#Jayfeather vs StarClan and bad dreams. That's it.

[bonefall]

I'm loving everything about the Sol situation, particularly how making him into a trickster deity figure makes his defeat make much more sense. If I'm reading this all correctly he would see this all as a game he's playing and Jay/Holly/Lion stepped up as the oponnents on the other side of the board no? So his defeat is him being sportsmanlike in admitting defeat. This is a really fun second half of the arc for an arc which I think in narrative function would ideally have served as a breather in the main story, being more based on the slice of life sort of vibes, particularly in the first half, while also aligning the chess pieces and developing the characters who'd be the key players of OotS.

JACE YOUR BRAIN that’s an EXCELLENT thought, I’m taking the idea of setting it up like a literal game to him

When he meets Midnight at the beginning? That’s literally establishing game rules.

“Sunhigh, my brother... why do you darken my doorstep with your long shadows?“ Midnight’s sad question is curt and guarded, betraying a pain long healed.

“I want to play a game with them,“ He licks his lips, “This one had a grudge, and I always treat my vessels well. From you I only need a tip. That’s all.“

Midnight realizes this is the only chance she’ll have to reign him in, and protect the little society she cares so much about. So she lays down her rules in exchange for telling him when the eclipse is.

The first is that he may not kill anyone. Not for the duration of the entire game; no sacrifices, no assassinations, no murderous commands. He grumbles and shuffles, as if he’s mulling it over with Harry, and agrees... with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

The badger is wise enough to recognize that he’s found a loophole, but moves on.

The second is that he may not destroy them utterly. This one makes Sol bristle and hiss, why else would he play the game if not to win? But Midnight coolly reminds him that it only means he can’t chase them from the lake. No destruction, no plague, no forest fire.

He spits, “Who do you think I am? One Eye? Or... Sharptooth... or... whatever that brute is calling himself these days.” If that’s what she meant, however, he accepts.

But he chimes back in, “Two rules for one tip is hardly a fair deal. I have a rule for you as well. You may not interfere.“

And thus, the games begin.

[lionblazelover]

Y'all wanna hear about my Villian!Lionblaze AU?

Of course you do! Who doesn't want to talk about the Lionboy?

Basically, this is an AU I made because Lionblaze is a character filled with potential that was just completely shoved aside for no reason, and I wanted to make use of that potential in a fun way. So. I made him evil.

Most things happen in the story as it should up until Eclipse. Here are a few key differences that set Lion to the path of villainy:

Lionpaw kept his relationship with Heatherpaw for a little bit longer. They becomes best friends, but don't fall deeply in love. Instead of breaking off his relationship with her in Dark River, it would happen in Eclispe, after he had almost killed Crowfeather, except-

In this AU, Lionblaze WOULD have actually killed Crowfeather. Heathertail is furious and horrified, and screams at him for being a monster, telling him that she will never speak to him again.

This is kind of the catalyst where things change for Lionblaze. Just like in canon, poor Lionboy starts having twisted nightmares. It starts off with Heathertail. Repeatedly killing her over and over again while Tigerstar whispers in his ears about the violence and suffering he has caused. The worst part of these nightmares for Lionblaze is that the brutality in these dreams slowly but surely stop bothering him

After this it kind of becomes fuzzy, because I haven't fully decided what I want to happen yet. Something I DO want is for Lionblaze to slowly become isolated from everyone but Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. The fire scene still happens, and Lionblaze learns that he had killed his father. I want that to be significant somehow. I'm struggling on whether I want Lionblaze to be the one who kills Ashfur or if it'll still be Hollyleaf. I still want Hollyleaf to have her mental breakdown, spill the truth, leave, all that. Lionblaze will lose a big pillar of his support system this way, by both Hollyleaf herself leaving and the distrust brought from his Clanmates (y'know the rumors and stuff that happen as a consequence of everyone learning the truth.) I can't remember much abt it, but I know there's a scene where Lionblaze attacks Tigerstar and pins him down, not killing him only because he's already dead, and Lion stops doing Dark Forest training. In this AU, what will happen is that Lion attacks Tiger, Tiger wins, and somehow convinces Lion to stay with him.

With Tigerstar being the only person Lionblaze trusts, Lionblaze starts seeing his Clanmates and the Clans in general as his enemy. Lionblaze is the example of how the Dark Forest training can work in destroying the Clans. And, with the Dark Forest holding one of the cats with the power of the stars in his paws, it only seems that much more likely to them that they can succeed in getting their revenge on the Clans. Lionblaze will do some very bad things in Omen of the Stars, from right under ThunderClan's noses. Only Jayfeather, and later Dovewing (and even later on Ivypool) will know it's happening.

I couldn't find a good place to put this, but in this AU, Lion's powers work slightly differently. He is invincible from his enemies. From his enemies. So his invincibility doesn't apply to people he trusts. So he will get hurt fighting his Clanmates. And, eventually, his powers no longer work against Tigerstar and Hawkfrost (yeah he didn't get hurt to them at all in training up until then. It surprises Lionblaze, Hawkfrost, and Tigerstar. This will be when Tigerstar begins truly plotting his Omen of the Stars plan.)

The Dark Forest and the Dark Forest Trainees will get more attention here. I want to show how the hierarchy of power works, the significance of becoming a Dark Forest warrior, the bonds the trainees would have gotten with each other and the residents of the Place of No Stars. Plus maybe even some StarClan development? I want to know more about the afterlife in this world and gosh darn it I will make my own rules myself if I have to.

In the end of this AU, though, I want Lionblaze to be redeemed. I'm not sure how. Something with secret agent Ivypool? Bring Heathertail back? Cinderheart? Then, the Breezepelt vs Lionblaze fight in the Dark Forest battle will hold more weight, as Breezepelt had trusted Lion and Lion legitimately liked Breezepelt and the time spent together in the Place of No Stars.

Or, maybe not.

There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.

The sharp eyes of the jay bring knowledge, the roars of the lion bring fear, and the gentle wings of the dove will bring peace.

The end of the stars draw near. Broken and separated, the fourth must reunite the three enable to battle the darkness that will last forever.

[bonefall]

Three things

1. Crowfoot is absolutely perfect cuz like Crow would already know he’s name cuz I can imagine Tallstar wasn’t being subtle about it

2. With how rigid Goosefeather is with fate, would he be the one coming to get Hazeltail?

3. Squirrelflight’s horror, interesting, may we know the horrors?

Crowfoot

REALLY good feedback on Crowfoot over Crowwing. Especially @elkpoint's suggestion to have people call him Crowfood as an insult. Unless there's sudden turnaround like my informal Marshkit vs Applekit poll, Crowfeather's pre-Honor Title name is Crowfoot.

Goosefeather Fetch

He deserves to rest! Besides, I want Jayfeather to fight someone who can fight back. Goosefeather never had combat training.

I like to think Goose is a dreamwaver in StarClan. He helps craft dreams and omens, his time on the council mostly behind him by Po3. He wouldn't be one of the cats who does retrievals, more of a homebody type guy.

Squirrelflight’s Horror

Oh, if you've read Squirrelflight’s Hope you know what her horrors are. It's one of the books that will be the least changed by the redux; but this time, I plan to really focus on how bad of a leader Bramblestar is. A lot of things come to a head in this book, establishing how the Clan went so long not realizing he was possessed

Squilf and Bramble split years ago, Jesse 'cat divorced' him, and Squilf was practically a mother to his daughter Sparkpelt. Bramble feels like he's losing control of his life and blames Squirrelflight for a good amount of it-- and you know what happens when he feels like he's not in control.

I think at the start of this book... Squilf is even considering getting back with him. But obviously, by the end, she firmly realizes she never needed him at all.

And the Trial...

The point of the trial in the original SH is to give Squirrelflight and Leafpool a reckoning with their lies, because the original book condemns the two of them for it. Obviously, I don't agree. I don't think she did anything wrong-- and in my rewrite with the Queen’s Rights, her actions aren't condemnable in StarClan either.

So instead, I think I'll use this to put her actions with the Sisters on trial. Instead of the council weakly concluding, "well, we all broke the code so we cant be mad at you guys for breaking it either idk" it's more of a treatise on if StarClan will abide by the way Squirrelflight applies Fire Alone as an ideology, extending it to outsiders.

And speaking of outsiders, Scourge died in OotS fighting Tigerstar. In Squirrelflight’s Horror, he replaces Blade as the cat she speaks to after the rockslide, helping guide her to StarClan. He chooses not to live there, but he can still show her the way.

He does note, offhandedly, that the way has gotten longer since he last visited. "Perhaps I should stay there for a while this time... it would be a terrible thing to not be able to find my way back." Foreshadow Ashfur messing with StarClan's borders