Viperfrost compares Bluestar and Mapleshade, two unfortunate mothers from the series.


Hello, fellow BlogClanners! I’m Viperfrost, a new member (though I’ve been a Warriors fan for years), and this is my first article. Please note that I have read up to Book Four of AVoS, and therefore may include facts as far as that. Iāll be making a series of articles where I’ll be discussing instances where you can draw parallels between certain catsā experiences, personalities, or reactions to similar events, and their differences that led them down their particular paths. I hope you find this topic as interesting as I do! š
First up, we have Bluestar and Mapleshade. There are many ways in which they are similar, including that they were both ambitious ācareerā cats that sought the leadership of Thunderclan, they both fell in love with/had kits with a tom from Riverclan (in fact, Bluestarās mate Oakheart was the descendent of Mapleshadeās mate Appledusk!), and they both faced situations that required them to take the kits to Riverclan. Their differences arise because of other cats, not Bluestar and Mapleshade directly. Let me show you what I mean.
Bluestarās Experience:
1. Bluefurās temporary mate, while I donāt personally like his personality, was unquestionably a good caretaker of the kits. Oakheart was a kind, caring father that took the kits into Riverclan when Bluefur needed him to.
2. Featherwhisker (Bluestarās medicine cat before Spottedleaf came along, if I remember correctly) said nothing about the kitsā father, even though it is implied in both Bluestarās Prophecy and Spottedleafās Heart that he suspected something.
3. There was even a cat, Thrushpelt, who was willing to pretend to be the kitsā father, if she wanted him to.
4. The leader at the time, Sunstar, was wise and compassionate, and he might not have sent Bluefur into exile even if he knew that the kits were fathered by a Riverclan cat.
All of these factors worked in her favor, and enabled her to bring Mistystar and Stonefur to Riverclan, though poor Mosskit tragically died on the way there. Bluefur ascended to the deputy position, and eventually became Bluestar as she had hoped. After her nine lives, she made it into Starclan.
Mapleshadeās Experience:
Bluestarās experience was in sharp contrast to Mapleshadeās.
1. Mapleshadeās temporary mate, Appledusk, was not a very good mate or father, in my opinion. When Mapleshade tried to cross the river, as Bluefur did with her kits, the kits were washed away by the river during a storm. They drowned, because Frecklewish, who was watching the whole thing, didnāt intervene to save their lives. Mapleshade persevered and went to Riverclan, where Appledusk rejected her, blamed her for her kitsā deaths, and revealed that he had taken another mate (Reedshine) in Riverclan. He even called for his leader to deny her a nightās stay in Riverclan.
2. The Thunderclan medicine cat at the time, Ravenwing, sold her secret out to the clan leader, Oakstar, almost immediately after finding out.
3. Oakstarās son Birchface had recently died at the paws of Appledusk during a battle. Interestingly enough, most of the clan (including Oakstar and his daughter Frecklewish) assumed that Mapleshadeās kits were Birchfaceās, perhaps hinting at a close friendship (or perceived relationship) between the two. Mapleshade, in lack of a better solution, doesnāt deny it, though she doesnāt confirm it either.
4. Oakstar, after discovering that the kits he had thought were his grandkits were actually the kits of his sonās murderer, acted impulsively by banishing Mapleshade and her kits during a deadly storm.
These factors worked against her, and led to the death of her kits. Driven by hallucinations of her kitsā voices pleading for her to save them, she killed Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and Appledusk in order to set her kits free. Weakened by her trials, she was killed by Appleduskās apprentice, whose name I cannot recall.
Questions for BlogClanners:
1. Oakstarās younger son, Pinestar, was born after the whole Mapleshade fiasco and his viewpoint regarding how all the warriors were dying so unnecessarily may have influenced early on because of how his brother died. Therefore, Mapleshadeās story might have influenced Pinestarās decision to abandon his clan and his son Tigerkit. This actually brings up an interesting question. Mapleshade seems to have a reasonable enough (for the DF, anyway) working relationship with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. If she followed her ex-mate Appleduskās descendants in order to cause them pain, why wouldnāt she follow the descendants of Oakstar, who drove her and her kits out? Is that why she was talking about how Tigerstar was meant to end up in the DF in Tigerstarās Fury?
2. As Iāve established, many of the factors that influenced Bluestarās rise and Mapleshadeās fall were due to the cats around them. Do you think that this means that we could have had, under different circumstances, a noble and wise Maplestar that went to Starclan or a vicious Bluefur that ended up in the Dark Forest?
Alright, that sums up my article! I hope you liked it, and be sure to put your thoughts in the comments. š
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjKrc2_ot_dAhUHDKwKHX3dCHUQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F318911217346123111%2F&psig=AOvVaw3SBkSYsORj3PClgIb4XMjN&ust=1538277690228017
(Art Credit to ClimbToTheStars on DeviantArt)
Is this… Viperās first article? Oh, boy!
But honestly, this is an awesome article. Especially for a first one.
FKSUHDIFASODIJ stahp finding my past XD and thank you c:
Youāre welcome! š
no I will never stopI found this page too.
I love Mapleshade and I believe that she was only trying to help because she believed that her kits would not make it to Starclan if she did not avenge them. So I feel bad for her going to the dark forest. Like sure she killed three cats bit they were not inicent either. So Mapleshade I feel bad for.
This kind of makes me like Mapleshade so much more……….. nice article Viper!
I have found what I have been searching for…….And it’s not awful, it’s amazing by the way!AY
1. Oakstarās younger son, Pinestar, was born after the whole Mapleshade fiasco and his viewpoint regarding how all the warriors were dying so unnecessarily may have influenced early on because of how his brother died. Therefore, Mapleshadeās story might have influenced Pinestarās decision to abandon his clan and his son Tigerkit. This actually brings up an interesting question. Mapleshade seems to have a reasonable enough (for the DF, anyway) working relationship with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. If she followed her ex-mate Appleduskās descendants in order to cause them pain, why wouldnāt she follow the descendants of Oakstar, who drove her and her kits out? Is that why she was talking about how Tigerstar was meant to end up in the DF in Tigerstarās Fury?
Hmm maybe. That actually got me thinking.
2. As Iāve established, many of the factors that influenced Bluestarās rise and Mapleshadeās fall were due to the cats around them. Do you think that this means that we could have had, under different circumstances, a noble and wise Maplestar that went to Starclan or a vicious Bluefur that ended up in the Dark Forest?
Also a maybe. Actually, could’ve been. Or it could’ve been their personality’s, but maybe…….
I replied to this because in a different article you said not a lot of cats answer your questions so here I am!
SIDFJSDF THANK YOU SM
No problem! š
VIPERS FIRST ARTICLE OH MY STARCLANNN ITS SO GOOD!
1. Hmmm, maybe?
2. I think that this is a lot of nature v nurture. I feel like they both had different reasons for giving up their kits. Blue stars was selflessly selfish in the sense that she did this both to promote herself and to protect her clan while Mapleshade was forced out of her clan. I feel like in the beginning, Mapleshade might have actually been a better cat than Bluestar but the actions by the people around her changed that. In short, yes because I feel like Bluestar was more predispositioned (if that is the word?) to that route in the beginning than Mapleshade.