#Hmm... genderfluid Hollylark... I am looking.

[bonefall]

OHHH Hollylark is a Tom I got it- this whole time I thought Spark was just getting herself a wife instead. While I do love lesbian Sparkpelt, Tom Hollylark is very nice

The idea of combining the two is also a really cool idea. I’d never of thought of it. If it’s not spoilers for the rewrite how did this change come along or how will it change/tweak the narrative?

I'm so invested in this AU, you have no idea. Question! So Hollylark is two characters combined into one, but he still becomes Sparkpelt's mate, even though Hollylark is Lionblaze's son? And Sparkpelt is Squirrelflight's daughter? Do I understand that correctly or did I miss something?

@katiek101 (Combining this reply into this ask)

The change came along because I was overhauling the family tree! Lionblaze is a major reason why the current tree is so messy, with THREE reproductive kits in ThunderClan alone, with a total of EIGHT grandchildren.

I think it'll also be better for there to be less direct Firestar descendants in general. With my rework, now the only direct grandchildren of Firestar are from Dovewing (in ShadowClan ironically), Ivypool, and Hollylark.

And hell, it's weird they never did anything with Hollytuft! I'm fixing that.

Squirrelflight

Sparkpelt is no longer a child of Squirrelflight! Squirrelflight is completely infertile and will not be giving birth to her own children. Sparkpelt and Alderheart are the children of Jessy and Bramblestar, with Spark being named after her father's beloved mentor, Firestar.

(as a side note, I also imagine Sparkpelt is a really dark orange with bold stripes, like an auburn Tigerclaw. Her amber eyes stand out from her gloomy pelt, like sparks.)

Instead, Squirrelflight is Sparkpelt's mentor! The two of them end up super close, with Squilf being someone extremely reliable in Spark's life as Bramblestar still has a ton of personal issues.

How else does this change the narrative?

Hollylark is from Lionblaze's second litter following the events of OotS. Cinderheart didn't learn about how badly he pushed their first litter until shortly before they were born. He sent one of their children into Hell as a spy! He ruined the other one's childhood with a prophecy he barely even understood! It takes her a time to trust him again.

So, he's doing everything he can to prove to her that he can be better for this one... but in the meanwhile, he is not allowed to be involved in the early childhood of this litter. I imagine this causes some issues for Holly, growing up feeling like he's caught in the middle of an argument he doesn't really understand.

But he DOES know that Hollyleaf sounded like an honorable, noble woman. That's something both parents agree on, that they love and miss her very much. Legacy is something Holly struggles with.

And that's something he really bonds with Spark over. Grappling with legacy, the goodness of Firestar, they share an interest in stories and tradition. Absolute birds of a feather, and that's a reason why it absolutely breaks Sparkpelt when she loses him. She loses her very best friend, one she's had since childhood, when they were expecting their first litter.

He would have made an excellent father. And he is, watching over her from StarClan, with their daughter Flickerflame.

I won't be changing anything about ASC until all six books are completely rolled out, but I will say this; Nightheart inherits Hollylark's adoration for old stories. That shared interest reminds Spark a lot of Holly, and it leads Night to learn a lot about WindClan tunnelers, Leopardstar, TigerClan, so on.