The Item Apocalypse of June 2012

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Hey Jammers! I've made it a personal goal to post every single day on this blog for at least all of this week. You see, school is out for me for February break!!! I haven't the slightest clue why my school district has a February break, but still. No school! :D

I've just realized that I haven't talked about a daily item all year. I guess that would make today the first, because we have a pretty cool item in store today! So cool, in fact, only the cool cats can wear it.

HAHA, GET IT???? COOL CATS?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhfghjkl

Seriously though, this is one of the best Rare Item Mondays we've had in a while! It's got everything: lavender-ness, nonmember-ness, and it's cat-related, too. It's an all-in-one 10/10 rare item!

It's a pretty cool item, indeed. Not my absolute favorite Rare Item Monday, though, that would be the Rare Heart Locket:

It was released in the Shiveer Shoppe sometime during the cold months of 2012. 

The first time I learned what a Rare Item Monday was was on the day when the Rare Tie was released in Jam Mart Clothing:

Are you noticing something odd about the look of these two items? Something a little simpler, less 3D?

That's because they were released before... The Great Item Apocalypse of June 2012.

If you weren't around to remember this dreaded event, gather 'round. Let me tell you the story...

~

         It was an early summer night just like any other in Jamaa. Many kids were up past their bedtime playing around on computers, the sound of crickets outside mingling with the tinny sound of "AJ Melody" playing at minimum volume, as not to wake anybody up. The computer screen glared through animations of Jammers doing whatever they did on Animal Jam late at night, from trading to roleplaying to anything in between. I, for one, was decorating my den.

      I was about to place my Koi Pond item by the base of my castle den when a notification popped up. It said that an unexpected update was soon to commence. It said I would be kicked off AJ until the morning. Begrudgingly, I logged off and went to sleep, unknowing of the horrors that would await me– and everyone else –upon waking.

    We all woke up to chaos. Friends fought. Clans disbanded. Riots BROKE OUT IN THE STREETS OF JAMAA TOWNSHIP ALL BECAUSE...

THIS...

TURNED INTO THIS:

All clothing items went from charming pixel 2D to nauseating, gooey 3D. There was no clear reason behind this change, and no one was the least bit happy.

Five years have passed since that fateful day. You could say it's in the past, but some say that if you listen really closely to the wind on a hot Summer night, you can still hear the complaining...

~

And that, my friends, is the story of the Great Item Apocalypse of June 2012. Things really haven't been the same since, at least in terms of clothing item icons. The items themselves have almost always looked the same, so not everything was lost.

You know, I've been seeing a lot of Jammers being really nostalgic about Animal Jam, even saying sometimes that AJ is just getting worse and worse.

When I joined in 2012, people were nostalgic for 2010-2011 Animal Jam. In 2016-2017, people are now nostalgic for 2012-2013, even 2014 Animal Jam. 

The truth is that AJ isn't 100% perfect and has never been 100% perfect. It's always had problems, sometimes different problems at different times. In 2012-2013, the bullying problem was at an all-time high. If some elitist member was attacking a nonmember, no one bat an eye. If you didn't accept an unfair trade, the other person would insult you until you gave up a rare item. 

There was also some pretty cool stuff in 2012-2013. New features weren't released as fast so they were easier to keep up with, and when they were released, everyone celebrated! AJ blogs were way more popular than AJ YouTube videos, so there were way less "giveaways," or "mailtimes". And consequentially because you can't make a lot of money off of blogging, bloggers just wrote posts because it was fun. There was very little clickbait.

A lot of what people seem to miss from "ye olden days" of Jamaa is actually the art style. It was noticeably more earthy and natural back then, which is why I believe items from beta testing were popular. That aesthetic is what we really want.

But all these things don't have to remain inaccessible in the past. While the Jamaa community might not be as tight-knit as it used to, great friends can still be found. A lot of people are obsessed with trading, but you can surely find people who don't care about rares. 

What people really seem to miss about "old AJ" isn't just the year number. People miss concrete things, like item style, that can be brought back to some extent. Decorate your animal and den with your favorite old items, even if they aren't that rare anymore. Maybe use those suggestion boxes to ask for your favorite discontinued items and parties to be brought back. 

Just surround yourself with the stuff that makes you happy. If the AJ community on social media is annoying you, then don't go on social media for a while. Or in general, if you want. It'll make you a lot happier.

Okay, that was a bit of a rant... but I hope it was a positive one. o_o

See you in Jamaa, guys! I promise another post tomorrow!