#also lmk if you need a link to the server !!

[leolynn]

some notable starboard messages from the swiftie server this week

[kipxan]

ohh my god ok so i love clangen and the WONDERFUL Nimaereth created a mod that lets you customize and import your own cats into the game and i’m obsessed. i’ve had zero time to draw so i’ve been creating characters from my own personal warrior cats ““worldbuilding”” project (plus my beloved lightningclaw of course).

the folks working on this game are incredibly smart and do all this work for free, and i respect the hell out of them for bringing together such a lovely fan project! definitely show them support if you can!

credits: mod by Nimaereth (linked above), merle and abyssinian coat patterns by MagiBaxter, extra pelt colors by Eragona (no github link but can provide link to her thread in the discord server), just-some-cat for the original sprites, and ofc the clangen team itself!  if any one of you want me to take this down, just lmk! :)

more about these characters:

row 1: eclipsestar, murkmist, frostmoon

row 2: riverhaze, silvertongue, nightstep

row 3: wolfstorm, ashfrost, lightningclaw

except for lightningclaw, who is the SkyClan deputy, all of these guys belong to PineClan, which is one of the four clans formed far in the north after several lake clan cats were wrongfully chased from their home. their territory borders MountainClan and ValeClan, while CavernClan makes their home in the cave system underneath the three territories. they make their camp in a pine forest, but their hunting grounds also include a muskeg dubbed The Frozen Mire by the cats. most of their ancestors come from either ShadowClan or SkyClan.

their territory also includes the outer edges of the Fox Hollows, home to an intelligent fox pack that long pre-dates the Clans. PineClan maintains an uneasy truce with the foxes over the strip of their territories that overlaps, and as such all PineClan apprentices are taught to speak a little bit of fox. while it doesn’t always stop natural predator conflict, they live in peace most of the time.

PineClan prides themselves on their wisdom and history. they have strong oral traditions, and some stories claim to date all the way back to the old forest. elders are revered to a greater degree than in other clans, and their stories are a favorite among apprentices of other clans at gatherings. PineClan also has a role called the Lorekeeper. they hunt but do not fight or patrol borders, however their main role is to record Clan history. a large stone wall, sheltered from the elements in an abandoned burrow, is painted on to record births, deaths, and changes in position (think kinda like Paleolithic cave paintings). 

their build is lean and elegant, their fur kept sleek and well-groomed. dark coats are valued for nighttime hunting, while tabbies and tortoiseshells are great for hunting in trees. many of them, oddly enough, have large and pointy ears, which legend says they developed to listen for prey in the silent woodland. their scent is reminiscent of pine needles, with a muskier undertone from the wetland.

i won’t get into it too much here but it is important to note that all four clans have a special warrior called their Guardian. this warrior is stronger and wiser than the average clan cat, and their soul is continually reincarnated. though not technically a Guardian, the “original” soul comes from Moonchaser, who led the clan cats to their new northern home. there is a LOT of lore surrounding this bit but think like a mix between the avatar and the nerevarine.

anyway cats.

Eclipsestar (Eclipsestream): current leader of PineClan. she’s chill. has a very relaxed and open policy to outsiders (the northern Clans usually do to prevent inbreeding, but even by these standards she’s very welcoming). was very young to be appointed deputy by the previous leader, Wolfstar, so her inexperience and the need to grow up quickly does sometimes still show. however, she’s overall seen as a wise and peaceful leader.

Murkmist: eclipsestar’s deputy and longtime best friend. while she disagrees with some of eclipse's policies, they’re overall a good fit for each other. sly and crafty, she’s usually the first cat to send when dealing with the Fox Hollows. not above causing drama with the other clans, but she will do so in a manner that makes her seem completely uninvolved.

Frostmoon: the senior medicine cat, very old by the time most of these characters roll around. strict, cold, and deeply rooted in tradition. as an apprentice she was considered a prodigy, but like eclipse, she also lost her mentor at a young age, which led to her developing a deep desire to prove herself. this led to her severely mishandling a situation involving the Clan’s previous Guardian, and many cats (perhaps wrongfully, perhaps not) sadly ended up losing their trust in her.

Riverhaze: frostmoon’s former apprentice. nervous, a bit flighty, and eager to please. not a whole lot to say about him, but he’s a good healer and a nice dude. despite his mentor’s failings, he’s still close with her.

Silvertongue: the current Lorekeeper. not a kittypet since humans are gone in this world, i just thought the collar looked nice. though he probably does have outsider roots. clever, sassy, good-natured, and takes his job VERY seriously. also nightstep’s mate, which means he puts up with a lot of nonsense haha. 

Nightstep: the current Guardian and main character of this hypothetical story (and also the cat iteration of my beloved skyrim character, teravyn, though they’ve kind of evolved into separate characters). adventurous, impulsive, and gets into more trouble than what’s good for him. kind to the point where some might call him naive, but to his credit his heart is in the right place, and he’ll grow into the role. however, his impulsivity is again a problem, because he can be absolutely terrifying in battle. very close with wolfstorm and considers her a sister, and his mate is silvertongue whom he loves very much. his other best friend is a former loner called mireclaw, who’s not featured here.

Wolfstorm: young warrior, found by the Clan as a kit. assumed to be a loner kit, but her mother is actually the MountainClan deputy Magpieshadow, who secretly left her kit with PineClan after her mate died and she felt unprepared to raise a kit alone. due to her MountainClan genes, she’s HUGE (and fluffy) compared to the average PineClan cat. to wolf, the warrior code is...more of a suggestion than a rule set. she’s sneaky and not above stealing prey to feed her own clan, but by starclan is she good at staying hidden. some believe her blessed by the (currently unnamed) patron of stealth. very close with both nightstep and silvertongue, as well as another warrior called mireclaw (not featured here).

Ashfrost: a background warrior. also not much to say about her, but i like her a lot. you will never ever find her in the midst of any drama--she is too laidback and too chill with everyone for that nonsense. however, gossip? she is MORE than happy to listen to it, just don’t make her get involved.

Lightningclaw: my baby. my boy. go here.

[renchant]

I'll bite the bullet, what's Lifesteal and how on earth do I get into it?

I am so glad you asked, anon!

Lifesteal SMP, also known as the deadliest minecraft server! On the Lifesteal SMP, when you kill somebody you steal their heart! If you die, you lose a heart. You can craft hearts, but you can only use crafted hearts up to 10 hearts. Theres a limit of 20 hearts.

Lifesteal is on it's fourth season, though like Hermitcraft you don't need to be caught up on seasons. I recommend people start off with season 3. Here's all the season 3 videos.

This slideshow is from a few months ago, but it kinda gives a quick rundown of the members. You can skim it to look for someone who might interest you. My personal recommendations for starting out are

PrinceZam

Reddoons

Branzy

Ashswag

I linked the first episode of season 3 for each of them, but you can go to their channels and look around.

If you like watching streams, ItzSubz, Pangi, PrinceZam, Baconnwaffles0, and Mapicc/Roshambogames have been streaming the most season 4.

(Mapicc & Roshambo are diff people, but if one of them is streaming theres a 95% chance the other is there.)

If vods are your thing, here's a link the Lifesteal VOD Archive Spreadsheet and the Archive.org Collection (you'll find more in the spreadsheet)

Some other cool links

All Lifesteal S4 videos

All Lifesteal videos

I hope this helped you out anon! Have fun! ^_^ if you (or anyone else) have more questions lmk.

[luwukass]

the eras tour international leg megapost

hii besties we are about 10 hours away from the first show of the next leg so im just gonna make a quick mention of accs/recourses you might wanna know about if youre following along with the tour 💕

live streams!

i normally just use swiftstream bc i stream the show to my polycule from my computer and thats the easiest way for me to do that! david did post in the swiftstream discord server that hes gonna be recording the shows and replaying them afterwards for those in the american timezones which i think is REALLY awesome so if that applies to you i really recommend swiftstream (the time listed as 7pm in the screenshot is central european time incase you want to transfer it to your timezone for reference)

if you dont wanna use swiftstream i know that tessa streams every show on multiple platforms and ive heard is very reliable

swift alert!

so if you didnt know already swift alert is an app (android and iphone) that also has a BUNCH of resources in it! it tracks surprise songs, outfits, it has a calendar, you can favorite your show to get a special countdown to it, it also has active livestreams and push notifications you can able for specific parts of the show! you do need to make a one time only purchase(about 2usd i believe) for most of those features but the app overall is free. i use it all the time and i love it so i really do think its worth the price

swiftball!

now if youve followed me during the last leg you know i post swiftball updates. if you dont know what swiftball is its a giant guessing game over what outfits and surprise songs thats gonna happen during the show its officially run by allie on twt (link) i will post each ballot before the show and once the show is ended a correct answer sheet

https://x.com/reckedmaserati?s=21&t=Lq5oBCDeebO6ylIO8sMR-w

now the only other thing i can think to mention is @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes jamie here on tumblr she writes all of the speeches out so if youre interested in seeing those she does a really great job of transcribing them out (she is in an american timezone iirc so the speeches wont be live but she will still be writing them out which is awesome)

plz lmk if i forgot anything or if there are any updates yall want Me specifically to post i will be watching all of the shows live from now on 💕

[uncle-dusknoir]

SHIT I forgot I should do one of those pinned posts explaining who I am. i mean probably i kinda like the mystery but eh whatever.

im Basil. unovan. she/her. Hex Maniac "curse fanatic" by circumstance.

blog title source

I've got Toothpaste, he's a shiny Obstagoon and my baby boy; Thyme, that Dusknoir, my uncle; Jupetta, a Banette, Thyme's Pokemon before he turned into a Dusknoir.

There's also Skorna, the bone Runerigus. She's just a pest.

Deckard, a white-furred Zorua (NOT HISUIAN) i found in my backyard. He's baby

Mint, a Sneasel I got as a gift from a friend of mine 💜 she's very bity

I've also got a new Poryphone named Porypory. it speaks in pink, is very polite. Much more polite than Analog was.

oh and the 19 shuppet from the halloween party

... And Bluebell! An Alolan Meowth I found in the dumpster in Alola. She's a million years old and the sweetest cat in the world

image of thyme here

image of skorna here

image of toothpaste here (also me)

image of jupetta (mostly toothpaste tho)

image of deckard (and also me)

image of mint (and my arm)

this weird breloom someone let loose outside my house??

> ooc notes under the cut

9/15/23 updated her 'main' image to be more in line with how i draw her

subscribed blogs only dash (I'm really just putting this here for myself but if y'all need it idm)

my other pokeirl blogs are @crossbones-n-skull and @nifuunbakufuun!

join the hex maniac discord server! more info (kinda) in linked tumblr post. if the link is dead lmk ill fix it (discord added a thirty day link cap)

basil's cousin, sage, is over at @sage-the-exorcist (run by my friend, statik!) she currently has him blocked (its not working)

additional facts for my own reference:

skorna speaks in orange.

thyme speaks in green.

porypory speaks in pink.

jupetta, toothpaste, and deckard don't speak through the blog. (however, if given voice through an event, their text will be colored as seen.)

two voice claims that i'm debating (but i take suggestions)

family bibliography (books)

loose timeline

view the blog in chronological order here! (bear in mind there is quite a lot. lol)

Basil is 25 (as of nov 1st 2023!). I'm (the mod) 19.

she lives in the woods around icirrus city, in an old house that she just... took. it was abandoned so what about it its hers now

thyme the dusknoir is her uncle. he did not die naturally.

jupetta the banette was her uncle's, but technically is hers now. she inexplicably knows Teleport.

skorna the runerigus isn't kept to a Pokeball, as she and Basil are literally bound to each other through possession bullshit.

back when thyme was alive, they did a LOT of travelling. she's primarily been to galar and kalos, but have stopped in every region at least once. only place they haven't been to is paldea, and that's because thyme isn't allowed in because he tried to go in the crater

thyme had a TV show.

mun is aromantic, but Basil is bisexual with a female lean

post detailing Basil and Skorna's connection

old ref image, for archival purposes:

if anyone ever wants to plot anything, feel free to dm me! I'm always down, could be fun. I just don't do "in-person" RP on Tumblr- this is strictly a social media site for the character. update- i will rarely do off-rotumblr RP, but it is not going to be frequent. all threads will be completely under readmores

note that, while Basil most likely won't be super active in high-stakes plotlines, i might have her react to some, especially if i find them interesting. she's no main character.

if you want your character to know basil out-of-rotumblr, feel free to DM me here on tumblr! my PMs, unless specified are an ooc-only zone and im always happy to chat about rp.

(however, please keep in mind that i'm really not one for small talk that doesn't have to do with rp; i have too many bad experiences with people befriending me in my PMs and then just offloading trauma. i don't shut the fuck up in discord servers where other people are though lmao.)

on that note, i do have a discord! if you wanna invite me to any servers feel free to pm me about that too!

[consistentsquash]

About the fandom friendships discourse. I was on several discords. It's a twilight circlejerk zone. By any chance you have recs for good HP servers?

Folks have limited spoons/time. So when they don't have spoons/time they are just going to prioritize for people they already know. Of course that doesn't mean it creates a welcoming atmosphere for new folks :/

Back to Hp servers. I don't have any direct server recs because Idk what type of fics/ships you are into. Maybe somebody else can help you with that. If you ship Snarry, House of Snarry tumblr has their server. For femslash the hpsaffics group discord link is on their tumblr.

blah blah blah below the cut

Discord isn't going to work for everybody. I feel like it's going to work better for folks who are comfortable jumping into convos when they are happening? Also the folks on discords probably already know each other. Maybe also check out more open sites like reddit/tumblr where you don't really need to know anybody to start talking. Use those to start checking out regular fests/challenges because those can help new folks break the ice? iirc the big hp fests/challenges are either organized by servers/have servers involved in a big way. So you can meet more folks through those if you participate in the fests as author/artist/commenter. Participation in something with a lot of structure like a fest can help you also test if you vibe with a community.

Take your time with this stuff. Getting into a toxic community can get pretty wild. Esp on Discord. Idk if you are like me but I have this thing I am working to overcome where I really try a lot to be liked? People pleasing can get you into some weird places if you get into the wrong community. So it's better to take your time and find the right one for you. Sorry went off topic.

Not to sell anything but making rec lists can also help with breaking the ice. It can be a really fun/rewarding hobby. YMMV. AO3 is not a social site. But! Honestly I have met some interesting folks on AO3 by talking to them about their fics. So if your goal is connecting with other fans there's definitely more outside discord. Reddit can be another site to check. The general r/fanfiction sub gets some interesting topics. it has some chill regulars. iirc they have a discord server.

You got this. Definitely lmk if you need more help.

[bookworm-2692]

about the fic "called dogs life on ao3 (about a life series 5 but with some between session things happening too)#lmk if you’d like a direct link!" I would like a direct link! I need to read more fics from the fandom so I'm always looking for recommendations!

Excellent!! You have fallen for my evil trap of me trying to share the fic I've been reading nonstop for weeks!!

Dog's Life on ao3 by FountainPenguin on ao3 or @fountainpenguin on tumblr.

It's really really good, and I love the worldbuilding regarding these people living in a Minecraft world and all their different servers and "offline" time and all that sort of stuff. Plus the twist mechanics for this life series is very interesting :D

I've also read some of their other fics which are good as well! I'll only link to Dog's Life for now and you can browse their whole ao3 yourself. It's a long fic but it's so so good, I can't stress that enough!! Hope you enjoy!!

[lilac-hecox]

actually scratch my last ask i just realised it's weird to ask for your discord FHSJFS anyways lmk if you need a clearer version of the video and where i can send it instead; but honestly i think it's been reposted on twitter before too so you can check that out as well! anyways it's my favourite tiktok of them too, rip :( aite i'll stop now byee! <3

- 💩

The video you sent is clear on my end! Also it did show me your username from the video link and about discord we're in a mutual server so I mean if you wanna be friends on there I am down 👀

[scungledfiles]

hi mods ash and row! just wanted to say i rlly like your guys' blog :D it has a really comforting vibe 💖

if you guys still have requests open, could you please make a lil moodboard of star things? objects that have sparkles or stars on them - they can be anything really! if they aren't (the requests), that is okay :) - i hope you both have a wonderful day!

(and if they are open i still hope u both have a wonderful day ☀️)

thank u! i dont really do moodboards perse, but i assume youre refering to the res requests on our pinned? i can do those! though i have to say stars are a bit of a vauge prompt that can go into a number of different aesthetics, i can still give you some materials i have from those different aesthetics tho! hope like, 1 of these is useful lol :3 (also u 2!)

stuff after readmore so i dont flood ppls dashes

TRANSPARENTS

misc (lmk if you want images of the individual stars and whatnot) (the pens are more galaxy then star themed, but i figure you might still like them)

i believe i already posted these? but i made some banners with these little star stickers a while back, i can offer the individual star sticker transparents as well if youd like

PIXELS

theres a firstfear set of pixels i think youd like :3 you can find the original post (pleasepleaselplease save the credit if you use these!) here (1/2) and an archived version here (1/2) as well as a link to her DA here

heres one of them, only one lest i become the thousanth blog to just regurgitate firstfears sozai w/o credit. you can find the rest at the link :3

kingluludeer also has a large collection of star themed pixels! also theyre just a stunning artist that is SOSOSO worth checking out regardless, (link to them here!) i, again wont just regurgitate all of their assets here, i think its better if you go to their page, but i will show you a couple of my favorites :3

TILES

i have also a couple of tiles, these i sadly have no credit for, but if anybody recognizes them PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEEE tell me!

however if youre looking for another lovely sozai maker with tons and tons of cute BG tiles look no farther then whimsical! id seriously reccomend looking at their site even if you dont need anything its absolutely gorgeous and a huge inspo for me, ill show u a few here :3

and last something i made! i made these little colored stars for a server of mine, (they come in alot of colors) in both these high res versions as well as pixel ones! im fine with people using them so long as my credit stays attached and you dont just blindly redistribute them

theres more then these 2, but ill let you download it from google drive so i dont have to attach like 7 million images lol

if youd like to give me a little bit more of a specific aesthetic im sure i could help point you to some places with some web sozai for that specific stuff :3 sense the blog is kinda a mishmash of all the different aesthetics me and ash like lol (i am TRYING my BEST to make the BLOG THEME more COHERENT but it TAKES A WHILE!!!)

[saltymongoose]

aaaah sorry to bug you! but the discord link still is not working?

im new to following you and really want to join the server if I can! ty! and if there is not one already can I be called sunshine/sunny anon?

Firstly, welcome to the blog Sunny Anon, and secondly, thanks for letting me know. I hadn't realized it's already been a week since I last updated the link; it's just been reset so you shouldn't have any issues getting in now. Lmk if you need anything else, and I hope you enjoy your stay in the server. 👍 ❤❤❤❤

Also p.s., here's an extra server link if you want it. :)

[redeemerxhq]

what's up, everyone! i go by chroma ( 24+, s/h ) and i'm the mun behind only sohee so far! it's been a long time since i've actually done this ( both an intro and be in a tumblr rpg ) so please bear with me when it comes to doing things like replying to ims, replying to threads, and setting things up in general, i guess. i am not used to this whatsoever, lol. that aside, i'm looking forward to writing with you lot and getting to know each and every one of the muses you've taken up if possible! to help you get to know mine, i have some basic facts below as well as on the designated pages listed directly below this little blurb. it's kind of a organized yet disorganized mess, so my apologies if it's all over the place, but do enjoy what i have beyond the cut! if anything appeals to you or sticks out, lmk via ims! i'd much prefer that over discord, but i'm in the server if you need to contact me for anything just in case!

— 𝐛𝐢𝐨 (coming soon) | 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 | 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚 | 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 | 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

tw/cw: brief mention of death, mentions of blood, mentions of a demon, nsfw mentions.

random bg notes (a mess right now)

sohee was created in a lab by a team of scientists so she's technically not a born human, but she was still made with human dna. she just also has the dna of a demon. her mother figure (a scientist on the team) donated some of her dna and an egg to help create sohee. she was also given the surname of that scientist and generally cared for by them as well.

that demon did not play a role in her birth/creation much and has been officially classified as deceased, but because they used samples from it, the demon still partially exists through sohee. she carries some of its will, abilities, personality traits, and habits. sohee also hears "its voice" (remainders from its will) from time to time.

when she was first born, she did not have a human form, so she looked and was treated more like a monster. her skin was dusty rose pink, her eyes a deep red, her hair silver, and her horns, fangs, and claws were all long and sharp. most people who did not see her regularly were very intimidated by and afraid of her, just based on appearance alone but her power (hemokinesis aka blood manipulation) and her actual thirst for blood only made things worse for her.

she also broke out of the lab they kept her in a few times to learn more about the world first hand, which caused panic when she'd be caught by unsuspecting humans and stuff. each time she broke out, she was able to learn more about human behaviors and how to emulate them.

over time, and with the help of drugs/procedures, she was able to pull off more of a human appearance, but it took years of perfecting to get her to pass for human.

the only reason she doesn't look completely human now is because she escaped from the lab she was created and raised in, and some of the serum they used to help boost her human appearance wore off after a failed experiment.

after escaping, she took up working as a silent vigilante-type wannabe hero, feasting on people she deemed as "bad" or "criminals," though most people considered her a villain due to her methods.

this earned her the name of "red redeemer" and "redeemer" because she was known to prey on people who could be seen as some type of predator and try to "right their wrongs" by... you know.

she hid out wherever possible for as long as possible until the institute came about. she didn't come to the institute willingly at first, but she willingly stays for the time being because they've been helping her.

plot / connection / starter ideas (also a mess right now)

** some wanted connections are listed on the wanted connections page i linked if you're interested in checking those out, but do read below as well!

someone to help her study or tutor sohee because she's not the brightest crayon in the box, but instead of studying maybe they go on an adventure, play games, pull pranks, or something else that's fun.

maybe your muse and sohee are both lost on campus somehow and instead of going to class/where they need to be, one of them is like "hey, wanna come to my place and (insert activity that will get them in trouble here)?" or something. (sensing a theme here)

(tw: nsfw mention, for anyone in the west wing) because your muse and sohee are wingmates and also new friends, they decide to visit each other outside of class and see where the other's dorm is/what it's like. it's sohee's turn to show off her dorm and for the most part, it looks fairly normal, but then your muse finds a secret compartment behind one of her paintings as well as her totally-not-secret nsfw sketches and random snippets of friend fiction.

(tw: blood mention) it is a little known fact that when sohee absorbs or drinks someone's blood, the sweeter it is, the more it acts as an aphrodisiac. the act of drinking/absorbing blood already creates a pleasurable feeling for her, but your muse happened to be kind enough to let her feed on them when she was visibly paling and very sickly. ever since she's been trying to avoid your muse as much as possible. it's not like she couldn't smell how sweet your muse was before, but every time she so much as catches a whiff of your muse's scent or blood now, she's panting and flushed, heavily breathing, and weak in the knees. (i imagine this will lead to a lot of silly nonsense so please take me up on this)

an ex lover who realized early on that she wasn't really built for relationships at the time, but waited until she realized it to break up with her. by then, it was an amicable split and they've since moved on, but maybe she hasn't?

a best friend turned enemy. (please take me up on this)

her handler or caretaker, or someone that just keeps her in line because she will very quickly and easily get out of line.

[transformers-fan-continuities]

did i hear there was a general discord for original/fanmade continuities?

😳🤦‍♂️ not this ask making me realize i completely forgot this blog ooooof

yes! the only thing i ask is you submit your own with these guidelines! this isn't meant to be a hurdle or barrier or anything to keep anyone out, just kind of trying to make sure the discord stays primarily for original cont stuff instead of devolving into another general transformers server while also expanding the masterlist for readers. your submission doesn't need to be anything more than a placeholder name and a link to a single image/fic/post about it, and you can change the details or flip everything around however you'd like! (honestly if you don't feel like you're ready/don't want it recorded here, you can even tell me to keep yours off the masterlist, i'm hardly going to put you on blast)

send in a submission/message me and lmk if you want a link to the discord that way!

now, brb there's a spotlight that's been waiting in my drafts for ages that i need to finish...

[theteasetwrites]

🌸 join my discord server! 🌸

Hiii! We need some new peeps in the discord so lmk if you’d like to join us and talk about TWD and Daryl and fanfiction and Norman Reedus (mostly just objectifying him) and other stuff lol

The server is 18+ and I do ask everyone to send a pic of their ID (I just need date of birth to prove you’re at least 18; you can censor everything else on the ID), but other than that please send me a message and I’ll send you a link! 💖

We also do monthly prompt challenges and watch parties and it’s a lot of fun!

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Hey Em!

First of the book club sounds so good!!! I really need something to keep me motivated to read because I am in such a slump.

Also did you see the interview with Holly Black where she explained Cardan’s tail?

(Here is like link if you haven’t): https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdt6kN9C/?k=1

i did and honestly i don't even remember what Holly said, my immediate reaction was "think interviewer owes US an apology for that question tf?? jail."

anyways. ahhh omg so happy you're interested!!! lmk if you'd like a link to the No Shelf Control server and i can shoot one your way 🥰 xx

[moddisms]

Some posterity that things are actually happening and I am not a big mess I am just a little stressed but things are going to be all just so completely alright

I thought I would send another email update because I think the last one might have been a month ago where I had to send the awful news about my partner's mum. 

Since then, we've had Sharree's funeral. I was being very optimistic when I thought I would need "a few days" to be there for Sean. This has been the first death of a loved one (sans my dog) that I've actually been close to so I wasn't prepared at all for what the process is like. Not in terms of the emotions or in terms of the legalities you have to go through. Sean is his mum's sole child so there is a lot of documentation, a lot of figuring out what happens next with her home, her debts, etc. For Sean too, he is currently a student and not working, so there is no financial float to carry him while he is working through all of this.

I'm happy to say that, outside of that, the PhD is starting to make its way back into my life. Danielle organised two "accountability writing days" where I continued to edit my scoping review which was an affirming way to see that - yes, actually, this research is worthwhile! Outside of that, I have jumped back into Netnography, which is part 1 of the research going forward (I will re-attach our visual timeline here for reference). 

I've found some more videos that are inspiring research questions. I have re-issued the Netnography "manual" from the library to start being more structured about my process. I also spent a little bit of time watching more videos about Netnography - specifically https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBBQixBe3i8&t=1573s this last night which offered a background context to the theorist Kozinets himself. Netnography was first implemented to aid his research into fan culture - which is the essence of what we are doing with virtual pet research, so that was affirming to hear. He also considers Henry Jenkins to be a lifelong mentor, a name I am sure Allan will know very well. :-) 

As a fun extra for you Allan, I have started to knit while I listen to videos as it helps me to listen better. I don't suppose you know which beloved student of ours inspired me with this new hobby?

- We have mentioned my Tumblr previously where I vomit ideas and mostly am just self-effacing. If you still think it would be useful to have the link to that LMK. I can't add you to my Discord server where I do PhD things because it is also where I do work/life admin and I would rather that be separate! 

- I am finally reading 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' and thank goodness I am because it would have been embarrassing to not include it in the PhD somewhere. The entire side plot is the protagonist feeling angst at his virtual sheep not being as good as an authentic one. Meanwhile, the overarching question is, does it truly matter at all?

Enough from me for now. Actually, one more, 

Is there a preferred Overleaf template for me to begin writing my stuff in relation to netnography?

[d1gital-star]

did i ever tell you guys im in an object show now

yeah its called OLO. we're still working on the pilot and also we are possibly in need of more VAs and animators or artists.

I voice the toothpick.

lmk if ur interested and i'll link the discord server