Notes

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Any of the names I used for people I met are not their real names, they’re just random ones I picked :3

The table of contents is broken for this post… there’s a GitHub issue for the exact issue going on here that was unsolved and closed yesterday. So um, hopefully it gets fixed! I can’t do anything about that ;-;

My Experience with Vocaloid

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In my middle school years of 2013-2016 I spent countless nights listening to the likes of nightcore and Vocaloid. I loved Kagamine Len and Rin – Electric Angel, Servant of Evil (Classical), Meltdown, Sincerity Nature – I even went as far as to ask for funko pops of them one Christmas! I didn’t listen to much of a variety of songs but the few songs I did listen to I listened to a ton and adored. I ended up falling out of listening to any music at all until ~2019 and it wasn’t until the past year or so that I started trying to get “back” into Vocaloid bit by bit.

In the time between my middle school years and nowadays, Hatsune Miku has transcended her initial role of a virtual singer into a cultural icon and phenomenon. She’s given me countless laughs from meme to meme, beautiful and adorable art to look at, she’s kept a rare uniqueness despite her ever-increasing recognition, her community has been nothing but a pleasure, she has spawned countless talented musicians… despite that I hadn’t been “into” Vocaloid for a long while, I still hold this part of Hatsune Miku close to my heart. She has long since earned the position as the apex of otaku culture. As someone who considers her greatest passion to be anime and anime-adjacent things, there is no greater Mecca than a Hatsune Miku concert. When I saw the announcement of the tour in September 2023, I had to go!

Trip Lead-Up

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Trip Planning

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Going by myself was not an option due to my various mental health issues and my finances. So, I was messaging any friend I thought had a chance of being interested and in taking me along. The first day of ticket sales was fast approaching and I was shot down by everyone who I asked, so, I gave up. But soon after I gave up, a friend far away from me mentioned they’d be both interested in going to one of the concerts close to them and taking me with them, despite the distance. Tickets were purchased and I thought the plans were locked in. Our long-term friendship fell through a couple months later and all the plans for all intents and purposes were gone. I resigned myself to missing the concert again.

In the first couple months of 2024 I briefly proposed going to Miku Expo to a newly made friend, Nina, who said they’d be interested. The Newark, New Jersey concert would be the closest one for the both of us. I kinda dismissed her and didn’t really think she was serious about it but we slowly started talking more about it and things started materializing. I did most of the planning while they provided the necessary funds. I planned the budget, my transportation plan, and our lodgings. We decided it’d be better if we stayed overnight so we weren’t in a rush to travel back to our homes the night of the concert, then we also decided staying another night would be nice so we have time for miscellaneous activities around. We’d be just a short train ride away from Manhattan after all. There’d be no shortage of things to do!

All was going fine as the trip and concert stayed as amorphous abstract concept for a while but then the date started rapidly approaching… It always felt like such a far off thing but the days started going by and it was becoming more clear that I was going to have to actually go through with all the plans that sounded nice in concept. I was getting extremely concerned on the impact the trip would have on my mental health, and if I could really go through with it.

My Mental Health

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I have crippling anxiety. It’s pretty inconsistent in how it gets triggered. I’m on medication but honestly it doesn’t help much. I leave my house to a different place only once every couple months at best because my anxiety generally gets triggered when I’m in the outside world. All my life, going out has been done with an authority figure, generally my parents. I’ve gone out just with friends, to do things locally, for a little bit, a total of three times in my life. Once in 2022 and twice in 2023. The second time in 2023 was with an online friend picking me up to go to a concert and then driving me home so that has some relatable experience to what the Miku Expo trip would be… but this trip would have so much more to it. That time, my friend drove me there themselves, was with me the entire time, and drove me back the same night. That was it. This time, I’d be taking multiple methods of transportation by myself for extended periods of time and staying overnight in an unfamiliar location for multiple nights. It’s truly difficult to get to the core of how absolutely terrifying this trip would be for me. I only ever have one thing in my back pocket in these situation that makes them ever remotely possible - one on demand medication I have prescribed that is significantly effective in combating my anxiety. Unfortunately, due to its addictive properties it is something I can only take rarely but this kind of special event where I truly want to go despite everything against me is the perfect situation for it. However, due to my inconsistently triggered anxiety, it’s inconsistent severity and that there have been instances when this medication still wasn’t enough, there are still major risks and concerns involved even with it’s use. I had to have multiple discussions with Nina regarding the state of my mental health in relation to this trip. I told them I may need to go home earlier than we’re planning and that I’m going to need a lot of understanding when it comes to my issues. I really had absolutely no idea if I could do this trip. But…

having any kind of motivation for such a push of my comfort and boundaries is an incredibly rare occurrence, so I have to take it when it presents itself. Heck, even just having any desire to do anything in the outside world at all is incredibly rare for me. I had to try.

Meetup Group

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A few months before the concert was to happen, I joined a meetup group specifically for the Miku Expo Newark concert. I wasn’t really sure about attending a meetup at all but I figured I’d try to get to know some people and if I liked any of them then meeting up could be fun. It was also good to have a space for talking about the specific concert and getting information for it. I mostly ended up befriending one person in particular, Tomo.

Tomo was really sweet and talkative to me in the main chats so I figured I’d wiggle my way into their DMs to try to make a friend :3 It went pretty well! We chatted here and there, mostly about things relating to the concert like cosplay. They were always so kind to me and helpful. I eventually knew at the least I wanted to try to spend some time with them during my trip.

There were a few obstacles in the way of me attending any group meetup.

• Obstacle 1: Timing. There were two main group meetups planned: one for the weekend before the concert, and one for the weekend after. I wasn’t going to be in Newark for either…
• Obstacle 2: Anxiety. Although my anxiety isn’t social based and I’m actually pretty sociable, it still very much plays its role with these sorts of things.
• Obstacle 3: Creepy Loser Guy. I’ve been giving people cute Japanese names as replacements but this guy doesn’t get that. They were a weirdo on the server that was generally creepy to female members, especially me. They were also generally passive aggressive and rude to people. For a while this guy’s stated intent to go to the meetups made it a no-go for me. They got banned a bit before the concert though for doing creepy loser guy stuff. Yay!

So, there was a lot riding against me participating in any meetup, but I was hopeful about meeting Tomo and potentially some others given we’d all be at the concert itself. We’d have to see how things played out.

Miku Expo 2024 NA Controversies

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This tour was an unmitigated disaster. The iconic projected holograms were nowhere to be found, only a black void in the middle of the stage known as a… “LED screen”.

A single, relatively small screen. The characters don’t even use up the full space of the screen. The stage itself is mostly a poorly designed mess of light bars that also wasn’t designed with the LED screen in mind at all. There are good integrations of screens for virtual singer concerts like some vtuber ones. There’s a lot you can do with them. You could have a way bigger screen, bigger characters so everyone can clearly see them, have multiple screens with more viewing angles. What we were getting amounted to a YouTube watch party… Even for those who don’t mind, there should be no denying that at absolute best the tour had misleading advertising and at worst committed fraud. People should get refunds for this and the company should put some actual effort in next time. There was also the merchandise situation with comically low stocks of nearly everything but especially light sticks, the most sought after and iconic Miku concert items. Around the time of the early shows I was hearing numbers of a stock of ~100 light sticks for an entire concert. The lines were awful too with understaffed merch tables. Before all this when I heard people would be able to pre-order concert merch online beforehand I thought I wanted to get my merch at the concert instead because just ordering it online feels pretty lame to me. This all really made me question whether I was right for that. Heck, I was reconsidering whether the concert was even worth it. I was pretty bummed out for a bit. I came to some sort of acceptance though and decided some Miku is better than no Miku, so the show was to go on.

My Outfit

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I thought about cosplaying Miku for the concert but I really wasn’t sure if I was going to be comfortable going to the concert in that, mentally and/or physically. I decided to just order it in advance, put it on, and see how I feel. I tried it on and it was tight. The arm thingies were cutting off the blood flow in my arm. When I took ’em off there were red lines all over my arm. That was the biggest size of a Miku cosplay on Amazon and the timeline was getting pretty tight so I kinda just gave up on the idea. Honestly it took some additional stress off my back so it is what it is. I did go through with my favorite idea though: Miku-colored nail polish!

It’s color “Harbor” from “Zoya”, by the way :3

2024-05-06 | The Day Before

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I prepped myself the best I could. I packed a duffel bag with everything I thought I’d need, I shaved my whole body to try to look nice, I tried to take care of my hair and I tried to mentally ready myself. There’s only so much you can do.

The (Rough) Plan

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I wanted minimal specifics in the plan to keep it flexible so Nina and I could just feel things out and do whatever we felt like doing in the moment. The rough plans from my perspective was as follows:

Day 1 | Miku Expo

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• Wake up early and follow the transportation plan.
• Meet Nina in Manhattan at ~1:30PM.
• Walk together to the train to Newark.
• Check in at our lodging.
• Mess around til’ a bit before general admissions doors open.
• Get into the venue.
• Meet with Tomo to take the merch off them.
• Go to our seats and enjoy the concert!
• Crash at our lodging.

Day 2

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• Plan A: Maybe do some stuff in Newark, maybe take a train into Manhattan and do stuff there, I may try to hang out with Tomo some.
• Plan B: In the case of unmanageable anxiety, rest a little bit at the lodging in the morning and then go home.

Day 3

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• Plan A: Rest up in the morning, check out of lodging, and stay in the area (Newark and Manhattan) as long as possible doing stuff until Nina and I both gotta/wanna go home.
• Plan B: Rest up in the morning, check out of lodging, go home.

Day 1 - 2024-05-07 | Miku Expo

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The Journey to Manhattan

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It was finally the morning of the show. I woke up and panic quickly set in. I had to be in an Uber by a certain time to make the train. It felt like there was a time limit clock ticking somewhere. I was extremely uncomfortable and didn’t feel the slightest bit ready. Tons of shit started racing through my mind. I thought about telling Nina that I couldn’t do it and the trip was cancelled. At some point I thought of the word “panic” and realized that even though I just woke up, it was time to take that on-demand med. I took it and let it start doing it’s work. My bag was mostly packed except for my Miku plushie because I was snuggling her during the night so I zipped her in and went to the Uber app.

I’d never used it before but I’ve had it downloaded for a while to scope it out. It was a simple enough process and I let out a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing my driver had a high rating with tons of reviews. I waited a little bit at my house, said baibai to my dog, and upon the notification my driver was here I left the house to my driveway. I confirmed the driver’s name since I read that’s something people do lol and I think I got the right guy. I got in the backseat, put my earbuds in, and chilled out. He was silent which I appreciated. At this point my medication had set in which really is the sole reason I could chill out. I was still frequently checking the maps app to make sure I was heading in the right direction and not a murderer basement, just as a safety precaution. I was also sharing my location with Nina and was going to do so for the whole trip for the same reason. I ended up getting to the train station safe and sound. I even quickly asked my driver for any tips on navigation in the train station. I didn’t really catch what he said but I think he said it was straightforward lol, so I left the car and that was one of the scariest parts done!

The train station was going to be potentially more difficult but in a more practical sense. I had taken this train a good few times before with family but it had been a long time since the last time and I didn’t know anything about navigating it except following my parents. I had bought a ticket on an app beforehand and I knew the time my train was leaving. I had look around for those boards that give the train details til’ I could figure out the right one. I think there was only one train leaving at the time my train showed it was supposed to leave on the app but I was still cautious because I wasn’t sure of what the destination said or the number of the train. I did ask one person outside of the train if this was the train to Y and they said yes, and someone inside the train said the same, sooo, I was in and on the right one!!!

Conceptually and also in practice (my anxiety aside) public transport is cool. Experiencing public transport more and how cool it is really makes you think about how nice it’d be if America had real public transportation infrastructure on a national and a individually local basis… but um, that’s another post! The train was pretty chill :3 I sat, listened to music, played on my phone, I took my Miku plushie out, I looked out the window at the sights… it was pleasant honestly! It was the perfect number of people too. Not solely me but not anywhere near packed. Just a few scattered people throughout the car. Very comfy. It was a decent length ride and eventually, I got to Manhattan!

Manhattan!

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I made it there!!!!!!!! I was feeling pretty accomplished and proud of myself. I got through the initial barrier, a sort of “Great Filter” if you will, and was ready to ride this high for the next three days!

I met Nina there and we instantly connected on the same wavelength we did online. I’ve met online friends IRL before and I know I’m pretty sociable IRL too so I wasn’t too worried about that part really. With them in my party I was feeling even more comfortable and ready to do stuff! We both still had our bags and were to go to a train to Newark but first we were going to make a pit-stop: an Apple Store!

Apple Store / Apple Vision Pro Demo

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I had been curious about the Apple Vision Pro and Apple Stores offer free demos so… why not?!?!?! Nina didn’t care as much about it but they didn’t mind going lol. We went to the store for a walk-in demo. The demo would take 30 minutes and so they were scheduled in 30 minute blocks. I could get in in just a few minutes, but there were no more slots for that time so Nina would have to wait another 30 minutes or could potentially get moved up if someone else doesn’t go to their booking. Nina said they wouldn’t bother if it was after me but if they could get moved up it’d work out. We waited just a couple minutes before I was given somewhere to sit and an “instructor” came to sit with me. They were really nice! They took my glasses and put them on a lil machine to scan my prescription while I did a face scan with an iPhone for the headband fit. I don’t know how this works in the back of the store but they had the headset ready within I swear like two minutes or something. I think for prescription lenses they are separate from the regular ones, it isn’t just like a software setting change, so I was impressed. We did have to swap out the headband to a different type because it wasn’t secure enough on my head but then it was demo time!

It was a interesting experience. The visuals were a bit blurrier than I expected, like almost a rainbow-y distortion in parts, but it was certainly much better than that one time I tried the original Oculus Rift. The finger gestures took some getting used to and really I would’ve needed a lot more time to actually get used to it but I got into an operable state soon enough. There seemed to be some blind spots but I didn’t get enough data to narrow down where those were, I would just move my hand to a different spot lol. The audio was surprisingly good quality especially in the noisy environment. I was shown a few things like a 360 degree environment which was neat but kinda whatever. I got to play with the web browser a little as well as opening a few apps and how they layered on top of each other seemed really cool even if I didn’t entirely figure it out at the time. I’m very interested in the practical applications of this stuff for multitasking but that isn’t really a showy thing for a demo or something that could even be properly experienced in a demo. The coolest part of the demo was the spatial photos and videos. The way the photos had like objects pop out of it and the depth in the videos were amazing. It really felt like in one clip there was this woman really close to my face, and in another some kind of rhino turning their body towards me. I hope Apple keeps pushing forward on the augmented reality front, I really think this is the tech of the future.

After the demo ended the instructor gave me something to scan with my phone which saved the prescription and headband fit information for convenience of buying it. I will not be buying it but it’s neat that’s a thing lol. Nina ended up starting their demo just a bit after I had started mine so I waited around a lil for them to finish theirs and we were off!

Misc. Pit Stops

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Okay, what the heck would we being doing in Manhattan if we were gonna just go straight to our destination??? I’ve been around a solid number of times and well, it’s one of the biggest and densest cities in the world, there’s always something of interest around. I don’t like the kinds of people who made like trip itineraries by 15 minute blocks. Explore a lil! Have fun! …Anyway

Anime Figures

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Nina and I spotted a human-sized Gundam statue in a window of a store!

I’m not personally into Gundam but this kind of thing is still undoubtedly cool as heck. Inside there were tons of figures, though mostly from series that also aren’t my thing lol. The most interesting figures to see to me was a bunch of Kamen Rider ones! A very niche and cool thingie.

Kawaii Store

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I made an amazing discovery: The existence of “kawaii stores”.

Maybe there’s an actual term for these but I don’t know so I’m making it up. There were multiple stores filled with plushies, sanrio, cute Japanese culture adjacent stuff. We stopped by one and it was so amazingggg sjhsgjhjsgjsgjgh. None of the plushies particularly called to either of us so we didn’t make any purchases there but perusing the place was lots of fun.

$0.99 Pizza

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We of course also had to get a slice from a hole in the wall dirt cheap pizza place. Pretty decent! I’ve had better, but man, what a price.

To Newark!

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We bought these train tickets on an app beforehand too which always makes things nice and convenient. However the train had an unexpectedly low ceiling and like raised platform floors for the bits where the seats were… I hit my head twice and almost tripped once… but, I made it out alive at Newark Penn Station!

Newark!

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The city to be graced by the glory of Hatsune Miku, at last! The lodging we were staying at was only a short walk to Newark Penn, and also a short walk to the venue, the Prudential Center! It’s the main reason I picked it lol.

The Lodging

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Checking In

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The check-in process was… convoluted. I had to call the owner twice! There was like a lock box hooked to a window and then had to walk somewhere else and I don’t think they ever told us which suite we were actually in beforehand and yeah, yeah. It took like ~10 minutes to get into the apartment after getting to the lock boxes… but, a relatively minor inconvenience at the end of the day.

Settling In

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At this point it was ~5PM and the venue’s general admissions doors were to open at ~7PM so we had just a bit of time to get settled and relax a little pre-show. The place was a bit smaller than expected but was very decent nonetheless. Two nice TVs, nice lil kitchen, nice bathroom, nice bed. The chairs for the kitchen table were absolute ass though lol. It felt like if I leaned too far back on it it’d snap. Nina had meant to mail me their old Nintendo Switch because they upgraded to an OLED one a while back and wanted to give it to me but never did it lol so they gave me that here which was very nice of them :3 I entertained myself by airplaying some silly things to the TV hehe.

Pre-Show Food

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We went out for some quick pre-show pizza, finally at a sit in place and very close by! Kinda in-between where we were and the venue. I like sitting down at places to eat, it’s comfy and nice. We brought “home” a leftover slice but otherwise ate our fill :3

Miku Expo Merchandise Planning

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Tomo and I had been planning for a while for them to try to get the merchandise we wanted for us because they’d be lining up early and would have a VIP ticket. I sent them half the money of all the merch that day and would send the rest later. Throughout the pizza pit-stop and just before we went to the venue I was exchanging some messages with them to hash out what was going on with the merch as doors had already opened for VIPs. Their phrasing puzzled me a bit which was worsened by their slow response times since they were busy over there but I confirmed that they were able to be third in the merch line and got all the merch I wanted. Including the elusive light stick. I was stunned and super excited. Nina also wanted a light stick but there was a quantity limit at the table for it and they didn’t mind too much so they got a shirt as a back-up. I wanted the shirt she got but they didn’t have it in my size ;-; Fair’s fair I supposeeee.

Miku Expo

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And now, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Miku Expooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Entering the Venue

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Closer to ~7:30 PM Nina and I made our way to Prudential Center which was a massive stadium with tons of glass all over it. We approached the front entrance and gradually we could spot more and more cosplayers, there were so many!!!! Kagamines walking around, Mikus, and people just in alternative fashion you don’t normally see… it was awesome! The front entrance was apparently for VIP ticket holders so we had to go down the sidewalk to the opposite end of the building for the “M&M tower” entrance.

There were lines but they were getting worked through at a good pace. Someone in the meetup group mentioned what they were wearing in line and they were totally only a few people ahead of me but I didn’t recognize them in the group at all so I didn’t try to meet them lol. I was worried about the security for the concert because of my medication which I didn’t want to be misidentified as drugs but they hardly checked the bags so um. Not very reassuring, but thanks to having taken medication, I didn’t worry too much about it! Yay! We got in!

Venue, Pre-Show

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The lobby we went into was busy and the merchandise line was looooooooooooooong but all as expected!

Meeting Tomo for Merch!

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There’s one thing we needed to do before the concert itself, and that’s grab our merch from Tomo! We waited around in the lobby for a little bit while I waited for a message back from them about a meetup spot. While Nina was in the meetup group, they weren’t as interested nor as sociable as me so while they were with me through all these meetup bits they were mostly secluding themselves in my vicinity lol. We went to the bathroom and were gonna go find our seats but they messaged me back and I told them around where we were. There was a fatal mistake though… there was a divider thingy to separate the food area from the general floor area, half of which was like a see through plastic. I was looking through to see them but they were in a Kagamine Rin cosplay which really doesn’t narrow it down around here. I’ve seen pictures of them before but not in a wig and I mean from the back you can’t really tell lol. I saw one Rin walking around nearby but I had no basis to think it was them so Nina and I just kept waiting around. A few minutes later I heard someone talking to me behind me, and there was that Rin who had seemingly been leaning against the same spot of the divider on the other side!! They ran around the divider and we got to say our hellos. I hadn’t seen the finished cosplay yet and they looked amazing in it! I felt very jealous due to my own cosplay situation lol.

We started chatting and started exchanging merch! We ended up sitting down at a table at the food court to make it easier lol. My haul!:

• The light stick!!!
• The wall scroll!!
• Three badges!
• A pin!
• A Miku wristband!

The light stick was definitely the hardest item to get in general and I was totally excited about it, but I was most excited about the wall scroll! I like those kinds of decorations and memorabilia for my room’s walls. I even debated not getting a light stick honestly because I thought someone else may be able to enjoy it more than be but I went for it anyway because it’s like, the Miku Expo merchandise.

The badges were these like little mystery packet things, you didn’t know which character would be on the badge. Tomo got three and I got three. The badges were much smaller than I expected but it makes sense in retrospect, they were cheap lol. I think I pulled a Len, a Rin, and a Luka. Tomo and I instantly traded my Rin for their Miku. They’re each our favorites so it was just an easy win-win. I would’ve liked to keep Rin over Luka or even Len but, ah, it is what it is. Luka is cute. I like pink ^_^.

Tomo had been planning to give out stickers they did the art and printing for themselves! I got to see the art of them the night before and I was excited! They said they’d probably only giving out one per person because they were running tight on time with cutting them and all. I have no idea if they ended up being able to cut any, they kinda just handed me a uncut sheet with each character and told me I can have it lol. I think it’s partially because I’m their favorite group member but yaknow gotta keep that lowkey. I don’t really care for stickers themselves, I don’t like how they wear out but I had planned to frame any lil things I got and was very happy to have these :3

The time of the concert itself was very rapidly approaching so I stuffed the merch into a grocery bag I brought, Tomo scurried off, and Nina and I went down the hall!

To Our Seats! Pit-Stops!

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Dippin’ Dots

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Once upon a time, there was a Dippin Dots’ stand in my local mall. I possessed a great passion for it, especially the cotton candy flavor. Perhaps the origin point of my love for the color scheme of a light pink and blue and the flavor could be attributed to Dippin’ Dots. There was peace and harmony in the universe. All was right.

But then, maybe a decade ago by current times, the stand closed. There was no more Dippin’ Dots anywhere near me. I was distraught. In despair. A dark era had washed over my region and my life. There was no color to be found without the shining beam of the wonderful hues of the pink and blue of Candy of the Cotton Dippin’ Dots. Many years later, I discovered some copy-cat Dippin’ Dot’s available at a grocery store and tried them… but they were just not the same. In the plannings for this trip, I had only one definitive goal outside of Miku Expo itself: Be reunited with my holy grail, the cotton candy Dippin’ Dots. Nina and I were still in the food area when they proclaimed that they had seen a few people consuming the item: the Dots of the Dippin. I was taken aback. “Nay! It could not be! Here, of all places?”. I didn’t witness this sight myself but Nina knows not to make such proclamations lightly around me. They must’ve seen them. It makes quite a lot of sense, really. Hatsune Miku herself is a goddess, and thus, she could have descended her delectable treats upon the commoners like us for such a special occasion. I searched the area but there were no merchants of the item within sight. I did know of a Dippin’ Dots in the region regardless and our priority at the time was the divine Miku herself, so I had to make the quick-witted yet tough decision of trudging along without solving the mystery. Yet in our hurry to our seats, throughout the hallway of the center, we spotted it. The merchant. Off to the side. A shrine radiating the blessings of the goddess. Each little ball, hand-crafted by Miku herself in the holy Below-Freezing Forge. In that moment destiny called my name… and I answered. We calmly approached the stand and conducted a simple transaction with the merchant, and finally, after all these years…

I got cotton candy Dippin’ Dots!!!!!!! :3 :3 :3 :3 I ended up having no time to eat it and it completely melted but don’t worry I get some more the next day and also the day after that.

SODAAAAAAA!!!!!!

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We got some soda. It was gonna be like, an hour and a half concert. Gonna need to drink a bit. Yeah. Pretty self-explanatory. We have coca cola at my house I can’t write a section like that Dippin’ Dots one for literally everything okay-

To Our Seats! (But actually!)

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We got to the entrance for our section which was just like a small parting in a curtain that led to the venue seats. There was a relatively short line that was being worked through but it felt like forever because the show had already started! We missed the first song, one of the ones I was most excited about ;-; But I was more occupied with getting in and enjoying than to fret about that. When we got past the curtain if there were any labels for the rows I absolutely couldn’t see them. I was just walking down the stairs having no idea what to do until I was like shit I’m going to make it to the bottom and be fucked and not in the way I like to be at the bottom so I asked a person sitting at the start of a row which row they were in. I got a number! I counted the rows upwards from there til’ I found mine and hoped I counted right lol. Our seats were open so I had to assume so! We sat and there we were - the concert!

Settling into My Seat

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I was pretty disoriented from rushing to the section, the trouble locating the seats, and the concert having already started. I began rummaging through my grocery bag for my light stick til’ I finally hit it and ripped it out of the package. But then, disaster! It wouldn’t turn on! I remembered Tomo gave me batteries too so I started unscrewing the top portion of the light stick, except I couldn’t find anywhere to slot the batteries still… there was a person sitting to the left of me, Subaru, going hard with a light stick in each of their hands. I thought well, they probably know how this works, lol. It was extremely loud but I leaned my head in to their ear to ask for help and they figured out what was going on. They found the battery plate and opened it for me - and so kindly put in some light stick film of Kagamine Rin into the light-y bit!! I started scouring the bag for the batteries which was difficult and then when I found them and had managed to rip them open… I still couldn’t get the thing working. I also realized I didn’t know where the battery back plate went ;-; I felt bad for asking for help again but I was not figuring this out myself so I asked again. They got my light stick working but we didn’t find the battery plate - I just had to make sure to hold it so the batteries couldn’t pop out too easy!! lol. I was ready to immerse myself into the concert, finally!!!!!!!!!!

The Concert

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My expectations were really low going in - but I had a totally amazing time.

The Visuals

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I was in a section off to the right of the stage. The viewing angle I had was much better than I expected. There was no distortion and the angle I had to turn my head didn’t stress my neck at all. Even so, the only thing I could make out on the screen was that there was a character on it. I could tell like oh that’s Miku, oh that’s Rin, but I could not tell any finer details. They were kinda blobs from where I was. I think they had some elaborate outfits but I couldn’t tell you much about that. I already mentioned a lot of the screen issues in Miku Expo 2024 NA Controversies so there’s not much point in retreading them. But yeah, the aspect of it sucked. The stage sucked too. Yep.

The Music

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I wasn’t familiar the vast majority of the songs on the set list but I was still very much able to vibe to the vast majority of them! I don’t remember any sticking out as something I particuarly disliked but there were definitely a few enjoyable surprises in there. The first of two songs I was hyped about seeing that played was “M@GICAL☆CURE! LOVE ♥ SHOT!”

You can realllly hear me scream in this one, lol. It was so hype and just such a fun song!!! There’s been so much “MIKU MIKU BEAM!!!!” art over the months, I think everyone was super hyped for that moment. I was jamming so hard throughout that whole thing. The energy in the venue was totally stellar. The band also killed it.

The song I didn’t know beforehand that I ended up loving was “Plaything”!

It hit so fucking good there. I don’t know what about it. I listened to the studio version after and it just wasn’t as good! I attribute it to the band’s performance again. I had a lot of skepticism towards the band since I heard people talking about how they were a new band for Miku concerts but holy shit did they fucking kill it the entire concert. Many have said they have more of a rock twinge to them and given my favorite type of music is Japanese rock, that worked out pretty nicely.

Next up is my most hyped song since middle school and the peak of the venue’s energy:

There’s been a “Sekai De” building up inside me for a decade now that I finally got the chance to let out sfgjkhsfgjkhjksfgh. Straight from the core of my heart!!! I can fucking feel it in me as I rewatch the video. God, it was so good. I wouldn’t give up being there for that song for anything. Pure unbridled joy. It’s hard to come by that these days.

Other

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Light Sticks!!

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I loved how the light sticks lit up the venue!! It was so pretty. Such a vibe lol. Tossing around a light stick is such a cool way to feel like you’re having an active role in the concert rather than just being an observer, something especially necessary for a virtual singer extra especially when it’s a YouTube watch party.

Conclusion

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A lot of things about this concert could’ve been better. A lot of things about my personal experience could’ve been better. So much on both ends. I wish I got there on time. I wish there were more songs I knew or liked. I wish there wasn’t a stupid LED screen. I wish the stage setup had any thought put into it. I wish the merchandise was stocked and the tables had more staff. But, regardless of all the flaws, Miku Expo 2024 NA was an amazing time. My biggest wish is that I wish I could do it all again.

Post-Miku Expo

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Subaru

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Nina and I rested a bit in our seats while everyone else left the venue as we were in no rush. Subaru was doing the same and I got to chat with them a bit finally. We found the battery plate under our seats! They gave both Nina and I this absolutely wonderful drawing they made to give out.

We got to chat a little more while we went into the lobby area and just before we were going to split up I got their contact info :3

Meetup Group Impromptu Meetup!

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There were actually some talks of doing a meetup just before the show in the venue but I don’t think anyone ended up having time for it. The planning was for the day of was all a little disorganized and messy. I didn’t think one was going to happen but I did know I at least wanted to meetup with Tomo. Nina and I left out some random entrance and made our way to the entrance they were hanging around at. I found them and we said our hellos again before hanging around this like plant thingy where two other people were: Momoka and their friend! Tomo was running around a little so I got to talk to these two. We exchanged introductions and I really vibed with Momoka and their makeup was absurdly pretty shgjsfjghjsfghj. I also recognized their username from the group! Their friend had been to a ton of Miku concerts and we talked about light sticks! Soon though Tomo came back around and dragged us to another spot where, oh shit, the Discord meetup is apparently happening! I was kinda hovering around figuring out what to do at first lol. This group was like 6 dudes and 1 girl which made me go ehhhhh but everyone was actually pretty chill so it was okay! I noticed some were gathering their plushies together for a photo so I grabbed mine out of my bag and joined in!

I’m holding the Miku at the top right! This picture is easily one of my favorites from my entire trip, it’s absolute cuteness overload, I adore it. We also took a photo with our light sticks! Not all of us had our own so people with extras temporarily distributed theirs around.

I’m the one after the one at the bottom right going counter clockwise. I’ve never used that phrase, that sounds so wrong lol. We did also take a group photo of all of us but that one will stay locked in my heart :3 Before that though! We formed a sorta circle-rectangle-oval on the stairs and went around introducing ourselves with who we were from the Discord, and like a random comment each lol. I think I said “I’m Amelia, I’m Tomo’s favorite member and I like shitposting in the group”. Pretty succinct! I think we all had a good time chatting as a group. Gradually people left til’ it was Nina, Tomo, Momoka, Momoka’s friend, and I. We hung out for a bit longer til’ we walked Tomo to her mom’s car for her to be picked up. On the way walking there we had a amazing chance encounter though!

Whose that Vocaloid Producer? It’s… Sawtowne!

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We were passing by these two guys when suddenly Tomo rushed up to one and started talking about how much they loved their song. Momoka started hugging the other guy?!? I was able to piece things together quickly from listening to Tomo and looking at the guy they were talking to’s shirt: it was Sawtowne, the producer who made “M@GICAL☆CURE! LOVE ♥ SHOT!”!!!!! I knew he was around the concert but we just happened to catch him really quick before he told us he’s got to get to his uber lol. I briefly told him I loved their song and I asked him a question I was curious about: Did he also make the music video himself? He did! This was most certainly public knowledge, but hey, fuck you! It was awesome meeting them. Apparently the other person with them was someone Momoka used to be mutuals on Twitter with! I didn’t ever catch their name though or if they’re a known figure at all. But, it was time for Tomo to go home.

Meetup Ending

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We walked Tomo to their mom’s car and we waved hi to their mom lol. Momoka was walking in the same direction as Nina and I so we walked together til’ we had to go down a different street shortly. I made sure I hugged both before we all parted lol. They were so wonderful!!!! But I was certainly ready to crash the fuck out back at Nina and I’s lodging, lol.

Meetup Reflection

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The meetup was easily one of my favorite parts and one of the most meaningful parts of the entire trip to me. I’m very unfamiliar with the “outside world”. It’s scary to me out there. I mentioned how few times I’ve had contact with IRL in a friend way. The last time I was in a group this big… must’ve been middle school. Not like I’m friends with all these people, but still. A group of really sweet and just as weird people shooting the shit outside of a concert for Hatsune Miku. Felt like a scene from an anime! I never even felt pushed away by anyone. Both Tomo and Momoka even made me feel fem with them despite that I was mostly presenting masculine for the trip. No one was anything but kind to me. I felt comfortable, like I could ease up for a bit. Aaaa, it was so nice to be surrounded by those I would typically consider to be just online and scattered away from eachother all in one place as a group. It was really, just, a beautiful moment.

Lodging Decompression

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Miku Expo itself had concluded. I had no time to waste processing it though! Nina and I needed to decompress for the night as tomorrow was to be filled with activities in Manhattan :3 We did end up realizing we had nothing to drink at the lodging!!! We had to DoorDash some coke and I also got some Hello Kitty Cotton Candy shjshjsjhsjhsjh. Pretty solid except for the green apple flavor which did not work well in it.

Day 2 - 2024-05-06

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At ~11AM our lodging’s fire alarms started going off and woke us up!!! I was disoriented and a bit scared. I was wondering if there was a fire actually going on or like idk!! Nina was telling me it was probably fine but I didn’t want to be the person who shuts down in the emergency situation and just ends up dying. I started putting my shoes and was wondering if I should be grabbing my stuff when I opened my door and there was a guy in the hallway! He told us it was just a test. All that panic for nothing… could’ve at least had like a little fire somewhere so I didn’t feel stupid and GET WOKEN UP FOR NOTHINGGG!!! But, I still let out a sigh of relief that my merch nor I were in imminent danger lol. Nina and I didn’t go back to sleep but we did go back into the lodging to relax before the day’s adventures.

I also cannot remember when this happened but we did happen to see two people leaving the building in the elevator with a bunch of vocaloid merch!!! I made sure to compliment them, must’ve been there for the same reason :3

Checking Out the Building Amenities

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We were curious about the ameninities since the photos we saw beforehand made them look really nice so we travelled down to the basement where most of them were. It was… kinda scary. It was mostly just dark and concrete. Even the “lounge” room was not comfy in the slightest… I did not want to be down there >.< The rooftop was alright! The view was mostly the side of another building but hey, can’t ask for too much! I bet it would’ve been nicer at night but we never ended up checking it out at that time, ahh welll.

Plans with Tomo and Momoka!

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I had floated the idea in Tomo, Momoka, and I’s group chat the night before that we all try to hang out once more today because I wouldn’t be able to make the weekend meetup. Both of them ended up being down for the idea and we hashed out a time to meetup!! I was super excited and really glad I’d get another chance to hang out with them because I was totally unsure if we’d ever have the opportunity again. I wanted to grab the chances I did have right in front of me!! :3

Walking around Newark with Nina

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Nina and I went for a walk around where we were staying before I was gonna go to Manhattan. We only ended up making one stop - iHop! The idea of some good ol’ breakfast food definitely hit us right (as in like, correct? not like, as in, immediately? yeah… you get it.) at that time. I hadn’t been to an iHop in forever! There had to have been some more local diners around but this was right by where we were walking and we could expect something decent with no research required.

In fact, the food was better than I expected!! I got chocolate milk, french toast, and scrambled eggs. The eggs were so fluffy!!!! The french toast was delicious too. Chocolate milk could’ve been chocolate-er. The waitress was really nice to us! It was a comfy outing :3

The Tomo-Momoka-Amelia Mini-Trip!

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Meeting Up!

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Momoka wasn’t far from where I was staying and they wanted someone to walk to the train station with so I happily obliged. More time spent together after all! I met them at their hotel and, wow… they had a bunch of luggage lol. They were checking out of their hotel today and were gonna go to Queens right after our trip so they were bringing their luggage with them. I accepted responsibility for their big rolly luggage bag thingy! I’m sure there’s a name for it, but I have no idea what it is!

We walked to the train station from there and jeez - the train was packed. We had to sit in different aisles because of it. Not comfy! We ended up making plans for them to drop their luggage off at a luggage locker thing near the train station we were headed to. They’d keep the stuff there for like an hourly fee. I definitely didn’t want to be rolling this bag everywhere and they did not want to be carrying around the rest of the stuff either lol. We got to the train station and met Tomo there! Right next to us, we already had the first thing on our agenda:

Boba Tea

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Boba tea!!!!!!!! I’ve always wanted to try boba tea but I’ve never had the chance. It always seemed like such a cute thing!!! Tomo messaged us while we were on the train there was a boba tea shop in the train station so that’s where we met!

While I was excited, I definitely also um, am very averse to trying new foods (and drinks). I was pretty nervous and it’s also embarrassing… I asked Tomo and Momoka what I should get and they said any of the like five basic ones listed on the board would probably be fine. That didn’t help me much lol. The only one I recognized as a thing was brown sugar. I’ve liked when I’ve added brown sugar to cookie recipes, so um, well, that’s as good of a basis as I got for any of these!!! We all ordered and assembled our teas together for a photo :3

I… occasionally took a sip of mine and um, I couldn’t really figure out what to think of it. I can’t describe the taste or if I liked it or hated it lol. I purposely avoided the lil balls because I wanted to try to get a handle on the tea itself before adding another new novel element >.<

But regardless of my hesitance towards the tea, the trip must go on! With our teas in hand we stopped by the luggage locker and then were off to a book store!!!!

Manga Bookstore

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We were very much winging it at this point and I forget who but one of the two said we were going to visit a specific bookstore lol, supposedly with a bunch of manga stuff! When we entered we all threw out teas into the garbage at the front thinking it was required - only to be told directly after by the security guy we only had to place them at the window ;-; I never got to try the lil balls! Next time I guesssss.

We went up to the second floor and there was manga everywhere!!!!! So much… There was original Japanese versions of so much stuff! A boys love section! A YURI SECTION!!!! Figures!!! A little cafe?!?!?! I took photos of all the manga I recognized (and mostly liked)!!!! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Onimai, Land of the Lustrous, Monogatari, Eizouken, Naoki Urasawa’s works!! So much everywhere!!!!!!!! We hung out browsed around for a good lil bit :3 I’m more of a seven seas girlie myself so there wasn’t anything I particularly wanted to buy but it was still super cool seeing all this stuff in person for the first time.

Our idea in mind was that we’d visit a few places but the whole mini-trip was taking a lot more time than I realized and I still had a bunch of stuff to do with Nina so I split off from Tomo and Momoka. We all took a quick lil photo together, hugged bye bye, and I went off to my lodging myself.

The Train Back

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The train station was super busy. There was a giant horde of people funneling into this little staircase that could have two people on the same step at best. The train itself was equally as packed! I had to stand the whole ride in the lil car thing near the doors ;-; I was starting to feel the physical toll of the trip at this point but I refused to let it get to me with activities with Nina still left to do!

Nina and I’s Manhattan Mini-Trip!

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The Train There

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At this point I got used to taking the train so nothing noteworthy for these lil transportation bits anymore :3 Into Manhattan we go!

The Plan!

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It was already dark by the time we got ourselves into Manhattan but it was as lively as always so who cares :3 Nina wanted to see Times Square and there’s plenty interesting around there so we were off!

BT21 Store

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The first location to catch our eyes was this store called “BT21”. It looked like a kawaii store so that’s all the reason either of us really needed to go inside lol. We browsed a bit and discovered it was maybe less of a general kawaii store and more for a kpop band…? The lil characters that were plastered everywhere seemed to maybe the girl’s mascots or something… Whatever though! it was still fun looking at cute stuff. There was this one really fluffy, comfy, and adorable backpack I thought about buying even though I didn’t need it at all but that it was potentially just merch for a band I know nothing about deterred me lol. The price tag didn’t do itself any favors either…

It was still a fruitful stop as there was this cute lil photo booth in the store!!! Nina and I took some silly photos and we got a strip of four photos each :3 “Mission accomplished”, as my friend Dubya would say.

(Psst, future/present Amelia here! BT21 does have a significant relation to the k-pop band BTS! Each member designed one of the characters. It seems like it’s also kinda it’s own thing though, so, I’m actually more confused right now than when I started, but, well, I was at least sorta right!)

Times Square

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We made it!!!! Although I’ve been to Times Square before it is always very cool :3 If we really wanna get into it it’s probably not so cool given it’s a total byproduct of our capitalistic hellscape to have giant digital billboards shoving products down our throats at every opportunity - but pretty screens!!!

There was a crowd around a few performers where one guy was going to jump over a bunch of other guys??? It ended up being pretty underwhelming as it was only three crouched down guys and the guy doing the jumping seemed like he did not want to be there lol.

Hershey’s Store

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Nina looked up some things to do nearby and proposed vising the nearby Hershey’s store, so we did! It was pretty neat. They had this bar where you could have a personalized giant Reese’s cup made, stuffed with whatever you wanted. They even had funko pops of Hershey mascots which, I guess has gotta be someone’s thing? I wasn’t planning on getting anything there until I was it:

A cotton candy flavored white chocolate Hershey’s bar. I’m simple. It tasted kinda weird though. It’s definitely not something I’d eat regularly, or maybe ever try again lol. But I’m still glad I tried it :3

McDonald’s

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I remembered as a kid the Times Square McDonald’s was super cool. At the least, it’s interesting seeing such a nice McDonald’s compared to what the chain actually is lol. I wanted to quickly drop by with Nina just to take a looksie - but when we got there, everything was wrong! The outside looked totally different and… boring!!! The first floor was just digital kiosks to order food?!?!? It was way smaller than it was before too!!! I don’t know what the heck they did but what are they increasing the prices for if they can’t even keep their one interesting location interesting?!?!?!?!? II’m starting to think the people who say minimalist aesthetic has gone too far are right after all…

Candy Store

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Nina and I visited this absolutely collosal candy store. Like a department store, but if it was only candy. It had two floors! It was crazy. We had fun browsing!

Dippin’ Dots

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We HAD to specifically go to this and I checked and it was pretty close by!!!!!!!!!! It was like a very small spot and partnered with two other food places in there. There was a shitty lil blue table outside with two shitty chairs, perfect for my sit down for A LARGE COTTON CANDY DIPPIN’ DOTS!!!

Going to Dippin’ Dots was a MUST. Obviously. That’s what you should have taken from this piece by now. I didn’t know exactly where it was before but I checked while we were out and it was pretty close by!!! It was a really small spot sharing it with two other food places. There was a shitty little blue table outside with two shitty little blue chairs, an absolutely perfect place to eat my large cotton candy order!!!!!

It was delicious!!! Don’t mind Nina’s spilt chocolate dippin’ dots in the background, they melt fast… dw we cleaned it up after!! I honestly really enjoyed sitting there and all the people walking by “in the background”. It was a big vibe. I’m super glad I finally got to enjoy Dippin’ Dots after so long. Dippin’ Dots my beloved…

Corn Dogs

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We passed by a food stand that I saw had corn dogs and I realized we hadn’t had anything of substance since breakfast, sooo… lil meal time! I’m a fan of corn dogs and really wanted to see what they’d be like from a food stand here :3

The cornbread could’ve been crispier but the hot dog was really good! A worthwhile item :3

Just before we bought them I was telling Nina how I wish the stands had prices on them so we had a better idea of how much we’d be spending… and thisstupid head said something along the lines of “How much could the corn dogs cost? $2 at most?”. I’m no New York City native so I don’t have any particularly high standing to make fun of them but I have been to Manhattan a good few times and posses a bit of common sense, so… I definitely can make fun of them. $2 for food from a food stand right at Times Square?!?!?! C’mon!! I was also helping them navigate walking on the busy sidewalks a lot lol. It ended up being around ~$20 for two corn dogs and a soda. That’s more like it!

Another Kawaii Store!

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Our time in Manhattan was coming to close and we hadn’t actually bought anything from a kawaii store yet so when we happened to pass by another we made sure to stop in! I bought a lil cinnamoroll plushie :3

I’m not super familiar with sanrio stuff but this was the cutest plushie they had and also at a okay price, so I take it! It could use some more stuffing, but hey, it’s pretty cute. Look at that lil face…

Back to the Lodging

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It was getting pretty late and we still needed to walk back to the train station, take the train, then get back to our lodging, so we went off before it was too too late! The train back was really peaceful and chill, I liked it.

The Last Night

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We did eat those corn dogs but they still weren’t much sustenance for the day so despite it being past midnight we found a nearby pizzeria to order from and put some TV on. The pizza was quite good! We were running out of drinks too so we ordered a batch of Mexican coke lol. I feel like I don’t usually taste a difference between it and regular coke but I kinda could this time.

We also had to make sure we packed up all the stuff we needed to leave with because we we had to check out of the place by the ungodly hour of 11AM the next morning. Really fucked up.

I was starting to really feel the physical toll of the trip… my legs were start to kill me. Nina had to help me get up and walk to the bathroom… for reference, the average steps I take in a day is ~1k. On the 7th I took ~12k steps and on the 8th I took ~22k. My weak girl loser body was not built for this…

Day 3 - 2024-05-07

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To the Train Home

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With my body in a decrepit state and my mind drained of all it’s energy, I was ready to go the heck home first thing in the morning. We checked out of our lodging with our bags and went back into Manhattan one last time to get me to a train. But there was still one more main pit-stop to make.

Look, there isn’t a Dippin’ Dots anywhere near me. There is one in Manhattan. I couldn’t just, not get it again. Who knows when my next chance would be! It’s the appropiate breakfast for a princess ^_^

We also briefly stopped at a lil park!

We didn’t do anything there. Just sat for a bit and took it in before I was to be off.

Departing

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Nina and I got to the station and hugged goodbye. A little bit like an anime! Nina didn’t dramatically run after me though. That part could’ve been a little extra for our situation lol. With the train and then an uber, I got to my house safe and sound. My trip was… over.

I proceeded to fall into bed, crash to sleep, and later needed help from my mom to walk to the bathroom. I said I wasn’t built for this…

Reflection

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Aftermath

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I ended up spending the next two days nearly entirely in bed because of my immense leg and foot pain and that I just needed to deeply recharge. Since I’ve gotten back into my normal state, I’ve been pretty much constantly working on this piece.

Trip Reflection

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It truly was such a wonderful time. Seeing Miku in-person was so much fun despite the tour’s troubles!!! I hope I can see her again one day in hologram form, at least with a better stage setup. I’ve started a shrine with my merch from the concert~!

I might get a shelf for the wall there for my three Miku figures. I’ve also ordered a print of a collage of a bunch of my favorite photos and got a frame for it! I loved the group meetup and everyone I got to meet during this trip. I loved eating Dippin’ Dots… My favorite part of the trip was probably the group meet and my favorite photo was definitely the plushie playdate one shjshjsjhjshjsh. So hecking cute…

Emotional Reflection

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This trip was the first true reprieve I’ve gotten from my household and my life since I started feeling the way I do ~7 years ago. I live with my parents who aren’t good people and my life has been rough in ways to say the least. I’ve long since felt like I have heavy weights on my shoulders and on my soul that only ever get heavier. Piling on top of me over and over and over again. Even when I’m home alone, even when I’m able to go out the door, I still feel my parent’s chains on me. During this trip, I… felt light. I felt free, for the first time in my life. I’ve never been able to just go and, do things. I’ve never been without my parents behind me. I’ve never been able to so casually and carefree-ly go out with people. I’ve never interacted so purely with such wonderful individuals. I didn’t argue with my parents in my head even once. It was amazing. I didn’t know such a thing was possible. I didn’t know I could connect with other humans like I did. I didn’t know I could exist in reality and not just through my screen. It all feels far more like a dream than something that actually happened and I’m not exaggerating. I’m struggling to process that I really was able to do all this. This is stuff people in anime do. This is stuff I hear other people talk about doing and get sad. This isn’t something that happens in my life. I still don’t know what, if anything, this trip will mean for me long-term. I still can only rarely take that on-demand medication that made this much all possible. I don’t have finances of my own and who knows when Nina and I would do something like this again, if ever. A while before the trip was to happen I started fantasizing about not going home afterward. What would happen if I just, didn’t? How could it possibly be worse than going home? I wonder. Nevertheless, I’m “home” now. It almost feels like it was all for nothing. I had this impossible experience and here I am, back to where I’ve always been, feeling like it didn’t even happen to me. But, I still feel accomplished. I did something with myself. I could what I thought was impossible. I could still feel joy. Even if I never get the chance to have such a reprieve again, I’m glad I at least got this one shot, and I took it. I know what it’s like now. There’s some light to be found on this Earth.

Writing Reflection

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I got the idea to write this pretty soon after I got home. I keep a private diary but when I thought about it I figured I could make a nearly detail complete log I could post publicly as there were few things of the nature I feel the need to keep private. This has become the biggest writing piece I’ve ever written, the second biggest being a private diary entry of 6.5k words. Writing this was partially a way to keep this trip alive even after I got home. I’ve been able to immerse myself in the trip yet again for the days I’ve been constantly working on writing this, the trip I loved so much, while sitting in the house I desperately never wanted to return to. It’s bittersweet to put any kind of bowtie on this. I don’t want to close the book on this, but I want to immortalize my trip and what it was to me to the world. I don’t want my experience to stay only within me and one day die with me. So, there you have it. Amelia’s Miku Expo 2024 New Jersey Trip Log.

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Credits

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Art 1 https://twitter.com/NyzTsune/status/1764413544118784284

Art 2: @helloo_yooni

Group Plushie Photo: Momoka :3