#foxstride

[badgerstep]

You know I have to ask about splintered lightning 😉 - @foxstride

so!! i JUST came up with the idea for it with @heathfall

long and short of it is. "man it was cool when windclan had a civil war over deputy choice. hey wait a minute why the fuck didn't thunderclan do that that would have been badass"

so it's basically that! fireheart doesn't get named deputy before moonhigh like he should and the clan is now torn between who to follow and, as the title suggests, splinters off into two factions.

i figure it's more thematically resonant as a parallel with tigerstar uniting shadowclan and riverclan into tigerclan, it creates more cohesion around the themes of uniting together against a common enemy (as with the fire, the dogs, and later bloodclan, and is resonant of the message passed down in The First Battle in dotc, "unite or die")

plus it's just interesting to think about the political alignment of thunderclan after the betrayal of tigerclaw and bluestar's seemingly-inability to lead in the wake of it, and thunderclan as a whole not trusting fireheart enough to lead them yet.

it's not super fleshed out yet and probably warrants a reread of the end of forest of secrets as well as the last three books in tpb, but it's a very fun concept to be playing with rn!

[mallowstep]

Favourite Warriors Rarepairs Tag Game

tagged by @foxstride, tagging @kizulu, @creed-of-cats, and @dantelupine (but only if y'all want to <3). and anyone else who wants to can! feel free to tag me.

here's the explanation

Alderheart/Needletail (4) (how is this a rarepair D,:)

Alderheart/Velvet (0) (you GUYS)

Billystorm/Echosong/Leafdapple (1)

Bluefur/Crookedjaw (1)

Brambleclaw/Leafpool (0)

Brambleclaw/Stormfur (2) (y'all talk big game about them so get writing)

Briarlight/Jayfeather (4)

Brindleface/Redtail (8) (i believed this was retconned out of being canon but they're forever sandstorm's parents sorry i DO make the rules)

Cinderheart/Jayfeather (0)

Dovewing/Mossyfoot (1) (it's my fic that's them)

Dustpelt/Sandstorm (3)

Feathertail/Ferncloud (1)

Feathertail/Hawkfrost (0) (talk to ME about df!feathertail TODAY!)

Firestar/Greystripe/Sandstorm (3) (i decided that i'll only be writing firegreysand a few weeks ago. the only firesand content will be legacy, i.e., wips that started before that decision.)

Hawkfrost/Squirrelflight (0)

Ivypool/Tigerheart (0)

Jayfeather/Poppyfrost (5) (y'all i want that number going up you hear?)

Jayfeather/Willowshine (0)

Leopardfur/Mistyfoot (0)

Moonflower/Sunfall (3)

Redtail/Tigerclaw (2)

Shadepelt/Stormfur (1) (once again it me)

<3 please talk to me about any of these <3 i have so many thoughts <3

[kudossi]

What one fic of yours is a must-read for all your followers? It's cheating if you say Leafstar's Home :P but I also I will accept it - @foxstride

Oh my goodness, Leafstar's Home is more crack than anything! I love it, don't get me wrong, but for a more serious look at my writing, please check out "through the forest, down to your grave." It's a nice conversation between Hollyleaf and Squirrelflight that DEFINITELY doesn't devolve into insecurities, discussion and absolution of murder, and grief.

In all seriousness, I'd love it if you gave it a read! I'm pretty sure it's my only fic that doesn't rely heavily on humor. Thanks so much for the ask!! <3

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[embersoftheforest]

Into The Wilderness Batches

I was putting together a list of the batches to help keep track of progress on them, and thought I might as well post it here too in case you'd like to know how far the batches go!

Batch 1 - chapters 1-4 (posted)

Batch 2 - chapters 5-8 (posted)

Batch 3 - chapters 9-12 (editing)

Batch 4 - chapters 13-16 (drafted)

Batch 5 - chapters 17-20 (drafted)

Batch 6 - chapters 21-24 (in progress)

Batch 7 - chapters 25-28

Batch 8 - chapters 29-32

Batch 9 - chapters 33-36

Batch 10 - chapters 37-40

Batch 11 - chapters 41-44

Batch 12 - chapters 45-48

Batch 13 - chapters 49-52

Batch 14 - chapters 53-56

Batch 15 - chapters 57-60

Batch 16 - chapters 61-64

Batch 17 - chapters 65-68

Batch 18 - chapters 69-72

Batch 19 - chapters 73-76

We also have more one-shots we're working on which will be posted where possible, especially during breaks since they're shorter and quicker to edit!

[kudossi]

Are there any scenes that you want(ed) to put in Leafstar's Home but haven't been able to (yet)? - @foxstride

I'm glad you asked! :)

I actually started out Leafstar's Home with Tigerstar's resurrection, but as I was writing it, I realized — wait, I can move this so far backwards. Why am I not starting, I asked myself, when Rowanclaw disbanded ShadowClan in the first place? That was so ridiculous that it would practically be a crime to ignore it!

As such, I moved myself into the past, and am still two chapters away from my original starting point. There's no way to tell what of the original writing will stay and what will go, but here's some of that original chapter!

Leafstar’s misfortune continues when Tigerheart, miraculously returned from StarClan-knows-where and the actual dead, comes to collect her (his?) Clan. She’d thought it would be mass exodus, newly minted SkyClan cats shedding the -ky and adding back the -hadow, but instead the ShadowClan-turned-SkyClan cats look at each other, incredibly and obviously dubious about the whole situation.

It couldn’t be easy, Leafstar thinks. She’s won and lost and won and lost her Clan so many times that she’s not entirely sure where SkyClan ends and begins. She’s not sure whether she should be laying claim over these cats, or letting them go, or tearing out her own fur in the name of a life lived too long.

Tigerstar (and for some reason, when she says his own StarClan-damned name, half of the older ShadowClan cats actually shiver) blinks at them confusedly, but apparently they’re happy to remain right where they are, thank him very much.

“Why not Tawnystar,” bemoans Yarrowleaf.

“This is a disappointing set-up to the second half of the arc,” says a cat Leafstar can’t even pretend to know, and honestly she refuses to question that one, because clearly all these lake cats are out of their minds.

“This is the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” complains Scorchfur. “If we’re not back here within a week I’ll eat Sparrowtail’s tail!”

“Hey!” exclaims Sparrowtail. “Then what am I supposed to be named? Sparrowstub?”

[mallowstep]

stonefeather?? Angst? Hurt? Sounds like a fun ship <3 @foxstride

fox this is unfair how am i supposed to respond to this without giving too much away

[mallowstep]

Are there any characters you want to write the POV of that you haven't had a chance to yet? - @foxstride

hmm...

i don't think i've written much moth pov, and i'm about to fix that lmao. i mean i have, but not for...i was going to say canon but this is not canon anyway, but it is hitting the same beats emotionally for me + canon moth so it feels canon in that sense. put it up with denouncement and the sun won't shine on the both of us for "if you ignore most of what happens, a lot of this is canon" xd

i'd like to write briar pov one day, but she's...i have trouble with her. we might see some (?) for an au, but she's a character i do better with when i'm describing her through other people.

i really want to do a mudfur character study. i could do SO much with it.

and ofc redtail's on the mind.

"haven't had a chance" is a bit of a weird one for me, because like...i tend to just Write What I Want. so when i haven't written something, it's because there's something Funky going on. me just struggling to get into briar's head. a lack of interest in mudfur in a really weird and contradictory way. the fact that basically my only exposure to redtail is the redtail fic.

there are more...stories i can't figure out how to tell yet. i really want to write something for the canon collection about leopardstar, but denouncement already does a lot of that, but it's not canon, so i went, "well, i'll write about mudfur." but still.

nightcloud. i want to write something for her someday. i don't know what or when, but i do. i like her story in my head.

and, and this is much more mundane, but i also want to write some more gay cats. like, mlm gay. weirdly underrepresented in my writing, which isn’t inherently bad, but me personally i would like to fix that. the reason is because the characters i related to growing up are all female, but i'd really like to give things some balance. on the other hand, writing the talljake scene in ibtwicm was one of the hardest scenes i've ever written, so maybe there's an element of too personal.

i dunno i've been thinking about masculinity a lot.

uh i keep rambling so i'm going to cut myself off here but ty for the q

<3

[mallowstep]

@foxstride hi I need to hear about Hawkfrost/Squirrelflight and Jayfeather/Willowshine pls. Also I totally forgot about Redtail/Tigerclaw?? I have Thoughts

@foxstride

hawk/squirrel came out of stolag and i just

i mean (a) we know how i feel about brambs. abusive asshole. have been saying too many nice things about him lately. don't want the concept of bramblestar the fictional battle cat reading my blog to get too comfortable.

(bramblepaw baby you're good tho. you can stay.)

(b) he tries to kill her father and like OOF. imagine. hawkfrost. you like this girl. you want to kill her father. what do.

that scene from fmtws is one of my favourites i love it so much i'm copying it in here spoilers? ig?

"That's my father," Squirrelflight whispered. Then, louder, "Hawkfrost, that's my father."

He stared at her, unblinking. "Squirrelflight," he said, calm as the lake, smooth as honey, "don't you see? Brambleclaw — he cares for you, doesn't he? The two of you, together, you could change things."

Squirrelflight hissed, her claws extending. "I won't lose any more kin."

"Firestar would tell you she was never your kin. Brambleclaw understands. His sister is in another Clan. He will help us."

He took a step closer to her, and her eyes snapped back to him.

"Your eyes are the color of water," Squirrelflight said. "Did you know, she was supposed to go to RiverClan? You would have known her. We would have shared a border. I wonder, Hawkfrost, if we would have fought. Sunningrocks used to be a battleground."

He blinked.

"Do you know, the first time I saw you, do you know what I thought? I thought you looked clear. I wonder, Hawkfrost, if you ever saw Mothpaw on our border. I know she liked to collect herbs by the river. My sister told me that."

"We don't have sisters," Hawkfrost said. "They took them from us."

He closed his eyes.

Squirrelflight did not.

She saw his blood run, watched it stain her white paw.

"Squirrelflight," Firestar said, her name both a question and answer.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It wasn't supposed to end like this."

He must have lost a life. He was dying when she came, and she didn't free him, not fast enough.

"Things are never over," Firestar murmured. He placed his head on hers, purring. "The sun will set and rise again."

"I killed him," she said. "I hesitated."

Firestar shifted, and she bowed her head, turning her face into his chest.

"It's not your fault," he said. "You didn't plan this."

"I didn't stop him quickly."

Her words were muffled and strange sounding, murky in her ears.

"The river made its choice," Firestar said. "And so did you."

like okay anyway that's yeah

as for jay/willow,

it's kestrel/jay but they have an actual character arc and developed relationship

um also. i think they're cute. i like gruff + bubbly. sue me.

aaand redtail/tigerclaw! it's like! see above, but instead of "his father" it's "him"