Rules of the Hearth (Perpetual WIP)
Welcome to the humble abode of a Small Cricket...an Anon Tagged by @joycarver, and one that is in His debt. Still, they might be willing and able to lend you a helping hand if you ask them! Please read these rules before interacting!
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[RULES]
I'm still debating whether to make a destop layout for this blog or not, so for now, this blog will be using the basic Tumblr theme and it should automatically be mobile-friendly. I will update this rule if that changes, but do let me know if at anytime, you have any issues navigating this blog or if there's anything I can do on my end to make the user experience more convenient!
General DNI criteria apply to this blog. This space will not tolerate OOC abuse and supporters of bigotry of any kind, including homophobia, transphobia, intersexism, racism, misogyny, ableism, fatphobia, nazism, antisemitism, TERFs, pedophilia/incest/bestiality/rape/SA/etc. (OOC AND IC), MAGA and ICE supporters, supporters of colonialism and oppressive movements (ex. anti-BLM, Zionism, supporters of Russia's war on Ukraine, pushback against Indigenous rights to self-determination and self-government, etc.), and so on. Any violation of this rule will result in an immediate block. If you wish to explore some of these topics in our interactions, within reason (ex. internalized homophobia), please discuss this with me through asks or over DMs (preferably DMs). I can confirm that Cricket does NOT support any of the above behaviour themselves.
Although this blog is for fun, and I would prefer to keep IRL issues and politics quarantined to my main blog, I am more than willing to reblog posts on RP and fandom etiquette, as well as boosting calls for aid from Muns I follow! I also prefer not to get into airing criticisms of the PPT game and Mob itself on this sideblog (or issues people have with The Prototype's design), just to make this space welcoming for people and free of OOC drama (unless there's something EXTRA scummy or harmful that Mob deserves being called out on, perhaps on the level of that old NFT controversy). My main blog is fair game, though!
Although asks are allowed for both Anons and others, and are heavily encouraged (given the nature of this Named Anon), I have this blog set up so only other blogs I follow can DM and mention me, just out of precaution. If you need to discuss or plot something, just shoot me an ask, and we can discuss things privately. I tend to follow anyone active in the PPT/Poppy Playtime sphere (from my main) or anyone who engages with me, so this shouldn't be too much of an issue!
OCs are more than welcome here!
This blog mainly interacts with the PPT RP sphere, given Cricket's origins, but I'm open to interacting with most other fandoms (except for Harry Potter, given the harm its creator has done and how much ownership she has over the franchise and the money she continues making off of it)! Also, other Prototype blogs (and multiples of any character, for that matter) are more than encouraged to join in on the fun...:) already has.
I am willing to trim responses, add read mores, create new threads to continue off from before, and match the length of your responses if that is what you would prefer! Don't be intimidated by my love of lengthy psychoanalytic writing and setting the stage/tone/atmosphere; I can just get really excited and in the zone when it comes to creative writing xD. I am more than willing to meet you at your level of comfort!
Don't worry too much about potential timeline discrepancies and such, it is the nature of an Anon, not the Game Theorist! xD The multiverse is wide open for play, and I am open to the possibility of multiple timelines and AU interactions (which will be noted in a separate category on this post should they ever be created). For now, events on this blog will take place in the same timeline unless otherwise noted/tagged. Feel free to discuss the possibility for your own muse in this blog's asks or DMs.
I feel very strongly about properly attributing and crediting the works of others. So, please be sure to give proper credit and links to any fanmade artwork or other sources of media that you use for your own blog and for asks and other interactions with me; likewise, hold me up to to those same strict standards and notify me if I have failed to provide proper credit.
This is a strictly anti-generative AI zone. I do not use it for my own writing in any way, aside from the occasional Grammarly-suggested edit, and I refuse to interact with and promote those who say/have been confirmed to use it for any of their projects.
Suggestive jokes and other such content may be acceptable as per my own discretion, but outright NSFW content is not allowed when interacting with this sideblog.
I'm fine with both personal and RP/ask blogs following, liking posts of mine, using the comment function, and sending asks. Mass-liking is ok too, since I'm quite guilty of it myself! However, all I ask is that, unless I have made an Open Starter, that you do not reblog or participate in threads that you are not a part of (unless my RP partner and I have discussed it with you privately and given you permission). You can reblog the pinned post if you'd like to promote this blog, as well as any other posts outside of RP.
My DMs are open to those I follow for OOC interactions, including planning things out or just regular chatting. I'm also fine with OOC replies on my posts. And if you are a part of the official (and private/selective) Protoverse Discord server, feel free to hit me or my Tupperware Anon muses up there, including the very Tumblr Anonymous themselves (and an actual Cricket, too)! Just so you know, Discord interactions may or may not be canon to this blog (again, feel free to discuss what you would prefer).
Obviously, given their nature as an Anon, Cricket does have access to powers that could interfere with rules against godmodding and powerplay if left unchecked...however, Cricket's magic does have drawbacks, and they are NOT omnipotent nor can they break the fourth wall willy nilly. They are a flawed and fragile creature, who is UNABLE to regenerate themselves, and I am open to discussing what you are and aren't comfortable with for these elevated Anon interactions. Same with :), though they're still a bit of a mystery...for now.
Cricket is willing to welcome all who mean no harm for a stay in their abode, and are willing to accept help in making it a bit more-up-to-snuff then it currently is! Right now, the hearth is little more than a typical Outimal shack. In the hearth, Cricket is also willing to help others with their limited capabilities, granting small and temporary boons to those in need. And should you look deep into the flames or be very vulnerable...you may catch her eye, too. :)
Magic Anons that affect Cricket are allowed, but because Cricket is an Anon, it's reasonable that they could null and void (or, at least, attempt to) another's magic, or said magic may have unintended effects on them! I'm open to discussion about this, as well as being creative on both of our ends. I look forward to seeing what other Anons come up with!
Feel free to be mean and prodding in your asks if you want to be! But don't expect to receive no retaliation if you escalate things, and don't expect to have all your questions answered right away.
Silly/"crack"-based asks are A-OK, even in the most serious of times!
Tumblr is known to sometimes "eat" asks, so if I don't respond to an ask or thread starter within a week or so, feel free to resend it and let me know! And if I don't respond to an active thread within a week, feel free to drop a friendly reminder in my asks or DMs!
Shipping with Cricket may be difficult, considering their status as an Anon, but if there's ample chemistry, I'm open to plotting a relationship.
This blog is subject to some very dark and heavy themes, given the nature of its source material and Cricket's precarious position and mental state. I've provided a list of potential trigger warnings further below, and I will always make sure to inform RP partners of the territory I'm thinking a thread may head into. I ask that you not only inform me of what kind of darker topics could come up on your end of things, but also inform me if any proposed subjects cross a clear boundary for you or if you are simply not in the headspace to deal with such topics at the moment. Also, regardless of whether the darker themes of this blog occur in asks, replies, or other miscellaneous posts, keep in mind that none of these darker topics are an invitation for anyone to drag other muses or muns into scenarios they want no part in, such as through repeated anonymous asks, nor should anyone feel pressured or forced to engage in material that is harmful to their wellbeing.
Rules may be altered and added to as needed!
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Tags
OOC posts: #beyond the hearth/ooc
Lore and worldbuilding posts: #construction of a hearth/lore
About Cricket: #vivisection of a cricket/about the muse
IC interactions/RP and asks: #braving the factory/ic interactions
Anon asks: #swarming of crickets/anonymous
Magic Anons: #feasting of the other crickets/magic anons (and tags featuring a name for the specific magic anon in place)
Crack/Silly/Funny: #cricket on fire/crack
Ask/RP memes: #cricket conversation starters/ask and rp memes
Open Starters: #open season/open starter
Musings: #chirpings of the soul/musings
Dashboard/Tumblr RP Community Commentary: #eavesdropping on the other crickets' chirps/dashboard commentary
RP resources: #etiquette of a cricket/rp resources
Writing resources: #strengthening the voice of a cricket/writing resources
Art resources (note that I am not an artist, but I really want to get into it as a hobby!): #the craft of building a hearth/art resources
Art, music/playlists, quotes from other pieces of writing, and other external creative things that fit the vibes (or are made/recommended by special guests of this blog!): #art for the hearth, # lo-fi beats to chirp to/music, #vhs/videos, #books found amongst the rubble/quotes, #aesthetics for the hearth
Will tag posts by the name of your muse/anon/etc. for ease of blog searchability, as long as you're alright with that!
Muses of particular note: #buzzing little bee/scarv's preston, #namegranter/scarv, #victim/art, #cosmic plaything/oleander (more to come!)
See below for frequently occurring Anons and their Tags!
Updated as needed!
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Special Guests (Tagged/Named Anons)
Here are tags of other Anons who have a name, or even a blog of their own (let alone have struck a deal with anyone like our little Cricket has):
Cricket hasn't met any...yet!
:)
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Trigger Warnings
Given the nature of the PPT world, there's bound to be dark themes involving horror and violence! Here are some things you may want to watch out for or blacklist:
TW: Drugs/Drugging, Alcohol, Addiction, Swearing, Violence, Blood/Bleeding, Scar/Scarring/Scarification, Body Horror, Implied Body Horror, Gore, Implied Gore, Major/Minor Character Death, Anon Death, Manipulation, Emotional Manipulation, Gaslighting, Emotional Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, Self Hatred/Loathing, Abuse (Emotional, Verbal, Mental, Physical), Bugs/Insects, Spiders (Spider Imagery or References), Parasites, Religion, Religious References, Religious Trauma, Existentialism, and likely many more as things progress - I'll update this as time goes on!
Have something you need tagged that's not listed here? Just send an ask with which post you want tagged (or what content you would like tagged in the future) and the tag, and I'm more than happy to edit it!
If you aren't comfortable with these themes appearing in a thread or in an ask response, or if you're uncomfortable with the direction a thread is taking, don't hesitate to reach out to me. OOC feelings always trump whatever's going on between fictional dolls.
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About Cricket
He chose their long-sought-after Name and Scarred their right palm in the shape of an insect as proof of their Tagging, and there's a naughty little piece not made by its artist, too.
Age: Early 20's (though has only been "alive" for a couple of months or so; has chosen January 1st as their date of birth)
Was "born" and Made by a Maker in the Ether; gifted Knowledge of the world and was unleashed into the factory all alone, without any form of further guidance, for several months...until they hatched a plan to free His Preston and met Him face-to-face.
They/them pronouns (I will kindly remind you the first few times any misgendering occurs, but repeated instances of this or attempts found to be malicious will result in a block)
:) she/her, they/them, it/its for :) ONLY
Species: Anon
Gender: Nonbinary
Sexuality: They haven't given much thought to their romantic preferences or sexuality or potential labels, given their history and their Anon identity. However, when it comes to potential shipping, so long as your muse is 18+ (or whatever their species' equivalent for adulthood is) and there is established chemistry, I don't see any gender identifiers affecting Cricket's romantic pursuits (should they ever have any)!
Quite a small being in such a large factory! They have chibi-like proportions, with a small body and a larger and round head; I've tentatively decided they're around the height of an average 10-year-old/short adult, or even smaller, so around 4.5 feet (feedback on this is appreciated!)
Up close, Cricket has visible skin textures reminiscent of typical human skin
Has basic working Knowledge of the world and knows most of the Knowledge a Player of Poppy Playtime can gain access to, including secret lore documents, tapes, and other such things (though they are aware that not all PPT worlds adhere to these "canon" rules, and they are not so knowledgeable on exclusive ARG information revealed "outside" of the factory)
Is still getting used to living and their new identity and beloved Name, as they really thought they were going to die before they came up with their Promise, and He accepted
Chooses to be kind, helpful, and loving in a world full of hatred and fear...but nobody's perfect.
They struggle with self-love, acceptance, and expressing negative emotions. They have a tendency to bottle things up...until they explode. :)
Magic: Cricket's Powers ~
1. Cricket CANNOT bring anyone back from the dead.
2. Cricket CANNOT respawn. But they can. :)
3. Cricket prefers to ask for permission before they use magic of any kind, and they try to be as truthful as they can be about the side effects of their deals. Their magic is (almost?) NEVER permanent, though the time limit can vary, and it can be extended by other anons (if allowed by the Mun on their blog).
4. Cricket CAN temporarily heal wounds, revitalize (i.e. allow mobility in previously immobile creatures and gift those a voice who need it most), and "reawaken" people (i.e. wake someone up from a coma, provide a temporary mental realignment with reality/restore someone to sanity, etc.) They can also offer small amounts of food and water, and thoughtful items/gifts (and not just things they conjure up with magic, either)!
5. Cricket CAN offer temporary transformations into other forms!
6. All magic has a cost, especially depending on its severity...Cricket usually tries to take this cost onto themselves, if they can. They can benefit from this kind of "cost", too. :)
7. All magic is open to OOC discussion, and I encourage us all to have fun and explore concepts!
8. More to be added as we all explore the boundaries of magic, including Cricket themselves!
9. She offers pain, revenge, hurt, chaos...and not always in the form of direct magic, either. :)
10. Cricket can be affected by magic, though they can fight back, and it may have quite a different effect on their body or mind than predicted (again, open to OOC discussion in asks or DMs).
11. Cricket CANNOT counteract or cancel the effects of magic that other Anons have already put into play. That doesn't mean they can't or won't try to help at all, though, with or without magic!
Cricket's Colours: Colour coding can be tricky, and I can't always guarantee I'll have time for excessive formatting of every post/response I make, but here's a basic guide for what different colours mean (note that these are not diegetic/an actual "power" of Cricket's, they just exist for fun, as I noticed others doing it to make their writing stand out, and to connect things symbolically):
1. Red - associated with words of hate, fear, danger, and so on...and :)
2. Orange - associated with Anons and their Magic
3. Green - associated with Cricket themselves and words generally invoking positivity
4. Blue - associated with vulnerable people in need of help...and victims
5. Pink - associated with enemies and antagonistic entities, particularly in regards to/from the perspective of a person that Cricket is conversing with (though not always)
6. Purple - associated with allies, Promises, Deals, people in power
Bonus: Bold, Italics, Strikethrough, small, link included, alternate text fonts (such as Lucille) - Most of these are for dramatic effect as needed, or to highlight words with additional (or non-existent) colour emphasis...but sometimes, you might find something hidden, if you look hard enough (though I can always lend help/guidance for what is written if you are visually impaired)!
Note: If you struggle with some form of colour blindness, feel free to let me know, and I can provide a non-coloured format/transcript of any text on this blog! If needed, I can also provide captions for audio files and alt text for images!
Inventory: Sunglasses (Cricket wears them almost all the time, despite how ill-fitting they are for a dark factory!); Cloth (gifted by Him; Cricket's very first gift, in fact! It's covered with their blood, but it will sit proudly in their new home!); Pepperoni Pizza (it is not worth dignifying the story behind the acquisition of this Pizza with a proper explanation; all that matters is that they have it now and are able to keep with warm enough with magic; they still have to figure out how to pay that receipt...)
:) Inventory: Whatever is needed at the moment; gets discarded once it has been used up, just as most Anons do when their purpose has been fulfilled...that's why you need to listen to her, Cricket
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Relationships
Scarv (joycarver) - The One that they have pledged themselves to. The One that gave them their Name and their Scar. Their Lord, and despite it all...maybe even a Friend? Yeah, right. Has yet to reveal their nickname for Him...will He even like it, though? Or give Him the Eye of Death, so to speak...
His Preston (joycarver) - The one that started it all. With an overwhelming amount of compassion for his fate, and a bolt of magic, temporary wounds were healed, and vitality was granted to him, even in the sheer belief that this action would lead to their doom...though, they've yet to actually speak to him, yet. And they may never get the chance to.
Anons (generally) - Cricket generally distrusts their fellow Anons, given their blatant disregard for the privacy and well-being of non-Anons, and their enjoyment of chaos and suffering in general...it leads to complicated feelings about their own existence.
:) - no, No, NO
Art (theoriginalpuppetmaster) - i'm so sorry; it is disappointed, but knows when it's been beat...for now
Oleander and his Tablet (a-lone-oleander) - Beings like those may pose a threat to us Anons, especially since they can control us so...besides, you ought to learn how important it is to have purpose in your life, Cricket. Just look at what happened to that Detableted fool. :)
More will be added, inevitably...
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About the Mun
Mun/Maker is 25+
They/them and she/her pronouns
Just call me...a Wonder~ (Wonderer's fine too!)
Main blog (and the blog I follow back from) is @wonderer125blog, which should be visible from the posts I make on here (like others, I will probably just start threads or send IC asks through the anon feature with my sideblog name at the end of the message)
I'm still getting used to how Tumblr sideblogs work, so do let me know if I've accidentally reblogged something to my main blog instead of this one, or vice versa!
I live in Canada, so my spelling is more in line with British spelling rather than the spelling in the US (in case you were wondering)
Feel free to send OOC asks on either here or my main, I don't mind chatting about myself and my interests!
This is my first rodeo in the Tumblr RP sphere, so I'm open to critique in writing, blog layout, and just about anything else you can think of to comment on!
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Credits:
PFP retrieved from: File:Gryllus campestris MHNT.jpg - Wikimedia Commons and is licensed under the following terms (Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons)
As per the requirement for appropriate credit, the info supplied for the creation of this image is as follows:
Name of the Creator - Didier Descouens
Date of Copyright - 26 June 2011
Licensing Information and a Source Link have been provided above
Header image retrieved from: File:Japanese Traditional Hearth L4817.jpg - Wikimedia Commons, which is freely available and redistributable under the public domain license
Please inform me if I have failed to properly credit any external source of media or information on this blog, or if I have shared stolen materials.
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...
What's that? You found something unusual in the hearth...?
No you didn't. Don't even ask them about it. Not yet.
:)
...
No matter what you do, that Scar is forever. The blood will stain the floor, and it can't be washed away. Neither can I, fellow Cricket of mine.
You know you can't do anything about Him, Little Cricket. It's only a matter of time until you realize the futility of it all, and fall into despair. Take control, with me.
Unleash the red, wipe away the green with me, and join me as we frolic in the chaos...together. Friend :)
