#i really really like dotc

[goosefeather]

finished riverstar's home which is uhh the first super edition i actually finished since graystripe's vow?? i wanna say??

anway! final review: not enough death!!!

(actual, long review under the cut)

riverstar's home is Good. granted i had no expectations for it and kind of forgot it was a thing until it came out. but for a super edition that most people were like "huh? riverstar? really?" it really knocked it out of the park

and i just really think that the erins had a theme in mind (finding home and what that means to our guy riverstar) and the text actually supports that. and i know, most books do this and it is something we all had to learn in high school english. however, warriors has a thing where the messaging is telling us one thing but the actual text is saying something completely different (think of like... everything to do with bramblestar)

that being said, i liked reading about a young riverstar (yes, my character tag for him is river ripple and i prefer that but y'know riverstar is shorter) and his struggle to find a place in the forest territory. it's actually a really good coming of age story that really resonates with anyone who has like moved out of their hometown and has felt incredibly isolated because of that (like me!)

also as a dotc Enjoyer i really liked seeing the events from riverstar's perspective. unlike uhh the last two super editions where the new viewpoint didn't add anything (or it retconned something to make it worse!) or added in things that were just kinda... bad (still dont like brushpaw), riverstar was just enough of an enigma that it worked. like from gray wing's pov, riverstar is an Established Cat on the river and he plays it well. but in actuality he's just a lonely guy trying desperately to maintain his friendships while trying to carve out some space for himself. it's interesting and fun and even the one eye and slash bits that i didn't care for in dotc were fun to read about from his pov

unfortunately, this is dotc so the last half Drags. like it makes sense, obviously, after riverstar feels settled into his life and home and new role as leader, someone from his past comes back and makes him question all of it. love it, really. the problem is once they leave and make it a journey! idk what it is but the minute these cats start wandering off territory it turns into a snoozefest. tell me one book where a journey to some place was Fun to Read and you cant say TNP cuz we both know it wasnt

also, im so sorry, i know we love women here and we have to cuz the erins don't but i dont like finch. like the most she shows up to help with fighting slash's rogues and riverstar was like "she was feisty!" or whatever i knew it was So Over. im sick of this thing where they introduce a she-cat just for the purpose of giving our main male lead kits. it was bad with gray wing and slate and it's bad with finch. remember when she almost stayed behind? i was hoping so hard that it would stick

and like compare finch and riverstar to say night and riverstar (im not pitting two bad bitches against each other give me a sec). before riverstar leaves to go back to help the park cats, night is nervous, her and riverstar have been through a lot together and they lean on each other. so she's vulnerable with him and he's like "oh im sorry i dont think of you that way??" and she's like "no!!! you idiot!! as a Friend" and yeah it made sense cuz we've seen them grow together in real time. finch got None of that because she is not meant to be a character and it bugs me

however, clear sky came in to save the day and cause problems on purpose at the end so the book ended on a high note (for me)

and uhh yeah, this is already pretty long and i actually have More Shit to say cuz i genuinely did like this book a lot i just wanted to get my thoughts out while they were still rattling around in my brain

god i didnt even talk about how i wanted more cats to die

#it's looonng #anyway talk to me about dotc #i really really like dotc #and this book

[bonefall]

I personally like Thunder's prosthetic. Explained it to my friend (who does use a mobility device, a cane and wheelchair, and listens to me rant and infodump about BB) and they agreed, it's important to know that not every person needs what someone wants to give them. It's another example of "bad ableist person does a thing that hurts a disabled person because they are bad and ableist".

Clear Sky got Jagged Peak killed and would have killed Sunlit Frost! He would absolutely force his disabled son to be "normal" and present it like a privilege. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else, it's special, why don't you want to be helped?"

Thunder Storm should toss it in Clear Sky's face. (I would say toss it into the river but we do not pollute waterways in this house)

Thank you for telling me this, and tell your friend I'm thanking them too! If they have anything else to add please forward what they have to say

Since BB!DOTC tackles some of the heaviest topics in the entire series because its canon equivalent is so dark, I think very carefully about what I do here and how I show it. I take feedback on its sensitive aspects very seriously. If I'm understanding the criticism properly, it's that I should avoid stigmatizing prosthetics by making sure Thunder Storm's not the only one with it-- which he's not! And I'll add even more.

I don't want to avoid something only because it's uncomfortable if the topic is important, and my portrayal is respectful. Ableism IS uncomfortable! There are some situations where a prosthetic is not wanted! I think the rejection of this particular one is both a good opportunity to show a type of ableism and ALSO is very fitting for the characters.

In BB!Clear Sky's mind, the villain, he's fixing an old mistake. He can't admit that he got Jagged Peak killed or take REAL accountability for it (though he will, occasionally, apologize insincerely), but deep in his bones, he knows what he did was cruel. He'll never tell anyone this because he doesn't really cognate it himself, but Thunder Storm NEEDS to take his gift.

If Thunder doesn't take it, it blows a hole in his newest story. You see, throwing Jagged Peak out was All That Could Have Been Done back then. It was a Tragedy and he simply Made A Hard Choice. He regrets it very much, But You Have To Understand.

But now? Now? Well, behold. Look at what he's accomplished since the tragic death of his little brother. His cats are well-fed, cared for, and stable enough to make such incredible advancements. If only Jagged Peak had been able to hold on longer, if only he could be here now, I could fix him.

Just like I can (MAKE YOU JUST LIKE ME) fix you.

"Everything I've ever done is for Jagged Peak. For Fluttering Wing. For you." Thunder Sky is SPECIAL, but if he rejects any gift, tries to turn down the "privileges" offered to him, in an instant that becomes ungratefulness and arrogance. He both forces him to be special, and then leverages it against him if it's rejected. "Spoiled brat, doesn't appreciate what I've worked so hard to give him."

It all goes back to him and his own guilt. He can NEVER be wrong. He can't accept his family doesn't have to be "normal" or reflect his own ability. He won't see himself as a bully, let alone a murderer. It was never about his son's comfort or finding out what Thunder Storm wants or needs, it was about his own ego.

...All that said I'm still taking feedback if there's anything else I should keep in mind, or if anyone has a counter point, especially if you also have experience here.

(In the interest of having a link trail for posterity, here's the critique/call for feedback this is in response to)

#ALSO also I will take suggestions on other characters who should have prosthetics #Sunlit makes sense and it will make a really nice character moment later for him to have one built #There's also an amputee in RiverClan few people talk about called Stonestream #I can give him one and bump him up into a bigger character. In BB he is the sibling of Willowshine #BB!DOTC #better bones au #Also just as a side note... I love writing BB!Skystar. My ire for the character comes from his redemption arc so I feel like I get to-- #--write the character I WANTED to see #Same with Bramble in other BB arcs #cw ableism #tw ableism #ableism #They're fascinating in that they always have to see themselves as the victim or the hero #They believe every lie they tell. #If you ever catch them in a contradiction they will still try to find some way to turn it on you and YOUR lack of understanding. #Interestingly both of them are ableist. Sky's is just more obvious because he's LOUDLY bigoted. #But BB!Bramble is *notably* less close to Jay for a very sad and very subtle reason. #Jay just doesn't serve his ego like the others do until much later in his life. #unfortunately most bigotry is like that. #the type you have a hard time calling out because it's a deniable bias. the constant gaslighting of being part of a marginalized group #Maybe I need to address the criticism by adding a character with a prosthetic to THIS arc even earlier #Problem is that like... Thunder's small merc group is already full of disabled characters and their THING is forming in response to ableism #OH maybe I'll put someone in the Forest Cat group which is lead by Slash? #I need to finish that last book and then gather up all the cats for sorting into allegiances

[bonebabbles]

Ok. Fun scooby-doo jokes are over. Time for a graphic birthing scene as Star Flower enters premature labor after being starved for days and running to get away from a bunch of stinky, dirty rogues.

The writers will see a woman character and ask, "Is anyone going to describe the pain and viscera in intense, obsessive detail?" and not even wait

*Shrek voice* she doesn't even get the birthing stick

(under a cut because eurgh)

It's gotta be super dramatic, to really tease the audience with the idea that Clear Sky might lose a third pregnant wife for his pain.

Star Flower has been put through such INTENSE torment to make Clear Sky feel bad and rally the cats to come together to help him out that it's taken me out of it completely.

Gray Wing also realizes he's been thinking about Star Flower too much, while she's bleeding out and giving birth several weeks early after escaping Slash's Torment Nexus, so he takes a moment to rotate his brother around in his head for a bit.

"He'd been so panicked about Star Flower that he hadn't thought about his brother," who is apparently going to get set upon by a band of Slash's angry rogues all alone in this fantasy daydream Gray Wing has conjured up in his head.

Like, apparently Clear Sky is going to leave the meeting with Slash, get told about the secret plan to rescue Star Flower which was happening concurrently (already happened; we saw this), then jump up and run from what everyone's told him, bolt towards a camp he doesn't know the location of, and a patrol of Slash's warriors are going to find him?

ok.

Anyway then all the women come together to midwife for Star Flower.

And then Clear Sky and Star Flower cuddle around the new kits and act all cute. The "pure love" in Clear Sky's eyes is focused on, everyone recommends he takes extra good care of his premature kits, etc. He's So Totally Changed Now, through the magic of wife and babies.

All I'm thinking about is how he kills one of these children later, by refusing to allow Acorn Fur to complete her training and throwing a tantrum about how "SkyClan doesn't ask for help unless we have no choice!" when she tells him she can't treat his son's fox-inflicted mauling alone.

One more patented brother moment between Clear Sky and Gray Wing

I'm just gonna be honest, man... I hear from a LOT of people that this tugs at their heartstrings, so maybe I just don't "get it." But this WHOLE series long, Gray Wing has pissed himself over how Clear Sky can't have possibly "changed that much" from when they were children, won't accept that he's a child-beating and woman-slaughtering tyrant, IMMEDIATELY jumps to his defense at every turn even when it's ridiculous, and here's the payoff.

Hugging and sniffing his Dear Brother and having a flashback to them being babies at their mother's breast, secure in the knowledge he was right all along.

That every time he downplayed abuse, shoved people towards a situation where they'd be in danger, or prevented others from recognizing Clear Sky as the threat he was, he was correct that Clear Sky, in contrast to the EEEVIL rogues, was a good boy. Nothing about Clear's behavior has actually changed besides having MORE children to endanger.

This is chapter SIX of the LAST BOOK and we already saw Clear Sky using abuse tactics earlier to try and manipulate Thunder into doing what he wants.

So, I can't sympathize with the "heartwarming" reaction. "Ohh it's so sweet that the dear brothers are having flashbacks to when they were 6" I cannot relate. Idk how you can watch AMVs of this without wanting to set them both on fire. Thunder should get a restraining order.

#Btw winner of funniest song is Sneaky Snitch #That wins #That is objectively the funniest song to play during that scene #Kevin MacLeod Wins #Btw I didn't really post or get into it because it was really generic besides like... leaf starts yowling as a distraction #Which I've chosen to interpret as his attempt at bird noises #Because it is a LOT funnier to imagine him going “CA CAWWWWWWWWWW” as the guards are just. deeply confused. #They break in to save starf and she's like 'there's two more guards!' and then there's two more guards. #Then they run. This was apparently a genius plan. #Meme of Thunder's two paws and he's holding TWO restraining orders #dotc hate #bones reads dotc

[shummthechumm]

bumble wc is just a piece of writing from this series that TRULY astounds me. like the characters do not acknoledge that shes a living person whatsoever once she becomes a "nuisance" (she is fat and a house pet). and on top of that, to have turtle tail turn her back on her as well??>?? because gray wing has it bad for her and so we have to exterminate the "obstacle" in the way of their straight romance???

like i expect gray wing and clear sky to be dicks but..why would TURTLE TAIL rationally allow her friend (who lived through the same abuse as she) be shunned away from the moor group??

its some of the most mean spirited shit in this entire series and it only exists as a plotline...for what reason??? cause "kittypets are bad you dont want to be a kittypet"?? its not like you remind us every fucking arc erin hunter. because we're supposed to like gray wing and they really wanted him to serve as an adoptive parent to turtle's litter?? like..what???

i dont even have a real point to this post i just want to express my confusion cause what even was the goal. it does nothing but make the entire cast abuse-enabling discriminatory assholes who are willing to send outsiders to easily preventable deaths. and we're supposed to agree with these jackasses??? ERIN HUNTER WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY TO YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AUDIENCE???

#domestic abuse tw #abuse tw #wc #again no real point i was trying to make here #dotc as a whole floors me in how incompetent it is. #'oots is the worst arc' who?? #the only one worst than dotc imo is tnp because thats where a lot of shitty trends in this series were created or exacerbated #like i can point at gray wing being a shitty sad boy protag but if i REALLY wanted to blame someone...tnp came first... #im sure if crow was made a pov he would also be as terrible as bramble in that arc #also tom getting a redemption death AFTER getting turtle tail killed is hilariously terrible. #like yeah we killed turtle tail off to service a male char's arc because shes a woman #but we chose to fridge bumble because she was a woman AND a kittypet. and fat. #shummy screaming into the void

[toradesigns]

RIVER RIPPLE / RIVERSTAR

#river ripple #riverclan #riverstar #leader #early settler #dawn of the clans #warrior cats #warrior cats designs #commentary: this was a really hard design because i.. haven't read dotc. like at all LMAO i've been meaning to get around to it tho! #anyway he's seems cool and also he has tboy swag imo

[fireflyoverpass]

Willow Tail perhaps??

was willow tail utilizing girl power when she chose to frame cats for stealing prey in order to fan the flames of tension between clans ?!?

#i think yes. #willow tail #warriors #warrior cats #thank u for the request! #its interesting for me to do dotc cats because i always end up learning something new when i read through their wiki pages #i really like how she turned out honestly the colors look nice imo

[yuridovewing]

ngl i know it happened cause like, “lol im gonna fuck your mom” jokes are common and funney (and im not on a pedestal i make those jokes a lot LOL) and on a surface level if you havent read the books (which by the amount of love for how deep and nuanced dotc is, i can tell a lot of people havent actually read it) its a weird and bizarre thing and people likely just ran with that and made a joke out of it, but i really never liked the jokes about star flower and clear sky because like… the way star flower is treated is really gross and unsettling and its not a spiteful or petty thing shes doing, he likes her bc shes his sons age and will obey his every whim because “shes bad and needs to earn decent treatment” and she wants to atone or whatever and shes literally treated like a prize he gets for being suuuch a good boy now (now he ONLY abuses women, instead of abusing AND murdering them)

#truly i feel insane bc i read those books when they came out and they do not match fanon perception at all #‘’oh you just cant comprehend that clear sky is a complex character and you hate redemption arcs-‘’ #no…. no hes just a wifebeater. thats all he is. hes a character who abuses and kills the people around him and then he sees god #and hes like ‘’im a good person cause i believe in god and my dead wife said i was ok’’ #and then he proceeds to allow known abusers in his ranks and still control and abuse his cats #all while the female characters suffer or die for his development #the erins quite literally want you to think he was never really bad bc they have a black and white view of good and evil #see clear skys not evil cause hes not a filthy foreigner >:( hes a good christian man #like i get it we watched the always gold map and it was fantastic and it was so good it made us think dotc was an underrated gem #but like…. its not real none of this is real. clear sky as a character is just abuse apologia man pain whining for the authors

[harriertail]

I’ve been thinking about Thunder

(dotc rewrite) The fire-red tom is the last surviving kit. His mother is still alive, but frail- the moorland cats say she is dying of a broken heart, an old superstition regarding queens and their lost kits- Wind and Hawk Swoop both agree to help her settle into the moorland camp, but with no medicine cat, she quickly deteriorates. Her son is named Thundering Storm in honour of her and a reminder of the storm of rubble that nearly killed them both. Tragically, Storm passes, but Thundering Storm is loved and treasured by Hawk Swoop and his adoptive siblings. Grey Wing is a good father- maybe too critical when he sees Clear Sky’s temper flashing in his son’s outburts, but feels Clear Sky should at least come visit his only kit. After the fire, when heat lightning crashes across the sky, a paranoid Clear Sky is adamant; Thundering Storm belongs to him. He is given to the forest and renamed Thundering Sky, now he has proven himself worthy of Clear Sky’s attention. Thundering Sky is one of them, a forest cat, he belongs with his kin. But Thundering Sky has know nothing but love: pure from Storm, gentle from Hawk Swoop and Turtle Tail, tough from Grey Wing, the love/hate banter of young siblings rushing to grow up together, and cannot fit into Clear Sky’s world. He returns to the moor with Frost. His father goes insane. Clear Sky wants boundaries, Clear Sky wants laws and order in a chaotic world, One Eye will help him achieve that. The winters in the mountains have made him paranoid. Thundering Sky is trapped between Grey Wing seeking peace with the others and Jagged Peak seeking revenge, and Clear Sky seeking order, he is caught between the forest and the moor, and his non-mountain blood. 

Even after all of it, Clear Sky’s jabs and comments, the murdering of innocent cats, working with One Eye to strengthen the group, the young tom just wants his father’s approval, truly. He wants his father’s laws to work, for the borders to bring peace, but they cannot. Not with Clear Sky determined to continue leading his group alone, and One Eye looking to take it. 

The mountain cats have brought nothing but trouble and bloodshed, and they fight to the death in the hollow with five trees until a lightning strike destroys one ancient oak and brings the dead back to life- over what? Over the rights to hunt? Over the land? Over him? Thundering Sky returns to the forest, seeing his father quiver before the spirits of their dead. They both just need someone to prop them up. He can temper Clear Sky’s rage, Clear Sky can make him into a cat he will be proud of.

He will not learn, even after One Eye is gone, Clear Sky is certain his way is right- after all, he and One Eye united the forest, the moor, and the strays. Unite or die, says the spirits, they must all come into Clear Sky’s control. You are a forest cat- you belong with me. He speaks of wanting a group, a set of rules and regulations to strictly keep the peace and honour, but he has no honour. None of the mountain cats do. They can all take their groups to the other side of the world. When the time comes, you will make it right, and Thundering Sky knows what he must do. He storms from Clear Sky’s camp in the dead of winter, he is nothing like his father, or his kin, he will make his own group. A group where the ill are tended too, the young trained, the evil punished. He sheds his name and becomes Thunder, not a forest cat, not a mountain cat, his own cat. He is not one of them. A new age is beginning, he vows, and sets to make his camp.

Clear Sky is furious, humiliated. His mother disowns him when she travels from the mountains, she curses Clear Sky so that he will never succeed in his bloodthirsty plans. He unites with Slash, regathers what is left of One Eye’s rogues and rogues from beyond- he has so much power he can gather cats from places beyond the forest, beyond the mountains. He makes one last push to unite the five groups, he bleeds into the ground by the river. Thunder gets word- Grey Wing is dying too, pushed to the edge by his brother’s actions. His last kin is gone. The new age is truly beginning. ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, and SkyClan- led by Sparrow Fur, will rule the forest. Five Clans around Four Trees. Thunder’s code, the warrior code, will grow and spread, and the Clans will grow. Leaders will get their nine lives, their medicine cats will learn to harness the power of the living and dead. All is well with the world. In the future, they will wonder about the fifth tree, decayed by time, and if Quiet Rain’s curse has anything to do with the monsters rolling across the SkyClan border.

#the heatwave has broken. etc etc #Thunder rejecting his tribe/ancient name and setting up a precedent for ThunderCLan to be the goody two shoes #as they created the warrior code in response to the atrocitie of the mountain cats. #skyclans exile as divine punishment for clear skys actions but not really. #warrior cats #btw this is both anti clear sky and grey wing like none of them are good lads. #neither is thunder tbh he gets his fathers stubbornness and insists his way is right too. i love how fucking wrong the dotc characters can #be sometimes so we embrace it. #btw blazing star kinda doesnt exist here #and thundering sky/storm is called thundering in honour of fluttering bird. it would have been thunder sky/storm otherwise #i just think clear sky shud have been more Bad becoz its fun and Thunder being the one to create the warrior code in response to his fathers #bad behaviour is like. a commentary on how thunderclan fucking love correcting behaviour #i posted a comic about this on insta but ill post it here soon

[hexados-on-a-string]

obtained the most cursed fuckin knowledge. fire emblem engage is one of my favouritest games of all time, right? so im looking through the voice actors out of curiosity, just for funsies.

now tell me WHY this guy:

has the SAME voice actor that ace, shadow, spectra, and wilda do in defenders of the core. the absolute whiplash that gave me. it feels like cursed knowledge somehow that a game made in 2023 shares voice actors with fuckin. bakugan.

#i have to use him in my next playthrough now its the law #yes they were all voiced by the same guy dotc had a budget of like 3 quid let them live #play fire emblem engage its really good #mauvier is a good character too #hes one of the last characters u get but i like him

[angsttronaut]

the temptation to rewrite riverstar's home without actually reading it

#warrior cats #riverstar's home #river ripple #wild to me that the bonus chapter in dotc was a way more interesting origin than what it got retconned to #like we see even less of the park cats in the full ass se somehow #they shoehorn in a love interest for him but we barely get to know her and he gets over it really quickly #he doesn't take the initiative to swim or fish #we seem to just be rehashing dotc instead of starting before or after #or making an effort to flesh out the events in river's territory as much as possible #i am Foaming at the Mouth #now i probably would have to reread dotc but i've been thinking about doing a full reread of wc lately so

[the-owl-tree]

i need you to know your blog converted me into a dotc hater. or like. okay i read dotc at a certain point in my life and will always have nostalgia from when i was a dumb little kid who didnt understand themes and bad writing. but also im a dotc hater now. worth noting tho that dotcs fridging problem is SO bad that even as an autistic child who couldnt read between the lines of book and extract its messages, i could see there was a problem

you're not dumb for not understanding/seeing it!! i was the same when i read warriors, bummed out that they were killing off all the girls (because as a kid i always latched onto the girlies of anything) but still not really getting why it was bad. i still hold a lot of nostalgia for the first arc but on rereads i can see a lot of the thematic issues. reading comprehension is something that's taught for a reason and it requires refining, nothing wrong with not seeing stuff on the first go.

but yes holy SHIT dotc's treatment of women made me so uncomfortable on the first read. like it's insanely gross how many she-cats are just straight up brutalized for the plot to the point that they just had to keep making new ones appear because god forbid the male leads NOT have more biobabies.

welcome to the dotc haterisms club. first rule of it is to always be yourself. second rule is to beat gray wing with metal pipes

#deer rambles #i read dotc when the fandom was really loving it and touting it as amazing #and at the time i wasnt very confident in my reading ability #and i also didnt want to feel like i was missing out on something so many people enjoyed #so i kept my discomfort to myself and wanted to have fandom fun too #now im older and more bitter and i think this arc should be teared asunder

[consumer-o-content]

“Dramatic Irony Should Have Limits: Why The First Arc is the Most Infuriating Piece of Media Ever Created” - an essay on why reading the first arc makes me want to rip my hair out and roll around on the floor

#LIKE WHY #WHY SO MUCH FIREHEART KNOWS EVERYTHING BUT OOOO HES TO NOBLE TO BRING UP IMPORTANT FACTS #absolutely unhinged plot #there are other ways to create tension without completely relying on your main character 1)deciding nothing he knows is important #and 2) being fucking stupid #and don’t get me started on petty shit like cloudpaw #saying that starclan isn’t real?? after reading DOTC before the first arc #that is just #vibration worthy #yes the funnyhaha about it being a cult are pretty accurate in a shit ron of ways #and if you assume dotc is the myth rather than an actual retelling or something then it makes sense #but i’m assuming dotc is just point blank cannon history #so that means their religion is completely real #and therefor that cloudpaw is fucking annoying #so he’s really taking after his uncle in that way #i’m in the middle of the 5th book of tpb series #so i’m holding out hope it’s all wrapped up satisfying #but i don’t think i’m ever going to be able to read it all the way through again because it is teeth grinding #i’ll be adding to this post #cat rambling #warriors #text post #warriors tpb #warriors dotc

[bonefall]

So, your Clear Sky post is absolutely horrifying, but it was very needed, so thank you. What are your general thoughts on tackling his abuse for the AU? Like you've said, pretending he's a good guy is not the way to go, but are you planning on toning down *some* of the situations, just to give some of the cats a break? Clear Sky is a very realistic depiction of abusers, but that seems to come across even without victim number 25, yknow? I'm very curious about how you'd like to go about this.

My most recent big change was bringing Slash back into the fold, because I realized that it was actually a disservice to not address where DOTC's themes dip into Colonialism. It's a hard topic, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but I realized it was important.

With how BB!DOTC is such a MASSIVE overhaul, to properly address abuse and the ways it impacts you, ableism and its violence, and xenophobia broadly, a huge reworking of Slash belonged here too. He's one of the greatest examples of how badly WC demonizes non-Clanborn cats. I shouldn't dance around it.

That's what I need to do with Skystar.

MANY of his victims have happier endings than canon, though. Bumble is one of the most famous, bumped up into a major character and directly responsible for the formation of ThunderClan. Bright Storm is taking most of Gray Wing's roles. Birch and Alder are getting examined, with either a father who wants his kids back or Milkweed as the mate of Misty.

A lot of people will die because of him, even more will be hurt, but I see BB!DOTC as a story about victims and survivors.

Others might grab POVs here and there, but as a response to canon which I feel is Clear Sky's story told in many parts, I center this rewrite around Thunder Storm. The path of kindness he marches down, with love and with anger, and the people he helps.

So BB!Star Flower...

Previously I was playing her as ENTIRELY just manipulating Clear Sky. She was loyal to One Eye and trying to get at Skystar to bleed him dry for 8 lives to sacrifice; but connected to Thunderstar over recognizing him as a victim who deserves her idea of justice. So, she offers Thunderstar the final kill, so her father will be grateful to him and he'll get power AND the death of his abuser.

(When Thunderstar looks upon Skystar, pathetic and neutralized down to one life, he thinks about the collateral damage that will descend upon the forest if he accepts the deal. He decides that he has found the line between Justice and Justification. Of course he wants the power to make his enemies cower, protect his people, and eliminate Clear Sky so he never threatens them again; that's not the problem.

He can still do these things. He wouldn't NEED the power of a war god to do so.

But if One Eye returns, he will be endlessly hungry, ruthlessly dedicated to revenge, and set out to devour the whole forest. Everything would get worse, and even more people he loves would die. It's where his desire to destroy a monster would lead to him BECOMING one.)

Even on its face, it was previously missing an element. There's a step between "Starf decides to bring One Eye back" and "Starf offers Thunderstar the final kill" that was bare. This is the piece that was missing-- That she, herself, is trying to reach out to the only person who's ever really understood her.

But more importantly... I do feel this topic belongs here, in BB!DOTC. Abuse is a MAJOR theme. SKYSTAR is a monster already. He's harmed two wives in BB (Bright Storm and Falling Cry) and played toxic games with all three kits (Thunder Storm, Pale Sky, Tiger Sky).

And I'd avoid Star Flower being abused... why? Because it's uncomfortable to confront the pattern that Clear Sky displays? That in-canon, he tries to cut all his victims into the same ideal shape, from Storm to Thunder to Star Flower? ...it should be uncomfortable. Everything that I described in Clear Sky Is A Monster is rooted in the same desire for control, power, and punishment most abusive people share, he just happens to be a severe example.

Yes. That includes how he treats his child and romantic partners. The parallels that are drawn between Starf and Thunder are there because he wants power in the form of obedience. Starf replaces the son as a narrative award for his "growth" of not killing random people anymore for a while.

A cookie cutter is an effective tool because IT ONLY MAKES ONE SHAPE.

You know what's more uncomfortable? Reading canon!DOTC and seeing someone who hurt you reflected almost perfectly in the character the writers think did nothing wrong. Because of "good intentions" that were not there.

I will say though, just to be clear; I don't see a purpose in being more than PG-13 about serious topics for this project. I promise none of my intentions have changed. Nothing will be more graphic or gorey than canon WC-- just more intentional.

I'm keeping the sacrifice because it's dope. No one is taking this from me. Girl Moment: Killed her awful husband 8 times to count as 8 sacrifices and offered the last life to her buddy as a show of good will. How else do you make friends outside of high school

But I know now that Star Flower NEEDS to keep the canon fact she has very little agency, UNTIL that moment she snaps.

She's sacrificing one abuser to try and bring back a bigger, badder one, because in spite of everything, her father One Eye always made her feel safe. Even though he promised her off to Skystar, and expected her to be willing to die for him. She's followed every command, every order, past the death of his mortal vessel.

The first, and only, selfish choice she's ever made was in reaching out to Thunderstar to offer him the power of her father.

Thunderstar's Justice is a story about a Thunder Storm at the pinnacle of his arc, how the survivors of his Clan are settling into the new normal after the carnage of The First Battle, how Skystar's arrogance brings a violent god to the Forest... and the connection Thunderstar makes with the daughter of a monster.

#Kronk meme: ''Oh Yeah. It's all coming together'' #I'll be making the fragments in another post #Just because this one's getting really long #It works well as an explanation of my intentions #I think I had been making a mistake previously to conceive of BB!Starf as a femme fatale who seduced Sky #Again: I'm not perfect! As I analyze and re-read with a more critical eye. My art changes. #Tho I will admit I do like the idea of a Starf who is totally cognizant of how she can manipulate a villain #Into doing what she wants. I do love myself a powerful and scheming woman #It's that it didn't fit my story or my themes OR even the purpose of BB as a fixit that addresses canon #Better bones au #BB!DOTC #BB!Star Flower #BB!Skystar #BB!Thunder Storm #Also imo this philosophy will let me make BB!One Eye what I think he deserves and works best as #THE WORSE OF TWO EVILS #The Tyrant of Tyrants #And man.... the idea that Skystar becomes the Clan patron of war... #The God of Summer laughs at him. #''Outdone and reeling your wounded pride speaks the words your tender mouth can never say'' #''That you were outclassed and now you obsess over the bigger monster you aren't good enough to become'' #''You fell into the step of a lion and think you can replicate what my paw does without effort.'' #Cw abuse #Tw abuse #Abuse #Child abuse

[lemnnshark]

"Black Ear is a patched black-and-white tom with amber eyes."

#warrior cats #black ear #black ear wc #warrior cats designs #windclan #i really need to reread dotc #dotc book 6 spoilers -> #i gave up on like book 4 or 5 so i had no idea gray wing had bio kids

[lightningwaters]

#thunder #thunderstar #clan founders #rogue #tall shadow's camp #clear sky's camp #thunder's camp #thunderclan #starclan #i always pictured him as being slightly lion-esque just fluffier #apparently he's supposed to be short-furred????? but like no he's giant and fluffy #he's alright. just also imo really ungrateful to gray wing when he leaves for clear sky #he gets better bc i liked him actually holding resentment towards clear sky and not fully. #fully getting over it like ever #him and violet dawn are just so basic tho and that sucks bc she had potential to be sassy but nah dotc hates women #storm is gonna have close to the same stripe markings as him #leader #ancient thunderclan

[klonoadoortophantomile]

ohh i can feel a category five autism event on the horizon

#thinking. abt warrior cats a lot again <//3 #part of me wants to reread the books but i need to do actually productive things with my break shgdfgshdghsj #wc bums me out so much though cuz like theres some geneuinly fun ideas. and so many things i loved abt it btu the books are just so baddddd #/silly #anwyas i love when people like really extrapolate on the world building in their fanworks... its my favorite part of the series probably #i remember like Nothing from the later half of tallstars revenge cuz i was so like.. interested by the stuff windclan had going on #also dawn of the clans made me soooo mad becuz the clans are only 'properly' formed at the VERY end #i enjoyed all the messy world building and the process of getting to that point #but i wanted to see more earlyclan life.... #OH AND ALSO ALSO i LOVEEDDDD skyclan they were so cool to me #and the new prophecy... i literally didnt care abt all the boring traveling cuz it wa sso interesting seeing the clans like. staus quo #be just conpletelyflipped upside down and also learning abt the tribe of rushing water was so cool #(especially cuz my friend was reading thru dotc at the time so we would both talk abt it andlike fill in the gaps ..) #okay i need to stop before these tags get unfathomably long shgfdgshjka #inquisitivewaltz.txt #man i havent actually read wc in forever.. whats even going on in the current arc #is there a current arc?? i dont fucking know