Hello and welcome to 2023 Dawn Guard! Things are a little different but also very much the same. We have coffee pong, Minecraft nonsense, gameshows....and a whole lot more!

First up for us, speaking of Minecraft, is a giveaway! Specifically, a giveaway for the wonderful now-tradition of having a server for you, yes YOU! To get a chance at playing and building an amazing world just for us to look at and enjoy. We will be checking in periodically through the week with one big server flythrough later on. If you want access to this wonderful prize, then all you got to do it make sure you have a donor account set up and connected, and then donate $5.01 (or increments thereof) by 7am PST to get a chance!

And if you don't win this one, fear not! You'll get another chance later today!

It's our first Zeta of the run, and EVERYTHING IS FINE

Unfortunately, our fearless leader was out of commission for the evening, but we did our best to improve his health remotely.

What's a party without karaoke?  

Keep Talking and Nobody Brick-splodes begins again, and we still haven't figured out what we're building.

First Paul song of the year! Mystery by Hugh Laurie, from A Bit of Fry and Laurie!

Have you ever considered shooting animals from cannons? No? Well... Bully for you. Also, can you spare some start-up funds so we can?

A bit of This or That... And over-thinking. More than a bit of overthinking, actually.

And we rounded out the shift with some cool art of cool fish, straight from our wonderful audience.

Thank you so much for sticking with us through the overnight! The bus will keep going, so stay tuned for more giveaways, goofiness, and sleep deprivation!!

We got so many super cool and radical pictures of super cool fish, but after some tears, some cannons, and tough conversations, we finally picked a winner!

First, our runners up:

Our first runner up:

AND OUR WINNER!!!

Thank you all so much for your entries! And for our winner, our shipping team will be in touch to arrange your t-shirt and DBLoon!

This pack features the giant 42" plush Lizard Doggo (which we can confirm is very soft and squishable), as well as a ceramic FICSIT mug, a set of FICSIT keychains, a set of Satisfactory stickers, and plush versions of the yellow, purple, green, and blue Power Slugs, a Pale Berry, and a Waste Barrel.

The set also includes two cotton jacquard knit sweaters. Both feature the FICSIT logo on the back and a FICSIT pioneer on the front. One of the sweaters is in size S/M and the other is in L/XL.

Donate from now until 5:30am PST $7.77 or multiple positive integers thereof for a chance to win! Winners also receive a 2023 DBLoon!!

Nix of Nothing is the weekly webcomic from M. Lee Lunsford, whom you may also recognize as the creator of the annual Desert Bus poster!! Demigod Nix was supposed to enjoy a life of freedom from divine expectations, but all that changed when an unknown divine force targeted them. Now they must journey to see if they can find peace once again.

Thank you Nix of Nothing and M. Lee Lunsford for your support of Desert Bus for Hope!

This crossbody bag inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is crocheted from 100% cotton yarn, and lined with 100% cotton poplin fabric for extra stability and a little foresty flair. It features an adjustable cotton strap, magnetic clasp closure, and snap buttons for if you want to remove the korok (and stick him to a rocket, you monster).

Dimensions: Approx. 9in x 9in (23cm x 23cm), strap length fully extended is 50in (125cm).

Care instructions: Spot clean only with mild detergent and water. Air dry flat.

Donate from now until 3:30am PST $9.12 or multiple positive integers thereof for a chance to win! Winners also receive a 2023 DBLoon!!

For our first Zeta giveaway of the run, we have a full set of Wilds of Eldraine, donated to us by our friends from Wizards of the Coast!

We return to the plane of Eldraine as we venture into the darker wilds filled with swarms of rats, horrifying candy, tricky fairies, and noble knights. This lot is a full set containing all 266 cards in foil. Please note, this set does not inclue any fun variants.

Donate from now until 2:00am PST $6.62 or multiple positive integers thereof for a chance to win! Winners also receive a 2023 DBLoon!!

We're the cool shift this year. We decided we are, and what's cooler than that? A cool picture of a cool fish, of course! And that's our art challenge on this, your first Zeta of the run! We're asking you, our wonderful chat, to send us your absolute coolest picture of a cool fish.

It can be in any medium you'd like, but we ask that you email your creation to contest@desertbus.org in jpg, png, or gif format. Also, please include what your handle in your email so we can shout you out when you win!

Even though technology is cool, please no AI generated images. We may email back and request work in progress images to make sure that we aren't awarding AI a t-shirt.

For our lovely art challenge winner, a unisex Desert Bus 2023 shirt in the size of your choice, and a DBLoon!!

The first night has come, and it has been studiously watched. Already time means nothing to us as we carom from bit to bit with no sense of internal OR external logic. That's just how we roll from 6pm to midnight.

Of course, we can't start the evening without the evening news.

But hey, who's that? There's a new face on Nightwatch! We welcomed our new entertainer Rachel Weeks (who will be here for three shifts - alas, we cannot keep her for the full run). And of course, as with all newcomers, we took her to store.

Continuing our trend of important educational topics, we then turned to Ian Horner for a lesson in how to JoJo pose.

It was more dignified than the other pose Ian treated us to that night.

Also, there were a lot of sports tonight! Like, seriously, a lot of sports. We talked about baseball, we talked about hockey, we talked about Olympic breakdancing which is for-real a thing... and we came to a devastating revelation about the ratio of dogs to women being featured in sports movies. Now, that's a thought that's gonna fester.

All in all, it was a good shift, and Nightwatch is back in action. Drama, comedy, friendship. A dash of education. And just a lot of burger-related action.

This has been Nightwatch, tagging out for newly returned to in-person Zeta shift! Enjoy the cushions, Zeta. We smooshed 'em extra good for you.

Turns out there are a lot of talented artists on the internet, especially when you challenge those artists to draw your personified Desert Bus shifts as furries. We had a hard time picking from some excellent options, but we promised to clothe at least one person, and so we have a winner!

Thanks all who participated, and congratulations to Nick Korn for winning the first art contest of Desert Bus 2023!

Winner: Nick Korn

Honorary Mentions