...from 2010... ^_^;

My favorite pic of Oska so far, taken in an old broken TV:



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Next time, the first months of 2011!  I'm finally up-to-date with all the picture tweaking and uploading.  When Kokoryta said it sometimes takes her forever to treat her pics, I understood exactly what she meant... ^_^;

Haven't posted anything since Talia's arrival... Oh~ so many things have happened in he last few months!


The ratlings are still doing fine.  Naiara is no longer purely white: she has the cutest dabs of gray on her nose and ears.  She's my little wild one, lurking in dark corners and enjoying her solitude.  Nevertheless, she pokes her nose out of her hiding spot whenever I call to her.  At night, especially when I'm alone, she's always there to keep me company.  On her side, Talia is still as lively as ever.  We play tug-o-war together and she always wins... and not necessarily because I let her!  She's a crafty little devil: never believe her if she pretends to be bored of the game. XD  Around October, she had a bity period during which she confused my fingers for delicious raisins, but it's been over for a while now and she expresses her territorial nature a little less as well.

I read on many websites that rats usually establish some sort of hierarchy among themselves, but it seems to be different with the sisters: Talia is the one who seeks me and jumps on the treats first, pushing Naiara aside, yet she still got kicked out of the box by her elder.  When I saw that she seemed to have been forced to move alone to Ghostbusters' Central, I offered her a brand new cardboard box.  Ever since, the ratlings have lived in separate homes.  They still seem to enjoy one another's presence, but only part time.  I blame it all on adolescence!  >_<

On the BJD front, there's been quite a few arrivals and body swaps since last July, and even a departure! (*gasp*)

For one, Kylie has arrived:


I thought his body would be great for Ann, but it turned out terrible, which was absolutely perfect!  He became my favorite mold from Ringdoll (outclassing Spencer and Ashford) and took the appearance of the sweetest character I ever created.  Painting a faceup on semi-transparent resin was quite the challenge, but I'm very proud of how it turned out. <3

In case you're curious, Kylie is a 17 year-old half-monster who lives a nearly normal life as a high-school drop-out with an evening job in a video club.  He loves sweets and doesn't eat much else.  A typical breakfast, for him, would consist on a bowl of pistachio ice cream topped with Froot Loops, dark chocolate chips, gummy raspberries, yoghurt-covered peanuts, lots of maple syrup and a swirl of canned whipped cream.  He'd drink a glass of chocolate milk with that, to which he would add some crushed candy canes.  Kinda makes me hungry...

In September, Love went on a diving trip with his brother to an abandoned quarry in Kahnawake.  I brought Mr. Click the camera, Oska (with a new faceup and sculpted pointy ears!) and Nougat along, and we had fun!

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As I had promised Naiara that I wouldn't leave her alone, on Monday July 12th, I stepped into the pet shop again, hoping and dreading to find a sweet little rat.  I didn't expect to find one as cute as Talia, though...  Lookit that face:



She was nicknamed the Exclamation Rat because of the punctuation mark on her back. ^_^ She was only 4 weeks old when I picked her up... I went to visit friends after leaving the pet shop and she ended up falling asleep in my arms, wrapped in the blanket I brought for her.  I introduced her to Naiara the moment we got home, and even if the two had never met, they quickly started getting along.

Naiara is going a lot better now.  She's back to her daring and curious demeanor and appears to enjoy being petted.  She also seems to act as Talia's older sister, grooming her every day.  On her side, Talia is cheery, active, and the best climber of her species I've ever seen.  The more time I spend with them, the more I find them endearing... I took a nap for about an hour last week and both rats slept all along on my shoulder, while the Ninja was curled up next to me, purring.  He has one prerogative when it comes to the rats: they mustn't get petted more than him. ^_^


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Jedi Ninja:



Befriending a feline:



In other news...

- I don't know how many of you know Ann... She's not my oldest character, but she's one of my dearest and also a protagonist of my long-postponed novel.  Since about 2002, she's been through all sorts of stories with Love and I and now... she'll enter a new life as a BJD. ^_^ I didn't think it'd be possible, but I found the perfect head for her: Souldoll Hewer.  The moment that guy came out, I thought: "oh~ what a perfect lady!"... and then I noticed the 70cm muscular body. >_<

A few weeks ago, a nice seller on DoA accepted to separate her boy and send me just the Hewer head.  It's so perfect!  I modded it successfully to match a smaller neck and only need to paint her now.

Finding a perfect 58-62cm body for my bony androgynous girl wasn't easy... well, Ringdoll used to make a perfect one, but they stopped producing it about a month ago, just as I was considering it.  I looked everywhere, picked some favorites, but nothing seemed to be good enough for Ann.  I was half-resigned to wait until something new would come out, when I realized that Featherfall had an impressive sale for all in stock Ringdoll items.  There were only 3 things left, but among them a doll with the body I wanted.  I jumped and bought him right away!

Now he should hopefully arrive this Monday... and I can't wait to see!  I still have no idea what will happen to the poor boy's head... he's cute, though, and I even considered him in the past, so I might adopt him... and start hunting for a new body. ^_^;  We'll see...

One way or the other, we can only thank Ashanti for Ann's arrival!  Speaking of which, there are pictures of her in her new home on DoA here and here.  Isn't she amazing?

- Computer!  I shall haz one!!  My very own laptop!!!  Yes, it's worth all the exclamation marks. ^_^; Especially since it too might very well get here tomorrow...  Oh~ dangerous and wonderful Futureshop sales...  I've been more or less shopping for a computer of my own for a few years, but as it wasn't a necessity, I never indulged... until now.  Wee~!

- Since I've been spending a bit too much, I thought it was time to kick my ass and make the DoA sales post I was supposed to create months ago.  Oska was kind enough to model for me and did a great job trying to look all poised and delicate.  I'll have to prepare a real photo shoot or something to make it up to her. ^_^;

A new member has joined our family recently, but it isn't a tall dark lady.  Oh, Ashanti did arrive last Friday and, barring a few scuffs and some disappointing mold lines, she was simply beautiful and posed even better than I imagined.  She just didn't speak.  I brought her around the apartment, tried on as many wigs and eyes and clothes as I could find and... nothing.  She kept staring with empty eyes, her face always expressionless.  There was no way to tell her preferences.  Or anything all.  I found the silence rather irritating so I shipped her to Europe on Monday.

The experience was instructive, though.  It made me realize that in general, kids must have to figure out everything about their toys when they play: their stories, characters, favorite accessories, battle stances... all of this without any input from the toys themselves.  That never happened to me...

I hope the people who wanted to see Ashanti will forgive me... I took a few snap shots when she arrived but only resized one so far:



Most of my attention was actually devoted to the introduction of our actual new family member:



Little calico kitty is between ten months and a year old.  On June 16th, I visited the SPCA looking for other cats and she caught my eye... and my finger, which she grabbed with a paw through the bars of her cage.  How could I resist?  The Ninja didn't appreciate the intruder at all during the first few days, but as you can see on the picture, he quickly warmed up to her presence. <3

I waited for about a year and a half, biding my time.  Whenever I thought I couldn't do it any longer, that something would definitely snap, a dazzling spark would appear and numb the pain, just long enough to convince me to push a little further.  Love's been there and wonderful all along.  During the last few months, though, I started dreading that I'd drag him in my murky hopelessness.

Mexico's sweet taste evaporated quickly, replaced by the worn bitterness of daily routine.  Announcing my departure at work briefly felt like a brave accomplishment, but lead to the apprehensive quest for an exciting bread-earning position.  The search luckily allowed me to meet what appears to be the kindest psychiatrist.  I started working as his assistant today.  I am admittedly wondering why I am not one of his patients, as he specializes in workplace issues (oh, the irony!), but I nonetheless intend to use whatever energies I may still muster to become the best assistant he could have met.  This could be the solution I was awaiting...  especially since this new position will allow for much more time with my Love.  We shall see...

On a different note, please meet Oscura Kalakira Iskaba Albatou Osnabrück de Vion, or, more succinctly, Oska, an adventurous teen with an unconventional family and a knack for mechanics:


I bought 3 wigs and brand new pants from Iplehouse... and she ended up preferring an old Monique I chopped for her and a pair of slacks I assembled from scraps of fabric and damaged to her liking.  She's wonderful~! <3

I'll definitely have to put up a sales thread for all the stuff she doesn't use, though... and maybe even for Ashanti.  I've seen pictures of her on DoA and she is absolutely beautiful... which is not something that ever quite exactly attracted me.  In all her fashion magazine glory, she lacks the attitude I wished to see in her.  I still hope that the one who will appear at my doorstep will be an exception, but nothing is less certain.  It doesn't matter, though... the money from her sale would be quite welcome!

One last bit of news: I am now the (very) proud owner of a stylish (methinks) green bicycle that I intend to take everywhere in town.  It's about 30 to 40 years old and screeches angrily whenever I break.  It's lovely~!

Before I leave, here's thoughtful amazing Azrai among the cherry blossoms:


And Sheharanakai, showing some woodland-elf roots on the first snowy spring day we had, nearly a month ago:

Akumal was just as amazing as we had dreamt it would be!  Every day of the week we woke up to see the sun rise over the turquoise sea and every night we sat on long chairs, our feet in the salty water, admiring the moon as it lifted itself upon the horizon.



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The interview was neither great nor terrible.  I know I scored well on some questions, but I totally failed the traditional greatest strength/weakness one.  I said I was available and wouldn't mind switching my schedule around to suit the tasks at hand, since I was motivated to see the job done well and in time.   It's true too: as long as I'm paid in money or time, who cares when I work?  My weakness was to get bored easily with repetitive tasks, but I added that this wouldn't be a problem for the position as the projects involved were so varied.  I was rather proud of my little answer, but was told that it wasn't 'personal' enough.  So I was left to find something more appropriate... I tried to spin what I already explained, but to no avail.  It was awkward.  At the end of the interview, the 3 bosses told me that they wished to turn the job into a full-time one as soon as they'd gather enough subventions.  Meh.  Then they said it'd take about 10 days for them to deliberate and pick their favorite candidate among the four they met.  Didn't take that long.  The most sympathetic of the 3 took me aside yesterday and told me they've chosen somebody else to fill the position.  Oh, well, Plan B now.

I went shopping with Animefigurekit right after.  Bought a bunch of wonderfully silly clothes and a ring which, on its own, occupies nearly as much volume as all my other rings put together.  It's huge and pretty and inappropriate for a boring office, thus, it's perfect!  ^_^

Gotta go bake some (hopefully) delicious spicy cookies now.  It's sunny, Aminamithri is on her way here, and Love already found a rather interesting job offer for me.  I gotta contact a certain Mrs. Blood about it.  With a name like that, how could I not wanna call her? XD

Despite the job news, I guess I'm enjoying this week!  Love organized a nice supper at an Indian restaurant with some of our friends for my birthday.  They offered me a great version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead with lots of footnotes, plus tons of sweet perfumes and soaps with scents like marshmallow, cotton candy and pumpkin pie.  I feel like a walking dessert now!

I took pics of Finster with his new wig, eyes, and jeans:

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The title of this post must be said with this voice.  It's only natural since Love and I have nearly watched all of the 19 Futurama DVDs he got himself for his birthday. ^_^;

The actual good news is that I have an interview for the job I want!  Weeee~!  Needless to say, I'm terribly excited.  I don't wanna be disappointed if it doesn't work but...  If it does work, it will certainly be one of my greatest victories!

Lots of fantastic news for the gang too, since their Holiday stuff has arrived:
- I got a bunch of great clothes and a wig from Sunniezg on DoA.  Orochimaru now has a very fitting kimono, Nadezhda is adorable in a pink bunny rabbit pajama, and Finster looks badass with his new natural gray hair.  No pics yet, though...
- ...But here's a Valentine Shehara wearing all sorts of silly stuff I've sewn for him and showing off a smiley tree with blood drop leaves I painted on his arm this afternoon:




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First, the Ninja with our bunny bed cover:



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Just realized I haven't written anything since November 1st so, erm, yeah... news!

- Maybe it's because last fall was particularly sunny, but nothing could dampen my Christmas spirit this year! I cleaned up our apartment till it was almost tidy, decorated for the Holidays and invited my family over for a cute little supper, which was awesome. I dressed up the whole gang for the occasion and made a bunch of seasonal jewelry for them. There are still colorful lights hanging in the kitchen window and I can't help turning them on every night 'cause they make me feel all mushy inside...

Azrai enjoys winter too:



- New Year's Eve was spent with friends drinking good wine and playing out enthralling post-apocalyptic stories. A great beginning for 2010!  Tonight we also organized a cheese-themed party to celebrate my favorite mouse's birthday.  <3  It doesn't even stop there...

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Meet Commander Dilandau Albatou:



He's still missing his proper wig, some eyelashes, his tiara and more pictures, but he's already my favorite pyromaniac. For those who may wonder: yeah... he's based off a villain from the Escaflowne series. I'd say he's no doubt more badass than the original anime version and potentially nicer, but he's still somewhat vain and his preferred problem-solving methods usually include kicking someone's ass, burning down a building or slapping an associate behind the head. I love him~!

- In other news: if you have a look at my Photobucket, you'll notice I had way too much time on my hands some week-end 'cause not only did I upload tons of new pics, but I also found different backgrounds for the albums of all the members of my gang... I'm rather proud. ^_^;

- Last but not least, the position I've been pining for at work has finally been opened! The Program is recruiting now and I've been officially invited to email a 'motivation letter'. If this works out, I should never complain again about needing more time for my Love and my artsy projects! Muhahahahaha! Oh~ I have so much hope!!!! I learned about this near the end of last week and composed the letter yesterday. I can't wait!!! But if my plan fails, no worries: as any evil genius should, I have other plans... Still, I so hope plan A comes to fruition! That would be perfect. Absolutely PERFECT!!!

Dunno if anyone's gonna be interested, but Zellers at Place Alexis-Nihon (Atwater metro) now carries 'Our Generation'.

It's a girly brand of 46cm dolls with lots of mostly pink yet potentially interesting accessories suitable for minis or SDs. The store presently has a black horse with realistic extras, a white princessy horse, a pastel bath tub, a blue and beige scooter with a leather seat, a glamorous heart-shaped hairdresser chair and a sofa-bed with cushions and blankets. There might be other stuff as well, but I didn't notice.

Everything is 25% off this week, too, so guess who brought a dark equine friend home? =^_^=

Note: if you wanna remove paint from a black plastic horse, DON'T use Windsor & Newton's paintbrush cleaner. Especially if you're half-drunk. Trust me, the euphoria will not prevent the plastic from reacting to that nasty stuff.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN~!
Go forth, my minions, and spread gleeful terror across the world!




The first building I discovered at Benny Farm has been demolished.  When I saw that the terrain had been fenced and was now home to a few bulldozers and excavators, I thought I'd hurry and pay the structure a fourth and last visit.  Great timing, too: I snuck in on Monday two weeks ago and when I came back, 5 days later, there was only rubble left.  I took tons of pictures, of course, and found a way into the other larger building.  I managed to access this one twice so far, and I'll go check if it's still standing tonight.

NEW!EDIT: Took a walk and some pics on Nov. 1st (and came back to find the structure in the same state on Nov. 9th): the building is still standing, but its brick covering has been mostly stripped down and the outer walls of the indoor staircases have been completely demolished. Several windows are also broken and there are some holes in the now wooden structure. The main staircases are covered with debris and totally open to the elements, their inner walls uneven and partly crumbled. Since the building reached that state, I didn't dare go back... It is much more fenced-up than it used to be, but its unstable look is what convinced me to not risk another visit.  I still wanted to take more shots of the apartments and possibly recuperate a few abandoned objects, dammit!

I received my new camera little more than two weeks ago and already took over a thousand pictures, according to the counter.  *_*

The lenses I have are simple but truly amazing, imo.  Using the 50mm f/1.8, I managed to take the above pic of Tok[sic] in near total darkness while holding the flashlight in one hand and, somewhat shakily, the camera in the other.  The railing he leans on belongs to a piece of furniture abandoned in the 2nd building at Benny Farm.  The floor of that small bathroom is moist and littered with remnants of the ceiling.  The cute mushrooms which grow on one of the walls also fill the air with their scent.  During the whole shoot, Tok[sic] was kneeling in a puddle of water and the little droplets you see running down his face were falling from the shelf above his head.  Technically speaking, the picture is far from perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart nonetheless. <3

The moldy and dusty rooms most likely didn't help me get rid of what's possibly a fashionable H1N1 infection, but we had so much fun!

There will hopefully be many more pictures posted, but my flu-ridden self is way too lazy to start selecting and resizing favorites now. ^_^;

In Japan, it's called the Kiss X3; in Europe, the 500D; and in the Americas, the Rebel T1i.  At home, I'm not quite certain how I gonna call my little Canon EOS, but I know for sure I gonna have a HELL OF A LOT OF FUN WITH IT!!!!

Yes.  I have now entered the mystical world of dSRL.  Even got an extra 50mm f1.8 lens for all my low light photography.  You can blame this on Futureshop's 18hr sales, Love's terrible timing at spotting such sales, and a shiny new credit card with sardines on it.  Sardines, really.  XD

Fear not for my faithful Kodak Z650, for it will be adopted by my mother (early Christmas gift!).  Orochimaru will also have his new body, for it had been ordered before I spent hours reading camera reviews. Needless to say, everyone's ecstatic now!!!  ^_^


Unrelated but worth a detour: this!

2 trips to Benny Farm!  The first. two weeks ago, with Finster and Tok[sic] and the second, last week-end, with Creamyjade and Azrai.  No pics of Creamy, but plenty of my other exploring comrades.  ^_^







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There's even more in the Bucket.  Seriously.  ^_^;

First thing I lost recently was the student loan.  It's been paid, annihilated, exterminated down to the last penny.  Completely and absolutely.  Really-really.  I am now officially debt free.

Muahahahaha~!

Consequentially, though quite subconsciously at first, I savagely reconquered another kind of freedom.  Why the hell did I ever let that fluffy stuff grow on my head in the first place?  Well, it has been sheared last week-end and at long last I can feel the wind on my skull!  I missed that sensation so much...  If ever you're curious, there's nearly 2cm of fuzz left.  Just enough!  And I was surprised: everyone at the office reacted positively! ^_^

Also in the news: I went to La Ronde last Saturday with mah Love, mah sistah and mah daddy.  Needless to say, it was AWESOME!!!  Hard to believe I didn't visit in 10 years... or maybe it's a good thing: it made that day even more memorable.

Now, as promised, a picture of Almond, whom I repainted completely a few weeks ago:



Almond is by 3 years my elder and the only one I've ever fought for on Ebay.  He's been with us since about 2002-2003 and had time to collect a dark stain on his chin from a fancy Napoleon-style jacket and scars from a most terrible brawl he won against a feline.

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Other wonderful news: Azrai has a body!!!  It's unbelievable: I ordered from Impldoll last Saturday and the package was here yesterday. *_*  The resin match is fantastic and the joints pose amazingly well.  So much, in fact, that I'll get another one for Orochimaru.
If ever anyone's interested in his present AOD body, just tell me!

To Belladonna and Morbidollz: I seriously considered Nobility, but the Impldoll body looked great and with the already tempting price and the record $15 EMS shipping... I just couldn't resist! ^_^;



I did a lot of shopping yesterday.  Got myself some black leggings (so happy those are back in style!), silly underwear, Pyrex containers, and the boots I wished to find for at least 15 years (no kidding).  They're over the knee, black, leathery, and perfect for villains.  They're also awesome and really comfy with their cowboy-type heels.  Unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for it 'cause I just can't find any official pics of them...

All the new acquisitions prompted me to go through my stuff and clear some space in the wardrobe.  I don't buy clothes all that often, but I almost never throw away anything, unless it's simply unusable.  Well, today, I filled 2 huge bags with apparel and accessories I've been collecting since high school.  If anyone would like to have a look, just raise a hand!  There's vintage items from the 70's and the 80's, as well as much more recent ones I just don't wear.  Thinking that these could get a second (or 3rd?) life makes me happy. ^_^

Shopping for kitchenware also strangely brought me to meet an irresistible new friend:



Come on, with a face like that, could you have left him at the store?  He even came with his own carrots.  Carrots!!!
His name is Marzipan. =^_^=

I was supposed to go back to Benny Farm with Creamyjade last week-end but we decided postpone the trip.  Since Love wanted to go write in the park, I thought I'd go have a look, see if the back door was still ajar.  It was.  And Finster and Tok[sic] were with me, with the camera and the tripod.  So I made some tests, and the tripod makes a huge difference.

I didn't have time to work on a whole lot of pics yet, but here's a little portrait of Finster:



Creamy: if you read this, tell me if you're still heading my way tomorrow! ^_^

I thought I'd need to search a whole lot before finding an accessible abandoned apartment building... but Love reminded me of Benny Farm, which is just so very close to home.  I visited last week-end and took oh~ so many pictures.  The place is absolutely perfect.

I was afraid to be shooed out by squatters or the police, or that the floors would be too damaged to support my weight, so I decided not to bring the tripod.  That was a definite mistake, but a great excuse to go back! <3

I posted most of my (awfully blurry) pics on Abandoned Places, but here are those featuring my exploring companion, Kamyel.



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Haven't posted in while...  So here's a short update:

-Love's on vacation for 2 weeks~!
-After a great streak of luck, Azrai joined us in mid-August.  Oh~ how wonderful he is!
-I feel like writing fiction again, ain't that great?
-If all goes well, the student loan should be annihilated by the end of the month!
-I have 2 new holes in my ears!
-I just ruined my molasses cookies, dammit!
-I have quite a few pictures to post...

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Say what you may, but Crocs are amazing when you need to walk through a 10-inch deep puddle on the way back home! ^_^

With today's diluvial storms, the street corners are totally flooded.  I always find a childish pleasure walking under heavy rains, when umbrellas, overwhelmed, become purely decorative accessories and pedestrians huddle under whatever cover they can find.  The lightning and thunderclaps exhilarate my mind as the rain, cutting my breath in its abundance, replenishes my spirit.

Well... it's over for now... it pretty much only lasted as long as I was outside, which is good enough for me. ^_^

Orochimaru, in a skin-tone comparison pic that turned out well enough...

Vacation time with mah Love is just awesome.  Our anniversary was terribly wonderful in all its cheese and smoked salmon glory.  I seriously wonder how I'll get back to daily life after such perfect happiness... but that problem can wait 'til next Monday, right?

As per their usual, the gang is all sorts of amazing and it's nothing short of marvelous to share my days with everyone.  Of course, this means I sort of ignored the gray sky and took more pictures...

So, finally, after nearly a year of unsuccessful trials, Mr. Takara gets a worthy photo shoot.






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There's one thing I've been doing every year at the end of May since Chami's arrival: a photo shoot with the cherry trees in the local library's park.  Since the trees have kept growing healthily, their branches have become a little hazardous to reach... but it's not like that's gonna stop us, right?


The sun rays are aaaall natural.  Just a calculated lucky shot! ^_^

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And there's even more here...

Outside of posting pics, I am now...

1- OFFICIALLY ON VACATION 'TIL JULY 6TH!!!

2- Taking care of mah Love, who got knee surgery at the end of last month.  The poor critter couldn't even get out of bed on his own at first.  In honor of Stephen King, we dubbed those days "Misery'".  A friend of ours remarked that all the figurines sitting around the house just made the name even more fitting...  This moment is over now, but the poor guy is now handling an infection in a badly chipped molar (I think about you, acexkeikai, when he curses the ineffective antibiotics).

3- Now that I know how, I became slightly obsessed with making plushies...

4- Orochimaru is heeere!  There's been a body switch and a face-up and a few other things, but he's all so great!

Here's a first (blurry but smily) pic:

As you may already know, kokoryta, xi_feng & I have been on a trip to the abandoned Dow Brewery over a month ago.  We would've needed to borrow Wile E. Coyote's ACME spring shoes to jump up to one of the building's entrances, so... well... we stayed outdoors. ^_^;

Still!  Lots of good stuff!  My fellow explorers have posted their photographic evidence on DoA.  I should really have looked up those threads earlier... Go see for more Smartie, Dee, & Tok[sic]!







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Also, some pics of a little meet-up that took place in Parc Lafontaine:



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