Has Anyone Else Noticed The 'mid-arc' Creep, In The Books? Like, The Arc Will Be Really Good, Until Part-way

I just learned that Nene's voicebank has no oto and somehow sings just fine. So, I put her raw samples onto a secondary track in audacity with my mic input on the first track and recorded while using her as a guide.

The bank is missing quite a few phonemes and is choppy because I left in all my mistakes and because I only recorded what was listed under the Monographs and Digraphs section of Hiragana for testing purposes.

Here's the finished result (my bank ALSO lacks an oto!)

Will be exciting when I finish the bank (and re-record all the ones I messed up on!) Anyway, just thought this might be a fun experiment.

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'?

I really hope the graphic novels continue to cut out all the unecessary bloat and plot contrivances left over from the original series.

For example, Fireheart saves Bramblekit from the fire, in the graphic novel, without hesitation— which is so refreshing.

I disliked that entire b-plot in the first arc where he's menaced by Tigerkit's oh-so-scary, 'amber eyes'— because it made zero sense, came out of nowhere, and was also, very dumb.

And while I'm sure Bramblekit will face some prejudice in the next graphic novel, with how well they've handled Cloudpaw and Cinderpelt, I think they'll manage to make it work.

No one can curate your online experience for you. Only you can do that for yourself.

I often see the fandom conflate plot points / set-up with whether a character is 'defendable' or not.

For instance, Ivypool lashing out at Dovewing in one of the newer books.

"I can't believe Ivypool said that!"

"She was so mean to Dovewing!"

Well, while I personally feel like Ivypool was acting out in a very understandable, and sympathizable way, I also think fans are ignoring the obvious elephant in the room.

—This conflict only happens in the book to set up the book's story arc about 'alternative' afterlives. Bristlefrost, who we assume has faded from the world entirely, is revealed to still live on, even if only symbolically, through a stag that appears before Ivypool.

In other words, Dovewing's grief over Rowankit is being juxtaposed to Ivypool's loss of Bristlefrost, so that the book can reveal that she's not really gone.

In other book series, a Series of Unfortunate Events, for instance, the choices a character makes say something about who they are as a person,

As an example, from a Series of Unfortunate Events, the character Violet Baudelaire purposefully writes with her non-dominant hand when signing a marriage contract to Count Olaf thereby nullifing her marriage to him.

This shows that she is both clever, and knowledgeable of marital law. She is an inventor, and sees all the possibilites before her, even ones that would require her to think outside the box, in situations where a solution might not seem apparent.

Contrast this to Warriors, and you'll find that most characters are mouthpieces for the plot with characterization on the side.

Cinderpaw getting hurt, leading to Jaypaw developing hydrotherapy, allows us to learn about Cinderpaw being Cinderpelt, furthers the relationship between Jaypaw and his connection to the stick, and allows for bonding time between he and Leafpool.

But, we don't get much overt characterization out of this. We learn that Jaypaw is smart. But, it doesn't really say anything about him as a character. This follows for every other Warriors character, too.

We are dripfed characterization through little moments, Whitestorm spending long hours with Bluestar as her health declines, Firepaw's crush on Spottedleaf, Ravenpaw being happy at the barn with Barley.

But, ultimately, the characters are written in service of the plot, and not the other way around, like in a Series of Unfortunate Events.

This is a book series about a plot with characters, and not a book series about characters in a plot.

What if Warrior Cats had executions? Like, guillotine, hangings, etc. How absolutely sick would that be? Let's behead Splashtail.

Just saw a post on a confession blog that made me feel so validated about that post I made a day or so ago. Suddenly, my insecurities about how bad I am at writing are gone completely.

I feel totally vindicated. Like my post was worth it. What I wrote last night fucking sucked, so I deleted it (because I couldn't make it sound right), but I'm glad that at least something I wrote resonated with people and conveyed what I had to say.

I read through that confession, and I'm just like, 'This is a problem and I didn't blow it out of proportion.'

It's a good feeling.

Ok, about Leopardfoot. Jake suggests that Pinestar has a friend in Leopardpaw whom he regularly mentions.

This is not, and I repeat, not specifying or implying that he, Pinestar, has a crush on her. Yes, as Leopardfoot, she and Pinestar have Tigerkit together.

But, I don't think, truly, that the intention is to imply they have anything going on with eachother, at that point.

Miku square

I don't like Fireheart x Sandstorm because Fireheart is always juxtaposed to Sandstorm in a way that makes me feel that she should be the protagonist instead.

Especially, as I'm rereading Rising Storm I can't help but think, "Sandstorm deserves better!" when something doesn't turn out for her.