#(one she DOESN’T take out just on dovewing)

[lesbikill]

the issue with the ivypool discourse is that like. both sides do in fact have a good point to make. the warriors fandom has always had poor reception to and understanding of mental illness, especially on the uglier side, & i do think part of the reactions to ivypool lashing out do come from this kind of mindset as well as typical fandom misogyny - especially considering she immediately regrets it, and a lot of people love to gloss over that.

but at the same time we haven’t gotten the full book yet and this kind of behaviour aligns too well with what we’ve seen from her before - consistent unfair treatment of another female character with little to no narrative consequences or even challenge to these behaviors. ivypool consistently treats dovewing badly in spite of dovewing’s attempts to make peace and the book will play this neutrally on a good day and agree with ivypool’s convictions on a bad one. we could be looking at another book of ivypool treating her sister horribly while dovewing just sits down and takes it and people are right to be upset about that.

tldr: people be saying shit so definitively. like idk man i think it depends

[kudossi]

only god can write this script

“I’m, uh,” Lionblaze mutters, his tail sweeping behind him, “sorry for your loss.”

You would be, wouldn’t you, Dovewing doesn’t say, because she’s ex-ThunderClan, because she’s ex-prophesied, because his sister died for hers and because he’d wanted to kill her son, because she’s the leader’s mate, because her feelings about the cat who practically kidnapped her from her family to raise as a substitute for another are complicated and thorny at best. “Thank you,” she says at last, like she’s expected to. The diplomacy Tawnypelt has spent so long teaching her tastes rotten on her tongue.

Lionblaze wipes his mouth with one paw. Dovewing’s sister is ThunderClan’s deputy now, not him. She wonders how he feels about it. She wonders whether he thinks Hollyleaf should be there instead. She wonders if, just as she had been, Ivypool is just another substitute for a black cat with too-sharp eyes, too much potential. All wasted, of course, because StarClan was nothing if not good at wasting.

She wishes she knew why the she-cats suffered most. She wishes she didn’t know that they did.

She wishes Rowankit had been born a tom, sometimes, in her darkest moments. If he had, he wouldn’t be dead. “Simple as that,” she’d said to Ivypool last Gathering.

“Simple as that,” Ivypool had echoed, hollow. Bristlefrost had died for — what, exactly? So that more toms could live? So that the she-cat didn’t get the happy ending?

“There are never any happy endings for us,” Hollyleaf had murmured to her the morning of her death. The implication had been clear. Dovewing had stared at the only cat who ever understood her with wide, dry eyes until Hollyleaf had set her chin on Dovewing’s head, and then she’d been helpless not to lean in, a sob rattling her chest as she did.

“I approve,” Sorreltail had grinned at her as Briarlight had hissed defiance at the idea of being evacuated.

“Do I need it?” Dovewing had wondered.

“No,” Sorreltail had answered, simple as anything. “If it’s Briarlight, wonderful. But if there lies something for you outside of these borders — take it. Take it and never look back.”

It was the last time she had spoken to Sorreltail until she was cleaning her blood off of Lilykit and Seedkit as another panic swept over the camp. And even then, she was only speaking to a corpse, reassuring a cat who wasn’t there anymore that her kits would be okay.

(And Seedpaw had drowned to keep a stick — the closest memory of her mother she had — in ThunderClan’s possession. Dovewing had wept that night, inconsolable. Another daughter lost to the memory of her mother, a mother who had died because she had been expected to be a mother before a warrior, a mother despite the worst of wounds. A beaver’s dam bursts and is built again, over and over, until Dovewing’s coat drips with invisible blood.)

“Nursery work isn’t simple,” Ferncloud had smiled once, taking her through each task. Her demeanor was gentle, but the undercurrent was hard. Bumblepaw hadn’t taken this lesson. She knew that Lionblaze hadn’t, either.

“Why us?” Dovepaw had asked, looking up at her.

Ferncloud’s gaze, fixed on a point deep in the den, snapped to hers as if pulled there. “Because it’s only us,” she had said after a moment.

Less than a year later, Dovewing would step through Ferncloud’s blood to block a Dark Forest shade, all murk and mire and claws made of filth, from taking a bite out of her corpse.

“Don’t have another litter,” Lionblaze says now, callous in his way. “It never ends well for us.”

She knows — oh, does she ever know — that. No one star-touched could get away with a second litter, not if the stars had touched you young, even if they took the blessings they’d given away. Lionblaze’s first litter had led unremarkable lives — Hollytuft, despite her namesake, was quiet and unobtrusive; Fernsong had stepped a little farther than his bounds with Ivypool (and had paid for it, perhaps, with their daughter drowning in a lake made of rot); and Sorrelstripe’s history seemed to begin and end with her own litter (another dam, rising high; Dovewing looks away, now, because the alternative hollows her chest with rhythmic scraping of dulled teeth — pain comforted by pain). But the second? Two of them kittypets, the third an active rebel who had lost her mate to her own leader’s claws? A gentle fate, all told. They were all still alive, but what did that matter to him? Did the shame of having two living kittypet children outweigh the idea that both were alive, that both were happy, that he could visit them if he cared to?

“He shouldn’t have allowed it,” Jayfeather had said, his blind eyes staring into Dovewing’s soul.

“I shouldn’t have allowed it,” Lionblaze had said, anger toying at the end of every word.

But Dovewing had wanted, and now her tiny, perfect son is dead. “I won’t,” she says, hoarse. After all, she hadn’t ever been allowed to want. What had she expected? That StarClan would grant mercy to one who had only ever done their bidding?

“Guess some of us have to learn our lessons,” Lionblaze mutters. He scratches at an ear and averts his gaze from the direction of ShadowClan’s medicine den when someone stirs within.

Dovewing wonders if she can muster up the energy to be truly angry. She wants to be so badly, like one might want to escape sharpened claws dipped into soft flesh, but it’s hard to muster in this cruel, gray world without her son, with only callous gods to stare down at her. “Guess so,” she says, and wonders which god wrote this script she’s living. Her losses burn hot in her throat, the injustices as cold as ice, but Lionblaze could never fathom a story more unhappy than his own. “I guess so.”

[scourgebff]

more from the hollycinder partners in crime au, their little family ( original concept/au idea by @the-owl-tree )! i imagine dovewing got cinderheart’s build with hollyleaf’s striking features while ivypool is leaning more towards hollyleaf’s tall stature but cinderheart’s recognizable markings.

holly’s disappearance into the tunnels after upending the entire normalcy of thunderclan had left quite a stir in her wake. ivy and dove grow up trying to make sense of and deal with her legacy in their own ways. cinder is in the middle, fiercely protecting her daughters’ youth from a world which wants to press the weight of everything on their shoulders far too readily while also struggling to figure out her own identity.

very detailed brainrot under the cut

it seemed like an ironic twist of fate in the eyes of lionblaze and jayfeather that dove was to take holly’s part in the prophecy, quickly sweeping her under their wing and closely guiding her paws. the lingering worry that she would stray from them and onto a dangerous path as holly had- doubly so since lion was made dove’s mentor. lion is fiercely protective of dove, seeing in her a bright potential and genuinely wants her to succeed. however it is quite clear to everyone that he’s projecting his sister onto her, for all her talent and resourcefulness going beyond the shadowy pelt and leading to heightened expectations. dove swallows down her discomfort at the pressure, wanting to make everyone proud and live up to their expectations, not only as warrior but as part of a prophecy so much larger than herself. one that she feels is partially to blame for driving her other parent away, as jay eventually reveals to her to full truth, leading to feelings of guilt she doesn’t even particularly understand. torn between stars and shadows, her paws wander over clan borders in search of an answer or escape for herself while discovering things she’d never expect.

meanwhile ivy feels like a spectator in her own life. listening in on near constant rumors and gossip about her family that she isn’t even included in, instigated by a cat she doesn’t even know. getting even further frustrated by just how passively helpless to remedy anything she is. while cinder treats the two girls completely equally, ivy isn’t blind to the practically palpable anticipation thunderclan holds towards dove. she’s a prodigy, with the undivided attention of both the clan’s healers and one if not the strongest warrior as a mentor, sent on journeys and given extra assignments as cats discuss how promising she is- yet also the level of suspicion cats hold towards her for being related to both a traitor, a healer, and a windclanner. ivy is of course of the exact same blood, yet she might as well not exist to anyone but dove and cinder bar a few extended family members. feeling isolated yet reluctant to try and burden her already troubled closest kin with insecurities she feels are ‘insignificant’, ivy meets hawkfrost who seems to not mind listening. in fact he says he relates to her, having a controversial family history himself. ivy asks for advice, ending up gaining confidence with his helpful suggestions and in turn drawing closer to the dark forest. she seems more well adjusted, yet in truth she’s merely getting better at lying and giving cats a spectacle to notice her by. while her social life improves, the unease in her grows as she’s gradually lured into working for the dark forest. ivy with new confidence and supposedly trustworthy new friends feels as if she can balance the danger despite rising escalation.

cinder, ivy, and dove remain extremely close. there is certainly friction between ivy and dove, however cinder is incredibly involved in their lives. refusing to let them lash out at each other and drift apart, she’s reminded all too painfully of her bitter last interaction with holly. she regrets how they ended, strangely enough considering how she didn’t regret dirtying her paws with blood to cover up holly’s sins. what she will not tolerate however is disrespect against her kits, growing estranged from her childhood friends jay and lion upon seeing how oddly they treat dove. it’s an uncomfortable situation, yet dove and ivy both are incredibly grateful to always have cinder in their corner. just for her they’ll set their reservations towards each other aside to form an at least temporarily stable truce. that being said, cinderheart being a reincarnation of cinderpelt actually has relevance to her character here that can be a whole other post on its own so i won’t go into it.

holly is more washed than a rack full of clean dishes icl. fleeing into the tunnels was a temporary solution, made at the peak of her mental crisis she initially tries to ignore how horrifically she treated so many cats. pushing it aside, and trying to restart herself. yet she can never forget cinder, even when she leaves the tunnels to become a wanderer cinder’s loyalty always sticks out so clearly. the kindness that holly had pushed and pushed and pushed until it broke and now here they were after that blow-out argument upon the gathering’s aftermath. a lot can be said for the time she’s out living as a rouge, but she eventually will have to come back and face her horrible past mistakes. unfortunately not before meeting a cat who might change everything for the worse- darktail C:

there’s some more i could mention because the cinderholly brainrot is infectious but i already rambled enough sorry TY IF U ACTUALLY READ THIS LOL UH </3 reward for making it down here is the fullbodies of these very normal not tortured individuals i consider them an equally normal amount

[mousetoe-wc]

Hey! Question time!

I’m planning my rewrite au and I’m planning on making Ashfur the father of Dovewing and Ivypool, but their mother CANNOT be whitewing. So this is definitely a bit of a stretch BUT how do we feel about Icewing from RiverClan?

She has a lot of importance in the recent arc ASC and in power of three she trained in the dark forest, lost her son beetlewhisker there and showed protectiveness and concerned for the younger trainees.

Maybe she has involvement with Hawkfrost’s plans and that’s how she and Ashfur meet? They have an affair and boom Ivykit and Dovekit.

What I’m thinking is a few different options I could do:

Closest to canon, They both grow up in ThunderClan. Ok so for whatever reason Ashfur has both Dovekit and Ivykit, either Icewing gives them to Ashfur or he threatens to reveal the truth about them just like he does with the three if she doesn’t give the two to him. (Dark I know but Ashfur would probably do this) When Ashfur gets murder mysteryed by Hollyleaf the two are raised by Ferncloud. They grow up only hearing good about their father until they find out later that he was a dick.

One of them is in RiverClan and the other in ThunderClan. Dovewing in ThunderClan and Ivypool in RiverClan. Dovewing’s story would be very similar, Ivypool would be a bit different, she’d grow up with older siblings around her and somehow find herself in the dark forest with some of her family.

Some other stuff would change in the process:

Of course the kin of your kin prophecy needs to be changed but I can easily do that.

I’m gonna say take away a few of her kits such as Petalfur, Nightsky and Breezeheart I’ve got different families in mind for them. Beetlewhisker, Grasspelt and Pricklekit can stay but they are NOT Ashfur kits. (She has them before ivy and dove in po3)

Icewing could still get together with Mintfur after or during OOTS? We don’t see step parents that often in warriors and I think that’d make interesting relationships.

[greekstar]

Ok so I’ve been thinking while I’ve been out.

What if Crowpaw/feather fell in love with Squirrelpaw/flight instead of Feathertail on the journey? It would all make sense, duo to them being both around the same age and they have the same type of attitude.

Brambleclaw and Ashfur would still love her, but instead of Ashfur being evil, it’s Brambleclaw. Ashfur quickly realized she isn’t interested and moves on. Later getting with Whitewing. But Brambleclaw would be so obsessed with Squirrelflight, he gets the idea of getting power to get to her. Starting to plot against Thunderclan and Windclan with Hawkfrost and Mudclaw, so where Mudclaw who becomes leader so he can help defeat FireStar. Making his death an accident when there is a border fight and Mud’star’ and his deputy would accidentally kill FireStar. Who at the time had Brambleclaw as the deputy as he waited for Graystripe to return. Though it fails when Mudclaw is killed by Onewhisker in a one-on-one fight. And the storm rages so Brambleclaw has to retreat into the shadows. Not being seen by the Thunderclan patrol who later comes and helps defeat the rebels. So Brambleclaw is still ‘loyal’ in Thunderclan’s eyes.

Crowfeather- Now talon cause he doesn’t love Feather anymore) and Squirrelflight are still meeting at the border. More near the Moonpool and out of clan territory so no cats catches them. They often meet when their not busy and know when there is less suspicious activity.

Brambleclaw is furious and plots with Hawkfrost to take something of Squirrelflight and make him leader. Which is making FireStar follow him into the fox-trap. It some-what works and takes one life but not until Ashfur catches Hawkfrost and almost kills him. The Dark brown tabby and white tom runs back to Riverclan, stating to Leopardstar that Thunderclan ambushed him while he was going to get herbs for his sister. Which was a lie, but Mothflight wasn’t there to do anything as she was looking for herbs herself.

Riverclan plans on attacking Thunderclan and Brambleclaw tries and help. Right now, Brackenfur is deputy after Cinderpelt gets a prophecy stating that Bramble would be a reconning, which Brambleclaw is inraged that he was demotes and later finds out Squirrel has been mating with Crow and manipulates Squirrelflight into becoming his mate to hide the fact that she’s with the Windclan warrior. When Riverclan attacked Brambleclaw took Squirrelflight out of camp for a walk. Taking her to the abandoned two-leg place to hunt. When they return, the camp is destroyed. The newly built camp that they just settled into now in shambles. All the dens were torn apart. Cinderpelt was wounded and the herb store was destroyed and Birchpaw, Ashfur and Sootfur were severely injured. Only Ashfur makes it, while Birchpaw and Sootfur die. Whitewing becomes a warrior right after. (Whitewing and Ashfur end up having Dovewing and Ivypool and later end up having another kit and name is Brindlekit after Ashfur’s mother.)

Squirrelflight is devastated by this death and so is Spiderleg, Dustpelt and Ferncloud. Spiderleg, losing his last sibling, and Ferncloud and Dustpelt losing the last kit to their second litter.

Crowtalon sees that Brambleclaw is abusing his mate and comes to FireStar in secret after asking to meet with him. Crowtalon decides to tell FireStar how much he loves his daughter and asks to rightfully join Thunderclan to be with her, and Firestar having deep connects with Windclan, accepts him into Thunderclan. Crowtalon has a hard time adjusting to clan life but slowly gets used to it. Brambleclaw is furious with this as he now has to step back from being Squirrelflight’s ‘mate’ which was going to give him power. Firestar ends up seeing this and exiles Brambleclaw who ends up running to Riverclan. Where Hawkfrost convinces Leopardstar to let him join. Leopardstar agreed as she sees it as ‘Brambleclaw just wanting to be with his brother’ and when Firestar explains Brambleclaw was exiled. Leopardstar makes an excuse saying ‘Your just saying that because you lost a very good warrior’ where Firestar growls and leaves the gathering.

After this, Mistyfoot is tells Leopardstar that Firestar is right, where Leopardstar is inraged that her deputy would trust another leader and not her and demotes and exiles her and her kits, Primrosethorn and Reedwhisker. And which they join Thunderclan while Leopardstar makes Hawkfrost deputy. Who later becomes Hawkstar and makes Brambleclaw his deptuy. (Starclan gives Hawkstar his lives because they see him as a good leader who would make Riverclan strong. Which is kinda how it went with Tigerstar I)

Firestar is mad that Leopardstar has made Hawkfrost deputy but pushes forward. Allowing BlueStar’s daughter back in Thunderclan. Who decides to stay for good. While Primrose quickly gets comfortable. Clearly having Thunderclan blood while Reedwhisker has a slow process in getting used to the inclosed woods with barely any water. Though Firestar allows them to fish in the lake on Thunderclan’s territory. Primrosethorn later takes Rainwhisker as a mate.

Squirrelflight and Crowtalon have their first litter around the time Leafpool has hers with Mothflight.

They have their litter outside of camp so they can take in Leafpool’s. Who has two. She had Jaykit(named after his blue eyes) and Lionkit who was named after his golden-brown fur. While Squirrelflight has Fallowkit named after a bird like Crowtalon. Jayfeather, LionBlaze, Fallowleaf. (Hollyleaf)

-I named Holly something different cause Leaf has originally named her Holly cause that was the first patient she lost but now she isn’t Her kit so it makes sense for Squirrelflight to name her something different.

This explains why Fallowleaf doesn’t get powers. When Brambleclaw (who replaces Ashfur in the fire scene) rats out Squirrelflight saying she is a traitor for having kits with another clan cat even though Crowtalon joined the clan and says her kits should be dead’s. So Squirrelflight says their not hers though Brambleclaw still attacks her, injuring her before Squirrelflight pushes him into the fire. Making him burned for life and gets imprisoned in Thunderclan by Firestar due to Squirrelflight telling Firestar he tried to kill her and her kits.

Now, when Fallowleaf heard this she thought she wasn’t her kit either. Which is why at first she hates Squirrelflight and ignores her. But Crowfeather tells her that she is their kit, but not her brothers. So Fallowleaf doesn’t run into the tunnels, though does get trapped in them after hunting and falling into one. Which is where she meets and gets trained by Fallen Leaves to live in the tunnels.

Fallowleaf lives and I’m tempted to make her have a mate. Idk who though.

…

Thats all I got for now. If you have questions please ask. I know this was a bit sloppy but it was all on the top of my head for 2 days now.

[acaciapines]

plant meanings!!!! ramble about em!!!!!! I wanna hear it!!!!

he he :3

plants! technically spoilers for the fic i just posted the vine that ate the south, so like, yknow. under the cut!

alright so! i spent. do not even want to know how long to come up with all of these. from the start i knew leafpool was gonna be kudzu and since (as probably is obvious from the title) the idea of kudzu growing over and smothering everything is strongly associated with the american south, the clans are vaguely set there! somewhere in the georgia-alabama area idk. so all my plants. should grow there lol.

and now to copy paste my notes! anything added i'll put in (parenthesis) at the end.

Leafpool: Kudzu (Pueraria montana), smothering imagery—she is smothered and left to die by starclan.

Squirrelflight: The wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). There is something to this idea of always being this provider, and how that is taken from her, ex. how this is one of the parents of the cultivated strawberry. Also straw is similar to star <3. (i'll add--literally i just liked the vibes of this also, i tried finding something else but just kept coming back squilf being a strawberry <3)

Mothwing: While she doesn’t actually have a daemon, to hide that she weaves long-spurred violets (Viola rostrata) into her fur, because violets are lesbian flowers and also because they tend to grow near eastern hemlock trees…so, connecting her to Leafpool! (ie. to the forest, aka where leaf is from) Before her brother’s death, however, she wore aconite (Aconitum lycoctonum,)the specific species of which is non-native but grown in gardens in the Americas, and less toxic than some other varieties, so she gets the benefits of not being doubted (who would wear actual toxin in their fur) without like. dying lol.

Hollyleaf: Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) as they’re poisonous to cats and thus get that association, but also in looks you could see them as a star—but not an aster species. She’s the odd one out. 

Jayfeather: Georgia aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum). It’s a rather rare species that used to be far more common as it depends on wildfire-made environments and thus occupies a far smaller range than it once did, like how Jay is sort of hemmed in and stuck by the clan system lol.

Lionblaze: Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum). It’s a pretty common aster species with a wide range and it grows in tandem with other aster species—I write Lion as a pretty family-oriented guy so it fits.

and though she was cut from the fic dovewing would have both kudzu (to connect her w/ leaf, and very much show how starclan is now forcing dove to the prophecy and basically stuff i wrote in flightless dove) and Aster quitensis, which is a rare and maybe extinct aster species that is only found in ecuador. my notes here just say "she is not getting out of this alive" so take that as you will.

and for the minor characters who i gave plants...

Cinderpelt: Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) just. Because I feel like it fits her okay. cheerful despite her circumstances, happy to be here, taking it one day at a time.

Brambleclaw: Carolina Rose (Rosa carolina) because. C’mon. The thorns. The association with love. He’s toxic as get out. The story isn’t about that but it COULD BE. (brambleclaw was going to play a larger role but the fic turned way deeper into leaf being the mother of hollyjaylion than i thought it would be so he mostly got cut.)

Firestar: Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), because it's a large tree that works with Thunderclan being The Forest, and also they're like, almost evergreen--they keep their leaves year-round mostly and Thunderclan would like that!

annnnnd that's my plants! wahoo!

[cleocatrablossy]

Okay okay okay. So like… we have an art project in art class(wow) where we do a bunch of drawings and for one I decided “hmm what if Fire family twin sisters?? Because there are PARALLELS TO BE MADE” as in Squirrel and Leaf and Ivy and Dove. And then I thought “Actually all the fire family sibling duos where they were essentially raised as twins wether or not they had other siblings that died almost immediately or were still born actually are really interesting constructed to eachother” because like!! They all are set up perfectly to be so similar to eachother but there’s always something there in how they treat eachother.

Like Squirrelflight and Leafpool are there for eachother no matter what, Squirrelflight would do anything to try and make her sister happy and Leafpool would literally die to save Squirrelflight and reality checks her all the time. And they are put through so much shit together and come out closer at the end only to be dragged apart again(funnily enough all 3 times this happens is due to StarClan. The journey, the ‘follow your heart’ thing, and death). And they’re super close to a point that for a little they had a psychic link. And with the whole three thing, they have eachother’s backs no matter what and will face against everyone they ever know together. And they’re always talking to eachother whenever they can. It’s explicitly stated to be WEIRD when Leafpool is avoidant towards Squirrelflight when she’s seeing Crowfeather. Even if everyone else hates them, they have eachother and that’s enough. But they do have friends other than eachother.

Ivypool and Dovewing start out super close just like Leaf and Squirrel, but in comes StarClan again. Dovewing is cast as one of the three and pretty much immediately after they’re apprenticed she’s dragged away to the beaver dam. Sure Ivypool gets a bit jealous there, but they can still talk. But Dovewing keeps getting dragged away and gets extra attention and importance and the moment Ivypool gets a chance to feel as important and takes it. And slowly they end up talking less and less, despite Dovewing trying to reach out. But Ivypool at this point she’s full of it and doesn’t pay her any mind. And eventually it gets to a point where despite Dovewings efforts even after the great battle, they do end up being friendly to eachother though. They end up on alright terms but are more like old friends from school. Dovewing notably has a good support system in ShadowClan and Ivypool has one in ThunderClan, but before the great battle Ivypool just had the dark forest that she wasn’t actively turning away and DoveWing had their mom and the ones putting pressure on her and Tigerheart. They probably could have ended up on much much much better terms if Ivypool had a better support system than the dark forest since then she’d have people to talk to.

Sparkpelt and Alderheart again start close, and with how great at warrior stuff Sparkpelt is Alderheart is in a perfect position to get jealous. And he does! Especially once he’s forced to be a medicine cat. But they still do talk, and Sparkpelt helps keep his spirits high. And while due to Alderheart’s quest they’re separated they’re still close. And they’re there for eachother if needed, and can also lean on others if needed. Sparkpelt treats Laderheart with nothing but joy and care, and so he returns that- all be it in a much quieter way.

And then… there’s Finchflight and Nightheart. Finchflight has the same(if not much more) pressure put on her than Nightheart does him, but still tries to treat him kindly. Nightheart has nothing but vitriol to spew towards her. But Finchflight keeps trying to talk to him, then he leaves to find catmint and comes back angrier. Finchflight does make a bigger deal out of the naming ceremony that needs be and keeps pushing at him to take the name Flameheart instead, which is a bad thing, but this is the only negative thing she’s ever done to him. And he HATES her and then just leaves and pretty much goes “no fuck you. You want me to do CHORES” when she asks him to come back to ThunderClan since he left without even saying goodbye. Finchflight should have some level of anger but she doesn’t. She still cares about him and WANTS to be close siblings but he absolutely despises her, not for the one thing she’s done but for everything else. And he blames everyone around him for him being a fucking idiot, but is treated with nothing but compassion by his sister.

Like in alternating order they’re duplicates in how they treat eachother but on the religion it’s far more strained. So compressing it all down you get:

Squirrelflight & Leafpool: They have eachother’s backs, care for eachother, will die for eachother, and reality check eachother if needed

Dovewing & Ivypool: Strained, but friendly. They respect eachother and care about eachother but more so as friends than sisters. Seperated but they talk plenty.

Sparkpelt & Alderheart: They care about eachother and cheer eachother up, they’re super close and got past any amount of jealousy there. They’ll step on eachother’s tails time to time, but it’s all fun and games.

Finchflight & Nightheart: They barely even talk, Finchflight wants to be close siblings and cares and Nightheart despises her pretty much just for existing. Nightheart is just gone, and still spews vitriol.

And that, is why on the art project I have Leafpool and Squirrelflight, Dovewing and Ivypool, Sparkpelt and Alderheart, and Finchflight. Because everyone despite everything still talks and has that connection, besides the newest duo. Only Finchflight still wants to be siblings, only Finchflight is there.

[notwarriorswiki]

Highlights from reviewing this old art book…

How did Hollyleaf have a kit with Fallen Leaves, that guy was dead 💀 He had three dead siblings - Tumblekit, Timekit, and Aurorakit. Oh yeah his name was Leafclaw because… of course he had to be named Leaf.

Why I chose boring Stonestar over Monarchpaw looking back I don’t understand. I made a Crookedstar clone who is infinitely worse.

Snowbush and Lilyheart are together, so I guess I just didn’t think about cousins back then either. He’s called Snowflight and he’s shy at first but becomes super jaded and mean when Lilypaw leaves to become a kittypet.

Oh yeah Sorreltail didn’t die in the Great Battle??? Somehow? She got shot with a GUN????? And it traumatized Lilypaw so much that she dipped out.

Seedflare continues to be the name I use for dead Seedpaw.

Smokey and Floss kits being major characters who to this day I still remember fondly. Three girls and one of them is like the murderous villain and… reincarnation of Tigerstar? Like she doesn’t look like him at all, she’s a white cat with blue eyes - but she apparently was “born when Tigerstar died” like at the same time so she’s like… cursed to be evil???

Kinkfur’s kits? Sparrowpelt, Mistcloud, and Dewkit? Yeah those ones - major characters as well? Sparrow becomes Sparrowstar, Mistshadow is a medicine cat (which inspired the choice in my 10% left AU).

Dovewing has her kits Stonekit and Monarchkit in ThunderClan where everyone thinks they’re Bumblestripe’s, including him, but they’re actually Tigerheart’s and it’s like woah woah :0 big reveal. I don’t even ship TigerDove any more

I was so heteronormative oops

Bramblestar and Squirrelflight have kits but they’re not Alderheart and Sparkpelt… because they didn’t exist in canon yet so uh. They had Hollowkit, Bloodkit, and Acornkit. Hollowpaw died, but there’s Bloodclaw and Acornleaf. Acornleaf became a perma queen.

Thornclaw and Hazeltail kits?!?! Oh no, it’s early 2000s fandom showing itself. Ugh this is where Stonestar’s love interest is who is killed off for man trauma. Rip Skywillow. They also had her brothers Shadesky and Badgertooth. Badgertooth was jealous Shadesky had friends I guess and was an evil little shit. Incel vibes.

Foxleap and Rosepetal kits - Blazestripe, Smokestep, Saplingpool, and later Ashfire and Fuzzystripe. Uhhh Blazestripe died protecting elder Ivypool (yeah it went that far…), Smokestep was blinded in one eye and was a Brightheart apprentice (because at least I did that thank god)

Evil male RiverClan medicine cat who is in love with main villain.

Indigopelt… uhhh some random WindClan cat I have no clue where she came from.

Firestar lineage kit named Firestorm who is influenced by bad guys and has a relationship with a RiverClan cat who she kills when he rejects her and their kits…

Firestorm having a brother named Opalfang (do they know what Opals are???) who is the Jayfeather med cat apprentice and falls in love with a WindClan warrior for double issues. Uhhh he gave his one kit to Firestorm to raise alongside her own because his mate died giving birth because of course.

SnowLily kit from twoleg place named Golden who joins ThunderClan and takes over after Stonestar dies. I still remember liking her a ton genuinely.

The evil cat and her evil medicine cat mate had kits and one of them is like a ball of sunshine despite being raised to kill I guess so he joins ShadowClan. Oh another one of the kits got with Goldenstar somehow?

Oh god the Lionblaze and Cinderheart kits. Oakshade and Blizzardwind, then later Cardinalfeather and…. Rainbowsplash. I hate it here.

Oh Cardinalfeather left to join WindClan and be with his grandpa Crowfeather for some reason.

Toadstep and Blossomfall kits. Hornetsting, Cottoncloud, Fawnpelt, and Turtleshell. Turtleshell ended up being evil because she was jealous of Fawnpelt because she got with Oakshade. Ugh.

Twins named Burningpaw and Drowningsong. Burningpaw died.

[cicadidae-tm9899]

A Hollyleaf, for your troubles.

This design comes with my own headcanon! It doesn’t really make sense but it was fun to come up with. I’ll put it under the break bc it’s quite a bit of text lol.

So i thought it would be cool for Holly to be a chimera? and the lighter half is from her sister Dove who was the kinda first pass at Dovewing. It’s difficult to explain in a way that makes sense? But basically Holly had powers like Dovewing’s but WAY less powerful, because of the circumstances of their birth. So instead of being able to hear across the entire clan territory, she can only hear in whatever one territory she’s in. After Dovewing is born, Holly loses her heightened senses completely, along with most of her lighter coloring (don’t ask me how that works. I like to thing of it as starclan/the ancient cats taking the bits of Dove out of Holly and remaking her to continue the prophecy bc it didn’t go to plan the first time.)

I also like to think that Holly herself has a power, but it’s less like being unkillable or dreamwalking like Jay and Lion, and more like god just poured all her skill points into charisma So she can easily influence people into being on her side, but she doesn’t use it often because she thinks it feels like betraying the will of her clanmates. Because of this power, Leafpool almost dies in the deathberry scene because, in her anger, Holly uses it to make her eat them until Jayfeather intervenes and saves her.

I’ve also toyed with the idea that Dove’s ghost (half ghost??) follows Holly around in Thunderclan until she finds a suitable cat to reincarnate as, and because of the nature of Holly’s powers, Dovewing gains her powers slowly as opposed to being born with them immediately.

Also I like to think that Holly is almost unrecognizable when she comes back from the tunnels because by that point she’s lost most of her lighter coloring. Dovewing being the reincarnation of the Dove half of Hollyleaf means that she looks exactly like the Dove side of Hollyleaf, minus a couple of the black spots, so Jay and Lion are constantly reminded of Holly when they look at Dovewing.

I saw someone draw Dovewing with red eyes and I liked it a lot, so I’m giving it to my Dovewing. I also think the heterochromia is cool with one side being red as holly berries and the other side being as green as holly leaves.

anyways, this was basically my first somewhat-coherent warriors headcanon/au, so I hope you like it!

(gonna tag @peppermint-moss bc her Hollyleaf content is what inspired me to write this)

[stickstone]

evil dovewing au

oh fuck so this one’s a real challenge. cranking the dial all the way up

so, there are two routes i could go here. dovewing’s a character unjustly hated on by the fandom and because of that there are countless evil dovewing aus

so the first route is to go with the literal idea that this is just dovewing but bad. her powers are ideal for spying and would be perfect for a villain that’s always ten steps ahead. however, the big thing, is that that wouldn’t really be dovewing would it? that’s just a villain with dovewing’s powers. incorporating dovewing’s actual personality and story in general is directly contradictory for this route. therefore, i refuse to take it

the second route is what i lean more towards, though it has potential to be incredibly boring and veer towards being one dimensional. the core conflict at the heart of dovewing’s character is that she is being robbed of her childhood. starclan has given her a duty to fulfill and she does not have anyone to support her through it. dovewing becomes isolated from her peers and is held to unreasonably high standards. by the time the final battle is over she looses her powers and is expected to just return to a normal life that she never had. she’s lost and confused, grappling with the question of what to do now

the natural instinct here is to turn her into an anti hero. let her lash out and strike back at those who stole her childhood. but the thing is that doesn’t make her evil. and having her kill people is just a lazy way to show ‘she’s bad now’ in these aus

so what if we went in the opposite direction. what if, instead of turning against starclan, she became what they wanted her to be. she became a savior, starclan’s own holy warrior that drove away the dark forest and was chosen to lead the clans in starclan’s name. but not on her own. always with starclan’s guidance. always with their say. isolated from her peers by being placed so high above them they can no longer see her as dovewing and that she can not rely on anyone but starclan

this is the gut wrenching worst case scenario for dovewing. no satisfaction of revenge or empowerment. just becoming what she feared most

[redux-iterum]

Lynx’s Struggle Through Survivors - Now a Double Feature

Because I was busy in December with Christmas, I had to move my review to January. So here we are, a review of both The Broken Path and The Endless Lake. Read the previous stuff if you haven’t already. Let’s get down to business.

The Broken Path

I like the idea of the naming ceremony, nothing else to comment on it, save for the fact we seem to have timeskipped… some time in the future. I wasn’t paying much attention to what season it was before the timeskip. It was a little jarring, but necessary, I’d gander.

Unrelated, Whine frickin sucks. I want to punt the little bastard into orbit.

Okay, about Alpha, he’s really really indecisive. I’m really torn on this. For one, the main plot of the book is Fiery recognizing Alpha’s been sucking as leader and challenging him, only to get captured by humans and die. For one, how has anyone in this deluded pack snapped out of their delusion to recognize their leader’s been sucking? For another, how has Alpha allowed his pack to make decisions without his input if he’s trying to keep an iron-tight grip on them? I don’t know, he seems like he’s supposed to be an intimidating leader who’s trapped a bunch of well-meaning individuals in his control, but it seems something isn’t adding up and I can’t quite articulate how it’s wrong.

I think Fiery would fit better in the role of “Leader of the Alpha Sucks Club” who would reach out to Lucky when he sees he’s getting the ire of their leader. Fiery only joined this pack because Moon insists Alpha is a good leader and is mostly here to one day usurp Alpha when the time comes. Mulch would be another member of the club, as much as he’s kind of a turdgoblin. Fiery might suspect Sweet (the sleeper agent) is secretly against Alpha, but he’s not sure and she’s doing her best to avoid Alpha’s suspicion. Lucky would be the first outsider dog to join, followed by Martha shortly after adopting Lick, Grunt, and Wiggle. Bella I think should join later on; she detests Alpha both personally and on principle, but she’s got a strong Cain instinct that deters her from allying with her brother. Moon would join the club after Fiery dies and Alpha practically celebrates that he’s keeping his position.

Terror’s so strange as a minor antagonist. The Fear-Dog is a stupid concept on principle, but the dog pantheon is narrow enough that you can’t easily add a new god into the lineup. The more gods there are in a pantheon, the easier it is to slide a new one into their ranks and have others go, “seems legit”. Regarding Terror’s pack, I’m surprised his entire pack doesn’t just look at each other and go, “Hey, there’s a bunch of us and only one of him, let’s get rid of this thorn in our paws.”

Anyway, our baby girl has a new name, Storm. Time for her to join Firestar and Dovewing in the “our names are glaringly obvious hints for our role in a prophecy” club.

The Endless Lake

I really don’t have a lot to say here. This just caused a lot more confusion than necessary and everything went by so quickly.

I really feel bad for Lucky. He’s trying so hard to help these dogs out and they’re so insistent that tradition is the way to go. Alpha was abusing his position as leader and there was barely anything anyone could do about it within the dogs’ code of honor. His situation with Sweet kind of makes me think of a reverse Fireheart and Sandstorm situation, where Sweet’s barely giving Lucky any benefit of the doubt and you wonder how he still pines for her.

So Alpha died, but not really. Why did he ally himself with the Fierce Dogs? It doesn’t seem at all in his character.

The condition of Sunshine’s pelt really made me wish there was a nice human in that lighthouse who could take her in and shave her pelt off. She’s really hit-or-miss for me, but I’d be satisfied with seeing her end up in the care of a loving human.

I’ve been giving Dullard real-time commentary as I read the book, and a thought that came to me was what if Lick/Storm and Grunt/Fang were pitbulls instead of dobermans? And the entire Fierce Pack were a conglomeration of dogs kept for dogfighting? Their version of dog religion would be incredibly warped, and their poor treatment would be the blame for their behavior. Fang could take the classically antagonistic role of the pitbull archetype while Storm would take the modern sympathetic role.

Before we get to it next book, I gotta wonder. What. Is. The Storm of Dogs. I don’t understand how a brawl between dogs would be the end of the world to the dogs’ eyes? It makes little sense. I can’t figure out how to effectively polish it.

Combining Lucky’s affinity with a crow (which interestingly didn’t appear in this book as far as I can recall) and his visions with the Storm of Dogs, I gotta wonder if he’d be some kind of chosen seer for a god of death (even more interestingly, if it was Earth herself that was his patron god).

So both of these books were slogs, I really want Storm of Dogs to… at least kind of be satisfying. A little. Just a bit. Please no one pull a Scourge and have someone else kill the villains anticlimactically.

[echoed-evenings]

While I do agree with you I am gonna jump to the defense of Bumblestripe (at least in OotS I get your point for AVoS he gets weird there) he is perfectly nice to Dovewing and his only fault at that point is that he doesn’t realize he will only ever be a good friend to Dovewing and she’s not doing anything to dispel those thoughts he has and by AVoS when he starts getting weird he has already been pushed out of the love interest role and Dovewing’s discomfort is pointed out. (Don’t take this as me shipping them I am a Tiger/Dove shipper through and through I just find Bumblestripe as one of the more interesting characters (because he actually has somewhat of a personality))

No hate to the Erins but which of them is the one who always falls in love with creeps and then uses them as completely normal love interests for the main characters? (Ashfur, Bumblestripe, Nightheart... a bit of Bramblestar too though it is beyond "creep" in his case)

[meowtalhead]

Warrior cats main protagonists and villains ranked by how cuddly i think they would be:

1. Squirrelflight

She is small and soft and I bet her toe beans are very squishy. She's full of love

2. Cinderpelt

A sweetheart! Very affectionate. She curls up on your lap, licks your hand with her little pink tongue, and then purrs herself to sleep. Sometimes she likes to climb up on your shoulder and sit there like a parrot

3. Graystripe

Huggable. Round. LARGE boy. Loves kids and dogs

4. Cloudtail

He just lays down on top of you and smothers you in an endless sea of white fluff. You will need a lint roller afterwards. He can sense when you're sad and purrs to cheer you up

5. Firestar

A good kitty! He would purr SO LOUD i just know it! Most likely to aggressively start kneading and giving kisses

6. Ravenpaw

I bet he likes gentle scritches behind his ears. He probably has dainty little paws and would be very cautious to not accidentally put his claws in anyone while cuddling

7. Mothwing

She purrs and clings to you in a very tight hug but sometimes forgets not to hug with her claws

8. Brightheart

A little timid, especially if you try to pet her from her blind side, but once she warms up to you, you can feel your heart melting she's just SO sweet. Radiates kindness

9. Hawkfrost

He's an attention whore who will try to convince you he's Baby even though he's really Bastard. Insists on you cradling him in your arms at all times. Hates your partner, your friends, your family, anyone he sees as competition for your attention. Never bites or scratches you, surprisingly

10. Feathertail

Just a cloud of fluff. A soft, soft cloud of fluff

11. Dovewing

She likes to be picked up and carried around and cries if you try to put her down. Her fur is the softest, plushest pillow

12. Leafpool

The gentlest little kitty cat. Doesn't like to be picked up so much as sit near you and give you little kisses sometimes

13. Stormfur

Might wiggle if you try to pick him up but usually pretty friendly

14. Tawnypelt

Yeah you can pet her. When she wants to be left alone she'll give your hand a gentle bite. If you don't stop after that you might lose a finger

15. Crowfeather

He is indifferent to you. Please do not touch

16. Lionblaze

The pinnacle of Dumb Orange Cat but POWERFUL. He demands your full attention with a forceful head bonk that obliterates your kneecap and when you fall over he jumps onto you, effectively kicking you in the stomach, and starts kneading. While doing so he will put his entire weight into a single paw placed right on your boob and then deploy the claws all while purring louder than a motorcycle

17. Spottedleaf

She's very cuddly but drools all over you when she purrs. She has an overpowering smell like sickening, nauseatingly sweet pumpkin spice.

18. Longtail

He likes pets and snuggles but if you don't give him enough attention he gets passive-aggressive and starts lashing his tail, usually sitting near you and flicking it against your arm so you know he's mad

19. Sandstorm

She likes being around you but if you try to pet her she scratches your hand

20. Sol

He's an asshole cat but he loves attention. Wants you to pet him one second, biting you the next

21. Bluestar

May attempt to murder you but I think she needs some love

22. Scourge

Same as bluestar with extra murder

23. Jayfeather

Goes completely limp and pushes your face away with his paws when you try to kiss his little forehead. Growls indignantly the entire time

24. Hollyleaf

She's afraid of you and if you try to get near her she'll hide under your bed

25. Tigerstar

You can't resist sticking your face in his soft kitty tummy. He's the fluffiest cat in the forest. He immediately mauls your face

26. Yellowfang

Do NOT try to give her a bath or take her to the vet. Might occasionally kiss you, but WATCH OUT.

27. Ivypool

This is a feral cat. Maybe a patient and gentle person can earn her trust over the course of several years

28. Bramblestar

Asshole cat.

29. Ashfur

Hates children, yowls Roxanne or Rory in the hall outside your bedroom at 1am when you have to be up early for work, commits arson

30. Darkstripe

He doesn't care if you pet him but why would you want to? He smells bad and HATES kids. You feel inexplicably gross after holding him like you just hugged the carpet of a college dorm

31. Brokenstar

He straight up KILLS you. Leaps at you out of nowhere and digs his claws into your neck while yowling. Then he eats your corpse. Punt him back into the woods on sight

[aerial-jace]

This started as me trying to think of something to write for a KestrelJay fic, but thanks to @mallowstep enabling me it became a full-on Po3 + OotS AU. I present to you: Po3 + OotS but the powers don’t come with a prophecy attached AU. Alternatively: Po3 + OotS but Jayfeather willingly became a medicine cat out of delusions of grandeur.

The only reason I’m deleting the dark forest part of the conflict is so I can use the powers but still have this AU be about an entirely new interpersonal conflict that doesn’t cross over with that whole thing

Jaykit figures out very early on about his dream powers, using it to hop across the dreams of his littermates and others in the nursery. Growing up he hears lots of stories about dreams and prophecies and medicine cats and the rest, so naturally he gets really excited about this special power and gets it into his head that he’s destined to be the next medicine cat.

(He can’t see in dreams on this one. He knows he’s actually dream hopping and not just dreaming of the others in the nursery because he’s very insistent about asking others what they dreamed about. The other kits are impressed but no adult gives him the time of day with it.)

Hollykit, ambitious little furball that she is, also gets it into her head that she’s going to be the next medicine cat. When playing in the nursery, the arguments about it are endless.

Lionkit’s concerned because if both his siblings become medicine cat apprentices, does that mean he’s gonna have to put up with that meanie Berrypaw all on his own? 3:

As they approach apprenticing age, Leafpool notices the two siblings are very much serious about wanting to be her apprentice. It’s at this time that Jaykit starts to brag about his dream hopping ability as if that’s going to guarantee him the position. Hollykit, meanwhile, is trying to help however she can.

Leafpool very much thinks Hollykit would make a better apprentice, she sounds much more helpful to have around and she thinks someone should really check Jaykit’s growing ego.

The day of their apprentice ceremony comes and Jaypaw is fucking pissed, like in canon Lionpaw goes to Ashfur, Hollypaw to Leafpool, and him to Brightheart.

Brightheart and Longtail are really trying to be helpful and encouraging here. Longtail even sort of came out of retirement just so he could assist them outside camp. But Jaypaw’s just being a brat and it makes all three miserable. He won’t listen to instructions, he rushes everything just so he can go pester Leafpool, when out on patrol he will try to sneak away, he is very rude to them, etc.

Lionpaw tries to be a supportive brother, trying to give Jaypaw encouragement and tips, reassuring him that he can grow up to be a great warrior, convincing Ashfur to let them train together, and so much more but he’s just met with the same scorn and aggression that Jaypaw has for Brightheart and Longtail. Doesn’t help matters that Lionpaw is just good at this, reinforcing Jaypaw’s belief that this is not his special destiny.

Hollypaw is trying her best, but like in canon she just struggles a lot with memorizing and identifying herbs and of course being grossed out by actually treating injuries. She also tries to extend an olive branch to Jaypaw, only to be met with scorn and particularly harsh insults. He also tries to butt in whenever he has the chance. Leafpool’s getting really fed up with all this.

This whole thing lasts for like a moon to a moon and a half and the whole of ThunderClan camp just doesn’t have the energy to deal with Jaypaw anymore. The general stress and just in general being so worn out give Jaypaw the perfect in to enter Leafpool’s usually more tightly guarded mind. She originally thinks the little brat has just been so annoying she ended up dreaming of him but when he turns up the next day and recites her whole dream to her, she sighs in defeat.

She’s perfectly aware that she shouldn’t reward him for wearing her down, but this has gone on long enough. She’s seen Hollypaw and she knows it would be better for her to swap mentors now. And if StarClan has given Jaypaw this power, she’s not about to go trying to prevent his destiny. She knows better than to piss them off.

Jaypaw is an immature, smug little shit about this whole thing, and Leafpool knows she has her work cut out for her in regards to nipping that in the bud. At the very least he’s obedient now and very eager to make up for lost time.

Their first night on the apprentice’s den, Hollypaw and Lionpaw begin to bond over complaining about their dickhead brother. It’s extremely cathartic and even though they’re keeping everyone else up they don’t mind either. They needed that release as well.

Hollypaw quickly learns that Lionpaw is very good at this warrior thing, way better than she’d expect with how behind she is. They figure out Lionpaw’s got a power as well, and while Hollypaw’s initially concerned he will turn out a dickhead as well, the experience of Jaypaw keeps Lionpaw humble. At least when not around Berrypaw.

It’s Jaypaw’s first half moon gathering and he can’t help but bounce with excitement. He’s excited to meet everyone and share tongues with StarClan and to be announced officially as Leafpool’s apprentice and all the rest. As they meet the others he finds that the other two apprentices are not being as friendly as he’d expected. Willowpaw is downright angry at him for costing her a friend, while Kestrelpaw is polite but distant. They’ve both been warned of him and seeing them both act so coldly really hurts Jaypaw.

(While all of this is happening, LionBerry is going through a rivals to lovers arc in the background. And of course we all know Hollypaw is massively gay for Willowpaw.)

Jaypaw is really lost on what to do. He wants to make friends with the other medicine cat apprentices, but he’s just not got the social skills for this. He thinks invading their privacy in dreams is a good idea, kind of forgetting everyone and their mother know of his power and that most people find that creepy.

It takes a while, but seeing his desperation to make friends, Kestrelpaw starts to open up and Jaypaw is massively emotional about it. They bond as friends and over time they get Willowpaw to also open up. The three become really close friends and they encourage Jaypaw to fix his relationship with his siblings.

When Hollyleaf and Lionblaze get their full names, Jaypaw starts to reach out to them. They’ve seen Jaypaw becoming more humble and minding his own business over time, so they’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it still takes time for their relationship to be repaired.

Willowshine and Kestrelflight earn their full names and Jaypaw couldn’t be more proud of his friends. Him and Kestrelflight begin to date (using those handy-dandy dream powers they don’t even have to meet physically!) and he starts to relay messages between Willowshine and Hollyleaf.

It’s around this time that Flamepaw, the token straight of the medicine cat gang, shows up. He’s basically the reverse of that whole “Everyone has a gay cousin and if you don’t it’s you” thing, which becomes really apparent with how his gay cousins dominate the conversation at all the half moon gatherings.

(For the sake of the joke, his siblings are bi. He only learns this after telling them about how gay the half moon meetings are.)

When Jaypaw earns his full name, Leafpool names him Jaystorm because of how much of a handful he was as an apprentice and as a reminder to not fall back on those old behavior patterns.

Jaystorm announcing his full name to his siblings and showing healthy pride in his accomplishment is basically the end of his arc regarding repairing his relationships. They’re now all equals in the eyes of the clan and they get along pretty well. They’re his preferred escorts whenever he has to go out of camp and they’re glad to spend more time with him.

Fast forward to the time of OotS, Jaystorm notices fairly early on the signs that Dovekit also seems to have special powers and begins making plans to ensure she and Ivykit aren’t driven apart by ego and jealousy like he and his littermates were

Dovekit, thankfully, starts showing interest in becoming a medicine cat while Ivykit doesn’t. Come their apprentice ceremony, Jaystorm maneuvers to have himself be named the official mentor of Dovepaw and Hollyleaf the mentor of Ivypaw.

(Leafpool’s still around or something. I deliberately also omitted the fire scene and the parentage reveal drama. But she’s just not a character I’m interested in and sidelining her is for the good of the story.)

Having someone with partial medicine cat training mentoring Ivypaw means Jaystorm can very easily make an excuse to have her as part of his escort when herb gathering. Ivypaw, of course, complains endlessly about it, but she finds it nice to have time to spend with Dovepaw.

Under the guidance of the three, Dovewing and Ivypool grow up to be well adjusted adults who deal with the whole powers thing very maturely. All five of them are very close to each other, to the point the three almost consider those two as honorary little sisters.

(It’s fine, Cinderheart ends up having Fernsong with a completely unrelated tom. Lionblaze is too focused on his husband Berrynose to have eyes for anyone else. It fixes the incest, even.)

[kipswarriorcats]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[warriorsbutnotreally]

From The Ashes AU - Origins

okay, so something that started as an idea for Squirrelflight's Hope to the song How To Save A Life by The Fray quickly took a life on it's own and I had a whole idea and now I just wanna share this rq

I am working on requested things, I promise, I just have no attention span and listening to songs is my worse crime

tw; mentions of abuse

In this AU, Squirrelflight died in the landslide instead of Leafpool, having used the very last moments she could to try to throw herself between her sister and the rubble.

Leafpool is surprised when she learns that she isn't dead and that Squirrel will be in StarClan. The two of a tearful goodbye before Leafpool wakes up.

When she wakes, she finds Bramblestar grieving and, angry, she goes off on him, telling him how his abuse of her sister eventually led to her death and she even tells him that she hopes every nine of his lives is nothing but suffering because of what he had done to her, to make her feel like she was worthless.

Bramblestar is shocked and a bit outraged that that's how she'd treat her sister's grieving mate, but Leafpool outright states he lost that right to be considered family the moment he blamed her for Leafpool's crime

She starts walking out of camp and he demands to know where she's going

She states simply that she can't live in this Clan anymore

Everyone tries to convince her to stay, but she refuses.

Sparkpelt steps forward and everyone is excited for Squilf's daughter to help, only to be surprised when Sparkpelt announces she's going with Leafpool and taking her kits with her

Bramblestar tries to stop her, but Sparkpelt goes off on her father, saying that she thought all relationships were supposed to be as terrible as Bramble was to Squirrel, but when she was with Larksong, she learned that what Bramble had done to her mom was wrong and that she regretted ever calling him her father

With that, Leaf and Spark grab Flamekit and Finchkit and the two leave

.

They spend the first few days considering joining another Clan, but Sparkpelt makes it clear that she's not fond of the idea.

During one of these debates they are found by Stormcloud, Daisy, Lionblaze, Cinderheart, Cherryfall, Spotfur, Twigbranch, and Finleap. Stormcloud tells them that there was a lot of debate and fighting in the Clan after the two of them left with the kits and that it no longer felt like a home. There is possible news of a search patrols to drag them back or even more cats joining but they decide to keep to themselves for now, just to be safe.

The group end up settling somewhere past WindClan, closer to RiverClan on the other side of the thunderpath.

As they're settling down and building camp, Ivypool and Fernsong end up stumbling after them, Ivypool having a pretty nasty cut on her shoulder after apparently getting into a fight with some Bramblestar loyalists who were saying terrible things about the missing cats. The two bring their kits - Flippaw, Bristlepaw, and Thriftpaw, wanting to get them away from there and - hopefully - somewhere safe. Stemleaf is also with them, though he doesn't state why.

They continue to do their best to settle and adapt when Leafpool has a vision of fire, blazing around them, keeping dark shapes at bay.

Shocked and confused, she decides to talk to this about Sparkpelt, who states loudly that it's a sign her grandfather - Firestar - approves of what they're doing. Leafpool is comforted by the idea that her dad wouldn't be upset with her, but she can't shake the thought that there was more to the vision than that as she stares at her Firestar-look-alike niece.

.

After a moon, the group has settled. Sparkpelt has taken to leading this cats easily and she works hard for her kits and this ragtag group.

Stormcloud, Ivypool, and Lionblaze have taken over mentoring Flippaw, Bristlepaw, and Thriftpaw respectively and Daisy helps take care of Flamekit and Finchkit while Sparkpelt is busy.

Cherryfall also is spending time around Daisy, apparently expecting Stormcloud's kits.

Leafpool has already made herself a place to store herbs and the group has even started to grow them near the 'medicine cat den'.

Sparkpelt jokes that they're their own Clan now, but her mind wanders to if they should become a Clan. Specifically her minds wanders to Bramblestar and if she'd be a leader like him - heartless and controlling, willing to let an innocent cat die to prove a point.

Then she thinks of her mother and the dark feelings she had been avoiding resurface as she misses Squirrelflight, Larksong, and Flickerkit so much that it makes her chest sore.

She can't ponder long, however, as she realizes one of their 'hunting patrols' return with a couple new cats. Their names are Feather and Scowl and the two mention they were curious about what had been going on around these parts ever since they had met two curious cats named Tigerheart and Dovewing.

After some talking, the two decide to help these cats, though Scowl is a bit cautious. Feather, meanwhile, is quick to get along with these new cats, especially Leafpool.

Sparkpelt and Stormcloud work together to make the camp feel more like home. He jokingly calls her Sparkstar before wondering if StarClan would give her nine lives. She expresses doubt and he states that they'd be fools not to make someone like her leader.

Sparkpelt shakes her head, remembering how she acted as Twigbranch's mentor and the horrible things she said about other Clans.

Stormcloud counters and brings up how all the cats here respect her and that they'd follow her no matter what.

.

A few days pass and Sparkpelt finally approaches Leafpool, wanting to go to the Moonpool to talk to StarClan. They leave in the dead of night and carefully sneak past a rather irritated looking night patrol from ThunderClan.

When they arrive, they lap the water and quickly fall asleep.

Sparkpelt is greeted by many loving licks from her mother and she can't help but purr.

She carefully tries to bring up the chance of her becoming leader of a new Clan and Squirrelflight assures that StarClan - with some convincing - is willing to approve of Sparkpelt as a leader.

She's shocked by this and even more shocked as a nine lives ceremony is started.

Squirrelflight gives her the life of Compassion, telling Sparkpelt that she doesn't regret how she died, as she died so that others had a chance at living Larksong gives her the life of Confidence, adding that he believes in her and misses her every day Flickerkit is next and gives her the life of Forgiveness and asks her to please not be mad at herself and Spark can't help but cry over her son Pebbleshine comes next and her gaze is stern as she gives Sparkpelt the life of Acceptance - "not just for your cats, but for all cats." Spark winces and thinks of Twigbranch and how she had treated her again Next is Hollyleaf, who Sparkpelt had never met, but she had heard many stories about. Her adopted sister gives her the life of Endurance and tells her to never give up fighting After her is another she-cat she's never met This molly introduces herself as Goldenflower and informs her that Bramblestar's her son, making her Sparkpelt's grandmother She dotes on her granddaughter for a bit, wishing she had the chance to meet her in the living, but still happy to see her She gives her the life of Protection. Dandelionkit approaches her sister next, excited to finally meet her. She gives her the life of Enthusiasm and tells her to enjoy every day. Juniperkit is next and he gives his sister the life of Faith and tells her to never give up ever. Even when things look back. Finally Firestar approaches and purrs happily at the sight of his granddaughter. He states how much he's happy to meet her and that he's sorry they had to meet in such terms, but is still happy to give her a life. He gives her the life of Love. He reminds her that all Clanmates are worthy of love, even if their home is far from hers.

Sparkstar wakes up after her ceremony and Leafpool is still by her side.

The two return and Sparkstar decides to call their home FireClan, appointing Stormcloud as her deputy.