#Most of the stuff that's 'sold out' have a few more items left that I'll add too. Plus discounting older items that don't perform as well

[exdeadshop]

Updating my shop for the new year, so it'll be down a few days. Here's a preview of whats restocking soon :) Anyone with outstanding orders, they'll go out when the post office reopens!

[ranchstoryblog]

Nendoroid Dreams

With the recent release of the Claire Nendoroid, the natural question I've seen asked on social media and in our own Discord is what could we get next? Granted, usually only really big series get multiple Nendoroids, but it's nice to dream... So, let's get dreamin'!

The Bare Minimum: Pete

Honestly, if any other Story of Seasons figures are going to happen, it'd feel wild to me if Goodsmile didn't make Pete. Claire going first makes sense, the most popular figures tend to be the girls, but, well, I'll let Pete himself say it:

So, while trying to imagine what he'd come with, we'll use Claire as a basis: Two animals, a crop, and a tool. Since Claire came with the watering can, I feel like the obvious choice for Pete is the hoe. They're the two most essential tools for a farmer, since you can't till soil without one, and you can't water crops without the other. The most iconic animals Claire didn't bring are also easily the dog and horse, which most players are likely to get even if they never set foot in their barn. All that's left after that is the crop. My first idea was probably the carrot, since it'd fit well with the horse and could easily have the same gimmick as Claire's turnip by letting you plant it in the ground, but the power berry is a tempting option too.

My Ideal: Pete + Candidate Pair

The most important aspect of the series outside the farm is the townsfolk, and the most important townsfolk are the marriage candidates, so it'd be nice to get at least one pair of them. Getting four Story of Seasons Nendoroids sounds impossible, but, let's have fun trying to imagine how they'd do it anyway.

It feels like the "safest" way to look at it is from a marketing perspective: Who, in such a large series, would most easily get fans to open their wallets? The cast of FoMT/64 are still easily the most iconic, and we already have Claire, but are the FoMT designs iconic? That seems like probably the most important question. Largely because, at least in my observations, Gray is far and away the favorite among the male candidates in Europe, US, Japan, China, and Indonesia, with Cliff trailing somewhere behind him. The girls are a much closer race, but if the pairing is with Gray, we basically only have two options here:

With Gray as the constant, the remaining question to answer ends up being between Popuri or Marie depending entirely on Gray's design. Personally, I find it a really hard choice to make. The 64 designs are more iconic, but Claire already being sold as a Friends of Mineral Town character kind of sets a precedent if they're aiming to make a set. There's always the possibility of 64 getting a remake, or perhaps celebrating its 25th anniversary though...

There's also accessories to consider, with both possible sets feeling pretty different. 64's version of Gray is a rancher, so he could do with more animal stuff while FoMT's could deal with more mine related items, and both 64 Popuri and FoMT Marie have a lot of association with plants, so maybe they could have non-crop plants like herbs and flowers. Items from their heart events would be a good idea, too... Regardless, someone needs to have the Blue Feather. If I had to rank the most iconic items in the series, it'd easily be at the very top, so it's wild to me that Claire didn't come with it in the first place.

Endless Possibilities

I kind of intentionally narrowed the scope for the sake of making the article not go on forever, but there's honestly a ton of routes they could go if we do actually get more figures though. I know tons of folks would go crazy for A Wonderful Life characters, and even just sticking with protagonists from past and future games could reasonably cover all the possibilities for animals, tools, and lots of crops.

Currently it looks like the Claire figure sold out on Goodsmile US's store, so hopefully that's a good sign that she was decently popular. Goodsmile Japan lists her as "few left in stock," so she seemed to sell decently well over there too. If you want more Story of Seasons figures enough to read this whole dang thing, be sure to let them know by using the request form too! We made a guide on it a while ago:

[marshallpupfan]

Marshall Merchandise Update!

Update #37... or whatever number I'm up to now. Either way, I've got a few new items to show off today! Some new, some old, and some I didn't expect to find!

First off, this Jumbo Gummy Easter candy, from "Galerie"! I just happened to stumble upon it while helping my mother with her grocery shopping. I was in kind of a rush, so I didn't have time to check if they made any of the other pups. I have to imagine they have some of at least Chase and/or Skye. It cost $5 (a little pricey, imo).

To tell you the truth, I don't know if I want to eat this. I might try to preserve it... if possible, anyway. It wouldn't be the first editable piece of merchandise that's sitting among my collection. Probably won't be the last, either. It's a good thing my folks never bought me a Marshall cake for my birthday, otherwise I'd probably try to save that, too. 😂

Next up... this plush! I actually found it while browsing around a Goodwill for something. Before I left, I figured I'd take a quick peek at the toy section, since they tend to have a few PAW Patrol dolls from time to time. I only seen a few of Chase at first, but then out of the corner of my eye, I seen this thing, somewhat buried under a bunch of other dolls. It was only $2, so... sold! :)

Funnily enough, it's actually quite similar to another plush doll I bought a few years back, only smaller. Now that I think about it, these aren't the only dolls I own that have a bigger and little version. I wonder why they do that sometimes? Hm...

Moving on, here's yet another plush doll I found! It's by TY, unless I'm mistaken. This one was found at a flea market, although it was a tad more expensive ($5). However, what's funny is that...

...it, too has a bigger version! And a smaller one, as well (I feel like these are the most common). It's like we've got the eldest brother, the middle child, and the younger sibling. An interesting set!

I was tempted to move the bigger plush for a better side-by-side comparison, but with so many dolls around it, I figured it was best I just keep things where they're at. Otherwise, moving it might give us something akin to a Marshall wipeout, and I don't want to pick them all up from the floor right now. lol

Last, and a rather unexpected find, I must say... a Marshall "Born Brave" ceramic coffee cup! To be honest, I had no idea this even existed until I seen it on Mercari about a week ago. Despite my best efforts, I can't find any indication of where this came from, who sells it, if it belongs in a set, if they made some of the other pups... nothing!

I believe it's official, since most knock-off or home-made products don't include stuff like this on the bottom. It says it was made in 2023, so that tells me it's not too old. Have any of you seen these in stores?

In any case, it's pretty cool coffee cup! I believe it can hold 11oz, which is pretty standard for these things. The picture, itself isn't the highest of quality, but that's no biggie. I actually wouldn't mind using it, since I still drink a lot of tea (and cappuccinos... too many cappuccinos...), but I hate the thought of it getting damaged, so it's going up on my shelf for now. Maybe if I can find another one someday, then I'll use it.

...again, IF I can find another. 😅

That's all for now! I apologize for the inconsistent quality and brightness of some of the pics. I forgot to turn the flash on for the first pic, no flash made everything pink around the gummy, and the flash made the dolls look too dark so I had to adjust the brightness in Photoshop. My TracFone camera just doesn't cut it sometimes... maybe I should invest in something better someday.

[mygainyear2024]

Day 70 a wonderful Basque pintxos experience and en route, via my third car hire, to Lekeitio

The weather was miserable and our original plans were aborted in favour of staying dry as we were checking out (leaving our bags at the Airbnb) and spending most of the day in San Sebastian ahead of picking up a hire car at 4pm. First stop, about 100 metres away, The Loaf for their cheesecake. As it was Sunday and raining the only seat left was a bench seat in the front, but we didn't care, it was dry! The cheesecake was good, but to be honest La Vina was better, it was less firm and more delicate. Next stop another 100 metres away, Sakona Coffee Roaster where there was a queue out the front. We waited and stayed put for about 90 minutes researching Morocco and other options for lunch, as the place we'd booked was an 18 minute walk and by this time the rain was sideways! We reviewed Amy's list and decided on two places and the first one to answer our call wins! We ended up opposite our Airbnb at Gure Txoko! The experience was fabulous. We had the most delicious wine, I had a red and Rose had a chardonnay, and then we had two, and shared about seven pintxos. When we left the restaurant the weather was fine, grrrr!

As the shops and major supermarkets were closed (and Eva's recommended dinner place in Lekeitio closed at 4.30pm), we headed to a few small supermarkets to sort out dinner and breakfast options.

Next challenge, Rose waits outside the apartment while I go and grab the hire car, noting there is nowhere to park once I get back to her and we now have two large suitcases, a cabin bag, two backpacks, a handbag and two bags with grocery items (she said some Spanish guys commented about the amount of luggage she had). The wait at Sixt was ridiculous, much like the wait at Sixt in Leiria! I missed a turn and then had someone right behind me when I stopped to pick up Rose. On Amy's advice I turned on the hazard lights to grab all our stuff and off we went.

We got out of San Sebastian, had difficulty navigating the tolls, despite me asking the Sixt staff member and I couldn't get the car into reverse when I went too far forward at the toll! Thankfully there was a staff member to explain, for some reason the Qantas Money card wasn't accepted, and the process of me putting in a ticket I'd collected earlier and now paying the €8 fee was correct.

The drive was picturesque, along the northern coast of Spain. Rose was a great navigator, it was me having trouble with my lefts and rights again! We got to the address, after missing a turn, but it clearly wasn't a hotel, we were in someone's backyard!! This lovely man came over and spoke no english at all. We managed to communicate where we were supposed to be and that I couldn't get the car into reverse. He jumped in and showed me the reverse function and then grabbed his motorbike and we followed him the seven minutes back to the hotel! How kind :)

We are staying in a 19th century house, converted to a hotel, with a wonderful view of San Nicholas Island, which we can walk to on low tide, I'll see what that looks like tomorrow. We are close to Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum but it looks like tickets are sold out online for tomorrow. I will ring in the morning, We also want to do wine tasting.

[celine-dreamwall]

Event for a cause | Niall Horan

Summary: Niall's been busy for his performance at The Royal Albert Hall for a cause and Y/N has work on that day what will happened to the both lovers?

"Hon! I have great news to you" Niall said. "What is it?" "I'll be performing at The Royal Albert Hall this November" "Really? When exactly? I mean is it okay to people to watch in this pandemic? Will it be like the seats will be one seat apart but that'll make the like only half of the venue? Y/N asked "No silly it'll be a virtual show" " Wow! That's nice! At last love the long wait is over the fans including me of course can't wait to see you perform and I know you too" Y/N said while she hug Niall "I know! I can't wait either I can perform like I used to do in a venue and with the band again It'll be great." Niall said while still hugging Y/N "I know! I'm not the only one whose watching those performance anymore" Niall put his hands to Y/N shoulders and look her in the eye with one eyebrow up and said "Why? You didn't even need to watch me while playing my instruments and singing in the house" Y/N smile and said "How can't I, You're amazing love and your voice soothes me" Niall's frown turn upside down and kiss Y/N "You really know how to melt me down hon!" Niall said.

"Hon! Tomorrow we will be shooting at The Royal Albert Hall for the previews we are going to post and also for the electronic ticket we will be sending would you like to come?" "Yeah! Sure I would love too." "Ok great!

Niall has been busy shooting for the preview Y/N is just in one seat admiring Niall and when one frame and other scene is done Niall goes to Y/N and she fixes Niall's hair and his collar "That's really great love you look so great and your outfit of choice" Y/N laugh "Are you mocking me Y/N? Huh?!" Niall said "No love hahaha! You look actually adorable" Y/N kisses Niall.

Niall post the preview in his Instagram and Y/N. "Thanks for supporting me Hon" Niall said and kisses Y/N forehead "Everything for you my love I hope the fans will response well but I know it will, We can't wait to see you perform" "So am I" Niall replied.

"Y/N Y/N Y/N" Niall runs to Y/N "Yes Niall what is it?" "We already sold like 90,000 tickets!" "Oh love that's really great I'm so happy for you" Y/N hug Niall "Oh by the way I' ll be at work by the time you're going to perform I hate it but apparently we started to start shooting again November 7" Y/N said and Niall face quite frown to her news "but Y/N I wanted you to be there, you're like my only audience there that I want!" "I know love! I know! I don't want to miss it too of course its like a "Super VIP service" Y/N's waiting for Niall to laugh at her last sentence but Niall is serious because he wanted her to be there so Y/N continued "Okay love I'm sorry so sorry believe it or not I wanted to be there but I can't I really wanted to do Y/N's eyes is quite teary for being torn Niall hold Y/N's face and said "Ok love it's okay don't cry I'm sorry too I just wanted you to be there but I guess if your work is resuming it'll be like before,maybe I just used to be with you wherever and whenever I go you are there because of the quarantine." " I know me too, I just hate that the fact it has to start shooting the same day you'll perform in Albert Hall" "If only I could change the date but it'll take time I mean its getting close and it'll be hard to reschedule." Niall said "No worries love you don't have too, I don't want you too, the work will be too much for you when you needed to focus on your rehearsals which will start tomorrow." Niall just look into her eyes and grateful for having an understanding partner "Aweee! I love you so much" Niall said and hug her "You will be there right? In my rehearsals? Please baby even just in rehearsal right?" Niall asked "Yes baby I'll be there, I'll be with you while I still can of course."

In rehearsal

Bands and Niall are discussing to the song list they were going to play, the notes, transition and other stuffs related to the big day, Y/N was just roaming around and Niall found Y/N "Hey baby is there something wrong?" Niall asked "Nothing really its just everytime you sing in your rehearsal I really hate it I'm gonna miss it while you're playing back there I was like its gonna be great and more better cause it'll be in a venue and I don't know like I just imagine cause I'm not going to be there." Y/N said as Niall hug her "It's gonna be okay love. Now come on I need you while you are still free." Niall plays and Y/N stay still watching and just admiring Niall his passion and his love for music and the people in need. Y/N grabs her phone and took pictures

Y/N post it online and also promote Niall's event for a cause fans we're thankful for another Niall content online and happy that she is promoting after Niall's rehearsal and small meeting he go to Y/N "Baby, Are you ready to go home? "Yes baby and I'm also hungry can we stop for a drive thru?" Y/N asked "Yes! Baby anything I'm also starving" "Ok I'll drive give me the keys" "What? Why?" Niall was confused "Cause I know you're tired and don't over work yourself you can relax now so I'll drive." "And that's why you're the best I love you" Niall kisses Y/N and gave her the keys

As they both enter the car Y/N said to Niall to pick a good music on the road while Y/N drives Niall open his phone and sees a notification from different social media usually he ignore it but sees Y/N's username so he open it "Baby, why's the music taking too long? Y/N ask and Niall speaks "Love you post a picture of me in the rehearsal?" "Uhmmm yes?" Y/N replied nervously "Isn't it allowed?" "No it's actually good and cute it emphasize the rehearsal, the instruments and yeah it's good." "Oh! Okay! Good for a moment there I thought I was in trouble" "Well if you want to I can make it you're in trouble" Niall's smirk as he hold Y/N thigh and she gasped in shock "Baby, I'm driving can you stay still until we got home" "Well drives faster going home" Y/N droves fast make stop for a drive thru and headed home.

Niall grab Y/N and went to their room "Why so eager Niall?" "i just wanted some love time, seeing you there in my rehearsals and you being so supportive to me I just can't help myself I almost can't hold myself a while back there but I saw the post and I don't know I can't wait no more" as Niall removed his clothes and Y/N he kisses her from lips to her neck to her body and Y/N response to Niall's every move after the rough sex "Hey, baby tomorrow in rehearsal can you take another picture of me a close up one so I can also put it on my social medias" "Hmmm~ A photographer for tomorrow I better get paid in this" Y/N said while she goes for Niall top "and what do you have in mind?" Niall asked as Y/N kisses Niall and his hands were all over her and make love each other again.

Second day in rehearsal

"Niall I've got to show you something" Y/N shows Niall that she also purchased a ticket for the show "Awee love you don't have too I'll get a copy we can both watch it together in your off" "No its okay this is for a cause, and also maybe I'll have a free time in shooting and maybe I'll be able to watch it even just in virtual I'll be here to support you" Y/N said "You really are the best" Niall kiss deeply Y/N very passionately Y/N stop and say "Ok lover boy hate to stop this making out but you need to go back and probably because maybe this time I'll be the one who can't control" Niall laugh hold her hand and go back to the rehearsal area Y/N grab her phone and took Niall's picture as he requested and post it again she also airdrop it when Niall took a break "Here you go baby" Y/N said "Thank you so muck love" and Niall post it right away.

"I've been busy lately in rehearsal and I'm glad for these moments to perform again, but most of all help me to support the amazing people whose work in touring has been severely affected in this pandemic. Buy your tickets now"

Niall The D-Day

4:00am

Y/N woke up early made breakfast Niall smells her cooking and he sneak behind her "Niall! Jeezz!" "Sorry love its just I need to recharge by hugging you cause I know in a few moments now you'll leave me as he frown "I know baby that's why I'm quite in a hurry slept late memorizing and woke up a little late" "Okay sorry baby you've been busy supporting me I forgot about your thing too" "It's okay I know you'll support me in your own way" Y/N and Niall ate their breakfast and Y/N prepares for her work Niall went back to sleep.

8:00am

Niall woke up and made coffee and also prepare for the show he message Y/N "Good morning love, just woke up again, preparing to work out a little and meeting up the lads for short meeting for the event later, I really hope you're here you take care see you later, I love you so much"

Y/N's still thinking for a very important event for today but unfortunately she is working and every break she has Y/N also message back to Niall

7:30PM

Niall message Y/N for the last time "Hi baby, this is it about 30 minutes we will start the show, I hope you're free and be able to stream. I love you so much hope I can hug and kiss you before I go to stage. See you home."

Niall perform and Y/N struggles on her work lack of sleep and physically tired she keeps looking in her watch but unfortunately she also missed the virtual show.

10:00PM

Niall comes home as fast as he can, Niall was tired and relieved to everything he just wanted to rest to Y/N's arms but unfortunately she is still not around he looks to his phone and read a message from Y/N "Hi my love, unfortunately I haven't watch the stream because of the loaded work but please know I'm proud of you and for this causezmxmxxmxdk" Niall call Y/N but no avail he tried to wait for her until midnight Niall was worried he called and called left a tons of message like "Hey Baby where are you now?, Come home I'm worried I'm not mad please just come home"

4:30AM

Y/N arrived and just head to the couch and sleep put her bag in the table and missed so all the items just made a noise and mess Niall heard and went out of the room and saw Y/N "Baby are you okay?! I was damn worried" Niall looked in the clock "It's almost 5am what happened?" "Love, let me sleep please I'll tell you la-" Y/N muffled and sleep Niall just stare for her in the moment carry her into their room and goes to sleep.

9:00AM

Niall woke up and relieved that Y/N is on his side he silently leave the room to made breakfast Niall has a free day today but will be promoting the second day of the show. Y/N woke up and Niall "Good you're up! Anything you like for breakfast?" "Niall I'm so sorry" "What? Why? Baby wait did you cheat on me? Niall said jokingly "WHAT?! No of course its just I miss the show I've been busy like the whole day and there's this scene so exhausting and-" Niall kisses Y/N "It's okay love I understand I'm really just worried and glad you're here, so what do you want in breakfast?" " I would like some fried rice, eggs and ham I want a heavy breakfast I'm really tired and hungry but first a medicine my head is really pounding, and can you wake me up again I still need some sleep and when I woke up I'll watch the show love" Y/N go back to sleep and Niall cook breakfast she requested. Niall was about to woke her up but thought she needed more rest so he just stay with her "My greatest supporter" then kisses her forehead.

Hope you enjoy it.

[whmguidetoffxiv]

A WHM's Guide to Inventory Management

There's a lot of stuff to collect in Final Fantasy XIV. And I mean A LOT. Even for a veteran player, keeping a decluttered inventory can be a daunting task. Let me walk you through some of the basics of your inventory and some of the tools you can use to make space for that one special item you've been tracking down for weeks.

This is your inventory. Well, your inventory and a retainer's. You've been gathering this stuff as you adventure along because hey, it has to be useful, right? right?

Well, not always. Let me break it down for you.

Here's the same pic, but I've broken your collection down into categories. (This is the default when you use the 'sort' option; you can customize this in the menu I'll show you in a bit.) First is your armor and weaponry. Now, normally this will default to your Armory Chest, but after a while that gets clogged up and prevents you from changing classes. There's an option to fix that, which I will also show in a bit.

Second is your Consumables (food/pots) You'll get a lot of these early on, but because their effectiveness is based on a stat up to a certain limit, they lose their effectiveness the higher level you are. The exception is pots like Antidotes, Echo Drops and so on; those will clear certain debuffs, and I do recommend having a few on you at all times.

Next is your consumables (gear/equipment) You'll find your Materia, Dark Matter, and things like Fish bait. Unless your Materia looks like what's in the photo, it's not worth holding onto. Some of it resells well on the marketboard, but a lot of it can just as easily be sold to a vendor. You CAN meld it to your gear if you want, but because of the insane XP buffs it's not really worth it because you'll outgrow your gear before the extra stats really matter.

Then there's your crafting items, and what's likely going to be taking up the bulk of your inventory. It's a bit tricky to delve into here, but for the most part you should only be carrying the items that you use as a crafter, or are very hard to find. (check the MB price for an item; if it's expensive, and I'm talking like 300k+ expensive, it's hard to find.)

Then there are Housing items; it's pretty easy to get an apartment, which can be decorated any number of ways. Again, most aren't worth holding onto unless you want to use it. Remember; The Market Board is your Friend!

We're going to jump over to my Retainer's inventory for the next category; Vendor currencies. You'll pick up any number of these as you reach the end of an expansion pack and unlock raids. Each raid has a currency that you can use to buy special gear, weaponry or items; I would only hold on to these if you're a glamour nut (like me) or there's a particular mount/minion/whatever that can only be bought with the currency. The exception, of course, is the current end-game currency. (That would be the armor of antiquity, as of ShB) Use them to get gear to strengthen your secondary classes so they aren't completely left in the dust.

Last is the miscellaneous stuff; gardening soil, sparklers, and the like. They have their uses (unless it's the Indigo Star) so it's up to you to figure out how to use them.

So now you know what's in your inventory; what do you do with it?

Remember that option menu I told you about? You can find it here. (Character Configuration--> Items) Here you can choose how your inventory is displayed, whether or not to send new armor/weapons to your armory chest or your inventory, and how the sorting system breaks down.

Next, let's take a look at the tooltips for your items. I'm using a weapon here because it has the most information. It's important to know if the item is Untradeable. That means you can't trade it to someone else or sell it on the marketboard; you can only discard it. This tends to be stuff like Legendary weapons or special items received in dungeons; Those will have a blue or green background, and usually aren't dyable. Only keep them if you plan on tossing them in your glamor dresser or saving them for another class. You'll note the logos in the top right; when those are yellow, you can put the item in question in your armoire or glamor dresser.

You'll also see the shop selling price. If you're going to put something on the MB, it should not be below that price. Otherwise, you can just have your retainer sell it.

Let's get to the meat of the subject; managing your inventory. If you right click on an item and click 'search for item' this menu will pop up showing where that item is in all your inventories. For example, I have Mhiachi matter in three different places. It should not be in three different places.

You can also click 'see recipes using this material' to see if something is a crafting item you need or not. If nothing pops up, it's likely a special vendor currency. I recommend using either the Lodestone or GarlandTools to look up the item outside the game to see exactly what it does.

So how do you clear out your iventory? Well... Start with how many inventories you have. You have your most basic inventory, which has 124 slots. These should be the items you use every day and need constant access to. (Pots, food, crafting items, ect...) Your Key items and crystals are kept in separate tags, so you don't need to worry about those.

Your Chocobo Saddlebag should be your 2nd; stuff you may not need RIGHT THIS SECOND, but good to have on hand. (items for relic steps, items you can normally carry only one of, ect...)

If you hired a retainer, they should be the ones holding your extra crafting items, your rare items, and your vendor currencies. You get two for free with your subscription, and you can pay an additional IRL fee to have more retainers per month.

Keep in mind that 90% of the items that pass into your inventory can easily be re-gathered or purchased on the marketboard. An item will tell you if it's special, and most of the stuff you'll find pre-ShB won't stand up to the lastest, in terms of consumables. If you're ever in doubt, check GarlandTools or the Lodestone, or just ask someone!

One more tool to know about is Desynthesizing items; this unlocks after a certain level in crafter quests, but it allows you to break down unwanted items to a base component and some crystals. I recommend turning in items like these to your Grand Company first, to build up seals. But this is a good alternative if you're maxed out on seals and just want to get stuff moving. (Or need crystals.)

Ultimately, how you sort your inventory is up to you; do you plan on becoming an Omni-crafter, or never picking up a hammer at all? Are you going to level every single class? Maybe only a few? Are you hunting rare items to sell on the marketboard and make a profit? Your inventory management is going to be based around that.

Try picking a time once a month to go through all of your inventories and ask yourself, 'does this spark joy?' 'do I need this or was I saving it for something?' If not, you can probably sell or toss it. You might find a weapon you set aside, only to come back and realize you've already out leveled it. You might need three nagxian silk for something, only to do a search and realize you already had two.

Best of luck on your quest for inventory Zen! See you around Eorzea!

[vexkader]

Solis Part 5

  An orange and yellow glow of an eastward sunset, shone over the sandy beach. A large hideaway full of lights blasted music. The synthetic sounds moved through my ears. The feeling of slightly sandy bamboo under my paws as I looked under this hideout, on the far side a full bar serving glowing drinks. 

  I looked around to see familiar yet aging faces, a few with their spouses as well. I wanted to try to talk to someone, but I felt so out-of-place here. This gut feeling that I'd rather be back at my ship. All other parties I've been to have been full of CEOs looking to talk business with me, not people catching up with their lives. 

  I moved carefully and quickly across the floor, making my way to the bar. Away from the humans and anthros dancing, talking, and laughing. Drinks, food, phones, all of them in their hands and paws. Groaning, I set myself at the bar, small blue and orange flames coming out around it. 

  "Anything you want?" The human bartender asked me, wiping the counter down from the last set of drinks served. The flames reflecting in its shine. 

  "Umm yeah, just give me a mountain jungle." I ask him quietly, looking around seeing who I could approach. My tail flicking gently behind me. 

  "Mhmm alright, don't do anything stupid now."

  "I can handle my drink." He starts to mix liquids, pouring this glowing brown and purple drink. Honestly hated how this thing looked, but the deep fruity flavors from Venus just hit everything right. Along with a hit of alcohol. Downing it, I could feel the burn in my throat. Putting the shot down I shake my face a bit. 

  As the shock of the drink wore off, I heard a voice at the other end of the bar. "Vex? That you? Where have you been all these years?" The booming voice startled me as I turn around to see a beastly sized human. Tanned skin and a dark blonde hair, he sets a beer down on the counter as he looked to me. 

  "Mhnn.. Kenneth right?" I asked, as I wasnt to sure on who this person was. To my surprise his eyes lit up, lifting his bear up in almost a celebration. "You remember! I'm kinda surprised to see you in a joint like this, how the hell did you get here?" He asks me, acting like we were longtime friends. Truthfully I only knew him from being occasional partners in group work. 

  "Well, the promise of free alcohol is usually a good way to get me out." I say with a half-joking laugh, even though that really was the reason I was out here. 

  "Cant argue with that I guess, what have you been up to man!" He takes a sip, turning the chair toward me as I prepared for an uncomfortable conversation. And as I tried to think of a convenient lie to tell him, as most of my work wasnt exactly legal.

  "I uh, do mostly free-lance retrieval. Ship goes down in the jungle, or some other place say on Earth or Mars I retrieve the data and whatever valuables I can find for the client."

  He nodded his head, at least pretending to be interested in what I was saying. "Mhmm okay, can seen a bit dangerous. You go into those jungles often?" 

  "I can yeah, was just in there the other day. Ran into slashers." His eye widened as he drank, looking like he was going to spit. "Salshers?! The hell kinda items are you retrieving?" 

  "Special ones, good pay though." 

  "I bet, I'm finishing up a degree in engineering. Not a masters or anything, but its gonna get me a good job on a few cargo ships. Already a job lined up for when I'm out on an Earth bound freighter."

  I nod, listening to his plans for life. Even if I was going to find someone to help me, it wasnt gonna be him. 

  "Nice seein ya Vex!" He gives me a pat on the shoulder, taking another drink. "You take care out in those jungles!"

  "I'll try my best."

  As he left to mingle with others, I kept an eye out. Others coming to say hello to me, and wanting to see what I've been up to. No one heard from me after graduation, one even thought I died. Which I can thankfully say I havent. However, one did catch my eye. 

  A brown and cinnamon furred coyote, almond-shaped icy eyes. Short not quite petite build. She strutted over in some casual clothing, over to the bar asking for a normal drink. Her name.. what was her name? 

  "Just have a cola please." She asked in a softer voice to the bartender, as he poured her a fuzzy drink. "Dont have a ride home?" He asks her as she shakes her head, sipping the drink. 

  She looked to me, a bit of shock in her eyes. "Vex?" She asks, setting down the drink. "That you? I never expected-"

  "Yes, it's me surprisingly." I interrupted, I was honestly getting tired of the question. "I didn't expect to be here either, yet I am!" 

  She smiles a bit, taking another drink. "It's good to see you though, highschool wasnt easy on you so it's good to see you here and looking decent."

  I felt awkward from the compliment, I was far from decent really. This old clothing I had was well below what most people were wearing, stained and muddied up from exploring planets. "Thanks I guess." I look away shyly, I wasnt here for this small talk. I hated this small talk shite! 

  "Oh jeez, you don't remember who I am do you?" She cocks her head, a sly smile almost laughing as she lifts her drink. "Friday remember? Friday Tisek?" 

  The name rushed back as I raised a finger, waving it a bit. "That's right, shite what did your parents do?"

  "Own a ship building company, BlueStar?" It all started coming back. While everyone was rich in my school, it was private after all, she was the rich of the rich. I mean hell, her parents sold ships and tech to the government and military sometimes. They had money, and of course that came with the thought of her being above everyone else. Come to think of it.. this may be what I need.

  "Right right, been on a few I believe, umm." I snap my fingers, thinking of the class of ship I was on. "Nova liners? They're a subsection right?" I ask her, my face puzzled. 

  She shakes her head, paws facing me as I had her interest. "Not really, they're more in good faith with mine. We occasionally share details, but that's about it really." 

  I nod, pretending I understood the business jargon of it all. "Ah, because I was on a cruise liner once for a trip around Mars. Very formal business you see." 

  Scoffing, she takes a moment to chew on some ice, swirling the rest around in her glass. The little spheres dancing about in the fizzy soda. "What kind of business do you run to take a line around Mars?" I told her it was mostly retrieval, leaving out my activities beyond the asteroid belt. 

  "Interesting, maybe you'd be up for some work for my father?" My ears perked, a job opportunity with some powerful friends with even more powerful friends? I'm all paws in. 

  "What kind of work is it?" I ask, leaning forward. 

  "You said retrieval right?"

  "I did." 

  "My father is holding a party for business associates and the like, seeing how you're a fan of them why don't you swing by. This weekend, I can forward you the details."

  I groan, not another party. I'd prefer she just give me his details, and not dance around the point. 

  "Any more information you can give me?" I tried to pry from her, hoping shed give. 

  "Hmm," She looked around the room, making sure no one was listening in. "Since you said retrieval, my father has bugged about something. Under Iceland."

  "Iceland?" My ears perk, whatever what could be so important in Earth's frozen north. Especially some island no one has lived on in centuries. 

  "Yes Iceland, I can't talk about it too much in the open." She tells me, looking around the patio to all the faces. 

  "Care to come back to my ship after this? I'd like to know a bit more before committing." 

  Groaning, she reluctantly agrees to come with me back to my ship. Honestly I wasnt a fan either, but a job is a job no matter who it's from. 

  We ordered a few more drinks, her another soda me some more alcohol. She tried small talk again, but honestly once business was over I had a hard time feeling it. 

  "No idea how you're able to handle drinks like that." She starts. "Last time I had alcohol I nearly threw it up."

  "Well, I mean I guess I'm just used to it. Always mixed the stuff myself."

  "Might've been the problem, I just had straight whatever it was. Burned the whole way, tasted terrible." She waves a paw, drinking from the soda. 

  I gave a slight chuckle, sipping on my drink. "Drinking straight was your first problem, gotta ease into it. Youd probably like something that has more taste to it than alcohol. Let's try something more customizable, and good for this beach."

  I order her a margarita, an old drink from Earth. Making sure the bar tender only put in a hint of alcohol. Trying it her eyes lit up, maybe not from taste however. "Well it's not terrible, kinda salty though." She licks her lips, her canine tongue trying to get the salty taste out of her mouth.

  "That's cause they salt the rim, after this one you want another without the salt?" She stops to think about my question, swirling the drink in her paws. Occasionally tapping a claw. "Sure why not, can't go that bad could it?" Taking another sip, she agreed to it. Leading to a long night ahead of us. 

  Unsurprisingly a lightweight, me and Friday probably drank for another hour. Or two. Getting a bit heavier and heavier, making the rest of the night an uneasy blur. 

  The things I do remember, I remember walking or more practically stumbling along the beach. As the sun set over the mountains beyond, the only light coming from the city and the party itself. Mine and Friday's paws sinking into the damp sand as we walked along. 

  Occasionally she touched a paw against mine, laughing at the smallest of things. One thing I'll give alcohol is I feel dumb enough to talk openly to people. A real confidence booster that one, although it very well leads to trouble for me. 

  As we stumbled back to the ship, I let her in. Making sure BB kept his AI mouth shut. From here things got really blurry, and I certainly don't remember talking about a job opportunity with her father. 

  

  

[rhandumthoughts]

Since I wrote that first post... I'll try to be chronological, so here it goes

I did find a job in June like two weeks before my birthday at Walmart in Boardman, even though I applied to the Liberty one that was much closer. But I guess the part of the application where I put my aunt (the CSS) down as my parent because I didn’t see an option for her to be my family and she’s way more like a mother than she is a sister, spouse or anything else. She’s very important to me so she has to be mentioned as a relative. But later I found out that I could have chosen the blank space.. oops my bad. At Walmart I was an apparel sales associate which meant I put back clothes that came from the fitting room and customer service; and at times I worked at the fitting room answering the phone and redirecting calls and making sure people know by over the walkie and over head, that they needed to answer these questions for the customers. Sure it wasn’t always that good but to me it was a good first job and it was a nice start to my own independence of freedom. Then the next month in July I got another job at JoAnn’s craft and fabric and I worked there for a few hours a week. JoAnns had a calm atmosphere and I learned how to cut fabric and to use the cash register but the fabric cutting was more fun. Then life was cool, I had a nice birthday party I had friends there and I had money to throw my simple party together and I had cheesecake and a cookie cake and I had my friends J*****, K*****, S*****, and my cousin J**** and her friend. Ooh and I forgot about T***** and I’m not sure if S******* was there or not, but she was at least there in spirit. And it was all cool, my dress was cute and my hair was curly, it was a nice girly dream. Then the next day all hell broke loose in a way. I was on kik talking to my friends while I was on my break then I was confronted by this old “friend” associate named W****** because the little girl (she’s two years younger than me) told W****** some wrong information. She told her that I said she changed and she kept insisting that she didn’t change. But at the same time I was insisting that I never said she changed I just saw her for who she was and didn’t like who I saw. But she just kept going like “I didn’t change, who are you to say that… blah blah blah”. But now looking back at it, she probably did change and there’s nothing wrong with that because she should change, we all should, we survived highschool/early college and moved on to college college. But in some confrontational situations I choose not to rise above or to stoop down because I don’t see the purpose in it, and I like to talk and have fun so I decided to keep texting her back simply words to her angry sentences and phrases because I wanted the last word and to enjoy it. I also kept my group of friends on kik I formed on what was going on because it was funny. This W****** girl then went to our mutual friend S***** who was basically the only reason I still knew W******, but she was telling her “get your friend, she whillin out blah blah blah…” talking trash and I’m just like okay I know that’s not true and have shown the proof that says so I need not to worry. But once that was all over when we ended up moving in together, because me and S***** went and signed our leases way back during spring break then W****** signed hers after and was trying to get out of it soon after. On move in day W****** was being weird, she was all friendly like she wasn’t so nasty to me the days after my birthday. But I played along but never tried to fully trust her again and I guess it’s good to behave when our parents and grandparents are around to help us move in. But there was never a confrontation like that again and that’s alright with me because I didn’t have the time to be more stressed out than I was being that I was a college student who pays my own rent and phone bill with minimal help. So we lived on life and slowly stopped seeing her and slowly stopped talking to her and she eventually moved out and I didn’t even notice… But I did notice all those boys she was messing around with but that’s none of my business 🍋🍵. So life was all cool and I was living free and feeling independent and I had my friends S*****, J*****, K*****, and even J****** and sometimes L*****. We were living life, and dealing with our struggles together overally. (Overally is my new created word of mine and it is an adverb used to describe the verb form of live.) I didn’t get a job again until the very end of October, because I was looking and applying but I didn’t try the hardest I could and plus I liked my freedom. But I knew I needed a job because my money was starting to dwindle down so I had to make that smart choice so I could struggle less in my future. I got hired at Kohls it was pretty cool and all. I sometimes like to go into things blindly to an extent. Before the interview I went to the store because I couldn’t ever remember going to a Kohls before so I needed to get an idea of what they sold. I also went on glassdoor and looked at some interview questions so I could have an idea of what I’d say. I got hired after just a few questions and I was happy. While working there I had good times, met some really nice coworkers, learned some cool things and the managers were cool too, mostly. I liked using the technology there, we had Bluebirds and RFs. Bluebirds were my favorite and I liked all the things it allowed me to do. I was able to stock and backstock items; almost all the items had pictures; I could get a general idea of where the items were located on the floor or in the stock room and I could easily see what other stores had. It was a really cool experience to use the technology. I was hired as a home and kids associate and for a while I spent most of my time in the kids department just folding clothes and picking up clothes and putting the fitting room and doing reshop that made its way to customer service. I liked working in that department and plus it was fun to see the kids and help the parents out with my knowledge of the clothes and even just seeing if we had anything else in a different size or color. I first started off in girls and spent a lot of time there, especially with that being the most popular department and having the most clothes left in the fitting room. I soon ventured off to spend time cleaning the boys and infants department and eventually there became lots of times when I was the only one in the kids department and since I typically closed, I kind of had to make my rounds. When I had the days when I worked in the home department for the majority of my work shift I would straighten things, and put out the reshop, but mostly I would fold the towels and make sure the rugs were neat. Sometimes it would take my whole shift to fold those towels. I also liked the slow days were there weren't much customers and no manager assigned projects because I could go into the stockroom and pull stuff to pit out on the floor. I think the backroom duties were my favorite part of working in the home department.