#kp merch

[apoluvre]

⌞ shop catalogue ⌝

hi hi! opening my shop again on september 1st 🌷

⤷ orders will be put in after october 1st

⤷ sticker-only orders and prints will go out immediately

⤷ orders including charms will go out mid-october due to production time

⤷ shipping domestically (US) and internationally w tracking

let me know if you have any questions O(∩_∩)O

ʚ twitter promo post ɞ

[bublinko]

Katy Perry - When I'm Gone comics painting by @stephaniegunnz

AVAILABLE HERE

[dinogaby]

What a wonderful use of your talents! 🥹 He turned out adorable!

Have a ringling, tingling, Chris Cringling Christmas and have a hop a long, sing a long Happy Holiday!

I've been wanting a Snowman Hank Christmas ornament since last year, so now that we've got ourselves a 3D printer... I made the perfect topper for my Christmas tree! I had to sculpt his moustache by hand because the printer had a slight error (forgot to add support beams there). Photo's can't do justice with just how cute he looks!!! I am thinking of making a Sketchfab account so I can upload these files for people to print themselves!

Anyway, Merry Christmas and have a jolly golly fun and safe new year~!

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Things that "allegedly" happened at the Aus tour that might have caused William to initiate the royal foundation split asap -

1. Jason stayed back in London at KP and did not accompany the couple to Australia. Quite a bit of the HnM staff went to Australia but point of contact the remained Jason in London. The harkle shenanigans were directly reported to Jason at KP during this time. And maybe Jason talked to William while Harry was away

2. Jessica accompanied Meghan as her stylist. But essentially Meghan and Jessica treated it as a holiday and wanted to do holiday stuff even though the couple's schedule was packed. Rumours are that Jessica/Meghan billed Clarence house for this styling expenses.

3. Meghan sort of sabotaged Invictus and wanted to be there with Harry at every Invictus appearance and give a speech as well. Harry in the end, ditched Invictus and only did a couple of appearances to give a speech. But did not meet with the organizers or the participants. While this is not related to RF or KP directly, it showed bad faith. Now we know they did mistreat David Beckham.

4. Jessica's husband Ben had also come over from Canada with a crew. This was done in the garb of covering invictus but rumours were that Meghan wanted to do an exclusive interview about her pregnancy. The staff put a stop to this. Seems like this was a similar arrangement to what the couple eventually did in SA with Bradby and the "no one asked if im okay" interview.

5. Meghan's people had kinda roped in Jaguar to be Invictus sponcers and arranged a Jaguar to be gifted to Ben as a thank you gift for the exclusive interview with the Canadian network. Staff got to know and put a stop to it becoming news. Rumours are that Ben then flew back, but still got the Jaguar.

6. Meghan did not like staying at the governor generals official residence. Esp since Jessica was with her. She wanted the whole house as opposed to a wing. Jason and the KP team had to sort that headache out and smooth it out with the Australian team. Meghan remained mad.

7. She had an argument with the Governor generals wife, allegedly over staff treatment. rumours are that Meghan used the F- word and rolled her eyes. Happened in front of KP and aus staff. This was pretty much a diplomatic incidence and BP+govt got involved.

8. She wanted to accompany Harry at every one of his solo engagements. This caused quite a bit of hassles last minute. They were late to nearly all their engagements.

9. The blood diamond earrings situation happened. She wore the earrings without letting the staff know. KP/London staff were told one thing and issued a statement but later were told by staff in Australia about the true provenance. From a diplomatic pov this was a very bad look but Meghan said she did not care.

10. Tea throwing incidence happened and tea allegedly spilled over one of her PAs. That PA was being bullied by Meghan for a while and decided to leave. She was paid and an iron clad NDA had to be signed. But this incidence became quite an big legal issue for KP and there was allegedly a super injunction about this.

11. Jason decided to officially forward the bullying complaint to Simon case, BP HR and CH in writing. And maybe talked to William because staff's mental health was at stake.

12. She walked out of the UN women engagement after 10min and berated her staff, while at the venue, for arranging this. She allegedly ripped her Amy and her female body guard a new one infront of everyone, including royal rota. Amy cried. And the female bodyguard handed in her resignation that day.

13. She allegedly skipped/ditched some engagements to go to a spa/resort with Jessica. This caused some embarrassment because a lot of people had put in a lot of time and efforts into making these happen- reporters, organizers, local authorities, security, attending public and staff were all left embarrassed.

14. She was merching throughout the tour. She had arranged for merching deals and freebies and the staff wasn't made aware. Ethically, this caused quite some problems for KP. Gifts were also accepted in Australia personally by the couple against staff advice.

15. The pricetag on one of her dresses was left on when she walked out of a plane. She was embarrassed and ripped into her assistant for that. That was a merch which went wrong for her.

16. The couple was rude to the royal rota throughout. Even though the rota had been previously briefed about the kind of coverage Meghan wanted. Jason had to frantically be smooth things over constantly from London to ensure positive coverage from the press.

17. At least 4 members of meghans staff handed in their notice while on tour. This got back to KP/William who felt they had to act asap.

18. The couple constantly rowed while in Australia, and staff was put in an impossible sandwich situation while dealing with two. Both H and M were constantly on social media checking commments and were issued that public was criticising Meghan. They constantly telling staff to cover social media and clab back, instead of doing actual work.

Thank you so much! I remembered it was a disaster, but I’d forgotten some of the details.

They also took some vacation days at a resort, and there were rumors it was a freebie. And she made that speech claiming she’d paid her way through Northwestern and her dad and sister clapped back at that.

It really was a nightmare. I smh whenever Harry claims his family was jealous about how well they did in Australia.

[zeether]

So I was looking at this one gallery of KP art that was sold on eBay etc which had some concept art by a couple of guys who did official art for merch/magazines etc (Mickey and Julian Jordan) and among it all was this batch of art done based off of the Star Tr-er, "Space Passage" bit from Dimension Twist and it's rad as hell??? I don't think any of this was published anywhere but it's cool

[always-an-evergreen]

Oversized mug for my small bag and small dosage of coffee :') haven't had a week of my own brew, but it ended being very good! My favorite KP merch honestly, even if it's temporary

[the-empress-7]

It won’t be odd if they (or her) finally release that Instagram account but maybe using: Office of the Duchess of Sussex, and see how it will be a half between being an influencer and being an activist/royal. She is desperate for the royal dust. And her or their IG will be like SussexRoyal or KP/RF

Did you except her instagram to be plain mm? Nothing royal? She did too much work for years to simply not enjoy that. Of course she will and i will say it again and again good for her. I hope she takes sr as well because why not?

I think the two things preventing her from coming back are 1. She'll have to buy followers and that's super risky 2. The FTC rules are pretty strict, and she doesn't want to disclose her merching deals

[discluded]

this is super long but i've been a fan of a kpop group for years now and the kinnporsche fandom mirrors many aspects i've seen in kpop as well... the development of solo stans who fight about which of their faves is the most mistreated, the campaigning for solo schedules, the idea that their fave is a helpless victim held captive by the company and needs help from the fans, etc.

also, when i first saw mileapo go to the airport and boc told fans when to go there to see them, i was extremely worried bc i've seen my faves get mobbed at the airport many times and the only thing that works is establishing a strict fan culture of 'don't go to the airport' which maybe has the exception of official schedule (which is clearly marked different bc press will be there) and 'keep physical distance and don't run after them'. everything that's not announced is private schedule and any photos/infos of private schedule are not to be shared. the kp cast indulges fans by posing for pictures with them, but i wonder when it'll become too much... for my group, differentiating between public and private time works ok mostly, although there are still 'fans' who don't care and share that anyways, but it creates a different fandom environment, i think.

i know that international fans like to see current photos (and since the hype is fairly new, i guess it's also fun for the guys, for now), but at least in my fandom, a lot of the people who take almost professional photos are also stalkers (sasaengs) who buy and trade private (including flight) information. unless it's been officially announced, nobody should know which flight they're taking. if they still know, they've probably bought the info or know someone who has. it's almost impossible to stop that bc sadly there's always someone who will sell it, for the right price. while boc could get better security at the airport, it is still the fan culture that enables this stalking behaviour, especially when they make money from selling the photos as merch to fans. there surely are fansites who are not stalkers, but sometimes it's hard to see the difference and a lot of fans don't even care as long as the photos look good. i know of several fansites of my favourite group who have even been publicly blacklisted by the label, but they still have hundreds of thousands of followers on twitter... if boc does anything, it should be to discourage fans from going to the airport in general, and the fans themselves need to create a different fandom environment where most fans (everyone is impossible) agree on appropriate behaviour and draw clear lines both in direct contact with the artists and online with which accounts + content to share and praise.

💯

[btm-txt]

Love the Sonic movies or hate them I think the most important part about them regardless is that they bring Sonic as a whole into the popular mainstream. Ultimately creating more content and merchandise for the franchise.

As a kid/teen that was OBSESSED with Sonic even though the games and comics were popular enough it still was a rather niche fandom. 

Merchandise was hard to find which always made me incredibly heartbroken, and the few pieces of merch that I could get my hands on were plain T-shirts or shitty quality plushies that I treasured. 

Not only that, the fandom itself wasn’t as accepted either, I can’t tell you how many times I got mocked for liking Sonic or gotten the odd looks and disappointed eye rolls from my family, which ultimately made me distance myself from the fandom all together as I got older. 

And that’s not even getting into the online space surrounding the fandom as a whole, the mocking, the harassment, and bullying of young artists for committing the atrocious sin of making -gasp- mary-su ocs and -double gasp- shipping them with their favorite canon characters  ‘Shadow the Hedgehog would never!!’ -clutches pearls-

All joking aside it was a shit time to be a kid that liked Sonic, everyone thought you were either cringe or the goddamn fandom antichrist. 

I bring this up because in a way the second Sonic movie sparked my interest back into the fandom. The first movie came and went and I couldn’t care less about it, I had moved on from the fandom for years now. 

It wasn’t until my sister really wanted me to watch the second movie with her in theaters because she remembered how much I loved sonic that I caved and watched it with low expectations. I know it’s silly, but watching it reminded me of the little things that I loved about Sonic and the fandom behind it, seeing Super Sonic on the big screen really resonated with me and really made me rethink about these characters in a way I haven’t thought of in years. 

Now as an adult I can really see the shift in the pop culture surrounding Sonic and it’s mostly because of the popularity of the movies. Now I can find sonic merch essentially anywhere, from the mall, to the grocery store, shit even Amazon has same-day delivery Sonic merch. It’s incredible! I now have the ability to collect all the sonic action figures my teen self would cry over, on top of so much cool stuff out there from stickers, to clothing, to plushes, lamps, stationary supplies, literally anything both fandom made AND official merchandise. My inner child is thriving!

But beyond that, the effect of these movies resonating with kids just creates a whole new love for these characters. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overheard kids in the mall talk about sonic and sonic characters with genuine excitement and have somebody else join in the excitement from their peers to their parents, its really heartwarming to see honestly. 

I hesitantly wore one of my Sonic shirts to work expecting some snarky comments from my coworkers about me liking Sonic, only to have them respond in excitement from ‘omg Shadow? I love him he’s so cool!’ To ‘omg my kids LOVE Sonic and are so obsessed with him!’ which genuinely took me aback at the sheer positivity of it all and the great conversations I’ve had with people over it rather than being joked on. 

All this to say is that I understand the autistic hyper fixation on certain pieces of media and characters in general (trust me I love the Archie comics but looking at KP’s new work literally gives me psychic damage and I avoid it like the plague) but you have to realize that Sonic at the end of the day is a franchise its not just one thing, and in regards to the movies they aren’t made for the old school fans they are made FOR CHILDREN, specifically children who don’t know who or what Sonic is. I know it can be hard to forget especially with all the easter eggs and inside jokes for the fandom but these movies are for kiddos to get introduced to Sonic as a whole. 

Is there better Sonic media out there? YES. But realistically not everyone has access to the video games, or the comics, or have Netflix to watch a show. While going to the movies is a dying breed its still one of the most accessible ways of getting family entertainment and introducing kids to new stories and new pieces of media. I don’t usually post my thoughts out there but seeing the fandom discourse over the movies just makes my eyes roll. Don’t like the live action stuff? cool totally valid, move on, there’s no need to shit on other people’s fun or ruminate on things you hate. 

This fandom already has a sea of creators doing their own projects and storylines with these characters that in my opinion are leagues better than anything canon can come up with. 

I like Sonic, I like Sonic merch, I like seeing the excitement of new people coming into the fandom and making their own fun. While I personally hate Sonic interacting in the human world and having human companions (hated it since Sonic X baby) If the movies is what’s keeping the Sonic train alive and thriving fuck it we ball. At the end of the day the movies aren’t made for me they are made to make money  for kids to be entertained. 

I personally can’t wait to see Shadow on the big screen regardless, I’m interested to see how they end up adapting his story for the movie. I know in my heart of hearts that’s not the same Shadow I grew up with but honestly Shadow hasn’t been the same since they took away his guns. 

Actually none of the characters are the same for each interpretation of their stories from the comics, to the video games, to the big screen they are not the same and I’m at peace with that, its like everything has its own AU and I love multi universe stuff in general.

Ramble over,  just wanted to put some thoughts out there that were rattling on my mind. I get that this is the complaining website but seeing post after post of this discourse feels like there’s a point that is missing, I understand emotional attachment to a franchise but keeping a franchise alive is also a huge plus for the fandom as a whole. More movies fans = more people in the fandom, more people in the fandom means more interest in the content, more interest in the content means more content wether it be in more movies, shows, comics, video games, merch, ect.

I like Sonic content and I want to see more of it. 💙

TLDR: Whether or not you like the sonic movies it keeps Sonic as a franchise alive in the pop culture and ends up creating more content and merchandise in general. The movies themselves aren’t made for diehard fans they are made for this generation of children who are new to the franchise as a whole who probably didn’t have access to the video games or other forms of media to discover Sonic.  I understand the emotional attachment to this franchise and its characters but making post after post complaining about a piece of media you don’t like is generally unproductive and shits on people’s fun unnecessarily. You’ll have a better time cherishing and celebrating the pieces of media or headcanons you love most as opposed to ruminating on things you hate or upset you. 

[bublinko]

NEW ART AVAILABLE:

Katy Perry - One Of The Boys painting on paper BY @stephaniegunnz, inspired by Roxy Music album cover Size: 21cm x 18cm

BUY HERE

[erzabrianto]

40 days before 143, wearing KP Merch.

[sassyfrassboss]

So what's funny about this is I was at KP a year after their wedding, literally a day after Archie was born and their merch was one or two things!

[theromanceriot]

Black Rose Character Art

What KP character would you like to see next?

Hi, my name is Kate and I have a life long struggle of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). I love seeing all the cool ways author’s come up with swag or merch, as well as all the cool events out there, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I felt like I was missing out from time to time. However, given our lifestyle, I never know where we’re going to be from one year to the next, so events are kind of risky…

[chaos0pikachu]

Hi. What do you mean that GMMTV encourages the kpopification of BL? I understand the final answer but I'm lost on the rest.

I'ma be honest I don't know where that post went so idk what I said in full sorry dude

but overall, I mean that gmmtv markets their talent like Idols rather than Actors.

So it's something @lugarn has also brought up, but gmmtv works like an Old Hollywood Studio did. So in the 20/30s actors weren't freelance like they are now, they had contracts with specific studios. For example, Joan Crawford was under contract at MGM for years, studios would be the ones to choose what films the actors did, they'd also choose a "persona" for them as well to present to the public. This was often connected to the types of films they did, to blur the lines of the star with the film char they'd play and get the audience to build a connection (we'd call this a para-social relationship today) with them.

Joan was often cited as frustrated with MGM because she didn't feel like they were using her to her full potential but she couldn't do films that weren't MGM unless she dissolved her contract. It's like how First will never star in a MeMindY production he's contracted under GMMTV. Eventually Joan did dissolve her contract with MGM and moved to Warner Bros, whhere it was the same thing, ie she could only do films produced by Warner Bros but hey she got an Oscar and a pop culture iconic movie outta that deal so. Here's a good video about Joan Crawford.

Kpop operates in a similar way, companies will present group members as Idols often times with specific roles - Leader, Lead Vocal, Lead Visual, Main Dancer, Main Rapper blah blah blah - and a persona for them. They present a curated version of themselves to the public and are sold more as products than musicians*. You'll notice that there will be similarities to how Branded couples are marketed, not as actors but as products as well. Case in point:

This is merch for ForceBook, not them separately, not their characters in Enchante or Boss and a Babe, or Only Friends like you'd see with other actors but together. What's being sold and marketed here? What is the product? ForceBook, not Force and Book even, but Forcebook.

I tried to find merch for Man Suang but could only find someone reselling the film cups. I looked up Kinnporsche merch and found this, which includes a necklace that says "Porsche" a tracksuit based off the bodyguard uniform (which I would legit buy tbh). I also found a plush series based on the KP characters, and a lightstick based on the show.

Know what's not there? Anything that's specific to MileApo or BarcodeJeff or even BibleBuild.

When I looked up Bad Buddy this was the only merch I found (which is wild considering the popularity of the show). I did find OhmNanon merch but I couldn't tell if it was official so I'm erring on the side of caution and assuming it isn't.

But look at the difference between the merch for Bad Buddy, undenibly one of gmmtv's most successful shows to date, and ForceBook's "couples" merch.

Now, before anyone jumps me no I'm not saying Forcebook don't "deserve" merch or like whatever, but look at the merch for A Boss and a Babe and how it's marketed and labeled:

It's not labeled or marketed as "Boss and a Babe" it's marketed as "ForceBook". Force-Book plush dolls (as seen on a Boss and a Babe!), Force-Book folder (not even in the costumes of their chars lol). The closest to actual show merch is the mug.

So when I say gmmtv sells a weird combo of actor-idols I mean it. They're not selling the Actors as Actors first and foremost, they're selling them as a branded coupled up product.

If you look up Squid Game the merch you'll find is going to be specific to the show. Not the actors because the show it the selling point, the actors as a bonus, a benefit, an additional. People might go to see a movie for Angelina Jolie but they go to see her in a good movie. Because they wanna see her act.

gmmtv often makes shows that just have outright miscasts but the miscasts will happen b/c they need to keep their branded couple(s) together because the show isn't the product the branded couple is.

Fans don't care that ohm and nanon don't wanna work together again, or if they'd even be good in another series again, they just wanna see them together.

My thoughts aren't as articulate as they should be regarding this so forgive bro hope this made some sense at least

*I do want to note that the kpop industry IS getting better at treating their idols, there has been push back and progress made as well and I don't want that to get lost in the sauce here

[xcziel]

belated tuesday new release news

(i had the *worst* migraine yesterday and had to work a long shift so i was dead by the time i got home)

louse erdrich the mighty red

patterson's (and david ellis) lies he told me

'danielle steel' released triangle

society of lies by lauren ling brown

the mistletoe mystery a pocket story from the maid author nita prose

for horror buffs the last one at the wedding by jason rekulak

third realm karl ove knausgard

rupi kaur's milk & honey special collector's edition

the wild huntress by emily lloyd-jones

song to drown rivers by ann liang joins the fancy sprayed edges gang

city in glass by nghi vo

also a fancy edges version of emily henry's beach read

fang fiction by kate stayman-london

frieda mcfadden thriller the boyfriend

john scalzi's starter villain is out in paperback

in ya releases:

kathleen glasgow the glass girl

the heir by sabaa tahir, newest in the ember in the ashes series (new covers now in box set!)

catherine doyle's the dagger and the flame

lynne painter hardcover nothing like the movies

lauren roberts powerless + reckless box set

and volume seven of the lore olympus graphic novel series

* also, to tie in with the new maguire book elphie due out this month, all the new merch for the wicked movie is out so if you love the show/book or just pink and green there's so. much.

** plus the wicked lego sets and holiday legos are out! (i predict the poinsettia set will sell out fast)

in final fiction notes: sally roberts' intermezzo is selling out fast and the publisher is dragging their feet on printing more of the fancy trending cover just fyi

dan jones big new history tome henry v

ta nehisi coates' the message

malcolm gladwell revisits his bestselling idea with revenge of the tipping point

ina garten the barefoot contessa has a memoir out be ready when the luck happens

and dolly parton and her sister have a new cookbook good lookin' cookin'

a bunch of kids new releases also came out but the main one where i am is the last dragon on mars by scott reintgen, which going up against british import juggernaut impossible creatures

(note: my personal most looked-forward-to title of the month? villain. the sequel to hench by natalie zina walschots. i can't wait)

OH! OHHHH ! i can't believe i almost forgot to mention:

seven seas paid that horror show daemi for the rights to publish kp and the first volume is out in stores!!

idk whether to be pleased: art is nice! promo for my beloved characters! or to be upset: bad writing! money for a nightmare author!

(i mean .. i read the online translation that was running on wattpad (not good) and heard from some folks who bought the books from overseas and the consensus was that it was not well-written at all, but i have not read through this new version so maybe they got a better translator? new editor? who knows? i will have to check and see)

all i have to say is that if you do buy this, you should be obligated to go and watch or re-watch the show

[fanilys]

My experience at Number_i's 2024 Ariake concert

The Ariake concerts are now on Prime and I'm pretty sure Number_i's episode is the same show I went to. I've posted about how I prepared for the concert day, and now that my memory's been refreshed after watching the recording, I'd also like to talk more about my personal experiences and thoughts leading up to that day. I've watched the recordings of some of their concerts with KP as well as the Tokyo Dome concert back in March, but this is my first time watching them live, and also my first time watching any concert.

Since I was already going to Tokyo anyway, I also planned a whole vacation around it. I had been looking forward to it for months, but once I got there, a couple of things did not go as planned and I started to question whether it was a good decision to do all this after all. But then I remembered that the main reason for this trip was to see Number_i in concert, so I held on to that and tried not to be too negative. As long as I was able to make it to the concert and stay safe throughout my stay, then I'd still consider it a success.

As I've also mentioned in previous post, I only bought merch at the venue on the day of the show. I really wanted to buy a penlight since I felt like it could enhance the concert experience, but they were already sold out during my turn. I didn't plan on buying an uchiwa at first since I felt a bit awkward about holding up something with just one member's face. I would've preferred if there was one with all three of them. But I decided to buy one so I would still have something to hold during the show. I thought having three at the same time would be excessive, so I just got Hirano's since he was my first favorite among them and I liked his picture the most.

The size of the crowd was a bit of a shock to me, but it was generally orderly and I had some time to fix myself up before the show started. Even though I've read that Ariake Arena has a capacity of around 15,000, I couldn't really imagine what that number looked like until I was actually there. I'm not used to big crowds, but I thought it was amazing to see so many other fans who were also excited to be there. I don't personally know any other fans, so to suddenly be surrounded by other people who share the same enthusiasm for this group was really special. It was also a new experience to hear Number_i's songs being played around the venue while we were waiting outside. I was used to listening to them on my own, but hearing their songs in public made me even more excited.

During the application period, I applied for reserved seats and got selected for them. My seat was on the 2nd floor which was a bit far from the main stage, but had a good general view of the arena floor. Our section only had 2 rows, so it didn't feel crowded at all. As I was getting settled, the woman I was seated next to noticed my Hirano uchiwa and started a conversation with me since Sho was also her favorite. I tried to keep up as best as I can, but had to aplogize since my Japanese was only very limited. She seemed to know some English, so we were still able to chat for a bit. It was only a short conversation since there was still a language barrier, but it was just nice to meet a fellow fan and bond over our love for the group. As a fan, it made me feel welcome to be there even though I couldn't understand what most people were saying. It made me glad that I bought the Hirano uchiwa after all.

When the three of them appeared on stage for the first time, I felt a rush of excitement and relief that I couldn't hold back. I'd been wanting to watch them perform live ever since I became a fan of KP back then, but I didn't think it could happen anymore after the three of them left. It's a different group now, but my hope of watching them live was reawakened after they released their first single because I was once again in awe of their talent. Their new company also seems to be more open to international fans, so I thought I would at least try.

I had my hopes up for the Dome concert and started making plans already, but I didn't get selected for that and felt down about it for a while. When they announced their Ariake concert, I still planned to give it a try, but prepared myself for disappointment again. When I saw that I had been selected, I was ecstatic, but also very anxious. Of course, I was happy that I would get to see them soon, but I also knew that a lot of things could happen in between. Finally seeing them on stage after months of anticipation made it all worth it. All of my little troubles melted away for the meantime as soon as the first performance started. We were allowed to record the first 3 songs, and when I watched the video I took after the show, I was surprised to hear how loudly I cheered during that first reveal! It was so thrilling to witness first-hand.

The audience cheered throughout the show, but nowhere near as loudly as I thought they would. I've heard that's common for concerts in Japan, but it may also be because I was in a less crowded section. I was still able to cheer a lot, but I did find myself holding back when I felt that everyone else had gone quiet. The good thing about it was that I was able to hear the guys clearly and focus on their performances.

The moving stages allowed them to get closer to different sections of the arena. Although they probably couldn't see me, I still got excited and waved at them whenever they were near us. I hoped my energy and support would still reach them 😅 When I got a closer look, I realized that they really looked the same as they do on screen. They're all cool and handsome guys, but in that moment, I would describe them all as incredibly cute! Particularly Jin, who I thought looked even cuter and more youthful in person even though I already knew that he's the youngest among them. They also sound almost exactly as they do in their songs, so honestly, there were times when I had to remind myself that I was actually watching them in the flesh 😂 They hit all the right notes and I realized once again how beautiful their voices are. Kishi's strong and unwavering vocals were the most striking for me, but Sho also had a smooth, almost calming voice.

I could only understand some parts of the MC portion, but I still enjoyed their energy. One of the reasons why I liked them in the first place was that they were entertaining to watch even if I couldn't understand everything they were saying. The woman next to me also let me know what was going on during some of the times they were interacting with the audience, which I was really grateful for. I'm glad the Prime broadcast has English subtitles too, so I was able to enjoy it fully this time. They seemed to cut the part when these photos were taken though, which is a bit sad since that was one of the moments from the MC portion that stuck out the most to me.

ETA: I almost forgot—I'm pretty sure Kishi did his "happiness" bit at some point too, but they also removed that from the broadcast. It felt somehow iconic to be able to hear that live lmao, so I'm a bit sad I couldn't relive that moment. I only remembered because Kishi also did that during their first Youtube live a few days ago, but other fans have noticed that it was cut from the archive. I wonder why.

Of course, it would've been better if I understood everything during the concert itself, but it was still fun to watch their banter. It was also endearing to hear each of their distinct laughs in person.

The concert was a lot of fun and honestly more chill than I was expecting, probably in part due to the crowd's decorum. I tried my best to be present and commit everything to memory, but the whole show really flew by. From my seat, it was a bit challenging to appreciate all the details of the choreography due to the distance. I was also looking back and forth between the members on stage and on the screens, so some of it became a blur, but I still really enjoyed all of the performances.

Even though I've already listened to GOAT so many times since its release, it still felt fresh to hear live and it was the best song to keep me and the crowd hyped up until the end. The last song, Yumeno Tsuzuki, is one of my favorite songs of theirs and it was lovely to hear them sing it, but it really enhanced the bittersweet feeling of the show coming to a close.

It felt surreal to go back home (to where I was staying) knowing that the thing I had been looking forward to for months, and at times stressing out about, was finally over. I suddenly had the feeling of wanting to see them again right away even though I knew that, given my circumstances, it would take a while for that to happen. For now, I was just happy that I was able to have this one experience. I ate a hearty dinner that night and was happy to see their instagram posts after the show.

Even though the concert felt like it was over too quickly, I was fully content and happy at the end of it. I realized that maybe it was a good thing that I didn't get selected for the Dome concert. At least this time around, I had more time to prepare. The size of the crowd and duration of the concert for Ariake were also just right for me as a first timer. I feel like I might've been more overwhelmed if I went to the Dome concert, especially since Number_i had a shorter set then, so I was thankful that this was the one I got selected for instead.

They will be having a tour around Japan starting on October. I did think about taking another trip for it, but for now I've decided to pass since it would probably be smarter to save more money first. I'm holding on to hope that there will be another opportunity for me to see them again. Right now, I just feel so blessed that I got to see them at their first solo concert as Number_i. This memory will always be precious to me ♡