not gonna lie, warriors has its problems with writing and execution but some of their characters are just…… fucking amazing character concepts.
yellowfang: a woman who never wanted a certain job, but was more-or-less forced into it because of her undeniable gifts in that area. said job, while rewarding and important, forbids her from having children, so she gives birth in secret and gives up her child, who grows up to be a bloodthirsty, evil tyrant who does shit like using child soldiers, and eventually expels her from their faction. she takes refuge in a rival faction and winds up becoming a trusted and beloved member, as well as a mentor to the rival faction’s emerging leader. she then ends up killing her child so he can’t hurt anyone else, and does so in a fashion that ensures he doesn’t get any glory – he doesn’t get to die on the battlefield, he meets an utterly pathetic and humiliating end.
hollyleaf: a young girl is raised to live by a code, and soon believes that the code is absolutely infallible and anyone who breaks it for any reason is evil. she then finds out that her parents actually adopted her – her birth parents had her illegitimately, and thus broke the code. the realization that her very existence goes against everything she believes in overwhelms and horrifies her, and she winds up murdering a man to keep him quiet on the matter. she even threatens to murder her biological mother, but can’t bring herself to go through with it. she soon reveals the truth to everyone else in a moment of guilt, thus ruining her biological mother, upending several relationships, and sending her family into utter chaos. she then runs away and is presumed dead for several months, during which she helps two other young people from her former home survive in the wild. she eventually returns home, severely humbled and remorseful – her family is relieved she’s alive (though her brothers are angry she let them believe she was dead), but many don’t trust her. she’s about to confess to the murder she committed, but her father covers for her. she has an opportunity to kill a man who has caused her family nothing but suffering, but can’t bring herself to do it, because, despite everything, the code is still what she believes, even if she now understands it’s not infallible.
ravenpaw: a young boy is raised to be a fighter, but discovers that the man who is meant to mentor him – a highly respected figure in his faction – is a traitor and a murderer. his mentor then attempts to kill him, so the boy is forced to run away, aided by two of his friends. he settles on a quiet farm in the countryside, living with an ex-rogue who takes him in and eventually becomes his best friend and life partner. when his ex-mentor finally dies and it’s safe to return home, he turns the offer down, realizing that he’s actually much more suited a quiet life anyway. however, he’s still loyal to his home and will fight for them if they need his help. he lives out the rest of his days in relative peace.
bluestar: a woman is forced to choose between having children (whom she really DOES want) and becoming a leader, and chooses the latter because she knows if she doesn’t, a man who is utterly unsuited for the job and will bring ruin to her faction will be chosen instead. so she sees to it that her children are quietly adopted by a loving mother, swallows her grief, and becomes one of the greatest leaders her faction has ever known. however, when she’s horrifically betrayed, and her children find out who their birth mother is at a particularly bad time, she loses her grip on her sanity and becomes extremely paranoid, renouncing the gods and essentially declaring war on them, forcing her new second-in-command to run interference and arrange peace treaties behind her back. however, seeing her new second in danger causes her to come to her senses just enough to save his life at the cost of her own, and she passes away at peace, reconciling with her children on her deathbed. she then goes on to be remembered as a great leader, and providing advice and help to the heroes from beyond the grave.
mapleshade: a woman is banished from her home for having illegitimate children, and she’s forced to try to join her children’s father in his faction. tragically, her children die on the journey, and when she finally reaches the father’s home, they reject her, too. she then goes on a kill bill-style rampage and kills everyone she deems responsible for this tragedy, and after her own death, she’s sent to an afterlife reserved only for those who have committed great evil. there, she continues her quest for vengeance, now taking it out on everyone and everything related to the “code” that led to her banishment. she encourages the living to do terrible things, sometimes pretending to be a benevolent spirit to do so, and is so effective at being evil, even the others in her afterlife are scared shitless of her.
and this is just off the top of my head. idc if they’re all cats, game of thrones WHO?
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