#lionheart dies

[spinnysocks]

whitestorm is a great character, he could never do anything wrong! *Side glancing at multiple aus were he Does Something Wrong*

[sunshine-zenith]

I like to think I’m above being overly influenced by specific fan interpretations, but then I remember how when I was a kid, my mental image of Lionheart from WC was the stoic and wise mentor from SSS fanime, to the point that when I read Bluestar’s Prophecy and how he was a goofy happy-go-lucky kid, I thought “there’s no way this is the same guy, something’s missing here, this is way too OOC,”

[habits-white-rabbit]

Di-Tinin / Kii

bren and pip

[knightsickness]

daeron the young dragons situation where grrm wrote he was remembered as a greatt king one of the best then in the histories elaborated that he reigned for like two years almost entirely killing people abroad and then died kind of very funny that IS what medieval people loved to see from a king. the more hes at home the more he annoys them the fewer frenchmen hes killing the more they resent paying taxes. welcome back richard lionheart

[venus-invixen]

No because when Lionheart Draco told Hermione “Do you know what I see, Granger, when I think about joining up? The moment I offered up my wand, the Dark Lord would put me on my knees and crack open my skull, to make sure I wasn’t a deserter or double-agent, and he’d find you, and I’d be dead in seconds if he was merciful.”

And when Hozier said “honey, you’re familiar like my mirror years ago—idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword / innocence died screaming honey ask me I should know / I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door” you cannot tell me this isn’t about them. this is my canon.

—

FF: Lionheart by @greenerteacups

[mysterycitrus]

This is so stupid but I was wondering if you might have any Dick and Roy meta? I've always loved your meta posts about the relationships between the Fab Five and different characters and lately, I've been seeing a lot of those posts where people splice certain comic pannels with poems/sayings/inspirational quotes and things that match and I've been wanting to have more in-depth ideas of the relationship between Dick and Roy because they're just so interesting but I don't have the brains to come up with anything myself

when i think about dick grayson and roy harper i think about the trope king + lionheart — a burdened hero, and their loyal protector — and how they switch roles with each other. like two standout dickroy books are probably old friends, new enemies and outsiders (2003), and while they’re both initiated with roy reaching out to dick for help, his motivations are very different. i think that dynamic, and how they don’t fit solely into one role, is part of why i enjoy reading about them so much.

in old friends, roy is the king — he’s trying to track down chesire and find lian, and isn’t initially honest about his intentions. he’s struggling with his decisions, and his faith in himself. dick acts as the moral support, his backup, and also calls him out on his actions.

but their relationship is still loving. there’s a solid foundation of trust that makes dick want to support roy and protect his daughter, to the point that he and jade nguyen show a (very) begrudging respect to each other.

in outsiders, dick is the king — donna has just died, bludhaven is going to shit, and roy knows that he’s spiralling. roy is the solid support who convinces dick to lead a new team because he knows dick hurts himself through isolation. they’re both grieving donna and the loss of their team, but roy forces dick to reconnect again. he forces dick to care.

despite being the leader of the outsiders, dick is uncompromising in his loyalty in roy. he tells people to leave if they don’t accept roy’s authority in the team. after roy is shot, dick takes the same action as roy in the first issue — he brute forces his way into getting roy out of the spiral. he holds a gun to roy’s head and tells him to take it.

im a huge sucker for friends to lovers, but what i really love is two competent people with absolute faith in each other. i dislike the idea that bat-characters are like….. absurdly op and everyone is just in awe of them all the time, but dick’s reputation means that trusting someone the way he trusts roy is important. he watched his teammates die, he watched his sister die to save his life, and he still trusts roy to be there. roy historically has a bit of an inferiority complex about working with dick, but dick does not reciprocate. dick knows roy will be there when it counts.

there’s a particular kind of love that comes from mourning the same person during one of the worst times of your life.

the fact that the early tragedies in their lives are so similar, that they lost family and an idea of place at similar ages, were mentored by mortal men who wanted to do good, but still ended up so close but so different is really really interesting to me. u get to outsiders, and they really know each other in a really intense way.

truly like…. i would fall on ur sword because i trust u not to land the killing blow. to finish — something something gay people

[balis77]

Neo really just grabbed every ally of Team RWBY she knew/assumed was dead (I’m guessing she doesn’t know about the whole Oscar/Ozpin situation in full, hence why he was there too) and waited to see which ones Ruby was upset the most by huh.

I mean 3.5/6 ain’t bad but still.

Ngl tho I kinda laughed that Lionheart and Clover were just like....sitting there. They had nothing to guilt trip Ruby with she wasn't even involved in either of them dying lmao

[pinata-candy]

Into the Wild ThunderClan!! These are 'canon' world designs for me! I've been working on a personal rewrite for my own entertainment (mostly fixing the family trees) alongside my WOF rewrite, but these designs ignore my family tree and follow the canon one!

Design details and explanations below!

Bluestar- I wanted her to be like. somewhat regal looking, somewhat serving. But I also wanted to try a like, reverse colorpoint? It didn't turn out how I pictured in my mind, might have to revisit

Redtail and Spottedleaf- they are twins to me, I wanted them to look similar no matter what, I really like how square I made them. I also wanted to drift away from overly like, fem spotted- I have no problems with people who make her design overly fem coded but I personally do not care for it

Lionheart- Is a lion

Tigerclaw- is a tiger. Tiger means orange. get Oranged boy

Whitestorm- silly old man to me. Colorpoint like his mama, I wanted him to be very whispy, like a storm

Darkstripe- I wanted to get like. sleezy king's advisor energy. I think I did a good job with that

Longtail- I wanted him to look like a serval! I adore Longtail

Mousefur- wanted her to look like a lil mouse <33

Runningwind- I wanted quick, whispy shapes like the wind (and for him to look like sand. Can't help myself. She's a runningred baby all day everyday to me) I added the eyelines that cheetahs have bc he's a fast guy!

Firepaw- CRINGE BABY!!! wanted him to look flaming!

Dustpaw- I struggled with him bc when I think of dust I think of like, dust bunnies and kinda fluffy shapes, but he isn't a fluffy guy! Though, dust bunny dusty sounds fun. Might have to revamp him lol

Graypaw- droopy and soft and friendly! Gave him cartoony friend eyes bc it felt right. Looks like his mama!

Ravenpaw- tiny, weepy little guy. He is so cute

Sandpaw-I wanted tough, sharp, and swirly bc of her storm warrior name, and when I think storm and wind I think of swirls!

Brindleface- ok, I know brindle is a kind of pattern but when I hear the world brindle I think of like, crinkly shapes? So I tried to make her crinkled somehow

Willowpelt- droopy like a willow! I know willows aren't purple but I associate the word with purple? So she's purple n green! I love her design

Speckletail- I admit, didn't have much thought on her. Just made her speckled

Frostfur- snow, frost, cold girl- wanted her to have awesome snow and winter vibes

Goldenflower- Golden flower = sunflower, she is a sunflower <33

Halftail- really no thoughts about this guy but I like his shapes

Dappletail- she gives me like. old wealth vibes. High class old woman who is kinda mean. Tried to get that across. Don't know why, I really don't even remember her beyond her weird 'relationship' with Stormtail and how she died

One-eye- I wanted to make her kinda sharp and tough

Smallear- Old man looking cat bc he is an old man <33

Rosetail- I want to draw a full body of her one day bc I can picture a rose looking tail in my mind but until then, she just is pink and heart coded

Patchpelt- wanted to try and make 'stitches' along his patches!

That's everyone- some of these cats I could picture in my mind, some not at all but this was so fun. I can't wait to do more!

[himboblaze]

goldenflower being horrified to learn the man she trusted, the man she had kits with, the man she loved, attempted to murder her dear childhood friend, their clan’s leader.

goldenflower not being able to look bluestar in the eye after tigerclaw is exiled. she knows deep down she’s not to blame, but the idea she was so infatuated with a man who would soon attempt to kill for purely selfish and evil reasons haunts her to her core.

goldenflower feeling hollow and yet so full of despair, like a rock sinking helplessly into the river, when she receives the news that it was because of tigerclaw’s betrayal and jealousy that her brother died in that battle. that his and rosetail’s deaths were completely avoidable, and that her past mate was the reason they happened.

goldenflower feeling a deep, burning hatred, one hot enough to burn a thousand forests to ashes, when she discovers that swiftpaw, her firstborn son, someone who tigerclaw seemed to get along with so well, was torn apart by the dogs that tigerclaw lead into the forest. that her baby boy never got to become a warrior after he waited so long and tried so hard, all because of him, makes her claws ache, desperate to sink them into that terrible man’s throat.

goldenflower feeling so incredibly guilty, a feeling akin to being crushed by a hundred stones, whenever she looks at brightpaw. such a sweet, beautiful girl. her son’s best friend. inseparable, the two of them were. she looks at brightpaw’s disfigured face, chewed and spat out like a rejected play thing, and yearns for the life that was ripped away from that poor girl.

golden watching her sister tirelessly treat brightpaw, forced to become a medicine cat after falling for a cruel trap left for bluestar and feeling so hopelessly lost and confused. why would starclan punish so many cats with tigerclaw’s treacherous greed? why did cinderpelt’s dreams have to be crushed so ruthlessly? why did brightpaw have to suffer? why did swiftpaw and lionheart and runningwind and brindleface and redtail have to die? why was she cursed to fall in love with a murderer? why?

goldenflower staring blankly at bramblepaw, the only piece of her heart she has left, as her brings her fresh kill and encourages her to eat. her daughter is gone, left her without saying goodbye to join her father, for a reason goldenflower will never understand. she can only hope her dear tawnypaw is still alive. bramblepaw is all she has left, and cruelly, as if another terrible joke from starclan, he looks like a spitting image of the man she once loved.

goldenflower, who can only hope, with guilt and sorrow threatening to drown her, that her precious son turns out nothing like his father. that he will be kind, caring, compassionate, a loving mate, and perhaps even a wonderful leader. bramblepaw is old enough to make his own choices in life now, without his mother doting on him constantly. she can only hope, with all her broken heart, that he makes the right ones.

[onyxmagica]

I'm honestly so obsessed with @greenerteacups Lionheart, i dis a v quick sketch, but will resume character sheets soon XD

[kandadze]

FoF rewatch ep 5-6: Zhuo Yichen and Zhuo Yixuan (gifs and loose thoughts)

It might be because I'm an only child, that I tend to gravitate towards sibling - whether by blood or found - relationships. One of my favorite books growing up was Astrid Lindgren's "The Brothers Lionheart." I'm more likely to watch a show if it has an ensemble cast of characters who are in all sorts of familial and otherwise close situationships (hello, FoF). (Must also be why I finished watching My Journey To You the first time - due to my morbid fascination with the absolutely dysfunctional, codependent, borderline incestuous and in general fucked up dynamic between the eldest and the youngest of the Gong "brothers"... not sure what that says about me lol)

Back to the Zhuo brothers.

I loved Zhuo Yixuan the moment he appeared in ep 5 (and not only because I have a soft spot for his actor). I do realize that we get an idealized version of him, seeing him only through the eyes of someone who loved him and then lost him too early, and I still think he was a remarkable guy.

I believe that he can be considered one of the biggest influences on who ZYC is as a person. (The other one would be WX, but that's a whole separate post.) As far as the Zhuo family goes, we know there was a father, but even though he is mentioned, it's never by name, and he never features in any of ZYC's memories, either - which makes me assume that he was a father just by title, and not very close with either of the brothers.

As for their mother, we were told that she died when ZYC was little, so I imagine ZYX himself was a teenager at most at the time. Now imagine this young boy, having just lost his mother, and with barely any support from his father, not only raising himself, but also becoming a whole-ass family unit (mother, father and brother) to his Xiao-Chen. And, even allowing that ZYC's memories only show us the best moments with his big brother, seeing what we can of ZYC's character, I think ZYX did a spectacular job.

He's most likely the reason why ZYC, even socially awkward and shy, draws people in - whether demon, half-god, or human child that's a little bit of both. As long as someone doesn't pose an active threat, he just does his best to do what his big brother used to do for him - asks questions, listens patiently, responds from his personal experience and to the best of his ability. ZYX didn't ridicule him for having nightmares or being scared to dream; he reassured him and then looked for ways to help. ZYX didn't force him into making connections with other children when it was clear it was too painful; he did his best to be there when it mattered and let nature take its course.

There's that scene in later eps where ZYX does his sword training while ZYC entertains himself in the vicinity. It's obvious the brothers enjoyed each other's company, but also had their own pastimes and commitments (the nightmare in ep 6 starts with ZYC doing his own training while ZYX is away). There's the scene with ZYC trying on that delicate golden headband, and ZYX teaching him what it meant to wear one (made me think of a book I read years ago, which featured an apparently Anglo-Saxon tradition of boys up to a certain age wearing a headband woven with 7 strips of white cloth for pretty much the same reasons as ZYX explained to ZYC). He clearly taught his baby brother some sound principles.

I'm also assuming that ZYX was quite lonely himself. In ZYC's memories he's of age to marry and have a child, but there's no other family around that we can see, or that would get mentioned. ZYC must've intuited that, asking ZYX if he's the same as him - as in, misunderstood, and lonely, and his big brother just smiles and doesn't answer, clearly not wanting to burden him.

He instead shares what I think was what he got from being born into Bingyi line - a gift of foresight. I might be reaching, but in my mind ZYX foretold many events in ZYC's life - meeting ZYZ (the "anomaly," that ZYC will recognize not with his eyes, but his heart! The Truth Eye parallels are everywhere...), meeting like-minded companions, waking up the Cloud Light Sword... He seems to have hoped for all the best for his baby brother, not for himself. Which again, makes me emotional at just how good of a man he was, and how he helped ZYC to become someone who's not afraid to be open and soft, who's able to change his mind as new information presents itself, who's emotionally intelligent and does his best to see the world clearly.

We'll never know what would have become of the brothers had ZYX survived, but I believe that if he could see his Xiao-Chen now, he'd be very very proud.

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT. I hope this message finds you well. I am sending all the good vibes and we'll wishes your way! ♥️♥️♥️ I hope you've had a wonderful summer.

I'm such a big fan of your work. Lioneheart is amazing and has stuck with me for such a long time.

I was wondering if you had any other stories you'd like to explore one day (even if you never get the chance to write them.) Whether it be fanfiction or original work, I was just curious because sometimes I feel as if I have hundreds of stories inside that I could tell, and I am not sure how to pick just one and see it to completion.

First of all, thank you! This is a fun one. I have a few enduring ideas for longfics I may or may not ever write (i.e., ideas that would have been projects already if I didn't have an ongoing longfic). I don't get stuck in them mostly because I try to remind myself that the idealized story you imagine when a concept occurs to you will never actually exist as it does when it's unshackled by the constraints of execution. What you'll get if you actually sit down and hack it out is (1) a real and imperfect piece of writing, and (2) the satisfaction of having written it, which is by far the more reliable source of motivation, if we're being honest. That being said, here are some ideas I've always wanted to explore, if and when I finish Lionheart:

I've always wanted to write a longform canon-divergent Tomione fic about Tom Riddle's 7th year at Hogwarts. Big honking political melodrama ft. the original Knights of Walpurgis, a Triwizard Tournament, and realistically functioning time travel (hence why this one's always been kicked down my list of projects, because writing a time-travel plot is like running through a minefield made of trampolines). I've already got character concepts sketched out for the Hogwarts cast — sooooo many fun ideas for the teenage Walburga. But I'd still need about a week of solid fic preproduction on the plot alone before I was ready to boot up and start writing, and it'd take at least 250k words — closer to 300k, if I'm being honest about myself. So this probably won't see the light of day anytime remotely soon, if ever.

A canon-compliant Dramione war fic, diverging from the Malfoy Manor chapters in Book 7, picking up from a speculative thread I read once about what would happen if the war didn't end after Voldemort died at the Battle of Hogwarts. I've always thought it would be fascinating to see who Hermione and Draco would become if they were actual soldiers in the war (and my disappointment with how Book 7 handled the "war" of it all has been established). That being said, Book 7 of Lionheart will probably give me a lot of similar ideas to chew on, so I don't know what my appetite for this one will be once I'm finished with it.

Durmstrang AU. This one's barely a fic concept so much as it is a mental moodboard — I just want to worldbuild the hell out of Durmstrang. And the international wizarding world, generally. It's a delicious sandbox.

A longform canon-compliant fic or series of fics about the previous generation of Blacks (Sirius/Bellatrix/Narcissa, namely). If you look at the books, there's a huge amount we don't know about the fall of the Blacks. I always found it bizarre that the sisters and Sirius seem to be the only ones left by 1995. No one else has a claim? No one else from this all-powerful wizarding family wants to step in and claim this big honking townhouse in the middle of London? Or its attendant fortune? Dude, what happened? Also, we don't see nearly enough of the Black family melodrama in canon. They lose 4/5 children of a generation in the span of almost single decade. And then (presumably) all of their parents die in the span of another. Goddamn. Just imagine the character work you could do there.

A No Chosen One/Voldemort Wins (The First Time) AU where Hermione never gets her letter, and meets Draco much later in life as a self-taught witch. The dynamics I have in my head for this are really enjoyable, and it would be a chance to finally write Hermione POV, plus the Draco I've cooked up for this universe is [chefs kiss]. I also just love the idea of Hermione as a feral witch-child running around muggle London. I love it a lot.

[hadesisqueer]

Going from crying during Yang and Raven's talk and Yang breaking down at the end to being just like 😐 while Lionheart dies to crying again while Blake reunites with Weiss, Ruby and Yang and they hug

[artaintfart]

The last of those ship requests (or most of them) from b4 my arm temporarily died LOL!!

Whitestorm/tigerstar I for @violentshine

Whitestorm/lionheart for anon

Nightheart/blazefire for @rollysoly

Sunbeam/bayshine for @quiverpaw

Reedwhisker/brambleclaw for @justweirdassfan

[theanoninyourinbox]

NEW LONGSTAR AU - THE NOT-SO-LONG BALLAD OF FIRE AND FLAME

Before Fire Prophecy

Talltail seeks to kill the Loner that he believes killed his father.  With the help of a kittypet named Jake, he finds the strength to forgive, and instead saves Sparrow from the Monster, and returns to Windclan with new determination in his heart and a dear…friend…that he leaves behind.  It is with this new spirit that he protests the renaming of Hopkit, and he stays Hoppaw.  The two remain close friends throughout their lives.

In Riverclan, Stormkit is renamed Crookedkit, but Rainflower is also renamed – Rottenflower.  Crookedkit’s name is given as a sign of survival, and Rottenflower’s as a sign of her true heart.  Crookedkit still leaves for a time, still is haunted by the Geist Mapleshade, but with his head a little higher and heart a little clearer.

Tiny is playing on an old stump when the Thunderclan Patrol finds him, and Thistleclaw orders Tigerpaw to attack.  Bluefur intercedes, and the heavily injured kitten is brought back to camp to be treated.  Sunstar decides to keep the poor little thing, and Frostkit is semi-adopted by Bluefur. 

Yellowfang is about to bury Hopekit and Wishkit when the sounds and smells of Twolegs alert her.  She knows they will try to take her and her remaining kit, so she grabs Brokenkit and runs.  The twoleg, stretching their legs after a long car ride, finds the two kittens and sees signs of life in the little tortie.  They rush the cold kitten to a vet, and with time and effort, little Nutmeg thrives. 

As Frostkit heals, a moons-long process, he makes friends with Spottedpaw and Whitepaw.  Eventually he notices that Thistleclaw keeps trying to get Spottedpaw alone, and with the help of Thrushpelt, discovers the horrible truth.  Thistleclaw is dragged before the clan, and with Spottedpaw’s testimony, the Traitor is banished from the clans permanently.  Spottedpaw becomes a Healer apprentice, and Thrushpelt begins to mentor Frostpaw.

Nutmeg eventually is introduced to a handsome orange tabby named Jake, and falls in love.  He breaks her heart by leaving when she’s due to give birth, and swears to take care of her beloved bundles of joy by herself.

Raggedstar lies dying, with his daughter Brokentail laughing as she cleans the blood from her paws, and realizes the enormous mistake he made with the way he raised her.  He dies, and watches as Brokentail receives her lives from the Dark Forest. Watches her kill kits.  Watches her banish her own mother.  What has he done?

Longpaw is mentored by Frostfoot, making an unusual pair.  Longpaw is eventually named Longtail, and wonders what his future holds for him.  He does not see the starry crown behind his head, ethereal and light as a dream.

Bluestar and Spottedleaf sit together on a hillside, Leader and Oracle Healer, and a pair of stars fall burning from the sky.  Fire Will Save The Clans.

The Long Ballad of Fire and Flames

Rusty the kittypet has yet another strange dream, of a red-tailed bird falling from a rainy sky.  He and his friend Smudge discuss the happenings around the neighborhood.  Princess, Rusty’s sister, forbids Rusty from going to the forest by himself.  Later that night, Rusty tries to catch a mouse on the border and gets tackled by a gray tabby, who is impressed when Rusty flings him off.  After meeting his mentor Lionheart, Rusty agrees to meet them the next morning, to see the Clan.  Rusty tells Princess about this.

The next morning, Rusty sneaks past a still sleeping Princess and a worried Smudge, and meets Bluestar, Graypaw, and Lionheart. The Thunderclanners refuse to wait for his sister. They head off to camp, with Rusty leaving a subtle scent trail so Princess can find him.  Princess wakes up, and follows the trail with stealth and careful steps.

At camp, Bluestar introduces Rusty as a potential clanmate, and some cats take offense to that.  Darkstripe demands he be tested, but Frostfoot tells him to calm down, what, are you threatened by him? Really?  Lionheart gets inbetween them to break it up, but cocky Longtail challenges the kittypet before anyone can stop him.  Frostfoot is mortified.  Rusty accepts, and the two square off.  Longtail gets the upper paw almost immediately, and gets a hold of Rusty’s collar.  As he pulls, he hears a yowl of outrage.  And suddenly he is FLUNG bodily, his ear burning, the collar still in his mouth.

He gets up, and there is an ENORMOUS molly standing over the fallen kittypet, the warriors and camp guards at the ready to fight.  As Spottedleaf helps him to his feet, Longtail hears the Tortie scolding Rusty for leaving without her, I TOLD you there would be trouble but noooOOOooo you don’t listen to your sister!  You just listen to your silly dreams!! Bluestar interrupts, impressed with the boldness of the kittypet and interested with the dreams comment.  Princess introduces herself, and after Rusty says he agreed to the fight, apologizes to a still stunned Longtail.  Rusty explains he has dreams that come true sometimes, and tells Bluestar and Spottedleaf about the red-tailed hawk dream.  Spottedleaf asks to mentor Rusty in the arts of healing and Starseeing, and Bluestar agrees, asking is Princess would like to join as well. Frostfoot mildly scolds Longtail for leaping without looking, and Princess and Rusty become Flamepaw and Firepaw, with Bluestar herself mentoring Flamepaw.

And then Ravenpaw rushes into camp.  Redtail is dead, he screams, and collapses.  And pandemonium rises.

After Tigerclaw brings Redtail’s lifeless body back to camp, and the apprentices and kits are shielded from the sight by Whitestorm and Lionheart, the pair of siblings settle in.  Firepaw makes fast friends with Ravenpaw and Graypaw, and Flamepaw befriends Dustpaw and Sandpaw.  The pair drag Longtail into being their friend as well, which brings Frostfoot and eventually Swiftpaw into the equation as well.

Longtail begins to mentor Swiftpaw, and finds that he loves teaching.  With the help of Frostfoot and the other Mentor cats, he begins to become more humble and less cocky.  Longtail begins to appreciate his friendship with Firepaw and Flamepaw, and takes more time to live, not just be a Hunter and Mentor.

One day, while gathering herbs for the Healer’s Den, Firepaw is knocked off his feet by an old gray and yellow molly.  He springs to his feet, ready to fight, but the attacker is just…staring at him.  Like she’s seen a Geist.  He cautiously asks if she’s alright, do you need help ma’am?  And she moans something unintelligible, falling to the ground in a dead faint.  Firepaw panics, and drags her back to camp.  There, she is identified as Yellowfang by Spottedleaf, who tells Firepaw of her alleged crimes, and how she believes that Yellowfang was framed.  Said Healer wakes up, takes one look at Flamepaw coming in to drop off a mouse, and promptly wails in grief and pain.  The three of the get her to calm down, and she quietly apologizes, the siblings look like…patients she lost long ago.  Bluestar listens to her tale of Brokenstar being a False Star, and while still weighing the information, relegates Yellowfang to being a War-Bound for the time being.

Bluestar does not hear the story Yellowfang tells to the Healers and the Apprentice Brawler.  She does not see the siblings take the old molly to meet their mother.  She does not know a family has been made as whole as it will ever be.

At the Gathering, Brokenstar tells everyone how she ran out Windclan, and Bluestar realizes that Yellowfang was probably telling the truth.  As she had just revealed Thunderclan had Yellowfang as a War Bound, she begins to prepare for an attack, and she is correct – Shadowclan tries to kill Yellowfang, and succeeds at killing Lionheart and her dear friend Rosetail. Her heart grows a crack. She names the brave Tigerclaw, names Yellowfang part of Thunderclan, and tries to go on.

Then Ravenpaw leaves, begging shelter at The Barn with Bluestar’s old friend Barley, for reasons the apprentice refuses to communicate.  All his friends Graypaw, Firepaw, and Flamepaw will say is that he needed to be something that the Clans couldn’t let him be.  And the crack grows.

And then Shadowclan steals Frostfur’s kits, Lionheart’s kits. They kill Spottedleaf, Firepaw wailing over her body. She goes with her Warriors, Brawlers, and their apprentices to rescue the innocent.  They are met by Senior Warriors and other banished cats from Shadowclan, aided by Yellowfang in secret. Brokenstar is run out of the clans. Yellowfang takes over Firepaw’s training, and Flamepaw and Graypaw are named Flamewish (per her request) and Graystripe. Why is the crack still growing?

Flamewish, Graystripe, Longtail, and Swiftpaw are sent to retrieve Windclan.  It goes well, until a Riverclan patrol tries to fight them, and Whiteclaw falls off a cliff while fighting Graystripe.

When the group returns, Flamewish and Graystripe receive their first apprentices – Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw.  Flamewish finds Mentoring difficult, and asks Longtail for advice.  The pair become close friends.  Firepaw and Sandstorm make bets as to when they’ll become mates.  Unfortunately, Cinderpaw is lured away from camp and gets hit by a Monster. (It’s a car, just – just call it a car!! -Firepaw) Firepaw saves her life, and Yellowfang bestows the name Fireheart upon him at the next half-moon.

Also unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), at seeing her apprentice so badly injured, Flamewish has an unusual reaction.  She goes into labor.  Seeing as Flamewish had no idea she was even a little pregnant (as she put it), things get a little crazy.  Longtail is flabbergasted, Bluestar is confused, Yellowfang is baffled, and Fireheart is delighted but also flabbergasted.  Flamewish does some calculating, then privately asks Fireheart to go bite Smudge in the face for her.

(This means Flamewish misses Graystripe meeting the gorgeously muscled Riverclan molly)

But it DOES mean she spends time in the Nursery with Brindleface, her kits Fernkit and Ashkit and Frostfoot and his kits Flykit and Coldkit.  Frostfoot who had just gone out one day and brought back the pair, claiming them as his.  Bluestar was frustrated and elated at the same time. 

The three become even closer when Brokenstar attacks, as they defend the Nursery together.  Longtail and Swiftpaw help drive off the Rogues together, and after Yellowfang blinds Brokenstar and leaves her Brokentail the War Bound, Swiftpaw is rewarded with his Adult Name – Swiftspirit. (Later, Longtail will see this as an omen, unknowingly given by Starclan through Bluestar…) Graystripe is later caught giving prey to Riverclan, and punished by having his apprentice taken away – Longtail is suddenly a Mentor again!  And Brackenpaw has so many things to learn!

Cinderpaw makes a nearly full recovery, but her time in the Healer’s Den had made her rethink her life – she wants to heal others.  Flamewish cracks a joke about her brother poaching her apprentice, but wishes her well.

And then Brokentail’s War Bound status becomes known.  And Thunderclan is attacked.  And Tigerclaw is at her throat, keen claws at her throat.  But as her heart shatters, a yowl of outrage rings through the air, and Longtail and Flamewish HAUL the Traitor off of her.  Bluestar banishes Him, and she holds the pieces of her heart and weeps – there are no stars in her tonight.  She waits too long, then names the astonished Longtail as Deputy.

Then Graystripe begs for the Healers to help him – they find the laboring Silverstream and do what they can, but Featherkit and Stormkit outlive their mother.  Graystripe leaves for Riverclan, refusing to abandon his kits.  Fireheart and Flamewish can’t blame him, but it still hurts.  And Brokentail is dead.  Yellowfang tells her leader that he dies of natural causes, but Bluestar does not see the look on Fireheart’s face.  (She will eventually learn that he just watched his grandmother kill his uncle) Then the fire. Oh the fire.  Patchpelt and Halftail, coughing and then forever breathless.  Fireheart and Flamewish race to find Yellowfang – to find their family.  She lies in a hollow tree, and blesses the Stars that she has enough time to say goodbye.  To say how proud she is of them – both her life paths.  I’ll always watch over you. (and Yellowfang keeps this promise)

Bluestar feels her mind failing, rain through the treetops instead of thoughts. So when she sees the Traitor leading Shadowclan as a False Star, she just…lets go. She watches Leopardstar rise and her clan move around her like a fever dream.  She watches the hawk impassively as it goes for Snowkit, and barely reacts when it takes Speckletail instead.  She doesn’t react when Longtail promotes Snowpaw to train under Brackenfur, or when Flamewish brings the elderly deaf kittypet Brahm to teach Snowpaw and Mistlepaw and others Pawspeak. She doesn’t react to the death of Swiftspirit or the maiming of Brightpaw, save to curse the Stars that left her broken by naming the poor thing Lostface.

(Longtail MOURNS.  He refuses to eat, has to be pried from his nest, and it takes a teary Flamewish admitting she misses the tom she loves for him to snap out of it.  The pair find solace in each other.  Fireheart and Sandstorm are too busy and too worried to exchange the mouse that they bet.  Neither ever says who won that bet)

Rabbits lead a bloody trail to poor Brindleface, and Longtail makes a plan to lead the dogs away from their den and over the river-cliffs.  Bluestar nods absently, but there’s a shining spark in her eyes that hasn’t been there in ages.  The runners lead the killer hounds up to the cliffs and away, but one grabs Longtail, pinning him and scratching his face.  But a blur of blue streaks onto the dog’s back, and overbalances them both into the river.  A pair of Riverclan warriors leap into action, and Bluestar says goodbye to her family, Frostfoot and Whitestorm having raced to the scene.

Longtail is escorted to the Moonstone by Fireheart, and finds himself in Starclan.  He receives his lives from Nightstar, Runningwind, Speckletail, Lionheart, Redtail, Silverstream, Yellowfang, Bluestar, and finally Swiftspirit.  Longstar vows to stop Tigerstar and his cronies.  He names Whitestorm as Deputy, and begins planning.

Tigerstar goes after Windclan, pinning and seemingly killing Gorsepaw, but as soon as the Shadowclan Battle Patrol leaves, he brings his head up and smiles weakly at his frantic mother. He will be scarred for life, but he will have his chance to live.

At Riverclan, Stonefur defends the apprentices to his last breath, and Graystripe rescues his kits from Tigerstar and Leopardstar.  Some Riverclan cats escape in the chaos, unwilling to follow their leader on this path.

Finally, with Windclan and Thunderclan united against the forces of Riverclan and Shadowclan, Tigerstar plays his deadliest card yet, as hordes of strange city Rogues appear.  Led by a figure some Thunderclanners recognize.  Thistleclaw.  But the rogues, no, the Bloodclanners, call him Tyrant.  Tigerstar boasts to the assembled clans how he killed Bluestar using the dogs and

Tyrant kills Tigerstar with a slash to the underbelly

Nine lives gone, in a single blow

The battle comes the next day, all four clans together – Longstar and Tallstar, Leopardstar and Blackstar.

Bone holds down Whitestorm, and is ripped of by a squad of apprentices, including his own, Brightheart.

Darkstripe goes after the Healers, and Graystripe strikes him down. His body is never found, and a gray tabby wanders desolate, his mistakes weighing on his soul.

Longstar strikes the final blow against Tyrant

And life goes on

[knightsickness]

what did you mean when you said that joanna would do some lion in winter stuff with jaime

if its the lion in winter part ur asking about, its a play about eleanor of aquitaine, henry ii, and their three sons that she’s trying to persuade to kill him (especially her darling eldest boy richard lionheart). if its what i mean by lion in winter, i mean that i think joanna, if she’d survived tyrion’s birth, would have a) badly fallen out with tywin, who (no longer able to just add ‘killed joanna’ to the list of tyrion’s crimes in his head) would blame her for tyrion + convince himself that she’d birthed him to embarrass him on purpose b) distanced herself deliberately and immediately from tyrion, clinging instead to her westerosi ideal boy as her avatar to use against tywin. particularly given that we know when she died she was already both aware of their relationship and looking into separating jaime and cersei in a way that would fling cersei miles away and keep jaime in casterly rock i think they would have been playing out eleanor and richard dynamics