#i got them from japan off ebay

[xskyll]

Thanksgiving is over; time to get out the girls.

[otomehonyaku]

DIABOLIK LOVERS アニメ公式ノベライズ Official Novelization ☽ Chapter 1 Translation

[…] ☽ [Next chapter]

Hello everyone! It's been a while. I went back to Japan for the first time in ages last month and immediately fell back down the Diabolik Lovers rabbit hole when I went to the Rejet shop...

I recently found this so-called 'anime novelization' on eBay, and thought it might be fun to use it to get back into translating. This book was released as a novel counterpart to the first season of the Diabolik Lovers anime, thus following the storyline of the anime rather than the visual novels (almost to a T).

Please let me know if you like reading these and want me to translate more of it! I'm not exactly sure how active the fandom is anymore, so I think I'll just test the waters with a couple of chapters and see if it'll be fun to translate the entire book. Who knows!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Originally written by Yukuzuki Hiroha 結来月ひろは Translated from the Japanese by @otomehonyaku

STORY Following her father’s job transfer, Komori Yui is sent to live with the Sakamaki brothers. However, these six brothers turn out to be sadistic, ill-tempered vampires. The men are after Yui’s sweet and incredibly rare blood, and go to great lengths toying with her body and soul to get it. Before long, Yui finds herself trapped in an alluringly dangerous love game(1)...

1. 吸血愛戯 (ラブゲーム): Stylised as ‘love game’ but written with the characters for bloodsucking (吸血), love (愛), and play (戯). The latter character also has a connotation of playfulness/mischief.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

DISCLAIMER This is an unofficial translation intended for those interested in reading the story of the Diabolik Lovers game/season in a slightly more literary format in English. I have no affiliation with Rejet or Frontier Works whatsoever. All rights belong to them, but PLEASE DO NOT POST THIS TRANSLATION ELSEWHERE OR TRANSLATE TO OTHER LANGUAGES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.

Now that that’s out of the way—have fun reading! ❤️

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Episode 1

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

That day, like any other day, the sky was aglow with twilight. In the quiet forest, which was dimly lit by the evening sun, the sound of a car engine pierced the air. It was a taxi, driving alone on the narrow forest path.

What a pretty sky… Komori Yui thought as she gazed at the sky from the backseat of the taxi.

Yui was an ordinary second-year high school student. She lived with her father, who was a priest, before he had to relocate for work. Yui was sent to live with the Sakamaki family, who were acquaintances of her father's, and so she was currently on her way to her new home.

A lake came into view from the taxi window. The setting sun glittered off the surface of the lake. The wind, carrying the scent of the forest, rustled Yui’s hair when she opened the car window. She spotted a large mansion nestled between the trees through the window on the opposite side.

So that’s where I’ll be living from now on… 

The closer the taxi got to the mansion, the wider the girl’s eyes became. Aside from what looked to be the main building, which was built around a courtyard, there were even several auxiliary buildings and a gazebo on the property.

I’ve never even seen a mansion this big before.

Before long, the taxi stopped before a gate that was large enough for two cars to easily pass through at the same time.

“Thank you,” Yui said to the driver and stepped out of the car. The taxi returned into the direction from which they had come.

Yui took her suitcase and looked up at the large, Western-style building beyond the gate. It was a three-storey brick building that might as well have belonged to a family of European aristocrats. Briefly taken aback by the view in front of her, Yui opened the gate and went into the courtyard.

“Wow… I never thought it would be such an elegant house.”

Pulling her suitcase behind her and eying her surroundings with astonishment, Yui made her way to the front door. The entrance was still quite a ways away from where she was, and Yui couldn't quite make it there as she kept falling from one surprise into another.

There’s even a fountain!

The stone statue of a gargoyle was perched on top of the fountain and looked down at her. Yui wondered briefly whether this was the personal taste of the mansion’s owner. As she passed by the fountain, the shadows of raindrops started to appear on the stone tiles underneath her feet.

“Rain?!” Caught off-guard, Yui looked up. 

The sky that had been so clear earlier was now black with rain clouds. Just as Yui thought she'd seen a flash of lightning pierce the dark sky, a loud clap of thunder rumbled through the air. Startled by the thunder, she let out a small cry.

“Oh no, even thunder…” Yui clumsily hurried in the direction of the front door. The rain began pouring down the moment she reached it.

Thank God I didn't end up soaked. It wouldn't be appropriate to show up at your new host family’s doorstep drenched to the skin with rain, after all.

Yui faced the door. It was huge and covered in decorative engraving, and she used the ancient-looking door knocker to announce her arrival. The sound of the cold, iron knocker reverberated through the mansion once, twice, but nobody came to answer.

“Excuse me!” Yui called, and extended a hand towards the door.

Before she could reach it, the door inched open by itself with a loud creaking sound.

“Ah!” 

Yui flinched backward in surprise. Out of curiosity, she gingerly peeked through the gap in the door. Nobody was there. Did that mean she was welcome to go inside?

As if she'd been invited in, Yui stepped inside, and the door immediately slammed shut behind her.

Once inside, the first thing that greeted her was a lavish entrance hall lit by a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Still, the entrance hall somehow looked quite gloomy, stretching out far into the shadows on either side of her.

“Um… Is anybody there?” Yui ventured once more, her voice echoing off the high ceiling. 

“How strange. I wonder if they didn't know I would be coming today,” Yui muttered to herself as she paced through the hall. When she stepped onto the red carpet spread out on the floor, a large staircase came into view. She paused before the stairs, only barely visible under the dim light of the chandelier as she called out again, “Excuse me!”

Once more, her voice rang through the air to no avail. Nobody came.

What should I do?

She might have been looking for the master of the house, but that didn't mean she should feel free to snoop around in someone else's home. Yui was at a loss. She stood stock-still, trailing her eyes over her surroundings, and then she noticed something.

For a brief moment, a bolt of lightning outside cast a sliver of light on a sofa by the window. 

Wait, what was…

She only saw it for an instant, but Yui made her way over to the sofa. She saw a figure not unlike the shape of a boy laying on top of it. He seemed about the same age as her, and wore what looked to be a school uniform, but it was completely dishevelled. Under his head was a cushion, which he used as a pillow as he slept.

  What an odd place to sleep in… But I’m glad I managed to find someone.

The boy looked to be sleeping soundly when the lightning illuminated his face again. Even though Yui knew it would be rude to wake him up, she called out to him.

”Um… Excuse me.”

She reached out and touched the boy’s hand, but withdrew immediately.

“So cold!” 

The boy’s skin had been much colder than she’d expected. Regardless of how long he’d been sleeping on that couch, his body temperature shouldn’t have dropped that much.

He doesn’t even have a temperature to begin with…

“Are you okay?” 

Yui started panicking and held an ear to the boy’s chest, but the heartbeat she should have heard never came.

“His heart isn’t beating… Oh no, I have to call an ambulance!”

Yui pulled her phone out of the bag slung over her shoulder, and hurried to call the emergency number, but a hand shot out from beside her and swiftly took the phone right out of her hands.

“Ah!”

“…Shut the fuck up. Who do you think you are, walking into someone’s house yapping like that?”

The boy Yui had assumed had been dead suddenly stood up from the sofa, her phone in his hand, and shot her an irritated glare with his emerald eyes.

“Y-you’re alive?!” 

“What?”

The words had escaped Yui’s lips in an involuntary whisper, but the boy didn’t bother hiding his annoyance when he responded.

“Obviously. Who’d you think Yours Truly is?”

The boy responded like this was the most normal situation in the world, but it didn’t make sense to Yui at all.

What’s going on…?

Without realising it, Yui slowly started backing away from him. “But… Your heart wasn’t beating…” She was absolutely positive that she hadn’t heard a heartbeat.

And yet… Why did the boy in front of her look so calm and composed? 

A flash of blind panic urged Yui to make a run for it, but the boy caught her in his arms and pushed her onto her back on the sofa.

“Ah! What are you doing?!”

“What, isn’t it obvious? I’m gonna eat you up.” The boy’s face dipped in close, but bent down further to lick the nape of Yui’s neck.

What on Earth…

Yui’s mind reeled at the boy’s unexpected behaviour, and she yelped, but that only made her assailant’s face twist into an amused grin. He bent down again in an attempt to bite into her neck. 

“Ayato! What is this? Tone it down.”

The boy—Ayato, apparently—clicked his tongue and glared at the person standing next to the sofa. “Reiji.” 

The person Ayato referred to as Reiji was a highly strung-looking boy with glasses perched on his narrow nose. With his calm and polite demeanour and white gloves, he almost looked like a butler, but when Yui looked closely, he was wearing the same uniform as Ayato.

Reiji looked at Ayato over the rim of his glasses with an exasperated expression. “This is the entrance hall. A place where we welcome guests. Please take these sorts of activities to your own room.”

“Ugh, boring.” Ayato reluctantly sat up.

Did this boy just come to save me?

Yui flung herself off of the sofa and scurried to Reiji’s side. “P-please help me!”

He gave her a puzzled look when she called for help. “And you are?”

“Komori Yui. My father arranged for me to stay here.”

“I don’t recall hearing about that.”

After listening to Yui’s explanation, Reiji returned his attention to Ayato. “Ayato, will you explain what’s going on here?”

“What? Like hell I know,” Ayato answered gruffly, and swung a leg up onto the sofa. He looked directly at Yui. “Y’know, Pancake, you could’ve told me all of that earlier.”

“That’s because you attacked me all of a sudden.”

“Huh…”

Somewhat unsurprised that she wouldn’t be able to have a normal conversation with the person who had just plainly assaulted her. Ayato turned away from her as if he hadn’t done anything wrong.

What’s wrong with him? He’s been nothing but rude… Yui thought, and suddenly something occurred to her.

“Wait, you said Pancake… Did you mean me?”

“Of course, you idiot. You really that dense, Pancake?” Ayato cast her an amused sideways glance, clearly making fun of her. 

Next to Yui, who was still fuming at the rude nickname, Reiji crossed his arms in thought.

“Strange indeed. Nobody has reported this to me, either.” 

Then Yui must have come to the wrong mansion. But still, there aren’t any other houses around here.

“Ah, um, so you are…”

“Let’s not discuss this here. Please follow me. Your luggage will be taken care of.” Before Reiji had even finished talking, Yui noticed that a butler had appeared beside her suitcase. 

“Oh!” When did he get here?

The butler acknowledged Yui with a little nod and disappeared with her suitcase. What on Earth is going on in this mansion? A front door that opens by itself, and a butler that appears out of thin air, without a sound. And then there’s…

When Yui cast a glance toward Ayato, who was still sitting on the sofa, his eyes met hers with a disgruntled expression. Remembering what he had done to her earlier, Yui quickly looked away and followed Reiji instead.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Reiji led Yui into a spacious living room. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling gave off a dazzling light, and firewood was burning in the hearth.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Yui did as he said and took a seat on the sofa.

“You too, Ayato. We cannot have a proper conversation if you do not.”

“Ugh. Fine.” 

She watched as Ayato took a seat next to her, and Reiji started to speak.

“Firstly, please do us the courtesy of explaining why you barged into our home without permission.”

“Ah, yes.” 

I didn’t really barge in here, though… However, to Reiji and the others, that’s what it must seem like. I should apologise and clear up the misunderstanding.

“Um…” Yui straightened her spine but was interrupted before she could speak.

“Oh, oh, oh! What’s this?” a voice laughed from above. When Yui looked up, she saw a boy peering down at her from the mezzanine. “To think such a cute girl would show up here!” He looked about the same age as Ayato, but wore a black hat on his head. His bright green eyes bore into Yui’s, making her a little nervous.

Has he been there the entire time? I couldn’t even tell. Just as she took in the strange circumstances, a tongue trailed over Yui’s left cheek.

“Ah!” 

Did someone just lick me? 

Touching her cheek in surprise, Yui looked to the side and was met with the boy who had just been on the mezzanine. What? How did he get over here so fast? Feeling as though she’d been pinched, she cast him an accusatory look.

“Hm… She smells so sweet.” 

When Yui pressed her back against the sofa to get away from the boy, another voice suddenly sounded from right behind her.

“Please let me have a taste, too.”

Someone licked her ear this time. Yui spun around and saw a purple-haired boy of small stature there. She cringed at the moist sound of his tongue, pressing a hand to her ear. 

“She tastes sweet, too.”

What on Earth is going on? The two boys looked entertained by Yui’s confusion. 

Reiji seemed unable to look on, and broke the silence. “You two. That is no way to treat a lady whom you have only just met.”

The boy with the hat whined in protest at Reiji’s reprimanding tone.

“Do you have anything to say, Laito?”

“Well, if something so delicious-looking is put in front of me, I just have to taste it. Right, Kanato?”

“Yeah,” the purple-haired boy replied with a nod.

“Fuck off, all of you!” Ayato wedged his way into the two boys’ conversation.

 “Yours Truly found this one, so I’ll be the one to take all of her firsts.”

“...Asshole.”

Ayato frowned at the source of yet another voice filled the living room.

“With your ‘Yours Truly, Yours Truly,’ just shut the fuck up already.”

“The fuck did you just say?” Ayato flung himself off the couch with unnecessary force, and looked around the room. “That’s Subaru, isn’t it? Show yourself, coward!” 

“I’m right here.” The sullen voice came from a boy leaning against the wall, presumably Subaru. The white shock of his hair, which covered his right eye, was a stark contrast with his red eyes, which leered at Yui. “I was just thinking it reeked of humans in here. So it’s you. How are you going to compensate for my lack of precious sleep?”

“W-where did you come from?”

“I asked first!” Subaru yelled in annoyance, and slammed a fist against the wall behind him. Cracks began to form in the wall from his fist outwards, sending plaster crumbling to the floor. He fixed his gaze on Yui, who was at a loss for words.

Seeing the dilapidated state of the wall, Reiji sighed heavily as he repositioned his glasses. He turned toward his brothers gathered in the living room.

“Are any of you listening? The lady will be living here from now on.” 

There was no response.

“Um, I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I’m sorry for troubling you. I’ll be on my way now.” Yui resolutely rose from the couch.

“Please wait.” Reiji’s voice made her freeze in place when she attempted to flee the living room, her eyes trained on the floor. “I am still confirming the facts. Do you not think it would be rude to leave now?”

“B-but…”

Reiji certainly had a point, but considering the mansion’s other inhabitants certainly weren’t intent on following his orders, Yui could not bear to be there much longer. They’re scaring me…

A new, listless voice came from the direction of the window.

“Are you the woman he told me about?” 

When Yui turned to look, she spotted another new face. The boy was spread out lazily on the sofa by the window. He wore the same school uniform as the others, but instead of a jacket, he wore a beige-coloured cardigan over his shirt. He appeared to be listening to music, as a pair of earphones plugged his ears.

There’s one more brother?

“Shuu, what do you know about her?”

“...Nothing much.” Shuu replied dismissively, his eyes closed. Could he hear Ayato even though he was wearing earphones? 

“Nonsense. Please elaborate,” Kanato urged.

Shuu reluctantly began speaking. “He… contacted me the other day. He told me we’d be receiving a guest from the church, and to ‘treat her kindly,’ ‘make her feel most welcome,’ all that.”

“The hell? You mean Pancake’s the Chosen Bride?” 

An involuntary noise slipped from Yui’s lips at Ayato’s remark. What does that even mean, the Chosen Bride? At the very least, she knew that her father, who had to move away for his job as a priest, had arranged for her to live here, but this was the first time she heard of this whole ordeal. However, contrary to Yui’s astonishment, the brothers listened to Shuu’s explanation rather calmly.

“Ah, I see.”

“A bride? Well, more like a living sacrifice, right?”

…Living sacrifice?

Yui was taken aback by Kanato and Laito’s exchange. 

Then, Shuu opened his eyes and spoke as if to deal the final blow. “Right, he also ordered us not to kill her, so…”

Not kill me? What the…?

“Huh… Well, then we’ll be enjoying her company for a long time.”

Meanwhile, Yui had frozen in place. 

Reiji ignored her shock as he called her to attention. “Wonderful. It appears that the issue has been cleared up. Then, let us properly introduce ourselves.” He first turned to Shuu. “That is the eldest brother, Sakamaki Shuu. I am the second son, Reiji.” He paused briefly before turning to Ayato and the others. “Those are the triplets. Ayato–”

“I won’t let you get away next time.”

“Kanato–”

“Please let me taste you again. Exciting, isn’t it, Teddy?” Teddy must be the name of the one-eyed bear Kanato was cradling in his arms. The boy tilted his head and giggled.

“And Laito–”

“Let’s have fun together, Bitchlet.” For such a crude name to call a woman, Laito was laughing as he said it.

“Lastly, that’s Subaru, the youngest brother.”

“Ugh, this shit sucks.” Subaru looked displeased at Yui’s presence, and turned away immediately.

Reiji had properly introduced all of the brothers to her, but still, she did not know how to make sense of everything they had said to her. “There must still be some kind of mistake. I haven’t heard anything about a bride…”

Something suddenly occurred to Yui, a peculiar thought poking at the back of her mind. Many strange things had happened to her since she’d arrived here, but the most unsettling thing of all…

“S-something’s… off about all of you…” Yui asked, her gaze gingerly shifting from brother to brother. All of their eyes were trained on her.

What on Earth…

Their cold, piercing gazes radiated danger, and Yui’s fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. I have to get out of here.

“I-I have to contact my father…”

Yui reached for the cell phone in her pocket, but, somehow it had ended up in Ayato’s hands again.

“Ah!” How did that happen? Never mind, this is not the time to think about that. “My phone! Give it back!”

“I dunno about that.” Ayato toyed with her phone, a sadistic smile forming on his face.

I won’t have any means to contact my father if I don’t have my cell phone…

“Give it back, please!” Yui tried to take the phone from him, but every time it seemed just within reach, Ayato dodged her. He seemed to be enjoying the look of despair on her face. He then tossed the phone to Subaru.

Just as she thought he would return it to her, Subaru’s expression changed to a look of disgust, and Yui knew immediately that he wasn’t going to.

“W-what are you doing?”

“This.”

With one swift movement, Subaru snapped the phone in two. 

There went Yui’s lifeline to her father. Why are they doing this? 

“This is cruel…”

“Shut up.”

Watching the tears forming in Yui’s eyes at the sight of her broken cell phone, Subaru shot her an irritated glare.

“Oh, Bitchlet, don’t be sad!” Laito said cheerfully and patted her shoulder as if to console her. “We’re going to get along great, so you won’t need your cell phone anyway. Okay?”

Before she had time to think about it, she had been sandwiched between Laito and Kanato.

“I’ve been so hungry.” 

Kanato edged closer to a now distraught Yui as he spoke, and Laito simultaneously leaned in to whisper in her ear. 

“Ah… You smell so good, Bitchlet.”

Huh? I’m not even wearing perfume.

Just as she pondered his remark, the light reflected off something in the corner of her eye. She tilted her head to look, and it turned out to be the canine teeth poking out from Laito’s mouth when he bent down to her neck as if he was going to bite her.

The thunder rumbling in the distance coincided with a fearful scream from Yui, both reverberating through the room. 

I have to get out of here. Now.

She dashed for the door, but in her haste, her foot caught on something and she fell flat on her face. Yui scrambled back up, but a flash of pain ran through her leg. Looking down, she saw blood welling up from a cut in the skin of her knee.

Suddenly feeling the brothers’ attention on her again, Yui raised her face. She was met with their ominously glistening eyes. Their unusually sharp canine teeth were now plainly visible. It’s… like they’re…

“V-vampires…”

Yui reached for something in her pocket and held it up in front of her face.

“Eat this!”

It was the rosary that she’d gotten from her father. 

Vampires should be weak to crucifixes! However, much to her disappointment, the brothers didn’t cower in fear. From the sofa by the window where Shuu lay, Yui even heard a low, mocking laugh.

“Huh?” 

Why didn’t it do anything?

“Good grief…” Reiji said, exasperated. “The theories that vampires are weak to garlic, crucifixes, the sun, and that sort of thing… are all myths invented by humans. Did you earnestly expect that to work on us? That only proves how foolish you humans really are. This is most displeasing.”

Oh…

Yui made a dash for the door.

“You really haven’t an ounce of discipline, have you?” she heard Reiji say irritatedly from behind her as she ran.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The sound of Yui’s desperate, careless footsteps echoed through the entrance hall as she ran. The thought that they were not just no ordinary humans, but actual vampires, was incomprehensible. 

I have to get out of here as fast as I can!

Having run blindly focused on getting away, Yui came to a halt. Wait, which way should I even go? She wasn’t sure if it was because the mansion was so big, but there were so many hallways that looked so similar to one another that she quickly lost track of where she was. However, she had no time to hesitate. I have to run, or they’ll catch up to me…

Yui sped off again at the memory of the threatening look in their eyes.

Shortly after that, she spotted a table loaded with different kinds of sweets at the end of the hall. What is this doing here? As she eyed the sweets in suspicion, Kanato suddenly appeared from the shadow under the table. 

“I’ll break you.”

“Oh!”

The way Kanato smiled at her made her quickly continue her path. What was he doing there?

A small desk with a landline phone on it caught Yui’s attention when she turned the corner into another hallway. 

Good, I can use it to contact my father… If I can, I could make it out of here somehow… Yui picked up the receiver, but the cord that she thought had been connected to the phone before had now been cut. 

Oh no… Briefly stunned, she lost hope. 

From somewhere in the distance, Laito’s voice called out to her. “Hehe… I told you you wouldn’t need a phone anymore living here.”

Yui frantically looked around to see where he was. Laito was nowhere in sight. 

“Come and find me, Bitchlet…”

He probably enjoyed the sight of her frightened. Laito’s voice made her shrink away in fear. While scrambling backwards, she bumped into someone, and Yui held her breath as she felt hands closing around her shoulders.

Please, no…

“Guess who?”

Yui yelped. 

Terrified by Laito whispering so close to her ear, she quickly shook off his hands and ran. 

When she somehow finally reached a door, it wouldn’t budge. No way! Why won’t it open?

“Please, please open!” She pounded her fists on the door, but it didn’t help at all. I’m going to have to look for a different way out…

Before she could move away, two hands reached out on either side of her and pushed Yui’s body against the door. It was Ayato.

“Where are you going? This is the part where you scream for my amusement. Let me hear you cry out, at the top of your lungs.”

Yui was trapped in his arms.

“You can’t run away, you know.”

The girl was somehow able to shake Ayato off as well, and ran in the opposite direction, deeper into the mansion. I’m better off finding a place to hide…

Upstairs, Yui found a room that looked suitable for hiding, but the door didn’t open when she turned the knob. As she ran down the dimly-lit hallway on the second floor, she heard the sound of something unlocking. 

Yui spotted a spiral staircase further down the hall. Did it come from up there? 

She followed the stairs and came to a stop in front of yet another door. Padlocks and chains were scattered on the floor before it. 

It’s unlocked. I should hide in there.

Yui went in and shut the door behind her.

The dim moonlight gave the room a gloomy atmosphere. Yui looked around. There were many pieces of furniture and paintings with sheets draped over them, as well as different kinds of tools. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, making it seem like nobody ever came in here. It might be a storage room, Yui thought as she padded through the room to a dresser. Her eyes fell onto the accessories spread out on top of it, which were adorned with gemstones and glittered in the moonlight. But if they’re laid out like this, this must be someone’s room after all? 

Yui’s gaze unintentionally shifted to the window.

A woman was standing on the balcony.

The woman’s back was turned to Yui, so she couldn’t see her face, but her long purple hair shone in the moonlight. She gave off an elegant aura in her long dress, which was almost as purple as her hair.

The purple-haired woman noticed Yui’s presence. Just as she turned to look at her, an intense pain spread through Yui’s torso.

Yui choked on air.

What’s happening? 

She had never experienced such pain in her chest before. 

I can’t breathe… Her heart started beating erratically, her vision slowly becoming blurry. The pain was so severe that she lost her footing and collided with the bookcase along the wall, sending books tumbling to the floor. Yui could only focus on bearing the agony. 

After a little while, the pain subsided. 

What on Earth was that?

Yui snuck another glance towards the window, but saw nothing but the new moon in the night sky outside. Did I just imagine all of that? The pain in her chest and the illusion of that woman might not even be so strange in the line of things that had already happened today.

The books that had fallen from the bookcase caught Yui’s attention. Alongside a number of books was a leatherbound notebook. Her eyes stopped on a picture that had slipped out from between the pages when she had bumped into the bookcase.

“This is… Dad?!”

The picture depicted a priest holding a small, sleeping baby. So that baby is…

“Me?”

But how did this picture get here?

When Yui looked at the notebook from which the picture had slipped out, the writer summarised their day’s events and achievements in a familiar handwriting.

“So this is my father’s diary. But why?” 

Why would it be here of all places? I might understand if I look inside.

She opened the diary and began reading.

Yui brings me so much joy. The fact that she is not my own child bears no meaning at all. She is truly a blessing, and I am nothing but grateful for every day I get to spend with her…

Yui could not believe her eyes.

“What does he mean, I’m not my father’s child? What is this diary even doing here?” 

Am I not his biological child? It couldn’t be so…

“To think you went into this room, of all places.”

The sudden sound of Reiji’s voice made Yui look up, and she saw that the Sakamaki brothers had somehow all gathered in the room in the blink of an eye.

“This is a forbidden room. Nobody is allowed inside.” Reiji glanced at the door and let out a heavy sigh. “I will have to put new locks on it.”

“Really, though. How did you even get in, Bitchlet?” Laito asked and crouched down before her, but even Yui did not know why the room had been unlocked. 

I didn’t even unlock it myself…

Yui tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t quite come out.

Kanato stood before her as well, leering down at her. “You’re nothing but food, so please stay still so I can eat.”

“I-I’m not food…”

“Quit complaining already.”

Yui shrieked when Subaru slammed a fist into the wall like he had before, sending more books falling from the bookcase to the floor.

“Oh, not again, Subaru.”

“Fuck off.”

While Laito and Subaru bickered with one another, Yui looked on, frightened beyond her wits. What should I do? I’m surrounded. There’s no way I can run now. 

What are they going to do with me?

“That face…”

Someone grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. There was Ayato, his face splitting into a satisfied grin.

“It’s so tempting.”

“Let me have a bite, too!”

“I want to lick her.”

“N-no…”

The triplets started towards Yui.

“You have no right to refuse. The only thing you need to know is this: you can most definitely not run from us,” Reiji stated plainly.

“Beating around the bush, as always. What he means to say is that we’ll kill you if you try to get away.”

Yui had no choice. She was surrounded by the triplets as she quietly took in Reiji’s and Subaru’s words. On either side of her, Ayato and Laito took turns turning her neck this way and that, and when Kanato stretched out a hand towards her, Yui let out a fearful scream.

“Please stop!”

CRASH!

Yui screamed, and the sound of glass breaking pierced the air. The triplets, who had been swarming around her in an attempt to steal her blood, snapped their heads in the direction of the sound.

A few landscape paintings had fallen over by Shuu’s feet, and glass was scattered all across the floor. 

“My bad,” Shuu said, and turned his back toward her. Yui’s eyes must not have conveyed her desperate need to be saved from the triplets.

While she was rooted in place, terrified, the realisation dawned over Yui.

Even if I run, I have nowhere to go.

“Hey, Pancake.”

Yui, still startled at the nickname, turned around. Her mind could barely keep up when Ayato grabbed her by the throat and pushed her down onto the floor.

“Are you ready to accept your fate?”

His eyes had a dangerous twinkle in them as he hovered over her. Yui could no longer find the resolve to move away. Ayato pinned her to the floor and held her gaze, his sharp fangs glistening in the light of the new moon peeking through the window. 

Please, save me…

“Oh, God!”

However, Yui’s voice never reached Him.

[caityelizabethjoy]

This has really been a ‘treat yourself to FF9 merch’ kind of year!!

I didn’t own most of these things before this year. My collection began with the original PAL game and the strategy guide as a child. I even kept all the old ‘cheat’ sheets I’d written!

My first personal FFIX purchase was the Play Arts Garnet figure. I found it at my local Gametraders for $40, and I just couldn’t have her without Zidane, so I found him on eBay for a reasonable price in 2015. I also went to Japan in 2015, but the only FF9 merch I could find was my Zidane keyring from the Square Enix Artnia Cafe.

All the other purchases are from this year - I went a little crazy! I started with the Ultimania Archive which I’d had my eye on for a long time, as well as the music box - both purchased from Critical Hit. I absolutely love the music box!

My next purchase is unofficial merchandise - an art book from 'Debo' on Pixiv. I just adore their illustrations and I wish I had the whole set!

The hardest item to get was the Zidane and Garnet Bring Arts figures - I had to order it off the European Square Enix store and then use a third party shipping service to get it to me, but overall it was still a comparable price when looking at eBay prices. I love them! My inner child would have loved the whole set and played with them to death!

Next was perhaps the most special purchase - the Banpresto Diorama Zidane and Garnet figure! I got the last one from a seller who said it wouldn't come in the box, which was fine by me - imagine my surprise when it came in a brand new sealed box! I'm so lucky!

Finally, I pre-ordered my beloved Vivi doll from EB Games!

I absolutely adore my FF9 collection! I don't buy things for myself often, but I've been working hard in my career for many years and investing in important things in my life - so these treats are well deserved and will be treasured forever. I can't wait to perhaps add a Final Fantasy IX remake to this collection one day?

[my-plastic-life]

I did a thing... actually, I did several things. :D My ani-ME (anime doll version) needed manga in her house, so of course I had to make mini Inuyasha manga! I've done this before, but this time it's different... I didn't do miniature versions of the Viz BIG volumes. Nope, I did all 56 original Japanese volumes. Because ani-ME is in Japan, so she must have the original volumes!!! :D What a task this was - because the volumes are so old, it's hard to find high resolution pictures of them online. And even if you do, many times it's just the front, not the back and definitely not the spine. I found some, but then the front and back cover colors were completely different, some had text and graphics cut off from what was most likely a scanned image, the colors were inconsistent between various websites, some colors were clashing badly due to low quality resolution, etc.

So I literally made a template in Photoshop of the real size of the original manga (obtained via Amazon) and rebuilt EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. from scratch. I was able to find a site with all the original cover photos, and then I found the most high resolution cover I could find to duplicate the pattern that's on all books (colors vary), recreated the logo for each book (the character symbols and the gradients are all different for each volume), redrew the SS Comics logo that's on all books, and I even replicated each individual barcode. Because I'm nothing if not a consistent perfectionist. :D

For the backs, I used the images I found and just copied and pasted the characters and Japanese text, and for the teeny tiny characters I used the brush tool to trace over them. Even though I knew you probably wouldn't be able to see them in such a small scale, no way was I leaving them out! Consistency, darn it! :D

For the spines, I found complete sets on eBay and used a photo of the spines from those auctions as a template. I redid everything on the spine except the character head at the top of each, which is copied and pasted from the eBay files. They're definitely pretty low resolution, but hopefully it's not noticeable at such a small scale.

And the volume numbers? Try as I might, I could NOT find a font that matched them. So I got the most high resolution volumes I could find and made number templates... so each time I needed one of the volume numbers, I'd just use a color overlay on it and plop it where it needed to go on the front and spine.

Then the fun part - resizing them all to 1/6 scale. They're a little over an inch tall right now. And because they're not very thick in the spine, wrapping the covers around foam board to mimic pages wasn't working. So I had to make pages... for 56 volumes LOL. I just took my cover template, sized it down, and made it a blank white with a black stroke so I could see where to cut. I could fit 11 mini pages in one row across a regular sized sheet of printer paper (I used cardstock for extra thickness and stability), and I could fit like six rows on a sheet. I was able to fit 11 pages in one volume to allow the spine room, so 56 volumes x 11 mini pages each = 616 total pages I wound up cutting, then stacking and gluing together. But, of course, that wasn't a perfect fit, as the pages, despite being sanded down to be completely straight and smooth, poked out of the covers. So I had to wrap the covers around the pages, mark where they hit, and use an X-acto knife to trim the pages down before gluing them inside the covers.

But finally, I was done! It was time-consuming, but I love how these little books turned out. They don't open, but that's totally okay. That would be way too much work, and every time I make a book that opens, it never closes again. I did, however, manage to find some pages from the original first volume (in Japanese), so I printed a second volume 1 cover and glued those pages inside. So now ani-ME has an open book she can read too!

So there you have it! My mini, 1/6 scale Japanese volumes of Inuyasha - all 56 of them! I made that bookshelf just for them, but I intentionally left more room in case I want to add more manga later. But of course we had to have Inuyasha manga on the shelf - it's the most important! :D And the poster on the wall is totally a tag from one of my shirts LOL.

Showing off her new bookshelf stocked full of all 56 volumes of the Inuyasha manga:

Relaxing in bed, reading from the beginning:

Why yes, she is reading the Inuyasha manga on an Inuyasha pillow :D

All 56 volumes on the bookshelf:

What do you do with an Inuyasha shirt tag? Make an instant doll poster, of course!

Front covers:

Back covers:

Volume 1 pages (glued in order, right to left):

Size reference (shown with American penny):

[candycandy00]

So I’m back into One Piece.

I initially got into it back when the anime was still new. I think around thirty episodes had aired when I started watching. And when I say I got into it, I mean I was obsessed with it. I not only watched the episodes, I rewatched them. Over and over. This was back when I still had dial up internet and it took several days to download a single episode. So it’s not like I had a ton of other new anime to watch.

In particular, I loved three ships especially (yes, I used to be a hardcore shipper): Luffy x Nami (my fave), Sanji x Nami, and Sanji x Luffy. Or all three together. I was really invested in these ships. I wrote fanfiction, ordered doujinshi from Japan, ran fan sites and even “communities” on Livejournal.

But I’ve always been a very open minded shipper. No matter what I shipped, I had no issues with other ships and even wrote fanfic for them. I wrote a fairly well received Zoro x Nami fic. I’ve never shipped them but a friend of mine at the time did and I thought it was cute enough. I also thought Luffy x Vivi was cute. I’ve never understood “shipping wars” because I always enjoyed almost all shipping content (unless it was something freaky involving adult x kid or something).

Anywho, I was buying the HK sets from eBay to avoid downloading it. For you younger anime fans, these were Hong Kong DVD sets with pretty packaging but questionable quality and even more questionable subtitles (the grammar was awful, the timing was sometimes off, and the names were often subbed wrong, including one memorable case where every single character’s name was subbed as “Chan” for a whole episode, so you’d get lines like “Chan! Go with Chan to look for Chan!”). They were a replacement for the VHS fansubs I loved so much once VHS fell out of use.

The first several sets were very well priced. They each had 30 episodes, and cost $25 including shipping from China. I bought them as they came out. But around the time they hit the Skypiea arc, they changed the sets. Suddenly you only got 18 episodes and the price rose to $30 a pop. I kept buying them for a while, but eventually stopped and decided to wait and see if better priced sets came out later, or at least let a few build up and buy them all at once to save on shipping.

But once I took a break from One Piece, a little after the Water 7 arc, I never went back to it. I got into other things, eventually got high speed internet and started streaming other new shows, and kept telling myself “I’ll catch up on One Piece someday”. Then all of a sudden it had over 1000 episodes and “catching up” felt very daunting. Not to mention the fact that it’s been around 20 years since I was watching it and now I’d need to start over just to refresh my memory.

For a time, I tucked One Piece away in my heart as something I once loved but would most likely never go back to. I still adored the characters and occasionally heard spoilers about major events (yes I know about that death) or stumbled upon AMV’s that had cool looking scenes past what I’d watched. But I have enough trouble trying to keep up with seasonal anime while having far less free time than I had 20 years ago (and I’m still trying to catch up on fucking Detective Conan - I’m in the 900’s now!).

But then things changed. The live action show on Netflix came out, and I binged it. I liked it a lot. Despite some nitpicks (mostly about Nami being so sullen and serious when she’s flirty and fun in the anime, because lady characters so often get shoved into the role of “smart one who puts a damper on all the fun the boys are having”), I think it overall did a great job of capturing the spirit of the story. It was fun and whimsical and didn’t screw the whole thing up by trying to be “realistic”.

Despite my enjoyment of the live action show and a renewed love of the characters, I still didn’t go back to the anime.

That all changed when my brother and I were at an extra residence that we use for storage, cleaning things up and sorting through the junk. He was digging stuff out of a closet when he found a boxed Nami figure. It was the bridal figure. I’d ordered it so many years ago and it arrived with the veil broken off. The seller sent me a replacement and said to keep the broken one. With nothing else to do with it, I tossed it in that closet.

My brother, who has never had even a shred of interest in any anime whatsoever, asked what was in the box. I said it was an anime figure and he asked which one. This was a very strange question from him. Usually when the word “anime” comes out of my mouth, it shuts down conversations. I said it was a One Piece character and he says “Oh? Who is it?” All the text on the box was in Japanese. Wondering why he cared, I said it was Nami. He immediately replied with, “This doesn’t look like Nami.”

I rolled my eyes and said “Yeah okay.” I figured he was just being silly or teasing me. What the hell would he know about Nami? Later while we were still cleaning, he found a bag of manga. I periodically take some over there when my shelves get too full. He asked what was in the bag and I said it was manga. Then he asks, “Do any of them have Luffy in them?”

I literally thought he googled One Piece characters just to mess with me. But then, a full fucking day later, it hit me: he pronounced Luffy’s name correctly. Most English speakers who saw the name written out would assume it rhymes with “fluffy”. Which meant my brother had to hear the name spoken aloud. When I went to his house a few days later, I told him to fess up.

Turns out, he watched the live action show and loved it. He even bought merch! He was gleefully showing off his Going Merry keychain, his magnet on the fridge in the shape of the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, and a phone case emblazoned with the One Piece logo. He even said he was getting into the anime. To say this was a surreal moment is an understatement. I’ve loved anime for over 30 years, and my brother has even teased me for liking it. He was the absolute last person I ever thought would take an interest in One Piece of all things.

And suddenly, the thought of him watching more of the anime than me, going past what I’ve seen, hit me like a slap to the face. I can’t let that happen! I would never live it down if he strolled in and started talking about stuff that happened way later in the series.

So I started it over. I’m currently at the point when they’re trying to get to Skypiea. I’m blazing through it, skipping anime-only filler episodes and all the opening/ending themes (even Run Run Run, which I adore so much). At this pace I’ll probably catch up next year. I forgot how damn watchable this show is, how hard it is to resist watching one more episode.

All this to say I’m back into One Piece in a big way. I might even write fanfic for some of the characters at some point (which would feel weird since I wrote OP fanfic back in the day). Just a heads up to my followers that you’re probably going to see some OP content on this blog from here on out.

[yugimoto]

How did you get into stamp collecting? I saw a few of your stamp posts, and it makes me want to collect too!

Also, this may seem silly, but it seems that your stamps aren't on paper, but they've been used? How do you organize them?

Thank you so much for your time!! :)

hello! sorry for the slow reply I've been sick! but I love stamps and I'm always so excited to talk about them!

I got into stamp collecting over lockdown, I'd seen a couple photos of japanese post and the stamps were so cute I was immediately charmed! my first set of stamps I'd bought off ebay, I believe all I searched was "japan stamp" and there's a bunch of bundle listings! they're all cheap, maybe £2-3 max!

not silly at all! I was confused about it too when I first started collecting - here's a short video showing how to remove them! I keep all my stamps in flying eagle stock books, they're vintage I believe but I've bought them all second hand! there's a bunch of different stock book brands so look around! I prefer ones with white or cream pages!

most of my stamps now are collected from vintage markets or book stores or flea markers or from friends or mail I've recieved myself, once you start collecting you'll notice them in lots of places!

[poochyhyena]

MEGA CAT PROJECT: Real vs Counterfeit

So I’m obsessed with Megahouse’s Mega Cat Project line of figures, which means I’ve been buying them second hand in order to get the blind box figures I want.

In doing so I have ended up buying a counterfeit off of Mercari, and since I received the actual figure today (ordered off eBay) I decided to do a comparison of the two figs since I haven’t seen that yet for these figures in particular!

Please enjoy my overly thorough comparison below the cut :)

Right outta the gate, my advice for spotting a counterfeit is, like for any figure to ask for more photos. When I bought the counterfeit figure the photo was low quality and taken with bad lighting which made it hard to see any details. I've seen other ones where they are even inside a plastic bag to add to the 'realism'.

The easiest photo to ask for is the bottom. If you’re finding it tricky to tell if it is real, the bottom is a bit of a giveaway.

As you can see the real figure has a mark that says “MH CHINA”, while the bottom of the counterfeit is just white.

This mark is present on all of the other Mega Cat figures I have. Interestingly the bottom of the Kakashi laying down has additional detailing, and the MH China mark is above the tail.

In addition to not having the stamp the paint quality isn’t as nice either. Counterfeit Luffy has blurry lines, and an overall more messy finish on the edges and sunflower design.

The coloring is also a little different, with the counterfeit being overall less vibrant which doesn't show up super well in the photos but it's really apparent in real life.

Next, the quality of the build of the figure. Which, honestly, isn’t horrible. The main issues are pretty apparent when you look at the side by side, notably the chest area on the counterfeit isn’t inlaid, rather it sits almost level with the shirt - there’s actually space in between the bottom of this piece and the rest of the figure. Additionally, there is extra bits of plastic sticking out from the sides that were never sanded down.

Overall, the structure looks almost blurry with the nose and label folds not being as distinct. However, the detailing on the back of the hat is pretty good!

Another thing to note is that the counterfeit feels almost smoother, and is a little shinier.

Other than asking for more photos, a good thing to always consider is price. While you can definitely find these figures cheaper on Mercari (I tend to spend ~$16 vs $24 on eBay) beware of the figures that are suuuper cheap - I got my counterfeit for $10. I tend to trust the listings that come with a box, but that doesn’t mean that they are counterfeit if they don’t have one. The Kakashi figure in this post didn’t come with a box (and was bought off Mercari) and he is very much an actual Megahouse figure.

If you are looking for figures, I would scope out other sites so you can see which ones are more popular (more expensive) because that tells you which ones to be more careful with! Dressrosa Law from Nyan Piece, for example, is on the pricier side and if you look him up on Mercari you can probably find counterfeits (check the earrings, they look fur tone rather than yellow). Once you spend some time looking at photos of the real thing the counterfeits become more obvious.

If you are super worried, I recommend Suruga-ya, they are a resale store in Japan so there is little risk of counterfeits. Every so often they do free shipping internationally, and their prices tend to be cheaper than eBay. (I got my Zoro figure pictured above from there). But for me, Mercari and eBay have worked fine.

I hope this guide helps, and please enjoy your cat figures!! I have bought way too many - and if you are wondering counterfeit!Luffy is well loved and sits on my desk at work. :)

[dearlybelovedmp3]

longwinded guide for not spending too much on shipping for things purchased from korea

I couldn’t find the post on reddit so here’s a longwinded explanation lol: @felixs-voice-makes-me-wanna

Korean addresses (usually called K addy’s) are sites that let you ship to them and consolidate your package bc shipping is usually very cheap or free within korea and then they optimize your package and make it as affordable to ship as possible in my experience. This is great if you buy from multiple sites or buy things like albums and merch in particular.  Essentially you buy items from sites and have them shipped to the address. They take those packages and when you submit a repack request, they consolidate them into one, more affordable package. Most of these sites will also buy these items for you if you wish and act as a proxy of sorts. They are free to use (you can get a Korean address and ship things to them for free but if you want to ship to you that’s when you would pay or use them to make purchases there are fees)

Some examples:

Orderkorea.kr – 1 year of free storage as well, they offer inclusions only (if you buy an album they will take the pcs out and send them to you to lower the weight of the package). Lowest shipping rates I’ve seen to US so far. How I got my Skzoo set back when they did the restock with the jeju merch and jypshop was gonna charge me almost 200 in shipping (I swear they pocket that money) and orderkorea charged me 60 and it got to me in less than a week.

Korgou – not used by me yet but has good reviews and tutorials made by users on youtube

Paysable – I have used, gives you a year of free storage (you can hold things there without fees up to a year if you want to wait to ship for any reason), not my favorite, they seem slowest to me

Kfriday – never used this one either but I’ve heard great things

Delivered korea – the most commonly used/general favorite from what I’ve seen. I like that they always let me choose which international shipping service I can use (I use DHL bc I can presign for delivery with them but it is always the most expensive)

Another alternative is GOMS or group order managers on Instagram. This experience varies by GOM but I’ve never actually had a bad experience. Just make sure if you use someone it isn’t a new account and they have proofs on their story (posts from other people like reviews stating they got their goods), but the bonus of a gom is that you can find one from your country and split shipping frees on that group order with everyone involved! So for the aniteez plush if the gom purchased one set of plushies and you claimed Seonghwa, your shipping fees would be drastically reduced because it would  be split between you and 7 other people. Downsides are if you collect popular members it can be hard to get spots on group orders (like Wonyoung, Wonbin, Seonghwa, etc). In most circumstances I recommend a GOM over ordering yourself or using a proxy (detailed below) bc you end up paying less if you are collecting for one member. If you collect full group or buy a lot of things a k addy and or proxy is good.

Proxys are people who actually go to events like pop ups and buy for you. They have fees but if you want to be mostly guaranteed something, they are a good alterative, but make sure they have good reviews from people who have used their services as well.

Group order managers = no profit, they are just trying to get a members cards without paying for a full set,  so open the other members’ cards up to other people to lower their costs

Proxys = usually a full or part time job. They do make money off of it from fees.

A lot of pcs and merch can be found from Japanese sellers at much lower prices than us sellers and have similar websites to purchase off yahoo Japan, mercari Japan etc, I’ve used buyee and neokyo for this before but if the item details says “Korean shop purchase”, it’s a fake/replica, be wary of fakes in general

My Last resort is always mercari us or ebay bc it is usually highest priced but sometimes you will find reasonable prices on there, never for things like the aniteez plush though my guess is there will be resellers on those sites listing as over 100 dollars as soon as they ship out :’ )

[glynnisi]

Things I've Learned Since I Went Insane & Started Collecting Barbies

There are about a bazillion Barbies in the world.

They can be expensive & addictive & most are super pretty. Except poor Scooter, who is so homely I saw a video where the owner only displays her with a mask on. And I don't WANT poor Scooter in my collection. I don't much want Tutti, either... her eyes kind of scare me sometimes.

African American dolls from the 60's and 70's are rare because fewer of them were made then (Christies & Julias, mostly). They're gorgeous. The original "Black Francie" goes for like $5k now. No African American doll was named "Barbie" until 1980.

"Titan" in place of "Titian" is the "lose/loose" dilemma of Barbie EBay when people try to describe red hair.

It's almost impossible to get smoke smell out of vinyl, not so hard to get it out of cloth.

Barbie dolls & fashions were super well made up until they booted Ruth Handler out of the company (mid 70's). Today's Barbie clothes are trash in comparison.

When they gave up quality as #1 product driver, Mattel got super innovative and tried all sorts of gimmicks. Walking dolls, talking dolls, dolls with sleepy eyes, dolls whose hair grew, dolls whose bust expanded & waists stretched taller, and many many shaving/beardy/hairy Ken variations.

Vintage Francie fashions cost a fortune. Julia clothes cost a fortune. Vintage Francie can wear some of the newest fashions, like the dresses from the Barbie movie. Vintage Barbie cannot because she's bustier.

Oxiclean really works & Vinegar cold wash sets colors.

Barbie hair was super durable, especially given all kids put it through. Original styles hold well and can be restored by novices.

The first Barbie was a knock off of a German sex doll from a newspaper comic.

The original Barbie earring posts were made of copper. Green Ear is horrific, but over a long time may respond to CLR or Zit cream treatment.

1970s Barbie dolls broke a hip about 10x more easily than the ones made in Japan in the 60's.

It's incredibly hard to dress Vintage (1961-67) Ken. I have a lot more sympathy for the time my sister broke off her Ken's thumb now. There were no Kens in 1968 and he got beefier in 1969. Poor new Ken has few really good clothes, most are tragically loud.

It was much easier to dress dolls when I was a kid because I had tiny, nimble fingers and no notion that the green shoes with the little pearls on them could sell for $120 on EBay in 2023 (since they came with a $3 outfit in 1964). I just jammed them on unforgiving high heel feet without a care in the world.

I'm still a child at heart.

[beatlebug987]

My CD Collection! (As Of 4/22/24)

I wanted to share my current CD collection since collecting them is something I enjoy and I thought it'd be fitting to post it here! I currently have seven CDs in my collection and I'll be listing them in the order I got them in with pictures and stuff!

The first in my collection was PORTALS by Melanie Martinez. (BTW, I know the controversy, so I'm not listening to her as much anymore, but she was my favorite artist for a long time and I loved this album when it came out.)

It has a disc (ofc) and a little booklet. No lyrics, just pictures of them in their pink alien form. I got it off Amazon when the album first came out.

My favorite tracks are NYMPHOLOGY, VOID, EVIL, and BATTLE OF THE LARYNX.

The second one I got was GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo.

It came with a lyric booklet with pictures, the disc and another booklet with the lyrics in other languages. This one was from Amazon as well but it came from Japan.

My favorite tracks are vampire, all American bitch, making the bed, teenage dream and lacy. (I honestly like all the songs on this album, but those are my favorites.)

Next is Bewitched by Laufey.

It came with the disc and a booklet with lyrics and pictures. This one was from Amazon as well.

My favorite tracks are From The Start, Lovesick, While You Were Sleeping, Letter To My 13 Year Old Self, and Promise.

Here's my first Mitski CD; Puberty 2.

This one only came with the disc, but it opens up and has the lyrics on the inside of the case. This is also from Amazon.

My favorite tracks are Happy, Dan the Dancer, Your Best American Girl, and I Bet On Losing Dogs. (I love pretty much all of them though.)

Recently I went to Barnes and Noble and got two new ones. The first one I got was Found Heaven by Conan Gray.

It came with a lyric booklet with photos and the disc.

My favorite tracks are Found Heaven, Alley Rose, Never Ending Song, Boys & Girls, Lonely Dancers, and Winner. (It's SUCH a good album and I like all the songs, these are just my favorites at the moment.)

The second one from B&N is Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers.

It came with the disc and a lyric booklet with really cool illustrations inside. The one in the picture is for Kyoto.

My favorite tracks are Garden Song, Kyoto, I Know The End, ICU, Savior Complex and Moon Song. (I love all of them LOL.)

The latest one I got (and my current favorite as well as the most special one in my collection) was The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan.

OKAY THIS ONE IS SO SO SO SPECIAL TO ME BECAUSE IT CAME WITH A SIGNED PHOTO CARD!!! YIPPEEE!!! It also came with the disc and a lyric map type thing with a dedication letter inside as well. This one came from Ebay since the signed ones were sold out on her store.

My favorite tracks are Casual, Red Wine Supernova, HOT TO GO!, Pink Pony Club, My Kink Is Karma, Femininomenon, and Picture You. (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ALL THE SONGS ON THIS ALBUM but these are just some of my main picks.)

And that is my collection currently!! Thanks for reading this far lol, this post was fun to put together! I'll probably post updates when my collection expands! :D

[itsmiyamore]

tell us about your cd collection!!! :3 which are your favs?? which were the ones you fought tooth and nail to get??

OH BOY Koi beloved I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into but if you insist I will oblige 👹👹

OK so the CD collection started in 2021 when Maisie Peters released her debut album YSUFT and I wanted some merch, but it only came in bundles, so I ended up acquiring 2 CDs of the album that way. About half a year later, I went into Half Price Books (a second hand book/record store) and hit the jackpot with 4 Taylor Swift CDs! I was just getting fully into Taylor's music and I thought it would be fun to try and collect CDs from her other albums!

Now at this point I have 6 CDs and no way to play them, they're just on display, so that Christmas my parents got me a CD player and that honestly just fueled my fixation lol. I went from "1 CD from each album" to "the standard edition, deluxe edition, and rerecorded edition of each album" (Taylor Swift). I also figured I might as well collect CDs of other albums I like as well, which is how I can to aquire SOUR, GUTS, emails I can't send, and a random classical music CD i bought from a lady I took a masterclass with (Zoya Shuhatovich).

When Maisie released her sophomore album, naturally I bought the standard CD + 2 of the collectors editions CDs. However, one of the collectors CDs came in wrong (there were 3 editions and they sent the wrong one) and I couldn't buy the one I wanted bc it was sold out. I tried like 3 times from a different website but I got THE SAME WRONG ONE EACH TIME and recently she released a 1 year anniversary merch drop and now the CD is sold out on that website too (but I'm kind of convinced it was sold out to begin with and mislabelled). So to answer your second question that would be my answer. Another answer would be Tortured Poets Department! I was in line when she first announced it and snagged a Manuscript Collector's Edition haha. I snagged the other collector's editions too but this was by far the hardest one I was in line for like an HOUR.

With Taylor's most recent albums, she's been doing like 4+ variations of each album and I am crazy and buy most of the variations so I have 5 Midnights variations, the 4 deluxe versions of 1989 TV (I didn't buy the Target ones) and the 4 collectors editions of Tortured Poets Department (also didn't buy the Target ones). I try to limit myself by only having 1 CD per cover art lol

During this year's Record Store Day, Maisie released a deluxe vinyl and of course I wanted it SO BAD so I went and I ended up also buying the Olivia Rodrigo/Noah Kahan RSD vinyl, a standard emails I can't send vinyl, and The Tortured Poets Department Bolter edition vinyl. I also already had a vinyl of Maisie's sophomore album bc that cover didn't have a CD version but I did not intend to end up with so many 😭 I wanted the Sabrina RSD Feather vinyl but they were sold out in my whole city :( I regret not asking about a Chappell one since it was before she got huge after those festivals and I might've had a chance 😔

But anyway, now I have 6 vinyls and no vinyl player, so I buy one for 20 bucks at a flea market (it works) and now I also have an Espresso vinyl, I preordered a Please Please Please vinyl, and also preordered 2 picture disks of Short n' Sweet (the standard picture disk and the Spotify exclusive one)

My fav CDs are my signed Maisie one (she wished me a happy birthday), my YSUFT CD (bc it was my first), and then probably emails I can't send (bc I just like the album lol). My fav vinyls are my two Maisie ones, one bc it was my first RSD buy and the other bc it's signed. They're both also really pretty.

The price of each CD has varied, I've bought some off eBay for less than 10 bucks and some for more than 20. I'm currently looking into an emails I can't send fwd Japan exclusive CD that's about $30 and I'm sooo close to buying it but I kinda don't have a job rn and I preordered a lot of Sabrina records sjxnjsjdns

Unfortunately, I was stupid during the Midnight release, and when she released signed versions I didn't buy one "because I already bought that version and it wasn't my favorite" and I cannot tell you how much I beat myself up for it bc now it's literally impossible to get a signed Taylor CD. I also missed the sale for signed Sabrina CDs by like 10 minutes and they were all sold out. I didn't buy a signed YSUFT CD bc I wasn't used to online shopping and was scared to, but I did get the signed TGW CD and she wished me a happy birthday teehee

I have a bunch of other signed merch (mostly Maisie) in form of posters, art cards, and T-shirts lol but that's a separate post

So yeah! That's my CD collection :) I will reblog this with a picture of what it looks like currently! (Or a video if that's what I find instead)

[teslathelame]

Hiii sorry if this is a weird ask but. I know you're into lolita fashion and I'm interested in getting into ouji fashion so do you. Know good online places to buy lolita/ouji fashion? Ik they're not exactly the same but. Also hi hope you're having a nice day ^^

oh yeah, sure! a good place to start is lace market, which is basically ebay but specifically for lolita fashion :> and ouji pieces do often end up there as well. you already know about wunderwelt, so i won't go into that one, but it is a very good place to find secondhand ouji. they're honestly pretty comparable, except i'm p sure wunderwelt ships from japan whereas lace market depends on wherever the seller is located :x plus i think ww is often a bit less expensive, just cos of the difference between the japanese vs. western markets

if you don't wanna buy secondhand, or can't find anything you like, you can always order directly off of brand websites! alice and the pirates usually has some sort of ouji release out. and of course there's always taobao and taobao resellers! i'm sure it'd save you a bunch of money to buy stuff off of taobao through a shopping service, but personally i just buy from resellers cos i'm okay w/ paying extra for convenience lmaooooo

as far as which resellers to go with, i've had good experiences with clobbaonline and lolitawardrobe. i've heard some VERY mixed things about devilinspired, so i can't honestly recommend them. the taobao brand neoludwig, a.k.a. fanplusfriend, has its own english-language website, and they've got some really nice-looking ouji pieces :> AND they do custom sizing for most of their pieces, which is always nice.

finally, glittertale on etsy has got some super cute ouji sets available, all their clothes are made-to-order to your measurements, the seller is lovely, and the quality is fantastic :) not even for the price, it's just great altogether<3

[pawjamas]

did i tell you guys that the one super sweet ebay seller i was talking to a bit ago (i buy japan exclusive isabelle merch from them) said this when i sent them a pic of one of the items i bought from them added to my collection:

i thought it was so sweet lmao.. my wife & i keep calling my collection the world of isabelle now.

the seller & i have both just been on & off gushing abt the game / shizue (isabelle) !! here’s the pic i sent them btw & the 2nd pic is some bonus gifts they included for free !! the kk slider hand towel is so cute.

i got that isabelle clip from them u see in the upper top, i’m expecting other stuff as well but there was a mix up w/ shipping, it’s being sorted out though.

this may sound dumb but i think this is what life is about.. small sweet encounters like this with other people, even if brief, i mean this was on ebay of all places but this seller is so kind. it’s just been a very pleasant experience lol

[rainbow-unicornosaur]

Maybe I need to go to bed (I definitely need to go to bed) but I have some feelings to rant about first

Cut for me having weird thoughts about Japan vacations

I feel kind of sour lately about seemingly everyone going on vacation to Japan. I have a lot of complicated feelings about it. One, I’m envious, of course. I want to go to Japan. I went once in 2006 and I would absolutely love to go back. I’m kinda irrationally grumpy that people have the money to go when I don’t. And maybe it’s because I watched One vlog but now I’m getting so many Japan vlogs recommended to me about peoples’ ~crazy~ Japan trips and from the thumbnails they seem very samey and it’s kind of annoying to me.

And a large part of me wants to gatekeep Japan. Like “no, that’s my thing!!” Anime seems so much more popular nowadays than when I was a teen. (I seem like such an old person saying that.) Back then it was harder to get ahold of. I torrented so many sketchy subbed animes and bought chinese knockoff dvds off of ebay (or, to be honest, had my dad buy them for me djdjsjs). Now with better internet, streaming, etc. etc. anime, manga, and other Japanese media seems more popular than ever. Idk what it’s like to be a teenage weeb nowadays but when I was in high school it was Not Cool. But like plenty of popular streamers, youtubers, etc talk about watching anime and stuff so it seems way more accepted. I mean most weebs are probably not going to be the most popular kids in school but still.

But anyway my point with that is like… a lot of people seem to want to go to Japan to live their ultimate anime dream vacation. Or to experience other things that they’ve seen in movies/on youtube/etc. Which I get! Japan has a lot of fun pop culture!! I want to experience those things too! But also Japan has a history and a culture that is way, way older than anime. And I worry that people won’t see that or respect that? There’s so much more to Japan. So much more outside of Tokyo. And of course vacations are expensive and I don’t expect anyone to be able to like, tour the country. But… blah idk exactly what I’m trying to get at here.

I think that a part of me worries that when I do eventually make it to Japan, I’ll be seen as just another foreigner who is there to do the stereotypical White Person Japan Trip. And I can’t help standing out as a foreigner in Japan or help what other people think of me (as much as I wish I could). But as someone who has studied the language and learned a lot about Japanese culture and history outside of its media and pop culture (but also including that stuff), I want to somehow give off the vibe that I’m ~not one of those girls*~. I’m different. I’m special. But also I’m just another white person wanting to go to Japan. Am I really so different? And also, people wanting to live their dream anime vacation are just as valid. And also people go to Japan for more than just anime reasons. Ugh. I feel like kind of a bad and mean person sometimes for looking down on people a bit who I deem as more of a nerd or weebier than me. When a lot of the reason why I feel that way is because I tried so hard to distance myself from my weeby, nerdy past self. At some point I decided that it was a bad way for me to be, and that people wouldn’t like me if I liked anime/manga/etc, so I buried that part of me deep down. Not deep enough to quash it completely, but deep enough that I can hardly enjoy anime (outside of the few that I watched as a kid, because that falls into nostalgia more than anything else) without telling myself that it’s for kids, it’s not worth my time, etc. etc. I can’t let myself enjoy anything!! I can’t even be happy for people going on vacation!!! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!

Anyway wow that got deep at the end. None of this made any sense probably. Bottom line is i hate other people having fun and i want to be special but i’m not special and i’m just a miserable little freak. It’s almost 1:30 am and i am going to bed

[applehare]

How to loose 200 euro like a pro 😎

Story time, I guess, because this whole situation pisses me off.

So around Christmas last year (2023), I got some cash from my family for a gift. I decided I wanted to buy a set of books that I needed, so I just ordered them straight away. I purchased them on eBay. Now, I have purchased items from eBay around this time previously, so i knew it took more time to ship, I was okay with that, and have never had problems. However, the seller contacted me, saying there were issues with shipment and just returned my money. This is not technically relevant, but I found it funny - as if the cosmos was telling me to not buy these books.

Now the true story begins - I found another seller, selling the same set of books for the same money, so I just ordered them. This happened on Dec 28, again from eBay. I waited, knowing it took quite some time to ship when ordering around these dates. But it was getting near the end of January, so I was a little bit worried. Around this time I had ordered another book (from a different seller) and they messaged me, saying that it could take some time before it ships, as there were issues in general with international shipping. Both this seller and the one with the book set were based in Japan, so I assumed this was why it took so ridiculously long. Back to the main shipment - the book set was shipped, finally, near the END OF FEBRUARY. The packaging I mentioned before? I don't even remember, maybe I already had it! Now I just had to wait a bit more for my book set to be delivered. The waiting was almost over... OR WAS IT?!?

Somewhere around the middle of March I decided to try tracking where the package was. And I found out it was stuck - in customs.

And here goes another story:

This has happened before. In 2023, somewhere around October, I ordered a small item as a gift. I waited for it to arrive, only to find it was stuck in customs. I thought that I just had to wait for them to release it, this was the first time I've had an item stuck in customs, so I didn't really know what the order of things was. A month later I found a letter at my door - just a piece of paper, laying on the ground. It was a document, which allowed the Bulgarian Posts to represent me in customs (since they were the ones that had to deliver my packaging). And that was it - the item was released, all was well. So I thought this was the norm - if there was an issue with customs, the delivery company could ask for permission to represent me.

Back on the main story again. So when I saw that the package was in customs, I didn't think much of it. I thought the same thing would happen as the previous time I had an item stuck in customs. This package was shipped with FedEx, it was the first time I've had a packaging shipped with them. Around that time the eBay return window was getting close to it's end. I wasn't sure If i should wait, or just return them. Something was odd. I waited regardless and the return period expired on March 30. On April 4 I saw that the package was finally moving! Yay! So the issue had been resolved then, I thought.

On the 12th of April, near midnight, I got an email stating that the package was unable to be delivered and was being returned to seller.

...WHAT?!? I was FUMING! What do you mean unable to ship? Mind you, it was night and I couldn't call straight way, not only that but I had to wait till the weekend was over! I was pissed, PISSED! The package stayed in customs for less than a month, no one contacted me what so ever. How was I meant to know? They had my address, my phone number on that package, and no one called, no one send me an SMS, no one put a piece of paper in front of my door. I tried looking trough my calls, but found nothing resembling any of the numbers that might have been from FedEx or customs. And you know what - maybe they did call. The thing is - how would I know? I get random calls from strange numbers, why would I answer them all? (My parents told me not to answer to unknown numbers as a child, and I still stand by that, a little silly, I know.) And besides, if they did call and I didn't answer, there were still other ways to contact me. I was furious.

Monday comes, I try to contact whoever I can, nothing happened, obviously. I had written to the seller about the situation in Saturday, asking if they could re-ship my package again, or if they can return my money - nothing so far and I don't think there will ever be anything. They're not obligated to do anything now, since the eBay return window expired while waiting for shipment. Which leads me to another question - what took so bloody long? Normally the return window is WAYYY ahead in time than the estimated delivery date. I have never waited for a package so long that the return window expired. What in the world had happened? And you know the funny part? The package got returned to the seller for 4 days. 4 DAYS! I WAITED 4 MONTHS AND IT GOT SHIPPED BACK FOR 4 DAYS? IS THIS A JOKE?!

Now I can't stop thinking on what I could have done differently, maybe I should have just called the customs straight away, maybe I should have called FedEx (which proved to be a challenge), maybe I should have just returned the damn books. The item from October 2023 - it stayed in customs for around a month and I still got contacted and the issue resolved. This package - stayed in customs for less than half a month, no contact with me, straight to seller. Just... This whole thing could have been resolved so easily with proper contact, and yet it wasn't. I like to trash on Bulgarian Posts for not properly informing me on packages sometimes, but they do regardless. And coming in contact with them is very easy. And - I have not had a single package be returned to seller from them (at least yet). Damn, can't believe I'm actually being somewhat nice to them, you know it's bad when I'm praising them for somewhat doing their job.

At this point, I don't think anything can be done, the money are gone, the books are gone. And I think this will haunt me for the rest of my days. But, regardless, I did learn a few thins (wish it hadn't cost me 200 bloody euros):

don't order if shipped with FedEx - they might be great otherwise, but after this I don't think I will take the risk. They could have done more, and even if they couldn't it still quite bad, also properly contacting them is a pain.

just call customs when they stop your package - When I see the package has been stopped, I will just try my best to contact them directly. Praying I can track said package to see it has been stopped, otherwise RIP I guess.

if item is reaching the eBay return window deadline - just return it - if it ever again takes this long to ship and "deliver" an item, I don't think I will be risking it again.

don't order at the end of the year - although as I stated, I have done this before and I've had no such issues prior to this, I think after this mess I will just be waiting around the middle/end of January.

do as much as you can yourself - others will most likely fail you, not do their jobs properly, disappoint you, so just do it yourself.

Oh, wow, this was long. I don't expect anything positive to happen with this situation anymore, I just wanted to write it down and get it out of my system. Also, maybe to laugh a bit - the whole thing is so ridiculous - a convenience after convenience after convenience - conveniences in inconveniencing me. Well, anyway, I curse everything that made it happen so I lost my books and money to stub their toes everyday for 4 months.

And I'm sorry if I was too rude in any of this (even though I just cursed a bunch of unknown entities to stub their toes). My anger is not directed towards anyone in particular (somewhat of a lie) - just the situation. It could have been resolved so easily, and that's what truly annoys me. Well, that's it for now, I guess. Wonder if anyone will even read this bloody mess. Hah.

[theschlaepfer]

2024 goals

This is a non-comprehensive list of some things I want to achieve in the new year. Maybe I’ll set reminders to check in on this as the year goes on.

Downsize

I want less stuff. Every time we move there’s a box or two full of random stuff that just sits in another box or drawer until we move again. Not great! But also so tedious to go through! I’d love to take a week and just really decide what things I need, and what things are weighing me down. And also figure out eBay.

Read a book each month

I read my first full books since high school this year, and I enjoyed it a lot. I always envy readers and bookworms. I have a lot of other media I like that can eat away at my free time (games, shows, films). Zelda especially has just torpedoed my free time. I’ve loved every second of it, but wow is there a lot to do in that game.

Getting off topic. Point is: time short, want read book. I got a couple for Christmas so I’ll start there! To make it more of a tangible goal, I’ll try to read one book each month. I can already tell you I’ll fail but at least it gives me a framework.

Brush up on a language

I took three different languages in school: Spanish in junior high, Latin in high school, and German in college. I’d like to brush up on either Spanish or German in the new year.

Spanish is vastly more practical for me because of where I live, and would be used weekly if not daily.

German is of interest to me because my family is from Switzerland. Ideally I’d love to learn the Swiss-German my extended family speaks, but learning resources are scarce. And nearly all of them are fluent in English so it’s not a pressing matter. Just would feel nice to connect more with that family history.

Then there’s an entirely impractical side of me that wants to learn Japanese. Japan is the Switzerland of Asia in a lot of ways and visiting this past summer made me want to go back so badly. Probably has the most uphill battle to learn though, so maybe I’ll leave that for another year.

My tentative plan is to put on some videos and such while I do dishes or other chores, when my ears and brain are a captive audience!

Establish a workout rhythm

This is such the stereotypical New Year’s resolution, but yeah, I’d like to get fit. Specifically, I want to know what it’s like to feel “in shape”. Especially since becoming a father, there are so many things in my daily life that I think would be so much easier if my muscles were just a bit stronger or my heart and lungs a little more efficient.

How am I going to do this? Not sure yet. There’s a gym club near us that offers childcare so I might try that for a bit. I’ve tried running before and I liked it when I could find the time for it. And Fitness+ gets flack but I’ve done quite a few exercises through it and it’s honestly quite enjoyable.

I’ll end up doing a combo. Or nothing at all. But maybe me saying this into the internet will provide some sense of accountability. Ideally I just want to get into a sustainable rhythm. Doesn’t have to be much, just something.

Use public transit?

This is a tough one for me. Right now I live in the mountains on a somewhat steep, busy, and narrow road with a lot of blind turns. This makes riding a bike a bit treacherous from my home, especially after dark. When the days start to get longer, I’d like to try riding my bike to the bus station and ride the bus to work more often. It tags on quite a bit of extra time in my commute, but I’ve just grown to really resent driving recently. Tough in a car-dependent area of a car-dependent nation.

Unlock the power of Costco

At the end of this year we went to Costco a few times and I forgot how much is there in terms of building blocks for easy meals. I want to come up with some meal plans using Costco stuff to cut down on grocery costs and also make dinner a bit easier at the end of the day.

Well that’s about it. I have some other vague goals of journaling or meditating but I can’t really put it into words yet.

See you in a few months, wall of text.