TL;DR-If you like local co-op beat-em-ups with catchy music and outlandish, over-the-top artstyle and combo potential in their gameplay, at least check out the FREE DEMO for Jitsu Squad. Every playable character is an anthro. However, buy a game based on its merit, not because I backed it or because Maximillian Dood and Yooka Laylee have cameos in it. Wait until you see reviews if you want. Game is also coming to Switch and PS4 later this year if you prefer to wait for a console release. 20 bucks for a solid, gorgeous beat-em-up.


Lengthier info:

Over a year ago, as I was keeping track of games to collect, one publisher sent out an email just pointing out a kickstarter project that they thought looked cool, rather than telling me about a new game they were putting out nearly every month.

When I looked at the project, I loved the art style, the music, the FREE DEMO that's still available at https://tanukics.wordpress.com , and dropped a pledge to put Flayne in the background of one of the stages. He looks a bit different, claws out on his hands and such, but I had them throw him in a stage with skeleton warriors and flaming skull bats so its interesting to think about how he would try to adapt to such fearsome circumstances. Also most of the cast in the game underwent transformation because loose plot element/magic-Most bosses and the playable characters can transform and become invulnerable for a short time. I did a bit of research on the art team, and checked out Laurent Romero's comics at romerocomics.com. The guy clearly took inspiration from Dragon Ball in his style while also doing great expressions and humor.

I love local co-op beat-em-up games, and just wish I had people around with me to finish the PC version I beat yesterday since I had early access. I had also pledged enough to try out the other half of the rosters' playstyles early as they were developing it. One of the bosses will be a playable DLC character eventually as we met that stretch goal.

Again, use your own judgment, but if I introduced you to a good gaming time with your friends, I'm glad.

Lastly, if you're already convinced, the game is 20% off through April 5th. https://store.steampowered.com/app/.....0/Jitsu_Squad/

I managed to bash my 3DS while stocking litter and 50 pound dog food bags so much that I busted the main PCB.

Thankfully all my games are still there, but my friend code is different and I'd be happy to trade or smash or whatnot, the only thing missing from my dex is Volcanion

So yeah, new code is 3840-9985-7565

The usual stuff you see in my gallery, so fat giants to play with. Gender doesn't matter but anthro is a must, Drop a note if interested.

As of Friday Morning I will be playing this game FURIOUSLY throughout the weekend. As such if there are delays in responses to notes/art/business-related things, it's because I'll be busy trying to get my GLOBAL SMASH POWER Over 9000!

Sunday I'll drop into my local retro game shop for Streetpass Sunday Smash Bros edition with all the characters and stages unlocked and proceed to attempt to destroy everyone using THE FUCKING DUCK HUNT DOG

Maybe on Monday or Tuesday I'll try to destroy some of Y'all. I can add a few more friends but my list is almost full

I'm amazed I did this well against other adults around the world

https://twitter.com/FlayneFantasy15.....37538035290112


12,302 out of 50,000? I didn't even use a Mega-Evolution.


I want more people to battle!

Here's proof http://twitter.com/FlayneFantasy15/.....45455456890880


Leave yours and I'll add you. Mine is listed in the journal footer.

I’m still debating about whether or not to make a profile, but I already know 2 furs (one of you who might be reading this contacted me earlier) and one classmate that I would definitely add if I had a LinkedIn account.

A background in Psychology would be preferred, but isn’t necessary. I will say that it might help you if you’re in that field and have me in your network, given I graduated in the top 10% of my class and that I’m a member of Phi Kappa Phi.

In the interest of Privacy and efficiency, first NOTE me here (subject Linkedin) with the email you’re going to use to contact me, THEN I'll give you my Yahoo address. Email that with a short description of your background (major, degrees, projects) and make the subject your FA username. That way I’m positive nobody’s impersonating someone else. Don’t send an automated invite email from LinkedIn itself because that doesn’t tell me who you are here.

I may or may not add you. I’ll reply to the email telling you that I’ve added you to a list of people to put in my network upon creating the account, if I end up creating one. If I don’t reply, then I don’t plan on adding you-please don’t be offended.

Some Fanfare is appropriate here




After finally having the bright idea to generate a copy of my transcript, I found out that I finished my Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology Cum Laude. The degree won’t arrive until mid-march, but that distinction will be printed on it! A few days ago, I confirmed with University staff that that Latin phrase signifies that I finished in the top 10% of my class, with a 3.883 Grade Point Average.


After vacation, I’ll start looking for a better job again, with hopes that honors status gives me a bit of an edge. That being said, I’m supersponsoring Furry Fiesta (that engraved pocketwatch won me over, to be honest) and I’ll be attending FWA while rooming with  rika and  Noctome-Wulf.

I'm posting from Tigerden before I head over to see the results of the Furry Survey that was administered to convention attendees last year, and to be debriefed on this year's survey, which I participated in again while giving some suggestions to improve its format. It's always good to apply what I've learned in Research Methods to ongoing work

I'm pleased to say I got plenty of rest this time around, and I'm happy that a user asked to draw Bezthel merely after noticing  aurorawolf's badge. Of course, I paid her.

I spent a total of $48 on commissions and $465 on the charity auction for the Center for Animal Research and Education (C.A.R.E.).

What I got in a bid war over, which was the highest-selling item lot, was a set of 3 anime DVD covers.

They were:
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Butler Black
and Soul Eater

Istanbul had managed to get in touch with Funimation, which does the English dub for these series, and had the entire English voice cast sign these DVD covers.

I also won the FIrst Issue of Furrlough, which was also signed by the artists and was published in 1991.

It was good to meet up with  bunidoom,  kain2022,  rika and others again, and to get knocked out of the brawl tournament while learning how dangerous Sheik's recovery is. I used Game and Watch this time around, so that was interesting.

To understand anything in this journal you need to read the previous one


Like I said earlier, I’m ok. My grades haven’t suffered over the semester, and I should be able to afford University again, I just won’t have such a large safety net to fall back on.

My Brother and my sister-in-law have agreed to split additional expenses outside of my Father’s retirement and mother’s disability evenly. I handled most of November’s bills and am currently awaiting partial payback from all three of them, though since I constantly run worst-case scenarios I don’t need to depend on that money. My brother and I both received raises last month so that helps, especially since our wages combined are just above what my Father was making.

My Father is staying on his meds, but hasn’t made much of an effort to find work. That disappoints me, but I don’t need to pester him about that. He’s also seeing a therapist, though sessions are brief.

Realize again that what I’m dealing with has to be infinitely harder on my sister-in-law, given her new environment. She has a seasonal position at sunglass hut, but is waiting to hear back from an insurance company she applied to that had her tour the office after her last interview. Hopefully that works out, but we don’t need to count on it.

The couple said they wouldn’t have any problem with me moving in with them, though after reviewing my friend’s apartment paperwork I finally realized that I had calculated my eligibility for renting (alone) on my NET pay, as opposed to my Gross pay.

They don’t plan on moving out anytime soon, and my friend’s acquisition of a cat, along with finding out that he’s getting irritated by his work environment and thinking of switching jobs or possibly moving again, really gives me doubts about staying with him, especially since he makes less than me and has future plans to think about with his significant other.

Given these circumstances, I plan to just stay put until I finish my Bachelor’s. Nobody sees me as a burden, instead they readily admitted during therapy (before September) with my Father that I serve as a financial backbone for them, since much earlier than the events back in March. As it is, the 3 of us will handle my parent’s extra expenses if need be, when they come up.

Furry Fiesta is still a possibility but my syllabus and work schedule always dictate whether I attend. I’m also considering Califur.

I need not pester all of you with drama, and for those that would want to see how I’m doing, you can always just check my twitter occasionally (as opposed to following it).

My last exam is tomorrow, so I’ll post about how this semester went late that night there.

Thanks to all that showed emotional support, thanks to my new watchers, for favs, comments, etc.

If you have any concerns, just let me know. I tried to get as much information as I could.

EDIT 12/2- Retirement income arrived

This journal’s purpose is to describe in sufficient detail the stress my family and myself have dealt with since March 11th, as well as being a general life update, since I haven’t posted a journal since April. I can’t really make a TL;DR version of it.

This morning my Father was given a choice of either termination or retirement. He is 60 years old. A few years ago, he worked at Union Carbide’s marine terminal unloading ships- When Dow chemical took over, he was forced to take a position as a “process operator” which involved learning a lot of technical information that stressed him out. In 2010 he had been given a “last chance letter” after mistakenly using sick pay to visit my mother in the hospital after she suffered a stroke. These latest incidents apparently were sufficient for the decision for his leaving the company against his will.

In regard to my financial situation and PAYMENT of anything- I paid off my one outstanding commission today within an hour of learning of my father’s forced retirement, and explained the situation to the artist.

I owe no money to anyone on furaffinity or the internet in general, I paid with my money from my job- this includes the money I sent to the Japanese red cross, my family knows of my spending on everything and they were proud I donated.

I owe no money to UHCL, I paid this semester out-of-pocket as usual (over $2500), I paid with my money from my job. I have 4 years to take 6 classes and write a capstone. Loans can handle that if necessary. My GPA is 3.818.

I have no debt currently, and on my own income I am well above the poverty line. I will be ok.

I will NEVER ask furaffinity or the internet in general for donations because of this. I’ve held my job for about 7 years now, and people think I “kickass” <- quote from manager- at it.

Commissions are not part of my budget until things here are settled- The main income of the household is being replaced by retirement income, so IT ISN’T PRACTICAL TO TAKE ON NEW COMMISSIONS UNTIL THINGS ARE SORTED OUT. I have every right to bid or buy what I want as long as I can pay for it while keeping my family’s safety as a priority, but for right now, I’m not too keen on it.

Income will be that retirement, my mother’s disability payment, my brother’s paycheck, my paycheck, and once his wife finds a job, hers as well I suppose-Yeah, only a little while after my father’s initial hospitalization, my brother married his wife in April. She came here from India. I would imagine that this stress had to be far harder on her than anyone else.

After asking the family’s permission I looked into staying at my friend’s apartment as a backup plan if needed- Over the course of these difficulties, I had asked them to cosign for a nearby complex a couple of times, and My father asked me to stay when I made these requests. According to their office, It wouldn’t be an issue to add me to his lease. He was happy to offer because it would lessen his burden, and I told him from the beginning that he had no obligation. He had been asking me to move in for quite a while, and we had discussed it during these last few months while I kept him current on my father’s health

That fancy comic I recently posted? It was paid for in full before work began, well over a year ago- Life issues come up, delays are understandable

It is through a combination of sick pay and medical leave that general things have been paid, except for incidents where I was asked to handle things..which brings me to the situation with the household

After we spent the money from the settlement we received for damages to the house from Hurricane Ike (it’s long gone now, the settlement arrived during the time that my father was receiving mental and physical treatments), I ended up paying $1500 for plumbing replacement (which is being reimbursed as having paid several months’ rent in advance), and $370 for removing sheetrock that had mold on it from my closet, the cause of which was faulty work on the bathroom that was done by the contractor my parents hired, who fucked us over- at least it’s functional and there isn’t an issue now

It is because of all this stress that I began looking into what my AA degree and (eventual) BS Psych degree would allow me to do. Much of my summer was preoccupied with this. I plan on finishing my Bachelor’s before looking further.

FATHER’S MENTAL ISSUES –On March 11th, my father was hospitalized after not taking his psychoactive medication (he was diagnosed as bipolar and has since had a change due to this incident and is now considered clinically depressed). He had hidden the fact that he was struggling to afford it, and his debt contributed a lot to his depression. He hid a lot from all of us. My brother and I had to convince a regional expert on Electroconvulsive therapy that such a measure wasn’t necessary after an incident where my father’s physical medication reacted with his psychoactive medication violently and he refused to take some medication for a while after…ECT is an option reserved for those who don’t respond to meds well, not those who are non-compliant

FATHER’S PHYSICAL ISSUE- about a week before the initial hospitalization, my father got medicine for his prostate to reduce inflammation. While he was managing with that, over the course of all this time (months later) we found out he had a huge kidney stone resting on either an artery or vein. Insurance helped and the surgery was done successfully.

That all being said, my father is currently looking for employment, and I have taken over paying the vonage bill. I will take on more if necessary.

I believe in being straightforward with people about situations unless special circumstances dictate that such behavior isn’t appropriate. I didn’t believe it was practical to let people worry over me and wait for updates; that stress isn’t fair or healthy.

5 ways to donate http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/11.....tims-in-japan/

Red cross Text message donation FAQ http://american.redcross.org/site/P.....text2help_faqs

1. Something in your residence says "Made in Japan"
2. The words "Decepticon" "Hadouken" "Henshin" etc, are in your vocabulary
3. You're bitching and whining about a damn pokemon you can't catch
4. Starfox Adventures gave you a boner
5. You've ever played or heard of "Kaizo Mario"



MORE IMPORTANTLY 6. Some really fucking nasty nuclear shit may go down soon... WAY WORSE than what's been reported so far http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/.....?section=world


......not very exhaustive, but you get the point.

I've given $25, so far.

On July 1st, 2010, someone prominent watched me. I took a screenshot for the occasion. I had 339 watchers.

Over the next 5 months, I gained 100 watchers per month, or the equivalent of 3-4 daily. I probably lost around 30 during these last 6 months.

For anyone that wants to see partial evidence of this, although the system hasn’t been updated and is static anyway...well actually as of 2/11/2011 the system is so flawed it's basically dead http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2088935/

http://www.popufur.com/?history=kits5786

That stuns me. Top 5000? Top 4%? In the interest of being honest, for at least the last 200 or so people that watched me, and whoever else this might apply to, realize the following:

Many people seem to confuse favs with watches, and when I saw page shouts thanking for watches, which were in reality favs, I politely informed the users. I read every comment and shout I get, and I also keep my shouts organized in a painfully obvious way.

If you are watching me with the impression that I am an artist, please note that I don’t draw well

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4323872/

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2929013/ <--not gonna lie, I actually like how that turned out.

If you were expecting a watch back, notice my watch list has dropped drastically- I’ve never watched over 270 users. It consists of one page so you can easily determine if you’re there.

Also notice my favs have a very alphabetical look to them. I browse often, by watchlist. I used Popufur to make some decisions on which lists to go through, it’s also a good way to find other artists.

For example, I went through  bbw-furs yesterday. Lots of nice submissions.

This is just a periodic heads up here, for anyone that didn’t read my profile.

And hey, thanks for those who still want to watch, for whatever good reason.

If you have suggestions for good artists to watch, relative to the subject matter you see throughout my gallery and scraps, suggestions are welcome.

See also …or at least fapping to my commissions.

Don’t be afraid to say hi on messenger either. I can’t promise I’ll make for good conversation, but as long as you identify who you are with a page shout when I ask you to, and you aren’t generally a jackass, I don’t see why I would need to block you.

Happy New Year Folks!

I came up with a finalized Idea for her in 2 days, wasn’t some epic undertaking


Influence from the Fandom

None. None at all, I’m just that creative and original, decades will pass befo-*hears multiple shotguns being loaded among the audience*


Primary users that led to her creation

 mirandaarqayla- After seeing steady posts on multiple accounts I started to want to see Miranda involved in foodplay situations.

It was also because of the frequency of his posts that I realized how much faster I could clear my commission backlog if I had a character that was designed to be fun. I won’t speculate why his characters were created, he has his reasons. I also commission a lot of porn of fat things anyway, so much that I often tried to find species that weren’t often used; I was running out ideas.

She wasn’t created for me to have a character to roleplay as. I suck at typing, and roleplay. Roleplay can indeed be very arousing when done well; I have nothing against it. It’s just not something I have a desire to spend time on-especially not ongoing continuity, I don’t have that passion.

The fact that  dragoneer owes me a commission is also a huge reason why I decided to go with something new, instead of a character I spent a while coming up with Ideas for. Wouldn’t want to waste that opportunity.

Flayne was designed to be ultra-generic and I would be apprehensive about putting him in certain situations, since he’s supposed to reflect qualities of myself/ qualities I’d like to have. Hell, the first submission of him was based off shirtless pics of myself.

 chival served for the idea of her colored dots/brush marking/tails being color- changeable, thought of it because of her design for Chiv’s legs to be simply “anything”

Influence from Media

Let’s start with the painfully obvious one- Okami…yeah I don’t need to explain this

I could speculate that the reason Bezthel has something like a Mohawk is because of Gremlins 2, or Starfox (Fox McCloud), or even Megaman. I just have trouble picturing Furry characters with hair. For example, look at Jillas from Slayers.

Megaman might seem like a stretch but then look at the design of Megaman’s helmet “ridge” if you wanna call it that. I’d also been playing the X series all summer so red and blue were kinda burned into my brain..Red eyes are cool, derp. Red and Black are still my favorite colors but black as a major color just doesn’t seem to fit well for the painting motif.

Other stuff

Why a spork on her back? Because a spork is more practical than a spoon or a fork, the mark emphasizes foodplay. And who the hell would use a spork as a marking anyway?

Why a mark over her eye? I like black, and combined with the hair and her bitten ear (which emphasizes her physical anatomy is not flavored), it serves for recognition.

The tuft around her neck? Something cozy to snug against

Why is she mostly a bitch? Dominant Bitches are fun in fiction and there has to be a reason why “Why men love Bitches” and “Why women love Jerks” were written. The orphanage scene was too cute to pass up and I don’t like the idea of a COMPLETE SUPER-bitch; Clearing my commission backlog is a priority

Possible Fucked-up Psychological Influences?

You could say that I have some really fucked-up complex going on to where Bezthel is a bitch because she reflects my desire to gain attention over other users in the fandom, which explains her jealousy of those who are skinny or tall compared to her. And why I roleplay as her 40 hours a week. And why I leave a minimum of 12 pageshouts at a time on other userpages going on about how much better I am than them. 36 if they try to remove any.

This is also why I frequently harass other users by IMing them saying “WATCHMEWATCHMEWATCHMEWATCHMEWATCHME” until I’m blocked, and have to switch to one of my other 10 AIM or Skype accounts.

That I’m jealous of artists and won’t rest until I’m number one on Popufur, no matter how many death threats I have to send other users through private messages that no one can see, no matter how many people I have to bribe with bacon-flavored pie- yep, that’s why she has paintbrush tails alright.

By the way, I’m a guy- I had an icon commission that I didn't have an idea for, so I used Bezthel.

And yeah, I have been really active over the past few months, I faved a lot of stuff and I'm even starting to comment more.

End Journal.

EDIT 7/26 MY NET IS FINE NAO

Well, due to corporate shit, I'm back to working 10pm-7am 5 nights a week

Monday and Tuesday will have to be my nights off in order for me to function properly while attending school this fall.

But hey, my GPA only dropped by 2 hundreths this semester, and I was this busy (minus FA) back in 2008 and nearly came out of junior college with highest honors, I'm pretty sure math (my only C) knocked me down to just honors.

So yeah, life's been good. Met some people at AC, Been named employee of the month twice so far...more recently, out of 41 stockers they named me for February...and since I was offered membership in UHCL's honor society last semester and have a 3.64 GPA, I feel that qualifies me as an honor student. Then there's my efforts toward others here online, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pleased with the reputation I've built.

School on both days that I'm not going into work will suck, but I'll manage, and I feel I'm prompt about answering notes and commission matters as it is anyhow.

I'm bored...so, why do you watch this account?

Hi!
I work nights and will be going to work soon, which is why I'm posting this now.

I am open to communication through any of the listed messengers on my page, and Skype (flayned, search the listed hotmail address).

I will NOT be accepting all of the prizes I won, in fact I am not accepting OVER HALF of them.

In the morning when I return from work (9-9:30 AM central) I will have edited this journal listing what I am accepting.

I am taking the following:
- 2 ACEO commissions, 1 traditional-media bookmark commission, & 1 print of winner's choice from  farorenightclaw
- 1 500x500 icon commission (STATIC) from  greykitty
- 1 digital badge (BUST, image file only) commission from  westly
- 1 digital color full-body commission & 1 print of choice from  gen-etik
- 1 digital fully colored & shaded full body commission with background from  blue-paper
- 1 traditional-media color commission from  animeartist62

I will not be accepting the following:
- 1 exactly 365-word vignette commission & one 2,000-word (or less) short story commission from
seht
- 1 opus sonata commission from
Excalibur
- 1 badge commission from
Tim_Kangaroo
- 1 digital full-body color collab commission from
darkmuse03 & artishan

- 1 full color traditional-media bust commission from
Cerih
- 1 fuzzabee badge commission, 1 bust commission, & one sketch commission from
Jacolf
- 1 digital or traditional-media badge commission from
iHate
- 1 digital fuzzy-style badge commission from
violetneko
- 1 ACEO or traditional-media line art commission from myenia
- 1 signed 13 x 19 satin-finish print from the Nvision Prints Gallery & 1 digital shaded sketch bust commission from -star-
- 1 traditional-media bookmark commission & a full set of 6 animal bookmarks from savannahhorrocks
- 1 traditional-media commission from alphashespirit
- 1 500x500 icon commission & 8 random pre-made buttons from mizers
- 1 photographic print of choice from this gallery, from tsumezyzco
- 1 graphite portrait commission & 1 'fake sticker' commission from veltress
1 nature-themed papercutting commission from sanuramosi
- 1 digital inked commission from flakes
- 1 full-color w/bg digital commission from mixnmatch

Ideas sent -
1 digital painted portrait commission from  suggestionbox
- 1 digital badge commission from  Ookami-girl AKA  sombrastudio
- 1 full digital 2-character commission, any content welcome, from  shikaro

And the following two artists, I would like to ask a favor, via note:
- 1 colored digital sketch commission from
Senura
- 1 digital commission from
FallingZeroes


The reason for this is because I am still tracking around 30 artist's commissions right now, and after this that number will probably jump to 40 or more...this is why I have other journals posted here with information like that. It's a lot to keep track of and I take forever to come up with Ideas anyway.

And I REALLY DON'T WANT 32 NOTES IN MY INBOX ^____^;;;

COMMENTS are AWESOME, the NOTE system is A HASSLE.

I also keep a relevant journal from each artist in my inbox at all times, so I usually have at least 20 journals kept. This way I know not to bother an artist if they lost their house, had a death in the family, were falsely accused of being a Neo-Nazi, etc.

It would be great if all the stuff I'm not accepting could be sold separately with funds going to Haiti or something, but I feel I should put that to a vote or go through Farore or something. We'll talk about that later.


Please check back here later in the morning.

Thank You!

In addition to the previous journal, which includes 3 undecided commissions, I won  carnivaldog's auction http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1008328.html and have decided to let a good amount of the spoils go to a second auction to raise money for that cause (steep hospital bill).

So......now I have all these people too (updated may 1st 2010)

 dragoneer
 Mottled-Kitten
 PickledLemur
 rika computer loan

AND I won a comic from  pinkuh for, again, helping to pay medical bills...to those who I'm still waiting on, this is not a "GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR" reminder. If I seem preoccupied or forget to respond to something...this is probably why! Bug me until I get back with you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31160604@N06/ I might add a couple more later pending permission, it's only polite

IKE: Auto theft, Podunk paradise…I’m fine
UPDATE I HAVE THE NET BACK NOW.....This Journal is brought to you by Burger King, because I don’t know when I’ll have internet back. I will try to check things daily while my battery runs out, but I will get back to those who need to get in touch with me. I will most likely be on from 5 to 6 central standard time in the afternoon
That being said, here’s the gist for those that don’t want to read the full story: I have lost nothing but cable and internet, I had to replace an alarm clock that started running fast. I don’t even consider myself a victim of this disaster. I will be able to manage fine and even now I am keeping a watchful eye over some other furs in need.
The Full Story- Wednesday evening I noticed that all the windows were being boarded up. I have lived in Galveston county all my life and every storm that hit didn’t cause us trouble, except for Rita, which had me try to evacuate, replace my alternator and battery, and have my first car die out on the beltway (it was too old, we jumped it, it had other problems and I paid off a 2000 corolla later). Seeing this brought back those bad memories of gridlock traffic and I asked a reliable source over IM if  asria and  silvyn were alright, because they live on the island, which they are not currently allowing people back onto. I was told they had left the day before, and I stressed to this person that I wanted to help them if things went wrong due to the storm. This person then accused me of only giving to those in need when I expected something in return, and that those two had been through harder times and would be alright. This person then signed off, as far as I know.
I went to bed shortly after at 8 pm, upset over this. Admittedly I shed a few tears, It wouldn’t have done any good to be angry with the person, and I know and some of you watching me know that I never DEMAND and don’t expect work from someone in return for my assistance unless they had offered. I don’t ask requests either.  allan  anailaigh  sputnik know this: I gave Allan one-sixth of the money I loaned him (no interest), I paid Anailaigh’s rent and electric bill without asking for compensation (I had given to her before and we agreed to something then), and I donated to Sputnik. I could name others.
Anyhow, I awoke at 11:37 to hear my brother discussing the storm with my family…I had said that if I had to attempt evacuation again that I would leave early, in the middle of the night. I ended up packing what I could into my car after withdrawing $160 so that my Dad could evacuate and attempting to get more gas at my Wal-mart, which had none. With my mother to guide me along the way to our ranch north of Uvalde, I sped as much as possible(80 on the freeway). Along the way I realized I had forgotten to bring a cherished possession-the sketch  farellemoon had done after meeting me face-to-face at Mephit Furmeet. I am quite grateful that my house is nearly undamaged and that I am fortunate to have that possession in addition to many meaningless ones. I arrived at the ranch around 11 am and was greeted by my hick relatives. One said “guess what?”, To which I replied “No water or electricity?” he said “How did you know that?” I told the truth, responding “I’m a pessimist”
They weren’t going to have that or a bathroom for 2 days, and we’re talking around 15 people in one ranch house….so I let mom drive to Kerrville from there…my BRAND NEW UNDER WARRANTY TIRE blew out, after a while someone stopped and got me a spare and put it on. After realizing that a friend of my grandmother’s was out of town instead of available I found a motel that was booked full until I walked in the door and someone canceled over the phone. My mom took one look at this room, which I thought was fine (I would have been content to sleep in the car), complained the sheets looked filthy, and so I went to a hotel where I stayed one night for twice the cost of that aforementioned decent room. She was the entire reason we continued to Kerrville.
The Next day I drove south to Schulenburg to meet up with my Father, to lessen the financial burden on me. He had checked out of the hotel where he was, much to my mother’s dismay. He said the person who fixed HIS flat (but he had a spare) told him of an old hotel that was family-operated and had been erected in 1927. $40 a night for evacuees. No TV, real rustic, like the ranch. My mom swiftly declared the place a “dump” and whined “I wanna go home!”. Determined not to endure her nagging and bitching anymore with my dad by my side, I said “Screw that, we’re not going back”. My Father added that the news said that staying in our hometown area would be to “FACE CERTAIN DEATH”…..partially scaremongering I’m sure but enough was enough. Or so I thought…she insisted that she would rather stay in my father’s Jeep Cherokee. He gave her the keys and nagged once again for me to get her insulin and black suitcase. At this point I just obeyed, this behavior was giving me a headache when it wasn’t draining my savings account. Bad Idea. She asked my dad for $5 and then TOOK OFF. He got behind and tried to keep her from going, I foolishly got behind as well…this only let her back out and turn to go forward….We filed a police report, though she actually made it home where she was even more miserable due to a lack of power and AC…My dad had his clothes and checkbook in there, in addition to his badge for work, which could have cost him his job had she not made it back safely…THANK GOD his debit card was on him.
The rest of the trip was somewhat enjoyable. I took pictures of the old hotel and movie theatre, which showed one film weekly and was also run by the same people, who also served us pizza from their restaurant. I got pictures of some kangaroos near my ranch before I headed out to Kerrville, A sign in Schulenburg that reads “DOUBLE SHOT LIQUOR AND GUNS DRIVE-THRU” (We were in the scarier part of Texas X3), an old courthouse, a foreign church graveyard, Colorado Bank (the river goes through Texas)….
Now I just worry about Asria, Silvyn, and some others I know around here and Online in TX. I wonder if they have someplace to come back to…no one as of tonight is allowed back on the island, and during the storm the West and East ends of it were underwater. I sincerely hope they’re all ok, I see distribution centers and lines to gas stations and gridlock traffic to the island being told that after 4 hours of waiting to check on their houses, that the “look and leave” orders were suspended and they have to turn back and wait longer. It is for these reasons that I don’t consider myself a victim, and it bothers me that my mother went to the distribution centers at all. We have power so we can go without Ice, and we certainly don’t need poptarts or nutrigrain bars or dinty moore chicken and dumplings….we have shingles missing from our roof, that’s it besides lacking cable and internet, which is temporary. Before the storm hit I offered those two help, and I stand by that if they need it and are willing to accept it, along with anyone else. It isn’t my intent or right to pester those who don’t want or need it. To all of you, Please Take Care.

I came back a day late but I had issues with Hurricane Gustav and my Airline. It was a joy to meet  farellemoon  flyingfire and  vixens-n-pizza and vixnpizza generously let me tag along as he drove back to TX so my father could pick me up at Fort Worth, which I spent a day exploring. All of them are very sweet people in addition to being talented artists, and Farelle was named the con's second best porn artist!
The hotel had issues but we got a huge discount due to that bullshit. The entire time that this drama went on, Farelle kept insisting things were gonna be ok with this silly optimistic metaphor of hers...."things will be ok, it's just that instead of being a perfect circle, this con is EGG-SHAPED!" I found this quite amusing but of course offered support whenever possible. I must admit i freaked when we first changed rooms and I went back to find the first one EMPTY...I told myself that at least i was carrying all my valuables on me, if an idiot wanted to steal my clothes, thats ok...and that I wasn't the last one in the room so I can't be held responsible for a missing laptop >_<;....thank goodness they informed me they moved everything within the hour.
Not being an artist, and already having so many commissions to wait on, the highlight of the con for me was the charity auction and the Brawl tourny they had. I got knocked out of round three, and I have no regrets, it was a good challenge, even got an opponent's email so we can trade stages later. I won every item I bid on, except for Freakazoid season one, but I hesitated because it wasn't worth the price to which it soared. I got in a bidding war with someone over a framed Tiger pawprint with a picture of the Feline, and won after it climbed to $215. I also donated $41 to a fund set up for some charity staff that were seriously injured in a traffic accident and are dealing with the hardship of a relative's recent cancer diagnosis. I was glad to be able to help, as always. The Charity is Tiger Haven, they work to take care of Big Cats that have been abused or neglected by people who obviously weren't fit to care for them.
I commissioned only two artists, one isn't on FA (check Bushycat.com) and the other is  vitae. I took business cards from many others (check around the most recent people I've watched, prolly the first ten). Vitae got to the con late and consequently didn't have many examples, and was also trying to sell pokemanz cards. I liked her ref sheet and noticed that she was saving up for a game, so I asked what she needed to afford it, and gave that amount. You can tell from the shout she left that she appreciated my patronage ^_^
I really liked getting to know my roommates better when I could and took every opportunity I saw. When I wasn't chatting or dining with them I was taking pics of fursuiters, brawling in the game room, or stuffing my face in the con suite. Farelle and I had run into an issue with my comic idea shortly before the con, But I will be rewriting the plot eventually. It will involve foodplay. It is my Fervent hope that Farelle will be able to deal with her recent stress with as much ease as possible, and I have offered my support if she wishes to accept it. Visit her journal for more info.