#also PLEASE join the discord we have so much fun there and its an amazing time

[somethingoranother7]

The WOE.BEGONE discord yesterday, trying to figure out the identity of the shadow person

[thetragicallynerdy]

All the fic writer ask questions are so interesting - I couldn't decide on one (or even a few) so please just choose the one(s) you'd like to answer the most!

Aww thanks friend!! Okay okay I went with these ones because they were calling to me:

☯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

So - I think it really depends on how you engage, but fandom isn't really fandom without some sort of community aspect. I say this as someone who lurked at the edges of fandoms for about 15 years before finally picking up writing, joining a discord server and fandom tumblr, and really becoming involved. Fandom before I started engaging was a sort of space that was fun to visit, but that I didn't feel any sort of belonging to - it wasn't until I actually started actively engaging that it became a community I was a part of. And community is lovely! We all need community, we're social creatures, etc. Engaging with so many different people in fandom also gets you out of your own head and experiences, and can be a really beautiful thing. Forcing myself out of my comfort zone has led to some absolutely wonderful friendships, and a community that I'm really grateful to be a part of <3

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

This is something that I still actively struggle with in different ways - I mainly write for small ships and small fandoms and it can lead to a lot of "well why aren't people noticing my work" type thoughts. I think the things that have helped me the most are:

being careful of my social media use and expectations around posting. I don't use twitter much because it isn't a healthy place for me re: fandom jealousy (and many other factors, but that's one of them). I also have all notifications off on sites like tumblr, so I'm not constantly watching for responses to things.

reminding myself that the responses to a fic don't really mean anything in regards to how well its written or how good it is - sometimes things just resonate with some people! I've gotten a TON of responses to what i consider one of my weaker works, and very few responses to other things that I consider my best work.

i am lucky and have some absolutely amazing readers and also amazing friends who hype up my work - finding those one or two people is so helpful! because it can change it from feeling like writing was pointless to remembering that 'hey, i'm writing for these people that i think will love this'.

for me personally, feeling bad about how a fic is doing is also often a sign that there's some other area of my life where my needs aren't being met - either i'm lonely, or a bit anxious, or sad, etc. So sometimes looking at 'what need am i trying to meet with this and why isn't it working' is helpful!

I think overall it is a PROCESS to disentangle the "my worth is tied to my work and people's love of it" and the more you practice the easier it gets - and if you notice it's particularly bad right then, it can be a good time to take a step back and re-evaluate your needs!

Thanks for the open ask pal <3 I hope you have a lovely day!!

Fic writer ask game can be found here for the curious!

[tamakigf]

WHOMEGALUL

feeling things

pairing: streamer!armin x streamer!gn reader

warnings: caps, cursing, fluffy moments

a/n: im pretty nervous for this part d: i usually don’t write. feel free to critique my writing. (actual critiques not “this sucks” please)

“are you ready?” he asked making eye contact with his camera to make sure you knew he was staring at you.

“ready as ever armin. go ahead and start your stream.”

“ok stay muted and unmute when i text you. i’ll just be reading donos and thanking people for subbing and stuff.”

“okay i’ll be waiting.”

he shared his stream with you on discord and you saw the ‘starting soon’ screen. after 5 minutes, he switched to face cam and began to speak.

“hey chat!! how is everyone? thank you for all the subs! we’re at a level 4 hype train. thanks so much for the support!! anyways most of you already know who’s joining me and what we’re doing today but if you don’t y/n is joining me soon for minecraft. we’re starting a server!! we’ll, also, invite our friends so expect new people to pop in on my stream. i’ll ring y/n in about 5 minutes, but for now i just want to talk and read donos. WHOA THANK YOU ‘random user’ FOR 100 GIFTED!”

just as he thanked the person for the gifted subscriptions, you saw a donation appear on screen.

“i’m glad you and y/n are finally friends. both of you are my comfort streamers.” armin read the dono. he paused for a second before continuing with, “oh wow thank you so much. y/n and i have been chatting off stream and they’re amazing. they’ve been nothing but kind to me since the incident. i mean i know it’s only been like 2 days but it’s like i’ve known them for a lifetime.” he froze realizing he started rambling about you. “oh my bad. i didn’t realize i was rambling.” he said with a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “anyways lets get started. i’m texting y/n to come on.”

you look at discord and see a message appear. reading ‘lets start <3’

you unmuted and began to speak, “hey armin!! hello chat!!”

“hi y/n! how are you today??”

“im alright. i could be better but something happened to me not too long ago.”

“wait what happened? are you alright?”

“oh yeah it’s just...” you paused trying to contain your laughter, “ i got whomegaluled.”

“oh ha ha. you’re so funny”, he rolled his eyes.

“what its true. it was this streamer. yeah his name is armin but he goes by arlert.” you laughed and began to see chat filling with the OMEGALULs and KEKWs.

“yeah yeah, whatever. let’s get started. do you have minecraft open and ready to start?”

“yeah have you whitelisted me?”

“of course you were the first person i whitelisted.”

“aw, how sweet. anyways this is our smp or whatever right?”

“yeah i’ve whitelisted your friends and my friends hopefully they don’t join. anyways for now let’s just prepare ourselves with supplies and leave them to suffer.” he said with a bright smile and then laughed.

“jeez, armin i didn’t realize you could be so cruel.”

“i was kidding. well kinda. i’ll get stuff for mikasa but leave eren to fend for himself.”

“wait does that mean i have to get stuff for my friends?”

“i mean if you want.”

“i’m sure they’ll be ok. anyways i’m joining.”

“ok, i’m at the near spawn i'm chopping some trees down.”

y/nlive joined the game

your character finally spawned in. you look around and see a crouching armin chopping wood. after he gets the last piece, he walks towards you and crouches.

“hi, y/n.”

“hi, armin.”

“i got you something. i got on the server yesterday and found it.”

“wow, you’re such a cheater. you wanted to get all the good supplies before i did.”

“noooo i swear this is all i got.”

“ok, sure.” you rolled your eyes and waited for him to drop what he got for you.

“hold on before i drop it let me switch to face cam so no one sees what i’m giving you. here!” just as he says that he drops a flower. your favorite minecraft flower.

crouching your character you say, “armin!! this is my favorite. how’d you know?”

“i asked jean.”

“aw, thank you so much armin. i know it’s small but it means a lot to me.”

you could only imagine what the chat was saying. you’re sure it’s exploding with questions.

“anyways i’m switching back to the game screen so hide my gift.”

“alright, let’s go explore.”

after 50 minutes of playing, you finally decided to start building your house.

“armin did you find a place to live?”

“oh, we’re not living together?”

“OH i didn’t know you wanted to but we can!”

“okay im on my way. what are your coordinates?”

you decided on building a little mushroom house. just as you and armin were getting ready to place your beds down you see something appear in the minecraft chat.

jaegerbomb joined the game

<jaegerbomb> add me to vc >:(

<jaegerbomb> HELLO??? I KNOW YOU SEE THIS ARMIN

<jaegerbomb> ARMIN

jeanieboy joined the game

<jeanieboy> hi guys :) add me to the vc please

just as you saw that, you hear a laughing jean.

“hey, y/n! hi, armin.”

“hi, jean. why are you bothering eren.”

“let jean bother eren. he didn’t even say please.”

<jaegerbomb> ok bye

jaegerbomb left the game

<y/nlive> L

“Y/N??”

“HELLO?”

“hi, y/n im eren.”

“WHO ADDED HIM TO THE VC?”

after several minutes of hearing jean and eren go back and forth with each other left the vc and rang armin on your own.

“y/n why’d you leave?”

“they were giving me a headache.”

“hey you know you can leave whenever you want.”

“yeah, i know. im just gonna do something really quick and then i’m heading out.”

“okay good. i don’t want you to force yourself to stay. what’s the last thing you’re doing?”

“making an item frame. do you have leather?”

“i think so let me check my chest.”

<jeanieboy> y/n come back

jaegerbomb joined the game

<jaegerbomb> y/n i miss you come back :(

<jaegerbomb> please

“i only have 2 pieces of leather. is that enough?”

“yeah, i only need one.”

<y/nlive> i’m leaving >:)

armin dropped the leather and you finally crafted the item frame. you place the item frame above your and armin’s beds and put the flower armin gave you.

“alright im heading out now. bye, armin i’ll talk to you later. bye chat!!”

“bye, y/n.”

<y/nlive> bye jean and eren

<jeanieboy> bye y/n

<jaegerbomb> Y/N DONT LEAVE

y/nlive left the game

series masterlist

previous next

fun facts!!

eren went dark on his y/n stan acc

armin really didn’t want anyone else to join vc but let jean join because he didn’t want chat to think anything bad

armin definitely wants to play genshin with y/n again!

taglist 🏷

@hugemommymilkers @simpeon101 @megumisenpai @starlightsemi @keiganie @etherealiwa @idontevenknow129 @erensslut @httpglxssy @saintreneschapel @rrroadkill @clean-soap @milfslvr @sugarpieck @lazalee @mika-kc @chwlogy @ascybous @tanakaslastbraincell @3rens-r3t @chemeinpain @stardusthyuck @erenismyhobo @lagrimasdeglitter

italicized couldn’t be tagged :(

taglist is open

[mcyt-sh1t]

“i’m sad and my lover is being an ass."-quackity

A/N: this is yet another entry for @yamturds 1k writing event ! again congrats on 1k yams! (can i call you that-) you so deserve each and every one <3

warning: arguing?, swearing.

it was 6am, and you couldn't go to sleep. so you decided to stream. thankfully your friends wilbur, jack and roomate niki were also up so you decided to stream some minecraft with them.

"hi ! hi chat ! how are you guys?"

chat:

SMPLily: early morning stream? POGG !

"hi ! hi ! yes it is an early morning stream with Wilbur, Niki and Jack ! i couldn't sleep and they were also up so we decided to stream some minecraft on the hardcore server !" chat:

SMPLily: POGG !

MinecraftMiko donated £20:

did you hear that ranboo is in the uk?

Periwinkle: oh my god yes ! are you going to meet up with them?

"yes ! i heard ranboo was here ! did you guys hear that too?"

"he is? since fucking when?" jack asked which made all of you laugh.

"yes ! did you not see tubbo's stream before mcc?"

"no."

"that fucking explains it then." wilbur said making you all laugh again.

chat:

3picM1ner donated £10:

also your team did so well in mcc ! sorry you didn't win though :/

"yes ! we did so well we had such great teamwork dinamic, i can't wait to play with them all again, i had so much fun ! even though we didn't win but i really recommend doing mcc, its really a live changing event ! and we all raised so much money for the trever project which is amazing !"

*a few minutes later*

"nikiiiiiiiii.."

"yes?"

"can you please hug me?"

"of course i can ! but isn't your boyfriend there?" she asks but she still comes out of her room to yours to hug you anyway.

"no.. he left last night, but thank you !"

"why are you two hugging? i want a hug too !" wilbur said sounding like he's on the verge of crying. (fake crying don't worry !)

"well.. i'm sad and my lover is being an ass. i know he's in my chat, but he won't call or text me back to cheer me up."

immediately after you said that you heard a discord call notification come from your other pc(you have three pc's because your a swag streamer)

incoming call: mi amor <3

"anddd.. that's him calling me." you say before answering the call to hear quackity yelling at you in spanish.

what the fuck do you mean i'm being 'an ass'? i was away ! why didn't you tell me you were sad? i would have dropped everything and bought a ticket to the uk first thing in the morning- actually fuck it. i'm buying one now."

"alex-"

"no buts. i'll be there in a few hours. love you, bye !"he said as he hanged up abruptly.

"i- well my boyfriend is coming over."

"again?"

"i didn't tell him to ! he just said he's buying a ticket and he should be here in a few hours."

"well, we don't know since you two were talking in spanish the whole time-"

"we were? i didn't even realise.."

*a few hours later*

"right okay, i think its time i end stream her-"

"HOLAAA !!"

"andddd he's here !"

chat:

3picM1ner: POG !

SMPLily: height check?

MinecraftMiko: YES ! height check?!

"alright chat, we'll do one soon." you say getting out of your chair and opening the door to yell a quick "thanks !" to niki.

"hi alex !" you say kissing his cheek.

"hi n/n ! now weren't you supposed to be sad?"

"first let's do a height check !"

"NO!"

"come onnn!!"

"fine."

chat:

3picM1ner: LMAOOO SMALL QUACKITY!

SMPLily: Y/N IS TALLER THEN QUACKITY!

MinecraftMiko: I KNEW IT! I KNEW THEY WOULD BE TALLER THEN HIM!

"okay guys! that's it for the stream! thanks for joining! byeee!"

"bye chat!!" alex says as you turn off your stream.

"nowww sad cuddles?"

A/N: finally i finished ! :D hope you enjoy ! <3

[the-halloween-man]

!READ BEFORE JOINING DISCORD (SERVER WILL BE POSTED SOON. IN THE MEAN TIME MY DISCORD IS bichael#5971)!

hello. my name is mikey, and i am a michael myers IRL, specifically i am from the og movie as well as rob zombies movie. although, i do have my own canon. i am looking for the other slashers, if you have discord that would be great. i am a minor, so 18+ DNI please. here's some random things about my canon/me, if you'd like to reunite

- i lived in a large house with jason voorhees, bubba sawyer, ghostface, freddy krueger, chucky and tiffany, carrie white, brahms heelshire, billy lenz, vincent sinclair, pennywise, sam, and leslie vernon. these are specifically the people i lived with, but if youre a slasher whos not on this list feel free to pop in and say hi

- i was in a qpr (queer-platonic relationship) with jason and good friends with ghostface. i was also friendly to carrie white and bubba sawyer

- i wasnt dating any of the others, so please no shipping

- i am not the michael from halloween kills. please do not compare me to him (amazing movie, though.)

- i am almost completely blind in my left eye. (not super important. just wanted to say it)

- i make masks in my free time, sometimes latex and sometimes paper maché.

- i have a bad memory, so i dont remember much of my canon, but every once in a while ill be reminded of something.

- sam (trick r treat) was like my son, i really need to find him.

!PEOPLE IM SEARCHING FOR!

- i have/had a cat named krueger. she lived in the house with us all, and we named her krueger because shes an asshole who likes to scratch people. (/lh)

because some people dont like doubles, i am going to check off slashers as i come in contact with them. if you see that there is a double on the list and you join the discord anyway, you will be kicked. i personally dont mind doubles, but i know its very important to some people. i want to keep my friends safe.

⬜ jason voorhees

⬜ bubba sawyer

⬜ ghostface

⬜ freddy krueger

⬜ chucky

⬜ tiffany

⬜ carrie white

⬜ brahms heelshire

⬜ billy lenz

⬜ vincent sinclair

⬜ leslie vernon

⬜ pennywise

!DNI LIST!

⬜ sam

so uh. if you remember a borderline soft michael myers then contact me i guess

laurie strode, dr. loomis, transphobes, homophobes, anti-neopronoun, anti-abortion, anti-semitic, trump supporter, ableist, NSFW blog, 18+, thinspo, body shamer, if you make fun of people for their interests, "fujoshi", ect. ect.

[snakgoblin]

Fan appreciation post!

Server people!

@ashs-studio Hiiiiiii you're cool and definitely one of my favorite people everrrr thank you for everything you do for wittle ole meeeee

@royal-simp YOU. YOU'RE DOING AMAZING AND DONT LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE. IF THEY DO, SEND THEM TO ME IMMA FIGHT THEM. Also how are we so similar?? Its creepy but I'm having fun. Also, that one rock I found at Buc-ee's, it's yours now.

@stardustfandoms9 Omg you're HILARIOUS!! I legit CACKLE at almost everything you say!! It's eventually gonna get to the point where if I just SEE you're online, I'm gonna laugh. Also as I wrote this, I kept thinking of that monkey video and it made me laugh everytime

@personwithalotoffandoms You, fr, no cap, make me SCREECH. ESPECIALLY in the vc cause you're so damn funny. Oml my sides still hurt from that reading of that one fic. Legit you are hilarious. Never forget that!

@its-my-destiny you're so sweet!!! And super funny too!! Also apparently you're my grandkid in IAQ's server?? I had no idea. Smh that familytree is so hard to keep up with. Also I love your random chaotic-ness, its simply beautiful. Oh and I hope you get some DQ soon!

@buttcats Can I just say, I love your tumblr name. But you're super nice and cool! I appreciate you for distracting me when I had that nightmare too. Really, ty for that. Also, everytime I see you log on I legit, irl, say "Eyyyy!!"

@pokepony Hi please don't steal my kneecaps for staying up until 5:50am to write this. I'm sure I'll wake up at 3pm tho and still get a decent amount of sleep! I'll let you know in the morning what happens. Regardless, you're hilarious and super fun to play with on gamenights!! I look forward to playing more soon!! Also, you're really nice and sweet and would love to become great friends with you!!

@incorrectanimaniacsquotes 1) I love your blog and 2) You did an OUTSTANDING job on the very well done and organized server. I'm happy to say that I'm very glad this was my first official discord server! Thank you for making it!! I'm making so many new friends and I have you to thank for it! So thank you!!!

@wakkodoodle you're so kind!! Legit when I saw you followed me, I felt like the grinch with that whole,, heart expanding thing. Not to forget you're really funny!! On game nights where we play jackbox, I love your answers every. single. time. I laugh at it and think "This HAS to be Doodle, it CAN'T be anyone else" Also I agree, doodlexiaq IS canon

Artists/tumblr!

@therivertm I love how you draw the Warners!! They look so feral and its beautiful! Also I saw you joined IAQ's server so I hope we become good friends!!!

@nat0041 I love your art style!! Its super cool and everytime I see it I get excited. Also, congrats on 300 followers!! You deserve each and everyone of them! If not more, that is

@wllyra I don't know you very much but you seem really sweet and fun! I love how you draw and your TAGS. They legit make me cackle. Everytime I'm like "OP, you CAN'T hide these in the tags!!"

@i-restuff I ADORE how you draw the Warners!! Not to forget your animations are AMAZING. You seem really cool tho and I feel you'd be a really fun person to hang out with!

There's so many more but its 5:50am and I keep accidentally deleting this so I'm just gonna post this and if I left anyone out, I will put them in cause this is subject to change anyways. Love you all!!

[thetirisfaltheatretroupe]

Big Troupe Announcements! Big Troupe Summer!

Hello, everyone! Lord Atos Sunhart here! For those of you who aren’t aware, Fehl had stepped down last year from Troupe related duties due to her own life becoming much more demanding, and so I returned to the director’s seat once again. I’ve been back for about a year, but we’ve kind of laid a little low since my return due to a lot of restructuring and our desire to try a few new ideas out that are coming along slowly but surely!

We have some awesome projects in the works, some of which won’t be ready for some time, and some that we’re excited to bring you much sooner! But we can’t QUITE open the curtains for a peek just yet. Before anything, I’d like to make a series of announcements about some of our projects this Summer, starting with the most important one of all:

The Troupe Is Casting! 

Looking at some of the last posts made on this ye olde tumblr I guess it’s not a surprise that the troupe is indeed casting once more. In the past, it was due to not really having enough active people to pull off a large show with, but now, times have changed a bit, and we’re looking for people to make our shows even better and more frequent than ever!

What we’re looking for;

* Any race/gender/faction! Yes, we hire Alliance as well! In the era of Discord and cross faction RP, there’s no reason we have not to. Though, we are overloaded on elves at the moment and would kinda love a tauren or any Alliance character

* Obviously the character should be a good fit for the group! We’re not really looking for a serial murderer warlock who tries to sacrifice our members to the great Murloc Gods at the first chance they get. We’re not too picky here, but there are some characters that just don’t work terribly well with our concept.

* Available to take part in events during most of our performing days, which tend to be weekends, starting around 6:00 PM server. We base all our event times on server time.

* Someone who, behind the character, is friendly, patient, and above all else, mature. The clear rule of “don’t be an asshole” applies in this guild (and I’ll explain what that means below), and we have a zero drama tolerance policy. We are all adults who pay a monthly subscription to a greedy corporation to play with their toys, I think the last thing we want is to relive middle school in our 20s and 30s.

* Someone with a desire to help make memorable, exciting events for others to enjoy. While we play the part of celebrities, and being in the spotlight is a lot of fun, ultimately we want someone who, behind the character at least, does it for the enjoyment of others and not for personal gain or clout. We’re not clout chasers. We are proud of how long we’ve been performing and how hard we work, but ultimately we do this for our audience’s enjoyment.

* Communication is important! We aren’t a hardcore raiding guild, and thus we won’t be upset if you tell us you have to miss a rehearsal night or have a family emergency.. But if you know ahead of time, we really want someone who will let us know they can’t make it to an event so we can plan around it.

Furthermore, it should be said that while we normally do not require a person leave their guild to join us, this time around we’re looking for more to wear the guild tag above their heads, at least for this recruitment effort. Above all of these, the most important key point is the ‘don’t be an asshole’ policy. In the past I didn’t think it needed to be explained, but things we’ve been through in recent months compels me to explain what I mean by this; no homophobic behavior, racist behavior, transphobic behavior, harassment, pedophilia and other such illegal and morally vile behavior will be tolerated in our guild, period. But I’m sure you’re asking, what’s in it for me? Well, the benefits of working with the Tirisfal Theatre Troupe are, but not limited to;

* Being part of a near decade-old (8 years this October) guild that through thick and thin has stood the test of time!

* Working alongside some extremely talented, fun, humorous, and creative minds!

* Getting to make people smile and be a positive part of the community! 

* Taco Tuesdays. This is a lie, don’t believe me.

* Helping an already fun concept become even better as we grow and adapt to the ever changing nature of this game and its community!

* Adding “Actor/Actress” to your long series of titles in your TRP Profile. Maybe somewhere between “Lord of the Dance” and “Wrecker of your Shit”! Don’t be bashful, we know you have it in there somewhere.

So if you’re interested in being a part of the stage and bringing the uniqueness that is YOU into our ranks, please send an in-game mail to Atos on Wyrmrest Accord server (Hordeside), or show up for the open auditions at the dates, times, and location listed below;

Thursday, June 3rd 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

Friday, June 4th 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

Saturday, June 5th 6:00 - 8:30 PM Portrait Room - Legion Dalaran

We hope to see you there! And remember, because we’ve had this happen a few times; if you think you aren’t good enough, you’re probably actually amazing and far more talented than you think! 

Anniversary Bash 2021 Officially Planned! With a Twist

Those of you who have followed us for some time are likely aware of our annual celebration we hold on the anniversary of our first major public performance! This has traditionally been held on the third Friday of every October, so that it lines up perfectly with Hallow’s End starting. While we have had on-off years, and even said in the past we would never do it again (Insert I was crazy that time meme here), it’s pretty clear that at least every other year we seem to take to it again with new ideas. Honestly, we LOVE these yearly parties, despite how much stress they put us under, and we’re going to announce it earlier this year just so people know; yes, yes there WILL be a bash this year!

Things are going to be a little different this year, though. This October will actually have 5 Fridays in it due to...well...the calendar! It conspires against us, dammit! Because the third Friday falls in place before the Hallow’s End events are set to start, we will instead be bumping it up one week to the 22nd. So, there you have it! Our Big Bash will be on the 22nd of October! We’ll be making a full announcement about it later this Summer, and honestly, I think folks are going to really like the fun we have planned for it. So if this is something you’re looking forward to early, or you just like making sure your calendar events are always filled out, please make a mark for

October 22nd, 2021! 

Hellsqueal Squeals Again, Plus Winter’s Veil In July?

This Summer we’ll be getting back to our roots and bringing Hellsqueal back for another round. The Trilogy will rise again, and you won’t want to miss it! This time we’ll be performing it for our audiences on both sides of the factional fence and making some revisions to the script, but long time fans needn’t worry! Hellscream is still the same boisterous buffoon he’s always been.

Also, we’re bringing you an interesting new concept no one has EVER thought of before! ...well, okay, that’s a lie, but Greatfather Winter needn’t send me a lump of coal in my in-game mailbox for that one! The TTT will be hosting a Winter’s Veil themed party IN JULY! Don your gaudy sweaters, get ready to meet Greatfather Winter, take part in a sled race, and get ready to watch a completely out of season showing of It’s A Wonderful Unlife! Some lucky attendees may even receive a gift! The date for this and for Hellsqueal’s trilogy are yet to be announced, but they will be unveiled very soon!

Even though we never left, it feels good to be back at full strength again and pushing hard to give everyone the quality entertainment we pride ourselves on! Keep an eye out for our announcements this Summer - we’ll be hitting not only Tumblr when an event is ready to go, but the Blizzard forums and various Discord community servers! So please, have a fantastic day, week, month, even a year! 

[angstbabyjae]

DSMP Tier List

This tier list was shared in a discord server I’m in, so I thought I’d give it a go. Not entirely satisfied with the section titles, so I used them quite liberally. I will explain why I put people where I did. On the tier itself I didn’t order them by preference but in my explanation I will. Please not that they will be ranked from favorite to least favorite per category (for example: I put Sapnap technically above Niki despite liking her character more) and not by how much they deserve to be in each category (for example: I prefer Technoblade to Phil but I believe people excuse Technoblade’s actions more than Phil’s). I encourage healthy suggestion in the comments since I only joined the fandom around the Green Festival and haven’t seen the history/POV’s of every character, though I try. Enjoy.

Gonna slap on a big ol’ “/rp” here just to be safe.

You've done nothing wrong come here (holds you gently)

So the thing about this section is that I don't believe any dream smp character is completely innocent, so I used this section more like a top of tier than as it's title implies.

1. TommyInnit

Ngl, Tommy is my favorite character in the Dream SMP. As a fellow Loud Person I relate to him a lot and his feelings that nobody really likes him. His mental health struggles are close to my heart and (SPOILERS) his death just made me so devastated. I really hope they don't end his arc like this. Not when he was just starting to heal, please. Tommy has certainly done a lot of things wrong. I'd highly recommend watching the exile decision from both Tubbo and Tommy's POV's because you can really get a grasp of their mindsets. Despite this, he is my fave.

2. Ranboo

Until recently I preferred Tubbo to Ranboo, but cc!Ranboo just totally outdid himself on lore and acting to the point where I couldn't deny it anymore. Ranboo did do *some* things wrong, but they are less extreme than many on this list (I don't count things he might have done under Dream's control since he wasn't conscious). Ranboo's character makes me go into protecc mode. So yeah, very good enderboi.

3. Tubbo_

Tubbo doesn't have much lore for his character, but like I do with many others on this list, I like to overanalyze and interpret certain characters to be deeper than they are. The Tubbo I have in my head is a lot more complex than what cc!Tubbo probably meant to portray. There is so much angst potential with his character, similar to many others, but what puts him top tier for me is the emotional connection I have to his character and how I relate to getting so much put on my shoulders and having to make tough decisions.

you're an amazing character

Okay so technically Schlatt should be on this list if we are speaking from a narrative standpoint, but seeing as the way OP labelled the other sections on this chart I'm guessing they meant morally as well.

4. Alex Quackity

Quackity is my favorite adult character. I don't even know why, I just love the idea of this comic relief character becoming such a catalyst for plot and more serious as time goes on. I love taking the dream smp characters and making them deeper than they probably are, as I do with Tubbo, but now it seems cc!Quackity is fully taking his character to the height of his potential and I can't wait to see what he does with him next.

5. AweSamDude

(SPOILERS) As such a big Tommy fan I must admit, my first thought when Tommy died was that Sam was partly responsible. If Dream told him what he did to Tommy in exile like he claims then he would have at least put up the obsidian barrier between them or something. After watching Ranboo's most recent stream (right now it's March 3rd) I understand why Sam did what he did more. My initial anger towards him has dissipated a bit. I still love his character so much. He really did care about Tommy and now... dang. I can't wait to see what happens with him next.

6. Captain Puffy

It was very close between ranking her or Sam higher, but given all the in depth character stuff we're getting from Sam right now, I'd have to rank him above. Despite this, Puffy is a character that I started out not knowing anything about and am now feeling her climb the ranks in my books. Sometimes I feel like she's the only adult who actually put Tommy's well-being above other things, despite them not interacting often. I wasn't around for the whole "duckling" thing with Dream and have yet to watch the VODs, but I just want her to visit him now and punish him for the Tommy stuff. (SPOILERS) I can feel Dream's next ploy being trying to convince someone to let him out in exchange for bringing back Tommy and if Sam doesn't cave then Puffy probably will. Also, I really hope that her and Niki's relationship isn't forgotten. There's so much angst potential there. Also, I need sapphics to survive.

7. Eret

So, I wasn't a fan of the SMP during season one. I hadn't even heard of it except for like my friend referencing Technoblade now and then. After watching some VODs of Eret's I am slowly starting to fall in love with her characterization. I am so soft for their redemption arc, for the regret he feels. Now that cc!Eret is back from their mental health break I am so ready for more.

8. Fundy

Fundy's a character that I will forget how much I love until he goes live again, or until I reread his old quotes. He has a lot of lore to him that surprises you every time you remember. Whether its his last speech to Schlatt to COCONUT 2020, Fundy always gives the audience something more to think about.

9. "Ghostbur"

Ghostbur is one of the few characters who genuinely make me want to cry. cc!Wilbur's performance was both hilarious and immaculate. I really want to find out more about his lore, though. Do all dead people with unfinished business get an alternate version of themselves to roam the Earth while you stay in the afterlife unable to make contact unless the veil is thin? Was Ghostbur just Wilbur pretending the whole time? (SPOILERS) Is Tommy going to get one? Is Glatt canon? Much to think about.

10. BadBoyHalo

While I despise egg-possessed BBH, normal BBH has my entire heart. The fact he gave up his mind for Skeppy is *chef's kiss*. I am very impressed with everything cc!BBH is writing right now.

11. Karl Jacobs

My second favorite polyamorous dimension hopper after Star Butterfly (let me have Startomco please)! TFTSMP just gets better and better each week. His time travel shenanigans are so fun and mysterious. Karlnapity is just a big ol' pot of angst just waiting to happen. WEDDING SOON PLEASE!

no intense opinion

While I do have opinions on some of these characters, they aren't intense enough to place them anywhere else.

12. Ponk

I don't watch him all that often since he's live during my school time, but what I've seen I love. Him starting that whole side plot expanding on that one TFTSMP episode intrigues me and I can see it tying into the egg somehow. Him and Sam are really cute together (/rp) and I want him to become more plot relevant again.

13. Antfrost

GAY CAT GAY CAT GAY CAT! In all seriousness, I really want him to do stuff with his character to make him more than just BBH's second-in-command (I have similar feelings with Skeppy, but I know he isn't very big on lore). Side note, but I really love the hc that RedVelvetCake is inside the egg. I want him to join so bad.

14. Purpled

I've only just started watching the actual clips from pre-L'Manberg times and Purpled was once much more plot involved than I thought. Him planning on getting his revenge on Tommy at the same time as the "police" investigating the Camarvan back in early season one was comedy gold. Shout out to BlueberryTV on YouTube for making it so easy to watch. In conclusion, we stan an underage mercenary.

15. GeorgeNotFound

Idk if this is a hot take or not, but I feel a good portion of people who love George's character are just DNF shippers who want to turn his crumbs into an angst factory, but you know what? Valid. While I am not a DNF shipper, I have seen the angst y'all have brought to the table and very much appreciate it.

16. ConnorEatsPants

The most I think I've seen of Connor has been the hostage scene and the non-canon party scene from this season. I don't have much to say except that his small speech to Tommy after he was let go about him not being a bad person despite traumatizing him hit surprisingly hard in the feels.

17. Skeppy

cc!Skeppy is not a big roleplayer, and I get that, it's just sometimes his character feels a little like an accessory to Bad's character. Please link me some good Skeppy moments in the comments if you can, I want to try and learn more about his character. His angst with Bad right now is top tier, though, and I choose to believe that Big Daddy Island is canon and that Bad took him there to keep him free from the egg. I actually wrote a fic about this if you want to check it out! Mind the tags, though, I went a little macabre with it.

18. HBomb

When I first learned about the SMP it was two nights before the green festival and I was up until 3am at my aunt's house reading the plot summary. The first clip of the smp I saw was the election VOD, where HBomb joined for the first time. I don't know much about him other than the fact he was Fundy's maid for a time and it was absolutely hilarious. I saw the recent stuff with him leaving Greater SMP to start over and enjoyed it. Hope we get more stuff like that with him.

19. Callahan

Gets all the ladies. What else can I say?

you're trying your best and I respect that

20. Sapnap

I put Sapnap here because he's on his way to becoming an amazing character. The angst stuff with Dream is the stuff George fans can only dream of (pun unintended). I like how he went from the cop, the pet killer, Dream's right hand man, to mushroom cottegecore gay living his best life and dealing with the pain of losing his best friend. The whole "Dream's bitch" conversation with Tommy that I saw an animatic for some time ago made me hurt so good. Also #KarlnapityWedding2021.

you're redeemable, thin fucking ice though

These are characters who I somewhat dislike to a degree, but still have hope for. In my opinion this section should be switched with the one after it in terms of which is worse, but oh well.

21. Wilbur Soot

I know he's already dead but if he's brought back to life I want a redemption arc from him back. (SPOILERS) If neither him nor Tommy come back to life then dsmp has a horrible track record with killing off their mentally ill and (tw) suicidal characters. Wilbur has done some awful things, but if he's brought back I don't think he'd be beyond saving.

22. Jack Manifold

I need to say something about Jack. He is so very very close to being in the "you're trying your best" section right now after his most recent stream. His redemption arc is so close I can taste it and if he is redeemed right I can see him joining my faves. His most recent stream was just so well acted that my heart just wants to forgive him already... until my brain remembers he tried to nuke a child. Don’t know if this is also a hot take, but I think he had more of a right to be mad at Tommy than Niki did, but I know for Niki it's more complicated than that.

23. Niki Nihachu

There was a time that I adored Niki Nihachu and a part of me still does, but she has gone a little bit off the deep end. I do understand it's a trauma response, though. cc!Niki said that her villain arc is almost over, which disappointed me a bit because we kinda barely got to see it since it was so overshadowed, but I am also relieved. I just want my wlw baker back :(

people excuse your actions more than you deserve

I am just going to pretend that this section doesn't say "love". I still like these characters a lot even though they get away with a lot of shit.

24. Technoblade

I love Technoblade too much for him to be ranked this low, but like I said this ranking is based on fitting the section descriptions, not how much I love them. Technoblade's POV is understandable but also that doesn't excuse the pain he's caused so many people. L'Manberg was more than it's a government as much as Techno is more than a weapon.

25. Philza Minecraft

Philza deserves to be in this section a little less than Technoblade because I actually agree with a lot of what Philza fans say. Tommy is not Philza's kid. Phil has a lot of trauma around killing Wilbur, yes. I just don't see how you could watch Ghostbur's Friend speech during Doomsday and think he was in the right for doing it.

i don't like you

26. JSchlatt

JSchlatt is an amazing character in many ways. The acting? Glorious. The dialogue? Spot on. With that being said, YAYY HE'S DEAD!!! I really like leaning into the abusive relationship hc with him and his cabinet. He was probably the most fun villain we've ever had, though.

I WANT THIS MOTHER FUCKER DEAD

27. DreamWasTaken

Come on, do I even have to explain?

[atiny-ahgase]

A message to my Moots

Hey all, I originally wasn’t gonna do this cause I honestly didn't even know where to begin (I still don't tbh) but I said that I’ll still give it a try cause I wanted to tell you all my feelings before the new year rolls around (for me at least lol). So let’s get too it.

Firstly thank you to every single person that follows me, or has read any of my fics or liked any of my edits or even just interacted with me in any form. Thank you for the immense love and support that I’ve received on this site, honestly I didn't expect to make any friends here and the fact that I was able to meet and befriend so many amazing people. So I just wanna say thank you so much for being a part of my life. I’ve always put up walls and I’m really bad at getting close to others but Tumblr was the first site that I’ve really felt comfortable enough to be the real me. So thank you for that.

Now on to the Mentions

I had no idea how to start this so I decided to start at the beginning.

@mingishoe -Luna, you were the reason that I joined Tumblr in the first place, your fics brought me here and your interactions with other blogs opened up so many doors for me and helped me to interact and befriend so many amazing people. You were the first person that I ever sent an ask to, you made me feel so comfortable and welcome so thank you for that. Thank you for being you, a literal moon; bright and beautiful always lighting up the way. I honestly don't think that I would ever be able to explain how much I love, admire and look up to you, I honestly can’t find the words. Honestly, just thank you for being there for your little anon (Idk if you know which anon I am though lol)

@vocalyunho -Ames!!!!! The 2nd person that I followed! an absolute angel. You are such a calm soul and I just love your vibe and energy so much. I think that I’ve said this a million times but you just make me feel so safe and secure, you have such a calm and capable aura that is just so soothing to me. Thank you for coming into my life and being the amazing person that you are.

@jonghoshoe -ZAD!!! Baby Brother! My Teddy Bear! My Sunflower!! Where do I even begin?!? You were basically my first friend on Tumblr (and I am even more grateful to Luna cause I found you through her). IDK what it was about you but you had such an amazing out look on life while still being chaotic in the best way possible. I would wake up every morning and look out for your posts cause you would always make me smile. Without even knowing it you became a big part of my life and I am so grateful for that. You were my motivation when I was feeling down, you encouraged me to see the good things in the word, you hyped me up to write fics; honestly you are part of why I am the Gabby that I am today and I cant thank you enough for that, I love and admire you so much.

Next on my list is my little bunny @lustjoong -PK PK PK, my knee loving queen!!!! IDEK what to say cause I feel as though I confess my love to you at least twice a week on discord lol. I love talking with you, you're incredibly level headed and give amazing advice (which I always need cause I’m a mess lol). I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again that I admire you so much and would of never imagined that I would of ever gotten the chance to talk to you (much less be able to call you my friend) cause in my mind I always saw you as this amazing and untouchable writer (but then I realized that I’m taller than you so... lol I’m kidding). I’m happy that you found out that I was messaging you on anon and thank you for reaching out to me. I look forward to more chaotic conversations and knee pics in the new year.

@atiny-piratequeen -FIE I FREAKING LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT I MIGHT EXPLODE!! You fill me with so much life that I cant even begin to explain. I’ve said this a million times before but I love how you aren't afraid to speak you mind and say how you feel. You're such a strong figure to me here on the platform and I've always admired how natural and bold you are with your opinions. I find your personality to be extremely refreshing and welcoming, I was never afraid to interact with you (I combusted when you sent me an ask but that’s only natural..) so thank you for providing me (and a lot of other Atiny) with a safe and welcoming place that we can come to.

@twancingyunhoe -Allyssa!!! My mom!!!! My cookie baking, Yunho loving, cat mom!! where do I even begin?? Thank you for being an absolute angel! You shine so brightly here and you're always so supportive to literally everyone. I am and always will be there for you no matter what so I want you to remember that in the coming year. and remember that I love you in your highs and your lows and I am available to provide cuddles anytime they are needed or wanted cause you are precious to me ok luv.

@felixs-moonlight -my little duckling AJ!!! I’m wishing you the best in the new year cause that's what best bois deserve! You are so incredibly sweet and caring so don't you ever forget. Even if you do forget don't worry cause I will always be there to remind you.

@seoultraveller -Cat. Your presence makes me so happy!! IDEK what it is I just love seeing you on my dashboard, when I don't see you I wonder how you are. I hope that this new years is treating you well. Also, you are NOT boring and lets talk a lot more in the coming year okay luv

@yunhozone -Jey!! I miss you, I hope that you're well, its been raining lately so I hope that you're staying dry and safe. I love your boldness and sense of humor so please don't ever change. i started following you on a whim and I have never regretted following you ever since. You make me smile and laugh so much and I hope that I can do the same for you in the coming years. Stay safe okay luv

@pirate-hongjoong -Kayla, lets both talk more in the coming year ok luv. I pretty much told you everything that I wanted to on your post so I’ll try to keep this short. I think that you're really sweet and we should get to know each other more, I’ll try to reach out some more and be a little less shy. so lets continue to grow our friendship okay.

@taelepathysroom -You were the first friend that I made on Tumblr all on my own (meaning that I didn't see you interacting with a moot or anything, I found you all by myself) to this day I don't remember how I mustered up the bravery to message you. I remember wanting to message you on anon and realizing that you had anon off and I STILL went for it lol, apparently I was wilding. But that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, I love talking with you and receiving all of your extremely important messages and I look forward to many more (my heart is not ready but it is fine).

@moongaera -Gaera you are such a great motivation to me and I’m so happy to be a part of your life. You are so sweet and incredibly talented. I love seeing you on my dashboard and talking with you cause you honestly make my heart want to explode.

@yungidreamer - Big sister!!!! Kelsi!!! My aesthetic queen who I am convince is tryna kill me on our discord chat you are so kind and helpful and give such great tips. You are such a calm soul and I love interacting with you (especially when things feel crazy) its like you just magically know the answer to everything.

@yunhoiseyecandy -Violet, we don't really talk much but I think that you're really cool and fun so lets talk lots in 2021 ok. Also IDK why I felt like this was the perfect place to post this but you're the only moot whos emoji pops up when I start to type their name in the hashtags and I always thought that its really cute. (You're also really cute). I think that we would be really good friends so I cant wait to talk with you more.

@hwaberrykiwi -CAM CAM CAM CAM CAM!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! You are so fun to talk to and so sweet and so calming and you make my heart feel like its bursting (in the best way possible). I hope that you're well and I look forward to sharing more moments here with you on Tumblr (and I am still keeping my promise of not eating Lemon Bars if they aren't from you so...)

@atinywrites -Angel!!! My precious, little angel who always attacks my poor little heart. I love your messages and how you just pop up randomly and shower me with love (then I read your posts and you're just straight up roasting people JBJDJFILJFISREHF) I love absolutely everything about you and I’m really happy that we met each other, I cant wait to see what 2021 has in store for us.

@choisans-dimples -Cass my dearest little Sugar Plum, apart from you being absolutely precious you are also extremely previous to me. I remember our first interactions and they still bring a smile to my face (we were like Tom and Jerry and honestly in a way we still are lol). But you mean so much to me and you never fail to make me laugh or smile no matter what is going on in my life. I wish for you to never lose that smile in 2021 and if it ever begins to falter just know that I’m here ok luv

@latte-fairytaekwoon -Latte, I’m not gonna lie; when Mei started adopting family members I felt like my brain was gonna explode but I gotta hand it to her cause she has great taste in family cause she chose you. If it wasn't for her then I probably would of never found you. if that happened then who would spoil me rotten?!? I am so happy to have met you I honestly thrive every time I see you on my dashboard, you are absolutely hilarious and I love to see your interactions. I cant wait to see what you do in 2021 and all of the other years to come. Thanks for being a great Tumblr Mom

@little-precious-baby -Mei, where do I begin?? You came out of no where for me, you just sort of appeared and then in the blink of an eye you became so dear to me. Id just find myself looking out for your posts and wondering how you are. IDK how to explain it but you've somehow managed to bring so many amazing individuals together in such a short time, you're absolutely amazing and I hope that one day you'll be able to see yourself the way that we already see you. Ik that things can be hard (and they will be because that’s life) but just know that this family that you helped to bring together is always here for you when you need someone to confide in and when it feels like its too much and you need a break we’ll be right here waiting for you until you come back. Just remember that your big sis loves you ok my little bean.

@ateez-little-star -JAS!!!!!! My babie sister IDK how to write this without crying cause you make me so happy that idek what to do. You are so bold and brave while still being shy and cute, I cant explain it. You are so wholesome to talk to and so fun and interesting and sweet and loveable! Like how could someone not love you!! Thank you for always checking up on me and showering me with love and just making me smile.

@yunhofingers -My sweet little bean who definitely never behaves badly!! I am sending you all of the positive vibes for the new year. Ik that things wont always be easy but just know that I’m always here and I believe in you. You are so sweet and kind and bold and I love that about you, don't ever change and thank you so much for making me smile; I hope that I can do the same for you in 2021 and beyond cause I hope that we can be friends for a really long time.

I also wanted to include the moots that I do interact with but I also want to talk to even more in the coming year. Thank you for being here for both me and other people in the kpop community. I love your blogs and you all are so incredibly kind (and ridiculously entertaining; I’m looking at you Caly and Vivi lol), I hope that we can become even better friends.

@hanatiny @sansbun @hongism @multidreams-and-desires @smallfrye @aixy-hpsa @galaxteez @jongpleasure @simphwa @inkigayeo @heeseungluvs

[tsuisou-no-despair]

Higurashi When They Cry: Gou -My “Final” Thoughts

Since we’re getting a second season - and it’s so obvious that Gou was written as the first half of the story - I find it hard to rate Gou at this point in time. Do you remember how when Avengers: Infinity War came out and a lot of critics were like “well, we need to see Endgame before we can really make our judgements”? Yeah, it’s like that - hence why “final” is in quotes.

Even so, I still have some thoughts about Gou, Higurashi as a whole, and my experiences with getting in on something’s fandom. I’ll make a post for what I want out of Sotsu later - right now, here’s what I have for Gou.

What I Liked About Gou

Most of it, honestly! I enjoyed Gou greatly and I’m glad I sat down and gave it a watch. (This may be heresy, but I honestly found it better as an experience than the last airing-weekly anime thing I sat down and watched - that being Mob Psycho 100 Season 2) But as for the stuff unique to Gou thatI particularly liked:

First off, having a new Higurashi anime that’s actually good. We needed something like this after Outbreak, Kira and (to a much lesser extent) the non-Saikoroshi parts of Rei pushed the series deeper and deeper into a trash can.

I love the new art style and the new designs for the characters. There’s a lot of good in DEEN’s adaptation, but a lot of the time the art left something to be desired. Passione’s take on Hinamizawa gave us a cast that can be cute and beautiful and terrifying all while looking good.

There’s also a lot of really good cinematography - the shot used in the GIF above left me going ‘holy shit”.

The new themes are a triple threat of bangers. In particular I loved that they brought in Ayane to really give it a deeper tie to Higurashi as a greater franchise. (The best of these, of course, is Irregular Entropy)

Episode 4′s twist. Just... *chef’s kiss*. I know that people poked it apart and called it ridiculous after the fact but I don’t know if the feeling of dread when Rena’s eyes were hidden by shadow, and I realized that this wasn’t going to end well, is something I could ever really recapture.

Speaking of violence, the ending of Episode 13. The dull red light... the ringing bell... good stuff.

In retrospect, creating Tataridamashi by bringing in Minagoroshi was smart, specifically from a character-introduction standpoint. They needed to establish the existence of Kimiyoshi, Oryou and Akane for later parts of the story and dipping into Minagoroshi’s involvement of them is probably the easiest way to do it.

In general, Gou’s really smart about its character introductions. I didn’t think they’d bring in Akasaka but I’m honestly really pleased with how they did it.

SatoRika was confirmed! And was really cute... until it extremely wasn’t! (But in a good way!)

The fact that Satoko and Rika’s conflict at St. Lucia was so nuanced, with neither of them really being 100% right or 100% wrong. (Of course, this doesn’t last)

I might be slightly conflicted about Satokowashi as an arc, but none of those conflicts are with Eua. (The “FUCK YEAH FEATHERINE TIME” from Twitter was particularly tasty)

The dub! I know a lot of people are ambivalent towards the Gou dub but I for one am happy that we’ve got some great performances, as well as a Higurashi dub that’s actually good. Maybe not great, but far better than what DEEN got in the end.

This Shion face

This is the face of someone that’s going to wreck her sister’s chances with her new boyfriend for fun.

What I Didn’t Like About Gou

Watadamashi in general. This is easily the weakest arc by a long shot, which sucks because I like Watanagashi-hen quite a bit. A lot of the time, it just felt like the animators had chose it as the place to cut costs. As good as the Takano scene in the Saiguiden is, it’s one of the things that makes the least sense in retrospect given the changes to Takano that have been established in Gou. And Episode 8 was rough both from a pacing and a what-happened standpoint. While Watadamashi had some great moments (the above Shion face as well as Rika dressing down Keiichi), overall it was clearly the weakest arc, particularly after Shion left the picture.

The pacing of Gou in general left something to be desired at times - they really should’ve shifted the extra episode in the first cour from Tataridamashi to Watadamashi, and Satokowashi could’ve probably condensed some of its episodes down and gave more room to other things, like...

Satoshi. He really shouldn’t have been as absent from the series as he was - hell, until Ep. 9 I legitimately thought that he might’ve been cut from the story altogether (and honestly, if they did that maybe the story would have been better!)

On that note, Episode 22 just kinda sucked in general.

While I’m not on the “where’s Shion” train as heavily as some meme artists are, I do think that the fact that she had to be written out of the second cour entirely to make it work is one of Gou’s story’s objective faults.

There’s a lot of little details added or addressed in Satokowashi-hen that I feel are either less than good, or are just restrictive. The big two of these is Satoko watching all of the fragments (either Eua should’ve just given her a sample platter, or we should’ve seen more of Satoko’s thoughts and reactions) and the fact that the memories returning means that eventually Hinamizawa would end up “solved” without Satoko’s intervention.

Honestly, Gou’s finale needed a bit more punch - it wasn’t bad but honestly even for a halfway point it could have ended with a bit more of a bang.

The Fandom Side Of Things

First off, I want to preface this by saying thanks for following me, taking my theories into account (it always feels cool whenever I see something I threw into the aether in one of my Theory Times getting adopted and spread by someone else as an interesting idea!) and sticking with me through Gou and hopefully through Sotsu. You are all amazing and I love you all.

After Watadamashi concluded, I decided that my Higurashi bullshit needed its own sideblog, because I recognized that nobody in my other circles was even remotely into Higurashi and I didn’t want to shout into the void. So, I made myself a sideblog, named it after one of my favorite Higurashi console openings, and started posting my thoughts. Quickly I discovered a whole world of theories (”Satoko’s suspicious? I never would have thought of that!” - me, a young and naive fool), hot takes, and a surprising number of Rena kin. (Who are all delightful, I assure you!)

One of the things that stuck out to me was the different schools of opinion that formed. While I ended up as a relatively quiet analyst who overall liked Gou despite its flaws (a camp shared by two of my favorite blogs - @tarhalindur and @thewhitefluffyhat - that you need to follow if you don’t already), there were many others who had much stronger thoughts. Some of them were loudly cheering the story’s turns, while others seemed to decide that Gou could do no right and acted accordingly. Joining a Discord run by one of the larger Higurashi blogs on Tumblr gave me a live view of the process in Satokowashi’s later half, and it made me really realize what shaped people’s views on Gou. Some particular factors that caught my eye:

Whether or not they liked Umineko over Higurashi (mostly a Twitter element - the Umineko fans really enjoyed Eua making her appearance and overall reacted really positively to Gou)

Where they hailed from - honestly I think that Tumblr overall was one of the more positive fanbases for Gou (at least of the big concrete places like it and Reddit), given how the various camps thought of Gou’s eventual villain.

How they felt about Episode 16 - there were a lot of people that seriously felt that Rika learning the “lesson” of “maybe leaving the hometown where bad things happened isn’t the right call” was far, far more abhorrent and objectionable than the part where she got her entrails ripped out!

How they feel about Satoko, naturally - particularly, how much they sympatized with her and how much they didn’t want to see her go down the path she did. Tumblr in particular had a lot of people that related with her and her life situation, and it was never not interesting to see how the sympathy and occasional projection shaped someone’s particular thoughts. (There were some strong reactions to Gou showing an abuse victim becoming an even worse abuser, let me tell you.)

I think I’ll conclude these final thoughts by quoting my IRL best friend’s tags regarding the fandom of her choice:

It really is. And I’m glad I got on this ride and saw it through with all of you.

See you in July.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

*DASHES INTO THE ROOM, STRANGELY PHYSICAL HEARTS SPILLING OUT OF MY ARMS*

I HEARD ASH NEEDED LOVE TODAY AND I’M HERE TO TELL YOU 25 REASONS YOU ARE INCREDIBLE BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. SO HERE WE GO, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, 25 SUPER COOL AWESOME ASH THINGS THAT MAKE MY DAY BRIGHTER

1) your blog name is just!!! Really cool!!! To this day, I don’t know why, it’s just a daily source of giddiness. Love me a blog with a really cool play on word name and hey howdy hey look what we got here, a super cool blog with a super cool name

2) you are so amazingly kind??? And incredibly involved with your readers??? You are the sort of writer I thought existed when I was a smol sheltered bean and lo and behold one of my first outings I find a super awesome cool and interactive writer who cares??? So much about what she’s putting out into the world, and how it affects others??? You are both an inspiration and a gift??

3) thanksgiving lives in my head rent free, day after day, minute after minute. Catch me sweeping up popcorn at work and all of a sudden my brain is starting my cinematic presentation of stuff being spooned onto a pitifully empty plate, and the warmth of the holidays being stolen away by the things that lurk in grey eyes :)

4) you and your blog have (has? Grammar. Bleh) been such a source of wisdom, and it’s just wonderful. I know I can’t be the only one. You share so many wonderful resources, and you *care* so much I just. Yeah. You’re incredible. I cannot even begin to explain how much I’ve benefited from running across this wonderful place.

5) I cannot speak about the amazing things that comprise ash without going absolutely bonkers about your w r i t i n g. I just. You are so good at layering meaning upon meaning upon meaning into your works, until they become this beautiful, colorful sedimentary formation of gorgeous intent and heartbreaking subtext.

6) and beyond just subtext, IMAGERY, ASH. IMAGERY. I COULD WANDER DOWN YOUR SPRAWLING CORRIDORS OF DESCRIPTION FOR HOURS. GET LOST IN ALL THE LITTLE NOOKS AND CRANNIES WHERE DETAILS LIE AND MY HEART GOES TO BE FULL AS WELL AS TO SHATTER

7) just about any time I’m up early I see a happy little green discord bubble that makes my heart go ☀️❤️ and I’m not a morning person, but it always puts me in a happy mood to start my day

8) hello random point here!! Just for me to say you’re amazing and I love you!! I’m allowed to do that cause I made the rules :P

9) you are taking a break!!! A well deserved, wonderful break to rest the ash head!!!!! Take care of the ash brain!!! For inside it are many wonderful things!!! Many amazing gifts to this world that you bless us with!!! Take care of the ash!!!

10) now I will sing a song: *clears throat* OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH HOW I LOVE THE ASH OC’S, THE ASH OC’S, THE ASH OC’S! HOW I LOVE THE ASH OC’S THAT BREAK MY HEART IN TWO

11) you were the first whump writer I ever really came into contact with! That’s not to say I hadn’t read whump before, but I had never interacted with anyone before. And nervous little me stuck my head in and you went HELLO WELCOME WE’RE ALL VERY FRIENDLY HERE HAVE A SLICE OF HEARTACHE PIE AND JOIN THE FUN and I cannot thank you enough for that

12) your profile picture. Please. It gives me so much serotonin

13) stop I’m already gay. This comes with no context but it doesn’t even need it. You know who this is about.

14) Chris owns my entire heart and also my soul 🥺 so does Kauri, come to think of it 🥺 and Jake 🥺 and Krista 🥺 and-

15) I FINISHED THE BAD ARC RECENTLY AND HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME. HOW DARE YOU DO SUCH A FANTASTIC JOB RIPPING MY HEART TO PIECES IN SUCH A BRILLIANT MANNER. HOW DARE YOU MAKE SOMETHING SO gOOD HURT SO BAD. HOW DARE-

16) Teach me to write pls you are a goddess of prose and I bow at your altar

17) HEY GUESS WHAT IT’S ANOTHER RANDOM BLURB WHERE I JUMP IN AND REMIND YOU THAT I LOVE YOU IN CASE YOU FORGOT WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT! YOU ARE FANTASTIC! YOU ARE SPLENDED! KIND! IMPORTANT! TRULY MAGNIFICENT!

18) never has someone ever managed to make me so worked up over a roomba, I swear to god I am more invested in Kiera’s well-being than I am in my own, PLEASE TELL ME MY FUNKY LITTLE VACUUM MAKES IT

19) Vincent! Shield! Breaks! My! Heart! Someone! Please! Help! Him! For! The! Love! Of! God! Please! Just that whole...kauri’s whole....and Owen and....😭 you have such good concepts and they break me to pieces and the (minimal though it is) comfort stitches it back together and ASHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

20) five more left! Five more left! Cause I can only fit 25 in! But there is! so much more! About the Ash! Of that I’m sure! Look out. Here comes the Ash love!

21) this is specifically a me thing, but in following some of the discourse that passes through your blog, I have learned a *lot* about the world, and about myself. I won’t give specifics, but you actually encouraged me to talk with someone, and secure a diagnosis that I’ve been holding off on for a long time. And it has opened up so many pathways, and helped me see the world in such a different light and I just. I can never really thank you enough for that?

22) I can never get enough of how amazing you are at flipping the usual narrative on its head, and drawing out such crucially important morals from it? God I just. Ash

23) you’re still here! You’re still going! The world is a crazy place, and the internet even crazier, but look at you! You’re here! In spite of it all, it’s still you! And I thank my lucky stars every day for it!

24) this is just a fun fact but you are one of (5) blogs I keep post notifications on for, constantly. Tumblr and I are very fickle friends, but I cannot tell you how much it gives me a little rush of glee (or terror or sorrow or fear depending on the content) whenever I get that little banner pop up on my phone and it says ASHINTHEAIRLIKESNOW POSTED:

25) Number twenty five is simply, truthfully, and completely that you are Ash! You are wonderful, and brilliant, and a light in a world that gets pretty dim, every now and then. Even when your light feels a little grey, never let it go out ❤️ you are loved, and you are so very special, and you deserve tenfold of the goodness you put out.

ANYWAY, IN CONCLUSION: WE LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK ASH!!!!!

Anon, I have no response that can possibly match what I was sent here. This was delightful and it made me feel the same way I felt when I first saw the ‘boom da yada’ commercial for the Discovery channel, which is to say... awesome. Thank youuuuuu for this list!

[kyluxbigbang]

Kylux Big Bang 2020 wrap-up and feedback survey results

Hello everyone!

We've concluded yet another Kylux Big Bang, fifth one we've run since TFA first came out - a huge THANK YOU to all our participants who keep this bang going! Amazing job everyone, we hope you've had as much fun with it as with the previous ones, and if this was your first ever KBB - we hope you've enjoyed it, and will join us for the 2021 KBB :D

We've closed the feedback survey, thank you to everyone who responded! Your comments will help shape the coming Kylux Big Bang. Here's the tl;dr summary, (for more info please see below the cut):

Ratio of artwork to wordcount: just right

Time-frame to complete works: just right, we will have a similar timeframe for KBB 2021 with posting in November

Check-ins: were useful, just about the right amount, and will be included again in 2021 KBB

Pairing process: went well, we've addressed more detailed comments below

Type of bang for 2021: REVERSE! The KBB has a tradition of swapping between the type of bang every other year, and over half of responders voted for a reverse bang. For the KBB 2021 artists will provide prompts, and writers will pick from them!

Mods for the 2020 KBB: will be announced once the 2021 bang starts

Our email is still kyluxbigbang2020s@gmail.com, please feel free to contact us there if you’d like!

We will keep running the discord server for KBB 2021 to help people reach out to the mods and other participants

We will update the schedule as soon as the 2021 KBB starts. We are hoping to open the sign-ups for KBB 2021 in early May - keep an eye out on our blog and twitter for the sign up announcement around that time!

For more details about the survey results please check below the cut.

Everyone, regardless of previous involvement in the fandom and their skill level, is welcome to participate in the Kylux Big Bang!  We look forward to many of you signing up for the 2021 KBB :)

KBB Mod Team

Nearly everyone thought the ratio of artwork to wordcount was just right (93%; 94% last year; 5% thought there were too many words per piece of art and 2% that there wasn't enough), and the majority of people (79%, 77% last year) thought the time-frame to complete the works was also just about right, with 14% saying it wasn't enough and 7% saying that it was too much time. We will stick to a similar time frame, starting KBB 2021 around May and finishing in November for the Big Bang and September for the Mini Bang.

Almost everyone (95%; 15% more than last year) finished their projects by the end of the event and was satisfied or highly satisfied with the 2020 KBB (88%).

Most people (86%; 96% last year) found the check-ins useful, with majority of participants (74%, 91% last year) having found the amount of check-ins to be just about right. 16% of respondents thought there were too many, 10% thought there were too few. 86% of all respondents would like to have check-ins in the next KBB. We will continue using them, and review their number.

62% of people want to see a reverse bang this year, and we have taken into account the fact that the previous bangs operated on a switch basis: a regular bang followed by a reverse, followed by a regular. We are happy to announce that this year’s event will be a REVERSE bang, following the regular bang from last year :) Artists will submit their story ideas, and writers will pick from them.

We were happy to hear that almost everyone who voiced their opinions about the pairing process thought it worked well!

As usual, we got the one singular comment about the pairing process being somehow 'rigged'. Here is a link to the pairing algorithm we use every year since 2017. To increase the anonymity of prompts and bids, mod @glass-oceans encoded each prompt with its own unique code (the 'prompt code' everyone has been using for their project), and the artist bids were similarly encoded to avoid bias before the pairing up was done by mod @brainyraccoons based on those codes alone. If people still have concerns and doubts about the pairings, mod @brainyraccoons is more than happy to discuss those, you can message him on tumblr/twitter under the same username or on discord at brainyraccoons#5678.

We would also like to note that most other big bangs operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis for pairing, where whoever is first to bid on a prompt gets it. We think that is highly unfair to people who cannot access the bidding on time or experience technical difficulties, therefore we employ the pairing algorithm even though it adds at least 15 extra work hours (that’s almost half a week for an office worker) for one mod and is quite a complex process. We do it because we want everyone to have an equal chance at getting their favourite prompts. If you think the process is somehow ‘rigged’, you are in no way obliged to participate in the KBB, and we will not address any further comments of this nature.

We've received a comment asking for space to write down people whom the participants do not wish to be paired up with - this information can be included in the last question on the form which asks whether you would like to let us know of anything else regarding your pairing and prompt preferences.

We are not sure what the comment asking about factoring in time zones for pairing relates to - if the person in question could send us a private message and explain, we would be happy to hear them out!

Other feedback we've received has been extremely positive and encouraging, and we are happy to hear that you've enjoyed the project! We sincerely thank everyone who took the time to share their love for the KBB with us, the project wouldn't be possible without you!

To address the concerns and queries that were raised:

This year we will be changing the way the posting windows work, as many people have raised their concerns over them, and we acknowledge that the posting didn't go as smoothly as anticipated. We will be following the format almost all other Big Bangs take, and people will be able to pick ONE DAY, and one day only, for their posting. ALL art and fic will have to be posted within that time-frame. If there are reasonable mitigating circumstances for people missing their assigned posting date, we will do our best to find a good solution - as always, we will help however we can, and there will be options to post after the original deadline has passed, provided that the team keeps a line of communication open with us at all times when difficulties arise, and all parties know what's happening. Changing the way we do posting should also help with having less fics posted in the last few days and help to spread the posting out better.

Check-ins having no repercussions for the half of the team who isn't progressing with their side of the project: as far as we know, that wasn't the case, and teams who have submitted only partial check-ins were chased up and multiple pinch hitters were assigned where people went MIA. If there are issues with people not pulling their weight in your team, PLEASE LET US KNOW. If you are for some reason unhappy with your partner(s), PLEASE LET US KNOW. If you wish to change your partner because you cannot form a working relationship with them for the duration of the bang, PLEASE EXPLICITLY LET US KNOW (this one is particularly helpful at the start of the project when it's easier to move people around as necessary). We assume that everyone who is taking part in the bang is mature enough to be able to communicate with their partner, or notify us in a timely manner if things are not going according to plan, so we can work on a viable solution together.

Ability to talk to a mod of someone's choosing: this has always been the case, the list of mods is available to view on the rules page, as well as clearly visible on discord! You can DM any member of the mod team at any given time, although a reply might come some time later due to time zone differences.

We will continue to allow everyone to join the KBB, regardless of their previous involvement in the fandom, the KBB itself, and whether they have finished all their previous works for all other projects they have participated in or not.

We will aim to open beta sign ups at the start of the bang, so there will be a bigger beta pool from the beginning and hopefully we will be able to pair up anyone who will need a beta with one. However, we urge people to look for their own betas where possible, as it is not guaranteed that we will be able to provide one for the project, considering how many participants there are.

We will try to make more use of the discord server for posting announcements and reminders as well as posting more on both the tumblr and twitter throughout the bang. Unfortunately 2020 hit us all hard and we didn’t get to do things such as Tips & Tricks and Participant Profiles like we usually do.

For KBB 2021 we will require artists and authors to exchange emails. In previous bangs we’ve allowed people to opt-out of this and use alternate contact methods. This year primary point of contact will be through email and once people are paired up partners can choose how they want to keep in touch moving forward.

If anyone would like any clarification on any of the above, please feel free to contact us!

[saywhatjessie]

cute dog related title

3.5k. For Elaine. Join us on Discord! [Ao3]

“What do we think about Joan?”

Henry blinked, looking up from his phone to look over at Alex. “What?”

“Joan!” Alex repeated, excitedly. “As a name!”

Henry’s face contorted. “As in Joan of Arc?”

Alex’s face fell, “No, like Joan Jett. I’m trying to keep with our vintage rockstar theme.”

Henry let out a surprised laugh, turning a bit in his seat so his knee bumped Alex’s. “I like it.”

“Yeah, but if the first thing you thought was a religious figure, that’s not my favorite thing.”

“Well, it’s not like Bowie is the first thing you think when you hear David. Could just as easily be the Bible story with Goliath.”

Alex grimaced. “I don’t know if I like that.”

Henry huffed a laugh again, putting a hand on Alex’s knee. “Well, it’s not as if we have to decide now. Let’s at least meet the dogs first, yeah?”

Alex’s mouth twitched and he groaned dramatically, covering Henry’s hand with his. “ Fiiiiiiiine .”

Henry smiled softly, bringing Alex’s hand up to his mouth, kissing his knuckles. Alex grinned, butting his knee against Henry’s, teasing him for being so corny. Henry winked.

“Anyway, I’m more concerned with breed,” Henry said coolly, lifting his phone back to his face. “It’s important to research these things beforehand.”

Alex snorted. “H, I think the last thing we’re going to find is a pedigree where we’re going.”

Henry made a protesting noise in his throat. “It’s not about pedigree, love. We need to get a dog that will get along with David. One that won’t have separation anxiety when we need to be away and one that isn’t terribly difficult with new people.” He turned his phone toward Alex. “I have a list.”

Alex glanced at it and snorted. “Did you really google ‘dog breeds good with beagles’?”

“As opposed to what?” Henry said, his eyebrows hiked. “I got results, did I not?”

Alex snorted again but ran a hand over Henry’s knee as if to say ‘Yes you did, darling, now continue’.

Henry did just that. “Beagles on the whole are rather friendly and there’s very few breeds they won’t get along with.  And there’s always dogs that universally get along with everyone, like golden retrievers and labradors.”

Alex scrunched his face. “Sure, but how basic is that?”

Henry leaned his head against the headrest and turned to look at Alex, mournfully. “You’d look adorable with a Golden retriever.”

“I resent you for implying I wouldn’t look adorable with any dog.” Alex said. “And if I fall in love with a Golden Retriever then it is what it is. But give me more interesting options.”

Henry sighed but dutifully returned to his phone. 

“Greyhounds?” Henry offered, skeptically.

Alex pumped a fist. “Fuck yes. Skeletal horse-looking fuckers. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Henry grimaced but tapped at his phone a bit before humming in interest. “Greyhounds are one of the breeds most in need of rescue, since they’re former racing dogs. But they’re also one of the hardest dogs to rehabilitate and don’t deal well with the cold or being alone.” He looked at Alex, meaningfully. “So a greyhound would definitely do well in New York while we’re away on politics business or some such.”

Alex grimaced. “Okay, fine . What else you got?”

Henry continued to take him through various dog breeds, pros and cons, relating them to David and what life would be like for the new dog back at the brownstone while Henry was abroad and while Alex was in class or potentially doing lawyer things.

It was just so surreal for Alex to think that he could do this. He could get a dog with his boyfriend. They were living stable and almost boring lives. His mother had no more campaigns to run and he was stressed out in school, which was right in his comfort zone. Henry had his youth shelters and his LGBT organizations. He and Henry were out to the world. It felt like they could really start being a family.

And what better way to start a family than with a dog?

“I do hope David doesn’t feel as if we’re replacing him,” Henry mused, briefly looking out the car window. “This is for him. So he isn’t lonely when we’re both out. Since we left Mr. Wobbles, he needs a mate. This is for him. Do you think he knows?”

Alex’s mouth twitched into another smile and rubbed Henry’s knee consolingly. “If he doesn’t know by now, we can always put the new pup in a box with a bow on it. David would have to be particularly stupid if he doesn’t get the hint then.”

Henry turned to him with a frown. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Just a little,” Alex admitted, bringing Henry’s knuckles to his mouth to kiss them. “David knows we love him. He’ll be fine.”

Henry was still frowning but he turned back to the window, getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the shelter.

Zahra had vetted this shelter within an inch of its life, triple checking references and doing follow up calls with adopted dog owners from more than ten years ago. It was extremely important to not only Alex and Henry but to his mother’s public image, that if Alex was going to be adopting a dog, it would be in the most unambiguously ethical way possible. No puppy farms. No PETA ties. Just good old fashioned dog rescue.

They’d set up a private appointment, obviously. They’d tweet about the shelter once they were safely away.

Cash navigated the car around the back of a squat looking building, putting it in park and turning around to look at them. “You both ready?”

Henry nodded, a steely look in his eye. Alex gripped his hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

They pushed out of their respective doors and Alex hurried around the car to Henry’s side, grabbing his hand again before they reached the back door. Henry shot him a grateful smile and knocked.

A woman opened the door with a startled-sounding “Oh!” despite her clearly having expected them. “Well, wow, hi! Come in!”

Alex smiled, as he and Henry stepped past her into an office. The woman was young-looking, her hair tied up in a messy ponytail and glasses on her face. She wore scrubs with little corgis on them.

“Were the corgis for this guy?” Alex asked, pointing to Henry and gesturing at her scrubs. “Because they’re really more the queen’s thing. Our boy is a beagle man.”

Henry rolled his eyes and smiled even as his ears turned red. “Not everything is about me, Alex.”

“Oh, I did wear them for you, though,” the woman said, her hands shyly tucked in her scrubs pockets. “They felt appropriate.”

“You look great,” Alex told her, winking. He gave Henry’s hand a last squeeze before releasing it to offer it to her. “I’m Alex.”

“I know,” she said, with a slight giggle, taking his hand. “I spoke to your handler on the phone. I’m Faith.”

Alex grinned, shaking her hand and turning to Henry. “I’m sure Zahra would love to know she’s my handler.”

“She has been your handler for well over a decade, love.” Henry told him fondly.

He turned to Faith, offering his own hand. “Henry.”

She took it, bending her knees a bit in an awkward curtsy.

“Oh, that’s really not necessary,” Henry told her, embarrassed.

Alex moved to do his own curtsy, waxing about how amazing and royal Henry is, but he figured that might embarrass Faith more than Henry, so he just grinned and smacked Henry on the ass. “Yeah, he’s really not that great.”

“Alex,” Henry groaned.

“Can we see the dogs?” Alex asked, bouncing a bit on his toes.

Faith looked between them, biting her knuckles, looking very much like she was seconds away from collapsing into giggles. Instead, she cleared her throat and stood up, acting extremely professional. “Of course, follow me.”

They made their way out into the main hallways of the shelter and Alex leaned close to Henry’s ear. “Janis?” He said in a low tone. “Like Joplin?”

“Also Chandler Bing’s annoying girlfriend,” Henry whispered back.

“Goddammit.”

Alex sighed, turning his smile all the way back up when Faith turned to them as they stopped in front of another door.

“I’ve pulled some dogs for you ahead of time. Ones I thought would be a good fit based on what your handler told me. No major abandonment issues, house trained, good with other dogs–”

“Beagle, specifically.” Henry interrupted.

“Yes, a beagle, specifically,” Faith corrected, smiling indulgently. “I’ve pulled three dogs for you to meet today and you can always come back if none of them feel right. But the first one is right behind this door! He’s a Golden Retriever, he’s two years old, and his name is Davey. You ready?”

Alex and Henry nodded and they all headed in.

Davey greeted them very enthusiastically, panting and twining around their legs, his head butting into Alex and Henry’s hands until they scratched his ears. He didn’t bark and he didn't jump up, obviously very well trained.

And he was beautiful. A very handsome and good boy.

“Sit on the ground,” Henry instructed, pulling out his phone. “If I don’t get a photo of you with this dog I will never forgive myself.”

Alex rolled his eyes but sunk to the ground, sitting cross legged in the center of the floor. Davey immediately came up to lick his face, curling his body around so he was sitting square in Alex’s lap. Alex laughed and pet his belly, setting Davey’s tail to thrash in ecstasy. Henry’s grin was too fond as he took approximately a million pictures.

“What do you think?” Alex asked, his hands ruffling Davey’s ears.

Henry glanced nervously at Faith who was sitting at a chair in the corner, supervising their visit. Faith immediately waved him off. “Please speak freely, you won’t hurt my feelings. And Davey won’t understand you, anyway.”

Henry nodded in an acknowledgement, giving a small smile of thanks, but still lowered his voice before answering. “He’s a very pretty dog.”

“ So handsome,” Alex agreed, ruffling Davey’s ears again and kissing his head. “But golden retrievers…”

“Yes, you’ve said,” Henry said, rolling his eyes. “‘Davey’ is also a little too close to ‘David’. Right?”

“We could always change his name,” Alex offered.

Henry’s nose scrunched, telling Alex exactly what he thought of that idea.

Alex scrunched his nose back, mockingly. “Well, he’s an excellent boy. Guaranteed if we don’t take him, he’ll be adopted by the end of the week.”

Henry nodded, his shoulders relaxing a bit at the thought of Davey’s eventual rescue.

Faith smiled, rising from her chair and pulling something from her scrubs pocket. “Next dog?”

Henry nodded, reaching out a hand to Alex, who had been abandoned by Davey almost immediately after Faith had reached into her pocket. Henry helped him to his feet and Faith made Davey sit as she put the peanut butter puzzle treat in front of him.

She let him have it and they left the room while he was distracted.

The next dog was a beautiful floppy eared girl, chestnut with white patches and black feet like she was wearing socks.

Her name was Dobby.

Henry loved her immediately, sitting on the ground and letting her lope up to him and sniff his head. She was a little more demure than Davey, a little more unsure, but she warmed up to them soon enough.

“What is she?” Henry asked, his face in her neck.

Alex translated. “What breed is she?”

“We think she’s an Irish Setter and an English Springer Spaniel mix.”

Alex snorted. “An Irish and an English? Wonder how that worked.”

But Henry’s head popped up from where he’s been focusing on Dobby’s ears and looked at Faith, eyebrow creased. “You think?”

“She was a stray.” Faith shrugged. “We sent her bloodwork in to try and know more but there was some that was inconclusive.”

Henry frowned more, his hands stilling on Dobby’s back before she gave a slight whine and he picked back up on petting her.

Alex kicked gently at his shoe. “Dobby and David. That sounds cute.”

“I don’t like not knowing,” Henry admitted, the inside of his cheek between his back teeth.

“Stop chewing your face,” Alex told him, kicking his shoe again.

Henry stopped, shooting a pout at Alex before repeating “I don’t like not knowing. What if she’s part Chow Chow or Terrier.” He frowned longingly at her bushy tail. “What if she doesn’t get along with David? Chow Chows are not good with beagles.”

“We’re reasonably confident she won’t be a problem with other dogs, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought her in here to meet you,” Faith told them, smiling in sympathy. “I mean, look how gentle she is!”

Henry hugged her around the neck. She was exceedingly gentle.

Alex could have told Henry that they could work with her. That any small percentage of a breed she had that might not like David was something they could overcome. That it would all turn out okay if they took her home.

But Alex didn’t know that. He didn’t know anything for certain and that little margin of error was too much for Henry. If things didn’t work out and he had to give the dog up after falling even more in love with her, it would break his heart.

Alex took a step forward and put his hand on Henry’s head, petting his hair back from his face. He turned to Faith. “I think we should meet the next one.”

Faith nodded, maybe a little disappointed, but reached into her apron again for another peanut butter toy. 

Dobby immediately abandoned Henry when the smell of peanut butter hit the air, so that probably helped the sting some. Alex helped Henry to his feet and pulled him into a brief hug, rubbing a hand over his back.

“Maybe we can come back for her someday,” Alex whispered into his ear, kissing his shoulder.

Henry sighed, sinking a bit into Alex’s embrace before standing up straight. “No,” he said firmly. “I want her to be adopted. She deserves to have a forever home, even if it’s not with us.”

Alex kissed his shoulder again, pulling back and kissing him on the mouth. “This magnanimous sacrificial hero thing you’ve got going?” Alex kissed him again. “Extremely sexy.”

Henry laughed under his breath, ducking his head to kiss Alex back, before turning them both to face Faith, who was already done distracting Dobby and had been politely waiting by the door, politely averting her eyes until after they’d finished their moment.

They made their way to the last room.

Faith opened the door to reveal a medium-sized pointy looking dog.

“ Yeeeees, ” Alex whispered, immediately moving in to sit on the ground.

The dog started jumping around, reacting to Alex’s excitement, her toes clacking on the tile. She ran up to Alex as soon as he was on her level and started licking his face.

“Is this a greyhound?” Henry said, laughing a bit as he watched Alex. Alex, for his part, was entirely focused on petting every inch of this dog.

“Hair’s too long to be a greyhound,” he answered, scratching her butt as she went crazy.

“She’s an Italian Greyhound/Whippet mix,” Faith laughed, watching Alex pick her up over his head like Simba. “We call them Whippigs.”

“ Whippig!” Alex said, delightedly, swinging the dog back and forth above him. Her tongue lolled out in a big doggy smile.

Alex pulled her in close to his chest. She fit in very nicely there: she didn’t squirm too much and she seemed pretty content to be held.

He looked up to Henry, eyes pleading.

Henry smiled fondly down at him before turning to Faith. “We talked about Greyhounds, but we worried it would be too cold in New York. Or that the dog wouldn’t handle us being away very well.”

“Greyhounds usually do have abandonment issues but Whippets are usually better about it, being watchdogs. And any dog you get won’t handle being alone too badly since you have another dog.”

Henry nodded and Alex grinned. “That’s why we’re doing this! So David won’t have to be alone, right?”

Henry sighed, rolling his eyes but quickly returning his attention to Faith. “And the colder weather?”

“Well, they’re not meant to be kept outside, but that’s not really a problem for you.” She paused before turning a smirk to Alex, whispering loudly to Henry behind her hand. “They also wear sweaters very well.”

Alex gasped loudly, getting the pup very excited. “HENRY WE CAN DRESS HER UP IN LITTLE SWEATERS!”

Faith laughed and Henry sighed again, feigning annoyance but with a twinkle in his eye.

Alex put the puppy down and let her run around as Henry talked through more details with Faith.

“She’s three years old. Been here for almost a year after her previous owners moved to an apartment that didn’t allow dogs. Oh, and her name is Evie!”

Alex’s head snapped to them, looking at Henry. “We could call her Stevie. Like Stevie Nicks!”

Henry’s jaw dropped for a second and then he threw his head back and laughed.

From that, their fates were sealed.

  Bringing her home was carefully orchestrated and anxiously accomplished.

Henry had googled it, obviously.

Faith had given them tips but Henry needed a checklist in front of him to calm his nerves. Alex could understand that.

They parked in front of the brownstone (Alex had no idea how Cash always kept this spot open for them) and Alex took Stevie carefully out of the car, setting her on the sidewalk pavement, a Hufflepuff leash clipped to her new collar. They’d decided she was a Hufflepuff.

Alex let her sniff around, familiarizing herself with the environment, while Henry ran inside. She watched him go, whining a little bit, but Alex crouched down to pat her head and she was fine again.

She was getting very invested in the tree planted on the curb when Henry emerged again with David, who came bounding down the steps, panting happily toward Alex.

Step one: introduce dogs while on leashes.

Stevie pulled back, startled, darting behind Alex’s legs and straining at her leash. Alex crouched down, reaching behind himself with one hand to pat her distressed little head, even while using his other hand to greet an excited David. “Hey there, buddy! What’s up, you doing okay?”

David’s tail went nuts as Alex scratched behind his ears. He fell onto his back and showed Alex his belly.

This show of submission brought Stevie sniffing around, tangling Alex in her leash in the process.

When David saw the newcomer he rolled back to his feet and strained on his own leash to try and get a sniff of her.

“Whoa there, mate,” Henry said, pulling on David’s leash. “Gently, now.”

Alex untangled himself from Stevie’s leash and pulled her tight to his chest. The list Henry had said to let her come around on her own but she was shaking! Alex had to hold her.

“David,” he started, looking at the beagle then back to his new baby. “This is Stevie. She’s your sister now. And she’s smaller than you, so be nice.”

He kissed her on the head and then put her down between his crouched knees so she could still feel safe.

She backed into him a little but sniffed back when David got close to her. She took a couple steps away from Alex, getting better access to David’s butt.

“There’s a special gland there, you know,” Alex told Henry as they watched the dogs meet.

“Yes, Alex, I do.” Henry answered. Alex glanced up to see the nervous crease in his forehead.

“Hey,” Alex said, coming to standing. He stepped over the dogs to get closer to Henry, reaching up and rubbing at the crease with his thumb. “It’s going fine.”

Henry took a long breath out. “I know.”

But he was still extremely tense. He was tense when they both dropped their leashes and let the dogs walk around each other freely (step 2). He was tense when they brought the dogs into the house, showing Stevie to her crate and her new food bowls and the other things the PPOs had brought into the house while they’d been doing the emotional labor of introducing the animals (step 3). He was tense right up until the four of them were cuddled together on the couch at the end of the day, watching Bake Off.

Alex and Henry were half on top of each other, their shoulders leaning together in the middle of the couch while David was curled at Henry’s feet and Stevie was hunkered into Alex’s side.

“She was supposed to be David’s mate,” Henry joked, the first joke he’d made since they brought Stevie home.

Alex grinned at him. “I’m cuter than David. I have been trying to get you to admit this for years.”

Henry rumbled a laugh, stretching a bit so he could kiss Alex on the mouth. “You keep thinking that, sweetheart.”

[ask-aph-baltics]

Do you like writing Hetalia fanfiction or getting advice on writing? Do you like discussing, sharing, and participating in fun and exciting challenges? Do you like being able to write things without the feeling of being judged? Then check out the 18+ Hetalia Writers Discord! This server is for users 18 and older. I’m sorry.

This server is not affiliated with the other Writers Discord. We are reopening the server after the raids (and now that I have time) and while we’re still under progress we have a ton of amazing games, challenges, and activities!

We also are writing focussed only. We know that artists tend to overshadow writers all the time, so to give writers a chance to share and discuss their own ideas, we’re keeping it writers only.

I won't say much but I’ve begun developing a custom Hetalia bot that will help provide users with prompts, themes, ideas, story-starters, as well as have many other features that are specific to the character the bot will be based on as well as dedicated to the server and Hetalia its self!

Right now the server is still a work in progress but it’s never too early to join, you can apply for moderator if you’re interested in helping out and hosting activities too! I’m a veteran discord server owner and together we can curate this place to be a writer’s heaven.

It’s been around for a few months but I needed time to not be at school. Now with the Covid thing, we all have plenty of time! This server allows anyone so long as they are over 18 and follow the rules. So don’t feel fret, have fun! All of the mods are from different parts of the fandom (different ships or groups) so you don’t need to feel scared of the moderators, as we all have no bias and a diverse view on topics. There are channels for regular content and the basement for your kinky or potentially triggering ideas.

Please toss this a reblog to spread the word and feel free to join!

[rpgmgames]

August’s Featured Game: Marinette

DEVELOPER(S): Teal Crown ENGINE: RPG Maker MV GENRE: Horror, Puzzle, Adventure WARNINGS: Sensitive Themes, Blood/Light Gore SUMMARY: A little girl named Marinette, in the wake of a splitting family and a change of homes, is having a birthday. But this, her eleventh birthday, will present a deadly opportunity to fulfill a special promise. On the night before her birthday, she is drawn into a strange realm; an unnatural dollhouse, populated with dolls who are not quite what they seem. A web of strings lying in wait, and threatening to ensnare the poor marionette; warping her perception, and twisting her every move. Will the strings attach, and force her to become an unwilling puppet, or will she escape this surreal web of strings? What will she have to do to avoid the dangers of the dollhouse, and set herself free?

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! *Mitty: "Hello, I'm Mitty! Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in this interview. I'm the main developer of the game and I'm working with a team of friends to make this game a reality. I work mainly on the visuals and programming, and I'll be representing the team, alongside Third! I've been on the community for around two years, even though I tend to not be active very often." *Third: "Hoi, I’m Third! I appreciate you reaching out to interview us. I’m the main composer and writer of Marinette, and I work under Mitty to make the story and soundtrack what we want it to be. I’ve been in the community for little less than Mitt but am even less active in most of my developer discords."

What is your project about? What inspired you to create this game initially? *Mitty: "The game is essentially about a girl that gets trapped inside a dollhouse. A simple concept really can go far ahaha I've always loved themes related to creepy dolls so I wanted to create something related to that. What pushed me initially to start were obviously the inspiration of seeing other devs creating, seeing how far you could go with these engines and create amazing interactive stories, however the huge support from a friend was what made me actually start past the planning and dreaming!" *Third: "Marinette is a story about a little girl becoming entangled in the complicated family and supernatural landscape she finds herself in on her birthday. I enjoy writing short stories about this kind of thing so it’s fantastic to work on a larger project about one of my favorite subjects. My primary inspiration and introduction to this kind of game in general was Pocket Mirror, and I use it the most as a model for how to do certain things. However, I also draw a lot of inspiration from masterpieces like Aria’s Story, Ib, Witch’s House, and Alice Mare."

How long have you been working on your project? *Mitty: "The project has been in the works for around two years now! The first year was mostly planning and right now we are on the right track with the programming and asset creation for the demo, as well as music and sound design for later development. Planning isn't over yet though, especially for the final game." *Third: "I’ve been working on this for almost two years. The soundtrack possessed most of my earlier attention, but now it’s taken a backseat to writing, now that I’m actively writing the scripts for the game now. "

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Mitty: "Yes! The game has inspirations from plenty of sources, not only strictly RPG Maker Horror games, or games in general for that matter. If I were to mention those, of course games like Ib, The witch's house, Alice Mare, Pocket Mirror, Yume Nikki & .flow, Stray Cat Crossing, Mogeko's games...etc quickly come to mind. When it comes to the aesthetics and visuals, the inspirations come from several different places, including games like Alice Madness Returns, Dofus, Yomawari, The Legend of Mana, Little Nightmares...the list goes on; or other media, like Inu Curry's animation style or video creator nana825763, as well as some anime and music videos. Silent hill is also a huge inspiration for the atmosphere, and hopefully we can pull it off well!" *Third: "My primary inspiration, as I’ve said earlier, is Pocket Mirror, both for its masterful writing and soundtrack. The game’s soundtrack is the main reason I still play piano. Whenever I’m feeling musical, my fingers always hunt out the same kind of haunting, mysterious, and sometimes peaceful and playful melodies that Pocket Mirror is rife with. In the end, our soundtrack is probably going to sound like Pocket Mirror and Aria’s Story’s soundtracks were meshed together. Story wise, commonplace elements in this genre like demons, monsters, mean parents and puzzles that tell the story are commonplace for a reason, and certainly find their way into this one, in their own special way. Every other game I’ve mentioned involves them in some form or another. And young, curious protagonists are also a blast to write and do evil things to and put in difficult, dangerous situations. "

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Mitty: "We surely have! Many of them in different areas ahaha Taking away bug hunting, I am primarily an artist, so programming for me is a secondary thing. Because of this it's easy to get carried away and hard to realise what can and can't be done. I don't want the game to be visually boring if I can make things move and seem alive! The way I'm handling it is programming like an artist: I think in my head what cool things I can do with my art by not having it completely still, and then it's a matter of executing it on the engine. However this comes with a downside. I tend to tweak things a lot, and that takes quite some time, but I honestly think it's worth it ahaha Also I find it hard to start writing, but when I do, I can't stop orz. Other challenges are also finding plot holes. This is fixed with a lot of studying the story, gathering inspiration and talking with the team. I also struggle a bit with communicating with the team, but thankfully they are all very nice and understanding." *Third: "Main challenge is overcoming the sheer weight of how much I have to learn about music and writing in order for this game to be what I want it to be. I’m a perfectionist, and when I care about something, I can’t tolerate it being worse than it could’ve been. Also, writing is getting more and more complicated and there’s more things and details to keep track of so as not to create inconsistencies or plot holes, especially as we try to revise it and make major changes to the story (Mitt will know what I’m talking about). "

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Mitty: "It changed a lot, not only in terms of the story and writing, but visually too. The basic concept is close to being the same, though. You can check out old posts in the blog where I consider different styles of mapping and such. Actually, don't, please. It's too old...and my writing...oh god." *Third: "The writing has come a long way, but now that we’ve fleshed out and written down much of the backstory, it’s a much more complicated story than what Mitt first showed me when I joined."

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Mitty: "Initially it was just me, occasionally having Mia to talk about the story and help develop it. Rindre joined as a voice actress very early on and also helped in other aspects of the game. Then I also talked about it with two friends I know in real life, one helped with organization and the other with some concept art, but they aren't that active anymore, even though I still count them as part of the team (Thank you guys btw if you're reading this). Eventually I met Third, an amazing composer and writer, and I asked him to join in! He brought along a friend who is also an amazing composer and writer, Code, and these two are complete madmen of music and writing and I'm super glad to be working with them, as they are super passionate and it makes me really happy ahaha. Bruno is also a really dedicated composer that is helping with a few tracks as well! Miku and Luccinia are two super talented and kind artists that have also been helping a ton with concept art, and their ideas have certainly improved the game as well. We are welcome to more concept artists, though! More heads, more ideas ahaha Recently we got the voice actresses for a few characters in the game, when we did the auditions, and hopefully soon another friend will jump aboard and help with organization and writing! We are a relatively small team, and sometimes progress goes a bit slowly since we can get busy, but we are all doing our best! I’m glad that I’m not alone. Links for their pages and such can be found on the team section on the blog, go support them if you can!"

What is the best part of developing a game? *Mitty: "For me, personally, I love seeing what my team mates come up with, whether it is music or concept art. I also enjoy the love and support we get, and it makes me excited in the development. As for the creation part, I like programming challenging cutscenes and doing cool things with the assets. Progress updates can also be fun to make when I have the time." *Third: "My favorite part is showing Mitt what I’ve written and composed. Making her happy and excited with my work is extremely fulfilling. "

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Mitty: "Oh, yes! Besides being a cool break from programming hell, it helps me make it less of a hell ahaha I like improvising, though, so I think I play RPG Maker games because I enjoy them for the most part." *Third: "Occasionally, not really. I don’t play many games and I’ve played the heck out of the ones I have."

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Mitty: "Ah I don't know, honestly. I think I can relate to every character in one way or another, and it's hard picking one, especially since the game isn't out yet and I'd like to keep most characters hidden until the demo. Marinette is definitely one of my favourites, though, I just love how innocent and cute she is. Her cheekiness can be made super interesting ahaha" *Third: "My favorite character is definitely Pierre. He’s a complete blast to write, and gives me lots of cool things to describe and say through him, from his magic tricks to his killer lines and quotes."

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Mitty: "Hm...Having organized things better in the beginning would have saved a lot of time now, but I don't think it's been that big of a deal anymore. I don't have any regrets that I'm aware of at the moment since everything until this point was necessary to learn and get to where we are now."

Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Mitty: "I'm not sure yet, it depends on the reception and how willing I'll be to continue the story. Even though I would find it fun to make comics, another game or a different midia, realistically I can't tell how willing I'll be to continue developing content about it after the game is finished. Honestly, I hope I can develop more projects on Marinette, we do have content for that, and I absolutely love it with my heart! But it's also equally important to move on to another story. Only time will tell!" Third: "I hope to, but that day is very far away for me. I’ll be gone for quite some time after Marinette is finished, and I hope I’m not forgotten by the time I return. Perhaps I’ll entertain myself with additional short stories exploring the various aftermaths of the game."

What do you most look forward to upon/after the release of a project? *Mitty: "I honestly just want to get the story out there. I'm hoping people will enjoy it if they play the game, and will have a special place in their hearts to keep it on. This project means a lot to me, and having it making people feel things is what I'm looking forward to. I'd love to see other people playing it, definitely. I imagine I'll eventually be relieved to have finally completed it, it'll be a big moment for me to sigh be proud of creating. I'll be able to move on to work on other fun things while I see how this little child of a game is going to do out there in the wild, and that's always nice!" *Third: "Fan reaction, 100%. Having people ask me questions about my work and telling me how much they enjoyed it is my favorite part of writing."

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Mitty: "Yes, I don't want to feel empty with nothing to do when I finish the game. I know it will be great and all, but I've been working on it for so long that it's hard to imagine not working on it ahaha! It's a really fun hobby, but it's also engraved in my heart. I want it to be the best it can be, of course, so I'm scared of bugs, inconsistencies and overall it being clearly a bad game. I'm hoping that people will help with critiques on the demo, so I have a better outside perspective of where we are going. I don't want to drop the game, so I'm scared of having to take a long break from it during the development. I'm worried of being a terrible team leader as well." *Third: "I dread plot holes more than anything, and I dread a dull and overall unimpactful story. I want a tale that will punch the viewer in the gut, hard. I want to make them cry. I want to make them laugh. I want them to draw what I wrote, and explore it further in hopefully-not-too-sexual fanfiction."

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Mitty: "Don't be scared to start. You're going to suffer mid-way if it's a long term project, but keep pushing through, you'll learn a lot and it becomes easier with time. Take breaks and take it easy, step by step. LIST STUFF AND MAKE BACKUPS. Learn with short projects first. Ask for advice from people you admire, but never hold them on a pedestal. It’s always helpful to be a jack of all trades! Try to think from an outsider perspective if you're not sure of how it's going, and if you can, tell people you trust about the game and ask for opinions. Always take criticism well, but don't stress too much over harsher or even meaner comments. Have fun and never forget your starts, the people you meet and the reason you're doing the project for. If you're also an artist, writer, musician, remember this is a great opportunity to add something interesting to your portfolio. Cool visuals attract people, but they are not everything that will keep them hooked." *Third: "The best part of making a game is the people you make it with. The story is the most important ingredient of your game. Prioritize it first, and everything else will fall into place around it. Otherwise, everything will serve some other aspect of your game, and that’s rarely a good thing. Always speak your mind; do not every not say something just because it’ll hurt someone’s feelings. Obviously don’t be a tool, but if you ever have to choose between hurting the game and someone’s pride, pick someone’s pride. It’s much kinder in the long run."

Question from last month's featured dev Froach Club: Have you ever had a moment where you got completely stuck or became intensely frustrated while using RPG Maker? *Mitty: "Yes I have, I think everyone has QwQ Despite silly mistakes, I've gotten stuck several times, but honestly it's usually either us doing something stupidly hard that can be done another way, or we are just not skilled enough yet, and it's better to come back later. You can usually do most things you wanna do if you have the advantage of knowing the programming language your RPG Maker Engine uses I think. Google is your friend always, and sleeping about it also helps. I once dreamt of a whole sequence to fix a problem, and it worked! ahaha Always take it easy and don't give up, but know your limits and the limits of the engine!"

We mods would like to thank Teal Crown for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Marinette if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[porthavenhq]

Welcome to September, Porthaven! We are so excited to share with you all PHQ’s first ever Monthly Review! It came to our attention a few weeks ago that while we list each month’s events on the sidebar of the main, a great many of our members weren’t aware it was there and thus did not know about what events the month would hold until specific posts were made for them. Thus, the Monthly Review will include all of the upcoming events and tasks for the month as well as some important notes from your admins. 

We know that with school starting back up for many of us and after loosing a few members over the past month activity has taken a bit of a dip, but we want all of you to know just how much we appreciate everyone who has kept up their activity and asked for hiatuses when they needed it. For that reason, we are also including an “honorable mentions” section of the Review where we discuss which member, character, thread, and task really stood out to us. More on the details of this category can be found further down!

Important Notes

As mentioned above, we’ve been struggling a bit with activity as of late. Since many of our members, myself included, are starting up school again we’ve been trying to be very lenient with our activity rules and haven’t been reaching out to anyone about low activity. We also acknowledge that this time of the year is even more stressful due to the pandemic and don’t want anyone to feel forced to do more than they currently can. That being said, if you need a hiatus please ask for it in advance if you’re able to. Members who suddenly go off the radar without saying anything have the rest of us worried if they are okay and wondering if they are planning to leave the RP. But if you’re not on hiatus, please try to keep your activity levels up or consistent. Not doing your replies means that those involved in threads with you have nothing to reply to either. If you have any concerns please reach out, and to everyone who has been active over the past month keep up the good work!

Additionally, if anyone has any ideas about events or tasks they would like to see please don’t hesitate to reach out to an admin on Discord or the main directly. We’d love to start incorporating more events based around or caused by our in-play characters (hosted parties, fêtes, trouble making that effects the city, etc). Event if it’s not something related to your character and just an idea you had we’d still love to hear it!

Honorable Mentions

Just as a preface to this section, we want to let everyone know that just because you, your characters, or something you wrote didn’t make the list doesn’t mean we don’t still appreciate and love everything you’re doing! This is just to give a round of applause to those who really stood out to us over the past month who we believe deserve some extra recognition. Members of the month are people who have helped keep Porthaven alive with their consistent activity, brought new and interesting plots to the group, or overall just did a really great job with their characters, threads, etc. Our honorable character mention will go to a character who went through a significant amount of development, shook up the city with their presence, or just made the dash really fun to read through. A notable thread is simply just which thread that started over the past month had everyone excitedly (or anxiously) waiting to read the next reply. And finally, our favorite task has to have been for a task posted that month and has obvious dedication to the character put into it.

Member : We’ve got to give it up for Duckie. A very new addition to our group, Duckie has amazed us her record reply speed. She’s helped keep the dash moving consistently since she applied and we’re super happy she chose to join Porthaven. Not to mention she’s brought a breath of fresh air with Phoenix - our new local grump who is doing a great job of promoting interesting character interactions.

Character : We love all of our taken characters so much, so this really was a hard one. After much deliberation we chose to give this honorable mention to Anna Àrnadalr! Anna always brings tons of fun to the dash and her upbeat personality never ceased to put a smile our faces. Between crossing paths with some of our darker characters and admirably continuing to try to reconnect with her sister, Anna’s interactions never cease to be a joy to read. We can’t wait to see what is in store for her in September!

Thread : Though it’s a fairly new thread, we have to nominate An Awkward Meeting of Ice and Fire. Elsa and Phoenix’s first interaction and awkward small talk as they walked together to Three Witch’s Brew got everyone invested in these two who seemed completely unable to have a casual conversation with one another. We love watching characters who are so incredibly different, but at the same time strikingly similar, meet. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we sincerely hope this won’t be the last time Phoenix and Elsa interact.

Task : This month we had two tasks and a solid selection of candidates for this category, but we believe that Blossom’s Fashion took the cake this month. Not only was the graphic beautiful, but Marie’s written description of how Blossom dresses gave us a great look into this new character to the group. Her “pink academia” aesthetic fits the character perfectly and we all support her decision to only shop sustainably!

Upcoming Events

The Amazing Race : September 5th. Porthaven’s 5K and half marathon. The weather is perfect for a run and that’s exactly what the city is giving its residents a chance to do. Sign up for the 5K or half marathon this upcoming Saturday or stand by along the trail to cheer the runners on. Still in need of plenty of volunteers to pass out drinks, race numbers, and medals.

Movie Night in the Park : September 11th. Roll up your blankets and snacks and head out to Aspen Park for this month’s outdoor movie night. Movie selection will be revealed in event specific post.

Back to School Fundraiser : September 13th. The city’s public school system is hosting a small fundraiser carnival on the football field of Beacon High to raise money for students who can’t afford school supplies or lunches. Admission is $10 and all money spent or donated within the event will go towards helping these kids out.

Mystery Event : September 16th. Please await further details.

Harvest Festival : September 20th to the 22nd. Porthaven loves an equinox or solstice and goes all out every time one comes around. The Harvest Festival is in celebration of the Autumn Equinox and will encompass three days with the first two being dedicated to fair-like activities and events. The final day will end with an autumn-themed masquerade. 

Tasks

Life, The Musical : A seven song minimum playlist that describes various events, relationships, and stages of your character’s life! Provide a short description under each song to explain how it connects to your character. Members can chose to go as far back in their characters lives or chose events that are more recent.

Autumn Questionnaire : Simply put, a list of questions to get a look at how your character(s) spend the fall season. Members are permitted to omit any questions they struggle with or do not want to answer.

Dear Self : Everyone has a moment in their lives that they could go back and fix or have had comfort for. In this task we would like you to have your character write a letter to a themselves at a significant age in their life. They can write to their younger self, wishing they could avoid the mistakes they made. Or perhaps they write to their older self, wondering what the future has in store for them. This task can just be an hc rather than something your character actually sits down and writes.

Share the Love : With how stressful the world is right now we wanted to create a task that would spread even more positivity around the group. Send a nice message to a member (it can be anonymous) about why you love their character(s), writing, or just the member in general. Also try to reach out to members you may not have gotten to know very well yet or plot with characters you haven’t interacted with. This is less of a task and more of an opportunity to build an even greater sense of community within our group this month.