#like god god i love furby's and i know everyone else thinks they are creepy or weird and the only reason people started to like them again

[sweetangelanon]

Oz comes off to me as either having a skunk furb

A snowball

OR CHURCH MOUSE

THE VOTING STARTS NOW

OSWALD NEEDS A FURBY STAT!!! HE NEEDS ONE RIGHT NEEOOWWW!!!!! he HE NEEDS HIS LITTLE BUUDDDYY

[cynicalrainbows]

The Next Best Thing: AU Oneshot

@upsettimyspagetthi begged to have an alternative storyline where Jocasta left Edmund and ran away with baby Kitty so that Kitty could grow up happily...

‘Thank you again for having us, Jane-’ Jocasta shifted her infant daughter from one arm to the other to allow her to juggle with the carrier bags that were just about managing to cut off all circulation in her fingers. ‘I don’t know what we would have done if-’

‘Stop it’ Jane shook her head, faux sternly. ‘Please, for the last time, stop thanking me. Seriously. If you thank me again or apologise again, you’re sleeping on the sofa.’

‘But seriously though-’

Jocasta tried to take back the bags that Jane had taken from her so that she could carry them herself. 

‘-and I will take back the nice silent pink cat I brought for Kitty’s birthday-’ Jane continued, holding the bags out of her reach and talking as if Jocasta hadn’t spoken. ‘- and I will pick out the nosiest and most annoying thing I can find. Preferably one that plays a tune.’

Jocasta gave up trying to snatch her luggage away. Jane had always been the more athletic of the two, as proven by years worth of shared netball matches and swimming lessons, not to mention countless nights out dancing in whatever seedy nightclub took the least notice of their borrowed I.D cards.

‘You wouldn’t.’

‘Try me.’ Between them, they started to lug Jocasta’s luggage along the narrow hallway and up the stairs of Jane’s block of flats. ‘I don’t even have to wait for her birthday, I could just buy it just because...and when she’s old enough, I’ll get her a furby too.’

‘Oh Jane, no please, you know how creepy they are! Why would you even want to buy your goddaughter one, you hate them!’

‘I do-’ Jane conceded, stepping neatly round a little pile of ash and cigarette butts in the middle of a step. ‘But I also know YOU hate them too so….’

‘You’re evil, did you know that?’

‘Ah, but to Kitty, I’ll just be her favourite Aunty Jane who showers her with toys…’

Jane dug a key from her pocket and let them both into the small flat. 

‘I wouldn’t put it past you….’ Jocasta’s smile faded somewhat as she looked around. ‘Although maybe I shouldn’t discourage you….it’s not like I’m in a position to buy her toys myself. Or clothes or- y’know, put a roof over her head.’

She kept her tone determinedly light but her eyes stung as the reality of her situation hit her. Homeless, if not for Jane, jobless, boyfriendless- and with a baby too. Granted, the lack of boyfriend was more of a plus than a negative- and not even accidental but the result of four months of careful planning with Jane. Still. The thought was more than a little frightening.

‘Hey-’ The teasing look slid from Jane’s face at the first hint of her friends distress and she wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. ‘You’ve done the best- the most important thing you could ever do for her, ok? You’ve kept her safe.’

‘Safe and homeless- just what every kid needs-’

‘No.’ Jane pulled back and looked at her sternly. ‘Not homeless. Look. Look around, Are you on the streets?’

Jocasta tilted her head to keep her tears at bay. ‘Jane-’

‘Answer me, are you?’

‘-No.’

‘No. You’ve brought her from a flat where both she and you were at the risk of god knows what….you’ve brought her to someone who loves you both very, very much. Where you can both be safe. Ok?’

Reluctantly, Jocasta nodded. ‘Sorry, just…. Oh god, it’s hard-’

‘I know.’ Jane pulled her back in again. ‘I know it is. I went through the same thing, don’t forget.’

‘I haven’t.’ Wearily, Jocasta wiped her eyes and shifted her sleeping daughter in her arms. ‘I know I’m being pathetic about it all-’

‘Stop it. You know that’s not what I meant. What I was trying to say is that you’re not alone in this, ok? I’m going to be with you every step of the way and you’ll be back on your feet before you know it.’ Jane nudged her gently. ‘If I can make it, you can too. You were always the clever one.’

‘Do you really think we’ll be ok?’

The question was hesitant but Jane’s answer was immediate. ‘Of course.’ 

She guided Jocasta over the small sofa. ‘Just wait, in a couple of years, this will be just one of those memories we look back on when we’ve had too much wine and are getting all sentimental and maudlin. You and Kitty will have a place of your own- that’s just yours and no one else's. You’ll be able to work again, without anyone in the background complaining that you’re not at his beck and call-’

‘I can’t imagine it’ Jocasta shook her head sadly. ‘I can’t imagine it all happily like that Jane, with everything working out, I can’t picture it-’

‘Shhhhh’ Jane reached out and took her goddaughter into her arms so that Jocasta could make herself comfortable. ‘Let me imagine it for both of us then- and then I’ll be able to say I told you so and remind you of how right I was. Just think, Kitty will be three or four by then! She’ll be so big, she’ll be talking and waking-’

‘But she’s so tiny-’

‘-she’ll be running around getting into things, just like we used to when we were kids. Asking a million questions like you used to, driving everyone mad-’

 Jocasta gave a watery chuckle.

‘She won’t remember Edmund, she won’t remember any of this. But she’ll be so loved. More loved than any little girl ever was before. More than you or I was.’

A tear slid down Jocasta’s cheek. ‘That sounds…..nice.’

‘I’ll spoil her rotten. I’ll tell her all the embarrassing stories from when we were little- I’ll tell her about all the times you came up with schemes that got me into trouble-’

‘Don’t you dare give her any ideas!’

‘-and all the games we played, I’ll sing her all the songs that we used to like.’ Jane squeezed her friend's hand. ‘And she’ll be so happy. So cared for. And she won’t make the mistakes we made because we’ll be looking out for her. She’ll have a good life, Jo. And when we’re old and watching her go off to uni or move into her own home, when she’s getting married or having her own children, or doing whatever she does with her life and we’re so proud of her, I’ll say I told you so, ok?’

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’

[skepticraven]

90′s Nostalgia: Things That Remind Me of My Childhood

I was born in ‘88 so most of this stuff reflects what was popular then. I’d love to hear your favorites too!

1) Pogs. Stupid ass collectible pogs. Also known as milk caps. There was a game we played, mostly to justify collecting a bunch of pieces of cardboard. (My favorite pog had Sarabi on it from Lion King). When I look at them now, all I can think is, “Damn, we were easily entertained in the 90′s.” These days, you can’t rip an ipad out of kids hands. Back then we were shooting slammers (a circular metal thingy a bit thicker half dollar) at pogs. 

2) The Planeteers. For those of you who haven't seen the show, each one of the Planeteers got a magic ring that controlled either water, fire, wind, earth, or heart. (Linka was wind, my favorite). Together they could summon Captain Planet. Their purpose was to save the earth from eco-disasters like smog, deforestation, oil spills, poaching, etc. Looking back, the show was terrible. It had a great message but other than that? It sucked. The acting was horrendous, even by cartoon standards and I still don’t understand Captain Planet’s point. Why doesn’t he just save the day in the first place instead of having a bunch of teenagers put themselves in mortal peril, only turn around and summon him anyways? And why does he have a mullet? He looks like a gayer version of Patrick Swayze - if Swayze’s porta-potty got tipped over while he was inside. I actually used to get up early on Saturday mornings to watch this shit. It was my 3rd favorite TV show.

3)  Sailor Moon was my second favorite showing growing up. Why? I HAVE NO IDEA. Oh my god, that is a stupid show. Even back then, I found Tuxedo Mask super cringey. (What kind of uncreative, fucking name is Tuxedo Mask anyways? ) But honestly, at the time, I think I just liked any cartoon where people had magic powers. Because who doesn’t fantasize about having secret magic powers? I clearly did. Don’t judge me. 

4) Pokemon = my favorite show. I don’t even want to know how much money my mom spent buying me zillions of Pokemon cards or running me to Burger King to get the toy Pokemon figurines (in their own Pokeball) that came in the kids’ meals at one point. (Fast food joints really knew how to market to kids back in the 90′s, didn’t they? Don’t even get me started on teeny beanies). Plus, I used to play Pokemon on Game Boy obsessively. Raichu (pictured below) was by far my favorite Pokemon. Fucking Pikachu should have evolved, damn it. 

5) Lion King was my favorite animated movie. It still is, although it’s tied with “Up” and “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.” Scar’s song “Be Prepared” is still the best villain song in any Disney movie, ever. Lion King is also the first movie to make me cry- that remember anyways. Mufasa dying was sad! You cried too and you know it. I used to play with little lion figurines (like the one below). I know everyone else hated The Lion King 2, but I liked it. Wasn’t as good as the first, but it was still good.

6) Furby was one thing I never owned, by choice. Those things terrified me as a kid. I used to make my friends put theirs in the closet and close the door when I came over. Your toys shouldn’t talk to you. Creepy demonic looking rats. “Let’s Have Fun” even sounds like a creepy catchphrase. They were pretty expensive when they first came out and people were trampling each other to get them on Black Friday. No thank you. Keep your hunk of junk. 

7) Does anyone else remember Crazy Bones? No one ever does or no one wants to admit they do. Dumbest toy ever invented- if you can even call them toys. They do nothing and serve no purpose beyond being collectible. My mom spent a small fortune on these too. If I would have been her, I’d have told me, “No. Find a less useless toy.”

8) This is a Giga Pet. Its a knockoff of the Tomagachi. I wanted a Tomagachi but my mom thought the brand name ones were demonic for some reason. So she got me a copy of the demonic toy. lol. ***rolls eyes*** Anyways, these things are quite demanding on your time. A lot of kids took their virtual pets to school which caused a few problems. I remember asking to go to the bathroom all the time to play with mine. For some reason, I was very desperate to keep it from dying. Even though it wasn’t a real pet and you could just press a button on the back and start over. Again, this was a stupid obsession. It wasn’t like a game or anything. You just pressed a few buttons to feed your pet. Then pressed a few more to clean up its virtual poop. And a few more to make it play. Playtime wasn’t an interactive game, you just pressed a button so your Giga Pet didn’t yap at you that it was bored).

9) I was an avid Barbie player. So I saw the Barbie Airplane in a commercial one year and just HAD to have it. So my dad blew a bunch of money on this overpriced hunk of plastic and I barely touched it. I realized, there isn’t much you can make your Barbie do on a 2-seat plane except sit there. 

10) I was obsessed with the Spice Girls. I even had a Scary Spice barbie which had these really cool looking tiger-striped boots. In retrospect, I have to wonder why the only black woman in the group was called, “Scary.” There was nothing scary about her. A better name would have been Tiger Spice or something that referenced her animal print clothing and fierce demeanor. Anyways it just goes to show you, how much image captures the attention of a kid. So much so that I didn’t realize that only one person in that group had any real vocal talent was Sporty Spice. It’s a damn good thing Victoria (aka Posh Spice) married David Beckham because it’s actually painful to watch her try to sing. Almost as painful as watching her try to smile. 

Major takeaway from this list? Marketing, marketing, marketing. You can sell kids anything. As long is you present it in the right way