Alolan_Apples
“Assorted” Collector
Not too long ago, I’ve been working on a series of collectibles otherwise known as the “assorted collectibles” (it’s a spelling error if you forgot the quotation marks). This collection consists of 12 different collectibles, none of them being from the same category, and none of them having the same background. For the longest time, I had a sidebar of all apples, which is my iconic sidebar I had for two years (add to that, a series of collectibles to match my weird apple obsession). But ever since I won the Pokéball collectible from a raffle from the last Bell Tree Week event (Pokémon Week), I decided to start a new collection. It started with a buying thread, asking for a blue rose, chocolate cake, and Eevee Egg, with the chocolate cake being sold after my latest apple, but I eventually got more to the point where I got a full diverse sidebar, which is diverse in background, set, and rarity, ranging from the common, cheap, and easy-to-get Winter Mittens to the rare, expensive, and hard-to-get Pokéball. I even added my Tetris Grid collectible in the collection.
Not only they are part of a diverse sidebar, but they also have some meaning to me. Here are the collectibles and how they relate to me:
Glow Wands - Flower Glow Wand:
The oldest collectible in my sidebar was from the signature collectible set of the 2016 TBT Fair, the glow wands. Right now, there are almost none in circulation, but they are among the most popular collectibles on the forum. The reason why I wanted a glow wand is because it’s based on a light-up object, and I love lights.
The Flower Glow Wand is the least popular of the four glow wands (Flower, Heart, Star, and Crescent Moon), but it’s the best match because of its color (green) and its tropical vibe (which is one of my favorite themes thanks to Super Mario Sunshine and Pokémon Sun and Moon). But it’s more like Florida tropical, not Hawaii tropical (which doesn’t matter because I like Florida more).
Seasonal - Famous Mushroom:
Although it’s a limited time only collectible, they are quite common and there’s a lot in circulation. Winter is my favorite season and my favorite theme, but before that, fall is my favorite season, and sci-fi is my favorite theme. So I thought a fall collectible would be a great match for my sidebar.
The Famous Mushroom is not just perfect as a fall collectible, but it could also represent the Super Mario series, one of my favorite Nintendo Franchises. Mario is from the Mushroom Kingdom. It would also represent the Mush Series from Animal Crossing, which is my 5th favorite furniture series from Animal Crossing.
Christmas - Winter Mittens:
Normally when a collectible is very common and low priced, it has very little appeal as I wouldn’t bother taking it (hence the lack of cakes, pears, and oranges in my sidebar), but the Winter Mittens is a rare exception. In September 2015, I decided that I am leaving this site for good, but I made a comeback in July 2016. The only collectibles I was gifted during the 10-month hiatus was the Winter Mittens (two actually).
Aside to being gifted mittens and its relation to winter fashion, I was not appealed to the lump of coal or the three dolls, but I wouldn’t feel complete without a Christmas collectible, more particularly a tradable Christmas Collectible that’s not a time stamp collectible like the TBT Fair Patches and the 10 Collectible.
Cakes - Chocolate Cake:
While the apple is the collectible that best represents me on this site, I have a special place in my heart for the chocolate cake collectible. When I first joined this site, it’s one of the few collectibles that everyone wants. Just like the white feather, the yellow letter, the Pokéball, and the red pinwheel, the chocolate cake is part of the league of collectibles that are coveted by everyone. It was also the first collectible I wanted most since I joined this forum.
In fact, when I grabbed it in the restock back in December 2014, that was one of my proudest achievements at the time. I eventually got greater achievements accomplished in the future, but this was a big deal at the time since it was one of the highly-coveted collectibles. Nowadays it has lost its worth due to high supply and low TBT in circulation, but I still couldn’t detach from the beginning.
Feathers - Cool Feather:
I never cared for the feathers (in both Animal Crossing and on the Bell Tree) in the first place, but the new feathers introduced during the 2017 TBT Fair were more interesting, with the Hot, Cool, and Fresh feathers being my favorites. Since I prefer cold over hot, and blue over red, I decided to stick with the Cool Feather.
Arcade - Tetris Grid:
Easily my favorite collectible to be in the collection, and a representation of my greatest achievement on this forum - earning a staff favorite. I’ve always wanted an animated collectible since the 2014 TBT Fair, and this one looks much better than the Crescent Moon Glow Wand from 2016 and Green Fair Pinwheel from 2014. To be honest, the other arcade collectibles did not look that good, but the Tetris Grid did. It’s also in my collection because it represents another fact about me - I am good at puzzles. That, and Tetris is one of my favorite puzzle video games and my favorite retro game.
Candies - Orange Candy:
After the 2014 Halloween Event, the candies became one of the least valuable collectible series, as I find them quite worthless. However, the Orange Candy is one of the better candy collectibles on this forum. Since it’s the rarest tradable collectible from the candy set, and since orange is the main color of the Halloween color scheme, I decided to get this to represent the candy collectibles on this forum.
Fruit - Apple:
I felt that I needed a fruit category to add more diversity to my sidebar (and to represent more collections on this site). Despite already having 12 apple collectibles, I decided to get another apple collectible. Not because it’s the rarest fruit collectible, but because I am an apple-obsessed member. Had I picked another fruit for that category, it would not fit me because I am about apples. It’s like if a Star Wars fan picked a Harry Potter icon when there are already Star Wars icons available. So I went with apples.
Easter Eggs - Eevee Easter Egg:
The best set of Easter Eggs on TBT were the ones released in 2018. While I though the Frost Easter Egg, the Aurora Easter Egg, and the Disco Ball Easter Egg looked cooler than what I got, the Eevee Easter Egg means something more. It’s based after my favorite Pokémon, Eevee. Not just my favorite Pokémon, but also my favorite Nintendo character.
Flowers - Blue Rose:
As I had one collectible from each category, which adds more categories to my sidebar, another addition would be a representative of the flower collectibles, and the one I chose was the blue rose, the winning flower from the last Flower Week event. Generally, I prefer tulips more than roses, but the blue rose was the only hybrid rose on this site as no hybrid tulips exist.
The blue rose is not just in my sidebar for being the winning flower, for being blue (my favorite color, green being my second), and for its status as a hybrid. What makes this flower special is that it’s the only flower in Animal Crossing (aside to the golden rose) to be sold for more than 1,000 Bells in-game (price is 2,500 Bells). The fact it’s the top-priced flower in-game is why I chose this to represent flowers.
Halloween - Pumpkin Cupcake:
Another essential collectible to my collection is one of the three “spellectables”, which were from the 2015 event TBT Spooktacular. It’s in my sidebar to represent Halloween collectibles because it was the winning collectible in the 2015 contest, it was designed by Laudine, it’s my favorite of the spellectables, and it’s a cupcake collectible, something I wanted to get from this forum before I left in 2015.
Pokéballs - Pokéball:
Finally, the collectible that got me into starting the “assorted collectibles” collection is the most coveted and one of the most expensive collectibles on this site. I was originally going to sell it if I won one in the Pokémon Week event, but since I was awarded it the same way the Tetris Grid was awarded, I chose to keep it and start a new collection. Amazingly, I never owned a Pokéball collectible before the event, and when I first got one, I never gave it away.
It may be one of my least favorite Pokéballs as I prefer premier balls and master balls, but because I became more interested into Pokémon than Mario and Animal Crossing, I think a Pokéball collectible is best for my sidebar.
Not only they are part of a diverse sidebar, but they also have some meaning to me. Here are the collectibles and how they relate to me:
Glow Wands - Flower Glow Wand:
The oldest collectible in my sidebar was from the signature collectible set of the 2016 TBT Fair, the glow wands. Right now, there are almost none in circulation, but they are among the most popular collectibles on the forum. The reason why I wanted a glow wand is because it’s based on a light-up object, and I love lights.
The Flower Glow Wand is the least popular of the four glow wands (Flower, Heart, Star, and Crescent Moon), but it’s the best match because of its color (green) and its tropical vibe (which is one of my favorite themes thanks to Super Mario Sunshine and Pokémon Sun and Moon). But it’s more like Florida tropical, not Hawaii tropical (which doesn’t matter because I like Florida more).
Seasonal - Famous Mushroom:
Although it’s a limited time only collectible, they are quite common and there’s a lot in circulation. Winter is my favorite season and my favorite theme, but before that, fall is my favorite season, and sci-fi is my favorite theme. So I thought a fall collectible would be a great match for my sidebar.
The Famous Mushroom is not just perfect as a fall collectible, but it could also represent the Super Mario series, one of my favorite Nintendo Franchises. Mario is from the Mushroom Kingdom. It would also represent the Mush Series from Animal Crossing, which is my 5th favorite furniture series from Animal Crossing.
Christmas - Winter Mittens:
Normally when a collectible is very common and low priced, it has very little appeal as I wouldn’t bother taking it (hence the lack of cakes, pears, and oranges in my sidebar), but the Winter Mittens is a rare exception. In September 2015, I decided that I am leaving this site for good, but I made a comeback in July 2016. The only collectibles I was gifted during the 10-month hiatus was the Winter Mittens (two actually).
Aside to being gifted mittens and its relation to winter fashion, I was not appealed to the lump of coal or the three dolls, but I wouldn’t feel complete without a Christmas collectible, more particularly a tradable Christmas Collectible that’s not a time stamp collectible like the TBT Fair Patches and the 10 Collectible.
Cakes - Chocolate Cake:
While the apple is the collectible that best represents me on this site, I have a special place in my heart for the chocolate cake collectible. When I first joined this site, it’s one of the few collectibles that everyone wants. Just like the white feather, the yellow letter, the Pokéball, and the red pinwheel, the chocolate cake is part of the league of collectibles that are coveted by everyone. It was also the first collectible I wanted most since I joined this forum.
In fact, when I grabbed it in the restock back in December 2014, that was one of my proudest achievements at the time. I eventually got greater achievements accomplished in the future, but this was a big deal at the time since it was one of the highly-coveted collectibles. Nowadays it has lost its worth due to high supply and low TBT in circulation, but I still couldn’t detach from the beginning.
Feathers - Cool Feather:
I never cared for the feathers (in both Animal Crossing and on the Bell Tree) in the first place, but the new feathers introduced during the 2017 TBT Fair were more interesting, with the Hot, Cool, and Fresh feathers being my favorites. Since I prefer cold over hot, and blue over red, I decided to stick with the Cool Feather.
Arcade - Tetris Grid:
Easily my favorite collectible to be in the collection, and a representation of my greatest achievement on this forum - earning a staff favorite. I’ve always wanted an animated collectible since the 2014 TBT Fair, and this one looks much better than the Crescent Moon Glow Wand from 2016 and Green Fair Pinwheel from 2014. To be honest, the other arcade collectibles did not look that good, but the Tetris Grid did. It’s also in my collection because it represents another fact about me - I am good at puzzles. That, and Tetris is one of my favorite puzzle video games and my favorite retro game.
Candies - Orange Candy:
After the 2014 Halloween Event, the candies became one of the least valuable collectible series, as I find them quite worthless. However, the Orange Candy is one of the better candy collectibles on this forum. Since it’s the rarest tradable collectible from the candy set, and since orange is the main color of the Halloween color scheme, I decided to get this to represent the candy collectibles on this forum.
Fruit - Apple:
I felt that I needed a fruit category to add more diversity to my sidebar (and to represent more collections on this site). Despite already having 12 apple collectibles, I decided to get another apple collectible. Not because it’s the rarest fruit collectible, but because I am an apple-obsessed member. Had I picked another fruit for that category, it would not fit me because I am about apples. It’s like if a Star Wars fan picked a Harry Potter icon when there are already Star Wars icons available. So I went with apples.
Easter Eggs - Eevee Easter Egg:
The best set of Easter Eggs on TBT were the ones released in 2018. While I though the Frost Easter Egg, the Aurora Easter Egg, and the Disco Ball Easter Egg looked cooler than what I got, the Eevee Easter Egg means something more. It’s based after my favorite Pokémon, Eevee. Not just my favorite Pokémon, but also my favorite Nintendo character.
Flowers - Blue Rose:
As I had one collectible from each category, which adds more categories to my sidebar, another addition would be a representative of the flower collectibles, and the one I chose was the blue rose, the winning flower from the last Flower Week event. Generally, I prefer tulips more than roses, but the blue rose was the only hybrid rose on this site as no hybrid tulips exist.
The blue rose is not just in my sidebar for being the winning flower, for being blue (my favorite color, green being my second), and for its status as a hybrid. What makes this flower special is that it’s the only flower in Animal Crossing (aside to the golden rose) to be sold for more than 1,000 Bells in-game (price is 2,500 Bells). The fact it’s the top-priced flower in-game is why I chose this to represent flowers.
Halloween - Pumpkin Cupcake:
Another essential collectible to my collection is one of the three “spellectables”, which were from the 2015 event TBT Spooktacular. It’s in my sidebar to represent Halloween collectibles because it was the winning collectible in the 2015 contest, it was designed by Laudine, it’s my favorite of the spellectables, and it’s a cupcake collectible, something I wanted to get from this forum before I left in 2015.
Pokéballs - Pokéball:
Finally, the collectible that got me into starting the “assorted collectibles” collection is the most coveted and one of the most expensive collectibles on this site. I was originally going to sell it if I won one in the Pokémon Week event, but since I was awarded it the same way the Tetris Grid was awarded, I chose to keep it and start a new collection. Amazingly, I never owned a Pokéball collectible before the event, and when I first got one, I never gave it away.
It may be one of my least favorite Pokéballs as I prefer premier balls and master balls, but because I became more interested into Pokémon than Mario and Animal Crossing, I think a Pokéball collectible is best for my sidebar.
