Watching the last episode of #TheExpanse was bittersweet. But watching it with U. was fantastic. There was a scene towards the end where Clarissa gives Amos a pin, a replacement for one he’d lost and, in that moment, symbolic of their bond.
So I scoured the ‘net to find this for U.
Alongside the dive into Expanse fandom, I learned a bit about such oni masks (there are MANY types). I wanted one as close to the Amos original as possible. Thanks to Reddit, I was lucky to discover find an Expanse fan who had printed a 3D version from a design created for her by another artist. But her shop was in the US, which made me worry about timing and customs. The correspondence did push me to find a European artist, a woman named Nadine who has a UK-based Etsy shop and who, wonderfully, is also a huge fan of the show. Her design is even closer to the look of the Amos one, without the high-polish that makes it look like silver (and may have been).
In the end, it was a happy find, a happy man, and a happy me. Win, win, and win again.
P.S. Speaking of inner demons, my stepfather died, keeled over from a heart attack in the middle of a family gathering this past weekend. At some point, I’ll write a longer piece about family and me. But not today. This is just a placeholder to say “I went through some shit this week, and am grateful for chosen family.
