#they would probably be on sale after mid autumn festival go look for them i like mango personally

[sea-jello]

happy mid autumn festival to my girl chang’e today is literally her day

[dawnover-dusk]

Magical!SVT: Hoshi

lol 420 blaze it. for @dumbbelle my beautiful friend

of course, our kwon fire is more inclined towards fire magic

he’s from an old family of magicians and they were all elemental so it was always

‘which element will our little soonyoung master??’

the kwons got their answer when hoshi almost burnt down the family farm

mom ran outside to find her 5 year old son sobbing and cradling the chickens

‘BUT I JUST WANTED COCO TO BE WARM’

dad decided to make an ill-timed joke about having chicken for dinner. mom was not amused

when hoshi turned 15, he enrolled in the boarding school for magicians called ‘The Academy’

it was supposed to be all ominous sounding but nah magicians aren’t that creative

he quickly made friends but he isn’t…the best. student

he works really hard of course but none of the theory came to him naturally

lots of one-on-one tutoring sessions with model student!joshua

didn’t help that the Academy was basically a walled building on the outskirts of a town

and the town was so much more interesting?

like the mid-autumn festival and the loud percussion he would hear from his bedroom window when he was supposed to be studying 

junior magicians weren’t allowed to go into the town 

the #1 rule was no f.u.n pretty much

one night he’s just like,,,yolo and sneaks out. light magic!dino wakes up but makes hoshi get him some street food before rolling over and going back to bed

the festival is ending and the last night involves this big party that just goes on and on

hoshi finds a hole that was never patched up from when this random girl dug her way into the compound and crawls through

and for the first time he feels so….free? breathing in the night air, feeling the bass lines vibrate through his body

there’s a little wooden stage constructed for the festival in the middle of the town square and he pushes his way through the crowd gathered around it

and there he sees something so magical that he can’t believe that it’s not. it’s non-magical

you’re there performing with your dance team and the live band behind you

he’s looking up at you with such wonder and joy

you catch his eye and you almost forget your next steps because of how wide-eyed he is? like has this boy never seen someone dance…pls stop staring you’re getting self-conscious

never mind that there’s a freaking crowd around you….and there’s a lot more eyes than his staring y’know?

probably because he’s really cute too ok lol

by this point the music is reaching a crescendo but nope. you’ve forgotten what you’re supposed to be doing 

so like any entertainer you’re just like...time for AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION also time for winging it but no one will ever know

and you pretty much drag hoshi up on stage 

he freezes but after some really frantic facial and body language communication that you do, he starts to feel the beat and dance along 

and surprise! winging it worked! because hoshi, although not the best magician, is FIRE on the dance floor

like to the point where you want to kick him off because hello you’ve practiced way too long for this stage ya feel

after your team’s performance ended, you and hoshi are on an after-performance high

you find out that he’s from the Academy and of course you’re just like

“can you do any tricks??”

but he gets a bit uncomfortable so you lay off and spend the rest of the night running around to all the street vendors

he remembers to snag dino a really loaded up hot dog and you end up walking with him back to the Academy

the lights and noise fade out into the background and the darkness swallows the two of you

and he’s like. oh shit. i have to go back to this world of stuffiness and academia and ughhh 

you, on the other hand, are looking up at the wall in the same wonder that hoshi had in his eyes while you were dancing

he notices it 

‘canyoucomebacksometime?’ he asks, all in one breath

you’re a bit confused but he goes on

‘you asked about tricks, right? i can show them to you!’

your face lights up and you nod

‘that would be so cool’ you exclaim

‘can you teach me more dances though?’ you just nod because…why wouldn’t you he’s a cute magician

so every weekend you meet at the hole underneath the wall 

you sneak in and watch him and his friends practice their spells and potion making and he sneaks out to learn more about dancing and music with your team

one night he’s showing you a new idea that he had

he wants to incorporate fire into his dancing 

and while you watch him, you feel your heart flutter a bit 

he’s so passionate about what he’s creating and his friends say that he’s been a lot happier too, more than he has been at the Academy

but then a stray flame directs itself to your arm and you yelp as you feel it burn your skin

hoshi immediately runs to you but you flinch away. he backs off, hurt

you had covered the burned area of your forearm with your opposite hand in reflex but when you take it away to check, you yelp again with surprise

your skin is healing?? like this was not the biological process of healing that you learned in school?? what

you look at hoshi and he’s just like…i did not do that

your friend already has that guilty kicked puppy look but then he’s like…‘maybe you’re magical too???’

you want to scoff but then you think back about how you’ve had faster wound healing than a lot of kids 

that’s why your dance team makes you do a lot of the more difficult stunts lol

‘I mean I know you said that your family isn’t magical but…sometimes it just awakens in some people!’

he drags you back to the Academy but you refuse to talk to the Council or any of the teachers because it’s been like, half a year

you know by now that the Academy isn’t Hogwarts and you don’t really want to be trapped in there until you can control your magic or whatever

so seungcheol examines you instead and yup. you are a bonafide healing magic user. greeeeeat

you swear seungcheol to secrecy after some very creative threats and you and hoshi take a walk around the garden

‘I’m really sorry about earlier..’ he still feels so guilty omg

‘it’s ok, I guess I know now that I can fix you up whenever you do something stupid’

‘no but really!! I know I’m not the best student but it’s my second year here and I still can’t control the fire sometimes…’

you place a hand on his arm and try to look him in the eye. is he….crying??? you’ve never seen him tear up before

you wrap your arms around his waist and he reflexively nuzzles his cheek against your head

‘I promise you that I’m going to try harder! and I won’t hurt you ever again’

you pull away a bit and stick out your pinky finger

‘ok but you also have to promise me that you’ll continue to use fire in your dances! it looked really cool it was lit’

you see him scrunch up his face really cutely and nod, hooking his pinky finger around yours

hoshi gets joshua to tutor you on the side just so you can do basic wound healing stuff on your own

a few years later he’s graduating from the Academy with his friends

you sort of sneak in through that same hole and the Council is like….ugh….another one? but they don’t throw you out because it’s supposed to be a happy day!

you throw flowers at him and he shoots finger guns at you all greasy-like and you’re like…gross…but also…his winking is really cute what is happening

at the end of the ceremony you run up and hug him and then, like the night that you met him, you were going to wing it

you kiss him really quickly on the lips. just a peck. but he freezes up and you’re like lol gotta blast

to no one’s surprise, he decides that he wants to be an entertainer and pretty much joins your dance team

at first your team is like….uh….did he even try out? what 

and then they get super confused because IS THAT FIRE? minghao, one of the choreographers, is lowkey living for it tho

but you’re like ‘it’s ok guys I got you’ and it was just. a day of revelations for your poor team. but after a while they’re ok with it because hoshi pretty much becomes the star and you rake in so much in ticket sales that you guys get to travel too

in some swanky hotel room overseas, he comes up behind you and tickles your sides and you turn around to tell him off

but then he grabs your shoulders and gives you your first. proper kiss together 

when he pulls back you’re like. oh. oh. oh.

*oh by snsd starts playing*

‘that’s how it should be done’ he smiles at you

and nope. now you’re back to telling him off lol 

[hokkaidodo-blog]

an untitled post - because it’s 2am and my brain feels like trifle

First of all, how on earth has it been longer than two weeks since I last posted? And more importantly, how have I been living in Japan for longer than a month already? It seems like I’ve only just arrived but then also it seems like I’ve been here forever. After a month, I’m surprised at how much you can settle in to a new place relatively easy. Even after two weeks or so, I no longer find myself awkwardly sitting in a doughnut shop in Sapporo underground station, politely declining many free refills of coffee just so that I could hide in the corner and use the Wi-Fi to desperately try and figure out which of the station’s bountiful exits would lead me to campus  (it seemed so easy when I was with someone else); nor do I feel like a confused and terrified rabbit in the market when 1) I can barely fit down the isles because I am not a petite Japanese person, or when 2) I have borderline zero idea about what to buy/look for/cook with regards to Japanese vegetables/meat/condiments/toiletries.

Being in the tail end of Autumn at the moment, everything is stunning. I’ve never seen trees with such beautifully coloured leaves, Hokkaido University being one of the most famous spots in Japan for tree-viewing with its “golden leaf” festival. It’s definitely getting colder and I can feel that winter is going to hit us running faster than a middle-aged lady at the Boxing Day 5am Next sale. I’m excited to see the Hokkaido winter (Hokkaidonian? Hokkaidan?) Japanese winter, but especially up here in the north, there is no going back once it strikes. The feeling that we will have snow from (probably) the end of October to mid-February is something that yes, I was very aware of before I came to Hokkaido. However, to someone who is used to two or three days (three being ambitious here) of ‘snow’ a year – snow that abolishes all hope of any form of public transport running or schools being open, forcing elderly folk to manically panic buy the entire stock of Hovis bread and twenty-four pints of milk from the local Costcutter to serve them through said nuclear winter, just to find that a day later everything is fine and people are left wondering if the snow even happened – it is something that you cannot easily prepare for.

Fun trivia fact: The yellow leafed tree is called a “ginko” and translates as “silver apricot”. Yeah, move over Alan Titchmarsh.

I feel so scatty because it’s been so long since I wrote something and there’s hardly been a day where I haven’t been busy with something, so this is going to be a mish-mashed “look at a few of the things I’ve been doing! Aren’t they fabulous” kind of post. Apologies in advance.

MOUNT MOIWA

Saturday. Planned to hike up a mountain close to my dorm to see a beautiful sunset and a breath-taking of the marvellous city below. Woke up. Cloudier than a cup of tea made by someone who puts the milk in without taking the teabag out first. (FYI – sorry in advance, but if you do this you are a cretin who should have their tea-making duties revoked immediately.) Typical. However, we took the rope way up to the top of the mountain and after nearly being blown over the sides of the mountain into the abyss, the sun fortunately came out and the clouds filtered away. The view was stunning and like something out of a hand-drawn art film. There was a bell at the top that lovers are meant to ring to signify their commitment and love for one another, so, because I am in love with myself, (insert RuPaul quote here) here is a pic of me being apparently super twee and declaring my commitment to being a mega-tourist. (The pic also features my raincoat and umbrella, which to the great delight of my new international friends are both incredibly British things and therefore a prime and hilarious source of glorious banter.)

HOT SPRINGS!

In the middle of the beautiful Hōheikyō dam, surrounded by hundreds more autumnal trees, we found a stunning natural onsen, or hot spring. There are onsen in the city which are inside and are like giant communal hot tubs where you can relax, however what was so beautiful about this particular bath house was that the baths were all filled with naturally occurring, mineral loaded water, heated and pumped straight from the earth. Bathing culture is something that I find quite interesting in Japan. Being British, there is the stereotype that we are prude with our nakedness, but when you go to an onsen you must forget any embarrassment or shame you might have, shed your shyness, and just embrace ‘the Japanese way.’ This is the belief that old or young, fat or thin, rich or poor; when you are in the onsen, you are there to relax, to appreciate your life and the nature around you and to be free of any social constraints, no matter what your walk of life may be. It was quite liberating and surprisingly easy to be so open with myself and my body. It was also interesting to see fathers bringing their young sons to the onsen for the first time, teaching them Japanese behaviours and etiquette and as such, there was a peaceful and very comfortable atmosphere here.

Obviously, picture taking was forbidden inside, so here is a pic from the website. Imagine this but at night, with lots of paper lanterns and orange leaves!

It’s hard to find a photo that shows the beauty of the springs! 

And here’s some random thoughts and pics before I wrap this post up for today:

1)      Went to an owl café with the most beautiful owls. Found a new friend and then got told we look awfully similar.  

It’s the eyebrows.

2)       I don’t know how or why this became a thing, but I’m apparently collecting photos of myself next to any mascots or statues I find. Lol Japan.

None have been as soul-penetratingly scary as the melon-bear. Yet.

3)      If the light at the pedestrian crossing is red, nobody will EVER walk. Ever. No cars have passed by for ten minutes? 2am standing in the rain with no coat? People will still wait for the green man until they cross. It’s just the rule, man.

4)      Japanese food = the absolute best. Gaining 15 stone = not so great.

5)      Conversely, Japanese cheese (more specifically, the lack of) = the worst. Mumma, if you’re reading this then please send emergency supplies. Mental stability maintained by mayonnaise and cheese is dwindling fast. Help.

That’s all my ramblings for now. I’ll try and keep updating this more often if I don’t lose my fingers in the sub-zero temperatures or go into hiding and become a recluse due to lack of a good British cuppa. As always, thank you for reading!

ロス

Bonus pics:

Just a human and his owl.

I have nothing to say about this.

Story: When walking through a forest path to reach the mountain, you will see these stone statues lining the walkway. Every single one adorned with a hand knitted blanket or wearing a crocheted scarf or shawl of some kind. These statues are of Jizō – the god who is the guardian protector of children who have passed away too young. Just as Jizō protects the spirits of these children and looks after them once they have left this world, the idols are also protected by gestures of Japanese people who will hand-make scarves and hats to protect Jizō from the elements in the harsh winter. The original Japanese folk-tale tells of an old man and old woman whose grandson had passed, living in the mountains with barely enough food and resources to make-do for themselves. However, despite this they still selflessly placed their own hats on the statues during a snow storm to keep them warm. In turn, it is said that the statues came to life and delivered food to the old couple to thank them for their generosity. The old couple had so much food that they returned it to Jizō to continue the cycle of gratefulness and gift-giving. The tradition of gift-giving is an ancient Japanese custom and something that is very typical of Japanese life.

Maruyama Zoo