#i cant hate rainflower or lizardstripe

[the-owl-tree]

thoughts on yellowfangs secret

bad super edition! boring clan politics! yellowfang babygirl i'm so sorry you have been done dirty since the prophecies begin ended. The only real praise i can give the super edition is that it isn't entirely just a more detailed exploration of a backstory the character gave, at least in this case we learn that raggedstar was kind of a piece of shit rather than just a generic love interest to yellowfang (and even then the way that's written is weak).

side note, i wish the books weren't afraid to like...make contradictory plots compared to what a character tells us prior. like a book that isn't just "here's exactly what the character said in book form".

yellowfang's secret is bad! it doesn't give us anything that interesting and just adds more shit that doesn't work. Why would you give yellowfang powers?? Why are you unable to create a character that genuinely would want to partake in healing???? being a medic is a big rank, it comes with a ton of respect, why do the books keep forcing characters into the role instead of having it be coveted???? Just have her not like senseless violence, have her enjoy helping others! The powers are useless and are ditched chapters later!!

The book is so insistent on punishing Yellowfang, kicking her around and not even lightening the mood by having her snark or temper that made her so enjoyable in the first place. Her entire relationship with Rowanclaw is an exercise in misery and despite the website's half-assed attempt to call it intentional, I never feel like I'm reading that. Him being shitty doesn't nearly factor in as much as Yellowfang's absence and Lizardstripe do. The wiki actually states that Lizardstripe is the reason why Brokenstar became an evil baby killing monster.

which, sidenote, i can't even hate lizardstripe. she's just a comically idea of the erin's idea of a bad mother, i think this little interaction combined with how she's an abusive mom makes me allergic to disliking her:

why is lizardstripe the bad one in this conversation. why is a woman not wanting children and questioning how toms never actually have to be active in their children's lives being said by the abusive mom other than for the erins to continue being incredibly weird about mothers. why does the fandom have any faith in this series that it actually ISN'T weird about them.

why do fathers like crowfeather and sandgorse get a pass while rainflower and lizardstripe are painted without remorse to be evil doers. I'm not saying they're good people for fucks sake how can people not recognize there's a double standard going on.

Even if Brokenstar was confirmed to be a curse, the blame still lies with Yellowfang for jUST GIVING BIRTH! (not mention of raggedstar btw he's blameless).

The book is a mess of shitty decisions and bad writing. There's so much it could've been but goddamn it's so hard to really try and rewrite this book when every aspect about it makes me angry.