. She gives him what is known now as Velvet Thyme and Hattie gets a cameo.

He goes to the Moonpool but the only chat he gets with Starclan is Sandstorm telling him that Thunderclan is in for some troubled times ahead, he just sighs, replying "I know."

Rowanclaw is referred to as Rowanstar in Starclan, out of honour.

Sparkpelt mentors Flypaw, understanding her a lot better and working with her.

Violetshine also takes an alternate path in life, making Sandynose even more of an insufferable prick. She wants to become a Nurse-Maid (permaqueen) and begins her training for that with the other Queens. She is sick of violence.

Sparkpelt is racing with Flypaw to get some energy out when they overhear the medicine cats arguing about the Deathberry Cure.

Dandeliontuft is the one to suggest the cure at all to Alderheart. "Perhaps the deathberries killed the infection, allowing its body to just fight the tiny amount of poison instead."

Flypaw doubts herself heavily, thinking she will never be a Warrior. Sparkpelt gives her encouragement about it, telling her that she will be the most quick-witted Warrior in Thunderclan.

Finleap starts pressuring Skybranch to have kits. He will eventually get shut down, and in the end he leaves back to Thunderclan and will fall into the Imposter's Claws later in life.

Leafstar isn't this oddly aggressive leader, she just wants Skyclan to thrive, and is willing to compromise. Juniperclaw is the antagonistic force here, refusing to agree with Tree's terms. Instead of a random Quick Time Dog Event, Juniperclaw just leaves in a huff. He wants Skyclan GONE.

Violetshine snaps at him for saying Skybranch owes him, telling him that he's an idiot.

Shadowkit has genuine epilepsy, it is treated with valerian but... The outcome looks bleak. This leads into Tawnypelt's Vision. Tigerstar is staying in Thunderclan's camp to keep an eye on Puddleshine, and keeps Shadowkit with him, until Tawnypelt takes him with her to the Tribe to try and heal him, or at least get things under control.

More cats than just Sparrowpelt are poisoned. Cherrytail, Petalnose, and Billystorm all get sick. Leagstar loses a life.

Puddleshine POV (he might be the Shadowclan POV after Violet leaves) going to the Moonpool after his recovery, where he gets the sign, but also talks with Conefoot about the Clans needing to work together, a vision of Fivetrees. Ancient words ring. Unite or Die.

Harestar is most giving to Skyclan, though he acknowledges that Wind land isn't really suited for Sky cats hunting style. Bramble neutral leaning to against, that they should go back to the lake. Tigerstar is for them to stay, but Mistystar says it would be best for them to go back. After all, Darktail is gone, why are they still here?

Another Puddle POV (ooh) where he puts together that some deathberries are missing. He smells Juniperclaw's scent on them and FREAKS. He tries to tell Alderheart but the boy feels defeated. He feels like everything was for null.

Sparkpelt finds Tree and Zeldaheart, who miss Violetshine terribly since Skyclan has left. Sparkpelt swallows her nerve and, after sending Flypaw back to camp, she will track down Skyclan. The TRUE Spark That Remains.

Meanwhile, Dandeliontuft and Alderheart both go over to Shadowclan's territory carrying herbs, pretending to want to give some extras over as goodwill and check Puddleshine and Shadowkit over.

Upon the realization that Juniperclaw poisoned Skyclan to make them leave, he is not only stripped of deputyship. He is exiled.

Sparkpelt argues with Bramblestar about going after them, calling him out on ignoring their plea when he was the one who made the "All Clans Stick Together" LAW IN THE FIRST PLACE, learning that Skyclan was poisoned... She decides to do it her own way. Spark steals a few traveling herbs, Larksong comes with her, and they go off after Skyclan together with Tree and Zeldaheart.

While on the journey, the rain makes it hard to even see, the cats staying near each other, shoulder to shoulder, nose to tail. Everyone is terrified.

Leafstar loses a life drowning before Ebonyclaw can get her out of the water.

Skybranch finally cuts Finleap off. Enough is enough. She doesn't want kittens, ever.

When they get back, the Clans are in full panic mode, remembering the Great Storm and also the fact that a little kid is missing.

Violetshine dives into the water to save Shadowkit but gets swept further through the rushing water. Juniperclaw manages to save them, but he stares at the Shadowclan cats, the cats he tried to kill off...

"I'll never be able to say it enough, but Skyclan... I'm sorry."

It isn't a redemption. It's him paying with his life to tell these cats he is sorry, that his threat is no more.

Skyclan settles into their space, the Clans all expanding outwards further. Sparkpelt sees Firestar's suddenly next to her sitting calmly, watching with pride. Time seems to stop for a moment.

"The 5 Clans need to face threats together. You united them once more. Sparkpelt, I'm so proud to be part of your family."

[borderline-purrsonality]

Throughout Power Of Three, the three spend a lot of their pov commenting on how bad of a father Crowfeather is to Breezepaw, and how they’re glad Crowfeather isn’t their father (oof). They also feel bad for Breezepaw as he’s stuck as the child of a loveless marriage. It’s easy to assume Breezepaw was jealous of the three for having loving and supporting parents.

ANYWAYS flash forward to the modern books. Crowfeather realizes he’s been an awful husband and father. He and Nightcloud actually talk through and are now happily divorced buddies. He also makes amends with Breezepelt and finally has a good relationship with his son. Breezepelt now has a happy and supportive family, and is in a happy marriage with Heathertail.

And then we get to the three. Family drama causes Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw to get divorced. Hollyleaf commits murder, runs away, and then dies. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight get back together only to have constant relationship problems as Bramblestar is an abusive asshole to her. Bramblestar gets fucking possessed for like a year??? And then when he comes back he’s still an abusive asshole to Squirrelflight and Lionblaze and Jayfeather now have to deal with their parents being in a broken marriage.

Ah the irony.

[mud-castle]

Ya'll put me back on my bullshit on the day I'm supposed to be studying. So things I've changed in Dark Mirror Au:

Focuses mostly on the dark mirror universe itself, instead of them interacting with their canon selves.

Fire's sibs are being split up, the ones formerly known as Eaglekit and Wildkit stay with mama Nutmeg (Hope). Firekit is taken along with his near twin Flamekit and his sister Fawnkit (Princess). They don't have an official mom bc I couldn't find one that wouldn't bring up future problems.

Fire & Flame get a much closer relationship. Fawn eventually leaves

Fire does not get his villain arc (honestly it's more of a vengeance arc) until after the dog pack fiasco. As such, Bluestar does not die until after that..

Ya'll thought Starclan was involved in these cats' lives before? Let's turn that up by 200

Fire might not be Squilf n Leaf's bio dad, still iffy there

Fire works with instead of against the Hope Colony...at first.

Fire & Bramble's relationship is a lot more complicated

Might have Leafpaw rebuild Skyclan while she's gone bc why not. Also she can meet Sol there.

Medic Dovewing

Hollyleaf, gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss -> girlfail

Some form of an alliance with Riverclan, either between Fire & Misty themselves or an arranged union with Hawk & Squilf, likely the latter because the drama is spicy there.

Squilf is a lot more respected in TC (not that she wasn't before, but she's less likely to have her decisions questioned by anyone who is not her parents). Leaf is still the golden child though.

Lionblaze leaves the clans and joins Leaf

Tawnypelt stays in Shadowclan and might end up becoming leader.

Primrosetail and Talonswipe <3

The Three are stolen as kits; gotta lotta prophecy cat theft going on in this au

The Dark Forest battle might end up being replaced with kind of a Civil War, though the Dark Forest has its part to play.

Daisy becomes a warrior, yes this is highly controversial

Jayfeather gets more narrative purpose; mansplain, manipulate, manwhore...what if I make him Dove's dad?

Part that are still fairly iffy:

Crowfeather, what does he do post-journey

Stormfur & Feathertail stay in ThC and don't go on the journey, but I can't just have them just existing, taking up space.

Ivypool...babe...what to do with you...

Windclan, they're just...there.

[ninewhiskers]

since im not gonna write it for real heres a hollycinder fic idea i had about cinderheart and berrynose

it takes place before cinderheart and lionblaze cement their relationship + after hollyleaf returns from the tunnels. lionblaze likes her but cindy's still deciding whether or not she likes him enough to want to settle. what she does know is that she likes his sister, hollyleaf. the problem is that she doesnt know if hollyleaf feels the same. the whole situation is driving her CRAZY.

shes on a hunting patrol with her old mentor cloudtail and her other friends hazeltail and mousewhisker and its still bothering her. lionblaze is there too but cinderheart avoids him because her feelings are so complicated.

cloudtail thinks they're fighting and splits the patrol up in pairs, assigning himself with her. she fucks up catching a rabbit and cloudtail gently but firmly tells her to Get Her Shit Together and sends her back to camp. shes sooo embarrassed. when she's done with that she starts Plotting because she doesn't want to get sent back to camp from patrol in front of her crush ever again.

she thinks, you know who else had a thing for two littermates? my good ol brother in law berrynose. he probably knows a thing or two.

the thing is that they're not terribly close. they bonded some over honeyfern's vigil but he wasnt the easiest cat to like and lionblaze still held some distaste for him. nevertheless she pulls some strings with brambleclaw and gets put on a patrol with him the next morning. luckily it's just them and some other warrior (maybe brackenfur, he'd understand if the two of them wanted to talk in private) so she makes her move.

she goes. ummm hey when you were choosing between my sisters. how did you decide?

berrynose is quiet. cinderheart starts to count her losses and then he says "you want hollyleaf and lionblaze dont you."

cinderheart immediately admits to it, says yes, yes, part of her only pursued lionblaze in the first place because deep down she still wanted hollyleaf and he was the closest she could get, had it been like that for him?

berrynose sighs and goes. yeah. at first. but i came around to loving poppyfrost for being poppyfrost you know. and you came around to loving lionblaze for being lionblaze didnt you?

cinderheart thinks about it and realizes, yes, she did. "but if...if honeyfern could have come back the way hollyleaf did, would you have picked her?"

thats about where berrynose gets fed up, shakes his head at her and says he's not going to answer that because it couldnt happen and theres no reason. then he softens a bit at her hurt expression and goes ok look. i cant tell you who to pick. but i will say that honeyfern knew poppyfrost liked me too.

and THEN he says "i dont like a lot of things about lionblaze. but i have to admit he's smarter than i thought"

the third warrior on their patrol calls them back to camp and as cinderheart walks into the clearing she sees them both on opposite sides of camp. the last few sentences would be about her "making her choice and walking toward her future" but it would be intentionally left vague as to who she picks

[blorboclaw]

Now that I made up my mind on how the "no man of woman born" prophecy will translate into my Macbeth Warrior Cats AU, here are some versions that were rejected:

First of all, the rather straightforward "No cat of warriors born", and/or "No cat of a warrior born".

Potential killers:

Berrynose's littermates, whose father is a loner and whose mother, despite joining a clan, never became a warrior.

Frank from Bramblestar's Storm

Brook, born from Tribe-equivalent but not warriors in title.

Snowkit, who was born when both his parents were already elders. Who would have somehow survived, I'm not making him come back as a ghost just to slam-dunk Berrynose.

Lionblaze or Jayfeather, born of a medicine cat.

Cloudtail, whose mother was a kittypet

Hawkfrost or Mothwing, since their mother, despite belonging to multiple clans, was a loner at the moment of their birth, which is the most relevant moment.

Now, what we have here is getting too crowded. If we even separate the definitions of "warrior" and "queen" we can even include everyone born in a clan. If we decide code-breakers aren't worthy of the title of warrior anymore, then that makes all the kits born of crossclan relationships too, so Stormfur, Mistyfoot...

Second version of the prophecy: "No cat by a molly raised", or the even vaguer "no cat by their mother raised":

Berrynose gets shredded by Flipclaw, raised by his father Fernsong.

Twigkit, mainly raised by Alderpaw/heart. Same problem as Snowkit, she's not alive (yet) by the time the AU starts.

Any kittypet split from their parents as early as possible by their twolegs.

Any kittypet whose mother died and who suckled on milk pockets instead of their mother.

any cat who was an orphan very young or separated from their mother, including all the cross-clan cats mentionned earlier.

Third version of the prophecy: "No cat who believes in Starclan..." <- weirder, less close to the original line, but since clan cats seem to believe everyone has faith in starclan...

Any kittypet, loner, or rogue.

Cloudtail

Mothwing

Jayfeather if he's pissed off enough and if the "believe in" means "trust" instead of "do they exist?"

Fourth version: "No cat a warrior born..." <- pay close attention, it's not "from a warrior born", it's "a warrior born". Berrynose would think it means no one from the clans can kill him, but actually anyone could because no one is born with a full warrior name.

Fifth version: "no cat at all" *gets killed by a fox*

Sixth version: "No living cat..." *gets dragged into the dark forest and killed by a spirit* or *a branch falls on him during a storm*

Seventh version: "No thing of the nature can kill you" *dies in a foxtrap which are def not natural, or driven on by a monster*

[quiverpaw]

i need to have like a meaningful discussion about the thoughtless retcons and changes in warriors that would mean so much more or the stupid family incest that once again, or the awful age gaps, that could be easily changed but is done so recklessly that it nearly feels intentional

like sharpclaw and cherryfall, who are explictly former mentor and apprentice, or leopardfoot and pinestar, which have a really interesting dynamic considering pinestar left the clans, but just feels so awfully dulled by the fact that he's the age of her grandparents, and directly has friends of his hinting at a relationship with her while she's a apprentice.

the weirdness of adoptive siblings too- snowbush is both lilyheart's cousin and adoptive brother!!! warriors has a tendency of both disregarding adoptive relationships and ... making them hardly meaningful (goldenflower nursing feather and storm)

the amount of inter-related ones are just awful too. riverclan has one of the worst cases of it because of the relatively small clan (compared to the others). there was no meaning behind making splashtail and curlfeather cousins. or owlnose jayclaw's brother. thunderclan is also terrible- mostly because cats KEEP HAVING LITTERS!! lionblaze and cinderheart,dustpelt and ferncloud, and brightheart and cloudtail contribute a massive portion of these problems

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

trans male!adult! talonpaw x trans female!leafpool hypokits

(talonpaw warrior name in this au is talonpelt and crowfeather in actually in love with nightcloud instead of him wanting to be loyal to windclan )

Warriors Ship Hypokits: Adult!FTM!Talonpaw x MTF!Leafpool Edition

In this AU, Squirrelpaw is the one who dies killing Sharptooth instead of Feathertail, and Crowpaw asks to be named Crowtail in her honor instead (because Crowsquirrel doesn't sound right). Talonpaw completely breaks down when his brother Smokepaw plummets to his death. He can't bring himself to keep going and just tells the others to just go on without him. He refuses to move another step and no one really knows what to do- Rowanclaw doesn't want to leave their apprentice, but the mountains are dangerous at night and the clans need to keep moving. ThunderClan's Medicine Cat apprentice Leafpaw solves the problem by just picking him up and slinging him over her shoulder. The two end up traveling like that every day while on the Journey. They both bond over the deaths of the closest cats in their lives, and continue to meet up once the clans all separate in their new territories. Talonpaw also doesn't get killed by Jaques and Susan, another ShadowClan apprentice does. Leafpool and Talonpelt earn their names and soon fall in love with each other. When Talonpelt realizes that he's pregnant and the two panic, breaking off their relationship. Talonpelt later has a litter of three kits, not disclosing the identity of their other parent:

Alderleaf- brown tabby molly with amber eyes. Cis molly, aromantic asexual lesbian. This universe's version of Hollyleaf. Alderleaf is very different from her canon self. She doesn't care too much about the Warrior Code, seeing it as something archaic that needs to have many changes and revisions done to it, although she does respect it to a degree. She also is pretty uninterested in StarClan as well. She often challenges authority out of the desire to improve the world around her and better the lives of other cats. Her power is future sight, and she would be the one with the dreams about The Ancients. She is not too happy about getting a power from StarClan but accepts it with relative grace. She is a Night-Stalker, then Deputy, and then eventually becomes Leader after Rowanstar steps down (replacing Tigerstar 2).

Ravenwing- dark-gray-and-white tom with blind amber eyes. Cis tom, demisexual demiromantic. This universe's version of Jayfeather. Ravenwing is still a snarky, prickly cat who doesn't let others in easily. While he was trained as a warrior apprentice for a time, he suddenly decided to apprentice under Littlecloud as a MedCat alongside Flamepaw. Why? Well, it's because Ravenwing is the one with the cross-clan romance. He became close to the WindClan Medicine apprentice Kestrelpaw after they met and decided to become a MedCat so the two could be together (MedCats can have romantic relationships with each other as long as no kits are involved). It also doesn't hurt that he's actually very good at being a Medicine Cat as well. His power is dreamwalking and sensing the emotions of others. He's uncomfortable with his powers because he is constantly invading the privacy of other cats. As stated above, he is a Medicine Cat.

Panthersmoke- massive dark gray, almost black, tabby tom with amber eyes. Cis tom, heteroflexible polyamorous. This universe's version of Lionblaze. Panthersmoke is mostly the same as canon Lionblaze except he is much more interested in battles and fighting. When he discovers that he is somehow invulnerable to physical wounds he is very happy about it. He ends up training in the Dark Forest much longer than he does in canon due to a combination of general lust for battle and just not being the smartest cat, and is the sibling that gets trapped in the tunnels with Fallen Leaves (maybe he still accidentally kills Russetfur in a fight? because killing a cat in battle is fine but this is a cat in the same clan as him so its bad). He'd come back for the final battle against the DF like Hollyleaf does in canon, but wouldn't die because he is invulnerable. He is a Warden.