#BB!Galerunner

[bonefall]

who is a character that you love in BB (for better or for worse lol) that you haven’t talked much about yet?

These kinds of questions can be difficult because my brain will just forget completely the minute I'm asked. Who am I. What's warriors cat

BUT it's probably some of the little random background guys who have interesting stories I haven't gotten into yet. I've actually been thinking about WindClan a lot.

Galerunner is one of them. Galerunner and Smokehaze are now the kittens of Brushblaze and Whitetail-- both exes of Onestar. They're born near the start of AVoS, and are pretty young when their dad dies collapsing a tunnel to save a ton of Kin escapees.

Smokehaze dies like she does in-canon, to the Impostor, but Galerunner is going to be present to the modern arc. He's Heathertail's little half-brother, in an odd way. Whitetail wasn't involved in raising Heathertail, but openly offered to Onestar that she would if he wanted.

So Heathertail's relationship to Galerunner is closer than her relationship with their mother, bringing them ALL together, and it's just really sweet. She tells him a lot of stories of Brushblaze (who was a really good friend of hers!) and eventually becomes his mentor.

Gale's a cheeky bastard, too. Very smug, self-assured. He thinks he's a cool guy but he just looks like a goober.

There's also Gorsetail, the mother of Thistleheart and Sedgewhisker. She has a lot going on but I haven't figured her out entirely yet.

First of all, she's Crowfeather's childhood best friend. They had a massive falling out over some dumb shit neither one of them even remembers, and drifted apart as young adults. If they ever remembered what it was, they would feel bitter that THIS is why they stopped talking-- but before a certain point, would just blame each other for not making the first move to reconnect.

She fell head over heels for Beechfur on the Great Journey, but he was waaay better at hiding his forbidden love than his sister Swallowtail. He saw it more as a fun fling. When she got pregnant in Po3, he ghosted her immediately. Gorsetail held out hope he was just busy for months-- even naming one kit "Marsh Thistle" as a secret reference to RiverClan.

In terms of personality, I know she was vaguely fun-loving as a kid and probably still has that goofy streak if you can get her to relax. There's probably a bit of a bitterness inside her, and she's not satisfied with her life. She never got to have a happy mateship, she lost one kid, not really powerful or significant. I think she gets more adventurous the older she gets, looking to make some sort of change in her life.

Her and Crowfeather reconnect, once they're older and a bit more self-aware. Passing each other a heatherhoney lozenge like it's a smoke break and commiserating in how wrinkly they are now.

WindClan's full of some interesting dudes now in my effort to distribute more personality outside of ThunderClan. Stoneclaw and her traumatic muteness, Willowclaw the ferocious and her love of kibble, Cranberrysplash the ex-street urchin whose old name was Spaghetti Bolognaise. Leaftail and his onesided rivalry with Hallowflight of RiverClan.

Shame they neglected WindClan so badly and there's so few warriors there with established personalities, but hey. Opportunity for me to build cool stuff.

[bonefall]

Anything planned for Whitetail? She’s bland in canon but I do love her

BB!Whitetail is so... I want to study her.

To begin with, she was an apprentice during the WindClan Massacre.

(Her mentor was not Onewhisker btw, he was too young)

She had two siblings, Graypaw and Blackpaw.

Graypaw was killed that night. Their mother, Sorrelcharm, probably also died.

Suddenly being thrust from her home and losing half of her family messed with her. Obviously. Who wouldn't feel this way

She has a perpetual sense of waiting for the "other shoe to drop." Like no home is truly safe, and it's a matter of time before the next big move.

Unfortunately... she's not totally wrong. Blackfur was either killed by TigerClan or a mine collapse. They were forced onto the Great Journey. Mudclaw's Civil War resulted in a raging inferno across the moor. Whitetail gets commended for how reliable and even-headed she is in the face of disaster, but it's because her mind is expecting the worst case scenario ALL the time.

Her personality is intense and orderly, only kept back by the fact she's a hopeless romantic.

PROFOUND sense of whimsy. She gives off a chilling air of seriousness, which stops people from discovering that she can be a real mush.

(Girlie galloping through the moor who whips off-course, as if she caught a glimpse of prey in her eye, only to have taken a short detour to crash through a puffy dandelion.)

When they all got to the lake, she had a brief fling with Onestar. She liked a lot about him-- his new status, yes, but also that when they were together they were just having fun. It was easy.

But... he didn't want it to continue romantically. He turned cold one day when the subject of kits came up.

They broke the unofficial relationship off unofficially, but a short while later he spoke to her again to arrange an honor siring.

He wanted to raise his kittens alone. Whitetail was willing to help him do that, as long as it could be known that she sired them. And that if the kittens wanted to know her-- they could do so.

But still, she didn't understand why he'd turned so suddenly. Not until much, much later.

But before then, she ended up developing an unlikely bond with Brushblaze.

Probably because they'd both been turned down by Onestar, funny enough. They were talking smack one day about failed relationships and it kinda clicked.

Whitetail: "Like idk, was it something I said? Am I the problem"

Brushblaze: "no, you're fine. He's the problem."

Voted WindClan's Most Intimidating Couple, between Whitetail's aura and Brushblaze's resting bitchface

They have two kittens together; Smokehaze and Galerunner. Around the time of their birth, Heathertail decided she wanted to take Whitetail up on the offer that had existed since she was born.

Brushblaze was a personal friend of hers for a long time, she wanted to know Whitetail, and she would like to experience what it's like to be a sister.

Sadly, Brushblaze didn't live to see his kittens become warriors, but Whitetail did.

Whitetail's BIGGEST personal failure interpersonally was, sadly, Breezepaw.

They were an awful match. Every wreckless action he took would badly set off her anxiety, which expressed as her snapping at him.

No matter how hard she tried to have patience with him, or how many times she scolded him to be more careful, it never ever worked.

On his end, the more visibly upset Whitetail became with him, the worse it made his fear of rejection. He was driven to do more and more dangerous acts to prove himself, which only served to make his mentor worse.

But ultimately, Whitetail was the mentor in this situation. She really tried, but she failed him as a teacher. They don't have the close bond that most apprentice/mentor relationships do, and Breezepelt only got lonelier.

For a while, Breeze felt like Brushblaze was "against him" for falling for his terrible mentor. It made it easy to reject his friend's advice when he said stuff like, "don't join the strange cult in the woods" and "this darktail bloke's a bit funny"

I think Whitetail has come a long way and is a much wiser person now than she was while she was Breezepelt's mentor... but.

She's cordial and accepting of Breezepelt now because it's what Brushblaze would have wanted. She doesn't trust him.

In fact she feels right about this. In her mind;

"Breezepelt needs to feel like part of the Clan, it's what Brushblaze would have wanted. Everyone deserves to feel safe, and more than that, this is the best way to neutralize him. When he's making soup and raising kittens, he's not hurting anyone... but he's had more chances than anyone here. Yeah I was harsh on him when he was a child, but he's made plenty of bad choices as an adult. I'm not being cruel or holding a grudge to keep him at a distance from Galepaw and Smokepaw... I'm being realistic. Brushblaze died to rescue him. I'm not going to lose more family to be nice."

This hurts Breezepelt... but it's fair. He tries not to think about it too much. He's learned the hard way that the people who will never like you anyway matter MUCH less than the people who love you.

I also don't really see a need to kill Whitetail off yet, because she makes a really good elder imo. She's practical but still likes to have fun, and is capable of giving really good analysis.

[bonefall]

do you have any plans for snaptooth or flywhisker, ever since I saw that fake map I've fallen in love w flywhisker lmao

You know, for the longest time I've been planning to have Snaptooth and Flywhisker be adopted kits of Toadstep and Lionblaze, but I'm writing an SE rework for Nightcloud right now and I have a temptation.

I found a good moment to send off Snapstorm, the best friend of Brushblaze, as a complication of a boar hunt gone wrong. It's right around the time that Brushblaze's kits are being born, and something feels odd about the fact he didn't name any of his kits after someone who was by his side for his entire life. SO I'm thinking about shuffling Snaptooth over to HIS litter.

Which leaves Flywhisker over in ThunderClan.

Lionblaze is the adopted father of Dovewing and Ivypool... and his terrible parenting caused Dovewing to leave ThunderClan, and Ivypool to be permanently traumatized. He breaks up his false mateship with Cinderheart to go be with the cat he really loves, Toadstep, and Flywhisker is adopted after being found abandoned.

Lionblaze's destruction of the ThunderClan family tree has been undone; so now he would only have three children. Ivy, Dove, and Fly. I like it, because Fly is growing up with all the expectations of being Firekin, but also holding the knowledge that her loving father... wasn't always the best, to her older sisters.

It would be cool if Fly was always a little bit of a rebel, and found a really good friend in WindClan. I could work her into the conflict of TBC better too, being accused of being in a HalfClan relationship when the truth is that Snaptooth is more like a brother to her. Then, of course, have them leave the Clans together.

Brushblaze's litter would be Snaptooth, Smokehaze, and Galerunner... and so, Galerunner would be left alone after his brother leaves permanently with Flywhisker.

But I'm still unsure. It's a big change, because I'd been planning for Fly and Snap to remain siblings in BB. But it does seem to work better, thinking about it...

[bonefall]

Okay, so who is Blackfur? Is that an original character?

Blackfur is a Missing Kit! He is the unnamed sibling of Whitetail, along with another kit. They don't have descriptions or names in-canon, so we decided it would be funniest if the three kits had the most generic possible names; Whitetail, Blackfur, and Grayfoot.

Whitetail is the Honor Sire of Heathertail; it's known she is her biomother, but Onestar explicitly raises his kit alone. Later, she becomes mates with Brushblaze to have the kits Smokehaze and Galerunner. Her mentor is Morningflower; who is unrelated to Onestar now.

Graypaw sadly died in the WindClan Massacre. Their StarClan name is Grayfoot.

Blackfur was the Cleric apprentice of Quailheart, who was Barkface's apprentice. Quailheart died in the massacre as well, and Blackfur either dies in a TigerClan raid or in the collapse of the Mothermouth.

Either way, Barkface actually didn't like Blackfur much, and always thought he was a bad pick on Quailheart's behalf. Blackfur was too flighty, not disciplined or spiritual enough. So if Blackfur died in a TigerClan raid, Barkface didn't replace him immediately. He didn't want to rush and pick another "unfitting" Cleric.

(And then he got squished in TNP without a replacement. Don't understaff your clan, kiddies <3)

There's actually not a single original character in BB, with the notable exception of the human researchers. It's a fun challenge to split, bend, and repurpose characters into new roles!

(Tho shadowclan is a pain in the ass because it's so empty)

[bonefall]

Better Bones WindClan Family Tree: Draft 1

[ID: The WindClan family tree for Better Bones. It's a color-coded chart of over 122 cats, with all of the cats alive as of the newest arc marked in green, and the 'progenitors' of each line marked in yellow.]

You may also want to see:

The Three Strict Rules

The Canon WindClan Diagnosis (for comparison)

ThunderClan

RiverClan

SkyClan

For the past few days, I've been trying to make ends meet with this tree. WindClan's biggest problem is how very few cats it has in-canon, with the Erins practically forgetting an entire generation between Tallstar's Revenge and TPB. As a result, I had to make this thing nearly from scratch.

The result is before you; there are 122 cats on this chart at the moment! I've used Missing Kits to try and patch the "bald spot" in the timeline, but I admittedly did have to scrounge up a couple cats here. There are still no OCs on this tree, but some unnamed background characters have been given names.

(I am also watching authorial statements like a HAWK in the hopes they will drop more names I can use to pad out some of the single-kit litters, like Appledawn's single kid Adderstone there)

I also have tried to balance the size of this Clan with BB!ThunderClan's count by ASC. There's now a little over 30 cats in this Clan.

Most of these trees have renamings, removals, and a changelog-- this one's going to be a bit different. Below the cut, you will see Renamings, Reserves, and a Changelog.

RENAMINGS: Format: Old Name (Origin) -> New Name (Reason)

Stagleap (WC) -> Stagfur (conflict)

Robinwing (WC) -> Robinflight (conflict)

Gorsetail (Po3) -> Whintail (Serious conflict with a Gorsetail in the very next arc)

Hickorynose -> Chicorynose (ecological accuracy)

Tornear -> Torear (Minor change to prevent him from being born Tornkit)

"Brown Tabby Tom" (Fire and Ice) -> Sparrowspeck (unnamed)

Whitetail's first sibling (OSC) -> Blackfur (unnamed; will update to canon name when revealed)

Whitetail's second sibling (OSC) -> Grayfoot (unnamed; will update to canon name when revealed)

Eaglekit (SSMK) -> Eagleswoop (save)

Storkkit (SSMK) -> Storkfeather (save)

Quailkit (SSMK) -> Quailheart (save)

Downkit (SSMK) -> Downwind (save)

Hillkit (SSMK) -> Hillrunner (save)

Adderkit (Cats of the Clans) -> Adderstone (save)

Galekit (OSC) -> Galerunner (save)

Buzzardkit (Po3) -> Buzzardclaw (save)

Drizzlepaw (SSMK) -> Drizzlefall (save)

Rustlepaw (SSMK) -> Rustlebush* (save) = Suffix might change, I'm not satisfied with it

Cranberrypaw (SSMK) -> Cranberrysplash (save)

Milkfur (FQ) -> Milktooth (conflict)

Snapper (Ravenpaw's Path) -> Snapstorm (MASSIVELY repurposed.)

Brushpaw (OSC) -> Brushblaze (save/repurpose)

Quickpaw (CotC) -> Quickclaw (shuffle)

Thistlepaw (CotC) -> Thistleseed (shuffle)

Pricklekit (CotC) -> Pricklepelt (shuffle)

(SSMK = Su Susann's Missing Kits)

RESERVES: There weren't enough cats for me to even consider cutting any; instead, here are some extra characters from field guides and unnamed in the background who could possibly show up again.

"Tortoiseshell Queen" from Fire and Ice; may just be Quailheart or Storkfeather, if not, her name will be Ruffclaw

"Gray Tom" from Fire and Ice; if named, he will be called Chipstone.

Swiftstar, Dalestar, Thrushbreeze, and Larkstripe's unnamed honor sire are all characters in Ripplestar's Rot, but they're just a bit too far back to be relevant at the moment.

Hareflight (FQ) is from the same time period. If they show up again, their name will be Harefrost.

Whitetail from Tigerclaw's leader ceremony was a WindClan cat in BB; she doesn't show up to his ceremony in this story, but she could appear on the tree at some point. If she does, her name will be Whitetuft.

From Code of the Clans, I am holding onto; Pebblefur, Acorntail, Morningcloud, Cloversplash, and Gorseclaw who would be renamed to Whinclaw.

Several leaders and Clerics could appear if BB ever went further back than Ripplestar's Rot. Swiftfoot, Stonestar, Duststar, Dovestar, Featherstar, Fallowstar, Rabbitstar... plus Mudpuddle, an ancient deputy.

Wanderkit and Muddyclaw from the Adventure Game are from WindClan; but currently not needed

Brightheart's surrogate kittens, Ambermoon, Snowbush, and Dewnose. Some could show up here if needed.

NOTE: If any of these characters show up again in canon, or are confirmed by authorial statement to have a different name, I will abide by that and update accordingly (unless the name is, of course, a conflict).

CHANGELOG: I tell you why I did the things and also point out what's different

Because this Clan was so empty and full of orphan warriors, I was able to completely make it however I wanted.

I also tried to make sure that MODERN WindClan is still VERY clean. Most of canon's "orphan warriors" are totally capable of being mixed with just about anyone else who's around in WindClan.

This is so I can accommodate just about whatever the Erins throw at us... within reason of course. Never doubt the Erin's ability to ruin a family tree.

In BB, Sunstrike and Furzepelt have expanded roles and survive to at least TBC, so I decided they would get Slightfoot. They're the kind of girls who would raise a rebel like him.

Ryestalk has been moved out of the Mist/Hare family. I have more need for her as a clean cat; and a better story to tell of her being afraid of tunneling. Her mother, Leafshine, died in a collapse.

I wanted to find some sort of in-between cat for Pigeonflight and Cranberrysplash, but unfortunately, I ran out of cats. She is probably adopted; found abandoned.

Fernstripe might move around in the future; for now she is a later birth to CranberryxDrizzle. If she moves, it'll probably be to SunxFurze.

Whiskernose is older now because I reworked his purpose in the Dark Forest

Drizzlefall was initially Runningbrook's child. When she dies in TNP, Webfoot raised her alongside his own kid, Rustlebush. They are marked as siblings for that purpose.

Mudclaw and Whitewater of ShadowClan had an unimportant fling during the journey. They both agreed it was an honor siring and would be kept quiet-- but Whitewater became a supporter of his during the rebellion.

When Mudclaw was smote by StarClan, she felt that the kittens were cursed.

She contacted Torear and arranged for him to take his nespring, but the night of the meeting, a snowstorm tore through the Clans. She couldn't take the runt, else he would freeze.

So, she kept Owlclaw of ShadowClan, and Harestar and Kestrelflight went to WindClan.

Brushblaze and Snapstorm are both ex-BloodClan, they did trading with WindClan just after the BloodClan battle, when Tallstar and Firestar opened up peace talks with the defeated Scourge.

Hareheatherbreeze and the Onestar Drama

So of course, one of the bigger changes in BB is that Harestar, Heathertail, and Breezepelt are in a polycule. I did a LOT with this fix in mind.

Onestar is now a single kitten. In Clanmew, his prefix is "Ul-arra," a whole fraction.

This was an expression of grief, as his mother Larksplash died in childbirth, along with his siblings. Cloudrunner was distant, unfortunately never recovering from the ordeal.

Him and Larksplash were quite old to be having a litter, and they knew the risks, but Onestar always felt like Cloudrunner blamed him, in a way.

Eventually, he wanted to raise a child. Whitetail honor dammed for him, and offered open coparentage, but Onestar politely declined. It was known Whitetail was Heathertail's parent, but they weren't very close.

Probably through a shared grievance with Onestar and feelings of responsibility over Heather, Whitetail and Brushblaze became very close. They eventually had two kittens-- Smokekit and Galekit.

Onestar interpreted this as them both trying to tell him they knew about Smoke, slipping further into paranoia towards the end.

Heathertail LOVED the two of them right away.

Unfortunately, Brushblaze laid down his life saving Kin refugees, including Heathertail and Breezepelt, by collapsing an escape tunnel on top of himself.

Galerunner and Smokehaze were only a few months old at the time.

Hareheatherbreeze will be keeping Brindlewing, Appleshine, and Woodsong! Brindlewing was first, with Apple and Wood coming in a second litter.

Tallstar's Family

In Tallstar's Collapse, Talltail leaves WindClan for a long period of time. He wandered with Jake and his family of nomads, eventually finding foundling kittens and deciding to adopt them with him.

But, eventually, he couldn't resist the pull of homesickness, and the desire to try and fix things in WindClan. He tried to leave the family he'd made behind-- but Fly followed him.

Talltail, naively, believed that Fly would remain innocent. That the kid would be above the battle culture of the Clans. He was wrong.

Fly became a ferocious warrior, even competing with him for the deputy position. If Talltail hadn't been quick or keen enough to kill an adder that was going for Heatherstar's grand-nephew, Flytail may have become leader of WindClan.

The kit was named Adderkit for this event, later becoming Adderstone.

Flytail, his mate Eagleswoop, and one of his daughters died in the WindClan Massacre. Talltail had already lost two half-siblings in the war.

What was once a large family was reduced to Tallstar, Stoneclaw, Wrenflight and her children.

Stoneclaw put off having kits for a time, eventually having two one-kit litters with her mate, Snapstorm; Buzzardclaw and Crouchfoot.