WHO ELSE IS EXCITED?!?!

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.

I love Ivypool!! Just because her character arc is different doesn't mean she's bad, or wrong, or evil for it.

Negative traits can be neutral traits, guys. You can't say, "I love complex characters!" But then shit on Ivypool fans because you think Dovewing is the victim automatically.

The point is that neither character is more of a victim than the other, because both characters have their own perspectives, their own arcs, and their own understanding of the situation.

You can see yourself in either character, because both characters are well-established, personality-wise, and fairly rounded characters for Warrior Cats.

But, if you want Ivypool to go, "You're right, Dovewing, I'm such a bitch, you had a harder childhood, and are living in ShadowClan because of how I treated you, specifically, which is my fault. Let's make up,"

That will never happen!!!

There are people who are mean online, and who ruin the online experience for others.

So, here's my two cents.

>You can like Mapleshade, guilt-free.

>You can like Darkstripe, guilt-free.

>You can like Thistleclaw, guilt-free.

>You can like Rainflower, guilt-free.

You do not need to preface it with,

"But, I acknowledge that they're bad or abusive or xenophobic, or at fault,"

No.

You do not have to justify anything you feel about any character from a stupid cat book, ever. For any reason. Warrior Cats is not real. It says about as much about you that you like Thistleclaw as a shitty horoscope can say about your day.

Which, is to say, nothing, at all.

You can like a character because they're evil, or because you sympathize or relate to them, or because they stir the pot, etc. etc. Any reason that is your own is reason enough.

I see this a lot, so I want to say something about it. You don't need to add a disclaimer onto your opinions regarding antagonists.

When you say, "I like Tigerstar, even though he's xenophobic, and a facist,"

Try this instead, "I like Tigerstar," Then, list what you liked about him.

Tigerstar death scene but he's Caesar and all the Clan Cats come at him with knives (claws) at a Gathering or something.

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

Has anyone played any of the Warrior Cats fangames out there?

I saw on Google that there's Untold Tales and Road to Immortality, amd apparently a few adaptations of the books into RPGmaker format.

Are any of them worth playing? Or does anyone have any recommendations for good Warrior Cats fangames? (Are there any official ones?)

Unpopular Warriors opinion, but I think Tigerheartstar in ASC was fine, actually. I think he was just doing what he felt was right.

And while I would've preferred if the whole arc had been about the interclan conflicts—Rather than have Frostpaw travelling on a StarClan quest for two books, that's just me and my preferences.

They're just book characters, guys.

It's okay to say you hate Dovewing and Tigerheartstar as a couple or that they're your favorite Warrior Cats couple. Any really vocal opinions you see on Tigerheartstar with a hundred plus notes, are just that, opinions.

Take everything you read online with a grain of salt.

By the way, fanfiction isn't the place for reviews or criticism.

When you're a published author, it's like you're preparing a meal in a food competition. You expect a rating and to be told what worked and what didn't to improve your craft and embark on your career.

When you're a fanfiction author, it's like taking some of your free time to enjoy the process of baking cookies and then offering them to someone to be kind.

If you take a cookie from the plate, you don't spit it out and tell them it sucked.

Unless the writer asks for your opinion, you can keep it to yourself.

Adding this to clarify, and you don't have to agree with this by any means, I cannot force you to, but the reason Ao3 and Fanfiction isn't the space for criticism and ratings...is that it is a fan space created by fans for fans.

It isn't school.

It is a space where people with the same interests can congregate and enjoy the same fandom.

When you think about commenting on an fanfic authors fics, don't think if it as fishing around in your pocket to give them a compliment.

Compliments are nice. Most everyone likes compliments.

"I like your character development."

"You paint wonderful imagry."

Those are comments that are compliments. Speaking for myself as a fanfic writer they're nice, but they're not what my fan heart craves.

I want engagement with my readers.

The best comments I get aren't talking about my skill as a writer, but what just happened in the story because you and I (the reader) are already fans of the world created.

Comments like:

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Did she actually just do that?"

"EXCUSE me?!?!"

None of these comments are compliments and none are critical. They are emotionally aligned with the story. They are engaged and with this engagement we create a little community in this tiny little space we get to call ours.

I cannot stop people from saying cruel things, but I can inform those people of the "dangers" so to speak when people treat fandom spaces like Ao3 as if it's Goodreads.

Writers, who write for themselves and offer it to you out of kindness, can decide that if people are just going to spit out their cookies they don't need to post about them anymore and that is how fandom spaces die.

If you don't like the flavor of cookie they made, or you're allergic to one of its ingredients...don't eat the cookie. Put it back for someone else to enjoy and then go find the flavor you do like.