Possible Imposters (TBC):
* Very possessive of Squirrelflight
* Named Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather as codebreakers (and Ashfur tried to kill/harm them when he was alive)
* “You used to stand up to me in the old days” to Squirrelflight
* Lured the dogs to Jayfeather’s garden in the same way that Brindleface (Ashfur’s mother) was killed
* Set a trap kill Sparkpelt (Squirrelflight’s daughter). The trap was set at Jayfeather’s garden, so it might have been meant for him or Alderheart (also Squirrelflight’s children)
* Sent Bumblestripe to spy on Squirrelflight rather than trusting her
* “I gave you one last chance to tell the truth and you didn’t!” to Squirrelflight, implying that she’s lied to him before
* Violent with Squirrelflight when angry
* Threatened to harm Tree’s family to hurt him, as Ashfur tried to kill Squirrelflight’s children to hurt her
* Imposter has a vendetta against Bramblestar, whom Ashfur blames for “stealing” Squirrelflight
* The erins mentioned the return of a controversial character, and Ashfur is one of the most controversial characters in the series (for some reason)
* Shadowsight’s fire vision and ash falling on his pelt
* Ashfur is a confirmed StarClan cat who has been seen multiple times in StarClan, and StarClan has been cut off from the living
* Imposter is unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp, and Ashfur lived in the lake territory
* Ashfur never showed any interest in the Code and actually broke it when he conspired with Hawkfrost to kill Firestar
* Imposter seems much smarter than Ashfur was in life
* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Ashfur actually appeared in Squirrelflight’s Hope and was utterly uninterested in her
* The Imposter is intent on punishing codebreakers and making them suffer, just as Thistleclaw was violent in life
* Thistleclaw would be unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp at the lake territory
* Imposter manipulated Bristlefrost and seemed like he was creeping on her, despite actually saying that she was too young to be deputy. We all know what Thistleclaw did in Spottedleaf’s Heart.
* Thistleclaw is a Dark Forest cat who wasn’t killed in the Great Battle (that we know of), and Squirrelflight’s Hope stated that most Dark Forest cats had “moved on”, but that StarClan doesn’t know where they went
* The erins talked about the return of a controversial character, and for some reason, Thistleclaw seems to be pretty controversial
* The only part of the Code that Thistleclaw ever seemed interested in was no trespassing
* Thistleclaw has no connection to any named codebreakers
* Thistleclaw was never shown as particularly cunning outside of his disgusting child grooming in Spottedleaf’s Heart. The imposter is clearly a master manipulator.
* I don’t think Thistleclaw would have let Rootpaw trespass on ThunderClan territory and get away with it, regardless of his supposed reason
* No connection to Squirrelflight
* Meta: I’m hoping to god that the Erins learned their lesson and won’t touch Thistleclaw with a ten foot pole
* Controversial character
* Shown to be very manipulative and good at getting cats to join him
* Warmonger who uses fear tactics to scare cats into believing that they will starve if they don’t join him, much like the Imposter uses fear tactics to convince cats that StarClan will never return if they don’t punish codebreakers
* Clear Sky was the first leader to enforce rules about borders and trespassing, which served as a prototype for the Code
* Clear Sky would be unfamiliar with the lake territory
* The Imposter is noted to have seemed surprised by the scent of herbs from the medicine den. Medicine cats were a very new concept when Clear Sky was leader.
* No SkyClan cats were named as codebreakers (Tree doesn’t count)
* Squirrelflight is very similar in personality to Storm (Clear Sky’s second mate). Storm left Clear Sky and died, so it would make sense why Clear Sky would try to keep Squirrelflight with him at all times
* Clear Sky only just rejoined main StarClan, so he might not be fully connected enough to be blocked off with the rest of them
* The Imposter shares Clear Sky’s social Darwinist perspective (i.e. the strong cats — warriors, deputy, leader —should take priority over the weak, like the elders)
* Squirrelflight is similar in appearance to Star Flower (Clear Sky’s third mate)
* Clear Sky was very controlling of Storm and insisted she always stayed in camp. Much like the Imposter does with Squirrelflight.
* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body
* Clear Sky showed genuine character growth and had a redemption arc
* I don’t think many people read DOTC, so Clear Sky might not be a recognizable villain for most readers
* StarClan is blocked off from the Clans, and Clear Sky is a StarClan cat
* I think the only cat Clear Sky ever exiled was Jagged Peak, and that was because he broke his leg (not because of any codebreaking)
* I don’t remember Clear Sky ever using spies
* No SkyClan cats were named
* Cloudstar’s entire life and Clan were destroyed by codebreaking (i.e. the other Clans turning on them in their hour of need)
* Everything I said about Clear Sky and StarClan
* The Imposter seems intent on making ThunderClan suffer, and Redstar (the leader of ThunderClan) was the main antagonist in Cloudstar’s novella and the main reason why SkyClan was forced to leave
* Cloudstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory
* Cloudstar was never a bad dude
* He is a confirmed StarClan cat
* Cloudstar was never shown to be manipulative or violent
* It just doesn’t seem likely that Cloudstar would do something like this
* I seriously doubt Cloudstar would ever threaten another cat’s family like the Imposter threatened Tree’s
* No connection to Squirrelflight
* Dark Forest cat who survived the Great Battle
* What I said about the Dark Forest in Thistleclaw’s section
* Luring dogs to kill Sparkpelt (probably intended for Jayfeather) was a very Tigerstar-esque plot, and Darkstripe was his most loyal supporter
* Darkstripe would be unfamiliar with the lake territory
* Darkstripe is known for eating prey that he caught before feeding the elders
* Darkstripe wasn’t all that smart in life or death
* Darkstripe had little to no regard for the Code
* No connection to Squirrelflight
* The dog plot mentioned above
* Tigerstar was a master manipulator who convinced entire cats to join his crusade against half-clan and non-forestborn cats
* Tigerstar was known for hating half-Clan cats, and Jayfeather and Lionblaze are named codebreakers for seemingly no other reason than being half-Clan
* The imposter seems to have something against Lionblaze specifically, and Lionblaze turned against Tigerstar in his Dark Forest training
* Tigerstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory
* Tigerstar is double dead and his arc is complete
* It would just be such lazy writing for it to be him
* He’s Bramblestar’s half brother
* Squirrelflight hated him when he was alive
* Would want revenge against Bramblestar for killing him TWICE
* Mothwing is a named codebreaker
* Hawkfrost is double dead and should not be able to come back
* Never cared about the Code
* The Imposter hasn’t once interacted with Ivypool, and Hawkfrost had an important relationship with her and would probably try to make her life hell
* Social Darwinist who kicked out ShadowClan’s elders
* He’s double dead and shouldn’t be able to come back
* No motive or connection to ThunderClan, Bramblestar, or the Code
* Known for hating the Clans
* Convinced ShadowClan to reject StarClan once, so it would make sense for him to try to block off StarClan again
* Known master manipulator who was able to convince first SkyClan, then ShadowClan, and then a group of WindClan cats of his worth as a cat and a leader
* Controversial character in-universe
* Sol has a vendetta against SkyClan and Leafstar specifically, and not a single SkyClan cat is named
* Sol doesn’t give a shit about the Code
* I don’t remember Sol having any connection to Squirrelflight, but I might be wrong
* Had his life and leadership ruined by codebreakers
* The Imposter named Dovewing but not Tigerheartstar. Tigerheartstar is Rowanclaw’s son and was his deputy, and Rowanclaw might blame Dovewing for making Tigerheartstar abandon ShadowClan in their time of need, thus forcing Rowanclaw to step down as leader and merge ShadowClan with SkyClan.
* Rowanclaw has a biological connection to Shadowsight (his grandson), which might make it easier to talk to him
* Owed Leafstar a debt for taking in his Clan, and not a single SkyClan cat is named
* None of the initial defectors to the Kin (Yarrowleaf, Berryheart, Strikestone, etc.) are named codebreakers
* Rowanclaw had a decent relationship with Bramblestar and would have no reason to bring suffering to him or his Clan
* The Clans all helped drive Darktail out, so why would Rowanclaw want to drive them apart?
* Rowanclaw is a known StarClan cat
* Rowanclaw was given a good death and a great send off in Tawnypelt’s Clan
* Rowanclaw knew his way around ThunderClan camp
* Shadowsight’s fire vision
* If the Imposter was using mint to cover up Shadowsight’s assassination, then he would have to have good knowledge of herbs to know that mint is used to mask corpses
* Flametail was mentioned several times in Lost Stars
* Why the fuck would Flametail do this
* Read what I said about the Imposter having knowledge of herbs under Flametail
* No knowledge of the lake territory
* Ravenwing was killed for defending the Code (albeit a warped version of the Code) and reporting Mapleshade’s half-Clan relationship
* Lionblaze and Jayfeather are condemned just for being half-Clan, much like Mapleshade’s kits
* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body
* I think the Erins forgot he exists
* Ravenwing never seemed violent or malicious
* Known for being a tyrannical leader
* The Imposter is compared multiple times throughout The Silent Thaw to Darktail in terms of cruelty and cunning
* Darktail is mentioned several times in The Silent Thaw
* We all know that Darktail hates the Clans
* Because Darktail had a satisfying defeat and it would cheapen his death for the Erins to bring him back
* Violetshine isn’t targeted
* I’m literally begging you
* Personality shifts for days
* No one knows where the hell the Dark Forest cats went
* Shadowsight only heard one voice
I think it’s either Clear Sky, Ravenwing, or multiple different cats, but I’m leaning Clear Sky
