#BB!Sedgecreek

[bonefall]

Better Bones Profile: Sedgecreek

RiverClan's first Lake deputy, and world famous cutie pie!

[ID: The BB version of Sedgecreek from Warrior Cats. She is a wood-brown tabby with short, comma-shaped stripes of a darker brown. She is short and her body is long, with a chunky tail.]

Clanmew Name: Kyyrakoshu, nickname Kyyko. (Kyyra = Sedge, a type of lido grass + Koshu = Creek, a small, shady river)

Alignment: RiverClan

Relations: Ex-Mate - Greenflower Children - Swallowtail, Beechfur Nyams - Loudbelly (littermate), Duckfur (Sib-in-law) Education - Crookedstar (mentor), Grasswhisker (apprentice)

See Also: The Dragonkin Family, and the RiverClan Family Tree

Mistyfoot realized at the end of BB!TNP that Hawkfrost was not the tiger that lurked within RiverClan. He didn't choose himself as deputy while she was captured, breaking the code in the process. It wasn't his call to defy StarClan's will to delay the Great Journey. It was up to Leopardstar to punish the surviving RiverClan mercenaries who served Mudclaw's insurrection, and overrule the false sign that exiled three cats from her Clan... and she didn't.

Seated atop the stump with the sun setting behind her, Leopardstar's black silhouette invoked Mistyfoot's memory of a powerful cat lording over a pile of bones. Her eyes flashed-- Tigerstar amber, dark forest red. His ideas were an infectious sort of immortal; they will not die unless they are killed.

So with Leopardstar's sudden, 'mysterious' death to a "rogue", Mistystar realized she would need to make a strong, tactical choice of a new deputy. Someone who would be able to help her navigate the tense situation she was in, to balance out the harsh choices she was about to make, to be the honey to her sting.

The choice was obvious. Now, she would have to prepare for the hard work ahead...

[ID: BB!Mistystar and BB!Sedgecreek leaning back to back. Mistystar grimly explains, "someone will die." Sedgecreek interjects, "of fun!!!"]

(Lots more below the cut!)

Personality and Trivia:

She is CHEERFUL! It takes a lot to make Sedgecreek upset!

Always smiling, never loses hope, always tries to see the bright side of every situation.

"A mistake is just a chance to learn what NOT to do!!"

People like her. She's just a super likeable person, the sort of cat who gets along with people you'd never expect.

She has learned that you should listen twice as much as you talk. She's always there to comfort her friends, family, and clanmates. Very approachable personality.

I imagine a lot of RiverClan warriors are "stocky," longer than they are tall, Sedgecreek especially.

She's also got a very thick tail, making her an excellent and sturdy swimmer.

Her favorite food is pike meat, which Greenflower once wooed her with. Not very many RiverClan warriors are bold enough to tangle with pikes.

Imo, Sedge is a super underrated background character. Her apprenticeship under Crookedjaw is super cute and no one ever talks about it!

and BOY OH BOY has her role been expanded in BB!!

Long before the Great Journey was even a consideration, back during TPB…

Sedgecreek was mates with Greenflower. They welcomed their kits, Swallowkit and Beechkit, to the world just before RiverClan and ShadowClan moved to form TigerClan.

Greenflower's sibling, Duckfur, was the honor sire for the couple. Under the Queen's Rights, you don't have to explain where your kittens came from. Sedgecreek gave birth and that's that.

But supporters of Thistle Law do not respect the Queen's Rights.

When Greenflower announced openly that their kittens had been sired by Duckfur, Sedgecreek was uncomfortable, but believed she was keeping their family safe.

But... it turned out to be worse than that.

Greenflower was a true believer. She had been holding a lot of her 'worst' ideas back, but felt emboldened to speak openly with the alliance between Tigerstar and Leopardstar.

Sedgecreek knew Greenflower went to the execution of Stonefur... but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to.

She couldn't watch an old friend die like that, or stomach the thought of Greenflower reacting to it.

They stayed together for the children, as Sedgecreek staved off the dawning realization that her mate wasn't the cat she thought she was.

It was easy to put it off a little longer, when their next common enemy was BloodClan and RiverClan "returned to normal."

Though they nearly had a blow-out argument over RiverClan refusing to join in with the trading that WindClan and ThunderClan were doing with BloodClan... Sedgecreek apologized, and held her tongue. Suddenly, their roles had been reversed, with Sedgecreek staying quiet to "keep the peace".

Normally very cheerful and outspoken, with friends in other Clans and open-mindedness to cooperation, Sedgecreek spent almost two years of her life just trying to save her mateship. She thought that maybe Greenflower would return to the bold, loyal cat she used to adore, if she just loved her enough and made her feel heard...

But then, during the Great Journey...

Their baby Swallowtail fell in love with a ThunderClan warrior, Rainwhisker.

Greenflower "warned her" about loving cats from other Clans, "Don't make me do something I don't want to, Swallowtail."

Sedgecreek knew how powerful love can be. Rainwhisker was big, handsome, and sweet. She saw a lot of herself in him, and would have approved of him as her son-in-law in a heartbeat

Even though Swallowtail was trying to hide it after that confrontation, Sedgecreek KNEW that Rainwhisker was perfect for her. She knows her daughter better than anyone-- Swallow would never be able to fight it.

But all journey long, Greenflower was growing more and more critical of Swallowtail. Comparing her to her brother Beechfur, constantly questioning her whereabouts, making up stupid tasks to keep her busy.

Sedge and Green were fighting over it, again, but this time Sedge was starting to care less about making up afterwards.

Then, the worst possible thing happened... during the WindClan Civil War, Rainwhisker was killed in battle.

Swallowtail was inconsolable. That brought them all together, for just a little while longer.

But then, Swallowtail discovered she was pregnant. She didn't say anything about the father, and yet Greenflower LOST it. She flew into a frenzy, shouting their daughter down and threatening to disown her. The line that finally broke their mateship was simply,

"Just when it seemed like the problem was solved--"

Sedgecreek didn't even let her finish. How DARE she?? To treat their baby's painful loss, their coming grandchildren, and Swallowtail's right as a Queen, like the continuation of a problem???

So she told her to get out. Quietly at first. Greenflower refused, so she said it louder. Then she shouted it. And then she SCREAMED it, and when THAT didn't work, she THREW her out of the Cleric's den. For SEASONS she had sacrificed for the sake of her children, only for it to end in a choice between her wife and daughter.

But even then, Sedgecreek felt hot with shame that she'd caused such a scene! The whole camp saw her toss Greenflower like a rotten fish!! Sweet, cheerful Sedgecreek!!! It was mortifying, she'd never lost her temper like that, the entire Clan was surprised!

Mistyfoot saw this just like everyone else in RiverClan... and it stood out in her mind, as she shuffled home considering who her deputy would be.

It had to be someone as uncontroversial as possible... Mistyfoot's reputation had been dragged through the mud by Hawkfrost's constant challenges. A sizable portion of RiverClan did not respect her anymore.

So Swansong, her brother and greatest ally, was out of the question. He didn't have a diplomatic bone in his body.

Mosspelt was her sister-in-law, and she needed a deputy who could ward off accusations of nepotism.

Reedwhisker had Skyheart as his mentor, who kept him in an apprenticeship nightmare for over a year. He was too young on top of being ineligible.

But, she needed someone who would understand the threat they faced, and take it seriously. It, hopefully obviously, couldn't be one of her enemies.

And THAT was when she remembered Sedgecreek standing up to Greenflower. How she's everyone's friend, patient and enthusiastic, and yet how she still snapped at her long-time mate.

While no one knows EXACTLY why she snapped except the little family itself, Mistyfoot had a good hunch it was related to Swallowtail claiming Queen's Rights for her litter.

And that is exactly the sort of principled cat she needs by her side.

So... Sedgecreek was perfect. She was diplomatic, friendly, and yet, able to stand up for herself, ready to fight for the Clan they deserved. Her upbeat personality would be a perfect compliment to Mistystar's dour, serious one. This was the best possible choice.

During BB!OotS, Sedgecreek was targeted for replacement by the Dark Forest demons. While they managed to kill several of their targets and even cause ShadowClan to fall, Sedgecreek managed to escape an attempt on her life. But, before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, she took it as a sign to step down so that someone younger could take over. By this point, she had become a great-grandmother and was beginning to feel her age.

Reedwhisker takes her place as deputy, and she's able to live out the last of her days in the Elder's Den. She peacefully passes away at some point in AVoS, surrounded by the family she chose to stand beside.

[bonefall]

SEDGEPUTY!!!! I’m so excited, that’s my GIRL!

- og sedgecreek anon

[ID: BB!Mistystar and BB!Sedgecreek, back to back. Mistystar says, "Someone will die..." which Sedgecreek finishes with, "Of fun!!!"]

Reedwhisker is too inexperienced when Mistyfoot kills Leopardstar at the end of Better Bones TNP. She needs someone by her side she can trust, someone who agrees that the threat of Thistle Law is something that needs to be stamped out, someone who won't be seen as just a nepotism pick...

Someone who's a LITTLE SILLY

Sedgecreek is perfect, having sided with her daughter Swallowtail when she claimed Queen's Rights, taking a final stand against her mate Greenflower. She was a quiet ally in the chaos of TigerClan, not a rebel but not an enemy. But now, like Mistyfoot, she's come to realize something must be done.

Though, she's never told that Leopardstar didn't die to a rogue! Mistystar intends to take THAT little secret to her grave.

Sedgecreek's family has been changed a bit! Loudbelly is still her brother, but Reedtail is not. Her children with Greenflower are Beechfur and Swallowtail, and they were born during TigerClan's reign over RiverClan.

(Psst! Full BB!RiverClan family tree over here!)

Greenflower revealed deeply personal information, revealing that their kits were honor sired by Green's sibling Duckfur, to prove their 'shared' commitment to the new Clan's ideals. Sedge forgave her once, but refused to forgive her again when Swallowtail and their grandchildren were on the line.

Sedgeputy rules until sometime in BB!OoTS, around the time of the Great Battle, as a result of the Dark Forest trying to install a new deputy. After a death scare, she decides to retire to live out her last days in peace.

[bonefall]

Mistystar with 100 extra lives because of all the people who want to back her

(prev)

Mistyfoot: "I killed my leader... I saw no other choice, it was the only way to prevent the downfall of my beloved Clan, I did it not out of ire but out of love for my Clanmates, for self-preservation... the blood will never wash out of my claws, no one shall ever know what happened on that fateful day besides the Stars above, and I can only hope that the cold glimmer of the night sky is a blink of love, and not of rage"

700000 dead cats: "We know this, and we love you,"

[bonefall]

Do you think the clan cats having less kits per litter/less litters in general (they already have less kits than real cats) would fix the bloated cast issue? Because I look at Ginga and the cast is also bloated and only a few characters have offspring but the author keeps making other dogs join Ohu and refuses to kill the old as fuck dogs

I don't think there's any one particular "solution" for stopping bloat in series that manage large casts through generations like Ginga or WC, it's actually a few things

The #1 MOST important thing I think about bloat, though, is that it's about a ratio of quality to quantity. NOT raw size.

A long while back I made a couple of allegiance lists for certain eras. In spite of my Clans having the same (or even higher!) population as canon, I NEVER struggled with those lists being bloated. If anything, sometimes if a Clan's below 30, they look too small.

(I'm sure you can find those lists if you look, they're probably tagged BB!Allegiance, but they might be a bit out of date)

That's because in BB, there's dozens of HUGE cultural additions to Clan life. In "administration," alone, there's 3 new major divisions of skills (hunting, cooking, construction) ALL with their own "head" of that patrol, plus canon's leader, deputy, and Cleric. Not to mention subtitles like the Educator and maybe a Chaperone/Permaqueen!

So to bring it back to that "Ratio Theory," If our Clan is 30 cats, those 8 major roles immediately give at least a slight amount of character to a little over 25% of our group, with each role being something that the other 75% of cats can desire and compete for.

Canon's measly 3 is 10%, and you can ONLY vy for deputyship if you want any power. There's nothing else to BE ambitious about.

You can make the ratio higher by having hobbies, drama, skills, arts, etc. Basically; characterize background characters! Which should be obvious!! Give them traits that are useful and interesting and show the community being valuable.

It won't feel like "bloat," it has the sense of communities living their lives. Even if they go quiet for a while, when they return (just look at how much people like seeing Sedgecreek or Hallowflight mentioned lmao) it feels like meeting an old friend again.

WAYS TO MAKE BLOAT FEEL WORSE;

Giving too many "opportunities" to old characters.

Think of every relevant role a cat gets as a meal, and the bigger the role the more they've eaten. If you're only giving value to your old fanfavs, you're not doing much for them because they're already full while the rest of your cast starves.

Haphazardly killing off characters.

I actually strongly resent the "trend" where people conflate good storytelling with an author's willingness to suddenly kill characters off. I think it comes from the same place as needing to "outsmart" your audience.

If you kill off a character with VALUE, an unfinished arc, interesting connections, it's just unsatisfying. The Erins have this problem of killing background characters with some established lore or value (like Harelight and Briarlight) while leaving uninteresting background nobodies behind that they never build back up.

Before killing a character, ask yourself what their role in the cast is, and their dynamic with others. Try not to axe them without a plan to fill that "role" and/or comment on their absence. Replace what you take.

EASY REPLACABILITY

This one is HUGE, this is why Ginga is so bad with this. If a bunch of dogs die, 100 random soldiers can replace them from somewhere. That is REALLY bad, because all the random influxes of new characters do not have a chance to replace what was lost.

It also makes death feel cheaper. Oh no! Background dog 7446 got eaten by the newest type of bear. This won't make battles harder to win or cause us to lose any valuable skills though. Also a new dog just walked in from offscreen.

Population Growth outpaces Death Rate

AKA your cast is growing too fast and you're not getting rid of old characters. This is what anon was asking about-- and it CAN help to make births less frequent and litters smaller. Make sure to pair with preventing lots of new, adult characters to casually wander in, too.

ALL of these tips have exceptions and places where they can (and should) be subverted and broken. But these are just things I think about

[bonefall]

BB!Mistystar really does have the best arc in Better Bones, ngl

context below the cut:

BB!TNP is an arc that confronts a lot of the leftover ideas from TPB, one of which is an overhaul of Hawkfrost. Instead of being "The Tiger in RiverClan," he was groomed by the remaining TigerClan supporters to inherit his father's legacy

Mistyfoot realizes that he wasn't the root of the evil; he was a symptom. And RiverClan doesn't "go back to normal." After another clan discussion blows up into a huge argument, she looks up for help to her leader on the stump... only to see her gazing down with amusement.

The setting sun turns Leopardstar into a black shape on a dark, spiky hill, splinters and branches jagged like rotting bones. Her eyes flash, Tigerstar amber, Dark Forest red, and Mistyfoot understands that these ideas won't die unless they are killed.

She finishes Leopardstar by bashing her head on a rock in the southern delta, an inlet river, which is what causes the lake to run red with blood. Hawkfrost's death is now impaling himself on the stake by accident, charging at Mothwing when she pulls it out of the ground.

Mistyfoot then chooses Sedgecreek as her first deputy.

[bonefall]

are there any background characters in original warrior cats that you gave a bigger role in bb just because you find them really interesting

A whole lot honestly! I really like tons of little background characters, and generally want the Clans to feel more like communities. To do that, a lot more cats need to have personalities and dynamics with each other.

Plus, since I use Missing Kits to pad out smaller Clans, I have to make personalities for them from scratch. So going from 0 to 10 is a bigger role by definition.

But in terms of characters who were already substantial and getting expansions, here's a few

Nightcloud and her entire family; she's now taking Crowfeather's SE from him.

Sedgecreek and her divorce and deputyship

Sorreltail my Beloved

Hallowflight and his marathon

Honeyfern and her honor title; Honeysnake

[bonefall]

BB!Hallowflight

Dang, little dude was a breakout star of the Great Battle outline. Here he is!

[ID: Hollowflight from Warrior Cats, slightly renamed into a cat called 'Hallowflight.' He is a brown tabby with a soft, creamy belly that has gentle ginger gradients and amber eyes.]

Clanmew Name: Shahafyiooaw (Shahaf = Holy, Yiooaw = Flew like a swift or swallow. His official nickname is Shaw. SHahafyiooAW.)

Alignment: RiverClan

Relations: Rainstorm (father), Reedwhisker (mentor), Rushfish & Tanglepaw (siblings), Troutstream (bullied by), Lakeheart (mate), Harelight & Softpelt & Dappletuft (children)

See: Official BB!RiverClan Family Tree And: Dragonkin Family

Previously named Lizardtail, Hallowflight was a Dark Forest trainee who defected at the very end of the battle. He broke ranks when Tigerstar's plan pivoted to the slaughter of innocents, tearing across the territory at record speed, and swimming across the lake itself.

Though he collapsed when he finally fetched help, Mistystar was moved by his incredible display of heroism. While Wind and Thunder were punishing their trainees, regardless of if they had willingly defected or not, she was so awed that she felt it appropriate to bestow an Honor Title.

After OotS, he becomes a respected warrior of RiverClan, taking a place under his great-grandmother Sedgecreek and deceased uncle Rippletail. His honorable renaming solidifies his family as being quite renowned, but also, for having a fair amount of scandal.

More trivia below!

His parent Rainstorm and uncle Rippletail were the products of a HalfClan relationship between Swallowtail and Rainwhisker!

This situation was the breaking point between his great-grandmothers, Sedgecreek and Greenflower, and lead to Mistystar choosing Sedge as her deputy.

Rainstorm was part of the Po3 Apprentice Generation, and a casual friend of the Three. Particularly Lionblaze.

Rainstorm does not share where they got the kits from, invoking Queen's Rights adamantly.

Growing up, Lizardpaw had trouble with Troutpaw and Mossypaw because he was a 'meek minnow'. Always pushed around and had to rely on Rushpaw to save his butt.

The Dark Forest offered to show him how to be stronger than his bullies and he accepted, he was a naiive kid.

But he always had a good heart. Following Tigerstar through most of the battle was cowardice, he was afraid of what they'd do to him

When Hawkfrost attacked Tigerstar to stop him, Lizardtail took the chance to slip away unnoticed and run for help

After the Great Battle, he became close with Lakeheart, and eventually they had three kits together.

Dappletuft died in an attempt on the impostor's life, and was buried like a rogue. Softpelt died in the tyrant's defense. Harefur was exiled for supporting the rebels but returned when Ashfur's identity was revealed, and went into the Dark Forest to avenge his siblings.

Hallowflight is proud of his son and cheers the loudest at his Honor Title ceremony, but ever since then, Harelight has had his parents at paw's length.

He hasn't forgiven them for how they didn't fight for him to attend the funerals of either of his siblings, and just let Dappletuft get buried like a rogue.

IN TERMS OF DESIGN AND DECISIONS:

It's interesting that he's actually a direct descendant of Willowpelt through Rainwhisker. I'm planning to give her some funky teeth and Harelight was also getting a little overbite, so I decided to bridge the two with Hallowflight getting some odd fangs too.

I love his wiki sprite with that little orange gradient, so it's official in this design. I'm not sure where it comes from, maybe his secret mother.

His stripes are in 3s, one thin in the middle, bordered by two thicks.

I merged Lizardtail and Hollowflight, because I was committed to making Hollow survive the battle and Lizard is a convenient living background nobody with a canonical family I can use.

So all canonical roles Lizardtail is getting will be taken over by Hallowflight!

His Clanmew name is pretty interesting. It's straightforward as a translation, but Clanmew doesn't make a distinction between 'Healing' and 'Holiness.' So 'Shahaf' has a bit of a vibe of redemption in the original language, like he's healing from his mistakes.

The form of 'flight' that's being used is the one for the hurried, dashing movements of birds like martins, swallows, and swifts. They're birds that rarely stop flying, and swifts even drink while airborne! They do this by skimming the top of lakes and taking a big gulp of water. VERY cool animals.

So the 'flew like a swift' invokes the idea of him skimming the top of the lake and making a direct beeline to get redemption.

[bonefall]

BB!Character Summaries Masterpost

...and also a place for me to dump my art

Version: 1.1

Character summaries are when I make a design for a character, and then ramble about their personality, role, and altered family in Better Bones!

I'm open to making these for just about any character, even if they're as minor as someone like Mumblefoot. I love kissing background blorbos on the head, like the pope but if he was cool.

For now I'll sort this by Clan and chronology, older cats first.

THUNDERCLAN

Goosefeather

Featherwhisker

Spottedleaf

Runningwind and Mousefur

Longtail (kind of, plus Jaypaw)

Dustpelt

Firestar

Sorreltail

Squirrelflight

Leafpool

Birchfall

Millie (headshot)

Cinderheart

Hollyleaf

Lionblaze

Ivypool

Sparkpelt

Alderheart

SHADOWCLAN

Deerfoot

Runningnose

Tangleburr

Wildfur

Tawnypelt

tigerHeartstar

Gullswoop

Shadowsight

RIVERCLAN

Whitefang and Dragonclaw

Sedgecreek

Hallowflight

WINDCLAN

Larkstripe

Brushblaze

Heathertail

Antpelt

DARK FOREST

Shredtail

Morningstar

Houndleap

Silverhawk

Antpelt

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

Barley Senior and Barley Junior

PREHISTORIC CATS

Dove Wing/Half Moon + Jay Wing

Acorn Swoop

Bumble

Thunder Storm (ref; not a summary)

OTHER STUFF (because idk where else to put this)

ANIMATOR FRIENDLY BUMBLE

Hongry Ashfur

Snapper's Shenanigans Ft. Crowpaw and Gorsepaw

Brushblaze is Disappointed

Fallenleaf Card

Stupidhead

Bumble bestows a speech upon Tigerstar

Oakheart: the dad who stepped up

Resting Bitchface: Blackstar, Rosepetal, Dappletail, Lilyheart

Snowfur Doodles

Cloudtail's makeup

[bonefall]

what happens in BB!OOTS? (i really want to know this lol, i've just started reading it)

WELL compared to canon, here's a teaser list of changes;

Hot off the heels of the episodic Po3, OotS is when the plot truly thickens. The change in tone is bridged by Cruel Season, a sort of in-between book.

Dove and Ivy are secretly the children of Poppyfrost and Jayfeather, being raised by Lionblaze and Cinderheart

The Dark Forest has a plan now; they want to replace cats in positions of power with their trainees.

Once they have positions of leadership secured, no one will be able to stop them from worshipping damned spirits in public, and eventually they can usurp StarClan and become the new Gods

To this end, Hawkfrost (the truly diplomatic one between him and Tiger) is pulling together the biggest alliance he can.

Because the Dark Forest is stuffed with cats who have nothing in common, this is an insane amount of work. Cats like Morningstar couldn't be more ideologically opposed to cats like Thistleclaw

Hawkfrost: "I CAN MAKE THIS WORK"

Hawkfrost is a major expansion in BB; his development and eventual redemption is central to the entire arc

Ivypool and Dovewing are both being pressured and mistreated by Father Lionblaze, he is committed to using them for ThunderClan's benefit

Ivy is pushed to spy on the Dark Forest. Dove is pushed to use her powers to benefit ThunderClan

Birchfall, her new mentor, has a unique mindset from being a kit during the Great Journey and meanwhile is fighting Lionblaze constantly

Dove adores her mentor

Ivypaw's waking world mentor is BRIGHTHEART, though they don't bond until eventually Bright is the only one who understands Ivy's survivor's guilt.

And that comes from Antpelt's death now being an accident! It was not known that living souls can kill spirits.

Ivy blames herself for this.

This is a major point in Hawkfrost's turnaround; eventually realizing that this isn't worth it

The Dark Forest is no longer a truly awful place to be. The scenery is just edgy, it can be home if you let it be

It's people like Tigerstar who make it unbearable

The DF Demons do manage to make progress. Firestar is dead by Cruel Season and Bramblestar chooses Thornclaw as his deputy, after demoting Squilf following the secret reveal

So far; they also get Sedgecreek to retire, they'll probably kill Ashfoot, they drown Flametail, attacked Jayfeather, killed Russetfur, and damn near managed to capture all of ShadowClan but Blackstar came around just in time.

ACTUAL accomplishments, not just training.

More trainees have expanded backstories and motivations.

Sol's eclipse from late Po3 is A SHAM. That was the Battle of the False Eclipse, the REAL eclipse is the only night that the DF Demons can fully manifest in the physical plane

And after their plan to take ShadowClan fell apart thanks to Rowanclaw putting together a pep rally for Blackstar, they decide the assault is worth it.

The Great Battle is totally reduxed, including a Scourge/Tigerstar rematch, battle plans, Lizardtail earning Hallowflight as an honor title, and Jayfeather using his powers to summon angels to fight with them

Angel Firestar vs Demon Tigerstar, obviously. A must.

I really gotta compile links at some point, lmao. But that's the basic gist of BB!OotS!

[bonefall]

Motivations of Dark Forest Trainees -- Planning

So I'm going to flesh out the Dark Forest and its inhabitants. First I need to compile a list of everyone who trained in the Dark Forest, and a brief summary of their motivations.

So if you guys have any input, weigh in!

First though-- Removals and Openings

Birchfall is not going to train in the Dark Forest. He's being changed to Dovewing's mentor, and a source of comfort to her as opposed to her father Lionblaze. He has too much going on.

Larkwing is also being removed. Sedgewhisker was very young and there’s no need for her to have kittens when she’s barely 2 years old, let alone have that kitten in Dark Forest training.

There were 18 DF trainees without Birch. 4 River, 3 Shadow, 4 Thunder, and 7 Wind. I'm willing to bump that number up to an even 20. Maybe even more if there’s some enticing ideas.

So far there are 18 trainees on this list; that makes 2 open spaces.

The Trainees so Far

WindClan

Breezepelt, naturally Motivation: Neglected and abused by father, mother attempted to assassinate Onewhisker. Sees The Three as a symbol of Crowfeather hating him and being heirs of destiny. Changes: Apprentice is now Furzepaw, not Boulderpaw, and he encouraged Furze to train in the Dark Forest with him. Kills Firestar in early OotS.

Harespring Motivation: The pressure StarClan put on his brother Kestrelflight made him think that it can't be all that good... so maybe the Dark Forest isn't as bad? Plus, he would like to meet Mudclaw, and was an old friend of Breezepelt. Changes: Apprentice is now Boulderpaw, who he never got involved in his Dark Forest training.

Furzepelt Motivation: Breezepelt encouraged her to join him. Changes: Grows very close to Antpelt and Sunstrike, becomes mates with Sunstrike (sapphic)

Antpelt Motivation: Old friend of Breezepelt Changes: It was not known that Ivypool killing him as a spirit would kill him forever. It came as a shock to everyone-- and it's how the DF cats learned that spirits can be killed by the living. Spirits can't kill other spirits. This situation makes Ivypool blame herself for his death.

Sunstrike Motivation: Dissatisfaction with Onestar; possibly thinks Breezepelt would be a better leader because her parents were hurt in a battle that was lost. Changes: Surviving instead of Whiskernose (because i like her more), disabled after the battle.

Whiskernose Motivation: Xenophobia, ambition. Feels Onestar is weak like Tallstar before him. Changes: Dying instead of Sunstrike (because i like him less), helps to start the fire in ThunderClan to make an opening for Thornclaw and Breezepelt to kill Firestar. One of the older trainees.

RiverClan

Minnowtail Motivation: HalfClan relationship with Mousewhisker, gets recruited by Cloudberry and Ryewhisker. Changes: Going to lean in more to Minnow and Mouse having a secret relationship. Mouse eventually moves to RiverClan in TBC or ASC.

Icewing Motivation: Curiosity, influence from mother Skyheart. Knew that Mistystar lied about how Leopardstar died in BB!TNP, but only found out this way that she was murdered. Gets hooked after this, realizing that the training could give her power. If Mistystar murdered Leopardstar... what does that say about her fitness to rule? Might want to become deputy. Changes: Needs to be clearer that she's Beetlewhisker's mother. I would like her to do more, generally. Mate, Mintflower, was a Tribe cat. Sedgecreek, current deputy, narrowly survives a dangerous situation and decides to retire; that was definitely part of a DF plot.

Beetlewhisker Motivation: Supporting Icewing Changes: Brokenstar is no longer part of the Dark Forest, so someone else will kill him. Probably Thistleclaw.

Lizardtail Motivation: Bullied by Mossyfoot (apprentice of Minnowtail) and Troutstream. Changes: Becomes Hallowflight as an honor title after swimming across the lake and running another mile to get help, betraying the Dark Forest.

ShadowClan (I actually like that it's the least represented Clan for once so I'm not looking to add any cats here)

Applefur Motivation: Jealousy of Marshwing, desire to be a ferocious warrior. Changes: Will probably kill Brackenfur. Generally beefed up.

Redwillow Motivation: ??? (Seems aggressive; true believer?) Changes: Change mentor to Applefur?

Ratscar Motivation: ??? (I'm thinking dissatisfaction with Blackstar's rule) Changes: Ratscar raised his sister Snowbird after their parents died. An adult warrior during the WindClan Massacre, he's the oldest trainee and this should be noted.

ThunderClan

Ivypool Motivation: Pushed there by Lionblaze. Eventually has her jealousy and alienation from Dovewing exploited. Changes: Daughter of Lionblaze now. Waking-world mentor is Brightheart. Dark Forest mentor is Hawkfrost, who has a redemption arc.

Blossomfall Motivation: Jealousy over Briarlight, dissatisfaction with Bramblestar Changes: Graystripe needs to be more involved as one of the reasons Blossomfall is training here.

Thornclaw Motivation: Secret supporter of Thistle Law. Wants power. Changes: Deputy of ThunderClan under Bramblestar. Was in on the plot to kill Firestar and was probably aware of the plot to eliminate Brackenfur. Dies in the Great Battle and goes to the Dark Forest in death.

Mousewhisker Motivation: Wants to be stronger... but also likes the chance to hang out with Minnowtail. Changes: His waking world mentor is Iceheart, the cat who was once Scourge.

Spiderleg Motivation: Training with his mentor, Thornclaw. A Thistle Law supporter who regrets his time with Daisy and seeking to make ThunderClan strong again. Changes: He comes extremely close to killing his son Toadstep in the Great Battle, and regrets his time here deeply.

These cats need to have perceived grievances with their Clans, which Tigerstar and his group are trying to help them achieve. The Dark Forest will actually be getting a plan in this redux; they are putting their trainees in power by trying to kill their rivals and Clan leadership.

The Dark Forest spirits will also be getting their own motivations, which Tigerstar had to consider while he was coalition building.

[bonefall]

any extra trivia about swansong??

youve given me a new warriors blorbo i LOVE swansong. my guy.

There's quite a bit!

Swansong is replacing Frogleap as Mosspelt's mate for Better Bones.

First and foremost it's because I do not respect Frogleap nor most of Leopardstar's Hernia

Second of all it fixes a problem where Mosspelt's mate is dead when she has Willowshine

Swansong and Mosspelt have three kits; Dawnflower, Willowshine, and Stonestream!

Swansong named Stonestream as a very angry challenge to Leopardstar when she wasn't assigning apprentices to suspected TigerClan Rebels in BB!TNP

So just to make his position clear, he named his son after his brother.

His primary trait is LOYALTY over all. Swansong would do anything for his family

When he was young and stupid, he thought that included the whole Clan. He thought they were all supposed to be loyal for each other

But RiverClan made it clear the day his siblings were Dishonor renamed and he was excluded that they will pick and choose who's 'pure' enough

At first, they all kept calm assuring each other that it was temporary, they were all loyal warriors, this was a test of their strength and would be over soon

Swansong was part of the TigerClan rebels, along with some odd names like Jaggedtooth and Deerfoot. They all had a paw in springing Misty, Storm, and Feather

Deerfoot was captured, but refused to name any of his accomplices, and died for it. Swansong owes him his life.

After Mistystar killed Leopardstar at the end of BB!TNP he was considered for the deputy position, but Misty chose Sedgecreek instead

She wanted the pick to look less nepotistic, and have a better communicator to smooth out the controversial changes she was about to make.

She LOVES Swansong but... she would have changed course and set punishments for the participants in the WindClan Rebellion and he would have been like,

"Oh the traitors are whining about the consequences of their actions??? Cry me a second river"

deeeefinitely not the best choice of deputy for navigating a sensitive new situation

And that's Swansong! Loyal, bold, and righteous. For some bonus trivia:

A Swansong is a singer's final performance before retirement. I want him to go out in the Great Battle, fighting alongside Misty and Stone one last time.

He looks absolutely nothing like his siblings, comically so. I wasn't playing he looks like a copy of Rippleclaw.

Swan is notably smaller and more lithe than his littermates. RiverClan otter build vs their "sea wolf" aesthetic

Because he doesn't have Appledusk's bloodline, he is not haunted by Mapleshade

"How many OTHER things am I left out of??"

He is a Su Susanne Missing Kit! Swankit has one appearance in TPB but died shortly after being introduced to his siblings. He gets to live in BB.

The other two, Morningkit and Splashkit, are on hold in case I need them in the future.

[bonefall]

do you have any toxic families who “get better” even if they aren’t perfect? sometimes parents do get better but for me it wasn’t until i was an adult so it. feels complicated.

I do! But I am aiming for there to be more examples of families that don't, or are broken in a way that they can never be what they always imagined. It's my little way of rejecting the more common depictions of toxic families, which is, "Oh they're still your parents. You only get one. They tried their best. Forgiveness is always good and always necessary."

Imo the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, so, jot that down

Digressing, here's the families with some toxic dynamics I'm planning;

Sparkpelt and Nightheart: Reconcile, I don't rewrite arcs until they are done but I am dead set on fixing the buildup of miscommunication between the two of them.

Tallstar and Palebird: Reconcile, expanding on Pale having severe postpartum depression when he was born

Bramblestar's Thorns: Spark and Alder reconcile along with Jessy, Bramble is always on thin ice with them.

Lionblaze and Dove/Ivy: Lion and Ivy are able to mend, Dove hasn't forgiven either of them.

Thunder Storm and Co: Gray Wing has some things to unlearn that he picked up from Clear Sky, but is strongly considered Thunder's dad here and comes out wiser from this. Clear Sky is Not forgiven.

Owlclaw and Whitewater: I haven't had the chance to really talk about these two yet, but the fact that White is scared of her child is influential to him as a little bully.

Tangleburr and Deerfoot: Deerfoot died to TigerClan and Tangleburr supported it until it was too late. This is something that haunts her, that they weren't able to fully reconcile.

Blackstar: Instead of Blizzardwing being Featherstorm's second mate, he was unhappily cat married to Hollyflower and they were CONSTANTLY fighting. Black was very close with his siblings as a result of this.

Crookedstar and Rainflower: Staying largely unaltered, however, she is not allowed to abusively rename her child. sincerely what the fuck. why did Hailbert "The Word Of The Leader Is The Warrior Code" McStar allow this. Why Can You Not Say No. Crookedjaw is an honor title in BB.

Sedgecreek: Actually ends up cat divorcing her wife Greenflower when she's xenophobic towards their daughter Swallowtail and their grandchildren. Also she gets to become deputy.

Aaaaand under the cut is Graystripe's family thing because it's so large it couldn't fit in a bullet point summary

Graystripe and Co

He has never really moved on from Silverstream, or the death of Feathertail. He loves his Three Bs, but it's always obvious to them that his heart is somewhere else. They're compared to Storm and Feather a lot, and Gray doesn't realize how much it hurts to be second best to siblings you never met.

But worse is that he can't stand up to Millie, when she smothers Briarlight after she's paralyzed. He can't lose another mate, so he doesn't defend his daughter, and he's not there for the other two when Briar ends up being the only cat Millie focuses on.

And Millie... after over a year of mistreating Briarlight and making it all about her, she gets cut off completely. Jessy upgrades Briar's mobility device, giving her more freedom than she's had since the accident, and Millie's response is, "Don't give her false hope! Shame on you, she'll ALWAYS need me with her!"

Briar says, "No! That's enough! I don't want to hear from you until you learn some respect!"

Millie is cut off for several months. Graystripe is forced to stay on her side of the line. Blossomfall and Bumblestripe are working through their resentment. Blossom's kittens come and grow, the impostor happens, Stemleaf and Briarlight are both victims of his regime.

Shellfur and Bumblestripe both have long reckonings with how they supported him. Shellfur is nearly cut off by Spotfur and threatened with not being involved with his nespring's lives, Bumblestripe goes on a long journey with Ferncloud and Cloudtail, replacing Graystripe's Vow with Ferncloud's Parting.

There's a lot here. I intend for some things to get better, some things to get worse.

[bonefall]

Reply roundup: Maples, Flowerscar, Educators

Inbox still closed (I have sooo many asks) but here's a few quick answers to the replies✨

"Who was educator before Ferncloud? Who's the educator in other Clans?" @halogenwarrior

Dappletail was the Educator before Ferncloud! There's a tiny note in the upcoming outline for Firestar's Quietus where she decides to pass the torch to Fern before her death in TNP proper.

In other Clans, I simply haven't chosen the educator. WindClan and ShadowClan are still pending their Family Tree overhauls before I can comfortably pick one, but something about RiverClan is telling me they had strokes of pretty bad luck with theirs.

I think Lilystem (Shade and Heavy's mother) was one once, but the mentor/apprentice line was probably broken by TigerClan and Mistystar had to choose a new one in TNP. So if there's a background blorbo everyone's got who would make a good teacher feel free to shout them out.

(Re: Can't be Sedgecreek because she becomes deputy <3)

Mosspelt seems like a good choice.

"Are there maples in England?" @ashestosparks

Three! I'm only using two of them.

The only native maple is the Field Maple (Acer campestre), which is a pretty interesting tree in general. This is the one that produces edible sap that ThunderClan will want to trade for, and it has a unique quirk; it HATES forests.

It's so named because it likes being in open field environments. As a forest progresses outward, the population of field maples will also dance on the outskirts, attempting to avoid shady conditions. They like to stand as the lone tree in hilly plains, where the wind can scatter their samaras far and wide. So, only WindClan has access to these.

There's also the introduced Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). A Sycamore Maple is relevant as the tree that produces the tarspot-blighted leaves that Fireheart uses to channel Spottedleaf, but I won't be including Norways at all. Sycamores are also absent from the Lake Territories.

In Clanmew the word for "Sycamore" is not the word for "Maple." Clan cats don't see these as the same tree.

(Mapleshade's name is kind of a mistranslation, but Sycamoreshade would be pretty long in English. Maplewhisker/star of SkyClan would also be a Sycamore.)

"Do humans notice ShadowClan's project?"

Yes! Stay tuned!

"Who is Flowerscar?"

A background cat in ShadowClan I have become unreasonably attached to

Her canon name is "Flowerstem" and I wanted to conflict rename her so I could get some more cats with honor titles. ShadowClan is kind of low on non-Tigerkin prodigal fighters, so I've decided to beef her up from just being a background cat into a recurring strong brawler.

She's pure silver with a big, gnarly scar across her face and down her shoulder from where Bramblefake lands a nasty slash on her.

ShadowClan's family tree is so bad that I will be throwing it out completely, so it remains to be seen if she's going to remain the daughter of Grassheart and Stonewing, or even if Whorlpelt and Snaketooth are going to stay as her siblings.

"How do the cats enter the afterlife in BB!TBC and what are the rules?"

The sisters are still going to get a feature here, using their collective powers. They don't do it for the Clans, though, they do it because they understand very well that there is an evil god being born and he must die.

It is also in memory of Leafpool, a stranger who still died for them because it was the right thing to do.

Fallenleaf is also going to come off the bus for a moment to lend her strength to this massive channeling. They have just enough juice to send 2 cats from each Clan.

"Is Larkstripe in the Dark Forest?" @thesnailphilosopher

Sadly no. StarClan took pity on her and her courage in this instance. After the code change, they're much harsher on Clerics, but Larkstripe had lost everything in pursuit of saving 1/5th of StarClan.

If they had known she wouldn't be the last to push this issue, and that there would be a bloody rebellion a few years later, they would have been much angrier and sent her to the Dark Forest. But at the time, they decided to end this sad situation quietly.

She was one of the few to vote in favor of allowing Ripplestar into StarClan.