#when i sell more plushies and have money to invest

[imavikingo]

[mywifealhaitham]

Hello, may I request headcanons of Ruggie, Malleus and Silver with a toy maker s/o?

-- ruggie bucchi, silver and malleus draconia with a toy maker!s/o

⚠: none just fluff :3

A/N: I was gonna make a drabble for malleus but had absolutely NO IDEA what to to with him.

ruggie bucchi - ☆

- TBH he when he saw you made toys his mind immediately drifted to like 30 different ways to sell them - When you gifted him a toy you made for him especially he was embarrassed at first because he was a grown up and toys are silly blah blah blah - however he literally made the toy it's own separate shelf and takes care of it when he sees its dusty - however he will not go a day were he isn't trying to sell the toys to literally anyone and it works. - he gives you half the money of course even when you say he can keep it all. idia and othro are your top customers!

you once gave RUGGIE a small toy to take with him over the winter break. He thought it was a bit stupid at first but kept it safe nonetheless, after all it was you who gave it to him. But he couldn't keep it safe forever, a kid from his neighborhood saw it and was in complete awe and proceeded to snatch it and show everyone else. Ruggie was panicked when he saw it missing but once he saw how happy all the little kids looked while playing with it he calmed down. When it came time for winter break to end he had to take the toy back much to the kids dismay however he promised when he comes back he'll get toys for everyone. You were excited at his return and even more excited when you heard the kids in his neighborhood loved the toy. He brought up the idea of making toys for everyone in his neighborhood and you agreed happily, he even offered to help! When it finally came time to start making the toys the atmosphere was so relaxing, just you, Ruggie and a hobby you both can enjoy in eachothers company!

silver - ☆

- when you gave him a toy he's like wow! I'm going to treasure this forever! instantly falls asleep - assuming you make softer toys too like plushies he will ask for a pillow or maybe even a small stuffed animal if you have time - he loves every toy you give him but he thinks it be more convenient if you made him softer toys (also he can sleep with them when your not around) - Lilia saw the toy and gasped so loud and immediately questioned Silver !! - when Silver tells Lilia that you made it for him he immediately dragged him over to your dorm and started praising you for the toys. - then he shows Malleus and Sebek and they're kinda just nodding along and Lilias dad habits slip out now and whoops you have to make like half the diasomina dorm toys! - As compensation Lilia will get the materials and Silver will help you (he falls asleep 30 seconds in but it's ok his job is just to sit there and look pretty)

Lilia was going to check on his beloved son SILVER to wake him up for dinner. When he walked in he saw Silver peacefully asleep with a small toy in his hand. Lilia carefully shook Silver awake and asked him about the toy. Silver bashfully explained how you make toys and you gifted him this. He handed Lilia the toy to examine and his eyes lit up! Since he's old and wise he noticed every small detail in the toy and was in complete awe of your handy work! He grabbed Silvers hand and immediately took him to your dorm, Lilia needed to praise your work immediately! You and Silver stood silent while Lilia compliments your handy work! after they leave Lilia tells everyone at the dinner table about the toy too! By the end of dinner Silver was embarrassed about his dad's rambles, Malleus was so invested in the toy and wanted one for himself and Sebek also wanted one that looks like Malleus.

malleus draconia - ☆

- the minute you gave him a toy he almost cried tears of joy and immediately hugged you - he was isolated and expected to study his magic for a good majority of his childhood and even when he had free time he didn't have any toys to play with so now that he finally has a toy, he'll treasure it forever - Like Lilia he also boasts about how detailed and high quality the toy is to anyone who'll listen! - He treasures anything gifted to him very dearly, the same applies to this toy! - if it's small enough he keeps it in his pocket for safekeeping and whenever he feels lonely he'll rub his thumb against it to remind him that you're here for him - if it's more large he keeps on a well made and beautiful shelf in his dorm room. Everyday he dusts the shelf and overtime he adds more things you gave him. - he probably like.. sneaks in ur dorm and surprises you when your working at night... what a silly guy!

[thetoxicgamer]

VALORANT fans could be a vital source of warmth during the seemingly imminent esports winter

The try-hards you encounter in Unrated or Swiftplay are usually the first thing that springs to mind when you think of "sweaty" VALORANT gamers. But at Champions 2023, you got to see a considerably more upbeat perspective on "sweaty" VALORANT fans in the hours before the start of the match days. As part of Riot Games’ VCT Champions add-ons, a Fan Fest was put on for players of all skill levels in the early hours of each morning during the finals in the Kia Forum parking lot. Eager fans who were up and about bright and early at 8am local—definitely not gamer hours—could get a chance to meet up. Some fans turned out right away, and the event swelled to several hundreds of people before the gates to the arena finally opened. Watching and hearing several people who’ve only met online, some even who only knew each other by their Discord usernames, finally meet in person was really touching and sweet. Even those of us in the media who’ve only heard each other in digital press conferences got to join in on experiencing that feeling. But one thing that really stuck out to me during the pre-match festivities, other than the terrible pull-up jump shot Acend Elevated and I saw from the Red Bull court, was how much merchandise was in people’s hands and flying off the stands. VALORANT fans are willing to spend, which could provide some relief from the impending esports winter. This term has been thrown around excessively over the past year or so, as the industry as a whole is resetting from the bloated valuations and investment figures from before the pandemic. While ultimately good for long-term growth, there will be significant growing pains, in the form of shuttered orgs, scaled-back salaries and content, and people losing jobs. As always, the question comes down to how esports organizations make money during these trying times. Well, one of the few profitable paths for organizations can be merchandise. As much as was said about Sentinels in the wake of their crowdfunding launch, making and selling merch has been profitable for them, and those profits improved from roughly $1.3 million in 2021 to $1.9 million in 2022. While walking around Fan Fest, it felt like at least two-thirds of the fans there were wearing either team jerseys or official VALORANT merchandise. And the longest lines outside of the ones to meet influencers were the ones for gear. As soon as people got into the venue, it was a mad dash to the stores inside to snag the high-value items like plushies and hoodies. Saturday was the most packed by a considerable margin, due to it being both a weekend and the grand finals. There were plenty of Paper Rex and Evil Geniuses jerseys, but also jerseys supporting Fnatic, Liquid, 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Sentinels, FaZe, and TSM. The lines were even longer, and the number of bags in people’s hands was at its highest. So this is all well and good for Riot, but what about the organizations looking to survive? It proved to me that fans really do care about VALORANT and its esports scene, even if they’re more likely to be supporters of individual players than teams. Esports fans have been regarded as more stingy than traditional sports fans, but between merch and in-game items like the Champions bundle and hopefully the eventual partnered team skins, that might finally be changing. Teams and organizations will need to learn to capitalize on more than just merch if they can even get that right, but it’s proven to be a profitable arm for companies that have really struggled to ever be profitable. If you can get fans to go stand in a baking Los Angeles parking lot to buy merchandise en masse, then maybe the esports fan market is more lucrative than we thought. As a result, maybe more will survive the winter than we thought would. Read the full article

[jennawynn]

Giving Fallout 76 another shot. There are several things I didn't like about it, but after playing NV and 4 yet again, I realized I missed actually exploring and not knowing where things are... so here I am. I've started playing a few times and never got past Morgantown. I hated how delayed everything was- that you had to wait to loot a container bc it wouldn't pop quickly, that you weren't sure if you killed the monster for an extra half second before the *ch-ching!*. I don't like how it's either super easy or instant death with little in between. I didn't like how nothing felt permanent in the world- clearing out an area to loot, it would respawn within the day and the loot would all come back too.

But I decided on some RP ideas and they're helping me get invested more. Of course when I have more than one, it means hopping around and changing at level 7 instead of just.... keeping on.

Quick note- all three have floating markers turned off and I also deselect all quests so my compass is JUST a compass with POIs... which I wish I could also turn off. The 'go here do this handholding' is also on the list of things that reduce enjoyment. I feel like I don't experience the world when I'm just going from one marker to another and I don't know how to NOT do that if I can see them.

So here's my 3 characters!

Future was first. She's one of the egghead chosen. A scientist. She wants to document all the changes to the world since the bombs. For her, I even use a piece of paper propped up in front of the screen to cover the compass and only use the map for navigation. She's slow and steady, stealth, automatic pistols, exploration, survival, investigation. She takes notes on the animals and plants and people she sees. (Have you ever really looked at the chickens?) Future is the most difficult of the three to play.

Jordan was next. Rather than being one of the chosen elite who were handpicked to recolonize America, she was one of the people referenced in the terminals but never really seen or noticed. A war vet who lost an eye to shrapnel, she's got scars all over one side of her face that means her PER is pretty low. She relies on VATS to do a lot of her shooting. She's used to people not really seeing her- all except the Overseer who was kind and got her this job in the first place. Jordan's first loyalty then is to the Overseer, and she's going to find and help her however she can. She's kind of set in her ways from pre-bombs though.

She hoards pre-war money, collects plushies (personal experience as a vet lol), only scavenges and crafts when she wants to build something. She doesn't craft except to maintain and modify arms and armor. She uses auto rifles and auto pistols, and after her eye surgery and stories of other vets with PTSD, she's very afraid of addiction, so she doesn't use chems or alcohol. She picks them up and 'disposes' of them in the bots around the Wasteland. She's also worried about the radioactive animals and plants, so she only eats prewar food. She gathers dogtags and displays them when she finds fallen soldiers. Jordan has the most self-imposed rules for play.

Finally, there's Penny, the CAP-italist. Everything's for sale, I'd even sell my sister. Shotguns like a true caravaneer. Craft and sell anything and everything, keep for myself only what I need to keep going. She's very into living in the now- long dead people and old mysteries hold no sway... what matters is the people living now and whether they have any caps to give. She participates in challenges and events and will do work if there's a cap bonus. Failure to innovate is death (or worse, loss of profit). And I would do anything for caps... I'd run right into hell and back. Is the overseer offering caps?

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Unpopular opinion: Adoptables

I don't like paid adoptables, I truly and utterly think that them being paid makes something that is vague into something misleading. The reason why I have such strong emotions towards them is that you are paying for essentially a licensing fee over something with no use without the license. You are paying for the license to use the character, you do not -own- the said character. To clarify, in copyright law in the US, if you make a design it is yours. Unless you have a written agreement proving otherwise, even if you sell the use of the design to someone else, the design will stay yours and you can in court prove it is yours. Which means that you cannot use any paid adoptable in your original novels, or change the character's species. Your character only exists within the parameters of the agreement. I've seen people justify this situation by pointing out that when you buy say a BMW or an Apple iPhone, you don't buy the rights to the whole iPhone or the BMW brand. You just buy a license to use -that- particular BMW or iPhone. So why should adoptables be different? The problem with that comparison is that you still OWN the car or the phone physically, even if Apple bricks your iPhone they cannot and will not physically come to your house and take away the physical phone. The same applies to the car, you can happily take it apart and build a bicycle out of its parts and BMW will just twiddle their thumbs. Adoptables do not have a physical component, most never even exist outside data on a server and in a hard drive. Sure, you can ask a plushie of that adoptable to be made and that -could- be the physical component, but that is not part of the initial agreement. Buying an adoptable will get you essentially permission to use that design for as long as the original designer allows it. I am not okay with that, to me it is manipulative and at worst it can harm how people see the copyright and their characters. After adoptables became popular, I started seeing people selling their -personal- characters for money. Once more, unless they have a legally binding agreement stating otherwise, that character will not change owners. If years later the original creator wants to take back the character, they can legally do that. This is bad enough when the money changing hands is in the hundreds, but once we hit $1200+ that some auctions can hit, it starts truly being predatory for me. Even if people freely spend that money, the lack of true return for the investment and some Terms of Service giving the seller freedom to take away the design at any time mean that money was wasted. I feel that it would be good for the adoptables to have a 'buy the whole concept' option, one that would compensate the artist for their loss with the character. Maybe 5 times the original price? I do not hate people who sell adoptables, I simply consider the whole thing as rife with legal issues.

[dojae-huh]

Jopping: more on the topic

Well, well, well, where to begin. 

My friend told me her theory that Super M is a commission from US. There is always a need for something new to offer for the public and k-pop is popular among Western teenagers. Plus there is a luck of currently active boybands and females are very good buyers. And I tend to agree with her, because: a) It was said that Capitol Music Group approached with the offer, b) SM’s interest is in selling the “cultural technology”, profiting not only from idols themselves, but from all the know how, methods and ideas that were developed in the past 30 years (remember, that it was Lee Soo-man who created this system of trainees), c) the Avengers theme and the partnership with Marvel, a very big fish. 

In a previous foray into K-pop, Marvel created the superhero/K-pop star Luna Snow for their mobile game Marvel Future Fight in 2018. Later that year, the company released two Korean-language songs, “I Really Wanna” and “Tonight,” for the character, performed by Myung Hyung-seo of girl group Busters. (source)

Someone that is not SM invested a lot of money to not only film such a nice MV, but also organise a tour, media coverage and Ellen. 

South Korea is a small country that was practically a wasteland, devasteded by the war and occupation, some 60 years ago. It transformed from one of the poorest countries to a developed one with high-income. It has almost no natural resources, so of course it has export-oriented economic with focus on manufacturing ships, cars, electronics and high-tech. Aaand tourism (20th place in the world), mostly thanks to the Korean Wave. Both Japan and Korea recognise the power that is cultural influence and their goverments actively support the development in export of anime/manga and k-pop/k-dramas. First a fan buys a sawfish plushie, then Korean cosmetics, later a Korean car, then demands from their government to be friends with the country.

“In the 21st century, culture is power,” - the former South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in her inaugural address in 2013.

Anyway, what is interesting to me is how the history repeats itself. K-pop roots lay in Western music, when musicians and singers had to learn American hits to entertain soldiers, who didn’t like Korean traditional music. An article for the curious. To this day Korean pop is accused of being a copy-cat without originality. And now, when k-pop songs are written by international song-writers, when there are whole companies based in Sweden, that work for idol-producing companies... 

But Korea has the trainee system similar to the programmes for sportsmen (gymnastics, figure skating) and circus artists. It has artists that were selected among thousands form all over the world and trained in dance, rap, vocal, performance, social relations, etc. One of the reviewers on YT called NCT soldiers. And SuperM gave me the exact impression. Truelly, a special squad made of the artist cast to land on foreign grounds to conquer. Lucas especially, with his ears and relative inexperience reminds of a cadet thrown into the war after a quick but thorough training. 

SuperM is not an innovation in music/sound, pop is rarely about that, but it is in terms of global marketing and group promotion. Admitedly futuristic, I like it.    

Now. The MV and the song. Both are very cool. You can smell the money, haha. As well as feel the amount of preparation and thorough planning. Ah, I like a quality product. 

- The overall setting reminds me of “One more time” by Daft Punk. A band that travels through space and gives performances on different planets. 

- I like the use of the Colloseum as the stage. An amphitheatre, the historical connection.

- Ah, right, WayV’s “Take Off” also makes an appearence. The aircraft cockpit panel. Racing cars.

- It seems some members have superpowers (EXO: light, teleportation), others - futuristic technology on their side (Shinee, WayV). NCT is about dreams though...

- The outfits are great. Yes, bold patterns and combinations - Korean style done right. My suspicion that it is the same stylist who worked with 127 for Superhuman grows.

- I really, really like the spheres, especially the moment when they make kind of a wings shape over the members. I don’t know what they represent, but they do remind me: a) a power over objects, a character from some old anime who operated 6 spheres, b) small drones that are popular nowadays (futuristic element).

- The road, the desert. Hello, “Highway to heaven”. Naturally, it is a representation of US. Lee Soo-man studied in California, by the way. 

- Hello to “Cherry bomb” (the lyrics).

- Hm, is the construction of the passage out of stone is Dream reality (NCT)? Reminds me “Inception”.

- Dancing in an empty room is a very k-pop element. Sometimes you wish it wasn’’t included, especially when the rest of the MV has a plot. Here, however, the empty space is formed into a platform on a stage (like the one NCT had in Saitama). The camera work and angles make the dance scenes interesting. Hello to “Black on Black”, by the way.

- Regular!Taeyong. 

- Wow, a knitted “military” west for Ten? Not simply knitted, with a lace pattern? And it works? Now that is a work of a proper designer.

- Exit. East.

- Lightsticks. Another strictly k-pop element.

- Hm, is the blue bridge Hallyu? The Korean wave?

- Now they dance in a computer facility with processors. WayV again. 

- Haha, Kai has a silver chest pouch. Neverending love for bags among the Korean stylists... Snake skin and leopard pattern, harnesses, plaid skinny trousers, jeans with skirts - true k-pop outfits. Oh, I see, I see. The culture. Where are chokers though? Taeyong needs a diamond choker.

- Interestingly, Kai is in the centre in the beginning and Taeyong in the end. 

[omarabbott51-blog]

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[beezeeart]

Hi! I've started selling plushies on Etsy and was wondering about your opinions on premaking plushies or selling made-to-order (you start progress after someone buys). Thanks :) !

Each have their pros and cons. Beware, my inability to say what I want to say in less than a novella length essay has struck again. Personally, I find selling pre-made plushies to be the least stressful. Someone orders, you stick it in the mail in the next day or two, and that’s (hopefully) the end of it if everything goes right. However selling pre-made plushies requires a ton of storage space unless you are selling them fast. Which is a huge downside if, like me, you live in a smaller apartment that’s already packed to the roof (literally in some places) with plushies. You’ll also need more money up front for supplies. There’s a larger risk, too. Every store is going to vary, but in general an empty storefront doesn’t attract many customers. It’s kind of like if you walk in a store and it’s literally empty except 4 items on a shelf. You’d probably turn around and walk right out without even looking. Even though those 4 times might have been REALLY good items. It’s the same for online selling. So you might purchase a ton of supplies, spent hundreds of hours building up a good stock and then... nothing. Even with my best sellers I sometimes get slumps where they don’t sell or where I overestimate the growing demand for an item and it drops off. Then it sits there for months or even years before I make back my investment. Selling made to order eliminates a lot of those issues. You don’t need to store plushies. You don’t even need to have many materials on hand as you can buy them as you need them. Personally when I’m taking orders I usually am booked about 2 weeks out so I know that all the time I spend working is already profitable which is nice. Plus it allows for more flexibility, you can make one plushie in blue, then put up a color chart and take orders for 50 other colors with just one plushie. The downside to made to order is that it’s much more stressful. Really I could rant on this for a long time, but basically any time you make the online shopping process deviate from the standard people are used to you are going to run into issues with people who purchased on autopilot and then aren’t happy when the experience isn’t what they expected. Specifically, most people don’t read that an item is made to order and are generally unhappy when they discover this because people tend to just purchase with the assumption that what they see in the photo is what they get and no other information is important or relevant unless they have a question they need answered. I joke often with my family I could just put a picture of a stuffed animal and the title and description could say in all caps, “You are just giving me free money, by buying this you agree that you won’t be receiving anything,” and people would still purchase it and then email me a week later asking where their plushie is. Generally these issues can be resolved with good customer service, but even the best interactions can be stressful, especially if this is an area where you struggle. I’m an anxious, over thinker and I absolutely have days where I regret basically all my life choices when I get a string of unhappy customers.Another con to made to order is there may be things outside of your control that prevent you from creating the item. I sell sparkly fleece bats and once I got a massive order for them. More than I had enough fabric to create. So I popped down to Joann’s to pick up some more fabric... and the fabric had been discontinued and no one in a 50 mile radius had any in stock. I had to contact a fellow artist and had them rush deliver me some from their own inventory. Then there’s times you might get sick, or have a family emergency, or a natural disaster, or your car breaks down, etc and you can’t get an item out in time. Or you just plain struggle that week to stay on task and fall behind.Like I said, stress. But for those who are good with keeping deadlines and feel comfortable with customer service, it’s a good option to keep up front costs low. For me personally many of my items are made to order simply because of the way my schedule works it’s very common I’m working on a pattern while I’m taking orders, then I swap to making the orders, then back to designing new patterns while I take more. I’ve been experimenting with a middle ground where I prep some quick/easy parts of plushies and store them until I need them. Like bat feet, narwhal horns, the toppings for the sea pancakes, etc. It’s not ideal in my opinion and I’d like to be able to swap some day to only pre-made plushies, but for now it’s what works. 

[kindabraveandlittlestupid]

A love/hate review of the Star Wars The Last Jedi and also the disappointment in corporate Disney trimming the extended universe away from the Star Wars. Just to be clear, I don’t stand with those toxic males of the web who attacked Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran and the rest of the cast/crew. The movie is a work of fiction and I above all other emotions value decency as the foundation of my views and beliefs (or at least I try to make that my foundation). I am gonna share my opinions/views as always, I am just a guy on the web with little power what Hollywood makes. If you agree with me, that's great! And if you don't, that's fine too.

Goodbye J. J. (Hate) My first complaint is the change of direction from the first movie. J.J. Abrams had managed to establish some worthwhile intrigue with the characters/plot like Rey's background, the hunt for Luke, and Finn's moral crisis. Seemingly the new director/writer decided to take a step away from these established storylines/characters to explore his own take on these things. Luke is no longer interested in the good fight and embraces apathy, Rey comes from nowhere/no one, and Finns short coma results in him having the same cowardly acts from the first movie instead of giving him personal growth after his heroics at Starkiller Base. It's like whiplash where you have had expectations of these story/plot threads being followed only to have them be ignored or to become completely unremarkable in the next film.

Rose & Paige Tico (Love) I admit there is a lot of things about this movie that rubbed me the wrong way but the addition of Rose was not one of them. The Star Wars has always suffered from a lack of female characters in the movies and they seem to be making some strides to balance out the gender scales. She provided a new character to focus on away from the Roguish Pilot and the Ex-Stormtrooper giving us the optimistic/loveable Mechanic that we could invest out feelings in (which reminded me of another sci-fi female mechanic who I wish I saw more on screen).

What upset me about Rose was the fact I wanted to know MORE about her backstory and her relationship with her sister, Paige. The geek in me would love to have some webisodes dedicated to their relationship (as well as other characters) and how they got into the rebellion in the first place but alas the story relegated her to a secondary plot line on a gambling planet that showed off rich people being assholes which was ultimately pointless to the storyline and failed to further the plot.

I look forward to seeing how they develop her in the next movie, considering so few people are left in the Rebellion... I mean Resistance. On a parting thought, I am still not sure about the Fin/Rose kiss they tried to apply to the movie... felt a little forced if you ask me.

Marvel Humor (Hate) There is a noticeable change to the formula of the Star Wars movies and we know this new formula very well. Disney has been enjoying the tidal wave of cash coming in from the MCU with movies like the Avengers, Ironman, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy and so on which brings in billions (with a B) into the Magical Kingdom. Naturally, they think they struck gold (which they have) but now they are taking that Marvel Universe humor and projecting it into other franchises they own to try and milk money out of them.

This was on full display in Star Wars with the ‘prank call’ Poe used while talking to Hux. This universe enjoyed some banter in its previous movies but this very scene seemed foreign in the Star Wars Universe. As if Hux wouldn't have a laser cannon blow Poe right up. The movie continued to layer more and more MCU humor into the movie with Chewie eating the Porg in front of other horrified Porgs, Luke throwing a lightsaber nonchalantly over his shoulder, and tickling Rey with a piece of grass.

Granted there wasn't AS MUCH humor as you might see in Guardians or Ironman but they are starting to inject it into the films and in my opinion, it undermines the quality of the movie and the universe quite a bit by trying to make it something its not. This is why I enjoyed the grittier Rogue One so much that applied some humor with the android K-2SO but didn't allow shtick with other characters (which was good).

The point is their Gold Equation of humor connecting to the audience shouldn't be transplanted so easily from one franchise to the next, it robs the authenticity of Star Wars and what we know and love.

Vice Admiral Holdo (Love/Hate) Such a disappointing end to what could have been a good transfer of authority to a new female lead. I know we all mourn the death of Carrie Fisher and I appreciate the Luke and Lei scene at the end but the introduction of Holdo only to have her kamikaze the cruiser left me wondering why even make her a part of the movie? I mean really... her fight with Poe and his tactics could have carried into the next film, having her fill in as the new leader of the rebellion would have created a new strong female character and the very ‘heroic’ death she was given could have been done by Leia or Admiral Fucking Ackbar which would have been 10 times better then a random character added only to be killed off.

I blame this (like most things) on Director Rian Johnson who thought he was being clever but making the audience think "Oh she must be taking over for Leia!" only to kill her off as a sort of low-level plot twist. Frankly, it came off as less of a twist and instead of a pointless removal for an otherwise interesting character who could have moved onto the next movie.

Rey and Kylo Tag Team (Love) This might be hands down one of the best lightsaber fight scenes in the Star Wars Universe. If I am going to give the director any credit, it will be for giving us this gem of a scene where Kylo turns on his Master Snoke. This is the sort of action I crave to see in the Star Wars movies and making me wish (badly) that there was a Knight of the Old Republic film in the making. Hell, I just watched it again on Youtube just to remind myself how awesome it was.

Rey and Kylo Shipping (Hate) On the other hand with the whole force connection thing between Kylo and Rey, the idea of them being attracted to each other felt like a betrayal to well... Rey’s logic and mortality. Let us assume she has some attraction to Kylo would she have forgotten everything he did in the previous movie? Destruction of two villages on Jaku, slashing her new best friend in the back (Finn), stabbing her new father figure (Han) thru the chest, killing Lukes students, attempting to torture her for information and lastly being part of the First Order after shooting off Starkiller Base that destroyed 4 inhabited planets with billions (with a B) of lives on said planets? I know Rey might have temptations to the dark side but for fuck sake is she turned on by a literal genocidal maniac?

Rian Johnson & Disney Scaling Back the SWU (Hate) I realized this review is leaning more towards the Dark Side then the Light but I agree with some of the fanboys sentiment on the destruction of the Star Wars Universe. I am not sure if Rian is to blame 100%, I know Disney decided to cut all books, comics, and video games as NOT canon in the SWU but he seemed to have his hand in it with each rebel ship blown to pieces while escaping the Imperial... I mean First Order fleet.

This was hard for me to some degree, I played games like Knight of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, Jedi Academy, Shadows of the Empire, Republic Commando and read dozens of comics and books over the years. An yet because the franchise switched hands from Lucas to Disney and Disney had no hand in building all the extended universe they simply cut it away and said: “Nope! None of that counts”. I can understand why some people might get upset having invested time into exploring the Star Wars Universe only to have to evaporate before them like Thanos’s Infinity snap.

Rian drove this point home in the movie burning the Jedi texts (which contents weren't really important but symbolic of the Jedi Philosophy no longer being part of Star Wars), decimating the Rebels (Resistance) to the point the remainder all fit onto the Millennium Falcon, and even killed off or sent away new additions that could have helped expand the new trilogy into something great. Porg Plushies (Hate) *Sigh* I don’t like adding another hate to the list but few things in this movie made me personally feel good about it. We killed off interesting characters (Phasma and Holdo), had pointless side plots on Canto Bight (the Gambling Planet) and the scaling back of a great extended universe. An then we had the addition of Porgs...

I don’t dislike the concept of the Porgs, in fact, these puffin/otter hybrids are kinda cute. I dislike them as they seemed to have the pretty clear purpose of moving merchandise. Now, this isn't new for Star Wars if you know cinema you know that Lucas was highly protective of his own toy sales which is how Spaceballs was able to parody Star Wars so much as long as they didn't sell their own toys. They use the word Toyetic for this very thing of making a character or thing so they can move product off the shelves. Its why the Batmobile had so many changes with each passing movie in the 90′s.

The Porgs are no different, they maxed out the BB8 toy sales from the last movie and introduced an animal to sell plushies, slippers, bobbleheads and backpacks for kids and geeky adults. I am honestly not a fan of this sort of capitalism being pushed off thru movies but there it is and I am sure when episode 9 comes out there will be something new for them to sell us.

DJ (Love) Despite there being literally no good reason for DJ (Benicio del Toro) being in this movie with the pointless side quest on Canto Bight. This character might have some potential for future movies. We certainly explored the good smuggler scoundrel with Han Solo and Lando Calrissian but never explored the bad smuggler element quite yet (save some in the Solo movie).

I particularly liked the whole part with him explaining the manufacturing of weapons for both the First Order and the Resistance. It was perhaps one of the most insightful moments in the movie that could have easily reflected back on our own failings in regards to war. Just like how Canto Bight reminds us that the scum of the Galaxy don't just reside at the bottom but also the top. I hope to see him again but I am not sure how they will explore him in the next plot.

Super Leia (Hate) Lord knows when Leia became adept in the force that she could survive in outer space let alone fly around like Superman! This scene seemed crafted for the trailers making everyone believe this would be the way to double down on the ‘Evil Kylo’ angle and writing Carrie Fisher out of the Star Wars Universe but instead she survives as another pointless twist just like Holdo being the one to ram the ship into The Supremecy or DJ betraying Finn and Rose for money.

Just reminder if you're in space; your air escapes your body (including your butt), the saliva in your mouth begins to boil, air is cut off to your brain, and all the blood vessels on the surface of your body would break. I am glad she didn't die and had another scene with Luke but due to poor writing and trailer bait, they decided to keep this horrible scene in the movie.

Shallowing (Hate) Beyond the new additions (Holdo, DJ, Rose), the reoccurring characters become shallow in their roles. As I said, Luke now doesn't give a shit despite having 30+ years to mature, Hux is reduced to a punching bag for Kylo, Kylo is still emo as ever, Rey is becoming a Mary Sue (or perhaps not with her floundering romance with a mass murder), Finn had the same "coward, not coward" story arc from the first film, Phasma disappointingly is defeated by FN 2178 a second time, Poe is now a one dimensional reckless flyboy, and Leia is secretly Kryptonian. Point is there is no meaningful personal conflict with the characters, not enough time spent with the new ones, and a few of their portrayal betray canon for either a laugh or just because they simply didn't care.

Conclusion The point is, I liked the Kylo/Rey lightsaber battle against the Bodyguards, I enjoyed the battles in space, the silent ramming of the Raddus at light speed into The Supremacy and I still loved the new character (Rose). Most of the problems in this film start not from the characters but from Disney scaling back the universe and the new Director who changed the narrative. It bothers me just a little that everyone is celebrating the film despite these major flaws and aren't more pissed off those decades of content has just been expelled from the Star Wars Universe in exchange for the new “Disney Star Wars Universe" we will be forced to live with. About the only thing that is safe is Chewie and thats because the Wookie doesnt age like actors do. Thanks for the read.

Regards Michael California

[minblush]

(I'm the pervious poor anon lol) also....I was thinking about those bt21 plushies and how expensive they were .... like really......I seriously feel like the only way I can be an avid and great fan is if I have a lot of money. I feel so excluded. And I know I shouldn't be so dramatic about it or anything but I can't imagine how bad other people must feel who are also fans of bts with little money as well.

yeah i know, like the merchandise is cute but when you take a step back and think about it, what is it made for, really? just to make money, and since the end goal is for these things to sell, that automatically excludes people that can’t afford it. bighit also aims to increase demand by artificially limiting stock, which is also kinda icky…honestly i’ve always had this issue with bighit because they get increasingly more exclusionary when it comes to money, it’s one of the reasons i’m not super into the fancafe and them selling exclusivity alone, remember when bighit made us pay so we can watch the stream celebrating THEIR ANNIVERSARY even? lol…bighit just kind of.. they don’t want to just do well, they want ALL the money, as much as possible! and you can even see it with how they make the boys take like, literally any advertising deal, whatever the product is just have the boys hold it and get some money, they’re gonna be promoting a bank, dunking donuts, and if you put it in a list…promoted mcdolands even, a duty free operator, phone operators, fried chicken, cosmetics brand, clothes brands, school uniforms, messaging clients, a terrible movie, a whole city, and god knows what else… but well, that’s what a company does, so i shouldn’t be mad, but it’s hard when they try to act like they are so fan friendly and how bts have personal integrity in the company, but when you look at the reality… yeah… i love the boys but i’ll never get why people even like bighit much, they treat the boys alright, but to fans? they are just a greedy company and the fans to them are only ATMs and nothing more… so yes it sucks, but please don’t feel bad about it, you are more than an ATM, you have more to offer as a fan, don’t let them make you feel like you aren’t a real fan or like you aren’t a part of things if you don’t spend money, the company wants to make you feel that way, don’t let them win, support the boys in your own way, if being a fan doesn’t make you feel happy or fulfilled, then what’s the point? :(

Anonymous said:Oh, about this Jimin cold thing. I’m a bit like him, I guess. I’m not always smiling or acting cute, my face looks like I’d kill when I’m not smiling and in reality I love be by myself. So a lot of people that saw me from a far thought that I was cold/rude. But my close friends say that when it needs to interact with others and make then feel better I’m the best choice bc I’m “cute and funny even when I curse”. And truth be told: acting cute/smiling all the time is tiresome. -🌻

yeah i think a lot of people would relate to this sort of story, people aren’t just one thing ;; thanks for sharing ♥

Anonymous said:I do see your point about the game now! I guess since I never felt the need to invest money in a rhythm game I never thought this was so similar to gambling. Obviously, I knew the game was designed to bring in profit, I just never thought the psychology behind it runs so deep. Now that I think about it, the bts game is designed to be even more frustrating. I played the SM one (that is was also made by Dalcome) and it wasn’t as hard to gain cards or points

i think about this stuff because i’m really invested in video games and i actually read a lot of in depth articles and such on the issue, since i also find it interesting from the psychological standpoint,i was a victim of it in the past. honestly these games are easy profit so i understand why it’s done, but from an ethical point of view i have a problem with it. and yeah same, i still hope they will recalibrate it because right now the game is way too unrewarding without paying, i’ve been playing it all day yesterday and i’m still just level 3? and i don’t have any good cards at all, i already had the itch in me to buy a pack that guarantees an S card, especially seeing namjoon showing them off too kadjsd like AAAAARGH, these games really are targeted at people like me who aren’t as strong psychologically dakjds, but since i learned so much about how these games operate it’s easier to stop and say NO, THIS IS WHAT THE GAME WANTS! lmaoo… self-awareness, or any awareness..it really does wonders for you 

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

jm

Meh my old Jollymation stuff. It was all copied here and it’s at the bottom. I’ll just post this. Because I haven’t been huge into Bendy for so long. Originally was gonna use and remake this for my Bendy sequel AU. But stuff has changed and I expect Dark Revival to change a shit ton of things.

Gunnar Hirsch: Born 1993.

Voiced By: Shawn Baichoo(The Outlast series specially Outlast 2).

One of the founding members of Jollymation Studios and the creator of, “Mystery Town”. Other roles are animator, writer, and voice actor. Especially the voice of Modern Boris in the Modern Bendy cartoons. In some of the cartoons.

A young indie animator who’s, “Mystery Town” project wasn’t being picked up by any tv network due to its content. But Nicole Wayne noticed it’s potential and wanted the series as a launch series for Jollymation’s YouTube channel. Believing in the young man’s potential and talent. She was able to help him achieve his dream and make it a reality. During this time, Nicole was Gunnar’s mentor in his early years. Teaching him things about animation he didn’t know.

Now these days Gunnar is considered one of the top employees at Jollymation. Being a head animator and helping keeping the studio afloat. Even after, “Mystery Town” ended in 2019. He stuck around to make more cartoons in the studios.

The man has a talent for changing his voice. Which led him to voicing many characters in his show and other animations. Mainly for two reasons. To save money and because he honestly enjoyed it.

Considered in a way a madman for his strange humor and some what trollish behavior that wasn’t malicious. Such as after Mystery Town ended, a scavenger hunt for something related to the show happened. Where the prize was to meet him, Nicole, and a tour of Jollymation Studios.

Yet he’s known to be a relaxed individual who is very kind. Often helping teaching young new animators who were hired at the studio. Just like how Nicole helped him when he was younger.

During his years growing up. He was taught in self defense by his father who was a seat officer. Which had lead to Gunnar learning multiple ways to defend himself. Making him almost like a fighter. He remembers those times of his father training him just in case something were to happen to him or even the studio.

When making the modern Bendy cartoons. He was casted to be the voice of Boris. Even though Boris didn’t speak in every cartoon. He was chosen because of his talent to give this deep cartoon like voice for the wolf.

He is the youngest grandson of Henry Stein.

Fate: He survives and is right now alright. Despite going through Hell through the studio he worked 11 years in. He survived due to his father’s old training. But because of trusting Allison Angel, Tom The Wolf, and Buddy Boris. Despite he was concerned if they were tricking him or not. 

Nicole Wayne: Born 1977.

Voiced By: Susan Egan(Steven Universe).

The leader and one of the founding members of Jollymation Studios. Including the younger sister of the famous Gabriel Wayne.

A long time animator who has worked for tv networks. Yet after certain networks were being restrictive with creative freedom. With animation not being the best during the early 2010’s. Nicole thought of an ambitious idea. To put together a small studio that makes it’s own cartoons. No network, no ratings, no needing to worry about the censors. Where creative freedom can be allowed. Where cartoons can be enjoyed by both young and old alike.

Thinking online would be the best option. Nicole banded a small team consisting of Gunnar Hirsch, Nick Lance, her older brother Gabriel Wayne who invested in the project, and a few others.

After some successful cartoons that were uploaded. Jollymation was a success. Slowly becoming it’s own studio.

Nicole had a passion for animation since she was young. Inspired by her older brother. She’s in charge of making sure everything goes well in the studio. While she knows they have to make money. But she is known for being a mother like figure. Sometimes helping some animators and even with the cartoons at times.

Despite trying to keep everything afloat by paying bills. She has made sure the studio is in good shape. Everyone mainly likes her. The studio is a healthy work environment. Where cartoons are made on time and all that.

During 2022, Nicole wanted to obtain the rights to the Bendy cartoons. Seeing that Jollymation had the money and the crew she needed. There were others that wanted to revive the cartoons. Even though they were up for public domain. But just in case she wanted what was ever connected to Joey Drew Studios.

Despite the history behind the scenes with the cartoons. Including the fate of Joey Drew himself. She saw the potential in the cartoons. While every cartoon the studio made was original. She wanted to take on a series that wasn’t made by Jollymation originally.

Especially knowing the fact that other animators including her brother tried reviving it but failed. She wanted to take on the project.

In early 2022, it was announced that Jollymation Studios had the full rights to Bendy and it’s characters. Including everything’s from Joey Drew Studios. What surprised Nicole is that the modern cartoons were a huge success. As if the dark history behind these cartoons were almost gone.

She was grateful to see this dream finally come true. Especially with these characters she honestly loved and wanted to bring back into the modern age of animation.

But with it’s huge success. There came an issue. One of her investors being Nick Lance was glad it became a success. But he wanted more. Seeing that Bendy was relevant again. He thought of ideas that seemed….too ambitious.

While liking Nick’s ideas. Nicole told him it wouldn’t happen yet. Because while yes they we’re selling merch like plushies and whatever else. But ideas like Bendy Land 2.0, a Bendy movie, and Nick’s own ideas for the show which seemed inappropriate at the time.

She didn’t dislike the ideas. But she knew the history of Joey Drew Studios shutting down because of bankruptcy. So investing in such ideas seemed too risky at the time.

During that time. She wanted to keep things simple. Everyone else agreed….except Nick. Which led into arguments between the two. It also resulted in Nick talking to Eric behind her back. As if he was tired of reporting to the woman.

Even though for a decade. Their relationship was really good. It’s like the success changed him. While he did think more about money than others. This was a new change in him. Which seemed to have happened because of meeting Eric. 

Nicole Wayne is actually the grand daughter of Allison Pendle/Connor and Thomas Connor. 

Fate: Despite being one of the few employees that survived who stuck at the studio. Eric had plans for her. Overtime Eric never liked the woman. He had always despised her kindness and motherly nature towards everyone. 

When he found Nicole. Eric didn’t wanna kill Nicole. He wanted to turn Nicole into something he felt would be a fitting end for her. But also something amusing for the disturbed man. Including to have Nicole face off against Cassie. Another woman Eric seemed to have a problem with. He wanted Nicole and Cassie to suffer in a way he thought was better.

He wanted the larger than life but motherly and gentle leader of Jollymation Studios to go out in a way that traumatize all who looked up to her forever. 

Nicole was turned into a creature similar to the likes of Brute Boris. She is killed by a reformed Twisted Alice who saves Cassie. With everyone believing killing Nicole was the best for her. 

Gabriel Wayne: Born 1973.

Voiced By: Guy Cihi(Silent Hill 2).

Considered to be one of the most well known names in animation today. Before all that, Gabriel started out small. A young talented animator who was considered a prodigy in his younger days. Including known to be a gentle and sweet soul. He is a man who is passionate in his work.

Hearing that well known animated movie director Bradley Clark was gonna try to bring the Bendy cartoons back into the new era of the 21st century. Along with the legendary Aaron Bluth. He volunteered to join the group. As someone who had discovered the old cartoons from Joey Drew Studios and seriously enjoyed them. He wanted to help out with the project. 

But during the course of the project and Bradley trying to get networks to air Bendy again. Despite them being hesitant. Something was going on during the week with the concept stages of trying to remake Bendy. Gabriel began having dreams. Where he was inside Joey Drew Studios itself….but it didn’t look like reality. 

As the week went on. The dreams soon became nightmares. He was seeing things he couldn’t explain. Gabriel didn’t know what was real. What was going on? 

But at the end of the week when surviving his unexplained nightmares. The project was cancelled. Due to no one wanting to associate with Bendy anymore. Which had saddened everyone. Including Aaron Bluth himself. Yet 5 years later after the project. Aaron Bluth became depressed and committed suicide. Which shocked the world of animation. Before then he was speaking about nightmares that included what appeared to be a demonic version of Joey Drew himself.  

As if the man behind Joey Drew Studios was out to get him.

Despite the sadness of it all. Gabriel kept going forward. Becoming a well known name in animation. Yet the nightmares from that Bendy project strangely haunted him. He didn’t really tell anyone. But what he heard about Aaron Bluth shocked him. That it made it sound like some how Joey Drew killed him. Because there was stories about how Aaron and Joey didn’t seem to like each other.

Over time, the only person he had told was Bradley and Nicole. Which surprised Bradley because he had similar nightmares that week. But Nicole was confused. Yet she heeded her brother’s warnings in case. A year latter after the modern Bendy cartoons started….Nicole would soon understand what Gabriel had nightmares about.

Fate: It is unknown if he’s in the studio. But considering he’s more high profile now. Even though he’s an investor for the small studio. He’s mainly off doing other work. 

He is also the grandson of Allison Pendle/Connor and Thomas Connor.

Darcy Angela: Born 1990.

Voiced By: Faye Mata(Hazbin Hotel).

A well known voice actor in the animation. Despite appearing rather cheery. It seemed like working in the voice acting business changed her. She’s actually narcissistic and a strangely cruel woman who seems to put down others for her own pride. Including she also enjoys the attention being on her. 

Yet after many that have worked with her called her out. Including the internet in a way cancelling her. She hasn’t had any roles in a while. But for some reason Nick requested Nicole to have you as a possible voice for Alice Angel or a new character. Nicole didn’t want to, even though Nick wanted another well known voice actor in their ranks. But also strangely Eric approved of her. Mainly for his own amusement to annoy Nicole. She allowed Nicole to work at the studio. But warned her three strikes if she does anything similar to her acts in the past. She would be fired.

Unsurprisingly, no one liked her. While some ignored her, some despised her. Despite trying to be on her best behavior because of Nicole watching her every move. She thought with a role in the modern Bendy cartoons may give her the spotlight again. A way to keep being well known and praised by everyone. Even though she looked down on everyone she met.

Fate: Being one of the few employees that stayed at the studio. Her fate seems symbolic of who she was. She became a demonic version of the modern version of Alice Angel. She had also developed demonic wings that make her fly.

Eric had discovered these old storyboards from Joey Drew. He had the inspiration from these to turn Darcy into something that fit her just well.

Notes: While yes she is clearly based upon the character of Katie Killjoy. But she was also inspired by the MrCreepyPasta’s Hidden Lore take of Susie Campbell. Including her creature form is based upon those story boards from chapter 5. But taking it in the form of a demonic looking modern Alice Angel. 

Nick/Nicolas Lance: Born 1989.

Voiced By: Matthew Patrick(Game Theory).

One of the founding members of Jollymation. An editor, and Nicole’s right hand man. Getting deals for promotions, merch, and other things.

Nick was a young man who wanted to help Nicole achieve her dream. He believed it in it. But also the possibility of a studio where cartoons with creative freedom sounded like where success thrived. Which actually worked and surprised everyone.

Despite being similar to Joey Drew in some ways. Such as having big dreams and ideas. Yet still having a heart despite maybe sometimes a ego. Which Nicole had to him tone down on. Nick wasn’t a bad guy. But he thought some times way too big. Yet he got along with everyone. Making everyone laugh with his jokes and all that. Including being a friend to the likes of Gunnar, Edward, and even a older brother figure to Cassie.

But when the modern Bendy cartoons became a huge success. More than any Jollymation cartoon than before. He then knew this franchise could make money. Even after the many decades of distain that Joey Drew Studios had gotten. Bendy was basically reborn. He wanted more of that success because Jollymation would be set for life.

Despite the cartoons having merch like plushies, accessories, and apparel. He wanted more than that. A few times he talked about ideas like Bendy Land 2.0, a Bendy movie, and for some reason darker materiel being added into the cartoons. Because during the modern age of cartoons. That seemed to be a thing in network shows. Adding mature themes into these shows that were for everyone.

But Nicole said no to that. She told him some of those ideas were nice. But it was too early for that. She didn’t wanna risk bankruptcy. Even though she said no, Nick kept asking. To a point where Nicole threatened to fire him. Which she never wanted to do. So he stopped. 

Nick was shocked that the woman he looked up to wasn’t accepting his ideas. She was telling the truth but he thought they would probably make that money back soon. After he stopped asking Nicole. Eric decided talk to him more and hear his ideas. But also offering maybe some how his dreams could come true. 

He started talking to Eric more. Nick started to drift away from Nicole and everyone else. Mainly speaking to Eric. Yet he was confused about Eric’s ideas of looking into the old belongings of Joey Drew Studios. But he listened and thought there was maybe something in there that could help with more of the success on Bendy. Such as the old Bendy Land they had discovered. 

Yet overtime, he started to understand what Eric was digging through. Including what Joey Drew had hid for so many years. Along with what these ink machines can do. It seemed like this would be bigger than any of Nick’s ideas. Including Eric told him it would make him and all of Jollymation successful if he helped Eric. Despite how shady and dangerous it was. 

Fate: Despite Nick tried to secretly prepare the possibilities of ink creatures coming out. Such as buying a few guns, and hoarding a months supply of food. He managed to get Nicole to give almost every employee a month’s paid vacation. Which gave Nick and Eric time to themselves with whatever they found at Joey Drew Studios.

But despite his preparations and slowly going mad. He summitted to the machine and Eric even more. After the world created by the ink machine was unleashed upon the studio. Nick wasn’t the same anymore.

He had become an insane slave to Eric. Who he and others now dubbed Eric, “The Modern Devil” an enemy to, “The Ink Demon”. He did his masters work. Bringing forth any traitors to him if they defied him. Thinking if he kept serving Eric. Nick’s dreams of success would still come true. 

In a way, Nick became similar to the likes of Sammy Lawrence. 

Yet under that insanity. There was still some humanity left in Nick. Such as keeping to himself what if Eric was wrong. What if he wouldn’t get his success? It wasn’t till he heard ramblings about, “The Messiah”(Audrey), and, “The Mother”(Cassie) being the one to save them. When he noticed Cassie returned and after learning certain things about her family. 

He believed in the whole, “Mother will set us free”. Thinking if Cassie can stop everything. Then he can possibly be freed. Basically being a secret ally in a way but still dangerous. But sadly for Nick, he would never be freed even when trying to help Cassie. 

Eric Richardson: Born 1985.

Voiced By: Edward Bosco(Hazbin Hotel).

Not much is known about Eric. He is a man that usually keeps to himself. Yet it was revealed he is a older cousin to Gunnar Hirsch. Who Gunnar doesn’t like to socialize with. Despite appearing very friendly and charismatic. Something was off about Eric. When it was announced the Bendy cartoons would be rebooted under Jollymation. He joined as their extra investor just in case. Because Gabriel was too busy with other things. 

He was also a fan of the older cartoons. But he was also very intrigued with the history of Joey Drew Studios. When Jollymation got the full rights to Bendy and whatever Joey Drew Studios had. Eric wanted to look into any of the old things they had collected. 

No one else was really interested in much of the old stuff. It was all just left in the past. But Eric was interested. In fact as he decided to dig through old history. He had discovered old recordings from Joey Drew himself, and many other employees. Along with other things…such as an ink machine. 

At one point and others were a witness to it. Eric was simply replaying an old recording by Joey Drew. Talking about how you can cheat death itself. It confused them but they didn’t know what to do. Eric said he was simply intrigued by Joey’s words of cheating death. 

He kept most of his discoveries to himself. Yet only telling Nick when he knew he could trust the young man. As the year went on. Eric had developed ideas and learned things about Joey Drew Studios that were covered up for years. It was these things that got Eric to think…..what if he can really cheat death itself? 

Eric Richardson is the oldest great grandson of Henry Stein. 

Edward Westbrook: Born 1994.

Voiced By: Michael Kovach(Hazbin Hotel).

A well known voice actor who’s voiced in many animations. Particularly cartoons from Jollymation. Despite appearing rather sassy towards people. Along with not taking certain things seriously. He still has a heart. Edward is long time best friends with Gunnar Hirsch. 

Despite being a well loved voice actor in animation. There was one thing Edward was scared about and that was revealing he was homosexual. Yet as time went on Nicole being supportive of the man. Such as offering roles always at Jollymation. He feels super comfortable now with people knowing his sexuality. Mainly because of people like Nicole being supportive of him.

Fate: He is one of the employees who took the month paid vacation. Mainly because ever since people like the likes of Eric and Darcy gives him bad vibes. He is always the first one to say something about them. 

…..I might make him related to Wally Franks. Yet there is the joke he is basically the Wally Franks of Jollymation. That’s why I keep thinking about Wally. Honestly I don’t have much to Edward right now. 

Cassie Madra: Born 1998.

Voiced By: Jill Harris(Hazbin Hotel).

A young and compassionate woman who loved animation as a kid. Wanting to grow up to be an animator. Started to first work for Jollymation in 2016. Overtime she became one well known in the studio. Being one of it’s best employees. 

Everyone had helped mentored her. Including Nicole herself. She was also the one employee that highly recommend that Nicole should go forward with rebooting the Bendy cartoons. As she loved the old cartoons as well. After it went through. She designed the modern designs for the characters, and wrote some of the stories, and animated them with others.

But like many others she was concerned with the likes of Eric and Darcy. Including how Nick wasn’t acting like himself anymore. Along with discovering he was preparing for something she didn’t understand. 

Fate: She was one of the employees that was told to take a months paid vacation. But she wondered about what was going on at the studio. Because after getting a phone call from Nicole to get help. She was confused. Why did Nicole ask that? Including it was possible because she trusted Cassie the most. Nicole sounded terrified.

When Cassie came back to the studio…..her life will change forever.

Cassie doesn’t know much of her family history. It was mainly kept for her but she didn’t seem to mind. But during the course of trying to destroy the ink machine and stopping Eric. She soon discovers from certain characters, a few recordings, and other things.

She is the great, great granddaughter of Joey Drew himself. 

[violetsystems]

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are a fun way to skirt money-laundering laws and pay for drugs, but, according to reporting by Reuters, it appears you’ll now be able to use it to pay for Beanie Babies and fake Rolexes. That’s right: PayPal is getting into the crypto game.

The breathless reporting by Reuters and other sites claims that users will be able to buy and sell crypto on the platform in 2021. What really happened is that the company received a conditional BitLicense in New York, a license that grants companies the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency in New York. PayPal will work with Paxos Trust Company, one of the few crypto companies that has thus far escaped federal scrutiny. Paxos is best at turning things like equities—stocks —into blockchain-based tokens, which allow users to trade them like bitcoin

The BitLicense will let PayPal buy, sell, and hold bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, and litecoin. Bitcoin price rose about $500 on the news, as well, from $12,00- to $12,430.15—a surprisingly small bump for such overhyped news.

“DFS’ approval today follows our June 2020 announcement for a new framework for a conditional Bitlicense to encourage, promote, and assist interested institutions to have a well-regulated way to access the New York virtual currency marketplace in a way that is both timely and protective of New York consumers, through partnerships with New York authorized virtual currency firms,” said Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell. “DFS will continue to encourage and support financial service providers to operate, grow, remain and expand in New York and work with innovators to enable them to germinate and test their ideas, for a dynamic and forward-looking financial services sector, especially as we work to build New York back better in the midst of this pandemic.”

Fair enough.

Now for the problems. First, a BitLicense isn’t a world-wide license. It lets you do business in New York and that’s about it. A BitLicense approval process is fairly stringent, with a lot of documentation of assets and descriptions of your business. For a company like PayPal, it’s pretty simple to get it done. Smaller players—startups and the like—are almost guaranteed to fail, however, which is why New York is one of the worst jurisdictions for crypto licensing.

After being licensed in New York, PayPal’s lawyers will have to fan out to nearly every state except for a few Wild West spots where crypto trading is less regulated. That’s another few million in legal fees. Add in the millions needed to get licenses in Europe, Asia, and South America not to mention the millions in resources needed to spread to Africa and the Middle East, and you’ve got a billion-dollar problem on your hands.

What PayPal gets out of this is simple: a brief flash of notoriety and, if you bought low a few days ago, a nice bump in terms of BTC price. What we normal humans get is a company that will fight for crypto-only as long as it makes economic sense. To be clear, companies like RobinHood and Square support crypto buying and selling, but the popularity of these features is limited in scope and, compared to the equities market, is aimed at amusement rather than real investment. Like Facebook’s failed Libra project, this move is more about making PayPal look cutting-edge than offering real crypto tools.

In short, the news is a dud. PayPal getting a BitLicense is akin to me getting a forklift operator’s license—I doubt I’ll do anything with it, and if I did, I’m sure I’d break something. There may be a moment when you and I trade ether for an original “Billy Joel Tour 1998 Plush Bear wearing T Shirt Sunglasses 9" Rare Plushie,” but I’m thinking you’ll probably stick to dollars.

[semi-sketchy]

Do you think Webkinz has a good chance of becoming popular again? Do you think that Webkinz will be sold in more stores in the future?

Let me give the simple answer first…. Webkinz will most likely never be in stores again. They used to have contracts, but the time expired and they never got renewed. With how terrible Webkinz are doing now, stores just don’t want to make the shelf space for them.

Will Webkinz ever be popular again? I doubt it. Honestly, their marketing has really fallen and they rely too much on digital now. The reason Webkinz were so interesting back in the day was all the physical items. Ganz used to be really good on giving you great physical items, like all the Webkinz clothing, the figures were so nicely made, the Trading cards were fun, but they just stopped.They used to come out with five plush pets a month, now we get two and let’s be completely real: the newer Webkinz aren’t as good. They have some good ideas, but they don’t feel as stylized and the models often just look weird. The Siberian Husky is a solid example of that.

Which is another thing: they keep remaking Webkinz and most of the original ones are under $8 on eBay. Ganz, we already have a calico cat, don’t make a patchwork cat it’s the same thing.

No, bad Ganz, the Oatmeal Kangaroo is just a slightly lighter version of the original.

It goes on. But the biggest thing now is Deluxe Membership. This didn’t bother me until Ganz adapted to the “free-to-play” genre, which is just loaded with micro transactions to suck your money. A lot of people, including myself, hate this market. I added it up before. eStore points are $1 USD for 1,000 without getting a giant bundle to get 10% more points or whatever. The eStore themes generally cost about 50,000 eStore points to build. That’s $50 for a virtual room theme! That’s insane! I could buy about 3 cheap Signatures of Amazon for that amount of money!

Before Deluxe took over, it was something really cool. You got to set your dock colors, access to a special color zone (which all are dead now anyways), an extra class at the Academy, awesome monthly items, and more items from Arte. It was so cool and something I actually begged my mom to get me when I was eleven. Now I despise it. I was okay with them making games for Deluxe Members, but when they took away features anyone could access and locked them behind a subscription fee, that’s when I got annoyed. My favorite game, Zingoz Pop, is locked behind Deluxe. Vacation Island is a distant memory now that I miss dearly. I used to be so careful when I would spend my ticket to make sure I had as much time as possible to get my money out of it, now I will never be able to get all the trophies like I wanted. They took themes I spent so long saving up KinzCash for and locked me out of them. I felt cheated. I had given Ganz so much money with all their products I bought, ranging from clothing, Kinz Klips, figures, and tons of plushies, and they gave me the gate. I know I shouldn’t feel entitled, after all, this is how they make money, but it still feels wrong.

This falls on the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” like people bought stuff and they wanted it. A Webkinz used to be $15 and I can’t speak for all, but people got more than one a year to renew their account because the online wasn’t the highlight of Webkinz and that’s what Ganz keeps forgetting. They moved to the free-to-play market and hell they took the fucking Candy Crush motto with their “Goober’s Anatomic Adventure” shit. Run out of lives? Pay for more! Just two moves away from winning? Buy more moves! Need a few extra points for that higher rank? Buy a power up! And it just grinds my gears. They most likely did this because digital distribution is cheaper. No need to give stores a cut, don’t have to pay a someone to make physical items or for the materials, once it gets past the concept artists and developers, that’s it. Easier and gives them a higher profit. However, Ganz is a toy company. They’ve been making stuffed animals long before Webkinz, so why start whistling another tune now? People don’t want to pay a ton of money for a collection of laggy minigames. The parents can buy the kids Mario Party or WarioWare for that old Wii they probably still have sitting around and it’d be cheaper and a better experience.

Let me just say this…. Ganz, parents aren’t going to pay money for digital media. Parents want their kids away from the screen. Hell, my mother wouldn’t even give us the $20 for a Nintendo Gamecube in 2012, my brother and I had to save for weeks to get that bulky purple box. Parents also don’t want to invest in something for their kid that they can’t see. A Webkinz was an easier sell. You saw it at a store, it was a cute little stuffed animal that they would drag everywhere for months and on their downtime, they could play on Webkinz World. Now it’s all “play online. Play all day. Play every day.” and geez if I had kids I wouldn’t want them spending real money online for some fancy texture and I sure wouldn’t want them staring a screen all day. Go outside. Climb a tree. Better yet, climb it with your plush. I did that.

Let’s not forget the “Helping Paws Club” where they say “tell your friends about us! ….Please we need more wallets to empty” and you can’t trust your fans to promote your product. They also looked past the fact that most of their fans are grown up now. What kind of adult is going to go to their adult friends and ask them to join this site for kids as little as five? Please explain.

Let’s also not forget that the online runs terribly due to all the video ads. Ganz made a plea not long ago asking people to add them to their whitelist, and the comments are the biggest bonfire roast I think I have ever seen and I love it. I wanna say I run a gaming PC, Intel i7 and 16GB of DDR3 RAM. I have some power. Without AdBlock, I get some lag and frame skipping on the arcade games. Imagine all the other people who are still using duel cores and don’t have that power. I was one of them once and it was so painful. The site is already super slow and the video ads refreshing every 15 seconds will get you no matter what.

No. I don’t believe Webkinz will make a comeback. Webkinz lost their contracts with stores, aren’t running any ads and just trusting their fans will keep them afloat. I actually believe it won’t be too much longer until the site is shut down because frankly, the old fans grew up and the new ones won’t put up with this.

-Sassy

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 45)

They all went to the Trader's Guild first thing in the morning, taking jerky, cookies, and several pounds worth of stewed meat to go. Because of a penalty for “misuse, misinformation, and misconduct” from when Qrow had delivered Weiss' message to Winter, he and her waited in the lobby with the Eluna plushie, while the others—including Zwei—went off to go renegotiate their salaries, be they in Shinies, or in ingredients for baking cookies.

Though not nearly as busy as when Weiss had last been there for the Job Gauntlet, she could still hear that same musical clinking of Shinies being shaken by the counting machines ringing in the air.

“Does this place ever close up shop?” Weiss asked as they sat on a bench. “Even just for a few hours or on holidays?”

“Nope,” Qrow replied, “Guild pretty much handles all financial matters in the Valley bigger than buying booze in bulk off your local grocer, or writing a check to your cousin to pull them through for the next month, after they spent all their Shinies on buying booze in bulk off their local grocer.

“Just think of having all of your human banks, corporations, and insurance companies under one government-run location, and have a few satellite branches for convenience here and there.”

“And how do you protect against corruption? All this money and valuables under one roof is a gigantic temptation for embezzlers.”

“Very, very, very strict regulations, security, and supervision, and much more serious punishments than getting roasted over the Info-Grid, before getting away with it anyway when the red tape and the corruption doesn't let anyone actually do anything,” Qrow replied. “Authoritarianism has its perks.

“Well, that, and the shiftier clerks tend to have governors installed.”

“Governors?”

Qrow pulled up a patch of feathers that covered the back of his neck. He showed off what looked like a tiny stump growing on his skin, where his spine would be. “Guarantee for good behaviour,” he said as he hid it once more. “Mine's a deluxe that also doubles as my chronicle.”

Weiss looked at him in a mix of curiosity and horror.

“We've got ethics here in Fae society, don't worry,” Qrow said. “It's just that they can get VERY flexible when someone like me fucks up, big time.”

“What happened?”

Qrow closed his eyes, trembling as flashes of memories ran through his mind:

A cottage in an isolated island village, one of those “back-to-nature” farming communities that were escaping the city states' governments.

His sister Raven, murder and madness in her eyes, fresh blood dripping from her sword.

Summer, calmly handing him a crying bundle of blankets with two tiny nubs sticking out from it.

“Take care of Ruby for me.”

He looked away, discretely wiped the tears welling in his eyes. “It's… it's a long story, and one that I'm not allowed to tell you anyway, princess...” he muttered as he turned back.

Weiss frowned. “I… I see. Sorry for bringing it up.”

Qrow shrugged. “You didn't know, Weiss.” He stared off into the distance. “None of us did.”

“… I'm going to go review some homework Penny gave me now, if you don't mind,” Weiss muttered as she pulled out her comm-crystal.

“Knock yourself out,” Qrow said, leaning back in his seat.

The others came back while Weiss was in the middle of the beginnings of the Eldan Council, formed from the larger of the independent tribes of Fae that roamed Avalon several millenia ago. Penny and Blake got raises from their original salaries because of their training and education of Weiss in addition to being her parole watchers, Zwei managed to get a sizable advance on his from being “very persuasive,” and for the first time in a thousand years, Ruby changed the Keeper's salary from ingredients for baking chocolate chip cookies.

“Now I'm getting paid in that, and seeds and supplies for the farm so you can eventually grow them yourself!” Ruby announced happily.

Weiss shot out of her seat. “SERIOUSLY?! Ruby, Penny, we are marching back in that office and getting you a better deal!” she said, taking Ruby's hand and dragging her off with her.

“But it is better!” Ruby said as she came with. “Penny said so.”

Weiss stopped, and turned around to Penny.

“I made the calculations: with the sheer amount of calories Ruby needs to consume thanks to all her activity, eventually taking over production of some if not all of the ingredients will have us ending up with far more Shinies than if we took her payment in cash, and bought food with the equivalent amount of caloric content.”

“It's why Keepers have been paid in cookies for all this time, and the amounts were only ever adjusted for inflation,” Qrow added. “Turns out, Gabija and her beau figured out the cheapest, most efficient, and completely complaint-free way to feed these gals without bankrupting themselves, or forcing the Council to spend WAY more than they really need to.”

Weiss stared. “… Are you shitting me right now?!”

Qrow shrugged. “Hey, most of those Keepers went on to live long, happy lives, and have perfectly healthy kids on almost-exclusively cookie-based diets, right?”

“It's supported by their vitae vine data,” Penny said. “Among the many unique physiological quirks of Keepers are their ability to thrive on a diet composed almost entirely of milk, sugar, and chocolate. They're quite the treasure trove of bizarre, baffling phenomena that stump makers to this day.”

Weiss slowly turned to Blake.

She shrugged. <Valley. Don't think too hard: head-hurt.>

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, and nodded slowly. “Let's go pawn my sister's Eluna plushie...” she muttered.

They had to wait a while at the Loans and Securities section for Nivian-speaking clerks to assist them, as Weiss was considered the borrower and the others were co-signers. Eventually, their number was called, and all of them walked up to the counter.

“Oh hey!” Nora said as she and Ren sat behind the security glass. “What a coincidence! I was wondering what kind of borrower would need someone who knew how to speak Nivian, and then I thought, 'Huh, what if it's Weiss?' and it turns out I was right!

“Isn't that neat?”

Weiss nodded slowly. “Uh… I suppose? Was the Guild short on employees today?”

Ren shook his head. “We're part-time workers here and in lots of other places,” he explained. “Me and Nora used to work all sorts of odd jobs back then, and we never truly lost the habit. So, how may we help you?”

Weiss put the Eluna on the counter. “I'd like to pawn my sister's Eluna plushie.”

Ren's eyes widened, Nora whistled. “Oh, Eluna...” she whispered, “is that an actual, limited edition Eluna plushie? I thought you could only see ones this nice in museums and collections that have their own security staff and fancy systems just for them!”

“No offense, but we'll have to verify that it's authentic first; we're still getting counterfeit Elunas every once in a while...” Ren said as he strapped on some gloves, and pulled out one of the Guild's own magical containers. “Unlock it, please?”

One by one, they pressed their hands, talon, or paw on the bubble, until it disappeared in a flash of magic.

Ren swiftly, carefully grabbed it out of the air and placed it in the Guild's container, a new bubble surrounding it. “Thank you, we'll be right back,” he said as he took it deeper inside.

Nora grabbed her hammer from under the counter and followed him.

Some time later, they returned with an entire cadre of watchers, complete with a guard wolf.

Ren set the Eluna back on the counter. “Good news: it's definitely real, and can be used as collateral for a loan.”

Weiss nodded. “How much is it worth?”

“741,000,000 Shinies,” Ren replied calmly.

Both of Zwei's jaws dropped.

“Holy fucking shit...” Ruby muttered.

Penny blinked. “I am sorry, I had not reserved enough processing power beforehand to comprehend such a large sum.”

<That… that is a LOT of money!> Blake said.

“All this time…” Qrow whispered, “all this time… we were sitting on a fucking Etherite mine…!”

Weiss finally recovered. “Is that in the condition it's in right now?”

“Yes,” Ren replied.

“It's been 12 years since production ended!” Nora added. “That's enough time for all the kids who saw their classmates showing off their Elunas to start earning serious money and want to buy their own, so they can show them up on Storybook and go, 'Look who's got an Ellie NOW, bitch?!'”

“A restoration job and the removal of the tears, snot, and despair smell is nothing compared to what people will pay for an Eluna in good enough condition,” Ren finished.

“How much is that in Urochs…?” Weiss mumbled.

Ren punched in the numbers on his terminal. “49,400,000 Urochs,” he calmly read off the screen.

“And how rich does that make me here in Fae society?” Weiss asked.

“Well,” Nora said, “we could bother you with all sorts of boring statistics about average wages, the cost of living a decent life here, and how much the richest Fae tend to have, or I could just say this:

“Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, motherfucker!”

“Please don't ask for all of that in cash,” Ren said calmly. “The Bastion does not have enough physical Shinies to pay you, and the logistics of producing that many new gems, shipping it from the other Council settlements, and transporting it to Keeper's Hollow will be EXTREMELY difficult, time-consuming, and complicated.”

Weiss held up a finger. “We'll be right back.”

“Huddle up everyone!” Ruby cried. “Emergency meeting!”

They all moved to one area, with Zwei looming over them and protecting them from eavesdroppers.

“Weiss, you're not TOO attached to that plushie, are you?” Qrow asked.

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby snapped.

“He does have a point in that selling the Eluna plushie outright will allow us to live very comfortably,” Penny added. “With proper investment, reasonably responsible spending, and no major disasters of any sort, your descendants for the next 1,000 years will most assuredly be living extremely comfortable lives.”

“See?” Qrow said. “Penny's with me!”

“I'm not, actually,” Penny replied, “I'm merely explaining that from a purely financial standpoint, selling the Eluna plushie outright is the better decision. From a more holistic perspective, the loss of such a valued sentimental item, and the definite emotional and psychological repercussions to Weiss makes it a terrible decision.”

“We're getting that Eluna back, Uncle Qrow,” Ruby growled.

They paused for Penny to summarize and translate it for Blake.

<I agree,> she said, <we're not defaulting on that loan.>

Qrow whined. “We could use the money, can't we?”

“Yes, there is no question about that,” Penny replied, “but taking out just a small portion of the total value will allow us more than enough capital to invest into Weiss, her farm, and general improvements to Keeper's Hollow, and give us time to pay off the loan within two or three years and reclaim the plushie.

“We can even safely squeeze in a sizable amount for luxury spending, such as tickets to Eve of the Ether for four of us!”

“But no kicking back with kickass beer and market-bought meat for the rest of our lives…?” Qrow asked.

Penny shook her head. “No, all my calculations assume we continue to earn our current wages or more, and my projections on the return of investment for Weiss' farming and training, erring on the side of caution.”

<Let's vote!> Ruby said. <Sell Eluna, raise your hand!>

Qrow raised his talon.

<Get Eluna back eventually, raise your hand!>

Everyone else raised their hands or their paws.

Qrow sighed. “Alright… alright… you girls win. But can we buy a still with it first, so Weiss here can start making booze…?”

“Yes, we can, so long as you promise to keep up your end of our payments!” Weiss replied.

“I will, I will...” Qrow replied.

Penny redid their plans, and after signing contracts and earmarking money for investments for the long-run, they had four tickets to the Eve of the Ether festival in Candela, four new fake IDs in the works, and some extra money for making costumes and converting into Urochs for the night of the event.

<Are you sure you don't want to come with us to Candela, Uncle Qrow?> Ruby asked as Blake and Weiss had their pictures taken.

Qrow sighed and shook his head. <Nah, you just take Penny, and enjoy yourselves; I'm pretty sure if I meet up with you-know-who again, it'll be anything but a heartwarming reunion.>

Ruby frowned. <She stopped hating you a long time ago—what does that say about him?>

<It's not him I'm worried about, Rubes...> Qrow muttered. He smiled. <Besides, I'll probably just end up getting totally wasted with all the 'witches' brews' going around, and ruin things for everybody.>

Ruby didn't smile back.

<Next!> the photographer called out.

<Go on, they're waiting,> Qrow waved her off.

Ruby sighed, and did.

Penny was ecstatic to hear that she was getting the fourth ticket instead, and had one of the biggest, brightest smiles Qrow had ever seen when she had her picture taken. After they got their fake documentation and Info-Grid histories, memorized all the small details and answers that'd throw off suspicious Peacekeepers, they left the Guild, the girls taking about their costume plans, and Weiss advising them on which places to hit up, and in what order to get the most out of their night.

He knew he should have been happy for them, but he just couldn't shake this feeling in his gut that something very bad was going to happen soon—and as his chronicle would attest, it was never wrong...

Note: 741,000,000 Shinies = 14,820,000 US Dollars

[frogsandfries]

I think I mentioned in my break-up tell-all that I had wanted to make a life-sized Garchomp plushie for my partner, and that had been one of my proposal ideas: I would give it a collar or a necklace or something with the message. It's getting cold outside. I think I'll make myself a kigu. Mmm n.n like maybe a nice double-lined kigurumi and it'll be all nice and comfy and toasty-warm. Yiiiiisssssss. I'll be the short chubby Garchomp. Ugh I don't know why I'm awake, but I'll tell you: My back huuurrrrrrrrttttttttsssssss. Well, I was talking to my dad about the van, about lifting the ceiling and all that. He laughed when I suggested that it would be ready to sell by spring, like really laughed like I was crazy. I'm so tired of hearing that other people did a thing that I'm trying to do and it took them a really long time--like I told my dad, I entered the BJD hobby with artists saying they spent years on a single sculpt. I sculpted my first doll in a month, and sure it was terrible, but several dolls later, I sculpted a doll in a month that years later, I'm still really proud of and I would even cast it. I don't really like other people being used as my metric, especially when I'm all fired up in determination. Like, no I'm not earning a lot of money, but I'm trying really hard to save as much of that money as possible to invest in this project. This van just is not enough space for me long term. No I'm not expecting it to sell immediately, but I only want to be in the space long enough to finish it and save enough money to move into a larger space. It's a slight bump in the path I wanted to take, but I think it's a worthy investment. Also, I am sick to freaking death of hearing my dad tell me, oh you're gonna wanna trailer you're gonna want a trailer get a trailer make sure you're thinking about a trailer. Like seriously: No. I don't want a trailer. A trailer defeats the whole purpose of all this. The whole purpose of this whole living in less space is the living in less space part. It's having just what I need and cutting the excess. Which was the whole point of rounding up all my stuff and literally getting rid of everything I don't immediately need or want. Just because my dad is a hoarder doesn't mean I am as well. His life may revolve around his stuff, but mine revolves around my studio practice. And part of what I think makes a good studio practice is parting with your stuff for money. Anything that isn't pertinent to my studio practice or basic life (like, clothes I can't/wouldn't/won't wear anymore, art stuff that I can't sell or repurpose, art supplies that I simply don't or won't use), basically if I think my dad would keep it, it needs to go. I just want a few essential dishes, enough clothing to fill my laundry, and art supplies and my current work. I need to be serious about what I have the space for. If I can condense my stuff down to fit in this space, then it will definitely fit in the next space. Organization and cleanliness are going to be key to making this work. I need to remind myself what my dad's space looks like, and I need to always bear in mind how this clutter makes me feel. Shit piled up the walls and into the walkways; so much shit, no one can find anything that they want, piles of long-forgotten clothing and canned food, garbage blending in as more forgotten shit. It's stressful. It's stressful to try to find a place to put my stuff that it won't get lost, it's stressful trying to find a place to sit or stand. Honestly, I want to go on an organizing rampage. My dad does NOT need half this shit he's lost and forgotten and hasn't used since he bought it years ago. No one does. And that's why I want to cut my possessions down to just a few plastic totes, enough that will fit in my new, semi-permanent living quarters. I'm also thinking about revamping that basket that I did a little customizing on when my ex bought it for me, and adding some kind of stabilizer on the inside of the lid, and then purchasing (or maybe making? Or customizing?) some cushions to make a nice bench out of it. I was thinking of having like one or two totes in some little benches, so there's a place to sit or sculpt or use my computer or even sleep, in the rear of the van. I might allow just two totes/benches on top of another. I certainly don't want to throw away any of the totes that I've purchased, but I'm dead serious about only using the space that I have. If that means emptying a couple totes and stacking them inside each other, that's what I'll do. There's literally no reason to complicate my life by towing a trailer everywhere I go. My dad may want a bus full of his shit plus a van plus like five trucks and three trailers, but I honestly have no idea how he's going to travel with that kind of arrangement, let alone where the hell he would put any of that. Just a bus could be kind of an eyesore, and we all know how shitty people can be about eyesores. I think honestly, if he's serious about getting on the road, he's going to have to shed the excess. Or y'know, he could just stay, weighed down by his hoard. I'll tell you one way I'm not my father's daughter. So on that, I think one of the biggest ways I stabbed myself in my own foot previous times I lived in a small space by myself was that I either didn't have a garbage collection system, or I didn't utilize it. Maybe I got hung up actually getting garbage out, or hung up letting garbage just be wherever. I wasn't respectful of the space and moreover, I wasn't respectful to myself. I didn't like the clutter piling up, but it felt like too much of an obstacle to get everything picked up and organized. I'm lazy as hell, and I've learned that the best way for me to stay organized is to get garbage where it's going in the first place. This is a chance to practice what I've learned in the last year and a half, and put it into the rest of my life. This is why it's so important for me to not only remember how my dad's clutter stresses me out, but to put into practice the tools that will help me keep from repeating the same mistakes and falling into the same trap. I can't let him talk me out of the boundaries I've set for myself. But I sure wouldn't say no to something warm to cuddle up in.....the nights are getting longer and colder.......and it's gonna be just me for a while...........

[pinkiepieaddict]

THIS is why we put up with the townies.

One of the questions that I’ve been asked a lot since starting these journal (Probably the second most common question after “Can you make me a Futa-Garnet plushie with removable panites”) has been “Why do you put up with the townies?” It’s obvious that most of the people in my town don’t like them, and that many of us would prefer it if they lived somewhere else. But the truth of the matter is that we need them, and without them it’s unlikely that we would be able to go on as a town for much longer. My town is pretty small even by the standards of Small town America, and we’re pretty remote. We look at small towns on TV, like Hawkins, Bridgeville or Gatlin, and we think that they are the proverbial big city. Bustling metropolises with suburbs larger than us. For most of our history this has suited us pretty well. Being small and remote has allowed us to preserve a sense of community and culture that’s been lost in many places, but it has also meant that we’ve stagnated as a town, and during the post war years it - with the introduction of reliable television and radio services – it became apparent to a lot of people that there was a big wide world out there with a lot of possibilities that we simply couldn’t offer them. People began to leave. Many of them didn’t come back, and they left at a rate which was too high to replace simply by people having more children. The first place that this hit were family farms, which gradually began to find that there simply wasn’t enough labor available to sow and harvest. More than a few commercial farms became subsistence farms, and more than a few subsistence farms became abandoned farms. This meant less produce being sold outside of the town, and less money being brought in. Which in turn meant less money being spent with local businesses and less taxable income for the town hall. For a while we struggled on, using the promise of cheap land and fertile soil to attract farmers from other parts of the country to settle here. We also used our geographic isolation to our advantage by attracting people suffering from cold war paranoia. Mostly preppers and survivalists who wanted to make sure that when\if the bombs dropped, or when\if society crumbled, they would be far enough away from from everything to survive. But swapping one generation of subsistence farmers for another can only get you so far, and survivalists and attracting preppers who are concerned with self sufficiency is not a good way to expand a town. So we needed to find a new source of people, and a new form of investment for the town. Several of the larger farms, including my own family farm adapted to modern times by joining an organic farming collective. We leveraged the fact that our soil was fertile and chemical free, and started growing crops and raising livestock for export to expensive restaurants and markets on the coast, where people were willing to pay considerable sums of money for produce that we could barely sell for a profit locally. Many of us also started up small businesses from out farms. My own family opened up a commercial gunsmiths and a business selling premium leather goods to the country and western\rodeo scene, and later on we joined a sustainable living collective to help people wanting to reduce their dependence on others for energy and water. But all of this benefited us more than the town, as we tended reinvested most of our profits into our farms and businesses. After much discussion, and more than a little controversy, the town hall used its funds to buy derelict properties and abandoned farms. The dusted off the cobwebs (and in a couple of cases moved the dead bodies), and found an agency willing to sell them to people seeking a simpler way of life. The agreement was that they buy the properties for below market value, and would be exempt from a lot of local taxes and zoning ordinances, and in return they would use local material and labor to renovate the properties. For the most part this went well, and the town hall was able to leverage the success of the scheme to get a loan, which it then used to make more land available, and to renovate more properties so that they could be sold at a higher price. This began while I was out of the country, so by the time I was back the first set of townies were already well established, and I tend not to think of them as townies quite so much as they tended to be conservative and pragmatic people. The kind of people who would move to a small town, and renovate an old farm house for the love of it. The second set of townies were starting to arrive when I came back to the US, and they were the ones that I tend to think of as townies. Mostly because they were less inclined to renovate than the first set of new arrivals, and more inclined to pay people to renovate for them. They were people who wanted to escape from the rat race, and from the hustle and bustle of the suburbs, but who liked the idea of country living without really understanding what it mean. This is kinda where things started to go astray. My town brought in a public relations company to manage the sales, and that company targeted people based on their fears and worries claiming that small town life could resolve all of their problems. It’s not spoken of openly, but they essentially took advantage of white flight by targeting white people looking to live in a white town where white values kept minority problems at bay. People who wanted to get their children away from bad (minority) influences, and (minority) crime. That kind of thing. So, we tended to get people who considered themselves to be conservative, but whom were mostly just white people from the suburbs that blamed minorities for everything that they didn’t like. They were also the kind of people who had enough money to uproot their families and move them across the country on a whim. Which meant that their children were used to a suburban lifestyle with suburban conveniences, and that when they inevitably rebelled they sided with all of the things that their parents hated. AKA liberalism and minorities. And we were caught in the crossfire. These are the townies who raise petitions and who like to talk about things such as sexism and racism without really understanding what they mean. Despite some teething trouble, and some rather unhappy townie kids, this expansion went well. The townies brought a lot of new money with them, and they used a lot of local resources. New grocery stores were opened to sell things to the new residents, and new products appeared on the shelves as well. Two lumber mills that had been closed since the 1980s even reopened. One of they by the original owners. Other new businesses opened to support the new residents, and it was generally agreed that the boost that this brought to our local economy was worth the inconvenience of having to pick townies out of drainage ditches, or rescuing them from trees, in fields with angry bulls. Capitalizing on the success of selling the renovated houses the town hall decided to go into the building game. They borrowed more money, and took advantage of several government grants, and they built a series of small eco-communities. Essentially neighborhoods filled with homes that were deigned form the ground up to be environmentally friendly. They had all of the latest technology to give them low energy and water consumption, and even had micro generation facilities such as wind and solar power. It was quite a big gamble, but it paid off almost instantly. A national house builder set up a branch here, as did a machinery rental company. Individually they were the largest investments that the town had ever seen. And on the strength of them being here more companies invested in the town in order to get a piece of the pie. Then the next wave of townies arrived, and you only need to read my journals to see the problems that they caused. To be fair, most of what happened was entirely predictable. We wanted people with more money, so we offered them all of the modern conveniences, but in a setting that was free from the worries of the modern world. So we ended up attracting people who had more money and who were more used to modern conveniences, but who also had more worries about the modern world than the previous set of townies We essentially built a gated community, and populated it with wealthy overly protective helicopter parents from coastal states who believed that they were moving into a small town themed pioneers village, and their overly protected, overly entitled children. Children who had lead extremely sheltered lives, who were raised to believe that they were perfect, and that the world existed to service them. Children that the townies who were already here considered to be a bunch of snowflakes. Children who resented being uprooted from their comfortable suburbs and moved to a hick town on the middle of nowhere were the nearest shopping mall was three towns over, and the average number of bars on their phone was 1, or maybe 2. I’m sure that you can guess how well that went. And if you can’t guess, just read my journals and see. These are the townies who are totally helpless and totally clueless, and who jump on every bandwagon that they see. Attempting to fill the voids in their lives with any cause that they can cling to or any group that makes them feel like they belong to something. But that was then and this is now. Our town is no longer stagnating. Tax revenue has never been higher. We are getting more external investment than we’ve ever had, and this has enabled us to repair and enhance pretty much every aspect of town life and infrastructure. Before the townies came here the average internet speed in the center of town was 128k, and at the peripheries it was 28.8 on dial-up. Now, you can expect 30mb in the town center, 100mb in the eco-homes, and on the peripheries download speeds are sitting between 2 and 8mb, depending whether your are on cable or microwave dish. We have a new civic center. You can get national cable TV in most places. The roads into\out of town have all been resurface. And there is a regular bus service running on them. We can buy more products in the local stores than ever before. Stores even stocks 3 types of tampon. Which is a big change from the past when they stocked 2 (these being the type that was too big, and the type that was too small), and courier services now come here, which makes it possible for people such as myself to do things like open up online stores selling our products to the rest of the country. Yes, there have been trade offs, and a lot of teething trouble, and yes the townie kids are a pain to live with, but it’s because of them and their parents that the town now has a future. Before the townies came we were essentially a backwater that was threatening to become a ghost town. A place populated by farmers who were to stubborn to leave, and preppers waiting for society to crumble so that they could stand up and proclaim “I told you so”. Now, we're a town with a future. So, in short, we put up with the townies because we need them. And having them here is a trade off that we have had to make.