Founders Day Love Fest

[girlalmighty]

Happy Founders Day, guys. First off, every last one of you is amazing. Without you guys, there is no game, end of story. The last two years have given us dozens of rich, interesting stories, hilarious threads, and complex dynamics (not to mention the best friendships ever), and I am thankful for every last minute.

I know I'm not the only one, so today, I wanted to put up a little celebration post. It's a love-sharing free-for-all. Leave as many or as few comments as you like, just share. Tell us what you're proud of: the threads you've loved the most and the times you made yourself laugh (or cry) the hardest. Share which characters and storylines you've been stalking and the moments that moved you. Bring your finest gifs and your most effusive praise. Let us in on what you love.

Consider this open through the end of the week. It's only Tuesday and we're all crazy busy, so don't worry if you don't have time to get to this until Friday or Saturday. There's no rush, no pressure. Just chime in when you feel like it and as things come to mind.

Comments

[waitingtobelit]

I haven't been here long but I just wanted to say that it's been a fantastic first month playing with everyone here and I'm really honored and grateful to be a part of such an awesome game!

I've really loved threading with everyone so far, Newt, Combeferre, Kathy H., Sybil, Jehan, Hook (even if Marius isn't so keen on him currently :P), Elena, Kate, Minako, Abel, Rapunzel, and Anathema. I look forward to threading with you more and threading with new people as well! <33333.

And I am also admitting to stalking Sybil/Henri threads because they are lovely and adorable and wow, I love them a lot.

Also Jehan's threads because he is a precious darling and him and Marius need to hang out and nerd out over poetry.

But really I love everyone here and getting to know everyone. It's wonderful, and I'm so glad Erika inspired me to join!

Also I have a new addiction to Veronica Mars and it's entirely this place's fault. :P

[kaitmaree]

I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE. Both in the game and in my life. Marius is such a delight to play with and getting to explore the parallels of caring for Tommy and being conscious of Marius' injuries has been really rewarding for me. On top of that, I absolutely adore you and can't wait to get to know you better with time. <333

[whofelltoearth]

You are a genuinely nice person and I appreciate that you exist.

[chasingthestorm]

!! I am SO excited you're hooked on VM! Getting people to watch Veronica Mars is one of my all-time favorite hobbies. XD

I'm also glad you're here. I know we haven't really talked, but I was super excited to see you join and I don't think I've said that yet. Marius is an underrated character, and there's so much more to him than a lot of people see, and I love that you embrace his complexities and his foibles and all the little bits and pieces of him we see in the Brick. It's exciting to see a fully realized Marius around, and I look forward to seeing where you go with him.

[sciencesaggressively]

I'm really bad at these things because I don't know how to verbally feelings unless it's about Charlie Day's face (among other faces~~~) and also I am at work so this will be pretty short and sweet but I'm really so glad that I've been able to make this RP part of my life.

Getting to know you guys, getting the honor to write with you and maybe kind of sort of sometimes having you want to write with me has been such a bright spot for me, and I appreciate you all so much. Every thread is like a brand new adventure and I love seeing where I can take this character with everyone he interacts with, it has been a blast.

So tl;dr, thank you for having me. Thank you for writing with me. Thank you for being such an amazing and welcoming group of people. My day is always made better by knowing I have you as friends!

OH, GIFS:



me @ everyone in this RP



me atoning for the sin above



oblig charlie gif



group hug gif :')))))

[drownedindreams]

that baby is horrible the more I watch it.

horribler.

more horribler.

the horriblest.

i mean i love you, but that baby is a menace.

[kaitmaree]

I LOVEEE THREADING WITH NEWT. And I need more of it in my life. Seriously, you've done such an incredible job integrating him into Darrow and throwing him all over the place and I envy your abilities as a player for that. Whether it's Mindy or Finnick or Abby or Kathy, I know that I'm going to get a lot out of a Newt thread and I can't wait to introduce him to my latest. You're across the board amazing, my friend, and you bring a lot of joy into my life and I know the lives of so many of us. I'm so glad we know each other. <333

[thetinydemon]

That baby gif is truly horrifying, but then, I'm completely mesmerized by Steve Roger's ass there, so I guess I forgive you.

ANYWAY, I like you. I need more of you and Newt's dumb face.

<333333333333333

[cest_la_v]

I love you for so many things, but also hate you for that baby. <3

[myonlydefense]

I love threading with you so much. Sometimes I am shamed because you offer so much quality when I am sitting here just trying to tag at all, but I love it all the same. Newt is such a fun and interesting character and you write him so well. And so well in general. It makes me mad. (No it doesn't.)

[exitthewallflower]

Thank you for Chris Evans ass.

[madeupofstars]

I have no gifs, but:

I feel so incredibly blessed to reconnect with all of you, to make new friends, talk to old ones, and actually have a place to express my creativity that's drama free, full of excellent writers, and good vibes. Also, that ya'll are willing to deal with my weird schedules and stuff and be as sweet as you are makes me know that this game was the best choice.

It's the only game I'm in, and I think it may stay that way, but I really really value the oppourtunity to play again, and... I'm just so happy to have that chance.

♥ you all. To bits. Remember that you are all amazing and I love RPing with you and reading your threads. I may get more effusive later when I'm not tearing apart a database, but.... I love you guys.

I LIED. GIFS:





Especially the second one. ♥

[outfoxy]

Each and every one of you is a perfect you, ok. I appreciate you all and I stalk all of your threads. Even if I don't get a chance to thread with you much, it's not a case of a lack of a desire but a lack of knowing when and where my pups would be most appropriate. I don't know why I worry. It is my own private paranoia. Because you have all been totally welcoming to my characters even if they are from obscure weird canons or Naruto.

visual aid: how i feel about each and every one of you.

In the future, I am going to try to spread myself around more broadly and force myself to think outside of my box so that I can create more character relationships between my characters and those of yours who I don't tag as frequently, or at all. You all deserve it. There's no excuse!

I would love to give specific examples, but honestly ... we are a community of some talent. You should all be proud of yourself, genuinely. It is just too difficult for me to even wrap my head around giving you all proper thanks for what you give to me with your creative energy.

I also appreciate you for being supportive of me in general outside of writing. I will be honest, I have not been well for the past 12 months. I'm still not well. But having your optimism and your understanding both while getting to enjoy writing with all of you has made me be able to view things less as a string of continual setbacks and more as signposts on my way to recovery.

If DW let me imbed in a comment, I would imbed this, because this is how you should all feel about yourselves.


I'm reversing the meme because little bites are easier to take than big monster bites. Want to know why I love you specifically? Comment here.

[beyondtheblonde]

<33333333333333 I just want to say that, one, I'm really glad that the community has been so understanding toward you, because I've been in games where the culture was such that people get impatient regardless of why someone is absent, and I think it's ridiculous. I think you're strong and brave and deserving of support, and I'm glad we're able to give it.

Second, that song is hypnotic, wow wow.

[intheenditslove]

I love everything.

Some of you I've known for years (like, eight? EIGHT YEARS, GUYS?) and some of you I've only met recently, but I can say, without a doubt, this is the most wonderful game I've been lucky enough to be in. I love that, within months of starting, the mods let me infect the city with a virus that turned people into homicidal maniacs. >:D I love that no one ever said no, they encouraged me to come up with ideas and take it further. I love that I can think of plots and feel comfortable with bringing them to the mods, because you guys are great.

I love that I started thinking I'd only have one character here, because being in two games was too much for me, then quickly realized this was the place for me. I love my unexpected ships, my unexpected friendships, the friendships that have crossed over from the other game and still found a place here in a new setting. I love the freedom given to us as players to create things that help us tell our stories.

I LOVE YOU GUYS, ALL OF YOU. Many of you know me better than most people I see daily. You're funny and talented and warm and caring. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.

I've loved so many threads, so many plots. Russell's virus plot, as I mentioned above, the threads he had with the various important people in his life at the time, the things he did to them and the aftermath. Silent Hill, Russell saving Katie from the nurses remains one of my favourite and one of the creepiest threads I think I've ever done. Andrea's weird and unexpected friendship with Mike, falling in love with Spike, everything with Clementine. Andrea's timeloop is another thing I'm still deeply proud of and had such a great time threading. The entire plot with Patrick Bateman, which was horrible and hard and so well done. SAM and everything about him. Kate and Harley forever friends, Kate and Carla Jean also forever friends. Kate and Reggie, friends no matter what universe. <3 All the new friendships she's found in Darrow, I'm so so so lucky to thread those. The thread where Chris found Kate and thought she was dead was so sad and so good. Kate and Newt and their stupid, stupid faces, I don't even know what happened there and I'm so glad it did. Lily and Delta, one of those things I went into thinking she'd try to sleep with him and that would be the end of it and instead got this amazing ship out of. Everything with Nina. Anyone who's put up with Ilithyia in any way, shape or form. I complain about her being difficult to write and she is, but when I get to thread her being terrible it's some of the most satisfying tags I've ever written.

I'm probably forgetting a thousand other things I love, so I'm sure I'll be back with more. Thanks for two really amazing years so far. Thanks for being wonderful writers and incredible friends.

[outfoxy]

Dropping a line here to agree that I love the culture of this game wrt plots. I love both that the moderation will do their best to help make every plot into something workable for the whole community, and that when players have issues about plots, they feel comfortable enough to communicate them so that everybody ends up happy.

[eternaldaisy]

I know some of you know this, but a lot of you probably don't, and at a time like this, it's worth mentioning anyway. The idea for Darrow came out of what was quite literally the lowest point I ever reached mentally, what remains one of the worst nights of my life (and there've been some bad ones). What started as a desperate contingency plan became a really appealing idea in its own right, and even once we found out that we wouldn't need to resort to starting something new after all, Stef and I couldn't let go of it. We thought we might just have something. We thought that maybe we could get a few of our friends interested and be able to make something sustainable.

I can't speak for her, of course, but I never in a million years imagined we would grow to this size. We have forty-five players, almost all of whom are active. We have 185 current characters. The number of apps we've gotten in the first three months of 2014 alone has had us mods boggling, and in the best way possible. There are days it still seems absolutely surreal that we've done this well.

And it's not just about quantity, but about quality. You guys constantly blow me away. I can't even begin right now to try to list specific things I've enjoyed because I've loved all of it (though I might try later). There just aren't words for it, or for how unbelievably lucky I feel that this game has drawn a group of writers who are so talented and so creative, who come up with more than I could ever imagine and introduce me to characters I'd have never heard of otherwise, and to have the best damn co-mods a girl could ask for. I treasure every single person here, the ones I know personally and the ones I don't yet, the people I've known for years and years now — just about seven, I think, with some of you — and the ones I've met more recently or been introduced to through the game itself. I love how supportive you all are of each other, how smoothly things have gone over the last two years, how what started as a little game isn't quite so little anymore but has kept the same close-knit feeling. You all are what make this place what it is, and that's something that I am so, so honored to have had a hand in putting together.

Our priority, when we made this game, was to create a safe space. Somewhere that people felt comfortable, where the well-being of the players was prized above all else, and where people would get a chance to tell the stories they wanted to tell. Reading the things you have to say about it now — guys, I'm just lying here crying, because it, and all of you, mean the world to me. I'm so incredibly thankful, for those of you who have stuck it out since we opened and before and helped us get on our feet, for those who joined recently and for the way everyone else has welcomed them into the fold. Just to still be going after two years would be pretty incredible in its own right, but what we have here, it's a dream come true and then some. So, thank you. Really, really, truly, thank you all.

[kaitmaree]

I don't know how to express how much you mean to me without crying and getting gross and gushing and making everyone uncomfortable. Suffice it to say, I fucking adore you. Playing with you is such a natural thing and the relationships we've built and are building are some of the ones I treasure most. Kathy and Driver come to mind, as do Abby and Jason. Above all, though, thank you for your Katniss. I truly, truly am the luckiest player alive to have her to play with my Finnick. I can't wait to explore Avery and Molly further, and you are MAKING IT REALLY HARD TO NOT APP MAGGIE. Seriously, Don is perfect. I don't know how you do it, but your army of pups is across the board amazing. WHY ARE YOU THE WAY THAT YOU ARE.

Without a doubt meeting you was one of the best things to come out of last year and I thank you for your patience and understanding and advice and watching things with me when I don't want to deal with reality. You are an incredible person, and I just ghfdjkghfjdkghfjkg don't know what I'd do without you. I hope we get to hang out IRL in the not-so-distant future.

[beyondtheblonde]

This is how I feel about y'all. I know that's a Kesha song, but it's how I feel, okay.

It's hard to follow up what Laine said, because it's so dead-on, and I co-sign it in its entirety, but I want to say a little more than I did in the opening post.

I honestly have trouble sometimes believing we've been around for two whole years. It has absolutely flown by. We've had our bumps in the road here and there, but by and large, this has been one of the most peaceful, close-knit games I've ever had the pleasure of playing in. That would be the case even if I weren't a mod, but as a mod, it's an absolute honor. I feel blessed to be a part of this, to have all of you in my life, and to know you want to be involved.

We've always prized characterization above all, but writing quality is, of course, important. We try not to be total snobs about it, but the fact remains, every last one of you and each of your characters is here because we saw something special in what you do and how you play. You're all so talented and clever, and I'm constantly amazed by the things you come up with. The world of Darrow has grown in some fun and unexpected ways, and you guys, you have no idea how giddy I get when a new store or NPC pops up. I love watching you make this your own. I love the creative plots that come through the mod box, and I love that you've all been so eager to do more and so willing to work with us, in some cases, to make sure that plots are workable and leave room for people to opt out. I love that you're supportive and understanding. I really hope what we've made is a place where you feel safe putting your own lives first, knowing that you won't be punished for illness or needing time for your mental health or family, and where you can feel welcome when you're ready to play again. I love looking around and feeling like we've made a community, a family. Even if we squabble, at the end of the day, I think we're there for each other, and it makes me so happy.

And I'm with Laine. I thought we'd make this work, I believe in it, but I didn't think we'd be this lucky or have this many incredible people participating. There are a few of you I don't know well yet, but I want to change that, because you're all so great.

Things on my end haven't been great lately. I've been coping with insomnia and mental health issues and absurd amounts of work stress, and I haven't been as active as I've wanted to do. I've missed a lot of EPs I was eager to tag into. But I've still had so much fun watching everyone, reading threads, spying on new characters and old alike, and playing when I can, and I'm grateful for you guys putting up with my frequent absences. I've had a lot of opportunities here I wouldn't have imagined elsewhere and played out threads that made me howl with laughter and break down sobbing (but in a good way), and it means the world to me. I can't say that enough. This game has been a light in my life through good and bad. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm gonna be back around later with some specific things I've loved, but I didn't want to miss this chance to tell you all how very much I love you all and how grateful I am.

[kaitmaree]

I'm just going to rest my head on your shoulder and cry for a bit. Stef, seriously, sending you that ask about the GS premiere when I was REALLY FUCKING JEALOUS OF YOU was one of the best decisions of my life. I know, I know, I don't make many good decisions, but even if I made the best decisions ever, it would rank right up there. I'm rambling now. I just owe you a lot for introducing me to this place and for all of the times you've made me feel that little bit less alone. Little bits can mean a lot, and I know that you know that.

You are ridiculously talented and I'm so much in love with the Abby and Alana thread we have going right now. It's so important to her as I selfishly pulled her from before she got that closure, and I know that it's going to help her move forward. I so much love Harley, too, and Cameron and both of those boys for Abby for very different reasons. I love Elle for Mindy and Elsa for Kathy and just everyone always. NEVER STOP BEING YOU. I meant what I said in the note I included with that necklace. I love you.

[kaitmaree]

It's really tempting to just belt out the first few lines of For Good because I truly believe that this game and you amazing people have come into my life for a reason. I've had some serious roleplay issues in the past and it's been a struggle to find a group that I trust as much as I do you all. I feel really blessed and honoured and sometimes entirely inadequate. I can't thank you enough for giving me a chance – the mods for accepting me, and everyone who's threaded with me and my losers. You are the most phenomenal group of writers and the life that you bring to your pups has this incredible balance of being true to their canons but also so uniquely yours.



Beyond that, in this game I have found the most amazing support system. I no longer feel like I'm screaming into the void when I have a bad day, and I finally feel cared for, like I've found a place that I belong. It's been a long time coming, but it's been worth the wait, and I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you better as time goes on. THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU.

Have a puppy.

[chasingthestorm]

It means more than I can say to be a part of that for you. Thank you for being one of us.

[chasingthestorm]

Oh, quick one! (I'm at work, I should be working, but nevertheless.)

I am VERY excited about playing Veronica again. Most of you know I played her for a long, long time in another game, and she's always been one of my favorite characters to play, but I had to give her up when she got stagnant in the other game. Here, I feel like I'm really going to be able to do a lot with her, and it's been incredibly validating to come at her with this new canon and see that my trajectory for her was actually right. So that's one thing I'm proud of.

It's also been super validating to see how many people want to play with her. I love the threads with her old friends; it's so great to fall back into those old rhythms. I love her thread with Logan. I can't get over how lucky I am to have such a good Logan to play off of, because that dynamic is so vital to both characters. And I love the threads where she's meeting people for the first time, trying to suss out the situation. Playing off Billy in particular has me cracking up with every tag. So thanks to all of you playing off of her! And I'm looking forward to even more threads once I get her tagged into Founders Day. :3

[everyonetakes]

Somewhere out there Mathias still misses Vee. ;_____;

But seriously, I'm so excited to see her back. I haven't tagged her yet because I still need to see the movie, but I'm very much looking forward to threading with her again when I do. <3

[itsapirateslife]

The last ep of OUAT gave me the perfect gif for this post. I talked about joining for two years but I was intimidated because you are all so awesome. But now, I can't imagine a better place to play my ridiculous pirate and I've been here less then a month.

So thank you for being awesome guys. I'm glad I finally made the leap.

[waitingtobelit]

I can't tell you enough how much I love your Hook and flailing with you over OUAT: Wonderland! I'm so glad you joined the game! It's been so much fun meeting you and getting to play with you. I look forward to all of the hijinks with Hook, even as Marius is sighing dramatically. ;)

<33333.

[daughterofushas]

Ahaha, I feel like I already kind of fail at being here and I've only been here two weeks. 8D I need to thread with more people. I'm kinda shy.

But! I've had an eye on this game on and off for over a year now, and I'm glad I gave in to the urge. It's great being somewhere so full of energy and ideas, blowing away some cobwebs from what had become very dusty corners of my creativity. The headvoices, y'all. I have headvoices fighting to be next, and I have missed this feeling.

[sciencesaggressively]

THERE IS NO FAILURE HERE :)

[dynamicsymmetry]

Okay, so yeah.

When I left my last pan-fandom rpg, I frankly thought I was done with RPing, at least with more than one or two people at a time. Without going into any unpleasant details, I was burned out, generally disillusioned, and altogether cranky.

Then some evil bitch or other was like hey we're doing this thing, come do it with us and I was like okaaaaaaaaaay

And that was two years ago, wtf.

What Darrow and all of you did was help me find my joy in this again. I'm a fiction writer for money, so I spend a huge amount of my time using words to smash virtual action figures together, but that kind of writing is frequently lonely and exhausting with very uncertain payoffs, and RP is a huge refuge from that - at its best it's regenerating in every possible sense, and I feel filled rather than drained. So I missed it a lot, and I can't tell you all how blessed I feel to have been able to find it again here.

The writing here is frequently unbelievable - it pushes me to be my best. You all are so sweet and so generous and so kind, and make this the welcoming space I've felt it to be since I got here on day one. I don't play with a lot of you, I'm terrible about keeping up with reading, and I don't interact with people as much as I might, but I just want to be clear about how much I love this game and how amazing you all are and how much it means to me that I get to spend my time among such excellent and admirable hobbits.

[thetinydemon]

WHAT EVIL BITCH?

I'LL KICK HER ASS.

[cest_la_v]

I've known several of you guys across many games and several years. Honestly, when I try and think about what I used to do before playing with you guys I draw a blank. Not only have we gotten to tell stories together, we've been friends.

Like a couple others have said, many of you have seen me through some of the worst, best, and truly most absurd parts of my life. And yet you're still here, instead of running for the hills. For that support, that presence. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

CASE DISMISSED! SEND IN THE DANCING LOBSTERS!

THIS IS LAINE'S FAULT

[alltheircrimesarejust]

[outfoxy]

it's a CUPCAAAAAAAAAAAGE bahahaha



no stop throwing tomatos i have a potassium thing

[arrowette]

I wanted to do a large rambling thing but my brain is so not cooperating so the short and sweet? I love you all, this is such a fantastic game and I just - yes. ALL OF THE LOVE FOREVER AND ALWAYS.