Bumble from DOTC deserved better! (a vent/rant)
Jan 17, 2024 22:19:47 GMT -5
✲ριкαƒυєу✲, Twilight Sparkle, and 6 more like this
Post by scarletflames on Jan 17, 2024 22:19:47 GMT -5
DOTC Spoilers for Thunder Rising
I'm paused while reading TR to get this off my chest.
This poor cat went through DV by Tom- not only did the moorland cats turn her away, but the way Tall Shadow and Wind talked to Bumble when she told the moorland cats about Tom's abuse felt insensitive and cruel.
Even Gray Wing thinking to himself that he'd seen worse scratches irked me. Like... even if Tom could have scratched worse, the fact he was malicious enough to attack Bumble, draw blood but be sneaky enough to harm Bumble in such a way that their Twolegs didn't notice... it doesn't effing matter if Gray Wing had seen "worse" scratches on cats! What Bumble was going through was still physical abuse and not OK!
While I feel neutral to like with Wind Runner, it was appalling the harsh way she spoke to Bumble. And Tall Shadow's suggestion about treats irritated me badly too- no amount of treats makes living in an abusive home worth it. And it shouldn't have been up to Bumble to "get along better" with Tom, since in abuse, there is a power dynamic and the onus shouldn't be on the victim to people-please to try to "keep the peace"! Even when victims fawn/people-please, abuse still happens! In abuse, there is no such thing as keeping the peace since abuse isn't peaceful!
So with Bumble... she wasn't hurting Tom. This wasn't quarreling or a misunderstanding. He was abusing her! Part of me wanted to force Tall Shadow to experience Bumble's memories, so even if she still would kick Bumble out, she would've been more sensitive when talking to Bumble, rather than asking if they could just get along or if Bumble could just eat more treats
And I'm confused on why Gray Wing thought Bumble blamed Turtle Tail for Tom's behavior when she said Tom was angry Turtle Tail left and implied Tom blamed Bumble for Turtle Tail leaving. When I was reading that segment, I didn't interpret Bumble's words to be intentionally blaming Turtle Tail, did I miss something? Tom did attack Bumble because he did blame her for Turtle Tail leaving- this isn't the fault of Turtle Tail or Bumble, though. I thought Bumble was being honest about why Tom was so hateful to her, but I didn't think Bumble was trying to be hostile to Turtle Tail. But since Bumble told Turtle Tail the truth about kits, which caused Tom's mate to leave... I believe Bumble when she said that was why Tom was abusive to her- he blamed her for his mate leaving.
The only blaming I saw Bumble do with Turtle Tail was when Wind Runner was forcing Bumble out, then Bumble unfortunately lashed out and seemed to blame Turtle Tail for being kicked out. But before that, I didn't think Bumble was trying to hurt Turtle Tail.
And with Thunder's POV... Thunder hearing Bumble wail after being chased off was so heartbreaking!!! The fact Bumble stuck to her guns and was literally starving, because she refused to go back to Tom... this shows how asinine it was for any cat to think she could just go back to Tom and have everything be OK. She was clearly so frightened of Tom, that she would rather slowly starve for moons, without any cat helping her; than go to back to him and her Twolegs (who she probably missed dearly!).
And do we ever find out if it was a fox, or if it was Clear Sky, who caused those wounds? Part of me is questioning if Clear Sky could've caused at least some of her wounds, with how cruel his behavior has been in this book. And I disliked Gray Wing's line about his brother being brave... gah! If it comes out Clear Sky did cause those wounds, I will be furious! (More than I already am!)
I'm getting emotional just typing all this out. Bumble didn't deserve the harsh rejection of everyone around her as she was courageous enough to escape a DV situation. Even if she truly couldn't belong to either group, why couldn't a loaner take pity on her and either help her survive OR help her find a Twoleg that wasn't close to where Tom lived? So she could still be a kittypet, without living with a dangerous cat.
I'm glad she and Turtle Tail got to see each other as Bumble was dying, but that poor girl deserved so much better!
And if she hadn't told Turtle Tail the truth about Twolegs and kits, we wouldn't have beautiful moments of TurtlexGray and Gray Wing being a wonderful father; they both owe that to Bumble having enough honor to tell Turtle Tail the truth!
I think part of why I'm so emotional is I've been in abusive relationships before. While it was realistic for Tall Shadow, Wind Runner, and the others' to be dismissive of Bumble's abusive situation with Tom (including Gray Wing thinking her scratches weren't that bad because he had seen worse in the wild)... because victim blaming, denial, not understanding, etc. does happen sometimes when abuse victims try to speak up... with seeing how badly Bumble was treated, her trying to survive and struggling... and her death... all this caused me to get emotional enough to just make a whole rant.
I get Bumble couldn't be a warrior or medicine cat. She may or may not have been able to be a perma-queen if she'd been born closer to modern Clan times. But the fact that her two options were going back to Tom or starving due to the moorland cats and forest cats, and other rogues all rejecting her... and she chose starvation and rejection over Tom and her Twolegs... her being brave enough to try to survive in the wild since she was so determined to leave Tom...
ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!! My girl Bumble didn't deserve this! Not the harsh rejection, slow starvation or bleeding to death!
EDIT: I found this Tumbler rant about Bumble that resonated heavily. I tend to ramble on, but this person was able to be shorter about their points. If anyone else wants to read it, here is the link: www.tumblr.com/bonebabbles/719594190781251584/its-not-gray-wings-fault-the-narrative-assures?source=share
I'm paused while reading TR to get this off my chest.
This poor cat went through DV by Tom- not only did the moorland cats turn her away, but the way Tall Shadow and Wind talked to Bumble when she told the moorland cats about Tom's abuse felt insensitive and cruel.
Even Gray Wing thinking to himself that he'd seen worse scratches irked me. Like... even if Tom could have scratched worse, the fact he was malicious enough to attack Bumble, draw blood but be sneaky enough to harm Bumble in such a way that their Twolegs didn't notice... it doesn't effing matter if Gray Wing had seen "worse" scratches on cats! What Bumble was going through was still physical abuse and not OK!
While I feel neutral to like with Wind Runner, it was appalling the harsh way she spoke to Bumble. And Tall Shadow's suggestion about treats irritated me badly too- no amount of treats makes living in an abusive home worth it. And it shouldn't have been up to Bumble to "get along better" with Tom, since in abuse, there is a power dynamic and the onus shouldn't be on the victim to people-please to try to "keep the peace"! Even when victims fawn/people-please, abuse still happens! In abuse, there is no such thing as keeping the peace since abuse isn't peaceful!
So with Bumble... she wasn't hurting Tom. This wasn't quarreling or a misunderstanding. He was abusing her! Part of me wanted to force Tall Shadow to experience Bumble's memories, so even if she still would kick Bumble out, she would've been more sensitive when talking to Bumble, rather than asking if they could just get along or if Bumble could just eat more treats
And I'm confused on why Gray Wing thought Bumble blamed Turtle Tail for Tom's behavior when she said Tom was angry Turtle Tail left and implied Tom blamed Bumble for Turtle Tail leaving. When I was reading that segment, I didn't interpret Bumble's words to be intentionally blaming Turtle Tail, did I miss something? Tom did attack Bumble because he did blame her for Turtle Tail leaving- this isn't the fault of Turtle Tail or Bumble, though. I thought Bumble was being honest about why Tom was so hateful to her, but I didn't think Bumble was trying to be hostile to Turtle Tail. But since Bumble told Turtle Tail the truth about kits, which caused Tom's mate to leave... I believe Bumble when she said that was why Tom was abusive to her- he blamed her for his mate leaving.
The only blaming I saw Bumble do with Turtle Tail was when Wind Runner was forcing Bumble out, then Bumble unfortunately lashed out and seemed to blame Turtle Tail for being kicked out. But before that, I didn't think Bumble was trying to hurt Turtle Tail.
And with Thunder's POV... Thunder hearing Bumble wail after being chased off was so heartbreaking!!! The fact Bumble stuck to her guns and was literally starving, because she refused to go back to Tom... this shows how asinine it was for any cat to think she could just go back to Tom and have everything be OK. She was clearly so frightened of Tom, that she would rather slowly starve for moons, without any cat helping her; than go to back to him and her Twolegs (who she probably missed dearly!).
And do we ever find out if it was a fox, or if it was Clear Sky, who caused those wounds? Part of me is questioning if Clear Sky could've caused at least some of her wounds, with how cruel his behavior has been in this book. And I disliked Gray Wing's line about his brother being brave... gah! If it comes out Clear Sky did cause those wounds, I will be furious! (More than I already am!)
I'm getting emotional just typing all this out. Bumble didn't deserve the harsh rejection of everyone around her as she was courageous enough to escape a DV situation. Even if she truly couldn't belong to either group, why couldn't a loaner take pity on her and either help her survive OR help her find a Twoleg that wasn't close to where Tom lived? So she could still be a kittypet, without living with a dangerous cat.
I'm glad she and Turtle Tail got to see each other as Bumble was dying, but that poor girl deserved so much better!
And if she hadn't told Turtle Tail the truth about Twolegs and kits, we wouldn't have beautiful moments of TurtlexGray and Gray Wing being a wonderful father; they both owe that to Bumble having enough honor to tell Turtle Tail the truth!
I think part of why I'm so emotional is I've been in abusive relationships before. While it was realistic for Tall Shadow, Wind Runner, and the others' to be dismissive of Bumble's abusive situation with Tom (including Gray Wing thinking her scratches weren't that bad because he had seen worse in the wild)... because victim blaming, denial, not understanding, etc. does happen sometimes when abuse victims try to speak up... with seeing how badly Bumble was treated, her trying to survive and struggling... and her death... all this caused me to get emotional enough to just make a whole rant.
I get Bumble couldn't be a warrior or medicine cat. She may or may not have been able to be a perma-queen if she'd been born closer to modern Clan times. But the fact that her two options were going back to Tom or starving due to the moorland cats and forest cats, and other rogues all rejecting her... and she chose starvation and rejection over Tom and her Twolegs... her being brave enough to try to survive in the wild since she was so determined to leave Tom...
ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!! My girl Bumble didn't deserve this! Not the harsh rejection, slow starvation or bleeding to death!
EDIT: I found this Tumbler rant about Bumble that resonated heavily. I tend to ramble on, but this person was able to be shorter about their points. If anyone else wants to read it, here is the link: www.tumblr.com/bonebabbles/719594190781251584/its-not-gray-wings-fault-the-narrative-assures?source=share