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1.06 Bluestar's Prophecy Part 2
12 Plays9 days ago
Bluestar is really hurting, y'all. This one was hard to talk about. She deals with very relatable sorrows, and it's pretty heavy even for these tragic cat books. We get through it though, and in two weeks we'll be back to Fireheart and his (sad) shenanigans.
Four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest for generations, thriving in their territories. But tensions are running high, and ThunderClan must assert its strength or risk falling prey to its power-hungry neighbors.Into this time of uncertainty, a kit is born. A prophecy foretells that Bluekit will be as strong as fire, destined to blaze through the ranks of her Clan. But with this prophecy comes the foreshadowing of her destruction by the one enemy she cannot outrun.As Bluekit gains power and eventually earns her leader name, Bluestar, she fights to protect her Clan. But secrets from the past threaten to surface—secrets that may destroy ThunderClan... and Bluestar.
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Twitch: GlitterfoxMedia
Email us: contact@glitterfoxmedia.com
Find us online at glitterfoxmedia.com
Laura posts about Warriors and other books on TikTok as glomdii
Laura is glomdi on Twitch, Bluesky, and TikTok
Jerrica is on Bluesky as CosmicSparkleheart.
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Transcript
00:00:09
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 am Jerrica, the other host.
00:00:23
Speaker
It cut you out a little bit because the... the ah Craig couldn't handle your great singing.
00:00:34
Speaker
And I am Jerrica, the other host. I'm going to leave that in. Last time i'll Never Grow Up, we did Stars Prophecy, the first half of it, where we met little blue kit who took a whole goddamn day to open her eyes.
00:00:53
Speaker
Which everyone was scandalized by, but finally she did. She was made into an apprentice, had to watch her mom die after like a day of being an apprentice.
00:01:04
Speaker
Everyone got on her ass for not getting over it within a moon. Including Snowpaw for some reason, because I guess Snowpaw, her sister dealt with it a lot better than Bluepaw did. um The clans, I think, need some form of a therapist or a counselor as well as the regular positions.
00:01:31
Speaker
All them cats need some mental health yeah professionals. Yeah. Yeah, um I can see why they don't, because they are cats, but they should have it because they are human-like cats. They are cats, but if they if they're like if they're sentient, and like then if you've got thoughts and feelings, you've Probably could use a therapist, to be honest. Yeah, probably. i mean, real cats can also feel like mourning when other cats die. Real cats, yeah. and Real cats, especially mine, Cora will... She hurts me, but not physically. She hurts me emotionally, and she knows how to do that.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yeah. What a clever kitty. Blue Paw and Snow Paw are made into warriors and they both get the fur i suffix, which is, you know, whatever you're doing, Pine Star, go for it.
00:02:38
Speaker
I guess he was having a ah bad brain day. i couldn't think of anything better. It's like, oh, ah Blue, ah you got you got fur. Okay. yeah And as your sister, same thing.
00:02:51
Speaker
ah Yeah, he's like, wow, how convenient. You're both named for the color of your fur. I'll just give you that. Like the most basic, lazy. Because imagining, like, sometimes when you go into D&D and you're like, oh shit, I hadn't like planned properly. and you know, you gotta deal with that. But imagine if that's someone's whole future.
00:03:18
Speaker
Yeah, it's like naming, like, Naming an NPC that is only going to show up once is a lot different from, you know, giving someone their fucking name they'll have until they die. Yeah. um Okay, so... Yeah, they're all on her about mourning for Moonflower for too long, and eventually she, like...
00:03:52
Speaker
moves on with her life you know it's always still with her because it's her mom but uh
00:04:02
Speaker
we meet Thistlepaw who definitely has a crush on Snowpaw and we meet Oakheart who we know eventually will be the father of Bluefurs Kits because of The third book in the original series.
00:04:23
Speaker
Yeah. Fuck. Hold on. No, Misty Foot is not one of them. No, she is.
00:04:34
Speaker
Oh, she is. Okay. huh
00:04:38
Speaker
Misty Foot and... No, I remember. And Stonefur. Okay. Okay. Eventually, a Pine Star has had enough, and he leaves the clans to go live with his boyfriend, Jake.
00:04:56
Speaker
Okay. I remember this now. And we left off with him saying goodbye to his kits, one of which is Tiger Kit.
00:05:10
Speaker
Yeah, we know how that ends up, too. Uh-huh. So... Continuing Blue Star's prophecy, Sunstar gets his lives.
00:05:25
Speaker
And the tragic thing about a cat being leader is that they lose their really cool warrior name. Because I really liked Sunfall.
00:05:37
Speaker
Okay. Sunstar also is the most redundant thing. oh yeah. I didn't think about that. Like, Bluestar is iconic because we met her as Bluestar and because Bluefur is pretty boring. But some of them are like, damn, you had a really good warrior name and now you're just Star.
00:05:59
Speaker
You know? I wonder what Pinestar's warrior name was. I bet they say it somewhere. Oh, it was Pineheart.
00:06:10
Speaker
Not Pinecone? No. Big Pinecone would have been better. I don't really like Pineheart. It doesn't roll off the tongue. And what does it even mean? Wait, okay, so hold on in a second.
00:06:23
Speaker
I just had a thought. Tell me. If Fireheart ever becomes leader, then he will be Firestar.
00:06:36
Speaker
Yeah. Which is also... a Marvel character. Yeah. who So maybe maybe he can't become fire. fire So I don't know. Legally. Yeah.
00:06:53
Speaker
But that's a big what if. I mean, I aye anyway. Sometimes in the Warriors universe on the wiki, you can go down these rabbit holes because there's so many cats. And I've just learned who Pine Star is related to um because I either forgot or didn't know. And I'm just like, holy shit.
00:07:19
Speaker
I. Damn. We can't go over it now, though.
00:07:28
Speaker
It's a spoiler. Yep, no spoilers. Don't spoil it, Jerika. Don't tell them. Yeah, and you know how we accomplished that? By me not knowing.
00:07:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's true. um I did just find a cat called Daisy Toe, which is um interesting. What? I'm not really sure what Daisy Toe means.
00:07:56
Speaker
ah But anyway... Yeah, Sunstar gets his lives and makes Tawny Spots his deputy. And... i like that one.
00:08:09
Speaker
Yeah, Tawny Spots is really good. Yeah, Tawny Spots is real good. Bluestar is being grumpy, which is not unusual, and Snowfur chooses this time... ah Well, you know what?
00:08:24
Speaker
I phrase it like that, but it's kind of hard to find blue fur when she's not being grumpy, so...
00:08:31
Speaker
I guess that's not really on Snowfur a lot. She chooses now to tell her that Snowfur is having Thistleclaw's kits. Thistleclaw being the cat that Bluefur fucking hates because he is aggressive and always wants battle and kind of feeds into Snowfur's, like, hostile nature. Yeah, okay, I remember this now. Because she, like, mentioned something before when they were like...
00:08:59
Speaker
dating. Yeah. I think it's interesting because Thistleclaw and Snowfur are a rare occurrence of cats having crushes when they're both apprentices. A lot of the time there's controversy in the fandom because like they're cats so they mature very quickly so it'll be like oh that warrior i They got together even though he was a warrior when she was a kid. And it's like, well, I mean, when you think about that realistically, like if a cat is two years old and then another cat matures.
00:09:39
Speaker
Yeah, still, they're still both young adult cats. Yeah. Sometimes it is very creepy, like, if there will be times when, like, an older warrior likes an apprentice while they're an apprentice, and I'm like, okay, that's kind of weird. Because that is an actual child now.
00:09:59
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But I just don't think it's weird if they... It's when they start liking each other is important.
00:10:08
Speaker
and Okay. um No, I... i I have nothing to add. So blue fur is like trying to be happy for her. Like she's really trying to not let it show that it bothers her. oh so she's not trying to be happy. She's just trying to act like she's happy. Well, yeah.
00:10:27
Speaker
She didn't want to hurt Snowfur's feelings, but inside she's like, what the fuck are you thinking having- This stupid bitch. Yeah. Because Bluefur also doesn't understand why anyone would want to have kits. It's not very feminist of her. Because she thinks that no cat should want to have kits, they should just have ambition. And she doesn't realize that the true equality is the right to choose.
00:10:56
Speaker
Wow.
00:11:00
Speaker
I'm just saying. knew as you should. yeah No one is surprised that Leopard Fur's other kits die and Tiger Kit is the only one left. It's still sad, but they're all like, yep, that tracks. Because the two she kits have been like the most non-responsive ah sick kits they've ever seen in their lives. Did Tiger Kit kill them?
00:11:25
Speaker
until Poison them. the I think it does add an interesting aspect to Tiger Kit where, like, obviously it doesn't excuse all of the evilness he does, but it kind of explains his backstory of, like, his dad was leader and left in disgrace and he kind of had to prove himself to get over that. Like, he, like, overcompensated with his viciousness, you know what I mean?
00:11:58
Speaker
Yeah. I get it. I'm just going to ask a question that you're going to get to eventually. So i'll never mind. I'll just wait. I'll just wait. Okay. We fast forward a bit and Snowfur's Kit is born. She just has one and it's White Kit. one yeah It's White Kit. Are you fucking kidding me?
00:12:22
Speaker
Well, remember White Storm from the series? No. Oh, okay. There's a white Storm who is Bluestar's closest friend.
00:12:35
Speaker
And apparently that's her nephew.
00:12:41
Speaker
I just... Oh, you're white. Okay. ah White Kit. I guess. I don't know. There is um another kit later that's just called White Kit, because she's white.
00:13:01
Speaker
like I think this I brought this up in a previous episode. like This has to happen all the time. it happens more than once. Yeah, like and i bet you there's a White Kit in each of the other clans, too.
00:13:20
Speaker
Well, we had White Claw from RiverClan. See? Exactly.
00:13:29
Speaker
There are several red kits. There are several black kits. There's... I'm trying to think if there's a green kit.
00:13:41
Speaker
Why would there be a green one? i don't know, because these cats have crazy names. It's true. But they would have to be green. Maybe they just had green eyes.
00:13:57
Speaker
it yeah It is not my place to question another culture and how they name there's theirre their members' members children.
00:14:11
Speaker
When we get into the second arc, we definitely will be questioning a culture and how they name their children. So it doesn't get better. Cool. Uh-huh.
00:14:24
Speaker
So Goosefeather, who is the crazy medicine cat. Oh, yeah, the uncle. Yeah. I love that guy. ah Well, he freaks the fuck out over Tiger Kit. He fucking hates Tiger Kit. And he's like, get that cat away from me. i Essentially tells them we should murder that kit. That kit is evil. Because because it isn't Goosefeather, doesn't he have, like, visions or some shit? Yeah. Yeah. So the dude knows...
00:14:53
Speaker
The dude knows. Everyone obviously is like, hey, calm the hell down. You can't just like say we should murder a kid. No, that's fair.
00:15:04
Speaker
But the yeah, so everyone kind of just tries to keep Tiger Kit away from Goosefeather. oh my gosh. It's like the whole ah luke Skywalker Kylo Ren thing.
00:15:20
Speaker
Where Luke was gonna... Luke was gonna kill him because he knew that he was he was too far gone in the dark side or whatever. But he was just a kid. Ruined everything. Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. Fucking Luke. And then he tries to play it off as if, like, Kylo was being ridiculous by defending himself. He's like, I changed my mind. And it's like, my dude, you were standing over him with a lightsaber. How the fuck was he supposed to know?
00:15:49
Speaker
Yeah. Anyway. i have opinions about Star I do too. It's not the podcast for that. I don't think I'll ever make a Star Wars podcast. I'm not ready for the dude bros telling me how wrong I am about everything.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. And also, you and I may have different opinions. I don't know. We always have different opinions. That's not true. Often. Yeah, but usually they're not, like, strong.
00:16:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we're reasonable people, so usually it's just that we can actually talk about our differing opinions. After Whitekit is born, Snowfur is talking to Bluefur, and she's saying how much she misses being a warrior. She's like, oh, I want to go on a hunt, but have to take care of Whitekit. And Bluefur is like, you wanted this kit. i don't know what you're complaining about. That's exactly what I was thinking.
00:16:45
Speaker
but like, come on Not understanding that... you can but like want two things. Like, yes, I want to be a mother and I love Whitekit, but I also want to be a warrior.
00:17:04
Speaker
Listen, we both know where I land on on this. I'm with Bluefur.
00:17:14
Speaker
And there we go. And there we go. There's a cute scene of bonding between Bluefur and Thrushpelt where they're training some apprentices. And Thrushpelt is just another warrior. He hasn't been a big part of it yet
00:17:35
Speaker
Oh, yeah. i When you said bonding, I was like, oh oh. No, like, they're kind of cute together. People ship them together. They have Goldenpaw out and they're training her. And she's like climbing way high up in a tree. And she's like, this is awesome. My regular mentor wouldn't have let me do this. And Thrushpal is like, whoop.
00:17:55
Speaker
And like looks at Blufor like, I fucked up. Because he didn't realize. Wow. And i yeah, it's just like a cute scene with things like that. um And then Blufar is walking around the border between RiverClan and she sees Oakheart about to take a fucking nap on their side of the border. Yes.
00:18:25
Speaker
yes Yeah, exactly. Oh my god, these cats. So they have like a little scuffle and honestly, I find each interaction with them to be infuriating because it's Blue Star or Blue Fur getting irritated at Oak Heart and Oak Heart kind of being like, chummy about it and like teehee you're angry that's cute and i think it's supposed to be like adorable flirting and it really it just pisses me off because like there is nothing cute about someone not taking my anger seriously you know i can't think of a single person who would be like oh you're laughing at me for being angry
00:19:12
Speaker
That's endearing. No, it's definitely a trope that is a little toxic masculine, but... Yeah, like, yeah, that's a good point, because it's almost always the woman getting angry.
00:19:26
Speaker
Damn. Yeah, it's like, oh, you're... Yeah, yeah it's always a dude. Yeah, I don't like that. Yeah, because it's basically saying, like...
00:19:38
Speaker
It's cute because you're getting angry, and but there's nothing you can do about it. Oh! charge here Like, that's what it is. Okay, that makes me hate Blue Star and Oak Heart a little bit more.
00:19:52
Speaker
Sorry. i I was pretty... I'm pretty neutral on the... I'm more dislike than neutral on them. But now I think, actually, I hate them.
00:20:04
Speaker
Well, but I... I could help you cross the finish line completely. Open my eyes. You saw the sign.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. When she gets back to camp, Rose Tail is like, oh, you look moony. Like, she looks like she has a crush.
00:20:27
Speaker
And Bluefur is like, what? not No, i don't I don't look like that. And and then she realizes, Rose Tail is talking about thrush pelt. but She thinks she's got a crush on Thrushpell when really Bluefur just came back from her interaction with Oakheart. Oh. Whoops.
00:20:50
Speaker
I'm not sure how far in after Snowfur has Kits that this happens, but eventually she's like getting so stir crazy in the nest that Bluefur convinces her to Go on a walk with her. She's like, you've been in this nest for so long. White kid can be watched by the other queens while you're away for just a little bit. Like, it's going okay. I'll have you back here by the time he needs to eat. and they go out. And i somehow Oakheart comes up.
00:21:26
Speaker
Because they're talking about, like...
00:21:31
Speaker
It's a long ah progression of the conversation, but Oakheart comes up Snowfur sees the look in Bluefur's eyes. oh And she's like, you have a crush on a cat from another clan.
00:21:49
Speaker
dun, dun! and she's like you can't have kits with a cat from another clan and blue fur says why would i want to be suckling kits or which uh obviously hurts snow fur's feelings and snow fur just runs off and blue star's like no way and she's feeling bad because she's like oh i meant to like take her out for a nice walk and stress relief and now i can get you out of the house like Yeah. New moms need to be.
00:22:22
Speaker
yeah And now she's just pissed off and um she finds snow for hiding ah in like the brush. And she's like, oh, look, there's a shadow clan patrol that crossed the border. They're chasing a squirrel into our territory. Yeah. And so they got to run them off. And there are only two cats versus i think like four cats. And so the ShadowClan cats
00:22:53
Speaker
kind of aren't intimidated at first, but then they run them off and they are past the Thunderpath. All right. Which is the border. Snowfur with all this All this energy that she hasn't been able to get out, but being in the nursery and this anger at Bluefur liking Oakheart, I guess, ah runs after the cat, even though they're across the border.
00:23:22
Speaker
And she gets hit by a fucking monster. Cool. Uh-huh. Bluefur, know, is panicking because her sister just got hit by a monster. And ah she can, like, smell immediately that Snowfur is dead. and brings her back to camp. I think she, like, encounters a patrol and they help bring her back to camp. And... Bluefur goes back into that like.
00:23:58
Speaker
Numb state that she was in. When Moonflower died. and um one of ah one of the cats mentions to her. That like.
00:24:09
Speaker
She needs to tell Whitekit. And she's like. No I can't tell Whitekit. I can't handle that. And they're like well if you don't tell him. Thistleclaw is going to have to tell him. And Thistleclaw is not going to be gentle about it. Like you would. and she's So she's like.
00:24:24
Speaker
okay you're right like i have to go tell white kit so we get the scene of her telling white kit which It's extra heartbreaking because White Kit is so young that he can't even like comprehend what death is at this point. He's like, oh, she's outside. I'll just go and sit with her until she wakes up. And Bluestar has to be like, she's not going to wake up. you're You're not going to see her again, ever. Not until you get to StarClan. And he's like, okay, I'll just go to StarClan. And she's like, uh, no. That's not how it works. Yeah. ah So...
00:25:04
Speaker
Ugh. It's so, this fucking book is so hard to like, to read when you can compare it so easily to real life. Most of the books in the main series are like, okay, these are just these crazy cats doing crazy cat things. But this book has so many things that's like, a person would react this way.
00:25:26
Speaker
And makes it a lot harder. And then it gets worse because Thistleclaw blames Bluefur for Snowfur dying. Yeah, I knew someone was. I thought Bluefur was going to blame herself, but... Um...
00:25:43
Speaker
I think Bluefur does a little internally. She knows that it wasn't her fault, but she still blames herself for it type thing. Like, she will defend herself and say, no, it wasn't my fault. But then on the inside, she's like, but was it my fault?
00:26:00
Speaker
um For once, her dad's storm tail defends her. shows at least a moment of fatherly care.
00:26:11
Speaker
i forgot she had a dad. Because he's never fucking there for her. Here we go. Just a half a moon later, which is two fucking weeks... Everyone is already over her because she's moping around camp and not contributing to the clan and being all sad and moody. And it's like, okay, we're going to just repeat this. Like, her sister just fucking died And two weeks later, she should be over it Apparently.
00:26:44
Speaker
So, Tawny Swats talks to her, and he actually, ah he points out that she hasn't been seeing white kid at all. Which, amongst the things that they tell Bluefur is, like, the only valid thing. Because Tawny Swats is like, he probably feels like he lost two mothers instead of one, and that hits Bluefur. She's like, oh Yeah, okay.
00:27:07
Speaker
Because White Kit, whenever she goes to see White Kit, gets the hard snow fur feeling, so she's been avoiding him. And he's like, well, that's not fair to White Kit, because he needs you. that But at the same time, it's rough.
00:27:28
Speaker
it's it's ah it's it's rough Yeah. it's yeah is there There are no easy solutions here. So, Bluefur, that kind of brings Bluefur out of it. She's like, okay, yeah, i do have to put effort into my clan and Whitekit and not let him just be raised by Thistleclaw because Thistleclaw is so violent and is not a good influence even though he's the dad. It's kind of unfortunate that
00:28:02
Speaker
uh comparing them blue fur has stormtail as a dad and stormtail is pretty aggressive but like more reasonably aggressive and he's not in her life at all meanwhile thistle claw is a terrible influence and is constantly like he's having an active participation in raising white kit So of the opposite of what we want.
00:28:26
Speaker
At the next gathering, she chats with Oakheart some more. And Oakheart expresses sympathy for Snowfur. And they do a little bonding.
00:28:40
Speaker
Yellowfang is made Medicine Cat Apprentice. And Shadowclan. Yeah, so it's just always fun whenever we see, like, hey, I know that cat.
00:28:53
Speaker
I know that cat. okay Sunstar fucking tells her he's glad she decided to come or he's glad she came to the gathering and hopes she'll act more like a clan cat from now on because you can choose to be a burden or helpful to your clan. Oh!
00:29:14
Speaker
Jesus! It's just wild how they treat her because it's like the point of being in a clan is to support each other. Bluefur has been one of the most helpful warriors and now she needs y'all support. like Yeah.
00:29:34
Speaker
ah She, like, this is the point, these cats live in the most community-based culture. and for some reason, just some cats, they're like, hey, but you're taking advantage of our community. It's like, well, no, she's she's leading on you for support because this is the whole point of the clan. Yeah, you're supposed to take care of each other.
00:29:55
Speaker
She's not going to be like this forever. It's been two fucking weeks. Well, I guess because cats age quickly and their lifespans are shorter, maybe two weeks is a lot longer for them than it is for us.
00:30:07
Speaker
Okay, do we need to do the math? No, I'm just saying.
00:30:15
Speaker
It's probably still not a not enough time. but I mean, when you think about it, you're apprentice for only six months, so like... If the cats live to be like 12 years old, that's still a very short amount of time. So two weeks is definitely a short amount of time. Yeah, okay. Fair enough.
00:30:34
Speaker
But Bluefur does start paying more attention to Whitekit and she essentially becomes like... She feels in the mother role that he needs. Bottedkit, Redkit, and Willowkit are born, who we also know from the main series.
00:30:51
Speaker
Willow Kit is kind of a, not a main character, but Spotted Kit, obviously Spotted Leaf. And then Red Kit is Redtail. Yeah, the deputy. Okay, don't know if you remember.
00:31:04
Speaker
Hawny Spots is starting to get sick, and everyone is like, Oh no. Huh. I wonder if there will be a new deputy eventually. Wow. It's like, oh, I'm getting some sniffles. Oh man.
00:31:18
Speaker
Who's going to replace them when they die? Like... Yeah. Thistleclaw decides blue fur is a bad influence on Whitekit. Yeah, yeah. Because...
00:31:35
Speaker
She hates him, so. Yeah. And he says, essentially, just don't be around Whitekit anymore. Wow. Cool. He's like, I know what you've been doing. Or no, actually, I think at this part, he just says, i have the authority to keep you away from Whitekit. And Bloofers is essentially like, no the fuck you don't.
00:31:59
Speaker
is yeah Who is you? you? You're nothing. Exactly. And I'm also sort of nothing, but like, exact da. Just wait.
00:32:12
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. She's older than him, you know? She has seniority of age. Tigercut is apprentice to Thistleclaw. Okay. Yup.
00:32:25
Speaker
oh Okay, well, and all this is starting to make sense now. Yeah, so the combination of what we talked about earlier with like, Pine Star left so he has to prove himself. Also, here you go. i I'm gonna give this cat with anger issues to this cat who has shown himself to be super aggressive and violent and bloodthirsty. This will go well.
00:32:55
Speaker
Connie Spots gets so sick that he has to take a break for a little while. So he's like in the medicine den. Yeah. And Adderfang steps in as deputy. Adderfang? Uh-huh. Adderfang. Whoa. Adderfang was Thistleclaw's mentor. Adderfang. Like.
00:33:15
Speaker
That's a really good ass name. It is. But also. what what part of that cat looks like an adder? This is why I'm saying Jerica is that you always say that they're based just on their coat color and they're not. no, no, no, no. I'm not saying their coat color.
00:33:33
Speaker
i'm like, what? i It was a legitimate question. Like. Oh, well, let's look it up. Let's see. Adderfang is a mottled dark brown tabby with yellow eyes.
00:33:46
Speaker
He has massive shoulders and a broad head. So maybe he just has the pattern of an adder.
00:33:57
Speaker
Is Adder a word for a snake or a specific snake? It is ah is a kind of snake. Okay. And also yeah a lot of their names are based on how they look, Laura.
00:34:11
Speaker
I know. But they're not just based on how they look. Not always, but... Like Swift Breeze? Yeah, no. that She can't be based on it. mm-hmm.
00:34:24
Speaker
Hair Pounce. know What? That's a name? Yeah. I'm looking at it right now. Hair Pounce apparently taught Adderfang. Ooh, Stag Leap.
00:34:41
Speaker
That's fucking rad. Yeah, that I like that. Oh, apparently Stag Leap died from starvation, so that's unfortunate. Well, jeez!
00:34:52
Speaker
Maybe Stag leapt to a place that they couldn't get out of. They leapt to StarClan is what they did.
00:35:01
Speaker
Okay, sorry to whoever likes Stag Leap. It's a really cool name.
00:35:10
Speaker
Okay, this is really funny because you're laughing too loud for... Or too high-pitched for Discord to pick it up, but I just see the waveform on Zencast.
00:35:23
Speaker
That's funny. Yeah. Okay, so Goosefeather wants Bluefur to think about becoming deputy, which I always find so fascinating when they're like, have you ever thought about becoming deputy? Because it's like... I mean, it's not really my choice. Like, there's no...
00:35:40
Speaker
There's no way I can apply for it, you know? i mean, you can sort of campaign for it, I guess. Yeah, I guess just, like, tell the leader, like, hey, that would be a good choice. Just be like, you know, I'd like to be deputy someday. Yeah, I guess.
00:35:57
Speaker
And also, Goosefeather says that Tigerpaw should have died. Yeah. She's like, or he's like, ah remember when Tiger Paw was just a sick kid? It sure would have been great if he had died.
00:36:11
Speaker
but wow Which I'm sure we'll get to it. Okay. good Bluefur comes across Thistleclaw training Tigerpaw, and he is training way too hard. Like, Claw's out, ah just destroying this little cat, and Tigerpaw is, like, really into it, you know? He's like, no, no, go on easy on me. Like, Thistleclaw will, like, whack him over the head, and Claw's face up, and Tigerpaw's like, oh, I should have been faster, I guess. Damn.
00:36:47
Speaker
Yeah, Bluestar obviously is like, that's not cool. And she's also kind of like, oh, hope you don't do this with white kit.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah. But wait, so is there some sort of rule about parents training their own apprentices? It's not in the warrior code that they can't, but generally just they don't give kits to their kin. Okay, that makes sense.
00:37:16
Speaker
yeah Sunstar wants them to go patrol for kitty pets because throughout this whole book they're having trouble with kitty pets at the border. And so it's Bluefur, Thistleclaw, and Tigerpaw on patrol. And they do find a tiny black kit and he is in ThunderClan territory and Bluefur is like okay let's tell this kit to get off our territory and Thistleclaw no no this is ah an intruder Tigerpaw go show him what happens to cats who intrude on ThunderClan territory so Tigerpaw goes and just beats the shit out of this tiny kit who
00:38:02
Speaker
it's It's rough to read Jericho. No, I can imagine. Because he is not, he's just trying to run away, essentially. Tigerpaw, it'll be like, Tigerclaw bit into his shoulder and like the kid's squealing and it's like, please stop.
00:38:22
Speaker
but Please do not do this. And eventually Blue first steps in and she's like, okay, we've shown him a lesson. Like, let him fucking go. And this cat is going to come up in another book.
00:38:37
Speaker
Oh. Because he remembers this incident. And he's going to fucking murder tiger claw. Who knows? Who knows? We fast forward to White Storm's warrior ceremony. Thistleclaw has randomly decided he's a senior warrior, so he takes a nest towards the center of the den. That's kind of like how it's decided. It's like a warrior moves to the Elder's Den, and then they kind of all just move forward, I guess, in the circle, because the circle is like the warmest spot.
00:39:10
Speaker
So it's kind of like a dominance thing ah And Tigerclaw, who has been made who's been a warrior for four moons at this point, has also declared himself a senior warrior because he's just taken a nest right next to Thistleclaw. And no one challenged him because he's just such a yeah he's just such a great warrior that everyone's just like, okay, I guess that's fine.
00:39:35
Speaker
What the fuck? ah Yeah. Out on a patrol, Oakheart sees Bluefur from across the river and compliments her on, don't hunting or something. And she notes that, how come when Thrushpelt compliments me, it doesn't give me the same warm glow as when Oakheart does? Gee, I wonder why.
00:40:01
Speaker
So Sunning Rocks has been River Cline's territory for a while now, and everyone has questions why Sunstar hasn't taken it back because they lost it under Pinestar's leadership, and they realize Pinestar just did everything he could not to fight. He was a weak-ass leader because he hated murder And Sunstar now has to prove that you know he's strong enough, he's going to take back Sunningrocks. And he's like, I'm going to try to do without a battle because i do think that it's better without a battle. So I'm going to leave it up to RiverClan if there's a fight over this. And they go into RiverClan camp and they're like, hey, just so you all know, Sunningrocks is ours. If you try to take it, we're going to fight for it.
00:40:45
Speaker
And while they're there, Oakheart... finds an opportunity to tell Bluefur, please, please, please, we have to meet at Four Trees at Moon High tonight. I just want to see you.
00:41:04
Speaker
ah and That night, Bluefur fucking goes to Fourtrees to meet with Oakheart. And they spend the night together. Uh-huh.
00:41:20
Speaker
It's loud. It's loud as Bluefur promises Moonflower and Snowfur she won't meet him again. She's not going to break the warrior code again.
00:41:34
Speaker
This was a one-night stand. Does that it that she say that every time?
00:41:41
Speaker
It only happens one time. Really? it really only happens one time, yeah And one time is...
00:41:54
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Uh-huh. And shortly after this, Leopardfoot notices, hey, Bloofer, looks like you're expecting kits.
00:42:11
Speaker
And... Floofor starts to panic a little bit because, oops. She never wanted any. She never wanted kits. She certainly didn't want Oakheart's kits. And Rosetail is like, teehee, I knew you were closer to Thrushpelt than you were letting on So at this point, every every male in ThunderClan is wondering who the father is because they know that Nay never a fucked her.
00:42:46
Speaker
Yep. Everyone just starts assuming it was Thrushpelt. And how does Thrushpelt react to that? Well, Thrushpelt goes to Bloofer in private and he's like, Hey, so, um everyone's been congratulating me on the kits that we're about to have. Uh, so what's up with that? she's like,
00:43:12
Speaker
and she's like Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. they just assumed and I didn't say no and it's complicated. Thrushpelt, this fucking sweetheart, goes, Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to and if you need me to take on the role of these kids' father, then I will.
00:43:40
Speaker
And it's ah it's the sweetest non-toxic masculinity thing because he's not like pressuring her. He's not like, oh, this means we're together. He's just straight up like, hey, if you need me, I'm there. I'll be a father to these kids. And if you don't want me to, that's cool too. Like, whatever you need from me, that I'm here for it. Does Thrushpelt die in this book?
00:44:05
Speaker
I will not tell you until the end.
00:44:10
Speaker
Or you will tell me by the time we get to the end. Yeah. Because I'm just like, I'm just thinking like, oh, we have a really sweet, non-toxic male cat.
00:44:23
Speaker
Yep. That's not gonna last. And honestly, there are several points where Bloofur is like, why can't I just fucking like Thrushpelt? He's such a great guy. My life would be so much easier if I just liked Thrushpelt. But she doesn't, and you can't force it. So...
00:44:40
Speaker
No, you can't. She also has a moment of internal dialogue where she's like kicking herself because she's like, am I the only one not willing to make sacrifices for these kits? Because she doesn't want Oakheart to live here. She doesn't want to move with Oakheart. And then on top of that, Thrush Pelt is like, hey, I'll take the hit and be their father. And even though they're not really mine and she's feeling real bad about it, you know?
00:45:12
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Because um i skipped over it, but she she did talk with Oakheart about it and he he really wants them to live together. He's like, hey, I'll go move to ThunderClan with you. And she's like, no, no, no, because you want to be leader someday. And he's like, it doesn't matter. I'll give it up for you. I care about you and the kits more than being leader. And she says no, and he's like, okay, well, you come to Riverclad then. And she's like, no, I can't do that because Tawny Spots is going to retire, and I don't want Thistleclaw to become deputy. Like, I need to be deputy.
00:45:48
Speaker
And Okar is like, okay, so you're saying that I just don't get to be in these kids' lives, and I don't get a choice in the matter. o That's not really fair, and...
00:46:00
Speaker
blue star pretty much says yeah it sucks but that's how it is because that's we're putting our clans first instead of the kits which you need to have to make clans but anyway so is that a like what they're just like oh i'll come live there or you can come live here like They say that as if there's not a huge problem with that. Uh-huh. Yeah, so the clans like to pretend that it never happens, and they say, like, it it is taboo, but it it does happen. It happens not regularly, but often enough that it just would... It kind of depends on who the leader is at the moment and if the clan would accept them. Like, some leaders are just going to be like, no, you can't do that, and some are like...
00:46:54
Speaker
They grudgingly accept it. um We will cover a story eventually in which a leader finds out one of their warriors is pregnant with half clan kits and just straight up kicks them out of the clan. So... The shadow clan.
00:47:13
Speaker
I'm not going to tell you. ah And meanwhile, we just saw in the last book a Graystripe just go over to RiverClan and not even questioned that he could do that. so Yeah, and Graystripe's sort of just not a threat.
00:47:34
Speaker
yeah Or he's just... He's a goofy guy. Yeah, like, they're like, alright, this chuckle fuck, whatever.
00:47:45
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So Bluestar has her kits, Stonekit, Mistykit, and Mosskit.
00:47:56
Speaker
Okay. I don't remember them being three, but maybe there were. Yeah. Goosefeather tells her that he's seen her with Oakheart. He knows who the father of these kids are. And ah she needs to be leader someday. So kind of suggests that... can't remember if he outright says it or if he just suggests it, that she needs to give these kids to Oakheart, essentially.
00:48:25
Speaker
and she...
00:48:30
Speaker
It just goes through a lot of like self doubt and uncertainty like because she never wanted to have kids first of all but now that she has them obviously she loves them and it's kind of just bad timing because they can tell ever ever cat knows that tawny spots is about to move into the elders den um he's very very close to retiring and when he does the warrior code says that they need to have a new deputy that night and Yeah, they're real...
00:49:05
Speaker
yeah Going back to what we were talking about with community. Again, it's not strictly against the warrior code that a cat with kits can't be made deputy. But it is a thing that just never happens.
00:49:20
Speaker
And it pieces me off. Because... why why can there be a stand-in deputy when like tawny pots tawny pots uh tawny tawny spots is sick and adderfang steps in as deputy okay tawny pots is would be a great surname for like a gnome Yeah, that's true.
00:49:49
Speaker
So yeah, Adderfang can step in for Tawny spots when he's sick. I really think that like, hey, do we want to base the entire future of our clan on the fact that Bluefur can't take this position for another four moons?
00:50:07
Speaker
Do we want to put in a temporary deputy or do we want to put in a cat into this position who we know is bad for it?
00:50:19
Speaker
They seem to want to have the position filled. Yeah, they do. And it's so irritating because
00:50:32
Speaker
she talks to Sunfall, a Sunstar about it. And Sunstar essentially tells her, I really thought you were going to be deputy.
00:50:42
Speaker
I think you're great for it. But unfortunately, you have kits. And he says, oh, but it's okay because I have another cat in mind for it. And glances over to Thistleclaw. No!
00:51:01
Speaker
oh
00:51:05
Speaker
And then later i later, he says he was never going to make Thistleclaw deputy. Later, he says he was going to give it to Bluefur anyway. So... what the fuck?
00:51:22
Speaker
It pisses me off so goddamn bad. Because why would you... Why would you do that? Yeah, why would you even say anything?
00:51:35
Speaker
It's just so ridiculous. Like, you could say, hey, Bluefur is deputy, but she has kits. Until her kits are grown up, we're putting Thistleclaw there.
00:51:46
Speaker
Which, I mean, Thistleclaw shouldn't be deputy anyway, and everyone knows that. Or like, okay, she's got kits. that There's no one else in the clan that could take care of the kits?
00:51:57
Speaker
Right, like... Isn't there like some cats that just...
00:52:03
Speaker
That's all they do? There are other queens in the nursery at this point because there are other kids. They could definitely just take care of them. And as the kids get older, obviously they're going to need blue for less. So like, honestly, a du these books always act like a deputy and a leader are busy all the time. The deputy just needs to assign ah patrols. Blufour can leave her den for 15 minutes in the morning, tell everyone their patrols, and then go back into the den with her kits.
00:52:36
Speaker
Well, hold on, because we know that
00:52:41
Speaker
that the deputies do all the work and the leaders don't really do anything. so Yeah, but all of the warriors are pretty self-sufficient. like They don't really need much instruction.
00:52:55
Speaker
true. And for things like, oh, we found another i another clan hunting on our territory, that's okay, take it to Sunstar, you know? Mm-hmm.
00:53:12
Speaker
But instead, she meets with Oakheart and arranges to give him the kits.
00:53:21
Speaker
The night that they choose to do this just happens to be the coldest, most snowstormy night that the clans have seen in a very long time. and she's taking these tiny... kit You know what? Let me look up. oh Okay, so...
00:53:41
Speaker
Oh, gosh. The wiki says that the kits are a moon and a half old at this point. So these these kits, these tiny kits are making this journey in the snow and Bluefur, by the time she realizes this is a really bad idea, they're already over halfway there. So she's like, well, we have to just keep going. And she's doing her best to keep them warm and i Just keep them going because they're cold and tired and they want to just sit down. And at first when they started traveling, they were like, yeah, we're going on an adventure. But at this point, they're like, they're getting quieter. They're like, oh, we're tired.
00:54:26
Speaker
You know, this isn't fun anymore. And Bluefur makes, ah she like carves snow, she makes a hole in the snow and puts the kits there to like protect them from the wind for a while i for a little while to give them a little break.
00:54:43
Speaker
And she's hoping that then they'll be able to keep going if she lets them rest for a minute. But when she gets them back out, she like pulls them out and realizes that moss kit isn't moving anymore yeah and she smells snow fur scent and she's like no no no no because she knows what that means if snow is star clan cat is coming um is here when you know moss kit is past what i don't understand
00:55:20
Speaker
So, ah um sometimes when a cat dies, StarClan cat will like come and guide them to StarClan. Especially in situations like this when it's a kit. and Oh, okay. Okay.
00:55:36
Speaker
It's kind of like they still look after the kits, even though they don't really need to in StarClan, because it's like safe and all up there. you know And so Moskit dies, and Bluefur obviously is hating herself for it, and just furious at the whole situation, but she And again, goes back into that numb state that she does. And ah she's just like, okay, well, I got to get these other other two kids safe. Like, once I do that, I can go back and just crawl up into my nest and not exist for a while.
00:56:15
Speaker
And they meet up with Oak Heart and Oak Heart is like... where is moss kit as you only brought two the kits and blue star just very coldly says oh he died and then leaves or she died and turns to leave because this whole book has been about how blue star can't handle grief and yeah yeah and the kits are confused because they're like we thought thrush pelt was our dad and she's like no this is your dad
00:56:47
Speaker
And they're like calling back after her as she's walking away because they're with this strange cat that they don't know. And they're very young, but they're old enough to have formed bonds. They obviously love Blue Star. Yeah.
00:57:03
Speaker
yeah And she just leaves and goes back and she makes it seem like a fox broken to the den and took the kits while she was at the dirt place. ah And.
00:57:15
Speaker
hmm. Yeah. No, I don't do it. know. so she comes back and pretends to find that they're missing and she starts yelling and screaming and she's like, oh, it was really easy to act, um... act worried because I just let my grief out, you know? Yeah.
00:57:43
Speaker
Um...
00:57:46
Speaker
yeah So, dude, what happens to Moskit's body? That is a question that the fandom has because it's lost in the snow right now. But what happened when the snow melted? They know they don't really address it.
00:58:03
Speaker
know Well, maybe something got to it. Yeah. But I was just thinking like, oh, like, oh, no they're gone. And then they could go look for them and find Moskit and be like,
00:58:15
Speaker
Oh, no. The rest of them must have died, too. Yeah. But I guess the fox just breaking in and then just being gone, I guess, is the same thing.
00:58:28
Speaker
Yeah, I guess. don't know. They believe her, so...
00:58:35
Speaker
Um, yeah. Sunfall asks Blue for to be deputy, and i she thinks, oh, this is it. The reward for everything that I've given up.
00:58:47
Speaker
And, um...
00:58:53
Speaker
I just, I can't get over how, like, fucking tragic Blue Star's life is. Yeah. Um... Like, she's, like... had so much pain and grief and then sacrifice and.
00:59:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:59:20
Speaker
um Sunstar shares with her that he actually was only given eight lives instead of nine because StarClan said, well, PineStar still has one life left and we're not giving out more than nine lives at any one time to a leader, so you're only getting eight lives.
00:59:42
Speaker
Wow. Uh-huh. Yeah, StarClan likes to do that kind of stuff. We do a big fast forward when Sunstar dies and Bluestar is getting all of her lives.
00:59:56
Speaker
And we're not going to get over go over all of the cats that give her lives, but we're going to hit on some of them. ah So every time the ceremony for a cat getting their nine lives is that...
01:00:09
Speaker
A StarClan cat gives them a life. um So they're all like in a big... They go to the Moonstone. yeah And they're all in a big circle. And like the first life is Pinestar. So Pinestar from StarClan steps forward. And he's like, Oh, with this life I give you compassion. Judge as much with your heart as your mind. He said Pinestar again. Yeah.
01:00:35
Speaker
Oh, so Pynestar had died. Yeah, Pynestar is in StarClan. Oh, shit. Yeah, and he like touches noses with her and then this like energy goes throughout her body that's like painful and it's kind of like part of the, it's it' sort of like a test because they all do this thing and ah ah it all, each one feels different.
01:01:03
Speaker
And so Sunstar also gives her a life. He gives her courage. Goosefeather has passed away at this point. Yeah. Poor Uncle Goosey. He says, with this life I've given you patience. You'll need it Yep. Mosskit gives her a life.
01:01:29
Speaker
Oof. Yeah. And... it's It's a bittersweet moment because she sees Moskit and she's like, oh, you're going to forever be a kit and like I'm so sorry to have failed you.
01:01:42
Speaker
But she can see that Moskit can be happy now in StarClan. And she's like just waiting for them, you know? It's still rough.
01:01:53
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's very rough. And Moskit gives her trust. Oh! Yeah. Uh-huh. She says believe in your clan and in yourself. Never doubt that you know the right path to take.
01:02:10
Speaker
Ugh. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And Bluestar says, she's like, oh, I'm so sorry. And Mosuke is like, I understand, but I miss you.
01:02:23
Speaker
Do you understand? Well, you I mean, she's been there for a while at this point. So, yeah. Yeah. Moonflower gives her the a life of love. She said ah she says cherish your clan as you cherish your kids. For now, they're all your kin. Or maybe don't do that.
01:02:45
Speaker
I mean, it's just kind of like a she's saying like you gave up your kits for your clan. So like you need to care about them as if they're your kin because that was your choice.
01:02:59
Speaker
And then Snowfur gives her her final life and she gives her pride so that she knows her worth and the worth of her clan. And she thanks her for raising Whitestorm and says how it was never it was easier leaving him knowing that he had blue fur.
01:03:18
Speaker
There's another time jump. And we move forward to to when we have Graypaw, Dustpaw, and Sandpaw. so who... Did we find out why she chose Redtail for Deputy?
01:03:35
Speaker
there Not in this book, but there's a Redtail novella. okay. um Obviously, it doesn't go as in-depth because it's like 120 pages, but... Well, I mean, and Redtail died, so... Yeah. um After reading the novella, this is going to be something that's controversial to anyone in the fandom. After reading the novella, i love the fuck out of Redtail, and he's one of my favorite characters now. Oh, and also for your question about...
01:04:09
Speaker
mothers mentoring their kits. Well, I guess, or or fathers. ah Bluestar had hoped that she would mentor Whitekit, but ended up not mentoring him after all. Because Sunstar was like, you're kind of his mother figure.
01:04:28
Speaker
we don't I don't really want you to be mentoring him. so yeah And she was cool with it. like She was like, yeah, I get that decision. And she got um a different apprentice. so After the time jump, we see Graypaw, Dustpaw, and Sandpaw who are the apprentices from Into the Wild.
01:04:49
Speaker
Redtail is her deputy. She sees Ravenpaw not playing with the other apprentices and she's like, oh, I gave him to Tigerclaw as an apprentice because he always seems so nervous and maybe giving him this big brave mentor will help him come out of his shell.
01:05:07
Speaker
So that backfired a little bit.
01:05:14
Speaker
Yeah. um She notes that at this point Thistleclaw has died chasing Riverclad intruders. So he died in battle as he should. There was there was a
01:05:32
Speaker
it It wasn't the winter that she lost her kids, but there was a really bad winter where everyone was hungry and a lot of cats died um from starvation and Thrush Pelt was one of them.
01:05:48
Speaker
o Yeah, I don't like it. um Stormtail also, which, you know, I'm not sad about.
01:06:00
Speaker
That was her dad. Oh, right. um She is kind of pondering how from the loss of all the cats from that harsh leaf bear and how many cats have moved to the elders den, um how rough ThunderClan is having it right now and notes that since she became leader, they haven't lost a battle on ThunderClan territory. And then we go into the scene from the prologue of the very first book, Into the Wild, where she is talking with Spottedleaf, and Spottedleaf says the prophecy of fire alone can save our clan.
01:06:43
Speaker
And she sees this little flame-colored kit on the fence of his two-leg home, and she's like, oh, his his coat is the color of flame, a fire.
01:06:59
Speaker
And i she gets some reassurance from Spottedleaf. Spottedleaf tells her, yeah I agree with the decision to ask him to join the clan. And says, Blue Star is about to lead ThunderClan through its darkest time yet.
01:07:21
Speaker
And that is how the book ends. And after there's like a comic at the end, they used to do comics, short comics at the end of the super editions, but it's just the scene of Firepaw joining clan. so It's a fun scene, but there's no new content in it. ah So Yeah. So I knew Thistleheart was going to die.
01:07:45
Speaker
ah You what? So i knew Thistleheart was going to die. Thistleclaw. Was it Claw? Yeah. So I knew Thistleclaw was going to die because he was too nice.
01:07:59
Speaker
Thrushpelt is the nice one. Fuck. ah It's okay. There are a lot of cat names. Okay, starting over. So I knew Thrushpelt was going to die because he was too nice.
01:08:13
Speaker
you know And he probably died by refusing to eat so that other people could. fuck I didn't even think of that. Yeah, that is probably likely.
01:08:27
Speaker
i mean, the warriors are in charge of hunting, right? So. Yeah. He could very easily like hunted something and ate it out there. But no, he brought it back.
01:08:38
Speaker
Yeah. Oof. So yeah, the fandom loves Thrush Pelt and a lot of people ship Bluestar and Thrush Pelt and wish that she had just gone with him over Oakheart.
01:08:53
Speaker
Yeah, well, yeah. So here's something that I don't understand. Bluestar has seen Tigerclaw grow up. Yep.
01:09:05
Speaker
And see the way that he grew up. Yep. Why the fuck you would she make him deputy after Redtail? Yeah, it's almost like... And then fucking trust him so much. It would have completely oblivious. Like, no, no, he's my deputy. He couldn't be doing anything wrong. Yeah.
01:09:33
Speaker
yeah See, I think this is why blue star is like...
01:09:40
Speaker
for at least for the warrior series a very complex character no i just think she's a complex character in general because you can see after reading this book you can see all the blind spots she had and this is why i put this book in the middle of the series because she gave up so fucking much to be leader and especially with Spottedleaf telling her these are going to be the darkest times in ThunderClan, you can see how she, like, blinds herself to these things because she is desperate, essentially, to make ThunderClan into a strong, successful clan. um
01:10:25
Speaker
and she I think she just convinces herself that, like, oh, Tigerclaw rose above everything and became a loyal warrior and everyone loves him. And you can also kind of see how he often puts on a face for Bluestar. Like, he'll say things to, like, he doesn't necessarily hide everything, but, like, in front of the apprentices, he's, like,
01:10:54
Speaker
hey, i you're a piece of shit and I hate you. And then in front of Bluestar, he's like, oh, let's toughen the apprentices up and blah, blah, blah. And he's kind of fake about it.
01:11:12
Speaker
Well, I mean, he eventually got rules coming to him, so. oh Yeah, he sure did. um ah so I'm very interested in your reaction to how Blue Star acts in the upcoming books.
01:11:30
Speaker
After seeing how she deals with ah grief and it's not healthy. Yeah, like i could, I could, I was, I noted that there are some parts in the book so far where I'm like,
01:11:47
Speaker
Yeah, she's not really processing things properly. Yeah. Yeah. So what do you think of this book? Um. Not my favorite.
01:12:01
Speaker
Oh, OK. Why? just about misery.
01:12:17
Speaker
Yeah. And just so many bad things happened. h Like. And not enough good things.
01:12:28
Speaker
Yeah, rarely did good things happen. Yeah. I did really like Goosefeather. That surprises me. ah Why? Because.
01:12:41
Speaker
he but Got Moonflower killed. Did he, though? i mean, that's debatable. I'll give you that. Like, I keep I keep picturing him as like, yeah you know, wow, this is going to be a little bit of a deep cut.
01:12:59
Speaker
Do you know there is a Professor Duck in the Disney cartoons? I can't remember cartoons like the just normal like Donald Duck and Mickey and ah okay ah what the Oh, yeah, that dude. luwood Ludwig von Drake.
01:13:24
Speaker
Yeah. He's kind of kooky. And i just keep picturing um as Goosefeather. Like a the cat version.
01:13:41
Speaker
Let's see. I'm looking at... Oh, the artwork for Goosefeather is so cute. On the Warriors wiki, they put the same pixel art for every cat.
01:13:54
Speaker
Hmm. And Goosefeather has a little bit of a unique one. Well, he was certainly unique.
01:14:10
Speaker
There's also... You're gonna like this, then. There's a novella called Goosefeather's Curse. Yeah, he I mean, does he want to be able to see all the bad shit that's going to happen? Probably not.
01:14:24
Speaker
Probably not. um Let's see. oh I'm in the trivia section now. Goosefeather was apprenticed at four moons instead of six.
01:14:35
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah. Vicki Holmes, the, you know, the OG author says that Goosefeather suffered from dementia towards the end of his life and but believes that the cause of his death was a brain infection. It's kind of sad.
01:14:55
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it certainly helps put some perspective on things. um And you kind of see the beginnings of some of these other characters. Yeah. Yeah.
01:15:07
Speaker
It was a little too bleak for me, that's all. I just like sad things. That's a thing that you can do. Yeah, I read this as a kid when it came out, and, you know, it was really sad. And I i could see at the time all the things that affected Bluestar, and it was a really sad read.
01:15:32
Speaker
I'm finding reading these books as an adult, ah everything hits a lot harder because I can more fully appreciate like the weight behind everything. like When I was a kid, it was kind of like, oh, she gave up her kits. That's stupid. like Oh, Moskit died. That's sad. But now I'm like, oh my god, I can see like her dilemma. she i did She hated doing this. like It was the worst thing she's ever done in her life. But the alternative was to watch her clan be led by Thistleclaw and go into war and cats die. So like how completely unfair it is that she has to essentially choose between raising her kits and her clanmates all dying. like
01:16:22
Speaker
That is not a decision any cat should have to make. And I'm kind of pissed off at Sunstar for it Yeah.
01:16:35
Speaker
Like, surely there was a better cat. there There were more than two cats who could lead the clan, you know? Aside from everything we've already said about how sexist it is that nursing cats can't be leaders. It's also just, yeah there is a lot of sexism in these books because like also it's kind of just understood that male cats, if they're leaders, they can still be having kits, but female cats can't because, you know, then they're going to have to take a break and it's like, okay, but we have a deputy. Like that's what we have a deputy for. Yeah, which is surprising, seeing as though that they're written by women. Yeah.
01:17:17
Speaker
I mean, I know that there's that one guy that comes on later. Yeah. ah Yeah, I think the combination of they were written in 2003 and... three and
01:17:31
Speaker
This is gonna sound awful, but they were written by kind of older people. I think maybe they didn't think too much about it you know?
01:17:42
Speaker
Because it doesn't really feel like an intentional statement to show how unfair the world is. It kind of just feels like they didn't see it as sexist.
01:17:59
Speaker
That's, like I could believe that. Yeah. So, it's unfortunate. um I have, like, one and a half arcs that I haven't read yet in this series, and I've heard that it does get better. Okay.
01:18:16
Speaker
Which, the point that I'm reading these books, that they were written in 2021. So, they should be further along than they are. Yeah.
01:18:29
Speaker
But yeah, any final thoughts on this book? um No. I feel like this is like, you know, in some series or shows, like there's always that like one spinoff or like ah prequel.
01:18:50
Speaker
That's just like it ties it in, but just it feels different from the rest of the series. Yeah, this is this is kind of how I feel. Yeah, no, I mean.
01:19:02
Speaker
This is based on you telling me the story, not me actually reading it, but um but yeah. Yeah, I agree. And this is one of my favorite books, but I don't think I would be able to handle the series if every single book was like this. So yeah that would I see that as a good thing.
01:19:20
Speaker
Like, Fireheart is kind of like a lovable doofus. not nine No, and thats he can be a doofus. Yeah. um You got Cloudkit, who's just like, I'm gonna be myself, I don't care what you say.
01:19:36
Speaker
i love Cloudkit so much. And so do the elders. You know what's funny is that the first time I read this, I was so irritated by Cloudkit, and I was like...
01:19:48
Speaker
um i was so in Fireheart's head that that's kind of the type of reader I was i feel like ah is that I could not see things outside of the main character's head does that make sense?
01:20:03
Speaker
yeah it's like like I wasn't very mature as a reader yet and now reading them I'm like you go fucking Cloud Kit i do what you gotta do even though he's giving Fireheart really hard time And we got like reveals and plot twists and scandals and fucking Graystripe and his ridiculousness. And then like there's just a lot going on that.
01:20:33
Speaker
Different kinds of things, lot more action. I also think that up until this point, we haven't had a lot of tragedy straight from Fireheart's perspective. Like there's been a lot of death and a lot of tragedy, but like, if you think about it,
01:20:50
Speaker
Okay, Redtail dies, Fireheart didn't even know him, Lionheart dies. it Fireheart but had bonded with him, but like he didn't know him for very long. um Silverstream dies, that's sad, but that's more from Graystripe's end, that you're going to get the real emotion out of it. um Even, let's see, what was a great tragedy in book three? Tiger Claw's betrayal.
01:21:19
Speaker
Again, that's from Bluestar's perspective that that's going to be really ah emotional. From Fireheart's, it's like, I fucking told you so. so Yeah, he's been beating that drum since day one. Yeah, so this is the first book that we are seeing tragedy from the perspective of the person that it's affecting. Yeah, that's that's fair.
01:21:41
Speaker
So that's another reason why I love it so much. Well, you are certainly entitled to. Okay. So next time we will return to the main arc. We will have book four, Rising Storm, which fun fact about Rising Storm is that I just got it from the bookstore because because the hardcover has a different artwork than is the paperback. And I finally have both of them now. Yeah.
01:22:14
Speaker
that attracts It's been a lifelong dream of mine to have both of them. And now you do. And now I do. It was only $5. I was going to say, like not one of your biggest dreams. No, my biggest dream is to get a Digivice from season two. Or I'll just go back in time and don't leave it in the fucking hospital. That's all you gotta Yeah.
01:22:39
Speaker
I hope I went to some kid who needed it more than me, you know? Let's. I think it did. OK, OK, good. I think someone picked it up and they're like, OK, we're going to take this to the children's ward and some sick kid who.
01:22:55
Speaker
is maybe not going to last long. gosh. They gave it to the give it the device to them and they all like bounce back and. Oh, I think.
01:23:07
Speaker
Hell yeah. Good on you, kid.
01:23:13
Speaker
Okay, so, dear listener, if you would like to get in touch with us and talk about this epically tragic book or any of the other books or anything, because we have a lot of channels, you can join us in the Discord, which you can find in the description of this episode or at glitterfoxmedia.com. And while you're there, check out some of our other shows, like Somewhere Elsewhere, a show in which Janelle and i make a world based on your prompts and then play in it or
01:23:47
Speaker
Or, if you're feeling like you need something to like, just pick you up from a bad day, check out We Fix Games, where us two chuckle fucks laugh and make jokes about games we played.
01:24:03
Speaker
And then we make them better. And it's really fun. And it's fun to listen to. Just trust me. So i'll go do it. As always, i have been Jerrica, also known as Sparkleheart.
01:24:17
Speaker
And I have been Laura, also known as Snowstorm. And guys, just because you get older doesn't mean gotta grow up. Bye! Bye!