hey everyone!!! glip here!! 2 months ago, in the middle of july, i asked everyone in both servers if they wanted to contribute to answering a handful of questions! my friend Sunbe was being harassed and my partner Vee was feeling hurt by how people were acting. i thought a lot about what i could do, since the harassment seemed to center around concerns i was hurting people in some insidious way?! anyway, i thought, i'll ask people in the servers and i'll give them space to talk, uncensored by me. no matter how uncomfortable it was, i wanted to give them space to talk about the community and any criticisms they had, to make sure my friends and community were okay.
by and large, they are! and so here are their words. i've not altered them at all (as anyone who participated can tell you) and i'll be responding to each of them a bit here. BECAUSE these words are two months old now, they are a little outdated, but i will include my sense of what has changed in cases where change has occurred.
however, this is mostly for those people who answered me. i wanted to lift my community up and give them space to have a voice and share where they had harder feelings about things instead of keeping any of that down. this isn't at all something from all of my friends, as it's only from those who wanted to contribute, and some members i don't know as well. i'll denote when i don't know someone or haven't really spoken to them much, so that will be clear.
for me this was really grounding. i know i try my best to be an open and genuine person with those around me, but asking directly for their feelings about me gave me a sense of stability i didn't realize i didn't have. it directly became a foundation that helped me create the VN this document is attached to, the new Circlet of the Sun VN about healing.
i intended to write a lot more as a post to accompany all these words, to talk a little more about the harassment… but instead it became a VN about healing, and an invitation to those in Eastar to do healing work with me, in themselves. i can't build up energy to connect to negative things anymore, even if it's responding (indirectly) to harassment and its effects. i just don't have interest.
i tried writing something like 10k words, and none of it felt right. it was hard to hold the energy. i care more about making sure my friends are okay and cared for than i care about… responding to people acting like i don't care about my friends. and i think this is completely sensible. there's no real reason to directly respond to someone who has no idea what i'm like or how i care about others. they are in their own head, in their own reality… and that's okay. i care more about fostering kindness directly around me, in myself spread outwards.
anyway, several of us spent a week or two doing work related to identifying pain points in our past and letting them go. 9/16/25 is the culmination of this work, and this VN holds my care for all of the work the others have done as well. healing oneself is so important to be able to actually feel connection. you can't feel the world without feeling yourself first, as you are your access point to the world. i felt a lot of love in caring for Papaya during this and trying to figure out how to navigate bringing her back into Dewclaw. i felt pain and sadness and happiness and all sorts of emotions playing Ellaroux the past several years. they've been through so much.
i want everyone to be able to look at themselves and exist as themselves without fear, anger, upset. i'd really love if everyone could learn how to love themselves and how to foster that connection and grow it into something beautiful
no matter who you are, this is something possible for you. regardless of what has happened, how you've felt in the past… you are capable of loving yourself, and nothing can change that
you are capable of loving yourself and the world and others, you are capable of dropping things that no longer server you, you are capable of moving on, you are capable of growth, you are capable of understanding more than you thought
whether we are friends, or never have talked, or never do or will talk, or talk all the time, these things you are capable of are still true
note: sometimes the answers will touch on a NSFW thing if answered in the Owel server (and this is a document with both sets of responses) but it's denoted before they go into detail, so you can avoid those if you don't want to read those or you're a minor. i can't spoiler this like you can in Discord since it's a google document, but i think the notation before the answer should be enough to let you skip it if you're interested in reading these answers and my replies.
anyway… here's the original message i sent below, 2 months ago in Eastar and Owel discord servers:
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7/15/25 - glip
@everyone I have questions for everyone. I'm writing something about the effects of harassment on the community and I would like to ask anyone and everyone who is willing to contribute if they would like to write something for it.
You are allowed to be anonymous (in my blog post) if you want, and no one is obligated to answer. I would simply like to invite the voices of anyone who is in this space and wants to contribute. You can answer as many or as few of the questions as you would like. I intended to just write something myself, but I realized it was a nice opportunity to include the voices of others should they wish to contribute.
Please feel free to be as open as you want, describing positive and negative feelings and experiences to whatever degree you wish to share. I will not be censoring anything, with exception of where I feel it could put someone in danger. Then I will discuss it with you first, and it will not be posted unless you are happy with any changes suggested for the sake of safety.
0) Is conflict resolution important to you? Why or why not? What does it mean to you?
1) How have you felt about being in this Discord community (Eastar or Owel)?
2) How have you felt about being in the Floraverse community online at large, if you participate? Places like Tumblr, Twitter, Bluesky, etc.
3) Have you been harassed over your connection to Floraverse? What was that like, and why were you harassed? How did that impact your emotional and mental state? Did you feel like you had support, security, stability, or safety?
4) What do you wish people understood about your connection to Floraverse? What does it mean to you? What have you learned from it? How do you feel about it? Why does it matter? Has it helped you? Has it hurt you, or caused pain? What has that been like?
5) What do you think and feel about me, "glip" or "Ash"? The person? Have we interacted? Has it been positive, or negative? Have you felt I've considered you, or overlooked you, or a mixture? What are my efforts like to you? Does it feel like I care about the community and its safety? Have you disagreed with my choices before? Have you expressed this, and have you felt I listened? Have you felt unsafe or able to voice discomfort? Do you feel you can voice discomfort currently, and that it will be listened to if you do? Why or why not?
6) What do you think would be nice for the community? What do you think would help others in the space feel included and heard? Do you put thought in your day to day on how to reach harmony with others?
7) You can say whatever you want, here. Maybe you want to link yourself for others to find, or maybe you just want to talk about things you like. This space is for you to decide. Well, let's keep it SFW and caring at heart, but aside from that.
I recognize these are many questions, and I appreciate whatever anyone puts forward to this, whether it's sharing about positive or negative experiences. Each experience matters and it helps me form an accurate picture of the community based on the words of the community itself.
I am writing this post in part because of those who have been targeting my friend Sunbe and my wife Eevee, and enough is enough. I am not interested in returning cruelty to all of the cruelty out there, but I want to set the record straight with what is actually happening here and what we are doing. I know that we are simply talking about worldbuilding and characters and feelings, but I would like to know for myself how everyone else perceives it as well, and to write about this. I want to talk about what we are actually doing and what we actually care about as a group.
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Answers below:
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Answer of Guinevere / rop3bnnu7, who I don't really know
0, depends on your definition, in my eyes yeah, even if that resolution is just "we differ on this". sometimes its okay to not agree. i dont really know what it means to me, i guess just conflict ending on some sort of note.
1, good! i wish i was more a part of it, its a little nerve wracking every time i try to join in because im a little lost on what exactly this place is, or where im supposed to talk and what about.
2, uhhhh i dont know? i guess cool. but floraverse overall seems niche to me, but maybe im not engaging as much and thats why (i only have tumblr.)
3, nope, nobody ive ever mentioned it to has bothered me and i talk about it a ton to friends since it still to this day has a huge impact on my identity and life. it kept me sane during one of the worst and most explorative times.
4, i dont know. i guess i wish they could understand what it means to me and guide me back into enjoying it, i lost track and am scared to engage a with it because i had been going through such an amazingly rough time, ||verbal physical and emotional abuse was at an all time high, and i didnt even know if i would be allowed to eat the next day. || But it kept me here, and taught me a bit about social settings and creativity and pushed me to be more passionate. admittedly my gender identity was shoved into the limelight of my mind because of how badly i wished i was more like Alice or Beleth, my two favorite characters. It was comforting overall, though it does make it hard to get back into due to my state of being at the time of first enjoying it. its sort of like a comfortable feeling of disdain and rememberance at once.
5, i thought you were chill. i never had an issue with you and i never really much stuck my nose in your business, your creations are beautiful and thats what i looked at the most. i never noted anything out of the ordinary of a decent and growing person, as well all are....(continued with reply)
6, i dont know, maybe better directions on what exactly the purpose of the server and or *where* and *how* to engage? though that is 100% based on a lack of me trying and my answer might change once i muster the strength and time to rejoin the community *fully* rather than lurking around.
figured id post what i have to say since i have next to no idea whats going on, it might be nice to hear that there are people who engage with the content who are largely unaffected. though i understand if it also sucks that i simply have little to say on the matter.
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response from glip:
i agree it's okay to not agree sometimes, re: conflict! i think it can be hard to stretch yourself sometimes to connect with someone when there are clearly still gaps in understanding, so "we don't agree" is fine to end on, as it lets each party know that there's work to be done to understand the other, if they both desire this.
i'm sorry to hear it's nerve wracking to join in! there's not exactly set "rules" for what to talk about in Eastar or Owel. we've just been vibing lately. the servers tend to Vibe in between major events.
i'm really glad flora could help you out during some of the worst times for you. i'm surprised to hear it had a huge impact on your identity and life, but grateful to get to know this. sometimes i forget others are engaging the work in their own life and having their own feelings and such about it. thank you for sharing that. i'm glad you haven't been bothered over it, too!
i'm sorry to hear you're scared to engage with it due to the circumstances of when you did before. i think that makes a lot of sense. it seems like it's tied to rough times for you, and i think it takes a level of stability to be able to reach those places again in constructive and healing ways. if you ever do that, i hope it goes well for you.
re: more direction on the purpose of the server and where/how to engage… that's a bit tricky! again the server kind of morphs into what i need or want it for, so it's never so strict… but i'll definitely keep it in mind, as i think this is a similar answer to what others said too, in not understanding how to engage in the server.
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Answers from Roxie, a friend of mine:
(multi-part also discord is rewriting my question 0 answer as 1 thanks discord)
0. Conflict resolution is important to me. I don't like when issues between individuals get bottled up or swept under the rug, and I see that behaviour in a lot of communities that vaunt qualities of "safe spaces" and "keeping negativity in dms". I don't think it needs to become a screaming match or a public execution, but it feels like a lot of people are just really bad at processing negativity or panic when they see conflict happening between others.
1. I've been in Eastar and Owel discord servers for many years now and it's chill. I've learned a lot, and sometimes it's been tough, but I met a lot of friends there. It's been a good place to touch raw feelings and figure out how to navigate hard situations. More recently, it's been a bit harder to connect to the community, but it's more just circumstance than anything. I try to cut out habits and responsibilities that don't serve me, and for a long while, I've felt my presence in the community only as "that guy who says good morning every day". When I start to feel that way about things, it pushes me to make changes in my life. Doesn't mean I don't care about the community though. I don't really know that I would get back into Flora roleplay in the servers again, but it was pretty fun when I did.
2. I don't really touch base with the Flora community over social media or the like, just never was really that important to me. I like hanging out in friend groups more.
3. I haven't experienced harassment. I did get yelled at by a former mutual once though for rebutting some out of context fact about Ash they said for shock value. They were also abhorred at the fact that I used to block accounts with Ralsei avatars that interacted with me on my after-dark Twitter. Kinda funny honestly.
4. I'd like people to realize that black and white views of anything or anyone are just ridiculous. We all have darkness inside us and also light (idunno play kingdom hearts or something). I have grievances with the things my friends do sometimes but I cherish how the community has helped me grow as a person. Try to think critically about the world I guess.
5. Ash is cool. I consider us good friends, we've interacted a lot over the years. I've done a lot of things while in the community that brought harm to them and others, but they've always been considerate about it, which I appreciated greatly. I think they're very passionate about their world - both the world of Floraverse and their own internal world - and I'm happy they get to express themself in that way. I don't always mesh with it though, there was a particular time in the past where they were very very publicly harsh to someone I and a friend of mine care about, and it took me a long time to process that interaction and see the other person's side of it. It also frustrates me sometimes when they roleplay as a character in out-of-character channels in the server, but it's a petty frustration. I don't begrudge their self-expression, it just ends up giving me a feeling of "I just want to talk to my friend and this character is difficult to approach", which makes it a little harder for me to want to interact in the community.
6. It'd be cool to have more events or hangouts to bring some life into the group. Could be flora-related or just something unrelated and fun, like playing Lethal Company together one day or something. Starting a book club, I dunno.
7. be the best you can, and put the pedal to the metal
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response from glip
i definitely have gotten the sense conflict resolution is important to you. i don't like when issues are bottled up either, but you knew that. i think i agree that a lot of people struggle when they see conflict happening between others, and that a lot of people don't know how to process negativity. i know i definitely didn't understand how to do that before, or where to place my focus or attention. i think it's certainly a skill to learn and hone.
i want to say, it was sad to read you felt like you were just that guy who says good morning every day!! i think that's definitely changed since you wrote your answer! however, i'm glad you make changes in your life when you start to feel that way. i think that's super healthy. i've enjoyed getting to talk to you on and off since then!
i'm really glad you haven't yourself experienced harassment over connecting to this space, also.
i've been thinking about the thing on and off that you described where i was publicly harsh to someone you and your friend care about. it feels sad for me at times to think back on it and it took a lot of self work to figure out what set that all off. i appreciate you caring to understand more of that situation though, after it happened.
i already told you this, that i appreciated knowing you missed talking to me as myself! well, i guess glipPET is still like a character at times, but i talk a lot from myself through that anyway! i've appreciated getting to speak with you and realizing it was important to let "myself" exist in the servers sometimes too!
i think events or hangouts would be good, too! i'll have to think about how to go about that sometime. i think playing games together sounds nice. i've been doing some minecraft with vee lately, but that's difficult to invite people to!!! i'll think on it!
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Answer from Lilt, an acquaintance I've occasionally interacted with:
0) Yes, but I think this means different things to different people; some are more easily satisfied than others. Sometimes it's not possible to resolve a conflict, and you must simply move on else stew in resentment that can't be rectified. Ideally everyone would be amicable by the end, but resolution for me means that it no longer weighs upon my own mind or conscience. I'm not going to feel responsible for how someone else does if I believe that I've done no wrong or attoned. It's always better to prevent conflict in the first place though.
1) I'm happy to be here. I care about the story and characters, and being here gives me a lot of insight into something I enjoy, lets me feel closer to it? There was a bit of a curve to learning how to interact and expect other people to, but I feel good about the people I've interacted with here. There are nice people here and I'd like to be more active tbh, but I'm spread thin atm and there's not even much of me to start with.
2) I'm not very active anywhere else either tbh, and I don't interact with it outside of these servers. I follow some members on social media, and I've uploaded art of characters from the main cast and member OCs, but that's about the extent.
3) No. A couple of inquisitive comments perhaps, but nothing more.
4) I don't feel like I have anything to prove; me being here is my business and that of the community. I've been moved strongly emotionally by the events and the story, which is something very little other.. media? has done. That connection is valuable to me. New ways of interacting and considering others.
I do feel detatchment from many descriptions of pain here though. It's probably an exacting way of describing it, but I find it hard to relate to. Like a calculated anatomical diagram of pain rather than feelings I can latch onto.
5) I truly adore your art and respect you as an artist, I don't directly know you as a person. I used to idolize you, but grew out of idolizing people generally? I consider us mostly strangers who are aware of each other, but I'm grateful to feel trusted to be here. I've participated as parts of events etc and don't believe I've ever been or felt overlooked or inconsidered - if anything I feel like I've been overconsidered, and a ton of effort has been extended to strangers to incorporate us and hear concerns. I think I caused hurt on a couple of occassions due to my own inconsiderations but I consider these instances resolved and learned from and trust that you'd let me know if otherwise. This is a good and bad place to voice discomfort because it'll actually be considered, but it'd also actually be considered :) I dunno, I respect gatekeeping and rules and if I was uncomfortable with anything, it's wholly within my power to leave.
6) More good things and less bad things? I am not a participant in negative drama, and don't have any meaningful suggestions to improve this unique community, I'm afraid. I will float an idea if I discover one though! I like to think that I am in harmony with others, or at least in compatible indifference.
7) I hope I haven't made a fool of myself or caused discomfort, take care :)
response from glip:
i think resolution meaning it no longer weighs on you is a good way to think about it! i think it's also very healthy to not feel responsible for how others feel as you've laid out.
i'm happy you enjoy the space! i hope you get a little more time to build yourself up though, if you're spread so thin. being spread thin hasn't been fun for me and it's hard to imagine it's fun for you?? though i don't know what you mean by that! i just think i've had harder times when i've been spread thin, myself.
i appreciate you sharing you've been moved by the story.
i think feeling detached from descriptions of pain is also normal if it's not described in a way you personally relate to. i think it's similar for me.
i didn't know you used to idolize me and i'm glad you don't now!!! i feel like that kind of thing completely passes me by when people do it, usually. like i just don't notice. also i'm glad you haven't felt overlooked or not considered. thank you for sharing your perspective on the consideration that occurs
i think more good things sounds nice. i'm trying to shift everything in that direction since it's important to me to transform things in that way. i feel i've dived deep enough into understanding negative stuff and i want to make more room for positive things.
take care, Lilt!
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Anonymous response from someone I don't know that well:
0) It is. I don't like having conflict with others, or seeing conflict between others. I feel like if it's possible, conflict should be resolved, as calmly as possible. Conflict resolution to me usually means mutual understanding, and clear communication about thoughts and feelings, without putting down how others' feel.
1) I've felt very good about being in the Eastar server, (and the Owel server before it became closed off to minors)
I like being able to share my Flora-related doodles and such in a place where I know I'm okay to, that's very important to me, I think.
2) I haven't participated in the Floraverse community much outside of the discord (i barely use tumblr/twitter/bluesky, and the former two feel like bad places to share Flora-related things)
However, I did use Cohost and frequently participated in Floraverse-related discussions and posting, and it was very nice. I'd overall say I've had a very nice experience with the larger community.
3) I have never really been harassed over my connection to Floraverse, just because I'm not open about it (apart from when Cohost was still existant.)
However, there are a few times where i felt harassed, but it has always been when people only interested in drama come into the server, like when someone came in and made an inappropriate comment towards me, despite it being known that i was a minor. I was very distressing, but someone (Pajou, I think) spoke up for me and it made me feel very supported and safe.
While I don't really get harassed outside of instances like that, I do have a great fear of harassment, which is why i don't really post about Flora. A lot of my former close friends don't have a positive view of Floraverse, which is partially what lead to me not having a positive view as well until I began listening to different perspectives, and started to understand more. Someone in my family also doesn't have a positive view on Floraverse, which is very painful for me.
4) I wish people could understand how much it means to me. I remember reading Chapter 5 Draft VI for the first time and feeling so seen by Biff. Being seen like I'm inherently an "abomination" or "bad" or "wrong" resonates with me for a lot of reasons, and it felt very nice seeing that in something I enjoy. I also wish people would understand that yelling at people won't do anything but hurt others.
5) I've never really interacted with glip much, but I mostly attribute that to me not being very active in general. The few times I have, have been positive, I feel. I can tell that they really care about the community, and especially the safety of those within it. I feel like I would be able to voice discomfort, and have it be genuinely listened to and considered, and that's something that I think is very important.
6) Maybe more direction of how to engage in events... I've wanted to participate in an event for a long time, but I've never quite known how to.
7) I'd like to be anonymous for the post, please! Goodness, this was a lot to write... It felt nice, though. Even if I didn't write very much.
response from glip:
i think calm resolution of conflict is best, when possible, too!
i'm glad you've felt good about being in the servers too, and participating in the flora spaces more at large!
i'm sad that someone did harass you by coming into the server to start drama. i'm very glad Pajou was there to support you there. i think fear of harassment can make sense. i mostly hope that you can express yourself freely in the future, without fear, about whatever you care about. it hurts to feel the way you describe it, but i want things to get better for you and hope they will
thank you for sharing this! i'll keep your comments in mind regarding "more direction" since that seems to be one of the threads in the rest of the replies too!!
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Answer from Taz, a friend of mine:
0, Conflict resolution is critically important to me! That's, generally been a conceit of mine, is whenever I perceive a problem, my mind immediately jumps to what options I personally can take to address it, and a conflict going unaddressed is, if not a problem in itself immediately, then something that can easily create problems down the line. For me, conflict resolution means not being stuck in a place which will only continue to cause problems down the line.
1. Overall, I have thoroughly loved my time in the Floraverse Discord communities. I love the emphasis on growth, openness, honesty . . . it feels like what has been called the positive kind of peace, which is the presence of justice, which I would like to see embodied in more places in the world, meatspace and cyberspace alike.
2. Gosh, it feels like it's been ages since I last engaged with Tumblr or Twitter? I think it's safe to say I was a bit of a different person then, too. Nowadays I only really engage with Flora via Discord and the main website, I suppose.
3. Very rarely, and it's always short stabs from somebody who quickly winds up mutually blocked. Basically whenever I stand up for glip or eevee a little too explicitly, and some poisoned rando catches wind of it. When it does happen, it annoys and angers me, but also has a chilling effect, and makes me want to couch my advocacy in more vague, broad, and general terms. Of course, it's been a while since it's last happened. I feel much more secure in the connections that I have now, that if anybody wants to distance themselves from me for having drunken from a poisoned well, I don't feel any need to preserve that connection--they can listen, and detox themselves, or they can go somewhere else where they need not concern themselves with any of that. In general in the past year, I've taken steps to make myself less movable by fear, and my life has improved dramatically for it. I can only hope to continue down this road.
4. I wish people understood Floraverse for what it is: a kind of ongoing collaborative storytelling, not completely dissimilar from the likes of Critical Role or Dimension 20. This is what I wish was understood: I am a role-player, undertaking exercises in enrichment and learning more about how to interact with both myself and others in the process. This is a kind of experience I have not been able to quite connect with anywhere else in any similar sort of way, and I value that sort of thing highly. It matters because emotional literacy is a concept way too many people don't realize even exist, which included myself just several years ago, and being here has opened a whole new world to me which has helped me in ways beyond what I could succinctly express. Yes, the process was definitely painful sometimes, but at the same time, it also helped me acknowledge pain points which were always already there; it helped me move to do something about them. Any pain I experienced here could as such be described as either a growing pain, or just, learning more about the kind of trauma people I care about have been through, understanding more immediately the kind of experience I would not wish on the worst beings alive.
5a. I consider glip, Ash, a good friend, and value that connection a lot. What I think of them is, we have stuff in common. Them and I are each a queer neurodivergent weirdo who likes to march to the beat of an individualized drum, and we share a few interests in common, to boot. To reiterate my last point from the last question more explicitly, I think they have endured a number of life experiences any one of which I would not wish on my worst enemy, including the repeated waves of harassment. It brings me joy both to see them still here and also to see them move in directions of healing and thriving. I care about my friends very deeply.
5b. We interact every so often; usually it's positive, but it seldom gets much worse than "neutral". I feel they are considerate to an extreme degree; there was a point where I felt like, they felt like I couldn't handle any sort of negative emotion from them, and I would not blame them for feeling that way, as I know they have had experiences of friendships shattering for ever having expressed even a hint of a negative emotion. However, now I feel I have since expressed that, I don't want to be seen and treated as quite so fragile or delicate, and now I trust them to be honest, sincere, and complete in whatever they express to me. I also understand, they generally keep a lot of plates spinning at once, and in remembering this, I also remember to exercise patience in our interactions. I feel they care about their community quite deeply, and make active efforts to maintain it--they make a point not to keep anybody here who doesn't really want to be. A long while ago I perceived this behavior as being cliquish, but since then I have gained a better understanding of where they have been coming from--a place of the arduous process of rebuilding trust in others. I never did express that before reaching that understanding. I have never felt personally unsafe here, nor have I felt unable to express whenever I have been feeling discomfort. In general, I do feel very much seen and heard whenever they express themselves--to a degree which was frankly astonishing to me, back during the first parts of the Art Pyramid. Suffice it to say, yes, I do feel capable of voicing discomfort, and yes, that I will be listened to if I do.
6. This is probably still a sore point, since cohost served as this for some back when it was still around, but I feel what would be nice for the community would be more kinds of spaces in which to hang out and participate in activities. I do not know what else could be done to help others feel included and heard; maybe other respondents have some good ideas here worth acknowledging? How to reach harmony with others . . . I'll admit, in my day-to-day, I do not put much thought into that overarching concept. I tend to be hyperfocused on specific and detailed tasks which move towards that broader goal.
7. If you feel it appropriate to do so, you may credit me as Taz regarding any segment of text I have written here. I do have a Mastodon but it's more of a personal space than a promotional one. I'm not yet sure what to put here that I'd want to say to people at large which ties back to things I like? "Play Live-A-Live" I guess. . . . gosh, I'm already feeling self-conscious over how verbose I was, even in answer 5 alone.
7 addendum. If you feel it more appropriate to do so, you may also credit me anonymously.
response from glip:
hahaha?! i don't know why it'd be more appropriate to credit you anonymously, Taz?!
i'm glad the Flora servers have felt like "peace" for you! though i think i have very little association with "justice" personally, but i'm glad you feel good about your associations!
i'm very glad you've been trying to be less moved by fear. i honestly find that important. i mean i know i've spoken with you about how much fear moved me in the past. i hope this continues for you as well, improving your life
also… yeah! flora is basically ongoing collaborative storytelling. i think that's a fair way of describing it!
thank you for expressing you're happy i'm still here.
also, i'll add your remarks about "spaces to hang out and participate in activities" to the list! it seems like that's something others want too
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Answers from my friend Draycu:
0) Conflict resolution is very important to me, it helps get feelings expressed and known without bottling them up until they reach a point of resentment. Being able to feel safe speaking freely about an issue is important to a healthy community I feel.
1) I have greatly enjoyed my time, and I have loved learning more about the setting and characters in Floraverse through my time interacting! Being part of the communities has helped me learn I could do more forms of expression than only through words alone, and I am able to feel very happy with what I’ve created over the years! There have been very painful moments, some of which was from members of the community who have held grudges and eventually spread hate against it after being removed. There have been really good moments too, and I’m happy I’ve been able to participate in memorable rp events like the Art Pyramid!
2) I have felt cautious, and I have not shared my art and works related to Floraverse with the world at large from the fear of being targeted as well. I feel that I am DONE letting that fear keep me quiet, and while writing this I feel a desire to one day work toward sharing art I have made that was inspired by the floraverse community, on my bluesky account and other places.
3) I have been very fortunate and I have not been harassed, and I’ve probably avoided harassment by staying quiet for so long on social media. Though I have felt very distressed when my friends get harassed over and over!! I have been trying my best to help support sunbe by spending time together, and making art together when possible, though I feel those things can only help so much against the constant hate. So I’ve decided to answer these questions without anonymity in the hopes of helping to show how harmful and wrong the harassment has been.
4) I wish people would understand how importantly healing the community has been for me, it has been a safe place I could explore and learn about myself. Having the chance to create in the shared world has been immensely helpful for my ability to learn and understand my own emotions better as well! Participating and being involved with roleplay also helped me learn that I could exist how I wanted and played a big part in my decision to transition. It has also hurt a lot seeing the conflicts and realizations about some members of the community in the past before a lot of folks were removed, particularly involving some people’s interactions and intentions with minors.
5) I feel Ash is a very kind person who I’ve met several times face to face and interacted with for several years before meeting. Each visit was very positive and I’ve been happy to have chances to meet up again every time! Ash is very considerate, even cooking meals when I’ve visited! I absolutely feel that Ash wants the community to be a safe place filled with great care, particularly through taking steps to remove folks with bad intentions. I feel that I can voice any discomfort in this community, and I know that I would be heard if I do so. There has been one time that greatly stands out in my memory when I have not agreed with Ash’s choices. I was in love with someone who Ash was angered at and I tried defending the one I loved at the time more than I should have looking back. That was around when AP was taking place, which was a pretty emotional time for a lot of folks involved.
6) I feel it would be good for the community to have more ways to connect and interact, through hang outs or weekly things to do together might be nice! I do try to put in thought toward reaching harmony with others, and I journal if things happen that upset or bother me as much as I’m able. Otherwise, if I find I cannot reach harmony, I tend to keep my distance from folks for my own comfort.
7) Hiya, I’m Draycu. I’ve been with Floraverse for several years as a roleplayer, and more recently an artist, and in all that time I have not found a community as kind or as considerate of those within it as the Owel and Eastar servers have been. I wish for folks to finally see that the constant harassment has been horrible and unacceptable, and I would like it known that the floraverse community is a group of very creative folks with a love for expression and storytelling. I would very much like it if the folks I care about could finally have some peace from the constant hate directed toward them, too!
response from me, glip:
i'm very happy you've enjoyed your time in the spaces! the rps have been so intense at times, but i still think about them and appreciate them as well
it feels painful and sad the fear kept you quiet! i want you to be able to feel happy and free to share whatever you want to share with the world, with whomever.
i'm really happy you got to explore yourself safely within the space.
about the time you disagreed with me… well, it makes sense to me it felt that way to you. personally i don't know if you "shouldn't have" done anything… if you felt moved to defend someone you loved, that still came from someplace… and i know my upset can be kind of intense sometimes. i think that situation was complicated, honestly…
i'll take note of the "good for the community to have more ways to connect and interact" thing!!! it's been fun playing minecraft with you and scape! i wonder if there could be something like that but public?? i don't know! i'll think that over. it's a common request by now!
thank you for the answers Draycu! i'm happy to be your friend, thank you for caring about the community like you do
—
Answers from Anonymous, who I don't know very well:
0) Conflict resolution is incredibly important to me. The most beneficial and happy, most fruitful relationships are ones where we can work out our problems together, and feel like we can understand each other. Most of my failed relationships come from failed conflict resolution, just different values, ideas and needs not coming to light, sometimes on my end, sometimes on the other. It is the difference between prosperity, and disparity.
1) I haven't been in it very long (few months), but I'd already say it's had a bit of a profound impact. I originally intended to join so I could receive live updates about new VNs and content, and get a sneak peek at how the story is coming into shape. However, I am glad I've participated more. It's such a mature, kind and cooperative space I'm in, where everyone is always resolving their differences and learning about themselves. Even when I'm not in the peaceful crossfire of resolution and reflection, I feel I'm learning about myself and others through reading discussion here.
I have become much more confident in my abilities as an artist and writer thanks to sharing my work with this space, and I hope one day, I can be a better part of it when I somehow gain the time or perfect inspiration for creating my own character for Flora. The character designs and story are so inspiring, and so is the community. It couldn't be better.
The drama has brought me fear as it would allude itself to me, but I have only been assured again and again that it is all alright, and although things aren't perfect, people are growing and changing in HUGE part to this story. To be part of that textile work of change is so beautiful. It's incredible.
2) I do not use any of those sites frequently, to at all, and have no interest in becoming a bigger part of them than I already am. My participation in Floraverse is satisfying enough as it stands.
3) Nah, but I've feared it. Most people don't even know what Floraverse is, actually, from my experience
4) It has caused me mostly joy. I think it's made me embrace some of my quirks, made me think of new ways to draw and be creative, and caused unexpected connections with people. I wish people knew how much fun it would be if they read it! I've tried convincing my friends to read it, but as far as I can tell, they aren't too interested. Even just reading the Angelbox issues recently after having them on my PC for awhile, even just going back to read some oneshots I missed, only lack of joy i've had is when something on the site doesn't work. Like how Circlet of the Sun is unplayable, and I can't find anything on why, and it feels like I'm missing a big piece of something! And I was very invested in Neon and Lily's story, and it feels clear something is resolved there, but I don't get to see it. So hopefully, that will come to light for me and others as well.
5) We have not interacted much, but I think it makes me confident in my abilities to communicate with others, and makes me feel inspired. I do feel seen and considered, as much as I can be for the amount of times I interact. I think you care much more for the community than the average creator, and you've done a lot to grow as a person, and to help others around you do the same. It's amazing and I love it. You are a very inspiring individual. I don't really voice discomfort since I haven't felt it much here.
6) I'm not very sure. And, I suppose I try to, but it takes a lot of mental work and growth from my end, struggles with anxiety and depression, and trauma, have done a lot to my ability to reach harmony with myself. And that affects my ability to reach it with others. But in 2025, I've grown so much, and Floraverse is a little piece of that. It's good enough for now. I don't feel I've been around long enough to know the community well enough to answer that.
7) Nothing to say here besides, thank you for making me ask myself these questions, and thank you for Floraverse. Thank you for all the fun we've had
response from me, glip:
i appreciate the way you've remarked on the change and reflection in the space. i appreciate knowing this comes across.
i think that Circlet of the Sun (old) being unplayable and feeling like you're missing something makes sense. it was honestly a very negative work, of me trying to understand the deep labyrinths in my mind that i'd run through whenever dealing with a lack of consideration from others towards me or those i cared for. i didn't want to perpetuate the negativity in it. Lily and Neon do have something resolved there but i intend to carry this forward into other updates, so the "lost material" will eventually be disseminated in other more positive ways through the rest of the story. please don't worry about it! i reformed the entire core of the story and put it into this VN, this new Circlet of the Sun.
thank you very much for sharing your remarks. you've been a kind presence!
—
Answers from my friend Pajou/Fen/Prismato:
0) Conflict resolution is important to me. Even though it’s hard sometimes when I don’t understand and I’m still figuring out how to navigate conflicts- especially when I get too nervous or fearful of something bad happening because of how I was raised in a not so stable environment regarding conflicts. It’s important to me because I know what it’s like to feel like I’m not listened to and set aside for the sake of keeping the peace. If I have a conflict that’s festering inside for years, it takes a toll on the body and mind. I don’t like that. I would rather things be open and talked about rather than festering like a rotting wound- even if it takes time to find resolution.
1) There have been points that I felt mixed about being around because I felt that I wasn’t like... heard at points- but that was at no fault of others but my own. I’m the one that silenced myself and assumed that no one would listen to my pain because I felt (at the time) like it was nonsensical to bring up... this doesn’t reflect the community on discord, though. The community in discord, while there were some painful actors at play sometimes, I feel that everyone tries their best to hold others accountable in healthy ways. It’s the most stable community that I have participated in.
2) When cohost was still around, I was trying to post my art on the tag, but I also remember it was my first time trying to look at the tags of floraverse and seeing its detractors trying to vilify others for simply existing. It was upsetting to see because it felt like minimizing my experience with the community as inherently “bad”.
I have been slowly being more open with my connection to floraverse by reposting messages by glip on bsky when I feel something strongly about a post they make- art or otherwise.
I would like to be more open about my connection with floraverse with the world at large soon, though. I don’t want to hide something that means a lot to me and has helped me find community when I felt like I was being shunned for feeling discomfort in another small community I was in previously.
3) Yes, I was harassed before by some random person coming into the discord community in Eastar. They had said something inappropriate to a minor and I had said something along the lines of “please don’t say things like this to a minor- take care of your words and be respectful.” And then was promptly spammed with a bot command in DM’s that was named “r*pe” and was shown unsolicited nsfw images without my consent. It was violating and upsetting, and it gave me a strong feeling of disassociation because the spamming was never ending until I was able to practice the grounding techniques my therapist gave to me and blocked them, reported them, and told the moderators in Eastar to ban this person.
4) I wish that people could be more compassionate towards folks in the floraverse community and understand that people can change and heal from when they were at their lowest point.
I have acted in painful ways in the community before, was called out on it multiple times, and while it hurt to be called out on it, I wanted to change. I wanted to be someone who... I suppose, can be confident to say “Hey, I used to be really shitty to those I cared about and myself but... I’m working on changing that and it’s been an up and down process, but I feel that I’m a better person overall because of it. I don’t feel like I’m a monster who can only hurt people.”
I have never seen communities strive for communication on an open level with their peers and try to reach understanding like the floraverse community.
I feel grateful for having the opportunity to be a part of it and for being given so many chances to show that change is possible. It has given me a worldview that is filled with optimism, chance, connection, and challenge (in a constructive way).
There have been times, like stated above, that my connection to floraverse has caused me some pain, but it was because there were a lot of complicated factors in my home life with my relationship with my roommate at the time. Like I said, I was acting in painful ways towards others and felt like I wasn’t being listened to and that I was being held accountable in (what I felt then) unfairly strict ways. Though I wasn’t, after talking to a therapist about my experience and was gently guided through my insecurities and triggers, I realized then that... my peers were trying to work with me, but I kept self-flagellating. It made it hard for others to really speak to me without expecting some sort of insecurity or fear stemming from my CPTSD and other things. This wasn’t some sort of miracle “aha!” moment where I stopped acting painfully, it took time. It’s still taking time. I’m still working on myself and without the floraverse community, I wouldn’t have been able to take the first step to better understand myself and my overall impact. I say this with all my heart: this community is the safest place I’ve ever found myself in. I’m slow to express it but I do love it and wouldn’t trade my experiences (yes, even the painful ones) for anything in the world. It has helped me in other places I find myself in (online and offline) to feel more compassion, care, love, and understanding. Nothing can take that away from me.
5) I feel very warmly about you! We have had ups and downs throughout my time knowing you, but I feel firmly about how you very much want to interact with me and my feelings in an extremely caring way. I remember I was very like... blasé with you in the beginning of us interacting and very forward when you visited me and my roommate. I still remember yanking off what I thought was a stray hair that got caught on your pen, and I didn’t know it was Eevee’s and offered my own silver hair by way of an apology! I remember you trying to generally be considerate towards others and yourself when it comes to a lot.
There was a time where it felt like I was being punished for not being present during Althar and I remember this made me feel a mixture of “yes of course I’m being punished, it’s what I deserve” and also “how can I be being punished when I’m trying my best!?” But you weren’t punishing me, you were frustrated at my treatment of the world and its inhabitants (by not really treating them as all real) plus my neglect of my own characters. I bit off more than I could chew and did not ask for help right away and it caused a huge unraveling of myself- a dystablisation that I wasn’t aware of. Even so, you tried to work with me as much as you could and I’ll never forget that.
You care a lot about the community and its safety, this has been felt with how you nip random people who have malintent at the bud and even... take breaks from people who were close to you to process internally and to keep connections safe from being poisoned. This, to me, shows care about the community by keeping folks safe from being slowly drip-fed poison.
It took a little bit of time to get here though. I recall there being a lot of mixed feelings regarding Duke during the time of the Art Pyramid rp and... how many voiced their discomfort and how it felt like Duke would only listen to you when you would talk to them in times of things being tense between Duke and the rp community in Art Pyramid at the time.
I remember feeling a lot of tense and “red flag” feelings from Duke (general annoyance also with their mannerisms). I remember feeling like you were ignoring a lot of discomfort from folks at the time but since then have been trying to look out for yourself in times of feeling like you’re not being truly heard or overlooked- which, helps with meeting people, too, in their own discomfort and caring about that.
I don’t recall the words that were said regarding the discomfort I felt with Duke being part of the rp spaces. I just remember it being a great deal of folks not really meshing well with him but you really wanting to give him a lot of chances after dming him. It felt like you were ignoring a lot of the others’ feelings then.
That’s the only time I can recall when I disagreed with your choices, then.
Now, I feel 100% safe to voice any concerns, questions, and importantly, discomfort to you directly if I ever feel like it’s necessary. I do feel that you have been working hard to listen to folks- including me! I always really love chatting with you about mundane day-to-day things and serious topics. I have been vulnerable with you in ways that are still very new to me (as I have only been at this level of vulnerable with my ex-roommate and therapist).
I consider you a friend who is close to my heart and I cherish our connection. I want to care about you and the connections around you, too. I want to continue to feel like I can voice discomforts (like I do now!) and feel like you care about them and me as a person and do the same for you. I want to be someone you can count on to care about you as much as I’m able to. You are loved, Ash.
6) I have a huge nostalgia for oekaki boards and wish we could bring that back. A forum that is based on drawing based posting like that would really like... make it possible for more people to express themselves more easily with their characters as part of the “on-topic” post. Would that be something possible to code/host still? There would be an updated version of oekaki and probably not have the same functionality as a pen-pressured Shi-Painter or similar... but it would be so cool to have something like an invite-only oekaki board again.
Perhaps a suggestion box channel would be interesting to implement.
I try to put thought into reaching harmony with others. I try to help folks who struggle by way of lending a listening ear and advise them if they wish to hear it. I want to reach harmony with those who have been hurt by my actions in the past and present.
I wish to reach harmony with folks I find annoying and/or give me a feeling of tension if possible.
7) If there is anyone who were to be hate-reading this, please reconsider by using your time instead by connecting with the folks in your life and (I say this genuinely--with all my heart—a kindly-towards-you tone) consider going outside if you can. Talk with people in the real world outside of your circles. Go hiking, go look at a national monument. Realize how small you really are but how big you can impact this world. Use that impact for kindness and not rancor and vitriol. Do your research on how a lot of culture online that highlights the othering of others (like say drama, cringe compilations, etc) is a pipeline for alt-right ideals. How that is poison and will not facilitate meaningful longterm connections or relationships. You absolutely can make a difference in this world, you can enact the change you want to see...but if you do it with harmful/violent intentions, you’re part of the problem. You can change that, though. You’re transient, and that’s wonderful. Your pain really does matter, and I hope you can find safety in this world.
My name is prismato (which you can find me on my socials as such); my name is also Pajou. I am not afraid to say that I am part of a community that has helped me connect with the concept of bettering myself as a person as well as honing my skill as a creative storyteller.
response from me, glip:
you really replied in depth! let me try to be in depth too…
i'd really rather a resolution rather than letting something fester too. i don't like when it takes a toll on emotional resources or body either.
i can think back to those times where i know you felt mixed about being present. honestly i wish there had been more openness in those times. i mean i know you wish that too. i think those times were also stressful, though. when time limits and such come into play, i think it's easy to downplay one's own emotions, or like ignore them for the sake of hitting deadlines. for Althar i know this was true, where i struggled when i was being overloaded with work – i would hear emotions but not feel i had the time to properly empathize with them. i do know you were silencing yourself and assuming, but i also know that—(bzzt my internet cut out in the middle of writing, leaving me to have to use my phone now)— what the heck was i saying???
okay! i reread your post and I'm gonna have to be a little shorter than before cuz I'm typing on my phone.
it's been a long road, huh? i do feel like we've both learned more since meeting about how to handle conflict, how to look out for ourselves… i feel like you've been trying really hard to understand what people share with you. i feel sad thinking about some of the past conflicts but i also feel like… well, it's all important for learning how to be more connected going forward. the stuff with Duke made me sad. i wasn't trying to ignore others' discomforts really, but i just didn't know how to connect to the ways people were expressing discomfort about him to me. that's still difficult sometimes because if i don't feel it myself, i don't want to directly act on it usually… but trying to find a middle ground between that and being strong armed into removing someone before i feel ready has been hard. i feel like i have a lot better grasp of how to ask for space when situations are complicated and painful now though and a firmer sense of what's okay or not in my spaces, so I'm glad for that.
thank you for being my friend. I'm really happy to get to see how you've changed and grown since I've known you. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go and what you do. it's been very meaningful to me and i hold our friendship as important to me
—
Answers from Perth, an acquaintance:
0. Conflict resolution is very important to me, but I often find it scary and become avoidant of it . I have a history of being a mediator and a teacher (not really of my own choice) and it has provided me with a lot of insight into conflict, listening, and learning that helps me understand it well. That said I try not to get involved in it if it is not a personal dispute or something involving those I care about. It is a process that *depends* on honesty and the desire to fix or improve the situation between two or more people. If good faith isn't there, it may never happen.
1. Being in this discord has been fantastic, part of me is a bit sad I did not join sooner and get to see a wider, more active community, but I am very happy with how I've been able to participate so far. Everyone has been kind and despite several intrusions, things seem to be well maintained and the folks are fun to be around.
2. I don't have much experience interacting with the FV community elsewhere, at least in the sense that FV is openly discussed and shared about. But I do have connections to a few of the friends I've made who are also involved in FV. It seems very small outside of here.
3. I have not been personally harassed over any connection I have to Floraverse so I cannot speak on it personally.
4. I wish people would understand that it's is just a community of people interested in an art project at the end of the day. That people come and go and that not everyone is perfect. I wish people understand that this is a place where people come to understand themselves and others better and that it can get messy or heavy at times. At first it was just a webcomic I found some ten years ago that I would read, starry eyed, but it has thoroughly affected and spoken to me. I find a lot of my feelings that don't really see light often discussed and portrayed in ways that help me understand them and feel true to them. It has helped me tread through dark times and horrible places and helped me live to see the other side many times, even before joining the community. I've learned to take myself and my feelings more seriously in an honest way and it's helped me become a better person. I've learned to care for and tolerate others in a more inclusive way as well. My connection so far has been very personal and untouched, something I've been grateful for.
5. The time I've spent with you has been very pleasant, I've enjoyed our discussions and collaboration in character in the times I've been able to. Your efforts are tangible and I find your in character actions and communication about the moderation and safety of the server very attentive and sometimes amusing. I've yet to express any explicit disagreement, mostly because I have not been around very long to see many choices or discussions. But I do feel safe speaking to both you and the many nice people on the moderation team.
6. It seems like there are avenues to discuss things. My only criticism is it *currently* is difficult to pick up on initially, it takes time and learning and understanding, which may scare some people off or be unclear in some cases, mostly because it feels like everything occurs in universe. Right now it seems like things are locked tight with fewer accessable channels, and for good reason. Maybe as things open up this will change, I hope there can be opportunities for that.
7. It means a lot that I can finally muster the courage to participate here. I'd be lying if I said the shadow of reputation did not sway me away from here in the past, despite me wanting badly to engage. Maybe it was for the best as I feel like I needed to understand myself more as well before coming here, too. But I am glad to be here, everyone ive met has been so kind and interesting to talk with. I love the art and roleplay and the world and even if I'm late, I'm happy to have found the confidence to come around.
—
Answers from my friend Sunbe:
0) I feel conflict resolution is very important for me, though it is something I struggle with. I think it is essential for things to be able to develop, to move from raw and painful to something more refined. It is important for folks to have their feelings heard, understood and disentangled. Conflict resolution, to me, is navigating that. It's something I struggle with because I have felt insecure, both in my ability to be heard and with listening to others when I’ve been in pain. I’m trying to find the balance in being firm regarding my feelings whilst trying to listen and work towards understanding of others whilst preventing myself from being overwritten. It’s something I wish more effort was placed on in general and that folks were more willing to engage in good faith.
1) Being in Owel and Eastar has been huge for me. It's the first time I’ve had a community of any real kind for a very long time. I felt very disconnected and isolated at large from the furry fandom, it didn’t feel like I had the support basis of an actual community. I feel I can say the servers are sometimes complicated - things can be intense sometimes! I know I’ve gotten into disputes with people but man… people were extremely patient with me, through times when I’ve lashed out at others and gotten super defensive or not been able to ground my feelings and gotten weird. People wanted to understand me and help them understand them! I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had here, folks willing to talk pretty in depth about their thoughts and feelings, the things they care about. Even if things have been hard or difficult at times, it's been hugely beneficial to me. I’ve seen things I can do better, I’ve gotten a better idea of who I wanna be and how to be it. I’ve been able to heal a lot of trauma and when I go through stuff, I feel I have a space where I know people will care about it. It gets easier to recover. Things are a lot more peaceful these days since a lot of heavier stuff got worked through, but with a lot of projects being worked on on the side, it also feels a bit quieter, maybe a little lonely sometimes? Things are active but that's going on one to one more. I get very excited about us doing roleplay and I hope we can do community storytelling again sometime soon..
2) I’m not sure that I feel like I’ve encountered much of a Floraverse community outside of the servers. I share my art, tag it on some sites, engage with y’all on social media but I don’t see much of a community there that isn’t entwined with the discord. Man, I miss Cohost. That felt like a nice place for it.
3) Yep. A ton. It’s sucked, honestly! People have sometimes been intensely cruel. It started because I was public about liking Cherry Kisses and because I expressed feelings of healing from this. Someone was upset about that and would not leave me alone so I blocked them. He then poured his energy into hating me and hurting me and has spent years getting his friends to go on the offensive. It sucks.Some days its extremely hard to handle. People have targeted my friends, their friends, people who’ve done work for people I know who I have never met. People have attacked my customers. People have accused me of horrible things I’ve never done and don’t condone. It makes me miserable and afraid. I sometimes feel like people make me live in a minefield. It's intensely destabilising to have people randomly interfere with my life, to send extremely hurtful things that have nothing to do with me or my friends or my reality at all! It hurts to see people just accept or bring it to me to have me do the work for them, one by one. It makes it hard to reach out to anyone, to make new friends because I have to live with the possibility of immediate pre-emptive rejection without interest in who I actually am at all. Mostly it makes me upset, sometimes I feel angry about it. I don’t want to feel like this, sometimes it hits me in my chest very hard, it squeezes my heart. It makes me feel insecure, unstable, unsafe and it takes work to recover from it. I do find I have places to be safe and secure, and to work towards stability. I do feel supported! Some folks are very kind to me, especially in the community, but also in my own spaces. People do actually care to dispel rumours and distortions about me. People believe in the kindness I’m always trying to cultivate. So, it hurts and it does hurt my ability to connect to the world at large and make new connections, but I do feel I have the means to recover from the pains, a little at a time. Lately I wake up kind of rough and spend time with friends and drawing and then start to feel better. It sucks to have to start from that low point a lot, but I get better.
4) I wish people would understand I care about the community and the people here, that I want things to be good and kind and cared about! I wish people would trust in my words and my actions. I feel like people see that I help out as a mod and see that as “someone with power” when what I feel and wish was understood, is that I consider it a position of responsibility. I control nothing, I just care and want to put that care into action. I wish people would understand how good being here has actually been for my growth and development, my healing and my ability to heal further. I came in with so much trauma and people engaged with it seriously. People didn’t just sympathise, people knew what it was like to go through the kind of abuse that I’d been going through for half a decade by then. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot of things that benefit my wellbeing and helps make me be better not just for myself but for others. I hate myself so much less, I compare myself unfavourably to others less, I allow more kindness for myself. I still hurt when I make mistakes or upset others still, but it becomes easier to recover from that and focus my energy towards asking what others would like of me and commit towards helping them where I can. I gain increasing clarity. It’s been nice.
5) I think of you as “Ash” predominantly, I mean, I used to think of you in terms of “Glip” until you shared name feelings. I feel like you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I’ve felt so much desire for understanding and care from you, for me, for others. There’s times where I feel like we’ve hurt each other, especially when we were getting to know each other to begin with. I didn’t understand a lot of my own feelings a lot and that really didn’t help other people understand me much either. I think we both were going through a lot of active stress at the time as well. I felt a lot of effort to help me though, and I liked talking with you a lot because I felt you put a lot of thought into things. I feel like our friendship has really blossomed over the last few years and its made me really happy. I love talking about our dreams, ideas and thoughts about the world. I wanna be there for you and I trust you want to be there for me too. That feeling gives me sense of like mutual emotional confidence cos I know we can talk about anything openly and honestly. I feel like you’ve cared about me when when I wasn’t acting caring about myself, when I was getting hurt a lot by people I was close to and just… kept accepting it. It helped me to get better at standing up for myself, and think about what I want for me, too. I feel that hasn’t been necessarily unique to me - I feel you put that care towards the community too and to the people in it. I feel that sometimes that’s caused you pain, when folks aren’t willing to meet you at the same level. Sometimes I think you can be very direct and blunt in ways that people aren’t necessarily prepared for. When I didn’t know you very well and was very anxious, I sometimes read things that weren’t there and I didn’t ask which led to some rough assumptions.
I’m trying to think about choices I disagreed with since I met you, hmm. I don’t know. Its not really a “choice” but it feels adjacent to it - sometimes I get sad when our plans fall through or attention suddenly shifts to something else. Like even though that energy isn’t lost or wasted, its jarring to suddenly be doing something else or maybe nothing whilst a thing is on hold or something else takes the focus. If I had a better idea of when we might come back to something or how what I’ve been working on might be used, that would help me find reassurance I think. Its not something I feel is like, anything any one is at fault for though, inspiration is like that and I have the same issue with stuff I’m running as well. Sometimes your energy gets rerouted and flows somewhere else or maybe someone hurts someone and all of a sudden that has ripples that crash through someone else’s life and you have to adjust. I just, like, miss Maya a ton, she’s a good cat and she’s had it rough losing people over and overt. Grub’s feeling content but I don’t know always where I’m going and when. Its not something you’re Doing, but sometimes choices make me feel like a thing I’ve been or I am working on is rendered kinda static. Its stuff we've had conversations about and I know you care about it though! I appreciate that a lot. What else… Sometimes I think people could find Hothead really intense without like an initial disclaimer, idk that folks always knew what they were engaging with and I don’t know they had the curiosity to ask there but Disassembly kinda had that baked it. I feel like I can voice where I don’t feel comfortable or having pain now, in the past I was dealing with a lot of my own personal anxiety. I feel like my and others feelings matter here and will be heard because they are treated as such.
6) Man, I’d love for there to be more activity. Chance to play games, maybe watch some media or art streams. Its been a while since I think you’ve done an art stream on there. I think activity would be helped by posting more art and even like teaser assets for projects you’re working on. I think organising some small events might be nice - be it rp, boardgames (I think you’d love Mysterium dude, it's literally a murdery mystery game about getting psychic impressions rom paintings), tarot readings, whatever you’re in the mood for or whatever folks wanna put on themselves. I think it’d be great for when Owel and Eastar settle if we could bring back some of the in character social spaces. I liked hanging out as Maya in Dewclaw, she’s a dear. Maybe we could do shorter rp sessions where you’re able to express an idea to the audience like the lectures from the Teslic Yard folk and The Librarian. That was how we started RPing in the first place there. Maybe more things that are like, interactive experiences, like the Fortuna experiment. Maybe something like the Gourmet Gauntlet - you know, art prompts and things for fun! Things don’t always have to be heavily involved, it’d be nice to have room for slice of life. I think giving play space or organise their own events and watch parties would let people feel more included. I’m often thinking about ways to have harmony with others and organise events for folks to get together on. Lately I’ve been watching Ghibli movies with friends ^^ I think it’d be good for us to have more talk spaces and with more folk when we can get to that point too, things are a bit static right now with the reshuffle. I think it'd be really helpful if there was something folks could engage with so they're caught up on story stuff; a lot of things were started roleplayed or talked about that create gaps that reading the comics and playing the games aren't able to fill and I think this can make things a bit disorienting. Like, not knowing much about the first library events, Art Pyramid and Althar, etc feels like it'd cost people some important context for some of the stuff up on the site and it might be difficult to connect for newcomers or people who have been out for a while so I think something that could fill in those spots and summarise could get people up to speed.
7) Hi! I’m Sunbe and I’m Sam. I’m happy here. I’d like people to accept that and let me tell stories and make art with the people I love and care about. I’ve been here for nearly 5 years and even though people have tried to make it hard for me, I don’t regret being part of this. I feel like where pain has been caused, there has been efforts to account for it, address it and apologise. It saddens me that many folks have not taken this seriously. I don’t want to have these efforts reduced. The community has been very encouraging for me to become the person I want to be. I’ve healed parts of myself I never thought I could. I’m more comfortable with being vulnerable. I don’t want to stop being myself. I want to just be kind. I wish for others to be so too.
-Sunbe
—
Answers from Aramil Rangrim, someone i don't know very well:
0) Conflict resolution is of incredible importance. Without it any disagreements would almost certainly end bandly. To me, conflict resolution is the means and ability to resolve an disagreement. Ideally this results in both sides coming to a positive agreement, but it is possible that it results in a more negative outcome.
1) I want to be more active myself in the Discord communities, but from what I have done and everything I've seen it's a good community of people who genuinely care both about each other and the things people create here.
2) I have not participated much in the Floraverse community at large, although, this is largely in part due to the fact that I find it hard to feel safe participating due to the presence of outside individuals who seem to be committed to harming those who do. I acknowledge that I have not looked much and these fears most likely are overblown, however, they are unfortunately rooted in real actions by real people.
3) I have not been harassed, although this is also because of the general fear I have had and have largely not spoken of it outside of the Discord. However, I have absolute confidence that those of the community would be there to help and support me or any other were they to find themselves in such a situation.
4) Floraverse, both as a comic and a community is something I care very deeply about and it is a story about growth, which I value highly. I have learned how to grow and better care for others, especially those who some would say don't deserve to be cared for. I say "some would say" because I disagree with that notion, that there are those undeserving of care. I believe that through Floraverse I have become a better person. I still have work to do, there always is, and it won't be easy, but I will keep trying. That I have been made to feel like I can't talk freely about something I care about so much has been deeply painful, especially given that the primary reason for it is people who will take any excuse to hurt others, sometimes even to the point of making up the excuses wholesale.
5) As far as I have seen, glip is someone who is trying their best. I don't believe we have interacted much outside of rp events, but the times we have have been positive or at least not negative and any negative interactions that occurred as a result of the rp I attribute to my under preparedness. I absolutely believe that glip cares deeply about the community and it's safety. I've haven't disagreed with any decisions that were made enough to feel that I had to voice such, but I feel that if I had to, my thoughts would be considered as I have seen glip consider the words of many individuals, including those that seemed unwilling to consider the thoughts and feeling of others.
6) I don't have all that much to say on this front as I haven't been particularly active. I do my best to put thought in how I interact with others and trying to reach harmony. Even so, I can always improve.
7) I am Hecate, I've been in the servers albeit not incredibly active for a good few years and I am proud to have joined this community and hope to become a better part of it going forward. I wish everyone who sees the the best.
-Aramil Rangrim
—
Answers from my friend Ko'pe:
0) I feel like it’s important to attempt to talk things through, to reach an understanding, and if there can’t be conflict resolution then there can at least be discussions about boundaries if need be. A mutual desire to work things through is important to me for conflict resolution or it’s very draining and I find myself unsure whether it should be approached again in the future or not.
1) Being in both Eastar and Owel has been really neat and exciting, I’m always happy to see familiar faces and greet new ones! Over time I find myself busy with real life things but I think about engaging here again often and I’m always excited for roleplaying events to start.
2) I suppose on other websites I try to share any art I see from my friends in the community. I refuse to feel guilty so I’ll share what I love and enjoy. And if others see Floraverse posts and want to ask about it they can! So far I don’t think anyone has specifically interacted with me about Floraverse besides those I already know within the community.
3) No personal harassment over Floraverse, my pains come from seeing those I love and care for repeatedly hurt because there’s no effort being made to understand that sometimes shitty rumors get spread on the internet. It sucks and is tiring when it comes up again and again without listening to any response. Because all that matters is causing pain. Sometimes I lose my ability to think people can care, and have to actively set aside time to remind myself of reality. I trust my friends, I know I’ll be fine because I don’t let strangers telling me I suck to override my feelings.
I guess I have had some friends suggest that I “move on”, they know I won’t do this, and I’ve told them it hurts when they don’t trust my words. You’ll save yourself a lot of pain if you just focus on you. I don’t feel like I’d want to throw away a connection this important to me just because someone says it’s easier to just focus on yourself. It feels lonely, it feels dismissive of the care I have for here. I think that’s the general feeling I keep running into.
4) There’s a lot I wish, I wish people understood how kind the community is, how welcoming and excited everyone gets: about worldbuilding, doing things together, actively working towards caring for each other both in and out of character. I learned a lot about patience, I learned a lot about believing in myself and trying new things, I learned it’s okay to make mistakes and I learned I can heal through them. I learned there’s always space to grow as long as you leave that opportunity open inside of your heart. I learned that I can care for those who have hurt me, even if I no longer want to be around them to see the growth they go through. I learned a lot about my own emotions, I learned how to have healthy boundaries, I grew as an individual here and I felt truly seen for the first time in my life after coming to Floraverse.
5) Struggling with my words because there’s so many feelings throughout the years, Ash has changed my life for the better, through both small things and large ones. I can trust them to be honest with me when I’ve made a mistake, and I know we can work things out by talking about it or even taking time away and revisiting it later if needed. All this just to say I feel considered. Ash works extremely hard, I guess passionate would suit this but I always enjoy seeing how much effort they put into art, into music, into talking through their characters. I can trust them to care about the community in a way that feels conscious of the pain that can show up, and is willing to lend an ear if that’s something that would help. Ash helped me when I couldn’t separate myself from awful relationships I was in prior, with my parents, and with those I knew who ignored my pain. I’m thankful, and I’d like to think we’re good friends, and I say this knowing I can be a better one going forward.
6) I think more art prompts within the community would be nice, I think about the secret santa drawings sometimes and that’s always a lovely experience. Art trades, working on music together, talking about characters. It feels a little more exciting around a prompt! It feels like suggesting a gathering, for those new and old to hang out and have fun.
Working on helping everyone feel included or heard hmmm… I often think about how a proper list/description of angels and the feelings they’re associated with, as well as Keys could help with understanding some of the VNs and comic panels easier, that could be a me problem specifically but I am making an assumption that it might make things a bit less daunting to read when you can understand what all the neat words being used can mean! (This is just off the top of my head)
Besides that, seeing more and more users in the general channel and talking makes it feel pretty open for allowing engagement!
I feel I have more to work on when it comes to reaching harmony, I try to be more in the present which I feel makes for an easier interaction whenever the opportunity arises to be kind and talk things through.
7) My name is Ko’pe and I like music, food, art, videogames, and learning lots of new things. Feel free to chat with me if you see me around even if I don’t know ya, I don’t bite!
I draw things and I make music, there’s a lot of things I’d like to learn!
Hopefully this is good!
-Ko'pe
—
Answers from Entity, someone anonymous I don't know as well:
Phew, it took me a while to read all of the previous responses, and then to get my own thoughts down and a little tidied together
0) I do believe conflict resolution is important to me. Conflict has a negative connotation for me, and it can range wildly in size. From massive tragic events, to small disagreements. They can definitely generate pain, and as such I get why a lot of people (myself included) tend to avoid them if at all possible. But being optimistic, and considering some of what following Flora for some years has made me think about, I can see them as a gateway to increased understanding. That's where conflict resolution comes in. With it, we can de-escalate, restore peace, and ideally have all sides come out better in the end.
1) I haven't been here long, but it has been pretty nice. It feels a little quiet, but peaceful (with some little exceptions). I'm happy that I made the jump to finally join a Flora server after years of staying only on the site. It was a little bit of a challenge for me, but, well, here I am! A first bold step towards getting out of my shell thanks to the webcomic inspiring me. To think, if I hadn't been here, I wouldn't have seen or celebrated the nice art that members have shared. I'm grateful to be here.
2) This one I can't say much on because I hardly exist on other platforms, and haven't really participated in anything yet besides.
3) I haven't faced any direct harassment thankfully, just feeling sadness and frustration when I see (outside of the community) a lack of understanding, truth, and empathy, persons misplacing their energy. Admittedly, I have an exaggerated fear of negative attention. And that has prevented me from being more open about how much I like the whole of Floraverse and would like to share it with my friends and such. It's just hard to know how someone might respond, and I would find a negative response stressful and difficult to cope with or "fix", if even possible. That aside, I do at least feel like I have a nice support network if things got rough.
4) If anyone had trouble with it, I would wish they understood my what my connection to Floraverse as a fan means to me. I always look forward to seeing what neat new thing is happening next; it's a very exciting moment whenever I notice the website has been updated. Getting to take a moment to read, experience, and appreciate. Rereading the whole thing, from start to current, over the course of a few months during a stressful time in college is a cherished memory to me. Overall, I think Flora has already had a positive effect on me, despite my (as of writing) minimal involvement. It has brought me a lot of happiness along with a whole range of other emotions, some I don't even have words for, but am nonetheless glad to have experienced.
5) Haven't interacted much, but regardless, my current opinion is that they are a good person. Always genuinely trying to do better, persevering, helping others, enduring, and creating deeply appealing works. glip or Ash, to me, seems like a source of light in this world, honestly. I'm being a bit flowery, but not exaggerating. During my short time (some months) finally being present here, I have not had a single interaction I would consider negative (not that I'm one to interact much to begin with). I respect them and several others here a lot. I do feel like you care about the community and its safety.
6) I can't really say, with my lack of experience. Maybe something easy and small for those who may not have a lot of time or energy to spare, though I'm not sure how many people that applies to. I would say I *do* put some thought into reach harmony with others, sometime maybe too much where I would paralyze myself, but other times maybe too little.
7) To those I've seen here: you all seem like a group of nice, cool people, that I'd like to merely hang out in the same room with. Like casually skilling in an MMO, it's just nice to feel like there are similar people around and about while you're working. It's the opposite of lonely: good company, a nice cozy feeling. Other than that, I'll say that I probably have a lot to learn once I actually get involved, and this seems like a good place for learning, at least based on several peoples' accounts and my own intuition. And finally, to everyone: please be kind to yourself!
-Entity
—
Answers from my friend Boxley:
0) i do care about conflict resolution, i think its about wanting to harm from happening. like if someone is upset at me id want to understand whats happened and try to avoid it in the future. i do feel it its been difficult at times, communication doesnt always work between some people.
1) ive really enjoyed floraverse communities in both eastar and owel over time, ive made several good friends and shared a lot of nice things with people.
2) outside of discord ive honestly had very little contact with floraverse communities if i find them at all, i have had contact with the friends from within the discord servers but on art sites its not very prominent.
3) hard to say exactly if it counts as me being directly harassed but ive been in the center of quite a lot of very annoying discourse surrounding the roleplay scene i did with glip, and the erasure of all context and consent that was in it. spent a short time trying to talk directly to the people involved with publicizing and speculating around it nad largely got ignored and mocked about it. outside of those specific situations i dont think ive really felt like ive been targetted by anyone relating to floraverse, maybe its because my online presence is a bit... shameless in what i post? so maybe people dont get the feeling they can upset me by bringing up anything im involved with. i have however been contacted by close friends a few times who were worried about me because of my connenction to floraverse, and in the majority of them i was able to reassure them that i was not being abused and that the rumors and mischaracterizations around the flora communities were largely harmful slander. most of my friends who contacted me about this were eventually happy to join or at least look into the servers themselves, which i think helped them understand what was actually happening better than most other things. if you know me, you can probably guess who the one person who didnt believe me about floraverse was.
4) i think the thing that i most want people to understand, which some specific people seem not to, is that i care about being here, that ive chosen to be here because i care about the people ive meet here. i dont think its really caused me pain to be here in direct ways, ive been upset at misunderstandings and my issues with communication. i think the one thing that has hurt has been seeing my friends being targetted and harassed by people, im not bothered by a lot but its hurt to see people who are more vulnerable to these things and more public be hurt.
5)
i have talked to glip many times directly about how ive felt about some events and people ive known in the community, and i have been happy with those interactions. i believe glip has a very direct way of speaking that i found somewhat intimidating at first, not knowing how to engage with it, but ive realized it works best when i understand that their words are very earnest and direct. i was uncertain with communications before because im used to direct speech being a sign of unspoken subtext, that i owe them something and need to figure it out.
when i have come to glip before directly with feelings that i was not able to communicate to people properly, that my meanings were being too readily assumed and that i struggled to understand what others meant, it did turn out for the better even though i was genuinely not sure how it would be taken given those previous misunderstandings. with an understanding now of how glip communicates i have felt comfortable talking to them directly whenever something felt important to say, which i do appreciate.
6)
i think more lower pressure community participation events would be fun to do, things like group drawing boards or scheduled multiplayer games/streams would be simple to start with i think. i learned to draw with, and have a lot of nostalgia for, old group drawing boards like iscribble and drawpile.
-Boxley
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Answers from GlitchyBun:
0) Incredibly. I was raised in a constant negative peace and internalized conflict avoidance because of it. As an adult, I had to unlearn all of that. Conflict resolution solves problems. Oftentimes it requires both parties be open to learn, grow, and change. I have lost at least 3 friends to doubling down instead of looking inwards.
1) Thankful. I'm largely a lurker for now thanks to my unpredictable energy levels but having a place to participate in the collaborative storytelling that is Floraverse means quite a lot to me.
2) At first? Excited! New friends, new opportunities! Then the hate campaign hit. (This was on tumblr). Afterwards, for a while, i was very careful about where I posted my fan content. Now I am back to doing so more regularly and protecting my peace with the block button (This is on Bluesky now)
3) Not directly. However, on the Discord server post-relaunch, we occasionally had "investigators" spouting propaganda and "demanding answers." I have interacted with a few of these people, but it never really followed me outside of the server. However, every time it resurfaces again, usually on a friend's post, it's been incredibly triggering for me. I would spiral and have panic attacks. ~~This took what I estimate as 3 years to work through. I still get a pit in my stomach though.~~
EDIT: "That" video was algorithmically recommended to me today and it triggered a full out panic attack. Turns out I'm still deeply affected
4) Floraverse is, without question, a touchstone in my personal growth. The project itself has helped me through some very dark thoughts. The community has been incredibly effective in helping me to develop and refine both community management and emotional intelligence. Now more than ever, community is incredibly important. Being a part of this one is a dream come true for me.
5) I have a lot of respect for glip/Ash. I haven't had any negative interactions with them. I had ordered an add on for the plushie campaign way back, and it was never delivered - I had bad timing. The kf campaign and following radio silence was more than enough for me to be willing to just forget it. However, once they were ready to, they resolved this and were really nice about it. I still have the card they sent with it complimenting my chosen name and the stickers I ordered along with it are proudly displayed on my phone case. They have had a lot thrown at them and it's frustrating seeing these same claims resurface again and again.
6) Peace. We've seen a lot. Been through a lot. The times where we can just enjoy others presence are the best.
7) I love this community. I may be distant right now but I'm always happy to be here.
-GlitchyBun
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Answers from Vazlinn, someone I don't know well:
0) Conflict resolution is very very important to me. It was a skill I learned and developed through Waldorf education, and I use it all the time to this day. Talking through your issues and negative feelings of any kind (positives too!!) is hugely beneficial to everyone who does it, at least if you balance everyone involved. Conflict happens, and has happened constantly since the dawn of time, so I see it more as a naturally occurring phenomena more than a man made problem that Needs Solving Right Now. It takes lots of time, patience, listening, and opening yourself to others to really be effective. People tend not to do any of that on the internet (particularly social media and... other sites I'm not gonna talk about right now) due to anonymity... So the Hot New Internet Drama is all just fighting about things that often boil down to the initial emotional wounds, which aren't generally shared (and those that do are brave strong souls who I admire greatly) due to the fear of their core wounds and values being denied or attacked.
1) When I first joined the Owel server, the environment felt... a bit hostile. For very understandable reasons (All the flora drama was being revisited by drama enthusiasts all over the world wide web), but it was a bit uncomfortable nonetheless. I had to take a break from the community since it was impacting my already bad mental state.
Now though, I can confidently say that all the servers I've been on (Owel, Eastar, and Cenastre) are lovely places to be. This somewhat drastic change shows that glip/Ash has done some major personal work to get to this point. It's never easy to do something like that, I'm always working on it too. I have felt very warm-hearted here as of joining again, I can't wait to see what comes next in the story and in our friendships!!
2) I have never participated in community activities outside of discord.
3) I have never been harassed over my connection to Flora, nor do I think anyone should be in its current state.
Not to say the past harassment was at all justified, though the uproar was a bit more understandable I guess? From an objective point of view. We are all people, and every person has their own rich past, traumas, delights, and horrors. I believe in getting to the root of peoples actions before any kind of judgement takes place.
4) cw: mentions of nsfw stuff. I feel very strongly about this and wanted to speak on it, but if anyone wishes, I'll take this part down.
|| Well for one, I wish everyone outside the community or against us knew that just because we associate with Flora doesn't mean we're all pedophiles or something? Forgive my harsh tone, but I was on the other side once, with the anti-Flora crowd. A lot of the time people will hear Flora or glip and think of the drama involving minors and others in the community or certain members' fetishes or stuff like that. I only care when real life people are being hurt, whether the wounds are old or new, I'll always side with the victims. I only can speak for myself here, but I'm pretty sure most other members don't care about what paraphilias, kinks, or fetishes we all have. Because getting freaky isn't wrong. Having thoughts and fantasies others may find disturbing isn't wrong. It's basic human stuff. (Though certain things can be triggering for others and might be a good idea to keep them private) And if there's urges to do harm to others or yourself, it's the individuals and their support systems jobs to get them the help they need.
Realizing and learning all these things really really helped me become less ashamed of myself, both for liking "weird" stuff and for liking Flora/my support for glip. it also helped me be less judgey and have more empathy for those who struggle with this topic ||
5) Right now, when I think of Ash as a person, I feel a Ton of empathy for the situations they've been put through. I know that doesn't mean I know exactly how they feel, but that doesn't stop the flow of emotions I feel when I consider the big picture of the "drama" and how painful that must have been and still might be. I know it might be... a bit parasocial... but it's how I've felt since I first found Flora. I cannot unknow what I know, and those feelings are real and come from somewhere, just like all feelings. I wanted to know who was behind this amazing art? Who is this person who seems to have gone through so much? What are their thoughts on it all? Deep down, some repressed part of me wanted so badly to make a connection with them, if only on an art friends or fellow community member level. I used to Idolize them, but now after I've done a lot of emotional growth, they're just a person. Just like you and me. I still look up to them in a sense, but only regarding artistic skill. I am no longer here just to strive for their approval, but to experience the vast world of Flora with everyone!!
We've interacted a bit since my rejoining, and the first time was when they called me out for being parasocial, which I'm very grateful for, even though I felt a bit negative at the time, I feel much better and more stable now. The rest has been character creation, development, and roleplay, which has all been such a blast!!
I've felt very considered by them, especially during roleplay and when we worked out my characters together!! They asked me tons of insightful questions that have really helped my artistic process, both in Flora and in my personal works!!
Ash seems to make a significant effort to interact with all of us equally, especially when it comes to characters. When they do occasionally miss someone, they're quick to try and mend the situation to the best of their ability.
5) Continued:
In the past, it felt like Ash and Eevee may have overlooked a few safety things, like an adult game being advertised to a server with minors in it, which is no longer the case. Since my rejoining, I was happy to find that the game wasn't being shown in servers where minors are allowed. While of course I think the game should receive attention as it seems pretty good, I just believe that attention shouldn't come from minors. Other than that, there are no recent safety concerns from me. It seems all the gripes I had previously have been dealt with, so from my perspective, that means they care for the safety of the community.
I have disagreed with many of Ash's choices before, but we are different people with different experiences and personalities, it happens. I'm not at all torn up about it, nor was I ever, but I'm glad to see healthier (for themselves and others) choices being made.
I haven't expressed my gripes to Ash, as they occurred in the past and it wouldn't do anything to bring them up now as healthy improvements have been made. Plus I'm not really a pot-stirrer and don't participate in conflict unless it's something that is truly harming others.
I have never felt "unsafe" per say... Though I did need a break from the community, that was just due to my own internal conflict, not from anyone in the community. That said, in the past I wouldn't have shared my discomfort unless it was caused by a particular person, which it wasn't. Since rejoining, I feel very confident that if something came up that made me uncomfortable or suspicious, I'd speak up right away. Which stemmed from improvements with myself and the community as a whole.
I think if I did voice any discomfort to anyone I'm acquainted with here, including Ash, it'd be taken seriously.
Others have voiced some discomfort or negative feelings here, and they were all taken seriously and handled with care.
6) I think it would be lovely for lots of folks to get out there and help Wishbone!! Though I certainly know these things take a lot of time and planning, I'm just so excited!!
Maybe a channel for FAQs or QnAs would help information be much more accessible to everyone! I have so many species questions that I don't have time to dig for the answers to... Though worry not, I'm quite content with the huge amount of worldbuilding there already is, there's just so much more for me and other relatively new folks to explore!!
I think about what I can do to reach harmony with others every single day. I do my best to put all the ideas for that into action, whether it be a needed apology, a gift, a comforting presence, or an ear to talk at! One of my favorite things is making the world around me a better place in any way I can.
7) I'm currently working on my own webcomic!! It's nowhere near done but it's a queer tragedy set in a fantastical world rich with life, magic, science, and religion. The best place to get updates is my Tumblr Luthers_Beetles !!
-Vazlinn
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Answers from CatShadow, someone I know a bit:
0) I prefer to resolve conflict on both ends if possible. I'll try to communicate between all affected parties to gain insight on both sides of the story to make the best decision possible. After getting information, I try to come up with a resolution that all sides can agree on. This doesn't always work, but it's my main goal because I want to promote peace and understanding as much as I can.
1) I've felt comfortable in both Floraverse servers. I think everyone is quite nice, and I've only seen the members attempt to be positive in every situtation. I feel like I can talk about my interests and several others will be interested as well. Another nice thing is that I never have to feel like someone is going to share something that's negative or concerning in some manner, it's all been genuine and fun.
2) I haven't participated in the community at large, but I also haven't seen an issue with it when I have looked.
3) I have never been harassed or contacted involving my connection with Floraverse.
4) I would like for inquiring people to understand that Floraverse is a creative outlet for artistic individuals. I'm still learning and observing the story, but it really just seems like somewhere to have fun and imagine with other like-minded people. I've learned that there are good places out there, and I feel like it's a comforting feeling that such nice people have gathered in one place. This matters because there's not a lot of good in the world, and starting somewhere is important.
5) I think glip/Ash is a thoughtful, interesting, creative, and caring person. I could add many more positive adjectives as well. I have only seen them attempting to do the most agreeable thing in every situation. We've interacted a little bit via group chat and a small amount in private messages, and I've never had a single problem. I think glip has been a great listener to all sorts of input from myself and the various users who have been in the servers. I imagine that if I had any sort of discomfort, it would be considered thoughtfully and rationally, but I currently have no discomforts at all.
6) I haven't participated a lot in the community yet, though I do plan to in time. However, what I have seen seems to be quite appropriate with a lot of opportunities for others to voice their opinions and feelings. I can't imagine a better way to go about including the community from my current perspective - great work!
7) Thank you for being good people, it's hard to come by nowadays. I've been away a little bit due to life stuff, but hopefully I can be around more often, and possibly participate with a character and read more of the story to become better affiliated with the goings-on in Floraverse.
-CatShadow
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Answers from Sorrel, someone I know a bit:
0) Very; it's not always easy, especially online where so many people have taken such a black-and-white view of everything from hobbies to morals. But being open to resolving conflict lets us understand each other and see the details in a complex situation. It creates a path to closure and clarity, if both sides are willing to see it through, and hopefully it helps us avoid unproductive conflict in the future too.
1) I feel glad that I joined; I know that I am not the most active member, as I struggle with energy and feelings of doubt in "crowds" (even if that crowd is a dozen people on the internet). That is not a fault to anyone here however; everybody seems very patient and sincere, which is refreshing to see.
2) I admit I have not been largely public about my enjoyment of Floraverse or my characters set in its universe, primarily because of a fear of repurcussions from dedicated hate campaigners (especially on Tumblr). However, I have been feeling lately like I don't really care anymore, because my enjoyment of Floraverse and my own characters inspired by it matter more to me than losing out on interacting with people who act like that. It's still hard to take those steps, but I have all of my floraverse characters uploaded on my Toyhouse and I posted a little about my Strawberry Jam entry (Which involves one of my Flora characters) on Bluesky too. I like to think that eventually people invested in hating it will grow tired and move on. I did used to have one of the Beleth vinyl charms, but I think I lost it in a move, and I'm not sure if I can still buy one?
3) I have not been directly harassed but I do recall seeing bad faith "probes" earlier in this server and I think in the other one as well (I think I joined Eastar once ages ago but left because I felt bad about never participating- I worried I was making others uncomfortable since it seemed like it must have been hard to pick out who was trustworthy or not at times). I do feel a sense of unease sometimes, at the idea that I am been screenshotted as evidence of "something" somehow, even though I can't think of anything "bad" I've said.
4) Dicussion of Forbidden Flora works following:
||Something that really meant a lot to me when I was younger and first found Floraverse was Beleth's character, I found their design really cute in both of their "main" forms & I have an interest in living inanimate people like marionettes, Rageddy Anne-type characters, and so on. While I no longer feel that asexual describes me, I felt really seen by Beleth's depiction in the nsfw half of the comic and it helped me be more honest and open with myself and my interests in a way that ultimately helped me realize I wasn't ace. Jasmaby & the actor cat from the little comic with Claude & Millie also really stuck with me for a long time until I realized I was a trans man and had to re-unravel my relationship with my body and sexuality again. I thought back on it, and Jasmaby in Smile For the Camera was the first time I had ever seen a character with a pussy be addressed as a man, and that's something that really means a lot to me as who I am now. I've always admired how casual, sweet, and diverse ForFlor has been.||
Outside of this, I've also always really liked how the story handled emotional & visual synergy, both with and without music. It's atmospheric and really draws me into it, and it's really amazing to see people make things inspired by it, too.
5) After all this time, and finally having had a few chances to interact with them more directly, I think that Ash is a very honest, thoughtful, and emotionally connected person. They're also complicated, imperfect, and sometimes intense. I find them trustworthy not despite their flaws but because of their willingness to admit & explore those faults as well as others' without undue judgement; I feel like if I had a problem, I would be listened to. Time and again, I always see claims that they are some kind of monster and master manipulator, but that is not something I have ever been able to observe as true. I'm glad that even now, they keep trying to foster Floraverse's community and online presence as a place of creativity, safety, and honest expression.
I also adore the rune they made based on my yarncraft, Dandi, to help power the ritual. I drew it all over my sketchbook and I still do with each new one too.
6) As someone who struggles a little bit with opening up to people I'm less familiar with without a prompt or open invitation, (like that silly old "vampires have to be invited indoors" folklore) I think it could be fun to have some mini "offshoots" between the larger roleplay arcs like Wishbone, Eastar, or Althar, although I suppose the Art Pyramid was kind of that? I remember really wanting to participate but I was both too overworked and too shy to commit to it. I also really wanted to make art of everyone's characters last year but burnt out before I could finish a sketch of Phesund, and I think it's really unfair that Ash was removed despite even asking about joining at all in the first place and being given the OK to do so. It makes the whole website feel less safe. Maybe folks here could do something like that, a creative take on each others' characters.
7) I wanted to thank everyone for their kindness, patience, and honesty despite years of facing the opposite from so many others.
I'm not very active anywhere yet, but I am on toyhouse as SorrelDemon & Bluesky as Pull-apart-puppet (named after one of my characters, Erasyl, who is made of wood and able to disassemble himself).
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Answers from Jib, a friend:
0) Yes. Personally, I can let things sit for a while if they’re not egregious, but ultimately it’s usually best to air things out, get everyone on the same page, and move forward where feasible. Good resolution feels like a shared understanding of everyone’s viewpoints, motives and actions as each person sees them, with a plan to proceed based on that understanding. If I’m the offending party, it’s making proper apologies, trying to show the other party that I recognize their suffering, and changing my behavior to keep from repeating things. It gives me feedback on how to avoid similar conflicts in the future. I hate feeling misunderstood, so oftentimes it will make me reconsider how I do and say things so there’s less friction.
Some of the approaches to conflict resolution I’ve seen in the Flora servers were strange to see at first. “Scenes” can be rough, but the motives (and character details, if this is played out in-character) are agreed upon beforehand and the scene is always stoppable by any involved party. Out-of-character discussions where feelings and details surrounding a conflict are comprehensively aired out by those involved can be huge walls of text spanning multiple hours or days, but it allows everyone to see multiple points of view, and recognize everyone else’s reality and experience in trying to make the situation better. After watching multiple instances of these play out, and looking at the motivations for different methods, they often feel quite effective.
It’s important to note that “effective” does not always mean that everyone is happy in the end. It means that things will move forward in a healthier way than they were going beforehand. That may mean, after gathering information and hearing everyone out, that setting boundaries and ending contact is the most thought-out and informed decision for those involved.
1) I’ve been in both servers for many years. I feel like I’ve developed a lot as a person in that time. I picked up drawing and painting because of the impact Ash’s work had on me. I’m learning other languages to stay involved in Flora as the narrative shifts to new areas. I feel more in touch with my emotions, as well as more aware and considerate of others’. I’ve fixed some broken connections in irl relationships because of insights I’ve gathered here. I’ve learned a lot about the people here and the trauma they’ve been through and shared. I’ve shared my own difficulties and have felt supported by multiple community members in processing them.
Flora RP has given me a space for processing these things as well. I love being able to help my characters through their problems, and being there for them when things are tough. It’s a nice way to explore solutions to problems, whether that solution might be feasible irl, or is more fantastical and just feels nice to play out within the setting. It’s given me a place for catharsis, where I can put genuine feelings into the setting and see genuine care in responses (if not in-character, then at the very least when discussing things out-of-character). None of this is to suggest that any part of being involved in Flora is therapy, but I do think my participation in RP and Flora as a whole has gelt quite fulfilling and has benefitted me a great deal.
I'm very glad to be here, to continue to make new friends, see and make cool art, and participate in the story. I don't plan on leaving any time soon.
2) I don't have accounts on any of those platforms anyway. I'm just involved in the Discord servers.
3) No, but something in that direction. Some fanart I had put on DeviantArt around 2018 after the previous Discord server shut down got reposted to KiwiFarms. I found out because I had been checking the thread periodically to see if I could find any kind of updates, from anyone, about the situation at the time. The piece itself was about waiting and hoping for an update. The reposter shared my art and said something like “you might be waiting a long time” in the KF thread. Iirc that was all, I don’t think it was even acknowledged by anyone else in the thread.
At face value it really wasn’t a big deal. I just remember the weird feeling like I was “on their radar” for a while after that. I think I deleted my DA shortly after (though I wasn’t really active on it anyway so I never considered it a loss). KF was scouring for any kind of scraps they could find and twist and I didn’t want to fuel any part of that, even though I didn’t have anything to hide.
I was in a small unofficial Flora-centered server that had formed when the old one shut down. I think I talked about this with people there? That server has since been deleted so I can’t go back and check.
4) See #1 above. The compassion I see in the Flora community and the weight of the story itself have been hugely impactful to me. I'm really glad to participate. I promise this isn’t some cult that some people like to say it is. Nobody is forced into any kind of participation. People are encouraged to disengage from discussions or the server as a whole if they don’t seem to be having a good time. We literally just make OC’s, put them through scenarios, make different kinds of art about it, and talk about our feelings. There’s weight to it because we often bring emotions from our own lived experiences into the RP. It’s pretty rewarding, I’d recommend doing it sometime in some form. It can be painful in-character, but it is expected that in-character suffering is addressed out-of-character by involved parties so the engagement doesn’t get out of hand. The RP is also optional in the first place.
5) We’ve known each other for years and interacted quite a lot—in and out of RP in the servers, in other non-Flora servers, and in DM’s–though it definitely picked up when I got more involved in the RP. It’s been super positive overall. Any friction/animosity I can remember has only been between our characters during RP, which resolved amicably as far as I could tell. You’ve felt very considerate of personal issues I share, whether they get brought up in RP or otherwise. I appreciated when you outright said in the server that you wanted me to have a space to discuss things like that. I enjoy hearing about things that made you think of me, or different connections to my character that would come up in dreams or otherwise.
The TALwire Teslic Yard scenes and prompts mean a lot to me (along with many scenes from AP), being able to be vulnerable and cathartic for a bit to someone that I know cares (both you and your character) while actively trying to move things along in the story felt huge. I think my character and I cry so often in RP because I so rarely do outside RP. I’m grateful to be able to comfortably do that in this space. Those scenes in particular really helped me feel more connected not only to your character, but also to two of mine and the setting in general. The prompts were fun to translate from RP to irl, and helped improve some irl connections as well.
It’s worth mentioning the consideration and effort involved in allowing people to participate in the story at all. I think a lot of people (on the outside especially) are used to content being content, where appealing to a reader is the primary goal, or the story is shaped around satisfying an audience, or some other metric where it has to fit into some kind of box to be accepted. I don’t think a lot of people understand the idea that a project like this can just exist for its author’s sake, or its own sake, or that a reader doesn’t have to understand everything about it in order to read or be a part of it. It works so well because it’s genuine and the feelings are real (and the art besides that is also fantastic). Involving people at all in something so personal requires a lot of trust, effort, and vulnerability on your end, as well as consideration for everyone else involved so it’s a level playing field and they can get that kind of fulfillment out of it too. Participants need to respect this and show consideration as well.
I feel you do a good job of setting expectations for people who are interested in participating. Those who get it and treat their characters as real as possible are great to play with. There’s always a couple that don’t really respect the environment, and if they’re not quick to correct, it feels like it’s getting easier to spot em and let em know that this isn’t for them.
I know you care about the community and its safety. Even before Owel and Eastar got harder to join. I can’t think of anything that would suggest otherwise. I also don’t think it’s your job to “keep us safe.” I feel like “not exposing people to harm” is more reasonable. Stuff gets addressed when it comes up. Accountability is a huge part of being in the servers.
I haven’t agreed with every decision you’ve made, but I don’t have to. It’s your space to curate how you like. You’re good at recognizing patterns in new people, where it’s getting easier to tell if they’re likely to become difficult or inflammatory. In terms of kicking/banning those people, you seem to err more on the side of caution for the community than I might personally–some bans have felt a bit quick. It sucks that some people will see bans as trying to hide something, as opposed to just not wanting to deal with bad energy. But I’m not the one who has to deal with those people being difficult nearly as directly. I’m not the one that people are trying to “research.” I haven’t felt the pain of everything that surrounds that for myself. I respect your decisions here, those people are not entitled to your space or time.
I haven’t voiced this disagreement before because it just didn’t feel like my place to. I didn’t feel strongly enough about it anyway, and I respect keeping a high guard at the moment.
I haven’t felt unsafe in the servers personally. They are places I feel I can go specifically to be vulnerable if I so choose. I think a lot of that has to do with the increased vetting and just the expectations of those in the community and the way things are run. I don’t have any current discomfort in the servers, and I know that if I brought something up, that you would at least hear me out and be considerate before addressing a potential issue or not. You’re great at breaking scenarios down and analyzing different factors that play into them, as well as being considerate and empathetic to others’ experiences, so I know I’d feel heard in bringing up an issue.
6) [It’s very late and I’m drawing a blank sorry, I can think on this more and get back if I think of anything.]
7) I appreciate the consideration of anyone reading this. I encourage you to keep an open mind to what’s being presented here. It’s an uphill battle when so many people have already decided that someone or a community deserves a reputation like this. I’m not saying any of us are perfect, but please consider the validity, context and nuance of any claims you use to inform your opinion. Please consider that drama videos that are made to farm engagement might not always present things objectively or in good faith.
-Harmony
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Answers from Anonymous, who I don't know well and whose answer veers negative so please be warned:
0) **YES.** It's the foundation of any real friendship or community. Every big bad thing in my life can be traced back to people refusing to communicate with each other or have any plans for resolution in mind. People being too anxious to talk about their problems and letting them fester to boil over later, usually at the expense of one or two people that multiple others gang up on; "I always got a creepy vibe from (person)", they'll say once the shots are fired as if it's a huge relief, even though never brought it up before and probably could've been addressed...!! It's why I'm not really in Discourse communities anymore, like... okay, so you've called out the Nasty Guy! *Now what?* Was there a plan for if they "changed their ways"? What's the end goal if you can't, I dunno, put them in jail or whatever...? It's depressing, especially with how many people like that claim to desire restorative and rehabilitative justice.
1) Shy... It's nice and full of beautiful and moving art I can't get anywhere else, but it feels like a big server full of friends where everyone already knows each other, so those relationships kind of form a thick gooey wall that's difficult to merge into the bricks of. I wish more art and stories here could exist in a less transient space. Every time I tune out awhile, there's months worth of backreading to do that I can never complete on my schedule, and I feel like I may never catch up with the story and lore that the more devoted diehard Floraverse RPers and artists are privy to.
2) Honestly scared!! I only ever mention it on alts, where it's both an expression of heartfelt admiration and a *filter* to repel those unwilling to overcome knee-jerk disgust and *talk* to me about their grievances like a sane person would. It's harrowing that every time I look for fanart and talk posts (you know, like a normal fandom), it's an apocalyptic wasteland of dead links and complaints.
Someone posted their Floraverse tattoo out there on twitter once and the *only* comment was basically like "why do you like zoopedophiles so much?" It's basically impossible *to* be in the Floraverse community in public, so I'm not. How CAN you, in such conditions? It kind of keeps me humble to sincerely enjoy something so universally loathed.
3) Not really, thanks to excessive caution and anxious practice!! But like, it hangs like a guillotine blade, y'know? There's very little grace given to a Floraverse Enjoyer, no matter how casual one is or how much they self-flagellate on it. My few friends are generally pretty chill with my more questionable tastes, but even one of them sometimes calls my Beleth plush my "||dog rape|| plush", so--!! Everyone I have any closeness to *outside* here hates everyone, especially Glip, who's *in* here, so even among friends I can't really be open about it. They just kind of nod along politely whenever I'm in one of my yearly Floraverse Moods, which I suppose is way more than most get for the heinous crime of liking Floraverse I guess. It's really isolating and nerve-wracking. I have support and security I guess, but I dunno if it could withstand an actual coordinated attack.
4) I dunno, that it's old and independent of the "drama"? It's a comic very personal to me on a gender and bodily level.
NSFW MENTION:
[ForbiddenFlora] ||If it weren't for *Something Greater,* I would never have learned what sexual arousal actually feels like on a inexperienced level and would've just had to go on with a poorer understanding of my body for who-knows-how-many-years longer because everyone just says "aroused" without telling you what that even means! I don't regret looking into the links to ForbiddenFlora on ohjoysextoy and discovering the setting as a whole.||
Seeing so many casually transgender and non-het characters in such a beautiful webcomic was really influential and important to me, and it feels like nowadays people take that for granted just because it's more common. Beleth in particular was really important (even though I liked Amdusias more back then), seeing a nonbinary and ace-spec main character like that... they were just so special, somehow, and felt *revolutionary* to me at the time. It really is a media that helped me find my identity, and to try and rewrite my story to cut its influence out would be lying.
Floraverse is also very emotionally-charged, especially in the later arcs, which I can't find anywhere else. There's a kind of compelling wrongness (lack of better word) to it, like you're reading someone's diary or secret vent art or something. It's full of what most would call "inside thoughts" that they wouldn't really share. It's a bunch of snapshots of feelings no one wants to talk about because they're "mean" or "annoying". And well, I think that's part of what makes it so important? Such rawness is really inspiring, and makes me all introspective. A dark mirror for your Symptoms and Failures...
I guess I feel... "guilty" isn't the right word, but "cringe" is too mild? I don't want people to assume I'm sort of slavering maniac just because I think some drawings are pretty and might have something emotionally resonant and helpful to say?! It's kind of impossible to untangle Floraverse's current plot from The Callout Incidents now, but... it's all more complicated than that...! I'm not even a "let people enjoy things" type, I just hate that people would jump to incredibly heavy conclusions about me as a whole, real person if I was public about thinking some open source furry setting was Cool and that it may have said something valuable a few times.
My main "sona" is even a Floraverse-based species-- it's that dear and influential to me-- but of course I've never mentioned them anywhere.
5) You seem like a person who's been peeled raw against your will into a sensitive bleeding painful form, who's trying to regrow into a different stronger shape. It's hard to know how I feel about you since I don't know you that well, and don't trust almost anything I hear about you 100%. We've interacted maybe... twice? And it *was* indeed positive. I'd say I feel overlooked or inconsidered, but it's not like I've reached out or said anything, so it wouldn't be just to blame you for that; I'm slow to speak to anyone, and you seem busy, so it's just kind of how things are at the moment here.
I can't really say much for your choices because I don't know or remember most of them, and hate secondhand or ill-sourced accounts of all of these rancid ordeals. What is there to say, other than it makes sense for you to have not been perfectly calm or rational under the circumstances which you were placed? It's difficult to see you as relatively dangerous if the "opposition" is even *looking* at Kiwifarms. I don't really express things about it because I feel it's not my place. I don't even really know you or much about you!
I feel like I could voice a discomfort about you or this place to you, actually, despite my hesitations. You seem like you've grown a lot, and you come off pretty emotionally intelligent. Like you feel a lot very strongly, but that you're not stupid or aimless about it; if that makes sense. If I actually talked to you, you'd probably say something I'd call *wise*, and I'd have a lot to think about and feel foolish for not bringing it up sooner. But like, it'd be folly to think you owe me anything like that (you don't know me either, after all). I don't really like OR dislike you, but I don't think you're some cultish master manipulator like people say. You're just a person with an interactive comic with a fandom, and it's about Feelings lately, so it's intense sometimes. I'd say I can respect that, at least.
6) **Accessibility!!** Not just character and unfinished species profiles that've been left collecting dust for the better part of a decade, but also the state of the Floraverse as an interactive setting as a whole. It's kind of frustrating feeling like you can't feel up with the "story" without joining what's basically a chatroom-- which is ephemeral and could vanish with all its records at any time. Backreading and sorting through the plot-crucial RPs is quite difficult, and I've felt like they haven't really been translated well enough to the public website to make up for it (ex. characters like Problemedic and elements like the Chordincepts plague would've been incomprehensible to me without the Discords). The forums are still down, which is inconvenient, because that's what I'd recommend... even though it probably wouldn't help with the inherent dread many would feeling about being seen Floraversing in Public.
Joining RP events... it's kind of daunting! I still don't know how to go about it here without feeling like I might interrupt someone. It might just be on me because I'm always slow with social events, but some kind of *entry point* or multiple ways to become "in" might help. I feel a lot of worry about "doing it wrong" somehow because I don't have access to every single bit of species, element, emotion, or dreamer/angel/demon lore that others *do.* Again, most of this stuff is NOT on the website where it can be looked up without begging for help or joining this place. Like, what does clover lambs "leaking emotions" in their wool mean?-- it sounds cool, but I don't knowwww...! There's no line between basic info and deep plot secrets for later, it feels like. I'm *missing* something, always! So I freeze up and lurk instead of doing anything.
I wouldn't know how to fix it, \*I'm* not a big community-wrangler for a reason. I'm too wary of FOMO, and poor at using available resources even when they're pointed out, and move at a glacial pace in most affairs. I just wish for other people to have an easier time finding this "harmony" than I do. It's a painful, evasive feeling I'm pretty resigned to-- to not have it-- and no one should feel so terrible about it that they feel they've no choice but to lash out and blame when they feel owed it. Community and patience are important in that harmony, and I only hope this place gets better at those, because I know it wants to.
7) Uhh, keep me anonymous please. I kind of wish I was here on my alt Discord saying this stuff, but I can't dredge up the action to get myself an invite alllll the way over there, too, so I must rely on the goodwill of the masses. Being mentally and developmentally disabled is kind of a pain, and I wish I could enjoy Floraverse in peace whenever I fixate on it. It makes me happy, but I hate the underflow of dread. I don't know how everyone here does it, but I hope "has literally no one and nowhere else" isn't the answer. A lot of people go online and realize they're not alone, but my strangeness and isolation has only ever been *affirmed.* I genuinely like Floraverse and wish I was actually playing it with others, and don't want to seem cold and suspicious for just looking here when I can't make myself do more. That's all there is to it, really.
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Answers from an acquaintance who's Anonymous:
0) Is conflict resolution important to you? Why or why not? What does it mean to you?
Conflict resolution is important to me, because without reaching a conclusion to a problem, it only builds and gets worse. However, we do not live in an ideal world where such a conclusion is reachable. For it to be reachable, all parties involved would have to be willing, and if they're not willing, there is no resolution. The best we can do is to try to move forward to the best of our abilities and try to become better people. Nobody is perfect.
1) How have you felt about being in this Discord community (Eastar or Owel)?
For the most part, it is rather nice being here. I do get anxious about the past drama, and I don't have a full picture of it because that stuff makes me uneasy. I joined to find out more about the comics and the art and for the floraverse world itself. At the time, I thought most of the issues have died down, and I wasn't sure what I'd be getting myself into. For the most part, many users here are very friendly and are just here to chat, share their creations, and partake in roleplays or read the new updates.
2) How have you felt about being in the Floraverse community online at large, if you participate? Places like Tumblr, Twitter, Bluesky, etc.
I do not openly associate with it because of the tendencies of people giving everyone in a category the same labels, regardless of their intentions. It's the same in any fandom, group or organizations.
'You like anthros? Oh so you're into to some weird stuff huh?' No.
'You're from [this State]? You must be associated with this.' No.
'You're a part of this religion? Y'all are a bunch of hateful people.' NO.
I'm tired of the majority suffering from the shortcomings of the minority.
This world is full of broken people, breaking people, and I'm sick of it.
3) Have you been harassed over your connection to Floraverse? What was that like, and why were you harassed? How did that impact your emotional and mental state? Did you feel like you had support, security, stability, or safety?
Thankfully no, and I hope that by writing this that does not change the case.
(Optional, may choose to include or not):
I do have my concerns about this if I ever want to start my own comics, because I wouldn't want my repuation to be ruined before it even started.
If anything, if anybody has wronged anyone, they were dealt according to their deeds out of fairness and everyone moves on. If someone wants to genuinely change, it's not right to kick them while they're down. They already have to live with what they're known for, for the rest of their life.
4) What do you wish people understood about your connection to Floraverse? What does it mean to you? What have you learned from it? How do you feel about it? Why does it matter? Has it helped you? Has it hurt you, or caused pain? What has that been like?
My connection to Floraverse has been mostly with art and media sharing, chatting and occasional roleplays. Pretty much it as far I recall at the moment. I do not have access to any of the Patreon channels, so I do not have an opinion about them. I see the community as a whole as a place where everyone has two things common: interest in the Floraverse comics and creative expression. The community has taught me about different perspectives on creativity and communication and interpretations. It helps me to understand the communty a bit more, almost like learning its 'language' on how to speak with other with care and consideration. There has been some pain caused in some of the roleplays, but for it was due to feeling the dire situation my character is placed in at the time, which is not unlike any other DnD session I've been because I actually give a care about my characters. They are in some part an extension of me placed into a fantasy world.
5) What do you think and feel about me, "glip" or "Ash"? The person? Have we interacted? Has it been positive, or negative? Have you felt I've considered you, or overlooked you, or a mixture? What are my efforts like to you? Does it feel like I care about the community and its safety? Have you disagreed with my choices before? Have you expressed this, and have you felt I listened? Have you felt unsafe or able to voice discomfort? Do you feel you can voice discomfort currently, and that it will be listened to if you do? Why or why not?
I personally have had mostly positive and some neutral interactions with Glip, from the few times we'ved interacted. I don't even recall any negative interactions personally in character, let alone out of character. If anything, our interactions have at most times felt impactful or meaningful in some way, hopefully for the better. I want to respect their spaces that they have invited me into, as it is their place to feel safe and considered. That being said, I also do the best I can to consider others in the same space. I feel that they do try to be reasonable with everyone in their space and try their best to put forth effort to ensure the space remains safe for all. There were times where others have come in, caused a commotion, and either left or was banned. At times I debated on whether to step in or not, but I also don't want to butt into a situation that is none of my business. It triggers anxiety in me in that it feels like the community is how the internet portrays it to be, but I don't think that's the case. I feel like miscommunication and misunderstanding plays a lot into some of these uncomfortable encounters. Other cases do appear to be individuals trolling with rage bait or something of the like. I do not want to assume, as this is just my perception of the situations. Besides, these incidents are actually rare. I still find it hard to speak up because I do not if it is warrented or not, and I don't want to misspeak from lack of understanding. If I feel like I understand enough, I may put forth a response that I aim to be unbiased or neutral.
6) What do you think would be nice for the community? What do you think would help others in the space feel included and heard? Do you put thought in your day to day on how to reach harmony with others?
While I personally have no answers at the moment for the first two, I do think often on how to interact with others that considers them and their preferences. At the end of the day, and I don't know if this is oversimplifying my feelings, but I just want to have wholesome fun and vibe.
7) You can say whatever you want, here. Maybe you want to link yourself for others to find, or maybe you just want to talk about things you like. This space is for you to decide. Well, let's keep it SFW and caring at heart, but aside from that.
I believe in restoration, in remaking former things into something better. I perceive it as 'Old flora vs New flora'. It ties in spiritually with me that restoration is possible. Personally I would love to share my faith with others, but I would never want to impose those ideals on them, just introduce them. If anyone have questions about it, I wouldn't mind discussing it. I feel like I'm welcomed to share scriptures, but I also don't want to make people uncomfortable, like somehow they're being judged; that is not my intention. If any feelings of the sort are felt, it may be from a spiritual force, but I would not want to assume.
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0) yes, conflict resolution is very important to me. i dont enjoy having a feud with someone, id rather we see eye to eye and figure out if we need to hold onto our negative feelings towards each other or not - if we can't understand each other, then alright, but i find that its very very rare for me to remain in conflict when effort is put in by both sides. either way, it would resolve the conflict as it would clarify the standings and the feelings, and decisions can be made based on that, and things can continue to move. i feel like to me, resolving a conflict means doing whats right, what feels right.
1) being here has been really fun! admittedly i have not participated muchly, but its been fun reading what other people do, and interacting with glip's big characters that switch every now and then, and i just really enjoy the feeling, its like we are all overseen by someone kind and caring. one thing that has not been positive is that sometimes, some goblin or another joins in and just goes like 'hahaaa yall expoosed loool' and sometimes starts sending porn into peoples dms apparently? its a little scary. i kind of wish not having the introduction role would hide all the channels from anyone joining, i had a strong feeling like some of the folks joining to troll wouldnt be able to string two words together and pass the introduction barrier, which would be nice for the feeling of being safe.
2) i haven't really exercised participating in floraverse community at large. i am not sure how i would go about it?.. if the question relates to 'sharing floraverse-related works online', i have not done that yet because i have not participated to the degree of finishing art that i would post.
3) i did get some dms from someone asking me repeatedly if i am in floraverse, but i didnt respond to them. other than that, i havent been harassed. getting those dms, i felt nervous, like, i felt like someone's gonna do it at some point and i guess it happened. it was not from a person i felt was looking for anything good in our interaction.
4) i wish incidents like in paragraph 3 wouldnt happen! like... ughh... its like people here either need to be 'rescued' or they're 'irredeemable lackeys', and i just think its hard to get out of those labels because all of a sudden you need to 'prove' that youre a 'normal person' and i just dont want to put my energy into that. my main way to connect to floraverse has been through reading vns, and wow it has been eyeopening sometimes. i feel like the vns contain so much unique stuff, i wish people would really check them out more! i think it matters a lot, it matters to me, and no it has not caused me pain - rather id say its thought-provoking. lots of wisdom!
5) i am a relatively new member of the community, but i have interacted with glip a lot, including in dms! it has been very positive. i have never felt any discomfort or disapproval within me when interacting with glip either one-on-one or within their public spaces. i have always felt considered, even in situations where i feel most other people would have ample grounds for completely blowing up and blocking me, as i have treated glip unfairly prior in large parts due to the callouts (more on that later). it feels like glip cares about their community and it's safety a lot. i cannot speak for glip's decisions prior to having actually joined their community - i think i want to convey that at this point, i simply cannot take the callouts in good faith, so i dont want to agree/disagree with something fed to me from the callouts. from the time i have joined glip's community until now (its been many months, though i still consider myself new), i would say i never disagreed with them on anything?.. i am trying to think about this... i dont think i did?.. i want to say that i consider myself a very reasonable and independent person, and that i don't feel that glip has 'influenced' me in a way a cult leader might influence their followers, which is how ive seen floraverse described before. i guess you can say that we pursue different things in some sides of art? i dont really like framing that as 'disagreement' though. i am confidient that my discomfort can be voiced out by me at any point, and i have put worth my own strong stances independent of glip's and found myself being listened to and engaged with. i find it difficult to imagine glip having a classic 'meltdown' moment i had heard so much about when i was in the callout space. however, i think glip is extremely capable of having a strong and confident reaction towards someone they deem acting in bad faith. i think glip may be able to feel bad faith/selfish intent quicker than the person harboring it feels it in themselves, so, when they react strongly, the person might be caught offguard - i've seen it happen multiple times, and i think this may be difficult for some to feel comfortable with. one of the biggest boons relating to interacting with glip ive ever gotten was someone telling me in dms 'hey take everything glip says in good faith, okay?' - i think glip is very literal and direct but also honest about how they feel, it makes it easy to navigate speaking with them if you can let go of assumptions.
6) i think the community right now is really good... however, i think there are probably ways that more people could be invited to engage. i really enjoy the way things happen through prompts, but so far they feel pretty individual, people dont really get to interact with each other muchly - when i think of flora, i think of all these different cool people interacting with each other, and during my time here i havent really seen something of the like, i feel like it would go a long way to have interactions be not only person-glip, person-glip, person-glip, but maybe also person-person-person-person with glip overseeing it? so people can make friends? i am unsure on how it could be done though
i put in effort into trying to connect to people around me, and i try to have it easy to connect to me as well... i am doing my best at least!
7) i have joined this community before on an alt account back in the day. originally, when i had first learned of the callouts, i was quite shocked and voraciously read them all in order to understand how one of my favorite artists turned out to be a 'monster' that i did not see the bad side of (it was my first time ever learning that kiwifamrs exists). however, as time went on, i realized that really the callouts just dont really add up to something mega-bad?? also i learned that kiwifarms is not just one thread consisting as much from ex-fans as from trolls. its one nasty website! also glip started releasing their own side of the story and it felt very honest and serious.
i continued to loosely follow both sides until one day, an event was opened in the eastar server that seemed to be welcoming new participants. at that point, i was very eager to try it honestly and also had personal pressure to 'try it out even once' while i could, but i didnt have enough bravery to do it actually-honestly, so i have joined on an alt account and tried for things to look cool and actually participate in the event. i was unused to these kinds of 'tricks' and was quickly suspected as a bad actor - which i was! feeling pressured and having all the details of the 'evil cult of floraverse' rushing through my head, i had a meltdown in the chat and hurt people badly and conceded my attempt to join the ongoing event, eventually losing the password of the alt and not able to log back in.
recently i have once again joined the community, this time with my real account and a wish to explore things earnestly. i ended up making friends with glip, and at a certain point, i felt that it would simply be shitty to continue hiding the fact that it is not my first interaction with them. i came clean, and glip obviously was quite shocked and asked me a whole lot of questions, but i answered them all honestly so glip understood and forgave me. i also ended up coming clean about a weird lie i pulled one time before that too, its a little complicated (and embarrassing) to give details on but basically in the end glip did not hold it against me. i think the perception that glip 'rips into dissenters in their vns' is not exactly the full picture. honestly i dont even know if i need to say that, i feel like the only places where its 'bad' to be into floraverse nowadays are places where having a 'problematic' kink would get you ripped into just the same, and i dont really want to do anything with those places anyway. i feel like the future is bright for the community! could we eventually see crossovers with other worlds somehow?? floraverse going around the world! imagine that…
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0) Is conflict resolution important to you? Why or why not? What does it mean to you?
while i think conflict resolution is massively important, i can struggle with it sometimes. it feels like letting a conflict exist for too long without doing anything to advance it into an understanding, even if it isn't actively bothering me, places a different kind of stress on me that becomes awful very quickly. the idea of 'bottling up emotions' sticks with me strongly there, though i don't think it's always the same concept. in general, i can be afraid of resolving conflicts, because i sometimes become non-confrontational when i'm hurt. especially with other people, though sometimes, i'll drift by a personal conflict and let it develop even if i don't want it to. it can be painful to reach out to try and solve something, especially if it is something that has not been touched in a long time. the longer i try to forget about a conflict, the worse it comes back to bite me! it's terribly stressful, and something i should learn from! but when these things do find a resolution, when i give my word or do something i wanted or should have done or let myself feel a certain way, i always tend to look back and acknowledge how important what i did was. and how relieving it was, like untying a massive knot. it keeps connections alive, or at the very least, truthful! i think this got a little nonsensical, but resolving conflicts is important to me, and something i strive to do better myself. it means being honest, having an awareness that a conflict does exist and having the courage or resolve to try and understand it.
1) How have you felt about being in this Discord community (Eastar or Owel)?
admittedly, i haven't been a part of eastar very long. a small handful of months now, two or three – but it doesn't feel that way! i've thoroughly enjoyed my time here, what little contributions i've been able to make, and the people i've been able to talk to. it feels like a safe place, where i can take my time to understand others and let others understand me. there's a lot of kindness that i'm very thankful for. i'm always looking forward to learning new things here, given the many things i already have. it's a place that makes discovery and exploration feel important, in a sense.
2) How have you felt about being in the Floraverse community online at large, if you participate? Places like Tumblr, Twitter, Bluesky, etc.
i haven't participated much in spaces outside of the discord, but i think if i did, nothing would change on the way i feel about it.
3) Have you been harassed over your connection to Floraverse? What was that like, and why were you harassed? How did that impact your emotional and mental state? Did you feel like you had support, security, stability, or safety?
there was an instance where my connection to floraverse leaded to a falling out with a handful of former friends. i don't think i could call it harassment, but it was still a very negative and painful experience for me. one former friend in specific said very hurtful things about ash to me, reached out into a community i was a part of (and they had been booted from) purely to spread rumors and drama surrounding them, as a means to get them removed from that space too. i had reached out, told them how i feel about it – that i entirely disagree with what they were doing, that it wasn't something that would just affect ash, but me and the rest of that community, too. i tried to explain the hurt i was feeling, that this is my friend and i just can't agree with the rumors they were trying to spread further. it grew heated pretty quickly, which ended with me seeing even more hurtful things said and learning some awful thoughts that just stressed me out even further. it culminated in them implying that i was choosing ash over them, even though i had known ash for a much shorter period of time. that's where i decided it wasn't worth it, removed myself not just from them, but that entire circle. i lost more than that friend then, but somehow, i wasn't nearly as upset about it as i thought i would be in the end. i don't know if there are feelings i pushed down yet, but it was almost relieving to sever that connection. i don't think about it much anymore, but it's still a very unpleasant thought for me. i didn't feel alone, i didn't feel isolated or ignored. i had some people to talk to about it, including ash and a mutual friend. and that was very nice. i don't think it's ever a fair thing for a friend to approach you, say that you have to choose between them and somebody else, no matter the circumstances. that isn't the kind of choice you should force a friend into! i think that made it easier for me – if it was that easy to treat me that way, how much of a friend were they prior to this?
some time ago, before i met ash and before i even joined the community that we had met through, i was ran out of a server under some pretty terrible accusations. i felt awful, it was the only thing i could think about for a long time. it felt like i was falling down some horribly deep hole, and whenever i tried to grab onto something, i'd just slip and slam against the wall – and, of course, keep falling. i was followed by those accusations into multiple places, removed, reminded of things that i couldn't stand. at that time, i really did think i was at fault, though. i thought i was this label that people put on me, and so i apologized. i apologized, over and over. i never once considered how unfair it was, how painful it was to be treated that way by people who i had thought were my friends. how quickly they could assume that i was a horrible person.
that's a memory that was still fresh when i joined that community, one that finally was able to look beyond the accusations and take my word at face value. it's where i met ash, and i really do value that they're somebody i was able to meet. when i think about it now, the circumstances were kind of funny. our mutual friend had intentions on inviting them to a different, smaller group at first. they asked me if i knew glip, asked me if i was okay with them joining, because apparently they had a reputation of people slinging this drama and hate towards them. my honest and upfront answer, was that i have no idea who that is, and i don't care! go for it!
5) What do you think and feel about me, "glip" or "Ash"? The person? Have we interacted? Has it been positive, or negative? Have you felt I've considered you, or overlooked you, or a mixture? What are my efforts like to you? Does it feel like I care about the community and its safety? Have you disagreed with my choices before? Have you expressed this, and have you felt I listened? Have you felt unsafe or able to voice discomfort? Do you feel you can voice discomfort currently, and that it will be listened to if you do? Why or why not?
i'll mark this question off here, just because it mixes a little with the last.
i think i've known you for four months now, and it's been a really enjoyable time. enjoyable almost feels like an understatement, even. i don't know if i've ever spoken to somebody who seemed so content on hearing what i have to say, actually listening and "saying something back," if that makes sense. when we're talking, i don't feel like there's a wall between us, or a filter, or a certain way i have to act or speak or articulate myself or anything. what i say matters, and what you say matters. i feel like i matter to you, and you matter to me a lot!
your care for your community is so apparent, so thorough, that i could probably try to walk through it and it'd eat me up like quicksand. you put so much care into everything you do, pour so much love or sadness or excitement or tiredness or anything into it, and it always shows. whenever you show me something you've worked on, written, drawn, composed, i'm always so very pleased! it's always such a positive experience. i love learning about the things you've made, having these opportunities to involve myself in them and turn a little bit of myself into a part of what you've made, too.
i've never felt uncomfortable around you. it's easier to say that because it's been a shorter amount of time, that can't be overlooked – but it's genuinely how i feel, too! the idea of coming to you first with something, whether it's positive or negative, isn't scary. i think if i told you i was uncomfortable, or displeased, or didn't understand, you would be willing to talk about it, willing to explain or elaborate on it, or not talk about it at all. it doesn't feel like anything i tell you in confidence would ever be shared. you feel like an amazing, valuable friend.
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thanks everyone who responded and thank you to anyone who took the time to read through everything everyone else said. this was a bit of a trial to type about half my responses on my phone due to my Internet being out, but so it goes! i got it done and I'm really happy to have gotten to personally address everyone.