Audience reactions to Love What Is Mortal.
- Captain Obvious Reveal: Some readers think the revelation that Ashfur is evil was obvious due to his colorful history and the timing of the fanfiction compared to the canon storyline.
- Creepy Awesome: Mapleshade is depicted as ghoulish and creepy, and is a violent murderer from cat Hell... But there's no denying she's pretty awesome when she threatens death to the Thistleclaw and his lackeys.
- Cry for the Devil: Mapleshade may be evil, but it's hard not to feel sad when she finally reunites with Petalkit late in the story.
- Fantastic Aesop: The afterlife needs a judge to make sure that spirits are going to the correct afterlife.
- Evil Is Cool: Mapleshade is very evil, but you can't help but root for her as she sabotages Thistleclaw's plans.
- Foregone Conclusion: After the reveal that Ashfur is the culprit, it's also not hard to guess that he ends up leaving Starclan successfully, presumably to possess Bramblestar.
- Moral Event Horizon: Some readers think Snowfur crossed this when she willingly assisted Thistleclaw in his evil plots, resulting in Honeyfern double-dying.
- Take That, Scrappy!: This story is one long Take That! to Thistleclaw and his involvement in the much-hated Spottedleaf's Heart, depicting him as an irredeemable monster whose actions caused real harm to everyone.
- The Scrappy: Many readers reacted with hate upon finding out that Oakstar is the one who banished Mapleshade and her kits.
- The Un-Twist: Some readers thought that because Ashfur is evil in canon that their involvement in the plot was a red herring, but in fact Ashfur is the real killer of Honeyfern.
