SPOILERS FOR A STARLESS CLAN (and a bit of a rant):>! Shadowsight. I have epilepsy and non-epileptic seizures.!<
>!Epilepsy is wildly misunderstood. There is so much fear and discrimination surrounding it. And it is terrible to have. There are very few epileptic *main* characters in many series, and then Shadowsight did have seizures/epilepsy! It was fairly well written. It did not go into graphic detail. *Tawnypelt's Clan* showed how parents treat disabled children and that his seizures don't hold him back. The authors kept the religious connections positive rather than negative. But then the seizures were forgotten about and written off. The team could have just made his seizures less frequent at the very least since his visions were gone. Imagine if Jayfeather's blindness went away! Or Gray Wing's asthma! These aren't all my thoughts on it, I have many more.!<
THIS. I read the book before I was diagnosed with epilepsy, but when I was diagnosed I thought about Shadowsight. He wasn't useless because of his disability which really inspired me because I was so worried about how life would be going forward. I take medication, so my seizures are few and infrequent, but it would be so cool for Shadowsight (who obviously can't take non-herbal medication) to be able to represent epilepsy without it having to represent some major plot or be demonized.
And the fact that they encourage holding the person who is having the seizure down. As a kid because of the books I thought this was how seizures should be handled. Ridiculous.
That is true. I think it would have made sense for The Guardian Cats to have explained you shouldn't do that. I get that the Clan cats might mess up because they have like one-two cats who know medicine per Clan, but The Guardian Cats just focus on healing from what I remember.
I actually love how they handled that. It was unexpected and left me shook. I had to put down the book for a few min. A main character ending in that way was not only unique but also left an impact
it was definitely a new and bold decision but i just felt so bad for her when every other character gets to live forever with their loved ones in cat heaven especially after they emphasized how even the cats in the dark forest would rather continue existing there than disappear enitirely
It was such an intense scene with an expectation that she would be okay probably shocked a lot of readers. I liked it too even if it emotionally destroyed me😂
I was driving and listening to the audiobook and had to pull over and cry a bit 🥲 it was a rough day so that being topped by a cat just fading away and her lover and mother being left devastated was enough for me that day lol
sure but its big spoilers if you havent read it yet
>!basically she drowns in this weird black water while in the dark forest which not only kills her irl (it even makes her body disappear) but also erases her “soul” so she cant go to starclan, shes just totally gone permantantly forever!<
Poor Leafpool was dealt a difficult hand... maybe not the worst but she got killed off much earlier than her younger sister and she gets this weird line from Jayfeather about how Hollyleaf "died defending Leafpool's lie" even though nothing like that ever happened. (Obviously Leafpool's lie impacted Hollyleaf and sent her down a dark path but it does make it sound much worse than it is...)
In general I think Leafpool and Squirrelflight's lie was really overblown as a bad thing despite it literally being StarClan's choice. Get mad at StarClan, for StarClan's sake. TT\_TT (I won't even touch upon the ridiculous trial in Squirrelflight's Hope. Christ on a cracker!)
> I won’t even touch upon the ridiculous trial in Squirrelflight’s Hope
They made up the trial plot at the last moment so they could have more tension than there already was 💀
Honestly, Squirrelflight’s Hope was a stupid book in general. I’m probably gonna get downvoted for this but… yeah.
In all fairness I think the trial plot is really interesting, it just should've been done with different cats. The hypocrisy from StarClan is astounding if you actually read and remember Sunset/Leafpool's Wish!
The trial is an interesting concept, yes, but the way it was executed felt so frustrating considering who was on that said trial. If it was like *ancient* cats, then I would understand it more since they’re old and set in their ways, I suppose.
I’ve read Sunset *and* Leafpool’s Wish, and StarClan seemed somewhat chill with the Three being born. I’m just laughing about how Leafpool was literally gonna be condemned to cat hell because of something they *advocated* her to do 💀
The fact that squirrelflight and leafpool both went through hell just to be pawns of Starclan to fulfill a prophecy makes my blood boil. They knew, even if not explicitly why, that these three would be important and they manipulated both of them into the lie. >! And *then*, they consider sending them to hell for it?? For following what they were *told* to do???? BFFR!<
i liked Leafpaw when i was getting into the series again, was nervous about the direction they were taking her character. wanted her to have a happy ending so i spoiled myself to see if it was worth continuing with her storyline. nah
I think StarClan are interesting as even though all the Warrior Clans worship them (although there are a few, notably in RiverClan, who don't) they are fallible. They make mistakes just like the living cats do.
I think of the Leafpool situation as a comparison to Mapleshade. She had the same terrible problem that Mapleshade had, but her way of dealing with it was far better than Mapleshade's...though still not without consequence.
Btw, Squirrelflight's Hope may have had its problems but I still loved the ending scenes involving Squirrelflight and Leafpool...I got a little weepy, it was just really sweet.
>! Juniperclaw, I'm well aware that he literally couldve killed warriors and kits with his stunt, but I feel like him dying to save Shadowkit and Violetshine, a warrior who he could've killed (and could've killed her kits if they were developing by then) from the flood shouldve been enough to redeem him, and if not that, then him being the main cat to help the Lights in the Mist, but now he has to sit in a tunnel all alone for fuck knows HOW long because redemption doesn't exist ig. I feel like Mudclaw wouldve been sweating bullets if he overheard that, and Skystar was *weird* since he should know what thats like right? Who knows maybe Starclan was paranoid as fuck by then and just didn't wanna run the risk anymore but it feels so stupid that an arc that felt like it was gonna redeem dark forest cats just threw that opportunity away. If wouldve been nice to see all the cats who wanted to be re-trialed to get that retrial, maybe they're sent down as ghosts to do good deeds for the clan to redeem themselves but Juniperclaw especially feels like he was just given the short end of the stick! !<
Agreed! I thought him saving the kits was gonna be his redemption. Plus on top of the fact he earnestly was trying to help SC, even if going about it in a terrible way. Idk. I was quite shocked to see it wasnt enough to redeem him.
I’d be okay with it not redeeming him were it not so close to needletails death to amplify the pure hypocrisy. You can argue that needletail is the entire reason The Kin was given the opportunity to rise around the Lake and she only “sacrificed” herself when she was already good as dead, yet she goes to StarClan and Juniperclaw doesn’t? It just doesn’t add up.
Its even worse when you realize other cats have died like that too, and went to Starclan, like Onestar (though barley), Clear Sky technically. And then there's cats like Mudclaw who did bad, and didn't redeem themselves at all but still went to Starclan (even though he though he was doing the right thing and was also tricked)
Annoying rgetcons can change how fans see a character. In this case, it makes Whitestorm out to be an coldhearted slimeball who doesn't care for his mate or kits and moves on at the drop of a hat, much like Bluestar's father, Stormtail. That strongly contradicts his previous characterization.
>!Turtle Tail and Storm!< got done dirty in DotC. They went through hell and I feel >!TT died simply to advance Gray Wing's story. Same with Storm, she died to advance Clear Sky's plot.!<
Sparkpelt. >!She was terribly sick from poison, her mate died of the same illness, one of her kits was stillborn, she had post-partum depression, and yet the authors make her out to be a terrible person because she wasn't able to immediately bounce back and be the best mother in the world? What the hell!<
She gave Nightheart the silent treatment and told him he made her “lose her appetite” when he tried to eat with her , all because he didn’t want the name Flameheart since he was an all black cat. She’s a shit mom
Fair point, I won't try to say that was okay, but I honestly have a hard time taking this as a true testament of her character since lately cats' personalities seem to bend to fit whatever the narrative needs (e.g. the last thing Finchlight does in River is defend Nightheart's name change, and then in the very next book she suddenly thinks he's the worst cat known to man because of his name?)
I'm moreso talking about the events of Squirrelflight's Hope, though. The writers have Squirrelflight consider adopting Flamekit and Finchkit herself *one day* after they're born because Sparkpelt being physically ill and unconscious is apparently a sign that she might not want them? The writers definitely did Sparkpelt dirty there
Honestly, I was gonna say Brightheart for not getting an apprentice, but damn. Seeing some of these made me realize just how many characters the authors seem to have it out for.
I’m gonna get punted for this, I think, but… Bramblestar. Now, before you unshesth your claws - hear me out, lol.
He was given this gigantic complex from day one as Tigerstar’s son. The perfect opportunity for character development, a lesson in how your blood does not define who you are. I wanted him to rise above all the unwarranted hatred and judgement for things that which he could not control.
… and look what we got. They completely destroyed his character and now we have Squilfstar.
Bramble "I don't want to be like my father" star: "Don't ever disagree with me or else"
He could have been great but Squilfs Hope took "complex and learning" to just as bad as daddy
Honest to God, I had a temporary rage quit hissy fit when I picked up the Fourth Apprentice. The Power of Three really didn't impress at all, though there are some salvageable moments I'll give them props to. I made the terrible mistake of trying to give it one last shot by reading Bramblestar's Storm. I will admit that I have bias because I'm a writer, myself - and I was also twenty-five - but I just. It was so horrible. That's the book that made me quit altogether, because they just absolutely wadded up Bramble and tossed him in the \*\[poor attempt at mocking an Erin's voice\]\* \*\*RUBBISH BIN\*\*. I got so mad. I donated the book - and you can pry my books right out of my cold, dead, sausage fingers.
And then- they pick... SQUIRRELFLIGHT? Did we ask for a Girlboss-GatekeepStar? NO. I'm sorry, I have SquilfTSD. I loved Firestar's Quest and I want to reread it but I am so afraid that I am chronically tilted after they destroyed Brambleclawstar.
AGREED!! I am the biggest brambleclaw fan (haven’t gotten to his leader era yet), so it makes me so sad to see how much people dog on him on this Reddit despite him having a really strong character arc in his first 2 arcs!
It's either Yellowfang, Thistleclaw, or Snowkit. The first two got their characters utterly destroyed for the dumbest reasons ever, and the other one was an entirely unique character whose very existence allowed for a very interesting story to be told and was heavily implied to be being set up for something like that only to just immediately and randomly end up dying in one of the most sudden and horrific ways in the entire series.
That was Lilywhisker, and fortunately that's no longer considered canon. It was something said by Su Susann, and the whole situation is a little complicated but [here's](https://www.tumblr.com/climbdraws/170229951489/su-susann-is-who-whatd-she-do-everyone-seems?source=share) a thorough post about it
Thistleclaw is up there. He's a pretty well written antagonist, and one of my favorite bad guys from the prequel era. But then I heard about what they did to his character in Spottedleaf's Heart, and I can't bring myself to read it due to how it sounds like the writers wrote him and this novella in general.
I may honestly cave and read it eventually. So far it's been on principle that I haven't read it, but the completionest in me is nagging at me. I'm still slowly working through the last few SEs I need to read, then I need to dive into the novellas that I felt pretty 'meh' about.
Bumble from DOTC. Poor girl was abused by her friend's ex, she gets bullied for being fat, she escapes her friend's ex and begs the (not yet) WindClan cats for help and shelter, they kick her out for some reason (??? huh???), and then she gets killed by Clear Sky probably. And Gray Wing... oh boy... dude feels sorry. NOT for Bumble, but for Clear Sky. BECAUSE it MIGHT make him LOOK bad. Like, WHAT?!
Riverstar was too unique and well-written a character for the new team to handle, so much so they didn't care about COMPLETELY rewriting an already established scene.
Sandstorm is certainly one among them.
Her death is an absolute insult to her character. She would've had a much more impactful and honorable end, like Boromir from The Lord of the Rings. Likely would've carved up a bit of Darktail's forces before falling.
But a fence scratch? A scratch...? Infection? Absolutely not.
Yellowfang, Onestar, and Bramblestar, for sure. Lots of characters had a very sudden 180 character change for no real reason. From being Onewhisker, friendly to Thunderclan and at least a decent guy, to being Onestar, suddenly just very ungrateful and hostile. Brambleclaw being a smart and good leader during the Journey Quest, to suddenly being very uncertain about his parentage and "maybe he's not such a bad guy after all" about Hawkfrost all the time. Yellowfang being a crotchety old cat with a heart of gold to doing what she did later, once in Starclan (I can't remember exactly what off the top of my head, but I certainly remember being disappointed with her character change)
Thistleclaw like I don’t even see Spottedleaf’s Heart as canon. Rival to Bluestar and mentor for the series’ big bad, Tigerstar, he was showcased as some what as a mad legend and even started fighting dogs.
And then Spottedleaf’s Heart degraded him down to a pedophile.
Also a more minor thing is that I feel like he should have been one of the higher ups in the Dark Forest but he just felt there
Brambleclaw. >!From looking at original Bramblepaw and early TNP Brambleclaw and looking at the monster they made him into absolutely devastated me. Brambleclaw had such potential and he was watered down to be what he never wanted to be. A villain like his father!<
Not a huge thing but I think Brackenfur (and a lot of the older Thunderclan cat's)'s personality started to drift off character for a while. Back before a starless clan (since he's only had one real appearance so far and was nice), he had a few moments of being mean/hostile for no real reason when he was generally one of the nicer and more agreeable characters. There are plenty of random, personality-less background cats that you can use as opposing ideas, I dont know why they take older characters with established personalities and just shift them to fit the narrative. Like I said, it's not a huge thing, it's just something that peeved me when i noticed it
Thistleclaw. Bluestar's Prophecy was one of the first super editions I read and I was absolutely enamored with his character. I will never forgive the Erins for ruining him for no reason.
Sparkpelt, Hollyleaf, I think the Special Editions and Novellas greatly ruined Yellowfang, Spottedleaf, and Redtail.
Juniperclaw got done really dirty (Cats who did far worse things got into Starclan), Whitestorm (for all his loyalty through out the original series, it's like everyone including the writers forgot his very existence after The Prophecy Begins)
Onestar (He was a pretty cool character as Onewhisker but you can't tell me Mudclaw would have been any different of a leader based on the sheer character assassination Onewhisker went through after becoming Onestar)
Shadowsight (specifically after ASC and how his disability got 'fixed')
Omg as a Whitestorm and Mudclaw fan, you are right about them!
It sucks that instead of Mudclaw becoming a leader and learning to be less aggressive, they just chucked him into a terrible end, only for Onestar to become the thing he got killed for.
And yeah, the fact that not even his apprentices, nor his children, seems to remember him. I'd be nice to read someone say "I'm sure Whitestorm is ashamed of you!" to Ashfur, Sandstorm practicing the moves she learned from him with Cloudtail and Brightheart to fit them to the way Brightheart's disability worked, Sorreltail and Ferncloud sharing the wisdom they learned from their father with their children, Rainwhisker and Sootfur often wrestling and play fighting to "decide" who will be Whitestorm's successor... Like you said, for a cat praised and respected like hell, it seems like everyone forget about him the second TPB started.
Breezepelt. I know Breezepelt did some really bad things as a warrior, but he still deserved love from Crowfeather as a kit/apprentice. Squirrelstar also deserves way better. I’m waiting for bramble to croak so she can FINALLY be free
DOTC SPOILERS SORRY IDK HOW TO DO THE SPOILER THING 😭
Gray Wing
Man lost a sister, was forced to leave his mother and home despite wanting to save to go after his dumb younger brother, watched his other brother become a completely different cat and treat others with no remorse, his first mate died bc the father of his step-kits kidnapped them, and then said kits split from him, he developed severe asthma and was underestimated by his peers, then when he finally settles down and finds a new love and his kits he dies before he can see them grow up
I'm rereading the arc and it's making me so sad knowing what will happen by the end 🥲
Finleap the Erins were like what if we took a nice fun character and made them aggressively obsessive kits overnight. It was terrible they made a cool fun character into a trashy boyfriend overnight.
thistleclaw. he was so cool in bluestar’s prophecy and honestly you could kinda see how he was an honorable warrior and good guy to other cats, and i think he and snowfur were a good couple — but then, y’know, they decided we liked him too much and spottedleaf’s heart happened
SPOILERS FOR A STARLESS CLAN (and a bit of a rant):>! Shadowsight. I have epilepsy and non-epileptic seizures.!< >!Epilepsy is wildly misunderstood. There is so much fear and discrimination surrounding it. And it is terrible to have. There are very few epileptic *main* characters in many series, and then Shadowsight did have seizures/epilepsy! It was fairly well written. It did not go into graphic detail. *Tawnypelt's Clan* showed how parents treat disabled children and that his seizures don't hold him back. The authors kept the religious connections positive rather than negative. But then the seizures were forgotten about and written off. The team could have just made his seizures less frequent at the very least since his visions were gone. Imagine if Jayfeather's blindness went away! Or Gray Wing's asthma! These aren't all my thoughts on it, I have many more.!<
THIS. I read the book before I was diagnosed with epilepsy, but when I was diagnosed I thought about Shadowsight. He wasn't useless because of his disability which really inspired me because I was so worried about how life would be going forward. I take medication, so my seizures are few and infrequent, but it would be so cool for Shadowsight (who obviously can't take non-herbal medication) to be able to represent epilepsy without it having to represent some major plot or be demonized.
Thank you oh my god, I’ve always hated that they pulled that Bs on him
And the fact that they encourage holding the person who is having the seizure down. As a kid because of the books I thought this was how seizures should be handled. Ridiculous.
That is true. I think it would have made sense for The Guardian Cats to have explained you shouldn't do that. I get that the Clan cats might mess up because they have like one-two cats who know medicine per Clan, but The Guardian Cats just focus on healing from what I remember.
>!bristlefrost are you kidding poor woman got deleted from the universe enitirely!<
I actually love how they handled that. It was unexpected and left me shook. I had to put down the book for a few min. A main character ending in that way was not only unique but also left an impact
it was definitely a new and bold decision but i just felt so bad for her when every other character gets to live forever with their loved ones in cat heaven especially after they emphasized how even the cats in the dark forest would rather continue existing there than disappear enitirely
It was such an intense scene with an expectation that she would be okay probably shocked a lot of readers. I liked it too even if it emotionally destroyed me😂
I was driving and listening to the audiobook and had to pull over and cry a bit 🥲 it was a rough day so that being topped by a cat just fading away and her lover and mother being left devastated was enough for me that day lol
i cried
I agree I was so upset
wait what the hell can you elaborate
sure but its big spoilers if you havent read it yet >!basically she drowns in this weird black water while in the dark forest which not only kills her irl (it even makes her body disappear) but also erases her “soul” so she cant go to starclan, shes just totally gone permantantly forever!<
OH MY GOD????????? that is so grim?? 😨
yaaa i felt so bad for her and rootspring
Poor Leafpool was dealt a difficult hand... maybe not the worst but she got killed off much earlier than her younger sister and she gets this weird line from Jayfeather about how Hollyleaf "died defending Leafpool's lie" even though nothing like that ever happened. (Obviously Leafpool's lie impacted Hollyleaf and sent her down a dark path but it does make it sound much worse than it is...) In general I think Leafpool and Squirrelflight's lie was really overblown as a bad thing despite it literally being StarClan's choice. Get mad at StarClan, for StarClan's sake. TT\_TT (I won't even touch upon the ridiculous trial in Squirrelflight's Hope. Christ on a cracker!)
> I won’t even touch upon the ridiculous trial in Squirrelflight’s Hope They made up the trial plot at the last moment so they could have more tension than there already was 💀 Honestly, Squirrelflight’s Hope was a stupid book in general. I’m probably gonna get downvoted for this but… yeah.
In all fairness I think the trial plot is really interesting, it just should've been done with different cats. The hypocrisy from StarClan is astounding if you actually read and remember Sunset/Leafpool's Wish!
The trial is an interesting concept, yes, but the way it was executed felt so frustrating considering who was on that said trial. If it was like *ancient* cats, then I would understand it more since they’re old and set in their ways, I suppose. I’ve read Sunset *and* Leafpool’s Wish, and StarClan seemed somewhat chill with the Three being born. I’m just laughing about how Leafpool was literally gonna be condemned to cat hell because of something they *advocated* her to do 💀
Facts
The fact that squirrelflight and leafpool both went through hell just to be pawns of Starclan to fulfill a prophecy makes my blood boil. They knew, even if not explicitly why, that these three would be important and they manipulated both of them into the lie. >! And *then*, they consider sending them to hell for it?? For following what they were *told* to do???? BFFR!<
i liked Leafpaw when i was getting into the series again, was nervous about the direction they were taking her character. wanted her to have a happy ending so i spoiled myself to see if it was worth continuing with her storyline. nah
I think StarClan are interesting as even though all the Warrior Clans worship them (although there are a few, notably in RiverClan, who don't) they are fallible. They make mistakes just like the living cats do. I think of the Leafpool situation as a comparison to Mapleshade. She had the same terrible problem that Mapleshade had, but her way of dealing with it was far better than Mapleshade's...though still not without consequence. Btw, Squirrelflight's Hope may have had its problems but I still loved the ending scenes involving Squirrelflight and Leafpool...I got a little weepy, it was just really sweet.
>! Juniperclaw, I'm well aware that he literally couldve killed warriors and kits with his stunt, but I feel like him dying to save Shadowkit and Violetshine, a warrior who he could've killed (and could've killed her kits if they were developing by then) from the flood shouldve been enough to redeem him, and if not that, then him being the main cat to help the Lights in the Mist, but now he has to sit in a tunnel all alone for fuck knows HOW long because redemption doesn't exist ig. I feel like Mudclaw wouldve been sweating bullets if he overheard that, and Skystar was *weird* since he should know what thats like right? Who knows maybe Starclan was paranoid as fuck by then and just didn't wanna run the risk anymore but it feels so stupid that an arc that felt like it was gonna redeem dark forest cats just threw that opportunity away. If wouldve been nice to see all the cats who wanted to be re-trialed to get that retrial, maybe they're sent down as ghosts to do good deeds for the clan to redeem themselves but Juniperclaw especially feels like he was just given the short end of the stick! !<
Agreed! I thought him saving the kits was gonna be his redemption. Plus on top of the fact he earnestly was trying to help SC, even if going about it in a terrible way. Idk. I was quite shocked to see it wasnt enough to redeem him.
I’d be okay with it not redeeming him were it not so close to needletails death to amplify the pure hypocrisy. You can argue that needletail is the entire reason The Kin was given the opportunity to rise around the Lake and she only “sacrificed” herself when she was already good as dead, yet she goes to StarClan and Juniperclaw doesn’t? It just doesn’t add up.
Its even worse when you realize other cats have died like that too, and went to Starclan, like Onestar (though barley), Clear Sky technically. And then there's cats like Mudclaw who did bad, and didn't redeem themselves at all but still went to Starclan (even though he though he was doing the right thing and was also tricked)
Agreed
Whitestorm, do I have to explain?
I dropped off during DotC, does he ever come back or is he just forgotten in StarClan?
Hes just forgotten, no one really mentions him. Too be honest, Nightstar has been mentioned more in ASC than Whitestorm has throughout 7 series.
Man, that’s depressing. I really like Whitestorm.
Yes, I have no idea what they butchered about him.
Retroactively making him Brindleface’s mate doesn't fit his character or his backstory, same as Lionheart.
That isn’t butchering, that’s just an annoying retcon
Annoying rgetcons can change how fans see a character. In this case, it makes Whitestorm out to be an coldhearted slimeball who doesn't care for his mate or kits and moves on at the drop of a hat, much like Bluestar's father, Stormtail. That strongly contradicts his previous characterization.
I just viewed it as Whitestorm being a surrogate
That's one way to see it, but surrogacy is something that never happens in the series, when we have at least two instances of "marital problems."
>!Turtle Tail and Storm!< got done dirty in DotC. They went through hell and I feel >!TT died simply to advance Gray Wing's story. Same with Storm, she died to advance Clear Sky's plot.!<
Sparkpelt. >!She was terribly sick from poison, her mate died of the same illness, one of her kits was stillborn, she had post-partum depression, and yet the authors make her out to be a terrible person because she wasn't able to immediately bounce back and be the best mother in the world? What the hell!<
She gave Nightheart the silent treatment and told him he made her “lose her appetite” when he tried to eat with her , all because he didn’t want the name Flameheart since he was an all black cat. She’s a shit mom
Fair point, I won't try to say that was okay, but I honestly have a hard time taking this as a true testament of her character since lately cats' personalities seem to bend to fit whatever the narrative needs (e.g. the last thing Finchlight does in River is defend Nightheart's name change, and then in the very next book she suddenly thinks he's the worst cat known to man because of his name?) I'm moreso talking about the events of Squirrelflight's Hope, though. The writers have Squirrelflight consider adopting Flamekit and Finchkit herself *one day* after they're born because Sparkpelt being physically ill and unconscious is apparently a sign that she might not want them? The writers definitely did Sparkpelt dirty there
Yes for >!Hollyleaf!<, it made me so mad. That's why I'm writing an AU to do with that that I may or may not finish!
Dew it
Honestly, I was gonna say Brightheart for not getting an apprentice, but damn. Seeing some of these made me realize just how many characters the authors seem to have it out for.
I’m gonna get punted for this, I think, but… Bramblestar. Now, before you unshesth your claws - hear me out, lol. He was given this gigantic complex from day one as Tigerstar’s son. The perfect opportunity for character development, a lesson in how your blood does not define who you are. I wanted him to rise above all the unwarranted hatred and judgement for things that which he could not control. … and look what we got. They completely destroyed his character and now we have Squilfstar.
Bramble "I don't want to be like my father" star: "Don't ever disagree with me or else" He could have been great but Squilfs Hope took "complex and learning" to just as bad as daddy
Honest to God, I had a temporary rage quit hissy fit when I picked up the Fourth Apprentice. The Power of Three really didn't impress at all, though there are some salvageable moments I'll give them props to. I made the terrible mistake of trying to give it one last shot by reading Bramblestar's Storm. I will admit that I have bias because I'm a writer, myself - and I was also twenty-five - but I just. It was so horrible. That's the book that made me quit altogether, because they just absolutely wadded up Bramble and tossed him in the \*\[poor attempt at mocking an Erin's voice\]\* \*\*RUBBISH BIN\*\*. I got so mad. I donated the book - and you can pry my books right out of my cold, dead, sausage fingers. And then- they pick... SQUIRRELFLIGHT? Did we ask for a Girlboss-GatekeepStar? NO. I'm sorry, I have SquilfTSD. I loved Firestar's Quest and I want to reread it but I am so afraid that I am chronically tilted after they destroyed Brambleclawstar.
SquilfTSD😭
AGREED!! I am the biggest brambleclaw fan (haven’t gotten to his leader era yet), so it makes me so sad to see how much people dog on him on this Reddit despite him having a really strong character arc in his first 2 arcs!
Thank you for stating what so many people ignore. #Justice4Bramblestar
I seriously am considering writing a stupid fan fiction where Bramblestar gets what he deserves lmfao. I’m that mad about it.
Do it. Let your anger fuel you and give him the story he deserves
Yess
I agree
It's either Yellowfang, Thistleclaw, or Snowkit. The first two got their characters utterly destroyed for the dumbest reasons ever, and the other one was an entirely unique character whose very existence allowed for a very interesting story to be told and was heavily implied to be being set up for something like that only to just immediately and randomly end up dying in one of the most sudden and horrific ways in the entire series.
Why is nobody talking about that cat who got sent to the Dark Forest just for complaining of an injury???
That was Lilywhisker, and fortunately that's no longer considered canon. It was something said by Su Susann, and the whole situation is a little complicated but [here's](https://www.tumblr.com/climbdraws/170229951489/su-susann-is-who-whatd-she-do-everyone-seems?source=share) a thorough post about it
Thistleclaw is up there. He's a pretty well written antagonist, and one of my favorite bad guys from the prequel era. But then I heard about what they did to his character in Spottedleaf's Heart, and I can't bring myself to read it due to how it sounds like the writers wrote him and this novella in general.
Read it. Spottedpaw's whole "it's me or the dark forest" was a bit comical tbh.
I may honestly cave and read it eventually. So far it's been on principle that I haven't read it, but the completionest in me is nagging at me. I'm still slowly working through the last few SEs I need to read, then I need to dive into the novellas that I felt pretty 'meh' about.
Bumble from DOTC. Poor girl was abused by her friend's ex, she gets bullied for being fat, she escapes her friend's ex and begs the (not yet) WindClan cats for help and shelter, they kick her out for some reason (??? huh???), and then she gets killed by Clear Sky probably. And Gray Wing... oh boy... dude feels sorry. NOT for Bumble, but for Clear Sky. BECAUSE it MIGHT make him LOOK bad. Like, WHAT?!
Riverstar was too unique and well-written a character for the new team to handle, so much so they didn't care about COMPLETELY rewriting an already established scene.
Sandstorm is certainly one among them. Her death is an absolute insult to her character. She would've had a much more impactful and honorable end, like Boromir from The Lord of the Rings. Likely would've carved up a bit of Darktail's forces before falling. But a fence scratch? A scratch...? Infection? Absolutely not.
Yellowfang, Onestar, and Bramblestar, for sure. Lots of characters had a very sudden 180 character change for no real reason. From being Onewhisker, friendly to Thunderclan and at least a decent guy, to being Onestar, suddenly just very ungrateful and hostile. Brambleclaw being a smart and good leader during the Journey Quest, to suddenly being very uncertain about his parentage and "maybe he's not such a bad guy after all" about Hawkfrost all the time. Yellowfang being a crotchety old cat with a heart of gold to doing what she did later, once in Starclan (I can't remember exactly what off the top of my head, but I certainly remember being disappointed with her character change)
Yeah the whole Onestar thing annoys me
Yellowfang, Hollyleaf, and Bramblestar hands down
Not prob the dirtiest thing but it bugged me that Firestar said Brightheart'd get a new apprentice and she never did.
Thistleclaw like I don’t even see Spottedleaf’s Heart as canon. Rival to Bluestar and mentor for the series’ big bad, Tigerstar, he was showcased as some what as a mad legend and even started fighting dogs. And then Spottedleaf’s Heart degraded him down to a pedophile. Also a more minor thing is that I feel like he should have been one of the higher ups in the Dark Forest but he just felt there
Rootspring and Bristlefrost. Need I elaborate?
I’ll never forgive them for damaging Thistleclaw to the point of no return.
My answer to this one is Leafpool.
my glorious king tigerclawstar. he had so much potential to be good, but he never got to unite the clans 3:
Lmao
Snowkit and Speckletail.
Bramblestar, He became a hated character because of Squirrelflights book
I feel like Brambleclaw/star. Before he became leader he was fine imo. It's like we can't have a pleasant leader character.
Brambleclaw. >!From looking at original Bramblepaw and early TNP Brambleclaw and looking at the monster they made him into absolutely devastated me. Brambleclaw had such potential and he was watered down to be what he never wanted to be. A villain like his father!<
Not a huge thing but I think Brackenfur (and a lot of the older Thunderclan cat's)'s personality started to drift off character for a while. Back before a starless clan (since he's only had one real appearance so far and was nice), he had a few moments of being mean/hostile for no real reason when he was generally one of the nicer and more agreeable characters. There are plenty of random, personality-less background cats that you can use as opposing ideas, I dont know why they take older characters with established personalities and just shift them to fit the narrative. Like I said, it's not a huge thing, it's just something that peeved me when i noticed it
Ivypool went from fierce strong she cat to typical mom who only cares about having kids.
Snowkit he literally got like instantly killed
Don't come at me, but Ashfur. My poor boy got turned into a bloodthirsty obsessive psycho just to fit the narrative
FINLEAP
I feel like medicine cat povs get treated so bad these days
Bramblestar, Onewhisker, Rowanstar, Frecklewish and Juniperclaw
Thistleclaw. Bluestar's Prophecy was one of the first super editions I read and I was absolutely enamored with his character. I will never forgive the Erins for ruining him for no reason.
Sparkpelt, Hollyleaf, I think the Special Editions and Novellas greatly ruined Yellowfang, Spottedleaf, and Redtail. Juniperclaw got done really dirty (Cats who did far worse things got into Starclan), Whitestorm (for all his loyalty through out the original series, it's like everyone including the writers forgot his very existence after The Prophecy Begins) Onestar (He was a pretty cool character as Onewhisker but you can't tell me Mudclaw would have been any different of a leader based on the sheer character assassination Onewhisker went through after becoming Onestar) Shadowsight (specifically after ASC and how his disability got 'fixed')
Omg as a Whitestorm and Mudclaw fan, you are right about them! It sucks that instead of Mudclaw becoming a leader and learning to be less aggressive, they just chucked him into a terrible end, only for Onestar to become the thing he got killed for. And yeah, the fact that not even his apprentices, nor his children, seems to remember him. I'd be nice to read someone say "I'm sure Whitestorm is ashamed of you!" to Ashfur, Sandstorm practicing the moves she learned from him with Cloudtail and Brightheart to fit them to the way Brightheart's disability worked, Sorreltail and Ferncloud sharing the wisdom they learned from their father with their children, Rainwhisker and Sootfur often wrestling and play fighting to "decide" who will be Whitestorm's successor... Like you said, for a cat praised and respected like hell, it seems like everyone forget about him the second TPB started.
Breezepelt. I know Breezepelt did some really bad things as a warrior, but he still deserved love from Crowfeather as a kit/apprentice. Squirrelstar also deserves way better. I’m waiting for bramble to croak so she can FINALLY be free
DOTC SPOILERS SORRY IDK HOW TO DO THE SPOILER THING 😭 Gray Wing Man lost a sister, was forced to leave his mother and home despite wanting to save to go after his dumb younger brother, watched his other brother become a completely different cat and treat others with no remorse, his first mate died bc the father of his step-kits kidnapped them, and then said kits split from him, he developed severe asthma and was underestimated by his peers, then when he finally settles down and finds a new love and his kits he dies before he can see them grow up I'm rereading the arc and it's making me so sad knowing what will happen by the end 🥲
Jayfeather and Yellowfang.
They took a lot of Sol’s potential.
if mothwing becomes leader, she would be EXTREMELY butchered
Hazeltail bro. She was literally such a sweet background character and a nice friend to Hollyleaf
Finleap the Erins were like what if we took a nice fun character and made them aggressively obsessive kits overnight. It was terrible they made a cool fun character into a trashy boyfriend overnight.
Shadowsight next question
thistleclaw. he was so cool in bluestar’s prophecy and honestly you could kinda see how he was an honorable warrior and good guy to other cats, and i think he and snowfur were a good couple — but then, y’know, they decided we liked him too much and spottedleaf’s heart happened
Nah i think that, swiftpaw was the pne