Meet "Eugene the M16," a plush toy in the shape of an M16 automatic assault rifle. Yes, you read that correctly. Just when you thought America's obsession with guns couldn't get any worse, a company called "TactiCouture" is currently running a Kickstarter to raise money to produce the first in a product line it's calling "Battlemallows."
TactiCouture describes itself on Kickstarter:
TactiCouture™ is a group of adventurers, problem-solvers, and battle-hardened creatives dedicated to crafting the world's most innovative, utilitarian fashion gadgets. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, you should know a lot of our designs start as a joke surrounded by much laughter, then gradually turn into epic, surprisingly useful EDC tools. We test, iterate, and use every single gadget we invent… every day. That's how much we stand behind our designs.
Simply put: our designs just work.
At our core, TactiCouture™ is a creative collective of travel-hardened adventurers, professional athletes, and innovative designers. We love minimalist gadgets, mixed martial arts, Jesus, and mountains.
Yup, because nothing says "I love Jesus" more than guns, real or "kawaii style."
Here are some of the ways the company describes "Eugene the M16: Rifle Pillow Squish Plushie"—which measures 23" wide and 16" tall—on their Kickstarter page:
Cute. Squishy. Tactical.
Eugene the the M16 is an epic plushie that is super squishable, crazy cute, and terrifically tactical.
Generously chonky sized, Eugene the M16 is the perfect perky pillow. Whether protection from nightmares or simply a wildly fun conversation topic, Eugene the M16 will turn heads and make fans wonder, "Where did you find that fantastic squish toy?"
Battlemallows™ are the only "kawaii" (cute) plush weaponry on the market. Already fans are asking, "Who's next in the Battlemallow™ family?" (we have some designs in the works already).
Joy, happiness, and freedom.
The Battlemallows™ family is being launched with the most popular battle rifIe in the United States, the M16. The history of the M16 is rich, having making its debut during the Vietnam War. the AR-I5 itself is eventually derived from the M16.
Eugene the M16 is instantly THE coolest squish plush at the party.
Eugene snuggles right at home in any home, lovingly offering his cheeriness and happy-go-lucky joy to bring a ray of sunshine to an otherwise dark world. Let Eugene take it from here!
From leather couches to Victorian-era bedding, Eugene the M16 humbly tranforms any space into a place of belonging and security.
Safer than a NERF gun or Airsoft rifles and 1000x more personality than Vladimir Putin, Eugene the M16 takes imagination to a whole 'nother level.
Inspired by Call of Duty (COD), Eugene the M16 is a limited edition, first-come, first-serve plushy snuggle buddy that is bound to turn heads.
As of Wednesday November 15, the company has raised $4528 from 120 backers, far exceeding its original $1,000 goal, with 21 more days to go in the campaign. The company hopes, through "lightning-fast production and delivery," to be able to deliver these before Christmas.