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aiiria17 · 2 days ago

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I (re)read Warriors: Rising Storm & A Dangerous Path

2 for one special (Walmart reference) cause like half of all the things in Rising Storm don't resolve until A Dangerous Path but this is also going to be longer so strap in.

Other notes: I wrote like a trillion words or whatever so feel free to skip to various categories. These posts are basically compilations of mini-essays talking about one aspect.

Tigerstar's rise to power is logical looking through the lens of a fascism allegory

I never really understood why Shadowclan was so quick to accept Tigerstar until rereading and realizing that it's entirely about fascism.

Now I'm not going to dive to deep into historical context but an important aspect about between-world-wars Germany and Italy is understanding how weak they were. Infamously, Germany had super duper inflation, but Italians were unhappy with how weak their nation felt compared to many others. So when a charismatic, younger figure promising strength and to make their countries better, those to-be dictators were able to pretty easily generate a supporter base.

Small note before I get into more subtle aspects that Tigerstar explicitly says "it was my task to restore the Clan and make it great again." (Darkest Hour but still relevant). So that's something.

Okay so Tigerstar clearly is just the result of a desperate and tattered Shadowclan being swayed by his promises of a return to the strength they valued after being destroyed in a war then led by a weak leader. There are no historical parallels here. None at all. Tigerstar's goal is to increase Shadowclan's strength so that they (but really just he) can control the whole forest. Additionally he only wants "pure" cats, as seen in the 6th book. No historical parallels at all.

Tigerstar is explicitly fascism as a cat. You probably don't really need me to tell you this honestly if you know European history. But what I want to answer is why that matters and, on a more meta level, how it effects my overall perspective on the books.

The main reason Tigerstar being fascist is interesting isn't because of him but instead because of Thunderclan. Why was he unable to take Thunderclan? Now obviously there's the plot reasons of Fireheart being on it with his investigations and literally sniffing everything out within a couple months of joining the clan (strictly because of Ravenpaw but Fireheart still deserves credit), but symbolically there has to be something there. To me, I think Thunderclan is an example of freedom and stability that inherently resists fascism. Pre-depression Bluestar is a strong leader who's compassionate for all the people in her clan. They don't have to be forced to follow her, they would no matter what. Tigerstar couldn't be Thunderclan's leader because the cats of the clan aren't desperate enough to follow a tyrant. The clan is to stable to enable Tigerstar's desires for conquest because, frankly, he'd probably be met with resistance. There is no need for Thunderclan to be "back to their former glory." They don't need to "Revive the days of the Roman Empire (no historical parallels none at all)." That's why Tigerstar goes to Shadowclan, where he's welcomed with open, desperate arms.

So like why is this in a kids book? The obvious answer is cause basing villains on fascists is pretty popular. The most notable example I can think of is Star Wars but don't quote me on that I haven't watched those movies in years. To me I think it's fascinating to understand how the writers thought when writing Tigerstar. The writing being able to cover realistic subjects like this is what, I think, makes Warriors specifically so strong and investing. Compared to other books for this demographic Warriors actually is willing to tackle serious subject matters. Is it always done well? Oh god no not even a little bit. But sometimes you get a Tigerstar: a somewhat realistic villain who's just so fun to follow. Despite kids not really grasping onto the historical parallels (which are totally subtle for sure), it's pretty easy to depict his malice in the books because he's not some far-fetched concept of a villain.

tl;dr: kitty cat fascism meow meow

Okay additional side note cause this is where it best fits: Tallstar is so chill with Tigerstar and it's perplexing. I don't get it. He was raising hell over a blind Brokentail being a prisoner but is a-okay with Tigerstar bringing in Brokentail's goons. Why? Also Fireheart covers up Graypools murder for fun. Those are my two big complaints about the handling of Tigerstar

Fireheart is overworked and stressed

Fireheart is basically doing two jobs.

With Bluestar out of commission he kinda has to be both deputy and leader in all ways but official (to the extent where Bluestar makes him choose apprentices and he does "great"). Honestly, Rising Storm & A Dangerous Path are the peak of Fireheart's character in the first arc because of how he responds to work. It's nice to see Fireheart out of his element and stressed. When investigating Tigerclaw it was basically just him, Graystripe and Ravenpaw working alongside each other. No need to worry about protocol (the warrior code is a suggestion for main characters) or the rest of the clan. As deputy, his daily challenges involve everyone and he's not initially ready for that.

Fireheart grows so much throughout these two books because he's in a situation previously above his pay grade. The reason he becomes so fit to lead Thunderclan is cause he, despite being deputy for such a short period of time, has to learn so much more so much quicker. There is an implied omen that Fireheart's deputy-ship is going to be bad early on into it. That's incredibly true as Thunderclan is tormented by Tigerstar & the dogs, a fire, and an incapable leader. Easily, the years when Fireheart is deputy are the most challenging for Thunderclan this arc but, importantly, the challenge is mitigated by Fireheart. He is shown well capable of managing all the situations quickly and decisively to set him up to be a good leader.

Sandstorm (aka Fireheart pt. 2 as much as I hate to admit it)

The main difficulty, additionally, that Fireheart faces is losing Graystripe at the end of Forest of Secrets. Despite my previously documented dislike of Graystripe, he is still vital as Fireheart's best friend and closest support (despite him not exactly being good at in before leaving).

Well time to introduce, 4 books in, Sandstorm as an actual important figure.

So first of all she is way more interesting than Graystripe and has significantly better chemistry with Fireheart than Graystripe did. So that's cool. But seriously I really got excited whenever she appeared just because I liked her character and she actually helped round out Fireheart both by making him still a character with feelings and through showing his imperfections as deputy.

Fireheart is pretty obviously, and then explicitly in love with Sandstorm and vice versa. It sets up a different dynamic than he's previously had and makes him act a bit more sensitively towards her while still being deputy. I think a romance thing like what he has here also highlights Fireheart's youth: with him being a leader figure, it can be easy to forget his age, so depicting him as unfamiliar with love helps the readers see him as the same young cat. Fireheart the deputy is still Fireheart and Sandstorm brings that out very uniquely.

Imperfections as a deputy just really is me saying that he should've given Sandstorm an apprentice because... did he really need to take baby Tigerstar? In retrospect yes but his logic at the time is very much so not trusting an actual baby which is... interesting. And besides Sandstorm definitely could've handled it. I think giving Brackenfur one is fair because he promised or whatever but Sandstorm could've easily taken Bramblepaw. Okay now time to talk about how Fireheart's lowkey an ass to Sandstorm for a while.

Fireheart very much so sees Sandstorm as something he needs to protect, which is an issue because 1. she is older than him so huh? and 2. yuck and 3. she explicitly doesn't like that. He eventually slightly reluctantly involves her but I don't like that he still is depicted as wanting to protect her when she says she doesn't like that constantly. The second issue is just Fireheart not really being good with handling a relationship but I think that ties into showing his youth/life inexperience but overall wow they started out pretty rough in these books.

Fireheart yells at Longtail

what the fuck is his problem?

Brightheart & Cloudtail

I'm also going to dip into early Darkest Hour cause that's when Brightheart has the best resolution. Also so I can fully call her Brightheart and not Lostface or Brightpaw without worrying about being wrong about timeline.

So to avoid substantial plot summary Brightheart is in love with Cloudtail and also, at the same time, gets her face ripped off by a dog.

I think Brightheart is easily one of the most impactful characters of this arc. She's comfortably in my top 5 and probably high up in it, too. Brightheart is another character showing strength through adversity and filling a role despite challenges, similarly to Cinderpelt. The reason Brightheart specifically is so impactful isn't just her, it's how she is situated with the clan. Brightheart isn't the same character without Cloudtail.

Brightheart's injury clearly defines her and I love that the book doesn't hide away from that. It forces her to adapt everything she does for the clan to something that allows her to work around it. Probably the strongest part of her character is how she and Cloudtail have to work around it. Notably Fireheart doesn't walk up to her and ask her to learn. In fact she's sent to the elder's den to basically waste away for her life (not to dog on the elders but am I wrong?) despite still being 99% physically capable. Brightheart takes initiative to work around her problems, and is successful because of that. In a society that doesn't encourage her to be the strongest she can be, Cloudtail and her both work to go against the minimized expectations laid on her. One last note: Brightheart being cast aside is never depicted as the right thing to do within the text of the book (due to Cloudtail's dialogue). I just want to mention that for clarity that this isn't despite the writing, but is pretty intentional to me.

So how does Cloudtail slot into all of this? Well the answer is love.

Yeah it's cheesy but literally true. It's extremely important to note that Brightheart's strength isn't brought about alone. And not in the "she's depicted as incapable" way, though she should have definitely not been as passive in her arc as she is seen as. Instead, I'd say Cloudtail enables Brightheart to prop her self up. He's her big fluffy marshmallow of support that lets her overcome what is the arguable most gruesome non-death I've seen in the series so far (and I don't remember any more from later arcs but I haven't reread them yet so I'll get there).

To summarize: love wins I guess

Bluestar

My view on Bluestar is very personal so if I'm a little vague on some parts about me please understand.

I feel like Bluestar best highlights the difference in rereading the books now as an adult aka not a 10 year old. Despite them being for children there's elements that make it clear that they are written by adults that make some parts uncomfortable in how real they feel.

Bluestar's decline throughout the 4th&5th books is the clearest example.

About a year(?) ago my Grandmother died. I remember feeling weird about it though. For the past 3 or so years she's been on a clear mental decline (age will do that). Worse memory, clearly not focused during conversations, etc. It was really painful and sad to see. I remember who she was before that and, despite her being alive, I felt like I missed her. Those years were emotionally kind of tough.

Bluestar is similar. After Tigerstar's betrayal, she is notably different. At first it seems temporary, Yellowfang believed that she would bounce back and be the Bluestar she was, but that never happens. Throughout the books, she declines rapidly and it's painful for Fireheart. On top of his heavy workload, he's clearly emotionally wrecked by seeing Bluestar in this state. She's kind of like his family, in a way (Bluestar is 100% using Fireheart as a stand in for the children she gave up to some extent). The books are uncomfortable seeing Fireheart push through the tense emotional state between him and Bluestar in a way that is scarily reminiscent of what I actually lived through.

After my Grandma died, I didn't really cry or anything. Not because I didn't care for her, but because there's a strange sense of relief in a situation like mine. She had, to me, been "gone" for years now. I'm not religious but part of me hopes she's how she was up in some afterlife. I'm just glad that I don't have to see how much she was suffering anymore.

I imagine a similar feeling in Fireheart, and the rest of Thunderclan to some extent. He no longer has to see the brave leader he admired get worse. Thunderclan no longer has to suffer under the non-leadership of later Bluestar. Despite the grief there's some extent of relief from the pain Fireheart had to suffer for years. As leader he know longer has to be deputy/leader alone like he was while Bluestar is sick. He gets to receive more help and not have to stress about the life of his leader. I envy that Fireheart gets to meet Bluestar in Starclan and see that she's better and will be for eternity.

There's something weird about finally feeling seen about something like that through the cat books I started rereading as a joke. I feel weird about the fact that a kids book made me feel this way. But whatever. Really I think these books aren't the same ones I read as a kid. My perspective is so changed now through age. Thanks Warrior Cats. I can't believe that I'm not saying this as a joke.

Yellowfang's Death & Guilt

Somehow this is a lighter topic. Also going to be brief cause I think I have less unique things to say but not talking about Yellowfang is a disservice.

Yellowfang's death is tough but establishes a final shift in her character. It's not untimely but a perfect endpoint of her character arc. She's confesses to killing Brokentail in her last moment. Not like anyone would mind, he was kind of a jerk. I think that her statement in death to Fireheart clarifies why she killed him without much remorse though. Beyond his evilness, Brokentail actively put Fireheart at risk, as well of the rest of Thunderclan, and she saw Fireheart as her son.

I think Yellowfang doesn't just find duty and safety in Thunderclan but a family. She truely latches onto Fireheart and Cinderpelt like they are her own, more so than she seemed to do in Shadowclan. There's something about Yellowfang's willingness to die trying to save a Thunderclan cat, one who was previously hostile to her (non-specifically, they all were, this isn't a Halftail call out). She truely wanted the best not for the clan who saved her but for the clan of people she loved. It's a nice concise point of closure for her that solidifies her as one of the best characters in the arc (and there's a lot of those you can tell by the fact that I think I've said this 20 times now).

GOATWATCH: RUNNINGWIND

TIME FOR MY FAVORITE SEGMENT BUT 10X SADDER THAN NORMAL CAUSE THE GOAT LITERALLY DIED

But for early summary:

He goes on patrol (responsible king) and detects Cloudpaw (only he could track that good ignore that he literally isn't the only one who does).

Teaches Thornpaw (makes him catch squirrels and proves that he's actually a GOATed mentor to prove the haters wrong)

He tries to take Cloudpaw hunting but Cloudpaw runs off while Runningwind is cleaning himself (+3 hygiene better than a smash tournament)

He eats with Fireheart again which is awesome because that's where this bit started for me (him being Firehearts bff (background friend for four books)). But now he witnesses vaguely flirtatious quarreling so like that's something (this is hard to convert into glazing Runningwind).

He's sad when Cloudpaw's abducted (he's an empath)

Well then he fucking dies which is cringe. My interpretation: Starclan released a balance patch and removed him for fairness. Can't have Thunderclan be too good now. Would be rip goatwatch but he'll be back trust

Conclusion

I'm going to tier list my own essays for fun:

G (for goat)- Runningwind

S- Bluestar (easy cause it's just me talking about myself kinda hard to mess up)

A- Tigerstar (coulda been organized a little better) & Yellowfang (short but I think I got everything)

B- Fireheart/Sandstorm (basically one segment, very average)

C- Brightheart (could have made my points better but not sure how. You got the idea though I hope)

Long post (came out to 2830 words not counting conclusion) and it feels good to finish it. Thanks for reading even just if you skimmed. Feel free to argue I'd love to clarify anything if it wasn't clear. I already read Darkest Hour a bit ago and will do a shorter post cause 1. to me it wasn't as interesting and 2. there's a lot of reiteration of points that I'm going to avoid (Tigerstar is still fascist so no need to really double dip)

bye bye

#warrior cats #wc #runningwind #yellowfang #firestar #sandstorm #bluestar #tigerstar #thunderclan #brightheart #every time I type a name for tags Ashfur pops up he can wait his damn turn #longtail wc #cloudtail

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