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duskstar727 · 3 years

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I Read Leopardstar's Honor So You Don't Have To: A Review (Not Spoiler Free)

Oh Leopardstar. A cat who has long divided the fanbase as a leader beloved by some and despised by others. After years of waiting (for some) she was finally given her own super edition. In a word it was... underwhelming.

Introduction:

The book opens during Leopardstar's kithood days. The first scene is adorably heartwarming- readers are treated to Leopardkit and her denmates playing the warriors version of hide and seek, and there are some absolutely adorable moments here, such as Crookedjaw helping Leopardkit escape the seeker by whisking her away on his back, and Mudfur doting on his daughter. The scene takes a sharp turn when Skykit, one of Leopardkit's denmates, lures her away from the group to shove her head underwater and berate her for giving away Skykit's hiding place in the last round of hide and seek. Skykit's actions are startlingly cruel here, as she tells Leopardkit that she's a rotten kit that killed her own mother and that she is doomed to the dark forest like all the other murderers. This understandably disturbs and traumatizes Leopardkit, and when she speaks to her father about it, Mudfur reassures her that she is good, and that Brightsky came to him in a dream to say that Leopardkit will one day save RiverClan. Leopardkit latches on to this dream, and the book follows her through relatively disjointed moments in her life as she tries to live up to her destiny.

Pacing:

The pacing of the book is an absolute nightmare. We don't spend long enough in any one part of Leopardstar's life to see her have any meaningful interactions with other cats, and thus the majority of the relationships she has seem surface level at best, forced at worse, with Whiteclaw being a notable exception. She spends maybe 3 chapters as a kit, 3 as an apprentice, 3 as a warrior, 2 as a mentor, and so on. As a result, we don't actually get the opportunity to see Leopardstar learning or struggling in a meaningful way at any point. We're TOLD she's a hard worker, that she's dedicated and loyal, but the book gives you little chance to actually see it. The book slows down long enough to force an almost love story with Frogtail, which Leopardstar ultimately gives up on to focus on her work, but then a few chapters later Frogtail is dead and it's back to jumping around through her life.

The book really suffers from a lack of side characters and relationships to help things feel connected. The only real through line is this silly dream from Mudfur-not even an official prophecy- that Leopardstar focuses on to the exclusion of all else. Compare this to Crookedstar's Promise and Bluestar's Prophecy- while both books feature a greater destiny that the characters focus on throughout the book, they are given the chance to develop meaningful relationships that last for large chunks of the book. Bluestar has her relationship with her sister and her rivalry with Thistleclaw, and even her friendship with Thrushpelt, all of which allow her story to feel genuine and naturally lend themselves to interesting subplots. Crookedstar has his relationship with Mapleshade, his romance with Willowbreeze, his desire to prove himself to his mother- again, all things that make him feel like a well rounded, multifaceted character. Leopardstar has her dream, and ONLY her dream. None of her friendships last more than a few chapters before the other character is killed off. Her most meaningful relationship, with her apprentice and adopted son Whiteclaw, has the potential to round out Leopardstar's character, but Whiteclaw's fate has been predetermined. We all know he's going to die in the gorge because we see it happen in Fire and Ice. After Whiteclaw's death, Leopardstar briefly has a compelling relationship with Silverstream after she discovers her relationship with Graystripe. Silverstream and Leopardstar have opposing priorities of love and duty, and the interactions between them are an interesting insight into both characters. Silverstream actively rebukes Leopardstar's mindset and challenges her priorities, something that would have been invaluable in making Leopardstar's choice to join Tigerstar seem more consequential. But Silverstream too is doomed to die, and by the time the book reaches its climax, Mudfur is the only cat left to challenge Leopardstar's choices. Instead of letting the rift between father and daughter build, Leopardstar has no problem simply banishing her father and medicine cat for disagreeing with her. No one that she cares about is left to challenge her for her decisions, and thus there are no real stakes to the choices she makes. Sure, Stonefur dies and its awful, but the book doesn't bother to develop any real friendship or camaraderie between the two, so it doesn't feel as impactful as it should. The book concludes with Leopardstar understanding that she's wrong and Mudfur convincing her that she's going to save the Clan from the disaster she helped create. At the very least, Leopardstar seems to understand the problems with this and points out that it's not really her saving the Clans, its Firestar. This is completely true, as she has no role in Tigerstar's downfall and no role in stopping Scourge. The best that can be said for Leopardstar is that she doesn't get in the way of Firestar here.

She faces no real struggles aside from her father's doubt as to her ability to lead, a dynamic already witnessed between Brambleberry and Crookedstar and done much better.

Awful editing:

This book suffers from an almost unbelievable lack of care on the part of the editors, with big chunks of text very obviously cut and pasted to different parts of the story without any effort to edit out nonsequitors. The most painful instance of this revolves around Stormpaw and Featherpaw's apprenticeship. In one scene, Leopardstar comments on the fact that Primrosekit and Pikekit will be made apprentices any day (Reedkit is inexplicably absent here, and Perchkit seems to have died offscreen though it is never mentioned) and notes that Stormkit and Featherkit still have their kit fluff and look tiny next to their older denmates. A couple paragraphs later, we see Featherkit and Stormkit being apprenticed to Mistyfoot and Stonefur, in a paragraph that EXPLICITLY STATES that it's the very next day. The other kits have mysteriously been apprenticed already. Boulder and Jaggedtooth of ShadowClan are inexplicably present at the ceremony, despite there being no mention of their arrival at any point and Leopardstar refusing Tigerstar's offer to join their two Clans together the day before. A few pages later (yes, literally just pages later, that's how atrocious the pacing is) we cut to a battle between RiverClan and ThunderClan at the Sunningrocks, where Stonefur and Mistyfoot's parentage is revealed. Leopardstar doesn't actually hear this, but she does overhear them discussing it in the most painfully forced way possible moments later. Leopardstar finds herself absolutely HORRIFIED that she's apprenticed two half-Clan cats to half-Clan mentors.... and then a few chapters later, after forming TigerClan, Tigerstar asks her if she still intends to make Mistyfoot and Stonefur mentors to Featherkit and Stormkit despite their parentage, to which Leopardstar responds that they are still loyal RiverClan warriors. Yes, I'm serious.

Leopardstar's character:

This super edition is nothing but a showcase of the absolute worst aspects of Leopardstar as a character. Throughout the book she is shown as racist, battle hungry, self-centered, foolish, and utterly lacking in compassion or even pity for any Clan other than her own. She is constantly making racist generalizations about cats from other Clans, actively wishes for WindClan's downfall, sides with Tigerstar simply because Fireheart is a kittypet, and, perhaps most disturbingly, tries to murder Fireheart in cold blood because of his kittypet background. This book literally does nothing to endear the reader to Leopardstar, it makes her out to be the most despicable, honorless cat imaginable. And honestly, if you're not a Leopardstar fan, I think that's one of the most compelling things about this book. The desire to see what atrocities Leopardstar would commit next was what kept me interested in the story, honestly it was the only reason I finished it. There was something morbidly fascinating about watching a character so self absorbed and lacking in compassion interact with the world around her. It was enjoyable in a way to see a character so deeply set in the beliefs that the series has repeatedly established as wrong time and time again. Pacing and editing aside, this difference in philosophy is a breath of fresh air after the same recycled plotlines and moral messages that the series has been using for years. This book isn't going to make you like Leopardstar, but it is going to make you love to hate her.

What the book did right:

While there were very few positives to the book, it wasn't completely lacking in value. The book succeeded in developing a deeply meaningful relationship between Whiteclaw and Leopardstar that, thankfully, wasn't a romance. Their mother/son and mentor/apprentice relationship does a good job at setting up Leopardstar's grudge against ThunderClan over Whiteclaw's death as we see it play out in the first arc. Honestly, Leopardstar as a character would have been served far better if this had just been a novella detailing the relationship between these two. That was probably the only real thing of value in the book, honestly. Aside from that, Frogtail and Leopardstar's relationship, while I personally found it completely unnecessary, addressed a topic I've been hoping to see in warriors for a while now-- two characters who love each other but decide that the things they want out of life are mutually incompatible, and part ways amicably. Leafpool x Crowfeather and Bluestar x Oakheart both almost did this, but fell short because it was only ever really one character who decided to end the relationship. Unfortunately, the value in this message is somewhat diminished by the fact that Leopardstar later laments multiple times that she should've given up on her goals and just had kits with Frogtail instead, an absolutely disgusting conclusion that plays into the recurring problem of misogyny in warriors where women aren't allowed to be both mothers and hold a position of power, they have to choose between the two.

All in all, this Super Edition is easily the worst so far in terms of plot, pacing, and writing, but I still found some enjoyment in reading the perspective of such a selfish, cruel protagonist.

#warrior cats #warriors #warriorcats #wc #leopardstar #leopardstar's honour #leopardstar's honor #Leopardstar's honor review

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wcamino-confessions · 3 years

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anyway have some major points from my "Warrior Cats Rewrite" outline. long story short im rewriting the entire series bc i can, feel free to suggest things youd like to see :)

Overall:

-Please note that some of these bullet points dont make sense in the order theyre in bc i forgot to put them in chronological order and didnt have much time to fix it

-Each book has a different protag in a different Clan

-Some names, families, and pelt colours will all be switched around/changed

-Some characters will be aged up or down depending on when it makes sense to me for them to be born

-StarClan is fucking powerless. Instead these fiesty battlecats have a religion similar to greeks, with their main gods are based around the moon. Its considered super lucky for a kit to be born under a full moon, and naming a cat/kit "Moon-" is considered super disrespectful and can get both kit and mother shunned by the Clan or exiled

-WindClan never stopped tunneling

-Oakheart is still alive

-Assume no cats are related unless I state otherwise

-Lostsong, Wildblaze, Ferncloud, Ashfur, Brambleflower, and Tawnystorm are all related (Bramble, Tawny, Ash, Fern have the same father, Wild, Lost, Bramble, Tawny have the same mother)

-Acorn and Squirrel are Dust/Sand's kits, though they 2 are no longer mates

-The medicine cats cant have mates or kits rule is thrown out the window bc its stupid

Name Changes:

-Brambleclaw -> Brambleflower

-Tawnypelt -> Tawnystorm

-Sandstorm -> Sandstrike

-Firestar -> Sparkfern

-Leafpool -> Acornleaf

-Brightheart -> Lostsong

-Yellowfang -> Mirestorm

-Ravenpaw -> Ravensight

-Swiftpaw -> Wildblaze

1st arc (The prophecies begin):

- Protags are Sparkfern (ThunderClan, book 1), Yellowfang (ShadowClan, Book 2), Mistyfoot (RiverClan, book 3), Tallstar (WindClan, book 4), Tigerclaw (Book 5)

-1st book goes more or less the same with only minor changes until you reach the point where Sparkpaw was supposed to run into Mirestorm

-In this rewrite Brokenstar "out of the good of his heart" allows Mirestorm to stay in ShadowClan under 2 conditions. She gives up being a medicine cat and goes back to being a warrior, and she isnt allowed anywhere without a guard. She accepts

-Tigerclaw goes through with the plan to kill Ravenpaw but fails. Ravenpaw, terrified for his life, decides to switch to being a medicine cat

-WindClan hasn't been driven out, but only because Tallstar gave ShadowClan a good half of their territory

-Tigerclaw doesn't try any backhanded traps like the thunderpath one

-That being said, Cinderpaw still gets caught on the Thunderpath bc she wasnt paying attention to where she was going

-She still goes back to warrior training though bc this ThunderClan doesn't discriminate

-All the ShadowClan stuff happens a bit later than it does in canon

-Spottedleaf lives, but she's fucked up really bad (Blind in left eye, intense scarring on face and right side, unable to use back leg without pain, etc etc) and decides to demote herself as a medicine cat and mkve to the elder's den

-Ravenpaw still isn't fully trained, so ThunderClan enlists Barkface's help

-Ravenpaw ends up being named Ravensight sometime around the middle of the 3rd book

-Sparkpaw becomes Sparkfern around halfway through the book bc i dont try to pack what should be a month of buildup into 2 days so theres timeskips when theres nothing happening

-Sandpaw and Dustpaw become Sandstrike and Dustpelt before Sparkfern and Greystripe because they were apprentices for longer

-Tigerclaw kills Sparkfern by the end of book 1

-Tigerclaw tries to kill Bluestar, but she runs out of the den and Tigerclaw gets exiled

-Mirestorm decides to say fuck it and in book 2 pushes Brokenstar into the gorge in RiverClan territory

-After Redtail's death Whitestorm is made deputy

-Since WindClan never needed to be brought back Whiteclaw is alive now too

-Instead of Nightstar, after Brokenstar's death Blackfoot becomes Blackstar

- Whitestorm ends up getting killed so Sandstrike is made deputy

-On that note since Sparkfern is dead Sandstrike was Cinderpelt's mentor

-Both Swiftpaw and Brightpaw live, but both are heavily scarred and are renamed Deadspot and Lostface by Buestar

-Tigerclaw still leads the dogs onto ThunderClan territory, but instead of coming up with the canon plan they all live in fear until RiverClan decides that this is painful to watch and help out

-Deadspot and Lostface end up having a 2nd run in with the dogs and Bluestar looses her last life saving them

-Sandstar renames them Wildblaze and Lostsong

-ThunderClan don't actually hate Bramble and Tawny for being Tiger's kits, but they both feel irrationally guilty about it and that causes just as much of a strain

-Brambleflower is the one who leaves ThunderClan this time, while Tawnystorm stays

-Silverstream and Greystripe never get together. Feathertail and Stormfur are Silver and WhiteClaw's kits

-Also Leopardstar dies earlier and Stonefur becomes Stonestar

-Tigerclaw takes control of BloodClan and renames himself Tigerstar

-When Tigerstar tries to take over ShadowClan Blackstar tells him no

-Tigerstar tries approaching Stonestar for an alliance and the whole "shun half clan cats" thing, not knowing that Stonestar is a half clan cat (Bluestar still told both Mistyfoot and Stonefur the truth) and Stonefur tells him to get fucked

-tigerstar decides to merge with WindClan instead

-The whole fourtrees stand off still happens, but Brambleflower kills Tigerstar (who due to being a faux leader and not going to the moonstone only has one life)

2nd arc (The New Prophecy):

-Protags are Brambleflower (ShadowClan, book 1), Feathertail (RiverClan, book 2), Crowpaw (WindClan, book 3), Tawnystorm (ThunderClan, book 4), Nightcloud (WindClan, book 5)

-The cats that go on the quest are Tawnystorm, Brambleflower, Feathertail, Crowpaw, Squirrelflight, and Nightpaw (Nightcloud)

-Squirrel (who was born earlier than in canon and is therefor now already a warrior) follows Tawny on the quest

-Squirrel has a puppy crush on Tawny and she makes this fact painfully clear

-Nightpaw follows Feather around like a lost dog

-Crowpaw ends up dying instead of Feathertail bc Nightpaw was in danger

-Nightpaw becomes Nightcloud after the journey and develops a crush on Acornleaf

-She's torn between the two until she realizes Acorn doesnt feel the same about her (Acornleaf is in love with Mothwing in this rewrite bc i said so)

-Nightcloud is briefly devastated but then realizes that this makes things so much easier for her and starts dating Feathertail

-Tawny and Squirrel get together after 4 1/2 whole books of obvious pining

-Daisy is still there, but she only has one kit as the others have died (The living kit is Berrynose, now renamed Hay)

-Daisy gets in a relationship with Lostsong and Cloudtail bc thats my OT3 and bc i said so

-After loosing Hazel and Mouse she finds that she can't bring herself to get too attached to Hay so Tawny and Squirrel adopt him and Daisy just becomes that cool aunt™

-Insert a good 7 pages of Bramble freaking out that he's an uncle now

-Hawkfrost is still evil and traps Sandstar in a fox trap, but Mothwing kills him this time.

-Mothwing ends up badly injured from her fight with Hawkfrost and Acornleaf takes care of her

-Stormfur ends up dying

-Feathertail leaves RiverClan to be with Nightcloud

-Daisy/Lostsong/Cloudtail end up having Whitekit (wing), Rosekit (petal), and Honeykit (flower)

-Acornleaf and Mothwing become mates at one point and love each other very very much

-Mothwing is trans (comfort hc ive had aince forever, not purely for the sake of her and Acorn having bio kits i promise) and her and Acorn end up having Swanblaze (Hollyleaf) and Goldenfern (Lionblaze)

-since both Moth and Acorn are their Clan's only medicine cat neither can join the other's clan so Moth takes Swan and Acorn takes Golden

-a good 7 moon timeskip between arc 2 book 5 and arc 3 book 1

3rd arc (Power of Three):

-Protags are Mothwing (RiverClan, book 1), Crowstorm (WindClan, book 2), Goldenfern (ThunderClan, book 3), Littlecloud (ShadowClan, book 4), Swanblaze (RiverClan, book 5)

-[Everything that follows happens between TPB and the beginning of PO3]

-Since there's no "medicine cats cant have kits or mates" rule its common knowledge that Swan and Golden are Moth and Acorn's kits

-On RiverClan's side Graymist (who becomes a queen earlier here for the sake of convenience) nursed Swan alongside Sneeze and Mallow. Besides the feeding Swan spent most of her time hanging around and playing with Motha

-On ThunderClan's side, since Rosepetal is the medicine cat apprentice, Leafpool nurses and raises Golden. The entire Clan treats him like their kit though, especially his aunts Tawnystorm and Squirrelflight

-[Everything that happens this point happens in the actual arc]

-The 3 are Swanblaze, Goldenfern, and Crowstorm (Night and Feather's adopted son. He counts as part of the 3 bc Redtail (Sand's father) was half WindClan in this rewrite and his WindClan father also had Night and Crow's mother

-While both Swan and Golden knew they had a sibling in another Clan, they didnt officially meet until their 2nd gathering, when Moth and Acorn intoduced them to eachother

-Swanpaw met Crowpaw when Crow was chasing a rabbit and couldn't stop himself from falling into the river.

-Mothwing, who had taken Swanpaw on an outing to help her collect herbs, ended up saving him and bringing him back to camp while they waited for WindClan to come back and get him

-While Crow is intended to be Jayfeather's replacement here, he isn't blind. He is, however, deaf. He's still training to be a warrior though bc fuck canon

-Night, Feather, and Crow developed a sort of cat sign language they spread to WindClan to help make it easier for Crow

-It eventually ended up spreading to Bramble and Moth, who spread it to their Clans

-Different powers and shit

-Swan has a sort of foresight. She can tell whats going to happen a few moments before it happens. While she brushes it off as good instincts, when she develops it more later in the series her foresight stretches up to a moon in advance

-Golden still has super strength. He aint invincible tho cuz that was a horeible plot point

-Crow can see and speak to ghosts in the living world. Not just StarClan or dead cats, but any dead animal. If he wants to speak to a dead fox he 100% can

-The 3 still know about the prophecy due to Swan training as a med cat and accidently getting it (She eventually ends up dropping it and Willowshine becomes the med app instead)

-Sol comes in and then the eclipse happens

-Golden and Crow are 100% ready to trust this strange cat they met 2 days ago but Swan is like yo dudes wtf

-That whole plot point happens, Sol tries to go to ShadowClan, but Blackstar tells him to fuck off so he does

-Swanpaw ends up accidently killing him (tried to threaten him into leaving the Clans alone using the dunk and let breathe method, ended up drowning him). The guilt she feels from it is what causes her to drop being a medicine cat apprentice and become a warrior.

-Ashfur still had a crush on Squirrel and is extremely jealous of Tawny. He tries the whole fire scene thing with Haynose, but before he's even halfway done with his monologue he stops for 3 seconds, looks around him, and realizes just what the fuck he's trying to do

-He helps Squirrel and Hay out of the fire, apologizes profusely, and turns himself in to Sandstar, accepting whatever punishment she gives him

-Bramble 100% visits both Hay and Swan at least once a week. Sand and Stone have realized by now that stopping him wont work so they just allow it

-There's no huge gathering scene this time because there isn't a big secret to tell

-The arc does end, however, with Swan finding Stonestar's lifeless body laying in his den

4th arc (Omen of the Stars):

-[NOTE: This section is unfinished due to lack of ideas]

-The whole Stonestar's dead body thing is going to be addressed, but i just dont have any ideas for that so its not addressed for now

- Dove and Ivy are both spoiled rotten by their aunts and grandparents

-As such Dove gains a sorta "entitled" attitude. Like not full tantrum entitled, but getting moody/snappy when she doesnt get what she wants

-Ivy is the same way, just a bit less snapping and a bit more silent treatment

-Brambleflower!!!! Has kits!!! With Rowanclaw!!!

-Yes, I am a big fan of the trans Rowanclaw hc

-I am giving Bramble Tawny's canon mate

-why?

-bc its what he deserves

-Anyway, Their kits are Brindlekit/heart (Tigerheart), Dawnkit/shade (Dawnpelt), and Russetkit/tail (Flametail), who I am aging down bc in canon these 3 already have their full names

-Tawny and Squirrel 100% babysit from time to time

-Dark forest trainees stay the same, but this time add in Dovewing, Bumblestripe and Briarlight

-Haven't read, unable to make an outline

-Briarlight didnt make it in time to push Longtail out of the way, so Briarlight isnt paralyzed and Longtail is dead

-Bumblestripe still has a crush on Dovewing, but is way more lowkey and less "creepy" about it

-Swanblaze becomes mates with Minnowtail

-Acornleaf dies in the Last Hope

-So do Brambleflower, Goldenfern, Honeyfur, Graymist, Spiderleg, Applefur, Olivenose, Redwillow, Ferretclaw, Tallpoppy, Whitetail, Heathertail, Reedwhisker, Robinwing, Mosspelt, Pouncetail, and Dovewing

5th arc (A Vision of Shadows):

-[NOTE: This section is empty due to me not having finished this arc.]

6th arc (The Broken Code):

-[NOTE: This section is empty due to me not having read this arc]

#submission #off topic #yes i am rewriting the whole series #why? you might be asking #and bc it gives me an excuse to reread every book in the series a good 100 times :)#< tags added by submitter

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mallowstep · 3 years

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(Reedwhisker anon)

The Erin's don't say and Reedwhisker is made an apprentice around the same time Ashfur and Ferncloud were, thereabouts I'd expect. (Both Brindleface and Mistyfoot were pregnant at the same time. I think Brindle's litter is a moon or 2 older though. Idk.) But he has been through ALOT. When I realized Mistyfoot didn't mention her kits in Canon I assumed those whose bones were mixed in with Bonehill, but then I noticed Reedwhisker in TNP and investigated him, found out he was Reedpaw, Misty's kit, and had the same thoughts you did. Mistyfoot, who wouldn't stop training Featherpaw even though she, too, was starved? Mistyfoot who watched her brother die but kept on going for Stormpaw and Featherpaw? Like...forget her own son in Canon? Like she would have told Grey and Fire to take Feather and Storm and she'd have gone back for her son. Her only surviving kit. She made him her fucking deputy, a mother's love is literally the MOST painful life a leader receives. In Misty AU, there is no Choice. It sucks, it's fucking painful, but Featherpaw is dying and they need to get out. But I can also see Reedpaw being the one of the few cats desensitized to EVERYTHING when Tigerstar loses all his nine lives? Man, I can even see him say "Oh...so this has happened now too. Can anything else get more fucked up?" Especially in Leopard AU. He's. Well in that one, he's seen and heard some shit. Now a leader's had all nine lives ripped from them with one blow and all clans have three days to get the fuck out or else? And Shadowclan just...flees back to their territory after trashing Riverclan's, their leader and medicine cat aren't talking (not that he can blame Leopardstar, he hates Mudfur too, by now.) He doesn't have a mentor anymore. (Not that Blackfoot really was one.) And he still hasn't seen his mother, or Feather, or Storm. But yay, his dad can actually treat him like he's his son again? So...that's something, I guess. Misty AU, after the Bloodclan battle, finding out his mom's pregnant with that monster's kits, like Twanypaw wasn't enough of a reminder. Tbh, I think he'd honestly have some beef with Twany. "You willingly gave up your mom, who loves you, and your brother, who also loves you and joined a fucking monster? Are you for real right now?" (In either AU, this warrior WOULD definitely have interrupted the Gathering once Blackstar announced Twanypelt's kits names. "You're letting her settle an innocent with that name, giving THAT Monster a fucking Legacy, and burdening her son with THE SAME SHIT SHE LEFT THUNDERCLAN FOR SHADOWCLAN FOR? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL? BECAUSE THERE NEEDS TO BE A GOOD TIGER-WHATEVER THE FUCK? SHE'S A FUCKING SHITTY QUEEN, AND YOU'RE A SHITTY LEADER, BLACKSTAR.") Just...Reedpaw telling Stone or Misty everything he saw and heard that night Feathervand her escaped, Leopardstar's first death, how she struggled against Tigerstar and "he just held her head in the river and looked at her like she was a kit he was chastising." He shakes as he says this, choking on the last words, and Mudfur has to bring him poppy seeds to help him sleep that night. He gives me feels. In Canon he survives Tigerclan, Bloodclan, the destruction of the forest, the journey to the lake, the Great Battle, and now this whole no Starclan thing. If there was ever someone who needed therapy it's him...and I can't really see Reedwhisker being the type to think Misty didn't love him. He knows he was relatively safe compared to Feather and Storm, and...tbh I think he'd tell Misty she made the right choice. And I think that would probably break Mistyfoot's heart more in all three AUs then anything else. Feather's, too. (She's too kind, I swear.)

/nm but for the future if y'all don't mind trying to include some paragraph breaks for your local adhder that would be Appreciated. ik on the old ask box it's not possible but. if you're using the new one i really struggle with text walls. (it's ironic bc i tend to write them but.)

okay. gonna do sentence my sentence thing.

The Erin's don't say and Reedwhisker is made an apprentice around the same time Ashfur and Ferncloud were, thereabouts I'd expect.

(Both Brindleface and Mistyfoot were pregnant at the same time. I think Brindle's litter is a moon or 2 older though. Idk.)

But he has been through ALOT.

When I realized Mistyfoot didn't mention her kits in Canon I assumed those whose bones were mixed in with Bonehill, but then I noticed Reedwhisker in TNP and investigated him, found out he was Reedpaw, Misty's kit, and had the same thoughts you did.

Mistyfoot, who wouldn't stop training Featherpaw even though she, too, was starved?

Mistyfoot who watched her brother die but kept on going for Stormpaw and Featherpaw?

Like...forget her own son in Canon?

Like she would have told Grey and Fire to take Feather and Storm and she'd have gone back for her son. Her only surviving kit.

She made him her fucking deputy, a mother's love is literally the MOST painful life a leader receives.

In Misty AU, there is no Choice. It sucks, it's fucking painful, but Featherpaw is dying and they need to get out.

But I can also see Reedpaw being the one of the few cats desensitized to EVERYTHING when Tigerstar loses all his nine lives?

Man, I can even see him say "Oh...so this has happened now too. Can anything else get more fucked up?"

Especially in Leopard AU.

He's.

Well in that one, he's seen and heard some shit.

Now a leader's had all nine lives ripped from them with one blow and all clans have three days to get the fuck out or else?

And Shadowclan just...flees back to their territory after trashing Riverclan's, their leader and medicine cat aren't talking (not that he can blame Leopardstar, he hates Mudfur too, by now.)

He doesn't have a mentor anymore.

(Not that Blackfoot really was one.)

And he still hasn't seen his mother, or Feather, or Storm.

But yay, his dad can actually treat him like he's his son again?

So...that's something, I guess.

Misty AU, after the Bloodclan battle, finding out his mom's pregnant with that monster's kits, like Twanypaw wasn't enough of a reminder.

Tbh, I think he'd honestly have some beef with Twany.

"You willingly gave up your mom, who loves you, and your brother, who also loves you and joined a fucking monster? Are you for real right now?"

(In either AU, this warrior WOULD definitely have interrupted the Gathering once Blackstar announced Twanypelt's kits names.

"You're letting her settle an innocent with that name, giving THAT Monster a fucking Legacy, and burdening her son with THE SAME SHIT SHE LEFT THUNDERCLAN FOR SHADOWCLAN FOR? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL?

BECAUSE THERE NEEDS TO BE A GOOD TIGER-WHATEVER THE FUCK?

SHE'S A FUCKING SHITTY QUEEN, AND YOU'RE A SHITTY LEADER, BLACKSTAR.")

Just...Reedpaw telling Stone or Misty everything he saw and heard that night Feathervand her escaped, Leopardstar's first death, how she struggled against Tigerstar and "he just held her head in the river and looked at her like she was a kit he was chastising."

He shakes as he says this, choking on the last words, and Mudfur has to bring him poppy seeds to help him sleep that night. He gives me feels.

In Canon he survives Tigerclan, Bloodclan, the destruction of the forest, the journey to the lake, the Great Battle, and now this whole no Starclan thing.

If there was ever someone who needed therapy it's him...and I can't really see Reedwhisker being the type to think Misty didn't love him.

He knows he was relatively safe compared to Feather and Storm, and...tbh I think he'd tell Misty she made the right choice.

And I think that would probably break Mistyfoot's heart more in all three AUs then anything else.

Feather's, too. (She's too kind, I swear.)

okay cool let's start at the top. i love u anon just want u to know. everything u send me about this makes me feel so many things. my beloved. <3

re reedwhisker's age: unless/until i get a confirmation that he was apprenticed, etc., on page, or an erin statement about it, i'm maintaining my position. he doesn't show up in asir which you would 100% expect him to, and asir was published june 2020, which means reedwhisker as mistystar's surviving kit was known, which means that i really don't think he was born yet. like i really, really, really think that someone mistakenly went, "well, mistyfoot had a litter in tpb, so reedwhisker was a part of that litter," and we've all just been operating under that assumption.

(open to changing that opinion on evidence. i just need a source -- an erin statement, author chat, blogclan, a book, w/e, just something that will confirm when reedwhisker was actually born.)

because like -- ferncloud is nearly a year older than the bramble, storm, primrose, etc., so i don't know. there's no good timeline. reedwhisker appears as a fully grown warrior in twilight. so. heck if i know.

like there's no way mistyfoot would leave him behind? there's no way he wouldn't want to reunite with stormfur and feathertail and his mom? like he would be in asir, right? i'm not crazy? of all cats?

scream.

but moving on from my open anger re. the reedpaw problem;

i mean -- to be clear, mistyfoot and featherpaw are in riverclan from the beginning of tigerclan to the end in the misty au. no escapes are made. so even if reedpaw was alive, they're there. unlike the other aus, the misty au is Defined by yours truly because i'm actually writing it. so none of that angst, just the -- pain of watching the fall.

hnng.

and yeah he's just. so done and over everything.

and oh my god like -- he thinks he's Very alone in the leopard au. because he doesn't -- oh my god. and when they show up in riverclan again it's great but also -- he's been alone witnessing all of this Shit holy god i swear.

mistyfoot is...not Really visibly pregnant until after tigerclan, and he wouldn't be close enough to smell it, so yeah -- he'd still be surprised. or maybe. not surprised so much as. argh. you know like. he doesn't want to face it.

i like the idea of him having this very complex but entirely one-sided relationship to tawny. like, they went through some pretty similar stuff, but she chose it, and embraced it, and that's. you know. and she doesn't really think of him because she doesn't Know that like. mistyfoot is his mom.

and yes more people calling out tawnypelt's terrible naming decisions. i mean i love the angst it gives me for writing purposes and tigerheart is my favourite husband in warriors (he's so in love with his wife i love him for that), but yeah. what.

and oh my god like -- he would be the one to explain things. because -- i mean because he's scared and alone and is the only one who saw this and hasn't been able to say anything and he finally sees his family and Safe and. they're all watching him like "oh shit how the fuck did it get worse after we left" and oh-

all of these cats need therapy.

[ID: text that reads "5. Hawkwing and Frecklewish invent therapy." /end ID]

(a chapter title from "Heathertail's School for Attractive, Murderous She-Cats")

and yes. yes yes he would. i bet mistyfoot would apologize and he would be like -

no, why are you apologizing? i was safe, you weren't

and he wasn't really safe but seeing him just -- seeing how he just has this. i dunno how to say it. but when mistyfoot sees him and how's he's just had to grapple with this and oh.

she would be so upset.

#reed au #ask #anon #misty au #leopard au #mine

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