the -stone suffix

[Lady Ten]

According to the authors, "stone" is not to be used as a canon suffix.

You might be interested to know that in the very first drafts of the series, Bluestar was called Bluestone, but we changed it because it sounded too similar to "Moonstone".

However, for anyone who isn't against using noncanon suffixes on principle, stone could be a viable suffix.

In the same way that "storm" is used for the positive and negative qualities of a certain personality, stone describes a cat whose personality comes with a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Stony cats are calm, collected, and focused. They're not energetic or playful compared to others, but they're not necessarily unfriendly. In some ways, they're like the opposite of the stormy cats in that their emotions are very downplayed.

Some people struggle over the frost suffix and how to present an inexpressive personality in a neutral or positive light. Frostiness always comes with negative connotations of meanness or disdain, so frost would be demeaning as a suffix, but with stone, that's not necessarily so. It captures the inexpressive side without the rudeness, and I daresay you don't have to be especially excitable to cooperate well in a community.

[mistytail]

While I could be interpeting that quote incorrectly, I think they simply changed it from Bluestone to Bluestar because Bluestone and Moonstone just sound very similar when spoken aloud. I believe Bluestar was also called Moonstar in early drafts of the series as well. Dang, Erins, really?

I don't think it was necessarily the -stone aspect of the Moonstone the cats found sacred, but the moon- part. Don't forget the mountains surrounding it were called Highstones, and the cats didn't consider those especially sacred. So I think -stone could be fine as a suffix. Stone- has been used multiple times as a prefix, like Stonefur, Bluestar's son, and Stonestream of RiverClan. So yes, -stone seems like it would be an acceptable prefix, especially for an exceptionally reliable cat, albeit distant and removed, as you suggested.

[Lady Ten]

Yep, they haven't really come out and called stone "sacred" or "forbidden," but it hasn't been used on any canon cats, that I know of. So I'm acknowledging that this isn't something the Erins use, and also that I don't care about that. Glad I'm not the only one this makes sense to. I don't see it used for OCs often (ever?) and it seems like it would be to the tastes of both traditional and lyrical namers.