Staff Litter 2024 Discussion Thread

[Magpi3.14]

please tell me this is desmonds

[Lex.]

HELP THE PLANE DOG IM CRYING

definitely desmonds i believe! someone else here on the thread made some great speculations as to why, but this design really sells it for me xD

[bark]

please tell me this is desmonds

IS THAT A NIGHTHAWK JET??? PLS CONFIRM??? I LOVE IT SO MUCH
i started going crazy in a CS discord, i love planes 😭❤️

[Pallastronomy]

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Desmond’s staff pup!
I definitely wasn’t expecting it to go in this direction but this is super neat!

[Azure Dreams]

Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!

Well...
Can't say I was expecting it turn into that-

[TenMillionFireflies]

Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!

Well...
Can't say I was expecting it turn into that-

If they make another sequel to Airplane! this guy would be the poster

[catmother456]

please tell me this is desmonds

IS THAT A NIGHTHAWK JET??? PLS CONFIRM??? I LOVE IT SO MUCH
i started going crazy in a CS discord, i love planes 😭❤️

I believe it is this - The Su-25 Frogfoot, known as the Grach or "Rook" by Russian pilots

[Mysticality]

Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!

Well...
Can't say I was expecting it turn into that-

Oh!
…. I have no words

[HyunHee]

I can tell the staff have fun making these <3 Every pup outcome went beyond my expectations. The airplane pup and the transformer pup took me out LOL It's hard to pick favorite pup lol I like the funny/cat looking dog

[Desmond]

Previous Stories

Dreams… are where everything begins. Caer had long ago realized this, after finding time and time again that the influence of dreams and hope left marks - or in some cases, scars - upon the mortal realm.

But some mortals were crafty. Smart. They were proficient at chasing away their own fears, hunting their dreams with a frightening efficiency and improving upon the bones their minds created. They stretched for more land, and like the herds, mastered it. They clawed at the sea, and reigned it in. They reached for the sky - and it became theirs, too. The powers of their dreams made real were startling - while they inspired their allies and friends, they brought fear in other parts of the world.

Their newest creation was fast, stealthy, and agile. It nearly clipped The Dreamer, blurring a dream meant for a lost soul still a long way away.

Had they been failed by The Dreamer and The Carriers? Clearly, they were using dreams not for the betterment of all – only some - and whittling away at the hope for those they opposed. It hurt, in a way that Caer could not hope to explain to The Creator. The Dreamer… was scared. What if the dreams The Carriers brought had a similar effect?

But, as ever, there was no need to speak, to put these fears into words.


The Creator, after all, knew the creations.

MORTALS DO AS MORTALS WILL, MY DREAMER. YOU ARE A VITAL PART OF THE BALANCE, BUT NOT A PART OF THE CYCLE OF DESTRUCTION.

MORTALS ARE CAPABLE OF DEEP PASSIONS - OF UNENDING LOVE, OF HORRIBLE STRIFE, AND EVERYTHING BETWEEN. THE PURSUIT OF FLIGHT AND SPEED, DANCING IN THE SKY LIKE THE BIRDS, AND OF UNENCUMBERED TRAVEL… IT IS A POWERFUL JOY FOR MANY, EVEN AS IT INSTILLS FEAR INTO THOSE WHO MIGHT SEE IT USED FOR DESTRUCTION.

And the mortals… they simply called it the RS-11 Rook.

---

[Disclaimer: I'm not totally happy with this year's story, but it's the essence of what I intended, I guess]

please tell me this is desmonds

IS THAT A NIGHTHAWK JET??? PLS CONFIRM??? I LOVE IT SO MUCH
i started going crazy in a CS discord, i love planes 😭❤️

Lol not quite. Main inspiration for that nose is SR-71 Blackbird, but we have an air intake of an F-16, the wings and elevators of an FA-18, the vertical stabilizers of an F-22, and markings inspired by paint scenes on P-51 Mustangs and P-40 Warhawks. And over its "shoulder"? That's based on a P-51, and they're doing a Heritage Flight formation.

Heritage Flights are an airshow thing - an older aircraft takes the lead of the formation, followed by more modern aircraft, like an F-22 or A-10 Warthog in these big, beautiful sweeping arcs over the crowd, as an acknowledgement of the past and the progress technology has made.

My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps in WWII, and my dad was very much into military aviation his whole life because of it. And, now, so am I. This outcome is a nod to that connection.

I requested my outcome to grow today because I was going to go to an airshow this weekend and wanted to celebrate... But the hurricane has reached us, so I don't know if that will happen. It's okay, I go to another airshow later this year.

My hints were fairly straightforward, but you had to be at the right angle to get them.
The stamps and plushie dressup are a long the same vein. Each item is a nod to a plane model.
The raven - SR-71 Blackbird.
The cat - F-14 Tomcat
The horse - P-51 Mustang
The ghost - F-4 Phantom
The snake and the peregrine falcon chosen as a pet - F-16 Fighting Falcon, also nicknamed the Viper.
The storm - F-35 Lightning
The dream bottle - AN-225 Mriya (Ukranian, "Dream").

Goosey... Well. I wanted you to talk to him. Why?
Talk to me, Goose.

And of course, the rook is a reference to the name, which is in itself a nod to the Blackbird (a Rook is also the name of a corvid lol)

I was very nervous about this one. I get that it's a wild turn for me, and it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but... It means a lot to me, and I guess that's what I wanted to share. I hope that, if nothing else, the spirit of the meaning of carrying on a love for something that spans multiple generations is appreciated.

And... Yes. I do have a plane plushie on my bed lol. It's a P-51 Mustang and I adore the derpy thing.