Award June's Featured Thread Is...

[Gossamer]

It's Raining Plums!

Allister and I are nominating Ixzo for It's Raining Plums!

In this thread Ixzo the night lion Kelvic tries to give the orphan Drykas, Lolan, a small lesson in self sufficiency by getting her to practice with a shortbow. It sounds like a by-the-numbers five post solo, but stands out from the crowed with its great writing, incredibly real characters, and by absolutely dripping with heart. This is proof you don't need some perilous mystery, flowery language or a knife fight with god to hook a reader.

Ixzo herself has true, developed motivations for her actions that is revealed piecemeal throughout the course of the thread. She is incredibly human, coming off as unsure and a bit off balance as she tries to get Lolan to cooperate. Though she's taciturn and not especially emotive, there's a very genuine feeling in the writing and the dialogue that make this a very heartfelt read without the need for a volcanic amount of emotion. She's the best type of protagonist; the kind with a rich history that affects their present, reasons behind their actions, and most importantly the kind capable of fucking up.

Another thing in particular I'm super excited to call attention to is the relationship between Ixzo and this wonderful NPC. For Lolan, the first thing I noticed about her character is that Ixzo is not the center of her universe. A pit a lot of us (including myself) fall into is that these NPC's can sometimes devolve into something like video game NPC's, where they're only around to give us quests, sell us items, and occasionally get brutally murdered so the main PC characters can level up. But in this thread it really feels like Ixzo is just a blip in Lolan's life as she tries to survive in Sunberth. Rather than mindlessly latching onto the main character, Lolan's willful and stubborn and sometimes dismissive of Ixzo and her attempts to form a relationship. It's all very organic as she reacts not like a convenient exposition machine, but like her own character with their own thing going on.

This thread is a wonderful example of someone who excels at writing characters and all that subtle mind trickery that makes us as readers bond with them. I highly recommend taking the time to read it.

[Sophia Sunshore]

I don't know why or how I haven't read any of your threads before Ixzo, because I thoroughly enjoyed your writing in this one!
Mad's was correct when she said that you have a genuine feeling in the writing - there was a wonderful depth to what could otherwise be a very plain thread. Something so simple as teaching another how to use a bow was so much more, just through the way you wrote.
I am definitely going to have a look at some past threads of yours, and keep an eye on your writing in the future!

[Ixzo]

Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me that people want to read my threads, let alone recommend them. It is an honor to be nominated. <3