#elderleaf

Technically, both!

On one hand, his mother was brutally murdered when he was young. He and his 3 siblings relied heavily on each other, but when Ferncloud got together with Dustpelt, Tulipfur grows closer to the older cats of Thunderclan, and Elderleaf buried herself in her work to try and become Camp Keeper, he feels upset and left behind. He has a right to feel that way, but he keels feeling that way. Stuck in the past... And over time, he blames everyone around him for his troubles.

A bonus scene shows his trial shows that he is incredibly charming. He sways the jury by pleading to see his mother, being incredibly loving towards her, and asking about his passed on nieces, Larchkit and Hollykit.

He plays up the sympathy card, talking about how it was such a foolish thing to do, how he just loved Squirrelflight too much, and how he totally deserved what Hollyleaf did. He blames Brambleclaw in a roundabout way. See, he just looked do much like the cat who killed my mom :(

The jury is mostly split and the final vote falls to Yellowfang.

After she and Raggedstar split up, he became mates with Foxheart. He didn't love Foxheart, just used her feelings and affections to hurt Yelf. Yellowfang admitted that, though she knew what he was doing, it still hurt. She wanted to shout at him, hurt him, and even wanted to hurt Foxheart, who hadn't done anything wrong.

She votes in his favour, because she finds it a bit relatable. She fell for the act, many cats did. She is ashamed to admit it later on, but in that moment, she knew what that anger was like. She still disapproves of his treatment of Hollypaw, and his anger towards the Three, but his trial is about The Fire Scene specifically, and all of Starclan knows Squirrelflight is going to be on trial when she eventually passes away.

And, for a good chunk of his time in Starclan, he looks normal. He hangs out with his nieces, cheering when they get their Star names, Hollyfoot and Larchwhisker. He hangs out with Tulipfur when his brother dies during AVOS, defending him when his cross-clan relationship comes into question.

In Squirrelflight's eyes, he was strange, and controlling, he treated her like some precious thing that couldn't do too much or she would break, some kind of prize to be hoarded.

Many cats alive did not like him. His was an ass towards most cats in Thunderclan, and he wasn't popular.

TBC shows his true colours. Controlling, manipulative, holier-than-thou, vindictive, and entitled.

Not a stupid question! :)

It can certainly be an issue, as the loss can be quite traumatic.

Dappletail's son Featherkit faded at 6 weeks.

Bellaleaf and Harrybrook's 2 other daughters, Webkit and Wolfkit. Webkit passed at 3 days old, Wolfkit passed at 8 days.

Cloudpelt's sister, Littlekit, at 1 week.

Elderleaf, Dandeliontuft, Lynxpetal, and Shadowsight were all thought the be suffering from this. Elderleaf, Lynxpetal and Dandeliontuft received round-the-clock care, whereas Shadowsight was given a closer look at by Spiresight, who determined that while he wasn't the healthiest kitten in the world, he wasn't Fading.

Those examples above each had different feelings around them.

For Dappletail, she was told that her son was quite weak, and to hope for the best, but brace for the worst. She was on a high from dumping Stormtail, and kept her head high. She treated him normally, had him learn a tiny amount of Glyphs upon realizing he was deaf, but when his body began to fail, he was her tiny baby once more. At 6 weeks he should have been running around, playing... She cuddled with him and helped him sleep easy.

Bellaleaf and Harrybrook took it so badly... When Wolfkit did not wake up from her nap, they panicked and called for Freckleshine and Fidgetflake, but nothing could be done. Bellaleaf and Harrybrook became ferociously protective of their other 2 babies. Days later, when Webkit's blood pressure dropped suddenly, and she grew cold, Freckleshine fought hard to save her, but it wasn't enough. The couple had a single daughter remaining, one who would struggle deeply with the issues she had had since birth, and they poured as much quiet love they could into her, praying in terror that Starclan would not take their final child...

Cloudpelt and Littlekit's parents, Toadskip, Nettlespot and Poolcloud, knew their children were not born strong. They even named one Littlekit for how tiny she was. While Poolcloud was a but less involved, she helped out with Cloudkit while Nettlespot and Toadskip spent every day they could with Littlekit. They leant on their religious beliefs for comfort, that Starclan must have needed her, or that she was going to play with other kits in Starclan. They were sad, of course, but they handled it with grace, and were happy to be reunited with their child when the time came.

Fading Kitten Syndrome is an issue, it can be sadly common, it can be why some cats are reluctant to name their kits for a little while, where some name them the moment they can.