I'm just so taken aback.
It's like learning that someone compares the experiences of deaf children to Snowkit, as the correct context in which we should read his story.
And not, as a cat, being born with a defect that inhibits your ability to do the thing you were bred for— which is to contribute to a society that values rearing as many children as possible specifically to have soldiers to defend their territory, resources, and colony with.
Purposefully anthromorphisizing and decontextualizing the characters from the worldbuilding and context they were originally viewed in, in order to make an issue out of nothing is just— baffling to me.
Even with Snowkit, Brackenfur and Speckletail's messaging is not— Snowkit is a valuable member of our Clan, whether or not he can hear— It's 'I can personally train him to be a soldier so he can fulfill his societal role in ThunderClan'.
The cats of ThunderClan are at war. They are fighting not to starve, not to die.
Why would you remove the context of them being cats?
It seems like it's just a recent development in the fandom, but I've never thought mentor and apprentice couples were inappropriate.
Has the zeitgeist really shifted so much that any deviation from the norm can be considered problematic? What happened to 'live and let live' or 'don't like, don't read'?
Have you heard of the Proteus effect?
I think where people flounder is when they misread Curlfeather's last scene to be a kind of disownment from Frostpaw ala the Patchkit AU MAP, and not as an indictment from Frostpaw of Curlfeather's actions up to that point.
Frostpaw is not saying— "You're a bad mom, and I don't love you,"
She's saying— "How could you do all this, that goes against the core values and morality of our society, turning Splashtail into a murderer, faking my dreams from StarClan, taking the life of your deputy, tearing RiverClan apart— How can you do that, and not acknowledge your wrongdoing?"
I mean, literally, look,
She doesn't want Curlfeather to leave. She loves Curlfeather, but also is filled with the weight of the betrayal and of her future burden— Rebuilding the home that Splashtail and Curlfeather had destroyed through their actions.
She still loves her Mom, guys.
I know why Harlan gave Parker a Brooklyn accent— But, it was also very jarring to me as someone who always pictured Parker as a first-generation Asian American.
Welp. Egg on my face, I guess.
I can't wait until it gets here. I can't believe I have another four days to wait.
Heads up guys I might change my url / layout. But, if you're wondering who this is, it's still t46006476.
please be patient !
I'm still getting the hang of tumblr.
If you view Warrior Cats as being human-like that's fine.
—But, I also disagree.
And I think you lose a lot of the value of reading a book series about cats by moralizing their society against human standards instead of enjoying the world building for what it is.