Chicken Smoothie

Chicken Smoothie is a hybrid virtual pet collectathon site and forum created by Tess and Nick in 2008.Chicken Smoothie FAQ (Accessed 8/5/2023) While its primary function is the adoption of clickables that grow up with time and the trading of these digital pets, it is also home to many fandoms and hobby groups, particularly among younger fans who may not be allowed to use other websites, particularly on its oekaki boards and roleplay forums. 
Players of any age can register, but due to COPPA, they must be over 13 to use the forums, with the exception of the oekaki and dress-up boards which they may post to, albeit with moderators screening their posts. It is worth noting that this does not apply to players under 13 that live outside of the US or have recieved a parental permission slip to speak on the forums.
== Gameplay ==
Chicken Smoothie is intended to be a casual game, as unlike many other sites in the virtual pet genre, there is no caring for the pets. Instead, every month new pets are released for players to collect and trade. On holidays there are various special events, and in the summer a long site event with a theme runs that often includes rare pets and minigames.
One notable event is December 18th, where rare old pets are rereleased for a day.
There is an in-game shop where players can purchase the premium currency Chicken Dollars (or C$), which can be used to buy store-exclusive pets and items. Chicken Dollars can also be used to pay and trade with other users for things such as pets, items, and services such as art, characters or coding.
In addition to trading and collecting, pets can be dressed up with items and displayed.
== Community ==
The main community for the site is the forums, which contains various categories for discussion. The most notable ones for fannish discussion include Entertainment Discussion, Clubs and armies, Other Websites, the Creativity forums, the Oekaki boards, and the roleplay forums.
=== Forum Games ===
One of the most popular forums on the site is Forum Games, which as the name suggests, has players running and participating in various forum-based minigames. Frequently seen forum games include "ban the user above you", "signature first impressions", "steal a pet from the person above you", and many more.
Some of these forum games are based in fandom, whether in general ("character name game", "have you watched this anime"...) or based on specific fandoms ("which Pokemon is the user above you", "apprentice to warrior"...)
=== Oekaki ===
On the oekaki boards, users can draw using the site's built-in ChickenPaint program and share the drawings they have created. It is a popular gathering spot for Furry fandom, as well as the closed species community as there are dedicated subforums for adoptables.
The most popular oekaki drawings of all time can be viewed here.
== Fandom ==
Fandoms are incredibly popular on the site, perhaps even more than the pet game itself. Some common fandoms on the site include:
* Animal Crossing
* Anime
* Furry
* Genshin Impact
* Homestuck
* Marvel
* MCYT
* My Little Pony
* Pokemon
* Warrior Cats
* Wings of Fire
As you can tell, the site tends to attract fandoms that are popular with younger fans, particularly those who may not be allowed to post on other fannish spaces. Due to the site's strict moderation, it creates a much needed space for Minors in Fandom, especially those in the 13-15 age range. This isn't to say that adults do not play the site or that no adults take part in fannish activity on the site, however.
Much of this fan discussion occurs on the Entertainment Discussion and Clubs and armies boards.
In addition, the site's userbase overlaps heavily with that of Animal Jam, Neopets, Pixel Petz, Dragon Cave and Flight Rising. Additionally, much of the older playerbase comes from the Petz community, as Chicken Smoothie began as a Petz site.
==Fan Works==
Fanart for the site is officially archived on the Chicken Smoothie Fans sub-site. Many of these drawings were created in the site's oekaki board.
File:Shima.jpeg|Fanart of the popular Shima Longtail pet, by Kysha
File:Cleo archie.jpeg|Fanart shipping Cleocatra and Archie, the mascots of the site's 2014 Egypt Event, by ❅ i c y s h a d e ❅
== References ==