Transcript
Speaker: This is Never Grow Up, a show where two grown-ass adults discuss their love of middle-grade fiction. I'm one of your hosts, Laura. And I'm your other host, Jerika. boy, we got some fucking cats to talk about tonight.
Speaker: Yeah? who Because we are talking about some of the manga, which technically isn't manga because it was not written in Japan, but that's how it was marketed. So that's how what I know it as. Is it read right to left?
Speaker: It is not. but Okay, well. i want a month more A lot of manga isn't read like that because of they flip because they flip the art.
Speaker: Why did they do that? To make it more English friendly. It's really not. No, I don't like that. No, I don't like it either. It's really not hard to learn to read it from the other direction. So I don't know.
Speaker: Yeah. They're crazy. we People need to stop catering to us fucking Americans. And it's and it's Americans. Let's let's be honest. Let's be clear.
Speaker: It's not just the Western world. No, it's us specifically because we're fucking terrible. I didn't do fucking anything to you, so I don't know why you're going off on me about it. No, like, not we, but like, you know what I mean.
Speaker: Anyway. who so, hmm. No, guess I'll just let you tell me and then I'll have my answer.
Speaker: Okay, I really want to know your question was. so Oh, like, ah how how is this different from the graphic novels? Oh, these are these are, like, different stories.
Speaker: this These are adaptations of stuff that happens in the novels. Oh. It's new plot. Whereas the graphic novels were... no wait.
Speaker: No, I said they're not adaptations. Yeah, okay. My brain is tapping out a thing. Okay. Cool. That could be cool.
Speaker: It could be cool, but is it? We'll decide here.
Speaker: Yep. That's what we do here is we decide these things. So this book, well the first one we're talking about is The Rise of Scourge.
Speaker: Do you remember a Scourge from the last book?
Speaker: ah He was the leader of the Blood Clan, right? Uh-huh. And now we have a whole manga to tell us how he came to be leader of Blood Clan.
Speaker: that's That implies that the Blood Clan existed before him? um Actually, we'll get to that. Ooh. Okay, so we start out with a cute little family of kitty pets living inside someone's home. Aww.
Speaker: We have Quince, the mother of these cats, and her children are Ruby Socks and Tiny. and ruby And Socks are always playing together, except Tiny is the runt of the litter. So he's like...
Speaker: um Really fragile, and also Socks and Ruby are complete dicks to him. I don't know how I feel. who What is with this trope?
Speaker: Of like, oh, the runt of the litter, and... It's an underdog story because people are just shitty to them for no reason. Uh-huh. I don't... Oh, so I take it you've guessed that Tiny is Scourge.
Speaker: No, i Oh, okay. i wasn't I wasn't doing that much thinking. I was just like, ah just stuck on the stupid trope. Well, Tiny and Scourge, that's not a spoiler. But that makes sense not what you say it. Yeah, yeah. It's not a spoiler because since we actually have visuals, like, we can see that.
Speaker: We can see that he's Scourge. um And you know what's fun also is that this was first released in black and white, but then 16 years after it was published, they released it in full color.
Speaker: So obviously I bought the full color one and read through it. So now you have both of them? Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Okay. That's, that tracks. I also have, I also accidentally have two copies of a different series because I forgot that I had bought it already and I bought it again.
Speaker: I think there's apps for stuff like that now where you can keep track of what Well, usually I just track it in Goodreads, but sometimes I forget to put in that I bought it already.
Speaker: Yeah, that's the thing about like that sort of thing. It's like if you forget to like track it, then it does you no good. So Quince tells these little cats stories about the wild cats that live in the forest. and she tells she tells them that those cats are a scourge on all good cats. Oh, gosh. Really? Really? Who wrote these, but who wrote this by the way? Oh, yes. i
Speaker: Dan Jolly was the writer of these. Jolly? Jolly.
Speaker: okay and And it's okay that he's not an errand because money? um i guess I guess the manga writers don't get counted in errands for some reason.
Speaker: I don't know. just Because they're just the milk they're just milk for from the cash cow. Ew. Ew. ah Well, they are I think these stories are pretty good.
Speaker: not all of them. Well, yeah. But, like, that's... I mean... We also have, like, a very... But it doesn't make them not... know existence You know, Yeah. I know.
Speaker: Yeah. i i know yeah yeah we all we also have a very different art style for these ones versus the graphic novels there's very differing opinions in the fandom which one is better but i like them both so don't give a fuck i'm happy that they both exist because this one is way more like realistic looking cats and they all kind of blend together outside of their color like they're not They don't very unique features because they're drawn more like cats, whereas the graphic novels give them, like, more distinct shapes and, like, features and all that. Okay.
Speaker: But, yeah. So, I want to see if you will pick up on what, uh, on what this means. So she, Quince goes and looks at a picture of this cat on, like, it's like a framed photo of a cat. All right. And she's like talking to it.
Speaker: And she says, you would have been proud of your kits, my love. Strange that none of them have your ginger fur, but I see your spirit in them just the same. And when i tell you,
Speaker: That the fandom fucking exploded when that quote came out. i see from your face you're suspicious of something, so tell me. What's what's your thought process on this?
Speaker: art Are they trying to make Gurge and Firestar related? Yeah! but
Speaker: Why? Scourge and Firestar half siblings. Come Yeah. No. Yeah. I do not accept this.
Speaker: I've... When I read that as a child, my heart leapt out of my chest. And this is one of the first subtle things that I picked up on that's, like, not confirmed in the book. And I had to go to the fandom. And, uh, yeah.
Speaker: Later on, there's there's some things that happen in some spinoff books that they confirm, yep, that's...
Speaker: That's Fireheart's dad there. and well, uh... I don't know if you should even bother telling me the rest of this book because I'm just not gonna like it.
Speaker: But go on Why? why There is no reason to do that!
Speaker: No reason! Why not? Why not?
Speaker: what is what is what What value is there is added from that?
Speaker: It's not like Fireheart's ever going to find out.
Speaker: And even if he does, like, okay, the dude's dead, so like... Well, my brother's dead, I guess. That's a thing.
Speaker: Though he... killed other cats, so that was bad. I didn didn't know him as my brother, so I guess I don't have attachment to him.
Speaker: Well, I'm gonna continue with my life now. Like... It's such a... Well... I'm...
Speaker: it's such a well
Speaker: I'm sure that the fandom has both sides of this. So, and the arguments been made. So I don't necessarily need to make them. But whatever camp is in the, I don't like this. I'm in that camp. I knew you would have such strong ah opinions on this. that i' so glad ah ah it Wow. i i mean, I didn't know I would, but. Well, like you didn't know it. So how could you know? Fair.
Speaker: This is never brought up again for the rest of the book.
Speaker: So we're just gonna be like, oh yeah. Bink! And then it never matters again. Yeah, yeah, pretty much. That's so fucking stupid. i Whose idea was that?
Speaker: Was it this? I already forgot the dude's name.
Speaker: You know what? I don't know let me Let me look it up and see if there's a quick answer. Whose fucking idea was this? ah The wiki says that it was Vicky Holmes.
Speaker: isn't the Don't we like Vicky Holmes? Yeah. Why would she do this? Why not?
Speaker: Okay. I mean...
Speaker: Answering a question with a question is...
Speaker: Man... Okay, whatever. and don't want to i don't want to dwell on this so long. On the Firestar trivia page, it says Vicky stated that Firestar never knew that Scourge was his half-brother. So there you go. He never finds out.
Speaker: What is the point? This is... Okay, man.
Speaker: And, you know, Fireheart is all like... Oh, no, I never had any kin with me and whatever. But so I guess he should he should have joined with Blood Clan because that's his kin, you know? That's his blood.
Speaker: Exactly. so back to these little kids. Mm hmm.
Speaker: ah Ruby and Sox are angry at Tiny because, according to them, he plays wrong.
Speaker: Okay, I... I have been, i have experienced that person before. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so... I've been that person before, too. So, obviously, he he's off by himself a lot because they don't want to play with him. And after hearing about the tales of these wild forest cats, he's curious about that. So he goes into the forest. Ooh, that doesn't sound a good idea. Yeah. He's exploring a little bit, but almost gets fucking snatched by ah some big bird of prey. And just manages to avoid that.
Speaker: And then, um, when Quince finds him, she's like, what the fuck, dude? And, like... Oh, no, no. heat ah He just goes back into the yard when he's done. And he's like, I went out into the forest. And Ruby and Socks are like, you're a liar. You didn't do that. And he says, no, no. i I went and i I ate a fox and I built a home there. And he's like exaggerating the fuck out of his forest adventures. So they definitely don't believe he even went there. What the hell? This fucking kid. uh-huh and then they have people who are deciding if they want to adopt kittens i guess so they're like deciding between them and ruby tells tiny that he is probably not going to get picked because no one wants him he doesn't even play right and do you know what happens to unwanted kits they get thrown in the river
Speaker: That's... What the fuck? This... You're a bitch. I know! That's what I'm saying. like his siblings that His siblings do not have a sibling rivalry with him. His siblings are literally his enemies who want to get him murdered. Yeah, they're fucking little... Damn.
Speaker: And like it's not like, oh, I'm the older one, because that's not how cats work. Right? so Tiny just runs away because he's like, I can't get thrown into the river. gotta get out of here. And so he wanders back into the forest and then unfortunately for ah him he comes across a patrol of ThunderClan cats consisting of blue star or blue fur thistle claw, and tiger paw.
Speaker: And do you remember the scene in Blue Star's Prophecy when Thistleclaw told Tigerpaw to beat the shit out of a strange kit who had wandered onto their territory?
Speaker: a Maybe? So Thistleclaw is like, Tigerpot, teach him a lesson. And Tigerpaw is like, yes, sir. And just attacks Tiny. And like, severely injures him.
Speaker: He enjoys it. Until Bluford steps in and is like, okay, that's enough. Like, as a kid, he's learned his lesson. and then, of course, Thistleclaw is pissed because apparently that makes her unloyal to not want to kill a child.
Speaker: Yeah, he's learned his lesson for existing. Yeah. but that I thought but thought the warrior code's like, oh, you got to protect all the kids. Yes, it is.
Speaker: But somehow Thistleclaw is trying to spin this to Bluefur being unloyal.
Speaker: Thistleclaw didn't like Bluefur? I don't remember that, necessarily. Thistleclaw fucking hated Bluefur because he thought that she was going to make his kit soft. Because Thistleclaw was Snowfur's mate.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, fuck that guy. Yeah. So not being able to go with new house folk and not being able to live in the forest, Tiny then just wanders around Two Leg Place. and
Speaker: he gets, he finds a dog tooth. from I don't know just some fucking old dog I guess and he gets it stuck in his collar it like pierces through his collar and it gets stuck there okay so well part fetchched but yeah and then these cats come across him and they're like oh why is there a tooth in your collar and he tells him it's because he killed a dog
Speaker: He took the tooth as a trophy. And so they're like, they're like, oh, you, you kill dogs. Okay, well, come take care of this dog for us because it's guarding this trash can and we want in to get the food.
Speaker: And tight Tiny is like, You know, internally he's like, oh, I'm gonna fucking get torn apart by this huge dog.
Speaker: But he goes over the fence because he has no choice with these cats, you know, expectantly waiting there. But fortunately for Tiny, ah he comes at the dog from such an angle that his shadow looks huge and terrifying and it scares the shit out of the dog and he runs away.
Speaker: Okay. and so the cats are like, holy shit, you really did just take care of this dog. You, a tiny kid. How has this happened?
Speaker: And they ask him his name and he tells them, it's Scourge.
Speaker: From the, yeah. Mm-hmm. the thing that his mom said. Yeah. And so he becomes known as like a cat who fixes problems and cats. Okay. Okay. Hold on.
Speaker: so his whole reputation starts off as a complete lie. Okay. yes And cats start like bringing him their problems and shit. And he's like solving them as if he's a king sitting on his throne, you know, working out these problems. and there's an intruder then two leg place who doesn't understand what the rules are.
Speaker: And Scourge just fucking kills him.
Speaker: because he has to now yeah and so all the cats then are like holy shit uh we should be treating this cat with more reverence than we have in the past because he will just kill you if you displease him so now not only are they bringing him their problems but they're also bringing him offerings like pray and shit jesus christ
Speaker: um And in his internal of monologue, he describes his blood turning to ice and he's like, hi I expected the feelings to melt, but instead it it just freezes more.
Speaker: So like this cat is just just becoming more and more evil and he i think he likes it. Yeah, I think he does.
Speaker: And he says, from now Nolcat takes food without his permission. Okay, cool. And this is just like the strays around yeah Two Leg Place? Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, it's essentially like a gang in Two Leg Place now. I see. and one day these cats come to him looking all gaunt and underfed. And they're like, oh, do you recognize us?
Speaker: It's your siblings, Ruby and Socks. Oh, those cats are dead. And our our two legs threw us out and we don't have any food now. And please help us.
Speaker: These are two dead cats right there. He gives them some food to eat and they're like, oh great, now we can live with you and be awesome. And then he says, actually, just get out of two-legged place. I never want to see you again.
Speaker: shit, he doesn't kill them? Here's the thing, Jericho. I think the reason he doesn't kill them is because he's so he's so far...
Speaker: Beyond anger at them at this point so that he just doesn't give a fuck about them at all. These cats are meaningless to him. Oh, man.
Speaker: So he's like. Whatever, I don't care. Just get out of here. and they're like, oh, but but we're family and family has to stick together. he doesn't give fuck.
Speaker: Yeah. Wow. He's like, yeah, like literally i don't give a fuck. ah yeah yeah And then we have a scene of when Boulder is bringing Tigerstar to talk to him. This was the prologue at the beginning of book six. And he's trying to like make the deal to help take over the forest. and Tigerstar is all like cocky and shit and not fully respond of respectful. And Scourge is like...
Speaker: Oh, this this cat doesn't remember when he beat the shit out of me in the forest. oh don't know Don't worry. I remember. Oh, shit.
Speaker: And so there's like a fast forward to when he kills Tiger Star. Yeah. And then there's like a big dramatic panel of like, it's like full page panel.
Speaker: And he's like, my villiarmate said I was too small, too weak, but I've proven them wrong. I've learned how to be strong, how to live for blood, because that's the key, the only answer.
Speaker: am leader of BloodClan, I am Scourge, and I have won. fuck! fuck And that's the last panel of the manga. Holy fuck.
Speaker: This fucking cat, man. huh
Speaker: Holy shit. So yeah, he ah ah he's he's got quite a journey.
Speaker: remind Remind me died again. how he died again He got killed by Firestar after, well, he kills Firestar.
Speaker: And then Firestar comes back to life and with the realization of like, oh, I only got to kill him once because he's not gifted by StarClan. And Scourge is like, what the fuck? How are you alive? Because he doesn't believe in StarClan. So he thought it was a myth. And Firestar is like, he, he, I have StarClan behind me and then kills him.
Speaker: And this, when I was a child, I read this so many times, and it was my... i love Scourge so much, you know?
Speaker: Hey. What? What's wrong, Jerrica? I don't, I don't, know I don't, I'm not sure. Well...
Speaker: i I think I might like him more if he got more page time. Yeah, I did i wish his character was developed a little bit more. Like we start seeing him in some of the earlier books or some shit.
Speaker: Yeah, I wish we could have a whole lot more of him. Let me, okay, I'm gonna send you a picture. this is him on the front of the cover when he's all small and cute and... Okay.
Speaker: And here's him by the end of the book. And this is when he's declaring that he's the leader of Blood Clown. Yeah, didn't he have, like, fucking...
Speaker: shit on him? Like, weapons? and like like Yeah, he had, like, he had ah dog teeth shoved in his nails.
Speaker: How the fuck did he get dog teeth? I guess he killed some dogs.
Speaker: I mean, yeah. Picture BloodClan for being, like... Maybe they were, like, those little yappy dogs.
Speaker: No, I think that they would get a big group together and be like, hey let's go kill a dog. And I think that they would do it. Hey, let's go kill like let's like go kill a dog.
Speaker: What do you guys say? we're just like kill it just Let's just fucking kill a dog. i don't i don't like that. That's not all I was imagining it, don't we?
Speaker: Okay, so. Book, well, volume one.
Speaker: Ravenpaw who got to goad and be gay with barley. Uh-huh. Volume one, Shattered Peace. Okay, so they're on the farm and life is great.
Speaker: And he's like, I'm just here chilling with my boyfriend, Barley. where real And it's really great because when the cats go to Highstones from the clans, they get to, like, stop and essentially use it as a hotel. So they get to, like, keep up with clan stuff. And they're kind like...
Speaker: They're just like an ally to all the clans, essentially, especially after fighting with them in Bloodclan, against Bloodclan. Yeah, because supposedly it's we're on to a new era of the clans. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Supposedly. i know it ain't gonna last.
Speaker: So, like, they gotta fight. So, yeah, life is great for Ravenpaw and Barley until... Until... and da So, Willie shows up with ah several other cats, and he's like, hey, my name's Willie, this is my mate Minty, and she's about to have kits, and she's just looking for a place to chill. Well, we're all looking for a place to chill so that she can have her kits, and then we'll be on our way.
Speaker: And so they're like... Oh yeah, sure, you can stay here, no problem. And the other cats are Snapper, Pounce, and Tess. So this is five cats that come and just chill in the barn with them.
Speaker: And Ravenpaw shows them around and he's kind of like telling them how to live on the farm. He's like, okay, so the two legs here ah don't care that we're here as long as we like don't eat their chickens and kind of just stay out of their way. Like we're cool with them and they're cool with us. And we have so many mice in the barn that we never have to worry about going hungry.
Speaker: Yay!
Speaker: So then, fast forward to Minty has her kits, and let me just tell you these fucking kits' names. Okay? We have Snowflake, Icicle, Cloudy, and Sniff.
Speaker: So we were going for a little theme there.
Speaker: i guess you couldn't think of another... Snow thing name them. And is this a, sorry, is this cat like
Speaker: clan member or just a... No, these are loners. Okay. That's what I thought. I just wanted to make sure. And so Ravenpaw is like, oh my god, kids are so cute. And like, I missed having kids around. And he's feeling kind of nostalgic for ThunderClan. And Barley is kind of... Oh, why we have kids?
Speaker: yeah Well, it makes Barley a little nervous because he's like, oh, Ravenpaw misses living with, like, a bunch of cats. Like, he's kind of feeling like maybe I'm not good enough for... Or maybe Ravenpaw needs more than I can provide for him, you know? Aw.
Speaker: No. Don't feel like that, Barley. But then... They overhear Snapper telling the kids, he's like teaching them how to it fight. And he's like, and remember, go for the throat because that's the killing blow.
Speaker: And can't remember if it's Ravenpaw or Barley that overhears, but whichever one is like, oh, what the fuck? These kids like just learn how to talk and you're telling them to go kill other cats.
Speaker: Oh, okay. And then one night there is a fire in the barn. Oh, I'm sorry. No, no, I skipped a part.
Speaker: So they decide that it's time for them to move on. Ravenpaw is all like, oh are you sure? Like, you can stay here if you want. You know, we're we have lots of mice. And they're like, no, no, it's it's our time to move on. So they go, OK, OK. So they leave.
Speaker: And Ravenpaw and Barley are like, okay, now things can go back to normal. Except there's a fire in the barn one night and they just barely make it out. And Ravenpaw sees that the two dogs that live on the farm are chained up. And he's like, Barley, i know these are dogs, but like they're going to burn to death. We should go rescue them.
Speaker: And yeah, so they do. They go free the dogs, which made me very happy. Like there's too much dog against cat in this, you know?
Speaker: And then after a couple of days, they go back to the barn and they find that these motherfucking cats have taken over and now they won't let Ravenpaw and Barley live there. What? Yeah.
Speaker: They're, yeah, they're like, nope, get out, this place is ours now. And they, well, okay, Ravenpaw finds them about to hunt the chickens, and he's like, oh, my friends, you're back, but what are you about to do? And Barley's like, Ravenpaw, are you fucking, like, are you stupid? Obviously they're about to go after the chickens.
Speaker: And they, like, told them especially don't go after the chickens, because the farmers don't like that. Yeah, that's how you get killed yeah but bar ravenpaw and barley get fucking kicked out of their barn their own fucking house yeah and for some reason they go and spend the night in high stones where the moonstone is because they're like oh we need shelter for the night well i mean it's it's uh what's it called um
Speaker: It's not sacred ground. It's... um It is to them? yeah Well, yes, but... It's like sanctuary.
Speaker: i don't know word you're looking It's neutral territory. Oh. I don't know if the clans would see it that way.
Speaker: They see it as their territory.
Speaker: oh well... well
Speaker: I guess that's a thing.
Speaker: So they spend the night in high stones StarClan comes to them in a dream. And tells them. Well, sorry to Ravenpaw.
Speaker: And tells Ravenpaw that he can go get clan help. He's like, you know, you guys helped save the clans against BloodClan. You gotta go to your old pal Firestar and he's gonna help you out.
Speaker: Which is, yeah, he will. Yeah. that And so that's how the first book ends with them waking up and him telling Barley, we gotta go visit a ThunderClan.
Speaker: And Barley's like, Oh, okay. Yeah, pretty much. Boy, I'm not insecure at all. Yeah.
Speaker: And then so book two, A Clan in Need.
Speaker: They're traveling through clan territory and they come across some wind clan cats and the patrols being led by mud claw, who we will see in arc two of warriors. We saw him a little bit in arc one, but like, no, he wasn't really important. So I don't know if he even got mentioned on the podcast, but mud claw is mu mud claw.
Speaker: Okay. Name anyway, not mud for the medicine count. Yeah, that's, or maybe I'm just imagining things, which is, which is possible.
Speaker: Mudfur is such a weird name.
Speaker: Like, you're dirt you dirty. Yeah. You're a dirty hoe. but but Mudfur tells them, or sorry, Mudclaw tells them that they're out looking for a little kit that's missing. His name is Crow Kit, which is very fun for... Ravenclaw?
Speaker: What? Raven and Crow? You said Ravenclaw? Yeah. It's Ravenpaw. Shit, it's Paw. Goddamn.
Speaker: Oh man. You know there will not that and there won't be a cat named that because of that. I sure fucking hope not. um This is a fun little Easter egg for people who have read 2 because this came out after that. But it's not a spoiler so I felt fine including it. But Croquet is a main character in Arc 2.
Speaker: He's Crowpaw for most of it.
Speaker: So it's like a little teaser. But they find him and he's just he's on the high rocks and he's like at Fortress and he's like, Oh, I wanted to see how it was being a leader, but I can't climb up there. I'm too small. And Ravenpaw is like, Oh, come on. Your clan is out looking for you. And Croquet is all sad because he says, Why? They never care about me anyway.
Speaker: And i this poor little child already having these issues. How did that happen?
Speaker: This is another fucking small cat that's getting fucking picked on. no he's not. He's not like especially small. Okay. Okay. They ah go to ThunderClan, there's another instance of Arc 2 characters that also is not a spoiler, because they show them right away, so that's why I feel fine bringing them up now.
Speaker: Firestar and Sandstorm have had a litter of kits, and... Uh-huh. And there's Squirrel Kit, who is she looks like Firestar. She has his ginger pelt. And is it named Squirrel?
Speaker: Well, because she has a really bushy tail. Love it. And she has a little white paw. And then there's also Leaf Kit, who is tabby with a white chest.
Speaker: And we're not going to think about who she's named after. Oh, no, we're not. Is he still having dreams about Spottedleaf? I bet you he is.
Speaker: Well, ah I bet you he is. You thought you were going to get away from Spottedleaf? I didn't know. Of course, I never thought that. yeah
Speaker: They find out that ThunderClan is being attacked by rogues who were part of BloodClan. And Firestar is ah struggling with it. And he's like, oh, I thought that by killing Scourge, all BloodClan troubles would go away. But like now it's not like they're like a united force like they were under Scourge, but like they're still problem. So Ravenpaw and Barley decide that they're going to help them out.
Speaker: And Barley goes to Two Leg Place with Ravenpaw to visit his sister, Violet. And she's a kittypet now.
Speaker: Which I guess is okay to be. it is. The clan cats are just super judgmental. No, I mean, ever since fucking Cloud Kit or Cloud Kit or whatever the fuck he was at that point.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, he's never cloud fur, so he wasn't that. Yeah.
Speaker: So they go to Violet, and she's like, oh, I know this cat, Mitzi, she just lost her son to Bloodclan, so let's go talk to her, because maybe she has an idea of, like, you know, where they are, or whatever. So they go to her, and she says...
Speaker: Oh yeah, I tracked his scent so I do know where they are and I can show it to you. But she's like of a really soft kittypet so she's not going to fight with them or anything.
Speaker: a So they go to where BloodClan is and they find out there are these two fucking carbon copies of Barley standing up talking to all the cats.
Speaker: And Violet is like, hoot? And Jumper? Because those are their those are their brothers. And Hoot and Jumper are like, well i I don't know who you're talking about. We're Snake and Ice.
Speaker: They gave themselves intimidating names so that they could be the new leaders of BloodClan. However, ah with the ThunderClan patrol...
Speaker: They're helping them. They attack these cats. and once Hoot and Jumper realize that they're losing, they turn on the other cats and they face Barley and they say, oh, no, don't hurt us. It was these other cats who were stealing ThunderClan prey. We're just your brothers. Yeah.
Speaker: So then, what's left of BloodClan obviously hears this, and they're like, hey, fuck you guys. we were You were our leaders, but now you're turning on us. And they just leave.
Speaker: My gosh. and they they find Mitzi's son, who's called Fritz. yeah
Speaker: What?!
Speaker: And... ri Yeah, Fritz! Fritz says, oh, thank you for saving me. They wanted me to fight for them, but I don't know how to fucking fight. I just want to go back to my house, folk.
Speaker: And... Ravenpaw tells Barley, okay, great, now we took care of Thunderclan's problems, so Thunderclan can come help us overtake the barn. And Barley admits that he thought maybe Ravenpaw liked it too much, so he would have wanted to stay in Thunderclan. And Ravenpaw just says, shut the fuck up, we're gonna go take our barn back, that's where we belong.
Speaker: to Shut the fuck up. You know I love you. yeah Yeah, exactly. And then we have book three, The Heart of a Warrior. And Firestar takes a patrol of cats to the barn. And obviously they've been told, you know, ah how many cats are in the barn, what it's like.
Speaker: And he's like, okay, this will be easy to drive them out. But when they get there, a bunch of fucking blood clearing cats are there too. So they're outnumbered now. ah shit man yeah so they gotta think of like a new strategy to go get them and everything's looking bad but then those two fucking um those two fucking dogs that ravenpaw and barley save come and help them fight off the Blood Clan cats. Nice!
Speaker: It made me so happy because of how often these books about sentient cats treat all other animals like they're not sentient and it makes no sense to me because I'm like, why are the cats the only ones capable of like intelligent thought? So it makes me happy whenever things happen like this and it's like, no, the dogs did remember you saved them, you know?
Speaker: Mm-hmm. So, Hoot and Jumper are there, though, and Barley decides to have mercy on them and lets them move into the barn with them. Okay.
Speaker: So now it's Ravenpaw, Barley, Hoot, and Jumper in the barn. That's a lot of cats. That's a lot of cats. And these two cats... expect the to come live there, too. That would be amazing.
Speaker: These two cats, they... Let Ravenpaw hunt for them because they're like, oh, you know what like a good place to hunt around here blah, blah, blah. And Ravenpaw's like, yeah, sure, I'll help you out.
Speaker: And then it slowly escalates. And they're like... Oh, we're just so tired from, like, everything that's been going on. We're just going to chill here in the barn. And Ravenpaw's like, it's okay, I'll take care of everything for you.
Speaker: Until he, like, comes home at one point, and they've taken over his nest, and they're like, Oh, you just, you make such a great nest. We thought we could just take yours, and you can make a new one, because you're just so good at making this. What the f- Fuck! And Ravenpaw is just like, okay, yeah, I guess.
Speaker: They just fucking... do oh and at one point, they... Ravenpaw comes back with prey for them. And he's like, here, I caught your prey. And they're like, took you long enough.
Speaker: Oh, no. Hell Hell no. And they're like, oh, and by the way, like, can you clean out the bedding in our nest?
Speaker: Oh, hell no. And they're just fucking like in the barn all the time. And then at one point they like go take a walk with Barley And Ravenpaw's trying to be understanding because he's like, okay, Barley's trying to reconnect with his siblings, but also I think his siblings are a little evil. So I'm kind of concerned about it and then they...
Speaker: they yeah
Speaker: Ravenpaw is getting really, really sad because it seems like Barley is replacing him. He's like, oh, Barley has his brothers now and now he doesn't need me. So I guess I'll just go and find a new place to live. Oh my God. These fucking cats.
Speaker: But then he hears Barley give just like this horrible screech and he's like, Oh my god, what? Like, I never hear Barley this angry. What?
Speaker: I need to go like, see what happened to him. And he walks in on Barley yelling at his brothers. And he's like, you think I don't see the way you're taking advantage of Ravenpaw? Fuck you guys. Ravenpaw is my friend. And he's actually loyal to me. Unlike you two. You guys gotta get out of here. And Hoot is... I don't know if it's Hoot or Jumper because they look the exact same. But one of them is like...
Speaker: oh, you can't do this to us, we're brothers, and essentially says, like, no, they're not gonna leave. And Barley says, yeah, we're brothers, which means I can fight as good as you two. And he walks over to him and claws out, just gives him the biggest slap across the face. Nice.
Speaker: Makes them leave. Ravenpaw comes back in and he's like, oh, you did that for me. And Barley says, hell yeah, this is our home and we're happy here and we're going to live here forever together and nothing can ever split us up.
Speaker: And then they fuck. and then And then they get married. and then they fuck. Yeah, but they can't have kids. can adopt I think it's steel kits like Broken Star.
Speaker: Maybe not. ah so yeah, that's all of Ravenpaw's path. Okay, I like this one.
Speaker: um You didn't like the other one?
Speaker: i'm just i'm just saying I particularly like this one. Okay, okay. um Because... ah you know, it's, ah they're gay. And I like that.
Speaker: Right? um And...
Speaker: It's just so cute, right? Like, we're both are having these, like, insecurities about their relationship. But, like, they're They're so in love with each other that they're just like, well, no, yeah. quite like yeah Although they do need to fucking learn to communicate. like Yeah, and they do. You've got to talk about this stuff. You've got to talk about it. Well, I can see that neither of them have learned that, though, because, like, Barley grew up in this horrible situation in BloodClan and then was by himself. And then Ravenpaw grew up
Speaker: Being bullied by Tiger Claw with no one to teach him how to do anything. Yeah, I know. So. I get it. But like, yeah, damn. They're struggling. Remember how they talked about these cats needing fucking therapy?
Speaker: Yeah. And they really need like, and ah in addition to leader and medicine cat, they need a mental medicine cat. hmm.
Speaker: But they're cats, so their solution is to just fight. And that will solve all their problems. I mean... That's how... That is how cats do it. Exactly. These are different cats, right? Like...
Speaker: i don't know
Speaker: So, ah yeah, those. And you know what? I couldn't do the very first manga that was published because it's a spoiler for arc three. Oh, so we can't do it till then.
Speaker: So that is the end a season one those of these fucking crazy cats. and we are going to do a little interlude between season two and I'm going to talk about Fox books instead.
Speaker: But let me tell you. Foxes are, you know, not cats, but they're sort of like cats.
Speaker: Well, they're more like dogs.
Speaker: like it They're like sort like if a cats and dogs got together.
Speaker: I guess. Oh, you don't think so? I mean, what's the what's the cat part of a fox?
Speaker: ah They have kits?
Speaker: They have... and I don't know. they They're sort of cat-like. Right? I guess. it doesn't really matter. i Let me tell you something for funsies. i Foxcraft is written by Inbali Iserles, and she was also Aaron Hunter at one point.
Speaker: oh
Speaker: She didn't write for Warriors, but she wrote for Survivors, which is the dog series. And ah she retired from that because she had a baby and also because she wanted to write Foxcraft. So she didn't have time to do both. very Well, but all.
Speaker: So, yeah, that'll be fun.
Speaker: And there are only three books in that series, so it's like... it'll It'll just be a ah quick little in-between. and then we'll go into season two. Yeah, a quick little in-between. little in-between.
Speaker: Quick little in and out. Don't... it think you get Okay, that works. it felt weird because it's
Speaker: and
Speaker: well because it felt weird because it's It's about a fox. Yeah? are you saying that that... Well, you know what? Never mind.
Speaker: Let me give you a little spoiler um about the Survivor series. Now, this is not a plot spoiler. This is a terminology spoiler. ah Instead of saying the breed of dogs, they give them dumbass names like Fierce Dog.
Speaker: Okay. So... What a foot of fierce dog is, what, like a Doberman?
Speaker: Let's see. Yep. Oh, wow. that would
Speaker: Did not expect to to nail that one. First try. So.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, here we go. Dog brains.
Speaker: Oh my gosh, there's also a rough dog. Do you know what a rough dog is? Uh... One of those, like, shaggy dogs? Nope, it's a Rottweiler.
Speaker: Oh. Okay, I guess. I don't know why they're called this. Um, okay, let's let's fucking get out of here.
Speaker: Yeah, get out of here. If you have opinions about these books or, well, any books, because I love books, you can join our Discord and let us know. the link is in the episode description and also on our website, litterfucksmedia.com, where you can find the other podcasts we do, like Somewhere Elsewhere, which is Jerika and her girlfriend, Chenille, creating...
Speaker: yeah very unique worlds and then playing TTRPGs in them or we fix games where me and Jerika
Speaker: you you know sometimes games are not the best so we need to make them better yeah I mean I thought that was sort of but i think thats I thought the title was self explanatory but okay
Speaker: Maybe I'm wrong. I'm probably wrong. Well, okay. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm i'm just wrong. yeah Yeah. Yeah, you are, bitch.
Speaker: So, I have been Sparkleheart. And I have been Snowstorm. And just because you grow
Speaker: Bye! This has been Glitter Fox Media production. ahwwwww dot glitterfoxminia dot com
