Doseisan in Trash Can (Mr. Saturn) unboxing

A super cute parcel arrived today! It didn't look that cute when it arrived, but it sure got cuter as I opened it!

For those who are confused (nicked from Wiki):

Mr. Saturn

Mr. Saturn (どせいさん Dosei-san) is a friendly species that aids the player's party. All individuals of the species are named Mr. Saturn. They are identical in appearance, each short, peach, with an overlarge nose, whiskers, and a bow on its one hair. They speak Saturnian (composed of odd looking English letters), and erratically use the words "boing," "ding," "zoom," and "Dakota". The Japanese font is said to be inspired by the handwriting of the young daughter of EarthBound's designer, Shigesato Itoi. First seen in EarthBound, they make a return appearance in Mother 3, the Japanese sequel to EarthBound. In both games, they help with repairing or building various machines.

Mr. Saturns make their home in Saturn Valley, in Eagleland, which is just north of Threed. Their village has round homes which resemble flying saucers and/or the planet Saturn and strange furniture, such as ATMs which bounce up and down in place and resemble Mr. Saturns. Some of the Mr. Saturn's preferred foods are "almond monaka" and "pig yōkan" (changed to "peanut cheese bars" and "piggy jelly" in the English version of the game), goods that can be purchased in the Saturn Valley shop. According to Shigesato Itoi, the Mr. Saturn race are the symbolism of innocence in the game.

I hope you're happy in your new home, Mr. Saturn. Welcome to the family!

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Manifest 2011 + Swag/Merch

/goodies/loot/awesomeness/whatever

***Edit***

I managed to get them to fit into their stands (after I performed some minor "plastic" surgery on their back supports)!



***End edit***

First, I'd like to thank My Love for accepting my nerdy-ness and allowing me to decorate her house with the resulting memorabilia.

Then, I'd like to say: Yay for Manifest!

I had a ball. I loved the AMV's, the cosplay, the screenings, the merch, the cultural displays- everything! It was good to be among my people again. I wish I'd brought a worthwhile camera with me. As it is, I'll have to rely on other people snaps to remember the wonderful cosplay displayed this year. And there were some particularly memorable skits, too.

This was super cute, for Madoka fans:



For everyone who was attending Manifest for the first time and was up on stage, the whole crowd chanted "One of us!" to ensure they'd have to return next year. Next year I'm definitely bringing My Love along.

Everyone had a good time, everyone was polite and friendly, and it's times like this when it makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing that I'm a geek.

Now, onto the swag. I snatched up some great wall scrolls, both of which make me smile. Poor Ciel in that dress...




Next up, an Ouran cushion, featuring Mori and Honey. Cute!!



Finally, here's something I've never purchased before... Anime figures! And these exist at the intersection of two of my interests: fighting games and Lucky Star!

Here's Konata as Guile:



And Tsukasa as Ken:



And Kagami as Ryu:



And Miyuki as C. Viper. Awesome.



And here's the crew:



Adorable. I really need somewhere to display them. Once I have a proper job, I may purchase some more shelving for the spare room.

I hope to see some of you there next year. It'll be awesome. I'll definitely be cosplaying- and I think My Love's fairly interested as well.

Catch you on the flipside!

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The birthday post

But not the one I thought would go first.

I'm still working away on something for a very special someone whose birthday was a month ago- but it's taking ages!

So instead I'll update you on what feels very much like my own birthday, but just happens to be My Love's.

So the story goes:

It was a frosty, late July, and a young man was working on his second practicum. He could feel his purpose and ability swelling with each day. Along side this feeling of accomplishment, and growing confidence, he felt a terrible weight.

His back ached, his neck shot through with lightening and his shoulders pulsed and chafed with every step he took. The burden of the homework of all his students could no longer be contained in his beautiful, blue satchel.

But what could he do?

Now, this young man has a beautiful fiancée, who happens to be poor at keeping secrets (and deleting her browsing history). She, ever the thoughtful girl, who could no longer stand by while her man wore down his shoulders to a bloody mess, intervened.

She hopped online with determination in her eyes and sought out a device of salvation, an object of near-unrivalled beauty. And she purchased it.

A few days later it arrived in the post.



And she gave me another wonderful gift that I wasn't expecting. And now it's up on the wall. It's obscure. It's colourful. And it was made with love by true fans.



I also purchased (for $10!!) another to accompany it. I'll give some explanation for the one below. It's from fangamer and refers to a fictional band from Earthbound (the prequel to Mother 3, known as Mother 2 in Japan) called the Runaway Five. In the original Japanese, they were called the Tonzura Bros., which means the Runaway Bros., and considering there are 6 members in the band, makes more sense as a name. In the original, they were also all dressed in black, in the style of the Blues Brothers- so Fangamer decided to go with this wonderful Runaway Bros design:



And with the order came a bunch of fun, free inclusions:



Now, as I said, this is a birthday post.

And I'm doing something terribly naughty this year. I'm headed to Manifest on the day of My Love's Birthday. So in order to rectify this, I made sure to have a stream of presents to give her in the lead-up, so she won't miss me too much on the day.

On the first day was a new charm for her bracelet, which you would see below, if she wasn't wearing it to work today:



It's a cat charm from Michael Hill. We found the Pandora one to be a bit ugly... And this one's... less ugly.

The next day was the following- a new addition to our board game library:



The idea behind that one was that we needed a game where I could win occasionally. Sadly, it doesn't look like that will last for long, as she's already way out in front in terms of her kill:death ratio...

Following that was a handmade gift, which says exactly what I want to say to her, and in my own nerdy way. I often talk about Mother 3. But it's nothing compared to the adventure that is my life with My Love.



There's a couple more, but she hasn't unwrapped them yet... She helped pick one, so it won't be a surprise. But the other she probably won't guess :).

Also- in case you're wondering: Kittens aren't that enthusiastic about walking with a leash.



However, they're often happy to be carried in a stylish yoga/sportswear store carry bag, especially if a beautiful woman is involved:



I hope you have a great day without me, Gorgeous One. I love you.

*Hugs*

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