New Basic Dolls

1 hour ago, Rneiro said:

told me about Volks Inc and how they will review a customer’s purchase history and will ban them from purchasing if they’ve determined they worked with a competitor or criticized their actions or products online.

The only bans we know of Volks issuing are bans associated with cheating in lotteries, failing to follow through with payment on wins, or being suspected of trying to cheat customer service. I’ve never heard of someone getting banned and not being aware of why they were banned, and if Volks were doing behind the scenes reviews of accounts and banning people without warning I’d expect people to be poping up saying they got banned and don’t know why. Even bans over lotteries are usually just bans from special events and not closure of the account. 
 

1 hour ago, Rneiro said:

She wasn’t personally banned from Volks Inc but heard stories of it from somebody else.

I’d be cautious about giving a lot of weight to hearsay. It’s certainly possible for it to be accurate, but you are trusting someone who in turn is trusting someone else and you have no way of knowing if that other person is being upfront about the whole story, or if they are just repeating a rumor.

 

1 hour ago, Rneiro said:

It’s a part of Japanese culture to keep quiet and not openly criticize a business or another party’s decisions or actions.

I would totally expect Japanese to refuse service to rude people as a matter of cultural principles. I’m always as polite as I can be when contacting Volks customer service, and I’ve had zero issues. 

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

The only bans we know of Volks issuing are bans associated with cheating in lotteries, failing to follow through with payment on wins, or being suspected of trying to cheat customer service. I’ve never heard of someone getting banned and not being aware of why they were banned, and if Volks were doing behind the scenes reviews of accounts and banning people without warning I’d expect people to be poping up saying they got banned and don’t know why. Even bans over lotteries are usually just bans from special events and not closure of the account. 
 

I’d be cautious about giving a lot of weight to hearsay. It’s certainly possible for it to be accurate, but you are trusting someone who in turn is trusting someone else and you have no way of knowing if that other person is being upfront about the whole story, or if they are just repeating a rumor.

 

I would totally expect Japanese to refuse service to rude people as a matter of cultural principles. I’m always as polite as I can be when contacting Volks customer service, and I’ve had zero issues. 

It works differently for people and businesses based in Japan compared to customers based in the US or anywhere else outside of Japan. The people aren’t rude or impolite, they are opinionated and get banned for it. I didn’t say they would be banned randomly for no reason.

This would apply to customers who have an account and personal information inputted. They’d more likely to have success in purchasing in-store without an account.

On this forum, I don’t see Japanese-based members in specific talking about the true faces behind the doll companies such as Volks or Culture Japan. All I’m saying is of course we wouldn’t hear about it if they did.

Maybe I’m not hanging out on the right part of this forum to see posts about Japanese BJD companies from Japan-based members, but most of these posts seem to be by members NOT based in Japan and likely visited on vacation or not at all (like me).

But still, I would like both a SmD boy and a Volks DDB (I really like DCH-26). Why are Volks DDBs so exclusive? Why can’t they be purchased online like the flesh and semi-white female base bodies? Oh well, that’s for the Volks section..

What if SmD had BLUE boys?? Blue boys would be more expensive than Cocoa, Tea and Cinnamon boys. The same applies to SmD girls too.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Rneiro

1 hour ago, Rneiro said:

It works differently for people and businesses based in Japan compared to customers based in the US or anywhere else outside of Japan. The people aren’t rude or impolite, they are opinionated and get banned for it. I didn’t say they would be banned randomly for no reason.

I didn’t say for no reason, I said without warning or notification. In a scenario where a company is monitoring social media and issuing bans based on comments, a person wouldn’t know they were banned until they tried to login to their account. It’s a scenario closer to SmartDoll where someone posts on Facebook, and a month later discovers that every SmartDoll order they try to place is rejected. They don’t get a form letter ban hammering them. 

I have heard of people having their accounts closed at Volks, but it’s always been customer service related and directly tied to their interactions with Volks staff. 

I think a few people here are under the misconception that DC is only selling boy parts through randomized chaos bundles. Which he's not - they're a separate option in the chaos store like the random heads or busts. The quality of the product received may be in question, but you (assuming you're pre-approved) can order a cinnamon boy shell or a milk boy frame without having to risk getting other random things you don't want.

It's still an annoying way to do things, but it's not totally gatcha-based. 

1 hour ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

I think a few people here are under the misconception that DC is only selling boy parts through randomized chaos bundles. Which he's not

Thanks for the clarification, that is a bit less harsh. I would still stand by my statement that he’s not running a regular retail operation at this point, and I think a lot of our criticisms of SmartDoll are based on the assumption that he is. What I was getting at is we may be looking at things from the wrong angle. 

This is a bit of a tangent, but the last few years have ushered in the age of Social Media Influencers, and the “gig economy.” Those businesses have their own model that isn’t the same as a retail store, or the traditional service industry. We’re often aghast at the things Danny does, but if you look at him as an Influencer with a merchandise line then the things he does seem pretty typical. 

I’m sorry but if you spend any amount of time on jp twitter, the ‘jp customers never complain and are polite to companies’ myth would dissolve instantly. Just look at a bunch of the QRTs almost every time Volks announce a new DD. Japanese netizens, like all netizens, are entirely capable of salt and unless they’re all too proud to admit it, they’re not being banned for it. I really don’t think you should be throwing around things like that when your only ‘source’ is ‘I heard it from someone who heard it from someone else’.

Not to mention that if insulting Volks or complaining got you banned, half this forum would be banned as it is. If Danny was just ‘operating like a normal Japanese company’ and his actions were the norm, then he wouldn’t be constantly giving his song and dance about how groundbreaking and different he is for not indulging ‘entitled’ people, unlike companies that put up with it.

There is definitely a degree of friction with Volks and competitors. I am highly suspect that the reason Ronshuka doesn’t table at Dolpa (while she does table at IDoll and Doll Show) is due to her faceup design work with Obitsu (and Smartdoll in the past). But unless she has to rely on people to buy all the blank DD heads she paints, I doubt that she’s banned. While I think it’s extreme of Volks (if it really is why she doesn’t go to Dolpa as opposed to personal choice), I don’t think it’s anywhere near what you’re suggesting.

Edit: I really don’t wanna sound rude, but there -are- a handful of people on this forum who live in or have lived in Japan and been involved with the doll communities there (hello) so some of what we say IS personal experience. It’s not my intention to sugarcoat every decision Volks makes but misconceptions are aggravating.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Monty

It took me a while to re-find it, but there is the one statement I remembered on volks banning competitors.  It’s in regards to admission to tenshi no sato.

• * Neither people from different BJD manufacturer companies nor people who are engaged in the same business are not allowed to enter into Tenshi-no-Sato Kachu-an.

Personally, when I saw it I assumed it was targeted primarily at larger bjd companies, particularly those who happily steal IP, though it is written to apply to everyone.   Can’t find similar statements elsewhere - but if they do apply this everywhere, agree they’d likely at least be giving you notice about why you can’t buy so there’s that.  (And at least I can see the logic of banning the competition, though feels harsh for smaller creators)
 

https://dollfie.volks.co.jp/shop/tenshinosato/about_en/

Edited August 20, 2021 by abs2891

I should have mentioned Sato, which i think is the most extreme case. I was mainly thinking of online purchasing. I also think it’s harsh (and pretty ridiculous, considering that it’s not as though Sato gives everyone else exclusive access to manufacturing secrets) and wonder at what point they draw the line there in regards to artist dolls etc (especially because compared to however many years ago they made that rule, there are so many small one person companies. Is there a MOQ??) let alone how it is even enforced. 

But not being allowed into Sato isn’t the same as not being able to purchase anything from them period. The suggestion that we don’t hear about Volks bans was implying it’s because people don’t speak up or do so in other spaces, when the reality is that it simply doesn’t happen on even a fraction of the scale it does with Smartdoll. I have yet to see a Volks fan posting about how stressed out and scared they are about potentially getting banned in any language whereas I have literally lost count of how many times I see smartdoll fans say the same thing. To equate them makes no sense.

4 hours ago, Monty said:

I’m sorry but if you spend any amount of time on jp twitter, the ‘jp customers never complain and are polite to companies’ myth would dissolve instantly. Just look at a bunch of the QRTs almost every time Volks announce a new DD. Japanese netizens, like all netizens, are entirely capable of salt and unless they’re all too proud to admit it, they’re not being banned for it. I really don’t think you should be throwing around things like that when your only ‘source’ is ‘I heard it from someone who heard it from someone else’.

Not to mention that if insulting Volks or complaining got you banned, half this forum would be banned as it is. If Danny was just ‘operating like a normal Japanese company’ and his actions were the norm, then he wouldn’t be constantly giving his song and dance about how groundbreaking and different he is for not indulging ‘entitled’ people, unlike companies that put up with it.

There is definitely a degree of friction with Volks and competitors. I am highly suspect that the reason Ronshuka doesn’t table at Dolpa (while she does table at IDoll and Doll Show) is due to her faceup design work with Obitsu (and Smartdoll in the past). But unless she has to rely on people to buy all the blank DD heads she paints, I doubt that she’s banned. While I think it’s extreme of Volks (if it really is why she doesn’t go to Dolpa as opposed to personal choice), I don’t think it’s anywhere near what you’re suggesting.

Edit: I really don’t wanna sound rude, but there -are- a handful of people on this forum who live in or have lived in Japan and been involved with the doll communities there (hello) so some of what we say IS personal experience. It’s not my intention to sugarcoat every decision Volks makes but misconceptions are aggravating.

First of all, I am not throwing around misconceptions. It’s called gossip, not libel or slander. It isn’t illegal, wrong, nor is it a sin to mention something I heard from another person on a forum.

Second of all, I didn’t claim that anyone who has worked with or owns products from competing companies would be banned only for that.

Wouldn’t Ronshuka Couture/Nanami Junko be attracting people to buy DD and Obitsu heads to try their hand at designing on? It’s also mentioned on DDH product pages that customers can buy DD heads to design faceups on and sell, but not reproduce.

Also, we wouldn’t be banned by Volks, Obitsu or any other Japanese company for JUST having opinions about their products.

I should go to bed before I rile myself up unnecessarily.. 

Popping in this section again, against my better judgement ...

14 minutes ago, Rneiro said:

It’s called gossip, not libel or slander. It isn’t illegal, wrong, nor is it a sin to mention something I heard from another person on a forum.

Well, as you mentioned yourself, its gossip. Which again as you said is not wrong by itself. What is "wrong" is not making an effort to affirm that it is gossip.

its been brought up a few times in the various threads surrounding the shinenigans involved, that we want proof, not hearsay -- and in your case, its already on its third stage of the internet-telephone rumour game - So people arent trying to be rude at you, just stating that we cant believe it as such without getting to the confirmed source.

5 hours ago, Monty said:

...posting about how stressed out and scared they are about potentially getting banned in any language whereas I have literally lost count of how many times I see smartdoll fans say the same thing. To equate them makes no sense.

That's me every day of my life now 🤣 a constant ball of stress!

This thread is starting to feel like the other thread. Apart from stuff about the chaos boy packs, is banning speculation better off there?

It's a bit harsh that the Smart Doll boys are behind the chaos entry barrier. Especially because if there are only x number of heads, why not bundle those as sets with the shells and frames open for anyone to buy, and put any remaining body frame sets and shell sets in chaos for anyone who wants to use a different head sculpt and so on. (Because we all have seen how cute some of the girl sculpts look when gender flipped!)

Yeah this discussion should be moved (people just sometimes get cranky when i point that out + I'm not a mod so i don't speak up sometimes).

(*shakes cane* This is a news thread! You damn speculating kids get off my lawn! There's some perfectly nice lawns in the general section to complain about DC's business practices in depth on!)

On 8/19/2021 at 7:53 AM, Bellatrix said:

Aaand I missed on Dimension.

Sold out in 3 hours

Psst! Dimension is back in stock! 🤩 Go get her!

8 hours ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

Yeah this discussion should be moved (people just sometimes get cranky when i point that out + I'm not a mod so i don't speak up sometimes).

Pointing out that a discussion is going off topic isn’t an issue.

The various news threads on the forum do tend to spawn discussions, and I don’t think it’s gone too far off the rails. I think one issue with the doll announcements in this thread is that they come along with a lot of saltiness from the announcer; like the one doll whose name was inspired by what to do when you’re backstabbed. I really had to bite my tongue on that one. I get wanting to keep this thread clean for the product fans though, but I also tend to think that positive / negative reaction to product announcements is perfectly reasonable as a reply.

 

11 hours ago, Rneiro said:

First of all, I am not throwing around misconceptions. It’s called gossip, not libel or slander. It isn’t illegal, wrong, nor is it a sin to mention something I heard from another person on a forum.

 

I wasn’t accusing you of any wrongdoing, I was just pointing out the information was third hand as opposed to a Twitter or social media post by the business / business owner. A lot of what we react to here is stuff coming straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth. There is some speculation and conjecture but we usually try and point that out when it starts getting taken as fact.

--

Debating Volks policy is really off topic for this thread though so we should probably move on from this topic. 

And move onto.. Why do blue SmD boys not exist yet? Then again, SmD boys are seasonal like pumpkin spice lattes. I mean, they aren’t that seasonal, but they show up when they want to and go away just as fast.

I wish to be able to buy Chaos items like a product grade vinyl body without owning a Smart Doll and purchasing twice from his store.. Nope. I said something earlier about opening up the Chaos Outlet to those who have purchased once or not at all. I guess he doesn’t want anyone getting a cheap Smart Doll.

I was searching the secondhand market for Chaos items being sold at a reasonable price. 

What about the people who want a male SmD over a female SmD as their first Smart Doll? It’s not exactly cheap to settle on something like that. I was interested in SmD Freedom and classic Reflection, but gradually lost interest because I can’t afford a Smart Doll (new or used) anyway. 🙃
 

Edit: I reread this and it seems that I forgot to clarify some things. I was answering to what @Montysaid about my gossip posts, not you, @BeyondTime. 

Later, I see "Thanks" and "like" reactions under the posts of the people telling me, the villain/Boogeyman, off for daring to gossip without explicitly stating that it’s hearsay and expecting everybody to believe it (which I didn’t) without question or proof is upsetting and aggravating.

And, here I am taking the responses to my gossip as a series of personal attacks, although it’s against my better judgement and am risking getting trouble over something stupid and irrelevant..

Edited August 21, 2021 by Rneiro
Clarifications.

You don't have to buy dolls to be allowed to buy chaos - you just have to have 2 separate orders of any items at least 2 weeks apart. Of course it's easier if you have a doll, but I think Danny would hopefully understand someone wanting a guy Smart Doll as their first picking up stuff like clothing and optional eyes as preparation for doll ownership.

(Edit: okay, I guess it does say 'existing Smart Doll owners'... but you can lie and say you got one second hand, or just tell the truth and say you're purchasing for a future Smart Doll. I don't know. Or use a mate who has chaos access as a proxy?)

Also those kits aren't cheap! They might be chaos, but those boys are going to run you more than the cost of a finished stock doll. Chaos isn't really a viable way of getting a cheap doll. Even when the girl vinyl parts were available individually, I calculated the total and it was a lot! More than the price of a finished doll. It's more for people who want to DIY stuff, or need to replace a vinyl piece or two.

The only 'cheap' chaos option was when they had cortex sets, and those are long gone 🙁

I sadly don't think we'll see blue Smart Doll boys, unless Danny hires someone who has the passion to create boy dolls in his stead, they're always going to be an afterthought.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Katsudon

8 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

You don't have to buy dolls to be allowed to buy chaos - you just have to have 2 separate orders of any items at least 2 weeks apart. Of course it's easier if you have a doll, but I think Danny would hopefully understand someone wanting a guy Smart Doll as their first picking up stuff like clothing and optional eyes as preparation for doll ownership.

(Edit: okay, I guess it does say 'existing Smart Doll owners'... but you can lie and say you got one second hand, or just tell the truth and say you're purchasing for a future Smart Doll. I don't know. Or use a mate who has chaos access as a proxy?)

Also those kits aren't cheap! They might be chaos, but those boys are going to run you more than the cost of a finished stock doll. Chaos isn't really a viable way of getting a cheap doll. Even when the girl vinyl parts were available individually, I calculated the total and it was a lot! More than the price of a finished doll. It's more for people who want to DIY stuff, or need to replace a vinyl piece or two.

The only 'cheap' chaos option was when they had cortex sets, and those are long gone 🙁

I sadly don't think we'll see blue Smart Doll boys, unless Danny hires someone who has the passion to create boy dolls in his stead, they're always going to be an afterthought.

Awawawawawa.. B-but, I’m a DIYer.. I’d purchase full external part sets to build my own dolls piece by piece instead of purchasing them fully assembled. Actually, I’m building my own hybrid doll in another section of this forum right now.

Personally, I like seeing the inner workings of certain objects by disassembling and seeing how the parts work. I disassembled my first doll and broke parts of her frame on accident. Or were parts of her frame already weakened from the previous owner? 

I did see a set of Cortex Milk parts up in the Chaos section about a month ago. There are some things I’m confused about with the Milk skin tone. How different is the Milk skin color from Cinnamon? How long has Milk been around? Is Milk a Cortex skin tone only?

What if DC catches onto people making non-doll purchases to buy Chaos items? Maybe I’m worrying and overthinking it too much.

Blue boys would be more expensive and extremely limited just like their female counterparts. I’m not sure about the want for a Blue SmD boy right now.

This is a silly question, but are SmD boy characters in ultra-high demand like the girls right now?

57 minutes ago, Rneiro said:

Awawawawawa.. B-but, I’m a DIYer.. I’d purchase full external part sets to build my own dolls piece by piece instead of purchasing them fully assembled. Actually, I’m building my own hybrid doll in another section of this forum right now.

Personally, I like seeing the inner workings of certain objects by disassembling and seeing how the parts work. I disassembled my first doll and broke parts of her frame on accident. Or were parts of her frame already weakened from the previous owner? 

I did see a set of Cortex Milk parts up in the Chaos section about a month ago. There are some things I’m confused about with the Milk skin tone. How different is the Milk skin color from Cinnamon? How long has Milk been around? Is Milk a Cortex skin tone only?

What if DC catches onto people making non-doll purchases to buy Chaos items? Maybe I’m worrying and overthinking it too much.

Blue boys would be more expensive and extremely limited just like their female counterparts. I’m not sure about the want for a Blue SmD boy right now.

This is a silly question, but are SmD boy characters in ultra-high demand like the girls right now?

I can answer the milk question, that one has been around since the beginning. He discontinued it last year or so in favor of the cinnamon skin tone. I feel the cinnamon is pretty pink in comparison to the milk. That is just my own experience with it. I prefer the milk over cinnamon but I don't think he is doing dolls in milk anymore unless they were already licensed for that color.

Cortex came in Milk, tea and cocoa. I don't remember if it came in cinnamon or not as the cortex didn't stick around for very long.

Edited August 21, 2021 by CrazyDollPerson
wording

3 hours ago, CrazyDollPerson said:

I can answer the milk question, that one has been around since the beginning. He discontinued it last year or so in favor of the cinnamon skin tone. I feel the cinnamon is pretty pink in comparison to the milk. That is just my own experience with it. I prefer the milk over cinnamon but I don't think he is doing dolls in milk anymore unless they were already licensed for that color.

Cortex came in Milk, tea and cocoa. I don't remember if it came in cinnamon or not as the cortex didn't stick around for very long.

Interesting.. I remember going on the Smart Doll website a few years ago looking at the Cocoa (Moonlight) dolls in a more chalky brown. The updated Cocoa skin color looks a lot more luscious and velvety compared to the classic Cocoa tone.

I have been looking at the Cocoa girls, but haven’t found one with a head sculpt that directly resonates with me. It sounds weird, but it’s because I have the same skin color.

I was interested in Classic Reflection, but I felt her gaze was stern. Reflection v2 is.. umm. I can’t think of anything else to say except that her gaze is softer. 

I have also been wondering how soft SmD bodies are compared to the soft vinyl used for Volks DD-f3, Angel Philia soft skin and Obitsu/Parabox dolls. 

20 minutes ago, Rneiro said:

It sounds weird, but it’s because I have the same skin color.

I think a lot of folks are in that boat.

3 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

I think a lot of folks are in that boat.

Of course other people are, not only me. I mean, it’s reassuring (probably not the right word) to see a doll in with the same skin color as you! You don’t see a lot of ABJDs, especially vinyl, in darker skin colors. Then again, that’s just my opinion and not a fact.

I can’t exactly describe what I’m looking for in a Cocoa girl head sculpt. I was also eyeing Cocoa Chitose, Majesty, Ruby and Justice.

Look at CocoaChi’s cute little mouth and pouty eyes! Actually, she looks worried. That’s the expression I keep even when I’m not worrying.

In other news, I just came up with a new nickname for Cocoa Chitose, CocoaChi! 

I could use the same nickname-making technique with characters that come in more than one skin tone. I did the same with Cocoa Kabuki, it’s CocoaBuki! For example, Cinnamon Independence would become CinnaPendence.

I wouldn’t come up with a nickname for dolls with a short name like Mirai or who only comes in one skin color, like Reflection. Not every name is compatible with the name of the skin color they come in.

Like Cocoa and Independence becoming CocoaPendence. Maybe?? I think it would sound like CocoaPpendix. I think it would sound like a reference to the internal organ and chocolate or cocoa powder. That’s just my opinion.

I also ran across a picture of a little girl with a Cocoa Genesis. Cocoa Genesis looks so good! However, I’m not sure if Cocoa Genesis is available for purchase or exists anymore.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Rneiro

14 hours ago, CrazyDollPerson said:

Cortex came in Milk, tea and cocoa. I don't remember if it came in cinnamon or not as the cortex didn't stick around for very long.

Cortex was available in cinnamon. Back when they were selling off chaos final boss sets originally there was only cinnamon, tea, and cocoa. The milk ones were a recent clearance.

(I wish there was more cortex. 🙁 Feels like there was so much potential there. And like I think I posted in the cortex thread, I know people who would be totally into using something like that to shell their characters... no pun intended!)

7 hours ago, Rneiro said:

Of course other people are, not only me. I mean, it’s reassuring (probably not the right word) to see a doll in with the same skin color as you! You don’t see a lot of ABJDs, especially vinyl, in darker skin colors. Then again, that’s just my opinion and not a fact.

I can’t exactly describe what I’m looking for in a Cocoa girl head sculpt. I was also eyeing Cocoa Chitose, Majesty, Ruby and Justice.

Look at CocoaChi’s cute little mouth and pouty eyes! Actually, she looks worried. That’s the expression I keep even when I’m not worrying.

In other news, I just came up with a new nickname for Cocoa Chitose, CocoaChi! 

I wouldn’t come up with a nickname for dolls with a short name like Mirai or who only comes in one skin color, like Reflection. Not every name is compatible with the name of the skin color they come in.

Like Cocoa and Independence becoming CocoaPendence. Maybe?? I think it would sound like CocoaPpendix. I think it would sound like a reference to the internal organ and chocolate or cocoa powder. That’s just my opinion.

I also ran across a picture of a little girl with a Cocoa Genesis. Cocoa Genesis looks so good! However, I’m not sure if Cocoa Genesis is available for purchase or exists anymore.

Chitose is so cute! But so are Justice and Ruby imo! Definitely some of my favourites. 😍 There did used to be a cocoa version of Mirai too, and technically a tea version, although she was renamed 'Gaia' for some reason. If you can find a cocoa cortex head, that's Mirai.

Yeah, it looks like cocoa Genesis is all gone, so if your heart needs her, you might have to try find one second hand.

(Just in case, be wary of mentioning any purchase plans on the forums. There's some stuff recently on the Facebook... thread about it. Talking about which dolls are cute as hell seems to be fine though!)

I think mentioning it in this thread should be fine? 

1 hour ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

I think mentioning it in this thread should be fine? 

If a person makes comments critical of Danny or his products here, or on other social media, I’d probably suggest not posting anything anywhere that could be used to track down your store account. We have no way of knowing for sure if he is monitoring that sort of thing, but the anecdotal evidence seems to say it’s just not worth the risk. 
 

15 hours ago, Rneiro said:

Of course other people are, not only me.

I was just pointing out that you aren’t alone in how you feel, so it’s not really “weird” for you to feel the way you do about cocoa IMO. It might seem weird to people who can’t relate to your situation, but that’s their problem and not yours. 

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

If a person makes comments critical of Danny or his products here, or on other social media, I’d probably suggest not posting anything anywhere that could be used to track down your store account. We have no way of knowing for sure if he is monitoring that sort of thing, but the anecdotal evidence seems to say it’s just not worth the risk. 
 

I was just pointing out that you aren’t alone in how you feel, so it’s not really “weird” for you to feel the way you do about cocoa IMO. It might seem weird to people who can’t relate to your situation, but that’s their problem and not yours. 

Oh, I was just agreeing with you.