My fandom hot takes (or just takes idk). You can tell me if you agree or disagree and why. I do want to see other people's opinions on these. Part 1 cause I think I might will reach the character limit.
(Fair warning for this first one, I get really angry and may be over reacting)
Graystripe fucking sucks.
Like I get it, you love her. Doesn't excuse abandoning you god damn duties and clan! He knows damn well it's against the warrior code. I get love can't be helped but what's more important some chick or the people who raised and or grew up with you? Her? Seriously?
Not to mention the way he treats Fireheart through out the whole thing. Fireheart tries to talk about this but he basically acts like Fireheart is the problem! Even after her death, he does nothing to repair his friendship with Fireheart and just mopes.
I understand it sucks shit to lose someone you love but to go on and just leave Thunderclan entierly for a clan that HATES you? The decision is reckless and in the end he gets separated from his kits anyway, basically make it all for nothing! He just flips back and forth through loyalty as if it didn't matter.
He gets way to many free passes because of this and honestly, I am really glad he didn't stay deputy.
Bramblestar(claw) wasn't that bad.
Was he perfect? No. Did he do shitty things? Absolutely.
My guy was doomed from the start, being the son of Tigerstar he had to face so much flak from everyone and had to prove himself over and over again. Even to Firestar at one point. He was treated with suspicion his whole life just because of who his father was. Does it excuse the shitty things he did? Fuck no! But he never did this shit for the sake of being shitty.
People act like he did nothing right as a leader. He actually did quite a lot good. He is no Firestar but with the hand (or paw of cards) he was delt he did pretty damn good for a time! He didn't wreck the clan either.
Now for his reaction to the three not being his. Okay, so it was very shitty of him to act the way he did and basically abandon them, obiously it's not the threes fault. But it's understandable (not excusable) because he had his entire world flipped upside down. And was lied to by his mate for moons and led to believe that they were his biological kits.
Now most of the "shitty actions" he does aren't for the sake of being shitty. But because he has a deep seated feeling of fear. When he lashes out at Squirrelflight and the others, it's normally due to feeling deeply betrayed, abandoned, and insecure, not because he enjoys hurting people. That doesn't make it okay, but it makes him more human (yeah he's a cat but this is literally a fantasy thing where they kinda act like us).
The impostor arc wasn't his fault.
I've seen a huge chunk of the fandom Bramblestar from what 'he' did. But that wasn't even him, it was the impostor (Ashfur). And yet i've seen a the fandom drag his ass through the mud for it. That feels pretty unfair to me.
Squirrelflight/star is has a fuck ton of problems that are often looked past and I don'e like her as a leader. She isn't flawless.
Listen, I don't hate her. Not at all. We love a strong-willed queen. But she often refuses to listen if she's convinced she's right. In The New Prophecy constantly clashes with Brambleclaw, yeah he's sometimes being a jerk, but other times she's just being argumentative basically for the sake of being right. This stubbornness stays this way well into her leader role, too.
The Ashfur situation is messy as fuck. Listen I hate Ashfur, like a lot. But holy hell she never liked him romantically but strung him on, intentionally or not. Even though she had every right to break up with him and get together with Brambleclaw, she never clearly communicated this with Ashfur. Although she definitely didn't deserve all the psychopathic reactions, she definitely didn't help the fuse.
She can be pretty emotionally manipulative. Going back to the Leafpool kit lie. She takes in her sister's kits to save her. Which, fair. But the consequences weren't worth it in my opinion. She lies to everyone, including Brambleclaw. But gets angry when people don't trust her afterwards. She did the right thing for Leafpool, but she made a decision that impacted a lot of lives without really considering the consequences.
She has this weird very hypocritical moral high ground. She often acts like she is the voice of justice and reason inside of the clan. Sometimes, she is. But other times she makes irrational and emotionally charged decisions that she criticizes others for. It's especially noticeable in her leadership as Squirrelstar. She wants to be difficult from Bramblestar but basically does the same damn thing in some ways.
She holds grudges basically forever. She isn't quick to forgive, which can be fine, but it's cranked up to 70 with her. If someone disagrees with her to hard, she'll carry that forever. But it leads to so much unnecessary drama.
Now for her leadership specifically. To put it short, it feels undeserved. She barely has any experince and sure she had some bits as deputy. But like, most of it was her fighting with Bramblestar rather then taking on duties that prepare her for leadership. It kinda just feels like a consolation prize.
She's very reactionary. No strategy. She doesn't have a clear plan for her clan. I mean, it's kinda fair since this was dropped onto her, but still. She reacts emotionally instead of thinking rationally. Whether or not it's clan politics, outsider stuff, or internal conflict, she goes with her gut, which is fine when you are a warrior or even deputy. But as a leader? That gets dangerous, fast.
She's too contrarian. Like a lot of her decisions are because she's trying not to be Bramblestar. While it is perfectly understandable for her to want to separate her identity as a leader from his, it turns into her making a lot of bad and questionable decisions just because she doesn't want to be associated with how Bramblestar handled things.
Dovewing sucks. (I get a bit angry here too and may be a bit bitchy)
She has one of the coolest powers of the three yet all she does is whine about it. Yes it's a lot of responsibility. Yes it sucks that she can basically hear everything. But all she does is cry about. Let's compare her to Jayfeather in The Prophacy Begins. He's blind, and has to carry the weight of being to walk in peoples dreams, have to talk to starclan, and have to deal with the shit with his mother and he takes it with grit and snark.
Her consistent 'poor me' attitude. Dovewing acts like she wants to be the victem. Whether it's about her powers, the prophecy, or her forbidden love with Tigerheart, she somehow twist every situation into why she's suffering the most. Even when other cats are being killed or exiled, the spotlight always seems to go back to feelings.
She's self centered in relationships. Her forbidden romance with Tigerheart/star? It's a big fucking disaster. She puts herself over everything, her duties, both for clan and prophecy, and her sisters feelings. She runs off, gets pregnant, joins Shadowclan and expects everyone to just accept that? Meanwhile Ivypool is left with the fallout like a total afterthought.
Speaking of her relationship with Ivypool, she did her sister dirty. Ivypool was risking her life in the Dark Forest while she was off flirting with with the enemy and moping about her powers. And does she show any graditude? No! Does she support her sister emotionally? Barely. And when Ivypool finally starts opening up to her about what she's been through, she just brushes her off.
He is the literal definition of a wet leaf of a character. He's always wishy washy. One second he's loyal to shadowclan, the next he's sneaking off to flirt with Dovewing. Then he's all like 'I must do right for my clan.' yada yada, only to turn and pull another impulsive, emotionally driven stunt. He talk's a big 'duty and honnor' game but doesn't walk the walk, like, ever.
He enabled Shadowclans fall. Shadowclan was a big fucking disaster when he was leader/deputy. He didn't step up when Rowanstar needed help holding the clan together, didn't check Tawnypelt's more depsrate choices, and basically watched the whole collapse happen while he just was pouting about it. Only after the clan was broken did he do anything to try and fix it.
He is a messy and manipulative partner. The whole TigerDove ship is a slow burn train wreck. He constantly pressures her to stay with him, gets passive aggressive when she hesitates, and always frames shit in terms of what she is doing to him. He has this "I'd do anything for love" attitude, but only if love means Dovewing bending over backwards to make it work.
He fails upward into leadership if that makes any sense. When he disappears and comes back as Tigerstar, everyone just... accepts it??? Like what? Oh yeah, "The guy who left us during a crisis and abandons his clan to chase tail is perfect leader material!" No one challenges it. No one asks why. He just gets handed the role because the plot said so.
Edit: I read Squirrelflights super edition a few months ago what the hell did they do to Bramble.
