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rabbitcruiser · 1 year

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National Love a Tree Day

National Love A Tree Day is celebrated every year on May 16 and it falls right in the middle of Garden for Wildlife Month. Did you know trees actually didn’t exist for the first 90% of Earth’s history? Shocking, isn’t it? Before trees, our Earth had fungi that grew 26 feet tall and resembled trees. Trees have played an irreplaceable role in the smooth functioning of our environment and celebrating this special day dedicated to them is the least we can do to appreciate them.

History of National Love a Tree Day

Trees can be thousands and thousands of years old with many species tending to have long lifespans. In fact, trees can be traced back to the creation of the world, according to the Bible and the story of Adam and Eve who ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

From well-preserved cellular anatomy, it has been found that Cladoxylopsida were the first species of large trees to appear on Earth almost 400 million years ago in the Devonian period. The other earliest trees were known to be tree ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes and, currently, it is estimated that there are close to three trillion mature trees in the world.

Trees have so many benefits — they provide us with lumber, food, nuts, oxygen to breathe, home for wildlife, and much more. Trees are even used for ornamental and decoration purposes. In the United States itself, there are approximately 766 million acres of forest land.

Trees form an essential part of our environment and, over the years, their importance has been taught to children growing up. Even in recent times, individuals have become so environmentally conscious that a sustainable lifestyle to protect our trees has become the norm. Most people now want to protect and preserve our trees, which make the world a better and safer place to live in.

While the hunt to find the origins of this day is still on, an entire day of appreciation for trees that have given us so much is the least we can do.

National Love a Tree Day timeline

1800 Christmas Tree Tradition

European nobles and officials adopt and popularize the tradition of setting up evergreen conifer trees in homes for Christmas.

1830 –1860 Joshua Tree’s Name

These plants get their name from Mormon settlers as the shape of the tree’s branches reminds them of a biblical passage wherein Joshua raises his hands to the sky in prayer.

1994 Wollemia Trees Found

A few survivors of these ancient trees that were once thought to be extinct are found living in a temperate rainforest in Australia.

2007 First Tree Fossil

Fossils of probably the first tree, Wattieza, that date back to the middle Devonian period, are found in New York State.

National Love a Tree Day FAQs

What day is Tree Day?

Arbor Day occurs on the last Friday in April.

What is World Tree Day?

World Tree or Forest Day is celebrated annually on 21 March.

How are trees important?

They give us clean water to drink, air to breathe, shade, and food for humans, animals, and plants. They provide habitats for numerous species of fauna and flora, firewood for cooking and heat, materials for buildings and places of spiritual, cultural, and recreational importance.

How To Celebrate National Love a Tree Day

Hug a tree

Plant a tree native to your area

Go for a walk in the woods

Release your inner tree hugger and go hug some trees to show them your love. Make sure you do it in front of some people so you can inspire them to show their love to these gentle giants too!

Do some quick research on trees that are native to your area. Once done, you can go ahead and purchase some seeds for that tree and plant them. Put in an effort to look after it as much as possible and see the fruits of your labor grow, literally.

Trees are a vital part of nature and exist all around us. Why not spend the day among trees to celebrate? Go for a walk in the woods and soak in the beauty of trees.

5 Facts About Trees That Will Blow Your Mind

The oldest tree

Space travel

They save you money

Trees can communicate

Trees are very thirsty

A bristlecone pine tree named Methuselah has lived for more than 4,800 years and is older than the Egyptian Pyramids.

Trees have kind of traveled to space when tree seeds were taken up by Apollo 14 astronauts.

Having a mature tree’s shade near your house can actually help to reduce your home cooling bill by approximately 20% in the summer.

It has been found that trees start producing a chemical called phenolics when they detect an insect raid, which acts as a signal for other trees.

An average tree can drink up to almost 530 gallons of water annually.

Why We Love National Love A Tree Day

Trees keep our streets and homes cooler

It helps to reconnect with Earth

Trees are a habitat for wildlife

Urban areas can get significantly hot and even more so in summer. This is when our loving trees come to the rescue! The shade and water vapor provided by trees can keep urban areas so much cooler. National Love A Tree Day is a perfect opportunity to acknowledge the importance of this green cover.

Planting a tree or simply taking care of existing trees can evoke a sense of belonging with nature. Trees are nature, after all, and spending time with them can help you reconnect with Earth. National Love a Tree Day can be a good place to start if you’ve been feeling a disconnect with nature and life outside of routine work.

Of course, we know that a lot of animals live in the forests and need trees for survival. Trees are home to a diverse range of birds, insects, and mammals. A simple tree will also house hundreds or thousands of small creatures like snakes, frogs, millipedes, ants, termites, spiders, to name a few. National Love a Tree Day helps us appreciate these beauties that are essentially home to so many living beings.

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minescapes · 1 year

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Pagoda Buidler: Me

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constructbreakdown · 5 months

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Super Illegal Entertainment System (autumn vibes edition)

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Retropie/Bacotera emulator splashscreen for retro videogames. This one features a Japanese pixel street in autumn.

Make sure you grab a coat before leaving the house.

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throughthemeadowflowers · 2 years

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Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco

#japanese garden #japanese tea garden #tea garden #moss #cedar tree #moss forest #forest #trees #pagoda #asian garden #cottagecore #naturecore #cozy cottage #plantcore #gardencore #nature #plants

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synteticdreams · 1 year

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Traditional Japanese Landscape painting of Cherry Blossoms, Bamboo, and Pagodas illustration

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compositography · 2 years

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Mono no Aware

The title translated means transient/bittersweet beauty or if the garden is always blooming, it would never be special. So, unless you visit in the spring don’t expect too many colorful flowers blooming. If its color, you want just wait until fall when the different varieties of trees will explode in color. Entrance to the Japanese Garden of Fort Worth Texas As you walk along paths that course…

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#Botanical #bridges #foot bridge #Fort Worth #Japanese Gardens #koi #landscapes #Nature #Pagoda #paths #Tea House #Texas #trees #water

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kohanakonohana · 11 months

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I want to talk about the stripes I make.

According to a book, there are 270 names for striped patterns in Japanese. Thousand stripes (sen-suji), ten-thousand stripes (man-suji), with kids stripes (komochi-jiima), twin stripes (futago-suji), fall stripes (taki-jima), bonito stripes (katsuo-jima), benkei stripes (benkei-jima), wickerwork stripes (ajiro-jima), etc., etc., etc.

Among these, I basically make random stripes, called “yatara-jima”.

Yatara-jima have no regularity in the arrangement of the stripes, and were originally woven to finish off the threads left over from weaving, and originated mainly for women's kimono.

Yes, weaving always produces surplus threads, but that does not mean that a regular number of threads can be taken.

If that were the case, it would be more fashionable to arrange them randomly... nowadays, but I think it's amazing that the people who first made them ( I suspect that they were everywhere in private kimonos) and put them on the market are so amazing.

I think there were people who thought it was interesting and stylish... but I wonder through what channels it spread. I wonder if it was a marketing strategy at the time to have ukiyo-e paintings of beautiful women drawn, or if the models happened to be wearing them. It’s similar to influencer marketing or buzzing on SNSs!? I can imagine all sorts of things.

Taking these cloths as an example, I used 19 different threads in total: three red, three yellow, five green, three grey, three purple, one off-white and one non-dyed white.

In my case, I of course use leftover thread, but basically, as in normal weaving, I have a design first and then prepare the thread. To be more precise, I have the design, dye the necessary colours, take some yarns out of the chest, lay them out, look at the colours and readjust the design. I use two or three threads of the same colour to create shading or variation in the slightly thicker stripes.

But sometimes I feel that I have made a mistake, because when I add the weft yarn, there is not much difference, and in some cases it is a newly dyed yarn, and I feel like, "Wow, give me back my time!" Sometimes I feel like, “Wow, I want my time back!” I'm not experienced enough …

It is actually very difficult to distinguish between the two types of red cloth.

It's not so much about making stripes, but more about the colour composition of the kimono or the shape of the cloth, so it may be a slightly different way of making it.

The right two madders look different, but...

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I used the same warp (silk) as this cloth and hand-spun ramie yarn as the weft, and of the 19 colours... 15 are included.

Red: Indian Madder (strong&pale), Sappanwood

Yellow: Amur Corktree (strong&pale), Gardenia

Green: Ōbaku x odour wood (two light varieties), Green leaf extract powder, Japanese Pagoda Tree x Indigo (strong&pale)

Grey: Cochineal (strong&pale), Sawtooth Oak

Purple: Cochineal, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon (strong&pale)

Off-white: Walnut

#weaving #手織り #草木染め #natural dye #craft #fiber #rammie #silk #handwoven #stripes

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tokidokitokyo · 7 months

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栃木県

Japanese Prefectures: Kantō - Tochigi

都道府県 (とどうふけん) - Prefectures of Japan

Learning the kanji and a little bit about each of Japan’s 47 prefectures!

Kanji・漢字

栃　とち　horse chestnut

木　き、こ～、ボク、モク　tree, wood

県　ケン　prefecture

関東　かんとう　Kanto, region consisting of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures

Prefectural Capital (県庁所在地) : Utsunomiya (宇都宮市)

One of only eight land-locked prefectures in Japan, Tochigi prefecture is famous for gyoza and strawberries. It is also home to Japan's oldest school of higher education, the Ashikaga Gakkō, and is home to the Tōshō-gū shrine, dedicated to the shogun who unified Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, in the city of Nikkō.

Tochigi lies just north of Tokyo, and is accessible in less than an hour by bullet train. Nasu is the location of one of the imperial family's villas, and hot springs near Nasu and Shiobara mountains are popular resort spots. In the southeast of Tochigi, the town of Mashiko is renowned for its simple but highly prized ceramics.

Recommended Tourist Spot・おすすめ観光スポット World Heritage Site Nikkō Tōshōgū - 世界遺産・日光東照宮

Nikkō is closely associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified the country after a century of warfare and founded the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu retired and then passed away in present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, and was laid to rest at Kunōzan. In 1617, his remains were moved to Nikkō and he was deified as the protector of the eight Kantō provinces.

Ieyasu’s remains were reinterred at the temple Rinnōji in Nikkō, and his successor Hidetada erected the Tōshōsha in his honor. The third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu had great respect for Ieyasu and ordered the original shrine renovated, having the country’s most skilled artisans create the richly decorated buildings that stand today. The work was completed in 1636, and nine years later the imperial court bestowed the name Tōshōgū on the shrine.

Nikkō Tōshōgū boasts eight buildings designated as national treasures and thirty-four structures selected as important cultural properties. Some of these impressive cultural properties include the 9.2-meter-tall stone torii marking the entrance and the five-storied pagoda nearby, as well as the Yōmeimon, a richly decorated gate with over 500 carvings depicting fables and saints. This magnificent gate holds an ancient superstition, which said that completing it might lead to the collapse of the Tokugawa regime. To avoid this, the builders installed one of the twelve supporting pillars upside down, thus insuring that it remained incomplete.

For more photos and information check out: nippon.com

Regional Cuisine - 郷土料理 Gyoza Dumpling - 餃子

A statue of the goddess Venus wrapped in gyoza skin outside Utsunomiya Station (source)

“Utsunomiya Gyoza” is an important part of the culinary culture of Utsunomiya City. The city has over 300 gyoza restaurants, and queuing in front of your favorite restaurant or visiting multiple restaurants is quite common. The restaurants compete to create unique recipes in order to be recognized as the best gyoza in the city. You can even join gyoza-making classes led by top chefs. There is also a gyoza association called the Utsunomiya Gyozakai that holds an annual festival in the beginning of November.

Tochigi Dialect・Tochigi-ben・栃木弁

こわい　kowai　tired

「とうと登ってたっけ、こわいから座ってもいいけ？」 touto nobottetakke, kowai kara suwatte mo iike?

Standard Japanese: 「ずっと登ってたし、疲れたから座ってもいい？」 (zutto nobottetashi, tsukareta kara suwatte mo ii?)

English: "I've been climbing for a while now, and I'm tired, so can I sit down?"

いかんべ　ikanbe　it's good

A: 「こんなもんで、いがっぺ？」 (konna mon de, igappe?) B: 「いかんべ。」 (ikanbe)

Standard Japanese: A: 「こんなもんで、いいでしょう？」 (konna mon de, ii deshou?) B: 「いいですよ。」 (ii desu yo)

English: A: "Is it okay if I do it like this?" B: "Yes, that's fine."

いじやける　ijiyakeru　irritated

「あの店員の態度、すげ～いじやける！」 (ano tenin no taido, suge～ijiyakeru!)

Standard Japanese: 「あの店員の態度、凄くイライラする！」 (ano tenin no taido, sugoku iraira suru!)

English: "That store clerk's attitude, is so irritating!"

だいじだ　daiji　no problem

A: 「だいじ？」　(daiji?) B: 「だいじだいじ！」　(daiji daiji!)

Standard Japanese: A: 「大丈夫？」　(daijyoubu?) B: 「大丈夫、大丈夫！」　(daijyoubu, daijyoubu!)

English: A: "Is it ok?" B: "No problem, no problem!"

あかなす　akanasu　tomato (lit. red eggplant)

Standard Japanese: トマト (tomato) English: tomato

#japanese prefectures #日本語 #japanese #japanese language #japanese langblr #langblr #studyblr #都道府県 #栃木県 #tochigi

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human-allergy · 5 months

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Daily Lives of Jujutsu High Students

Time set in around 2006-2007.

This story tells the daily lives and youthful troubles of four students from a certain year at Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Various x F. Reader!

01 - The Cursed Book

In a vast plot of land surrounded by towering walls and large trees atop a certain mountain in Tokyo, stands a uniquely styled traditional Japanese architecture. Inside, it is said to enshrine the cremated remains of the legendary Jujutsu sorcerer "Kūkai" from the Nara period in a Three-storied Pagoda. Inside, there were warehouses filled with various dangerously powerful cursed tools, an inexplicable swimming pool despite the absence of swimming classes, and a playground covering an area equivalent to two and a half football fields (running there felt like losing ten years of your life). In the courtyard, there were two chickens named Nuggets and Corn Ball, along with dogs, horses, deer, elephants, and giraffes leisurely grazing. There were even rumors of lions freely roaming around the place. However, these were all urban legends, and distinguishing what was true, false, or mere gossip became a challenge. For most citizens of Tokyo, the interior of the school remained a mysterious realm that couldn't be explored.

The name of this school was the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, commonly known as Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Among the two existing educational institutions for jujutsu in Japan, it presented itself as a private religious school. Many jujutsu sorcerers considered it the starting point of their careers even after graduation. Therefore, the school not only served as an educational institution but also facilitated missions and provided support, making it a crucial hub in the jujutsu world.

Furthermore, the school had nurtured numerous talents in the jujutsu field, with the ratio of Grade 1 and Special Grade sorcerers originating from Tokyo Jujutsu High being twice that of the Kyoto school.

However, at that moment, a dialogue unfolded in the second-year classroom of Tokyo Jujutsu High:

"Afternoon classes are over. So boring..." You slouched over the desk, dragging your words with a prolonged tone.

"What do you want to do then?" The black-haired boy sitting across from you asked indifferently.

His name was Geto Suguru, with slender eyes, thin eyebrows, large ear piercings dangling from elongated earlobes, a bun hairstyle, and a long fringe hanging over his forehead. At first glance, he gave off a delinquent vibe, but after getting acquainted, he still seemed like one.

"Oh, I know!" The white-haired boy with black sunglasses on your left suddenly exclaimed, "How about Y/n becomes the target, and we all have a water balloon fight? I saw it on a variety show yesterday, and it looked fun."

"Why don't you become the target yourself, you jerk!" you replied indignantly.

"We don't have any balloons, so how are we going to play?" The brown-haired girl on your right responded irritably.

This was Ieiri Shoko, a short-haired and sharp-looking beauty. But don't be fooled by her pretty face, as beneath that attractive facade, there was a middle-aged man who enjoyed smoking and drinking. Due to her gentle personality, she played the role of the peacemaker in your four-person group.

The white-haired boy pondered for a while, then extended his index finger with a smile. "How about using real shurikens instead? You win if you hit specific targets."

"That's practically attempted murder!" you immediately retorted.

"Oh, really?" The white-haired boy tilted his head, seemingly thinking it was not a big deal. "Well, Shoko can heal you with Reverse Cursed Technique, so you'll only be left with scars. Don't mind, don't mind!"

This white-haired boy with a tone that could provoke a beating was Gojo Satoru, born into the Gojo family, one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families. In other words, he was the privileged young master from a wealthy family. At the same time, he was also the possessor of the "Six Eyes." It was a rare occurrence within the Gojo family, happening only once every few hundred years. Hence, not only was he wealthy, but he also possessed extraordinary power. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Gojo was a chosen one. However, his personality was extremely poor, and he always enjoyed teasing and mocking others. But since you had known him since childhood, you had become immune to his teasing and pranks. Still, dealing with a fool like Gojo every day sometimes made it hard to contain your anger.

"Ah... I almost forgot the fact that Satoru you're an idiot." you shake your head and sigh. "I shouldn't have expected you to possess common sense."

"What do you mean? Huh?" Gojo's face contorts into an expression of displeasure, his mouth drooping.

"If I were to have scars on my delicate flawless skin, how would I ever find a boyfriend?" you say, your face filled with sadness.

Gojo bursts into laughter. "Stop dreaming! Even without scars, you'll never get a boyfriend in your lifetime."

As if an arrow pierced through your heart, your heart tightens for a moment.

You cover your aching chest and say with a mournful expression, "To be told this by someone like you, who has even less chance of getting a girlfriend, truly, there is no justice in this world."

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't compare me to yourself," Gojo shakes his index finger, resembling a certain prosecutor※. "I'm quite popular among the girls, you know."

[※Note: In case nobody knows, the reference here is to Miles Edgeworth from "Ace Attorney," whose signature gesture is shaking his index finger.]

Upon hearing this, you, Geto, and Ieiri simultaneously wave your hands and say in unison, "No way."

"I mean, since we have nothing else to do, how about going down the mountain?" you suggest. "I heard there's a section in the basement of the bookstore across from Hanadate Elementary School that's filled with H-manga. And rumor has it that the owner doesn't really check your age before letting you buy them. How about it? Want to go together?"

The other three immediately fall silent, staring at you with complex expressions.

Geto rubs his temples. "Why the sudden interest in buying H-manga?"

"Because I want to read them," you honestly reply.

"That’s straightforward…"

You shrug. "Besides, it will be less weird to have guys accompany me."

"A group of people going to buy H-manga is already super weird!"

"Fine! It's because Suguru you look closer to eighteen!"

"That's your real reason, right?!"

In the end, the four of you went to the bookstore across from Hanadate Elementary School.

Standing on the sidewalk outside the bookstore, the four of you began to formulate a plan. The layout of the bookstore consisted of two floors, with the upper floor selling stationery and reference books, while the lower floor housed books and paper supplies, which was your target.

"Alright, let's proceed according to the plan," you deliberately lowered your voice and said, "Since we don't know which section has the H-manga, I'll go check the novels section, Suguru will go to the manga section, and Shoko will pretend to be interested in buying reference books to distract the store clerk's attention."

"What about me?" Gojo pointed at himself and asked.

You snapped your fingers and pointed at him, saying, "You'll be the one paying."

"Oi, oi, oi!" Gojo exclaimed loudly. "I'm not some kind of ATM! I want to go with you to the novels section."

"Whatever." you said. "Well then, let's agree on this, the 'Operation H' begins!"

Geto looked at you with disdain and said, "Why are you so excited..."

The four of you entered the bookstore in single file. As you entered, the bell hanging on the door rang crisply, catching the attention of the young male store clerk who had been dozing off. He immediately looked up at all of you.

"What would you like to buy?" the male store clerk walked over and asked.

You felt a sudden jolt in your heart, thinking, "Oh no! Now the store clerk's attention will be on us."

Just as you were feeling nervous, you felt an added weight on your shoulder. You turned to see a hand with light pink nail polish resting on your shoulder. Following the hand, you saw Shoko nodding slightly at you, her smile on her face seemed to say, "Leave it to me!"

You responded with a smile, though you didn't say it out loud, your smile already conveyed the message, "I'll leave it to you."

"I'd like to buy an English reference book for second-year high school," Shoko calmly said in the face of danger.

"English, is it? It's over there. Ah, let me take you there," the male store clerk said.

"That would be great."

With that, Shoko followed the male store clerk.

Watching Shoko's figure, you muttered to yourself, "Wait for us, we'll bring back the H-manga!"

Then you wiped away tears that didn't exist and entered the manga and novels section of the lower floor together with Geto and Gojo.

As soon as you entered this section, a musty odor mixed with the smell of ink greeted you. The shelves were filled with a diverse array of books, making it difficult to know where to start looking.

"So many books, how are we supposed to find it?" you placed your hands on your hips, furrowing your brow as you looked at the sea of books before you.

"Oh, right!" as if suddenly remembering something, you lightly pounded your right fist onto your left palm. You looked at Gojo and asked, "Satoru, can your Six Eyes see where the H-manga is?"

"Oi, do you really have a brain under that skull of yours?" as if confirming, Gojo lightly tapped your head. "Do you think the Six Eyes are some kind of X-ray vision?"

You swatted away his hand on your head and then disdainfully said, "Tch, if you can't even find the H-manga, it seems the Six Eyes aren't that impressive."

"Huh? Be careful, or I might just kill you, you know?"

"Anyway," Geto interjected, interrupting the argument between you and Gojo, "let's start looking."

The three of you searched for about ten minutes, but there was still no sign of the H-manga.

"These all look like regular manga," you stood in front of a bookcase, furrowing your brow.

"Did you make a mistake? Maybe there's no H-manga here at all," Gojo asked.

Your shoulders dropped immediately, "Maybe..."

"Hey, look over here," Geto said, beckoning both of you to come to his side.

After you and Gojo walked over to the manga section where Geto was, Geto placed his hand in the gap between two bookcases and pulled them apart. The two bookcases made a slight noise as they slid open, one to the left and the other to the right.

You were astonished to find that behind the two bookcases, there was a built-in wall shelf! And it was filled with H-manga!

"So many H-manga!" you couldn't help but be shocked by the scene before your eyes and shouted.

"Don't yell so loud! Do you want everyone to know we're buying H-manga?" Geto hurriedly said in a hushed voice. "Let's quickly choose one and go to the checkout."

Geto casually picked up one H-manga from the shelf. The cover of the book depicted a blushing girl in a school uniform. "What about this one?" he asked, "After-School Secrets with the Student Council President."

"It looks boring," Gojo commented as he also took a book from the shelf. "Maybe this one, Playtime with My Childhood Friend."

You sighed. "I'm telling you, if we're buying it, why not go for something with a cover and content that looks more explicit? If we're buying, let's go for the most scandalous!"

"Is that something a high school girl would say?!" Geto shouted.

"Ah, let's go with this one," you picked up another book, which had a cover and title even more provocative than the previous two, without any censorship even on private parts. "Endless SEX!"

Taking advantage of his height, Gojo reached behind you and took the book from your hands. He flipped through it and glanced at the synopsis on the back. "Wow," he exclaimed, then continued, "This one has a super diverse content, with older brother and sister, stepmother and stepson, and even [content muted]."

"Then let's go with this one," Geto said, "But how are we going to check out?"

"You go," you said.

"Yeah, you go," Gojo chimed in.

Geto frowned slightly, slightly displeased, and asked, "Why me?"

"Because you look like you're over 18." you explained.

"I’m not!" Geto's face showed an unusual expression of embarrassment, his emotions flaring up. "The previous After-School Secrets might have been fine, but the cover of this one is as shameful as asking me to go naked to the checkout!"

"Don't worry, the cashier here doesn't pay much attention to the content. Just take a quick look and pay, and it'll be over," you said seriously. "Besides, you have an absolute advantage."

"What advantage?"

You smiled faintly. "You look like a guy in his twenties."

"Satoru, I'll take the top, you take the bottom, let's split Y/n in half." Geto said calmly.

You were shocked. "Please don't say something so terrifying in such a calm tone!"

"Then how about we decide with a game of rock-paper-scissors?" Gojo suggested.

"Oh?" Geto raised an eyebrow. "Good idea."

You chuckled lightly and flicked your hair. "Speaking of rock-paper-scissors, I absolutely won't lose. Prepare to be humiliated, Suguru!"

"You arrogant idiot." Geto scoffed. "Let's get started then. Rock, paper, scissors!"

Gojo showed scissors, while both you and Geto showed paper.

A smirk appeared on Gojo's lips. "I won. You two have a final match to decide."

You squinted at Geto across from you and said with a serious tone, "Suguru, I never thought we would end up like this. We were such good friends."

"Indeed, maybe we should have never crossed paths from the beginning." Geto said with a bitter smile. Then he rallied and clenched his fist. "Let's settle this once and for all, Y/n!"

"Let me tell you first, this time I'll choose paper," you said.

Geto snorted. "Stop the nonsense and let's get started!"

"Then let's begin! Scissors—" you shouted.

"Rock—" Geto shouted.

"Paper—!!" After you finished shouting, both of you made your choices simultaneously.

You showed paper, and Geto showed rock.

"Hahaha! You fucking Idiot!!" You burst into laughter, clutching your stomach. "I told you I would choose paper!"

Geto looked at his own fist, as if asking, "Why?"

In the end, Geto went to the checkout, and to make it less awkward, he even put a reference book on top as a diversion.

"Let me help you checkout!" The cashier sister said, "I see, an English reference book and...!"

When she saw that book, she visibly gasped and wore a bewildered expression on her face.

On the other hand, Geto maintained a calm smile on his face.

The cashier sister composed herself and calmly said, "...That will be 2,500 yan."

"Thank you."

After paying, Geto walked out of the bookstore with a smile. However, as soon as he reached your side, his smile immediately disappeared, and his expression changed faster than the rate at which conceptual stocks plummet.

"I won't come to this bookstore ever again."

Geto Suguru, socially dead.

Since it was already late, you guys took the bus back to the school. Once you four arrived in the common area of the dormitory, you four couldn't wait any longer and eagerly tore off the plastic wrap protecting the book.

"Let me open it." You swallowed a gulp of saliva and carefully lifted one of the pages. Just by looking at one page, you were already astonished and speechless.

"How is it?" Gojo asked curiously.

"No, this has already surpassed my understanding of H-manga." Although you said this, your body involuntarily turned to the next page. "This book is nothing but a wetland between chunks of flesh!" You said with slightly rapid breathing.

"Huh? Let me take a look." Gojo took the book, glanced at it, then put it down, and picked it up again for a few more glances.

"What do you think?" You asked tentatively.

Gojo remained silent for a moment, then suddenly shouted, "Why can her '[Censored]' and '[Censored]' have two '[Censored]' at once?!"

"You guys are exaggerating, aren't you?" Geto, who had been silently listening, couldn't hold back and interjected. He took the book, furrowing his brow as he looked at it.

After a short while, he closed the book and placed it on the table. "So '[Censored]' can be played like this."

"Really?" Ieiri raised an eyebrow and asked, picking up the book for a few glances. However, her reaction was calm. "Is that all? It seems like you guys are just a bunch of ignorant kids after all."

"Don't act like you've seen so much!" you retorted.

"Oh, senpais, you're back," a cheerful voice said.

The four of you turned to see Haibara, a year 1 student, standing at the doorway with Nanami, another freshman.

You quickly hid the book under your clothes and tried to keep your voice steady. "Oh, it's Yu-chan and Nanamin."

"Can you stop calling me Nanamin, senpai? Other people will start imitating it." Nanami, with Danish heritage, a handsome mixed-race face, and blond hair, frowned and said.

"By the way," Haibara approached you all, "it seemed like you were discussing something interesting just now!"

"R-really?" you asked.

"Are you... reading H-manga?" Haibara asked unabashedly, getting straight to the point.

You coughed a few times. "No, it's not like that. We're diligent students who excel in academics. Why would we read that kind of stuff?"

Haibara looked at you with a puzzled expression. "But I clearly saw Geto senpai buying H-manga at the bookstore."

Geto's face turned pale.

"Alright, alright!" You gave up resistance and took out the H-manga from your clothes, holding it up. "We were reading H-manga!"

The room fell into a tense silence. No one dared to speak, while Haibara and Nanami looked at the cover of the book in shock.

After a long silence, Nanami was the first to speak. He sighed and looked disappointedly at the four of you, "I expected it from Gojo and Y/n, but I didn't think Ieiri and Geto senpais would be like this too."

Gojo was displeased. "What do you mean by 'expected it from Gojo and Y/n' huh?!"

"I-I didn't expect you guys to like this kind of H-manga," Haibara forced a smile and said. "But what are you going to do with this book? It would be bad if the teachers found out."

"Well..." you rubbed your chin, pondering for a moment. "Let's put the book in the third-year classroom! Nobody will know it was us."

Gojo nodded in agreement. "That's settled then!"

"Is it really okay to do that?" Nanami questioned.

"Don't worry, if there's any problem, Satoru will take care of it!" you pointed your thumb at Gojo.

Gojo pouted. "Why do I have to take care of it?"

"Because you have a strong background! Don't mind, don't mind!"

So, you placed the H-manga in the third-year classroom, thinking that would be the end of it. But to your surprise, after two days, the H-manga appeared in your classroom again. Even when you threw it in the trash can, it would mysteriously reappear in the classroom after a few days.

"This book is definitely cursed!" you pointed at the H-manga, fear evident on your face. "If we let it roam freely in the school, the consequences are unimaginable."

Geto looked at you and asked, "What should we do then?"

"We should seal it." you said solemnly.

You four took a blank sheet of paper and wrapped it around the book. Then you four wrote a bunch of warning words and incantations on it before tying it tightly with a red thread.

"Oh curse hidden within this book, vanish before us!" you declared. With that, you threw the H-manga behind the shelve of the library, making sure it was impossible to retrieve without moving the entire bookshelf.

"This way, it won't reappear again," you said with folded hands, "Thank you, "Endless SEX", for giving us the most precious lesson in health education."

Gojo, too, unusually serious, folded his hands and whispered a "thank you" towards the bookshelf that concealed "Endless SEX."

"You two idiots." Geto said to Gojo and you.

Shoko glanced at you and Gojo disapprovingly, then covered her stomach and said, "I'm hungry. Let's go to an izakaya and grab something to eat. I feel like having grilled octopus skewers tonight."

Upon hearing the word "octopus," a certain scene from "Endless SEX" suddenly flashed in your mind—an enormous octopus engaging in tentacle play with a woman.

You clasped your hands over your ears in agony. "Please stop! You're making me recalling that scene!"

Shoko smirked mischievously and leaned in close to your face. "Do you want to be '[Censored]' by an octopus? Its tentacles can '[Censored]' you, and '[Censored]' your '[Censored]'."

You looked at Shoko in horrified disbelief, as if you saw demonic horns sprouting from her head.

"Akuma(demon)..."

※※※

Epilogue:

One day in 2018, "Endless SEX" was unsealed.

In a classroom at Tokyo Jujutsu High School, three first-year students looked at the rectangular object on the desk. It was covered in warning words and incantations, tied with a red string. Their faces displayed a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Itadori, where did you find this thing?" Kugisaki asked.

"Behind the bookshelf in the library," Itadori replied.

"Put it back quickly," Fushiguro frowned, "I have a bad feeling about it."

Kugisaki looked disappointed. "Huh? But I'm really curious about what's inside!"

"Me too!" Itadori chimed in. "Let's open it and see!"

"Do you think this is some kind of Christmas present?" Fushiguro rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the wrinkles there (because he often frowned). "The incantations written on it aren't random; they can truly suppress curses."

However, the other two didn't pay attention and proceeded to untie the red string and remove the white wrapping paper.

"Oi, you two!" Fushiguro shouted in a coarse voice.

After tearing off the paper, they were greeted by the sight of a completely naked woman.

Itadori's face immediately turned red, and he stammered, "Th-this...!"

"This is an H-manga!" Kugisaki exclaimed, wide-eyed, pointing at the book.

Fushiguro also lost his usual composure. "Who on earth put this in the library!?"

At that moment, Gojo walked into the classroom and, upon seeing the expressions on the three students' faces, couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong? You all look pale."

Itadori quickly hid the book behind his back and nervously said to Gojo, "N-nothing!"

Gojo clearly saw through the act. "Stop pretending and show me what's behind you."

Itadori chose to play dumb, feigning confusion. "What's behind me?"

Gojo walked up to the three students, extending his right hand and commanding in a no-nonsense tone, "Hurry up."

"Alright." Itadori didn't want to offend Gojo, so he obediently handed "Endless SEX" to him.

Crap, now I’m going to get scolded by Gojo-sensei.

Just as Itadori was thinking this, Gojo burst into laughter.

The three students exchanged puzzled glances and then looked at Gojo, who was laughing heartily.

"So nostalgic," Gojo said. "We used to put this in the library."

"What?!" Kugisaki exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes widening. "So, Gojo-sensei, you're into this kind of stuff?"

"No, no, it's just something we bought out of boredom back then," Gojo explained. "But how did you find this book? I remember Y/n putting it deep behind the bookshelf in the library."

Itadori scratched the back of his head and sheepishly said, "I accidentally knocked over the bookshelf and happened to see this book."

"I see," Gojo said, taking out his phone from his pocket. "That's hilarious. I should take a picture and show it to Y/n and Shoko."

"Eh?" The three students made strange noises simultaneously.

"Ieiri-san has seen this book too?!" Itadori asked."I can't even imagine!" Itadori said, and the other two nodded in agreement.

After taking the photo, Gojo put his phone back. "But I still have to confiscate this book. It's too dangerous."

"Are you planning to take it and read it all by yourself?" Kugisaki asked.

"Why would I do that?" Gojo waved his hand. "Get ready, we're going out to exorcise curses."

Upon hearing that they could go out, Itadori became energized. "Got it!"

"Meet at the entrance later," Gojo said, then walked out of the classroom.

After Gojo left, Kugisaki spoke up, "By the way, Fushiguro, you're pretty close with Gojo-sensei, right?"

"It's not like we're that close," Fushiguro said.

"Whatever. Do you know who he's referring to as 'Y/n'?"

Fushiguro nodded. "She’s a strong jujutsu sorcerer, but not someone worth emulating."

"So, what's the relationship between Y/n and Teacher Gojo?"

"Well, they are—"

#anime #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #gojo satoru x reader #geto x reader #shoko x reader #nanami x reader #toji fushiguro #slice of life

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sublingual-art · 8 months

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Styphnolobium japonicum, the Japanese pagoda tree, on a bend in the path

#artists on tumblr #pen and ink #sketchbook #trees #fountain pen #plein air #landscape

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dkniade · 7 months

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Wait 翡翠 (hisui) is jade in Japanese

The Hisui (ヒスイ) region in Pokémon means jade???

Oh wait Bulbapedia says it might be also from 祕邃 (hisui) meaning hidden and profound which matches Sinnoh’s etymology (神奥 Shinnou…? It doesn’t list a hiragana transcription… Meaning mysterious and profound)

Whoa I never knew the etymology of the Pokémon region names. Also it seems all the city and region names are written in katakana despite being in Japanese?

Enju City’s name comes “from 縁寿 enju (longevity of relationship), 槐 enju (Japanese Pagoda tree), and 臙脂色 enji-iro (cochineal red)” while (in the English localization) Ecruteak City’s name comes “from ecru (light beige color) and teak (tropical hardwood)” (from the Ecruteak City’s wiki page on Bulbapedia)

#dusk rambles #dusk translation #Pokemon #hisui #hisui region #sinnoh #sinnoh region #etymology #ecruteak city

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rabbitcruiser · 2 years

Photo

What a Tree!

What do you think about my pic?

#Japanese Pagoda Tree #Sonoma #California #flora #original photography #travel #evening light #tourist attraction #vacation #summer 2022 #USA #West Coast #photo of the day #What do you think about my pic?#mother nature #beautiful tree #Sonoma Plaza #landmark #blue sky

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blazehedgehog · 8 months

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The Gradual Degradation of Fortnitemares

Getting to be so let down with Fortnite lately. Much like how people get excited for Scream Fortress, Fortnitemares used to be this incredible thing. All the houses on the map would get decorated with inflatable witches and pumpkins and ghosts. There were spooky graveyards to explore, all kinds of fun stuff

As Fortnite continued and they leaned more and more on the lore, the map got away from urban environments. Fewer houses means fewer decorations. And Fortnite started getting into a habit where chapters got shorter and shorter and shorter -- Chapter 1 was something like three or four years, Chapter 2 was two years or less, and Chapter 3 was almost one year on the nose, ending just after Fortnitemares in 2022. Dataminers suggest that Chapter 4 was also supposed to end after Fortnitemares 2023, but the new map isn't ready yet, so supposedly Epic is considering a tiny interim season just for December so they can take Christmas break in peace and worry about launching the new chapter when they get back. I think that's fair.

Going back to the urban environments -- Chapter 1 Fortnite was all about towns. Greasy Grove, Tomato Town, Pleasant Park, Retail Row, all of them were full of houses. Retail Row would even get a Halloween Store like the map's own personal Spirit Halloween that you could visit if you wanted to see all the Halloween decorations in one room. It also had multiple farms, and farms mean things like corn mazes and more.

Chapter 2 was, in every way, a better Fortnite. Everything was more organic feeling than the Chapter 1 map was. It felt less tile-based. And it still had plenty of towns -- notably, Pleasant Park and Retail Row carried forward, and close to one fourth the map was covered in a vast forest that could be kind of spooky even in the summer. Also, that Halloween store got an upgrade, moving to its own location -- the Halloween MegaStore, which not only housed TONS of decorations, but even displayed previews of Fortnitemares Skins. As Fortnitemares drew close, the entire map was enveloped in spooky, endless fog, showing off Unreal Engine 4's great volumetric lighting, and a special "Nightmare Royale" mode was enabled, where you respawned as ghosts that could terrorize the living.

Chapter 3's map was hard fantasy. Coastal settlements dominated by "The Seven", whose buildings were charitably described as "We have Star Wars at home." What urban environments it had were quickly destroyed -- not much reason to put up decorations in a demilitarized zone, after all. A house or two dotted around the map still featured the very rare Halloween decoration, but things were so dire that they straight up teleported a spooky farm into the middle of the map right before Fortnitemares just so they'd have something. Whereas Halloween would take over large portions of previous maps, the farm and the map's giant "reality tree" were the only places designated as Halloween-safe zones. Getting near them would enable a special vision mode that would suddenly make everything look dark and foggy, but 99% of the map remained un-spooky. It was, bar none, the worst Fortnitemares in the entire history of the game.

Chapter 4's big new feature was its modular map. Sort of like how they dropped a farm into Chapter 3, in Chapter 4, huge segments of the map changed from season to season. Cyberpunk cities just dropped out of the sky one day, as did Japanese pagodas, plus vast (and annoying) jungles dug up from underground. The map even launched with spooky castles built right in by default and maybe the biggest farm the game had ever seen. Even back in January, I was thinking, "this could make Fortnitemares awesome again."

Chapter 4 has been a mess. This Gamespot article talks about what a jumble it is -- and before you ask, yes, Fortnite does have a storyline. Or it used to. Chapter 4 was apparently planned out well in advance and then (as per rumors) the order of everything may have gotten mixed up as crossover plans shifted or were canceled entirely. Friends and I figured this was what also spoiled Fortnitemares 2022 -- a rumored Lady Gaga concert ultimately never materialized, despite the season's "spooky rave" motif. The suggestion now in 2023 was that Epic had apparently been banking on a Persona 5 crossover to launch season 2, and when they weren't allowed to use Joker, it threw all of Chapter 4 out the window with it. The game has spent the last 11 months spinning its wheels and under-delivering on map updates -- sure, each season sees massive changes, but Fortnite used to actually mean a Fort Night, with bi-weekly updates that would shift a dozen mini-stories forward bit by bit.

Chapter 4 does none of that. The map changes once every three and a half months and that's basically all you get outside the thinnest strands of MMO-style quest progression and an overarching narrative that has gone from "not really making much sense" to "beyond a waste of time."

So stop me if you know where I'm about to go with this: Chapter 4, Season 4 launched maybe a month ago, and as of a night or two ago, Fortnitemares 2023 officially began.

That big spooky castle? They dropped a tropical resort on top of it.

The biggest farm in Fortnite history? So far... untouched.

Halloween decorations? The most you get is a candy bowl sitting on a curb of some houses.

There are little bits of Halloween flavor -- the tropical resort is owned and operated by a Playboy Vampire (in the James Bond sense, not the porn sense). Since the launch of Nitemares 2023, he's vamped out, and you get a special shotgun that shoots wooden stakes. But he's also trivially easy to fight, even by the standards of Fortnite's usual PVE "boss" characters.

youtube

Nitemares staples like the Pumpkin Launcher and the Witch Broom have returned, though the Broom has less "returned" than been wholesale replaced with something that, to me, feels considerably more nerfed compared to the original item (it also doesn't make the cool sounds anymore).

And, like, it's early, yet. We could still just be getting started. Maybe the best is yet to come. Epic was apparently telling streamers that Fortnitemares this year was "going to be big." But I look at things right now and I feel the same underwhelming feeling I've had all of Chapter 4. And I look at the news lately that a lot of Epic people, guys like Donald Mustard, Sergiy Galyonkin, and one of Fortnite's chief artists, Drew Hill, have all left the company over the course of Chapter 4... plus the state Fortnite itself lately...

And it's starting to feel like there might be writing on the wall.

Over a year ago, half jokingly, a friend told me about his theory for the eternalization of Fortnite. Epic would probably never retire the game, but they would restructure its output so that new seasons would funnel into the game's growing Creative Mode, effectively turning it from a Battle Royale into their equivalent of Roblox. And the more time goes on, the more what he said is starting to feel right. Fortnitemares also features the game's newest UI refresh, which pushes creative maps right on to the main home screen in something that looks more like Amazon Prime Video than a video game.

Now, maybe more than at any point in history, Fortnite feels the most like The Product and not a game. One designed to take less resources to maintain and continue to generate some amount of infinite money.

I never expected the good times to last forever, but it's sobering to think Fortnite's best years may be long gone and never to return.

#fortnite #chapter 4 #fortnitemares #halloween #epic games #Youtube

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