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bonefall · 2 months

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.. opinions on wind runner? i feel like im one of the only ones that genuinely hates her sometimes

If you feel like the only one who genuinely hates her, I think you need to look around more. Wind Runner is a very widely disliked character, because she's often used within the story as a small antagonist who "threatens" the authority of Tall Shadow. Gray Wing dislikes her. Thunder is openly cat-racist to her. She spends several books trying to break through the moor cats' xenophobia to join a group that came to HER LAND.

Then, when Moth Flight is old enough to be a relevant character in Forest Divided, Wind Runner is turned into Yet Another mean mom the very moment Moth displays ADHD. She's contrasted to her mate Gorse Fur, who is a Soft And Good Dad, and ultimately MASSIVELY punished with the harrowing events of Moth Flight's Vision (even though, for most of that book, she's completely right.)

Ask yourself why they're especially harsh on WIND RUNNER for being mean to her child, in the arc with Tom the Fucking Wifebeater and his redemption death, plus Thunder being forced to stop being mad at his abuser Clear Sky, please.

To me, Wind Runner is an intense, ambitious woman who's demonized for it in a way that men just aren't. She's subject to several misogynistic trends within WC, plus a huge helping of xenophobia that goes absolutely unexamined. If DOTC cared at all about women, it would have treated her with the nuance she deserves.

Wind Runner is treated with nearly endless suspicion by Gray Wing through books 1 - 3, while he's bending over backwards to suck Clear Sky's toes.

Her wanting to join the group that came TO HER HOME and being a bit pushy about it earns a stronger reaction from Gray Wing than Clear Sky murdering people.

She's pressured into changing her name "to fit in," and it's still not enough. She wanted to join the group so bad she changed her name, at the request of the Mountain Cats, for a chance of being better accepted

This came after she'd already saved Jagged Peak's life when a burrow collapsed on him. She's plenty trustworthy.

She keeps doing shit to try and prove herself to this group of assholes. Remember Bumble being dragged back to her domestic abuser? Gray Wing interprets this as a power struggle, when WIND RUNNER WAS NOT EVEN PART OF THE GROUP AT THE TIME.

From Wind Runner's POV, she did something that the Moor cats wanted done. It was fucking evil. It was committing violence against another member of the out-group the cats see her as.

But who actually has the power here? Tall Shadow does.

Gray Wing said it himself that she could have come up with some excuse for Bumble to stay, and she didn't. In fact, any cat could have spoken up. No one did.

and still. STILL. Wind Runner gets nothing. Her reward is Gray Wing surmising that actually, her doing their sick dirtywork was a political move.

It's more consistent as a motivation with how Wind Runner wants to join their group. The thing she's been doing.

She only actually gets to join the group after Thunder starts publicly hurling slurs at her for suggesting they need to be ready for Clear Sky to attack them. "What do you know about peace? Last time I was here you were NOTHING BUT A ROGUE WITH A ROGUE'S NAME"

Gray Wing even starts purring when she gives birth, because her ambition goes away briefly and she "stops bossing everyone around." this is treated like a sweet thing. god forbid women retain their personalities when they have kids

She loses her first premature child to a seizure and Gray Wing starts proselytizing his religion to her. "Maybe it's a good thing your weakest child died because Jesus has them now" I want to beat him with a hammer

When her second child gets sick, Clear Sky has a bright idea that involves killing it. I refer to this as his "reverse leper colony" suggestion. He only develops a sense of humanity towards the sick when his brother's pregnant wife is in danger. Wind Runner and her kitten barely seem to clock as people to him.

It's only after her SECOND baby succumbs to a horrible, painful death that she decides the moor cats are assholes, and she goes to start her own group. It's LONG overdue. I was extremely excited to see it.

Now. Listen.

I've been treated just like Moth Flight before. I've practically heard the scolding in Book 6 Chapter 3 verbatim. I'm not downplaying anything about Wind Runner being harsh to her; being yelled at like that never fixed the problem.

What I'm saying is that this is the SAME arc that summons the hollowed-out ghost of Storm to coo that Clear Sky "never drove anyone away" with his abusive behavior and gives Tom the Wifebeater a heroic redemption death.

So why is the scolding from Wind Runner treated as unambiguously harsh? What's the difference between her and them?

Why is it that outside of this little bubble of the community, you can get buried in a flood of people crying about how "Clear Sky made Summisteaks Butt he thought it was the right thing :((( He feels bad about shoving Thunder's face in a weeping, pus-filled wound and trying to kill him :((((" but Wind Runner is mean about Moth Flight not catching a rabbit and she should be skinned alive

Why is WIND RUNNER held responsible for the death of Clear Sky's child in Moth Flight's Vision, WHEN IT WAS COMPLETELY HIS OWN FAULT??

So, why should I hate her? Because she's mean to the idiot protagonists? Because she's Yet Another Bad Mom whose actions ARE treated as Bad in the story, in the arc famous for openly weeping whenever someone's mad at their abusive dad?? When she has this whole horrific, unexamined story about how incredibly bigoted The Settlers are towards her and the extremes she goes to in order to please them?

I'm glad she's mean, actually. She should have been even meaner. I think she should have a gun

#so anon I am very sorry #Uou are going to the Shadow Realm #I am the patron saint of every woman in wc #but especially the ones in dotc #because that arc does them so fucking dirty #Wind Runner can be as mean as she wants I support her #The Settlers deserve it actually #Wind Runner #Windstar #Warrior Cats Analysis #also again everything wind runner has ever done that was mean was done worse by clear sky #but clear gets off with a slap on the wrist. IF that.#while Wind Runner gets her leg sickeningly snapped on screen as several paragraphs detail her growing fever and horrible agony #before the magic of JesusClan heals her and bestows her lives upon her #Guys getting hurt in WC: ''owie''#Girls getting hurt in WC: (you can hear the writer breathing heavily through the 6 paragraphs of prose they use to describe her injury)#..........also. to put into perspective just how fucking bad the misogyny in this arc is;#there are only 4 female characters in Book 1 who survive to the end of Book 6. Besides some cameo cats who exist in the tribe #Wind Runner is one of them. The other three are Settlers.#I won't even say their names lol. Can you even remember who all three of the other ones are #warrior cats analysis

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warrior-cats-rewritten · 8 months

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Warrior Cats Rewritten: Riverstar's Home

Version 1.1: Shadowsight and Whistlepaw have been added in! Also replaced Mossy Pelt's placeholder name.

Flutter is being taught Cool Fun Stuff by her uncle Ripple, she is the only family Ripple has left. Her parent, Squirrel, Ripple's sibling, died the day she was born. Squirrel is a tolly (nonbinary) and cause of death is purposely not specified.

Ripple is (lightly) scolded by Arc for wanting to swim and play in the pond at the Park. It gets him all wet, then no humans want to feed him or be around him. He doesn't care! Water is Cool!

Arc is the leader of the Cats Of The Park. He is a bit gruff, but he has a HUGE soft spot for young cats.

But not all is well, readers, for humans are kind of assholes. Their have been many complaints about the feral cat colony, especially after one of the cats broke into a home and stole some food. Twolegs are coming to capture cats!

A few cats are chased onto a roaring-path (thunderpath) and in an effort to save them, Arc jumps cleanly into the car window, making it swerve and miss the cats. He is thrown from the monster, and before Ripple can get get to him, he is killed by another swerving car, by accident.

In the chaos, sweet little Flutter is captured, and brought away from the Park with a bunch of the other cats.

Ripple jumps into the river, and gets away using a large tree branch, his paw occasionally paddling.

Fishing is hit and miss. He can catch minnows with ease, but bigger fish are escaping him for now. He finds Night and Mist, and learns to get better at swimming in moving water, though his looong fur looks hilarious to Night when she puts her head under.

Deciding to search for the missing cats, he heads out with Mist to search for them, but the Park is empty. They're gone. Undeterred but getting tired, they head home.

On the way there, they meet a handsome golden tabby tom with a single eye, and his young daughter, who looks like an eerie, very uncanny version of him. River Ripple can't look at her for long.

One Eye talks about his ex-make, Sun Spot, and how they fell out of love. Sun Spot took their 2 sons, Blue Eyes and Light. He wasn't bothered, his favorite was always Star Flower.

They bond, heavily. A lot goes unsaid between them that River Ripple will look back on with a mix of longing and horror.

More moons go by, the Sun Trail Followers arrive, Mist and Night are a bit apprehensive... But not aggressive.

They find a little group that was inspired by River Ripple's "heroism" (literally just giving a young cat a fish he caught) and beg to join. ANY side characters from Canon!Riverstar's Home are joining. It establishes that River Ripple is kinda put on a pedestal, but he enjoys being kind.

Any other side characters shown are getting reduxed as well. With lots of changed names. Also, the mythical 'Pumpkinpatch', who apparently doesn't exist, exists now.

Mist finally introduces River Ripple to his kits. He kept the youngsters at the Barn that Barley will one day inhabit. Since there is no obligation to stay in camp yet, he was effectively a proto-Daylight Warrior!

The kits are Smoke, Shadow, and Shine. They are renamed to Dawn Smoke, Deep Shadow, and Dazzling Shine. DS triplets!

River Ripple bonds heavily with them, and cares so much about them, the same way he does for Flutter.

After The First Battle, he promises to the lost cats that he WILL find them. He starts talking with Hawk, who, while he hates them, can't resist the idea of fucking up a twoleg's day. He leads River Ripple to a shelter cageplace, where the Cats of the Park are kept.

Trying to get them out is almost hopeless, until they crash into 4 loners. The first introduces himself as Nightheart, which Night loves the sound of. The second is Shadow Eyes, a very beaten up looking tom. The third is a small, skinny molly who just calls herself Whistle. The final cat is too shy, and her friends introduces her as Frosty Paws. Though Whistle and Frosty Paws are still very young, the group are clever and crafty, knowing stories about how other cats have been freed from cageplaces before!

They get into the mall, River Ripple gets trapped in the elevator of it, but Nightheart accidently pulls on a shiny red branch, and it rains in the building! A loud noise sounds! The twolegs panic and scatter, and the 5 get into the cageplace, freeing the Cats of the Park.

Nightheart, Whistle, Shadow Eyes and Frosty Paws say they have to leave for a while, heading down to Highstones.

Flutter is happy to be in the group, but sickness is spreading. She catches it after hunting a sick mouse [but she was so happy to use the skills her uncle taught her :( ] and it forces him to co-operate with the Clans. In the meantime, Gray Wing has joined and is becoming a problem. He is rude to Flutter about the Park culture, and trying to flirt with Storm Bird. Storm Bird and Night (who seriously thinks the name of that weird black cat was cool) are courts. Not yet mates, but flirting.

Star Flower gets cats killed, Flutter and Dawn Smoke nearly die until Thunder BURSTS in with the cure. He has found the correct Blazing Star.

After bringing Gray Wing with him to fight for their border and keep cats safe, watching Gray Wing defend Clear Sky with one breath and damn One Eye in the other for doing the same thing, River Ripple begins to put his foot, only to get slashed on the ear, ripping it badly. Storm Bird and Night kick him out. The rip in his ear is so bad that it completely changes the way his ear moves, almost like a river changing course...

(Book 5) One Eye is facing down River Ripple during a horrific blizzard. It's about the what if, the what could still be, the what must never be. When One Eye threatens Dazzling Shine, saying she isn't his real daughter, River Ripple lunges. The 2 toms break through the frozen river, and it is only due to his sheer love for the river, having studied its current and knowing every inch of it that River Ripple survives. He brings up One Eye's body, and Star Flower screeches at him, swearing vengeance.

(Book 6) Mist and River Ripple are basking on Sunningrocks when Deep Shadow swims up to them, the poor boy screaming about something horrible.

A cat they let in was working with Star Flower, and has just killed a young cat by poisoning food. River Ripple chases a cat fleeing camp, a Rogue they had let in who seemed to want to get close with Deep Shadow.

River Ripple chases the cat down when he notices they flee camp, calling for Star Flower, but when they get to the stepping stones, the cat slips, breaks their jaw, and drowns.

River Ripple swears this is the last time he is gonna have a meeting with the other cats to Tall Shadow, but he isn't completely sincere. On one hand, he is becoming bonded friends with plenty of others, on the other hand... He is having dreams of being dragged towards Highstones by his tail every night. He knows he isn't getting out of this, no matter how much he wants to stay out of things and remain peaceful.

They talk about the spirit cats message, all waiting for Thunder to arrive. When he does, he and Clear Sky get into a fight, and clouds cover the moon, beginning to pour rain. Flutter tells River Ripple that she is scared of what is coming, she can feel something bad is about to happen. She points out that Thunder is looking at Star Flower with a rage she's never seen from any cat. Star Flower is behind the assassinations, but Clear Sky won't believe it. Sky Petal is more reasonable, but she is taking care of 3 kittens, she is BUSY.

River Ripple is a witness to Thunder killing Star Flower, but he promises he won't say anything. They bury her near Sunningrocks while the river is still near frozen, accidentally digging a little too deep. One of those boulders is kinda loose...

He is given Bubbling Stream, and she teaches him about her Starclan connection. He teaches her about fishing, which she takes well to, but her true passion lies with shaping clay. Together, they create a little bowl and put herbs in it for Dappled Pelt, who is experimenting with everything she heard about from Frosty Paws and Whistle! Science lady meets young heaven-bound girl and who NEEDS to take a vow of no kits? Dappled Pelt absolutely loves Bubbling Stream immediately. River Ripple himself swears that he will personally train her the same way Arc trained him. He will raise her like a daughter, alongside his stepkids.

Flutter pulls him aside, telling him that she saw Nightheart and Frosty Paws again, and that she and Pumpkinpatch are going to go with them on their journey. River Ripple is sad, but he loves Flutter enough to let her go. He thinks of how proud he is of her, how much she's grown. She leaves with them, and her new mate, Pumpkinpatch.

He goes to Highstones and... Turns around. He can't do this. The dread is welling up inside him, maybe he should give the Leading Role to Night Hear-

He feels a hard pull on his tail.

Something unseen in the darkness of Mothermouth is dragging him to the Moonstone.

There, he receives his 9 lives, and vows to use them to help Riverclan how HE wants to with his OWN ideals. They may have blessed him but they don't own him.

He gets home to a happy announcement, Dazzling Shine is expecting kits with a lovely tom named Tulip Ear. Dazzling Shine is a pale gray dappled molly with short legs and bright yellow eyes. Tulip Ear is a thick furred gray speckled tom with amber eyes, a white belly, and curled ears.

Riverstar realizes that, though he has lost his home at the Park, he has made a new one, and his new family is flourishing. He might attend a Gathering later, maybe not. But he begins to formally train an Apprentice.

Epilogue: Riverstar is extremely old, on his deathbed. His great grandson, Shining Reed, is telling him all about the fun things he did on his first day out of camp when he suddenly begins to feel weak. He calls the little dark orange tom over to have a nap with him. Shining Reed cuddles up to him, and they fall asleep. At least.... Shining Reed does. Riverstar loses his last life as he drifts off.

He sees Frosty Paws when he opens his eyes, pacing and fretting over what to do. When she leaves the den, Riverstar gets bored, and rips up a dock leaf into the shape of a star, a little gift for the cat who helped him build his home. He puts it into her nest, and watches her shock when she finds it, shouting out to a cat named Mothwing that she found an answer.

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