I actually really like what you’re doing with Crowfeather, he feels a bit like a foil to Bramblestar almost. They’re both prophesied Sundrown Patrol cats who end up being awful fathers and bad people. But, Crowfeather matures and changes his behavior. He can never fix what’s already broken, he’ll never be close to Breezepelt or his Grandkits, but Can still become a better person, and he’s still willing to put in the work to change.

Bramble is the opposite. He never matures, he changes for the worse. He looks at the broken shards of his relationships with Squirrel and The Three and instead of attempting to fix it he doubles down and drags the remains through the mud. He gets a second chance to be a good father, now to Spark and Alder, and without care or hesitation he tears opportunity apart. What’s already broken can never be fixed, but unlike Crowfeather he will never be willing to change just for the sake of being better.

Exactly, like... my intentions aren't to 'redeem' every bad parent or family member, or totally erase how they hurt their kids. I think it's especially important to show situations that can't be fixed, and people who never do get better.

But you don't have to be 'rewarded' with a person's time or attention to make that effort worth it. Being a better person has its rewards in the new bonds you can forge, and the meaning you can find in other things. You're never too far gone to be unworthy of happiness and fulfillment, even if there are things that will never be the same.

I think being like Bramble is a very lonely experience. It sucks to be like that. People end up drifting away from mistreatment, which just prompts the abuser to claw harder and hold on tighter to what they haven't already lost, in an endless loop. It's really sad AND infuriating, it's like watching someone try to fill a vertical hole with tears and blood.

It was really helpful to me in my own life to realize that, that a person can be hurting, and that still doesn't mean you personally need to give them the time of day. Real pain and trauma in the heart of someone who's hurting you does not entitle them. They can even be trying to make amends-- you don't need to be their salvation. Regret is just how wisdom turns a wound into a scar, y'know?

But anyway, glad to know that my Crowf changes are going over smoothly. I was a bit worried of the response, since I'm both trying to establish he has some serious differences from canon to establish he could be a competent leader AND still keep that he was an abusive father. I hope I'm hitting a good balance.