Hahahah…sorry about the no updating. I started to write a long, long post last night but my browser crashed and I lost it, and I just didn’t feel the drive to do it again until today. And if you see random colons instead of apostrophes, it’s because I’m typing on a Japanese keyboard and damn I hate hitting shift+7 for an apostrophe

Anyway. Let’s back up. Last week, I didn’t go to school. At all. Too much pain. But the bright side? Saturday, I found out what the cause of the stomach pain was.

Are you ready for this? (Males may want to avert their eyes from the screen.)

It was all PMS. Yes. Pre-menstrual syndrome. I went to the hospital twice - not once, but twice - and missed five days of school (Monday didn’t count as it was a holiday) because of PMS. How do I know this? Why, I got my period on Saturday, of course.

Good GOD.

(Males, you may resume reading now.)

Not that I’m not relieved that I know what it was, and that it’s (more or less) over now. But I really, really hope something like that doesn’t happen again next month. That would suck beyond all reason.

Saturday was also Rosh Hashanah, so I wish you all a belated happy new year. L’shanah tovah! I love Rosh Hashanah (it’s my OTHER birthday! :D) though I can never remember for the life of me what year it is. 57-something. At least I have the century down.

Saturday was decent, period aside. I went to the park with Okaa-san and Otou-san, and it was prettyyy. I’ll be getting some new pictures up soon as my pickle account was upgraded. The scanner arrived on Saturday as well (THANK YOU GEOFF) and it works nicely. Also, as a nice new year’s gift from my host parents, I received a very nice book on Japanese folktales and myths surrounding the matsuri in each month, which was excellent - hello, inspiration. (And it has furigana YAY!)

Before I continue I must talk about the doujin incident on Thursday. In case you didn’t know, doujin(shi) is a term used for self-published works (usually manga) which are usually fan-works. They’re serialized in manga magazines with short bits by various doujinshika. It’s a pretty popular thing and doesn’t infringe on Japanese copyright laws - in fact, many now-famous mangaka started out as doujinshika. (CLAMP, for instance, is a well-known example.) There is also a notable (sub?)genre of Japanese media known as BL, or Boys Love (known in the US as yaoi or shounen ai - ironically enough). It’s basically homosexual themed content but it’s not always erotic or explicit - a lot of the time it’s pretty cute, and I’ve rediscovered it upon coming to Japan (it is, after all, mostly aimed at women).

That being said…I went to Miraia (bookstore) on Thursday and discovered that the section labeled “ANTHOLOGY” (wedged in between two shelves labeled “BOYS LOVE”) is actually a doujinshi section. I decided to poke around and buy a Naruto doujin since …you know, I love Naruto. I was looking at the volumes of Uzumaki Manual, a particular doujinshi (magazine) and noted they had a special volume that said ‘KAKA IRU SPECIAL’. The cover looked innocent enough, just cuteness, and I thought, hey, I like KakaIru (Kakashi/Iruka pairing - BL of course) - it’s my favorite pairing (despite its lovely cracktasticness and non-canonical-ness, it’s one of the most popular pairings out there). I showed Okaa-san what I was buying and brought it to the register, and the cashier didn’t even twitch a hair at it.

Now, Miraia, as well as a few other bookstores I’ve been to in Japan, wraps all of their manga in plastic so you can’t see what’s inside. So believe me when I say I really didn’t know that a lot of the KakaIru Special was softcore gay smut. Not that I’m complaining. But it was a funny little surprise. (I laughed, a lot.) Apparently since it passes the Japanese ‘test of decency’ (the laws say that there can’t be any pubic hair or organs showing), it’s decent and legal for minors to buy (cause I am still a minor in Japan). And let me tell you, doujinshika have found artful little ways of drawing gay sex without drawing the actual organs involved. (I can speak from experience.) It’s really not hardcore pornography - I wouldn’t have been able to buy it in that case - it’s more comparable to a tastefully done sex scene in a non-pornographic movie. Also, the thing isn’t entirely smut. There’s just a notable amount of smut in the doujin. XD

Anyway, moving on. After the walk at the park on Saturday, I went to pick up another doujin at Miraia, this time volume two of a doujinshi called Shinobi for Teachers (it’s mostly focusing on the adult cast). This one was significantly less smutty than the last (seriously, it’s a gamble every time I buy a doujin - I have no clue what’s inside), though there is some KakaIru - unsurprisingly because, as I said, it’s an immensely popular pairing. There was also a nifty little poster that came with it.

The only notable thing to happen on Sunday was that I talked to my parents on the phone. That was nice, but I had no idea they weren’t on a calling card XD I love you guys.

I’m getting so much better with traditional media in my art, too. If you check out my dA you can see some things I did with the multiliners and COPICs.

Yesterday I finally went back to school. It was a relief, really. I was getting really, really sick of doing nothing but online roleplaying all day (oh, it’s immensely fun, don’t get me wrong - I just like my human interaction now and then - and some really funny quotes pop up now and then). Everyone was worried about me and was glad to see me back. And, Kaori-chan mentioned the coolest thing ever - a cosplay event that happens in the winter in Akita. OMG YES. Because I finally decided on next year’s CTCon cosplay (Iruka-sensei from Naruto)…I may just be buying the costume early (too complicated to make, for me). Kaori-chan’s going to get the information and me, her, and Ikumi-chan are going to all try and go together. Okaa-san sounded excited at the idea and totally endorsed it, and said she or Otou-san can take me or something. YAY! Now I need to get the costume…

Also, John-sensei came up to me yesterday while I was on my way home. He’s the American on the JET program (like Tara-senpai), and he teaches English at Yuri HS on Mondays and Tuesdays. We were headed in the same direction on our bikes for a little while so we chatted - he’s nice, and a lot younger than I remembered from the five-second glance I gave him when we first met (I wouldn’t really call it a meeting…). You have to be a college grad to be in JET, and he’s been here for a year, so he can’t really be younger than 23 or so, but still - he was really friendly. He invited me to English club (and I was planning to go anyway) and I hope to talk to him some more, because I think it’d be nice to have an American to speak English with - I’m pretty sure he thinks the same XD

Anyway…yes…my hands and neck hurt from typing…so…yeah. Also, I did quite a bit of Anchises novel planning yesterday (STILL no title ARGH) but I do have this to offer you:

Gyas: You’re completely helpless.
Anchises: I know, but it’s a sexy kind of helpless.

Ta, loves. *chu*

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