"HERE KITTY KITTY." That is how September's welcome season opened, and it only got better from there. In five days TNF greeted three new pilots, each with a different story, each given the full treatment. Here is the roll call.
1. Meowlicious, the returning FC
Welcomed: September 2, by Harrat Story: Back after a break. "A seasoned PvP pilot, a former hired FC for Shadow," someone who "knows how to lead fleets, handle chaos, and, most importantly, herd a collection of heavily armed idiots through space."
Harrat also called him "a genuinely great guy, so naturally we expect this corporation to ruin that in short order," and closed with a blessing every new member should frame:
May your fleets be victorious, your comms only moderately unhinged, and your first TNFED lossmail reasonably affordable.
The sign-off: "Welcome. To. Chaos. Welcome. To. Community. Welcome. To. TNFED." ziggy Okaski followed straight away: "glad to have you my dude."
2. Silvermen Orti, the recommended friend
Welcomed: September 2, by Motty 007 Story: Joined on the recommendation of xXchochiXx and Janwaar, which is how a lot of TNF members arrive: someone already in the family vouches for a friend.
"I am sure he will be a great addition to the team," Motty wrote, and asked everyone to help with the move into TNF and Sigma Grindset.
Bonus moment: a few days later Harrat posted that Silvermen Orti "now has Discord access, so he can finally see his welcome messages!" Nobody joins TNF without being greeted, even if they read it late.
3. Ardagan Fatal, the logi pilot
Welcomed: September 6, by Harrat Story: "We have a new fella that WANTS to fly logi. Let's teach him the ways of murder."
Logi1 volunteers are a rare and precious thing, and the channel reacted accordingly. Xander Ryn, once a newer pilot taken in by TNF himself (his story is here), was first in: "Welcome aboard!"
Then came the best thread of the month.
The warning. Killjoy Ender wrote a loving caution: "Logi is how it always starts." First you sneak a drone onto a kill. Then you fit a target painter. One day you show up to fleet with no logi ship in the hangar at all.
The reply. Ardagan Fatal, who has been flying logi for a lot of years, took the other side. For him the satisfaction is keeping his people alive and getting them home safe. Every kill his repairs make possible makes him happy, because he knows he was part of it, name on the killmail or not.
Both views are welcome here. We will check back in a year and see which one won.
The welcoming committee
Three welcomes, and the whole corp turned out for them.
- xXchochiXx to Meowlicious: "Yes man welcome back, only asked like 15 times if your coming back."
- Tamanade to all three: "welcome to the mad house!"
- Xander Ryn to Meowlicious as well as Ardagan: "Welcome aboard!"
- Cirrus Constitution answered "HERE KITTY KITTY" with a "Meowwwww," then welcomed the "silver man" the next day.
- Janwaar: "Welcome back pal."
- Judas Aralius to Ardagan Fatal: "welcome to the nut house."
- PalmarSiamang53 read Harrat's line about herding heavily armed idiots and asked, honestly, whether that was really how it was supposed to work.
- Aralo Meza, Trajon Thrax, Melkafet, SadisticSloth and Pict1on kept the welcome GIFs flowing.
The scorecard
| Arrival | Date | Greeted by | Arrived as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meowlicious | Sept 2 | Harrat | Returning former FC |
| Silvermen Orti | Sept 2 | Motty 007 | Friend of xXchochiXx and Janwaar |
| Ardagan Fatal | Sept 6 | Harrat | A volunteer logi pilot |
Three arrivals, three public welcomes, three names the corp now knows. Want to be on next month's list? TNF welcomes returning and veteran pilots, plus committed newer players who want to learn. Logi pilots, Harrat is already typing your welcome.
