blackbird singing in the dead of night

( With An: Yes, yes, we don’t want you to go viral for roundhouse punching your boyfriend in the face. )

( With An & Tanegashima: Just so you know, I'm not copying, Kippei. )

( With An & Tanegashima: He knows full well that Tachibana-I’m-Gonna-Become-Stardust-Kippei is a romantic. )

( With Atobe: No, that’s because I am the fruit of some old rich man’s loins. )

( With Kamio: I'll make you scream anytime. )

( With Kamio: Please drown me in the pond, Kippei. I’ll become a really great frog and live in this park in the next life. )

( With Kamio: Kamio Akira had a confession to make: he really and truly did not care about the plot or plight of Cinderella. )

( With Kamio: It’s okay, you found me. )

Though it may be a day late, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas with their loved one(s). Mine was quite lovely and... perfect.

Of course, now comes the busy time of the year, what with preparing for the new year and such. As we will have a guest joining us at our celebration, I have been helping my mother clean the house. I told her that she didn't have to worry so much about that, but she insisted. Shuuji, I assure you, the house naturally does not look nearly so... well, like there is no dog who lives there when there is, in fact, a dog.

I have done entirely too much baking this week. Who wants goodies?

I overheard a couple of my classmates talking about something called No Shave November. They heard about it from an American exchange student. The idea is for men to grow out their facial hair and raise awareness for men's health related issues. Unfortunately it sounds like it oftentimes turns into men simply trying to outdo one another with who can grow it the thickest and fastest, but when I looked into the cause, I found that the intention behind it is actually quite great. Participants pick particular areas of men's health and then raise awareness and money to donate to charity.

And so, I have decided to take part. In so doing, I'm raising money for The Nippon Foundation which focuses on social wellness programs, disaster relief, support for children, and so many other things. For example, they have been actively engaged in supporting the reconstruction of Kumamoto after the earthquakes a couple of years back, which is of course something very close to my heart. This isn't strictly supporting men's health, of course, but suicide prevention and mental health is on the ever growing list of areas in which they engage.

Please let me know if you'd like any information or would like to donate. I would be thrilled for your support.

As others have pointed out, the holidays are nearing. My mother and I have begun to discuss what all we would like to make for the new year food-wise, and we'll need to figure out if we're going to remain in Tokyo for the holiday or travel south. An, do you have any strong feelings one way or another?

( screened to Akira )

I became stuck in a YouTube void while I was cooking the other day and thought that I would share this with the rabbit lovers in my life:



And now, for something a little different. It's always nice to have an outlet and given that we're heading into the fall season and into the new term, I thought that it would be a good time to do so.

All comments are screened, anonymous posting is turned on. This is your chance to confess anything that's on your mind, it won't be shared.

[ooc; please comment in the subject line if the comment is anonymous and screened. That way we all know who's commenting, but of course Kippei won't, and I'll know which ones to respond to IC. Thanks!]

Akira, I found a perfect resting place for the birthday card you made me:



I would also like to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party. It was lovely to see all of your smiling faces. A special thank you to my sister for ensuring I was able to get home safely. :)

And on that same token, thank you to all who came out to celebrate Akira with us. It was a fun day full of mischief. Just the way it should be. Happy birthday once more, Akira. I hope this year brings as many good memories as the year past. I'm excited for what the future has in store for you.

( Senri )

( An, Shuuji )

How has everyone been enjoying their summer? I feel like I learned many interesting things from you all on my last post. I hope that your summer has brought as much joy as it has me thus far.

Thank you to those who joined me at the Adachi Fireworks Festival. It was absolutely stunning and took my breath away. Somehow I have never been before, but it will definitely be something I do again.

I found a video on YouTube if you have never had the pleasure of seeing it:



I have been very fortunate in that I have finished my exams already, so I get an early start to vacation. Just in time, too, as this heat makes me want to lounge around at the beach and do nothing. It has been very difficult to commit myself to studying.

My aircon is older, but functional. My door continues to be open if people need a reprieve from the heat.

( screened to An )

[ooc; pretend that he made a last call for those who expressed interest in going with the meeting place. The week ran away from me and I didn't get to make the post like I wanted to. orz]

As I'm sure everyone saw because An has already mentioned something earlier, but I thought that I would also throw another reminder out there. We are celebrating her birthday at the beach tomorrow and would love for all of you to be there. Just as we had hoped, the weather has held strong - it should be a beautiful day.

We had a lovely day celebrating with our family. Gran, as always, is concerned that I'm not actively contributing to society. I could be the most successful man in the nation and she would still think this of me. It's rather heartwarming that she still believes me to be the rebel thirteen year old I once was.

Ah, is it July already? Hmm. The month has flown by. It's rather troublesome.

( screened to Senri )

Best of luck to those who are playing at Wimbledon. We will be cheering you on every step of the way.

As we are now exactly one month away from my sister's birthday, I must admit that I've gotten a rather late start to the planning, this year. And so, this is my open invitation for those who would like to contribute ideas to do so. I will compile them and then determine the logistics once I have a clearer picture - and, I believe this goes without saying, but the more ideas the merrier.

This is currently visible to her, so if there is anything that you would like to keep as a surprise, please either text me or say something privately.

It has been brought to my attention that it's also Tanegashima-san's birthday tomorrow. Do you have any fun plans? Or shall the birthday committee coordinate something for you, too?

This will be a stressful week leading to the start of exams, but I hope that everyone can take a break from their books to enjoy the beautiful weather (though, it appears there are gray skies and rain in the forecast, so maybe not on those days). Remember that exams are not a reflection of your intellect, but instead meant to gauge how well you have memorized the material. Please don't become so wrapped up in the stress that you don't take care of yourself.

With that said, I should probably be studying. Ha.