#even if it adds to ravenpaw's 'villainous' arc

[ravenfall]

Bit of deleted dialogue I couldn’t quite fit into any of the previous chapters which is honestly the biggest shame.

I really liked the exchange and will probably be forever bummed I couldn’t work it in the story proper. Maybe I can still fit it in in like...a dream sequence during second book’s rewrite but that is unfortunately fairly unlikely if I’m being honest.  

"Maybe it's better if Windclan doesn't come back. Their warriors killed in battle. A clan that kills isn't really a clan is it?"

Rosetail stopped in front of him, forcing him to stand still as well.

"It...isn't." She raised a paw gently to his muzzle before he could comment. "However Windclan is as much a clan as Thunderclan or Riverclan. They follow the same noble code as we do."

"But one of their warriors killed an apprentice in battle!"

A flash of something crossed her face. "But they were also defending their home and clanmates were they not?"

Ravenpaw shifted uncomfortably. "I guess so. But the Warrior Code says that a warrior doesn't need to kill to win a battle."

Pride mixed with sorrow on Rosetail's face as she sat down, motioning Ravenpaw to do the same.

"Correct. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. You haven't been in enough battles yet, thank Starclan, but sometimes, very rarely, a warrior may kill in battle. Never intentionally; but if pressed or cornered, they may feel they have no choice."

A heavy sigh escaped her.

"Not every warrior makes it to the elder's den I'm afraid." A distant look entered her eyes. "Truth be told, I could have gone back to my warrior duties after you and your brother were named apprentices. I'm certainly not the oldest cat in the clan. But, I could feel myself getting older and after the loss of Thistleclaw...I decided I wanted to live long enough to see my kits get their warrior names.”

#warrior cats rewrite #ravenpaw #rosetail #deleted snippet #i think i wanted to put this on the way back to thunderclan after brokenstar's delightful little demand of 'give us hunting rights or die' #i enjoyed writing rosetail and will be forever sad she had to die #even if it adds to ravenpaw's 'villainous' arc

[hometownrockstar]

i feel like warrior cats protagonists are so lame and predictable in these newer arcs, like i love alderheart but like... ok so into the wild had fireheart, greystripe and bluestar as main protags (sorry ravenpaw fans but i dont remember him being, like, THAT involved? hes more like cinderpelt to me. bluestar had narrative and plot development n stuff) and its like youre in fireheart's paws, learning abt this entirely new deal, with bluestar as a revered guidance figure who falls from grace.

the new prophecy is abt squirrelflight and brambleclaw, kids of the previous arc's main character and villain that already had narratives abt this brought up at the end of the first one so its going to explore that more, plus minor perspectives from other clan members who end up being important later in the series. power of three follows these little kits, the first main plotline perspective to start here and watch them grow as apprentices for more than a single book which starts this trend, and theyre very fun characters to follow and while they share a prophecy plotline like the previous plot, its different here where its about powers inherent to them. omen of the stars is similar to this, taking the young kit/apprentice and close sibling thing but expanding more on the growing resentment between them from lacking powers and how this factors into the end main plot. dawn of the clans... i havent read yet im sorry im sorry i know fake fan but you can tell how its different.

but then starting from a vision of shadows to the broken code and now soon a starless clan... the main protags all seem the same? 3 cats, usually apprentices or one young warrior, are already situated in these clans we know about. theyre probably kin or kits of important cats from the previous books, but it doesnt feel like its brought up that often as anything more than a setpiece rather than something to expand upon and add to their character development (it seems like the new cat flamepaw will explore this from the promo blurb but... why is it HIM and not squirrelflight or sparkpelt, who are also kin of firestar and look like him? gee i wonder why 🤔) in fact it feels like the only "development" these protags get is them resolving whether or not to leave their clan to be with their forced forbidden clan love. and when there ARE interesting tidbits abt them, like rootspring's ghost seeing abilities and connection to his father and shadowsight's whole deal, its never touched up upon as much as i want it to be. THAT stuff is interesting to me, not whether rootspring and bristlefrost will get together. i also cant like, name a character trait of anyone? i think exaggerating one or two big traits for these characters REALLY helps them stand out, like i remember squirrelflight for her brashness and jayfeather for his snappiness, but what traits do these cats have? theyre just not compelling protags anymore and i basically only like these modern books for the interesting convos and plot points about the code theyre only just NOW bringing up, but all these dumb forbidden love plots just get in the way of my enjoyment. i think it'd be neat if they did like more timeskips, not even as drastic as dotc like just a couple generations, or maybe bringing in a rogue or other outsider like firestar was.

#also the insistence that everyone HAS to be paired up by the end so that they have kits in the next book... ugh #why did violetshine and tree happen? or twigbranch and the other guy? #wc