My luck is good sometimes. I recently won a giveaway hosted by Hilary over at her blog, Sereneluna. I got an adult colouring kit, which consisted of a large pad of colouring sheets, pens, and markers.
I really appreciate that Hilary wrote me a card. So sweet!
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Previous giveaways I’ve won:
Crimson wrote about ten things that bring them joy, and their post got me thinking about the things that bring me joy.
1. Coffee. I usually start my day with coffee. My go-to coffee order is one cream, one sugar. I like to order pumpkin drinks in the fall and iced coffee in the summer. When I’m at home, I use an AeroPress and add frothed milk on top.
2. Danmei. There is a lot of anticipation happening now in the danmei community. We are expecting Immortality (hopefully) and a few other BL dramas. Heaven Official’s Blessing Season 2 will be released (hopefully), and I’m still clinging to the hope that The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Season 2 will be released. I’ve preordered Guardian Volume 1, which will be released later this year (hopefully), and there are other danmei series being published, like The Husky and His White Cat Shizun.
3. Manhwa. There’s been a rise in anime and webtoons where the villain/villainess is the main character and there are a lot of revenge stories. The stories I like are either A) the main character reads a book/plays an otome game, dies, wakes up in the book/game’s villain’s body, and acts differently in order to avoid a terrible fate, B) the MC is murdered by a loved one, goes back to the past, and hatches a revenge plan, or C) the MC is betrayed and hatches a revenge plan. My favourite manhwa at the moment is probably Remarried Empress. What I like about the female lead in Remarried Empress is that I don’t think she’s intentionally getting revenge. She’s just improving her situation because she’s been wronged, but it’s so satisfying.
4. Animal Crossing. One of my 2023 goals is to start a YouTube channel. I want to give a tour of my island. My island is my space where I have total freedom and control. It’s almost near completion, so I want to show it before I restart. I hate that you can’t have more than one island per Switch. I’m not willing to buy another Switch just to start a new island (some avid players have) so I want to make a video of my island so I can remember it. I might dabble in making AMVs as well, but one thing at a time. 😉 One basic thing that recently occurred to me is that we can do so many things, and I intend to take advantage of that. I learned how to play Go yesterday.
5. Samsung watch. My boyfriend gifted me a Samsung watch for Christmas, and I really like it because it records a lot of data. As someone who has volunteered and worked as a research assistant on different teams for several years, you could say that I love data. I’m most interested in my sleep data, but it’s also nice for other reasons like snoozing my alarm and notifying me when I’m getting a phone call.
6. YETI water bottle. I was gifted a water bottle for Christmas, and it has motivated me to drink more water. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. It’s like when people buy a new keyboard to motivate them to write more. I have the mint YETI bottle.
7. Keychron keyboard. Speaking of keyboards, I love my keyboard. My boyfriend gifted me a Keychron keyboard when I got a new PC last year, and two of my friends donated their spare keycaps. I customized my keyboard with three sets of keycaps. I also added a Bulbasaur keycap because it fit with my theme. Cosmetics do matter. My keyboard is wired and supports Bluetooth, which I’ve taken full advantage of.
8. Music. The music I like best is very niche. Most of it is not on Spotify, but I pay for it for the convenience. I like to listen to music throughout the day. My current favourite song:
9. Subbers and translators. I always feel like a part of my mind is elsewhere because I breathe, sleep, and eat fiction. I love novels/web novels, manga/manhwa/webtoons, Asian dramas, anime/donghua, games/visual novels, and more. Anyway, subbers and translators have my love.
10. Handwritten cards and letters. I’m always happy to receive something handwritten because it feels special and intimate. Somebody thought of me and took time out of their day to write me a card. I’ve kept all of the cards and letters I’ve received.
Thanks for reading!
To my blogger friends,
Thank you for the recommendations. I must thank Irina for introducing me to Ajin, one of my favourite anime. I think the context was that I tweeted that I needed an anime recommendation and listed some of my favourite anime. Then Irina commented Ajin, and she was spot on with the recommendation.
Thank you Nora for tweeting about the Japanese BL drama, Old Fashion Cupcake. I watched it the same night, and it was a 10/10.
Thank you Shoujo for writing about The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System. Thanks to your post, I was able to enjoy the donghua and then I read the books. Now I am obsessed with SVSSS.
Thank you Crimson for tweeting about buying Hashihime of the Old Book Town on Steam. I am enjoying the game so much! Even the most random thing can be significant.
Thank you Jon Spencer for recommending Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo. I don’t remember the context too well, but I believe it was over Twitter. Rampo is my favourite author of all time, and I recently read The Edogawa Rampo Reader!
There are countless instances like these. We learn about anime, dramas, books, and games one way or another, right? Thanks to all of you, my life is a lot more colourful.
Hey everyone,
It’s been a while since I last updated the blog. There are a few reasons for this. The first is because I bought the Switch OLED and have been obsessed with Animal Crossing ever since. I visited Minty’s island!
When I first started Animal Crossing. Minty’s the one on the left.
The second reason for my lack of posting is that I got Covid. Fortunately, the rest of my family members never got it. I self-isolated in my room the entire time and had my meals delivered to my door. I’m grateful for my family’s support. I am also thankful for all the good wishes from everyone on Twitter.
Although I recovered and tested negative a while back, I still cough every day. 
Flowers from my boyfriend.
The third reason is due to a new work schedule. I’ve more or less adjusted to this schedule so expect posts more regularly! However, I do feel tired more often now, and I’m not sure if it is because I had Covid. Does anyone else have a similar experience?
This post is long overdue, but I won a giveaway hosted by Crimson of A Nerdy Fujo Cries. I participated in #theJCS in December, which Crimson hosted.
I got to choose an item, so I chose The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Volume 1 (English). Here’s the letter I wrote to FujoSanta:
Here’s the book! Now I have the first volumes of all three MXTX series.
Thank you FujoSanta!!!
You can read Part 1 HERE.
I have some more thoughts on social media.
Oversharing
How do you decide what to post, and what not to post? Honestly, I struggle with this because I sometimes think, Is there even a point to this, or am I just posting because everyone else is?
I am an anime blogger and cosplayer. Obviously, I will post content related to anime and my hobbies. That’s why I rarely talk about my family, friends, or work on my social media. It’s not that I’m not passionate about those topics; assuming that would be immature thinking. That’s just not what I’m here for.
I’ve got an interesting story. One of my friends rarely posts pictures with her boyfriend. Posting, or the lack of, really doesn’t mean much in terms of the quality of relationship. A few of her friends and peers assumed that she was single because of this. I find it quite funny, but also kind of sad.
Activism on Social Media
I’m the type of person that does my research on issues and discuss with family and close friends privately. I sign petitions and donate once in a while. I’ve seen people on social media say that if you don’t post about a social issue or show receipts that you’ve donated or signed petitions, you’re basically a bad person.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t agree. I feel that there are bigger things to worry about than calling out people who may already be supporting. What, exactly, does showing proof do, besides maybe boost one’s social standing artificially? Everyone has their own way of supporting.
I also don’t think that you have to insert yourself in a conversation all the time. You don’t have to have a take on everything, especially if you’re uninformed or aren’t passionate about a topic. It also kind of distracts from the main issue. A lot of it seems performative, anyway.
Thoughts?
Let me know what you think in the comments! As always, thanks for reading.
Thanks Minty for the tag. ❤ There are so many prompts, hahaha. 95% of the music I listen to are from Asian dramas, anime, other shows, and games. That’s why most of the songs I listen to are in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, or Korean.
Rules
1) Home Town Glory
The gist of it is: Suddenly, it seems that time has passed by so quickly and you’re left feeling confused where exactly that time went. It’s a very sad song.
2) It’s a Love Story
This is from The Phantom of the Opera musical. Raoul is played by Kwang-ho Hong. I actually don’t like Raoul and prefer Erik, but I like Kwang-ho Hong too much. I like this specific performance.
Another favourite is Time of Flight 時間飛行 by Bai Yu 白宇 and Zhu Yilong 朱一龍. It’s from the Chinese BL drama, Guardian. I talk about this song more in #11.
3) Shut Up and Dance
I’m a boring person and never dance to music.
4) If This Was a Movie
I love the songs from the musicals, Jekyll and Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, and Death Note. My favourite musical singers are Kwang-ho Hong and Zheng Yunlong.
I like anything Kwang-ho Hong sings. Here, he sings This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde.
5) Comfort Crowd
Kago no Naka ni Tori 籠の中に鳥 by yourness makes me feel calm. It’s from the anime, Sing “Yesterday” For You.
A chill instrumental song is Revelation, also known as Oracle. It’s from the Catherine OST. Catherine is one of my favourite video games.
Another calm song is Artic Whispers by Bai Yu. It helps me fall asleep.
I love Bai Yu. I recommend his dramas, Light on Series: The Long Night, Fairyland Lovers, and Guardian.
6) Always Remember Us This Way
When I was in a child, I listened to S.H.E, Fahrenheit, and JJ Lin every day after school.
I believe this song is from 2006 because it has clips from the Taiwanese drama, Hana Kimi. Two of the Fahrenheit members starred in it.
7) Let’s Get Down to Business
I was feeling down one day and then Man With a Mission’s Fly Again played on my phone (it was on shuffle). At the time, the lyrics and the overall feeling of the song lifted my mood. I still feel lucky about getting a pick at their concert.
8) Old Town Road
I feel like this and #6 are the same for me.
9) Cry With You
Where Has Time Gone? (See #1) makes me cry.
10) I Think I’m in Love
This one is easy to answer. The songs that I listen to repeat are from the shows I’m currently watching.
The first one is The Love Letter 唯一寫過的情書 by Alex Chou 周予天. It’s from the Taiwanese BL drama, We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd. I loved the first season, but this season feels so… raw. I’m enjoying it a lot more. I don’t know why I love dramas that are painful to watch.
The next song is Ask Heaven by Liu Yuning. It is the opening song for Word of Honor, a Chinese historical BL series. I’ve been listening to the entire album non-stop these days.
This series was recommend to me by a Twitter stranger, and I’m thankful for them because I’m enjoying it a lot. If you like The Untamed, I definitely recommend Word of Honor.
11) Writer in the Dark
The English translation for Time of Flight by Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong (#2) probably won’t make a lot of sense.
In Guardian, Bai Yu plays Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Yilong plays Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are soulmates, and this has been proven time and time again. No matter how many years pass (and I’m talking about thousands of years), the feelings are never lost. They will find always each other again.
Zhu Yilong: How much more serious and how firm it is to make a difference
How many exercises will you become like this?
Bai Yu: I am always waiting for a message here, you have not given up.
Chorus: Flying together across time”
I also like the lyrics from Joker Xue’s Animal World. I’ve interpreted the lyrics in this post.
別再進化 別讓動物世界太假”
12) Sign of the Times
I have no idea. I just listen to what I like.
13) More Than a Memory
When COVID was a new thing, I got into Thai dramas for the first time. Listening to the songs from the dramas reminds me of that period because I had so much energy at the time. No one wants a pandemic, but I made the most of my time and tried a lot of new things.
This song is sung by Bright Vachirawit, who played Sarawat in 2gether: The Series. I’m currently watching Lovely Writer: The Series. Thai dramas make me so happy and I love the music.
Another song is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. The reason is because I watched The Untamed with my friends and did a blogger collab on it. Instead of watching alone like I normally do with shows, I had people to watch and talk with. I talk about it more in #17.
14) Sing to Me Instead
…
15) I Wasn’t Expecting That
In 2018, I knew that the opening song for the anime, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, was popular. When I listened to it the first time, I thought it was overhyped. I didn’t include in My Top 5 Spring 2018 Anime Opening Songs post. After I published that post, I couldn’t stop listening to it. LOL
The song is called Fiction by Sumika.
16) Favourite Record
My favourite album is The Untamed OST by various artists. The Untamed is my favourite Asian drama, so I hold the music dear to my heart.
My other favourite albums are the Guardian OST (#2 and #11) and the Word of Honor OST (#10).
17) Video Games
I’m a little confused why this is titled “Video Games’ when it’s asking about music videos. Anyway, my favourite music video is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. It’s the opening song for The Untamed. It’s my favourite music video because my feelings for this drama resurface every time I watch it. It’s one of my favourite songs.
Tagging:
Thanks for reading~
I liked Annie’s Spill the tea: Creativity in Blogging post. Here’s my response to Annie.
From my personal experience, it is hard to be creative if you don’t have much energy. If you’re tired all the time, you’re not going to be thinking about creative ideas. So, I think that having energy is #1, almost like a requirement to being creative. When I have a lot of energy, I will cosplay, blog, draw, and do a bunch of random crafts.
I mostly get inspiration after having fun with my friends. I think this ties in with what I wrote above about having energy. It naturally comes to you when you feel happy and motivated.
I agree that other bloggers and creators are sources of inspiration. If it wasn’t for Annie’s post, this post wouldn’t even exist.
Thinking about my posts, I got a lot of inspiration from anime, songs, and a lot of other things. I’m driven by my passion and love for my interests and hobbies. One of my main reasons for blogging is to have a space to talk about my interests, often because I don’t have anywhere else to dump my thoughts.
Hmm, I don’t think that you can force out creativity. I don’t think it would feel very authentic. Breaks are fine, and sometimes we need them. That way, we can blog with a fresh mind and new ideas. I feel that prolonged breaks are scary, though. What if you become too comfortable and never return to blogging? Or, what if you lose your enthusiasm towards blogging? This is similar to what Annie voiced re: those who never come back. Here’s what I think: Your health comes before blogging.
A lot of bloggers, including myself, are participating in Anime X-Change, an event hosted by Jon Spencer Reviews. The gist of it is: you are assigned a partner –> your partner recommends a show –> you watch it –> you write about it.
My partner is @nobelmonsters on Twitter and I was assigned to watch Time of Eve.
I had never heard of this anime before and knew nothing about it, except that it was a Sci-Fi anime. I was excited to watch Time of Eve because it was different from what I normally watch. Not only did I finish the series in one sitting, but I also enjoyed it enough to watch the movie the next day.
Synopsis: This story takes place in the future. In Time of Eve, it is normal to have an android housekeeper in your home. They look the same as humans; without a halo, one probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The androids are bound by strict rules. While checking his android – Sammy’s – activity log, Rikuo Sakisaka notices a strange activity. Curious, he checks it out with his classmate, Masakazu Masaki. They find themselves in a cafe called Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve). The cafe has one rule: “No discrimination between humans and androids”. Rikuo and Masakazu visit the cafe nearly every day and learn about the stories of the cafe’s regulars.
Thoughts: As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed this anime. I liked how the cafe was a safe space for humans and androids to intermingle. I also liked learning about the individual stories of the cafe’s regulars. My favourite episode was the last episode, which was focused on Masakazu and his robot housekeeper, THX. I cried when I watched it, which is strange if you think about it. Robots shouldn’t have feelings, so why did I feel empathic towards THX?
Differences between the series and the film: The movie basically condenses the series. I recommend watching the series over the film. Afterward, you can watch the movie or directly skip to the ending. The main difference is that at the end of the film, you learn more about a certain character.
In the end, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed Time of Eve. I feel appreciative towards Anime X-Change because I watched a show that I would have never watched otherwise. I absolutely recommend this anime.
Thanks for reading. 🙂
Thank you Minty from Black & Yellow Otaku Gamers for the tag.
RULES
QUESTIONS
Describe a hobby or passion you have through an anime series! For example Shokugeki no Soma if you like cooking or Initial D if you like cars.
I like anime. Himouto! Umaru-chan sums up what I do in my spare time. To quote my Relatable Anime Characters post from 2018, “Pop, snacks, manga, games, comfy clothes and blanket make up my paradise too. ^^”.
Simplify yourself to an Anime Archetype (Tsundere, Dojiko, Shota, Shounen-Protagonist etc) don’t overthink what an archetype is, go with your gut. Name a character that is also that Archetype.
Kuudere?
Describe your looks through comparing it with anime characters, you can decide how many!
When I’m at home, I look like Moriko Morioka from Recovery of an MMO Junkie. Messy hair, dark circles under the eyes, and comfy clothes. Just need to add glasses. This is me right now:
When I look more presentable, Airi from Erased.
Describe your romantic bias and or sexuality through anime characters you find attractive. insert the Will Smith meme from at the movies/ ta-da
I recently wrote a post called My Husbandos. My favourite anime character is Izaya Orihara from Durarara!! His looks are kind of plain compared to other anime characters but I take everything into account.
Tell us about your day to day life and what anime that would fit into! You can be creative here!
Now that there’s a pandemic going on, my life has changed completely. I went from going out almost every day to being at home all the time. MMO Junkie because Moriko Morioka stays at home all the time.
I begin my day with a cup of coffee.
After breakfast and coffee, I check my work email. If I have a new task, I do it. If not, I do my other, lesser priority tasks. I can work any time of the day but I prefer to work during the day.
Then, I make lunch. I check Twitter and my blog throughout the day when I feel like it. I watch shows and blog when I feel like it.
A few hours after dinner, I work on my side job. I do that until I feel tired.
Zzz…
Describe your hopes and dreams through an anime character.
One thing I’ve learned is that I’m not a materialistic person. I just want to live comfortably. I want my family to stay healthy and for me to find something meaningful in every day.
Anime: Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2
NOMINATIONS
Wretched and Divine 