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#or this will be the reason i learn to animate
happycrabitat · 3 days
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Take the memory, leave the shell! Watch what happens when we return seashells to the beach & marine hermit crabs!
Seashells are so important to beaches for a whole host of reasons.
🐚Over-shelling can affect hermit crabs because it reduces the availability of suitable shells for them to inhabit. Hermit crabs rely on empty shells of other creatures for protection and shelter. When there are too few shells available, hermit crabs may be forced to inhabit inadequate shells & pollution as homes, which can hinder their growth and make them more vulnerable to predators and environmental stressors. This can ultimately impact their survival and reproductive success.
🐚Shells provide homes or attachment surfaces for algae, sea grass, sponges, coral and a host of other microorganisms.
🐚Animals such as decorator crabs and octopus use shells as camouflage and many fish use shells as hiding places to avoid predators.
🐚Shells help to stabilize beaches and anchor seagrass.
🐚Shells are used by shorebirds to build nests.
🐚When shells break down, they provide nutrients for the organisms living in the sand or for those that build their own shells. (Shells are a major source of calcium.) I’m a firm believer in when we know better, we do better. I once shelled, and then when I learned all of this, I returned all shells that were not sprayed with a clear varnish to the beach & watched the marine hermit crabs go wild changing shells that were so needed!
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flem17ng · 2 days
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It’s a date.
UCLA! jessie fleming x reader
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summary: reader starts her first semester at UCLA and meets bruins midfielder, jessie fleming.
content: fluff, short one-shot. author has no knowledge of the American education system.
The first day of university was always going to be hard. New people, new campus, new lecturers and new classes all together. Maybe it was the fact you’d never been this far from home before that made it worse. 
UCLA was your dream school. Quite literally. You remeber looking at the university website back when you where in middle school and imagining yourself there: kicking a ball in the oval, studying in a library, laps in the big pools. the feeling of actually being here was… overwhelming. 
Like all eighteen year olds do, you had launched yourself into this thing head first: packed bags, kissed your dog goodbye and hopped on the plane. And like most eighteen year olds , you where now struck with the intensity of your actions. 
Here you where, miles from home, no connections in the state, standing outside the lecture theatre for your first class. So yes, overwhelming would be the word of choice. 
You looked down at your timetable for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last minute, checking and triple checking that you had got the room right. 
“Environmental Studies: Spheres 101”. The name of the course seemed to taunt you at you stared at it blankly. 
Leave it to you to go to one of the most prestigious sports schools in the world, (doing very minimal sport yourself) and end up doing a course all about what? Water, earth, wind and fire?
You knew it was more important than that of course. You picked environmental engineering for a reason: because you cared about that sort of stuff! 
You took a long breath readying to walk in when-
“Oh shit I am so sorry! God I was not looking where I was going!” The thump in your shoulder didn’t knock you quite as off balance as the thick Canadian accent. You froze for a moment, not knowing whether to be pissed at this stranger’s clumsiness or charmed but the voice that reminded you of home. Your eyes flashed up to meet the source of the voice and decided to be charmed. 
Her eyes where the first thing you noticed: large and brown and…. well charming you suposed. Every other part of the girls face fell neatly into place behind those eyes: perfect, warm and adorned with a lopsided and slightly guilty smile. 
It was then that you realised you hadn’t responded. 
“Oh no don’t worry. I was distracted myself” you rushed out, words melding into a lump as they rushed to get passed your lips. It was worth it as you watched the girls guilt melt away into an easier grin. 
“Another Canadian! I thought I was going to be alone here you know” she laughed “I don’t think I would have survived”. 
You nod eagerly, feeling the other girls  relief. “God same! I’m already off kilter over here”
“Eh. we’ll muddle through” she grinned back giving an animated wink before looking back at the door you where still loitering before. 
“Might need to…” she trailed off at motioned with her chin to the door. 
“Right right yes! I don’t want to be late to learn about the spheres of the environment” you drawled sarcastically. The girl rolled her eyes in agreement. 
“Right!? when I saw that on my timetable I couldn’t believe it! I swear I learned this in 9th grade”. 
“American’s eh?” you tut with a playful smile. God you hoped none of the resident americans would over hear you. 
The girl (you realised you didn’t yet know her name) laughed loudly, her teeth flashing handsomely (Looking at her you realised that “handsome” was a pretty accurate diagnosis: broad shoulders, a freakishly athletic build, sharp jawline. Yes, handsome was the word). Together you walked forward into the lecture hall, thankfully not late before parting ways: her going to sit next to a few other athletic looking girls with tight ponytails, and you going to sit near the front (curse your poor eyesight). 
~
To be brutally honest, after that little interaction, you almost completely forgot about the handsome canadian girl with charming eyes from your environmental engineering course. Almost. You saw her about a few times: in the distance on the playing field, walking around campus. But you hadn’t really talked to her since that first class at the beginning of semester. Everytime you got into class she was already there, sitting next to the Bruins girls, pen in hand, with deadly focus. 
You reasoned that it would be impolite to interrupt her, it would be nosy to try join her little group and it would be downright stalkerish to try track her down across campus. 
Not to mention the university work that was flooding in… it was not stopping for anything, that’s for sure, definitely not your strange hang up over a girl you had one interaction with. 
Your reasoning for this preoccupation was simply that you missed home: Canada seemed so far away especially as the weather only got warmer. This girl was simply a reminder that the faraway moose land was real! Additionally, maybe your brain got confused: a kind interaction plus the familiar Canadian accent equals weird unreasonable attachment. 
You shook your head and tried to refocus your eyes in the screen in front of you. You had been staring at the blank document you so long that your head had started to ache and the hot chocolate you bought before you sat down was now definitely cold. The cafe was one of those tiny ones with maybe three indoor tables and a booming espresso machine that took up most of the counter space by the cash register and drowned out the soft music echoing from the speakers. 
You had found it during the second week of semester and now frequented it most afternoons to try and crank out as many assignments as possible. Routine was important, you must understand that. 
You squeezed your eyes shut and rubbed your temple before being rudely startled by a tap of the shoulder. 
“Jeezus! give a girl some warning please!” you snapped before looking up at the offender. Brown eyes stared back at you filled with an amused glint. 
“We gotta stop meeting like this” she laughed. The same laugh that showed off her handsome features and warm glow. 
“Oh hey! It’s um… you!” it wasn’t meant to sound like a stutter but it came out that way anyways. 
“Jessie” she smiled softly, catching your fumble “Jessie Fleming? We have some lectures together?” 
“Yes no! I remember sorry. I just didn’t catch your name” you rambled, feeling suddenly very foolish. She patted your shoulder to pull you out of the spiral. 
“I know. I’m just messing” she sat down in the seat opposite you with a sigh. 
It was then that you really looked at her. She looked very much the same as she had the first time apart from a few key things: her hair was shorter (sitting just above her shoulders whereas before it had hung in a long plat down her back) and her left eye seemed strangely swollen and purple. 
“Um… get into a fight Fleming?” you asked, indicating to her, now obvious, black eye. To your surprise she laughed!
“Oh this old thing! No just a bad tackle during soccer practice” she grinned, poking the swollen lid with a dramatic wince. 
“Soccer… OH! Oh it makes sense now” you lean back in your chair and look at her like you had only just noticed her properly. 
“Fleming! 21! bruins midfielder! God I never made the connection!” you laughed, feeling stupid. Maybe if you had payed more attention to the sport at your SPORT university, you would have found out her name sooner. 
“Oh hush. It’s really nothing” she muttered looking embarrassed. 
“No, shut up Fleming. No it isn’t! I heard a girl in the library talking about your goal in a match a few weeks ago! Boy I know jack shit about sport but I know it was impressive” you hissed back eagerly. 
“No really-“
“Take the damn compliment Jessie”
“Fine! Thank you” she smiled awkwardly with a role of her eyes “It was a pretty good goal I guess”
You smiled and watched her for a long moment as she settled into the seat fully. Your eyes followed her perfect nose, flickered up to her eyebrows before coming to rest at her lips. How could someone look that good so effortlessly?
“Staring is rude” she stated bluntly, as her lips curled into a smirk. You looked away with a jerk, cheeks flaming. 
“I- I was not!”
“Okay…”
“I wasn’t staring! You soccer types, always so big headed!” you mumble, crossing your arms across your chest. You felt childish: of course you had been staring! God how silly that this girl, Jessie, thought you could hold back from staring at her! You’re only human after all. 
“I-“ Jessie started to speak but cut herself off, her mouth hanging open slightly. 
“Yes?”
“I might be out of play for a few weeks. Concussion protocols and all that but… well stop me if this is too forward but, I’d love for you to come to a game? One of my games I mean” her question ended in a rush before she leaned back from the table with big curious eyes. You stared back, dumbfounded. It took a shake of your head to get you to respond. 
“You want me to come to a bruins game?”
“Uhh. Yes?”
“You know I don’t know anything about soccer?”
“I did assume that, yes.”
“But you want me there?”
“Yes.” her tone was soft but firm, determined. “I want you to come to a game please. To watch me play? Or we can watch it together if I’m still out for injury?”
You laugh and clap a hand over your mouth. 
“Are you asking me on a date Jessie Fleming?” you spit out, feeling suddenly emboldened by the other girls flustered expression. Jessie’s cheeks only became redder at your sudden inquiry. 
“Yes please?” came her hopeful squeak. 
You grinned and leaned over the table, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, just under her bruised eye, before sitting back in one swift movement. 
“Ok. But you’re going to have to let me wear your jersey 21. Oh, and explain the offside rule.”
Jessie groaned, but her pink cheeks gave her away. 
“Fine. It’s a date.” 
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Are Merch Mimics capable of using assimilation offensively against humans, for self-defense and otherwise? Like, if someone tried to break a toy/game/etc they were inhabiting, could the Mimic instead pull them in?
To a degree, yeah. I should mention though that Victor isn't "in" the TV in any magical sense; spoiler alert: he's the controller Vance is holding! Hence, the eye on the controller reacting to the dialogue. The Victor on the screen is actualy a model he rigged for a homebrew game he coded the old fashioned way, which responds to whatever inputs the controller sends to the Wii.
He actually is an active member of the homebrew community, and loves to mess with electronics the old fashioned way. Almost no one on the forums knows he's a toy bird, but are impressed nonetheless with his little projects, various rail-shooter games, and weird obsession with snarky anthropomorphic birds.
Victor could technically "jump into a game" on a tv screen, but it'd be a bit of a weird process if he doesn't know how to mod the game, so it'd look more like a shitty greenscreen effect rather than anything coherent. He'd need to learn in real time how the game is coded, how to inject arbitrary code into the system while it's running, etc etc. He CAN do that because he's a fucking NERD, but it wouldn't be a quick process at all.
I should also mention, mimics have an inherent ability to create dreams, since they come about from processing the thoughts and ideas of humans. If a human bonds with a mimic, such that the mimic now knows how the human thinks, they can pull a (somewhat) willing human into the dream when the human sleeps. So to wrap this all up: what Victor could do for a game he understands inside and out is pull a human into a dream that happens to match whatever he himself experiences as currently going on in the game. Basically the ultimate VR experience, with the mimic as a middle-man. Which might be something that'll happen in the comic soon....!
So that all seems a bit convoluted, right? Here's even more worldbuilding about matter assimilation by mimics below the cut. Stop here if you don't want a headache.
The reason so many hoops would be needed to pull a human into a game world is that assimilation is much easier on inert, inanimate objects that are not currently "in use" by a thinking thing, or something that relies on constant electrical signals to function. This can be something with brainwaves, or some other kind of animation like a normal robot. A mimic can convert a CRT TV that's turned off somewhat easily, but a TV that's turned on, with particles of every kind constantly moving into and out of it, is much harder to convert.
This means that humans and biological creatures in general are also trickier to convert, though it can still happen if done gradually enough. Hence, Victor wouldn't be able to rapidly convert Vance in one fell swoop, it'd be a whole process. It's easier to just pull a human into a dream instead, and if a mimic undersrands a video game, or a story in a book really well, they can basically make the fictional world into an extremely lucid reality for whatever human tags along with them.
I often describe mimics as just "jojo stands if they were corporeal and could just get up and move around on their own with no user"; you know how in jojo stand battles or old stories about magic curses, if you break the curse or kill the stand before its effect becomes permanent, all of the damage is magically undone? Like if you kill Green Day, the mold stand, all of the molding just instantly stops?
Mimics who use their powers of assimilation offensively work similarly; they can project their influence to a certain range, and partially assimilate matter in that range. If you knock out or kill the mimic, however, everything reverts to normal. A human who doesn't want to get converted can basically just turn around and walk away most of the time, or shoot the mimic, so the mimic in question needs to pull off some trick to get the human to stay within range for the assimilation to fully stick. A human can still break free and get out of range even if fully converted, but it's much harder, as assimilation usually means the mimic gaining greater control over the converted object in question. The exact range and effect mimics have is again like jojo stand ranges; it varies.
Different mimics have different affinities for different things. Victor can assimilate cheap electronics fastest because he likes them and understands how they work (it's why he's a toy bird mp3 player). Az can assimilate guns, and turn ammo into weird anomalous ammo with weird effects. Zachary is a genius who can assimilate any matter, including biological matter, faster than anyone... but he's also extremely picky and hates the sight of blood, so he only uses assimilation on things he really, really likes.
If I could somehow make another read more at this point, I would. It's gonna get messy:
What a weird power and setup though, right? Why? The true nature of mimics is unknown to most of them, but the deepest lore is that the first mimics were constructs made by a people long ago, who first made them as highly advanced machines that'd recognize the thoughts of their masters to fulfill any practical desire. Need a road built? Done. Need a ship repaired? Done. With physical needs all met, the people began to turn inward, and use the mimics to illustrate their own artistic ideas. Eventually, the will and consciousness of these people were assimilated and inherited by mimics, who themselves became people. Mimics spread, altered themselves, duplicated, deviated, fused, split, and wandered around. Getting into recreational wars, manifesting horrors and delights into reality because they could.
Somehow, after the dust settled, the strongest mimics, the angels, decide to set their sights to the stars, and observe other lifeforms develop technology and their own art. Did mimics come to earth millions of years ago, and simply watched humans grow, evolving with them in-tandem? Or did humans make the first mimics, and somehow became undone and set back to the stone age? The answer to this mystery is currently known only to the oldest of mimics. Except Zachary. He's old, but didn't care to remember.
This is generally why mimics seem so compatible with humans; they were made by either them, or people who were, for whatever the reason, very much like them, flaws and all. The ability to assimilate is basically the conversion of matter into a more malleable state of information. A virtually magical power, but this was achieved not through prayers and spells, but a very human-like obsession with developing technology to the point of exerting control over molecules, then atoms, then the lowest planks of matter. The obsession with scaling every mountain and crossing through every valley. To rip the natural world apart, and hopefully, put it back together before it's too late. Angels seek to ensure humanity walks the right path there, but with human's own desires and intent honored, for better or worse.
To answer your question: yes. A mimic of Mario can pull you into the game and you can jump with him and eat shitty low poly spaghetti with him.
The process for doing that is just convoluted and complicated, and you need to get to know each other a bit first. If he tries to use it as an attack though, it either won't work, or it might just wind up giving you mild brain damage.
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chubphoe-linkclick · 2 days
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Hey so S2E9 'Three Stroires' was fucking bonkers
LETS TALK ABOUT IT
The episode is DENSE AS ALL HELL with things to talk about, the three main things being
The titles
The art style and style of storytelling
The dialogue (or lack thereof)
Lets speedrun some analysis notes of our three favourite members of the worst found family ever!!
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Storytelling Styles
All three stories are emotionally driven and told in dramatic styles without realism, though all for differing reasons.
QJ mimics the over-the-top Shakespearean reminiscent of his wife, believing himself to be the main character of a tragedy. Though this style of story telling is obviously campy and corny, it's also presented in a way where it's not immediately clear to the viewers that this isn't actually real -- it's a fabrication of the canon within the canon as a reflection of QJ's delusions.
LTC mimics QJ, however, his disposition leads to him seeing everything as a Greek Comedy as opposed to perma-victim QJ's Greek Tragedy. It also reflects LTC ultimately leaning into and revelling in killing other people as part of his hunter ethos and evolution. LTC's style does not need to be realistic because LTC isn't looking for meaning in his story, but for an experience that's enjoyable and satisfying.
QJ and LTC's style complement each other with both being able to come together to tell a more cohesive narrative overall, although each does so by focusing on themselves more than anyone else.
LTX is a silent cartoon telling of her life story, quite literally the story that's gone untold, bar the words of the gossiping crows (people with frivolous and passing interest in her life writing their own stories about the events she goes through). Her story telling style is a reflection of her mindset and being trapped cognitively as a child for all time, and is further indication that her personhood wasn't allowed to independently grow since becoming an orphan.
LTX's story is outside of QJ and LTC's narrative because she cannot speak, and thus her story does not matter. No dramatisation of reality to paint a certain picture is needed, nor is her story seen or understood in either of theirs. Her story is insular and disconnected from theirs because her personhood is disconnected from theirs.
LTX's story is told through the lens of LTC and LX's worldview: that the world is made up of beasts and hunters. There is only ever one human character (likely LX himself rather than QJ, based on how visually loyal everyone else's designs are) while LTX watches LTC straddle the line between animal (his nature) and human (his will).
Story Titles
QJ's part being called the "Inevitable Tragedy" is a reference to how he is the creator of his own misfortune as it was never based in reality but his own unchecked paranoia.
LTC's part is called the Fortuitous Comedy is because it was fortuitous for QJ to find out about the twins' powers before anyone else via Tianchen's confession and subsequent laughter. It could also be due to LTC reaching his perceived hunter-status by the fortuitous case of Deng being Liu Min's first requested kill (for the same reason LTC hates Deng, no less).
LTX's title being the "Sibling's Fairy Tale" is rather self explanatory, much like the character herself if you took the damn time to talk to her. It's childish, stuck in the past (trauma), focused on her brother and the other light of her life: their late-mother. Another piece of insight that I remembered hearing is that fairy tales don't always have happy endings, but they always have a moral to learn from. In this sense, Xixi's story is thematically the most important because no character has put that moral into practice (confronting the worst aspects of those you love, refusing to look away from the secrets they hide while you stay in a peaceful dream with their softness).
Additional Notes
QJ caring for the twins in Part II is a reflection of LTC being gaslit about reality (reinforced by QJ's fatherly love being absent in LTX's story), as well as a reflection of his sense of self and human autonomy only beginning and flourishing due to the circumstances QJ provided
LTX's story suggests that most of the time she spends with LTC involves her napping in some form, or that most of her time in general was slept away as if she was trapped in some strange dream.
The only betrayal even hinted at is LTC's betrayal of LTX's morality, a twist that literally shatters LTX's childlike world and forces her hurdling into reality. This is the only betrayal because the twins are the only two who have trust in one another among the three.
Someone else made a point about how even when the foxboy picks up the bow and arrow, he remains a fox. In LTX's eyes, her brother can act as a hunter but he's still a beast and that's not a bad thing.
The fact that most people are 'beasts' and there's only one human in all of LTX's worldview really is some solid symbolism and messaging, especially considering LTX is socially classified as an undesirable a la her disabilities. It's peak reclamation and pride in Oneself.
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In your opinion, which one of the TR guys would be the most likely one to end up as a househusband? Head canons for it?
Lmao I don't think he's the most likely but for some reason Ran is the one who popped into my head first. He would definitely be bad at it at first though and would have to learn to cook and clean properly. But I could see him hanging out with the local mum's and gossiping with them while running errands. Then being really happy whenever you got home.
I could see Baji fitting the role too, he was definitely raised to have the cooking and cleaning bits down. And I could see him volunteering or helping local animals out in his free time.
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clanwarrior-tumbly · 12 hours
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Cant help but notice krubus stardew in the requests,,, so if i may,,,
How about a oneshot/headcanons, whichever ya think works better, for a farmer Reader who's roommates with Krobus, and Shane ends up visiting the farm, and accidentally finds Krobus and the reader is trying their best to calm the situation down or smthn? :]
Ofc you dont have to do this!!
Salt anon (have a good day also!!! always lovely to see ya on my dash :] )
YES MY TWO FAVES <3333
Got carried away but I had so many ideas for this one
.......
'I should check the coop. The void chicken could be hungry, and [y/n] may appreciate me stepping up. But...what if a human saw me? Oh Yoba...I hope there's no surprise visitors today..'
As Krobus paced around your cabin, he kept looking outside the window at the snowfall, the coop just within his sights. It was the second day of winter, and all of the animals you've been raising were huddled inside for the season, the hay keeping their bellies full.
But something told him that the void chicken you recently introduced to the farm felt lonely, a misfit among the "normal" chickens. She wasn't too sociable around them, and that worried Krobus.
Of course he, of all people, could understand why.
To this very day, the shadow monster couldn't fathom why you'd take him into your home..when his existence alone scared humanity and could damage your reputation with the town.
What would the villagers think if they learned you're housing a beast who once dwelled in the mines?
Many weren't anywhere near as brave as you were when it comes to venturing deep into shadow monster territory....and the few who had the guts to made it their personal mission to slay as many of his people as possible.
Or at least..what remained of them after the elemental wars.
Surprisingly enough, some of the brutes began visiting your farmland at night, and Krobus would see them hiding in the foliage, behind trees..or even rummaging through your crops, yet never taking anything for themselves.
He wishes he could greet them normally, ask what drew them to the surface, or try to reason that you're a good human who shouldn't be attacked.
Yet in the back of his mind...he feared being branded a traitor for siding with the species that hurt so many of his own people.
What would they do if they noticed his pendant and realized a human gifted it to him?
Surely they would freak out, coerce him into coming back to the mines where it was "safe"...or worse, they'd kill you and make him watch. He couldn't let his presence be known, lest they discovered you were housing him and destroyed the life you built here.
You would think he betrayed you and brought a siege upon your land--after all you've done to shelter him from the cruelty of the world.
Not even Yoba would forgive such a sin.
Even though he felt his connection with his people drifting with each passing week, he was content with his choice to live with you. He wouldn't trade your kindness and generosity for the world.
Plus, you've told him over and over that you knew what you were signing up for. You knew it when you first bought a void egg from him. You knew it when you and the wizard broke up his fight with Dwarf. You knew it when you created a space in your home that suited his environmental needs.
All he could offer you was a stardrop in return, but it was more than enough for you.
Krobus vowed to contribute to the farm's many tasks how ever he could..when it safe for him to step outside of course.
On this cold winter's day, he figured checking out the coop would be a great first step.
He peeked into your bedroom, discovering you to be sound asleep and looking rather peaceful.
Indeed, it was a stark contrast to how battered and bruised you were last night, having returned from the Skull Caverns at midnight. None of his people ventured there, considering the desert climate would be unbearable for them to live in, but while sharing meals he'd listen to your tales of serpents, mummies, and even dinosaurs living down below.
By comparison..the monsters in the mines seemed tamer and were somewhat civilized, and at his request you managed to avoid fighting them if you could.
The beasts you encountered in the Skull Caverns were brutal and unforgiving, and you had no choice but to defend yourself.
This trip in particular took quite a toll on your body, as you had to use a warp totem to get home...and even then, you were limping from sheer exhaustion. So much so Krobus had to assist you up the stairs and into your bed. He ran the the risk of being seen, yet his concern over your health took priority.
Sleep didn't easily come for him, but it only did after he prayed and thanked Yoba for bringing you home.
He didn't like the idea of you pushing yourself to work so early in the morning, so he decided he'll help lighten that load.
Starting with the coop.
Opening the door, he breathed in the crisp winter air, relieved to not see any humans in sight. There was your pet, who was initially frightened by his sudden arrival, but now warmly greeted him as they climbed the steps.
Krobus laughed softly, crouching down to pet them. "Good morning, little one." He whispered. "Enjoying the snow? I like it very much..but I can't say our chicken friends will agree."
He stood and continued on his way to the small building, eager to check up on your animals and see to it that they're fed.
But unbeknownst to him, a human arrived onto your farmland at that same moment, only seeing a dark figure creeping into the coop.
And he just so-happened to be the man who cared for chickens more than life itself.
......
Shane arrived at your farm, holding a small envelope with a letter inside. It contained a recipe for some dessert--not one that he made or discovered, of course, but rather one he tore out of a magazine.
His first thought was of you, knowing you liked gathering fresh produce and made your own meals..compared to him, a lazy bum who microwaves processed garbage in a plastic dish and called it "dinner."
It wasn't much, but it was the least he could do for a friend who pulled him out of such a dark place..
You were taking a shortcut to the sewer when you found him near the cliffs...where he was truly at his lowest. He doesn't remember much of what he said, but you told him that he considered ending his own life, yet changed his mind after you told him some comforting words.
All the strength you've gained down in the mines allowed you to drag him to the hospital, where you stayed by his side the entire night. Even when Harvey assured you he'll be okay, you refused to abandon him.
Shane never thought anybody in this town would care if he just up and disappeared, yet despite his rudeness towards you...you managed to break down his walls and show him that you cared.
And all it took were some peppers, pizza, eggs, and stupid amounts of persistence.
It really hit him that he almost did something he couldn't reverse..and he never wanted you, Jas, or Marnie to see him get that bad again.
So he promised to make some serious changes, see that counselor Harvey recommended to him, and cut back on the hours he spends at the saloon after work.
The last time you both talked, you mentioned Robin upgrading your coop's space, and Shane was thrilled. So he figured he'd come visit and see how the animals were doing in this cold weather.
He was also curious about that "void egg" you got from a merchant...and he wondered who it was if not Marnie.
Obviously he'd feel like a jerk if he came emptyhanded, or awkward if you weren't actually home right now, thus he decided to bring the letter and recipe just in case. A small surprise "gift" for you to come back to later.
As he approached your mailbox, however, he noticed a dark figure opening the door to your coop. He couldn't tell who it was as they quickly went inside, as though afraid of being seen.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep making him see things, but-
"Huh? What kinda tracks are these..?" He looked down, finding footprints in the snow that didn't belong to any human's.
In fact, they seemed to have clawed toes..
Just like a monster's.
At the saloon, you recounted tales of how you've encountered slimes, plant monsters, bats, and even shadow creatures on your farmland at night--as well as your adventures down in the mines with skeletons, ghosts, and more.
Most of the regulars were 99% certain you were drunk, but others believed your stories and were fascinated by them, as you'd show them gems as proof of your excursions. Sebastian in particular was intrigued by the frozen tear you discovered, flattered that you allowed him to keep it.
Shane, on the other hand, merely dismissed your tales with a "buh" and an eyeroll before sipping away at his beer. He was never a strong believer in the supernatural..convinced that only slimes, rock crabs, flies, and bats dwelled in the mines and nothing else.
Living Skeletons? Metal Heads?? Shadow Shamans???
You HAD to be either drunk, on drugs, or both at the same time.
Although he's become more open-minded to your stories since befriending you, he was still skeptical...yet the footprints he was seeing in the snow didn't match up to any animal he knew in the valley.
Whatever it was, it must've figured out that your coop was an all-you-can-eat-buffet.
That thought alone made him break out into a cold sweat, picking up a stone before rushing towards the building. He didn't hear any noise inside, and that made him all the more concerned.
You helped him when he needed it most, and now he'll repay you by defending your chickens...even though he knew nothing about fighting monsters.
Upon opening the door, he was stunned to find a shadowy humanoid creature holding your void chicken in its arms. It had a goopy smile on its face, looking down at the bird-
Before there was a furious shout.
"HEY! Put that chicken down!"
.........
"HEY! Put that chicken down!"
Just as you were tuning into the Oracle's channel on TV, you were startled by the sound of Shane yelling at someone-
Wait..
'What's Shane doing on my farm? And at this hour, too?? I thought he sleeps in all the time..' Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked around the house.
"Krobus? You in here? I may have a visitor."
No response.
You checked the monster's room, and sure enough didn't find him in there.
Normally he'd freak out and hide beneath your bed if he even caught a glimpse of a human outside. You'd always tell him ahead of time if a friend was coming to visit just so he knew when and how long to stay hidden.
Of course, you never liked having to keep Krobus a secret, yet you understood why he believed that was for the best. He was so, so afraid to go with you even after gifting him the void ghost pendant--a precious amulet from his culture, symbolizing unity and devotion to another.
His worst fear was you being shunned and getting hurt because of him. But you promised to make things work, and so far you've had no problems.
The only other place he'd go besides your cabin was the coop, having grown fond of the animals there and the void chicken you were raising. The winter allowed him to bond with them.
But if he's there right now..and you just heard Shane yell, then-
'Oh fuck.'
Throwing on your boots and jacket, you rushed out the door, damn near slipping on the pathway to the coop.
You opened the door, finding Shane staring down your terrified roommate with anger, ready to throw a stone at who he believed was a monster trying to eat your livestock.
But as he reeled his arm back, he was confused by your hand grabbing his wrist. "Huh?! Hey! Let go!" He grunted.
"Shane, what the hell are you doing?!"
For a moment, he blinked and stared at you as though you had several heads. "What does it look like? I'm....that thing was trying to eat your chickens!" He pointed to Krobus, who was now curled up in the corner, having let go of the void chicken long ago.
"That's one of the monsters you were talking about, right? Don't you have a sword or something that could-?"
"He's not a threat."
Shane froze. "..huh?"
"His name is Krobus. He's a shadow person I met in the sewers." Letting him go, you opted to stand between the two. Krobus immediately got up and latched onto your shirt, hiding behind you for protection.
"The sewers? Jas and Vincent said they saw a monster through the grates, but I thought it was some imaginary friend."
"Well news flash, he's real. And right now he's more scared of you." You huffed. "Now please..put the rock down."
After some hesitance, he complied and dropped the stone. "Fine..sorry. I thought it--he was trying to-"
"I would never harm one of Yoba's precious creatures!" Krobus snapped, despite his voice trembling. "Especially not one that [y/n] so lovingly raised."
"You...understand what I'm saying?" Shane looked astonished.
"Of course.." The shadow monster calmed down a little, but redirected his anger to you. "You..we had an agreement. You promised to tell me if someone was coming."
"I didn't know he was here at all." You frowned. "You could've told me you were checking out the coop."
"But you were so weary from last night, and I thought you'd appreciate sleeping in-!"
"Look..if it helps, I can just leave and pretend none of this ever happened."
Both of you looked at Shane, who was slowly making his way to the door, only for him to stop as you sighed.
There's no way you could hide this now..
"Stay. This isn't something you can "pretend" never happened. Let's all head back to my house and I'll explain everything. Maybe we can come to an understanding without any violence. Whatdya say, boys?"
Shane and Krobus briefly glanced at each other, before silently nodding.
.........
"So basically...you got chased out of your home by Dwarves, had some great war with them, got cozy in the sewers...and [y/n] just...stumbled upon you?"
"Erm..slight correction, the local librarian had a key to the sewers, which [y/n] obtained. And only then they stumbled upon me-"
"After I donated like 60 artifacts to the museum, of course." You added on as you stood by the oven, watching the timer.
For a brief moment, you looked back at the two people sitting awkwardly at the table:
Shane, who was still wondering if the shadow monster sitting across from him was really a monster, a hallucination from his withdrawals, or just..someone in a SUPER convincing costume.
And Krobus, who stared at this scruffy, tired man who desperately needed a shave and a new jacket--the only other human he's spoken to aside from you and Rasmodius.
"Wow..I'd say I need a drink, but um..I'm in recovery right now. So I gotta cut back on those." Shane admitted, scratching awkwardly at his hair. "Do you like living on this farm with [y/n], Krobus?"
"It was...a difficult transition. Something I never expected to happen." He fidgeted with the pendant around his neck. "Our existence..terrifies humans. They attacked us when we came to the surface to make peace, so we stopped and hid back underground. We learned the world wasn't kind to those who were different. But [y/n] showed me that not all of them are like that...and I'm grateful for all they've done for me. I don't regret my choice.."
Then he looked to you, suddenly bashful. "A-As long as they don't regret it, of course..sometimes I feel like all of this is a dream. Or some foolish prank.."
"It's no dream or prank, Krob. I have no regrets becoming your friend." You smiled and patted the monster's head reassuringly, before glancing at Shane. "Just like I don't regret befriending this guy."
"Yeah..I was uh..in a pretty bad place myself." He mumbled, suddenly finding the weather outside more interesting.
"You said your name was "Shane", right?"
He blinked, looking back to Krobus. "Uh yeah?"
"Did you know that means "gift from Yoba"?" His eyes lit up, smiling from ear-to-ear as he clasped his hands together. "You should be proud of it! You are a blessed child of.....um...what's with that look?"
Shane's expression abruptly shifted to one of discomfort, and he couldn't help but shrink back. "Did..I say something wrong? W-Was I out of line?"
"No, no. I probably should've mentioned this sooner, but I'm actually atheist."
"....as in...you don't believe in Yoba?"
Reluctantly, Shane nodded and averted his gaze once more, expecting some kind of lecture or change in his friendly tone that would make this his first and last conversation with him.
Nobody liked it when he mentioned how he stopped believing in Yoba long ago, especially after what happened with Jas' parents and how his life just plummeted into a downward spiral since then. He feels like his name was cruel joke, and he had a pit in his stomach whenever he was reminded of it.
So now he was fully expecting this devout monster to spew something vile and call him a "horrible nonbeliever"-
"Why the guilty face?"
"..wha?" He did a double-take, seeing Krobus' smile return.
"I've observed humans long enough to understand their religious preferences, or lack thereof. We have our beliefs, and you have yours..and that is okay." He reassured. "No need to feel ashamed, Shane."
It took the man a few moments to process his words..before a small smile appeared on his face as well, shoulders less tense than before. "Whew..thanks. Seriously..you're somehow more understanding than all the people in my life." He chuckled dryly.
Krobus was about to respond, when the ding from your kitchen timer made the two pause their conversation, seeing you take something out of the oven.
It was a dessert that had a shimmering purple hue.
"Oh hey..you actually made it?" Shane blinked. "The infamous "Strange Bun"?"
"Yep! It actually looks pretty.." You smiled, setting it on the stove so it could cool down. "I almost don't wanna eat it...but I'm sure we can split it three ways."
"I recognize that dessert." Krobus gasped. "It's considered a delicacy among my people! How I've longed to taste it again....but how did you come to possess its recipe?" He looked to Shane, who simply dug out a crumpled magazine page from his pocket.
"Right here. It looked good, and [y/n] likes cooking stuff and finding the ingredients themselves..so I figured it's something new they could try."
"And it came out fantastic." You chuckled, bringing over plates of the strange bun and sitting down at the table, passing them to your friends. "Dig in, boys."
While Krobus was actively drooling and devouring it with his bare hands, you took a few bites and instantly felt rejuvenated....whereas Shane kept awkwardly poking at it with a fork, eyebrows furrowed.
"You sure this is safe to eat? Like..I'm not gonna keel over, am I?"
"...you're acting like Jas when she doesn't wanna eat her vegetables."
".....shut it." With a grumble, he rolled his eyes before finally taking a couple bites. You and Krobus watched him in anticipation, studying his reaction.
Only to be met with disappointment.
"Eh..I think I'll stick to frozen pizzas, but thanks. Here. It's all yours." He pushed the half-eaten bun towards Krobus, who gleefully finished it up.
"Thank you..this was delightful." The shadow monster swallowed, looking up at you both, frowning slightly. "But I do fear..now that one more person knows of my existence, word may spread to the town and-"
"I won't tell anyone."
"....really?" He looked at Shane, surprised.
"I used to not believe in "shadow people"..I actually thought you guys were just stuff of fiction. But no, you're actually pretty cool. And...I get that feeling of being stuck in a dark place, thinking you're a pest and a burden who has no future to look forward to. It sucks, but [y/n] here..." He paused and gestured to you with a smile. "They pulled me out of that funk, and it seems they'd pulled you out of one, too."
"They have..I-I find this hard to believe, but it seems we have more in common than I first thought." Krobus chuckled softly. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding, and that you embrace my existence, Shane."
"Yeah, uh...glad you can..embrace mine as well." He mumbled, already kicking himself mentally for how weird that sounded. "But tell me..you like caring for chickens, too? I saw that one with the black feathers and red eyes."
"Indeed, that is a void chicken! I've carried their eggs for ages, but the mines weren't suitable enough to raise chicks in. Then [y/n] showed me the coop, and now I know they're in good hands."
"Ah...did you wanna meet Charlie sometime? Or one of my blue chickens?"
"......chickens can be blue?" Krobus had such a starry-eyed look, as though he had just been told the secrets of the universe.
Meanwhile, you were just cleaning the dishes, listening to their conversation delve into chicken care, eggs, and more. And you could only smile, glad to see that your monster roommate was finally warming up to humans.
Only a select few will get to see him, as you didn't wanna compromise his safety...
But for now, Shane is the only one you could trust.
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beesmygod · 5 hours
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your posts about browsing /co/ back when it was "cool" are so intriguing to me because the impression i get from it these days is the people on there are into cartoons entirely for coomer reasons. it's so hard to find spaces with good qualitative discussion about animation
i want to be clear, i did not and would never say /co/ was cool. it was never cool.
back then (15 years ago lol) it was still horny, but the strong air of pretention meant people were constantly posting obscure shit to one up each other. learned about a lot of shit there
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assaily · 2 days
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I have so many documents that have just little scraps of writing in them. A little while ago i was looking for an old howling draft and found some more random scraps. I cannot tell if i wrote this for howling or not, but it's cute Diego and Five fluff. Five is also baby in this and so a bit out of character, but y'know that's why it's a scrap
-
“Come here.”
Five scowled at Diego, at the peace offering in his tone. “Fuck off,” he snapped. He wasn’t done being annoyed with his brother yet to be swayed by the gentle, off-putting tone Diego just addressed him with.
“Stop being an ass and come here,” Diego groused, something still gentle and apologetic on his face, even as his tone veered back into irritation. “I’m sorry, alright.” He didn’t sound very sorry, but Five suspected that was why he wanted him to come closer. Diego was bad at verbal apologies, and they’d all learned a much more effective way to get under his skin.
Five knew that he could keep snapping, declare he didn’t want them to touch him and that would be that. Surprisingly clear boundaries for a bunch of people who traditionally didn’t have many to begin with. They treated Five a little like he was feral, but he supposed the treatment was earned.
“Five,” Diego said again, even softer in response to Five’s obvious hesitation. “It’s alright, I’m sorry. Let’s just calm down for a second.” He beckoned him over with his hands, and Five finally sighed in resignation.
He actually hated how much he wanted this, and how well it worked. He really was an animal, his siblings working very hard to keep him tamed. He gave in, stepping closer but making Diego close the distance himself with arms open to envelope him.
He knew, cognitively, logically, reasonably that Diego wasn’t going to hurt him, but his body still curled into itself without his permission, arms over his chest like that would protect him from an attack that would never come. Diego knew that was just how Five responded, didn’t hesitate as he wrapped his arms around Five’s shoulders and pressed their bodies together like they’d never been apart for over forty years.
Something lurched in Five’s chest, like it always did when they embraced him, his eyes burning with emotions he couldn’t even really feel anymore, but that swirled inside of him all the same. Churned to life in his brother’s arms. Five forced himself to breath, to feel the body pressed against him, the arms around his shoulders.
It was hard to be mad when he was reminded how much he loved them and needed them. It was hard to be testy when they offered him such blatant love, no strings attached, no work required. A safe place to settle against a heart he had fought for so long to keep beating.
It really wasn’t fair, how easy it was for them once they learned they could just hug him into submission. They definitely took advantage of the weakness, ending arguments before they got out of hand with an offer of open arms. And Five, the deprived creature he was, struggled to say no simply for how deeply he wanted the contact. He didn’t know how to ask, so he took what they offered him, even if it meant conceding an argument. One day, Five promised himself, he wouldn’t be this weak to them.
But as Diego secured him a little tighter, rocking him back and forth to loosen the rust in his lungs, Five had doubts. Diego threaded a hand through his hair, the pads of his fingers pressing into the sensitive muscles at the base of his head, bolting bone-deep pleasure down his spine; Five knew he wouldn’t be getting used to this any time soon.
He didn’t remember slumping against Diego, or closing his eyes as his fingers kneaded into the back of his neck, knees getting weaker and weaker until suddenly Diego was scooping an arm under him and pulling him up.
“You gotta tell us when you aren’t sleeping, Five. We want to help you, but we can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on.”
Once, Five would have groused that he didn’t need help, certainly not their help. He had survived so much on his own, he didn’t need to be doted on like this. But Diego was slow to take him to bed, one arm holding his weight, the other wrapped around his shoulders, and Five’s arms secured around Diego’s neck like a buoy in the ocean. Diego walked slow, each step like a gentle wave, lulling Five down into a place of quiet and rest.
He didn’t say he didn’t need the help, because they both knew that was a lie. The biggest lie Five had ever tried to tell them, or himself. So he tucked his face into his brother’s throat and listened to his heart beating and his body breathing. He was so tired now, without the anger keeping him awake, and the warmth pressing against him, the sway and rock just as much of a comfort.
Like he was a child, a wayward animal in need of soothing. If he still had any pride left, he’d be mortified. But his pride had been long trampled into dust, and he was far, far too small now to take no for an answer when one of his siblings offered him affection like this.
“You’ll stick ‘round?” he asked, hearing the slur in his own words.
“Yeah, bud,” Diego said, voice wavering like it always did when Five asked this question. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Five sighed softly, tightening his hold on his brother and letting his thoughts go to focus on the sensations instead.
-
more snips here and here
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desertdollranch · 1 day
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Dolls brands I never thought I'd own, part 4: Global PenPals
Meet Amity Anderson!
This doll was a tough cookie to track down. I first stumbled across her last year while searching for a completely different doll on eBay. I thought she was adorable, but priced way too high, so I let someone else have her. When I saw her come up again recently for a lot cheaper, I lost the bidding war. When she popped up unexpectedly a third time, I managed to snap her up right away.
The first time I saw her, I was curious about her origin, since the listing said nothing about the brand, Global PenPals. I figured it was someone's small business, because it's an unfortunate truth that many, many 18 inch doll companies produce beautiful and quality dolls for a few short years and then go out of business. Because she certainly didn't look poorly made or low quality; she obviously had a lot of love put into her production. I could tell she had a really nice wig and a carefully sculpted, realistic face mold. She was meant to be more than just a toy, but a little friend as well. That's what I liked about her. She was special, rare, obscure, and unique. And as much as I love my American Girl dolls, I also love the rare and obscure 18 inch dolls that have fallen into my lap over the years through pure luck. That has turned me into a connoisseur of obscure dolls. The rarer, the better.
So for that reason I couldn't get her off my mind. I became very fixated on finding one. I did a Google search that brought up nothing but the listing for her, plus a few dolls with similar brand names, or sites for finding an actual human pen pal. But I noticed the listing photo included a picture of her box, which had the URL of the brand's website. It was defunct, so I plugged into the Wayback Machine at archive.org to see what I could find.
Keep reading for a deep dive into The Global PenPals.
(Hello to anyone in the future who might be doing a web search about this doll! I'm sure you've found little to no information. I've put everything right here for your convenience!)
...
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The site's first snapshot was taken in February 2011. It has a very short intro:
"This site is dedicated to children everywhere. Autumn Woods and Amity Anderson will begin pen pal corresponding with children in other parts of the world. They will learn about different living conditions and diverse cultural traditions. Will they discover that children are the same worldwide? Come along with us and see!"
None of the links on the sidebar were archived by the Wayback machine, so I looked at the next three snapshots, taken in July 2013, January 2014, and December 2014 (the final snapshot).
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Now this snapshot displays a lot more content, although once again most of the site didn't get archived. The intro is more or less the same. But now we can see illustrations of the two main characters, Autumn Woods and Amity Anderson.
Clicking through the "Meet and learn more about Autumn" graphic linked to a page that had biographies for both characters.
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Autumn Woods introduces herself first. She was born in October, hence her name, but she loves Christmas more. She lives in Kennewick, Washington with her parents and younger sister, and likes her school. She's athletic and loves to do cartwheels. Her best friend Amity lives in Basin City, near the farm where her grandparents live. She doesn't know a whole lot about the world outside of Kennewick, so she's looking forward to making pen pals all around the world.
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Amity Anderson introduces herself next. She loves living on a farm in Basin City, and most of the other kids at her school are also from farming families, or live in the area seasonally, which has made her curious about the lives of other children of different background. Her family grows cherries, and sometimes the crops fail due to weather conditions. They also have lots of animals including dogs, cats, and cows. She has a secret hideout in the hay loft.
The next page linked at the top contains all of the pen pal letters to and from Autumn and Amity.
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There are 10 pages of these letters. The first letter is dated June 11th of 2011, and the final one is dated August 14th of 2013.
Next link is Marcia's Dolls.
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To sum it up, Global PenPals was started by Marcia Elovich in 2010. She had always sewn doll clothes for her granddaughter, and her husband built doll furniture. She used dolls to help schoolchildren learn more about the lives and perspectives of children all over the world. She modeled the dolls' faces on her granddaughter and niece, and hopes to introduce more dolls to the brand.
The next link is to the shop.
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Only the Amity doll is being sold here. All the images are broken, but I can see that Amity cost $59.00.
The next tab, Media, is pretty much empty.
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That's all that I can access with the Wayback Machine, but I didn't stop there.
I Googled Marcia Elovich and found the three Global PenPals books she has published.
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These are current, no need to use the Wayback Machine. Here's the link to the list if you're curious about the books. You can click through and read summaries of each.
"About the Author" on the second and third books:
Marcia Harvey Elovich has enjoyed interacting with children in family, at school and other community settings. When she began looking forward to retirement from the local school district, she set up a website around two fictional characters, Amity Anderson and Autumn Woods, using her granddaughter and her niece as visual models for the character images she draws. Through the website, Marcia continues to story-tell to youngsters and adults alike. Amity lives on the farm in Basin City where, in fact, Marcia was raised, and she pursues many of the same interests and activities Marcia did while growing up with her best friend Linda. Autumn lives in town and attends Amistad Elementary School, where Marcia formerly worked as a para-eductor, and earlier as a nurse in the Kennewick School District. This was the birthplace of her peaked interest in interacting with children and later-in-life interest in education. Marcia has recently begun manufacturing of the character dolls and is now converting the website stories into children's books. Also within the framework of her stories, Marcia has interactions from her personal pen pals with whom she is communicating around the globe. Through contrast and compare, she can better present awareness of how alike we are from country to country, culture to culture, religion to religion. "Perhaps the next generation will be more compassionate, not merely tolerating diversity but embracing it!" she adds. In their retirement, Marcia works with her husband and sidekick Bob, marketing her dolls and his woodworked doll furniture. She has one young adult son living at home and an older son living within the community. Her daughter and grandchildren live out of state, so she has to love them long-distance. Through Bob, she has acquired a second daughter who lives in the area and a step-son living out of state. Marcia specifically wants to thank her mother and father, Bob and Kay Harvey, for providing a childhood almost as colorful as the fictional one of which she writes. They gave to her, her three brothers and many childhood friends their mentoring in an era when the village actually did help raise the children.
I also found Marcia's Pinterest profile. She has pinned exactly four images.
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The first two are the illustrations seen on the website. The other two are pictures of the dolls.
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This picture's caption:
"Amity Anderson if one of the first two characters at www.theglobalpenpals.com and the first to be manufactured as a doll. She is vinyl with soft body and has beautiful peach complexion, with perfect detail down to tiny doll- scale freckles across her nose. She comes in clothes as seen, turquoise tennis shoes, and the matching elastic headband on her long, tangle-free auburn hair. I designed the doll after my own granddaughter. Lovely presentation box designed solely for The Global PenPals."
This confirms that the doll I have is indeed Amity, not Autumn as I had sort of guessed. Amity is illustrated with bangs, but it seems that changed at some point in the doll's design.
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I guess that's Autumn on the left? I see no indication on the site or elsewhere that she was ever sold, so it's possible she never made it past the prototype stage.
There's very little else out there about the dolls. A few pictures on Worthpoint with captions stating what I've already put here.
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Amity seems to be one of those ultra-rare dolls that only a few collectors know about. After losing out on two other listings, I know that at least two other people do have one and know what Amity is worth. But I have no idea exactly how many dolls were ever produced and sold before the brand disappeared, which probably happened within three years of their debut.
I wonder if their failure may have been due to the price point, $59, which seems very low for a doll with such a nice wig, sleep eyes, a cloth body, a beautifully designed box, and proprietary clothing.
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--A TRASH BEAST ANALYSIS--
{-BY THE SNATCHER-}
°~INTROOO~°
Okk sooo remember when I did a post Chapter 94 and went on a little rant about how trash beast could operate? Well, In this post I'll take that idea and expand on it more. I'll also be adding more ideas...! (This post is mostly speculation and pondering but I hope you still enjoy my mess of ideas!!)
/×/——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——/×/
ALRIGHT, SO THERE ARE THREE MAIN IDEAS I WANT TO EXPAND ON HERE:
— Contaminated/Polluted areas and how that could affect the trash beast's forms and characteristics.
— The different types of negativity that supplement the creatures and how that can possibly modify their traits.
— The plausible reasons as to why trash monsters are so aggressive and violent towards humans.
LET'S GOOOOO!!
//×/——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——/×//
°~HOW CONTAMINATED AREAS AFFECT TRASH BEASTS~°
We all remember the first few chapters right? Rudo landed in the intensely polluted area, so unbreathable you had to put on a full-face gas mask just to not choke.
When we first see thrash beasts, THEY'RE FUCKING GINORMOUS. BIG, SCARY AND VIOLENT. The walking definition of a monster. They attacked on sight and don't give up on their targets easily.
At this point in the story, we simply assume that all trash beasts act this way. We haven't learned of the different levels of contamination so we just go along with it.
UNTIL... WE GET TO THE MOST RECENT CHAPTER.
All of a sudden, trash beasts are smaller, slimmer, faster and... Animals!?! The beasts are suddenly mimicking real-life species. In this case, their cheetahs (I think...)and act exactly like them.
But what makes this interesting is that we're not in the intensely polluted zone anymore! We're in the semi- contaminated zone, an area where you only need to put a normal face mask.
This insinuates the fact that a trash beast's physical power is altered depending on the level of contamination in it's area.
-So the power level should look something like this-
INTENSELY CONTAMINATED: These are the most powerful creatures we've seen so far. They're humongous creatures that hunt alone or in small packs possessing monster-like physique and power.
SEMI-CONTAMINATED: Animal-like creatures that hunt in extremely large packs possessing characteristics of real-life animals. (But It could be possible that there are monster-like trash beasts in the semi-area that are simply smaller)
NON-CONTAMINATED: Given the lack of pollution, this is the only area that has actual animals like cats, rats, horses, etc. Though it might be possible that there are miniature trash beasts(Though I doubt that fact...)
✨MINI TANGENT✨ I did research on this and apparently, cheetahs will only hunt in groups if they're in a coalition to attack larger or more dangerous prey. This suggests that trash beasts (or at least the semi-contaminated ones) View humans as dangerous. Because if they viewed them as simple prey, the cheetahs wouldn't bother creating a coalition since they only bother with that if the prey is big and dangerous. (Normally cheetahs are solitary hunters) So why do they view humans as dangerous? ✨ END OF TANGEANT✨
//×/——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——/×//
°~DIFFERENT TYPES OF NEGATIVITY (ANIMA) AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THE MONSTERS~°
In the early chapters of Gachiakuta, Enjin explains to Rudo how trash beasts are made:
" Here on the ground, trash accumulates quickly...And so do feelings and emotions...Anima. Sometimes, that gets converted into energy which causes a variety of unusual phenomena. One of these is the birth of trash beasts. They always attack humans on sight. Generally, they live in the garbage dump outside of town... but every so often they'll invade the cities."- Enjin
I'm not gonna put the whole thing since some of it doesn't connect to what I'm saying. Essentially, negative Anima fuels trash beasts and positive Anima fuels Vital instruments(Jinkis).
But could the percentage of the types of negative feelings in the converted Anima affect the trash beasts physically?
What I mean by this is for example: the percentage of negative emotions in a polluted area is 50% sadness, 40% anger and 10% fear. When they get converted to Anima, instead of the beasts resembling a ferocious monster. Do you guys think it could look more... sad? Its roars would sound more like cries, more sluggish movements, you guys see the vision?
The main emotion making up the Anima could be reflected in the monster's demeanour.
Now if my theory is right, why haven't we seen trash beasts with a more melancholic or scared demeanour? Well, it's simple: trash beasts reflect the population's feelings, right? The story has made clear that the people of the underground are angry: They're mad at what they have been reduced to because of the ones living above them. So obviously all that anger is concentrated on the MAX which affects the monster's power.
AND FINALLY...
//×/——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——//×//——/×//
°~THE PLAUSIBLE REASONS AS TO WHY TRASH BEASTS TARGET HUMANS~°
Ok so for this part of the essay, I'm really pulling stuff out of my ass😭😭. I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong on all of these but it's fun to make! I'm theorizing there are two reasons why trash beasts are targeting humans: for energy or due to the projecting of the citizens of the city.
-HOW CAN HUMANS FEED TRASH MONSTERS, WELL I HAVE TWO IDEAS-
- FOR ENERGY: All humans possess some amount of negativity in them. Whether or not they are a good person, it wouldn't be surprising if they hunt them for energy purposes. After all, animals hunt for sustenance, right?
- PROJECTION: Remember when I explained that trash beasts could be reflecting the population's anger? We all know that the majority of that anger is towards the people on top. Whether it's internalized or forward, anger is anger. You can imagine that a lot would wanna cause pain to them...So what if those violent thoughts get turned into Anima which powers up the beasts? Given that Anima is something that was converted, some of the specifics of that anger might have sorta got lost in translation. So when a trash monster sees a human, they won't be able to differentiate between the underground and the people on top.
All the creature really knows is that the anger is towards humans, and so they attack.
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°~OUTROOOO~°
AAAAAAHHHHHH THIS WAS SO FUCKING LOOOONNGGG. I hope you guys enjoyed my overthinking brain!
See you in the next one!
💕💕💕💕💕
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you have two wolves inside you
one wants to animate the oakworthy scene from the latest episode
the other can’t animate
you are me
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pikatik · 4 days
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A short thing I made :D
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hansama · 8 months
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Day 2 - Dating start! (more like SMOOCHING TIME)
@sansxyouweek
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kirby-the-gorb · 10 days
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literallyjusttoa · 3 months
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Left this abandoned in the drafts (which is a bit ironic) but it's a spin on this post, where instead of Apollo just being locked in some room on Olympus somewhere, he's bound to the ruins of an abandoned Ancient Greek city. Maybe somewhere near Delphi, maybe Troy, idk.
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bother-blame · 6 months
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RAPHAEL | Baldur's Gate 3
One might say you're a paragon of luck. I'll be there when it runs out.
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