#BB!Mistystar

[bonefall]

BB!Mistystar really does have the best arc in Better Bones, ngl

context below the cut:

BB!TNP is an arc that confronts a lot of the leftover ideas from TPB, one of which is an overhaul of Hawkfrost. Instead of being "The Tiger in RiverClan," he was groomed by the remaining TigerClan supporters to inherit his father's legacy

Mistyfoot realizes that he wasn't the root of the evil; he was a symptom. And RiverClan doesn't "go back to normal." After another clan discussion blows up into a huge argument, she looks up for help to her leader on the stump... only to see her gazing down with amusement.

The setting sun turns Leopardstar into a black shape on a dark, spiky hill, splinters and branches jagged like rotting bones. Her eyes flash, Tigerstar amber, Dark Forest red, and Mistyfoot understands that these ideas won't die unless they are killed.

She finishes Leopardstar by bashing her head on a rock in the southern delta, an inlet river, which is what causes the lake to run red with blood. Hawkfrost's death is now impaling himself on the stake by accident, charging at Mothwing when she pulls it out of the ground.

Mistyfoot then chooses Sedgecreek as her first deputy.

[bonefall]

To follow the saga!

The end of BB!TNP; Tigerstar Amber, Dark Forest Red

The Challenge; Leopardstar's Dark Forest obsession with this moment

The Killing of Leopardstar; The Lake Will Run Red

New year, new Mistystar appreciation post, three cheers for violence!

This is fanart for @bonefall ‘s warriors au in which Mistystar kills Leopardstar to end the increasing xenophobia that she’s helped grow in RiverClan.

Felt hugely inspired by this post which details how the event happens in the au and really enjoyed playing with the composition and palette here!

[beetleskeleton]

Leopardstar is a great character actually.

It shows how being promised to be leader out of pity fucks up a lot of shit.

I can already hear the 'But she allowed Stonefur to be killed by Blackfoot and Tigerstar!' That's exactly my point. Plus the fact that she made Mistyfoot deputy as an apology for allowing her brother to be killed.

That and disregarding a lot of Feathertail's trauma from that. Leopardstar still cared about her clan greatly, I just don't think she was entirely fit to be leader whatsoever.

She was promised the leader role because she lost her mother and her siblings when she was born and people thought that she deserved to be leader for having to go through that.

But that's the thing, she's a good character for exhibiting that. She was expected to do good because she was basically promised the role, and had a lot of expectations put onto her. Does this excuse the Stonefur incident? No. But it doesn't make her an evil person, just cowardly and unsure.

Leopardstar was an okay leader overall. She had quite detrimental downsides (i.e the Stonefur incident and the lake patrols during the drought.) but for what she was worth, she did a fairly decent job keeping the clan in order both in the forest and at the lake.

Though I do prefer Leopardstar over Mistystar. I think Misty went down a similar route and she just made the broken code more tedious than it needed to be.

I mean, I really like her honestly. But I also have a soft spot for a lot of river bbs. Eeltail is always my favorite you can't make me give her up for anything.

[cryptidslugreads]

bluestar: *has witnessed thistleclaw harshly training tigerclaw an causing him almost killing a kit*

bluestar: ah yes, a perfect match for ravenpaw

[warriors-official-art]

Title: The Last Hope

Arc: Omen of the Stars

Type: illustration

Country: Russia

Artist: Leonid Nasyrov

Characters: Firestar, Onestar, Blackstar, Mistystar

Source: https://warriors-cats.fandom.com/ru/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F:%D0%9D%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B5_%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%8B

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

BB!Mistystar

@bonefall

my cutie mark came in and its a picture of me beating you to death with a large rock. i wonder what it means

[sunnywarriorcatsdesigns]

Mistystar

Headcannon:

BB-XoXo-CC-dd-dmdm-wdwd-wsws-aa-tata-spsp-McMc-wbwb-ii-EE-ll

[wid0gasts]

Mistystar is really out here like "Let me throw away every ounce of respect every lesbian has ever given me for no reason" huh

[bonefall]

Does leopard still have 3 lives in her final battle? Or was that changed?

Yep. I think she drowned her once, then Leopardstar lunges up refreshed, and she gets the upper paw on Mistyfoot with 2 lives to go.

(MAYBE tw gore, but I really did try to be tasteful about a head being smashed on a rock.)

On her back, splashing and thrashing furiously against Leopardstar's claws dunking her head under, Mistyfoot glimpses a wave breaking just over the tip of a stone-blue rock. Her only chance.

With a surge of power, her claws sink into her leader's golden shoulder and they tumble and roll to the right. Before the tyrant even realizes what's happening, she's yanked up, and then whipped backwards with a wet CRUNCH

And then again

And again

And again, until Mistyfoot can't even make out what's left of her leader anymore. All she can see is that it's a red, brown, and yellow blur, because her eyes burning with salty tears and her whole body is trembling.

She drops the corpse onto the stone and it slides into the water, lifelessly. After a moment it spasms aimlessly one last time, like an insect does after its head is bitten off, unlike the deliberate, agonized throes of Tigerstar suffering through his doomed lives. And then it's still.

There's only the tranquil sound of bubbling water, and Mistyfoot's frenzied panting. Her pounding heart makes it hard to hear either.

The blood is carried off by the shallow water in scarlet swirls, but the lake runs pale red as if it's washing it away. Some were aware of this prophecy, but Mistyfoot was not.

It isn't closure to her, or a fulfillment of divine decree. It's just blood that should be on her paws, slicked away by the complicit river. She wished it could feel like it's over, but she's smart enough to know the truth. Has been through enough terrible events like this to understand what comes next.

Her body will move foward. Her mind will need to consider her deputy. Her paw will come down on code-defying cats like Blackclaw and Greenflower. But her heart will stay here, next to the remains of Leopardstar, the same way another piece of it remains at Stonefur's side across space and time.

[bonefall]

"You should love your abuser, not smash their head against a wall until they agree with you"

I see! You should smash their head on a rock until they stop moving. Got it.

[bonefall]

mmm would it be possible for Mistystar and Leopardstar to fight/met during the BOTTE? or was Leopard already fed up with Tigerstar, his batshit insane plans and her status reduced to 'Tiger's another lackey' (like Darkstripe and many others) to really care about revenge? if she ever thought about it, that is.. im assuming she would be pretty pissed about being killed (there was a post about Mistyfoot first trying to poison her and Leopard realized it and instead decided to take her on a solo patrol to.. deal with a rogue i think? and then Misty gave her a rock appointment) and might had thought about making Mistystar pay, but it's been soooo long before BOTTE that she might had.. moved on? or just decided she had better things to do, not sure.

I have a BIG rule for the BOTTE, an unmoveable object, which I will abide by like a solemn vow;

NO spirit will be killed by the same cat twice.

I already changed it so Yellowfang doesn't get Brokenstar (he's not even present) and Brambleclaw doesn't get Hawkfrost, so I certainly wouldn't have Mistystar do it to Leopardstar!

I have some ideas but first; context.

The Killing of Leopardstar

Mistyfoot was sloppy.

Leopardstar recognized the way that Mistyfoot had poisoned her food, because she'd done the same thing to Crookedstar before her. Not enough to make it quick, just enough to weaken.

The emotion that licks at her is frustration.

Is this what her life has come to? Dramatic irony? Is this some kind of cosmic joke? To die just like her predecessor, wasting away for a few seasons in the darkness of this musty den, before solemn mourning and empty platitudes from her underhanded murderer.

What should she even do about this? Reveal Mistyfoot in front of everyone, exile her, she plots against her from the safety of another Clan, some kind of rebellion, rah rah rah we just dealt with this.

It's boring. It's so boring it's offensive. This will be the state of RiverClan forever, deputies poisoning leaders and taking power quietly until the end of days. No honor, no nobility, just treachery until the sky dries up and its rich blue becomes a crackled pale-brown.

If she is to die, she will not go out in the slow and painful way she killed crookedstar without a fight.

So she smacks the limp fish aside and brushes past Mistyfoot with a snarl, not even caring enough to drink in the way her traitorous deputy's ears flushed pale, knowing she'd been caught.

Leopardstar calls for a rushed meeting, telling them all that there's actually 40 - 50 feral rogues on the border right now and she saw them all last night or something, so she's taking Mistyfoot to go confront them right now. Don't follow us.

(Something that the more astute members of the Clan immediately recognize as Leopardstar setting up cover for a death match, including Misty's brother Swansong. She snaps at him when he runs to stop her, Don't Follow.)

Once they're a fair distance away, at the southern delta that divides WindClan and RiverClan, where the cliffs will hide them and the wet stones will not catch the scent (and where Reedwhisker will die, someday), Leopardstar lays it out.

No more tricks. No more schemes. If one of them is to die, it will be with honor.

"You want my lives?"

(Boss music fades in. Misty sees the health bar appear lmao)

"Come and take them."

After she came and took them

Leopardstar is kind of obsessed with the final battle of her life. That fight was everything she hoped for, except that she didn't win.

She wants it again, and she will triumph this time.

Hawkfrost is easily able to twist it into, "You lost only because StarClan shone upon her with that stone. It wasn't real skill. Join our cause and we can get you that rematch, we will defeat Mistystar, win back RiverClan, and dethrone the Stars!" But at the end of the day, it's an excuse.

Same sort of excuse Leopardstar came up with when she believed she wanted an honorable battle, rejecting the guilt and fear that clawed at her to think about dying the way Crookedstar did.

She does this a lot. Dodging feelings of remorse or regret by substituting power fantasies, avoiding any hard lessons. She says she wants revenge, but what she's actually doing is avoiding taking an L. Shame is a vagrant in Leopardstar's heart; she will never let it stay for long.

But...

That's really hard to do when Tigerstar is actively using her and speaking over her in every interaction. Being here, in the Dark Forest, taking the SAME advice she once groomed into Hawkfrost to only look at the positives of Tigerstar's legacy and ignore atrocities, is embarassing.

It's HUMILIATING.

She had her starshine BASHED out of her with a rock and went to the hell she'd been downplaying since she "regrettably" tore down the Bonehill. Being Tigerstar's stooge. Reducing the proud, ferocious leader of RiverClan into a goon.

Towards the end, she will have a scene with Hawkfrost, proud warriors that they are as mentor and apprentice, and vaguely address this. As far as Leopardstar's ego will allow, of course... the shame of it.

It's an important moment, because it's as much about Leopardstar and Hawkfrost as it is about Hawkfrost and Ivypool.

Leopard is too set in her ways to change, even if she is capable of brief glimpses of self-reflection, of which this is one. Hawkfrost, however, is seeing his mentor and himself in a different light. How she'll let herself be humiliated over and over as long as she can cling to her ego... and how by doing Tigerstar's diplomacy work, Hawkfrost is doing the same.

And he's dragged his OWN apprentice into it, too. She accidentally double-killed her friend, Antpelt, but he killed him more by bringing all of these trainees here to begin with. How Ivypool gets pitted against Tigerheart because TigerSTAR is playing mind games, how it's destroying her bond with her sister, how much fun and joy in the Dark Forest he's missing out on by not giving the afterLIFE a chance...

How much he's thrown away for this, before and after his death.

I'm not sure yet if it's the LAST stop before the BOTTE, but it's close to the end of Hawkfrost's redemption arc. Recognition of self through the other. He is part of a cycle he has a choice to break.

But anyway... back to Leopardstar.

She wants to fight Mistystar, but I don't think I'll let her have that satisfaction. She has already gotten nearly everything she ever asked for and can't even acknowledge that she did.

I think it's most fitting for SWANSONG to finally get what he craves; a chance to take a burden off his sister.

Leopardstar allowed TigerClan to STRIP his brotherhood from her because they don't share blood. Forced him to pretend like Rippleclaw meant anything to him, as if Oakheart hadn't been his proud baba as long as he could remember. Stonefur, Mistyfoot, and Swansong are the kits of Graypool; and he's not gonna let this golden FART ignore that ever again.

So my idea is that when Leopardstar meets Mistyfoot in the Second Wave of the BOTTE, she pounces onto her for her rematch, but Swansong BURSTS out of the crowd in response and rips her off, allowing Mistystar to go back to defending their Clanmates

"I don't want YOU," Leopardstar spits, "My battle is with Mistystar!"

"Tough titfeathers! It's MY turn to get a hit in for Stonefur!" He bristles with equal parts fury and excitement, lunging towards a fight he's dreamed of for years.

Still subject to change, though! And I'm not sure if Swansong dies here, or in the 3rd Wave, or if maybe he succumbs to injuries after the BOTTE is over.

It would also be fitting if he got a whack on Mapleshade though... since Maple doesn't even consider him Applekin and won't curse him. It would be neat for him to get angry about that lmao. "What do you MEAN my siblings are haunted by a demon? But NOT ME?? What ELSE am I getting left out of???"

EDIT: I'm currently planning to kill him in the 2nd Wave

[bonefall]

I think Swansong dying after killing Leopardstar the second time could be a good spot. A swan song, if you will. Like you said; his sister and brother had the shoulder what Leopardstar did to them alone (and Stonefur died because of it). I just imagine Mistystar seeing him in his last moments with all the love he can muster for her sister before finally going night night forever

It could also tie nicely into the very somber, reverant way she responds to Lizardtail coming to fetch help.

She's just been sitting beside Swansong, trying to apply pressure to his wounds, but there's just too many and there's not enough herbs to go around. They both admit that nothing can be done and just choose to spend their last moments together saying goodbye.

When his final breath hitches in his chest and his flank goes still forever, the noble leader finally allows herself to let out a soft sob. It's been a long time since she's just let herself cry, even a little. For almost as long as she can remember, her life has been like someone hooked a claw into her belly and she's slowly being flayed alive.

Oakheart, Silverstream, her uncle Crookedstar, Graypool, Stonefur, Pikepaw, Primrosepaw. The killing of Deerfoot for the crime of saving her life, the betrayal of her mate Blackclaw, the furious battle with Leopardstar for the fate of her Clan.

And now she has outlived both of her brothers. Her fiercest, most loyal ally, who has been with her through everything, is gone.

She couldn't be cruel to him as he died, wouldn't let his last living memory of her be anger, but now she lets herself sob and clutch his white fur in her claws. How dare he die for her? It was always enough for him to just be alive!

By the time she regains her composure, Jayfeather still isn't done with his... whatever he's doing. But they do see the dark water of the lake rippling, and Lizardtail bursts onto the shore and bounds across the moor, wheezing about Tigerstar's change in plans, begging for help.

When he collapses right there, exhausted but alive, how could she not admire this? ...some may want to call him running away an act of cowardice, or dismiss the Dark Forest trainee as just trying to save his own pelt.

But she's just lost her own brother. Death doesn't seem so glorious right now.

No, she remarks quietly, on this night, he has made a hallowed flight across the lake. He's come for help, and his information will save many lives. She doesn't have the idea of making this an Honor Title just yet.

It's just very, very brave, in her weary eyes. Enough loss. Enough proving our mettle in battle. Let's end this, so that we can live.

[bonefall]

Ever since reading how BB!Mistystar feels about learning her heritage, I’ve gotten the feeling that for as much of a Traditionalist as she is, she’s VERY protective of the queen’s rights. She knows firsthand the damage the truth can cause. Plus she’s leader of Riverclan, the Queen’s Rights clan

Traditionalists are a fascinating bunch. Even the most uninterested, "I'm just a traditionalist because I don't think about politics too much" has to carry a bunch of contradictions around with them to be where they currently are.

The Queen's Rights are the best example of that. It takes two cats to make a kitten, so if a Mi is raising kits alone, they HAD to have come from somewhere... but if they must face punishment for the simple act of being a parent, then, that endangers the children.

This law directly contradicts the Law of Loyalty and creates an exception within the Warrior Code. If you're a Traditionalist, who believes in following the Code to the letter... there's a tenseness between these things.

Mistystar would explain this to you best, though she does prattle on a bit,

"StarClan's intentions behind the Warrior Code are flawless, and shine without equal. Because they are wise, they understand that their descendants are simply imperfect. They create exceptions within the law as a mite creates a gall upon a leaf to protect its babies; StarClan loves us and understand that we must be protected from a malicious actor's worst intentions."

So... she is VERY protective of the Queen's Rights, definitely especially so, but I did want to take the opportunity to point out that Traditionalists do generally support the law! When they start getting dicey about QR in particular, that's one of the defining signs that they're hovering around the edge of Hard Traditionalism.

[bonefall]

I’m very sorry if you’ve already answered this, but if Mistystar is so against thistle law that she would kill Leopardstar, what causes her to side with the imposter(if she does) and exile her clan mates as well as bury Dappletuft as a rouge. I absolutely adore your work and spend hours reading through the lore you have created <3

I need to make her summary so all I wrote on her is easily accessible, she is one of the most complex and thematically meaningful cats in BB

Remember this important thing; Mistystar is ideologically a Traditionalist. The greatest example of one in the modern era. Thistle Law is her enemy, but Fire Alone is not her goal.

She is, through many painful lessons, able to learn that you cannot reason with Thistle Law supporters. They need to be DEFEATED, pulled up at the very root. Hawkfrost was NOT the problem; he was a victim, a child groomed into being the heir of a man he never met. The root is power, it was Leopardstar, and the things she enabled and encouraged within RiverClan.

But Traditionalism was what Thistle Law used to be. She recognized a threat but won't make the extra step to condemn Clan Culture's very way of life. She DOES believe that war makes you strong, that too much negotiation is a weakness, and Clans should be separate.

And when StarClan disappears... she agrees with the Impostor. Perhaps it IS time to punish Codebreakers. Perhaps we HAVE been too lenient.

Traditionalism is not a good ideology either. It's just less bad than Thistle Law.

[bonefall]

is bb!mistystar going to hell for killing her leader? i hope not i love grandma

Probably not. Bluestar won a very important trial many years ago, causing a split in the ranks of StarClan. Thistleclaw and many of his supporters left for the Dark Forest, taking their influence over Silverpelt with them.

By the time of her death, StarClan is brimming with cats who were born and raised on the knowledge of how bad TigerClan was, and the role Leopardstar played in it. Leopard was even sent to the Dark Forest over it, having not done nearly enough to make up for what she did and even backsliding into the same ideology.

Mistystar WOULD have a trial, but it wouldn't be the spectacle Lizardstripe had to throw for Bluestar. They would weigh her crimes, how she used power, and her motivations, and rule that she is worthy of StarClan.

BUT.

We don't know what's going on in ASC so don't consider this canon to BB yet.

[bonefall]

SEDGEPUTY!!!! I’m so excited, that’s my GIRL!

- og sedgecreek anon

[ID: BB!Mistystar and BB!Sedgecreek, back to back. Mistystar says, "Someone will die..." which Sedgecreek finishes with, "Of fun!!!"]

Reedwhisker is too inexperienced when Mistyfoot kills Leopardstar at the end of Better Bones TNP. She needs someone by her side she can trust, someone who agrees that the threat of Thistle Law is something that needs to be stamped out, someone who won't be seen as just a nepotism pick...

Someone who's a LITTLE SILLY

Sedgecreek is perfect, having sided with her daughter Swallowtail when she claimed Queen's Rights, taking a final stand against her mate Greenflower. She was a quiet ally in the chaos of TigerClan, not a rebel but not an enemy. But now, like Mistyfoot, she's come to realize something must be done.

Though, she's never told that Leopardstar didn't die to a rogue! Mistystar intends to take THAT little secret to her grave.

Sedgecreek's family has been changed a bit! Loudbelly is still her brother, but Reedtail is not. Her children with Greenflower are Beechfur and Swallowtail, and they were born during TigerClan's reign over RiverClan.

(Psst! Full BB!RiverClan family tree over here!)

Greenflower revealed deeply personal information, revealing that their kits were honor sired by Green's sibling Duckfur, to prove their 'shared' commitment to the new Clan's ideals. Sedge forgave her once, but refused to forgive her again when Swallowtail and their grandchildren were on the line.

Sedgeputy rules until sometime in BB!OoTS, around the time of the Great Battle, as a result of the Dark Forest trying to install a new deputy. After a death scare, she decides to retire to live out her last days in peace.