Spring 2021 Update

It's been a crazy few months. Updating this blog had been pushed further and further towards the back of my list of priorities as I juggled work and group orders. Now that I've had a much-needed break, I can sit down and write out some thoughts and updates.

The amount of items I'm storing for other people is finally under control for now. I'm very relieved that shipping has been going smoothly despite being delayed, especially for the US. I also appreciate the cooperation of those who were reluctant to change shipping methods but did so anyway. I really wish things could go back to normal, but it looks like this will be the new norm for a while. I'd still like to ship out as much as I can, since the amount I have in my possession can be a bit of a mental burden as I forget to include certain items in packages or have trouble remembering which trading items I assigned to whom.

On the translation front, I'm happy to say that after several months, I've completed translations for the Secret Garden Party Secret Episodes! This is my first time completing an entire series so I'm glad to say that I have a collection of translations to share!

You can view the translations in my Ko-fi gallery for now. In the future I'll have the remaining works posted here on my blog.

I've been in a bit of an emotional slump as of late. For the first time in about a decade, I wasn't able to visit my family and friends in the US. I finally left Tokyo for a few hours after a year of being here, taking a short, uneventful trip next door to Yokohama. I miss seeing crowds of UtaPri fans at events. I feel fortunate to be living in Tokyo which makes attending pop-up shops and events much easier, but the pandemic still makes it feel like an experience that's difficult to enjoy to its fullest.

But at least I've found some pleasure in (finally!) getting back to playing All Star After Secret, the most recent visual novel. I think there'll be a sense of satisfaction once I'm finally done and think about what I'd like to tackle next.

Speaking of tackling projects and such, the 10th Anniversary Book will be out this year! I'm very excited about it! I can't believe it's been about five years since I started on the 5th Anniversary Book, and although I really wish I had the book in Japan with me, I think I've translated some of what I think is the most interesting content. I'm anxious to see what HEAVENS content will be in the new book and I hope we're supplied with new information about each member.

I plan to translate parts of the book, probably not the entire thing as with the 5th Anniversary Book. Once I see what it contains I'll start selecting parts here and there, and hopefully I'll have at least the same amount of content I translated before. We'll see!☆

Fall 2020 Update

Time flies...the past few months have been extremely busy. I kept starting blog posts and not finishing them because of other tasks, but I think I'm finally due to post an update.

Most of my summer was eaten up by the All-Star Shop, setting up my apartment, and shipping packages. I thought August was going to be the least stressful month but it turned out to be really tough on me mentally. The shipping restrictions to the US were giving me an absolute headache, and my list of buyers had piled up higher and higher along with the pile of pre-orders coming in. To this day I still have items from the beginning of this year that haven't been shipped yet. I nearly had a meltdown towards the end of August, which some of you might have guessed when I sent an e-mail about refusing to deal with FedEx and DHL.

I've had to draw a few lines like these for myself in order to maintain some level of comfort, and now I'm at a point where I'm no longer pressuring myself to visit the post office four times a week to keep up.

I've received so many messages and tags on Twitter from you all who have safely received your packages, and that makes me really happy and relieved. I really appreciate the patience you've given me, and it's been helping me have more patience with myself. I've made a few mistakes with missing and forgetting to include items from some orders because of all of the invoices and records I have to go through, but the people who had that experience have shown so much grace and appreciation nonetheless.

Anyway, here's a quick list of updates from these last few months:

• If you made an order in 2019 still haven't completed the survey on changing shipping options, please see my info page for information.
  
  
• Translation is still on hold, but I've been thinking about it lately and hope I can take some time towards the end of the year to continue Secret Garden Party.
  
  
• I currently have two group pre-orders open: AGF Beautiful Memories and PRINCE CAT HOUSE. I don't have a set deadline for requests but preferrably I'd like to begin online orders as soon as they open in December. Sign-up link is in the Group Pre-Order Info Page.
  
  
• Shining Store 2020 Group Pre-orders will start soon! The price list I've created is here. I'm waiting to get as much merchandise information as possible before opening up a request form.
  
  
• I've changed the Twitter that I use for group order updates; you can now follow @ryuyabear to get information about a new group order or items I have for sale. The account is protected, so just send a follow request and I'll approve it! My other UtaPri account @bitchfacetokiya will continue to be public and for shitposting personal posts.
  
  

On a more personal note, if you've been following my personal Twitter, you may have noticed that I've added to my family. 

I'm not sure if it was Ranmaru and Shion that brought me back to a version of myself from early adulthood, or if it was my move back to Tokyo that brought that "self" back to light, and Ranmaru and Shion were just the best fit for that re-discovery. Of course I'm not abandoning Tokiya and Ren, haha. But 2020 has been a year of significant growth for me, so I think it was inevitable that I would start noticing other characters. That's the beauty of UtaPri for me and why I can't move onto anything else; no matter how old this series is, there's still more for me to explore.

July 2020 Update

I've finally moved! I feel so happy to be in my new place! It was an overwhelming few weeks and once August begins I'll have a lot more time to take care of things.

I apologize if any messages went unanswered or information seemed unclear or inconsistent! My brain has been processing a million things at once and I really want my place to be set up so it's easier for me to focus.

Here's a summary of what's happened in the past few weeks:

• Sweets Paradise x Shining Live group pre-order has closed and I've made the order! Thank you to everyone who joined!
  
  
• I'm now taking requests for All-Star Shop! All items are on the list except for the perfume bottles due to shipping restrictions on flammable liquids. There is no set deadline but orders will close around the time the online shop ends. The form is here, please read the information very carefully!
  
  
• For those of you who ordered items from me in the past year, I've revised my shipping guide in response to the pandemic. Many of you already answered the shipping survey but if you haven't or need to review information, you can see my page here. I plan to start packing and shipping during the month of August. Thank you all for being so patient, I know it's been a long wait for many of you!
  
  
• Translation will be put on hold until I finish setting up my apartment and get myself back into the habit of packing and shipping orders. Thank you all so much for your Ko-fi donations and support, it's really helped a lot during this really expensive move!
  
  

On a personal note, this move [back] to Tokyo was over ten years in the making. I never imagined things would be this way when I got here--not just with the pandemic, but I also never expected to be into something like UtaPri. But now that I'm finally here, I hope it will be even easier and even more enjoyable to contribute to this fandom. Thank you all and I'll continue to work hard (and rest)!