#warriors meta

[kangoneko]

In Defense of Froststar

Today I'm going to share a few of the reasons why I think Froststar will be leader. I firmly believe the books have been building up to this and that any other choice will feel random and unsatisfying as a conclusion to the arc.

However, I believe the fact that there has been so much debate is intentional on the authors' part. They are deliberately being coy about it so as to not give the surprise away. I think this is part of why Froststar is being dismissed, because you'd think they would treat her a bit differently if she was the choice to become leader. But I believe such arguments are not substantial enough to firmly deconfirm her as future leader.

In the first book, River, Frostpaw outright balks at being leader. She doesn't want to be and the responsibility it entails scares her. This represents how she was never destined for a greater role in the Clan: she just had the greatness thrust upon her, like Spider-man. This is called out directly in the Thunder prologue:

But Frostpaw is destined for great things now. Fate has been rewritten, however much heartbreak it cost, and the fate of RiverClan now rests in her paws.

This doesn't directly imply anything about her becoming leader, of course, but it does tell us that the Frostpaw we started out with has changed! And I disagree with the notion that this implies she has to be a medicine cat. Medicine cats are messengers, yes, but I think the fact Riverstar uses such a vague term like "messenger" in the first place is curious. I also don't see why she can't temporarily be RiverClan's messenger and later become something more. Sure, RiverClan needs Frostpaw to be their messenger now, but he's not implying Frostpaw has to be that messenger forever.

I also think it's generous to imply the StarClan cats know who the leader should be yet. It's very well possible they don't, and that they just know the cat who will choose the leader and some qualities such a leader should have. StarClan works in mysterious ways after all and time and time again they've been shown to know about as much as the Clan cats.

But the biggest issue for a lot of people is that RiverClan would be left without a medicine cat that has a connection to StarClan, and I sympathize with this a lot. My issue however is that, if Frostpaw magically gained powers, then why can't they find another cat? I know it's a lazy answer but I don't see why this issue can't be worked around. I also don't see why we can't explore other options like Frostpaw still maintaining a medicine cat's role as leader. It's unconventional of course but Froststar in itself is unconventional.

There's also the fact that RiverClan didn't have a cat like Willowshine for a while. It's far from ideal circumstances but the Clan still managed without a medicine cat with a connection to StarClan for a period of time.

But these aren't the only reasons I think Frostpaw will become leader. I think there have been great hints throughout the last two books, Thunder and Wind.

For one, Frostpaw goes to the Park Cats and learns the ideal qualities to look for in a leader--as well as who shouldn't be leader, the cat she learns killed Reedwhisker. Frostpaw's ideal qualities in a leader are awfully specific too, almost like they're things only Frostpaw could really enforce. Unless a cat happens to start showing these qualities in Star, Frostpaw is realistically the only one who can change the Clan the way she wants to change it. Like it or not, Frostpaw will be taking on a leadership role if she wants any of this to actually happen.

This is practically Frostpaw's political manifesto. Unbeknownst to her, however, she is literally describing the perfect leader for RiverClan to be herself.

I also think the fact that Frostpaw is the first cat in RiverClan to openly reject Splashtail is key to her both gaining support and also coming into her role as leader. Frostpaw...isn't the best choice for leader yet, simply put. But she is getting there. She is rallying support for her cause to defeat Splashtail, an important quality in a leader. She fully intends on taking him down and restoring RiverClan to its former glory--no, even better. She has a crystal clear vision for what she wants RiverClan's future to be and I don't think any other cat in the Clan so much as comes close to the leadership qualities Frostpaw is displaying now. Once she defeats Splashtail I envision that she will finally complete her arc and become the leader RiverClan needs.

I also want to point out this random dream from Bee, which I think is great Froststar foreshadowing:

Here is my interpretation: the frozen river symbolizes a RiverClan lead by Froststar. I believe the ice being thick is meant to show the strength of RiverClan under Froststar's leadership. The river being frozen so thoroughly also represents a safe bridge to outsiders. The sting of the ice represents how RiverClan still maintains the ferocity appropriate of a Warrior clan, and that it will defend its borders when needed. However, they do not react with hostility to all outsiders. They are curious, perhaps even interested in the knowledge the outsider may impart on them, like how Frostpaw learned a new way of life from the Park Cats.

This is all just speculation of course but I think this line is intentional foreshadowing on the writer's parts and I don't think it's safe to completely dismiss it yet.

We also cannot ignore scenes like Riverstar literally choosing Frostpaw over Splashtail at the Moonpool.

Obviously this scene is meant to show Frostpaw has StarClan on her side, but this scene also shows clear symbolism foreshadowing a Froststar leadership, if you choose to read it as such. While you can just as easily interpret it as Frostpaw being the true medicine cat instead of Podlight, you can't help wondering if that could imply she's meant to be leader instead of Splashtail, too.

---

To conclude, I do think there's still a chance Froststar might not be leader, but I can't say any evidence to the contrary has been sufficient enough to change my mind or have me leaning towards any other potential options. I do think it's possible Frostpaw can inspire the change she wants in RiverClan as a medicine cat, but given the lack of other suitable options for leader it's difficult to imagine. Again, I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other characters starts displaying leadership qualities in the final book, Star, but I simply don't think it would hold the same narrative satisfaction of Frostpaw becoming leader.

Also, just...come on. She's literally front and center on the cover of Star. The foreshadowing for Froststar is off the charts right now. Don't sleep on my girl just yet!

[dragoneyes618]

You know how a cat blinking at you means the cat loves you?

Now take a look through the Warriors series and take note of every time the narration says "X blinked at X." So really, no matter what the context or conversation, that character was telling the other character that they loved them.

[picaroroboto]

in the ShB role quests, we watch each of Ardbert's party members make some sort of personal sacrifice, forced to discard their own goals, for the sake of the greater good. The moment they make that choice is when a Crystal of Light appears, officially marking them as Warriors of Light in recognition of their heroism and sacrifice. "By your sacrifice, a warrior made.", as the Shadowkeeper says in battle.

The same lore doesn't hold true for the WoL, back when they were in crystal-collecting mode in ARR and HW, the crystals just appear after major victories without the need for some sort of momentous sacrifice, and seem to serve mostly as a marker of how much story progress you've made/need to make to the end of the expac.

But if you think about it not lore-wise, but symbolically -

With each victory over a Primal, you're ensuring that you'll be the person who'll be called upon for help when next a Primal appears. You're cementing your own role as hero each time.

And each time, you are making personal sacrifices.

You might not even realize it until much later, what you have offered up, bit by bit - your freedom, your peace of mind, your own goals and desires, for the sake of the greater good of the star.

"By your sacrifice, a warrior made."

[dcxdpdabbles]

Idea: same premise as Jazz being in Gotham with a deaged Danny and ending up dating Jason, but make it so Jazz is deaged and Danny ends up dating Cass

The first time Cass meets Danny is when he drops off his niece at the dance studio. She is filling in for a friend who typically volunteers as a ballerina instructor but has sprained her ankle in the last show together.

Since the program is meant to offer free classes for the children of low-income families, Cass feels it's important not to cancel classes as often as possible.

She doesn't even greet Danny as she's inside the studio with a group of five-year-olds, and he is out in the lobby.

He signs in Jazz at the front reception, talking to the employee there.

Danny hugs and kisses her cheek before the little girl runs inside to start her warm-up, leaving her father at the doorway of the dance room. Cass will admit she only notices him because he stares after the five-year-old with a smile and deep, wistful sadness in his body language.

Cass has seen enough in her night job to know that Jazz reminds Danny of someone he lost. He loves and adores the child but is constantly reminded of those long past. She has always been able to see someone in mourning, even when they hide it behind words.

The man stared for only a few seconds before he turned around and disappeared to the parking lot. Everyone else would have figured he was only making sure she had safely found a spot for her bag, but Cass could read him better than that.

The other had been traveling through memories as he watched the little girl laugh with her class friends.

Later, after the class is done and the children have all been picked up, she learns from the receptionist that Jazz is actually his sister's kid, who has died in childbirth. Danny had been appointed as her guardian, seeing as their parents had passed two years before, and no one knew who the father was. He had named the baby after the brave woman who had died only after making sure the baby had been born.

The man had moved to Gotham not too long ago, struggling to find work due to his meta-abilities. Lola, the gym receptionist, shook her head sadly. "Rumor has it the state is constantly trying to take Jazz from him. They claim it's to protect her, but we all know it's anti-meta bigotry."

Something about that struck a core with Cass. She, more than anyone, could tell when a father was a danger to his children. Danny's body language does not hint at anything but the love and protection of his niece. She had gone home to ask Babs and Tim to look into Danny's case.

It was worse than they thought, and Danny's continued guardship of Jazz was likely due to Gotham's corrupted system. Tim, head of the Gotham Knights Youth Program, was incredibly outraged that Danny and Jazz had likely not been separated because people in charge were purposely delaying the final outcome by trying to squeeze Danny for bribe money.

They could trace Danny forking over plenty of bribe money to have Jazz, along with several other families, for another month. This meant that he was always shot on his other bills, which did not do him any favors when trying to prove he could provide for Jazz, and the cycle started all over again.

Cass, Tim, and Babs all got to work on cracking down on this horrific shakedown. It would take them months to ensure everyone taking advantage of the system was taken out, and she had figured that other than running by their house as an Orphan, that was all the interaction she would have with the Fentons.

Tim had quickly offered Danny a position within Wayne Enterprises as a janitor and allowed Jazz to be placed in the company-provided childcare program. (Danny struggled to find work because he had no one to watch Jazz outside of school hours.). His new increase and guaranteed paycheck allowed Danny to keep making the br

Yet she found herself running into Danny when visiting Tim and Bruce at work and at Jazz dance practice. They would make the usual small talk—or the average amount for her, which was even less than other people politely—and often separate enough that she started associating Danny and little Jazz with her daily routine.

In the same way, she would consider seeing the same mailman making his rounds and the same beard buns being sold on the corner of Third Street every Tuesday. Nothing stuck with her besides Danny's deep loneliness and sadness hidden within his body language.

It wasn't an odd thing to see in a place like Gotham. Cass often could see more than anyone how everyone felt well walking about. She had learned long ago that while she felt sad, she could do nothing for everyone she encountered. Trying to save everyone from their own sadness wasn't possible, especially if it was due to grief.

But there was just something about Danny. She could not pinpoint what made Cass want to try, regardless of knowing it was helpless. So she found herself and started to reach out.

At first, she would pass along fun, free kid-friend event ideas, like asking him if he thought about bringing Jazz to the children's museum on their movie night? Or was he aware the library was hosting storytime by Jason Wayne? Has he tried the free chess and treat day provided by the frozen yogurt place on Mondays near the petting zoo?

Then she started messaging him. They traded numbers so she could tutor Jazz on some dance moves—free of charge—about anything and everything. Tim took notice and casually requested that she stick close by to see if anyone was off the books bothering Danny or any other meta like him.

Cass found that whatever free time she had, she was slowly filling it with Danny and little Jazz.

What a delight the girl was—smart, mature, and cheerful. Jazz has an obsession with teddy bears—especially her mother's old one that was a play on Albert Einstein—and the two would often find themselves having tea parties with her collection.

Danny would join as the royal king of the tea, and Cass would be the visiting princess. It was so fun that, for a moment, she forgot about the corruption plot she was trying to protect them from.

Danny and Jazz felt so part of her world that one day, while Bruce was trying to set up a Father-Daughter day, she opened her calendar app only to pause at the sight of it being practically filled up with plans.

There were plans involving Danny and Jazz. There were reminders to take Jazz to her appointments, school events for Jazz, Fenton Fudge night, and plans to take Danny out and have her siblings babysit Jazz.

She thinks back to all the times she's over at their house. The cooking, the movies on the couches, the texts between her and Danny. But what she thinks of the most is the warm butterfly feeling Danny causes in her, the genuine adoration for a man inside and out, and it hits her.

"I'm in love with him."

Bruce looks up from his calendar app with confusion. "You're in love with nail tech at Gotham Spa? Well, I can still book us the pedicures, but to request him might be hard-"

"No, Bruce, Danny Fenton."

"Oh"

[ineffablelunatics]

So I have looked and looked at his face during this scene. Trying to gauge some sort of something.

I think I finally realized what it is

These aren’t the best gif examples, but the scenes themselves are. Crowley circles Aziraphale in both scenes. He’s the guard dog sneering at anyone saying don’t come closer. I’m not saying that Aziraphale isn’t Aziraphale. No, he is himself. It’s just that over the years, he got used to Crowley circling him. Guarding him. But now, he knows that he’s not there. For the first time, in a very long time, he is on his own. No one is coming to save him. He has to guard himself.

That’s the face of the Guardian of the Eastern Gate who carries a flaming sword and is ready to start a revolution

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

Galaxy: a fundamental structure of the universe. A massive system of stars and interstellar matter bonded by a mutual gravitational point, separated from other such systems by even more massive voids of space.

I think these characters that appeared for twenty seconds deserve to have a poster-style piece done for them. I hope all four fans of these guys enjoy ⭐️

[nerdanelparmandil]

Maglor, even tempered and with a voice like molten gold. Maglor who kills at Alqualonde and burns the ships and does not speak against his father. Maglor who runs around Beleriand with Maedhros for their hunts and diplomatic feasts. Maglor who takes the Gap and holds the front with his elder brother, keeping the other five behind their lines. Maglor whose voice is strong and commanding on the battlefield but persuading and compelling in meetings and honeyed and cristal clear when raised in song. Maglor who follows Maedhros and protects him from treachery during the Nirnaeth. Maglor who kills and kills in Doriath, in Sirion, who buries his younger brothers. Maglor who takes pity on little children and raises them, growing fond of them, as little might be thought. Maglor who is sick and weary, who has seen his land lost, his people turn their back on him and Maedhros, Maglor who prefers to surrender than to commit another atrocity, who still hopes beyond reason that there can be forgiveness even for them, that the oath can sleep if the Silmarils are safe, even if they do not have them, who hopes the Powers can render their oath void, and if not, better the Everlasting Darkness than killing again. Maglor, who caves, who kills again, who betrays one last time, who listens and follows his elder brother one last time as they stand back to back against Eldar, Men and Maiar. Maglor, who, despite everything, casts the Silmaril away. Maglor who might have faded, might be alive, alone at last.

Maglor, whose voice and words are the only thing of him left behind, telling of the sorrows of the Noldor.

[wistfulwatcher]

the death of reruns was the death of television.

we talk a lot about why streaming is killing television, but i think one factor that is under-discussed is syndication. there have been some good short-run series, but the majority of our most beloved series had long runs. like, 5+ season runs. runs that hit that sweet 100 episode mark, meaning they qualified for the most lucrative syndication deals. streaming shows are reducing and eliminating the need for such deals because they’re so siloed. instead of making a syndication deal with another station (and paying your creatives fair residuals), streaming services host their shows on their own platforms and instead pay the streaming rights residuals that are nowhere near as fair.

because these streaming networks (both streaming-only, like netflix, and core networks with original content streaming, like cbs and nbc) aren’t selling their shows off-platform, they don’t need to hit any kind of episode landmark to be cost-saving. you can host a show in any increment, so having a 20-episode series is the same as having a 60-episode series. except the 60-episode series, of course, takes longer and costs more to produce. as long as a network makes one season of a show, they get to market it for new viewers. and once they feel they’ve gotten all the new subscribers they will out of a series, they drop it to save money.

until there is some monetary benchmark incentive to get a series past one or two seasons, television as long-form storytelling is dead.

[anneapocalypse]

On the Former Scions and Leadership

Something that's kind of interesting to me about the Warrior of Light, which has always been there but which Dawntrail has me thinking about in a new way, is that the WoL really isn't a leader.

(Disclaimer: Obviously everyone has their own version of the Warrior of Light and is free to headcanon over and rewrite parts of the story to suit their character, and so what I'm saying here may not apply to everyone's character! For our purposes here, I'm just talking about The Warrior of Light as written.)

(Further note: I understand that there are a variety of feelings out there about the new characters and everyone is entitled to their own opinions about that; however this post is not an invitation to trash those characters in the notes so please refrain from that here; thank you.)

The Warrior of Light is a hero, but not a leader. Thanks to the linear nature of FFXIV's storyline, the game can't really offer us the conceit of making real choices, and so pretty much everything the WoL does is a result of someone else asking them to do it. So many of our major relationships with NPCs are with leaders: Minfilia, Nanamo, Kan-E-Senna, Merlwyb, Aymeric, Raubahn, Hien, the Exarch, Vrtra, Fourchenault, Wuk Lamat and Koana, every guild leader in our job quests. The WoL is someone called upon by leaders rather than being a leader themselves.

The Scions themselves have an interesting relationship to leadership in general. I've written before about how much the Scions feel like they're living in the shadow of Louisoix, especially in ARR, and how this affects their actions. As the leader of the former Circle of Knowing, Minfilia steps into the leadership position in his absence. I love Minfilia dearly; I think she has a true gift for bringing people together, making people feel welcomed and not alone, and helping them find purpose. I think all those skills probably availed her well as the leader of her Echo support group. It's when the Scions suddenly find themselves in the spotlight on an international scale following the defeat of the Ultima Weapon that I think the cracks start to show. I think that, very understandably, Minfilia is not prepared for the weight of that situation, and that's part of the reason she allows Alphinaud to step into such a leadership role himself (and also, and I say this with all the love in the world for both Alphinaud and Minfilia, why she even kind of lets him push her around at times). For Alphinaud himself, his experience of leadership with the Scions is disastrous, for which I think some responsibility also has to be laid upon the adults around him, who might have seen the red flags but didn't stop that train.

When Minfilia disappears, I think it's so telling that no one else steps up to fill the role of the Antecedent. Alphinaud is no longer so eager to take on that burden, and no one else is jumping at it either. Certainly the Warrior of Light isn't going to do it. (They're the boots on the ground, and the Antecedent is largely an administrative job.) The Scions instead just kind of agree to keep carrying on doing what they each do best, without an official leader. If anything, the glue holding the Scions together at this point is Tataru, who keeps the books and manages the budget and does her damnedest to keep certain people from putting overpriced purchases on the company card.

And that's not to say that none of the others have leadership skills! But it's interesting how, for those who do take on leadership positions, it's generally away from the Scions. After years of hiding under her sister's identity and "Papalymo's little shadow," Lyse takes an active role in the Ala Mhigan resistance, and helps to lead her people to freedom--a journey which ultimately takes her out of the Scions as she decides to stay in Ala Mhigo.

I'm counting G'raha as a Scion here since he does become one eventually, though not until after his hundred-year stint as the Exarch. It's clear both from the community that has grown up around the Crystal Tower, and from some really great G'raha moments in Endwalker, that he has real skills both at bringing people together for a common cause, and at taking charge in a crisis to protect the vulnerable. For the most part, though, he seems quite happy to take on a sidekick role after he returns to the Source. After a hundred years, I imagine anyone might be ready for a break from being in charge.

Y'shtola is harder to analyze because she's gotten less direct character development than most of the surviving Scions, and has remained largely in a supporting role thus far (though she remains a very interesting character to me, and I am hoping for a bit more of her in the Dawntrail patches given the setup for a cross-rift-travel solution). Y'shtola has always seemed reserved and a bit of a loner, and never seemed particularly interested in leadership until she threw in her lot with the Night's Blessed in the First. By the time we meet her again, she's become a trusted figure among the Blessed and the others clearly look to her for guidance and leadership. (It's also kind of interesting to me how both of the characters who wind up in leadership positions in the First are Seeker Miqo'te, and it probably was just a coincidence, but it'd be interesting to analyze how Seeker culture might prime a capable person to be willing to rise to the occasion where they see a group of people need.) Yet Y'shtola too seems perfectly content to settle back into a support role when she returns to the Source.

Endwalker is all about standing together, working together, the necessity of hope to overcome despair not merely individually but as a collective effort. The Scions all rally, each bringing what they have to offer, and they do so without ever appointing a new leader. They go where they see a need, like Urianger choosing to stay on the moon, or Thancred watching over the Warrior of Light and the twins when things go south on the relief mission to Garlemald, or the twins later taking a personal interest in the rebuilding efforts there. They also defer to leaders within the Eorzean Alliance where appropriate, happy at this point to work alongside the nations' armies rather than attempting to command one.

And the more I look at the Scions' history this way, the more their disbanding at the end of Endwalker seems inevitable and the logical end to the organization. In a very real sense they have completed the work that Louisoix and Minfilia set out to do. They've been leaderless for some time now already and it has not stopped them from doing good where needed. They are not leaders. Their goal was never to steer the course of world events indefinitely. They've all learned a lot about applying their individual talents for the greater good and having faith in one another to do the same, without having to be directed by one charismatic leader every step of the way--a major point of growth from where they were in ARR.

And all of this makes our role in Dawntrail really interesting to me, because it's all about leadership! And the Warrior of Light and their companions are, as characters, perfectly primed to take a supporting role and take initiative in that role where needed (see: Thancred and Urianger doing what needs to be done behind the scenes during the second act crisis). What the former Scions aren't, as a whole, at this point in their story, is people inclined to step up and take over. And this is a good thing for this story. Both Wuk Lamat and Koana need to learn and grow on their own, and in the context of their own cultures. The former Scions can help, they can support, and they do, but they aren't going to take over. Sure, they have opinions! At various points, we see characters on both teams (including the Warrior of Light) make some pointed faces at one another indicating that they have some doubts about the direction in which their candidates are taking things. But they withhold direct judgment or criticism for the most part and I think that makes sense both for their characters, and for the nature of the story.

I also think it was probably intentional that the former Scion with the most extensive leadership experience, G'raha, is not one of the characters hired by the claimants and doesn't come back to the plot until later. While I love G'raha and I did miss him, I understand story-wise why he couldn't be here; his unique circumstances mean that he has had more leadership experience than most people could ever have in a single lifetime, and it's probably for the best that that doesn't overpower the experiences of our young claimants who need to learn their own lessons on their own terms.

The support role of the former Scions also makes sense in other ways, I think, in terms of allowing the Turali characters and especially Wuk Lamat, as the main character, to shine in their own right and to avoid what could otherwise have been some problematic tropes. But I also think it works pretty well as a natural outgrowth of who these characters are and have grown into over multiple expansions, the Warrior of Light included.

[adeleine-everyday]

more of ado warrior cat!! (+ friends..?)

day 146

oh my lord there's more cats

[kangoneko]

Squirrelflight's Choice

"I hope the mistakes I've made, I've made out of love."

Hello all! Today I'd like to discuss the character of Squirrelflight in the hope that I can help spread my interpretation of the character. I hope you'll continue to the end, and if my post changes your mind about her in any way, I would be so happy.

This will largely be focused around her choices surrounding the kits she chose to raise at Leafpool's request. Spoilers from Squirrelflight's Hope and other books that released prior will appear here.

In this post, I want to argue against the idea that Squirrelflight only took the kits because she thought she was barren, and argue that what she did was the best choice considering the circumstances. I believe this interpretation not only makes for a stronger, more cohesive narrative across all of these books, but also makes logical sense.

Let's start with the events surrounding Leafpool's pregnancy and the sisters' decision to raise the kits in ThunderClan under the lie that they were Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's biological children.

This decision had many factors surrounding it. The first being that Leafpool couldn't go forth with her plan to raise kits outside the clans with Crowfeather after Cinderpelt died and leave ThunderClan without a medicine cat. On top of this, the novella Leafpool's Wish reveals that Leafpool was told by her warrior ancestors that she had to have her sister raise the kits in ThunderClan, leaving her with little other option but to lie that they weren't hers.

Many people criticize this decision from Leafpool, for multiple reasons. For one, she could've stepped down as a medicine cat and raised them herself. For another, she could've pretended that they were random kits she found instead of ones related to her and Firestar. And while I see what they mean, it just wouldn't work out.

The whole reason she decided to come back was to be the Clan's medicine cat, and there is no way she would be allowed to continue being a medicine cat after it's revealed she not only had kits, but that she had them with a warrior from a rival clan. That's two codes broken for the price of one. On top of this, StarClan told her to do it. Her kits are special, part of a prophecy about being Firestar's kin. It simply wouldn't work if she just pretended they were some random kits. Keep in mind that this lie was never intended to come to light, and since two of her kits were blessed with magic powers, her secret would've been discovered in no time. StarClan must have known this, hence why they told her to tell that lie specifically.

But we're not really talking about Leafpool, are we? We're talking about Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight herself has faced criticism for going along with this decision, chiefly surrounding her keeping it a secret from Brambleclaw. While people acknowledge that StarClan directly told her to lie to everyone that the kits were Brambleclaw's, some still think she should have told him. Especially since Brambleclaw, when the kits' parentage is revealed, says he would have gone along with her lie.

And to address that, we need to take a look at Squirrelflight's arc in the novella Leafpool's Wish.

Despite the fact that there is a perfectly serviceable Moonkittii video summarizing the book, many people misconstrue the events of it and say things happened that really didn't. The most egregious of these mistakes is thinking that Squirrelflight only took the kits after Yellowfang told her she was barren, as well as largely ignoring a lot of her agency in her decision to take them.

When Yellowfang lied to her and told her she was barren, Squirrelflight was very upset. But while she told her sister that she loved her and would do her best to help her as much as she could, she still steadfastly refused to take the kits and lie to Brambleclaw and the rest of ThunderClan in the process. She only changed her mind after the kits were born, when Feathertail visited the two sisters and urged Squirrelflight to reconsider. Squirrelflight, having then realized how much she had grown to care for the kits, agreed to take them so that they could live the best lives they possibly could in ThunderClan.

Squirrelflight not only struggled with the decision, but also refused to change her mind until they were already far away from the clan. This is understandable, considering how dishonorable and painful lying to ones kin and clanmates can be. Keep in mind that she was even doing this for her sister, the cat she was closest to, and yet she still had trouble going along with it.

Taking all of this into consideration, why would she have risked the chance that Brambleclaw rejects them? Better yet, why are we taking Brambleclaw at his word that he would have still accepted the kittens if he was told the truth? Keep in mind that after the lie is revealed, Leafpool steps down as a medicine cat out of shame. Brambleclaw's position as deputy is incredibly important to him, with his ambition for power being his main character motivation throughout The New Prophecy. Lying to ones clan is incredibly dishonorable, and after the truth came out, Brambleclaw would either step down out of shame or feel pressured to by his fellow warriors.

But let's not make him sound entirely self-centered, either. Lying is not always an easy choice. Making Brambleclaw keep the lie makes him complicit. There's kindness in not involving him, in making him an innocent party. Brambleclaw already has to put up with a lot for being the mirror image of his father, but for it to be found out that he played a part in such a serious lie? It could be proving everyone who doubts him in the clan right. Not only this, but the kits would feel betrayed by both of their parents if the truth ever came out. I can't imagine that any of these thoughts hadn't occured to Squirrelflight, a cat who already felt uncomfortable lying herself.

Ultimately, while I could neither feasibly blame Brambleclaw if he did reject the kits nor say for certain that he would, I don't see why it's so unbelievable to expect him not to, especially when Squirrelflight herself grappled with the decision. The sisters both needed 100% from him, nothing less. And Leafpool didn't get 100% from Squirrelflight until weeks after the initial proposal.

I believe Brambleclaw is only able to so confidently say he would keep Squirrelflight's lie because he has already come to love the kits as his own, similar to how Squirrelflight only agreed to take them after she came to love the kits as a mother. To take him at his word is an entirely unfair criticism of Squirrelflight's decision. Anyone can say they would have done something, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.

Anyway, acknowledging that Squirrelflight had agency in the plot of Leafpool's Wish also makes Squirrelflight's Hope make a bit more sense than it normally does. While StarClan taking zero responsibility for the lie about the kits' parentage is insulting, Squirrelflight still made a choice--her own choice--to go through with it. And I like this about her. I like that she tried to help her sister and give the kits the best life they could. They not only got to grow up knowing who their kin was, but they grew up with two loving parents as proud warriors of ThunderClan, all while not having to face the prejudice of being half-clan kits or kits of a medicine cat. The aftermath when everyone found out was undeniably terrible, but I love how you can see the decision had actual merits. That it was understandable. That it was human.

Squirrelflight to me is such a selfless character, it saddens me to see people scorn her when she was just trying to help her sister. It also sucks to see the narrative of the books treat her so poorly, and for Brambleclaw to ignore her attempts to mend things between them for so long, a decision he later regrets after he comes to understand why she did what she did. It sucks to see this treated as an "everyone was bad" issue when it's more like everyone was right, in some way, but that some handled the fallout worse than others. That there was more heartache than there needed to be, and that the sisters are not the source of the problem, but a result of the systemic problems that surround the clans and the Warrior Code as a whole.

Thank you for reading! This post was mostly born of a desire to scream into a voiceless, unfeeling void about how much I love Squirrelflight and how much I want other people to love her, too, but if You (hypothetical reader) got anything useful out of it, then I'd love to hear your feedback! Let me know if you want to hear me yell about any other warriors characters. Or don't, I might just do it anyway. ฅ^•ω•^ฅ Toodle-oo!

[enigmaticspy]

[picaroroboto]

all of the stuff I've said about the WoL's suffering and dehumanization as a result of being chosen as Hydaelyn's champion, but also the fact that Venat does truly, deeply care about them.

Everything you've gone through, good and bad alike, does serve a higher purpose. But She didn't choose you just to forge you into a living weapon, but to make a perfect counterargument against the Endsinger's nihilism, against despair itself. You are the answer.

[tirsynni]

More random Hyrule Warriors thoughts:

Due to one portion of the game, people tend to focus on pride as the major theme of the game. I strongly disagree with it, because it is literally only featured in one portion of the game. I would argue that instead an accidental theme of the game is CONSENT.

Link has no voice in this game. It is overtly stated that Proxi speaks for him.

There is no choice in being Hero. In this game, when it's discovered that he's the Hero, he's immediately elevated in rank without his say. It's stated that he didn't feel worthy of it, but he would try his best. He is thrust into the spotlight and slammed with the responsibilities of Hero like very few Heroes are.

A major plot point is Cia's obsession with him. His say doesn't matter. His revulsion doesn't matter. She's an ancient sorceress and who knows how long she has been watching Link. I doubt she saw him and decided to attack his era the next day.

Another bit is the emphasis on how the Hero and Princess are destined for each other. Zelda has far more autonomy in the game than Link through her use of the Sheik disguise. It feels like "Of course Cia isn't an option: he's destined for Zelda!" Link's opinion? Who knows.

His soldiers turn traitor on him. They get to choose their side, turning on Link for something which isn't his fault and for something which counts him as a victim in the war. I see it as a popular theme in fanon: Link was the cause of the war. Not Ganon with his chosen actions. Not Cia. Link.

The major choice he made was at the beginning when he chose to run out onto the field and join the battle. Soon after, Proxi found him, made the comment about how quiet he was, and the rest was history.

Almost every Hero got some sort of choice at the beginning of their Hero's Journey. They COULD have turned away. This Link didn't get that choice. He didn't get any choices regarding his role in the war, Cia's obsession, how his soldiers-turned-traitor viewed him. And what everyone remembers about this Link is not that but the moment he gave into his pride. Ow.

[duchess-of-oldtown]

Visenya and Ronnel Arryn is something so precious to me, but it often gets me thinking what she was thinking when she found Ronnel alone in the courtyard. Did she see just a little boy amazed by a stranger and her dragon? Did she see Aegon at that age? Did she imagine a son of hers in the future? Was it strategy or just maternal or big sister instincts kicking in? Because Visenya could have taken the Eyrie as a show of strength and reminded the world of fire and blood. Perhaps that was the plan. But she changed her mind. She chose kindness.

[immortal-cataclysm]

Paying my metadede taxes.