#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

[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

[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

[tamapalace]

2023 Year In Review

2023 was a great year for Tamagotchi, which included the first ever simultaneous global release of the new Tamagotchi Uni! We’ve seen a record number of Tamagotchi products, collaborations, events, and so much more. Let’s take a look back and see what made 2023 so special!

01/19/2023

Bandai Japan Announces Tamagotchi x Sanrio Gashapon Keychain Charms

More Gashapon love to kickoff 2023! The Tamagotchi x Sanrio Gashapon charms were adorable, and wildly successful, following the launch of the Tamagotchi Smart Sanrio TamaSma Card.

02/01/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Garden Poppies, Memphis Style, & Tama Universe Tamagotchi Original Shells

New shells announced for spring 2023! These three new shells were adorable, and you know we just love the Memphis Style shell. Scheduled release of March 12th, 2023!

02/09/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Jurassic Park Tamagotchi Preorders

Following the Bandai Japan announcement of the Jurassic World Tamagotchi in late 2022, Bandai Namco US announces a slightly different (by shell and packaging only) Jurassic Park Tamagotchi with a release date of February 6th, 2023.

02/13/2023

Supreme Previews Spring Summer 2023 Collection, Includes Supreme Tamagotchi

This was a big deal! Supreme, the popular streetwear brand announced the Supreme Tamagotchi in their Spring Summer 2023 collection. These were produced in limited quantities and were only available for an initial drop.

02/16/2023

Bandai Premium Japan Announces “Chara Timer Tamagotchi” Tamagotchi Timer”

Bring some Tamagotchi to the kitchen! The latest accessory announced by Bandai, modeled after the 1996 Tamagotchi original P1 blue clock shell, and helping Tamagotchi fans not burn their cookies in the oven.

02/23/2023

American Girl Reveals Tamagotchi for 90’s Themed Accessory Pack

Cute collaboration with the iconic American Girl Doll brand! The 90’s accessory pack available for purchase includes a miniature P1 Tamagotchi Original with a lenticular screen featuring Mametchi.

02/28/2023

Bandai Japan Debuts Tamagotchi LINE Theme & Animated Emojis!

Elevate your LINE messaging with new Tamagotchi theme and stickers. These feature original Tamagotchi graphics from the P1 and P2 dating back to 1996, and 1997 respectively.

03/31/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Tokyo Revengers Tamagotchi

Another collaboration makes its easy over to North America. Bandai Namco US announces the Tokyo Revengers Tamagotchi, and Hug My Tamagotchi sets. Release date was set for May 23rd, 2023.

04/02/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Tamagotchi

Just recently released in Japan, and now officially announced by Bandai Namco US! Preorders were listed on Amazon with a release date of July 6th, 2023.

04/25/2023

Bandai Namco US & Japan Simultaneously Announce Harry Potter Wizarding World Tamagotchi

Love a synchronized announcement. The two announced the Harry Potter Tamagotchi, featuring two shells, unique programing, and more. Official release date set for July 15th, 2023.

05/16/2023

Bandai Namco US is Looking for Licensing Partner for Lifestyle Consumer Products

Bandai Namco US needs some help! That’s right, Bandai Namco US attended the 2023 Las Vegas Licensing Expo looking for a licensing partner to develop Tamagotchi licensed products which would include apparel, accessories, stationary, food, and more! We’re still waiting to see how this comes to fruition. Fingers crossed.

05/17/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces New Tamagotchi Original Shells for Summer

New Season, new shells. Bandai Namco US announces three new Tamagotchi Original shells, Kuchipatchi Comic Book, Berry Delicious, and Starry Shower. Starry Shower instantly became a fan favorite. Official release date set for June 28th, 2023.

05/24/2023

Bandai Gashapon Ringcolle! Tamagotchi Rings

Put a ring on it! If you’re going to propose to us, it better be with one of these rings. Bandai Gashapon announces Gashapon Ringcolle which are shaped and designed like the original Tamagotchi from 1996 and 1997! These would be available in Japan nationwide September 2023.

05/27/2023

Bandai UK, Spain, France, Mexico, United States, & South Korea Tease Tamagotchi Announcement on June 6th, 2023

We will NEVER forget seeing this video for the first time, and the excitement it brought to us. We can still feel it EVERY time we watch this video. Bandai officially teases the next Tamagotchi, and by the looks of it from the high quality teaser video, it’s about to be a global release. If we only knew then what we knew now. What an INCREDIBLE time in Tamagotchi history. Marketing efforts 10/10. We buckled up for a very fun, and busy Tamagotchi summer.

05/31/2023

Bandai Japan Announces FRGMT Edition Tamagotchi Original

Another collaboration with a streetwear brand, this time it’s FRGMT! This shell is unique in all-black, white accents, and the FRGMT logo at the top. P1 programming, available in limited quantities only via a lottery! Winners received their delivers in September 2023.

06/01/2023

Bandai Gashapon Reveals Tamagotchi Plus Series Charms

Starting off June right! Bandai announces Tamagotchi Plus Series Charms, which would soon prove to be a fan favorite, and give us all more hope for a Tamagotchi Connection re-release soon. These were released the third week of June 2023 in Japan nationwide. They would later be released outside of Japan, including the United States.

06/01/2023

Bandai Globally Announces Tamagotchi Uni!

The moment we were all awaiting for. Around 3:00AM EST Bandai globally announced the Tamagotchi Uni, the next generation Tamagotchi featuring wi-fi connectivity, the Tamaverse, and much more with a global release too. This was an ICONIC moment for the Tamagotchi community to witness, and we will never forget the initial excitement for the announcement, we even stayed up late watching the website go down for maintenance, and then woke up super early to write about the announcement.

06/12/2023

Bandai Spain Kicks off World Tamagotchi Tour with Tamagotchi Uni Launch Party in Madrid

As a part of the World Tamagotchi Tour, Bandai Spain kicks off the tour with a launch party in Madrid! The event was open to the public, and featured a musical performance by Twin Melody, contests to win the new Tamagotchi Original, and more!

06/20/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Limited Edition Star Wars Grogu Mandalorian Armor Tamagotchi

New shell alert! Following the success of the Gorgu Tamagotchi, Bandai Namco US announces a limited edition shell that comes in a commemorative display case. WIth only 1,500 units produced, they were only available at select events, including San Diego Comic-Con 2023, and New York Comic-Con 2023.

06/29/2023

Inside the NYC Tamagotchi Uni Launch Party

We were invited to the Tamagotchi Uni launch party in New York City to preview the new Tamagotchi Uni, and meet the newest member of the Tama Family, Charli D’Amelio! The party did NOT disappoint, every detail was perfect, the food and drinks were delicious, and the event was packed with influencers, the media, and some very important people, including Tara Badie, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America, Senior Director Brand Strategy.

07/01/2023

Bandai Japan Reveals Tamagotchi Uni Commercial

We were thinking “where’s the commercial” for a while since the official announcement, and it’s here! Bandai Japan finally reveals the television commercial that will be airing nationwide in Japan to advertise the new Tamagotchi Uni.

07/03/2023

Bandai Gashapon Reveals Tamagotchi Kuruntote Bags

More Gashapon love! Bandai Gashapon partners up with Kuruntote to deliver Tamagotchi branded reusable bags that are delivered in a Gashapon capsule. How awesome? Officially released nationwide in Japan the fourth week of July 2023.

07/17/2023

Bandai Japan Announces Usada Pakora Tamagotchi

The next collaboration! Bandai Japan announces the collaboration with VTuber Usada Pakora Tamagotchi. Two shell designs, 3 mini games, secrets characters and more. Oh, did we mention plushes and Hug My Tamagotchi sets? Official release was set for December 2023.

08/23/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Fall 2023 Tamagotchi Original Shells

Neon Lights, Milk and Cookies, and Pastel Marble Tamagotchi Original shells are officially announced! The Pastel Marble Tamagotchi Original shell was originally spotted at the Tamagotchi Uni Launch party in NYC. Official Release set for October 4th, 2023.

10/10/2023

Bandai Unveils Tamagotchi Uni in Blue!

You wanted another shell, and you got it! Bandai globally announces the Tamagotchi Uni in blue. Same programming as the pink and purple, but this time, in a gorgeous blue color. Official release set for Tamagotchi’s birthday, November 23rd, 2023!

11/04/2023

Bandai Japan Announces Tamagotchi Gummies with Die Cut Stickers & Download Code!

Candyman! Bandai Japan announces their venture into delicious candy gummies. Two flavors (muscat and lemon) and shapes of Mametchi, Kuchipatchi, Oyajitchi, Ginjirotchi, and Masktchi along with one of 14 different Tamagotchi stickers. Oh, did we mention a cute fruit hat Tamagotchi Uni download code? Officially released nationwide in Japan on November 20th, 2023.

11/09/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Winter 2024 Tamagotchi Original Shells

To wrap up the year, new Tamagotchi Original shells are announced. Pochitchi Comic Book, Lots of Love, and Pure Honey are all set to grace the retail shelves on January 7th, 2024!

11/16/2023

Details for Shibuya 109’s Tamagotchi 27th Birthday Pop-Up Event Released!

To celebrate the 27th birthday of Tamagotchi, Shibuya 109 went all out! Not only were they featured in the Tamagotchi Uni teaser video, but they hosted a pop-up event which featured convention exclusive Tamagotchi Original shells, Tamagotchi Uni, a Tamagotchi disposable camera, Tama Stickers, a Mamethci appearance, and new Tamagotchi’s decorating the iconic Shibuya 109 building in Japan!

01/23/2023

Bandai Namco US Announces Tamagotchi Original Celebration Y3K

To commemorative the 27th birthday of Tamagotchi, Bandai Namco US announces the Tamagotchi Original Celebration Y3K shell which is the first to feature a translucent cover case which will keep the unique blue translucent shell safe! Official release date set for February 8th, 2024.

12/01/2023

Bandai Gashapon Reveals Tamagotchi Clear Rubber Coasters

Even more creative Tamagotchi Gashapon’s! This time, it’s all about your drink, these rubber coasters are the first flat Tamagotchi Gashapon. Available in 5 different shell designs, they’ll keep your furniture safe while also making your drink long stylish!

12/12/2023

Bandai Namco Mobile Announces Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom Apple Arcade Game

We cannot wait for the official release on January 4th, 2024! Bandai Namco US Mobile announces a whole new Tamagotchi game for your iOS device, it appears to feature lots of missions, adorable graphics, characters, and much more.

12/23/2023

Tamagotchi Date Stamps Now Available at Japan Post Office Online Shop

Elevate your letters with new Tamagotchi date stamps! These date stamps are available for preordering right on the Japan Post website, and come in 17 different styles, adjustable dates and colors based on your ink pad. They’ll ship starting on March 29th, 2024.

12/27/2023

Bandai Japan Decorates HQ Window Display for New Years 2023

Ending the year right. Bandai Japan decorates headquarters with an impressive Tamagotchi display featuring all Tamagotchi characters surrounding a Tamagotchi Original P1 blue clock shell for the celebration of the new year. Something tells us that 2024 is going to be an AMAZING year for Tamagotchi!

12/30/2023

Bandai Japan Schedules My M!X Land Shutdown

With good comes some bad. Bandai Japan announces the official shutdown of the official website that interacts with the Tamagotchi M!X released back in 2016. My M!X Land is set to be shutdown on March 29th, 2024.

2023 was an AMAZING year Tamagotchi. The biggest highlight was the announcement and simultaneous global release of the Tamagotchi Uni. Personally our favorite memory was attending the Tamagotchi Uni launch party in New York City this summer.

We couldn’t imagine celebrating Tamagotchi without our amazing fans. We are looking forward to an even better 2024, so stay tuned to Tama-Palace for the latest and greatest Tamagotchi news. Happy New Year!

[cloudmakr]

Going on a little haterade rant about south park snow day here 😋

I'm NOT excited for this game. There are MANY reasons.

Graphics

The argument for 2d graphics is overworked, but a lot of people have that opinion FOR A REASON! South Park creators have tried (and SWORN off) 3d games before, which all regarded lukewarm attention from most fans, especially those who love the simplicity of the original construction paper feel (aka me). It's just disappointing to see the studio reach for ANOTHER 3d game despite ALL of the past failures, and it's clear that it wasn't well thought through. The mouths and eyes have serious "early pokemon games" energy, with no thoughts behind them and a sticker-like feel, and the hair texture for some characters (like Clyde) is just abysmal. It's clear in some frames that the animators tried to make it look choppy like the 2d we all know and love, but it just looks a little lazy and not well thought out in my opinion. The shading makes everything look cast in shadows, which could have been a conscious choice, if it weren't for how muddy the colors and shapes become. It almost looks like it was made in the 2010s. Overall, it just seems like a terrible choice when all three of the last relevant South Park games were made (beautifully) in 2d.

Story

I'm a complete sucker for all things South Park, which you know if you have seen my page, like, ever, but even so, I just don't feel compelled by the story as much as I was by other games (this is coming from someone that really didn't mind the pip episode). Personally, the moment when I heard Prof Chao's evil monologue at the end of TFBW, I couldn't wait for a sequel about being a minion of chaos! But this…just is disappointing at best. I understand that this might not be a direct predecessor to SoT and TFBW, but I wish they would make that game before creating a whole new one in a different direction! The whole game (as far as I can tell) is based around just going to stans house? And in general just doesn't feel fleshed out enough to be as enjoyable. I think it would be really incredibly hard to work in the same charm and excitement that came from cut scenes and (even small bits of) interactable characters in both other games. Which were one of my favorite parts. I feel like going on missions and following a long plot with all of the kids was what made it really outstanding, and characters personalities, flaws, and humor really got to shine through with the old format! A trouble I really have with the storyline is the multiplayer aspect, and I just pray to the almighty Comedy Central Gods that they make up some excuse for having multiple new kids, but even so, having a game where YOU are set as the SOLE new kid gave opportunities and amazing moments to the story of the original two.

There are more gripes I have with this game but I don't want to be rude to the creators, who I think have a great idea! (For maybe a mobile game made after a TFBW sequel). In general, I just feel really uneasy about this, and hope they come out with another 2d game soon.

[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~

[frecklystars]

Just writing this for my own organization and an excuse to gush abt my ships hehe. Here's a list of gifts I've given to every Ryan F/O, most things I own IRL, so they think of me when I'm not in their dimension (in order of the movies I've watched) that I want to draw at some point:

🐎🏖️ Ken: blue and white beaded bracelet with a letter "K" charm attached to it, as well as little star charms (given pre-relationship, something I've owned for years IRL) we have also given each other those little palm pals plush horses and named them Mister Ed (which I also own IRL!! shoutout to the anon who said Ken would get those for me because I'm absolutely in love with them and think of him every time I cuddle with them now 🥰🥰)

🎹🌃 Sebastian: a small piece of stardust he can pin onto his tie... haven't decided if I want a letter "K" charm attached to that or not yet (given during relationship, something obviously I don't own IRL as a real star obviously LOL but I do have a little star pin that could be used as a tie clip... so... technically something I kinda own??? I guess!!!)

🖤🎆 Six: a kandi friendship bracelet with red, gray, and black beads and star shapes -- charms not attached, as they would get caught on something easily (given pre-relationship, very early even before the mutual pining stage, something I have IRL)... as well as, later in the story, a wedding ring he wears on a chain around his neck that he hides underneath his shirt or tracksuit (can't wear it in the field because it can get caught on something, lost, and his enemies can use the fact that he has a loved one to his advantage if they find out)

💐💛 Officer KD6-3.7: a gold chain necklace with a very small lowercase letter "k" charm attached to it (given pre-relationship, also something I've owned for years IRL)

💙🔨 Driver: a Rubik's cube!! it has a letter "K" sticker on the blue side hehe >w< plus, it has a keychain thingy on it so he can attach it to his car keys if he wants to! I was originally gonna gift him a bracelet with a scorpion charm on it, but he doesn't strike me as someone who would... wear bracelets. I mean, I know he would if I gave it to him, but I do rather like the idea of him getting bored on set when he just stands around for 8 hours a day and he can play around with his Rubik's cube and think of me. one of my friends once told me "the Rubik's cube is a fidget toy that you can win, of course Driver would love that" hehe. (given pre-relationship, something I have IRL)

🧸🌟 Lars: a sensory/stim bracelet with bright pastel colors. lots of stars and hearts and squishy shapes, ofc a letter "K" charm attached to it that's safe to chew on (given pre-relationship, something I used to own IRL but I actually lost it LOL) I've also decided to add a design to the bracelet it didn't originally have; I want to attach a teddy bear gummy charm on it, because Lars is my teddy bear ;w;

🌲⛈️ Luke: a silver charm bracelet!! it has a few charms: pine trees, a motorcycle, a lightning bolt, a glowing star, a ghost, skull and crossbones, a ferris wheel, and... yeah probably a letter "K" too, honestly why not. hehe. (given pre-relationship, currently something I'm making IRL)

❤️💥 Colt: a rose gold necklace with my name written in cursive + a pink heart attached to it! and a kandi friendship bracelet with his name on it :D (bracelet given pre-relationship and will probably be something I make IRL, necklace given during relationship and something I own IRL)!!

🤍🥂 Jacob: a polaroid camera!!! I'm rly proud of this one bc it was really hard for me to decide what to give the man who already owns everything. I juggled back and forth with a necklace or a tie clip or even a shot glass or something for the longest time until it finally hit me: making memories with someone is something money can't buy!! so our thing is we take pictures together and put them in a scrapbook :D (given during relationship, something I don't own IRL yet but I will one day when I save up)!!

💙🍦 Dean: a silver heart-shaped locket with my initial on it painted in blue glitter! can hold a photo inside if he wants. (given during relationship, something I've had for years IRL)

🎶🔍 Holland: a lighter! I don't smoke so I wouldn't own this IRL but I've thought about maybe giving him one with constellations on it, probably during the relationship! I don't have much of our story figured out yet bc he isn't really a main F/O, but I still like to think abt him lighting his cigarettes and momentarily I'll cross his mind when he pulls out his lighter C:

⌚🌹 Stephen: also a very new relationship and idk anything about our story whatsoever -- I don't even know if we have a story tbh bc the movie just baffles me dude sldfkjsfdf I think I'd just drop into the universe to kiss him for a while honestly -- anyway!! I've thought of giving him two pieces of stardust he could use as cufflinks. or a piece of stardust on a chain that attaches to his belt. or... idk... a necklace? a ring? something subtle but meaningful that he'd wear everyday. hm.

🏠🦢 Noah: he isn't a main F/O so I actually haven't thought much about our story together either. he's more of a kissed-and-thrown-into-the-pile kind of boyfriend for me. I think I'd give him a plushie of a swan though :)

🌠💌 Julian: haven't watched his movie yet but he's next on my list. I'd probably give him a necklace or a bracelet unless if there's anything particular about him that makes me think "oh!!! yeah!!! he'd want [insert very specific item here]!!" I already like him soooo so so so much even tho I don't know anything about him. heart squeezing in my chest as I type this I wuv him soooo muuuuch. ahh. can't wait to give him something so he can think of me fondly when he sees it :)

📜💕 Steven: A bracelet! I don't know what kind yet though :) maybe a kandi friendship bracelet.

Other Ryan F/Os such as BV, and uh. [squints] idk if there's anyone else actually. I'm running out of movies. I'll probably give them gifts too if I end up shipping w/ them. but this is my list for now :]

[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...

--------------------

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.

[fourseasonsfigs]

Building Block Figs - Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake (Part One)

Figthusiast friends, it's time for a little something different! Today we have the first of a series of building block Word of Honor fig sets.

I first saw these sets earlier this year when I was browsing for figs on Xianyu, my favorite secondary market app. I stopped my scrolling in total surprise when I first saw a picture, and was like wait...are these actually Lego-type Word of Honor figs??? I zoomed in, and lo and behold, they sure were.

I absolutely loved Legos when I was a kid. My family didn't have enough money to be able to buy much in the way of expensive toys, but I did save up my babysitting money so I could buy a few of them myself. It took a long time at $1.50 an hour!

So, of course when I saw these, the nostalgia factor combined with my fandom fig obsession made these a must buy.

Today's fig is that the first set I found. It's called (via MTL) "Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake", which I must congratulate for being extremely descriptive and 100% accurate.

As soon as I saw this, I did an immediate search on Taobao and Weidian to see if I could just buy the set vs. pick it up off Xianyu. For two reasons. One, I can buy directly off Taobao (vs using a third party purchase agent for Xianyu), and two, I was hoping there was more in the series than this one figure. However, they were no longer being sold on either platform, so Xianyu it was.

I browsed around and was lucky enough to find a seller on Xianyu that did, in fact, have other sets in the series, and who was clearing them all out, brand new and unopened. She noted that she was still a fan, she just had never had the time to put these together and realized now with her workload she probably never would. I bought all three of her sets, including this one, for about $37 total, which is about half off the retail of 179 yuan per set they originally went for (about $25 each). I thought this was a great deal considering the actual costs of specialized Lego sets these days, even non-branded building block sets.

As far as I can tell, there are four big sets that are famous scenes from the show, and three small sets that are just our two favorite leads only. I was able to buy the three big scenes off that one person, and one of the set of figs-only, but I'm still missing some (too many!). I keep checking Xianyu. I was actually surprised to see the other day there was another set I didn't know existed - but sadly it ended up being sold out. I'll keep looking.

Anyway!

The Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake is a 1,236 piece set, measures 8.4 x 16.8 x 12.4 cm, and it's rated about 8 hours to complete. It's the fastest of the big sets (the remainder of which are rated 10, 10, and 11 hours respectively). In retrospect, should I have started with the smaller figs-only set (rated 2 hours)? Probably. But I was just so charmed by this set, and I only have one lake fig set to date, so this seemed like something very fun. Plus, as you will hear about later, I did not fully understand the specs until well after I was almost done assembling the very last set.

I had a surgical procedure that was scheduled this month (and is why I've been out of commission for a while), and I had specially saved up these sets as fun projects to make while I was recovering. I figured it would be nice to have something to look forward to.

So, post surgery, once I felt up to sitting up, I made myself a comfy little nest and settled in with my little boxes of treasures.

This is the pic from the seller - you would never know these were Word of Honor sets. They're just generic boxes from the manufacturer, with a small sticker on the top to indicate what set it is, along with a QR code.

I excitedly opened up the box, to find a bag o'bricks, a small black plastic piece and another sticker with QR code.

It turns out the little black plastic piece is a super handy little tool to quickly and easily break assembled bricks apart. Which is great if you accidentally assemble any steps incorrectly, as I would soon find out.

The QR code was for the directions, which were, in a quantum technological leap forward from my admittedly decades ago Lego experiences, online and fully 3-dimensional.

Pretty cute! I decided to go in order, and indeed start with the simple looking raft.

As a side note, I will tell you that I started this completely sure I was going to be able to assemble this set in an afternoon. I had somehow completely missed the MTL for the estimated assembly time until literally just now, as I was translating pics for this blog post. The set seemed fairly small in the picture, and while it has indeed been decades since I put together a Lego set, I'm (literally) an old hand at it. I felt extremely confident. Overconfident, you might say, given that my exact mental words to myself as I clicked on the raft image was, I'm gonna knock this thing out in no time.

Doesn't look like much, does it?

I figured that before I did anything else, I would sort by colors and shapes, so when I was ready to get started, I could move really fast. So I sorted. And sorted. And sorted some more. The bag doesn't look like a lot of bricks, but let me tell you, there were a LOT (1,236, which once again, I only realized until I was researching for this very blog post). Unlike Legos, these were all thin single-brick height, so there were no 4x4x4 type bricks, for example. It made it easier to sort, but as I was sorting (and sorting some more), I realized that it might take a lot of building to get significant height going.

Eventually, after about an hour, I got them all sorted, and felt very accomplished, if a bit tired. I took a little nap, and then settled back into my crafting nest, and then got ready to, and I quote myself once again, bang this sucker out.

The directions started with an image of the final product, which was helpful.

I will say the online direction interface was pretty amazing. I could zoom in, spin around, go upside down, view it any which way I wanted to by pinching and pulling at my phone's screen. It was fantastic, and certainly made it much easier. That little circle on the right side is the "next direction" button, and helpfully the number in the circle tells you how many steps you have left. There were 34 steps in this raft, and you can tell by the number here I'm not too far along.

Here's a little further as I gamely plug along. I got momentarily confused early on by the colors - there's a dark blue, a medium blue, and a light blue, and I had started assembling the raft with medium blue instead of dark blue. I got to figure out how useful that brick de-assembler was real fast, let me tell you. I also started screenshotting and translating the colors until I felt I had a good handle on what exact colors I should be picking.

You can see here how I can zoom in to figure out exactly where to place the bricks. You can't tell by the screenshot, but the bricks you are laying in each particular step blink, and are outlined in dark black like you see in the shot above. It's very handy.

I got into a groove pretty quick. For each step, I'd count and select the bricks shown in the little legend at the bottom, and put them in a little pile next to me. I did this to make sure I used up all the bricks each layer, as early on I was just following the directions and not realizing that some steps you had to put the brick underneath other ones, which would not be visible on the blinking screen unless I pinched and pulled the model to flip it around on the screen. If I got to the end of the step and still had bricks left, I knew one (or more) were hiding, and I could rotate the image around until I found where they should go. Yes, I did learn this the hard way, naturally.

After a good long time, I finally finished the raft! I will say, I was a bit puzzled that the raft is green and blue, as we well know the raft in the show is just bamboo.

Did I re-watch the scene just to make triple sure? I sure did!

So there's actually two rafts, this simple one here in the foreground, and then the bigger, sturdier raft there behind the boat. It's this first raft that this set is capturing, and more or less this moment, if not at such an acute angle.

I may actually rearrange the figures to be in this particular configuration later. Stay tuned!

It turns out that the raft is these colors because (now that I've put a lot of them together) the company doesn't appear to make many brick colors. The blues are unusual in the sense there are actually three different shades. The red bricks I have have only ever been one fire engine red color, and the brown bricks only one medium brown. So, rather than make the raft uniformly all brown, they made it colorful with the blue and green, perhaps to simulate the water. I admire the colorful nature of it, but I have to say, I'm contemplating re-doing the raft when I finish all the kits. Each kit has leftover bricks, and I seem to have a lot of brown bricks left over. I think I'm going to try remaking this with a brown raft base and black for the lines instead, with some blue and more of the transparent bricks to simulate water. Stay tuned for that, too!

So, by the time I finished the raft, I was beat. Super tired, and surprised it took as long as it did. BUT, I reasoned it only made sense since it was the very first piece I did, so naturally it would take longer than most. It was time to sleep.

The next day, I woke up bright and early, on a mission. On to Wen Kexing!

I started confident (confidence is never my problem, unfortunately, but it is sometimes A problem) that now that I had experience, I could in fact, bust this bad boy out.

I was merrily assembling away, and I happened to take a closer look at the directions - specifically, the little number in the bottom circle.

I don't know if you can see this number, but it is two of Gong Jun's favorite number 88. That's right, EIGHTY-EIGHT. I was like, what?!? How many was there in this figure? I've been going for a while (answer, as I scrolled back through the directions, is 111).

Remember how I said that these are all single-ply building bricks? Yep. Takes a bunch to turn them into a tall, yet humble philanthropist. Well, the only way out is through, right?

The directions kept having me assembling parts, and then having me set them aside for later. It looked nothing like a mild and gentle scholar, but I've found that, similar to life and perhaps also Ikea assembly instructions, sometimes you just have forge ahead and take it on faith that things are gonna work out.

Ah ha! Suddenly it IS starting to make a little sense. I recognize that costume!

(Sidebar to say, we all recognize this costume! And we know this gorgeous pale green outer robe is not, in fact, blue. I was slightly taken aback by this until I realized later the thing about the factory's lack of colors. The bright, intense grass green of the only green option (other than neon green, ahahaha) would have been even less suitable for our peacock's fine feathers, so actually this is a very good choice).

MAY I also note that number in the bottom right hand circle is 55. FIFTY-FIVE.

I'm gonna fast forward through the naps and the breaks, and just take one quick other picture break:

I just about cheered when I got to this point! I was like, oh there he is! You can also tell by the quality of light and the shadows that it was late at night at this point. On a different day.

Anyway, we arrive at the glorious conclusion:

Hooray! I was so happy and tickled at this point. I was just so charmed by him. His little rosy cheeks, his side wispies on his hair, the motion of him standing on one foot. The back of his hair is fantastic too, although you can't see it here yet.

On to our beloved A-Xu...

May I just say how DELIGHTED I am that this is indeed hobo-Xu? His little beard and goatee combo in brick form just made me giggle.

First thing, I checked to see how many steps our reclusive hobo had. 115, which I appreciated for Zhang Zhehan's birthday kadian, if nothing else.

You can tell by the colors and shadows that once again this is a different evening, here on step 77 and about to graduate to step 76:

Once again it looked pretty unrecognizable, except that now I had done one fig, I was starting to understand kind of where they were going.

Plus, Lao Wen got to watch this time. In the daytime, as you can tell by the nice bright light.

Annnd it's night time again. Ahahahaha, I love this fig! I really like how they did his bangs. You can see here too some of his glorious black hair streaming out behind him.

By the way, at this point the tips of my fingers were quite sore in a stingy kind of oversensitive way. Sadly, typing away at a keyboard all the time (also for decades!) at my desk job has in no way toughened up my fingers. I did not think snapping bricks into place and pushing down on them to squeeze them tightly together would tax them so much. Sitting here typing this, actually, my fingers are still sore (I am admittedly working my way though the last set, the 11 hour one).

It's yet another (different) evening, and at last, A-Xu is here! I was so happy to get to this point!

Annnnd I'm out of picture slots to do the full beauty 360 degree spin of these two. Sorry to make you wait (although you may be tired of such a massive post already!), but come back tomorrow for Part Two!

Material: Plastic building bricks

Fig Count: 500 (I'm gonna wait to count these until tomorrow)

Scene Count: 32 (same)

Rating: Lots of fun, actually. I'll give the in-depth low-down tomorrow!

[link to the Master Post Index]