Okay, I know, an odd thing to post here, but I got myself a model that I intend to use for VRChat, but it's just that: A model. It's got no rigging to it. So I need a rigger! Kinda harder to find one, so I'm wondering if anyone knows of any riggers that would be able to rig up a model for such usages. Or also potential Vtubery stuffs.

I have been a very lucky person with my family. I’m aware of it. My parents got along well, both sets of grandparents too. They loved each other, families are very close, there’s been almost no family drama amongst them. I have no reason to complain about them.

My mother counted as family, of course. She loved me and the rest of the family, and she did so much for me. When I was a young child, she would transform the garage on my birthdays into the batcave or a Ninja Turtle hideout or a prehistoric cave. She set up a chart to make sure I did chores and behaved by making sure I got things for doing the right stuff. When I had problems with teachers or the other kids, she went to bat for me. When I was having too much of everything in High School, she fought for me to get put into an alternative, where I finally thrived. She supported me through college, she always offered to help with papers, she knew of and supported my… interests, and she loved me and cared for me deeply.

Last September, she passed away. Quickly, and suddenly, at 56.

I’ve cried. I missed her. I’ve had moments where I looked back at what she’s done, at how her personality, her morals are a part of me, how she’s influenced my life. How without her, I wouldn’t be where or who I am today. After her passing, I saw family mend an old grudge, and I saw all the cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, all the extended family on her side together all at once for the first time in a decade.

Today is my 30th birthday, but today is also Mother’s Day. I wanted to do something for her. My grandmother, aunt and uncle, cousin, and father are going to get together to watch one of her favorite movies, have a dinner, and remember her. And I specifically requested that we not celebrate my birthday today, as I didn’t want to overshadow her.

I know not everyone has been as fortunate as I. I know people have difficult, or perhaps even abusive or neglectful parents. But for those of you who have been fortunate, give your mother a hug. Show her you are thankful for what she has done for you, and how she has helped you get where you are. And for those who have lost your mother, take some time to remember them, and how they have impacted your life.

So, those of you who know me know that I do RPs a lot. Most often I set a start point, and go off from there... and me and the one I'm RPing with go until we get bored, or run out of ideas, or something like that. Usually for several sessions.

Just last night I finished one that I'd been running since late May. Actually finishing an RP, to a point where we both say "It's done"? That rarely ever happens.

But that's not the impressive thing. The RPs I do are occasionally long, but never have I done one THIS long. The longest ones I have recorded both lasted about a year and a half or so. One I kept the logs in a word document, and it was over 200 pages or so. The other has logs spread across multiple files in multiple programs, some of which are lost, and I don't know how long it was. Possibly about comparable.

This one, however?

In just over three months, me and the other person did an RP that lasted 539 pages in Word. Five hundred thirty nine. In THAT short a timeframe. I am, frankly, shocked... never expected to make something like that. I just have to brag or tell of it or something.

So I quit my previous job a couple of weeks ago, as I got a new job... or career start. I got into an apprenticeship with the NYC Electrical Union, Local 3. Start on Monday, and... well already seems like it may be a bit tough, but I've heard nothing but good things. I admit to looking forward to this.

So... I'm going to head to Pittsburgh for Anthrocon in a couple of months. Anyone else heading out to it who might want to meet that I know?

I have seen the Deadpool movie.

From opening credits to post-credits scene, the movie oozes Deadpool.

It is awesome.

Go see it.

So.... recently I decided to look through the old logs and such I have from old RPs. I have all sorts of IRC logs going back to 2009, and Word documents from even older RPs or ones on messengers. Most of them were come and go, one or two embarassingly bad, but one RP...

I admit, it read... very good, I thought. Maybe not perfect, but good enough that I am tempted to post it here in order to share it. I mean I liked it that much. Just... two problems...

One, the story never really concluded. Oh sure it ended but it just kinda... ended. No resolution or real ending, just a stopping at some point. I imagine that one or both of us were growing tired of the story. Which is slightly understandable, considering the word document of it was 151 pages long. Yes, REALLY.

Two, the other person kinda... well... disappeared off the face of the internet, leaving the fandom, deleting all their art, and so forth... years ago. Which is the main question I have. Specifically... their character is not mine. Would it really be right for me to upload an RP/story with their character in it without their permission, even if contacting them is impossible?

So I got a job now. Warehouse job. Decent pay, benefits, all that good stuff. I start Monday.

Income, woo!

It's been a year since Sandy came and went. A long, frustrating year. But things are almost back to normal.

Oh sure... there's still points where I look around and have clear reminders that the hurricane happened... the trim isn't done, the dining room still only has boards and a tool cabinet in it, and a lot of our stuff is still in the attic... but for the most part, things are about back to normal. I have a dresser, my bed (A loft) is up, TF working, kitchen, bathrooms, everything functional... everything's just about back to normal. It's nice.

With today though, I've found myself occasionally thinking back to when the hurricane hit. Wondering if I could have done anything to save what was lost if I stayed. Wondering if I could have done more to help those affected elsewhere in the city. Wondering if I should have prepared more. Remembering seeing the damage when it hit... the plunger in my parent's room, the rubber ducks together in my sister's room, the water dripping out of my XBox's power cable when I picked it up, having thought it was high enough, going through everything and trying to figure out... was it ruined by the water? Was it just high enough?
Sometimes I think of the days around it as well. Sitting in my uncle's house, watching the news with bit lip. Going through the city and seeing all the cars, stranded and ruined. Fallen trees cutting off power. A lack of heat or running water or anything back home while I was with my family. I can only imagine what it was like for those who stayed, living there must have been like living in a post apocalypse, though without the zombies.

Things are back to normal in the city by now though, too. Everyone goes about their lives, everything is fine, though not without reminders of the hurricane. The boardwalk is still being rebuilt (Although much of it is complete), and a few businesses still haven't re-opened... the theatre hasn't had any work done in months.

But a year later... things are close to normal. It's not perfect, the wounds will remain, but we're back to normal.

At least there's that.

Not all the doors are in, the furniture is missing, one bathroom is out of order, none of the cabinets or countertops are present, not all the walls are painted, there aren't any blinds in the house, there's paper covering the floors, the only sink is in the laundry room and all my stuff is in the attic...
...but dammit, I'm sleeping at home tonight.
Happy Birthday to me.

Six months to the day since Sandy went through and dumped a couple feet of water in my house. How are things?

Well I'm not home yet, but we're going to move back in soon. The house is in an... interesting state. The walls are up, but the floors aren't down. Some walls are painted, others just have primer on them. One bathroom is slightly functional, the other is currently storage. We have appliances ordered, but we haven't really touched furniture.

And we'll be moved in, most likely, by my Birthday (May 13th) no matter what, as my Sister is coming home from college the weekend of the 17th. And she's not coming back to where we're currently staying.

I'm still in my Uncle's... me, my parents, my uncle, his wife, his 3-year-old daughter, and my cat (Who turns 3 in two days). It's been... stressful. So many people living close together, sometimes I think I only managed to stay so calm by embroiling myself into the internet and the computer. Though that got a bit trickier recently, my 7-year-old laptop's HD failing in a bad way (Though still slightly functional) meaning I'm now stuck on my PC. And since I'm still sharing a room with my parents I have to put a blanket over my head whenever I go over my sites or such. Yes I'm a little paranoid there.

Still... things are progressing. Soon we'll be home again. It won't be 100% repaired, the furniture will still be mostly missing, and the doors probably won't be up yet... but I'll have my own room, and we'll be home.

So first off... I'm still not home. I'm still living at my uncle's, me and six other family members (And my cat). We've gone through everything, sent it in to insurance, heard back from insurance, had the house cleaned and de-molded, and now we're starting to put everything back together. Plumber's coming in the next few days, Electrician next week, and then we're going to start putting the walls back in. I think I'm hearing an estimate of March for getting back into my house.

So yeah, that's the good news: We're on a positive direction to getting back.

In other news... I managed to get my PC hooked up in the room I'm staying in. Played a lot of GW2, did some other things here and there, and started doing a Let's Play. I won't be able to create new vids for it unless I get the house to myself (And again: 6 other people) but when I can I'll post them up. If you're interested, feel free to watch it at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis.....V1xf_9SMzK1pRL and let me know what you think.

Bout all I have to say there so.... yeah. That's how things are right now.

EDIT: That, and if you missed I JUST uploaded some more of the LP. I won't post consistent updates of that here so be sure to subscribe and such junk like that.

So... Hurricane Sandy went through the East Coast of the US a few days ago. And I live on a barrier island on the south shore of Long Island, just east of NYC.
We got hit hard... my house got flooded with 20 inches of water on the ground floor, and my grandmother's got hit by 13 inches. We prepared for a foot, but got more. Several items were damaged in my house, and we may have lost almost all our furniture.
Not only that, the island (Long Beach) is officially a disaster zone. There's no electricity, no water, no sewage, gas is shut off, national guards and multiple police forces are patrolling and evacuating people... nobody is allowed to live there, and some say they won't let us back in until January.
Fortunately, I'm safe, as is my family. We're staying at my uncle's house for now... there's no power, but hopefully we'll get some back soon.
Until then... I have no idea what's going to happen.

EDIT: Good news, I have power where I'm staying. So I'm online again.

Ascended of Melandru is a Furry Guild of sorts that I am making for Guild Wars 2. I am announcing it now so we can organize the server, find out how many want to join, and so forth.

Information: This guild will be present on the Tarnished Coast server barring any unforeseen circumstances. Despite being a "Furry" guild, we will accept anyone: Furry or non-furry.
This is a social guild. We may organize events in the future, but I have none planned at this moment in time.

Rules:
1: No Sexual Acts in Guild Chat.
2: Be Respectful. Please do not harass, annoy, etc. other members.
3: Please keep Religion and Politics out of Guild Chat. These are hot-button topics prone to flaming.
4: Please try to keep drama out of Guild Chat. If you are having an issue with other members, please contact the leader or an officer.
5: Rules are subject to change (As I think I may have forgotten one)

Trivia (That may help with your decision to join)
Tarnished Coast is a North American server. It is also the unofficial NA RP server for GW2.
Players in GW2 can join multiple guilds at once. However, you can only "represent", or contribute influence to, one Guild at a time.

Please leave a comment here if you wish to join the Ascended of Melandru, so I know how many people to expect when the game starts up! And since I'm starting the game on Early Access, I should be around at the start! And be sure to let others who play the game know!

ZOMGIMADEAJOURNALWHATFREAKISHTHINGISTHIS?!?!

But anyway, I'm making this because... well... Guild Wars 2 is coming out in about a month. So? I'm also considering making a guild for it. Like a sort of Official Furry Guild for the game.

I still need to think up a name for it, but I also think I have a server chosen, and have come up with several rules for it. Regardless, after all the time I've spent playing MMOs and being an officer in several guilds (Including the first Guild Wars) I may as well try making a guild of my own. Maybe it'll even be a success.

So why am I posting this here? Because quite frankly, I want some help deciding on a name, and I want to find other people on the site who actually would be willing to join. And for those of you who already have a guild, don't worry, GW2 allows you to join multiple guilds at once.

As for the name... I'd want something that might hint at it being a furry guild, but doesn't scream out "WE ARE FURRIES COME TROLL US" or anything like that. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to give them.

Aside from that... if you know anyone on FA or elsewhere who is going to play GW2, point them here. The more people I can get interested in the guild, the more likely it is that I'll make it.

EDIT: Thinking about it a bit, I think I have an idea for what it could be... being a fan of the lore and the like, I remembered Melandru, the game's Goddess of Earth and Nature. Nature technically includes beasts so perhaps something like "Chosen of Melandru" or "Melandru's Risen" or something like that. Would something like that seem appropriate?

Also, just to clarify something here... this is not an RP guild, a PVP guild, a PVE guild, a Raiding/dungeoning guild, a levelling guild, a merchant guild, or anything like that. It's a social guild. And while it is primarily furry, we'll accept almost anyone into the guild.