#Love Songs - Idol ga Classmate

[saint-miroir]

Love Songs♪ Idol ga Classmate (PS2) advertisement taken from the backside of Monthly Comic Dragon Magazine (05/2001). Illustrated by Aoi Kimizuka. Scanned from my personal collection.

[proseka-headcanons]

The crowd has spoken

Henceforth from this moment on I shall be silly

I put all the units in a wheel and shuffled up their genre/gist, and

Leo/need becomes an idol group

MORE MORE JUMP! becomes an online music group

Vivid BAD SQUAD becomes a band

Wonderlands × Showtime become street performers

Nightcord at 25:00 becomes a theater troupe

I'm super tired because I had to practice a sword dance so these names are gonna be bad, I thought of them on the spot

Also I spoke briefly about this idea like. A month or so ago? In the Discord server, so shoutout to our prior mod Rui for the wxs idea

Leo/Leo Jump

While Saki was in the hospital, she watched idol groups perform and knew that once she got better, she added "auditioning to be an idol" on the list of things she wanted to do. When Ichika sees her at school and Saki mentions her list of things to do, Ichika promises she will do anything she can to help accomplish as many of those things as possible with her. They work on an easy routine and try to apply for an audition, but Saki is disqualified before she can even begin due to her chronic illness (it's the idol industry. You know how cutthroat they are for people who are in top shape). Saki is understandably upset but quickly reassures Ichika that she had fun learning the routine together and that they'll do something else instead. But Ichika feels guilty and wonders if there's any way for Saki to just audition. Boom. Go to stage (of) sekai (kimi ga kagayakeru basho wa koko da yo-). After their sekai encounter, Saki wants to try again, but more seriously than just learning a basic routine. She'll work on an intro, exercise and build endurance, and other such things. She and Ichika begin idol practice on the roof, which ends up being talked about a lot in school, so Shiho hears about it. At this point, Shizuku hasn't quit yet, so Shiho is still somewhat in the loop about the idol industry from what her sister tells her. She goes to the rooftop one day and asks them if they're actually going to try being idols, to which Saki is like "omg hi Shiho-chan! We're just auditioning! Could you ask Shizuku-chan for some pointers? :)" And needless to say, Shiho is less than excited for someone to not take things seriously, but over the next few days, she watches from far away at how much effort Saki is putting in and eventually tries to help train the two of them. Homani, on the other hand, tries to ignore the idol talk and her old friends, but her classmates want to start training to audition to be idols as well, so she gets roped into that. I'm sleepy as of writing this so I'm not sure quite where to take Honami’s side of things, but the training with Shiho goes kinda like in the main story, Saki overexerting herself to try living up to Shiho's standards. Shiho asks why Saki's pushing herself so far for an audition that she doesn't even plan on passing, just attending, and she admits that somewhere along the line, she started to want to be in a group with her childhood friends and perform together.

I wrote a hell of a lot so let me jusg make a list of notes

Their untitled is still needLe, just with better line distribution and some chants

The sekai is like stage sekai, but with the sky in school sekai. There's no audience and instead of lightsticks, there's stars

Their costumes are mostly dark blue and white, with their signature color as accents. They're also not super frilly, more flowy

They still go the freelance idol route so that they can decide their schedule and routines and whatnot so Saki can take care of herself

I love them sosososo much

More @ Nightcord

Minori gave up on her auditions but not being an idol, so she started recording song and dance covers and uploading them online. They never got very far, maybe only getting 2 views at maximum (from her watching them). She felt that maybe since the thing she covered had been done before, she would need to do something unique to reach somebody, so she picked up music composition to try to make her own songs, tapping into her feelings to inspire someone. And it worked. She ended up with a follower who, while somewhat blunt, gave her advice on where to improve and notes on what was good. Spoiler alert, it's Haruka.

The sekai... Ok so make it a big studio. Recording, dancing, etc.

Their untitled is still probably Idol Shinetai, but I'm not sure what to do with it to make it fit the vibe better

The outfits are mostly like something one would wear on a regular basis, but eith more idol flair. Ribbons, frills, petticoats, etc.

Vivid NEED

An and Akito realize the only way to surpass RAD WEEKEND is by providing live music as well. An picks up guitar and Akito picks up bass. When Toya teams up with Akito, he plays keyboard, since he knows how and as a "fuck you" to his dad, but he always makes sure it doesn't sound like a piano at all. Making that shit as electronic as possible. Kohane sees An performing one day, pretty much the same thing happens with regular story, but Kohane picks up drums, naively thinking that they'd be easy, not realizing that they carry the whole performance. She's good at her rhythm even if it's basic, but like in the main story, she freezes at the live show.

Ready Steady could have a more rock sound to it, and honestly that'd make it a REALLY AWESOME SONG

Their outfits could be the same ngl

Again, same sekai, HOWEVER, makeshift stages and amps and shit

Wondersquad

Tsukasa fails his interview but still gets called in as before. Instead of being led by the mascot, he is given directions through a text from his "new employer". The wonderstage is taped off and Emu introduces herself, planning to host shows in the park walkways to gain attention and then explain the story of the wonderstage to the crowd to cause an uproar and pressure her family to save it.

Whimsical ass street clothes

Sekai Wa Mada Hajimatte Sura Inai... hmm... idk how to alter it

Wonderland sekai but more of the streets and paths and stores. Goofy ahh graffiti

Showtime past 25:00

This one I'm the most uncertain about. All I know is Ena does it to piss off her dad for sure, Mafuyu wonders if "playing a different role" will help her find what she's looking for and gets frustrated with it, Mizuki likes being whoever they want to be and not having anyone tell them otherwise. Sad wet cat Kanade acting

The outfits are more fantasy themed rather than circus/theme park

Kuyamu To Kaite Mirai probably still works, maybe add more classical/orchestral elements

Abandoned theater sekai. Yyyyep.

I would loooove to be more coherent and I'd also love to hear y'all's thoughts :)

Who wants to see me get a little silly over a unit swap idea I had

Not shuffle units

Swap units

[omniversalobservations]

All-Star Fighters (2005)

Simple 2000 Series Vol. 91: The All*Star Kakutou Matsuri (the sub-title loosely translated to "The All*Star Fighting Festival") is a comedic 2.5D fighting game developed by Digital Zero and published by D3 for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on December 15, 2005. It was later localized in Europe as All-Star Fighters and released by Essential on March 23, 2007.

Part of the Simple 2000 series of budget games, All-Star Fighters features numerous characters and locales from the rest of the series.

Source: Giant Bomb

Riho Futaba From (JP): The Gal Mahjong: Love Song (No EU Release!) From (EU): Zombie Hunters Developer: HuneX

Shin Fuyue From (JP): The Kyonshi Panic From (EU): Zombie Attack Developer: Tamsoft

Namedethgar From (JP): The Tokusatsu Henshin Hero From (EU): Power Fighters Developer: Daft

Princess Shaval From (JP): The First RPG From (EU): N/A (Your First RPG in ASF's manual) Developer: HuneX

Earth Defence Force (E.D.F.) From (JP): The Chikyu Boueigun From (EU): Monster Attack (AKA Earth/Global Defence Force) Developer: Sandlot

Reiko Mizusaki From (JP): The Suieitaikai From (EU): Party Girls Developer: Tamsoft

Ginnie + Blacky From (JP): The Suiri From (EU): N/A (Detective in ASF's manual) Developer: Tomcat System

Makoto Futaba From (JP): The Gal Mahjong: Love Song (No EU Release!) From (EU): Zombie Hunters Developer: HuneX

Deathdoll Kikashi From (JP): The Splatter Action From (EU): Splatter Master Developer: Vingt-et-Un Systems

Damdo From (JP): The Ishu Kakutougi From (EU): World Fighting Developer: Daft

Aya From (JP): The Oneechanbara From (EU): Zombie Zone Developer: Tamsoft

Kyo Asuka From (JP): The Ninhaza From (EU): Yakuza Fury Developer: Vignt-et-Un Systems

Mayuki From (JP): Kenka Juutou! Yankee Banchou From (EU): Street Boyz Developer: Tamsoft

Source: Gaming Hell

(images via YouTube)

[psxdatacenter]

“PS2 DATACENTER UPDATE 6-APRIL-2019″

[PS2] [USA][PAL] [JAPAN] [2019]

6-April-2019

6-Abril-2019

I have added today the following game entries to the PS2 Datacenter:

Añadidas las siguientes entradas a la PS2 Datacenter:

NTSC-J: Love Songs - Idol ga Classmate [SLPM-65017] (J) Love Songs - Idol ga Classmate [Limited Edition] [SLPM-65016] (J) Simple 2000 Series Vol.067 - The Suiri - Soshite Daremo Inakunatta [SLPM-62557] (J) Simple 2000 Series Vol.070 - The Kanshikika [SLPM-62586] (J) Simple 2000 Ultimate Vol.04 - Urawaza Ikasa Mahjong Gai [SLPM-62233] Simple 2000 Ultimate Vol.10 - love songs [SLPM-65352] (J) Slotter Up Mania - Chou Oki Slot Pioneer Special [SLPS-20278] (J) Slotter Up Mania - Chou Oki Slot Pioneer Special [Dorart Value Price] [SLPM-62736] (J) Slotter Up Mania 2 - Kokuchi no Kiwame! Juggler Special [SLPS-20306] (J) Smash Court Pro Tournament [SLPS-20171]     Sonic Riders [SLPM-66281] (E)(F)(G)(I)(J)(S) Sonic Riders [SLKA-25358] (E) Soshite Bokura wa... And He Said [SLPM-65971] (J) Soshite Kono Sora ni Kirameku Kimi no Uta XXX [SLPM-66659] (J) Soul Link Extension [SLPM-66437] (J) Soul Link Extension [Limited Edition] [INCH-0001] (J) Spider-Man 2 [SLPM-65662] (J) Spider-Man 2 [Taito Best] [SLPM-66121] (J)

NTSC-U: Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament [SLUS-20286] (E) Sonic Riders [SLUS-21331] (E)(F)(G)(I)(J)(S) Spider-Man 2 [SLUS-20776] (E)

PAL: Smash Court Tennis: Pro Tournament [SCES-50810] (E)(F)(G)(I)(S) Sonic Riders [SLES-53560] (E)(F)(G)(I)(J)(S) Spider-Man 2 [SLES-52372] (E)(F)(G)(I)(S) Spider-Man 2 [SLES-52493] (E)

MANUALS: Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.14 - Alien Syndrome [SLPM-62500] Manual scans by Akane, cleaned & compiled into cbr by gladiator.

Check them here: http://www.psxdatacenter.com/ or http://psxdatacenter.com/

Have fun and if you can help us with the missing information (covers, descriptions, cheats, etc.) please do it.

If you want to contribute to the site running costs (domain, server, updates, etc.) please consider becoming our patreon or making a donation on our ko-fi.

http://patreon.com/psxdatacenter

https://ko-fi.com/C1C8LCDH

[seasidefallenangel]

hello!!!! i love your writing 🥺 Can i request for tenma masumi and tokiya hearing their s/o singing a very sad song and getting worried? thank you 🥳😚

mod r: i am so fucking powerful

⟢ masumi, tokiya, and tenma’s s/o hearing them sing a sad song

masumi: 

The second you had started dating, Masumi knew coming back to the dorms to see you would be the best part of his day. The fact you two went to different high schools tore at him enough as is, so you made sure to go straight over there after class had ended to see your boyfriend every day. Today specifically though, he had gotten held up by one of his teachers for his “less-than-stellar” attitude towards his fellow classmates. He couldn’t help but think that all of them were so irritating… if it isn’t you then why should it matter?

Trudging into the common room of the dorm, he heard your beautiful voice flow through the hallways and towards him. He almost made a beeline for his room before he stopped and paid attention to what exactly you were singing. 

Say, if it became clear to me

I wish nobody cries for me

I wonder if this is the end

Say, it's just, if I disappear

I wonder if tomorrow will be a better one

With your hands, please…

The despair in your voice was too much for him to handle as he booked it towards the sound of you. Nearly ripping the door off of it’s hinges, he flung himself towards you in a hug, shaking and tears welling up in his eyes. You nearly jumped out of your skin with how sudden it all happened, not quite understanding what was wrong with him.

“M-Masumi…? Are you okay?”

His only response was to squeeze you tighter as he ridiculed himself for not noticing your pain earlier. “I’m… sorry. For not knowing you’re hurting.”

You realized the song you were singing is what had brought this on. Obviously such somber lyrics would shake anyone who had never heard it, but for him to have such a strong reaction…

“It’s just a song, Masumi.” He pulled away from the hug and looked at you with such intensity, despite the tears in his eyes, you thought you saw this soul break right then and there. “It isn’t! You sound so sad that,” his voice cracked and you had never felt worse your life, “it has to be because you feel what you’re singing.”

You sat down on his bed with him and held him tight as he shook in your arms. Even with his overly emotional viewpoint (it really was just a song) it further reassured you nobody would ever love you like Masumi does.

tokiya: 

Photoshoot, variety show, writing lyrics, more photoshoots, interview, Cecil doing something idiotic… there really wasn’t enough time in the day. 

Entering through the door to your shared house, Tokiya removed his shoes and called out a quiet “I’m home.” The lack of you sliding across the floor in your socks and smothering him in hugs, asking about his day was out of ordinary to say the least. He wandered around the house for a little bit, checking this room and that room before coming upon his music room, your voice carrying out from the inside. I didn’t even know they sang…, he thought to himself before listening to the lyrics coming from your mouth.

The sound of rain knocks on the window

Like my sorrow falling from the sky

Endlessly drenching this moment

I don't want memories

My heart will only hurt for them

No more, September Rain

No more, September Rain

Despite how somber the lyrics were, he couldn’t help but revel in how beautiful you sounded. Surely, you could overtake him in vocals alone. He opened the door to the room, and you whipped around like a deer in headlights upon realizing there was no way he didn’t hear you singing your heart out. “A-ha.. sorry you had to hear that…” you laughed nervously. 

Tokiya gave you a soft smile and took your hands in his as he sat down next to you, “Please don’t apologize, my dear. Truly, I’ve never heard a voice more melodious than yours.” Oh there’s no way he isn’t lying to me right now. He was an idol for God’s sake, like hell he hadn’t heard a voice better than yours. “Although…” here it comes, you thought. “Can I ask you choose to sing more lighthearted songs? Even if they aren’t your words, hearing such sadness come from you might be slightly more than I can bear.” He said it with such sincerity you felt guilty for assuming he was just trying to boost your ego in the first place. 

You turned away, slightly embarrassed before muttering out, “Sure,” and started to sing one of his songs as he looked on with the most lovestruck gaze you’d ever seen in your life.

tenma:

Kicking open the door to the common room of the dorm hall, Tenma grumbled to himself about Yuki’s horrible personality from earlier. The normal way they usually took home had been blocked off, and Yuki had completely abandoned Tenma and forced him to find his own way back to the Mankai Company. He could barely make his way out of a paper bag for God’s sake, and as a result he arrived back an hour later than normal. 

He flopped onto the couch, hidden from the view of you as you walked into the kitchen to grab a snack, singing. He was about to call out to you before he listened to the lyrics you were currently singing.

Even the sadness of that day, even the pain of that day

Together with you, I loved all of it

What is left over and refuses to leave my chest is the bitter scent of lemon

Until the rain stops, I can't go home

Even now, you are my light

Tenma felt his heart sink to his stomach. Surely those were just random song lyrics with no hidden meaning behind them, as the fact that he hadn’t exactly been the best boyfriend to you lingered in the back of his mind. He let out a small, “Hey,” and watched as you shrieked and whipped your bag of chips across the room, clearly startled at his appearance. “Tenma! Yuki told me you were taking a different way home but I didn’t think it’d take you this long.” He ignored the unintentional jab at his navigational skills and motioned for you to come lay with him on the couch. You follow suit, snuggling up next to him and glancing up to meet his eyes. “What’s with you today?”

He offered no response as he wrapped his arms around you and buried himself into your hair. “Tenma…?” Maybe he was looking too much into it, but even something as small as this triggered some sort of emotion within him - a vow he now made to do better, be better. “You know I love you, right?” He was never this upfront with his feelings, but he supposed he could make an exception this time. You smiled and cuddled closer to him, happy for this unusual show of  affection. “Yeah, I love you too.”

✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ:* 　　 *:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

songs used

masumi: pray - haruka chisuga (youtube)

tokiya: natsu no owari no amaoto ga - kanan matsuura and chika takami (youtube, spotify)

tenma: lemon - kenshi yonezu (youtube, spotify)

[fairylynel]

Lapis Re:LiGHTS - Anime Review

I started watching this since the art style is so beautiful and cute. I have always had a weakness for Magical Girls anime, but this one has the Idol aspect mixed with it.

Contains Spoilers

The main character of this show is Tiara Victoria Lex Waleland (voiced by Yukari Anzai who also worked on Happy Sugar Life and Release the Spyce), an extremely long name that, as everyone can guess, means that this girl is actually royalty. She’s one of the princesses of the Waleland kingdom, along with her sister, Eliza (voiced by Kana Anazawa who also worked on Angel Beats! and Deadman Wonderland). Against her older sister wishes, Tiara runs away from her home and joins the Flora Girls' High School, a magical school where students work in groups. It has some similarities to, for example, Hogwarts when it comes the evaluation system. You earn points if you do well in classes and lose them when you do poorly - and of course, after you lose too many, you are expelled. It’s mandatory in this high school that the students work in groups and earn the points together, going up (or down) in the ranking system.

This show has, like all idol anime, several girl groups that the viewer can adore (seven groups to be precise). So, of course, Tiara joins a group where her childhood friend, Rosetta (voiced by Risa Kubota who has also worked on Konohana Kitan and Ongeki), an extremely clumsy and fiery tiny girl called Lavie (voiced by Live Mukai who has also worked on Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu), a more stern girl called Ashley (voiced by Iori Saeki who has also worked on Nekopara and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby) and the bookworm Lynette (voiced by Mizuki Yamamoto).

All these girls have pretty standart and stereotypical personalities, but they are all extremely loveable, I absolutely enjoyed seeing Lavie and Ashley argue with each other, while Tiara and Rosetta bonded over their family backgrouds and memories, plus Lynette (even though she didn’t have a counterpart, per say) had enough interactions with everyone, while being important to the plot at the same time. I was afraid her character would be forgotten, but she was extremely charming since the beginning. Moreover, it was super refreshing to see the girls interact with the other groups and forming friendships with each other; it was genuinely refreshing to see, for example, Lynette become close to Ratura (voiced by Yukimi Hayase) and bond over their love for the group Ray.

Each group eventually becomes an Orchestra, a group that sings for the town’s people so a big quantity of mana can be stored in one of the biggest buildings of the school. It doesn’t hurt the people who are listening, despite my concerns in the first episodes, it is just a way to enjoy music.

Moving on to the groups then:

There are 7 in total:

LiGHTS - Tiara, Rosetta, Lavie, Ashley and Lynette. They become an Orchestra since they were in risk of being expelled due to having very little points among them. Their songs in the show have been 私たちのSTARTRAIL (in this particular song, all of the groups are present, but it’s mostly sung by LiGHTS) and Planetarium. It’s the pop style kind of group, their songs tend to appeal to everyone. These songs are, respectively, the Opening song for the anime and the Ending.

IV KLORE (and my favourite group so far) - Emilia, the daughter of a succubus, having the ability to drain the people who touch her of their energy (voiced by Hazuki Hoshino), Alpha, a magic doll that serves Emilia (voiced by Tomomi Mineuchi who has also worked on Slow Start and The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 2), Salsa, a werewolf (voiced by Yuu Sasahara who has also worked on Ochikobore Fruit Tart and Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san) and Garnet, a ghost (voiced by Youko Nakayama). This group shows up quite early in the show, having an episode dedicated to Garnet as she joins IV KLORE later on. This group has no human members, all of them either being half-human or fully mystical creatures. They’re music is really enjoyable, having a bit of a darker tone when compared to everyone else. In the show, they sing two songs - Midnight Sapphire and Forbidden Fairytale. 

KonoHana wa Otome - Kaede, the younger sister (voiced by Yuuko Oono who has also worked on Konohana Kitan and Ongaku Shoujo), Nadeshiko, the middle sister (voiced by Rina Honizumi who has also worked on Hug tto! Precure and Plunderer) and Tsubaki, the oldest (voiced by Arisa Suzuki who has also worked on New Game!! and Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari). In the anime, they sing two songs -  Karakure＊Night Fever and Inochi Mijikashi, Ryouran Otome. This group mixes traditional japanese music with the rock concept, making this group my second favourite. Their songs are absolutely delicious. In the episode that is dedicated to this group, we see Kaede and Nadeshiko fighting over their musical concept, the middle sister wanting to mix rock music with the traditional. The viewer can see Nadeshiko struggling to keep the relationship with Kaede, while the youngest struggles with the fear of failure of not being able to perform both concepts well enough. It was a really cute episode and it was really fun to see the three of them, even though Tsubaki doesn’t seem to interact much with the other Orchestras, with the other girls and seeing them establish friendships with them.

Sugar Pockets - Ratura (voiced by Yukimi Hayase), Champe (voiced by Seika Hirose) and Maryberry (voiced by Hikaru Akao who has also worked on Assault Lily: Bouquet and Runway de Waratte). This is, in my opinion, the weakes group in terms of their songs. They do this cutesy, soft performances and when compared to the other groups, they lack individuality. Other than that, the characters are pretty loveable as well. Ratura is seen quite often as she and Lynette become close friends as the show goes on and Maryberry becomes less and less shy and more eager to perform with her friends. Champe is probably the most forgetful of them all, but still a very cute character. They perform two songs in the show - Wagama Caramelize and Chat Noir.

Sadistic★Candy - Angelica (voiced by Yuuka Amemiya) and Lucifer (voiced by Risae Matsuda who has also worked on Keijo!!!!!!!! and Love Live! Sunshine!! ).This group is the one that makes Sugar Pockets look boring, in my opinion. This Orchestra also has a happy, sweet kind of concept, but their chaotic personality and energy makes them stand out quite a lot. They performed two songs as well - Positive★Paradise and Are Many Chance!!! . Not only that, but when it comes to the plot, Angelica was also part of the popular group Ray, however her personality at that time now embarasses her and she is a more serious person, despite her childish self still coming out when arguing with Lucifer. 

supernova - Yue (voiced by Yuu Sakuragi who has also worked on), Millefeuille (voiced by Saeko Oku) and Fiona (voiced by Haruka Itou who has also worked on Omoi no Kakera).This is one of the most popular groups when Tiara joins the school. The members are all students in high ranks and they are used in several episodes to show how the hierarchy in this high school works. Their personalities and friendships aren’t shown as much as everyone else, what the viewer will learn the most about them is Yue’s hatred for Tiara and that Millefeuille works a bit like an older sister for both of them, often keeping Fiona in place. Their songs, despite being good, aren’t my favourites from all of them. They go for a more mature concept with their outfits and sounds, but it feels a bit “noisy” in the chorus. They perform two songs -  Ao no Shoudou and RISE.

Ray - Eliza, Chloe (voiced by Yoshino Nanjou who has also worked on Akuma no Riddle and Love Live! School Idol Project), Angers (voiced by Yuuka Amemiya) , Camilla (voiced by Sumire Uesaka who has also worked on Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! and Musaigen no Phantom World) and Yuzuriha (voiced by Ayane Sakura who has also worked on BanG Dream! and My Hero Academia). I really don’t have much of an opinion about this group as they aren’t really active anymore. I do enjoy their backstories quite a lot and I honestly hope that, if there is a second season, that these girls can get a little bit more screen time. Eliza, Tiara’s older sister, is now uncapable of singing, if she does, she might lose her voice. She was the one who asked Chloe, the now chair of the board at school despite her yound age, to put Tiara in a group that would be easily expelled. Angers became Angelica and changed her personality completely, going from a cute, soft and a bit ridiculous girl to a more serious one. Camilla was known as the Ray’s Immaculate Prince, but barely anything is shown about her besides the fact that she was a vampire that was extremely popular amongst her classmates. And then there is my favourite, Yuzuriha, a lesbian who loves to flirt with girls and spends her time in the school’s cabaret - which, by the way, the viewer can see that Champe works there as well (maybe Champe is a wlw as well?). Yuzuriha is the funniest of the group and I definitely enjoyed some representation even if a bit weird. The only issue I see with her in the anime is that her sexuality is used as a personality trait, but even so, so little is shown from the group itself that I didn’t really mind it. She was called the Graceful Dancing Princess as she was a great dancer.

The plot starts with LiGHTs struggling with the little points they have and trying to find ways to not be expelled, the viewer can see them in class and joining a group with all the other Orchestras (except Sadistic★Candy) to fight some supernatural monster that was lurking around in a forest close to the high school (it was actually Garnet, completely unaware that she was dead and didn’t know others saw her as a ghost). While they try their best to not have to leave the school, eventually they just aren’t able to have enough points and are forced to leave. From this moment forward, it’s revealed that several monsters are coming towards the high school and that all the Orchestras need to work together, so they can gather mana enough fromt he audience and protect the town. As this is going on, Ray’s backstory is revealed and LiGHTs still managed to save the day in the end.

I really enjoyed the show and the episode where Garnet joins IV KLORE was my favourite by far. The writers did a good job when it comes to allow the viewer to know the characters well, without feeling overwhelmed with so many of them. Truth be told, Champe, Camilla and even Lucifer don’t really have much screen time, but the writers still managed to make them interesting enough to not be completely forgotten. Other than that, I liked most of the songs and even those that weren’t my type were still fun to watch the Orchestras perform.

Rating: 7/10

[recentanimenews]

Super Cub, Episodes 1-12

Written by Toshizō Nemoto, directed by Toshiro Fujii for Studio Kai. Based on the light novel written by Tone Kōken and illustrated by Hiro, published in Japan by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America on the Funimation Streaming Service.

I review anime series on my site basically never, but something about Super Cub makes me want to talk about it. It wasn’t the most popular series of Spring 2021 – that’s probably Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song. It doesn’t have an amazing original music soundtrack – though the sound design is incredible. It doesn’t have an all-star cast – indeed, the lead role goes to a relatively new actress. It lacks exciting battles or romantic drama (no, sorry folks, much as I enjoyed teasing about it, this is not a yuri series.) And yet for a select few folks, every Wednesday suddenly became Super Cub Wednesday, a time to sit back and watch an introverted, quiet, and depressed high school girl slowly find friends and a purpose in life thanks to the purchase of a Honda Super Cub.

Contrary to the belief of a lot of fans of the series, it was not created by Honda as an advertisement for their Super Cub line, though I’m sure they were delighted to sponsor the series. It’s based on a still-running light novel series about a high school girl named Koguma, who lives alone in a small apartment in a small town in Yamanashi Prefecture. When we first see Koguma, her life is very sterile. She gets up, shower and gets dressed in her uniform, makes a simple breakfast and a simple lunch (which she will eat cold, as there’s always a line for the microwave), and then ride her bike to school, which involves a hill and exhausts her every morning. After being passed by faster bikes and scooters, one day she decides to turn towards a motorcycle store, where (after seeing new scooters are 100% too expensive for her) she buys, quite cheap, a Honda Super Cub. Over the course of the next twelve episodes, we follow her and her Super Cub as her life grows larger and more enriching with every episode.

There are so many things I could talk about. The cast of the series is minimal – while there are supporting characters, for the most part it’s three girls. Koguma; Reiko, a pretty but distant girl in her class who turns out to be a massive Cub otaku (and also a very eccentric young woman); and Shii, a very small girl in Koguma’s class who rides an Alex Moulton bicycle and gradually begins to idolize Koguma and Reiko. With the exception of the cliffhanger to one episode, the series never gets too big or dramatic. It relies on small, realistic moments, like Koguma’s fear when her Cub doesn’t start after midnight in the local convenience store (out of gas), or Koguma’s part-time job, which involves a 45-minute commute each way; or Koguma and Reiko’s increasing struggles with the elements and nature.

I do love the other two characters. Reiko is delightful and wacky, even if she’s a little too happy to walk around naked in a “this novel is for guys” sort of way. She gets her own focus episode where she tries to climb Mount Fuji with her Hunter Cub, and it’s a delightful examination of sheer stubbornness and perseverance. Shii’s story takes up much of the back half of the series, and leads to the series’ only real cliffhanger, where her desperate attempt to stay on the same pace as the “cool kids” leads to an accident. She has the emotional journey of the series, and seeing her, at the end, buying her own Little Cub, a vehicle as adorable as her, warms the heart. That said, Koguma is the star, and Koguma is the character that I was most invested in, every episode.

Koguma, after buying her Super Cub, gains new friends, has new experiences, shows more of a rebellious side, and also shows off her delightfully understated sense of humor, which was one of the high points of the series. At the same time, she does not change all that much. While we do see her smile more and more (and her smiles are delightful, trust me), her default setting is still quiet and emotionally guarded. She is careful about money, tries not to have to trust other people, and tends to deflect any and all praise of her actions, increasingly crediting the Super Cub with anything she did herself. The Super Cub, as Koguma herself admits in the final episode, is not a magical girl mascot that can heal all your issues – issues Koguma still deals with even towards the end of the series.

That leads to the series’ most controversial moment, when Shii, taking a “cat path” shortcut to go shopping, ends up crashing her bike into a stream off the side of the trail. Looking in a lot of pain, she calls��� no, not her parents. No, not 119. She calls Koguma, the girl she has put on a massive pedestal by this time. And Koguma comes to the rescue in her Super Cub, getting Shii out of the water (slapping her to keep her awake), struggling to hoist them both back onto the path, and then… sticking Shii INTO her Cub’s front basket (Shii is teeny weeny) and driving her back to her apartment for a hot bath. This, to put it mildly, upset fans. Why did she not call for an ambulance? What was she thinking? To me (and several others), it seemed far more obvious: Koguma hates relying on anyone else, ambulances and hospitals might mean paying money she doesn’t have, and Shii seemed to mostly just be cold. You could argue it was a bad decision, but: a) who says characters have to always do the correct thing?, and b) we’d literally seen Koguma disobey her teachers – twice! – in a previous episode. She is not a good citizen sort – she’s an introverted teen worried about her friend. (Oh yes, and Shii’s trail was apparently 500 yards from Koguma’s apartment.)

Let’s talk about the animation and sound design. Super Cub does not do anything flashy – it’s fairly standard animation, not a lot of CG work or 3D flashiness like So I’m a Spider, So What?. That said, there was never any moment in the series where I felt “ah, this was the cost-cutting episode” or “this is where they ran out of time” – unlike, say, So I’m a Spider, So What?. It had a shtick which worked wonderfully throughout the series – it used muted colors, but when Koguma had a “Eureka moment” or emotional revelation, the colors would brighten. It was terrific. Meanwhile, the sound design was so good it was being praised immediately even by people who did not normally notice things like that. The soundtrack mostly consisted, at dramatic moments, of public domain classical music, ranging from Debussy and Vivaldi to Erik Satie. But the show was not afraid to have long stretches with no music at all, featuring Koguma silently starting her day, with the cooking of rice and buttering of toast showing off the quiet depression that is her existence as she starts the series.

I would definitely argue Koguma is depressed as we start the show. It’s a very quiet, normal depression, the sort that you wouldn’t even notice if you were a classmate (and indeed they don’t). Koguma describes herself as a girl with nothing in the first episode – no friends, no family, no goals, no plans for the future. At the end of episode 12 (to the consternation of some folks who wanted her to acknowledge what Reiko and Shii mean to her), she repeats the exact same monologue – but says that she now has a Cub, which gives her the determination to find those things. It calls back to the previous episode, where Shii, devastated at the fact that her bike was destroyed in her crash, begs Koguma to take the winter away, to make this season just stop. After a long pause, and it sounds like she HATES to say this, Koguma admits, “that’s not something my Cub can do”. That said, the very next episode, she does decide – yes, we ARE going to take Shii to Spring, and while the Cub is the means, it does not make the decision – she does. The Cub gives her confidence and energy that she completely lacked before.

I could go on – indeed, I have, this is much longer than my light novel and manga reviews. But that’s just how much I got out of this superlative anime. I don’t expect it to win any awards or anything, but if you like character-driven pieces with strong writing for teenage girls and a lack of “message” moralizing (unless that message is to buy Honda products), then Super Cub is a must-watch. I hope the series gets licensed for Blu-Ray release, I’d love to own this to rewatch for years to come.

By: Sean Gaffney

[taerodactyl]

BTS Theories

So this is mostly based on HYYH era MVs and the LY Highlight Reels, as well as the LY teaser photos as translated by peachisoda, risingbangtan, and bulletproof_sg that were reposted on reddit (found here)  “HYYH: The Notes” that were include in the LY albums, translated by SnKHeart on wattpad (found here). There are a few errors or holes in it that I will update later, most revolving around Jimin and Jungkook, but this is what I have so far:

Please keep in mind that I pieced all of this together myself, so it is not necessarily accurate or what the BigHit writers were going for, also I did not pay attention to the chronological order of the videos as they were released and pieced them together to make more sense in a story-type way. If you disagree with anything, find anything wrong, or want to add something to this, then let me know because this version is always going to be open to change (:

Namjoon tried to continue his adult life (INU; Gas station) and he became a sense of stability for Taehyung, who always confided in him when something was wrong because Taehyung was still a child in his mind. He chose to take his childhood away when he took the life of his father (INU 19+ ver.) which is why Namjoon is the only sense of stable adulthood in his life. He sees him as someone who can get their life together and maintain a stable job, while he cannot even control his feelings and emotions.

Yoongi’s mother died in a house fire and her beloved piano burnt down with it. Since then he swore to never touch a piano again (HYYH: The Notes) but it's worse for him because Jungkook, his loyal dongsaeng, confides in him and tells him his problems. Naive Jungkook doesn't realize that Yoongi has problems of his own because he keeps to himself so Yoongi literally leaves school and Jungkook behind and they don't see each other for a long time. Yoongi meets a girl (highlight reels) and he pushes her away because he believes that he isn't someone who is worthy of her (LY teaser poster trans.) and pushes her away and it's seen in INU that on the bed he lays on, someone had been there before because the sheets are wrinkled, so we're only left to assume it's the girl he loves but pushed away from the highlight reels. That's also why he is seen burning things down because his childhood home was burnt down and fire brings back his childhood pain, it brings back the only problem he had encountered as a child as opposed to his adult life which is filled with problems. He wants to go back.

Hoseok has narcolepsy (which was confirmed by Hoseok himself in the making of INU) which explains the pills. He befriended Jimin in junior high/high school (estimate from HYYH notes; there's no specific dates, just year numbers that aren’t placed in relation to their lives) and Jimin was said to go to the hospital frequently and after being discharged from the hospital, he would always move schools. At one point, Jimin had a seizure and Hoseok had blamed himself for it because Jimin had moved schools immediately after, they somehow lost contact which was odd to me because J-Hope was said to have been taken in by Jimin’s family, but until further interpretation is found, I’m going to assume that he meant in a “this is my son’s best friend, so he’s like our son” kind of way.

Jimin, because of his condition (which was never directly stated, but it is said that he had a seizure, so maybe he had epilepsy) and constant moving, wanted to be normal. At the same time though, he wanted to die because he could never fit in and could never make friends because he never stayed at the same school for a long period of time. He sees videos of Hoseok dancing (HYYH notes) and wants to be like him, as he was his only sense of normal in his whole life. He learns how to dance as seen in the highlight reels but he never sees himself as an equal to Hoseok but still worse than him.

Taehyung was depressed because he killed his father who had been abusing him and his sister his whole life and felt guilty not because he killed him but because his sister left and turned to a life of delinquency because of Taehyung killing their father. She never had a stable sense of an adult in her life, so she never had someone to tell her not to steal and keep her from doing bad things. Taehyung was the same way, but because of Namjoon, he learned how to free himself from his dark past and be there for his sister which he had once abandoned (This is all assuming that the girl in Taehyung’s scenes in the highlight reels is his sister and not a girl or interest which is why they're like strangers because they've fallen so far apart after their fathers death that they are no longer familiar with each. This is also why he gets so angry and pays for her when she tries to steal)

Jungkook was bullied and beaten up by classmates in black hoods (INU, HYYH Notes), he confides in Yoongi but Yoongi left because he had his own problems so when Yoongi left, he picked up the one thing that reminded him of Yoongi; the piano. He learned songs that Yoongi once played in a similar manner to Jimin idolizing Hoseok and learning his dances). He eventually falls off the school rooftop/gets ran over (I haven’t found enough evidence to conclude which one it is, because in INU there is a scene in which Jungkook is seen with an approaching car but it doesn’t guarantee that he is hit by a car. Same thing with the roof thing, in the HYYH notes it is hinted that he did/could have fallen off of the school roof, but wasn’t said for sure.) He then ends up in a wheelchair and in a hospital for a prolonged period of time and he meets a girl he's interested in but she leaves long before he can get any of her contact information and is left alone yet again.

So with Jin, It's seen in the last highlight reel that he went back in time to save his girl that got ran over. So my theory is that he can not only travel in time but between universes; like doctor who on steroids. And every music video/grouping of music videos represents a different universe in which different decisions are reflected: one in which Jungkook gets hit by a car (INU) and one where he doesn't (literally every other MV), one in which Taehyung is evil and Hoseok is good (BTS kor. ver.), and one where it's the opposite (BS&T Jap. ver.), and one in which Jin’s girl dies and one in which she doesn't, etc. So Jin being an inter-dimensional traveler sees all of these worlds which is why he's always seen as being distant and like a guardian of sorts, watching over the boys and making sure they stay out of trouble (On stage prologue, he’s seen at a distance recording but never really near the boys; BS&T Jap. ver., he’s seen as the “overlooker” of their worlds so to speak and kind of just remains alone, same with INU) but every time he goes back to save one who is dying, another must die. So whenever he makes the decision to go back and alter time in some way, it happens to another person or in another dimension (I got this idea from the TV show Pushing Daisies in which a man is given the power to kill someone by touching them once, but if he touches them again, someone close to that person dies and that person comes back to life.) because you must replace a death with another death or it throws time out of balance which explains the wormhole in many of their videos, in specific, the Japanese version of BS&T. Jimin from one universe meets Jimin from another universe by traveling through a wormhole created by Jin's time traveling and he ultimately dies AND blows up the surrounding universe. This also explains why Jin is always seemingly depressed, he HAS TO WATCH ALL OF HIS FRIENDS DIE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. And of course, this will eventually continue until the universe chooses him as the one to die in place of another one of the boys, which in theory is why Jin is seen as distancing himself from the boys because he knows that for all of them to live, someone in the friend circle must die, and if he distances himself from them, when the universe chooses him, it won't hurt as much.

[swagyano]

Shine bright ike a Diamond

As they're getting everything ready for the Christmas event at their school, Riko accidentally stumbled upon a sight that sweeps her off her feet, and offers her a good chance to spend a moment with the one who captivated her.

DiaRiko

Words:  1890

AO3 Link

back at it with diarikos that was intended to be a lowkey sequel to my last one but it works on it’s own.  this was meant to be under 1k words because I wanted to stick to something short but it kept adding up, so sorry if last two parts feel a little rushed hope you guys enjoy, happy holidays! 

She wasn’t sure for how long she’s been standing here and staring, when it felt like time and everything around her stopped.

Her trip to the gym was meant to take only a minute or two in order to drop off a box with decorations, but upon entering she didn’t expect to witness the sight she accidentally walked in on. The sight of none other but Dia Kurosawa all alone on the stage, practicing a few of the simple solo dancing steps to one of the songs they’ll be performing tonight for their school’s Christmas show, and singing her heart out as if the entire gym was already filled with dozens of people.

It’d be a lie if Rko said she’s never caught glances of Dia dancing like this, but it was during group practices only. If anyone came up to her and told her they’ve seen the student council president putting on an act all on her own she’d find it a little hard to believe. In fact she could recall hearing Chika mention something about stumbling at such a sight a long time ago in the auditorium, before she was even a member of their group. While Riko shrugged it off as something unexpected, she couldn’t deny sometimes she tried to reimagine such a scene playing out in her head.

And now being here, witnessing it like this, was beyond anything she ever imagined or what Chika described.

Every move, even though Riko as a fellow member was familiar with, felt refreshing with how much grace every of Dia’s movements had. It was captivating, breathtaking. And if Dia looking absolutely beautiful wasn’t enough, the strong angelic voice was absolutely soothing to the second year’s ears, completely getting her absorbed into everything that was happening. There was no other way her brain could describe it other than as if an actual angel landed from up above.

Dia was shining like the most beautiful diamond put in spotlight, and Riko was struck in awe.

And a part of her felt guilty, for observing so silently without a word when Dia most likely didn’t have any idea she was no longer alone. This would count as intruding, would it not? But she’d feel bad for interrupting as well, seeing how much Dia seems to be enjoying herself. How much genuine fun she’s having. Perhaps that was the cherry on top of this practice routine that made it look so magical. Like a professional idol, the third year nailed everything needed to capture the audience's attention. Riko’s attention was fixated on her, more than usual, and was overwhelmed with that adoration she’s been keeping hidden for this long.

“... Riko?”

It happened so fast her mind couldn’t grasp it. When Dia finally spotted the other girl, she’d completely stop what she was doing. The song ended, and now she stood on the stage with just as much gaze, staring back at Riko with a puzzled and slightly embarrassed expression as indicated by the soft pink on her cheeks. But she remained calm.

Unlike Riko, who after realizing she is yet to respond to being acknowledged, only mildly panicked and let out a squeak of embarrassment.

“O-Oh! I apologize, did I interrupt? I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry! I just dropped by to bring these decorations--”

“It’s fine.”

Dia responded with so much calmness unusual for this situation in her voice Riko was almost envious, swallowing down a lump of anxiety stuck in her throat and finally averting her gaze away from the beautiful girl. She could hear her footsteps as she hopped off of the stage and slowly approached. There was no need to look up to recognize there was a soft smile on her face that could make anyone feel warm inside. At least it did Riko.

“Ahem… I think I’ve gotten carried away while setting up the decorations on the stage after Mari ran off to check if the last batch of paper made snowflakes was ready.”

Riko peers up at her just in time to catch the older girl scratching at her mole, and smiles.

“I’m really excited about tonight’s performance. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had such a lighthearted show where nothing’s at stake, don’t you think?”

Now that she brought it up, Riko realized she did catch Dia hum the tune of Jingle Bells ga Tomaranai with Ruby a couple of times back at the club room. And it was true, they’ve been so focused on doing their absolute best for things such as Love Live, this last Christmas show thrown for the town by their school is a nice change of pace, and has everyone excited.

“I hope it will be enough.”

Thrown off, Riko’s brows furrow in worry when the third year gazes back at the stage with a blissful expression, noticing the slight glint of sadness in the emerald hues.

“For everyone… I’d like to make sure this is the most memorable evening they experience. Even if with a Christmas miracle we can’t stop the school from closing, I hope for one night I can make everyone forget about it and ensure they have fun…”

“It will!”

The composer was uncertain of why Dia decided to go to her out of all people to tell about such a wish, but Riko didn’t hesitate to reassure. She could sympathize with the third year wanting to make this an incredible experience for everyone. Her, Mari, and the other third years all worked really hard to make this even amazing.

Dia looked back in surprise to meet Riko’s smile.

“You’ve been putting so much work into helping organizing this event, I can’t see it turning out anything other but absolutely amazing. You’ll see, all this hard work will pay off. And I’ll do my best to help make it so.”

Sheepishly smiling as shyness washed over her, Riko looked away.

“I have to admit, I was just a little nervous, but I think you got me not only excited, but inspired to do my best as well. I mean… the way you shine, if you put even half of your spirit into tonight’s performance like you just did up there, you-- I mean all of us will win them over for sure.”

Silence followed, and a part of Riko felt almost ridiculous for saying such a thing. Dia must think she sounds like some sort of a fool--

“You’re right as always, Riko.”

… what?

She peered up, feeling her cheeks warm up at the sound of the warm chuckle.

“I think the nerves are getting to me, as well. I can’t let such silly worries get to me, the Kurosawas always impress and succeed and don’t need to rely on Christmas miracles!”

Well she was right, Dia certainly always impresses Riko, even now when she fell into joyous laughter upon seeing the older girl beam in her usual old pride that she adored just like everything else about her. What she failed to notice was the split second emerald eyes set on her with absolute sincere gratitude.

The laughter came to an immediate halt, as she did not expect to be pet on the head so gently, nor to have her hair slightly ruffled in the process. In fact it was hard to comprehend that even occurred just now, because once again she felt herself going speechless and her face blowing up from heat.

Their hands made contact a split seconds later as Dia took the big box with decorations from her grasp and the world felt like it momentarily melted away.

“By the way, Riko?”

“Y-Yes?”

“For the record, I’ve seen you practice yourself in the music room,” Why did she sound so flustered? It was hard to tell when Dia already turned away. “You’re capable of capturing anyone’s attention with your shine as well, even if you’re not aware of it. So let’s do our best together, alright?”

Riko beamed. “Of course!”

She was completely oblivious to the way Dia fidgeted during the end of that conversation, and turned on her heel to head back to the club room to fetch those paper made snowflakes with butterflies in her stomach. Mari must’ve gotten held back somewhere, so the least Riko can do assist her instead. If Dia’s Christmas wish is to make everyone in their school happy, it’s Riko’s to make Dia happy by helping her fulfill hers.

The Christmas show went better than anyone could expect. Their classmates, the school staff families, and even neighbors were having a blast if the way they screamed along and danced with biggest smiles on their faces could indicate so.

Even Aqours was having the time of their lives, bringing joy to the crowd that’s been supporting them from the very beginning like any good idols would. They were in the middle of  the finale, Jingle Bells ga Tomaranai , the instrumental part where they’d do whatever came to their mind. Riko could hear Chika giggling as happily as ever while they hopped around with a high amount of energy, somebody high-fiving, caught a glance of Ruby and Yoshiko making weird yet funny poses at each other while pacing around…

And when Dia took her hand and twirled her she saw her smile with joy as widely as never before, she’d bet. There was certain warmness in her eyes that made Riko’s own smile widen. She was shining just the way she did when she was alone, if not even more. Riko was stunned once again.

The audience was loud, and it was safe to say they must’ve been successful like they hoped to. And it was confirmed when the song ended, as the Aqours chants filled the gym.

Dia and Riko gazed at each other, hand in hand, only nodding at each other in acknowledgment as Riko mouthed ‘Merry Christmas’.

There was no plans for an after party, or if there was Mari kept quiet about it, but Aqours had to head to their club room to change before they could join the others for the Christmas fun. They’d use this moment to discuss the show and share their thoughts on how much of a refreshing experience it has been.

And as they were ready to return to the school’s gym, Riko somehow ended up finding in herself in a awkwardly embarrassing situation with Dia; under a mistletoe out of all places after she bumped into her.

Well, if being suddenly body slammed into her direction by Yoshiko could be called ‘accidentally bumping’.

Who even put that thing there, anyways? Whoever did knew the smartest move was to stay silent about it, because neither of the two would be merciful towards them for this incident. And the fact everyone’s been slyly snickering didn’t help them.

Dia huffed angrily and turned to face Riko, face bright red as she offered her an apologetic look. At least she managed to shoo them off.

Riko tried convincing her it was fine, desperate to just get out of this situation so she could cool off her face, but before she could do so, Dia stopped her.

Before she could realize what was happening, Dia leaned down to plant the warmest kiss on her cheek while her own have still been flushed.

“Thank you. Merry Christmas to you as well, Riko.”

[oakleyfugate]

The “A” Word

So a few nights ago, when I was walking to the gas station. I met someone who gave me a ride and they told me that they really looked up to me because their child has Aspergers and my current film career gives them hope. And while it made me proud, more proud than anything, in the back of my mind. A thought still lingers from my past. I’m not used to telling people about my Aspergers. I still am not. I don’t like talking about it. The only thing I tell people is that it makes me unaware of social norms and cues, and sometimes i’m too friendly or I talk too much. Also, you have to be blunt with me. I don’t take offense to it, I just don’t understand things sometimes. That's it.

It’s hard to open up about the other aspects of living with it day to day.  So to be considered an idol is odd to me in that aspect. So after years of writing and backtracking. I want to go over what happened to make me detest my condition for the longest time.

For many years, Aspergers was a blight that burned every bridge and hopes I had of ever fitting in or being normal. It is a lasting curse that haunts the back of my mind. Every interaction, every comment I make. Everything goes back to it. I wish I didn’t think that way. I’ve tried making it a positive but I simply cannot.

For most of my life, my diagnosis was used against me. The very moment I let someone know. My IQ was lowered 40 points. Maybe not intentionally, or at least I would like to think that. But people would talker slower to me. I would compare to a child being lectured but I don’t think people would treat a child like that. It was demeaning at best. My diagnosis’ use against me left me with an eternal disdain for it.

I spent years hating myself for it. Knowing I would never be able to show what I was capable of in school because of it. A few teachers literally treated me like I was incapable of understanding basic thought or speech. One openly called me retarded in front of the class several times. I wish I didn’t feel this way. I’ve tried for so long not to, but I can’t. Because it really crippled my ability to have a high school life.

Before I go into detail, I would like to state that a few teachers were wonderful. My fantasy lit teacher and my drama teachers were amazing. My math teacher from sophomore to junior year was amazing. My science teachers were both fantastic. My Appalachian Studies teacher was fantastic as well. The principals were always kind to me. If it wasn’t for them, I would have lost my mind. Thank you all so much should you be reading this. This and a few others I would mention but it’d give too much away, I love you with all of my heart! Other than that, teachers would fall into two categories. Ones that were fair and ones that discriminated against me

When I entered high school, it was a consolidated school, various schools combined. I would go from a class of 32 to almost 500 freshmen. My freshman year, I was homeschooled 4 days out of 5 for the first semester. My experiences in high school were sudden and jarring, to say the least. As a special ed student, I was a target not by students(minus one), but by teachers. Often insulting my intelligence. Yes, I do have problems socially. Yes, I did use to read much slower than most. Yes, I did not understand when I was talking too much. But it was clear I was a target by the teachers. Often being called out for simply not looking in their direction. Heavens forbid I write something down or drift my eyes across the room once.

They had an “aide” follow me around everywhere in high school. Under the guise of helping me write because my occupational skills are underdeveloped. The first aide was excellent, minus one huge violation of privacy. She would secretly write down EVERY INTERACTION I HAD with other students. If you know me, I love horror films. I study horror films. I make horror films now. But because of this, I was a target and had to watch my vocabulary. One day, I mentioned how cool it was that there were 3 Friday the 13ths in one year. Next thing I knew, I was in trouble for mentioning the horror franchise of the same name when I did not. Even with other students testifying in my favor, they would not admit they were wrong.

Upon realizing this, I asked to be voluntarily sent to the Alternative Education building, where trouble makers were sent. I willingly went to escape being monitored daily. The agreement between the principal and I was that I would go for 10 days and if I didn’t like it, I could come back. I went there and it was ok. But the main problem was that I had to set at a computer desk 90% of the time. Plus I was being bullied there too, though it was taken care of immediately. But my legs grew tired and I felt completely isolated when my cousin left.  I asked to return and was denied. Yes. The person over the special ed department denied me and used my aide’s observations to justify that I was not fit to return to high school. Because I didn’t get along with people(because who would approach someone with an aide hounding them, interrupting conversations and writing everything down).

This was the first time I felt sadness that didn’t go away. Usually, I would find something to cheer myself up. But I couldn’t. The thoughts of being lied to. Betrayal. A mix of emotions. The only good thing that happened was someone believed in me. One of the people in charge there was an amazing human being who fought for me courageously. That was the one thing that gave me hope.

They were able to keep me there for the rest of the year(2 and a half semesters)The second aide was trouble from the start. At times, she was nice. But she would constantly lecture me. If I didn’t have a pen out immediately “did you forget it?”. No, I just sat down. I will admit I was a teenager and was angsty, but being criticized constantly, talked down to, and anytime I got an answer wrong when called upon, she would say something like” oh he can’t help it”. It was public humiliation. I often hung out with the “bad boys” who got into trouble because they didn’t care about my condition. That one act of not judging led to me meeting some of my closest friends. And it led to a lasting life policy. Even if I don’t agree with people’s actions or views, I would never condemn or cut someone out of my life. Because I knew what that felt like.

It got worse, she would also antagonize other classmates. Often calling them on their language, one boy wore a South Park shirt with the show’s phrase “Respect my authoritah” and she demanded he turn it inside out. When he asked why, she said it was obscene. When the teacher came in, the aide told her that he was rude and insulting her when he was not. He got sent to the office and hated me since then. Another boy she taunted hit me in the back of the head after class as I was walking through the halls. I didn’t report it because I felt I deserved it.

Dealing with troubles at home and this left me with no peace and for the first time, I started developing depression. Despite my pleas. They would not get rid of the aide. I went three times to try. The first time I chickened out because I knew that it didn’t matter what they told me, they would tell my parents something else and nobody would believe me. It got to the point that I didn’t care if I died. At this point, it would make so many things less complicated for everyone else. That’s all I cared about.

By this time, I was in my junior year. The aide still followed. But I had a class I loved. Fantasy literature. That one class helped me in so many ways. It was perfect. The aide sat on the other side of the classroom. I got to learn about something I truly loved and developed a passion for. And I got to bond with people. For the first time, I got to experience a real high school class. And I loved it! The teacher was so amazing and treated me like an equal.

For the other hours of the day, it was a raging warzone.  My aide would either belittle me or another student, who then blamed me. It was fighting a battle on the losing side. At this point, I stopped caring. When she would make a comment, I’d make a retort. I’d refuse to do assignments if she insisted on helping. I would write them myself. Because that’s the official reason. I called her out for following me to the bathroom. Yes, that happened. I would publicly announce that she was writing what  I said and did. I met once again about getting rid of her. I just stated that I wanted to try things on my own in fear of if I did make a scene, they would find a way to retaliate like in freshman year. And I won. I got my freedom. And I got to spend the last semester of my high school life as a free man. It was bittersweet as I had so much taken from me. My senior year was amazing. People loved me. I got to belong. For 6 months.

And that is why I have struggled with Aspergers. I relate it to the song “Nutshell” by Alice in Chains written about the singer’s heroin addiction. In which people would gossip about his illness, leaving him to fight his mental battle alone. And how he had no privacy. And I feel the same way. Down to the lyrics, “if I can’t be my own, i’d feel better dead”.

I never liked talking about my diagnosis and still would rather avoid the subject. Because it has forever impacted my life. I still have self-loathing issues to this day. I am proud to have Aspergers now. It has helped my life in areas while hindering others. But I can not forgive the system that took vital years from my life and ruined so many chances of having friends and bonds. A system that took my gift and made me hate myself for it. I will tell anyone with children with Aspergers or Autism to never trust the school system.

I know this story is negative in tone, but don’t let your story be. Be proud to have that gift. You have a focus on something that others do not. Use that. Also, love yourself. It is a hard road but it’s well worth fighting to see what it’s at the end. 

[thesarcastictree]

Chapter 1 - Play of the game

Hey, everyone! 

Author’s note: I did it! The first, however a shorter, part is out. I hope you’re gonna enjoy it. Remember - sharing is caring. ^-^

For my lovely best friend Susan, because she loves when I mention her.

Words: 3063

You have 1 new message.

I rolled my eyes as I heard the painfully familiar vibration coming off from under the pillow. My eyes hurt and my face felt disgusting, blaming the fact I again didn't take off my make­-up before taking an obligatory nap. The yawn was long, making me feel dizzy. I put my hand under the cushion, palpating a rectangularly shaped object, taking it out. 

Unlocking the screen of my phone, I sighed. Had I really been sleeping for only thirty minutes? I quickly tapped in the passcode, internally satisfying my clumsy self, since I hadn't made any mistake in the four meaningless numbers. 

Another message popped up, as my eyes met with the bright white chat.

forever alone bitch: YOU SLEPT ENOUGH COME PLAY noodle mommy: what  noodle mommy: did you seriously wake me up because of stupid ow forever alone bitch: yes now come  forever alone bitch: i wanna play compets noodle mommy: geez, ok noodle mommy: gimme five minutes forever alone bitch: gg noodle mommy: ??? forever alone bitch: you and your five minutes

I chuckled, shaking my head. Somehow, I managed to get off my bed in a record time. The procedure of undoing the paint I had stuffed onto my skin was, as well, quite quick. In a while, I sat down onto a spinning chair, putting on the headphones, giving up on the ball of cables that fell into my lap. As I waited for the Blizzard app to start, I swiftly found the playlist that had been my companion for a few months now. The brisk tones of one of my favorite songs hit my ears, and I laughed at myself and at my poor attempts of singing in Korean. "Geu bojogaen illegal, ille~~gal," I sang quietly, tapping the tips of my fingers in the rhytm, "but I want it anyway, anyway, anywa-" The invite to the group hit my screen, as soon as I got to the loaded menu. I, of course, accepted, joining the voice chat right after.

uncleREYES has joined the voice chat.

"Yo, nibblet, what's up?" I asked with a hoarse vocal, caused by the lack of usage. I got literally no response. Letting out a quiet sigh, the sudden hyped sound made me jump in my seat. "HELLO, HELLO, IT'S YOUR GIIIIR-" The microphone cut off.  "Yeah, hi," laughing, I started the queue for competitives. "-lright, you should totally see the video I sent you, because I'm fucking crying again. Why is MCCree so perfect? Why does Hanzo have to die in every fanfiction? Why can't they just be happy?!" Sometimes, I wondered how she was able to be hysterical over two characters from a game, but then again, I wasn't different. 

Well, okay, I agree. My obsession had gone perhaps too far, being it a few Korean idols, which made it even more difficult. They were real. They existed. They breathed the same air like I did, and their faces were literally everywhere I looked; printed on my phone case, set on my wallpapers - I even had a goddamn pillow case with Taehyung's face, biting his lip in the most seductive way ever. "You need help," I responded to her autistic screeching, glancing at the timer passing by the second minute.  "... and you are the one to say that." Susan barked back with ease. "Yeah, you're right. We both need help."

Susan and I, we had been friends since... pretty much forever. I met her during the start of the first year, as my kind of crazy classmate, also being an idiot into games. We'd argued for a few times, even stopped talking for another few months, but at the end of the day, noone could ever split our brotherhood, as we called it, apart. And there we were, the partners in any crime. However, little did we both know that the upcoming minutes were going to completely change our lives, for good. 

GAME FOUND! Joining the game...

Both of us went silent, as the map of Volskaya Industries showed, together with the name and rank lists of both teams. I briefly went through the players, and... something seemed off. 

"Susan?" I asked, frowning. She responded with a silent, almost unhearable: "Hm?"  "Don't panic, okay? We have a fallen diamond Widowmaker main against us, low plat, in premade with two other platinums," I began, taking a deep breath. It wouldn't be a big deal, if I wasn't a borderline golden rank, and my comrade a bit higher gold. Was our elo getting bigger, or did we just get randomly filled into the missing places of a long-buffering game? I cracked my knuckles, checking out the others' mains, even more confused. "How the hell am I not supposed to panic? I'll just play goddamn D.va, I'm not feeling the Ryu ga wagateki go-fuck yourself tonight." I let out a desperate laugh. "Yeah, enjoy it. One of the... well, the GucciBoy has about 100 hours on D.va. They have a 120 hours MCCree main too, what the fuck?" I whined, comparing the composition of our teams together. We seemingly stood no chance, yet I didn't feel like giving up.  I chose Mercy, even though I wasn't a big fan of her pick. I decided to go for certain, stable decisions, instead of a Hanzo or Widow, and it seemed like I perfectly fullfilled the expectations of our teamcomp. 

My attention, while we waited for the doors on attack to open, got caught by the allchat, as I smiled cheekily.

[ALL] Bunny: sugacheonjae? my ass... [ALL] GucciB0i: LMAO  [ALL] TuandonJuan: IT'S HIGH NOON SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD

Susan's next yak reminded me of a dying whale, but I decided to ignore it. 

[ALL] uncleREYES: YES IN MY BED [ALL] TuandonJuan: GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS HUCKLEBERRY

"I'm so adding him!" she hissed happily, as I heard the furious clicks of a mouse. We had about twenty seconds towards the beginning, and for some reason, I felt nervous. 

[ALL] Bunny: what is it, suga, you scared? [ALL] SugaCheonjae: Excuse me?  [ALL] Bunny: ;) 

That was the last hit my ego could take. I filled in with my Odile Widowmaker instead, ignoring the desperate cries for a switch back, as I just simply muted the teamchat. 

[ALL] xHeroO: can u pls report widow shes trolling [ALL] uncleREYES: can you please stfu and play, she's good  [ALL] Bunny: we will see about that [ALL] TuandonJuan: uuu [ALL] GucciB0i: spicy, I like that

"It's fine, yo, I muted them, anyway." I whispered to the microphone, to prevent Susy from distracting herself on pointless arguments with some kids. Wrapping my fingers tightly around the mouse, I covered the red light with my palm. The three of the enemy premades started to slowly dip over the edge of the cup of patience, that had already been pretty full.  The last seconds disappeared, and we rushed out of the building, with Reinhardt's shield leading us towards the point we were supposed to capture. I hooked myself at the edge of another house, dragging myself up in a long jump. Seeing the Symmetra's sentry turrets in the scope, I sighed, knowing already that it'd be pretty difficult to get over the arc, and then my point of view disappeared.  "Shit..." I cursed under my breath, waiting for the respawn. The first kill of the game was shining in the corner, as Bunny eliminated my courageous positioning. 

[ALL] Bunny: :) 

"Motherfucker."  Susy cleared out her throat with a loud cough, and before I tried to shut her up, her words pierced my ears: "Calm down, Natalie, you got this."  I nodded, not quite sure of myself, but I did. I truly also didn't feel like losing against a bunch of pricky platinum asses. Susy flew behind the entrance through the arc, destroying the sentry turrets, and losing her Mecha in exchange. Low on health, she jumped behind the corner, meeting up with Reinhardt's half-destroyed shield and Zenyatta's healing orb. I took a deep breath. It was my time to shine. I dediced to not make the same mistake twice. Instead of jumping on a visible place, I slowly looked out from behind one of the slopes, with my rifle scoped into the enemy team. At first, I couldn't quite spot a single thing not hidden behind Orisa's barrier, but then Symmetra made a simple, greedy mistake. I found the weak spot, quickly eliminating one of their major defense mechanism, dying to a bullet of the enemy Widowmaker again, afterwards. 

[ALL] Bunny: nice try :) [ALL] SugaCheonjae: Are you always this annoying? 

The beeping of a movement around the point assured me that I made a great move. Symmetra was down, and after the death recap, their Mercy too. Roadhog's hook wasn't something she could just simply survive. I bit my lip. The only proper problem on their team was Widowmaker, killing our squishy damage dealers without a fuss.  "She's on the rooftop-" I grinned, victoriously, pinning down Bunny's killing spree with a precise headshot. Reinhardt's shield protected us in front of the enemy's D.va ultimate and mister High noon got a bullet back, thanks to Genji's deflection. I got to kill Orisa on low health, before she placed the barrier, as we successfully captured the first point.

[ALL] SugaCheonjae: Everything's alright down there? 

I mocked at the cockiness the enemy Widowmaker showed before, Susy's 'ooooh' giving me the courage I didn't even know I had. 

[ALL] Bunny: you're just lucky

Yeah, of course, I thought to myself, hitting one head after another. Not even three minutes into the end of our timer we'd captured the second point, setting the score to 2:0 for our team.  "Good job, they don't even know what hit 'em."  I loved the enthusiasm in my friend's voice. And she was right - after a bad start, we didn't even let them move from their attack spawn, as Susan's arrow hit every spotted movement, and I finished off the rest. We won, almost effortlessly claiming the clear score. The victory poses triked through my screen and Susy, all proud, screamed, watching the animation of Widowmaker swinging, with my name underneath.

Play of the game SUGACHEONJAE as WIDOWMAKER. 

I quickly recognized the one last seconds before we captured the last point of the objective.  "Now, watch this." I grinned, biting the side of my index finger. TuandonJuan fell first. D.va's mech disappeared in Susy's scattered arrows and I quickly dragged my mouse over, finding Widow's peaking head, shutting down even the Mercy's desperate try to resurrect their last hope. 

[ALL] GucciB0i: GG [ALL] TuandonJuan: I'll find you in another life, unclereyes [ALL] uncleREYES: ;-; [ALL] Bunny: I could really use a hug right now... 

"Tsk..." I snapped. Disrespectful idiot, no wonder he fell to such low elo. We returned back into the menu. "Let me just go grab a coffee, and we can continue," I announced, taking off the headphones, heading to the kitchen. It felt good, really. I'd always liked to prove my skill, especially to such douchebags. 

Returning back to my room, I silently closed the door, placing the cup next to my laptop. What caught my attention were the extra three icons next to ours, and the names shining bright in the groupchat. 

[GROUP] TuandonJuan: howdy [GROUP] GucciB0i: HOW ON EARTH DID YOU TWO GOT ONLY GOLD FROM PLACEMENTS, I DON'T GET IT [GROUP] uncleREYES: its called skill, something you dont have [GROUP] GucciB0i: that doesn't make any sense [GROUP] uncleREYES: jeff hates us [GROUP] GucciB0i: touché [GROUP] uncleREYES: :^) [GROUP] Bunny: what are we waiting for? [GROUP] uncleREYES: coffeegirl [GROUP] GucciB0i: why did I read cowgirl [GROUP] uncleREYES: I almost wrote cowboy tbh [GROUP] TuandonJuan: what do you mean cowboy, im here all the time darlin [GROUP] uncleREYES: >.> [GROUP] uncleREYES: voice? [GROUP] Bunny: I'll pass [GROUP] GucciB0i: YA BOIIIIIIIIIIII [GROUP] TuandonJuan: anything for you

I slammed the M key, muting my microphone, hearing the honest laugh of my bestfriend and two as loud voices. 

TO: uncleREYES: WHAT THE HELL, SUSAN?!  FROM: uncleREYES: come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn he mains mccree i love him  TO: uncleREYES: i'm not playing with the bitchass widow  FROM: uncleREYES: he isnt even talking FROM: uncleREYES: please FROM: uncleREYES: i'll buy you cigs TO: uncleREYES: ...

"Hey, you can start, I'm back." I jumped into their conversation, which madly whirled around the best MCCree skin. TuandonJuan's voice made me chuckle, because he'd just found out that Susy also loved the Lifesaver skin the most.  "Is it the best Widowmaker under the sun?" I sort of cringed at the weird accent of the GucciB0i, but I took the compliment, proudly.  "Well, I'm definitely not Bunny, so it has to be me?" I grinned, as Susy started the quickplay queue, relieved that we weren't going to tryhard, because honestly, I felt like I gave everything skillful I had left in the competive game. However, that didn't mean I was going to be an easy prey to make jokes of, still visibly hurt by the offensive humor from the game before.   "Oh, shit, you're my new best friend," GucciB0i's oddly famous deep voice responded. Susy almost immediately grunted back: "Fuck off, would you? The spot is already taken!"  "I hope the spot of your boyfriend isn't taken, uncleREYES, because I'd definitely want to nominate myself." I choked on the sip of coffee, clapping as soon as I placed the cup back at its spot. "Alright, that was just too fucking smooth," I hissed, shaking my head. I felt utterly happy, because Susan deserved an equally disabled person in her life, to weight off all the bad events from the past. 

FROM: uncleREYES: im FROM: uncleREYES: fucking FROM: uncleREYES: in FROM: uncleREYES: love FROM: uncleREYES: who is that guy TO: uncleREYES: XDDDD idk

"Talking behind our backs, much?" GucciB0i seemed to have ears everywhere.  "Maybe...?" I teasily asked, laughing it off. The silence got quickly filled by TuadonJuan's adoration towards Susy's McHanzo kink. 

It... somehow felt right, yet stupid. Bunny still hadn't spoken and I felt guilty for making fun of him, but the again, he was the same in the competitive. I shrugged it off, mindlessly skipping the songs, finally getting to a slower cover of Adam Levine's Lost Stars from Jungkook.

"Please, don't see, just a boy caught up in dreams and fanta~sies-" I quietly hummed to the rhytm, as we finally joined the Dorado map. I didn't make a big deal about them hearing me sing, because honestly, in the talk of those two it occured to be as effective as hearing of a deaf person. I remained silent for next few seconds, until Jungkook's soft voice reached the refrain.  "Damn, I love that boy." I scoffed. "Who? Who?!" I rolled my eyes for a hunderth time that evening. "Jungkook, who else could I mean?" The only response in suddenly quiet voicechat was careless Susy and her laughing voice. "Girl, you love everyone. You have a pillow with Taehyung's face, Suga in name, Jin on hoodie, you want to rap like Namjoon and dance like Hobi. And now you say you love Jungkook, I'm confused."  "It's not my fault, okay, they are all perfect, shut up!" I whined, covering my blushing face, even though noone could see me, both in the darkness and through the screen.  "Sure, whatever," she chuckled back, paying all of her attention to damage-boosting of TuandonJuan's ass, playing, surprisingly, McCree, again. I picked Ana, thoughtlessly shooting my darts at everything that moved, either reducing or adding up on health. 

The final push seemed to be endless, as we either died or killed during the overtime. Finally finishing charging up my ultimate, I nanoboosed Reaper, who completely cleared out the point of the enemies, scoring a precise teamkill. Briefly realizing it was Bunny, I coughed, trying to somehow sound friendlier than before.

"Good job, bunny boy," I cheered, watching the scenario all over again from his point of view in the play of the game. He seemed to unmute himself, because the icon of him talking showed. I was expecting everything but not what I heard. Listening to the cover of Lost Stars on replay still, I gasped, as Bunny murmured a modest, yet elated: "Thank you very much for your ultimate, Sugasuga." 

For a brief second I couldn't quite believe what I heard.

"Why do you sound exactly like Jungkook?" I said more to myself, than to him, completely amazed by the discovery. "Nah, he doesn't." Susy opposed, visibly still annoyed by his previous behavior.  "I agree, he sounds nothing like the korean dude," TuandonJuan's voice interfered, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "You know BTS?"  I caught him off guard, visibly.  He laughed, embrarassed: "Yeah, my-my little sister won't shut up about them."  I smiled. "That's... well, understandable." 

"Aight, I agree with Sugasuga, though, he has something that makes him sound like Jungkook, but not quit-"  "Can you not compare me to that gaypop shit? Thank you." Bunny's voice went off again, and I scowled. "Did I say something wrong?" 

"Nah, he is... acting like an ass, tonight. You know, periods-" I held back my laughter. Guccib0i was cool, I could give Susy that. "Don't even fucking get me started about the periods, dude," she hissed, and I just legitimately bursted out, together with the others.

[GROUP] Bunny: fuck you too, T

We managed to play a few more games, before we said all the goodnights, and thanks for playing. I turned off the laptop, wiping my eyes, sliding under the cold bedsheets with the phone in my hand. 

forever alone bitch: told you they are not so bad noodle mommy: yeah, BUT im lowkey crushing on Bunny's voice forever alone bitch: wtf noodle mommy: fuck him though, GucciB0i is the S H I T  forever alone bitch: yeah we ship you two noodle mommy: "we"?  forever alone bitch: mark and me noodle mommy: ???? forever alone bitch: last seen a minute ago

Susan was right, though. They didn't seem like bad people. We had some decent laughs and giggles, plus, the GucciB0i turned out to be a pretty huge fanboy of Taehyung. 

Somehow, I couldn't wait for the next night, because that was the time we estabilished as another gaming session. I closed my eyes, hugging Taehyung's stuffed face, with a dorky smile, first time in a while feeling upon satisfied with how the day had ended,

[redfreesias03]

Ponytail to Shushu (“Ponytail and Scrunchie”)

“Your ponytail (swaying) in the wind. You run (I run) on the sand. Your ponytail (swaying) you turned and looked at me. Your smile starts my summer.”

OR: A boy with a hopeless crush on his friend/classmate is captivated by her ponytail look for the summer. 

KARENDAA yori hayaku SHATSU no sodeguchi makutte taiyou ga chikadzuku kehai boku no ude kara koromogae

Before the calendar says to, I roll up my shirt sleeves The sun’s showing signs of drawing near So I’m getting dressed for summer, starting with my arms

aoi umi namiuchigiwa de kimi to aitai hadashi no mizushibuki

A blue ocean By the water’s edge I want to meet you there And splash around barefoot

PONIITEERU (yurashinagara) kaze no naka kimi ga hashiru (boku ga hashiru) suna no ue PONIITEERU (yurashinagara) furimuita kimi no egao boku no natsu ga hajimaru

Your ponytail (swaying) In the wind You run (I run) On the sand Your ponytail (swaying) You turned and looked at me Your smile Starts my summer

kyoushitsu ni hi ga sashite yume no kion ga agatta naname mae no kimi miteru to mune ga kurushiku natte kuru

The sun shines bright into the classroom And raises the temperature of my dreams When I look at you sitting up front and to the side My chest starts to hurt

suki nante ieyashinai yo ushirosugata ni kimochi wo tsubuyaku

There’s no way I can tell you That I like you I whisper my feelings To the back of your head

PONIITEERU (setsunaku naru) yume no naka kimi no subete (boku no subete) hitorijime PONIITEERU (setsunaku naru) kataomoi me to me aeba ima wa tada no tomodachi

The sight of your ponytail (makes my heart ache) Inside my dreams (All of me) wants to make All of you    mine The sight of your ponytail (makes my heart ache) A one-sided love When our eyes meet Right now we’re just friends

tabaneta nagai kami mizutama no SHUSHU koi no shippo wa tsukamaerarenai furetara kieteku maboroshi

Your long hair tied up In a polka-dot scrunchie I can’t catch Love’s tail It’s an illusion that disappears When I touch it

PONIITEERU (hodokanaide) kawarazu ni kimi wa kimi de (boku wa boku de) hashiru dake PONIITEERU (hodokanaide) itsumademo hashaideiru kimi wa shoujo no mama de

Don’t let down (your ponytail) Don’t change a thing You being you (me being me) Let’s just run Don’t let down (your ponytail) Keep frolicking Forever, Remain a girl

LaLaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLaLaLa LaLaLaLa…

---

I don’t have any real notes on this one, but here’s a confession: nearly 10 years later, I still hum the “tabaneta nagai kami, mizutama no SHUSHU” bridge every time I put my hair up in a ponytail, which has been happening a ton more than normal ever since the #stay at home recommendation kicked in. (Now I just need to find an idol song about sweatpants and I’m set.)

[surveysonfleek]

318.

1. Can you remember ever feeling like someone stole your idea or took credit for something that was your work? If not, can you remember a time when you introduced a friend to something and they sort of began acting like they know more about it than you? yes, both. more annoyed about the first one. someone obviously had stolen my photography from deviantart years ago and it completely blew up on tumblr and instagram. last time i saw it on tumblr it had over a million notes.

2. If you were to ever imagine getting married, do you think you have a lot of people that would invite to your showers and actual wedding? Or is it more like you’d be inviting long-lost family members and hoping for the best? i don’t want a huge wedding, but my boyfriend has a huge extended family that his parents would probably want to invite. so i’ll be reaching out to long lost family to keep the numbers even.

3. When you think about your extended family, are your relatives more similar to you and your family or different? Is it just you that’s different from your family or do you have a diverse family, in general? my whole extended family are quite different from each other but it’s never stopped us from reunions etc.

4. Have you ever lost a friend to someone you introduced them to? haha not completely lost, but they ended up closer than we were.

5. Do you remember the last thing you posted on the internet that you regretted? If not, can you think of one time it’s happened? hmm not really. i don’t post that much on social media anymore.

6. Regarding your current or former high school, what is something that you really felt your school was lacking or what is something you would change about your high school? the diversity... i was one of two asians in my grade, it was pretty shitty. oh and the place didn’t have air con... i feel for those kids in summer.

7. Choose a male friend of yours. Will you please describe him in a way that might convince me he’d be a good person to date? my friend phi is kind, loyal, caring and smart. he can cook some of the most amazing dishes and will spoil anyone he loves like crazy. he’s probably the genuinely nicest guy i know.

8. Have you ever pledged money to a Kickstarter (or other similar website) project? no.

9. If I handed you a voucher for a free tattoo from a renowned tattoo artist, but it had to be redeemed within 24 hours, would you use it? haha no, i’d literally call all my friends and go with anyone who wanted it.

10. Thinking about your favorite television show, are there any other similar shows out there (e.g., American Idol and X Factor; True Blood and Vampire Diaries)? If so, do you also like those shows? What is it that makes your favorite stand out from the similar shows? well, my favourite show of all time is the office. i can’t really compare it to anything but i feel like it’s most similar to modern family (the format) and superstore (humour and huge cast).

11. Do you ever follow artists as they switch from band to band? nope.

12. Do you find yourself being afraid of men? For example, if you are alone at a gas pump and a man pulls up to the pump next to you, does it make you nervous? if they simply pulled up next to me then no. maybe eye contact or something would make me feel uncomfortable but i’m looking way too much into it now.

13. What is your biggest goal right now? What do you hope to attain by achieving it? get a new job by the end of this year.

14. Did your high school have a Model UN club? If you’re not sure, what were some of the more interesting clubs your school had? mine didn’t. my school didn’t have any cool clubs. it was sports or social justice.

15. Have you ever hung out with a group of people who are significantly older than you? Was it a decent time or did you feel out of place? yeah i guess so. i’ve hung out with older people during my internship and it was not my thing at all. but tbh i think it’s coz i was really different from most of them.

16. If you are of age, do you enjoy the bar scene? What about it do you like or dislike? If you are below age, do you think you would enjoy going to bars when you are older? i prefer the bar scene compared to the clubbing scene. that’s my idea of a night out nowadays.

17. Is often that you will have one symptom and then you will diagnose yourself with catastrophic, even though it will usually end up just being nothing at all? yeah sorta. this is more the epitome of my boyfriend though.

18. If you are unhappy with your appearance (even just with a bad hair day), does that keep you from going places? Does it keep you from fully enjoying yourself, as you’re too worried with how you look? not really. if i really need to do something, i couldn’t care less about how im feeling about myself on that day.

19. Are you ever surprised and put-off by rude or ignorant comments that your classmates make? If you don’t have classmates, replace that with “friends” or “people you know.” yeah of course. facebook is a prime example of that.

20. Have you ever had a goal to be better than someone at something? For example, there’s a dude in your class that always brags about his grades, so you work hard to do better than him, specifically? when i was in elementary yes, very much so.

21. Are you friends with more artistic people, more academic people, or more athletic people? academic or artistic.

22. Regarding a specific friend, or more than one if you wish, what are some specific things that you bond over? For example, you like the same video games or have the same college major. i have a certain group of friends and we bond over two things: we all used to work together and we all love traveling. so it works!

23. When you are at a place where people are dancing and people are seated/mingling, like a wedding reception, do you dance or do you remain standing/seated? i will mingle until a good song comes on tbh.

24. If you see someone and notice something you like about them, physical or otherwise, how likely are you to actually compliment them? if it’s a friend, instantaneously. if it’s a stranger, i’d have to really like it or want to know where something is from to compliment them.

25. How easy is it for you to tolerate and keep an open mind when people reveal they have completely opposite political opinions to you? Does it change based on how close to your heart the issue at hand is? it’s rather hard for me to tolerate if they’re really headstrong about it. i’ll always keep an open mind, but if people are feeding and preaching me their opinion, it’s definitely frustrating.

[pop-culture-dump]

The Simpsons: The Lost Season

Tree House of Horror XXIX For their 29th Halloween special the Simpsons family takes on the Horror and Science Fiction classics such as The Big Bang Theory, Hell’s Kitchen, and Fifty Shades of Grey. Snow Money Snow Problems Bart and Grandpa Accidentally sign up both themselves and Santa’s Little Helper in the Iditarod. While the three of them are braving the Alaskan wilderness as well as colorful cast of competing dog sled racers, back in Springfield Homer is brought onto a Hypnotist’s stage show and has a recovered memory of being sexually abused by his mother. A Moe Fashion Love Song Moe’s Tavern gains critical success with the new addition of a Karaoke machine. However this fame is cut short when special guest star; Singer songwriter and standing of president of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Paul Williams threatens to shut them down for unpaid song royalties. Sparking a town hall debate over fair use and intellectual property laws. Meanwhile after taking on a class assignment involving family history and genealogy Millhouse discovers his parents may be cousins. The Sinking Love of Lisa Simpson Lisa becomes infatuated with a passionate young Journalist who is a filming a VICE style expose on  the Nuclear power plant and decides to run away from home and secretly follows him on his trip cover the sinking of the Maldives islands and the UN complacency in offering aid. Lisa The Puppet Master After writing a series of successful speeches for Mayor Quimby’s reelection campaign Lisa is promoted to campaign advisor. However she slowly begins to sell out to constituents and other lobbyists and becomes corrupt with power with Quimby acting as her political puppet. Krust-acolypse NOW Krusty is shot down over Afghanistan while performing in a series of USO shows and videotapes of him being tortured by ISIS insurgents begin to leak onto the internet. Bart and his fellow classmates plead with the US government for the hasty rescue of their beloved idol but their pleas fall onto deaf ears prompting Bart to go on a national campaign to raise awareness of Krusty’s plight and legacy. However Bart soon discovers that Krusty’s kidnapping was a hoax in order to garnish publicity and merchandise sales. Bart by Gaslight While sitting through one of Lisa’s feminist group studies Bart learns about the concept of “Gas lighting”. Intrigued by the idea that you can subtly manipulate someone into thinking their losing their grip on reality he attempts to put the process into effect on Homer. However Homer is well aware of Bart’s tactics and confesses that he’s been doing it to his own father for decades. The two of them band together to see how many people in town they can bend to their will. Marge vs the Internet The family discovers that Bart has been secretly documenting them for years and uploading their daily escapades onto Youtube. At first Marge is excited about the notion of being a modest internet celebrity however she is shocked and appalled at the overwhelming amount of lewd fan art and literature based on her and her family that are floating around the web. After a very vocal cease and desist campaign blows up in her face and creates more of an internet backlash she takes her case to congress and demands that the internet either be heavily regulated or shut down entirely. Rita Hayworth and the Bart-shank redemption In the face of severe punishment Bart agrees to participate in a scared straight reality TV program where juvenile delinquents are to spend a week in a maximum security prison. Confident he can coast by without any problems  Bart is shocked to discover he’s to share a cell with Sideshow Bob, who takes every opportunity to violently berate and humiliate both him and his fellow students. However Bart slowly develops Stockholm Syndrome for Bob and aids him in an elaborate prison escape plan. The cutting edge of Homer In a vain attempt to keep up appearances at work Homer falls in league with Springfield’s technophile crowd and becomes obsessed with getting the latest and greatest Apple I phone, and goes to such lengths as cashing out his savings and camping out in front of the Apple store to get one. However upon purchase Homer is outraged that he got the wrong color and insights a riot. meanwhile Marge and Ned Flanders accidentally go to the wrong church retreat and find themselves being recruited into the Westbouro Baptist church. Springfield History X Bart is blamed for an accident that Homer caused in Herman’s antique and Army surplus store and is forced to work off the debt. While cleaning up, Bart discovers a hidden room containing Herman’s collection of Nazi war relics and is confronted by Herman who paints the fascists in a sympathetic light. Herman continues to manipulate Bart to become the poster child for his neo nazi/ alt right hate group. Things quickly escalate when Bart and his followers plan to sabotage a peaceful college protest and turn it into a full on a race war and it’s up to Homer, Lisa and Grandpa to rescue Bart and show him the error of his bigoted ways. Gumble and Son A clean and Sober Barney Gumble becomes a rehab councilor and takes in a young addict who he has reason to believe may be his estranged son. However before Barney can find out the truth the young man relapses and dies of an overdose. Homer and Barney use what little information they have to go with and embark a humbling cross country road trip in search of closure.   Marge Simpson’s Monday Morning Podcast Marge becomes absorbed in producing a podcast that no one listens to. Homer finally listens to it and is deeply saddened by the realization of how lonely and clinically depressed his wife really is.