GWJ Secret Stan 2020: Time to Yeet This Holiday!

I will happily give my email today for a hamburger on Tuesday.

gorilla wrote:

I concur with the above:

  • Whatever makes your life easier, I support.
  • Requiring an email and using it as the primary point of contact seems like a good idea. We already share a shipping address so including an email doesn't feel invasive. I don't always get to the GWJ site on a daily basis, so having things come directly to my email Inbox actually makes things easier (for you and for me).
  • Golden Icon or non-Coffee Grinder required for entry.

Sorry you're dealing with the extra hassle. We are all SO grateful for the effort you put into adding so much fun to the season!

Gorilla has stated it so well I fully support any changes you want to make.

Definitely agree. This is a Herculean task you take on every year, and if instituting those changes prevents you from becoming Scrooge then I am all for it. Email's fine, I would probably see it quicker, though i do get notified in email when I have a private message here. I agree on only allowing coffee grinders who have the gold icon. It may alienate some people, but having 2 coffee grinders in one year ghost like that, makes me think they were just cruising for free stuff and wouldn't have contributed anyways.

I agree with email. Not everyone checks the site daily, and the email notification you have a PM doesn't always show up. It occasionally heads to spam.

I also agree with no coffee-grinders. Or, and I don't know how difficult it would be, much like you have "can you ship internationally", add a "can you be matched with a coffee grinder"?

The email piece makes a lot of sense. We already need to trust you with addresses and apparently so despite the arrival of scorpions. Email is safer.

The no coffee grinder bar seems reasonable as well. You could always start promoting it a bit early like was done this year, help them understand engaging with the site will also help us get to know them well enough to allow better gift giving. Worst case they participate the next year.

You are doing this out of the kindness of your heart but it’s still the participants responsibility to follow through. Frankly it’s especially disappointing to hear that this year when a major theme was ‘2020 sucked, help bring a little joy’.

Sorry this has weighed heavy on you and hope you know how much all of us appreciate what you do.

Dear stantee, I sent your gifts at the beginning of the week - holding out a tiny bit of hope that they will reach you before Christmas. It seems doubtful though, given the long journey, heavy shipping traffic, and inevitable murderbutt-related customs delays.

trichy wrote:
sometimesdee wrote:
trichy wrote:
Rallick wrote:

I'd be happy to give you my email address. And my firstborn. All you have to do is ask!

I already have a legal claim to your first born. You HAVE to read that fine print on the Google forms, people.

When are you going to come get him? Please come get him.

WizKid wrote:

I’m fine with those changes.

trichy wrote:
Rallick wrote:

I'd be happy to give you my email address. And my firstborn. All you have to do is ask!

I already have a legal claim to your first born. You HAVE to read that fine print on the Google forms, people.

When can you come pick him up, or we can ship him off to you if that’s easier.

... I may have miscalculated.

You HAVE to read that fine print on the Google forms, Trichy, I mean honestly.
Email is more than fine, and I'm so sorry you had to deal with all the trouble. Thank you for all your hard work.

Yep, email works for me. Although i seem to get the PM alert emails ok anyway and try to respond as quickly as I can regardless.

Also very much pro having to be higher than coffee grinder.

**

Minotaar - I got word that the other couple of things that should be heading your way...SHOULD now be heading your way, but i have no real way of tracking them as it was a bit expensive for me at the time. But hopefully there wont be any issues since it's all in-country! *crosses fingers* .

Package away! Missing one piece bit that will come along later.

pyxistyx wrote:

Minotaar - I got word that the other couple of things that should be heading your way...SHOULD now be heading your way, but i have no real way of tracking them as it was a bit expensive for me at the time. But hopefully there wont be any issues since it's all in-country! *crosses fingers* .

SO YOU DID THIS
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/7vWjSVc.jpg)

This looks so COOL

Did...you have a hand in this at all? I feel like that's a distinct possibility. And I'd be intensely curious to know which story was yours......

yes! one arrived! (a smaller one should also be appearing if it hasn't already)

No i didn't work on that one, but it's one of the books that pushed me into working on my own stuff (and collaborative stuff, most of which is still in the works but should be out early? next year? maybe?) for the DMs Guild.

There's four volumes of those adventures and they're all great!
I've run the little mermaid in waterdeep adventure several times now as a "beginners guide to D&D adventure" and it works perfect.

Today, I was finally able to convince myself that the thing I've been working on is finished. Now it's boxed in a most horrendous fashion and labeled, so there's no turning back. USPS picks it up tomorrow!

The long-awaited reveal:
Best Day Ever, indeed!

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/RBrkVV9/image4.jpg)
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IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/TgHyrBz/image1.jpg)
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To my Stanta,

A package has arrived, thank you in advance! I'm a little late in posting, but I've had a very busy week, so I do apologize if you worried. I haven't opened it yet, but will definitely post pics when I do. I'm excite.

To my Stantee,

I'm still waiting for one little add-on before shipping to a Nor'easterly location. It has taken me a little longer to get everything together this year and I don't think this package will have a snowball's chance in hell of getting there before Christmas, so, 2020 apologies!

To Trichy,

I agree with the suggested requirements of email addresses as well as gold icon or non-coffee grinder status.

I also want to volunteer to help if there is anything that can be delegated. I'm not sure what part of this can be delegated, but I would happily volunteer to be on standby when something weird happens. I've said before, and I've seen others say, this is one of my favorite Christmas traditions, so anything I can do to help keep it going is something I want to do. It feels kind of like helping hang the ornaments! I'll even put lights on the roof if needed.

*Had to edit post for a couple of egregious errors. There may still be minor ones.

That plague mask is awesome. I may have missed an earlier post, or forgotten, who was your Stanta?

I think we all know this, but Minotaar is just an all around great person. First, he sent me this lovely NieR: Automata book, which is giving me all the feels:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/I9YisoD.jpg)

I open to a random page, and see

DO YOU THINK GAMES ARE SILLY LITTLE TINGS?
Yes No

or

And being alive is pretty much a constant stream of embarrassment.

Not only that, Minotaar donated to four organizations on my behalf: Human Rights Project, The Bail Project, The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, and Trans Lifeline.

Finally, Minotaar offered to paint a miniature for me, which is a skill I greatly admire. I look forward to taking him up on that offer in 2021.

Thanks again Minotaar!

A second package arrived of dubious origins. I will open it and post the results. But first, I will tie a small rodent in for the murder butt to keep herself and her baby murder butts happy.

Edit: Kid went to bed, so I yeeted.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/dUUlwvf.jpg)

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Thank you Prederick, you were more than generous. And thank you to my first Stanta, you both have made this a happier Christmas than I expected from 2020.

I think this is more fun than opening my own presents! The creativity is so much fun!

mortalgroove wrote:

The long-awaited reveal:
Best Day Ever, indeed!

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/RBrkVV9/image4.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/cy7pVm9/image3.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/TgHyrBz/image1.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/BsmN7P2/image0.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/0tPQRd3/image2.jpg)

Excellent. Glad you liked it. It was fun to make.

Many thanks, Rainsmercy! I have yet to open the Anatomy of a Metahuman book, but I will definitely be digging into it when we drive down to Houston, next week. Iron Fist is my boy, thanks for the decal! Cool Deathstroke buttons and Taskmaster pin along with the Red Guardian sticker. Happy Holidays, everyone!

20201219-082105-2

cartoonin wrote:

Many thanks, Rainsmercy! I have yet to open the Anatomy of a Metahuman book, but I will definitely be digging into it when we drive down to Houston, next week. Iron Fist is my boy, thanks for the decal! Cool Deathstroke buttons and Taskmaster pin along with the Red Guardian sticker. Happy Holidays, everyone!

20201219-082105-2

Awesome, glad you liked them! Was trying to get you something from all your favorite characters, missed out on Juggernaut as both ideas I came up with(including something from my personal comic collection) fell through. The Deathstroke "buttons" are fridge magnets with one having a bottle opener on the back. Both used actual comics for the images. The Anatomy book was just something I found when I was looking for an art book, and it looked amazing!

Paleocon wrote:

Excellent. Glad you liked it. It was fun to make.

Wait, Paleocon. You MADE that mask??

gorilla wrote:

I concur with the above:

  • Whatever makes your life easier, I support.
  • Requiring an email and using it as the primary point of contact seems like a good idea. We already share a shipping address so including an email doesn't feel invasive. I don't always get to the GWJ site on a daily basis, so having things come directly to my email Inbox actually makes things easier (for you and for me).
  • Golden Icon or non-Coffee Grinder required for entry.

Sorry you're dealing with the extra hassle. We are all SO grateful for the effort you put into adding so much fun to the season!

+1

+1 to helper elves

mortalgroove wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Excellent. Glad you liked it. It was fun to make.

Wait, Paleocon. You MADE that mask??

Yup. Cut out the pattern, punched the holes, and sewed it up all on my own. Took about 6 hours total.

Paleocon wrote:
mortalgroove wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Excellent. Glad you liked it. It was fun to make.

Wait, Paleocon. You MADE that mask??

Yup. Cut out the pattern, punched the holes, and sewed it up all on my own. Took about 6 hours total.

Paleocon, I am humbled and amazed.

This is my first year participating and now you folks are stuck with me for life.

So good.

Dear Stanta Badferret,

Sorry it took so long for us to get around to opening your gifts - the opening of the Stanta gifts has become an much anticipated part of the season around here, and it was several days before we had the opportunity to do it justice. But once we got to it, it was a joyous occasion.

As we learned from SallyNasty, must read the card first (which contained a cute sticker, postcard, and Xbox credit to boot!)
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/euh5YG9.jpg)

It was a group effort to open the box:
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/wRT9cBh.jpg)

Which contained...the first three books of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series! (I'm going to have to get reading quick if I'm going to beat my bookworm of an oldest kid to them!)
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/opa5JvB.jpg)

Only the tube remained...but wow, this one requires animation to get the full effect:

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/4YOWcnQAyzM4WBI7lm/giphy.gif)

If it's not clear amidst the chaos, it contained a pair of large dry erase Melee Mats for dungeon mapping! We've already put them to good use (featuring my shoddy reproduction of one of Pyxistyx's lovely maps).
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/CJDozlt.jpg)

Your gifts were a huge hit, thank you so much!!!

oh hey i recognise that viciously clever balancing scales puzzle

benign1, I'm so glad your kids were excited for the maps! I wanted to support your family's D&D gameplay but didn't want to roll the dice on a manual or campaign that you might already have. I'm also pleased that your oldest is interested in the Stormlight Archives and as I mentioned in the note, the world building contained within might give the DM of the house a few ideas.

Benign, I'd be curious as to whether you've made them face a purple worm yet.

mortalgroove wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
mortalgroove wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Excellent. Glad you liked it. It was fun to make.

Wait, Paleocon. You MADE that mask??

Yup. Cut out the pattern, punched the holes, and sewed it up all on my own. Took about 6 hours total.

Paleocon, I am humbled and amazed.

This is my first year participating and now you folks are stuck with me for life.

So good.

That was why I was insisting on longer lead times this year. I and a couple other folks were committed to making gifts during Covid year.