#Jayfang

[bonefall]

I LOVED hearing about the Ripwater episode!!!! Could you discuss whichever episode that would include Jayfeather‘s warrior training perhaps? If not I’d LOVE to hear about any other!

Jay's warrior training happens across lots of them! He only pivots to being a Cleric near the VERY end of the arc. He's considered fully trained after "saving" Hazeltail by secretly kicking Moleflight's ass.

Jaypaw -> Jayfang -> Jayfeather

Blackstar's Bog Project seems to be the conflict so far that's going to be featuring Jaypaw's training the most, though, the way that most of these episodes end up being centric for one of the three.

Jaypaw will be dominant in ShadowClan-related episodes because his first rival shows up here; Owlpaw, later called Owlclaw.

If you recognize that name, it's either because you know he's the secret brother of Kestrelflight and Harestar, or you remember that he's the father of Weaselkit and Happyface which causes familial problems within Violetshine's adopted family. Noteworthy recurring ShadowClan cat!

Head's up this one's way less organized than Ripwater's

Pre-Bog Project; The beginning of Jaypaw's apprenticeship Ableism and Longtail

Before Blackstar begins the bog project, I want there to be a decent amount of battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.

At the time, The Three are kits or young apprentices. For the most part, they're born into a world where they mostly know ShadowClan as this kinda distant, scary thing that the older warriors fight a lot.

When they become apprentices, it doesn't help that ShadowClan's presence is sharp. They have a very dry, dark sense of humor which can mask bullying. They cite the Warrior Code a lot and take blasphemy seriously. It's not always obvious when they mean what they say or if they're being sarcastic

This is especially bad with ThunderClan cats. Tawnypelt had a REALLY hard time adapting to this culture back in TNP.

there's one major fight Jaypaw takes part in between the two, as a young apprentice. Enter Owlpaw.

It's REALLY important that in this fight, Jaypaw gets his ass kicked.

Owlpaw is the third oldest lakeborn cat. He's big, mean, and vicious. He is a DIFFICULT opponent, he really is an Owl to a Jay at this point. Bad Bad Leroy Brown type shit

This curbstomp messes with Jaypaw baaaadly, shaking any confidence he'd gained in the short time where he's started training with Longtail.

When Jaypaw FIRST becomes the apprentice of Longtail... it wasn't actually welcome. Jaykit's ceremony was nearly delayed, as if Firestar was just going to pass over him.

An objection was raised, as it was wondered what would happen with Jaykit. The poor kid was put on the spot, when he'd just been expecting to get given a mentor the same as his siblings.

When Firestar and Brackenfur had an awkward answer, Longtail leapt in heroically, demanding to be un-retired so he could come and mentor his grand-nephew.

While most of the Clan saw this as impressive, Jaykit did not. It was humiliating and embarrassing!

It was like they were just going to skip over him, and "the only mentor I could get was another useless cat, like me..."

Jaypaw is dealing with a lot of shame through internalized ableism. It's that kind of sticky misery where you just end up hating everything you touch. NOTHING is good or okay. Everything is awful and if you try to tell me otherwise I will double down.

The type that you can't reason with. So Longtail trying to get through to this kid was already hell.

He was trying to be motivational and uplifting. "We'll prove them wrong, together!" and "Stick with me kid, I'll teach you everything." and "There's lots of ways to be a warrior, we'll find what works best for ya."

It does not work. Jaypaw is determined to hate him, dismissing him as being insincere and fake-nice.

And when that first fight comes up, Jaypaw's spent however long as an apprentice being difficult and his first real matchup is against ShadowClan's Youngest Blender

So of course, Owlpaw toys with him like canon. Keeps dodging and taunting him, making little jabs, commenting on how weak ThunderClan must be to put him out on the battlefield.

After the fight ends, Longtail tries to let Jaypaw mope for a bit about it, lick his wounds, recover.

But he just ends up at his lowest point, and snapping at Longtail that he'll never amount to anything anyway, "a blind warrior isn't worth anything."

And Longtail's LOST his patience. That's IT.

"Get up right now and fight me."

"wh... what?"

"Maybe you're used to everyone else just letting you say whatever dumb thing, but when you insult yourself, you insult ME. And I've got the Right to Challenge over my honor. So GET UP."

Over the course of this fight, Longtail uses it both to coach him on how to properly move, and also to let Jaypaw blow off steam. He taunts him to just let his claws out, while keeping his own sheathed.

And during all this, Jay can barely get a hit in. The fight ends with Longtail easily pinning him to the ground, and he reminds him,

"Don't wanna be a blind warrior? Fine. I can't teach what you don't want to learn, you tell me and we'll find other options, but if I EVER hear those words come out of your mouth again, it's personal."

And after THAT, it clicks for Jaypaw. It's personal. Longtail didn't need to do any of it, stand up for him, mentor him, he wants to.

When he insults himself, or when he thinks of Longtail like he was some cheap option, it hits both of them.

Longtail is an excellent warrior-- and a warrior defends their honor.

Still, Owlpaw remains, and these aren't just internalized thoughts only he has, "don't get mad at me for insulting your honor. I was just repeating what Owlpaw said to me. He said a blind warrior isn't worth anything at all. And it's like the whole Clan agrees, but they just don't say it."

"Then we'll kick his ass," removes his paw from his apprentice's back, "We'll kick all their asses. But you're not going to go around agreeing with them before you even learn how to fight."

The grand irony of this is that after making this promise to kick Owlpaw's ass, having this as a goal in-mind, Firestar begins the fruitful negotiations with ShadowClan which will result in a period of sweet peace. There aren't any battles to get into between them for a while.

So Owlpaw continues to be this sort of "goal" on the horizon. Jaypaw wants revenge against this specific person, while also being forced to work with him at various points, as ShadowClan is their ally.

Something interesting I plan to do is to secretly write Breezepaw as being a MUCH stronger fighter than Owlpaw ever was. Owlpaw is big and strong, but it's BREEZEPAW who's the truly vicious fighter of the Po3 apprentice generation. A cat that Jaypaw faces off with several times, and has a difficult time fighting because of Breeze's aggressive, straightforward fighting style.

Jaypaw fights best against cats who try to get out of his grapples, because he can turn it against them. When a cat is so ferocious that they don't relent at all, meeting him with even more biting and scratching, it effectively counters his unique style.

Between his brawls with Lionpaw and Breezepaw, Jaypaw has no idea how overleveled he is lmao

Bog Project

There's two times that I want to zoom into the Bog Project in Po3.

The first one is when they FIRST construct the dam that destroys the pine plantation, including an altercation with human plantation workers who come to try and dismantle the dam. The Clan cats run circles around them as the humans are too heavy to not sink into the mud. I want someone to jump off the dam, bounce off a person and knock them over with a SPLAT, and then jump back on the dam in one smooth movement lmaoo

(Switch over to the researchers for a second and they're actually scrambling to get the area turned into a different classification of protected site during this. Unknown to ShadowClan, they really do just have to buy some time.)

The SECOND time is when they're simply repairing some damage, Owlpaw starts a fight with Jaypaw and swings the first blow, and Jaypaw realizes it's time to take this man to Clown Town.

The fight begins while they're up on the dam, trying to figure out where a leak is or some other minor thing.

Owlpaw starts REALLY getting into it with Jaypaw. "I can't believe they put me up here with you. It's like they want you to have a little accident so I can say I have no idea what happened."

I'm REALLY TORN between Jaypaw either playing this as peacefully as possible, so it's completely Owlpaw's fault they got into it... or realizing he can totally goad this fight and then be able to say it wasn't his fault because Owlpaw threatened him first: "Bold of you to talk about little accidents. Ur mom"

I'm leaning towards Jaypaw goading it after Owlpaw started it, realizing that snark is a very useful tool. Thinking back to how he used to call himself useless, how Longtail used it to make him unload all his pent-up anger and aggression. It has a purpose.

and that purpose, right now, is making an opportunity to put this git in his proper place.

But either way, when Owlpaw starts lashing out at him, SO much like that first fight, Jay notices something REALLY interesting

Owl always tries to stay out of the line of his whiskers. The blows are hard clobbers, but he's not really scratching because he doesn't want to get close

Jaypaw stays perfectly still, UNNERVINGLY still, and takes one, two whacks. Then he knows that his opponent favors his right paw, and he's about... 2 mouselengths away.

Owl lifts his paw again, and in one, smooth move, JAYPAW LUNGES

Caught square in the belly, they roll back along the wall

Owl recovers, twisting onto his opponent, hissing and scratching to untangle, and they tumble right off the side in a clattering shower of sticks and daub

They make a SPLORCH as their bodies splatter the mud below them

"THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING" -Lionpaw probably

The entire construction crew gathers around. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Owlpaw seems to be getting wise, trying to wriggle out of the grapple to win back distance, but Jay hears Longtail's words of wisdom echoing in his head

"To know his own limits,"

He never lets his opponent out of range of his whiskers, Owl breaks away only to expose his back to a vicious opponent

Jaypaw grabs his foe by the neck, rears up and dunks his face down in the mud. SPLAT!

"AND EXPLOIT THEIRS"

Owlpaw screeches in rage, snorting muck out of his nose, blinded

The big bully has no idea to slow down and think about where the blows are coming from, or anticipate how his opponent moves.

Jaypaw's jaws close down viciously on his shoulder, and in a flash, he's wrapped around him like a snake.

Trying to buck him off is only causing Owlpaw to sink into the mud

Jaypaw only releases his lock long enough to command; "SAY UNCLE"

Terrified, like a rabbit with a weasel with its fangs dangerously close to its pulse, he obeys; "UNCLE!!"

Jaypaw disentangles and hops off, and it's only now that he registers the size of the crowd.

Hazelpaw, Poppypaw, Cinderpaw, both of his siblings, every ShadowClan apprentice, plus all the warriors who were assigned to the project

Most are cheering, others murmur with awe or hiss with frustration, Owlpaw's mentor is helping him out of the mud, asking him what the hell happened back there

Jay is GLOWERING. He can't help the smug smile that paints his face, or the pride that washes through his veins, though he nonchalantly flicks the mud off his tail.

but the gloating is cut short. Longtail's rough tongue passes over a swelling lump next to Jaypaw's eye, and a little cut he didn't realize he'd gotten had started to sting.

"Knock it off!" He grumbles, doing nothing to stop him, "you're embarassing me!"

"Embarassing?! I'm so proud out of my fur I just might cry about it and embarass you even more!"

In the aftermath, Owlpaw is the one who gets blamed for the fight on the wall. Though Longtail freely admits that his apprentice can be rude, Owlpaw is the one who escalated it to blows.

That said, no one really "gets in trouble" for it. It's written off by both Blackstar and Firestar as an "apprentices will be apprentices" moment. BB!Battle cats can have battles without holding a formal hearing in parliament about it.

What DOES happen that Jaypaw finds bizarre is that when he gets home and the news spreads, Bramblestar is one of the first cats to start gloating. He feels odd about how odd he feels about it.

But after his father has given his ear a proud lick and explains the situation to Squirrelflight who gives a proud lick to the other one, Jaypaw examines the feeling. He tries to think of other times Brambleclaw has been this proud of him, and that's when it clicks; there are none.

Lionpaw is an accomplished fighter at this point, having landed the fatal blow onto Ripwater. Hollypaw is at the forefront of nearly every diplomacy meeting alongside her mentor, Brackenfur. But Jaypaw.. well, most of his brawls have been little skirmishes. Not really "achievements."

It's not like Brambleclaw has been absent or anything, so... he's not yet sure what to do with this feeling. It's quickly buried as the other apprentices dogpile him, begging for the full details.

Assorted closing thoughts for other episodes and such;

Jaypaw's power is plane-hopping. He can move freely between supernatural realms-- dreams, heaven, hell, Earth. He can interact, physically, with anything on these planes.

No more magic empathy. Society has progressed past the need for magic empathy.

He's going to get several little moments in other episodes where he helps to heal others, especially when Cinderheart breaks her leg.

Becoming a Cleric is a choice that should have significant build-up, since he chooses it over Poppyfrost.

I think the REAL inciting moment that he decides to commit to the bit is that he ends up having some kind of dream where Moleflight (Poppyfrost's ill-fated brother) visits him, just after getting his warrior name, and Mole says, "you will be an excellent warrior."

Jayfang: "theres no way youre just being nice to me. What are you trying to stop me from doing."

He also really likes giving advice and listening to people. Enjoys a good little debate, but I kinda want to show him visibly sharpening his emotional intelligence as Po3 goes on.

It starts with Longtail, who whittles that aimless cynicism into something earnest and constructive.

I also want to work in some scenes where Longtail explains to Jaypaw how much he reminds him of Swiftpaw, his "uncle."

Sootfur too, sometimes. In the humor.

Jay: "Great track record, two dead kids."

Longtail, very quiet... only to break the tense silence himself, "Sootfur, no. Swiftpaw... yes. I should have been a better mentor."

Everyone knows a mentor is meant to teach an apprentice. But Longtail realizes that an apprentice is meant to teach their mentor, too.

And he wouldn't be worthy to guide another paw if he hadn't learned his lessons from Swiftpaw.

"I taught him to ignore his limits. I made him think that he had to "prove" himself to be worth anything. It was something my mentor taught me, which was something his mentor taught him. Jaypaw, there's going to be things you can't do, and when they come, you'll hate me for stopping you. But I'm not here to raise another brave fool who dies to prove a point."

Jaypaw also meets Rock at various points through BB!Po3, especially when StarClan isn't being straightforward about answers or they end up in the tunnels.

Rock is VERY gentle with Jaypaw, but no one else. If Jaypaw hadn't been in the tunnels that time the WindClan kits went missing, he probably would have just left them all to drown lmao

The first hint The Three discover about their powers, and the prophecy at all, comes through Jaypaw inadvertently ending up realm-hopping. I'm keeping it on standby for him gaining access to information through dreams.

Before he eventually pressures Dovepaw to spy on other Clans, he was using his own powers to gather what info he could.

Thankfully, he doesn't discover how much power this actually grants him, or what he can consciously do with this, until OotS.

[thistlefur]

[dragofelid]

MY DISCORD SERVER IS CALLED SQUADCLAN, AND I DREW THE LEADER

I actually like this design more than my current sona so rip

[warriorsbutnotreally]

What are some good names for Holly if she stayed a medicine cat, without legacy naming her, so like no leaf, feather, flight etc?

so this was a fun brain challenge for me but I think I have some ideas;

for Holly I read her as a passionate character and one who is driven heavily by her emotions and her strong sense of what she thinks justice might be [though this is swayed by the bias of being Clanborn, meaning she's not always in the right]

she's independent and tough, but depends on stability to keep herself grounded to reality

all traits I can see her carrying with her even as a medicine cat

that being said, in my opinion, some good - non legacy - medicine cat names for her would be;

Hollywish, Hollyburr, Hollysun, or Hollythorn

///

Jay is similar to his sister, as he's also one driven by emotion, though he's not as open to this and this the emotion that tends to shine through is anger

He doesn't like allowing himself to need help, to need sympathy, because of how cats treated him when he was a kit [something that I can see driving him more towards the life of a warrior]

Even with his temper, he's smart and highly independent to a more dangerous degree than his sister [if he died by not telling someone he wasn't feeling well, I'd not be surprised]

for those reasons, good - non legacy - warrior names include;

Jaystrike, Jayfrost, Jayscratch, or Jayfang

[xaaa-reivenx]

Top: Jayfang, Jayfang (third ever OC) Middle: Iceshard, Iceshard (my first ever OC) Bottom: Dragonwing, Dragonwing (second ever OC) Characters// me, @xazu-ravenx Art// me, @xazu-ravenx

[bonefall]

Longtail and Jaypaw for sketch requests?

[Image ID: Longtail and Jaypaw from the Warrior Cats series. Longtail is sandy-pale with black stripes running along his side and a lighter pale mane, Jaypaw is silver-gray with stormy gray stripes running along his side with a cloud motif. They are both blind; Longtail's eyes are apple-green and Jaypaw's eyes are deep blue with a moon and stars in them.]

Canon really could have had a mentor/apprentice relationship as perfect as Peanut Butter and Jelly and just left both jars on the shelf.

In my rewrite, Longtail mentors Jaypaw into a full warrior before he chooses the medicine cat den as an adult.

Other noteworthy things;

Longtail is now the brother of Sandstorm, this makes him the Three's grand-uncle.

He was deputy before he was blinded

It was a 'soft' retirement, giving him the ability to recover at his own pace and take the Warrior duties he felt comfortable doing

He leaps out of this retirement to mentor Jaypaw

They have the Runningwind family trait where their stripes are horizontal, not vertical

Jaypaw becomes Jayfang, but then receives an honor title after becoming a fully fledged medicine cat to become Jayfeather.

The great achievement he made to earn this was saving Hazeltail from an incurable illness

What the Clan doesn't know is that Jayfeather actually fought god and won

Longtail's a REALLY good mentor

[bonefall]

I like this! I do want you to keep the idea of Jaypaw initially being mad at having Longtail as his mentor ("you just chose my mentor because he's blind like that's the only thing that matters about me, why can't the cat that will be like a third parent to me be chosen based on who I would work best with as a person rather than me always being defined by that?"

That's actually something I personally relate to and I'd love to see his initial hostility along those lines fade as he realizes Longtail is someone he can really connect with as a person in addition to because of their disabilities.

@halogenwarrior

Sounds great to me! I can even play with it a bit... like, have the opening of the Apprentice Ceremony be from the perspective of Holly or Lion. It seems like it's about to end with Jaykit being unassigned, speaks up asking who his mentor is going to be, gets told he needs more time to grow or some clearly awful excuse, and that's when Longtail has his, "Unretire me right now! That is MY apprentice!" moment

Then we abruptly cut to Jaypaw feeling incredibly insulted by the fact he was not going to get a mentor at all. What everyone else considers a brave and impressive display from Longtail, Jaypaw considers shocking and embarrassing. Hollypaw will be a medicine cat, Lionblaze is being mentored by one of ThunderClan's best brawlers, and he got... his retired grunckle Longtail. "Because no one else would train a blind apprentice!"

From there he learns more about how much they really have in common as people beyond their disabilities, and how respected Longtail is as a person too. He never knew Longtail was still so powerful and that his retirement was completely different from Mousefur's and Goldenflower's, and comes to realize he was making a lot of assumptions about the "blind, retired" warrior.

I think that's a good way to work through Jaypaw's internalized abelism and inject some good drama into the situation

i forget exactly when in the books, but when does Bonefall Greystripe make a return to TC ?

I actually plan to revisit Po3 before BANGIN' out the skeleton of Bonefall Po3 for exactly this reason, I have forgotten the order of events for a lot of it.

I DO remember that Graystripe comes back before the Three are warriors though, because I have revisited the scene where Millie rejects her renaming several times. So I am planning for this to be a formative moment for Hollypaw as she considers outsiders.

In Bonefall Po3, the story largely revolves around Hollypaw and her mentor Brackenfur, deputy of ThunderClan, as she considers the legacy of her grandfather and how Fire Alone fits with the Warrior Code. It's also an episodic, breather arc for worldbuilding and establishing the new Lake Generation.

They won't be learning about the Kin of your Kin prophecy until later, and everything comes crashing down in "Cruel Season."

Graystripe's Return is one of those Po3 episodes. Brackenfur's deputy position is threatened by the mentor who neglected him years ago, Millie has been brought to the Clan with a VERY different view on how she wants to live in it, and Hollypaw finds herself in a situation where adopting a xenophobic mindset is an easy trap.

So to answer your question... pretty early on in Bonefall Po3!

[bonefall]

Can we hear more about Moleflight, the angel that Jay beat up, what does it mean for him to be Jay's guardian angel, how much did he get bullied back in Starclan for losing to a mortal blind person?

There wasn't any bullying for losing to Jayfang. StarClan is terrified of him at that point, this is his second time cheating death and they weren't aware that he could bite an angel.

They weren't aware anyone could bite an angel, actually. The powers of the Three are beyond StarClan, leftover fragments of godly possession imbedded in their reincarnated souls.

It's a force unseen since the Dawn Era, when the founders had to fight One Eye. They have NO IDEA what Jayfeather's fully capable of-- and neither does he!

But anyway, Moleflight.

His mortal name was Molepaw, son of Sorreltail and Brackenfur. He was one of the first deaths in a greencough breakout at the start of BB!Po3. His sister almost died at the end of that outbreak, but he watched Jaypaw beg her to come home instead.

At the time, StarClan just watched, both curious and fearful. They continue to watch him develop and try to uncover the prophecy they're hiding from him, afraid of what him and his siblings mean for the fate of the stars.

Normally, guardian angels are just someone in your life who died while you were young, who has decided to spend lots of time watching over you. Not everybody gets one. Shrewface watches over Squirrelflight, Spottedleaf watches Firestar, etc. Moleflight decided to watch Jaypaw.

Usually a guardian angel likes you. Moleflight does not. They were on good terms while they were alive, but Mole sees himself as someone who wants to keep Jaypaw in check, as he becomes Jayfang, then Jayfeather. He tries to steer him in the "right direction."

Which is away from the truth, away from Rock who lurks in the tunnels, and away from clerichood. He wants to keep him away from magic generally.

As a character, his purpose is as a "voice" of StarClan, reflecting its general consensus and feelings towards Jay. He's a major supporting character through Po3 and OotS.

[bonefall]

I love the reasons people would know The Three were Crowfeather's kits that were listed in the Nightcloud summary. Hollyleaf looks just like Deadfoot, Lionblaze has some similarities to Crowf, Jayfeather is a MASSIVE PAIN. Everyone could tell he was Crowf's son because he's a MISERABLE GIT. Hilarious

It is everything to me that the other two are like, ok, whatever. Yes Hollyleaf looks like Deadfoot but whatever, spiky black cat, ok. Sure, Lionblaze has that funky swirly tailtip, maybe that's his mom's swirl expressing weirdly. Queen's Rights Ok Sure Whatever We Don't Talk About It

JAYFANG, MOST MISERABLE TWINK IN THUNDERCLAN? Absolute deadringer. No fucking way that thing came out of ThunderClan without any Crowfluence whatsoever.

He was already Jayfeather, a full Cleric (and secret angel-puncher) by the time of the reveal, but even that made sense. Just as bad as Crowfeather but in his biomother's role. Everything about this wretched beast runs in the families.

The lowkey codebreaking Gossip Girlies must have had a field day with that one.

[bonefall]

What is Lion/Jay/Holly's relationship with Bramble like pre-reveal (it wont let me put a question mark pretend theres one here) I can't imagine them having a good relationship even before he stops being their father.

Similar to canon, BB!Brambleclaw wasn't a great father. I like him a lot as a character, his ego fascinates me.

Jayfeather

Of all his siblings, I think Jay was the 'wisest' in regards to Bramble. He kinda saw his reaction coming, or, was the least surprised by it. Probably because Bramble was never as prideful about him as he was about his two young prodigies.

All Jay's life, people are coming up with their ideas of him and refusing to let him change their minds. Brambleclaw was no different. Jaykit becomes Jaypaw, training under grunckle Longtail to become Jayfang, and then eventually earning an Honor Title as Jayfeather. At no point in this process did Brambleclaw stick up for him, in fact, Longtail filled that role more than Bramble did.

Longtail was the one who fought for him, challenged him when he was repeating the Clan's tune, taught him that his limits are drawn by HIS body, not where everyone else says they are. Brambleclaw...

He wasn't distant but he wasn't present in that process, either. He rarely talks about Jay as an individual-- he's spoken about in terms of the other two 'looking out' for him. He let him wander in the safe beech patch just above the camp with Poppykit when he was old enough, but Squilf was equally involved in that decision.

Forgotten middle child energy. Brambleclaw could be approached but rarely went out of his way for Jay. He could be a source of comfort but they weren't close. It didn't make the public disowning hurt any less, though.

Lionblaze

He was so proud to be Brambleclaw's son. Lionblaze adored both of his parents, all he ever wanted to do was to make them happy. There was a time where he felt like the strength in his claws was because of his blood in his veins.

Then he was given to Ashfur as an apprentice.

He was BRUTAL. Lionpaw knew he had a lot of potential to live up to, but he didn't know that training would be this hard and painful. He didn't know that what was happening to him wasn't normal... and Brambleclaw was the only one who had been told about it.

He did nothing. Ashfur had "explained everything" to him, buttered him up about how Strong his son was, how Proud he should be, how much like him Lionpaw was turning out. When he heard the same story again from the perspective of Lionpaw and Hollypaw, he ended up shrugging it off.

Lionpaw walked away thinking that you're supposed to suffer for strength. Not even that he "deserved" to suffer; no, he thinks that you don't have gain without pain. This is an expected part of life, and one day, he will be the very strongest in ThunderClan.

Going to the Tribe later taught him something else; that the point of strength is using it to protect others. So if you must suffer to be strong, and being strong means giving that to other people... what's left for you?

When Brambleclaw disowned them, Lionblaze IMMEDIATELY realized that this is why Squirrelflight lied. To protect him. he's obsessed with this, protecting his Clan. His love and respect for Brambleclaw soured with pain. If he has any left for Brambleclaw, it's hidden deep down.

He HAS no father. He has a mother. He looks Brambleclaw in the eyes and spits, "That's all I've ever had."

Hollyleaf

She was always the most promising of the Three. Apprentice of the deputy Brackenfur, Firestar's honored grandchild, daughter of two members of the Sundrown Patrol. Holly was forging alliances in other Clans as soon as she'd changed her career path.

She was very close to Brambleclaw. He spoke very highly of Holly and Lion, always seemed to 'have their backs,' at least in Holly's eyes. He used to tell her that she had to be an example for her brothers, and help him keep them in line.

And that extended to Lionpaw's Abuse. She learned it is necessary to hurt the ones you love to protect them in the future. She was taught that she is the most mature of her siblings and is therefore responsible for them.

He turned on her just like he turned on her brothers, but she was quick to accept this, turning her hatred on Leafpool and Squirrelflight. No more lies, no more Codebreakers.

After her 100-year-long timeout, she was shocked to come back to Bramblestar being the only one being petty. At first she was even a bit relieved, believing that at LEAST he was still holding her accountable for her horrible deeds in Cruel Season. That would have been cathartic-- it's nothing compared to what she did to the Kinships of the Lake, but it's some consequences from a living cat. Any consequences.

But... it's not about anything she did wrong. She stepped out of the tunnels to living, weeping family who missed her as much as she missed them. Their actions are based on love and yearning. Bramble's are just based on being fucking mad at his ex-wife.

Everyone thought she was dead and he can't take a break from giving Squirrelflight the Cold Shoulder long enough to welcome his daughter back like a father would. His greeting is the same as any other leader welcoming a warrior back after they've been gone for a while.

But, hey, if she's disappointed at him it's a nice break from being disappointed at herself. It's nice to care about these sorts of things again, and besides, she has crunchy leaves to step on with her CORPOREAL BODY. It's so nice to have MASS again

[bonefall]

So cruel season Hollyleaf would definitely spill the beans on Poppyfrost and Jayfang if she found out the truth? And if she did do this, what would be the long term effects? Cause I can't see Cinder getting with her after she returns, no matter how she's changed. (If the clans even survive the Great Battle.)

Is it possible to understand the burden of knowing what you could have done, what you DID do in another life, and still having people who love and forgive you?

I'm not interested in "what if" here, that's for Fallenleaf to tear over. There was a life she lived where she was responsible for the death of dozens of cats, the abandonment of their ancestral home, where she DID kill her brother with her own claws.

And he can't remember it because it was a previous life, no one else has seen what she's truly capable of, and she's living in the 'best ending' after creating a word for tyranny that survived through 3 languages. The horror of that.

The way their eyes full of love feel like salt on the flesh of a demon.

She paid for it for a hundred years and it's not enough. Seeing Jayfeather is a reminder of what she was both going to do and did do. Ferncloud softly crying because she didn't even get to tell her little brother goodbye, and Lionblaze having nightmares because he never got the closure of seeing his mentor face justice. Cinderheart who still loves her, knowing all this because she's told her.

She's told her but does she know? Does she really? Is it possible for her to fathom it?

Even StarClan itself is too young to have witnessed her crimes and judged them fairly and objectively. And she alone lives with the truth.

[bonefall]

what warrior names did you change and why?

I really need to re-do my old post on renamings; it's kind of outdated and I'm being more lenient with it now.

Though there are occasionally times I rename a character Just Because (Smokefall and Bluemoon for example), usually, there's two main reasons I do renamings

Conflict Names. I NEVER allow two characters to have the same name forever, and the more significant character keeps theirs. So for example, Cloudberry of COTC has an expanded role as a Dark Forest cat, so she keeps her name, and Goosefeather's mentor is changed to Cloudbelly.

Kit Save Names. I never create OCs for this AU unless they are non-sapient animals, like Ripwater the Wels Catfish. Everyone you see is someone who was mentioned in-canon or authorial statements. So Elderkit survives and becomes Elderberry, or Swankit survives and becomes Swansong.

There's also a special, 3rd reason I will do a renaming;

Honor Titles.

Cats can earn special names by completing acts of great service, like completing a quest or surviving a near-fatal injury. These are desired things, great marks of status.

Usually I give them an in-between name which corrects to the canon one, but there are times I will give them a new name.

Hoprunner -> Deadfoot

Meltpelt -> Ratscar

Flowerstem (ShC) -> Flowerscar

Crowfoot -> Crowfeather

Jayfang -> Jayfeather

Leafstripe -> Leafpool

Harefur -> Harelight

So on.

(Also Bluemoon and Ambermoon might end up being honor titles)

Stormcloud is also currently trying to prove himself by finding a way to earn an honor title, because both he and his friends want him to be known as Monsterscar. Problem is what Brambleclaw is stingy about giving out Honor Titles.

[bonefall]

Does jayfeather become a warrior or a medicine cat? Ik you mentioned hollyleaf still leaves the medicine cat den but does Jayfeather take her place?

He does become a medicine cat, eventually! But this time, it is a choice.

In this rewrite, Longtail was the second deputy of ThunderClan, following the death of Whitestorm. He's a very proactive warrior and adores being a mentor-- so it was devastating when he was blinded. This happens during Firestar's absence as he goes to rebuild SkyClan, and he struggles to hold the clan together with Graystripe and his sister Sandstorm (not going on the SkyClan mission this time. Ghost of Brokenstar is).

So after that he needed a rest... but he didn't want to completely retire so young. They decided on a "soft retirement." He joined the elder's den, but was allowed to rejoin Warrior duties at his own pace. Over many years, he worked out new styles and new methods for being a warrior.

And fast forward to Jaykit, who has just seen his siblings become apprentices... and Firestar's sort of waffling, him and his deputy Brackenfur thinking it would be best to delay him for another month. Longtail jumps in with fury, says, "That's MY apprentice! Firestar, unretire me right now!"

At first... Jaypaw is really not enthusiastic about this. The whole ordeal was actually mortifying. He feels like, "Oh so no one wanted me and they just gave me to the retired blind guy because it's all I could get. No one will ever take me seriously, they'll only ever see me like a pity case!"

But he learns that's not true!

Him and Longtail have a LOT in common, and their personalities mesh extremely well beyond just their shared disability. Longtail was, and IS, a powerful and respected warrior who got re-acquainted with his limits and has a lot more to teach him than just battle skills.

He teaches him how to stand up for himself. He teaches him to get acquainted with his limits-- and his strengths. Longtail instills a deep sense of justice in his apprentice, polishing Jayfeather's sharp and aimless sarcasm into incisive wit, and finally, finally gets to finish training a warrior.

Jayfang eventually becomes Jayfeather as an "Honor Title." He fights an angel and prevents them from taking Hazeltail; the Clan thinking that his dedication cured an incurable illness.

I like them a lot so I've drawn them before if you'd like to see them!

[bonefall]

Have you changed the cat Jayfeather brings back to life by fighting Molefall from Poppyfrost to Hazeltail? I think I might be missing an ask somewhere

It's both!

Poppyfrost is the first save, back in early Po3. This is the moment that Jaypaw realizes there is something special about himself. He has no prophecy to work with and doesn't know he has a power at all.

Poppypaw dies of Color Cough, and Jaypaw slips after her in desperation. StarClan watches curiously, doing nothing to stop him.

Hazeltail comes later, after he finishes his warrior training and is known as Jayfang. It's his first Color Cough outbreak as a Cleric apprentice.

Hazeltail is transfemme, Wolf's Foot is an herb used for her transition but also for treating Greencough. She secretly gave her supplements to her Clanmates and develops hyperthyroidism as a side effect. There is no cure for this, and StarClan is silent as Jayfang begs for wisdom.

This time, StarClan sends a fetcher. Molepaw, now Molefall, died in the first outbreak. The one Jay saved Poppyfrost from. Mole tells him to step aside and Jay refuses.

And the rest is history. They brawl, Jay wins and saves Hazeltail.

A fetch and a fight.

[bonefall]

I love your wildfur so much, his design is very cool :)

It’s really nice that you’re giving care to characters like him. Warriors probably has the most disabled rep of any franchise I can think of off the top of my head and unfortunately almost all of it is handled poorly. But those cats still mean a lot to me haha.

I’ve always been confused by why we haven’t had a blind warrior. Not that any of the cats have to perform warrior duties if they can’t or don’t want to, but blind cats are pretty active from what I know.

For a personal project, I’ve been trying to work out a better way for deaf cats to communicate, a sort of kitty sign language. It’s been fun and I’ve definitely been a bit inspired by your work.

Sorry about the long rambly ask and all the previous times I’ve been in your ask box! Just really enjoying the au and chatting

I understand the narrative purpose of Wildfur in-canon more than any of the other 'botched examples' if that makes sense; he was basically retconned in as a cautionary tale for Briarlight, which is understandable. They need the cast to get some info they'd otherwise have to trial-and-error out.

The cool part about my AU though, is that I can go back and make Wildfur a full character! I can show him as a full person with a personality, the logic that went into figuring his treatment out, and show that BB Clans would never leave a warrior behind.

(it is fucking weird though that TNP just left a bunch of old people behind ._. "thanks for not slowing us down grandma. Good thing we don't really believe in that whole 'wise and respected elder role' thing lol")

I think the reason we haven't gotten a blind warrior is largely because the Erins really don't write them as cats. They write them like little fuzzy humans without tools. Blindness is really not the handicap for cats that Canon shows it to be; hearing, scent, and touch are much more reliable in cats than they are in humans.

(for example, that moment in-canon where Jaypaw is fighting Owlpaw... they were so close together that Jay would have been able to feel him with his whiskers. I've seen fully blind cats able to fight, hunt, and navigate with barely any restriction. I'm actually going to be demonstrating BB!Jay's unique fighting style; he grabs you and doesn't let you get away from him. "Jayfang" references how much he likes to bite lmao. Ironically deafness would be harder to work with in this society.)

[bonefall]

In the rewrite, why did StarClan want Squirrel and Bramble to be together? 

@halogenwarrior

Probably out of some hope that he would keep the naturally rebellious Squilf in check, and that she would be too focused on her relationship to him to help Leafpool with the kittens StarClan was fearing the arrival of.

Canon's "bramble matches squilfs fire and doesn't contain it" is laughable because the books show the exact opposite. He's constantly annoyed or angry with her, shouting her down for defying him and trying to punish her. It makes more sense that StarClan knows she is a wildcard and wants to keep her in check.

Somehow Ashfur is going to learn of this "Fire and Tiger" prophecy and interpret it to mean that BrambleSquirrel is going to destroy ThunderClan... on top of his possessiveness.

I wonder if her being intersex means that cats were under the impression that she couldn't carry a child to term so there wasn't much suspicion on her, when ironically that was Squirrelflight and not her.

@halogenwarrior

It would make sense, especially if it ends up being the feline equivalent of PCOS. While people with PCOS can carry to term, it's risky and difficult. Conception is hard and miscarriages are common.

Not to mention that one of its common symptoms is weight gain, if Leafpool is naturally fat and has hormone issues, it really wouldn't be a huge stretch for a clanmate to believe that her pregnancy was a "flare up" if Leafpool explained it like that.

After all, they are not medically trained. Brightheart would be the only clanmate who could question that, and she's not a snitch.

How are you going to handle her relationship with Jayfeather in the rewrite? I think they are interesting in canon, the way Leafpool is stereotyped as gentle but sometimes gets exasperated with him after everything, how they both handle fate and StarClan, Jayfeather's complicated feelings about her... but if Jayfeather becomes a full warrior before being her apprentice we won't be able to get as much interactions between them. Will there be any way to squeeze something in?

@halogenwarrior

I think, unfortunately, sometimes interesting things have to get cut to suit the story I'm telling better. Not based on any dislike of them, but just because there's less room in a re-filled narrative

But I do want to make sure Leaf gets moments with ALL of the Three. Lionblaze especially since he's usually suuuuuper neglected in his feelings towards his mom and aunt in both canon and fanon.

So Holly and Lion are going to get the bulk of interactions with Leaf as apprentices, while Jayfang's time with Leaf is heavily concentrated in his adulthood.

also one interesting part of their dynamic is how Leafpool sometimes seems to express the ableism Jayfeather hates, i.e Jayfeather being like I can heal Cinderheart, I'm no different and Leafpool is like YOU'RE BLIND, I wonder if there's any way to keep the contrast between Jay's defiance and Leaf thinking he should give up due to his disability without keeping the weird forced medicine cat stuff.

@halogenwarrior

Something that frustrates me in-canon is exactly how much of the abelism comes from Leafpool directly; I'm not fond of how their relationship feels so fraught. Why does Jayfeather like her back if she's not the one who raised him, AND he's basically been forced under the paw of this coddling and condescending nanny?

It's no wonder to me that in-canon they barely act like more than coworkers, and Jay has learned how to just be polite towards her. Y'know?

So instead I want Jay to be interacting with her once he is an adult, and their relationship is more philosophical. They're total opposites ideologically.

Leafpool is resigned and accepting of the will of StarClan, resolute, calming in a sort of palliative way. "We can't alter the course of the future but we can comfort each other in the present. In this way, it's truly the past that we can change, writing the record with our actions every day."

Starspunch Georgfeather who manhandles StarClan 10,000 times a day: "If god is a second late when i call for him im going to alter his face"

So instead, the Raw Abelism comes from a mixture of different cats in ThunderClan. Firestar, Brackenfur, and Mousefur are some of them (ironic since Brackenfur trained Whitewing, but being good on one issue doesn't make you good on all of them).

Jaypaw and his mentor Longtail will be contending with SEVERAL different cats, and Leafpool won't be one of the main ones.

I was never able to really get a feel for Leafpool's personality in the books, especially since she's always contrasted with Squirrelflight who has a pretty consistent personality (at least for Warriors standards). She's kind of like Hollyleaf where they change her personality depending on what they want to happen in the plot I think. How do you approach writing her? I'm really fond of your Spottedleaf, so I was wonder if Leafpool has any fun quirks like her.

[ID: Leafpool from Warrior Cats. She is chunky, has a mane, and green eyes. Her stripes are horizontal.]

I approach Leafpool as being VERY tired. Her life is characterized as never really being in control of her own fate, being punished for any simple pleasures she takes tenfold, so I write her as becoming very defeatist. Poor girl.

Because Leafpool is never in REAL control, somehow, it gives her this air that she's in total control. You can't scare her. StarClan can tell her that her kids are cursed, Hollyleaf can tell her to kill herself, Bramblestar can jump in front of her and snarl, she's never more than briefly phased. "Yeah sure this may as well happen."

In a way, she's almost the total opposite of Jayfeather, who never met a rule he wasn't willing to punch. It is interesting that each one of the Three has a unique relationship to the fate that chains up Leafpool.

Allows herself to love Mothpaw... war breaks out and Moth has to return to RiverClan.

Tries to warn Squilf about Brambleclaw in spite of StarClan wanting them to be together, first fight with her sister ever.

Runs off with Crowfeather, returns home to find out her mentor died before she could say goodbye.

Gives birth, allows Squilf to take them, eventually gets threatened by Hollyleaf.

(side note: i am considering leafpool's name being an honor title, with her old name being Leafstripe, and Squirrelpaw failing two assessments just like Nightheart)

But a big change in my rewrite is that the dramatic scenes that aren't consistent with that resigned sorrow go to Crowfeather. He's a complete and utter ham. Leafpool isn't out here trying to name Hollykit 'Crowkit' or confessing her unwavering love for him in front of his wife and child, THAT is Crowfeather making an ass of HIMSELF in front of that wife and child lmao.

Leaf's feelings are more complicated and repressed. Hard life.

On the bright side though, there ARE changes from canon so that the Clan has more nuanced feelings about her instead of her whole life being a nonstop beatdown.

Most of ThunderClan, which heavily leans Fire Alone, agrees that Leafpool did the right thing by giving her kits to Squilf to invoke the Queen's Rights. Sure she lapsed, but Fire Alone cats are softer on the Cleric's Vow in general.

Bramblestar demoting her in Cruel Season has a VERY mixed reception. It's Leafpool!! Leafpool Moonpool!!!

Her death many years later in the Sister Raid actually tanks Bramblestar's reputation. It was seen as cruel, pointless, and avoidable, and they lost a very popular and experienced Cleric.

(side note again: still considering how the 'unclear sign' plot beat is going to go in my rewrite, because i cannot imagine jayfeather not just lying about that. "yeah yeah yeah they said yes bramblestar, im supposed to heal this cat obviously. move.")

Misc Design Stuff:

She's got a mane that you can see on Dovewing too, since Dove is Leaf's grandchild now.

Like Sandstorm, uncle Longtail, and grandpaw Runningwind, Leafpool's stripes are horizontal.

I'm still doing research into what she has specifically, but Bonefall Leafpool is intersex. Those are stud jowls.

Considering the cat version of PCOS because it explains a lot; weight gain, a receding hairline that could be shared with Lionblaze, the jowls as a facial hair parallel, difficult pregnancy, etc.

Still doing my research though.

And lastly, Mothpool is endgame in this Rewrite. They can never be together officially, but it's about the yearning. It's about finding freedom with your escapist fantasy partner or being in shackles with your true love. She chose the CHAINS.