Something important that I wanted you all to know. I know that my profile says that TRotR will be released in January or February. It will only be released in February. I'm very sorry to say that I may have to further postpone the release date. I know that it has been a long wait and many of you are impatient, but I really am having difficulty with it. That sounded like a lame excuse, but that is how it is. So thanks for understanding.
If you have any questions or story concerns, PM or review me. But make sure to check out my profile first to see if your question has already been answered.
Review replies:
Shadowfang: Yeah, I also fell in love with Hollyleaf the moment I saw her. The Erins just became way too lazy for the last arc. Also, I tried looking up your profile, but I couldn't find it. Could you send me a link?
Talonclaw of Moonclan: I never thought about that. Now when I think about it, those two characters have a lot in common. Both characters had every right to be upset, but the problem with them was how they handled their feelings. Hollyleaf went and killed Ashfur, and Ashfur tried to murder four cats. And I like lengthy reviews, so it's fine with me if you write long reviews like that.
Snowfall16: StarClan rant coming right up! If you thought that I was bashing on the Erins before, wait until you see this one! :))))
Warrior Cat Fan Articles #7: Five Reasons why StarClan is filled with hypocrites
*MAJOR SPOILERS FOR YELLOWFANG'S SECRET, MAPLESHADE'S VENGEANCE, AND ALL OF THE SERIES
*MINOR SPOILERS FOR BLUESTAR'S PROPHECY*
I've been wanting to do this for a long time, so let's just go ahead. I am completely sick of StarClan and their stupidity. It's gotten to the point where I wish that they had let the Dark Forest win the Great Battle. At least they're supposed to be jerks, because they're the "bad guys". StarClan is stereotyped as the "good guys", but if you look at the details, they are anything but.
5. Punishing two medicine cats for absolutely no reason
One of the reasons why I hate them is in Yellowfang's Secret. When Yellowfang gave birth, they punished her by giving her a kit that almost destroyed WindClan. This was also confirmed in Secrets of the Clan, when Yellowfang said something along the lines of, "I knew that my punishment was not that the two other kits had died, but that this one survived." Are you serious? Why would you punish a medicine cat for falling in love when she is being punished enough? And even if they want to punish Yellowfang, they shouldn't take it out on her kit! Sure, StarClan, create a cat that is destined to torture little kits and see how that works. Create a kit that is going to be bullied for the rest of his life. Good job. If StarClan is supposed to be the protector of the Clans, then why are they destroying them and ruining cat's lives?
Another time was when they punished Leafpool by making her step down from her post as medicine cat. How does that work? StarClan, I hate to break it to you, but there's a battle approaching! We need all of the medicine cats that we can get! Why do you punish Leafpool if Hollyleaf has blurted out the secret, her two remaining kits hate her, and Crowfeather has already disowned her right to her face? Isn't that punishment enough?
4. Exiling a Clan
Another reason why I hate StarClan so much was because they kicked SkyClan out. Okay, technically they didn't kick them out, but they didn't do anything to stop the others from exiling them. The prey was running out in SkyClan's territory, but the other Clans could have easily given them refuge. But no, SkyClan had to go because of their selfishness.
And do you know why SkyClan was sent away? Because there weren't enough TREES! Yes, you heard me right. SkyClan was banished from the forest because there were only four oaks at Fourtrees. That doesn't make any sense!
Like I said before, StarClan is supposed to be the protector of all Clans, but they do exactly the opposite. If they're supposed to protect all Clans, then why do they have SkyClan sent away?
3. The Opposite of Karma
The cats of the Clans believe in punishment or reward after death. If you were good in your life, you go to StarClan. But if you were evil, you go to the Dark Forest. Makes sense, right? Unfortunately for some cats, it works the other way around.
When Jayfeather saw Ashfur in StarClan, of course he wanted an explanation. Ashfur pretty much tried to murder four cats. But then he had this lovely conversation with Yellowfang:
Jayfeather: "Ashfur! He's here?"
Yellowfang: "Why not? His only fault was to love too much."
Jayfeather: "Hardly. He tried to push us off the cliff!"
– Sign of the Moon, page 94
Couldn't have said it better myself, Jayfeather. Why does StarClan characterize Ashfur as innocent when he is, indeed, not? They let him into StarClan, when Thistleclaw (by comparison. ONLY by comparison) didn't do anything wrong, compared to Ashfur. Why did they send Mapleshade to the Dark Forest when she didn't do anything wrong, by comparison? Technically, if you think about it, her only crime was "loving too much". But no, the same logic doesn't apply to her.
This transitions perfectly into my next point.
Have all of you read Mapleshade's Vengeance? Well, if you don't want to be spoiled, you should probably exit now. You don't have to exit though, because I think we all know her story, so I am technically not spoiling. But you have been warned…
In the book, Mapleshade gives birth to three kits, two toms and a she-cat. They have recently fought with RiverClan over Sunningrocks. But she lies about who the father is. She tells the Clan that the father is Birchface, a cat who died in the battle. The Clan is thrilled.
Unfortunately, Ravenwing, the medicine cat, has other plans. He finds out the secret and tattles on her. Ravenwing, you idiot! He basically condemned three kits to die! And then Oakstar banishes Mapleshade for no reason! Come on! And then Mapleshade's kits die in the river. AND STARCLAN DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT! THEY WANTED MAPLESHADE TO BE EXILED! I thought that the code said to protect all kits, regardless of what Clan they come from. How is exiling kits the same as protecting them?
After RiverClan bans Mapleshade as well, she gets her revenge. Now this is the part where I really hate StarClan. Mapleshade's kits were in StarClan, weren't they? Mapleshade killed Ravenwing, Frecklewish, and Appledusk because they wanted her to, right? Well, since those kits are in StarClan, she did what members of StarClan asked her to! Then why does she go to the Dark Forest if she was just following StarClan's orders?
2. Leaders and their Nine Lives
There have been leaders who have done nothing wrong to their Clan, but they were punished by StarClan for reasons that were not their fault.
This happened twice. The first time it happened was in the first series. We found out from Runningnose that they refused to give Nightstar his nine lives because Brokenstar was still alive, and because he was "too old".
Okay, first of all, it isn't Nightstar's fault that Brokenstar is alive. They were showing him mercy by keeping him alive! If anything, Nightstar should be rewarded for being merciful to a coward and murderer.
And secondly, how is Nightstar too old? Mistystar was way older, and they gave her nine lives anyways. Nightstar didn't even get one! Why would you punish someone for being too old? Nightstar was a good cat. Although he had a cough which prevented him from being a good warrior, he served his Clan. When he was exiled, he hunted for the elders. He deserved to be leader!
This also happened with Sunstar. In Bluestar's Prophecy, Pinestar abandoned his post as leader and gave it to Sunstar instead. But because Pinestar was alive, they only gave him eight lives. Why? Why must you do this StarClan? Sunstar was just stepping up to his duty early, because Pinestar was being too cowardly. If anything StarClan should have given him TEN lives as a reward for his integrity!
But if you think that's bad, you should also see the times that they rewarded evil cats with nine lives. How about the time that they gave nine lives to Tigerstar and Brokenstar?
They gave Brokenstar nine lives after he killed his father! His own freaking FATHER! They let him become leader and destroy the lives of many cats. How is that right? And Tigerstar? They gave him nine lives after he killed, um, let's see… Redtail, Brindleface, Graypool, Runningwind, and Stonefur. And these are only a few of his misdeeds.
By giving these cats nine lives, they are supporting the evil cats. They are giving them an opportunity to do their evil deeds.
And now for the final point...
1. Being Completely USELESS in General
So we all know that StarClan is this all-powerful being that controls the universe, right? They give prophecies and they foretell the future. They're pretty much the gods of all cats.
So then, why are they just sitting around, doing nothing? All they do is give boneheaded prophecies that anyone with half a brain can figure out. That's just dumb. And I get it, StarClan shouldn't be hovering over the Clans and spoon-feeding them, but can't they be even a little helpful once in a while?
In the New Prophecy arc, they sent four cats to the sun-drown place to find some stupid badger. If they knew that the Twolegs were going to invade the forest, then why couldn't they have just told the Clan leaders that they had to leave? That could have been followed by a conversation between the four leaders like this:
Firestar: "I was visited by Spottedleaf last night. I called this meeting to say that she told me that we need to leave the forest!"
Tallstar: "I had that same dream, only it was Deadfoot who visited me! He said that monsters would destroy the forest and poison our rabbits."
Blackstar: "Yeah, Nightstar told me that we need to go north."
Leopardstar: "Crookedstar says that if we don't leave, we will share the same fate as SkyClan. *looks around* So what is the group consensus?"
*dead silence*
Tallstar: "All right, get your Clans ready. Time to hustle!"
Those five lines would have been all that was needed to get the Clans out of there! Instead of wasting two books to send six cats on a pointless journey, where one of them dies in the process, they could have just left in Midnight itself.
Another time when they were useless was during the fourth cat scene in The Last Hope. StarClan claims to have not known who the fourth cat is, but if they're so powerful, can't they look into the future?
I felt so bad for Jayfeather in the last book. He pretty much did everything. Jayfeather, you don't need to work yourself so hard! Just sit back and relax for once. I mean, StarClan's doing it fine! They're not being accused of murder or being disrespected and all of that stuff. They're just eating cupcakes and waiting for the world to end, while the Three are working their tails off trying to find the fourth cat.
Not only that, but Yellowfang has the nerve to boss Jayfeather around and tell him what to do. She pretty much yelled at him through the entire fourth series. Yellowfang, do everyone a favor. If you're going to boss other cats around, then at least do something yourself! Don't just sit around getting the three to do your dirty work! Get up and actually help! I know that Yellowfang is commonly accepted as a fan favorite, but honestly, sometimes I found myself wishing that she would just shut up.
And then, at the end of the book, StarClan sends Mothwing a sign of burning reeds to signify that Firestar is the fourth cat. ARE YOU SERIOUS, STARCLAN?! WE WASTED THE ENTIRE BOOK LOOKING FOR THE STUPID FOURTH CAT! NOW YOU SHOW YOUR FACE AFTER FIVE HUNDRED PAGES!
To conclude this rant, StarClan is filled with idiots. They act like the all-time powerful gods, but they really need to get a life. They are admired as the patrons of the Clans, when all they do is curse cats and tell boring prophecies! If they're going to be respected as the protector of all Clans, then they should start actually doing the job and stop acting like hypocrites.
