#I write agriculture magazines

[askingkyborg]

//nonaskBUTWITHBRINKTHISTIME AND ARMAGEDON STUFF AND A BIT OF BRAMBLE ARC

obligatory @doors-worstenemy for anything considering tussler. Half of this may be brinkborgish because like. My mind is kymudd>brinkborg>blink>slinkborg/whatever the fuck that poly am clusterfuck is /neutral

anyhow. Thinks about armagedons ending. How quickly they left for the witherbanes. How brink was at the bar thar night. Do you think he saw kydelious in his old rivals eyes? Do you think he saw the blood stained tunic of a man who should have died- submitted to dia- claimed in the wreckage- with his people--

reborn?

do you think in that second, brink saw peace in his enemy turned friend ((turned crush maybe im pandering a bit but awaygh enemys to lovers has my sorryass)) and he felt happy? Or perhaps was it offputting to see the fire in kyborgs eyes calm down?

do you think at a point, kyborg ever introduced himself as kydelious after, and brink would wonder from his carful mayoral perch of what shifted in his mind? What brought that old dog of a name home?

do you think he ever knew the days before? Were they ever recounted to him, the plights of somebody he was so bitter towards who just wanted love?

Do you think that night in the bar, when the eye lock of knowledge of knowing an evil had been dealt with-, they both felt relief?

whatever the answer is, its between the two men, and that hate and that love and that burning question may never find a place to rest.

"what changed, rust bucket..?"

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

diasomnia, 1 — 19

***Spoilers ahead!!!***

Note: this is just a general summary of what has happened so far and my initial reactions to those major events. I focused my comments on whatever interests me the most (ie lore and funny character interactions), so there are definitely details that were overlooked and lines that were simplified to make a joke; please do not rely on this as a translation.

Big thanks to @shuuenmei and @curekibouka-writing for clarifying the more confusing tracks of the story (some parts were difficult to follow the sequence of events for) and the details of the✨ deep lore ✨ It was fun screaming with the both of you—

Ah yes, Yuu’s Sleeping Beauty dream right on cue. Finally starting to put together the puzzle pieces, huh (Yuu goes to check on the Great Seven statues to confirm they saw the Fairy of Thorns in their dreams)? About time—

As expected, Sebek loses his mind and tells Yuu to not abuse Malleus’s kindness. He’s also super pissed that Malleus and Yuu act familiar with each other (and over the nickname). Yup, that interaction went about as well as we all predicted…

Not Lilia being the “I’m an anime boy late for anime school (the internship meeting)!” trope 😂 All he needs is some toast in his mouth!

Crowley talks about boring things how the internships will work and we hear more about the areas of interest for the third years.

Lore ✨ Each internship “semester” is 3 months and you can only take certain internships if you qualify for them via your grades, credits, and electives. You can choose to do 3 separate internships (again, 3 months each) or do 1 internship (for all 9 months). A B or higher is needed on two of the “semesters” to graduate. Students must also submit reports each semester. Some places additionally require interviews and/or special tests to be passed before a student is accepted as an intern. Placements are not first-come, first-serve; you need to earn that spot.

Trey says he wants to do something related to pastries or agriculture; basically, things close to food production 🌾 He wants to take advantage of his opportunities as an NRC student while he still can!! Trey said he wants to work right after school rather than go to university.

Cater is interested in the entertainment industry; he mentions magazines and videos?? It seems he isn’t interested in higher education.

HELP they randomly mention that Ace’s older brother interned in the entertainment industry too (it gets brought up when Cater was considering a theme park for his own internship)??? TRAPPOLA NII ALSO CURRENTLY WORKS IN ENTERTAINMENT????? When do we get to meet him, Ace—

Vil is continuing to advance his own career in film. He already picked out a studio to apply for, and expresses an interest in magical pharmaceuticals (though he doesn’t intend on going to college). Very fitting specialties for everyone, I must say!

Rook is interested in archeology so he can learn more about the world! After learning about S.T.Y.X., he realizes there’s so much more he doesn’t yet know. According to Trey, Rook does appear to intend to pursue college/higher level studies.

LMAO at Trey constantly having to translate Rook-isms for everyone 😂 Classic Science Club…

Unca Weona is cwanky cuz the talking is disturbing his nappy—

Leona’s going to a mining and energy facility in his home country. It’s an option offered only to those with high grades. Leona wants to be a lazy ass 🦁 “They won’t fail their prince, lmao”

Idia is doing an software engineering internship at Olympus Corp (ie TWST Google) 👀 This is huge because back at the end of episode 5 (ie the episode 6 preview), Idia was actively rejecting offers from Olympus Corp, claiming that he wasn’t welcome anywhere. Character growth… Idia isn’t welcome back at S.T.Y.X. because of the Overblotting and how it nearly exposed the organization to the public eye LOL 😂 Absentee Shroud parents upset with him cksbskwbkcnfke

Malleus doesn’t seem to be interested in picking an internship; he says that, to him, 3 months is too short a time to really learn anything (temporal dissonance strikes again). In the end, he is going to research historical ruins?? He can hang out with the Gargoyles 😎 and Rollo/j

BRO WHAT ???? Lilia is dropping out of NRC??? THE FUQ,,,,!.’sveksbskebkzvczbvvv?$$$&85inmw I had to hard stop at this scene because it caught me by surprise.

The first years are talking about Mickey (like if there are certain conditions to get him to appear??). Oh god, they're planning a Mickey Mouse stakeout????? AND ORTHO IS INCLUDED IN THE GROUP AWWWW 🥺 He searches his databases and uses his cool robot tech to look for more information about Mickey but finds nothing.

GRIM MAKES A SUS COMMENT ABOUT HOW ORTHO IS MORE HELPFUL WITH THIS (Mickey and Yuu's worlds perhaps being tied or related to one another) THAN CROWLEY IS.

They overhear Sebek shouting in the cafeteria; he’s in disbelief that Lilia is dropping out of school.

So anyway, Lilia’s magic has, in fact, weakened significantly (he was almost late for the internship meeting because he woke up and found that he couldn't teleport). He plans on retiring in the Land of the Crimson Dragon (Mushu???? IS THAT YOU).

Interesting??? It seems that Lilia has been progressively losing his powers since even before Sebek and Silver were born… It’s not a super recent occurrence.

Sebek and Silver are understandably upset and mention that while it would be easy for either of them to visit Lilia, it would be almost impossible for Malleus because he will be so inundated with his royal duties after graduation. Malleus is distraught as well, but he insists that they respect Lilia's decision. AND HE’S LEAVING IN LIKE A WEEK? That’s barely enough time to mourn or to emotionally prepare for the fallout…

Malleus pitches an idea to talk to his grandma to not overwork Lilia (vice dorm leaders being overworked? What? In this game? Nooooooo/s).

Malleus's grandma is name-dropped (Maleficia)??? Is everyone in the Draconia family just Mal-something????

LOTS OF OMINOUS DIALOGUE ("Time is running out", "Fate cannot be defied", etc.)

After that whole conversation it’s clear that something isn’t right (despite Malleus maintaining his calm in front of Diasomnia). As soon as he’s away from them, the weather instantly turns stormy AND we see Malleus's blot accumulating as early as 7-13 in what I assume will be a very meaty episode.

Sebek and Silver help Lilia pack; Silver finds this tin in Lilia’s room. There is an old bracelet of acorns and thread inside.

Lilia shows up and says that it’s the most precious item he’s ever been gifted??? But it’s not clear who it’s from.

There's another item in the tin (the ring on a chain)! It has a weird effect on Silver?? I think it makes him sleepy???

The gem in the ring is the same color as Silver’s eyes; Lilia thinks its because his parents wanted his eyes to be forever unclouded and pure 🤨 That’s cute and all, but it makes me really suspicious that something super bad will happen later and I’m living for that—

This ring was tied to baby Silver when Lilia found him. He planned on gifting it to Silver when he's finally an adult... and now is that time 😭 Ain’t no way they’re giving us these heartfelt moments only to not tear it down later with something devastating… And?? With the ring being so fancy, there’s no way Silver isn’t descended from some rich family (or even royalty/nobility) himself??? Prince Silver real????/j cuz that ring sure does look like Princess Aurora’s crown…

Sebek pulls up with THIS fucking monstrosity?? It’s a weapon (axe???) Lilia used from back in the day (like, in war). However, nowadays he uses it to chop regular shit like wood. The weapon looks very similar to one that Maleficent’s minions use.

It's made out of a special magical ore! It’s called Mystium, and it changes shape according to the wielder’s magic.

Back to Yuu and co. staking out Mickey! Grim is finally realizing that if Yuu goes home, he’ll be alone 😔 Noooo, fur baby… Don’t be sad..

They wait for a while but get sleepy because Mickey is taking forever to appear. When Yuu wakes up, they see Malleus’s green lights and they go outside to find it’s snowing (again, because of his weird mood). He apologizes and makes the snow vanish, then confides in Yuu about his insecurities.

Malleus tells a story about how he froze the castle and some people when he was a little kid (omg Elsa core???) because because his grandma had promised to eat with him and was late or didn’t show up due to her royal duties keeping her busy. It sounds like even the palace servants were afraid of his power because of incidents like this. Like. It’s kind of implied Malleus almost killed them (Lilia says Malleus almost “lost” those people) with his magic.

Lilia was the only one who came for Malleus to check on him when he was upset, dried his tears, and tried to understand him. He comes over and frees the people that Malleus froze, then everyone starts preparing and eating shaved ice made from the ice encasing the castle (not randomly, I think it was Lilia’s suggestion).

Malleus gets jealous because he saw everyone enjoying food without him and/or he thought Lilia was angry at him. (This is the point when Lilia tells him he has great power so he has to be careful how he uses it, ie the “you almost lost the people that you’re now happily eating with at the hands of your own magic” talk.)

Lilia uses his weapon to make some shaved ice for Malleus and invited him to join in (I think this may be the same weapon Sebek finds in his room in the present???); this helped Malleus “connect” with other people, or at least invited him to join and do the same thing the others were) It’s because of Lilia that Malleus is okay with eating cold things. UM???? HELLO???? Is that why Malleus’s favorite food is ice-cream??? Or at least a part of it?

BTW LONG HAir PONYtAIL LILiA CANON yes I’m way more excited about this than I was about that entire ice story

Yuu calls Malleus lonely 💀 and Malleus is shocked because he’s so used to being alone that the thought never occurred to him…

Oh no, Malleus learned that Yuu has “found a way home” (ie Rickey Rat hunting) 🙃 he’s like. “You are leaving me as well?” AND RIGHT AFTER HE JUST LEARNED ABOUT LILIA GOING… Lilia, who has been with Malleus ever since he hatched from his egg…

Friends, family… everything and everyone he cherishes is leaving Malleus. “Even if I have great power, I have nothing. I gain nothing, I always lose. No one will invite me, not anymore.” No Lilia, No Yuu 😞 Malleus, your abandonment issues are showing—

NAUUUR not more ominous shit 😭 Not the “man, I sure do wish everyone wouldn’t go :(((( if only there was a way for me to have everything I want…” coming from the mouth of a super insanely powerful magician…

NOOOOO not Yuu unintentionally enabling Malleus… He asks if there was a way to be with your loved ones forever, would Yuu take it?????? YUU DOnT SAy YES YOU FUQQinG IDIOT… ENABLER Yuu didn’t learn from Trey/j

MaLLEUS MY duDE 😔 DOn’T PULL ANY STUPID ShIT PLEASE (ie we all know he probably will)

Aaaand that’s all for now, folks!! Lots of sketchy lines and lore centering around grandpappy Lilia 🤡

Overall, I like the direction episode 7 is going so far! I was really worried that it would focus too much on Yuu and Malleus’s relationship rather than elaborating on Malleus’s relationships with the rest of Diasomnia, but I’m glad that the main story actually touches upon how integral Lilia is to his found family—and to Malleus, of course. A lot of interesting plot points have been set up (especially surrounding Mickey and Lilia), and I’m really looking forward to seeing how those conclude 👀 I feel like we also got spoiled with character lore; I love that time is a Real Thing in TWST and the the boys are aging and thinking hard about their futures. Can’t wait for the angst to hit me full force like a truck 💕

[djuvlipen]

Tera Fabianova

Tera Fabiánová (née Kurinová, 15 October 1930, Žihárec, Šaľa district - 23 March 2007, Prague) was a prominent Romani writer. When she was four years old, her family moved them to her mother's native village of Vlčany (Šaľa district), where they built a house of unfired bricks. Because of the war, Tera completed only three grades of primary school, which became the subject of one of her best-known stories, Sar me phiravas andre škola (How I Went to School). After the war, the Kurins went to Moravia to work, where Tera worked in agriculture at the age of sixteen and later in Prague on construction sites or as a maid.

She met her husband Vojta Fabián, a professional soldier originally from the village of Kurima (Bardějov district), at the age of eighteen. They had four children, one of whom, a son, died while he was young; the Fabiáns divorced after forty years of marriage. Vojta Fabián[1] did not have much sympathy for his emancipated wife, which is why the position and role of the Roma woman became a frequent subject of her texts. Tera Fabiánová worked for thirty-five years as a crane operator at ČKD Praha, retiring from there on a disability pension due to impaired health.

She was fluent in four languages and began writing in the 1960s – originally in Hungarian, but soon switching to Romani. Her output includes short stories, poems, fairy tales and feuilletons; it deals with the position of the Roma in society, the emancipation of women in the Roma family, violence in marriage and the friendship between humans and animals. Tera Fabiánová's poems – such as those in the anthology Romane giľa (Romany Songs, 1979) – mainly express feelings of loneliness, disappointment, and nostalgia for her Slovak home. In the early 1970s, she published in the magazine Romano ľil (Romany Journal), which was published by the Union of Gypsies-Roma as the first Romani periodical in Czechoslovakia. Her essay promoting the self-esteem of Romani women became the first piece written in Romani in this magazine. As a pioneer of writing in Romani, she became a role model for future generations of Romani women writers, despite the regime’s disapproval and limited publishing opportunities.

[eirinstiva]

All the world's a stage: His Last Bow

Today I received the last story of the year from my dear friend Watson. Did he write it? Apparently he didn't. It was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Billy again? Mycroft Holmes? We don't know, but at least I'm sure the author wasn't Sherlock Holmes because there's not a single cry of "my Watson would do this better". We know our drama queen. My theory is that Mycroft wrote it after hearing Sherlock and John talking about this case, and then ACD edited it.

[ID: Cover of The Strand Magazine vol. 65, no. 321, September 1917. And illustration of a street in navy blue. Crossing the middle of the page there's a red band with Sherlock Holmes profile that says "Sherlock Holmes outwits a German Spy]

There are many reasons of why I love this story: Holmes has the chance to use chloroform:

[ID: Sherlock Holmes (as Altamont) with a goatee, using chlorofom-soaked rag to sleep Von Bork. Illustration by Alfred Gilbert]

Holmes and Watson working together once more:

[ID: Holmes and Watson walking Von Bork slowly. Illustration by Alfred Gilbert]

Holmes in disguise with longer hair and a horrible goatee, the references to professor Moriarty, colonel Moran and Irene Adler Norton, Martha the housekeeper (Mrs. Hudson? I don't know) there's a cat! but what I really like is how Sherlock Holmes used all his knowledge, talent and expertise to work as a spy.

This is his last case. This is his last play. That's why the title of this story has been translated into Spanish as Su último saludo en el escenario, El último saludo (as in my copy of Todo Sherlock Holmes) or La última reverencia. The detective works incognito for two years: he changes his appearance, he speaks with American accent and he travels to another places. Sherlock is an actor and all the world is a stage, and for his last show he calls his friend Watson to work with him at his side for the grand finale. Holmes takes the time to drink wine with Watson and to talk about everything and nothing while Von Bork is tied (somebody is third-wheeling here, or as we say in Chile, Von Bork is playing the violin). The detective takes the chance to steal £500, use his own book Practical Handbook of Bee Culture as a decoy, and make a dramatic identity reveal because Holmes loves to be dramatic, and he really loves to be dramatic when Watson is at his side. The previous short stories are the evidence.

What happened after this? my friend Doctor Watson answer this question in the preface of the book His Last Bow:

The friends of Mr. Sherlock Holmes will be glad to learn tha he is still alive and well, though somewhat crippled by occasional attacks of rheumatism. He has, for many years, lived in a small farm upon the downs five miles from Eastbourne, where his time is divided between philosophy and agriculture. During this period of rest he has refused the most princely offers to take up various cases, having determined that his retorement was a permanent one. The approach of the German war caused him however, to lay his remarkable combination of intellectual and practical activity at the disposal of the government, with historical results which are recounted in His Last Bow. Several previous experiences which have lain long in my portfolio have been added to His Last Bow so as to complete the volumen JOHN H. WATSON, M.D.

It's been a year since Letters from Watson reunited old and new fans to read the short stories on Sherlock Holmes and next year it's time to read the novels!

[lexlaine]

Writeblr Intro

Hi writeblr. I write under the name Lex Laine.

I write fiction exclusively. Speculative, sci-fi, and horror. Maybe some poetry. Maybe some unearthed archives. Possibly some of my TTRPG module content if the mood strikes. I am unpublished but prospecting.

About Me

They/them, 31 yo, queer as heck

Engineer moonlighting as a writer

Consumer of content: books, cinema, art; especially of the horror variety

Submission Calls That Fill Me With Dread

Apex Magazine

Planet Scummy

Clarkesworlde Magazine

The Nottingham Horror Collective

WIPS That Haunt Me

Paragon Parting. Adult speculative horror. TW: just about everything. Tags: paragon parting. A brain-melting prion disease becomes transmissable and extinction is wrought upon humanity. Is redemption possible when survival necessitates destruction? —> https://editor.reedsy.com/s/ueel0Pl

Flora Story. Adult fantastical horror. TW: body horror. Tags: flora story. Dalliance with dark entities endentures two young socialites to propagation of an agricultural beast. What are morals, anyways? —> https://novlr.org/share/65407b08ce63dc3fa1aa9eb3/65407abece63dc488baa6f24

The Neon Mainly. Adult speculative sci-fi. Tags: neon mainly. Utopian cyberpunk gig economy aesthetics consumes Unsolved Mysteries in this plot-driven exploration of ethics and obligation. —> https://novlr.org/share/65407a43ce63dc8452a9ff8d/654078d8ce63dc3c29a8e134

Books I’ve Read This Year That Changed Me

The Dark Star Trilogy by Marlon James

Blindsight by Peter Watts

The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

Looking for….

Beautiful words to fill my heart

Beta (and alpha, let’s be real) readers

Community and writer friends

I’m looking for more writeblrs! Please interact with this post if you think I’d enjoy your work. Happy to beta read sci-fi, horror, and speculative fiction.

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour and Arc Review: The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews

Order

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: January 16, 2024

Welcome to The Lily of Ludgate Hill book tour with Berkley Publishing Group. (This blog tour post is also posted on my Wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Synopsis:

Lady Anne Deveril doesn’t spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she’s the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother’s devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she’s tempted to run…right into his arms. No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse—on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather’s country estate. No more mourning clothes. No more barriers. Only the two of them, unrequited feelings at last laid bare. Finally free to gallop out on her own, Anne makes the tantalizing discovery that beneath the roguish exterior of her not-so-white knight is a man with hidden depths, scorching passions—and a tender heart.

Author Bio:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats. Learn more online at www.mimimatthews.com.

Author Photo Credit: Vicki Hahn

Rating: ★★★★

*My Review, Favorite Quotes, and Non-Exclusive Extract below the cut.

My Review:

I loved this. It was exactly the sort of banter-filled stubborn hero and heroine who are gone for each other but refuse to admit it story that I love. It's easily the best of the Belles of London series. Anne and Hartford are perfect for each other but it takes them a while to admit it. The only problem I had with it was that it was *extremely* predictable. I knew exactly how it was going to go from the beginning and there was no deviating from that. I actually stopped about 75% of the way through and checked goodreads to make sure I hadn't already read it before. I hadn't. And yet I had predicted every. single. thing that happened. It was like deja vu but more so. The last quarter unfolded exactly as I expected it to. I don't know if the foreshadowing was just really intense or what but that did lessen my enjoyment of the story. Aside from that, however, everything else was exactly as I like in a historical romance. I am curious about the next one, as well, after meeting who will obviously be the new wheelchair-bound, artist hero. I have high hopes because neither of those is something we typically get in a romance hero. *Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

"I wish I were more eccentric," Anne declared, rousing her spirits to the cause. "I might have traveled to Yorkshire weeks ago and saved Julia from her fate."

Non-Exclusive Excerpt:

The twin fragrances of pipe smoke and parchment met her nose. Lemon polish, too, though there was no sign that the maids had done any recent tidying up. The library was a place of spectacular clutter. Bookcases lined three of the walls; leather-bound volumes on botany, agriculture, and natural history were pulled out at all angles as if an absent-minded researcher had wandered from shelf to shelf withdrawing tomes at random only to change his mind midway through extracting them. The fourth wall was entirely covered in framed sketches of flowers and greenery. Some images were produced in pencil and others in delicately rendered watercolor. They were-along with the teetering stacks of botanical journals and drooping maps that spilled over the sides of the earl's carved mahogany desk-evidence of his prevailing passion. Lord March's love of exotic plants was legendary. He'd spent much of his life traveling the globe, from the wilds of America to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, bringing back rare seeds to nurture into bloom. A distracted fellow at the best of times, but a kind one, too, as far as Anne recalled. It had been a long time since she'd darkened his doorstep. A lifetime, it felt like. She tugged restlessly at her black kid-leather gloves as she paced the worn carpet in front of the library's cavernous marble fireplace. She'd never excelled at waiting for unpleasantness to arrive. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. "Hello, old thing." A familiar deep voice sounded from the library door. Anne spun around, her traitorous heart giving an involuntary leap in her breast. Mr. Felix Hartford stood in the entryway, one shoulder propped against the doorframe. Lord only knew how long he'd been observing her. She stiffened. After all these years, he still had the power to discompose her. Drat him. But she wouldn't permit her emotions to be thrown into chaos by his attractive face and figure. What cared she for his commanding height? His square-chiseled jaw? For the devilish glint in his sky-blue eyes? And devil he was. The very one she'd come here to see. "Hartford," she said. Her chin ticked up a notch in challenge. It was a reflex. There was no occasion on which they'd met during the course of the past several years that they hadn't engaged in verbal battle. This time, however, he made no attempt to engage her. He was dressed in plaid trousers and a loose-fitting black sack coat worn open to reveal the dark waistcoat beneath. A casual ensemble, made more so by the state of him. His clothes were vaguely rumpled, and so was his seal-brown hair. It fell over his brow, desperately in need of an application of pomade. There was an air of arrested preoccupation about him, as if he'd just returned from somewhere or was on his way to somewhere. As if he hadn't realized she was in the library and had come upon her quite by chance. An unnatural silence stretched between them, void of their typical barb-filled banter. Greetings dispensed with, Anne found herself at an unaccountable loss. More surprising still, so did Hartford. He remained frozen on the threshold, his usually humorous expression turned to stone on his handsome face. At length, he managed a smile. "I knew one day you'd walk through my door again. It only took you"-withdrawing his pocket watch from his waistcoat, he cast it a brief glance, brows lifting as if in astonishment at the time-"seven years to do it." She huffed. "It hasn't been seven years." "Six and half, then." Six years and five months, more like. It had been early December of 1855, during the Earl of March's holiday party. She'd been just shy of seventeen; young and naive and not formally out yet. Hartford had kissed her under a sprig of mistletoe in the gaslit servants' hallway outside the kitchens. And he'd proposed to her.

But Anne refused to think of the past. Never mind that, living in London, reminders of it were daily shoved under her nose. "You're not going to be difficult, are you?" she asked. "That depends." He strolled into the room. "To what do I owe your visit?" "Presumptuous, as always," she said. "For all you know, I'm here to see your grandfather." Hartford was the only child of the Earl of March's second son-the late (and much lamented) moralist Everett Hartford. Anne well remembered the man. He'd been as straitlaced and starchy as a vicar. Rather ironic, really, given his son's reputation for recklessness and irreverence. "My grandfather is in his greenhouse," Hartford said, "elbow deep in chicken manure. If it's him you've come to speak with, you're in for a long wait." She suppressed a grimace. There was no need for him to be crass. "Really, Hartford." "Really, my lady." He advanced into the room slowly, his genial expression doing little to mask the fact that he was a great towering male bearing down on her. "Why have you come?" Anne held her ground. She wasn't afraid of him. "I've come to ask a favor of you." His mouth curled up at one corner. "Better and better." He gestured to a stuffed settee upholstered in Gobelins tapestry. "Pray sit down."

Excerpted from The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews Copyright © 2024 by Mimi Matthews. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

[summercreolefanfictioner]

(would’ve asked you in private but we’re having a very important convo about your dog and i just can’t take a break from that) gil to me seems like someone who like warmer climates, france seems warm to me tbh and i can also picture im in the south of france most of the time and of my girl dev sets foot in the human world for someone other than business, you’ll literally find her in the most far away place in scotland where it’s cold and rainy and cloudy and i was curious, if my hc about gilbert liking warm climates how would he view spending a holiday with devyn in scotland?

you make me write abt gil and dev in ungodly hours haha

you've never been to heaven, have you? || autumn dates with devyn

characters: gilbert feinze, devyn kang (feat. aurora and karlheinz)

tw: mentions of sex

-it's safe to say that gilbert is not a fan of colder climates, but it wasn't like he despised it either; but hey at least scotland is not a fvcking scorching summer ground

-so yeah he still followed our darling devyn there bcos boy was so lovesick and he needed answers after their slowburn moment of almost kissing in the one ball

-the night where gilbert was sure something did happen between them

-so when he showed up at her doorsteps, dressed in his high-fashion winter outfit looking like a mafia winter playboy magazine cover of Chanel, devyn almost shut the door in his face, her face red as a tomato as she couldn't believe that he flew all this way to follow her

-and all for that one reason she's trying to avoid

-"I told you not to follow me."

-"I didn't follow you, darling Devyn. I came here after you. If I followed you, then I should've been here the day you arrived."

-devyn swore she wanted to wipe off that shit-eating grin from his face and kick him out so he can bury himself in the snow, but at the same time, she supposes a company from a friend won't hurt

-so yeah she just let him be. besides gil was even helping her out like serving her coffee or arranging some of her paperworks so she can be quickly done. would even feed the dog for her

-even cooks for her bcos devyn is not aware of lunch hours until her stomach started growling out of nowhere

-yes i do the cooking yes i do the cleaning

-he was even helping her find solutions on some of the problems for karl's projects, so let's say there's a dispute between a mining company and an agriculture organization, he will provide a different angle so devyn can formulate an arrangement

-how nice, she thinks, it's like the same old times

-nah it wasn't the same bcos sometimes she would catch him looking at her like she was the most magnificent piece of abstract art

-so once she was done with her work (mind you, she stayed up all night), she spotted gilbert already cozying up on the couch, wrapped in one of her spare thick blankets bcos he can't fvcking stand too much cold

-devyn approached him, carefully shaking him while saying, "you can sleep on my bed, it's far larger" (yeah bcos man is so tall I swear)

-"Are you inviting me for sex?"

-"W-wha—I AM NOT!"

-"Then don't casually offer that suggestion, or I might not be able to control myself."

-so devyn went back to her room and slept, convincing herself that everything is like how they should be, sleeping and hoping to travel in good dreams

-however, all she could see was darkness and despair, flashes of lighting and a huge wave of flood rushing towards her until she saw her beloved and precious aurora giving up every fiber of being she has, chanting devyn's name like a song

-and then she drowned and was never to be seen again. devyn was overcomed with grief as she tried to rescue her

-but no, she saw karlheinz drowning aurora even further, making sure this will be her last breath so she wouldn't be able to touch devyn again. he was smirking evilly as if to say everything played right under his palm

-and that's when devyn woke up with a start, with gil knocking on her door and asking her if something bad happened

-she quickly jumped out of the bed, opening the door and hugging gil as if to tell herself that someone she loves was still alive and untouched by karl, her tears staining his shirt as she cried on his chest

-when gil finally felt her calming down from her heightened emotions, he took her to bed and made sure she was warm and comfy surrounded by blankets

-"I'll go now, darling Devyn. You need sleep because you still have work— "

-but she won't let go, grabbing him by the wrist as she desperately whispered, "Please don't leave. Stay. Stay with me."

-"I'm not going anywhere. I'll leave Scotland the same day you are."

-No!" she almost cried, her eyes glassy with tear stains on her cheeks. "Not that... just... don't leave me here. I... I need you."

-and she kept repeating to him

-"I need you."

-"I need you."

-"I need you."

-"I NEED YOU."

-he grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him seriously.

-"Listen, Devyn. I will do anything you want me to do for you, and that's how much I'm willing to go. However, once this happens, there's no turning back. We'll be risking everything, even our lives, just for this. Are you sure this is the way you want to die?"

-she nodded, desperate to be in his arms

-and afterward, everything was a hazy blur of needy kisses, hot whispers, tangled limbs, and devotions of love and passion

-they were in heaven... for now

-because this sinful affair will lead them to hell after

[peppershark]

Seriously blushing.

When I started writing I was working as a journalist for trade magazines in the agriculture sector. I had no idea how my dreamy story-scapes would land with readers, until I started getting reviews.

This review seriously made me tear up.

Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors. Only a tiny percentage of readers actually leave reviews--but a solid body of reviews can mean a potential reader giving a book a chance or deciding to pass!

Read one of my stories? Click on the cover and it will take you directly to the review page:

Thanks so much to everyone who has read, reviewed and help me get launched!

[dankusner]

Kinky Friedman

1944-2024 Musician, provocateur and Texas politician

AUSTIN — Singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist Kinky Friedman, who led the alt-country band Texas Jewboys, toured with Bob Dylan, sang with Willie Nelson and dabbled in politics with campaigns for Texas governor and other statewide offices, has died.

Friedman, 79, died Thursday at his family’s Texas ranch near San Antonio, close friend Kent Perkins told The Associated Press.

Friedman had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for several years, Perkins said.

“He died peacefully. He smoked a cigar, went to bed and never woke up,” said Perkins, who was working as an actor when he met Friedman at a party 50 years ago when both were signed to Columbia records and movie contracts.

“We were the only two people with tuxedos and cowboys hats. Two Texans gravitating toward each other,” Perkins said. “He was the last free person on earth. … He had an irreverence about him. He was a fearless writer.”

Often called the Kinkster and sporting sideburns, a thick mustache and cowboy hat, Friedman earned a cult following and reputation as a provocateur throughout his career across musical and literary genres.

In the 1970s, his satirical country band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys wrote songs with titles such as “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.”

The band’s sophomore album, Kinky Friedman, made it onto the Billboard charts in 1975.

Friedman also joined part of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1976.

By the 1980s, Friedman was writing crime novels that often included a version of himself, and he wrote a column for Texas Monthly magazine in the 2000s.

His first mystery, Greenwich Killing Time , was released in 1986.

He went on to write dozens of books, eventually moving into other genres and also nonfiction in the early 2000s.

Friedman’s run at politics brought his brand of irreverence to the serious world of public policy.

In 2006, Friedman ran for governor as an independent in a five-way race that included incumbent Republican Rick Perry.

Friedman launched his campaign against the backdrop of the Alamo.

“We’re gypsies on a pirate ship, and we’re setting sail for the Governor’s Mansion,” Friedman said at the campaign launch. “I’m calling for the unconditional surrender of Rick Perry.”

Some saw the campaign as another Friedman joke, but he insisted it was serious.

His platform called for legalizing medical marijuana and boosting public education spending through casino gambling and supported same-sex marriage.

Campaign slogans included “How Hard Could It Be?” and “He ain’t Kinky, he’s my Governor.”

“Humor is what I use to attack the windmills of politics as usual,” Friedman said.

Perry won re-election in 2006, and Friedman finished fourth in the race, garnering more than 500,000 votes.

He did not give up politics, however, and unsuccessfully ran for state agriculture commissioner as a Democrat in 2010 and 2014.

Born in Chicago, Richard Samet Friedman grew up in Texas.

The family’s Echo Hill ranch where Friedman died ran a camp for children of parents killed serving in the military.

Funeral services were pending, Perkins said.

RICHARD ‘KINKY’ FRIEDMAN

1944-2024

Texas mourns death of humorist, musician

A rabble-rousing man of letters with a penchant for self-mythology and a deep love of animals, whose music and writing was admired by everyone from Bob Dylan to Bill Clinton, musician, author and erstwhile political candidate Kinky Friedman died Thursday.

He was 79.

Born Nov. 1, 1944, Friedman came to the music world’s attention in the early and mid-1970s with his band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys’ absurdist satirical songs, written in a folksy cowboy style, with shocking titles like “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed” and “The Ballad of Charles Whitman.”

He was signed to Vanguard Records in the early 1970s after an introduction to the label by Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, who met Friedman through George Frayne (aka Commander Cody) in California.

Vanguard released Friedman’s first album, “Sold American,” featuring the songs “Ride ‘em Jewboy” and “High on Jesus,” in 1973.

The outlandish Friedman opened a show for Benson’s Western swing band in Berkeley, Calif., that year, taking the stage in that hotbed of feminism wearing red, white and blue cowboy chaps, smoking a cigar, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a guitar in the other, and played, “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.”

The women in the audience went ballistic, Benson recalled, with some storming the stage and calling the performer a pig.

The show would be indicative of the kind of provocation that would define Friedman’s musical career.

“That was his life,” Benson said. “But he was a master. His songs were incredible. He was a great writer, and his books were fascinating.”

After being an influential part of the Cosmic Cowboy scene of 1970s Austin, and touring with Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1976, Friedman integrated into the 1980s music scene in Manhattan.

He performed at the Texas-themed Lone Star Cafe, where the extended Kinky universe grew to incorporate creative misfits such as Larry “Ratso” Sloman of High Times magazine.

“Kinky fit right in there. But in reality, he was a Texas Hill Country Kid,” Benson said.

Friedman’s outrageous life of performance was tempered by a tenderness.

He was committed to the plight of animals.

In 1998, he founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in the Hill Country — where he was raised — a never-kill sanctuary for stray and abused animals.

Friedman, whose lyrics and performances led to slapped knees, dropped jaws, shaken fists and rolled eyes, turned to novel writing after a decade in the music business.

He penned hard-boiled crime novels in the style of Raymond Chandler, in which his eponymous character usually played the lead role.

Texas Monthly editorin- chief Evan Smith tapped Friedman to write a back-page column, titled “The Last Roundup,” for the magazine in 2001.

“The cover of the magazine is traditionally its front door, its way in,” Smith told the American-Statesman. “And I wanted people to have a second door to the magazine. The thing about him is he kind of flew by his own set of coordinates. He was an incredibly complicated person: very talented and unapologetically inappropriate. All good media at the appropriate time and in the appropriate ways push boundaries, and I thought that he would push boundaries and he would actually expand our audience to include his audience, or at least give us the opportunity to win over people who had not read the magazine before.

“Undeniably that happened,” Smith continued. “I think he also ran some people off. His sense of humor was not everybody else’s sense of humor. It was absolutely mine. I loved what he did, on balance.”

In addition to his columns and 18 detective novels, Friedman also penned books packed with real-life tales from his own life, including the 2017 memoir “Everything’s Bigger in Texas,” which featured outsized recounts of partying with the likes of Jack Nicholson and John Belushi.

“He was a champion self-mythologizer,” Smith said of the man who appeared on the cover of Texas Monthly three times, twice in drag.

“There was a certain amount of bullshit in everything he said, and you had to factor that into every interaction you had with him. He was an original.”

Friedman’s tender side can be seen in his tear-jerking 2001 column titled “The Navigator,” about his late father, who won the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal during World War II.

Friedman’s column was put on hold for the musician-scribe-provocateur’s 2006 run as an independent for Texas governor in 2006 with the slogan, “Why the hell not?”

He came in fourth with 12.45% of the vote in a crowded field that included Republican incumbent — and winner — Rick Perry.

(He also ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 and 2014 Democratic primaries for Texas agriculture commissioner with a pro-hemp and marijuana platform.)

His plan in the 2006 governor’s race was to collect support from a swath of Texas voters who had grown disillusioned with the two major parties, but Friedman was realistic about his chances in Texas.

“Part of the charm of my quixotic campaign is that it may be taken as a joke by some, an article of faith by others,” he wrote. “To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the other guy’s got the experience — that’s why I’m running.

From left, Mike Judge, Turk Pipkin, Texas Gov. Ann Richards and Ray Benson join Kinky Friedman at a Grammy Awards event in Austin

Kinky Friedman, Outlaw, Author, and One-Time Gubernatorial Candidate, Dies at 79

Cowboy died peacefully at home

The artist’s friend, Kent Perkins, announced his death on Facebook June 27.

“My great friend for half a century, Kinky Friedman, slipped away peacefully at home in his sleep early this morning,” Perkins said. “He leaves a legacy of laughter, music, loyalty, mercy, tolerance, servitude, and wisdom.”

Richard Samet Friedman – nicknamed Kinky because of his curly hair – was born in Chicago, but grew up on his parents’ Echo Hill summer camp ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

As a songwriter, he infused the Seventies outlaw country wave with both-sides satire, mocking racists (“They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore”) and feminists ("Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns into Bed") in equal measure.

Though the National Organization for Women wasn’t too fond of the latter, he counted Nelson Mandela as a fan of Holocaust tribute song "Ride 'Em Jewboy."

During a decades-long break from music, Kinky wrote a series of detective novels and authored a Texas Monthly column.

In 2006, he launched a semi-serious bid for Texas governor, proposing the legalization of marijuana (and, given his penchant for a cigar, the banning of all smoking bans), the tightening of the border, and the passing of gay marriage.

He received 12 percent of the vote.

Speaking to the Chronicle in 2019, Friedman revealed that his return to songwriting – first with 2018’s Circus of Life, his first album of original songs since 1983, then with Resurrection the following year – emerged out of a depression.

"I came back to songwriting strictly because of personal unhappiness, loneliness, and my idea of being miserable," he said at the time. "It was not an accident. I was living in this old farmhouse, and when you're alone and feeling sorry for yourself, you start thinking, 'Jesus, some people have all this stuff and a house on the hill and Darby's Castle, but I'm still living in this fucking place where it still rains through the roof and I got pots catching water.'”

Still, reflecting on the songs on his final album (which the Chronicle called “some of the best he's ever written”), a surprisingly sincere Friedman enthused, "Resurrection is what we all need…Imagine if the world turned off Matlock, what we all could produce."

Kinky Friedman, Proudly Eccentric Texas Singer-Songwriter, Dead at 79

Known for songs like "Sold American," the cigar-chomping character and buddy of Willie Nelson won acclaim as a journalist and novelist and once ran for Texas governor

Portrait of American musician, author, and comedian Kinky Friedman as he poses backstage during the Farm Aid benefit concert at Texas Stadium, Dallas, Texas, March 14, 1992.

Kinky Friedman in Dallas in 1992. The songwriter has died at 79.

Kinky Friedman, the eccentric country singer-songwriter whose musings, novels, one-liners and quixotic gubernatorial run made him a folk hero, died Wednesday at age 79 at his home in Texas.

“Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends,” a statement on X read announcing his death. “Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung.”

The cause of death was Parkinson’s disease, according to Texas Tribune.

Friedman’s oddball magnetism and “fearless Texas chutzpah,” as his friend Taj Mahal once described it, in his writings, stump speeches, songs, and interviews, cemented him as a media darling and a songwriter’s songwriter who befriended several presidents (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton) and considered Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson some of his closest friends.

In 2006, Friedman ran a longshot and humorous campaign for governor of Texas, managing to earn 12 percent of the vote.

“I got my last will and testament worked out,” Friedman said in 2014, in one of his favorite catchphrases. “When I die, I’m going to be cremated and the ashes are to be thrown in Rick Perry’s hair.”

Richard Samet Friedman was born in 1944 in Chicago, the son of two Jewish progressives who soon moved the family to Houston and began operating Echo Hill Ranch, a summer camp that Friedman’s family would run for decades and that Kinky would call home for much of his life.

Friedman moved to Austin for college, joined the Peace Corps, moved to Borneo, then ended up in Nashville to write songs in the early Seventies.

To deal with stage fright, Richard adapted a stage name based on an old college nickname: Kinky.

“I didn’t think the name Richard Friedman was a good name for a struggling country artist of the outlandish type I had imagined,” he told his biographer, Mary Lou Sullivan.

Kinky began touring as Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, performing a type of hard-edged Seventies outlaw country that fused rock and country and landed him on Saturday Night Live. Editor’s picks

Friedman’s best known album, 1973’s Sold American, established the Chicago-born Jewish country singer as a renegade willing to test barriers, even among the outlaw country crowd of Nelson and Waylon Jennings, who were his country music contemporaries.

The songs were sardonic and provocative in the way they championed irreverence and lampooned Southern small-mindedness.

They were often brilliant, though sometimes caustic to the point of ugliness.

(One of his most famous songs, “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” is filled with slurs.)

“I thought he was brilliant, and very brave,” Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson’s harmonica player and a friend and collaborator of Friedman’s, told Rolling Stone in

2018. “I got the joke, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stand too close to him at that time. I still keep my distance. It was like, ‘That’s funny, but don’t say you know me.’”

After a series of cult albums failed to register commercially, Friedman switched gears and embarked on a successful career as a novelist and, eventually, in 2001, a columnist at Texas Monthly, where his Texanist column introduced readers nationwide to his dark wit and slapstick pathos.

He developed a cult of personality through his oft-repeated catchphrases (“Friedman’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”), cigar-chomping demeanor, and frenetic energy.

He ran for governor of Texas twice, most famously in 2006, when Friedman turned his populist campaign (a few slogans: Why the hell not? and How hard can it be?) into a nonstop wisecrack barnstorming tour: He claimed Willie Nelson would become his energy czar, sold Kinky Friedman talking action figures that said things like “I’ll sign anything but bad legislation,” and quoted Warren Zevon when asked the first thing he’d do if elected: “I’ll sleep when I’m governor.”

In 2018, Friedman returned to writing songs after more than three decades with Circus of Life, a surprisingly earnest, stripped-down collection of folk songs devoid of the typical Kinky bluster and full of a “vulnerability he never would have tolerated in himself long ago,” as his brother, Roger Friedman, put it.

“Somewhere I read that having an alter ego is a very good way of shielding yourself from suffering,” he told Rolling Stone. “I thought that was interesting.”

In his later years, Friedman remained devoted to Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, the refuge for rescue animals he founded in 1998.

He lived by himself amid dogs and hummingbirds at the Echo Hill Ranch he grew up on and continued to write and record music, even, as the Texas Tribune reports, he grew ill in the past few years.

Following his death, Friedman’s estate posted an excerpt from one of his columns in 1993, this one about his lifelong devotion to animals:

“They say when you die and go to heaven, all the dogs and cats you’ve ever had in your life come running to meet you.”

Texas musician, author Kinky Friedman dies at 79

Kinky Friedman, the Chicago-born, Texas-formed singer-songwriter, author, would-be politician and the man for whom the word “raconteur” might have been coined, died Thursday of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 79.

A pinned tweet on Friedman’s official X account announced his death, reading, “Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends. Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung.”

Echo Hill Ranch, southwest of Kerrville, was Friedman’s home and the site of a summer camp his family founded.

Friedman had a long and sometimes controversial career as what he called “an equal-opportunity offender” who took great joy in poking at the foibles of those on both the left and right of the political spectrum.

He moved easily between the two and opened his 2014 book “ ’Scuse Me While I Whip This Out” by claiming both Willie Nelson and George W. Bush as friends.

Marcie Friedman, his younger sister, said she was grateful to have been able to spend the past year helping take care of him. Parkinson’s had left him weak and ill.

“I feel like he still beat the system by being able to pass away very peacefully at home on the ranch with friends and dogs,” she said. “That’s it. He just slipped away.”

Texas journalist and educator Wanda Cash knew Friedman for more than 40 years.

“The Kinky that I knew was not the blustery, larger-than-life character in public,” Cash said. “He was quiet and thoughtful and oh so smart. A gentle heart. And just a delight to be around.”

She said she last saw Friedman about three weeks ago when she and her husband went to visit him at Echo Hill.

He was sleeping in a hospital bed in the front room of the lodge.

“I don’t want to remember him the way I saw him in the hospital bed,” she said. “I’d rather remember him sitting at one of the picnic tables at the camp, with his big cigar, surrounded by all his dogs.

“He said that the best part of going home, going back to the ranch, was to be greeted by all the dogs. They were his children.”

As a musician, Friedman ran with country music luminaries such as Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

In the mid-’70s, he recorded what Texas Music magazine called “trailblazing, incredibly fringe country records,” such as 1973’s “Sold American” and 1976’s “Lasso from El Paso.”

His songs tackled such hot-button issues as abortion (“Rapid City, South Dakota”), mass shootings (“The Ballad of Charles Whitman”) and the Holocaust (“Ride 'Em Jewboy”).

The songs earned him attention and some acclaim but not the kind of success enjoyed by his fellow country outlaws.

“Most of the people who are flamethrowers or troublemakers, they don’t make it very far,” he told the Express-News in 2018. “The industry doesn’t encourage that, and the people don’t buy it.”

During this fertile period, he and his band, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, appeared at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, where he was introduced as “the first full-blooded Jew” to appear on the hallowed stage. The band also played New York’s Max’s Kansas City and the Lone Star Café, where he had a longtime residency. In 1976, he was the musical guest during “Saturday Night Live’s” second season.

Sam Kindrick chronicled Friedman’s antics in Action Magazine over the decades, beginning in the 1970s.

They first met when Kindrick was an on-air radio personality at KEXL. In the mid-1970s, Kindrick would get up on stage at the old Bits N’ Pieces club on San Pedro Avenue and sing with him on “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore.”

Kindrick was in the audience at the old Longneck club in the summer of 1975 when Leon Russell and Nelson were in the house to watch Friedman perform.

“‘First and foremost, he was a showman," he said. "He came out with those Nudie suits and big cowboy hat and the whole damn bit. He was a walking show.

“He was as good a friend as you could possibly be. He invented ego. That was Kinky. … He’d try out his lines and gimmicks on anyone unfortunate enough to get trapped with him in a closed area where they couldn’t escape. I thought the world of Kinky Friedman.”

From his band’s name to his stage apparel, Friedman’s Judaism was a prominent aspect of his persona though he was not overtly religious.

“Either I’m not a practicing Jew or else I’ve got to practice a little bit more,” he often said.

Kinky Friedman enjoys one of his trademark cigars at home not long after completing his novel "Spanking Watson."

After kicking a cocaine habit that all but ended his music career (and almost ended him), he reinvented himself as an author, penning books of fiction, nonfiction and, beginning with 1986’s “Greenwich Killing Time”, a series of “Kinky Friedman Mysteries.”

Unlike his albums, the mysteries, with titles such as “Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola” and “Armadillos and Old Lace”, were consistent sellers. Bill Clinton was a fan.

Music journalist and author Joe Nick Patoski was writing for Texas Monthly when he first saw Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys in the early 1970s.

Patoski watched Friedman reinvent himself as a detective novelist in the early 1980s in New York, and later as a back-page columnist for Texas Monthly.

“He was the satirist of the whole scene, whether it was music or Texas culture, which was embodied in him running for governor,” he said. “At his core, Kinky was a sweet guy, sentimental … schmaltzy and patriotic.

“I think fame got overwhelming. You’re talking about a Will Rogers-level icon. He was a writer. He was a musician. He was a comedian. He was all that. And people loved his ass.”

In 2006, Friedman launched a quixotic campaign for governor.

He was endorsed by Nelson and finished fourth in a five-person field with 12.4% of the vote.

Gov. Rick Perry was reelected to his second full term that year.

Friedman tried politics again in 2014, running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner on a platform advocating the legalization of marijuana, hemp and gambling.

He failed to get out of the primaries.

Richard “Kinky” Friedman was born Nov. 1, 1944, in Chicago. At the time, his father, S. Thomas Friedman, was a commissioned military officer, flying a B-24 (Liberator) and based in England. Later he was a college professor. His mother, Minnie Samet Friedman, dreamed of being an actress and later worked as a speech therapist.

While he was a boy, Friedman’s parents bought the 400-acre Echo Hill Ranch and ran it as a summer camp for Jewish boys and girls.

While attending the University of Texas at Austin, he joined the Students for a Democratic Society and picketed against businesses that discriminated against Black people.

Music long played a big role in his life, and he named Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash as inspirations.

Starting as an accordion player, he eventually moved to the guitar, which led him first to folk, then to country music and, eventually, to writing songs.

He returned to music later in life, releasing “Circus of Life,” his first album of new songs in 35 years, in 2018.

Former Express-News music columnist and musician Jim Beal was a friend and played on “Circus of Life.” He described Friedman in his 1970s zenith with the Texas Jewboys as a carnival act.

“But it was a very good carnival act,” Beal said.

There was emotional depth alongside the often outrageous satire and persona.

“He always had those songs — ‘Dear Abbie’, ‘When God Closes a Door (He Opens a Little Window)’, ‘Rapid City South Dakota’, ‘Sold American’ and ‘Ride ’Em Jewboy’ — those were all exceptional songs,” Beal said.

Longtime friend Augie Meyers also played on the 2018 album.

He said there was a method to Friedman’s seeming madness and willful offensiveness.

“A lot of that stuff was just an act to get people to laugh or make them think,” he said.

He was still writing songs almost until the end.

Musician David Mansfield, who like Friedman had been part of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the 1970s, was working with him in the studio.

Mansfield said Friedman was more subdued than he had been in his youth, but he could still let the zingers fly. When they worked together on the tour, he said, the best word to describe Friedman was “outrageous.”

“But the thing is, while he might be singing one of his more outrageous songs or one of his extremely edgy satirical songs, in the midst of it, he would put out a song like 'Ride 'Em Jewboy' or 'Sold American' that were just brilliant, insightful writing,” he said.

“I never asked Dylan — I was a kid, so I wasn’t in a position to ask — why he wanted Kinky on the tour. I suspect it was those kinds of songs. He saw what a brilliant writer he was. I can only assume that.”

Friedman’s last performance was at the Kerrville Folk Festival in October.

“He was incredible, as always,” Marcie Friedman said. “No matter if he was tired or worn out, the minute the show started, the show was on. Many people loved him, and he loved having the audiences.”

It was important to him to end the set with “Ride 'Em Jewboy”, she said, in light of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“It has all the cowboy imagery and the Holocaust imagery,” she said, noting that he took being a Jewish cowboy very seriously. “Who else would have woven those together?”

The Summer of Kinky Friedman

“Some of the stuff I’ll be doing tonight I’ve only done a few times on stage,” the country musician, mystery novelist, and former gubernatorial candidate of Texas, Kinky Friedman, warns, with his deadpan, mellow rasp. “So I might screw up. It’s possible. And if I do you’ll know because I usually go, ‘Fuck.’ ”

Kinky has been on the road all summer, quietly touring in support of “Circus of Life,” his first new album of original songs in more than forty years.

“Now, in Europe, when I screwed up, they loved it,” Kinky adds, as he begins to strum. “They all felt it was performance art. The audience here has no sense of that. They don’t think it’s performance art. They just think I’m a little fucked up.”

On a recent visit to perform at City Winery, Kinky stayed with his friend Ryan (Slim) MacFarland and his family, at their home, in Jersey City.

“What’s it like having Kinky Friedman as a house guest?” I ask Slim.

“As soon as Kinky walked in the door, with his black Stetson hat and ostrich-skin boots,” Slim recounts, “my five-year-old daughter was in awe. He squatted to meet her at eye level, tipped his hat, and asked if she had ever seen a real cowboy before. She loved it.”

Kinky isn’t, in fact, an actual cowboy.

But he is a genuine showman, whose credits as a musician include a stint on tour with Bob Dylan, during the 1976 leg of his “Rolling Thunder Revue,” a travelling caravan of featured performers that included Joan Baez, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Neuwirth.

“For Kinky,” Slim continues, “life is the performance. So he’s always on: the cigar’s in his hand, maybe he slept in his clothes . . . ”

“ . . . and he’s knocking on your door asking if you want coffee at some ungodly fucking hour, telling you that you’ll drink it black because that’s how they drink it in Texas . . . ”

“ . . . and then he’s bringing you a cup of dirty black coffee, and you’re gonna drink it, and he’s gonna sit there and talk to you and blow cigar smoke right in your face and you’ll just deal with it because he’s funny and irreverent and you love what’s coming out of his mouth.”

Onstage, Kinky exhibits similar traits, minus the smoke.

The next night, in Jersey City, at the comparatively diminutive Monty Hall, a music venue owned and operated by WFMU, the local public-radio station, Kinky introduces “Waitret, Please, Waitret,” from 1976’s “Lasso from El Paso,” his last album of original material.

In the song, a customer politely invites a waitress to “come sit on my fate.”

After one verse, the unfashionably misogynistic tune is abandoned, despite the cautious laughter of the predominantly middle-aged and older crowd.

“Well,” the Kinkster, as he is also commonly referred to, especially in the third person, proclaims, “you get the drift.”

“You know, a lot of people, when they think of Kinky Friedman,” McFarland says, “they think of songs like ‘They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore,’ ‘Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed,’ and ‘Asshole from El Paso.’ The funny shit. But Kinky mostly writes serious, heartfelt songs.”

Before launching into “Ride ’Em Jewboy,” which has a funny title but is undoubtedly his most serious song of all, Kinky (who is proudly Jewish) regales the audience with a seeming tall tale.

While on a book tour of South Africa, in 1996, Kinky met the anti-apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwhale (pronounced “sex-wah-lay,” but spelled, as Kinky pointed out, “Sex Whale”), who was imprisoned in a cell beside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.

Every night for three years, Sexwhale told Kinky, Mandela listened to “Ride ’Em Jewboy,” the first song of the rock era to be written about the Holocaust, from a smuggled cassette of Kinky’s début album, “Sold American,” from 1973.

“Ride, ride ’em Jewboy Ride ’em all around the old corral. I’m, I’m with you boy If I’ve got to ride six million miles.”

Toward the end of the evening, Kinky puts down the guitar in favor of a copy of “Heroes of a Texas Childhood,” one of more than thirty books that he has written that isn’t a mystery novel, to read “The Navigator,” a story about his father.

“He taught me chess, tennis, how to belch, and to always stand up for the underdog,” Kinky explains before reading, “as well as the importance of treating children like adults, and adults like children.”

Although Kinky has been out of the political limelight since his unsuccessful bid to become the Texas agriculture commissioner, in 2014, he has not forgotten how to campaign.

“My definition of politics still holds,” Kinky asserts. “ ‘Poly’ means more than one, and ‘tics’ are blood-sucking parasites.”

At the end of the show, Kinky descends into the audience to graciously shake as many hands as possible as he leads the satisfied mob to the merch table in the lobby.

It was a 3 A.M. telephone call from another one of Kinky’s lofty friends, Willie Nelson, that inspired “Circle Of Life.”

Kinky was watching “Matlock.” Willie, who Kinky also refers to as his therapist, instantly diagnosed his friend with depression and prescribed him to pick up the guitar and write.

“When it was all over, and we were done with the record,” Slim recalls, “and Kinky heard it for the first time, he said, ‘Slim, you’ve made a senior citizen very happy.’ ”

Kinky Friedman, 79, Dies; Musician and Humorist Slew Sacred Cows

He and his band, the Texas Jewboys, won acclaim for their satirical takes on American culture. He later wrote detective novels and ran for governor of Texas.

A black-and-white photo of Kinky Friedman, a curly-headed man with a mustache.

He is wearing dark glasses and a black hat and smoking a cigar.

Kinky Friedman in 1975.

The songs he wrote and sang poked provocative fun at Jewish culture, American politics and a wide range of sacred cows.

Kinky Friedman, a singer, songwriter, humorist and sometime politician who with his band, the Texas Jewboys, developed an ardent following among alt-country music fans with songs like “They Ain’t Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore” — and whose biting cultural commentary earned him comparisons with Will Rogers and Mark Twain — died on Thursday at his ranch near Austin, Texas. He was 79.

The writer Larry Sloman, a close friend, said the cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease.

Mr. Friedman occupied a singular spot on the fringes of American popular culture, alongside acts like Jello Biafra, the Dead Milkmen and Mojo Nixon.

He leered back at the mainstream with songs that blended vaudeville, outlaw country and hokum, a bawdy style of novelty music typified by tracks like “Asshole From El Paso” and “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You.”

With a thick mustache, sideburns, a Honduran cigar and a broad-brimmed cowboy hat, he played his own version of Texas-inflected country music, poking provocative fun at Jewish culture, American politics and a wide range of sacred cows, including feminism — the National Organization for Women once gave him a “Male Chauvinist Pig Award.”

Behind the jokes, he had serious musical talent.

He sang with a clear, deep voice, modulated with a gentle twang, and played guitar in a spare, straightforward style borrowed from one of his idols, Ernest Tubb.

He toured widely in the 1970s, with his band and solo, including on the second leg of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue in 1976.

He performed on “Saturday Night Live” and at the Grand Ole Opry — Mr. Friedman claimed to be the first Jewish musician to do so (though in fact others, including the fiddler Gene Lowinger, had beat him to it).

An earlier version of this obituary misstated when Mr. Friedman died.

It was Thursday, not Wednesday.

It also partly misstated the name of one of his songs. It is “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” not “They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore.”

And an earlier version of a picture caption with this obituary misstated the year Mr. Friedman ran for governor of Texas. It was 2006, not 2008. Kinky Friedman, 79, a rabble-rousing man of letters whose music and writing were loved by everyone from Bob Dylan to Bill Clinton, died Thursday. Born Nov. 1, 1944, Friedman came to the music world’s attention in the early and mid-1970s with his band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys’ absurdist satirical songs written in a folksy cowboy style, with shocking titles like “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.” He was signed to Vanguard Records in the early ’70s. Friedman’s outrageous life of performance was tempered by a tenderness. He was committed to the plight of animals.

He founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch and cared for thousands of stray, abused and aging animals.

We could use Kinky Friedman's wit and humor today.

A walking billboard for political incorrectness, Kinky Friedman rarely uttered a word that failed to violate the norms of society or politics, or both.

Friedman ran for governor of Texas in 2006, and his bumper stickers read, “Why the Hell Not?” and “How Hard Could it Be?” and “He Ain’t Kinky, He’s My Governor.”

If his slogans failed to register anything more than a wink or a chuckle, we could use his wit today, an age when humor is used as a cudgel against political opponents.

Kinky — he seemed to invite that first-name familiarity — was different, sardonic without being vicious.

A modern-day Renaissance man, Kinky was a singer, humorist, novelist and politician, and he could skewer with barbs that were so dead-on that they never seemed cruel or gratuitous.

We will miss his wit, his demeanor and his calm in the face of huge odds.

He died last week at his family home in Medina after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for several years; he was 79.

“He died peacefully,” Kent Perkins, his close friend, told the Associated Press. “He smoked a cigar, went to bed and never woke up. … He was the last free person on Earth. … He had an irreverence about him. He was a fearless writer.”

With his broad-brimmed hat and Honduran cigar, both of which looked like fashion accessories, he was a refugee from another era, a cowboy in modern-day Austin.

No matter.

He seemed comfortable in his own skin, his own boots.

“I don’t know if I’m getting more serious or not,” he told the Express-News in 2006, puffing on a cigar in his Hill Country cabin. “What politicians lack is a sense of humor, a sense of reality and a sense of community service. That’s what I bring to the party.”

Kinky performed with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson during his long career, and when he launched his campaign for governor, the two were touring in Fort Worth.

Dylan called him up and asked for three campaign posters — one for his bus, one for his gym and one for his office.

Nelson, fearing the Kinkster was more adept at words than numbers, got on the phone.

“That’s three posters, Kinky,” Nelson said. “Three.”

Born in 1944 in Chicago, Richard Samet Friedman and his family moved to Medina, just west of Austin, shortly after his birth.

His father was a psychologist, his mother a speech therapist.

They founded and ran Echo Hill Ranch, which their son would later turn into a summer camp for the children of fallen soldiers.

Acquiring his nickname because of his curly hair, Kinky adopted his cowboy persona at the ranch.

He began playing music in high school, his tunes heavily influenced by Texas Swing master Bob Wills.

The style was a heady combination of country, jazz and polka — a stew that satisfied the young eccentric.

“I was the bastard child of twin cultures, and they seemed to have a lot in common, cowboys and Jews,” Kinky told the Aspen Times in 2006. “They both wear their hats indoors.”

He and his alt-country band, the Texas Jewboys, recorded controversial songs with humor-laced lyrics — “Jesus in Pajamas,” “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” a satire of feminism that earned him the Male Chauvinist Pig Award from the National Organization of Women.

Kinky would end up losing the gubernatorial race to incumbent Rick Perry, finishing fourth in the six-person race, but while he was campaigning in Austin, Kinky met former President Bill Clinton, who gave him some valuable advice.

“It’s funny,” Friedman told the Express-News. “He told me, 'Kinky, what connects you to the people is humor. Don’t ever lose it.' ”

He never did.

Texas icon Kinky Friedman finished a final album before his death

Texas icon Kinky Friedman finished one final album just under the wire.

Friedman, who died June 26 of complications from Parkinson’s disease, wrapped up recording the songs for what turned out to be his last album last year.

“Honestly, we got them recorded just in the nick of time,” said musician and composer David Mansfield, who produced the project.

“I guess we finished maybe the end of last summer, into the fall sometime, but within months, by the mid-winter, it no longer would have been possible.”

Mansfield is hoping the album will be released this fall.

“We’re calling the album 'The Poet of Motel 6,' which is about Billy Joe Shaver — it’s a memorial to him,” said Mansfield, who first got to know Friedman when they both were part of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the mid-1970s.

“Another title that Kinky was considering, which we decided was too morbid, was 'Book of the Dead.' In typical Kinky fashion, that was his first impulse.”

Friedman, who first made a splash with his music, focused much of his energy on other forms of writing for decades.

He wrote a series of entertaining mystery novels, including “The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover” and “God Bless John Wayne,” as well as a long-running column for Texas Monthly. He also unsuccessfully ran for political office a few times, including a 2006 bid for governor.

“With this new record, which is so wonderful, I’m hoping that some of the literary audiences that don’t know his music might take a listen to this thing,” Mansfield said.

“Same thing with the people who used to read his writing in Texas Monthly or voted for him when he ran for governor.”

Friedman started writing songs again a few years ago, releasing “Circus of Life,” his first album in four decades, in 2018.

He had decided he wanted a new producer for the follow-up, Mansfield said.

A mutual friend suggested that they work together on it.

“We were out of touch for a good long time, so it was sort of a reunion these last couple of years between him and me,” Mansfield said.

“It was like we had just been together the day before and immediately slipped back into all of our familiar routines and spent the next year working on this record.”

Marcie Friedman, Friedman's younger sister, thinks the nine songs on the album are some of his best.

“I didn’t notice until later how beautiful those songs are,” she said. “And I think they’re all about saying goodbye in different ways. They’re just phenomenally moving.”

Mansfield said some of the songs reference animals that Friedman had loved as well as unrequited relationships.

“A couple of the songs that were about people that aren’t with us any longer. He would finish a take and he would be in tears,” he said. “I would say that it’s the most personal writing and performing that Kinky has ever done. And compared to some of his other recordings, the instrumentation and arranging is low key. It’s really letting him speak, trying not to get in the way.”

Friedman’s health was declining as they worked, he said.

But Mansfield still hoped that they’d get to play a few shows together once the album was finished.

That ultimately wasn’t possible.

It means a lot to him to have worked with Friedman on it.

“I just feel very privileged to shepherd this thing through,” he said. “It was something that he wanted very much. It meant so much to him, and it brought him so much pleasure as he was fighting this disease. And it’s a privilege being able to bring one more love letter from Kinky to his fans and people that appreciate him.”

[writing-prompt-entries]

Writing Prompt #3

It was insightful to think about societal and personal preferences of consumer items. comparing a seemingly "imperfect" potato to a more "perfect" potato showed how people think differently but also generally agree on what is disliked or liked as a group but also a personal choice. Even for me, it was interesting as I was a bit conflicted though I made my choice for more so practical reasons, I still felt bad that the "ugly" potatoes were not chosen as well. One thing to also consider is the order of how the potatoes were shown, would the test be different/create different impressions on the judging process. But ultimately it was interesting to also learn how marketing can help shift this idea to bypass or even help people look into buying "imperfect" foods such as the baby carrot example or the Uglies chip bags. There are also a lot of ethics to think about as well (Environmental consciousness, marketing food waste, helping local farmers, personal preference)

Strategies liked and most effective:

I think the most effective was the labeling strategies that emphasize that the vegetables used are not going to be perfect, and if anything you are getting what is being stated. Initially, the magazine/model strategy is most interesting as it puts a lot of focus on imperfections in what vegetables may look like but I feel that it does drive us to actively or passively think about the topic. It's very interesting to look at and creates a string statement, however, I don't see the incentive to actively look at imperfect vegetables. (Creates awareness but not marketing) The one major concern I have is the use of ethics in advertising/pressuring consumers to engage in looking for no-perfect foods. Overall, I think that these are all valid strategies in their own right.

Would knowing more about the systemic level change thoughts about solutions:

Learning more about how industries and agriculture work I think that it definitely makes is harder to work with/through. There are a lot of unseen/unregulated that give leeway to making production cheaper but at the same time regulation is important in large-scale production. Companies may be reducing food waste however it feels ultimately performative. Also, consider the accessibility of consumers to the foods they want or need. One thing to consider is the box/labeling example markets well, but it may not be price accessible to the general public/toes that need it what can you do the improve these systems from a marketing and graphical design standpoint!

[honeychildoz]

Honey Child's 2022. It started with my first published Australian magazine spread with @colournarymag. My first international recipe and writing for @madeinhackney. Then @roamingtrees and I started sharing our immersive storytelling collective, LalinRòka with the World. We met JB and did our first LR private function which led to my SpokesHoney position with @tamarvalleytruffles. I started writing a Children's book series (coming soon 😘). I also had my @abchobart segment on evenings become a regular weekly slot. I took a little trip to visit my bubble bestie @vintagetasmania where she conspired and got me in front of @adamliaw, which led to being asked to his show (airing soon)🤭. Tamas and I made our first @mirodigitalau film. @ponyblackco (and💕 Evie) came to my fashion rescue and bound us Sisterfriends forever. Her faith in my madness and our shared devotion to Goddessness had her reach the stars to aid my TV debut. Which led me to the shiny and awesome world of @emmadeancooks. She exploded my bubble in a pink glittery shower of culinary Sisterhood, ultimate opportunity and possibilities I never dared think were for me. @eatwell_magazine printed my words and shared me with the stratosphere. I began shooting 🍄Truffle vids that showcased Tassie agriculture, eating locally, and how truffles truly are for all of Us. Mrs J flew in so we could have the best Thanksgiving I've had as an Aussie. Hands down.Then I got to show my fondness for Kind David & Queen Varcha by catering his surprise party, where I got to spend time with THE @blackoliveaustralia🖤, a lifelong DMcG bestie. When I think of 2022 I am amazed, humbled, delighted, and agog with it all. The Harvest has kept my cheeks sore from laughter and wet from happy tears. Honey Child has had her sweetest year, yet!!! I'm so excited for the upcoming Harvest.🎑 Please continue praying, believing for me, sending encouragement and supporting my goals and dreams. I love you, treasure you, and can't wait to make you even more proud.💝💝💝💝 🍯🍒 HC #honeychildscreole #colournarymagazine #lalinroka #madeinhackney #roamingtrees #abchobart #curlyhaslamcoates #emowens #thecookup #eatwell #ponyblack #markolive https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm3brRBr90X/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[velvetbyrne]

「The Flowers of Karma」 - Miyazawa Kenji & Nakahara Chūya

Introduction

Clipart from Irasutoya

When talking about writers, it is also important to talk about their idols and inspirations as it is reflective of the types of works that they want to write. Sometimes the inspiration and their works are quite obvious such as the case with Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and Dazai Osamu, both were known for their short stories and novels, giants of Japanese literature in their own right. But, there are relationships which are rarely discussed due to how far detached they are in terms of the works which they have written.

Today, I will be discussing one of those relationships that may seem farfetched at first glance. Mainly anecdotes where Nakahara had quoted Miyazawa.

There is a world in human nature that is almost totally beyond the scope of this concept, and it can be said that Miyazawa Kenji's life was an unceasing love affair with that world. - Nakahara Chūya, The World of Miyazawa Kenji (1939) [Published posthumously]

The lives of both Nakahara and Miyazawa could not be more different. Kenji lived a life of simplicity, rejecting his family's fortune while studying agriculture. Nakahara on the other hand lived like his Symbolist inspirations, drowning himself with booze and living a decadent lifestyle. The poems of Miyazawa Kenji often exemplifies his exorbitant positivity in the face of arduous challenges such as in "Undefeated by the Rain" while Nakahara's poems once more, follows suit with this symbolist peers discussing the darker themes in life such as his poem "Lament of the Lamb".

But, such contradictions puts beauty into their literary connection. They also had their similarities as well with both being poets and living in the same era.

Works regarding Miyazawa Kenji

Nakahara has written two short pieces of texts regarding Miyazawa. One regarding the release of the Complete Works of Miyazawa Kenji and another on the "World of Miyazawa Kenji". However, for the sake of brevity I will mainly be discussing the first work as it shows Nakahara's love for Miyazawa's works the most.

In the first one, Nakahara writes about his love for the works of Miyazawa, stating that he bought the book "Spring and Shura" (春と修羅, Haru to shura) back in 1924 and quickly fell in love with the works. He then wonders why Miyazawa wasn't recognized before his death despite his skills in poetry.

Was it because of insufficient advertising that he was recognized so late? Was it because he did not live in Tokyo? Was it because he had a profession other than being a poet, namely teaching? Was it because he did not have the so-called "literary wanderings"? Or was it a combination of other circumstances? Perhaps it was one of them, perhaps it was a combination of them. - Nakahara Chūya, The Complete Works of Miyazawa Kenji (1934)

Nakahara then continues on talking about the possibilities of why he wasn't recognized much faster despite his works being easy to understand and that Miyazawa's works should be recognized by the wider public. He also comments that Miyazawa imbued his poems with the spirit of old folk songs that "can be felt by anyone who has picked up a poetry book." 

His rantings continued on calling the public naive as to not understand Miyazawa's 'clarity of character' and that people did not understand the value of Miyazawa's works. To him, maybe that was the reason why Miyazawa's works were not recognized faster. Nakahara then mentions that he has recommended Spring and Chaos to many people but then laments that since he was a nobody, nobody was willing to pick up the book; wondering if he wasn't persuasive enough in recommending the book.

An Anecdote from Dan Kazuo

In the book "Dazai Osamu: The Novel" (小説：太宰治) written by Dan Kazuo, there were stories included which described Dazai's meeting with Nakahara Chūya for the Blue Flower Magazine. 

This particular meeting was the second time they met and the meeting included three people which are Dazai Osamu, Dan Kazuo and Nakahara Chūya (Kusano Shinpei was not here for the meeting). Dan described the meeting and per usual for the two, Dazai and Nakahara fought verbally. Nakahara became deeply agitated and left the room, perhaps because his friend Kusano was not with them and exclaimed that he'd like to go to meet Dazai despite Dan telling him to stop.

Nakahara got tired of fighting and lied in the snow, as he lied there he starts quoting Miyazawa Kenji's poem The Flowers of Karma (業の花びら) from Spring and Shura. He then continued to toil around quoting the poem until he decided to go annoy Dazai again. Nakahara went to his room and pounded on his door which woke up the house owner telling him that, "Mr. Tsushima is asleep". This did not stop him however, he quietly snuck into the room and continued to threaten Dazai in his sleep.

After seeing this Dan caught his arm as Nakahara started to spiral down into a frenzy. Nakahara tried to shake him off but Dan took him out of the room and into the yard where Nakahara tried to swing at him. Dan however, realized what was going on and quickly threw him to the snow, after this Nakahara decided to leave for Ginza.

Conclusion

We can see that through his writings and his actions, Nakahara found a profound love in Miyazawa's poetry. That the simplicity of Miyazawa's poems hides the deep meaning behind his works and he wishes that Miyazawa's works could be recognized before his death. His constant recommendation of Miyazawa's works was also a testament to how much he loved the man's works, while not as big as an influence to his works such as Arthur Rimbaud or Charles Baudelaire, it can be seen that that Miyazawa Kenji has played part in influencing the great poet himself.

Sources used

宮沢賢治全集. Aozora Bunko 宮沢賢治の世界. Aozora Bunko 中原中也と、太宰治と、宮沢賢治と。. 風薫る道

[fatliberation]

Here Are Some Fat Positive Activists, Educators, Therapists, and Artists to Know!

First and foremost, the pioneer of organized fat activism:

• Bill Fabrey (he/him)

Bill Fabrey, a self-proclaimed fat admirer, founded NAAFA (the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) in 1969 after gaining an understanding of the day-to-day oppression and discrimination faced by his wife, Joyce. Fabrey founded the organization in hopes to raise awareness of weight stigma, criticize biased studies, and increase overall acceptance and accessibility to fat Americans. He is considered one of the pioneers of the fat liberation movement, and is heavily involved to this day.

• Judy Freespirit, Sara Fishman, Lynn McAfee, Ariana Manow, & Gudrun Fonfa (she/her for each)

(Members of The Fat Underground, 1979)

Fat, radical, feminist members of NAAFA! Their agenda was much more aggressive than NAAFA’s, and eventually they broke off and formed their own group called The Fat Underground, which acted as a catalyst in the creation and mobilization of the fat liberation movement. Based in LA in the 1970s, the Fat Underground did not fight to change discriminatory laws but rather discriminatory thoughts and practices in different aspects of society, which included those of doctors and other health professionals who perpetuated the unhealthy habits encouraged by diet culture. In 1973, Judy Freespirit and Alderbaran published the “Fat Liberation Manifesto” which establishes that fat people are entitled to what they were denied on a daily basis: “human respect and recognition.” The other objectives then outline the commercial exploitation of fat bodies by both corporations and scientific institutions. (x) I will go into more detail about the Fat Underground in my next post, “The History of Fat Activism!”

• Dr. Lindo Bacon (they/them), PhD

(no photo)

Creator of the concept of HAES (Health At Every Size).

Dr. Bacon is best known for their paradigm-shifting research and advocacy upending the weight discourse. They have mined their deep academic proficiency, wide-ranging clinical expertise and own personal experience to write two best-selling books, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and the co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight. Both are credited with transforming the weight discourse and inspiring a hopeful new course for the fat liberation movement. Dr. Bacon holds their PhD in physiology, as well as graduate degrees in psychology and exercise metabolism. Dr. Bacon formerly taught at City College of San Francisco, in the Health Education, Psychology, Women’s Studies, and Biology Departments. A professor and researcher, for almost two decades Dr. Bacon has taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition; they have also conducted federally funded studies on health and weight and published in top scientific journals. Their research has been supported by grants from the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health. A truly great pioneer in medical health research! 

https://lindobacon.com/ | HAES | IG

• Aubrey Gordon, a.k.a. Your Fat Friend (she/her)

(no photo)

Aubrey Gordon writes about the social realities of life as a very fat person, previously publishing anonymously as Your Fat Friend. She is the author of What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Lit Hub, Vox, Gay Mag, and has been covered in outlets around the world. She also hosts the podcast Maintenance Phase, in which she and cohost Michael Hobbes debunk and decode wellness and weight loss trends. Her articles are incredibly heartfelt and enlightening. You can read all of them at www.yourfatfriend.com !!

@ yrfatfriend on IG & Twitter

• Sabrina Strings (she/her), PhD

Sabrina Strings is an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine and the author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, which exposes fatphobia’s roots in anti-blackness. Strings contributed an opinion story to The New York Times titled “It’s Not Obesity. It’s Slavery.” With Lindo Bacon (creator of HAES), she coauthored “The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity,” published in Scientific American. Strings has a BA in psychology and an MA and PHd in sociology. This book is #1 on my to-read list!!

https://www.sabrinastrings.com

• Hannah Fuhlendorf (she/her), MA LPCC NCC

Hannah is a highly educated and experienced counselor whose work focuses on self acceptance, eliminating the effects of internalized oppression, and practicing through a HAES lens. She is a fat liberationist who puts out educational videos daily. Hannah is also married to a healthcare professional, and the two of them are working toward making the medical field more accessible to fat people in their local community, and offering education on how to be fat allies. I really admire Hannah and the work that she does!

@ hannahtalksbodies on IG and TikTok

• Tracy Cox (she/her)

Tracy is an award-winning performer and artist, who co-created the web series “Angry Fat People” with Matthew Anchel, which takes a pop culture approach on serious issues faced by fat performers. She has been interviewed by the New York Times on fat politics and accessibility, and currently has a huge following on IG where she unpacks fat performance, fashion, and politics. You may know her as the creator of the ‘fat vanity’ trend on TikTok!

@ sparklejams on IG & TikTok

• Da’Shaun L. Harrison (they/them) 

Da’Shaun is a non-binary abolitionist, community organizer, and writer. They are currently a managing editor and columnist at Wear Your Voice Magazine. They travel throughout the United States and abroad to speak at conferences, colleges, and lead workshops focused on Blackness, queerness, gender, class, religion, (dis)abilities, fatness, and the intersection at which they all meet. Da’Shaun is the author of the book Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, which is expected to be published in July 2021. They have an incredibly enlightening social media presence as well!!

@ dashaunlh on IG and Twitter

• Lauren Buchness (she/her)

Lauren Buchness is one of my favorite artists. She’s a contemporary artist and fat activist based in Tucson, Arizona. By combining painting & performance, she aims to question Western standards of beauty and create conversations that alter preconceived notions about the fat body. Go check out her gorgeous work!!

@ ladybuchness on IG and TikTok

If you’re interested in learning about diet culture and intuitive eating, check out

Shana Minei Spence (she/her), MS RDN CDN

Shana is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who opposes food restriction and encourages intuitive eating! She spreads food positive daily messages on her platform. She used to work in fashion, but she left after being dissatisfied with the industry and went back to school to become involved in food policy and public health. She offers counseling on a HAES approach. I have much respect for Shana!

@ thenutritiontea on IG

And right here on tumblr (who was my personal introduction to fat lib) -

@ bigfatscience !!!

An anonymous fat liberationist. They share so many great resources, diving head-first into the scientific research of weight and health, they’ve found that the relation between the two is extremely complex. They tackle the biases of  research in a system that profits off of fatphobia, and they offer a fat positive perspective based on scientific studies. Their blog serves as an easily accessible resource for fat folx and fat activists who want to learn about fat positive science to support their own personal interests/activism. Thank you for your work, bigfatscience!! (if you have questions for them, you will have a greater chance of getting a response with anon off!) 

• Sonalee Rashatwar (she/they), LCSW MEd

Sonalee is an award-winning clinical social worker, sex therapist, and grassroots organizer. They’re a superfat queer bisexual non-binary therapist and co-owner of Radical Therapy Center. Sonalee is specialized in treating sexual trauma, internalized fatphobia, immigrant kid guilt, and South Asian family systems, while offering fat positive sexual healthcare. Go, Sonalee!!

@ thefatsextherapist on IG

• Fat Rose (org)

Fat Rose organizes fat people, building a more radical fat liberation movement in strong relationship with other social movements, such as anti-fascism, anti-ableism, and anti-racism. Check them out on Facebook!

fatrose.org

Honorable IG mentions: (Some anti diet culture specific blogs in here, as well)

@fatangryblackgirl  @msgigggles @thefatphobiaslayer @bodyimagewithbri @saucyewest @fatpositivetherapy @fatlippodcast @chairbreaker 

BOOKS

And here’s an amazing list of fat-positive book recommendations from HannahTalksBodies!

Science & Health:

Health at Every Size by Lindo Bacon PhD

Body Respect by Lindo Bacon PhD and Lucy Aphramor PhD, RD

Secrets from the Eating Lab by Traci Mann PhD

Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison MPH, RD

Fat Liberation:

Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings PhD

Fat Activism by Dr. Charlotte Cooper

Fat Politics by J. Eric Oliver

The Fat Studies Reader by Esther Rothblum (Editor) and Sondra Solovay (Editor)

Fat Shame by Amy Erdman Farrell

Self Acceptance:

The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

Things No One will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker

Eating in the Light of the Moon by Anita Johnson PhD

Happy Fat by Sofie Hagan

You have the Right to Remain Fat by Virgie Tovar

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to share this list of resources!

Image descriptions below.

1. [ID: A black and white photo of Bill Fabrey, a straight-sized, balding white man with thick black glasses wearing a suit and tie, standing at a poduim in front of a sign that reads, “NAAFA”. Beside the image is another photo of Fabrey, from his left side.]

2. [ID: A black and white photo of seven fat, female and gender non-conforming members of The Fat Underground, performing a recital.]

3. [ID: The cover of Sabrina Strings’ book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. On the cover is an illustration of four upper-class white people in fancy colonial period clothing showing shock and disgust at a Black woman’s exposed body. Beside the book cover is a photo of Sabrina Strings, a straight-sized Black woman with dark brown curly hair wearing a blouse.]

4. [ID: Hannah Fulhendorf, a fat, white woman with straight hair dyed blue, wearing a black tank top and holding her shoulder while smiling brightly and looking into the camera.]

5. [ID: An artistic picture of Tracy Cox, a fat, white woman with long, straight brown hair, laying topless on a bed of flowers. There are flower petals placed strategically in her hair on her skin, and along her lower eyelid. Beside that image, is an image of the album cover for Angry Fat People, picturing two angry faces made out of white paper against a grey background. In the top left corner, black, bolded text that reads “AFP” and “FAT LIBERATION”.]

6. [ID: Da’Shaun L. Harrison, a fat, non-binary Black person with a beard, glasses, and long dreadlocks, wearing a shirt that reads, “TO BE VISIBLY QUEER IS TO CHOOSE YOUR HAPPINESS OVER YOUR SAFETY. -DA’SHAUN HARRISON” against a natural backdrop of autumn leaves.]

7. [ID: A watercolor painting by Lauren Buchness of a white and tattooed fat body, hands caressing abstract rolls of fat with wild blueberries and grapefruit between folds. Beside it is another Buchness watercolor painting of Black hands with long sharp nails, caressing the midsection of a fat Black body, with purple crystals growing out of the skin.]

8. [ID: Shana Minei Spence, a straight-sized, Black woman smiling with bright pink lipstick and her long wavy hair pulled back, wearing a floral pattern shirt and jean shorts. She is holding small marquee that reads, “BE CAREFUL OF WELLNESS COMPANIES THAT SAY THEY’RE PROMOTING HEALTH YET ARE STILL ONLY TRYING TO GET YOUR BODY SMALLER” and a heart symbol.]

9. [ID: Sonalee Rashatwar, a superfat, South Asian non-binary person with short black hair, wearing a long floral dress, standing in front of large glowing text that reads, “BIG GIRL ENERGY” against a coarse-textured wall.]

10. [ID: A circular logo with a red fist in the center, with text surrounding it that reads, “FATTIES AGAINST FASCISM” with roses separating the word “RESIST”. Beside it is another image, of eleven fat and superfat activists, standing and sitting on mobility scooters, holding fists and middle fingers in the air, wearing T-shirts and holding banners that both read, “FATTIES AGAINST FASCISM”. In front of the group is a large cardboard sign that spells the acronym “F.A.B.” which stands for “Fat Antifascist Brigade”.]

[coffeeandteatomatch]

Hi hello! Just like I said, here's the essay! I honestly really enjoyed writing this. Feel free to point out grammar mistakes and add ideas! I'm sure there's many more differences then I listed.

Mori Kei & Cottagecore: The Differences

Tw - mention/talk of cultural appropriation

Mori kei and cottagecore are both very similar styles, both having focuses on cottage life, forests, animals, simplistic living, sustainability, nature, and rejection of modern lifestyle. However, there are also many differences between the two.

Mori kei was first coined as a term in 2006 on Mixi, a Japanese social media. By 2009 the community had grown to about 35,000 people and was growing rapidly in popularity, along with the creation of several magazines and brands. However, it was starting to decline by 2010.

Mori kei fashion has changed over the years, but generally consists of clothing that is natural, girly, layered, earthy colored, modest and loose-fitting. Other staples are lace, knitted clothing, lace-up leather boots, baskets, shawls, and long skirts.

Cottagecore was created on Tumblr in the 2010s (the exact year is unclear), and grew slowly until 2020; when it boomed in popularity largely due to the pandemic. It is an aesthetic based heavily on the romantization of western agriculture and has many values associated with it, including anti-capitalism, agrarianism, queer idealogy, anti-fast fashion and feminism. While it is a mixture of many previous nature-based aesthetics, it takes most of its inspiration from english countryside life and the romantic and victorian era.

Cottagecore fashion has two main archatypes: a hyper-feminine, modern version of historical fashion or a cozy, more androgynous look. Its staples usually include puffy sleeves, gingham, handmade clothing/accessories, overalls, corsets, cardigans, and button blouses.

So, with all that in mind, what are the differences between the two? Well, first off is the cultural inspirations. Cottagecore takes inspiration from specifically western culture; mori kei is mainly inspired by fantasy/woodland life. This is likely because mori kei was popular in many different countries, whereas cottagecore is mainly based in America and England.

Secondly, the core focus. Mori kei is focused around forests, and woodland life. It's style is supposed to be functional, and to look like you live in the woods. Cottagecore is very farm-based, and the clothing is much more for visual appearance than functionality.

I have to say, my original post was slightly misleading in retrospect. The argument I had heard was that western people had taken mori Kei and appropriated it, stealing the idea from japan. This is certainly not true, although cottagecore was probably inspired by mori kei at some level. As I've said, they're very different styles. However, an argument could be made that cottagecore is the western equivalent to mori kei. I would say the closest aesthetic to mori Kei would be either goblincore, dark cottagecore or fairy grunge. Goblincore shares the focus of forests and more functional style, and fairy grunge has both a very similar color palette and style staples (for example, lace and layers). Of course, that is just my opinion.

Hopefully this was a helpful essay! I'm still very much a student so my essay won't be perfect, and I probably missed some grammar mistakes while proof-reading. Even so, I hope this was informative and interesting! Thank you for reading.

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

Toshiya’s Creativity Vol 7: Looking back at Life This time, as Toshiya’s birthday is getting closer, we asked him to look back on his life. From his childhood to boyhood in Nagano and moving to Tokyo after his awakening to music. And the present. Memories, present and future…. Blessed with good weather, we did this interview in a localisation where you could feel the arrival of spring.  “For me, music is the most stimulating thing. It was a way to escape from reality” “I think it’s a miracle I met these 4 people.” “When you are standing on stage in front of the audience, you should be a special person that nobody can’t replace”

Notes before reading: This is from ‘Toshiya’s creativity’, the serialization done by Ster Edge Magazine and later compiled into a book with the same name. This is Vol 07 (Ster Edge 006) , which was published in March 2018.  Originally, I planned to post this for Toshiya’s birthday but....life.  Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts. Links or credits to this post when the content is reposted or captured in other SNS is appreciated :)

------ 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the formation of DIR EN GREY. Toshiya also had the opportunity to look back on the history of the band at various locations. This time, we asked him to look back on his ‘life’ just before his birthday on March 31st. How did he feel at that time? What did he realize at that moment and what does he think now? It was an interview that gave us a glimpse of his enigmatic way of thinking and a part his feelings. Toshiya is from Nagano prefecture. He says the environment in which he grew up was "a normal countryside one” in “a normal family”. In our previous talk with Hide TANAKA, a flower designer who is a childhood friend of Toshiya, which was published in "Toshiya's Creativity Vol6", he talked about his childhood, but  we will explore this further,  in a bit more personal way. When he was asked about his oldest memory, he folded his arms, thought for a moment, and then opened his mouth. “This memory comes quickly to my mind. There was something like an agricultural cooperative bazaar/rummage sale being held near my grandparent's house, and I think they took me to it. I was very impressed by a child of the same age as me at that time who was lost and crying alone. So, I remember holding my grandpa and grandma's hands tightly and saying, ‘Don’t lose me!’ (laughs).” His grandparents' home and his home were close, so he often went out with his grandparents from an early age. “I was close to my grandfather and my grandmother. I remember I was the type of child loved by the elderly. I’m still quite in contact with my family and relatives, we have a good relationship. But it wasn't something special, it was normal for me at the time. My hometown is a normal countryside town, where  nothing is  like this city, it feels like there are only mountains and rice fields. I also liked drawing at home and playing outside. I was playing like a normal country child would do.” Young Toshiya seems to have grown up in the nature of Nagano. It seems his parents also respected the things he wanted to do. “I was in a sports boys' team, a baseball team, and I practised kendo. I feel like I certainly did what I wanted. I liked physical activities. I wasn’t strong or weak at sports, after all I was normal (laughs). My parents taught me soroban (Japanese abacus), and in junior high school I attended a cram school. I think I got a textbook to study English through radio lessons. I just pretended to play the abacus, and I wasn't good at it at all (laughs). " Toshiya was a boy who was devoted to sports. He talked to Hide about playing the guitar when he was young, but was he interested in music and instruments at that time? “No, no at all. My mother's brother used to play the guitar and I was just using that guitar as a toy instead. More than playing, I was killing time. It felt like that. At that time, I had no dreams for the future. When I was told to write about my dream for the future, I just wrote ‘be a salary man, like my father’. I think that was the safest choice (laughs). The children of my class said ‘I want to be a police officer’ or ‘I want to be a pilot’, but I wasn't interested in what I wanted to do in the future at all.” He said ‘normal’ many times while talking about himself in the past but while listening to his talk, he didn't feel like that for some reason, he had a mysterious aura since he was a boy. He said the thing that young Toshiya was more interested in was ‘wild ideas/fantasies’. “I think it was like that in the past. Didn’t you have any ‘wild idea’ /fantasy on your way to school or coming back from it? I liked that kind of thing. As I liked Gundam, I thought ‘I want to ride one’. Sometimes I went home with my friends, but more often I went home alone. It was about a 30-minute walk from my house to school, so it was days of spending all that time doing that (laughs).” Perhaps he was a boy who had his own world and the strength to be alone. “No, no, I didn't think deeply about that. I never felt scared to be alone…. the reason I went home alone was it was easier for me to go home alone (laughs). I'm older than my siblings, so I grow up as an only child for a while. That’s why it was normal for me to be alone. Most of the boys and girls I played with were older kids who lived near my house” Toshiya, an elementary school boy who often played with older boys and girls who lived in the neighbourhood, gradually got more chances to listen to popular songs at his senpais' homes. Boøwy was the catalyst for him to have an instrument. “Boøwy was a cool band that older seniors listened to. When I got into middle school, there were about one or two people in the class who liked Western music. When I became friends with those guys, I was told ‘You are still listening to Japanese music?’ (laughs). From that moment, I started to dig deeper into Western music.” Then, that Toshiya in middle school becomes more and more absorbed in music. It was around this time that he started to have in his mind that he wanted to play an instrument. “Besides Boøwy and X…..From overseas… I listened to Van Halen. Then, bands like Europe, Guns N'Roses,Bon jovi….. as it was the golden age of LA metal (glam metal), I liked that kind of stuff. I listened to the X’s single ‘Kurenai’ at home. That song starts with a ballad-like part, and then it gets fierce at once, but when I was playing it at first, I could hardly hear any sound. I still remember that suddenly it made a loud noise when I turned up the volume, I was surprised and desperately turned down the volume (laughs). " As Toshiya told us this funny incident, for sure there are many people who had a similar experience. What elements of these bands inspired Toshiya in middle school? "The music was exciting, but the fashion and performance were shocking ... Every band was very unrealistic. It seems that I was taken to a different world at that time. The feelings were very strong.  Since TV was the only way to collect information, I think the influence from TV on me was huge.” He has been absorbed in band activities since high school. The first thing he got in his hands was a guitar, not a bass. He doesn't have get the chance to play the guitar on stage right now, but he uses the guitar to make songs. "After all, I started playing the guitar because I admired some guitarists, but I thought 'It's difficult to play with 6 strings. It's a little easier with 4 strings.' After all, I thought it would be easier if there aren’t many chords to hold down. Also, I thought the bass was in a position that didn’t stand out much compared to other instruments, so I thought it would be interesting because that means there were many interesting possibilities about playing” Toshiya, who liked drawing since childhood, went to an art school while being in a band, after graduating from high school. Although he is good at drawing, he eventually chose the musical path. “I didn't want to get a job after graduating from high school, but I didn’t want to study something either. However, I liked drawing, so I asked my parents to attend an art school. At school, the places where the people who graduated there got a job are displayed at the corridor, isn’t it? I was looking at that and I thought ‘Ah? I don't think many people can get a job in the world of drawing’. I don’t think there are many jobs available when it comes to drawing. I thought ‘I like drawing but as this is more a hobby than a job, there is no point in spending money to study it. I’m going to spend my time doing what I like’. After all, I left the art school in about a year. After all, you only live once, and I may regret not doing what I want to do…..That's why I decided to go on the path of music for real. Music is the most stimulating thing for me. Making music was fun and I think it was a bit an escape from reality. I could be a different person than the one I was in my daily life….I wonder if these ‘extraordinary things’ became an stimulus for me.” Immediately after that, Toshiya goes to Tokyo to be fully into band activities as a band man. An era in which the Internet is hardly widespread it was important to move to make his own path. He took action and met various people. “When I went to Tokyo, I met and talked with several people. I was told often that ‘those who move out their hometowns had already won’. I thought there was no chance  if I stayed in the countryside and I started doing band activities quietly. There may be various risks and scary feelings, but if you really want a chance, you have to go to the place where there is information. Of course, I think that taking no action is also one of the options. There may be a way to improve your skills locally, or you can go out to the city to seize opportunities, and I think it's up to you to decide which one to choose. I met the members (of DIR EN GREY) in Tokyo, so I think I wouldn't have been in this band if I hadn't come to Tokyo. " "I think it was a miracle that I could meet the other 4 members” Toshiya, who met Kyo,Kaoru, Die, and Shinya, moved to Kansai and started band activities there . In 1997, DIR EN GREY was formed. They made their national debut in 1998, and made his major debut in 1999 with the release of the singles "Akuro no Oka", "ZAN-" and "Yurameki".  He thought ‘Because I only have one life, I may regret not doing what I want to do’, and took action. About three years later, Toshiya's life changed. "I think most people in the music world are like that…..At that time, I didn't know what I was doing, but I was confident. I think it's a little scary when I think about my confident at that time. I had such a simple idea that in a way or another, we were going to make it. That's why I didn't think anything strange, the biggest thing was that I didn't have any strange fear. As I grew up, I started to think about things I hadn't thought of before. I was getting more and more involved with people, but I didn’t have that kind of thing when I was young. I think that was the biggest driving force. When I look back on it now, I feel envious of that feeling that nothing was going to stop me.” It was a brilliant  and sensational success. It was probably the tremendous power of these five people that attracted that success, which the appropriate world to describe it would be “comet”. A comet that seen from a distance was very beautiful but, how did DIR EN GREY feel about it, being the comet themselves? “We didn’t fully understand the situation we were in. There was a strong feeling we were getting into a world we didn’t know. We were an active part of that, but it felt like we were outsiders. At that time, music had a stimulating sense of unreality but also the fear that it became real started to spring up. At that time, it felt like that many times. DIR EN GREY was called the “last boom” of the scene we were in and I think we were lucky. There was also a part of us that tried to not be absorbed by that boom” DIR EN GREY’s activities have been very creative since then. From this formation until their debut, the band didn’t lose their spirits and kept their aggressive stance. Continuing to present things with a strong emphasis in musicality and fashion making a distinction in the middle of that ‘boom’, they built a unshakeable fortress called DIR EN GREY. “At that time, various media such as TV and magazines talked to us, but we tried not to go in that direction. I was influenced by TV in terms of knowing music, but when it comes to my own work, I didn’t think about becoming the kind of musician that appears on TV. Of course, I thought it would be the best if we got TV exposure but…..at some point, there were things that cold me off. ‘This boom won’t last forever’, it’s easy to get on that boom, but once the boom is over, it’s gone. At that time, I might not have thought so much about it, but I instinctively felt that it was dangerous to get into that boom” It’s not just Toshiya, all DIR EN GREY members agreed. “Sometimes thanks to the boom and the media, they (the listeners) get to know about you. I think it’s the best way to get people know about you but, I also think it’s really dangerous. I think there were some people who succumbed to that kind of excitement. We were cautious because we were the only ones who could protect ourselves, no one else would protect us.” Because DIR EN GREY decided that it was dangerous to get drawn by that boom, they were able to pursue the music and expressions they wanted to do in a deeper way. A different strength from that boom. “That’s right…. We didn’t really understand what happened, we couldn’t say ‘ we did this so this happened after’, there were moments we relied on ourselves, but there were also moments that we relied on others. I guess that balance was good. However, we tried to not get into that wave of popularity as much as possible” DIR EN GREY continued to run ahead of the boom without appearing in the mainstream media, toured Asia in 2002, achieving the first overseas expansion. Due to changes in music aspects, the attention they got from overseas increased and in 2005, they performed in Berlin, marking their first solo concert in Europe. From there, they started to held live performances around the world. Their music spread to the world in proportion to the rise of the Internet. Their journey was so innovative in the music scene that many artists used them as their role model. Should it be called ‘a miracle’ caused by  a natural sense of balance? “I think this (the overseas expansion) was something rare for us. ‘Something like this is what we want’, ‘It would be good if you could show this or that’……we were told these kind of things so maybe it (a miracle) happened. First of all, I think it’s a miracle I met these 4 people.” Toshiya said this a little shy smile.  There aren't many bands that have been so active for 20 years without changing members or stopping their activities. It's a miracle. “Because it’s an aspect that you can’t control…the things you do and the people you meet. I think it’s a miracle in that sense as well.” After 20 years, there were changes as an individual person, and there were changes in the way they interact with music. He says it's not just about music, ‘No matter what you do, if you make a mistake, you're done’, he adds. “Everyone calls me an 'artist', but I don't feel like one. The easiest thing to say would be ‘free person’ (laughs).  As I don’t have the experience of a normal working life, waking up at the same time on weekdays mornings, getting on the same train every day, rather than an artist, I would say I’m a free person. However, if there is a misunderstanding, I come to think of myself as ‘someone special’ who can’t live a normal life. It’s dangerous and scary. But humans are creatures that make mistakes (laughs).” Is it his way of saying that there was a “misunderstanding” in the past? “Well, there is. I made mistakes. That's why I'm scared. At the time of the debut, the number of adults  I didn’t know increased around me. No matter what you do, many people was moving. That became something common. But that many people come, means that many people also leave…. Shortly after my debut, a friend from Nagano told me two things. One was ‘it’s good you can do what you like’, and the other was ‘Did you start a band to be admired/ to be pampered?’ Those words were quite a big deal for me. I thought I couldn't stay that way, so I had to change my way of thinking a little more. The words this person told me made me feel sad but then I said ‘Isn’t it good? Why you don’t try to do your best too?’ (laughs).” Toshiya laughs and says ‘I want to be a person with an ordinary consciousness’. His way of talking and manners are soft, giving an impression that he is a person who has nothing to do with the word ‘rude’. “In my teens,  my senpais were unconventional and  I admired a lot their messy behaviour but unfortunately,  times are very different now. When we were children, we thought about what to buy and how to use the money we received for New Year's  but nowadays  children seem to save money. It might be good to do something unconventional and have a dream in such a conservative era, but I'm not that age anymore. Now, if I do something like that, I’d be in a difficult position (laughs). That’s why being a person with an ordinary consciousness would be the ideal”. “When you stand on stage in front of  the audience, you should be a special person that nobody can’t replace” When you ask him about music activity, the talk extends to other topics that are not limited to music. The concept of the brand 'DIRT 100% Natural Dirty' produced by him is 'unisex real clothes that can be worn in a wide range of occasions from casual to formal’, the design  not only affects the clothes but also the spaces that surround your daily life. Toshiya proposes and produce unique and original clothes for daily life.  The fact that the words ‘life’ and ‘everyday’ are included means that for Toshiya, as music, his brand production and life are something that flows together, not something that can be separate from each other. “There isn’t really a distinction. But both, music and brand production, I can’t call them ‘work’. Of course I can’t remove the business part of it but I don’t think it’s work. This interview is also part of my job, that’s why I’m definitely switched on my ‘business mode’. If you like something in a pure way, you shouldn’t make a business of it. Of course, I make music and produce clothes because I like it, but the truth is that you can’t just do something because you like it. That’s why I think I have to do it. For example,  of course I would say ‘I want to do this’ to the company but  saying NO to everything that the company suggests, like ‘I want you to do this, I think it’s just selfish. If I’m allowed to do what I want to do, then I have to do also what the company wants me to do, otherwise, it won’t work. If you just want to do whatever you want,  it would be like ‘why don't you do it by yourself? I think I'm doing it with several people because I can't do it alone.” It might be because of this that the band DIR EN GREY continue to be active with the same members. It’s  only because they have their own opinions but also they have the capacity to listen and absorb other people’s opinions. “I have a firm ideal within myself. However, there are times  you will realize things listening to other people’s opinions and absorbing them. When you have a talk with several people that are experts in something, new opinions that I didn’t know before are born. I often think that it’s like the scales fall from my eyes, and it leads to new discoveries. There might be a reason why we don’t aim to “do things by ourselves’. It's not that music and brands can't be done alone…. I feel that if I go alone, I might make a mistake. Going back to I said before, if you think of yourself as 'special', I think it's not going to go in the right direction….But it's an exception when you stand on stage in front of the audience. , you should be a special person that nobody can’t replace” No matter how good a person is, they may stop at some point. Toshiya was no exception. However, he says with confident ‘I still have many things that I want to do’. “I've often thought ‘this is my limit’. I have thought many times ‘I don't have any ideas, I don't like it, it's hard’..... But then, I’ve always come up with ideas and images such as "I want to do something like that" or "Let's do something like this". I've been doing something like that all the time….I think my desire for expression will never run out. I don't think things can be made from scratch. Everything is imitation of something,  an arrangement of something….I think that’s the trigger for the ramification of creation.  In your daily life, you can see various things and various things will happen, so I hope to reflect in my work what is happening at that moment.” Will Toshiya reach a turning point in his life soon? In the last talk, he wondered if he would become an adult when he is 50 or 60 years old. He also said he wanted to be 50 or 60 years old soon. He set his mind on the idea of ‘You only have one life, if you don’t do the things that you want, you’ll regret it’. Until now, he has devoted his life to the band so is he satisfied with that or is there any regrets? “It’s half satisfaction, half regrets (laughs).  I think I have more regrets, though. When I was in elementary school I thought that at my age I would be living in my hometown, I’d be married and would have kids…’I wish I had done that at that time’….’I didn’t do that’….things like that, if I start mentioning them, there would be no end. But you can’t do anything about the things you didn’t do, I think the perception will change if you look at it with regrets or as a reflection. Sayingt that ‘I could become an adult once I’m 50 or 60 years old” means I entrusted to my future self, things I can’t do now. It’s a way of escapism, though(laughs). I feel like the things I can’t do now will be easier in the future and the range of the things I’ll be able to do will be wider. I will pursue forever the person I aspired to become when I was a child. I think it’s a human thing to do that.” Toshiya’s voice “I requested this photoshoot to take place somewhere near the sea. Since my birthday was closer, I did an interview looking back on my life. If anything, it felt like the interview was important. As we went to Odaiba, the travel time was longer. The talk about the Olimpics in the car was exciting.

[itsuki-minamy]

“THE IDOL K”

* K - Six Idols (List of Chapters) * Projects & Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

Until then, Kuro Yatogami did not know what kind of life his adoptive father, Ichigen Miwa, had, who helped him when he was about to die in the mountains, in the past.

Even in the town where they lived, the area was really warm, and the town treated Miwa with a vague idea that he "is a little strange, but he is a great person".

In a cold mountain town where most adults are engaged in so-called primary industries like agriculture and forestry, he didn't even get a job, he was swinging a wooden sword in the morning and sweating. During the day, he taught volunteer children for free, and at night, Miwa would look at the full moon and write haiku on a rather heretical strip of paper, and it could be said that he was a unique person.

Although he had a dialect of "Kawakamon" (a dialect from the Tohoku region where they lived), the village community never expelled or overlooked him.

No.

On the contrary, the village mayor, respected as a heavyweight of the village alongside the doctor, when a problem occurred that they could not solve on their own, the villagers would go to Miwa's house for precise advice.

Good-mannered, serious, informed, all the villagers trusted Miwa deeply that he was widely known in village affairs.

And Kuro, who grew up in that environment, had no doubts about Miwa's background and identity, he thought vaguely: "I think Miwa is a poet or a master of swordplay, as he says.".

However, one day, Kuro got to know Miwa's past in a dramatic way.

The trigger was the videotape that Ichigen had in his possession.

He had a collection of swordsman-related videos and was allowed to view them freely, but there was an unknown tape. No label or anything.

It was weird for Miwa to do something like that. Kuro repeated that to himself, wondering a bit.

And, as if fascinated, Kuro was nailed to the screen. Two hours passed in no time.

++++++++++

Kuro Yatogami returned to the office that day after recording a CM link song, conducting an interview with a music magazine, and having a meeting with an advertising agency. As a promising idol, his clothes were spotless, but he had a paper bag on his chest containing ingredients like radish, potatoes, and pork that he bought from a nearby shopping street.

"Kuro-chan is good at it, so is a bonus for a carrot."

There, Kuro is considered a good young man who often comes shopping rather than an idol.

With his shopping bag, Kuro got on the monorail and headed to the island on the opposite shore. There was the office to which he belongs.

He got off at the station and went down the street against the flow of people. Almost 100% of the students crossed paths in uniform. His goal was a genuine school. He was used to it now, but when he visited "Shirogin Record" for the first time, he was disappointed.

Ashinaka High School.

As the name suggests, Gakuenjima is a school building built on a remote island connected only by viaducts from the land. And "Shirogin Record" rented a student dormitory on the school island and ran an office. He wasn't sure how the idol entertainment agency decided to operate the school, but Isana, the representative for "Shirogin Records", said, "Well, it was cheap."

He smiled and answered. It was a slight and irritating point for the serious Kuro, although it seemed uncertain.

As he walked down the school path that led to the front door, some well-known students called out to him. Kuro smiled too, raised his hand and replied.

"Oh, Kuro-kun. Are you going home now?"

He knew that girl with short hair and hair ornaments.

"Oh, Kukuri."

Remembering, he calls her by her name.

Kukuri belongs to "Shirogin Record" as Kuro, she is a girl who cared for him since she started living in this school dormitory.

She also lives in the dorm and occasionally offers self-service dishes. Other students besides this girl, Kukuri Yukizome, treated him like an idol, rather than a strange older brother who took up residence in the dorm.

For Kuro it was much easier than making noise.

He told Kukuri:

"Yes, because I finished all the work. Kukuri, are you done with the classes?"

When he asks with a smile...

"Yes. After this, I'm going to go shopping at Shizume for a bit! I need a lot to prepare for the school festival."

He received a carefree reply.

"Then…"

Kuro asked, slightly changing the tone of his voice.

"What happened to Shiro?"

Shiro, also known as Yashiro Isana, the representative of "Shirogin Record". Kukuri, who is friendly, answered a bit harshly.

"Hm..."

She had a slightly embarrassed face.

"Yeah. Well, he wonder me if I needed help to prepare for the school festival all the time."

She speaks honestly.

"Ah."

Kuro ate a small sigh. Then he asked something else that worried him.

"What about lunch? What were he doing for lunch?"

"Oh, I think everyone gave him a little side dish, right?"

Kuro sighed loudly. Shiro was often blessed with food from the students. The students treated him as if he were a stray cat, rather than as a representative of the venerable entertainment agency "Shirogin Records".

"Not at all. He still lacks awareness as a representative."

When Kuro shook his head,

"So, Kukuri, see you."

He started walking towards the student dormitory just as he was. Kukuri called behind him. She put her hand on her mouth making it look like a megaphone.

"Kuro-kun! Don't get too mad at Shiro-kun, okay?"

Kuro raised a hand in response. He reached the bedroom, went upstairs, and opened the door to the room used as "Shirogin Records" office. As the loose personality of Shiro, the owner of the room, was completely unlocked.

"Shiro! Are you back now? Where are you?"

He went through the living room where the chabudai was and entered the space that Shiro used as a bedroom. He immediately collapsed.

"Ah!"

There was a scene that Kuro shouldn't have. It's good that Isana is sleeping in bed. However, a naked girl lay next to him, pressing against his abundant breasts and sighing in satisfaction.

"What are you doing?!"

Kuro's anger flared.

"This cheeky!"

It was a scene that was relatively common on "Shirogin Records".

The naked girl, the only female idol who belongs to this office. After dressing Neko, waking up Shiro who was talking in his sleep, while cleaning up the messy clothes and sundries, he got ready to cook. After that, he made them sit down and began to preach.

"Neko! How many times did I tell you! Don't take your clothes off!"

"Hey!"

Neko puffed out her dissatisfied cheeks. Recently, as the idol of gravure, she published a photo book called "I don't need clothes" and updated the highest sales in the history of gravure photo albums. A beautiful girl rarely seen in the entertainment world, she boasts outstanding style. Recently, her words and her natural deeds have been loved and she has been actively participating in variety shows.

There is no reason why such a girl could sleep naked and hug her representative. Kuro can see that there is no suspicious feeling between the two of them, but if this happens in front of the world, it will be a big problem.

A scandal would be inevitable.

Kuro kept complaining, but Neko was in a bad mood because he disturbed nap time.

"So what do you do when you bathe? Kurosuke, do you bathe with your clothes on?"

She said such a thing with thorns. Kuro got angry.

"Don't be silly! Wear it when you must, take it off when you must. I'm telling you to be modest!"

Even if Neko was dressed, was a shorts and tank top, so if you're a general man, it would be hard to see. However, when you live in the same office as her, even Kuro, who was not used to women, has gotten used to it.

"The show should be filming soon on Onbashira TV, right? Isn't it bad if you don't prepare?"

If he is urged to do so...

"Because Kurosuke is an idiot at all."

As she muttered, Neko stood up and tried to return to her room. By the way, Neko is a stage name, her real name is Miyabi Ameno. However, he didn't know if "Wagahai" was a character or not.

And while Neko tried to stand up, Kuro grabbed Shiro's neck that he was trying to escape from that place.

"We are not done yet."

Then, before Shiro, who had a friendly laugh.

"Shiro. Did you help the school festival all day today?"

He asks him that.

"Yes, well."

Shiro shrugged,

"That got me tired and I fell asleep. I didn't realize it when Neko came back, I'm sorry, Kuro."

Kuro sighed deeply.

"I'm not mad about it, because I'm making some contributions, like sewing, if time allows."

"Shirogin Record" is borrowing this school island for some reason. If so, all the students, including Kukuri, are the neighbors who are in debt. They think it's okay to return the favor by doing something useful.

"But…"

Kuro brought his face close to him and said.

"I heard from Asama-san. Did you bother turning down the 'Queen Records' job you were on today?"

He did not believe that it was a question of neglecting the work of idols, which are the main way. Kuro and Shiro must have responsibilities and obligations as idols.

"No."

Shiro scratched his head.

"I am in your debt, and I wanted to go somehow, but you see, the student council president and Mishina-kun consulted on stage."

"Hm."

Kuro desperately killed his anger. Kuro hadn't been that worried before, just once or twice. But every time, it turned out like this.

"You are probably one of the best idols in this country, representing the venerable silver label! What do you do prioritizing that school festival preparation over your core business!"

Shiro is one of the "Idol Kings", who has no people in the whole country. It's hard to believe when you see him laughing in front of you, but in reality, he has the taste and influence that the product sells like hotcakes just by appearing in a commercial.

Not just commercial. He is also a good commentator for late-night TV shows, and a concert can definitely mobilize 100,000 people.

But Kuro, he can't help but have a toothache.

"Our band, "HAKU☆MAI", cannot work because you are in that condition."

"Jeje."

Shiro, was scolded by Kuro who had an ugly face.

"Well, leave it to me. I have a little idea."

He smiled and winked mischievously. Then he looked up at the clock that was intentionally hanging on the wall.

"Oops. It's about to be recorded on the radio. Kuro. Sorry, but save the sermon for later. I'm hungry. I want to eat your rice."

"......"

Kuro stared at Shiro's face for a moment, and then...

"You are working properly, right?"

He sighed deeply.

He let Shiro and Neko who were heading to the radio and television recording have a nice dinner, and after sending them, he vacuumed Shiro's office and private room and washed the clothes that Neko had taken off. When he found out, he was taking care of Shiro and Neko.

By the way, Kuro and Neko had their own private rooms next to Shiro's room. It wasn't even that until Kuro arrived, Neko entered Shiro's room without permission, so he was shocked and amazed.

"Be modest like an idol, instead of a girl of that age!"

That said, he immediately stopped the practice, but since then, Neko doesn't seem to think much about what Kuro said.

That office was loose in many ways. Discipline, thinking, self-management. Dissatisfaction built up slightly in Kuro.

Kuro thinks that idols are tough and therefore they should have a funny beauty.

After that, he finished washing and went back to his room.

Kuro's paint shop was simple. Originally, there was no flashy furniture aside from the bed and table provided, and the personal belongings were only clothes that could fit in luggage, a Japanese sword delivered by his master Miwa Ichigen, and a voice recorder. Kuro randomly pressed the button with a heavy gaze and heard him.

"Dance is the sound of the heart, the heavens and the earth. Steps are taken to cut the delicious new incense."

Nostalgic, he could hear Miwa's voice.

This voice recorder was full of songs, dances, talks, plays, and advice that other people couldn't understand. He used to record his lessons as much as possible while being educated by him.

Kuro still listens to Miwa when he gets stuck on the road. Then, in the fog of hesitation, he can move in the right direction by being guided directly by the hand of his master, Ichigen. However, this time, his concerns had not been resolved.

Does that mean he hasn't finished his training yet?

Ever since he saw a video of Miwa that day, Kuro had made up his mind. He will be a brilliant existence on stage as Miwa.

When he heard Miwa's words, he seemed confused for a moment and then...

"Yes. Maybe this is also a date."

He smiled.

"You will surely be stronger and brighter than me."

After that, his foster father became a teacher and began training him as a strict but warm idol. Practice the use of the sword as a theatrical representation in dance, singing and acting. In the end, he thoroughly learned housework and cooking to broaden the range of arts and maintain himself well into the future.

Later, he learned that his housemate was a brother who aspired to be the same idol as him, and discovered that Miwa belonged to "The Craters", he was a member of the best idol band in the history of Japanese entertainment.

Also, as he grew up, he learned to be an idol with Miwa and realized how difficult and tiresome it was to try to be like him. Kuro was becoming more and more solemn in training as an idol.

And a few months ago, Kuro was allowed to fly to the outside world as an idol, so to speak, in the form of a license. At that moment…

"Before, I had some ties. Why don't you take care of Isana-san from 'Shirogin Record' first?"

They asked for it. Kuro was also learning a lot about the entertainment world at the time.

"Shirogin Record?"

He didn't want to disagree with his teacher, but his expression was a bit hazy.

"It seems like it used to be a prestigious place, but now you really don't understand the inside story, do you? Isana-san, the representative, is also engaging in side business, I don't hear a very good reputation."

"I agree."

Miwa made up his mind with a smile.

"Isana-san, who I know, also has a mysterious feeling, so frankly, I'm not entirely uncomfortable leaving you. But…"

As usual, he laughed softly and said softly.

"If so, you must cut it, if it doesn't fit your idol path."

It was a cold way of saying it on his back. Kuro took the Japanese sword that was given to him while he remembered that word.

He would only draw the sword in the face of something serious.

There was a dark light in his eyes.

Of course, "cut" is just a matter of comparison. Miwa means that if he feels that something is wrong with Isana, he should cut off the relationship with a Japanese sword. Since then, he has been left to Kuro's free will no matter what office he belongs to. By the way, Kuro has yet to receive a formal invitation from Shiro.

So, as for the status of him, he was in a position to keep "Shirogin Records".

Today, it is called the Yamatogo idol era, when many idols flourish. The basis for this was an idol selection and management system called the slate system. It was created with the intention of a man who is at the top of the entertainment world and the political and business world of this country, named Kokujoji Daikaku.

Kuro was a colorless idol when Miwa admitted him as an idol.

From that point on, it was still up to Kuro to decide where he belonged and what color he would be waiting for.

(If you don't have the capacity as an idol...)

Kuro clenched the sword he was holding.

(At that time really...)

++++++++++

Later…

"What's wrong? Do you have a scared face?"

He hears a soft Kansai dialect. When he raised his face, a person wearing a jacket looked at Kuro, who was sitting on a reclining chair.

"Somehow, you looked like you were about to hit someone with that sword."

He said that jokingly, laughing.

"Izumo Kusanagi from "Homura Entertainment Office". Nice to meet you."

He held out a hand. Kuro stood up and responded to the greeting.

"I am Yatogami Kuro."

After a while,

"Shirogin Record, huh."

Kusanagi was in a good mood, although he wasn't sure if he realized that he had bought a bet to answer that.

"You really were a celebrity before you debuted. Commonly known as Toranoana in the idol world, the talent raised by Miwa Ichigen from "NO COLOR FACTORY" is finally hitting the center, to tell the truth."

He looks him straight in the eye.

"I thought it would be interesting for you to come to us."

Maybe it was lip service, but when they told him that, he was a bit confused.

"Thank you. Kusanagi-san, what did you come for today?"

When he asks that...

"I came as an assistant to a princess."

With his thumb, he pointed to the girl whose makeup was being done in the corner of the set. She wore old-fashioned clothes with many decorations.

Anna Kushina.

She is a female idol who currently belongs to "Homura Entertainment Office". Although she is still in her teens, many people are captivated by her doll-like features and her calm, floating atmosphere with few words. The characteristic was that there were many fans regardless of gender.

"And…"

Kusanagi pointed out to the woman that was having a meeting with the director for the next performance, this time at a location where catering was lined up.

"I heard that Seri-chan is wearing a sexy outfit and I came to admire her."

Seri Awashima.

Female idol belonging to "Promotion Scepter 4", she has been sought after as an actress in dramas, movies, and stage performances for the past few years. And, as Kusanagi said, she was wearing a gorgeous dress with a wide chest, and with the synergistic effect of that costume, she carried an aura that made the area beautiful just by standing.

"She's a big deal, really. She's already the personality of a great actress."

Kusanagi calls her Shimijimi.

They were at the filming location of a taiga drama. The subject is a spy from before the war, Awashima is the daughter of a county who falls in love with the spy, Anna is the sister of the spy and Kuro is one of the military police who chases the spy.

By the way, the sword Kuro was holding was not his, but a pillar that mimicked a military sword. And he was wearing a tight military uniform.

When Kusanagi tried to open his mouth, the show's producer called out to Kusanagi. Then, Kusanagi said...

"Oh, thank you very much. Well, Kuro-kun, see you later."

He put a business card in Kuro's hand and...

"Come play with me whenever you want."

He winks at him and he left. As he watched, he began chatting with producers and directors.

("Homura Entertainment Office", Chief of Staff, huh.), Kuro thought.

Currently, the symbol of the office, the "Idol King" Mikoto Suoh, is absent, but the reason why the momentum of "Homura Entertainment Office" is not slowing down at all is because Kusanagi is driving in a balanced manner.

Composer and singer.

"Come see Awashima" besides being nice, he was sure he was coming to make future connections with the site staff.

(He is very important.) Kuro thought.

It may not be possible to compare, but even the leadership role of the same office was completely different from Shiro's. Shiro rarely did business, and even if it was a different field, he was simply out of line.

During that time, he was selling rice. He sighs naturally. Staff called him there and the shooting resumed.

Kuro changed his mind and stood in front of the camera with enthusiasm. However, even so, when he was in front of Anna and Awashima, he was strangely distracted and broadcast NG twice, which he had rarely broadcast.

And in the scene in front of Anna, who was Bai's younger sister,

"Who are you?"

The line of Anna looking at him with her big eyes and asking him, his heart and his body jammed. Awashima was avoiding the road as an acting actress. He definitely compares her to Anna, that she will develop as idol.

(What the hell am I doing?), Kuro thought.

++++++++++

The following week, Kuro was running across an uninhabited island covered in mud.

The time zone gradually moved from the 30-minute frame to midnight on weekdays, finally settling into the time zone on Sunday night, and now the popular national show "Countdown Dissolution, Shoumutai" is recorded. The average audience rate is always above 20%.

It is a modern monster show that has the support of adults and children. Kuro has also appeared twice so far, but this recording was the hardest.

After all, the concept is "For twenty-four hours, I will play a game that mixes werewolves, etiquette, and scavenger hunts". As he searched, there was an amazing discovery with the concept of cracking the treasure map code and finding that, and there was a pirate thrill, and a lot of content anyway.

And while the rules and content were well crafted and difficult, to be honest, he enjoys beyond the limits of his work.

Now that he has finished all the filming, he is walking into a tent village set up on one of the few plains on an uninhabited island. Perhaps this project was light and costly in the hundreds of millions.

Besides "Shoumutai" from "Promotion Scepter 4", which is a regular show only for artists, idols from "Homura Entertainment Office" and "Shirogin Record", and other comedians and cultural figures, many athletes and others are participating.

Therefore, a large number of people, such as the manager, the dedicated staff and the team to film the show, gathered on this uninhabited island with a radius of about 1 km.

A large number of cameras, the latest equipment to control them, catering space to fill the stomachs of more than 200 people, clean toilets and showers, a tent instead of a waiting room divided into blue for men and red for women, hundreds of transceivers, busy voices on the move, cameras, lighting personnel, and speakers on tall poles keep it in order.

As Kuro walked, he looked towards a huge tent in a particularly high space. He must have been one of them at the helm of this great project, which featured a terrifying amount of money, people, and equipment.

As evidence, many television crews were constantly in and out of the cobalt blue tent. Perhaps the person has a complete understanding of the entire process and gives detailed, precise, and quick instructions one after the other.

"Idol King" from "Promotion Scepter 4", Reisi Munakata.

That was the person who reigned at the top of this project.

The blue tent was a royal castle, and the people coming and going were like guards visiting the king. Interestingly, even though it was a specially designed and magnificent tent, it seemed that people looking up would feel more secure than they would dislike.

Some of the people around him looked around the store and went back to work.

(He has a great presence. It's just the dignity of the king.), Kuro thought.

"Promotion Scepter 4" became a great entertainment agency due to Munakata's charisma.

When he gets to that point, frankly other offices look up to it. Then, in that moment, in the distance...

"Hey, Kurosuke!"

Neko was greeting him.

"I'm going to take a shower from now on."

Kuro turned around. Neko was also participating in this show, representing "Shirogin Record". She did not find the treasure, but she was very active and escaped persecution for 24 hours and received a special award.

Next to her was Seri Awashima, who was covered in mud. The terrifying part of that show is that Seri Awashima, who is becoming a national actress, was mercilessly pushed into the mud and imposed harsh missions.

Two women were leaving while chatting. After the fight, the distance probably shortened a bit. By the way, on the show itself, Domyoji won the championship by getting a jewel worth one million yen.

Now Domyoji, Hidaka, Fuse, Enomoto, Goto, and others are jumping into the sea from the diving platform placed into the sea like a sea loaf.

Fuse and Domyoji held Enomoto astride a jumping platform at a certain height from left to right, laughing and carrying him into the sea. Enomoto was screaming. There was laughter from the staff watching him. For some reason, Goto looks like an Umibozu with seaweed on his head. Hidaka swam with a beautiful crawling way.

Meanwhile, Akiyama, Benzai, and Kamo were seriously discussing the direction of future programs while drinking iced coffee in the shade.

They were all fine even though they had just finished filming for 24 hours. Kuro was enthusiastic about the harshness of "Shoumutai". There were times when he was just doing a difficult mission that was not like an idol.

He tried to enter the store assigned to Kuro. At that moment…

"Kuro Yatogami."

He stopped him with a grumpy voice. Looking back, a bespectacled young man was standing with a look that seemed to be troublesome. And then he said...

"Our president is calling you. Go see him."

After saying that, Kuro recognized the opponent and was a bit nervous.

Fushimi Saruhiko. He was an ace class idol wearing the current "Promotion Scepter 4" on his back.

Among the many idols who are polite and cheerful, there is only one unsympathetic and lonely impression. However, his singing and dancing skills are outstanding, and the aura he gives off from his standing demeanor is bright and eye-catching. Fushimi turned his back on him and started walking. Kuro was stuck.

Kuro bet on his helmet because he fought for the treasure with him until the end in that recording. In the final fitness game, including Misaki Yata from "Homura Entertainment Office", it became a near triple fall, and eventually the treasure was kidnapped by Domyoji.

He was thinking about that grudge.

"Hey, what's up? Come quick."

Fushimi seemed not to think about it anymore. He urged Kuro to clench his chin and follow him. It's probably the default of it that seems to be annoying. Kuro followed Fushimi and started walking.

At that time,

"Look! Come on, Kamamoto!"

When they heard such a loud voice, both Fushimi and Kuro, who were in front of them, stopped and looked back. Looking, Misaki Yata from "Homura Entertainment Office" was running on the diving platform with tremendous momentum.

He jumped to the tip of the sea loaf and circled three times in the air, jumping from his head to the surface of the water like a cone. The dunk player was also a brilliant-bodied judge. He also applauded the members of the "Shoumutai" who saw him from the beach and the surface of the sea.

Apparently, Misaki Yata joined the play in a way to break into them. Kamamoto, who was swimming in the sea, praised him.

"Yata-san, you are amazing!"

Domyoji and others from the "Shoumutai" approached. Yata, who came out of the sea, was laughing happily.

"He's a very sociable guy."

Kuro said, who seemed to smile involuntarily.

"Tsk."

Fushimi grumpily clicked his tongue at him and started walking forward again.

Inside the store, it was as if the television station studio had just moved in. Many televisions showed multiple images at the same time. The king was right in front of that. As he looked at the screen with his back to Kuro who had entered the room, he gave instructions to the staff who were waiting by his side one after another.

"It appears that a broken camera is buried in the dirt and sand on the south slope. Please send the N2 team to collect it."

And,

"It looks like the return boat is late, but it doesn't matter if it's a boat. Please contact the fishing cooperative and ask them to send a fishing boat. It's okay. It doesn't matter. I'll take our boys."

And,

"Please send more materials to Onbashira TV director Yamamoto. This person will edit it to some extent."

He verbally said various things like that. Kuro was summoned, but could not be called. And later…

"Oh."

Reisi Munakata smiled as he turned around.

"Thanks for your patience. Kuroh Yatogami from "Shirogin Record", right?"

"Yes."

Spontaneously his spine stretched.

"I am Kuroh Yatogami."

Reisi Munakata had a relaxed tone, but had a mysterious dignity. He is tall and wears glasses. He was wearing a blue uniform.

"Oh, sorry. Please, leave your seat for a while."

And when he stood up, Munakata told him...

"Why did I call you? I want to hear your opinion a bit."

He beckoned to Kuro and pointed to one of the monitors. When Munakata operated the remote control, Neko was reflected there.

"There is no administrator for "Shirogin Record", so I would like to ask your opinion."

He quickly understood Munakata's intention. The peculiar angle blurred the bottom line, but Neko was probably a complete successor in front of the camera.

"This is an image of an unmanned camera installed in front of the fountain, but it seems that she got so excited that she took off her clothes and jumped into the water."

Munakata said with a bitter smile.

"Although it is a level that cannot be transmitted."

Kuro immediately clenched his fist.

"Sorry, NG."

Munakata looked straight ahead. Also, he projected some images. Both were videos related to Kuro and Neko. There was no particular problem with the others, and Kuro did everything well at his own discretion. Munakata was in a good mood.

"Thanks to you, it's a very good performance. I'm looking forward to the viewership."

Kuro was inwardly in awe of the skill of the man in front of him. It was only an hour before all the recordings were finished. However, Munakata had already identified the images that would likely be a problem. This means that he was constantly reviewing the images from hundreds of cameras in parallel during the recording.

(What kind of eyes do you have?), Kuro thought.

Also, during that time, he took over the set without taking a break.

(Is it a monster?), Kuro thought.

At that moment, Munakata suddenly said something that was interesting.

"What's wrong? There seems to be something you want to say."

Kuro was pierced by a star and fell silent. Then he asks.

"What is an idol to you?"

He didn't want to do that, but his voice mixed with jarring sharpness. Frankly, Kuro had an almost terrifying feeling about Reisi Munakata's abilities.

Munakata has a charisma that makes you feel pressured even if you stand in front of him. His voice is beautiful. However, what Munakata is doing now is, of course, the work of television station producers and advertising agencies.

(How do you perceive idols?), Kuro thought.

"Fufu."

It was quite a rude and cheeky question, but Munakata seemed quite interesting. And he responded without stalling.

"For me, idols are an integral art, an economic activity of high public interest and a crystal of thought."

"......"

Seeing Kuro confused,

"My understanding of what it means to be an idol is probably a bit broader than yours. Idol activity makes a difference, boosting the country's economy and returning it to more viable businesses."

"Wait, you mean idols really want to make money?"

"Incorrect."

Munakata flatly denied it.

"The idol itself is infinitely impoverished. There is no point in applying that definition."

"Isn't it conceptual?"

"That is not the case. I am not only interested in earnings. In a nutshell..."

He was like a naughty child.

"I am an idol and I want to make this world a better place."

Kuro took a breath.

"In the economy, or educationally nurturing influential people."

Munakata folded his hands behind his waist and looked at Kuro's face.

"I want to sublimate in a way to influence society and protect innocent people."

(What? This guy…!)

Kuro took a step back, but Munakata closed the distance.

"The cause to be an idol. Are you laughing?"

Perhaps no one else would have received Kuro properly. What Munakata said was too harsh. But…

"No."

Kuro shook his head.

"I'm not laughing."

"It's okay."

Munakata's eyes were a little blue.

"I've always been interested in you."

Munakata put his hands on Kuro's shoulders.

"If you feel like agreeing with me, even a little..."

Then he adds.

"We also welcome office transfers."

Kuro fell silent. When Munakata smiled.

"Please think about it."

He left Kuro and took a new document. Seeing the tide, Kuro quietly left the tent as he bowed heavily.

On the return ship he was with Neko. The afternoon was approaching. Kuro rarely asked Neko for her opinion as he gazed at the red-tinged sea on the deck.

"Are you worried about your appearance?"

"Hmm?"

Neko rubbed her eyes as she yawned. She apparently she was tired. Instead of the innocent girl named Neko, who often fought with Kuro, in this case, she leaned in and looked sick.

She apparently was going to use her knees as a pillow.

"About what?"

Neko asked sleepily.

"As it is an idol for him."

Neko interrupted Kuro's line and said lightly.

"But Wagahai can make you smile when you are with Shiro. That is why Wagahai loves Shiro."

And she fell asleep while she murmured.

Kuro was silent. While he was wondering why he didn't answer "Yes" to Reisi Munakata's invitation.

Kuro had one thing in mind. He could not meet Miwa again until he became an idol that could be convinced by himself, he would have to be proud of himself, before contacting him.

When he finds Miwa that he admires, he will feel relaxed. Kuro, who is strict with himself, tried to draw a line there.

Of course, he said that before leaving, and so did Miwa.

"I see, you're right. I don't have to think so much, but I respect your way."

He accepted. That's why even Miwa hadn't contacted Kuro for a long time. But yesterday, the deal was suddenly broken. A letter came from Miwa. A ticket inside. He attached a short sentence.

"Can you go check it out for me?"

Kuro was lost. He also took the PDA to confirm the true meaning of Miwa's words. But in the end, Kuro decided to follow the instructions. He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or even if he had interwoven a word, but it was rare that the booth was empty.

Kuro put on discreet civilian clothes, put on a mask and sunglasses, and headed to a small concert house.

The place was in an unclear place. There were no signs or guide maps. Instead, the humans had become guides. Men and women in strange clothes who seem to be definitely heading to the concert house. Mohawk with full-length leather products. A long-haired man in a plaid flannel shirt. Gothic lolita girl. Jeans and male tank top. Not just the young, but the obvious older people as well.

They all behaved in various ways, such as secretly speaking with their peers and remaining silent on their own, but they could not hide their enthusiasm and encouragement.

Kuro continued to move on the wave of person with caution. As expected, the group was squeezed into the concert hall.

He hands the ticket to a thin man as a skeleton and go down the spiral staircase to the basement. It was like falling into the fountain of the underworld. Suddenly, when he thought he was in a large space, that was the place.

The space was much larger than expected. Still, will it be crowded if 400 people enter? There were no seats and they were fully standing. There was a space in the back where drinks were sold, and it looked like you could buy alcohol there. Kuro was a bit lost, but he bought green tea and killed time by drinking it from a paper cup. The moment came. Suddenly, the ceiling lights flashed with a roar, and when he realized it, a man was on stage.

"Everyone, come on! Are you ready?"

Mishakuji Yukari.

He used to be a brother who wanted to be taught by Miwa as Kuro. Kuro squeezed the paper cup that he had finished drinking.

He had bought him a ticket to Mishakuji Yukari's concert. Miwa was probably telling him that he could learn something by watching Yukari's performance. He maybe he knew that Kuro has been worried recently through television. He had a feeling of criticism. Furthermore, Kuro had a violent reaction towards Yukari, for having abandoned Miwa.

The last time he saw Yukari he was fighting with a Japanese sword. Miwa wasn't hurt at all, but Kuro didn't emotionally forgive Yukari, who directed his sword at his master for some reason.

However, that too.

Yukari was originally a person who cared about "beauty". "Beauty" was the highest priority in all aspects of personal appearance, demeanor, dignity, humanity, and determination.

The "beauty" was being refined.

It was so beautiful that he wanted to cry.

Every time Yukari sang, the live house shook with a brilliant echo. His dance was full of sensual beauty in every movement of his fingers. The singing voice was heavily tinged with Yukari, and the sophisticated movements made you want to enjoy it over and over again in that space. Kuro was fascinated and sighed.

The audience was ecstatic when Yukari boldly stretched his limbs and his sweat splashed into the air. Kuro was shaking.

He thought he was amazing. He also repented. When did he make such a difference in his live performance?

When he thought that he couldn't win like he was now...

"Come on everyone! Let's have fun together!"

It happened that Kuro was overwhelmed. Some of the spectators began to take the stage without permission. That was not all. Some sang, others played the instruments they took and suddenly began to dance. Before he knew it, Mishakuji took out the electric guitar and began to play fast with splendid technique.

The voltage of the audience went up even more. The center of attention was shining on Yukari and the guests performing one after another. Those who did nothing in particular jumped and cheered.

Kuro was disappointed.

(What is this? Can we really say that this is an idol?), he thought.

Most of them packed up in front of the stage. As a result, Kuro, who was behind the place, was left alone. And probably not because of his mind. When Yukari looked at him on stage, he giggled happily and winked.

++++++++++

Kuro walked with a little hatred down the dark side street.

Something had certainly overwhelmed him, but he didn't know why he was overwhelmed. And at the same time, a small light ignited in his heart. He wasn't sure if it was excitement, excitement, jealousy, or longing, but when he saw Yukari live, something began to move inside him again. He wanted to play, sing and dance. That's why Kuro kept walking around the city at night, thinking about various things.

Suddenly, there was a person blocking the path in front of him.

"Hey. Normally, at times like this, would you come to the dressing room to greet me, Kuro-chan?"

He was expecting him somewhere, so he didn't surprise that much.

"Mishakuji Yukari."

There was Mishakuji Yukari, who had been making a masterpiece until about an hour ago. In the moonlight, he still monopolized the glitter. Yukari laughed softly.

"Am I not your brother anymore, Kuro-chan?"

"......"

Kuro was silent.

"How was it? Did you study a bit after seeing your brother's stage?"

Yukari threw words at Kuro that weren't rumors or taunts. Kuro felt the request and turned red.

"I still don't allow you to point your sword at Ichigen-sama!"

The fierce words came out. Yukari shrugged.

"That is why you are a child."

His eyes thinned like threads.

"So what? What did you think of my stage?"

Kuro bit his lip.

"I thought it was a big problem, but…"

He points to Yukari.

"Such acting is not the way of idols that Ichigen-sama taught me!"

Yukari was silent for a moment. Then his eyes went round and his cheeks bulged. The next moment...

"Ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha!"

He laughed out loud. Kuro was confused.

"Are you kidding!"

Unintentionally, he put his hand on his waist. If he had a sword, he could have cut it. Yukari was still laughing. After…

"You really have no salvation."

It was a hideously cold word.

"Ichigen-sama doesn't tell us anything, don't you know?"

The words were shocking. His head went white. Then anger turned bright red in front of him.

"You bastard! Ichigen-sama…"

"Stop."

Yukari thrust his palm forward and silenced Kuro.

"You're the one who doesn't understand Ichigen-sama."

With an awake expression he said...

"Have you ever wondered why he named his private school "NO COLOR FACT0RY"?"

Kuro was surprised and upset.

"What do you mean?"

"If you can't think of that, that's it."

Yukari shook his head pitifully, turned her back on his former disciple, and tried to leave. There was an existence that broke into him.

"The image is white."

He notices that there was a parrot parked on the emergency stairs near the back alley where they were standing. The parrot was watching.

"Oh, Nagare-chan. Did you see it? People are bad."

Yukari says funny. Kuro was disappointed. The parrot bounced, moved, and came to rest on Yukari's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Kuroh Yatogami. I am Nagare Hisui. "Idol King" from "Jungle Pro"."

Kuro was speechless. Then he finally realized it. It was not a real parrot, but an elaborately created hologram.

Kuro remembered.

Nagare Hisui from "Jungle Pro" was rumored to perform using holograms.

"By the way, how is Yashiro Isana?"

When he suddenly asked him about that, Kuro rolled his eyes in black and white. So he just mumbled...

"Yeah, he's uselessly fine. He's excited about the school festival coming up soon."

Kuro replied like this. The parrot shook his body. Apparently he laughed.

"That's how it is. After all, I'm a personal Isana fan."

Kuro didn't know how to react to those words.

"Kuro Yatogami. We "Jungle Pro" are trying to create a world where everyone can be an idol."

The parrot said that kind of thing.

"And you are always welcome to our friends. Think twice."

"Does that mean I should transfer?"

The parrot opened its mouth and laughed. He didn't directly answer Kuro's question.

"Yukari. Let's go home."

Suddenly, Yukari smiled.

"Yes, Nagare-chan. I understand."

Then Yukari said...

"See you, Kuro-chan."

He greeted Kuro and left. Kuro couldn't move while he was there.

It was the entertainment agency that he visited for the first time, but mysteriously gambling did not exist. Even after meeting Mishakuji and meeting Nagare Hisui, a small light still dwelt in his heart. He felt calmly uplifting.

He had the feeling that something was about to break. And he felt the clue was there.

++++++++++

He enters the bar with the sign "HOMRA". The interior was full of noise.

Kuro's eyes caught everything in an instant. It was Shohei Akagi and Saburota Bando who were doing their best while staring at the computer in the foreground. They are both from the "Homura Entertainment Office" sign show. "Leave it to Tatara!" He is a young idol who is showing a new performance.

On top of that, Masaomi Dewa and Yo Chitose were talking about something while looking at the poster on stage. Chitose is a popular person with many flashy roles, and Dewa is an artist of some skill. Kuro was also secretly paying attention to the two idols who are mainly active in this play.

On the left couch, the handsome Eric Sult, who is becoming famous as a model, is lying down, and on the seat next to him, Kosuke Fujishima, who has become a hot topic as his peer and ​idols, he was playing with a piece of wood.

"Oh, Kuro-kun."

And it was Izumo Kusanagi who suddenly saw him from behind the counter and called out to him. He smiled gently with his eyes behind the glasses.

"Did you come to play right now? I was gathering young people and having a meeting, so I'm afraid my eyes aren't that good, but don't worry."

"Oh, sorry. Shall we start over?"

"Alright, Kuro-kun. I'm done."

Kusanagi invited him, so he went to the counter. The young idols from "Homura Entertainment Office" laid their eyes on each of them, who seemed to be interesting, slightly provocative, supportive, and mysterious, but they soon spoke to each other.

Kuro noticed it after he approached the counter. Anna Kushina was sitting near the edge. She was sitting on a stool with a small body, so her legs were swinging. When Kuro nodded silently, Anna returned the nod as well.

He was concerned about the beverage she was drinking, and when he looked at it, it looked like hot milk.

"Huh, what do you want to drink?"

In the meantime,

"Excuse me, but I'll have a cup of tea."

Seeing what Kuro asked for, Kusanagi said...

"Haha. Kuro-kun, you are serious."

Kusanagi laughed and started making tea. At that moment, he heard a strong voice.

"Oh! You are the black dog!"

He had an idea who he was. Looking back, a small young man and a big fat man were about to go down the stairs from the second floor. The largest is Rikio Kamamoto, who has become an indispensable part of recent gourmet programs. And the lithe little boy is Misaki Yata, who is now the star idol of "Homura Entertainment Office".

"Ah, Yata-chan! Apologize to the customers."

Kusanagi muttered lightly. However, Yata approached strangely.

"What are you doing? Did you come to our office alone? You are brave!"

He said something rude, but his eyes were laughing. During the recording on the uninhabited island the other time, he was quite in conflict with Misaki Yata, but at that moment, there was something that he could understand.

Although he is currently in the United States, Kuro has been told that Mikoto Suoh's guitar technique and Misaki Yata's dancing are world class.

"Oh, I'm on the way."

He smiled slightly and answered that.

"That's right, take your time!"

He hit Kuro's shoulder harshly and followed Kamamoto away towards Akagi and his friends.

"My God, I'm in trouble."

Kusanagi laughed a little and shrugged.

"By the way, the CD single "Oreiro lime" that I mentioned above seems to be in good shape, right?"

When Kuro asked,

"Oh, yeah. And Fushimi's, 'I fell in love and its summer', is a tie for number one on the chart, 'Dead heat' in second."

Kusanagi laughed a little complicated and answered that. Originally, Saruhiko Fushimi was a close friend of Misaki Yata and they belonged to "Homura Entertainment Office" together. That's why Fushimi moved into his rival office, "Promotion Scepter 4". Since then, Kuro heard that there was a dispute between Yata and Fushimi. He remembered that Fushimi was racing Yata even on an uninhabited island.

"Well now he's a rival in a good way."

Kusanagi said that. Kuro was thinking a bit. Recently, several people had requested it, so he had some ideas about the transfer. And Kuro didn't notice, but Kusanagi and Anna were looking at him sweetly.

A young man came out of the kitchen from there.

"Okay, I made a special keema curry. Kusanagi-san, Anna, give it a try. Oh, are you Kuroh Yatogami? Nice to meet you. Do you want to eat curry?"

He hear something like that in a low voice. He knew that voice, of course, Kuro knew the other person well.

Totsuka Tatara.

The "Homura Entertainment Office" sign show, "Leave it to Tatara!". The moderator, he was the only idol with a unique position that always created a loose atmosphere among many strong members.

Kuro had previously been told that if the front directing role was Kusanagi Izumo, the rear coordinator would be Totsuka Tatara. There was a gentle and kind sign, but the facial features were hideously arranged and there was a clear, transparent image somewhere.

From the pot that Totsuka had, he put rice and curry on a plate and recommended it to Kuro. When he looked at Kusanagi,

"Don't hesitate and eat it whole."

That's what he said. When he looks at Anna, she was already chewing on the curry while she said "Huff, huff.". The other "Homura Entertainment Office" idols also got caught up in the smell and hooked up.

"Then I'll do it."

Kuro took a bite and was shocked.

He understood because it is Kuro who cooks. It was excellent, without being over the top.

"It is wonderfully delicious!"

That's how it is. He felt like Totsuka's food melted him.

"Ah, I'm glad."

"In a way, this is amazing. The taste of each ingredient is really rich."

But what surprised him the most was the delicious rice that accompanied the curry. The flavors of earth, water, and sun spread from his mouth. He could be really happy. A simple and powerful flavor that makes you smile. Kuro instinctively asked.

"Where is this rice from?"

Later.

"Fu!"

"It's another interesting question!"

Totsuka and Kusanagi looked at each other and exploded. Then Totsuka said...

"This is the rice that Isana-san produces at his house. Have you never eaten it?"

The commotion ran. Looking around...

"Oh! Delicious! Delicious!"

"As expected of Totsuka-san!"

All the members of "Homura Entertainment Office" were cheering on the curry rice with a bright smile.

(I see. I…), Kuro thought.

Something melted in the dark. He held the spoon and was carried away by emotion. And Kusanagi stared at him and said something mischievous.

"It seems that the request has failed."

The voice only reached Anna. Anna laughed and narrowed her eyes. Then she looked at the photo frame next to her.

There was the figure of "Idol King" Suoh Mikoto from that office.

++++++++++

A few days later, Kuro was in the auditorium waiting room with Shiro and Neko. Neko, who was observing the situation through the gaps in a notebook, was happy to see the situation.

"Shiro! Shiro! There are a lot of customers! Kukuri is in the front seat!"

Shiro patted Neko's head.

"Oh, then I have to do my best."

Kuro smiled a little while holding a voice recorder filled with words in his hand. Shiro, Kuro and Neko are the best idols who can mobilize clients in units of 10,000.

As much as the school takes care of it, it is an act almost unthinkable in common sense, like appearing at a live school festival mixed with the offerings of the students. What's more, Shiro, Kuro, and Neko's "HAKU☆MAI" band unit, which hasn't been exposed that much so far, is hit with serious specs with musical instruments.

Shiro was in charge of the drums and Kuro of the guitar. Neko was the vocalist and she had her hair and makeup neatly arranged, and even wore a cute miniskirt outfit.

"I'm going to the bathroom again.", Neko said.

After saying that, Kuro called Shiro the moment he left his seat.

"Hey, Shiro."

"What?"

Shiro, who deftly twirled the ramrod with his fingertips, turned his face towards him. Kuro asked in a low voice.

"What is an idol to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, that is…"

Kuro thought a bit,

"What do you do as an idol?"

Shiro smiled a clean smile.

The response was immediate.

"Yes. It's simple, I want everyone to smile."

There was no hesitation or compromise. There was a magnificent power that was clear while maintaining the smoothness of the usual Shiro.

He is a suitable force for the "Idol King".

Kuro was big and deeply dominated.

(Yes, it is, after all.)

Shiro continued to act consistently from start to finish. he just doesn’t notice it.

Shiro is an idol because of people's smiles. Selling rice and attending school festivals are another steadfast path for him as an idol.

(Maybe I should have asked him directly before.), Kuro thought.

Returning to himself.

"Hey! Shiro! The costume was loose! Tie your back."

He urged Shiro as he jumped up. Shiro responded to his request with a smile. Meanwhile, Kuro was looking at the voice recorder. He understood a little now. Miwa, he thoroughly taught him the idol technique.

He just didn't say what color and what kind of idol he should be. In other words, he left endless possibilities for the future.

He couldn't dye any color.

(So ​​that means "Colorless".), Kuro thought.

Kuro gently placed the voice recorder on a nearby table. The student facilitators came to tell them that it was their turn, and Kuro and the others stood up.

The three of them naturally formed a circle.

"Let's have fun!"

"Yes!"

"Nyaa!"

Each one raised their voices and walked onto the stage as if they were bouncing. The cheers of the audience, like the roar of the ground, caught his ears.

The students as far as he could see were clapping. The best idols had gone to the trouble to attend their school festival. The students were really grateful for that. Warm and supported as they would on any big stage. He felt that he could see each of those smiles. Kuro walked into the spotlight while...

(Yes, I am…), Kuro thought.

He was thinking of dyeing it "Silver" like that reflector.

++++++++++

"Jungle Pro" is based on the site of an underground water storage facility.

Having an office in such a strange place required quite a large server because it operates SNS and video sites, and it also required a large space to store it. For some reason, most of them were kind of a single, self-critical stream, and in a sense they were slaughtered.

That is to say,

"Because we are underground idols."

Was that. The "Jungle Pro" executives were the only ones who were amused by Nagare's strangeness and accepted him, so they naturally accepted him as a base of activity. In the center of the huge space, there is a kotatsu, a refrigerator, a desk, etc. They have a sense of life like a play.

That was his whereabouts and a sanctuary just for his friends.

Only the most elite gather there. First of all, Mishakuji Yukari, who can no longer fit the framework of an underground idol. He is not official yet, but they have been calling him several foreign fashion magazines that focus on the mysterious beauty of him and want to sign a contract to have him as an exclusive model.

And Gojo Sukuna, who is explosively popular on video sites as a child idol who can sing and dance. Although he rarely appears in the media on the table yet, his overwhelming performance has attracted a lot of attention in the internet area, and despite being an underground idol, he won the top accolade for new idols.

If he is only that potential, he is in no way inferior to Mishakuji Yukari.

And the only "Idol King" that unites the two, Hisui Nagare. A middle-aged man who ran like a shadow beside him as a staff member and caretaker, and a parrot named Kotosaka, his beloved bird, stood on Nagare's shoulder.

Nagare spoke to his trusted friends.

"Kokujoji Daikaku is great. He's great. Well done."

It was a dry and light tone, but there was a strange wonder there. Incidentally, Nagare Hisui uses a wheelchair-like device to access vast amounts of information on the Internet and to project his hologram to the outside world. Now that he is also verifying information, he is sitting on the device and talking to his friends using a wearable device that looks like a straitjacket.

"The idol of the Yamatogo era that he built after the war. At first glance, it seems that the idols are flourishing and prosperous."

Nagare simply stated only the facts.

"It's a tentative paradise where all idol offices are controlled by the government and distinguish between government-approved and non-government-approved offices. False peace. I will break it."

It was a declaration of revolution.

It was a terrifying decree of ambition.

"A world where everyone can be an idol. I will."

After saying that, Nagare cut off his words. He was silent for a while and then said:

"You guys haven't all heard me, right?"

At those words, Mishakuji Yukari asked him.

"So why are you using the cream I bought every time? Doesn't that mean your hair will improve?"

Then Gojo Sukuna got hungry and screamed with flapping legs.

"No! High score achieved!"

He is excited about mobile games.

"……"

His caretaker, a middle-aged man, tapped Nagare's silent shoulder.

"I'm listening, right?"

Nagare replied.

"It's not convincing to say it while drinking beer, is it, Iwa-san?"

Iwafune Tenkei, a man dressed in priestly clothes and having a really smoky impression, laughed. Nagare sighed.

But he knew it. It seemed that his friends were looking in different directions but he felt that they were willing to join his ambitions.

Nagare laughed a little and coughed.

"I'm looking forward to it. From now on."

His eyes looked at purely everything in the world.

++++++++++

The RAG0 live house, in a corner of New York.

The store, which has produced many legendary rock bands that are still on the air, is known for its customers being strict on artists. Booing at strange performances is common and in the worst case, even riots ensue.

And a man was about to step onto such a dangerous stage that night.

"Oh! Get started!"

He was a young Caucasian with a nose piercing in the front row of the screaming crowd on stage. He was angry. No, he was not the only one. Everyone was squinting in a basement room that seats about 200 people.

The cause was the main event that night, which was supposed to appear after that. The triumphant return of the band was supposed to be celebrated, fleeing that house live and rising to stardom. However, due to traffic jams, the arrival had already been delayed for two hours.

Therefore, the store sent a guitarist who was not scheduled to appear at the sudden arrest stage. An Asian who appeared fluttering and unfriendly said: "Let me do it.". This is like a holy place for rock musicians. A man who does not know the bones of any horse is supposed to pay in advance.

But only tonight is different. The triumphant concert that the customers had been waiting for was delayed and the frustration had reached its climax. If nothing was done, customers would start hitting each other.

That is why the store allowed an unknown man to come on stage. He's just a name to connect with the triumphant return live, and his role is a merciful scapegoat to spit out the guests' discontent.

Soon the man's performance began. However, all that flew from the audience seats was a cry of "retreat" and a glass of beer that was being drunk. They were not interested in his guitar from the beginning. As expected the store, it is likely that he will play a role as an understudy.

Nevertheless…

"What is this guy?"

The one who let the voice escape from his parted mouth was a young man with a pierced nose who took the initiative to sell a man just a dozen seconds ago.

But his eyes, which should have been angry, were now fixed on the man strumming his guitar on stage.

"What is this guy? He's great!"

An excited young man with nose piercings raised his fist and barked. And as if it were a sign, the flying oath turned into cheers, no, loud cheers.

The man played his guitar, ruffling his red hair and pounding his passion. His performance was very striking, like a red lotus flame that seemed to burn the audience, the stage, and even himself.

And in response to the heat, the guests jumped with all their might to the end, and they continued talking even when their throats were summery.

Just 30 minutes in time.

The one-night stand of an unknown man, performed by a combination of several coincidences, was broadcast as the greatest legend of that house on live.

Wearing a leather jacket over a T-shirt, the man walked upstairs with a guitar case. The air on the floor felt a bit cold, probably because it was in the very hot basement. No, it was actually cold because an old man who appeared to be homeless was burning a fire nearby.

Soon after, a fat middle-aged man ran up from the stairs where he had just come up. The owner of this house on live.

"Wait, uh... yeah, Mikoto!"

When the owner squeezed out the name he remembered, he smiled a big smile, which was the exact opposite of when he negotiated the appearance. And he gave the man a business card.

"I'll pave your way to stardom. Come on, call this business card number. My older brother is a world-famous producer."

The man was curious and turned the merchant's business card with his index finger. It brilliantly landed on a homeless bonfire.

"Ah… geez!"

The owner stared at the business card that slowly turned to ashes. The man was walking down the back alley where the street lights were dimmed.

He stopped and took a cigarette out of his pocket. The trip to play live all over the United States with a single guitar was a bit boring when he surpassed 100 times. Also, there was something about him. The air of that country had already been breathed.

He wanted to spit it out.

"I will return to Japan."

He followed the burning passion.

He chuckled slightly as he hated the purple smoke.

++++++++++

The center of this country.

On the top floor of the Mihashira Tower, Daikaku Kokujoji was silently angry. And when he opened his eyes, he coughed a little.

"It seems like a hot era is coming. An era where you get hot and addicted."

The era of the Yamatogo idol, which he created, was about to disappear due to various factors. Still, he said with a happy smile Japan's greatest repairman, Don of the entertainment world, and the King of the political and business world.

"Don't play, blood."

He then he turned his back on the window and started walking.