Posted by btetta.

We now have DB2021 merch available for our fans in the EU and UK!!!

Desert Bus for Hope will be offering its 2021 Merch Collection for sale to customers exclusively in the UK and EU, starting on May 2nd 2022 at 15:00 UTC, at store.desertbus.org

And now, a word from our Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why is the Desert Bus for Hope 2021 Merch Collection being offered again?

A: During DBfH 2021, shipping to the UK and EU was disabled for all products on the LoadingReadyRun Store, which includes merch for Desert Bus for Hope. So UK and EU customers could not purchase anything from the store due to the changes in the VAT collection laws. We have, however, found a solution for our fans in the UK and EU.

Because of the VAT laws in UK and EU countries, retailers normally have to collect and remit VAT at point-of-purchase (usually along with customs fees, duties, and other fees involved in shipping). However, a retailer can instead choose to ship a product without collecting VAT (and duties, etc.) and the country’s customs agency will hold the package, assess the taxes/fees, and collect them directly from the customer before releasing the package. This will likely also include a holding fee from the post office for managing the duty. This process is called shipping “Delivery Duty Unpaid” and we will be shipping all packages to the UK and EU as DDU.

Q: I live in the UK or EU. How much will I be paying for shipping/taxes/duties/customs fees/etc.?

A: All packages are shipped to the UK and EU Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU), so we do not have any estimates on what you will be paying. Unfortunately, we’re not able to calculate that for you.

Q: Why is the Desert Bus Merch collection open ONLY to UK and EU customers?

A: We held a percentage of merch items back from the initial sale, so that UK and EU fans would have a chance to purchase merch at a later date. Since they weren’t able to purchase anything during the run itself, it’s only fair to give them their own Exclusive Merch Window.

Q: If you have merch left over, what will happen to it?

A: We like to sell as much merch as possible, so we will make it available at a later date TBD to all customers worldwide (or at least the ones our fulfillment company can legally ship to).

Q: What merch does this include?

A: This includes the pin, poster, playmat, DBloon, and water bottle offered during the 2021 run, plus the USS Tucson playmat and poster. This also includes other miscellaneous Desert Bus merchandise from previous years that we still have in stock.

Q: Does this include the 2021 T-shirts?

A: Unfortunately, no. The T-shirts are produced and sold independently by Fangamer and are not offered through the LoadingReadyRun Store.

Q: Can I bundle this up with other LoadingReadyRun merchandise?

A: It’s all from the same store, so yes, you can. Bundle away!

Q: How long will this merch be on sale for?

A: That’s a very good question, and one I (Andrew) really should have asked Beej before posting this in the middle of the night. I can now confirm that sales will open for one week!

Thank you all for your patience while we got this figured out!! We’re so glad we can offer our UK and EU fans the merch they have been craving for so long!!

We’ve sang, we’ve danced, we went to a bunny museum, and we found out who, indeed, was that Animorphs. But all good things must come to an end. And in this case, the good thing is Zeta. Well, unless donations get real, real wild. So let’s just assume that this is the last Zeta. And here’s what happened.

ZETA BEGINS!!!

Moon’s Haunted.

We learned a little about Beej and Heather’s wedding

The final entry in the Kindness War, prior to the Omega cease fire:

If Loading Ready Run did a heist, would they do it like this, or like this?

Zeta is still working on being Drift Compatible, but we’re getting there. …On the last shift.

Beej and Mike set up a little surprise…

And that’s all they wrote.

Zeta is a weird and wonderful shift. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Have a wonderful rest of the run, throw up a ‘Z’ (left hand over right!), and hang out with us for the rest of Omega!!!!!

During the final Night Watch of 2021, we all – together, chat and crew and everyone who’s come along for any part of this wild ride – we ALL reached the amazing milestone of $8 MILLION raised over the lifetime of Desert Bus for Hope!

Opening Credits

Special thanks to dostrow_ whose $20,000 winning bid on the pair of Mass Effect guns got our evening off to a high octane start, and heronblademaster who donated $4,626 to cross the final threshold to this incredible milestone.

Thanks to everyone’s combined efforts and support, we have achieved what some thought impossible. Yes, that’s right. The Q judged us ferior.

The crew of the USS Tucson very much enjoyed getting visits from special guests, like Ensign Matt from the runabout Duck Creek.

Admittedly, we got a little frightened when Matt threatened to arrest us for illegal weapons sales. Us? The crew of the USS Tucson? Why, we are perfect angels who would never engage in illegal weapons sales!

And we DEFINITELY wouldn’t do it again tomorrow.

…Moving on. We also got a power Serge via the Telepresence Robot. Serge was an expert at piloting the robot.

Plus, Ensign Ben FINALLY found his way back to the USS Tucson today, which meant that Ben and Serge were able to reunite!

All in all, a truly heartwarming night! We were in such a good mood that we didn’t even blow up Zeta today. After a full week of destructive loops, we realized that together, we could make this the best timeline!

If you want to commemorate the antics of the USS Tucson and its crew, you can buy the USS Tucson playmat or poster! Proceeds go to Child’s Play.

Keep it secret, keep it safe – whatever “it” is for you, you can be sure it will be well guarded in this Dwarven Coffer.

Crafted from bonded stone and set with intricately-detailed Khuzdul wards on cold-cast bronze plates, this might coffer is fit for the safekeeping of your most precious treasures. The interior space measures 9cm deep x 17cm wide x 7cm tall to let you store SO many shinies.

Donate $6.51 or multiples thereof before 11:00pm PT for a chance to win this literal treasure box! Plus, you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win a Desert Bus T-shirt from Night Watch tonight at 11:45pm PT!

We’re coming down to the wire and this is your last chance to snag a (physical) item from the silent auctions at Desert Bus for Hope. Let’s take a look at this dragon’s hoard of precious gems!

Fairytale Dragon

Read any good books lately? This dragon has. He’s made up of 24,000+ stitches, which is probably just half as many books as he owns, and comes on an 8×10″ cloth ready for framing. Just make sure you handle with care: he really hates getting dog-eared.

Current Bid: $4,321.98

Shift Banner Gem Bottles

Which shift is your favorite? Aw, we can’t pick – they’re all gems! Specifically these gems which come in cute little glass bottles (one for each shift) that you can display or even wear as jewelry:

Dawnguard – Citrine, red agate, howlite and goldstone
Alpha Flight – Red coral, howlite and garnet
Night Watch – Blue goldstone, moonstone, neon apatite and turquoise
Zeta – Iolite, moonstone and amethyst

Current Bid: $1,111.10

This board game is guaranteed to get your motor running, unless you’re really, really bad at playing it because that’s literally the whole game. Steampunk Rally Fusion lets you build and boost your very own racing machine!

This deluxe edition not only gives you everything you need to play the game: it also gives you everything you need to impress your friends at game night. It has a booster pack with additional racers and machine parts along with a collection of accessories such as metal cogs that are, trust us, very gratifying to hold. Roxley decided that wasn’t enough, so they also threw in a pack of Iron Spades playing cards and a comfy purple jersey with their logo. Your race car deserves spoilers and so do you.

Donate $6.51 or multiples thereof before 8:45pm PT for a chance to win this deluxe set. Plus! Everyone who participates in ANY of our Night Watch giveaways tonight will also be automatically entered for a chance to win the 2021 Desert Bus T-shirt. Two for one! Go get it!

We’d like to take a moment to thank one of our organizational sponsors, Loading Ready Run!

The Venn Diagram of Loading Ready Run and Desert Bus for Hope is very nearly a circle, so if you enjoy the hijinks we’ve gotten up to this week, you should check out Loading Ready Run! It’s a comic variety show with lots of gaming content for you to enjoy – and usually it doesn’t feature the world’s most boring video game, but it does feature plenty of gags and good people. Check it out and make sure to say hi to all the familiar faces!

No matter how many times you restart Mass Effect, you will always end up romancing this set of guns. Just look at them: they’re so emotive, compassionate, and satisfying to go BLAM BLAM with while swinging them around your living room.

This auction begins NOW so come by the livestream to join in!

UPDATE (7:13pm PT): Going, going, gone to dostrow_ for a new record-setting $20k! With these guns you can save the universe just like you’ve already saved the day for countless sick children. Thanks also to our generous donor Sam Skunkworks who crafted these replicas!

This set of 1:1 scale replicas accurately recreate the look of the M8 Avenger and M77 Paladin weapons from the Mass Effect trilogy. They could be perfect as part of a cosplay, or as a display piece. The largest measures 79cm x 31cm x 8cm and the smaller one is 30cm x 18cm x 4cm. Both are 3D printed in a mix of PLA plastic and photopolymer resin (over 300 hours total printing time). Both items include functioning LEDs to imitate the look of these weapons in the game. They are shipped in a hardened rifle case decorated with N7 livery, so it should reach you safely and without being intercepted by the Reapers!

Six great titans of Magic’s past have come to Kaldheim with stunning new art treatments – and we snagged ’em for Desert Bus so we could give them to you!

Kaldheim Part 1 features Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath, Frost Titan, and Primeval Titan, while Part 2 features Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger, Grave Titan, and Inferno Titan. All six feature new art in the Kaldheim showcase style. (Non-foil) And what about Sun Titan, you ask? We don’t invite him anymore. He knows what he did.

Donate $6.51 or multiples thereof before 7:30pm PT for a chance to win!

For one golden, glorious moment, Team Order achieved their ultimate limit break: seven sevens, or $7,777,777 earned across Desert Bus history. But for the rest of the evening on Night Watch, Chaos reigned.

Opening Credits

Ambassador “Andrew” Rae Jepsen seemed strangely perturbed to find out that he’s not the only ambassador aboard. Apparently nobody told him that the mission of the USS Tucson is to boldly shuttle ambassadors across a barren stretch of space! But many ambassadors and otherworldly beings joined us tonight.

For starters, our perpetually lost Ensign Ben has apparently morphed into a being called ZorBen and he’s recruiting teenagers Night Watch to help the children.

We got a return visit from Ambassador Joe, who was kind enough to help drive the bus for a bit.

Then a being calling himself Skeletor invaded our bridge BUT FORGOT TO TURN ON HIS MIC.

Even Harry the Creepy Doll, who has always been here silently watching, took inspiration from all these visitors to throw an impromptu dance party. It was… viscerally disturbing.

Literally: viscerally disturbing. Harry’s guts started to spill out.

Naturally, we attempted to report all these strange visitations to Starfleet Command. Our call went straight to an automated answering machine apparently called What the Dub, but we waded through multiple sci fi clips with great patience. When we finally got a real person on the line, they told us “Sir, this is a Wendy’s.” No wonder Command hasn’t been answering our hails!

So we guess we’ll just go back to watching TikToks and eating from dump trucks.

To Be Continued…