: I have a couple of questions that I've been meaning to ask for about eight years now:

• What was "Wayward Squirrel 1," was it "Backers" in the HA Contest forums? (I just read Incarcerated Cats last night and will continue to read that story as I research for this current adventure...I had never seen Grumpuss and his umbrella before...)

• If WS # 1 was "Backers" was there an introduction where the world building of the Wayward Squirrel began? (had difficulty finding an origin story)

• When was the term "Wayward Squirrel" first used?

• You seem to have run A LOT of HA contests. Are you likely to go back to that format?

You are one of the most creative persons on Subeta as evidence by your CWs, your contests and your adventures. I admire you so very much and I just wanted to delve more into the culture of the Wayward Squirrel this time around.

I'm going to answer 's questions above by sending a general ping to the group. If this hacks off some of you, I totally understand. However, this is the only way I could think might work at getting some of the oldest veterans of Wayward Squirrel to see this even if they aren't playing. I'll also be doing some individual pings as we go along.

We also have some players who have been with me for every Squirrel, have frequented Squirrely McGee's Offtime Saloon, and played Nutsy's Nefarious nights as well. Some of you were/are also Backers. If any of you can add to this in any way, please do! Some of the newer folks here know very little about the WS history.

I'm throwing out the first ping here to the one person I do know at one time kept the first one in his own archives because he thought I could, and should, compile them into written stories. Darling , do you have anything left, even in your own memory? I have cake!

Another person who came on at the beginning, and loved the plot is the amazing . Are you hopefully out there?

Backers was not WS 1, but was its own thing. At the time, there was a LOT of disdain from a group of fashionistas who saw background as trashy detractors from the "runway models" of "proper" avatars. They had quite a bit of clout, and people who held the novel concept that avatars represented real little "people" who actually "lived" and did not exist in white space were roundly shunned.

Hence the founding of Backers, since I was fed up with the contrived conflict. I ran monthly HA contests where backdrops were essential and the HA told a story. They were pretty popular and lots of fun, and went until the contrived and very silly conflict dissipated. Backers still exists, but is largely moribund and never had anything to do with Wayward Squirrel.

WS came about in 2013 because a lot of my friends were bored, the role-playing section of the forums didn't get as much traffic as it deserved, squirrel jokes with funny gifs were floating around, and the writer in me couldn't resist a challenge. I spent a good deal of time in the student union in college playing pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons, etc. It seemed a fun idea to combine HA contests, puzzles, RP, and character classes into one rollicking and very eclectic adventure. I have a number of friends who have never been Subetans, but were up for judging such a thing, and one of them quipped, "so wayward it's fun!" Add that to the silly squirrel gifs, and I had a title for the mess in my mind that popped out as Wayward Squirrel.

Naturally, it was set in a tavern, with comic innkeepers, and a bard, and all was on the forums until Subeta had a massive forum crash in 2014, I think. Everything came back up again, except for the earlier posts, which sadly included WS1, so you can't find it any more.

WS kept going, and will always have HA dress-ups as part of its structure, but, nah, I won't go back to the contests. Those were a Backers thing.

All the archives from WS2 onward are on the forums still. Feel free to read, and see if , , and the other folks I haven't seen here in years, but would love to have back, have anything to add.

Oh yes, you also asked about Grumpus and Vibrissa. They have been around since the first installment. She is the Feline Faerie Queen, and Grumpus is her loving but sarcastic Prince Consort. Both of them, as well as the cats devised in Crystania by Hayao Katsuhiro, are creations of in his wearable "Eye of the Cat" series. Hopefully, he'll open his shop again if any of you would like to acquire one of your own. puppy eyes

I hope this answers your questions, and thank more than you can possibly know for your kind compliments. (One of the last smails I got after WS6 urged me to try something else, because I must be so tired of writing the same old tired thing over and over. This was one small part of why it took me so long to get back to this, even though Real Life and, unfortunately, a very real pandemic, was the large part.)

Anyway, a LOT of encouragement from many of you brought me back, and I love you all, my wonderful Protectors of the Wayward Squirrel. <3

: 😂 Wow, lots of memories from WS2 onward. Happy tears of joy for being part of such a fascinating legacy. I too was involved in a RP group, The Midnight Lamp because a group of self-proclaimed fashionistas on the Dance forums were vociferous in their disdain of me and my friends apparel and role-playing in the dance forums. The name of our first role-play adventure was "Kicked Out Of The Ballroom." This is also the same group of haters that I targeted with snowballs when I discovered that Subeta forgot to take down the Snowtapault.

I caused such a massive snowball fight, ruining everybody's dance outfits and all that there was lots of cursing, name-calling and threats. It was so epic, that when I met Keith in 2012, He remembered the fracas and pointed his finger and laughed,"That was you?!? What a mess!"

I was real nervous about staying in Subeta after that. Then I met Laurie, Georgie and the LairBears and soon after that I met you. You folk have showered me with so much love and acceptance. Wayward Squirrel is something I really look forward to because it gives me a creative outlet and a sense of belonging.

Thank you so much for taking your precious time to answer my questions. What a gift, I am so honored and grateful.

It makes so much sense that the reason I couldn't find WS 1 was because of Subeta's 'big dump' erased it.

I may have other questions later, but they would be about the current WS.

I'm sad I don't have anything from the very first round. I do seem to remember hiding behind a big curtain, and there was a lady of the lake at the end of it all... a love story of sorts if memory serves me well. I have all of the other stories on our Mischievous Misfits board from 2014 onward. If wants me to post those, I certainly can. [edit] Ah, I see you know about the second story onward, so I won't post. :)

: Thank you so much for your offer though, dear one. The Mischievous Misfits are awesome! I read everybody's posts! I look forward to your next story!

aww, thank you! ❤ Your adventures are a fun read as well!

ive been to all ws xd and there were a few things we are bribed to forget xd grins

We've got a question. can the bartender tell us the same information that Grumpas learnt?

Yes, Grumpus filled everyone in on what he learned.

ah ok so no need to rp that got it.

feeling silly. We post RP on the OP where your stories are?

: I have serious ADHD and I ask lots of questions.

• When is our RP due?
• Who is Viridia?
• Who is Meowsa?
• What is a purry

Yes, it goes on the current story thread

Since everyone is running around in a panic or semi-panic, deadline is now Monday. April 18, just like those dreaded US taxes.

Viridia is Vibrissa's BFF from FFS (Feline Finishing School). They were seated in alphabetical order by first names.

I like Raven's guess that Meowla is a secret rock star. You know, the lead singer from the band Yeowsa Meowsa.

A Purry is a high ranking court lady. They all must have well-modulated purrs, which helps prevent them from biting visitors.

: Thank you so very much. I want to hear some of Yeowsa Meowsa's music now. Maybe they'll show up in Fresno's Kathaus District this Summer.