#proxy shipping

[flakytartart]

ANYONE ANIME NORTH ATENDEES DOWN TO BUY ME SOMETHING AT ARTIST ALLEY?

HELLO!! I am interested in an item that can only be purchased in-person at Anime North in Toronto, Canada...but unfortunately I'm stuck 3,500 miles away in Hawaii. 💔

One of the artists selling this zine is naro (@naroym_ on Twitter) and I believe they'll be at table #444 (right side blurred due to possibly disturbing imagery). It's the "Adachi risograph zine"

I'd pay for the price of the zine, shipping, and a little extra for your troubles (maybe $10-20?? or I'll buy YOU a copy if you're also an Adachi fan lol) via PayPal.

The zine itself is ~$25 USD. I'm not entirely sure if they'll have it out on their table, so please consider asking the artist/whomever is running the booth for a copy just in case it's a special "if you're in the know" situation.

Ideally you'd buy it, I reimburse you (within 24 hours), then we discuss shipping shortly after the convention is over. When everything is packed/ready to go, I pay for the shipping and then you drop that bad boy off at the post office!!

Please sandwich the book between thick cardboard/chipboard when shipping. I really don't want it to get bent on the way here.

I have good standing as a seller and buyer on Mercari and eBay (I'm not sure why this matters to some people but it does. I can and will pay you back asap.)

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE DOWN. >:,J

[maleficentmrsofallevil]

Using Buyee proxy shopping service

I purchased an Unoa Alchemic Labo Chibi Ririn/Lilin and three pairs of hands via Buyee, because the doll studio does not ship to the US directly. There were three fees: the "plan fee" of 500 yen, Buyee service fee of 300 yen, and shipping fee from the studio to Buyee for 970 yen. Shipping from Buyee to me was 3,988 yen via DHL. It was the second-cheapest option (the cheapest being air mail, which is considerably slower). With DHL, the doll took three business days to get from Japan to BFE Midwest USA. I like DHL.

I was very happy with the service. Buyee lets you download a PDF of your order with an itemization of all fees paid and the prices of items ordered. I noticed there was a definite attempt to "steer" me into choosing a slightly more expensive shipping option, but there was also a link where I could compare shipping options by price and speed.

The transaction was a breeze. There's a Google Translate button top right so that the webpage is automatically translated into your language of choice. Buyee offers coupons (excessively) for various websites, but if you don't want to buy something from their partner websites (Yahoo Japan auction, Yahoo Japan shopping, Mercari Japan, Rakuten, etc.), you just put in the link of the item you want to buy in the "Other Sites Information" section after you create an account. Buyee will confirm that your items are available to purchase, and then you pay for your items, plus an additional 800 yen for two of the fees. Shipping is charged after the items arrive at the Buyee warehouse, at which point, you are notified by email. Payment is via PayPal, which will translate from your currency to Japanese yen (at the WORST possible conversion rate, but that's a different post...). Buyee will hold your items at their warehouse for up to 30 days from arrival. After I paid for shipping, my items were on the way within a business day, and I got an email notice that my order shipped.

If there's one downside to using Buyee - boy, do I get a LOT of emails from them. Easily two to three a day. I'm sure I can opt out. But I'm lazy.

I've purchased a lot of stuff from Mandarake, whose shipping tends to get pricey. I feel pretty confident that it is cheaper to order via Buyee than it is to pay Mandarake directly for shipping, especially if you want items from two different Mandarake stores.

So: two big thumbs up from me. I liked the service. They were fast, communicative, and nice to work with. If I buy anything else from a Japanese store, I'll most likely use Buyee.

[adaki]

Sry I’m late, I was being held in a maximum security prison on a secluded island and they had no wifi.

[peppermint-twst]

pattythree has these “life-size” 8th anniversary posters for sale… i think they were released awhile ago but i’m so obsessed! i need like 5 of them.

here’s the link: https://shop.fav-cake.style/products/posters (you will most likely need a proxy service if outside japan)

some are sold out btw.

if you need a proxy shipper, i recommend buyee for multiple items since they charge a fee for the whole order. if you’re just getting one item, i recommend fromjapan since they’re MUCH quicker with ordering if you’re using a non-affiliated site like this one, but they charge a fee per ITEM.

buyee has a flat service fee which is 300 yen but they also have extra options for insured delivery and thoroughly checking your items. this is good if you get concerned about stuff like that, but you don’t have to pay for it. i usually only use it for more expensive things.

fromjapan includes all that with its 300 yen per item fee. but you can pay extra for photos of the items if that will give you peace of mind.

i didn’t know i was gonna make this post about japanese proxy shipping but here we are!

anyway, which posters would you get if you could?

i definitely want kohaku, hajime, and tori. i just love cute pastel boys.

also, the posters are all the same size but it looks like they make up the height differences by cutting their feet or legs off at the bottom so each of them can fit. i’m still not sure if they really are consistent with the scale they use though. it’s a bit iffy but idk….

[moving-to-dreamwinged]

one time on another platform when i was super new to self shipping i was like. how can you believe your f/o loves you back? and someone replied “don’t they bring you comfort? that is their love for you”

[ebaybears]

x

[thethiefandtheairbender]

my most underrated Kataang take is, I think, the inclusion of Katara's epiphany in The Fortune Teller at all. We've talked ourselves hoarse about how it's the clear turning point in how she consciously thinks of Aang (I will always mandate that she was just unknowingly down bad since the pilot because Look at her behaviour dear god) and how it's important that she has this epiphany even after knowing Aunt Wu's predictions 'aren't real' or necessarily set in stone.

What I want to talk about is why I think it's important that THIS is the moment she sees Aang in a new light amid his previous attempts to have her think of him 'differently' than she did at the beginning of the episode.

When Aang is being sweet to her (making her a woven accidental-betrothal necklace that she happily accepts), Katara is appreciative and responsive, but still says "he's just a good friend, a sweet little guy, just like Momo".

When Aang tries to flirt with her under Sokka's aloof guise, it falls flat. When he tries to get her attention in general (and when having parallels with Meng), it likewise doesn't work.

Finally, he tries the flower but it falls into the lava (symoblism, anyone?) and they have bigger things to deal with, like making sure the town isn't completely wiped out by the volcano. It's also worth noting that after Aang's conversation with Meng:

He never actively tries pursuing or wooing Katara in the same way. He's still kind towards and supportive toward her, of course. He, at some point (probably after the 2nd cheek or third cheek kiss) eventually starts to think (understandably) that Katara has feelings for him. But as of The Fortune Teller, he's stopped trying to have her see him in a new light or do a big romantic gesture.

And that's exactly when she does, consciously, fall for him.

Not when he's trying to woo her in failed, false personas, not when he's being his sweet romantic self, but when he's being the most himself all episode: Aang, "the bravest person [she] knows, who's done nothing but help people and save lives" since she met him (1x12).

He's not paying attention, he's not trying to impress her. He's just being a good, determined Avatar. A good, helpful person. A powerful bender, completely in control of himself and his element. Being himself.

Her Aang.

[defeateddetectives]

has this been done yet

[ryllen]

Birthday pat

[necrotic-nephilim]

jealousy really is the driving force of DamiTim as a ship. love that for them. love how Tim has the Robin mantle ripped away from him and he has to suffer the jealousy of watching Dick and Damian bond. how possessive over Dick Tim can be, to have him stolen by Dick.

even more so though, is the jealousy from Damian. how on earth do you cope when you finally get to be Robin, a role you've convinced is your birthright, and no one really likes you? every prefers the Robin who came before you? Dick regularly reminds you that he can always go and call Tim back when you act out? like the complex Damian has over Tim is unreal. Tim, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had everything handed to him his whole life. he never had to struggle or fight for his place like Damian did. Damian has spent his whole life fighting and proving himself, and yet he can't ever seem to truly claw the mantle of Robin away from Tim. even when Tim lets it go, becomes Red Robin, they seem to share it. Tim can slip back into the role of Robin whenever someone like Dick or Bruce need him to, because *he's* the Robin who they need. he's the Robin who was able to find Bruce. he's the Robin that Ra's wants an heir out of. he's the Robin who even Jason respects. in Damian's eyes, everything Damian has fought tooth and nail for, was handed to Tim.

so of course he's going to react to Tim with violence and aggression, especially after finding out Tim has contingency plans for him. no matter how much Damian proves himself, he's never going to be enough, especially not to Tim. and so his deep refusal to see Tim as family, to acknowledge Tim's legacy is all driven by such an angry jealousy. Tim understands aspects of Bruce's legacy that Damian doesn't, like the need to sweet talk and play nice with the elites of Gotham, even if they're corrupt. they exemplify different aspects of Robin, and the aspects that Tim exemplifies are the aspects that Damian knows he'll never fully understand and therefore holds such a deep contempt for. he wants to fight criminals, not play nice with politicians. Tim understands the side of Gotham that's utterly foreign to Damian. if anything, he represents that side of Gotham, to Damian. a pretty little rich boy who's nothing but a know-it-all and not a real son of Bruce. he can't be a Wayne. he can't be Damian's family.

and all of that angry jealousy leading to unhealthy obsession turned a weird, angry crush from Damian is just my bread and butter. that is how DamiTim should be. to me. Damian obsessed over hating Tim Drake so much he accidentally ends up sort of in love with him and that only makes Damian angrier. because he can't prove everyone right by *also* liking Tim. he can't let Ra's win like that, because frankly why wouldn't Ra's be delighted by Damian and Tim getting together. and it builds and builds with angry passive aggression towards Tim that culminates in angry hate-fucking-that's-not-just-driven-by-hate. love and hate are always viewed as opposites in shipping and i think they're the same intense passion just in different directions. and for the best ships, they're very intertwined. what is DamiTim is not the peak of that. "i put so much of myself into hating you i had no choice but to fall in love with you somewhere along the way" core. love that bleeds into hate and hate that bleeds into love. "you make me so angry i regularly passively try to kill you but not with any real effort because who would i obsess over if you were actually gone" core. murder attempts as a form of courting. contingency plans to take each other out as a love language. they're unwell.

[radpus]

Doodlin

[mushiemellows]

Franky wasn’t allowed on the whole cake adventure because if he’d seen Jinbei call the Sunny a damn fine ship, say that it handles like a dream, then hit the perfect Kowabunga on that wave he would have not been able to keep himself from kissing that shark sloppy style with tongue

[maleficentmrsofallevil]

Using Koreanbuddies proxy shopping service

Buyee (Japan proxy) review here.

Website: koreanbuddies.com

Fees: 12 percent of order, $12 (USD) minimum.

What I bought: 2 Mimi World dolls

Total order: $42.94 for dolls, $12 for order fee, $62.50 for DHL shipping from (South) Korea to me in Midwest BFE USA. I did have the option for them to unbox the dolls and put in a smaller, cheaper box, but I wanted the boxes (may explain the higher fee).

Look! I cleaned my desk! A little...

This is (per the website) Fashion Mimi/Pose Mimi Newface Chic Mimi, and my little problem child. I provided the link to order her direct from Mimiworld, but apparently, she was out of stock. I ordered her on June 17. The other doll arrived to the proxy right away, but her status was listed as "shipping to proxy" until I emailed the website on July 6, 2023. I read some online reviews, and this is a bit of a recurring theme. Seems like you have to pester them.

Turns out she was out of stock, and Mimiworld cancelled the order. The proxy did find a replacement doll for me at another Korean toy shop, and the doll was on sale. I did not see a refund or credit for the reduced price.

She arrived today. The box was a little crushed in one corner, which, for $62.50? Meh.

Koreanbuddies doesn't offer the lovely PDF download of your order like Buyee does, so that was a disappointment, too.

In summary, it seems like Koreanbuddies is a smaller proxy, and one you have to keep an eye on. Probably won't use them again.

Newface Mimi is STIFF out of the box. She creaks a little when you move her joints, and it takes a little force to move her arms. She can shake her head no, but her head doesn't move up and down or side to side (swivel joint versus ball joint). Her legs are a little more floppy, but she remains upright nicely on her stand. She's around $13 USD, and I would say the quality of her plastic is a little lower than Mattel/Barbie, but the clothes are nicer. That bum bag tho... (blech)

She comes with a plastic necklace, earrings, sunglasses (translucent), a hat, a watch (black), a bracelet (ditto), a mobile phone (plastic with a phone sticker), top, pants, shoes, and itty bitty teeny tiny socks. Oh, and the ugly bum bag. Earrings are on posts and easily removable. She was held in place with plastic-coated wire (not plastic jibbers). Her hair is soft, but it feels a little greasy. She's cute, and I'm glad to add her to my collection.

[the-fab-fox]

I am super tempted to just bite the bullet and write the ridiculous Malleus x Rollo x Idia x Azul fic that has been banging around in my head for a week.

[snikt111]

hi hi hi hi I found out about Hal Jordan TODAY and am going so autistic over him it’s insane can you please give me a rundown on what his deal is I think you’re the Tumblr Green Lantern guy

omg hi, insane compliment btw, tysm! i'm glad to give you a rundown!! also definitely check out @katmaatui for more hal info, red is SUPER knowledgable abt him. @rillette, @catboyollie, @halcarols, @starsapphire and @yellowcorps (along with so many others that i cant think to tag off the top of my head) have some great hal takes too! (edited the post just to tag more ppl)

apologies if this is a bit rushed/messy, i'm doing this while i smelt stone in minecraft LMAO

that being said... i think this will be a long one, so more below the cut :3

(cw for light mentions of pedophilia, abuse, canon typical violence)

okay, so hal jordan is the first human green lantern of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. it's important to note that there was technically a human green lantern before him (alan scott, originally from earth two/the justice society, but integrated into main DC canon after crisis), but his power comes from a different source- which is a whole different ballpark that would take ages to explain, lol, so i'll move on from that.

hal was originally introduced in a showcase issue in 1959, but ended up getting a solo run in the mid 60s because of his showcase issues doing well. he's been a test pilot, middle brother, compassionate, rule follower (although being surprisingly liberal for the time) with an interesting relationship with star sapphire carol ferris since those first appearances. for the first 20 odd years of his appearances we had no information on his parents, but we got a lot from other family members, such as uncle titus, cousin hal jr (aka airwave), younger brother jim jordan and older brother jack jordan. through the 60s and 70s those members of his family were developed along with him; with the audience learning that jim's wife sue thought jim was green lantern, rather than hal, and hal himself training his cousin, hal jr.

the most known version of how hal got the ring in the first place is probably based off of geoff john's rewrite in the mid 00s, reiterating the original story of abin sur crashing onto earth and dying, leaving hal with his ring to be trained by sinestro and the rest of the glc, while also changing miniscule details that had been developed in emerald dawn 1 & 2 (which was released in the 90s, more on that later). the main premise of abin sur's crash has stayed the same, but the story around hal's current life, job, family and stability keep changing. for instance, the original comic with abin sur in showcase only showed hal getting the ring, the guardians choosing him. the first rewrite i can think of was emerald dawn volume 1, published in 1989 and continued in emerald dawn v2 (1991). here we get the classic hal watches his father die in a plane crash with carol ferris beside him as a pre adolescent, and some of the biggest implications of the mistreatment from his father. we also get introduced to hal, despite his stick to the rules, straight edge attitude, making some serious mistakes and putting people in danger and even death- with the implication of alcohol abuse. the audience HAS known hal used to be in the air force since sometime in the late 60s or early 70s (sorry, i don't remember the exact issue!), but emerald dawn shows us that hal's moved on from the air force and into test piloting, and that his mother keeps having to bail him out for making mistakes. emerald dawn vol 1 shows the abin sur moment, followed by fights that cost hal's friends life, and is followed up by sinestro training hal in emerald dawn vol 2, where we get to see the iconic scenes of hal finding out about sinestro and his... dictatorship.

along with that; how the guardians and rings are treated and hal and the glc's perception of them is vastly changed over time. in the early days of gl in the 60s, the guardians were really never to be seen. hal was repeatedly summoned to them and then had his memory almost fully wiped- only leaving a vague notion of his orders. the guardian's called hal to them at seemingly the worst times, ending up with him almost getting injured, getting in trouble at work, and even ending up jobless and homeless. the chaos of being a green lantern has been around the WHOLE time, but originally, the green lanterns didnt really... fight it. the guardian's were their masters (and even father figures, to hal) and not to be questioned. the rings in the 60s were also much more powerful, despite the yellow weakness (the yellow weakness is the notion that from about the 60s to the mid 90s the green lantern rings were completely unable to be used against anything yellow). time travel, phasing, teleporting, etc were all very viable and common things- as well as forceful shapeshifting, invisibility, mind control, mind reading, etc etc. these days, writers have dampened these powers down to mostly shooting light and constructs.

okay, it's parallax time. the emerald twilight arc from the mid 90s wasn't an arc that was as thoroughly planned out over a long period of time as it probably should have been. a lot of fans at the time (and even now) hated what happened there, and claimed it ruined hal's character entirely. i can understand why! but, at it's core, the parallax arc is a story about a broken man pushed to the limit, fully grieving his home and family (originally, he lost his brother jim in the destruction of coast city, along with a lot of other family members) and being goddamn fed up with how his "masters" treated him and the rest of the corps. the so called "perfect lantern" (no, he wasn't that much of a rebel, despite what johns wants you to think) snapped and essentially tried to gain as much power as he could to bring back coast city. when the guardians stripped him of his powers so he couldn't, hal became enraged and took down every lantern in his path, just to get to the guardians and that power. long story short, he kills the guardians and absorbs all the energy from the central power battery on oa, becoming parallax- essentially a god. this marks the start of zero hour, an event made by dc to restructure and reset; giving the comics a new generation of heroes. hal destroys the world and remakes it, but is ultimately taken down by kyle rayner, the new green lantern, with the help of the jla, jsa and associates. there are a few more run ins with parallax after this, before kyle convinces parallax/hal that he can make up for all of this by reigniting the sun after it went out- aka killing himself. hal does it, is stuck in limbo for awhile and then becomes the spectre to continue to make up for the horrible things he did as parallax. the spectre is the spirit of god's wrath and vengeance, a weapon used to drag sinners to their very own, self made hells, and scare the shit out of people. the spectre, from it's very first appearance, is a ghost like spirit that takes on a host, and is primarily described using christian terms and is used in a very... christian ideology. HOWEVER, the spectre 2001 confirms that hal is jewish (jewish mom, catholic dad) and that belief system, plus his personality as a whole, literally makes him change the spirit of vengeance into the spirit of redemption, for at least as long as they are bonded. the whole parallax to spectre arc is about grief, pain, cycles of abuse and terror, redemption and guilt. it is NOT about a fear bug that possess hal. (im so serious though, the spectre 2001 is one of the best comics ive ever read. amazing. changed my world view) but... geoff johns changed all of it, decanonized the spectre, and ruined the legacy of parallax and hal's growth as a person by releasing green lantern: rebirth in 2004/2005. this retcons hal's breakdown and journey through grief into him BEING POSSESSED BY AN ENTITY CONTROLLED BY SINESTRO THAT FULLY CHANGES PREVIOUS GREEN LANTERN CANON AND IMPLICATIONS. also, fucks up the importance of kyle becoming ion, but whatever. geoff johns writes hal (and even more so, carol) so very wrong, and change their stories so vastly in ways that go against the stories very meanings.

SIGH.

now... time to get started on some rougher stuff. hal jordan misconceptions. i'm saving that arc for last.

- hal jordan wasn't much of a rule breaker or rebel until the 70s/80s, where he BEGAN (very slowly, mind you) to be radicalized by oliver queen during denny o'neil's green lantern/green arrow. hal was painted as more of a conservative during this period (which, admittedly, kind of goes against previous canon... he's always been relatively central to liberal, not to any extremes like ollie though, lol) but gets more and more understanding of how power structures work and how lower classes are mistreated during this time- which ends up opening his eyes a bit to how shitty the guardians are. (this is helped by the guardians literally just. leaving. the green lanterns and kind of disbanding them so they can go fuck the zamarons, lmao). geoff johns tried to change this narrative into making hal a very... maverick-from-top-gun type of character, who punched his way out of the military (when, in reality, the original story during emerald knights in the late 90s was that hal had been framed for stealing a jet and was dishonorably discharged, which he took the punishment for because he knew someone had to) and hits on women constantly and gets ladies and allat (which, funnily enough hal was awful at getting carol to like him for a long time, since carol fell for green lantern rather than hal. not to mention the awkwardness of carol's proposals or hal's many, many failed relationships). hal has always been insecure and lowkey boyfailure, he is NOT a top gun maverick tom cruise sorta guy! fuck you jeremy adams!

- hes not that much of an idiot asshole. hal can be a real dick, he's had that going for him since the beginning, but he isn't what you read in batfam fics. he's not stupid and shouldn't be the laughingstock of the justice league. i assume this idea started from the obsession with batfam and the fact that the jla has quite the history of ignoring hal and his issues (as well as. all of their issues. theyre not so great at work life balance), but it's gone too far. hal isn't making fun of the robins and pissing bruce off bc of that. hal isnt fooling around on the job 24/7 (he takes being a gl and pilot VERY seriously, although he does enjoy some danger and high stakes) or slacking off to get girls. again. not top gun maverick.

- hal has not been a creep since the beginnings. hal was not weird with carol in the 60s. things were weird between them, yeah, but that's based off circumstance and the craziness of star sapphire and green lantern. he was NOT being horribly sleazy! i hate that i even need to say this, but i see this take too much not to

- going off of what was said above, lets discuss the arisia arc. if you want to be a real hal fan, this is unfortunately something you need to know about. in action comics, after crisis and the guardians left to go fuck the zamarons, most of the green lanterns fell apart and seperated. a small group went to earth- led by hal and consisting of hal, john stewart, katma tui, kilowog, salaakk, ch'p and arisia rrab. (also sometimes guy gardner, but that's complicated) previously to this arc, hal treated 14 year old arisia like a beloved little sister, welcoming her and leading her into the corps just like everyone else. things started to change once the timeline gets closer and closer to crisis, where arisia starts showing that she has a crush on hal (who is roughly 30s at this point). any advances made by arisia are shut down by hal at the beginning, because she's a child. now, it's unfortunately a common thing to just call hal a "pedophile" because of what happens in this arc- but it really isn't that simple. still weird and icky, but definitely not to the degree of which some fans like to act like it is- esp to attack hal fans for, which is... an odd choice regarding how many fucked up things every character (esp male characters) did back in the day. arisia ends up using her power ring to artifically age herself up, making her body AND MIND into that of a young adult (the comic makes this very clear). once this happens... hal stops rejecting her. they get together, they kiss. the only person in the group of green latnerns who actually has an issue with it is john (salaakk is meh about it, but he just doesn't like human-esque romance no matter what), and katma even directly encourages their relationship. kilowog ends up crushing on arisia as well, and guy gardner hits on her repeatedly throughout the whole period. eventually, hal and arisia break up, but this legacy (thank so much englehart, for wrtiting this. /sarc) is a big controversy among the comics crowd. "is hal jordan a predator?" personally, and i know a lot of friends/mutuals/other gl fans choose to erase the arisia arc entirely (versus how canon ended up retconning it to be 14 earth years is equal to that of an adult and she didn't really get super ages up, or whatever) and go with the familial relationship between hal and her. that's my preferred version! i know red (@katmaatui) has explored that version as well as an alternate version where the arisia arc did happen, and how it affects arisia in particular, which is really depressing but super interesting. anyway, it's complicated and weird and nuanced, but that whole occurence doesn't mean hal's a bad character or person (cause yk. retcons) and it's certainly not bad to like his character. (definitely ignore any guy gardner fans who try to bitch about this arc. cough cough. guy was ALSO into her and hit on her repeatedly. smfh) most people who bring this up to demonize fans didn't even read the arc, and don't know the nuance or the other weird shit that happens in it. (hal is not a horse, sigh)

OVERALL NOTES!

hal jordan is a super complicated character with an extensive history spanning from the 60s to his worse written appearances in modern age. it's okay to like any version of the character, but it is important to note the changes that have been made, the storylines butchered and lost, and more. he has quite the legacy, and he's particularly interesting as from a moral standpoint. hal's a real sweetie though, when it gets down to it! he's neurodivergent coded (imo at least.. his dad very much gets onto him for being disrtracted, hes kinda shit at social interaction (and then amazing at it the other half of the time) etc etc. "spacecase") and his dad is an abusive asshole, who he desperately doesnt want to be like but thinks he NEEDS to be like!

[fre4kshqw]

The man whose closet I live in told me to draw these cuties....