simplified Chinese: 流沙麻将/流麻; pinyin: liú shā má jiàng/liú má

Shaker Cards Merch

       流麻 (liú má), full name 流沙麻将 (liú shā má jiàng), is a UV resin shaker, often but not limited to a rectangular shape. It is a form of merchandise used to promote a character or franchise. The shaker cards often contain a frame sandwiched between two clear cards, sealed with resin, and filled with shaker oil and glitter. Traditionally, you would place a background image on one card. Then, outline the card with UV resin and place the frame on top. Next, put any glitter or small items inside the frame to create your desired effect. Some effects netizens created using glitter are 银河 (yín hé), or galaxy, and ocean waves. Afterward, you place the top card, often denoted with a small hole in one of the corners, adhere the card with resin, insert the shaker fluid, usually a clear, neutral oil, and seal the hole. Lastly, you place an image of the character or characters and any additional stickers on the top card.

           Even though it is a tedious process, and some companies make official 流麻 merchandise, it is a popular type of DIY fan merch within the 2D animation and gaming fandoms. The main fandoms that popularized 流麻 in the 二次元圈 (èr cì yuán quān), the 2D community, were 天官赐福 (tiān guān sì fú), Heaven Official’s Blessing, and 光与夜之恋 (guāng yǔ yè zhī liàn), Light and Night. As 流麻 circulated within the community, it gradually evolved as people were finding new ways and methods to incorporate into 流麻 and new fandoms discovering the process. However, what elevated this process out of the 2D circle was the 流麻 card of 财神爷 (cái shén yé), the deity of money and prosperity.

           The original 流麻 were card-shaped; however, as this process became more notable, people have expanded on what 流麻 could be. 路遥星亦辞 (lù yáo xīng yì cí) is a DouYin creator focused on creating 流麻. They previously made a 流麻 with a working light system, but that was not their most iconic work. They used a seashell instead of the traditional clear plastic cards to create a 流麻 since it thematically fits the mermaid character better. Another DouYin creator, 新芽酱 (xīn yá jiàng), usually makes content related to wax seals. In one of their more popular videos, they decided to make a 流麻 out of wax. Last but not least, DouYin creator 霜茶 (shuāng chá) made a completely edible 流麻. As a result, netizens often joke about when someone will make a 流麻棺材 (liú má guān cai)—a UV resin shaker in the form of a coffin—since many of the 流麻 creators are pushing the process to its limits.