Hey all,

I try to keep my personal life separate from my life online, but I'm in one of those situations where I don't have much choice. I'm trying to raise money for a used car, and I've got a limited window to make it happen.

The fundraiser is here: https://gofund.me/de843bf9

A bit of background: a couple weeks ago, while on my way back up to the mountains following some late-afternoon errands, a deer jumped out into the road in front of my '07 Prius - I nearly avoided hitting it, but clipped it with the front edge of the car.

The damage looked minor, and I was able to drive it the rest of the way back, and even drove back down to run a few more errands the next day before handing it over to the inspection company - but the day after they towed it away, they called to say that the unibody frame had been fractured, which pushed the repair costs past the repairable value of the car. The Prius was declared a total loss, and USAA cut a check for a bit over $5k for the car.

$5k isn't enough for any car that could be trusted not to fall apart the instant it left the lot, so I started up a GoFundMe to try and raise the funds to afford something usable while I looked around. I finally managed to find something, a 2012 Mazda 3 in good condition that strikes a good balance between affordability and reliability - but the GFM was still sitting at $0 raised when I went to check.

I readjusted the goal to specifically focus on what I needed to pay for the car, including the price tag, dealership fees, licensing and registration fees, emissions test, new plates from the DMV (joy...), and if there's enough raised, hopefully a set of winter tires before the mountains get buried in snow again.

I don't know how much time I have to make this happen, so I'm cranking up the urgency more than I really feel comfortable with. Even if I can arrange the remaining funds as a loan from my family, they'll use the debt as an excuse to make my life hell - I'm trying to get away from these people, not give them more grounds to keep me trapped.

Any help at all is greatly appreciated. Even if you can't afford to give anything right now, giving the fundraiser a signal boost to spread it around to more people could be what makes the difference - my own reach is pretty limited, so there's only so much I can do by sharing it on social media.

Don't have much to say about the recent site hijacking that hasn't been said elsewhere, and I'm too burned out and stressed to come up with anything particularly eloquent to add. But I'll say this, if nothing else: the admins really need to show they're serious about cybersecurity after this debacle if they want to avoid an exodus. I saw a lot of 'well, what else is new?' reactions to the news about the breach, even before the Twitter accounts got hijacked as well -- and the lack of even a rudimentary two-factor authentication system just feels like an invitation for bad actors to use the site to test their skills on a target they consider subhuman.

There's no question this will happen again. What the admins do between now and then will show how much stock they put in keeping the site and its users protected -- because next time, the damage might be severe enough that coming back won't be an option.

As those of you tuned into national or international headlines this morning may have realized, my home state of Colorado's enduring probably the worst possible end to 2021. Yesterday, December 30th, hurricane-force winds with gusts over 100 miles an hour knocked down overhead power lines in the unincorporated town of Marshall, Colorado, igniting a small blaze in the drought-dried shrubs near the town -- within minutes, the winds had turned the small fire into an inferno that rapidly engulfed the town and raced east toward the town of Superior, fast enough that residents had little advance warning and little time to escape.


Now, a day later, the true scope of the devastation is coming into focus: 6,000 acres burned, at least 500 homes reduced to cinders, tens of thousands displaced by the evacuation still underway... we won't have a full accounting of the damage until the fires are finally extinguished, but the Marshall Fire has already become the most destructive in Colorado's history, a record that's been broken several times just in recent memory.


My family was outside of the pre-evacuation zone last night, but only just -- the neighborhoods that were advised to prepare to evacuate were within walking distance, and I knew that if they were told to evacuate, my own neighborhood would be told to prep to leave shortly afterward... and seeing how quickly the fire spread through the neighborhoods near Superior, I know that the fire would've ravaged our community if it got this far south. Mercifully, it never came to that, but... it's still a sobering thought.


My family and I got lucky, but I know that so many others were less fortunate -- thousands have lost their homes and businesses, and thousands more have been robbed of their peace of mind, and until the fire crews manage to bring the flames to heel, those numbers will only increase; the year's already been a nightmare for so many people, but adding this on top of it... it's unbearable even to think about.


So I'm doing what I can to get some help headed their way, which for the time being means rallying people via every means of communication I've got to lend whatever aid they can: the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management is coordinating the relief effort, including donations of money and supplies and applications to volunteer or host displaced families. I know that most of the people likely to read this aren't local and can't provide a lot of direct material support, but anything you can give to help the families impacted by this tragedy is going to help in a big way; even if you yourself can't help, there may be people you know who can lend their aid, so even a signal boost could be beneficial.


2021's been a year of kicking people while they're down, a nightmare from start to finish -- and I, for one, feel like giving it a good hard kick back right now.


Thank you for your time, and for any help you can offer.


Resource links:


Boulder County OEM (current information): https://www.boulderoem.com/emergency-status/


Volunteer and Donation resources:

https://bouldercounty.wufoo.com/forms/donations/

https://www.commfound.org/grants/ge.....-Wildfire-Fund

https://coloradoresponds.communityos.org/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5117832/ One of my friends, a rather talented artist, is doing an alphabetical Iron Artist challenge -- that is, one slot for each letter of the alphabet. If that's your bag, take a look and see if your username's letter isn't yet taken (I know Z isn't reserved yet, for my Z-savvy friends who know who they are).

Or don't.

Couple of my friends were doing it (you know who you are), so I figured I might as well.

1.) What's your name?
Shiro Ryoni.

2.) Do you know why you were named that?
Ryoni's my family name. Shiro... I dunno, I never asked why my mom named me that. Sounded good, I guess?

3. What is your status?
Single, and not exactly looking for a relationship right now.

4.) Have any abilities or powers?
Well, I'm apparently really good at using magic -- old Fishface calls me a 'prodigy', but I don't know what that really means, so I can't say if I agree with it.

5.) Stop being a hornswoggle!
...What?

6.) Uh... if you were to get in a fight with a strong wrestler, do you think you'd win?
Not a chance. Wrestling? I'd be snapped in two!

7.) Right... Have any family members?
...I don't want to talk about it...

8.) Oh? How about pets?
...Next question, please...?

9.) Cool, I guess. Tell me something that you don't like?
Aside from all these questions? *thinks* ...The dark. Really not a fan of the dark.

10.) Something that you do like?
Grilled barbecue kahno -- beef, I think it's called where you live. Man, Old Man Sen knew the best spices to... *sigh* Never mind, next question.

11.) Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?
I sometimes play this bamboo flute I carry around with me, usually when I'm alone. I, uh... I don't really like performing in front of other people.

12.) Have you ever gone through pain yourself?
...You have NO idea.

13.) Ever had a strange dream before?
I'm just hoping I'm having one right now.

14.) What kind of animal are you?
A Kymeran. What, never seen one before?

15.) Your worst habits?
*growl* What are you implying, huh?!

16.) Do you have a favorite artist you look up to anyone at all?
Not really. Next!

17.) Gay, straight, or bi?
...I don't even know what those mean. Next!

18.) Do you currently attend college?
...What's a 'college'?

19.) Ever wanna get married one day?
Dunno, it's not really something I've spent a lot of time thinking about.

20.) Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?
Why would I need those? I can fan myself just fine, thanks.

21.) What are you most afraid of?
The dark. Didn't I already say that...?

22.) What colour is your hair?
...Really? You can't see that? I'm sitting right across from-- *sigh* Fine, white. Next question.

23.) Eyes?
Blue. Any more stupid questions?

24.) What do you usually wear?
Exactly what I'm wearing now -- an old cloak, cotton work robes and a pair of old sandals, before you ask. It's the only outfit I own -- I don't have the money to waste on extra outfits, and this one works fine.

25.)What's your religion?
None. I've had people try pushing the regional religion on me, some White Sage thing. I don't buy it.

26.)Do you wish this quiz is over?
Why, is it?

27.) Well, it's still not over.
...Do you want me to clobber you?

28.) Anyways, where do you live?
Nowhere, I travel around with Klaud and Luca.

29.) What class are you? (Low class, middle class, high class)?
Working class, which is... *asks* ...yeah, it's what you'd call low class.

30.) How many friends do you have?
Not a lot. But I'm glad I've got the few I have.

31.) If you could change anything about you, what would you change?
My being here answering these dumb questions. Who talked me into this again?

32.) What are your thoughts on pie?
I don't even know what that is.

33.) Alright. What's your favorite food?
I already told you, grilled barbecue kahno. Pay attention!

34.) Favorite drink?
Arukah -- I think you call it 'milk'. Not something I get to have a lot, but it's a helluva lot better than water.

35.) What is your favorite place?
Probably Echo Falls. Always liked hiding out there -- it was sort of my secret hideout!

36.) Least favorite?
Wherever we are right now.

37.) Are you still wanting the quiz to end?
...No, I want it to go oooon and oooon.

38.) Well, it's over you bonkerballs!
Finally! Where's the door?

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4770256/

Figured I'd try my luck again -- White Mantis does some great work.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4620661/

Not that anyone cares.

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4524766/

Yeah, I know, I do too many of these.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4496133/

Another raffle from MingChee. Yeah, these are basically all I use these journals for.

Marliene this time.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4480727/

What can I say that I haven't already?

Hestia this time. https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4482920/ Check it out. Or don't.

UlarioGryphon this time. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4481442/ Check it out, or don't.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4430315/ Yet another raffle from MingChee.

Myra ( http://www.furaffinity.net/user/myra/ ) is hosting another raffle for free art. Details here: --> http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4409678/

Hey, free art. Hard to fault that, especially with such high quality. Take a look. Or don't.

Looks like Myra [ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/myra/ ] is holding an art raffle. Here's the journal with the rules and so forth: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4280838/

Check it out. Or don't.

Art raffle this time. Check it out. Or don't.
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4258327/

Hey all.

Not sure if anyone's interested or cares, but I'm opening up request slots for a series of TF (transformation, for those who don't know) Vignettes I'm cooking up in my spare time; I've gotten three requests already from some friends of mine, and I'll probably just do 10 or 12 in total on a first come, first serve basis.

These'll be about 1,000 words apiece, and'll require a species, trigger, overall theme or some mix of the three to complete (ex: the first one was a specified 'toon TF, triggered by a pencil poke; the species was left up to my choice). If you want in on this, leave a comment below with whatever info you want to provide.

Or don't, I don't care.

Through one of my friends here (you know who you are), I've stumbled onto two FA artists doing gift work for the holidays; if that's your cup of tea, swing by Vexystacy's page ( http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4151312/ ) and/or MingChee's page ( http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4151754/ ) for more info.

Side note: looks like the world's still here. I didn't expect those 12/21/12 doomsday prophecies to be valid, but still, it feels nice to prove a lot of people wrong.

Due to a falling-out with one of my co-writers (one Ryu the Weredragon http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ryutheweredragon, to be exact), I have made the decision to discontinue several of the ongoing stories (i.e. the ones he was involved in). Until further notice, the following stories are cancelled:

"Wild Cards"
"3:10 to Corneria"
"Going Digital"
"Brothers"

Hiya folks. Needed to post a first Journal here, and I needed something to talk about, so I thought I'd share a quick little look at my newest project.

As I'm sure those of you who've been keeping up with my recent work (either here or on dA, or both) are aware, I've been doing a lot of collaborative pieces with a group of friends over on Steam (a group that I colloquially refer to as 'the gang'); this is another such project, done with Throne Zwei, and like the last few stories I've put up, it involves a bit of TF (a few chapters in, unlike the others; I want to develop the characters as much as possible before dropping any major plot devices on them).

The working title: "Yōkai High". The basic plot synopsis: "Elliot Marlowe has just transferred from Las Vegas, Nevada, to a smaller neighborhood on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. On his first day, not really looking to fall in with the more talkative crowd at the school, he befriends the quiet and quirky Māku Kuronawa, in spite of the fact that most of the other students avoid him; Elliot soon discovers, though, that this young man is more than he appears..."

As you can guess, the story largely follows these two, though currently it's mostly told from Elliot's point of view. I don't have anything to give you guys in the way of a preview, I'm afraid; for now, I'm mostly curious about whether or not this is something folks would read. So please, let me know.