#11/3/23 changed wording of line that used “delusional” as an insult.

[softstuffs]

If relationships like Onestar x Whitetail, Thornclaw x Blossomfal, Ferncloud x Dustpelt, stormtail x moonflower, and Pinestar x Leopardfoot ((and god knows what others im forgetting)) were one-off occurrances they wouldnt be so bad. But, especially after the Erin's piss poor writing/handling of the themes in Spottedleaf's heart, the decision to continue to write these kinds of relationships is UNQUESTIONABLY weird. The Erin's are no strangers to retcons. They had an unlimited amount of opprotunities to change Whitetail to a.) Not get together with Onestar b.) Not make her his apprentice or c.) Not have such a massive timeskip that we don't learn about Whitetail being Onestars apprentice and Onestar having the hots for her *in the same line* They could have done anything. The fact that they framed the relationship that way was a choice. I dont think the Erin's are trying, on purpose, to make Onestar's relalationship creepy. I don't think they are trying to make "Spottedleaf 2".

But I do think that this is reflective of the problem Wc's has had since the first series, these writers do not check their work and neither does their publishing company. Little mistakes like Greystripe claiming Mistyfoot and Stonefur as his own and Heavystep dying 3x over are funny but also exemplify this series biggest problem. Nobody on the team is paying attention to what theyre writing. Warrior Cats books seem to be written quickly and for series books they seem to be written 3 in advance. I assume this is the reason why the books are littered with so many errors and mistakes, the authors have tunnel vision and are writing the books to get to the conclusion as fast as possible without taking the time to really disect what theyre doing.

And just as the authors miss small mistakes like namedropping Mistlekit and never mentioning them again, they make big ones. I remember awhile ago an author responded to the criticism of Bramblestar being an abusive partner that she had literally no idea, and had always imagined him as being strong and noble. This is a very common theme in the Erins' response to criticism. They had no idea that Spottedleaf's heart sends the wrong message to groomed kids, they had no idea that the tribe cats were racist. They still have utterly no idea that Frecklewish going to the darkforest was wrong, and think that Onestar going to Starclan is right. They have no idea how sexist their writing is. They have no idea how abelist their writing is.

I think the writers are completely ignorant, to be honest. And honestly? After the way Vicky responded in her followup post on Spottedleaf's Heart? I dont think that they care. I dont think theyll change as long as fans still buy their books and their merch and promote their name. They dont seem to think it matters. The Erin's dont look at their biases and try to fix their writing because they dont think its important. They say they listen to criticism and change their actions but they dont. They never have. And if you are writing a book series for children, YOU CANT DO THAT!! Because kids are smart! And they will absorb the lessons you teach to them!! Can you imagine this criticism in another fandom?? How completely rancid it would be for just ONE of those kinds of plotlines to show up?? Were so desensitized to it! These books are in elementary school libraries!

As much as I love the worldbuilding of this series and its been a special interest of mine for a lot of years, i would never in my life recommend this book for children. The writers are just too irresponsible. They dont care at all.