#some pics i took when i visited japan

[isb-does-stuff]

bamboo

[thepersonnamedsam]

vacation 🏝️🌊🐚☀️

pairing: the genz!driver x 23!grid

summary: the grid enjoys the summer break together on a nice holiday

warnings: none :)

note: let’s all be delulu and think it’s not gonna take a month until we all see our fav people again

masterlist / taglist

yninsta

Maldives

liked by charles_leclerc, sebastianvettel and 638‘738 others

yninsta the groupchat holiday finally made it out of the groupchat - happy summerbreak y‘all

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username1 who are the cones?!!! i need to know

username2 probably carlos, lando and danny

yninsta actually it’s me, oscar and danny, so 1/3 right

username3 shooketh that they finally did a group holiday

username4 probably took y/n to convince them to all hangout outside the paddock

username5 yes, she’s probably the connection point between them all, so cute

sebastianvettel looks fun!

yninsta it is! u should come visit us, pls seb

charles_leclerc we all miss you, sebastian

lewishamilton please seb, i need help parenting some young lady

yninsta hope u don’t mean me :/

username6 i love the dynamic, ahhhhwjejejkwjw

username7 i wish to be her, so i could receive all this attention of the drivers

username7 what does a girl need to do?!?3! tell me

username8 sigh, i keep trying to find the key

lewishamilton

Maldives

liked by shakira, yninsta and 1‘378‘728 others

lewishamilton maldives treating me well

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yninsta ohh, look who’s all fancy now

yninsta where are the photo credits?!? huh?

lewishamilton here

yninsta thanks :)

username9 he’s so hot

username10 what’s gonna happen now?

unsername11 hopefully xavi gets fired

username12 wasn’t he fired already? what did i miss

username11 idk, honestly

username12 ugh, how came one be so hot

yninsta posted on their story!

lando.jpg

liked by yninsta, danielricciardo and 827‘628 others

lando.jpg party rock is in the house tonight

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username13 this looks like a hangover on the next day kind of night

username14 lando looks so good in the second pic

username15 swooning, i can’t

username16 estie bestie made a rare occurrence

yninsta how can nando smoke a cigar in a club?

fernandoalo_official Because I am cool

yninsta if u still type with capital letters, no you’re not

fernandoalo_official HEY

username17 oh, the old man is mad

daniel3.jpg posted on their story!

yninsta

liked by username18, lewishamilton and 722‘263 others

yninsta enjoying the time off

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username19 it’s so beautiful there

usermame20 wish to be there rn

username21 ugh, how does danny look this good?!

username22 who’s the one surfing?

yninsta our beloved carlitos

username22 really? he can surf?

carlossainz55 don’t underestimate my skills

yninsta posted on their story!

pierregasly

Maldives

liked by yninsta, yukitsunoda0511 and 373‘638

pierregasly we went ziplining and yninsta kind of went overhead, not because of me tho…

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yninsta IT WAS TOTALLY BC OF U

pierregasly NO

yninsta YES

landonorris i saw it

username23 was it pierre’s fault?!3

landonorris yes

pierregasly NO IT WAS NOT

yukitsunoda0511 why am i not in this dump?

pierregasly bc you are in japan right now?

username24 poor yuki is not on vacay with them

yninsta he didn’t want to :(

yninsta and is still complaining

yukitsunoda0511 i wanted to see my family

pierregasly wE ARE YPIR FAMILY

yninsta

liked by carlossainz55, charles_leclerc and 937‘268 others

yninsta the ferrari and the mclaren boyzzzzz

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scuderiaferrari y/n, you can take our job as pr manager now

mclaren no, she’s already hired by us

yninsta how about i am my own teams pr manager?

mclaren no..?

oscarpiastri i don’t look good in that pic

landonorris haha, thats true

yninsta don’t insult oscar, laNDI

username25 they all look so good

username26 y/n is old enough to drINK? when did she grow up?

fernandoalo_official Barely

yninsta not true, i am actually old enough to drink

yninsta and it was delicious

carlossainz55 yea, bc there is no alcohol in this

yninsta yes it was, what are u talking about

charles_leclerc no, i ordered you a virgin aperol, that’s why it’s so light coloured

yninsta hey, now i’m sad :(

username27 oh i wish to be her

°°°

taglist: @ironmaiden1313 , @topguncultleader , @biglittlesecret, @gulabjamooon , @lovelyy-moonlight , @peachyplumsss , @mistrose23 , @copper-boom , @love4lando , @champomiel , @serenityleah , @iloveyou3000morgan , @angelwithoutmywings , @elleeeee21 , @youkissedareaderinthedark , @mikauraur , @thybulleric , @lpab , @fdl305 , @mellowarcadefun , @teti-menchon0604 , @vildetry06 , @bibissparkles , @aurora-maria , @lunnnix , @sya-skies , @Buckywifeyy , @dakotali , @rechtrecht , @noncannonships , @1eclerc16 , @pitlanebabe , @sopheeg , @whatthefuckerr , @avengersheart , @thatsadsmallchild , @peachiicherries , @idkiwantchocolatee , @callsign-scully , @mehrmonga

[teojira]

TEDDY! I checked ur old blog and saw u have a this one :3, and i saw u write for the KAIJUUUS? bro i love godzilla sosososoosoOSOSOSOSO MUCH, if you're down for it, could you do some headcanons of being Godzilla's favorite human?, ofc platonic, (i dead ass love this gigantic lizard sm i made a wedding pic art as a joke cause someone said marry the damn lizard and i said fine i will, and i wanna clarify twice, it was a joke, i just love large lizards)

[Being Goji's favorite human headcanons] [platonic]

Summary: What being a huge lizard titans human entails!

Warnings: None! Just platonic companionship between you and the Big guy.

Word count: 650+ words

A/N: Omg Tama :(( I'm so happy to see you're here from the call of duty blog!! It's always a joy to see you in my notifs 🫶 ofc I got you, Godzilla headcanons comin right up! I hope these are okay!

- Being Goji's favorite human comes with alot of good, but alot of bad as well.

- It makes you special. There is no documentation in any of Monarchs database of him having any explicit connection to humans, no country, no specific race, and you're seemingly the first person in history. But that also means you're under their control due to your ties to the Kaiju.

- He doesn't visit nearly as much as he wishes he could, despite you both being connected by seemingly fate. He is the king of monsters, bro is busy! He has to keep the balance.

- Monarch learned the hard way that you cannot be housed at a base, it sets Goji off, so they literally have to place you on a private island somewhere for when he does come to see you, he can't destroy anything.

- Contrary to most of the publics opinion, he IS sentient. He knows what he does. Destroying usually comes with the territory when he has to fight a threat, but visiting you isn't so he makes sure not to crush your home, bellowing to let you know he's come to see you.

- He doesn't know why he cares for you, but it feels right, coming to you and curling up on the sand, waiting for you to come closer.

- Goji has ever been touched by one other human without intent of harm, Serizawa. He still remembers how comforting it was, how a small little human seemed to care for him when he was at his lowest.

- He enjoys when you pet him, more often than not being more than okay with the touch. It also helps that you take care of any issues he may have due to him being in the water extremely often, and he gets the occasional barnacle.

- The first time you took one of him, he snarled so loud that it sent you flying onto your back in fear, his large head whipping around to see just what the fuck you were doing.

- You explained to him calmly that you were removing the parasites from his scales. All you got was a huff in return. But he did turn back and rest his head again, so you figure that was him saying it was okay.

- It's hard to spend quality time with the titan due to just how BIG the fucker is, but he allows you to climb up him and make your way to his head, he's eerily still when he feels you on him, he knows his strength and size and one wrong move and you fall, shattering your legs.

- He would definitely bring you back things he's found in the ocean. What do you mean you're not interested in this deep sea squid that's the size of 3 school buses? He got it just for you! (You let Monarch take it to study, but you pretend to Goji that you are taking it for yourself.) (He lets out a pleased rumble at providing for you.)

- He somehow has the uncanny ability to find you no matter where you go, one time Monarch took you to the Japan base for a meeting that they deemed you necessary to attend.

- Imagine everyone's shock and awe when he appeared, roaring in a rage as he slouched down to the ground, not relaxing until you ran out in view, frantically waving your arms.

- He takes all his naps on your private island, curling into a little ball, it's the best rest he has had in years, only thing to make it better is when you join him, bring a blanket or bring a little air mattress and sleep out there with him, it brings him so much joy. If lizards could purr, you're sure he would be.

- Where this Goji, there is Mothra! She wants to see what caught his eye for the first time in centuries, she cares for humans more than he ever has, so she takes a liking to you immediately. So she visits you when she's able to, usually chirping and letting you touch her fuzz.

[brainrotharlot]

Ok, so, I've been on holiday in Japan for a few days now. It's my first time in Japan and I'm having a great time. It's really amazing and just like any ol' weeb, I've been wanting to go there for years.

But especially, I've been looking for Arlong merch. 🦈

At first, I wasn't very lucky. I only managed to find cards from the one piece card game. I think I got every card with Arlong that exists, which is super neat. I even got the cards for super cheap, some of them were on sale. Poor old boy was so unwanted.

But when it came to actual merch, Arlong was nowhere to be found.

At every one piece or figurine shop we visited (There's so many of those everywhere), I couldn't find any Arlong merch. Shops often carried very obscure characters who I only vaguely remembered existed, but rarely any Arlong.

The only stuff I found were quite ugly. But since I couldn't find anything else, and I was holding a bet with my boyfriend on who would find merch of their favorite character first and bring it home, I still got them. I even took a small figurine of Luffy stomping Arlong 🙄

The good thing with loving random as characters is that you won't spend too much money on memorabilia, I suppose!

We were still checking most shops we came accross, mostly because it's fun, but I was still on the hunt. At this point, just finding a pin or a keychain with the official art instead of an ugly chibi would have been great, but no luck! 😮‍💨

Until...

Until!

I found this chunk of a hunk in a shop!

I don't think this pictures shows just how big and cool this guy is. He's gonna dwarf the figurines we already have at home. He's big enough to stomp on the small figurine of Luffy stomping Arlong. I'll take better pics when we're home.

He was taking a whole shelf row just for himself. I heard angels sing when I found him. I was in the middle of a sentence, complaining about not finding Arlong again when I spotted him. It was so funny.

The cashier also liked him a lot. We had a few items, but he stopped when scanning that big Arlong figurine, saying "woah, so cool!" and then said "sorry, man", when he put him in the shopping bag.

Also, look at how tiny his head is compared to the rest of his body! So little room for brains!

Anyway, I'm extatic to have found it! I wasn't hoping to find something so cool that's Arlong-related

I didn't think I would find anything to top this off.

And yet...

You guys aren't ready.

We walked past a shop that sold one piece underwear (yes, underwear).

And this mofo was staring right at us.

Yes, it's underwear, with Arlong's whole f*cking face on it.

It's ugly. It's beautiful. I love it.

Don't be so jealous!

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

https://www.tumblr.com/sizzlingpatrolfox/747557032513699840/that-yoonmin-theory-is-so-embarrassing-even?source=share

Not talking about yoonmin or any ship but they might have kept it secret many times too as much as they have publically traveled together. Definitely not for the purpose shippers think but more like for their own privacy cause then people just try finding their locations and all. Jimin's paris trip was all over the internet, same happened with taehyung. taekook has travelled together but no one would have known if he didn't share the pic (idk if the travelling happened in korea itself but it's more likely korea cause other countries except japan just don't care about the privacy like that), jungkook has done trips with his friends, so has jimin and in between that some were public some only got figured out after the members posted themselves, same for the vminkook jeju trip. So yeah it's not because of the reasons shippers think but most likely for their own privacy. I remember taehyung thanking the Hawaii people for respecting his privacy and keeping boundaries. The vhope trip got to know because they posted on Instagram. Some members post it and some just never post it like take example of jungkook he Hardly posts his trips and all even tho he goes on trips with his friends. People only suspect it when there's an eye witnesses or else he Hardly posts it or mention it. Jimin, yoongi, jungkook are some of the members who prefer their privacy the most. Not saying others don't care but these three usually these three and i think jin too. So it's basically taejoonhope that let people know.

Jimin publicly travelled to Chicago to support Hoseok in Lolla. He went to Yoongi's concert without hiding. He publicly took a flight to the US during Jungkook debut to film with him. He showed up at Taehyung's music show recording. He visited Jin in the military and photos were posted.

If Jimin was travelling with a member for a public schedule, it would've been known. So the theories don't make sense. All the other times you mentioned were private trips that the members took in their free time, with real-life friends, they weren't travelling with other BTS members in their free time. If Jimin had travelled with Yoongi to Singapore, or with Jungkook to Qatar, it most definitely would've been known.

[elcheese]

2ND KNY OC TIME YAYAAYYAYSYDJFKCKK-

I know I already included some facts about him in the pic but I'm still going to type stuff about him lmao

Like I said on Hannei's post, I am not from Japan and I'm not knowledgeable on their language, so if I get something wrong, I'm sorry

Name:

Kagerō Hara

His first name Kagerō (かげろう or カゲロウ), also spelled Kagerou, is the Japanese word for "heat haze" (陽炎) or "mayfly" (蜉蝣 or 蜻蛉)

[Ignore the fact I forgot to make the o in his name's this ō]

While his last name Hara 原(はら) means meadow.

Current Age:

17

Birthday:

December 3rd

Gender + Pronouns:

Male, He/Him

Species:

Human

Rank:

Tsuchinoe

Breathing Style:

Breath of the Weasel

A breathing style inspired by the Japanese mythical creature, Kamaitachi. It has six forms. Kagero came up with it by himself, derived from Wind breathing.

Relationship + Sexuality:

Single and ready to mingle (kill me that was hurtful to type). Demiromantic.

Weapons:

Kusarigama

Kusarigama is his main weapon. A sickle attached to a long chain.

He has smaller weapons though like daggers and a Tekko-Kagi laced with wisteria poison.

Miscellaneous items he carries with him though are matches, a lighter, a tin of gasoline/oil and wisteria powder.

Personality:

Kagero is a very extroverted person but very blunt. He doesn't mean to be rude! He just.. isn't the brightest. Very outgoing and active, always at least interacting with someone or keeping himself busy with training or hobbies. He's a gentleman as well, mama raised him right type of gentleman. Confident but not egotistical. He's a bit of a blabber mouth, he tries to keep quiet but like it ends up failing. An absolute nerd when it comes to japanese mythical creatures. Always puts his family first, no questions asked.

He's a bit reckless though and oddly violent. That violence is only towards demons of course. One of his flaws is that he always rushes in. His determination is admirable but my god this guy is gonna die faster if he just keeps attacking 💀 he gets better though. That plays along with his slight lack of patience, he wants things to end as quickly as possible so he can get to another mission. A bit greedy and a huge spender, love language is gift giving frfr. Nosy, and is upfront about it too.

Backstory:

Kagerō and his little sister, Akemi, lived in a nice little village with their grandparents, parents sadly passing away due to natural causes. Kagerō used to work at his grandparents' restaurant but only to help. Serving the orders to the customers, occasionally hearing the gossip from locals and visitors. The most peculiar ones were about demons. How odd, but it's nice to know that there are people interested in myths just like him. Every once a month, Kagerō and Akemi would visit their parents' graves to pay respects and just chat for a while, have a little picnic as well.

The rumors about a demon were starting to get even more intense, Kagerō chalked it up to just paranoia until he heard something about the graveyard. Dug up graves have been spotted with the bodies in them gone. Of course he was starting to get worried, what sort of maniac would steal the dead bodies of people's loved ones? So one particular night, he did the smart (dumb) thing to do. Wait until his grandparents and little sister fall asleep, sneak out and catch the criminal in the act! He took a lamp with him, careful not to step on any of the graves as he walked. That's when he heard it, a sickeningly loud and squelching noise, followed by a few crunches. To his horror, the rumors were true. It was a demon. A demon was digging up graves and eating up the corpses. His parents' graves are one of them. Furious, he yelled at the demon.. and proceeded to fist fight with it. The demon was pretty frail and weak, but still stronger than the average human.

Akemi had actually followed him, scared out of her mind while holding her own lantern, decorated in wisteria flowers. One thing led to another and Kagerō just shoved the wisteria into the demon's mouth, poisoning it. He was tired but did his best to stay conscious so he could take Akemi back home. Both got the scolding of their lives but it was later revealed that their grandparents are retired demon slayers. Both trained the two about the wind breathing. Akemi was successful while Kagerō made a few changes to better suit him.

Extra:

- His favorite food is Uiro. He has a massive sweet tooth.

- Freaked out by the Wind Hashira ngl

- The top of his uniform originally belonged to another demon slayer he knew. He saw how uncomfortable she was with it and offered to switch. They were the same size so it was successful.

- Friends with Hannei! He maybe even has the tiniest crush on them.

- Regularly talks about brutal ways on how to kill a demon with Hannei.

- He keeps his hair long because Akemi loves playing and styling it. (Got pissed this one time a demon was able to cut it lol)

- He'd be great friends with Mitsuri!... If he wasn't so freaked out by the Serpent Hashira. Respectfully.

- Likes giving fun nicknames to everyone he meets. (Tanjiro = lucky, Zenitsu = deer boy, Hannei = Hare, etc.)

- Admired Rengoku Kyojuro a lot, he even wanted to train with him one day.

[a-forbidden-detective]

The snowball fight

—

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial with the prompt #FFF235 Little Pink Houses

Fandom: Kamonohashi Ron no kindan suiri / Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

* Saw two men playing on the street throwing snowballs at each other and suddenly I had the urge to write a RonToto fic situated in London after they visited the Scotland Yard’s Crime Museum. They looked like they were having fun these two… then the taller one attacked the other and they vanished. Got carried away as the word count surged to 995!!! (Beware of the spoilers if you don’t or haven’t read the manga.)

—

There are six different ways to describe snow in Japanese, thought Toto. Of all those six, the sight of snow-covered streets reminded him of the untouched yuki-boshi. He grabbed a handful of lily-white snow from someone’s hood of a car and like a ritual began to mould it in a way Toto knew by heart as a small child in Tokyo.

The reminiscences brought a smile to his face, but right now he couldn’t be much happier spending New Year’s Eve in London with none other than Ron. It was not on Toto’s bucket list more than a year ago, yet here he was in the UK capital enjoying the sights with his friend, discovering its nooks and crannies away from the touristic places.

Accompanying the forbidden detective had been natural now for the Tokyo police officer after all what they had been through. To witness his friend donning a toga to officially graduate from the BLUE Academy was already a privilege.

The gruelling events in the late October at the cruise ship and the murders that followed were enough to be a good excuse to stay away from Japan at the moment, to give them the chance to heal from physical wounds and mental exhaustion, thus, to be alone together far away from his hometown.

Toto couldn’t help asking himself the real score between the two of them, but somehow there was something that was hindering him to take action.

It was only 4:45 pm, but already dark when they left the New Scotland Yard’s Black Museum. The snow on his black gloves started to melt. Ron looked at him fondly and was still shaking from excitement of meeting some of the Scotland Yard staff members that he learned to know as a student at the BLUE.

The immaculate white flakes blanketing the whole city still fascinated Toto even if he was already in his early 30s. The streets that they walked turned magical. Strange that the weather stopped the outpouring of a crowd where they were. They were almost alone except from one or two bystanders.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think it is more different than in Tokyo. My grandmother sent me pics from their balcony. The whole landing was full of snow as well,” Toto showed several pictures taken by his grandma.

“Whoah those!” Ron just exclaimed.

Toto wondered what made his friend astounded.

The image of little pink houses emerged from his view that he himself was dumbfounded seeing the landscape.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Toto said. The images were taken during the sunset. The reflection of the sun’s weird angle against the fresh snow decked on the roofs rendered the whole scenery with a pinkish hue.

Ron happily glanced at it again only to smack Toto’s face with snow. It took the police officer by surprise, but he was ready to avenge himself.

“You devil!” Toto scooped more snow from the parked cars and threw them nonstop at his friend who did the same thing.

Soon enough there was a barrage of flying snowballs in the air to and fro. The two behaved like children and the almost empty streets of London became their oyster.

Ron then got a hold of Toto’s coat collar and without further ado kissed him full on the lips as he poured bits of snow inside his shirt.

Stunned both from the amorous action and the cold temperature that engulfed Toto, removing his gloves, he then gripped Ron’s face to ultimately kiss him back. To hell with the melting ice running down his spine. The world stopped as Toto sucked Ron’s tongue and licked the insides of his mouth.

Laughing, Ron struggled to let go as he dragged Toto to an alley where no one could see them at all. Leaning on the abandoned store window, he then proceeded to kiss Toto again whilst taking off his scarf then lifted Toto’s shirt wiping away the wetness on his friend’s back.

After the initial contact, the younger man caressed his friend’s cheeks and kissed his forehead, nose, ears, the top of his head and back to his lips again.

“Apologies, Isshiki-san, it is taking you so long to get your act together.” Ron whispered, his voice two octaves lower than usual. His long hands travelled from Toto’s neck down to his lower back that made Toto shiver.

“Cunning devil…” Toto could only say as he smiled and gave in to Ron’s tender hands.

“So that settles the score, ne?”

Toto nodded and placed his head on Ron’s chest. With the forbidden detective’s fingers behind Toto’s back, Toto wished they could stay like that forever away from the madness of the M Family and gruesome crimes in Japan. But he knew that it would make his now lover sad and useless. Ron loved and lived for sleuthing, puzzles and crimes.

His phone beeped, a message incoming.

Toto searched for his left pocket where his iPhone was.

“Not yet, Toto…”

The messenger was insistent. Ron loosened up his hold on Toto so the latter could maneuver his hand.

“Oh shit! It is Spitz! He and his companion are already at the pub,” Toto couldn’t stand it when he forgot something, but on the other hand, he couldn’t pass up this moment with Ron.

“Ack! Oh well, we must take our leave, I guess…” Ron didn’t give any sign of moving at all.

“It is Spitz, Ron. He promised us to give more information concerning the M Family,” Toto looked at his friend-lover, who reached for his nose to stroke gently.

“Ron, we have to go now.”

“All right. But remember, we aren’t done here yet,” Ron seized Toto’s hand and placed it on his crotch. It made Toto’s eyes bulge.

“Oh my god, I created a monster…”

“Heh,” Ron showed Toto his winning smile.

Ron and Toto then tread the path leading them to Soho holding hands to meet up with their friend.

~ fin ~

[aoyama-division]

ARB Birthday Special 2024: Tomi Chōten

~~ August 14th ~~

"It's all about the money."

Login Lines:

*Sighs* "Back home... I won't say I missed it, but... I am... a bit glad to be back. I had almost forgotten how Aoyama looks. ...Hino. Good to see you again. ...Yes, the honeymoon went spectacularly, thank you for asking. Miho-san and I had a wonderful time. ...What's this now? A welcome home gift? No? Then..."

"A... birthday gift? ...Oh. It is my birthday today, isn't it? I can't believe I returned home on the day of my birth. I must have been having such a good time, I forgot. ...Well, thank you, nonetheless, Hino-san."

Voice Lines:

"28 years old. Hard to believe that I'm two years away from being. ...I won't say I'm looking forward to it. But then again, why am I worried about things that haven't happened yet? Perhaps, I've been spending too much time among the common class, as of late."

"My parents, (un)fortunately, stated they wouldn't be around to celebrate my birthday. My mother stated that she grew a bit envious seeing me and Miho together, so she forced my father to take her on a vacation, i.e., a second honeymoon. ...I'd say I'm sad that they're not around, but... well, it's no different from usual. At least, they forwarded some money to my account. ...But I really miss my birthdays when I was younger..."

"Miho-san called and wished me a 'happy birthday', which I thanked her for. I escorted her back home after we had arrived in Japan. It was really nice to spend a month and a half with her without worrying about things here in Japan. ...Perhaps, I should endeavor to take her on a vacation twice a year, for both our birthdays. I think it would do us both a world of good."

"Karada. ...Yes, it's good to see you again too. I'm glad you took care of Aoyama in my absence. ...The honeymoon was pleasant. Miho-san and I had a very good time. ...Oh, our pictures on PROFILE? Yes, we visited a variety of places. We couldn't decide where to go, so we chose a number of good spots. …Well, if you need any good spots, I'll be sure to recommend some."

"Anyway, if nothing else, I... ...Oh, a birthday gift? ...Oh, a humidor for my cigars? Wow, this is a bit surprising coming from you, Karada, especially since you're the only one of us who doesn't smoke. ...No, no, it's fine. Thank you, Karada."

"Luis. ...I and Miho-san's honeymoon was fine, thank you very much. ...Look, whatever issue you have with my wife, get over it, please do get over it. Regardless of rather you like it or not, she and I are husband and wife, and will continue to be so, so please let it go. ...Well, I'm glad to hear that. ...As I said before, your glibness does you no credit, Kōkyū."

"So, was there something else you wanted? ...What are these now? ...Opera tickets? ...Oh, I did mention that Miho-san and I were into opera, didn't we? I'm surprised you were listening. ...And these are high-rise seats? Hmm. If I didn't know any better, Kōkyū, I'd say you were getting used to Miho-san's presence. ...Haha. Well, thank you for this. I'll be sure to find time for Miho-san and I to use these."

Karada Lines:

"Hey Tomi! Welcome back to Japan! It's good to see you again! ...Of course, man! I wasn't gonna let nothing happen to this city while you were gone! Not on my watch! But anyway, how was the honeymoon?! I saw some of your pics on PROFILE. You and Miho-san looked adorable! ...Oh man! I gotta convince Lola if I can take her on a vacation sometime! ...Hey, maybe you and Miho can join us! Just think about it, okay?"

"Oh, by the way, happy birthday, man! Yeah, it's a case for your cigars! ...Hey, I still don't see how you and Luis smoke those things, but hey, I'm not judging. ...Glad you like it, Tomi! Happy birthday again, and welcome back!"

Luis Lines:

"Tomi. Welcome back, I guess. And how was your little getaway with your bride? ...Hmph, glad to hear it. ...Issues? Oh, you misunderstand me, Chōten. Whatever so-called "issues" I have with your wife, I assure you, that are quite miniscule compared to some of the other people in the D.R.B. Do I care for her? No. But compared to others in this rap tournament, she's not worth getting upset over. ...Glad to know I have your approval. ...Whatever."

"Anyway, here. ...Yeah, I won these off some radio show, but I personally can't stand opera. But I know you and your bride do, so... here. ...Don't flatter yourself, Chōten. ...Whatever. I'm out. Give your wife my regards."

[muthaz-rapapa]

Precure Store: Tokyo & Yokohama

Finally have time to sit down and report cuz I'm sure I'll be dead with jetlag when I return home this weekend.

Right, well, it's been 4 years since I've been back in Japan (when StarPre was airing) and this time, I got to visit three stores (not the Osaka one though, saving that one for next time).

Starting with Yokohama. This one is slightly bigger than the one located on Tokyo Character Street at Tokyo Station. And, as I later discovered, had more goods available as well. I'm not sure if visiting the Yokohama store on the weekend and the Tokyo store on a weekday makes the difference but...in any case, Yokohama left the better impression with its display this time around.

(I'll go back to check the Tokyo store one more time before I leave to see if they stocked up on more merch)

Moving along, Halloween already ended by the time I got here but those seasonal goods are still on sale. This year's looked really good, especially Tsubasa <3 so I wanted to get his acrylic stand but alas, it seems he and Ellee-chan were the most popular of the bunch cuz they were sold out everywhere. The power of mahou shounen + his mascot.

I ended up getting Mashiro...and then Sora cuz their outfits clearly are meant to complement each other so it wouldn't feel complete if I left with just one of the pair (will post pics of my loot below). I liked Ageha too but I already collected enough Wing goods so had to restrain myself as there was other things I needed to buy like Pokemon, Pokemon and Pokemon.

Oh, and I decided to order Tsubasa from the Toei online store since it's still in stock there. This one is the finest acrylic stand of him yet and I'm sure I'll regret it if I don't get him.

The cardboard stands are still present and since Yokohama's space was bigger, every Cure of this season got to get displayed throughout the store. Sky and Majesty took the front while Butterfly (forgot to take a photo, sorry~) was placed to right of the entrance.

Prism could be found at the photo studio section where you can dress up in the costumes the store lends out for pictures which I thought was very appropriate since she's the character closely associated with fashion, after all.

And Wing was placed right beside the anniversary collage which was also super awesome, considering he is the first male Cure to officially be part of the main group and they're acknowledging that by letting him stand out among all the other female Cures at a milestone event.

Now onto the merch...

Maybe it's because this year is an anniversary year that I feel like there aren't as much HiroPre specific goods as there should be compared to the year when StarPre was airing?

At least the variety for HiroPre seems a tad less cuz half the store was dedicated to All Stars...but then again, I'm not really keeping up with Precure merch recently so I dunno.

Anyways, there are plenty of otedama available but some are sold out like certain Cures and mascots (Mofurun ;___; ). I wouldn't use that as a measure to gauge popularity but anyone with a brain can tell customers' purchases are influenced by the impact a season and/or character had on the audience. And then there are the sub-factors to those categories too like how recent the season was or if it was and still is a huge fan favorite. Or in terms of characters, how well their personality is received, their position in the group, their color theme, the time spent on their characterization and development, etc.

For example, it should come as no surprise that Sky is the most sold out of everyone in this year's line up due to the combination of her being a lead Cure, a Blue Cure and the most heavily featured Cure in the ongoing show.

I even heard a kid tell their mom that "I like Sora the most!" so there you go.

And this is just my guess but it seems Wing and Ellee-chan (mascot ver) follow behind Sky, then Prism and then Butterfly.

For the overall All Stars, you'll have to check the polls for that ranking. The acrylic stands for some seem to have been sold out already but the space in the store is too small to hold everything so I can't comment any further than that.

Although there seems to be a lot of Soleil still hanging around.

...god, if these are leftovers from 4 years ago, I will be so sad. Soleil is not well loved at all.

I partially blame it on how poorly her character arc was handled but...we all know that's not the biggest reason.

Anyways, the Yokohama store displayed some fan drawings underneath their bulletin board which was very sweet.

I like the Peach one the most and I'm glad to know Prism is getting her deserved share of the love through these art (thank you, Mashiro fans~💖).

Before I move on to Tokyo Station, apparently there's a store called AniBirth (??) that featured Precure at the Parco mall in Shibuya right by all the other anime goods stores like Nintendo and the Pokemon Center on the same floor.

I'm not familiar with this shop so I'm guessing they rotate series depending on the special occasion?

In any case, you can take a picture with Black and White here.

Here are all the anniversary stands on display (extra kudos to the staff for arranging Precure according to their respective generations).

This shop didn't have anything that the Yokohama one didn't so I didn't purchase any additional goods.

And these were the otedama sold out at this location but what bothers me isn't that.

Just why are the seasons not in proper release order?! This drives me nuts!

*wrings hands*

Now, Tokyo Station.

Yea, there was definitely less here than there was 4 years ago. Back then, the whole store was packed to every corner with goods and it was swarming with customers.

Now however, the section where you could get costumes, T-shirts, other miscellaneous stuff and even toys are noticeably absent. It's mostly general keychains, acrylic stands, stickers, some posters that are available. Stuff that I already saw at Yokohama.

Hell, I don't recall seeing any clear files available either.

I guess those sorts of goods won't be sold in the physical stores anymore but elsewhere?

Who knows.

But this conductor Latte was very cute.

Fitting since this is located right next to a major train terminal.

I'm glad they kept her despite all the mascots that succeeded her in the spotlight after HealPre. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to take this photo.

Finally, my loot...ok, it's not enough to be called a loot but this is my haul for HiroPre.

(maybe I'll get another Wing keychain before leaving...)

Got the Virtual Live flyer as part of the purchase along with a Halloween bromide set and two stickers of my choice (naturally I chose my fave and Butterfly since I don't have any seperate merch for her).

There was the option to choose a bag with all the HiroPre members (they charge you for bags, it's like 11 yen (??) or more depending on the size) but it was too giant for me to use so I just went with Sky.

K, that's all. Looking forward to coming back again.

Hopefully Osaka will be on that trip's itinerary.

[tumblasha]

vacation review: taiwan

overall rating: ★★★★/5

cities visited (chronologically): taipei, taichung, kaohsiung, taitung

the good parts

i got to see Moomf (micosu oomf)

i got over the "i can't visit a country if i don't know the language" feeling

nature everywhere

night markets were so fun!

at least half of the population wears a mask at all times (even outside of taipei where the air quality is nicer!)

every train station + tourist spot had a stamp area so now i have a lil booklet filled with taiwanese stamps :,)

food! especially boba and soups :DD -so much liquid.

traveling on the back of a scooter is so mind-numbing, i love being a passenger princess

the bad parts

taipei's air pollution is a lil sad but def not the worst

getting over the jetlag and post-vacation sadness T_T

they killed that duck that i saw in that one tumblr post

overall summary

i think that taiwan is an excellent place for people of all places to visit! especially if you know english, everyone is really nice to english-speakers and makes an effort to gesture-speak or google translate through every conversation

this may be insensitive, but i think that the "made in taipei" brand (country pride of having many ~cultural influences) really works for tourism. previously, i saw friends and co-workers take their japan trip and do all the kawaii things (sanrio store, snoopy cafe, studio ghibli museum, etc), and got sad. taichung really embraces manga, anime, and other kawaii-adjacent things, and it satisfied my desire to go to japan. i've been having a hard time with co-existing with appreciating the good side of japan (mostly art and media) and learning abt the bad sides (colonial history), so it was nice being able to get a positive experience with low "double-think"

on post-vacation sadness

idk why but this was the first time that i came back from a vacation and i was Sad. like, maybe it's bc i got my period mid-trip and it was some weird post-period hormonal thing?? but i doubt it

looking back, i think that i have never truly been Alone until this trip? when i solo traveled in sp+pt, i was able to talk to the people in the hostel and go out with them. i wasn't able to talk to anybody bc a majority of the tourists spoke either mandarin or japanese, and idk either of those languages. i think that i was alone with my thoughts for too long -> leading to being on my phone too much -> leading to random bursts of crying (?) that lasted through a week after coming back to the US. it was bad enough that i took off all my jewelry and almost cut my hair X|

also any instagram posts that mentions taiwan / east asia kinda ruins my whole day. i wanna go backkkkkk

lessons learned

it's okay to be lost emotionally and physically! being alone is a constant battle of self-love and The Void

i need more international friends bc visiting them in their free time + their country of residence in their work time is so fun

i need to take more pictures of myself! i think somewhere in this trip i convinced myself to download dating apps again and i have no good pics. i also can't post a "taiwan photodump" on insta :(

tl;dr: go to taiwan! but go with friends!!

[aubzikins]

Chapter 6: Fresh Start

Chapter 6: Fresh Start

It's been a few months since the time spent with the guys. I still miss it. It wasn’t long but I haven’t felt as comfortable as I did back then.

Chan texts occasionally. Nothing major after that day and my apologies that I sent. He said he understood and there were no hard feelings, but his texts became lighter. It was mostly hey or checking in and that’s about it. Hyunjin also seemed to keep me at arm's length.

Felix and I text every few days. I still feel guilty about how I left, but Felix reassures me that he doesn’t blame me. I've been traveling for work, and training others in different parts of the US. Luckily Aeris travels well, so I send Felix and Lee Know pics of her, the different foods I end up trying, and the sights I get to see.

After Innie requested my cell phone number for the rest of the group, they will message me from time to time. At first, I thought it was weird because I didn’t think they would want to keep in contact. Eventually, it became a routine thing to text back and forth.

I had some vacation time saved up and so I decided to take a trip to Japan. I've never been there before and thought it would be a fun trip. Originally, I wanted Korea to be the first country I visited. But after everything, I figured it would be best to not go.

During one of our text sessions, I let Felix know I was going on vacation.

Lixie: Heya Nia, how's it going?

Me: Not bad, just doing some stuff.

Lixie: Anything fun?

Me: Oh, I finally have 3 weeks of vacation. So, I'm packing.

Lixie: Yay for Vacay! Where ya heading? What about Aeris?

Me: I have a really good friend here that’s going to take care of her. She’s done a few “playdates” at her house, so she's used to them. I’m heading to Japan.

Lixie: Japan? Wow! That should be great. When do you head out?

Me: I am leaving in a few hours. Red-eye flight so I can try and stay on a decent schedule while there.

Lixie: awesome! Please let me know when you land safely. What's your flight number? I like being able to track the little ✈️…

Me: Will do! ❤️ oh it's 220A with Japan Airlines

Lixie: Got it! Safe Travels!💙🤍

Me: Thanks Felix, have a good day!

 17 hours later:

After a 15-hour flight, I finally arrived in Tokyo. As we were taxiing to our gate, I was able to send Felix a text.

Me: Heya Felix, just landed in Tokyo. Thank goodness for direct flights.

Lixie: Yay! I checked in every couple of hours to see where your plane was.

Me: Aww, thanks for watching out for me!

Lixie: Of course! Well, I hope you have a blast while in Tokyo.

Me: Thanks Felix, wish you guys were here ❤️

Lixie: Us too! 💙🤍

After what seemed like forever, I finally made it to baggage claim. Before I could grab my suitcase, a man walked up and took it.

“Excuse me… excuse me, sir, that’s my suitcase,” I exclaim. No response, he just keeps walking. When I finally catch up to him, I exclaim “SIR! That’s my suitcase!” When I grab his arm, he spins around, and I come face to face with Lee Know. “I know, I was grabbing it for you.” He said. As I stand there completely stunned, Felix walks up beside him, “Ahh I see you found her. I didn’t know which baggage claim she would be at.” He says.

"What are you guys doing here??? How? Why?" My brain was having trouble piecing everything together.

"We came to see you!" Felix said excitedly.

"Not the greeting we were expecting…" eyed Lee Know. "Thought you would be much happier to see us."

"I mean, of course, I'm happy to see you! Just trying to let my brain catch up." When it finally does, I give Lee Know a kiss on the cheek through my mask. Felix then walks over and gives me a tight hug.

"We have missed you, Nia. I'm so happy we get to see you again. Now we have more than 2 days to spend together." Felix was smiling so much that the mask couldn't hide it.

"Let's go, the car is waiting for us." Lee Know pointed towards the exit.

"Wait, what? Where are we going?" I asked.

"Well, we rented out a beach house, and made sure there was room for you!" Felix said excitedly.

"We? Is it just y’all? And me? Really?" I said quietly.

"For now… and yes you… no skipping out this time though." Lee Know replied.

"Oh… about that. I still regret doing that. I should've handled it better, " I say as I look down at the ground wringing my hands.

Felix takes my hand, "That's the past, it’s okay. Let's go…"

The house they rented was about 45 minutes away. During the car ride, we talked about what has gone on in the last six months and how everyone was doing. Felix and Lee Know told me about their comeback, the rest of the tour, and the shenanigans they got into on the SKZ Talkers. And how Chan had requested that they get some vacation time before they get back into the studio.

I was mostly up to date with everyone but Chan and Hyunjin. We had talked about my leaving and they both said they had understood, but after that initial conversation, I rarely got any messages from them at first. They would eventually respond to me, but it was usually a quick text and then nothing until I texted them again. I really couldn't blame them, but it still hurt.

"So, everyone is on vacation?" I asked.

"Yup, Chan got JYP to give us a few weeks break. Of course, we will still probably work on some music here and there but it's not mandatory," Felix smiled.

"Oh, did everyone go home?" I didn't want to pry but it would be nice to see everyone.

"Eh, I think they all had something they wanted to do/see. They said they would keep us updated with their travels." Lee Know smiled.

"Ahh, understandable. Hopefully, everyone enjoys themselves. Wait, what about you two?" I look panicked. "Please don't say you're wasting your vacation time on visiting with me!"

"One, it's not a waste Nia. We loved the time we spent with you back in the States. We were going to try and extend that time, but you didn't give us that opportunity. Two, we are spending the next week with you at least. Maybe two, we will see how it goes." Lee Know said almost scolding me.

I was going to try and say something but the look on Lee Know's face suggested otherwise.

We pulled up to a gorgeous beach house that had a private gated area and a covered pool. It was a traditional Japanese-styled home.  From the outside, it looked like it would be suited for a feudal Tono. Way too much for someone like me, but for them, it was perfect.

[rkhemlani]

June 20th - Osaka Day Trip (Last Day)

Wow, this is the last blog post and I am definitely in my feels writing this. This past month has been real and it’s definitely going to be hard to say bye to both Japan and the people on this trip. I really hope that we meet up in the fall and do something fun, maybe during sylly week or for Chelsea’s sign-night. This group is definitely a little weird, but I love it. However, I do miss home and all the things that come with that including hooping, going to the beach, playing poker, and spending time with friends and family. Whether it was going to see a kabuki play or sipping a much-needed drink on the top of a gorgeous rooftop bar with beautiful views of the city, this trip has been nothing short of amazing and I am definitely glad that I was able to visit this interesting country with such interesting people. I do hope that my peers feel the same way. I’m going to miss playing Uno and gaslighting people to buy me ice cream the most. Ok, now that the sentimental part is over, time for the actual blog post. Today, I woke up extra early and went to Starbucks (where I didn’t see girl Sam surprisingly) and got a strawberry donut and did some work. I came back and got ready for the day. Today’s lecture really just consisted of our favorite parts of the trip and what we thought the professor could’ve done to improve it. We commenced our Osaka day trip with an hour-long train ride, which we were able to pass the time through a shared music experience through Spotify. Imagine having Apple Music, I feel sorry for you. We got to Osaka, where we immediately split for lunch and our group got cut off from the small group of five that had the best curry on the trip unfortunately. Our katsu was ok. We met with the class again and headed to Osaka castle. We took pics here and it was hot so I kept kidding around by pretending that I was at a prom after-party by unbuttoning all my buttons on my white shirt. You had to be there. Vishnu likes taking strange pics of me when I randomly lick my lips and had my shirt unbuttoned. I also taught the group how to properly griddy here (that’s a dance move mom). I felt cool in the moment because I hit it well and then flipped my fan out at the same time. Afterwards, we hopped on the train again and went to a neighborhood that was supposed to mimic American culture, but other than the McDonald’s, there wasn’t anything distinctly American. Then we kept walking where we eventually split for the last time as a group in the heart of Osaka. I had a strawberry ice cream, thanks to Vishnu. We then did some thrift shopping, but at first I couldn’t find anything. Xander and I also took a break and we got smoothies; I got an acai flavored one that was extremely refreshing. Everyone was buying goods, and my wallet was itching to spend money, because I love shopping but wasn’t finding anything. Eventually, at the last store we went to, I found a lovely Dior sweater that I believe was reasonably priced for what it was. After that, I led the group of Xander, Sebastian, Nico, Aulora, Casey, Chelsea, and Eliza to team-labs Osaka. Vishnu met up with us because he had gone to the Osaka aquarium. It was cool and relaxing to walk through the garden that was decorated with changing lights and interesting designs. Some of us (Xander, Vishnu, Aulora, Chelsea, Casey, and I) headed to a local restaurant, where most of us got pork yakisoba. After that it took us a while to get back to the hotel because there were delays on the train due to a derailment. I showered and got ready to go to bed, but Nico and I went to Family Mart first to get some sweets and have a good chit-chat. We love chit-chatting and talking chisme (gossip). 

Academic Reflection

By the end of this course, it is evident that all of us students have learned so much, even if we haven’t always done the dense readings. We learned about the youth sub-culture of Japan with anime and manga, while also learning about the traditional aspects such as tea ceremonies, history of cities, and Buddhism. I found it incredibly interesting that on one street, one can find beautiful traditional temples with ornate gardens and then several blocks over, the entire street would be adorned with lights, colors, advertisements, and anime characters. 

The previous reading was concerned with the urban organization/planning of Osaka and Kobe (shoutout Vishnu). As Professor Smith explained, Osaka was previously a major merchant city that heavily relied on movement and trading of goods, which fostered a more casual environment and societal structure. In class, we discussed how buildings are constantly being destroyed and taller, more modern buildings are constructed, leading to a constantly new skyline. It also contributes to a decrease in traditional buildings. This method contrasts that of Europe, in which many cities will purposefully place regulations to keep the traditional scenery of the city. Cities in Japan definitely display a greater mix of modern buildings with traditional buildings compared to cities in Europe that typically have separate zones for traditional building areas and modern building areas. 

[memoriofagoldfish]

On this day, one year ago...

Today I was back in Kyoto and ready to do some sightseeing. However, I didn't account for how awful the heat was. Honestly, it was miserably hot... I could barely take it.

My first stop was the Imperial Palace as I'd missed it when my friend visited back in March, since I was ill at the time. However, I just couldn't bring myself to really enjoy it. The heat was really affecting me.

Walking around was not an option. So, I decided to rent a bike. I'd wanted to rent a bike for a while - my friend and I discussed it, but never followed through. However, out of desperation to not trudge along in this heat, I finally figured out one of the apps for bike rentals, and oh my gosh, I was so happy. Just to have that breeze while cycling along. Japan is really bike friendly, so it was a safe and comfortable ride around.

This newfound energy and happiness spurred me to go to up to Kiyomizu-dera. I cycled most of the way, though I had to push my bike up the steep hill that was full of walking tourists 😅

I didn't know how to park the bike with a lock, and there were no stations around to return it, so I ended up leaving it just down a side street, very anxious that it would be taken and I would get charged a lot for the theft. Fortunately, I needn't worry - it was exactly where I left it when I returned. I know Japan has a very low crime rate, but bike thefts are one of the things that aren't unheard of. Still, it's NOTHING like the theft rate in England.

Kiyomizu-dera was... incredible. Just incredible. I was arriving late, so I was one of the last admissions, but even with the later hour, it was still very busy, and I could see why. It was such an amazing place. I was so happy I called my mum to talk. With the time difference, I knew she was at work, but I couldn't help myself.

Here's a bunch of pictures I took...

I wish I had arrived earlier and spent more time exploring the streets leading up the the temple.

Afterwards, I cycled back towards the hotel, leaving my bike at a nearby station. Here are a couple of nice random pics I took...

Look at that heron gazing longingly into the restaurant :D

2023/05/12

[twatkcox]

[The Keihancarl Diaries: May 19-21, 2023]

After four years (and for the first time since the pandemic), the Pinoy Otaku Festival is making a comeback, still at the same venue as the previous one. Hi everyone, Keihancarl here and this weekend looks kind of promising... with a hint of uncertainty (on my part).

Pinoy Otaku Festival 2023: Shizen (An Overview)

It was back during the end of POF 2019: Asobu when the next POF event (initially called Tanoshii Matsuri) was announced. And then the pandemic struck, resulting in the event being postponed. Later on, it was announced as POF 2021: Godai (the logo still showed the year 2020), and the event’s theme is about the five Japanese elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. It was eventually changed to POF 2023: Shizen sometime last year, with the event still held at the Trade Hall of Robinsons Novaliches.

The event’s theme is all about the environment, with the goal of raising awareness and funds for the Bayanihan Para Sa Kalikasan, Inc. There’s also a discussion about Trash To Cashback and other environmental programs by the Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department. ADA Straws Philippines, the manufacturer of biodegradable rice straws, was also present at the event as one of the exhibitors.

May 19

And yes, I was actually hoping to visit the first day of the event. The thing is, I’m gonna have a hard time going out and spending the entire weekend outdoors, unlike the pre-pandemic days. What more if I want to go out on a weekday?

I managed to do just that, only that I also have an errand to do that early afternoon. Is it a miracle, or is it just luck? Well, it didn’t took me long enough to finish the job, but of course I can always sneak my way into the event, even if it’s for an hour or two. After all, I can’t really stick around for long since I’m expected to prepare dinner at home.

Anyway, I did get inside the venue (it’s 150 pesos for a one day pass, though there’s also a VIP pass and a 3-day pass, both of which are exclusively available for purchase online) and check out some of the booths. I was looking forward to seeing Pixel Hero’s booth, only that they’re not on the list of exhibitors.

Checking the schedule for the first day, there’s the ConGoer Competition, Your Cosplay Sounds Familiar, and The Otaku Singing Bee. I’m not sure if they followed the schedule, I think there might be some slight changes and some had to be rescheduled to the next day. I wasn’t able to catch any of them since I came later than expected, around 4:00 in the afternoon (I had another errand to run before that). Also, the Otaku Choice Awards was held that evening, and I didn’t catch that as well, since I had to leave the venue early. But I did get to watch some performances during my two hour stay.

I receive some brochures and pamphlets at The Japan Foundation booth. The nice lady complimented my pins, the ones I bought from Pixel Hero during the last POF event. Also, I did get to have selfies with some of the cosplayers.

I check some of the booths for some interesting merch, and I wasn’t able to buy anything. A handful of booths weren’t open yet, maybe they’ll be present during the weekend.

I left the venue early as I need to shop for some groceries for dinner, not to mention that it was still a weekday. I uploaded the pics on my Instagram account at home.

May 20

It’s the second day of POF 2023: Shizen, and I’m raring to go there as early as possible. Well, I still ended up arriving later than expected, as I have to drop by Mr. DIY (Fairview Terraces) to buy a new watch, since my old one’s battery died on me last night. I decided to go all-black, but I didn’t feel like wearing my black fleece coat and my black zipper tie like I did during the previous POF events.

I managed to catch the Chibi Cosplay and Lolita And J-Fashion Competition, as well as HIBANA Wotagei’s performance. And of course, Anime Feud (with Choji as host).

I bought a couple of pins (AXGG) and a small Snorlax plushie (POP!ah Ching’s Collectibles). I was thinking of buying a Hunghang Flashback (Volume 2) book at their booth, but I sort of hold back for now. I’ll try to buy one on the final day of the event, if there are some copies left.

Outside the event, I had a meal at Paotsin, then I immediately head to the supermarket and bought a bottle of Pocari Sweat and a mini Toblerone bar (I consume them on the bench area nearby). I also managed to check some of the shops in the three Fairview malls later that evening, right after leaving the venue once Anime Feud ends.

There’s one more day left, but I’m starting to feel anxious as I actually need to visit someone tomorrow. I’ll figure this one out. What’s more important is that I didn’t want to miss the final part of the event.

May 21

Third day, and I get to go out for the third time in a row. Come to think of it, I haven’t really done this in such a long time. I go for the black baseball shirt and olive yellow shirt combo.

I was really determined to leave home early since I wanted to visit mom and my little sister. It’s been more than three weeks since the last visit, and I never get to celebrate Mother’s Day with her. I left home at around 1:00 PM, reached mom’s house at around 2:15 PM (traffic from SM Fairview to Barangay Mulawin, SJDM is a lot faster than it is going back), and managed to get to the venue just before 6:00 PM. On the way back, I was surprised to find a 100 yen coin inside my purse. I decided to keep the coin as my lucky charm, since everything proceeded as planned in the past couple of days.

By the time I arrived at Robinson’s Novaliches Trade Hall, the Cosplay Championship League had already started. I didn’t waste any more time and buy a few more items: a pin and two stickers from Hunghang Flashbacks booth (I never did buy the book, unfortunately), the Giyu Tomioka plushie from Kaiju Geijitsu, a couple of anime pins from Qaphsiel and TriplexLor, and a set of 2 Pocky wholesome (choco almond and blueberry yogurt) and 2 Pejoy Belgian chocolate pretzels from the Enav Marketing Services Inc./Glico PH booth with amazing freebies (for additional 50 pesos, you get a Pocky mug). I then strike a pose inside the photo booth and got my photos afterward. I also did manage to have a selfie with John Wick, along with some of the cosplayers as well.

The event ends with the announcement of winners for the competitions that were held that day, as well as a message from David D’Angelo. I decided to stick around for a bit as most of the event staff and event organizers are taking photos on the stage and some of the exhibitors are packing up their stuff.

After leaving the venue, I decided to have a milk tea drink at Black Scoop Cafe (Fairview Terraces). I then uploaded some of the photos I took that afternoon on my Instagram account, and it took longer than expected for the photos to be uploaded due to the incredibly slow mobile internet connection inside the cafe. After that, I took a leisurely stroll inside the mall before heading home.

Postscript

This year’s POF event is a great improvement compared to the previous one. They finally decided to install actual booths inside the venue, and access to the Trade Hall entrance from the hallway is blocked by the dressing room and meet and greet areas, with the restrooms in the area generally reserved for event participants and cosplayers (as a changing area), therefore discouraging bystanders and passersby from staying in the hallway.

Despite not being able to witness some of the scheduled games, competitions, panel discussions and concerts, I still managed to enjoy the event just like the previous POF events. I had the feeling that they will hold the next POF event on the same venue, but nothing is set in stone yet. Hopefully, I’ll get to attend next year.

With this year’s POF event held on the same weekend as MINI Ozine Fest (SMX Convention Center Manila) and FanFes (Ayala Malls Circuit Makati), the organizers thought that there’ll be a significant decline on the congoers (they’re expecting about 500 walk-in participants, based on their Facebook post), not to mention that Pixel Hero (where I bought my favorite pins from the previous POF event) was present on both aforementioned events. The event turned out to be successful, based on the amount of tickets sold (including the Three Day Pass and the VIP tickets).

And with that, I must say that I hope next year’s POF event will be as successful as the previous ones. I’m looking forward to it!

It sure was a fun event, despite missing out on some of the happenings due to the fact that I always arrived later than expected. That’s okay, since I bought some awesome souvenirs, which are mostly anime pins and a couple of plushies.

I’m not sure if I’ll immediately follow it up with a mall-hopping trip the following week. The typhoon might postpone my plans, as was the case five years ago, but hopefully this will proceed. Anyway, I finally feel motivated once again, and I’m back to writing a bunch of posts, including this one.

[UPDATE] Looks like Ozine Fest will have a two day Halloween special at nearby Fairview Terraces this October. If I manage to go out on both days, this will be my best post-birthday celebration ever. I might even reschedule the planned mall-hopping trip to November, if my plans for that weekend will proceed as planned. (05/29/2023)

Well then, time to wrap this up. Until next time!

The first and third day pics (including the one on the overview) were uploaded to my public Instagram account @kcox_105, while the second day pics and the selfie pic (postscript) were uploaded to my private Instagram account @kcox105.

[jeriafterdark]

813, The Reprise, - Part 6/? - ZHANG ZHEHAN SPEAKS

Masterpost here

Everyone, it's New Year's Eve for me, New Years for fellows across the ocean. Uncle Li has posted an audio interview of him speaking to ZZH, giving him opportunity to refute all that's happened. I'm not sure if there are more, but this is the first one. Thank you to all the twitter translators that I will be citing down below:

TW: suicide, long post

I cut down part of LXZ, Uncle Li's, introduction to make it fit onto tumblr:

Source on Weibo

From this twitter user and this twitter user:

I cleaned up the text and grammar a bit-

Uncle: I want to ask you, about your incident, from CAPA boycotting and punishing you, it’s been 4 months. Because of my suspicions of CAPA, it's created a lot of discussion. We believe you have been framed, but we want a sincere and honest answer from you as well. In 2018, when you went to Japan, the jgss photo, the background, is that jgss?

ZZH: I can say definitively that it is NOT jgss [OP note: I think this refers to Yasukuni Shrine’s worshipping hall?]. Because at that time, I went to Japan with friends to see the sakura [blooms] during sakura season. The itinerary was arranged by my friend. We were just walking and taking pics of sakura as we walked. I am very sure that the background of my photo is not jgss, and I never entered jgss. Never visited, even more, have never worshipped. What was posted online were rumours. And I believe the public, after knowing the truth, will be able to come to a good conclusion.

Uncle: That's good. This time, you have gotten the support of many legal workers, so many people are willing to help you. Everyone thinks they aren't just helping you alone, they feel this is not correct. You are a chinese citizen, you went to japan once, just because of one photo, they called you a traitor, a spy, this is too overboard. We can't not mention your incident when we bring up the problems with capa. Now there is another photo that incited some controversy, the one of you with Lady Dewi. I've checked, lady dewi, she is not anti-chinese. This is my feeling - she has never insulted the chinese. Since she is Japanese, I can't be sure. But I have found out that Lady Dewi has taken photos with our premier Zhou Enlai. When you were at your friend's wedding and took photos with this person, do you know what were the motivations for it? Did you know her or understand her?

ZZH: At that time it was my friend's wedding, my friend introduced her to me as an entertainer/artist in Japan. My friend also knew I was an artist in China. So he suggested, would you take a photo with this elderly lady? So for me, because I’ve been brought up in this tradition of respecting the elderly, I agreed to take a photo with her. Actually i don't know her at all, I have no way of communicating with her. So I had no understanding of her, I didn't know her at all. And because I’m born and bred in Xinyu, Jiangxi, both my mother and father are party members, I grew up in the embrace of the party and the motherland. Actually towards jgss and such things, I went to japan simply for a holiday, I absolutely did not care and did not want to know where jgss was. But because since childhood we have been educated on how the Japanese caused massive losses for us chinese in the war, I have always remembered our history. Even on my Weibo in the past, I've posted many times about how we must remember our country's history, protect our country's dignity.

Uncle: Yes, yes, loving the country, i have seen many of your posts.

Uncle: Ever since your mother has written that letter it has raised the attention of everyone. Through your mother (we) found out that this thing has brought a lot of cyberviolence on you. The cyberviolence, what were the most specific ones on you, could you tell us briefly?

ZZH: I entered a very panic-stricken/terrifying state, don't dare to go out, including my mom, (it) entered a very panic-stricken/terrifying state at home and a sort of self-doubt. (What I mean is), because I personally am a youth who is very patriotic (I feel). Then suddenly this thing/incident happened with people online scolding me "traitor/han jian",

including saying that my mom is the mistress of a Japanese [person], and saying my father is so-and-so. Actually my father passed away in 2016. (They) fabricated this sort of false information, and causing me to doubt myself. I lived in this terror, didn't dare to leave the house. My mom many times said, "What should I do, should I jump down from this floor and die, then I can prove my innocence." Sometimes I would also think, could it really be that only after I die or after I take my heart out for everyone to see, to prove that I'm a red heart (ie. patriotic) [heart is bleeding red/patriotism]. I was seriously/heavily doubting myself. Including people sending wreaths to the tea shop, I saw large amounts of people photoshopping deceased/funeral pictures, cursing my parents, cursing me. And our family also received investigations regarding their job posts, if my family had Japanese relatives etc, but the people in my family are all Chinese people. And (we) also don't have any relatives of foreign nationality. (We) are Jiangxi Xinyu people who were born and grew up in Xinyu.

Uncle: And also your parents are party members and your grandfather (maternal) is too, right?

ZZH: Yes.

Uncle: And also, I saw/read about your family relations, many of them are party members. Then at this sort of state like this, with (this kind) of public discussion/opinion and CAPA pinning/determining this problem on you, before resolving it through legal routes, I still hope that you'll stay strong. You must believe that our country is under the leadership of the CCP, is a socialist-ruled country, it will through the law understand this situation, the truth clearly, you have to believe the truth. Right? Because I've always not talked about (it) from your position/viewpoint, I'm solely calling for procedural justice. I also definitely believe that you also wish to have a chance to defend (yourself).

ZZH: Yes. I also believe in our country, believe in our motherland, believe in our party/ccp, believe our legal professionals (those in the legal industry), that they definitely will be able to give me an investigation chance including a chance for myself to defend myself, give a fair and just judgment.

Uncle: Today, I invited you, because there are so many lawyers, and I want you to see there are over 10 members from the NPC [National People’s Congress, gov. body] representing, they all wish they can speak to you face to face. Since online there are still a lot of disputes, we decided not to show your face, but to just have some real contact. I believe in the future, you will have a chance to be treated right by the law, you will pass the test of history, and will receive [fair] treatment. So we must believe that this era is wonderful, any country or era will have this kind of abnormal phenomenon. so when we run into problems, we must believe in ourselves, be strong (jianqiang), persist with our youth and life, this is the basis for solving all problems, if you don't have these, there is no meaning. We won't talk too much today, when the time is right, I will contact you again regarding judicial organizations, legal workers, who will discuss opinions on processing your case effectively, lawfully, and following proper legal procedures. Let more legal workers come into this case. Solving your case is not just for you alone. It's for all of the public, our citizens. It's a problem of our system of values, our worldview. So many people are waiting for the truth of this matter. We hope that the truth is beneficial to you. As long as you truthfully did not go to jgss. I have said many times, I am not standing on your side, I will not whitewash you, but I believe you have been framed. If in the end, after going through legal judgment, you have gone to jgss, then you must accept any punishment you get.

ZZH: I understand. Thank you li-laoshi for giving me the chance to speak and appeal. And thank you to the public, netizens, and people in the legal world who have been paying attention to this situation. I am willing to undergo investigation, willing to accept questioning. I hope my innocence can be restored.

Uncle: Ok, we believe justice and the truth will come.

OP notes so far: What a New Year's Eve. First, X-mas Eve had ZZH get his case accepted by the police, and now, we can finally hear his voice. He's been through so much, he sounds so calm. He's good at sounding calm, but the emotion always shows in his face. I'm a little glad Uncle Li decided to withhold it from view, I don't know if I could've looked at his face while he was describing all the awful things that have happened to him. I know that ZZH/Uncle Li have to stress that they are super patriotic and are only interested in a fair/just legal decision, so that's why it's so emphasized in each and every one of Uncle Li's posts. China expects utmost patriotism from its citizens. As an American, it's a bit removed from me, that kind of patriotism, but I keep that in mind that this is a necessary step for ZZH to clear his name. This is only the beginning, to a new 2022.

The sun is coming out, brighter and brighter

[slutxs]

FLUNG THROUGH TIME

[lowercase intended]

SERIES : DEMON SLAYER

SUMMARY

Liyah, a seventeen black teenager in 2021 is much stress as it is, on a verge of a mid-life crisis she decides to visit Japan for the summer which brings more stress when she decide to visit a shrine on culture day.

fanfic song

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"Liyah!!! get your behind up your gonna miss your flight! " she heard her mom yell from outside her door, groaning liyah rolls over in her bed looking at the lock that was on her dresser.

[8:30]

It read, FUCK! she only had an hour to get ready and to make her flight. Dragging herself out the bed liyah gets dress in haste, but slows down enough to put her locs into a cute style. Liyah practically sprints out the room with her luggage almost knocking down her little sister Mia who throws a cruse at her.

"Little girl stop running through my house! " her mom says as she pulls out money for the taxi outside that would take her to her destination. Liyah hugs and thanks her mother for the money.

"Be safe and call me once you step foot on Japan soil Lia" her mom tells her.

" I will ma"

•

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Japan was beautiful, it was like liyah stepped into another world people moved in tandem to their individual destination. Even though is was summer the Sakura trees were in full bloom it was wonderful. She would definitely take pictures for a mom to see later on.

Checking the events on the tourist guide, there was a cultural festival going on in a few days she would be definitely going to that, liyah loved learning about different cultures. For the meanwhile liyah would head to the train station which would take her to akakusa where her host family lived.

Liyah learned that Akakusa is where the festival would be held at the Sensoji temple which was close to Okutama, which had great mountain trails for hiking she couldn't wait for that.

Since her train didn't leave until about an hour liyah decides to take some pictures to send to her mom and friends back home and in the spur of the moment she decides to enter a hair salon

"Hello how may we help you today? " one of the employee asked in perfect english. Liyah smiles and looks around the shop it was too busy and she had more than enough time to get what came here to do.

"Hi coming in for a color change" liya says in Japanese which causes the employees around her to smile in shook. Yeah she knew some Japanese enough to communicate effectively.

"Why yes let's see what we can do for you "

•

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"HUUUH your hair wasn't blonde in the pics liyah" asumi says as she slides open the door her. Liyah laughs and twists a loc around her finger.

"You like? I wanted to try something different, I was bored of the same ole locs ya know" liyah says rolling her suitcase into the corner of the walk way as she toes out her shoes.

"It's suits you, but everything suits you" asumi laughs as she guides liyah deeper in the modern Japanese styled home. Asumi was tall with milky pale skin which contrasted with liyahs milk chocolate skin tone. Asumi had choppy bangs with a wolfcut totally cute.

" mom lia is here!" Asumi yells down the hallway which causes her mother, kimiko poke her head around the corner of the kitchen which a frying pan and glare on face. Seeing liyah kimiko perks up and ushers them both to the kitchen.

"Hello love how was your flight and the train ride" kimiko asks giving liyah a bear hug while the pan was still in her hand.

"It went well, took some pictures for mom before coming here the Sakura trees are pretty this year. " liyah states taking a seat on the stool by the counter.

"Well that's great and I'm loving the hair lia it's every beautiful. " kimiko says putting the pan down. Asumi nods in agreement and goes to grab liyah's things and take them up stairs.

"Takeru will be here any moment now then we'll began dinner. " kimiko states. Takeru is asumi's father and of course kimiko's husband, he worked near by at the market selling goods from the small farm they had in western Okutama.

Asumi and liyah watches the news as kimiko gets dinner ready.

" for the couple of days there will be light showers and on Cultural day watch out for the showing of the red full moon"

"Red full moon? " liyah askes

"Around this time close to the festival there are always light showers and finally a full moon on cultural day" kimiko explains wiping her hands with a dry cloth.

"Yeah and father says the red full moon is actually the blood of the mighty demon muzen or so he says" asumi shrugs looking at liyah to Guage her reaction. Which liyah is confused and doesn't believe any of it.

"Takeru says during this time we pay the tanjiro thanks for slaying the demon and saving Japan from his terror. " kimiko adds

'Aren't all these myths though?" Liyah asks

"Pretty much, though tanjiro is real, well was since he's dead but don't know if the muzen part is factual. " asumi says.

"The sword of tanjiro is at the temple matter of fact"

Liyah was knew the demon part couldn't have been real but she wanted to the history behind this sword and it's swordsman.

The sound of the keys jingling and the opening, was loud in the quietness of the takeugawa home , Mr. Takeru was home. Asumi had a big smile on her face like she was some 11 year old as her father stepped foot into kitchen.

"Papa how was the market? " asumi says hugging him then grabbing his lunch bento to hand to her mother.

"It went well the cabbages sold alot today" he states taking a seat and the head of the table.

"That's great honey" kimiko says as places his food in front of him.

"Hey lia almost didn't recognize you with that hair color! " takeru says laughing.

"Hmm maybe that's a good thing it was time for a change " said liyah. Asumi nods her head in agreement and takes a seat at the table with her mother.

"We were just telling Lia about tanjiro and the demon muzen" kimiko tells her husband.

"Ahh so you wanna know the tale of man who saved us all " takeru asks with a tiny smirk on his face.

Liyah blinks and looks around she felt a eerily chill run down her spine this was definitely her ancestors telling to back out of this conversation. But liyah wanted to hear so she nods her head.

" there once was a boy named tanjiro... "