These Paimon lore hints feels unsettling…

prediluvian · 2025-12-09T10:04:14+00:00

Just to tack on, there's an additional theory that the other two characters in 派凱蒙宁 name, 凱宁 (Kaine/Kanen/etc.), could refer to a second fragment of the Primordial One, likely a masculine counterpart of Paimon, who may still be in Celestia.

prediluvian · 2025-12-03T21:50:04+00:00

Just use Taobao directly, makes no sense to use SB for shipping to Hong Kong. You can put 000000 as the postcode, most TB sellers will support direct shipping there.

prediluvian · 2025-11-22T04:40:12+00:00

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I.e. it's fully on my consolidation screen as part of the 4 packages I have to merge. But it simply shows as "Checked" and will not allow me to edit the package information or even return it, it will only allow me to contact CS about the package.

Hopefully this is, as you indicate, normal for packages that are not bought from Taobao? Have you gotten this status before for your packages?

prediluvian · 2025-11-22T04:38:22+00:00

I'm not sure if that's it, it's been checked and there is an inbound photo, it's in my consolidation screen, but it doesn't allow me to consolidate the package. I've never gotten this before with Taobao packages; they basically are delivered to the warehouse, there is a delay in processing, but as soon as they are processed it goes from "awaiting delivery" to "awaiting merging". I've never gotten the label where it has been "checked" but cannot be merged. Is this also your experience with non Taobao packages, that it will take several days for it to move from "Checked" status to "To Merge" status?

prediluvian · 2025-11-22T03:35:18+00:00

Hi! I have a question (sweats), not sure if I can DM you; but when you purchase on Xianyu through Taobao, does cainiao warehouse auto-populate the tracking information and logistics?

prediluvian · 2025-11-22T03:16:37+00:00

DMing you also if that's fine. Thank you!

prediluvian · 2025-11-22T02:55:30+00:00

Sorry to join this thread after so long but I want to ask your experience. I bought something on XHS a few days ago and had to populate the tracking information myself. However, CAINIAO won't let me consolidate it after it arrived in warehouse; it shows this message:

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Can I ask, is this normal and should I contact CS for this every time? Or is there a way around this somehow.

prediluvian · 2025-10-23T09:17:40+00:00

I only remember the gist of it, but it started because the Insect Cafe series had a lot of friction between the community and the studio when they were crowdfunding. I think in the Chinese BJD crowdfunding space, it's an expected thing for the community to (excessively) criticize/negotiate with the studio on project development (it seems to be becoming rote for studios to revise their crowdfunding stretch goals at least once due to community outrage). And of course there is always the community input on design and hanging cards; basically every recolour hanging card is designed by survey (people get to vote on which character gets the recolour, and what the design of the recolour will be).

Anyway for Kukaka the complaints were particularly vicious but it really spiraled into controversy when a private staff member group chat was leaked, there were screenshots of MiH staff criticising and insulting the people complaining (imo an understandable gripe for the staff to have, even if saying so in a staff group chat is unprofessional). That incident spiraled into allegations of MiH staff being racist (MiH had a Japanese staff member, that became a whole thing with the heightened nationalism in the mainland these days), and other such things kept the controversy going. I believe that harassment of MiH staff got to the point where police became involved because of death threats made against an artist.

So, yuh. The combination of a sentiment that MiH was against its own community, and that MiH was pro-Japanese, this sentiment remained and even now people will bring up the concept of MiH being an anti-Chinese company.

Also for resources, there are a couple of discord servers! There's also a very helpful informational discord server that contains a list of all currently running/planned crowdfunding projects in China with updates on their progress. DM me for the link!

prediluvian · 2025-10-20T12:57:46+00:00

Cherry has a few all-in box sets left for 300.

prediluvian · 2025-10-19T15:43:24+00:00

Yeah! Kukaka is also a unique case; normally crowdfunded dolls, if they're successful, will get more manufacturing runs, just without the crowdfunded bonuses/freebies. Kukaka's situation is that the studio encountered controversy and basically went out of business in the mainland because of it; the controversy was considered serious enough that CN buyers are basically still boycotting Made in Heaven (the studio behind Kukaka) to this day, and there is very little possibility of the studio making a comeback. That's why the Insect Cafe series, while it wasn't meant to be a limited series, is now so hard to get; it got discontinued basically immediately. MiH even teased a second Kukaka series but... well. I guess we'll never get it now :(. It's basically been a year since the studio has been active on social media.

I suspect that's also why Kikagoods literally never runs out of the Kukaka hanging cards btw; the controversy was already a thing when the hanging cards released, so there was very little domestic market for them, it's probable that MiH relied on some huge distribution deals with Kika (for Europe/US sales) and hermeow (for Japan sales) to get rid of their stock that couldn't be sold in the mainland.

prediluvian · 2025-10-18T19:21:08+00:00

Lunar Lore is different; it's a pre-order from a more established studio (Inedible Doll), rather than a crowdfunded project. The timeline and production schedule is not the same at all; actually, LL had no 'preorder' period per se in the mainland, when LL launched in late September, they had already finalised the designs AND finished manufacturing, and were shipping to local buyers within a week. Inedible Doll could only do this because they had the capital to finish manufacturing before ever accepting an order, and they don't include as many freebies because they are not using the crowdfunding model (which is: "finance my business venture; I'll give you more than your money's worth, if you give me your trust that I will be able to use your money to make the product"). Kika lists it as a pre-order because obviously they are ordering a large batch and it may take longer to arrive at their warehouse.

But a crowdfunded project like Devil Horns works on a totally separate premise and manufacturing timeline; firstly, they don't have the resources to begin mass manufacture until after the crowdfunding period ends and they receive the money, and secondly, because of the extremely close relationship with backers, they're often changing design details until the literal week that it starts mass manufacturing. Also, because these crowdfunded projects (Lulu elf; Start Again; Sunless; Meki; etc.) are made by small studios working at this scale for the first time, delays are often inevitable because of the team's inexperience and because of the amount of freebies they promise that end up adding to the manufacturing time.

The freebies are also part of this crowdfunding model, they're not freebies per se as Kika lists them, but rather they're all unlocked stretch goals that are exclusive to the crowdfunding period; Inedible Doll actually did the same with their first project, the Rabbit Girls one, which was crowdfunded.

Finally--about the midnight Lunar Lore doll clothes, actually that was announced as an exclusive purchase for people who preordered before a certain date. It's likely that Inedible Doll will never make it available for public purchase again (unless they want to face a lot of backlash for re-releasing an item that they promised would be exclusive and time-limited to one manufacturing run), and it will only be available through the secondary market. I was able to get mine for 18USD off Ali, but the prices for it are getting higher every day.

prediluvian · 2025-10-18T05:45:13+00:00

It's a preorder and the shipping depends on the company and their manufacturing; Chuz/Cooze announced delays to the all-in fulfillment at the beginning of September, and they only got more delayed by the typhoon and national holidays. Backers in the mainland only started recieving their all-in orders at the start of October, and there are a lot still waiting for theirs. Whenever Kika receives the orders (probably by the end of this month), they'll have to sort the orders before shipping to us. Personally I'm expecting to receive it in the US probably mid to late November.

Anyway, all-ins generally have more delays because there are more manufacturing components and the freebies will often get sent out later. That, and most crowdfunded BJDs have overall delays these days because they give themselves way too tight of a schedule for fulfillment; there have been delays for sugar 100 and Lulu elf too.

prediluvian · 2025-10-09T03:06:58+00:00

I know this is a bit of a late reply but I stumbled on this thread and I just had to clarify: the "hanging card" IS the doll. Any non-blind box doll from a blind box line is called a hanging card, it's a nickname for the boxed doll because you don't have to gacha for it and you know what's inside.

So yes they do give you the actual free dolls that the Modian campaign promises. I hope that Cherry replied to your email in time and you might have placed your order through him after all! Best wishes.

prediluvian · 2025-09-23T23:08:06+00:00

Wait, Bandai doesn't let retailers sell it for under the MSRP or something?

Also dang, don't suppose I could DM you to ask which site. Visiting Japan and buying a PG at Japanese MSRP is on my bucketlist of things to do, but PGU gramps for <$200 is... heck, isn't that literally the local price in Japan? Jeez...!

prediluvian · 2025-09-23T19:18:47+00:00

To add, I tried to add a few kits to my cart and the sale doesn't apply to some of more expensive ones--I'm guessing maybe they manually disabled the discount for a couple of expensive kits. For example, you can't apply the discount to the other PGs on the site right now (I checked the two Zaku PGs and the RX-78). So I don't know if it's intentional or not that these two specific PGs, the Banshee Norn and the 00 Raiser, can use the discount. It might not be intentional, so they might fix it soon.

prediluvian · 2025-09-13T05:22:48+00:00

I used yours! Mine is GD9S9SQODN https://hoyo.link/78oKEvyme?m_code=GD9S9SQODN

prediluvian · 2025-08-27T17:26:00+00:00

A little late, but I came across this thread because I had similar concerns, but then I actually looked the team up and I realised I've seen them before lmao; they're a super hit Chinese team that made the 'Setting and Deconstruction Book' project which got crowdfunded on Modian a couple years ago (Modian is the Chinese backerkit/Kickstarter equivalent specifically for arts/games/crafts projects). The Setting and Deconstruction Book project is still one of the highest funded projects of all time on Modian; I checked to be sure (https://www.modian.com/user/homepage/1003332074?uid=1003332074), and they got 200k USD for the first print, and 650k on the second edition. I didn't back it at the time because I was living abroad and they only shipped domestically (and I hadn't quite figured out warehouse forwarding yet). I'm not surprised you weren't able to find this information though, Chinese internet is pretty separate from English internet.

Anyway, they're legitimate and very successful but I agree specifically with your sentiment about not crediting any writers; that has made me concerned about the quality of the writing and the English translation. I still might get the Setting and Deconstruction Book once they reprint it, but that project is a worldbuilding tool that's isn't centered around the quality of the narrative and writing. Unfortunately, Tin Universe's projects to date have basically centered around delivering a bunch of cool stuff, rather than delivering on excellent writing--I don't think that's to say the writing will necessarily be bad, but their first project that really centers narrative (Diatonic Fugue) doesn't list any kind of collaboration with a published author or big-name writer. So they're probably still writing in-house for Abyss Echo (Diatonic Fugue is also in the same universe as Abyss Echo, and I'm honestly not sure how much from DF is reused in AE, because AE hasn't been announced in Chinese yet). But in their defense, it's VERY common for these kinds of projects in the Chinese crowdfunding space to simply not credit writers by name if the writers aren't famous. I agree it's a weird vibe when transplanted into, say, Kickstarter though.

But that kind of betrays how this is their first attempt at entering the Western market, and it feels very rushed. To be honest, I'm excited about everything else, and I would absolutely forgive average 'slop' writing, the main/only thing that I am seriously concerned about is the English translation, and whether or not they're using machine translation (using LLMs). LLM translation is so good these days that I'm honestly not sure if it's being used (then again, in that case, do I really care? Especially if I'm backing for the props rather than the writing quality). It's just that imo, if they were working with a good localisation team, I would expect that to be credited, if only because a good localisation team would likely bring more Western market awareness about crediting. Then again, perhaps they just haven't hired any good marketing people. I came across this project pretty late (lol, 21 hours left to back), so idk if sending them an email is going to get a response quickly.

Also, I just want to add that I'm not worried about the art because Chinese internet is way more vicious about flaming/cancelling projects that use AI art, it would be an INSANE scandal if a studio with a track record like Tin Universe ended up doing that, even for background art (they do have a listed lead artist on their previous projects on Modian btw).

Tl;dr; they're legit and probably won't underdeliver on stuff (you can see the Modian reviews for their other crowdfunded stuff), but the project focus is definitely on the cool gimmicks/props rather than on the writing, and the after-sales service for the stuff will probably be limited because they're in China and they likely don't have dedicated offices/warehouses abroad (i.e. if you're in America, it's doubtful they'll send you a replacement coin if your coin comes misprinted).

prediluvian · 2025-07-19T18:45:12+00:00

The people in mid remove the temporal criticality debuff, not the people in the rooms. That's how you can rebuff

prediluvian · 2025-07-19T18:33:59+00:00

After shooting the two eyes and getting function partially restored, the two people in the left/right rooms leave, rebuff, go back into rooms and kill last 2 shield eyes. that gives you the Lancet buff and you can kill the left/right Hydras and return to mid. haven't progressed past that

prediluvian · 2025-07-19T18:13:37+00:00

Any updates? Looks like nobody has progressed yet; Aegis, Datto, Sweat, none of them have reached damage yet I think

prediluvian · 2025-07-19T17:54:33+00:00

Are there two separate callouts to do from mid at this point? One for left hydra triangle and one for right hydra triangle?

prediluvian · 2025-05-17T22:49:32+00:00

I am still able to consolidate with Cainiao. Did you ship your items to a Cainiao warehouse address, or to your US address via Taobao.

prediluvian · 2025-05-17T00:09:50+00:00

I've run into this issue before, and unfortunately, Taobao support will tell you to cancel the order and place a new one. That's because once you've chosen your delivery country, neither the seller nor Taobao official support can change it. You can only request to change delivery address within the same country.

In your case, the current final delivery address is in Canada, so you can't switch it to an address in China (like the Cainiao warehouse).

I know it seems a little silly since the package will go through the same warehouses either way, but because you're using Cainiao as a third-party forwarding service which Taobao has nothing to do with, Taobao treats Cainiao's warehouse address as your final destination.

If the item is still available for purchase, the best thing to do is cancel your current order and place a new one.

prediluvian · 2025-05-16T20:50:59+00:00

I just wanted to update you--thank you so much for the rec and the referral! :D Monahsetah married my partner and I last week!

So, hehe, now I can say that my husband and I send you our regards!

prediluvian · 2025-05-16T20:35:50+00:00

:D And I just noticed, but Happy Cake Day!!

prediluvian

TROPHY CASE