#BB!Briarlight | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bonefall · 1 year

Note

How do all five of Graystripe’s children feel about him?

BIG question, but here goes, brief intro to each of the Graykits and how they feel about their dad specifically in Better Bones:

Feathertail

At her core, Feather believes everything happens for a reason. She has immense faith in StarClan, and always rolls with the punches. Unflappable, fun-loving, and very calm, she likes telling jokes and usually says exactly what's on her mind.

So when Graystripe was exiled from RiverClan... she was upset until she got the full story. Then it made sense. She was sad she couldn't be around her dad, but, she imagines she would have done similar.

She returned to RiverClan after TigerClan's disbandment to support her mentor, Mistyfoot. If Leopardstar hadn't made her deputy, she would have stayed in ThunderClan.

If she didn't die, there would probably be more to this story. Stormfur wishes he was the easygoing type of person his sister was.

Stormfur

People have been disappointing him his whole life, everywhere he turns, cats are pulling him down, stabbing him in the back, and leaving him in a lurch.

He massively resents Graystripe for leaving RiverClan. At the time, he believed that a Clan was above all else, because RiverClan was his home. They fought for him, they wanted him, he was named for Crookedstar's pre-honor name, he saw himself as the inheritor of that legacy.

TigerClan didn't agree.

When Graystripe arrived to save him, Stormfur didn't WANT to go back to RiverClan. It made him think that he was wrong as a kid, and Graystripe was the one worth being loyal to. But Feathertail insisted that Mistyfoot was going to need her, that they had a duty to rebuild for the cats who had died saving them, and that RiverClan had learned its lesson.

The tumult in TNP, the death of his sister, and the capture of his dad... he felt like the Clans had nothing left for him. The LAST straw was when him, Brook, and Sheep (who would become Mintflower) were tossed out of RiverClan after some ridiculous "sign from StarClan" willed it. The Tribe cats had only been trying to help these jackasses get settled, and this was the thanks they got.

When Graystripe eventually comes to live his last days in the mountains, Stormfur is happy. The pain of losing him as a young apprentice is very far away, and he's grateful to finally be able to catch up with him after so long.

Bumblestripe

He wasn't reflective or articulate enough to put it into words, but Bumble always knew that Graystripe wasn't seeing him as a kitten. He just accepted that there was a distant Stormfur and Feathertail that he wasn't living up to, and if he worked hard, and tried to be like them, then maybe Graystripe could come to appreciate him too.

Briarlight and Blossomfall are able to reject that, with distance or with frustration, but even when it finally becomes clear to Bumble... it's not that easy. He can't just "get over it." He knows the problem, he knows that Graystripe is about to be happier than he's ever been here in the mountains where he last sees his father, but it can't change anything.

All his life Bumble is in pursuit of that. Shoving himself onto Dovewing, carrying out every demented task the Impostor comes up with, Bumblestripe NEEDS to be needed. He has to be helpful, and if you don't need him, he can't handle that. It's not enough to be wanted, there is no guarantee anyone wants anything forever, but NEEDING?

Basically Bumblestripe is fucked up and he's only just starting to work on it by the end of TBC. He is a major supporting character in Ferncloud's Parting along with Cloudtail, which is replacing Graystripe's Vow because Gray does not need a POV here lmao thanks.

Blossomfall

Blossom had very similar problems to Bumble growing up, but expressed them more through anger. She's a punk bitch, you know?

She's not a 'nice guy.' She's not out here trying to prove herself to Gray and Millie over and over, just to get a scrap of their affection. She leans into the label 'bad person' and wears it defensively, because if she's bad, that gives her agency over it. Like it's her choice that they see right through her.

But under that facade, she's the same sort of clingy, lonely person that Bumblestripe is. She was in a bad relationship with Ivypool from near the end of OotS up until ThunderClan's Tempest, before being dumped pretty hard when Fernsong joined the Clan, and allowed that resentment to fuel her.

I am planning for her to briefly become part of the Kin, to bolster their numbers, but she eventually defects either with Breezepelt or by rallying the other ex-Trainees to fight the Kin in the final battle. Her kits are from a Kin cat, though she invokes the Queen's Rights to not disclose which one it was. (she did not know she was pregnant when she defected.)

She never got the chance to really confront her resentment with Millie, something she massively regrets. However, she did reconcile with Briarlight in the end, though they were briefly on opposite sides of the Impostor.

But, anyway, the last time she sees Graystripe is when he decides to leave for the mountains. She tries to hide how much this hurts her, that her dad can't be with her after she just lost a son and a sister... but, she's had to learn twice that holding resentment never leads anywhere good.

Poor little meow meow material, this one

Briarlight

Graystripe was never there for her. He was terrified when she was disabled, just as overbearing as Millie, but then it became obvious that she was still going to have a full life... and he refused to do anything when Millie started treating her like a tragic glass doll.

Briarlight is SUPER nice, too fucking nice. She wants to snap so bad half of the time, when Millie's 'concern' is a backhanded insult, or when she speaks over her, or stops her from having literally any alone time, but how can she? When Graystripe is always there to smooth it over, and tell Briarlight that "your mom just loves you is all," excusing every little thing she does.

That hurts a lot, that Graystripe is too afraid of offending Millie to take Briarlight's side, or even validate her feelings in private. Something clicks for her when she's chatting with a sibling, and she connects it all

The death of Silverstream. Stormfur in the mountain. How she both gets too much "love" and they're starved for it.

Graystripe can't lose Millie too.

That's why he won't take her side. That's why he won't suggest anything about Bumble and Blossom. And that's why it'll never get better, not until Briarlight does something.

So her response is to FINALLY, in ThunderClan's Tempest, after Jessie has upgraded her mobility device to allow her more freedom than ever before, cut Millie off. By doing that, it meant cutting off Graystripe too, and for a while, that included Bumblestripe as he took their side.

Sometimes love is a boundary, even a temporary one. She only wishes that all this hadn't unfortunately aligned with Ivypool's and Blossomfall's huge fallout. They lose so much time because Blossomfall is angry and lashing out at everyone, when Briarlight could really use her sister, the ONE family member she has left, right about now

I think, of all the kits of Graystripe's second litter, Briarlight would have understood him best as he went back to the mountain... but, she was one of the Impostor's victims. Only Blossom and Bumble were there to work out what his motivations could possibly be.

#Graykin #Better Bones au #ThunderClan's Tempest #SLAPS THE ROOF this bad boy can fit SO MANY fucked up family dynamics in it #You won't BELIEVE how much mileage these little kitty cat freakazoids can pack in em #BB!Briarlight #BB!Graystripe #BB!Millie #BB!Blossomfall #BB!Bumblestripe #BB!Feathertail #BB!Stormfur #Tawnyrain Family

99 notes · View notes

bonefall · 1 year

Note

What kind of dishonor titles would the imposter whip up?

Ok so, in BB!TBC, I'm planning to overhaul many of the cats who get exiled. Ashfur IS a... 'competent' leader this time around, and being in his Clan is hell on Earth. But he does know how to run it without exiling everyone who breathes funny.

I think Blossomfall in particular should comment about how much this reminds her of the Kin, only...

"I hate to say this. But Darktail was more calm lol. Ppl would disappear but he didnt call a meeting every 5 minutes he did it"

The way he gives Dishonor Titles is by finding their insecurities and throwing it back at them. The point of DTs is that they're supposed to make you sit with your mistake and they're supposed to be VERY serious, egregious punishments.

But Ashfur is just trying to break his cats and make them not want to defy him. He wants them to hurt.

Cats who will almost definitely get a Dishonor Title:

Blossomfall = Clearface, because she might as well be invisible. No one wants to hear from her, she's worthless

Sparkpelt = Flickercry. To remind her about her failures, remember that she's made worse mistakes than anybody else and should be mindful of how she chooses to criticize others.

Twigbranch = Fumbleclaw. For a hunting mistake, he says she's clumsy and lazy and doesn't deserve to eat from the pile until she learns how to catch her own food

In addition, I can see him really WANTING to give Briarlight a Dishonor Title, but politically, it's too far. She's defiant, loved, a beacon of light that keeps people united. To brand her would be a mistake, it would make her a martyr.

I may rework the Sparkpelt Dog Situation to be his attempt to get rid of Briarlight. I think that would make a MUCH better sendoff to her, dying as a result of the wonderful person she is, instead of the garbage greencough death back in AVoS.

#I feel like exile the way TBC did it was a bit of a silly punishment #Eventually he like. Didn't have a Clan left #I LOVED how in the first book of ASC Twig clearly has PTSD from how he treated her #I want more of that I want a ton of the rebels to have lasting scars from this mental abuse #And lasting PHYSICAL ones too such as Sparkpelt #All the very serious cruelty aside I also find it both darkly funny and compelling that the way they recognize he isn't Bramblestar...#isn't because of realizing his cruelty.#it's because they realize he's too good at naming.#How horrible would that knowledge be?#That they only found out you were replaced because he was better at being cruel.#If Briarlight dies to the dogs someone could take her blanket #And they use it as a symbol of the resistance #Bringing her trait as a martyr full circle and making it so Ashfur won the battle but not the war #He couldn't kill her in a way that mattered #BB!TBC #Better Bones au

72 notes · View notes

bonefall · 2 months

Note

i'm ngl depicting thunder's prosthetic as a burden is pretty uncomfortable even if it is something some amputees experience because like. there's a huge stigma around prosthetics already you know? it's like having a parent forcibly strap a child into a wheelchair when they don't need it and having a horrible experience with it and that being your only character in a wheelchair. some full-time wheelchair users do resent their wheelchairs but when that's the only time you're bringing it up at all it feels like you're playing into our society's perception of wheelchairs and mobility aids in general as useless and best and divine punishment at worst. idk do let me know if i'm wording this wrong because i really do love better bones! it's just that this detail is... strange.

I mean, I'm open to feedback if that's not something I should do-- but I do actually have other characters in prosthetics and mobility aids! A lot of them! Thunderstar's actually the only one who ends up rejecting his own, because I also wanted to depict that it's bad to force a device onto someone who does not want one.

Especially in circumstances like Thunder Storm's, where that sort of device would be actively unhelpful for his lifestyle. It might help in open field environments like moorland, but then I got more feedback and realized that it would just make a lot of unwanted noise in a forest (since cats have carpal whiskers to help them figure out where to place their paws). Then I figured it was a good way to show how BB!Clear Sky doesn't actually listen to his son's needs and acts differently when he's not "grateful" enough for his gift.

But he's far and away from the only one with a mobility aid or prosthetic!

I haven't figured out Frog entirely yet, but he's going to be the first cat with a "wheelchair" type device, to set up a long line of cats through the generations improving on it (Probably not much more than a reinforced canvas or durable leather, as this was the age of very early flax processing)

Wildfur's the next in the big advancements, even making the Great Journey in his own and getting a side story based around Littlecloud and Cinderpelt collaborating over this

The device is then improved upon by Jessy for Briarlight, giving her a level of independence and confidence that she needs to finally cut her mom out until she learns how to behave

Deadfoot has a brace for his front paw because the joint is loose (it was based on a friend's carpel tunnel bracelet) which is affectionately referred to as The Bonker; his name is also now an Honor Title (Old name: Hoprunner) for inventing a battle move by distracting with his good paw, and then SLAMMING his other limb down hard on his opponent. It's called "deadfooting."

I think mobility devices are super important, usually massively improve quality of life, and I just enjoy designing them, so the choice to portray Thunder Storm's as negative was a very deliberate one that I did in response to what I thought was a desire in representation. Even the fact it's a hind-leg prosthetic was thought out, since those have a much higher satisfaction rate in humans than hand prosthetics, but in a cat would probably be the opposite.

Still, I'm not missing a limb, so now with all of that context presented, do you still think the same thing? Should I just add even more limb prosthetics to make the ratio of satisfied prosthetic users vs Thunder Storm even steeper?

Sunlit Frost is actually going to have a bite on his good paw go septic (the other side has permanent damage from the fire). I could have that paw get amputated and have Thunderstar "return the favor" for how Sunlit Frost created the prosthetic he rejected by helping him build his own. A pawsthetic, if you will

OR would it be better to just remove the subplot of Thunder Storm grappling with/rejecting a prosthetic that is unfitting for him entirely, and have all prosthetics be 100% treated as positive in the narrative?

#I especially want to hear from anyone who happens to be missing limbs or uses some sort of mobility or accessibility device #Ultimately I consider myself a pretty confident and well-read person but I'm just a single guy!#So I'm open to changing stuff if it's not accomplishing what I wanted it to #I'm not perfect and don't know everything. So I try to listen.#Though I will admit that I am a little emotionally attached to Thunder rejecting the leg prosthetic #I WILL drop it and back off if it is unpopular #but in addition to just liking there being an example of a time where one is unwanted and being able to explore *why*#(with a very important and powerful POV character mind you)#I do like the symbolism of it #With him chewing it off after leaving with Sunlit #Like he's literally leaving the expectations of his father behind #And Sunlit complaining about good leather and hard work lmao #BUT that said. It wouldn't be worth it if I was doing something very insensitive SO lmk.#bone babble #disability #prosthetics

81 notes · View notes

bonefall · 9 months

Text

BB!Profile: Fernsong

(Oops I finished this art months ago and am just now making this profile)

[ID: The Better Bones version of Fernsong. He is a thick, pale golden tabby with thin stripes and a flat, round face.]

Clanmew Name: Nanyanaya (Nan, generic term for fanned-leaf groundplants + Yanaya, singing)

Old Name: Fiddles (Pronounced "Fibuls")

Alignment: ThunderClan, ex-Kittypet

Relationships: Mate - Ivypool Ex-Mate - Minty Children - Bristlefrost, Flipclaw, Thriftear Friends - Stormcloud, Jessy, Daisy, Briarlight Person who hates his guts - Blossomfall Mentor - Lionblaze

Sweet man! Den dad! Guy who gets washed in by a big flood and lands smack in the middle of a messy breakup before being getting his hardass nightmare dad-in-law assigned as a mentor!

In cleaning up the Kin of your Kin prophecy and reworking the plot of Po3 and OotS, I made it so Ivypool is now the daughter of Lionblaze and Cinderheart, and secretly the child of Jayfeather and Poppyfrost! I always found the sheer amount of kids Canon!Lionblaze has to be pretty ridiculous, since it does nothing with those relationships and makes half of ThunderClan descended from Firestar in the process.

So, instead, the tree has been overhauled and BB!Fernsong is an ex-kittypet. The Firekin family is traced exclusively through Dovewing, Ivypool, and Hollylark.

And BOY does he enter in a doozy! ThunderClan's Tempest replaces Bramblestar's Storm, now full of different perspectives as ThunderClan recovers from the Battle of the True Eclipse. Fiddles finds himself drawn to the Clan as a refugee, accidentally becoming the final straw that breaks the camel's back in Ivypool's toxic relationship with Blossomfall.

(Note: At the time, Blossomfall has a Dishonor Title, Shredbloom, for her involvement in the Dark Forest. Shredbloom = Blossomfall.)

When he finally has the chance to return home, he realizes that Clan life offers him something Kittypet life never quite did; Community. While he's not much of a hunter or a fighter, he comes to feel needed and fulfilled by the connections he makes to lots of cats within ThunderClan.

More under the cut!

In ThunderClan's Tempest, he came from the same home as Minty. The family couldn't evacuate them, because they ran and hid out of fear.

She was his mate a few times, but in the way that some kittypets of the same house are. Purebreds. They'd had litters that the humans made sure were well cared-for, brought to new homes at six months.

They had a sort of love more out of convenience and safety than passion.

When he was found by ThunderClan, they brought him back to their base in the caves, and Daisy was able to help break the language barrier.

Ivypool, still destroyed from seeing her Dark Forest mentor Hawkfrost make a stand against his father and "die," started helping Daisy out with them. At first, she just needed to feel useful.

She had been in a relationship with Blossomfall (Shredbloom at the time) for a long time, at this point, and had even begged her to stop during the final wave of the BOTTE.

In a way, Ivypool felt like she needed to "save" someone from the Dark Forest, and for a long time after, she felt like she needed to save Blossomfall from her own pain.

But it was incredibly toxic. Blossomfall was controlling, Ivypool was touchy. They were fighting constantly, and Blossomfall was about to repeat it again.

Ivypool spending time helping out with Daisy, acclimating the refugees to Clan life, learning to communicate with them... made Blossomfall jealous.

When Ivypool broke it off with Blossomfall, it wasn't because she loved Fiddles yet, thought Blossomfall DID accuse her of just wanting to move on "with the KITTYPET"

It was just because she was sick of living like this.

Fiddles happened to just... be there. They had become friends, but weren't anything more at that point.

For him, it felt good to pay her back for all the comfort she provided him, and she was grateful that she had someone without bias.

He didn't have a side yet, so when he told her that what she did was the right thing, it felt honest.

Ironically, Bossomfall accusing Ivypool of "just wanting to go googoo over the new kittypet" pushed Ivy and Fiddles closer together.

It wasn't JUST Ivypool he got close to, though! Briarlight was also starting to realize that she needed to start distancing herself from her family because of Millie's ableism... and Fiddles was there for her, too.

Emotional support king, quickly becoming friends with everyone.

The fact that he was close with Ivypool AND her sister, though?

To this DAY, even AFTER all she'd been through and having adult children of her own, Blossomfall still can't shake the negative feeling she gets when she looks at Fernsong. But she's wise enough now to know it's somewhat irrational.

The Impostor DID exploit this, however. But that is a story for another time.

What's most important is that in this moment, Ivypool, Fiddles, and Briarlight became good friends.

By the time the floods had receded and the humans were coming home, he found himself not wanting to go. Jessy was hard at work on improving Briarlight's mobility device, Frankie was taking to battle like a fish to water, and he was falling in love with Ivypool.

He walked Minty home, made her promise she'd prevent their twolegs from missing them, and headed back to ThunderClan...

Where Bramblestar made him the first apprentice of his father-in-law to be, the hardass hero of ThunderClan, Lionblaze! Gulp!

CLOSING TRIVIA

He is NOT named after Ferncloud! Ferncloud survived the BOTTE in Better Bones-- DUSTPELT died.

Birchfall and Whitewing's daughter, Duststripe (prev. sorrelstripe) is named after him.

Fernsong's name comes from how Fiddles was convinced his name referred to a type of fern. What type of fern? He didn't know!!

So when he eventually picked his prefix, he simply chose the generic term for ferns; Nan.

(Ferncloud's prefix, Marssi, is actually totally different in Clanmew. It's a specific species, Dryopteris filix-mas, known as Manfern in English. A species used in medicine for treating tapeworm.)

When I design ex-kittypets that aren't just common street cats, I intentionally avoid referencing one specific breed with the idea that this universe's history is slightly different. Fernsong is designed as a mix of an exotic shorthair and a british shorthair. An Exobrit, if you will.

I've decided to make him come from a home that bred cats, just because I think that's an interesting idea.

Not a mill or an abusive situation, but he's had a life before Ivypool, like she had a life before him.

He will be a den dad in BB. Ivypool comes in to nurse their kittens, but Fernsong is their Mi and she is their Ba.

#better bones au #character summary #BB!Fernsong #ThunderClan's Tempest

168 notes · View notes

bonefall · 10 months

Text

BB!Honeyfern -> Honeysnake

A girl who's gonna be stealing a little more time in BB.

[ID: The Better Bones version of Honeyfern. She is a spiky, golden, blue-eyed cat with a brown mask and stripes. Her torso, paws, and 'boots' are creamy. She is being bitten by an adder, and prepares to bite back]

Clanmew Name: Mlashiff, Mlasis (Mla = Honey + Shiff = Frond, the leaf of a fern) (Mla = Honey + Sis = Serpent, generic term for snakes)

Alignment: ThunderClan

Relations: Parents - Sorreltail, Brackenfur Siblings - Molepaw, Cinderheart, Poppyfrost Ex-Mate - Berrynose Apprentice - Briarlight

Honeyfern stands tall as the strongest, most ambitious kitten in the Brackenfour litter. Through BB!Po3, she is a rising star in ThunderClan, and Hollypaw's rival. Honeyfern's ferocity was only matched by her compassion; in early BB!OotS, she doesn't hesitate to lay her life on the line to attack an adder in defense of Briarkit.

After fighting for several days against one of the worst injuries Clan cats know of, Honeyfern survives, and is bestowed the Honor Title of Honeysnake before even getting her first apprentice.

(One of the first completely uncontroversial choices that Bramblestar makes!)

But, the painful ordeal causes Honeysnake to realize things about her boyfriend, Berrynose. Traits that had once been endearing were suddenly not so cute. Boldness comes across as selfishness. Protectiveness becomes controlling behavior. His 'sense of humor' means he doesn't take things seriously.

If only it could have been so simple to just leave him. No, she never would have guessed that the week she left Berrynose, he would immediately become interested in her sister. Poppyfrost!! What are you doing?! GIRL

With her uncle Thornclaw as deputy and far too busy for an apprentice anyway, it's obvious who Briarkit's mentor must be. The brave cat who saved her life became her guide and best friend, staying by her side through every hardship until her fateful death during the Battle of the True Eclipse (BOTTE).

LOTS more under the cut!

Honeysnake's personality is firm, responsible, and occasionally overly proud of herself. At the same time, she is driven by kindness more than anything else, and would break her own back to lessen the burden on her clanmates. She takes after her dad, Brackenfur, more than any of her siblings!

Because she massively values her own strength and her helpfulness, she can be goaded into overexerting herself and bossing around other cats. She doesn't mean to be pushy, but her heart is so large that she sometimes fails to realize that she's only made things worse. Big sister energy!

She must learn to balance this; a flaw is often a value in excess.

When she was an apprentice, her personality could really clash with Cinderpaw's.

Cinderpaw is very emotional, to the point of instability. Honeypaw couldn't understand that Cinder had to learn to work it out on her own, and sometimes inserted herself into her problems

This would make them both upset, as it wouldn't work and then Honeypaw would scold Cinderpaw for not taking her unsolicited advice.

In spite of all this, they love each other and got closer when they got older. It's ironic that Honey and Poppy would eventually be the ones fighting-- they NEVER fought as kids!

She fell in love with Berrynose after he developed a crush on her. Honey hadn't really thought much about romance before then, but she fell hard.

Berrynose was bold and exciting. She was always the one chasing after other people, finding ways to help everyone except herself. To BE pursued instead felt flattering, even freeing. He could be REALLY mean, yeah... but that was endearing, for a time. It felt like honesty, and it was refreshing that he would just say the things she would hold back to be polite, or diplomatic.

They were getting serious before the snake, which is now shuffled to happen in the first book of BB!OotS

The energy in ThunderClan had been... off, for a while. Since Hollyleaf had revealed the secret of her parentage and vanished, uncle Thornclaw had replaced Squirrelflight as deputy, and Leafpool was demoted as Cleric.

The couple had been discussing kittens and such, something uplifting so things could start to heal and move on.

In hindsight, they were normal adult discussions. In Honeysnake's reflections, something is ironic about how mature Berrynose had been just before the incident. Like he really was growing up, for a while.

Was he truly getting better? Or was that just a side of him she stopped being able to see in the new light? She'll never know.

The fight with the adder is burned into her mind, in extreme detail.

She remembers being cuddled next to Berrynose from the second level of the camp. She remembers the way her stomach dropped when she realized, from her vantage point, that a branch-shaped object under the wall was slithering. How she screamed for Briarkit to get back and bound across the quarry faster than she'd ever moved before.

The snake bit her first, and then she bit it back.

Venom from an adder burns. It quickly spread up her paw and through her arm, searing her veins like fire. She crumpled into a screaming heap next to her dead foe, sending the entire camp into a panic.

Jayfeather, already overwhelmed through being a new Cleric working alone after Leafpool's demotion, having recently been publicly disowned, and still mourning his sister, had to spring into action

And the very first crack that Honey noticed on her mate was how Berrynose threatened Jayfeather. "You'd better save her, if you don't I'LL kill you!"

Jayf didn't even dignify it with a response. She was glad he didn't. She didn't want Jay doing anything but helping her not have burning blood.

An adder bite is one of the deadliest, most painful, difficult injuries to treat across all four Clans. She required round-the-clock care and was in constant pain, for days, without guarantee she would survive.

And Berrynose was unhelpful, to say the least. Even going so far as to wrinkle his nose when Jay chewed up a mouthful of nettle for Honeyfern's treatments.

What she once found funny and endearing wasn't so cute when he couldn't be serious when she wanted him to be.

Leafpool, ex-Cleric, started stepping in to help Jayfeather in the den... against Bramblestar's demotion. Jay had never treated such a serious injury before, the rest of the Clan didn't stop needing treatment

The Clan was already a bit split on the idea of Leafpool not being a Cleric anymore. She's Leafpool Moonpool. She made mistakes-- but what else are the Queen's Rights even for?

Has she not already been punished? And what about Honeyfern, their clanmate, who needed her help right now?

And Bramblestar would NEVER prevent Leafpool from giving an injured cat from getting the proper treatment they need..........

But, of course, Berrynose was more loyal to his mentor than almost anything else. He had concerns about an unholy, codebreaking ex-Cleric attempting to heal his mate, and what it would mean for Bramble to rescind an earlier command.

Honeyfern, obviously, didn't care if StarClan themselves had come down to say Leafpool Bad. She wanted to not suffer and die.

And after monumental effort on the part of two trained cats, the entire Clan doing their part to support her, and Honeyfern's indomitable will to survive, the burning cooled to embers and the pain subsided.

She survived the bite of an adder, killing the beast in the process. An achievement that was so impressive that ThunderClan concluded she MUST be truly blessed.

Bramblestar is stingy when it comes to Honor Titles, but for this? He could not ignore it. The Clan needed a morale boost. She had survived the insurmountable. Everyone had come together over this situation, in a way that they hadn't in many moons.

So, as soon as she could stand for a ceremony, he decreed before their ancestors that the venom had been an anointment (thornclaw came up with that line). From now on, she would be known as Honeysnake, in honor of her survival.

It's rare that cats who are so young receive such Honor Titles, and it immediately boosted her up in status.

Berrynose was jealous of this. Not in a way where he'd say so openly, but in the way he would downplay her Title, not celebrate her achievements, or use it to deflect in conversations.

The breaking point was when the newest crop of apprentices was assigned, and Bramblestar decided that Honeysnake was absolutely ready for her first apprentice.

(Millie's three kits, despite being a little older than Dove and Ivy, were slightly delayed in their apprenticeship so they could all be apprenticed at once)

Hazeltail and Mousewhisker had proven themselves strong and competent, ready for their first apprentices. Mousewhisker was given Bumblepaw, Hazeltail receives Blossompaw.

To make sure there weren't too many young mentors, Birchfall was given Dovepaw, and Brightheart received Ivypaw.

And, lastly, to commemorate her strength and honor how she'd saved this child, Honeysnake was given Briarpaw.

...leaving Berrynose as the only cat of his litter without an apprentice! While Bramblestar, HIS mentor, was leader!!

But instead of being upset with Bramblestar, he felt Honeysnake had taken what he'd been owed.

Maybe some other time, Honey would have tried to comfort him, and make him feel better about it all

But she was DONE. That was ENOUGH coddling! SHE was the one who had gone through all of that, killed an adder and saved Briarpaw, and now he feels so entitled to an apprentice that he's upset with HIS MATE?

Poppyfrost, meanwhile, had been watching the ceremony of the apprentices with a forlorn gaze... and was about to get sucked in.

Without getting into Poppyfrost too much here, her key traits are Curiosity and Avoidance. Setting boundaries has always been difficult for her, or saying no to people. So when Berrynose turned his sights on her following his breakup with her sister...

Poppyfrost felt good. She felt desirable, for the first time since she'd given birth to Jayfeather's secret children. She hadn't shared with anyone how low she'd felt for the past 6 months, and it suddenly felt like there was a light in her life.

From Honeysnake's perspective, though, Berrynose found a whole new way to get into her life through Poppyfrost. Poppy started taking his side, or at the very least, not supporting her sister. Honey couldn't get away from Berry without avoiding Poppy, too. So the fights continued.

But, the most important thing in Honey's life quickly became her apprentice.

Briarpaw was attentive and enthusiastic, a bright little ball of light and hope. Honeysnake had a lot to teach her and she listened eagerly

But Honeysnake couldn't save her when the tree came crashing down.

Briarpaw lost control of her back legs, and it was immediately, widely accepted she would not be able to become a warrior.

As Jayfeather spoke with Littlecloud about how to treat her and give her a good quality of life, picking up the "notes" for Wildfur's old mobility device, Millie started becoming very controlling of her daughter.

At first, Honeysnake tried to give the family space... she didn't know what to do, if it was right to get involved or not.

After all, Millie is Briarpaw's mother. She just wants what's best for her, and Honeysnake wasn't sure how much Briarpaw could do now either. She loves her apprentice, so she didn't want to hurt her, or ruin her family by accident.

But then she started to realize how miserable Briarpaw was becoming. She was always such a joyful kid, so excited to get out there and try everything. A radiant little fireball, eager to fight for her Clan.

Now, she was silent, just letting her mother speak for her, only ever piping up to comfort her own parent.

Her quietness wasn't coming from her injury-- it was coming from how Millie was making her feel like her life was over. Like it would have been better if she died, since it was hurting her mom so much to "see her like this."

One day something hit Honeysnake, like a revelation. "I never stopped being her mentor. It's STILL my job to be there for her!!"

She couldn't completely stop Millie from making Briarlight feel awful. She couldn't prevent Blossompaw from misplacing her anger on her sister. She couldn't make Graystripe do his job as a dad to help his kids.

But Honey could be there for Briarpaw. She could be a safe place to talk, a friend and a mentor, and just get her away from Millie for a few hours a day.

And she was even wise enough now to realize that arguing with Millie directly would only make things worse for the young cat. Everything was for Briarpaw, what SHE needed. How to help her.

Together with Jayfeather, they'd even planned out how to schedule things so that Briarpaw could speak for herself without Millie interjecting.

For Briarpaw, it meant everything. There were people in her corner.

Though she couldn't pass an assessment in the usual way, Bramblestar still allowed Briarlight to get her full name. After all, she, like her mentor, had survived the unthinkable.

Honeysnake had never been so proud of anything in her whole life.

And at the end, just before the Battle of the True Eclipse when the Dark Forest was going to attack, they had a final conversation. Watching the moon inch closer to the sun, and knowing it may be the last time they ever spoke.

Briarlight said something she'd been holding back for a long time. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the apprentice you deserved..."

It made Honeysnake's belly lurch. After all they'd been through, to hear she was still holding onto a piece of what Millie made her believe was painful. "What...? I didn't save you to make a warrior. I did it because you have a life to live. Brili, I'm your mentor. I'm supposed to deserve you."

It turned out to be exactly what they suspected, the last words they'd ever speak to each other. Honeysnake fought ferociously for the Clans in the BOTTE, reunited with her old rival Hollyleaf and putting her quarrels aside. She meets her fate halfway through the night, in the bloody Second Wave.

Her death fills ThunderClan with sorrow. She's deeply mourned by everyone; her mother, sisters, friends, nespring, Clanmates. But most of all, Briarlight holds her memory close to fill her with strength in the coming years.

Honeysnake's spirit is invoked for fulfilling one's full potential, and making hard, painful choices to reach it. As the generations go on, she's associated with the shed skin of snakes and beetles, and the 'necessity' of putting oneself in danger to help others.

OTHER TRIVIA

SPIKY. I decided to give her Brackenfur's colors with Sorreltail's texture. She's the most intensely-colored of her siblings, BRIGHT golden, hence the name.

She's also got Sorreltail's torso marking going on, and her fuzzy 'dividers.' She got the boots from Brackenfur though.

In BB, she has Sweetness Tolerance! Ironically enough, she is able to taste and enjoy honey... and boy does she like her sauces.

Her favorite food is honey-glazed bacon, meat strips cut from the belly of a boar. A rare treat but a delicious one. She likes to eat the whole thing like a noodle, chewing it upwards and not using her paws at all.

As a kit, Brackenfur used to tell her to mind her manners. She had a bad habit of eating things without using her paws, because she likes sauce but not getting it on her beans.

She had her eyes on deputyship from a young age. She wanted to be just like her dad.

Losing him was rough. It was even harder when Bramblestar took power just a few months later, she felt like she should have been seeing her dad making the announcements...

But, she stayed strong, especially for her siblings who seemed to be taking it even worse.

Canon doesn't mention what sort of snake bit her, but BB takes place in northern England and the only venomous snakes there are ADDERS babey!!

I drew a girl adder on purpose because something felt very funny about this. here I go pitting two bad bitches against each other. diversity win! The wild animal that tries to eat a baby is a girl!

ADDERFACT: A female Vipera Berus is brown, a male is black and white, but their color can vary immensely.

Bramblestar is a terrible namer. Honeysnake, Mlasis, is a fine name, but he chose the generic term for all serpents (sis) instead of an adder specifically (sipya). In his head it sounded more honorable.

But! It's not the worst!

"Honeyfern" was given by Firestar, and intended to be a nod to her rivalry with Hollyleaf! Hollyleaf's suffix referred to the leaves of most trees, and Honeyfern's to the leaves of ferns.

Both them were named after Brackenfur, who they both looked up to. Brackens are a type of fern, and Firestar wanted to invoke a plant for the names of both cats.

Because Honeyfern was named first and also Brackenfur's child, she got the word for fern leaves.

Of course *Holly*leaf was already named after a plant... but no one ever said Firestar was a FANTASTIC namer either, after all, he's the genius behind "Brambleclaw."

Honeysnake's relationship with Poppyfrost was stable at the time of her death, with her two young nespring having been born... but if it was ever going to "improve," who knows.

but they were cordial. At the very least. She would have been involved in the lives of Mole and Cherry.

Unfortunately there's always a lot left unsaid when someone dies so young. She had a whole life in front of her, cut short because of Tigerclaw's ambition.

#tw snake #tw snake bite #VIOLENCE #Adder bite #adder #BB!Honeyfern #Honeysnake Shuffle #Honeysnake #Better Bones AU #tw pain #tw medical discussion #tw ableism

220 notes · View notes

bonefall · 8 months

Note

OHHH OK now im curious. bc of this ask: https://www.tumblr.com/bonefall/729548700508160000/could-be-like-my-cousin-shes-100-percent-deaf-in?source=share about dovewing being deaf. do cats in the BB AU have a signed form of clanmew? or is it basic gestures/just the written form of clanmew for deaf/HOH cats?

signed,

someone who really loves languages (hoping to god i spelled everything right/actually used the right words. ive been rewatching 3 hour psych lectures sine 6am...)

They have a rudimentary writing system! Clan glyphs be upon ye

It's not phonetic Clanmew, it's glyphs. Snowkit, before his tragic death saving Tawnykit, was actually OBSESSED with these. If he'd survived, he would have built these out into something he could use to communicate with. He was actually a really interesting kid.

But, unfortunately... that passion went with him. Whitewing is the next cat born with a hearing problem, and she's really uninterested in them. She isn't the same creative person that he was, and struggled with the fact that her family seemed to imply she had to "live the life he couldn't."

(note: in BB, dovewing is lionblaze's adopted daughter and bio-niece.)

I think there's going to be a big of a tragedy at play, here. Whitewing has figured out her own methods of communication. It's not a full language, but she's able to communicate basic intent with "rudimentary signs" she's created on her own.

She was only ONE degree of separation away from Dovewing (as Birchfall's, Dove's mentor, mate), but...everyone was forcing Dovewing into what THEY felt she needed. More hunting practice, more glyph practice, more lip-reading. Dovewing wasn't allowed to set her own pace or learn in her own way.

And her response was to bolt, taking all the possibility with her.

IT was the right choice for Dovewing, I think. She thinks that too. But, it wasn't the ONLY choice, you know? There's always things left unsaid and things you'll never be able to try when you make such a big decision. Who knows what could have been?

Maybe Dove and White would have ended up creating the start of a brand new dialect of Clanmew Sign Language, or changed the glyph system in a way that fit them better. Maybe that's not what matters; maybe they would have just been able to make each other feel less alone.

But as it is...

Every deaf, HOH, and mute cat in BB is currently disconnected from each other. They can't pool their skills except at Gatherings.

So Fallowfern, Dovewing, Whitewing, and Stoneclaw all have their own unique way of communicating.

There are tail signs which are used for battle, and glyphs which are used for writing.

Info: Those who go deaf later in life are still usually able to speak. Those who were born deaf often have a harder time. (Clarifying because this is apparently not common knowledge?)

OH! Bonus! Here's how each of those four tend to communicate!

Dovewing

She's REALLY frustrated by everyone forcing solutions on her. I think part of her actually really likes that she can say whatever and then not hear the response. It's like, "Deal with it. Show me you care with your actions if it's so important."

ZERO patience for people who just try to talk over her. She will immediately respect you if you listen to her carefully; only then will she give you the time of day to try and talk back. She kinda treats it like a privilege to talk to her, and she WILL revoke it without remorse.

People who have earned this privilege;

Heartstar. Naturally. And all of their children.

All of the Guardian cats, especially Antfur who is her best friend.

Violetshine, weirdly enough. She visits ShadowClan now and then and Dovewing is very fond of her and her wife and husband.

Strikestone and her new family

Squirrelflight

Briarlight

Alderheart and Sparkpelt

Twigbranch

Fernsong (BUT HE IS ON THIN. ICE. As Ivypool's husband.)

Her preferred method of being talked to is glyph writing. Heartstar is really creative with them, and it's super endearing. She improvises signs a lot and draws full pictures, making whole "doodle pages", even writing little "love letters" in the dirt before Dove wakes up. Literally peak romance, Dovewing loves her wife so muchhh

Whitewing

Also has low patience, but in a more "quick" way. She doesn't like people who take a lot of her time trying to phrase something simple and act awkwardly around her. Time is prey to Whitewing-- cut to the chase and communicate what you need her to do.

Interestingly, this leads to her really disliking Bramblestar as a leader. He's very inattentive to her needs when he organizes patrols on his own. She has very strong opinions and bad synergy with some of her Clanmates, and if she's forced on a patrol with them it ruins her day.

(She's really relieved when Squilf is reinstated post-BOTTE, Squilf knows about this quirk and accounts for it.)

Her love with Birchfall was actually a long time in the making. He really sees her, and something about the way they communicate just clicks. It's easy. They were friends, then partners, and then eventually mates and have been close their whole lives. Their body language just makes sense to each other.

She's been deaf her whole life and only knows a few very important words, but won't "speak" words if she doesn't have to. She does have a habit of making noises when she's happy though, beeping, meowing, and meeping when she's surprised and "not in work mode."

Whitewing is the kind of deaf cat in those videos who sees their human is home and goes "MEEEEEEEEEA." She would walk into a bathroom and wail so she could feel the vibrations on her paws. Vocalizing feels good. She is NOT a quiet person unless she's hunting.

Her preferred method of communication is mostly modified tail signs, but ThunderClan broadly uses glyphs, but she doesn't want to correct them on it. She feels bad telling them it's frustrating that they take so long to draw.

Stoneclaw

She has selective mutism. Her vigil was the night of the WindClan Massacre, and while sitting outside the camp with her temporary silence, ShadowClan attacked and killed her sister Thrushwing in front of her.

At first, WindClan thought it was nobility, that she'd "carried out her vigil to the bitter end." But it never healed. It's not a choice, it's trauma. She can speak when she's extremely relaxed but it's a really rare circumstance.

But, the legacy is to her benefit. She's the granddaughter of Tallstar (through Flylight, his adopted son), has an honorable story, and is a strong and confident warrior... in the daytime. She never hunts at night, when the sun sets, so does she.

(Clan cats are crepuscular, working in the morning and in the evening, but Stoneclaw only takes daylight shifts.)

Glyphs serve her fine, but she really dislikes using tail signs to communicate... brings up really bad memories.

She would REALLY benefit from someone making an effort to "legitimize" some sort of CSL, it would be like a support club to her. SO if it ever happened, Stoneclaw would jump at the chance to join. She's probably friends with Fallowfern though, once SkyClan arrives. Stoneclaw lives to become a very old girl.

Fallowfern

Mom of the Road Safety Man, guy who knows a million words for vehicles, Rabbitleap, and best friend and co-parent with Hawkwing, Plumwillow, Fallowfern is an old cat who ends up losing her hearing later in life like Dovewing!

I'm actually not entirely decided on her personality, but I'm feeling that she'd make a really good "glue" to hold everyone together. Like some kind of organizer-type person, someone who's very good at networking. She's really upset to be losing her hearing, it signifies a lot of really negative things to her.

She suddenly can't talk with a lot of people... even the ones who are reaching out to her are doing exactly that. Reaching out to her.

She likes being the reacher-outerer. It feels like being old and washed up.

SkyClan is a very good, connected Clan, with bonds notoriously VERY strong in comparison to the other Forest Four because of shared persecution... but

She's got this awful feeling that everyone's just coddling her, being nice to her, sending her to the elder's den like a trinket on a shelf.

"Does this mean... does this mean I'm going to lose music? Will anyone dance with me ever again? Do my babies want me to join them, or... or are they just tolerating stinky old mama <:( ?"

They're NOT, btw. Of course not. She's Fallowfern and she means a lot to them.

So I think at the VERY least, she finds a fondness for Stoneclaw at Gatherings. Elder friends, girlies who bond over making little grandma bracelets, but I'm not sure if it's HIT them yet that they can do something very cool together.

In fact it would be kind of funny if they weren't even aware of each other's disabilities at first, like they just started hanging out quietly. Fallowfern assumed that Stoneclaw just doesn't have anything to say and Stoneclaw figured Fallowfern was respecting her silence.

Like something just gravitated them to each other in the most natural, orbital way.

And then Snapstorm, Stoneclaw's wife, bumbles up like "Hey babe who's your friend :) ?" And Stoneclaw smiles, nods at Fallowfern to introduce herself, and then Fallow's like... "Oh I can't hear you, honey."

Stone: !!! (Taps self and makes a crossing motion over her throat)

Fallow: O_O "Ohhhh"

BUT, anyway,

Her preferred form of communication is unequivocally glyphs. I imagine SkyClan might have more written characters than other Clans, simply because they used them a LOT during their time apart under Spiderstar's Plan. Plus, they used to see a lot of road signs which they may have just adopted as glyphs.

Hmm... yeah, seems very cute that The Road Family's traffic theme continues, lmao

#better bones au #deafness #disability #BB!Dovewing #BB!Fallowfern #BB!Stoneclaw #BB!Whitewing #Muteness but only for Stoneclaw #Also I need to add more deaf cats to RiverClan. Going deaf and noseblind is actually REALLY common there #So it's weird that RiverClan is the only one here with none #That's what dirty riverwater does to you #Especially from Chelford that water was FILTHY #Sanctuary Lake's water is pristine. It's like that Mewtwo crater water. SpARKLIN #tw ableism

126 notes · View notes

bonefall · 9 months

Note

Gray Wing's got me thinking for the longest time: how are pronouns, specifically neopronouns, translated and spoken in Clanmew? Do Clan cats, when invoking/talking about xem, use xeir pronouns correctly or default to he/him or something more "normal"?

On a more general matter, how common is it for modern Clan cats to use neopronouns? Do you think it's something they picked up from a kittypet in Chelford and they were like "whaaaat lmao that's kinda neat" lol bc I kinda like that idea. Sorry I'm rambling I'm just really really happy abt the neopronoun rep :'3

Oh Clanmew doesn't have gendered pronouns at all! There are eight pronouns, entirely based on threat level. There aren't any neopronouns in Clanmew because the use of these pronouns is constantly reaffirming the relationship between two cats, or signalling some sort of meaningful shift based on context.

Format: THEY/YOU/INCLUSIVE WE/EXCLUSIVE WE

Wi/Wees/Weep/Wik (Babies, prey, things that pose absolutely no threat to you)

Nya/Nyams/Nyap/Nyamsk (Family; Things you do not harm by choice.)

Pyrr/Pyrrs/Pyrrp/Pyrrsk (Honorably less dangerous; a Cleric, an exhausted warrior, helpful objects)

Urr/Urrs/Urrp/Urrsk (Equal footing of a Clanmate, things on your level. Briarlight refers to her mobility device with this pronoun as an extension of herself. ONLY USED FOR THE SAME CLAN.)

Ar/Ars/Arp/Arsk (Cat who is above you in the same Clan; person who outranks you significantly. Your mentor while you're training, the deputy, your own leader. Has a sarcastic air of "your highness" when used on those of similar rank.)

Rarr/Rarrs/Rarrp/Rarrsk (Honorable outsider; Clan cats of other Clans. Used to correct overfriendliness, friends of other Clans will sometimes find excuses to use other pronouns, though it can be frowned upon. Used for mildly dangerous prey like some ducks and gray squirrels. NEVER used on Clanmates without insult.)

Mwrr/Mwrrs/Mwrrp/Mwrrsk (Rogues, very dangerous animals. Actively aggressive and acts without honor; a MASSIVE insult used on any Clan cat.)

Ssar/Ssars/Ssarp/Ssarsk (NATURAL DISASTERS AND STARCLAN. Unpredictable, dangerous, unstoppable. For the leaders of other Clans or used as a very high compliment to another Clan's deputy or high-ranking warrior, but if overused could be seen as cowardly.)

So to use a neopronoun in Clanmew would be seen as very 'evasive' at best and rude at worst. You'd be bypassing a big part of their language and culture by not making your relationship and feelings towards that person clear to your conversation partner. It's very different from English where pronouns are just about gender!

"pi woomoerpbum Hrra'aborrl nyanomna" Heathertail: Breezepelt my beloved is eating a tunnelbun.

"pi woomoerpbum Hrra'aborrl rarrnomna" Heathertail: THAT BASTARD BREEZEPELT IS EATING A TUNNELBUN

There are three accepted genders in Clan Culture, Molly, Tom, and Gib. Gibs I refer to with xe/canon pronouns; canon just when it's less confusing. Blackstar for example is actually a gib in BB, so he's He/They/Xey.

(Queer cats still exist though, Dustpelt is an example of a GNC cat, Twigbranch is agender, Finleap is multigender, but Clan cats have a trinary gender system)

When the character has no canon gender though it's instant Gib and they're They/xe. Billowcloud is an example of that.

Gray Wing gets Xe pretty exclusively in my writing though for a few reasons, 1. Xe is the "archetype" of the roles associated with being a Gib and I want to emphasize this as the Patron of Wisdom, 2. The singular nonbinary pronoun is super super helpful with the fact Gray Wing has a ton of "talking to a group/on behalf of a group" scenes, it helps distinguish Xem from Them.

#bone babble #better bones au

78 notes · View notes