Dovewing: is she really that bad? by Finchclaw

Finchclaw defends Dovewing.

Art by Shadow-Ku

Hi, I’m Finchclaw! Today I’m going to talk about Dovewing! If you are unfamiliar, Dovewing is a Shadowclan queen who was formerly a Thunderclan warrior. Dovewing is unfortunately disliked by many, but I’m here to defend her. Letā€™s start by describing her life story. Dovewing was born to Whitewing and Birchfall of Thunderclan, alongside Ivypool. Dovewing had been granted a mysterious power from Starclan, which made her the third cat of a huge prophecy. Her mentor was Lionblaze, another prophecy cat. During OOTS, Dovewing falls in love with Tigerheart of Shadowclan. This love temporarily fizzles out when she becomes mates with Bumblestripe of Thunderclan. She eventually leaves Bumblestripe, alongside Thunderclan, to be with Tigerheart.
She ends up having three kits, Pouncestep, Lightleap and Shadowsight. Sheā€™s currently nursing her second litter, consisting of Rowankit and Birchkit.

Hereā€™s some commonly said things about Dovewing;

ā€œSheā€™s a Mary sue!ā€

A mary sue is defined as a character without flaws, yet Dovewing has many. Sheā€™s stubborn and naive, which is shown heavily throughout the books. A mary sue normally has nothing bad happen to her, but Dovewing constantly has to deal with horrible things. Whether it be being forced out of her clan by Ashfur or temporarily losing her son, this cat canā€™t catch a break nowadays!

ā€œBumblestripe did nothing wrong, itā€™s Dovewingā€™s fault!ā€

Bumblestripe is nothing but a bad cat! Dovewing tried to make it work, but Bumblestripe continuously pushed her into having kits. Dovewing leaving her clan was fueled by not only her love for Tigerheart, but her sadness with Bumblestripe insisting on her becoming a mother.

ā€œIvypool is better than her; Dovewing did nothing but listen to starclan spirits!ā€

Sound familiar? Ivypool spent the entirety of OOTS listening to evil spirits.

I honestly have neutral feelings when it comes to Ivypool, but I definitely prefer Dovewing. Why? Well, itā€™s simple! Ivypool always seemed like a character that did strange things for strange reasons. Kill Antpelt? Sure! Kill Flametail? Well, yeah? Kill my own clanmates? Woah, buster! Slow down there!
I feel like her Thunderclan-ness is showing here, considering she only agrees to kill cats that arenā€™t her own clanmates. Call me a Shadowclan cat, because this is typical Thunderclan behavior!

I understand if my reasons donā€™t sway you, but itā€™s okay! We all have our own opinions, this is just one of mine.

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