#report: japan 2017

[rik0shii]

reader being the only girl member of big bang, and her and daesung secretly being all flirty and in love with each other, but they dont date, until years later , people do edits and stuff to start pointing out how they definitely liked each other which gives them the push to date, so it ends in our current year.

hope this is okay, thanks so much💜

Years in the Making

Pairing: Daesung x Reader

Word Count: ~5k

hiii i hope you like it, this was pretty rushed 😭😭 reposts and comments are appreciated!

Summary: You and Daesung have always had a connection—one that the rest of BIGBANG teased but never took too seriously. Years of inside jokes, secret smiles, and lingering touches were just part of your friendship. But now, in 2025, the internet has receipts, and maybe it’s time to stop pretending.

2006 – The Beginning

Being the only female member of BIGBANG wasn’t easy. You had to fight for every bit of respect, prove yourself just as much—if not more—than the others. But through the exhausting days of training and the pressure of debuting, Daesung was always there.

He made everything lighter, easier.

You clicked instantly—maybe it was the way you both loved to joke around, how neither of you took yourselves too seriously despite the industry’s expectations. Or maybe it was the way he always looked out for you—pulling you away from reporters when their questions became too personal, sneaking extra snacks into your bag when you were too busy to eat, keeping an eye on you even when you didn’t realize it.

And the flirting? That was just part of the game.

“You looked good today,” he’d murmur after performances, voice just low enough for only you to hear.

“So did you,” you’d reply, watching the tips of his ears turn red.

It was effortless, natural. But it was also safe. Neither of you ever pushed past the invisible line between friends and something more.

Not yet.

2012 – Still Just Friends

BIGBANG was dominating the industry, and your friendship with Daesung was as strong as ever. If anything, it had only grown.

The fans noticed it—the way you always seemed to gravitate toward each other, how you finished each other’s jokes, how Daesung’s eyes lingered on you just a second too long during interviews. Edits of your moments together flooded the internet, clips of him looking at you like you hung the stars gaining thousands of views.

The other members noticed too.

“You two should just date already,” Taeyang teased once, watching the way you nudged Daesung’s shoulder during a break in rehearsal.

Daesung laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, but you saw the flicker of something in his eyes before he shrugged it off.

“We’re just friends,” you said, the same response you always gave.

The conversation moved on, but for the first time, the words didn’t sit right in your chest.

Because deep down, you weren’t so sure they were true.

2017 – The Almost

It was late after a concert in Japan, the adrenaline finally wearing off as you and Daesung sat in the back of the van, heads resting against the seats. The others were chatting in the front, their voices distant.

Daesung shifted beside you. “Do you ever think…?”

You turned to him, his voice quieter than usual. “Think what?”

“That maybe we missed something?”

Your heart skipped.

It was the closest either of you had ever come to acknowledging it—this thing that had existed between you for years, unspoken but always there.

You opened your mouth, unsure of what you were about to say, but the van stopped, and the moment shattered. The conversation was left unfinished, lost to the chaos of schedules, tours, and comebacks.

And maybe that was easier.

Maybe pretending was better than facing what it really meant.

2020 – The Shift

BIGBANG had been through so much. Hiatuses, military service, changes in the group—it felt like a lifetime had passed since your debut.

You and Daesung still talked, of course. Always. But things felt different. There were fewer playful touches, fewer lingering glances. Maybe you were both too scared of what would happen if you let it slip.

Then one night, as you sat in your apartment scrolling through your phone, you came across an edit.

It was one of those fan compilations—clips spanning over a decade, showing every moment you and Daesung had ever shared. The way he looked at you when you weren’t watching, the way your hands always seemed to find each other, the way he smiled a little softer when you were the one speaking.

And the comments?

“How did they not date?”

“You’re telling me this wasn’t real???”

“Daesung was down BAD.”

Your chest tightened. You had spent years convincing yourself that what you had was just friendship. But watching it all laid out like this? The internet had noticed something you had spent years ignoring.

And maybe… maybe it was time to stop running from it.

2025 – The Now

It had taken almost twenty years, but here you were.

Sitting next to Daesung in a quiet café, watching as he scrolled through the same edits that had haunted your mind for months.

He looked up, expression unreadable. “So, the internet thinks we’ve been in love this whole time.”

You laughed, but it came out shaky. “Maybe they have a point.”

Daesung didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, slowly, carefully, he reached across the table, his fingers brushing yours.

Your breath hitched.

“I don’t want to miss it this time,” he murmured.

And this time, you didn’t pretend you didn’t understand.

This time, you laced your fingers through his and held on.

Later That Year – The Interview

Daesung’s talk show had quickly become a fan favorite. He had always been a natural entertainer, effortlessly funny yet able to draw out deep conversations from his guests. His humor kept things light, but he had a way of making people open up without even realizing it.

So when he invited you on, you weren’t surprised.

What did surprise you was how openly you both talked about your relationship.

The set was warm and inviting, the audience buzzing with excitement as the cameras rolled. You sat beside Daesung on the sleek studio couch, watching him grin like he was up to something.

“So, Y/N, should we tell them who made the first move?” he asked, leaning forward with that signature mischievous glint in his eyes.

You smirked. “Technically, it was you.”

He gasped dramatically, turning to the audience. “Did you hear that? She’s rewriting history! Someone pull up the receipts!”

Laughter filled the studio.

You crossed your arms, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, you want receipts? Should we talk about the time in Japan in 2017?”

The audience ooooh’d in excitement, and Daesung immediately started laughing, shaking his head. “I knew you were going to bring that up.”

You turned to the audience, grinning. “So, there we were, exhausted after a concert, sitting in the back of a van, and this man turns to me and says—”

“—‘Do you ever think we missed something?’” Daesung finished, sighing dramatically. “Yeah, yeah, I walked right into this one.”

The audience erupted into cheers, and Daesung pretended to hide his face behind his hands.

You nudged his arm. “That was basically a confession, you know.”

“I know,” he groaned. “And then I did nothing about it for years.”

More laughter.

“But honestly,” he continued, looking at you with a softer expression, “I think we were both scared back then. Scared of ruining what we had, scared of the industry, scared of—”

You nodded, finishing his sentence. “Scared of everything.”

There was a pause—just long enough for the audience to feel the weight of it.

Then Daesung brightened, turning back to the camera. “But thankfully, the internet came through for us.”

The screen behind you lit up with clips—fan edits, old interviews, even that viral comment section that had pushed you both toward the truth.

“How did they not date?”

“You’re telling me this wasn’t real???”

“Daesung was down BAD.”

Daesung groaned again. “That last one really hurts. Down bad?? Am I that obvious?”

“Yes,” the entire audience answered in unison, making everyone laugh again.

You squeezed his hand, grinning. “But it’s okay. Because we both were.”

More aww’s from the audience.

Then Daesung smirked again. “Okay, real question—who had to be the one to officially ask?”

You rolled your eyes, already knowing where this was going. “You refused to do it, so I had to.”

“I wasn’t refusing! I was building suspense,” he argued.

You turned to the audience. “He stalled for weeks.”

“I was nervous!”

The teasing continued, but under it all, there was something soft, something warm. It was the kind of banter that came naturally, built on years of friendship, trust, and love.

As the interview wrapped up, Daesung turned back to you with a more genuine expression.

“For real, though,” he said, voice quieter, “I think it was always supposed to be us. It just took us a long time to see it.”

You felt your chest tighten, the weight of everything you had gone through settling into something right.

Reaching for his hand, you smiled. “Yeah. But we got there in the end.”

The audience clapped, the energy buzzing through the studio.

Years in the making. But finally, finally yours.

[cheriecoke]

𝐈. 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄 ❤︎༻°₊ ｡ villain!nanami + f!reader

chapter summary . . . it's been a year since the death of gojo satoru, and it seems that geto's plans have slightly changed.

chapter warnings . . . none other than jjk typical dark themes. see masterlist for series warnings!

author note! this series is my exploration of some of the themes and aspects about jjk that i find intriguing, but this story will be an alternate timeline, and will diverge from the jjk canon, lore, power system, etc. pls don't correct me if i get something about jujutsu or the current timeline wrong! <3

“𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮” 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐍𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐳𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞

The sheet wrinkled between your fingertips, your grasp far too tight for the thin piece of paper. Words smudged into a pool of black from the oils that danced across your palm, but it didn’t matter much… You didn’t need to read them anyway. 

Those lines were as familiar to you as your own name, scribbled down in Utahime’s neat calligraphy, a daily report of new information gathered. The length of the list never changed, but, really, seldom changed, these days. 

The same could not be said of the numbers beside the names, the words that followed. They were altered, on occasion. Often when you least expected it.

Directory of known sorcerers residing in Japan, as of December 24, 2017. Most recent grade of every sorcerer identified. Status identified. Bounty set by Nanami Kento and Geto Suguru identified (if applicable):

GOJO SATORU . . . Special Grade . . . Deceased 

TSUKUMO YUKI . . . Special Grade . . . Deceased 

OKKOTSU YUUTA . . . Special Grade . . . Deceased 

GETO SUGURU . . . Special Grade . . . Defected 

NANAMI KENTO . . . Special Grade . . . Defected 

SHOKO IERI . . .  Grade 1 . . . Reward: 35,000,000

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI. . . Grade 1 . . . Reward: 50,000,000

Your name was next on the list. 

Immediately, you stopped reading, the anger consuming you as quickly as your eyes scanned the words across the page, crumbling it in your palm. 

Every two weeks, like clockwork, your bounty raised. It was the same with Megumi and Maki, as descendants of the Zen’in clan, and children that the higher-ups were so desperate to obtain. But no one else’s reward held quite the same inconsistency as your own, which never seemed to raise by a set amount.

Today, nothing was surprising about the list, no new deaths, no numbers that seemed otherworldly. You threw the wadded ball of paper over your shoulder, slumping forward as your head fell into your hands. 

Everyone was getting desperate, it seemed. Not just the Zen’in clan, but Geto too. Perhaps even you were losing your last shred of rationality, of hope that things would change. The only ambition you still had was keeping Maki and Megumi out of the disgusting hands of their clan leaders. 

You swore to protect them… And you would protect them, now that Gojo Satoru could not.

Glancing up, your gaze fell from the ceiling to the window, rays of sunlight clearing through a dark curtain of storm clouds. The sky had begun to open up into a steely gray abyss, but it never looked natural, with the curtain of curse energy that shimmered across the horizon. It encased the entirety of the country, unbroken, from each shore to the beaches, sinking into the seas. A navy hue that sealed your home into a prison, out of hatred and fear, and every twisted feeling that Geto Suguru had settling in his heart.

There was hardly anything that passed through the curtain; only things that were predetermined by Geto, who saw himself, surely, as your great benefactor. No communication to the world outside, no alarming any foreign sorcerers of what had become of your country. Maybe no one cared enough to come to your defense.

It was shield that did little to protect, and it would remain there until someone was strong enough to break it. But without Satoru alive, even that had become an impossible task. 

Month after month, the strongest sorcerers attempted to break it, to take it down, and collapse the cursed energy that was compacted into a swirling wave. Every one of them failed. There were only two special grade sorcerers left, and they were the ones that had trapped you in the circle of hell, to begin with. 

You let out a heavy exhale, turning away from the window to slink back into the darkness of your bedroom. Thinking too hard about the state of your survival only served to depress you further.

At least you still had the rain. The drizzle that maintained the farmlands, kept the rivers from drying out, and you and the rest of the country from dying. Geto had been kind enough to give you that.

As if in response to your dismal thoughts, a dreary rainbow unfurled across the sky, brightening it like a beacon. The colors were still muted, though, swallowed by the darkness of an energy created by hatred. It did little to draw a smile onto your face, and you collapsed onto a chair instead, wrapping yourself up in whatever dusty blankets covered it.

Satoru’s name lingered in your mind like he was whispering it there, his lighthearted, arrogant tone seeping through your eardrums, nestling into your brain. You could still see his smug smile, almost as if he’d been standing in front of you all this time, the image of it painted onto the wall across from you. 

The mere whistle of a memory of him sent a twinge of regret and longing through your entire frame. He was always a pain in your ass, and yet, you were certain that no one missed him more than you. What a pity it was, to have been the strongest. 

So caught up in your memories, you were ignorant to the door unlatching, footsteps padding through the threshold as Shoko came in. Although you hadn’t heard her, you saw her out of the corner of your eye, the shadow of her before she spoke. 

“Everything okay?” Shoko asked, and while things hadn’t been okay in months, there was no other question that could have been asked in place of it. 

You looked over, nestling deeper into the blankets, as you observed her stature, which only seemed to shrink with time. A cigarette was balanced between her fingers, nails painted a light shade of pink; a way to counter the dismal reality of her situation. Shoko’s dark hair had been cut short again, a shadow of her teenage self, a shell of that girl she’d once been, hollow and empty. 

Just like you, you supposed. A burnt image of someone who’d once longed to visit her friends in Tokyo, who’d looked up to all of them like they’d hung the moon. 

How sick you felt, knowing you’d once adored the men that did this to you. Nauseating, even, that you held a shred of love for them still. 

“You could’ve knocked,” you said, rolling your eyes as Shoko puffed out of a cloud of smoke, one that wafted over to the nest you’d perched yourself in. It didn’t quite reach you, but you coughed dramatically anyway, waving your hands around your face.

“Would it have made a difference?”

“For starters, I could’ve looked a little less like I was brooding.”

Shoko laughed, and her tiny little smile caused you to crack one of your own, grateful that you could still experience a fraction of joy. There was still hope, somewhere, even if you buried it deep. Without it, you would’ve given yourself up to Geto months ago, or died trying to escape. There was no point in fighting with nothing to live for. 

“I’ve been under the impression that that’s all you do up here,” Shoko remarked, taking another long drag of her cigarette. “Sitting so seriously in your dark, cold room, all alone. Perhaps thinking of the things that might have been.”

Although she was teasing you, you feel a stab within your chest at the remark. You’d been shy as a girl, and you’d grown into a quiet adult — something that someone as obnoxious as Satoru had always teased you about. But you’d learned to accept his remarks, as annoying as they were, because for all Gojo Satoru talked, he was, really, quite horrible at communicating. 

It just seemed like a punch to the gut, that Shoko sounded like him now. That her mouth twisted up in the same way Satoru’s did, even though it was unsurprising that she’d picked up on some of his quirks over the years.

You just didn’t like seeing a reminder of him everywhere you went. As much as you missed him, you hated him for leaving you in a world where the unthinkable came to light. Even the strongest flame had been put out, and there was no safety in that sort of place. 

Silence remained Shoko’s answer, and she sighed, accepting it as her eyes dimmed. Looking past you, the last of the day’s rays burned through the glass panels, coating the room in a purple haze. “Utahime wants to have a meeting,” Shoko said, resigned. “Be downstairs in ten.”

The curt response was the end of your conversation. Once you nodded, your old friend left, letting the door slam behind her.

Meeting was hardly a name that could qualify for your meager gathering of sorcerers, especially since almost everyone had been stuck together for months, with no other options. Yet, Utahime continued to put on a brave face, calling it a formal congregation, as if to instill the hope that you all could become enough to incite a rebellion. As if, maybe, you could train and strengthen yourselves, overthrowing two of the most powerful curse-users in the world.

It was laughable, really, and you saw why Shoko and everyone else thought that. Why they rolled their eyes at the flimsy sheets of paper that Utahime passed out every day, because, maybe, there wasn’t a point to any of it. 

You, though, were happy to indulge Utahime. It gave you just a few moments to pretend like things hadn’t changed. You could listen to her lecture to your measly group of sorcerers, and pretend that she was still a teacher in Kyoto. You could pretend that Satoru was still by your side, that you were still fighting nothing worse than grade one curses, and that everything was normal.

It painted a pretty peaceful image, even if it wasn’t real. 

Throwing the blankets off your body, you finally left the room, your breathing seeming far too loud for the empty halls. Papery hotel walls loomed over you as you trekked down carpeted stairs, sliding your hands along the banister. The elevators were never used, and lights were only on when necessary. It was a risk to use up any resources, when none of you were certain how much longer they’d last.

Really, it was a mystery that you’d made it this far. For all of his theatrics and grandiose plans, Geto Suguru was not an idiot. If he was allowing you all to live, for anyone who opposed him to live, then there must have been a reason. Society was likely blooming within the four walls of Geto’s cult following, and those who stood with him received all the finest things in life. 

And it may have been a ridiculous notion, but it seemed more realistic than the alternative. Whoever Geto was now, he was still a man who cared deeply for his new family. You couldn’t imagine him forcing them into a life where they had to fend for scraps off the streets.

When you got downstairs, to the lobby of the hotel that you were all inhabiting for the week, the room was already lit with candles, flames so high that you could tell they’d been burning for a while. With the sun already setting on the other side of the building, very little light filtered through the vast windows. 

Despite the cold outside, the building remained relatively warm, a heating system kicking on regardless of your precautions. However, you were grateful not to have to face the winter in a small town without some source of warmth. Even if it died out on you by the end of the night. 

Nearly everyone had gathered when you arrived downstairs… But at this point in your battle, the numbers were never very staggering. Many of the sorcerers never bothered to show up, despite knowing the severity of the position that you were all in. 

Not that you could blame them, though. Oftentimes, in these meetings, you just repeated the same information; it was rare that you stumbled upon anything noteworthy toward your survival.

The would-be third years sat huddled in a circle, and Utahime and Shoko talked amongst themselves in hushed whispers. At the far side of the vast table, one you’d created from various smaller ones, Takuma Ino sat, beanie covering his forehead, eyes closed as he leaned back in the chair. 

Something relaxed inside of you, at the sight of him sitting there so calmly. Since Stour had died, Ino had become something of a comfort to you. His steadfast optimism and energy were hard to match in such dire times, bringing a new life to people who might as well have been dead—including yourself. Despite the few years difference in age and the differences in your experiences as sorcerers, he’d become one of your closest friends. 

You approached him, quietly; though he heard your subtle footsteps nonetheless. A dark eye popped open, and he smiled, lips pulling back, eyes crinkling at the corners. Ino was still so young, but there was more evidence of happiness on his features than many of you; wrinkles were already obvious around his eyes and mouth. It was admirable how deeply he could hold onto joy, and you found yourself latching onto that, longing for it, even. 

“You left your cave!” Ino remarked, pulling his beanie off, dusty brown strands falling onto his cheekbones. “This must be really important if Shoko pulled you out of there.” 

As you took the seat next to him, you made an effort to poke him in the shin with your shoe. A kick, almost, with how hard the pressure landed. “I always come to these meetings,” you said, rolling your eyes. “If I remember correctly, it was your seat that was empty during the last one.” 

Ino’s lips tugged upwards again, not quite a smirk but close enough. He sat up a little straighter, less relaxed than before, when the rest of the sorcerers began filing into the room. “Well, it’s never me that those bastards looking for.” Ino shrugged, wiping a hand over his face, hiding his weariness of the entire situation. “They don’t need everyone. Some of us, they just want to capture to eliminate.” 

An objection rested on your lips, but you knew that it was fruitless. Sorcerers that didn’t have a technique inherently useful to Geto’s agenda would be imprisoned — or killed. The rest of you… Well, you’re certain you’d be used for something far worse. Dying seemed, almost, like the better outcome. 

“Well, it’s a good thing that none of us have been captured, then,” you settled on instead. 

Ino looked away, his dark lashes fanning over the hollowed shadows beneath his eyes. “It’s only a matter of time, though. Isn’t it? We can’t run forever.” 

You didn’t bother to respond. Ino was right. Of course, he was right. You’d all fought like hell to keep everyone alive, and though a few had willingly left, sworn their allegiance with a betrayal of information, no one had been captured. The defects never really mattered, though. There were very few secrets kept amongst you. What secrets could be kept, when your goal of escape was more than obvious?

Finally, Utahime drew all your focus with a dramatic clearing of her throat. She stood tall, proud before you, like you were all first-years, oblivious to your own talents, and far too naive for the world of Jujutsu. 

It seemed a realistic comparison, though, as all of you still trained like students, trying to learn something from others that you hadn’t known before. A disappointing concept, considering many of you were beyond growth in your technique, and your abilities would remain stagnant. But the grades of sorcery meant nothing anymore — hardly anyone referred to themselves as such, these days. 

“As you all know, for months, we’ve been trying to anticipate Geto and Nanami’s next move,” Utahime began, as always, with the obvious. There was a brief pause, and whether it was for dramatics or for Utahime to gather her thoughts, you weren’t certain. “Our infiltration attempts have all failed — The bounties tell us little, except that the clan’s children are wanted more than everyone.” 

You glanced over at Megumi, whose eyebrow only twitched in irritation. He would be eighteen soon, but he would remain your responsibility. A life you’d always protect, dying before the clan could ever attempt to take him away, sell him for whatever he was worth. You’d promised Satoru that much, hadn’t you? 

“Although,” Utahime started again, with renewed vigor in her voice, “we think we’ve gained some new insight into their operations. Or, at least, what their next ambition is.” A frown took over her face, then, slowly, curled to every corner of her expression. Wrinkles formed between her brows, and she licked her lips, pointedly avoiding the far end of the table where you sat. “But there is nothing proven in the information. It is a gamble — one we’re not sure we’re willing to take.” 

“What options do we have left?” Todo said, mouth drawn into a tight line. “Risks are all we have now. Every other plan has led to nothing, and Geto is a complete basket case. You act as if any of his goals are rational — as if we can predict them.” 

Utahime opened her mouth, but faltered, looking at Shoko, who had already begun to take over. She was onto her second cigarette since you’d last seen her, the habit only erupting after Gojo had been killed. Clouds of smoke rose above her as she exhaled smoothly. 

“No, Geto is not rational,” Shoko agreed. “But Nanami is. There’s a reason that those without cursed energy still reside in Japan. That Geto has not wiped them out entirely.”

“To supply him with curses,” Todo argued, fists on the table. It did little to faze Shoko, who was already so numb. “And money.”

“No,” Shoko paused, gathering her thoughts. “That may be part of the reason, but it isn’t the entire truth, I believe.” 

Although she took a few more breaths, no one interrupted, letting her expel whatever was residing in her mind. When it came to Geto, evwryone entrusted her entirely. There was no one else alive who knew him as well as she did. Even if Gojo had been the only one to ever know him completely. 

“How many sorcerers do you think are left in Japan?” she asked, staring Todo down with a flat gaze, shadowy eyes only growing darker by the day. “An estimate.” 

He shrugged, glancing around the table, and counting heads. Thinking of the clans. Of those who had joined Geto before that evening in Shinjuku, and those who joined him in the two years since. “I don’t know. Perhaps two hundred?”

“I’d argue less,” Shoko hummed, taking one more drag of her cigarette before she dropped it on the floor of the hotel, stomping it out. “But let’s stick with your guess. Two hundred is hardly a feasible number to sustain a society, without setting all of us back centuries. Geto’s goal of murdering anyone without cursed energy… Well, it’s not feasible, really. Not unless he wants the human race, including sorcerers, to cease to exist.” She smiled, though it was sad, exhausted. Things had never stopped being hard for her. Not since the day she’d met the two special grade sorcerers that had once been her best friends. “That’s why they’ve stopped. That’s why the rest of the world moves along, why there are still curses haunting Tokyo, even when Geto hates them. If his plan fails here, then how will it succeed in the rest of the world?” 

Utahime took her seat beside Shoko, bowing her head. Silence arose across the table, as the words sank in. How often you’d thought the same thing, how rational it seemed that that was the case. Yet, none of you had ever been brave enough to say the words out loud. 

Perhaps it didn’t matter, really, when all of you were helpless to stop them.

 “So this is a test run?” Megumi interjected, not allowing Todo to supply any more questions out of his fearful rage. “If Geto can build his utopia here, then he will continue everywhere else?” 

Shoko nodded. “Well. That’s what I think anyway. No one needs to believe me.” 

But her statements were never up for debate. They settled around the table like the word of God, bestowed upon unwilling servants. Giving to the last of you; people who needed to continue on a path that seemed to lead to nowhere. 

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Maki threw her hands up, standing as the chair screeched across the floor. “We’ve run and we’ve hid, and we’ve planned for a year. We’re cowards, aren’t we? Just trying to get by while a lunatic takes over the entire world.” 

Shoko flinched at the word, at the brashness of the teenager’s tone. But she sat tall, face neutral, never letting anyone see how deeply she was truly hurting. “I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers.” 

“Well let’s do something. I’ve lost so many people. We’ve all lost so many people. I’m starting to think that maybe their deaths were in vain.” 

Megumi’s eyes snapped over to her, muttering something darkly under his breath. In a failed attempt, Nobara tugged on her wrist, guiding her back down to her seat. But she flicked him off, sitting on her own, breathing heavily. You’d always liked Maki Zen’in. It was a pity you’d never get the chance to teach her as a third year — you would’ve promoted her to grade one sorcerer, given the chance.

“I agree, Maki,” Utahime spoke up again, softly, coaxing her anger back down. “We think that we might have a plan, though, as I have said, it is a gamble. And…” she blinked, glancing over at you before avoiding your gaze. “I’m not sure that everyone would be willing.” 

The statement started a chorus around the table, of those who would do anything to help, those who were tired of living as you had been living — if you could even call it a life. The students, more courageous than you’d ever been, were the first to offer up their lives. But it was not them that Utahime needed, and deep in your gut, you knew that to be true before she even said it. 

“Utahime,” you said across the wave of speakers, trying your best to make your voice louder than everyone else’s. “It’s me you need, isn’t it?” 

As quickly as the words had left your mouth, everyone was silent, blinking at you. And for a moment, you hesitated. How embarrassing it would be, to believe yourself so important to Geto that you must be the willing victim. 

But you weren’t a fool, and Utahime knew that. Geto knew that, and Nanami Kento certainly knew that. Your bounty had raised just as heavily, and the numbers were staggering. The price on your head was almost as high as Maki and Megumi, despite having very few sorcerers in your long line of descendants. 

It was just — your technique was rare. So rare, in fact, that other curse users had come for you before, when you were but a child. It was something that Geto could easily use to achieve his end goal, if he were able to use your technique to his advantage. 

Thinking of it now, it was logical and seemed almost ridiculous that you hadn’t thought of it sooner. He’d surely attempt to convert you, perhaps promise you a life of grandeur, whatever security he could provide you. 

Yet, the realization hadn’t made you any more prepared for when Utahime’s face fell. Everyone around the table seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

She sighed, looking over to Shoko before nodding. “I’m sorry.” 

Momentarily, your heart stopped. 

Ino flew out of his seat beside you, arguments spewing from his lips in an uncertain stutter. “What? What does that mean? You’re just going to ship her off to Nanami and Geto? Because I’m not going to stand by and watch you hand anyone over to the people that ruined our lives,” he shouted. The heat had risen in his body far too quickly, painting him the image of someone who could only be your lover. 

Your cheeks grew warm, your body hot all over from Ino’s words, from all the eyes that were on you, the dread of what was to come. You’d do it — of course, you’d do it, whatever they needed. Whatever it took to save Megumi and Maki, and the rest of the children. Whatever it took to save the world. If you were to be a sacrifice, well, so be it. There wasn’t much of a choice. 

“Calm down, lover boy,” Shoko laughed, and though Ino’s cheeks grew red, his anger didn’t subside, features pinching up tight. “We’re not going to do anything she doesn’t want to do. There could be another way, we can get someone else but…” Shoko looked at you, studying you for any fear. “You are the best option, aren’t you?” 

“What the hell does that mean?” Megumi asked, eyebrows narrowing. “I’m with Takuma. You expect us just to watch her walk straight into the lions’ den?” 

“It’s okay, Megumi,” you said, schooling your face into a neutral expression. All these months, you’d been promising yourself that you would do whatever was necessary. You’d become a loud voice against the tyrants that controlled what was left of the Jujutsu society, and you couldn’t go back on your word now, could you? “What did you have in mind, Utahime?”

She blinked, dark lashes fluttering over her cheeks, brown eyes wide. Almost like she’d expected you to say no — like she’d hoped for it. But, even though you knew in your heart and soul that you were a coward, you refused to let yourself act like one.

Megumi said your name again, an argument, as Maki became flustered beside him. How noble the two of them were. They were just kids, and already, they reminded you so much of Satoru. The good qualities, of course. Always standing up for what was right, fighting against the system that threatened to topple them. 

Geto had been like that once. Nanami had too.

Sadly, you smiled to yourself as Shoko cleared her throat, cooling the argument that had sprung up among you. Besides the students and Ino, no one had much to say. All of you were too tired, it seemed, to want to fight. To breathe life back into yourselves and your convictions, which seemed to barely be there at all.

“What we know for sure is that Geto has employed Mei Mei as a bounty hunter,” Utahime said, lips drawn thin. Her defection had never really come as a shock. Mei Mei could easily round up sorcerers with her technique, and Geto would supply her with millions; she’d never once put anyone first but herself. “We’ve managed to stay ahead of her, but…” 

Her voice trailed off, dark eyes drifting between Megumi and Maki, innocent children who had been dragged into it, simply because of their lineage. They’d fought bravely the past few years, had trained mercilessly, but they shouldn’t have been weapons in a war of this scale. 

Oh, Satoru, you thought, what a mess you’ve left us with.

“We won’t let any of the children get involved,” Shoko said, brushing her short hair out of her face. “They’ll be safe — away, with the rest of us. There might be casualties. We don’t know who else Geto has employed, or if Mei Mei will be on her own… I’m sorry, but we don’t know much.” 

“It’s okay,” you said again, but the wave of arguments had erupted once more.  

Shoko dropped her head, shaking it, as her chin fell against her chest. Under the table, Ino grabbed your hand, squeezing it gently. 

“You can’t expect us just to do nothing,” Maki argued, fists clenched by her side. “Last time you set us all on the bench, three students died. This is a ridiculous plan. Why don’t we just kill the bitch, and we’ll be down one less curse-user that wants us all dead!” 

“It’s not that simple.” Utahime, for the first time in a while, shouted at the former student. Her cheeks were flushed, bright and pink, her nose flared with the force of her breathing. 

For a moment, Maki seemed taken aback, but erased the emotion from her face, twisting it up before she sat back down. Utahime regained her composure quickly after.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Maki, but we need to be willing to do whatever it takes. We’ve spent a year playing it safe, and it’s gotten us nowhere. This time, we need to take a risk.” 

“If that’s truly the case, then I’ll help,” Ino offered beside you, threading his fingers through your own, palms clammy against yours. You let him run his thumb along the back of your hand, calloused and warm, even as you wanted to twist away. How often you’d gone to him for comfort, crawled into his arms… and yet, the subtle signs of affection made you want to writhe away and put distance between you. Sometimes, the dissonance of your emotions made you want to never speak to him again. 

It was a hard pill to swallow. Once, you’d been full of love, accepted it easily. But it was harder to give these days, and harder to take. Just a sign of how much you’d changed since Satoru had died. 

“If you need sorcerers, I’ll help, Utahime. I don’t mind giving my life so that the rest of you can live.” 

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

You sighed, looking around the table at all of the faces of people that had once been your friends, your colleagues, your students. Now, you were just a group of survivors, people who wanted to escape the miserable future you’d been given. How you loved them, even now, and it stung, to know this might be the last time you’d ever see them.

“Alright. Tell me what I need to do.” you said, putting on a brave face, swallowing away your fear. The little girl you’d once been, so terrified of curses and Jujutsu, threatened to slip back into your body. You pushed her away, refusing to let her in.

Shoko pulled another cigarette out of the box. “I think we should speak alone.”

PREV | NEXT

if you'd like to be added to the tag list or read this on ao3, please visit the masterlist!

tags: @killlerqween @chilichopsticks @voids-universe @createyourmoriarty @ifuckinghateschool @deadmarygolds @deffenferofjustice

[beardedmrbean]

To the list of the world’s most dangerous activities, it seems we must add a very 21st–century pursuit: selfie-taking.

The number of people who have lost their lives while trying to get that perfect shot has spiked sharply in recent years. For a time, Wikipedia kept a running total, estimating 379 people have died in selfie-related accidents between 2008 and 2021, with hundreds more sustaining serious injuries.

Since then, other sources suggest the toll had risen to as many as 480 fatalities by the end of 2024. By way of comparison, far more people die from taking selfies than from shark attacks, which on average account for 5-6 deaths per year globally.

Naturally, many of those incidents occur in the world’s most picturesque spots, or those made famous by popular movies or TV shows. But the authorities in these places are starting to take action. The small Japanese city of Otaru has announced that it is hiring security guards to manage the swarms of selfie-taking tourists who are so intent on getting the best shot that they don’t see danger coming.

Visitors are drawn not just by the idyllic view of the nearby port and ocean, but by their devotion to the 2015 movie Cities in Love; the city’s sloping street, Funami-za, is showcased in the film.

However, that single-minded quest can have dire consequences: earlier this month a Chinese woman died after she walked onto the railway tracks and was struck by the train. Her husband told local police that his wife was so intent on photographing the iconic location that she didn’t see the train coming.

The problem is not confined to Japan, however. A read of Wikipedia’s page listing worldwide selfie-related deaths and injuries is startling – everything from accidental shootings to drownings and even death by hand grenade.

The allure of social media recognition

Steve Cole, policy director at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), reports that, according to a recent study, falls from height are the most common injury mechanism in selfie-related incidents, followed by drowning. “This trend of taking selfies in hazardous locations, such as on the edge of cliffs or during extreme weather conditions, is a concerning behaviour.”

He adds: “The allure of social media recognition often drives individuals to take these unnecessary risks, underestimating the potential dangers involved.” RoSPA urges the public to respect safety warnings and barriers, be mindful of their environment, and use common sense.

Survivalist Ray Mears told The Times recently that he is now forced to instruct his clients not to step backwards off a cliff while taking a selfie, “which was never the case in the past”. He’s not alone. In 2023 Oldham Mountain Rescue instructed hikers not to take selfies on the striking but precarious Trinnacle, a highly dramatic and extremely photogenic exposed rock formation, near Saddleworth in the Peak District, while the Environment Agency has advised against taking so-called “storm selfies” during extreme weather events.

Similar pleas have come from the UK Coastguard, which issued a warning in 2017 against selfie-taking on the eroding cliffs at Seaford Head in East Sussex. Maritime Commander Mark Rodway commented: “People take great risks to get a dramatic photograph of themselves on a dangerous cliff edge. No selfie is worth risking your life for.”

Yet risk it people do. In 2015 the Russian government was forced to launch a “Safe Selfie” campaign after a spate of incidents, including a 21-year-old woman shooting herself in the head while taking a selfie with a pistol, and two young Russian soldiers in the Urals pulling the pin from a live hand grenade. Tragically the men both died, but, eerily, a picture of their rash stunt remained on their phone. The government leaflet warned: “A cool selfie could cost you your life.”

However, for many social media influencers, cool selfie-taking is big business, and getting a daring shot is one sure way to stand out in a crowded market. After all, everyone now snaps pictures with their smartphones.

Travel writer Siân Anna Lewis, who runs the blog The Girl Outdoors and frequently posts striking shots on her Instagram @sianannalewis, says: “It is much more competitive now – it’s harder to get started and create a social media platform than it was 10 years ago. You need to have an angle. People are clicking through images quickly so you only have a couple of seconds to be eye-catching.”

That certainly worked for daredevil Russian teenager Alexander Remnev, whose stomach-churning selfies from atop the towering skyscrapers in Dubai – including the 1,350-foot Princess Tower – became a sensation in 2014.

‘It’s a kind of bravado or machismo’

Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addictions at Nottingham Trent University, ran a study on “selfitis” (or selfie addiction) in 2018. He believes that the psychology of those who take risks for selfies is actually similar to risk-takers through the ages. “It’s not a new phenomenon – we’ve had storm-chasers for years. It’s a kind of bravado or machismo. The difference is now you can record it.”

However, he notes that taking and sharing selfies is also tied to self-esteem, especially in adolescents and young people. “You get a feeling of validation when your selfie gets hundreds of likes. That motivates people to compete with one another for attention and look for something which gives them the edge.

“Risk-taking often translates into higher numbers of likes, especially if you’re doing something extreme that no one else has done. You want to provoke a reaction. It’s constant one-upmanship.”

But such a contest can have deadly consequences. In 2015 an English hiker in the Brecon Beacons was struck by lightning – it’s suspected that his extended metal selfie stick actually acted as a lightning rod. Meanwhile in Pamplona, David Gonzalez Lopez was gored to death while trying to take a selfie in the midst of the Running of the Bulls. Taking selfies during the event is now illegal.

The following year, Chinese businessman Jia Lijun tried to take a selfie with a female walrus at the Xixiakou Wildlife Park in Rongcheng city: he was a big fan of the walrus, and had been excitedly sending videos and photos to his friends. However, the 1.5-ton walrus grabbed Lijun and dragged him into the pool. It was apparently playful behaviour, but the walrus drowned both Lijun and a zookeeper who tried to help.

Another animal attack took place in 2024. Prahlad Gujjar scaled a 12-foot fence at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in southern India and tried to take a selfie with a lion. He was mauled to death.

Trains also feature heavily in these selfie cautionary tales. Eighteen-year-old Romanian Anna Ursu was trying to take “the ultimate selfie” in 2015 when she posed on top of a train with one leg lifted. However, her leg touched a live wire and she was electrocuted with 27,000 volts. Ursu burst into flames and suffered burns on more than half her body; she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Another fatal selfie trend is scaling vertiginous buildings.

In 2017 Chinese “rooftopper” Wu Yongning, who often posted dramatic images and videos of himself dangling from skyscrapers (without safety equipment), died after falling from a 62-story building in Changsha.

A fairytale visit turned into a horror story for Czech gymnast Natalie Stichova in 2024. While taking a selfie at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, the impressive edifice that reportedly inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Stichova slipped from the cliff edge and plunged 260 feet. The gymnast had previously posted pictures of herself doing handstands on mountaintops.

Last year also saw the tragic death of Indian travel influencer Aanvi Kamdar, who was filming social media content at the top of the Kumbhe Waterfall when she slipped and fell down the 300-foot gorge.

There is some backlash to risk-taking images, perhaps as a result of this spate of fatalities. American travel influencer couple Kody Workman and Kelly Castille, who post on the Instagram account @positravelty, faced criticism for a photo taken in Ubud, Bali, in which they kiss while Workman holds Castille over the edge of an infinity pool – with a terrifying sheer drop beneath her. “That’s why so many people die taking a selfie!” fumed one commenter.

But the picture still got plenty of attention: it’s as aspirational as it is alarming. It seems plenty of people would rather risk death for a perfect image than risk being ignored.

[mushroom-forest-life]

Mushroom of the day:

Devil’s cigar/Chorioactis geaster

Other names: Texas Star mushroom or kirinomitake

Geographic location: Texas and Japan; growing location: stumps or dead roots of cedar Elms in Texas and on dead oaks and sapphireberry trees in Japan

Characteristics: this mushroom starts cigar shaped, then splits open to reveal 4 to 7 point star like arrangement

Official Texas state mushroom

No scientist has figured out why this mushroom only grows in Texas and Japan

It was name the official Texas state mushroom in 2021, but tried adopting it in 1997

In 2017 someone reported finding one of these mushrooms in Oklahoma and it was the first time in 19 million years this mushroom was found outside of Japan or Texas



[apricitystudies]

what i read in oct. 2023:

(previous editions)

race, gender, sexuality

the man without a face

they were given iuds as children without their consent. now, they want compensation (greenland/denmark)

japan court rules it is 'unconstitutional' to require transgender sterilization in landmark case

politics & current affairs

the 'false positives' scandal that felled colombia's military hero

'we have a chance to change poland': how young voters shaped the election result

'we thought australia can't be this bad': elders grieve voice referendum result

israel & palestine

expel all palestinians from gaza, recommends israeli gov't ministry*

huwara rampage: palestine's huwara should be wiped out: top israeli minister (march 2023)

israel air strike reportedly kills dozens at gaza refugee camp*

palestinian fears grow amid rising Israeli settler attacks (aug 2023)

israeli settler escalate violence in west bank (nov 2021)

israel's new leaders won't stop "death to arabs" chants, but they will feel bad about them (june 2021)

israeli settlers using 'acts of intimidation' to take over water supplies on palestinian land (march 2012, full un report here)

the occupation of water (nov 2017)

how does international humanitarian law apply in israel and gaza?*

'gaza is being strangled': why israel's evacuation order violates international law*

rocket alert apps warn israelis of incoming attacks while gaza is left in the dark*

israel's security forces are 'complicit' in drastic surge in settler violence, report finds (july 2021)

*published oct. 2023.

[boosqoowoo]

the full timeline of burning sun (and goo hara)

2015 - 2017 crimes committed pre-burning sun

13 december 2015: seungri throws a birthday party for himself in shanghai with his friends and investors. here, he requests for girls that "give it good" for his investors (bbc)

______________________________________________________________

2016 jung joon young (jjy)'s molka (secret recording) crime

january 2016 - jjy, choi jung hoon (cjh) went to a ski resort with 2 others. at 7.39pm, kim sent a video to seungri (who wasnt present) about sexually assaulting a victim at the resort (bbc) *note: seungri was in japan for the big bang made concert tour from jan 9 - jan 11

february 2016 - jjy's ex gf filed a police report about him secretly recording a sexual video of her

15 march 2016 - jjy, cjh, park and kim assaulted a victim in daegu (bbc)

16 march 2016 - jjy had a fan meeting, one day after assaulting a victim

22 august 2016 - police requested that the private forensics company write a report to the police that "jjy's phone is unable to be restored and there are no data recovered"** 23 september 2016 - exclusive article released by reporter park hyo sil about the crime. for the next 3 years, park hyo sil will be a victim of a public witch hunt, having 2 miscarriages from the stress

06 october 2016 - jjy was cleared on all crimes. public opinion was in favor of him.

**today, we know that the private forensic company had secretly recovered all the files from his phone, and kept in 3 USBs. it contains data from 2015 - 2016. in 2019, a female from the company dropped of the 3 USBs at an attorney's office, who later contacted reporter kang kyung yoon. this will be the break of the burning sun case in 2019

______________________________________________________________

9 december 2017 - seungri rented an entire resort for his birthday party in palawan, philippines. here, he invited investors that would help him in his opening of the burning sun club. (bbc)

23 february 2018 - burning sun opened

2018 goo hara's assault from her boyfriend

10 september 2018 - goo hara has lunch with her manager and a male colleague for an upcoming schedule, without informing her boyfriend, choi jeong beom (cjb). cjb was known to be very jealous and overprotective of goo hara meeting other men, even if it is totally platonic and for business

13 september 2018 - choi jeong beom assaults goo hara 12.30am: cjb enters goo hara's home, drunk, and assaults goo hara 1.26am: cjb emails dispatch to provide them with "goo hara tip" 1.39am: cjb's friend helps to move cjb's luggage out of goo hara's house 2.04am: cjb sends goo hara their sex tape 2.21am: goo hara kneels to cjb in front of her elevator 2.22am: goo hara follows cjb down to his car 2.23am: cjb sends goo hara a second video of their sex tape, while loading his luggage into his car 3.30am: cjb called the police and was dispatched 4.21am: cjb emails dispatch a 2nd time about this "goo hara tip"

______________________________________________________________

the rise and fall of burning sun

24 november 2018 - club-goer kim sang kyo was allegedly physically assaulted by burning sun staff members when he was trying to save a victim

28 january 2019 - news reports about the assault at burning sun are released

26 february 2019 - reporter kang kyung yoon releases the kakao chat messages between the perpetrators

14/15 march 2019 - goo hara privately contacts reporter kang kyung yoon, telling her that she wants to help with the investigation since she is a victim of revenge porn. goo hara calls choi jung hoon (cjh), who were close friends since their trainee days. she persuaded cjh to tell the reporter who the police officer that was covering up their tracks were. the police officer was revealed by cjh to be yoon kyu keun, who had worked in the president's residence. (bbc)

16 march 2019 - articles about police officer yoon kyu keun are released, less than 48 hours after goo hara called cjh

14 october 2019 - f(x)'s sulli, goo hara's close friend, commits suicide 24 november 2019 - goo hara commits suicide

14 january 2020 - someone steals goo hara’s safe in her house

jung joon young: 5 years of prison choi jung hoon: 2 years of prison seungri: 18 months of prison

______________________________________________________________

others related to this case

people that were part of the group chats and admitted to watching the videos illegally filmed, but had not actively sexually assault anyone

beast/highlight yong jun hyung

cnblue lee jong hyun

soloist roy kim

soloist eddy kim

hyuna and yong junhyung relationship

2009 - 2010: 4minute hyuna and goo hara became close friends while filming invincible youth 2011 - march 2013: yong junhyung and goo hara's relationship may 2016 - november 2022: pentagon edawn/dawn/kim hyojong and hyuna's relationship january 2024 onwards - yong junhyung and hyuna dating and getting married

[taekooktimeline]

November 23, 2023 - November 28, 2023 -

I debated if I was going to archive this, since this is a Taekook focused blog, but since the 2017 Tokyo trip is in the timeline, and over time people, whether purposely or inadvertently, misremember events, I’m going to go ahead and create + preserve a factual post with real time information. You can read this and interpret it as you like.

On September 3, 2023, Jk was a guest on Yoongi’s show Suchwita (which Tae joined halfway through). During the show, Yoongi mentioned Jimin going to America with Jungkook (Jk had gone for work promos).

Jk shares the backstory, that prior to the trip, at some undisclosed date “ages ago,” Jimin said it would be fun to do a travel show together.

After their conversation, nothing came about, but then staff “suddenly” set up a shoot (in America). Jk finishes sharing the backstory with a laugh.

https://youtu.be/0RKnjVL2kWA?si=1TIDR6pBcz_T66xR, timestamp 11:19

Fast forward to November 2023 and Jungkook and Jimin go to Japan to film a documentary, as reported by the media (we could presume for the time being it’s possibly for the same travel documentary, though at the time of this posting, December 7, 2023, it’s not confirmed it’s specifically for this documentary) -

Jimin was spotted in Ginza on November 23 without Jk. Unfortunately, the woman was bullied for being honest in saying Jk wasn’t with Jimin, so while she praised Jimin and had posted a positive post and experience, she ended up having to delete it because of bullies.

In addition to filming for a documentary, Jungkook was busy with promos for his solo debut album “Golden”, and recorded Countdown TV (TBS) while in Japan. As reported by J media, while they were in Tokyo for work (album promos and the documentary) Jk and Jimin stayed in different hotels.

November 25 - J media also reported that Jk was spotted at an abura soba restaurant in Ginza (ChuoWard, Tokyo), then walked around Ginza with his bodyguard before heading to Haneda airport, while Jimin, in the exact words of the news media “seemed to be enjoying curry at CoCo Ichi in Shinjuku.” Photos of Jk at the soba restaurant-

J media article - https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/346409

Sometimes members post content after the date has passed, but on the same day he visited the curry shop (November 25), Jimin uploaded to his IG a photo of himself dining there (I believe his second photo in this upload was possibly not on the same day, since the outfit in picture 2 appears different to me, so I left it out to not cause confusion).

The curry shop, Curry House CoCo Ichi, in Tokyo, Shinjuku Kabukicho -

The media article reported that the two members flew out of Haneda for Hokkaido after. This confirms these separate dining photos would’ve been on November 25, since this is the day they flew to Sapporo. In addition, Jk and Jimin were seen wearing what appeared to be those same outfits they dined in at the Haneda airport -

https://x.com/taegukkielover/status/1728444225703080053?s=46&t=StSwHjW0_Domk_lHUFMaCg

[nikonladyz4]

Does the Maknae Line Fan the Ship Wars?

First and foremost I believe that Jimin and Jungkook are partners. I support their relationship and believe they got together in 2015 and committed in 2017.

But, I do question the shipping aspect of the maknae line and how all three maknaes seem to play into it.

What i really hate is how Jimin is the one to get dragged the most because of shipping. He is obviously close to JK regardless of the type of relationship they have (boyfriends or best friends) and friends with Tae.

I think JK and JM have been loud over the years but toned it down in 2022/2023 for one or more reasons, but one main reason being they knew they were going to enlist together and had to make people/government see them as friends/colleagues and not boyfriends.

Although we had some great jikook moments last year, there were also taekook moments. Were any of these moments intentional by any of the three or all three members for specific reasons?

What do you all think of these?

As stated above I think a major reason that JK participated in shipping moments with JM and Tae was to try and dispel the belief he and JM were romantically involved due to their upcoming enlistment. By all three playing the shipping games, there is plausible deniability of an intimate relationship with any one of the members.

The shipping moments seemed to get heavy around promotions, concerts or release of content. Goes back to the k-pop business model of supporting shipping because it makes money.

Although, Jk was loud about Jimin. He also had his moments with Tae. Jimin also had his moments with JK, Tae and Suga.

Then we have the events of this week with JK following a fan site that reposted a lot of Jikook content along with Taekook and BTS members. It seemed to be in response to the craziness after he liked both Tae and Jimin content on his TikTok page. Of course he unfollows and that creates another uproar of hate against Jimin.

Interesting enough, JK searches and views multiple shipping accounts under the names of Jikook, Minkook, vkook. There may be more, i got tired of searching…..lol

I honestly think the guys could care less about the fan hate. Their participation in fanservice/shipping/skinship is part of their marketing strategy. It also protects their real, personal relationships. The fan behavior and reaction is on the fan, not on the members. They have been trained to deal with fan behavior/reaction since 2011/2012. Yet, when one of the members crosses a boundary, JK seems to step up and address it in lives or songs.

In spite of them participating in the shipping games, JK and JM continue to show who they are to each other regardless of what the fans do or say. They proved this when they boldly went to Japan together, even when they were being threatened with death and antis reporting an alleged gay relationship to the military.

The ultimate show of their bond was the announcement of them enlisting as companions in the military. Spending 18 months together: training, working, living, sleeping, vacationing.

Edit: i thought I had lost this post when I fell asleep. I just realized the draft is saved and I can finish and publish. So this is similar to my post on a reblog.

[zukadiary]

Kazuki Sora taidan diary 〜 2024.2.11

(also kind of a Boiled Doyle on the Toil Trail / Frozen Holiday write up)

I've now woken up eight times in a world where Kazuka Sora is an OG (changing that number daily, as I've been trying to write this for six days), and the sense of having somehow slipped into a severely incorrect timeline is getting progressively stronger. Coupled bizarrely with that is deep, deep gratitude that, despite everything that's happened in the last four years, and especially in the last five months, she got a gut-wrenchingly, absolutely devastatingly beautiful taidan. I can't say perfect, because perfect would have been after a well deserved top star run. But barring that, I never dreamed it would get this close.

Long post incoming.

I have to set the stage...

Once upon a time in 2013, Asaka Manato, then nibante in Ouki Kaname's Soragumi, got her turn starring in Brilliant Dreams +NEXT, a multi-part Sky Stage series where you got to like, do some stuff of your choice with other people in your troupe. She decided to recreate some of her favorite revue choreography, and a friend alerted me that one episode was dedicated to the infamous Rosso scene from Takarazuka's Dream Kingdom (which, as you can see in the linked post, completely short circuited noob me from a decade ago). Maasama was still a good 2+ years from winning me over at the time, and I think I reluctantly watched it with some level of offense that she touched a Komu thing. As I'm sitting in front of my computer rolling my eyes, out comes this tiny thing in capri pants, mismatched socks, suspenders, and thick glasses: ken-4 Kazuki Sora, here to report on the situation in the rehearsal room.

She spent her airtime cracking jokes, tripping on her tongue, riding on Susshi's shoulders, and generally acting like Soragumi's annoying kid brother. I thought she was funny.

Another friend told me she thought she was tracked. I absolutely did not believe her.

Then, against a fair amount of adversity, she got the 100th anniversary Rose of Versailles shinko lead, and my eyes widened a bit. The next time I found myself in Japan, I was gifted a 9th row seat to what coincidentally happened to be her first ginkyou crossing in PHOENIX Takarazuka! I'd been spending the show curiously scanning the stage for her, and when I witnessed the gap between reporter and performer, my jaw hit the floor.

Afterwards, my kangeki companion asked if I was interested in anyone in the troupe. I said Kazuki Sora. She recoiled and said "but she's so short."

***

Something that I noticed during this taidan trip is that covid-era fans met a wildly different Sora than I know. Growing up in 2010s Soragumi was uniquely rough. I'm not even talking about ::hand waves:: the present circumstances and what may or may not have lead up to them; I mean they persisted with a level of star saturation through the dawn of the pandemic that had kinda crazy consequences for the otokoyaku track. Not only was the track itself overcrowded, but the troupe also held onto a number of non-tracked upperclassmen to whom they seemed unwaveringly committed to casting in juicy roles. I remember when things seemed so untenable that Soragumi fans were universally on pins and needles waiting for what felt like an inevitable big transfer out, and I remember freezing in shock on the side of the road when instead they transferred Serika Toa in.

Here's some analysis for perspective:

Kiki is the third oldest top of all time, and spent more time as nibante alone than Tamaki Ryou took to get from debut to top.

Lord knows how long Soragumi will be in this state of flux, but if they come out of it and Kiki gets a normal number of shows, AND Sakuragi Minato is next, Zun could immediately overtake Kiki for third place

Speaking of Zun, her first two-city lead was in 2020. Looking at her top star douki, Rei Makoto's and Yuzuka Rei's were in 2017, and Tsukishiro Kanato's was in 2018.

Rukaze Hikaru's first bow lead was in 2019, two years later than her other tracked douki, Akatsuki Chisei (four if you count A-EN).

Slightly more invisible but just as devastating, the lessened exposure on stage between leads has likely resulted in lower fan club numbers and less overall popularity.

...and back to Sora. Hundreds of us filled Hibiya Park this past weekend, but Sora spent her early Takarazuka career so buried that, despite being a triple threat on stage and an utter delight off, her fan base was small enough that at ken-7 they let me, not yet even a club member, accompany my friend to demachi where I became the third attendee. For years, Sora was, frustratingly, an in-person only watch. I'd go to Japan, memorize her positions, miss the rest of the show for following her with my opera glasses, and pop in the DVD at home only to find her always just off screen. A Motion was one of the most fun times I've had in a Takarazuka theater, and on the DVD during my favorite Sora SOLO, the camera is on Sorahane Riku wordlessly dancing.

I was floored when she got Anita. I was livid that she could give THAT PERFORMANCE and immediately afterwards be cast as an ensemble soldier in Red River (although she was so good in Citrus Breeze that after 5 years of deluding myself that I "couldn't betray my beloved Yukigumi like that" ((ironic, right?)) I finally caved and joined club). I stress dreamed multiple times about the impending bow announcement before she got Hustle Mates. I cried when she finally came down the stairs between two musumeyaku in Ocean's Eleven at ken-10, in which she played Linus, a role that felt like a big break even though it had previously always gone to ken-6s. FINALLY, the massive Ocean's taidan relieved a little pressure, and I felt a tangible thrill when suddenly she was all over the Aqua Vitae shonichi digest, something that had never happened before.

That's where we left off in February 2020, when the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama, and my therapist didn't know what I was talking about when I said I was giving myself a stomachache watching live case numbers ahead of my scheduled trip, and I canceled my flight, and I put my freshly printed pack of homemade Suleiman postcards under my bed, and I didn't see her for 4 years 4 months and 3 days.

***

It's hard to talk about Sora's taidan announcement and not come off as biased and overly dramatic, given that she's my girl. But in 11 years of countless taidan announcements, I've never come close to being as blindsided by one as I was with hers. The vibe I've gotten is that fans, siennes, and patrons alike were all properly shocked.

I'd spent the better part of a decade internally screaming for Takarazuka to act like they recognize her undeniable talent. Frustratingly, it finally started happening during covid. While I was living under the impression that Hustle Mates was a genuine miracle, she got an unimaginable second lead... then, thanks to the breathing room in her new Yukigumi home, a third... and then a fourth. Having been burned for so long, I've always firmly been team I-don't-think-Sora-is-going-to-make-top, but despite that, I was actually starting to believe it could—dare I say would—happen. I wasn't even certain the people murmuring on twitter that she might leapfrog Aasa were completely delusional. I went into Hyperbolic Chart, my looooong awaited reunion, excited to assess Kasumi Sana as her potential future partner. I enthusiastically bought all her postcards for future writing, because the last time I'd seen her, she, at ken-10, didn't have postcards.

Two days after that I found myself again frozen in shock on the side of the road.

Two days after that.... yeah.

***

Somehow, despite 11 years of knowing how this works, of weathering various taidans with friends, of crying in bathrooms until they started cleaning the theater at taidans that weren't even technically mine, I was also completely blindsided by the taidan experience itself.

Part of it was definitely the time skip, from years of intimate Sora fandom to nothing to a couple of A-seki (she's the it girl now!) for a lead I wouldn't have chosen with a troupe I barely recognize anymore to bye, she's gone. Part of it was being thrown back into this after 4+ years of pandemic-dulled emotions, followed by the exhaustion of Takarazuka's crisis era. Part of it was lowered expectations from the largely uninspired and under funded lineup of forgettable shows churned out by tired directors of dubious morality. Part of it was the disaster-shortened Mura run, the self-preserving dissociation fueled by the pain and disbelief that there was a dinner show and I wasn't at it, followed by a month and a half stretch of work so busy it was still going while I sat at the ANA gate for my 1am flight.

But I got here and squeezed into one of those red seats and then all at once I was an unsealed vacuum, cracked wide open, and Doyle and Frozen Holiday rushed in and filled the airless void till it burst.

Boiled Doyle on the Toil Trail

I've been down on Yukigumi.

Yukigumi has been my home troupe for the vast majority of my fandom. I had the fancy Swarovski crystal Yukigumi bag charms, the whole Yukigumi getup from Sports Day '14, Yukigumi albums, Yukigumi chopsticks, etc etc etc. I literally didn't join Sora club for years because I couldn't imagine being pulled out of Yukigumi. But while I was locked out of the country, the march of time took my favorite top star and the vast majority of my emotional support upperclassmen. The pandemic spit Yukigumi out in a state that just made me reeeeeeeeally sad. So I stopped watching them. That's the exact moment they picked to put Sora there.

I hate to admit it, but I still haven't totally caught up on her Yukigumi time.

Which is probably the main reason this show caught me SO off guard... even having watched AND enjoyed the Mura livestream. Sora is best watched in person, after all.

Doyle—a silly take on Arthur Conan Doyle's life, and how he used a magic pen to write Sherlock Holmes by accident, thus setting into motion a runaway series of events—is not only a fun and joyful show, it's a masterpiece of casting. The top 4 were at their absolute peak, and it was a thrill to watch.

I've been watching Ayakaze Sakina since her shinjin kouen days, and my write-ups over the years probably betray my rollercoaster hot and cold journey through her career. I really liked Doyle as a lead for her though. She essentially plays a big idiot wifeguy with a dream, an imaginary best friend, and little conviction; she was very funny and charming. If you were one of the lucky few who managed to see On the 20th Century, think that guy but earnestly the main character vs. dude with main character syndrome. The older I get, the more I have a soft spot for shows where the top combi has "ecstatically celebrating at least their tenth wedding anniversary" energy, and this was one of those.

...Thanks in large part to Yumeshiro Aya, who is absolutely everything. She may be boosted by consistently reminding me of Shirahane Yuri since her partial lead in the 103s Bunkasai, but she also has a very particular type of girlboss energy that I don't feel like I've seen in quite a while. It isn't wearing the proverbial pants energy (a la early TamaChapi), but it is overwhelming I got this energy. I find her to be the absolute embodiment of a top musumeyaku, in that she understands the assignment (making the top star better), while perching on the edge of the backseat just enough that she doesn't overpower Saki, but she's still a knockout in her own right. She probably exudes an extra dose of this energy as Louisa Doyle, who plays a very similar role in her husband's life and writing career. I could not be more thrilled that Aya isn't retiring yet.

Asami Jun plays the aforementioned imaginary friend/magic pen-generated apparition, who happens to be Sherlock Holmes. Some people I've talked to seem a little disappointed in her stage time, but I really felt like this was also peak Aasa. She seems to have broken through a layer of ceiling and gotten really comfortable leaning into her c***y unique energy, which, though I can picture it being polarizing, really does it for me. I sure as hell have never seen an interpretation of Sherlock Holmes REMOTELY like Aasa's, but I was enjoying the Aasa of it all so much that I really didn't care.

When I saw that Sora was playing the editor of Strand Magazine, I was somewhat disappointedly imagining a role like Lestrade (not to invoke another Sherlock), the sort of there-but-not character that has dominated her Takarazuka career since she started getting named roles. My first surprise was how good of a role this was in general, and then how well suited it was to her. She gets to be aloof and handsome, but also incredibly upbeat and funny at times. Her little coworkers at her utterly failing magazine are obsessed with her (which is the mood of the century), and there is a cute little meta moment where Doyle threatens to stop writing Sherlock and Sora tries to quit her job, only to be restrained physically by said coworkers (which is the mood of the moment). Everything from the set of her off-gray permed wig to her 4 or so different plaid suits to her opening solo number was absolutely perfect (not as perfect as it was gonna be later!!!!!).

FROZEN HOLIDAY

It's weird watching a Christmas show in February

I rapidly stopped caring

Speaking of rollercoasters of hot and cold, Noguchi used to be my most hated revue director, hands down. Circa 2017-18, after being deeply personally burned by Super Voyager (and deeply personally confused by Beautiful Garden), the tension I felt while awaiting show announcements hoping I wouldn't have to watch another Noguchi was intense. Noguchi revues being something people covet nowadays still feels unfamiliar, but I count myself among people.

He turned it around for me with the Takarazuka equivalent of winning the grocery store ingredients episode of Project Runway: Delicieux, a covid-budget masterpiece of public domain music and foam macarons (incidentally, also a goodbye to Sora of sorts, as it was her last Soragumi revue). I officially owe him my life after what he did for her in Frozen Holiday.

Firstly, going into my 11th year of watching live Yukigumi, I've never seen Saki shine brighter. While ostensibly a Christmas spectacular, Frozen Holiday was also meant to celebrate Yukigumi's 100th anniversary. Despite the aforementioned rollercoaster, I'm so glad that the top star for the anniversary was someone who has not spent a day outside of Yukigumi in her sienne life, who I've been watching since before my first trip to Japan. And I think the joy of it really showed on her. Aya was an angel, so visually perfect in her snow queen dress that I believed she was destined to be top musumeyaku of Yukigumi from birth. Aasa continued to out-Aasa herself; the wave of feral energy she set off during the first livestream was well earned.

But... remember the disembodied arm just off the TV screen? The utter SHOCK I experienced when they treated her like a friggin' nibante...

Nanami Hiroki, who pulled top star numbers and probably had double our last day crowd at her average Hoshigumi ochakai, and Miya Rurika, who needed a simulcast for her last ochakai, didn't even get the final revue treatment that Sora did.

The disbelief that they did so good by her, the disbelief that I missed the transition, the disbelief that she was really leaving, shattered me.

In addition to general prominence throughout the revue, she gets a whole white-clad taidan number, complete with lyrics designed to blind her fans with saltwater, and one of the best bits of dancing I've seen out of her. After a seemingly impossible quick change, she rejoins the troupe for a very chuuzume-esque anniversary number (assuming the Christmas kyakusekiori is the real chuuzume), and that might actually be my favorite bit of dancing in the whole show. She co-leads the Noguchi-signature boyband number with Aasa, which I forgive because it's them and it's also T.M. REVOLUTION. She even gets a spotlight moment alone with Saki during the kuroenbi. And through all of it, she was so, so good. Good does not even begin to describe Kazuki Sora.

I felt like I cried for 48 hours straight.

***

I didn't manage to get myself actually into the theater for senshuuraku, but I did end up with two Hibiya cinema tickets. When I tried to pass one off onto one of the fellow jilted Sora Club members trying her luck outside of Chanter, I got pounced on by an old lady while those in their white wear were moaning about the cinema not being good enough. I was too tired and nervous to tell her I'd prefer to sit next to someone in club, so she got it. She and I ended up crying the hardest of everyone in the cinema by far. Thanks, old lady <3.

***

One thing that struck me was how desperately, frightfully grateful I was that Sora retired from Yukigumi. Sure, if she hadn't, her taidan would have probably just been canceled... but I don't even mean that. The anniversary aspect of Frozen Holiday was beautiful, and filled me with a joy and nostalgia I wasn't prepared for. It was my first kyakusekiori since 2019, and after Sora ran by me, I was blessed to find myself next to Kujou Asu, someone I adore enough to be in her club in an alternate universe. It was my first iride since 2019, and I had the privilege of seeing off one of my favorite musumeyaku, Sara Anna, as well. The way the troupe members talked about Sora, and what she gave them, and how thrilled they were that she joined them, made my heart swell. As genuinely mad as I was when they broke up KikiSora, I could see that Yukigumi gave her the space to blossom.

The farewell dinner was even entirely gluten free by complete accident, down to the fancy manju omiyage with mountain yam flour dough.

***

Five onsen dips, a massive weeb shopping spree a lifetime in the making, and one extremely bizarre Komu show later, I'm on the plane home, finally not crying on command.

But not having a runaway fave for the first time in ten years feels really desolate. I miss her so much.

[alterin]

All The GazettE lives/perfomances available

I decided to organize everything I found (mainly for myself). Let me know if something is missing!

Beautifool's Fest 2003.

Tokyo Saiban ~Judgment Day~ 2004.1.16 fri SHIBUYA-AX.

Heisei Banka 2005.

Peace & Smile Carnival Tour 2005.

Maximum royal disorder 2005.

Nameless Liberty Six Guns 2006.

Decomposition Beauty 2007.

Neo Visual Kei - Manatsu no Utage 2007.

Tour 2007-2008 Stacked Rubbish Grand Finale [Repeated Countless Error].

Manatsu no Utage 2008 Live.

LEECH Live at MUSIC JAPAN 2008.

Gazerock Festival in Summer 08 [Burst into a Blaze].

Peace & Smile Carnival PS company's 10th Anniversary.

Tour09 - Dim Scene - Final At Saitama Super Arena 2009.

Tour 10 Nameless Liberty Six Bullets -01- 2010.

The 4th J-Melo Awards 2010.

The Nameless Liberty at 10.12.26 Tokyo Dome 2010.

SUMMER SONIC 2011 - 2011.09.16.

Inazuma Rock Festival 2011.

Tour11-12 Venomous Cell Finale Omega At 01.14 Yokohama Arena 2012.

Kishidan Banpaku 2012.

10th Anniversary The Decade Live At 03.10 Makuhari Messe 2012.

the 6th J-MELO Awards Live Special 2013.

live tour 12-13 【DIVISION】FINAL MELT LIVE AT 03.10 SAITAMA SUPER ARENA 2013.

Live at SUMMER SONIC 2013.

Kubana 2013.

LIVE TOUR 13-14 [MAGNIFICENT MALFORMED BOX] FINAL CODA LIVE AT 01.11 YOKOHAMA ARENA 2014.

STANDING LIVE TOUR14 HERESY LIMITED -Saiteigi- COMPLETE BOX 2014.

World Tour 2013 Documentary.

Kishidan Banpaku 2014.

Loud Park 2014.

Japan Night in Taipei 2015.

Tour 15-16 Dogmatic final -Shikkoku 2016.

World Tour 2016 Documentary, Dogmatic Trois.

Knotfest 2016 (I couldn't find the video, but I saw a news report that it was broadcasted on tv, so probably it should be somewhere on the internet).

Kishidan Banpaku 2016.

15th Anniversary Dainippon itangeish [BOUDOUKU GUDON NO SAKURA] 2017.

“BURST INTO A BLAZE 3” 2017.

Rock in Japan 2017.

Spooky Box 2 (ABYSS LUCY).

Countdown Japan 17/18.

Rock in Japan 2018.

Live Tour 18-19 THE NINTH FINAL (Live at 09.23 Yokohama Arena).

World tour 2019 Live in New York.

World Tour19 Documentary THE NINTH [99.999].

Rock in Japan 2019.

『BLINDING HOPE』LIVE AT 2021.12.23 TOKYO GARDEN THEATER

20th Anniversary -HERESY- 2022.

Probably I've missed something... And order isn't correct, but still.

[k-wavemy]

GDRAGON is set to make his solo comeback on October 25 and is currently in the final stages of preparation

Reporter Hwang Mi-hyeon Big Bang member and solo artist G-Dragon has officially confirmed his comeback date as October 25.

According to News1's report on the 8th, G-Dragon has set October 25 as his solo comeback date and is currently in the final stages of preparation.

This marks his first solo album release in seven years, since his second mini-album 'Kwon Ji-yong' in June 2017.

G-Dragon thrilled fans by making a surprise appearance at Taeyang's solo concert last month, performing on stage for the first time in a long while, heightening anticipation for his comeback as a key figure in the K-pop world.

Ahead of his return, G-Dragon completed filming for tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block' earlier this month, where he is expected to discuss his upcoming album.

Additionally, G-Dragon will reunite with fellow Big Bang members Taeyang and Daesung to perform at the Mnet 'MAMA Awards,' set to take place in Japan on November 22 and 23.

[brexiiton]

Dying man tells police he was on Japan's most wanted list for 50 years

By Mark Saunokonoko, 7:49am Feb 28 2024

A Japanese man's deathbed confession - that he was one of the country's most wanted fugitives and had been on the run for nearly 50 years - has turned out to be true.

The 70-year-old, who was dying of stomach cancer, told the police he wanted to die using his real name, Satoshi Kirishima, instead of his alias, Hiroshi Uchida.

Four days before he died, Kirishima revealed to police he was part of a radical group that carried out bombings in the 1970s.

A wanted poster for Satoshi Kirishima, a fugitive long wanted for one of a series of terrorist bombings in Japan. (AP/ Eugene Hoshiko)

DNA test results processed after his death confirmed he was telling the truth.

Born in 1954, Kirishima was a university student in Tokyo when he became involved in extremism and joined the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, a militant group that carried out a series of bombings targeting major Japanese companies in the 1970s.

Eight people died more than 160 were injured in the 1975 bombing of a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries building which was blamed on the group.

Kirishima was allegedly involved in a number of the bombings.

He was wanted on charges of setting off a time bomb in a building in Tokyo's posh Ginza district in April 1975 in which no one was injured.

Though not a key member of the group, he was said to be the only one of the 10 members who was never caught.

While on the run, Kirishima did not have a mobile phone or health insurance and had his salary paid in cash to avoid detection, according to NHK public television.

A photo on Kirishima's wanted poster shows him smiling, with long hair and glasses.

Two members of the group were sentenced to death, including founder Masashi Daidoji, who died on death row in 2017.

Satoshi Kirishima had been a member of the extreme left-wing group East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front. (AP / Eugene Hoshiko)

Two of the eight members of the group were indicted in the bombings are still at large after their release in 1977 as part of a deal negotiated by another radical group, the Japanese Red Army, when it hijacked a Japan Airlines plane in Bangaladesh.

Police are continuing to investigate how he managed to evade capture for 49 years, and whether anyone helped him build a new, second life.

The Japan Times reported Kirishima had been living in Fujisawa in the Kanagawa Prefecture, in Tokyo's west.

He had been employed at a building firm for around 40 years.

With Associated Press

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 1.23

Holidays

Archery Day

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Birthday of the Grand Duchess (Luxembourg)

Bounty Day (Pitcairn Island)

BPDCN (Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm) Awareness Day

Cold, Cold, Cold Day

Django Day

Ed Roberts Day (California)

Fundación del Estado Plurinacional Holiday (Bolivia)

Grandmother's Day (Bulgaria)

International Integrative Health Day

Maternal Health Awareness Day (New Jersey)

Measure Your Feet Day

National Freedom Day

National Handwriting Day

National King Day

National Musician Day (Día Nal. del Músico; Argentina)

National Reading Day

National Report Pharmaceutical Fraud Day

National School Nurse Day

National Security Technician Day

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Jayanti (Parts of India)

One-Tooth Rhee Landing Day

Paul Pitcher Day (Cornwall)

Ranked Choice Voting Day

Snowdrop Day (French Republic)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day

Tiananmen Square Day

20th Amendment Day (US)

25th Amendment Day (US)

Wakakusa Yamayaki (Grass Burning; Japan)

Women in Medicine Day

World Endangered Writing Day

World Freedom Day (South Korea, Taiwan)

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Sticky Toffee Pudding Day

National Pie Day

National Rhubarb Day

Rhubarb Pie Day

Nature Celebrations

Bullsrub Day (Obedience; Korean Birth Flowers)

Independence, Flag & Related Days

Foundation Day (Lichtenstein)

Kingdom of Abrus (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Poland (2nd Partition by Russia & Prussia; 1793)

New Year’s Days

Gann-Hgal (Zeliangrong People’s New Year’s Festival; Parts of India)

4th Thursday in January

Clashing Clothes Day [4th Thursday]

National Cheat Day [4th Thursday]

Thinking Thursday [4th Thursday of Each Month]

Thirsty Thursday [Every Thursday]

Three for Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thrift Store Thursday [Every Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thuringer Thursday [4th Thursday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning January 23 (3rd Full Week of January)

Mozart Week (Salzburg, Austria) [thru 2.2]

Festivals Beginning January 23, 2025

Cairo International Book Fair (Cairo, Egypt) [thru 2.5]

Grand Lighthouse Bad Gastein (Bad Gastein, Austria) [thru 1.26]

GrassWorks Grazing Conference (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin) [thru 1.25]

The Great Northern (Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota) [thru 2.2]

Montevideo Carnival (Montevideo, Uruguay) [thru 3.8]

OAK Conference (Frankfort, Kentucky) [thru 1.25]

Organic Vegetable Production Conference (Madison, Wisconsin) [thru 2.1]

Rolex 24 at Daytona (Daytona, Florida) [thru 1.26]

Saint Paul Winter Carnival (St. Paul, Minnesota) [thru 2.2]

Sundance Film Festival (Park CIty, Utah) [thru 2.2]

Sun Wine & Food Fest (Uncasville, Connecticut) [thru 1.26]

Feast Days

Abakuh (Egyptian Christian; Martyr)

Agathangelus (Christian; Martyr)

Asclas (Christian; Martyr)

Banba (a.k.a. Banbha; Matron Goddess of Ireland; Celtic Book of Days)

Bernard of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Betrothal of Mary and Joseph (Christian)

Bruma VII (Pagan)

Chantecler, by Edmond Rostand (Play; 1911)

Clement of Ancyra (Christian; Martyr)

Cunning Linguine Day (a.k.a. Get Your Tongue Round Some Linguine Day; Pastafarian)

Day of Hathor (Ancient Egypt; Everyday Wicca)

Day of Hathor (Egyptian Goddess of Drunkenness)

Emerentiana (Christian; Virgin)

Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

Eusebius (Christian; Saint)

The Great God Brown, by Eugene O’Neill (Play; 1926)

Ildefonsus of Toledo (Christian; Saint)

John the Almsgiver (Christian; Saint)

Knot Magic Day (Cornwall; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Leon Golub (Artology)

Lufthildis (Christian; Virgin)

Maimbod (Christian; Martyr)

Marianne of Molokai (Christian; Blessed)

The Peasants (Muppetism)

Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))

Ragwort Dance (Pixies Only; Shamanism)

Raymund of Pennafort (a.k.a. Rayman;  Christian; Confessor) [Original Date]

Samuel (Positivist; Saint)

Sergei Eisenstein (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Chinese: Month 12 (Ding-Chou), Day 24 (Ren-Chen)

Day Pillar: Water Dragon

12-Day Officers/12 Gods: Balance Day (平 Ping) [Inauspicious]

Holidays:

None Today

Secular Saints Days

Jean-Michel Atlan (Art)

Belkis Ayón (Art)

Georg Baselitz (Art)

Gary Burton (Music)

Abraham Diepraam (Art)

Sergei Eisenstein (Entertainment)

Leon Golub (Art)

John Hancock (Politics)

Ernie Kovacs (Entertainment)

Jerry Kramer (Sports)

Édouard Manet (Art)

Walter M. Miller Jr. (Literature)

Charlie Papazian (Beer)

Dhango Reinhardt (Music)

Standahl (Literature)

Fred Wah (Literature)

Derek Walcott (Literature)

Fred Williams (Art)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 23 [9 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

The A-Team (TV Series; 2003)

Barney Miller (TV Series; 1975)

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (WB Animated Film; 2018)

The Blair Witch Project (Film; 1999)

Boys For Pele, by Tori Amos (Album; 1996)

Bushfire Fairytales, by Jack Johnson (Album; 2001)

The Butterfly Effect (Film; 2004)

Casablanca (Film; 1943)

Dave the Barbarian (Animated TV Series; 2004)

The Donny & Marie Show (TV Series; 1976)

Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton (Novel; 1944)

Fear on the Pier or What’s Up, Duck? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 145; 1962)

Fire-Fire (Flip the Frog MGM Cartoon; 1932)

Goodbye Cream, by Cream (Album; 1969)

Happy Circus Days (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

The Herring Murder Mystery (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1944)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco, recorded by Tony Bennett (Song; 1962)

I’m Just a Jitterbug (Baby-Face Mouse Cartoon; 1939)

Inkheart (Film; 2008)

Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1936)

Katherine, by Anya Seton (Historical Novel; 1954)

Lady in the Lake (Film; 1947)

Material Girl, by Madonna (Song; 1985)

Mythbusters (TV Series; 2003)

Neck ’n’ Neck (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1928)

The New Spirit (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Our Friend the Atom (Animated DIsnet TV Cartoon; 1957)

Puppy Tale (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1954)

Roots (TV Mini-Series; 1977)

Skeleton Frolics (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Spice World (Film; 1998)

Star Trek: Picard (TV Series; 2020)

Station to Station, by David Bowie (Album; 1976)

Strange Magic (Animated Film; 2015)

Suspicious Minds, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1969)

They’re Off (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

TNT For Two or Fright Cargo (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 146; 1962)

Trust, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

The Way You Do the Things You Do, by The Temptations (Song; 1964)

West of the Pesos (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

The Witch of Pickyoon, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S1, Eps. 33 & 34 1965)

Today’s Name Days

Hartmut, Heinrich, Nikolaus (Austria)

Ema, Emercijana, Vjera (Croatia)

Zdeněk (Czech Republic)

Emerentius (Denmark)

Räni, Reeno, Rene (Estonia)

Eine, Eini, Enna, Enni (Finland)

Banard (France)

Esmerentia, Guido, Hartmut (Germany)

Agathangelos, Dionisis (Greece)

Rajmund, Zelma (Hungary)

Armando, Emerenziana, Ramona (Italy)

Grieta, Ortrude, Rieta (Latvia)

Algimantas, Gailigedas, Gunda, Raimundas (Lithuania)

Emil, Emilie, Emma (Norway)

Emerencja, Ildefons, Jan, Klemens, Maria, Rajmund, Rajmunda, Wrócisława (Poland)

Clement, Paulin (Romania)

Miloš (Slovakia)

Ildefonso (Spain)

Frej, Freja (Sweden)

Clem, Clement, Clementine, Ksenia, Oksana (Ukraine)

Emerald, Esmeralda, Rachael, Rachel, Rachelle, Rae, Ramon, Ramona, Raquel, Ray, Raymond, Raymundo (USA)

National Name Days:

National Aiden Day

National Fay Day

National Pedro Day

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 23 of 2025; 342 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 4 of 2025

Celtic Tree Calendar:

Druid Tree Calendar: Elm (Jan 12-24) [Day 12 of 13]

Graves Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Ding-Chou), Day 24 (Ren-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Coptic: 15 Tubah 1741

Hebrew: 23 Teveth 5785

Islamic: 23 Rajab 1446

J Cal: 23 White; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 10 January 2025

Moon: 33%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 23 Moses (1st Month) [Samuel]

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 34 of 90)

Week: 3rd Full Week of January

Zodiac:

Tropical (Typical) Zodiac: Aquarius (Day 4 of 30)

Sidereal Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 9 of 29)

Schmidt Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 23 of 25)

IAU Boundaries (Current) Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 4 of 28)

IAU Boundaries (1977) Zodiac: Capricornus (Day 5 of 28)

[mariacallous]

On the same day U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the first-ever United States-Japan-Philippines summit at the White House, a much less conspicuous meeting to strengthen the U.S. alliance network in the Indo-Pacific took place a few blocks away.

On April 11, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken convened for talks at the State Department, declaring in a joint statement that their two countries are “working more closely than ever.” In almost any other case, this could be dismissed as meaningless diplomatic boilerplate. But in this case, it was a clear sign that a new era in New Zealand’s foreign policy was underway. Given that U.S.-New Zealand relations have long been strained—in part because Wellington charted a China-friendly course—the meeting was the latest example of Beijing’s behavior in the region driving countries into Washington’s welcoming arms.

The frostiness between New Zealand and the United States dates back to the 1980s, when a Labour government in Wellington declared its part of the Pacific a nuclear-free, disarmed zone and refused to allow port visits by U.S. nuclear-powered submarines. The Reagan administration, in turn, suspended U.S. obligations to New Zealand under the Australia-New Zealand-United States security treaty. The estrangement lasted many decades as New Zealand parted ways not only with the United States but also neighboring Australia to pursue a nonaligned foreign policy.

Relations began to thaw in 2010, when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key’s government signed the Wellington Declaration, which called for elevated strategic engagement and practical cooperation with the United States in the Pacific. Two years later, the two countries followed up with the Washington Declaration, which specifically strengthened defense cooperation and lifted a Reagan-era ban on New Zealand warships in U.S. ports—while leaving Wellington’s nuclear-free zone intact.

The rapprochement also survived the transition back to a Labour Party prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. In fact, the Ardern administration doubled down on the new policy. In 2022, Ardern became the first New Zealand prime minister to attend a NATO summit. Her Labour successor, Chris Hipkins, did so again in 2023. At these summits, New Zealand’s leaders expressed serious concerns about not only Russia but China as well, with Ardern in 2022 stating: “China has in recent times also become more assertive and more willing to challenge international rules and norms. Here, we must respond to the actions we see.”

Criticizing Beijing is a new tactic in New Zealand’s playbook. In 2008, the two countries signed a free trade agreement—Beijing’s first with a Western state. Since then, New Zealand has generally focused on business ties while ignoring or minimizing China’s worsening repression at home and rising assertiveness abroad. To its ostensible Western allies, Wellington’s “supine” attitude toward China was unnerving. In 2018, a Canadian government report called New Zealand the “soft underbelly” of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which also includes Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States.

Wellington might have continued on this course, were it not for Beijing’s own actions that made it think twice about engaging—a clear trend that most recently pushed the Philippines to seek closer military relations with Japan and the United States. In New Zealand, it was the discovery of widespread Chinese political interference in the 2017 national elections that began to shift the China narrative from opportunity to concern. It also turned out that a Chinese-born member of the New Zealand Parliament until 2020, Jian Yang, who sat on the foreign affairs, defense, and trade committee, was not only once a member of the Chinese Communist Party but also worked as a trainer of People’s Liberation Army spies. These incidents, as well as Beijing’s turn to bullying smaller countries in the region, awakened New Zealand to the potential geostrategic threat posed by China, including in its own neighborhood.

These developments prompted Ardern to go against the grain of her country’s dovish China policy. In May 2022, New Zealand became a founding member of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework—a limited policy that seeks to enhance trade and investment relations among friendly countries, not including China, while stopping short of being an actual free trade agreement. Addressing China directly, Ardern and Biden agreed in Washington that “the United States and New Zealand share a concern that the establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries.” A month later, New Zealand also joined the Biden administration’s Partners in the Blue Pacific—a group of countries coordinating on Pacific islands strategy, including Australia, Britain, and Japan.

Wellington’s harder line on China now permeates the government. In July 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a new strategic foreign-policy assessment that cited Beijing’s growing assertiveness throughout the Indo-Pacific region as the “primary driver of strategic competition,” adding that the “risk of a shift in the strategic balance in the Pacific is now a present and serious concern in the region.” One month later, Wellington released a first-ever National Security Strategy, arguing that Beijing has become “more assertive and more willing to challenge existing international rules and norms.” A simultaneously released defense strategy implied increased defense spending to meet the emerging China threat.

More recently, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his conservative coalition government, elected in October 2023, are sending strong signals that they plan to stay on this track, in spite of previously promoting China-friendly policies. The appointment of Peters as foreign minister, for example, does not bode well for Beijing. In 2018, Peters was the mastermind behind Wellington’s Pacific reset strategy designed to counter Beijing’s growing clout in the Pacific islands region. In a recent speech, Peters questioned the very basis of Wellington’s foreign policy: progressivism and nonalignment. While this policy has played especially well in the postcolonial, post-Cold War Pacific islands region, Peters seems intent on trading it in for aligning New Zealand in great-power competition against China.

Specifically, Peters has called for Wellington to elevate its role in Five Eyes, the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security pact, and NATO. AUKUS could soon see New Zealand cooperating on nonnuclear security topics, including cyberwar, hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, and others. On his first overseas visit in Australia, Luxon strongly suggested that Wellington was moving forward on AUKUS cooperation. Defense Minister Judith Collins has been more circumspect on AUKUS, but her recent contacts with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell have deepened the intrigue.

Peters also confirmed this month that New Zealand is pursuing a formal partnership program with NATO. If the agreement is concluded before Luxon’s participation in the NATO summit this summer, it would be another monumental shift in Wellington’s foreign policy away from nonalignment and toward integration with other democratic nations.

From a U.S. perspective, it is easy to get overly excited by these developments and conclude that a restored ANZUS alliance is near. But New Zealand and the United States still seem far apart on restoring a formal alliance, and there have been no public indications that any such step is afoot. A signal of this magnitude to China that New Zealand is siding against it is probably a bridge too far for Wellington, which still seeks to maintain a healthy economic relationship with Beijing and not endanger economic growth.

Still, Wellington’s strategic pivot is good news for Washington and its allies—even if it is still unclear how, exactly, New Zealand’s pivot will support concrete U.S. objectives in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. However, the United States should temper its expectations: New Zealand is likely to continue to preserve productive relations with China while it emphasizes the importance of stronger security ties with Washington.

[beardedmrbean]

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to meet with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, as the Japanese leader hopes to cement ties with the country's primary foreign partner.

US and Japanese officials said economic and security concerns - particularly North Korea - will be high on the agenda, along with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Ishiba and Japanese officials said that the main purpose of the visit, however, is to forge personal ties with Trump - who had a warm relationship with former PM Shinzo Abe during his first term.

The visit marks the first by an Asian leader to the White House since Trump's second administration began in January.

The White House visit is the second by a foreign leader during the new administration, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's whirlwind trip earlier this week.

"It will be our first face-to-face talks," Ishiba told reporters before leaving for Washington. "I would like to focus on building a personal relationship of trust between the two of us."

During Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021, he grew close to then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, bonding over golf. Abe resigned in 2020 and was assassinated two years later.

Japanese officials said that Ishiba made "every possible preparation" for his meeting with Trump, including seeking advice from Abe's widow - who attended the inauguration as a guest of Melania Trump - and from his predecessor, Fumio Kishida.

Senior Trump administration officials described the visit as primarily focused on "peace and prosperity" in the Pacific. Trump is likely to bring up realistic training exercises between the US military and Japan's Self-Defence Forces, as well as cooperation on defence investment.

The White House said that semiconductors and artificial intelligence also would be on the agenda.

From the Japanese perspective, Ishiba is expected to underscore Japan's role as a major economic partner for the US, and highlight that Japan has been the top foreign investor in the US for five consecutive years.

Among multinational firms, Japanese companies are the largest job creators in 10 states and the second largest in another six.

In Kentucky alone, Japanese companies employ more than 45,000 people, primarily in auto equipment manufacturing.

Defence and security discussions also are likely, including Japan's recent commitment to raise defence spending to 2% - far below the 5% that Trump has called for among Nato allies - as well as the US commitment to Taiwan's defence and mutual concerns about North Korea.

Japanese officials consider North Korea's growing military ties with Russia worrisome, particularly the prospect of Russian missile technology being transferred to their ally.

Trump administration officials said it shares Japan's "commitment" to a de-nuclearised North Korea.

[pochqmqri]

Update on "Mahotsukai Pretty Cure! 2"/the adult MahoPre sequel

It has been over a year since Toei announced they were planning an adult sequel to Mahoutsukai Pretty Cure!, the 13th PreCure season that aired from 2016-2017, yet no real information on it has been released since. All we know is that it will air "in 2024" on the late-night ANiMAZiNG!!! program block.

Despite this, two recent bits of indirect information seem to paint a specific timeframe of when the anime will actually air.

To start off, we now know the full 2024 schedule for ANiMAZiNG!!!, with the Summer program recently announced:

The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids — Jan 7 - Mar 24 (Winter 2024)

Tonari no Yokai-san — Apr 7 - TBA (Spring 2024)

Iwa-Kakeru! Climbing Girls — Jul 6 - TBA (Summer 2024) (Rerun, originally aired Fall 2020)

The Healer Who was Banished From His Party is Actually the Strongest — Starts Oct (Fall 2024)

This means that MahoPre2 will not be airing this year, which makes it odd that it still has a tentative 2024 release date, right? Not exactly.

According to Toei Animation's recent financial report, for the fiscal year ending on March 2024, they still list MahoPre2 as in production for "2024." More specifically, they list it as coming out at some point after the second quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.

In Japan, for government bureaucracies and corporations, a fiscal year lasts from April to March of the following year. For example, the 2023 fiscal year just ended this past March, hence the recent financial report. The 2024 financial year will last from April 2024 to March 2025.

The second quarter of FY2024 ends in September of this year, meaning MahoPre2 will air at some point from October onwards. (Note that Dragon Ball DAIMA, another animated project under Toei, is also listed in the same category, and was announced with a set release date of Fall 2024.)

Given that we know the entire ANiMAZiNG!!! schedule for this year has been filled, it seems very likely that MahoPre2 will air starting in January 2025; that is, the Winter 2025 season. If it airs for just 12-13 episodes like OtonaPre did, that would still put it within the range of FY2024, ending just at the March 2025 deadline.

What seems likely then is that, if it's to be believed that the MahoPre girls will appear in the upcoming WonPre film coming this September, it will act as a bit of promotion for the upcoming MahoPre2 sequel coming out early next year. It makes sense as to why Toei has been quiet on the anime, as the main promotion cycle isn't meant to start until sometime this Summer.