I am once again giggling like a maniac at Spottedleaf basically calling Redtail directly in starclan (the terminology of which I forgot) to ask what the fuck happened about his murder, and he's TOO BUSY YELLING AT HER to answer the actual questions.
Real fucking sibling behavior right there.
The Rose Twins are everything to me ngl.
Their deaths haunt the narrative. They were both in positions of massive authority. One takes life too seriously and the other laughs in the face of oblivion. He desperately wants to keep his children away from her so they don't pick up her habits. She teases him that no cat avoids the doctor forever. He hates she's right. She loves that he hates that she's right. If she needs to sneak out of StarClan she tricks him into making daisy chains. She will break the veil between life and death to speak to him again. He wastes the entire session barking at her about witchcraft. He never rats out her crime to the heavens he's so very loyal to.
They are Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck if they were siblings, to me. Absolutely in love with them.
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Pov you just said something incorrect about leeches.
You're in for it now, bucko. She is loading up the powerpoint as we speak. You WILL learn about the benefits of using medicinal leeches for treating arthritis.
What cats give Tigerstar his lives, since he gets them from the dark forest instead?
I think StarClan has an argument over it. The vast majority of cats in StarClan are furious with him; his murder attempts, his killings of innocent cats, his betrayal of ThunderClan when he was an ally of Brokenstar. He's everything they don't want.
But on the other hand... a little bit has changed about the dynamics of Bonefall TPB StarClan since I decided he would get Dark Forest Lives.
This is before Bluestar's death and Thistleclaw is still part of StarClan. So are his supporters. There are a few of them who want to give a life.
So I'm thinking, first, StarClan rejects him. Says they flatly refuse to give him his lives for what he has done. Runningnose leads him away, knowing there are other allies in the skies, but a few of his StarClan supporters follow quietly. Not very many-- less than 3.
It may make a cool setting for him to receive his lives at the border between StarClan and the Dark Forest. It's a strange, dusty nebula-like place where it's hard to see what's in front of you, impossible to find StarClan unless you're blessed by a star. Some of the glowing eyes in the fog are blue; most are red.
Thistleclaw (StarClan)
For purity. To always stick to his principles, even when it makes life harder.
Brokenstar (Dark Forest)
For ShadowClan. To always keep it in his heart, and protect it at all costs. It is the strongest and most noble Clan, and without it he would not be leader today; be worthy of it.
Skystar (StarClan)
For conquest. Long ago, he watched his namesake Clan wither from the inside due to weakness. When the time came that they had no more territory to miserably cling to, they drowned like ants without a leaf. Never roll over and show your belly to your opponent; take what others don't deserve to have!
Leopardfoot (StarClan)
For legacy. She conceived Tigerstar and his siblings because she wanted to mother strong, honorable kits. Pinestar and his bloodline were known for being Crusaders, respected and powerful. He left them and destroyed his reputation; but she's here to remind him that he is her son, more than he is his son. She finishes by telling him how proud she is.
Mapleshade (Dark Forest)
For revenge. Oakstar put her children in that river, and Darkstar refused to allow her to bury them. She killed 3 more and StarClan became so furious they called both leaders to a trial and damned her victims in their blind rage. She couldn't win; but she could hurt them. THAT is a victory.
Oakstar (Dark Forest)
For glory. After StarClan unfairly put him on that trial, he dedicated his life to trying to please them as they allowed a ridiculous rule to be implemented. His Crusades did not please StarClan, but they were wrong. They were a high point in history, never before nor since have warriors been so strong as when they brawled constantly, just for honor! Remember that warriors were made to fight, it is life's purpose.
Clawface (Dark Forest)
For humility. All the strength in the world won't get an idiot very far, and it's easy to get caught off guard when you think you're at your most powerful. Never underestimate an opponent-- especially one you think will be easy to beat. (because he got killed by Graystripe lmao)
Shredtail (Dark Forest)
For dedication. Always have a goal in mind, make every action a means to an end. Know what you want and cut a path towards it-- even through your allies, if it comes down to it.
And he looks around... is there no 9th cat to give him a life? Someone assures him that sometimes leaders don't get 9, when there aren't enough cats who wish for their long rule.
Angry, he's about to pack it up and move on, when a voice asks, "have I missed the party?"
It's Spottedleaf, his old friend... and a cat who was caught in the crossfire of his scheme to replace Lionheart. She plays with him a bit. "I'll give you a life... but I won't tell you what it is! Do you trust me?" knowing Spotty, and knowing he got her killed, and knowing she knows now that he killed her brother, he thinks about this... but his ambition wins out. He wants to win as long as possible.
The life she gives him is for death. For his first to be his last. She lays a curse on him that day as revenge for what he did and what he became; that his reign will be short and his ending bloody.
Later, when Tigerstar is striking the Impossible Deal with Scourge that he does not plan to honor, the leader of BloodClan pauses to consider the alliance... Clan cats are a dishonorable bunch, and BloodClan formed in the first place to oppose their violent crusades. Scourge is no fool, there's no way this broad-shouldered scoundrel is planning to make good on his side of the bargain.
But against his better judgement, as if the wind whispers in his ear... he agrees.
[ID: Better Bones Spottedleaf. A black calico with a spotted ginger cape and a skull-shaped white mask. Her blotches are white ringed with a black center, evoking leaf blight. Her ear tufts are heart-shaped.]
The woman, the myth, the legend. Little miss Blightleaf. One of the bigger overhauls and one of my favorites.
Spottedleaf is like an older sister to Firepaw, there for him when he goes through the stressful ordeal of joining ThunderClan. She has a very morbid sense of humor and an irreverent view of life, and teaches him how to laugh at death.
And also how to break the law
Because Spotty is one of the best spiritual specialists the Clans have ever seen. Her ability to complete rituals is unmatched, be that in invocation of StarClan warriors or of the forbidden, but much more direct method of channeling. Her mentor Featherwhisker taught these things to her and even ended up in the Dark Forest over repeated disrespect of StarClan... and Spottedleaf learned it was important to not get caught.
Her role in the narrative is to die, and be a guide to death, spirituality, and choice in BB!TPB. Because she is so intimately tied to morality, she's bone-and-decay themed, with a skull marking on her face and a cape that looks like a leaf with tarspot blight. Fireheart channels her using blighted sycamore leaves, and she forwards lots of tips and prophecies StarClan was going to keep to themselves!
She gets her own POV in Spottedleaf's Plague.
More down below! (WARNING: THERE ARE LEECHES. They are very cute though and good girls.)
FAMILY
Spottedleaf and Redtail are now the children now of Rosetail.
Thistleclaw was her horrible uncle, and Whitestorm is her older cousin.
Thistle was essentially cut off by Rosetail as he grew more openly vitriolic towards her and her kits, for being friends with Bluestar, and also for invoking the Queen's Rights for her kits.
Spotty and Red were definitely not sired by a Clan cat, and xenophobic Thistleclaw is hateful towards them.
She was close friends, and had a mutual crush, with Tigerpaw. Thistleclaw tried to pry them apart, but failed.
After the brutal training where Tigerpaw would come home covered in bruises and scratches, Spotty was usually the one patching him up. He wasn't born evil, they were kids once.
Featherwhisker eventually became Spotty's mentor, after realizing her calling was medicine. They were VERY close, she was even one of the cats trusted with the secret that Frostfur is his secret daughter.
Because Redtail and Runningwind are now the dads of Sandstorm and Longtail, Squirrelflight is Spotty's grand-niece! She got her little heart-shaped ear tufts.
MAGIC SKILLS
Clan Culture now has a concept of witchcraft-- forbidden types of magic that StarClan does not approve of.
The 'correct' way to contact StarClan's warriors is to 'invoke' them. This is like a prayer, with memorized words that you recite.
This contacts StarClan first, and then they let the spirit through.
There IS an actual reason for this, it's not just to be mean. It's so no one gets rudely interrupted if they were doing something important, or they can be contacted if they couldn't 'receive the signal.'
And....... it's because the Dark Forest can be 'channeled'.
Channeling is a DIRECT invocation, not going through any other authority. Because of this, you could pull anyone if you're good at it.
Channeling requires an object associated with the spirit. It could be an item they made, something they wore, or even just things that are 'tied' to them such as Spotty and her leaf blight.
Spotty is so good at this that channeling would be much easier for her, but she only does it when she must, because... well, one of the reasons Featherwhisker is in the Dark Forest is because he so often took "shortcuts" like that.
But she does do it when Redtail dies, to test him, because he's such a stickler for the rules she knew he would yell at her and she missed that :)
After she dies, she finds out that these abilities translate 1:1 into being a strong entity.
She is fantastic at manifesting things in the mortal plane, and jumping back and forth between the realms... as long as she isn't caught.
Redtail has his work cut out for him trying to keep her in one place.
After helping Fireheart through most of TPB, her last action of big importance for many series (she will not be showing up randomly in TNP or Po3 :/ never liked that) is to give Tigerstar his final life... with a twist.
THE LEECHES
Spotty LOVES the things that others find morbid, or gross.
In fact, after all the dust settles from TPB, her favorite thing to do is to design parasites.
ShadowClan in the Forest Territories treats arthritis with medicinal leeches. They miss them a lot in the Lake Territories, but this isn't about that.
Spottedleaf received some leeches from old Yellowfang, years ago. They had good feelings about each other! Spotty thought Yellowfang was a funny old woman.
If you'd like to read about her leech husbandry, check this out!
Three of her many leeches are named, kept as favorites because they have unique traits.
The three girlies are Tongue, Wetleaf, and Wigglekit.
Their bites don't hurt, and contain a chemical called hiruden which is an anticoagulant and an anti-inflammatory.
Spotty just lets them nibble her arm when the elders don't need them for their joint pain, but they don't need to eat very often.
Yellowfang took good care of them after Spottedleaf's death, until they died in the same fire that killed her. RIP :(
[ID: Three medicinal leeches. Tongue is big, fat, and pure black. Wetleaf is dark green with a red belly. Wigglekit is tiny and colorfully spotted.]
DESIGN STUFF
Her mama Rosetail has the same facial marking, but hers is reddish-pink.
Several fans have had their own takes on her and I encourage this! Mine's a combination of @polygonyall, @lightningsoups, and @nightly-ruse
Links to those: Poly, Lightning, Ruse
I put a little 'cut mark' on her neck where Clawface rips her throat out because that is the kind of delightfully morbid thing she would adore
Is Spottedleaf still going to die/be forced into the reincarnation cycle early during the Great Battle?
I had an idea recently!!
Flametail is going to get stuck in the Dark Forest after his death, to shut him up and stop him from revealing the secret. I need to get him out SOMEHOW, right? I'm going to send in Spotty.
I think that's a really good way to send her off without it being too convoluted. If she died in the Battle of the True Eclipse, it would get overshadowed by all the action and I wouldn't give her a good enough sendoff. But going into the Dark Forest to save someone? That's a very Spotty thing to do.
So what I'm probably going to do is have her go in to save Flametail, manage to get him free, but get taken out before she can take him to StarClan itself. He'll hide until the Battle of the True Eclipse so he can join in, bypassing a slot on Jayfeather's special summoning.
But... yes, I want Spotty to fade in this arc. She's not afraid of death, she's the one who's always eager to see the next stage of existence. I want to keep her fading aligned with canon, just in case they end up doing something with all those Double Dead spirits that I get to redux. I couldn't leave BB!Spotty out of that.
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