#these would be stickers/charms like my original set!

[retquits]

original set vs new...?

what do we think chat. should i do some winter versions

[the-himawari]

A3! Arisugawa Homare - Translation [SR] Bright Star of Blooming (1/2)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Sakuya: That cake looks incredibly delicious…!

Kazunari: Ikr! Isn’t this flower-shaped cake supes adorbs as well?

Muku: It is! Just looking at it makes me feel excited.

Homare: Indeed… it is difficult to choose since all of them are so charming.

Kazunari: In any case, handing sweets out to all the guests who are coming to the theatre is super duper nice of you!

Sakuya: Eating and drinking in the theatre is normally prohibited, so it feels special, doesn’t it?

Muku: That idea is so you, Arisu-san!

Homare: Well, seeing as everyone is coming all the way to visit, I wish to show them some hospitality. Since we are holding a talk show, I received special permission on this occasion as well.

Kazunari: We gotta chose the most banger sweets that our audience will eat right up.

Muku: …Ah. Does that store sell desserts as well?

Homare: Indeed. It’s a specialty tea shop. My grandmother also fancies that establishment, so you can be assured of their quality.

Kazunari: Speaking of which. Did you invite your grandma to the screening party too, Aririn?

Homare: Of course I did. Although, I have not received her reply yet.

Sakuya: I hope she comes. It’s a memorable play, after all.

Muku: I’m sure she will!

Homare: It would be splendid if so. Thank you.

-pause-

Kazunari: It’s been a hot minute since we’ve worn these costumes! I’m so pumped up~!

Sakuya: You’re right! Wearing these makes all the memories of our fun circus show come rushing back.

Muku: By the way, did Arisu-san’s grandma come today…?

Kazunari: Ooh, yeah! I bet she’s already here?

Homare: I’m afraid not. She turned down the invitation in the end.

Kazunari: Woah, seriously!?

Sakuya: That’s too bad…

Homare: It is what it is. Director-kun, could I get some of the footage for later use? I shall send it to her.

Izumi: I don’t mind…

Kazunari: …Is that really alright with you, Aririn?

Homare: Well… Of course I feel it is a shame. However, I am certain that my grandmother has her own reasons for not attending. …If it was my former self, then perhaps I would have simply felt sad. But now, I am able to put myself in the other person’s shoes. I can imagine the reasons for their actions and the thoughts behind them. That’s why I am perfectly fine.

Muku: Arisu-san…

Kazunari: I see. It’s Aririn’s grandma we’re talking about, so there must be some kinda meaning behind it.

Homare: That's right. Now then, my fellow Luminous Circus troupe! Shall we hit the lights for the first time in a while?

Troupe members: YEAH!

-pause-

Homare: What say you, ladies and gentlemen? Did you enjoy the screening of “The Luminous Circus”?

Guest A: It was fun!

Guest B: The Luminous Circus troupe is the best!

Kazunari: Aww yeahh~! Everyone’s all hyped up!

Muku: Thank you very much!

Sakuya: Okay, now we’ll be holding our talk segment…

Homare: Not so fast. Before that…

Manager: Heya, everyone. Please take these~.

Guest C: Huh? Are these cookies?

Guest D: They’re shaped like lions and tigers! How cute~!

Guest E: There’s an elephant balancing on a ball…! Are these circus themed? They’re so elaborate!

Homare: Have they reached everyone?

Audience members: YES!

Homare: Wonderful. Those are presents from us to you.

Kazunari: Y’know, sweets are great and all. But wouldn’t merch that lasts for a long time been good too? Like postcards or stickers or something!

Muku: Good point… we have Kazu-kun here with us. Maybe it would’ve been nice giving out some original merch.

Homare: That thought crossed my mind… even so, this time, I purposely chose something that would disappear.

Sakuya: What do you mean?

Homare: Being handed cookies at the theater is a special experience that doesn’t come by often. I want everyone to take that memory home with them—. Since nothing physical will remain, I want this experience to become an unforgettable memory for everyone… and with that wish, I chose the cookies.

Sakuya: I see…! A wonderful idea once again!

Muku: That sounds like something you would come up with!

Kazunari: Alrighty then. We gotta tell some hella interesting stories in the talk show to make today super memorable!

Muku: W-Will I be able to tell such an interesting story…!? I’m sure a worm’s chatting ability would be better than mine—.

Sakuya: C-Calm down, Muku-kun!

Kazunari: Yeah. Worms don’t even talk!

Homare: In that case, I shall take the lead and recite a poem that I, the troupe’s leader, have thought up especially for today!

Kazunari: Hold on. That’s gonna be chaos~!

---

| next

[whyfalloutwhenyoucanpanic]

Part two of getting ready for Justice Live in Chicago!

Bracelets are mostly done (for now unless I need to make more lol). I made a total of 28, 14 for each night to hand out to people in line and in the venue at barricade. It’s been super fun making these (and I had to restock beads twice now, and I have to go buy more LOL), especially with the new beads I found while out shopping and the cross beads just look way too cool.

I also made special bracelets for only my friends who I’m meeting up with! All of them have charms that match with the bracelets I made based off what I know about them and references to track titles and their interests!

I also finished packing up and sealing the postcards for night two! I wanted to make these look like ones you’d be given after a show if you wanted tomorrow tell people out about your trip, and since my friends and I are traveling from all over for this show, I thought making post cards was perfect! I actually got this whole set of 6 custom cards with envelopes for free because of an account discount so it worked out perfectly! There’s a hyperdrama cross sticker in the envelopes too!

The gifts for Xav and Gaspard, I originally was going to only do the bracelets but I thought, “actually I want to give them something else too” so I made photocards, one for each of them, specifically for them. A friend made ones for them when meeting them at the LA pop up, and I thought the idea was super cool. Seeing their really positive reactions (Xavier thought it was super funny and he liked his lol), I was thinking (and along with some encouragement from my friends who are going, and also my good friends, thank you @crydadoll and @torrtimandi 🫶), how fun it would be to make and gift them a second set lol. I’m also including some of the stickers I’m handing out to people as well in their bags as well! (See below, the cross and Ed rec stickers)

My plan is to put little cross bead charms on the bags, which are black mesh bags, (I originally wanted to use the ones in the below pic but they’re too small lol. I have to get larger ones), and adding little gold label tags with their names on them and a little gold cross drawing.

I also made stacks of Ed Banger, Hyperdrama cross and Cross stickers as well! Every sticker is hand-made and hand cut and I can’t wait to gift them to everyone!

I’m so excited for Chicago and can’t wait to meet up with everyone who’s going. There’s word their new encore might be permanent which is cool because I can’t wait to hear it live in person! It’ll be cool too because it means I have heard both encores this tour! :)

Also this venue is absolutely insane! Such a perfect venue for their live set and the acoustics and sound is going to be AMAZING! People mention about how this venue is legendary for a reason and I’m so excited to experience it, and ALSO because it is also my first time going to this venue!

My plan is ask/have Xav and Gaspard sign either my CD (I forgot it last time) or have them sign a piece of paper atleast LOL, after they come down from the stage after the encore and hand them their gift bags on the second night. For night one, I plan on gifting them their other bracelets (the ones with their names in gold beads) after they come down from stage after the encore.

These two shows and visiting Chicago are definitely going to be a trip to remember forever!

[cecelianonymous22]

Featured Items for Sale!

Custom Bracelets and Playlists

On my Etsy, you can order custom Kandi and bracelets, or a carefully handmade playlist based on your favorite blorbo, ship, fandom inside joke, or whatever you please!

Playlists are $0.50 for 50 songs, and when your order is completed, you get a personalized Spotify code and a collaboration link so you can add or remove whatever songs you want! They're by far the most popular on my shop currently.

Meanwhile, I have three types of bracelets available: Kandi, standard bracelets, and charm bracelets! (In order from left to right). Kandi is $5, bracelets are $15, and charm bracelets are $13.

Pins

Above are my flower pins (each with a unique background color!), recycled Pokemon card pins, and recycled cardstock pins. The first set are original designs printed and pressed with my own button press. The other two are common Pokemon Cards and old greeting cards cut and pressed into pins to give them a new life and a new shiny look! The greeting card pins also have some unique texturing on them. Any remaining excesses are stored away in a box to be turned into paper at a later date.

All pins are $1.

You can also get any flower turned into various items like stickers, phone cases, coasters, and clothing on my Redbubble!

I Loaf You Stickers (and pin) <3

Just a simple little silly sticker I made! The outline of the bread was traced over a photo I took at a steakhouse on my birthday and sent to my boyfriend. I thought it would be kinda funny, and something I would totally get for myself.

A 1 inch sticker is $0.45, a 3 inch sticker is $1.00, a 5 inch sticker is $2.10, a 7 inch sticker is $5, and as always, the pin button variant is $1.

Cottagecore Arcade Carpet Pattern

Have you ever dreamed of a perfect mix of cottagecore and nostalgic arcade carpets? Probably not! I never have either, but I made this anyway because I thought it was a fun idea. If you'd like this pattern on something like a pin, bandana, laptop case, blanket, bag, and so much more, you can head over to the Redbubble listing to get your desired item! Or, if you'd like to buy the pattern itself for $35 to use for yourself (with credit!!), you can check out the Etsy listing.

[louisupdates]

Review: Louis Tomlinson @ The Riverstage (Brisbane)

By Keali Russell

Louis Tomlinson's fans erupted with excitement as he entered The Riverstage in Brisbane for the second night of his Australian leg on the 'Faith In The Future' world tour.

Despite the challenges posed by humidity, rain, and occasional storms, Louis' devoted fans gathered from the early hours, forming bonds over homemade bracelets and forging new friendships as they eagerly awaited the evening's festivities (30 January).

For many, attending multiple shows of his 'Faith In The Future' tour was a cherished tradition, with enthusiasts travelling from various states and even countries to partake in the experience.

Kicking off the night were hometown heroes Safety Hazard, delivering boundless energy to the stage.

From showering the crowd with stickers to introducing their unconventional third member, Sloane the Cone (a charming traffic cone), Safety Hazard left an indelible mark. Their set featured original tracks along with their own interpretation of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.

Next to take the stage were British rock sensations Sea Girls, whose contagious enthusiasm instantly won over the crowd. With their captivating dance moves and undeniable chemistry, Sea Girls had fans across the venue jumping, dancing, and singing along.

From beloved originals like 'I Want You To Know Me' to 'All I Want To Hear You Say', they held everyone's rapt attention from beginning to end. However, Tomlinson wasn't the sole attraction drawing fans from afar; Sea Girls also had a few loyal supporters journeying from their home country to catch their performance.

After much anticipation, Louis Tomlinson finally hit the stage as deafening screams travelled across the venue as soon as the lights dimmed and the opening chords of his song 'The Greatest' entranced the massive crowd.

There was undeniable mutual adoration between Tomlinson and his fans, evident as he expressed his gratitude to the crowd: "Brisbane, SCREAM! Let me start this gig like I start every gig and say a massive, massive thank you to every person in here for making these gigs happen.

"There's no comparison, this is my best part of the job. I don't get to do all these unbelievable shows without all of you people, so thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Fans were treated to a diverse array of songs from his albums, including 'Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy' and 'Walls', but Tomlinson had some surprises in store for those who had been with him since his One Direction days or hadn't experienced their live performances.

With renditions of tracks like 'Drag Me Down' and 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', this performance was definitely one they would remember.

The genuine affection Louis holds for his fans shone throughout the night, especially when he expressed his love for them saying: "Every now and then you get one of those gigs where absolutely everything clicks into place. This is one of those gigs!

"I've mentioned a couple of times before, touring is me favourite sh.t! I'm about as far away from home as you can get from home right now, and to be playing shows, not just this atmosphere because that goes without saying at this point, but this kind of scale, this kind of size absolutely blows my f...ing mind!

"This is going to be a special night tonight, I can already feel it. I hope you guys are having as much fun as I am, I love you all!"

Fans had some delightful surprises in store for Tomlinson himself, organising special fan projects to demonstrate their unwavering love and support for him. From illuminating the venue with red lights on their phones during 'Kill My Mind' to creating a breathtaking sea of lights during 'Angels Fly', their thoughtful gestures added an extra layer of magic to an already unforgettable evening.

As he exited the stage preparing for his encore, the atmosphere was charged with excitement. In a spontaneous burst of energy, fans joined together in a rendition of One Direction's beloved anthem 'No Control' followed by the infectious beat of 'Hey Baby' by DJ Ötzi.

Their passionate singing and lively spirits served to amplify the anticipation for what promised to be a thrilling and unforgettable finale to Tomlinson's performance.

As the inevitable moment arrived when the last song was played, Tomlinson wasn't quite ready to call it a night. "Brisbane, this has been absolutely perfect. I don't want it to end! We've got about 90 seconds left, so give me every last bit of energy you've got! Sing this next part with me."

From leaping onto the barrier to join the crowd to staying behind after his performance to take photos with fans, Louis Tomlinson ensured the night was truly unforgettable, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of every single person in attendance.

MORE PHOTOS

[freakattack]

Thoughts on the Paper Mario series?

PAPER MARIO 64

Cute. I think it's a solid introduction to the series and while the story is simpler than the ones that follow it, its characters and writing were lots of fun and it did a lot to flesh out Mario's world and set the stage (metaphorically and literally) for future entries. As an adult I think that some things aged pretty poorly (namely, Dry Dry Outpost and Yoshi Village), which is an unfortunate black mark against an otherwise charming game. Also introduced the indomitable Kammy Koopa everybody say hi Kammy Koopa

BEST TRACK: Ghost Gulping

PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR

This is the zenith of mario games we may never see another like this again I thought I would be able to type a coherent paragraph about this but I think I might instead have to be put down. It is the perfect balance of humor, drama, and sentimentality. It is also in my opinion the most exciting adventure in the series, right off the bat your hub world is a legendary city full of thieves and gangsters with a noose in the middle, and then you get to ride a BOAT and a TRAIN and a BLIMP to get to the most grandiose locations your 10-year-old brain can handle. One of them is the moon. All of your partners are lovable and well-written, and even the NPCs have a surprising amount of depth despite the ambient wackiness of the game. One thing I will say though is that I don't like Pennington much, I think I would have liked him more if I met him earlier in the game but right off the heels of the blast that was Chapter 5 he just feels like a store-brand Flavio. Also, this game has a giant supercomputer in it that falls in love with you and likes Chopin so obviously I'm going to like it anyway moving on

BEST TRACK: The song that plays at the beginning of the game when you're on the boat

SUPER PAPER MARIO

Simultaneously the funniest and most melodramatic Paper Mario game, Super Paper Mario is so far out to sea from your standard Mario Game that I wouldn't be surprised if it's what made Nintendo reel the paper marios following it way in. The shift from turn-based combat to exclusively platforming was controversial at the time but I thought it was perfect, the 3D flipping was unique but not so gimmicky that it ground the gameplay to a halt. I'm not the biggest fan of the art style shift and compared to Rogueport the hub world(s) here are pretty depressing but I respect it. I do think that the melodrama gets laid on a little thick at times for what it is, I think that where TTYD had the perfect balance between humor and drama, SPM swings like a pendulum between looking at the camera and very making fun of itself or taking itself so intensely seriously that you feel like you're reading a fanfiction, with very little in-between. Where the serious parts of TTYD are pretty down-to-earth (Bobbery moving on from his dead wife, Vivian escaping a transphobic home life), SPM's are definitely not (A guy can't find his girlfriend so he tries to destroy the multiverse and Mario and Luigi go to hell and stop Armageddon and an evil clown also tries to destroy the multiverse because he wants to be God), so it all feels a little goofy. But in a way that is part of its charm, so I forgive it.

BEST TRACK: You already know what it is. I'm not conceding this to him.

PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR

OK so right off the bat I don't have a weirdly sexual image to put here so that's how you know it's bad. Jokes aside, I have a confession to make: I never actually played this game. I actually got laughed at for this last week but I don't care god dammit i LIKE going on message boards and complaining about games I've never played, and I have hatewatched enough playthroughs to feel entitled to talk about it. This fucking sucks man. The writing sucks, the stickers suck, the 1 original character sucks, I can't even say the hub world sucks because they don't even have a hub world. Bowser doesn't even say anything. That's fucked up to do in a series where the glowing highlight of every game is the shit that Bowser says. He says nothing. What is there to say? The only thing I will concede is that the soundtrack is delightful, and I do enjoy the glaring prominence of Kamek in the absence of any actual characters. That being said, it's been long enough and talked about enough that I'm beating a decomposing horse here. I have no unique opinions on Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

BEST TRACK: Malevolent Magikoopa

PAPER MARIO: COLOR SPLASH

I didn't play this one either, blow me. I did watch all the koopaling boss battles though, obviously, so all I can really speak on are the little snippets of dialogue they give you before and after each fight. And I only have two things to say: number one, I hate that this series has reduced Morton Koopa Jr. to a caveman-talking meathead, that's such a shitty thing to do to the only dark-skinned Koopaling who wasn't even portrayed like that in the fucking nineties. He deserved better than this. And number two, Ludwig makes a joke about a "prelude in Sea-major" because he's on a battleship but while his boss music could have been an epic melodramatic number like he deserves, not only is it completely underwhelming but it isn't even in C-major this game sucks

BEST TRACK: Wendy's battle theme

PAPER MARIO: ORIGAMI KING

If you thought my commentary on each Paper Mario game was getting increasingly more inane, you're gonna LOVE this one: I actually did start playing this game, but I dropped it mid-playthrough because I didn't think the dragon was cool enough. Moral of the story is don't ever let me become a game reviewer, goodnight and goodbye

[garbinge]

Bad Haircut

Jax Teller & Opie Winston & OC Joanne Teller

From these August Prompts: Bad Haircut

Words: 1.2k

Warnings: Light angst. A/N: Not a Charming life chapter but using that taglist since it's my girl Jo. I love creating these one shots that stray from my original scenario for the Charming Life story!

Charming Life Taglist: @livingdeadblondequeen @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics

Jo had been working her way through beauty school while Jax was making his way through the formality of being a prospect for the club. Everyone knew him and Opie would patch in, their legacy was strong between JT and Piney but everyone in the club just needed to bust their balls for a few months, build character, ya know. 

Most everyone in her family cared more about that than Joanne’s stretch at the Stockton Beauty Institute and School of Cosmetology. That was fine with her, she’d take everyone saying nothing over them giving her shit for it, which they definitely would have, especially Gemma. She was just days shy of getting her license and the boys were just hours shy of their patch in. 

“Don’t you wrap up school soon?” Jax asked as he sat in the salon chair Jo had set up in front of her vanity. 

Jo was standing in front of the vanity mirror grabbing scissors and a comb from the barbicide jar. “Two days until the ceremony.” She nodded and grabbed a towel to wrap around his neck since she knew that he wasn’t going to put a smock on to catch the hair. 

“So it'll be like your college graduation?” Opie asked as he sat at the edge of Joanne’s bed, arms resting on his knees. 

“Except significantly less people.” Jo laughed and shook her head as she tilted Jax’s head around looking at what she was working with. “There’s like 15 people in my class.” 

“Oh thank God.” Jax let out a big sigh. 

“You weren’t going to come.” Jo pushed his head. 

“We both were, just weren’t sure when and where it was.” Opie now looked up at Jo, his beanie snug over his head despite the weather in California. 

Jo just shook her head and began to cut Jax’s hair, taking half an inch off the ends. “It’s at the School in Stockton, 1PM.” 

“Afternoon?!” Jax piped up, excitement in his voice. “15 people, 1PM call time, free haircuts for life, this is way better than college.” He teased. 

Joanne let out a laugh. “What about you, patch in party tonight, is it better than you thought?” 

“Ask us in a few months.” Opie smirked before getting up to look at the photos Joanne had tucked behind the frame of her vanity mirror. 

“Wish Dad was here to see you patch in.” Joanne spoke to her little brother who just nodded slightly.  

“Let’s hope I live up to the weight of the legacy.” Jax’s voice turned solemn. 

“Make your own.” Jo said sectioning out his hair, finishing up the layer of hair in the back. “Don’t let the club decide your legacy, make your own. That’s what Dad would want. He never wanted us living in his shadow.” 

“You comin’ to the party tonight?” Opie turned around with something in his hand. 

Joanne’s eyes moved down to see what it was but as her gaze moved it landed on the prospect patch that sat on the left side of the kutte. She thought things would be different, she thought she’d be Opie’s old lady, which was extreme wishful thinking considering they had never even dated. But the signs were there. Things worked out the way they were supposed to, if she had gone down that track, she wouldn’t have gone to school, both times, she was making a life for herself on her own, something her father would be proud of. But staring at Opie wearing that prospect patch made old feelings stir. 

“Can I have this?” Opie was now holding the photo up in the air. 

It was a photo of the three of them on bikes as kids. Despite Jo being a little over a year older than Jax and Opie, they both towered over her in the photo, much like now. She was the only one in a helmet, more of her own fear of wiping out and hurting herself. Her bike had a pink basket on it with a SOA “A” sticker on the basket. 

“Yea, I have a few copies of it.” Joanne combed through Jax’s hair making sure all of it was even. “You know you put that sticker on my bike basket.” She tried to hide her smile. “And Jax put the reaper on the back of my bike.” 

“Protection.” Opie laughed knowing the exact reason both of them put those stickers on her bike as kids. “From those neighborhood kids, right?” 

“Yea the ones who’d throw glass in the street hoping to pop our tires.” Joanne let out a laugh. 

She moved now to start brining Jax’s hair back into a low bun, styling it wet since she knew he’d argue the second she went to grab the blow dryer. 

“Didn’t you beat them up?” Opie asked as he plopped back onto Joanne’s bed. 

“I did, after they popped Jax’s tire.” Joanne looked over at Opie waiting for Jax’s argument to start. 

“You threatened them.” His voice drew out a little as he tried to call her out. “There was no beating up involved.” His head turned to face Joanne in protest. 

Her and Opie let out a chuckle. “They never fucked with you again, did they?” Joanne asked while Jax rolled his eyes. “Now turn back around I’m almost done.” 

Jax clicked his tongue in his mouth and turned back around to face the mirror while she wrapped a hair tie around the man bun she styled for him. 

“This haircut makes me feel like a douchebag.” Jax asked as he leaned forward out of the salon chair. 

“You always look like a douchebag.” Opie chimed in, his tongue poking through his bottom lip as he teased his best friend. 

Joanne pulled Jax back into the salon chair and tucked the few stray strands behind his ears. “It’s not the cut, I styled it, the girls will love it.” 

“It’s my patch in party, the girls will love me regardless.” Jax spoke while eyeing himself up in the mirror. 

“I think it’s your personality that speaks douchebag, douchebag.” Joanne pushed him out of her hands and went to place her tools back in the barbicide and wipe her hands off. 

“Hey! Shouldn’t you guys be leaving for the patch in party?” Gemma’s voice got louder as it got nearer and the door to Jo’s room was being open. Her eyes moved from Jo, to Opie, than fell on Jax. “You look like a douchebag.” Her face twisted up in disgust.

Joanne took a big sigh at that and held her hand out knowing Jax was going to take the hair tie out and she would be prepared to put it back on her vanity. 

The smile grew on Jax’s face, it made her want to punch him but she had to admit it was kind of funny. As his hair fell out of the tie he looked at it in the mirror. “You’re right the cut does look good.” He handed her the hair tie as he checked himself out in the mirror. 

“Whatever, douchebag.” Her eyes rolled. 

[fourseasonsfigs]

Building Block Figs - Catching Light

Continuing on from the last Building Block Figs - Basking in the Sun and Building Block Figs - Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake, Part 1 and Part 2, we have this wonderful set.

These figs make me laugh - I love them so much! I don't know why, I just find them ridiculously charming.

This building block set is 1,544 pieces, measures 8.4 x 17.6 x 15.6 cm, and is rated 10 hours. I did indeed take all 10 hours to build this, if not a little bit more.

Here is the sales pic of what the finished product is supposed to look like:

Cute, isn't it? As usual, sellers do a much better job of setting the scene than I do. I will say, though, that I did make two little tweaks to the set to make it a bit more canon compliant. Can you spot them?

It'll be easier to tell as we get better pictures, so I'll get into it!

First, here's the box of doom bricks. Like the others, this came in a generic sales box, with a super handy little unsnapping tool, and a sticker with a black and white image of the set and QR code instructions.

Once again, you'll notice my line up of extra bricks from the previous sets hanging out in quasi-neat little rows. Originally I figured I'll leave them all out in case I ran short of any, but in reality, this set maker gives me extras of each color every time. Which is handy, as you will see for later posts, when I make some adjustments to the fig sets to make them a bit more canon compliant.

As you can see, there's a LOT of extra bricks left over. To be honest, there shouldn't be so many white bricks - those are from another set that I made a major change to. I'll post about that one tomorrow.

Here's the different order of assembly - I went ahead and started with the base and tree, as they suggest.

As you can see, this is a very beautiful terrain here. I did not remember this area being so green and flowery from the show - in fact, I remember it being kind of sandy and desolate, but my memory is pretty lousy, there might be a scattered flower or so. Let's check.

HUH. There is not a flower in sight, is there. Hmmm. Well, this is kind of gonna bother me. Maybe I should have looked up the inspiration before putting together the entire 10 hour plus set, huh! Well, the little flowers are easy enough to lever off.

Hmm, anyway, moving on (for now).

So a couple things here. First, as you can see, there are only two green colors. I mean, one normal color really - the light green here is actually a neon green. It's brighter than it looks here. It looks great here, don't get me wrong, but now all I can see is the very sandy terrain of that screenshot.

Second, I tried something a little different here. It actually takes a long time to sort all the individual bricks, so in an attempt to shave off some time, I decided to experiment with this set. As you can see, I dumped the entire bag out to the right and am just picking out individual pieces as I go.

You'll note it's now evening. This tree took a LONG time to build. I actually timed myself up to this point, and to get to this mostly-done state took 2 hours and 58 minutes. I was pushing hard, too, because I really, really wanted to get the whole tree done that evening before I went to bed. But there was no way. I was too tired and was hitting the point where it was less fun and more work. So, despite really not wanting to, I summoned my inner adult and called it a day here.

Fast forward through time to the next day, and I'm all bright eyed and ready to bust this tree out. And it's done! I like this tree a whole lot...I think they did a beautiful job modeling it. Imagine if they had the full Lego suite of colors and special pieces! It would be really something. I kind of like it this way though (although I would take more colors, I can't lie). It really has an old-school style charm.

You can see the grey rock there where Lao Wen will be propped up against. And of course, the cheerful greenery and pink and yellow flowers.

Feeling VERY accomplished, I put the tree aside, and moved on to A-Xu.

Yep, looks pretty good. I was a little surprised they picked the medium blue color instead of the dark blue color, considering how bright the dark blue color actually is. But this looks fine too.

I am going to proudly say that I did, in fact, knock this fig out in record time. I've put together two and a half A-Xu figs by now (the half is going to be explained tomorrow, I promise!), so this third one went like a breeze.

As you can see in the back, I couldn't help myself, I was starting to make a few little piles of the colors I was working on. The big messy pile of bricks was kind of a pain, and I had to keep resisting the urge to sort them out.

And here he is! All done. He has a very solemn no-expression on his little brick face, which is appropriate. Can you see how there's a little bit of a neck (nothing too saucy or anything), the thin white layer of his under-robe, and then the lighter blue layer? I love it. Very charming. We also have his black belt with a bit of the tails.

It was yet another evening by this time, but since I did manage to finish him before I went to bed, I did indeed sleep the sleep of the righteous.

I woke up even brighter eyed and with pep in my step, ready to rock this last fig out. 10 hour assembly time? I don't think so!

I had now made three Wen Kexing brick figures, so the fourth one was gonna be just as quick as A-Xu was, no doubt. I pulled up the instructions on my phone, and got ready to go. 95 steps for our battle-weary Valley Master, huh? Huh. That's kind of a lot. But considering A-Xu was 85, not too bad. The tree was 119, by the way.

As I looked at the picture, however, I noticed that they had Lao Wen's (virtually) omnipresent hair wispies here. Given that this red wedding costume is the one outfit where his hair is pulled back all the way, it kind of bugged me. Which is funny because I've never liked how he doesn't have the wispies with this hair style on the show. It's my least favorite look on him, which is too bad, because I did like how they at least mixed his hairstyles up some. In my defense, I feel like I'm right (so right!) about how much better he looks with the wispies with this hair style, because you could see it at the concert. And he looked spectacular.

Anyway. Warring between my extreme desire for him to have the wispies and the simple fact of it not being canon, I started to build.

I got the first big chunk done very quickly indeed. Many of these figs are done where you do a big piece, and then set it aside while you work separately on the next piece. This is where I was.

And that's where I stayed, for a long time. I built this piece three times. I had to completely disassemble the entire thing the first time I built it, because I was off on my brick count, and the second time I had to disassemble it down to the first third.

Part of the problem was the way the directions were. As you can see, they still have the first "set it aside" part showing up on the directions directly under the new piece. Unfortunately, all that red blended into each other when I rotated the image around, and it was very easy to accidentally think I needed more or less pieces than I actually did.

I went ahead and built it with the wispies, as directed...and then just couldn't do it. I disassembled half the head and re-built it again without them. I also think that this fig, just like Lao Wen, does not look as good without them, but canon is canon.

Unfortunately, it was so late and I was so tired by the time I finished him (and yet also pretty jubilant), that I forgot to take a pic of the finished fig! Yes, I literally finished this set late last night, despite my best intentions of finishing it up and then triumphantly posting about it on the same day. It did, in fact, take longer than the 10 hours build time.

It took a long time, in general. My finger tips have actually toughened up a bit, so they don't feel sore from snapping the bricks in place, but my neck isn't all that pleased with me from hunching over these various sets for so long. So, I've been taking a few more breaks to stretch and do other things.

But, I woke up early today, and very happily took this set's beauty pics in the clear light of the morning. I love it!

I love how this set all fits together. We have the tree growing over the edge of the base, and Lao Wen there leaning up against the rock. A-Xu is standing with his elegant posture, and their little brick hands are reaching out to each other. Cute cute cute!

Wow, this light is great. I clearly should get up early to take fig pics more often.

The tree looks great, I think (and not just because I spent hours building it!).

This is a good view of the rocks behind Lao Wen here, and his big ponytail (I do like this part of his hairstyle).

The green doesn't look so bad on the ground, I think. I'll pull off the yellow and pink flowers, and maybe make a brown patch on the corner closest to A-Xu. That'll keep it colorful but make it a bit more like the show.

A-Xu's hair looks great, as usual. You can also see how I removed the wispies on Lao Wen's hair. I'll get a close up later so you can see it better.

Shoot, not my best pic - can't really see any of the detail on A-Xu's glorious night-black hair.

There we go, now you can. Oops, I see I knocked a tiny piece out of kilter on the bottom of his hair, I'll have to fix that. But! Here you can see both changes I made from the instructions - the lack of wispies of course, and then I made Lao Wen's guan gold instead of white. This took a while too, because I didn't have enough yellow pieces. The only yellow I had from any of the sets was literally from the yellow flowers here and the few extra they gave me of it. I actually pulled a few yellow flowers off the base there and replaced them with green or pink, just because I needed them for his guan. I then also carefully checked to see what internal yellow bricks were covered up by the black of his hair, and replaced them with black so I could save the yellow ones for the parts that did show. I'm very happy with how it turned out! It looks just like the white one, except, you know, yellow.

I don't know why they didn't originally design it with yellow, given that it is gold on the show, and they had already included yellow bricks with this kit. Maybe they felt the white stood out more or something. Anyway, it was bothering me it was white, so I'm glad I was able to figure out a way to make it work.

Alright, we're back around! And a bit of a different angle here, so you can see the poses a little bit more clearly.

Alright, a true top-down pic here. May I just say one more time how much I like this tree! The detail in A-Xu's guan is really nice too.

The bottoms-up pics are always tough here with the bases. Not a flattering picture, sorry A-Xu!

A close up of our noble shixiong with his little hand outstretched...

...and our weary shidi. What a great set, I love it! I'm so delighted by it, I can't even tell you.

Alright! come back tomorrow, for the much hinted at next set. And the last one, for a while - I have to wait for the remaining sets to be sent to me.

(Come back tomorrow, she says, as she still has some assembly on the last fig to do! I'll wake up bright and early tomorrow, and hopefully finish up).

Material: Plastic bricks

Fig Count: 506

Scene Count: 35

Rating: They're actually both reaching for their light

[link to the Master Post Index]

[louistomlinsoncouk]

Louis Tomlinson's fans erupted with excitement as he entered The Riverstage in Brisbane for the second night of his Australian leg on the 'Faith In The Future' world tour.

Despite the challenges posed by humidity, rain, and occasional storms, Louis' devoted fans gathered from the early hours, forming bonds over homemade bracelets and forging new friendships as they eagerly awaited the evening's festivities (30 January).

For many, attending multiple shows of his 'Faith In The Future' tour was a cherished tradition, with enthusiasts travelling from various states and even countries to partake in the experience.

Kicking off the night were hometown heroes Safety Hazard, delivering boundless energy to the stage.

From showering the crowd with stickers to introducing their unconventional third member, Sloane the Cone (a charming traffic cone), Safety Hazard left an indelible mark. Their set featured original tracks along with their own interpretation of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.

Next to take the stage were British rock sensations Sea Girls, whose contagious enthusiasm instantly won over the crowd. With their captivating dance moves and undeniable chemistry, Sea Girls had fans across the venue jumping, dancing, and singing along.

From beloved originals like 'I Want You To Know Me' to 'All I Want To Hear You Say', they held everyone's rapt attention from beginning to end. However, Tomlinson wasn't the sole attraction drawing fans from afar; Sea Girls also had a few loyal supporters journeying from their home country to catch their performance.

After much anticipation, Louis Tomlinson finally hit the stage as deafening screams travelled across the venue as soon as the lights dimmed and the opening chords of his song 'The Greatest' entranced the massive crowd.

There was undeniable mutual adoration between Tomlinson and his fans, evident as he expressed his gratitude to the crowd: "Brisbane, SCREAM! Let me start this gig like I start every gig and say a massive, massive thank you to every person in here for making these gigs happen.

"There's no comparison, this is my best part of the job. I don't get to do all these unbelievable shows without all of you people, so thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Fans were treated to a diverse array of songs from his albums, including 'Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy' and 'Walls', but Tomlinson had some surprises in store for those who had been with him since his One Direction days or hadn't experienced their live performances.

With renditions of tracks like 'Drag Me Down' and 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', this performance was definitely one they would remember.

The genuine affection Louis holds for his fans shone throughout the night, especially when he expressed his love for them saying: "Every now and then you get one of those gigs where absolutely everything clicks into place. This is one of those gigs!

"I've mentioned a couple of times before, touring is me favourite sh.t! I'm about as far away from home as you can get from home right now, and to be playing shows, not just this atmosphere because that goes without saying at this point, but this kind of scale, this kind of size absolutely blows my f...ing mind!

"This is going to be a special night tonight, I can already feel it. I hope you guys are having as much fun as I am, I love you all!"

Fans had some delightful surprises in store for Tomlinson himself, organising special fan projects to demonstrate their unwavering love and support for him. From illuminating the venue with red lights on their phones during 'Kill My Mind' to creating a breathtaking sea of lights during 'Angels Fly', their thoughtful gestures added an extra layer of magic to an already unforgettable evening.

As he exited the stage preparing for his encore, the atmosphere was charged with excitement. In a spontaneous burst of energy, fans joined together in a rendition of One Direction's beloved anthem 'No Control' followed by the infectious beat of 'Hey Baby' by DJ Ötzi.

Their passionate singing and lively spirits served to amplify the anticipation for what promised to be a thrilling and unforgettable finale to Tomlinson's performance.

As the inevitable moment arrived when the last song was played, Tomlinson wasn't quite ready to call it a night. "Brisbane, this has been absolutely perfect. I don't want it to end! We've got about 90 seconds left, so give me every last bit of energy you've got! Sing this next part with me."

From leaping onto the barrier to join the crowd to staying behind after his performance to take photos with fans, Louis Tomlinson ensured the night was truly unforgettable, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of every single person in attendance.

[spacenerdyart]

finished flower pillarmen sticker set

these will be available for purchase online (TBA) and at Gamma expo in Canberra on the 9/10th of September. (Please consider following to keep an eye on online sale updates if you are interested, as I will be setting that up after the convention!)

Each sticker's flower choice was very specific, and I've decided to detail why I chose each one to explain the intricacies of each one to you. Please keep in mind I'm not a flower expert, this is just what I found online in my own research - my sources are at the bottom!

-

flower meanings

Kars

❥ Purple Roses symbolize royalty, luxury, and opulence, exuding mystery and charm. These flowers also evoke admiration and wonder. I chose these to reference Kars' wonder and mystery towards the sun, plus the regal and opulent vibes of Kars in his entirety worked well. ❥ Blue Roses symbolize mystery, secrecy, and pride. Their rarity, as well as their color, makes them unique among the other flowers in the garden. I feel like this references Kars' unique mindset well, and the fact that he was both a standout genius and a catalyst in the Pillarman tribe.

Esidisi

❥ Irises symbolize faith, hope, wisdom, and uncertainty. Its intricate shape and complex pattern make it hard to know what it is trying to say. I chose this flower to represent Esidisi's unpredictable and uncertain nature, and his unwavering loyalty and faith in Kars' plan. ❥ Bluebells symbolize humility, gratitude, and uncertainty (again). Bluebells also have a short and fleeting flowering period, which reminds us that all things in life are temporary. The bluebell captured Esidisi's story perfectly to me, so I not only used this to reaffirm his unpredictable nature, but to also encapsulate Esidisi as a whole.

Wamuu

❥ Poppies and Cornflowers together symbolize war. Cornflowers and poppies appeared on the battlefields at the end of the First World War, and for many symbolised the fragility of life and the hope of rebirth. As a warrior, I believe the combination of Poppies and Cornflowers together perfectly tie in with Wamuu's story, referencing his life as a warrior and his honorable end. ❥ Poppies symbolize commemoration and sacrifice, and are a common war memorial flower. ❥ White Cornflowers symbolize remembrance, innocence, sympathy, and mourning. Cornflowers come in a few different colours, however, and some more broader meanings include power, devotion, unity, and prosperity.

Santana

❥ Dahlias symbolize commitment, honesty, strength, and the ability to withstand harsh conditions. They can also symbolize the ability to stay kind despite being tested by certain life events, and when gifted, they could be a warning of a potential betrayal. They are also native to Mexico, and the Aztecs used this plant as a treatment against epilepsy. I chose these for multiple reasons. One, they are native to the same area that the Pillarmen originate from, and more specifically the place where Santana was born and where he fell. He withstood harsh conditions, having been left behind and treated poorly, and one could argue betrayed by those who raised him. Through it all, Santana is strong and sturdy- he was bested by Jojo, is the only remaining pillarman on Earth (although, held captive under UV light). ❥ Forget-me-nots symbolize remembrance and mourning traditionally, however they also carry several other meanings including grief, devotion, power, and intelligence I chose this flower for a few reasons again as well. One, the name- Santana is often forgotten, as he is so quickly introduced and then written off, however Santana plays a very important role in the series. But also, for the sadder side of the flower, it brings depth to how I believe Santana would have felt being left behind- sad, yet devoted still to the only kin he has.

sources for flower meanings: x x x x x x x x and general google answers

[mayimkjs]

FOOL's MATE Update Post #9

Master Post　　Last Update

School Date: Winter, Term 10, Week 5

It has officially been over a year since I started this shit. The past month has been productive in a lot of ways (see reddit post history).

Filming & Recording

I got the intro/interum/outro filmed. My school has a courtroom for the criminal justice students, so I was originally going to film these parts there. But when me and Chris went there when we had the room booked, it was a ghost town and the door was locked when it wasn't supposed to be. So we decided to come back another day instead of dealing with the school's awful security, who only has an office on the main campus. I sat on it and decided to switch to the conference room on the main campus. It was the same sort of asthetic, just more corparate.

I'm still having issues finding someone for the tarot interview. So if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

I also finaly filmed the main portion of the docu. I had to split the shoot into 2 parts and I also decided a lot of parts would be better as voiceovers. In total, I have 7-8 hours of footage and all of the footage and audio takes up 368GB.

I would like to give a massive shout-out to my classmates and coworkers, as well as my best friend, for helping with props and filming. I know it's cliché, but FOOL's MATE would not be of the quality that it is without them. Below is a full list of everyone who helped and what they did.

Chris Tebo: Support, Production Assistant

Zachary Perretty: Support, Set Layout, Lighting Plan, Tech Support

Spencer Peck: Prop Assistant

Mason Boyd: Prop Assistant, Miku Fan

Kyle Egan: Camera & Audio

ChickenSteve: Support, My Best Friend

The only thing I would change (other than my voice, but what can you do), is have Chicken there. He was busy, so he couldn't make it. Go follow him on Twitch. He deserves it. I've been friends with the dude since we were 10 and he fully supports (and endorses) my insanity.

(Left to right) Matthew, Rebecca, Zac, Shane, Nate, Kyle

Promo

The Boston behind the scenes vlog was released as well as bloopers from that shoot.

I won't be publicly releasing the bloopers for the main portion for a bit because... I'M GOING TO BE DOING A PHYSICAL RELEASE! It will be limited and made to order. I'll have more details when I have them. But currently, some things I'm thinking of including with it are:

A DVD with bonus content like outtakes, cut content and more

A production handbook with all sorts of BTS content

Some small goods like button badges, stickers and/or acrylic charms

Movie poster

I've also thought of releasing the soundtrack physically as well in the same way, at the same time. I'm also planning on doing some bundles if I do this.

DVD Only

CD Only

Merch Only

DVD + CD

DVD + Merch

CD + Merch

Everything

If anyone has any advice, comments or recommendations, I've made a form that you can fill out.

Another thing I'm planning on doing is a small giveaway of some duplicate goods I've gotten plus some after FOOL's MATE has been released.

Changes

Added

Info from T3 teaser trailer

Links

Research Doc (Comments on like always)

Milanote

Reddit Post

Commission Form

Volunteer Form

[bluepoodle7]

#Redbubble#YazzieScribbles#ScopophobiaStudios#JohnDoeGame#HouseHuntedGame#JohnDoeGameFanMerch#JohnDoe#YazzieScribblesPurpleverseMagnetsJohnDoeGameJohnDoeFormsMagnets#Magnets#MySecondSetOfMagnets#PlushPals

These are the YazzieScribbles Purpleverse Magnets JohnDoeGame John Doe Forms Magnets.

These magnets were pretty neat while also smooth in texture like this artist's fanart of these John Doe forms were cut out with a paper background then later laminated but with a magnetic backing.

The print on these are high quality and the magnets power strength is pretty strong for being thin magnets.

These magnets came with a thin paper warning card about the small parts in the magnets.

The three humanoid John Doe magnets were strong while the Doe Ball magnets were cute with the sticker like removeable gimmick but the magnets were super weak when removed from the magnet backing but when all the Doe Ball magnets are together on the backing then these would be strong.

All these magnets are medium sized but I think these Doe Balls magnets are the small sized since they seemed smaller than the human forms of John Doe as magnets.

I still wish Redbubble had a charm keychain or plush making side to the company but I guess that would be to expensive for the company to make so I chose magnets since these are like better stickers to me.

This is my second time buying from Redbubble and these shipped pretty fast while also safely.

I always liked this artist's art style and their version of John Doe is pretty cute.

I hope one day this artist draws Dom Hus in this chibi art style with a full body one so I can get a magnet of him.

I hope one day this artist would draw the house bodies of these REALTORs so I can get magnets of those to have them pretend to connect to their houses.

The Two Eyed John Doe Fake Human form medium size magnet is 4 inches from the top of the head to the foot, The Normal John Doe medium magnet is 4 inches from the top of the head to the foot, The Beta Fake Human Cyclops John Doe medium magnet is 4 inches from the top of the head to the foot, the Doe Balls Regular Guys medium magnets were 1 inches from the top to the bottom of the magnets but the Doe Balls Regular Guys on the magnet sheet is 5 inches from the top to the bottom.

I wish the Redbubble site was similar to the when you buy from Etsy where the artist gives you little goodies in a goody basket like a piece of candy with a card since it would feel more special to buyers and have a place where you can leave a review for the artist you bought from.

I made these magnets stick on the Derwent metallic colored pencil case I had to test how strong these thin magnets were and they are pretty strong which I was surprised but the Doe Balls were weak due to how small they were when separated but when together they were strong.

I ordered these medium sized since Redbubble had a sale before New Years started.

I took a picture of my YazzieScribbles Purpleverse John Doe Forms Magnets with the House Hunted Game Maison Talo And Heim Baile Magnets but arranged them in the order the artist set up in the original artwork.

I also took a picture of the Etsy John Doe plushies, the Makeship John Doe charm, and the Etsy John Doe charm.

I also took a picture of the John Doe magnets with the Eriko Christy charm and the Doe Balls hanging out around Eriko like a safer version of the Cashman Jr enemies or the Wind Waker Morth enemies.

These are pretty cool set of magnets.

Where I got these magnets with the artist.

yazilla Shop | Redbubble

Yazzie's Doodles and Sketches

[jasminebutintaiwansojiemin]

August 2nd, 2024 星期五 - Science Museum, Ballin’ at Din Tai Fung, High-End Shopping, Hakka Village + Museum

Today we started around 9:30am, so I woke up around 8:30am to hit up 7/11 for some snack it’s. I bought Korean strawberry milk, strawberry pocky, and some honey cake.

Our first stop for class was a science museum. It was one of the widest museums I’ve ever been in. During our time to explore, I hit pretty much every floor and section. My favorite section was the health section, as it was Alice in Wonderland themed. It was definitely one of the cutest museum displays I’ve ever seen. I took a lot of pictures there for that reason. The entire museum contained a lot of interactive games, some free and some requiring tickets that you could purchase separately. At one point I was gonna do a game similar to dance dance revolution, but when I found out it cost extra, I was like nope. After exploring for a bit, I went to the cafe on the second floor. It was a pretty cafe but the prices were ASTRONOMICAL so it was a no for me. Then I headed down to the gift shop to kill some time. I ended up buying a sushi cat print for my boyfriend, a whale shark pouch, and sumikko gurashi stickers.

After the museum we headed to Din Tai Fung for lunch. As usual, it was in a high-end shopping mall. We had to wait a bit before getting sat, so I went to the bathroom and bought a pumpkin tart from a nearby dessert stand. I knew the other students would be ordering chocolate xiaolongbao as dessert but I hate chocolate so I got the tart instead.

After a bit we got sat for lunch. We pre-order the most expensive set so we made sure to try to eat everything. Some of the dishes we got were regular xiaolongbao, stir fried spinach, shrimp shumai, fish dumplings, and cucumber salad. The food was really good as always. After lunch, we had some free time to walk around. I walked through a few stores and ended up buying a shirt from Zara (which is rare because I usually hate Zara’s clothing) and a special pandora charm that is only available to buy in Taiwan. Then I walked around for a bit more and then met back on the first floor to get on the bus.

Our next stop was a Hakka village in Meinong. We visited a handicraft shop where I bought a talisman type hanging decoration. Then we went to a nearby Hakka museum, where we got learn about Hakka culture and immigration to Taiwan. After the museum we drove back to Kaohsiung, where I did NOT go to a baseball game, and planned to lock in on homework/other tasks for the rest of the night.

UPDATE: I ended up going to a nearby Latin American restaurant for dinner. I got a lamb soup that was sooooooo good and reminded me of home :( I also had some empanadas that were the most Chinese tasting empanadas I’ve ever had—and that’s saying a lot because I’ve eaten many empanadas in my life.

Academic Reflection

Today we visited a Hakka village and a Hakka museum. Before today, I had heard the term Hakka before in reference to ethnic groups in Southeast Asia (that an Hmong), but I didn’t know they were also present in Taiwan. Our tour guide explained that the Hakka ethnic groups were the last large group of Chinese Mainlanders to make the voyage to Taiwan. They hailed from the northeastern part of China, moving to the mountainous inner lands of Taiwan. Our reading for today however, claims that the Hakka originated in Southern China. I distinctly remember thinking that it was interesting that the Hakka people came from northern China all the way down to Taiwan, especially since the Minnan people largely came from the Southeastern Chinese provinces—especially Fujian.

I didn’t know which to believe, so I googled it LOL. Wikipedia claims that the Hakka are a southern Han Chinese subgroup. However, the article does say that the Hakka groups in Southern China arrived later than many other Cantonese speaking Han ethnic groups, and that their genetics are generally somewhat more closely related to northern Han peoples.

[siodium]

financial irresponsibility strikes again!! ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

sO last week i went to check out some events with koko!! we went to aniplus cafe's creators spotlight event, mercury festival, and night at orchard (NAO). aniplus' one was focused on animanga merch, while the other two were focused on handmade crafts?? like beaded accessories, and polymer clay crafts. i never knew there were other types of artist/creator fairs aside from anime cons. O: this newfound knowledge has opened my eyes...... and wallet......

also going to three(!!!) events in one day wasn't the best idea bc i was so exhausted by the end of the day!! aniplus' event was alright. they converted the cafe dining area to fit a few booths. tbh i was just there for the dokja flapping wing standee from lushiette. the queue for her booth was insane!! possibly worse than the queue to enter bc of how slowly it moved. somehow i managed to snag the last (display) piece. unfortunately, i saw the person in front of me take the last alnst ivan freebie that i wanted to get with my purchase. but it's ok...... i got his boyfriend till instead.

mercury fest drained my energy the most bc the event hall was so smol and some aisles were so congested that i forgot how to breathe. ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;)  i rly like the handmade crafts and cute trinkets that a lot of booths were selling tho!!! lowkey wanna try making things out of polymer clay now. aLSO it was very nice to see that a lot of creators were fundraising for palestine at the event.

i only bought one thing from NAO, and it was the crochet frog outfit. just wanted to let yall know that chi was tRAUMATISED at that booth. i got interested bc i saw that the artist was selling clothes for her original crochet ball character?? and so i tried to see if chi would fit. i was probably visibly having a hard time putting chi in, so the artist asked if i wanted some help. i thought she'd be gentle with chi bUT NO she stuffed chi in like he was just some cotton ball saldkasks. i was horrified, but i still ended up getting a frog suit for chi..... maybe when chi forgets about the traumatic experience, he'd wear it...??

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

list of loots + birthday gifts from koko (thank you!!) ↓↓

ivantill acrylic standee and candy bag set (@capybara_roll)

kim dokja standee + till acrylic keychain (@lushiette)

kim dokja print (@sanukett)

silver moon bracelet (@cideroll)

covid bunny sticker freebie (@barelybreathingbunny)

meiji apollo strawberry chocolate clay charm + chiikawa sticker freebie (@strawberriestudios.co)

tortoise melonpan clay charm (@kireikoii)

resin flower necklace (@rinsgarnet)

crochet frog outfit (@yenllys.studio)

sacabambaspis magnet (@planktonparts)

espurr charm (@y0ruist)

ducky sticker freebie (@domo.arts.studio)

sakura wagashi drops bracelet (@risu.craft) - 🎁!!

pillow bag (@theeverydayclub.co) - 🎁!! i have no idea what colour it is bc i can't find the exact shade on their website but it's like a pretty bluish grey colour?? the straps are super padded so it's very comfortable even with a kindle and a 350 mL water bottle inside.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

foods we ate!! ↓↓ (+bonus jinx standees bc aniplus is having some sus collabs right now 🤨 and i read the manhwa LMAO)

first time eating at supply & demand. didn't even realise there was a high end(?) italian restaurant so near to the aniplus cafe. we shared a crab and scallop tagliatelle, which was delicious, and "the morning after" pizza. the gooey egg in the centre?? amazing.

i got a hot cup of pancakes and maple tea, and it rly did taste like pancakes and maple?? like the aftertaste was of warm pancakes drenched in maple syrup?? i can't tell if i was tripping or not but it was good.

matcha bingsoo for dinner bc my stomach left the chatroom, and i couldn't eat anything until like?? after 10 pm. which was not very good bc there weren't a lot of 24/7 food places around. we did find a coffeesmith tho, so that's where we had "dinner" and rested before heading home~

[agent-oo-z]

I like to imagine what an alien/post post apocalypse archaeologist would think if they found my room.

Long post warning. Also run on sentence warning.

Like let’s assume my room is somehow magically preserved so that everything is exactly the way it is right now but like. Maybe a bit aged from time.

My bookshelves are not mainly used for books. The books are part of the decor set up. Different shelves have different themes, like my marvel shelf with all my funky pops and my handful of action figures from when I was obsessed with marvel. Or my animal shelf with my warrior cats and similar animal protagonist series books are kept along side my corresponding animal toys/figures/models(the wolves, the dogs, the cats, the bears). And then there’s the Monsters Inc shelf. There’s also the color specific ones like my white blue and purple shelf or the red shelf or the yellow and black and white shelf. And the “oh shit I have a lot of notebooks and journals I guess these can have their own shelf and I’ll fill the rest of the space with some random decor” shelf.

But that’s just the book shelves. My desk has its own little shelf organizer on it but instead of supplies it’s also just a collection of things. Little plushy keychains and my 3 furbies and my special steve Irwin funky pop.

And my walls. My goal is to have all my walls covered in things. If it can be put up with poster putty I’ll put it on my wall. There’s tickets and posters and postcards and pictures and wax seals and certificates from summer camps and art from loved ones and professional artists and magnets and pearler bead things and convention badges and trading cards and confetti and magnets and broken jewelry charms and an origami heart pouch filled with fortune cookie fortunes and a giant fat head brand golden retriever decal and those plastic glow in the dark stars/planets/comets/etc and the sticker glow in the dark stars/planets/comets/etc and a 3d moon lamp that cycles through the phases of the moon and a cinnamon witches broom and my high school graduation cap and pressed pennies and the thank you cards and drawings I got when I worked at a summer camp and a Polaroid of two children no one in my family recognizes and a Chuck E. Cheese token.

And then the medicine cabinet turned altar with the top dedicated to Bird Mom and then half the top inner shelf is dedicated to her as well and the other half of that shelf is for Loki and then the next shelf down is split between Dionysus and Aphrodite(and Athena is on top of the book shelf next to the medicine cabinet because she doesn’t want to share and also is very picky about what I’m allowed to dedicate to her so she has the least amount of stuff). Also an entire shelf of that book case is dedicated to Bird Mom and my deceased pets and family members.

And because the people who had this house before us were strange in different ways than we are there’s a mount on the ceiling that used to hold up a boxing bag but now it has a magnetic fake succulent in a little ceramic pot and stuffed animal called a Purrmaid that is a combination of an Angora cat and a jellyfish. It also has a crocheted vine with purple and yellow flowers(one is red and yellow but only the one) that connects to the curtain rod and a hook on the wall and goes over the mirror too which is on the wall above the desk. And the mirror has stickers and decals on it but also sticky notes to remind me of random things. Under the vine and over the mirror there’s a string of felt papel picado(spelling?) and then there’s my high school graduation cord connecting the leftmost wall hook above the mirror to the rightmost wall hook above the wall with the door(where the air vent juts out over the top of the bookshelf) and there’s the pompom spider Halloween decoration that’s hanging on that. There’s also two tiny versions of the jellyfish cat in different colors and three Christmas tree ornaments hanging on the hooks supporting it. One ornament is a box of original flavor cheezits and one is a peacock feather eye in a glass casing and a blue and purple and pink gradient acrylic deer with a constellation type pattern on it. The wooden zebra mask that we found at good will is hanging from the hook on the right most part of the wall where the stupid shallow closet juts out. On the wall is also a collection of paper dolls of the various drag queens who have won Ru Paul’s Drag Race (up to season 10 I think?). And then in the closet one of the shelves has all the build a bear my little pony friendship is magic characters I have. And because the closet is so tiny the drawers that contain all the clothes I don’t hang up are actually next to the closet and on top of one of the stacks is a flat surface so of course that’s covered in trinkets and tchotchkes. And then of course there’s the massive pile of stuffed animals wedged into the corner against the wall. It’s between the foot of my bed and the right hand side of my desk(the desk I’ve had since the previous house we lived in, the desk I’ve had since third grade, the desk covered in stickers and unused return labels and duct tape scraps and marker stains and glitter glue and candle wax). Some of them are from media I care about and some are just cute designs and some are based on real creatures(both extant and extinct) and some even have visible repairs.

Like. What would they think of me? Would they be able to tell what was a dedicated altar for spiritual purposes and what was just a collection of items that represent my interests and aesthetics? Would they be able to tell what on my wall was selected for its emotional significance and what was just pretty or perfect to fill that one little spot? Would my sense of humor creep through? Would they be able to tell how much I love animals and zoos? Would they find all the stains ground in to the carpets, the cat fur that clings to most surfaces no matter how often I manage to vacuum, the dirt and grim that finds it’s way into hard to reach places?

Would they catalog my room and leave it as is? Take all its little pieces and separate them by categories and put them in storage? Would they take my soul made manifest in the little living space I can somewhat control and shatter it eternally or tend to it lovingly as they exhibited it for countless onlookers to come and learn about what life was like in my time?

I have a little journal I keep on the windowsill next to my bed. It’s my joy journal. Each day I try to write in it at least three things that I did/saw/heard/ate/etc that brought me joy. But on occasion, when something really big has happened and I just need to process it, I’ll write about it. I even went back and added an intro and a symbol key so that if some future historian comes across it they can learn more about me! I told them my name and pronouns and diagnoses at the time I wrote the note. I also told them about where I was born and raised and where I was going to college at the time and what I was studying and why. I apologized for how atrocious my handwriting is.

(I also threatened to haunt them if they intentionally misgender me)

I hope that they would see how much my little hoard of nonsense meant to me. And that even if they dismantled it or left it alone entirely that someone somewhere would find out about me and think “wow this is so similar to how I live my life, even though our existences are so separated by time and space we do the same things.”

[ceolforthesoul]

The Soy Boys swap classic covers for their very own anthems for lovers

Helloooo lovely people and fáilte go dtí Ceol for the Soul -  The podcast that puts the warm and fuzzy feelings received from live music into words. For those of you who are new here, my name is Aisling — a singer-songwriter from the West of Ireland currently living in Groningen, a city in the north of the Netherlands. I am constantly in awe of artists succesfully managing to pierce my heart and bring me with them into their whimsical inner worlds while performing live. Ceol for the Soul is a space where I attempt to transfer the essence of the musical experiences I encounter to you through reviews, interviews and opinion pieces.

As usual, before I begin the episode - I invite you to pause this here for now and rejoin me after you have listened to a song from this week’s spotlight artist… The Soy Boys! This is the first time I get to introduce one of Groningen’s local gems to the podcast — and what a gezellig group to guide you into the city’s vibrant music scene. 

A new side to the once-cover band was unveiled at a sunkissed Noorderzon performance last August. With a Spotify release of two original songs a few months later, The Soy Boys revealed the unexplored musical destinations they wanted to reach. So go ahead and follow the path they have begun to pave by listening to one or both of their released tracks --- which I hope stop you in your tracks to dance your heart out.....

What struck you most about The Soy Boy’s sound? Did your mind wander to any unexpected places while listening? Can you imagine the electricity produced by these songs while being played live? 

This liveness and the band's continued discovery of sounds can be envisioned while I reflect on The Soy Boy’s most recent concert...

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A band’s name that matched countless stickers painted on my student house walls appeared on the Instagram story of Simplon, a popular music venue in the city. Every Thursday Simplon UP gives its stage to UP and-coming artists in Groningen — the 14th of March was The Soy Boy’s turn. There was no doubt that I wanted to go and support Wout, the band’s lead singer who I’ve gotten to sing alongside myself several times over the years. His bandmates whose friendship outside that label is evident are guitarist Tom Horowtiz, drummer David Hübner and bassist Luuk van Keeken. This was the first time I got to experience a Soy Boy set full of originals and the band's evolved identity was quite literally written all over the performance. 

The Soy Boys swapped classic covers for their very own anthems for lovers. For forty-five attentive minutes, we were transported into the minds and lives of the band like never before with no emotions being spared. Arriving to an already captivated crowd at the end of their first song reflected the soulful and sentimental atmosphere that lasted the entire night. The second song 'Lucky" was a charming and warm welcome --- I felt exactly like its title for being able to catch it. Tom’s rising guitar riffs amplified the meaning of Wout’s words as he sang “Tomorrow’s gonna be a bit better, it doesn’t have to be this hard” — the first glimpse into the playful call-and-answer conversations that Tom and Wout would have between voice and guitar throughout the show.

This joyful chatter thrived in ‘New Shoes’, one of the grooviest numbers of the night - letting loose and surrendering to the move and flow of the absorbed audience was the only option. Then David abandoned his drumsticks for a guitar and brought the band (Tom especially) to an incredible bluegrass-inspired melody. The Soy Boys' commitment to experimentation and having fun with the endless musical capabilities that can reveal their hearts was bleeding through every note.

Aiste, The Soy Boy's manager blessed us with the lyrics of ‘Bright & Blue’, “We used to think dreaming too big was too small” and many more of her heartfelt lines floated longingly beside Wout’s soothing synth. The words of someone close to The Soy Boys radiating through the band captured a deeply personal feeling that the lyrics of a stranger could not.

'Everything a Little Bit’ was a well-chosen way to wind down the evening while simultaneously winding it up with the heightened energy this song created. A very impressive extended ‘looooooveeeeeee’ from 'Only a Weekend Though' closed the set and encapsulated the overarching theme of the night. The Soy Boys' breakthrough into original material has put all of their hearts on the sleeves of their colourful shirts.