Timestamps: Section One | Introduction 0:01 Section Two | In "The New Prophecy" 4:50 Section Three | In "Leafpool's Wish" 14:31 Section Four | In "Power of Three" 16:38 Section Five | In "Omen of the Stars" 18:14 Section Six | In "Bramblestar's Storm" 24:18 Section Seven | In "A Vision of Shadows" 31:49 Section Eight | In "Squirrelflight's Hope" 32:34 Section Nine | Conclusion 1:00:38

I’m pretty sure the erins just wanted Tigerstars son and firestars daughter to get together, honestly.

*I’s so weird seeing Ashfur without blond hair*

Squirrelflight is the poster child for domestic abuse. As a kit and apprentice, she was energetic, adventurous, bold, enthusiastic, and independent. By the end of Squirrelflight's Hope, she is none of those things. It's like Bramblestar sucked the life out of her

Why did they make ashfur kittypet xenophobic,,,, when cloudtail,,,, a literal kittypet,,,,,, was raised along side him as his littermate????? That makes literally no sense wtf

Bramblestar is the worse: the documentary

Squirrelflight: don't murder pregnant women Bramblestar: no Fandom: squilf is so manipulative and bad!!!! :(

"I skipped the bit where she went on trial for her crimes in life. You're welcome." I got curious and looked it up and okay, no, nope, we gotta talk about that bullsh*t "The two wake up in StarClan's territory and are greeted by Larksong, who tells them that they aren't quite dead yet, but their lives are hanging in the balance. Firestar comes along and warns them that they may not be allowed to stay in StarClan due to their deception about Leafpool's kits all those years ago. A trial is held, with Bluestar, Yellowfang, Tallstar, Crookedstar, Moth Flight, and Littlecloud as the judges: Squirrelflight and Leafpool have to explain their reasoning behind breaking the warrior code. Ultimately they decide that Squirrelflight and Leafpool have done more good than harm, and that if they die now, they'll be welcome in StarClan." StarClan actually puts Squirrelflight and Leafpool on trial for something THEY played a part in? For real?!! StarClan was the one who told Leafpool to follow her heart when she asked for guidance on whether she should run away with Crowfeather. They were the ones who gently informed her that she was pregnant, only to LIE to Squirrelflight and tell her that she was barren so that she'd be more inclined to claim Leafpool's kits and they're feckin' PUT ON TRIAL FOR ALL THIS?? F*ck off, for real, I'm so pissed about this. ASHFUR GETS TO GO TO HEAVEN AFTER NEARLY MURDERING AN ENTIRE FAMILY BUT SQUIRRELFLIGHT AND LEAFPOOL'S TICKETS TO HEAVEN HAVE TO BE DEBATED. OKAY THEN. OKAY.

When Bramblestar compares Squirrelflight to a kit or apprentice, this reminded me of an abuse tactic where the abuser treats their victim as a child so they can only depend on them and their judgement.

Never noticed this before but Squirrelflight being so desperate for kits could possibly be linked to how she was told she would be barren? She worries about getting older and not being able to have kits, which was a lie she had been forced to accept as truth for years. She fears going back to that, or that lie becoming true with age.

Bramblestar to Jessy: I’ll never forget you Jessy: *is never mentioned again*

one of the worst parts of bramblestar being abusive, in my opinion, is that they could have DONE something with him. they could have made him be a great character. and it would mean something because he was tigerstar’s son. i would have loved a book about bramblestar proving his worth, proving that he could be more than just the son of an evil cat, but he never really did

The way people place blame on Squirrelflight because she stands her ground and doesn't back down when she knows what she's doing is right reminds me of the concept of the "perfect victim". The idea that, to be a "real" victim of abuse, you have to be completely perfect and innocent and never fight back. Otherwise, any bad behavior you show (no matter how justified) will be treated as justification for your abuse. This is how the fandom treats Squirrelflight. She's clearly in an abusive relationship, and both the cycle of abuse and her thought processes clearly show that. But because she argues with Bramblestar when he's being unfair instead of silently submitting, she's not the "perfect victim". Because she doesn't fit into the innocent and submissive box people have for abuse victims, they decide she doesn't count for being "bossy" (i.e. standing up to abuse), or "entitled" (i.e. having wants), or any other argument meant to paint her as "just as bad". Which is exactly what Bramblestar does! Even when she ALMOST DIED, he shifts the blame and says that they're BOTH at fault. What the "perfect victim" concept does, at the end of the day, is reinforce the manipulation abuse victims have to go through at the hands of their abuser. I like how you phrased it at the end: Even if Squirrelflight was bossy, or entitled, or whatever, that doesn't suddenly strip her of her experiences as an abuse victim. And for anyone reading this who can relate to this video, the same is true for you. You and your experiences are still just as legitimate and deserving of support, even if you weren't the "perfect victim".

Moonkitti: ranting Ocelot: *Chirp*

Someone: Wait bramblestar was manipulative? Moonkitti: "gun loading sounds" Always has been.

Something that bothers me is that Squirrelflight kinda CAN'T leave Bramblestar. They're in the same Clan, they're always going to be around each other. She literally can't escape and I can't even begin to imagine how damn awful that must feel. And Squirrelflight isn't the type of cat to just runaway to a different Clan or vecome a kittypet, there is no escape for her.

Im really alarmed at the relationships in the warrior cats series, either the authors purposely wrote abusive relationships OR they genuinely think those relationships are normal

Bramblestar would probably find "I hate my wife" boomer comics funny

This is a warning sign that Squirrelflight is in a bad relationship

Remember when the whole point of brambles character was to prove to firestar that he shouldn’t judge others on their bloodline/looks? As in, firestar got over being scared of him just because he was related to and looked like Tigerstar. Well the hunters threw away his “good character type” for this.

"Blood runs deeper than anything" is a weird connection to make right after deciding you want to be a good dad to your adopted kits 🤔

I genuinely felt sick when she said "Why did I ever want kits?" after she came back.

How the actual hell did the Erins accidentally write about domestic abuse so realistically?

I’m really sick of seeing people call Bramblestar a good mate and a good cat and then call Squirrelflight a bitch, when they completely ignore how Bramblestar has always treated her.

Bramblestar seems like the kind of guy who calls himself an "Alpha Male"

“YA JUST LIKE YA FATHER” -leafpools angry ghost

Plot twist: Bramblestar hasn't even been possessed or anything, everyone's just starting to see how much of a toxic and abusive person he is Guys please I am joking

I'm seriously worried for whoever is writing WC, especially people who wrote Squilf's hope. Like, you don't accidentally write a perfect example of an abusive relationship. Either you did it intentionally or you yourself have experienced an abusive relationship and tought it was normal, "this is what relationships are supposed to be like". If somebody's relationship is similar to Squilf and Bramblestar, they need to break up immediately.

Tbh the only reason the Erin's made them get together is purely based off that bramblestar is tigerstar's son and squirrelflight is firestar's daughter

The fact that he’s “punishing” her makes me beyond angry. She’s just his little object who stepped out of line and needs to be taught to never NEVER do it again.

Jesus tapdancing Christ, did Starclan really put her on *trial* for doing the thing that they lied and manipulated and forced her into doing?

It's extremely fucked up to me after realizing that growing up, not only was SquirrelBramble my ideal relationship but that they perfectly mirrored my abusive relationship with my last ex. I wish the Erins had handled this better and actually done something about it. It took me six years and a shitty relationship to realize how truly toxic their relationship is and I can't help but wonder if stuff like this played a part in normalizing abuse for me.

Sparkpelt clearly knowing her Mom is in an abusive relationship is what hits close to home for me

“Being annoying doesn’t mean you need to treat someone badly” me: shows my younger brother him: I’ll just pretend I didn’t see that

“Being annoying is never an excuse to treat someone badly” EXACTLY. THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING FACTS. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that thinks Bramblestar is worse Edit: thank you guys for the likes and sharing your experiences, im so sorry that you guys have had tough times too ;; you guys deserve to be happy

ashfur is obsessed, bramblestar is abusive, cant poor squirrelflight get a normal mate for once

Firestar: “I should’ve left you in that fire.” Bramblestar: “but cha didn’t!”

Moonkitti exposed Bramblestar so hard she singlehandedly caused warrior cats to trend on tumblr, and I'm enjoying every second of it

Bramblestar's Storm: We need more kittens Squirrelflight's Hope: Will you ever shut up about kittens?

Honestly looking back at the beginning of their relationship, I gotta say the age gap is honestly really weird. I mean Brambleclaw is a warrior before Firestar's even leaves for his quest, and he even though he has kits soon after that still makes Brambleclaw quite a bit older than her. I did some rough timeline calculations for a fandom project and if we kepts all the events canon that would make Brambleclaw almost 2 years old at the beginning of Midnight. Even though they don't get together until after Squirrelflight becomes a warrior, I feel like they're relationship is comparable to a 25 year old dating an 18 year old who just graduated high school. As Moonkitti pointed out, there was always and inherit power imbalance and looking back it's kind of disturbing to see. ESPECIALLY when Bramble trivializes Squirrelflight's feelings or treats her like a child.

The “StarClan gave us claws for a reason” scene is actually horrifying. Brambleclaw’s words Squirrelflight and Lionblaze’s reactions to it It really sounds like Brambleclaw was threatening to hit her

I full on believe that they're ONLY together because StarClan needed them to raise Leafpool's kits. And you can't change my mind.

How ironic. He didn't want to be as bad as his dad, but here we are

It's actually heartbreaking what he's done to Squirreflights confidence... She's such an amazing character and her energy has been fantastic since the start tbh, and honestly it felt like he never saw her as a full cat, ever since he PINED AFTER HER WHEN SHE WAS AN APPRENTICE, he was still looking down at her as if she was a stupid child, because apparently that's attractive to him. If he thinks she's so immature then maybe he should stop dating her, he'd be doing her a big favour, even if it hurt her to lose him at the start she'd be better off in the long run.

Something that should be notes is that Bramblestar, in multiple instances, uses a very common manipulation/abuse tactic: Love bombing. Love bombing is when a manipulator/abuser realizes that they have upset or are at risk of losing their victim, so, they shower the victim with love, attention, and promises(that usually aren’t fulfilled) in order to make them stay, in order to make them believe that they are loved, even if this affection isnt the norm for their relationship. Another tactic that could be interpreted from his actions is where the abuser gives promises, ideas, etc. to the victim, but either these promises dont have a set date or are far in the future. Whenever they reach the “calm” period in a relationship, at least one promise gets fulfilled. This leads the victim to associate the abuse they receive as just the build up to something good.

"Why would you help your twin sister who is the only medicine cat of this Clan and has been nothing but helpful and kind to everyone" Says the cat who almost murdered his father figure and abandoned his morals for his half brother he knew for a month

As someone who was in a real toxic relationship, Squirrelflight is 100% justified in fighting back even if it sounds harsh. A big a indicator someone you love is in a toxic relationship is they have sudden 'anger issues' for lack of better term. We get so frustrated of having to just deal with it and our concerns not being taken seriously by our abuser that we lash out at either them or other people, something I did a lot back then and most abusers take this as an oppertunity to gaslight the victim in front of complete strangers. ie - the abuser might say something, or even film it saying "Look how she's yelling at me guys? She's totally crazy!" while they act calm and collected. This is also why a lot of victims struggle with denial and think they are the real toxic person instead.

I love this. I used to not like Squilf, I was indifferent about Bramblestar, but this really opened my eyes. And after watching this, with the realization that Squilf is literally killing herself in this new arc to fight for her abuser's life is so depressing

I’ve /always/ found it incredibly off putting how bramble was a *warrior* when squilf was born. Just another way he has power over her.

oh this is... this is spooky. wow. imagine writing such a realistic abusive relationship.... *accidentally.*

me: oh maybe its another one of her shorts Moonkitti: ArE YoU SuRe AbOuT tHaT

Yeah this is why I stopped reading warriors. Once Brambleclaw/star became the protagonist I felt the story went from a classic hero tale to a horrible inconsistent mess with now ableism, forced religions, normalized abusive relationships, sexism and no choice in a persons destiny. what ever happened to simple character archs and plots that still teach a lesson without forcing it down your throat

"I just want justice for my little red cat." I haven't been active in this fandom for about a decade, and I skim TVTropes and the Warriors wiki to know what the heck has happened in the books I haven't read, but I just might write an AU in which Squirrelflight gets justice.

Anyone else remember when Stormfur had a mini crush on her? ;-; I think she would have been better off with him, Ashfur AND Bramblestar are bad for her. Ashfur is too psychotic, but also wanted to hold her down back. Before the fire scene. He wanted to calm her, to tame her. Bramblestar is abusive and a massive d*ck to her. Stormfur and Brook is cute but like, I'd rather her and Stormfur be together or her be with no one at all. (Edit: Yes, there could be many other, better options for her but just saying out of all the cats that have shown romantic affection to her, Stormfur is the best.)

"Don't you love me anymore?" Of course squilf is worried about this - Bramblestar is dismissing her and not spending time with her. Something he's done repeatedly in the past as a manipulation tactic to show her he doesn't love or need her. He is constantly using ambivalence and mocking her and her wants and needs to show her he's in control and she's just a child he needs to humor, who doesn't know best. She's terrified, because she's gone through this before. She feels like he doesn't love her, but he's purposely made her feel that way. I can't blame her for reacting to previous repeated behaviors and recognizing the similarities here.

it's sort of frustrating that a lot of peoples takeaway from this is to try and debate whether bramble, ash or another cat would be a better mate as if the concept of her just being single and not wanting or having a mate is a concept that doesn't exist. not to mention both bramble and ash are terrible, terrible partners in their own ways "but--" no they're both awful and wouldn't be a good match with or without the broken code arc existing.

Come get your "I hated Bramblestar before it was cool" badge here.

im not gonna lie, Bramblestar's Storm from what ive seen reads like some fanfiction im not even kidding, that "Is she always like this?" line just felt like some 14 year old wrote it

pst... you know something awful i just realized about that thing in squirrelflights hope of "lets go sneak out and run around and pretend we're young again?" it's been mentioned that firestar and sandstorm had a habit of going night hunting. yknow. *firestar*. when he was a leader. still made time for his relationship. and these were squirrelflight's parents.

Dear Squilf, 1. Dig big hole. Very deep. 2. Put deathberries into Bramble's fresh kill 3. Put dead body into hole before he revives. Bury it. Let him suffocate eight times 4. Go to moonstone and take over clan. Yay SquirrelStar! 5. Bramblestar goes to dark forest hurray the end

Brambleclaw should’ve been like an older brother to Squirrelflight. Like if he saw Firestar as a father in place of Tigerstar

ah, the classic “he only hits me because i did something wrong”

I haven’t read the newest books yet but holy shit it makes me so sad to have squirrelflight go through all that bs with ashfur only to have her end up with an abusive pos.

This usually happens if a female of any kind opposes a lead in a headstrong or brave way its perceived as pushy and desperate. And if they are active and spontanious they are overwelming and irritating. Sadly, these things are often said about bolth real and fictional women.

ashfur’s literal fucking brother was a kittypet???? the lengths the erin’s will reach just to justify why squilf got together with bramble is such bullshit

I'd like to add the fact that (SPOILERS) In the broken code, possessed Bramblestar treats Squirrelflight badly. He guilt trips her, abuses her both physically and mentally, and abandons her. Now this behavior can be excused on the fact that it isnt really Bramblestar. But what unsettled me the most when reading was how the clan responded. A large portion of the clan didn't seem too bothered about it for a while. Why? Because this has become a normal Bramblestar thing. Nobody figured out that Bramblestar was possessed because this new cat is acting a lot like Bramblestar. I have read all four books so far btw.

“Just because someone annoys you, doesn’t mean you get to treat them badly” a beginners guide to understanding abusive relationships. THANK YOU

It's honestly scary how closely this follows an abusive relationship. Makes you wonder if one of the writers was or is in a similar relationship and thinks that this is just normal.

As someone who was in an abusive relationship...yeahp. This is accurate. And to take it further; Bramblestar reads like a narcissist. He has very typical narcissistic behavior, especially the type of abuse used. Was it intentional? It's possible...if it wasn't intentional, then it's the result of Bramblestar not being developed as a character properly at all...but honestly, since other characters are pointing out the issues of the relatinship, it looks intentional.

I know warriors isn't realistic, like, at all, *BUT* here's a fun fact: Unspayed females cats *never* experience menopause, as humans do, which means Squirrel could be an elder and still have kittens. In fact, the oldest cat on record (that I am currently aware of) was thirty years old when she had her final litter.

This is why I wish they didn't kill off Shrewpaw so he wouldn't be a option. He seemed to genuinely care for her.

I would like to add that Bramblestar has more power over Squirrelflight as his deptuty instead of a warrior. Demoting her from deputy would be humiliating for her as even the other clans would see it, and expecially since Bramble is her mate. Threatening to take such belitteling actions just adds on to the layers of abuse, and humiliation is a common abuse tactic.

I rly used to like brambleclaw but his treatment of squirrelflight started literally from the start he was rude asf to squirrelpaw and it just kept getting worse. squirrel is a good character and hoenstly she really didnt do much besides being 'annoying'. she wasnt even annoying she was just being squirrelflight. brambleclaw is kinda a pos and the erins somehow wrote him into a total douche while making squirrelflight look bad. ive never understood why ppl hate her so much

“Oh, Bramblestar isn’t that bad” Moonkitti: *Im about to end this man’s whole career*

I love how when Squirrelflight breaks up with her boyfriend and explores other options she's automatically demonized, accused of leading Brambleclaw on, attempting to make her ex jealous, etc. But suddenly when Bramblestar literally openly pursues another woman and buries his face in her hair to smell her one last time nobody bats an eye and assumes this is all normal,, hmm👁👄👁

Being abused does not bring out the best in people, so it bothers me to see "they reacted badly to abuse!" used against the victim to justify the abuser. Its a weird narrative and I can't exactly blame the fandom for not all reading deeper than the author's intended message which is confusing to say the least but I do wish more people saw the implications, love how you laid it out

I feel like everyone forgets that stormfur had a crush on squilf before Brook. He would have been a much better mate for squilf imo, but alas, the Tribe calls.

Firestar watching bramblestar abuse and manipulate his daughter: 👁👄👁

for me, the worst part is it all worked. i hated squirrelflight because i was a young, impressionable reader. i've grown past that, but i haven't read the books recently enough to really remember bramblestar's behavior. i know by now its wrong, but as a kid, the tactics WORKED. i was fully on bramblestar's side once. i wasn't even out of elementary school. if i hadn't learned better by now, i could've become bramblestar. watch what you're writing and how it's presented. the books tried to present bramblestar as sympathetic, and i, an elementary school kid, believed it. i believed that bramblestar was in the right because i couldn't have known better and nothing showed me otherwise because bramblestar is intended to be sympathetic. i also do not have some of the books that demonstrate their relationship, as i don't own more recent books, but i have many and they all contributed. YES, THESE ARE CAT BOOKS. but i learned so much from all the books i read and this was almost one of them. i almost learned that being bramblestar is okay, is good, is right. i did learn it, but not fully, and i have been working to undo that idea within themselves. you CANNOT dismiss the lessons any fiction can teach, no matter how ridiculous it seems.

Squilf: breathes in Brambleclaw’s general direction Brambleclaw: *And I took that personally*

"Everything I do feels wrong at the moment". I knew I was in an abusive relationship, but I realized how real my experience is when I heard this line. I've always felt this way. I grew up feeling this way (parent abuser). It seems hard to believe squirrlflights experience wasn't intentional. I didn't notice all of this when I read the books, just like I never realized I was being abused my whole life up until recently. I wish the books could offer an answer

they really had to make ashfur go turbo and try to kill 4 cats so brambleclaw would look better in comparison 😭😭

The worst part is that the writers didn't even intend for this to happen. They genuinely thought they were making Bramblestar sympathetic and likable. Oof.

The fact that warrior cats and moonkitti has taught me more about abuse than school has

Squilf deserves a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a non-binary partner- hell not even obligatory a lover but someone who's really present in her life, treat her right and love her in any way (as romantic love isn't the only option)

But the fact that the whole abusive behavior was unintentional does kind of alarm me, bcs like Spottedleaf's book, they're portraying a dangerous, toxic relationship as normal or even "uwu quirky uwu" It makes me worry for the Erins and wonder if these are relationships that they have been or are currently in. It makes me wonder if they think these sorts of relationships are normal and what that could mean for them. Eh...never met your idols, I guess.

Me: casually doing school Moonkitti: *Bramblestar is Worse* Me: OH HECK YEAH *procrastination session*

squirrelflight: we need to help the sisters bramblestar: WHO CARES IF A FEW TREES ARE DYING

10:50 The best way to describe what Ashfur and Squirellflight had by this point (imo) is what Firestar and Sandstorm had between Forest of Secrets and the final part of Dangerous Path. They were not actively "dating" and still argued frequently, but their affection for each other was not hidden at all by the writers.

The way Warriors treats its female characters in general is just very bad.

erins: try making the tigerstar and firetsar bloodline together what happens: a abusive relashionship

You know she's serious when she doesn't draw Ashfur with long blonde hair

Honestly I’m pretty sick of ppl who don’t know how to write relationships forcing relationships into their stories. If you can’t write relationships… then either learn or just don’t. Stories don’t have to have romance to be good 🤦‍♀️

“don’t you love me anymore?” Squirrelflight throughout the books has consistently proven to be an honest, direct, and literally one of the least under-handed characters of them all (setting aside when she lied for Leafpool, that’s basically the one exception), so it def struck me as her genuinely needing an answer to that question.

I hate how Warriors portrays females. It’s the only part of the series that I hate. She-cats are always paired off. They become dependent and weak. The Hunters don’t care -or don’t even realize they’re subjecting these characters to abusive relationships. I hope something changes. Edit: omg thank you guys! This is the most liked comment! Thank you guys for your comments. I agree with everyone- something needs to change! I’m going to try to make a vid about this on my channel :)

This video made me realize that I had abusive friendship and how wrong my parents treat me Sooo. Now I'm trying to heal. Thank you!

The barely audible steadying breath you had to take at 52:09 before “why are you doing this to me?” is really heartbreaking and makes it clear just how fed up you were with this abusive, manipulative garbage cat.

hot take: squirrelflight didn’t really do anything wrong by breaking up with ashfur. sure it sucks for ashfur, being broken up with is of course super upsetting and unfortunate, but at the end of the day squirrelflight shouldn’t have to stay in a relationship she isn’t happy in just for ashfur’s (a full grown cat who most likely knew she may still have feelings for bramblestar) sake. it wouldn’t have been fair to either of them. i honestly think squirrelflight is better off single.

I feel like bramblestar wasted squirrelflight's life

So basically, Squilf was a bratty apprentice and a great warrior, and Bramblestar was a great app and an bratty Warrior.