Why Graystripe Annoys Me by Foxtail

Foxtail talks about why Graystripe isn’t their favourite character.

Fourth article!

*braces for flying objects*

Okay you can all hate me now but Graystripe has never been my favorite character. As a matter of fact, he’s one of my least. This is when I first read Warriors and starting in Fire and Ice (or maybe it was Forest of Secrets) I disliked him. One of the reasons is because he kept secretly meeting Silverstream (that is not the full reason though. Just hear me out). Now you all may argue that there are lots of cats who’ve broken the code. But let’s face it: I disliked Lionblaze and even Dovewing for breaking the code and Leafpool annoys me for it as well (I honestly have mixed feelings though about the LeafxCrow ship cause I hate it yet love it at the same time. Weird, I know). Yes I know I sound a lot like Hollyleaf.
But what about Yellowfang? Technically she already had a mate before and never intended to have kits. I’m neutral on her though (she was a great medicine cat anyway).
What about Bluestar? Yes I know I’m going to be contradicted for this and I understand why. But anyway back onto the point……
I felt so bad for Fireheart! He disliked Graystripe seeing Silverstream not because it was against the code but because he felt he was being replaced. This created a very big rift between their friendship and it made me feel so heartbroken. They were such good friends until Graystripe suddenly began putting a rival Clan’s she-cat before his closest friend and his own Clan. I understand a cat can’t help falling in love. But that doesn’t mean you have to push away your friend who is only trying to help and protect you from pain and shame.

“Do you doubt my loyalty to ThunderClan?”
“What else can I think? You can’t see her without lying to the Clan. And what if we have a battle with RiverClan? Have you thought about that?”
~ “Fire and Ice” pg. 157

Graystripe never even thought about what could happen. Fireheart knew that Tigerclaw was beginning to get suspicious and tried to warn his friend, but Graystripe just snapped at him and said to stay out of his fur. Fireheart was the better friend out of the two in my opinion. He stayed loyal to Graystripe even if Graystripe didn’t stay loyal to him. Fireheart feared for his friend! But Graystripe didn’t care. He didn’t care if he was betraying his Clan or not or how much hurt he caused Fireheart. All he cared about was HIS feelings and what HE wanted. He even “ditched” Brackenpaw’s training which was highly important to just get away and sneak out. Fireheart had to take over because at least HE was loyal to his friend and had to cover up for him. I know you all may be thinking, “Oh, so she only hates Graystripe for breaking the code.” No not entirely. I was annoyed by it but mostly I “hate” him because he literally tried to attack Fireheart for trying to talk sense into him and help him out. And it was in the middle of the camp! Was he trying to make Fireheart look bad? He almost gave himself away by being upset with his friend and the whole Clan knew something was going on between them. He risked his own secret that Fireheart helped protect! I understand that friendships can have hardships but I didn’t expect “attacking” would be apart of it exactly.

“A true friend would tell you something that you NEED to hear even if you don’t WANT to listen.” Letting them hear what they want to hear won’t get them anywhere and it will hurt your friendship more than when you tell them what they need to hear even if they don’t want to. It will benefit both of you more in the future even though what you say could hurt.

I also dislike him because….well, he never paid attention to his kits. Now I know I will get lots of arguments against this about how lots of the cats in the Clans don’t pay attention to their kits. But look at Dustpelt, Firestar, Brackenfur, Cloudtail, and Birchfall for StarClan’s sake! They are all such good fathers! Graystripe was a great and loyal dad to Feathertail and Stormfur but then he suddenly just lost all of it with Briarlight, Blossomfall, and Bumblestripe. He also didn’t even talk sense into Millie for yelling at her kit and always worrying about Briarlight (Briarlight told Millie that she was fine and would help her if she didn’t worry so much and told her to pay attention to her littermates. If Millie wanted Briarlight to be happy, then she should have listened to what her daughter was telling her. Don’t worry I don’t hate Millie at all). In Sky’s article “Who is the Worst Mate,” it talks about how Graystripe was the worst mate and I highly agree with that. Graystripe always tended to bond over Silverstream more and her kits while though he did care about Millie, there were times where he didn’t stick up for her or her kits (or stick up ‘to’ her). Graystripe was just slinking off in the background while one of his kits got shunned in front of the whole Clan. It was as if he didn’t even care! Couldn’t he have been a little bit concerned or sympathetic? Uh, nope! I wonder if Blossomfall would have been less jealous and snarky if Graystripe had been there for her, much less any of his kits. It would probably hurt Millie but I am repeating again that a true friend (or mate in this circumstance) would tell you something that you NEED to hear even if you don’t WANT to listen and if it may hurt. Some things that could be hurtful must be said in order for things to work out smoothly in the end. Believe me it would benefit both friends/mates.

Graystripe to me was an annoying furball. I love his personality though and his love for food, haha! Don’t worry guys I do not hate the GrayxSilver and GrayxMillie ships. I really didn’t care who he ended up with but he just still annoys me in general and is a really bad mate (in some cases though. Okay he is alright for a mate but in general I just don’t like him). It’s okay people calm down now: I literally cried so hard when Silverstream died! 😭

EDIT: However there is a contradiction to my article in this quote right here:

“Cats of ThunderClan, I’m so glad that I came back to find ThunderClan. I could never have made the journey without Millie, and I was so blessed by StarClan to have a second chance to raise kits. I have lost so many cats who were precious to me, and not a day goes by when I don’t think of Silverstream, Feathertail, and Stormfur. But I have no quarrel with StarClan for the path they chose for me, and I’m proud of all my kits. Blossomfall for her courage and skill in battle; Bumblestripe for his loyalty and compassion; and Briarlight for her bravery, her humbling spirit, and her hopefulness. I shall be watching all of you from the elders’ den; you can be sure of that.”

So yes I do understand that he did care about his kits. But if only he showed it a bit more of it when his kits and mate were having……well, struggles.

Thanks for reading! Not everyone loves Graystripe you know. 😉 Hopefully this gave you a perspective of what “Graystripe-non-lovers” might think (if there are anymore out there) and that you can understand some of these reasons as to why he isn’t my favorite. I know many of you – if not all- will highly disagree and start up arguments and I know plenty of those arguments out there so please keep it low since this is only my opinion out of hundreds in the world (or on BlogClan). I know lots of you love Graystripe and I respect that so let us all be happy and peaceful and enjoy the rest of our day. ☺️