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Post by αɳσɱαʅყ on Mar 11, 2020 7:12:56 GMT -5
Some cats deserve to go to StarClan, and some cats deserve to rot in the Dark Forest. Judgement is passed onto these cats so they can remain in their final resting place for all of eternity. But whose place is it to judge? Ours? StarClan's..? the Erins? And, is it really the anybody's place to evaluate the "good-ness" and "evil-ness" in cats, when there aren't any clear-cut rules on who is "good" and who is "evil?" No, this mindset about cats deserving x based on y action has permeated our fandom for far too long without scrutiny. Instead, I propose that going to the Dark Forest is a choice. To outline how a cat enters StarClan and the DF, here is my theory: - Cat dies
- Cat spirit is now in a "limbo" state
- If the cat's will is to find StarClan, then a path to StarClan will open for them (it would be any cat who believes in StarClan and has no strong desire to be a DF cat)
- Some cats may also be presented to the Dark Forest, if they qualify (for argument's sake, let's say Ashfur)
- The cat then has a choice between the two
- There are some cats whose hearts are closed to StarClan and by default will search for or enter the Dark Forest by personal choice (most likely cats such as Tigerstar or Brokenstar)-- this also explains why some DF cats say that that they are there because StarClan didn't want them. The path to StarClan was never opened to them, so they ended up there.
This would explain why some cats like Ashfur are in StarClan (even Yellowfang, iirc said something like "if Ashfur found his way to StarClan, then he belongs here"-- which strongly suggests StarClan doesn't decide who joins their ranks. This then makes sense why relatively harmless cats like Brightflower and Lilywhisker are in the Dark Forest-- it was their choice.
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Post by cowbird on Mar 11, 2020 8:08:52 GMT -5
This is a cool theory- kinda makes sense
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Post by *Ottersplash* on Mar 11, 2020 13:55:43 GMT -5
Brightflower and Lilywhisker have, thankfully, been retconned as they don't make sense.
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Post by halogen on Mar 11, 2020 14:05:59 GMT -5
If that's the case, though, why didn't Flametail get stuck in the Dark Forest because of ending up there pretty much right after he died? And why would cats choose to go there pre-OOTS, where before they got organized they had to wander alone and miserable forever?
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Post by Skypaw13 on Mar 12, 2020 15:57:40 GMT -5
If that's the case, though, why didn't Flametail get stuck in the Dark Forest because of ending up there pretty much right after he died? And why would cats choose to go there pre-OOTS, where before they got organized they had to wander alone and miserable forever? Taking only the main arcs into account: I'm thinking that before the end of Po3, the Dark Forest wasn't really a thing. It was just a bunch of dead, evil cats wandering around unable to find any kind of peace (in line with OPs theory, I guess this would mean they rejected StarClan, but another choice didn't necessarily "open up", just kinda happened). It only became a functioning unit once cats found each other and decided to join up. Taking SEs/novellas into account: Apparently all that info from the main arcs about evil cats needing to wander alone forever is complete BS, because we see in several standalones (Crookedstar's Promise and Spottedleaf's Heart come to mind) that the DF is pretty much exactly what it is in OotS, just with less epic plans. Maybe Tigerstar just couldn't figure out how to get to Dark Forest Main, so he thought he was cursed to wander alone forever, but he eventually found the rest. As for Flametail, I think the DF cat (can't remember who it was right now) specifically said they blocked his way to StarClan. If OP is right and you basically have to find your own way to wherever you end up, then I could see a DF cat hijacking that process, especially since OotS is in a time of super-blood-moon eclipse planets-aligned with a supernova that is causing the rules of the afterlives to shift.
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