Monday, February 28, 2011

GREY BOUQUET WANTS YOU...r stuffed animals

One of the things it's been tough to get across these past few weeks is the sheer amount of stuff that's been shifting around, now that a recent revision to the picture book includes hints of, gasp, an overall PLOTLINE for Grey Bouquet, with beginnings and middles and ends and conflict and other such luxuries that just plain weren't there in the original write-up.

So along with redoing old designs in time for a long-needed pin restock, doing the same for one of the greeting cards, and getting ducks in proverbial rows towards a total website revamp that'll be way easier to navigate, there's been the matter of stapling on a bunch of subplots to the GBQ beast at large, then going through every few tries and ripping off the ones that don't seem to be working so good. If you've seen the movie "Akira": kinda like dealing with that big mutating gore baby at the end, only with fewer organ systems the size of apartment blocks puffing out of nowhere involved. Lots of erasing, though. And the amount of screaming's about the same. :(

One of these subplots that does hold up through every scratch-out and rewrite is the part where Riddlyn is somewhat of an insane-sounding plush collector (only really, she's not. Really). She single-handedly (flipperedly?) runs the Velveteen Underground, as she calls it-- her rescue mission, roaming the Afterworld for orphaned stuffed toys that had a kid know they were real for long enough for their sentience to stick around after all the humans went away. Only Riddlyn can hear them, but she's determined to gather them all together and make sure they know somebody else-- even if it's only her-- knows they're real, too.

What does this mean? Only that it's time for a CASTING CALL!

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That's right. Have you ever had a stuffed animal you knew was real? Want to give 'em a bit of well-deserved immortality? If so, go ahead and send us your best description of what your faithful stuffie looked/looks like (photos are a-okay, too!), and they just might show up in the Grey Bouquet universe.

EXAMPLE:
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Name: Pink Dinosaur
Likes long walks on the beach (though prefers to be carried), PB&J crusts, and giving rides to the very small. (Doesn't mind when the not-so-small give it a try, either.)
All limbs intact-- spent a long, loooong time in a basement.
Defender of smelly kids.
Superhero at heart.

[Note: it's just one example. Be as matter-of-fact or descriptive as you want.]

Send all stuffed star-search hopefuls on over to greybq AT gmail DOT com . (Remember to replace the @ and .! Thanks for helping us keep spambots off our tail.)

Now unfortunately, I can't promise any monetary reward with this. In fact, I'll be honest: this is pretty much a donation call for Velveteen Underground stand-ins. I can't track everyone down and pay them royalties if an old friend of yours gets picked to show up in the book or the comic pages.

But hey, if you were lucky enough to have somebody in your life that stuck with you thick and thin, overstuffed or raggedy, rubbed-off buttons or no, here's your chance to let this pre-apocalypse world know how awesome they are!

1 comment:

  1. Oh man. I wish I were home to take pictures of some of my old friends. Actually, I'd like to submit an entry on behalf of my little sister.

    Names: Beanbaggy and Ruffy (Named with all the creativity and subtlety a three-year-old girl can muster.)

    Descriptions: Beanbaggy is a black teddy bear with a tan muzzle, ears, and paw pads. There are beans in her paws and butt, making her really good at sitting upright because she's so bottom-heavy (but don't mention this to her, because she's sensitive about her weight).

    Ruffy is a snowleopard, forever lying in a regal sphynx-like pose. Her nose was chewed off by the family dog, but through extensive reconstructive surgery, she was given a new nose of black thread.

    History: Both toys were purchased around the same time, and became inseparable companions. Beanbaggy went through a gender identity crisis during her first year. Originally, Beanbaggy was a boy bear. Once it was determined that she was, in fact, a girl bear, she was much happier. Ruffy was her support system through this sometimes difficult time.

    Ruffy (so named because her owner was convinced she was a Dalmation) herself dealt with species identity issues and some serious image problems after "the accident", and was afraid that nobody would find her beautiful now that her face was a network of ugly scars and stitches. Beanbaggy continued to stick by her side, assuring Ruffy that she would always be beautiful.

    After the untimely death of their owner, they came to live with their owner's older sister, where they were mostly kept in a storage bin with many other stuffed animals, some of whom were equally well-loved.

    Beanbaggy is an ordained minister and has performed several marriages for other stuffed kind. Ruffy is an acclaimed fashion designer, creating visions of beauty from scraps of old t-shirts and whatever she can find in the craft bin.

    They enjoy playing hospital, cooking, and long road trips in the back seat.

    Here's the only photo I have of Beanbaggy. Ruffy refused to uncover her face for the camera.

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/psycocatgirl/Beanbaggy-1.jpg

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