Original Post: Ember, August 26, 2016
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
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