#guess who finally did a bird drawing again! had a good art day yesterday instead of just gaming loads

[unrestrained-balderdash-art-blog]

Did a quickish blackbird drawing. I miss their song but the robins are a lot more noticeable which makes up for it.

I'm on Cara, a social media for art that's anti-AI, follow me @ tbalderdash if you want

[lunawings]

AZALEA in Nagoya, Live and Fan Meeting 2018 event report

So, yesterday I went to the Love Live event.... Unit Battle National Tour Aqours Club Activity Love and Fan Meeting 2018, AZALEA in Nagoya Day 1 afternoon performance. 

So if anyone was wondering why I was just referring to it as an AZALEA event, that’s why. The name is so long haha. 

So this tour is actually a several month long competition between the three sub units of Aqours. The bulk of the event time is spent on several games, some are up to the girls, some require audience participation, and the points are totaled overall. 

I actually got to go to the first performance in the country OVERALL, so we started with a blank scoreboard and left off with AZALEA obviously in the lead. (It wasn’t supposed to be the first performance. It was supposed to start from Guilty Kiss in Sapproro, but that event was cancelled due to the earthquake tragedy which shut down power and transportation a few days before.) 

So, the first game was a quiz which was completely up to the audience. We answered by choosing different colors on our lightsticks and then the girls chose the most popular answer. The questions ranged from a question about Nagoya Japanese that I didn’t understand, to minuscule details about the anime. Such as, who was the first character who appeared in the first season. Answer... Riko! She walks into the classroom, then it pans to Chika’s reaction. 

The second game was a typical school sports festival game of throwing beanbags in a basket.

The third game was like.... blind charades. One of the girls had to strike a pose, and the other two would feel her and try to copy the pose and guess. (Really not as risque as it sounds I swear ahah.)  The first two were police and basketball, then Arisha just got “Dia Kurosawa” so she held up her hands in the “BU-BUU” stance. 

This was proceeded by a talk section where they answered questions from fans and such. There was a lot of direct interaction with fans. Like, they had the folks who sent in the questions stand up to be recognized and such. There was a big flag we could draw them messages on before the show, and then they looked over it and called out to people who wrote certain things. Like, there was this really cute Dia drawing and when they said it was cute the girl who drew it was so happy!!! Aaaah! I just wrote a heart that said “HUG” in it. I wish I had done something more creative. I may go again to one of these for CYaRon so if anyone can think of something creative I could do to the flag lemme know ahaha. 

Then finally there was a performance of course. They did their AZALEA songs, Galaxy Hide and Seek, Inocent Bird, and Torikoriko Please! But they also had us vote for a new AZALEA version of another song:  Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo, Pops heart de Odorunn da mon!, or Sora mo Kokoro mo Hareru kara. I voted for  Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo and was ecstatic when it won because yelling “ONE TWO SUNSHINE!!!” was every bit as fun as I hoped. They ended  Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou and an singalong/dance-along encore of Hop Step Waai, the theme song of the event. 

It always takes them like 10 minutes to get to the encore. Which is understandable as the girls deserve a break. But when I am at a live viewing, I usually take a break from cheering for them just because they can’t hear me anyway. But at the actual event I was like... must keep... going... ahaha...

At Aqours concerts people usually cheer “Aqours” instead of “encore.” We started off cheering “encore” but then a couple people started cheering “AZALEA” and then we were all cheering “AZALEA”! They said it was the first time they ever got an AZALEA call. 

So, this was actually my first ever legit Love Live event. I have been to theater live viewings, and watched plenty of concerts, but this was my first time actually being THERE and responding to calls and that was so big. Love Live concerts have so much audience participation and it just felt SO DIFFERENT so amazing to actually be there and really responding and ahhh... I got so emotional. 

I expected to be all about Suwawa since I enjoyed watching her in past events, but Kin-chan and Arisa (her nickname is Arisha? I didn’t hear it at the actual event) were amazing too. 

At one point they were saying AZALEA battle cries in the poses of their characters, and Hanamaru is like... I can’t find the full body art online, but she’s like jumping up on one leg with her arms out. So Kin-chan was trying to jump into that pose and say “I won’t lose!!!” before she fell. I also just love how happy she is when she’s voicing Hanamaru and she goes full zuRAAAA! I never paid much attention to her before, but I’m a fan now!

Arisha was beautiful and a class act. They actually started playing the wrong song at one point (Innocent Bird instead of Galaxy Hide and Seek) and she was on the stage by herself to start Galaxy Hide and Seek. And I forget exactly what she said (no it wasn’t bu-buuu haha) but she reacted in character as Dia and it was so good it took me a couple minutes to realize it was even a mistake. 

To be honest, AZALEA wouldn’t have been my first choice of the sub units to see. I would have gladly seen ANY of the units coming to Nagoya, it just happened to be AZALEA. But I really loved seeing them. They were amazing. And I am now all like GO AZALEAAAaaaA! (...It will probably only last until I get to see CYaRon though ahah...) I am really interested to see how the competition progresses. The winning group will get some special merch and stuff, and we won’t know who wins until March 2019!

I was a bit worried about going to this event initially, because some of the live viewings I have been to were pretty wild (what with the crazy male Love Liver crowd and all) so I figured the real thing would be even crazier but... no, actually people were pretty cool. Maybe because there were only three of them, and there is a special kind of magic when all 9 are together. I did feel a little less tension myself for that reason. I quite don’t know but, I do think I am interested in trying to go to more events from now on!!

[jeremyknox]

i was tagged in 3 tag games in the last day or so and instead of making 3 separate posts in which i tag much of the same people, i decided to consolidate. i love you all who tagged me.

uh....idk if i have anyone to tag? you guys kind of covered everyone i WOULD tag. i guess @flowerparrish, @colormekorrasami, @jordanetalaredead, @megayest, @twin-ace, @lakesandquarries, @peachy-shrimp, and @hotdamnlookatthispan.... if any of these look interesting, you should totally do them!

okay everything under the cuuuuut

tag game number one: tagged by the sweetest human, @carrie-frances

what’s your favourite song(s) to sing/hum? this is a tough one? currently i’ve been singing You by Keaton Henson a lot and also Ophelia by The Lumineers. Let Her Go by Passenger is another goodie for singing lately. Oh and Lost Boy!!!! by Ruth B.

what’s your favourite flower/tree/plant? I love nature wow. My favorite tree is definitely a Weeping Cherry Tree or Willow. My favorite flowers are sunflowers and roses! Plants in general, I just really love cacti? It’s a product of having family I adore in Arizona haha

what do you always doodle? hm... cats, mostly

how do you take your tea/coffee? With plenty of splenda and some milk

favourite candle scent? Vanilla, mostly. just sweet things

what perfume do you wear? body sprays from bath and bodyworks, usually vanilla or peach

what’s your go-to dance move when you’re alone? i have zero clue haha

favourite quote? i don’t know off of the top of my head! perhaps the one i have tattooed, from star wars. “luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”

favourite self care routine? putting on good smelling lotions. reading a book. snuggling oliver. calling someone i love.

fuzzy socks or house slippers? both! but mostly fuzzy socks

what colour are your eyes? just plain ole brown

what’s your favourite eye colour on others? idk? i think blue or green but i adore brown eyes on everyone

favourite season? why? autumn, i like the colors and the clothes and the smells

cheek, neck or nose kisses? cheek! but the real MVP are forehead ones

what does your happy place look like? the beach but without all the people. or a quiet forest with light filtering in

favourite breed of dog? i’ve always loved boxers the most, and cavaliers

do you ever want to be married? if so, what colours would you pick for your wedding theme? yes, i think i do? i don’t know what colors, it’s always changing. i think it depends on the person i’m with because their input would matter. i’d want the colors to be whatever colors they think of when they see me and vice versa

cursive or print? it’s a solid mix but mostly print

favourite weather? raining and warm, but not thundering

tag game number two: tagged by the amazing @dancyon

— What was your last…

1. Drink: iced tea

2. Phone call: my aunt calling with some hard news

3. Text message: my aunt with an update

4. Song you listened to: love me by the 1975

5. Time you cried: yesterday and i’m gonna cry later today @ love, simon

6. Dated someone twice: yeah

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: for sure

8. Been cheated on: by two different people, apparently im easy to cheat on

9. Lost someone special: sadly, i’ve lost a few

10. Been depressed: lmao got that good good depression goblin

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: god yeah whoops sorry friends

— Fave colours

12. purple (any shade really)

13. blue (any shade really)

14. soft yellow

— in the last year have you…

15. Made new friends: ahhhh!!!! yes i have ♥

16. Fallen out of love: hhhhhhhhhh

17. Laughed until you cried: probably

18. Found out someone was talking about you: oh yeah

19. Met someone who changed you: yeah, in more ways than one

20. Found out who your friends are: idk???? kinda yeah

21. Kissed someone on your facebook friends list: uh i think i have my ex still

— General

22. How many of your facebook friends do you know irl: majority

23. Do you have any pets: my boy @ollycat and then my dogs and cats @ my parents house

24. Do you want to change your name: i actually did but now i’m back to my birthname bc being NB is one big ???? of what do i want 

25. What did you do for your last birthday: oh shit well w my friends i got drunk on rum, dressed up like a pirate, and played d&d. and then fam was the usual cheesecake factory adventure

26. What time did you wake up today: uh around 8 something officially?

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: i think i fell asleep before midnight? if not i was watching Critical Role

28. What is something you can’t wait for: my next tattoo!!

30. What are you listening to right now: just the sounds of my grandparents house

31. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I have an ex named Tom and a Grandpa named Tom

32. Something that’s getting on your nerves: just like....everything about this breakup and stuff i guess

33. Most visited website: god uh...tumblr and twitter????

34. Hair colour: naturally a dark brown with some reddish in it. it’s currently died as close as possible to that

35. Long or short hair: medium?

36. Do you have a crush on someone: no currently i’m avoiding all romance like the fucking PLAGUE

37. What do you like about yourself: i’m pretty tenacious

38. Want any piercings: nah, i’m more the tattoo type

39. Blood type: ..............why

40. Nicknames: bird, birb, kbird, kbirb, broseidon

41. Relationship status: single

42. Sign: aries

43. Pronouns: they/them

44. Fave tv show: on air right now it’s b99 and the good place. in general, buffy and gilmore girls

45. Tattoos: i currently have 6 and i want sooooo many more

46. Right or left handed: left!!!!

47: Ever had surgery: tonsils and stomach yeah

48. Piercings: none

49. Sport: none currently but football (soccer) will always have my heart

50. Vacation: currently in arizona!! i’ve been all over though, i miss mexico a lot

51. Trainers:  what does this....mean....like.....shoes???????

— More general

52. Eating: currently nothing? 

53. Drinking: iced tea currently

54. I’m about to watch: LOVE, SIMON AGAIN BITCH!!!!!!!

55. Waiting for: life to feel right

56. Want: a nap, like always

57. Get married: okay your answer of “if i get past my commitment issues and find someone that loves me, sure” was fucking perfect

58. Career: teacher!

— Which is better

59. Hugs or kisses: hugs

60. Lips or eyes: eyes

61. Shorter or taller: taller

62. Older or younger: older

63. Nice arms or stomach: arms

64. Hookup or relationships: relationship

65. Troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

— Have you ever

66. Kissed a stranger: nope

67. Drank hard liquor: hell yeah

68.Turned someone down: in high school yeah. and like once in college

69. Sex on first date: ........im an ace baby

70: Broken someone’s heart: supposedly

71. Had your heart broken: mhmmmm

72. Been arrested: nah, just brought home by cops

73. Cried when someone died: yeah, i cry at everything but especially death

74. Fallen for a friend: ..........only friends tbh

— Do you believe in

75. Yourself: trying to? cullen says my heart’s vibranium

76. Miracles: some days i do

77. Love at first sight: probably not, i used to though

78. Santa Claus: not anymore

79. Angels: i’d like to

— Misc

80. Eye colour: brown!

81. Best friends name: i mean..... jenny, ellie, michelle, and cullen? plus like max and jor, of course

82. Favourite movie: i guess the princess bride is the Most Favorite of All

83. Favourite actor: my MAIN MAN, hugh jackman

84. Favourite cartoon: danny phantom right now

85. Favourite teacher’s name: in HS it was mrs haley and in college it was dr trainor....grad school so far it’s been jen lynady

final tag game: tagged by the cutest, @blurredmxnds

bold the statements that are true

APPEARANCE:

I am 5'7" or taller

I wear glasses

I have at least one tattoo

I have at least one piercing

I have blonde hair

I have brown eyes

I have short hair

My abs are at least somewhat defined

I have or have had braces

PERSONALITY:

I love meeting new people

People tell me that I’m funny

Helping others with their problems is a big priority for me

I enjoy physical challenges

I enjoy mental challenges

I’m playfully rude with people I know well

I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it

There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY:

I can sing well

I can play an instrument

I can do over 30 pushups without stopping

I’m a fast runner

I can draw well

I have a good memory (lmao about some things???)

I’m good at doing math in my head

I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute

I have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling

I know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch

I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES:

I enjoy playing sports

I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else

I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else 

I have learned a new song in the past week

I work out at least once a week

I’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months

I have drawn something in the past month

I enjoy writing

I do or have done martial arts

EXPERIENCES:

I have had my first kiss

I have had alcohol

I have scored the winning goal in a sports game

I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting

I have been at an overnight event

I have been in a taxi

I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year

I have beaten a video game in one day

I have visited another country

I have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts

RELATIONSHIPS:

I have a crush on a celebrity

I have a crush on someone I know

I have been in at least 3 relationships

I have never been in a relationship

I have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them

I get crushes easily

I have had a crush on someone for over a year

I have been in a relationship for at least a year (on and off)

I have had feelings for a friend

MY LIFE:

I have at least one person I consider a “best friend”

I live close to my school

My parents are still together

I have at least one sibling

I live in the United States

There is snow right now where I live

I have hung out with a friend in the past month

I have at least 15 CDs (somewhere in my things)

I share my room with someone

RANDOM SHIT:

I have breakdanced

I know a person named Jamie

I have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce

I have dyed my hair

I’m listening to one song on repeat right now (i JUST ended my thing w this)

I have punched someone in the past week

I know someone who has gone to jail

I have broken a bone (just a toe)

I have eaten a waffle today

I know what I want to do with my life

I speak at least 2 languages

I have made a new friend in the past year

[myaekingheart]

summer road trip 2018 ; day four

Nothing too eventful today. My grandparents were out of the house early this morning, as they are avid churchgoers and had to attend choir practice before the service. They told me not to worry about joining them and to just sleep as long as I wanted, especially since my mom implanted the idea of my being in bed until 1pm into their brains. Much to everyone’s surprise, I didn’t sleep that long. My stomach woke me up around 10am, and I laid in bed for an extra hour scrolling through my phone, blowing my nose, wiping my watery eyes, and cursing the pollen gods for torturing me like so. When I finally did get up, I nearly died by how sweet my grandparents are. They set a place at the table for me before they left for when I did wake up and get breakfast: a bowl for my cereal, two glasses for juice and water, a spoon, and a napkin. I poured myself some Honey Bunches of Oats, orange juice, and water and went to town watching the wildlife out their window and checking out facebook to see what pictures everyone posted from the wedding last night. Funny enough, my grandparents came home right when I was finishing my food. They entered the house quietly so as to not wake me up if I was still asleep, but I heard them and turned around to say good morning. The rest of the day was really relaxed and not worth mentioning much of but I’m going to detail the minutia anyways because...that’s just what I do. So after I was done breakfast, my Pop Pop went out to do his usual grocery shopping and I hopped in the shower. Perhaps my biggest regret was either not getting one last night or using so much hairspray on my bangs because while I was glad they were plastered in place, they made brushing a bitch when I was getting ready for bed. I tried rinsing most of it out but to no avail. The only way to fix it would to be wash it out myself in the shower. Washing my hair was kind of nerve-wracking, though. I was scared of how it’d look after the fact, what with the fiasco from yesterday and all. Fortunately it wasn’t totally terrible but I mean, I had to brush it so that it would lay correctly and remember to part it on the left side instead of the right and because I don’t have layers or anything, the rest of my hair looks really drab and frizzy and shit. I guess this is the price I pay. For what, I have no fucking idea. Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on my hair for too long anyways. After my shower, I got dressed and then hung out for a bit. When my Pop Pop came back, he asked me if I was hungry and I told him I was so they grabbed all their lunch fixings and let me go to town. I had a turkey and cheese sandwich with mustard on a roll, potato chips, and three chocolate chip cookies. So a very well-rounded meal, I think. I also saw five deer within ten minutes, four of which were all together, in my grandmother’s backyard (seeing as their house backs right up into the woods and she is legit Snow White, setting out bird feeders and bird baths and corn to attract all the cool wildlife, and she takes incredible pictures of them). Afterward, I decided to catch up on my Mermay drawings since I got really behind what with the road trip and the wedding and all that good stuff so I mapped out what I was going to do for my four pieces and began tracking down supplies. I don’t have a sketchbook to draw them in-- the first two were just on regular printer paper-- so I was going to do the same for these next four but my grandmother, who takes art classes and is a really talented watercolor painter, grabbed a blank sketchbook she had with her supplies and a pencil and a quality eraser and let me go nuts. I sat at the kitchen table working for a bit, and I got through two drawings, before I started to feel kind of...off. It was the typical lightheadedness and stomach cramps I get sometimes and I was seriously scared I was going to eventually get sick. I tried to push through it like I always do but to no avail, so I resolved to migrating back into the guest room for a “nap” to try and regroup. I didn’t necessarily think I was tired but I ended up falling asleep for two hours anyways so I guess I lacked more energy than I thought. I woke up to my grandmom knocking on the door to let me know dinner was ready. As someone who has not had a good, well-rounded, home-cooked meal like this in a while, I was pretty satisfied with the food. We had honey citrus chicken that was good but a little too mild for my taste (my grandmom tweaked the recipe a bit so that it had less cayenne pepper in it-- I liked it enough to want to make it myself at home for my boyfriend, but I’m definitely going to use the recommended amount of seasoning this time for more a kick), corn, rice medley, and Hawaiian sweet rolls. I didn’t eat all of everything seeing as my stomach was still feeling a little iffy but I tried my best to eat as much as I could. The rice probably went down the easiest, to be honest, but then again I am lowkey addicted to rice and it was really fucking yummy so, you know, fuck it. I don’t always like using this term, either, but “rice is a safe food.” I mean, hey, the BRAT diet exists for a reason and without rice, it would just be the BAT diet. I didn’t think I could handle dessert but my Pop Pop bought two whole containers of fresh strawberries and he cut them up and sugared them and my grandmom scooped them into dishes with whipped cream and I honestly could not resist. They were delicious and I took my time eating them and basically cleared the bowl. It was really nice, too, because my Pop Pop went into the dining room to answer some phone calls about business stuff so my grandmom and I were left by ourselves at the kitchen table to have a really interesting conversation about relationships. I can’t for the life of me remember how we got on the subject but it was really cool to hear stories from the old days when she and my Pop Pop were young. They’ve known each other since they were ten, and will have been married for 61 years this week. They met through church and apparently their first interaction was in a contest that she beat him in by selling more one more box of candy Easter eggs than he did. She told me about how he’d always carry on in the back of their meetings, and she’d tell him that if he couldn’t shut up he should just go home. She told me about how she wasn’t allowed to go steady as a teenager because her father believed that you needed to experience multiple different types of people and personalities in relationships rather than committing to just one person and restricting yourself to that without ever knowing what else anyone was like, and if you were making a mistake or settling or something, which I thought was a really interesting concept honestly. She told me about a boy she was with once that she really thought would be the one but he was in a military family and was shipped out to Texas the day after a dance she asked him to, and that he had to borrow a tux from someone because all of his clothes were packed but he did, in fact, take her, but then didn’t write her for a year because he apparently lost her address and didn’t get it back until his mother came back into town and looked it up. She told me about how my Pop Pop asked her to his senior prom (she had already graduated-- she’s a year or two older than him) and that was how they started dating. Then when my Pop Pop was off the phone he came back in and we talked about the good old days at their previous church and all the crazy activities they held like a Minstrel Show where my grandmom played something whose name I forget but go to wear a crown, and my Pop Pop was someone named Mr. Bones and had a Scotch plaid cummerbund and bow tie; the “Womanless Wedding” where all the men dressed as women, and two of them were belly dancers in the little bras with bare stomachs and my Pop Pop was Maude and how they were all in the back trying to figure out how to put on bras to give the illusion of breasts; the “Tom Thumb Wedding” where my mom as a child was the bride even though she had a 102 fever-- she insisted on doing it anyways. It’s funny because I had always thought back to my other grandfather, my dad’s dad, who passed away in 2014 and how he always told me stories of when he was a kid and how there were times when I didn’t really listen or appreciate the value of it. Now that he’s gone, I still regret not engaging in that history so now that I have a chance at that again with my mother’s parents, I want to take advantage of it and really listen because I don’t see them very often and they’re getting up there, as well (my grandmother is an 83 year old breast cancer survivor). I don’t want them to pass away without having learned about their histories and really paid attention to them. The thought of going through that remorse every day again breaks my heart, honestly. So if I have anything else to say, it’s to actually listen to older people and open your mind to stories of the olden days because they’re far more enriching than you think they are and in the end, you’ll feel closer to that person by knowing their memories and their past. Just a thought.