#i like to think most of thunderclan would have accepted white x red x brindle easily

[birdsong-warriors]

When you write poly relationships.. do you always leave one person sort of out of it? It always seems like you're keeping one person out of it, which makes it seems like said couple is just using them... And it really puts Poly relationships/the characters/ and the LGBTQ+ (or Hetero) representation in a bad light.

Every time I get an ask like this, I do a lot of self reflection to reevaluate how I'm writing things to see how I can do it better. I truly want to get this representation correct and ensure I'm not contributing to negative stereotypes or casting a negative light on anyone. In this case, while I will certainly adjust things to be absolutely sure to get things right, I think I also haven't delved into my poly ships very much or explained them properly. So I will lay out my ideas for my two poly ships here, and if there are issues with them, please message me and let me know how I can adjust things to be better!! Constructive criticism is always welcome! (WARNING: LONG POST!)

Redtail x Brindleface x Whitestorm: I think a very large and understandable part of why this one seems unbalanced was my cowardly decision to cut Brindleface out of Redtail's Choice. I did this for a few reasons, but mostly out of fear I wouldn't be able to depict their relationship properly and the concern that Brindleface wouldn't get enough individual attention because I'm so bad at handling large casts. But its probably one of my biggest regrets when it comes to RC.

Redtail and Brindleface grew up together and were always very close friends, training together and both of them gossiping over hot hot and charismatic Whitestorm is (they both had crushes on him, it was something they joked about). They decided on becoming mates as warriors and the Clan was happy to see these two nerds together given how apparent their feelings for each other had been. While all three were out on patrol together, their affection for each other all came out. Brindleface was the one to suggest a poly ship, and the three of them became a trio of lovestruck nerds. However, there was some concern that the Clan might misunderstand the situation, so Whitestorm's involvement was kept a "secret" (I say in quotes because all three of them are terrible at hiding their affection for each other). Upon Redtail's death, Brindleface and Whitestorm grew closer, but some cat accused him of stealing Redtail's mate right after his death, so Whitestorm went back to trying to be a bit more discreet. But by the end of things, he's incredibly tired and horribly depressed with all his friends and both his mates dead. What Firestar sees as his age catching up to him is more his complete lack of hope. But in time, they are all together again in StarClan.

Graystripe x Millie x Silverstream: I am incredibly grateful for this ask because I am still trying to figure these guys out properly, and while their situation may change, I think I got their dynamic down.

Silverstream and Graystripe are competitive playful cousins in this AU, so they aren't together, but they are close friends who confide in each other. But they are both absolutely head over heels for Millie. In this AU, Millie lived at the water mill on RiverClan territory (get it, Mill-ie haha nevermind), and met Silverstream first. They were taken with each other quickly, but Leopardfur attacked Millie and chased her into ThunderClan territory. Here she met Graystripe, and they got very close. But Millie was wracked with guilt, scared that Silverstream would hate her for also having feelings for Graystripe. All three met up and the immediate consensus was "yeah this is cool!!" Silver and Gray immediately started playfighting for Millie's attention, which scared the kittypet at first until she learned that regardless of who "won", both would cuddle down with her after. Millie soon becomes pregnant with Storm and Feather, and Graystripe moves to RiverClan to be with the family.

I won't say much more on this because spoilers, but I hope these are good enough breakdowns of my poly ships!! Gosh, I hope they're okay. ;;