We want you to be a part of the most epic of collaborations! There’s a lot of information ahead, so let’s jump right in.

In a Nutshell:

This is a capsule description of The Characters That Define Us. For many more details, head on over to our announcement post! For those in the know, feel free to skip to the next section.

• Each week will be a celebration of a character from the multiverse of video games, along with the blogger who is bringing them into the light.
• This will truly be a year-long collab!
• Every Monday in 2020 — all 52 of them — we’ll be releasing a new entry in The Characters That Define Us written by an incredible blogger like you!
• That same day, we’ll craft a Daily Inkling specifically crafted with your piece in mind!
• Daily Inklings for that week will be loosely based on the themes of your piece!
• Many of the normal pieces from Nikki and I will also be inspired by the themes of the piece you craft!
• Social media posts, including promotional artwork, will focus on your work and character!

The Roster:

Negotiations are complete, and amazingly we’ve managed to bring back almost every Returning Champion! And, we have some absolutely amazing people already set on joining us for the first time.

1. Matt @ Normal Happenings [LOCKED]
2. Nikki @ Normal Happenings [LOCKED]
   
   RETURNING CHAMPIONS!
   
3. 3PStart [LOCKED]
   
4. Adventure Rules [LOCKED]
5. The Bizarro Mage [LOCKED]
6. gamergal.exe [LOCKED]
7. Games With Coffee [LOCKED]
8. The Gaming Diaries [LOCKED]
9. Murr @ Geek. Sleep. Rinse. Repeat [LOCKED]
   
10. Will @ Geek. Sleep. Rinse. Repeat [LOCKED]
    
11. A Geeky Gal [LOCKED]
12. Git Gud at Life [LOCKED]
13. HideNGoShauna [LOCKED]
14. Hungrygoriya [LOCKED]
15. Imaginating Life [LOCKED]
16. The Ink-Stained Mage [LOCKED]
17. Just Geeking By [LOCKED]
18. Krysanthe [LOCKED]
19. Kim @ Later Levels [LOCKED]
20. Livid Lightning [LOCKED]
    
21. Mr Backlog [LOCKED]
22. My Life as a Quest [LOCKED]
23. Nerd Side of Life [LOCKED]
24. The Off-Centred Earth Mage [LOCKED]
25. Overthinker Y [LOCKED]
26. The Purple Prose Mage [LOCKED]
    
27. Sheikah Plate [LOCKED]
28. Shoot the Rookie [LOCKED]
29. TWOTALL4UFOOL’s Gaming and More [LOCKED]
30. Upon Completion [LOCKED]
31. The Well-Red Mage [LOCKED]
32. Wintendo 64 [LOCKED]
    
    NEWCOMERS!
33. AmbiGaming [LOCKED]
34. Dee Misses Games [LOCKED]
    
35. Rachel @ Double Jump [LOCKED]
    
36. Kris @ Double Jump [LOCKED]
37. A Geek Girl’s Guide [LOCKED]
    
38. Hear Dave Write [LOCKED]
39. McWritestuff [LOCKED]
    
40. Neko Jonez [LOCKED]
    
41. The Reel Anna [LOCKED]
    
42. Musings of a Nitpicking Girl [LOCKED]
43. Brink of Gaming [LOCKED]
44. Backlog Crusader [LOCKED]
45. Home Button [LOCKED]
46. Lodestar_Valor [LOCKED]
47. Nana Marfo [LOCKED]
48. MoeGamer [LOCKED]
49. Midnight Mountain [LOCKED]
50. TriformTrinity [LOCKED]
51. Professional Moron [LOCKED]
52. Phil @ Later Levels [LOCKED]
53. [DLC] Max, The Wandering Mage [LOCKED]
54. [DLC] The Well-Red Mage (Again) [LOCKED]
55. [DLC] The Shameful Narcissist Speaks [LOCKED]
56. [DLC]
57. [DLC]

What is DLC? Simple, it’s both a feature and a built-in fail-safe. If life happens and a piece isn’t able to be written for a prime piece, a DLC piece will simply take on the role! Each DLC piece absolutely will be published just like a prime piece. Like with The Games That Define Us, each DLC piece will be treated with the same respect and recognition as the normal ones.

At the time of writing this, we have four more prime slots available, along with five available DLC slots! So sign up quickly! Let me know in the comments or on Twitter if you’d like to take part. And be sure to let us know your Twitter so we can send you a message.

Choosing Your Character:

Here’s our fool-proof way we’re selecting characters!

First, we’re using this hierarchy:
1. Bloggers who have been involved in all three previous collabs.
2. Patrons
3. Bloggers involved in two previous collabs.
4. Bloggers involved in one previous collab.
5. Newcomers!

Instead of chaos in real time, we’re doing a silent character selection. You’ll send me the THREE characters you’d like to write about privately in a message by WEDNESDAY, June 12. It doesn’t matter when you send them, as long as it’s by then. No mess or fuss or trying to corral everyone at a particular time. We’re on at least three different continents, after all.

Rank your characters in order of preference.

EXAMPLE:
1. Mr. Saturn
2. The weird meme guy in Guacamelee.
3. Tetris L-Block

Honestly, the more creative or obscure, the more entertaining. So be you! Be specific about your character choices. For instance, “Link” runs the gambit of different characters, so make sure to let me know which one defines you.

Just not Link, the Hero of Wind (Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass). You can’t have the Hero of Wind.

Please don’t send them in a comment or public tweet — we want everyone to be uninfluenced by each other.

Then, here’s how the selection will happen! You’ll get the top character that hasn’t been selected ahead of you in the hierarchy! See, it’s that easy. I’ll spend that Thursday and Friday sorting out any edge cases, like all three characters have been picked ahead of you. I’ll also spend that time getting the COLLABORATION DOCUMENT ready!

Then, that Saturday, I’ll announce everyone’s character by mentioning you in individual TWEETS– yes, 50-something of them — giving you a chance to retweet and celebrate and all that! Of course, I’ll message you if I need clarity on something. And free to message me about ANYTHING you like.

So, all that said, if you already know your characters, send them over. But please take all the time you like! Well, as long as it’s by Wednesday! We’re so excited to meet The Characters That Define Us!

Communication:

We’ll be using our The Normal Happenings Starry-Eyed Discord as our “official” method of communication. It’s so fun, and you have access to an elite team of supportive bloggers! Newcomers, you’ll be getting your invite in your Twitter inbox soon.

We’ll be using a collaboration doc to craft our posts, which will be made available after we choose our characters. More on that in the Discord.

And with that, the rest is up to you. Join these incredible bloggers and come be a part of the most epic collaboration ever!

Special Patreon Reward:

We’ve ordering some special styluses laser engraved with The Characters That Define Us logo! Why? To reward our Patrons, of course! Any $5 and up Patrons by the end of June will receive one with their July Snail Mail Inklings! More on that in this post!

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Did you know we’re part of the best community of bloggers in the world? Now that the Normal Happenings Starry-Eyed Discord is up, we’re having incredible conversations every day! You can join us right now by becoming a Patron of Normal Happenings! Also, $5+ Patrons unlock Snail Mail Inklings and get featured in very special blog posts!