'Why I Want to Study at GenkiJACS' Competition Entry

Japanese has been a language that has long held me in awe, aided in no small part by my longtime love of manga, anime and Japanese pop-culture in general. As a writer, language itself is something that continues to fascinate and mystifie me no matter how sharply I try to hone my skill with it. One of the reasons why is probably because the great lottery of birth decided that my mother-tongue would be English, which is the largest language in the world by word-count and probably the most difficult language to learn for non-native speakers. This doesn’t make all other languages inferior, of course. As we know from our many loanwords from French and German like déjà vu and doppelgänger, there are still countless more expressions, experiences and subjects that English, even with its vast volume of words, has failed to invent an original term for. These are, in the end, all words are: noises used to express and describe ourselves, our world and its many aspects to each-other. In this respect, ALL words are adjectives, because all words are ‘describing words.’ Japan, it’s culture and language has been of particular interest to westerners for centuries. Just like the Arabs, the Japanese have historically believed that the written word can be a work of art as well as form of communication. And along with the Babylonians, the ancient Japanese also discovered the merits of a writing system using characters to symbolise sounds rather than complete words, just as modern European languages do (English included). This is what would later set the hiragana alphabet apart from its mainland Chinese roots, and why it remains beautifully simple in comparison. Japanese words in particular seem to be very pleasing to the western ear, and this is probably the reason why taste-experts are now beginning to substitute the word umami for the english savoury. 
Unfortunately, I have never been able to study Japanese formally, so a lot of it still remains an intriguing mystery to me. What are some lesser-known words that cannot be directly translated to english, I wonder? What other homophones are there besides kumo? Exactly how much do certain regional dialects differ from standard Japanese and what are some of their shibboleths? How many, if any, so-called ‘false friends’ are there? These are all things that I would love to study in close detail some day, and actually studying them in Japan itself at a school as prestigous as GenkiJACS would be a dream come true, as its small classes and focus on the individual would be ideal learning-conditions someone like me who has learning disabilities.

- Töck

genkijacs.com

New Video by Deerstalker Pictures! 'Holy Lantern' feat. Phanty!!!

Secret Garden Picnic

Hiya! A lot has happened to Töck and Phanty these past few days! First of all, Phanty attended an anime music festival in Sydney, and despite being a bit late, he was forcefully dragged up onto the stage to take part in the outfit contest. And incredibly, he and his Trick or Treat coord actually won!!! The prize was a $150 Gallery Serpentine voucher, which he used to buy some (early) Anna House birthday presents for Töck ^.^ 

My Sweet Mate Kumya's Trick or Treat Judy JSK & OTKS, My Sweet Mate Kumya Little Bear Headbow, Stardust Fantasia ~Horoscope of Twins Star Kittens~ Star Hairclip and Ribbon Heart Bag by BTSSB, Blouse by Magic Cats Street, Shoes by Antaina, Rhapsody Collection Brown Wig by Gothic Lolita Wigs

Two days later was a Sydney Lolita picnic at Wendy's Secret Garden that Phanty had organised all by himself; and for his coord he borrowed Töck's Circus Print JSK and bonnet. ^.^ The garden is a cool, shady little patch of rainforest between Luna Park and Milson's Point with a little grassy stretch of ground on the shoreline with a direct view of the Harbour Bridge (this was where they set up permanent camp as unfortunately, little wasps and mosquitos seemed to have adopted the rainforest as their ideal home!)

Circus Print Ribbon JSK & Bonnet, Ribbon Heart Bag and Sweets Choco Necklace by BTSSB, Baby Doll Chiffon Blouse and Diamonds OTKS by AATP, Shoes by Antaina, Rhapsody Collection Brown Wig by Gothic Lolita Wigs

The rainforest (pic by Spandexual)

The shore (epic selfie-stick pic by Spandexual)

TÖCK: Rose Jail Print JSK & Pattern Half Bonnet and Clara Short Boots by AATP, Midnight Military Cupcake Pony Necklace by A Pocketful of Macarons, Blouse by Anna House, Offbrand tights

Töck's Mother's Day Gift

My mum has five kids including me. All of us are old enough to drive and only one of them still lives as home permanently, so naturally, poor Mum is beginning the empty-nest stage of her life. :-( As a result, one of her more recent hobbies is to get photos of her children professionally printed, framed and displayed all throughout the house so she can still be surrounded by them all. ^.^ So I thought: why not get her another framed lolita pic of herself in a special one-of-a-kind decoden frame as a Mother's Day gift? 

This frame was handmade by my ultra-talented friend Valeria from Sweet Dolly House, and was shipped all the way from Russia! <3 Mum is also an amazing baker, so I felt that one of Valeria's frames (which are always coated in cookies!) would be the most appropriate. ^.^ A delicious, chocolatey smell filled the air as soon as I opened the parcel, and that was when I first learnt that the frame was chocolate-scented as well!   

I wrapped it up in some beautiful pink wrapping-paper with major mitchell cockies on it that I got at souvenir shop in Berrima, NSW ^.^ 

Töck had to give it to her a little earlier than the first Sunday of May, as she would not be able to go visit her that weekend. And as was hoped, it (and gift-wrap) was very well-received, and Dad even wanted to check to see if the sweets were real or not! ^.^ 

Here's to all loli-mums who support their daughter's (and son's!) kawaii habits! XOXOXOXO

Cockatoo Island Art & Chocolate Meet

Hello everyone! A few days ago we organised an epic-scale meet to this year's Sydney Biennale festivities on Cockatoo Island where Phanty impressed everyone with his knowledge of art-house cinema and Töck got to wear her new hat!

Cockatoo Island

This tiny, moon-jelly-surrounded island in Sydney Harbour has a long and varied history. It has been an Aboriginal fishing base, a prison, a shipyard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a campground and more recently, an open-air art-gallery and the site of many public festivals and events. One of these events is the Sydney Biennale, an annual island-wide contemporary art festival. 

Lookin' swag on the ferry...

A great shot of Phanty in the corner with his beloved Coke!

Spandexual was determined to become a piece of artwork herself! She came to the island with her horse-mask and a pink raincoat-JSK and tried her best to blend in ^.^

Töck finally got the matching Nightcap for her Tricky Nightmare Factory coord (which is fabulous at keeping the sun out of your eyes, btw) ^.^

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café

At the end of the day, everyone took the ferry back to Darling Harbour to unwind with a big round of delicious chocolate milkshakes at Guylian, as well as some cake, tea and chocolate-dipped fruit. ^.^

Thank you to everyone who came along on this adventure! We and others have plenty more meets planned for this year, so stay tuned for more updates!

How Töck Met Phanty (Explained With Hiroko Yokoyama Stickers!)

Töck first met Phanty after he joined the Sydney Lolita Comm's FB page. After friending each-other, they discovered that they had a mutual love of Lars Von Trier's film Dancer in the Dark, and that was how they started talking online. Their very first conversation ended up stretching long into the night. They learned that they had a lot more in common than lolita and film-tastes, and they soon became best-friends. ^.^

Phanty's very first lolita-meet was coming up, and he was extremely nervous and worried about whether he should go or not. Whenever he voiced these fears to Töck, she just kept cheering him on and offering him loads of encouragement, as well as promising to look after him while he was there! At the meet, Phanty finally got to meet Töck in person. As he was still very nervous, Töck told him 'I'll protect you!' ^.^ However, as it turned out, it was Phanty who was to become to the protector that day...

In her rush to get to the meet on time, Töck had very little to eat that day (fool!) The meet in question was an Easter picnic and scavenger-hunt which involved a lot of running around the city, and due to her lack of energy, Töck began to grow weak and nauseous. However, she was determined to keep up with her team, complete all of the activities and win the prizes! 

But this dogged determination only led to Töck falling ill and collapsing on the street in the middle of the hunt. Phanty, who was on her team, stayed by her side, looked after her and helped her get back to the picnic to rest and eat. Töck would be eternally grateful for this act of kindness on Phanty's part. 

The next time Töck and Phanty met up was for a day-out in Sydney with just the two of them. Together they did karaoke (which Töck had never done before!) and saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. As it was nearly Töck's birthday, he surprised her at the end of the day with an early present: a brand-new Baby headbow! :-O As well as Töck's first-ever brand-piece, it was her first gift from Phanty, and she still has it. ^.^

It wasn't long after this sort-of date that Töck began to fall for Phanty, and when Phanty finally confessed how HE felt to her online, she was able to return his feelings. ^.^

Soon after they officially became a couple, Phanty came all the way out to Töck's house for her actual birthday to watch Lars von Trier movies, and he even brought a special birthday-cake that his mother baked for her. ^.^

Megu's Wedding Part 2: The Sydney Summer Sequel!

Töck and Phanty were honoured to attend their good friend Megu and her fiancé's Harajuku wedding in Japan this year, but believe it or not, that was only the first half of their nuptial celebrations!!! The official marriage ceremony was to take place later back home in Sydney, and once again, T & P were both invited to join in!

The reception was to be held at the beautiful, ye olde Alfie & Hetty resteraunt in Glebe, and despite having to travel all the way from Wollongong to get there, Töck and Phanty were the very first guests to arrive! The theme of the wedding was an eclectic mix of kawaii, marine and burlesque, and the bride arrived dressed as a dominatrix mermaid with several merbridesmaids in tow. ^.^

Draw me like one of your Japanese anime girls...

Photography by Wattle & Lace

The public servant who was to preside over the wedding was a lovely, eccentric old marriage-rights activist who began by making it very clear to the congregation that she did NOT agree with the Australian marriage laws she was meant to be upholding that night in regard to same-sex marriage, to the applause everyone present. ^.^

The incredible Miss Bunni Lambada provided the entertainment, performing a traditional-style burlesque routine and then a less-traditional My Little Pony-inspired one! 

Töck cops an elbow-glove to the face! XD

Before the wedding, all of the guests got a chance to be professionally photographed at a nearby park by Charmaine at Charmaine Morgan Photography!

TÖCK: Witch in the Forest Corset Dress, Barrette & Gloves by Metamorphose, Shirring Pullover & Clara Boots by AATP, Offbrand tights.
PHANTY: Cinderella Jewellery JSK I & Headbow, Baby Diamonds OTKS and Blouse (name unknown) by BTSSB, Offbrand Necklace

Around this time Phanty had kindly left to go help put the wedding-decorations up in the room, and that's why he wasn't in the group-shot. <3

Congratulations to Megu and her new Hubby! We wish you both a long and happy life together. Stay kawaii! 

- Töck & Phanty