#bb!mousewhisker

Blog cancelled everyone! Pack it in! Animals can't b- OH MY GOD???

This is actually going to depend a lot based on how I overhaul the politics of RiverClan. It is getting a MASSIVE shakeup, because BB!ASC is going to explore power vacuums.

Canon!RiverClan is full of "nobody" warriors who haven't been characterized, both because we've spent very little time with them historically AND because the writers made the choice to spend barely any time with them in this arc too. This is an issue.

Instead of how canon made it so that RiverClan couldn't find a leader so they all forgot how to do the chores they did their whole lives, THIS time, I'm going to show a bunch of highly qualified warriors breaking up into cliques and descending into in-fighting.

To do this, I have two objectives;

Revamp my RiverClan Family Tree a bit to base a finalized allegiance list on... plus pad it out some more so I can handle the mass exodus that will be happening at the end of the arc.

Characterize extra competitors for RiverClan's leadership, mostly from scratch, along with their key supporters.

Splashtail will be ending up on top through a mixture of imitating Curlfeather and utter luck. My plan is to portray him as someone others might think is manipulative and charismatic, when in reality, he's coasting off the waves of someone who had victory within reach and gave it all up to save her daughter.

(and tigerHeartstar's occupation will be the turning point, as Splashtail unites RiverClan against their common enemy to put himself in power. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT)

I also want to make ASC's attempted theme of "connecting to the past" more meaningful by drawing parallels to this and the Collapse of the River Kingdom.

In fact (been waiting a while to share THIS little idea!) I'm heavily considering that BB!ASC is the end of RiverClan as we know it, and from here on, it's the RiverClan Republic. Give it a slightly different ruling system and allow its culture to change significantly, like how I approach BB!SkyClan.

So... the short answer is that I don't have the pieces for the proper list of "candidates" yet, because a LOT more cats are gonna become eligable.

The parallel short answer is that if I had to pick NOW, it would be Minnowtail, who is going to be receiving her boyfriend Mousewhisker early in this arc and has a very long history with Icewing as an ex-DF trainee. Curious, bold, and insightful, she's someone they can trust as an organized deputy.

[ID: Mousewhisker from Warrior Cats bows low on the ground. Bramblestar is announcing, "Mousewhisker... you had no malice in your choice, but your foolishness still lead you to betray your Clan. For this, until atonement, you are branded..."]

[ID: "STUPID HEAD." Mousewhisker chokes back a snrk and asks, "B-Bramblestar can you repeat that"]

In Firestar's head, it makes perfect sense. Iceheart is an outsider, but both widely lauded and feared. He has slain a tyrant but knows the great value of life, he joined out of genuine love for ThunderClan, and accompanied them on the Great Journey out of a desire to help.

Firestar would love for him to teach at least one apprentice, it would be a great honor no matter who it was.

He knew it had to be Mousepaw during Mousefur's Mixed Clan stunt. Yes, they were shouted down (he loves his daughter so much) and the Clan ripped into the three troublemakers, but suddenly Firestar realized he had been too lenient on that little group. He needed to send a message-- a strong one.

So, Iceheart would mentor Mousepaw. Brambleclaw had gone on a religious journey and found their new home, he was overdue for his first apprentice and had the energy to handle rowdy little Berrypaw, and Hazelpaw...

Well he can't give her to Dustpelt like he had been planning after that stunt. He'll need to think about that one.

Iceheart and Mousewhisker

BB!Mousewhisker's personality, I've always seem him as a MACHO MAN. He thinks he's cool, he wants to be cool. He's got a kind of easygoing and disaffected air to him, but it's an act. He's a ham.

I think he IS cool, but not the way he thinks he is. He thinks he's cool because he's a big strong boy, but he's cool because he's never bothered. He is just the sort of guy who is never stressed out, you know? He ends up being unintentionally hilarious, fussing up his fur instead of stressing about an upcoming fight.

And that "real" coolness is something that comes from Iceheart. He's never scared, he's always confident, nothing shakes him. Even when there's real danger, he's calm and calculating. When Mousepaw was young, he LOVED that. He wanted that for himself so bad that it became part of him without knowing it. Mouse didn't have a dad of his own-- so Iceheart fills that role for him perfectly

I think Iceheart likes to show off for him sometimes. Rarely. But Sometimes, he indulges him. Glances over his shoulder during a spar and sees the kiddo all starry-eyed, and whispers under his breath to his sparring partner;

"leap at me, but don't be afraid."

Before he WHIRLWINDS them off-balance with a blow to the shoulder after their jump, and a swift pin. His partner-- let's say it was Brackenfur, feels their breath catch in their throat. It's easy to forget that Old Man Iceheart is the Beast of BloodClan sometimes. He can't say he wasn't warned though.

He never does teach Mousepaw the... the Tunnelbunning. That would be in poor taste.

I think he's disappointed when he learns that Mouse trained in the Dark Forest, and feels like he failed him. Did he not teach him the value of peace? Did he indulge him too much? Was he so desperate to learn a killing move because he didn't teach him his own?