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brightblueflare · 2 months

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BLAZING SKY AU: Forest Four Culture

One of the (many) things that bother me about canon is how, in spite of the characters rejecting TigerClan in the basis of "there have always been four Clans in the forest (*sad SkyClan noises intensify*)", there's no real reason for the Clans to stay separate.

It's always "we live in X, we hunt X and we are X", nothing about the ways the Clans are different except for stereotypes played straight. WindClan used to have tunnels and loners visiting them every once in a while, but don't worry! It's all forgotten now!

(*muffled screaming of the naive reader that thought something could be interesting about this series*)

Don't get me started on SkyClan, I don't want to get angry.

So, for my Blazing Sky AU, in spite of the fact that the Forest Four don't show up until like, second book, and that's only WindClan (+Sandstorm and Dustpelt/Graystripe, still thinking about it), I'm gonna grab them and put everything that occurs to me about them.

*pats Clans on the head* These blorbos can fit so much culture in them.

Canon? What's that? Food? Nope, never heard of it. Original books? What are you talking about?

(More under the cut!)

ThunderClan

BSk's cats, like real life cats, are primarily crepuscular. However, ThunderClanners lean more towards diurnal. In no small part, this is to avoid owls, since those are the major birds of prey they can find in their territory. However, most of the animals they hunt sleep during the night, and are only active during the day; that definitely plays a factor in their sleep schedule.

They are very... heteronormative might not be the word, since they do not care if cats are in same-sex relationships, or if they're trans; but they believe all cats that can have them should have at least one litter, and can be very pushy about it. Also, they're expected to find mates, regardless of gender (amatonormativity). Cats like Mousefur and Ivypool Wouldn't Have A Good Time.

Aside from RiverClan, ThunderClan is the most strict with and protective of Queen's Rights, in spite of their original opposition of them during Oakstar's Reign. This has a cultural reason: while sires don't have to be revealed, if they are known, they are expected to raise those kittens, which can be uncomfortable if there's been a major break-up or if you only helped your friend have kittens. Cats like Spiderleg are heavily looked down upon.

After SkyClan's exile, they are the most xenophobic Clan. Cats like Thistleclaw and Tigerstar usually come from ThunderClan for a reason. However, half-Clan kittens are much more tolerated after what happened to Mapleshade. If Graystripe were to be revealed as the sire of Featherkit and Stormkit, he would be shunned, but his kittens would be accepted and taught to be loyal ThunderClan warriors... maybe a little too enthusiastically.

Very ableist. Just like in the canon books, disabled cats are pushed into the seer's den (Cinderpelt with her twisted leg, Jayfeather being blind, Briarlight with her paralyzed back legs and Alderheart with severe anxiety) or expected to retire (Longtail after being blinded, and the fear that Brightheart wouldn't become a warrior). At any rate, this ableism explains why other Clans have disabled cats as deputies (Deadfoot) and leaders (Crookedstar and Brokenstar), while ThunderClan doesn't even let them become warriors.

In spite of their name, ThunderClan values silence. They live in a forest where everything makes noise, so being quiet is a sign of a good stalker and hunter.

Just like other Clancats (except those from SkyClan), ThunderClanners worship StarClan. However, other thing they believe in is that the deceased have to be buried, preferably next to a tree. This comes from the belief that the forest gives its cats life, and that it must be returned. This is exclusive for them.

The most exigent with work and providing for the Clan. That's not to say they don't value free time, but they believe you must have done something before that.

Parents (mothers in particular) do the majority of the kitten-raising, and tend to be overlooked for positions of power, like Bluestar with her kittens, and having to give them up in order to become deputy. They are patriarchal, which is rare for cat societies.

They usually name kittens after plants (Ex. Fern, Leaf, Bracken, Holly...), animals found in their territory (Squirrel, Mouse...) and the Great Clans (Lion and Tiger in particular, Leopard- is more of a RiverClan thing, but there are cases in ThunderClan such as Leopardfoot).

Celebrations are rare. This is part of them not wanting to be "lazy". But they have one, roughly during the spring equinox, celebrating the "rebirth" of the forest, and one around the beginning of the winter, where they thank the forest for all it has provided.

They value battle, even above the other Clans, and believe every cat has to fight. Therefore, seers aren't as respected as other Clans believe they should be.

They're the Clan where the "take care of the elders as thanks for all they did for the Clan" tradition started. They take pride in this, and take the Prey's Privilege law very seriously.

Scars are considered a sign of survival and strength, and that's desirable for their battle-obsessed culture. They also like colorful pelts, particularly in odd patterns, short fur that can't hide scars, and big cats. Brightheart would be very close to their ideal of beauty.

I tried to make ThunderClan resemble the canon Clans and accidentally made it suck a lot, oops. I'm keeping it though, I like it when societies suck on purpose.

ShadowClan

Just like ThunderClan is diurnal, they are nocturnal. The most awake and active Clan during Gatherings. It unnerves the other Clans a lot (they find it funny).

They're the Clan that respects Queen's Rights the least. If the sire isn't named, they consider it free to speculate. However, they're more lax about half-Clan relationships and kittens. Long as you hunt and fight for your Clan, who cares if you visit your otherClan "friend" every once in a while, or if you're a little bit too affectionate towards a rival warrior during Gatherings; friendliness and peace is all the Gathering's about.

Expect them to name half-Clan kittens in a very otherClan way. Ex. A half-ThunderClan kitten being named "Fern" or "(red)Squirrel". This can be meant as a taunt. "Yes, this cat is half-Clan, yes they're the kitten of your Clanmate. See how they fight for us".

The least xenophobic Clan aside from SkyClan. They usually have the sentiment that "if you made half-Clan cats, former rogues and kittypets disappear, there'd be no one left in ShadowClan". Even cats like Brokenstar don't give two rat-tails about your ancestry, just what you can provide for ShadowClan.

Very much not ableist, specially towards blind cats. They live in a territory where not even sighted warriors can see very much, and the more developed senses of scent and hearing blind cats usually have is very beneficial.

Very pious, worship StarClan and often invoke their ancestors for blessings. They boast about it. They have similar beliefs about the forest to ThunderClan. But for them it's much more tradition than actual, religious belief.

Kittens are raised communally by the queens, and sires aren't expected to be involved with raising the kittens, however it's considered highly beneficial. ShadowClan considers the ability to raise kittens a sign of guiding capabilities. Those who have raised litters into adulthood have more chances of being chosen as deputies, both toms and mollies, but lean more towards picking mollies.

They usually name kittens after what they can find on their territory (Marsh, Smoke, Bog...) other predators (Fox, Badger, Hawk, Eagle, Talon...) and trees, particularly rowans, because they're the only Clan that can use their berries.

Celebrations aren't typical, but not as rare as in ThunderClan. They, for example, celebrate the new moon, as a time for healing and rebirth, alongside the start-of-winter ceremony to thank the forest for what it has provided, and the spring equinox for the growth of the forest and the return of prey.

Dark humor? You bet. Harsh, usually considered insensitive and even sadistic by the other Clans. Their favorite joke is to state something dark, maybe even cruel, matter of factly, and have others give more and more absurd responses; the first to laugh loses.

Beauty standards? What's that?- ShadowClanners don't give a crap about how you look. Size? Don't care. Pelt colors? Preferably dark, but anyways not a big deal. Scars? Look cool, what else do you want me to say? Eyes? You can see, right? Good for you; wait, you can't see? No biggie, neither can we in this place.

ShadowClan isn't exigent about mates, you can have kittens and then move on with your lives, stay together and share a nest but have no kittens, have multiple mates or simply Have Friends. They Don't Care, it doesn't matter to them.

Am I projecting on random ShadowClan cats? Yes, probably. No, I regret nothing.

WindClan

Respect Queen's Rights, but are very strict about half-Clan relationships and kittens. They are seen as traitors and "mistakes", and many times they are openly scorned. However, they do welcome cats who want to join WindClan to be with their mate.

Quite xenophobic, but surprisingly accepting of outsiders that want to join the Clan. A remnant of the times when they welcomed travelers temporarily. However, they're very scornful of deserters and cats in half-Clan relationships that don't offer their mate to join WindClan.

A bit ableist, but nothing in comparison to ThunderClan and RiverClan. Still, blind and deaf cats do not have a fun time in this Clan. Cats with limps, or with broken feet like Deadfoot or Cinderpelt are... pitied, for a lack of better word.

Very pious, because of their closeness to the Mothermouth, and proud of it too. Their beliefs aside from SkyClan center around the wind and the earth. It was believed tunnelers should be buried, and that moor runners were better left in the open to feed the earth in their deaths as it fed them during life. This ended with the death of tunneling (thanks Heatherstar).

Kittens are raised communally, everyone collaborates, regardless of gender. Everyone is expected to lend a paw in guiding the little ones on the path to adulthood.

Usually, they name kittens after what they can find on their moor (Hill, Cloud, Tor, Mud, Fly, Stone, Thrush, Heather, Breeze, Hare, Rabbit...). Unlike other Clans, they don't tend to use the Great Cats for names.

Many, simple celebrations. The coming of spring, the summer solstice to pray for the stars to rise again, the fall equinox to celebrate the return of the stars, the winter solstice to thank the earth for all it has provided, the middle of fall where there's a feast (to gain weight before the hardest season)... And many superstitious beliefs, like how kittens born under the full moon are fortunate.

They have a lot of songs, mostly related to their myths and folklore. They are very musical.

They like brown and orange pelts, since they are easy to camouflage. They also love scars.

RiverClan

The Queen's Rights Clan. The law originated here, and its cats take it very seriously. Most of them are, too, very lax about known half-Clan cats. Blood purity that ThunderClan is obsessed with means nothing to RiverClan, it's just alien to them.

Very accepting of Clancats changing allegiance and joining their Clan, but very hostile towards outsiders. Graystripe and Silverstream's kittens would have better luck in RiverClan than, say, Hawkfrost and Mothwing.

Ableist. Very. However, they're also the Clan with more disabled cats, deaf and hard of hearing cats in particular. Life isn't fun for them.

They're much more chill about religion than the other Clans. Aside from the obligatory prayers and celebrations, there isn't much they do in tribute to StarClan. However, they do thank the river for what it has provided.

Kitten raising is communal. Much more than in other Clans. It doesn't matter if you're their parent, their sire/dam, their kin or just a random Clanmate. You. Raise. The Kittens.

Usually, they name their kittens after the river or other bodies of water (Stream, Moss, Lake, Misty, Stone, Reed, Rain, Drizzle, Storm...), fish (Carp, Trout, Minnow...), insects (Dragon{fly}, Moth...), birds (Swan, Duck...) and leopards.

They only have one major celebration, led by the seer, where they give thanks to the river for feeding them during the year, and promise to only hunt on land while it recovers during the winter, while its surface is frozen.

RiverClanners love decoration. If something's necessary, might as well be pretty. They collect shells, feathers, flowers and pretty rocks to decorate their dens' walls or to put on their nests. Giving someone a flower is a sign of trust and appreciation.

They love slick pelts, odd and multicolored patterns and eye colors like green or blue, since amber and yellow are considered common and boring. Like all the other Clans, they like scars, particularly those in the face, the neck or the stomach.

#blazing sky au #thunderclan #riverclan #windclan #shadowclan #forest four #cultural differences #warrior cats #Clan beauty standards #traditions

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cicadaclan · 10 months

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Who are your top two clan leaders and what abt them makes them ur faves... and also who's ur absolute least favorite leader out of them all n why?

well if u know me, first and foremost is blackstar. i have bias for him as a kid, and i love him conceptually now as well, acknowledging that some thoughts i have of him are from my own interpretation,

it's so tasty tho, I think i was definitely onto something when i was little. guy who supported both brokenstar and tigerstar rising to become leader and ultimately resolving to do a better job than the both of them? brokenstar was his old friend and he sincerely believed along with the rest of shadowclan that tigerstar could improve their odds? like cmon man. he has so much flavour to him,

and arguably he Did do better than the both of them, over a longer period of time. for one, not killing his own apprentices thru unjust practices, and thinking of his clan first over revenge or petty grievances. there were a lot of reasons for everyone from all three of the other clans to mistrust him, for what he did under both bad leaders, and he's the one who calls out lionblaze for being literally a murderer. and he Is. lionblaze sucks.

he aimed to steady out the life of shadowclan, and from what i remember, his arrogance took a back burner to consideration for his clan. strong but not cruel, as a group instead of individual. i think he succeeded in the end, up until he grew too weak to properly lead any longer,

tallstar, messy as he is, i still enjoy him a lot as a leader. windclan was put thru a lot very early on, and that would throw anyone's abilities into question, but he managed to keep everyone together long enough to return home. despite the rising xenophobia, he chose to hear out fireheart over resolving to battle w thunderclan in the middle of the first arc, and then later banded up to keep from being driven out again. he was a cool old man, making more choices on his own judgement than being pressured by his warriors, which i can't say the same for peaceful or resolute leaders like pine and sunstar,

special shout out to nightstar bc i like shadowclan, even if his leader status can be argued against. he was never accepted by starclan, but i like to think he maintained the position otherwise shadowclan cld have felt even more lost than they already did after brokenstar was driven out,

now for least favourite ... i have complicated feelings abt onestar. was he an interesting antagonist? yah, id say he was, but god damn did his decisions not seem utterly stupid at times. he was infinitely more interesting than mudclaw in the end, but in his aim to prove other cats wrong abt something that's objectively helped windclan in the past, he ruined a lot of his personal relationships in the process,

he was self-involved in a similar but opposing way to tallstar, where tallstar did act in self interest to hopefully benefit the clan, with his own biases in play, onestar sabotaged clan relations in some attempt to make himself out as stronger. he wanted to look better than someone who relied on outside help, but man.. he didn't need to do all that,

but he thought he did, bc of the whole undermining of mudclaws rebellion. he narrowly didn't become leader until the moonpool was founded, and there'd be a good chance the rebellion caused cats to continue to question his leadership even after it was squashed. it cld have all been in his own head tho; he knew the most how close he grew w firestar,

i think im also still sad how he did so much that his relationship w firestar became unsalvagable, even for fire. and then firestar died, w them as enemies. :(

#canon wc #my thoughts #ough oof #long post

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ravenfall · 3 years

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Bit of deleted dialogue I couldn’t quite fit into any of the previous chapters which is honestly the biggest shame.

I really liked the exchange and will probably be forever bummed I couldn’t work it in the story proper. Maybe I can still fit it in in like...a dream sequence during second book’s rewrite but that is unfortunately fairly unlikely if I’m being honest.

"Maybe it's better if Windclan doesn't come back. Their warriors killed in battle. A clan that kills isn't really a clan is it?"

Rosetail stopped in front of him, forcing him to stand still as well.

"It...isn't." She raised a paw gently to his muzzle before he could comment. "However Windclan is as much a clan as Thunderclan or Riverclan. They follow the same noble code as we do."

"But one of their warriors killed an apprentice in battle!"

A flash of something crossed her face. "But they were also defending their home and clanmates were they not?"

Ravenpaw shifted uncomfortably. "I guess so. But the Warrior Code says that a warrior doesn't need to kill to win a battle."

Pride mixed with sorrow on Rosetail's face as she sat down, motioning Ravenpaw to do the same.

"Correct. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. You haven't been in enough battles yet, thank Starclan, but sometimes, very rarely, a warrior may kill in battle. Never intentionally; but if pressed or cornered, they may feel they have no choice."

A heavy sigh escaped her.

"Not every warrior makes it to the elder's den I'm afraid." A distant look entered her eyes. "Truth be told, I could have gone back to my warrior duties after you and your brother were named apprentices. I'm certainly not the oldest cat in the clan. But, I could feel myself getting older and after the loss of Thistleclaw...I decided I wanted to live long enough to see my kits get their warrior names.”

#warrior cats rewrite #ravenpaw #rosetail #deleted snippet #i think i wanted to put this on the way back to thunderclan after brokenstar's delightful little demand of 'give us hunting rights or die'#i enjoyed writing rosetail and will be forever sad she had to die #even if it adds to ravenpaw's 'villainous' arc

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mallowstep · 3 years

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How different do you think things would have turned out if Rusty had ended up in Shadowclan instead of Thunderclan?

well...i can imagine a few different ways. but!

we know shadowclan takes in loners/rogues (russetfur, boulder). he's a kittypet, which is...different, but still in the same wheelhouse, and a kit. kind of.

brokenstar is also desperate for warriors (he steals kits, remember?) so i think, ironically, he'd be eager to get rusty into the clan and keep him there. there's a solid argument to be made that he wouldn't, but we're not talking about that.

(also, we're not talking about the boring answer where we tweak the starting conditions and put thistlestar in power & etc. boring in that, the differences created are solely cultural, not plot. probably. not sure. the point is, we're not exploring that ATM.)

so i think, and we're going to call him rustpaw bc i like that, i think rustpaw is going to be heavily manipulated from the beginning. like, a kinda "we brought you into this, we can bring you out of it" kind of vibe.

and mm, yeah. rustpaw is still our strongly valued fireheart, but different.

morally speaking, he's torn: he wants to be a good warrior, he believes shadowclan has saved him, etc., but at the same time, he feels like things are wrong.

he can't name it, though, because he has no point of comparison. they don't tell him they're breaking the warrior code.

so rustpaw, and later rust...fang? idk. let's call him rustfang for the moment, but i don't like that, but rustfang becomes an enforcer for brokenstar. a strong backer. his understanding of clan life is, "this is what we do, this is the right way to do it," and that's what he honestly believes.

and brokenstar is very careful about preserving that when he's young, so by the time he's a warrior, it's a very thick shield. even if there's that seed of doubt, well. seeds need dark and pressure to grow, and there's no pressure.

he still gets cinderpaw as an apprentice, mind!, and that's where the story really begins.

there's a scene in "putting roots in my dreamland" where runningcloud (runningnose) tells frostfur's litter that they're two moons old, even though they're three, and we'd repeat that, so that rustfang can still get cinderpaw as an apprentice.

meanwhile! in thunderclan, bluestar never brings firepaw into the clans, meaning tigerclaw's rise to power goes differently.

see, we're going to say that firepaw is a bit of a catalyst, because i think tigerclaw is at his best when he honestly believes he's doing the right thing...he's just warped with ambition.

no firepaw, once he gets the deputyship, he's not in the same rush to kill bluestar.

so, we've got warriors sandstorm, greystripe, and dustpelt. is ravenpaw still around? probably not, he's probably dead. it's not really important. maybe i'll get a little deeper into this and decide it is.

anyway, we're going to make redtail sandstorm's father because it gives us an important thread to pull on: her father is dead. and...the fire happens, maybe that's when bluestar dies. they go to riverclan, and sandstorm overhears someone talking about deputies and who died how, maybe: after all, the leader of thunderclan is dead and the deputy-to-be-leader is tigerclaw, and now she's suspicious.

tigerstar comes back, and sandstorm is wary, but mostly trusting, and clever.

tigerstar makes...i'm not sure? deputy. maybe longtail? maybe whitestorm, because he wants to keep his enemies close. not darkstripe, though: with no catalyst, tigerstar is less of a villain and more of a corrupt politician. i mean, he will be a villain, but he's going to be morally grey for a long time.

anyway, back in shadowclan, rustfang starts to think about how young cinderpaw is. she's adorable! but she's a kid. he was older than her when he was apprenticed, wasn't he? and didn't they say he was apprenticing age?

so yeah. cinderpaw, brightpaw, thornpaw, and brackenpaw are...idk who's apprenticed to who, that's kind of unimportant. but rustfang doesn't know what to do.

blackfoot says they're fine, and brokenstar says they're fine, so they're fine, right?

okay, cinderpaw's first gathering is when she's four to six moons old. brokenstar is smart and doesn't take young bb apprentices to gatherings.

frostfur is there, and she's grieving the loss of her mate and her kits, and brightpaw is really distinctive, those are her kits.

rustfang, who's extremely protective of cinderpaw & co., because she's his apprentice, steps in to defend them, and the litter doesn't know what's going on. (do they remember that they weren't born in shadowclan? yes, but they don't remember who their mother was or any of that.)

they fight. tallstar and...are we at leopardstar yet? not important, anyway, the non-shadow/thunder leaders are like, "control your warriors!" but obviously both tigerstar and brokenstar are supportive of them.

the gathering is cut short, and rustfang. now he's really unsure.

something is wrong.

meanwhile! in thunderclan, tigerstar refuses to confront brokenstar, even if he thinks frostfur might be right. because uh, hand-wavy reason i'll figure out later. maybe he's scared, a prophecy, i don't know. there's a real reason, i just don't know what it is off the top of my head.

sandstorm is pissed. she's close to frostfur! she's angry and unsure and she has to do something.

i don't know where we go from here, but yeah, that's what i think happens.

the next few plot beats involve cinderpaw & co. being rushed to become warriors, so that they can't be reclaimed by thunderclan, rustfang talking to the queens, and sandstorm investigating what's going on.

tigerstar forms tigerclan out of thunderclan and riverclan, nominally to defeat brokenstar, but really, to create power.

i'm not sure what happens to windclan.

blackstar becomes leader, makes rustfang deputy, and we eventually get to a position where rustfang becomes ruststar, and the question is: what kind of leader will he be?

because now tigerstar is fully evil, and sandstorm and some others are trying, but it's not working, we have a pit. greystripe and silverstream have kits when tigerclan is formed, and i'm not sure how that plays out yet.

but ruststar has a decision: help overthrow another leader, or not?

#ask #anon #au talk #mine #essay #txt #long #i think rustpaw au is used by someone else #so we'll call this uhhhhh #shadow rust au #there we go #rustfang au #coming back to this months later #to add the tag i use now

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brackenfur · 3 years

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i actually wrote a small pre-relationship tallpoppy/stonefur thing from me n @exaggerated-yawning ‘s au ....i rly love tallstone and enjoy it omg so just have this drabble that i was able to pump out after i got home frm work tonight omg

He must be having a nightmare again, Tallpoppy thinks as she watches him shiver in his nest. In his waking hours, Stonefur is usually more withdrawn and quiet; it’s a stark contrast to a time before, of a tom that she remembers from Gatherings as being so full of confidence in himself and his family. Not of the arrogant kind; just a cat who knew his path in life and want he wanted for himself. Seemingly not glory or fame, not a high position (although he got that eventually) just the joy of being in his home with his family at his side.

So many cats, Tallpoppy thinks, go through their lives not realizing that sometimes that’s all they truly want; to belong, to have a shared community. She thinks of Brokenstar, who she remembers from her kitdays, who constantly shied away from ShadowClan and withdrew into himself until the resentment for Lizardstripe, and the coddling Raggedstar gave him boiled over until he couldn’t contain it. Of Tigerstar - a tom she didn’t grow up around, but knew just as well from Gatherings, proud and arrogant and so blinded by needless ambition, that he lost his Clan and family from his own doing and is now spending his days trying to recover from that blow by punishing others for what he lacks.

But Stonefur, before TigerClan, wasn’t like that. She didn’t know him well before helping rescue him from Blackfoot, but she felt as though she understood him from a distance. What you see is what you get, one of those cats.

But then again, no one is really like that; she remembers the collective shock of ShadowClan when Tigerstar told them how Stonefur and Mistyfoot were half-ThunderClan, sired by Oakheart but carried by Bluestar. The way he recalled it, amber eyes stirring with hatred and disgust - Tallpoppy thinks that part of why it bothers him so much is that the cat who mothered Stonefur is the cat who drove him from ThunderClan, and he wanted to go for the next best thing after Bluestar now that she’s gone from this world: her children.

And not just Bluestar’s, either; Tallpoppy remembers seeing two apprentice-aged cats huddled together tightly, eyes fearful and wide as they take in the ShadowClan warriors before them. RiverClan apprentices from the look of them, but there was something about their head shape, the molly’s too-thick coat-

“RiverClan doesn’t just house two half-Clan cats, but four,” Tigerstar had hissed to them, narrowing his eyes at the apprentices. “Crookedstar’s grandkits have a ThunderClan father; how embarrassing for his legacy.”

It was that moment that Tallpoppy had felt as though she had enough; her children, her kits, were taken from her. Killed by Brokenstar at three moons old. There was no funeral, no ceremony. No one gathered for a vigil to send her kittens to StarClan and wish them well on their journey. Dawncloud and Brightflower pressed against her sides, murmuring that they would be there for her through this - but that was all. Her kittens are dead, and ShadowClan had to move on. No one had tears to shed again for a dead litter; it was too common for them now, that it almost felt as though no one but her mourned them truly.

She tears her thoughts from her kittens, though; she has to, in order to get through the next day, and the day after that. And the next. It’s something that the queens of ShadowClan have learned over the past seasons.

But that idea - of killing two apprentices, just for their parentage, was something she’d rather turn a rogue than to go and perform. This wasn’t the forest she was born into anymore.

Stonefur twitches again, and Tallpoppy blinks at him softly; in the moonlight, his blue-gray fur shines brightly. The patches of missing fur from where Blackfoot attacked him are almost grown back, but some of the wounds have scarred too horribly for any fur to grow back. She looks at the one on his side, and her stomach tightens.

He’s a strong tom. He lost his home; his leader was perfectly comfortable with him being killed to suit Tigerstar’s needs. But as he stayed with the rebels in ShadowClan, with Littlecloud nursing him back to health, Tallpoppy did not think he would stay with them. Perhaps go back with his sister and her son to RiverClan, or maybe join ThunderClan.

But, just as shockingly, he began...talking to her. Well, she talked to him first, mostly; he was still too shell-shocked, too shook up to really carry on a conversation for too long. Their first conversations consisted of her reminding him that he wasn’t their prisoner, that he could go anywhere he liked - he was just here to heal, but if he didn’t want to stay, she understood that.

But after awhile, they began to talk more; it was awkward and guarded at first, due to their differences, but the walls began to drop the more they understood each other.

He’s proud and strong-willed because his father taught him to be; Oakheart was a tom of confidence and generosity. His father had to protect his brother from their Clan at a young age, and Stonefur and Mistyfoot were taught to protect each other. He has a bit of a temper that he says is from his mother; when Tallpoppy’s whiskers twitched, he explained that Graypool had quite the temper, and no one could really calm her down once she started to fire up.

Maybe it’s because his personality compliments the side of hers that is instinctively protective, that tries to look at the best in life and tries to move forward with what she has, but they did grow closer over the moon before the battle with BloodClan.

And after that, he stayed.

He didn’t explain why, exactly; he merely shrugged and said that Mistyfoot is Leopardstar’s new deputy, and she can keep the other molly and check from there. That his sister will always be his sister regardless of the Clan. But Tallpoppy mostly thinks it’s because you can’t go back to that; to a Clan who wanted you dead, and a leader who turned a blind eye to it. Mistyfoot is as badly damaged from it as he is, but Tallpoppy also knows that she wasn’t the one under Blackfoot’s claws - that was Stonefur. Every scratch, every bite, every wound opened - it was on Stonefur. She thinks that there’s a difference in that.

Tallpoppy nestles closer to him; he started to sleep next to her when the nightmares came back. Strangely, after all is said and done - with Tigerstar dead, BloodClan defeated, and ShadowClan trying to begin a new chapter again, wondering who will lead them next and if they’re ready to move forward, and how, she still has nightmares.

About her kits, mostly. But sometimes it’s about herself, too; where she’s the one that Brokenstar is taking out for battle training, while her kits watch.

Stonefur didn’t say anything that first night, merely plopped next to her and went to sleep. But his presence helped; a familiar scent of someone who is trying to get back on his own paws was nice to have.

But now it’s him who’s having the nightmare; he twitches in his sleep, eyelids fluttering. Tallpoppy frowns; she cares about him in a way that’s new for her, something that’s hard for her to put her claw on. Her kit’s father was just a fellow warrior; it wasn’t a courtship of that kind. She’s never really had relationships outside of her friends and Clanmates; but this thing, with Stonefur, it’s different. She finds herself aching for his companionship in a way that’s just different from Dawncloud or Littlecloud’s friendships; she wants them to sleep in the same nest for every night they have left together. She wants him at her side when ShadowClan decides to go to the next Gathering, and to look down (because, adorably, he is shorter than her) and see him there. To do the whole tail-twine, gaze up at the sunset thing that she’s seen so many couples do ever since she was a ‘paw.

But mostly, she’s just glad to be here with him, to know she has someone at her side through this confusing time.

She leans down and licks his ears; he doesn’t instantly relax at first, but as she moves closer to him, nosing his cheek, he slowly does, leaning into her touch.

#srry mobile users if it doesnt like cut off under the readmore #shark noises #writings #wc #tallstone #long post #jic

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akitsune-lune · 4 years

Text

a lukewarm defence of Blossomfall

or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the IvyBlossom

Hi there. Do you have a minute to talk about Blossomfall?

My goal here

Analyse Blossomfall’s behaviour in OOTS. Clear up misconceptions and aim to change people’s minds regarding the relationship between Millie, Briar, n Blossom, as well as making a case for IvyBlossom not in fact being A Toxic Evil Ship Propagated by Abuse Apologists. This is going to be an extremely long post and hopefully THE Blossomfall Defence Post. Fly, my pretties, share it around, this took so long.

1: The Text

let’s go over everything single thing Blossomfall has done in OOTS so that there’s no way for us to be in disagreement over what she’s done. It’s gonna take a while. This will be everything vaguely important to Blossomfall’s character, but not including shit like characters noticing Blossompaw sitting with her mentor or whatever. You are free to ctrl-f “Blossom” your way through all of OOTS to see if I’m cherry picking passages for my clever scheme to make everyone think about Blossomfall. (spoilers, I’m not)

Fourth Apprentice:

Literally nothing of note. Just filling in random background bits.

Fading Echoes:

P.68 This is pretty much our first look at Blossomfall. She squabbles with her littermates and maybe has a crush on Toadstep.

P.128 next is our first interaction between Ivypaw and Blossompaw. Ivypaw thinks Dovepaw is getting special treatment, and Blossompaw disagrees.

P.149 And a first interaction between Millie and Blossompaw. Blossompaw jumps onto the Great Oak and hurts herself, then Millie fusses over her. This is a pretty good set-up for showing Millie to be a bit of an overbearing mother and no spoilers, but if Millie’s attention suddenly vanished, you could imagine that would leave Blossompaw off-kilter.

P.174 Now we have an antagonistic interaction between Ivypaw and Blossompaw; Blossompaw is rude and thoughtless and it plays directly to Ivypaw’s deepest insecurities. Throughout the assessment, Blossompaw treats her like she’s useless.

P.235 A quick acknowledgement of Briarlight’s siblings cheering for her

P.248 another moment of sisterly affection between them

P.258 The first mention of Thornclaw in relation to Blossomfall. I’ve heard it cited as evidence of Thorn/Blossom set-up, which... seems like a stretch, but maybe.

P.361 And to round out Fading Echoes we get Ivypaw and Blossomfall working together in battle, and Blossomfall being appreciative of Ivypaw’s abilities.

Night Whispers:

P.33 The very first moment of Blossomfall in Night Whispers is an in-text, explicit acknowledgement that Blossomfall and Ivypaw have put their previous quarrels to rest. After that, (P.111) we get a quick moment of Ivypaw and Blossomfall talking like chill Clanmates, which might further support that their previous animosity is gone.

P.114 We get another instance of Blossomfall complimenting Ivypaw, then an exchange which leads Ivypaw to think No wonder Hawkfrost doesn’t visit [Blossomfall’s] dreams.

P.143 After that, we hear Millie bemoaning how her daughter’s life is meaningless now, followed by

P.143 Which would imply that Bumblestripe and Blossomfall would take issue with how Millie talks about Briarlight and her life.

P.327 another moment of Blossomfall showing concern for her littermates, and that rounds off book 3 of OOTS.

Sign of the Moon:

P.178 Blossomfall is now training in the Dark Forest and Ivypool is very upset by it, later thinking ThunderClan cats are loyal.

P.179-180 In Blossomfall’s first training exercise in the Dark Forest, Ivypool interferes and risks punishment to save Blossomfall from injury.

P.181 Blossomfall is ungrateful, but Ivypool doesn’t really react to her remark.

Next, Ivypool wants to speak with Blossomfall about her training in the Dark Forest. Before she has the chance, however, Blossomfall’s old mentor Hazeltail notices that Blossomfall is injured and tries to draw Millie’s attention to it.

P.273 This is our first hint that Millie has something to do with Blossomfall’s training in the Dark Forest. I’d like to point out that it’s Millie ignoring her and not Briarlight that provokes the anger from Blossomfall.

P.276 Twofold - First, Blossomfall doesn’t jump to Thornclaw’s defence when Ivypool calls him bossy, rather she agrees. Blossomfall also rebuffs Ivypool’s efforts to check on her.

P.277 Next, we have Ivypool pushing further, and Blossomfall seems edgy. Ivypool expresses more concern in her head and is scared for Blossomfall.

Now we have the big scene. Ivypool and Blossomfall go exploring in the tunnels and Blossomfall’s character finally gets her moment.

P.279 Blossomfall makes a remark about losing the use of her legs, which could be interpreted multiple ways, a dark joke about what happened to Briarlight, jealousy over the attention that her sister’s condition has resulted in, etc

P.312-313 Now we cut to the heart of the matter. Blossomfall doesn’t even know if Millie loves her anymore.

P.313 “I hate myself for feeling jealous of Briarlight. I can’t help what I feel, and that proves I’m not a good cat.” Because of jealousy and attention-seeking urges, Blossomfall has decided that she’s a bad person and deserves to go to the Dark Forest.

P.313-314

P.323 Then they get back to camp after having been missing for several hours and after Blossomfall has been injured, and Millie lectures her.

P.323 and then there’s the nail in the coffin. I’d also like to draw attention to the fact that Blossomfall doesn’t lash out. She just accepts Millie’s lack of concern for her and her lecturing, while relying on the Dark Forest for validation. She especially is never shown to lash out at Briarlight. That’s the end of Sign of the Moon.

The Forgotten Warrior:

P.247 In book 5, Blossomfall is shown to be again antagonistic, though this time toward Dovewing, and very protective of her littermates, in a negative light this time. This is pretty much the only moment of note for Blossomfall in the whole book.

The Last Hope:

P.67 Now we get the magnum opus of Blossomfall and Thornclaw being chummy and Lionblaze misinterpreting this as meaning they’re going to end up as mates, then realizing it’s actually because they’re training in the Dark Forest together. This is the third time Blossomfall and Thornclaw have been mentioned in the same sentence, and the first time they’ve ever interacted with each other. It’s the first time where they’ve been explicitly friendly; the first BlossomThorn moment was a mention of Thornclaw’s mannerisms rubbing off on Blossomfall and the second was Blossomfall indirectly calling Thornclaw bossy. This is why I say with relative confidence, BlossomThorn in AVoS was not planned in OOTS. Our ‘evidence’ is

Blossomfall thinks he’s bossy

Blossomfall imitated him once

They’re friends because they trained in the Dark Forest together

She has a similar number of moments with Mousewhisker and Toadstep, but I haven’t included them other than the very first moment with Blossomfall because those aren’t the ships that end up canonized. Even with Toadstep, Bumblepaw explicitly says that she’s mooning over him, which is far more indication of future romance than BlossomThorn gets.

ADDITIONALLY in the reprinted version of The Last Hope...

He’s replaced with Mousewhisker! Which knocks BlossomThorn mentions in canon down to just two, only one of which is at least neutral, and they never even interact before she’s nursing his kits! *screm* Erins WHY?

and uh... that’s actually about it for Blossomfall’s moments in Last Hope. She’s lumped in with Mousewhisker, Birchfall, etc with Ivypool and ThunderClan trying to track them down and make sure they don’t fight for the DF, etc, and then she doesn’t, n book ends.

Alright let’s analyse some data.

2: The relationship between Ivy/Blossom

It's toxic and unneeded- just because it's not heterosexual it doesn't mean it's healthy. Blossomfall bullied Ivypool for almost the entire first half of OotS, and just because she supported Ivy once it doesn't mean that they're friends. It means they've moved on and forgiven each other.

Forum post on January 14th, 2019

Alright, I’ve heard some crazy shit about BlossomIvy and I’m here to tell you, forget it. You don’t have to ship them, but if you’re gonna call them toxic, I’m gonna call you full of shit.

Ivypaw and Blossompaw’s first big conflict is during Blossompaw’s assessment, at which point she calls Ivypaw a bad hunter and Ivypaw gets upset. Now pay close attention, folks! This is the only time Blossompaw and Ivypaw argue before Blossomfall starts training in the Dark Forest. After this, once Ivypaw has been training in the Dark Forest, Blossomfall compliments her on her skills and the text explicitly suggests that now Ivypaw and Blossomfall have ‘put their quarrels behind them.’ After that, once Blossomfall begins training in the Dark Forest, Ivypool intervenes on her behalf to save her from injury and is called out by Brokenstar. Blossomfall is ungrateful, but Ivypool shows no regret for helping her.

Then we get the big moment between them in the tunnels. Blossomfall, after being injured, asks Ivypool if she thinks Millie will miss her. Ivypool realizes why Blossomfall is training in the Dark Forest, and Blossomfall confesses that she knows that the Dark Forest is bad news but feels that she deserves to go there because she’s a bad person (cat?).

Something I want to pay special mention to is the fact that Blossomfall is confessing all of this to Ivypool rather than any other main character, because they understand each other. Whether or not you like the ship, it is an undeniable fact that Blossomfall and Ivypool have a great deal of common ground.

They were both taken advantage of by the Dark Forest because of their jealousy over their sisters, they both know that the Dark Forest is up to no good but don’t leave it, and they both acknowledge in no uncertain terms that they’re jealous of cats that would also want something that they themselves have--in Blossomfall’s case, her able body, and in Ivypool’s, her lack of super-powers and involvement in the prophecy. Blossomfall and Ivypool can relate to and understand each other on a level that they cannot their other Clanmates.

Blossompaw and Ivypaw have a moment of animosity in Night Whispers, when Blossompaw says Ivypaw is a bad hunter and that she’d prefer Dovepaw, and Ivypaw is very upset. Then later, again, we get an in-text acknowledgement from another character that Blossomfall and Ivypaw have put their quarrels behind them. After Blossomfall’s assessment, she and Ivypaw only have friendly or neutral interactions. The next time they argue is when Blossomfall joins the Dark Forest, is out of her depth, and Ivypool intervenes to save her. Blossomfall argues that she can take care of herself and Ivypool thinks she’s full of it, but doesn’t push the point.

Then later, they have a bit of an antagonistic interaction where Ivypool is scared that Blossomfall is making the wrong choice by training in the Dark Forest and wants to help her, while Blossomfall rejects her help.

And then of course, the big scene. Blossomfall admits her deepest fear, that Millie no longer loves her, to Ivypool, and Ivypool immediately understands, thinking of her own jealousy of Dovewing.

That’s pretty much a summary of the evolution of the BlossomIvy relationship. For all you visual learners, here’s a handy chart

It’s hardly scientific, but arguing that Blossomfall and Ivypool don’t move from antagonistic to emotionally vulnerable with each other would be a hard stance to take given the sharp difference between the argument during the assessment and the conversation in the tunnels. Even when Blossomfall is telling Ivypool that she can take care of herself after Ivypool saves her from Ratscar, it doesn’t necessitate an interpretation of them as hostile--it can be read as either “I don’t want your help” OR “I can take care of myself” the latter of which invites a lot of classic romance tropes.

If you don’t read their relationship as potentially romantic, they still go from not understanding each other to understanding each other the best out of any other cat in their Clan. That’s a pretty significant development (especially for Warriors oof) so even if you still think Blossomfall is a brat or spoiled or emotionally stunted because of her jealousy of Briarlight, the text shows that Ivypool and Blossomfall at least have the potential to be extremely close friends and confidantes.

And if you DO read their relationship as potentially romantic, first of all welcome to the club, here’s your club-sanctioned hat and waterbottle with an engraved picture of em, and second of all, it’s really not a stretch. Again, they have a great deal of common ground. Blossomfall tells Ivypool her deepest insecurity and Ivypool understands. She doesn’t lecture Blossomfall and disagrees when Blossomfall says that she’s a bad cat. Despite not having a whole lot to go on, what we do have 100% shows them trusting and understanding each other.

Overall, what I want to argue is that THE BlossomIvy argument in Night Whispers is absolutely not enough to write them off as toxic; in fact, it later shows how much their relationship has developed. Additionally, it’s not just some random ship where we picked two she-cats out of a hat and then made a bunch of fan art; they have a legit connection, whether or not you think they have chemistry or are a better ship than say, FernIvy. They are in similar enough situations that they’re able to sympathize with each other more than Lionblaze, Jayfeather, Bumblestripe, Toadstep (?) or any other important cat in their lives can. That’s a helluva lot more to go off of than just “they trained in the Dark Forest together” or “they’re friendly sometimes” like we have for other major ships for the two of them. (Let me also explictly say that I’m not trying to argue that BlossomIvy is more canon than BlossomThorn and FernIvy, because no shit--the latter two have kits and are canonically mates. I’m just arguing over what makes most sense and who would work best as a pair)

3: Blossomfall’s family

Here’s the other major point of Blossomfall’s character; her relationship with her sister and her mother. Let’s answer a few questions. Is Millie actually ignoring Blossomfall or is Blossomfall being unreasonable? Does it matter if Millie is neglecting Blossomfall and should Blossomfall be self-sufficient as an adult? How does Blossomfall’s jealousy of Briarlight affect Briarlight herself, and what is Blossomfall’s relationship with her littermates? How does Blossomfall react to Millie’s perceived neglect?

And we’ll knock em off one by one:

Q: Is Millie actually neglecting Blossomfall or is Blossomfall being unreasonable?

A: This isn’t an easy question to answer. There are arguments to be made on both sides; Blossomfall is a young adult by the time Briarlight is injured (around 18 if you use my AU lol) and therefore probably shouldn’t require her mother’s constant attention. On the other hand, Millie is shown to be very attentive to her children and very concerned when they’re hurt or potentially going to be hurt (149, Fading Echoes). After Briarlight becomes disabled, Millie’s concern for Blossomfall vanishes. Blossomfall is injured training in the Dark Forest (and let me point out that Blossomfall is not the one who seeks out her mother’s attention; Hazeltail does it on her behalf) and Millie doesn’t care. (273, Sign of the Moon) Later in Sign of the Moon, Blossomfall has hit her head pretty hard and turns up after hours of being missing and Millie’s reaction is to chastise her for not hunting on Briarlight’s behalf. It’s sharply contrasted in-text with how Whitewing reacts to Ivypool, who hasn’t even been hurt. (323, Sign of the Moon) This is a pretty definitive display of how Millie does not care about her other daughter’s well-being anymore. If you’re thinking, “Well, Blossomfall was being irresponsible by running off into the tunnels, so she’s not innocent here” I agree, however let me employ my good friend Extremely Detailed Metaphor to explain why Millie isn’t either.

Let’s put this in terms of a human situation; a high school AU, if you will. I’ll paint a picture; it’s mid-winter, Sunday night. Blossomfall, her mother, and her sister Briarlight, live on a block where everyone is expected to shovel the snow in front of their house. Briarlight and Blossomfall get to school by walking to the bus stop at the end of the street. Millie tells Blossomfall to shovel the snow outside of their house that night so that Briarlight will be able to get to school on Monday in her wheelchair.

Instead, Blossomfall goes to a party, gets drunk, tries to drive herself home, gets into a car accident, and gets a concussion. Millie arrives at the hospital and, without making sure Blossomfall is okay, goes off at Blossomfall, telling her that she should have shovelled the entire block instead of going out to party.

Now, we’re once again in a situation where Blossomfall has been irresponsible, Millie is putting unreasonable expectations on her other daughter out of pity for Briarlight, and Millie is unconcerned about Blossomfall’s well-being. Unquestionably, Blossomfall did the wrong thing by going to a party/exploring the tunnels. BUT. That does not excuse Millie’s reaction. Millie is justified in being upset that Blossomfall is shirking her responsibilities, but not even bothering to find out how seriously she’s been injured is appalling behaviour from a previously-attentive mother. And you don’t need to take my word for it; from Whitewing and Brackenfur’s reactions, it’s obvious that no one thinks Millie is behaving in an acceptable fashion. She blatantly disregards Blossomfall’s well-being.

Seriously, I know it’s a pretty dire accusation, but with both examples of Blossomfall being injured post-Briarlight-injury and Millie either ignoring her or lecturing her, I don’t really know what other conclusion can be drawn. And let’s not villanize Millie utterly; Graystripe gets absolutely no mention in any instance despite being their father, so ??? what’s up with him. Overall, though, Blossomfall is not making up shit. There is literally no example post-Briarlight-injury of Millie showing concern for Blossomfall, only ever ignoring or admonishing her.

Q: Does it matter if Millie is neglecting Blossomfall and should Blossomfall be self-sufficient as an adult?

A: Again, not an easy question to answer. This is highly subjective, but if an adult’s mother suddenly lost all concern for their well-being, I’d argue that would be pretty damn destructive to that adult’s self-esteem. When you turn 18 or become a warrior, you don’t magically become self-sufficient and totally independent from your family, no matter what Warriors wants to tell you lmao. Those relationships are still very important, particularly for Blossomfall since as I’ll argue later, one of the most consistent points of her character is that she is extremely family-oriented. To go from her mother fussing over her and always being concerned for her health to her mother giving less than a shit about her when she gets lost and injured... I don’t care if she’s technically an adult. It’s not about her being attention-seeking or childish, it’s about her being completely cut off from one of the main relationships in her support system for no fault of her own. It does matter if Millie no longer cares about her daughter, whether or not the daughter in question is 16 or 18, an apprentice or a warrior. Blossomfall has lost an important relationship in her life, and it does a big hit to her self-esteem.

Q: How does Blossomfall’s jealousy of Briarlight affect Briarlight herself, and what is Blossomfall’s relationship with her littermates?

A: Oh good, an easy one at last. First, Blossomfall doesn’t blame Briarlight. She blames Millie. Second, Blossomfall is only ever shown to be loving and caring toward her sister. Third, (again) the most consistent thing about Blossomfall is that she puts her family first. The first two points can be supported in tandem; if Blossomfall truly blamed Briarlight for Millie’s disregard of Blossom, then why are all her interactions with her sister warm and loving? Very unfortunately, we don’t have many interactions between Briar and Blossom of any kind post-Briar-injury, but Blossomfall and her brother are the first to cheer for her at Briarlight’s ceremony (235, Fading Echoes) and Blossomfall eagerly brings fresh-kill to share with Briarlight (248, Fading Echoes). Later, Dovewing and Poppyfrost overhear one of Millie’s little monologues about how Briarlight’s life is ruined and Poppyfrost remarks that it’s a good thing Bumblestripe and Blossomfall didn’t overhear her. Draw your own conclusions, but to my understanding, this is a pretty plain demonstration that “Millie thinks Briarlight’s life is ruined and Bumblestripe and Blossomfall vehemently disagree, to the point at which they would start a big argument with their mother over that point” is common knowledge in ThunderClan. (143, Night Whispers)

Time and time again, Blossomfall loves and supports her sister. There’s no instance of Blossomfall putting the blame of Millie’s behaviour on Briarlight, only on Millie herself. In the big moment in the tunnel, Blossomfall doesn’t say “Do you think Briarlight would happy if I died and she got all Millie’s attention to herself?” she says “Do you think Millie would miss me?” followed by “I can’t bear seeing [Briarlight] suffer.” (312-313, Sign of the Moon) It’s not about Briarlight. She loves her sister and at the same time, cannot help being jealous of her, because it’s about Millie’s attention.

Finally, Blossomfall’s family is incredibly important to her. She and her littermates are continuously used for Dovepaw to angst about how she and Ivypaw are no longer close. For example, we get Blossomfall fretting over both of her siblings (327, Night Whispers), then Blossomfall being petty and upset because Bumblestripe chose to train with Dovewing instead of her and Bumblestripe dismissed her as being ridiculous (247, Forgotten Warrior). I’m not saying Blossomfall was in the right, there, but it does show Blossomfall’s devotion to her family and her expectation that her littermates do the same. There are also all of the above examples of them cheering at Briarlight’s ceremony, Blossomfall bringing fresh-kill to share with Briarlight, and the implication that Blossomfall and Bumblestripe would object to the way that Millie talks about Briarlight.

Q: How does Blossomfall react to Millie’s perceived neglect?

A: Another fairly easy one. Blossomfall puts on a front of not caring. When Millie admonishes her for daring to get lost and hurt, Blossomfall doesn’t lash out at her mother, much less Briarlight. She never fights back, she doesn’t tell her mother that she’s being callous and neglectful, she accepts it silently and then tells Ivypool, verbatim, “Whatever. This is just the way that it is now.” She rolls over and accepts it, as much as it hurts her, and the Dark Forest takes advantage of that unresolved pain. (323, Sign of the Moon)

Even earlier in Sign of the Moon, when Blossomfall has just begun training in the Dark Forest (suggesting she has been ignored by Millie long enough that the Dark Forest has been able to draw her in) she wakes up injured and Hazeltail notices. Blossomfall brushes it off, which I would infer is because she’s adjusted to her pain and injury being ignored but you can read as an isolated incident if you really want to, but Hazeltail insists on bringing Millie’s attention to it. Millie dismisses it and Blossomfall is angry, but silent, which again, I would infer is because that’s what Blossomfall expected from Millie and is hurt to have her expectation confirmed (273, Sign of the Moon). This can’t be read as an isolated incident, because Blossomfall is already training in the Dark Forest, therefore Millie has been ignoring her for a while now.

4: Is Blossomfall a bad person?

In conclusion, no.

Blossomfall is upset when her mother stops caring about her well-being and believes that she deserves to go to the Dark Forest because of her jealousy over her sister (313, Sign of the Moon). I’m not saying that her self-hatred means she’s a good person, but it’s obvious that she wouldn’t choose jealousy if she had the option to not feel this way.

Critically, what I want people to take away from this, is that Blossomfall, like all of us, doesn’t have complete control over how she feels. She cannot choose to wake up and simply not be jealous of her sister and be fine with her mother’s indifference to her well-being. She believes that feeling this way makes her a bad person and would, of course, change if she could. The only thing that is within Blossomfall’s control is how she reacts to her jealousy and hurt. And the way that she reacts is by taking it out on herself, by training in the Dark Forest, and by mentally beating herself up for feelings outside of her control. There is not a single example of her lashing out at Millie, or god forbid her sister Briarlight. She is silent in the face of Millie’s bad treatment of her and supportive and loving of Briarlight. Self-hatred is of course, not a virtue, but our society prefers it to harming others.

That’s why I can say with confidence: Blossomfall is a good person, if prone to occasional self-hatred, pettiness, and thoughtlessness. Those are not flaws that make someone evil, just normal and struggling. She is not perfect and completely loveable, but she is not toxic, or spoiled, or unreasonable. She’s just a person who has been hurt by others’ behaviour and punishes herself for things outside of her control. She loves her family, tries to take care of herself, and doesn’t always perform perfectly.

Thanks for reading. I hope you’re at least thinking a little more about previously formed opinions on Blossomfall and that we all continue to read critically in the future.

End note: So why did I call this a lukewarm defence, anyway? Other than making reference to one of my favourite video essayists, Blossomfall is a complex cat often misunderstood by the fandom, but she’s also a shithead. Post-OOTS, she’s pretty unequivocally a kitty-racist. But she’s also Thornclaw’s wife, so it’s not like that’s the only way her character gets yanked out of its previous characterization for the convenience of the plot. Consider this a defence of Blossomfall in Omen of the Stars by a person who would rather pretend she died just after it and A Vision of Shadows (and later books) has another character in her place. I’m not interested in debating Blossomfall’s behaviour post-OOTS. She’s bad, whatever, but don’t smear the good name of her character development in OOTS.

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

Text

ShadowClan AU Into the Wild Part 2!

Firepaw hasn't exactly forgotten that Ashpaw and Ryepaw are WindClan born, but he's got a lot of other stuff on his mind. It's been two days, and Leafpaw is still in shock. She hasn't spoken a word to anyone and is refusing food, so he's out of his mind with worry about her and isn't really thinking about much else

Darkclaw drags him out of camp on a patrol of ShadowClan's newly "won" territory, because sitting in camp and driving himself mad with worry certainly isn't going to help anyone.

While they're patrolling the edges of former WindClan territory, Morningpaw appears (WindClan is still near their territory, not yet living under the road) and demands proof that her siblings are alive

Firepaw is like "This is going to be fun to explain to Darkclaw" but Darkclaw doesn't seem surprised. Hes like "Yeah ShadowClan has been stealing kits for moons now. I was one of the first." Which takes Firepaw completely by surprise. Darkclaw agrees to help Firepaw sneak Ashpaw and Ryepaw out of camp to meet Morningpaw the following night.

On the way back to camp, Firepaw asks which other cats in ShadowClan were kidnapped as kits. Darkclaw names a few names, including Ravenpaw and Dustpaw born to ThunderClan, but leaves out the fact that Firepaw and his siblings aren't Clanborn.

This isn't out of malice, Darkclaw just figures that Firepaw is dealing with enough right now and doesn't need to know that his birth mother was murdered in cold blood.

The next night, Firepaw convinces Ashpaw and Ryepaw to follow him out of camp. Darkclaw took camp guard duty tonight which makes it easier. Once they're in former WindClan territory, Firepaw tells them that they're WindClan born, and says that they're going to meet their sister.

Ashpaw and Ryepaw are suspicious but agree to follow him. Can't do any harm right?

Once they reach the meeting spot, Morningpaw is nowhere to be found and her scent is stale. (WindClan had to move to the tunnel under the road due to twolegs)

Ryepaw and Ashpaw think Firepaw is lying, and tell him that it was a cruel prank to play on them before storming off back to camp.

The WindClan siblings are giving Firepaw the cold shoulder and his usual hunting buddy Leafpaw is still recovering, so Firepaw starts spending more time with Mistpaw and Ravenpaw.

After about a week, Leafpaw is starting to recover from her shock, and Firepaw invites her to hunt with him, Ravenpaw, and their mentors. Unfortunately Brokenstar decides to invite himself to this excursion, saying itll be a good chance to assess the progress of these three apprentices.

Everything starts off fine, but when Leafpaw makes her first kill it triggers the memory of her killing the WindClan warrior and she breaks down.

Brokenstar is watching all of this and publicly shames Leafpaw for being weak, saying that she's useless and might as well go live with the elders if she can't be a real warrior.

Ravenpaw and Firepaw stand up for her, saying that Brokenstar can't treat cats from his own Clan like that. Brokenstar attacks them in fury for defying him, and manages to claw Ravenpaw's eyes before Darkclaw can pull him off of him.

Brokenstar goes "Great. Now we have two useless apprentices instead of one." And stalks off.

Firepaw assures Ravenpaw and Leafpaw that they are not useless and that Brokenstar won't be leader forever.

Darkclaw and Firepaw rush Ravenpaw back to camp so that Yellowfang can treat his injuries. They then escort Leafpaw to the elders, because being in the toxic environment of ShadowClan camp with Brokenstar constantly belittling her won't help her recover from her trauma.

After, Darkclaw tells Firepaw that the time has come for him to choose. After seeing Brokenstar's cruelty, will he continue to do nothing, or will he help Darkclaw and a number of other ShadowClan warriors take Brokenstar down?

Firepaw, of course, agrees to help overthrow Brokenstar.

A few nights later, Firepaw meets some if the other rebels to strategize how to take down Brokenstar.

The rebels include: Fernshade, Flintfang, Russetfur, and Nightpelt.

Cats that are for sure on Brokenstar's side include: Blackfoot, Clawface, Stumpytail, and Tangleburr

Blizzardwing and Boulder might side with Brokenstar but I haven't decided yet

The rebels agree that they can't take down Brokenstar alone, they need to ally with another Clan to take him out. ThunderClan is their only viable option, and Darkclaw thinks that they are likely to help if they can be convinced that ShadowClan has Ravenpaw and Dustpaw. However, it will be tricky to convince them that they aren't being led into a trap.

Firepaw puts forth that he should be the one to try to convince them: he's an apprentice, and only five moons old at that. They won't view him as a threat, but as a victim of Brokenstar's crimes.

Nobody likes the idea of putting Firepaw in such a dangerous position, but they honestly can't think of a better idea so they agree.

Now the only thing left to do is to figure out how to get Firepaw to ThunderClan without tipping off Brokenstar's supporters to their plan.

The rebels agree to meet again on another night to figure this out

Within a couple days, the perfect opportunity presents itself. Brokenstar is looking for volunteers to go on a "special mission" into ThunderClan territory (Stealing kits). Firepaw, Blackfoot and Clawface volunteer. Brokenstar is surprised that Firepaw would volunteer, but Firepaw gives some speech about wanting to prove himself worthy of being a ShadowClan warrior and convinces Brokenstar.

Firepaw is trying to figure out a way to shake off Blackfoot and Clawface while they're stealing the kits (and preferably save the kits too) when Spottedleaf catches them. Blackfoot grabs the kits and runs, Clawface pins Spottedleaf and is about to kill her when Firepaw calls for help, alerting the rest of ThunderClan to the situation and saving Spottedleaf's life.

Clawface tells Firepaw that he's a traitor and a coward and will never be allowed back into ShadowClan.

Clawface gets away, Blackfoot doesn't manage to get the kits back to ShadowClan but also escapes, and ThunderClan takes Firepaw prisoner.

Bluestar holds a trial to decide what to do with him, Firepaw pleads innocent and tries to explain that ShadowClan is training kit warriors and, as they've seen, is stealing kits from other Clans. He asks for help in overthrowing Brokenstar

ThunderClan believes him but is skeptical that this isn't a trap, and Bluestar asks why ThunderClan should help ShadowClan after such a clear and obvious attack on ThunderClan camp.

Firepaw assures her that there are rebels in ShadowClan who want to see Brokenstar go down, and reveals that two of ShadowClan's apprentices, Ravenpaw and Dustpaw, are ThunderClan kits presumed dead.

Tigerclaw calls him a liar

Sandpaw and Spottedleaf vouch for Firepaw, Sandpaw says she caught a familiar scent on his pelt at a gathering that could have been Ravenpaw or Dustpaw

ThunderClan votes as to whether they should assist with the coup or simply rescue their apprentices and leave ShadowClan to figure out their own problems.

ThunderClan narrowly votes to help with the coup, effective immediately.

Firepaw is allowed to join the battle patrol because he knows ShadowClan territory.

ThunderClan launches an attack on ShadowClan immediately, and the rebels turn on Brokenstar as soon as they catch wind as to what is happening.

During the battle, Firepaw sees a totally different side of his mentor Darkclaw for the first time when Darkclaw brutally kills Clawface, and is extremely disturbed.

At the end of the battle, Darkclaw has Brokenstar pinned and has killed him once, and is planning to kill him over and over until he loses all his lives. Firepaw begs Darkclaw to stop, saying that Darkclaw was the one who taught him that Warriors could be honorable and didn't need to kill to win.

Darkclaw is like "Really?!? After all he's done, you want me to show mercy? Firepaw, you're not a ShadowClan born cat. This monster killed your kittypet mother and ripped you and your littermates from her belly so that he could use you as expendable fighters! And you're defending him?"

Firepaw is completely shocked and is unable to respond, but Lionheart of ThunderClan (recently appointed deputy, the Sunningrocks battle just happened so chronologically we're at about the start of the original series) steps in and says that Firepaw is right, and asks if ShadowClan wants to prove that they're a Clan of killers like Brokenstar wanted them to be.

Darkclaw reluctantly let's Brokenstar go, and the rebels drive Brokenstar and his supporters out of camp.

With the battle over and no leader or deputy appointed, Yellowfang is asked to choose ShadowClan's next leader. She chooses Flintfang, saying that he has shown himself to be an honorable warrior willing to stand up to Brokenstar.

Flintfang humbly accepts leadership, and chooses Nightpelt as his deputy.

Flintfang calls a Clan meeting and tells all of the young cats their true origins, admitting to Brokenstar's crimes and ShadowClan's complacency in them. He promises to help them all return to their original homes as quickly as possible.

Ravenpaw speaks up and says that he would prefer to stay in ShadowClan, despite everything. He wants to be a warrior, and his whole life is here. He's been half blinded by Brokenstar and says that he'd rather not learn to navigate a new territory.

Flintfang agrees to let him stay, provided ThunderClan allows it

Lionheart allows it, Dustpaw is furious at his brother for choosing to stay with this Clan of killers.

Flintfang and Yellowfang leave for Moonstone

A patrol escorts Firepaw, Leafpaw, Mistpaw, and Darkclaw back to twolegplace.

At the edge of the territory, Firepaw says that he wants to stay, to help rebuild ShadowClan and experience the good parts of Clan life that they've been deprived of so far.

Darkclaw tells him that he's a naive fool, and storms off into Twoleg place.

Mistpaw says that she understands why Firepaw chose to stay, but she doesn't want that life for herself, and leaves for twolegplace as well

Leafpaw, to everyone's surprise, decides to stay. She has a big speech like "I'm not sure I'll ever forgive Brokenstar for what he did, or the rest of ShadowClan for being complacent. Honestly, I hold no love for ShadowClan. But I do care about you, Firepaw. You stood by me in my darkest moments, so now it's my turn to stand by you. If you're going to stay, you're not doing it alone."

And Firepaw is like "That's really sweet of you Leafpaw, I appreciate that, but you've been through so much... would you... even be comfortable being a warrior after everything?"

Leafpaw responds "I will NEVER use my claws to hurt another living being ever again. I killed another cat once and it broke me. ShadowClan did that to me and part of me will always hate them for it. But helping the innocent? Being there to heal both the emotional and physical wounds of cats who were hurt like me? That I can do, and that is what I choose. When Yellowfang returns, I will ask to train as her apprentice so that I can prevent pain and suffering instead of causing it."

The book ends with Leafpaw and Firepaw returning to ShadowClan camp, and for the first time in their lives it actually feels like they're going home.

So yeah those are my ideas for book one, would anyone be interested in hearing how the AU would evolve after this?

#warrior cats #warriors #warriors au #rusty joins shadowclan au #shadowclan au #shadowclan #tw kidnapping #tw animal death #tw abuse #into the wild au

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leporellian · 4 years

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warrior cats rewrite part 2: fire and ice

more of This apparently! this is a continuation of this post so go over there to get the gist of this.

with the last book i was focused on establishing characters and dynamics within thunderclan, so this one is more focused on establishing the other groups outside of thunderclan (windclan, riverclan, the rogues in shadowclan, kittypets) and the exact mechanics of the world. also assume that anything i mention little of stays the same- bluestar, yellowfang, etc

-so like in the original we open on a prologue of windclan. the prologue is from the perspective of a young apprentice, gorsepaw. he and his brother mudpaw are trying to comprehend What Is Going On while morningflower soothes them and tallstar attempts to lead. they are helped by members of the blood brothers (the city cats who try to keep things safe in the city and suburbs). little is mentioned about the blood brothers but it is mentioned they’re not as good as they once were and could use a fresh young leader to give them real direction again

- anyway back in thunderclan we hear about darkstripe’s pov of redtail’s death

- redtail was a risk taker and very fiery and passionate- much like fireheart himself. bluestar chose him because his eagerness balanced out her pragmatism. however, redtail’s impulsivity and tendency to be a bleeding-heart became more and more loathed by others- especially the elders and tigerclaw.

- tigerclaw values conservatism, duty, and tradition. he’s a man of stability. and he realized that redtail’s ways could get thunderclan in trouble- he had a point, of course, but he took it too far.

- the entire sunningrocks battle was suggested by thistleclaw, tigerclaw’s father, and quickly approved by the elders (elders are often the ones who start battles), although none of the other elders knew of the plan. thistleclaw also suggested the time- in the dark of night, where no cat could see who was fighting who too well. thistleclaw was helping tigerclaw the entire time.

- redtail was killed by not oakheart, although it was often claimed they had killed each other (and who had no voice to speak up- oakheart was dead and was an impulsive type like redtail who would have totally killed him in defense if they had fought), but tigerclaw, who figured it was the only way to become deputy and lead thunderclan with the stability he had desired it to be led with.

- fireheart shares his findings with the others, in secret. raven, gray, and cinderpaw all believe him, although it takes them a while to come to terms with the idea of tigerclaw being a murderer, but sand and long are unconvinced- neither wants to even entertain the idea their father was murdered.

- anyway thunderclan sends a few cats to retrieve windclan now that Brokenstar Is Gone(TM), gray and fire being two of them. windclan doesn’t like how little thunderclan seems to care about them because none of the high ranking warriors were sent- especially the angry mudpaw, who is still rather traumatized from being chased down with the rest of windclan by shadowclan. meanwhile, fireheart meets onewhisker and they become fast friends. onewhisker is kind of a Cool Older Brother type but he’s also sycophantic and a little bit of a coward.

- meanwhile there’s barkface, the quiet medicine cat of windclan. on the way back starclan sends him an omen: the moon will bring unnecessary death on its back.

- on their way back they find riverclan dicking around on windclan territory and so there’s a Fight- right by the gorge. it plays out like in canon and whiteclaw dies, fire figures ‘oh that’s the death’ and moves on

- once they get back a few days pass and then The Gang Become Mentors to lionheart and frostfur’s litter: brackenkit, thornkit, brightkit, and swiftkit. (cinder meanwhile was goldenflower’s kid.) fire gets bracken, gray gets thorn, sand gets bright, and long gets swift

- while this goes down, gray falls in love with silverstream like he does in canon- further propelled by his own half-clan heritage and desire to know outsiders beyond thunderclan. fire spies on him as he does in canon, etc etc. also it’s here that fire sees princess, and he recognizes her immediately.

- also thorn doesn’t like that graystripe isn’t really paying attention to him, which makes him kind of a try-hard prick that Just Wants To Be Noticed. Patrol Guy: Origins

- meanwhile tigerclaw keeps asking bluestar to see some unusual activity at the thunderpath. he looks worried about it.

- this comes to a head when tigerclaw rushes into camp with a few other thunderclan warriors. “there was a rogue attack at the thunderpath!” everyone follows him and finds two cats being carried out, both unconscious- darkstripe and cinderpaw. cinder’s leg has been shredded by a car (the rogues pushed her out in front of one) and darkstripe’s face is clawed up to hell and back.

- fireheart immediately Suspects Shit because this is tigerclaw. nobody else does except for ravenpaw, who notes that while cinderpaw’s injury is plausible, whoever clawed darkstripe did it in a very deliberate manner and not in defense as usually is done in the midst of dispute. fire figures out that tiger probably did the same trick he did with redtail, but targeting darkstripe instead.

- (”why are you relying so hard on mystery here?” mystery is really good for setting up worldbuilding, which is the main intent of the first three books.)

- meanwhile, cinderpaw is told that even though she can be a warrior, with the loss of her leg working properly she will likely need extra time and dedication to become one, and that it won’t be an easy road. cinder however refuses to give up, even though she’s initially left shaken and hopeless

- fireheart goes to see princess, who’s much more of a homebody than he is and comfortable in her life. however, she’s so relaxed because she doesn’t leave her home into the outside kittypet world, and is concerned about smudge and her mate- who both leave and get in fights with other cats pretty often. did you ever find smudge? she asks. what do you mean? replies fireheart. oh, this moon he decided to come with you, into the forest. i haven’t seen him since...

- anyway since princess doesn’t want her first child to enter the chaotic disputes of Kittypet Borders (and the other calamities of having little established government) she hands fireheart cloudkit

- like in canon nobody initially likes cloudkit but brindleface takes him in. their main worry is that he’s a white cat with blue eyes, which could mean that he’s deaf- not that this would hurt thunderclan, but that this could leave cloudkit to have a harder time being a warrior. cinderpaw however makes the connection and tells everyone that she wants to mentor cloudkit as soon as he becomes an apprentice.

- fireheart asks darkstripe to tell him more about tigerclaw killing redtail, hoping to get the details he needs to properly accuse him. but darkstripe is... different, this time. what do you mean!?! he screeches. tigerclaw is a loyal thunderclan warrior! you would never accuse lionheart or spottedleaf of this. how dare you even think-

- fireheart realizes that barkface’s ‘the moon will bring unnecessary death on its back’ omen was not referring to only whiteclaw, but also, perhaps, darkstripe in a way. whatever tigerclaw did to darkstripe, whatever he told him, it changed the tabby tom forever. as fireheart continues to think about the omen, his mind flickers to smudge for a moment, and then it returns to thunderclan.

- the gathering goes down like it does in canon. thunderclan slowly realizes that the rogues nightstar mentions are the same ones that tigerclaw had to fight at the border. ohhh shittt, they collectively go

- they get back to see rogues everywhere in thunderclan camp. the usually-bellicose thistleclaw isn’t fighting them, and darkstripe is half-hearting it. those who are There however are doing an okay job of fending them off, and their asses are collectively kicked when the ThunderClan Gang gets to them. they also manage to capture brokenstar after yellowfang blinds him (and fire hears that she was his mother- honestly i’m not changing a lot abt yellowfang)

- in the midst of this, fireheart accidentally kills clawface. he’s wracked with horror at it, and wonders if this is how graystripe felt when he killed whiteclaw.

- anyway there’s like 2 days of peace and then mudpaw rushes into gathering like ‘HOLY SHIT GUYS WE ARE BEING FUCKING ATTACKED BY THOSE SHADOWCLAN RIVERCLAN MFS’ and everyone is like ‘god DAMMIT we JUST PUT you guys back there’ and they all go in, ally with windclan, and have a Big Ass Fight like in canon. we get a good idea of everyone’s loyalties to who- graystripe is only fighting shadowclan, darkstripe only attacks whoever is around tigerclaw, sandstorm and longtail tagteam fight against river and shadow, onewhisker is just running around doing nothing but Look Cool,

- barkface dies in the battle, leaving windclan to wonder if he had predicted his own death in the omen from about a moon before. fireheart doesn’t have the heart to tell them that it meant much more than they could know. spottedleaf joins windclan in barkface’s stead as he left behind no apprentice. ‘wait you can just Leave Clans like that?’ says graystripe. he is Thinkin

- the book’s end is uncertain as fireheart is still reeling from clawface’s death and the big battle between all the clans. he wonders if this is how the rest of his life will be- and then, as he falls asleep, he gets a nightmarish vision of hell and heaven, life and death, and an odd peace afterwards, all narrated by a voice he swears he knows but not from where. it almost becomes... oddly soothing, like a long-forgotten childhood memory.

- lion and tiger will meet in battle, and fire alone will herald it. there will be three, kin of his kin, and they will hold the power of starlight in their paws; yet peace will only arrive on the gentle wings of the fourth. out of the darkness of blood-spilling-blood will come a new dawn, and the four oaks will live beyond the memories of its memories. nothing is as it was, yet this is how it always has been, and this is how it always will be...

#warrior cats #warrior cats rewrite #rambles

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violentshine · 3 years

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Stuff I have planned for my medicine cat fireheart au

Spottedleaf has a vision of a flame appearing on her herb store as she's trying to put it out, she realizes as it's not going away that this is just a vision. But why are her herbs on fire? Does it mean that something bad will happen to them? She also notices that, though there is a fire, there is no fire smell or smoke smell, there's no ash either, nor are her herbs burning up; there's just a small flame sitting on her herbs and maybe she's imagining things but it also looks as if the herbs look healthier under the light of the fire. But what's a flame doing in the medicine den?

She talks to Bluestar about this & though they don't know exactly what it means, they'll both keep an eye out for whatever this could mean.

Fast forward to Rusty joining that happens differently than canon too- Instead of Lionheart & Whitestorm going to meet him, Bluestar thinks he might be the fire from the vision and, after talking to her, Bluestar sends Spottedleaf and Redtail (yes Redtail) to see if Rusty is fully determined to join Thunderclan.

Once brought back to the clan, he isn't met with friendly greetings, not because he's a kittypet but because there's too much drama going on with their neighboring clan to allow another mouth to feed, but Bluestar is set on letting this kittypet join and dares anyone to challenge her judgement. There's no fight either (maybe Longtail wants to fight but Redtail puts a stop to it before it could happen). Redtail also finds some way to remove Rusty's-now Firepaw- collar. I think when he first meets Bluestar, Rusty tells Bluestar about his dreams; Rusty tells her that he sometimes dreams about specific areas, when he describes them he mentions the Great Sycamore and maybe Fourtrees ? dk but Bluestar knows that this kit is special

Bluestar appoints Spottedleaf as his mentor since he has the thing with Starclan- he also thinks herbs are interesting (after Spotted's role was explained to him) so now he's officially her apprentice. Also pls note I'm not including any of the weird stuff that happened between these two in canon- Spottedleaf takes the role of big sister to Firepaw

Then Redtail dies

Situation with Yellowfang happens differently- Firepaw is out collecting herbs and doesn't catch the scent of a nearby fox both due to the strong smelling herbs he has & not knowing what fox smells like since he's not really out and about. Yellowfang drives the young fox away and when Firepaw tries to thank her, she says he can thank her by letting her hunt and then be on her way. But Firepaw can't let her do that, he instead offers to treat the wound the fox gave her (injured leg) saying it'll help her hunt easier (not on Thunderclan's land though). Firepaw won't leave her so Yellowfang gives in (also he doesn't know her name). While he's treating her, Bluestar and her patrol comes through and catches him. Bluestar recognizes Yellowfang, Darkstripe accuses Firepaw of disloyalty, yadayada Yellowfang is brought back to Thunderclan as "prisoner". When prompted, Yellowfang doesn't refuse to tell about Shadowclan; though she doesn't give many details she just says Brokenstar needed more territory for his cats, and he simply got more territory.

After Brindleface gives birth to her liter of 4, Spottedleaf goes to check on them, gets attacked, kits are gone, canon stuff you can read more of it here

While this is happening, Firepaw keeps getting dreams about Redtail, it looks as if the dead deputy is trying to tell Firepaw something but his words sound as if he's talking underwater and the dream itself isn't very clear, but he does know that the dream takes place at Sunningrocks (also Firepaw can see like blood dripping out of Redtail's neck- the dream is very nightmareish and not pleasant at all) I thought I made a post about this...

With the dreams, Redtail is able to pass the message that he wasn't killed by Oakheart and instead killed by Tigerclaw (more of it here)

Tigerclaw gets exiled, Darkstripe goes with & together they find Windclan and takes leadership (well Tigerclaw does at least) some stuff about that is in this post but i'm like 80% sure i've made a post about it...maybe its in my drafts

But uhm ! That's all I can think about this AU rn,,, I just wanted to make a origin post about this to link under my masterpost of AUs

#medic fireheart au #the blazing star au #idk how up to date this all is but i dont feel like reading it all rn

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staircasttext · 3 years

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Ep 04 Transcript: Purr-fidy

Episode 4

[intro music]

PAZ: Hello everyone, welcome back to Stairway to Starclan, a Warriors Cat reread pawdcast. I'm Paz.

JULIAN: I'm Julian.

LIZ: I'm Liz.

PAZ: And we're back today to tackle some very action-filled chapters. And because the reading this week, we finally get to go to Moonstone and tangentially get some of that StarClan action, I thought we could all go to the official site where they let you ask the Moonpool a question. "Seek the wisdom of StarClan. Enter a question with a yes or no answer and let them guide your path." And I think we should give StarClan some questions.

JULIAN: Hell yeah.

PAZ: I wonder if they'll let you curse in this. Will warriorcats.com let you say fuck?

LIZ: Wait, wait.

JULIAN: There's a nice little shimmer when you click the Start.

LIZ: "This page is currently not supported on your platform."

JULIAN: Oh no.

LIZ: And I'm getting a little crying cat emoji.

JULIAN: What browser?

PAZ: I'm on Firefox too. It's working fine for me.

LIZ: You'll have to ask Moonpool questions for me.

PAZ: I'll ask you a question for you. Okay. I think the first pressing question is, are these cats gay? [typing] "StarClan lights your path with a yes."

LIZ: [gasps] Get a screencap. Oh my god.

JULIAN: Word of God.

PAZ: Word of God. You heard it here from StarClan. These cats are gay.

LIZ: You know it.

JULIAN: I have a question.

PAZ: Yes.

JULIAN: Will these cats be held accountable for their many crimes? "We have heard your call and answer in turn. StarClan sees a yes in your destiny."

PAZ: Oh.

JULIAN: All right, StarClan, get the tribunal together.

PAZ: Okay. These cats are going on trial for their war crimes. They're gay and they're going on trial. Liz, what's your question?

LIZ: Will warrior cats and kittypets ever reach an accord and maybe be friends?

PAZ: Okay, I'm asking. "The stars shine brightly in favor of yes."

JULIAN: Does this thing ever give you a no?

PAZ: I feel like StarClan might be a bit of a yes man.

JULIAN: I want to ask another question and see if we can get a no. Will it snow tomorrow? "The strength of Starclan is with you." It didn't tell me yes or no.

LIZ: Maybe it's like prophecy. You have to interpret it.

JULIAN: Oh, I see.

LIZ: Like do you need the strength because it'll snow.

JULIAN: Yeah, I think this may just never tell me no.

PAZ: Well, you know what? That means everything we say is right.

JULIAN: There you go.

LIZ: Can you ask it like, does my cat know that I love it? Yes. No. Not me personally because I don't have one.

PAZ: Okay, does my cat know that I love them? If it tells me yes-- "StarClan guides your question with a yes." I was about to say, if it tells me no, that'd be real sad. Well, I'm happy that everything I said now has the support of StarClan. So that was a fruitful visit to the Moonpool. And I think we can go into the summaries now.

LIZ: All right.

PAZ: Okay. So this week we read chapter 15 through 18. Chapter 15 follows Bluestar, Tigerclaw, and Firepaw into the cave as they travel to the Moonstone. It was pitch black and they all have to follow Bluestar by scent who knows the way. Firepaw notices that Tigerclaw seems very scared as they travel inside. When they actually reach the Moonstone, Tigerclaw gets so scared he runs out of the cave. Bluestar then sleeps by the Moonstone while Firepaw watches. When Bluestar wakes up she seems very worried and insists that they return to the ThunderClan camp immediately.

In chapter 16, the cats begin the journey back to camp. The three apprentices have a brief conversation and Graypaw notes that Ravenpaw seems very on edge whenever Tigerclaw is around. On the way back, the group meets a loner named Barley, who lives near a Twoleg farm. Barley warns them to go back a different way because the dogs from earlier are now loose in the field.

And Bluestar takes his advice and the different way leads them to be attacked by a bunch of rats. Everyone gets really battered, but Barley comes in to help them. Tigerclaw says Barley sent them into a trap, and Barley was like, No I did not. Then everyone realizes Bluestar is gravely injured, possibly dead, but she soon revives. Bluestar says she lost a life. When they finally began to move again, Tigerclaw very nonchalantly asks how many lives Bluestar has lost and she says this is her fifth.

In chapter 17, which is a hefty chapter, the cats finally arrive back to the ThunderClan camp, only to see it under attack by ShadowClan warriors as Bluestar saw in her vision. There is a huge cat battle happening in the camp, and everyone joins in. There are some action scenes, and then Firepaw is the shadow plan deputy kill an elder who is guarding the kits. Firepaw is unable to get there to rescue them because he's fighting another cat. And by the time he rushes to the nursery, the ShadowClan deputy is gone.

Yellowfang, who is inside, reveals that she fought him off to protect the kits. The battle soon dies down, and one of the queens publicly declares that Yellowfang saved the kits. Then Bluestar delivers the news that Lionheart, the ThunderClan deputy is dead. Graypaw is devastated. Firepaw realizes that the whole situation is exactly like a dream he had before. There are some scenes of various cuts morning and being looked at after the battle.

Bluestar then announces she has to declare a new deputy before moonhigh, and uh-oh, it's Tigerclaw. Next to Firepaw, Ravenpaw reacts in dismay and lets it slip that Tigerclaw took care of Redtail because he wanted to be deputy.

JULIAN: Duh-duh-duh.

PAZ: Chapter 18 opens with Tigerclaw overhearing the conversation and menacing Ravenpaw. Firepaw quickly salvages the situation by saying Ravenpaw was wishing Tigerclaw was there to take care of Lionheart as well. Ravenpaw refuses to speak to anyone after this interaction. Firepaw then goes to sleep and is woken up when Bluestar calls another meeting.

Tigerclaw speaks at the meeting, declaring that he has decided Bluestar must be guarded at all times by his lackeys, Darkstripe and Longtail. He says that no cat is allowed to approach Bluestar otherwise. Bluestar then asks Yellowfang to officially join ThunderClan, which Yellowfang accepts. Tigerclaw then insinuates that there is a traitor in the camp who must have fed ShadowClan information, and looks at Ravenpaw. Both Firepaw and Graypaw are worried for their friend.

Firepaw goes check on Yellowfang first, and they have a brief conversation about how Yellowfang misses the old ShadowClan, before Brokenstar became leader. She then tells him to roll around in garlic to help heal his rat bites. Firepaw tries to leave camp to get to the garlic patch, but Darkstripe refuses to let him out. So he sneaks out instead.

And on the way to the garlic, he overhears a conversation between Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, and Longtail. Tigerclaw lies to the two cats and says Ravenpaw left the group and must have gone to ShadowClan during the journey. He implies they need to kill Ravenpaw. The chapter ends with Firepaw racing back to camp in the hopes of convincing Bluestar of Tigerclaw's danger and Ravenpaw's innocence. And that ends that set of chapters.

JULIAN: Lot of intrigue.

PAZ: Yeah. We're getting to that murder plot mystery. Who could have seen this coming?

LIZ: Yeah, you know that Tigerclaw is so subtle. I never would have expected it.

PAZ: I'm shocked. I put down the book. I was so shocked. I also put down the book because that was the end of our reading.

JULIAN: I was trying to remember like, what my reaction was to this when I first read it as, you know, a fourth grader or whatever, but I could not remember. I think that I saw it coming. But I was still like upset.

PAZ: Yeah, because I read A New Prophecy first, I knew that Tigerclaw was evil like, because I mean, it's all in the past at that point. So I certainly was not surprised when I read the first book and the first book only.

LIZ: Well, I have never read these before. And you can definitely see it coming. And I think that's like good. Because it's like, yeah, this is your first big series as a kid. Author is laying down clues to lead to like a conclusion that makes sense, which is that Fire-- sorry, not Firepaw. Tigerclaw is a shady little bitch.

PAZ: Yeah, and I mean, I think there's nothing wrong with a mystery being obvious or predictable, especially not in kids media. Like, that whole shit with like Game of Thrones, where they changed the ending or whatever because someone predicted what would happen, and they were like... and it's like, that's just good storytelling if people can predict what's happening based on clues you've put in the text.

JULIAN: Congratulations, you've successfully deployed foreshadowing.

PAZ: Yeah, exactly.

JULIAN: I was into like Tigerclaw being like afraid of StarClan in the Moonstone. I thought that was neat. Some sort of like, yeah, he's shady. Also. The ancestors fucking hate him.

PAZ: Yeah. That was very funny and very like, evil cats go to hell. Good cats go to heaven. You can't enter our good vibes cave, you little piece of shit.

LIZ: Yeah, um, I would like to draw some comparisons between two great pieces of literature: the first Warrior Cats book and Hamlet.

PAZ: They're on the same level, I think.

LIZ: I mean, listen, there's the dude who commits a terrible secret murder and is shown to be super shady, and then he shows fear at the first mention of any sort of, like, mystic or religious kind of influence. Like, oh, I've sinned against StarClan. The parallels between Tigerclaw going into the cave and what's his name's, Hamlet's dad.

PAZ: Hamlet's dad?

JULIAN: Claudius?

LIZ: Hamlet's stepdad.

JULIAN: His uncle?

LIZ: Hamlet's uncle. I read Hamlet many times.

PAZ: C-something.

LIZ: Yeah. Claudius being like, praying because he did a bad murder and knows he's going to hell. It's the same thing. It's the same.

PAZ: It's the same.

LIZ: Can't believe Shakespeare totally just like cribbed the style from Warrior Cats.

PAZ: And Graypaw is Horatio. It's all there.

LIZ: He is Horatio, right down to the people shipping him with Firepaw.

PAZ: Yeah, exactly. Um, I mean, I guess I can kind of go in chronological order now that we've gone back to Moonstone cave.

JULIAN: I have an important question about Barley. But if we're still-- if we have more on the Moonstone.

PAZ: I guess the one other thing was like Alix's question from last week about Bluestar like planning this was on my mind, when she like, decides to take Firepaw into the cave. I wonder if she was like, hey, Starclan is this who you mean? If she was hoping to get some answers there?

JULIAN: Yeah, he did have like a prophetic dream. So that was cool.

PAZ: Yeah. But yeah, that's the only other thing I had to say about the cave chapter.

JULIAN: My Barley question was just um, does he got balls? What's his soul doing?

PAZ: That's a great question. I wonder if my Cats of the Clan book will give me insight. I don't have it on hand. Um.

JULIAN: Let me pull up the trusty wiki.

PAZ: I feel like barn cats in real life aren't often like neutered or spayed.

LIZ: I guess only if like people do a lot of catch and release, right? Like they do that.

PAZ: Yeah, which obviously they're not doing in the Warriors universe, or all these cats would be fucking snip snip.

JULIAN: [muffled shriek]

LIZ: That would be so terrifying as a warrior cat.

PAZ: I think warrior cats--

JULIAN: I found some very tasty information about Barley on the the wiki.

PAZ: I like Barley.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: So I couldn't find a way to see if maybe he had had any kits to see if that would tell us his ball status. No kits, um, is gay.

PAZ: What?

LIZ: Wait, what?

JULIAN: He's gay.

PAZ: Wow. Barley, gay king.

JULIAN: His partner is kind of a spoiler, I guess.

PAZ: Oh, I think I remember. I think I remember that.

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: Wow, good for him.

PAZ: I didn't know they were officially partners.

JULIAN: Yeah, no, officially listed as a partner.

PAZ: Oh, fuck yes.

JULIAN: Barley's a gay.

PAZ: StarClan was right.

JULIAN: Gay ally and a gay.

LIZ: And Tigerclaw is homophobic. Of course.

JULIAN: You know what?

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: This whole story is about homophobia.

PAZ: Tigerclaw's like, that little fruit told us to come this way. He's betrayed us.

LIZ: Barley is a type of wheat, or grain.

JULIAN: And that's why Tigerclaw hates--

PAZ: Ravenpaw.

JULIAN: Right.

PAZ: My god, it's all coming together.

LIZ: I knew it.

PAZ: I do remember liking Barley because I think he shows back up in A New Prophecy because they, you know, go places. And he's like, chilling. And I was like, that's a cool cat. And now I know it's because I sensed a fellow in him.

LIZ: I just like his name a lot. That's a good name to have for a cat.

PAZ: It's a great barn cat name.

JULIAN: Oh, great news. Vicki believes that Barley will not go to StarClan when he dies as he lacks the necessary faith. No word about his balls, though. So he might still have them.

LIZ: He's an atheist.

PAZ: Does he go to that--

JULIAN: Kate however, believe that he'll live just on the outskirts of StarClan.

LIZ: Oh, there's some contention.

PAZ: What was that-- I was on the wiki looking at where like cats who don't go to StarClan and don't go to the Place of No Stars go. It was called like the something residence. Let me see if I pasted it.

LIZ: Just another neighborhood? Because that's what it sounds like. Yeah, it's like StarClan is like Los Angeles and the whatever residence is just the outer LA County.

PAZ: It's the ghost residence.

LIZ: Yeah, that's where I live.

JULIAN: Incredible.

PAZ: "The unnamed residence serves as a place for ghost cats, acting as a purgatory of sorts."

LIZ: That's still where I live.

PAZ: The ghost-- no, okay there's another residence. Unnamed residence. "This is a list of cats that currently reside or have resided in an unnamed residence. Cats in this category our cats that have died and been seen as spirits but do not reside in StarClan, The Place of No Stars, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, or as ghost cats."

JULIAN: I love that there are ghost cats.

PAZ: Me too. What?

LIZ: What?

PAZ: There's another gay cat in this place.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: The gay cat that Liz doesn't know about yet. Unnamed residence is the gay commune of Warriors.

LIZ: You know what, good for them.

JULIAN: Stray cats go to heaven. Gay cats go to unnamed ghost residence.

PAZ: The homophobic cats do go to hell.

LIZ: Confirmed.

JULIAN: Yes.

PAZ: Yeah. Um, well, yeah, I love Barley. Um, it does lead to an extremely funny scene of rats attacking these cats and like, absolutely wrecking them. Like, they killed Bluestar. I was like, what the hell are these rats?

JULIAN: Maybe the rat situation is like, you know, these are like concerted rats. These are like, a lot of rats working in concert for a shared goal, which is to beat the fuck out of the cats.

PAZ: Oh my god, okay.

JULIAN: Like rats will like kill a baby.

PAZ: Will they? What?

LIZ: Probably.

JULIAN: I'm actually basing this off of the plot of the dog movie? Lady and the Tramp, which may not be accurate, now that I think about it.

PAZ: I think maybe that might be inaccurate. Um.

LIZ: Well, I've got a very reliable source and it is Dishonored. And rats will totally eat a cat and a baby. Like all the way to the bones right in front of you. Definitely.

PAZ: "Cats or rats? Rats win in New York hands down." I'm clicking. I want to learn.

JULIAN: This is an educational podcast.

PAZ: This is like Goku vs. Darth Vader. Who will win?

LIZ: Why do we have to pit two queens against each other?

JULIAN: Yeah, this study says that cats are not good predators of rats. The rats actively avoid the cats and the cats only recorded two rat kills in 79 days. That's not a good record.

PAZ: Damn. These cats really need to step it up. Well I guess-- this doesn't say anything about the rats killing the cats. But it does say that cats suck at fighting rats, I guess.

JULIAN: Yeah, I guess that's why we have like terriers for rats.

PAZ: Yeah. This article says that people see fewer rats and assume it's behavior-- it's because the cats have killed them, whereas it's actually due to the rats changing their behavior so the rats will just like leave.

JULIAN: I mean, that's not-- that's like, fine.

PAZ: Yeah, it achieves the same result.

JULIAN: I don't mind if the rats live in the sewers. They're allowed. I don't go down there.

LIZ: This is their city.

PAZ: It is their city. Well, I still think it's very funny that all these rats fuck them up.

JULIAN: It is. it's very good. Bluestar loses a life.

PAZ: She loses a life to these rats.

LIZ: Yeah, just like in Dishonored.

PAZ: Should have just gone on with dogs.

JULIAN: God. I also like, if I were Bluestar, I would not have told Tigerclaw my life count.

PAZ: No. Once again, she's--

JULIAN: I realize that she's very trusting but like, you can't tell him you only have four left. He's counting.

PAZ: That was so suspicious.

LIZ: He's just gonna bring some more rats.

PAZ: Like who is like, hey, like, how like-- what are your weaknesses? Can you tell me them? Can you make a list of them? Not for suspicious reasons. Thanks.

JULIAN: Yeah, deeply sus.

PAZ: Yes. I do also gotta shout out Barley for saving them and being the only one who knows how to kill rats apparently. He jumps in and fucking owns these rats.

LIZ: Yeah, he has--

JULIAN: He does a great job.

LIZ: --the rat eating term?

PAZ: In Dishonored? Yeah.

LIZ: He gets HP from it. Crunch.

PAZ: Oh, I looked down at my notes. I did indeed write "died to rats, dot dot dot... just like Dishonored."

LIZ: It's like in the same brain here. Okay, hold on, speaking of Barley, I googled him and there's on his Facebook page or something, there's just a picture of a regular black and white cat.

PAZ: Oh my gosh. That's his face cast.

LIZ: I love it.

JULIAN: That's him.

LIZ: Perfect part nose.

JULIAN: Are Barley and Chloe related?

PAZ: We have no choice but to stan Barley.

JULIAN: And they have this like horrible, brutal rat fight. And then they go straight to like, fucking horrible, brutal ShadowClan fight.

PAZ: I know.

JULIAN: It's just, it's out of the frying pan that's full of rats into the fire full of cats.

PAZ: That's what they always say.

JULIAN: That's how the saying goes.

PAZ: Yeah, shout out to the action sequences. They are fun. But--

JULIAN: They are fun. They're good to read.

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: Yeah, so the next next bit is the fight at ThunderClan cat camp. And it's kind of a bloodbath, huh.

JULIAN: Is it time to talk about war crimes?

PAZ: War crimes and murder. Uh-huh.

JULIAN: Yeah. Like, they go after the kits.

PAZ: Yeah. Julian, I did think about you saying, like, are they stealing the kits, which I still don't remember, cause it was described as Blackfoot, the ShadowClan deputy was like picking them up. I was like, oh, is he gonna whisk them away? But I don't know. We never find out.

We never find out.

LIZ: Also, that's an unfortunate name for a cat to have.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: Yeah, that is-- that already belongs to something. And you should not be using it.

JULIAN: Yeah...

PAZ: British authors not doing their research, I guess. Or...

LIZ: Yeah. Hey, there's eight of you. I know you're all very old, but come on.

JULIAN: Also, I feel like you know, Harper Collins is... I'm sure they have a UK imprint. But like there are also editors in the US. Surely someone should have, uh.

LIZ: Someone out there must know what Google is.

PAZ: Yeah. Hopefully that character dies soon. We don't have to see the name anymore.

LIZ: They use that name so much in this chapter.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: But yeah, back to the kittens, right?

PAZ: Yes.

JULIAN: Yep.

PAZ: A cat does just die also. He kills one of the old cats, cold blood.

JULIAN: Yeah, I'm looking at the Wikipedia page for war crimes.

LIZ: Like in general?

PAZ: Yeah? Do you have a list? Do you have a list of what constitutes a war crime?

JULIAN: Well, so there's a lot of them. But intentionally killing civilians or prisoners is definitely one of them. So I think killing an elder kind of counts.

PAZ: Check that off.

JULIAN: Yep. Destroying civilian property. They did destroy the camp. So that's one. They did not take any hostages. So that doesn't count. I don't know what performing a perfidy is.

PAZ: Me neither.

JULIAN: Oh, it's when you like, lie about... Basically, you're like, oh, I'll make a peace treaty and then you don't.

LIZ: So is that spelled--

PAZ: Mm, I don't think they did that.

JULIAN: P-e-r-f-i-d-y. Perfidy.

LIZ: Not p-u-r-r-f-i-d-y?

JULIAN: [cackles] Damn. We don't see any child soldiers onscreen. At least I don't think so.

PAZ: Are the apprentices child soldiers, though?

JULIAN: Are the apprentices here?

PAZ: They're not...

JULIAN: How old are they?

PAZ: The book says apprentices are more than six moons old.

JULIAN: I mean, you're basically an adult cat.

PAZ: So most of them are probably under a year. Yeah, I guess they're like adolescent, I don't know. Yeah.

LIZ: Teen?

JULIAN: Like, it's not great, but.

PAZ: Yeah, they get away. They get away with that. Not a war crime.

JULIAN: Pillaging? Oh, looting. Um, I mean, they don't take anything. So I don't think they pillage.

LIZ: No. There's not really anything to take this except like food and maybe medicine. There's not a lot of like, property.

PAZ: Yeah, unless they take those kits.

LIZ: Well, that's a person.

JULIAN: Well, that would be-- that would be taking a hostage.

PAZ: Okay, yeah.

JULIAN: Declaring that no quarter will be given, which they did at the gathering. So that was sort of a pre-war war crime.

PAZ: Really talented.

JULIAN: And then it just says "seriously violating the principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity." And I don't know what the fuck that means, but I think we can check it off.

PAZ: Yeah, I think they do that.

LIZ: It's quite a count already.

JULIAN: Yeah, they're not doing great.

LIZ: No.

PAZ: Yeah, this book also absolutely does not shy away from like death.

LIZ: Nuh-uh.

PAZ: Like on screen death too.

JULIAN: Onscreen death. Like very brutal onscreen death of like the elderly.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Right off the jump.

PAZ: Yeah, it's like, very soon after the chapter starts.

LIZ: Yeah, and the part where that one cat is trying to get at the the kits. That's very distressing. Like there is--

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: Like, whether it's for a hostage or just, you know, straight up child murder. There is definitely like the threat implied in a very effective way.

PAZ: Yeah, I mean, like, good job to the book for making like, a distressing battle scene. Like, because it did. It did. It was like, intense.

JULIAN: Yeah, yeah, I was watching a lot of Warrior Cats AMVs this afternoon. And a lot of the many great animators in the Warriors AMV community have really picked up on the style of the books, which is very bloody.

PAZ: Great, because that's important, essential aspect of the book. It's in the name.

JULIAN: Yep.

LIZ: Yeah, these are not peacetime cats.

JULIAN: No. These are... I am really glad that Yellowfang got to save the kits and redeem herself.

LIZ: Yay.

JULIAN: Good for her.

PAZ: She's so cool.

LIZ: She's the best.

JULIAN: She's so cool.

PAZ: Old, like badass lady. And then Bluestar is like, you're so cool, Yellowfang, haha, will you join my clan?

LIZ: What if we were both old lady cats and I asked you to join my clan? Haha, just kidding, unless.

PAZ: You should make an edit for that. Post to Twitter. I'm sad we don't get to see her fight on screen.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah, I would have liked that.

LIZ: It's a good moment to have it. We're almost at the end of-- we're like at the last quarter of the book?

PAZ: We're very-- more than a quarter.

LIZ: I don't know, I switch between like--

PAZ: I think we're about like 70% done, 75% done.

JULIAN: Let me see. We're 69.3% done.

PAZ: Oh nice, nice.

LIZ: Nice, nice.

PAZ: I did write down, "all these cats are dying. Just go live inside, idiots." Which, I'm like reading these horrible battle scenes. And I'm like, if you were just kittypets, you wouldn't have to deal with any of this shit. No rats. No cat murder.

JULIAN: It's true. No one is gonna tear your throat out if you just live here.

LIZ: Just Temptations and cushions.

JULIAN: If you live in my house on the heated bed I bought.

PAZ: I was absolutely right about the Lionheart death flag.

LIZ: Uh-huh.

PAZ: Fucking typed it. I was like, wow, I called it.

LIZ: What was it that Graypaw said before they left, like I will always remember what you taught me.

PAZ: Yeah, it's like, exactly. I was like, this is a little...

JULIAN: Like, oh, good job, Graypaw. You doomed him.

LIZ: Just start--

PAZ: I wonder-- Oh, go ahead.

LIZ: No, just start saying shit like that every time you say bye to anyone. Like I will always [dissolving into laughter] remember you.

PAZ: Oh no.

JULIAN: You just never thank your mentor. That way he'll never die.

PAZ: Yeah, I do wonder if Tigerclaw-- I assume Tigerclaw murdered him as well. Or rather than it being a happy accident, but I don't know.

JULIAN: I also assume that. I don't think there's any way that, given Tigerclaw's significant looks at Ravenpaw, that Lionhart died of ShadowClan-related causes.

PAZ: Well, I assume that significant looks are just still like Redtail-related like, don't give out my secret, but it would really suck for Tavenpaw if he had to watch this, like, shitty guy kill another person.

JULIAN: He has so many traumas.

PAZ: Poor Ravenpaw.

LIZ: Ravenpaw's just Hamlet but like without any... He's not angry. He's just sad.

JULIAN: Well, he's like, he's Hamlet. But he also like he doesn't have any of the doubt.

LIZ: No.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: He just saw it happen.

PAZ: You know that video of the guy yelling at the cat in the store, like I'm gonna get you out of there? That's me with Ravenpaw.

LIZ: Ravenpaw, come into my house. [everyone laughing]

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: Get a Temptations every other day. I think that's-- I don't know what's healthy to give cats. Like what's the rate of Temptations?

PAZ: Probably not too many.

JULIAN: I feel like you can get them like a treat a day.

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: One treat.

LIZ: You'll get a Temptations every day.

JULIAN: I don't know, though, cause last time we went to the vet, the vet said we had to feed Chickpea less, so my calibration may be off.

PAZ: Tigerclaw's really setting Ravenpaw up to take the fall.

LIZ: Mm-hmm.

PAZ: And I don't know why anyone would believe him because that's like a young adult. That's like a-- that's like if you were pointing at like a high school senior and being like, they committed these war crimes, not me.

LIZ: They killed the vice president and the other vice president.

PAZ: And now that I'm vice president, that means nothing. It was this teenager.

JULIAN: Well, it's also a teen that he's responsible for. Like if your apprentice grows up and becomes like a conniving little shit, isn't that partly your fault? Like, if you're so mean to your apprentice that he runs into the welcoming arms of ShadowClan, which he didn't, but like if he had.

PAZ: Yeah, I wouldn't blame him.

JULIAN: You know, I think I think it's a little bit on you.

PAZ: Yeah. Where is the accountability in like this mentorship program?

LIZ: He's not even--

JULIAN: The unpaid internship.

LIZ: Ravenpaw's not even that conn-- he's just like, terrified so he doesn't talk to anybody.

JULIAN: Yeah. But like, Tigerclaw is making him out to be this like, big sneaky, you know,basically being like, all these things that I did, this person that I am, that's Ravenpaw.

PAZ: The fact that he already has like lackeys, is like so much. Tigerclaw does. But it seems like he's like lying to them versus them knowing he's trying to do a weird takeover.

JULIAN: Yeah, I mean, I think Longtail at least, it was like, easily persuaded to to believe in like, this secret outside conspiracy because he was the one who attacked Firepaw at the beginning.

PAZ: Yeah. Didn't we read the other day that Longtail is Ravenpaw's like, sibling?

JULIAN: Oh, you're right.

LIZ: That sucks.

JULIAN: I think he's his half-sibling. That sucks.

LIZ: Aww, Ravenpaw.

PAZ: Man.

LIZ: He's getting like a really raw deal.

PAZ: He really is. If the book was from his perspective, it would be so sad.

LIZ: My sibling hates me enough to conspire against me. Or at least believe that I'm a terrible murderer.

JULIAN: Poor little guy.

LIZ: My mentor hates my guts and also is trying to frame me for murder.

PAZ: Yeah, and it takes Firepaw so long to figure out what's happening.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: It has to be explicitly spelled out for him.

PAZ: Yeah, literally.

JULIAN: Like, he doesn't figure shit out.

PAZ: Yeah, Ravenpaw just says something and then he overhears it.

LIZ: Firepaw is so very dumb.

PAZ: It's so funny too, because Yellowfang has like a section where she's praising him for being clever. And I'm like, Yellowfang, he's so stupid. There's nothing going on upstairs.

LIZ: It's air. It's just fluff.

JULIAN: Is Firepaw a himbo? The greatest thread.

LIZ: Since we're talking about Ravenpaw too, the part where later on Bluestar asks him to go train with her alone, where no one's gonna bother them. And he's like, I should tell her about Ravenpaw and Tigerclaw. And he's like I should tell her. I should tell her, and he just forgets.

JULIAN: He was too overwhelmed by her girl boss, uh. Her girlboss nature.

LIZ: It's very overwhelming, true.

JULIAN: I do think like Tigerclaw appointing bodyguards to-- "bodyguards," quote unquote, to like, prevent anyone from ratting on him, was a very savvy move, even though it's like patently evil. It was smart.

PAZ: He's a decent conniving villain for a kids' book in which the protagonist is very stupid and doesn't realize what's going on.

LIZ: And just forgets key points.

PAZ: He has a little cat brain. How's he supposed to remember all that?

LIZ: His friend's gonna die! Okay, but yeah, the guard thing is like very smart. Feels really ominous too because like there's an extra layer of removal of Bluestar from like everyone else.

PAZ: Yeah, he's like already like, taking over like public power by, like putting her behind a wall, essentially.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Security theater baby.

PAZ: Yeah, there's also like another like thread of-- I mean, like the continuing thread of intrigue with like what happened with Yellowfang and ShadowClan because she kind of drops more like, oh, everything was fine till Brokenstar was leader. So that's also a mystery we have going on.

LIZ: Um, yeah, there's a cute section when she's talking about like what ShadowClan used to be like. And I think she and Firepaw are like joking about like, who replaced her as the medicine cat, and she's like, oh, not Runningnose.

PAZ: Yeah, like, he can't even cure his own cold. It's cute.

LIZ: Hey, maybe it's allergies. Don't be mean. Cats get allergies.

PAZ: Cats also get chronic infections.

LIZ: That's what Oliver has, right?

JULIAN: Especially if they live in the outdoors and won't visit the vet.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: Like, wow, a whole bunch of nonvaccinated, fighting cats on the brink of starvation all the time feel sick. No shit.

JULIAN: It's okay though. They have berries.

PAZ: Why are they doing that? Go inside.

JULIAN: I do have a-- when Darkstripe tells Firepaw that he can't go roll in the garlic, which is just really funny as a premise. But also, Firepaw like mutters under his breath, "Dirtstripe," which is such a teen thing to do.

PAZ: Got them.

LIZ: Owned, wow.

JULIAN: It's such like a shitty little teen move. It's really fun.

PAZ: It's very funny.

LIZ: You're not my real dad, Darkstripe. I will roll in the garlic if I want to. God.

PAZ: Do we think rolling in garlic has any medical backing, or?

LIZ: Smelly.

PAZ: Cause it's very funny.

LIZ: Smelly cat.

JULIAN: So garlic is-- like I don't know about the greens of it, but like garlic bulbs are antibacterial, like slightly.

PAZ: Oh, okay.

JULIAN: Which is why, like if you have a throat infection, sometimes like doing like a garlic rinse can be sort of helpful.

PAZ: Good to know.

JULIAN: Not a doctor, not a doctor. But yeah, I think that's where they're getting that.

LIZ: Just like the picture of like this. Like Firepaw at this point is like, not an adult but like the kind of teen cat that's all like gangly, I bet.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: And just picturing that like having a fun time in some garlic is so good to me.

PAZ: I do love it. [inaudible] a good picture of these little cats doing stuff.

LIZ: He's a garlic boy.

JULIAN: And then he overhears a conspiracy.

PAZ: Yeah, very very classic of the villains to just openly talk about their evil moves.

JULIAN: Well, they said no one could leave so I'm sure it'll be fine.

PAZ: Yeah. I mean, I don't-- I think, I mean that covers everything.

JULIAN: I have just, uh, "that'll go well" about him going to talk to Bluestar.

PAZ: Yeah, Firepaw, I think you might also get blamed.

LIZ: God.

JULIAN: Yeah, all is not well in the kingdom of ThunderClan.

PAZ: No.

LIZ: I'm still just a little like, aghast that he does, he just forgets. I know she's the most amazing girl boss you've ever seen. But oh my god.

PAZ: It's fine. He's--

JULIAN: He's just a stupid little boy.

LIZ: I know. He's orange too. He's a little orange cat, you know.

PAZ: Yeah, he's gonna go work on it now. It'll be fine.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Bless him.

PAZ: Should we move on?

LIZ: Yes.

PAZ: Maybe get some levity after the war crimes chapter.

LIZ: So we've returned to wikiHow, a wonderful font of knowledge and activity. And this article is called "How to host a Warrior Cats themed birthday party." Who's birthday is coming up in June so, a little...

PAZ: Mine's in August.

JULIAN: Mine's in July. Lotta summer babies here.

LIZ: Well, we got time to prep then.

JULIAN: Yeah.

PAZ: Yeah. I want to note that this was last updated June 20, 2020. There are 26 co-authors.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: And 42,000 views. So you know this is a good, good peer-reviewed article.

LIZ: Yeah, let me give you the blurb that will entice everyone in. "Do you sleep, dream, smell, and eat Warriors? Do you want to have a party sleepover for your birthday based on the books? Well, this guide to a snappy party is a great idea." It's also available to download as a PDF just so you know, in case you need it.

JULIAN: Oh good, so you can print it out.

PAZ: Yeah, and check it off.

LIZ: And you know, in the wikiHow to set up their beautiful, beautiful illustrations that-- I don't know, is it legal for us to post wikiHow images?

PAZ: I don't know.

JULIAN: Yeah, they're public domain.

PAZ: I mean, they're all traced, so really, how can they get on our case?

JULIAN: I'm really pretty sure they're Creative Commons. I think we're good.

LIZ: Yeah. Okay, so let's plan. "One, make sure your parents agree." So, let's go check.

[laughter]

PAZ: Uh....

JULIAN: Wait, I need to call my dad. Why does-- I just want to describe to our listeners, um, the parent in this image has the largest nose I have ever seen.

PAZ: You could land the plane on that.

JULIAN: It's like, you know the phrase, a ski jump nose. This is a ski jump.

LIZ: Because we're seeing the back of his head so it's the perspective, that's all. This is a front nose on--

JULIAN: It looks like a Hershey's Kiss is stuck on his face.

LIZ: This young man asking his parent for permission looks very smug, too, so I think he got a yes on that. "Step two, start planning early."

JULIAN: Oh, we're doing step two.

PAZ: Well, we are, because we're all summer birthdays.

LIZ: There's a picture of a person looking very determined, with a little three mouth. And that's because this is about cats. "Invite a couple of people to the party. See if they like the idea of having a Warrior Cats theme." Okay, well, I don't know whose birthday we're actually celebrating, so we're all invited in a circle.

JULIAN: There we go.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: You guys okay with the theme?

PAZ: I love it.

JULIAN: Yes.

LIZ: Wonderful, wonderful. Okay, we're getting to the meaty part of things. "Part two: decorations." Now to just give you a word picture of what's going on, there's a sort of cushion bench chair thing, covered in sticks and leaves. The floor is also covered in leaves. The wallpaper has grass on it. There are paw prints on the wallpaper and the floor. There is a separate panel of just a spider web, with a spider in it. And there's another panel of some-- seaweed?

PAZ: It's vines.

LIZ: Vines.

JULIAN: The green silk or fabric.

LIZ: Does anyone else want to have a have a stab at reading this? It's very good.

JULIAN: Sure. "First, decorate. Before your guests arrive, decorate your houses with posters, paw prints, and anything else that will complement the theme. If you have any party games, make sure you have anything you need for those games. Instead of decorating the whole room, make a fort and say it's the den, and fill the blanket draped chairs with the items suggested. To make it even more forest like, you could use camouflage blankets and cover them with sticks and leaves, if strong enough."

I'm not sure if that's the sticks, or the blanket. "Take out spider webs from Halloween and decorate a few corners with the spider webs. Cover doorways with green silk or fabric, and cut some of the fabric into slivers, making a vine-themed door entranceway."

LIZ: Finally a use for my green silk.

JULIAN: I'm just, if I were an adult and my kid is like, I want to have a Warriors-themed birthday party, I'd be like, Oh, sweet. That sounds fun. And then they brought a bunch of sticks and leaves into my house, I would not be thrilled.

PAZ: Yeah, it doesn't specify like fake sticks and leaves. I think it just means you're, like, go out into your garden.

LIZ: That's authentic to the books. You have to.

JULIAN: It is.

LIZ: This also sounds like something a kid would absolutely do.

PAZ: Absolutely.

JULIAN: Oh, step two. "Make each room a den." They have suggestions for each of the rooms. How many rooms do they think your house has, cause this is a lot. They have a kit's room with pillows and stuffed animals, and spiderwebs scrunched into soft play balls, which apparently is a thing that kits play with.

LIZ: Aw.

JULIAN: A warriors den, a leaders den for the largest, least occupied room. An apprentice den, "which can be made just like the warriors den, but larger, and less comfortable." [laughter]

"Make the medicine cat's den. Outside, in the kitchen, or by a window would be the best place, because there are plants you can use to heal. For the comfort of the person who volunteers to be the medicine cat, place down multiple blankets on top of one another, to get that carpet effect, just like inside. Use a brown or blue tarp to make a ceiling, and add cozy green spiderweb beds, and the best pillows you got. Offer spoons, forks, sticks, and ground-like bowls to be able to make the treatments. To ensure your medicine cat is comfy and not lonely, ask a friend to be the apprentice of the medicine cat." Yeah, it would suck to be the medicine cat.

PAZ: So is everyone separating into their room and not interacting? Is this how the birthday party goes?

JULIAN: They have instructions for making the High Rock, and a fresh kill pile. Um.

LIZ: We should--

JULIAN: And then we get to games.

LIZ: We should describe the fresh kill pile.

PAZ: It's very good.

JULIAN: Oh yeah, you're right, I'm sorry.

LIZ: It is a cardboard tree stump drawn pretty well and also shaded, and some green pillows surrounding it, and a bunch of stuffed animals. There is a panda, a teddy bear, a lion, some sort of pink horse thing, and a monkey. You know, regular parts of a cat diet.

PAZ: And the final step in the decoration part is, "decorate the forest, or, quote, 'forest'. Your outside or quote, 'forest' can be a room decorated with cardboard cutouts of trees, spiderwebs, and badger holes. Under furniture you can place a skunk, or borrowed stuffed animal, green moss, or a fake river." I think you should just use the actual forest.

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: What if we don't have a forest? What if you live in, say, just shot in the dark here, LA County, where--

PAZ: Don't.

LIZ: Okay.

PAZ: Problem solved.

LIZ: Everyone's telling me that lately.

JULIAN: Just move.

LIZ: [claps] All right, part three.

JULIAN: Part three is games, which is really important.

LIZ: One for the gamers here.

PAZ: Okay, "step one, welcome each guest, maybe with a dip of your head or a whisper of 'Welcome to the home of the clans.'"

JULIAN: The next picture. [dissolving into shriek-laughter]

PAZ: The art for this is extremely good as well. So we have-- it's featuring that beautiful green silk vine curtain from before. And in front of it is a girl, in like-- doing that like butler pose, where it's like, come in, sir. Except she's wearing a black t-shirt, and nothing else except a black bow tie and a cat ears headband with cat face paint.

LIZ: She also has these um, these side bangs that are very like 2010-specific. Maybe earlier.

JULIAN: I was specifically losing my shit over the next picture, for "start with some roleplay."

LIZ: This is our new header image.

JULIAN: Which features some incredibly drawn visitors who have attended this party, all wearing all black, all wearing those same drawn on whiskers. There's some really interesting things happening with their faces. And the girl in the back is on all fours.

LIZ: She's doing it right.

JULIAN: She is, she's--

PAZ: Dedicated to her role.

JULIAN: "Once everyone has arrived, why not pretend to be warrior cats?"

Why not?

"Everyone could be one RP character-- roleplay-- and one real warrior. If you have the time, you could make name badges." So you have the time to spray paint spider webs green to make moss, but you couldn't make name badges? So everyone can remember who Pinestar is?

PAZ: You hit the deadline.

LIZ: Is that a soap? It sounds like soap.

PAZ: It really does. Moving on to step three of games, "have a hunting party. People can hide stuffed animals while others try to find a stuffed animal with a number they were assigned to written on a card around their neck."

JULIAN: I like the next one a lot.

PAZ: Yeah, we can just move on to four.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Sorry, the art for number three for having a hunting party is very good. It's a child with a cat hat, just really smirking.

LIZ: At a little giraffe stuffed animal.

JULIAN: But game number four, "have a twisted version of egg toss."

PAZ: Welcome to my twisted mind.

JULIAN: "Have everyone pair up and give each pair a spoon. Fill water balloons up with dyed water." Nothing to do with cats.

PAZ: That's so twisted.

LIZ: What's the catness?

PAZ: Uh, you know. Self-explanatory.

JULIAN: You know, cats.

PAZ: Number five, "come up with a collect a resource game. In this game, each den will be removed of its items and hidden among the forest. Teams assigned to each den must collect the items and amount wanted. Give them a checklist to cross off items safely brought back to the den. The first to bring back and arrange the interior like before everything was pooled will get prized with an extra piece of fresh kill and a new piece of bedding from leftover pieces not collected."

LIZ: The image for this is--

JULIAN: My favorite part of a birthday party, resource management.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: Can we--

JULIAN: Sorry Liz, please describe the image.

LIZ: Yeah, it is a picture of four people. There is a just a camping tent and two of the black jumpsuited cat headband ear wearing people are sneaking into it, while two other people in just shorts and shirts, holding a giant caterpillar and different colored hats of of cat like description are walking away totally unaware. I think this is a war crime. This is looting, I think.

JULIAN: Oh, you're right, this is looting. This is pillaging.

LIZ: War crime. Number five, commit some war crimes.

PAZ: Yeah. Gotta be accurate. Number six, "play pin the tail on the warrior. Select a cat from one of the books and make a large cardboard cutout of this cat, and make its tail separately. Put a pin or tack on it to make it stick to the back of the cat." Now which cat do we want to do this to?

LIZ: Longtail. Obviously.

PAZ: Haha, No-tail. [laughter] Got 'em.

JULIAN: How long until Firestar-- sorry, Firepaw does that?

LIZ: In the heat of battle, haha, No-tail.

PAZ: Number seven, "do some more evening activities. Once you've eaten, maybe you could play some Warrior Cat games with your friends on the Internet. In the evening, have a mini battle– doesn't have to last long– and then a gathering, if your party is on a full moon. Lucky you. Otherwise, make an exception just for the party." Well, there are many Warrior Cats games to play with your friends on the internet. So great suggestion.

LIZ: Start a podcast. That's a game, basically.

JULIAN: There you go. That's a game. That's a game that keeps on giving.

PAZ: Number eight, "sleep over, if that's part of the plan. Not all birthday parties need to be sleepovers, but they can be lots of fun. In the morning, depending on the time you wake up, you could play some party games or read books and have breakfast." This does picture people sleeping outside in a tent. Should we move on to part four?

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yes.

PAZ: Food.

LIZ: Okay, so step one of food is "make dinner Warrior Cats themed too. When it's time for dinner, call it fresh kill instead, and ask everyone what they would like. Obviously don't really serve mice at the table. Think of something everyone would enjoy, maybe something fresh, like a pizza you can have delivered to your house." So, this is the--

PAZ: Same thing.

LIZ: The image is the previous fresh kill image from before, with all the stuffed animals, but, um, the children are sitting and having a great time with pizza, just chomping down. Makes me, you know, makes me think we should do this.

PAZ: They have more suggestions for food in step two.

LIZ: Okay, "provide lots of meaty foods. Food is fresh kill warriors, so you must get something close to meats, Think, think, think. Have meat skewers, steak, meatballs, pepperoni, salami, and hamburgers. Anything with tasty meat will do. If you have a vegetarian, then offer veggie patties, cheese, and anything that sticks to the theme."

PAZ: Wait, why does cheese stick to the theme?

JULIAN: How does cheese...

LIZ: Wait.

JULIAN: You know. Fresh killed cheese.

PAZ: I mean my cat right now is extremely into eating cheese, so I guess...

LIZ: Yeah, see, it's accurate. The image for this is just some food. There are kebabs. You know, like cats enjoy. Just like a whole steak, you know, like children should have. A very smooth sliced hot dog, and just a burger. Just a burger with the cheese on entirely different levels of the burger, which is new to me. Like there's multiple cheese. Okay.

JULIAN: My favorite image is--

LIZ: In three.

JULIAN: Step 3, the birthday cake.

LIZ: Yes. "Get a birthday cake. The best birthday cake can have something printed on it, such as the cover of your favorite book from the Warriors series, or a map of the territory. Some local businesses in your city may offer custom cakes. Even better as some may even be able to design a 3D landscape." That is not what's on this cake that they've shown us and--

PAZ: It's a beautiful cake. It's so good.

LIZ: It's so much better. Yeah, it's a round yellow cake with just a little-- like just a huge cat face on top of it, and a candle. It's very happy looking. And then there's like little black and white cat silhouettes like around it.

PAZ: I want this to be my cake.

LIZ: It could be.

PAZ: It's so good.

JULIAN: It's so good.

PAZ: The face on top is so good.

LIZ: Beautiful. What flavor do you think it is?

PAZ: Um, red velvet because it's red inside like fresh kill.

LIZ: Got it.

JULIAN: Oh, we don't have to go through the whole Q&A but the first one is I think very important. Um, "what do I have for food if I have a vegan friend?" And the answer is, "provide berries and greens for them to eat. Warrior cats use them for medicinal purposes, but you can pretend they are an elder or a sick cat."

PAZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: If you're vegan, you're old or sick. "You can also just ask your vegan friend what they like to eat and provide that." Yeah, I would go with that one, animebread.

LIZ: That's exactly the answer you'd--

JULIAN: wikiHow user anime bread.

PAZ: Here's another question, "how do I not be embarrassed about my Warrior Cat party?"

LIZ: Aw.

JULIAN: Aw.

PAZ: "It's a decision you make just not to care what others think. Of course, if you're selective about who you invite, you'll be less embarrassed. Invite friends who will enjoy this kind of party." If your friends have a problem with your Warrior Cat party, then they're fake. They're fake friends.

LIZ: Okay, these questions are really good. I have one more. "What if my friends make up unreal Warrior Cat names such as Fluffyhead?" This is a community answer. "Just tell them that it makes no sense, or provide everyone with a name badge at the start of the party using names you've chosen. Of course it's important that everyone have a good time, so it's fine to loosen the rules a little bit for your friends."

JULIAN: God.

PAZ: Isn't there a canonical cat Fuzzy-- like Fuzzypelt?

LIZ: Yeah, that's--

JULIAN: There is, yeah.

PAZ: I would say Fluffyhead is accurate.

LIZ: Yeah, he's like Ravenpaw's dad. That's like an immediate connection.

PAZ: I think Fluffyhead is a perfect name, and if you come to my Warrior Cat party, you can have that name.

LIZ: Oh, there's some tips and warnings.

JULIAN: Oh good.

LIZ: The best one from tips to me is "ask older siblings to be rouges." Not rogues, rouges, "who hate the Clans. Maybe they could get their friends to help making a rouge group."

JULIAN: You know what I love about a birthday party, built in bullying.

LIZ: For your older siblings specifically.

JULIAN: The warning about, "make sure everyone is comfortable with the battles, or anything else you may be doing," and then "make sure nobody gets hurt."

LIZ: Very important.

PAZ: That's good advice all around.

LIZ: Yeah, So we've got three months till any birthdays happen. Better get planning. I wanna see those cardboard cutouts.

JULIAN: We got time to plan.

LIZ: Just ready.

PAZ: I'm going to give this five stars.

JULIAN: Do we each have to provide our own?

LIZ: Communal effort, you know. They have the fresh kill pile, we have the freshly made and painted cardboard scenery pile. This made me want pizza. That one person in the corner on the right, eating that pizza at the Warrior Cats party is just having the best time I think.

PAZ: Yeah, I could go for some pizza too.

JULIAN: Well, is that it for us?

PAZ: Yeah, I mean, we covered the war crimes and we covered the party, and I think that's all. So, thanks everyone for joining us again this week. May StarClan light your path. [outro music begins] Bye.

LIZ: Bye.

JULIAN: Bye.

[outro music ends]

PAZ: I'm gonna post some little Barley art. Very handsome.

LIZ: Love to see some Barley. Oh, he's a little cow.

PAZ: Black and white cat.

JULIAN: Aw, he's just a little guy.

PAZ: He is a little cow.

LIZ: I love that. Is this official?

PAZ: Uh, no, this is Warrior-- he has official art but it's the weird manga art style that I--

LIZ: He deserves better than that.

PAZ: His pants.

LIZ: Oh my god, pants.

PAZ: Anyway, back to the rats.

JULIAN: Um, yeah, the rats, I guess it's like a sort of...

LIZ: Wait, I'm listening and I can't. It's gone. Sorry, Julian, Julian.

#into the wild ep #transcript #ep 04 #purr-fidy

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bonefall · 2 years

Text

Tangleburr, Deerfoot, and their Parents

EDIT 2: On 1/30/2023 This post was changed to be accurate to the current version of the rewrite.

So here they are! Lizardstripe, her mate Mudclaw (renamed to Mudfoot in my rewrite because I don’t like major characters having name repeats), Tangleburr, and Deerfoot.

Info below

So in general, I give ShadowClan cats big eyes and very long whiskers, plus a lot of facial hair. Mudfoot and Deerfoot both have a classic ‘shadowstache,‘ a bundle of short whiskers around the mouth. I also wanted Lizardstripe to have green eyes because I always see Tangleburr with that color, and she got a bit of an overbite (which Deerfoot inherited) because there’s not enough cool dentition in Warriors.

Lizardstripe

She’s very, very different from canon. Instead of being just a sour, abusive mother, Lizardstripe is one of Bluestar’s oldest friends and used to sneak out to hang out with her friend group, the Forget-Me-Nots.

Lizardstripe was the first Forget-Me-Not to die, taken out in a battle over the Mothermouth moorland, before Brokenstar took power.

She was a young mother, not ready for the experience nor particularly happy about it, but she did still love her children. When she was bored, she would go on ‘exercises‘ and bring her kittens along, resulting in them being in Yellowfang’s den a lot for scrapes and dings.

She agreed to nurse Raggedstar’s motherless son for him when he still needed milk, but didn’t raise the little guy.

Mudclaw Mudfoot

Wasn’t the best mate, but a decent father. He was particularly close to Deerfoot, passing on many of his skills.

He was one of the best builders the camp had ever seen. They used to joke that he could out-dig a badger and still come back with a rabbit. He died of greencough and general weakness during the last winter of Raggedstar’s reign, shortly after which all three of his kits started to drift apart.

Deerfoot

Inspired by a red stag, I wanted him to look noble, but not in a ThunderClan way. His brow whiskers are thick and brush back like antlers, with a big bushy ‘stache (he’s proud of it. Tangle makes fun of it) and dark paws like hooves.

While he supported Brokenstar at first, it quickly becomes clear that him and Runningnose are bending the code to fit their needs. But, he got the same smarts that his brother Runny did, and learned quickly to shut up and get sneaky. Sure, he’s loyal, sure, he follows orders... to the letter. And the rules didn’t say anything about sneaking a few mice to the exiles. Mice full of herbs. Birds full of messages. Frogs full of rebellion.

He’s principled and honorable. He can have a fair amount of the good old ShadowClan dark humor in his fangs, but he gets tired of nonsense very quickly. He honestly regrets a lot of the things he said as a kit, and gets frustrated that Tangleburr never seemed to grow out of being a bully. After one too many comments that went to far, he stopped talking to her entirely.

They had just begun to reconcile when TigerClan took power, and Tangleburr became a fast loyalist. Deerfoot organized the rebels, just as he’d done before, resisting tyranny at every step. After helping the half-Clan cats escape, he was the only one captured and put on trial. He refused to name his co-conspirators and was brutally executed.

Jaggedtooth, Mosspelt, Dawnflower, and Reedwhisker, just some of the cats who owe their lives to him.

Tangleburr

DUMB! AS!! ROCKS!!!

I needed her to look like the funny little guy she is. She’s a little fluffy. A little chunky. She’s got this little tail and these big teeth and she’s always grinning. Her whiskers twist over each other, tangling at times. Sooo many appearances of her make her brown and white so I decided she needed ALL of the colors. Heterochromia also.

“Think before you speak“ but Tangleburr has never had a thought in her life. She’s all emotion. Swat first and ask questions later. She never has a good idea of boundaries or what the appropriate thing to say is.

In contrast to Deerfoot, Tangleburr was a loud and proud supporter of Brokenstar’s leadership up to the bitter end. She was ready to take over the entire forest, with no regard for how much space ShadowClan could actually use, or the suffering of other clans. After all, they’d never have peace as long as there were borders to battle over. She happily ate up every excuse and loophole Runningnose came up with-- she felt lucky to have such a smart brother and powerful leader!

As you’d expect, this caused a lot of tension between her and Deerfoot. When he cut her off, she blamed him at first for being stuck up all the time. Later, when they reconcile, she comes to realize that she was destroying the clan she loved, and that she’d lost so many clanmates while she’d been gone. When Deerfoot died, Tangleburr was distraught and could only think to keep him alive with her actions

She started asking herself what Deerfoot would have done, letting her paws be guided by his actions. This lead to a strong connection with StarClan (for a warrior, at least) and she became a good friend of Tawnypaw’s. She’s “No good at saying good, wise stuff, but I got two ears and one mouth! If you want a listener, I mean. Yeah.”

I’ve kind of fallen in love with her. Her son is Talonclaw; being saved from the vicious kittypets to help fix the family tree.

#Tangleburr #Deerfoot #Lizardstripe #Mudclaw (SC)#Bonefall Rewrite #Bonefall TPB #Mudfoot

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sparky-is-spiders · 4 years

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Evil Rusty AU! (OR: That One Time When Firestar Tried to Conquer the Whole Dang Forest)

So remember the giant text wall I made that accidentally lavished Hollyleaf with love and praise? Well it’s time for another one!

So I was trying to come up with AU ideas and then I thought about that time Bluestar got really pissy with Rusty ‘cause he was like “well why don’t you guys all share???” and I realized that Bluestar didn’t really make any good points about the four clans being seperate and also constantly fighting and so I realized: huh, what if Rusty wasn’t convinced by angry shouting about territory?

This AU will be called the Evil Firestar AU, or the EFAU for short. It works with the idea that Firestar is more manipulative than his canon counterpart. They share the same desire to protect and help all cats, sure, but while canon!Firestar fit his ideals to match those of the Warrior Clans, EFAU!Firestar has different ideals, partially from his time as a kittypet where everybody could pretty much visit everybody else and eat everyone else’s food (provided that they didn’t go in the city) and partially because Bluestar doesn’t manage to convince him about that whole “sharing is bad” thing. EFAU!Firestar likes to think of himself as lawful good, and he does have good intentions, but he’s manipulative and has the kind of ambition that can fog up a moral compass.

So, there’ll be two different outcomes, depending on how shady Firestar is willing to get: Firestar wins and Firestar loses. But both have the same basic starting point and they only diverge at around Forest of Secrets. Whether he fails or succeeds is up to whether or not he realizes and confronts his manipulative behavior or willingly sinks further into it.

I’ll be covering the first three books here. The next post will (probably) be about books 4-6 and cover the Firestar loses timeline.

So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Into the WIld: Things go pretty much the same way the first three books go. For the most part, anyway. The first book does start off a little bit different. It is told from Spottedleaf’s perspective. She has a dream of a fire surrounding fourtrees. Shadowy monsters lurk outside the fire, but Spottedleaf sees that they dare not cross it, and that the clan cats don’t seem to be scared of the fire itself. She interprets this as “Fire will save the clans” or something and goes to talk to Bluestar, who’s like “yeah, seems legit”.

Later, Bluestar sees Rusty and is like “He looks like fire if you squint” and so she has Graypaw attack him. That chapter goes about the same, only when Rusty says “Why don’t you guys share?” Bluestar doesn’t convince him. He just... doesn’t see what the problem of merging clans would be. Surely they wouldn’t have to fight for survival every day if they were all one entity that wasn’t getting into constant border fights? But he knows better than to argue with her. Maybe she has a point that he just, didn’t see???

When he hears about how Redtail died in a battle with RiverClan he doubts Bluestar a little bit more. This respected, high-rnaking warrior was killed over a pile of rocks??? Seriously???? It’s a little ridiculous.

He’s also surprised by how small ThunderClan’s population is. The camp is easily big enough for several dozen cats, and there are only around ten? He asks Lionheart about it later, and Lionheart tells him about how ThunderClan has fallen on hard times, and how they lost cats in battles with the other clans and whatnot. Fireheart thinks “Well maybe if you guys unified instead of constantly FIGHTING. This wouldn’t be a problem!” But he holds his tongue. These clan cats are too set in their ways. They need to be convinced, and a measly little apprentice can’t do that. But maybe a deputy, like Lionheart, could...

When he’s introduced to the idea of StarClan, it gets even worse. These cats have the same ancestors who they worship in the same way. Why are they seperate? What is the difference between the four clans?

He spends some time with the elders. He brings them food and cleans their bedding and listens to their stories. He wants to learn about the clans. Their similarities, their differences. He wants them to tell him that Bluestar was right and give good reasons as to why. But they don’t tell him anything that manages to change his mind. In fact, their stories of the four clans inadvertently convince him of his own opinion even more: the clans are the same, and this seperation only harms them.

He trains and befriends Graystripe and Ravenpaw and everything is going well. And then he meets Yellowfang.

He attacks her at first, only to realize that she’s a starving old lady and not a threat at all. He brings her food and barrages her with questions. She doesn’t tell him much, except that she’s from ShadowClan. This makes Firepaw ask even more questions. It’s his first encounter with a cat from another clan and he is so curious.

Although taking care of Yellowfang is his punishment for feeding an enemy warrior and eating before bringing food back to his clanmates, he enjoys her company. She reminds him a little of the elders in ThunderClan, although he’s careful not to tell her that. Firepaw also sees that cats from ShadowClan can be just like cats from ThunderClan, and it feeds his clan unification idea.

After that, things go the way they do in the books. ShadowClan attacks, Ravenpaw tells Firepaw and Graypaw the truth about Tigerclaw, Operation: Recue Ravenpaw goes off without a hitch, the kits are stolen, and Brokenstar is defeated.

Seeing the differences between Brokenstar and Bluestar gives Firepaw a newfound respect for Bluestar, but it doesn’t stop him from holding onto his idea for clan unification, especially when he sees the ShadowClan cats working so well with the ThunderClan cats to drive off Brokenstar.

Firepaw and Graypaw become Fireheart and Graystripe. On the night of the vigil, a plan forms in Fireheart’s mind. It isn’t terribly detailed, and for now he views it as a wishful fantasy rather than as an actual possibility, but the seeds have been planted.

A young ex-kittypet turned warrior can’t convince four whole clans to change their entire way of life, but with the right moves, maybe a leader could.

Fireheart vows to himself, then and there, that he willbecome Fireheart, and he will unite the clans as one under his rule.

Fire and Ice: This book stays mostly the same. Fireheart and Graystripe go and collect WindClan. Fireheart befriends Onewhisker, sure, but he also chats with as many WindClan cats as possible. His reasoning for this is threefold (although he’s only really aware of the first two reasons):

1. He needs allies for his plan.

2. He is DEATHLY curious about WindClan. He wants to know as much as possible about all the clans and this is the perfect opportunity to learn about WindClan’s traditions and cultures and beliefs. He’s dissappointed to learn how similar WindClan is to ThunderClan. He tells himself that it’s just because he wanted to learn something cool and new instead of just realizing that WindClan was just another ThunderClan but, like, fast, but...

3. A small part of Fireheart really, really wants to believe that the clans have such different cultures that they could never combine. He knows that his plan will be difficult. That he might lose. That he might have to make sacrifices, or even sacrifice other cats (he finds that particular idea disgusting, but if he has no other choice, if he has no other way to save the four clans... he hopes it doesn’t come to that). Fireheart also respects Bluestar, likes Bluestar. She’s a good leader, noble and brave. He’s not sure that he could ever be that good at leading a single clan, let alone ThunderClan. If WindClan isn’t like ThunderClan, if the two are so dissimilar that they could never be combined, then he doesn’t have to go through with the plan. He could just let things be. Become a regular ThunderClan warrior, maybe take a mate, maybe have kits, when he’s older.

When RiverClan attacks them on the way back, Fireheart is confused and angry. They weren’t invading or hunting on RiverClan land, they were just taking WindClan home. Whiteclaw’s death just makes it worse. Cats were injured, a cat died, and because what? Because of stupid borders? Because of rules that weren’t being violated and wouldn’t even be neccessary if the clans teamed up???? It’s ridiculous!

But he does get a new apprentice. This is excellent news. He can perhaps teach her that the clans would be better as one than as four. Plus, becoming a mentor is a sign that Bluestar likes and respects him. It’s also a requirement for a deputy. He needs this if he ever wants to put his plan into motion. It’s vital.

He tries to train her as best he can, showing her around the territory and teaching her how to hunt and fight. Cinderpaw is eager to learn and picks up skills quickly. He talks to her about the other clans sometimes, telling her as much as he can get away with. He talks about how they’re “just like us, really” and how “we worship the same ancestors and go to the same place when we die” and Cinderpaw starts to feel and show more empathy for the other clans. He’s winning her over.

And then Graystripe meets Silverstream.

Fireheart doesn’t approve of their relationship, sure. But Graystripe is his friend, and Silverstream seems nice enough. He knows what would happen if they were discovered and that is what angers him. These two cats just want to be together, but because the clans HaVE tO Be SEpErATe they could both be punished for it. It’s another arguement in favor of clan unification. No such thing as divided loyalties if there aren’t any divides.

Fireheart doesn’t want his friend to get in trouble, but he doesn’t want to stop him, either. He sees this for what it could be: an opportunity. Their relationship forges a connection between RiverClan and ThunderClan. Silverstream is the daughter of Crookedstar, so of course she has influence in RiverClan. If they have any kits, those kits could be the bridge to unite ThunderClan with RiverClan.

And so he covers for Graystripe. He trains Brakenpaw for him, makes excuses for Graystripe’s absence, even helps him sneak out of camp. He briefly speaks with Silverstream, telling her that he doesn’t want them to get in trouble, so even though he doesn’t 100% support their relationship, he’ll do his best to help them. He then proceeds to ask her 50 billion questions about RiverClan culture. Silverstream and Graystripe are both a little confused. Silverstream is also annoyed and a little worried. She isn’t sure whether or not Fireheart is aware of his manipulative tendancies, but either way she doesn’t like them, even though she has no clue what (if anything) his larger goal is here. Graystripe has no idea what the problem is. Fireheart is his best friend! He’s just being a supportive wingman. Surely.

Cinderheart gets into her accident. It upsets Fireheart greatly. He did genuinly care about her and seeing her so hurt makes him feel awful. He should’ve done more to stop her from going...

Fireheart is meeting with Princess. He likes talking to her about his issues, and a little bit about his plan. He knows that she’s the only cat who will really listen to him and agree with them. It’s his only respite from the stress of covering for Graystripe, dealing with one apprentice who isn’t even his and coping with the injury of his own, and worrying about how to tell Bluestar about Tigerclaw’s guilt.

Sandpaw is kinda into him and Fireheart has no freakin’ clue.

When Princess tells Fireheart that Cinderheart’s accident might have been a trap laid by Tigerclaw and intended for Bluestar, Fireheart is furious. She has to talk him down from immediately running after Tigerclaw to kill him. Fireheart asks what he should do about this once he’s calmed down, and Princess tells him to keep an eye on Tigerclaw. He can’t bring this up to Bluestar without proof, and most of what he has is circumstantial and not enough to prove that Tigerclaw is a criminal (Ravenpaw saw him murder Redtail, sure, but everybody believes that Ravenpaw is dead and telling somebody that ‘my friend who is totally dead now btw said that the highly respected deputy that everybody who isn’t me and my friend trusts killed that guy who was deputy way back when. He was the only witness.’ It’s not as solid to the clan as it needs to be, y’know?). Fireheart needs to make sure that a trap like this isn’t laid again, for starters. To get the evidence that he needs and to protect his clanmates, he should spy. Listen in on their conversations Tigerclaw and his friend’s conversations, spend more time with them (volunteering to go on patrols that just happen to have Darkstripe or Longtail on them, etc.).

Minus the spying, the rest of books two and three go pretty much the same. Firestar can never collect enough evidence (because nobody just says ‘so about that guy, Redtail, who I very much murdered’ casually or out of the blue, even to their friends). Cloudkit is also taken in.

Book three opens with Firestar being frustrated by his lack of progress with the spying.

He tries to investigate other avenues talks to both Ravenpaw and Mistyfoot about the battle where Oakheart was killed.

When he and Graystripe save Mistyfoot’s kits, they’re accused of trying to steal them and are taken back to RiverClan’s camp. Fireheart makes a coment under his breath about how “if all the clans were united, this wouldn’t be happening.” Graystripe shoots him a funny look but decides not to comment.

Firestar is pissed about being accused of trying to steal kits, but he sees the situation that RiverClan is in and decides that he wants to help him.

He’s shocked and worried when he hears that Silverstream is expecting Graystripe’s kits, but part of him is also happy. Not just for his friend, but also for himself. This will make it easier for him to sway Graystripe, Silverstream, and the future kits, to his side. He wonders briefly if he’s being shitty and manipulative but decides that it doesn’t matter.

Things progress pretty much the same from here on out.

Silverstream dies when she has Featherkit and Stormkit. Graystripe is distraught. Fireheart is also very upset, but also wonders if he can use this to his advantage. Here is where a slight divergence happens. On the Fireheart/star succeeds track, he tells that voice to shut up and ignores it. His friend’s lover just died, that’s an awful thing to think. It makes him wonder if his actions are as good as his intentions and plants a seed in his mind. That seed will eventually force him to confront his shitty behavior and try to be better. On the way back to camp, Fireheart does his best to comfort Graystripe and make sure that Tigerclaw doesn’t get a chance to so much as speak to him. On the Fireheart/star fails path, he listens to it. He comforts Graystripe, sure, but he also makes sure to mention how maybe things would be better if the clans were all one. He’s sneaky about it, so Graystripe doesn’t think too much about it until that night in the nursery (he is gonna stay with his kits and that is final), where he wonders about how different thing would have been if Bluestar was in charge of all the clans...

Things go mostly the same way that the books did. Longtail saves Fireheart from drowning, Cinderpaw becomes a medicine cat apprentice, the ShadowClan and WindClan attack ThunderClan because they learn that ThunderClan is harboring Brokenstar (yes I know that this happened before Silverstream died shush.)

When the rogues attack ThunderClan camp, Fireheart defends Bluestar from Tigerheart. When the battle is over, Fireheart tells the clan that Tigerclaw tried to kill Bluestar and reveals what really happened to Redtail. Tigerclaw is exiled and none of his friends go with him.

Fireheart is named deputy and Graystripe goes to RiverClan with his kits.

Here we have another divergence. When Cinderpaw takes the Magpie to Bluestar that turns out to be crowfood, Fireheart sees it. He believes it to be an omen from StarClan that Bluestar’s leadership will rot. On the Fireheart succeeds track, this makes him feel really crap, and he decides that he’ll do his absolute best as deputy to help and support her when she needs it. On the Fireheart fails track he sees it and goes "Well, guess that that technically makes me the leader then, huh? Bad news for Bluestar, I guess, but it’s good news for the mission. It’s good news for me.“

Next time!: I wanna expand on that atheist Firestar AU I mentioned awhile back, so you can expect that eventually.

Next time on EFAU: It’s the Firestar fails arc! If you thought that this AU stuck too closely to the events of the books for this to be much of an AU, don’t worry. Things are about to get a lot more interesting (hopefully). Ever wondered what would happen if Firestar was more willing to ignore Bluestar? If he discovered the dogs at Snakerocks? If he teamed up with BloodClan instead of TigerClaw? You’ll find out! Eventually. Hopefully. These take a really long time to make so if I were you I wouldn’t hold your breath.

#warriors #warrior cats #warrior cats au #EFAU #evil Firestar AU #Fireheart #Firestar #the prophecies begin #the prophecies begin AU

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warriorsfireandwater · 4 years

Note

✳ Firestar or Scourge?

How about a temporary villain Firestar AU?

Rusty's barely three moons old when he wanders into the city dump, looking for an adventure. He doesn't know that a local group of cats frequents it, looking for scraps and practice fights. He's too busy chasing a small rat to notice the ShadowClan patrol that shows up to the Carrionplace, and doesn't realize he's surrounded until it's too late.

Brokenstar himself had deigned to attend the patrol, and strangely, that was Rusty's lucky break. Blackfoot demanded to know what a stupid kit was doing in the Carrionplace, and when little Rusty mouths off about helping himself to some prey, Blackfoot is about ready to kill him.

Luckily enough, Brokenstar's in a pretty good mood today. He breaks out into laughter, thoroughly amused by the kit's spirit. "ShadowClan could some kits that aren't spineless!" he exclaimed, before ordering Clawface to snatch the kit by his scruff and carry him off to camp.

Rusty's still young, and though he protests all the way, there isn't much he can do. Brokenstar is such a good mood that he decides to train the newly named 'Scorchkit' himself. Sick and tired of watching every useless apprentice of his be a coward, he claims. He gives Scorchkit a few days to settle into ShadowClan before quickly naming him Scorchpaw and taking him out for a walk on the territory.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Scorchpaw asks him.

"You've got a fierce will in you, kit," Brokenstar gruffly replies. "You might have an unfortunate birthright, but you've got more fire than half my Clan. I want to see if you can keep it burning with some proper warrior training." He smiles slyly. "Might even make a half-decent warrior if you live."

Scorchpaw is still confused, but he's young and still itching for adventure and even though the comment about "living" makes him nervous, he can't help but feel a little rush of excitement at the word warrior.

Brokenstar practically raises Scorchpaw himself. He's not a father... but he's something. He melds Scorchpaw into his image—training him fiercely, teaching him to never give quarter in battle. Scorchpaw might be a loner in the Clan—most cats would rather avoid Brokenstar and his closest allies—but he has the eye of the Clan leader. As he starts to gain confidence and strength, Brokenstar is sure to convince Scorchpaw that he owes all that he has to his mentor. Scorchpaw does more than survive his first few moons of training... he thrives in it. He quickly surpasses the efforts of the other early apprentices.

Thing is, Brokenstar refuses to let him attend any Gatherings. Scorchpaw has been working up the courage to demand why the third time he misses it—but he doesn't get the chance. Brokenstar requests the apprentice to his den immediately after returning from the Gathering. Blackfoot and Clawface are there, too.

"I have an opportunity for you to prove yourself, Scorchpaw," Brokenstar meows.

Scorchpaw, who has inherited a bit of cockiness from his mentor, retorts, "Haven't I already done that?"

Brokenstar has that sky look again- the one he always gets when he's formulating a plan- and he chuckles. "This is a proper warrior's mission, Scorchpaw. I want you to infiltrate ThunderClan."

Infiltrate? Scorchpaw doesn't understand. Brokenstar explains carefully—a ShadowClan warrior overheard Spottedleaf speaking to the other medicine cats about a sign from StarClan about 'fire'. Something about being a savior to ThunderClan—they don't know exactly. She had apprently hoped to find out if any other medicine cats had received a similar sign.

So Brokenstar tells him that Scorchpaw is to show up on the ThunderClan border, claiming to be a loner who has dreamt of StarClan. He seems certain Bluestar will readily accept him into the Clan. The plan is to gather information and to topple the Clan from the inside by helping other ShadowClan cats sneak into camp, attack unsuspecting patrols, and otherwise chip away at ThunderClan until they wouldn't be able to refuse giving up territory to ShadowClan. They're not like WindClan, out on an open moor with no defenses—ThunderClan territory is complex and dangerous to an outsider, and their warriors mighty.

Scorchpaw might not understand, but by now, he trusts Brokenstar. He'd do whatever his mentor requested of him. And so he leaves ShadowClan behind, stays on his own for a few days to let the scent leave him, and wanders into ThunderClan territory. It doesn't take long for a patrol to find him. He does as Brokenstar told him, and says he had a dream from starry cats that told him to go to ThunderClan.

And by some miracle, ThunderClan buys it. Spottedleaf and Bluestar are convinced that Scorchpaw is their 'fire', especially since he claims to have spoken to StarClan himself. Once again, a Clan leader becomes his mentor, and he is now named "Firepaw". Much less impressive than Scorchpaw, he thinks, but he can put up with it. So 'Firepaw' begins his training as a ThunderClan apprentice.

Firepaw tries to stay aloof, not get attached. He's here to help bring this Clan down. He has plans to keep up regular reports with Brokenstar and, of course, ensure that any ShadowClan cats who need to can get into camp.

But as soon as Ravenpaw rushes into camp announcing the death of Redtail, and Firepaw starts to notice how afraid of Tigerclaw the apprentice seems... he gets sucked into the mystery of the death. What begins as trying to get information from Ravenpaw about the battle turns into a friendship. When Ravenpaw confesses to knowing Tigerclaw killed Redtail, Firepaw offers to help Ravenpaw learn some more serious fighting moves to defend himself. (He deflects questions about how exactly he learned those moves, of course.)

The friendship starts to make him loosen up. But it's not just Ravenpaw... Firepaw starts to really pay attention to the Clan. Cats are starting to warm up to him—Spottedleaf has him help collect herbs, the queens introduce him to the kits, the apprentices all eat prey and gossip with him—and he begins to notice just how much more of a family they feel like. He had never really cared about the ShadowClan dynamics (impressing Brokenstar was all that ever mattered), but he starts really reflecting and wondering. What was so wrong in ShadowClan? He was an outsider there, too—but cats seemed to look at him with fear, even as a kit.

One night, at a regular check-in, Brokenstar informs Firepaw that Clawface will come to ThunderClan to take any kits he can. Firepaw relays the best entrances and time for the invasion, and goes home. He doesn't think much of it at first. ShadowClan needs more warriors, simple as that. But he wakes the next morning and leaves the Apprentices' Den to see Frostfur and Brindleface playing with their kits outside. He watches them for a while—sees how the kits tumble about, sees the adoration in their mothers' eyes. Something starts stirring in his belly. Something uncomfortable. He tries to bury it with a fresh mouse, but it just makes his stomach sour. He goes to see Spottedleaf for some belly herbs and runs into Clawface pinning her down.

Firepaw and Clawface both freeze. Neither is sure what to do. Clawface can't blow Firepaw's cover, and Firepaw can't attack his real Clanmate.

Except he does. He leaps across the den and catches Clawface off-guard, knocking him down. Clawface fights back, but once Spottedleaf gets her footing, she helps drag him out of the den and into camp.

Cats call Firepaw a hero, but his stomachache has only gotten worse. Clawface is under guard while Bluestar decides what to do with him. Firepaw does what he's sure is the stupidest thing he can—pulls Ravenpaw aside and confesses.

"ShadowClan?!" Ravenpaw gasps. "Firepaw—Scorchpaw—whatever—you have to talk to Bluestar!"

"I can't!" Firepaw hisses. "She'll kill me."

Ravenpaw shakes his head. "Clawface is going to talk if you don't. She'll take more pity on you if you just tell her the truth and that you're sorry!" He hesitates. "You... are sorry, right?"

Firepaw is quiet. He's not sure 'sorry' is the right word. He feels guilt clawing at his belly. This whole 'infiltration' starts to feel so much more heavier than it used to be. What was just a silly mission on the whims of Brokenstar now feels dire. Spottedleaf almost died, and Firepaw helped the near-kidnapping of kits.

"It's not okay, what Brokenstar put you through," Ravenpaw gently meows. "He stole you, you know? He captured you when you couldn't make a choice and forced you into an early apprenticeship. StarClan, Firepaw, you could have been killed in this 'mission'!"

Firepaw knows Ravenpaw is right. "Will you go with me?"

They go to Bluestar that night. Firepaw tells her everything, from the beginning—how Brokenstar took him as a kit, the early training, the mission... and she listens without a word the entire time. Even when he stops talking, she says nothing for a long time.

Finally, she just sighs. "Firepaw... I don't know where to begin. I'm not sure whether to commend you for telling me this or have you exiled for treason. You lied to us. You told the enemy where to come to steal our most vulnerable."

Firepaw waits for her to order him off the territory. Would Brokenstar take him back like this? Did he WANT to go back?

Bluestar frowned. "But you have trained hard with us. You have friends here. You could have let Clawface kill Spottedleaf and take kits, but you stopped him."

Firepaw flattened his ears. "I didn't know anyone was going to die," he murmured. "I just thought everything I was doing was... normal."

Bluestar decides to forgive him and keep his secret, on one condition—that he leads the Clan to the heart of ShadowClan camp to attack and bring down Brokenstar. He agrees, and Bluestar spins a tale to the Clan about Firepaw and Ravenpaw scouting for a good route to ShadowClan. The attack happens, and Brokenstar is killed. Firepaw doesn't see who finishes him. He doesn't want to face him in battle. But he does see the body when the dust clears. He feels some grief, but mostly, he's relieved.

Bluestar tells him he is welcome to remain in ThunderClan as a warrior. He and Ravenpaw are made warriors side-by-side, Fireheart and Ravenwing.

Fireheart is happy in ThunderClan, when he finally lets himself relax and truly get to know his Clanmates. Still, he prefers not to patrol the ShadowClan border.

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doritopaw101 · 4 years

Text

Arc1, book 2: Prologue

(Warning: Shadowclan, Any Shadowclan under Brokenstar is a warning in itself)

"Duskstar?" a gray molly flicked her tail uneasily "Why have we come here?"

The old black and white tom turned to the molly "We've been driven from every place we're tried to settle, Ashfoot, perhaps we can find peace here" he mewed

"Peace? Here?" Rabbit-tail echoed in disbelief. She pulled her kits closer to her and sheltered beneath her belly. "With monsters and fires? My kits won't be safe, none of the kits and queens will be safe! Whitetail's probably dead by that dog!"

"But we weren't safe at home" mewed another voice. A black tom pushed his way forward, limping heavily on a twisted paw. He held Dusktar's amber gaze "We couldn't protect them from Shadowclan" he spat "Not even in our own camp!. We should be grateful that the old tunnels hadn't collapsed and we escaped through them or else we all would have really been in trouble"

Anxious yowls rose from some of the cats as they remembered the terrible battle that had driven them from their home in the uplands, at the edge of the forest. A light gray tabby apprentice wailed "Brokenstar and his warriors may still be hunting us!"

The cry alerted one of the twolegs around the fire. It stood unsteadily and stared toward the shadows. At once the cats fell silent, crouching lower; even Duskstar lowered his tail. The twoleg shouted into the darkness and flung something toward them. The missile flew over their heads and exploded in a burst of thorn-sharp pieces on the Thunderpath behind.

Ashfoot flinched as a shard grazed her shoulder, but she stayed silent, curling her body around her terrified kit.

"Keep down" Duskstar hissed

The twoleg at the fire spat on the ground, then sat back down.

The cats waited for a few moments before Tallstar stood once more.

Ashfoot stood too, wincing at the new pain in her shoulder. "Duskstar..D..Dad, I fear for our safety. And what will we eat? I can't smell any prey"

Duskstar's amber eyes soften, he stretched his neck and rested his muzzle gently on his daughter's head. "I know you're hungry" he mewed "But we'll be safer here than back in our old territory, or in the twoleg fields and woods. Look at this place! Even Shadowclan wouldn't follow us here. There's no scent of dogs, and these Twolegs can hardly stand" he turned to the black tom "Deadfoot" he ordered "Take Weaselwhisker, Stagleap, and Wrenflight, and see if you can find anything to eat. If there are Twolegs, there must be rats"

"Rats?" Ashfoot spat, as Deadfoot and his group bounded away "That's no better than crow-food"

"Hush!" Sorrelflight hissed "Rat meat is better than starving to death!"

"Let's hope they don't kill us first" Ashfoot heard Flycloud mutter

Ashfoot scowled and dipped her head to lick Eaglekit behind his matted ears.

"We must find a new place to settle, Ashfoot" Sorrelflight went on this time more gently "Morningflower needs to rest and eat. Her kits will be born soon. She needs to be strong"

The lean shapes of her mate and his group emerged from the shadows

"You were right Duskstar" Deadfoot called "There are rat scents everywhere, and I think I've found somewhere we can shelter"

"Show us" Duskstar ordered, gathering the rest of his clan with a flick of his tail.

Cautiously, the cats padded across the wasteland after Deadfoot. He led them toward the raised Thunderpath, the firelight making their shadows loom against its huge stone legs. A monster roared overhead and the ground shook. But even the tiniest kit sensed the need silence and trembled without crying out.

"Here" Deadfoot mewed, stopping beside a round hole, two cats high. A black tunnel sloped down into the ground. A constant stream of water trickled into it. "The water's fresh" Deadfoot added "We'll be able to drink it"

"We'll have wet paws day and night!" Ashfoot complained

"I've been inside love" Deadfoot told her "There's some space away from the stream. At least we'll be safe from Twolegs and monsters"

Duskstar stepped forward and lifted his chin "Windclan has traveled long enough" he declared "It's nearly two moons since Shadowclan drove us from our home. The weather is turning colder, and leaf-bare will be here soon. We have no choice but to stay"

Ashfoot narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Silently she joined her Clan as, one by one, they filed into the shadowy tunnel.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The sun was rising and cats began to pile into their dens. Shadowclan cats were mostly nocturnal after all. The evening patrols had already come back and very few cats stayed out, only to keep watch.

Whitethroat was lying in his nest and he didn't want to move but he was so thirsty. He tried moving but he felt claws dig into his bulging belly as he tried.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he heard Mossclaw growl into his ear. He heard those same words the other day and the day before that for the last moon or so when Mossclaw took him over and over until he passed out. Always telling him "You're not a tom, your a molly, tom's can't get pregnant, I'm helping you feel better, Whitethroat trust me"

"To get water" Whitethroat couldn't help but hiss and kicked Mossclaw in the belly with his hind legs. He got up and began walking but he felt a heavy breath going in between his legs.

"You're mine my pretty little molly" he heard Mossclaw growl drawing his tongue along his spine "You belong to me, no one else"

'I don't belong to anyone, least of all an asshole like you I'd rather be mates with Littlecloud or Wetfoot as least they'd care about me!' he wanted to spit but held his tongue. He slapped Mossclaw with his tail as he padded out of the warriors den. The camp was calm almost peaceful...almost.

Mossclaw shoved into him. "I'm going with you" he stated.

"I can go by myself, I'm not helpless" he hissed

Mossclaw pulled Whitethroat roughly to his chest "I'm not asking you Whitethroat, I'm telling you what's happening"

Whitethroat huffed and tried to ignore the sounds of moans and whimpering he heard around camp. Ash-heart was pinned under Clawface, having their way with her. Rowanberry looked exhausted but Barkfoot and Jaggedtooth didn't care. He figured Brokenstar took Fernshade by force by Boulderpelt,Claypelt, and Mudspots. But then again it's not she got much choice, Dewflare didn't make the situation in the clan any better, if anything it's worse.

Ever since Icepaw escaped with the Thunderclan kits, she's been on a path. Dawncloud had been fucked til she passed out and even then Brokenstar ordered Jaggedtooth to not stop.

Breeders of the clan were not allowed out of camp without a guard and Palecloud was under high watch, Brokenstar seemed more eager to give the seer an apprentice now. Newtspeck was expected to rear another kits. She managed to somehow evade any advances and kept close with her daughter Whisperkit. Dewflare had a hiss with her since Icepaw's escape, more since her face had gotten clawed by Bluestar. She had a new litter recently that she didn't even know she was carrying, they were Barkfoot's kits, they're named Copperkit and Pricklekit.

He and Mossclaw didn't have to go to far from camp when they found a pond to drink from. The pond didn't look fresh but from what Whitethroat had been putting into his stomach he didn't care anymore. He fought the urge to gag as he lapped the horrid water. He caught the scent of Darkflower and Newtspeck but he also caught the scent of Nightpelt, Ashfur, and Featherstorm.

"Elders" Mossclaw growled, he caught the scent too "What are they doing here?"

"They are part of the clan frog-brain" he drawled

Mossclaw started walking the broken into a run. Whitethroat followed as best he could with his plump belly. He saw Mossclaw pounce on Newtspeck.

"What is this?" Mossclaw snarled

"Get off of her" Darkflower hissed

Whitethroat padded closer to see Nightpelt, Ashclaw, and Featherstorm crouching down, their was prey at their paws. They had been feeding them.

"Feeding these useless bags, have you no shame?" Mossclaw growled

"Bite me" Newtspeck snapped, trying to kick Mossclaw off.

"You'd say that about your own mother" Ashclaw growled

"When Brokenstar says your useless, your nothing but a distant memory" Mossclaw replied staring Featherstorm dead in the eye "Just like Volepaw"

"What are you talking about?" Featherstorm asked she turned to Darkflower "What is he talking about?"

Darkflower looked at her paws "Volepaw...he.."

"Was killed by Brownwhisker and Wetfoot during a training session, it happens" Whitethroat said with little emotion "It nearly killed Turtlepaw"

He remembered clearly when he and Littlecloud were fighting with Turtleshell for her assessment. Brokenstar wanted blood. Turtlepaw went for his belly and he didn't want his kits harmed and he knew Littlecloud wouldn't do it so he slashed Turtlepaw's throat open. He felt blood spray across his face and Turtlepaw hit the ground but she held on. Littlecloud had to bring her to Palecloud and was banned from eating for two days as punishment for doing nothing.

Though to Littlecloud it was a blessing considering what the clan had been resorting to eat. He'd seen cats sneak off to the graveyard and ate beside the crows, he did this himself a couple of times. He blocked it out of his mind when he ate an unnamed kit's body in three bites, he didn't tell Newtspeck about it, Boulderpelt did.

Featherstorm wailed for her son while Mossclaw looked heartless.

"He was weak and deserved to die" Mossclaw mewed

"You're not my son" Featherstorm growled through her tears "You're not even a cat, you're a monster"

Mossclaw smirked "Duh"

"What is going on here?" Whitethroat saw a patrol appear from the bushes. It was Frogtail, Clawface, Lizardstripe, Mudfoot, Nutwhisker, Mudspots, and Brokenstar.

Mossclaw tossed Newtspeck to Brokenstar's paws "Darkflower and Newtspeck have been feeding the bones"

Brokenstar's eyes blazed at Newtspeck "How dare you!"

Newtspeck rose "How dare I how dare I, how dare you sentence these cats to death, how dare you let innocent cats be slaughtered for no reason, raping Icepaw, you make mollies breed without limit and you wonder why some of us are sick it's because you make us have too many kits and then those kits die"

Brokenstar slashed Newtspeck across her face, he turned to Frogtail and Mudfoot "Frogtail kill Ashclaw and Mudfoot or Lizardstripe kill Nightpelt"

Whitethroat tried to step but Nutwhisker and Mudspots blocked him.

Frogtail didn't hesitate to launch himself at Ashclaw. "How could you! I helped Nightpelt raise you and Darkflower!" Ashclaw spat "I loved you like Ash-heart and Newtspeck"

"That was your mistake father" Frogtail spat but Whitethroat could tell it was an act. He knew Frogtail kept to himself or his sister and denied the chance to join the elite.

"And I'll get rid my clan of this one" Lizardstripe hissed rushing at Nightpelt. Darkflower smashed into Lizardstripe, slashing her face as she protected her father from these ruthless cats.

Newtspeck bit into Frogtail leg dragging him away "Run all of you run!" she yowled

The elders made their getaway and didn't stop. Brokenstar let out a yowl of annoyance. "Frogtail grab your sister and Mudfoot grab Newtspeck"

"Are you alright my lovely?" Mossclaw cooed, it was a horrible sound. Whitethroat only nodded and let Mossclaw nuzzle him.

Whitethroat knew what was going to happen as they made their way back to camp. As soon as they entered camp he dashed over to Appletooth,Littlecloud, and Poppyflower, telling them what happened.

"What's going to happen to my mom?" Littlecloud asked

"More breeding duties if she's lucky" Appletooth replied. She examined her claws.

"Or banning her from food" Wetfoot added padding over with Brownwhisker in tow.

Whitethroat watched as Frogtail tossed Darkflower in front of the highrock. Mudfoot tossed Newtspeck on top of her.

"All cats gather around the highrock for a clan meeting" Brokenstar yowled

Cats padded from their dens, looking tired and weak.

"These two cats have broken the code when they decided to feed elders" Brokenstar mewed "They will be punished for this" he gazed down on the two mollies. "Darkflower, you're already expecting my kits once again yes?"

Darkflower stood on shaking legs "Yes"

"You are still use of pleasure for my warriors in the mean time"

"But Brokenstar" Palecloud cut in "She's showing already, it would harm the kits and she needs food if you want them to be healthy"

Brokenstar glared at the medicine cat then gazed back at Darkflower "You are as pathetic as your father, I'm ashamed to have had him as my mentor, you will confined to the camp, a warrior will be with you at all times and you will be a permanent queen for now on, as soon as finish kitting I want you fat as possible"

Darkflower whimpered, she was low to the ground tail curled around her paws. Frogtail looked ready to run over but he held himself still.

"You're a monster" Newtspeck spat

"Pardon?" Brokenstar hissed

"This would have never happened under Raggedstar or Cedarstar"

"I'm not my mother or my great uncle, I'm better than they could have dreamed of"

'If your better I don't want to see what's worse' Whitethroat thought

"You have innocent cats killed, rape apprentices, exile elders and your own mother for what? Needless Bloodshed!"

"Breeding or food banning is too good for a wicked cat like you" Brokenstar growled "I Brokenstar sentence you Newtspeck to death by battle"

Silence filled the clan at Brokenstar's words until Newtspeck spoke up.

"I call for Blood for the Star" Newtspeck hissed back "Fight me coward or hand over Shadowclan to me or better yet Marshshadow and Blazefang, it was their birth right to lead, you were the runt no one expected to live"

The clan gasped with shock

"Is she insane?" Wetfoot hissed

"Mama!" Littlecloud whimpered while Brownwhisker looked away.

"Darkflower, stay with Whisperkit, Copperkit, and Pricklekit" Poppyflower mewed "They'll need a mother after this" the black molly nodded and sliped into the rotten den.

Dewflare hissed "You vile-"

"Silence love" Brokenstar mewed "I accept"

He leaped from the low branch and was opposite of Newtspeck "Palecloud?"

The seer rushed forward, he placed a skull on his head "I Palecloud, seer of Shadowclan, call upon the bloodied spirts that have fought and fallen of the battle for the star to look upon these two cats as they fight and declare one of them victorious" He held it for a moment then yowled "Begin!"

Brokenstar went full force, flaying his weight around trying to smash Newtspeck. His body size from Yellowfang was the only thing he got from her, he got the rest from Raggedstar from what Marshshadow told him.

Newtspeck was smaller and faster. She leaped forward and made a good shot at Brokenstar's ear and the side of his throat. Brokenstar snapped his jaws and Newtspeck dodged to the side and raked her claws across his side.

Despite being starved and attacked daily, Newtspeck was still a good fighter. But against a full strength and well fed Brokenstar, it was surprising she lasted as long as she did but it had to come to an end. Newtspeck had ripped into Brokenstar's back, slicing one his ears before he grabbed her violently by her leg. He threw her onto the ground and bit into her tail, she yowled in agony but Dewflare held her down.

"Palecloud!" Littlecloud pleaded

"She's lost Littlecloud" Palecloud stated, his head low "We all knew she'd lose"

Newtspeck let out a final yowl as Brokenstar ripped a good portion of her tail off. She barely moved, her eyes looked everywhere, she was still in shock.

"Shame" Barkfoot sneered "What do we do with her?"

"Normally we kill her by now" Nutwhisker drawled "May I do it? I want to find Ashclaw and show him her head"

Brokenstar spread Newtspeck's legs "Not at the moment Nutwhisker, she's still very fertile. I'll be damned if I kill good breeding stock" he pulled Newtspeck close and she didn't fight back, and slammed into her.

Whitethroat stopped watching and headed to the nursery glad that Mossclaw was to amused to go after him. Whitethroat felt the familiar pain in his belly and knew the kits were coming.

He saw his mother and aunt on both his sides. "Come on, we'll help you" Blazefang mewed

"We'll stay with you my son" Marshshadow added, licking his head

Whitethroat looked over his shoulder at his uncle who's eyes gleamed with sick joy as he thrusted into Newtspeck, the blood from her ripped tail was pooling beneath "This is what will happen if you try to defy me" Brokenstar declared "Applefang take her head and Brownfang get a stick, I have another ceremony to preform as well, Dawncloud bring Oak-kit, Viperkit, Foggykit, Pinekit, Marigoldkit, and Foxkit"

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