#bonefall rewrite

Design & Meta Stuff

It bugs me how in Onestar's Concussion they copped out on the idea that Onewhisker was cheating on his lover with Smoke, by making it SUPER clear there was no overlap in the relationships. Soo instead yeah poor Brush was cheated on.

I feel like the fact that Canon!Brushpaw was a ginger tabby was supposed to invoke the image of Firestar, because the whole point is that "Firestar succeeded where Brushpaw failed" so like... I DESPERATELY tried to make sure Brushblaze is a ginger tabby who looks nothing like my Firestar lmao.

Total opposites, my Firestar is bright and skinny, Brush is dull and sturdy. Fire has no stripes and no white and Brush has stripes and white patches.

I gave him a spotty white tail for the irony of it looking like Darktail's but inverted.

I don't know if this makes sense but I tried to channel the energy of a gay dude who owns snakes.

Personality

Waaaaay smarter than you think, but can be a bit passionate and oblivious.

Prone to biting off more than he can chew and getting in situations above his head.

A yes-man, doesn't like saying no to people, especially when he feels like he can help.

Most ex-BloodClan cats look scary but are friendlier than they seem.

Surprises people with the way he casually remembers everything. Names, recipes, offhanded comments... say it once and it's in his head forever.

You really think that he's going to be a grump with that face, but it's far from the truth. He's tired, but super friendly.

History

Leo was a BloodClan Solver, a position that has to do with intellectual work.

Snapper was his assigned Problem, kind of like a BloodClan warrior.

His mother Bailey is actually one of the most respected Solvers in BloodClan. He didn't really like being in her shadow, though.

Looking back on it, Brushblaze is embarrassed about how quickly he was ready to commit to someone who, in hindsight, wasn't into it as much as he was.

They were dating but Onewhisker was... flaky. He didn't want to tell others about their relationship, never wanted public affection.

It was really obvious looking back on it that One was never brave enough to commit.

Snappaw and Brushpaw had to fight a lot of xenophobia to earn their place. Mudclaw's distrust of a cat he was supposed to train like an apprentice was a major factor in why Tallstar changed deputies so suddenly.

Unknown to Brush, Onewhisker had already rejected an old lover, Smoke, when he found out she was pregnant and wanted to join the Clan. He couldn't handle the shame of telling Brush he had been cheating AND the idea of waltzing into camp with a brazen kittypet lover.

Brush did eventually move on, but it took a long time. Onestar had Heathertail via honor-siring, never getting back into a romantic relationship again.

After this, he's very grudging of Onestar. Obeys him as a leader, but clearly dislikes him as an authority figure and as a person.

One of Onestar's many regrets.

One day in the Po3 Era, he overheard Heatherpaw and Breezepaw scream for help and came running

They were digging a tunnel, and Harepaw got buried

He pulled him out, and the three of them begged him to not tell their parents

Heatherpaw: "If my dad finds out he'll want to use this to do something stupid"

Brushblaze: "well... can't argue with that."

But he made them promise that the next time they dig that far down, where they could get hurt by a cave-in, they would come get him.

He became something like a safety friend, helping them work out how to reinforce a tunnel, doing good estimates of how to dig from Point A to Point B.

Onestar, of course, did eventually find out about tunnels... from Sedgepaw, boasting about the naturally-occurring ones under the Lake. It sure did give the four of them a scare that he'd learned about their little resurrection of tunneling as a practice.

Brushblaze eventually found love again; ironically, it was with Whitetail!

They had two kittens; Galekit and Smokekit.

He found it REALLY weird though that Onestar was so... aggressive? About Smokekit

"you didn't have to do this," said Onestar, glaring at the baby.

Brushblaze blinked several times. "....have a child???"

He would learn the truth less than a month later, when Darktail brought The Kin to the lake

Breezepelt joined quickly, and Heathertail went with curiosity when it was revealed that Darktail was her half-brother.

Harespring, deputy at the time, knew that his childhood friends were in danger. Him, Brushblaze, Crowfeather, and a few others immediately started digging to help save their Clanmates

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

Molewhisker (CotC) -> Moletooth (conflict)

Snaketooth (CotC) -> Snakestream (conflict)

Oatpaw (CotC) -> Oatbelly (save)

Sloefur (FQ) -> Sloefall (conflict)

Perchpaw (MV) -> Perchshine (save)

Magpie (CP) -> Magpiesky (repurposed)

Swankit (TPB) -> Swansong (save)

Copperpaw (Po3) -> Copperwing (save)

Wavepaw (AVoS) -> Waveshine (save)

Shimmerpelt (BS) -> Shimmerbright (conflict)

Shadepelt (AVoS) -> Shademuzzle (conflict)

Mintfur (Po3) -> Mintflower (conflict)

Rushtail (OotS) -> Rushfish (conflict)

Carpkit (Missing Kits) -> Carpwhisker (save)

Bluefur (the one and only) -> Bluemoon (better)

Emberdawn (LH) -> Emberdusk (conflict)

Duckkit (Missing Kits) -> Duckfur (save)

Dragonflykit (Missing Kits) -> Dragonclaw (save)

Heronwing (AVoS) -> Heronflight (conflict)

REMOVALS: These may be shuffled to another litter at a later time, but for now, are effectively cut.

Grasspelt, because I would like Grasswhisker to be an old lady who was friends with Briarlight.

Nightsky and Breezeheart are currently dead as kits to further torment Icewing about losing Beetlewhisker in the Dark Forest. Like StarClan's mad at her.

Robinwing had a conflict name anyway so I just killed them as an apprentice because I want more young deaths.

Lizardtail. Being effectively replaced by Hollowflight, but may have been Hollow's original name before earning an honor title. (the honor title is for betraying the dark forest and running a marathon across the lake to fetch help during the Great Battle-- the name would become Hallowflight.)

The drowned kits of Mosspelt and Frogleap, Robinkit and Woodkit, are gone. I may use them at some point.

Pikepaw from Battles of the Clans. Holding onto them in case they're needed.

Gorseclaw. It is more tragic for Harelight to be the only surviving sibling, plus there was a name conflict anyway.

I completely missed the following cats and it's the only reason they weren't used, and I'm making a note of them here for my own reference should I ever need them;

COTC: Brindleclaw, Graywing, Foxwhisker, Foxclaw, Hayberry and kits Minnowkit and Wildkit, Sunspots, Fernleaf, Blackbee, Kinktail

Lightningpaw and Lilyflower gave Crookedstar a life

THERE WILL PROBABLY BE MORE.

CHANGELOG: I tell you why I did the things

Code and the Clans and Darkstar's Commandment

There's a lot of weird quirks around Code of the Clans, namely that there are two Darkstars associated with two different commandments in two different Clans. If that weren't weird enough, one of those Darkstars is very similar to the MAPLESHADE'S VENGEANCE Darkstar, but these are canonically three different people???

In my rewrite, no lol there's Darkstar of RiverClan, known for Darkstar's Commandment/The Queen's Rights, and Dalestar who created the "don't question your leader" commandment in response to Ripplestar's Rot.

I also snatched a bunch of the cats out of the CotC story to explain the confusion!

Aspentail (the magic spirit who assists the battle) was Darkstar's sister, and Perchpaw's mother. She is going to have a small but emotionally important role as part of StarClan in Darkstar's Commandment.

Splashheart was Perchpaw's father, and Splashfoot was named after him.

Moletooth, Nettlepad, Lightningpelt, Oatberry, and Meadowpelt are all repurposed from another CotC story, conflict-renamed when necessary.

I was going to allow Darkstar's lineage to peter out since Perchshine is going to go live at the barn, but Mudthorn had a mate slot open and I had a stroke of whimsy realizing I could have a kitten join RiverClan from the barn.

Magpiesky is Magpie from Crookedstar's Promise, now a sibling of Fleck and Mitzi instead of a child of Mitzi.

"Magsky" is now the one who brings young Stormpaw to the barn; Domino was her mother but she tries not to talk about her outsider heritage too much because... Clan Culture, y'know.

She was able to join because Volestar was gracious, citing her Darkstar blood.

Appledusk and Reedshine's children, only named in authorial statements, have been broken up and reworked. Willownose and Shyheart belong to other cats and only Applefrost remains; Duskwater has been made into an AppleReed kitten.

I really like how it's two kits, named for both parts of Appledusk.

Duskwater's mate Oatbelly was a victim of Mapleshade.

Rainflower is now the Appledusk descendant, not Shellheart. Her mom was killed in the same storm she gave birth in.

Greenflower

Greenflower's sibling was Duckfur, previously a Missing Kit described as her dead child. Needed more fodder.

I am probably going to make her mother Dragonflykit, the other Missing Kit described as a dead child. I need a good name though. Dragonflyclaw? I kinda want to drop the 'fly' suffix and make the name Dragonclaw because that's cool as hell

MAN what if Clan Culture has a concept of 'dragons' but it's actually a large dragonfly that flies like a hawk, bites like a snake, and swims like a pike...

1.1 UPDATE: Added Dragonclaw as Whitefang's mate and Greenflower's mother.

Greenflower and Sedgecreek were not capable of having biokittens, Duckfur was the honor-sire and Sedgecreek gave birth to the kits.

Greenflower loudly announces this during TigerClan to display their loyalty to the Code, Sedgecreek feels extremely uncomfortable having their personal information aired like that.

Swallowtail fell in love with Rainwhisker on the Great Journey, and became pregnant shortly before his death in the WindClan Rebellion!

The kits are Rainstorm and Rippletail.

Swallow named a son after her forbidden mate. It was BOLD, because Rainstorm is practically Rainwhisker's reflection.

Sedgecreek tries to forgive Greenflower and make amends, but Greenflower turning on their daughter Swallowtail when Ripple and Rain were born was the last straw.

Mudfur and Brightsky

I needed Mudfur's genes because as you can see things get pretty tight, since there's less named characters the further back you go

Say hello to Carpwhisker! She's a sweetheart. Previously a Missing Kit, I picked her over Waterkit or Oatkit.

Voletooth is named after their famous ancestor.

Volestar actually gave the family their spots, and they are all quite large like she was.

Brightsky is not actually dead. She left to become a kittypet, and only Hailstar and Mudfur know this. It was kept secret.

The other two kittens stayed with her.

Sunfish's Bloodline

Frogleap doesn't need kits. Society has progressed past the need for Frogleap kits.

Sunfish's lineage is continued through Grasswhisker. I am fond of Grasswhisker for like no reason. I just think she's Neat.

Her sister Vixenleap actually dies in Mudclaw's Rebellion

Dapplepaw is going to get eaten by a fish in Po3

Grasswhisker can't catch a break and that's how I like it

I made Lakeheart older because I like the idea that she was named after their new home and that effect kinda lessens if she isn't one of the first RiverClan births here.

Harelight and Tragedy

Like I mentioned before, Gorseclaw's getting cut completely. It fits Harelight's story a LOT more for him to tragically lose all of his siblings in TBC.

Denied the ability to mourn his sister Softpelt, being forced to bury Dappletuft like a rogue, Harelight is becoming a Light in the Mist next to Misty. He has a bone to pick with the Impostor.

He's kinda becoming a blorbo ngl.

I imagine he's very polite and a bit silly, but more astute than people give him credit for.

Based on ABSOLUTELY nothing he keeps reminding me of Donnel from Fire Emblem. I have NO idea why I keep thinking of him.

Me trying to reference a greek tragedy about simple mourning rights being the ironic downfall of a tyrant but all I can hear in my head is "YEEEEHAW"

Anyway

I am probably going to cut more warriors, too, to make way for some of the more interesting warriors to stick around. No one cares about Brackenpelt.

UPDATE 1.2: Harelight's first name was Harefur! Mistystar likes to 'match' the names of siblings according to a theme; SoftPELT, DappleTUFT, and HareFUR were all hair-related!

Harelight is an honor title because he is now a Light in the Mist, alongside Mistystar herself.

Graymist and Pouncetail, Mallownose and Sneezecloud

In-canon Shadepelt was acting like an elder when she was barely 2 years old. Lol. Lmao, even.

She is the mom of Pouncetail and Graymist now. I think this is a very funny idea. They are very silly as siblings.

Mallow is Pounce's son and Sneeze is Gray's son.

Mallownose and Sneezecloud are no longer siblings; but they are cousins who were really close growing up because they both lost their littermate!

Mallow lost Robin, and Sneeze lost Duck.

I made them more distantly related because I KNOW there's going to be some kind of romantic drama between Frostpaw and Splashtail in-canon and I want that to be less weird.

Sure, they're far enough in-canon to not break my Three Strict Rules, but still, I wanted to fix it really hard in advance.

1.1 UPDATE: Father of Sneeze has been changed from Voletooth to Beechfur. This may change again.

Copperpaw has evolved into Copperwing

He's called Copperwing because I was planning to have him replace Robinwing, and then I ended up using Robinpaw anyway as a kill… but the name remains.

Got hit with sudden inspiration to make him REALLY shiny and I leaned into it. Him and his kits are sparkly even for RiverClan cats, lmao.

Waveshine and Shimmerbright are pretty evocative of that, I hope! I'm glad I was able to use the -bright suffix at least once.

I approached my renamings with Mistystar in mind; I like to think she tries to give cats "thematic" names. For example, Rushfish is named after his dead brother. Heronflight, Perchwing, and Sneezecloud are sky-related. She even gave Lake and Otter the same -heart suffix.

The SwanMoss Family

Swansong, a surviving child of Graypool x Rippleclaw and the adopted brother of Mistyfoot and Stonefur, is replacing Frogleap. SWANSWEEP.

For a LOOONG while I was planning to make Willowshine the oldest child of Dawnflower, but now that I've definitively worked out the specifics of my tree, I can say with confidence that she works best as a Mosspelt kitten.

Because, y'know, unlike canon Mosspelt's mate isn't dead.

I put Troutstream in here because I feel like she looks like Swansong, who looks like Rippleclaw.

I kinda like her as a family outlier, she's a huge jerk... but she is a PRETTY jerk.

I think Mossyfoot was badly influenced, and her death made Trout grow up.

Icewing and Mintflower, Dark Forest 'curse'

Mintfur is now Mintflower because there needs to be more boys with the -flower suffix.

Also he is an ex-tribecat. He had to take refuge in ThunderClan when the Clan got dangerous during Stormfur and Brook's exile, but Mistystar invited him back when she gained power.

I'm killing Icewing and Mintflower's second litter. I think it's a lot more tragic for Icewing to feel like StarClan is punishing her by not letting her have more kittens.

The fact she trained in the Dark Forest and brought her son Beetlewhisker in with her is haunting.

On that note, Petalfur... either needs more to happen with her, or I'm replacing her on the Beaver Quest. Rippletail dies on it, the other RiverClan cat really needs to have some amount of importance in OotS and possibly beyond.

Other things

Havenpelt is an ex-rogue who used to cause problems, but eventually was badly injured and RiverClan took her in for healing.

I am not fond of Lizardtail because he's boring, in spite of having really interesting kids. He is either going to be combined with Hollowflight or axed completely; more DF Trainees need to survive.

If it's an honor title, it's going to become Hallowflight. The title will come because he defects from the Dark Forest Attackers and runs a very long distance to get help/warn the others before collapsing from exhaustion. A sacred marathon of sorts.