#bunny pounding mochi on the moon

[tanuki-kimono]

(Happy Moon Festival everyone 🐇🌕)

BUFF moon rabbits pounding mochi, hilarious gashapon figurines by Qualia released this September to celebrated Tsukimi (moon festival).

Mochitsuki (pounding mochi with a wooden mallet) does indeed require stamina:

[crimson-chains]

Postcard for the month! :D Polaris and Yildun as bunnies on the moon pounding mochi ^W^ Become a 20 dollar patron to nab it <3

[hanathoughts]

Happy New Year everyone!

I noticed something about Nene in this beautiful new art.

Nene’s pearl hairpins are likely a reference to Sailor Moon!

Aside from aesthetic, it makes a lot of sense to reference Sailor Moon here. Sailor Moon’s human name, Usagi, literally means “rabbit.” 2023 is the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. Her pigtails are meant to look like bunny ears, just like Nene wears in the picture. 

“Sailor Moon” is a bunny because the series references the myth of the rabbit pounding mochi on the moon. TBHK has also referenced this custom in the past. Here’s a better post further explaining how the bunny in the moon relates to the series.

As always, AidaIro puts thought out symbolism in the smallest of places.

[sugarstarskitchen]

Today wraps up the Mid Autumn Festival for 2023! My bestie got me a new moon cake mold I had been wanting for my birthday and it’s so cute 😭 The egg wash got splotchy on the outsides after baking, but the honey pistachio filling is still delicious. 🐇🌕 Did you see the full moon last night?! It was huge and beautiful! I could practically see Mr. Bunny pounding the mochi from here!

[theomnicode]

Happy new year 2023 from Tonari!

Year of the Rabbit is upon us in 2023 and I'm just gonna drop some fun meta in accordance to this image.

Because I can.

Can't forget that Saitama did some bugs bunny stuff before.

What he did on Moon of I.O is basically bending reality like he's a cartoon character. So it kinda fits with the rabbit and the moon mythos lol.

But I'm also interested about all the symbolism of the rabbit and the moon and the chinese zodiac.

In the Buddhist Jataka tales,[4] Tale 316 relates that a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon (Uposatha), believing a demonstration of great virtue would earn a great reward. When an old man begged for food from them, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees and the otter collected fish, while the jackal found a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. Knowing only how to gather grass, the rabbit instead offered its own body by throwing itself into a fire the man had prepared. However, the rabbit was not burnt and the old man revealed that he was Śakra. Touched by the rabbit's virtue, he drew the likeness of the rabbit on the Moon for all to see. It is said the lunar image is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire. The rabbit is believed to be a Bodhisattva. Han Dynasty poets call the hare on the Moon the "Jade Hare" (玉兔) or the "Gold Hare" (金兔), and these phrases were used often, in place of the word for the Moon. A famous poet of Tang China, Li Bai, relates how "The rabbit in the moon pounds the medicine in vain" in his poem, "The Old Dust".

When Westerners gaze at the 月亮 (yuèliang; moon), they may jokingly say that the moon is made out of cheese or that they see the Man in the Moon. When a Chinese person looks at the moon, however, they most certainly will see the Jade Rabbit (玉兔 Yùtù) standing under a cassia tree holding a precious elixir. Like the Chinese zodiac itself, the legend of the Jade Rabbit has many different origin stories. One of the most common stories in China begins with the Jade Emperor disguising himself as a beggar. Once disguised, he embarks on a journey to find a worthy animal to help him prepare the elixir of life. In this tale, the Rabbit willingly attempts to sacrifice himself as food for the beggar by jumping into a fire. However, the Rabbit is saved by the Jade Emperor, who then carries the Rabbit to the moon where he helps create the elixir of life. Those looking for the Jade Rabbit will find his outline on the moon with his pestle and mortar, mixing the divine elixir to this day. The concept of the Chinese zodiac has spread to other Asian countries, but other cultures have slightly different interpretations regarding the Jade Rabbit. In Japan, the Old Man of the Moon brings the Rabbit back to the moon to live with him because of the Rabbit’s great kindness. According to this myth, the image seen on the surface of the moon is of a rabbit pounding out mochi rice cakes, not the elixir of life.

About this elixir of life...I've thought about references to elixir of immortality before.

The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating the elixir. In the 8th century AD Man'yōshū, 'waters of rejuvenation' (変若水, ochimizu) are said to be in the possession of the moon god Tsukuyomi. Similarities have been noted with a folktale from the Ryukyu Islands, in which the moon god decides to give man the water of life (Miyako: sïlimizï), and serpents the water of death (sïnimizï). However, the person entrusted with carrying the pails down to Earth gets tired and takes a break, and a serpent bathes in the water of life, rendering it unusable. This is said to be why serpents can rejuvenate themselves each year by shedding their skin while men are doomed to die.

I am distinctly reminded of the part where Sage centipede's carcass drops down on top of heroes while it bathes in ocean water. Heroes were definitely kind of doomed to just perish here, but Saitama parking a large ship avoided the disaster. Then pig god casually eating all the heroes allowed them to ultimately survive. Sage centipede and Elder centipede were notorious for being practically immortal because they just regenerated and shed their skin, so Garou had to destroy it's heart.

Ergo, removing the heart removes the source of lifeblood, so might be one to keep in mind.

I can't forget how Pig god ate Evil Natural Water and how human body consists of mostly water and what it might entail cuz he ate evil natural water remnants.

Can't forget how Psykos also made Evil Natural Water and she has serpent motifs.

So if divine power is "elixir of immortality" and evil natural water is a construct of what may be just divine power, water and evil intent...checks out.

Oh and OPM God being in possession of elixir of life? Lifeblood? Yeah. Also checks out because the one below is depicted with little more than blood circulatory system.

Makes you wonder why a samurai dude, I forget the name, who got cleaved in half somehow didn't die. And tank top master got brutally mangled and somehow...survived and is not worse for the wear. And Air got his neck pierced and his spine and idk, he's gonna be ok too right?

Divine power = elixir of life sounds appropriate.

Rabbit personality traits Let’s start with the impact of being born in the Year of the Rabbit on personality. Rabbit people are said to live life free from constraints and are in constant pursuit of their ideas. Because of their weak wills, however, they have difficulty achieving great things.  In addition, Rabbits are sometimes too guarded and delicate when managing human affairs and personal matters. While they tend to be tenacious and ambitious, these characteristics may also lead to jealousy when they don’t get their way. Those born under the sign of the rabbit do not like to argue, preferring peace and quiet. They are good listeners, excellent negotiators and tend to work well on a team. They can be artistic and creative but also have a strong desire to avoid stressful and risky situations. They can also be pessimistic and insecure and therefore are hesitant to make quick changes.

Sounds like an interesting year might be ahead of Saitama.

And finally, an aztec mythos reference, because OPM God's temple is basically an aztec temple.

According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl, then living on Earth as a human, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. Then a rabbit grazing nearby offered herself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by the rabbit's noble offering, elevated her to the Moon, then lowered her back to Earth and told her, "You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all people and for all times."

"Quetzalcoatl, in its literal sense, means 'serpent of precious feathers', but in the allegorical sense, 'wisest of men'."[6] Among the Aztecs, whose beliefs are the best-documented in the historical sources, Quetzalcoatl was related to gods of the wind, of the planet Venus, of the dawn, of merchants and of arts, crafts and knowledge. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, of learning and knowledge. Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of the sun and wind, air, and learning, wears around his neck the "wind breastplate" ehēcacōzcatl, "the spirally voluted wind jewel" made of a conch shell. This talisman was a conch shell cut at the cross-section and was likely worn as a necklace by religious rulers, as such objects have been discovered in burials in archaeological sites throughout Mesoamerica,[8] and potentially symbolized patterns witnessed in hurricanes, dust devils, seashells, and whirlpools, which were elemental forces that had significance in Aztec mythology.

I mean yea, Feathered Serpent basically. Quetzalcoatl reference. And Psykos learned more than she wished for and according to her, became the ultimate being of intelligence.

A very interesting year ahead.

Unlike Tigers though, like last year, Rabbits are prey animals. And many myths talk about Rabbits making some kind of sacrifice and how appropriately we're also dealing with a dude from Tsukuyomi at the same time. Like oh em gee rabbit and the moon mythos oh em gee.

[anueutsuhos-touhou-profiles]

Seiran:

Seiran is the Pale Blue Eagle Ravi, a member of the Eagle Ravi recon squad of moon rabbits sent to purify Gensokyo. As with any other moon rabbit, she's treated as an expendable slave, nothing more than cannon fodder. She in particular is in charge of infiltration operations.

She first appeared as the first boss of Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. She was actually off-duty at the time, and was caught off-guard when she was pounding mochi with her mallet for the other moon rabbits. She attempts to call for reinforcements, but is rebuked and only told not to reveal the location of their base under threat of death.

Apparently she used to be friends with Reisen back when they were both affiliated with the moon, and she brands Reisen a traitor when they fight.

As you might expect, Seiran goes AWOL the first chance she has, and abandons the moon for Gensokyo as Reisen did before her. Now she sells dango for a living.

Her boss theme is called "The Rabbit Has Landed"

She has the ability to shoot bullets from another dimension, whatever that means.

Her energy bullets are typically blue to contrast Reisen's red. Otherwise, her spellcards aren't particularly notable, not very different from Reisen's.

Despite being just the 1st boss, she's implied to be no weaker than Reisen, who was the penultimate boss in her debut game, setting the standard for how powerful the bosses in this game will get.

Before it was clarified in-game that the red liquid on Seiran's mallet was flavor for mochi, people thought it was blood, and so there was a trend of fanart making her a crazed murder machine. While this doesn't SEEM to be the case, she did join Shinmyoumaru's hijacking of Reimu's fireworks festival, so she's at least okay with attacking a crowd of innocent people in the name of showcasing her abilities.

Seiran's name means "clear indigo", the "ran" in her name being the same as Ran Yakumo. Seiran is also the name of a WW2 Japanese floatplane, but according to ZUN this is pure coincidence.

Oh, and you can't see it, but she does have a poofy bunny tail.

[dexterouslycharming]

Tell me about Harriet Lapine! (Also, what's a Moon Rabit? /gen)

The Moon Rabbit, or the Jade Rabbit is a piece of folklore originating from East Asia and from certain Native American cultures. It's an interpretation of the dark markings on the moon that look like a rabbit or a hare.

I'm going to quote Wikipedia here so forgive me if I'm incorrect about anything

'In East Asia, the rabbit is seen as pounding with a mortar and pestle, but the contents of the mortar differ among Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese folklore.'

In all of the stories about the Moon Rabbit/The Jade Hare, it's seen with a mortar and pestle making different things, from a life elixir, to cakes, mochi and rice cakes depending on which culture you're reading about. In other versions the rabbit is pounding medicinal herbs.

I kinda took all of these pieces and put them together to make a version of the Moon Rabbit that would fit easily into Monster High and Ever After. It goes back to my interpretation of both worlds and how they work. As a piece of folklore, the Moon Rabbit originates from Ever After (Harriet's ancestors moved to Monster High way before the closing of the bridge between the two, so she was born and raised in the Monster World.)

Harriet is a potion master, she learned from her whole family after all. She can make almost anything if given the right ingredients, and tends to experiment a lot. She can be found making and giving out the things she makes (whether it be elixirs or edible things like cakes and moon pies) all the time. She's a bit quirky and tends to weird out the kids of Ever After High, but she's tolerated for the most part (especially because of free food.)

Harriet's a free spirit, and came along with C.A Cupid when she made her (unbeknownst to her) last trip to Ever After. Due to them getting stuck, Harriet enrolled at Ever After. Milton was shocked to see the child of the Moon Rabbit back after hundreds of years but welcomed her (if only in order to get her to sign the book. . .is her story even still there?) She tends to stay close to Cupid for the most part, but does do things on her own, but you can mostly find her cooped up in her dorm or in the Castleteria kitchen making whatever comes to mind.

She, like Bunny and Penelope, has the ability to transform into a rabbit, and she usually does it when she's transporting small ingredients, or trying to get somewhere quickly. She's very open about where she comes from, and tends to use monster slang instead of the fairy tale slang. Everyone's stopped asking about her origins because they get too creeped out, or just don't believe her. She and Cupid remind each other of home, hence why they're close.

[brookes-digital-diary]

　　Diary Entry 013: Moon viewing

　　　　【日記のエンタリー十三番:月見】

みんなさん、こんにちは！一週間の前に、9月１７日に日本に月見でした。その結果、今日は月見についてを話したい！

Hello everyone! Last week on the 17th was Moon Viewing Day in Japan. As a result, today I would like to talk about Moon Viewing!

まず、月日のときに、色な日本人は夜に月を見ると思います。第二に、月の中にの形はうさぎみたいですし、そのうさぎはもちを作っています。第三に、月見のために日本人は団子とうどんを食べると思います。個人的に、餃子もうどんを食べるのが好きですけど、団子を食べことない。第四に、月見のうどんの中に卵があります。そして、卵の形は月です。第五に、月見のために、うさぎについて物語があります。

Firstly, I think that various Japanese people do things such as watching the moon and eating Japanese dumplings for Moon Viewing Day. Secondly, the shape in the moon is supposed to be a bunny who is pounding mochi. Thirdly, I believe that Japanese people eat Japanese dumplings and udon for moon viewing day. I personally like to eat udon and Chinese dumplings, but I've never had Japanese dumplings before. Fourthly, there is an egg yolk in the middle of the Moon Viewing udon which is shaped like the moon. Lastly, There is a story about a rabbit for Moon Viewing Day.

私の考えとして、アメリカに月見がありませんけど、アメリカ人として、まだ面白そうと思います。それで、月見についてのプレゼンテーションが終わります。読んでくれて、ありがとうございました。それじゃ、またね～！

As for my thoughts, even though we don't have Moon Viewing Day in America, as an American myself, I still think Moon Viewing day sounds interesting. And so, my presentation on Moon Viewing Day is complete, Thank you for reading, and I'll see you later!

-Brooke

[wulfskoll]

what’s the sticky bun thing? Lowkey getting really interested

Okay so in i beleave Asian culture, it's said that you can see a bunny pounding Mochi (type of food made from rice) in a bowl on the moon cause of it's craters

and i think that's the only animal based myth/legend about the moon so it's funny to call Mac Tonight a Anthro bunny

[bokksu-vs-sakuraco]

Bokksu vs. Sakuraco Comparison #1: Moon Festival

Now that we're two boxes in, it seems like a good time to directly compare the two services beyond what we found in our initial research. This month was especially applicable, since both Bokksu and Sakuraco chose to take on the same theme: the Autumn Moon Festival.

We will be comparing their snack selection, approach to theme, amount of food, and cultural guide. We recommend reading our box reviews first you know what contents we are comparing. 

This is a transcribed phone conversation between June and Glissando, edited and formatted for clarity and content relevancy.

SNACK SELECTION: APPROACH TO THEME

JUNE: Sakuraco’s Moon Festival-themed box was very fun look at. There were a lot of rabbit designs, referencing the folktale about the Moon Rabbit. However, while the snacks designs were very cute and interesting, the natural flavors that were behind them were a little bit more standard. For example, you know, the regular vanilla cookie, which was good but just a vanilla cookie, or like the marshmallow with strawberry filling. Sure, it's cute but there isn’t really anything special about the taste for me. The flavors didn’t really scream Moon Festival; that was mostly in the designs. Not to mention it was such an overwhelmingly sweet box.

GLISS: Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, looking at your photos, the bunny stuff was all really cute, but if the snack itself is all kind of candy-ish stuff, it's not as interesting to eat.

Sakuraco snacks: marshmallow with filling, candy chews

JUNE: Yeah, the one thing I guess I liked a lot was the jelly because it did more with the flavors, really leaning into the taste of—well it was pear for me, not peach. [Note: Sakuraco sent June next month’s adzuki pear jelly in her September box, as pointed out by @/tsukana] But I felt that even being really cute, the jelly was still something that when I tasted it, I definitely knew ‘Oh, yeah. I wouldn't be able to get this taste by just going to an American grocery store.’ It was really good.

GLISS: Yeah, that's pretty cool. And you get to have it again this month!

JUNE: Oh yeah, looking forward to that. 

GLISS: Is that all you have to say about the Sakuraco snack selections for the moon theme?

JUNE: If we're gonna be ignoring that one random danish in there?

GLISS: Haha right, yeah. So Bokksu’s approach to theme snacks… 

It felt like they went the opposite direction of Sakuraco, in that they tried really hard to stick to an autumn profile with the flavors and had almost no decorative stuff. Instead they tried to relate each flavor back to autumn. They had three sweet potato snacks in there, which is the whole ‘sweet potatoes are offered to the moon’ kind of deal. Truffle chips for truffle season. etc. So that was good, I guess in the sense that you could really taste the autumn theme, and there was a decent variety in snack types.

That said, I think still they could have gone more into their own flavor descriptions. As I said in my blog, they said autumn has persimmons and chestnuts and all these different other harvest flavors, and instead they gave us lime and orange. That made some of their choices feel a bit scattered even though they did a decent attempt to tie it all together through the culture book descriptions. But really, I think the variety of flavors was all right, even though this was also a very sweet box. Like 75% sweet versus savory, same as Sakuraco. I feel like autumn is more savory than sweet sometimes, so it was surprising to me that we both got really sweet boxes.

JUNE: Right. Now, so far, the savory snacks have been a little bit more interesting. So it would be nice if they include more in the future instead of giving like a normal cookie (Sakuraco) or pound cake (Bokksu).

One thing that I like that we noticed is that both boxes use the same mochi.

GLISS: Oh my gosh, yeah, when I saw your photos I was like ‘that's the exact same box with the same six black sesame mochi in there!’ I mean, obviously it's not like they consult each other on what snacks they're going to use, but I wasn't even sure what made that flavor of mochi so specific to this theme.

[Note: Mochi itself is a traditional snack to eat while gazing upon the moon and it is a reference to the rabbit pounding mochi on the moon.]

—

DAGASHI VS. WAGASHI

GLISS: So Bokksu is known for having more dagashi, but this time, they did have a few wagashi in there with the kintsuba and the senbei that tasted like the Japanese hot dog bun. Given the historical festival theme, that was a good opportunity to introduce wagashi. But with the wagashi that they used to approach the theme, I think they didn't commit to it well enough that I was like ‘oh, this is culturally immersive.’ I’m still mildly pressed about them not giving us more background on the kintsuba since we ended up eating it like a piece of fudge. 

Bokksu snacks: Kintsuba, edamame chips, and chocolate bites

On the other hand, the dagashi, we had truffle chips and edamame crackers that you would have like at a bar, along with wafers and this chocolate pie thing that were all very good. So it was a very thought out way of using dagashi in a modern approach to a traditional theme. In that sense, I liked the dagashi more because if you’re not gonna sell me on the wagashi, it makes it harder for me to get into the snack. 

What about your feelings about the wagashi you got?

JUNE: Just off the top of my head, I feel like maybe the previous box had more wagashi in it? (We can probably do a more in depth analysis of snack type distribution later on.) Although from this box, the jelly, arare and mochi are all up there in my enjoyment.

Oh, slightly off topic but Sakuraco does surprise snacks in the booklet with a QR code to scan to see what this month's possible pairings are, which adds a certain element of surprise even if you like to peek ahead for what you might get in the box. But at the same time, my surprise snack this month was one of the salty snacks. So if I hadn’t gotten that salty snack, I would have only had two salty snacks in a whole box of sweets. 

GLISS: Oh yeah, that would have been a bummer. And I wonder if that's part of like, the commitment to trying to make more of these cute rabbit things so they leaned in more into the visual themes rather than a diverse food theme.

JUNE: For sure, I could buy that. It definitely makes the box itself a bit more memorable because of all the cute rabbits though.

Sakuraco September 2023 Box Contents

JUNE: Oh but Glissando, as someone who is Asian, would you say you’re someone who frequently visits Asian supermarkets?

GLISS: I wouldn’t say frequently. My family makes that trip like 5-6 times a year. 

JUNE: Okay well every now and then I seem to spot someone saying that Bokksu’s or Sakuraco’s snacks can be bought at the Asian supermarket. Do you have any thoughts on that?

GLISS: I can check it out specifically next time but seriously? I feel like people who say that must live right next door to an Asian supermarket or somewhere with a decently sized East Asian population. I live in the midwest and it’s an hour-and-a-half drive to any large Asian market here. So even if I did want Japanese dagashi, no it wouldn’t be more worth my time to curate those snacks myself. 

JUNE: No. Yeah no, that’s a good point. I’m on the east coast and even then I think I’ve only seen Asian grocery stores in major cities only.

GLISS: I’ve also yet to see anything that’s an obvious exact replica of what I’ve seen from my area’s large grocery stores. We tend to favor Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean communities so I’d be surprised if we did carry smaller Japanese brands. It’s great if you can find those Bokksu snacks near you, but for a lot of people, I don’t think that’s a viable option. 

—

TEA PAIRING

GLISS: I think the tea wasn't that big a deal for you this time. But for me, I was like…

JUNE: You had a full half a cup to share.

GLISS: Right!? I was so bewildered by the tea they gave, and my friend is a tea enthusiast: she was like ‘this seems weird’ about the instructions, especially steeping for 30 seconds. Then only making a half cup so we ran out after a couple sips… It was just the most bizarre kind of tea guidance to begin with, and the fact that they only included one bag—

I can't get over the fact that next month's Bokksu theme is tea ceremony. I'm going to judge them really hard. I looked ahead on their contents this time, and it's all snacks that pair well with tea so if we run out of tea pairing, I'm gonna be pissed.

—

IDEAL SNACKING EXPERIENCE

JUNE: I recall both times you saying you were ‘close to bursting’ after finishing the box with your friend.

GLISS: Oh yeah. We were so full this time, and we still had leftovers.… We're talking about splitting up the snacks for next time, and we'll see how that goes. I think I might add a new experience, but at the same time, I don't want to get stuck in a situation where we don't like the snacks the second round and feel embittered about it. 

JUNE: I see. What about a different experience? For example, if there was someone else who just wanted to have the snacks on their own, and they would just have like one snack like a day or something. Do you think there'd be a significant difference in their enjoyment of the box?

GLISS: I do think so because that’s what I ended up doing with the Bokksu sweets box, I just picked it off one at a time. And the result was the ones that you don't really like, that sticks in your mind, honestly, and if there's two of them, you feel like, ‘oh, I don't really want to go back and have that one again.’ So if you're eating alone, there's that problem. And then when there are two good ones, then you polish them off pretty quickly. 

Bokksu October 2023 Box Contents (it arrived in September though...)

It would also make the theme feel less comprehensive as well. If I just had like the maple pancake for breakfast one day, then it would not have felt like autumn at all. 

JUNE: That’s actually a good point. 

GLISS: Yeah, so I think some of these snacks are meant to be looked at as a whole. And it does change the experience if you don't have them that way, though there's nothing wrong with picking out what snacks you like. But at that point, it does feel like you could go and buy the snacks you want specifically from an online store or something.

What about you? You did eat part of your last box sporadically.

JUNE: I agree with what you're saying. Like when you have a snack that’s mid then you eat it and you're like, ‘well okay’ versus when you have something that's really good and you eat it you're like, ‘that's it? well it’s gone now.’ Whereas if you're sitting at a tea party and you finish something, then you can just move onto something else and it doesn't really stick as much in your mind, whether there was only a little bit or whether it was just ok because right afterwards you're moving on to another thing.

GLISS: Yeah, that's exactly the feeling. So for the snack boxes in general, make an event of it. We recommend that!

JUNE: If you don't want to eat the entire box or half of the box at once, then I still think choosing maybe like three or so snacks would be a lot better than just grabbing only one. Up to personal preference though.

—

AMOUNT OF FOOD VS. HOUSEHOLD ITEM

GLISS: For you, the Sakuraco amount of food… you mentioned that it was not enough.

JUNE: It only became noticeable for me when I was eating the peanut arare. The picture that I put in the blog was like all the food they gave, it's like half a cup. It was so good that I ate the entire bowl and then there’s just no more and I genuinely wanted more. Like we were saying earlier, I don't really care when the snack doesn't leave an impact on me but when I do like it, it's very noticeable. 

But overall the amount of food, at least for me and my mom having this as breakfast, we didn't really eat everything either, but I wouldn't say that we were stuffed to bursting after just one sitting. So that's why I'm feeling that maybe Bokksu has a bit more food. It's kinda hard for us to tell though, right?

GLISS: Yeah, well, this time Bokksu did have more snacks in terms of just raw numbers. [Note: Bokksu 15 unique snacks vs. Sakuraco 12 unique snacks] So that's also part of it because I don't have the household item. Do you feel like having that household item is enhancing your experience?

JUNE: I think it is because for me, a household item was a pretty big draw. As long as they were quality items, it kind of means that there's something of the box left over even after you finish it—well aside from the box itself. And I do like when Sakurako makes custom box designs because you know, it just looks unique. And you can display it somewhere and look back on all these different themes. I just like it.

GLISS: Yeah, I like it too. Like I think it's fun and it's good to hear that the dish is of good quality.

[Note: It seems that Sakuraco ran out of rabbit dish plates during this box and had to substitute in the plate they used for last year’s Moon Festival box]

JUNE: Next box though we can start paying attention to and comparing the grams of food we get. I’m slightly curious now, since it’s hard to really gauge the difference in quantity of food just talking about it.

—

COMPARING CULTURE GUIDES

GLISS: With the Bokksu guide, it's really very simple. I think one of the complaints I saw about Bokksu in other reviews is that Bokksu has a much less immersive experience in Japanese culture and stuff, if that's what you're getting into the snack boxes for. I’m not but like it’s something to keep in mind. 

Last time, the first culture book guide for Seasons of Japan didn't really have anything cultural; it was more an introduction to Bokksu itself. So this was the first time I was reading their monthly cultural guide. It started with a ‘let’s learn Japanese’ intro which just has four words related to the theme with the kanji, hiragana, and the romanji written on the sides. Then it had two pages at the end about the Tsukimi festival and it was like four different fun facts that were like a couple sentences each. 

Bokksu relevant culture guide pages

My friend and I, we just kind of flipped through that like, ‘oh, the rabbit on the moon. What do you mean you can see a rabbit on the moon?’ and we'd Google that. But honestly, the guide itself didn't really invite you to look much deeper. So it wasn't much of a guide. It was just like a fun facts style, you know?

JUNE: Yeah I got you. I feel like Sakuraco was better about actually providing more cultural information in their booklet, let me go grab it. …Ok yeah, I’m seeing about three pages about the moon festival, four pages of snack producer spotlight, two pages about the moon rabbit folktale, eight pages about the snacks themselves, a page about dango, the QR code page and then some Sakuraco community stuff. So I appreciate that Sakuraco gives a lot more cultural information about the theme and the snacks.

—

This concludes our thoughts for now!

Nearing the half way point of our 6-month subscriptions, we’re still very excited to see what each service has in store, especially for the holiday season! Our next direct comparison blog will likely be in 2~3 months, or when their themes next line up.

Thank you for reading!

— June & Glissando

[tetsuro-wulf]

The Wulf's Eye: RP Journal #108 | A New Year

I've been holding off on writing out a another journal at the start of this new year. Things have been crazy.. but taking everything in, well? I'll ensure to keep it short for my own sake. I want to make note of these things.. Especially while I'm admist prepping to officiant another friends' wedding this week!

Of course, the New Year started with Hatsuhinode. This year, I decided to continue delving into my divination skills as a fortuneteller in the form of incense, utilizing my sacred incense pot. The festival was.. well, very packed. It almost felt like it was more packed than the festival from last year. I wouldn't be able to tell though.. It feels like it fluctuates. Dare I say this was the most packed I've seen it. I did end up having a huge line of folks that wanted their fortune told, or wanted to buy something from my spiritual shop. Though, the fortunes I geared more towards what one should look out for this coming new year.. nothing drastically terrible, spare for one fellow who looked concerned over urging him to look out for something negative in particular.

That said, by the end of the night I ended up in a bunny costume after emceeing the performances alongside Akai. I managed to summon mochi, can you believe it? Call me a moon rabbit. I had two of our attendees pound the mochi and offer free mochi to those who came out to the festival. Which was.. fun. I think this turn was my favorite.

On the side, I've been continuing my race against Takenaka's group. Of course, before the festival. With the aid of my new Isonade friend, we managed to meet two more from their group halfway outside of her underwater kingdom.. and we clashed. But what I noticed was they weren't giving it their absolute all like Toudou. In fact, it felt forced. That's when the fight ended in talks.. Takenaka threatened the duo's loved ones.. and their very marriage itself. Only something an evil man would fucking prey on. Because upon her attempting to reveal information, a rune I sensed and managed to partially snuff out, went off and nearly killed her. We quickly brought her back to Nagatani's kingdom for her to be tended to.. it only invigored more in me to stop this damn man. But I left them in Nagatani's care to return home and update Omoto.. I suspect I'll be taking him with me next time.

That said, it's wedding prepping time!

01.07.2022

[jvzebel-x]

happy (belated) solar new year 🧧🌅🧧

[do-mbeek]

Yunho in take-no-prisoner-mode, holy hell.

If he does this to Changmin and the 10-years old Toho team, them trainees at SM have no chance once playtime’s over and it’s ride or die time.

What I wouldn’t give for more Yunho-Time tidbits by the trainees. Imagine him slipping quietly into the practice room and you catch that gaze staring at you from the mirror.

And once in a while Changmin-in-bored-sunbae mode comes in to tag-team and kill whatever misplaced confidence you still have left once Yunho’s done with you.

Or maybe they’ll just kill you with kindness.

Changmin apologized to Yunho when he didn’t dance well & Yunho reassured him that it was fine. Yunho monitoring Changmin and the rest of the Tohoshinki dancers when they were doing the formation for Spellbound. Changmin going over the choreography with the dancers and Yunho confirmed with a ‘mm good.’ Changmin forgetting the dance moves and looking back at Yunho while trying to catch up with the choreography for Jealous.

[gamenu]

Tbh, even though I’m probs never gonna make a P5 verse...if Nicole was a PT, with her Arcana being Moon, I’m thinking her codename would be something like ‘Mochi’. One, she likes food, and two, her outfit and mask would probably be akin to that of a rabbit. Pretty sure that’s been done like by almost every female P5 OC but oh well.

[littleblurb]

Man in the Moon Ch.1 - Night Out

Dabi x f!Reader

Rating: Explicit (this chapter is PG-13 at most but it will get darker)

Don't like don't read: reader insert, yandere, kidnapping

This is the first chapter to this series I'm starting for Dabi x f!Reader! Unlike some of my other stuff this may get a bit darker, but I will make sure to thoroughly tag when it does!

Next Part ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winds blew forcefully against you, cold and sharp against your skin. Silently cursing yourself over your choice of dress, as it did nothing to prevent the wind and drizzle of rain. You had been out late partying with friends, or at least you thought so until you couldn’t find them. Your phone was dead, the trains were all delayed and partially damaged due to a recent villain attack, and like hell you were about to pay for a taxi that cost an arm and leg. Not that you had the cash after the night out anyways. Walking towards what seemed to be the right direction, you quickly learned that it wasn’t. Whilst stuck in your thoughts you ended up in a park of some sorts. The playground and other areas had been modified for different quirks, accessible for all types of people to hang out.

Although the surrounding trees caught parts of the wind, you could tell the storm was only getting worse. At this rate you’d feel like you’d freeze to death before dawn broke. Seeing a small cave in the distance you figure that was the best bet at some ounce of comfort. Making your way there you heard a snap. It was the heel of your shoe snapping off, causing you to twist your ankle in the process. It wasn’t much further when you had managed to limp your way to whatever comfort a dry cave could bring.

Sitting down on the dirt floor you let out a loud sigh, the noise echoed around you. Opening your bag you pulled out a handkerchief and tried the best you could to wipe off the mud and rain. “I don’t think that rag’s gonna help you at all babe. But damn do you look pathetic right now.” A deep voice called out, causing you to jump a whip your head around trying to find its source. Footsteps came closer as from the dark of the cave you saw two ice blue eyes pierce through the black. The man almost looked worse off than you, with the exception of not being soaking wet. He smelled of ash and campfire, clothing dirtied by mud. His face, neck, and arms were covered in deep purple scar tissue, seemingly only still attached by the accompanying staples. Taking his thumb he wiped away a bead of blood that had formed by his eye.

“Don’t worry I’m like you, just waiting out the storm…” His eyes traced your form, staring just a second longer than what felt normal. “But unlike you at least I can keep warm.” Showing off he snapped his finger and a tiny blue flame bloomed. It’s warmth tempting, but the man who stood in front of you set off all the wrong signals. Even still, you couldn’t help but shiver in response. Either the man took pity on you or he had something to gain from this, whatever his reason he took a seat next to you. Instinctively you tried to put some distance between you two, your twisted ankle objected, causing you to wince. “Easy babe, easy. Being honest I’m fuckin exhausted, and I’m not gonna try anything. Besides I don’t even know your name sweetheart.”

You replied telling him your name, accidently going on a rant and massively oversharing in the process. You told him about the night you had, getting abandoned, poor luck with the trains, even explaining colorfully how you twisted your ankle. Admittedly this mystery man was good at listening. You learned his name was Dabi, it sounded familiar, but nothing came to mind. Could have been a customer at the coffee shop you worked at. The rain wasn’t letting up any, and to your surprise he found some sticks that ended up in the cave before the downpour, dry and perfect for a fire. Dabi made quick work of the setup, and in no time at all there was a campfire that let the two of you keep warm. To go with the fire you reached back into your bag and pulled out some slightly squished granola bars.

“Ah, I see some one is a fan of fine dining.” Dabi snickered as he took the small snack.

“Hey at least be grateful I have something and that I’m willing to share.” You barked back, giggling at the end. After all, a broken snack was the bare minimum for the thanks you felt with the roaring fire drying you off. The two of you opened the bars and stared outside into the darkness. Although the rain had not let up in the slightest, the moon shone brightly through the clouds. It was full and you could see the craters, remembering all the different stories you’ve heard about why they are there and what they look like. “What do you think it looks like?” you asked, a bite of granola still rolling around in your mouth. Dabi looked at you and made a questioning sound. “You know, the moon. Everyone has a different story for it. Sometimes it’s a bunny pounding mochi, other times it’s a face or just some cheese.”

“Don’t care, it’s just a rock.” That was his answer, tone distracted and distant.

“Aw come on, everyone knows it’s just a rock. You’re a real people person huh.” You shrugged, turning your gaze back to the sky.

“Alright fine, I guess it looks like a face. The moon’s got one fucked up face with scars and whatnot. An ugly motherfucker.” He spoke, finishing his sentence with a bite to his snack. You gulped down a piece of yours before speaking up.

“I wouldn’t say ugly, after all a pretty face is nice, but it’s not worth much if the person it’s attached to doesn’t have a story to tell.” It was blatantly obvious that the moon comment was an attempt to stab at his own self-image. Maybe it’s not your business in the slightest, but he was nice enough to help you out, being kind is the least anyone can do. After that the two of you sat in silence, watching the rain. Having been out all night you could feel your eyelids getting heavy. Your exhausted form gently rested against Dabi, drawn in by his warmth. It was so quiet with the crackling of the fire you hadn’t realized you fell asleep in a stranger’s arms.

He waited a few moments just to make sure you had actually fallen asleep. Reaching down into a pocket he pulled out a pink flip phone with a bunny keychain. Pressing a few numbers, the phone was answered almost immediately. The phone flipped shut as in the darkness of the cave, a swirl of purple opened up.

[tsukuyomi-king-of-the-night]

Since we're talking about moon myths and such, do you like bunnies, Tsukuyomi? I heard that, in Hourai, Takamagahara, the Land of Wa, and maybe some other worlds, they see a rabbit in the dark marks on the moon, and it's pounding mochi or making medicine. While I'm sure you're too busy to take care of a rabbit here, the idea of you looking after one or liking them is cute to me. I guess, if it's based on the marks on the moon, you could have something like a rabbit-shaped scar or birthmark, but that'd be an even stranger question to ask!

"I am aware of a few of the interpretations, I knew of the bunny one since before coming here, it is still quite interesting to see different interpretations of what the dark spots on the moon are, some people see a face, others the outline of a man, I know that in Olympus some people thought they were lakes and oceans, while other see nothing at all just random spots "

"Regarding bunnies I do like them a lot, they are adorable, I don't have time to properly take care of a pet but it is something nice to think about"

"As for any birthmarks, I will not confirm nor deny but I invite you to find out for yourself, if you are particularly curious, birthmark or not I am sure you will get some fun out of it"