After a rather challenging month (NaNo-related or not), we hope you find some time to pursue little joys and immerse yourself in your community, whether that's here on cat-land or not. If posting and writing about kitties calms your soul, please tippy-tap away and meow! If you need to take a computer break and recharge with your loved ones and eat yummy food, we encourage that too. Self-expression, art, relaxation—all of it's good for the soul as we unwind during the final month of the year and look toward the future ❄️

For December, we're hosting our 6th annual Secret Santa and 2nd Tribe Solstice Festival and releasing the highly anticipated NaNoWriMo results. We're heading into a new season, and with it, a leaf-bare Gathering and Writing Prompts! Regarding site updates, we're looking for a new RedwoodClan Medicine Cat Apprentice, updating the ceremony requirements in the Tribe and Litter Requests to include "Lost Litters", revising parts of the Rules and allegiances, and introducing a rotating TA-exclusive advertisement on the site. Yippee!

UPDATES ---

• Secret Santa 2024
• Tribe Solstice Festival
  
• NaNoWriMo 2024 results
  
• Leaf-bare Gathering
• Of The Seasons
  
• RWC MCA
  
• Tribe Ceremony requirements update
• Litter Requests update
  
• The Rules update
• Minor allegiances update
• Complex Plotting Request reminder
• Rotating TA advertisement
  
• Monthly patrols
• Plot updates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ---

A big round of birthday applause and ooooo's and ahhhh's for Annie 🎉🎉 We hope you spend your special day, not only celebrating the New Year, but taking time for yourself and doing the things you love! Whether that's burrowing into a kitten pile, getting special shiba kisses, becoming one with your horses, or eatin' some tasty Louisiana grub and playin' some ClanGen 

SECRET SANTA 2024 ---

Ho-ho-ooooohhhhh shiii B) It’s time for more festivities here at The Apostle islands, and we’re so excited to spread some cheer! In this dark and gloomy time of long rain west coasters, bigs snows midwesters and east coasters, whatever the hell happens in Texas and Florida, and everything else in between space ship.. not saying names, it really lights up our world to spread creative holiday love with our community.

We're not sure if you can believe it or not, but this is going to be our 6th annual Secret Santa ❄️🎉 As always, we are thrilled to be celebrating the awe-striking artistic pursuits of our members. Your creativity and love for our community astounds us! If you’re new to our Secret Santa festivities, want to reminisce, or find inspiration, the previous galleries are below:

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5

RULES

1. On December 1, you will receive a DM from either wish or maxx with the name of your Secret Santa. Please do not reveal who you have or switch members with someone else!

2. Participants must respond to the Discord #Activity-Check with their Secret Santa wish list.

a. Wish lists must pertain to The Apostles and be submitted by Wednesday, December 4, 2024, so Secret Santas can start their gifts ASAP. We will follow up persistently! Please save the date or face our dm wrath!

b. Make sure to provide a variety of options for your wish lists! Not everyone is a pen-on-paper artist, so think of broad wishes, like "anything that makes me laugh" or "something of a specific character or moment."

3. Any kind of "art" is acceptable! Whether this is traditional or digital art, graphics, short fiction, poems, crafts, music, etc. as long as its your own work. Do not commission others!

4. You will have until December 27, 2024 to DM your gifts to your relative staff member (wish or maxx )

5. Gifts are distributed during the January Announcements on January, 1, 2025. This brief window between the two dates allows helpers to work on a last-minute gift in case someone’s Secret Santa cannot meet the deadline.

6. If you're unable to finish a Secret Santa gift, please let wish or maxx know ASAP, preferably within a week before the gift deadline, so we can enlist the assistance of one of our Secret Santa helpers.

a. Helpers are a pool of people who have volunteered to do an extra gift in case the original Secret Santa cannot. These volunteers ensure that no one misses out on a gift.

b. Please do not rely on Santa’s helpers! It is not a helper's job to do your Secret Santa gift without serious extenuating circumstances!

Everyone participating in the event will also receive our annual Secret Santa award!

TRIBE SOLSTICE FESTIVAL ---

With the waning of the season, it's time for the Tribe's annual Winter Solstice Festival ❄️ ❄️ The Solstice Festival is a celebration where cats of the Tribe of Floating Stones honor the shortest day of the year by spending time with loved ones, playing games, and sharing prey under the stars.

This year, we’re using the event as an opportunity to help graduate all of our to-be’s and fledglings! All finished threads can be used toward submitting a Ceremony Request under the Tribe's new graduation rules, or towards a stat for those already graduated and old hehe 🎉

Festival threads can be created from December 1 to December 31 and then finished at their own pace. For more information about this year’s event, check out Tribe Winter Solstice Festival.

NANOWRIMO 2024 RESULTS ---

Thank you to all who participated! As our lives shift and change, many of us are often busy. So we're very grateful to still be a part of your NaNoWriMo experience in whatever capacity feels comfy to you <3 Again, thank you for helping us make another fantastic November. We love the activity and chatter inspired by this event.

This year, our kitty freaks collaboratively curated over 190,899 words. The equivalent you ask?? That’s at least 3 copies of Into the Wild watch out Erin Hunter hiss hiss. In addition, we reached 543 posts.

Now 😱 the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Put your kitty-kat paws together for our grand-slam dominator, our new kitty deity, the one with keys to the dungeon /ᐠ˵- ⩊ -˵マ Egotistic ! 

It's no surprise the ego can absolutely serve some serious post action, and this time around, she's not ready to give up the crown! Ego, thank you for spending your time and utterly god-like writing prowess making some cat stories with us. We know you have a beefy project on the side, so it means a lot you're splitting time and sweet sweet word counts between our cozy island and your personal passion pursuits. You're absolutely pivotal to the community, and unforgettable because well, now we all owe you posts 💀

The rest of your royal court prizes are below 🎉🎉🎉

TIERS & PRIZES

Tier 1 - 8,000 word points

• A Wheel Spin
• Retired character thread
• Participation pixel

Winners: captain , rain , Wolfie , maple , Silverfire

Tier 2 - 15,000 word points

• A Wheel Spin
• Retired character thread
• A rare trait
• Participation pixel

Winners: wish , blitzen

Tier 3 - 30,000 word points

• A Wheel Spin
• Retired character thread
• A rare trait
• Participation pixel
• Dream of Starclan

Winners: lightning

Grand Prize Winner

• A Wheel Spin
• Retired character thread
• A rare trait
• Dream of Starclan
• Reincarnate a character (former character of yours or an approved NPC bio)
• Coveted winner pixel

Grand champion, reigning champion of NaNo: *drumroll pls* Egotistic !

You win everything under your tier. You do not get doubles, triples, etc. of every prize.

LEAF-BARE GATHERING ---

We're on the first moon of our Leaf-bare Gathering. You will have until February 28, 2025 to create a thread participating in the special prompt: Somber and serene.

Threads will focus on the contrast between pure and pristine snowfall and the palpable strife that hangs over the Clans and Tribe during moments of impending war, uncertainty, and loss. For bonus points, you can choose a poem with your thread partner that reflects your characters’ conflict and use it to inspire your thread (link to the poem and author in the first post).

The Gathering raffle will be drawn on September 1, 2025 during our 6-year anniversary. One lucky winner will win an assortment of goodies! If you want to volunteer art for the raffle, please dm maxx on the discord!

MEMBER OF THE SEASON

Leaf-bare's 2024 member of the season is maple , who role-plays the following characters: Gorseblaze, Trufflekit, Dawnshadow, Poppypaw, Crocuscloud, Spotterfern, Sandpaw, and Sparrow!

Why did you join TA and why did you stay?

I joined TA because I was feeling nostalgic for warriors RP. I remembered that Silver had DMed me on discord a few years back with a link and decided to check it out. I thought I'd have to site hop to find the latest active RP site but was pleasantly surprised that TA was still going strong. I stayed because I received the warmest of welcomes from everyone and I recognized many familiar names!

As a member, what is your favorite part of our community?

Some of my favourite things about this community and TA is the incredible on-going plot and lore, the fun events that happen monthly, and of course how welcoming and kind everyone is! The discord is one of the friendliest places around. I love being able to bounce between channels to talk about life and then come together to help with someone's newest character or plot idea.

What are your interests and hobbies?

I love to wander and explore! I'm often visiting the library, used bookstores, coffee shops and farmers markets on my days off. I also love going to the movies and devouring that buttery popcorn. I'm a bit of a hermit sometimes and I like to stay in where I can get cozy and read, play video games, and play board games with my family. On the more physical side I enjoy skiing, camping, hiking, and playing softball.

What is one fun fact about yourself (that other members might not know)?

My first ever character (and RP name) was Fernheart - the name was auto-generated for me on the Official Warrior Cats site back in 2006 probably based on my name and birthday. I still think fondly of that character and those early RP days where I learned to improve my writing and create a lifelong love for RP (or as I told my mom I was doing... collaborative writing lol).

CHARACTER OF THE SEASON

Leaf-bare's 2024 character of the season is maple 's Sandpaw, LichenClan's brand new ~secret~ medicine cat apprentice!

What inspired you to make this character?

Sandpaw was initially inspired by the song Cardinal by Kacey Musgraves and she's evolved from there! She was developed in the Character Planning channel in discord where she quickly became one of many LichenClan apprentices being made. It wasn't long before a family formed around her and a fun plot was born.

What has surprised you about playing them?

The biggest surprise with Sandpaw was her becoming LichenClan's medicine cat apprentice! I did not make her with it in mind, but when the applications for the position opened up, it seemed too perfect for her character development and I couldn't resist. It will really allow her to grow in all the best possible ways.

What is your favorite thread with them and why?

My favourite thread at the moment has to be Into the Unknown because it starts the journey for Sandpaw becoming a medicine cat apprentice. I'm really looking forward to seeing where she goes from here in her training with Briarfall! For a non-patrol thread though, I'd have to say A Series of Unfortunate Events with her whole family because it's kicking off some interesting family dynamics and drama Sorry, I cheated - I picked two.

RELATIONSHIP OF THE SEASON

Leaf-bare's 2024 Relationship of the Season is Beetleshine x Cedarpath, a blossoming ThistleClan friendship...and maybe more hehe, played by emmy and lightning .

How did this relationship form?

Lightning: Originally, Emmy and I discussed Beetleshine and Cedarpath being friends or something more right after Beetleshine was made and was looking for connections. I suggested Cedarpath because she didn't have any friends and I thought it would be fun to thread her with someone not in her family who would be nice to her :,) so we started a thread! Later I signed up for Wish's match making booth for TA's anniversary and Cedarpath got signed up with Beetleshine, so we got another thread with them! Even though they're still relatively new relationship wise, I'm really excited to see how they develop!

Emmy: OOC this was planned through Wish’s kissing booth carnival event, in which she matched up eligible singles! Beetle and Cedar did already have a friendly thread going at the time, and the potential was there for more. Beetleshine is sweet and gentle, and Cedarpath is tough and closed off…but he can fix her. In the most romantic, wholesome sense of the phrase, of course.

What was your favorite moment from this relationship and favorite thread?

Lightning: My favorite moment was when Beetleshine picks out specific things Cedarpath says to get the meaning behind it. Like when Cedarpath mentions that Beetleshine should get dry so that he doesn't catch a cold, and Beetleshine thinks "She’s worried about me? Look at the state she’s in!" These little glimpses into his head make me so happy to read, and I love how attentive he is to what she says since she's the sort of character that rarely elaborates on how she feels. It's one of the ways I feel like they just "work" since it takes a special type of cat to really see the type of cat Cedarpath is and can become!

My favorite thread is Monachopsis because I'm a sucker for the "there was only one bed" trope and I can see where this thread is going

Emmy: In my favorite thread, Monachopsis, Beetleshine sees Cedarpath covered in bog mud and hiding, embarrassed of her mess. He has a flashback to this happening to him as an apprentice, and remembers the love and gentleness his dad showed him…and he is determined to show Cedarpath that same empathy and make her feel comfy and safe. I love it because he doesn’t realize he might be feeling more than platonic feelings yet, and it’s a tender moment for Cedarpath to realize someone cares about her even when it’s unpleasant and she needs help getting unmuddied.

THREAD OF THE SEASON

Leaf-bare's 2024 thread of the season is do you see this shit my liege?

What characters were in this thread and who played them?

Lightning: Hollowpaw

Ego: Gullheart

Maxx: Tigerpool

What was your motivation/reason for participating in this thread?

Lightning: I suggested this thread/plot to ego and maxx because I really wanted to escalate the tension between Hollowpaw and Gullheart as well as to have a sense of finality in the drama Hollowpaw has created for his poor mentor. They have a lot of threads building the conflict between them, and this felt like a natural conclusion at the end of his apprenticeship, especially with Hollowpaw's dedication to Tigerpool's Code Cadets!

Ego: Fulfill a character arc.

Maxx: As deputy during this arc it's tigerpool's duty to hear the cries (and tattles) of their people!! I was stoked having a narc event opportunity and to further roleplay the dynamic between gullheart and tigerpool. I definitely wanted tigerpool to be skeptical of hollowpaw's claims in an almost olive-branch towards gullheart, but as the events unravel we'll just have to see where it goes.

What was your favorite part of the thread?

Lightning: I liked it when Hollowpaw randomly licking Gullheart to steal away criminal evidence haha also Gullheart's attempt at nonchalance is really fun to read, especially in the face of Hollowpaw and Tigerpool's stern treatment of the situation.

Ego: My favorite part of the thread was setting up some conflict between Hollow, Tiger and Gull. It’s been a long time coming with this one, and it’s nice to see some consequences for Gull’s actions, even if by the paws of his own apprentice. Even though the thread isn’t complete, I enjoyed the interaction between all the cats in the first phase of the thread. Just a little goofy with Gull’s deflecting but well on its way to some serious consequences (oh my!)

Maxx: My favorite part of the thread was gullheart nonchalantly rolling in the catmint trying to gaslight hollow and tiger. his attitude is so frustratingly cheeky that it's a joyous read and also, who could blame him?? that briar booty is worth the narc

ROTATING TA ADVERTISEMENT  ---

After coughing up the $ to make our site ~ad-free~, we’re hyped to announce that TA members are welcome to submit personal advertisements and have them featured on our site It’s no surprise that TA gets hella traffic, between our fanbase and hot stalkers hi guys, so we want to use our beefy guest count to help out our local shops and artists.

Your advertisements will be featured in the sidebar, which will rotate on every page refresh! Like a real ad, yours will link externally to either your online shop and/or commission info. In order to be eligible, you must meet one of the following requirements:

• Be an active member of TA
• Offer a good or service. Specific types of permitted goods/services include but are not limited to: art, etsy stores, personal editing, etc.
  
• Have an external link to lead the viewer

To apply, create a banner, or request a banner from maxx . Banners must be 205 pixels in width with a height of 300 pixels.

If at any opportunity members would like a banner removed, for example, you are not open to commissions, then contact maxx !

RWC MCA AUDITIONS ---

With leaf-bare's arrival, a battle brewing on the horizon, and inexplicable tunnel shenanigans, RedwoodClan is in dire need of a medicine cat apprentice! Asterstorm cannot weather the storm alone. Regarding age or skill level, we have no preference. Any RedwoodClan kit, apprentice, or warrior is welcome to apply, and we're open to a lot of different narratives as long as it...scratches the itch hehe.

So if you're dying to begin your journey as a medicine cat and answer StarClan's call or drink Coyotecall's kool-aid, please check out the High Position Auditions thread and apply! We'll hold auditions until December 20, 2024 and announce the new medicine cat in the January announcements.

As a reminder, high positions are expected to post at least 8x a month and participate in a higher-volume of threads. See High Position Rules for more information.

TRIBE CEREMONY REQUESTS ---

We've got a lot of untrained to-bes and fledglings in the Tribe! After evaluating the numbers and current requirements, we've deduced it down to the Tribe's smaller faction size (not enough active adult tribe-members to train) and too many requirements!

To help alleviate the pressure and improve the Tribe-training experience, we've made the following changes:

• To-be's are only required to complete 2 threads max (depending on their age) to become a fledgling instead of 3.
• To-be and fledgling training thread prompts are now based on thread activity, such as completing a prey-hunter or stone-guard task, vs. specifically training with an older Tribe member. E.g. If two to-bes complete a thread of them hunting together, it counts toward the prey-hunter requirement.

You can review the exact rule language on the Ceremony Request thread. If you have any questions, please reach out to a staff member!

NEW LITTER REQUEST UPDATE ---

Over the years, we've received a handful of suggestions and questions regarding "litter losses," aka a situation where a queen falls pregnant and loses her kits. E.g. Can we roleplay a queen who loses her litter prematurely? How do we request a litter where all of the kits are stillborn? Previously, we wanted to tread carefully regarding this topic, as it can be sensitive, and make sure it's handled with care—on top of establishing a fair set of rules.

After discussing it, we've decided on implementing the following rules:

1. If you want to roleplay a cat losing their kits, you must request a Litter Request as usual.
2. However, instead of 3 completed "couple" threads required for the request, you only need to finish 1 thread since it does not result in any living kits.
   
3. The "3 general" threads is still required for each character to show they're established in the RP.
4. We ask that you handle the pregnancy loss with care.
   

If you have any questions, please reached out to staff!

MINOR RULE UPDATE  ---

We updated the Rules to add some transparency regarding our behind-the-scenes activity-check process. Currently, we "kick" inactive members from our Discord after 2 months of no activity. This includes on the forum, Discord, and unanswered activity-check DMs. However—full disclosure—if this member has been a part of our community for over a year, we do not kick them from the Discord, as we want to encourage those members to return!

So if you're ever worried you're in danger of getting the TA-boot, have no fear! We usually only kick the in-and-out, passing through members who do not stick around for very long. We also re-defined "active members" as members who can vote in polls, participate in events and contests, and plot in the Discord!

COMPLEX PLOTTING REQUESTS  ---

If you're planning for another character to kill your character, please review the Plotting Chart first and submit a Complex Plotting Request if applicable. Cross-Clan/Tribe/outsider murders can have consequences that affect the larger site plot depending on the characters involved. This includes rogues murdering Clan/Tribe cats too.

By submitting a Complex Plotting Request, this lets staff review the plot and reach out to all affected factions and high position characters if needed. This also ensures that the death is taken seriously! We can coordinate reactions, revenges, secrets etc. The only circumstance in which you don't have to submit a request is when your character dies in battle. If you have any questions, please reach out to a staff member!

MINOR ALLEGIANCES UPDATE  ---

We got a suggestion from Silverfire to add an asterisk * to mark cats who still require a completed ceremony request in the allegiances, which is a great idea! So we've gone ahead and added this for each Clan and Tribe. This will help with future training threads and help remind staff which cats still need to complete their requirements when we send out dm reminders. Thanks for the idea, Silv!

SEASONAL PROMPTS & PATROLS---

Please see and use the Leaf-bare Writing Prompts to engage with the plot and create new threads. New patrols can be found in December Patrols.

CURRENT ONGOING PATROLS

• A Light in the Deepest Shadow (Unknown)
• Strength, Sinew, Bones, and Silk (RWC)
• The Fire Sermon (TC)
• Go fish! (RWC & Tribe)
• There Be Ghosts in Those Tunnels (LC)
• The Soul in the Stone (TC & tunnels)
• Changeling (LC)
  

PLOT UPDATES---

REDWOODCLAN NEWS:

• At the Gathering, Finchstar disregards Firstar's warning and make another veiled threat regarding Bear Stones.
  
• Finchstar receives Foxtail's warning about the tunnels, but unable to offer any helpful guidance, he sends them home.
  
• Tigerpool's trusted group of apprentices and warriors continue reporting any suspicious or code-breaking activity to him as tensions rise within the Clan.
• Border relations remain amicable with LichenClan and the Tribe. Border relations are actively hostile with ThistleClan.
• Crow-watcher, Hollowthorn, and Shadowbriar become warriors.
• Ashpaw, Rowanpaw, Wolfpaw, and Lynxpaw become apprentices.
  
• Asterstorm begins looking for another apprentice after Blossomstep's unexpected disappearance.
  

THISTLECLAN NEWS:

• Firstar warns the other Clans about the tunnels at the Gathering, urging them to close up any tunnel entrances and to disregard their warnings.
  
• Following Lilypad's death, Bearblaze's remains are discovered in the forest and scent of rogue. Firstar and Blazingstorm hunt down Poppy to discuses the finer details of their alliance.
  
• Patrols are stretched thin as ThistleClan continues to guard its borders on top of increasing Tribe and rogue encounters. They are urged to drive both from their land.
  
• Border relations are amicable with LichenClan but remain tense with the Tribe. Borders are openly hostile with RedwoodClan, the tunnelers, and now the rogues.
• Mudclaw becomes a warrior.
• Sparrowpaw, Birdpaw, and Chestnupaw become apprentices.
  
• With Icesong's help, Meadowshine discovers the strange rock from her dreams, but what does it mean? And how does it connect to her missing mentor?
  
• Shadepool remains mysteriously missing.

LICHENCLAN NEWS:

• The council dissembles amicably after Quickstar apologizes for their previous  meeting, tries to understand the traditionalist concerns, and agrees to find common ground.
• The council agrees to asking queens to go on one hunting expedition and one exploratory patrol once per moon with their mates.
  
• As guards continue to monitor the MoonCave and tunnel entrances, a dark and foreboding presence grows more sinister for those who ignore their warnings and venture into the tunnels depths.
• Despite Quickstar's attempts to understand the traditionalist, some continue to meet and commiserate their changing Clan.
  
• Border relations remain amicable with RedwoodClan, ThistleClan, and the Tribe.
  
• After returning from the MoonCave, Foxglovefire is unable to shake Coyotecall's warning: the other medicine cats, and even some leaders, are under the influence of the Dark Forest
  
• Secretly, Briarfall agrees to train Sandpaw in the tunnels.
  

TRIBE NEWS:

• At the Gathering, Foxtail tries to speak up and assert her concerns but is ignored. When she does make her announcement, she urges everyone to heed her visions with little success.
• The Tribe celebrates its second Solstice Festival, focusing on team-building games for the to-bes and fledglings.
  
• Mist goes on several missions across the border to deliver visions to each Clan.
  
• A dark and foreboding presence lingers in the tunnels on the Clan island, wreaking havoc on the Lake Superior...
  

CELANDINE NEWS:

• Poppy  is forced into a meeting with Firstar and Blazingstorm regarding the finer details of their arrangement after a ThistleClan warrior is found dead.
  
• Celandine continues to hunt and train on ThistleClan's periphery territory, which includes straying onto other Clan and Tribe territory.
• A dark and foreboding presence lingers in the tunnels, wreaking havoc on the island...
  

AGEING ---

Characters 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:

Aster and Reed kits are six moons old.
Curly and Oak kits are six moons old.
Spark x Turtle kits are six moons old.
Mist x Song kits are five moons old.
Red x Hazel x White kits are three moons.

MENTOR ASSIGNMENTS ---

Ashpaw (Egotistic ) - Gorseblaze (maple )
Rowanpaw (Raven~ ) - Dandelionbite (rain )

Lynxpaw (lightning ) - Barkheart (fallenreaper )
Wolfpaw (rain ) - Ruefeather (wish )

Sparrowpaw (Egotistic ) - Kestrelcall (lightning )
Birdpaw (Aria ) - Hollyblossom (Wolfie )
Chesnutpaw (Silverfire ) - Squirreltail (Raven~ )

FUTURE UPDATES ---

Whether you're spending time with family and friends or relaxing with a warm cup of somethin' and writing kitties, we hope you find a sense of calm and a path forward into the New Year. It's been a rough couple of weeks, whether you've been sick, or uh *gestures at everything*, but we'll keep going! The Apostles has always been a bright light in times of darkness.

We're so appreciative of everyone here and the community we've created together. From the bottom of our heart to yours, thank you for continuing to roleplay with us. Here's to another journey around the sun ❤️‍🔥

Best,
The Apostles Staff