It’s Already Over…I Can’t Believe This…

I miss you, Phos.

Overanalyzing Studies

"Thank you. Have a nice day."

Wage just finished serving her latest customer's cupcakes, and heads back to kitchen to get some cleaning supplies. She sighs as it's been a long day of serving each Uglydolls their favorite treats, and making sure her bakery stays clean. It's hard work, but it's worth seeing each ugly smile after eating her delicious treats. She goes to the front of her bakery and clean each table, chairs, and utensils. Just as she's about to head back into the kitchen, the door opens.

Wage was about to greet the guest until she saw the guest was no other than Mayor Ox. This surprises Wage as Ox would usually have some ugly deliver his treats to him since he's so busy nowadays.

"Hello Wage. How are you doing today." Ox greeted her with a tired smile.

"Ox! I'm good, but you look really tired. Is everything ok?" Wage grabs a nearby chair for the exhausted mayor. "Would you like anything to eat or drink? It's on the house."

"No, I'm good. I just want to ask you a favor." Wage sits next to Ox, curious on what the mayor has to say. The mayor sighs; "It's Moxy."

Wage rolls her eyes and glance at Ox with annoyed expression. "What's she trying to do this time? I swear if she's trying to get every ugly to believe that this 'Outside World' exists, Imma-"

"She's not doing that!" Ox interrupted as he sits up. "No. It's....she hasn't come out of her home in a while now, and I'm worried sick about her. I tried to get her to come out, but y'know....she doesn't really listen to me."

Wage becomes concerned. She hasn't seen Moxy all day, now that she really thinks about. Moxy would usually come to her bakery, rant about whatever junk she finds that could lend to the "Outside World", and continue her day by delivering newspapers throughout Uglyville. This wasn't like Moxy at all.

Ox continues; "So, I was wondering if you could tried to see Moxy later, and see if she's doing well. It isn't healthy staying inside all day."

Wage nodded; "Yeah, I'll see her later."

"Thank you, Wage. I knew I could count on you." Ox gets up, and gives Wage a nice hug.

"No problem, Ox. I'm pretty sure Moxy's fine."

.........

Wage closes her bakery for the night, and walks over to Moxy's house. She decided to make Moxy's favorite treat, Midnight Raspberry Cupcakes, before leaving. She finally makes it to the pink doll's house, basket at hand, and knocks on the door.

"Moxy! It's me, Wage!!" Wage shouted as she continues to knock on the door. "I haven't seen you all day, and just wanted to make sure you're still alive and well. I also made your favorite treat."

The front door opens quickly, and Wage gets dragged in by surprise. She is greeted by the pink doll who looked like she hasn't sleep for days.

"WAGE!!! My girl, My buddy, My Sister!!!" Moxy shouted out excitedly. "Welcome, welcome. I'm sooooooooo glad you came here. I been studying for a while now, and I FINALLY have proof that the 'Outside World' exists!!!"

Moxy grabs Wage's hand, and brings her over to wall filled with old doll magazines. Wage sees that Moxy's home is messy with trash, and papers scattered everywhere. Her friend is all over her head, and she needs to put an end to it.

"Moxy, have you really been home, analyzing all these papers and junks about this 'Outside World' you ramble on and on recently?" Wage ask as she tries to avoid each mess in her way.

"Yes!! I been trying to get everyone to know that there's something out there. Something more beyond Uglyville. I just have to prove that it exists, so everyone would stop doubting me," Moxy said as she grabs her favorite pen to make some notes on one of the paper on the wall.

Wage is concerned with how much work Moxy is putting in to her so-called studies. Willing to make such a big mess, and miss out days on hanging out with her best buds. Ox was right to be worried.

"Ok, so.....you see all these magazines right now." Moxy exclaims.

"Uhhh...yeah?" Wage said, unsure and confuse.

"Well, they all talk about little kids, and how these dolls are perfect toys for them. What are little kids you may ask? Kids are beings that enjoys playing with toys, and getting messy. Why do they like playing with toys and getting messy you may ask?"

"Hey....Moxy. I-"

"BECAUSE, it makes them happy, and kids love being happy!!!" Moxy was losing her mind.

"But, Moxy-", Wage tries to speak up only to get cut off by Moxy's rambling.

"So I did so more digging around to see if I could find proof that kids exist, because THESE magazines alone aren't enough to prove Ox wrong."

"Moxy!"

"And LOOK!! I found this weird, pretty blue cloth that has a lot of patterns on it, and it look like it belong to a kid's dress."

"Moxy!!"

"But, the thing is, I don't know if it's enough to get Ox to see that there's more out there than he thinks. He ALWAYS dismisses my theories about the 'Outside World' and thinks that I'm just imagining all these stuff when I'm not. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I'm NOT crazy!! THEY'RE the ones that are crazy! Hahahahahahah......So, if I can find a way to-"

"MOXY!!!" Wage yelled to get the pink doll's attention. She has had enough of Moxy's crazy conspiracy theories.

"Kids, Outside World, and toys??!! Listen to yourself. You are going insane with all this nonsense." Wage grabs Moxy's hand to sit her down on her bed, removing any mess that was on there.

"Wage....", Moxy tries to speak, but Wage shushes her harshly.

"Do you not understand that you been home for some time now, collecting these stupid paper about whatever nonsense, with little to no sleep?! Ox's been worried sick about you!!"

Moxy blinks repeatedly. She sees that her studies made her home into a huge mess, and couldn't remember the last time she gotten a good sleep. She became so obsess with proven Ox wrong that she started to go insane. Moxy feels guilty, and lowers her head.

Wage sighs, and walks over to her basket to give Moxy her favorite treat. Moxy happily accepts it, and eats the treat. It's been a while since she last had any of Wage's delicious treats.

"I'm sorry, Wage," Moxy apologizes. "I just...wanted Ox to believe me. I know there's a world out there. I just have to prove it to him. I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a break."

"A long break", Wage replied sternly. "And...I understand that this whole 'Outside World' thing is important to you, but it's not worth going insane over. You have friends who care about you, and a job to do. Those newspapers aren't going to deliver themselves after all."

Both Wage and Moxy lightly chuckled, and give each other a hug. Wage is happy that she was able to reason with her dear friend. She understands why Ox chose her to talk with Moxy, since she tends to be more stern than the others. Wage pats Moxy's head, grabs her basket, and makes her way to the door.

"Good night, Moxy. I hope to see you tomorrow, and make sure you clean up your house. I'm sick of looking at it."

"Good night, Wage. Thanks for the treat, and helping me see that I was overanalyzing my studies. I'll also be sure to clean up my house as well."

"Good, and you're welcome," Wage replies as she left with a sigh of relief.

Moxy straightens up her bed, and decides to sleep for the night. She plans to clean up her house, and catch up with her friends tomorrow morning. Even though Wage was right about her, she still couldn't stop thinking about what's really out there, and why Ox refuses to believe her. She feels like he was hiding something from her, and had to get to the bottom of it, but that's for another time. Right now, a decently long break from her studies wouldn't hurt.

Author's Note: It's been awhile since I last posted anything. My computer was having problems, but I got it fix now. I had this scene replay in my head, and had to illustrated it before it disappeared out of my mind. It was fun to do, and a good way to practice writing dialogue. I still have a long way to go, but this was a good start. Hope you enjoy my little short story.

Port by the Sea is yet another welcome addition to the field of indie animation that's worth diving into! Fans of dragon ball and nautical adventures will want to keep their eye out on this series.

Reblogs Are Appreciated!!!

Phos from Chapter 1. God, they changed is so much it’s sad. I miss them.

Starlit Stitchmouse

Scent: Freesia

Starlit Stitchmouse loves knitting new outfits for her friends. She's all about sharing and being kind to others. Whether it's knitting a sweater or crocheting a plushie, Starlit is your gal. If she isn't busy knitting, Starlit is often seen glazing at the starry night sky.

Lensy Roamapanda

Scent: Bird of Paradise

Prefer to be called Lens, this curious red panda loves to go on adventures, and see new things. He never leaves without his camera and often loves to drag his friends on new quest, or discoveries. Sometimes, Lensy Roamapanda lets his curiosity get the best of him, and wander too far from home.

"this game will save mascot horror!" then its the same as every other mascot horror im just failing to understand why people keep using the same concepts.. the defintion of mascot horror is so loose and yet people choose to do the same things with it

Advice to aspiring 2D animators/storyboard artists/concept artists etc.:

Don't go to expensive art school

Don't work for low pay indie productions in hope of boosting your resume

Don't do cheap commissions

Don't post traced or AI art ever

Don't make animation your career

Stop telling yourself artistic skill = money

If you are in high school right now, do not go to college for animation. I'm so so serious. The animation industry is crumbling right now, and the last thing you should be doing is racking up college debt for a degree that will fail you.

Here are some things that you can do:

Use your creative skills for jobs outside of the entertainment industry

Work on personal projects

Do not feel like you have to spend your time marketing yourself on social media if you don't enjoy it

Collaborate with other artists on projects you actually want to work on

Widen your creative influences

Try new mediums

Keep private sketchbooks/journals

Allow yourself to flow through periods of creative highs and art block

Even if you 'make it' in the animation industry. It is highly likely you will get laid off, be overworked, or underpaid. Most likely all three.

I've been laid off by two studios, underpaid by all of my animation jobs with exception of two, and I'll name them so no one thinks I am accusing them. One was a small short film called Emaho where I got to set my own rates and pick my workload. And the other is Wild Card, which was commission based and priced by me. I have had three animation studio jobs, and all of them have either not paid me or paid me very little.

The last studio job made me finally quit the industry. It was the largest most prestigious studio I had ever worked for. And, with exception of the studio that paid me nothing as I was an intern, this studio paid me the worst wages of any job I've had. I had calculated my pay, and it was less than minimum wage in my state. The studio had hired me promising part time hours, but would often leave me without work for days. The managers were hard to reach. I had little to no contact with the other animators working at the studio. But it was my first and only credit in an animated show, so that's something.

This expierience has been echoed by my animator friends and coworkers. It is not a sustainable industry. It profits off of worker exploitation. Don't feed it with your time, money, and creativity.

My biggest concern about this chapter is how will Phos make out of it. Like, 10,000 years of suffering is going to be a hard turmoil for them, but will they spend most of their time having depressing thoughts and regrets? They did wish for happiness, so maybe new gems will emerge and treat Phos like their master or something. I don’t know anymore. I just hope something decent happens to Phos rather than seeing them suffer over and over again.

HNK SPOILERS

it’ll be a hard, long, and insufferable period for phos, but i’m really curious how much their personality and mindset will change during this time, especially with the possibility of leading newborn gems. i think they’ll mellow out of the rage during this time and enter a more melancholy and somber… maybe apathetic attitude? being alone in their thoughts and potential feelings of regret, guilt, and loneliness will affect them severely in some way for sure….well, let’s join hands and just hope for that ichikawa will spare us (and phos) some mercy in hnk’s ending

Hnk 89 analysis

Like a goddamn clockwork, here I am again

Disclaimer: Same as every time. I’m an ex-theravada buddhist, studied that for a decade or so, but not mahayana like in hnk. Also most sources I know of are in thai/sanskrit, and my ability to translate those two into english is limited, so I can’t properly cite anything. However, if you take the sanskrit key words or names I mentioned here and google them, you will find additional information or the full explanation of them.

Content

1. RIP box :(

2. A theory about reincarnation

3. Ice floes & realms within Samsara

4. Caste system, its relationship with Buddhism and how it applies to Hnk

5. Enma

1. Box is dead for sure, and he’s in the sea. RIP box. RIP box. You’re dead now. It’s ok. You’re dead nothing can hurt you. You’re dead RIP box. RIP box. RIP box. RIP box. Box’s dead now. RIP box.

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