[image description: a tortoiseshell cat peeks out from behind ferns and grass]

Defending Spottedleaf Part Two – Two Lives by Sky

Sky returns with a second part to their defense of Spottedleaf.

Official art by Wayne McLoughlin

Many of you may have seen my previous Spottedleaf article, called “Defending Spottedleaf, by Sky.” Well I’m back with new thoughts and evidence, as well as plans to back up some of my previous points.

Some think of her as a stalker who couldn’t let go. Others think that if she didn’t visit Firestar’s dreams, he’d forget about her. Some say that she was a creepy old hag who sought young cats.

But this isn’t true!

Spottedleaf was a brace, spirited medicine cat with a great connection with StarClan. She received the prophecy about Firestar. Obviously, when Rusty came, she was intruiged, and even more so when Bluestar named him FIREpaw.

Now, imagine that you are the healer of your country and you received a message from the stars about this cat who will save your country, and then a cat comes whom you and your leader both think are the cat of that message.

Obviously, you’re excited, right? Perhaps you would, persay, feel some guardianship towards him?

And that’s how Spottedleaf felt. Slowly, the more she observed his actions and got to know him, she fell in love. And now you’re like, “NO I HATE THIS STOP IT. THIS IS AGAINST THE CODE!!!!” But so are many other couples that you probably ship. And if not, then imagine that you were a healer of the country, unable to love. And the you meet this person. You two fall in love with each other. What do you do? And how would you feel if people said, “Haha that’s against the law I hate you two being together.” I myself wouldn’t care.

Well, Spottedleaf was more loyal to the code than many, if you think about it, instead of jumping on him and becoming mates with him, she held back. She knew that he had a duty to StarClan, as did he. Unlike many cats, who were all go with the flow if love, she held back! That alone shows that she was not a creepy old hag who wanted to jump on younger cats.

And then she DIES. Mastermind Erins had planned this from the start. Spottedleaf was nothing but a great medicine cat who had dreams and saw the vision of Firestar. Cheap drama is an added bonus – Firepaw’s reaction was heartbreaking.

Okay, let’s move on to the most-discussed upon period of her existence.

Her life in StarClan.

Debater number one says that she was a stalker.

I say that it’s such an overused debating point that isn’t true!

Imagine that you were in love with this person. You were about to get engaged when someone kills you.

Many people in the fandom just want Spottedleaf to push away her feelings and live like a normal StarClan cat. It’s sort of funny.

Now, go back into that imaginary state – you are in the afterlife, and you see that your former love is in great danger and such. Do you sit back and take a nap? Or do you help him the only way you can – in dreams?

Seriously, how is trying to help and care stalking?

Debater number two says that she made FireXSand weird.

That’s not her problem if Sandstorm wants to throw a hissy and whiny fight and get on that “pity me” attitude. All Spottedleaf wanted to do was help and guide Firestar, and it isn’t hard to see why she goes into his dreams. Plus, is Firestar not allowed to have two loves? Slate took Turtle Tail a lot better than Sandstorm took Spottedleaf. And Turtle Tail visited Gray Wing’s dreams – perhaps not as frequently, but that’s because there wasn’t as much danger in his life then.

Is Spottedleaf supposed to stop loving Firestar? That’s not really possible for her. Imagine that your were her. Seriously, just try pushing away the feelings and taking a nap while your love faces terrible dangers and threats. And honestly, I think of Spottedleaf as an honest cat, and she was being honest when she told Firestar that she sometimes wishes things were different (in Firestar’s Quest). Wouldn’t you? Like Shadowstar said, “Every cat is driven by either greed or fear.” We are all greedy, just a bit. Why else would the richest buy big, expensive houses and the best cars? Even Spottedleaf, no matter how kind, stil wished that she could be with Firestar. I mean, list even one cat who wasn’t greedy AT ALL. I’m greedy and you’re greedy.

Debater number three wants to know what all my blabber about her not being a stalker means if half of the fandom hates her because Firestar was one-two generations younger than her.

Like I said in my last article…

Brackenfur and Sorreltail were about three years apart. Three. Years. Yeah.

I still love this couple, they were a good, loving couple and not forbidden. But age doesn’t really matter with cats. Seriously, it doesn’t. If you ship BrackenXSorrel and hate Spottedleaf, I recommend that you not use the “she was too old!” excuse.

That’ll wrap it up for this article! You are welcome to comment your opinion below.

Thanks for reading!

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68 comments

Leave a Reply to irinasplash Cancel reply

  • Great Article! It is so true! I was like nooooooooo when she died a SECOND time. Your explanations are so awesome!

  • SUPER DUPER AWESOME ARTICLE, SKY! 😮😀 Great points you brought up! I was gonna say something about that one shouldn’t have two loves after marriage/mates (unless one dies) cause that’s just….weird and well makes the other one (whoever that might be) uncomfortable and stuff. But I won’t say anymore though (cause I’m a horrible debater and I don’t like making people angry). This was very well done! 🙂

      • What if they’ve broken up? They should stay single because a cat they aren’t in love with is still alive? Or do you mean taking more than one mate at the same time? In that case, if they’re all consenting adults and are all happy with the situation, I don’t see the problem there either.

        • Taking more than one mate at the same time. It’s weird. And Sandstorm wouldn’t be okay with it I’m sure so yeah. In general it’s kinda mean and not fair. Besides taking a mate is like marrying and you make a commitment and stuff. Of course if you divorce that’s one thing. But my point is that one should have only one love as long as they are together (one hasn’t died or haven’t broken up) cause it’ll cause drama. If everyone’s ok with it, okay fine. But we are talking about the SandxFirexSpotted circle here. Sandstorm wouldn’t be okay with it and I wouldn’t blame her either if my mate was still in love with someone else. Idk if I’m getting off track her or not. I tend to do that, lol.
          I’m gonna go and hide in a corner now so bye. 😛

          • It’s not weird if everyone involved in the relationship is okay with it. But yeah, I don’t see Sandstorm agreeing to that. 😛

            • Right, but what if it’s what we’d call cheating? As in taking another mate behind one’s back? That’s not okay. If they’ve broken up totally, that’s fine.

              • Cheating is never okay, but I was referring to a relationship with multiple parties where all parties are completely aware of the situation.

                • Well, we know that 😛 Though we/I was referring to marriage and how you usually only love one person and stuff and how it’s loyal. But that is marriage. You however are talking about how everyone is all happy and we all love each other (like actually love each other, not just in a family way) which usually isn’t in a marriage cause idk it’s not normal 😛 But still if everyone’s ok with it, that’s completely fine. It’s just not what one would expect. Another thing is that we are talking about the FirexSandxSpotted circle here so let’s keep it at that. 🙂 I’m going to go away now because you are too good of a debater for me so bye!

                  • Nah, I was talking about romantic love between more than two people. 😛 Not just loving everyone in a friendly sense.

                • So basically an open-ended relationship. It’s more common in other countries, but it happens in America too. I know that some people believe that having an open relationship for a small amount of time can help to relieve stress and heal a rocky relationship.

          • yeah
            taking more than one mate was one of the things that happened in the first series that the authors quickly got rid of

  • Nice article. ^^

    I wouldn’t say I hate Spottedleaf, honestly I think she was kind of adorable as an apprentice. and such However, I do think that SpottedxFire tends to be blown up quite a bit, and to an extent that she visited Firestar perhaps a little too often. There was never much to their relationship when they were alive, actually it just didn’t exist. The book showed a bit of chemistry, sort of like a childish crush. That’s really the reason I’m not a fan of this ship. Sure, she liked him and he liked her, but at the end of the day it never went past a little crush, plus she’s dead. The age thing never bothered me either tbh.

    I’d also like to say that Sandstorm was not being whiny with a whole “pity me” thing going on. She felt genuinely hurt, and that’s all right. It’s perfectly normal for people to feel amounts of jealousy. Think about it. Sandstorm is in a healthy, loving relationship with her mate, Firestar. She is essentially, in human terms, married to him. However, he seems to be hung up on what is pretty much an “ex” (and not even that because the two never got together). Of course she’d feel hurt- she feels like she’s second-best, like she was option number two. Even after all they’d been through together, Firestar is still lusting after a dead cat that he’d never even had an actual relationship with. It’s not as if they were just being “buddy-buddy”. If I was dating someone, and I noticed that they were pining after an ex or something, I’d feel hurt. I’d be slightly jealous.

    Yes, he could have two loves. Sure. But the thing with Gray Wing is that he’d actually been mates with Turtle Tail when they were alive. And, even if he did choose to be with Spottedleaf and Sandstorm in StarClan- think about two things. Open relationships aren’t for everyone, and Firestar was with Sandstorm there and then. Some people are cool with their loved ones dating other people besides them. If you are, cool. Some just aren’t, and that doesn’t make them bad people, or whiny. Plus, at that very moment, Spottedleaf was dead. Firestar had an active, present relationship with Sandstorm at that very moment. He didn’t need to be constantly pining for Spottedleaf. He should’ve been a little more focused on his mate.

    That aside, I really don’t have much of a problem with Spottedleaf. When she was alive, I thought she was great. She was gentle, yet fierce when she needed to be. I feel like a bit of her character was a little washed-out when she was dead, but the books tend to paint StarClan cats as these wiser beings, and thats probably because it’s in the point of view of cats that revere their dead. Her dream-walking doesn’t bother me much either. It’s always seemed to be in Spottedleaf’s nature to be more controlling and bossy. In her novella (which yes, I’m aware isn’t the most popular, but try to ignore that right now) even after she’s stopped being a kit, she’s a very controlling and bossy young cat. She seems to look at herself as a little more equal to the warriors than other apprentices. I personally found it cute. So yeah, of course she’d want to in a sense “control” what was going on, and not even in a bad way- she was just trying to help the cat she loved. In the end, I don’t think a view her much as a stalker but more of the ex who doesn’t know when to quit.

  • But what about Spottedleaf’s Heart? Like when Goosefeather walks in on her and (quoting the warriors wiki) says something along the lines of “that she is the one who loves foolishly.” As well as the first part of your argument saying ” Slowly, the more she observed his actions and got to know him, she fell in love. And now you’re like, “NO I HATE THIS STOP IT. THIS IS AGAINST THE CODE!!!!” But so are many other couples that you probably ship.” Not everybody’s ship is against the warrior code. Like SandXFire, SquirrelXBramble, SorrelXBracken, FernXDust, CrookedXWillow, etc. Not even TallXJake (I checked)!

    But now the “there’s too many dream visits” part. In Fire and Ice she sends Fireheart “A battle is coming, Fireheart. Beware a warrior you cannot trust.” It’s PAINFULLY obvious that Tigerclaw is evil but Spottedleaf feels a need to tell Fireheart about it?? And Fireheart thinks it’s GRAYSTRIPE! Spottedleaf sent a prophecy that broke up Fireheart and his best friend! Another one is “StarClan is calling you… Do not be afraid.” This was unneeded. It’s just “Oh you’re gonna be deputy Fireheart!” I’d play out the same way with or without the prophecy. It’s just a matter of Fireheart knows if he’ll become deputy. And the first thought he has when given the message is if he’s goiNG TO DIE! Really Spottedleaf? Was this REALLY necessary?

    It’s probably not the age gap the makes FireXSpotted weird. It’s likely because she’s supposed never take a mate. You even said “Well, Spottedleaf was more loyal to the code than many, if you think about it, instead of jumping on him and becoming mates with him, she held back.” Is constant messages just to talk to your crush holding back? You also mention her falling for Firepaw because he’s part of a prophecy?? And feelings of guardianship for him. I would’ve loved a mom and son like relationship between the two but she takes it so far that FireXSpotted is a thing we all argue about.

    And I don’t think that the age gap is a problem. But the same problem as Spottedleaf’s Heart. Firepaw/Spottedpaw has Spottedleaf/Thistleclaw kinda hitting on them right when they meet. At this point their stories split where Spottedleaf dies and Thistleclaw is in the dark forest. If you haven’t watched it yet I really recommend Moonkitti’s video on Spottedleaf’s Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llxosPdKszI If you have then rewatch it again but keep FireXSpotted in mind. But specifically what I want to point out is around the one minute mark she says that “Spottedpaw is about the age of a young teenager.” So we can assume that Firepaw is also considered this age as well (I’m well aware that irl cats reach sexual maturity at 5-6 months but do irl cats have religion and an organized society?). And Spottedleaf’s a bit older then Mistykit/Stonekit at the end of Spottedleaf’s Heart. So think of (in terms of age) FireXMisty (or FireXStone whatever). And that’s what wrong with that ship during Into the Wild. A child getting with (I’m kinda estimating) 30-40 year old.

    And that’s why I hate Spottedleaf. Thanks for reading and sorry for any and all mistakes

    • I never said that every ship was against the warrior code.

      Spottedleaf was being very helpful compared to StarClan cats who relax around doing absolutely nothing no matter what. Also, another reason why she may have felt connected to Firestar is that SHE RECEIVED A HUGE PROPHECY ABOUT HIM!!! If I were her, I’d feel somewhat protective of him, because, in some way, I’d feel attached.

      What about SorrelXBracken? That’s even worse if you’re going to argue for the age gap. It’s like a kid hitting up with a 60-year-old man, or maybe FernXDust? Probably kid getting with a 40-year-old.

      Also, do laws really apply in StarClan? Sure, you shouldn’t kill and all that jazz, but cats are always mentioning being together in the stars. Most are warriors, but Jayfeather mentions this to Half Moon, as does she to him. So, as Spottedleaf was in StarClan, it was no weirder than Half Moon calling to Jayfeather.

      So, in conclusion, you may be against cats visiting each other in StarClan and the age gap, but why Spottedleaf?

      • Spottedleaf wasn’t like most of the other characters. Characters like Squirrelflight, Grey Wing, and Cloudtail are all exciting, and ships like SquirrelBramble, HeatherLion, and SorrelBracken have chemistry and development. Spottedleaf just stared at Firestar, and fell in love with his pretty face. Firestar saw her’s, and fell in love with that, too. They don’t really have a relationship, just a boring love triangle created in the middle of the series. Spottedleaf has very little booktime, and is only there to deliver prophecies and talking about Firestar. Sandstorm is the one best for him. Now, there’s a quote that perfectly describes them, Spottedleaf is like fire, and Sandstorm is like mud “Mud is cool and nourishing, and fire is burning and painful. But, any fool would choose fire.”

  • Spottedleaf is one of my favorite characters. And Spottedleaf haters usually only hate Spottedleaf because she is a “mary sue” and that she is a “stalker.” Spottedleaf has her flaws, but that doesn’t mean you should hate her even more. By the fact that Spottedleaf has flaws, I’m proving the fact that she isn’t a mary sue. And one flaw is that she pressured Jaypaw (Now Jayfeather, the current medicine cat of ThunderClan.

    • yeah
      nothing was wrong with spottedleaf. her character and personality are fine and make the series more interesting as a whole.

  • No matter what anyone says, Spottedleaf is the WORST CAT in the whole warriors series. If I could wish one thing for a book, I would wish that Firestar would stop caring about her and just be with Sandstorm. I just hate Spottedleaf.
    I was literally crying out happiness, rainbows and sunshines when I read she died TWO times!! >.<

  • I don’t know. She is somewhat bland, and was only made for plot filler. She and Firestar don’t have any chemistry, and are just there for some excitement in Firestar’s life. If she was strong, developed, and had a personality, I would’ve liked her. Spottedleaf’s Heart was her only redemption book.

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