I'm procrastinating. Also, what life woud you give?
Nov 16, 2018 19:41:46 GMT -5
Moonblazer likes this
Post by streamflower on Nov 16, 2018 19:41:46 GMT -5
I'm supposed to be writing a 15-20 page literature review on the history of animal interventions/therapies (my choice, I may actually use this as a basis for a paper I need to write prior to my dissertation). It's actually pretty interesting reading about the different types (mainly dogs but there are some that include birds and even dolphins) but unfortunately it's late in the semester and I am so. damn. burnt. out.
I'm going to hop between this thread and my paper and hope my adderall kicks in (I have ADHD if that wasn't obvious).
Anyway, to stay on topic, if you were a Starclan cat and had the opportunity to give a life to any of the leaders we've seen so far (or a new leader you'd like to see), what life would you give them, why would you give it to them, how would you like this life to impact their leadership?
If I were to give a life, there'd be a few cats I'd want to give one to. To begin, I think I'd be a Riverclan cat, but for variety I'll try to do one leader from each clan.
Brokenstar - A life for physical, mental, and emotional empathy. I'd like him to have something similar to Yellowfang's gift/curse (however you consider it) but more extreme. He obviously doesn't care about hurting other cats and he seems vaguely psychopathic (however he'd be more sociopathic because it seems more an affect of nurture rather than nature that led him to being who he was). With this life it could make him think twice before hurting another cat; his own ambitions may not ave gotten in the way, and he could have been a better leader. If he's hurting another cat, he'd automatically be feeling their pain, fear, and any other feelings that come along with it. It could make him think twice.
Leopardstar - A life for loyalty to all four (five?) clans, not just Riverclan. While Leopardstar does seem pretty intent on fighting hard for Riverclan, it's pretty obvious that she has her faults. For one, letting Blackfoot kill Stonefur is a big one. Another is joining up with Tigerstar and Shadowclan. It was obviously bad for Riverclan, and Windlcan seemed to be suffering heavily. Not to mention teaming up with Windclan in order to attempt to drive Thunderclan out of the new forest due to sheer pettiness. If she cared for all of the clans, not just her own, at least a little more, there could have been a lot less unnecessary bloodshed throughout the books, I believe.
Onestar - Oh boy, where do I begin? I could easily say a life for loyalty to the clans like Leopardstar, but I think that's too easy. I think maybe a gift for Compassion from Memories. While I do think that it's fine that Onestar sort of dropped his "friendship" with Firestar, I think he took it way too far. He was downright nasty, not only to the other clans but sometimes to his own clanmates. He doesn't seem to remember that despite being the leader of Windclan, he still needs to care for these cats as he would his own kin--after all, they are his kin. He seems more likely to bicker and argue to assert his leadership rather than think logically and critically. Many of his decisions seem spur of the moment and rash, and he seems to forget the importance of caring for his clan like kin how Tallstar seemed to. Would Onestar hunt down someone he thought caused the death of his father, only to forgive the cat and further go on to protect his clan with pride and strength like Tallstar? Unfortunately I doubt that.
Bramblestar - See, I don't have much of an issue with Bramblestar. He just seems...boring. Like a discount Firestar. I think I'd rather give him a life for Individuality. He tries so hard to do think like Firestar, constantly asking himself, "What would Firestar do?" But he needs to be his own cat. He needs to make his own decisions, and he needs to really establish himself as the leader of Thunderclan, not just Firestar's protegee. Make him a bit more fierce, a bit more stubborn, I don't know. Just stop making him so damn boring. I know this has been discussed between him and other characters, but still not much seems to have changed. Also a gift for better naming for obvious reasons.
Hawkwing/Hawkstar - I know he's not leader, but I'd be incredibly surprised if he didn't end up leader at all. If I were to give him a life it would probably be for Strength and Determination through Adversity. It is incredibly clear that Skyclan has suffered an incredible amount of damage; not only were they kicked out of the original forest and forgotten, but they were kicked out of the gorge not once but twice, and then were almost kicked out of the new forest as well. While I don't entirely blame Leafstar for her actions, I do think she should have fought harder to keep Skyclan in the new forest. It was clear that they were meant to be there, and screw the other clans for thinking otherwise. I do think Leafstar is a good leader, but I hope Hawkwing/Hawkstar is a bit more determined than her.
**Bonus/Spoilers RS**
Tigerstar II - A life for better Understanding and Compassion (Or a life to not be such a try-hard). It's incredibly obvious to me that Tigerstar II is afraid of losing his grip on Shadowclan like his father, but he goes around it in such a backwards way. Trying to kick Skyclan out (despite recommending they be given territory in the first place), threatening Alderheart for trying to help Puddleshine, accusing Jayfeather of letting Flametail die...It's just too much.
He's already broken so many rules; he should be strict with his own clanmantes, yes, but he also needs to allow for leeway or at least a bit more trust from the other clans. For Starclan's sake, Jayfeather and Alderheart are medicine cats and would never purposely hurt another cat or with hold help from them (as much as I dislike Jayfeather it's true, especially given what happens in CT). The fact that Tigerstar II throws the Flametail thing in Jayfeather's face really pissed me off. I truly hope Tigerstar II matures soon, or at least dies soon because I really like Clovertail. Maybe a gift for maturity would be better? I'm just not sure.
On that note I'm 99% sure my adderall has started to kick in so I'll be back later.
Tigerstar II - A life for better Understanding and Compassion (Or a life to not be such a try-hard). It's incredibly obvious to me that Tigerstar II is afraid of losing his grip on Shadowclan like his father, but he goes around it in such a backwards way. Trying to kick Skyclan out (despite recommending they be given territory in the first place), threatening Alderheart for trying to help Puddleshine, accusing Jayfeather of letting Flametail die...It's just too much.
He's already broken so many rules; he should be strict with his own clanmantes, yes, but he also needs to allow for leeway or at least a bit more trust from the other clans. For Starclan's sake, Jayfeather and Alderheart are medicine cats and would never purposely hurt another cat or with hold help from them (as much as I dislike Jayfeather it's true, especially given what happens in CT). The fact that Tigerstar II throws the Flametail thing in Jayfeather's face really pissed me off. I truly hope Tigerstar II matures soon, or at least dies soon because I really like Clovertail. Maybe a gift for maturity would be better? I'm just not sure.
On that note I'm 99% sure my adderall has started to kick in so I'll be back later.