BlogClan 2018 Summer Gathering: The Results!

The long-awaited Gathering Results have been released…

Hi guys, it’s Flo! First of all, I would like to start off saying that it was an absolute delight hosting this Gathering, and I really hope all of you had as much fun as I did! Everyone did extremely well and overall I have to say it was a success! Anyway, onto the part all of you are waiting for. . . the results!

 

We started off with the main live chat games: Who Said It?, a Warriors Word search, Riddles, and Name Match.

In Who Said it?, the Dapper Dragons started off strong with a whopping 21 points, while the Groovy Griffins and Flamboyant Phoenixes trailed not too far behind with 14 and 15 points respective. In the Word Search, the Phoenixes scored 5 points and the Dragons scored 2, solidifying their lead.

Things took a turn during the Riddles round, with Griffins scoring 17 points, the Phoenixes 10, and the Dragons 8. And in the Name Match, the Phoenixes absolutely dominated the game, scoring 17 points compared to the Griffins’ and Dragons’ 9 points each.

At the end of the main contests, the Flamboyant Phoenixes had 37 points, and both the Groovy Griffins and Dapper Dragons had 40.

Then we moved onto Guest-Hosted Contests! Willowstep opened up with her game, Name That Relative, in which the Phoenixes scored 14 points, the Griffins scored 8, and the Dragons scored 13. In Blueheart’s game, Name That Prophecy Cat, both the Phoenixes and Griffins scored 2 points each while the Dragons scored 4 points. Lastly, in Willowlight’s Create A Character, the Phoenixes scored 4 points and the Griffins scored 6. After a couple rounds of NTA, the scores were incredibly close! The Phoenixes had 59 points, the Griffins had 62 points, and the Dragons had 59 points! Now, onto the Fanfiction and Fanart Contests! I’ll let Sunny take over for this 🙂

 

Hello everyone!!!!!!!!! 😀 Time to get down to business to defeat the Huns! For today’s fanart contest we had . . .

Owlfeather in 3rd place, with this beautiful drawing!

I love how you set up this scene — I’m now dying to know what happened between the two of them beforehand and whether they’re sharing a happy or sad goodbye. And your art is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Brilliant work!

3 points have been awarded to your team, the Groovy Griffins!

Moonsky in 2nd place with this awesome drawing!

Your art is just so good. It blows me away! And nothing beats a dragon wearing a bow tie and top hat. 😉 Though I have a million questions about this piece like . . .  who’s that ginger cat? And where are they going? And can I join them?

5 points have been awarded to your team, the Dapper Dragons!

Aaand Lupinepaw steals 1st place with this fantastic drawing!

GGUURRRLLL, how did you learn to draw phoenixes like that? My jaw just dropped to the floor. Wow baby! The cat is great too. All in all, a phenomenal work of art.

7 points have been awarded to your team, the Flamboyant Phoenixes!

Now onto the fanfiction contest results!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

Hawthornclaw came in 3rd place!

Your writing is fabulous, and I love how the story was exciting from start to finish. There were no slow parts — just a whirlwind of adventure! It kept me on the edge of my seat!

3 points have been awarded to your team, the Groovy Griffins!

[expand title=”CLICK HERE to read her fanfiction: The Groovy Griffin Journey!”]

The hot sun of greenleaf was shining down on BlogClan. Some cats were sunning themselves, some on patrol. Hawthornclaw was gathering herbs in the medicine den with her apprentice Hollypaw, when they heard a thump. They ran outside, where Hawkeye and Ravenclaw were staring up at a creature with the back of a lion and the front of an eagle. She flew out of the tree. “Hello. I am Earthtalon, a griffin of GroovyClan. I don’t know where I am. Who are you?” Hawthornclaw walked up to her. “I’m Hawthornclaw. These are Hawkeye, Ravenclaw, and Hollypaw. I will take you to Cakestar, our leader.” They explained everything to Cakestar. “Hawthornclaw, Hawkeye, Ravenclaw- you must take her home. Hollypaw, you will be the medicine cat while Hawthornclaw’s gone.” Cakestar said. They left the next day. “So, where is GroovyClan?” Hawkeye asked. “It’s far west, where the green trees grow. They headed west. Suddenly, they were in UnicornLeague territory. Hornstar went up to them. “What are you doing here? Get away!” She said “Oh sorry, we didn’t know.” Ravenclaw said. “Magichoove, take them away! they will be on court trial tomorrow morning!” Hornstar said. They were taken to a prison cell. “Earthtalon, what will we do?” Hawthornclaw asked. “I don’t know!” Earthtalon said. Hawkeye and Ravenclaw didn’t know, either. Suddenly, something got into Hawthornclaw’s head. “Wait! Maybe we won’t have to go to court. So, tomorrow Hawkeye and Ravenclaw will create a distraction, while me and Earthtalon steal the keys from the guard. We’ll get out, and someone will catch us. We’ll come up with a really sad story, and they’ll let us free.” Everyone else thought it was a good idea. The next morning, a guard was watching them. “Hey have you ever seen a caticorn before?” Hawkeye asked. “No. Tell me more.” The guard said. They continued to distract, and Hawthornclaw and Earthtalon got the keys and ran. Hawkeye and Ravenclaw ended the story and ran too. They aught them, and Earthtalon told a sad story. “My mother sent me to get some food, because we don’t have any and are very poor. When my father died, we just couldn’t take it anymore.” The guard understood because he had felt like that before, and they got to leave. Finally, they got to GroovyClan. “Are you ready to go home Earthtalon?” They all asked. “Yes. I am.” She said
The end
[/expand]

Emberpaw nabbed 2nd place!

Flo & I had so much trouble deciding on the winners, all the entries were unbelievably good, but we knew from the beginning that your poem was somewhere in the top three — hands down! It’s marvelous!

5 points have been awarded to your team, the Groovy Griffins!

[expand title=”CLICK HERE to read her fanfiction: The Story Of The Griffin!”]

A creature arrived, part lion part bird
A griffin was its name
It was magestic and noble
Beyond human word
And lost from the land which it came
The cats of BlogClan gathered
To bring the griffin home
The quest would have many dangers
They could not go alone
Before the journey began
Cakestar said to the Clan,
“Emberpaw shall lead this quest we’ve undertook
Because she is writing this book”
So the cats set out
The griffin in tow
That magical creature
About little was known
But he followed along
And acted polite
As BlogClan journeyed
Both day and night
They crossed mountains and deserts
Rivers and hills
Fires and blizzards
Sunlight and chills
‘Till at last they arrived
After many long days
The home of the griffin
From which he had strayed
The griffin was happy
To be home once more
He flew in the air
And let out a roar
The phoenixes heard
And the dragons did too
Then the magical land
Turned into a zoo
The mythical beasts
Flew higher and higher
Then the world exploded
In a ball of fire.

And that is the story of the griffin.

[/expand]

And Willowstep took home 1st place!

Teach me your ways! Seriously, Wistep, I am amazed by your talent. You write so skillfully, and this fanfiction is no exception. Great job!

7 points have been awarded to your team, the Dapper Dragons!

[expand title=”CLICK HERE to read her fanfiction: We Aren’t Alone!”]

~~~

Willowpaw’s day started with a hunting patrol, and ended with her having met and spoken to a dragon.

Was this strange? Yes. Was this extraordinary? Yes. Was this worth it?

Oh, yes.
~~~

“Wistep! Wake up, you lazy goose!” She was startled awake, fur ruffled and eyes bleary with a lack of sleep. The voice that had sharply roused her belonged to none other than her mentor, Willowlight.

“I’m coming,” the apprentice managed to croak out, as she dragged herself out of her disheveled nest and out into the beaming, scorching-hot sunlight. So. Hot. Ugh.

Outside the apprentice den, she spotted Willowlight wearing an expression that reminded her of sour-juiced lemons from when she was still a human. “Hi.” She said, not knowing what else to say.

The gray-furred warrior snorted. “Hi,” she mimicked Willowpaw’s voice as a tiny little squeak. “What in the name of honking stalkerinas is THAT? We need to go on a hunting patrol with Cheetahspark and Rosepaw, remember? Cakestar announced it two weeks ago that today was our turn to patrol. How do you not remember?”

“How am I supposed to remember?” Willowpaw replied sarcastically. “I’m not a genius. Let’s go.” Padding over to Cheetahspark, she asked, “Where’s Rose?”

Cheetahspark looked like she was about to open her mouth when a new, overly-hyper voice beat her to it. “I, QUEENIE BEANIE, HAVE ARRIVED. WHAT ASSISTANCE DO YOU NEED?”

Willowpaw slid her gaze over to the she-cat bouncing eagerly on her paws like she was having a fit or something. “Um. We have a patrol, remember?”

Rosepaw let out a horrendous, ear-crunching laugh. “Pfft, of course I remember. Well… actually, no, but that doesn’t matter.” She tossed her head, and serenely strode over to the camp entrance. “C’mon, guys!” Cheetahspark gave Willowpaw a glance that said, I don’t know what’s gotten into her today, as she, Willowpaw, and Willowlight trudging after her.

“How are you so energetic right now?” Willowpaw complained to Rosepaw as they traversed the swathe of towering oaks and sequoias as lightly and silently as they could, ears pricked for any signs of prey.

Rosepaw stopped, pausing for a moment, appearing to be thoughtful. “I don’t know, Wistep. I can just feel something is going to happen today. Can’t you?”

“No,” she deadpanned. “I just feel like I could drop dead with exhaustion.”

“It’s shut up time, guys. You’re both scaring the prey away,” Willowlight scolded. “Now, be good little Mary Sues.”

“Ew, don’t put that idea into their heads,” Cheetahspark grumbled. “How about we just all separate and go hunt alone?”

Willowpaw said, “Yes. Thank you, Cheetah.” Without waiting for a response from the other three cats, she flounced off into the trees.

As she traveled deeper into BlogClan territory, all hints of life seemed to vanish. The air seemed to get colder around her, and the scent of prey wasn’t anywhere. An eerie feeling began to creep down her spine, and for the first time in not a very long time, Willowpaw felt fear clutching her insides.

She warily picked her away around the brambles, eyes darting around, tail lashing with apprehension. So this was the feeling Rose was talking about.

It felt wrong. It felt strange.

But most of all, it drew her in even-

A loud crash sent her spinning around to see what was causing the ruckus.

Horns.

Wings.

Talons.

Teeth.

The dark, ice-blue gaze.

A dragon.

Willowpaw scrunched up her eyes as images of all of the horrible things that could happen started crowding her head.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Willowpaw shrieked. “GET AWAY FROM ME THIS INSTANT, YOU HORRID, UNTAMED BEAST! AAHHHHHH!”

“Holy smoke and fire, you cats do overreact,” said the dragon with a calm air about them. “Just chill, dudette. I’m not gonna make you do the floss or dab or say h*ck or anything.”

Willowpaw kept on screaming with her eyes closed.

“YOU TALK! Y-YOU TALK! YOU TALK! YOU TALK! YOU TALK! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The dragon sighed. “What can I do to make you believe that I’m not some bedtime monster? I’m just a normal soul who happened to end up here. Wait.” There was a long pause. “You didn’t think I was going to kill you, right?”

“What do you mean by ‘I didn’t?’ I STILL THINK YOU’RE GOING TO KILL ME!”

“Open your eyes. Do I look like I’m going to kill you?”

She reluctantly forced her eyes open and turned to fully study the dragon. And she almost laughed at how stupid she was.

The dragon was quite small, only twice as big as Willowpaw. Their scales were a pale, shimmering sky-blue, and the large, oversized wings were a faintly sparkling lilac shade, and their tail was loosely curled around their talons. Looking up, she noticed the dragon’s head was narrow, with the midnight-blue eyes, framed with silver-speckled black horns.

“I mean, I don’t look too scary, do I?” The dragon fretted, sounding uncertain and… lost, compared to their previous attitude.

“No,” Willowpaw answered, her shame burning through her pelt. In fact, the dragon’s appearance was almost what one would call aesthetically pleasing. “Uh… do you have a name?”

“Yeah,” the dragon mumbled. “It’s Sorinn. What’s yours?”

“It’s Willowpaw, but some call me Wistep.”

Sorinn wrinkled their snout. “And what kind of name is that?”

She flinched. “It’s a long story. Anyways, I’m sorry, but I can’t leave you here. My leader will want to talk to you.”

“Why?” Sorinn asked, obviously confused. Willowpaw guessed they didn’t know how a Clan worked.

“Less talk, more action,” she replied, too lazy to come up with a good answer for them. “Can you fly?”

“Yes?” The dragon seemed puzzled. “Why?” How many questions do they have to ask?

“I’m going to ride you and give directions to the BlogClan camp.”

Sorinn frowned, but nodded. “Alright. Hop on.” The apprentice awkwardly climbed onto the blue dragon’s back and held on for dear life as best as she could with paws as she felt herself being lifted into the air.

As they rose into the sky, the entire expanse of BlogClan territory became visible; she could even spot the camp. Her mind was filled with awe at the sight, her eyes shining with wonder and shock. Above, the clouds dotted the bright blue sky, and the sun was a bright blaze of light glowing more than anything else in the galaxy.

“So, where am I supposed to go?” Sorinn queried, glancing at the cat clutching to their back.

“Over there,” Willowpaw meowed, tilting her head at the little patch of land that didn’t look like the rest of the territory. Even from this height, she thought she could see tiny cats moving to and fro in the camp.

Sorinn grinned at her. “To your destination, Wistep. Hang on!”
~~~

Once they arrived at the BlogClan camp, all of her Clanmates started giving her and Sorinn weird looks.

Two silver she-cats padded over to her, staring at the dragon next to her.

“Um, Wistep? Since when did you start bringing dragons to camp?” Skypaw asked, looking like she was questioning her existence.

“Yeah,” Moonpaw quipped. “I mean they look super cool and everything, but I thought you were supposed to bring back prey today. Not a dragon who looks like they’re from Wings of Fire.” She looked wistful.

Sorinn flinched, and a long silence came over the four, until…

“QUEENIE BEANIE IS HERE, GUYS! WISTEP, WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU SINCE FOREVER! Wait. Wait. Wistep, is that a dragon?” Rosepaw squeaked, with Willowlight and Cheetahspark standing behind her with confused expressions.

“Lord,” Cheetahspark muttered. “What is the world coming to these days?”

Willowpaw slouched. “Yes, Rose. They’re a dragon.”

“Well, you have to bring this… this dragon to Cakestar,” Willowlight grumbled.

“I knew that, O Mighty Overlord.”
~~~

After a very long conversation with the Cakestar, a Clan meeting was called.

“I’m here to bring to attention the dragon that has been found by one of apprentices. As you know, we cannot permit a dragon to stay in our territory,” the reddish-brown she-cat announced. “So… “ Her voice faded out to a distant hum in her ears.

Willowpaw slumped. She was hoping that they would get to keep Sorinn in BlogClan, but of course, Cakestar would never allow it.

“Hey, don’t feel bad,” Foxpaw murmured, nudging her. “I would’ve liked a dragon in camp, too.”

“Thanks, Steppy.”

“So Willowpaw will be assigned to take them back to their home.”

Wait, what?

As she numbly stood up and walked over to Sorinn, Foxpaw shouted, “You’ve got this, Wistep! Woo!”

And with that, she left camp without a single idea of when she’d be back.

“Hey,” Sorinn said, breaking the silence between them as they flew steadily through the sky through clouds and mist and sunlight.

“Hey,” Willowpaw replied lightly.

Sorinn sighed. “Sorry for getting you into this mess. It’s a long story. Just like what you said.”

“It’s fine!” Willowpaw smiled. “It’s fun to talk to you and to fly and everything.”

“Also, I have a question, if you don’t mind answering it.”

“Go ahead.”

A sharp intake of breath, and then: “I know you’re really a human.”

Willowpaw almost toppled off from her perch. “How in the name of StarClan did you know that?”

“Long story.” She groaned. “Well, I guess I can see it in all of your eyes. That longing, that hope that maybe one day everything will be back to normal.

“And I know because I’m also a human.”

Willowpaw let out a shriek for the thousandth time that day. “But- how- impossible… what?”

Sorinn shrugged. “It’s not a very interesting story. When I was a human, I was probably just like you. I was a just a kid who liked watching YouTube and riding planes and practicing karate. Oh, and I loved sushi.”

“Me too!” Willowpaw laughed.

“But then, one day, I just woke up, and found myself with two XXXL purple wings and sparkly spikes coming out of my head and a tail coming out of my butt and a craving for eating little innocent animals. So there. That’s the epic tale of my life.”

She let out a breath. “Wow. That does sound like me. And thanks for telling me. However… do you know if it’s possible for people like us to be turned back to our original forms?”

Sorinn shook their head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know.

“I do know that whatever this is… is meant to be, no matter how unbelievable it is. We were meant to be like this, for a reason that we don’t know yet, but I have faith that we will. Someday.”

The tears fell.

a sea of despair
and hope
and knowledge
that she wasn’t alone
in this world of
both joy and
sorrow.

[/expand]

Which leaves the scores at . . .

Dapper Dragons	59 + 12 = 71 points!!!!!!!
Groovy Griffins	62 + 11 = 73 points!!!!!!!!!!! 🏆
Flamboyant Phoenixes	59 + 7   = 66 points!!!!

We all know the REAL winners were the Flower Powers though amirite

EVERYONE GIVE A WARM ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE GROOVY GRIFFINS ON THEIR STELLAR WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And let’s hear it for the Dapper Dragons and Flamboyant Phoenixes as well, who weren’t that far behind! You all did wonderfully! 😍 

Flo and I had a blast hosting this gathering and we hope to see you again at the next one! 😊

View the rest of the fanart/fanfiction submissions in the comments section HERE (please do, they’re all spectacular!!! 😀 )

P.S. We’re still set for movie night at 7 p.m. EST — come join us, we’re watching Kung Fu Panda at my rabb.it room (edit: turns out you do need an account to enter, sorry to those who can’t make it as a result!)