Never too old for these cat books...Kinda

(Please don't tell my friends I still read these cat books tho)

[lurkingforwarrios]

Thoughts and Feels- Leopardstar’s Honor

WARNING! Spoilers Ahead!

Right away....Holy shit those continuity errors. Seriously, why don’t they just hire a better editor. There are enough Warriors-Kids that are now in their late 20s that could probably do an outstandingly better job. But putting those aside.

All in all, it’s worth a read. I never really found myself bored with it, but I wasn’t glued to it like I had been for some early titles in The Broken Code or like I was to Blackfoot’s Reckoning (seriously. I think that might be the best warriors story that we’ve gotten in a long time. I need to make a full post about it soon)

Here’s what I liked:

- Leopardfur/star was characterized really well for most of of the novel. I think they start to lose her a bit right when the Tigerclan drama starts.

- I like how they painted Fireheart/star from the perspective of an outsider, and the very believable way she is convinced that HE is the social climber, not Tigerstar.

- Her strained but loving relationship with Mudfur. It’s a very real family dynamic, and adds a lot to both of them.

- Mistyfoot initially saying that she would stay with Thunderclan and telling Leopardstar off...even if they undid it within like one page

-Leopardstar’s interactions with Silverstream! Some of the best scenes

-Leopardstar having close, belivable friendships with Sunfish and Frogleap! Also her feelings for Frogleap I think were very well done.

-NOT making her in love with Tigerstar, and turning that into a throwaway line. Yes TY Erins.

- RIVERCLAN BEING MAD THAT GRAYSTRIPE BURIED SILVERSTREAM. It’s a small thing but I love tiny details like that.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

- The story really should have taken place from Leopardfur’s deputy ceremony onward to maybe Sasha’s arrival. Let’s be real, most of us were interested in the Tigerclan section, and somehow that section got the most rushed. We really didn’t need her kithood and apprenticeship, even if they had some good moments here and there. I think most readers wanted an in-depth expose of the Tigerclan alliance and buildup, collapse, and aftermath of it. 

- Sunnyfall did a great video on how they failed to actually pull off gray morality. And it’s true. Leopardstar very much came off as a victim and was almost immediately forgiven by Riverclan despite not doing much to earn the forgiveness. This probably would have been fixed by dedicating more of the book to the aftermath.

-Also, if she actually wanted to break her allegiance with Tigerstar, they could have fought or sought out help from another clan to drive the Shadowclan warriors out. It all just comes off as very odd and it would have been better if Leopardstar was presented as being in denial of her bad decision.

- Very VERY cop-outy about the Bonehill scene. Once again doing a bad job of making her morally gray in that moment and just kind being like “Oh man wasn’t this so sad for her!”

- Mistyfoot immediately being like “Wait yeah I’ll come back I forgive you”

- Leopardstar’s fear of water kinda just...going away. Phobias don’t work like that.

- No exploration of her relationship with Stonefur at all. Or at least not as much as we should have had.

- THAT GOD AWFUL EDITING. It was actually a bit of a disgrace towards the end. They literally edited Stormfur and Feathertail’s apprentice ceremonies into the wrong chapter. So they are apprenticed and then referred to as not being apprenticed yet maybe a few chapters later. Come on ya’ll.

- Still no explanation given for the weirdness behind Tigerclan being composed of two clans and yet hating half clan cats. Did they just always intend that cats wouldn’t be able to mate with cats of different clan ancestry despite them being a giant clan composed of several clans? It’s a huge logic leap that has just never been acknowledged canonically. 

[lurkingforwarrios]

The Place of No Stars- Thoughts and feels

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I really didn’t think this was a strong book, and it’s possibly the book that has me convinced I may have just outgrown this series. But there are a few good standout moments. We have some neat character interactions for sure...but...all in all... the characterization can be really weak and inconsistent and the pacing is horrific and it’s really hard to get a sense of time in this one. I feel like the entire plot happened within one day (which COULD have been neat...if done well) There is a LOT of standing around and talking, and way too many “We need to gather everyone and talk about X” or “We need to ask if it’s ok to go to the Dark Forest” scenes.

Bristlefrost served no purpose other than to pine over Rootspring. Literally. This book had some serious characterization murder and I just feel so bad for her. I truly think the authors didn’t know what to do with her POV and her chapters were just...awful other than getting to see a few good Thunderclan moments. Don’t get me started on her being called “the fastest cat in the clans” even though that has never once been brought up before...and Windclan exists.

Crowfeather bringing up that Squirrelflight and Bramblestar have an unhealthy relationship and Bristlefrost being like “But I know she loves him!” felt like a weird callout to the fandom and vaguely insulting.

Also...Bristlefrost has no reason to be as attached to Squirrelflight and Bramblestar as she is. It just makes the stakes feel....weird and empty. I feel like it would have made more sense to give her POV to Sparkpelt if they wanted to go for this angle. I guess Squirrel and Bristle have built up a believable friendship, but she seems more attached to Squirrelflight than Rosepetal. It almost feels like they should have made Squirrel her mentor. In particular, it would have been more interesting for Bristlefrost to resent Bramblestar and have complicated feelings towards his return BECAUSE of her attachment to Squirrelflight.

Lionblaze getting roasted was amazing but Graystripe being chosen to lead was a lame cop-out no one wanted.

That conversation between Tigerstar and Shadowsight was great, and I love seeing the relationship between Mothwing and Shadowsight...even if it feels like a bit of a jarring change from the last book. It would have made more sense to have him share those scenes with Puddleshine instead...but I think they know that Mothwing is a popular character and wanted to utilize her.

No spicy feelings with Rootspring other than trying hard not to laugh at the scene where he was about to die and he, quite literally, has the thought “damn I’ll never get to bang Bristlefrost”

The Dark Forest stuff WAS neat and spooky and we stan Snowtuft.

[lurkingforwarrios]

Warriors: Perceptions VS Reality in TPB and TNP

I’m continuing my read-through of Warriors, now as a grown ass lady, and am halfway done The New Prophecy! I had a lot of fun reading The Prophecies Begin, and am enjoying The New Prophecy...not AS much, but still enough to keep me engaged. I think, realistically, no arc is going to live up to the OG, but I expected that. In this thread, I want to talk about those things that have become so popular in the fandom that we practically take them as cannon, that...honestly don’t really hold up now that I’ve reread. I think a lot of this happens because most people, like me, probably haven’t read the earlier arcs in YEARS. Remember, I’m tackling these strictly based on the text of TNP and TBP.

“Firestar is a Mary-Sue”- I know this one is coming from the later arcs where our Fire-boi doesn’t do much. But, honestly, in the first two arcs, I really think Firestar is written dynamically. He has a strong moral compass, for sure, but he is also pretty obstinate and outspoken throughout TBP to the point where he gets called out for being disrespectful. He’s headstrong and stubborn (Yes, just like Squirrelflight) and we DO see him make misjudgments. He has PTSD and takes it out on Bramblekit, he snaps at Sandstorm a few times, he blows off Longtail because he was Tigerstar’s friend and has to be put back into line by Whitestorm, He handles the “Fire and Tiger” prophecy by being terrible to his daughter and former mentee out of fear, his relationship with Windclan honestly is way too friendly, he stubbornly puts his clan in danger by not admitting that Graystripe isn’t coming back...Give the writers more credit, I think they did a pretty good job. I actually enjoyed and appreciated Firestar more upon a read-through.

“Other cats knew Fireheart loved Spottedleaf”- Honestly no, he never discusses it with anyone. This makes it way more confusing that Sandstorm is jealous in Firestar’s Quest

“Lionheart is serious, noble, stoic guy”- Honestly, go back to Into the Wild, he’s actually kind of goofy. I loved it

“Bluestar and Oakheart had an intense romance”- She literally admits in the text of Forest of Secrets that it was essentially a one-night stand (Ya know, in a way that is appropriate for children). I know people complain that Bluestar’s Prophecy doesn’t focus on their relationship much...but even the original text doesn’t claim that they had a drawn out, sweeping romance.

“Silverstream had the saddest death”- I mean, I know this is an opinion statement...but seriously go back and read Yellowfang’s death scene where she is telling Fireheart she wishes he was her child like...NGL my grown ass adult self really did cry.

“Brightpaw and Swiftpaw were a thing”- This is one where I think it got headcannoned so much that people started to actually believe it. Really, Brightpaw and Swiftpaw almost never interact, while we see her with Cloudpaw pretty much all the time before she gets injured. 

“Scourge was super evil”- Scourge is by no means a nice guy. However, when he hears about all the shit Tigerstar did, he decides to end their alleigence (mostly because Tigerstar lied to him) and only kills Tigerstar when he tries to attack him. He then decides he wants Bloodclan to have the forest because there is more prey, and gives the other clans 3 days to leave. He’s very cold and calculated in the original text..but not like...an evil crazed killing machine.

“Leafpool is quiet and sweet”- Again, our girl is much sassier and outspoken than the fandom gives her credit for. She isn’t afraid to take action. She maybe isn’t as rude as Squirrelpaw/flight...but she is no doormat either. I actually really appreciated her more on this read-through. It almost makes it all the more sad when you realize a lot of her subdued nature in later books was because of the pain and shame of her secret children.

“There is some buildup for Leafpool and Crowfeather’s relationship”- There isn’t. There literally isn’t. All of the sudden in Starlight she thinks he is hot and they NEVER interact directly in the first three books. It was clearly shoehorned in, even if people ultimately like the pairing.

“Brambleclaw was always abusive to Squirrelflight”- I know this can be a pretty spicy topic in this fandom. But, honestly, their relationship is pretty believable until their breakup in Starlight. I don’t think it had the BEST chemistry, but this series is just generally bad at writing couples.... After that point, Squirrel ABSOLUTELY should have stayed broken up with him because holy shit does his personality do a complete 180 and he is an asshat. It’s actually a huge shame because he actually is pretty likable and humble for the first half of TNP.

“All Ferncloud does is fret over her kits”- Ya’ll, 3 of her children DIED within a few months. It actually makes a lot of sense for her characterization that she would have some PTSD and overprotective nature.

[lurkingforwarrios]

Warriors and their zodiac signs!

(I tried to keep littermates within the same sign, to make things more challenging and interesting!)

Aries- Selfish, Fiesty, Moral: Sandstorm, Bramblestar, Tawnypelt

Taurus- Stubborn, Level headed, Affectionate: Bluestar, Cinderpelt, Brackenfur

Gemini- Irresponsible, Charming, Intelligent: Graystripe, Sorreltail, Needletail

Cancer- Emotional, Motherly, Thoughtful: Ravenpaw, Dustpelt, Stormfur, Feathertail

Leo- Self-involved, Driven, Benevolent: Firestar, Silverstream, Twigbranch, Violetshine

Virgo- Narrow-sighted, Orderly, Loyal: Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Thornclaw, Whitestorm, Roostspring, Needleclaw

Libra- Wishy-washy, Just, Relaxed: Spottedleaf, Berrynose, Tree

Scorpio- Broody, Romantic, Unselfish: Yellowfang, Crowfeather, Alderheart, Sparkpelt

Sagittarius- Impulsive, Caring, Energetic: Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Bristlefrost

Capricorn- Cold, Hard-working, Secret sense of humor: Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Mothwing, Hawkwing

Aquarius- Aloof/Insensitive, Sociable, Creative: Cloudtail, Dovewing, Ivypool

Pisces- Victim Complex, Empathetic, Flexible: Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Ashfur, Ferncloud, Shadowsight

[lurkingforwarrios]

Sandstorm kinda sucks

I’m just going to say it; If you go back and reread The Prophecies Begin, Sandstorm actually kind of sucks. 

This isn’t because of some kind of FireXSpotted stan. There’s really no reason for me to go into why FirexSpotted sucks at this point. We all realize that having an obsession with your childhood crush that you shared hardly any interactions with is weird.

Genuinely though, one of the things that surprised me in my reread of TPB is how much of the fandom’s perception of Sandstorm really does vary from the way she actually acts in the first series. I’m strictly talking about TPB here, not Firestar’s Quest or anything after this. Even I had this image of reliving the Sandstorm of my childhood; this snarky, loyal, fun character with a mind of her own and.....she kind of just....isn’t?

We all know that in Into the Wild she is a big brat but also can be fun, and she is very respectful of her clanmates (other than Fireheart, an outsider). The catalyst for her crush on Fireheart is when he saves her from falling into the gorge in Fire and Ice. And, honestly, after that point, she loses a lot of personality independent from her relationship with Fireheart. 

She also never truly loses her prejudices either? Like, she may have crushed on Fireheart, not clanborn, but she is blatantly a douche to Graystripe only minutes after his WIFE DIES TRAGICALLY and frequently tries to convince Fireheart not to go looking for Cloudpaw/tail when he is taken by the Twolegs. These prejudices do add some dynamics and flaws to her character...but...they kind of make her relationship with Fireheart just....not really make sense.

It’s not that she has no redeeming qualities, it’s more that she’s just written pretty inconsistently. Sometimes she’s snarky, sometimes she’s sweet and understanding towards Fireheart, sometimes she is wise, and sometimes she’s just whiny. It’s not done in a way that makes her multi-dimensional like Yellowfang, it’s done in a way that is just kind of jarring. 

I wish we had had more time with her aside from her crush on Fireheart. One of her best subtle character moments is that she is actually the cat that comforts Cinderpelt when Yellowfang dies...I... kind of wish it had been Brackenfur because that would have made a bit more sense...but it’s still a sweet moment.

In Rising Storm, Fireheart is devastated from losing his nephew and snaps at Sandstorm for taking for granted that she has kin in Thunderclan. Rather than comforting him or apologizing or acknowledging that that is true, she gets mad at him for taking their relationship for granted and storms off. Ultimately, he apologizes to her and she never ends up acknowledging that losing Cloudpaw must be painful. Even after Ravenpaw makes it pretty clear that Cloudpaw is miserable as a kittypet and wants to come home, Sandstorm still doesn’t support Fireheart trying to go get him, but follows anyway. I feel like this is a great example of how these two just don’t seem to genuinely connect or understand one another, other than thinking that the other is hot.

Fireheart also continually disrespects her by denying her an apprentice that he knows she desperately wants. I know he has his reasons, but his reasons essentially boil down to him thinking she can’t handle herself. 

This lack of likable connection probably could have been solved by giving Sandstorm more of the scenes and conversations that Cinderpelt and Fireheart end up sharing together. CinderxFire is not for me, but I can’t deny that these two probably share the most genuinely written and developed connection that Fireheart has (along with Yellowfang and Graystripe) in series one. 

All in all, I wouldn’t say I dislike Sandstorm or deeply dislike their relationship, I just think it suffered from a lack of consistency and ended up being pretty forced because she was the only eligible bachelorette. And her characterization ends up suffering because of it.

[lurkingforwarrios]

The Prophecies Begin and Characterization

Time for my extremely nerdy English teacher side to come out.

Recently, I started doing a reread of The Prophecies Begin! It’s really been great, since, honestly, I haven’t picked up the first series books in at least about 8 years. My intention in doing this was mostly for some light entertainment...but finishing Darkness Within and feeling lackluster towards it had me really curious about what exactly is so...different about the original series considering the later series have, if anything, expanded on the lore and world-building.

I know this is something that probably gets talked about ALL THE TIME. But, hey, I don’t get to analyze literature much anymore post-college (other than on the teacher side of things) so fuck it. Let’s go. Time for the English teacher to analyze the shit outta some cat books.

The first thing I want to talk about here is characterization. Again, not a new topic in this fandom when it comes to our nostalgia for the original series, but I feel like some fans just aren’t able to put to words exactly why newer series background characters (and, even mains, at times) just feel so damn....stale.

I’m not going to talk down to everyone as if most of us haven’t taken high school level english, but, real quick, just in case these aren’t terms aren’t something you’ve heard in a while: Indirect Characterization is when the author SHOWS us a character’s personality through their dialogue and actions, and relies on reader inference. Direct Characterization is when we are TOLD a character’s personality directly. 

Most books have both, but TPB does a WAY better job of balancing what we are shown with what we are told. Great examples of secondary characters that we get to know largely through indirect characterization are Whitestorm and Longtail. Whitestorm is consistently written as being helpful and amicable, and Longtail is consistently written as a pain-in-the-ass-but-harmless-bastard. Dustpelt’s courtship with Fernpaw is written pretty indirectly as well, as well as Fernpaw’s discomfort around her mentor, Darkstripe. These small moments are what make Thunderclan in TPB feel like a lived in society, and not one that changes based on the main character’s (or the plots) needs.

And, of course, there are characters that we don’t really know much about at all. This is something Moonkitti mentioned in the latest WOW video; but a lot of personalities of gen 1 characters really were made up by headcannons from the fandom. Runningwind and Mousefur really don’t have character moments, Goldenflower, Frostfur, and Brindleface are largely the same cat along with all of the Elders being the same as well. Thornpaw/claw barely speaks, and, despite his memorable death, Swiftpaw really isn’t spoken of much at all.

Lionheart gets some great character moments though, and I feel like his sense of humor actually largely gets forgotten by the fandom. He’s actually not the stoic noble archetype when you go back and read Into the Wild. Dude has some serious goofy dad energy. I’ll get into fandom perceptions VS reality in another mini essay!

The major issue with newer series books probably stems from the fact that there is just damn too many of them, and also that I feel like the author’s just kind of think up dialogue that they need said by background characters, and slap a random name on who will be the one to say it. While I can’t claim ALL TPB cats get great indirect characterization, I can say that the approach was definitely more of a “How would these characters genuinely react” and less of a “I need the characters to react like this.”