#it’s so much easier to draw T.T

[corevoid]

Art block grabbed me by the face and shook me like a rag doll, have some lovely au angst :)

Following the traumatic event that leads to Donnie running away, Mikey decides to join him to keep him company (and hopefully help him through his grief and convince him to come back home). Unfortunately, something in Donnie has snapped, and Mikey’s presence at his side just lets him witness Donnie’s violent revenge plan more than anything else.

[diana-driada]

I didn't expect so much people engaging with the last post, I thank you all a lot for it T.T

This is a little drawing about a part in the first book when they both sneak to the roof after they first see the avox girl. And Katniss is telling Peeta what happened. I honestly forgot how comfortable they were with each other even previous to the game ( I know Katniss was wary and confused, but still it was hard to her, trying not to feel close to him, until some things happened and he "made it easier")

[smugpugchimera]

For the artist ask game: 2 4 6 10 11 12 19 29 30 ^-^ sorry if its a lot, it just seemed interesting!!

Not at all, thanks for asking! 2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even) -I flip stuff a lot while drawing, so I honestly don't know, but I find that drawing things a bit off tilt is easier than drawing something exactly side-view or exactly front-view. That said for humans- the exact profile is the most annoying, cause I never seem to be able to eyeball nose and lips proportions correctly 😅 4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw -Robots and Architecture. I love them but I hate drawing rigid structures in space, I need to focus a lot which is draining and boring >< That's kinda why I prefer robot designs that have somewhat organic shapes or anatomy-based plating, and drawing bugs has definitely been a stepping stone that helped me get more comfortable with this subject to begin with 😖 6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it) -Song lyrics maybe? If it's subconscious I prob haven't noticed (also memory bad) When I was younger I definitely morphed a lot with the interest of the time, (my every character looking like Tothless from HTTYD) but I haven't had such experience in a while, the last one would maybe be Land of Lustrous, tho I'd barely call it subconscious then XD 10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw -Hard one! Maaaybee these oldckcool shirts with puffy sleeves pleated at the ends? Collar tends to be pleated too. This is just one example

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what -Mostly youtube noise :P, Music when my brain is less noisy 12. Easiest part of body to draw -Unironically hands 19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.) -Clothing\cloth\drippings I suppose XD Crystals?(not gems), Art novae furniture 😤 29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically For me, to love is to be inspired (even if not strictly in visual art), so I guess I don't rly know. I guess the closest I can get is with Oneshot, I love this game to pieces but I feel very little urge to engage with it artistically, it's just very whole in my head and I don't have much to add 🤔 30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated I'm sorry cause this definitely happened at least once but I genuinely don't remember what it was T.T

[asptart]

Gwen drawing while l play with brushes!

Idk how quickly I'll get art out this way ngl, like this is so much easier & yet so much harder T.T

[shivunin]

👩‍💻🎶 for the snippet asks :3

Yay! Thank you so much!!! c:

Whiplash again. Sorry! I am doing them in reverse order so the sweet one can be first.

(Snippet asks)

🎶 share a happy moment. ANY happy moment. You must have ONE.

“Indeed,” Fenris said, stooping to retrieve the discarded spoon from the floor. “Your mother will insist on a bath if I do not wipe you clean.”

Leander frowned, his fine little eyebrows drawing in close. It wasn’t an especially effective expression when one half of his mouth was still occupied by chewing his biscuit to bits. 

“You are not fond of them; I know,” Fenris told him with a faint smile. “It is entirely out of my hands.” 

Leander pulled his meal from his mouth and babbled, gesturing broadly with both crumb-streaked palms. Fenris nodded along, reflecting on how strange it was that it sounded more and more like he was holding a conversation every day. Soon—any day now—he would actually begin to talk to them. Fenris couldn’t wait. Leander was nearly a year old now, and every day seemed to bring out new parts of his personality. 

“Thank you for telling me,” he told Leander, and reached for the dampened cloth he’d prepared ahead of time. “Are you finished?” 

“Gwehm,” Leander said firmly, and pushed the mess of crumbs away from him. 

His son squirmed when Fenris reached to clean his hands (hands first, always; he’d learned this the hard way) and chunks of food stuck to his face and pale curls. While he wiped the babe clean, Fenris told Leander about what they were going to do next, about playing in the snow outside as soon as he’d been thoroughly dried and bundled up, about how they would read a book together later.

He was so busy making sure Leander didn’t manage to stick his hands back in the mess on the tray that he didn’t notice when Hawke stepped into the room behind him. Leander, of course, spotted her at once. 

“Mehhh,” he said, clapping and lifting his arms.

👩‍💻 share a snippet that you worked on for a long time or struggled with

(this still isn't done T.T)

Something brushed her shoulder, and Maker but if it had been anyone else in the entire world she might have wondered what it could be. But—it was Fenris. She knew his touch as she knew no one else’s, so she recognized it at once. 

“Don’t touch me,” Hawke snapped, jerking away. 

Fenris snatched his hand back at once, but she wanted him to hurt. No—she wanted to hate him. It would be so much easier if she could just hate him. 

“You are a monster,” she spat, and he recoiled from her, his face gone to stone. “Say it, Fenris. Tell me I’m a monster.”

Why was it so cursed quiet? She could hear her own blood in her ears, in her throat, throbbing in her hands. She flexed them wide at her sides, flexed them until her fingers ached. 

“I am no better than Merrill. If anything, I am worse. I have killed twice as many as she has. I have killed for money, for rumors, for little provocation at all. I am good at it. I like it. I use my magic to kill people and I like it. So—say it, Fenris. Tell me I’m a monster. I am everything you hate—I know you’re thinking it. You’ve been thinking it all along—I should’ve just believed you the first time you said so. It would’ve saved us both a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it?” 

He was angry about everything else; damn his eyes, she wanted him to yell at her for this, too. She wanted him to do something. Fenris stood still instead, hands curled at his sides, his face stark.

The wind went from her all at once, her anger turning inward. This wasn’t her; or rather, this was the part of herself she kept very carefully away from the rest of them. And what had it gained her to hurt him now? Nothing.

Nothing at all.

[daughterofsarenrae]

cetaceans are the one thing i feel comfortable drawing........except for the tail. i have never once in my life drawn a tail that looks correct. this is my curse

[dahtwitchi]

Trying to draw timed when you are tired and constantly forget you are on a timer? x'D I’ve slacked off on the timed works FAR too much lately, shame on me! Then you end up not having time for most of the things you meant to xp

...I need to try this one out planned, with proper actual ink. 

[systemic-dreams]

I saw the Mikael D fall 2017 collection and I had to draw Raya wearing it XD

[buhuhuart]

Jungkookie-Joonie-TaeTae 🥺💜 aaah, digital art is still hard, sooo fun, but hard and my eyes hurt a little T.T I will still draw more digitally these days because I want to improve more and it'll be easier for me to draw digital for a few days due to some circumstances ( I won't be able to draw anything traditional for about a week, aaah, I miss drawing traditionally 😭 )~ I really hope all of you are safe, thank youuu so much for supporting my art, I appreciate it wholeheartedly, loove youuu 🥺💜

Youtube

[kirathehyrulian]

🌴Oasis Art MasterPost🌴

(Please do not repost or alter. At the very least, please give me credit.) 

Illustrator: kirathehyrulian Author: nerdypastrychef Title: Oasis Word Count: 4712 Rating: Explicit Pairings: Jared/Jensen Addtional Tags: are at the begginning of the fic, make sure you are aware of them before you read

Summary: Roman soldier Jensen is sent to Egypt to oversee the marriage negotiations between Caesar and Pharaoh Jared's younger sister. Pharaoh shows him something more interesting to pay attention to.

Fic Link: | Ao3 |

For more art from me please check out my “myart” tag here on Tumblr. 👇(Bonuses/Spoilers for the story under the cut:)👇

Artist notes:

This is my half of the collab in the SPN Reverse Bang. I feel like I can say, My author and me have made it! Yay! It is done!

So, just in case you don’t know what a reversebang is, it’s where an artist draws an illustration and an interested writer picks it to write a story inspired by the work. More goes into the process, but that’s pretty much the gist of it.

I was at a loss on what to draw (I didn’t know there was prompts that you could use if you want). But every time I looked at Jared’s fox eyes I kind of wanted to know what he/Sam would look like with Egyptian make-up. And Jensen always looked like a Roman officer of varying rank to me. So, I explored that idea.

Before I got picked, I said I wasn’t opened to making additional art. But, that was only because I didn’t think I’d be able to. T.T I just didn’t want to get any potential authors’ hopes up.

It’s been a busy fall for me. Every week there has been projects due every week lately. Take my busy schedule and mix it with the fact that I have a bad procrastination and avoidance issues and you get a bad combination for projects at this time of the year.

But, I wanted to do more. I felt like it wasn’t fair or enough just to give my author one illustration. So I tried to make more. I completed the title card. I think the quality is okay. I wished I spent more time on the water. But, the additional pieces below are just WIPs that won’t be revisited. I was too ambitious. But, I put work into them so I’d rather them not collecting dust in my folders. You’re basically seeing the dvd extra’s deleted/wip scenes here.

(You’re only seeing naked shoulders in these WIPs, so it’s sfw.)

Scene 2.1 WIP: This WIP is supposed to be a season 2ish Jared. -_-  I don’t know if I accomplished that. The face and hair are passable....kind of. But I’m not happy with the shoulders, pecs, and positioning. I stared at Jared’s torso pics for hours trying to figure out how it would look if the source lighting was hitting him in the front. All the reference photos I found were not at the right angle entirely or the source lighting is shining on the body at the wrong angle. I looked at other dudes chests and I had the same issue. Nothing probably makes you hate looking at your favorite characters or celebs more than having to stare at reference photos for hours and still not figuring out what went wrong.

I should have devoted more time towards research, but I was burning out fast during the past few weeks. School’s been a little more intensive since it’s near the end of the semester and I’ve been feeling a little erratic because of it all.

Anyways, I wanted this piece to look and feel like the audinece member was the one hovering over Jared.

Scene 2.2 WIP:

This one was rushed for sure. I actually had pretty good references available for this scene, but the quality of the drawing was limited by the time that was left available. Everything is blurry or jagged. Jensen’s face and body have flaws and distortions that I wish I could fix. (hehe he kind of looks like a smiling grimlin) In the background behind Dean’s head is supposed to be a ceiling fan. It’s supposed show that your looking up at the ceiling, but I didn’t do a perspective check. And, I think I put the crown molding in the wrong place. Maybe we can say it’s just a room divider or something. Idk... t.t

Sigh. Oh well. At the very least the characters are recognizable?

Anyways, there is a reason why I wanted the characters in this perspective. This story is basically a pwp. So instead of just being voyeur like the viewer was in the roleplay world illustrations, I wanted to make it easier for the viewers to put themselves in the characters perspective. But, alas these pieces need a lot of work. Still, I’m not too upset with them. The potential was there and it’s nice to think about the what-ifs.

Enjoy, if you can!♥♥♥

Musical Inspiration (Things that I listened to this time to get in the mood to draw, but not meant as an accompaniment to the fic):

I listened to a lot of Will smith Arabian Night while drawing the official pieces. I was just listening to a lot of background markiplier while I was drawing the WIPs.

[b-rainlet]

You made me ship Lunya T.T but as a Allison stan this kind made me ship her with Diego... headcanon about the neglected couples? :O

Tbh, there are a lot of ship possibilities that could be seen as neglected couples since there are 7 main people who could be thrust into about 21 ship dynamics - not counting poly ships and not counting ships that aren’t sibling ships - like Klave or Vanya/Helen or even still incest stuff like Gracexthe sibs.

So you see, endless possibilities but there are only about 4 ships who are really popular? Klave, Kliego, Fiveya...maybe Horrance? And even then, most Horrance or Fiveya shippers still see their ship as a rarepair because compared to Klave or Kliego it more or less is.

Which may have to do with the fact that if you’re an anti but wanna ship something you have pretty limited options, so Klave it is.

So you probably want some Allison/Diego hcs but I’m gonna do a little more because Allison is less popular in general so her ships are not that often talked about.

I’ll leave out Alluther because I did some OTP asks about them, but y’all know I ship them because it’s the sweet story of childhood sweethearts meeting again and falling in love all over again and it’s just...*sighs dreamily* lots of possibilities.

Allison/Diego: A fun ship! At first you’d probably say: ‘We have a pretty much functional adult with a child and a guy who eats raw eggs to seem edgy’ so it’s easy to fall into a Hermione/Ron relationship interpretation where you have a dumbass and someone done with their shit - and I can see it being like that occasionally but not always!

When I think about them I mostly think about teasing. They totally do some competitive shit just because they wanna best each other but where that same dynamic could quickly turn into arguments for Luego I can see it staying mostly light-hearted with Allison/Diego.

(Quick question, do they have a ship name? Asking for tagging purposes).

And Allison would take none of Diego’s shit. Oh, Diego has one of his mood swings and tries to be an emo boy and pull that ‘I don’t need anyone shit’? Boy, Allison is a single mother who’s been through a divorce already, she doesn’t have time for your angst.

Lmao, Allison being like: “We’ll sit down and talk about our feelings now” after a fight and Diego complains the whole time but sits down like a good boy.

Also, Allison would do the vigilante thing from time to time because she may pretend to be an adult and above that kinda stuff but it’s fun and they definitely argue over who took out more people.

Give me that power couple pls.

Allison/Klaus: One of my favourite ships! Can be real whole-hearted or angsty depending on the angle you take.

Like, Allison who keeps busting Klaus out of prison with her status and her rumours and who pays for his rehab stay every single time, at first still telling him that she’s gonna fix him with that Hollywood ‘You can do it’ attitude - slowly getting more and more annoyed by her no-good brother, feeling like a babysitter - maybe even refusing to keep indulging his brother, to keep giving him money he’s only gonna use on drugs anyway.

And Klaus who despises Allison’s glamour lifestyle, her polished image and her nuclear family - we could even throw some biphobia in there because Klaus remembers their talks about how pretty girls are but Allison pretends that never happened because it wouldn’t do her career much good. (Just like being seen with her junkie brother, “isn’t that why we can’t meet anywhere that isn’t a back alley? Why you can’t talk to me without sunglasses and a hat? Why you keep your voice down even when I scream at you?”)

Plus, some added angst: Patrick telling Allison to just drop her brother already, he’s just gonna self-destruct and take her with him and that creates tension between the two of them, could even be one of the many reasons for their divorce.

And just like that, Allison loses all of it. And Klaus is there with a cheap bottle of Tequila, already high and grinning at her: “Welcome at the bottom, sister dearest!”

*insert the 30k story about the two of them slowly learning to understand each other and finally being able to heal - with the help from the other but also because they wanna change for themselves. I vote for added bed sharing and sleepovers and them doing each other’s nails but also them fucking once and not talking about it because they were both really hurt and not really thinking when it happened but it staying in the back of their minds until they realize that they could actually work together*

This got angstier than it was supposed to be, sorry! I love them, I swear!

Allison/Five: Probably the least popular one out of all the Allison ships!

I have to admit that I don’t think about Five ships much? Which probably has to do with the whole child body thing but I’m not opposed to ships involving them! (Especially when they’re enby, y’all know my brand).

Allison/Five would be that kinda snob couple who knows they are superior to you and they’re not above showing you. Lots of quibs, lots of sarcasm.

But also probably one of the more mature ones? I can see Allison being unsure at first because Five is- no, looks like a kid and who knows when that will get fixed? And maybe it’s because she’s a Mum but sometimes she just treats them like a child and Five hates it.

(Five probably has to do a lot of courting before Allison considers a relationship. Which is bullshit. They both know there’s tension there, why the fuck is Allison drawing back from that? Just because Five’s trapped in this body? Does Allison think they want that?)

Five aggressively flirting while Allison to herself is like: ‘Hoe, don’t do it.’ but eventually giving in.

And of course, depending on your take of Five’s body, things are gonna be weird. Like, a popular hc is to have Five in a 20ish body but even then, just imagine the headlines.

Allison Hargreeves, world star, dating a guy 10 years younger!!! Is she getting over her divorce with a boy toy?

(Not to mention the pseudo-incest part).

They’d get a lot of shit I’d say.

And Five would be furious about that. How dare they imply that their relationship with Allison is just some fling? They’ll show them. So they make a game out of proving the paparazzi wrong. Makes it their mission to treat Allison as right as possible.

(Also I have feelings about the whole Five - Claire - Allison thing. I mean, just Five mentioning wanting to meet Claire? Knowing her name? I am soft).

And I know I am rambling a little but whether you think Patrick was/is a nice guy or not (I personally think he is), I can see Allison being so obsessed with seeming flawless and having the picture perfect family - as opposed to her own family - that she felt like she could never really be herself? Like she had to hide a lot of her more ‘ugly’ sides to be desirable.

And Five doesn’t care about that shit. Five also doesn’t care about courtesy. Five will jump into her room at the beginning of their relationship, watch her scramble around to try and change into something nicer than her pajamas and apologize for her messy hair and her pimples- “I just woke up, I didn’t have time to put on my make up, can’t you come back later Five?”

And Five’s like: “You look like someone who just woke up. Your hair is sweaty and you have a pretty big pimple on your nose. Also, your morning breath is horrible. Can we cuddle now?”

(Five is the first partner Allison burps in front of. It’s pretty freeing).

Five on the other hand has someone they can be insecure in front of. Where they don’t have to pretend they know all the answers. Be dismissive with. (They’re trying to let all of their siblings in but it’s a process, okay?)

I’m sorry, I’ll stop now but I gave myself feelings.

Allison/Ben: This feels like an easier couple. Like, more normal, lmao. Just a couple of adopted sibs falling in love the old-fashioned way - after one of them gets brought back to live and they survive a near apocalypse their sister caused.

I like to spin some tale of being in love as kids (like with Alluther) but for me the two of them really work better as just being friends as kids and then once Ben comes back, Allison realizes how much she missed him and she’s like “What is this???? Am I....crushing on him??” (imagine the Beauty and the Beast song where they realise they like each other while playing in the snow).

Just...some good and nice slowburn. Maybe some added angst with Ben thinking Allison is confusing her relieve of him being alive with being in love or believes she’s looking for a rebound after her divorce.

Or maybe he believes he’s just touch-starved and that’s why he clings to Allison?

(Imagine the two of them chilling at the mansion together, just picking up where they left off, pretending to still be kids. Allison all excitedly showing Ben what he’s missed during all those years and what he only gets to experience now - let’s be honest this mostly boils down to Allison making him eat a bunch of stuff, not even waiting until he takes a bite himself but just putting it in his mouth because she wants to see whether he likes it).

(I hc that Allison can’t cook for shit but Ben has no real frame of reference unless you count blurry memories of what food used to taste like so it’s heaven to him and Allison is giddy).

They’re just cute, okay?

Allison/Vanya: ANGST. GAY ANGST. I mean, the guilt over what happened, Allison feeling like it’s her fault and treating Vanya all nice but Vanya stilll flinches everytime she sees the angry red scar across Allison’s throat. Plus, if Allison still can’t speak and will never speak again and Vanya tries her hardest to learn ASL with her so she doesn’t have to write down everything all the time.

Young Allison/Vanya with Vanya realising she’s queer and sneaking glances at Allison and immediately feeling guilty because she shouldn’t be looking, it’s wrong and dirty and Allison will hate her and-

Whereas she is completely missing the way Allison is looking back.

Also this ship can easily turn toxic with either of them - or both - getting overbearing after all that happened. And tbh, that’s just as exciting to write/think about.

That’s all I got for now but you’re welcome to talk more Allison/Allison ships with me!

[givemesnekboiasap]

I Could Be...

@cherryb0mb79 sorry for the long delay, here is the long awaited retributory doujinshi of Mitsuhide. I hoped it will live up to your expectations, kinda long about 5 pages worth, I cannot do short, LOL

For those not familiar, here’s the link to the story written by @ikesenhell ​ https://ikesenhell.tumblr.com/post/173529184156/can-we-pretend-that-were-in-love/embed . Please read this before scrolling down.

I wrote this because I cannot stand watching him in agony, >,< T.T

p.s. I refer to this song for inspiration: https://youtu.be/CXchR2BGwcA ( Shane Filan ft. Nadine Coyle - I Could Be )

Mitsuhide stands in the cold long after he finishes his last stick of cigarette, and he’s running out of excuses to stay outside in the darkness. Sooner rather than later, someone is going to remember his forgotten presence and he hoped it to be anyone but Her...except maybe Hideyoshi too. There is only so much a man can take before something drastic happens. He watches the door next to him akin to a ticking time bomb, which is something out of character.

...She’s only one who could reduce me to this frame of mind...if Masamune gets the wind of this, I’m never going to live this down...

The click of the lock from the said door interrupted his thoughts, his eyes cannot helped but be drawn towards it. A lone female, with long hair in neon green, all braided up into a coronet, stepping out into the parking lot. He blinks, the first thought is, that hair has an obtrusive effect on the senses. When he starts to pay close attention to her appearance, it looks to him that she’s all deck in every shades of green he could identify and more, some of the shades he questions its existence.

She looked like a female version of Hideyoshi...though, she can give him a run for the money when it comes to color coordination…

It’s a running joke that everyone has a colour preference when it comes to dressing up since college and somehow everyone stuck to their choices despite graduation. Just when he starts to feel safe, that female turns towards his direction and walks towards him. Mitsuhide can hear the cackling sound of Fate echoing in his ears as she draws nearer.

“You’re Akechi-san, yes? I was sent to bring you in by the hostess herself.” It is an interesting feeling to actually meet eye-to-eye with a female other than Her. Most females tend to watch the others more than him. The sudden urge to tease just struck him and he decides to just go with it.

“..Oh?..And what makes you think I am this person you’re seeking, hm?...”

He nearly chuckled aloud when she pulses her lips in a disgruntled manner. Taking a deep breath, she replied. “I was told you’ll be difficult, and to expect someone who uses verbal banter to tease. Seems to me you fit that requirement.”

Eyebrows shot up at the counter remark, Mitsuhide narrowed his eyes, shooting her a look that usually have people scurrying away in fright. He wants her cowering in his presence before he teases the hell out of her. Not quite liking a female to best him in his speciality. Instead, the female stared at him, her eyes seems to be searching something. Just as he was about give into the urge to voice his exasperation, she broke off the staring match by turning away first.

“I don’t know what is troubling you and I doubt you’ll confine to a total stranger like myself, but you shouldn’t be alone with whatever thoughts hovering inside you. I can see it just beyond your gaze. Give me 2 minutes, tops. I’ll let them know and be back......”

“...! No...wait...” Mitsuhide reaches out and grabs hold of her wrist, holding her back. She halt her tracks, waiting. With the back against the country club, her eyes and expression are hidden by the glare of the lights emitting from the building. “Do you have any with you?”

“Huh?” She tilts her head slightly, the gesture eerily similar to Her that it shook him more than he realised. He forces himself to relax and puts on his scrimtar smile.

“Cigarettes, or were you thinking of something…...” Her sudden blush at his scruinity as he brings himself closer to her, invading her space, nearly made his lips twitch. Hurriedly, she twists her arm away from him and take two steps away. Holding her wrist close to her chest, she nods back and reaches to her back pocket. Mitsuhide catches the blue and white box as she tosses it to him after she draws a stick out.

…………

……

…...this feels comfortable, despite the prolonged stay out in the cold, taking a drag with someone other than the usual crowd……

Mitsuhide looks down at his smoking companion, puffing her stick like a smoking chimney. Each puff causes a grimace to appear on her face. Soon she finishes her share and close her eyes as she leans against the lamp post they were hanging out under. Mitsuhide racks his brain over her presence, he doesn’t mind the companionship offered and the silence between them do not require any conversation to fill in. However, curiosity compels him to answer one question: why her and not the other guys?

As if she heard his unspoken thoughts, he hear her voice, clear as a bell chime. “The others, meaning your friends, actually wanted to come out looking for you and asked her about it. After overhearing the content of the conversation you had with her, I volunteered.” Then she starts to chuckle, her lips, jade green in colour, something that should have looked repulsive but on her, it’s actually alluring…...

“What’s their reaction towards your decision?” Mitsuhide knows Masamune would have fought for it, Nobunaga might have considered it, Hideyoshi could have gone either way; jump at the chance, if only to put Princess’s mind at ease, or stay back to soothe her. Ieyasu only bother to react if he’s really in trouble. As for Mitsunari, well, that’s something else altogether.

She is grinning now, her lips a wide curve on her face. “Oh, the eyepatch guy, I think Date-san, he’s quite verbal about fetching you. The groom, Hideyoshi-san, he looks indecisive, so I’m guessing he’s a no-go. The leader of the pack, Oda-sama, he’s like smirking at something as he watches from the barstool he’s perched on. The others I have no impression at all...Ahh……” She starts to shuffle her feet, not making at eye contact with him.

If he’s not mistaken, that’s guilt on her face before she breaks off, “...What did you promise?”

“......Erh...I made a bet with Masamune, I mean Date-san, to be honest….” she shrugs her shoulders. “It’s okay, you know. I mean, it was made out of jest, so there’s no reason for you to kn…..”

“I’ll be the judge of that…...what did you bet with Masamune...no, with the rest of them?” She rolls her eyes at the demanding tone, and Mitsuhide’s lips twitches at her overly dramatic expressions at his insistence.

“....kiss...that’s all…...” she mutters under her breath. The silver haired male blinks at that single word utter from her lips, wondering if he imagined it. Keeping his face stoic, he asks her to repeat. This time, he heard everything, even though it’s not much louder from her previous pitch.

...the bet is a kiss from you, on my lips, my lipstick on your lips...that’s all…

Mitsuhide might not have known this female for long, but based off first impression, she doesn’t seem like someone who would force anything on others nor do anything reckless unless……

“What’s the prize?” he asked. She looks at him, her eyes round in surprise, “...How did you...”

“I’m familiar with the mindset of those lots, there’s always a catch if you make a bet with either Masamune, Nobunaga or myself. So bear that in mind the next time if the offer is too good to be true.” Mitsuhide paused, his words reverberate in his mind.

Why am I warning her when this could be the only time we’ll ever see each other…

Shaking his head mentally, he waits for her reply. The promise of one favor per person, in this case, five promises, given unconditionally, had him sighing aloud. Of course, it has to be something significant to her, darn those guys…… “What happens if you loses the bet?”

“I have to dance with your friends…...it’s really okay, you know. I can accept the loss…...” she trails off, writhing her fingers as she looks at anything but him.

“...Oh really...what if I don’t want you to lose, hm?” Some devil must have gotten a hold of his tongue, because he is not believing what is being utter out from his mouth, but it’s too late…...those words have been spoken and hung between them.

She looks up at him, astonishment evident on her fine features. “Are you alright? Having a fever or something?” She stretches out and touch his forehead with her hand.

...its ice cold...am I having a temperature….or is it…

He grabs the hand on his head; he’s not having a fever, she’s freezing herself by staying with him out in the cold. Cursing himself for not noticing, he hastenly pulls her into his embrace, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Even with his overcoat on, he could feel the coolness of her body as her reddened nose nuzzling on his shoulder. It never occur to him to remove his coat for her, but his instincts tells him this way is better

“...Akechi...mmm, you could...”

“...Hush…...not until you have warmed up...”

“...but...”

“......shhhhhhh...” he whispers into her ear, causing her body to react by shivering involuntary.

“............” he could sense her reluctance as she comply to his request

“...what’s your name?.....it just occur to me that though you know who I am, I’m left in the dark as to who you were...”

Laughter bubbles out from her mouth, being muffled by his chest. “Even if I tell you, you’re going to butch it like the rest of the people who ever heard it...you can call me Duchess, I think it’s much easier for you to remember”

“...Duchess...” he rolls the name with his tongue, tasting the texture. “Why that nickname?”

“...it’s an insider joke...” His amber eyes flicker down on her head, her abrupt tone lets him know the subject is close.

“Well now, Duchess...I think it’s time to collect your payment from my associates,” he drawls. She shakes her head; he could feel her chuckling against him as he lifts himself slightly away from her.

“Okay, pucker up Buttercup...”

“Actually, it’s Mitsuhide to you, Duchess...”

“....jeez...fine, Mitsuhide then...”

……

…

Just as Hideyoshi’s about to throw in the towel and head for the door to collect two wayward persons instead of one, the door swings open, bringing them in.

“About time the both of you came back. Did you know how cold is it outside now? Look at you! Your noses are as red as Rudolph…...” They stood silently and let Hideyoshi hover over them, giving them warm towels, courtesy of the staff, hot drinks and shoos them to the nearest seat, which happens to be a two-seater sofa. The bride, better known as Princess among friends and family, chuckles at her husband’s overprotective antics. The rest of the guys joins her to watch the ‘mother’ of their group fusses over their wayward mischief maker and his companion.

Masamune was the first to notice there is something different with Mitsuhide, “...Is it me or is there something on his lips...”

Everyone’s attention is now focused on the trickster’s lips as he sips the hot beverage laced with alcohol. Then they switched their focus towards her, scrutinising her attire. Slightly mustered hair, flushed cheeks, and the most telling of signs, smeared lips.

“...ooohhhh…...you guys are in trouble…...”

“............Darn you, Masamune! You had to dare her! Now I owe her a favor despite my lack of involvement…...”

“Hey now! I didn’t know who she was until she left the room. You cannot pin the blame on me, Ieyasu. You could have disagree with the arrangement...”

“...Like you could when Nobunaga is the one who upped the stakes…..”

“...I don’t mind doing a favor for her. I believe she’ll be fair in her request, just like Princess here...”

“...just be quiet, Mitsunari...”

As the rest of them argues over the loss of the bet, Nobunaga keep his eyes on them, noticing something else other than the lipstick stain on his closest friend’s lips. His body stance is very much relaxed compared to the beginning of the wedding march. His shoulders stay in contact with the female even though there’s plenty of space for him to shift away if he so inclines. He watches as she turns her attention to Mitsuhide and whispers into his ear, pointing her fingers towards their direction when Hideyoshi turns his back to them and heads back to his bride. He’s the only one who witnesses their gesture as they lift their cups as one and salute a toast to him. Nobunaga roars with laughter and everyone wonders what got him in such a boisterous mood.

[k-i-s-m-e-t]

So I've been watching soldiers returning home and surprising their family videos (cause I like to torture myself apparently) and I can't get the image of GSs dad getting out of prison and surprising him. And GS just completely loses it. T.T

H-hey anon, I can’t even remember how long ago you sent me this. Though I assume it was after the chapter where we see Guan Shan’s dad. I have a really good reason for the delay! I wrote you something cuz I loved the idea so much. I’m not sure you meant ‘lose it’ in this sense *sips drink*

It wasn’t right. Shit, it wasn’t fair! Guan Shan shook with emotion as he stared-down the man seated on his living room couch.

School had been exhausting, not so much the work but rather the implications behind a certain someone that stuck to him like glue. He rubbed at his neck, still plagued by the phantom press of an arm that easily swung around his shoulders, playful but possessive.

Deep in thought, he’d been halfway to his bedroom when a voice spoke his name, barely more than a whisper and filled with emotion. Two words that froze him where he stood, his mind reeling because it wasn’t possible. It was surprising he could even recognize that voice after so long, it was still warm, still firm, low and gravely.

Backing up slowly he’d moved to stand in the doorway of the living room trying to comprehend what had to be illusion that sat pressed close to mother’s side. She had her hands folded within this entities like it was a natural, everyday thing, as if time hadn’t kept them apart.Her cheeks were tear stained, dried rivulets that cracked as she beamed up at him. She reached out with her other hand, index finger and thumb streaked with the black of her mascara, and gestured for him to join them.When he didn’t move, her gaze flitted around in anticipation, bright smile faltering at the mounting silence. Guan Shan stared back blankly, could feel himself closing off, like he was being swallowed whole, like he was underwater. The small part of him that pleaded “why?,” to “reconsider” his next words was shoved down and he let his heart speak.

“What is he doing here?”

It sounded unnecessarily loud, his voice cracking on the question. Tension in the room bred with a vengeance and he could almost see the rift his words cut.

“Guan Shan!” his mother said sharply, eyes narrowing, but his father held up a hand.

“I know this is unexpected, I wasn’t sure my early release would be approved so I didn’t want to tell you and your mother in case it was declined, but please know that I’m very happy to see you.”He smiled.

Mo didn’t get to answer because suddenly he felt sick, his body far to warm. A sharp intake of breath broke the silence but he was not sure whose because he couldn’t see the room anymore. Shapes blurred together before him as his vision swam and breath caught, pinched high in his chest.

Panic attack.

He placed a hand over his racing heart beat to confirm, brain reaching desperately to heap together coherent thoughts. What did he do last time?

His father was on his feet now, face creased with concern as he stepped closer. Guan Shan stumbled back, catching the corner of the doorway square between his shoulders, leaving him winded, doubled over.

“Get… back!” he forced out.

“Guan Shan please, what’s wrong?”

“…son?” A hand reached for him, a touch that for years he’d yearned to feel but he jerked away, banging back out through their front door, the hurt look in his father’s eyes fading the faster he ran.

He moved blindly down their block, a car horn blared, tires screeching as he dodged across the street, cutting down an alley. Distance was the goal, not direction, the more space he could put between him and his father the easier this would be to deal with.

However, his retreat ended when he slipped, fell, dew-wet grass shocking his senses. He laid there a moment trying to calm his breathing before raising his head to take in his surroundings.

The basketball court.

Struggling to his feet he made for the nearest hoop, a beacon half-illuminated in the cast-off light of a street lamp. Collapsing beneath it, he folded his body, arms looped beneath his thighs, head hung between his spaced knees.

The position eased the tense pull of his muscles and the pain in his chest relaxed a fraction. It was better, but he still felt panicked, tiny and vulnerable to these current revelations.

What did he do last time?It took effort but he worked his cell phone out of his pocket, dialed.It rang once, mid-way through ring two the line clicked.“Well, well, well, to what do I owe the pleasure?”Mo could hear his own breath rasp into the receiver as he struggled for words.“Where are you?“ The response was clipped. He could hear a set of keys being snatched up.“…B-basketball… court.”“I’ll be there.” The line died.

He let his hand drop, focused on breathing. In. Out.

Within minutes a hand fell on his shoulder, startling him out of his trance. He Tian peered down at him, taking in his disheveled appearance. Some brief realization flickered in his eyes and they softened in a way that was familiar but overwhelming, that meant something, when he was trying so hard to be insignificant.

He stepped back as Mo rose to his feet by this time his heart rate was just about even but each breath felt like it was on the verge of erupting into tears.

He shook his head, clearing it. When he looked back He Tian he was still watching him, expression unreadable.

Mo opened his mouth but He Tian beat him to it.

“So,” he started, pulling his shirt over his head “First to 10?”

He Tian dribbled in place, legs switching, ball weaving easily between them.

Guan Shan followed suit, stripped off his uniform shirt, tossed it to the side.

“You’re… not gonna ask what happened?”

He Tian slowed his pace, shrugged.

“You don’t want to talk about. That’s not why you asked me to come here is it?”

“I… no it’s not.”

“So,” he bounced the ball, caught it, passed it forcefully to Mo, quick fluid motion.“Your ball.”

Mo caught it evenly, the weight of it thudding against his palms.

“Alright, first to 10.”

By the time he returned home he was drained of all emotion, having sweated it out at the court. Numb, he was ready to collapse in bed, real life could wait till tomorrow. However, walking up the steps to their front door he braced himself for the inevitable, not knowing what to expect as his mom hadn’t called him at all in his absence. Ear pressed up against the door, he listened carefully trying to catch a hint of any sound or movement -but there was nothing. As late as it was, they’d probably already gone to bed. Easing his key into the lock he opened the door slowly, sucked his teeth when it still creaked obnoxiously. It was dark inside, though he could hear the muted sounds of the TV coming from his mother’s… his parent’s room, soft blue light flickering under their door.

Sighing in relief, he headed to the bathroom, stripped, most of his dirty clothes making it into the hamper. He flipped on the shower letting it heat up while he scrolled through his messages. Still nothing from his parents, but there was one from He Tian asking if he got home safe. He hadn’t pushed when Mo had declined the offer to walk him home, had respected his need for space.Typing out a quick reply he hit send before stepping in the shower under the spray, barely containing a moan at how good the hot water felt streaming over his sore muscles.Lost in thought, he let the water run, soaking his hair. He hadn’t seen his father in years and he hadn’t really thought about what it would be like to see him again. Hell, he hadn’t thought about it because he didn’t think it would happen period, let alone catch him unaware. Anger was his foremost thought but he knew deep down that feeling wasn’t fair even though it was justified. There was just so much the man had missed, Mo thought squeezing his eyes shut.Back in elementary the kids had teased him about the sudden absence of his father. They had concluded amongst themselves that the man had probably run off because he didn’t like Mo, because Mo was bad. He never bothered to correct them because that idea sounded better than the truth, even to him. Kids could be so cruel.“Ignore them, be the bigger person.” his mother had said pulling him into a tight embrace, her voice choked, when he came home in tears after a particularly rough day.Sure, he had misbehaved from time to time but he hadn’t seen himself as any more rambunctious than his classmates. Maybe his teacher had had to tell him to settle down more often than the others -but it was because he was eager, he wanted to participate. The validation and praise he got when he answered correctly filled some void within him, even at that age.But their constant jeering had grated on him, pushed him to the edge and he found they shut up pretty quick if he hit them, so he learned to fight. It felt like he had been fighting all his life, against them but mostly himself. It was exhausting.Now the fight was over, as if a referee had simply walked on the field of his mind and tossed out a white flag determining the match a draw. Fuck that, he deserved to have a say!They couldn’t just make up for lost time, it was unrealistic. Where had he been when Mo graduated from grade school? When he learned how to ride a bike, fucking puberty?Yeah, his mom had been there always every step of the way, filling both the role of father and mother, but there were just some things she couldn’t replace, that she didn’t quite understand.The water beginning to run cold dragged him out of his reverie and he quickly scrubbed himself down, darting in and out of the spray to rinse off. Exiting the shower he scrubbed a towel through his hair as he headed back down the corridor. At the opposite end of the hall there was still no change from his parent’s room. He felt a slight tingle of relief in his gut that he wouldn’t have to face his father just yet, a small victory. He slipped quickly into his room, then sucked in a surprised breath, heart damn near in his throat at the figure sitting on his bed.It took him a moment to realize Mo was present, so absorbed was he in looking at a photo Mo kept on his bedside table. Some framed shot of his mom and him from a sports contest in which he had won first place.He looked up when Mo awkwardly cleared his throat, quickly replacing the photo.“I…” he looked around the room like it held the answer.Guan Shan sighed and he got hurriedly to his feet, his mouth opened and shut a few times, like he was carefully choosing his words.“Guan Shan, please I just want to talk.”Mo pressed back against his door clicking it shut, leaned heavily against it.“I know.”In the dim light Mo could see pain etched in red rimmed eyes, remembered now just where his emotional side came from.They talked for hours, his father explaining what had happened that night at the restaurant and how it had resulted in his incarceration. Guan Shan asked question after question, all the why’s and how’s that had plagued him for years, his father answering all of them even those Guan Shan could tell were painful. As he unraveled the truth, Guan Shan realized he understood far less than he expected, felt that maybe there were some things he’d rather have not known. However, his father held nothing back.When they got to the details of how he’d spent his time in jail, however, he drew the line.“I’m not ready to talk about that yet.” The implications deep in his tone were enough to make Mo balk. He conceded.Light was starting to filter in through the blinds of his balcony window, a bird chirping here and there. Mo stretched, sore from the seated position he’d spent the night in.They were quiet for a bit, enjoying the silence between them.“You’ve got school right?”“Yea,” Mo answered checking the time. Damn he was already running late, he’d have to get ready quickly.“..maybe you could take a day off,” his father said slowly, as if still considering the suggestion himself. “I think we still have a lot of catching up to do.”“Mom’s probably not gonna like that.”“Who says we have to tell her,” he said a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.“Tell me what?” Came a voice from his doorway. They both jumped.“W-we.. well you see I thought-““Mm-hmm we don’t keep secrets in this house.”“I just thought that maybe Guan Shan could stay home, just for today. Maybe we could do something as a family… it’s been… it’s been a long time since we did.”“It has, hasn’t it.” She smiled sadly. “Well who is going call the school ‘cause it looks like I need to call out at the hospital. I could use a sick day,” she waved a hand “God knows I have plenty.”

Mo watched them leave, his mother hooking her arm through the crook of his father’s, he smiled fondly down at her.

Alone he laid back on his bed exhausted but content, his heart fluttering, for once not in panic.

His phone buzzed on the dresser and he reached for it, pretty good idea of who would dare text him this early.

From: He >>“You alive?”

Mo paused, thumb hovered over the key pad. Emotion stung in his throat, prickled up to his eyes as he stared at the second word.

Alive? Had the question been posed at any point before now he would have scoffed at the absurdity of it. But looking at it now, he couldn’t think of a word that summed his emotional state any better than that.

To: He >>“Yea.”

Fin.

[dnenvs3000w22]

History carries a strong weapon: the truth

To unpack this week’s quote, I am going to divide it up into two parts, each of which struck me in different ways.

“There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things.”

To be brutally honest, I have always been someone who never found history class interesting. I never understood why we needed to dwell onto the past. However, as I went through the content of this week’s lecture and the textbook, I realized that learning history is not about knowing what happened, it is more about drawing out the values behind those events. History, ancient things on their own are just… there. What matters is the truth that they have within them. Accuracy and authenticity are two of the most important and most sought out values when it comes to interpreting history (Beck et al., 2018).

Accuracy matters because we can base off of these patterns of truth, to predict what is going to happen from then on forward (Beck et al., 2018). Historical objects and ancient things carry quite a significant amount of primary data and evidence with them. However, we need to be careful of how we draw conclusions from them, because not everybody sees the same thing and interprets in the same way, which eventually creates a variation of interpretations (Beck et al., 2018).

Next, we have authenticity, which is extremely important to stimulating true emotions and a sense of space and time. In particular, this is personal authenticity according to our textbook, which claims that everybody prefers authenticity over fake, and made up things. Apart from personal, there is also objective and constructive authenticity, which are tangible and can be felt, touched and seen (Beck et al., 2018). These are all important aspects of  “ancient things” that truly give it so much merit.

“…. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.”

This train station analogy uncovered a concept that may be strange, that time could possibly not be linear. Please don’t get me wrong, the physical events themselves may be over, and things fall apart, but the memory and values that they once had will forever remain, and we will always recite them like how a train will always go back to its track and continue its loop, despite already departing a million times. If you are interested in the concept of non-linear time, you can check out the movie Arrival by director Denis Villeneuve, where this concept is explained in a more interesting fashion than just me typing it out on this blog post.

The image of the train also got me thinking, that everyone who got on that train are all heading towards the same direction, just like how we as a community are enhanced by the common stories and beliefs that we share, and a lot of the times, those beliefs are built upon interpreting history (Hooykaas, 2022).

Do you also find it easier to sympathize and relate to somebody who shares the same experiences growing up, like attending the same school, having the same teacher, or taking the same courses? It feels as if we sit on the same railcar on a train.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

Hooykaas, A. (2022). Unit 6: Nature Interpretation through History. University of Guelph, Nature Interpretation. Courselink: https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/730239/viewContent/2951597/View

[deborah-kim-blog]

Sequoia Camping Trip 2017

August 23 - August 25, 2017

Daniel invited Christiana, me, and his best friend, Frank, to go camping for two nights and three days in Sequoia.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

We dropped Dena off at Union Station at 5:30 in the morning, and slept from 6:30 to 7:30, until Daniel and Frank arrived at Christiana’s (an hour later than planned due to traffic D:). After hours of driving, we first stopped by the General Sherman Tree (the largest tree in the world :O) and took some pictures (the tree was so big, we had to take the pic using the panorama mode but up and down and not left to right lol). 

Then, we finally arrived at Lodgepole in Sequoia. While we were unpacking, we noticed some thundering sounds and gray clouds above the mountain to the right of us…  And less than an hour later, when we were seated around the not-yet-lit campfire, we noticed the clouds drawing nearer and nearer. Then, Daniel screamed as he felt the first drop, which made us get up and start shoving everything inside our tent, bear box, and car. So we spent the next hour and a half of rain in our tent resting, and playing Bananagrams and Monopoly Deal. It was actually a pretty nice experience listening to the rain fall on our tent hehe. 

Once the rain stopped, we went outside to prep our gogi partyyy (samgyupsal and chadol). We were actually supposed to have the gogi party on our last night at Sequoia, but we realized the meat would spoil unless we get a bunch of ice for the entire day while we were out hiking the next day. So good thing Daniel and Frank thought about that. :) So the guys ended up cooking the meat and serving us hoho. That was very nice of them. :) 

After dinner, we ended our night with some campfire time, making s'mores and conversations. Christiana even made a molarmellow #직업병 HAHA 

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Christiana and I woke up to a campfire and a breakfast already prepared by the guys, who woke up an hour in advance (thank you!!). Then, we got ready to go hiking! We found a parking spot super easily and started the hike up the Hump Trail. 

Omg. This trail was hard af. It took us three hours just to go up. And on the way, the guys (who know their way around here) kept saying, “We’re almost there!” Turns out, we were "almost there" TWO hours later ! -o- lol 

But wow I’ve never seen this much plants in one place. It was so beautifulll. 

This pic was taken on the way down, but it was so shady because there were so many tall trees. 

We took many many needed breaks on the way up because it was exhausting. Thankfully, I didn’t feel like I was going to faint (how I usually feel when I go hiking). BUT I was very very tired (heart racing and out of breath). 

But the view once we got there was amazing. The pictures don’t do justice, but man… It was so so so pretty.

After taking the beauty in and lots and lots of pictures, we made our way down towards the lake. 

Here, we (the guys lol) put the fishing gear together to try to catch some fish! Sadly, my fishing line kept getting tangled, and at the end of the day, Christiana and I did not catch one fish… D: Daniel and Frank, on the other hand, caught a whole bunch… no fair… We didn’t eat the fish we caught or anything though. The guys just released them back into the water. One of the fish that Frank tried to release actually turned into a sad story: 

So he caught a fish and then removed the hook to throw it back into the lake. So he chucked it towards the water, and then BAM! it slams into a huge boulder and lands in the dirt… So by this time, we were all O.O / :O, and Frank makes his way down to the dirt where the fish landed, picks it back up, and actually throws it into the water this time. And then… the poor thing just floated back up to the surface… T.T So sad. :(

So yeah… After some fishing, we made chicken sandwiches and PB&J for lunch and then tried to fish some more. 

Then, around 3:30, we headed down the mountain after taking this picture. 

We took the Watchtower Trail going down because Daniel and Frank knew that this trail had a crazy view (like going down, there was a crazy view). A good chunk of the top half of the mountain, we were walking on a ledge. O.O

This was preeeetty thrilling. hoho 

Poor Christiana and Daniel were getting pretty nervous. >< 

So while going down this scary part of the mountain, we came across this cliff-looking thing that one of Daniel and Frank’s friend supposedly climbed up. 

So Frank wanted to try it himself too, and I decided to follow because when will I ever climb up to the end of a cliff, you know? But Daniel and Christiana decided to stay behind and take pictures of us once we reach the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately, the thing was impossible to climb up because the path was extremely narrow and too risky try to go passed that tree sticking up in the middle of the ledge. So we just sat as close to the cliff thing as possible and snapped a pic there. haha

So the place Frank and I were sitting on was actually not too scary because it was wide and had places for us to sit. So Daniel and Christiana joined us! :D Look at us livin’ life on the edge. hehe

After spending a lot of time taking pictures going down the mountain, we continued our way back down the mountain, through the foresty part again. This time, I think we only took two to three breaks because it was so much easier going down. But towards the end, we were very very tired for we had a looong day… When we had around thirty minutes left, Daniel shouted, “Car!” as in, “We’re almost there because I see the parking lot!” But when we approached it, it turned out to be a huge white boulder…! L O L. It was so sad but so funny haha. So eventually, we reached the bottom of the mountain two and a half hours after we left the lake (so this includes our two breaks and the many many picture breaks we took lol). 

For dinner, we each had two hot dogs: one pineapple sausage and one spicy sausage. We even added grilled onions and garlic from the gogi party. It was a good thing we had the gogi party the night before because we were super tired. The hot dogs were so much simpler to make and eat haha. 

And the rest of the night was just cleaning up and more eating. We had the campfire going again, and we ate some corn, goguma, and s’mores. 

Friday, August 25, 2017

The next morning, I got up at 6:30 because it was cold + I was uncomfortable sleeping on the ground + I was paranoid about leaking since my time of the freaking month started Wednesday night in Sequoia -_-. So I washed up and everything and just waited on the bench outside because I didn’t want to wake the guys up since they were sleeping towards the side of the door. Then around 8:30, I hear the tent zipper unzip, followed by a loudass fart. Of course, it’s Daniel, who has been ripping farts with no shame the entire trip lmao. So he started a fire as soon as he woke up, and the first thing I ate that morning was a giant marshmallowwww hoho. 

So once everyone woke up, we ate the leftovers for breakfast and packed the car. We then walked over to a lake across the street from our campsite. That was pretty niceee. 

By the time it was time for us to check out, we finished up our games of horseshoe and made sure everything was in the car. 

On the way down, we stopped by Moro Rock and some more giant trees. 

Turns out this Moro “Rock” was a 20-minute climb up. -_- lol Man… my legs were burning…  

They should seriously rename it as Moro Mountain… This is a pic I took of Moro “Rock” on the way home:

But in the end, the view was amazinggg haha 

After we made our way back down from Moro “Rock,” we visited some more giant trees.

A giant fallen tree:

The side of the giant fallen tree:

The bottom side of the giant fallen tree:

In front of a giant, mushy tree:

And thennnn we made our way back to LA with just one stop and concluded our trip with BCD. 

 ————————————————————————

Twas a very very fun and exciting camping trip! Although I was disappointed that I didn’t see any bears or catch any fish, it was exciting since there was a lot of firsts for me - first time camping (not glamping lol), first time learning how to cast a fishing rod, first time playing horseshoe, first time hiking for three hours and not feeling like fainting, and first time seeing and admiring the beauty of nature (trees, mountains, sky FULL of stars, sight and sound of lakes/streams), I never realized how much I loved the beauty of nature. I always thought trees were trees and mountains were mountains, but mannn. Nature is so beautiful! lol

Thanks Daniel for planning and inviting me to this awesome camping trip to Sequoiaaaa.

[akatsuki3519]

Tag time! :)

I was tagged by @helloanime247 to answer the following questions, thanks so much!! <3 Some of these were really difficult!! T.T

1. Who are your favourite male anime characters?

Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter): I’m a sucker for good character         development and Killua’s is exceptional. I loved seeing him slowly break away from the ideologies of his (quite frankly) messed up family and choosing his own path. He’s such a sweetheart I just love him... T.T <3

Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass): I don’t really have an explanation for this one since he’s kinda like Light from Death Note (whom I don’t like lol), he’s so cold and calculating but I loved watching him play essentially a game of chess with everyone. Also, the ending of the series... no spoilers but you know lol...

Yuuri Katsuki (Yuri on Ice!!!): I think a lot of people can relate to Yuuri as a character (myself included), which is probably why he’s so popular as a character in general. Watching him slowly overcome his anxiety and become more confident as a person was great, but I also love his stubborn and competitive side too, he’s too cute lol <3

Makoto Tachibana (Free!): An actual angel who has never done, and can never do, any wrong... that is all... T.T <3

Nicolas Brown (Gangsta.): Throwing a bit of a curveball in here since I don’t talk about Nico that often by comparison to some other characters but my God I love him so much <3 He’s such a terrifying and intimidating person on the surface but he’s actually incredibly caring and sweet, as seen mostly by his interactions with Nina (and also Alex). I pray he stops being so reckless...

Rin Okumura (Ao no Exorcist): My favourite demon child who is just the sweetest, most excellent person and who deserves all the hugs in the world! T.T 

2. Who are your favourite female characters?

Yona (Akatsuki no Yona): She is just such an incredible person and is my fave female anime character by country mile. Another one with fantastic character development too, going from a naive and slightly spoilt princess to this incredibly charismatic, kind-hearted and strong-willed individual. It was amazing and I can’t wait to see how she continues to develop in the rest of the series <3

Ochako Uraraka (Boku no Hero Academia): I love her commitment and dedication, her match against Bakugou particularly was incredible. She’s such a great and positive person, I love her a lot and I’ll be rooting for her all the way, she’s gonna be such an amazing hero...! <3

Celty Sturluson (Durarara!!): I love her so much, she’s such a fantastic and interesting character <3 Also, she’s Irish (technically) which is pretty neat, especially that one part where she speaks Irish (okay like one sentence, but it was seriously surprising for me to hear my native language in an anime lol). I love her friendship with Shizuo a lot also <3

Nico Robin (One Piece): Oh look, a One Piece character with a tragic past, what a surprise lol... Robin’s whole character arc was so good, the ‘I want to live’ moment in Enies Lobby is so iconic, if you say you didn’t get even remotely upset in that moment you lie lol. Seeing her so carefree and seemingly just happy to be alive and accepted while with the Strawhats just reminds you that life is actually pretty great when surrounded by the right people <3 (sorry that got a bit dramatic haha)

3. If you could meet an anime character who would it be?

Oh jeez em... I think I’m gonna say Luffy from One Piece because he’s a literal ray of sunshine all the time (except... well, you know...), and he’s such an open and accepting person of everyone. I think it would be pretty fun to be around him tbh!

4. What is your favourite thing about anime?

It’s just pure escapism, if you’re having a really bad day you can just come home and watch your favourite show and just forget about everything for a while. It also tends to deal with more controversial and interesting topics than other forms of media I find, which is pretty cool.

It’s also really helped me with my confidence, since going to conventions and stuff really helped me get a little bit better with my social anxiety because I find it SO much easier to talk to people when we have shared interests!

I guess it also led to me starting a few more hobbies too, like making cosplay, actually starting to write, draw and sing again, starting a Youtube channel with my bestie, starting to learn Japanese and taking it for my Leaving Cert exam (our end of high school exams over here), and actually pushing me to FINALLY buy my own pair of ice skates which I’ve been talking about doing for years (thank you Yuri on Ice lol), and also hopefully start lessons, which I’ve also been talking about doing for years lol

5. What is your least favourite thing about anime?

The fandoms... people get so defensive about everything and seem to always forget that we’re all in a fandom because we all love a certain show, usually because they’re too caught up in who’s the best character or why a certain ship is unacceptable. Also, people giving others hate about their favourite shows, and being like ‘oh *blank* is WAY better than *blank*, how could you like that show?!’, it really, REALLY bothers me... it doesn’t take much to be nice, it really doesn’t... you can have a discussion about why you personally think another show is better than another or whatever but that doesn’t give anyone the right to essentially bully someone else over it, and I 1000% won’t stand for it on my blog so you all know (sorry to get so serious, but I’m really sick of this carry-on at this stage)

6. Who are your favourite anime couple?

Viktor and Yuuri from Yuri on Ice!!!, but also a huge shout-out to Yato and Hiyori from Noragami and Makoto and Haru from Free! because I absolutely adore them too... T.T <3  

7. Who are your favourite anime animals?

Kuro (cat demon, Ao no Exorcist), Tony Tony Chopper (reindeer, One Piece), Makkachin (dog, Yuri on Ice!!!), Toboe (wolf, Wolf’s Rain, does he count??), Nigou (dog, Kuroko no Basuke), Black Hayate (dog, Fullmetal Alchemist), Ao (squirrel, Akatsuki no Yona), Gamabunta (toad, Naruto), and uhh he probably doesn’t count at all since he’s not technically an animal but Mao (cat, Darker than Black). I pretty much love all animals in anime lol.

8. What’s your favourite type of anime?

Hmmm I usually go for action/adventure or physiological thriller type shows <3 I also really like action/adventure type shows with romance as a sub-plot; Noragami or Akatsuki no Yona for example would be good examples of that!

9. What anime would make a good game?

Huh emm... I agree Hunter x Hunter would make a pretty good game! I’d also love a One Piece game that wasn’t strictly a fighting one (although I love them too), like an RPG type game would be awesome!

10. What was the first anime you ever watched?

Unknowingly Pokemon, knowingly Naruto!

11. Do you think you’ll ever stop watching anime?

I highly doubt it, although I may watch less because of time constraints... T.T I’m always going to be an anime fan because I don’t think anime has a age limit. They’re TV shows essentially, and there’s always going to be another new one that’s right up my alley! And I’m not likely to finish my backlog of old shows anytime soon either haha... ^^”

I won’t tag anyone atm, but go for it if you want!! ^^