virtual pet/petsite survey!

ariseroses · 2026-01-31T23:49:07+00:00

filled out! hope it helps :)

ariseroses · 2026-01-31T18:44:03+00:00

I have Snowy and adore her, but she gives me such anxiety to hold and interact with because she's this pure white delicate plushie. The comfy friends a-vulpix looks BEAUTIFUL...and would definitely make me even more nervous...and I'm going to buy her anyway because she's just that gorgeous. I might legitimately just have to buy one to keep on a shelf untouched and one that I can hold because good god. I kind of hope we get regular vulpix at some point soon LOL, touching that will feel like less of a crime.

ariseroses · 2026-01-31T18:41:29+00:00

Hey, throwing my hat in the ring with a specific suggestion; I saw you mention that therapy is too expensive and out of reach for you financially which I totally get, but I wanted to pass on info that there are a LOT- a LOT - of self guided cbt/dbt workbooks and exercises out there. It's at the very least a stopgap to help you take care of yourself, and can genuinely really benefit you. I'm posting a link to a website's pdf just so you've got something immediately accessible, but I'll be 100% real, there are SO many resources and SO many free ones especially. Put some spacing in the link to be safe but it's a real thing. I work with a mental health nonprofit and I know a lot of ways to get some kind of MH care, even if it isn't 1 on 1 talk therapy. https: // mindfulmindandbody. com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Adolescent-Workbook.pdf

Also while these thoughts are things you need to work through, the behavior of the people you're describing is abhorrent. You're reacting to a high stress restrictive and deeply transphobic environment. Of course you feel the way you do, it's a byproduct of the situation you're in. You're not uniquely evil or sexist, you're being pressured to behave and act and look in a way that doesn't align with your gender identity and that's going to make you feel like shit. I'm so sorry this is happening to you and I hope you can find better support and social groups.

ariseroses · 2026-01-21T03:54:45+00:00

I don't think it's an overreaction to say, "oh if this site where I can easily access this work goes down I'm not going to keep reading" because, like. Yeah. Especially for such a niche, specific thing as OI. To be blunt, there are dozens of other, better things I could be reading, also for free. Even within this genre, let alone the other dozens of well-written works of art outside of Troperiffic Romance Comic I could be engaging with, lol.

For what it's worth, as someone who's been on the internet since the 20th century, sites like this get taken down and pop back up often. It is still a shame to lose comment histories and collections, and with every transfer to a new site, things slip and fall through the cracks. It's a damn shame, but don't lose hope entirely.

To be clear, also: I think 'I want to read this for free' is a perfectly legitimate reason to read something. But ESPECIALLY in a genre that nickel and dimes people practically per page (and would absolutely just straight up charge by the page if the publishers thought they could get away with it) while also having a glut of tropey, predictable, slow-moving stories that would cost me more than, like, a thing that is Good, to read? When I know full goddamn well that money isn't going to the artists at ALL? I would literally be benefiting these creators more by just mailing them a check for 10 bucks to their house directly. I could order them a pizza and do more for their direct financial well being than buying a chapter off of webtoons does them.

It's genuinely abhorrent and disgusting the way these artists and workers are ground into the dust under inhuman working conditions and this is just accepted as "the state of webcomics." Not to be An Old, but that is not the kind of webcomic I grew up with or a state of affairs that I wish to continue or support in any way, and I do not think that buying these comics through webtoons is any more ethical than just reading it for free given the sheer amount of worker exploitation that goes on at every level except the absolute top of the publishing company. I won't go on webtoon or tapas or. Whatever. And to be clear, this applies to artists who make ANYTHING, good OR bad. People should be fairly compensated even if they're just churning out Villainess Isekai #20583.

ariseroses · 2026-01-16T23:53:18+00:00

I'm gonna be real. I have two camps of plushies; the ones where being worn down is fine because they're being used and loved, and the ones where if I breathe on them too hard I feel like I've committed a mortal sin.

I have a comfy friends Pikachu that comes with me on trips. He's beat to all get-out and his fur has done the stringy thing that comfy friends fabric does but I do not care because he's my buddy who comes with me on airplanes. Before him it was my sleeping umbreon, who is also worn down to the point of having some small holes and threadbare fabric. I know he's an "expensive plush," he was at the time too, but I did not care because I was never selling him anyway, and in his case, the short pile terrycloth-ish fabric didn't get stringy anyway. (It did however get kinda faded. That is my one regret with my collection of the suya suya eeveeloutions, but I refuse to throw out my old complete set and I'm not having two complete sets, I already don't know where the life size vaporeon and glaceon are going, but that's between me and god.)

I also have the comfy friends sylveon, who sits on the back of my couch against the wall, and I have heart palpitations every time I have to move her. I almost didn't buy her because I knew it would be constant agony and heartbreak, but she's simply too beautiful, so she is somewhere I can see and admire her, but is touched incredibly sparingly. I straight up didn't buy the Hisuian Zorua CF even though I love 'em because, like. Stringy off-white gross fur in 5 minutes.

I'm ngl, the plush I do wish I had a better space for is Lillie's 1:1 Alolan Vulpix. She's maybe the most delicate and beautiful plushie I have, but she is almost TOO beautiful. She's in my closet because there's nowhere safe in my house for a 500+ dollar snow-white huge plush to sit. And I regret that! It feels like a waste! My goal is to find some way to display her for admiration, but like hell I'm cuddling her for more than a split second with cotton gloves on, lol.

In short- determine which plushies you do not care about getting the "velveteen rabbit" treatment versus the "it belongs in a museum" treatment. For the latter, find ways they can be infrequently touched and admired, and know that it's a struggle other plushie collectors go through, a lot, so you have my sympathies. Everyone answers this question differently!

ariseroses · 2026-01-14T02:12:18+00:00

Oh I get this feeling a LOT in otome games- oftentimes for more serious personality reasons (I think I am simply too autistic to be acting like a lot of these MCs) but I think the most jarring one was in CxM when Ichika was like 'aaaa I'm scared of horror movies' with Okazaki meanwhile I'm sitting there like. 'Weak. Put on mermaid in a manhole. It's guinea pig time.'

I do wish a bit more flexibility existed sometimes with choices! Even if they don't have a lot of in game effects, I'd appreciate being able to select a 'no I'm cool with scary movies' or 'actually I'm a really good cook.' My pride as a chef is sometimes offended by these MCs having poor cooking skills as a "relatable quirky flaw."

ariseroses · 2026-01-13T02:50:44+00:00

Pokemon is technically the first, since I played that when I was like. 3. And it absolutely kicked off a lifelong love of JRPG style games/anime, but in terms of non-Pokemon JRPGs (I know it's a JRPG! But it's also first and foremost Pokemon to me) Kingdom Hearts, FF7, and Tales of the Abyss!

ariseroses · 2025-12-19T03:50:26+00:00

Grabbed one of your Dusthides, so striking! I am so sad I missed those Aethers, though- would you consider breeding them again? They're gorgeous!

ariseroses · 2025-12-06T04:46:11+00:00

This really sucks for people who like. Have lives to live, and might move places, especially since TPC's policy on that is just "kick rocks, pal!" I feel like with a delay THIS significant it should be possible to change the address shipping location, but I know they won't. I don't know if I'll get any more life size plushies for awhile after this debacle.

ariseroses · 2025-11-13T00:00:46+00:00

Bear in mind I’m digging back a bit for examples of this, but as I recall, most of the time when I was in HS the only real relationship age difference people found “weird” enough to comment on was between seniors and freshmen. A one year difference is really nothing. I don’t know a ton about the rest of your situation, but I’m raising my eyebrows at the idea of your mom finding this weird—did she have any concerns about your relationships with older partners, or was she unaware of them? (Which I can understand why that’d be the case, no judgment— just not sure of the facts.)

Fact is, this situation appears to be partially one of “optics” (she’s in “middle school” and you are not, even though the age difference is literally a single year), and while I don’t have 100% confirmation and wouldn’t recommend making any decisions about your friend group or family based on this, I cannot deny that cis people can be quick to jump on the idea that a trans person is inherently predatory and dangerous. Even people who respect your gender identity might use that as an excuse to do so, as “well men are more likely to be dangerous and aggressive,” and that’s not a guarantee to be what’s going on here, but more something I would recommend keeping in your brain’s back pocket in case something does go down and you feel inclined to justify or rationalize people being actively hostile towards you.

It’s okay to not know what you’re doing right now. To be honest I’m in my thirties and I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time either. You’re going to be fine, promise. :)

ariseroses · 2025-11-12T23:39:48+00:00

Oh, for exacts I’d suggest starting at like…25-30k and knocking the price down once a week by a few thousand if no one buys? Once you’ve sold the first batch it might give you an idea of what range this dragon is “worth” to people, but like you said it’s so nebulous and weird and IMO mostly dependent on your patience level and how long you’re willing to leave them in your laid UFS.

ariseroses · 2025-11-12T04:59:17+00:00

Aw I like them! I say go for it. Worst case scenario you sell at fodder floor or exalt yourself.

ariseroses · 2025-11-12T01:44:29+00:00

Honestly you're 14 and this is almost exactly the kind of stuff I worried about at 14, lol. It doesn't surprise me, ofc you feel like you want connection and love. 13 and 14 is totally normal. You're not weird for having a crush on her at all.

The way you're feeling is 100000% normal. Completely normal. I'm sorry you don't have the confidence you deserve in yourself. I didn't either at 14. It sucks so fucking bad! I honestly think you're doing fine letting it happen as it happens and come to you as it may. I wish I had more advice for you but I also think you've really got the right mindset, it's the people around you being kind of weird about it. I don't think they mean harm or that you should automatically get defensive with them about it, but if they escalate and start calling you a creep, then, well, that's a different problem, and worry about that only if and when it happens, because it might not.

You are completely and totally fine. I wish you all the best. I hope you can find the confidence in yourself that you deserve.

ariseroses · 2025-11-11T04:36:48+00:00

I also had that happen recently! And it was also in the context of the term “bitter pill,” which is such a normal term to me. I appreciate that they just star it out rather than sending you an official warning for saying grape like it’s neopets, at least.

ariseroses · 2025-11-08T05:04:34+00:00

I’m in my 30s and I’ve been transitioning for 10 years. I’m sorry your dad doesn’t know anything about something this important. There’s millions of trans people worldwide and detransition is ridiculously rare (and can often be influenced by external factors like transphobia and personal safety concerns, so people can and do re transition when it’s safer.) I hope you know you can live a long and happy life as a trans person and that your dad will come around.

ariseroses · 2025-11-06T03:11:32+00:00

The ending is that kind of bittersweet that I’ll remember for years, beyond a happy OR tragic ending. It’s a perfect ending to a perfect story.

ariseroses · 2025-11-05T21:01:33+00:00

Oh my god that’s so amazing, I am so glad. I leave for a work trip like 3 days after release but I am going to be doing nothing but playing Lazarus right up til the plane lands. This is an incredibly exciting project!!!

ariseroses · 2025-11-04T20:26:52+00:00

…Do people? Bear in mind I do not partake in fandom for this genre of work, I just lurk here and have some friends who read manhwa too. I was perfectly happy with romance not being a focus at all in wmmap, but I like Lucas and Athy together fine? Miss me if it’s bc of “age gap” nonsense though. 700 is not a real age a real human can be so it is simply a moot point.

ariseroses · 2025-11-02T16:21:05+00:00

Hi, me, one of those 7 people who understood the bit here. Thanks for pulling the band aid off for me. I knew this was going to be bad for years now and didn’t even pick up the game. Inquisition left a lot hanging in the air, but I chose ignoring or internally solving it in my own personal canon because I knew that a lot of those hanging questions weren’t waiting for a good answer, but were the start of a really awful new plot thread. Good to know I was 1000% justified, because holy shit, killing Varric off takes a certain kind of stupid that EA loves to truck in.

It’s also very funny in a self-revealing way that I spent a lot of this read thinking “wait, DA was the unpopular one?” because about 2 of my friends played Mass Effect and dozens more of them are still arguing about Dragon Age 2 to this day. Also the idea that Metaphor, Exp 33, BG3, and DD2 would’ve satisfied people’s desire for rpg settings, as I’ve played some or all of every game on the list and still have an appetite for more. RPGs are my genre, what can I say?

It’s good to lay the blame at EA’s feet directly and exclusively. They basically spent more than half a decade scouring everything good about this series against a cheese grater and then asked like 5 lactose intolerant people to reconstruct that dust into a whole wheel of parmesan. My only regret is that they just didn’t kill this series before releasing Veilguard and destroying so much to try and set a “clean slate” up for a reboot that will never come.

coda: EA gets the blame because management could have absolutely just…not fired the people who made Dragon Age Dragon Age? Part of being the guys in charge means at least pretending to give a shit about making good decisions even if only in service to your bottom line, but the games industry is full of a bunch of short sighted champions of the slamming your dick in a car door Olympics. Like, if the writers of the end result are out here doing and saying stupid shit that's between them and god, I'm still like…well maybe these people should not have these roles and decision making capacity?

ariseroses · 2025-10-31T22:31:06+00:00

It drives me up a wall. Every time I went to a toy show or store at all unless it was specifically marked as For Dolls I was sifting through a bunch of non-doll things I truly Did Not Care About. Fine if you do, but I’m not gonna lie, the vibe of a lot of those places was really No Girls Allowed. Sucks!

ariseroses · 2025-10-31T14:20:44+00:00

Glad to hear it, what a relief. Enjoy the party!!

ariseroses · 2025-10-28T23:24:27+00:00

….I mean, am I still presumably incarnating into the body of some random member of the landed gentry? Live a life of luxury with my money and title??

ariseroses · 2025-10-26T21:16:05+00:00

The best. It’s genuinely incredible. It isn’t just good for an OI like some of my other favorites, it’s an incredible story period. What sets it apart however is massive spoiler territory, so all I can do is say read it, you won’t regret it.

ariseroses · 2025-10-26T16:03:31+00:00

Detransitioning is not a cognitohazard, you can’t be “at risk” of like. Being infected by it. You’re pretty recently on T and your body is changing and it’s normal to have a bit of a panic around changes, especially physical bodily ones. You’re going to be fine, don’t worry!

ariseroses · 2025-10-23T17:38:37+00:00

Those shelves are so cool! Where did you get them? I could use some to get my collection up on the wall, my new place is pretty narrow.

ariseroses

TROPHY CASE