Hi all,

🚨🚨 Tornado Warning, Ladies! 🚨🚨After doing leaf-bare on easy mode, new-leaf is here with some brand new swag 🤑 As conversations of character slots, overpopulation, and accidental incest continue to 🌪️ swirl around the Discord 🌪️ we thought of the perfect solution to fix all of our problems! Inspired by Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis for PS2, we're dropping a fat ass EF5 tornado on Lake Superior, and ThistleClan's in trouble, hunty 🙄

ThistleClan's not the only Clan going "ow" lol the rest of the island's spending a night in twirly town too. After swirling for 18 straight minutes in the Vale, the tornado is going to pivot sharply into RedwoodClan territory, do a couple flips in LichenClan, and then rip straight through the Tribe  😈  We're predicting very few survivors, so that's why we're implementing our first ever mandatory Death roll 🥳 Head on over to the Severe Weather Alert: EF5 Tornado thread to see which of your characters survive hehe 😍

After we figure out who's alive (lol), we'll continue with the rest of our announcements as usual 😉 For April, we got our annual spring cleaning contest, smoochie smoochie Valentines Voting, Staff Picks, LichenClan Deputy auditions, a kit aging update, and our usual monthly patrols 💋

UPDATES ---

• Fat ass EF5 tornado
  
• Spring cleaning
• Valentines voting
• Staff Picks
• TC vs. RWC Retaliation
• LC Deputy audition
• Kit aging update
• Monthly patrols
• Plot updates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ---

AHHHHHHHHHH. Screaming at the pool! Happy birthday bombora ! Our perception check is a nat 20, and we see an amazing year in your future! We hope you're able to spend your special day relaxing and relishing in your favorite chainsaw moments, playing some games, and spending quality time with your loved ones!!

FAT ASS EF5 TORNADO 🌪️ ---

After slay-nationing a flood x2 (tired) and a blizzard (boring 😪), we're finally tackling one of the most boot-i-licious weather events known to feral cats 🍑 a fat ass EF5 tornado 🍑 to help our staggering character counts and mix it up a bit 😘 Perfectly coinciding with the true and real arrival of new-leaf, a sexy hot front 🔥 is going to collide with an even sexier cold front 🧊 (talk about enemies to lovers 😂) and create one of the deadliest tornadoes in warrior cats history (take notes miss erin hunter 📝).

Isolated completely on the Apostles islands 🤩 the tornado 🌪️ is going to land directly on Yewthorn's makeshift nest (bummer 👎) and rip his bits to shreds (sad 🍽️). It will then swirl violently in the middle of the Vale for 18 minutes (new record 🎖️) before catapulting into RedwoodClan territory 🌳 doing some flips in LichenClan 🌊 and then hula-hooping directly into the Tribe Stone 🗿 and exploding it on contact (to shreds, you say? 🧨). Very few of our characters will survive 😢 To find out who lives, head on over to the Severe Weather Alert: EF5 Tornado thread 🎉

SPRING CLEANING 2024 ---

Spring cleaning came early last year, and now it feels as if eons have passed since we've touched our dusty threads. So we’re kicking off our beloved Spring Cleaning Event—which will be perfect since all of our characters are now dead 😇 For those who've never partaken, spring cleaning is an opportunity to find those geriatric threads, rally your posting partners, and get them done! So pull up your trackers and get ready to industrial-strength clean your grimiest of threads.

This event will run from April 1 to April 30. All participating thread members are awarded points for each completed thread, with certain threads earning more points than others. As a reminder, you only receive the points if you actively work to close out the thread and post in it during the month of April. You do not earn points if your thread partners post in the thread to close it, and you don't. The point values are provided below:

Finish a thread created before April 2024: 1 pt
Finish a thread created before January 2024: 3 pts
Finish a thread created before September 2023: 5 pts

Prizes are awarded on a tier system based on how many points you earn. Members are responsible for tracking their own finished threads and points by posting in the announcements below. Please include the links to the threads you close, and the awarded point value. We will announce who earned which tiers and award the prizes on May 1.

PRIZE TIERS

Tier 1 - 10 pts

• Wheel spin

Tier 2 - 15 pts

• Retired Cat Thread
• Wheel spin

Tier 3 - 20 pts

• Rare trait OR extra character slot
• Retired Cat Thread
• Wheel spin

Members participating in the event will also receive a limited edition Spring Cleaning pixel! If you're also pursuing the Moon Path from our New Year's event, Spring Cleaning is the perfect opportunity to jump-start and/or catch up on that goal! If you have any questions, please contact a staff member via DM or the #questions-for-staff channel.

VALENTINES CONTEST VOTING ---

There’s no need to beat around the bush. The last two months of TA were just absolutely filthy. Around this time, we usually come up with some cute poetic quotes about love and blossoming relationships, but literally,
0_____________________________________0
What the frick guys. What is the internet equivalent of the walk of shame? The dishonorable disconnect? The chagrin uninstall? Yet, we’re all a part of this narrative if you opted in for 3 spice, way to go there’s a special place for you in the Dark Forest's torture chamber.

To read all of the 🥵 spicy spice 🥵, head on over to the Valentines Thread Contest Voting thread to check out the entries and cast your vote (especially since 420% of these cats are now dead lol)! Your votes are entirely subjective, based on which thread YOU think best embodies their ~secret valentine~ 😗

Voting will run from April 1 to April 8. If there are ties, we will continue to vote in a tiebreaker. The winners of the contest will be announced April 9 via discord. You filthy animals!

NEW-LEAF GATHERING ---

We're on the second moon of our New-leaf Gathering. You will have until May 31 to create a thread participating in the special prompt: In the middle of the gathering, the clouds engulf the moon and envelop the scene in a hazy and ominous glow. How will your characters react? Bonus points if your RedwoodClanner throws paws with a ThistleClan foe.

*Since the new-leaf Gathering occurs pre-fat ass EF5 tornado, you can give em' one last Gathering thread before they're officially toast :3c

The annual raffle will be drawn on September 1, 2024 during our 5-year anniversary, and one lucky winner will win an assortment of goodies! If you want to volunteer art for the raffle, please dm maxx on the discord!

wish recommends "first dose of life." Brought together by Birchsong's death, Egretpaw and Meadowpaw determine where to bury the late she-cat. Torn up by grief, they agree to bury her in the birch forest among a field of flowers, ensuring it's a spot where they can both visit her. Her favorite quote: “She’ll be happy knowing you found this place for her."



rain recommends "bunny is a rider," not just as a staff pick, but as a contender for relationship of the season! After catching Snakejaw mercilessly trying to kill a baby fox, Brambleheart proves to be more than the leader’s son. Their favorite quote: "So many cats here have their heads stuck so far up their own arses that they can’t see straight."



Bandit recommends "for the next generation." Anticipating a normal to-be ceremony, Fog is startled to find the next teller of the Tribe instead, a position Foxtail readily accepts. It's a rejuvenating and hopeful moment for the Tribe after seasons of strife. His favorite quote: "I've been having dreams of fog. That's you, you're the fog!"



maxx recommends "Little Empire.” Aspiring for success against RedwoodClan, Firfoot turns to the rogues. Behind Stagstar’s back, they strike a deal. Poppy secures more hunting grounds and supplies Firfoot with an extra set of troops. Her favorite quote: "Rogues can be satisfied in a group only when life is easy but our enemies are numerous.”



sloth recommends "Not every task requires muscles." With leaf-bare in full swing, Talon sets out with fellow tribe-mates, Icicle and Dewcloud, for some TLC on the herb garden. It is a calm moment of reflection on past trauma and a glimmering hope for what the future has yet to bring. Her favorite quote: "Hello old friend.”



Raven~ recommends "sayonara no imi." After a difficult separation, Nymphkit is taken by her father, Gullheart, and presented to RedwoodClan. But there is trouble in paradise as Tigerpool growls about Finchstar’s ready acceptance. Her favorite quote: "The problem isn’t the child, Gullheart. It’s the lack of accountability and consequence from you.”

LC DEPUTY AUDITIONS ---

*This update is pending Quickstrike survives the death roll* 🤞With Yarrowstar's mysterious disappearance, Quickstrike is forced to accept his new position as LichenClan's leader, but not without searching for his beloved former mentor first. Refusing to appoint a deputy until Yarrowstar is considered completely and utterly gone, Quickstrike will go against tradition and wait to appoint his new deputy.

High Position Auditions for LichenClan's Deputy will open from April 1 to April 19. The character will be chosen and announced on May 1. We have a preference for current characters with significant development. However, new original characters can also apply! Characters must be from LichenClan. Please also review our High Position Rules before applying for the position.

KIT AGING UPDATE ---

Per the Discord Announcements channel & the Kit Aging Poll, members showed a significant interest in slowing down kit aging. Based on the results, kits will no longer age at a 2 moon per month rate. They will age in the following sequence: 1 moon, 3 moon, 4 moon, 5 moon, 6 moon. This gives members 4 months instead of 3 months to develop their kit characters and engage with their family. We decided to skip moon 2 over 3 because "they more baby-ier" (true) 👶

All rule-related threads are updated with the new aging process, and staff will continue to track and post kit ages in the Announcements. Thank you so much for your feedback! This new update perfectly aligns with our mandatory, tornado death roll since we'll defo need more kits after this LOL 😍 We hope to continue using flash Discord polls and surveys in the future to improve the site.

TC VS RWC RETALIATION ---

Per the TC vs. RWC Retaliation rules, all battles were put on a momentary pause this morning, and after tallying up the remaining health points, ThistleClan was declared the winner! With a 609 HP to 561 HP lead, ThistleClan was able to reclaim the Bear Stones from RedwoodClan and re-establish their post-flood borders. Additional help from Poppy's rogues secured their win with a tight 143 HP lead over RWC's 131 HP.

Please finish up your retaliation threads and work out closing posts with RedwoodClan retreating. As a reminder, only finished threads, where the characters have 3 attacks each, can be redeemed for stats. Once your thread has a closer from each member, turn it into #maintenance-requests in the Discord. All lingering battle threads will be auto-archived at the end of the month—especially since your characters will probably be mega-dead post-tornado LOL!!!

SEASONAL PROMPTS & PATROLS---

As a reminder, please see and use the New-leaf Writing Prompts to engage with the plot and create new threads (though LOL tornado results pending).

Please check out the April Patrols!

*Note: We'll wait to post the new patrols on April 4, and, um, determine who's going to lead them after we figure out the surviving cats lmao.

CURRENT ONGOING PATROLS

• The Mythical Wisconsin Cactus (Tribe)
• A Light in the Deepest Shadow (Unknown)
• no talk me angy (Tunnel cats)
• Through the Ghost (LC)
  

PLOT UPDATES---

REDWOODCLAN NEWS:

• After the Gathering, ThistleClan launches a retaliation attack at their borders in an attempt to reclaim Bear Stones. RedwoodClan rushes to meet them and a gruesome battle ensues. Tigerpool and his patrol are attacked by a group of rogues further north on the border.
• During the battle, Finchstar loses a life to Firfoot and is forced to retreat, leaving Bear Stones to ThistleClan once again.
• Finchstar returns to camp and announces his intent to reclaim their territory.
• Border relations remain amicable with LichenClan and the Tribe. Border relations are actively hostile with ThistleClan.
• Asterstorm and Blossomstep do not receive visions during the half-moon, questioning StarClan's presence at the lagoon and their own connections to StarClan.
  

THISTLECLAN NEWS:

• After the Gathering, ThistleClan launches a retaliation attack on RedwoodClan in an attempt to reclaim Bear Stones. RedwoodClan rushes to meet them and a gruesome battle ensues. Unbeknownst to the Clan, a group of rogues attack a RedwoodClan patrol after striking a deal with Firfoot.
• Firfoot takes one of Finchstar's lives during the battle, securing the win for ThistleClan with the help of his rogues. They're able to reclaim the stones.
• Following the battle, Stagstar angrily confronts Firfoot after learning about rogue activity on ThistleClan.
• Border relations remain tense with LichenClan and the Tribe. Borders are openly hostile with RedwoodClan.
• After receiving her name, Meadowshine continues to search for her missing mentor, refusing to step foot in the MoonCave with Lilacmist and the others.
• Shadepool remains mysteriously missing.
  

LICHENCLAN NEWS:

• Yarrowstar joins Quickstrike and Lavendermist on a patrol hoping to bring a missing Briarfall home. Instead, Yarrowstar falls victim to the same mysterious presence in the MoonCave and goes missing. Quickstrike and Lavendermist are unable to find him.
• Quickstrike returns home and announces Yarrowstar's mysterious disappearance to the Clan.
• Deadeye is appointed to the LichenClan council.
• Border relations remain amicable with RedwoodClan and the Tribe. Tensions continue with ThistleClan.
• After not receiving visions at the half-moon, Lilacmist tries to convince the other medicine cats to convene at the MoonCave instead.
  
  

TRIBE NEWS:

• Fog continues training Foxtail.
• Following the Gathering, Fog issues caution to his tribe-mates regarding their borders with the Clans, and Talon begins ordering his guards to build traps and bramble walls to reinforce their borders.
  
• With the arrival of spring, Sunrise rallies her hunters and begins evaluating the prey populations for the upcoming green-leaf. Talon sends out his guards to help with usual spring repairs.
  

TUNNEL CAT NEWS:

• Icesong and Brittleheart attend the Gathering and unsuccessfully try to talk Finchstar and Stagstar out of war.
• After the Gathering, Icesong leads a patrol to try and find the mysterious rocks at Vega's urging, despite the growing unnerving presence among the tunnels.
• Dapplepaw, Pantherpaw, and Pebble continue to train with the tunnel cats, so they can learn about diplomacy, stars, and healing techniques.
  

CELANDINE NEWS:

• After making a deal with Firfoot, Poppy and her rogues attack a RedwoodClan patrol near the falls during the battle, helping ThistleClan secure the win.
  
• Following the attack, Celandine is given hunting and training access to ThistleClan's periphery territory, which opens borders into the other Clans as well.
  

AGEING ---

Characters (pending they live haha) will age one moon this month. Staff will update the allegiances, while members are responsible for their own character biographies. Characters that were created or born in the last week do not have to age and can wait for the next month.

Remember if you have apprentices reaching warrior age check out the requirements and ensure you meet them before putting in a ceremony request.

Note:

Wood x Heather kits are four moons old.
Owl x Cherry kit is four moons old.
Poppy x Honeybun kits become playable at one moon on April 17.

FUTURE UPDATES ---

We know the EF5 fat ass tornado is a huge, big boy change to the site and everything we've ever worked for and enjoyed together as a community, but we hope with time, patience, and love, you will come to understand why we made this important decision. It was time to say goodbye to those sweaty olds and give them a noble and dignified death, like getting 6 trees up their butt at once :3c

Best,
The Apostles Staff