Hi guys, there's a gathering scheduled to start this coming Friday, the 10th.  However, I think it would be better if we moved the gathering back to the weekend from the 17th to the 19th so that we can have the battle in which DawnClan and NightClan defeat MoonClan  this coming weekend.  The medicine cat meeting would then end up being on the weekend of the 24th.  Does that sound alright to you guys?

Either way, about 50 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending.  The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening.  The medicine cat meeting will take place next weekend, following the same pattern.

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a great start of the New Year and have even more fun on the horizon! Before we dive right into the bulk of this Monthly Meow, I have a few announcements to make. Firstly, our clan lists are looking rather pathetic: MoonClan has 92 characters, NightClan has 69, DawnClan has 90, and SunClan has 78. This just boils down to how few active members we have right now, so please, spread the word about the website. If you are at all interested in helping to advertise the website on other forums’ ad boxes and whatnot, please PM me and I can give you all the information necessary. As well, if you have suggestions for active roleplays that we should seek an affiliation with, I’d love to hear about them. The most successful thing, however, has always been through members directly referring other roleplayers or Warriors fans to the website, so please tell your friends—offline and on! Unless we receive an unmanageable wave of new members, memberships are scheduled to remain open for at least the next month.

The Monthly Meows over the next couple of months are going to investigate how Warrior Cats of the Forests fan-created Warrior Cats universe compares to the universe of the original books. I have five or possibly six entries planned, but for this first month I will focus on The Warrior Code. The history of the Warrior Code itself is inconsistent in the books; so while Secrets of the Clans states that the rules were all created with the foundation of the four and later five clans, the Code of the Clans tells the stories of how each rule was formed following different events even generations after the founding leaders. This website is more similar to the Secrets of the Clans version, whereby StarClan granted the rules to Moonstar and ordered him to form a clan with that knowledge. The Code has not been altered over time on this website, except for when clans temporarily rejected the code in favor of a new one, such as during Weepingstar and Poppystar’s rule. As well, there are a number of rules that are respected in clan life but do not officially appear in the code and rules of the code function more as values to aspire to rather than laws in and of themselves.

One last note: in order to write this series of Monthly Meows I’ve reread the first warrior cats book (Into the Wild). If you want to check out the passages I’ve referenced please note that I am using the Avon paperback 2004 American edition, so the pages might not match up exactly if you have a different edition. As well, I’ve used the Warrior Cats Wiki and my own somewhat sketchy memory of the other books, so please comment below if anything I say here is wrong or you have anything to add. As one extra caveat, The Warrior Cats canon universe is notoriously riddled with contradictions and continuity errors and is far more massive than I could hope to fully explore, so I’ve limited these Monthly Meows to primarily focusing on the first six books published. This fact is not particularly relevant for this first Monthly Meow, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of chances to crack open your books later on. This is also your spoiler warning, so if you haven’t read the warriors books and don’t want me to ruin anything, give this Monthly Meow a pass. Without further ado, onto the code!

Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.

While the first half of this rule is mentioned often on this website and cats’ attitudes toward the importance of defending their clan when it is directly under attack are similar across this website and the original books, the second half of this rule seems almost irrelevant on this website. Purely platonic cross-clan friendships are few and far-between and those that do occasionally appear are either extremely fleeting, or eventually culminate in one of the cats moving to the other cat’s clan. For that reason, cross-clan friendships are broadly discouraged, even if the cats only interact during gatherings or other appropriate settings.

Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.

This rule is the same across both the books and our website, but how and when cats break it is different. While crossing borders in the books is often a result of an apprentices’ carelessness or a coordinated clan effort (as in the case of ShadowClan demanding hunting rights in the other clans’ territories in Into the Wild), on our website it’s largely the result of a few rogue warriors who knowingly choose to ignore the borders against their leaders’ wishes. While leaders and careless apprentices are occasionally involved, it’s less common than in the books.

Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.

The ideal of warriors and apprentices eating after the non-hunting members of the clan is consistent across the books and roleplay, but the reality is that the process of dividing food is far less organized on the roleplay than it is in the book. It’s just impractical for a member to have their character ask for permission every time they eat, especially if the player doesn’t have a warrior of their own they can have their apprentices ask.

Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.

This rule comes up more often in the books, where the idea of killing prey for sport or prestige comes up more often, such as when Lionheart condemns Firestar, then Rusty, for chasing mice for fun or when RiverClan and ShadowClan form TigerClan and kill prey to build a pile of bones. I actually can’t think of an instance on this website when, even if the prey was caught to show off, it didn’t eventually end up in someone’s mouth. There certainly haven’t been any instances of this on a large scale.

The second half of the rule is spottier, while the warriors wiki alludes to a specific blessing that warriors might have said over their prey, but this doesn’t appear in the books to my memory nor is it a common occurrence on this roleplay.

A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.

This rule is broken occasionally in the books, as when Bluestar named Cinderpelt and Brackenfur as apprentices before six moons and Brokenstar’s more extreme practices of naming cats as full warriors as early as five moons old. It is, however, looked down upon. The rule is fairly irrelevant on your roleplay, simply due to how our aging system works. For organizational reasons aging is kept consistent, so anyone receiving their apprentice name is by default six moons old.

Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

This practice is taken extremely seriously in the books; on page 271 of Into the Wild, Firestar refused to break his vigil even though talking to Bluestar immediately after receiving his warrior name would have given him a chance to expose Tigerclaw’s treachery. However, on this website, the practice has been all but entirely dropped. I remember some warriors enduring their vigil a few years ago, but can’t think of any instances of the ritual being enforced on this website recently. Personally, I think it would be cool if we brought this practice back, even though some cats would inevitably miss it because they are busy or their owners are not online when their warrior name is announced.

A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

This rule is fairly shaky in the books, as currently training an apprentice counts. On this website, it’s ignored, as members often create a new character from scratch for deputy positions.

The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.

There isn’t much to say about this rule, it’s consistently followed in both the books and in the roleplay. Occasionally we have mix-ups between leaders and deputies that wouldn’t happen in the books, for out-of-character reasons, but these don’t tend to affect the actual succession of deputy and leader.

After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

This rule is broken occasionally in the books, such as when Firestar failed to name a new deputy after Greystripe disappeared for moons, but has been entirely thrown away on this website due to out-of-character considerations. While I try and have deputies set up before hand, this isn’t always possible as members may back out of the position after they’ve accepted it, or leaders or deputies unexpectedly die or leave the clans. As well, the actual passage of time on the roleplay is inconsistent and there is no set time when “moonhigh” takes place.

A Gathering of all four Clans is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting among Clans at this time.

The Gathering truce is strictly adhered to in the books as a result of the clans’ close interactions with StarClan, but Gatherings are more an opportunity for fighting than anything else on this website due to the distance between StarClan and the clans. I’ll explore the clan’s relationship with StarClan in great detail in a later Monthly Meow.

Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

While border-checking is a much more formal process in the books, with each patrol officially sent out by the deputy and treated as a serious occasion (on pg. 93 of Into the Wild the rest of the clan is relieved to see a patrol returning). In contrast, warriors in our patrol are rarely even acknowledged when they return from patrols. The process of sending out patrols is also far more formal in the books, where the deputy handles all of the assignments for a day and cats don’t just leave the camp when they feel like it.

Whether all trespassing cats are actually “challenged” is another issue. Cats from other clans are usually greeted with suspicion, but loners and other non-clan outsiders are usually treated with more curiosity than anything else. There are exceptions to this, depending on individual characters’ personalities and the specific circumstance of meeting, but the norm in the books to attack outsiders on sight has definitely been discarded in this roleplay.

No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.

This rule seems to be much more of an ideal than a hard and fast law in the books, as there are so many stories of kits being kidnapped or outright neglected by enemy clans. On our website, kits escape from the camp less frequently, but cats do outright attack kits during battles and we had an entire war started when a handful of NightClanners kidnapped kits from the other clans.

The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code.

While cats cite this rule occasionally in our roleplay, cats on this website criticize their leaders much more openly than their canon counterparts. In fact, more leaders are challenged by entire factions of their clan than aren’t on this website. While the warrior code does allow cats to challenge leaders who are in direct conflict with the code, cats on this website challenge leaders over ideology and actions that don’t explicitly break the warrior code. For example, both DawnClan nationalists and traditionalists have aspects of the warrior code to their side and thus the clan leader is going to be in conflict with the code no matter how they act. This more complicated relationship to the code and leaders may just stem from Warriors being a series aimed for children, while our roleplay tends to have an older audience and therefore dip into morally ambiguous territory more frequently.

An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.

This rule is something of a can of worms, as what is defined as outside the warrior code or as self-defense will vary from cat to cat and clan to clan. Even putting aside these considerations, this rule is still more respected in the books than it is on this website. While often times in the books the clans are content with simply exiling cats, such as when ThunderClan and ShadowClan ran off Brokenstar, cats on this roleplay much prefer to execute their enemies. In fact, when Geckostar refused to execute Weepingstar and his fanatic followers in favor of banishment, MoonClan almost rejected her leadership entirely.

A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

What exactly this rule means is never made clear in the books. Are warriors not allowed to accept human food, including trash, are they not allowed to stay in human-made shelters, or is it simply not accepting direct help from twolegs in favor of an independent way of life? If we interpret this rule strictly, NightClan is clearly in violation of this rule, but more accepting readings make this rule almost irrelevant for our website. Cats almost never interact with humans directly, instead ignoring them or making the most of human-created environments, and even the sub-plot in which DawnClan apprentices began to beg food off of humans never really panned out.

Each Clan has the right to be proud and independent, but in times of trouble they must forget their boundaries and fight side by side to protect the four. Each Clan must help the others so that no Clan will fall.

This rule occasionally becomes relevant in the books, such as when ShadowClan drove out WindClan or the clans had to relocate, but is used much more liberally on the website. As well as extreme situations, as when MoonClan and StormClan fought against Raven’s army to preserve the clans as an entity, the rule is invoked whenever an entire clan is faced with some issue, such as when SunClan demanded shelter in MoonClan during a blizzard or during DawnClan’s recent famine. Whether the clans actually come through for each other is another matter, of course, and the clans both in the books and on this website waver between respecting and ignoring this rule depending on their own personal circumstances.

Unofficial Rules:

Medicine cats may not have a mate or kits.

Canon attitudes toward medicine cats having kits are consistently strict, not that that stops medicine cats from getting away with hidden litters left and right. Medicine cats also have kits on this website, but depending on the clans’ current political climate, it is more or less of an accepted part of clan life. This likely also has to do with the clan’s diminished relationship to StarClan, which will be discussed extensively in a later Monthly Meow.

Kits must stay in camp until they are apprenticed and are not allowed to hunt.

Kits very rarely are allowed outside the camp on our website, but they are hinted to regularly leave the camp with their mothers in the books (pg 109). Personally, I think it would be interesting if the clans did start allowing queens to take their kits just outside the camp and would make the instances in which kits are killed by foxes or whatnot more realistic. This was part of the reason why I created the new Sunwarm Rocks landmark in DawnClan, where queens could be allowed to take their kits.

The safety of the Clan is more important than the safety of one cat.

There isn’t much to say about this rule, it seems to be more understood than actually articulated by the canon characters. The degree to which cats actually follow it on this website varies from clan to Clan, with NightClan far on the side that everyone’s responsible for themselves alone, SunClan upholding clan before individual, and MoonClan and DawnClan wavering between caring for themselves individually and their loved ones, their leader, and the clan as a whole.

Clans must not unite together to drive out another Clan.

This rule barely bears mentioning on this website, as for primarily out-of-character reasons the clans have never attempted to entirely destroy another. MoonClan and StormClan merged, but all of the StormClanners agreed to this in order to assure their own survival after their numbers dwindled in Raven’s War. However, in the canon this rule is mentioned several times, usually when ShadowClan and whoever they’re allied with starts eyeing other clans’ territories.

Clans must not force another Clan to share territory.

This rule has actually been broken on this website, but only when natural disasters forced clans out of their own territories. However, the official rule stating that “each Clan must help the others so that no Clan will fall” provides an exception to this rule. In the canon series, this rule became relevant in situations such as when ShadowClan ran WindClan out of their territory and forced RiverClan to allow ShadowClan warriors on their territory, but no such situation has yet to arise. All territory sharing agreements have been mutual, or only a portion of the territory was taken in battle and the entire clan wasn’t forced to allow others on their territory.

Enemy patrols must not attack cats if they are on a mission all four Clans agree on.

Again, this makes sense in canon where cats actually go on missions, but doesn’t matter for our website. When the website was created we actually did intend for there to be missions, but as time has passed and the website has grown, I’m not comfortable with the idea of selecting a handful of members and setting their characters off for a large plot point that other members can’t participate in.

Cats cannot eat when going to the Moonstone or Moonpool to speak with StarClan.

The wording of this rule is fairly misleading, as only those cats who are actually speaking with StarClan cannot eat, which includes traveling herbs. Those accompanying the StarClan-speaker are not permitted to eat prey, only traveling herbs (pg 167). This rule is never explained and doesn’t seem to have much of a practical purpose beyond possibly showing reverence to StarClan or creating a ritual surrounding contact. As for this website, this rule has been dropped entirely. Traveling herbs are barely mentioned and not a hard and fast requirement before traveling to the Moonstone.

I’d love to hear any thoughts you guys have regarding the differences between the interpretation of the Code across this roleplay and the canon universe, as well as any suggestions for future book vs. roleplay Monthly Meows. The tentative schedule will be that next month will focus on naming conventions, then clan demographics, and in April I’ll compare the clans themselves and their territories, then common practices and relationships to other animals, and to wrap it up –hopefully with the help of members who have read the series more recently than I have- a big blog entry comparing plots from this roleplay to canon plots books.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Thistlekit, Crystalkit, Icekit, Loyalkit, Moonkit, Saki, Peonykit, Cleopatra S: Mid February

Bluepaw, Pandapaw, Sneakpaw, Quietpaw: Early February

Warriors:

Whisperingpaw, Mamelukepaw: Mid February

Ravenpaw: Late February

Elders: Twistedthorn, Oakleaves, Manikintail, Aphrodite, Robinshell

Deaths: Mantis-strike, Sennagaze, Vervaintongue

NightClan

Warriors:

Sinpaw, Hauntedpaw, Stolenpaw, Genocidepaw: Early February

Bluepaw: Mid February

Elders: Scarletstar, Vidar, Kingfish, Threelegs, Devilspawn

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Doekit, Lionkit, Miskit, Cedarkit, Hauntingkit, Crystalkit: Early February

Restlesskit, Firstkit, Nightkit, Vinekit: Mid February

Warriors:

Fuzzypaw, Bouncepaw, Knightpaw, Aurorapaw, Shallowpaw, Loudpaw, Silverpaw, Spiritpaw, Paintedpaw: Early February

Fallingpaw, Thunderpaw, Firepaw, Blackpaw: Mid February

Palepaw: Late February

Elders: Foxflight, Crossbuck, Price

SunClan

Apprentices:

Rabbitkit, Ashkit, Tawnykit, Stonekit, Dusk-kit, Lake-kit, Runningkit: Early February

Gorsekit, Goldenkit: Mid February

Warriors:

Thistlepaw, Cacklingpaw: Early December

Briarpaw, Fogpaw, Nightpaw: Mid December

Elders: Snarlingbear, Standingbear, Aloetooth, Agaveroot, Mousedream

Death: Mossfields

Hi everyone! It’s been a pretty chill December around this website. We’ve solidified some of our plot planning, welcomed in new members, and generally had fun hanging around the roleplay forums. There’s plenty to look forward to next month as well. The website’s 8th birthday will be on January 16th, we have a unique NightClan plot on the horizon as the camp is raided by two-legs, and the New Year Gift Exchange is ending in just a few days. But December still isn’t over, so for this month, we have everyone’s favorite type of Monthly Meow: housekeeping!

First off is the survey. Thank you so much to everyone who responded, I can’t overstate how much these surveys help me understand how members interact with the website and what can be done to improve everyone’s experience here. If you hadn’t had a chance yet to fill out the survey, it’s still open and I’ll keep checking for new responses for another week or so. I have some changes planned that will be announced later, but there are a few things I’d like to run through all of you before settling on what should be done.

A few members mentioned that they’d like to see more landmarks, particularly in SunClan’s territory. I have a few ideas for what these could be, such as some boulders that form a sort of sunning rocks or a small clump of trees or bushes, but I’d love to hear any of your ideas.

As well, there’s been some talk both on the survey and on the website’s skype chat whether we should move from Skype to Discord. I’ve created a little survey about that HERE.

By far the most mentioned topic on the survey was the plot planning blog entries, but there was very little consensus about what needs to be done. Almost everyone rated that their voice was heard at least most of the time, but how often people reported posting on the plot planning blog entries was all over the place. Some members reported thinking that the plot should be more planned out, while others advocated for dropping planning the plot entirely. I don’t think it’s a good idea to rely entirely on member initiative with no overarching planning for the plot -as when we’ve done this in the past such as in the flood arc nothing ended up happening- but I agree that there’s also danger in over-planning. Finding the balance is, of course, tricky and the best thing I’m coming up with is to simply try and be mindful over whether or not we’re over planning instead of changing how the plot is actually planned. However, I’d love to hear your ideas on how we should handle plot planning.

One outlier response on the survey that caught my attention was the possibility of lowering character counts. While I can understand the frustration with members creating characters that don’t end up being used and the mix-ups that occur on the pages because of the simple fact of how many characters there are, I’m not sure how much reducing the character limit would actually help with these problems or how we could go about lowering the character count. Most members have a number of characters they’re comfortable roleplaying and hover around that number, rather than going all the way to the character limit, so lowering the character limit wouldn’t affect them. As well, members create characters with the intention of playing them, so lowering the character limit wouldn’t necessarily change how many successful characters there are. The pages might actually get messier as characters are created and removed more quickly as members work within the smaller character limit and I inevitably make mistakes while updating the pages. However, my biggest concern with this suggestion is if members do agree that the character limit should be lowered, how exactly the transition to the lower character limit will be accomplished. My best idea is to simply put a date a few months in the future and say that by then, all members must be below the new character limit of, say, 16 cats. Any thoughts, as always, are appreciated.

The New Year Gift Exchange is scheduled to take place on January 1st. Sadly, I have yet to hear back from Webs about the “error #2049” that’s been preventing members from uploading art to the photo app. If that error persists, anyone giving their gift-ee artwork will have to upload late or find an alternative method of gift-giving. I’ll tell you guys what I find out as soon as Webs gets back to me, so let’s hope that’s soon! As well, an unexpectedly high number of members has dropped out l from the gift exchange and not enough members have stepped forward to do extra gifts to make up for them. If you have the time, it would be amazing if you signed up to do even just one last-minute gift. To reiterate from the original blog entry regarding the gift exchange, gifts don’t just include artwork, but rather anything personalized that you can upload to the website or otherwise present to your gift-ee.

The number of cats in each clan aren’t very even right now, with MoonClan at 109 cats, NightClan at 71, DawnClan at 92, and SunClan at 93. In order to even out the clans, please consider making new NightClanners and avoiding creating new characters in MoonClan.

To close out this Monthly Meow, I’d like to point out that memberships are currently open. Activity has been slowing down around here over the past month, so it would be a great help if you showed the roleplay any of your friends who might be interested. Registrations are likely to remain open for at least a week, possibly as much as two.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Swankit: Mid January

Mistletoekit: Late January

Warriors:

Mousepaw, Weaselpaw, Ebi: Early January

Copperpaw, Whitepaw, Pebblepaw, Sandpaw, Honeypaw, Glacierpaw: Mid January

Snowflakepaw: Late January

Elders: Mantis-strike, Sennagaze, Leo, Vervaintongue, Actaeaberry

Deaths: Smokehaze, Snaketail

NightClan

Apprentices:

Blazingkit, Shredded: Early January

Warriors:

Boo, Silverpaw, Fangs: Early January

Mikhail: Mid January

Sugarpaw, Shasta, Glucose, Broadpaw, Goldenpaw, Russianpaw, Witheredpaw, Queenpaw, Stainedpaw: Late January

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Blindpaw (Early January)

Deaths: Spikeback, Lostmoon

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Slatekit: Early January

Coffeekit, Rockkit, Umberkit, Mochakit, Foggykit, Javakit, Lattekit: Early January

Cappuccinokit, Dreamkit: Late January

Warriors:

Otterpaw, Sharkpaw: Early January

Spookypaw: Mid January

Citypaw, Damselpaw, Dragonpaw, Flashpaw, Emeraldpaw, Brightpaw, Prairiepaw, Wolfpaw, Walnutpaw, Antpaw, Puddlepaw, Snakepaw: Late January

Elders: Tenorwillow, Belugasplash

Deaths: Rippedheart, Dragonheart, Meadowbreath, Sugarglider, Wolf-fang

SunClan

Apprentices:

Pebblekit: Early January

Huntingkit, Charmingkit, Rushingkit: Late January

Warriors:

Beepaw, Purplepaw, Frozenpaw, Endlesspaw, Windypaw, Twopaw: Early January

Leopardpaw: Mid January

Elders: Mossfields, Ghoulfright

Hello everyone! It’s been a pretty unusual November here on Warrior Cats of the Forest. The site-wide plot has come to all but a standstill, so please check out the Plot Planning Page and toss in your two cents. Out of character, I had registrations opened for the better part of a week and we were flooded with a bunch of new members. Welcome to the site, guys! There’s plenty to look forward to in December between another gathering a medicine cat meeting, an anonymous member survey, and our second annual gift exchange. Separate blog entries with all the details about these events will be published for both of those.

As promised, I’ve written another clan demographics overview for this month’s Monthly Meow. Previous demographics overviews were published in May 2016, December 2015, August 2015, December 2014, and March 2014. Please note that all of the data for this demographics overview was gathered on November 18th, so these numbers do not exactly represent the clans at the time this Monthly Meow was published.

The clan population is actually about 50 cats lower than it was in May, possibly as a result of how inactive the website has been since our conversion to Site Builder 3. Assuming that a handful of our new members stick around and the plot gears back up over the winter holidays, I expect the clan populations to perk up a bit. As for the individual clans, I’m not seeing anything too interesting. DawnClan has grown since earlier in the month, MoonClan and SunClan are both roughly where they should be given our current plot. NightClan is the odd man out, I’m surprised to see them so small. They’ve been somewhat neglected as of late in terms of the plot so, again, please read over the Plot Planning Page and give your thoughts as to where we should head next.

This is the first time we’ve had a 50/50 male/female split. In the past, we’ve always had a gender divide of about 57-58% female and 42-43% male. I’ve always thought that the characters’ female majority is simply because we have such a wide female majority in terms of members and roleplayers trend toward playing characters of their own gender. As for what changed to shift the gender ratios, I’m not certain. We still have a pretty strong female majority in roleplayers, but perhaps because of how few members we accept, our members on average are more experienced in than in the past and thus are possibly more comfortable playing characters of genders other than their own.

Unfortunately, in the past I didn’t include an “other” category for gender. If you go through and find the places the math doesn’t line up, you’ll find the handful of cats who fell into this category. I’ll keep the other category in the future, so we’ll be able to directly keep track of how the number of characters who don’t identify as male or female changes over time.

The average age of all the clans doesn’t particularly stand out to me either. The one oddball seems to be DawnClan, but their lower average age is just a result of the jump they’ve had in clan population over the last few weeks from a handful of prominent litters. As you’ll see below in the individual clan age graphs, MoonClan has simply not had very many kits over the last few months. I suspect this is because less attention has been placed on them as compared to SunClan or DawnClan.

In terms of working and nonworking cats, only NightClan stands out to me. They have both a high percentage of nonworking cats and a high average age, which is an odd combination seeing as most of the nonworking cats in a clan are their kits. NightClan given a bit of an edge over the other clans because they still have two prisoners, but that doesn’t make up for the large number of kits they do have. The high average age comes from the tendency for their warriors to be older than warriors in other clans, as shown in the age graphs below. I can’t think of why this would be, considering the jumps in ages don’t seem correlated to any plots or jumps in member number or activity.

The changing population of the clans as a whole isn’t too surprising to me. I built up members leading up to April, then had registrations closed for most of April and May as I studied for my AP exams. The clan population works pretty closely with that, with the exception of a less easily explained dip around March. After May, there was a jump the summer followed by a dip when school starts for most of our members and a slow incline since.

As for the individual clan populations, they seem to follow site-wide plots. NightClan in particular stands out to me, from how steady their decline has been over the past year. Again, I think they’ve been neglected in the plot and could use a little more attention in whatever we decide to do next.

Here’s what the clan populations look like tracked over the past two years; I just wanted to throw this out there because it’s a little fun to look at. I sadly don’t have the right kind of records dating back before then, but we can keep tracking clan population in the future and watch these graphs grow.

I’m surprised at how steady the population of all the clans has stayed over the past two years, while it shifts around with the seasons –such as rising in the summer when most members are off of school- and plots –dropping then rising with Weepingstar’s reign- it’s largely hovered in the 400s for the past two years.

The overall age graph’s shape is what I’d expect, with the dip among cats born in November (who have an age of 0 months) easily explained by the fact that this data was collected on the 18th rather than at the very end of the month. The only thing that surprises me is that we don’t have any cats who have actually reached 12 months of age right now. Usually we have at least a handful sticking around.

MoonClan’s age graph is certainly strange. The number of cats between four and ten months old are practically identical, while the slope from zero to three months old is the inverse of what I would expect. I have no idea why this is, since as to my memory MoonClan didn’t have anything particularly interesting going on in August to explain that giant spike in births. If you guys have any ideas, I’d love to hear them. The other clans are pretty much what I’d expect, given the average age of cats in the above chart. DawnClan’s graph is a little random looking, but it still follows the general trend that in each month age bracket there are progressively fewer cats.

What do you guys think about the clan demographics? If you see something in these graphs that you find interesting and I didn’t touch on, or interpret the numbers differently, please don’t hesitate to speak up! All of my observations here are from just glancing over the graphs, so I easily could have overlooked something meaningful or misinterpreted some of the numbers.

Ceremony Lists:

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Batkit, Vampirekit, Pandakit, Sneak-kit, Tinykit, Quietkit, Fuzzykit: Early December

Whisperingkit, Mamelukekit, Dawnkit: Mid December

Ravenkit: Late December

Warriors:

Smallpaw, Daisypaw, Izzapaw: Early December

Adderpaw, Splatterpaw, Tigerpaw, Spacepaw, Rowanpaw: Mid December

Burnetpaw, Ivorypaw, Talismanpaw, Bloodiedpaw, Lizardpaw, Swirlingpaw, Coyotepaw: Late December

Elders: Smokehaze, Snaketail

NightClan

Apprentices:

Sinkit, Wickedkit, Hauntedkit, Genociddekit, Cobwebkit, Owlkit, Petalkit: Early December

Otterkit, Turtle Dove, Bluekit, Cricketkit: Mid December

Warriors:

Kirk, Pepperpaw, Mercurypaw, Kami, Knox: Early December

Raidpaw, Kingpaw, Halfpaw, Masonpaw: Mid December

Starch, Dahlia, Jinx, Threepaw, Singingpaw, Prussia, Belarus, SleepingBadger: Late December

Elders: Spikeback, Lostmoon

Death: Crowpoison

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Knightkit, Battlekit, Aurorakit, Shallowkit, Loudkit, Tanglekit, Hollykit, Featherkit, Silverkit, Yellowkit, Milk-kit, Spiritkit, Paintedkit: Early December

Fallingkit, Thunderkit, Firekit, Black-kit: Mid December

Warriors:

Shrikepaw, Flamepaw, Fightingpaw, Finalpaw, Cloudpaw: Early December

Cinder, Smokey, Doublepaw: Mid December

Elders: Sugarglider, Wolf-fang, Rippedheart, Dragonheart, Meadowbreath

Deaths: Hedgestone, Dawnclaw, Snowymist

SunClan

Apprentices:

Stolenkit, Cacklingkit: Early December

Leapingkit, Greykit, Briarkit, Ichorkit, Trilliumkit, Ashkit, Dustkit, Fogkit, Nightkit: Mid December

Aquakit, Rainkit: Late December

Warriors:

Buzzardpaw, Socks, Sedgepaw, Bramblepaw: Early December

Fallingpaw, Mountainpaw, Mothpaw, Honeypaw, Nightpaw: Mid December

Briar Rose, Sparrowpaw, Cinderpaw, Palacepaw: Late December

Elders: Kronosrealm

Deaths: Silentguardian, Cryingangel

Hey guys! For this month’s Monthly Meow, we’re going to do some housekeeping!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Webs has been going down more often than usual these past few weeks and was down for the better part of two days last week. The gathering has been pushed back to next week, to give the leaders a chance to set everything up. As well the StarClan and Dark Forest threads will be open until November 3rd. The Halloween art trade will continue as planned, with all pieces due on Halloween. If you’re ever curious about whether Webs is down or if it’s just your computer, you can check the Facebook page Webs Cares.

While Webs is back up now, the timed out error has returned. If you get an error message reading “Your request timed out. Please retry the request” and fear that your post has been deleted, don’t worry. If you hit the back button and scroll down, your post should still be there and you can try posting it again. If you have any other trouble, you can ask members if they’ve found a work around on the home page chat box and report the problem to Webs on the help forums.

The clan counts are where they should be for the current plot (MoonClan 110, NightClan 97, DawnClan 85, and SunClan 97). I plan on doing another clan demographics Monthly Meow in November or December, so if you have anything you’d like me to focus on then that I haven’t in the past, please message me!

The calendar’s been looking rather bare lately; if you have a birthday in the next few months and would like it to be posted, please message me with the date.

Some of the newer members might not know this, but there is a skype group for members of this roleplay. It’s just a fun place to talk with other members on the site about what is going on here on the site and just chat with each other about things unrelated to the roleplay. Most conversations are over text, but periodic voice calls are held for members who’d like to join in. If you’d like to join, private message me your skype name, I’ll add you to my contacts and then to the group as soon as I get the chance. All out of character rules of this website also apply to the skype chat.

Over the past week I’ve stumbled across a few roleplays that have stolen content from this website, usually from our home page. If you ever see anything that looks copied from here, please report it to me. As well, if you want to make a spin-off website or incorporate some ideas from this website into your own roleplay, please contact me so we can make the sites official affiliates and make sure everyone’s work is respected.

A while back, one of the naming guides I’d linked to on the Helpful Links section was removed by its host forum. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement. If you know of a good naming guide, please message me the link. As well, I’m always open to adding more links to the Helpful Links section, so if you know of any other good warrior cats or roleplaying references, don’t hesitate to share them with me.

An anonymous member survey will be posted around Thanksgiving, but in the meantime, if you have any ideas on how to improve the website, don’t hesitate to ask me. The vast majority of features that make this site functional were user submitted ideas, including the history page, adoption system, landmark maps, and a slew of rules. I do seriously consider every suggestion I get receive and you’ll never get in trouble for giving me feedback, even criticism.

MoonClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice:

Deathpaw: Mid November

Apprentices:

Mousekit, Weaselkit, Raccoonkit, Ebi: Early November

Timekit, Sevenkit, Whitekit, Pebblekit, Sandkit, Honeykit, Glacierkit: Mid November

Snowflakekit, Kagami-chan, Kagami-kun: Late November

Warriors:

Cottonpaw, Slenderpaw, Copperpaw, Sleepingpaw, Tinypaw, and Leaf: Early November

Bonepaw, Charpaw, Somberpaw, Pinepaw, Viperpaw, Nightpaw, Dawnpaw, Alderpaw, Tortoisepaw

Rowanpaw, Mousepaw, Dreampaw, Darkpaw, Twistedpaw, Russetpaw: Mid November

Aspenpaw, Woodenpaw, Baritonepaw, Bluepaw, Wolfpaw, Anacondapaw, Flint, Elkpaw, Arcticpaw, Silentpaw: Late November

Deaths: Mallowfoot, Nightmist

NightClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice:

Pumpkinpaw: Early November

Apprentices:

Boo, Silverkit, Dreamkit, Fangs, Ryrekit: Early November

Redkit, Birdkit: Mid November

Glucose, Freshkit, Broadkit, Deepkit, Goldenkit, Masquradekit, Russiankit, Black-kit, Witheredkit, Queenkit, Dusk-kit, Stainedkit: Late November

Warriors:

Scarpaw, Talonpaw: Early November

Elders: Crowpoison

DawnClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice:

Thymepaw: Late November

Apprentices:

Shark-kit, Cinnamonkit, Hallowkit, Skeletonkit, Batkit: Early November

Littlekit, Spookykit: Mid November

Citykit, Damselkit, Dragonkit, Midnightkit, Icekit, Flashkit, Emeraldkit, Brightkit, Prairiekit, Wolfkit, Walnutkit, Antkit, Puddlekit: Late November

Warriors:

Cinderpaw: Mid November

Cypresspaw, Sunpaw: Late September

Elders: Hedgestone, Dawnclaw, Snowymist

SunClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice:

Pebblepaw: Mid November

Apprentices:

Batkit, Vanillakit, Beekit, Purplekit, Frozenkit, Endlesskit, Windykit, Twokit: Early November

Squidkit: Late October

Warriors:

Arachnidpaw, Grandpaw, Snakepaw, Warpaw, Ivypaw, Tungstenpaw, Dragonflypaw, Butterfly: Early November

Rushingpaw, Coalpaw, Roanoke, Croation, Beastlypaw, Aspenpaw: Mid November

Lochpaw, Arcticpaw: Late November

Elders: Silentguardian, Cryingangel, Coyotesnar

This past August has been pretty big for the site. Our host announced that on October 10th we will be moved to Site Builder 3. While the migration isn’t ideal, our roleplaying shouldn’t be interrupted. For more information, see the Site Builder Update blog entry.

In game, we’ve seen shifts in leadership in each of the clans as Aspenstar died, Chugaistar left the clans, Oriolestar was assassinated, and Icestar took responsibility for SunClan during Darkstar’s imprisonment. DawnClan has hit their lowest point as a significant chunk of their territory was lost to MoonClan, straining their warriors to find already scarce prey. In the coming month, we plan on extending the spy plots. In the last few days there’s been some talk about ending the isolation, so be sure to check out the Isolation Plot Planning III blog entry to weigh in on the debate!

Thank you to Shadecloud for suggesting this month’s Monthly Meow way back in July. We’re going to be doing another question game! I’ve gathered 25 odd little questions for y’all to answer in the comments below and look forward to seeing your answers!

1. Something about you that most people don't know?
2. Are you listening to music right now? If so, what?
3. Do you sing in the shower?
4. When I dance, I look like…
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
6. What movie deserves a sequel?
7. Strangest childhood injury?
8. What is the funniest prank ever played on you, or played by you?
9. Have any weird fears?
10. One word to describe yourself?
11. Any weird or hidden talents?
12. Are you a leftie or a rightie? Both? Bonus points if you know your dominant eye!
13. Funniest YouTube video (or anything else) you’ve seen recently?
14. What would you consider to be the scariest children’s movie you ever seen?
15. Favorite type of sandwich?
16. One word to describe your computer ability?
17. What supply in your house always runs low, and no one ever remembers to buy? (paper towels, batteries, lightbulbs, whatever)
18. Any weird fears?
19. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
20. Harry Potter house, Divergent faction, Warriors clan, and such?
21. If you had to eat a raccoon, how would you cook it?
22. How long do you think you’d last in a zombie apocalypse?
23. Do you like your handwriting? Describe it!
24. Are there some words you always have trouble pronouncing?
25. What are you supposed to be doing right now?

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Smallkit: Early October

Breezykit, Adderkit, Splatterkit, Tigerkit: Mid October

Swirlingkit, Tornadokit, Ivorykit, Dragonkit, Coyotekit, Batkit: Late October

Warriors:

Lavenderpaw, Rosepaw, Solarpaw, Iciclepaw, Dancingpaw, Russetpaw, Lionpaw: Early October

Honeypaw, Wolfpaw: Mid October

Mulberrypaw, Lilypaw, Inkeri: Late October

Elders: Sneakstar, Mallowfoot, Nightmist

NightClan

Apprentices:

Daisykit, Ebonykit, Izzakit, Waterkit: Early October

Raidkit, Kingkit, Sugarkit, Agusta A, Cleopatra S, Sleeping Fawn, Halfkit, Masonki: Mid October

Threekit, Fishkit, Singingkit, Fast Running Cheetah, Prussia, Georgian, Walking Bear, Jadekit, Belarus, Sleeping Badger, Hummingbird Wings, Little Running Wolf: Late October

Warriors:

Thistlepaw, Starkpaw, Zephyranthpaw, Blazingpaw, Rainingpaw, Lilacpaw, Sergalpaw, Murderpaw, Ravenpaw: Early October

Deaths: Deep-pond, Risinglily

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Shrikekit, Flamekit, Fightingkit, Lochnesskit, Quietkit, Shiningkit, Lakekit, Summerkit, Finalkit, Coloredkit, Gazingkit, Taintedkit, Nightkit, Cloudkit, Visionkit: Early October

Reedkit, Snowkit: Mid October

Briar Rose: Late October

Warriors:

Covepaw, Muninn, Silverpaw, Springpaw, Palepaw: Early October

Temptingpaw, Hyenapaw, Frostpaw, Ashpaw, Apricotpaw, Pebblepaw, Talonpaw: Late October

Elders: Flamestar, Sageburn

Deaths: Winterstorm

SunClan

Apprentices:

Buzzardkit, Featherkit, Tallkit, Socks, Sootkit, Sedgekit, Shadowkit, Bramblekit: Early October

Mountainkit, Mothkit, Honeykit, Nightkit: Mid October

Sparrowkit, Mintkit, Cinderkit, Palacekit: Late October

Warriors:

Cottonpaw, Ask, Frozenpaw, Blankpaw, Lavenderpaw: Early October

Foxpaw, Medianpaw, Arachnidpaw, Grandpaw, Snakepaw: Mid October

Willow, Potatopaw, Warpaw, Ivypaw, Tungstenpaw: Late October

Deaths: Blackclaw

Hello everyone! It’s been a pretty dramatic August around the site, with tensions building in DawnClan, growing suspicions in MoonClan, and SunClan having to confront their own inability to rescue their own leader. MoonClan spies have just been sent to DawnClan and soon will be discovered, prompting the other clans to build a net of spying and suspicion.

For this Monthly Meow, I’ll be updating Monthly Meow XXXV to include all of our current leaders. However, before we jumps straight into the leader descriptions, I’d like to remind everyone that characters are not their roleplayers and a bad note about a leader says nothing about their roleplayer’s abilities. There is no such thing as a “perfect” leader, and if there were I wouldn’t want them in power. For the plot to work, we need leaders to make bad choices, who are unable to effectively control their clan, who have things not go the way they planned, who may not be suited for the leadership position and are unable to handle what was handed to them. It makes them more interesting and realistic characters, and progresses the plot. Amazing role-players can write fantastic characters, who also happened to be terrible leaders. Thank you so much to the fantastic team of moderators who edited this!

While many MoonClanners were relieved by the prospect of the kind and predictable Jaybird as their leader after Toxicstar’s occasionally tumultuous rule, the clan’s perception of her steadily declined. Her lack of experience lead to a number of disastrous decisions and as their war with NightClan dragged onward and she became pregnant, the clan lost what what remained of their respect for her. When she was killed by a NightClan patrol, Eclipsestar came into power. She was an uncontroversial, if generally unremarkable, cat. As Weepingtiger’s influence over the clan had blossomed over the latter parts of Jaystar’s rule, Eclipsestar had little actual power over the clan and functioned mainly as the administrative head of the clan, organizing patrols and overseeing other day to day tasks. What little power she initially had only waned as time went on and Weepingtiger eventually demoted her and made himself leader. Weepingstar was easily one of the most ambitious and driven cats ever played on this website. He was uncompromising and charismatic, two traits that gave him the support of his desperate clan and allowed him to drastically change the clan’s structure. Steadfast and self righteous, he was certain that his authority was StarClan given and that, mixed with his fixation on the far future, caused him to believe that any action he took, no matter how horrid, was justified. However, his devotion to his ideals lead to his downfall as he made a series of increasingly drastic and controversial decisions, such as capturing kits and apprentices from enemy clans in an effort to convert them to belief in StarClan and assassinating his most vocal opponents. Geckospots lead the resistance against Weepingstar’s regime and was eventually successful in destroying his hold over the clan. While she was something of a renowned grouch, she earned respect for her compassion and steadfast nature. The transition into a traditional leadership structure was not easy for MoonClan and Geckostar was criticized by both sides for banishing Weepingstar and his most radical supporters and allowing “guards” from the other clan to aid in MoonClan’s recovery. As MoonClan slowly healed, Geckostar stepped down and power shifted to Rosestar, a strong-willed and moderate leader. Her leadership was marked by small successes and failures, a departure from the more dramatic events of previous leaderships. She maintained an uneasy peace with NightClan and held their clan together following the flood. Aspenstar’s initial leadership style reflected Rosestar’s, with his first major decision involving moving his clan into isolation in order to avoid a war. He proved to be a level-headed and honest cat, if prone to bouts of stubbornness. However, as time passed and what little information MoonClan had about the condition of other clans grew increasingly dire, he made the decision to send spies into the other clans. His clan began to doubt him and in turn, he began to distrust his own deputy.

NightClan had thrived under Frozenstar’s rule, defeating MoonClan and DawnClan again and again, even after the enemy clans found a cure to a plague affecting all of the clans. While Lynxstar was instrumental to Frozenstar’s rule by organizing much of the clan’s day to day operations and even leading the clan to battle without Frozenstar, many NightClanners worried that she did have the insight and decisiveness to be an effective leader. She seemed to confirm these fears when she named Coldstar, an outspoken and active cat, as her deputy, and many cats assumed that he would be making all major decisions. However, rather than ceding power to her deputy, she cowed to MoonClan’s demands by mandating all cats believe in StarClan and follow the Warrior Code, and delivering kits and young apprentices to be trained in MoonClan. When Lynxstar retired, Coldstar revoked these rules and promised to fight for the return of their kits and warriors. Noteworthy for his unforgiving, volatile, and arrogant nature, he was an unconventional leader, doing things such as welcoming gang connections into the clan to bulk up their numbers, but remained relatively popular throughout his rule. Lionstar is somewhat unique among NightClan leaders in that his strength did not lie in his ferocity and cruelty, but rather inhis cunning and charisma. He was ambitious and involved in the politics of the clans from a young age, which allowed him to gain the respect of cats both within and outside of NightClan and eventually lead to him being named NightClan’s deputy. As the leader, he continued to use his superb perception and negotiation skills to maneuver his clan out of danger, however he made little lasting impact on the clan as a whole because he was more involved in his own personal life than the day to day activities of his clan mates, and made only miniscule changes to NightClan’s longstanding structure.. Poppystar’s transition to power was fated to be turbulent from the start, as even less than a moon of her rule during Lionstar’s absence had pushed the clan onto the edge of revolt. She was a volatile and brutal cat, her one saving grace that she took little personal involvement in the day to day affairs of the clan and thus gave them no reason to resent her rule. Slowly the clan adjusted to her violent ideals and with her encouragement, became more gang-like. By announcing a new code that promoted a gang-like lifestyle, the clan became rabid in their attempts to prove their strength and ferocity.

Burntstar’s rule of DawnClan was characterized by practicality and the same could be said of Willowstar, who ruled for only a short, relatively quiet period of time during a plague. She made few instrumental decisions, which, while it didn’t save her clan from the catastrophes to come, few of them put her clan in a significantly worse position either. Lotus-star followed this trend of largely unremarkable leaders. Despite starting her rule as a bold, assertive warrior, she was pushed aside by Dawnswallow, but even before then she took little interest in the day to day activities of her clan. Locuststar, however, broke free of this mold and has been DawnClan’s most unusual leader. While Hawkstar and other defining leaders had a nurturing, peaceful disposition, Locuststar was stern, bigoted, and occasionally even ruthless. While the clan flocked toward him following Dawnswallow’s fall, his unusual traits turned them against him and in his place Echostar, nearly his exact opposite, was put into power. Echostar was soft-hearted and well-intentioned, but her naivety and inexperience meant that she was in far over her head. Her popularity, like Locuststar’s, declined throughout her rule and she was eventually chased out just as he was. Oriolestar was placed next on the increasingly precarious highrock, and enjoyed no initial burst of popularity. Her kindness was used against her, as decisions to allow new cats into a clan that could not support itself with it’s territory’s meager prey, began to accuse her of being disloyal to her clanmates and easily cowed into avoiding hard choices.

Not wanting to follow Goldenstar’s relaxed leadership style, Quickstar attempted throughout his rule to show his strength and actively participate in clan life. However, his inexperience and occasionally childish attitude caused him to have difficulty controlling his clan from the start. As his leadership style developed, he went back and forth from bullying the clan, to being cowed by their demands and criticism. While Quickstar’s heart what in the right place and many of his ideas were sound, the pressure from within even his most trusted advisors, including his own deputy, made his attempt a failure. Epochstar took to Quickstar’s activity in the clan, but made a more graceful transition into the leadership position and remained respected by his clan for the duration of his rule, even through trying times such as The Flood. He was a largely uncontroversial leader and earned a degree of admiration from Geckostar and other cats of enemy clans. Darkstar’s leadership style was similar to Epochstar’s: he was intensely devoted to his clan and involved in their day to day activities, but less bound by tradition. He found the decline in the clan’s commitment to the code and their customs disturbing and enacted more harsh policies to bring the clan back to their roots.

MoonClan:

Apprentices:

Cottonkit, Slenderkit, Copperkit, Sleepingkit, Tinykit, Leaf, Moon: Early September

Bonekit, Charkit, Somberkit, Pinekit, Viperkit, Nightkit, Dawnkit, Alderkit, Tortoisekit, Rowankit, Mousekit, Lucidkit, Deathkit, Dreamkit, Dark-kit, Dusk-kit, Stormkit, Wrenkit, Twistedkit, Lunakit, Russetkit: Mid September

Aspenkit, Woodenkit, Winterkit, Baritonekit, Wanderingkit, Silentkit: Late September

Warriors:

Leviathanpaw: Late September

Elders: Aspenstar, Enchantingsong

Deaths: Cricketchaser

NightClan:

Apprentices:

Dagrun, Hildr, Hall, Foresti, Kirk, Rania, Scar, Talon: Early September

Redkit: Mid September

Waterkit, Goldenkit: Late September

Warriors:

Driedpaw, Hickorypaw, Irispaw: Early September

Opossumpaw, Mothpaw: Late September

Elders: Poppystar, Deep-pond, Strongsoul, Sunwhispers, Mintvenom, Risinglily

DawnClan:

Apprentices:

Lochkit, Arctickit, Rushingkit, Coalkit, Cinderkit, Lakekit: Mid September

Warblerkit, Vireokit, Kingletkit, Wrenkit, Starlingkit, Pipitkit, Smokekit, Sootkit, Cypresskit, Sunkit, Morningkit, Waterkit, Thiefkit, Angelkit: Late September

Warriors:

Deathpaw, Darkpaw, Faminepaw, Twistedpaw, Deathpaw, Blossompaw, Tsunamipaw, Halopaw, Alienpaw, Marshpaw, Krakenpaw, Crabpaw, Floodpaw, Hurricanepaw, Lakepaw: Early September

Pumapaw, Tornadopaw, Fishpaw: Mid September

Elders: Skeletonfury, Molasses-strike, Winterstorm

Death: Seraphgaze

SunClan:

Apprentices:

Dragonfly, Canoot, Butterfly: Early September

Aspenkit, Chipmunk: Mid September

Warriors:

Set, Osiris, Warpaw, Horus, Cinderpaw, Blurrypaw, Aerialpaw, Thoth, Anubis, Ingmar: Early September

Cottonpaw: Mid September

Ask, Sagepaw, Frozenpaw: Late September

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Riverpaw (Mid September Ceremonies)

Elders: Blackclaw, Nocturnalsight

Deaths: Bluegaze, Piketooth

Hello! This past June has been spent setting up the isolation arc and getting to know a handful of new members. Memberships are still open but registrations have slowed, so it would be a great help if y’all would invite your friends to the site or help me advertise.

The isolation plot has gotten off to a slow start, but hopefully we’ll be able to move things along this coming July. MoonClan will face few problems of their own initially, however when rumors spread about what is happening in the other clans they will start sending spies. These actions will be justified as promoting stability, however will ultimately prompt the other clans to send in spies to cripple the other clans. In NightClan, Poppystar will be adopting a cruel, tyrannical leadership style and encourage her warriors to be fiercer to promote NightClan as the strongest clan. To prove that they’re the strongest, NightClan will be sabotaging the other clans. DawnClan will have their loyalties split between Echostar and Seraphgaze, who will focus on acceptance and loyalty, respectively. They will face food shortages caused by NightClan’s tampering that will be exacerbated by a growth in their clan population caused by accepting new members who have fled from the other clans. SunClan will become far stricter and creat a new rank of “Head Warriors” to assist the leader and deputy in keeping the clan in line, in response to the various issues caused by a general lack of discipline among their ranks. The Plot Planning Page has more details; if you haven’t already I highly suggest that you read it over.

While reviewing the survey responses in May, I discovered that there are a few features of the website that many members don’t know about, on top of resources that new members usually have to be told about, rather than discovering them on their own. With this Monthly Meow I’ll hopefully be able to clear up some confusion or tell you about a feature you didn’t know existed.

First off are the guides (found at the top of the Help Page). While almost everyone knows that we do have guides, I often find that members don’t make use of them. If you haven’t already, be certain to skim over them, even if you think you don’t need to. All of these guides were created in response to a member request or to answer commonly asked questions, so there is bound to be something you didn’t know before

The Update Log is a fairly recent addition to the website, created in December, and is exactly what it sounds like: a log of every update including basic clan, information, and help page updates, clan list updates, full mentor-apprentice updates, history page, calendar, art page, new members removed, page cleaning— if you ever want to know when a resource was last updated or touched up this is the place to go. Links to the Update Log can be found on the Character Updates Page and under the Guides section of the Help Page.

The Helpful Links section of the Help Page is another easily overlooked resource. Here, I put links to outside websites with useful information about the Warriors universe and roleplaying that aren’t specific to this website. Here you’ll find everything from guides to the different herbs that medicine cats use, to pelt color and pattern guides, to warrior name generators. It’s certainly worth a look over! As well, if you ever find a website that you think would be helpful to other members, you can send the link to me and I’ll add it to that section.

The mentor-apprentice list is a somewhat hard to find feature, tucked in at the bottom of the information page and is occasionally referred to the somewhat confusing name of “mentor-apprentice page” despite not being its own separate page. This is another fairly self-explanatory feature, where every apprentice is listed with their mentor.

When new members join the site, they’re often confused about what season the website is, as unlike many other roleplays we don’t have a section of the sidebar detailing the season and weather. However, we do have the seasons listed on the Help Page. The seasons rotate each month, with the current month and season bolded on the seasons list.

As well as these lesser known features, I have a handful of tips for navigating the website.

Firstly, and possibly the most life changing, is just a keyboard shortcut. CTRL+F (CMD+F if you’re on a mac) will allow you to type in and search a specific word or phrase on the page that you’re on. This is immensely helpful if you’re looking for a specific character on the clan or history pages, and is a life-saver if you’re trying to track down a specific post on the Character Updates Page.

You can organize artwork on the art page not just by album, but by how recently the art has been posted. Click “Recent Art” on the side bar, then between the albums themselves and the top paragraph explaining the art rules there is a lighter-colored bar. To the far right of this bar, there are two buttons that allow you to either sort art by how recent it is or how many comments it has. Hit “Recently Added” and you’ll be brought to a page showing all of the artwork on the site from most to least recent. This is very helpful if you’re a member who likes to comment on most work, as you don’t have to wait for new work to show up on the sidebar or look through individual albums to find new pieces to comment on.

You might have noticed that about a year ago, the News Page shifted from showing the entirety of all blog entries, to only showing the first paragraph of so of each. This change was intended to make it easier to scroll through and find a specific news entry, but can be annoying if you’re, say, looking for a specific ceremony listing and don’t want to click through every Monthly Meow. You can open the blogs back up fully by going to the News Page (either by clicking the News link on the navigation bar or the Recent News link on the side bar), then locating the search bar at the top of the page. To the right of the search bar, you will find a small button that gives you viewing options. Hit “full”, which will revert the page back to showing the entirety of all the entries, then you can scroll or CTRL+F your way to whatever you needed to find.

One feature that I get a lot of complaints about is email notifications. If you’re still getting pesky emails whenever someone comments on your page or sends you a private message, you can go to “Edit Profile” under the Members Area of the side bar, click “notification preferences”, then uncheck the box and hit submit. Ta-da! Spam free email.

Lastly, there have been some occasions where members who want to leave the site can’t figure out how to do it. If you find yourself in this situation, go to “Edit Profile” under the Members Area of the side bar, click “edit account”, then click the red minus button beside this website’s URL.

Hopefully this Monthly Meow has helped you navigate the website or informed you of some features you didn’t know about before! If you have any tips that I didn’t cover here, or had difficulty finding a feature that I didn’t mention, please comment below. Maybe y’all can show me something new!

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Leviathankit: Late July

Warriors:

Duskpaw, Hephaestus, Firstpaw, Eveningpaw, Armada, Honeypaw: Early July

Arrowpaw, Cragpaw, Tayen’lou: Mid July

Peachpaw: Late July

Elders: Melodychant

NightClan

Apprentices:

Gildedkit, Majestickit, Charmingkit, Iriskit, Lionesskit, Islekit, Asterkit, Cinderkit, Blurrykit, Aerialkit: Early July

Cottonkit: Mid July

Opossumkit , Mothkit , Kara: Late July

Warriors:

Surjeon, Tidalpaw, Scarletpaw, Shadowpaw, Hades, Lakepaw, Ares, Toxicpaw, Quickpaw, Lionpaw, Coldpaw, Goldenpaw, Phantompaw, Crimsonpaw: Early July

Rippledpaw: Mid July

Halfpaw, Gandalf, Helheim, Vanaheim, Sunstone, Sundew, Dogpaw, Sunbird, Jotunheim, Goldenpaw, Toxicpaw, Fallenpaw, Nightpaw, Cherrypaw, Violentpaw, Frostpaw, Panther, Bloodypaw, Ravenpaw: Late July

Elders: Ebonyclaw

Deaths: Blackpine

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Deathkit, Dark-kit, Twistedkit, Blossomkit, Tsunamikit, Avalanchekit, Halokit, Moonkit, Alienkit, Marshkit, Krakenkit, Crabkit, Floodkit, Hurricanekit, Rainykit, Troutkit, Salmonkit, Lakekit, Oceankit: Early July

Pumakit, Fishkit, Tornadokit, Bjorn, Uffe , Magnus, Lagertha: Mid July

Warriors:

Skeletonpaw, Spookypaw, Blitzpaw, Mammothpaw, Whitepaw, Noblepaw, Oathpaw, Angelicpaw, Brightpaw, Divinepaw, Sacredpaw, Scarypaw: Early July

Purepaw, Alphapaw, Kingdompaw, Bravepaw, Justpaw, Shadepaw, Ladybugpaw: Mid July

Pinepaw, Oddpaw, Captivatingpaw, Twopaw, Luminouspaw, Seventhpaw: Late July

Elders: Badgersplash

Deaths: Nightshadetalon

SunClan

Apprentices:

Osiris, Set, Warkit, Horus, Faminekit, Ra, Deathkit, Apophis, Ptah: Early July

Gala, Valen, Ingmar, Arnthor, Ivar, Ask, Garm: Mid July

Warriors:

Berrypaw: Mid July

Pigpaw, Crowpaw, Thymepaw, Streampaw: Late July

Medicine Cat: Swanpaw (Mid July)

Elders: Running-grain, Yuccathorn, Sorrelspot

Deaths: Hallowroar

Hi y’all! It’s been a fairly quiet May around site. In character, the clans responded to increased interclan violence by announcing a policy of isolation. Moving between clans will be restricted, border patrols increased, and tensions are expected to rise to start a full battle. We haven’t discussed much on the Plot Planning Page what exactly this potential battle and the smaller skirmishes should be leading to, so if you have any ideas we can discuss them on the Plot Planning Page. Out of character, registrations were opened for a few days and a bunch of new members were accepted into the roleplay. Welcome, guys!

Thank you so much to everyone who filled out the survey! If you haven’t gotten the chance to fill it out yet and will like to, the survey is still open and I’ll be checking or responses over the next couple of days.

The results have been very helpful in determining which features should be prioritized in updates, providing ideas for new features, and figuring out what features are working and which need to be changed. There are a few quick fixes that have already been applied, such as a hyperlink to the update log posted on the Character Updates Page and the splitting the rule requiring members to put effort into correct grammar and spelling and specifying the format for roleplaying posts into two separate rules. However, I don’t want to give away too much of what will be changed quite yet, as the moderators and I are figuring out exactly how these changes will work and when they will be rolled out. A blog entry explaining these changes will be published as soon as all of the plans are finalized.

There is one subject, whether or not names should be allowed to be reused, that I would to hear more member opinions on before a change is seriously considered. I’ve created a very brief survey you can fill out HERE on how you believe reused names should be handled.

Before we jump into the main topic of this Monthly Meow, I do have a few reminders. Firstly, leaders should be assigning new mentors to mentorless apprentices every time they do ceremonies. Secondly, please remember that metagaming (a type of powerplaying in which a character makes use of knowledge that the player knows but character does not have the means to be aware of) is against the rules. Over the last month, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of times characters are referencing events that they have no reasonable way of knowing about. This can become a serious problem as our current plot is centered around the clans being isolated from each other and for that isolation to exist, the clans can’t know what’s going on in other clans. Lastly, while using posts like “the wind blew” to avoid rules requiring all posts to contain some roleplaying is alright every once and a while, it should be avoided as much as possible. Instead, use the private message system or the home page chat box to talk to other members out of character or put some actual roleplaying in your post whenever possible.

As requested by a handful of members over the past two months, for this Monthly Meow I’ve created another clan demographics overview. This is the fifth Monthly Meow exploring this topic, the others can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The clan population is only slightly larger than it was in December, as controlled registrations have slowed the huge growth in characters seen in earlier demographic overviews. NightClan is the largest clan, while SunClan is the smallest, with a much larger difference in size than is ordinary.

The overall female majority can be explained as a result of most of our members being female and more comfortable playing characters of their own gender, while the differences in individual clans can be explained by the clans’ traits: the clans associated with traditionally masculine traits (NightClan and MoonClan) have fairly balanced gender ratios, while those with traditionally feminine traits (DawnClan and SunClan) are far more skewed in favor of she-cats.

However, SunClan is far more skewed toward female characters than is usual. To balance out the clans both in population and gender, it would be a great help for members to focus on creating male SunClanners in the coming weeks.

The average age is lower than it was in December and is most similar to last August or March 2014. I’m not certain as to why, as since this data was taken May 13th before the wave of new members. As well, the percentage of working/nonworking cats doesn’t particularly stand out either, if anything the average age would theoretically be higher, as there are proportionally fewer kits than usual.

In last December’s Monthly Meow, I discussed the unusual dip in character populations over the summer, our most active time of year. I suspect this had something to do with how much attention the medicine cat arc was given. Unlike most arcs, where the majority of roleplaying remains about individual cats and their minor plots, the medicine cat arc was the center of most posts. This meant that less time was devoted to mates and kits, so fewer cats were born. Coupled with the violence of the plot, the clans’ population dramatically dropped.

Since September, the overall population has remained relatively consistent. The changes seem to be caused by registrations opening and closing and the general tendency for characters to be created in waves.

The changes in individual clan populations are not particularly surprising. MoonClan and NightClan have been battling it out to see who would be the largest clan for the most part, while DawnClan and SunClan have been switching between third and fourth largest. From December to January, MoonClan was the smallest clan, possibly because so much attention had been put on them in previous months that members were more interested in roleplaying in other areas when MoonClan stopped being the center of the plot.

For this Monthly Meow, I’ve plotted the number of cats of each age group differently from last the last demographics overview, but the results are largely the same— with each month, fewer and fewer cats are alive. While this trend appears to break at for cats of zero months, this data was taken on May 16th, so the number of cats in that age category will be roughly twice as large at the end of the month.

The sudden spike at four months includes characters born in January, the most likely reason for this spike being that members are more active around the winter holidays and are therefore more likely to make new characters.

I’m not seeing anything particularly noteworthy in the individual clan graphs, they follow the same general trend that fewer and fewer characters exist at each age category with spikes reflecting the tendency for litters and other characters to be created in waves.

As always, if you’ve noticed anything interesting that I haven’t pointed out or might have an explanation for any changes or trends, please comment below!

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Scorpionkit, Angelkit, Pandakit, Turtlekit, Warriorkit, Palekit, Jackalkit, Embla, Leif, Brand, Geri, Fell: Early June

Sharpkit, Sunkit, Yarrowkit, Tigerkit, Lionkit: Mid June

Dawnkit, Spottedkit: Late June

Warriors:

Honeypaw, Dreampaw, Morningpaw, Mousepaw, Hemlockpaw, Treepaw: Early June

Immortalpaw, Robinpaw, Seraphpaw, Victorypaw, Cobrapaw, Mambapaw, Boapaw, Viperpaw, Aconitepaw, Twistedpaw: Mid June

Cherubpaw, Aphrodite, Sacredpaw, Brokenpaw, Softpaw, Oakpaw, Sprucepaw, , Rosepaw, Shadowpaw, Emberpaw, Kaori: Late June

Medicine cat: Surjeon (Late June)

Elders: Sunchaser

Deaths: Redstone

NightClan

Apprentices:

Brokenkit, Puppykit, Myvarr, Kaierr, Sunkit, Ryagarr, Thayarr, Lostkit, Brightkit, Wolfkit, Littlekit, Waselkit, Masonkit: Mid June

Pipkit, Duck-kit, Driedkit: Late June

Warriors:

Devilpaw, Vidar, Skuld, Baldur, Nidhug, Freyr, Odin, Ibispaw, Hyenapaw: Early June

Leopardpaw, Whitepaw, Tildalpaw, Scarletpaw, Cherrypaw, Shadowpaw, Dazzlingpaw: Late June

Elders: Lionstar, Blackpine

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Whimperingkit, Maskedkit, Koikit, Dancingkit, Survivingkit: Early June

Fluffykit: Late June

Warriors:

Maplepaw, Cottonpaw, Dahliapaw: Early June

Angelpaw, Sutcliff: Mid June

Athena: Late June

Elders: Nightshadetalon, Glowingnight

Deaths: Locust-strike

SunClan

Apprentices:

Yarrowkit, Pearlkit, Lionkit, Amethystkit, Ravenkit, Burntkit, Jaguarkit, Aurorakit, Mustangkit, Eveningkit, Littlekit, Morningkit, Desertkit, Lambkit, Agatekit, Jadekit, Rattlesnakekit, Thistlekit, Hurricanekit, Viperkit, Havenkit, Reedkit, Fallowkit: Early June

Oceankit, Tundrakit, Stonekit: Mid June

Pinekit, Mothkit, Tigerkit, Qilinkit, Kitsunekit, Wendigokit: Late June

Warriors:

Aloepaw, Agavepaw, Summitpaw: Early June

Floatingpaw, Mousepaw, Vaultpaw Fadingpaw, Rustypaw, Swiftpaw: Mid June

Scaredpaw, Fawnpaw: Late June

Medicine Cat: Dodopaw (Mid June)

Elder: Hallowroar

It’s been a pretty slow April on the site, as we’ve been pushing the clans toward isolation. Lionstar has gone missing from NightClan, leaving his clan under the leadership his tyrannical deputy, Poppydeath. This coming month we should see at least one large-scale battle as well as many border skirmishes. Feel free to begin your own border skirmishes and cross-clan conflicts and, as always, try to stay up to date on the Plot Planning Page, lots of exciting things are being exited on the Plot Planning Page right now. All of your input really is appreciated and the plot runs much more smoothly when everyone is on the same page about what should be occurring.

Out of character, we’ve slowly received a handful of members following the registrations opening, including several former members. Welcome, guys! On a more personal note, I may not be around the site much until Mid-May. If you have any questions, please direct to them to the moderators if possible as they’ll be more able to give you a timely response.

Just a few reminders before we jump into the meat of this Monthly Meow. Firstly, please remember to use the exact format provided when using the Character Updates Page. All descriptions and history sections should be in one paragraph (ideally 100-300 words in length) and all redos should be listed separately. If you’re uncertain about formatting or which type of update should be used, most questions can be answered through the Character Updates Guide. Secondly, please don’t change your username more than once every three or four months. As well, the clan populations have become very skewed in the last few weeks. MoonClan has 125 characters, NightClan has 153, DawnClan has 115, and SunClan has 83, so please focus on making new characters in SunClan.

Last Monthly Meow I discussed changes in rules and site procedures over time, so this time I figured I would explore how these changes have affected the plot. However, as I wrote an outline for that subject, I realized that it was much too broad to fit into just one Monthly Meow. This Monthly Meow, the first in a potential series, will be covering different plot elements that are often successful, unsuccessful, or likely to not be approved, in the roleplay presently.

First up are the “automatic rejects”, or plots that aren’t likely to be seriously considered. The biggest one is plots involving the formation of new clans. With the current number of members, which is likely to remain fairly consistent for the foreseeable future, having another clan isn’t necessary and would be a considerable addition to the amount of time spent maintaining the website each week. As well, the formation of a new clan would distort our ability to make balanced alliances and possibly force us to reorganize the map.

While plots inevitably lean on certain characters and members more than others and an perfectly balanced plot wouldn’t be possible, large plot arcs that hinge on one cat, particularly a cat who has not been active in the plot so far, have a very low chance of being approved. Plots of this nature are risky, as the member who owns the character unexpectedly leave, or even just be offline at the wrong moment, and the plot will grind to a halt.

Prophecy plots are rejected for similar reasons, as they require that the plot move in a certain direction and allow for little flexibility. Plots that involve StarClan intervention are also avoided, as this brings up the question of why StarClan hasn’t intervened in the past, as well making them a possible solution for every issue that the clans will face in the future.

Large scale fox or badger attacks (or wolves, or dogs, or squirrels, or what-have-you) are also not something that would work in this roleplay, due to the restrictions placed on interactions with other animals, and the understanding in this roleplay that cats are the only animals (besides humans, who are rarely mentioned) capable of organizing themselves into fairly advanced hierarchies.

Lastly, just plots that don’t make sense with current events don’t get accepted. For instance, if we’re in the middle of an arc involving a blizzard, a forest fire isn’t the direction we’re likely to want to go in in the near future.

What exactly makes a plot successful or unsuccessful are harder to pin down. Plots are generally collections of spontaneous events, such as a certain member being on at just the right moment to have just the right cat say, or say just the right thing—or opportunities like that being missed, guided by planning. Plots can be over planned (such as in the case of some alliances) and come across as too scripted, or under planned (such as the flood arc) and simply have nothing happen.

Members choosing to take initiative in plots is also vital, particularly plots that involve series of small-scale conflicts, but I have difficulty gauging how invested members will or won’t be in plots and so it’s hard to anticipate how much member involvement in these plots we can count on.

One general rule, I find, for plots being unsuccessful is that they include volunteers that don’t specifically have to volunteer. For instance, sickness arcs. Even if members agree to a wide-spread sickness arc, it’s rare for more than a handful of cats in any given clan to be roleplayed as having the sickness and, often, many characters will go about their business as if nothing were happening. This is not a hard and fast rule, though, as the sickness element of the flood arc, when it did get moving, was acknowledged by most cats and many kits did fall ill. Arcs that require volunteers to sign up, such as Weepingstar’s enforcers and victims, tend to be more successful as members have agreed to take the initiative to go through with the plot and thus feel more obligated to actively contribute.

Disagreements within clans, such as the recent overthrow of Locuststar, are also often very successful. This may be because it’s difficult to have cats not notice what is going on and not take sides. By forcing cats to take sides, disagreements between family members and friends is inevitable, so the plot easily gathers attention.

There are some plot elements that work very well at times and just don’t work at other times. For instance, wide spread assassin arcs have been utilized very successfully at several points in the roleplay, from Hawk and Siver’s assassination of Moonstar to Weepingstar’s enforces. However, due to the difficulty in organizing some of these plots or simply because they don’t add to a larger arc very directly, they fall apart.

What plot elements do you guys enjoy? Do you disagree with anything I’ve counted above as typically successful or unsuccessful? Do you think certain plot arcs should be considered more, or can think of anything we haven’t done yet, or have done too much? I know that I tend to enjoy plots centered on gatherings with many characters verbally fighting, especially if there are some more complicated clan politics going on. On the flip side, I don’t tend to be a big fan of large battles, especially if we have several in a role.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Dusk-kit, Hephaestus, Firstkit, Guardiankit, Eveningkit, Stainedkit, Olivekit, Whisperingkit, Armada, Honeykit: Early May

Tayen’lou, Opalkit: Mid May

Warriors:

Actaeapaw, Vervainpaw, Arumpaw, Trilliumpaw, Sennapaw, Ruepaw, Leechpaw, Tallowpaw, Mochapaw: Early May

Icepaw, Leo, Pisces, Scorpio, Gemini, Sagittarius, Cancer, Virgo, Taurus, Libra, Rabbitpaw, Sestra: Mid May

Hemlockpaw, Callowpaw: Late May

Elders: Redstone, Cinderstep

Deaths: Bramblelight

NightClan

Apprentices:

Hades, Spiritkit, Lakekit, Ares, Bravekit, Riverkit, Wolfkit, Quick-kit, Toxickit, Fallenkit, Lionkit, Coldkit, Goldenkit, Phantomkit, Crimsonkit, Wolf, Cleopatra, Casius, Tibia: Early May

Redkit, Rippedkit: Mid May

Ase, Helheim, Vanaheim, Bloodykit, Owlkit, Snowykit, Sunstone, Sundew, Dogkit, Sunbird, Jotunheim, Goldenkit, Toxickit, Fallenkit, Nightkit, Cherrykit, Violentkit: Late May

Warriors:

Woodpaw, Reaperpaw, Ducklingpaw, Winterpaw, Sinfulpaw, Wolfpaw: Early May

Erepaw, Nectarpaw, Ghoul, Roscia, Sabina, Quietpaw, Spiderpaw: Late May

Elders: Thunderflash, Koga, Raggedshade, Risingsilence, Blackstallion, Wasp, Rivendragon

Deaths: Roxie, Widow, Tawnyfur

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Skeletonkit, Spookykit, Blitzkit, Immortalkit, Mammothkit, Saberkit, Whitekit, Noblekit, Oathkit, Honoredkit, Angelickit, Brightkit, Empirekit, Divinekit, Sacredkit, Scarykit: Early May

Purekit, Hallowedkit, Alphakit, Kingdomkit, Bravekit, Foxkit, Cherishedkit, Holykit, Quailkit, Justkit, Shadekit: Mid May

Pinekit, Oddkit, Captivatingkit, Twokit, Luminouskit, Seventhkit, Scorpionkit: Late May

Warriors and Medicine Cat:

Blitzingpaw, Glowingpaw, Goldenpaw, Zaffrepaw, Ran’yo: Early May

Cobaltpaw, Tenorpaw: Mid May

Elders: Blizzardpelt, Locust-strike

Deaths: Clawtail, Blossomsong

SunClan

Apprentices:

Silokit, Erakit: Mid May

Warriors:

Aspenpaw, Bluepaw: Early May

Coyotepaw, Longpaw: Mid May

Willowpaw: Late May

Deaths: Rushfeather, Gorseflower

Howdy! This past month has been filled with transitions the clans rebuilt their camps and returned to living as four separate groups with the end of the flood and many new leaders came into power. In a unique turn of events, DawnClan peacefully voted to demote Locuststar, but allowed him to remain in their clan as a warrior. MoonClan, NightClan, and SunClan came to an agreement in which their borders were opened to allow apprentices to visit any of the clans and join whichever group they felt they belonged in.

Everyone, please remember that metagaming (a type of powerplaying in which a character makes use of knowledge that the player knows, but character does not have the means to be aware of) is against the rules. In the past few weeks, particularly as a result of Locuststar’s demotion, we’ve had a few characters spreading information that they have no way of having been exposed to.

Thank you to everyone who suggested topics to me for this Monthly Meow, I hope to get to a whole bunch of them in the coming months. For this Monthly Meow, I’ll be touching on how and why rules have changed over time. Thanks you, Toxic, for suggesting this topic!

The first change, is the function of the Character Updates Page. Originally called just the “guestbook”, it was used for character creation and nothing else. All deaths, pregnancies, changes in clans, etc. did not have to be recorded outside of the roleplay itself. As so few members were on the website at this stage, simply remembering what changes needed to be made in our infrequent updates was feasible. However, as more people joined and the character limits rose, this system of just remembering what needed to be done became impossible. I first started keeping written records of necessary page updates as they were roleplayed, then moved to having blog entries in which members would list all of their characters in each clan. This system was difficult from the start, as many members ignored the blog entries, and we quickly changed to a more inclusive Character Updates Page where, eventually, all required page updates were recorded. In addition, formatting became stricter as I began to streamline the updating process and to take detailed records.

The character limit has increased over time to accommodate for the addition of more clans. The limit began as seven characters, but with the creation of NightClan, members complained that having only seven characters spread between three clans (MoonClan, StormClan, and NightClan) was interfering with their roleplaying. The character limit was then raised to 15, where it remained for quite some time. Later, staff members were given additional character slots as a reward for keeping the website running smoothly. Unlike today, where all staff members have an additional four characters, moderators received 18 characters, administrators 20, and website owners 22. Finally, the character limit was moved to where it is today, with members having 20 characters (five cats per clan, if split evenly) and staff members having 24 (six cats per clan, if split evenly).

While we’ve had a rule limiting “throw-away characters” that includes all cats outside of the clans for quite some time now, loners were allowed in the first few years of the roleplay. However, it was unusual for us to have more than a small handful of inactive loner characters at a time and as the website grew and the structure of the clans proved helpful in delegating responsibilities and ensuring some degree of order, it was decided that loners would not be claimed characters anymore.

Several different systems of adoption had been attempted for short periods of time before our current one. Often these systems involved characters remaining up for adoption for unlimited periods of time and were very unpopular, usually only having one or two characters put up for adoption in the months they were open before eventually the system was done away with. Our present system was introduced two or three years ago and has been a greater success, largely because of the specified adoption period. While originally the time span was a month, as most characters who are adopted are taken within only a day or two of being posted, the time span was later halved to the two-week limit we have today.

Aging systems have also changed substantially over time. Initially, no aging system existed, so characters could be promoted or die whenever members felt was appropriate. This caused some confusion, as all of the characters were getting older at different rates, so it was decided we’d just stick with real-time aging. This fit along with the idea that, as most of the members knew each other offline and lived in a relatively close geographic area, the in-game weather was whatever was outside your window. But no one wants to play a kit for six months. A rough aging system was created, which was later changed to the system we use today but with two major differences: queens were pregnant for one month, instead of two weeks, and leaders would have an additional year added to their lifespans.

The additional year leaders had was created as since the roleplay moved rather slowly, by the time a character earned that rank, they’d often not have any time left to accomplish anything substantial. As the roleplay grew and became faster-paced, this rule was both no longer needed and limited the number of members given an opportunity to have a high-ranking character.

Who is applicable for a high-ranking position has also changed over time, particularly for medicine cats. Medicine cat positions were assigned just like leader positions are today, with any openings being handed to owner-chosen members. However, the website was so small whoever stepped up with a willing character was very likely to receive an open position. We moved away from this system toward allowing members to just ask for a position when it opened, but as in the entire time this rule was in place I never denied anyone a position, the rule was adjusted and members no longer had to ask permission for a medicine cat position.

Leader and deputy selection has also changed. At the beginning of the roleplay, only a few members were active and most had one specific character they were championing for a leader positions. No limits existed on character age, so a character could remain in a leadership position almost indefinitely. Waterstar, for example, spent two years in her deputy and then leader position. This resulted in leadership positions being hard to come by, even for rule-following, active members who had been on the website for over a year. As the website grew and time limits were placed on character creation, leaders changed more often. Over time, focus has shifted from characters to members, as having a reliable roleplayer in the position proved to be more effective in the long term than a member who was sporadically active, even if their character made more sense for the current leader to name as deputy.

Members were originally allowed as many high ranking positions as they wanted, but as more members joined we moved to allowing each member one high ranking position. This was later reversed in a rules simplification, but then reinstated recently to accommodate for the roughly 30 active members we have at any given time and ensure that every member who wants a high ranking character will have a fair shot at having one granted they stay active and follow the rules.

The art page began with only one rule: it has to be your work. This system worked well for some time, but eventually rules regarding relevancy were added to conserve bandwidth. The rules remained very consistent for several years until last March, when concerns over whether doll-maker created images were turning the attention of the art pages away from member-created drawings, whether doll-maker created images fit into the rule requiring all images posted there to be original, and bandwidth pressures. While banning doll-maker created images all together was discussed, it was eventually decided that only a limit would be put in place for the sake of adoptables and character design reference sheets used by non-artist members.

Plot planning is arguably the biggest and most important place changes have occurred over time and like many of the other changes, has been shaped by the size and nature of our member group. Initially the roleplay had a small number of members, the vast majority of which knew each other in real life. This had the result of plot planning being carried out largely face-to-face, with plans often being only shared with members who had characters directly tied into whatever plot was being discussed. Later, as members from all around the world began to join, the planning shifted from offline to online, with the bulk of planning occurring through private messages. This system held for several years, at first very unorganized, later being built into the structure of the website through a planned events box on the information page that displayed what plots were being planned through private messages at that time, so everyone knew what to expect.

Currently, plot planning is more accessible and organized than ever. Blog entries are regularly made where members can all discuss events, with only minor details or the very beginnings of ideas often tossed back in forth through private messages. With the addition of plot planning pages, the planned event box was done away with as members could see planned events on the blog entries, and as more members were contributing to ideas, plans have a tendency to change up until the moment they happen, which makes keeping such a box up to date an almost impossible task.

In the future I hope to discuss how these changes, particularly changes in plot planning procedures, may have altered the events and success of various plots. In the meantime, I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this Monthly Meow as much as I liked writing it! If you have any questions or would like to know how features not covered here have changed, feel free to ask in the comments below.

Ceremony Lists

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Buzzardkit, Treekit: Early April

Robinkit, Phalanxkit, Seraphkit, Victorykit, Cobrakit, Pythonkit, Mambakit, Angelkit, Boagale, Viperkit: Mid April

Cherubkit, Riverkit, Aphrodite, Lastkit, Sacredkit, Brokenkit, Softkit, Dawnkit: Late April

Warriors:

Vixenpaw, Murmuringpaw, Foxpaw, Halfpaw: Early April

Nightpaw, Chivalry, Snakepaw, Jaypaw, Sphinxpaw , Snowypaw: Mid April

Pride, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, Darkpaw, Mantispaw, Northernpaw: Late April

Elders: Plumefur, Bramblelight

Deaths: Endlesshorizon

NightClan

Apprentices:

Devilkit, Vidar, Skuld, Baldur, Nidhug, Freyr, Odin: Early April

Whitekit, Tidalkit, Scarletkit, Penguinkkit, Halfkit, Sirenkit, Cherrykit, Hecate: Late April

Warriors:

Silentpaw, Nightpaw, Thunderpaw, Berserker, Asmund, Skoll, Saga, Stormpaw, Snowflakepaw, Damselflypaw, Coldpaw, Applepaw, Lilypaw, Tatteredpaw, Nightmarepaw, Toothpaw, Sparkpaw: Early April

Frozenpaw, Trialpaw, Dragonpaw, Nightpaw, Eveningpaw, Pegasuspaw: Mid April

Nightpaw, Silentpaw, Skypaw, Duskpaw, Harrowingpaw, Leopardpaw, Splatteredpaw, Burningpaw, Phantompaw, Ghostpaw, Smudgedpaw, Halfpaw, Lightningpaw: Late April

Elders: Roxie, Widow, Gladys, Tawnyfur

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Maplekit, Cottonkit, Dhaliakit, Bearkit: Early April

Athena: Late April

Warriors:

Bearpaw, Rippedpaw, Purepaw, Murkypaw, Lambpaw, Harrierpaw, Stormpaw, Cloudpaw, Citruspaw, Rowanpaw, Endlesspaw, Topazpaw, Otterpaw, Meadowpaw, Heronpaw, Infernopaw, Sugarpaw, Mudpaw: Early April

Sweetpaw, Wolfpaw, Petalpaw: Mid April

Ghostpaw, Warpaw: Late April

Elders: Clawtail, Blossomsong

SunClan

Apprentices:

Knightkit, Aloekit, Agavekit, Crackedkit, Summitkit: Early April

Fadingkit, Serenitykit, Rustykit, Swiftkit: Mid April

Scaredkit: Late April

Warriors:

Aspenpaw, Cryingpaw, Coyotepaw, Hushedpaw, Cosmicpaw, Horizonpaw, Tigerpaw, Blazingpaw, Screamingpaw, Nautiluspaw, Moonpaw: Early April

Oceanpaw, Kohaku, Borealispaw, Phoenixpaw, Kronospaw, Cthulhupaw, Seraphpaw, Griffinpaw, Fabledpaw, Hydrapaw, Sleepingpaw, Chiliadpaw, Quietpaw: Mid April

Dragonpaw: Late April

Elders: Epochstar, Rushfeather, Gorseflower

Hey guys!   It's been a very exciting month on the roleplay as the flooding arc has come to a head in the battle currently raging on in the territory.  Out of character, registrations were opened and many new members were welcomed into the site.  Thank you to Angel for suggesting this Monthly Meow topic!  As promised, I'll be going over several scenes that I feel the summaries on the History Page don't do justice.  Hopefully y'all enjoy the scene descriptions, I'd love to do another one of these with scene requests if you guys are interested in it.

Sharkstar and the Battle of BoneClan

The Battle of BoneClan was the first large-scale battle ever held on the roleplay and it would be difficult to overstate exactly how excited everyone was. And the fight did not disappoint. The battle began with a reckless gamble by Hawkeye, who would later go one to be one of the great villains of the site, single-handedly trying to assassinate Bonestar. This, as you might imagine, went poorly. Sharkstar himself was largely a comic relief, but unfortunately for Hawkeye, he was a comic relief with quite the knowledge of killing and was able to control a hoard of gang cats. The only reason Hawkeye survived was because Sharkstar had chosen to make a show of her death rather than killing her straight away, which he was easily capable of.

As that fight raged on, Robinwing’s prophetic dream shook MoonClan. Cats argued whether or not to believe in the vision, and whether they should risk themselves to save Hawkeye, who went in secret without their support, or wait until MoonClan was better prepared to defeat BoneClan. Ultimately, the clan decided to attack now, before BoneClan could grow stronger. Just as Hawkeye was nearing death, they burst into BoneClan’s camp. The battle itself was quick and bloody, many MoonClan warriors were slaughtered before Sharkstar was killed and his goons fled. This event also sparked the creation of StormClan, composed of RiverClan survivors and a handful of MoonClanners.

Silverstar and Hawkeye’s Duel

While large-scale battles tend to determine the outcomes of large arcs, the final show-down between Hawkeye and Silverstar (more commonly referred to as simply Hawk and Silver) ended the greatest threat the clans have ever faced: the complete destruction of their way of life.

Raven’s massive army was eager to take over the forest for the rich supply of prey it held, but their great weakness was organization. City cats were used to independence, or being loosely connected in small, short-lived gangs. While Raven had a small group of dedicated supporters, most were in her army only so long as they were certain it would provide them more safety than any other alternative. However, toward the end of the war Raven was gaining a reputation of being paranoid and weak. The city cats, having no viable alternative, clung to the army but threw their support under Hawkeye, who, despite being increasingly impulsive and violent, was able to capture enough fear in the cats to prevent any large gangs from rising up to challenge Raven’s army.

When Hawkeye and Silverstar turned on each other and died by each other’s claws, the structure of the city collapsed. The power vacuum left behind allowed the clans to create NightClan, which stopped the city from being quite as volatile as it had been entirely under large, competing gangs before Raven’s rule. As well, this scene revealed the true circumstances of the murders originally attributed to BoneClan. Hawkeye and Silverstar had slowly been picking off the cats who discovered their plot to take over the forest and city or stood in the way of their path to power. Thank you to Silverstar who spent an hour on a very busy Saturday digging through years old emails to find this scene! You can read the fight itself HERE.

Supporting SunClan’s Foundation

SunClan’s foundation was unlike RiverClan/StormClan, NightClan, and DawnClan in that they were not an offshoot of an already existing clan. Instead, a group of loners and former gang members envied the relative safety that the clans’ structure had granted them and banded together to imitate what they had observed the clans doing. Unlike DawnClan, who were initially denied official clanhood by StarClan on grounds of the clan being founded by MoonClan deserters, SunClan was readily accepted as a full clan at the time of their foundation even though they had little specific knowledge of how the clans operated.

The clans took note of the suspicious behavior on the loners’ plains but decided not to investigate, as there seemed to be few cats marking the borders. When SunClan showed up at the gathering, the clans were actually welcoming to them, despite the tense interactions and competition for resources that took place between different clans. In fact, several cats were volunteered for each clan to live with SunClan for a time and teach them about the ways of a clan.

However, the motivations behind this apparent charity may be questionable, as with the fighting between MoonClan and NightClan at its peak, all of the clans were vying for power and may have seen even the small, disorganized SunClan as a potentially helpful ally.

Mirestar’s Banishment

Emberstar had been through a series of deputies, her most recent having proven himself incapable of leading the clan. Only a day after naming her most recent deputy, Mirepath, her shoulder was bitten by Phantomstar during a border skirmish. Emberstar died of infection several days later and Mirestar was suddenly given charge of the clan.

His leadership proved disastrous from the beginning. His deputy was a known kiss-up, while Mirestar himself was young, having barely earned his warrior name, and while no one would doubt his bravery, he lacked wisdom and grew paranoid that MoonClan’s medicine cat, Lichenstone, was making plans to usurp him.

While seeking guidance from StarClan, Mirestar questioned Lichenstone’s loyalty to Moonstar, who gave only a vague answer. Seeing this as proof of his suspicions, Mirestar attempted to have Lichenstone removed from the position as soon as he returned to the camp. Hostilities flared on both sides: Lichenstone’s supporters insisted that Mirestar was paranoid and power-hungry, pointing to Mirestar’s murder of his own mate, his generally irresponsible behavior, and that StarClan alone had authority over Medicine Cats, while Mirestar’s supporters stressed the importance of loyalty to the clan, reminded the others of the cats Lichenstone had failed to heal, and brought up Lichenstone’s mistreatment of his former apprentices. To add to the chaos of the scene, Mirestar’s very flesh to tear and bleed before the clan’s eyes, while interpreted this as a sign from StarClan, others it as a simple sickness, possibly another failure of Lichenstone’s that may be causing Mirestar’s erratic behavior. Violence broke out and several cats were killed before Mirestar was run from the camp.

This scene was important for more than just being exciting, as all of it was entirely spontaneous and unplanned: this was the first time that any of the clans had run out their leader. As well, from this point onward Lichenstone’s influence over the clan only grew. Even after he had retired from the position of medicine cat he served as an unofficial deputy under Mirestar. From this angle, his rise to power can be read as foreshadowing Weepingstar’s later overthrow of the traditional clan hierarchy.

This is another scene that has been saved, it can be read HERE.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Ghostkit, Actaekit, Vervainkit, Lobeliakit, Arumkit, Trilliumkit, Sennakit, Gentiankit, Ruekit, Leechkit, Tallowkit, Mochakit: Early March

Drykit, Mousekit, Sapkit, Creamkit, Northernkit, Icekit, Leo, Aquarius, Capricorn, Rainkit, Pisces, Scorpio, Gemini, Sagittarius, Cancer, Virgo, Taurus, Aries, Libra, Starkit, Forestkit: Mid March

Hemlock-kit, Callowkit: Late March

Warriors:

Snowpaw: Early March

Fatefulpaw, Goldenpaw: Mid March

Elders: Alex

Deaths: Grain-nose, Stonepelt

NightClan

Apprentices:

Woodkit, Mirekit, Bearkit, Winterkit, Sinfulkit, Wolfkit, Breezekit: Early March

Cardinalkit, Nectarkit, Duck-kit, Ghostkit, Roscia, Sabina: Mid March

Warriors:

Frostedpaw, Venompaw: Late March

Elders: Coldstar

Deaths: Woofy, Philosphymirror, Whotella

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Glowingkit, Dazzlekit, Ducklingkit, Goldenkit, Riverkit, Zaffrekit: Early March

Cobaltkit, Knightkit: Mid March

Warriors:

Ivypaw, Frostpaw, Hawkpaw, Stormpaw, Snowpaw, Oceanpaw, Dappledpaw: Early March

Hedgepaw, Eightpaw, Victorypaw, Lynxpaw, Seraphpaw, Hookedpaw: Mid March

Snowypaw, Dawnpaw, Riverpaw, Waterpaw, Fenpaw, Newtpaw: Late March

Medicine Cat:

Dandelionpaw: Mid March

Deaths: Wolfbreeze, Darkwing, Asher, Blitzclaw, Fawnleap, Scarletheart

SunClan

Apprentices:

Bronzekit, Bluekit, Falconkit, Peregrinekit, Jinxkit: Early March

Shadekit, Streamkit, Coyotekit, Longkit: Mid March

Willowkit: Late March

Warriors:

Cavepaw, Rabbitpaw, Ephemeralpaw, Lightningpaw, Dustypaw, Fireflypaw, Prairiepaw, Glowingpaw, Phantompaw, Arcticpaw: Early March

Spiritpaw, Orcapaw, Ravenpaw, Sandypaw, Justicepaw, Silentpaw: Mid March

Elders: Ancient Echoes, Endlesshorizon

Deaths: Shortstep, Bombay

Hey guys! It’s been a fairly quiet January around the roleplay. The flooding arc’s been slow in getting moving, but with some plot developments and events that are planned to begin this afternoon we can hopefully pull in some more organized conflict that will help launch us into our next large-scale arc. Out of character, we’ve celebrated the seventh anniversary of this website’s creation and welcomed in a handful of new members.

Thank you to Angel and Fangchica for suggesting that I discuss important individual scenes in the clans’ history this Monthly Meow, it’s a great topic and I hope to do it next month when I’ll have more time to devote to doing the scenes justice. For this Monthly Meow I’ll be discussing certain rules and procedures around the site that I get a lot of questions about why they exist or why they’re done the way that they are.

All Character Updates Page posts must be in the exact format provided: While I certainly know what posts saying “Examplepelt of MoonClan is expecting” means, when transferring posts from the Character Updates Page I have to retype this to “Examplepelt of MoonClan is pregnant”. This allows me to know exactly what to search if I’m looking for a specific update in my records, as I can type the expected words into the search bar and end up with exactly the record file that I’m looking for. Easily being able to find specific updates allows me to correct page errors and ensure characters are promoted at the proper times without sloughing through weeks of records to find a specific post. As updates can take hours to begin with, it’s much easier for all posts to be ready to simply copy and paste into the records than to retype all of them.

All members must have an up to date character list on their profile: Checking character lists it the best way to sniff out errors on the page and make sure that everyone’s under their character limits. When you receive a message saying a discrepancy was found between your profile list and the clan pages, it isn’t a “got you!”, it’s making certain that an error wasn’t made on the pages, and if one was, ensuring that a correction is posted so the error will be fixed in the next update.

Character limits: While most members have a rough number of characters they naturally hover around, a character limit ensures that the website doesn’t become over-run with characters that aren’t roleplayed. This makes clan populations more meaningful, as the number of cats in each will more closely reflect how active they are in relationship to each other and help us plan events so that all four clans are fairly included and fun to roleplay in.

All cats outside of the clans must be “throw away characters”: The clans provide an organized structure that prevents the plot from derailing, establishes common patterns of conflict between groups, and allows certain tasks to be delegated to the members with high-ranking characters. For example, the possibility of a clan cat being banished will prevent them from disrupting gatherings in a way that would disrupt certain planned events. Barriers like this don’t exist for loners, who don’t have obligations to any groups and therefore would be difficult to organize into coherent plotlines.

Hopefully this Monthly Meow has shown that there’s some method to my madness, if you have questions about why any rules or procedures exist I’d love to answer them in the comments below!

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Murmuringkit: Early February

Morningkit, Jaykit, Ashkit, Snowykit, Chillingkit, Cinnamonkit, ,Tawnykit, Ghostkit, Mudkit: Mid February

Nautilus-kit, Pride, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Nocturnalkit: Late February

Warriors:

Yusshou, Demonpaw, Thrushpaw, Armouredpaw, Rafflesiapaw, Dragonpaw, Sacredpaw, Pantherpaw, Paladinpaw: Early February

Aisa: Mid February

Floodingpaw, Autumn, Wishingpaw, Tarnishedpaw, Shatteredpaw, Enchantedpaw: Late February

Elders: Cy, Grain-nose

Deaths: Nightheart

NightClan

Apprentices:

Stormkit, Snowflakekit, Coldkit, Crowkit, Battlekit, Ravenkit, Applekit, Oceankit, Lilykit, Tatteredkit, Nightmarekit, Toothkit, Melodykit, Spark-kit, Winterkit: Early February

Dark-kit, Fogkit, Severedkit, Smokekit, Dragonkit, Lightningkit, Morningkit, Nightkit, Eveningkit, Quietkit, Courageouskit, Spottedkit: Mid February

Frozenkit, Nightkit, Silentkit, Skykit, Dusk-kit, Harrowingkit, Leopardkit, Lightningkit, Splatteredkit, Burningkit, Phantomkit, Smudgedkit, Ghostkit, Halfkit: Late February

Warriors:

Risingpaw, Ragnarok: Early February

Blankpaw, Forestpaw, Littlepaw, Foxpaw: Late February

Elders: Stolensong, Woofy, Philosphymirror, Whotella, Grayfeather

Deaths: Willow-whisper

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Taintedkit, Sacredkit, Wavekit, Rootkit, Bearkit, Blizzardkit, Rippedkit, Stainedkit, Purekit, Murkykit, Lambkit, Harrierkit, Stormkit, Tigerkit, Cloudkit, Citruskit, Rowankit, Vixenkit, Damselflykit, Endlesskit, Blazingkit, Topazkit, Otterkit, Meadowkit, Foxkit, Halfkit, Twigkit, Heronkit, Aspenkit, Infernokit, Nightingalekit, Sugarkit, Screamingkit, Mudkit, Murkykit: Early February

Petalkit: Late February

Warriors:

Sorrowpaw: Early February

Shadepaw, Wolfpaw, Howlingpaw: Mid February

Elders: Greywolf, Wolfbreeze, Fawnleap, Darkwing, Asher, Blitzclaw, Scarletheart

SunClan

Apprentices:

Cryingkit, Coyotekit, Hushedkit, awnkit, Stonekit, Cosmickit, Horizonkit, Aurakit, Mercurykit, Thunderkit, Moonkit: Early February

Gingerkit, Borealiskit, Pheonixkit, Kronoskit, Cthulhukit, Seraphkit, Griffinkit, Fabledkit, Pegasuskit, Featherkit, Wyvernkit, Sphynxkit, Hydrakit, Sleepingkit, Chiliadkit, Dawnkit: Mid February

Dragonkit, Lastkit: Late February

Warriors and Medicine Cat:

Fadedpaw, Curlingpaw, Silverpaw, Ashpaw, Owlpaw, Galaxypaw, Wheatpaw, Bluepaw: Early February

Frozenpaw: Mid February

Cavepaw, Cascadingpaw, Rabbitpaw, Ephemeralpaw, Lightningpaw, Eternalpaw: Late February

Deaths: Jupiterstorms, Saturnrings, Eclipsedheart, Silobriar

Elders: Shortstep, Bombay

This past December has been filled with new things all over the site: three new guides, a handful of new members, an information page reorganization that resulted in a new page, and the start of a new arc. In character, the clans flood has forced the clans to live together in an abandoned barn in SunClan’s territory. The scarcity of prey, space, and privacy is bound to cause some trouble soon, both in causing the clans to clash and by bringing them closer to each other than they have ever been before.

This will be the fourth clan demographics analysis, the others can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE. Please note that the most recent data was taken December 18th, there will be some differences between what the clans looked like then and what they look like now.

The total number of cats has followed the pattern of rising at a decreasing rate, only 16 cats larger than it was in August. This is likely a result of the number of active members allowed on the website being tightly controlled through closed registrations to prevent the website from growing too large. Most members have a rough number of characters they’re comfortable playing at a time, so when they settle in the clan population will only rise dramatically with a dramatic rise in memberships. NightClan is the largest clan at 130 (28% of the total characters) cats and DawnClan is the smallest at 94 (20% of the total characters).

We have a more balanced male/female ratio than we have had since around this time last year, possibly because we have a higher number of male members than we often do and roleplayers tend to be more comfortable roleplaying characters of their ownw gender. The two clans with the more traditionally masculine characteristics (MoonClan and NightClan) have a higher percent of males than the more traditionally feminine clans (DawnClan and SunClan), a tendency shown in past clan demographic reviews.

The average age is a little less than where it was in August, but still higher than where it was last year. For individual clans, interestingly, SunClan and MoonClan have the youngest populations—possibly a reflection of the sudden wave of SunClan kits and the older generation of MoonClan dying in Weepingstar’s War. NightClan has the oldest population, which is strange to me considering how large they are and the number of new characters added to that clan recently.

The working vs. nonworking populations are around where they usually are, nothing too surprising there. SunClan had a wave of new litters recently, so they have a larger number of nonworking cats because of the high kit population.

For this Monthly Meow, I went ahead and plotted the number of characters of each age range for each clan.

As a general trend, the older the character the fewer of them there are—nothing shocking.

Nothing in the individual clan age graphs stand out to me as particularly interesting, they spike back and forth as a reflection of clan popularity and the tendency for new characters to be created in waves.

I’ve also plotted the clan populations from December 2014 to December 2015. These are not perfect, as the records were not all taken at the same time (most come from the first week of the month, however a few were from later) but the general trend should be roughly the same.

Interestingly, the overall clan population dipped over the summer, the time in which the site usually anticipates the most activity, and peaked in October, when registrations were never opened.

The individual graphs were somewhat less surprising. Over the 13 months tracked, MoonClan varied the most. Its population nearly doubled between July and October, in the height Weepingtiger’s rule, then fell with the medicine cat’s regime. NightClan has remained largely in the middle for population. DawnClan has experienced a gradual loss of popularity, hopefully that will rise soon and the clan populations will return to being more even. SunClan remained fairly consistently the least populous clan until September, when DawnClan became the smallest clan.

Ceremony lists:

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Snowkit, Coalkit: Early January

Deerkit, Acornkit: Mid January

Aurorakit, Pinekit, Flarekit: Late January

Warriors:

Lunarpaw, Sweetpaw, Truthpaw, Littlepaw, Darkpaw, Astralpaw, Scorchedpaw, Winterpaw, Wolfpaw Skypaw, Silverpaw, Huskypaw: Early January

Wildpaw, Pumapaw, Enchantingpaw, Ravenpaw, Seikatsu, Mushroom, Orangepaw, Khan: Mid January

Shinku, Aka, Bramblepaw: Late January

Elders: Paintedsmile, Nighthearet

Deaths: Brazensuns, Frontrunner

NightClan

Apprentices:

Silentkit, Nightkit, Thunderkit, Berserker, Fenrir, Asgard, Skoll, Saga, Freyja, Sif, Loki, Asgard: Mid January

Frostedkit, Venomkit: Late January

Warriors and Medicine Cat:

Deep-paw Infernopaw, Changingpaw, Scarletpaw, Warmpaw, Silkpaw, Strongpaw, Quietpaw, Evilpaw, Brickpaw: Early January

Mallowpaw, Moonpaw, Pumpkinpaw, Poppypaw, Nocturnalpaw, Bonepaw, Sunpaw, Mintpaw, Irispaw, Sacredpaw, Stormpaw, Cryingpaw: Mid January

Hel, Sigrid, Sjojn: Late January

Elders: Midnighthmelody, Willow-whisper, Spottedpath

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Dark-kit, Stormkit, Snowkit, Oceankit, Dappledkit: Early January

Eighthkit, Maggotkit, Victorykit, Lynxkit, Ashkit, Seraphkit, Cherrykit, Honeykit, Hookedkit: Mid January

Ravenkit, Snowykit, Shadowkit, Riverkit, Waterkit, Fenkit, Newtkit: Late January

Warriors and Medicine Cat:

Bluepaw, Catpaw, Beepaw, Wolfpaw, Skeleteonpaw, Molassespaw: Early January

Tornadopaw: Mid January

SunClan

Apprentices:

Cobaltkit, Dustykit, Fireflykit, Nocturnalkit, Prairiekit, Moltenkit, Glowingkit, Evilkit, Phantomkit, Hazelkit, Arctickit, Honeykit: Early January

Spiritkit, Molekit, Orcakit, Brokenkit, Tornadokit, Ravenkit, Sandykit: Mid January

Spottedkit, Dawnkit: Late January

Warriors:

Wrenpaw, Amberpaw, Blazingpaw, Mistypaw, Serpentinepaw, Moosepaw, Kudos: Early January

Featherpaw, Gingerpaw: Mid January

Eonpaw, Voidpaw, Desloatepaw, Duskpaw, Agelesspaw, Solsticepaw: Late January

Elders: Brookleaf, Jupiterstorms, Saturnrings, Eclipsedheart, Silobriar, Daisylight

Deaths: Timelessnight, Darkblaze, Cryinglynx, Hollowtears

This November has been spent tying up the medicine cat arc. In MoonClan, Weepingstar’s regime fell, followed by a recovery marred by a series of complications. The remaining zealots waited in the prison for days before being banished. Melodychant, MoonClan’s secretly pregnant medicine cat, was kidnapped and attacked by rouges. Geckstar’s leadership was questioned from the beginning and a controversial choice of deputyship pushed the clan into an unsuccessful, but violent, uprising. While the other clans sent in guards to promote stability within MoonClan, this didn’t stop a team of four apprentices from killing one MoonClanner and maiming another. However, things appear to be improving for the clan. Melodychant returned her kits in tow, the last of the four apprentices was banished, and faith in Geckostar’s leadership ability has grown.

The details of the next arc are starting to be discussed in the plot planning entry. The clans will experience a large, sudden storm that will cause flashflooding in NightClan and a broken dam up the river causing widespread flooding in MoonClan and DawnClan. MoonClan, NightClan, and DawnClan will all flee to SunClan’s higher ground. This flooding arc will wipe away some remaining tensions from the medicine cat arc, while allowing new ones to be formed through interactions between individual characters and clans. The flood is current planned to occur in mid-late December when most of us are on winter break, the time between then and now is set aside for personal arcs.

The website’s domain name will be renewed this week and it’s possible the website won’t be able to be accessed from our primary address for a few hours. During that time, the website will be able to be accessed from the address http://warriorcatsoftheforests.webs.com/ .

For this month’s Monthly Meow, I have created a quick survey about the website and would appreciate it if you filled it out. All responses are complete anonymous and will help me better understand which features y’all find helpful and what can be done to improve the roleplay. The survey can be found here.

Ceremonies

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Nisshoku, Demonkit, Thrushkit, Armouredkit, Rafflesiakit, Dragonkit, Scaredkit Pantherkit, Paladinkit: Early December

Aisa: Mid December

Frozenkit, Snowykit, Sishingkit, Tarnishedkit, Shatteredkit, Enchantedkit, Sparklekit, Snowkit: Late December

Warrior/Medicine Cat:

Forgottenpaw, Emberpaw, Nautiluspaw, Halopaw, Batpaw, Tomoyo, Geckopaw: Early December

Boltpaw, Fleetingpaw, Nightpaw, Eveningpaw , Howlingpaw, Cherrypaw, Monarchpaw, Cricketpaw, Redpaw, Scarletpaw, Treepaw, Bramblepaw: Mid December

Elders: Brazensuns

NightClan

Apprentices:

Risingkit, Curlingkit, Ragnarok: Early December

Littlekit, Mink-kit, Foxkit: Mid December

Warriors:

Floodpaw: Mid December

Featherpaw: Late December

Elders: Phantom, Cho, Aoi, Malice, Rollingthunder, Wintercharm

Deaths: Blazingtiger

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Mango, Floekit, Sorrowkit: Early December

Dark-kit, Stormkit, Snowkit, Oceankit, Dappledkit: Late December

Warriors/Medicine Cat:

Dewpaw, Calmpaw, Riverpaw: Early December

Tawnypaw, Shatteredpaw, Tigresspaw, Sandpaw, Bravepaw , Coralpaw: Mid December

Aspenpaw, Winterpaw, Paintedpaw, Orchidpaw, Albatrosspaw: Late December

Elders: Inkeagle, Ottersplash, Ripplepelt, Lilyfrost

Deaths: Killua, Charredpelt

SunClan

Apprentices:

Fadedkit, Silverkit, Ashkit, Pigeonkit, Owlkit, Snowkit, Mousekit, Runningkit, Galaxykit, Wheatkit, Mothkit, Boarkit: Early December

Cavekit, Cascadingkit, Sweetkit, Rabbitkit, Ephemeralkit, Eternalkit, Lightningkit: Late December

Warriors:

Risingpaw, Dwindlingpaw, Gravepaw: Early December

Hollowpaw, Blackpaw, Lightningpaw, Odette, Barkpaw, Dancingpaw, Tallpaw, Pikepaw, Spiderpaw: Mid December

Karmapaw, Aurorapaw: Late December

Elders: Timelessnight, Russet-tears, Darkblaze, Cryinglynx, Fadingstorm, Hollowtears

Hey guys! This past month the roleplay has seen the medicine cats’ rule step onto its last legs. Over the last few weeks, DawnClan executed Dawnswallow and returned to a traditional structure by electing new leaders and Weepingstar’s attempts to hold his clan together were impeded by Geckospots’ sudden disappearance. Over the past week the arc came to a head with the MoonClan rebellion and an all-out battle to determine who would control the clan. MoonClan zealots were bested by a force of all three other clans alongside Geckospot’s rebels and a new era of peace between the clans seems to be on the way. There are some broad idea of what the next arc will be on the plot planning page, I’d love to hear what all of you think we should do next. As well, we’re taking volunteers for which characters will be sent into MoonClan to help rebuild the clan. NightClan, DawnClan, and SunClan are sending four cats each (apprentices and warriors), while MoonClan will be sending a cat to each of the other clans. They will be there only temporarily, you can find all of the other details on the plot planning page.

Outside of the roleplay, we have welcomed in a number of new members as pending accounts were accepted. I hope that all of you are settling into the roleplay! Pending accounts will be accepted again this coming weekend, so if you have any friends meaning to join the website, make sure they’ve signed up by then.

For this Monthly Meow I’ll be answering the questions that y’all submitted in September. Thank you Halo for suggesting this Monthly Meow’s topic and to everyone who sent in questions!

1. What made you want run the site? The website was actually started largely on a whim. My friend Silverwind and I had been on a warriors roleplay that had an inactive owner. We were frustrated by how unorganized it had become and decided to start our own.
2. How much time in your day do you spend on the site? This varies depending on which day it is. I tend to spend about an hour on the site on weekdays split between the morning and evening, Friday updates take four to six hours, Saturdays and Sundays vary the most with one to four hours spent on the site depending on how many other things I do or don’t have going on.
3. How have you managed to stay dedicated to the site? While I started the website just to participate in the roleplaying, I’ve become more interested in maintaining and improving the website itself. I take a lot of pride in keeping the roleplay organized and running. As well as that, I’m constantly amazed by the community that has grown here and its always a rewarding process to watch members’ roleplaying and art improve over the months or even years they spend roleplaying here.
4. Has the site turned out how you imagined it when you first made it? No. Not at all. I could not have imagined that the website would grow this big or continue six, now nearly seven, years, let alone the community of talented roleplayers choosing to spend their time here. When the website started I expected it to last maybe a few months until the group of friends I started it with and I got bored and moved to something else. Interestingly, MoonClan was intended to be the only clan and the plot was supposed to function solely around them being affected by two-legs and natural disasters, there weren’t supposed to be any wars between groups of cats.
5. How long did it take to gain 10 members? If you count ten members total, including those who registered and never post, maybe a few weeks from when the website was founded. However, if you count ten active members total this would be a few months. If you count ten active members on the website at one time, this didn’t happen until the website had been running for about three or four years and I began advertising through other roleplay sites.
6. What is the most members we have had registered on the site at a time? Probably around 65, however many of those members were inactive. The most active members we have had at a time is around 50.
7. How many Monthly Meows have you written? When did you start writing them? This is the 41st Monthly Meow. I started writing them at some point in 2011 and despite the name, they weren’t published consistently every month. At the time they also served a function closer to a history page (which we didn’t have at the time) than a newsletter. The Monthly Meows began to include ceremony lists and be more like a newsletter around 2013, around the time we made dedicated history and information pages.
8. How many of the warrior cats books have you read? How did you first come to reading them? I read the first two arcs and started the third, as well as reading a handful of super editions and the Scourge comics. Silverwing, the person who I started this site with, shoved the books into my face enough that despite the fact that I didn’t find the concept very interesting, I read the first six books just to get her to shut up. I can only thank her now for being pigheaded, I enjoyed the books more than I originally thought I would, and became involved in the fandom shortly afterward.
9. Who is your favorite past character and why? There have been so many fantastic characters, I’m going to have to choose my top ten listed chronologically. Sharkstar was the website’s first big villain, he’ll always have a special place in my heart for just being such a drama queen while remaining an intimidating bad guy. During Raven’s War I loved watching Silverstar’s exterior as a pragmatic but not entirely heart-less cat slowly crumble to reveal her true colors. In a similar vein, around the time of the Fallenstar’s War, Warpath made the transition from being Hawkeye’s right hand man, to an honorable hero for ending Cove and Vidia’s plot and attempting to warn NightClan of MoonClan’s first attack, to later turning on his allies. Each of these transitions were amazingly believable and made him one of the most three dimensional characters that had been on the website up to that point. Of course, it would be a crime for me not to mention Sunkenstar in this list. She was one of the most explosive villain characters this roleplay has ever had, but was anything but a mere threatening caricature. Her intricate backstory was considered every step of the way in progressing her character. While she was externally volatile and loud, her personality extended far beyond that into an introverted, self-conscious interior. In a very different vein, Mothstar of SunClan has always been a favorite of mine for just how sincere he was. He tried so hard to make the clans a better place, but things always worked against him in the end. As Fallenstar’s War came to an end, Hawkstar became DawnClan’s defining leader. He was immensely complex without losing his position as a father to the whole clan. In more recent arcs, I love how consistent Toxicstar’s personality was. He could be warm and compassionate, but throughout his life maintained the faults of being arrogant and uncompromising. Frozenstar was a major character in the same arc and was an amazingly consistent and three dimensional character throughout her nearly eight month rule: authoritative and cunning, but deeply and personally involved in the clan’s struggles. In our most recent arc, I have really enjoyed Ryestep and Weepingtiger. Ryestep is one of my characters, I am very happy with how her personal arc progressed from her being a pragmatic young she-cat, to being so ambitious that she cast aside all personal relationships, to at the end of her life realizing her own lack of compassion. Weepingtiger, the central character of our recently completed arc, has been among best villains this website has ever had. He had a vision and he had the drive, charisma, and courage to achieve it. He is above all else, terrifyingly realistic.
10. What’s your favorite couple of the site? Of the current couples, I’m part of the “Phold” bandwagon. What a cute leader/deputy pair, their interactions are always fun to read.
11. Your favorite clan? I think that all of the clans have their own strengths and weaknesses and tend to rotate between which clans I spend the most time on, but as a general rule I am consistently the most active in SunClan and sporadically active in NightClan. MoonClan and DawnClan switch off in the middle depending on what’s going on in the plot.
12. Did you consider any other names for the clans while making the site? What were they? MoonClan, NightClan, and DawnClan were all named fairly easily, but when Sunknen and I brainstormed names for SunClan, it took a while to settle on one. The second runner up was DuskClan. I decided against this as this new clan was on a plain and would see the so much sunlight without trees or buildings in the way, so the name SunClan seemed natural.
13. What was the average amount of characters in MoonClan just after the creation of SunClan? Sadly I don’t have records that go back that far, but my best guess would be around 40.
14. Your personal favorite arc from the site? I have been a big fan of the most recent Medicine Cat overthrow arc. It’s been very different from earlier arcs and much wider in scale. I feel that way we transitioned into the arc was very realistic and the amazing leaders and other prominent cats we have had throughout the arc have done an amazing job in supporting it alongside their clan’s involvement.
15. A memorable roleplay moment? The first scene that comes to mind is Mirestar being run out by MoonClan. I still have it saved on my computer. The situation was unplanned, from Mirestar’s conversation with Moonstar at the Moonstone, to Mirestar’s confrontation with Lichenstone and the clan overthrowing him. More recently, Amberstrike’s, Geckospots’, and Weepingstar’s speeches in the recent overthrow were all spectacular.
16. Did Moonstar have kits? If so, do you own a character that is related to him? If not, when did his bloodline die out? Moonstar did have a daughter named Rabbitfur with an unknown she-cat. You can trace this line as far as Lilystar’s and Granitepelt’s kits in DawnClan, where it sadly died out.

Now, I’ve got some questions for all of you: How did you find out about the website? What is your favorite clan? Favorite arc? Do you any ideas for guides or other features for the website?

Ceremonies

MoonClan

Apprentices

Dyingkit, Timberkit, Lunarkit, Cloudedkit, Infernokit, Sweetkit, Risingkit, Truthkit, Chilledkit, Littlekit, Lightkit, Dark-kit, Astralkit, Umbralkit, Scorchedkit, Winterkit, Wolfkit: Early November

Wildkit, Pumakit, Enchantingkit, Wolfkit, Ravenkit, Mintkit, Seikatsu, Mushroom, Kaiya, Yoshiko, Orangekit, Khan, Twilightkit: Mid November

Solsticekit, Shinku, Aka, Bramblekit: Late November

Warriors/Medicine Cat

Melodypaw, Dango, Riverpaw: Early November

Patchpaw, Dragonpaw, Batpaw, Firepaw, Lostpaw: Mid November

Witheredpaw, Breezepaw, Timepaw: Late November

Deaths: Drowningmoon, Dovemask

NightClan

Apprentices

Deepkit, Changingkit, Scarletkit, Warmkit, Silk-kit, Strongkit, Quietkit, Evilkit, Brick-kit: Early November

Mallowkit, Moonkit, Pumpkinkit, Poppykit, Riverkit, Nocturnalkit, Bonekit, Sunkit, Mintkit, Iriskit, Nightkit, Sacredkit, Drippingkit, Stormkit, Cryingkit, Callingkit, Hollowkit: Mid November

Dawnkit, Sigrid, Sjojn, Hel: Late November

Warriors

Nettlepaw, Eclipsepaw, Ivorypaw: Early November

Speckledpaw, Ebonypaw, Willowpaw, Honorpaw, Tranquilpaw: Mid November

Lightpaw, Darkpaw, Duskpaw, Owlpaw, Viperpaw, Alderpaw, Softpaw, Aerialpaw, Seapaw, Midnightpaw, Havenpaw, Nightpaw, Murkypaw, Runepaw, Snakepaw: Late November

Elders: Blazingtiger

Deaths: Bleedingrivers, Crow

DawnClan

Apprentices

Forgottenkit, Skeleteonkit, Molasseskit: Early November

Lanternkit: Mid November

Warriors

Cougarpaw, Porcupinepaw, Hopepaw, Luckypaw, Lightningpaw, Electricpaw: Early November

Dirtpaw, Currentpaw, Dragonpaw, Dewpaw: Late November

Elders: Killua, Charredpelt, Blazingrose, Opalfreeze

Deaths: Alessia, Raifall, Ragingwar, Shreddednight, Whitejade

SunClan

Apprentices

Serpentinekit, Bluekit, Moosekit, Kudos: Early November

Tornadokit, Mudkit, Gingerkit, Scootkit: Mid November

Eonkit, Voidkit, Desolatekit, Creepingkit, Dusk-kit: Late November

Warriors/Medicine Cat:

Grasspaw, Tawnypaw, Milkpaw, Tinderpaw, Whitepaw, Boulderpaw, Badgerpaw, Runningpaw, Maplepaw, Yuccapaw, Swiftpaw, Amaranthpaw, Beetlepaw, Dartingpaw: Mid November

Sourpaw, Sorrelpaw, Havenpaw, Solarpaw, Mintpaw, Icepaw, Gravelpaw: Late November

Elders: Tragicdeath, Bearheart, Hollyfrost

Hey guys! This past month has been super exciting, while the medicine cats’ rule started off strong; toward the end of the month it has become strained. Dawnswallow and Clawtail have been murdering their clanmates with foxglove seeds, while Weepingtiger has sent out teams of “enforcers” to take out cats he deems had threats. With the first deaths came suspicions in the nonbelieving members of both clans. In MoonClan, a rebellion has begun to simmer under the leadership of Geckospots and Amberstrike. When Fernwillow independently confronted Weepingtiger about the deaths, he forced her to flee the clan and named himself leader. A meteor shower overhead reassured some MoonClanners of StarClan’s approval, but others saw it as a sign of StarClan’s anger.

Thank you for all the Q&A question submissions! Unfortunately due to the power outage that our host was experiencing yesterday, I was not able to retrieve the questions to be able to answer them in time for this Monthly Meow. They will all be covered next month, sorry for the wait!

For the past two years StarClan and Dark Forest threads have been opened through October to celebrate Halloween and allow members to roleplay their past character. This year they will be opened on October 1st and closed on November 1st. Other than the exceptions listed below, all other rules of the website apply to these threads.

1. StarClan and Dark Forest cats cannot interact with living cats. Events in the StarClan and Dark Forest threads will not affect the living cats in any way.
2. StarClan and Dark Forest cats can be fully aware of events in the living world and cannot be injured or killed, but cannot have other powers. There can be no prophecies given in StarClan or Dark Forest threads.
3. Members who do not have any StarClan or Dark Forest cats may create one character to play in these threads. Do not post these StarClan or Dark Forest characters to the Character Updates Page.
4. Characters must have belonged to their owner at their time of death.
5. Characters are they rank they were at their death.

MoonClan

Apprentices

Emberkit, Weepingkit, Dappledkit, Nautiluskit, Gingerkit, Eternalkit, Batkit, Tomoyo, Geckokit: Early October

Fleetingkit, Nightkit, Fireflykit, Weepingkit, Cherrykit, Monarchkit, Cricketkit, Redkit, Scarletkit, Cypresskit, Russetkit, Treekit, Bramblekit, Weepingkit, Dauntlesskit: Mid October

Warriors

Bloodpaw, Lightpaw, Frostpaw, Floodpaw, Icepaw, Drowningpaw: Early October

Goldenpaw, Silverpaw, Blizzardpaw, Applepaw, Featherpaw, Brindlepaw, Vixenpaw, Blizzardpaw, Butterflypaw, Wildpaw, Acornpaw, Shiningpaw, Shadowpaw, Eternalpaw, Burntpaw, Ushio: Mid October

Leah, Breakingpaw, Screamingpaw, Weepingpaw, Guardianpaw , Silverpaw, Spicepaw: Late October

Elders: Drowningmoon, Dovemask

Deaths: Weepingtiger, Dreamcatcher, Fireflychaser, Swanflight

NightClan

Apprentice

Floodkit: Mid October

Warrior

Valknut, Lionpaw: Mid October

Tatteredpaw: Late October

Elders: Bleedingrivers, Crow

Deaths: Creepygrin, Prosperity

DawnClan

Apprentices

Shortkit, Dwindlingkit, Lagoonkit, Havenkit, Bramblekit, Calmkit, Halokit, Oak-kiit, Riverkit , Dewkit: Early October

Vermillionkit, Tawnykit, Shatteredkit, Tigresskit, Black-kit, Sandkit, Citrinekit, Bravekit, Eveningkit, Coralkit, Miraclekit: Mid October

Lovekit, Winterkit, Paintedkit, Orchidkit, Dreamkit, Sunkit, Berrykit, Albatrosskit, Mirekit: Late October

Warriors

Glowingpaw, Forgottenpaw, Coldpaw, Frostedpaw, Sunpaw, Streamingpaw, Moonpaw, Silentpaw: Early October

Eclipsepaw, Foxpaw, Dawnpaw: Mid October

Volcanopaw, Ninthpaw, Bearpaw, Jasminepaw: Mid October

Nightshadepaw, Graypaw: Late October

Elders: Raifall, Ragingwar, Shreddednight, Whitejade

SunClan

Apprentices

Echokit, Gravekit: Early October

Lightningkit, Odette, Lemonkit, Rosekit, Eternalkit, Frozenkit, Bark-kit, Dancingkit, Skykit, Mintkit, Lightkit, Tallkit , Pikekit, Spiderkit, Rainkit: Mid October

Karmakit, Aurorakit: Late October

Warriors

Ghostpaw, Fawnpaw, Scarpaw, Thornpaw, Inkedpaw, Lavenderpaw: Early October

Tawnypaw, Flintpaw, Milkpaw, Tinderpaw: Late October

Deaths: Daniel, Tim, Goldenhaze, Goose

It’s been a fun month on the website! There has been a lot of drama across all of the clans. In MoonClan, Weepingtiger’s grip on his clan grew stronger after he fended off a fox while his clan attended a gathering. In NightClan, Coldstar welcomed in trouble by inviting a number of gang members to join his clan. DawnClan experienced a sudden and unexpected loss from a warrior speaking out against StarClan, little did they know he died of foxglove seeds planted by the medicine cats. SunClan’s leader and deputy began a quarrel that ended with the deputy forced into retirement and the leader being almost overthrown. And that’s only to name a handful of the events! Everyone, please stay up to date on the plot planning page so you know what events are planned. All ideas and opinions are welcome.

I’ve noticed an increase in the number of errors in Character Updates Page submissions over the past month and would like to give some reminders. Always follow the exact format provided. Don’t include notes with your updates, such as “will be redone soon” or what a cat’s future name will be on the name field. Character redos only apply to the description and history field, renaming characters or changing their clan or rank should be handled with character updates following “___ of ___Clan is/has ____” formats. A full guide to what is expected for each type of update can be found HERE.

Thank you to Angel for suggesting the topic of this Monthly Meow! This is the third clan statistics analysis I’ve done, the others can be found HERE and HERE. Please note that this Monthly Meow was written on August 14th, there will be some differences between the clans then and the clans now.

There’s been a smaller shift in the total number of cats than in the past due to new registrations being limited. The more members there are, the more characters there are. If the member count is allowed to grow very slowly, this will be reflected in the number of characters. Between the individual clans, the number of characters is split roughly evenly. MoonClan is the largest right now, probably due to the NightClan apprentices and kits they recently took in.

While we’ve always run a female majority, probably as a reflection of the majority of roleplayers on the website being girls, the gender ratio is more skewed than it usually is. I’m not certain of why, the only reason that comes to mind is that I simply don’t report the gender ratio in the clans as often as I used to. Members don’t know there are so many more female characters and therefore won’t make a personal effort to even out their own characters. Between individual clans, my first impulse was to suggest it was correlated to the clan’s personality. MoonClan and NightClan have traditionally masculine characteristics and would have more male characters, while the more traditionally feminine DawnClan and SunClan would have more female characters. However, this theory falls apart because it simply isn’t reflected in the actual clans. MoonClan does have more male characters in relationship to the other clans and SunClan has a relatively high proportion of female characters, however NightClan has the second highest proportion of females and DawnClan has the second highest proportion of males.

The thing that stands out the most to me on this new round is the sudden spike in age. However, I think this also goes back to registrations being closed most of the time. Newer members have, on average, younger characters, and members who have been on the site longer have older characters. The largest shift is in SunClan, which isn’t surprising to me. Fewer members gravitate toward SunClan than the other clans. The threads are replaced less often and it usually has the least number of characters. The characters that are there don’t switch out very often, it has far fewer updates each week than the other clans and often has the most elders going through. Members who don’t gravitate there often either have no characters in the clan or the characters they do have are played less often. This results in fewer kits being born to those characters and the characters dying and being replaced less often, which moves the average age up. It’s also possible it’s a reflection of the clan’s personality, because of the importance placed on caution and cooperation with the clan, cats simply don’t die at young ages. Hot-headed, impulsive MoonClanners are likely to bite off more than they can chew; NightClanners are known for being violent and starting fights within the clan itself, or for being eager for battles with other clans; DawnClan tends to have more kits than the other clans. All of these things can bring down the average age of cats in those clans.

The proportion of working cats is higher than in the past, probably due to the average age being older. Most of the nonworking cats are kits, if the average age is higher it means that there are fewer kits in relationship to the number of warriors. It makes sense that in DawnClan, where there is typically the largest number of kits and queens, the number of working cats would be smaller.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. What stands out the most to you? What do you think causes the changes between clans or from the last samples?

Ceremonies

Due to all of the cats changing clans that we’ve had over the last month, some of these cats aren’t in the exact same order as they appear on the pages.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Pricklekit, Dango, Riverkit: Early September

Melody, Patchkit, Dragonkit, Batkit, Mossykit: Mid September

Brightkit, Breezekit: Late September

Warriors:

Tigerpaw, Katydidpaw, Guardingpaw, Cinderpaw, Risingpaw, Forestpaw: Early September

Lilypaw, Scorchingpaw, Raggedpaw, Chillingpaw, Freezingpaw Stripedpaw: Mid September

Duskpaw, Widowpaw, Meltingpaw, Hickorypaw, Sparrowpaw, Redpaw, Burrpaw, Toxicpaw: Late September

Elders: Weepingtiger, Fireflyshaser, Scarwhisper, Warriortears, Dreamcatcher, Earthstorm, Swanflight

Deaths: Shiningshell, Feathershine, Cloudyeyes, Featherfoot

NightClan

Apprentices:

Nettlekit, Eclipsekit, Ivorykit, Swiftkit: Early September

Ebonykit, Willowkit, Honorkit, Tranquilkit: Mid September

Lightkit, Dark-kit, Dusk-kit, Owlkit, Viperkit, Alderkit, Softkit, Aerialkit, Seakit, Midnightkit, Havenkit, Nightkit, Murkykit, Runekit, Snakekit, Timekit: Late September

Warriors:

Thunderpaw, Stormpaw: Early September

Brokenpaw, Rivenpaw, Blackpaw, Hauntingpaw, Hissingpaw, Bleedingpaw Pumpkin, Frostpaw, Horizonpaw , Deathpaw, Sparrowpaw: Late September

Elders: Howlingmoon, Creepygrin, Prosperity

Deaths: Stonedust, Silkstep, Twistedleg, Rippleclaw

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Luckykit, Lightningkit, Hawk-kit, Electrickit, Dolphinkit, Wavekit, Rainkit, Whitekit: Early September

Tigerkit, Dustkit, Badgerkit, Runningkit, Skykit, Cherrykit, Dragonkit: Mid September

Shortkit, Dwindlingkit, Lagoonkit, Seahorsekit, Havenkit, Bramblekit: Late September

Warriors:

Bear, Coalpaw, Axolotpaw: Early September

Burnedpaw, Fishpaw, Peachpaw, Branchpaw, Streampaw: Mid September

Survivingpaw, Sacredpaw: Late September

Elders: Waverunner

Deaths: Troutfur

SunClan

Apprentices:

Ashkit: Early September

Boulderkit, Rabbitkit, Maplekit, Cheetahkit, Yuccakit, Swiftkit, Amaranthkit, Beetlekit, Grass-kit, Dartingkit: Mid September

Sourkit, Sorrelkit, Solarkit, Mintkit, Icekit, Gravelkit: Late September

Warriors:

Angelpaw: Mid September

Sunpaw, Bluepaw: Late September

Elders: Daniel, Tim, Goldenhaze, Goose

Deaths: Ryestep, Vanessa, Smallshadow, Fallingskies, Wishingwell

It has been a very eventful month on the roleplay! MoonClan and DawnClan have prospered at the expense of NightClan and SunClan. In a devastatingly effective attack they were able to force their enemies to surrender and demand the life of Frozenstar, leader of NightClan. The herb to cure the sickness has now been spread throughout the clans, but the war is showing no signs of stopping. Outside of the roleplay, this past month we have welcomed a number of new members to the roleplay, I hope that you’re all enjoying the site! Over the next few weeks I will be going through the website and cleaning things up, it would be a great help if everyone could go over the pages and make sure that all of their characters are listed correctly. Post any corrections on the character updates page. The topic of this Monthly Meow will be the territories of the clans, thank you Jay for suggesting this topic.

The original territories share very little resemblance with our current maps. MoonClan was originally intended to be the only clan, located on a large tree-less plain. They were placed some considerable distance from the forests of StormClan’s eventual territory, which explains why the clans were able to exist without interacting with each other. There were no defined landmarks except for the clan and the Moonstone, which was placed in the center of MoonClan’s territory. As the BoneClan plot came into full swing and the website began to gather a small handful of members, the territories gradually began to be thought of as being directly next to each other, with MoonClan being in a territory similar to canon ThunderClan’s and BoneClan similar to RiverClan’s.

After the BoneClan plot ended, the city was introduced for the first time. Where exactly the city was, was not originally defined. Following the same pattern as MoonClan and RiverClan/BoneClan/StormClan, it was originally hinted at being far from the clans, only to be directly next to MoonClan by the time that Hawk and Silverstar died. Raven’s War led to the creation of two major landmarks in the city: Blizzard’s Bar and Raven’s Fortress. Blizzard’s Bar could be seen from MoonClan’s border with the city, while Raven’s Fortress was placed at the edge of the city, but not near MoonClan. At the end of the war, Hawk’s Tree was described as being in a central location between MoonClan, StormClan’s former territory, and the newly formed NightClan, on the lip of a steep ravine. This is what established the river as the border between MoonClan and NightClan, which previously had been brushed over.

Origam’s Palace came into being shortly after the end of Raven’s War, located next to Blizzard’s Bar. A few months after the start of Fallenstar’s war, a portion of then-NightClan’s territory was scorched in a forest fire. This was largely overlooked in the roleplay, until the area was sectioned out in a map and became one of the most fought over stretches of territory in the clans.

The first maps were made in between the foundation of DawnClan and SunClan, and looked like this:

Ugly and rather difficult to read, I know. While there are a few landmarks listed, many of the ones that are included on the map we are using currently aren’t, or are listed as being in different places. For example, the gathering clearing is placed in MoonClan’s territory. Using Hawk’s Tree as the gathering clearing is a fairly recent change, introduced with the last big map update in the June of 2014.

Around January of 2014 we began to use the current layout of the map, and that June more landmarks were added to MoonClan, SunClan, and DawnClan, such as the sandy hollow and abandoned barn. At that time, maps were also created of the clans’ camps. With the new maps, changes in territory have become more common, particularly in the area between the thunderpath and river.

Ceremonies

MoonClan

Apprentices
Lightkit, Frostkit, Floodkit, Icekit, Drowningkit, Fatekit: Early August
Silverkit , Blizzardkit, Applekit, Featherkit, Brindlekit, Vixenkit, Blizzardkit, Victorykit, Butterflykit, Wildkit, Silverkit, Acornkit, Shiningkit, Shadowkit, Eternalkit: Mid August
Breakingkit, Shadowkit, Silverkit: Late August

Warriors
Bailey, Buddy, Cricketpaw, Ivypaw, Pinepaw, Bramblepaw, Russetpaw, Rainpaw, Rippaw, Stripedpaw, Chillpaw: Early August
Fernpaw, Softpaw, Spottedpaw, Plumepaw, Drippingpaw, Honeypaw, Polarpaw, Cottonpaw: Mid August
Franz: Late August

Elders: Moonrings, Shiningshell, Feathershine

Deaths: Hushedwhisper, Silversplash, Swanfire, Sherlock, Sunfall

NightClan

Apprentices
Horrorkit: Early August
Lionkit, Goldenkit: Mid August: Mid August
Screamingkit, Featherkit, Weepingkit, Guardiankit: Late August

Warriors
Poppypaw, Tigeresspaw, Vixenpaw, Tawnypaw, Scorchpaw, Adderpaw: Early August
Lilypaw(Lily), Dancingpaw, Jetpaw: Mid August

Elders: Stonedust, Silkstep, Twistedleg, Rippleclaw

Deaths: Lynxstar, Moonwater, Morningdust

DawnClan

Apprentices
Glowingkit, Graykit, Nimbuskit, Forgottenkit, Coldkit, Frostedkit, Sunkit, Streamingkit, Moonkit, Silentkit, Proudkit: Early August
Bluekit, Volcanokit, Ninthkit, Pebblekit, Bearkit, Jasminekit: Mid August
Orangekit, Nightshadekit, Graykit: Late August

Warriors
Crimsonpaw, Clawpaw, Ivorypaw, Juniperpaw, Cloverpaw: Early August
Blossompaw, Lightpaw: Mid August
Azurepaw, Gentlepaw, Pinepaw: Late August

Elders: Troutfur

Deaths: Koifang

SunClan

Apprentices

Ghostkit: Early August
Tawnykit, Flintkit, Milk-kit, Tinderkit, Amberkit, Tigerkit: Late August

Warriors

Scatteredpaw, Kestrelpaw, Gorsepaw, Liquidpaw, Rushpaw, Owlpaw, Gorsepaw, Buckpaw, Tungstenpaw, Foxpaw: Early August
Bonepaw, Dawnpaw, Shadedpaw: Mid August
Juniperpaw: Late August

Elders: Ryestep, Smallshadow, Duskhowl, Fallingskies, Meerkatbite, Wishingwell

Deaths: Feathersong, Gravestone

It has been a very eventful month on the website, to say the least. After over a month of registrations being closed, we received a wave of new roleplayers. In the roleplay itself, a new plot began in which the medicine cats overthrew their perceived weak leaders in what they declared to be the will of StarClan.

Everyone, please remember to post on the Character Updates page following the exact format provided. This streamlines the update process, I’m able to do them more quickly and am less likely to make mistakes.

In May I received a request to do a Monthly Meow centered on stories that the elders tell the young of their clans and how these stories have changed over time. I have chosen four plots from early on in the roleplay to focus on: The Birth of the Clans, Robinwing’s Mission, Raven’s War, and The Mischief of Aurapaw and Lionpaw. All are presented as how the story could possibly be told nowadays and an explanation of what has been changed and for what reasons. Thank you to Angel for suggesting this topic and Silverwing for helping write the stories.

The Birth of the Clans

“As a young kit of barely three moons, Virgil was abandoned by his twoleg owners and fled to the city. There he joined a gang and learned the skills needed to fend for himself in such an unforgiving environment. The cats there were brutal and cruel but Virgil continued to be optimistic throughout his harrowing experience, and even made friends with an old queen. Sadly just as her kits were born, she fell terribly ill and soon joined the ranks of StarClan. Virgil took the surviving kits and went to the forest, where he faced new threats for which he was not prepared: foxes, badgers, snakes, all the horrors the forest had to offer! Only one kit survived the first moon: Reed. As Reed grew, he and Virgil built up a ragtag family of sorts; loners, kittypets and gang members who shared Virgil’s vision of a forest and city where all cats could live in peace.

“Much later, when Reed was fully grown, Virgil and his family was chased out of the forest by a group of vicious gang cats. He fought valiantly, but was severely injured and collapsed in a heap in a cave. When he woke he found himself surrounded by beautiful cats made up of stars. One of the star cats’ leaders, came forward and introduced the strange assembly as StarClan. She proclaimed that Virgil was to be known by the holy name “Moon-” and was destined to unite the forest. When Moonstar awoke, he was fully healed. He ventured to find the rest of his group, intending to create an organized clan guided by the principals StarClan lay before him. He offered Reed the position of deputy, but the cat refused, seeing Moon’s healed state as evidence of cowardice. Reed believed that Moon had abandoned the gang, and was using “StarClan” as a cover-up for his own failure. He and the cats who sided with him abandoned Moonstar, but the cats who remained were loyal and brave.

“Those days were peaceful. From afar Reed watched the clan grow and sulked in hiding with his few followers. He admired Moonstar, but still blamed him for his friend’s deaths. He started his own clan, RiverClan, and accepted any cats that wanted to join. However, his clan grew slowly and never prospered, the cats he allowed in were often bare of all morals and soon, Sharkstar rose and destroyed the few honest cats of RiverClan.”

This story would be told throughout the clans, however it would be most popular in MoonClan and DawnClan as this story has been presented as these two clans would tell it, to highlight the importance of StarClan in Clan life. Cats in SunClan and particularly NightClan would focus on MoonClan’s process of gathering cats and establishing his territory, rather than on his communication with StarClan and Reed’s abandonment. His background as a city cat would be presented as heroic and his leaving brushed aside as simply needing a place where no organized cats lived, rather than because city cats are inherently savages, as they are said to be in this telling of the story. The story told this way has some factual inaccuracies as well. It presents RiverClan as struggling to get started when Sharkstar took over, while they were just as prosperous as MoonClan if not more so. As well as this, Sharkstar’s henchmen were largely taken in from a city gang by Sharkstar specially for the overthrow, there were as many honorable RiverClan cats as honorable MoonClanners, and dishonorable MoonClanners and dishonorable RiverClanners. Among the less than honorable MoonClanners were Hawkeye and Silverwing, who would later be deeply involved in a plot to destroy the clans and take control of the entire city and forest. In the story no connection is made between the old queen and the StarClan cat Moonstar is approached by, but they were the same cat. This detail could be omitted as it inconsistent with the idea that nonbelieving cats do not find a place in StarClan. However, the same detail could be highlighted in clans that believe any good cat can go to StarClan. It is more likely to be told this way in DawnClan and SunClan.

Robinwing’s Mission

“Robinwing joined MoonClan as a young kit, having been found with a dying mother alone in the forest before her eyes had even opened. However frail and small the little kit might have been, it was foretold that this cat would prove vital in the survival of the clans. And so, as StarClan decreed, she was raised in the path of a warrior. She worked hard and what a brave and clever cat she grew to be, never faltering in her charms or with her claws when the need came for them to be drawn. As MoonClan became aware of the growing threat of BoneClan, Robinwing was given her warrior name and sent on a very dangerous mission: To infiltrate BoneClan and learn as much as she could.

“Robinwing cleverly tricked Sharkstar, a dark and evil cat, into allowing her into the clan. Here she became friends with the former RiverClanners, all of which were now being held captive in BoneClan’s prison. Among these cats was Darkeagle, a dashing young warrior who she fell deeply in love with. She stayed in the clan for a moon and became firmly engrained in the clan’s dynamic. But soon enough, Sharkstar grew suspicious of Robinwing and had his warriors watching day and night. This was when Robinwing made her mistake, while guarding the prison late at night she let the slightest wisp of a smile show on her face when Darkeagle hummed a song to a younger apprentice. Sharkstar witnessed this himself and demanded that Darkeagle be killed before her eyes, before Sharkstar’s warriors would kill her as well. He dragged Darkeagle from the prison and engaged him a long and ferocious battle. Moonhigh came before Darkeagle began to slip into exhaustion. Just as he did the prisoner apprentices fought away their guards and swept across the camp, fighting back Bone Clan warriors and allowing Robinwing to escape with her love, Darkeagle. They, with the heroic apprentices, returned to MoonClan where they gathered a mighty force to destroy BoneClan once and for all.”

This story, as told like this, would have a wide appeal as it focuses on the story of one cat, not the heroism of her clan, and the villains are a group that hasn’t existed for generations. It can be told as a love story, as being about the value of hard work, or of overcoming adversity. However, it has been simplified, leaving out and changing important details. Hawkeye and Silverwing’s involvement in the story has been omitted both to simplify the story and to avoid tainting Robinwing’s idealized image by associating her with their later betrayal. It leaves out that Robinwing is Moonstar’s niece and her mother was in fact a RiverClanner, this could be explained as being either an unnecessary or distracting detail, as favoring clan-born cats too much, or as these facts simply being lost to time. The love story between Robinwing and Darkeagle is presented as a central part of the story, while Robinwing’s loyalty to MoonClan was her driving modivation. This could be changed to make it more relatable to cats of all clans. Robinwing’s mission has been changed from rescuing the prisoners to simply gathering information, and the other prisoners are mentioned very little. While they were instrumental to the plot, Darkeagle is the only one mentioned by name and the apprentices only appear in a last minute supporting role. Darkeagle is presented as a heroic figure, while in reality he could be quite cowardly and stood little resistance to Sharkstar’s attack. Robinwing’s return did not directly lead to MoonClan’s attack on BoneClan, in fact it took place roughly a moon later and only after Silverstar discovered that Hawkeye had attempted to assassinate Sharkstar on her own. This would be left out to make Robinwing seem more heroic instead of putting Hawkeye in a seemingly brave and selfless position.

Raven’s War

“Many moons after the great BoneClan battle, Silverstar and Hawkeye grew apart. Hawkeye’s behavior became more and more violent until she was banished from MoonClan for attacking a kit! Queen Raven of the city welcomed Hawkeye, graciously allowing her to rule beside her. Together they assembled the largest army of cats ever seen.

“The war flared to action as Hawkeye murdered one of her own former clanmates.

“When the first battle was fought the clans believed they were prepared, but they did not anticipate what would happen next... Neither Raven nor Hawkeye showed up to the battle! Instead they sent Bone, a high ranking guard, to take the lead. Bone set a trap that the clans would have lurched into, if it were not for Fallenstar, who stopped them. The battle was tied, but both sides suffered heavy losses.

“Raven was pleased with this, as the forest cats became even greater monsters in the mind of the city. Throughout the following moon, many city-cats joined her ranks and doubled the size of her army.

“During the second battle, Hawk had gone mad; she came to the battle herself, only armed with her claws and her fangs. She and Silverstar fought one on one until both died as the clans and city fought. The clans won as the city cats had no leadership. Raven disappeared and was not heard of again.”

This story has few clear factual inaccuracies, but is extremely simplified. Raven accepted Hawkeye into her ranks so easily because Hawkeye was her sister, and Raven was heard of again after fading out of power when two of her kits, Foxtail and Spiderleg, joined MoonClan. The story is, above all, told as one of great battles and a black and white conflict. While Fallenstar’s war would be a difficult story to explain in any timely manner and there are many toes to step on, even in NightClan few cats would be offended by presenting Raven as a villain. Among the city she was rarely hailed as a hero after the conflict, which fed into NightClan’s foundation as a clan in the city. This story can be presented as being about the importance of good leadership, or of not blindingly following a leader. Fallenstar is listed under her clan name, while at the time she would have been called Battle Cry. The story could be told this way to prevent making the city cats more sympathetic by having one of the heros of the story clearly shown as being an outsider to the clan.

The Mischief of Aurorapaw and Lionpaw

“MoonClan and NightClan’s seemingly endless war raged on more bitterly than ever before when two daredevil apprentices, Lionpaw and Aurorapaw, dared each other to get as far into NightClan’s territory as they could. The ran straight into the city, through thunderpaths, in front of the screeching feet of monsters, across every obstacle they came across until, feeling as brave as any monster of the forest, the two reached NightClan’s camp where … they were immediately taken prisoner after only the slightest of struggles. Even in NightClan’s prison their foolish antics knew no end, Aurorapaw allowed the taunting of NightClan apprentice to provoke her into attacking. She was immediately seized by several warriors and thrown back into the prison. Once more they gathered their courage and began to call out insults to NightClan’s leader himself! For it they got punished with injuries that hurt more than just their pride.

“Their absence was immediately noticed by their clan and a rescue patrol was sent and returned with definite proof that they had entered NightClan’s territory. MoonClan’s leader gave NightClan five days to return the apprentice, but come the fifth day, they remained locked in NightClan’s prison. MoonClan went to battle and in the fight many honorable warriors were slain for nothing more than two apprentices’ foolishness.”

This story would be an important cautionary tale throughout the clans about the effects a poor decision made by only a few individuals could have on an entire clan. It would be most popular in MoonClan, where there is the most risk for cats doing potentially dangerous things to make themselves appear brave, and SunClan, where the clan’s importance above an individual is stressed more than in the other clans. In NightClan, emphasis would be put on their eventual victory following their clan being invaded and on their rival clan’s inability to control their own apprentices. The story omits Pantherpaw’s involvement to maintain focus on the two troublemaking apprentice. As well as this, it leaves out what happened to MoonClan in the battle to return the two apprentices beyond many warriors being slaughtered, as that would turn the focus to Emberstar’s misplaced trust in NightClan’s honor, rather than the warriors’ perceived sacrifice because of the foolish actions of the two apprentices.

Ceremonies:

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Scorchingkit, Chillingkit, Freezingkit: Mid July

Meltingkit, Cloud: Late July

Warriors:

Forestpaw, Shroudpaw, Lashpaw, Cobrapaw, Serpentpaw: Mid July

Fearfulpaw: Late July

Elders: Swanfire, Sherlock, Sunfall, Hushedwhisper

NightClan

Apprentices:

Thunderkit, Stormkit, Nightingkit, Cinderkit, Risingkit, Poisonkit, Forestkit, Battlekit, Dragonkit: Early July

Lilykit: Mid July

Hissingkit, Sparrowkit, Burrkit, Hickorykit, Toxickit, Riven, Raggedkit, Black-kit, Survivingkiti, Redkit, Hauntingkit, Hissingkit, Bleedingkit: Late July

Warriors:

Redpaw: Early July

Tigerpaw, Foxpaw, Tigeresspaw, Vixenpaw, Slashedpaw, Midnightpaw, Onyxpaw: Mid July

Elders: Frozenstar, Lynxcloud, Moonwater

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Coalkit, Axlotkit: Early July

Burnedkit, Wolfkit, Fishkit, Peachkit, Branchkit, Streamkit: Mid July

Sacredkit, Winterkit: Late July

Warriors:

Pebblepaw, Drenchedpaw, Sapphire, Paintedpaw, Emberpaw, Bluepaw: Mid July

Elders: Koifang

Deaths: Owlsight,Spotted-dance, Spiritwinds

SunClan

Apprentices:

Angelkit: Mid July

Sunkit: Late July

Warriors:

Wavepaw, Cinderpaw, Jackalpaw, Dustypaw, Streampaw, Spikepaw: Early July

Birdpaw, Goldenpaw, Duskpaw, Silverpaw, Coldpaw: Mid July

Endlesspaw, Hailpaw: Late July

Elders: Feathersong, Gravestone

Deaths: Flare