others have already covered big points like misogyny and older toys not even being safe for kids because of chemicals/lead paint/etc, and keeping plastic out of landfills, so i'll just add:

1. big difference between a grown man suddenly developing an interest in a little girls' series/toy and then making it all about them (you all know very well what i'm talking about), which only started happening around 2011, and the vast majority of collectors before that, who were mainly women who simply held onto their own childhood belongings and simply sustained an interest their whole lives, and often went on to share it with their young relatives.

2. my dad always taught me the value of "cheap entertainment". basically, the world can be positively miserable a good portion of the time, and anything that brings a little sunshine into your day is worth the investment, especially when you get a good deal. take a new pony. that's $5 usd. even if the time i spend cleaning it up, styling its hair, arranging her nicely on a shelf, and snapping a few pics for social media only adds up to an hour, that was still less than minimum wage, to pay myself in happiness. same goes for movies, $10 or so is a good deal for 2-3 hours of entertainment, or a videogame being $80 for 100+ hours of fun and joy? thats an amazing deal. materialism isn't good for us either, but there is value to be found in these things when we pay ourselves first, including in matters of happiness.

people have also been telling me i'm "too old" and "weird" for collecting ponies since i was (checks notes) nine years old. i couldn't bring myself to care then, so i certainly don't care now at the ripe age of 28 

edit: also, if they're so pressed about "taking away from the kids boohoo", maybe they should pony up (lol) and donate some toys to kids in need? these are mass produced items babe

And that's just looking at it from a personal viewpoint. We NEED things to last, be collected & collectable, be able to be passed down to the next generation, to be easily fixable, for the simple reason the longer a toy is being loved, the more we get out of it AND the less likely it ends up being trashed. And the LAST thing the environment needs is stuff being trashed!!!

this reminds me of the similar argument for clothes tbh. like, natural materials are great and renewable, but a lot of them just don't last very well, so it's about finding a balance with synthetic fibres which, yes, they're overglorified plastic, but you only have to create the emissions of making them once, and they very well may last several decades/generations. i think it's the same for toys. plastic isn't as terrible and evil as people say if they're being made to last (ie look how well g2s are still doing!), but they're just not anymore 

my specialest boy!!! one of my biggest childhood grails lol. so proud to have him now

especially now with the celestials being released so it's not just necessarily just reproduction/rereleases anymore. are they still true g1s, like should start referring to 2023 as "year 11"? are they technically g4-5s because of the years of release? or are we just going to have a totally separate abbreviation like BF? i'm curious to hear some thoughts!

Quote from: SunbeamV on September 04, 2023, 08:03:44 PM

happy to confirm two of my celestials arrived today! i live basically one town over from a major amazon facility so to canadian folks who are a bit further out: don't worry they're on their way <3

Spoiler

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polaris is even prettier irl! she almost looked grey once i moved her to my shelves
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my nova has a very zebra-esque pattern that i'm super happy with
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i decided to display their boxes a couple shelves down lol
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woah, theyre beautiful! where did you get the g5 set with queen haven? i havent seen it in stores yet anywhere!

i believe it's a toys r us exclusive? my city doesn't have a physical location anymore so i had to order online, but it's this one here: https://www.toysrus.ca/en/My-Little-Pony-Toys--Make-Your-Mark-Small-Dolls-Collection--5-Pony-Dolls---R-Exclusive/04475958.html

have had hayloft ii by mother mother stuck in my head all day so gonna go listen to it before bed lol

i'm playing exalted (another ttrpg like d&d) with some friends later, but i'm heading over early to make a blackberry pie for everyone! 🖤

i also kinda feel like painting my nails before then