#sunbeam deserves better than nightheart

[teeth-and-whiskers]

Nightheart has ADHD and knowing that makes his character make more sense.

The fact that he’s impulsive, quick to anger and extremely rash just makes more sense if he has ADHD. I honestly think he’s more than some angsty teenager that “hates his mom.” He’s someone who just can’t think like the other cats and it’s makes him kinda of outcast.

[everybody-loves-purdy]

My thoughts on Thunder / ASC so far!

- This is my favorite arc, hands down. TPB was great too, but I wasn’t ever a big fan of Tigerclaw/star as the main villain, as I found him rather generic. Splashtail, Curlfeather, and Berryheart, on the other hand… fantastic characters, I adore how they’re written.

- Frostpaw gets spayed? Hell yeah!! Interesting plot point, and at least we now know that the Erins can no longer pull a Violetshine with her and make her into another boring stereotypical background mother after her arc is over.

- I really like the writing of Sparkpelt, Finchlight, Bayshine, and Myrtlebloom here. I’m glad Sparkpelt and Finchlight aren’t getting demonized anymore

- I’m fine with EITHER Squirrelstar *or* Ivystar. I think it’s safe to say that Squilf didn’t get all nine of her lives - it’s quite likely that Bramblestar only has a few left, so maybe she only got one or two of them? Something is fishy abt that, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we get Ivystar by the end of the arc. If Squilf stays leader, though, I’m cool with that too!

- Finally some acknowledgement of Sparrowtail and Hollowspring! Hollowspring has been a fave background cat of mine for a while, so him getting more development is great

- The way Sunbeam handled Cherryfall’s disrespect was very mature. I really appreciate that, after how immaturely we saw Nightheart handling his own conflicts in ThunderClan back in Sky. Very stark contrast

- The park cats! I was kind of hoping to see WarriorClan initially, but I’m glad we got them instead. I really liked Rook and Bee, was kinda hoping that one of them would be coming back with them - Wasp is a bit of an odd choice, but I digress

- I loved the tasks that Ivypool gave Sunbeam. They make sense, and are completely reasonable - and I believe that it’s leading up to Sunbeam mentoring one of Spotfur’s kits, eventually! That would be sweet

- I kinda hope that Duskfur is morally ambiguous. Perhaps in on the murders of Mistystar and Reedwhisker, but not involved in the dogs attacking Curlfeather: I believe that she genuinely seems to care for her family, and for Frostpaw, and am hoping that she gets a chance to prove herself a better cat by the end of the arc

- SO GLAD the arc’s main villain wasn’t Mapleshade. Don’t get me wrong, I really like her, I just feel that she’s already had her time to shine and that she really shouldn’t become relevant again - it could ruin her character too

- The development for all three protags has been fantastic. Nightheart has matured a lot, and I’m very glad for that - I like him, but I’m not sure how much more Sky-esque angst and whining that I would’ve been able to take.

- VOTE TIGERHEART OUT. I assumed Berryheart was going to be exiled for something atrocious, but instead it was rather for questioning his leadership? What a terrible guy.

- Fingers crossed for Tawnystar. If Tigerheart gets voted out, I’m really hoping that she steps up to fill that role - she deserves it *far* more than he ever did to begin with

- I love Whistlepaw, Her interactions with Frostpaw are adorable, and I definitely ship them!

- Glad to see Smoky, Corriander, and Little Daisy again! Wasn’t expecting that, but hearing that they’re friends of Whitlepaw’s was nice

- I’m loving this arc too! It’s been so good so far and they don’t seem to be losing momentum!

- this whole Frostpaw situation is extremely interesting, I’m just hoping the Erins don’t botch the handling of it. But I am curious as to what role it will play and why.

- I just loved seeing Sunbeam make those friends. And how at the end Finchlight says she’s like kin? I love it.

- I personally think that worse case scenario she only got 8 lives. I just feel that such a deception would just be too big and risky to try and pull off if she didn’t get many or any lives.

- Yeah I’m interested to see where this is going to go with Hollowspring and Sparrowtail. I was starting to think they had forgotten about them like they have Pouncestep but I’m glad to see they’re including them!

- Sunbeam confronting Cherryfall is one of my favourite moments of the book!

- I’m still kind of sad we didn’t see WarriorClan, maybe in a few more years perhaps. I have a suspicion Bee could end up as RiverClan’s next true medicine cat that can have visions. I feel like his vision of seeing cats across and iced river is telling him to take the risk and go and join them.

- I really love how Ivypool’s tasks were all focused on teamwork and co operation, especially since that’s what mainly sets TC and ShC apart, a really interesting detail I love they included in this book actually.

- Yeah I do think Duskfur definitely has an idea about something even if she isn’t in on the full picture, I’ve still got my eye on her.

- Yeah I’m glad it isn’t Mapleshade too, I’m glad we’ve gotten at least one new female villain in her place. Mapleshade is great but given how last arc was all about using old villains, I do like how we’re getting some flesh blood here.

- The development of the protagonists has all been fantastic this book and I actually respect Nightheart a lot now? Wild times we live in

- Yeah I thought Berryheart was going to cause someone to die but instead she just gets told she has to leave because she disagrees with her leader. I can’t help but feel like ShadowClan May heading towards civil war now. Berryheart has allies with her and vocal allies in the clan, we have no idea how many more silent allies she may have.

- Given the end of Tawnypelt’s novella I doubt we’re ever going to see Tawnystar apparently, but it’s a nice dream to have. Hopefully her son is out of power by the end of the arc at least.

- Protip: everyone get yourself someone like Whistlepaw in your life: she’s just such an incredible friend

- yeah it was a nice surprise to see them again! Mainly the kits lol

[battlecat-maya]

Warrior Cat Tier List Breakdown: Part Four

Delightfully Devilish

Curlfeather: I have WAY too much to say. This format is not well suited for my essay long diatribe, so in short, Curlfeather and her impact on Frostdawn is so well done. Unlike the majority of ASC, this part felt planned out, foreshadowed, and built up. Curlfeather is despicable. She’s a good representation of a certain kind of abusive parent. Great shit!

Berryheart: #1 Karen. She’s a delight everytime she’s on page. Very funny and unhinged.

Ashfur: He’s literally an incel with way too much power. Incredibly scary and real (minus the ghost powers and shit). There are dudes out there who act like Ashfur. Who treat their love interests like possessions and objects. Who will flip the fuck out when they are rightfully rejected for being creepy, misogynistic, and possessive. Ashfur makes me uncomfortable which is what you want from a villain like him.

Sleekwhisker: I’m praying the Erins remember Sleekwhisker, the murderer of Rowanclaw and Tawnypelt’s granddaughter, is still at large. Please have her be the main villain of Changing Skies! Please Erins! I’m on my knees begging. She killed her own grandfather! I can foresee an incredible showdown between her and her grandmother. PLEASE ERINS!

Rainflower: The shittiest mom. I like how her presence weighs on Crookedstar’s mind. She’s an awful person, but an incredible character in Crookedstar’s journey.

Tom: I know people like Tom. Nice guys who lure you in with their seemingly good intentions only to turn face and abuse you behind closed doors. Like Ashfur, his realness makes me deeply uncomfortable and for a villain in a narrative, that’s a good thing. Then book four happens and tries to redeem him (I think) by dying to a horribly written character to save his daughter. Lame as fuck.

Splashtail: Another one of the few things that was properly built up to and planned in ASC (for the most part). Curlfeather haunting his ass was incredible.

I like you but you could’ve been better:

Hollyleaf: If her shit-ass arc was properly planned out, Hollyleaf’s downfall and heel turn could’ve been legendary. But it wasn’t. She flip flops from book to book because the Erins were writing her with a power in mind and then suddenly decided at the last minute that she didn’t have a power and that caused her to break. I like Hollyleaf, but she could’ve been way better if these books had outlines.

Breezepelt: Breezepelt is great up until Crowfeather’s Trial where the Erins erase all his problems and make him out to be an uwu sad boy who was bullied and manipulated by evil bad guys. Yes he was manipulated, but he still chose to fight on their side. He still tried to kill a blind medicine cat and a pregnant woman. He gloated over his half-sister’s body. He was going to kill Lionblaze. No one told him to do any of that shit. He did that on his own. Breezepelt is a symptom of a massive issue I have with this series: the reluctance to write bad people and real redemption arcs. Instead of using Crowfeather’s Trial to redeem Breezepelt, the Erins decided to rewrite him entirely and pretended like he was always a sad boy who was led astray, thus erasing all of his agency in his own story. They do this with so many characters. It’s asinine. Breezepelt could’ve had a remarkable turn around but we’re never going to get that now.

Nightheart: Nightheart was horrifically botched in his own arc. I love what he started out as and I weep for what his arc could’ve been. I have too much to say about him so when I’m done with my ASC review, I’ll link it here. It’s a long rant.

Sunbeam: Ditto. I weep for what could’ve been.

Tawnypelt: She should’ve been a POV in The New Prophecy. She should’ve had Bramble’s arc in that series. Her novella should’ve been about her time in ShadowClan when her father was in power. She should’ve been leader of ShadowClan. Tawnypelt deserved so much more than what she was given. I’m glad we’re finally following her but I’m scared. Just give me Sleekwhisker vs. Tawnypelt! PLEASE ERINS!

Twigbranch: The only good POV in AVOS. She was good in the first half but got shafted in the second half much like Gray Wing. I also despise her relationship with man baby Finleap.

Blackstar: Blackfoot’s Reckoning is my least favorite novella because it’s not a fucking reckoning! It was just him reminiscing about shit, making excuses, and StarClan going “cool. Here’s some lives.” Trash tier writing. Blackstar is so interesting in the main series but his novella ruins him by a lot in my eyes. They’re doing the Breezepelt thing where they sand down his edges and remove agency from Blackstar by dumbing him down and not challenging the excuses he makes. I rewrote Blackfoot’s Reckoning with my iteration of Blackfoot. I’ll post it one day.

Leopardstar: Ditto. Her SE sucks. It removes her agency. It makes excuses for her actions. They refuse to let her be a bad person. WHY?! Leopardstar is interesting because she is an ambitious and brash person with a temper. Tigerclawstar used their shared desire for power to manipulate her and gain control of her Clan. Why get rid of all of that??

Sandstorm: I wish we saw more of her POV on things. She’s basically a glorified background character. And I dislike her jealousy arc in Firestar’s Quest. That whole plotline with her being jealous over a dead cat was off and strange.

Sasha: I just want more Sasha. She gets forgotten after TNP. I also need to reread her graphic novels. It’s been years so I can’t speak on them definitively.

I like you but sometimes…

These are cats I like but their inconsistent writing annoys me sometimes.

Thunder: I loved Thunder in DOTC books 2-3, but he gets lobotomized in book 4, is alright in book 5, and is back to being an idiot in book 6. I weep for his character. Read my rant about DOTC. I hate this arc.

Bristlefrost: Rollercoaster ass character. She was great then dipped down to hell for two books straight and then died in the coolest fashion possible. I have too many mixed feelings.

Jagged Peak: I like him but I hate his rudeness and condescension toward Gray Wing in the second half of DOTC. I blame Holly for that tbh. I’ll eviscerate Holly way later.

[idrawcats]

Just read Sky, and here are some quick thoughts

I actually liked this book more than I was expecting

I really liked how political it was — every POV character was grappling with politics in some capacity

I loved seeing the rise of factionalism in ShadowClan

It was interesting to me that the main traditionalists were two family groups that were both hit hard by the events of the previous two arcs (Berryheart, Yarrowleaf, and Snowbird, especially, are a family who lost several members as a direct result of the Kin in AVOS, and more still due to interfering with the Ashfur situation in TBC)

They have a good reason to oppose outsiders entering ShadowClan, but that doesn’t make them right

Berryheart is a special kind of crazy, straight up yelling at her leader

I loved all the drama in RiverClan and Mothwing trying desperately to hold the Clan together

There’s definitely some shady shit going on with Splashtail, and probably others too

I hate Tigerheartstar, but I really like that he’s being pushed toward tyranny by a dangerous combination of grief, ego, and his power as a Clan leader

I can’t wait to see where this all goes

Oh and somethings up with Bramblestar

Again

I also really liked that Frostpaw doesn’t really have a connection to StarClan

Also lmao poor Owlnose

Nightheart and Sunbeam are both very annoying to me, but I feel like their POV chapters perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to be a teenager, which is the target audience

Both of them are petty and insecure, and they actively encourage the worst in each other, but they’re terrible in a way that’s realistic to teenagers

Nightheart specifically reminds me of myself in high school (please bear in mind, I’ve now graduated from college)

His eagerness to prove himself and frustration with not being taken seriously is unfortunately relatable

Actually what I like about Nightheart’s POV is that he’s a great example of an unreliable narrator

Like you can see how he comes to the conclusion that he’s being given apprentice tasks because everyone doubts him and he failed his assessment twice, and his insecurity makes him angry and bitter, which makes him snotty and withdrawn from everyone, which makes people dislike him (for valid reasons)

And all of that feeds his victim complex, so he digs himself deeper and deeper into his hole of self-pity

Honestly, it seemed to me that everyone’s reaction to Nightheart’s dramatics was totally reasonable

Thriftear and Flipclaw teased him all in good fun, but he saw it as making fun of him and doubting him

Squirrelflight reprimanded him for disobeying her and going to ShadowClan because it was a dangerous move, both politically and literally, but Nightheart took her reprimand personally because of his insecurity

Not to mention, he’s given apprentice tasks because he’s the youngest warrior and there aren’t any apprentices, but again, his anger and insecurity makes him take it as an insult

And honestly, it seems more like he’s the one constantly comparing himself to Firestar than his Clanmates do

Also, it seems like Nightheart expects special treatment from Squirrelflight and Bramblestar and is offended when they don’t give it to him

Reading from an outside perspective, it’s painfully obvious that Nightheart himself is the root of all his problems, but I can empathize with him because I too have been an angsty teenager who felt like it was me against the world (especially within my family)

I think the most interesting part of Nightheart’s POV by far was getting caught in the crossfire of his grandparents’ fucked up relationship

Also dear god Bramblestar and Squirrelflight are back at it again PLEASE JUST BREAK UP WITH HIM SQUILF YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

Sunbeam also gives massive teen vibes, due to her petty drama with Lightleap

Literally only a high schooler would think “wow my ex-bestie is grieving for her little brother… too bad we’re not friends anymore and it’s not my problem!“ but then get jealous that she’s not the one comforting her friend

I really think Sunbeam and Nightheart won’t work out, just like a typical teen romance

Nightheart is using Sunbeam as an escape from his problems in ThunderClan, but he’ll realize that HE is the problem when the same things happen to him in ShadowClan

Not to mention that Nightheart doesn’t seem to REALLY want Sunbeam as a mate — he’s latching onto her as an opportunity to leave ThunderClan because she’s the only cat who puts up with him

Sunbeam is using him as a rebound — she doesn’t really like him, she just likes that he likes her

I think that this relationship has the potential to be great for both characters’ development, but only if it doesn’t work out

Please Erin’s I’m begging you don’t fuck this up I like where you’re going with this arc PLEASE don’t write another BristleRoot or turn this into the second half of AVOS

[creampuffqueen]

read the spoiler thread for sky. and. um

hollllllly shit nightheart is so bad. he's so bad. i literally cannot think of a more insufferable protagonist in any of these books, and that was from the spoiler thread just doing a summary. idk if i'll manage his chapters. especially since it seems like he's going to be doing a lot of interaction with shadowclan

pleaseeeee god don't make nightsun canon. i'll cry so hard. it's so bad. he's literally the worst guy ever sunbeam deserves so much better

now, what would be objectively funny would be lightleap and nightheart. is it more incest? yes. i mean, less incest than some relationships (looking at you pebblehawk) but still incest. but it would be so fucking funny. just think about it

stilllll on my sunshadow shipping train tho. even though it seems like they don't interact a ton. but still. he would be good

um. other things. alderheart continues to be sweet. good for him, good for him. i think it's sweet that he and bramblestar are shown to be supportive of nightheart. but, why is it that only the women are the ones being mean to him?? huh, erins??

and FROSTPAW my beloved

please give her a break and some therapy. also maybe some for owlnose too he's already struggling. i doubt he'll get his nine lives. he's dead. he's so dead

weirdly enough i hope mothwing dies some point soon. just for the drama of it all. tiny seven moon old frostpaw clambers her way onto the tree at the gathering and is like "hi i'm the new leader of riverclan because all our other options died"

that would be funny i think

anyway, fuck nightheart

[teeth-and-whiskers]

I don’t want Nightheart x Sunbeam to happen.

I think most fans DONT.

I want Nightheart to chill in Shadowclan with his new found family and his best friend Sunbeam. I don’t need this forced love thing anymore. It’s not even organic. And Sunbeam in the beginning was like “I don’t like you like that dude, but you’re welcome to stay??”

Can’t stand it bro.