This was a great video. Finding personal connection to the journey you took in finding your own identity in a character from a series you love is incredibly rewarding, even if that particular identity isn't ever confirmed directly in the books. Nightheart is easily the clearest example I've seen of a trans-coded Warriors character, considering that the other prominent ones were mostly background mistakes where a gender was switched between books, without any explanation as to why or how they felt about it, and I completely understand and support everyone who has seen themselves in Nightheart. Canon be danged on this one. The characters are who we want them to be as soon as they leave the publisher's hands.
@@birdsbirdsandmorebirds6251 Yeah, that was defenitly a funny moment. I remember reading Rowanclaw as a she-cat in an older book and I was so confused 😂
I feel like Firestar would be the kind of person to tell Nightheart that they are not defined by their lineage. Nightheart gets a dream with Firestar or something and he pulls a Midoriya/Todoroki on them.
As a trans person, I'm not sure. I think Nightheart's problems really have to do with his family, not his gender. However, if Nightheart really turned out to be a girl, I would be happy with this representation.
Well I would like to see trans representation in the books but sadly these books are printed out of money and there are a lot of people who would not want to read a book with trans cats so they would stop buying aka make the writes lose money wish there was lgbtq+ cats in the books but that not going to make money.
I personally do not believe the theory as I consider Nightheart being a character who represents finding yourself (As I've known people who finally get to be themselves once they are no longer under their families' thumbs). But, I can see where the trans theory comes from based on the text in the books! Good video as always.
not to be rude, but that’s kinda the point? it’s kinda trans coded in that way, being a story of finding yourself after getting away from an unsupportive family (which a lot of trans people go through)
@@rxraltzna I was saying while I don't see Nightheart as trans, I can see based on context that Nightheart can be coded as such. As Akira said it in the video, Nightheart's struggle can represent many things as it was vague enough to apply to many scenarios. So it's up to the individual to interpret Nightheart's story their own way.
I'm FtM, but Nightheartʼs character arc immediately reminded me of my own struggles and I felt represented. I really hope that's what they're going for and the Trans anology wasn't just accidental, it just seems so obvious. It reminded me of my parents saying I should be traditionally female, which I despised and sometimes even had panic attacks about, because it just wasn't who I was. I also had a realization moment like Nightheart, when I saw a male singer I admired and wanted to look and be like, while I could never connect to female singers or actresses. I know they can't add proper representation because of the publisher, but Nightheart feels like the closest thing we've gotten to a Transgender character.
I like the idea that Hollyleaf represented us Asexuals. She never had any interest in kits or romance, and much like us in real life, is told "lol it's a phase." But it was never a phase for her. Or us.
I thought the same about Ivypool not being interested in mates/kits. ... but they ruined that one big time ugh. If Hollyleaf lived they would probably just give her random related mate and kittens for more generic background characters. The writers stopped caring, paring up whoever they want by 'if there name sounded nice' not even bothering to look at family trees anymore or bring in new bloodlines to make things better, I quit reading soon after. I was oh so super annoyed with both Sparkpelt and Ivypool just haaving to be moms for plot and their partners seem so randomly picked out, like no one cares they are all Firestar relatives being mates together. Its not even special anymore to be a Firestar relative when everyone and their parents are.
@@ABlueStitchInTime I personally love Ivy×Fern, but yeah :(. Maybe they could've made her Asexual and not have kits, but still be mates w/ Fern. Kinda like Twig and Fin. I don't believe they would've made Holly have kits or anything, as no we didn't see any love interests w/ her (unless you include Cinderheart, which is a ship I love.) I realllly hope none of the main characters in this arc have kits. Not just FrostPaw, but like, all of them. It would be so refreshing. I just want a she-cat to be platonic friends w/ a tom :(
For anyone who sees this comment, I just wanna clarify that Akira isn't saying that there is evidence to suggest Nightheart is factually trans in canon; there's just evidence to allow someone to perceive Nightheart as trans as a headcanon. With the low levels of lgbt (especially trans) representation in warriors and in media in general, it's a completely fair headcanon to make. It allows akira and I'm sure other trans women who've watched this to connect to this character on a more personal level, so they can compare their own experiences with Nightheart's, which I think is really cool. And honestly, it's one of the goals of literature to create characters that people can perceive however they want. Nothing is set in stone, just like people in real life. The same person will be perceived differently by others. I really enjoyed this video for that reason, and guys, remember that people can perceive characters however they'd like :)
I always wonder why Ravenpaw didn’t ditch the “paw” suffix. Is it like the last remnant of his warrior society life? It feels weird to call him Ravenpaw sometimes because the suffix is usually used for cats in the ages equivalent to teenagers. I understand the trans Nightheart theory/headcanon! I like the Nightcloud bit and it’s possible that Nightheart’s name was inspired by it in trans context, but there’s also a chance that it was just that, inspiration regardless of gender. There are guys who swoon over a woman’s beauty and takes up hobbies and stuff usually associated with femininity to achieve that level of beauty, but not necessarily automatically making them trans, but there are also some that do so that happened to be trans. Like you said, it’s pretty much up to interpretation.
I really hope we're eventually getting some real transgender representation. As a genderqueer person, it would make me so happy to see the publishers finally giving in and letting this happen. Edit: I understand that they’re cats and it wouldn’t be too realistic, but remember cats here are very humanized. Cats don’t talk, take others prisoner, and form battle plans either, but you guys draw the line at gender identities?
All I can say is that I really, really, really, REALLY don't want Night x Sun. I mean sure, there are a heck of a lot of reasons to pair them up: to explore the new mates-from-other-clans rules, for their contrasting personalities and the symbolism that comes with it, as an escape from ThunderClan for Nightheart...but there's one big reason: another series which focuses around two warriors from different clans falling in love and the third protag being a struggling young medicine cat? Again? Can we please be more creative? I would love a story that pushes the authors to think about the plotline of Nightheart growing up and learning to deal with their expectation struggles. This would allow a nice wrap-up to the entire Firestar legacy, it would prevent Nightheart from running away from their problems (plot convenience, hello), and it would give us more insight into Sparkpelt's character. I know Night x Sun is really off-topic from this video, but I think that this ship would totally ruin this epic headcanon and would just be lazy and repetitive. Moving to be mates with a cat from another Clan isn't even a new topic, so it's weird that every cat outside of the forbbiden lovers themselves acts as such. Point in case to my rant: No Night x Sun and yes Nightheart-learning-to-tackle-their-expectation-struggles-without-moving-away. Maybe they stand their ground against their Clanmates (even though they're the antagonists) and get them to see things from Nightheart's point of view! Now that would be a great way to introduce canon trans characters. Anyway, if you read this whole comment, gosh, thanks, happy pride, and have a nice day. I'm gonna go cool off.
I really hope so too- I want another plot line besides “forbidden romance” (though not really forbidden now) in a series! Though I suppose it would be kinda forbidden, with all the cats opinions on different-clan romances.
Ugh it really seems to be pushing that way. I was really hoping Sunbeam and Blazefire were going to start the series as strong mates. And now that Flamepaw is Nightheart, his and Sunbeam's names are opposites to one another and its almost basically confirmed it. Well not exactly, but its leaning that way. Maybe they could just be close friends after the whole thing?
This entirely. I’m dreading the idea of Night x Sun. Not only is Sunbeam much older than Nightheart (indicated so in the book itself) but I’m just, so worried Sunbeam will become Bristlefrost 2.0. What I would like to see, and already ship, is Sunbeam x Shadowsight. Why? They are roughly the same age, Shadowsight is a medicine cat and therefore it pokes at the rules some more, they’re both trying to do what’s best for Lightleap, Sunbeam keeps ending up in the medicine cat den, and it would be a wonderful contrast to Sunbeam’s brother already having a no longer forbidden love interest. It would cause conflict between her and her mother, because while Sunbeam found a mate in Shadowclan it certainly cannot be the medicine cat! Plus additional drama with Shadowsight not being connected to Starclan therefore not a “true” medicine cat adds to the already existing drama of Mothwing and Frostpaw’s struggles. (Can you see a gathering where Shadowsight is permitted to take a mate due to him not being a truly capable medicine cat? Therefore calling unwanted attention on Mothwing and questioning if the reason for no leader in Riverclan is due to Mothwing having no connection with Starclan?) It would be a great domino effect of events!
I'm afab nonbinary, but the idea of being named/associated after/with a grandparent/great grandparent is definitely something I can relate to, and while I'm not someone who actively keeps up with the books anymore, this concept is something I can definitely get behind !
I'm a ftm and this look more like a trangender cat suffering with dysphoria than a kid being forced to do sports even though they hate it or a kid being expected to study medicine
I like Hollyleaf as ace/aro, as someone that is personally ace. I don’t think that was an idea was even remotely in the mind of any of the writers. But I like it just as a thought.
@@Ivypool123 i agree, even tought im not aro/ace XD i just hate the way that every female character that turns a friend of a male character becomes mates with him, or even all the book's characters have a mate or had one at once. we need more aro/ace and singles characters, aswell as we need more LGBT characters in warriors!
I like how you switched using he to them to she pronouns for Nightheart as you built your case. I was thinking it was a stretch until you gave some examples. Then your reasoning made sense. I took the encounter with Nightcloud as dumb foreshadowing, and while Flame isn’t as masculine as Fire, Nightheart seems fitting. I’m agender, and have considered getting a less feminine name, but nothing feels right. So Nightheart wanting to think of “the perfect name” is to relatable. (Is kinda rude of Bramblestar to say Flamepaw can pick, then give her a name anyway)
It's honestly a pet peeve of mine when people say, "such and such is a boy/girl name". It doesn't matter if it sounds like a boy/girl name. Don't know why that gets on my nerves.
honestly tho, the entire thing about firestars family being special is sort of dumb, because now half of thunderclan has a little bit of firestar in them (and dovewings kits are also part firestar). Jayfeather, lionblaze (and lioblaze's kits), ivypool (and her kits), squirrelflight, cloudtail, whitewing, nightheart and his sister ( i forgot her name), alderheart and sparkpelt, and probably and few i missed. Honestly, it doesn't really make sense why sparkpelt and squirrelflight were making such a big deal out of nightheart being descended from firestar. Everyone i mentioned above except for cloudtail and his descendants were directly descended from firestar too.
Honestly I would love more Nightheart interactions with Nightcloud (preferably positive ones) because personally I like to headcanon Nightcloud as transfem and Nightcloud being my favorite character I’d love more interactions with her and nightheart. Maybe her helping them discover themselves? Idk I doubt it’ll happen but I’m gonna take this and run with it -
I like seeing different hc’s but I don’t think Nightcloud could be trans cause she had a kit, unless also hc crowfeather as trans (which I can sorta see)
@@WarmBreadBearBuddy yea I personally hc crowfeather as trans! But I just like to hc Nightcloud as trans and the fact that she’s had a kit won’t stop me lol. There’s endless possibilities to go along with it, for example (a personal favorite of mine) adopted breezepelt where he was originally son of crow and leaf but crow decided to keep him in windclan and Nightcloud adopted him. I just think it’s neat :))
@@mothdrawz Trans people do sometimes have children..if nightcloud was trans it could represent those people who still had kids even though they’re trans (they’re often invalidated for it) or those who realized they were (or decided to come out as/identity as) trans after kids! Trans people can also want biological children, just as cis people can, so sometimes they’ll opt to have kids then transition after (or some decide they don’t want to transition which is cool too).
I am SO happy that you touched on that subject. I mean. Of course you did, it's only natural that it resonated with you too, and even more than with me. But I'm so upset everytime people complain about Nightheart story being bad when it strike me so much as a transgender equivalent. The scene when Nightheart refuse her name and everyone is mad (and super hypocrite, like, come on Squirrelflight, you've seen Crowfeather interrupt his ceremony to ask for a specific name) was painfully similar to an experience my brother and I had to go through. I like Nightheart so much, I like how she question everything all the time, I've never seen a WC character feeling so much like me.
I think Warrior Cats would get a heck more attention if Night heart was trans. As someone who is Bi I quietly hope that the writers did this and many others because they want to do it, but can so this what we do. And hopefully one day like Wings of Fire. We get a confirmed LBGTQ+ relationship or trans characters
While I doubt the Erins would ever put in trans representation the idea of nightheart being a girl would be so cool and good rep. I hope the Erins will get it together and be open on lgbtq characters. Talljake and Ravenbarley are so well written so they can clearly do the relationship part, so we just need some gender struggles as the world is more open on it than ever before
I think it's more they aren't allowed to openly include it because 70+ countries have banned LGBTQ+ content and the books wouldn't be allowed to be published there, and I think their editors might not allow it either, but I don't know much. That's just my opinion on it. I agree with you though. I wish there would be more representation and that everyone would stop seeing LGBTQ+ as a bad thing. /pos
I wish they would add LGBT+ characters in the books and said it outright. Especially trans characters. A trans main character would be an awesome addition that we are unlikely to get.
They unfortunately just cannot add lgbt+ into the books..closets they can do is gay characters hinted through “close friendships”, if they can make it look like a close friendship they’ll add it in but never explicitly show it or say it in the books only on stuff like online forums will they admit characters as gay never in the books because they cannot
so your saying they should risk not being able to publish books in 70+ countries just for you guys to be happy, while depriving other people from said countries from the joy of reading warriors?
I know it has a 99% risk of happening, but I just have to say. I really hope NightBeam won't be a couple, it just seems like a really boring matchup to me. I was super excited to see Blazefire as a PoV's mate back when I first read the excerpt (IDK why, I just really like Blazefire), and I was very disappointed to see them break up like that. I don't mind Nightheart getting a cross-Clan relationship (I am convinced he will change Clan before the arc is over), but I don't like that it'll come at the cost of SunBlaze.
I agree, I hate that every relationship we see starts from the beginning and seems to never break up (with a couple of exceptions). SunBlaze was really refreshing.
@@envyingiyli Yea I agree. Having them be established as dating already could've given the series a chance to explore other aspects of romance than just the initial dating (which we this far mostly have through side characters). Like, I have nothing against "early love" romance arcs. But even so I was really looking forward to SunBlaze and I am sad to see that it presumably won't happen.
i think it’d be fun if it was like. night fell in love with the idea of moving to shadowclan, but mistook that for being in love with sun. so when she actually moved to shadow she’s like ah! actually i just wanted to switch clans i think it’d be interesting to see a relationship just. not work out and they instead remain friends
The headcannon of Nightheart being trans is something I’ve always seen for another reason also. I have a black cat of my own named Shadow, and often times when I imagine black cat characters I look to him for inspiration for their design. Shadow is a male cat with female genitalia, which is something I’ve always found interesting. He has female genitalia because he has severe issues with his bladder, and so he had to get bottom surgery to save his life (it sounds strange I know). He still has some issues and we have to monitor him for any signs of further issues, but the surgery mostly took care of it. I just wanted to share this cause I thought it was interesting.
Your cat has peaked my interest. I didn’t know that could be done is it done on humans? It’s really impressive how far science has come! I’m so happy shadow is ok and happy! But this is actually interesting I had no idea such a surgery existed let alone on animals! That’s really impressive of the vets. Anyways say hi to him for me ❤️ and tell him I’m glad his bladder problems are mostly fixed!
@@creepywaffles4783 aw, thank you! I’ll give him some nice pats from you 😊 I don’t know if these same problems happen with humans, It could but maybe it has a different solution? I’m not really sure
I haven't read River, but I love this take and your analysis of the character! I definitely hope we get many more characters that we as queer people can relate to!
I hadn't initially thought of Nightheart this way but as soon as I saw the title of this video - before even watching it - I nodded and agreed immediately. I could already see and think of scenarios in the book where Nightheart could totally be perceived as trans.
honestly i actually have some hope that nightheart might be trans lately in the book thunder the authors have actually started to listen to us and gave us squilfstar, girlboss sunbeam, a platonic friendship between she-cat and tom, and stuff like that maybe theyll give us finally some representation!
I stopped reading Warriors half way through the second book of the Bramblestar's impostor arc but the extracts and theme of the character you're talking about have made me interested and I may start again! Thanks! +It's a great video you've made her, especially how you explained the concept of headcannons and why people create them.
i live in a community where this topic is sort of the *elephant in the room* so to speak, so it's really great to have a warrior cats video featuring it! :)😁
I support LGBTQ and I love seeing all kinds of couples in stories but I don't really like the fact that 2 characters, no matter the gender even, can't just be seen as good friends. I think Barley and Ravenpaw just developed to be besties, I love friends that are immensely comfortable with each other
there’s literally no representation so it’s not rlly up to anyone to be uncomfortable with lgbt hcs, very few media has any representation of lgbt characters 🧍 it’s confirmed they’re mates too, the authors have said as much & it’s heavily implied looking at Raven & Barley and saying “definitely not mates” is like looking at a gay couple and saying “wow! what great friends!”
@@LuvHaebomSo you are saying that the books have no representation of lgbtq+, but you also say that the authors have confirmed that theyre mates? I dont understand
the fact that nightheart got gender envy from nightcloud (and would go on to be renamed with the night prefix) reminds me of how many trans folk often take names from characters in media. in my honest opinion there's so many similarities that it's hard to see all of it as being a coincidence, because, the erins have had a lot of chances to make a cat struggle to live up to firestar in the past - why do that only now? especially with a cat who's only very distantly related to firestar? where was the expectation with squirrelflight and such? it all seems like it's some sort of cover up for making her trans and i love it
i personally don’t think Nightheart is trans. Nightheart’s problems have to do with his family, not his gender. but if he was trans, i’d be happy with the representation. i also think it’s a cool headcanon to have as well :D
I think Nightheart going through discovering themselves and finally coming out as trans at the end of the arc would be amazing, I doubt it would happen, but it's nice to think abt
I absolutely see this. I'm Cis but I struggled with being female enough as I am not as traditionally feminine as my peers (at the time). I eventually realized I was female enough. And I feel Nightheart's story is very similar to that struggle. S/he did not feel firestar enough. The difference for him/her is she decided s/he was Nightcloud enough. And I think that is a good message regardless if your journey is cis or Trans. You're you enough. *I do not claim "enough" as a solely cis experience. I hope everyone who went opposite of me knows they arr man enough or reverse of me knows they are female non-binary or whatever they are enough. **I have not read River. Cliffhangers are not good for my mental health so I binge rather than consume on release. Spoilers however are a comfort for me so I am speaking from what I absorbed from them.
Exactly this! They’re a journey of finding their own identity..whether it’s trans or not! I myself, my whole life struggle with “not being female enough”..told I was like a boy; but I’ve realized over time I can still be a girl with a boy-ish attitude and clothing and name, how I am doesn’t reflect what gender I choose to be as you don’t have to be a pink princess to be a girl and likewise you don’t have to be masculine to be a boy. They’re either trans or they decided they could feel feminine whilst being a boy. They’re both valid interpretations and anyone can see it however they like 😄
This opinion of mine has been represented by pretty much half of the fandom at this point, but I do think it’s a shame that we’re probably never getting lgbtq+ in Warriors. I had high hopes when I learned of Tui Sutherland being an Erin Hunter, since Wings of Fire is 100% pride. But higher power of writing prevents it? It doesn’t exactly make since, so I’m glad that Warriors as a fandom exists! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️❤️
Harper Collins, Warriors publishers, don't allow it ^^ I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but just in case, yeah. Harper Collins doesn't allow LGBTQ+ characters for some reason or another
@@nataliee2792 if i had to guess, its to not risk upsetting countries who still dont take kindly to our groups and risk potentially prevention of selling the books there, at least, thats one thing ive heard before as a potential reasoning for that
Higher powers DO prevent it..incase you’re curious how: they observe the writing and will pressure certain things to be in or out or else they refuse to publish the books, they cannot put anything in the book without it being allowed first so they literally have barely any control on the writing sadly thus no lgbt+ will be explicitly said in the books.
I really dont believe that Nightheart wants to be a girl I think he just doesnt want everyone to think that he has to be like a great cat like Firestar
Yeah, had many grudges against his family because he was slightly abandoned at a young age. His real mother then put all this pressure on him to be someone he wasn’t. They wanted him to be the one truly related to a cat worshipped to the équivalant of a god
We all know the answer is no because the erins are to cowardly to put anything like that in the books since they couldn't sell it in china and similar places then. instead of just not selling to those places. But in fanworks he can be
One of the reasons the Erin’s couldn’t put in LGTBQ+ characters was because other countries, like Pakistan or Sri Lanka would ban the books from the country, as being LGTBQ+ is illegal there.
@@whatdoyoucallanalligatorin9174 Then they'll lose money, and, believe it or not, being a writer isn't too profitable especially when your pay is being shared with like 10 other people. They need to put food on the table too.
@@humanbeeing4780 you have no clue how popular warriors is if you think any of the writers are struggling. they can and should just change publishers to one that doesn't put restrictions on ones art
@@humanbeeing4780 what if they made two versions of each book that would have LGBTQ+ inclusion, one for countries where being lGBTQ+ Wasn't illegal and in that version they could write gay pairings, trans cats, and more. then there is just a different version without lGBTQ+ inclusion for countries where it is illegal, then again that would make it hard to find what was and wasnt the real cannon so nothing like that will probably ever happen.
YES I PREDICTED THIS!!! i really do hope this is canon bc trans representation in the books is exactly what the community needs. i’d love for old and new fans to appreciate this trans character together, hopefully!!!
I think the reason they don’t want LBGTQIA+ in the books is because it will get banned in some countries but that doesn’t stop the writers from adding in some indirect ships some people can enjoy (barley x ravenpaw, leafpool x mothwing etc)
There was a part in River when Nightheart said he wanted to prove himself to his two moms (or something like that) which I find really neat because no other warrior cats consider themselves having two moms usually. Also the way he calls Bayshine and Myrtlebloom his foster siblings. I love how the author worded this book.
Nightheart immediately became one of my favorite cats. I'm FtM and am currently in the process of having my name legally changed. Just having a character take some control in their name was really nice. I read the book around the time I started the process so it was very easy to get attached
I’d love to see this,while I’m not trans myself it would be amazing representation.I’m just nervous my parents will find out and not let me read the books again
as a trans guy, i think it would be really cool for trans women to finally have some representation. hopefully the erins add more trans characters to their books.
i am not saying this at all to be negative but i almost never see transmasc rep in media, it’s usually all transfem (there’s nothing wrong with that, i would just like some for us, too)
I don’t care what happens in the books to come, once I get around to reading River, Nightheart is a trans girl in my mind and will most likely only go by they/them in my conversations about them because we need more trans rep specifically. We as a fandom headcanon tons of characters as gay, almost all of them. There is nothing wrong with this, I love this, but I think we need more trans specifically main character rep.
This is one reason why Wings of Fire is better than Warriors. (kind of...) It welcomes lgbtq characters, and is actually the only book series that I've read with those characters included in it.
@@Buggyon_pawzz youre gonna have to wait a while for the first queer couple in the books! until then have fun reading, its an awesome series i grew up on
This is such a good take! I remember seeing your tweet about this and being blown away by how much sense it made. I related to nightheart so hard, and now I know why!
I never saw it as him being uncomfortable with himself, but as him being uncomfortable with everyone else being unable to see him for himself. Which was proven right in the second book when he spoilers ends up abandoning thunderclan to go live in shadowclan since he thinks they'll respect him more as his own warrior rather than just firestar's shadow.
Can I just say that you have helped me figure out who I am sooo much? I remember years ago when I watched you for the first times feeling such a weird connection...I always struggled to find a male role model in the terms of someone that I wanted to be like...and (being a confused and uneducated kid) found you and I felt like I finally found someone I could relate to, someone I want to be! I remember when I was struggling with my voice I though if my voice is gonna change I want it to sound so pretty and elegant like yours! after 2ish years of not watching and ALOT of figuring out who I am and I finally found you again...I went to your twitter too see the trans pride flag...I have never felt so affirmed before the ONLY "boy" I wanted to be like as a kid turned out to be a girl.
The only reason I can come up with for not including LGBTQ+ is that cats don’t have an equivalent and it would be hard to include it in the story. I fully support all of these topics, however, I think it would be hard to commit to for the writers in a book about fighting cats.
Every cat in the book is all worshipping Firestar like a god, and I'm just imagining him from starclan like, *tsk tsk.* does no one remember i was an actual CAT who made mistakes?
This got me extremely worried mostly because I’ve only seen repertation spring loaded on me from no we’re and being really bad I am not trans or anything like that but as long as they at least hint at it well and play up to then I actually quite like this theory! It’s like the biggest symbolizem for understand and finding your true self but this is the warrior cat books so I have extreme worry if they do it badly :/…
This video was honestly amazing! I loved it a lot, tho this is just a small problem i have myself, at 1:22 the rainbow flag is not the gay flag, the rainbow is for the whole community^^ I'm not mad or anything just wanted to point that out :)
I think that Nightheart's struggles are more with his family accepting his own unique abilities, appearance, and personality. And not wanting him to be someone else. I guess it could be seen as gender, but to me that seems like a far stretch.
I'll just say this: The people getting bent out of shape at the idea of there being LGBT representation in Warriors are one of the exact reasons why LGBT representation is so important in the first place. You guys act like the community is accepted everywhere; we're not, as your comments KEEP reaffirming. You guys keep saying, "they're just cats," without bothering to keep in mind IRL cats also don't have organized religion like they do in Warriors, nor how one of the authors outright admitted to writing them as four-legged humans. You keep making all these excuses for the series to not have LGBT rep and many of you either don't realize or don't care how hypocritical you sound while doing it. THAT is one of the MANY reasons LGBT rep is so important. The fact you guys in the comments are so bitter at the mere IDEA of it only cements that fact. I just hope one day you all realize it.
Reading about Nightheart + the fandom discussion around the character actually made me begin to question my own identity. Not sure where this will bring me, but it is great to explore this part of myself)
@@Grace-2010op thing is, some people Want to question their identity. not everyone wants to be ‘perfect the way they are’. i wasn’t perfect a few years ago, so i worked on myself and explored myself
@@Grace-2010op If I had never questioned my identity I won't be as happy and comfortable with myself as I am now. I don't think you understood the comment.
@@Grace-2010op w h a t people all have their own struggles, if they’re questioning, let them explore. this is a horrible thing to tell someone, it’s very backhanded
Amazing video. I totally agree with all of this, and I think it would be great if Warriors would at least have one cat who wasn't sure of their identity. ...I'm not sure if this cat is Nightheart, though, or if they're just a tom who has to try harder than other cats, and that stresses him out. Either way, we really should see some of that in the books! Also, one more thing. I just think it's amazing how you can talk about something like this in a video... and it was so nice to see how at the beginning, you called Nightheart 'him', then later 'them', and by the end, 'her'. Keep up the great video making!
Okay but this makes sense and doesn’t at the same time. But it makes more sense than not. And like Mothpool and Tallstar and Jake are amazing! If there is a trans character that would be even cooler! Ravenpaw and Barley could be a queer platonic relationship or a gay relationship! And the cats that are trans male (Leaftail and Rowanstar) make me really happy as a trans male :))
@@elisaabreu6039 Sire, or she;s transfem and Rowan carried the kits, or Starclan gave him the magic ability to get her pregnant, or any random thing Warrior Cats could do because there's no realism
@@emo_grinch_440 personally i headcanon the starclan one, since they seemingly gave squirrelflight the ability to have kittens even after they said she couldnt!
One of my friends mentioned gender envy as a concept once, and I remember seeing the Nightcloud scene and thinking of it. Fun to see that someone else noticed that.
I don't wanna be rude at all, but this theory is absolutely wrong. Nightheart has no problem with his gender; instead he has problems with not being seen as an independent cat. He said he doesn't want to be Firestar's "shadow", he doesn't want to be associated with a cat he isn't and he wants to have a name that truly fits him, he doesn't want to be named Flameheart just because the name is similar to Firestar's. He wants to make decisions for himself. That doesn't have anything to do with his gender, it has something to do with being seen as an independent cat and not just being a shadow of a cat that once lived.
@@FoxyIsFritz6 although you are correct, "partners" doesnt necessarily mean romantic. It could also mean team, duo, friend, etc. most words that describe barley and ravenpaw's relationship can be summed up as any of those words which is why they are referred to as "partners" but ofc this is just an opinion and you can interpret it however you wish.
It wouldn't work. It doesn't even work with humans because we're still genetically male or female regardless of whatever delusions people have. It would just be a tom cat calling himself a "she-cat" Like how in real life it's just men saying they're women!
most mammals are commonly gay, especially cats, and our closest relative in the animal kingdom is exclusively bisexual. a decent amount of fish and mammals have been documented to switch gender roles in their society.
I ship nightheart with sunbeam and my theory is nightheart is going to leave thunderclan and go to shadowclan to be with sunbeam and have kits hopefully the authors don't mess this up like they did with rootspring and bristlefrost
I did notice this while I was reading the book as well. Honestly, a few times I had to jump around to where it uses Nightheart's pronouns to check whether he was male or female.
I don't want him to be trans... It's not that I'm homophobic, but I'm like Hollyleaf in a way; She was obsessed with the warrior code, and I am obsessed with keeping things canon. If it is not explicitly written out in the book by the author and confirmed, I don't want it to happen. That's also why I do not support the WoF Glorybringer ship. It is a ship within the fandom and I can see what their point is, but it has not been outright confirmed and until it is I won't support it.
That would be great if they did that but, I highly doubt it since, they won't even make an official same-gender cat couple due to other countries, so I doubt that they would do that, but they could at least maybe be hinting at it? 1:02 but awh, the mothpool ship just so cute
If Nightheart does end with she/her pronouns by the end of the series I just like to imagine that the writers fully intended for *her* has trans but just tell the corporate shmucks they forgot because it had been a suspiciously long time between books, but they had it done six or seven months before they published it
Guys…..remember Rusty, the soft kittypet living in a comfy house? Now he’s a god who people are being named after
Lol
I find it funny since Firestar would have 100% detested being named after.
you don't say-
@@WarriorLionstripe fr
firegod
This was a great video. Finding personal connection to the journey you took in finding your own identity in a character from a series you love is incredibly rewarding, even if that particular identity isn't ever confirmed directly in the books. Nightheart is easily the clearest example I've seen of a trans-coded Warriors character, considering that the other prominent ones were mostly background mistakes where a gender was switched between books, without any explanation as to why or how they felt about it, and I completely understand and support everyone who has seen themselves in Nightheart. Canon be danged on this one. The characters are who we want them to be as soon as they leave the publisher's hands.
Like Rowanstar
@@pikathemimikyu6655 he only became mates with Tawnypelt to confirm his gender lmao. I love when the authors make mistakes
@@birdsbirdsandmorebirds6251 Yeah, that was defenitly a funny moment. I remember reading Rowanclaw as a she-cat in an older book and I was so confused 😂
Uhhhh no offence but being gay is gay
Leafpool and Mothwing is the best ship besides Jayfeather and the stick
I feel like Firestar would be the kind of person to tell Nightheart that they are not defined by their lineage. Nightheart gets a dream with Firestar or something and he pulls a Midoriya/Todoroki on them.
As a trans person, I'm not sure. I think Nightheart's problems really have to do with his family, not his gender. However, if Nightheart really turned out to be a girl, I would be happy with this representation.
Everyone will have a different opinion, and akira is trans as well! In my opinion, It could symbolize whatever is interpreted by the reader.
How can cats be trans
What are Akira’s pronouns?
Well I would like to see trans representation in the books but sadly these books are printed out of money and there are a lot of people who would not want to read a book with trans cats so they would stop buying aka make the writes lose money wish there was lgbtq+ cats in the books but that not going to make money.
@@Icannothink Its cause theyll get banned in certain countries and households, is what they mean-
I personally do not believe the theory as I consider Nightheart being a character who represents finding yourself (As I've known people who finally get to be themselves once they are no longer under their families' thumbs). But, I can see where the trans theory comes from based on the text in the books! Good video as always.
not to be rude, but that’s kinda the point? it’s kinda trans coded in that way, being a story of finding yourself after getting away from an unsupportive family (which a lot of trans people go through)
@@rxraltzna I was saying while I don't see Nightheart as trans, I can see based on context that Nightheart can be coded as such. As Akira said it in the video, Nightheart's struggle can represent many things as it was vague enough to apply to many scenarios. So it's up to the individual to interpret Nightheart's story their own way.
@@reader_dragon oh yh yh i get that!! sorry if i came off a bit weird i didn’t know how to word it KFNFM
@@rxraltzna It's all good, I understood where you were coming from with your reply so don't sweat it *thumbs up*
Agreed
I'm FtM, but Nightheartʼs character arc immediately reminded me of my own struggles and I felt represented.
I really hope that's what they're going for and the Trans anology wasn't just accidental, it just seems so obvious.
It reminded me of my parents saying I should be traditionally female, which I despised and sometimes even had panic attacks about, because it just wasn't who I was.
I also had a realization moment like Nightheart, when I saw a male singer I admired and wanted to look and be like, while I could never connect to female singers or actresses.
I know they can't add proper representation because of the publisher, but Nightheart feels like the closest thing we've gotten to a Transgender character.
Traditionally female? You mean like a stereotype?😨
FTM here as well. Agreed with everything you said.
Non-binary and I know the struggles aren’t the same but still, similar enough and i agree with all of this
I like the idea that Hollyleaf represented us Asexuals. She never had any interest in kits or romance, and much like us in real life, is told "lol it's a phase." But it was never a phase for her.
Or us.
That's why i see Fallen Leaves and Hollyleaf as those friends who aggressively flirt but arent actually dating. I like Hollyleaf being AroAce
I thought the same about Ivypool not being interested in mates/kits. ... but they ruined that one big time ugh. If Hollyleaf lived they would probably just give her random related mate and kittens for more generic background characters. The writers stopped caring, paring up whoever they want by 'if there name sounded nice' not even bothering to look at family trees anymore or bring in new bloodlines to make things better, I quit reading soon after. I was oh so super annoyed with both Sparkpelt and Ivypool just haaving to be moms for plot and their partners seem so randomly picked out, like no one cares they are all Firestar relatives being mates together. Its not even special anymore to be a Firestar relative when everyone and their parents are.
@@ABlueStitchInTime I personally love Ivy×Fern, but yeah :(. Maybe they could've made her Asexual and not have kits, but still be mates w/ Fern. Kinda like Twig and Fin. I don't believe they would've made Holly have kits or anything, as no we didn't see any love interests w/ her (unless you include Cinderheart, which is a ship I love.)
I realllly hope none of the main characters in this arc have kits. Not just FrostPaw, but like, all of them. It would be so refreshing. I just want a she-cat to be platonic friends w/ a tom :(
Yes
Also is mousefur aroace?
ive never heard of this and I really like the idea and it does make since
For anyone who sees this comment, I just wanna clarify that Akira isn't saying that there is evidence to suggest Nightheart is factually trans in canon; there's just evidence to allow someone to perceive Nightheart as trans as a headcanon. With the low levels of lgbt (especially trans) representation in warriors and in media in general, it's a completely fair headcanon to make. It allows akira and I'm sure other trans women who've watched this to connect to this character on a more personal level, so they can compare their own experiences with Nightheart's, which I think is really cool. And honestly, it's one of the goals of literature to create characters that people can perceive however they want. Nothing is set in stone, just like people in real life. The same person will be perceived differently by others. I really enjoyed this video for that reason, and guys, remember that people can perceive characters however they'd like :)
Yes, I imagine Rowanclaw was born male, then switched to female, and back to male
I always wonder why Ravenpaw didn’t ditch the “paw” suffix. Is it like the last remnant of his warrior society life? It feels weird to call him Ravenpaw sometimes because the suffix is usually used for cats in the ages equivalent to teenagers. I understand the trans Nightheart theory/headcanon! I like the Nightcloud bit and it’s possible that Nightheart’s name was inspired by it in trans context, but there’s also a chance that it was just that, inspiration regardless of gender. There are guys who swoon over a woman’s beauty and takes up hobbies and stuff usually associated with femininity to achieve that level of beauty, but not necessarily automatically making them trans, but there are also some that do so that happened to be trans. Like you said, it’s pretty much up to interpretation.
I really hope we're eventually getting some real transgender representation. As a genderqueer person, it would make me so happy to see the publishers finally giving in and letting this happen.
Edit: I understand that they’re cats and it wouldn’t be too realistic, but remember cats here are very humanized. Cats don’t talk, take others prisoner, and form battle plans either, but you guys draw the line at gender identities?
A fellow non-binary
My friend Emma is non-binary so it would mean a lot to be and her if so
Non binary cat? How would they know what that is?….
@@the._.birdss_6181 Well i don't mean the cats have to be non-binary, just any form of trans rep would be great
@@coyotix ooohhh okay
All I can say is that I really, really, really, REALLY don't want Night x Sun. I mean sure, there are a heck of a lot of reasons to pair them up: to explore the new mates-from-other-clans rules, for their contrasting personalities and the symbolism that comes with it, as an escape from ThunderClan for Nightheart...but there's one big reason: another series which focuses around two warriors from different clans falling in love and the third protag being a struggling young medicine cat? Again? Can we please be more creative? I would love a story that pushes the authors to think about the plotline of Nightheart growing up and learning to deal with their expectation struggles. This would allow a nice wrap-up to the entire Firestar legacy, it would prevent Nightheart from running away from their problems (plot convenience, hello), and it would give us more insight into Sparkpelt's character. I know Night x Sun is really off-topic from this video, but I think that this ship would totally ruin this epic headcanon and would just be lazy and repetitive. Moving to be mates with a cat from another Clan isn't even a new topic, so it's weird that every cat outside of the forbbiden lovers themselves acts as such. Point in case to my rant: No Night x Sun and yes Nightheart-learning-to-tackle-their-expectation-struggles-without-moving-away. Maybe they stand their ground against their Clanmates (even though they're the antagonists) and get them to see things from Nightheart's point of view! Now that would be a great way to introduce canon trans characters. Anyway, if you read this whole comment, gosh, thanks, happy pride, and have a nice day. I'm gonna go cool off.
I really hope so too- I want another plot line besides “forbidden romance” (though not really forbidden now) in a series! Though I suppose it would be kinda forbidden, with all the cats opinions on different-clan romances.
Ugh it really seems to be pushing that way. I was really hoping Sunbeam and Blazefire were going to start the series as strong mates. And now that Flamepaw is Nightheart, his and Sunbeam's names are opposites to one another and its almost basically confirmed it. Well not exactly, but its leaning that way. Maybe they could just be close friends after the whole thing?
Agree with this whole comment!
This entirely. I’m dreading the idea of Night x Sun. Not only is Sunbeam much older than Nightheart (indicated so in the book itself) but I’m just, so worried Sunbeam will become Bristlefrost 2.0.
What I would like to see, and already ship, is Sunbeam x Shadowsight. Why? They are roughly the same age, Shadowsight is a medicine cat and therefore it pokes at the rules some more, they’re both trying to do what’s best for Lightleap, Sunbeam keeps ending up in the medicine cat den, and it would be a wonderful contrast to Sunbeam’s brother already having a no longer forbidden love interest. It would cause conflict between her and her mother, because while Sunbeam found a mate in Shadowclan it certainly cannot be the medicine cat! Plus additional drama with Shadowsight not being connected to Starclan therefore not a “true” medicine cat adds to the already existing drama of Mothwing and Frostpaw’s struggles. (Can you see a gathering where Shadowsight is permitted to take a mate due to him not being a truly capable medicine cat? Therefore calling unwanted attention on Mothwing and questioning if the reason for no leader in Riverclan is due to Mothwing having no connection with Starclan?)
It would be a great domino effect of events!
@@errorduck no offense but that kinda sounds like leafpool and crow feather all over again but not as bad
I'm afab nonbinary, but the idea of being named/associated after/with a grandparent/great grandparent is definitely something I can relate to, and while I'm not someone who actively keeps up with the books anymore, this concept is something I can definitely get behind !
I'm a ftm and this look more like a trangender cat suffering with dysphoria than a kid being forced to do sports even though they hate it or a kid being expected to study medicine
I like Hollyleaf as ace/aro, as someone that is personally ace. I don’t think that was an idea was even remotely in the mind of any of the writers. But I like it just as a thought.
me too🥳 i am aro/ace myself and its a bit annoying that almost every Charakter has an boyfriend/girlfriend or wants one😂
I agree! That was also my thought when i was reading PO3
Yeah, a lot of people headcanon Mousefur as Ace/Aro as well! I mean, I still think she loves Longtail, but in a platonic rather than a romantic way.
@@Ivypool123 i agree, even tought im not aro/ace XD
i just hate the way that every female character that turns a friend of a male character becomes mates with him, or even all the book's characters have a mate or had one at once. we need more aro/ace and singles characters, aswell as we need more LGBT characters in warriors!
@@Lost_Eclipse yes me too its boring when this happens every time😂
Is it just me or do I love how Missydakota drew Finchflight!?!?😍
Guys guys guys how about…. GENDER-FLUID NIGHTHEART?!? are you with me or are you with me
Yes!!
@@Buggyon_pawzz yay
love that idea!! personally i like androgyne or bigender nightheart
I like how you switched using he to them to she pronouns for Nightheart as you built your case. I was thinking it was a stretch until you gave some examples. Then your reasoning made sense. I took the encounter with Nightcloud as dumb foreshadowing, and while Flame isn’t as masculine as Fire, Nightheart seems fitting.
I’m agender, and have considered getting a less feminine name, but nothing feels right. So Nightheart wanting to think of “the perfect name” is to relatable. (Is kinda rude of Bramblestar to say Flamepaw can pick, then give her a name anyway)
Barley and Ravenpaw:
Are we a joke to you?
It's honestly a pet peeve of mine when people say, "such and such is a boy/girl name". It doesn't matter if it sounds like a boy/girl name. Don't know why that gets on my nerves.
honestly tho, the entire thing about firestars family being special is sort of dumb, because now half of thunderclan has a little bit of firestar in them (and dovewings kits are also part firestar). Jayfeather, lionblaze (and lioblaze's kits), ivypool (and her kits), squirrelflight, cloudtail, whitewing, nightheart and his sister ( i forgot her name), alderheart and sparkpelt, and probably and few i missed. Honestly, it doesn't really make sense why sparkpelt and squirrelflight were making such a big deal out of nightheart being descended from firestar. Everyone i mentioned above except for cloudtail and his descendants were directly descended from firestar too.
Honestly I would love more Nightheart interactions with Nightcloud (preferably positive ones) because personally I like to headcanon Nightcloud as transfem and Nightcloud being my favorite character I’d love more interactions with her and nightheart. Maybe her helping them discover themselves?
Idk I doubt it’ll happen but I’m gonna take this and run with it -
I like seeing different hc’s but I don’t think Nightcloud could be trans cause she had a kit, unless also hc crowfeather as trans (which I can sorta see)
@@WarmBreadBearBuddy yea I personally hc crowfeather as trans! But I just like to hc Nightcloud as trans and the fact that she’s had a kit won’t stop me lol. There’s endless possibilities to go along with it, for example (a personal favorite of mine) adopted breezepelt where he was originally son of crow and leaf but crow decided to keep him in windclan and Nightcloud adopted him.
I just think it’s neat :))
@@mothdrawz Trans people do sometimes have children..if nightcloud was trans it could represent those people who still had kids even though they’re trans (they’re often invalidated for it) or those who realized they were (or decided to come out as/identity as) trans after kids!
Trans people can also want biological children, just as cis people can, so sometimes they’ll opt to have kids then transition after (or some decide they don’t want to transition which is cool too).
I was on Google and was looking for pfp but then I saw this it looked to be a book cover that said “Warriors made me gay”
Kate said if there wasn’t the same publishing rules, barley and ravenpaw would be mates definitely, and leafpool definitely loves Mothwing.
I am SO happy that you touched on that subject. I mean. Of course you did, it's only natural that it resonated with you too, and even more than with me. But I'm so upset everytime people complain about Nightheart story being bad when it strike me so much as a transgender equivalent. The scene when Nightheart refuse her name and everyone is mad (and super hypocrite, like, come on Squirrelflight, you've seen Crowfeather interrupt his ceremony to ask for a specific name) was painfully similar to an experience my brother and I had to go through. I like Nightheart so much, I like how she question everything all the time, I've never seen a WC character feeling so much like me.
I think Warrior Cats would get a heck more attention if Night heart was trans. As someone who is Bi I quietly hope that the writers did this and many others because they want to do it, but can so this what we do. And hopefully one day like Wings of Fire. We get a confirmed LBGTQ+ relationship or trans characters
While I doubt the Erins would ever put in trans representation the idea of nightheart being a girl would be so cool and good rep. I hope the Erins will get it together and be open on lgbtq characters. Talljake and Ravenbarley are so well written so they can clearly do the relationship part, so we just need some gender struggles as the world is more open on it than ever before
I think it's more they aren't allowed to openly include it because 70+ countries have banned LGBTQ+ content and the books wouldn't be allowed to be published there, and I think their editors might not allow it either, but I don't know much. That's just my opinion on it. I agree with you though. I wish there would be more representation and that everyone would stop seeing LGBTQ+ as a bad thing. /pos
I wish they would add LGBT+ characters in the books and said it outright. Especially trans characters. A trans main character would be an awesome addition that we are unlikely to get.
They unfortunately just cannot add lgbt+ into the books..closets they can do is gay characters hinted through “close friendships”, if they can make it look like a close friendship they’ll add it in but never explicitly show it or say it in the books only on stuff like online forums will they admit characters as gay never in the books because they cannot
@@testerwulf3357 true, and it's really dumb. Get a spine Erins....
so your saying they should risk not being able to publish books in 70+ countries just for you guys to be happy, while depriving other people from said countries from the joy of reading warriors?
Not really, I mean, all he was talking about was his pelt color, really. And maybe his relation to Firestar. But that’s about it.
I know it has a 99% risk of happening, but I just have to say. I really hope NightBeam won't be a couple, it just seems like a really boring matchup to me.
I was super excited to see Blazefire as a PoV's mate back when I first read the excerpt (IDK why, I just really like Blazefire), and I was very disappointed to see them break up like that. I don't mind Nightheart getting a cross-Clan relationship (I am convinced he will change Clan before the arc is over), but I don't like that it'll come at the cost of SunBlaze.
I agree, I hate that every relationship we see starts from the beginning and seems to never break up (with a couple of exceptions). SunBlaze was really refreshing.
@@envyingiyli Yea I agree. Having them be established as dating already could've given the series a chance to explore other aspects of romance than just the initial dating (which we this far mostly have through side characters).
Like, I have nothing against "early love" romance arcs. But even so I was really looking forward to SunBlaze and I am sad to see that it presumably won't happen.
Warriors always focus' on the journey to the relationship. When they're actually together it's like all development is tossed out and burnt
i think it’d be fun if it was like. night fell in love with the idea of moving to shadowclan, but mistook that for being in love with sun. so when she actually moved to shadow she’s like ah! actually i just wanted to switch clans
i think it’d be interesting to see a relationship just. not work out and they instead remain friends
This is actually a really cool headcanon! Thanks for making this video :D
Happy pride month!
i love transfem nightheart. probably one of the best headcanons to come from the fandom.
yes👍
Fr also Jermy pfp🕺🕺🕺‼️
OH HEY
@@thenyan3095 HI
The headcannon of Nightheart being trans is something I’ve always seen for another reason also. I have a black cat of my own named Shadow, and often times when I imagine black cat characters I look to him for inspiration for their design. Shadow is a male cat with female genitalia, which is something I’ve always found interesting. He has female genitalia because he has severe issues with his bladder, and so he had to get bottom surgery to save his life (it sounds strange I know). He still has some issues and we have to monitor him for any signs of further issues, but the surgery mostly took care of it. I just wanted to share this cause I thought it was interesting.
Your cat has peaked my interest. I didn’t know that could be done is it done on humans? It’s really impressive how far science has come! I’m so happy shadow is ok and happy! But this is actually interesting I had no idea such a surgery existed let alone on animals! That’s really impressive of the vets. Anyways say hi to him for me ❤️ and tell him I’m glad his bladder problems are mostly fixed!
@@creepywaffles4783 aw, thank you! I’ll give him some nice pats from you 😊 I don’t know if these same problems happen with humans, It could but maybe it has a different solution? I’m not really sure
@@creepywaffles4783 mtf bottom surgery exists for humans yah.
@@whatdoyoucallanalligatorin9174 I think they meant forcing transition on humans to fix health conditions..not that mtf transitioning itself exists
I haven't read River, but I love this take and your analysis of the character! I definitely hope we get many more characters that we as queer people can relate to!
I hadn't initially thought of Nightheart this way but as soon as I saw the title of this video - before even watching it - I nodded and agreed immediately. I could already see and think of scenarios in the book where Nightheart could totally be perceived as trans.
honestly i actually have some hope that nightheart might be trans
lately in the book thunder the authors have actually started to listen to us and gave us squilfstar, girlboss sunbeam, a platonic friendship between she-cat and tom, and stuff like that
maybe theyll give us finally some representation!
I stopped reading Warriors half way through the second book of the Bramblestar's impostor arc but the extracts and theme of the character you're talking about have made me interested and I may start again!
Thanks!
+It's a great video you've made her, especially how you explained the concept of headcannons and why people create them.
I love how clear you are in your videos! Nice and cheerful animation too! One year old and still a golden video!
Bro I remember reading a part where one of Barley’s sisters kits asked if Ravenpaw and Barley had kits and it just broke me-
i live in a community where this topic is sort of the *elephant in the room* so to speak, so it's really great to have a warrior cats video featuring it! :)😁
I support LGBTQ and I love seeing all kinds of couples in stories but I don't really like the fact that 2 characters, no matter the gender even, can't just be seen as good friends. I think Barley and Ravenpaw just developed to be besties, I love friends that are immensely comfortable with each other
there’s literally no representation so it’s not rlly up to anyone to be uncomfortable with lgbt hcs, very few media has any representation of lgbt characters 🧍 it’s confirmed they’re mates too, the authors have said as much & it’s heavily implied
looking at Raven & Barley and saying “definitely not mates” is like looking at a gay couple and saying “wow! what great friends!”
so,,,,, boyfriends then
@@LuvHaebom Historians: They were great friends
@@LuvHaebom Ravenpaw was a child when he went to live with Barley... kinda sus that u want kids to be with adults but ok
@@LuvHaebomSo you are saying that the books have no representation of lgbtq+, but you also say that the authors have confirmed that theyre mates? I dont understand
the fact that nightheart got gender envy from nightcloud (and would go on to be renamed with the night prefix) reminds me of how many trans folk often take names from characters in media. in my honest opinion there's so many similarities that it's hard to see all of it as being a coincidence, because, the erins have had a lot of chances to make a cat struggle to live up to firestar in the past - why do that only now? especially with a cat who's only very distantly related to firestar? where was the expectation with squirrelflight and such? it all seems like it's some sort of cover up for making her trans and i love it
i personally don’t think Nightheart is trans. Nightheart’s problems have to do with his family, not his gender. but if he was trans, i’d be happy with the representation. i also think it’s a cool headcanon to have as well :D
I think Nightheart going through discovering themselves and finally coming out as trans at the end of the arc would be amazing, I doubt it would happen, but it's nice to think abt
Y'know what's great? The fact that if you look up "Nightheart" it describes them as a "Sleek black *she-cat"*
Him*
@@DMDadventures I said them?
@sean 7541 who asked
thats a different cat.
I absolutely see this. I'm Cis but I struggled with being female enough as I am not as traditionally feminine as my peers (at the time). I eventually realized I was female enough. And I feel Nightheart's story is very similar to that struggle. S/he did not feel firestar enough. The difference for him/her is she decided s/he was Nightcloud enough. And I think that is a good message regardless if your journey is cis or Trans. You're you enough.
*I do not claim "enough" as a solely cis experience. I hope everyone who went opposite of me knows they arr man enough or reverse of me knows they are female non-binary or whatever they are enough.
**I have not read River. Cliffhangers are not good for my mental health so I binge rather than consume on release. Spoilers however are a comfort for me so I am speaking from what I absorbed from them.
Exactly this! They’re a journey of finding their own identity..whether it’s trans or not! I myself, my whole life struggle with “not being female enough”..told I was like a boy; but I’ve realized over time I can still be a girl with a boy-ish attitude and clothing and name, how I am doesn’t reflect what gender I choose to be as you don’t have to be a pink princess to be a girl and likewise you don’t have to be masculine to be a boy. They’re either trans or they decided they could feel feminine whilst being a boy. They’re both valid interpretations and anyone can see it however they like 😄
I LEGIT THOUGHT NIGHTHEART WAS A SHECAT
it is a sign /hj
same😂
This opinion of mine has been represented by pretty much half of the fandom at this point, but I do think it’s a shame that we’re probably never getting lgbtq+ in Warriors. I had high hopes when I learned of Tui Sutherland being an Erin Hunter, since Wings of Fire is 100% pride. But higher power of writing prevents it? It doesn’t exactly make since, so I’m glad that Warriors as a fandom exists! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️❤️
Harper Collins, Warriors publishers, don't allow it ^^ I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but just in case, yeah. Harper Collins doesn't allow LGBTQ+ characters for some reason or another
@@nataliee2792 if i had to guess, its to not risk upsetting countries who still dont take kindly to our groups and risk potentially prevention of selling the books there, at least, thats one thing ive heard before as a potential reasoning for that
@@bluegem8582 Oh yeah, that would make sense. I've heard that they want to sell to as many countries as possible, so you're probably right
Higher powers DO prevent it..incase you’re curious how: they observe the writing and will pressure certain things to be in or out or else they refuse to publish the books, they cannot put anything in the book without it being allowed first so they literally have barely any control on the writing sadly thus no lgbt+ will be explicitly said in the books.
@@testerwulf3357 that is terrible :(
I really dont believe that Nightheart wants to be a girl I think he just doesnt want everyone to think that he has to be like a great cat like Firestar
I agree
Yeah, had many grudges against his family because he was slightly abandoned at a young age. His real mother then put all this pressure on him to be someone he wasn’t. They wanted him to be the one truly related to a cat worshipped to the équivalant of a god
We all know the answer is no because the erins are to cowardly to put anything like that in the books since they couldn't sell it in china and similar places then. instead of just not selling to those places. But in fanworks he can be
I love your vids keep up the good vids
**sees thumbnail**
My brain: WHAT IN THE--
You are literally the best wca youtube
One of the reasons the Erin’s couldn’t put in LGTBQ+ characters was because other countries, like Pakistan or Sri Lanka would ban the books from the country, as being LGTBQ+ is illegal there.
they can just not sell the books there and let them be banned, they just care about money more
@@whatdoyoucallanalligatorin9174 Then they'll lose money, and, believe it or not, being a writer isn't too profitable especially when your pay is being shared with like 10 other people. They need to put food on the table too.
@@humanbeeing4780 you have no clue how popular warriors is if you think any of the writers are struggling. they can and should just change publishers to one that doesn't put restrictions on ones art
@@humanbeeing4780 what if they made two versions of each book that would have LGBTQ+ inclusion, one for countries where being lGBTQ+ Wasn't illegal and in that version they could write gay pairings, trans cats, and more. then there is just a different version without lGBTQ+ inclusion for countries where it is illegal, then again that would make it hard to find what was and wasnt the real cannon so nothing like that will probably ever happen.
@@whatdoyoucallanalligatorin9174 Bro, No one is forced to write about LGBT+ inclusivo....
YES I PREDICTED THIS!!! i really do hope this is canon bc trans representation in the books is exactly what the community needs. i’d love for old and new fans to appreciate this trans character together, hopefully!!!
I think the reason they don’t want LBGTQIA+ in the books is because it will get banned in some countries but that doesn’t stop the writers from adding in some indirect ships some people can enjoy (barley x ravenpaw, leafpool x mothwing etc)
There was a part in River when Nightheart said he wanted to prove himself to his two moms (or something like that) which I find really neat because no other warrior cats consider themselves having two moms usually. Also the way he calls Bayshine and Myrtlebloom his foster siblings. I love how the author worded this book.
Nightheart immediately became one of my favorite cats. I'm FtM and am currently in the process of having my name legally changed. Just having a character take some control in their name was really nice. I read the book around the time I started the process so it was very easy to get attached
I’d love to see this,while I’m not trans myself it would be amazing representation.I’m just nervous my parents will find out and not let me read the books again
i’m sorry ur parents are like that :/
as a trans guy, i think it would be really cool for trans women to finally have some representation. hopefully the erins add more trans characters to their books.
You're still a female btw, no amount of man-cosplay will change that
i am not saying this at all to be negative but i almost never see transmasc rep in media, it’s usually all transfem (there’s nothing wrong with that, i would just like some for us, too)
I LOVE TRANSFEM NIGHTHEART!!
By the way, if you want to read a fantasy series that actually has LBGTQ representation, read Wings of Fire, although you probably already know that.
I don’t care what happens in the books to come, once I get around to reading River, Nightheart is a trans girl in my mind and will most likely only go by they/them in my conversations about them because we need more trans rep specifically. We as a fandom headcanon tons of characters as gay, almost all of them. There is nothing wrong with this, I love this, but I think we need more trans specifically main character rep.
Woah, I never expected this to be thought.
This is one reason why Wings of Fire is better than Warriors. (kind of...) It welcomes lgbtq characters, and is actually the only book series that I've read with those characters included in it.
Im going to get into the wof fandom
@@Buggyon_pawzz youre gonna have to wait a while for the first queer couple in the books! until then have fun reading, its an awesome series i grew up on
@@sporeboar idm waiting lol
This is such a good take! I remember seeing your tweet about this and being blown away by how much sense it made. I related to nightheart so hard, and now I know why!
I never saw it as him being uncomfortable with himself, but as him being uncomfortable with everyone else being unable to see him for himself. Which was proven right in the second book when he
spoilers
ends up abandoning thunderclan to go live in shadowclan since he thinks they'll respect him more as his own warrior rather than just firestar's shadow.
I had the same thoughts after reading river, though I personally headcannon Nightheart as non-binary!!
Okay so this theory is amazing and I love Nightheart more
Warrior cat character: has gender retconned
Fandom: we can work with this
I love this theory, amazing video
Can I just say that you have helped me figure out who I am sooo much? I remember years ago when I watched you for the first times feeling such a weird connection...I always struggled to find a male role model in the terms of someone that I wanted to be like...and (being a confused and uneducated kid) found you and I felt like I finally found someone I could relate to, someone I want to be! I remember when I was struggling with my voice I though if my voice is gonna change I want it to sound so pretty and elegant like yours! after 2ish years of not watching and ALOT of figuring out who I am and I finally found you again...I went to your twitter too see the trans pride flag...I have never felt so affirmed before the ONLY "boy" I wanted to be like as a kid turned out to be a girl.
The only reason I can come up with for not including LGBTQ+ is that cats don’t have an equivalent and it would be hard to include it in the story.
I fully support all of these topics, however, I think it would be hard to commit to for the writers in a book about fighting cats.
Cats can literally be gay in real life, if they can put a straight romance in they can do the same with a gay one
@@echolocation1 Fair point, I mean I’m pretty sure Talltail and Jake had a relationship and I think that was pretty cute.
it would be just as easy as writing the cats talking and being in straight relationships and having religion
Every cat in the book is all worshipping Firestar like a god, and I'm just imagining him from starclan like, *tsk tsk.* does no one remember i was an actual CAT who made mistakes?
I love Finchlight design she Is so pretty
Happy Pride Akira
I agree! I'd love to see an in-depth analysis on queer coding from Akira since she explained it pretty well in just a couple minutes already.
No offense but this doesn't really apply to gender, but more about family and expectations.
Woah, I certainly need to catch up on reading. As a trans guy, I really love when I see trans representation
Also Happy Pride Month!!
This got me extremely worried mostly because I’ve only seen repertation spring loaded on me from no we’re and being really bad I am not trans or anything like that but as long as they at least hint at it well and play up to then I actually quite like this theory! It’s like the biggest symbolizem for understand and finding your true self but this is the warrior cat books so I have extreme worry if they do it badly :/…
This video was honestly amazing! I loved it a lot, tho this is just a small problem i have myself, at 1:22 the rainbow flag is not the gay flag, the rainbow is for the whole community^^ I'm not mad or anything just wanted to point that out :)
I think that Nightheart's struggles are more with his family accepting his own unique abilities, appearance, and personality. And not wanting him to be someone else. I guess it could be seen as gender, but to me that seems like a far stretch.
I'll just say this:
The people getting bent out of shape at the idea of there being LGBT representation in Warriors are one of the exact reasons why LGBT representation is so important in the first place. You guys act like the community is accepted everywhere; we're not, as your comments KEEP reaffirming. You guys keep saying, "they're just cats," without bothering to keep in mind IRL cats also don't have organized religion like they do in Warriors, nor how one of the authors outright admitted to writing them as four-legged humans. You keep making all these excuses for the series to not have LGBT rep and many of you either don't realize or don't care how hypocritical you sound while doing it.
THAT is one of the MANY reasons LGBT rep is so important. The fact you guys in the comments are so bitter at the mere IDEA of it only cements that fact. I just hope one day you all realize it.
Reading about Nightheart + the fandom discussion around the character actually made me begin to question my own identity. Not sure where this will bring me, but it is great to explore this part of myself)
Don't question who you are. You're great the way you are. :D
good luck on your journey my friend!!!! and ur right, it is great to explore yourself! i hope all goes well for you :)
@@Grace-2010op thing is, some people Want to question their identity. not everyone wants to be ‘perfect the way they are’. i wasn’t perfect a few years ago, so i worked on myself and explored myself
@@Grace-2010op If I had never questioned my identity I won't be as happy and comfortable with myself as I am now. I don't think you understood the comment.
@@Grace-2010op w h a t
people all have their own struggles, if they’re questioning, let them explore. this is a horrible thing to tell someone, it’s very backhanded
Amazing video. I totally agree with all of this, and I think it would be great if Warriors would at least have one cat who wasn't sure of their identity. ...I'm not sure if this cat is Nightheart, though, or if they're just a tom who has to try harder than other cats, and that stresses him out. Either way, we really should see some of that in the books! Also, one more thing. I just think it's amazing how you can talk about something like this in a video... and it was so nice to see how at the beginning, you called Nightheart 'him', then later 'them', and by the end, 'her'. Keep up the great video making!
I really hate Nightheart's motivation, especially in relation to Sparkpelt. But reading it through a trans lens, I like it a lot more
Actually, in the book Ravenpaw's Farewell, Ravenpaw and Barley were called a couple
Okay but this makes sense and doesn’t at the same time. But it makes more sense than not. And like Mothpool and Tallstar and Jake are amazing! If there is a trans character that would be even cooler! Ravenpaw and Barley could be a queer platonic relationship or a gay relationship! And the cats that are trans male (Leaftail and Rowanstar) make me really happy as a trans male :))
How can Rowanstar be trans If he had kits with a she-cat?
@@elisaabreu6039 Sire, or she;s transfem and Rowan carried the kits, or Starclan gave him the magic ability to get her pregnant, or any random thing Warrior Cats could do because there's no realism
@@emo_grinch_440 personally i headcanon the starclan one, since they seemingly gave squirrelflight the ability to have kittens even after they said she couldnt!
@@sporeboar It's cute, but I think Yellowfang was lying about her not having kits
@@emo_grinch_440 yeah, i live in my world of headcanons though haha
until then, i shall sift through the twt of the erins because even if its not allowed to be published, their breadcrumb headcanons mean a LOT to me
One of my friends mentioned gender envy as a concept once, and I remember seeing the Nightcloud scene and thinking of it. Fun to see that someone else noticed that.
Mhm, I definitely picked up on something like that reading that scene too. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but it kind of felt that way.
I don't wanna be rude at all, but this theory is absolutely wrong. Nightheart has no problem with his gender; instead he has problems with not being seen as an independent cat. He said he doesn't want to be Firestar's "shadow", he doesn't want to be associated with a cat he isn't and he wants to have a name that truly fits him, he doesn't want to be named Flameheart just because the name is similar to Firestar's. He wants to make decisions for himself. That doesn't have anything to do with his gender, it has something to do with being seen as an independent cat and not just being a shadow of a cat that once lived.
Akira: there’s no LBGTQ representation in Warrior cats
Me: THERE WAS BARLEY AND RAVENPAW
although i agree, they technically arent mates, only because the Erins cannot make them mates without the books being banned in some countries
@@zipdipity2330on the warriors wiki it says they're partners
@@FoxyIsFritz6 although you are correct, "partners" doesnt necessarily mean romantic. It could also mean team, duo, friend, etc. most words that describe barley and ravenpaw's relationship can be summed up as any of those words which is why they are referred to as "partners"
but ofc this is just an opinion and you can interpret it however you wish.
I mean, I can see it, I like it, but I don't think it's the case
Hmm considering they’re cats …how would it work? Considering as humans, we’re able to develop stuff to allow people to transition and stuff🤔
🤷♀️
trans ppl can choose to not change anything abt themselves physically, it won't make them any less trans
Addressing someone with the pronouns that trans cats want to be to called, I think
It wouldn't work. It doesn't even work with humans because we're still genetically male or female regardless of whatever delusions people have.
It would just be a tom cat calling himself a "she-cat"
Like how in real life it's just men saying they're women!
@@humanbeeing4780 L transphobia + im dating ur mom
most mammals are commonly gay, especially cats, and our closest relative in the animal kingdom is exclusively bisexual. a decent amount of fish and mammals have been documented to switch gender roles in their society.
If any of y’all start wining about the fictional feral cats in a cult being lgbtq in a childrens book ima throw hands 😭💀/s
An amazing video and I really hope we get more cats that will show more lgbtqia genders sand sexualities
I haven't watched this video yet but I would like to confirm Nightheart is not cis. That's all.
YES! omg I love this, I can see Night Heart being trans Female but I can also see Night Heart being Non Binary as well!
I ship nightheart with sunbeam and my theory is nightheart is going to leave thunderclan and go to shadowclan to be with sunbeam and have kits hopefully the authors don't mess this up like they did with rootspring and bristlefrost
I did notice this while I was reading the book as well. Honestly, a few times I had to jump around to where it uses Nightheart's pronouns to check whether he was male or female.
I don't want him to be trans... It's not that I'm homophobic, but I'm like Hollyleaf in a way; She was obsessed with the warrior code, and I am obsessed with keeping things canon. If it is not explicitly written out in the book by the author and confirmed, I don't want it to happen. That's also why I do not support the WoF Glorybringer ship. It is a ship within the fandom and I can see what their point is, but it has not been outright confirmed and until it is I won't support it.
Why not support it? Why do you feel uncomfortable with headcanons?
“Not that I’m homophobic-“
That would be great if they did that but, I highly doubt it since, they won't even make an official same-gender cat couple due to other countries, so I doubt that they would do that, but they could at least maybe be hinting at it?
1:02 but awh, the mothpool ship just so cute
If Nightheart does end with she/her pronouns by the end of the series I just like to imagine that the writers fully intended for *her* has trans but just tell the corporate shmucks they forgot because it had been a suspiciously long time between books, but they had it done six or seven months before they published it
if they do make her trans thats prob what will happen where they just give nightheart she/her pronouns