#we’re giving outsiders such a wrong image of what this comic is about lmao

[loosingmoreletters]

Thanks to you I read all the available chapters of Weapon Creator and they are now living rent free in my mind,,,,, please tell me more of what omegaverse ideas you might have for this because I am a simple person at heart

(am I thinking about Yun Taehon deciding if I marry him than I get to keep him and nobody else can steal him from me proposing a contract marriage with a grand scheme of seducing Shin Junseo into a real marriage? Listen-)

Glad to have been of service!!!

Okay so re: Omegaverse. I’m unfortunately simultaneously the guy who spent most of this week reading Omegaverse smut comics for the plot and worldbuilding. And like. There is so much untapped potential in how Shin Junseo really only wanted someone he could call friend. Someone who needed him in this kinda setting? like give that man a pack— or have him avoid forming one due to his regression bullshit for reasons that just hurt.

ANON I HAVE READ ENOUGH OTOME ISEKAI TO KNOW WHERE CONTRACT MARRIAGES END—

But actually that would be so fun maybe if like Shin Junseo showed that he really wanted to keep his skills under wraps. So Yun Taeheon just goes “okay marry me then. you can be my trophy husband to the public”

[my-name-is-jefferooni]

Overanalyzing Sonic Comics Again Because I Can.

You know what? No. I was gonna build up to this but I’m fuccin clueless on how so I’ll just jump right on into it!

This hedgehog. This goddamn blue motherfucking pinball of a hedgehog. He is absolutely SHATTERED by this one instance.

Sonic the Hedgehog in the IDW comics has been through… A LOT, lately. He’s shown signs of trauma and regret from the Metal Virus, he literally pulled a Shadow and lost his memory for like 8 panels, and ya boi LITERALLY DIED. IT’S VERY SAFE TO ASSUME THAT ANYTHING GOING WRONG ON HIS END WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC FOR HIM.

To me, in this case, it completely makes sense why Sonic is so utterly crushed in the Winter Jam, because not only does it force him to think outside the box and try some new techniques, but it also does to him what no one has dared to do in a while since his death, and that is: Disagree with him.

You’re probably giving this a pretty big scowl right now and you’re probably about to move on and not continue reading because yes I know that claim is very very outlandish and weird but I AM ABOUT TO EXPLAIN SO PLEASE STAY FOR A BIT I PROMISE IT’LL MAKE SOME SORT OF SENSE-

The Winter Jam is a fake reality tv show crafted by Orbot and Cubot, all for the purpose of getting Dr. Eggman to get off his lazy ass and do something. It kind of works in the end, but that’s not what I’m here to discuss. They painstakingly put together a bunch of tests specifically made to challenge the players, and to hopefully get some kind of juicy secrets out of them as well. Because that’s just how reality tv shows work I guess. And Sonic is one of those contestants.

The very first challenge, Sonic fails. The second challenge, Sonic fails. The third, fourth, fifth? Oh, he probably failed every single one of them! (Poor Tails lmao) But what the second challenge does is show Sonic that speed isn’t everything. It shows that not everything about him is perfect and that he doesn’t always have the right ideas. Same with the first challenge too! It brings to light that Sonic’s ideals can oftentimes be very wrong and too on-brand for him, because all he knows at this point is “Go fast” and “Freedom.” (See one of my previous analysis on our favorite blue boi) That would probably be mostly because of his recent trauma, but I’ll save all that for another time. So essentially, what this reality tv show is doing, is showing the odder sides of Sonic, showing how he can sometimes be wrong and that he isn’t as heroic and great as some make him out to be. (*cough cough* issue 67 *cough cough*)

The final challenge, though… That’s when things start taking a turn for the worst for Sonic.

He already started questioning his methods when the second challenge ended in a failure. He went fast, and that almost always works, so why didn’t he win? It was a race, was it not? Did he miss the memo? Did he do something wrong? What was wrong with him, why didn’t he win, he went fast so WHY DIDN’T HE WIN????

And if we’re assuming that he kept racking up failure after failure for the rest of the competition, then those thoughts suddenly become a lot worse. They start getting muddied, dirtied by insecurity, full of lies and deceit and worries that he’d spent so long trying to bury in his mind. He starts slowing down, trying his best to not fail because if he keeps failing then what kind of hero even is he!?!?

And then the final challenge happens.

And Sonic fails once again.

He thought it had worked this time, he thought that finally, after so long, he could claim just one little victory. Just a small, funny statue made of ice. One that symbolized the best of the best, something that showed that he cared. A true gift for a true friend. An ice statue of him and his beloved baby brother, Tails.

It works…! At least for a few seconds. Because after those few seconds are up?

(YES I KNOW I SHOWED THIS IMAGE ALREADY BUT IT’S ALL THE WAY AT THE START AND IT PERFECTLY ENCAPSULATES THE FEELING IM GOING FOR SO HUSHHHHHHH)

It all comes crumbling down.

And so too does Sonic’s entire body.

He falls to the ground with his statue, his eyes glued to the ice-cold dots of the foxy figure. Sonic stares at it, feeling something burn within his eyes. No, no, that could not have just happened! His hard work could not have been for nothing! He wasn’t too fast again, was he? Why did it fall, why did it crumble, why was everything falling apart like the statue???

…

Everything was falling apart.

——

idk what else to say man just do what you can with that info. Spread it like the plague or something idfk.

[ironxkid]

why don't you like endgame or civil war

((hoo buddy, idk what brought this up but salt under the cut!! Like... a lot of salt - specifically regarding Endgame lmao

I’m gonna start off with CACW because it’s a short response lol

I don’t like it simply because I was done with the infighting between the Avengers. The found family crumbs we were given in Endgame was something I really wanted to see, and them just... ripping them apart frustrated me lol

honestly, the movie was... fine? Idk, I found it to be a lil slow for my taste (it felt like it just dragged on when I watched it in theaters), and I just don’t care for it in general  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, ngl, I’m really bummed that Captain America: Serpent Society was a joke announcement because that sounds dope as hell and I really wanted to see that before I realized it’d been a joke dfgjhdsfhj

but, yeah, literally just because CACW is specifically an infighting movie annoys me to no end so I just won’t watch it again dgsfjhsfdhj

now, Endgame?

fuck Endgame

I. have a lot of issues with it, all of which are major grievances throughout the fandom. I’m pissed they killed Natasha and didn’t even bother giving her a fucking funeral because, I quote from Joe Russo, “Well, Tony does not have another movie. Tony is done. And Natasha has another film. And Marvel Universe obviously does not have to move forward linearly anymore. But that character still has more screen time coming.” (see here) and that annoys the hell out of me. She’s getting another movie - great! So you killed one of the few characters doing her fucking best to keep everything together at the compound, the one who was taking charge, give her a big role, and then murk her and... give her nothing but a brief mention at the end. Like... what the fuck? Natasha deserved so much better than what she was given. Tony’s funeral could’ve (and, frankly, should’ve) been a funeral for him, Natasha, and Vision because god forbid we see anyone mourn Vision other than Wanda

(actually this post covers how Endgame fucked over the MCU women perfectly, though Wanda’s not mentioned :c )

plus... Tony’s not done lol - he’s still a massive figure in the films/shows despite RDJ not acting in them, so his character has left shockwaves that aren’t dying any time soon. Natasha... basically disappeared, and I believe she would’ve been dropped completely if it wasn’t for the fact she does have a film coming out soon. Which, frankly, seems awesome and all, but it’s a film that goes back to post-CACW pre-IW and... frankly doesn’t give me any reason to understand why that means she didn’t get a funeral. She’s not coming back in future movies/shows that are in present MCU timeline - her movie is set in the past. She could’ve gotten a decent sendoff 

now, Clint’s arc as Ronin rubs me the wrong way. I know it’s a huge thing in the comics, and it’s not him taking a different mantle that I have an issue with. It’s the fact he, a white man, went around murdering people and got off scot-free. Yes, he was targeting genuinely bad people, but... to show that, they specifically singled out Mexican cartels and the yakuza (Japanese mafia, essentially) - so, in other words, the bad guys were people of color! I feel like I don’t need to explain how fucked up that is. And, to clarify, I love Clint! Clint is honestly one of my favorite characters, and the whole thing was just handled... poorly in the film

Tony’s arc genuinely hurts. This is a man who has suffered for years and has tried to make things right, and finally got a chance to settle down. He finally retired from the Avengers, finally settled down, and had a fucking life he could enjoy despite his ghosts, and yet... His arc ends with a message of “tortured soul finally gets rest by dying”. Because, y’know, it’s great seeing yet another long-suffering character only reaching peace through death, because god forbid they let characters heal! He could’ve still caused the second Snap, and he could’ve survived. He could’ve finally been able to step away for good and focus on his family, focus on recovering, and be truly happy. What’s so wrong with letting him stay alive so he can rest and be with his family? What’s so wrong with letting a long-suffering character finally find peace after one last bang? 

plus it pisses me off that they’re now using him as a reasoning as to why bad things are still happening. Why is this person the bad guy? Because Tony Stark somehow may or may not have done something that hurt them! Even though most of that really stems from Howard or Obadiah. Tony just ends up getting the blame in their place. He’s just an easy target to use, much like the tesseract seems to be the go-to answer for why things go wrong. But this is a different train of thought

Steve’s ending pisses me off just as much as the next person lmao. You take a character who has acknowledged he no longer belongs in the past (which, funnily enough, was written by the Russos), aaaaaaand have him go back to the past while ignoring two important people in his life that were still right there. He got Bucky and Sam back, and he leaves them. His arc is ruined within a matter of minutes, and it paints a hella bad picture of him in the process. He goes back in time to stay with Peggy (which ultimately destroys her own arc, and the fact she’s a person outside of her relationship (or lack thereof) with him because, y’know, why have her be able to move on and be her own person?), and we’re supposed to believe he’s fine with everything he knows from the future? Fine with knowing Bucky’s trapped with HYDRA and is suffering as the Winter Soldier? Fine with knowing HYDRA has infested SHIELD from day one? Fine with knowing Howard and Maria are going to die? Fine with royally fucking up the timelines? We’re supposed to believe he sat back and did nothing with all of that? They could’ve had him still hand the shield over to Sam - they could’ve let Steve stay an Avenger without the mantle

also the fact the Russos said he didn’t recognize Red Skull when he returned to Vormir to return the soul stone? Like... what the fuck?? Not to mention he literally returns the stone to Vormir, which “soul for a soul”, and they didn’t bring Nat back that way??

and now onto Thor. Thor... holy fuck is this hitting something personal for me. Thor was ridden with guilt - he was furious with himself, hated himself, and blamed himself for failing to stop the Snap. He fell into a massive depression, and... was promptly danced around as laughing stock. Like, “oh! look at Thor! he’s fat and drunk because he’s depressed haha!” - like fuck off. It’s not funny in any form. His suffering was made into a joke and it pisses me off because I suffer from depression. A lot of people suffer from depression. It’s not funny. It’s fucking terrifying at times. I wasted a shit ton of money on a stupid online sim game because it was a distraction - it gave me... god, I wouldn’t even say temporary happiness, but it gave me something to temporarily help, and I still hate myself for doing it. It was a poor decision on my part, and I wish I could change it. And, during that time, I was scared because I couldn’t see myself pulling out of it. I thought I was gonna feel that way forever. I called out of work multiple times because there were days I couldn’t stop crying (something I still feel horrible for doing), I couldn’t get myself to contact any of my friends for months, and it was all because the medication I was on at the time... stopped working. Thankfully, my depression doesn’t work in a way that makes me a danger to myself, so that wasn’t an issue, but it still fucking sucked. And to see a character that I could relate to on such a personal level treated as laughing stock fucking hurt. I’m not sharing this for sympathy - I’m sharing this because it Thor’s arc hit home and it’s literally the main reason why I will not watch Endgame again

this is more of a nitpick than anything else, but... I didn’t really care for Carol in it tbh? Which is unfortunately because Captain Marvel is one of my absolute favorite movies! And I’m well aware she was introduced in Endgame while CM was being drafted, but that in itself is annoying?? Because Carol was originally going to be introduced in AoU, but was cut because it wasn’t going to introduce her character properly. And yet they decide to introduce her character in a clusterfuck of a movie before her movie is in the final stages, and proceed to release her movie first and then give a complete different characterization in her following appearance

honestly I just wanna cover this now to clarify some things regarding Carter and her backstory: the only reason I keep Endgame as is is because it felt easier for me to do so for the purpose of bending canon for specific threads. I wanted to stay as true to the given plots as possible to help with fudging of both the movies and her background, and also because I didn’t want anyone to feel like I was trying to force my own headcanons onto them, y’know? 

I’m just gonna plug this here because fuck it lol, but I did start a fix-it fic regarding Endgame that you can read here! I... probably won’t finish it tbh, and I haven’t gone over it in a hot minute so it might be riddled with errors ahah - plus I’m not sure about how I wrote the characters! I get nervous when writing canon characters because I feel like I’ll miss their characterization completely, which is actually why I,,, rarely rp canon characters dgfjhgsfdhj

also the image in the doc was created by @/archervale!! 

[allbeendonebefore]

I was kind of under the impression that this is just a widespread thing in Alberta, especially because of the Angus Reid fractured federation survey (I cant include the link here, but you can Google it, its from January 24th 2019). When got back into Hetalia, I imagined the dynamics kinda changed to this, which would be pretty bad tbh. I hope its not that aggressive in Alberta, I will never be able to go check tho, too expensive :( I loved the bad french btw

i see you guys sending these asks super late at night and i wonder whether any of you sleep - idk where you’re writing from and i may be on the west coast but are you guys ok wherever you are? I just woke up but I have my tea and if I’m not caffeinated now I surely will be as I answer this.

I’m sure I’ve seen the survey you’re speaking of before and before I address it in any specific detail I just want to back up and re frame Why I’m Being Like This in regards to recent events and my orientation towards answering these questions in terms of Hetalia the way I do, because I think it’s the heart of how I answer.

the tldr of it is:

1. I have an opportunity to make interpretations of reality in unexpected and challenging ways, therefore widespread opinions don’t govern anything but my stupid gag comics in the simple sense that if everyone was represented by widespread opinion alone all the time, nothing would change and

2. if i can answer dozens of asks about ralph and oliver hanging out there’s absolutely no reason I can’t answer asks about ralph and jean hanging out, lol.

3. If you’d like a shorter, more concise “vision statement”, I have one on @battle-of-alberta here. (although now I notice the links don’t work on mobile so you’ll have to be on desktop for that one)

I’m assuming this will be long so cut time

(and yes, alas, the bad french is my legacy and I’m afraid it has not improved much although i swear i was an A student when i was actually taking it) (and no please don’t visit now, purely for pandemic reasons, it would be really expensive And you’d have a bad time) (and talking to me is free lmao) (I do not mean to say that you need to have feet on the ground to understand a place at all, i mean, at the moment I don’t lol)

headings because I say a lot

what even is hetalia

At the most basic level, Hetalia is a tool that can be used in a variety of ways. It can be for memorization, current politics at a glance or historical relationships in different settings. I use it for all of these things, of course, I certainly use it a lot in comics that take place in the much more distant past in @athensandspartaadventures. When I was writing that, I was in undergrad and AaSA was a tool to help me pass my exams, I didn’t think of how it might be read or interpreted by people who have lived in or experienced those places these days, or what kind of political and cultural tensions it might reveal. (Not to say that it has gotten me into sticky situations, exactly, but I am more aware of where things like that would arise now).

These days I look back on a lot of my experiences - both in IAMP/Hetalia and just as a person, and I think that if Hetalia is a tool it should be used with some awareness of intention and responsibility. Things in the fandom have changed as it became more mainstream and more well known and I think there’s a definite worry about screwing up or not representing Everything or not pleasing Everybody or not doing it Right. I have a simple, insufferably academic principle.

(That said, yes, you can still do it very wrong if you write a methodology.)

Still, it’s a comfort to me that I’m just doing the things the way I say I’m going to do them, and that is the underpinning of Inspired But Not Constrained By Hetalia. I don’t do things Himaruya’s way, I can’t do things the way IAMP would do them if it were running today because it’s not and things have changed, all I can do is do them how I would do them.

I have hurt people in the past because they sometimes couldn’t tell whether I was writing From an Albertan Perspective or not, and I’ve evoked some preeetty spicy comments over the last decade, and I realized that tone and perspective are something that really shapes how people understand and interact with my work and I’m trying to use that understanding in a conscientious way)

what even is alberta

So when you’re me and you’ve grown up in a province that is the Angriest in the country and the most Misunderstood in the country and the most Entitled in the country and nobody outside of maybe Saskatchewan has a good thing to say about you half the time and maybe you’re tired of that... you get kind of depressed thinking about how every year some kiddo comes on the internet ready to be excited about making or celebrating characters that represent themselves and No Matter Where They Go running into everyone else’s negative impressions first and foremost.

We joke about how everyone hates Toronto, though I’ve always understood it in a teasing way because I’ve never ACTUALLY met someone (outside of our current legislative assembly) who REALLY hates Toronto, but it does feel like I’ve encountered (directly or indirectly) people who do Genuinely hate Alberta and hoo boy is That a strange feeling. I mean, there’s an understanding that BC also ‘hates’ Alberta but half the people in BC are originally from Alberta so it’s a, uh, different feeling.

The story of Alberta from everywhere else is always the story of that Angus Reid article and the memes and comments and listicles that spin out around mainstream media. Alberta is giving too much. Alberta is getting too little. Alberta is too stupid to understand that equalization payments are a good thing actually, and Alberta is too dumb to understand you don’t really need EI if you make enough money in six months to own a house and multiple vehicles Just Because you own a house and multiple vehicles. Alberta is destroying the environment for everybody. Alberta has a huge concentration of white supremacists. Alberta is the Texas of Canada* and has the conservative streak and bible belt to match. Alberta should get annexed by the US. Oh, but Banff! We like Banff, though.

And like I said, politicians use these widespread feelings to stir up the sentiments of people who can’t afford to travel, people who are naturally suspicious of mainstream news, people who have barely even left their hometowns let alone the province and have no other means of validating what they hear, but people who’s emotions are genuinely tied to real feelings of alienation that really exist and HAVE existed for generations. And when the so-called “laurentian elites” in ontario and quebec make fun of them for being uneducated red necks, well, you hit a wasps nest and expected what, exactly?

what even am i doing

And like I’m faced with this question every day I decide to pick up my stylus and badger you all with unsolicited comics: do I want this to continue? Do I want to wear the mask that fits? Do I want to stand aside and say #notallalbertans #notlikeotheralbertans and stand over here on the island** patting myself on the back for not? being? there? Do I say yes, you’re right, and stand aside and watch loud mouth white supremacists co-opt wexiters and let them lead the perception of the province I grew up in just because that is what’s currently happening? Do I acknowledge the widespread sentiment and then pick apart every other province to say Well Actually You’re Equally Problematic Hypocrites, So There?

Obviously I’ve been saying no for a while. I’m perfectly happy to acknowledge the reality and when I draw stupid gag comics like this or this you can tell (hopefully) from my style that it’s tongue and cheek. When I draw less stupid not-gag comics like this or this I am trying to explore the Real Sentiments in a way that doesn’t completely polarize the issue and spin it out of control. I’m more of the opinion that even though Current Sentiments do get in the way that as personifications they 1. have some perspective and as people they 2. have some interest in not throwing out a friendship that was a struggle to build up every time the polls change or some new radical party seizes power. I do a lot of research and I want that to be reflected in my understanding of each characters deep seated beliefs and motivations, but I don’t want to let either the history or the current realities dictate the future if I am going to try to do that myself. 

why even am i doing it for

So like really the heart of the matter is: I am writing what I write for my thirteen year old self. She was the me who moved back to Canada from the United States, who’s first introduction to living there was a hellish surge of nationalism after September 11th. Who’s defense against that was to hide behind a shield of Canada is Better, Actually and who returned to Alberta during the boom years to realize that, oh wait, the rest of the country thinks we’re assholes just like they think the United States is. Who spent her teenage years learning that, boom or bust, the widespread sentiment in and out of the province is just as narrow, shortsighted, self interested, and stubborn as her own fiction of What Canada Was Supposed to be Like. Who learned that propping up that image at the expense of her friendships was not worth it, that propping up that image at the expense of people who are suffering and dying under that image is not worth it. Who found herself rehashing the same sort of gut reaction defensiveness online because the Guilt and Apologizing on behalf of her province compared to others felt Really Heavy for a kid who didn’t have any clue what to do about it and was just there to have fun and learn some stuff.

So I’m writing for anyone else who finds themselves exhausted and saddened by coming online and seeing that the only way that people can imagine Alberta is as an antagonist. I’d like to challenge everyone to start to imagine it better. It’s my little “escape” from reality, and for me it’s much easier to talk to people here where the stakes aren’t as high and the grievances a little less personal.

I’m also writing (in a more secondary way) for everyone who’s ever looked at alberta from afar and wondered What is going On inside your Head and is it always This

(no comment at this time)

as always, I’m here to explain At The Very Least what goes on in My head because at the end of the day, that’s all I can do. And though there are some things that make me angry and emotional, I’m happy to explain why. Happy to answer asks or chat on discord or whatever, any time I have the time. :)

footnotes

*This is just a footnote to say something I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of my comments, but this is an annoyance that me and my Texas Tomodachi share lol

**You’ll notice angry Albertans online have a favourite tactic, and that’s pointing out hypocrisy. They can justify A N y T h I n G by calling another province a hypocrite “so there” (i.e. BC can’t claim to be environmentally conscious because of Victoria’s sewage problem or Site C) - and while I am interested in shattering the image of Alberta vs. the Perfect Rest of Canada a little bit, I feel like it’s a very lazy argument that is used to deflect and not to help. I think it is more useful to unpack the sentiment of Why Alberta Still Feels Taken Advantage of rather than mudslinging, and when the mud starts flying no one seems interested in addressing problems anymore.

[hmniay]

Tokyo Trip Report (Part 4)

This is the last of the Japan report! Lots of photos this time. Thank you for sticking with me.

Feel free to blacklist the tag “japan 2016″ if you don’t want to see these posts! The images may look squished if you read this outside dashboard due to my blog theme. Everything is under the cut.

←Previous

Day 10: Tokyo Comic City

The main reason why we picked mid June to go to Japan, other than that Jen has summer school and to avoid the crowdy July-August break, was because I wanted to meet some JP mutuals tabling at the con >///<  (thank you Jen for agreeing to this)

I especially wanted to meet Rui-san, whose art I looked up to a lot (and buy her books while I’m at it), but she had work last minute and couldn’t come... Maybe next time ;__;

The event is 11pm~3pm. We planned to go at 12 to avoid the crowd, but we woke up late and got there at 1pm😂😂  It was located at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, and this place is like an airport!! It’s huge and even has conveyor belts, and people were carrying luggages around (to store the merch they bought??)

(No photographing allowed inside)

1/3 of the tables already packed up and left... Apparently in Japanese events, people list out exactly what they’re going to buy and go straight for it the moment the doors open. We didn’t plan to buy anything, but it looked like going in late wasn’t a good idea. Something to keep in mind in the future.

I saw a Miyoshi/Maki mini print and thought “hmm I’ll come back after we check everything out” and then it was sold out ;;;;;;

Free postcards at the door promoting upcoming only-events.

From what I understand, onlys are smaller, fandom-specific events inside a general bigger event? There are games and stuff but we didn’t understand it XD I noticed that tables of the same fandoms were grouped together, sorted by ships. Convenient for the shoppers, but I wonder what happens to multi-fandom artists? And there’s the whole concept of “circles”... It’s certainly very different from what I heard about Western cons, which I’ve not been to.

Also!! Most artists give out free prints! ...At least that’s what I 98% sure they are, but I didn’t have the guts to take them, especially when I’m not buying anything💦💦  I should’ve done some research first.

We met up with Ran-san (again) and Nori-san, who gave me some oisuga poster and postcards. It was a prize for a game on twitter and the poster was supposed to be first-come-first-served, but she saved one for me ahhhh;;;;; As promised I sticked it to my face.

And the poster is now on my wall ////

I suddenly forgot all my Japanese so there was a very long awkward pause before I said I would like to buy a charm from her www (After we got home I was able to talk to her on twitter fluently again what the heck)

Ran-san then took us to meet Kurot. She kept laughing at Kurot for being “crazy” from the lack of sleep. Kurot called me “Kiyo-san” at first, then questioned herself why she’s speaking Japanese when we can speak English😂😂  Please have a good rest after this!!!

I tweeted a photo of my shirt for mutuals not tabling to find me so I can give them Canadian omiyage (maple sugar lmao) and Saki actually managed to find me!! She gave me a iwaoi bag she made (bottom left in the above photo) with lots of candies inside. Thank you ////

Then we met up with Uma and walked around the con. The con was ending and we were about to leave when I saw copic markers on sale on the side. 10 markers for 1000 yen!!!! I never tried it before so I only bought 10, but I now regret not getting more.

I forgot to go back to say goodbye to Ran-san and Nori-san before leaving...

Uma, Jen and I decided to go to Ikebukuro for some afternoon snack. Yamate Line had an accident (someone fell off the platform??) so we had to take another line. Then it became clear how the accident probably happened. THIS WAS THE MOST CROWDED TRAIN WE EXPERIENCED ON THIS TRIP. I could barely take this photo. I was leaning on someone’s (sweaty) back with my feet half off the ground, and when the train arrived at a station, it becomes like a strong river where you literally get pushed around and have no control of where to go.

We finally found a place to sit down and eat.

We exchanged our sketchbooks and had a doodling session until we got politely kicked out an hour later XD

We window-shopped for a bit at Sunshine City before parting ways. Our host family offered us to make BBQ on the rooftop, but it was too late so we just got ourselves some konbini dinner.

Family Mart’s fried chicken is so good!! I finished it before we even got home.

Thank you so much for an amazing day!!! I hope we can meet again.

Day 11: Yokohama

Today is the last day of our trip and we decided to spend it in Yokohama.

Animate Yokohama was really close by so we dropped by quickly for last minute weeb shopping. Jen went to look for CCS and Digimon merch while I went to play the Joker Game Q&A (each week you can get prizes - a print I think - for answering a question related to the week’s episode).

Q: What was the pill left on the floor in Maki’s room? A: Aspirin.

But they ran out of the prize so I only got a stamp...

Heading to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise! This is where we will spend most of the day.

Kalbi onigiri. Yum. In Taiwan I prefer 7-11 much over Family Mart, but here Family Mart is my best friend.

The station is really cute.

We’re here!

It’s a giant amusement park on an artificial island. The right half is the “ground” rides, but we’re only interested in the “sea” side today. 

There’s not a lot of people.

Ahhhh they look like spiders and why are they so big!!! Jen: Are they edible

OMG so I happen to witness this guy eat... It pressed the fish in between the glass and itself, and wiggled until the fish got to its mouth... then swallowed it whole.

Our tickets also included fish-your-own-fish. 

I’m so sorry ;;;;

Jen is vegetarian so I got 2 for myself. It was really good and I wished I got more...

More animals on the other side of the park!

Hydrangeas near the entrance/exit.

We wanted to end the day with Yokohama’s famous night view at Landmark Tower, so we rushed back (it takes about an hour).

The Red Brick Warehouse!

We didn’t remember we wanted to go to the Cup Noodles Museum until we walked passed it lmao (it was closed already)

We finally got to Landmark Tower. Had a quick dinner at a Oyako don place.

We didn’t know we were making a big mistake. THEY STOP LETTING PEOPLE ONTO THE OBSERVATION DECK AT 8:30. We finished our dinner and got there at exactly 8:30. The directions weren’t really clear so we walked back and forth for a while, before realizing that the man we saw putting up a sign at a door was the deck staff closing the door. If I realized it a minute earlier I would’ve begged him to let us in ;____;

It would be frustrating to come all the way here and not be able to see the view, so we headed back to the port beside the warehouse and ended our Yokohama adventure there.

Someone on the train was reading Jump!!

We returned home to see this on the bed ahhhh... Inside the bag was 2 big boxes of shrimp cookies that homestay dad bought on his business trip. This host family was much less experienced (we are their first), but they were so sweet😭😭😭

Day 12: Departure

I leave Japan today and go to Taiwan next. Jen was staying for another day because she booked her tickets wrong hahahaha

Homestay mom helped us book the direct bus to Haneda Airport; we didn’t want to go through the pain of pulling luggages through the subway system again.

We got off at Terminal 1... BUT JOKE’S ON ME IT’S ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE TERMINAL I FOR “INTERNATIONAL” WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!! So we had to quickly take the airport shuttle to the correct terminal to check in.

The airport was decorated in Edo? style.

I decided to have Mos Burger for my last meal in Japan. I grew up eating their rice burger in Taiwan so I wanted to try the real one in Japan. They only had regular burgers here though!!

Our last doodle together.

It was hard to say goodbye to Jen. We’ve been together since elementary school and who knows when we will see each other in person again...😢 We dragged on until last minute and I almost missed my plane lmao

Bye bye Japan! Thank you for a wonderful time and I hope I can come again soon!!

Is Laputa in there

The flight was only about 3 hours so by the time I woke up from a nap we were already landing. But then...

WhaT

IS

HAPPENING

I WAS LEGIT TERRIFIED OMG I hate flying and I would think that if the plane needs to make FIVE GODDAMN CIRCLES above the airport, something might’ve happened down there. 

After what felt like forever, we finally started descending. Everything looked fine?  

Then it became obvious why we couldn’t land. It was like a typhoon down there and the plane was shaking so much while landing. There were no actual typhoon though. Just your regular crazy Taiwanese summer afternoon-storm.

Yep I’m definitely back in Taiwan

The moment I stepped out of the plane I could feel the intense hot humid air, like usual... The storm was crazy big and part of the subway was experiencing outage, so I had a rough time getting home. Good to be back though.

Souvenir for my grandma! She loves matcha stuff. These are matcha-white chocolate cookies, bought at Haneda airport.

My loot from Japan. I managed to control myself hahahaha

Corn flavoured stuff is the best!!!!!!!

And this concludes my Japan trip report!! It is almost 8 months since the trip I can’t believe I took so long to organize this😂😂  I might write a little bit here and there about the Taiwan trip later. Thank you for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed reading!!