#he should have been lightleap's mentor

[blorboclaw]

Actually let's go back to Birchkit of Shadowclan (it all started from a post from another user but i don't want to hijack their post completely).

Son of leader. Only survivor of his litter. Big bro is medicine cat (and failed to save his littermate).

If there isn't a big Silverstream situation here, where he'll get spoiled by the entire clan, it's a missed opportunity.

I could see him be the downfall of his own family actually. I don't wish for it, but it might come just in time to weaken Tigerstar II's position inside Shadowclan itself and trigger something in inter-clan politics in ASC, idk (reminder i'm still somewhere in TBC).

Just imagine.

Tigerstar II wants the best mentor there is for his kit, only survivor of his litter and only son to become a warrior (Tigerstar I already had this weird obsession with his male, non medcat descendants, and Bramblestar basically lost all relationship with Alderheart once he became a full medcat, it's not a stretch to think maybe Tigerstar II will have this default too).

Lightleap and Pouncestep are maybe eager to become mentors (i don't think they had apprentices yet?) and expect to become their brother's mentor even if it's not a thing that happens a lot nowadays (as opposed to first arc).

Then Tigerstar II just decides neither are good enough. And it's true they're both young warriors with not a lot of experience, but it stings to hear your father say you're not good enough. Cloverfoot, who is deputy and trusted, will become the mentor.

Birchpaw actually starts getting some preferable treatment. He does chores less often than the other apprentices (Cinnamontail's kits), because his mentor is the deputy and his father's the leader, and Tigerstar II doesn't want to punish him too often because it must be tough for him to be the only one with no siblings in the apprentices groups, which is basically a four kits litter + him.

Actually, to add the insult to the injury, maybe Tigerstar gave two of Cinnamontail's kits to Lightleap and Pouncestep as apprentices. They're good enough to become mentors, just not Birchpaw's. Daddy's favorite.

At some point, Dovewing realizes Birchpaw is a bit lonely in the apprentices' group and thinks it's a bit like her when she was not popular but Ivypaw was getting all the attention. She doubles down on dotting on him.

At some point, Lightleap's apprentice, let's say Bloompaw, gets in danger and Lightleap is hurt saving her. Fox, badger, twoleg, falling branch? doesn't matter. Pouncestep goes back to camp running for help and Dovewing's only concern is for Birchpaw, who is outside of the camp too and might be in danger, even if he's not remotely in the same area. Shadowsight is the only one in the family to answer the call and he goes to help Lightleap and Bloompaw. Brings LIghtleap back to camp and immobilizes her for two or three days for her leg/tail/whatever to heal completely.

Tigerstar throws a fit about how she should have been more responsible, now he's got to find a temporary mentor for Bloompaw and organize the patrols without her. Unknown to his kits, he's only getting so worked up because Berryheart or whoever else has been difficult to work with and tried to undermine his authority. Now his daughter's failure reflects badly on him or whatever. You know, so he's not an asshole out of nowhere, it's understandable he'd be worked up, but still not any good reason to yell at his bedridden daughter you know.

Birchpaw starts testing the limits. If his mentor, his leadership chain and his family don't forbid him stuff, what can he do next?

He starts by eating a prey he caught without bringing it back to camp for the elders. It's greenleaf, no one is starving or anything, he just wanted to test the limits. And this forbidden prey tastes better than any other.

Then he starts hunting on other clans' territories. Marking the shadowclan border just a bush too far from the original border.

Obviously, the last two infractions start worrying Leafstar or Bramblestar, who think Tigerstar is trying to expand on their territories. A worked up, worried patrol attacks a shadowclan patrol who was trespassing by a whisker and not doing on purpose. Better yet, they catch Birchpaw and attack him.

from then on, it's either Tigerstar declaring a war over his son's injuries, in which case Shadowclan as a whole might stop following him, and Riverclan might seize the opportunity to take their clan back from him, completely reducing Tigerstar's standing in his clan.

Or, the other possibility, Tigerstar and Dovewing finally start parenting their son. Which might work or not. If not, I'd see him just keep doing forbidden stuff but on the downlow you know. Which might set him up as a minor vilain for the next arc.

Also I'm pretty sure his warrior name will be Birchclaw.

None of his siblings have a claw suffix

Kind of a family tradition in the Tigerkin family.

Most legacy named cats have had the claw suffix. (Brambleclaw ok it's an old one. but Needleclaw. Spireclaw.)

throwback to Rowanclaw, since he's already named after one of his grandfathers, and his brother named after Rowanclaw died.

then i could be wrong and we could keep on the weird, new suffixes trend of his siblings. Birchstrike, or Birchspring maybe?

#birchkit (shadowclan) #wc theory #asc spoilers

[amethyst-halo]

idk about you but I think people who say things like “Shadowsight should have died instead of Bristlefrost” or “it’s all Shadowsights fault what happened in tbc” or “it’s Shadowsights fault Bristlefrost died” are the most annoying people in the world.

i hate when people say that like shadowsight messed up a few times for sure but all of the stuff that happened was ashfur’s fault, shadowsight was manipulated and lied to and forced into being a pawn. i think he should’ve been the one to kill ashfur but i DONT think he should have been killed off. not only does that negate every attempt he made at fixing things and all of his character growth, it just tastes bad to kill off the one that’s both disabled and clearly mentally ill. of everyone i think shadowsight deserved to live the most, to recover and get better and rest.

shadowsight never did anything with the intention of hurting others save for ashfur. he never wanted any of it to happen, he never hurt anyone on purpose. he fucked up and that had consequences, because of course someone is gonna fuck up and have consequences. but i stand by the statement adamantly that anyone else in his position at the start of the series, MAYBE not counting mothwing, would have done the exact same thing. he was told from day one that his visions were important and to take them seriously and share them. he was doing as he was told with that. i HATE that everyone turned around and asked why he did that when he was instructed SEVERAL TIMES throughout his kithood by his parents and his mentor, who of anyone should know what he’s talking about, to do so. if your whole life is leaning on listening for instructions from dead cats, of course he’s gonna lean on instructions from a dead cat.

ofc i don’t think other characters shouldn’t hold this over his head a little; they lived that shit. they’re traumatized and trying to recover and that always involves anger and blame. shadowsight himself blames him for it. it’s heavy, and it’s hard. lightleap whipping that at him in her moment of anger hit Hard and i think it makes total sense for it, even if she wasn’t justified and kinda out of character

bristlefrost’s death is easily the heaviest death on me in the history of the series, but of the protags i think she was the one who should have died. her death was written beautifully and a year later im still affected by it. shadowsight absolutely should not have died, and he is hardly to blame for it

#hi sorry for the rant i have Feelings about this #sketch answers #anonymous

[violetparakeetdraweroffurries]

My ideal leader/deputy picks based on the existing characters:

TC: Squirrelflight/Ivypool. A lot of people say that Squirrel's too old to be leader, but honestly I think she's got enough energy and passion for her age to lead for a few years. She's also the best pick ThC has, having shown herself to be proactive, reasonable, and righteous repeatedly in the face of Bramble's impotence. Squirrelstar is the holder of the braincell in gatherings, the team mom. Ivy would be an interesting first choice, seeing as she's mellowed out since her youth to a tough but well-meaning mentor to Twigpaw but has leftover resent towards Dovewing, I think she'll be a serviceable enough deputy to not instantly crash and burn, and it'll be neat to watch her struggle with the role, especially since my picks for ShC are...

ShC: Clovertail/Lightleap. Most of the ShC cats have little in the way of personality, so I'll default to the current deputy. Supposedly she has the makings of a leader. Lightleap is more interesting. She's a disaster, a drama-queen if you will, and she's bound to fuck up with style under the pressure of being ShC's 2nd in command. Their boring leader/interesting deputy combo should be ShC's comedy routine. Cloverstar picked Light bc she wanted a young deputy & Lightleap was the only young adult who has a personality. Maybe she gets a couple bonding moments w/ Shadowsight, both being siblings put into roles of importance they are unprepared for. Plus, drama with her aunt. I think tough, dour Ivypool & disaster himbo Lightleap would be a fun duo, and guaranteed to have a lot of twists and turns regarding Dovewing in particular.

RC: Mothwing/Frostpaw. I want healer-leader drama and these two have it in spades. Mothwing's obvious; she's a misotheist who's been mistreated repeatedly by her Clan and just wants to be a healer. Having her be forced to confront her loved ones as they force 9 lives upon her would be an immensely tragic and cathartic moment to her, and I'd love to see what wild directions she takes RC as a result. I want her to hold StarClan hostage. Frostpaw is more based on theories, but it's implied that her connection to StarClan and her legitimacy as a healer is not what it seems, and she's being used as a pawn by her own family (namely, Splashtail, but Podlight & Duskfur are pretty sus too). Her becoming deputy would be fun to play with as she becomes increasingly disillusioned with StarClan just as Leafpool did, and she kinda becomes a foil to a bunch of other cats. Perhaps she's there bc she's Splashtail and co's pawn, and as both a healer and a deputy, she holds immense over RC, power that she's not ready to handle...

SkC: Kitescratch/Wrenflight. Fuck no I don't want Hawk-fucking-star. Kite is a mean basic bitch. He would start fights with the WC pick for leader for the title of "Meanest Bitch". Wren is the deputy solely bc she has "sad little orphan all alone in a wet cardboard box" vibes, and it's the opposite of what you'd want in a deputy, but she'll pull it off somehow. Kite & Wren together is painful to watch, but they somehow make a functional team.

WC: Breezepelt/Heathertail. Crowfeather should go explode. It's just funny. Heather & Breeze are the only WC cats with personalities, so I'll default to them. Breezestar should be the token grouchy conservative of the leaders and get into sparring matches w/ Ivypool & Kitestar. That's the only reason I'm putting him up as leader. Heather is more mellow, she's there to provide gossip and ramble about the good old days.

#warrior cats #i'll post a worst-case scenario version sometime

[sage-warrior-cats]

A STARLESS CLAN: RIVER REVIEW

‼️SPOILERS‼️

TW: Depression, Self-Depreciation, Self-harm mention, S*icide mention

I READ THE BOOK IN ONE NIGHT

first of all. I fucking called it. Mistystar dies? Check. Reedwhisker dies? Check. Now my bet/hope was Minnowtail, BUT, I *ALWAYS* liked curlfeather for a reason! And the fact that she was such a good mother to her kits- *chef’s kiss* I really hoped for her. I had a feeling they wouldn’t let Leafstar be the only she-cat leader. like . I dunno. But there’s still a chance for the Minnowtail fans out there!

Sunbeam’s character is so good. I was so so happy we were staring off a series with a good, healthy, loving relationship, and her dynamic with Lightleap was so frustrating, yet charming at the beginning.

Lightleap having this reckless, stubborn personality is honestly really unique for Warriors. Now, this might be going a bit too far, but her behavior resembles someone who’s severely mentally unwell. Like major depression. Not caring if she lives or dies because she’s so unhappy and guilt ridden. I can’t say for everyone, but this really, really hit home for me, as someone who was self deprecating and suicidal at one point. It wasn’t making an attempt, it was like a passive thing, doing nothing to take care of yourself and letting your self widdle away slowly, to punish yourself. It’s heartbreaking. Again, mental illness(es) and their experiences are unique for everyone, but this behavior is one that I’ve experienced firsthand, so I’m sorry if this rubs anyone the wrong way.

Sunbeam is very nice and she loves her probably boyfriend, Blazefire. She loves her best friend, Tigerstar 8 or whatever, Lightleap. Sunbeam gets injured because of Lightleap’s actions, and when sunbeam tells the truth, as one should, she gets in trouble. Sunbeam is confused and angry and very upset when Lightleap doesn’t forgive her. Lightleap then continues to be a terrible friend by whisking Blazefire away from Sunbeam after she recovers from the injury Lightleap caused. Blazefire and Lightleap hang out and due to Lightleap’s actions, Blazefire is injured. This time, Lightleap has broken his leg. Sunbeam comforts him- which by the way Lightleap did NOT do to Sunbeam OR Blazefire- and Blazefire suddenly changes his mind about loving Sunbeam. Now, it IS suspicious that this has happened after he and Lightleap have been hanging out, and Blaze and Lightleap deny having feelings for each other, but it could just be.. Blazefire has been thinking this through and it has nothing to do with Lightleap, as far as we know.

Also Sunbeam does NOT know it but she heard Reedwhisker die, so thats fucked up and interesting(from the story’s perspective.)

Blazefire and the other Church cats (from tigerheart’s shadow) are some that definitely needed expanding on, and this has delivered. He’s kind and goofy, and reckless. Not reckless in a really really dangerous way like Lightleap, but reckless as in he wasn’t thinking too clearly? If that makes sense. Clearly-to me- Lightleap really egged him on, and thats why he went into the collapsing burrow.

Frostpaw.. love her.. she’s been through a lot. The code changes, her mentor can’t teach her about StarClan, everyone doubts her, and suddenly- leader: dead. deputy: missing. Deputy: found dead. Frostpaw: given a sign best she-cat Curlfeather is leader. Mothwing: Doubts. The sign: its real. Curlstar pls. Then suddenly: dogs. BOOM. Best she-cat: dead. Riverclan: fucked.

I do think Sunbeam and Nightheart will become friends at least. Knowing the year-long clichés latest trends, they’ll get together in some capacity.

Lastly, i will not be forgiving berryheart 🍇🫀 /hj

Lets get on to

Hopes And Predictions

Hope: Nightheart goes to Shadowclan. Or riverclan!

Prediction: Nightheart and Sunbeam do the love and one moves to the other’s clan

Hope: Minnowstar. Mousewhisker goes to join her in riverclan.

Crazy headcanon that’s probably WAY off: Lightleap will eventually go to the dark forest

Prediction: Frostpaw gets her warrior name. Frostmoth, Frostpool, Frostsight, Frostfeather, Froststep(?)

#a starless clan #asc river #asc spoilers #asc river spoilers #wc river #wc #warrior cats #warriors #review #tw self destructive behavior #tw #tw sui ideation #tw self harm

[whitestormsaystransrights]

Strikestone was such wasted potential, like he was Sleekwhisker’s and Juniperclaw’s brother, and both of them turned down a darker path. 

But we never get to see his reaction?

Like the reason he joined the kin in the first place was because he couldn’t bear to leave his siblings and then never have it explored when he was not only the tiger clone of his litter but also the only one not to do some serious murder?

He also the only one to stand up for Shadowsight at the gathering.

Not to mention he went deaf in one ear and that could have been some good disability representation

He could have been super interesting but no, he had to die in the battle against fake Bramblestar

#strikestone #sleekwhisker #juniperclaw #bramblestar #the kin #he should have been lightleap's mentor #we could have really explored his morally gray views #like he puts his family above his clan only to see them turn into something darker #like he must have felt betrayed or angry or something right #not to mention both of his parents and littermates are dead #idk he should have had an more interesting arc #now i'm thinking about how cute it would have been for him to meet brightheart after he went deaf #not art

[ailuromachy]

shadowsight rewrite stuff

-shadowkit is born an only child, no hate to lightleap and pouncestep but if his siblings aren't gonna be relevant then he doesn't need to have them and i almost feel him being an only child would make more sense anyway

-shadowkit is often in the medicine den due to seizures, which is what piques his interest to become a medicine cat

-shadowkit's visions are in the form of not only seeing the future, but also seeing future or past events through the eyes of another. his visions of drowning are actually foretelling juniperclaw's death

-as a child, shadowkit has an optimistic desire to be helpful and good while also being a neurotic little sprite, often conveying his prophecies is strange and vague ways. although he outgrows his childhood sense of wonder and gains more self awareness, even as an adult, shadowpaw never quite fit in. he's a large cat even for his age for one, he seems off in his own little world most of he time, and he always has a wide eyed stare, as if he's looking at something no one else can see. his pelt is so dark he sometimes fades into the background and cats don't realize he's there until they see his dark-amber-almost-red eyes pierce the blackness

-furthermore, as a result his incident run in with the river he is wary towards bodies of water. shadowpaw did not enjoy being so close to the moonpool when puddleshine first took him there, and ran away in fright, which gave the medicine cats a bad impression of him off the bat because they thought that something about starclan's presence itself was what frightened him, like when tigerclaw ran from the moonstone in the first arc, as if he had something to hide. he's gotten better at being around it with more exposure to it, but he still prefers to keep his distance. he doesn't know why. to him, the moonpool feels like a hungry mouth ready to swallow him whole. when he looks into the moonpool he feels like something stares back at him- and it isn't starclan

-shadowclan views shadowpaw's eccentricities ostensibly affectionately, in a "ha ha shadowpaw you're such a weird guy" kind of way, although their unnease towards him is nonetheless palpable. but his strongest non-familial bond is, surprisingly, with blazefire, the local hard-headed, overconfident jock who hails from the city guardians. the two grew up together and bonded through their shared relationship with spiresight, and shadowpaw feels like blazefire is one of the few cats he can speak to without feeling like a weirdo. he's the only cat in the clan shadowpaw talks to as much as he talks to his parents and his mentor

-when it comes to the other clans, most of the time they could care less, but shadowkit's advent with the river, almost drowning himself and killing a warrior in the process apparently on starclan's command, didn't go unnoticed and has made everyone see him as a strange fellow. this, combined with his strangeness, his quietness, his stature etc. has made some of them wonder what else he's possibly capable of. if he's hiding something.

-internally, shadowsight is very sweet and well meaning who wants to continue to do good in spite of himself, even though he is a bit spacey and often lost in thought, as well as having some tics he's less good at being aware of such as his tendency to stare. he was never good at making friends because he found it hard to fit in with the warriors' way of life, but he still dearly desires friendship and this draw pulls him into the eye of the public, where he Cannot Stop Acting Strange. he is well aware of how people think of him, the things cats say when they think he isn't listening or is too caught up in a daydream to hear, but he doesn't know how to fix how other cats see him, or if he even can.

-the events that take place after the moonpool freezes over do not help any of the aforementioned problems.

-the reason the imposter goes after shadowsight specifically to relay the codebreakers prophecy is more selective; he tells shadowsight, the son of a thunderclan warrior and a shadowclan warrior, that he is born of an evil act and he carries his parents' transgressions in his blood. The only way he can redeem himself is by persecuting the cats that committed the same crime that brought him into the world.

-toying with the idea that since ashfur already has hold over starclan at this point he might send spiresight to send this message instead of doing it himself, knowing spiresight is someone shadowpaw would trust.

-shadowpaw doesn't know what he should do. "starclan wills it," spiresight tells him. "what happens if starclan is wrong?" shadowpaw asks. "starclan is never wrong," spiresight reminds him.

-shadowpaw anxiously mulls over the information he's been given. restful sleep is near impossible to achieve. in his dreams he's standing on a ledge surrounded by fire. it's hard to see but he knows there's a molly in front of him. his lips curl into a snarl as he percieves her foggy shape. he hates her. he wants to hurt her so bad. even as the smoke chokes his lungs and burns his eyes all he can think about is how much he wants her to hurt, how badly he wants to be the one to instill all that pain and sorrow in her. god he can’t wait to see the look on her face as it contorts into a scream of fear and horror at what he's about to do-

-shadowsight never slept peacefully again after that.

#shadowsight #a broken code

[sunspot-illustrations]

Gush about your fave characters pls!! <3

OK SO

You know I love Icecloud right?? I love her so much and I love thinking about how she interacted with the rest of her family and clan.

Icecloud and Foxleap were extremely close as kittens, like, Dovekit and Ivykit close or Squirrelkit and Leafkit close! When they became apprentices they didn't let being apart more get in the way of their relationship. They live each other a lot and balance each other out. Ferocious taught them to talk out their issues and never let any distance get between them (likely her learning from her own mistakes a little too late with Ashfur n Cloudtail) (also that moonkitti video of her stressing out about who was gonna change Mousefur's bedding when she graduated is canon, that happened)

Speaking of Cloudtail they're pretty close too! Since Whitewing was her mentor and Whitewing always finds time to spend with her parents, Icepaw got to reconnect with her mother's foster brother in a way her older sibling Birchtail never got too. She's also tried to reconnect with her older brothers as well but while Birchfall was willing to connect a little, Spiderleg didnt want to talk at all and ignored her and Foxleap's attempts. She tries not to hold it agaisnt him but she cant help but feel a little bitter towards him now.

Icecloud, to me anyways, feels like that really quiet chill friend who's been bottling up every emotional issue they've had for years cause they're the "good kid" and they dont wanna cause a scene. Icecloud wants everyone to be able to relax and be happy but she cant do it for herself until everyone else is first. Also she's older than fox by a few minutes so it Eldest Child Syndrome out the butt for her. Just like her gf Hollyleaf :)

I've also changed my LGBT HC for Icecloud! She's now a non-binary lesbian who uses She/They pronouns! None of Ferncloud's children are stright or cis~

I'm also love Thornclaw too?? He has....0 personality outside of what the erins need but the POTENTIAL FOR HIM. The 'least' accomplished sibling of Bracken Bright and Cinder? Watching both his sisters getting hurt and having had the opportunity to stop Brightpaw and Swiftpaw but didnt? Do you think he felt guilty about it?? Him being on patrols constantly looking out for dogs or other potential dangers, him just being a stright workaholic cause he can't bring himself to rest when he could've stopped his sister from getting mauled.

Speaking of which I HC him and Bright as the twins instead of him and Bracken. They've got matching white patches and floofy necks and blue eyes and everything. Also Thornkit was a mama's boy and he didnt want to leave Frostfur when they were being made apprentices and Brightkit didnt wanna leave him so they stayed in the nursery longer, together.

Also can we all agree he's asexual?? He never showed an interest in a mate or kits and that was fine and dandy! Thornclaw is a cool uncle to his nieces and nephews! He trained his niece Poppypaw! She can see right through his stoic facade and see the mushy "I would kill and die for my family" tom underneath and she loves her uncle! Even if he has the emotional range of a shallow puddle.

I could see thornclaw either being very superstitious or very logical and defiantly a little paranoid. After everything with Bluestar I just imagine he's...ever so uncomfortable with authority as well. Like, he trusts Firestar of course! But deep down he was just waiting for him to slip up one day and then the Po3 climax happened and he just...oof. Now he doesn't even trust the Leafpool of all people and all visits to the den are awkward as all hell now.

Pouncestep and Lightleap are so, SO, underutilized!! Give me Shadowsight's nosy, loving sisters!! Gimme Pouncestep who takes after Tigerheart coat wise but is an emotional carbon copy of dovewing! I want a Pounce who is an open book and emotional and wants her siblings to come to her when they're upset. NOSEY LIGHTLEAP getting into everyone's business cause she thinks she can help them out, especially her little brother whom she loves sooo much! Light and Pounce who know the borders are important but they wanna come with Mama to see auntie Ivy and their cousins! Pounce and Light who's arc is trying to get their mom and aunt to reconcile and reconnect so they have more kin to harass hang out with

Acknowledge the ThunderShadow Cousins Erins. Give me Thrift and Flip hanging out with Pounce and Light while their protagonist siblings go off doing...whatever it is they do. Give me Bristle and Shadow's siblings dog piling them so they can relax for 5 seconds good grief you guys. Also, completely off topic but i think Shadowsight should've been Shadowspire instead cause that has Spiresight's og name and it sounds cool as hell.

Ok i should probably stop there cause this is....a lot

#warrior cats #icecloud #i love her! #hollyice #raggy rambles #battle strategy #ask #asked and answered #lesbiandicegoblin #thornclaw #pouncestep #lightleap #so many cats #so long im so sorry #long post

[stargleam-star]

My predictions for A Starless Clan

Some of you may know I recently read River! It was a really good book and it had a lot of mystery to it, things that we'll no doubt see throughout the rest of the arc. Here's some stuff I think/hope will happen (warning, spoilers under the cut)

I think one of the biggest mysteries in River is the voice speaking to Frostpaw. Are they manevolent? A Starclan warrior? I think it's probably Moth Flight! The cat Frostpaw vaguely got to see was described as having green eyes. That certainly couldn't be Willowshine. It would make sense if it was Moth Flight instead, since she was the first medicine cat. I can't exactly put my finger onto why she'd talk to Frostpaw, but my theory is:

If the mysterious voice is Moth Flight, she is contacting Frostpaw as a way to make Riverclan's connection to Starclan stronger. That or she's manipulating Frostpaw for some reason. Maybe so cats don't go trying to change the medicine cat's code? Or perhaps so they will? Guess we'll find out

Why did Curlfeather warn Frostpaw to trust no cat? I believe it's probably because too many cats in Riverclan want power rn, so everyone is trying to keep each other from being chosen as the next leader, whether by leaving fake signs or eliminating the competition (Im p sure someone in Riverclan sent those dogs after Curlfeather). In the end this might lead to a Stone Teller situation, when Riverclan's medicine cat is also leader. This would mean Frostpaw would eventually rule Riverclan. I definitely don't think it will be Mothwing, because I don't see her living until the end of the arc, sadly.

Lightleap is going to turn evil. Like 100% it's not even a question. She's trying to make up for her cowardice, for not going into the Dark Forest. By ensuring that some day she will, so she can overcome her fear. And to do this, she's been risking cats' lives; Sunbeam's Blazefire's, her own, and Reedwhisker. Yes I think she killed Reedwhisker. Idk if it was on purpose or not though. It probably wasn't at first. She was probably trying to defend Shadowclan territory and then took it too far. But now I think she's going to join the traditionalists group and fall further into darkness and ambition. She might get convinced to kill Fringewhisker. Well she is a Tigerstar clone, she had to go thru something like this sooner or later. I for obe welcome our first evil female Tigerstar clone with open arms

Berryheart is definitely not evil. She's most likely going to take things too far, and probably try to deposed Tigerheartstar, but that's about it. She might also try to prove half clan relationships are a bad idea by making her son's relationship with Fringewhisker fail somehow. I don't see her going down an evil path tho, not without influence. Lightleap would certainly be the right influence for that though, hmmm...

Next to talk about: Nightheart and Sunbeam. They're definitely going to have a romance. I'm sorry, it's stupid but I can already see it happening. One way or another Nightheart's gonna get himself into a half clan relationship. And Sunbeam seems like a hopeless romantic. I won't be too mad if this occurs. But if it does I hope by the end it all falls apart and both of them realize they're not meant to be/should just be friends. If Nightheart doesn't end up with Sunbeam though I bet the Erins will try to shove him into the arms of a cat like Needleclaw or even Whistlepaw

Sunbeam might become deputy someday. Cloverfoot will probably end up getting killed off, and Sunbeam might be chosen to mentor one of Dovewing's new litter, which would make her eligible for the position. Plus she's very loyal, and a rule follower, so she'll probably be seen as a good choice for the role

Bramblestar. Where to begin with him? Something is obviously up with him again. Hes definitely not possesed tho. I think he's probably got ptsd. It'll most likely continue to get in the way of his ability to lead throughout the arc. Especially because most of Thunderclan is still afraid of him. My prediction for Bramblestar is that he might be the first leader to be deposed. Alternatively, I think he's going to step down from the position willingly. In fact that's what I think is most likely to happen. The Erins love this guy, there's no way they're going to let him be forcefully demoted. So, I think they'll have him want to step down. He'll most likely go back to being a loyal warrior, trying to prove to his clanmates that he's ok and that he's not bad. Or maybe he'll retire, although I highly doubt that

If Bramblestar isn't the first leader to get deposed with the new code set in place, then its 100% going to be Tigerheartstar. Or at least Shadowclan's traditionalists will try to have him deposed. In the end he'll probably end up keeping power, because the Erins seem to like him too much (they literally resurrected him just to make sure he could become leader ffs) and also I doubt they'll wanna make Cloverfoot/any Shadowclan she-cat leader (because the Erins are sexist, and there's never been a female Shadowclan leader in any main series book)

#wcs #river spoilers #a starless clan spoilers #asc spoilers #a starless clan predictions

[yarrowleef]

Read Darkness Within all in one sitting last night and then passed out so here are my scattered thoughts i wrote down as i read, (afterthoughts in parenthesis)

Darkness Within Spoilers, obv

UGH GOD THE SECOND HAND EMBARRESMENT FROM SQUIRREL FAKE FLIRTING WITH ASHFUR IT HURTS

Just remembered Sandynose died and got a small boost of happiness (will Hawkwing and Plumwillow ever be allowed to talk again now? I mean probly not b/c they aren’t protags and non-protags don’t rly have friends but I can hope. Sorry, Hawkwhing and Plumwillow’s short-lived friendship in Hawkwings Journey was one of the last times I felt something)

Ghost fleas lol

Mothwing: i’m rude now. (but more importantly, Fuck Tigerheartstar for forcing his son to be around the cat that hurt him so badly, like he HAS to know how upset everyone is regarding Shadowsight and his accidentally helping the imposter, and he’s making him be the sole one to tend to him??? There is NO REASON Puddleshine couldn’t have done it. You think Puddleshine is going to try and murder someone?? )

Oh no don't make this a traveling book, and a ROOTBRISTLE traveling book this is going to be insufferable

BACON AND EGGS

Lightleap Is Good (Hey didn’t Shadowsight have another sister? lets be real we all knew Pouncekit was going to end up as the forgettable 3rd one)

Bristlefrost’s crush continues to feel unnatural to me. It’s like she’s grasping at straws romanticizing the most generic things.....wow....I love how ur just so...bare minimum competent....being polite to the loner we came all this way to ask for help like any somewhat reasonable person would....How admirable...I love the way you just *clenches fist* exhibit some basic traits of loyalty and skill that literally every warrior has (I s2g I’m this close to head canon-ing Bristle as a clueless aromantic who doesn't understand what romance is actually suppose to feel like so she just looks at feelings of low-bar admiration and assumes “oh I guess this is that “romantic attraction” everyone’s always talking about? guess I must be in love???” because both her crushes have felt out of nowhere and like. Idk fake/forced sounding like she’s just telling me that that she’s In Love Now while I continue to not actually feel it at all from her end. I know it’s just that I hate the way Erin’s write female characters in love but this head-canon makes me laugh)

Got scared because I thought they were going to villainize Spotfur for not wanting kits for a minute, but also excited at the concept of maybe exploring a female character that doesn’t want to be a mother, but it turns out she was just pulling a Sparkpelt and actually DID want the kits all along and was only hesitant because she’s sad. Shrug oh well.  (the only female character in warriors that was distinctly upset about pregnancy and motherhood was Lizardstripe and as we all know she was eeeeeevil and abusive and “overly ambitious” because why else would you not come around to being happy about motherhood?? YES I’M STILL SALTY ABOUT YELLOWFANG’S SECRET, BAD BOOK)  Whatever it’s fine so long as Spot doesn’t lose her rebel leader spirit forever and default to “soft mom” personality for the rest of her life, I gotta have hope because I actually like Bristle and Spot’s current relationship. Also I am actually very grateful they never made Bristle resentful at Spot for getting with her crush, as lots of middle grade/YA media has a very bad habit of demonizing female romantic “competition” and its super gross, so I rly do like that Bristlefrost is so protective and caring towards her instead. )

This series is trying to tell me that Rootspring is actually Big but I refuse to accept that. he has dumb scrawny bitch energy and we all know it

Sunrise: “Thunderclan may be better with a new leader” lol go off (i mean........they right tho...It’s unfortunate that the tension in this whole plot is a bit dampened by the fact that i DO in fact want bramble to die v badly. I don’t even have special hatred for him, I’m just bored of him.)

Yes Lionblaze beat the shit out of Ashfur

*HOLY SHIT THAT’S FUCKED!!!! (I wrote this in reference to the ghost summoning scene, this was all I could manage at the time, that scene was WILD and I am VIBING WITH THE HORROR OF IT ALL)

* Brashfur: Oh yeah? Could Ashfur fake THIS? *stands up with slightly better posture* Shadowsight: oh damn you got me there...... (asdfhhfhhgh im sorry that was really funny, how did that prove anything?? ONLY A ~REAL~ WARRIOR COULD STAND UP STRAIGHT WE ALL KNOW ASHFUR IS INCAPABLE OF GOOD POSTURE!)

End of the book: *LAUGHING NERVOUSLY* WHAT THE FUCK??? (I thought he was just gonna kill Squirrelflight right there holy shit can you imagine the RIOTS that would ensue in the wake of all this Squirrel/Bramble discourse I was so scared for a second.  

 But it’s fine, she just....went to super hell instead......Warriors has come so far lmao WHAT IS HAPPENING

Final Notes:

*On Mothwing, I don’t think her behavior struck me as “CHARACTER BUTCHERING” as much as it did for other people? I mean.....Warriors fans will say that literally any time a character does ANYTHING less then perfectly nice I think her actions just seemed that much harsher because we are reading from Shadowsight’s POV, and Shadowsight is taking everything 10x more personally right now (understandably so, but Mothwing isn’t inside his head) she wasn’t trying to hurt him. Also... like... Shadowsight DID get his name too early. It’s not Mothwing’s job to put his feelings above everything else, she’s not even his mentor, Puddleshine on the other hand, as his main mentor, I don’t understand what his deal is ignoring Shadowsight, that’s not how you help an apprentice but I suppose I chalk many of his mistakes up to also not being the most experienced medicine cat (he barely even had his own mentor.) Maybe he’s distant because he feels guilty and actually blames himself for not guiding Shadowsight better?? the two of them haven’t communicated about it yet so idk

 any way I give Mothwing a pass to be a little short tempered right now as a cat who has had her abilities periodically questioned all her life no matter how hard she works or how much experience she has, just because she doesn’t vibe with the spiritual cult side of the clans, I can understand why she’s a bit defensive of being questioned and frustrated watching so much hurt happen Yet Again due to reliance on StarClan visions over common sense, and I for one still stan her for slandering StarClan and refusing to accept Mistystar’s bullshit banishing like everyone else. Sometimes a character is at the end of their rope and can’t manage to be 100% nice 24/7 and that’s maybe not inherently bad writing? idk just my hot take. At a certain point we all gotta reckon with the fact that our perception of most popular supporting characters in heavily colored by fanon and we can’t always get mad at the authors for not adhering to it

*The sisters magic shit is my fav worldbuilding warriors has had in AGES, I love the way it’s described and it actually feels like it adds something to this world. I love this horror imagery with the ghosts, very excited for that. 

*still won’t be thrilled if Ashfur is working alone, because his motive doesn’t make sense right now. I mean the trying to get Squilf thing, sure, whatever, but the “I will make everyone pay for what they did to me”???? cause like?? Who??? they didn’t do anything to him?? Ashfur’s grievance was very specifically JUST Squilf. He has no other cause for revenge, he had no other beef or complaints about the clans to my knowledge? The cat that killed him is dead, and she’s like, the only other one that I could see as having “wronged” him?? I guess he also didn’t like Firestar much according to Graystripe’s Vow (and on account of how willing he was to kill him w/ Hawkfrost) but Firestar is ALSO dead. I don’t understand his angle. Will have to see last 2 books to judge i suppose.

*All in all I am interested to see where this is going!! but also the pacing as I feared is becoming a major issue. It’s better then ending the main conflict on book 3 like Vision of Shadows did, but omg. Hardly anything happened in all these pages. I realized I was over half way through and nothing about the situation had actually CHANGED or advanced at all in all that time. Similar to the past 2 books which I believe could have been combined, this plot felt like it should have been the first half of a book. Discussing whether or not to kill the imposter isn’t much of a standalone plot, it’s just the set up to a plot. Finding the sisters didn’t need to be a whole long thing, the debates about the Imposters fate didn’t need to be repeated 10 times, all those chapters illustrating that “Shadowsight is sad” were also drawn out, repetitive, and interchangeable, we probably only needed 2 or so chapters showing his struggles to get the necessary information across. It felt like a lot of padding, it was really slow and I did a lot of skimming. I am still very interested in the overarching plot and mystery behind the ghosts so that kept me reading but man this “will they won’t they kill him” plot did not justify it’s own whole book. Alas this is a persisting issue that will never be resolved while they continue to force 6 books into 1 series that doesn’t need 6 books. I’m sure the writers are doing the best they can with these unfortunate constraints but still, it’s a wonder this slow padding isn’t more of a detriment to their younger readers that the books are supposed to be marketed to.

#warrior cats #the broken code #darkness within #the darkness within #darkness within spoilers #wc tbc #tbc #is that enough tags #yarrow speaks #wc criticism #long post #the broken code spoilers #warrior cats spoilers

[notwarriorswiki]

Lost Stars Commentary - Part 2

Alright continuing with my boy Rootpaw

Rootpaw and Shadowpaw sharing a common problem and bonding over it is the stuff I like to see. I can’t wait to see how their friendship develops, and if it’ll become the new AlderPuddle.

The voice talking to Shadowpaw is a tom and has a problem with the three and Squirrelflight, which makes me think Ashfur. But then he also mentions Twigbranch and Tree so I’m curious what’s up with that. If it really is Ashfur, would he also want to harm Alderheart and Sparkpelt since those are Squirrelflight’s children?

I could also see it being Tigerstar or Hawkfrost, but then I question how that works because their spirits were killed? Can they come back, cause if so then Spottedleaf can come back too.

If this spirit is telling Shadowpaw to kill Bramblestar when he gets sick so he comes out good as new, that would be so morally unethical. 

I love Bristlefrost confiding in her mentor. I love Rosepetal still showing concern for her even after she’s no longer a mentor. Thank you for fixing mentor-apprentice relationships.

Calling it now, Rosepetal liked Bumblestripe and he had been chasing after Dovewing the whole time.

“You always has a soft spot for weak cats” Oh no. Yeah, Bramblestar would never say that to Squirrelflight. That’s a hard jab at her. I would not be surprised if it’s Ashfur.

So Bramblestar is sick now, but the real Bramblestar seems to be present. The way he talked to Alderheart so lovingly, saying how he’s glad he was honest, but then looks at Jayfeather and basically makes a jab about lying... Is this cat mad about the whole secret?

The description of Bramblestar spasming and opening his jaw to the heavens in a silent wail is one of the most terrifying scenes I’ve read. Seriously, reread that scene and visualize it.

Rootpaw’s crush on Bristlefrost is cute and innocent, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

“The Moonpool is a special place touched only by medicine cats” I can think of multiple occasions where that has been contradicted, but ok Jayfeather. 

Breezepelt: “Hooray!” What a blessing.

Moonpool is still frozen, and it’s likely solid the whole way through. That is truly terrifying actually.

Squirrelflight yelling at her sons to fix Bramblestar is heartbreaking. Based on what I can gather for Squirrelflight’s Hope, it really strengthened her and Bramblestar’s current relationship. 

Lionblaze is protective of his dad, aw that’s cute.

“So I know these instructions aren’t coming from StarClan” THANK YOU JAYFEATHER! Finally, he says something that is logical and admits that what Shadowpaw is experiencing doesn’t add up. The voice Shadowpaw is hearing already sounds suspicious, and with the medicine cats not being able to talk to StarClan, it is entirely possible Shadowpaw is talking to someone else, and we don’t know if that’s a good thing.

“Why would StarClan seek out a ShadowClan medicine cat, and not one from ThunderClan or one of the other clans?” I can’t believe they’re becoming self-aware that ThunderClan is special and that ShadowClan is the “evil clan”. Poor ShadowClan.

Tigerheartstar is a good dad and that’s the only good thing about him.

“Delusional little flea-pelt” Jayfeather what the heck is wrong with you. Shadowpaw is a child. Can you please leave him alone?! 

“I believe Shadowpaw means well. He truly thinks he is helping. But in my opinion, none of his visions have ever sounded as if they come from StarClan” Then why are you so mean to him Jayfeather? You’re being so unnecessarily mean to this child, while you could just, I don’t know, express these concerns to Puddleshine??

Bristlefrost just fell in the lake but Spotfur saved her. I wish they gave us a little bit more here to show some of the other aspects of Spotfur. The patrol could’ve talked more about their concerns to give us more interactions.

Alderheart has grown so much. The fear for his father is totally understandable and I love seeing him use his authority and trying to talk to his mother about what to do.

I agree with Tawnypelt. You have to tell your clan what is going on. Good for you Tawnypelt, you tell Tigerheartstar how it is!

So Shadowpaw just got another vision with a fiery forest and it’s the same thing as what Rootpaw saw way earlier. What I noticed the most is that there’s a focus on the ash that falls on Rootpaw and the ash that Shadowpaw swallows. Shadowpaw could be consuming the ash in his vision because Ashfur is consuming his thoughts? Just... the focus on ash makes me think Ashfur.

Poor Dovewing wants to warn the other clans about Shadowpaw’s vision. She’s thinking about her family in ThunderClan and all the other friends she’s made. Dovewing is a great character because her loyalty never lied with one clan, but rather with everyone. I think she’d be a great mediator for ShadowClan since she has everyone’s best interests at heart.

"An apprentice is a real medicine cat, thank you very much. And it’s not for us to tell StarClan where to send their messages” Thank you Jayfeather! Now you’re coming around. Support your fellow medicine cats.

I like how he further affirms that he doesn’t think Shadowpaw is making it up. Now Jayfeather is actually expressing what he’s thinking. Good.

I imagine Rootpaw’s reaction when Tree speaks up at the gathering like: “Ugh, dad whyyyyy” But that’s just Rootpaw 24/7

So Shadowpaw is going to ThunderClan and Tigerheartstar, Puddleshine, AND Dovewing are all coming with... Do you ever wonder if Pouncestep and Lightleap feel left out? Because their dad spends every waking moment with his mate and son, there’s no room for them. Poor side-siblings.

Ok so this scene with Shadowpaw, Dovewing, Tigerheartstar, Jayfeather, Alderheart, and Puddleshine all sitting around Bramblestar’s body is BEGGING for some interaction. I want more than just “it’s our duty as a medicine cat”, and “Oh I used to be in ThunderClan”. It’s generic. Give me Dovewing asking Jayfeather how he’s and everyone else has been. Give me anxiety filled Alderheart starting to breathe erratically and Puddleshine goes and comforts him. Give me Tigerheartstar’s troubled eyes as he wonders what he’s going to tell Tawnypelt. ANY of that would’ve made this scene so much better.

HE KILLED HIM! I mean I knew Bramblestar would lose a life so yeah he’d die, but gosh knowing him now, poor Shadowpaw has so much crap coming his way ;-;

Tigerheartstar’s panic as he ushers Dovewing, Puddleshine, and Shadowpaw out is really great. Like yeah, your son just killed ThunderClan’s leader, you have to start running. Dovewing wants to talk to Squirrelflight and her mate is like NOPE.

This funeral is great, in a heartbreaking sense. It’s emotional and knowing these characters and what they say just makes it hurt that much more. Squirrelfight talking about the journey and how she fell in love with Bramblestar. Lionblaze calling Bramblestar his father, and a great one at that. I’m tearing up just reading it.

Jayfeather can’t even finish speaking and is consumed by anger and grief. It’s just how his character would grieve and I totally understand him yelling at Squirrelflight. It hurts, he’s hurting, it’s awful.

I’m sorry, I laughed when they used the word “rippled” because all I could think of was the rippling muscles of all dark brown tabby toms.

“Greetings. It’s good to be with you again.” NOPE. NOPE. That’s not Bramblestar. ‘Greetings’ is a cursed word from him. I don’t like that Squirrelflight is super affectionate to him too right away. And that choice of words. “Be with you again”? Ew, if this is Ashfur I’m literally disgusted.

Oh no and Shadowpaw. His clanmates all hate him because he killed a beloved leader. Tawnypelt is devastated because she had already lost most of her family last series, and now here goes her brother.

Awww Lionblaze is part of the group sent to thank Shadowpaw. That’s cute.

Shadowpaw is right. Tigerheartstar telling him how special he is and putting all that pressure on him is super uncomfortable.

After writing Kestrelpaw in Power of Twelve, and always reading Kestrelflight in the books as a curious but kind cat who always wants the best for others, it’s so weird hearing Kestrelflight have a prejudice against ShadowClan and being hostile.

Not-Bramblestar is framing the situation that Shadowpaw is the ONLY connection to StarClan and ONLY he can be trusted. That sounds like it’ll be used against Jayfeather later. All of the codebreakers for that matter.

Mosspelt jabbing at current day warriors oh my gosh. Mosspelt you nursed two half-clan kits, don’t even!!

Shadowpaw should be more concerned because his visions of codebreakers are really inconsistent. For example, he sees Twigbranch in his dream, but not Violetshine, who left ShadowClan to join SkyClan. He sees Dovewing in the dream, but not Tawnypelt who also left her clan for another. He doesn’t see Crowfeather, who took a medicine cat mate. He sees Lionblaze, who is the product of a half-clan relationship but has done nothing else, but he doesn’t see Pouncestep or Lightleap who are the same. The codebreaker vision is flawed, and Shadowpaw should soon see that.

I’m surprised Violetshine never told her kits about Needletail. It’s a painful memory though so makes sense.

Tree is absolutely right about Darktail and this situation and I commend him for making that connection. 

Rootpaw was absolutely willing to break the code to be mates with Bristlefrost and that’s honestly like... wow.

Wait. Bramblestar. WAIT. WAIT. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

#broken code spoilers #warrior cats #I finished the book #and wow