insaneladybug | Entries tagged with plushies

Some things the same, some better.

I'm getting paid now by a veteran's organization to take care of Dad. The money helps a lot, both for things needed in the household and fun things. I've had the freedom to buy things I couldn't before, which makes me very happy. One of my most treasured things is the Play Arts Kai Advent Children Sephiroth with wing. He arrived on my birthday last October and I adore him so much.

I finally got a Switch Lite and have plenty of games for it. Best discovery was realizing I could actually play Final Fantasy VII after loving it for so many years. I spent hours reading the game script, I watched countless cutscenes, watched Advent Children over and over, but I never had access to the games to be able to actually play them. Playing it at last and getting to actually experience those beloved characters' story opened story floodgates for me and I've had lots of ideas for both FF and KH stories. I'm also finally able to play Crisis Core, which I also love.

Twilight and Dawn timeline has definitely taken off and I've been writing many stories with Cloud and Sephiroth after they've grown even closer. I feel I should probably insert a few stories to bridge the gap between where the timeline left off and the first recent fic taking place after the other fics that showed them much closer than before, but I don't know. Maybe it looks okay as it is, especially since that recent fic has a crisis in it and said crisis furthered their closeness in it. I love those guys so much.

I overhauled my KH fic timeline after finally looking into Birth By Sleep and deciding it was time to accept it and work with it and that it mostly helped the main things I wanted to have in my timeline, mainly Sephiroth being his own person and actually trying to help Cloud instead of hurt him. My new KH timeline is way better than the old one and also accepts the magical nature of the source material much more. Seph has a much better and happier backstory, especially regarding his wings, and he no longer is bound to Cloud like in the old timeline. He's trying to help completely of his own free will. So much better.

Bought a gaming laptop and am able to run Dissidia NT on it. I play that most every day, always as either FF or KH Seph. It's funny that a fighting game is actually calming and comforting to me, but I think it's mostly because of being able to play as Seph. Smash Ultimate is another comfort game for the same reason, as is my ROM of Dissidia 012. I also have Rebirth and the mod that lets me play as Seph in at least some of it other than just chapter 1. That is delightful. The graphics in that game are so beautiful and I'm always swooning over Seph's gorgeousness in it.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is such a wholesome and adorable game, and useful to try to learn timing in music better. I like getting that out a lot too. My main team of Seph, Cloud, Zack, and Aerith reached Level 99 within a week or two, lol. Of course, it's fast leveling up in that game, but still.

The Eevee colony has expanded exponentially. And Pokemon Center is doing a Year of Eevee event, which of course has contributed to the expansion.

Very upset about Joann closing. I wish someone would step in and save them like someone did for Big Lots. Big Lots isn't even the same unique store it used to be, but there's really nothing that can replace Joann. I'm stocking up for future crafting projects and need to get back there again for more. It still doesn't feel real to lose it.

Party City is gone now too, save for the franchise locations that weren't affected by the bankruptcy (and the Canadian stores owned by other people). I'm glad I did end up getting the Eevee cardboard cutout when they got it back in stock last autumn.

Current Mood: cheerful

I have always had great anticipation for my birthday. The last couple of years have been strange, with having to get my gifts myself, but in another way it's been nice since most of what I want is online-only, Dad has never been good with shopping for others online, and this way I ensure I get lots of what I really want. I've stocked up some fun things for my birthday, mainly Eevee and Star Wars and Encanto merch. And at least there will be a couple of surprises from friends.

On one such trip, I was absolutely overjoyed and elated to see the free-standing GameStop closest to us came back! It was such a shock. Last year they definitely seemed to be closed and I'm sure they were no longer listed on the website. But a couple of weeks ago they were open, fully functional, and on the website again! I doubt anything else could have excited me as much, except a new free-standing Toys R Us in the States. I might actually cry for joy if such a thing were to ever happen again (which I doubt it will). I wish I could go to Canada and visit it there.

The GameStop had many Eevee things. A lot of them I already have, lol. But there were a handful of things I didn't have, and I got a cute Eevee figure to put away for my birthday. She looks like she'll be better in scale with my Radley doll than my talking Eevee (who will of course stay Radley's as well).

I also finally saw the sleeping plush. She is very cute! But more expensive than Amazon was last charging. I'm hoping Amazon will restock. I never thought I'd want a sleeping plush, but the Eevees are so darling. They're even more appealing since I'm playing Pokemon Sleep. I imagine that game is responsible for sales of the sleeping plush going through the ceiling lately. Although they've always seemed popular.

Even knowing what most things are, the anticipation of opening them is just as exciting as if I didn't know. Perhaps a little moreso, since I know I won't get disappointed (unless I was sent the wrong merch, which I certainly hope won't have happened). The crowning piece is the adorable Halloween Eevee statue. I have no idea where I'll put her, but I had to get her. It hurt so much not getting her last year. She's so precious. Even Pikachu in that line is trying to be scary, but Eevee is just too innocent and sweet and genuine for that and is just going "Yay! :D"

Stores always like to send me things for my birthday month too. Disney has sent their annual 20% discount, which I plan to save for combining with their free ship day this month. I haven't decided what I'll use it on yet. Possibilities are Kristoff doll (if he's still in stock), Isabela or Dolores plush (Mirabel is cheaper on Amazon and Luisa is here waiting for Tuesday), or maybe Eeyore. I always wanted an Eeyore. Or a really furry Tigger. I have my brother's, but he is not very furry so many years later.

I was so frustrated that I got distracted with the possibility of a Disney order right when I was trying to place my Pokemon Center order a couple of weeks ago. I was distracted so long that I missed out on the Flareon and Jolteon Sitting Cuties, and those are the only two Eevee family members I have no plushies of. I had no idea they'd sell out over the weekend. I was worried the Afternoon with Eevee figures would sell out that fast, but they stayed and the plushies vamoosed. Go figure. I should have really known all along the Pokemon Center order was what I wanted the most, considering I've had other chances to get those Disney items on other sales and have always decided I couldn't justify the cost, even with discounts.

Target will send me something on Tuesday. Last year it was 10% off something, which is barely anything at all. But I still put it to good use getting the 24 inch sitting Eevee. This year, I have my eye on the Eevee costume accessory set. We're finally getting a Target closer to us and it's supposed to open this month, but I don't have an exact day yet. It would be awesome if they have the set. Not all Targets carry it. It would be so fun to buy it in-store. There's something especially satisfying about getting a wanted item in-store and bringing it home right then. Although mail is certainly fun too.

I'm also heavily contemplating a three-foot cardboard Eevee stand-up from Party City. Of course, this is utterly ridiculous since I am not at all sure where I'd put it. But it's oh so tempting anyway.

The one other order I'm debating right now is at Macy's. Last year I saw a beautiful blue reindeer and was crushed I couldn't get it. I don't know why I forgot about it entirely until I saw it on Macy's site the other day. A special sale on her ends tomorrow and I've been debating getting her. I really want her, but I also really want the Eevee things and I can't have it all. I'm honestly leaning more towards the cardboard cut-out, but it seems so foolish to get that. I must decide quickly, as my discount on that also ends tomorrow.

Current Mood: hopeful

Christmas was basically very nice. I did manage to capture the feel of a Christmas from my childhood, which I had so desperately longed to do. It made me very happy. I also discovered cutting many dolls and figures out of their packaging can really hurt the thumb. My skin is dry and it cracked a lot there.

One of my favorite gifts is the Encanto doll set I've been wanting for a year! I was so thrilled Azalea542 got it for me! I have them set up on a metal tray right near my bed. They can stand on their own, which is so cool. I also got the Bruno and Dolores dolls so I'd have all the released dolls. I hope they will make the other characters too.

Another lovely gift was a gift card from Ladyamberjo so I could get Sylveon. I was sick of missing out on the Eevee family plushies at Build-a-Bear and I wanted to grab her since she's a favorite. That outing was a time. Almost everything that could go wrong on that outing did. Thankfully, we managed to return with Sylveon or it would have all been pointless. It started precipitating. I objected. Dad insisted we keep going, for some reason. We had to stop and get something from my sister. We had to get gas and had a hard time getting the locked gas cap off. We got stuck in a ditch for which there was no warning sign posted. People were very kind and helped us get out, but it took an hour or more. When we finally got to the mall, some mysterious thing had gone wrong and the store was temporarily closed?! I waited a bit, left in discouragement, then tried calling before leaving the parking lot. They were open again, so I went back for Sylveon. There was already a line forming, so I had to wait a bit more. Driving home was a nightmare as the precipitation continued. But at last we made it!

I got some more Eevees and watched The Rings of Power. I loved it and named Eevees Merry and Pippin. ThickerThanLove sent me the Lord of the Rings bear from Build-a-Bear, squeee! He looks like Frodo, with brown curly fur and blue eyes. I need something to name Sam next.

I am still furious at Nintendo cutting off eShop access to 3DS and 2DS tomorrow. I spent most of this past week looking for things to snap up. There was a big sale on Capcom games, for some awesome reason. I got Mega Man Legacy Collection. Mega Man games are hard. I can't jump on the bad guys and they swarm me really fast. I can't blast them all. I'm really happy to have the games, though. I'll figure it out. I was disappointed I couldn't seem to find anything else. I already got most of the awesome stuff I could afford in the months prior. Then I finally thought to look up Phoenix Wright. Those games were also on sale, for an incredible $2.99 each! Even the trilogy set! After spending much more than I really intended or wanted to (especially on DLC), I have many Phoenix games. I wasn't going to get Apollo Justice, but NinetalesUK finally convinced me I should. If I happen to take to him and the other characters from his games, I probably would be upset to not have the first game with them. I am notorious for balking at things and then loving them when I finally try them. For $2.99, I figured I'd better get it.

I got Investigations for the iPhone, since that was the only way to get it. (Yes, I have an iPhone.) But apparently I will only get the first case and have to drop a lot more to get the rest. I don't know when that will be, since I've already spent a lot. I'm enjoying the first case. Miles is still my favorite; playing as him is wonderful.

I still wish someone could use Radley's sprites from Over the Nexus to make a video game with him. I wish I could do that. I have no skills and would have to learn.

I got my dad's HP laptop working again and downloaded Steam onto it. Then I got The Disney Afternoon Collection, which was on sale for $5. I have always wanted to play those games. Darkwing is hard like Mega Man. The Chip and Dale games are the easiest. I am enjoying them all, even though I'm having trouble getting very far in them. I'll figure it out.

I had plans to get the Leafeon plush at Build-a-Bear, even though I'd have to do the online bundle with unnecessary clothes. I still want to try to make it work even after needing to snap up all that Nintendo stuff before it's gone. I have tried for days to convince my brain it is foolish. My brain will not listen. It's the only way to get him. I'm hoping I can re-sell the clothes, at least the sleeper. I might like the cape enough to keep it, but the onesie seems very silly. I don't want to cover up all that beautiful fur. If he hasn't sold out yet, I plan to order him tonight. He will make a lovely Easter gift. I'm tired of missing out on the Build-a-Bears. I wish I'd got him and Glaceon when they were briefly in physical stores last year, and Umbreon when he was online again briefly.

Some family members wanted me and Dad to get on their Verizon phone plan with them and we'd get iPhones. Mine was free! It's 13. The camera is glorious and I've taken videos of the kitty. The space is also glorious. I have 128GB! And there's not a lot of bloatware. It looks like I can delete whatever I want to, too. I like using the iPhone as a gaming device, mostly. I see both pros and cons of it. It's much harder to type on; if I need to correct a mistake, I can't even go right to the mistake. I have to erase the whole word! There's no headphone jack. Clearing caches is much harder. Apparently I'm supposed to hit offload app, but the description sounded much more complicated than a simple clearing of the cache. It sounded like I would have to redownload the app any time I clicked offload! Some of those apps are big. I don't have time to keep redownloading them! I got my dad's Motorola Android phone since he didn't need it anymore. It has 64GB, which is also good. I like to use it for most other Internet activities since Google devices are easier to manage in a lot of ways. Two of my tablets have been dying a lot, leaving me with the Amazon Fire tablet and these phones. I am happy to have them all.

I found someone called ZakuraRain who will do beautiful pictures for only $3, $6 if it's colored! They call them doodles, but they're definitely higher quality than mere doodles. I've got four pictures from them so far.

Fanfiction writing is slow at times, but still going on. I'm writing some enjoyable Kalin and Radley stories. Sometimes inspiration flows.

I also finally put the collars and lapels on the Kalin and Radley plushies' coat and jacket. I need to take pictures. I was going to get silver snaps for Radley, but I couldn't find the right kind and then I wondered if even the lightweight duster kind would weigh the light material down a lot.

Current Mood: okay

I'm tired.

I'm tired and sad and worn-down. But I have to keep dealing with the problems that are plaguing us and I have to be stretched thin trying to take care of everything and not having help with some of the problems.

My dad is practically blind. He needs help with all sorts of things. My mom has Alzheimer's and is very needy. She gets distressed if I'm not around, even just if I need to go into the basement for a bit to help Dad with something down there. It makes it very hard to get things done. There are a couple of others who are able to help Dad from time to time, but I'm about the only one who can help Mom. I have to dread each day wondering if I'm going to be mistaken for my aunt, my grandmother, or another version of myself. Any day when there isn't a distressing flip-out that takes ages to repair is something to celebrate. I've had to say goodbye to so many things we loved to do together that she doesn't like anymore. And the more I think about it, the more I think that the symptoms were starting to show years ago. I thought some of the things she said for years were extra strange, but it was only last year that it really became apparent what was happening.

I just wish we could all be happy again like we used to be, but I know that is highly unlikely to happen. Things have just been getting worse and worse in so many ways ever since 2019, at least. I can't stop longing for healing miracles, especially when we watch true stories like on It's a Miracle, but it doesn't seem like anything like that is in store. I just wonder why we can't have amazing healing miracles like those people have. Why aren't we good enough or deserving enough? Of course, there are no answers. I don't need to be preached at that life is full of trials, or that we're supposed to go through trials, yadda yadda. Why this trial in particular? What are we supposed to get out of it? What I get out of it is that Alzheimer's is Hell and I despise it with all of my heart and soul. And it kind of runs in the family. I'm terrified it may be my fate in the future. I don't want it! It is tragic to see an intelligent woman crumble like this. She used to spend hours writing letters and poems to cheer people up. Now most of her writing is devoted to letters to nonexistent people she's determined to deliver to real houses, or letters to real people about things that never happened. Why did God let this happen so she can't really serve Him anymore as she so loved to do? She touched so many lives for good. She could have done more.

I try to find escapes in online things, but I often find drama, unfriendliness, and story reviews dwindling close to nothing. I don't feel like I belong or am wanted most places, and the places where I do feel welcome enough aren't as active as I would like. I do have happiness talking and RPing with certain people, but those numbers have dwindled a bit too. What I do have means everything to me. I cling to the fictional characters' realities where things are happier than reality.

Retail therapy is still a thing for me. I have some more adorable Eevees now. I got the cute Tomy one, and the seller included two more plushies as extras! Popplio, whom I intended to get since she's Sandy's friend, and a tiny Eevee I have as the child of the Tomy one. I also bought Gigantimax Eevee.

I got the Pokemon Center's Christmas Eevee shortly before he sold out. I also found the autumn Eevee with pumpkin on my birthday. That was a special treat! Then Target finally got the sitting down 24 inch Eevee in stock again and I bought him. Those and finally getting to play Pokemon Go were the highlights of October. Most of the month was terrible.

I have three Eevee ornaments, the two Hallmark ones and one from the Pokemon Center. The latter is so heavy I was afraid it would fall off the tree, so I have her standing up on my filing cabinet. She and my other Eevees all brighten my days immensely. Their innocent faces are just precious.

I've needed to buy my own Christmas presents again this year. I've found a lot of lovely things for myself as well as my parents, and friends are starting to send awesome things too. It's hard to wait to open everything! Only two weeks to go. I pray desperately that Christmas can be nice and magical, like when I was a child, but I know the reality is that something will very likely go wrong, as it has on all holidays and my birthday lately, or the day right after.

Please, God, let us have a happy Christmas....

Current Mood: sad

I had unusual dreams worth writing down:

There was some kind of dark creepy RP or something I was looking at, where there was a cult sacrificing people. It said if someone was sacrificed and revived, they might find parts of themselves?! Apparently they would revive in a new body because the old one had been damaged. I refused to allow Radley to be a victim. He was around and terrified, though.

I had to get more mysterious stains off my white Radley shirt, which is something that happens in real-life and is aggravating.

I was looking at some old Great Illustrated Classics, which was a line of abridged classics for kids. I found one that to my utter shock was a crossover with Andy Griffith and YGO 5Ds. The storyline was something about Andy Taylor having a daughter or maybe a granddaughter and I guess he was dying and unable to care for her, and apparently he wanted Radley to be her guardian. So the main plot was whether Radley will do that or not. The Bunch was in it too, and Radley was stricter with them than he seems to be in canon (locking them out of I guess the diner because of their rowdy behavior getting out of hand?!), but I was just beyond ecstatic to find actual published merchandise with Radley and I was thrilled with the illustrations and such. I also turned up what seemed to be a movie version, called Blue Moon.

It was very hard waking up from that and realizing it was just a dream.

I don't know why I didn't discuss this in the entry from June 24th, but on June 15th I tried again for my driver's license and I finally got it! It was such an amazing, incredible relief and divine blessing, as I desperately needed the license in order to help the family. There was a much nicer guy who went with me that time, and apparently the guy I'd had back in March has a reputation for strictness, as this one said, "Don't worry, I'm not as strict as that guy." He was so nice and personable and helped me to relax better. He also said he lives here in town, and I kind of think I may have seen him at Walmart a time or two! I'm not positive, but he did look familiar.

Since more stress was building up on the drives in to get the license, we decided the best thing was for someone else to drive me in so I could focus all my energy on the test. My sister drove us in, and I am very grateful, as I'm sure that helped reduce the stress enough that I could pass the test. But it was disappointing that she had to get right back, so I couldn't do anything to celebrate. I still haven't really had the celebration I wanted, as I'd wanted to go out with both Mom and Dad to do it and that just hasn't happened.

I've driven alone three times, and while the first time was fun, the second time was more tense. The third was okay. I think I prefer having company.

The Scottish Festival was finally attendable again this year, but unfortunately, a lot of things went wrong that I do not care to discuss (in connection with the serious real-life problems going on that I also do not care to discuss here). It was extremely disappointing and a let-down that it couldn't be enjoyed as it always has been before. In addition to that, many of my favorite booths either did not come or brought very little stock that interested me. I barely found anything that appealed to me.

My best celebratory efforts were in the Easter Eevee I bought the night before the driver's test, as well as the two bought afterwards. I got the cute winking Eevee and then saw a wonderful deal on the 24 inch Eevee and tried to snag it. The seller refused to respond to either me or Mercari and wouldn't ship. I don't know what happened. The seller has a history of cancelling orders. I don't know why Mercari doesn't boot her. After scouring the Internet high and low for days, I caved and bought the big Eevee on Amazon with my gift cards and Zip. I am so happy to have him! Normally I do not buy something this expensive ($58.99 plus tax, with $16 covered by gift cards), but occasionally I have. I remember my Captain Tarpals and Kaadu Star Wars figures were $50. My Monkees Bears set was $40. My Yami Bakura figure was $64. My Marik was $80, but he was paid for entirely with gift cards, as was my Nintendo 2Ds. I also bought all of Cannon, with most covered by gift cards. None of those purchases have been regretted. This one hasn't either! I'm so happy to have him. I fell in love with him in February and thought I could never have him.

I'm taking a break from buying things for now to get everybody paid off. My Eevee sitting like a person will be paid off in full by tomorrow! The Easter Eevee has one more payment. Then it's just paying off the big one. I still want the other Easter Eevee, if I can get an official one. I found a lot of bootlegs popping up. I'm lucky the one I have is the official one. The bootlegs do not look right. There's also a precious Tomy Eevee standing and looking up adorably. Most of the ones turning up seem to have much-loved fur and I want a newer one. There's one on eBay a little more than I'd wanted to pay, but I might cave on that if it's still there once I have a free slot for merchandise again.

Great Eastern finally made Nack in their Sonic plushies line and he's sold out almost everywhere and more expensive than I'd wanted to pay for him too. I do want to get him, though, albeit I wish the company would actually use fur. I think they still don't.

Then I want the Encanto doll set Jakks Pacific did that includes Luisa and Antonio. I think that set is the only way to get them, and Luisa is my favorite character. Mirabel (my second favorite) and Isabel have other doll releases. The price has gone up $10 since Walmart had it in stock before! Aurgh!

Current Mood: okay

I made good on my decision to collect Eevees. I now have seven, with another on the way. Of course, I'm only sticking with specific ones that really strike me and are in my price range, rather than being all "GIVE ME ALL THE EEVEE!!!!!111" But since I've been doing most of my shopping on Mercari now, I discovered their partnership with pay in 4 partner Zip, and that has really quite changed my life. I still have to be careful not to go overboard, and I'm sticking with only buying when I'm sure I can make the payments, but it is just so amazing and so liberating to be able to get a little more than I could before. I never could have got all of these darlings without Zip. I've bought four that way and am eyeing a couple more for later consideration.

The first thing that excited me was, I believe, an Eevee sitting like a person. Precious! Then I discovered that the Eevee from Alola arc, Sandy, got a plush! I was over the moon. Before I'd sorted out which one to get first, my heart was stolen by a precious angel laying down and looking up with the sweetest "Take me home" expression. And then my heart was broken and crushed when she was bought before I could get her. (It was Sunday and I didn't want to make a frivolous purchase on a Sunday. Had I known then she's fairly rare, I think I might have made an exception.)

Honestly, usually I can just shrug it off if I don't get a particular item, even if I don't get another chance. But for some reason, I could not shake this one off. I was devastated. I refused to give up and kept scouring the Internet for another one. I found one on eBay, but she was more than I felt I could pay. I was just about to give in anyway when I tried one more thing, searching using Google Shopping. Wonderful Google actually came through and I found one on Mercari that had not come up on my searches of Mercari, WTH. She was still a little more than the one I'd lost, but I wasn't going to lose her again. The seller sent me an offer, bringing the price down a little more, and she came home to me!

I'd already bought Sandy the day before I found her, and they both showed up on the same day. LOL. It was awesome.

After that I had some debating over getting a Halloween Barbie and Ken doll set I've wanted since last year, but I decided I wanted the sitting up Eevee first. Much rarer than the dolls. He feels like he's minky! So incredibly soft!

Pokemon Center made two Easter Eevees. They're very rare and very sought-after. I especially love the lop-eared one, but both are adorable. An incredible deal appeared on the other one and I snapped her up.

Lastly, I've also been following a winking Eevee. An amazing deal for one happened on eBay and I got her.

Other ones I'm eyeing for the future: the other Easter one, a 2 foot one I fell in love with at GameStop and thought I'd never be able to have but could with Zip, Chloe's Eevee, and one raising a paw like a wave. (Not the one imitating Wobbuffet, but a much more squeeable one.) Oh, and Gigantimax Eevee. Maybe also the Christmas Eevee at Pokemon Center.

I'm planning to make a video of Radley showing all the Eevees and discussing them after I get the winking one.

I started writing another version of my Night After storyline for 5Ds because I wanted to write a fic inspired by a heartbreaking scene of Radley being attacked and beaten unfairly that we did in a Western AU RP. I couldn't think of any way to work the scene into a fic until I thought of some of his former Duelists attacking him in the mine. So, yes, another Night After. This one has become a three-part behemoth instead of my usual oneshot treatments of the storyline. I keep adding more and more, thinking of new angles to explore with the characters. I'm voicetesting Crow a lot in part 2. I love him, but I don't use him much, and it's enjoyable writing him trying to comfort and counsel Yusei in this one. This fic gets more into Yusei's thoughts than any other version I've done. I've also noticed that with each version, as I test Kalin caring more and more in each succeeding one, he falls apart more and more. But this seems to fit with canon and how he cannot deal with losing those he loves. The original scene that inspired all of this, the beating, was in itself inspired by the movie Rigoletto. I don't know why I wanted to do it, because that scene leaves an extremely bitter taste in my mouth in the movie. It horrified me. I also hate that the people never find out the guy was miraculously/magically restored to life, so they'll go all through their lives knowing they hatefully beat a man to death when he didn't deserve it and never knowing that he did get a happy ending. I fix that in my version.

I mostly stay logged in to my RP account constantly these days. I hardly ever post here, so it seems logical to stay logged in with the other account the most. I wish there was a YGO-based group RP on Dreamwidth. There's hardly any on Dreamwidth for kids' franchises at all. I think the one I'm in is the only one around that's really active. I love it and it's adorable, but I would like to play in more RPs too. I can never get enough.

I really want to RP tonight. But Discord and Dreamwidth are both so quiet. Sigh. I'm eager to continue one adorable Kalin and Radley-centric one on Discord especially.

Current Mood: okay

This has been a fun week, something sorely needed. Real-life is rarely fun these days.

Monday I got hit in the head by an AMV that needed to be made. I already had the song and took a few more screencaps and made Radley Will Make a Man Out of You!

We ended up getting groceries on a different day this week. I don't know if that made a difference or not in products that were out, but if it wouldn't have happened on our regular day, I'm glad we were late. I've been waffling for literal weeks on what to spend some money on, which makes it difficult when I want just about everything I've seen but can't get it all. Then, after being unable to make a decision, I see an adorable little Eevee plush at Walmart and immediately fall in love. I'd kept feeling like I couldn't make a decision until I checked Walmart one last time, and that was apparently what I was waiting for. I have my beloved big Eevee, but I've wanted a little one to be my Radley plushie's Eevee. I just never thought I could afford the price for one when I already have one. But as soon as I saw her, I knew I was getting her. Unfortunately, I thought she was going to ring up as $12.99 and she rung up as $16.99 instead. Gah. And by then, I'd bonded with her way too closely to not get her. I still wondered if I'd made a mistake and worried about having spent so much, and yet there was no buyers' remorse and no desire to return her, although I did ask some people what they thought about the scenario. I was thrilled to give her to Radley. I was a little sad thinking I'd really like another one to be Kalin's Eevee and figured no way would I be able to pay that price a second time.

The next day I got an amazing package! I knew my friend MoonlightTyger was sending a couple of fun souvenir shirts from a town we both like, and those were there and very cool! One is a Christmassy shirt, and I feel like wearing it now, heh. And also in the box was another little Eevee! Not the same one I'd got, but just as soft and cute! I was over the moon and stayed there for hours. I wondered briefly if I should return the one I'd bought, but there was still no desire to do so, especially since I'd wanted two and now I had two! ... And now I'm encouraged to want more, lol. There's an adorable winking one I'd like to be Scotch's Eevee. I've even been considering a sleeping Eevee. Normally I don't see the appeal in sleeping plush since you can't really play with them, but when it's Eevee, I might make an exception.

So maybe what I really want is to collect Eevee plushies. One awesomely fun thing about multiple Eevees is that each one can be a different character, whereas if I'm getting multiples of, say, Shadow, it's all the same character. That makes it feel like there's much more of a point to getting multiple Eevees. I love them so much, I want many. Some of the things I've been considering buying are figure sets with multiple Eevee figures. But the figures are too small to pair with a Radley, so the plush was more appealing on that level as well as softness level. I love soft things, and these Eevees feel like minky! Utter paradise!

Current Mood: happy

Got into

victory_road as Radley. It's a very cute game set in the Pokemon verse! That caused a plunnie explosion and I decided to further explore my past concept of both shows in the same verse. I just put up chapter 1 of a fic.

Very annoyed at Nintendo taking away eShop access for portable devices next year. I bought a couple of games, including Pokemon Crystal. It's very nice, very liberating, even, to finally play a Pokemon game! I'm breeding Eevees. They're so cute! I have three so far, all male. (I have to use a Ditto mommy.) I'm hoping I can get a female eventually too. I've always loved them, but I got obsessed with them after having Radley get one as a starter. I chose Eevee because the Espeon evolution looks like Ruby Carbuncle, one of Radley's cards.

I'm watching some of Pokemon Master Journeys to see Chloe's Eevee. There have been others on the show, of course, but I'm not sure any others have gotten an actual arc about them! I hope she will end up deciding not to evolve. I love the evolved forms, but I also love the original form. The way the story arc is set up, I kind of suspect that she will not ever evolve even if eventually she gains the ability to do so. I would like to see another Pokemon like Pikachu who doesn't even really want to evolve because she's happy with herself.

I decided that when Team Rocket only appears to do villainous things and we don't see character development for them, I prefer them not being there. I enjoyed a couple of Master Journeys episodes without them just fine. Although that could be because I'm so intently involved in the Chloe arc. I still love the episodes where we see better sides of them, although I am pretty confused by their twisted morals. So they get upset at the thought of taking away people's special memories in that amnesia scheme from Alola, but they think it's okay to steal people's Pokemon so all they're left with all their memories?! I kind of think and hope that if they actually did succeed in taking someone's special Pokemon for a while and then saw them all sad and heartbroken, they would feel so guilty they'd bring the Pokemon back. When we see their good sides, it kind of seems like that's something that could be the case. Maybe I'll write such a fic sometime.

Still driving, and have actually been on the freeway repeatedly! That is really huge for me. I bought a Glaceon plush at GameStop yesterday. I also got an Espeon from Mercari. It's an interesting online shopping place. I think the sellers there seem more often like fans able to identify official plushies from bootlegs. There are lots of bootlegs that have crept onto Amazon, and maybe eBay too.

Current Mood: excited

Haven't felt like writing for months. There's been a lot of upsetting things happening in real-life and online both, and I've preferred discussing both good and bad things in private with friends.

I had a lot of fun buying my own presents in October, at least, including elements of my Radley costume. I am very happy with it. I like to dress as him and record various songs trying to sing as him, which is interesting. It's hard to sing with anything resembling a male voice, but it helps that his dub voice isn't terribly low and my normal speaking voice isn't terribly high. I haven't done it for a while, but there are other songs I want to try.

Also bought most of my own Christmas presents aside from stuff friends sent. Dad wrapped some of them so I'd have more to unwrap. It was a very nice Christmas. I got Disney dolls of Raya, Sisu (I love the movie, mostly!), Ariel (also finally saw that and love it too), and Frozen 2 Elsa. I still don't like the ending of the movie, but I do love her final attire. I also got some fun plushies on QVC, and I used a birthday gift card to buy an adorable Christmas tree plush from Build-a-Bear. His name is Bob, because really, what else are you going to name a happy little tree?

I got a huge basket of yummy goodies from one sister and some nice things like a diffuser from another. I love the concept of it, although I don't much like the scent of lavender. It comes with lavender scent to put in it. I want to see if I can find other scents too.

Azalea542 sent a cool musical Frozen watch and a Boba Fett pin. Ladyamberjo and Lisa sent lovely gift cards and I had some fun Amazon spending sprees. I have most of the 5Ds manga now, except for #1, which has decided to be elusive new. Aurgh. Aside from preferring new in general, I especially want new here to be sure I get the card that comes with it. I also got some DVDs.

MoonlightTyger sent a wonderful cap and a Boba Fett plush (so soft!), and Tales of the Abyss! I'm very relieved it plays on my 2DS. I've played up to where Natalia joins the party so far. It is a very fun game aside from the boss battle against Arietta. Such a relief to finally conquer that! It's always interesting when a property has a sheltered character like Luke. While I can't fully relate to Luke's specific situation, I was quite sheltered most of my childhood. I was very sick for some years and there was also a lot of unfair prejudice going around about our family which caused a lot of backlash on me. Some of the neighborhood kids weren't allowed to associate much with me and the ones that were allowed didn't get to play as much as I wanted. So I mostly played with Mom through those years. It wasn't until I was becoming a teen that I started really having in-depth friendships with people where we'd talk a lot and have conflicts and the like. So I wasn't always good at associating with people, although I tried to learn quickly and even fake it sometimes. Of course, I still mess up and I'm also such a weird person that a lot of people get turned off by my different interests in characters and topics. Some things never do change. People can be very cruel and unkind when someone goes against the norm, whatever the norm happens to be. Anyway, point being, I like when there are sheltered characters in things.

The Book of Boba Fett makes me very happy. Disney is continuing to fulfill my 30 year old dream. I far prefer their Boba to the often cold and ruthless portrayals from some of the old 1990s books. I never wanted to see him that way. Since canon (and by canon I only mean the movies, as the books were never absolute canon to me) was so vague about him, I felt like people could see him as anything they wanted and it wouldn't go against canon. While I don't agree with Disney on a lot of their decisions, I am so thrilled with how they're handling Boba. I hope the TV series will end satisfyingly. I kind of suspect it will, though, and how it will end.

Just finished a fic today and am planning for the next one. I set up for it at the end of this one.

I'm still getting commissions. I'm waiting on one now. It's impossible for me to resist a good deal on beautiful art of characters I love, especially when it's being made especially for me!

I'm also finally advancing on my doll project. I can't remember if I discussed getting one for Radley's friend Scotch. I also just got one to be the one I call Biff. I'm looking into some more right now. I love the My Scene dolls. They're taller than the ones I have for Radley and Kalin, but the heads align, which is the main thing I'm concerned about. I'll probably end up having all of the boy My Scene dolls before the project is through, and multiples of characters with vastly different hair in releases, like River, who can hence play two or three Bunch members.

I have three Kalin and Radley doujinshis. I love them very much. There are others out there, but I haven't got my hands on physical copies yet.

I've been making a lot of home-cooked meals lately, as with my various problems with food this past year I've needed to do my own versions of them. I've made lots of waffles and enjoy it quite a bit. I also discovered I can make chili. Yum. And while most fake cheese just doesn't cut it, I do like the kinds that Morningstar and Daiya use in their meals. Daiya makes it with garbanzo beans! They've started selling it separately and I've been making pizzas with it.

I'm driving again, which is extremely momentous for me. Unlike before, I'm actually enjoying it and not crippled by fear. I honestly believe God has always used YGO to improve my life. YGO Classic caused me to learn how to write and draw far better and make many friends, some of whom are still friends. Because of my love of Radley in 5Ds, I started wanting to ride a motorcycle. But you have to have a regular driver's license first. So I finally felt ready to try again after the traumatizing experience I had years ago. I got my learner's permit and have been driving since October. I will be trying for the full license soon. I prayed and prayed for years on help conquering my fear of driving and nothing worked until Radley came along. Thank You, God.

Current Mood: okay

On Saturday I was over the moon!

( Cut for Mandalorian spoilers )

I had to watch that episode as soon as I learned about it, of course. I've been waiting to see if anything would be worth starting up the Disney+ subscription again, at least for a month or so, and this most certainly qualified. I pounced on it, then starting watching The Clone Wars. I missed out on that when Netflix had it, so I'd better get my fill this month. I can probably only keep Disney+ for this month. I should also try to see some DuckTales episodes. I don't have the elusive volume 4 DVD set, and it went out of print shortly after it was released, aurgh. Disney probably won't release it again because they'll figure people should just stream it on Disney+. Some people prefer physical discs!

I was not in a good mood when I started this entry, but I hoped writing about the squee would make me happy again. So far it's worked. It's hard to stay upset when writing about something that kept me on cloud 9 all that day. I was squeeing so much, I couldn't settle down to work on my fic for hours.

It's so disappointing this year that Dollar Tree doesn't have much in the way of decent DVDs. Usually they have great stuff at Christmastime, if only then. I've found anime, Scooby-Doo, and neat DC movies and TV episodes in the past. Almost everything they've had this year is lame. There was one nice Christmas movie, just a couple of DC things that didn't interest me, maybe a couple of interesting nature documentaries, and maybe a few nice things for the little kiddies, and otherwise it's second-rate trash that nobody much wants to buy. (Seriously, there are DVDs that kick around for years at Dollar Tree.)

I saw a Looney Tunes Christmas shirt last week that was kind of cute and appealed to me, with Bugs, Daffy, Wile E., and Taz in Christmas clothes. I considered getting it, but didn't, and I've had one or two dreams with the characters since then. I don't really want it that much, though, even though I like Wile E. Give me Disney any day over Looney Tunes (although some of the old Disney shorts are rather mean-spirited too).

I really kind of want those re-issues of The Real Ghostbusters figures for Christmas, but they're almost $15 for one, so I know Dad wouldn't want to get them. Plus, figures from the movie are out right now too, and ten to one he'd get confused and might get the wrong thing. The cartoon figures were almost all gone again tonight too. I considered getting one with some cash of Mom's and then having her keep it until Christmas, but I don't really want to do that. It seems ridiculous to have to buy my own presents, even if I'd be using her money instead of mine. The only Egon left had a grease mark too. Looking on eBay, he seems to be the hardest to get too. That figures.

At least someone was finally at the fabric counter while there was black cotton to be cut. I'll make Kalin's clothes this week, probably.

Current Mood: okay

Someone on YouTube is apparently familiar with me from years before and told me I'm a legend. They also used the goat emoticon, which I learned can be an acronym for "Greatest of All Time." That absolutely bowled me over. It's still so surreal and hard to believe that anyone could feel like that about me. It certainly gave me a much-needed emotional boost. I've been struggling a lot again lately with emotional stress and some bouts of self-hatred.

I finally got approved for Medicaid, thank God! I've been calling places to direct them to Medicaid for billing. I still have another I'll need to call on Monday. This is certainly an immense burden eased. It also looks like the hospital bill I racked up wasn't anywhere near $8,000 like we were told? But we still couldn't have afforded it.

I finished watching the first 64 episodes of YGO 5Ds, on YouTube. I don't normally tear through a show's episodes that quickly, but I was hooked and could hardly put it down. I decided I should watch the episodes before buying them, and they are officially available online. I probably will buy the DVD set, though, because Earthbound Immortals is so good and very rewatchable! I already want to see some of them again!

Most of it is good and rewatchable, anyway. For the life of me I don't understand why a wonderfully dark and serious arc was interrupted by Luna's extended trip to the Duel Monsters world. They could have done those episodes to better fit in with the tone of the arc, but instead it had to be ridiculous with stupid monkey lackeys of the villain, and the villain himself wasn't what I expected. Neither was the human villain in the real world, Devack. With all the other Dark Signers, we know who they are and what they're upset about. Then Devack comes along and we're never told anything about him and it's like "... Why do we care what happens to him?" It seems like a serious oversight when every other Dark Signer has a masterfully thought-out backstory. I do love the sibling squee in those episodes, but otherwise I feel like I went to kiddie land for four episodes. It's so out of place with the intensity of the arc. I was rather bored by that part in the Duel Links event version I encountered first, too. In the original YGO, weirdness like that would have only happened in virtual reality.

On the upside, I really love how this show handles emotions and emotional trauma. At first I did not like Akiza, but then they slowly developed her and brought out her horrible past in a way that finally by episode 40, everything made sense and she was one of the most realistic and complex characters! She also had a setback then when her beloved mentor seemed to have been killed. (And ugggh, her mentor is a real piece of work. Horrible guy. He ranks among the few characters in anything I absolutely detest.) I wonder a bit if the writers took inspiration from Mai in season 4 of classic YGO. Some things seemed a little similar, like how Akiza lashed out at Yusei when he was not to blame for anything that happened to her. They also do this emotional exploration with Yusei, having him shaken for a long time about Kalin turning against him, and with Kalin himself when he comes back to himself and realizes all the horrible things he did unjustly. They even do some pretty great development with Officer Trudge when he finally starts to see the good things about Satellite and then gets thrown into a position where he has to protect kids. He starts out just being a creep who uses his badge to bully people, but then he somehow ends up lovable. I love it, I love these characters, I just still hate what happens to Domino City!

I don't like that Yusei's Satellite friends disappear from the show for the most part now, until they appear again at the ending. It's like Yusei doesn't be with them anymore now that he's part of team 5Ds.

Crow is awesome. Something about him reminds me of Zack Fair from FF7, and that really comes out even more during the Earthbound Immortals finale.

It's really a shame the dub didn't do all the episodes. I haven't decided yet what I'll do with the next arc, which is, I think, mostly filler. I probably will watch Kalin's redemption arc again. It has some kind of silly things in it too, like the guns that unfold into Duel Disks. LOL. It's obvious Crash Town is a Western parody from start to finish. But whatever's silly in it still isn't anywhere as bad as those Duel Monster world episodes.

Crash Town must be pretty close to Domino City, since Sector Security apparently has law enforcement jurisdiction. They seem to be exclusively a Domino police force. It's probably like with the LAPD, where their jurisdiction extends to some of the nearby rural and mountain areas. It's nice to think Kalin must still be close by. Also, I think the dub improved on not having people die in the mines, because if they died, that prompts the disturbing question as to whether Kalin caused anyone to get sent there who ended up dying from the horrible conditions. I think Kalin has enough to feel horrible about without adding something like that! I also prefer the dub having the idolizing kids' dad live. I really hate having him die in the original, when the kids were trying so hard to save him. I think I'm going to headcanon that he lived in the original too. He fell, but I don't think we saw him hit bottom. Maybe he landed on an outcropping and was later rescued, injured but alive, as in the dub. Maybe after I finish the fic I'm doing, I'll write one where he's talking to Kalin while he recovers.

EDIT: Another thing I meant to add was that Crash Town has nothing supernatural in it. Hence, the deaths (in the Japanese) are real. I prefer not having that kind of reality in an anime that usually has supernatural problems. I really loved in Earthbound Immortals that even Greiger's village was able to be restored because it was destroyed by supernatural means and the people taken to power up the Earthbound Immortals. Anyone taken for that can be restored when the things are defeated. That's so much nicer than reality. I'm sick of reality, I'm sick of real deaths ... bring on the supernatural anime problems, please!

I did finally get the YGO fic rolling where Lector encounters Kalin. Eventually it decided to become my original cross idea of seeing whether a dimensional rift could have opened during Zero Reverse and swallowed the YGO classic characters I figured disappeared. I also decided that if Mokuba was lost, Seto closed himself off and didn't care anymore about anything, and he wasn't responsible for the totalitarian mess Domino became. The fic has been catching some attention, even a reviewer on AO3 (a rare thing for me), so that's certainly been nice. I hope any 5Ds fans reading won't be disappointed. I want to highlight what I like about both series, but I have to point out the strange things about 5Ds that don't make sense and try to make sense of them.

I also started making the Kalin plushie. I probably got his hair too long, but it's a lot longer in his redemption arc. I haven't been able to get black cloth to make his clothes yet. No one's ever at the fabric counter and when I ring for them they don't come. And of course, the one time someone was around, there was no black cloth left for them to cut for me! Aurgh!

I wrote prompts for every day for Whumptober and Comfortember, making a huge, connected fic about the Big Five being tortured by Yami Marik and trying to recover from it. I'm really pleased with it. I'm especially pleased I actually wrote for each day in Comfortember, as some of those prompts weren't plunnying me so much. But somehow it all came together.

I got another tablet since the Amazon one has been bothering my eyes so much and the DigiLand has been acting weird and also couldn't update Duel Links anymore. Walmart had an amazing deal on their Onn tablet for $28, so I snapped that up. It's been great.

Current Mood: okay

I finally got to do my birthday outing, but as I'd figured, I didn't find anything I wanted other than a plushie base, and a nice patriotic shirt when I exchanged a pair of pants. Target was sold out of everything I like to buy there! Aurgh! But I did decide, while looking at a small Disney Store Mickey Mouse that cost $23, that I was going to buy the 25 inch one on Amazon. I got him that night and he arrived two days later thanks to my Prime trial, which they offered to extend for another month. He is sooo soft, both the fur and the huggability. I love him! I keep him on the bed.

I also finally got Build-a-Bear's tuxedo cat to be Oreo. They understuffed her, as usual, and I don't know when I'll be able to fix it since I'm not comfortable going into the store with her right now and I don't trust myself to do it. But she's adorable! Definitely the most Oreo-looking plushie I've ever found.

For Halloween, I put down paper towel on our wall and then put spaced-out candy. We got more kids this year than we have in a while. Go figure. I guess with no trunk or treats, they go back to traditional methods.

I immediately felt like getting Christmassy the day after Halloween and I turned on the small trees. On Monday we got lights for the big tree, since some were about to burn out on it (and immediately did when I turned it on, oy). The new lights are gorgeous. Instead of the cheap brands we usually buy, these are GE. Love it!

I wrote the YGO fic with Nesbitt being tricked into accepting the Orichalcos. I'm just finishing it now. It didn't work to extend it very long due to his unique circumstances and also the fact that I rarely like writing duels, but I like how it came out. Very heartbreaking and very squeeful and I use a lot of my personal feelings and struggles with self-hatred in how I write for Nesbitt. At the end, the problem isn't gone, but he's starting to heal thanks to his friends.

I'm kind of obsessed with the 5Ds character Kalin Kessler. He is a pretty horrible person even before the dark force gets him, and then he completely turns his life around after he's freed. It feels very vindicating. People would tell me I was writing characters wrong if their personalities became different when they wanted to repent. Kalin is a canon example showing it happening. I think his redemption arc was very well-done. I play him a lot in Duel Links. I want to make a plushie of him, and I might use my current plushie base for that. I even sought out some nice, soft material I could use for his hair. I found the right color and everything. Problem is, I could only buy it in a set of a yard and a half for over $8. Oy! The things I do for my crafting projects....

(I also bought a talking Charmander. I wanted him for my birthday, but they sold out, and they just finally got a couple this past week. One disappeared right away and I decided I'd better buy the other instead of waiting to try asking for him for Christmas.)

I also actually want to buy 5Ds. I've seen enough of it to know that I want to see more, and I would prefer to just get the DVDs and watch it that way instead of streaming the episodes on my tablets. I still hate the setting of Domino in the future, but I just love the characters and that's what sells it for me.

Duel Links added Zexal. A lot of fans of it have wanted it, apparently. I honestly think it looks very childish compared to the first three YGO series (yes, even GX). The characters seem to be younger and their cards are out of this world ridiculous. Zubababancho Gagagacoat?! How can anyone take a name like that seriously?! **headdesk.** Maybe someday Duel Links will introduce a character or event that will interest me, like they finally did for both GX and 5Ds, but somehow I doubt I will ever be that intrigued overall. With GX, I love Jesse Anderson and will play as him sometimes, and I'll play as Tyranno only because David Wills voices him, but GX just doesn't enchant me overall. The setting of a duel school is still preposterous and I just can't seem to get invested in the adventures. They're either too slice-of-life, which I can't get behind when I'm not invested in the characters, or too dark. 5Ds, on the other hand, grabbed me with the Dark Signer arc and Carly Carmine, and then I got invested in all the characters and their adventures. Somehow, in spite of the setting of a ruined Domino City and the nonsense of Turbo Duels, it feels like a better follow-up to classic YGO, storyline-wise. (On the other hand, GX still uses familiar cards, which felt so good to see after watching 5Ds. But I was seriously underwhelmed by the GX Paradox Brothers episodes. Not epic like the classic series at all.)

Current Mood: tired

A couple of weeks ago or so I found the Kingdom Hearts 3 cutscenes of Sora's adventures in the first Frozen film. I had wondered if revisiting the first film in any form would make me decide I liked the sequel better after all. Instead, it had just the opposite effect, lol. I reaffirmed that the first one was perfect as is and didn't need a sequel, and that I really don't like the path the creators chose for Elsa in the sequel. Most unnecessary. I think the shorts and books have much better follow-up stories. I ordered a set of some of the Anna & Elsa books for my birthday and got another Prime trial for the next four weeks. They also offered me a $5 credit just for downloading a book to read free on my Amazon tablet! I chose another Frozen book, one about a ghost supposedly haunting the castle. It's fun and cute so far.

Build-a-Bear sent me an email the other day with Disney products in it. They have some cute Mickey and Minnie plushies, but most were too expensive in general and all were too expensive to buy online and have to pay shipping to get. Looking at the email made me decide something, though. I've wanted a Mickey plushie for years. This is the year I'm going to actually get one! I have my brother's little Mickey, but he's not very furry anymore and the stuffing was coming out. I can't remember if I was able to patch him up. I always felt like I couldn't get another Mickey because it would be "betraying" that one, lol. But I really want one and am determined to get one. Disney isn't having any sales right now, so I considered Walmart's offering. Theirs is really nice, but doesn't have a tail. I see a lot online with tails. I am most tempted to buy a 25 inch one that's $20, and then I'd get $5 off with my credit. I have a weakness for supersize things!

I also have a $5 coupon from eBay that I can use for once. Usually they send things I can't use, like coupons only good for fashion categories or whatnot. I'm still debating what to buy with that too. Part of me thinks I should get the Yami Yugi pin I need to complete my set of them (the set with the Yami Bakura pin). Another part thinks I should buy the other uncut dub DVD. I have 1 and 3, but not 2. I hadn't been interested before because it's just the Weevil duel and Joey's first duel with Mai, and I imagined Weevil's duel wasn't that different from the dub version and I don't care for how skimpy the Harpies are in their uncut forms. But it would be more voice-acting from the actors I love playing those characters, which would make it a treasure. I think it and Bonds Beyond Time are the only DVDs I don't have with any of the original YGO characters. (And their guest spots on GX. I don't have those either. I did watch the Paradox Brothers' guest spot on Hulu and can't say I was that impressed. The duel certainly wasn't as epic and spectacular as Yugi and Joey's duel against them. But it was nice seeing Syrus find inner strength he didn't know he had.)

I've actually watched some 5Ds. I like the Dark Signer arc and watched Carly's and Kalin's episodes for that. Then I wanted to see Kalin's redemption arc too. I really like the Duel Links event that was done for the latter. Kalin is a character who develops so much through just the few episodes he's in. I found it very vindicating how sobered he behaves when he finally realizes how horrible he's been acting. His extreme behavior change is how I tend to write characters going through the same type of phase.

I still hate the setting of Domino City after an explosion tore the city apart. Why did the creators think the fans would want to see their beloved city a wreck? It's so depressing. I refuse to accept that 5Ds absolutely happens in the future, even though I like some of the characters and arcs. I can headcanon it happening in an alternate dimension, though. I may or may not write a fic exploring that premise.

(Also, motorcycle duels will always be ridiculous. The characters can't even look at each other! I have a hard time believing that Seto designed such a thing, as the Wiki says he did.)

Azure Week was interesting and fun and now I've been preparing for Whumptober and maybe Comfortember. Two months of hurt/comfort prompts! Squeeee! I'm doing a connected story for Whumptober with Yami Marik tormenting the Big Five and I've just finished the first draft of the tenth prompt. They're all fairly short scenes. I might expand some before posting next month. We'll see. I don't think every prompt will be part of this story, as a few seem like they need to be stand-alone, but again, we'll see. I also sketched a picture when I needed a drawing prompt and used one of the Comfortember prompts. I may or may not save the picture to actually post for the prompt. That's a long time to wait, and I planned to write a fic for that prompt too.

Current Mood: tired

I have Johnson, am waiting for Crump to ship, and chose a Gansley. Have to scrape together a little more money before I can get him, since I had to jump on an auction for the figure I chose as Crump. I'm waiting on a payout from one survey company and am close to getting one from another. I don't think I'll say which figures will be Crump and Gansley until I have them in hand. Definitely excited to get them all! Although I'll probably feel a little sad when this project is over. It's been a lot of fun. I of course was not able to get the figure I wanted so badly for Crump. Just too expensive! But using a little imagination I found one that will transform into an amazing Crump with a little paint.

I continue to document the figure project on my YouTube vlog under my LuckyLadybug66 account. I also finally finished the Lumis and Umbra plushies: http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com

I feel like buying the Barbie helicopter and seeing if Nesbitt can fly it, lol. It can be purchased for under $20 at some places! I'm surprised. It reminds me of when I was able to get the convertible car for $10, and it's a huge car, unlike the tiny one they're selling now!

I was able to get the Siegfried and Joey fic done. It ended up being short, but it's just the beginning of the new Viking arc. That will continue in stories as I see fit. Right now, I mainly want to write cute slice-of-life and maybe gratuitous hurt/comfort, like the Midnight Garden fic I finally sorted out and have almost done. I'm doing a fic now where each Big 5 member gets interviewed by Lana Allisen, my human version of the muppet merdog Lana Afghana from Benji at Marineland (lol). I was so obsessed with her that I made two plushies and some snow creations years ago. I created the human version when I was starting my second mainstream Rockford Files fic and needed a reporter. After getting reminded that Lana fell in love with Benji in the special, my human version develops a crush on Nesbitt and already has one on Lector as the story opens. Of course, Nesbitt is adorably oblivious to this. Lector is aware, and probably feels awkward that yet another person is crushing on him, hee.

I know my Viking Arc probably looks meager to anyone who read the original, unfinished version in Der Engel des Todes years ago. I was definitely setting up for something big there. But I hope this will be big in its own way, as it unfolds. Maybe I can do a version of the Der Engel thing with Siegfried's secretary being a Valkyrie in disguise, etc.

I know I'm probably unlikely to be able to have my usual birthday shopping spree this year, thanks to the #$&Y#*(&$( virus. I think I'll just plain plan on a virtual shopping spree instead, and then I can be pleasantly surprised if it turns out I'll be able to go out after all. I should start saving some money for my birthday, but I need to finish my project first! And then there are other things I want that are on eBay deadlines, so who knows when I'll be able to save much other than Amazon gift cards!

I decided that instead of a blog, I would do a vlog. http://www.youtube.com/user/luckyladybug66/videos I've thought for a long time that I would love talking to a camera, and I do.

I've documented all of my adventures with my Big Five G. I. Joes there and don't feel like recounting it all here, but if anyone just wants to see the current progress, I put up a picture on dA: http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com

A few things I discovered:

- I got the right paint. Moccasin Brown by Anita's creates a beautiful, very Lector skin color, just as I'd hoped.
- It is possible to paint an entire figure tan without making a huge mess.
- I can sew for 12 inch scale.
- Socks are hard.
- I hate sewing tops with sleeves in any scale.
- I think my purple piece of cotton is cursed, at least when it comes to making tops for Lector. Both for the plushie and the figure, the tops fought me at every turn and all manner of things went wrong, moreso than for any other top I've made for anyone. The pants, on the other hand, went swimmingly. (But maybe that was just to lure me into a false sense of security!)

I've been so occupied with crafting projects that I haven't felt too inspired for the current fic, one involving Siegfried. That, and I wasn't in a hurt/comfort mood due to exhaustion from the Zorc fic. But the other day I had a hurt/comfort dream where Mom and I did a role-play that included Crump being thought dead and Lector trying to be strong and then breaking down in front of Nesbitt and Johnson, who were so worried. (I don't know where Gansley was.) I woke up in a hurt/comfort mood again at last, although that may or may not help this particular fic. I'm still having a hard time fully remembering why I liked Siegfried so much, although I think part of it was that I got such a kick out of him deliberately being obnoxious and loving it. I'm planning to develop him with this fic, which should be fun, and it may or may not have some Christmas in July elements.

I always love Christmas in July on QVC, but I've been even more excited for it this year. They had an event last weekend to kick things off even though it wasn't July yet and I ate it up. I also got excited, as I always do, and wanted to buy something. Every year they have these cute walking animals. Last year they had penguins, but they sold out before I even got to see them. I thought sure they'd be back this year. They weren't, but there are some cute parrots. I've been tempted to buy them, but since I really wanted the penguins the most, I tried to find them and found one on eBay. I may get him, since I can't find any anywhere else. Wow, they really did sell out. There's no trace of them on any website that sells this line of plushies.

I'm also continuing figure hunting. Still looking for the perfect Gansley and Johnson. I found a perfect Crump, an apparently rare variant of a figure, but he's so expensive I can never have him. **cries.** I know I'll never find a better Crump. For Johnson, I'll probably have to go with the head sculpt I originally intended, as nothing else is even halfway like him. The face just doesn't quite sell me, but the hair style is right, and maybe with glasses he'll look better.

There are other Barbie and Star Wars characters I want too. I was following a Qui-Gon auction, but thanks to loud neighbors and horrific insomnia before sleep returned at last, I missed it by minutes. (Aurgh!) Thankfully, she relisted. And a new Mace Windu popped up, a little cheaper than the one I'd been looking at. The seller immediately sent me a private offer to get him for $10 and shipping. I wasn't passing that up! I felt really bad I couldn't accept a private offer I was sent for a two-figure lot of episode 1 Obi-Wan and Dengar, but I couldn't drop that much money in one place right now. But I didn't officially accept or deny the offer because I kept waffling and wishing I could get it right up to when it expired.

The holiday was pretty blah, but I expected that, and I have to say, it was way better than last year's 4th, when I didn't even get to have a pizza. I had one now. I've been getting Walmart's Rising Crust pizzas and they're a good substitute for Little Caesar's until I feel comfortable buying from them or any restaurant again. We also watched some inspiring One Step Beyond episodes, including a nice one about George Washington, so that felt good and patriotic. I also recorded Yankee Doodle Dandy, since our copy had thirty minutes edited out for commercial room (!!!). Hopefully we can watch that soon. We also saw lots of fireworks from the house. I still don't like letting everybody set off professional grade fireworks, but they are fun to watch ... when they don't get too close to the house. Every year, there's always some that do. That is a terrifying experience.

31 Days released their new prompts, but I didn't see them until now because I was too busy to drop in. The past day's prompt, the book and movie title Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, intrigued me the most on the list. I have been fascinated by that title like you wouldn't believe ever since I first learned of its existence years ago. I don't know that the book and movie would be my thing, but taking the title as a prompt and creating a story based around what it says to me sounds like a blast. A title like that could mean so many things. I tend to think of it in a religious light. And of course, I'd like it to involve Lector and Nesbitt. Maybe by Amnesty Day at the end of the month I'll have figured out what I can do with it.

Current Mood: contemplative

Nikki arrived and she's awesome. And I found a G. I. Joe to be Nesbitt! I knew it would be too strange if there weren't any that looked like him, because honestly, his character design looks like a G. I. Joe, lol. I found several possibilities and decided on Wheeler Field Pilot. I bought one on Amazon and I think he'll be here tomorrow! Meanwhile I was set to buy the Hawk River Lector G. I. Joe and then an auction popped up. I ended up going through with the Buy It Now listing anyway. I hope I won't regret not following the auction. I was concerned about someone else getting the Buy It Now and the auction suddenly spiking into a bid war and then I wouldn't get either one. That probably wouldn't have happened, but I didn't want to take the chance. Plus, I didn't want to wait 9 days for the auction to end.

A friend had some TaleSpin cereal box figures that she sent me. They're so cute! And it's almost the whole set of them; I just need Baloo, and I'm sure I can get him at the antique mall. And she also included a neat thing about Louisiana since I periodically write fics set there, and ohmygoshsqueee, a surprise item: an autographed picture of Boba Fett! She got it signed by Jeremy Bulloch in person years ago. I was over the moon and exclaimed aloud when I opened the package!

Monday we finally got to do an outing I've been hoping for for ages and it was one of those amazing days where things actually went right. Weirdly enough, both that Monday and one I still hold fondly from about three years ago or more involved getting paint at Hobby Lobby. LOL. I got a color that I hope will be good for painting Lector and also grabbed some black paint for Johnson's hair, since I don't know when I'll get back there and I thought I should just have it around even though I probably won't have Johnson for a while. It's always fun to explore there. Such a huge store! I wish they closed at 9 instead of 8. I was hoping to see some Halloween decor, but they had harvest coming in and that was a good compromise. Strangely, they still had some aisles of Easter stuff.

Then we went to Joann's and they finally had plushie bases back in stock. They also now have WiFi! And squeeee, they actually had the fake fur I needed for Umbra's hair! Since they don't have a whole rainbow of colors, I do wonder why they specifically had turquoise/teal/whatever it is. Is there a lot of demand for that color? Whatever the reason, it's awesome! It's super expensive by the yard ($29.99!), so I asked for the smallest piece and that was only $3 and change, and more than enough! I have a ton left over.

Then it was on to Kohl's to see if I'd have any better luck with my merchandising credit than before. The fitting rooms are closed and I didn't want to risk getting any more pants that didn't fit, so I focused on toys. I didn't really think they'd have Stacie, and I was right, but they did have a doll that I think and hope is Renee. Why don't they print character names on the boxes anymore? But I got her.

At Target I found Stacie! I also saw the new Yami Bakura and Yami Marik combo deck set they put out. I want it for Yami Bakura, but I couldn't afford it right then. If it was any other kind of Yami Bakura merchandise I wouldn't have been able to resist, but since I don't have anyone to play with I drag my feet on cards. I definitely plan to get that deck for my Yami Bakura collection, though!

At Walmart I got some muslin for the plushie ears. I still don't understand why they aren't made with ears on in the first place.

I waited several days for possible germs to die before starting the plushies. On Friday I made the ears and expressions. I copied Umbra's from a screenshot and I used Lumis's excited expression from Duel Links, even though I'm doing anime verse and not manga verse. The expression is just too cute! Saturday night into Sunday morning I worked on Umbra's hair. It's always hard dealing with fake fur hair and my finger is sore from pushing hard on the needle. But I love the results! Since they're not Rare Hunters anymore, I'll probably dress them similarly to how I depict them in my fics, in basic dark pants and purple tops. I have a progress picture up: http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com

I also figure I'll need to sew clothes for the Joes. I can't find anything that looks canon-accurate around, and a blog I found this morning warned that a lot of clothes don't fit Joes because some of them have big hands. I don't think mine do, but I can't be sure until they show up. I was going to use Luke to help me make clothing patterns today, assuming that the Joes and the Star Wars figures have the same bodies, but since Nesbitt is coming tomorrow, I think maybe I'll wait and have him help me instead. Nesbitt probably is a pilot, so it wouldn't look odd for him to sit around in the clothes he comes with for a while. I learned that some Joes and Star Wars figures have the same bodies, but I can't find out if the highly articulated ones do. I'm not sure Nesbitt has bendable knees, though, so his body might be more like the 1996 Star Wars ones that didn't bend the knees. But I'm not sure, because his hands are amazing and the FINGERS bend! I love it!

We've been watching some Star Wars movies and I had to write a bizarre blurb where Nesbitt is frozen in carbonite and Lector is able to release him (thankfully after a short period of time, unlike poor Han). I doubt I'll post it in any story, and maybe it won't even make it to 31 Days. But it was interesting to write. So far I gave no explanation for how it happened or why such a thing exists on Earth. I might if I flesh it out more. I'd certainly have to if I ever plan to really use it in something.

I also decided to look up Jason Wingreen, who voiced Boba Fett, and Jeremy Bulloch, who played him physically. I somehow stumbled on a hilarious interview where he said that in rehearsal he tripped on Darth Vader's cape and they both fell down and got tangled up, **snerk.** And then he flubbed a line and said "Put Captain Cargo in the Solo Hold." I've been giggling about that all day. I still wish I could get a 12 inch Boba Fett to match my Star Wars figures, but he still remains one of the hardest to get in the set. I should have tried to get one years ago, when they were first out. I remember watching my brother bring home his electronic Boba Fett with goggle-eyed interest. There's an electronic one on eBay for not too bad a price, but the Try Me button doesn't work. If I'm buying an electronic figure, I expect it to talk to me! I'd be fine with the Collector Series one too, even though I like the electronic one better, but it's also very elusive.

Since I've been having so much trouble finding out things about Barbies, like whether they're hollow or solid, or what characters they are, and this new problem about G. I. Joes and Star Wars figures, I'm slightly considering doing a blog on Blogger or somewhere talking about my collecting and things I've discovered on my own. Surely I can't be the only person who wonders things like this! It would be nice to be able to pass on my knowledge in case anyone else is having problems about such things.

Current Mood: amused

I could talk about reality, but I'd rather not. Except to say, it was very disturbing when Dad said that 80 new cases of coronavirus in the county were traced to this town and a subdivision of it. **cries.** I was hopeful it was safe for things to start opening up in some places, but I wonder if it's safe to do so in this area yet.

I also find it very frustrating that at last there's a decent, wonderfully furry Scooby-Doo plush and I don't know whether it's safe to get it right now, since it's all open and exposed to whatever germs are floating around. I've been buying things that can be wiped off or washed before use. Can't really do that with a plushie. But I hate to pass it up. I've waited literally years for a good Scooby plushie. The last one before this had this horrible scratchiness that wasn't furry at all. If Amazon had it, I could buy it there and they'd ship it in a wonderful, sealed plastic bag (inside a box, of course). But I can't find it on Amazon.

Also, I think I'm going to buy that minky Sonic plush I've wanted. He's modern Sonic and my current Sonic is classic Sonic, and hey, in Sonic Generations they actually meet, so hopefully it won't feel like a betrayal of my old Sonic to get this one too. I just want to stroke the minky so much, lol. As always, the plushies in that set continue to sell out quickly and have to be restocked. People just love them!

I also hope to buy the Sonic movie when it comes out on DVD next week. I've definitely been waiting eagerly to finally see it! I wasn't about to pay $20 just to rent it on Amazon Prime Video. Or was it $20 to own it digitally? Eh, whichever. I want a physical copy.

Back in January I was still Christmassing, and for some reason I decided to watch a Barbie Christmas movie. It was adorable and filled with family squee! It was very weird seeing Skipper with brown hair streaked purple, though. LOL. I'm used to her having blonde hair. My paper doll has huge curly hair.

Recently I decided I needed some more wonderful escapist entertainment like that and I've been watching Dreamhouse Adventures on Netflix. It's just as adorable as the movie and has lots of family squee and friendship squee too. I like that the parents are there. I always wondered about them! Ken is kind of a drip, though. I remember he was also kind of that way in Toy Story 3. I wonder why Mattel wants to write him that way. Definitely not the personality I always pictured him having! He can be endearing too, though. EDIT: And of course, the day after I wrote this I found a ton of episodes where he isn't a drip at all, but just very sweet.

I miss Whitney. She was around in the 1980s and maybe the early 1990s and I have a paper doll of her. I'm happy Teresa is still around. I have a doll of her that my cousins gave me and I was thrilled. I like Nikki and Daisy, and Renee is cute and funny too. I saw a Daisy doll at Walmart on Monday. She has a kitty, which immediately drew my attention.

I decided I want to get Barbie's sisters to go with my Barbie doll. (Yes, I do have one; even though it wasn't a huge interest for me, I did love the characters I was familiar with.) I also want Daisy, and probably the other characters from the show as well. I would preferably like to buy them on Amazon with gift cards, but Amazon is sold out of ALL OF THEM. Seriously? I also saw that the Walmart two towns over completely sold out of the new Skipper and Stacie set. Wow. We still have it here. I might end up getting either them or Daisy at Walmart. We'll see.

Somewhere around here I have Barbie's car. It was $10 one year at Christmastime and I wanted it and got to have it. I was thinking it would be hilariously cracky to do a photoshoot with it and my Star Wars figures. I don't think Han or Lando would be caught dead in something pink, but I am just so amused picturing them cruising around in Barbie's car!

I also had a Barbie storybook with her and Skipper camping in the camper. This was before the camper was pink, heh. I found the book sans cover, and then found the cover too and taped it on. It's a cute little read involving them making friends with a local boy and then he disappears and they help look for him. The book was dated 1977. I wonder whose it was before me? I can't imagine it having been my brother's. LOL.

I also got into a Beauty and the Beast kick, watched the live-action movie again, and finally bought the animated one this week with an eBay coupon. Still waiting for it to come; it should be here by Saturday. And I realized the first verse of Something There sounds like Lector coming to realize Nesbitt isn't what he first thought.

There's something sweet, and almost kind
But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined
And now he's dear, and so unsure
I wonder why I didn't see it there before

And I got plunnied for a nice hurt/comforty squee fic where Yami Marik puts them in a Shadow Game and makes them forget each other. The others aren't allowed in because he knows they could break the spell, so they're forced to just watch. Lector and Nesbitt argue at first, but it doesn't continue long and they're seeing the good in each other again. Yami Marik then incites the small town they're in and tells them Nesbitt is a mad scientist, which they already thought anyway, and gets them to try to kill him. They want Lector dead too, and Nesbitt ends up getting killed trying to save him. Of course, the spell over them breaks and Nesbitt is healed. Just nice, satisfying (possibly gratuitous) hurt/comfort goodness. I have a version I got up for yesterday's 31 days prompt, and I plan to flesh it out at a later time. Right now I'm getting back to the Duke fic, which is the next ensemble fic as I'd planned.

Also, Tristan was awesome in season 1. I just really realized that yesterday morning as I studied some early YGO episodes for inspiration on how to work with him as a main character. I wish they hadn't ended up making him almost a joke character later. I always hated the robot monkey thing, but now I have even more reason to.

Current Mood: amused

I have a RedBubble store. http://LuckyLadybug.redbubble.com Text-only, YGO-only for now. But some people like text shirts, so why not. There's an official fanart program for a few categories there, and maybe I can try to draw something for Steven Universe or We Bare Bears to get in on that sometime, because that's awesome. I wish they'd add YGO, though. I would be absolutely over the moon to design official YGO shirts!

Still writing YGO/Big Five-centric fics and loving it. Just finished the latest and will be doing a fourth New Orleans fic. Looking for names for Lector's parents for this one. I didn't want to bother before, but now I think I'll need to show their names. I'm debating between Amelie and Desiree for Mrs. Leichter and I'm not sure at all for Mr. Leichter. I suppose, since most names have very positive meanings and he's a creep, I'll have to go with an ironic name. So far the only ones standing out to me are Gerard or Jean-Louis. Also not sure if I want to go with Desiree for Mrs. Leichter. It fits really well, but I knew someone by that name and I try not to name characters after people I know. It usually ends up feeling too awkward in the writing, especially if the character isn't very nice.

Yami Marik has finally met Zorc at the end of the current fic. Zorc, however, will convince him they should wait a while to start wreaking havoc together, since everyone will be tense and on guard and they should be caught off-guard. (Thanks, Crystal Rose of Pollux!) It makes sense character-wise and plot-wise and also for the fact that I'm not ready to tackle that dark story yet. I'm planning more strongly for it, though, and I probably will write it this year. It will start with Shadow Games and Neo-Orichalcos coming back in full force everywhere and the gang getting overwhelmed and trying to figure out what's with the influx of evil. Eventually they track it to its source and the battle will begin. I hope Yami Bakura will be ready, since this is the battle that will decide whether he gets a second chance. I of course plan to keep writing stories after this one, although this one probably will end up feeling like a changing of the status quo.

I'm already starting to do that, though. I introduced a little Azureshipping in the previous fic. Don't know how much it will advance at the current point in time; in the past the Azureshipping didn't happen until stories set further along in the timeline, but the ways things ended up going in the current timeline, it turned out that it made sense to introduce it in the present-day.

Still getting pictures from ElfBean, squeee. I have 12 now. I want to print them out in a binder. They're all just so beautiful and she captures the characters' expressions so well! http://www.elfbean.com I thoroughly recommend her if anyone wants to be blown away by quality commissions!

A friend sent me three Ponies! So excited. I haven't been able to get them here because they sell out too fast. She got Starflower, Pinwheel, and Trickles. I'm thrilled Starflower is really blue! So many times they look blue on the boxes and then they're green or turquoise in person. Seems like there actually aren't many Ponies that are outright blue. Pinwheel looks like a cake Pony, with the pinwheels as lighted candles and the deep pink the shade of cake frosting, so I think of her as a birthday Pony. Trickles is totally an April girl! Beautiful yellow with multi-colored hair and watering can symbols.

I went to the antique mall that has two buildings to hold everything and had fun browsing everything. I haven't been there in a long time and it was nice to catch up. Saw some things I was interested in, mainly Trolls, but didn't get anything yet because I'm not in a good place for money at the moment. (Plus I still like buying things new in box the most. I keep hoping I can get some Trolls that way online if I get in a better money position. I just don't care much for the Dreamworks versions and I want the Dam or Russ Trolls.)

Mom and I finally saw the LOTR films again and I kind of got the urge to make Hobbit plushies. But I don't know when that will happen; the latest plushie base I got I still want to use for Mokuba. Even though it will be weird for him to be the same size as everyone else, it's just too sad not to have Mokuba. I also want to make Lumis and Umbra. Still trying to figure out how to replicate Umbra's fun hair. I also want the LOTR figures I'm missing. I used Amazon gift cards to get Eomer and Eowyn (squeee), but most others I don't have I can get cheaper on eBay. I thought it was neat and squeeable to be able to get the siblings together. I'm amazed Amazon had good prices on them, since they're out of print.

Still drawing. http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com Mostly YGO, occasionally other things, especially if it's a giftpic or a request. I finally got commission info up. I forgot I hadn't put it on dA. Two people wanted requests and then I realized I didn't have commission info up, and since their requests were nice, I did both of them for free but said future requests would have to be commissions.

Hulu has Yu Yu Hakusho. I only ever saw four episodes of that, but I remembered the show fondly, so I decided to watch. I'm to episode 12 now. Definitely enjoying it aside from Yusuke's disgusting perverted moments. Hoping he doesn't do that now that he's back. The episodes I saw years ago were still just as exciting and Kurama is still just as easy to like. Still don't like Hiei, but he must get a ton of character development since he ends up joining the good guys. I expect I'll end up liking him. Interesting that the anime was so old, 1992, but they only brought it to America ten years later. I remember the excitement of it coming out, and my friends seeing the new episodes. I couldn't because I didn't have access. I think the four episodes I saw were the only ones the library had. How things have changed.

Despite only having seen four episodes, I remember debating many times on getting figures. I especially wanted Botan and Kurama. Looking at them now, the prices on eBay for those old out of print figures aren't too unreasonable. Kuwabara, on the other hand, is apparently really hard to get hold of, which is frustrating because he's freaking adorable. I adored episode 3, with him being so protective of his friends, and he loves kitties, as shown in episode 5! Squeee. I also loved that he wouldn't steal when that possessed bully tried to make him do so, and he bought manga instead. Wow, though, I wonder how the voice actor ever managed to do his voice. Seems like he'd make himself hoarse by the end of every episode!

I absolutely love how anime has become more of a mainstream thing now and it's so easy to find so many series and merchandise for them officially! But on the other hand, I'm rather sad that it seems like there aren't a lot of new anime series to get excited about these days. I still need to try My Hero Academia, but aside from it, nothing that's currently out seems that exciting or interesting. I imagine there are niche gems out there, though. But I miss the excitement of everybody being into the different anime series and how fun it was being in on that. It kind of feels like those days are long past. I feel old remembering back to those years. I still long to recapture that excitement about the series I still love, like YGO, and there are still some who are enjoying it with me. Definitely happy about that! But I still miss everybody I used to hang with. There are a lot of people I'd like to look up and check in on, but I have no idea how to go about it.

Also thinking that the YGO dub, aside from changing or removing a line or two, actually seemed to take a lot more care with the Big Five in season 3 than the original did. (Which is ironic given what a train wreck the dub made of their Duelist Kingdom storyline, having them plot to murder Seto when that wasn't what they wanted to do at all!) I mean, Noa's arc doesn't even get its own opening in Japanese! They're stuck with the Battle City opening and song! The dub made a whole opening just for that arc, and each Big Five member got his own unique and thoughtfully written theme.... Lector's gets used many times after that arc, because it was just too awesome for them to give up, heh. Although I wish they wouldn't use it as background music when Yami Marik's up to no good sometimes. The Big Five also get mentioned one by one in the English character guide, and I'm not sure the Japanese character guide did likewise. I watched a video of a guy looking through it, and I only saw them in Duel Monster form. No human form pictures, no lineart.... I almost wonder if the animation was so inconsistent for some of them because the animators didn't bother to do lineart for them! I long so badly to see character sheets for them, full-body illustrations and practicing different expressions on them, that kind of thing. Then the dub eliminated Crump being a pervert, which certainly made him a nicer character in some ways. (Although he was still totally sadistic, ugh.) The dub also made Lector more justice-driven and added that lovely Southern accent, so I and Vivian Wong can both swoon, lol. (Yeah, Vivian is bothering Lector in the fics....) I find it very intriguing that the dub did so much with the characters like that.

Puzzle & Dragons did a YGO event last month and I was able to download the game and get in on it. I got several characters, even the one I wanted most, Yami Bakura! Also got Yami Marik, whom I didn't really want, heh. But I'm glad I got any of them, and I hope they'll hold the event again. I love the team I have with Yami Bakura, Tea, Kuriboh, Mystical Elf, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Just like with October, many things went wrong during the Christmas season. Seriously, WTH? Most of it I don't feel like talking about or it's too private to talk about, but one thing (more minor than other things) was the Rockapella concert being postponed at the last minute because they got snowed in. And even though they were supposed to reschedule the next week, nothing has been done yet. I don't blame the band, but I am angry at whoever is delaying this. We paid for a Christmas concert, and now we can't have it. I've never seen their full Christmas concert, but I've seen several of their regular concerts. I still want to go, but this is very disappointing. I thought I would finally get to see their full Christmas concert. Both I and others have wanted them to make it a Christmas concert no matter what month it gets rescheduled to, since that's what we paid for, but I know very well that won't happen. Probably the most we could hope for is that they'll sing one Christmas song to be good sports. And of course I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to miss their Christmas concerts, but I can't help feeling angry and bitter that our concert was the only one that got cancelled because of the snow-in, even though another state's concert was the very next day. I know it's one of those things, but I'm mad anyway. It feels like a personal slap in the face by whatever likes to mess things up.

I'd rather talk about more positive things. I finally got on the Frozen bandwagon, because of all things, Dad saw part of it while baby-sitting great-grandchildren and he liked it and wanted to see it all. LOL. I think he was mostly fascinated by the CGI, because advances in technology like that have always intrigued him. Me too. But so we all saw it and I think he liked it. Mom and I loved it. So lovely to see a movie that turns tropes like love at first sight on their heads and sibling squee saving the day! Walmart had a gigantic 2 foot Olaf plush for only $15, and later $10! I wanted it, and got that for Christmas, as well as dolls of Elsa and Anna from Disney. I like the faces Disney did better than Hasbro's, although I'm surprised by the rubbery legs. While at Disney, I saw they also had plushies that are about 18 or 20 inches for only $12 each, so I got those since I didn't feel like I could ask for them after asking for dolls. I love how soft they are!

I haven't seen the sequel yet, but ( Read more... )

I actually liked Once Upon a Time's explanation for Elsa's powers better, where her aunt had the powers too and she apparently inherited them. Yes, I finally watched Once's Frozen arc, as Netflix got Once and after seeing Frozen, I couldn't resist seeing the characters live-action. Olaf was a glaring omission, though. I don't remember what I read of why they didn't include him. And of course, some things in the Once version were horrifying and traumatizing material, both for the characters and the viewers! It's so understandable why Ingrid got so messed-up in the head, after accidentally killing one sister and then the other sister immediately turning against her instead of realizing no one would be hurting more than Ingrid herself. I was happy that the arc ended with Ingrid getting a happy ending too.

Of course, I did not like seeing Rumpel in that arc. The writers really messed him up after how far he'd come in the first half of season 3, and I will never not be upset at that. I had to watch his season 3 sacrifice after I finished the arc to get the bad taste out of my mouth. I still consider that all of the show I consider canon ends there, although I love Elsa and Emma's friendship and would like to picture that a different version of the Frozen arc happens after my headcanon for the show diverges after Rumpel's sacrifice.

Along those lines, I had my usual thing of being sad to think that the characters would be dead now and wanted to bring them into the present to live, lol. I thought of a storyline similar to Twilight and Dawn, where Hans decides to embrace magical things to help him get what he wants and finds a spell that takes all of Arendelle to the present-day, and then there are big companies instead of kingdoms. LOL. But unlike Twilight and Dawn (or Once, which came afterwards ... hmmm, I really wonder if the creators read my stories ...), the characters show up with their memories intact, because it would be amusing to see them suddenly faced with modern technology and try to figure out how to use it. LOL. I don't know that I would really write the story, but I like picturing it as my headcanon after the shorts, anyway. I doubt I'll want Frozen II to be canon to me. I had a funny idea of Anna learning to drive and freaking Elsa out. I might buy the Wreck-It Ralph II dolls of Elsa and Anna in modern pajamas, because I definitely get a kick out of the characters in modern clothes. I already wanted the Belle from that line. I don't know if Walmart will reduce the price of the Frozen dolls, though. Some of the other sets in that line have got lowered prices now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Frozen ones stay full-price.

I also wonder when Frozen actually does take place. I had developed this whole headcanon that it's around 1910 or 1920, because the characters from other lands are dressed similarly to the clothes in The Student Prince, which takes place around 1915. But I was watching a video on YouTube where the person thinks it's 1840 and seemed to be claiming that it's officially shown to be that in Frozen Fever. That's depressing to me because I was pretty set on my headcanon where it's more recent than that, lol.

Also, since 2017 I've been amazed by this resurgence of interest in Bob Ross. I used to watch The Joy of Painting all the time as a kid, and I think I still have an episode or two recorded, but I'd forgotten all about it and Bob Ross and couldn't remember who he was when I saw the parent of one of my church activity girls happy that she had chosen to do a school report on Bob Ross. Then I saw the Art of Chill game at Target and started seeing Bob everywhere. I finally looked him up and then I remembered! Lately I've been watching some episodes on Netflix. It's very relaxing and calming, and the pictures are just gorgeous. As an artist myself, I'm thoroughly fascinated by his techniques and how he paints such beautiful things in thirty minutes! I just love how cute he is about animals and saying things like he wants to paint more than one tree so the tree will have a friend. I almost wonder if that's where I got my obsession about nothing being alone, at least to some extent. I still have that; if I take the second to last can from a case, I often move the one remaining can to another case so it won't be alone. **headdesk.** I know it's illogical behavior, but I feel better to engage in it and it's harmless. I also love Bob ending each episode saying "God bless."

I've been toying with getting a plush of him that Walmart has. I probably will. And I just learned that there's another plush, more expensive, that Funko made. I am not a Funko fan, honestly, but this plush actually looks cute to me. They have one of Mr. Rogers in the same line, too.

I'm also watching Mystery, Inc. on Netflix. I really feel like it's too dark for Scooby-Doo, and I can't stand Velma's behavior of trying to force a relationship with Shaggy and unfairly bossing him around. If she really loved him, she'd love him for who he is. I can't imagine any other Velma being interested in him that way, though. And I think any other Velma would denounce the illogical behavior the Mystery, Inc. Velma displays. She barely has the traits that make Velma awesome. I don't really like Daphne being so ga-ga over Fred, either, and Fred being such an idiot. Shaggy and Scooby are the only ones who act like they're supposed to. I think characterization gets better later, though, and that these romantic messes don't persist through the whole series, so I want to keep watching because I'm intrigued by the overarching mystery. I might get some nice YGO plunnies from it.

I'm still writing Big Five fics and enjoying it. I'm doing a hurt/comfort one right now of Lector missing in a snowstorm.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: O Holy Night---The 4 Seasons

Been getting some nice writing done and stories completed. Can't remember if I ever talked about the desire to write one where Lector is a vigilante in town, but the urge to do that kept coming back and I finally figured out a way to write that story the way I wanted it and it ended up bringing in the manga-verse characters again. Right now I'm starting one about the Big Five having ancestors in Atlantis who ran from the final battle and have been considered cowards, but it's finally learned that they ran because they were getting Critias's younger brother to safety, and that the Kaiba family line comes through the brother they helped to escape.

I was able to start that RP on Tumblr I was talking about, and it's a lot of fun. I'm starting to get the urge and plan to do some hurt/comfort at some point in it. I'll have to run it past my RP partner.

I've been getting more Big Five commissions from ElfBean. Six now, and I have many more ideas. I'm just so in love with her work! It's torture having to wait to get more while I accumulate more money, lol.

We did our annual re-watch of creepy Wild Wild West episodes for Halloween time, including The Night of the Tottering Tontine. I like that episode, and yet I don't like its And Then There Were None plot set-up, because I don't like seeing so many characters get killed off left and right. A couple of the deaths particularly upset me, and for the last couple of years I've toyed with a fic that while they're all waiting to be freed from the house they're trapped in, they discover that those people are still alive but badly hurt and in need of medical attention. It would be a nice and suspenseful hurt/comfort fic. Problem is, if I bring back two of the characters, then I also feel bad for the other one who died needlessly while they were trapped. Yet if I revive all of them I imagine it would look ridiculous. Plus there was one other character who didn't deserve death who died at the very beginning of the episode. I feel bad for him too. So I don't know if I ever actually will write the fic.

Lots of the events last month that I was hoping would be awesome didn't really go the way I was hoping they would. I try to just focus on the good parts and move on, as they weren't total busts and some elements were really great and fun, but it is disheartening when things just don't work out the way one dreams of. October is my favorite month, and I feel like I just didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest extent. I'm really hoping Thanksgiving and the Rockapella concert and Christmas will work out nicely, but I'm rather skeptical at this point, especially since there's sickness traveling around the house and it can hang on for a long time when it comes. I'm desperately hoping I won't catch it, but who knows. I still don't have my ticket for the concert, and since they're non-refundable I don't even know whether to try getting one yet in case I might get sick and not be able to go anyway.

I did get an amazing $15 off coupon for Build-a-Bear, and even though they once again screwed me over for the birthday gift they promised to send, I doubted that would have been better than that coupon. (The gift has only been $5 in the past.) I decided to either get a Pokemon or a Pony, and with the series ending this year, I thought I should get a Pony since it might be the last time I could. The choice was between Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee, and although beforehand I had decided I would probably get Cheerilee, I ended up deciding I wanted Rainbow Dash at the store. It just felt like the right time. I got her and no regrets. She's certainly not my favorite character still, but she has her moments, and her design is gorgeous in any case.

I have mixed feelings about the series finale. I am so relieved that it ended with everyone still alive and friends, but I can't deny being annoyed that Twilight has to rule apart from her friends. The royal seat was moved at least once, when Celestia took it to Canterlot, so there's no real reason why Twilight couldn't have moved it again and ruled from her castle in Ponyville. As I see it, the only reason they did the ending the way they did was to show that friends can be friends even if they're apart. Which is certainly a good lesson and all, but it feels like everybody wants to teach that lesson these days, even if it doesn't fit the particular world for characters to leave (Ralph Breaks the Internet, I'm looking at you).

I made a Target order as my birthday gift to myself and finally got my Farrah Fawcett figure and Sailor Moon shirt. And a belated birthday present for JP. They were running a Buy 2, Get One Free DVD sale, so I also got the 1980s My Little Pony movie and was able to add the G3 Pony Christmas special as the free one. I have to admit, while I like the 1980s TV show, I didn't like the movie much. The TV show had villains and situations I could take seriously, but the villains were so goofy in the movie and some of their songs so ridiculous that I couldn't take the Smooze problem seriously even though one was supposed to. There were some scenes I liked, but overall, I have to say, the G4 Pony movie was way better.

The G3 special, on the other hand ... it was so sweet and felt very pure. One thing I love about most Christmas things is that even if they don't want to do anything overtly religious, most of them teach worthwhile lessons about kindness and unselfishness. The G3 special was full of those things. Minty accidentally broke the beacon that leads Santa to their town, so she was afraid she'd ruined Christmas for everyone. She didn't once think about herself, and instead tried to think what she could do to save it for everyone. She decided to give her treasured socks as gifts to them. Then, when she decided that wasn't good enough on its own, she determined to fly a balloon to the North Pole to give Santa directions to their town. A Pony afraid of clouds went after her when she realized, and then all the other Ponies went after them. They could have been mad, but they realized breaking the thing was an accident and they were just so worried to get Minty and Thistle Whistle home safe. There were some suspenseful bits, and things did get a little cheesy with the Ponies' love for each other creating a new beacon to guide Santa there, but I can totally deal with that kind of cheese. LOL. It was so very sweet. It reminded me of Lalaloopsy, which always seems to show the characters helping each other during day to day crises. I want to see more G3 things. People who don't like G3 because there aren't save the world level crises are missing out.

I've been interested in Scooby-Doo this autumn. The figures got re-released and I didn't want to miss out on them this time. I got them all and have seen some of the movies and assorted series' episodes here and there. I really enjoy the movies, honestly. As much as I loved What's New, Scooby-Doo? when I watched it in first-run, I think some of these movies have the characters more IC. Fred was portrayed as an idiot so often in What's New, sigh. And I'm not sure what to think of Velma fangirling so often, even though it's cute enough (and I of course can relate; I'm just not sure it works for that particular character). All of these recent things seem to make the characters livelier than in the old 1970s series, though. They often seemed more like one-note cookie-cutter characters back then, but the re-envisionings in recent years give some of them more personality. I also saw the trailer for the Scoob movie next year and it looks really cute. I love what it shows of how Shaggy and Scooby first met!

I also saw the new Sonic trailer. The redesign of Sonic is beautiful and Jim Carrey as Eggman looks like fun. I'm hopeful and anxious for the movie now. I wonder if it depicts their first encounter, since Tails doesn't seem to be in it and he wasn't in the first game.

Thanks to Netflix, I finally saw both of the theatrical Grinch movies. There were pros and cons for both, and maybe I'll elaborate in another post, but overall my feeling is that the movie from last year is the best and most magical. Both movies tried to humanize the Grinch, and I liked that, but I don't like how cartoony and shallow the Whos felt in the live-action film (nor did I like the Grinch's disgusting habits there). It's funny that they all felt more real in the animated film. I was surprised there wasn't a lot of crude humor in that, when Illumination made it. It was just lovely. And they weren't afraid to use religious Christmas carols, with lyrics!

I've been enjoying the next batch of Carmen Sandiego episodes on Netflix. I hope there will be more. I found both Zack and Ivy really annoying in this incarnation, but Ivy has started to develop more and I love that. I hope Zack will develop more too. One character I haven't been able to like is Graham. He seems nice enough with amnesia, but since he was ready to kill Carmen with his memories, despite their past as dear friends and surrogate siblings, to me he's a ticking timebomb. If he regains his memories and is horrified at what he was with V.I.L.E. and wants to be different, then I'll probably like him. But for the time being, when I don't know what he'll be like if his memories return, I just don't. I certainly feel for Carmen still remembering the good times they had, though. I can't get enough of this series.

Current Mood: calm

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The Winter Court of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

We were so carefree then, our hearts were on a cloud ...

Entries tagged with plushies

We'll Carry On

Birthday Preparations

Mandatory Check-In

Downs and ups.

Life Updates, to some extent

Eevees!

So much cute!

Pokemon and YGO

Update

EEEEEEEEEE!

5Ds

Yay

Back to Frozen 1....

The saga continues.

Interesting crafting projects.

Yesss!

Fun escapism entertainment.

Yay fics.

Well, that was ... interesting.