The Erin's definitely need to rethink how the dark forest works, however we still have little information on the characters who inhabit it. Snowtuft became quite the "hero" in The Broken Code for many fans, but this is still a cat who fought alongside tigerstar trying to destroy the clans, and who knows what he did to end up there in the first place.

A bit of a rant, but I have my own version of cat purgatory for my OC clans, called the Twilight Valley. It’s always twilight (as opposed to StarClan always being day, and the Dark Forest always being night) and there’s not much prey, but there is ample amounts of clean water. Most cats in the Twilight Valley were directly sent there, but every one in a blue moon, a dark forest cat who truly repents and feels guilt over their crimes will be able to see faint sunlight on the horizon, and find their way to the Twilight Valley. If the cats who the Twilight cats hurt in life forgive them, then they can be let into StarClan, but that almost exclusively happens to cats directly sent there. Cats that have been in the Dark Forest being let in is almost unheard of, mainly since it’s so rare for Dark Forest cats to make it to the Twilight Valley at all, and it’s only happened twice in clan history, (the Juniperclaw’s and Snowtuft’s of the world would be sent to the Twilight Valley, the Dark Forest is the worst of the worst), but the chance redemption it there.

I read an AU fanfiction a while back where OG!Tigerstar stumbled upon a kit accidentally sent to the Dark Forest due to being half-Clan. He finds out that there’s a system to redeem oneself and go to StarClan by traveling to the brightest part of the forest, the North Star, completing tests of morality along the way. It was a cool read, I wish the actual series had interesting worldbuilding lol

I definitely think there should be a redemption and exile system for the dead cats personally.

I think the Erins’ brand of inconsistent writing has made the Dark forest extremely confusing, because it went from ‘you walk alone in isolation forever’ in TNP to a device for previous main antags to show up again and poison the minds of young people to whatever the heck was going on in the Broken Code. Also, the way the authors place cats in the Dark Forest has become entirely arbitrary [cough cough lilywhisker/brightflower] In my version of Warriors every cat [not just those whose morality is greatly contested] gets appointed counsel and a jury trial populated with uninvolved parties because expecting someone who has just died to be in the mindset to defend themselves is stupid. [there are also trials and hearings in the living world but that’s off topic]

I love the interpretation of the dark forest where a cat only goes there if they think they deserve to be there or if they already know or expect to go there, this opens up so many plot possibilities and ideas so like, like cats that are objectively evil and know that what they're doing is against Starclan's wishes, they already expect Starclan to turn them away and if starclan turns them away and they don't think they're going to the dark forest, they can simply roam the world like the other ghosts

Honestly, stuff like this is why I like to read/create stories where StarClan is corrupt. The Dark Forest is absolutely unfair to its more morally-ambiguous residents (cats who were manipulated into doing what they did, weren't as bad as others, or just kinda ended up there), so StarClan seeing this and deciding to make examples out of cats who don't trust them/disobeyed them by holding trials and collectively deciding they deserved this seems like something that could happen. A lot of my Dark Forest OCs pretty much are "I got screwed over by this bs system and here are some others that happened to", and they work to figure out what happened (usually they redeemed themselves before their death one way or another). So Warriors has things it needs to fix to make this actually fair to everyone.

my favorite rewrite of the dark forest thus far cam from sunnyfall, it's just where cats who don't want to or don't think they should go to star clan end up

I mean, as someone who considers the concept of a Hell inhumane in general, I can't help but agree with you.

Acually, Juniperclaw only poisoned one piece of freshkill, not the entire pile. Im pretty sure he thought he was doing the right thing by saving his clan a war. And after he realized he was wrong, he regretted it, but he was still sent to the dark forest. Also, cats like Frecklewish and Brightflower don't deserve to go there either, if it is supposed to be a place where completly evil cats go.

I, for some reason, like how confusing Starclan/Dark Forest is. I enjoy when concepts that are usually 'perfect paradises' are actually quite corrupt. That's why I (mostly) like how the gods are portrayed in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. As a writer, I also have an afterlife that's often confusing the living because they truly aren't much wiser. I would enjoy it much more through if the writers actually *acknowledged* how awful Starclan can be. Bluestar and Mothwing are the only characters that seem to realize this. I really like the Burn The Stars MAP, no matter how old it gets.

Who’s in control of the world in warrior cats? Like who controls star clan, the dark forest, and the time before there were star clan, the dark forest, and even the tribe of Russian water? Is there a cat god hanging around somewhere?

I personally like it how it is bc it makes things more interesting

Agreed on this. To be honest,though, warriors has trouble even punishing murder consistently. See warrior code forbidding killing and the sheer amount of murder still committed.

Lilystem wasn't condemned to the Dark Forest and Brightflower's place in The Place of no Stars has been rendered non-canon.

I love warriors and wings of fire!

I was just reading bonefall's dark forest posts what a coincidence

Reading the broken code: The Light In the mist, the dark forest is very broken.

Freckle wish needs a redemption

Which of the main cats had a family connection with a cat in dark forest? In which cat was it?

Honestly I don’t understand for what reason snowtuft had to go in the dark forest we don’t know anything about him and he had his redemption and he dies completely erased and can’t go to star clan that’s unfair seriously Erin

I need a Chonny’s Inferno animation with the Dark Forest cats

I was watching one of your video where I saw this and now no one can say first lol

Made it

Tbh Frecklewish in a way… deserved what she got. She aided her clan leader, and medicine cat into exiling kits… which is a severe code-break. All because she and the other cats of the clan ‘assumed’ birch face was the father of mapleshade’s kits. She’s involved into their deaths. The whole Mapleshade incident wouldn’t have happened, if they decided to accept the kits, exile Mapleshade, and maybe, just maybe, if she proves herself right, she could return. But nooo Thunderclan was run by idiots who were biased to the point they couldn’t see past their noses. Those kits died because of biased opinions… they could have lived long, beautiful lives, but they were exiled, RIGHT before a storm. (Or after? I can’t remember)

If the Dark forest is forever then Star clan must be a lie

Snowtuft deserved better

I'm pretty sure that a cat goes to the Dark forest depending on how much the authors like them.

Pink designer 22

Wait, how in earth is attempted murder less evil than murder? You did the same thing, it’s just that nobody died!

I see a lot of people equating StarClan to God, but this isn't a very accurate analogy. StarClan are not all powerful, they aren't all knowing, and they aren't even strictly benevolent. They are just the dead spirits of cats who used to be the friends of the living cats, and so they usually do what they can to help the living cats. But they aren't above grudges, and they can't always see the consequences of their actions, so they make mistakes and cause problems. They can only see slightly more than the living cats can, and frequently can't even do as much to influence things as a living cat can. Which is why they have to get a living cat to do their bidding. The members of StarClan don't always agree, so their can be infighting and people going behind the backs of everyone else to do something that might not be beneficial. Some of the older spirits have been around for a long time and therefore have collected much more knowledge and wisdom than a living cat ever could have. But these older spirits, for whatever reason, rarely interact with the living Clans, or even the younger spirits, leaving guidance up to the spirits who hardly know any more that the cats they are guiding. I think OOTS destroyed the mysticism and wonder of StarClan in a way that could only be fixed through more effort than Harper Collins or any of the Erins would care to put into Warriors.

That's what I think about hell. Edit this's worse then hell

Bro sooooo the Dark forest is dumb

Thanks for the spoilers! Only comment spoilers! Would You Rather Ivypool x Hawkfrost be canon or Scrouge X Ashur being canon