#bb!blackstar

blackstar and leafpool as patrons

LEAFPOOL AND BLACKSTAR!! Ooohh Leafpool being a pool of leaves is so big brained, A+, absolutely excellent work!

No health issues with colorpoints that I know of, have no fear!

Generally if it's just a coat pattern, it's fine. Watch out for breeds that select for physical quirks, like the floppy ears of scottish folds and lack of hair in lykoi and sphinxes. Those usually are hiding something.

But anyway they're neutral on them. Except ironically in ShadowClan where there's several mean nicknames for them; Foodfoot, shroombean, rump-roast, chewsticktail.

This is because midges attack darker colors and the bite of one releases a pheromone for more to attack the area. So a colorpoint cat will just, constantly have itchy extremeties in ShadowClan's marsh lmaooo

[ID: BB!Blackstar lapping soup from a clay bowl]

ShadowClan is the uncontested CHAMPION of soups. While all Clans make stew in some capacity, usually to prevent perfectly good freshkill scraps from going to waste, ShadowClan's exotic palate and wetland territory puts them in a unique position.

A lot of the water around the territory is still, so to begin with, boiling it was already important for sanitary reasons. On top of that, ShadowClan's favorite spice is common juniper, sometimes called "Poor Man's Pepper" in English. Mix with a dash of rosemary, and they can make just about anything taste good.

And they will eat ANYTHING. Crayfish, insects, eggs, amphibians, frogspawn. RiverClan is known for being a bit snobbish and preferring raw fish, and ShadowClan is their culinary opposite. There are even some poisonous animals, like certain snails, that only ShadowClan is capable of safely eating as a result of their food culture.

But, broadly, Clan cats aren't fond of the taste of leaves, and thus don't drink teas unless they're being steeped and used as medicine. Teas as a medicinal vessel come with a bonus; they help to keep the patient hydrated.

It depends on the plant on if steeping makes it more or less effective, though. Eventually, Shadowsight learns how to prepare a heavy-duty epilepsy medication thanks to the Tribe, using a special process.

So early on, I was sitting with Leopardstar and Blackstar, deciding the stories I would tell for them. I agree in-canon Blackstar is a lot worse, but in my TNP rework I realized I had a GREAT story to tell about about Leopardstar.

So, I decided to tell a very long redemption arc with Blackstar, and the importance of preventing Thistle Law from ever taking root ever again with Leopardstar.

Blackstar is a character driven by his guilt, and desire to atone for what he's done. The story begins with his first visit to the Moonstone.

StarClan does not give him all his lives at once. He has trials over many years to earn them. This is symbolized by him being born with a black executioner's hood over his head, and over many years of pressing his nose to the stone and pool, it erodes away from his nose creeping up.

By the time he earns his last one, there's only a black thread across his chest holding the 'hood' together. It snaps when he earns the last one-- from Russetfur.

Russetfur, who was his lifelong best friend, soulmate, and deputy. She mattered more to him than anything else in the world. EVERYTHING he did was for her, and for the people like her, the cats he would have discarded or even killed during his time in TigerClan.

They had a similar sense of humor; dry and sardonic. They mutually FLIPPED their shit at the cats who let Berrynose writhe in that fox trap, and even came up with a very embarrassing punishment together.

Losing her was devastating. It now comes AFTER the Eclipse battle, too, during the reign of Bramblestar. It is the moment that causes him to lapse and be open to Sol's influence. In the meanwhile, Ratscar, Redwillow, and Applefur take control of the Clan to further the agenda of the Dark Forest.

Their dark plans are thwarted when ShadowClan begs Blackstar to come home and rule his Clan. No trickery, no guilt, just love.

He loses his second-to-last life in the Great Battle, with a 2-vs-1 battle. Him and Iceheart against Tigerstar.