#and K project are also written by various people

[possumteeths]

2022 Writing Wrap Up

Tagged by: @screwyouflightlieutenant (thanks for thinking of me! 💖)

Total words published: 308,920 (christ???)

Additional words written:

Im gonna ballpark and say maybe 150 k other words with additional projects that arent fanfic lol (as well as fanfic wip)

Grand Total of Words: 458k ish?

Fandoms:

Various horror movies, Dragon age, Fallout, Mass effect, RDR, the boys

Highest Everything (raw kudos, hits, comments):

Unsurprisingly, its my the Boy chaptered fic Love Me Cancerously, This blew tf up and I really didn't expect it to. It is SO cool that other people like this not great movie and are so down for this rollercoaster i've been writing.

Highest Kudos to Hits Ratio:

It's still my Brahms fic, and the runner up is ANOTHER Brahms fic but that one's a oneshot.

New Things I Tried:

x readers! I never really liked reading or writing x readers ever until recently. I really like second person as a device and I just refuse to acknowledge things that use like blanks or the Y/N device lol. Realizing this totally changed the way I like to write. I think second person is excellent for storytelling. Leaving the reader insert extremely vague and writing from the perspective of the character is SO fun.

Fic I Spent The Most Time On:

Love Me Cancerously AGAIN lol. Usually I just kinda write things in one go, but for this fic I put it through multiple stages of editing.

Favorite Thing I Wrote:

This completely nonsensical fallout raider gangbang. I rarely enjoy reading or writing OC x OC works, but I really unlocked something in my brain with this fic. I am so in love with the characters, they still live in my head. I wanted it to be SILLY DUMB and it was just so much fun to write. This is the most "me" I think of anything I've ever written, and I fully just went balls to the wall ridiculously porny and it was so much fun.

Favorite Thing I Read:

dude ANYTHING by my buddy @ventiswampwater (here's her ao3) every single one of her fics make me INSANE. We have such similar ideas of characterization for this DUMB movie that for some reason we're obsessed with. I love cerebral poetic weirdo porn I just consume everything she's done over and over again. Seriously some of the best x readers i've ever come across.

@some27-url 's Deacon X SS series, I cant get ENOUGH of this fucked up dynamic. I gush on and on about this and I dont want to be annoying but I cannot shut up about how much I love this series

OH! This Yautja harem x OC work I found, literally I've never had the patience for LONG LONG fics before but I honestly wish there was MORE of this. I loved!! the characters and everyone involved, the story was so smutty and good. You dont need to know shit about predator lore this fic may as well be its own story. This fanfic is better than any smutty xenophilia/monsterfuckery romance book that i've ever read.

@brimbrimbrimbrim 's Vigilante x reader fic was so much fun, characterized SO well. It was silly fun and I loved it hahaha like I love this author but this fic really stuck out to me hahaha.

Writing goals for 2023:

I'd like to just bite the bullet and submit to publications as well as random magazine challenges or whatever else. I often debate whether I should or shouldnt for so long that I then miss the deadline for the actual challenge lmao! I submitted to a few horror magazines as well as some poems to indie publications asking for submissions this year but I'd like to just submit as much as I possibly can because fuck it y'know. This year, I got ONE poem selected to be in a book and then it was actually removed from the eventual publication coming out in 2023 so like... lmao?

New Works:

I've actually been editing my short story horror anthology off and on, cleaning it up and formatting it and all the boring shit. I'm looking to trad pub or at least submit certain stories to challenges. I'm also hoping to saddle up and adapt my raider gangbang fanfic into a more developed story that I'll eventually KDP publish. As for fanfics, I've got SO many fkn horror baddies x readers in the works rn, and like 21u314398240 90% done fanfics that I just need to edit and publish to ao3 lol.

tagging: @some27-url @gaeadene (girl I gotta know how many words u uploaded this year LOL) @ventiswampwater @korblez @wolfbirbisme @flaggermuser @butterbabyflapjack

Happy new year yall! Lets go full nuts and write WHATEVER ur silly lil heart desires. I declare this year the year of balls to the wall FUCK IT on ao3 lmfao

[twistedboxy]

Written on 2/15/23 on paper but didn't type it up til recently 

Lately I haven't felt like myself since I got some news a while back. There are so many things that make me anxious or upset, even stupid little things that are not even part of my control. Last Saturday 2/11/23, I literally had to pull into a parking lot to cry and have an anxiety attack. I have so many thoughts that make me anxious or think about lost things like mom and get upset.

As many of you know I’m the oldest and have two younger sisters. K (28) and M(19). K,me and K’s boyfriend live together as well as my mom before she passed. In Dec, K told me she was pregnant. She’s almost 30 so she can do whatever and I support any of her choices. She’s an adult. She had been nervous to tell me and when she did kinda sent me into a panic about all the things to do.

Luckily there are many wonderful people in my life that quelled most of my worry. You know who you are. I love you all. I’m scared of being an aunt but those who know me think I’ll be wonderful. I’ve slowly been getting excited as well.

We talked again after she finally told our dad. (There’s some emotional trauma between us but that is a different post.) He seemed pretty supportive and excited from what she told me. She brought up a good point about the baby continuing our legacy since it would have just ended at us. That brought up a lot of feelings on how much we both miss our mom. For me it’s tough since I look a lot like her.

I’ve been thinking about experiences that I haven’t had yet. Some of us have talked about what they are. Not going into full detail but would talk in dm. I also think about life and death. I know I'm being vague but I tend to end up in a loop of scaring myself.

I’ve also been bored and frustrated at work. Things have slowed down considerably between closing test sites and putting a hold on files we were scanning. A lot of the stuff that we were scanning was technically done. The original person who they had scanning files was told something completely different or it got jumbled along the way. They also left him to his own devices. We had been helping out on the side to keep busy. Yet they let him go. We got the big scanner for mass documents ordered and set up. My other coworker who was scanning along with me are currently waiting for the one manager to show us what to do.

I’ve also assisted with various file retrieval which I’m quite good at. I have a list that are from one specific company but I’ve been through all that was available in one of the rooms we keep files. The rest of the boxes are wrapped in pallets in the back space with other stuff blocking it. We didn’t think we ever needed to go back to it since we scanned everything. We don’t have the space to move the in front items about to and fro. This is pretty much daily. I get occasional projects or orders from some sites as well as logging Fedex packages. It’s very boring and frustrating. At least when I was scanning I could put on a show and do both. Why do I go?

If you're still reading this, thank you again for hearing me out. It means a lot to me. I don’t make posts like this often. 

I’ll post my sister’s registry in a while if you'd like to send something.

[pixelartkid]

Atari Expo 2023 Chile

Atari Expo 2023, was an event dedicated exclusively to the hardware of Atari like Atari 2600 (also known as VCS) and Atari 800 (micro-Computer), and Atari ST (hardware of 16 bits).

The place of the event was on a Saturday (July 22) (in a day very rainy winter) in Biblioteca de Santiago in Matucana 151.

Some Atari Hardware like 400, 600, 800, 800 XL

There are small stands that sell some Homebrew software & Atari Merch, for example, Lost Squadron for Atari 800 XL & XE was developed in 2020 by Janusz Chabowski (Code and sprite graphic) and Michal Szpilowski (Music and SFX), this game was the winner of the ABBUC competition (Atari Bit Byte User Club since 1985).

Shump top down for Atari XL/ XE

I knew some people of the Atari Community in Chile, they make Homebrew & created games for Atari.

1) Vladimir Zuñiga better known as VHZC is an enthusiastic indie game developer, he writes his games in Basic for Atari 2600, and he is a Graphic Designer, developer in Front End for Websites.

Game of the Bear 2 Much to Bear. (Atari 2600 & 7800 version)

You can play his game here: VCHZ Itch.io

2) Victor Parada, a Programmer with experience, and an indie Homebrew developer by hobby, like to create a game for Atari 800 in an optimized way and he write his games in Assembler with 10 lines only, he show me his recent project in an Atari 800 XL; Block Chaser.

You can play his game here: Vitoco Website

Block Chaser is still in its development!

3) Marcelo Waldbaum & Pedro Caraball , were the founders of Turbosoft in 1987 in Argentina with to Mauro Pieressa & Pedro Dominguez & In 1988 they founded TurboSoft in Chile and in with Coelsa company (official Atari hardware & software dealers) developed and they sold various products for Atari 800, maybe they are the first software and hardware developer in our country.

They developed:

- Loading Game with System and Error detector for Cassette (DCE) while loading a game you could play Tubo Tennis (before that Namco patented the mini-game in the loading screen for PlayStation games)

-Otari (a machine that copies cassettes)

-Cassette with 6 games for play in 1991

-Loading Software Injektor (reduce the time of load to 45 Seconds, before the cassettes, were take between 5-8 minutes to load the program

-Turbo Cartridge of 64K (between 9 to 25 games)

-Turbo VHS, you can play videogames in VHS (yes, read well in VHS)

-Revista Turbo News (1989-1991) a magazine about games and Hardwares of Atari with advertising of Coelsa.

I suggest watch the documental in Spanish of Frognum on his Youtube channel: Here

3) Robert Jaeger, the legendary indie game developer famous for making Montezuma Revenge published by the legendary Parker Brothers in 1983 for Atari 2600, 800, Commodore 64, etc, gave us a preview of his next new projects and answers us via live broadcast of our question.

Recently he launched the Version Montezuma Revenge for NES programmed by Felipe Renaud, who was written the game in Assembler (Felipe Renaud is a Chilean Programmer, who currently working at UbiSoft), Robert Jaeger has founded Normal Distribution LLC his new game company, and they made a Kickstarter for Montezuma NES in 2019, and the game packaging and Manual was designed by Alejandro Cobelli (Youtuber of "Juego del Recuerdo").

Recently Montezuma Revenge's has a new version was released on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Mobile devices.

Also, I met with José Bargas, who is working with Robert Jaeger on an update called Director Cut, he made Montezuma Maker, a Romhack of the original with more rooms of 16 K to 32 K (an expansion of the original in resume).

Montezuma Revenge for Atari 800 was released by Parker Brothers, but in our country, we received the unfinished version, a copy, when Robert Jaeger was looking for a publisher with the Demo and finally this was filtered from the CES 1982, which was the most popular version for the Chilean users of a Atari 800. During the day I met with old friend, how I met some youtubers of my country.

[fallynleaf]

Hello! Love reading stuff you write.

What are your thoughts on axiz reunion? I'm assuming you're caught up.

Also wondering if you're into the idea of them doing a program against Golden Lovers. I believe there could be such delicious dynamics there.

aww, thank you!!

and yes, i have MANY thoughts on the Axiz reunion!!!!! a lot of my thoughts on the team don't seem to be super popular in the main eng fanbase for NOAH, so i've sort of been keeping them to myself... 😅

i did publish a very short fic, though, after their first match back together as a tag team. and i've been thinking about the bodyswap fic again 🥲

most of my wrestling thoughts so far this year are in my wrestling journal, which i guess has sort of replaced giffing for me because it's way less time-intensive, though i'd still like to publish some of this content as gifsets, especially the TJPW story stuff, which as far as i can tell is not getting written about (in English) anywhere else. the wrestling journal itself is unpublishable in its current state because i also use it to bookmark some of my favorite fan photos, and i wouldn't want to republish those. but i do love it when people read it and comment on some of the stuff in there! i'm constantly falling behind on it and getting caught up super last minute, but it has been a rewarding project overall.

as far as Axiz specifically goes, i also created a separate Axiz journal just for tracking stuff related to their 2023 run. so if that team is the main thing you're into and you don't care about 90% of the other wrestling stuff i'm on about, that has all of my current thoughts and observations on them! it also contains various supplemental material, like tweets and stuff from shupro, plus my very rough translations of the material. there's also a long ramble about the third Axiz photobook, Green, and about how it becomes a different book entirely depending on when you read it (pre-betrayal, post-betrayal, post-reunion).

the main reason why i made that document was because: 1) i've gotten spoiled by my own TJPW blog lol and i get frustrated by how hard it is to browse old post-match comments in other companies due to how poorly organized basically all wrestling companies are and how ephemeral this stuff is, and 2) i have some amount of actual Japanese proficiency now that i did not have when i first got into Axiz in 2020. so i've started to prefer experiencing the stories through the original Japanese, and i sometimes get frustrated by the official translations and want to keep track of the Japanese 😅.

i've also been having fun exploring the Japanese side of the fandom and sort of ignoring what's going on on the western side of things. i've been using it as an excuse to do some low-stakes Japanese reading practice without having the pressure to translate for hundreds of other people like i do with TJPW. so far, all of the Axiz comments have been super short (way shorter than i'm used to with TJPW), so it has been a doable side project for me. the translation quality is way lower than my TJPW translations, though, so just a warning about that. i didn't want to bother my translation tag team partner and ask them to check even more of my work, haha, so there might be mistakes in there, though it's certainly not the worst NOAH translations that you will find... 😅

as far as Axiz potentially doing a program against the Golden Lovers goes, anon, i want that so bad 😭. the only thing i want more would be them doing a program with the Magical Sugar Rabbits 🥲. Axiz vs Golden Lovers feels actually legit plausible, though, considering that Kota has expressed interest in working with NOAH, and considering the AEW/NOAH partnership.

also, i do have one bonus meme that is not in the Axiz journal lol. you might need to read the journal for context, though, depending on how closely you've been following this stuff (i'm tuned out of the fandom at large and don't know what has and hasn't been getting talked about).

here it is:

Kenta Kobashi: "Go, take back the time you missed when you were gone!!"

Katsu:

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Week

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #64: “Rio Ghosto” | September 18, 1998 | S05E07

This is a really significant episode for me, and I’m gonna get way too personal to explain why. Yes, this is a memoir-style post where I get nostalgic about my childhood VCR. Don’t worry, I hate when I do this, too. Feel free to skip around.

Space Ghost has written a very bad screenplay (I can relate!). So, he lines up three sophisticated cutting-edge indie directors as his three guests. After a Dick-Dale sounding opening and some Moltar title-card mischief, we get to our first guest. It’s… Ben Stiller?? Well, he does have bleach blonde hair. That was pretty cutting-edge in 1998.

Space Ghost also has a bit of a chat with Kevin Smith before he had the stink of Dogma all over him (or the stink of Chasing Amy, but that’s more of a retrospect thing). Kevin and Zorak have a moment where they shout each other out, only to have Space Ghost interrupt it by shouting out his own name. Very funny! Maybe the funniest thing Kevin Smith ever did (other than [spoiler alert] k*ll D*nte)

This episode more-or-less represents my becoming an actual regular viewer of Space Ghost. I think we had JUST gotten Cartoon Network on our cable system earlier in 1998. I was in high school, and was taking a sincere stab at being social and hanging out with girls I had crushes on and stuff like that. Luckily that didn’t take. I haven’t spoken to or even really want to ever see those people again. I am watching this episode of Space Ghost probably for the 23rd time in my life.

The entire reason, more-or-less, that I tuned into (and taped!) this episode of Space Ghost was because Kevin Smith was on it. I was fanatical for him at this time, and remember anticipating Dogma so rabidly that I actually did the unthinkable: I downloaded the script from the internet and read it before the movie came out. The movie in my head turned out to be way better than the movie we currently, uh, I guess we don’t actually currently have Dogma, do we? I guess that one fat rapist has to die first?

I don’t really wanna turn this into a Kevin Smith post. I write way too much about that guy. I still watch his movies even though most of them leave me cold. But: I basically remember a few moments in which Kevin Smith appeared on my radar: I’m pretty sure I saw the trailers for Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy attached to various VHS tapes I rented. Also, I distinctly remember seeing Clerks reviewed by Siskel and Ebert, and being fascinated by the idea that a rude R-rated comedy could also be a black and white art film.

Austin Stories, a faintly remembered MTV Show starring Laura House, Chip Pope, and Howard Kremer (second place only to Freaks and Geeks as my favorite one-season TV series of all time) was getting enough buzz that it merited an article in TV Guide that compared it to other burgeoning slacker-related media. They listed the films of Kevin Smith and Richard LInklater. I remembered those names.

The first Kevin Smith project I ever saw was either Mallrats, or Jay and Silent Bob’s Video Stash on MTV, an hour long special hosted from Kevin Smith’s famous comic book store. The purpose of the special was to show the collected interstitials Smith directed for the network which starred Jay & Silent Bob. But these things helped me understand the idea that films had directors, and those directors had a particular style, and if you like a movie by a certain director it’s a good idea to seek out their other movies. Clerks came next. Chasing Amy after that. Dogma was the first one I got to see in the theaters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was the second. I leveled off after that one. What a pair of stinkers.

Space Ghost also talks to Jim Jarmusch, who also made funny black and white movies about slackers just like my “hero” Kevin Smith. If I only I knew that then! This episode didn’t really serve as any kind of introduction to these guys, sadly. The episode, like many episodes of Space Ghost, sorta rely on you already knowing who these guys are. I had no live for Jarmusch from this episode. Stranger Than Paradise is so wonderful. I should really go through the guy’s filmography sometime, I think I’ve only seen like five of them.

This episode got me into watching Space Ghost pretty regularly. I remember taping this to the beginning of a tape. Then, I transferred a recording of Mystery Science Theater to the tape so I could edit the commercials out. For some reason I decided to do this after the Space Ghost episode, making it sorta like a theatrical short that plays before a feature film. I liked the pairing of the two shows so much I began simultaneously recording Mystery Science Theater and Space Ghost and filling up the ends of edited-for-commercials MST3Ks with Space Ghost reruns (also SCTV repeats from NBC’s Later). Man, I would love it if I had all those tapes still. I still think that’s a killer combo. I paired down when they were coming out on DVD.

Favorite bits: Ben Stiller’s exchange with Zorak where Zorak is echoing Ben’s descriptors of him “yeah, I’m ribald”. “Yeah, I’m ribald” was in the running for my favorite Zorak quote for a very long time. Ben Stiller talking about Cable Guy 2 (wow, he’s so self-effacing!). The brief video clip of Andy Merrill (I assume) rolling around laughing that played during the break (was there actually commercial breaks for this season? I forget!). The cut to Zorak, now a Squirrel, saying “Screwy, Ain’t It?” which was a then-current reference to Cartoon Network’s on-air branding, which used that tagline over clips of particularly goofy cartoon moments.

At the end we get a very brief clip of George Lowe in a Space Ghost costume, with a holster at his side, looking serious. This is, I assume, taken from this footage from a live-action shoot, where George Lowe loses his marbles with a dwarf pony. This brief tag seems to be the only remnants of this shoot, which is why it became a DVD Easter egg on the volume four DVD (as well as a series of anniversary bumpers that aired on Adult Swim). The resulting use of the footage is comically unspectacular, so much so that I remember almost cutting it out of my tape because I thought it was a Cartoon Network bumper or something. I really wonder if the writers thought this live-action sequence was going to be a huge pay-off for the episode.

A landmark episode! For me! And me only!

MAIL BAG

tell that other commenter they already brought Lewis back, he's Mario's nemesis in The Mario's Movie. It's the same voice actor and everything, look it up. "Lewis Lectures, here we come!" i couldn't agree more!

What couldn’t you agree more with?

oh please don't edit out my slur. I'll be nice!

Nice girls don’t slur

you badmouthed HBOMax and then the next day they added SG to the Leaving Soon list.

Yeah. I guess you catch more flies with funny and boy, isn’t that funny?

[communityinclusion]

Embracing Inclusion and Empowerment: My Unforgettable Fellowship Experience

Bakar Hamad is a 2023 Fellow in the Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston in partnership with Humanity and Inclusion (HI). The following blog post was written by guest author Bakar Hamad.

Bakar Hamad, a Spring 2023 PFP Fellow, presenting his follow-on proposal to his peers during the Orientation Session held on May 5, 2023 at the ICI office.

I have a lot to say about this Fellowship, because it is one of a kind and is full of people with high skills and understanding of issues related to the inclusion of people with disabilities in different fields. I was very comforted by the process of preparing for my trip and the welcoming I received on May 4, 2023 at the Boston airport.

During the orientation session, we, the Fellows, had a chance to get to know each other and present our follow-on projects. It was at this stage that we had an opportunity to revise and help each other with ideas to improve our projects. The invited speakers were the impetus for the improvement of our projects because the issues they presented and questions they raised gave insight and an image of alternative ways that helped us achieve the goals of our fellowship.

On the evening of May 6, 2023, I arrived at the Iowa airport where I received a kind welcome from my host Dr. Derrick K. Willis, a PFP Host for the fourth time. Derrick is funny, cheerful, and willing to share everything he knows, not only concerning inclusive civic engagement for people with disabilities, but also leadership-related skills. Derrick is a Director of Iowa’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) within University of Iowa Health Care. It was a pleasure and comfort for me that the information about my presence at the CDD department was featured in CDD’s weekly article.

To work or study at the University of Iowa, you must undergo a health screening, which for me was the first thing to do immediately after reporting to CDD, followed by the process of attaining a scholar trainee card. As a visitor at the CDD, I was able to participate in all the meetings and sessions. I was given the same opportunity as other employees to contribute, ask, advise, and share my thoughts during the participatory planning for advocacy work plans.

I was also able to connect with hosts from other states who hosted the Fellows of the Spring 2023 PFP cohort in an outbound information session organized by the PFP team. This session aimed to provide the information and instructions about how to apply for the outbound program opportunity. Furthermore, I participated in the Zoom meeting with Iowa’s Olmstead Consumer Taskforce, held on May 12, 2023, where I was able to learn various things about how to reach out to legislatures and decision makers to advocate for issues that concern people with disabilities.

My favorite moment that will remain in my memory is joining my host’s family in Sedalia City, Missouri, where we connected with his family and participated in a Sunday service. In addition to learning about disability issues, I’ve also learned about the diversity of the US and how dynamic it is. At Sedalia, we had a get-together and family lunch to honor our mothers on International Mother’s Day.

Bakar takes a selfie in Sedalia, MO with Dr. Derrick's family.

[1-lightofjustice]

You feel uncomfortable about Scepter 4 year-end track, is it because you're Reisaru shipper and in that track Fushimi ditched Munakata to chase Misaki? You know that the track was made by Yellow, one of official GoRa's members, right? The track is, sadly for you, canon.

Fushimi ditched Munakata? Oho, I support it fully. Like hell, sometimes on Drama CDs or short stories (especially Gakuen K) Fushimi is so tolerant with Munakata's shenanigans and made me want to scream "just kick him and run away Fushimi!" (Case point : Munakata fishing trip, Munakata got handcuffed, Munakata's King Game, Fushimi became Santa Claus). And for me, the fact that Fushimi can refuse Munakata and willing to do so without any fear or hesitation is the cute and healthy point of Reisaru. He already coldly rejected Munakata many times you know, like when he refused to accompany Munakata on his hobby because it reminded him of the time when he was roped by Totsuka into various activities, he refused to play cheese with Munakata, he refused to see autumn falling leaves together with Munakata on their day off, etc. So yeah, the fact that Fushimi ditched Munakata to chase Misaki didn't bother me at all.

So what made me feel uncomfortable for this track? Just one word, Timeline. The explanation is a bit meta-y so if you don't want read my rambling, the short answer is there's discrepancy with the main canon timeline, and while it's not impossible, the implication made me uncomfortable. Again, not impossible but hella uncomfortable for me. For full explanation....

See, for me, since most of K Drama CDs are mostly gag tracks, the ones that I treat as canon are Drama CDs that I think can be slotted in canon timeline. Drama CDs like Crow's Repayment, Snow White, and Izumo's Room are definitely not canon because there's no way those were happened on main timeline situation. Drama CDs like Everything Sank Except Me and That Guy and Munakata Fish The World is obviously placed after ROK (since Munakata got weakened like he can't pull a tire and Sarumi's improved relationship). Other drama like Munakata-kun's Strap, Elevator, or For Justice can easily be slotted in pre-anime or even post season 1. Window Shopping, Figure Direction, and Private Hero are obviously pre-anime by the casual appearance or mention of Mikoto and Totsuka. There are Drama CD that used as blatant promotion of K Project, like Guys Meeting in The Shower and it's Girl Version counterpart which completely break the fourth-wall by "Hey we are bunch of K boys in K world let's we dip in hot water and talk" which is definitely not gonna happen in canon.

So what category is YEP (Year End Party) Drama CD? It's logical enough to happen on canon. It didn't break any fourth wall. If we assumed that YEP Drama CD is truly happened on canon, on what period it's happened? It's definitely on pre-ROK, and by the casual mention of Mikoto, can it happen on pre-Season 1?

The answer is no. Why? Because unlike other Drama CD who has no mention of time as our foothold, YEP Drama CD has two hints about the specific time it happened. First, it's about year-end party, so the drama CD was happened on the end of December. Second, by the mention of ABCDEFGH as a squad that was expected to come by Munakata, it means that Scepter 4 Special Ops Squad was already formed, since before it ABCD were leaders of 1st-4th platoons and EFGH were ordinary swordsmen of 4th platoon. Is it impossible for them to have casual gathering together? No. Is it impossible for them to get grouped together on formal gathering with their boss? Yes. Because based on Scepter 4 structure, they were not a group yet, they were not even on the same platoon. Like, if EFGH was invited, how about the rest of 1st-3rd platoons? How about the 5th platoon leader and members? (Poor 5th platoon, they didn't get any screen time except a brief mention on Season 1 episode 8). And before Special Squad was formed, Fushimi is just an ordinary rank on Intelligent Division, so why did he come to gathering for Scepter 4 bosses and leaders of Swordsmen platoons, with bunch of troublemakers from 4th platoon? (I mean, yeah he is Munakata's favorite and the King's private soldier, but that was not.... an official title). The Drama CD with the mentioned casts was not logical to happen if Fushimi and ABCDEFGH was not yet grouped under a special group, which is currently named Special Ops Squad.

Now when we established that YEP drama CD happened on late December, before ROK and after Special Ops squad was formed, let's look at the detailed timeline of K :

Special Ops squad was formed on Side Blue, detailed time was on 1st May 2012. Fushimi particularly joined Special Ops Squad and became the third-in-command on 6th June 2012. So the mentioned casts (Special Ops Squad) plus Awashima and Fushimi were expected to have Year End Party together with Munakata, it certainly happened on late December 2012. And what happened on December 2012? Apocalypse well quite almost close to that. On 7th December 2012 Totsuka was dead, and 12 days after, on 19th December 2012 Mikoto was dead, killed by (a very unwilling) Munakata. So if YEP drama CD happened on 23-31 December 2012, more or less a week after the end of Season 1 and Mikoto's death, then...

-Scepter 4 ditched Munakata even thought they were aware that more or less a week before their King killed his friend. If the rest of squad didn't know about Mikorei's relationship, then at least Awashima knew how hard mental blow that was received by Munakata on K Season 1. Yet she still ditched Munakata. I don't know what happened on previous YEP, but would the ever loyal Awashima ditched her King when she knew that Munakata was very possibly on his sad and hurtful period?

-Fushimi taunted Yata with mentioning Mikoto just more or less a week after Mikoto's death. Sure we knew that Fushimi could taunt Yata even after Mikoto's death, but (I hope) he didn't specifically search for Yata and taunt him with how Homra and Mikoto is suck just after Mikoto's death. On canon, after Mikoto's death Fushimi avoided the hell of Yata and Homra, on Missing King Yata called him first, and on ROK, their meeting was coincidental.

-I love Scepter 4 as a whole, and I particularly love Munakata and Fushimi on the same degree. But my love for each of them is a little different. I love both of them to be happy of course, but if Fushimi got flooded with angst, I will feel "oh yeah Fushimi angst, mmm delicious, give me more" but if I stumbled upon Munakata angst I will feel "noooo don't be sad, I don't want him to be sad, please someone fix it!" Yeah sorry Fushimi XD. And that is the reason why I can't enjoy Mikorei after Mikoto's death, because watching Munakata's constant brooding over Mikoto's death is damn uncomfortable for me and I can't even feel sad along with him for Mikoto's death (I don't hate Mikoto, but I am indifferent about him). So yeah, hearing how Munakata sounded genuinely upset when Scepter 4 members ditched him, when Fushimi ditched him, when I heard Munakata's lament that he was alone on the end of video, when more or less a week before he killed his friend, I can't enjoy it. I can't laugh for Munakata's misery, I feel uncomfortable as hell instead.

Please note, just I said, the track is not impossible to be canon. Is it possible for Awashima and the rest of Scepter 4 members to be annoyed enough by Munakata to ditch him even though not long ago Munakata killed his friend and almost died in the process? Yes. Is it possible for Fushimi to taunt Yata with Mikoto after Mikoto’s death? Yes. Is it possible for Munakata to be left alone in a bar? Yes. BUT, as Fushimi, Munakata, Awashima, and overall Scepter 4 fans, that kind of portrayal makes me uncomfortable so much, especially since I valued Scepter 4′s bond so much and don’t care (or you can say quite disliked) about Sarumi’s taunting and fighting, also Munakata angsting over Mikoto. Also if the lack of Yata’s anger and depressed over Mikoto’s death means that the Drama CD happened before Season 1 a.k.a December 2011 (Fushimi joined Scepter 4 on October 2010, so December 2010 would be his first YEP and he shouldn’t know about previous party), then as Scepter 4 nerds I need explanation why only ABCDEFGH, Fushimi, and Awashima that was expected to come when they were not on the same squad before and Fushimi even just an ordinary member of Intelligence Division that rarely associate with Swordsmen Squad as Hidaka pointed out. Compare that to another Scepter 4 annual event like Flower Gazing that included Zenjou, Yayoi, and even we can assumed that there are other Scepter 4 member joined on flower gazing on other places. Also, Flower Gazing as annual event is already mentioned 4 times but there's no mention of Scepter 4 year-end party except on that Drama CD.

Speaking about portrayal, I also don’t like some of jokes on that track. Namely when Munakata said that he installed surveillance camera on Scepter 4 dorm, Awashima’s dorm to be exact. I knew that Munakata is an S and can quite ignore the concept of privacy and personal space, but as a boss and a man, just like Fushimi said, that action is a crime. And not the funny one. Awashima should and must protest for that, no matter how loyal she is to Munakata. And Fushimi as the main advocate of privacy and personal space should not accept that kind of behavior from Munakata and didn’t let Munakata be with just a simple protest. Honestly, if I have a boss who pulled that stint of me, no matter how amazing he is, I will lose my respect on him. And I respect the hell outta Munakata. I will not say that the track is mischarasterized Munakata, since as you said Kabei Yukako (Yellow) is the writer and she wrote an amazing Munakata in LSW and Sand Castle story, but maybe she played with fandom jokes “tyrant Munakata” a little bit too hard.  So yeah, I prefer if that track, especially that particular aspect, is not canon. 

Not that I hate the whole track of course. I like some trivia about Scepter 4, especially the ones that was confirmed canon on other materials like Awashima loves plushies and Benzai has younger sister. I also like when Fushimi can baffle Munakata with his card trick. But still, Scepter 4 YEP Drama CD is uncomfortable for me. 

Also track like Megane of Blue is also written by Gora Orange, it didn’t break the fourth wall or seemed happened on alternate universe, but you don’t actually believe that in canon Munakata truly became crazy if he lost his glasses right? Especially since we already got 2 glasses-less Munakata and he turned out just fine (three if you count Optician Drama CD, which is canon since it was mentioned on Countdown). On drama CD, script writers often exaggerate characters to create a joke, either Gora or non Gora.

[projectadulthood]

39 Best Websites to Find Free Textbooks, Research Papers, Study Guides, and Books

Whether you’ve just received a long list of textbooks you need for a specific uni class or are looking for a particular book/research paper for a high school project, books (and journal subscriptions) can be expensive.

The good news is that there are plenty of resources online where you can find free PDF versions of most written materials, starting with Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology and ending with Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Note that although some of the websites below provide access to copyright-free texts only, or texts that publishers/authors have agreed to share freely, others have been accused of internet privacy.

However, many people see open access practices as morally acceptable, especially considering the unsustainable prices of academic textbooks and papers.

To quote a recent paper on the topic:

"Since shadow libraries are a product of the cooperation between scholars, who contribute texts and other resources (such as donations, volunteer work, etc.), shadow libraries represent a ‘bottom-up’, radical approach to open access: a physical approximation of the Platonic ideal of knowledge sharing that would exist if there were no legal, economic, or institutional barriers to the circulation of scholarly knowledge."

Free Textbooks

Library Genesis

Library Genesis, or Libgen for short, is a shadow online library website where college students can find academic books (including those that are hard to find/very expensive) and scholarly journal articles.

The site also hosts general-interest books, audiobooks, comics, magazines, and images.

Z-Library

Z-Library is another shadow library website that hosts college textbooks, scholarly journal articles, and general-interest books. It calls itself “the world’s largest e-book library.” It mirrors Library Genesis.

The front page also features some of the most popular books at the time. When we viewed it, these included “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and Harry Potter the Complete Collection by J. K. Rowling.

You can also use the right-hand navigation menu to see the books that have been added most recently, as well as sort through books based on category.

Use the Book Request option if you can’t find a book you’re looking for. There’s no guarantee your book will be added, but community members look at requests to see what books to upload (you can also upload books).

PDF Drive

PDF Drive is an online library with a ton of free ebooks and PDF textbooks in various categories, including academic & education (but also lifestyle, personal growth, art, linguistics, etc.)

ForCoder.su

Forcoder.su has lots of online textbooks on programming. It also provides free access to online courses, like Apache Kafka for beginners and object-oriented programming with Python. Currently, there are hundreds of free courses available.

Online Mathematics Textbooks

Online Mathematics Textbooks is your source for free digital textbooks on all things math. It’s just one page featuring 77 textbooks.

Tech Books for Free Download

Tech Books for Free Download is where you’ll find free science and engineering books on topics ranging from data mining to general relativity.

There’s no way to search for books easily. However, the site is divided into books on Linux, Java, Microsoft, C and C++, Perl/Python, Science, Networking, Database, Security, and Assembly.

Free Tech Books

Free Tech Books is an open textbook library. It provides access to free computer science books and textbooks, plus lecture notes. All the books and lecture notes listed on this site are freely available on authors’ and/or publishers’ sites.

You can browse books by category (computer science, mathematics, supporting fields, operating system, programming/scripting, miscellaneous), author, publisher, or license.

Directory of Open Access Books

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) is a website that indexes and provides access to academic, peer-reviewed open-access books. All disciplines are covered, but there’s a particular emphasis on humanities, social sciences, and law.

Ubiquity Press

Ubiquity Press has been an open-access publisher of academic, peer-reviewed books and journals since 2012. It was founded by University of College London (UCL) researchers.

Research Papers

Sci-Hub

Sci-hub has the most expansive collection of research papers. Its mission is to “remove all barriers in the way of science.”

Directory of Open Access Journals

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory of open-access, peer-reviewed research journals covering humanities, social sciences, technology, science, medicine, and art.

The directory indexes journals from different countries and languages. DOAJ is supported financially by publishers, libraries, and other organizations.

Wiley Open Access

Wiley Open Access provides peer-reviewed open-access journals across topics like biochemistry, economics, sociology, mathematics, and law.

SpringerOpen

SpringerOpen publishes open-access journals across a wide range of areas, mainly STEM.

Elsevier

Elsevier publishes open-access, peer-reviewed journals. You can search for journals by title, keyword, or subject (dentistry, nursing, decision sciences, etc.)

Springer Link

Springer Link provides access to ebooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and other resources (mostly scientific).

BASE

BASE is a search engine for academic texts, including journals, digital collections, institutional repositories, etc. You can access about 60% of the indexed texts for free.

Study Guides

Bibliomania

Bibliomania has study guides to the most-read books, like “A Hero of Our Time,” “Animal Farm,” and even Irish politics. It also has over 2,000 classic texts, book summaries, author biographies, and more.

Books

Open Library

Open Library is an open library catalog of more than 3 million new and old books. The project was created by the nonprofit organization Internet Archive. It has also received partial funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation and the California State Library.

You can read old books without an account. However, for new books, you’ll need to set one up (it takes just a few minutes).

Internet Archive

Internet Archive is a digital library of ebooks. It also has free movies, music, and software.

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is a famous site where you can find lots of free books. There are more than 60,000 books in its collection.

Standard Ebooks

Standard Ebooks take public domain texts and make them as nice as new books. They fix typographical errors and typos, create cool cover art, and format the text for e-readers like Kindle and iPad.

Planet eBook

Planet eBook is where you can download free PDF copies of classics like Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

What really makes Planet eBook stand out is its UX. It’s one of those rare sites that are super easy to navigate and actually look good (aesthetically speaking).

The Ultimate Book Search Engine

The Ultimate Book Search Engine is an ebook search engine that includes 350 open directory sites that relate to ebooks. It was created by the Reddit user u/NotoriousYEG.

Classic Bookshelf

The Classic Bookshelf is a site where you’ll find lots of classic novels, everything from Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy.

Literature.org

Literature.org features classic works of English literature, both fiction and non-fiction.

Bartleby

Bartleby is a site that features both fiction and nonfiction books.

Fiction.us

Fiction.us has a ton of books, including fiction, short stories, children's picture books, poetry, books on writing, and plays.

Classic Literature Library

As the name suggests, Classic Literature Library is where you’ll find classic literature works.

Ideology.us

Ideology.us is a site that has ebooks on philosophy, psychology, sociology, politics, and education.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare is where you’ll find all of Shakespeare’s work. The site is run by The Tech, the largest and oldest newspaper by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

Read Books Online

Read Books Online has around 6,000 ebooks, including novels, short stories, poems, essays, plays, and non-fiction.

Public Bookshelf

Public Bookshelf is a site dedicated to romance novels.

Categories of ebooks here include contemporary romance, romantic suspense, historical romance, regency romance, inspirational romance, vampire romance, western romance, general romance, and fantasy and paranormal romance.

The Perseus Project

The Perseus Project is a digital library created by Tufts University with books from Ancient Rome and Greece, published in original languages and English.

Chest of Books

Chest of Books has books on a ton of different subjects, including animals, finance, real estate, science, and travel.

The Literature Network

The Literature Network has books by authors like Anne Bronte, Lewis Carroll, and Lord George Gordon Byron. It also features forums, literature summaries, and quizzes.

The Online Books Page

The Online Books Page is a site by the University of Pennsylvania that houses books in categories like philosophy, history, medicine, science, agriculture, music, anthropology, and more. The site also links to the following:

Banned Books Online: A directory of books that were once banned and links to places where you can read them in full.

A Celebration of Women Writers: A directory that lists online editions of literary works by women as well as resources about women writers.

Prize Winners Online: A directory of prize-winning books.

Many Books

Many Books is “your friendly neighborhood library.” It houses over 50,000 books in genres like romance, mystery, young adult, horror, and non-fiction. You can read books online or download them to your device.

Authorama

Authorama turns public domain books on sites like Google Books and Project Gutenberg into HTML format, making it easier to read them.

Audiobooks

Librivox

Librivox has free audiobooks that you can listen to from any device.

[sotwk]

Welcome to "Sons of the Woodland King" (SotWK)

Last updated: 7/18/24

The Elvenking and Elvenqueen: Commission by beelzeebub

SotWK Masterlists and Content

I've organized all my original content and other fun goodies in the pages linked below:

FanFiction Masterlist

Headcanon Masterlist

Fanfic Request Guidelines

Blog Archive

My Ao3 Page (All works are public)

My Ko-Fi Page (All tips received are used to commission fanart)

Commissioned Tolkien Fanart Gallery (Collection on Ko-Fi)

Summer Campfire Sleepover 2024 (Works written for event) [New!]

Featured Tags:

anon asks - If you sent me an Ask on Anon, and I've answered it, it will be tagged with this. Anon friends, please check here!

sotwk headcanon - Captures all headcanon posts I write, including minor ones that might not be on the Masterlist.

visit Eryn Galen - Photo and aesthetic posts of how I imagine the great forest kingdom of Eryn Galen to look like.

fics of friends - Looking for fics to read? I have super talented writer friends in the Tolkien fandom!

art of friends - I have super talented artist friends too! Please support them (and all artists)!

get to know me - Want to know more about me as a writer and a person? Here are my answers to questions and tag games!

get to know others - Tracks answers from "get to know" asks I've sent to friends and random folks

Other Fun Stuff!

SotWK's Headcanon Ask Game

Ask and Tag Games Archive

SotWK's "Ask Away" Initiative - a post people have reblogged to indicate they'd welcome receiving random asks!

My ASK BOX is OPEN!

I regularly update my masterlists, but please consider becoming a Follower/Mutual! I'd love to connect with you and exchange works--maybe even collaborate!

About "Sons of the Woodland King": a Tolkien AU & Fanfic Series

SotWK tells the story of Thranduil, all the way back from his childhood in Doriath to the final years of his rule over Eryn Lasgalen. There is a TON of history to cover in almost 7,000 years of the Elvenking’s life!

In this version of Thranduil’s story, he falls in love and marries a Noldorin elleth, Maereth, before he eventually inherits the throne of Greenwood the Great. Together they bear and raise five strong sons: Crown Prince Mirion, Prince Turhir, Prince Arvellas, Prince Gelir, and Prince Legolas.

SotWK chronicles their lives together, centuries filled with triumph and tragedy interwoven with the fates of many other famous figures in Middle-earth history.

The Elvenking's Five Sons: (L-R) Legolas, Arvellas, Mirion, Turhir, Gelir

Art: Commission by hffhifjou

About Me: SotWK the Blogger

Mae govannen, mellyn nin!

Please call me SotWK (pronounce an invisible "i" between the "w" and "k"); or you can use Nana/Naneth ("mom" in Sindarin) as some of my mutuals do, if you'd like.

I'm a fangirl in my late 30s, dividing my energy and hours among my husband, our two boys, a full-time job, and my fandom hobbies. I reside in the US (PST).

I have been an on-and-off LOTR fanfic writer since 2003. I started this blog in October 2022 after deciding to dust off and resume my writing project, "Sons of the Woodland King", a fanfiction series focusing on Thranduil Oropherion, Elvenking of the Woodland Realm.

I also write for various Tolkien canon characters alongside my own OCs and take requests for Reader Insert fics.

I reblog media from some other fandoms as well, mostly in the fantasy, period/medieval, superhero, and sci-fi genres. I use meme gifs from my favorite sitcoms a LOT.

This is a PG-13 blog (I do not post or reblog adult/explicit content), so minors are welcome. This blog is meant to be a safe space for everyone regardless of background or belief, and should be conflict and drama-free at all times.

The SotWK mission: for Mutuals, Readers, and Visitors to come together in appreciation for everything Middle-earth (esp. Thranduil and his kingdom!), relax while hanging out with friends, and feel better about the world and themselves.

In the name of the Elvenking--may you and your house always endure!

[thesoulspulse]

Regarding The Guys In White (Part 1)

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these so why not start with something I need to research for several projects anyway? Now the Guys in White are, as you know, a parody of the Men in Black that keep the existence of aliens a secret from the rest of humanity which makes their polar opposite people who attempt to contain and/or classify various supernatural entities, aka ghosts, spirits, and possibly other mythical beings that exist in their world which we have seen plenty examples of before.

For instance, we’ve seen a ghostly genie known as Desiree, we’ve seen Pandora, we’ve seen the literal personification of Halloween the Fright Knight, a ghostly dragon, the list goes on! That said, what do we really KNOW about the Guys in White?

Well I’ll tell you and you can read the rest below!

Part 2: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/676128138448748544/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-2

Part 3: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/676143957622865920/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-3

Part 4: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/676585479837302784/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-4

Final Part: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/677951564575588354/regarding-the-guys-in-white-final-part

Regarding the Guys in White...

At first, it seemed odd to me that they had all these rules and regulations about keeping their suits pristine. But then when I thought about it in a more depth later I realized it actually makes a lot of sense for them to worry about that as more than just a joke if you consider the fact that ectoplasm is a supernatural and radioactive substance that can do strange things to people and objects so it’s not good to get contaminated by it. That’s why Jack and Maddie are constantly wearing hazmat suits and why Tucker was worried about growing a third arm when he got covered in anti-ghost goop.

Operative K: I’ll fill out suit cleaning form #87B-Omega. Operative O: I’ll call our immediate supervisor to requisition detergent and fabric softener.

The Guys in White are ‘supposedly’ a branch of the government tasked with keeping the threat of ghosts contained or outright neutralizing it entirely.

As for why I say only supposedly it’s because something Sam said to them in the episode “Eye for an Eye” got me thinking:

Sam: Laugh it up boys, but page 198, sub-chapter 7; paragraph 37B of the Anti-Ghost Code says you need a warrant, unless exigent circumstances supersede the authority of the judge or magistrate. [Smiles.]

Operative K: Exigent circumstances? [Laughs.]

Operative O: Save it, K. We don't even know what that means. *The agents turn to the door, ready to leave. On their way out they warn Jack.*

Operative O: You're off the hook until we can get a warrant…. Or a legal dictionary….

There’s also the fact that when we first saw them, they allegedly wanted to cash in on the million dollar bounty on Danny Phantom’s capture which makes no sense if they have government funding. I mean later in the series they BUY Fenton Works from Jack and Maddie in “Living Large” which is an episode I seriously despise. We don’t know the exact amount of money they gave Jack and Maddie, but it had to be a lot more than just one million given how they said “wow that’s a lot of zeroes!” And seriously if it was that easy to buy them off, why didn’t Vlad ever think of that since he’s the richest man in the WORLD? But, moving on...

Still, why don’t know the rest of their agents know the Anti-Ghost Code by heart then that even a normal citizen like Sam could look up in a book or online and memorize like any other law?

That seems a bit suspicious to me, but don’t worry I’m not considering this idea true canon. It’s just a fun headcanon of mine I'm thinking about exploring where they’re not actually sanctioned by the government at all, but rather are part of another not-so-secret organization that does a lot unethical things in the name of ‘the greater good of humanity’ which can be a very dangerous mindset.

Granted, not knowing every little loophole in the law might just be an issue with their field agents and not the rest of the agency, but like I said it’d be interesting if the Guys in White only SAID they’re with the government to get people to cooperate with them.

I mean, Bertrand did the exact same thing to convince the parents of students at Casper High to let him and Spectra “treat their sick children with a mysterious ghost illness” at the abandoned North Mercy Hospital.

Anyways, we also know that Jack Fenton is a HUGE fanboy of the Guys in White. He looks up to them and probably wishes he could work with them and/or show them a thing or two about ghost hunting to impress his heroes, possibly childhood heroes.

It’s entirely possible that part of the reason Jack became a ghost hunter besides it running in the Fenton Family since the early 1600′s where we see his ancestor John Fenton Nightingale is because the Guys in White were literally his heroes. Who knows, maybe he botched a ghost hunting trip and an agent from the Guys in White saved him from a ghost when he was younger and since then he’s looked up to them.

Either way, they are aware of the Fenton Family either from a past encounter or their reputation in the ghost hunting community as a whole since they’re supposedly the world’s leading ghost experts but for all we know that might just how they see themselves and not in fact the truth. Obviously we KNOW there are other ghost hunting groups out there, but since we don’t have enough information on these other groups its hard to say how they actually work or how long their history is as ghost hunters.

That’s it for now and I’ll continue this in part two! Also, sorry I’m talking about some things out of order. I’m mostly just sharing whatever comes to mind because like I said, I’m doing research for several projects of mine and figured I might as well share my thoughts. So stay tuned for the next part where we get to the good stuff!

[canmom]

Animation Night 91 - Heike Monogatari

Hi friends, it’s Thursday! You know what that means. Unless you followed me just this week in which case hi, welcome, let me move this stack of cels - yes, it’s that night where I show animation on Twitch!

One of the very first people we covered on Animation Night was Naoko Yamada - KyoAni’s star director, renowned for her subtle, beautiful direction taking after the language of live action film. (c.f. Animation Night 13, Animation Night 51). She first caught attention on K-On!, where her storyboards stood out for their clever perspective and extraordinary care in portraying gesture and body language; she soon rose to lead the incredible character animation talent of one of the most beloved animation studios in the world, resulting in incredibly affecting stories like A Silent Voice and elegantly painful ones like Liz and the Blue Bird. At the same time, she played a large role in teaching her fellow animators the art, and generally it seemed that you could say, “Naoko Yamada’s in her KyoAni, all is right with the world”.

Except... that isn’t true anymore. KyoAni is still recovering from the horrific arson attack of 2019 and will never be the same as it once was, and in that context, late last year we got the surprise news that Yamada had left KyoAni to direct a show at Science! Saru, the studio founded by Masaaki Yuasa (Animation Night 12, Animation Night 28). Naturally this set everyone in the sphere who pay attention to such things pretty abuzz - you might read kVin’s article from the time, in which he was eager to see how Yamada’s style would work at the famously experimental studio... but also criticised the management of Science Saru, whose staff were in a tunnel of overwork trying to keep up with far too many projects. (Tragic, since they were once a pretty bold experiment in running studio better).

But all the same, the show got made. And, by all accounts, it was fantastic. So, in keeping with the new program of ‘watch an entire cour of anime in one night’, tonight... we’re going to check it out! (Why the marathon approach? I think it’s a good fit, but more on that anon...)

What’s the deal with this one, then? Well, Heike Monogatari (The Heike Story) is a famous Japanese epic dating back to the end of the Heian period (794-1185). If you don’t have an interest in Japanese history for some reason, you may know the Heian period from a certain meme...

As this implies, it’s known for being a peaceful era in which poetry was a big deal. A huge amount of literature comes from this time, much of the Japanese-language portion written by women because the men were more likely to speak Chinese.

Going back to the time I wrote a gigantic animation night post about the rise of the samurai class, it was also a period of population decline, in which the former criminals who had defended the Imperial court against a series of rebellions were awarded with power and status, and they became the earliest form of military houses and tax-collecting landlords who fought through horse archery. This became further cemented after famines in the 1000s, which the government answered by formalising the feudal tax-collecting estates, becoming the first samurai in the familiar sense.

Among these various noble houses in the imperial court, the most powerful were the Taira, Fujiwara, Tachibana and the Minamoto. For most of the Heian period, fighting would involve fairly ritualised skirmishes, in which small groups of riders or individuals would be sure to announce their pedigree before getting to it... but this came to a bloody end in the 1180s, with a five year civil war between the Taira (平) and the Minamoto (源) clans. This is the subject of the Heike story - Heike (平家) is a compound word which therefore means it takes on’yomi, but simply means ‘Taira family’.

The Heike story does not have just one author, but rather is an oral tradition first carried by mostly-blind, biwa-playing travelling performers known as biwa hōshi who would perform it in a ritual way which established their own presence in Japanese society. As such, there is not just one version of it, but there is a predominant version of it compiled by the blind monk Kakuichi in 1371. As you can probably imagine for a national epic, it’s a huge sprawling story, and its precise interpretation is a matter of debate. Wikipedia names two major readings:

At one level, the Tale is an account of martial heroism – of courage, cruelty, power, glory, sacrifice and sorrow.[4] Those who emphasise this aspect of the story point to its glorification of the heroic spirit, its avoidance of the realistic brutality and squalor of war, and its aestheticisation of death:[5] a classic instance of the latter is the comparison of the drowned samurai in the final battle to a maple-leaf brocade upon the waves.[6]

Others, while still accepting the importance of the military episodes and of heroic figures like Yoshitsune, would emphasise instead the Tale’s immersion in Buddhist thought, and its themes of duty, Dharma, and fate.[7]  Announced at the very beginning is the Buddhist law of transience and impermanence,[8]  specifically in the form of the fleeting nature of fortune, an analog of sic transit gloria mundi. The theme of impermanence (mujō) is captured in the famous opening passage: [click through to read it]

It sounds like a work that would be nigh impossible to adapt - but around this time, Masaaki Yuasa is directing another period piece about a musician in ‘darling of everyone lucky enough to see it at a festival’ Inu-Oh. That’s the context for this collaboration. Still, it’s a hefty task.

Yamada’s approach was to make the emotional core of the story an orphaned girl called Biwa, after the instrument she plays and clearly a synecdoche of the biwa hōshi. Her adaptation is self-reflective about the act of retelling and the meanings imparted, with itself as a case in point, as Matteo Watzky relates in a great deal of depth here...

(...) In the hands of Yamada and writer Reiko Yoshida, however, the tale is humanized in a new and important way; namely, in the sense that it is first and foremost a story about “real people”. Remarkably, there are no true villains: even the mythically evil Kiyomori – the head of the Heike and the primary instigator of the conflict – is presented as a deeply imperfect human being. More broadly, while the members of the cast are generally defined by traditional virtues and vices, the show is at pains to depict them as living people in their own right. To that end, emperors and servants alike exist in an unvarnished state, irreducibly unique in their personalities and mannerisms, defined equally by their solemnity and silliness, their cruelty and compassion, their fearfulness and foolishness.

Suffice to say, this sense of dramatic realism cannot be conflated with a false claim to historical reality. Indeed, the very first episode foregrounds the self-evidently artificial and anti-illusory nature of animation by having one of the “real people” ironize over their own existence as an animated character: “Those outside our clan are not real people,” says the hand-drawn image of a person whose very words is an artistic construct. This overt subversion of immersion – which discloses the anime’s (ir)reality as animation by dispelling its claim to naive realism, is an open demonstration of Heike Monogatari’s commitment to the truth of animation as a creative construct. At the same time, the fact that the medium of animation enables the creation of real images, including (un)realistic images of (un)real people, enables it to critically engage in, reflect on and intervene in reality. By capturing the inherently imperfect reality of human coexistence, Heike Monogatari eschews naive idealism in favor of a decidedly anti-humanistic view of political history. In other words, it harbors no illusions to the inevitable rise of an enlightened humanity. Furthermore, the feminist perspective that always permeates Yamada’s work is notably complexified by the politics of the setting, with the prominent threat of (sexual) violence a constant factor and women’s resistance to the ruling patriarchy generally reduced to active forms of passivity, i.e. the deliberately ambiguous act of “exiting society” through either religious seclusion or suicide.

(here’s a swordfight to assure you that it’s not all the sort of thing you can only say in long paragraphs :p ... ok now, skipping forward a bit)

Given this, the anime can be seen to use Biwa’s art of storytelling as a self-reflective vehicle for its own cinematic mediation of the tale. Of course, there is a problem with this: Biwa is not a real historical figure, past or present. In fact, as a “real person”, she is but an image of animation itself. But does this fact signal that she cannot tell the truth, or that her story cannot be a true part of history? Surely not. For Biwa’s story to be false, it would have to paint a false picture of reality. But, as noted, there is nothing deceptive about Heike Monogatari’s reconstruction of its source material. Rather, the show takes inspiration from history, what is known of the original tale and its tellers, in order to spin a mythopoetic yarn about these very things. It recreates history by transforming it into a story – but it also uses that story to show how history itself is created through storytelling. In other words, what Heike Monogatari shows us is not factually true, but the self-evident nature of that fact itself reveals a great deal about the construction, transmission and reception of historical truth.

This approach - making it very much Naoko Yamada’s take on the Heike Monogatari - seems to have paid off handsomely, and I’ve generally seen it receive nothing but praise.

On top of that, it’s also just... incredibly beautiful to look at - a nice demonstration that digital compositing is not in fact the devil and can be put to pretty good effect if you know what you’re doing. The pale blue palette that suffuses it suitably brings to mind scrolls from the Heian period, the character designs are readable and varied with the right balance of complexity to support expressive animation... inevitably, people compare it to KyoAni, and say something like “well the guys at science saru are not quite on that level of godliness but they’re pretty damn good” which honestly feels a little unfair, because they really are damn good. And, of course, the backgrounds lovely, full of beautiful palaces and falling snow cherry blossoms that might inspire you to write a poem.

So, why the marathon approach? Well because of various circumstances intervening I haven’t gotten around to watching this all the way through yet... but also the complexity of the story and all the characters and moving parts strikes me as something that would benefit from being seen in one go, with memories fresh.

So, as such, please join me around 7pm UK time (maybe a little later if circumstances intervene, i’ll post when it starts) to witness, along with Biwa, the tragic fall of the arrogant Heike... and all things are impermanent, so don’t miss it! see you then at twitch.tv/canmom

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP i just wanted to gush about k-armys for a sec.

https://twitter.com/minkittenpdnim/status/1567374079908319232?s=46&t=MbJUDOrKFtXwCZIa3W379w

*They’re organizing freaking large scale volunteers to handle a lot of stuff for the Busan concert!!!i’ve always thought they were a great bunch of people after i found out that they donated their refunds from the cancelled mots seoul concert to charity so discovering this makes me respect them even more.

And not to forget the various projects i-armys have organized in the name of BTS too, most prominently the huge donation to BLM a few years ago. Paraphrasing what halsey said, it’s amazing to see artists inspiring people such good deeds in people!!! I can’t imagine how humbling it is to see millions of people volunteering and donating in your name, because you’ve touched, moved, and inspired them. And no matter how much shit Army gets, wheter deserved or not, we do not play when we need to get organized!! I guess it’s part of the perks of having a fanbase of millions of people in all walks of life, you can basically function as a small country haha!

*shame on the Busan for seemingly being so hands off for a concert they had to beg bts’ parents for!!

**

Hi Anon,

I love everything about your ask. I love how you thought to highlight K-ARMYs doing something remarkable. I love how you thought to highlight international ARMYs doing similar things as well. I love how you cutely shamed Busan with an asterisk.

(My friend’s involved with this project! 💜😭) K-ARMYs have always been a force to reckon with. I’ve written before about the shit BTS went through before they broke out in the West - the people at the frontlines for most of that were K-ARMYs. It’s a shame some people think many of them are mantis (though it’s true mantis are definitely an issue), but most K-ARMY are dedicated, funny, intelligent people who genuinely love and respect BTS. For this project, I encourage people to take a look, do their own research, and if inclined, anyone able to support them should please do so.

This fandom is something I never shy away from saying I’m a part of. The reason I call myself ARMY is a bit of a no brainer to me: I call myself ARMY because that is who BTS acknowledges and recognizes to be their fan. And as I’m a fan of BTS, then I’m an ARMY. In fandom, a unified and respectful ethos is difficult to enforce because people aren’t bound by any spiritual or transcendent idea, they’re bound by some of the flimsiest things comparably: shared interest in a hobby. In fandom, a serial killer has a much right to be there, as a nun, so long as they share the same interests (of course a known serial killer will be behind bars but this is to illustrate the point that people with no morals also have hobbies and interests - Hitler probably sang along to Cliff Edwards in the shower and could be in his fandom if he had one). ARMYs are what they are, but most everyone I’ve come across in this fandom makes an effort to be a force for good. They don’t have to, no other k-pop fandom (or idol group) is raising US$1 million in 24 hours to fight racism and police brutality and nobody bats an eye at that, because why should a k-pop fandom care? But ARMYs do and they put their money where their mouth is. BTS have said they feel just as inspired by ARMYs, as we probably are by them. Sometimes, I see why the boys would say that about ARMY.

About Busan and the Korean government in general, I’ve written several times on my blog on the subject so I won’t rehash it, but man, this expo bid has been a spectacular disaster so far. The government is exceeding my expectations on that note. HYBE bears some blame here too, but in dealing with a government as duplicitous as this, with pressure from the members’ parents as well, I’m not sure the company had many choices.

Fingers crossed the concert goes off without a hitch. Just the thought of the boys happily performing for ARMY again is enough reason to hope the concert happens. I think this is probably the major reason the boys agreed to this in the first place.

[blu-joons]

DATING PENTAGON HEADCANON A⇴Z ⇴  Kang Hyunggu

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Hyunggu always finds himself getting incredibly ticklish whenever he’s affectionate with you. You’ve learnt over the years where all of his sweet spots are, and always make sure to hit them just right whenever he’s close to you.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

You were a guest on his Unboxing podcast when you met Hyunggu for the first time. The two of you clicked instantly, poor JinJin barely got a look in with how well the two of you bonded. The episode was a huge success, and Hyunggu refused to let you leave at the end of the recording without getting your number.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

His confession ended up being in the form of a letter, he’d told you about how he writes letters for his fans, and so he decided to do the same for you. When a piece of paper came through your letterbox, you almost binned it as an advert, but something inside of you told you to open it, relived you did, when you read through it and realised what the contents of it where on the other side, instantly calling him.

D ⇴ DATES

With Hyunggu so busy, dates between the two of you were rare, and so usually you ended up meeting at the studio in the evenings when Hyunggu was busy with work. You’d pick up food on the way, and he’d have the studio set out to make room for you, taking advantage of currently not having Jinho around to try and make it a bit more of a homely place for you both. They weren’t always perfect, and often your conversations were in between demo edits, but the time together was what you savoured the most.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

There had been a couple of brief romances in school for Hyunggu, but in terms of dating as an adult, he didn’t really have a clue where to start. He worried a lot initially about messing things up, it wasn’t just his fanbase that he had to impress with your relationship, it was yours as well. He knew that with eyes watching, your relationship just had to work. To begin with, he put a lot of effort into the smallest of things, but once you reassured him and told him just to trust in the two of you, he began to relax a lot more.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

He was quite sensitive to arguments, they weren’t something he enjoyed, and tried to avoid as much as he possibly could. Hyunggu was far too kind to ever really raise his voice around you, if he felt as if an argument was brewing, he’d take a hold of your hand and encourage you to calm down with him before things could get out of hand. If an argument did arise, it took Hyunggu a little while to calm down after, he’d usually head to the studio for a bit and return home when he was confident that home would be relaxed again, and that you’d be ready to talk things through with him probably rather than shouting.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

Hyunggu’s family meant a lot to them, it was a bit of a make-or-break deal for him for you to get on with his family. They loved how you had the same career as Hyunggu and could understand the things that he went through. However, it was only when they met you in person, did they realise how spot on you were for one another.

H ⇴ HOME

You’d often get disturbed in the early hours of the morning by Hyunggu at your front door, desperate for a place to crash at night. Your place was closer to his studio than his own, and he also knew that there was no way that you’d ever turn down to cuddle him, no matter how early in the morning it might’ve been.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Just like his confession, Hyunggu decided to be the first to say, ‘I love you,’ by writing you a letter to tell you how he felt. He was too shy to say it to your face for the first time, but he’d written enough letters in his time to know exactly what he wanted to write in order to make sure that all of his true feelings came across to you.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

At times, Hyunggu was definitely a little sensitive to how other people acted around you, whilst he didn’t want to describe himself as someone who got jealous, he’d be very much aware if someone was beginning to step out of line or you were starting to get uncomfortable. He trusted you and knew that attention was sometimes just part of the job, but Hyunggu also wasn’t going to allow himself to be pushed aside either. When the two of you were alone again, he’d definitely talk to you about how he was feeling too.

K ⇴ KIDS

The future was something that Hyunggu found himself thinking about quite a lot after he got with you, how he saw his family, and how he saw the two of you. He loved to sketch, especially about his future, and over time, kids naturally became a part of the picture. Whilst you both knew it wasn’t going to be something that would happen too soon, knowing that he thought about it a lot still meant the world to you.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Hyunggu was a funny guy, he knew that he had the abilities to make the majority of people in his life and knew that his humour on the podcast was one of the first things that drew you to him too. He loved being able to entertain you and keep the smile on your face, even if you were having a particularly bad day. He loved to create a positive atmosphere wherever he could. If you were trying to draw a laugh out of him too, you knew there was always one thing that you could do, tickle him until he begged you to stop, even then you’d carry on a little longer, enjoying the sounds of his laughter ringing out.

M ⇴ MISSING

As with other emotions, when he missed you, Hyunggu found himself writing notes down, scribbling little drawings of you to think of you by. His diary became his life when he was on the road, his thoughts and feelings were always noted, which also helped him try and remain a bit more positive for you too. At home, he’d leave little letters scattered around various places in the house for you to find, each one with a little message that he knew would make you smile and pick your mood up when you missed him. When he came home, there were always ones still to be found that you’d read through together too.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

Hyunggu’s nicknames for you were the sweetest, he never just settled on one, but you could guarantee that each one he had for you was adorable. ‘Sweet,’ ‘petal,’ and ‘honey,’ were just a few that were used again and again.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He was obsessed with your hands and how they’d often explore his body whenever the two of you were close to each other, finding new sweet spots on him.

P ⇴ PDA

Hyunggu loved to mess around with you, and so whenever he was affectionate in public with you, he’d do something stupid that he knew the fans would love too. He’d flick your ear, or tickle against your hip, anything that would make you giggle and usually end up with you slapping his hand away from your hold.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Your opinion on everything that Hyunggu did at work was something that he valued greatly, and so he’d often ask you for your thoughts on his projects, even the incomplete ones, a second opinion meant a lot to him.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Selcas were another thing that Hyunggu loved to take, and so he’d often uploaded selcas of the two of you on social media, knowing how much the fans adored you. They’d usually be staged with him pressing a kiss to your cheek, bringing a blush to your face just as the shutter went down. Whilst you’d usually be left embarrassed by it, Hyunggu, and both sets of fans, absolutely adored how cute the two of you were.

S ⇴ SEX

The two of you would try to treat intimacy as a serious and passionate affair, but it never usually lasted long. If either of you caught each other in a ticklish spot, then it was game over, and you’d break out into giggles beside each other. Hyunggu loved being close to you, but as soon as he caught your waist, or usually caught the nape of his neck, all passion would be discarded, ending up creating a mess between yourselves.

T ⇴ TEXTS

Throughout the day, it would be a habit of Hyunggu’s to send you a selca so you could see how he was doing and where he was. It was also habit that you sent one back to him, as he’d always be disappointed when you didn’t.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

To Hyunggu, you were very much his best friend, you understood him, and he understood you. Your personalities just seemed to click, striking up a strong bond that always seemed far too good to ever be broken.

V ⇴ VACATION

When the chance to go away came up, Hyunggu had expressed how keen he was to go away with his family. You were more than happy for him to go, only to be surprised when he suggested that you joined them too. There was no way he could go away with his family when the biggest part of his family wasn’t there with him.

W ⇴ WHINING

Hyunggu didn’t tend to whine too often, he understood sometimes that you were busy, but he certainly had only a limited time before he couldn’t bite his tongue anymore.

X ⇴ XXXXX

His lips would normally attach against your cheek, attacking the blushed spot that only darkened with each kiss that he gave you. For you, you always went straight for the crook of his neck, it was definitely a weakness of Hyunggu’s, which was why it was your favourite spot to reach. He wouldn’t be able to stop giggling, squirming in your hold whilst your lips ran along the length of his neck, catching against his jawline too.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were his rock; you were there for him through absolutely everything.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

At night was usually when Hyunggu got the cuddliest, he loved having you as close to him as possible, being able to feel your heart beat was a great comfort to him when he tried to fall asleep at the end of a busy day.

---

Masterlist

[itsuki-minamy]

WONDERFUL SCHOOL DAYS: MY PRECIOUS RED

CHAPTER 1: START

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: skyflyinginaction

* Gakuen K (List of Chapters) * Projects & Chapters

Suddenly she raises her face to the sound of something rolling.

It looked like it was a dolly.

The morning dew turned everything milky white.

The light red of cherry blossoms stretched over her and the world turned pink.

A school route that shouldn't be there yet.

The refreshing air that touched the surroundings was cold, humid, and heavy.

The cool green was also wet with dew and reflected the morning sun softened by mist.

There was still a little time left before the morning dew cleared, the air warmed with the breath of the students going to school, and spring felt warm and joyful.

"Super Ashinaka High School, huh."

From today she will attend classes here.

Her new uniform was a bit embarrassing.

A mixture of anxiety and tension, she could barely sleep last night. She should be weak in the morning, but she woke up at 5 in the morning.

She was told that she had to go to the school principal's office in front of the classroom to register and receive various explanations from her teacher in the staff room. So she left early, but it may have been a little too early.

She walked alone before a row of cherry blossoms full of morning dew.

Being alone in a world that melts into light red made her uncomfortable.

She decided to move to this school because she no longer wanted to be alone. But after all, she had the unpleasant feeling that she here she too would be alone.

Thinking it too much, she wondered what to do with everything from the first day of moving, but she kept thinking.

"……!"

When she was desperately trying to get rid of the anxiety that was born when she moved out, she heard a jerky sound again.

"Ah?"

Was there anyone? At this time of day?

Suffering from loneliness and anxiety, she was scared and ran away. She continued to the plaza in front of the school building.

In the gradually fading milky-white morning dew, she gasped as she encountered a figure that seemed drawn in light ink.

Along with the sound she heard earlier, the shadow made strange movements.

She was a little scared, but at the same time, her curiosity grew.

Beyond the miserable line of sight, there was a boy.

A boy in a black school uniform.

Navy blue hat. Peculiar auburn hair that bounced.

The open-chested shirt was hemmed at the pants and was a bit baggy.

She instinctively looked at the bright sky blue jacket he was wearing.

A school uniform? Hey? What? Student from another school?

But here on the school grounds? But the uniform here was...

"……?"

She didn't know why, but she tilted her head.

However, when she suddenly saw his feet, she was convinced of only one thing. Ah, she already understood it. That shaking sound was the sound of a skateboard.

The boy, who seemed unaware of her existence, was skating and skating, whether he was playing or practicing.

She thought he was jumping energetically. He turned the skateboard under his feet a few laps and got back on the skateboard. He spun on impulse, lifted the skateboard with one foot, and mounted again.

Although he was gliding at considerable speed, he avoided obstacles like nothing.

A series of light techniques that made him feel like the skateboard was part of his body.

Crack...

Involuntarily, she likes it.

She wondered if she could do it, or she would fall terribly.

How will he balance it? Why does that skateboard stick to his feet even if he jumps? It was strange…

It was like playing with the wind. It was like the wind itself.

Light, fast, refreshing and unpredictable. Freedom anywhere.

There was nothing to bind or trap him now.

His appearance was carefree and he didn't seem to have anything to do with worries and problems.

Integrating with the wind as he wanted.

It was at that moment that she became curious and was watching every move he made.

"Ah?"

The boy with the skateboard got on the railing of the stairs and went down.

"What?"

In an instant he was gone and involuntarily screamed.

Hey? Uh, it can't be! He fell?!

Before thinking, her feet moved forward. She was running out of breath.

She immediately reached the stairs and stood on them. Looking down with her heart pounding, he seemed to skid over the railing, landing brilliantly at the bottom. He slid down as he was and leapt to the top.

Did he hear her when he inadvertently held her chest with both hands and took a relieved breath?

Her shoulders shook and she quickly looked up at him.

"……!"

He had amazing eyes. Sharp, fierce, warlike, and savage. Hot and strong. It was like a flame.

She took a breath and opened her eyes. He looked at her too.

At that moment, he suddenly turned bright red and hurriedly turned around.

As he was, he kicked the ground several times and accelerated. Without stopping, he left her behind.

"Wait."

She swallowed the words that rose to her throat, surprised that the words were coming out of her throat.

She rambled a bit and lowered her hand, which reflexively pursued his back.

She felt that she wanted to see a more splendid technique, but it was a bit disappointing, but was it enough to stop him?

She turned her head and turned around.

The morning dew was quite sunny and the petals of the cherry blossoms fluttered happily in the blue sky.

"I am Konohana Saya. Thanks."

The letters "Konohana Saya" written on the board. When she bowed her head, she received crackles and scant applause.

Super high school "Ashinaka", 2nd grade group.

Ashinaka Junior High School, an integrated education school from kindergarten through college. This island centered around the school is called "Super Ashinaka Gakuenjima".

The economy is established only on the island and it feels like another country other than Japan. In fact, it seems that few people come to the island, even if they are not related to the school.

Until recently, she didn't even know such a school existed. She found out about it from a letter of recommendation to move suddenly.

But she believed that this was exactly like a ship for migration.

At the time, she was in a situation where she had to transfer to another school and hopefully she would stay away from her parents and the environment around her.

So, she came to this school, which has a dormitory on this island far from her parents' house, and they recommended that she move.

Suppressing her nervous, throbbing chest, she looked around her at all who will be her classmates.

"……!"

And then, she gasped when she saw the boy with a bat on the window seat.

Eh? Was he the boy from this morning?

Was that boy from this school? Was he wearing a black school uniform?

Behind him... a big blond boy with sunglasses, he was wearing the same school clothes.

Why just those guys?

The moment she turned her neck, she realized she was wrong.

She was wrong. Not just those guys.

On the side of the hall, she glanced at the boy who was looking away.

The boy with glasses was wearing a pure white school uniform.

She did not believe that the uniform was free choice. She had not seen such a guide.

Then why?

When she was filling her head with question marks, the master said, "Then, Yukizome-san. Please take care of her.", and he walked around the main room.

In the classroom, where there was a lot of noise when the teacher left, she was a little anxious and looked around her. A girl with sincere and friendly eyes ran up to her and smiled at her a friendly smile.

"Yes. Transfer student. Nice to meet you. I'm Kukuri Yukizome."

"Yukizome-san."

"Call me Kukuri. I'll call you Saya-chan too."

She was relieved that she had a carefree smile.

"So, Kukuri-chan."

"Hehehe. If you have any questions, ask me anything! I'll show you around the school today after classes, but trust me for whatever you need."

"So what comes first?"

Kukuri begins by explaining the PDA, which is a student ID card.

Ah... the uniform. She had wasted the time to ask.

She wanted to know about the boy she saw in the morning, but at that moment Kukuri's explanation was more important. She couldn't be rude to overlook her kindness.

She regains her mind and look directly at Kukuri.

After all, that question solved itself after lunch.

"It looks delicious!"

Around the same time that the teacher left the classroom, she looked for a place to sit for lunch, and suddenly they hugged her from behind her.

"Kyaa!"

"Oh, I'm hungry! It smells good!"

When she hurriedly glanced back over her shoulder, she met stunning strange eyes, blue and gold, and her eyes widened.

She was a beautiful girl. Literally, truly, a beautiful girl.

White skin and cherry cheeks. Long straight light red hair.

A boy with silver-white hair and tender eyes came towards her, who was stunned and hardened, and clasped his hands in a hurry.

"Sorry. Hey, Neko!"

"Shiro! That gohan smells delicious! This class was really difficult!"

Hmm? Is it a delicious gohan smell?

Eh? Isn't that the delicious smell of gohan?

Kukuri smiles bitterly beside her like a poker.

"Wagahai-chan, Saya-chan = Gohan, right?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!" She said cheerfully.

"Sorry. Neko isn't good at remembering people's names. She's not malicious."

"Eh? Oh, it's fine. I don't feel uncomfortable. I was surprised."

Um... when she looked at the boy, she thought he realized the meaning of that line of sight. The boy smiled and bowed quickly.

"I'm Yashiro Isana. Everyone calls me Shiro. So I'm glad you call me that too. That girl is Neko. Shiro and Neko."

"Shiro-kun."

"Yes. And this is Kuro."

A boy approached before she knew it. He had beautiful black hair and straight black eyes.

"I am Kuroh Yatogami. As a classmate, thank you for your continued support."

"Huh? Oh, yeah! This is it!"

Unexpectedly, she bowed at the harsh self-introduction. She was shocked. By no means, when she introduced herself, have they thanked her for any support.

"Shiro~. I'm hungry~."

"So, let's make a lunch box. Konohana-san, we'll let you go then. Konohana-san has to have lunch too."

"Bento!"

Neko suddenly let go of her and looked at Yatogami-kun's heavy weight with her eyes shining.

"Hmm. Okay. Then Saya-chan, let's go. I'll show you the school cafeteria and tell you the location of the shopping department."

"Eh? But…"

Kukuri's hand seemed to have a lunch box.

"If it's a cafeteria, I think I can go alone with the navigation system. That's Kukuri-chan's lunch box, right?"

"That's right, let me go with you. Oh! I'm not just a guide am I? I want to eat lunch with Saya-chan."

"Eh? Ah…"

She said those words softly to her. She was so happy that she was going to cry.

"So, I take your word. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank, because I want to talk a lot and get to know you well, Saya-chan. Let's go!"

Kukuri called out to her and smiled.

She wanted to meet her. Those words were a bit shocking, but she was still happy. It was amazing that she wanted to be her friend.

They greeted Shiro and left the room together.

"Oh, it's true."

They were probably boys from another class. She remembered the uniform when she saw the boy in the black school uniform fluttering around and came forward.

"Hey, Kukuri-chan.", she told her as she showed her the back of the boy who was walking away from her.

"Why do some guys have different uniforms?"

"Oh, that boy belongs to a special club."

"Special club?"

"Yes. Special club activities. It is one of the characteristics of this school. There are seven special club activities at this school in addition to the regular club activities. Club members will be able to use special skills when they join the club. They are popular among students, because the word "special ability" is great, isn't it? But only the "chosen ones" recognized by each director can join the club."

The word "special ability" surprised her.

"Only the chosen ones?"

"Yes. Not everyone can enter. In that sense, it is 'special'. The one wearing that black school uniform is from the red club."

"Red club... There were two people in the class, right?"

"Yes. Yata-kun and Kamamoto-kun. Yata-kun has auburn hair and a hat. Misaki Yata. The boy with the big sunglasses is Rikio Kamamoto."

"Yata-kun. I see. His name is Yata-kun...", she thought.

"Some boys wore white school uniforms, right? That boy was from the blue club. Fushimi Saruhiko-kun."

"Blue. So all seven of them have different uniforms?"

"No. There is also a regular uniform section. For example, the silver part. There is also a club that wears a rabbit mask and wears a ninja costume only during club activities."

"Eh?"

Ninja costume?

Did she wonder why? Was she the only one to whom all this was really suspicious?

"In this school, the special club activities are something special. Well, I think you will know right away. Oh, Saya-chan. There are several ways to get to the cafeteria and the shopping department, but the shortest route is to through this courtyard."

"Courtyard?"

"Yes."

Saya pushed open the glass door that led to the courtyard.

"Wow..."

She involuntarily screamed into the courtyard, which was much bigger than she expected.

The well-kept flowerbed had colorful spring flowers. The fresh green of the plantation was also visible.

The lush grass. No trash had fallen on the cobblestones. Light pink petals fluttered from the beautiful and splendid cherry blossoms. The white garden table and chairs below were very fascinating. It would be very nice to deliver her lunch there.

"Ah, but it's better to stop by on limited menu day. I think it's best to tour the school building. There are plenty of places to shop."

What?

"Eh? Did you buy it now? I heard it well?"

Eh? A joke? Would they laugh?

Kukuri just laughed kindly, "Yes. Is that true?"

"As Miwa-san says, it is a tactic. It is a strategy to expel the rivals. Most of the students cross the courtyard, so the courtyard is inevitably the most dangerous place."

She said it naturally, didn't she? Waiting? Was it weird that she didn't understand?

"I set up a purchase to get a limited menu... I haven't had any experience with that."

"Oh, is that true? It's interesting once you get used to it."

So it was.

But surely it would be fun to think of getting a limited menu through the differences? Should she think of it as a game?

That was when she thought about it.

"Sorry. I can't come here."

Kukuri sighed and looked back.

"Eh? Why?"

When she tilted her head, Kukuri pointed at something, saying "That." She was just looking around her and, for the first time, she realized that there were a lot of people gathered there and she opened her eyes.

Also, the atmosphere was not good for compliments. It was terribly upsetting and she felt bad.

A group of black school uniforms and a group of white school uniforms staring at each other. Was it a special club activity?

People who wore black school uniforms had a slightly mischievous impression. In contrast, many of the people wearing white school uniforms appeared to have a tight look. She felt like they were honor students.

However, all white school uniforms with his honors wore sabers at the waist.

So those sabers were weapons that can kill people. What was that?

"Kukuri-chan? They seem to be looking at each other, but what the hell are they doing? And what they have around their hips is a saber, right?"

"It's a conflict. What they wear on their waists is a saber."

"What?"

The answer is so simple that she doubts the ears of her.

"Conflict... is that a fight?"

"Of course it is."

"Eh? Are they fighting? Students?"

"Oh. It's a good reaction. Fresh and cool. Okay. You'll be surprised at first, but you'll get used to it. It's the usual thing."

What was that reaction?! It was really weird.

She realized that she was used to conflict.

However, when she looked around her, there were people looking away, but no one was surprised or made noise, and it seemed that Kukuri's reaction was correct there. She said it was a statement of fight, maybe the common sense of this school was a little strange?

Struggling to understand, she returned to a group of gazes.

"Oh, Yata-kun..."

"Yes. I told you that he is a member of the red club and wears a black school uniform. There is also Kamamoto-kun."

Kukuri pointed a finger at that big blond boy with sunglasses.

"Most of the red club members are bad. Oh, but that's fine, you'll be sure. We don't take the word 'bad' as a bad thing, so they are accepted by the students in general."

Eh? What kind of place was this? She didn't understand anything.

"Isn't it bad?"

"Hmm. It may be wrong to use the word 'bad', it doesn't mean they are bad people. How to say it? I think it's like people who aren't good to keep up with everyone. People who live their own way can be the closest ones. The principal is Mikoto Suoh, a third-year student. He is also one of the heads of this school, it is said that he has a lot of fights. You see, it's that red-haired person next to Yata-kun."

Kukuri points to the person in the middle of the black group.

Chillingly sharp red eyes. Tense and delicate cheeks.

Was he really older? He seemed charismatic. Regardless, his presence was astonishing.

"The blue club are wearing the white school uniform. They have excellent grades and good behavior. Most of the members of the group are super elite who also serve as student organizers and members of the disciplinary committee. The activities are the maintenance of discipline, student orientation, activities such as leading students at a school event, etc."

Discipline, right? Eh? So... what about sabers? Isn't it a violation of the law to use weapons and swords?

"That's why they don't seem to get along with the blues from one point of view. The director of the blue club is Reisi Munakata, a third year student. He is the director of the Student Organization within the School, the example! of exemplary behavior!"

That's right, the central figure of the white group that Kukuri later showed was like the "exemplary student".

Sharp glasses with calm and cool eyes. He listened to the red club swearing with a sweet smile on his lips, as if he were listening to classical music.

"You saw the one next to him in the hall, right? That's Fushimi Saruhiko-kun."

"Fushimi-kun."

"That's why I can't come through here. It's hard to get involved."

Well, could they involve her?

She was scared and just wanted to get out of there immediately.

"Hey, Monkey! Bastard, say it again!"

However, at that moment, a strong voice rang out from the courtyard.

She turned around and looked at the group again.

"Oh, I'll tell you a few times. Your power is below mine. MI SA KI."

Fushimi laughed vividly. Delighted, as if he was intoxicated with something.

He was creepy.

What was that look?

Furthermore, Misaki really looked angry.

"Hmm...! I can't take it! I'll take you down!"

Yata jumped up, fierce fury fading into his eyes. That's it… Misaki is Yata's name.

Suddenly, his classmates began to move.

"Wow. It's started. This is the end of the story for the special part. We have to move fast."

Kukuri came out in a hurry.

But she couldn't answer.

She was fascinated by the fiery bat metal that rose from Yata's hands.

What? It was certainly a flame.

Born from empty space, grew up in the blink of an eye and covered Yata's hands.

She was stunned by the fist that burned like a torch.

"What?"

"Saya-chan?"

The shape was slightly different, but everyone in it was able to easily create a flame and target the blue club. The members of the blue club also drew sabers one after another and defended themselves.

It wasn't just a saber, there was a blue light on the blade.

Is that a special ability?

It's like the magic that appears in the story... Wasn't it a dream?

Well then, what about her...?

"Saya-chan!"

Her shoulders were shaking and she suddenly returned to herself.

"Ah... sorry. Kukuri-chan..."

"Okay. It's dangerous here. Let's go now."

"Yes."

At that moment, Kukuri urged her to move quickly.

Yes, it was exactly a fight. Other students in the courtyard were screaming.

"Ah!"

Looking back, the first thing she saw was a knife with a red lotus flame approaching them.

And that was the last thing. She didn't have time to think about anything.

"Kukuri-chan, it's dangerous!"

Kukuri's body moved quickly. At that moment, a flash of light enveloped her.

In the bright light she was unable to open her eyes, and a tremendous destructive sound was heard.

"Tsu!"

However, it was only a moment, and soon the light disappeared like a lie.

However, the numb ears remained as they were, and the sound of the world that was lost immediately after the destructive sound had not yet returned, leaving only a high-pitched beep.

She thoughtfully held her ears with her hands and shook her head to shake her eyes and limbs from her.

A vague hum came from a distance, and she suddenly lowered her eyes over Kukuri in her arms.

"Ah...! Kukuri-chan, are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me, but... Saya-chan..."

"Eh?"

"Well, the light is coming out of Saya-chan's body, but..."

"Ah!"

She was surprised by the words. She quickly released Kukuri and looked at her hands.

Both hands had a vague white light. Her whole body was in that state. It was as if she herself was emitting light.

When she looked around her hastily, the stone pavement was severely broken and scraped only around her. It was like they had excavated with heavy equipment or something.

The knife... strangely, it pierced the stone pavement with the flame burning.

The knife turned to stone. It was also deep. That should not be the case.

"Ah!"

Many of the impossible visions piled up and the blood rose again. Reflectively she hug her.

Oh! She again...

"Saya-chan. What's wrong?"

Kukuri's question chilled her back.

When she stood up, she took a step back and walked away from Kukuri.

"Saya-chan...?"

Kukuri's astonished face stared at her back.

What did she have to do? What was she to answer?

She didn't even know what that was.

It was at that time...

"A 'skill', right?"

A sweet, low and gentle voice resonated with the usual sound of his shoes.

When she shook her shoulders and raised her face, the person standing there was Reisi Munakata, who was the head of the blue clan and the Student Organization within the school.

In his hand was a sword that glowed pale.

It was horrible, but... no, more than that.

"Skill...?"

She was amazed at the words she heard for the first time.

"Yes. People with innate special abilities are called 'Strain'."

With that said, Reisi Munakata put the saber in the scabbard and pulled up his glasses with his fingers.

"The power of a Strain sometimes hurts people."

A painful memory crossed her mind at that moment.

She instinctively she pursed her lips.

"It is also our job to prevent that from happening. The other day, there was a report that a Strain had entered the island, but are you a transfer student?"

With a rattling noise, Munakata took a step closer. He turned and took a step back.

"The birth of a talented person off campus is infinitely equal to zero."

"Oh, that, I ..."

"In other words, the exception is that you are a Strain. Transfer student Konohana Saya. If you don't resist, nothing bad will happen to you. Surrender quietly and quickly."

Surrender.

As usual, a soft, sweet smile on his lips.

However, there was a dignified and sharp light in the eyes behind the glasses, showing that the words weren't a joke.

"Here we go."

Reisi Munakata approached her.

She knew she must accept. She should quietly surrender.

But what would happen as a result of the surrender? She already knew what to do after that.

She didn't want to think like that again!

A trauma revived in the back of her eyes.

She shook her head violently and took a step back. And when she held her head, she screamed.

"I do not like it!"

"……"

At that moment, the flame worn by the knife driven into the stone pavement on the rocky shore swayed and suddenly turned into a terrible glow.

Munakata was shocked and flew away.

At the same time, a column of fire that was burning the heavens unnaturally swelled and surrounded her.

"Eh?"

The heat increased and the view was surrounded by flames.

Although she glanced around her hastily, it was a flame on one side. A flame surrounded her.

What?! What was happening?!

No way, this was her too?!

"What...?"

She thought about it for a moment. Suddenly feeling congested, she looked at her limbs.

She got worse and worse and she knelt on the spot.

"What?"

The field of view was blurry. The smoke soaked her and tears came out, she spilled and got wet, she was fed by the heat and she dried herself quickly

Her head was shaking and she fell.

"Evacuate!"

Was it Munakata senpai? A sharp voice rang out.

Beyond the flames she was terribly crowded, with countless footsteps flapping.

"......"

Why did this happen?

The earth was burned, the sky, while the flames protected it and prevented other invasions.

No, it could be the other way around. Maybe to protect everyone from her. She maybe she was trapped in a fire ship so as not to harm her surroundings again.

That's. The witch must be burned at the stake. So the price to pay is fixed. She is not a good common person.

"Cough..."

She fell and coughed.

It was painful. The air was not getting well into her lungs.

Severe pain ran down her left hand.

It was a stabbing pain, but she could no longer move her body.

She tried to stand up, but she couldn't even see anymore.

However, as if she were hazy, her consciousness blurred and vanished.

(Oh really. Why did this happen?), she thought.

She wanted peace. But that was it. It must have been terribly modest.

It was at that time.

"Reject."

Lowly, a voice echoed out.

When she opened her eyes slightly at being invited by that voice, a black figure appeared in the fire in front of her. She seemed to rush there without hesitation.

No way, because such a burning flame. She couldn't just touch him and be sure.

It sure was a hallucination. It was a convenient illusion, because no one would come to her like this.

The moment she thought that, she felt something put on her head.

She was surprised by the feeling. Her vague awareness woke up and she opened her eyes.

Immediately afterwards, she had the sensation that her body was floating gently.

She didn't scream (she couldn't), but she was in awe.

When she hurriedly raised her face, it was red that was occupying her field of vision.

His red hair swayed from the heat and his red eyes stared directly at her.

Certainly, Suoh. He was the head of the red clan.

She gently touched what she had on her head.

Something with sleeves and black, maybe the school uniform?

Suoh said "Let's go.", while he held her, but did not understand the situation (it was not a hug like holding a princess, but a hug where she felt his arm. As parents do with small children).

Go where? How?

However, she still couldn't say those words.

And it seemed that he did not ask for her consent, and Suoh began to walk with her in his arms without waiting for her response, towards the flame.

It was no longer a scary story, and she reflexively tightened Suoh's shirt and supported her face to cling to his shoulders, but strangely it was no longer hot. The flame that had burned her skin a while ago was completely gone.

On the contrary, the cooling breeze immediately caressed her feet and her hair, and she widened her eyes in amazement.

"Hey! Transfer student!"

At the same time, a strong voice echoed out from the vicinity.

The voice was the same that started the fight, she shook her shoulders and raised her face from him.

His fierce eyes were now terribly anxious, painful, and distorted.

Yata.

Nor did her voice come out.

"You, your hands..."

Yata's expression, who seemed to be terribly surprised, slowly looked at her left hand. Both her blazer and shirt were charred and the back of her hand was swollen red.

Looking around her, the pillar of fire was still there. Behind Suoh and her.

How did they get out of it? What the hell happened?

As he held her in a self-defeating state, Suoh looked around him.

When she turned her gaze from her to him as if she was invited, she saw Munakata and Fushimi holding a saber.

Behind them, people in white uniforms were still busy moving.

Suoh stared at them, raised the edge of his lips and laughed lightly.

"This girl is mine."

Saying that he began to walk calmly.

She had a lot to say, but she couldn't get it right, she couldn't speak, and she closed her eyes softly, clinging to his neck.

"It's a clubroom, but... sorry I rarely use it. It's dirty."

Silky light brown hair. A good man with tender eyes offered her a can of juice and smiled.

"I am Totsuka Tatara. I am a third year student from the red club."

"Totsuka-senpai."

"Yes. You burned yourself, are you okay? How about the infirmary?"

After that, Suoh took her straight to the infirmary.

Her wound was a burn on her left hand. A slight low-temperature burn on her right knee. When she fell, she hurt her left knee a bit. It looked like her left hand was a bit awful.

She let the burns cool, then applied an ointment, covered with a bandage, insured and strap up.

All she had to do is wash, disinfect, and apply an ointment.

The time was about fifteen minutes, but during that period, the members of the red club stayed in front of the infirmary and nobody could get close, so it became a bit of a scandal.

So the nurse told her to rest, but she rejected that and immediately left the infirmary.

At the time, she was surrounded by a group of black school uniforms and in the meantime, she was led into a somewhat crowded empty classroom.

Several desks and chairs were stacked in one corner, and an old black leather couch was placed in the shape of three triangles. Juice cans and bottles were placed on the central floor, and it was really like a "gathering place".

Oh, Suoh? Suoh left her with the nurse and left immediately, but where did he go? He wasn't there either.

He had helped her and she wanted to thank him.

Sitting on one of the couches, Totsuka, who was sitting next to her, offered her some juice and looked at her left hand, which was bandaged.

"The burn on your left hand seems to be a bit terrible. You should go to the hospital after school."

At her words, Yata, who was near the door, made his shoulders explode.

"Yes. I am concerned. I hope there are no marks left."

Scars?

"Scars, what ..."

That didn't matter to her.

When she smiled and shook her head, Totsuka frowned.

"Um...?"

"I have to find a new school again."

"Eh...?"

When Totsuka was surprised, his eyes rounded.

That was a bit strange.

She was sure that this person was also in the yard. It was very strange to see that and not think "why?"

She smiled selfishly and slowly spread her hands.

"I have a power that ordinary people don't have. Did you see it? A while ago, in the courtyard. I did that in the previous school. I broke the school building in half, injuring a lot of people. That made me incapable of stay at the old school."

"……"

"That is exactly what Munakata-senpai said. I hurt a lot of people with my abilities. I have done something irreparable."

People from the red club were looking at her.

"Living as a 'normal person' in this school. Hide the ability. Never let my abilities go crazy. Do not disturb anyone, just control myself, do not stand out anyway and live calmly. That's what I imagined."

But it does not work. No way, and it all happened on the first day.

Oh, no matter how she fixed it, she was a "monster".

"Guh!"

She couldn't do anything else.

It went dark in front of her.

That show that never went away while kept burning in her mind.

Perhaps even a big earthquake happened, a part of the school building was ruined and turned into ruins.

Students who were at that time. A blue sheet placed in the schoolyard. The groan that filled the place. A bloodstained towel. And…

Involuntarily, she clenched her back teeth tightly.

She was unharmed. It was as if she was protected by the light emitted from her body.

A mixed look of amazement and fear towards her. It soon turned into disgust. Neither her friends, her classmates nor her eldest looked at her. They didn't try to get involved. Even the teacher looked away from her.

Even her family was scared and they always tried to be in a good mood. If they were in a bad mood, that house would be destroyed next. Her parents believed they could be attacked.

She lost everything that was important at the time.

She didn't want to repeat that feeling.

"No, wait. Um, Konohana-san, right? You don't have to do that. Konohana-san, you can stay here. Rather, I think you should be in this school. The "Ashinaka Super High School" is a school. where talented people meet."

"Eh? Are you gathering talented people?"

"That's right. Did you ask anyone about extracurricular activities?"

"That is…"

She had heard it.

But it was a story where you could use special abilities when you entered a special club, wasn't it a story that people with abilities met in this school?

At her words, Totsuka understood easily.

"That's right. That's true for most, but some people have the ability before joining the club, like you."

"Ah… Before joining?"

"Yes. It is training. But that is not what I mean. The important thing is that there are many talented people in this school. The skills are both congenital and acquired. That is this. It is the 'normal' of the school. You understand It is not "abnormal"."

"It is normal..."

"Yes, no one discriminates against talented people."

Discriminate?

"But... that person, Munakata-senpai said that I should give up..."

"That's because your ability is a mystery. I think I wanted to have it on hand before the hardships happened. It seems that Strains are rarely born outside of the school island."

Does that mean that she was a "foreigner" among talented people?

"You are so different from other talented people that he wanted to keep you close and monitor you."

She involuntarily clenched her back teeth and squeezed her skirt tightly.

Her burned left hand ached, prompting tears.

Why? Why did he have that ability?

The overflowing sound slid gently down her cheeks, and the voice of Totsuka and the members of the red club breathing in the room echoed out.

She didn't need something like that. That is why she lost everything. On top of that, he said it was different in another way and will likely be a target in the future. Until she surrenders, until she's under his control.

She didn't want to be a talented person. She wanted to be normal.

All she wanted was "peace". That was all.

Normally, she just wanted to enjoy school life every day. Why wasn't even that allowed?

"Usually I want to enjoy school life. I don't need any skills..."

"Uh..."

That's when she told him to leave her and roughly wiped her tears away.

"That was wrong!"

Yata, who had been standing in front of the door until then, suddenly threw himself in front of her and sat on the ground. Then, with a loud voice echoing through the room, he screamed, "It was wrong!", and rubbed his forehead against the floor.

"Eh? Ah…"

"That knife, I threw it at you!"

"……!"

""I threw the knife thrown by the monkey! Well, that's why I was the one who created the opportunity for you to use your skills!"

So it was like that.

But beyond that, she didn't know what to say.

She may have misinterpreted him as angry. Yata looked up and stared at her, then leaned down to slam his forehead hard against the ground again.

"The knife flame was probably me too! I hurt you...!"

But it was probably she who created the pillar of fire, and it was Yata who was injured.

She shook her head and wanted to say it. No, she was trying to say it.

But before that, Yata raised his head again, stared at her and yelled, "I won't let you do that!"

His eyes pierced her and held burning flames.

Dedicated to it, he gasped.

"Yata-kun..."

"Thanks to you, I didn't hurt the average student! And yet my benefactor saved you... Let me make it up to you!"

"Huh? But the wound is..."

"I will never let them monitor and control you! I will not let you do that!"

She involuntarily lost her words at the powerful scream.

"I won't let the blue club do anything! I promise to take care of other departments too!"

There was no hesitation in his hot eyes.

It was a trustworthy word that she could understand from the bottom of her heart and made her heart warm.

"I'll protect you!"

"Ah…"

"It has nothing to do with talented people or Strain! You are you! Enjoying normal school life, it is not allowed to do anything to you! Absolutely!"

"Yata-kun ..."

"Like I said, you'll be fine! So... uh, uh, don't cry, uh... that face..."

Yata lowered his eyebrows as if he was in trouble.

But still, Yata did not take his eyes off her.

"Guh..."

The tears overflowed again.

"What?! Did I say something strange?! Or did your wound hurt?"

Yata fluttered hastily and looked at her.

He was wrong. That was not. What should he do? She was happy.

She was a "monster" and there were people who wanted to "protect" her.

She could have hope and "peace", be "normal". That was forgiven.

She never thought that she would get a word like that.

Oh what should she do? She was happy!

When she brought her hands together, she squeezed her eyes tight.

Yata's worried voice, "Hey, Konohana…" made her heart flutter.

"Ah…"

She was glad. Her heart was full and she couldn't say anything more.

She could not believe it. From that day on, her life was going to change completely. She had experienced it. They hurt her and she suffered. It was still in her, too vivid a memory.

Talented people weren't special. She could stay at this school. She should calm down. Although she was happy with just that word, they would protect her.

She now she was normal.

She could enjoy her school life in peace and safety.

Will she be forgiven? Such thing. Furthermore, she, who caused such an incident...

(Oh, but I don't want to be a "monster" anymore! I'm so scared of myself! I want to recover "every day".), she thought.

"Hmm..."

Nobody said anything anymore.

Yata didn't even say, "Don't cry."

They were all there, silent.

A bell rang on the way to announce the start of classes, but no one seemed to mind that.

He was kind and gentle and surrounded her.

"Konohana?"

Kamamoto looked at her.

After skipping class for an hour, she returned to the classroom with Yata and Kamamoto, but she was scared and she stopped in front of the door.

Kamamoto breathed as she clasped her hands, holding her breath.

"Are you afraid?"

"……"

"Okay. There's Yata-san. I'm also."

"It's true, but..."

"Okay. Maybe there's nothing Konohana should be worried about."

Was that so?

Was it really possible that they saw her with the same eyes as this morning when she knew nothing happened?

"Okay. Come in."

But she couldn't escape.

She couldn't say that she couldn't get into the classroom if she was going to stay at that school.

She took a deep breath and desperately suppressed the tremors in her body.

When she looked up, Yata looked at her and opened the door.

Kamamoto patted him on the back.

She takes a breath and half shaking she enter the classroom.

"…!"

Immediately afterwards, the classroom, which had been noisy until then, quieted down.

At that moment, something cold ran down her back.

Ah! Ah! After all, she couldn't lift her face and closed her eyes. Was when…

"Hey, Saya-chan!"

It was Kukuri's strong voice.

Then there were turbulent steps and they grabbed her by the shoulders.

When she opened her eyes in amazement, Kukuri's crying face appeared right in front of her.

"I was worried! Oh, bandages! You're hurt! Oh, your legs! Do you hurt? Are you okay? I was worried because you didn't come back soon."

Shiro and his friends also run towards her with other classmates.

Was this a reality?

"Kukuri-chan..."

"Thanks for your help on the courtyard! I'm sorry I couldn't thank you right away!"

That said, Kukuri hugged her.

The warmth of her finally made her realize that this was not a dream.

Her back back of her nose hurt, and at the same time, her chest.

"Kukuri-chan... Am I not unpleasant?"

"Hey, why?"

Kukuri looked into her eyes as if she didn't really understand her meaning.

"Because, this ability..."

"Yeah?! I don't believe that at all. You were great as an ally of justice, right?"

"Ah..."

"Because you are a lifesaver, I don't think I could feel uncomfortable. Tell me if there is anyone who thinks otherwise! I will preach for about three hours! Hey?"

At Kukuri's words, Shiro and Yatogami took control.

"Ah..."

Oh, she already understood... what should she do? She was happy.

The exact opposite of the previous school. But it may be that she used to hurt people with her abilities, and this time she protected people with her abilities. Still, it's the same thing that was destroyed here and there with the non-human ability. However, by no means, would it be accepted like this!

"Eh? Saya-chan? Why are you crying?"

"Gohan~? What's wrong? Does it hurt?"

Both of her hands caressed it gently.

That invited more tears.

When she suddenly looked for Yata, he was already moving by the window.

When Yata looked into her eyes, he turned red and turned away from her. That was not the case a little while ago. Kamamoto gave him a small blow.

Finally, she was relieved.

She took a deep breath and put her hand on Kukuri's back.

++++++++++

"Yata-san! I'm here!"

Around the same time that the teacher was leaving the main room, the members of the red club entered and greeted Yata.

"Oh, come in."

"Understood."

"Wow, Saya-chan."

"Eh?"

Wow, she?

As she prepared to go home while glancing at him, she was shocked when she was suddenly called by her name. Surprised, she looked at the boy who was looking at her with a smiling face.

"What?"

"Oh, hi. I'm Chitose Yo. This guy next to me is Dewa. We're sophomores and members of the red club."

"Chitose-san and Dewa-san?"

"Yeah. The blonde over there is Eric. It was a bit noisy to get into the room, I wonder if it would have been better later. Let's go first."

Eh? Where?

"This is your bag."

"Eh?"

"Yes. Princess. Please give me your hand. Right hand. Take your left hand, don't you?"

"Eh?"

What? What was happening?

When she looked at Yata with a feeling of confusion, for no apparent reason, he turned red and turned around. Kamamoto who was next to her raised his hand and said: "Okay."

But that was it. She did not understand the meaning.

As she filled her head with question marks, they gently lifted her up and carried her out of the classroom.

(What? Well, wait. Where are we really going?), she thought.

"Ah, that? Where are we going?"

"Let's go to the red club room."

"Eh? Let's have lunch, that?"

"Oh, no. Not there. It's where we usually hang out."

Eh? Oh, that's right, Totsuka said, "We rarely use the place for lunch."

"Yes. That's right. I'll show you, so follow me."

He asked Dewa to please give him her bag, while Chitose tugged at his hand.

A boy in sunglasses and a hoodie under his school uniform pushed his back.

Behind it was a slim blond boy. Next to them, a boy who seemed to be serious, although his hair was standing on end, seemed to be calm. There were many others.

Yata was the first to walk. Kamamoto followed him diagonally behind.

Kamamoto suddenly turned around and raised his hand saying, "Okay."

Really? No, she didn't think Yata and his friends would do something to her.

But was she worried after all? Because she didn't understand the meaning or the intention.

Why were they trying to take her to the red club?

The appearance of walking surrounded by the members in black school uniforms of the red club seemed strange, and all the students who passed by had round eyes.

"It's unreasonable, it's not good."

Anna Kushina. A mysterious Japanese teacher, a beautiful girl with long straight hair and big red eyes, looked like a girl.

It was Chitose, not Yata, who replied with a smile: "I understand."

Anna nods and passes without stopping.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw Dewa.

"Huh? What happens now?"

"Anna-sensei. Doesn't she know?"

"No, I know. I know."

"Oh, Anna-sensei, the red club advisor."

After thinking about the meaning of her question for a moment, Dewa convinced her. It was true, that's why she couldn't resist.

"We got to the living room. Yes, let's go."

"Ok. You can change clothes yourself!"

Chitose, who tried to be fragile, is hastily stopped and their shoes are changed.

Oh, she's already seen it! She can look at it with a sense of interest!

However, apart from her, they march around her began again, probably because they didn't mind the direct gaze of other students.

She was embarrassed and lightly clasped her hands in front of her chest and denied.

"Oh, should I go to the girls' dorm? I'm out of school, but something..."

Eh?!

"Is this outside of school? Even though it's a clubroom?!"

"I wonder if it is a clubroom or a place that replaces the clubroom."

"Yeah? Well that's..."

"By the way, do you think Anna-sensei and other teachers will get mad when they find out I'm going in there?"

Would they be offended?

When she asked them all of a sudden, not all of them showed a congested expression, they just looked at each other and said, "Okay."

"Yes. It's fine during the day."

She got more anxious.

It was like that, they walked a bit. She went to a bar where they took her.

The name of the store is "HOMRA".

"Homura?"

"Yes. Homura. The common name of the red club."

It was strange. Was the red club commonly known as Homura?

Retro look and nice British flair. The deep, calm red was very impressive. The gold lettering "BAR", the lights and the exterior menu board were very atmospheric and liquorous.

The tenant on the first floor... but the building itself was made of brick and the window frame was dark green. It felt like you were on an English street that you see in the movies.

She knew it was prejudice, but it wasn't a "bad hangout."

"Oh, I see. It's fine during the day because it's a bar."

"Yes, please!"

Chitose opened the door with a smile.

A bright caramel colored wooden counter that can be seen as antique. A wooden floor that squeaked when you stepped on it. A classic that flowed smoothly. Various traditional and elegant interiors. The spacious couch seats looked very comfortable.

At the back of the counter, there were many bottles of liquor.

One person was polishing glasses, had shiny auburn hair and purple glasses. She wondered if he was the age of a college student. He was like an older brother with a big smile.

"Oh, that boy?"

The boy smiled as he watched her enter.

"Then Kusanagi-san, do something sweet."

Perhaps he arrived a little earlier, Totsuka, who came out the back, beckoned her to come.

"Yes, sit there on the couch."

"Eh? Ah, that..."

"Saya-chan, right? You don't like it?"

"Huh? Oh, I can't drink alcohol."

When she answered that while she was sitting on the couch, they looked at her like everyone was shocked for a moment.

Eh?

"Ah, that?"

"Well, did you think they'd be drunk? Well, it's definitely a bar here, right? But it's not good for minors. It's a waste."

She smiled and waved her hand.

She believed that it was different for not drinking because it is not good...

Oh, but that's not what she just said.

She shook her head, looked at Totsuka and then looked back at the young man.

"I thought they were drunk, but it was about making sweets. I'm not good at cakes made with western liquor, nor compotes boiled in alcohol, although I skipped the alcohol and the rum raisins. I mean, sorry. I think I am. I said many words."

"Oh, that's how it is."

"Wow, did you think it was going to be bad?"

"Saya-chan."

She felt bad. In a hurry, he waved his hands and apologized, and put the glass he had polished on the shelf and laughed mischievously.

"If you forgive a man too much, he will eat you, don't you think?"

Eh?!

"Hmm, wait a minute. Look, you guys are scaring the princess, don't you think?"

"Ah, that?"

Eh?! Princess?!

She was surprised to hear that, but the boy started to prepare.

When she looked at Kamamoto, who was standing next to him, Kamamoto said "Oh." and he point to the young man with his hand.

"Izumo Kusanagi. He is a college student at 0B and from the red club. He is the same age as Mikoto. He is the owner of this bar."

What should she be surprised about?

Is he the same age as Suoh? Does that mean Suoh was repeating a year? So he was a college student and a business owner? College student?!

"Kusanagi-san, what about Mikoto-san?"

"He comes in the afternoon, now he is sleeping."

Kusanagi responds without stopping to Yata's question.

"Oh, upstairs? The second floor is also a store?"

"He has nothing to do with the store. He's using the empty room on the second floor as a nap spot. He's the King."

"King..."

"Mikoto-san…"

At Kamamoto's complementary explanation, she looked ahead.

Late? So after that he came there? What? And the lessons?

"The basement is the storeroom for the store and it feels like our gathering place."

"I'll tell you. Even though I'm immersed in this all year, it's never been quiet in the basement and they've interrupted my business."

At Chitose's words, involuntarily, she chuckled softly.

"Oh, now you have a nice smile."

Then Totsuka laughed, gestured with his thumb and forefinger, and looked at her.

"You brought her in because you wanted to see her smile, right? Yata."

"Eh?"

When she looks at Yata sitting on the counter, Yata turned his bright red face and turned around, saying, "Ah, that's not it!" She's been thinking about it since noon, but maybe Yata was really shy?

"Yata-kun, really?"

"Ah...! But I said you would have fun in your school life!"

When asked, Yata yelled as he looked away. His profile was tinted red, and surprisingly the red was turning redder.

He somehow embarrassed her and her cheeks heated up.

"That's right. That's why Saya-chan…"

Chitose knelt on the ground and reached out in front of her.

"Plays with us."

"……!"

"Oh, I said it, it's not because Saya-chan is a Strain. I'm sure she created that pillar of fire. I'm glad she protected the students in general. No, I'm really grateful. I think she is. It does worst thing to do to injure a student in general."

When she shook her shoulders, Chitose rushed to shake her hands and said, "Oh! I don't blame Saya-chan!"

"We want you to join this special club, we have skills too. It's different from you that you didn't even know you had the skills. We got them because we wanted it. I think there is a great responsibility there."

Totsuka looked at her and said calmly.

"That's right. It's like Chitose said."

"Everyone in the red club is grateful to Saya-chan."

"Really...?"

(Wow, thankful to me? Um... why did I do that?), she thought.

She was confused and denied, but everyone was smiling at her.

"Yes. Thank you. Oh, and we're sorry that your hand got hurt, Saya-chan. I'm not saying that because I feel responsible, only Yata got hurt."

"Eh?"

"The rest is fine. Because the red club has a reputation for being bad. It's great that you didn't see us with that kind of eyes, but, above all, seeing those tears and doing nothing would make a man leave."

"Chitose-san..."

"We're having fun. Maximize that out now. I want Konohana-san to have fun. So I thought. That's why you came to this school, right?"

"Totsuka-senpai..."

But, she was a different "Strain".

(I'm happy, but...! But it can be a hassle!), she thought.

However, no one seemed to care about that. Why?

On the contrary, everyone was very happy.

"I'm happy. The first female member! It's the first time I've seen it of all generations, isn't it? Kusanagi-san!"

"Saya-chan. It certainly is. There has never been a female member in the red club. I hope you join the club."

Kusanagi, who came out of the counter, said that and placed a fruit-filled parfait in front of her. It was cute and it looked delicious.

"Yes, here you go."

"Oh, thanks! It looks delicious..."

Well, everything was getting really good. It would be good?

The moment she received the spoon that was offered to her while thinking about it, the floor creaked.

They all looked back in surprise. Kusanagi also laughed and stood up slowly.

"Good morning, Mikoto."

Suoh, who came down from the second floor, yawning sleepily.

No one said anything, and naturally everyone turned away. There was nothing to block his red eyes staring at her.

Great charisma. A bottomless flame.

She shrugged reflectively.

That wasn't horror, it was amazement... she felt a bit shocking.

"……"

Looking at her like this, Suoh scratched his head.

Then he took a little breath and walked over to her silently and sat down casually next to her.

"Hey."

"Oh, yeah!"

"If you feel like it, join."

The hand that reached out in front of her, made her eyes open inadvertently.

She was instantly engulfed in flames, and she gasped.

"Eh?"

"Okay, it's like a rite of passage."

Totsuka told her gently, and she turned to look at him.

"A rite of passage?"

"Yes. Sorry, but it is absolutely necessary to join the red club. There are many people who cannot take that hand and stop joining, but trust."

Totsuka wiped the smile on his lips and looked directly at her.

"Trust me. We, the red club, will never hurt you."

"……"

Looking at Yata, there were some members who seemed a bit concerned, but his gaze was very sincere, determined, direct, and fiery.

She was relieved, it should be fine. She had just met them, but she could believe it. There were no lies in those words. They would protect her. She looked at everyone around her.

They were all staring at her.

She swallowed her breath and looked at him.

That's why? There was no wonder or anxiety.

Without anxiety, she had no reason to be surprised.

This is where her words wanted to come out of her throat.

When she pursed her lips, in the hand that held the flame, she placed her hand.

[architectuul]

FOMA 38: Five Examples of Sacral Architecture in Kaunas

In June 1940, Soviet army entered Lithuania. This was a beginning of a 50 year long occupation. Catholic Church was one of the biggest enemies of the Soviet Union. Because of atheist policy, churches and other sacral buildings of all confessions were being closed and turned into warehouses, sport halls and galleries, therefore ignoring their architectural and cultural heritage value. 

The poster with the “Monumental Church of the Resurrection in Kaunas” from 1940s. | Photo via Lietuva Senose Fotografijose

A lot of valuables were stolen, but the largest damage for the buildings was done by the weigh of goods stored on wooden floors – it crippled the walls, meanwhile the humidity and rainwater which leaked through the holes in the roofs damaged the interiors of abandoned churches. [1]

St. Michael Archangel Church was transformed into the Gallery of Sculpture and Stained Glass. | Photo © Nacionalinis Čiurlionio dailės muziejus

A choice to turn a church into a warehouse is rather interesting, since a warehouse had a symbolic meaning in the Soviet Union. Some researchers believe that converting churches into warehouses “was not the abolition of the holy but, so to speak, its replacement. The warehouse is just as ideal an order in the material world as the church is in the spiritual world. The warehouse is a materialist church, but instead of collecting people who are seeking in prayer an exalted form of the soul, it houses a multitude of objects that have found a precise inventoried form.”[2]

Vilnius Cathedral Basilica in 1847 | Lithography via Katedra.lt

Nevertheless, according to various data from 1953 to 1959 nearly 15-20% of churches were closed while some of sacral buildings went through radical transformations. Vilnius Cathedral Basilica (1783) by Gucevičius was closed in 1949. During 1950 sculptures of saints, which were on the rooftop were removed and destroyed. Since the Cathedral was closed a lot of artifacts were stolen while the interior was ravaged. The Cathedral become part of the Museum of Art and was in1956 transformed into a gallery. The building was returned to the Catholic community in 1988.

Vilnius Cathedral Basilica in 1950 | Photo © S. Simanskis

A synagogue of Kulautuva constructed by Trakman (1935) was turned into the warehouse. In 1967−1968 the building was reconstructed and masoned, so that it could be used for a library and a cultural centre. 

The original constructions of the synagogue were uncovered in 2016 and was due to its poor condition demolished. | Photo via autc

Kaunas and Kaunas District are well-known because of the modernist buildings that were built during the Interwar Period. Five examples of Kaunas modernism – five sacral buildings - that were pushed to the politics of the oblivion in the Soviet times and are celebrated as architectural and cultural heritage today will be presented in this edition of FOMA. 

Christ’s Resurrection Church had a flat roof, what was not common for catholic churches at the time of construction. | Photos © Lukas Mykolaitis

The Christ’s Resurrection Church was designed by Karolis Reisonas in 1929 as a 82-meter tall spiral tower crowned by a 7 meter tall statue of Jesus Christ. However, this project was too pricey and not very well accepted by the people of Kaunas, therefore abandoned. A new project was inspired by modernist spirit and designed in 1932. It was believed that the new church would become a monument of XX century architecture because of its contemporary style, advanced construction and quality materials. Its size was also extraordinary and exceptional in the context of the Baltic States.

Local granite was used for the construction, and the window frames and doors were made of oak. | Photos © Lukas Mykolaitis

The construction of the church was complicated because of lack of funding. Therefore the community engaged in the collection of donations for the church. In 1938 the walls were masoned and the roof was covered in concrete. In the spring of 1940 main construction works were completed, but when Lithuania was occupied by the soviets, it stopped and the building was confiscated. During the second world war the church was used as a paper warehouse.

The inside of the church was reconstructed, adapting it to the needs of the Kaunas Radio Factory. | Photo © Kauno miesto muziejus

In 1952 a decision was made to turn the church into the Kaunas Radio Factory, later named Banga. The inside of the church was reconstructed, adapting it to the needs of the factory: three stories in the side naves and five stories in the central nave were constructed. Crosses were removed, the chapel was demolished and large industrial windows were installed.

Minija-4 produced 1967-1973 in Kaunas. | Photo © Kauno miesto muziejus

Since the opening in 2004 the church has become the dominant landmark within the cityscape. | Photos © Lukas Mykolaitis

During 1930s Vaclovas Michnevičius designed a neo-gothic church for the Evangelical and Reformed community in Kaunas and the project was not built since its design didn’t fit well with its surroundings.The other project designed by Karolis Reisonas represented current modernist trends with a flat roof, smooth shape and its functionality. Narrow vertical windows added greatness to the image of the relatively small church.

Evangelical and Reformed Church looks similar to Christ’s Resurrection, designed by same architect. | Photo © Skeivys, 1956, KTU ASI archive.

The Evangelical and Reformed Church was finished in 1940 and remained unused due to the Soviet occupation. The top part of the tower was torn down, the building was nationalised and turned into the warehouse for tobacco and alcohol manufacturers. Afterwards was given to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which adapted it for the use of special school. When Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, most of the churches were given back to religious communities, however, this case was different: since the owner of the building was an educational institution, the rules of returning the property did not apply. For nearly 20 more years the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Kaunas was used as a sports hall and a canteen, until 2019 when the church was given back to the community.

The believers were allowed to pray on Sundays. | Photo Wikimedia

Pažėrai Sacred Heart Church, a masterpiece by Stasys Kudokas, was built in a small village of Pažėrai in Kaunas district. The construction started in 1936 and was funded by the catholic community. The construction of modernist red-brick building was interrupted during the Soviet occupation. In 1967 the function of Pažėrai Sacred Heart Church changed as it was given to a collective farm and used as a grain warehouse.

The church has two towers, with a high raised apse and the main space of the building is covered by a dome. | Photo © Lukas Mykolaitis, 2018

When Lithuania regained the independence, the church was returned to the congregation in 1991.The reconstruction began shortly afterwards and in 1997 the nearly-finished church was consecrated. The plan of the church in the form of a Greek cross has an unique, dynamic composition, and it is an example of rational modernist architecture. 

Kaunas Mosque also known as Vytautas the Great Mosque is one of four remaining mosques in Lithuania. Its design reminds the mosques in Northern Africa, a compact, small-volume mosque combines historical forms with oriental motifs like an elliptical dome and a small minaret, which was never used for its traditional purpose.

Kaunas had a wooden mosque built in 1860. | Source postcard from 1940s

In 1941 the mosque was closed and robbed: its windows were smashed, carpets, furniture and ancient hand-written Quran were stolen. The ownership rights were transferred to Kaunas City Archive which turned the building into a warehouse. In 1986 the building became a library and a warehouse of M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art. During the soviet times murals were painted over and there are plans to recover the old murals by 2030 when the mosque will celebrate its 100 anniversary.

The mosque was returned to the Muslim community of Kaunas in 1989 and restored in 2007-2008. | Photo © Lukas Mykolaitis, 2017

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Šančiai neighborhood is a great example of modernist sacral architecture. The church is built of reinforced concrete, the nave is covered by supporting arches and the caisson shell. The exterior is minimalist and composed of regular geometric shapes: square front door and narrow rectangular windows. 

During the war, the church was damaged, instead of stained-glass window a brick wall was built. | Photo © Justinas Stonkus, 2020 

Kaunas2022 European Capital of Culture program Modernism for the Future tackles the questions of preservation, interpretation and dissemination of modernist heritage and promotes various initiatives by building owners, heritage community and cultural organizations.

[1] R. Čepaitienė. Vilniaus bažnyčių likimas sovietmečiu (1944-1990). Liaudies kultūra, 2002/5 (86), p. 32-37.

[2] M. Epstein. Russo-Soviet Topoi. The Landscape of Stalinism: The Art and Ideology of Soviet Space.ed. E. Dobrenko, E. Naiman. University of Washington Press, 2011, p. 301.

—

#FOMA 38: Ugne Marija Andrijauskaite

Portrait photo © Justinas Stonkus

Ugne Marija Andrijauskaite is a historian, who investigates social and cultural history of XX century Lithuania. In 2017 she defended her PhD thesis, which investigated urban workers and organized labour movement in interwar Lithuania. Currently she is working at Kaunas2022 European Capital of Culture program Modernism for the Future. The goal of the program is to awaken responsibility for the environment that surrounds us and create an emotional connection with the urban landscape and culture.

[onestowatch]

Meet CRAVITY, the K-Pop Super Rookies With a Gravitational Pull [Q&A]

Photo: Courtesy of Artist 

The world of K-Pop is always changing and evolving, and CRAVITY is the latest group to illustrate the universal appeal of the worldwide phenomenon. Originally debuting in the midst of the ongoing COVID pandemic, the affectionately-dubbed “Super Rookies” found themselves in an unprecedented situation, having to make a name for themselves in a genre built around extraordinary live shows and human connection, all while the world shut down around them. In spite of the odds, the group’s debut, Hideout: Remember Who We Are, climbed to the top of the U.S. iTunes K-Pop chart, cementing their place as super rookies ready to take the world by storm.

And hardly a year following their noteworthy debut, CRAVITY is back to make good on the early promise that came with topping with the iTunes chart and being Starship Entertainment’s first new boy band in five years (following in the footsteps of their seniors, Monsta X). The Awakening: Written in the Stars arrives as the group’s first full-length debut album and serves as a marked maturation for each of the members. Consisting of eight tracks that transcend genres, from explosive hip-hop to euphoric electronic-laden pop, CRAVITY fearlessly brings their ambitious vision to life.  

We had the chance to catch up with the boys behind CRAVITY via e-mail ahead of the release of their full-length debut album, which is out now, to check-in and see how they’re doing before they become a household name. 

Ones to Watch: What does CRAVITY mean?

Serim: It’s a combination of the word “Creativity” and “Gravity” and it has special meaning behind it--we (CRAVITY) will gravitate the audience into our unique universe with our charms.

What’s one fun fact about every member of CRAVITY?

Allen: Apparently I sleep talk in three languages? English, Korean, and Chinese.

Hyeongjun: I always wear contact lenses whether it’s a day off or not.

Seongmin: I enjoy eating jellies and candies these days.

Serim: I always clear my throat before I sing or rap.

Minhee: I don't like eggplant.

Jungmo: Allen sleep talks in three different languages and these days, he likes to shop online.

Woobin: I bite my nails, I am always looking for a new song, and beatboxing is one of the things that I enjoy doing these days.

Wonjin: These days, I play the game called Animal Crossing, but I'm too lazy to pull weeds on my island. I need some help haha ☺

Taeyoung: Many fans say I look like a cat! BUT I am actually allergic to cats ~

And what are everyone’s roles?  

Allen: I lead the group during dance practices and make sure everyone is looking sharp by the time we release new music or prepare for a performance.

Hyeongjun: I’m in charge of passion! HJ = Passion! 

Seongmin: I am the “Maknae” of the group and as the youngest member, I get along with my brothers (members) and I’m like the vitamin for the group!

Serim: The strongest and photographer for the members.

Minhee: Everyone is different, so it's fun

Jungmo: I’m in a vocal position in CRAVITY, so sometimes I upload vocal cover videos.

Woobin: I'm the main vocal of the group. 

Wonjin: I like to make some jokes to keep our team’s mood up. It looks so easy, but it is actually very hard.

Taeyoung: My role is to hype up our members!

Serim, do the boys ever make being the group leader a difficult job or are they all pretty well-behaved?

Serim: I think it's really comfortable because the members listen to me well and follow me well.

Were there any particular challenges that arose from debuting in the midst of a pandemic?

Allen: There were definitely moments where I was up on stage tired and worn out, not being able to perform at my best due to not having a live audience, but I still try my best to not let that show through the camera lens. 

Hyeongjun: I think the biggest challenge is not being able to meet the fans.

Seongmin: I wanted to perform in front of the fans, but I'm sad that I can't. 

Minhee: It's still very difficult that I can't show our stages directly to the fans.

Serim: I'm in charge of passion. Expectations about meeting our fans are growing, but I'm sad that we can't at the moment. 

Jungmo: Before our debut, we imagined performing on stage in front of our fans and around the world, but these days we are just performing in front of cameras so it’s really sad. We really miss you guys!

Woobin: I want you to understand what CRAVITY is trying to say. We really miss you and want to see you guys in person.

Wonjin: The fact that we can’t see our fans. We had a fairly long break in between our new album and the last one, but it felt as if it was a year. In addition, when we perform on stage without our fans, it’s hard for us to be energetic. 

Taeyoung: That we can't meet our fans face to-face... that is a big, sad problem.

With your debut reaching number 1 on the US iTunes K-pop chart, how does it feel going forward with future projects?

Wonjin: I’m so excited because there is only one way for us which is to go up.

What do you hope people take away from your first official album?

Hyeongjun: We prepared a lot for the performance so please look forward to our performance and be sure to look out for our music video too!

Woobin: We tried to incorporate various genres and sounds into this album, so we hope you can find your taste in it!

Can you speak on the title of your full-length debut album, The Awakening: Written in the Stars?

Seongmin: It's focused on the keyword “Awakening,” a challenge towards a new goal. Also, please look forward to seeing how CRAVITY’s message will be written in the future!

Jungmo: It’s our first full-length album, and it means that we are all awakened and got more mature after coming out from our hideout.  

Why do you think K-Pop has become such a worldwide phenomenon?

Allen: I believe K-Pop truly has something magical going on. Its power to connect people from all around the world is unbelievable. Social media definitely plays a big part in making K-Pop into such a world phenomenon, but I firmly believe that music is a universal language and that no matter where you’re from or what language you speak, the emotions portrayed by a piece of music will always be well communicated.

Are there any other groups or artists you would love to collaborate with?

Allen: It’d be nice for us to collaborate with Steve Aoki. His collaboration, “Play It Cool” with our company senior Monsta X really suited their vibe and sound, so I feel like if he ever got to produce for us, he would be able to create something that would really suit our image and our sound.

Hyeongjun: It’s still the same for me, I want to collaborate with MONSTA X.

Seongmin: I'd love to collaborate with Charlie Puth.

Serim: I’ve always liked Ateez sunbaenim’s performances and would like to have a collaboration opportunity with them.

Minhee: Anyone is good, it would be an honor for us to have an opportunity to collaborate with other artists.

Jungmo: I want to collaborate with Jooyoung sunbaenim because our new album has a lot of cool tracks written by Jooyoung sunbaenim and his crew! Also, I want to learn his vocal style.

Woobin: Lauv, and Kihyun from our senior group MONSTA X.

Wonjin: I want to collaborate with The Kid Laroi. I knew him through a song called “Stay.” I fell in love with his vocal skills and style and he is so young. I want to be his friend.

Taeyoung: I’m still waiting for the opportunity to collab with The Chainsmokers.

You’ve yet to perform for your fans in a large-scale setting. How do you feel about the possibility of performing for your fans on tour?

Taeyoung: I’m really excited to meet LUVITYs around the world and perform on stage while listening to their voices. It would be an unforgettable experience in my life.

Is there anything you all like to do when not working on music?

Allen: We all enjoy playing board games together. A few of us also like to work out or play sports such as soccer, baseball, badminton, and basketball.

Hyeongjun: I’m into watching tv series on Netflix.

Seongmin: First of all, I'm looking forward to meeting many fans, and I'm looking forward to learning about the culture of various countries. I also enjoy reading books.

Serim: Watching movies!

Minhee: I’m currently looking for one!

Jungmo: I like watching horror movies because I am interested in ghost haha.

Woobin: Cooking? I love to cook!

Wonjin: I like baseball or basketball, but these days because of COVID-19, I’m sad I can’t play.

Taeyoung: I like to play badminton and watch memes~

If you could say one thing to all your fans, what would it be?

Allen: Don’t go anywhere and stay right where you are. We will come find you once the pandemic subsides.

Hyeongjun: Let’s not stop here, LUVITY! Fighting!

Seongmin: Let's always be healthy until we meet each other.

Serim: LUVITY~~ I miss you and I love you.

Minhee: LUVITY! Always be happy!

Jungmo: We really prepared this album hard, so we hope you like it. We always love you guys.

Woobin: Please look forward to our new album! Love ya!

Wonjin: Please love our new album and stay healthy. I miss you guys so so much.

Taeyoung: I just want to say I really care about our fans and I love you so much! 

What’s next for CRAVITY?

Allen: They say the sky’s the limit but we’re going to be up by satellites.

Seongmin: It’s my goal to finish our album promotions well and I hope to meet our fans as soon as possible.

Minhee: There's still a long way to go and I'm pretty sure that there will be more opportunities for us to be on stage in the near future, so I think we should all work harder to move forward.

CRAVITY’s full-length debut album, The Awakening: Written in the Stars, is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.