Ashfur Could’ve Been Better by Bristlespring

Bristlespring shares their opinion on how Ashfur was written.

After reading all the books with Ashfur, I felt slightly unsatisfied with the outcome. Let me explain:

I never saw Ashfur as a villain. He was a genuinely hardworking and dedicated warrior and apprentice in the first arc, as well as a kind, trustworthy cat, who was friendly to all of his Clanmates. He defended Cloudpaw when the young apprentice was taken by twolegs and refused to spy on Cloudpaw even when he was told to because he trusted his friend. I was genuinely thrilled in the second arc when he became mates with Squirrelflight. I knew Ashfur would be an excellent mate to her and treat her with love and respect. Brambleclaw had also been causing multiple arguments with Squirrelflight and had snapped at her for nearly anything. He acted as if he were better than her since he was supposedly more mature. I’d never seen anything romantic between Squirrelflight and Ashfur before, but I still found their new relationship enjoyable. When Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight became mates again, I was frustrated. Sure, Brambleclaw had been kind to Squirrelflight, that’s true, but he also always bossed her around, in my opinion. Only a short conversation had solved every single bit of frustration between the couple, and then there was the sign from StarClan, delivered to Squirrelflight through Leafpool. Later, in the middle of the third arc, I was angry when I read Ashfur’s fire scene. Ashfur was my favorite character, and they’d made him seem like someone who couldn’t handle rejection. I admit, Ashfur must’ve been heartbroken, but only for a moon or so. He would’ve put his duty to the Clan first, perhaps even fallen in love with a new cat and had kits. He could’ve been a good warrior, but the authors ran out of ideas and grabbed a random scene to make a villain. A loyal warrior like him wouldn’t attempt murder over something that happened seasons ago. I know they needed a way for the three to learn they weren’t Squirrelflight’s kits, but there are countless other characters they could’ve chosen. For example, what if Cloudtail loved Daisy, causing him to lose his relationship with Brightheart, and Daisy didn’t love him because of how he broke Brightheart’s heart.