#Bluey skyscrapers

[blurban-form]

180 Brisbane building

See the relatively squat building with the squiggly line by Bluey’s nose? That’s 180 Brisbane, it’s just under 500 feet tall, it’s an office building, and the squiggly line is a depiction of the Brisbane River, which runs through the city.

[umbrella-show]

This is for @dollyrin I'm pretty sure you're currently taking a break with MM Mikey so I'll just leave this here.

Black painted the sky, the dark clouds slowly floating to and fro. No stars were out currently, only a bright full glowing moon that seemed to put an enchanting spotlight on the beauty of the city that was New York. New York was never dark, the bright neon collared billboards shining bright colors onto the buildings and sidewalks that were rather empty. Of course, there were still people up, mostly teens who refused to go to bed and adults who were coming home from work, and a small bit of traffic. It was New York after all, the city that never sleeps.

Frankie stood on her balcony, looking down at the buildings that seemed so small from her father’s penthouse. She wished she could go down there, awe at the city's bright lights. Like sirens calling her, beckoning and luring her to explore the unknown. She almost gave into the urge to sneak out and traverse the bright and colorful city. But because of her strict curfew implemented by her father, she couldn’t.

At least she went to a normal high school, Frankie thought. That was the most normal thing she did on a daily basis. She could tell her father wasn’t exactly pleased with sending her to a regular public school instead of homeschool, but even he knew that wouldn’t be the best for her mental and social development. She hated being lonely. But overall, she hated being a nuisance to her father. 

The sound of pitter patter of small footsteps caught Frankie’s attention, followed by the feeling of something tugging at the hem of her shirt. Looking down, she saw her 4 year old mutant puppy, Tobey, looking up at her with a curious expression. Frankie smiled down at him, breaking out of her thoughts to give all of her attention to him. He was like a son to her. An adopted  mutant puppy son, but a son no less. His little tail wagged when she pet his head, leaning into her hand and licking it affectionately.

“Night night.” Tobey spoke quietly, grabbing her hand and tugging it gently. Frankie had been trying to teach Tobey how to speak English instead of with barks and whines when he was mutated. She even occasionally puts on an educational show called ‘Bluey,’ He can say a few words and almost a full sentence, but he still needed a bit more practice.

Frankie chuckled, even Tobey knew when it was too early to be up. Her chest swelled with joy, knowing at least he was looking out for her. Frankie ruffed the fur on his hair with her free hand that wasn’t being grabbed by him. "I know, obey. I know. I’m just getting some fresh air.” Frankie smiled at him, watching clingy onto her.

Frankie sighed, leaning an elbow against the railing of the balcony, continuing to look out at the sky and city. She became stuck in her thoughts again, oblivious to the fact the longer she thought, the more her eyes began to turn blue. The tips of her hair slowly forming into still water that swayed gently in the breeze. She didn’t even notice, until Tobey began barking and tugging her wrist, pointing at something with his free hand.

Frankie snapped out of her train of thoughts, her hair turning back to its normal jet black color. She looked at where Tobey was pointing towards. He was pointing towards one of the skyscrapers in their view that was tall enough to see, even from the balcony of the penthouse. Frankie tilting her head in confusion, her eyes scanning the building Tobey was so excited about. She couldn’t see anything that caught her attention. 

“HI FRANKIEEE!” Frankie harshly flinched, quickly spinning around and activating her mutant powers and sending a wave towards the loud unknown voice. A loud yelp came from the person, being thrown against the wall and drenched. Frankie panted from the use of power, prepared to blast the stranger with water again. The unknown person quickly put their arms up in surrender.

“WAIT! It’s just me!” Frankie’s defensive stance faltered at the sight of her friend, and secret crush, Mikey. Tobey quickly ran to him, pouncing onto him and hugging him tightly. Mikey giggled as Tobey licked his cheek and ran around him, happily barking. Mikey gave Tobey a hug, spinning around with him in his arms before making his way to Frankie.

“I came over cause I had a surprise for you!” Mikey joyfully spoke, gently placing Tobey down. Mikey guiltily scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry I scared you like that.” “It’s alright.” Frankie spoke, trying to ease herself from the shock she had felt when she had thought Mikey was someone who wanted to hurt her.

“A.. surprise?”

“Yeah! Come with me, it’s about to start!~”

A startled yelp left Frankie’s throat as Mikey suddenly grabbed her wrist, dragging her back to the balcony. Tobey followed the two barking up at Mikey as his tail wagged. Mikey looked at Tobey, using his free hand to ruffle the fur on Tobey’s head. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll be back in about an hour and a half! So, stay here, okay? I promise we’ll watch Bluey with you when me and Frankie come back.” Tobey let out a quiet whine from Mikey’s words, but quickly lit up at the promise of watching his favorite show with him. 

Mikey chuckled as he watched Tobey eagerly walk back into the building. Once Tobey left, Mikey looked back at Frankie, a wide smile stretched across his face. “Get on my back. I’ll carry you!” Frankie stared at him, confused while she reluctantly did what he asked. She wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms hooking under her legs as he made sure she was secure on his back. “Hold on tight!” He warned, before suddenly stepping onto the railing of the balcony and skillfully leaping onto rooftop to rooftop.

Frankie was startled by Mikey’s sudden action, causing her to panic slightly as she held onto him for dear life. However, her fear and shock soon melted away once she opened her eyes. The wind blew past her and Mikey as he ran and jumped onto every rooftop. She was so close to those bright lights she only saw from far away were now right in front of her. It was almost blinding, but she was too amazed to even care about how much her eyes were overstimulated from the neon lights.

As quick as it happened, it soon ended. Mikey suddenly stopped on top of one rooftop in particular. Frankie looked past his shoulder and saw a small picnic area, with a blanket, a candle, one large bowl filled with popcorn, and even fairy lights illuminating the area. Mikey gently put her down, standing in front of the picnic and fiddling with his hands in nervousness. “Sooo, what do you think?”

Frankie stared in awe, her chest swelling in happiness at what Mikey did for her. It looked like something straight out of a movie. “I-It’s beautiful.” She mumbled, making Mikey smile widely. He gently took her wrist, ushering her to sit down on the blanket. He took a seat himself next to her and grabbed the bowl of popcorn. He stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, muffling his speech as he spoke. “It should start in a sec.” 

“What’s starting?” Frankie asked in confusion. Noise then came from below the rooftop and Mikey ushered Frankie to look to the right. Next to them was a showing of a movie outdoors. There were a few people watching from below, but the two were up high enough for no one to really notice. Frankie’s eyes widened in awe as Mikey chuckled nervously, blushing. “I hope you like it.” Mikey muttered quietly, flustered and waiting anxiously for a positive response. Frankie looked at him, smiling widely as her eyes shined with happiness and appreciation. She gave him a tight hug as a thank you. “I love it!”

Mikey’s face flushed red, burning almost painfully. “Y-Your welcome..” Mikey squeaked out,  his body stiff as he stared at the movie that just started. Frankie soon sat back up, watching the movie once it started. Mikey secretly grew disappointed once she stopped hugging him, chasing after her touch by laying his head on her shoulder. He prayed she was fine with it, and relaxed when he got her answer as she laid her head on his. 

The two watched the movie in peace, chuckling and talking as they enjoyed the rest of their night.

[abluehappyface]

Time for yet another Acapella! This time I'm doing another Touhou song (who's surprised here.) Comparing this to another version I sang almost a year ago REALLY highlights how much better I've gotten. For some reason I feel like this song in particular makes my voice sound like a child? I don't post acapellas often, so be nice to me 3:<

[jaymzeecat]

Hot Dog! (with everything)

I'm in the coughing and phlegm phase of this cold right now... so my brain is admittedly a bit fuzzy. Still, I'm trying my best to sort out my Chicago trip timeline of memories... bear with me.

In the morning we ventured out of the hotel to scare up some coffee, the Funny Bunny took me to the fanciest Starbucks that exists I think. It was like two or three stories and my latte was $10! Hahaha.

After hotel check out we walked a while down to Portillos where I had my first Chicago style hat dag! It was really good, we had 'em with fries. Check in at the AirBNB wasn't until 4:30 so we ended up going to the Funny Bunny's apartment to take this certified Good Baby out for a walk.

I'd only previously ever seen her in pictures so it was great to meet this pupper in person finally. She is so cute. T^T

After getting settled at the AirBNB I think this was the night we went out to the new VeganX Market. I finally got to meet the Funny Bunny's partner (who I'll just refer to as "Bluey" for privacy purposes) who was kind enough to come pick us up. We checked out the little grocery store and picked up some vegan Kit-Kats which I was surprised to see since they're currently only sold in the UK... we didn't realize until after we bought them that they were crazy expensive, haha. Everything at VeganX was, I really hope they're able to lower their prices at some point otherwise it may be unsustainable!

They had a little food court where I got an Italian Beef and mozzarella sticks, everything was good! Vegan mozzarella sticks are always a rarity, haha. I really enjoyed getting to hang out with Bluey too, I really wish I'd had more time in Chicago to get to know them but fortunately we did get to hang out a few more times before I left. They might come out to Portland sometime too so that'll be fun. I'm extra appreciative that they were willing to drive us around so much.

The following day we went to the Field Museum and looked at lots of birds, rocks & gems and dinosaur bones. Being that I'm a bird nerd seeing all those specimens was my favorite part. I also got my first pic of the Adventures in Babysitting building!

Childhood memories achieved! It was mad overcast that morning too, some of the skyscrapers disappeared into the fog...

I think I brought the Portland weather with me, haha (and yes, we got hot dogs from that vendor).

After this we had a nice time in Chinatown and dinner at Veggie House. We met up with Bluey later for some awesome vegan soft serve at Vaca's. They had these bomb looking ice cream pies I really wanted to try but alas we didn't make it back there again before the end of my trip.

I can't recall if it was this night or the night before but we saw a motorcycle accident on the way back to the AirBNB... we discussed back and forth whether or not it was a fatality as the cycler was lying in the street. I think not because I swear I saw his hand moving but we couldn't find any news about it. We witnessed several (unrelated) car crashes and fender benders while walking around Chicago. Anything goes, I guess!

My city observations: How does Chicago compare to NYC (which I've spent a fair amount of time in) and downtown Portland? Chicago is a much cleaner city than either. While NYC as a whole smells like piss and hot garbage Chicago didn't have much of a smell other than city garbage every once in a great while. I was also thankful that there were many public restrooms and bonus they were fairly clean! Chicago definitely gets Jaymz's "Best City" award. *thumbs up*

Also, they have Ricochet Rabbit.

[blurban-form]

Brisbane Square

This is the box-on-top skyscraper seen here behind the bird, it is located at the corner of Adelaide Street and North Quay.

A quick look at in Google Earth / Street View reveals this building has a neat base when seen from up close; it is brightly coloured & incorporates artwork that looks like a row of books falling domino-style.

This building houses a branch of the public library, City Council offices, and has a public square outside. Maybe Bluey and her family will visit it someday.

I think I can safely say this isn’t where the finale super-dance in “Dance Mode” took place because the pavers in the public square don’t match.

[blurban-form]

Toilet Paper Branding

Ok, stick with me on this one: So we know there’s this skyscraper downtown that’s got a stylized tennis ball on the top of it.

One way to think of this is that a tennis ball is so common (there are tennis balls in every episode) that it’s like a symbol of dog culture, like putting a national symbol on a building…

…or maybe it’s a corporate logo for some big-deal corporate entity in the Bluey universe. I’m going to assume it’s a corporate logo for the sake of this write-up. Call it Tennis Ball Co. or something like that.

Here’s a good shot of it from “Ice Cream”.

Keep that in mind.

In the episode “Kids”, we’re in a supermarket, and in one part of it, we spend time in the toilet paper aisle.

Look, there are four five brands, each with distinct different packaging.

1. Along the top shelf, I’m calling that one “IGY” brand.

2. Beside Bingo, I’m calling that “wiggle line” brand.

3. To the left of the supermarket employee, call that “paw” brand.

4. And the one Dad is sort of sitting in a throne of: “tennis ball” brand.

Here’s a better close up. “Tennis ball” brand on the left, and an additional (fifth) brand, call that “inkblot” brand, on top of some “wiggle line” brand on the right side of Bluey.

Tennis ball brand?

Wow, given how much tennis balls are seen at Bluey’s home and how much of a beloved item a tennis ball seemingly is in Bluey-society, you’d think that would be a highly popular brand… especially with their head office in the downtown, right?

…look at that: Bluey’s family is a “wiggle line” family when it comes to toilet paper. (From the “Easter” episode.)

(And bonus separate TP fun fact: they hang it so it hangs over the top.)