#BB!Antfur

[bonefall]

Don't know why, but "Shut up. Touch Firmament." speaks to me. Is there a scenario where a guardian cat says this someone?

Antfur can say it to Happyface. Happyface seems like xey'd go off on a joker rant about Society and the Kin or something and Antfur would just drop it, no context, and move on.

Happyface immediately has feelings for her

[exocynraku]

Antfur <33

antfur ll, XoY, BB, DD, dmdm, aa, cbcm, ww wanna request a cat? see here: link

+ timelapse

[bonefall]

Now we've got all six of em, can I just say that CRIPES ALMIGHTY the titles for a starless clan suck major ass! Both separately AND as a group!!

I Do Not Rewrite Arcs Until They Are Done BUT DO YOU WANNA HEAR MY WIP RENAMES SO FAR

Remember: Don't get too attached yet, the only one I can say with certainty will show up somewhere is the title of Book 4.

ARC RENAME: A Starless Clan -> A Prayer Unanswered

The original name is really good but I'm getting a vibe that the theme of the rework is going to be... when love isn't enough.

It's about how some things can't get better. It's about how all the kindness in the world couldn't get Bramblestar to turn around as a leader. It's about how Heartstar might have had good intentions, but occupation never works out in the end. It's Nightheart's relationship to his family being salvageable, not because they don't all want to fix it, but because his life has worked out best with distance from them.

So, Prayers Unanswered is both about the religious part of how RiverClan doesn't have a leader and can't get in proper touch with StarClan, but it's also about every other wish that hasn't come true.

River -> Starcrossed One of the VERY large changes I'm considering is actually massively reducing Nightheart's POV. I'm thinking of doing this, not because I dislike him, but because I think it might actually be a better story if the audience is guessing as to his intentions just as much as the other characters are. So, until he's ACTUALLY needed later, his chapters are short and sparse. So Starcrossed would be about setting up the troubles of the Clans, especially the parts of the conflicts I want to highlight more in BB. It would be setting up the rule changes for "starcrossed lovers" (lmao) but also the brewing anger that the cats have towards code changes... and StarClan, if I do decide to keep the newest revelations and work them in better, in hindsight.

Sky -> Fracture There's a phrase in my head that is so interesting to me that I need to do something with it. "Only frozen water can fracture." I want to make the RiverClan situation worse than in-canon. First of all, there's going to be identifiable groups this time which begin to scramble for power. Instead of having the cats just... forget how to do the chores they've done their whole lives, the Clan is splitting up into factions. This is why they won't be able to win against Heartstar later, when she decides to take drastic measures. They're not fighting like a Clan; they're fighting like a bunch of disorganized teams. There should also be a bunch of needless injuries, maybe even a border aggression that lead to a death, before Heartstar barges in. I also want to make this a bigger part of the story, Erins willing. Too much time was spent on the Catnip Patrol, imo, we're going to have ANOTHER big trip and I don't want this one to eat up so much time. Rowankit is also still going to die; and maybe a couple of elders around the Lake too.

Shadow -> Snakes and Turnclaws Berryheart's hate movement has been too tame, from canon books 1 - 4 as of the time of writing. It's ridiculous that they haven't even injured anyone in the Battle Cat series. I saved Antfur from the previous arc so that she can die here. We've been seeing the Anti-Turnclaw movement rise from the first book, so now with Nightheart's boldness leading him to a place where he will be unsafe, we need to see his rusty butt in actual danger. I'm even thinking that, instead of Nightheart failing his task on purpose, Sunbeam makes him fail by stopping him from getting killed. I need to know the ending of ASC first though, because I MIGHT be having Berryheart getting her exile here. Whatever kills Antfur is either deniable enough that she's able to squeak by while Sunbeam quietly leaves (refusing to accuse her mother of anything publicly) OR it's so obvious that Heartstar casts her out on the spot. Meanwhile, we see the OTHER half of ShadowClan's conflict as RiverClan finally unites... against them, as their common enemy. Task failed successfully, Heartsy

Thunder -> The Source of the River I'm still unspeakably proud of this outline. There's so much I want to do here. She's going to come back with a DND party and I'm hoping that all of them end up in RiverClan with her; INCLUDING Nightheart. I want the fact that he accompanied Frostpaw to actually be the final straw for him. While he's away, Sunbeam is acclimating to ThunderClan and falling in love with her new home. There are parts she misses about ShadowClan, but as she's adopted by Sparkpelt, taken as a secondary apprentice by the deputy, smiled upon by Squirrelstar after she pressures Bramblestar to abdicate... this starts to feel like this is where she belongs. And that's too hard for Nightheart to ever come back to. "You come to the source of the river, and are vexed that you do not find the water that is flowing downstream" dude.... man. That's what BB's about. Change. I also really want Nightheart to choose HIS OWN NAME by the end of this series-- so at some point in this book he should finally admit "Nightheart" wasn't his choice either. (I'm thinking Deltastep. Because his journey with Frostpaw begins at the southern delta of my reworked map.)

And I haven't done them for Book 5 or Book 6 yet, especially since I might end up condensing them or chopping them up to put into the other books.

I do know I'm really love to play with the idea of a starless sky for one of the last books though, I may or may not keep Splashtail's lack of faith in StarClan (hate the Evil Atheist thing they keep doing), but the idea of a "Pitch-Black Star" absolute fucks as symbolism, ngl. Maybe something like "A Gap in the Stars" or "Constellation's Void" or "The Stolen Star"

Also also also I'm having Curlfeather come back as a Dark Forest Demon for at LEAST one scene.

I don't give a good goddamn if they don't go to the Dark Forest or not. ONE weird coincidence that could totally have been Just Good Luck but was actually Curlfeather. Let Her Drown Splashtail, she deserves it. Let her be a malevolent spirit who protects her baby. RiverClan can whine all it wants about Mothwing who ooo doesn't believe in God, Frostpaw's got a demon. Cry about it

Also I hope Frostpaw becomes leader because I'll make it go hard

[bonefall]

While we’re talking changing who appears in places- can we change the cats helping out with Sunbeam’s rock trial? I was so confused why the cats selected to help were selected. Sure Cherryfall because she was going to be the one opposing Sunbeam, why not, anyone can do that though honestly and not who I take issue with being there. But Alderheart was there? The medicine cat? Don’t you think he has better things to be doing than pushing a rock around? Where’s Lionblaze aka “I may as well still have my god given super strength”? He could easily be the cat that gets pissy for Sunbeam “not listening to senior warriors” and maybe with age feels that she doesn’t respect him, head of patrols, enough to warrant her staying this sabotaging her in the third trial. I felt robbed that Plumstone who seemed to be established as another bg strong cat was absent. Sure sending Sunbeam with all the strongest cats would make it easy but it’d also be making it safe considering Ivypool didn’t want the rock to hurt anyone and it’s a pecking rock. Why not send your strongest cats to deal with it?

I feel very strongly about this trial, can you tell?

I'm a bit dissatisfied with certain trials in general. Most of the time I LOVE the new trials they made, I think they've been super creative so far, but some have been so lackluster that I need to shine them up.

Namely Berryheart's active attempts to get challengers killed. Someone has to get ACTUALLY hurt by one of those, instead of them just being generally unfair and no one raises an objection about it. I did not like the spring-powered adder that went BOING out of a log.

I will say that I would like to expand on Plumstone in this arc, plus her whole little family. They're in an interesting place, with Bumblestripe coming back from Ferncloud's Parting while leaving his father with the Tribe, Blossomfall still reeling with emotional abuse she suffered at the paws of the impostor, Stemleaf's death and Spotfur raising his kits, and Shellfur's mateship with Fernstripe.

Plumstone ALSO has some stuff going on. She's besties-maybe-dating Thriftear, Bristlefrost's sister, and yet she's one of the more outspoken cats about how she's getting tired of the ThunderClan nepotism. She's strong, reliable, and a competent warrior-- so HOW is it fair that Nightheart keeps getting all these undeserved "chances to prove himself" when SHE is here, SIGNIFICANTLY more orange, and wants her own chance to shine??

I still see her personality as being "a dear" lmao, she's not mean, but she's also not willing to bite her tongue either. She will say what's on her mind, and point out unfair treatment when she feels it.

Thriftear supports this. Yeah, she's a descendant of Firestar and a great warrior, but she EARNED the respect she gets. Bristlefrost did too. Nightheart doesn't even want his legacy, why is this clumsy humbug still getting special treatment?

Good-cat bad-cat pair type thing going on.

So I'm probably going to let them both act as a unit, since BB's Dewnose isn't in ThunderClan and that was a really random pair-up anyway.

("wait! Elder Bones! Where did Dewnose go?" Probably ShadowClan, here is the BB!ThunderClan family tree. There's been shuffles; the Cloudbright kits are now Whitewing, Foxleap, and Icecloud, 3 "singlet" litters, spaced out over years.)

Quickie thoughts on touching up the trials;

(DISCLAIMER: NOT SOLID. WE DON'T REWORK UNTIL ARCS ARE COMPLETE.)

Berryheart's are going to need serious overhauls. Nightheart's were really cute and I enjoyed them, but BB is supposed to be about how her group is escalating towards violence. I do not want them to stay so "cute" for the story I'm telling.

I also don't want to keep Nightheart failing his last one on purpose. I want his growth to be more based in self-realization than trying to let Sunbeam "save face."

I kinda want Fringewhisker to get injured during one of her own, and then Antfur dies as collateral damage in Nightheart's last. I'd like Nightheart leaving to be half him realizing that his BEHAVIOR is a problem, and half for his own safety.

In ThunderClan, I'd like the boulder one to be more about Sunbeam assembling a team, almost like she's a patrol head.

Since it's her second trial and she displayed some pretty fantastic leadership skills with her first one, I've got an inkling of an idea that Squilf actually talked with Ivy about wanting to legitimately assess her talent.

Like, "We both know that this whole trial-system was just to appease the other Clans. These are meant to be easy because idgaf. But wow, Sunbeam was actually impressive with those kits. What else can she do, if we give her the chance?"

I really like writing Squilf as she's described in Bramblestar's Storm, where her good leadership comes from being attentive of details and making everyone feel useful.

Man... maybe ill save Rosepetal for this arc and let her be deputy during this. Something feels very Rosepetaly about this. Maybe even have Rosepetal be clearly treating her as if she's a Secondary Apprentice, preparing her to take over her reputation of being a prolific mentor... Nightheart comes back from his trip only to find Sunbeam with twice as much respect as status as he ever had.

I can always axe Rose later to get Ivypool in... But I also REALLY love all the Ivypool Deputy Drama with how there's a conflict with ShadowClan... man. why are there so many interesting girls.

Maybe Rose doesn't have to be deputy, but Ivy assigns Rosepetal as the only "mandatory member" of the Boulder Patrol. Like a tutorial tip lmaooo

Sunbeam: "I think I will pick......................" STARES AT ROSEPETAL, "aaalderrr-" Rosepetal frowns "--pluuuuumstone??" Rosepetal nods, "Wise choice."

And lastly. The final Sunbeam trial. Ngl hated it. It felt really boring compared to the previous two, which were super interesting and excellent ways to give some spotlight to background characters.

Riddles don't even feel like a ThunderClan thing. Idk that was a very RiverClan (philosophy) or ShadowClan (trickery) kind of thing.

I think I'll hold off on thinking about it though; I think it would be SUPER cool if I totally overhauled that last trial to make it foreshadow the later books, somehow.

I DO want to keep that disney channel ass Cherryfall being a bitch part though. I love her so much. I'm so glad she's walking in her father's pawsteps and becoming the snot-nosed brat of ThunderClan.

I will definitely be changing how Sunbeam HANDLES it though. Hate the way that the books emphasize never telling anyone anything.

In fact, I kinda want to make Sunbeam approach Sparkpelt for advice, to show she finally has a figure she feels like she can trust.

Explicitly contrast the way that she NEVER felt like she could approach Berryheart, and that so much of her appeasing, avoidant behavior had been because she didn't feel safe or respected.

Here, in ThunderClan, she has family. She begins to realize that even if Nightheart came back and dumped her, Sparkpelt and Finchlight would NEVER kick her to the curb.

So she goes to Sparkpelt about how she is being bullied by Cherryfall, and they TALK ABOUT OPTIONS.

Like, you know,

Spark: "We could go to Squirrelstar or the deputy."

Sun: "I don't want to cause a fuss if I don't have to... besides, idk, I don't want to set the peat on fire, it would be nice if I could be on good terms with Cherryfall later."

Spark: "that's very wise of you, but just remember that Squilst is a very fair person. We can always go to her. Do you want any backup at all or do you want to do this on your own?"

Sun: "I think... I think I actually do need to do this on my own. If I was being confronted, I think I would just double down if I was being attacked in a group. That was right with Brambleclaw because you weren't trying to convince him, but... what do you think?"

Spark: "I think Cherryfall's just like her father and her ego is everything to her, so I think you're right on the mouse with all this. Honestly, I don't even know how much I'm helping here!"

Sun: "Oh but you are helping! You're helping a lot! StarClan... it feels so nice to just... have someone to listen. Thanks, Sparkpelt."

Basically, tweak the trials to bring them more in line with the themes and messages of BB, y'know? And also beef up the Clans themselves, by stressing the various personalities that are at play here. Especially since I quite like how Sunbeam in ThunderClan has some super neat traits she wasn't expressing in ShadowClan.

Like... it feels like it could be a really cool story to tell about how supportive environments can make you really shine. How you can suddenly seem like a brand new person, just by having people who have your back and encourage your autonomy.

[bonefall]

I know you’re not rewriting ASC yet but would BB!Puddleshine be the kind of guy to agree with Berry to pull a ‘gotcha’ like in canon? Or would he agree with her wholeheartedly?

^^^ Actual picture of me preparing to wreck the "gotcha" moment in ASC when I finally commit to rewrites of it a few books from now

Gotcha Moment Bad. BB!Puddleshine isn't an idiot like his canon counterpart is, apparently. Fym "one issue" I'm still seething. It's one big ass issue.

Especially since BB!Puddleshine is most likely someone who would agree with Berryheart. He's one of the cats who ALLOWED The Kin to absorb ShadowClan, and he feels responsible for the death of so many Clanmates. He's blaming the wrong things, becoming xenophobic because of Darktail, and EXTRA distrustful of outsiders because of how Ashfur manipulated his apprentice.

I can't say for sure what I'm going to do with the Vote Gathering, because I CAN promise you, this is going to be a VERY important, climactic moment. I NEED to know where the arc ends, because the fallout from THIS event is going to lead DIRECTLY to it.

But I am thinking of options. I know that, by this point, Berryheart's hate movement HAS gotten Antfur killed, and there are direct, serious consequences for her political radicalization within ShadowClan. At least one person has been hurt.

So options...

She calls for the vote, it fails, and it causes her to do something drastic. I quite like this one because it would lead to a really good scene where I can make every major player state their exact intentions. Anyone jumping ship from Berryheart would do it now-- like Gullswoop, for example, or perhaps Stonewing. I could also have Puddleshine rule that because Heartstar is occupying RiverClan, they have the right to vote too. Which would make it EXTRA fascinating if it failed, and make it clear that she's not a tyrant here.

She calls for the vote and it succeeds. Just, an option. It might end up being a good choice to have Cloverfoot take over, but then IMMEDIATELY set Tigerheart as her deputy again. Show that she has disdain for her sister's movement.

Berryheart refuses to call a vote at all because it is a change to the code. I do like the hypocrisy angle of her calling a vote when these changes are the very things she opposes... but also, I kinda dig the idea that someone else (maybe even Heartstar herself) stopped some kind of attempt at power Berryheart made, and said, "ok bitch. let's do this like civilized cats. Puddsy, ring up that vote."

This is one of those very VERY sensitive moments that I have the "no rewrites in advance" rule for. So I can't commit.

But I am Thinking about it.

[bonefall]

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

signed,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But as it is...

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

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

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

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

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

Dovewing

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

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

People who have earned this privilege;

Heartstar. Naturally. And all of their children.

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

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

Strikestone and her new family

Squirrelflight

Briarlight

Alderheart and Sparkpelt

Twigbranch

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

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

Whitewing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stoneclaw

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fallowfern

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fallow: O_O "Ohhhh"

BUT, anyway,

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

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

[bonefall]

Speaking of family trees, what are your plans for ShadowClans? If memory serves, it's unfixable right?

Yep. ShadowClan's needs to be completely thrown out, even I am not capable of fixing it.

I'll be posting a better diagnosis of it when we get there, but it's COMPLETELY fucked. A total dead-end. Half of the Clan is descended from Snowbird. They killed Strikestone, so the only way the Tigerfam continues is DIRECTLY from tigerHeartstar with Crowfrost's contributions extinct. Antfur got killed unceremoniously.

But wait! There's more!

Modern ShadowClan has a Missing Generation Fog between the Forest and Lake, which only Rowanclaw crossed. So if you make a family tree tracking the Toadnettlepool polycule, or Yellowfang’s family, or Blackstar, throw it out. You don't even use it.

And when it IS relevant? Like for Ivytail, who is said to be Blackstar's niece in the Missing Kits content? No descendants. There is only Snowbird. SnowbirdClan.

Snowkin, Tigerkin, and then there's Slate/Cinnamon and Stonewing/Mate (cant remember his mate's name off the top of my head) who are *couples* desperately trying to fix the slow-moving trainwreck that is ShadowClan's inevitable inbreeding problem.

So, bottom line is, not even Bonefall can fix it. I'm gonna take a hammer to the Snowbird family when we get there, BB!ShadowClan allegiences are going to look significantly different from canon.

[bonefall]

I think Whisperkit works as a single-kit for Happyface. If his mate is going to be Antfur, and Ant dies in ASC, then you could have Whisper be born after Ant's death (probably via surrogate since unless Ant is trans or got hit with the Woman Beam) and Happy could name him for that resemblance, as in he sees a "whisper" of Ant in their kit? Could make for a juicy family dynamic, and it would make sense if Happy wanted to honor Ant with the name but couldn't be too direct because of Berryheart.

I am planning to whack Ant with the Woman Beam, simply because I kinda want Heartstar to return from the cat church with a bunch of girlies. And Blazefire, honorary girlie

Bonus info for BB!Antfur since she's come up now;

She quickly became Dovewing's great friend, it was an immediate bond when Dovewing showed up

She's HUGE. She is a massive cat. BB!Dovewing is large and Antfur matches that

But unlike Dove, Ant has short fur. She's entirely muscle.

The Guardians do a ton of gardening, and Antfur's specialty was weeding and digging. She got her name for how she was always in the soil.

The 1/3rd split is the most popular, and feels like the choice that makes the most sense considering Slate and Cinnamon are alive while Antfur will not be. REALLY loving that Whisper idea, I'm definitely going to put Whisper in The Bundle. I'm also leaning towards Bloom being in The Bundle, because she is black and Antfur had those black patches.

I think that the names of the three kits will be the name that Antfur liked best, the name that Happyface liked best, and "Whisper" like you suggested, because Happy sees a 'whisper' of Ant in him.

The kits were also probably born shortly before Ant's death, but Clan cats don't name their kits until the first moon has passed to wait for the Fading Kits to leave. So if Ant died when they were 2 weeks old, Happy gave them their names 2 weeks later.

[bonefall]

I think educator Berryheart could actually make a lot of sense, at least for part of BB!ASC. if BB!Berryheart and her arc is anything like canon Berryheart and her arc, her being the educator could partially explain why she becomes so influential, and it'd easily give her a way to start antagonizing the former Guardian cats/Fringewhisker by insinuating they aren't "respecting ShadowClan's history" (or something along those lines). With Oakfur being so old, it could make for a lot of tension since there's not really anyone available to replace her as educator even if she's being shitty. She could also have an excellent demotion scene if she got the position (if she doesn't die beforehand).

You're right. The more I consider all the options, Berryheart makes the most sense and provides the most dramatic tension.

She was experienced, but not too old.

She could start training under Oakheart immediately, being a queen who needed to lay off the construction and hunting projects

Berryheart is articulate and intelligent, exactly what an Educator needs to be

It gave her a lot of reach in the Clan, which she can exploit for ASC.

At the same time, Oakfur being too old and not having a good replacement means Heartstar can't be drastic when she deals with her.

It will also provide interesting problems when Berry does eventually lose her position, however this happens

I was just chatting with Trout about Guardmew, the language that Heartstar's Three speak, and how it influences ShadowClanmew going foward. This provides a good opportunity for Berryheart to flex her xenophobia by correcting their accents, phrasing, etc.

She can dress it up as being the Educator and it being "her job" that they speak "properly," but it's just an excuse to take jabs.

And, lastly, Sunbeam's mentor is getting changed. Snaketooth wasn't out of apprenticeship for a year yet, and thus ineligable to become a mentor. So, Sunbeam now has been given to Antfur. So she too is going to pick up some phrases and grammatical influence from how she speaks.

[bonefall]

Are there any other funny ship names in your rewrite? I'm in love with CranberryDrizzle and how it rolls off the tongue! Also I want you to know I say it like "Cran-baby Dwizzle" cause it sounds cute

I will sometimes pick cats to be together just so I get to see a cute ship name lmao

Nightwhisper x Quietclaw (Quietnight) In ShadowClan

Happyface x Antfur (Happyant) in ShadowClan

Cranberrysplash x Drizzlefall (Cranberrydrizzle) in WindClan, naturally

Runningwind x Redtail (Runningred) in ThunderClan. This one's a popular ship even out of BB but like... that's such a good name, look at it

Weedwhisker x Stonepelt (Weedstone) in ThunderClan. Frostfur's old dads.

White-eye x One-eye (Whiteone but a completely different Whiteone from canon) in ThunderClan. These are both honor titles, they used to be called Rockfall and Pheasantfeather

Whitefang x Dragonclaw (Whitedragon) in RiverClan. This Clan's lacking in funny names that aren't already canon, like Sneezehaven lmao

Also have this doodle I made while making thumbnail sketches for Cranberrysplash;

[ID: Cranberrysplash, a thin black-and-gold tortie with green eyes. She has a black tail, paws, and robber hood. She has a bird in her mouth.]

[bonefall]

ShadowClan Shuffle: The Fir/Bloom/Stream/Whisper Litter

[ID: A zoomed-in WIP of the ShadowClan family tree rework, focusing on the Owlclaw/Pinenose/Spikefur section. Owlclaw x Pinenose makes Happyface and Weaselkit. Spikefur x Pinenose makes Lioneye, Birchbark, Puddleshine, and Slatefur. Slatefur then has Bloomkit, Firkit, and Streamkit with Cinnamontail. Happyface has Whisperkit]

So for BB, I added drama to this section of the family tree. Owlclaw and Pinenose have two kits, one of which dies horribly in the Battle of the True Eclipse. Then, Pine goes on to have kits with Spikefur... which also ends up having two gruesome deaths in the Kin lmao.

But anyway, in the latest book, Slatefur had 4 kits. In the hopes of preemptively keeping ShadowClan cleaner going forward, I think it would be good form to split that litter between Slate and his half-brother, Happyface. This would make the four kits at least cousins.

So as you can see I moved Whisperkit for now-- but what do you think?

Should the split be 2/2 or 1/3?

If you do feel it should be 1/3, should that 1/3 be in Happy's favor? It may be a good idea, since Slate and Cinnamon could always have more kits in later arcs... Basically, who should get the 3-kit bundle?

WHO should be split? As in, which cats should remain siblings. Or is it good just yoinking Whisper out to be on their own.

I am also considering the idea that Happyface's mate was Antfur. Antfur is going to be living a bit longer............... so that I can make them a victim of Berryheart's hate movement. I still am not deciding any details until ASC is complete, BUT I am prepping ingredients for it, y'know?

[bonefall]

Could one of the Guardian cats work as an educator? It seems like the kind of bold choice Heartstar would make lol

It's absolutely the sort of bold move Heartstar would make... but too short-sighted. They know nothing of their history, and only just learned Clanmew. They may not even know how to write glyphs at all yet, not a great pick at the moment.

I could absolutely see her doing it later though, to send a furious message, depending on what happens after the death of Antfur in BB!ASC. But, this choice is being made during the AVoS era.