#touma's more. collected.

[kiiraes]

“Shaving our head is a painful decision for any woman, but we are forced to do it.” Nisreen, a Palestinian mother of six, had to leave her home in Khan Younis on 13 December, as the Israeli ground invasion of the city intensified. She has since sought refuge at a nearby UN school, and later to a makeshift tent, with little access to drinkable or cleaning water. “I had to shave my head, because I have no water to wash my hair,” the 49-year-old told Middle East Eye from her tent in al-Mawasi area. “I also did the same to my 16-year-old daughter and my 12-year-old son, to protect them from scalp diseases as their friends developed scalp ringworm,” she added. The ferocious Israeli bombing campaign on Gaza, now in its fifth month, has killed at least 27,500 and displaced more than 1.9 million Palestinians, who collectively have no access to clean water and essential hygiene facilities. Even before the war, more than 96% of the water supply in Gaza had been considered “unfit for human consumption”, due to the Israeli blockade on Gaza since 2007. But the situation has been exacerbated after the Israeli government’s decision to cut off the water supply to the Gaza Strip at the orders of Energy Minister Israel Katz on 9 October. Additionally, the Israeli army seized the majority of water desalination plants in the northern part of Gaza by 30 October, and in the southern part of Gaza City by 1 November, according to satellite images from Planet Labs PBC. Zainab al-Shawwaf, a general practitioner based in Rafah, clarified that the lack of hair care and washing may give rise to conditions like alopecia, scalp ringworm, and bacterial infections, ultimately leading to the development of hair abscesses. Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), has warned that “water is being used as a weapon of war” during the current conflict. “Many people are resorting to unsafe sources of water... Clean water in Gaza is either unavailable or available in very, very small quantities.”

Source: Middle East Eye

#palestine #free palestine #support palestine #palestinians #gaza #gaza strip #gaza genocide #palestinian genocide #israel is a terrorist state #from the river to the sea #from the river to the sea palestine will be free

[marina41trench]

Inumaru Touma - Drama Collection (Spring) RabbiChat

Touma: Izumi, good morning!

Great work on yesterday’s drama shooting!

Touma: There’s something I’m curious about so I messaged you

Did you manage to finish your math homework…? Iori: Good morning, Inumaru-san.

I managed to finish on time so I’ll submit it later today.

Touma: Oooooh!!

I’m glad!!!! ✨✨

I was curious if you’re holding up well because it was a lot and we have filming as well.

Iori: I apologize for bringing my homework to the set.

I must’ve worried you.

Touma: Don’t worry about it!

The staff were worried about you too!

Touma: Or rather, when I think about it now… Was I in your way when I kept looking because I was curious about your homework 😭?!

Sorry!

Iori: Not really. Rather it was a good opportunity for me to revise and review.

Iori: Thank you for the okara[1] cookie you’ve given me before we left.

Touma: I’m happy for those words 😭

You mentioned doing your homework when you get home, so I thought it’s better if I give you a snack to eat at night

Touma: When I went to the convenience store during break time, I was thinking of a food you could eat with one hand that’s like you, so I picked it! 👍

Iori: Am I like an okara?

Touma: No, sorry. I didn’t mean you’re like it, but it’s like… an okara and you are neat and clean?

Pretty? Something like that?!

Will this convey properly?!?!

Iori: I-I do not understand, but… Thank you for thinking about me.

It conveyed that you’re a very kind person as the rumor says.

Touma: Rumor?

Iori: Isumi-san compliments you and says “Touma looks after people so much it’s annoying.”

Touma:

Touma: That doesn’t sound like a compliment, though?! Lolol

Iori: No, it’s Isumi-san’s love language. He was smiling when he said it, so he’s very happy.

Touma: I hope it is…

Does Haru talk about us a lot? 😳

Iori: Or rather, very much.

Iori:  “When we went for a yakiniku, he asked me if I was eating properly as he kept putting meat on my plate. And he always looks at my plate. So annoying.”

Touma: A-and his expression at that time is…

Iori: He was smiling from ear to ear.

Touma: He was smiling from ear to ear 😆

Touma: I see~~!

He was mad at me and said, “You don’t have to because I don’t eat it! You should eat properly too!” but he was really happy! I’ll give him more meat next time!

Touma: The seven of you are living together, but have you all dined out?

Iori: Yes, sometimes.

But most of the time we’re accompanied by our Manager or the agency’s staff.

Touma: Whoa, I’m jealous! That sounds fun!!

And you’re with your Manager!

Iori: We’re going to stand out since we’re a large group. So there’s preparations being considered.

Touma: Oh yeah, since there’s 7 of you there’s bound to have problems!

What did you all eat? 🤩

Iori: A lot of meat, as expected. And there’s a delicious okonomiyaki restaurant in our neighborhood. We go there to eat as well.

Touma: That’s sooooo nice!! Having 7 people eat okonomiyaki and being lively sounds fun!! 🤩✨

I should invite Utsugi-san next time

Iori: And just like you, Nii-san also asks us, “Are you all eating properly?”

Touma: Mitsuki-san does that too~! Now I’m getting really curious!

Iori: When he says that, he intentionally gives us neatly cooked meat.

There are no words to say about his consideration.

Has someone done that to you?

Touma: Aaaaaahhhhhhh

Haru was mad at that too…

Touma: So that means it’s him showing his

Touma: Love…

Iori: Well

Iori: It is.

Touma: Yeah! I’m glad to start a good discussion in the morning!! Thanks Izumi 😭😭

Iori: It’s nothing… Perhaps I’ve talked too much

Touma: I’m happy that our bonds deepened just like in the drama 👍

Iori: My role was admiring you, and I enrolled in the same school as you.

Touma: Yup! And soon we’ll have a confrontation against Nikaidou-san in the climax!

I’m gonna do my best so I can show you the cool me 🔥

Iori: Not to me, but to my role as your junior.

Touma: Well, yeah. I got happy when you complimented me while I was practicing skateboard techniques lol

Iori: Your reflexes were always great, but I was amazed how you learned a trick in such a short time…

Iori: It's good learning material.

Touma: Eh, I’m so happy…

Touma: I’m as happy as being told “I don’t care what anyone says, I’m proud to say he’s the world’s coolest senior!”

Iori: Like I said, that’s my role’s dialogue as well!

Inumaru-san, are you the type to be startled when you meet an actor who played a villain?

Touma: Eh, how can you tell?! I’m not sure if I’m just bad at it, but I just go, “Ah!” suddenly 😂 lolol

Iori: We also have a member who is easily influenced.

Touma: I’m glad that Izumi’s a good guy…

Iori: I think I understand the reason why Isumi-san opened his heart to ZOOL.

Touma: Really?! Isn’t he showing his pitiable side too much?!

Touma: Are you going to bring your homework in the next set?

Iori:  I don’t think it’s possible now that we’re going to spend more time filming.

Touma: Then I’m going to bring you snacks to accompany you again!

That way I show my status as your senior! 🔥

Iori: Something else besides an okara that’s like me?

Touma: Maybe konpeitou[2] or macarons?!

I’ll think about it 💪

Iori: Thank you very much. I’ll look forward to our next filming.

Touma:

-

TL Notes:

[1] - okara - also called sou pulp or tofu dreg, is an edible pulp separated from soymilk during the tofu production.

[2] - konpeitou - is a small sugar candy that has a spherical shape with bumpy textures.

#idolish7 #i7 #rabbichat #rabbitchat #inumaru touma #inumaru toma #toma inumaru #touma inumaru #english translation #translation

[hunieday]

Isumi Haruka - Drama Collection Summer Rabbit Chat

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

Haruka: Yotsuba～～

Tamaki: Isumin～～～～

Haruka: I win!!!

Tamaki: Shit!!! Just a bit more and I’d have killed you!!!!

Haruka: I’m better at quick maneuvers!

Tamaki: Jumping there was completely unfair!!!!! you’re only supposed to do fancy jumps during lives!!!!

Haruka: What are you even talking about lolololol if we’re talking about lives aren’t you the one who does fancy jumps the best 😒

Haruka: Anyway, the punishment game! You remember right? 🥺

Tamaki: I remember 🥺🥺

Tamaki: The loser treats the other the 5 yen loaf of bread

Tamaki: 😒😒😒

Haruka: All right! Get it tomorrow on our way home! 

Tamaki: Fine!!! Only because I lost this time!!!!

Haruka: Sure, sure

Haruka:

Tamaki: 

Tamaki: I'll invite Iorin too! I'll pay for his share 

Tamaki: I offered before, I told him it looked yummy and he asked me, "What's the point of it having a 5 yen shape?” I’ve been thinking about that!

Haruka: That is something he’d say! lolol but I'm sure he'll look happy when you eat it. Maybe I'll invite him to a game next time.

Haruka: I wonder if he plays games.

Tamaki: Hmmm, I don't think he’s into that

Tamaki: But Iorin is good at everything!

Tamaki: I think he'll study it hard and use smart strategies like Nagicchi does.

Haruka: Ah! I think he's the type who’d use obstacles to his advantage!

Haruka: I don't think he'd rush into the front line like you 😏 

Tamaki: Isumin is just like me in that regard!

Haruka: And yet I still won today!

Tamaki: 

Haruka: 

Haruka: If you say "Please teach me, Isumi-senpai!” I could coach you, you know??

Tamaki: You're not my senior!!

Tamaki: By the way, the other day I almost used honorifics with you without realizing it.

Tamaki: Because of the drama we filmed…

Haruka: You know, I felt really uncomfortable at first when you used honorifics with me.

Haruka: I don't want a junior who’s taller than me lolol

Tamaki: Even though he's tall, he's still a cute junior 🥺

Tamaki: "I'll be in a band with my senior!” something like that

Haruka: Well, Yotsuba in the drama was somewhat cute.

Haruka: He was too timid to express his own opinion. He has a talent for composing, but he lacked confidence. 🥺

Tamaki: Hehe

Tamaki: Ismin was really good too. He gave me a boost when I was feeling down about my lack of self-confidence .

Haruka: You mean when he sang a cappella?

Tamaki: Yeahhh!!

Tamaki: "I want to show off to the world that there's someone who can write such amazing songs!”, and then he sang for us!

Tamaki: He's a great senior!

Haruka: I like that part too! I felt great to have had the OK from the first take!

Haruka: 

Tamaki: We had a great time singing by the beach together!

Haruka: No, I wanted to practice by myself!?

Tamaki: Ismin was singing so passionately that I couldn't stop myself from joining.

Haruka:  Touma and Izumi's brother came as well. I thought something happened lol

Tamaki: Really felt like a youthful moment

Haruka: Well, I guess…

Tamaki: Speaking of youth, I forgot to do my English homework for tomorrow.

Haruka: Weird way to remember but I’m glad you did at least?!

Haruka: We’ll have a mini test on the vocabulary from this homework.

Tamaki: 

Tamaki: I'm gonna be terminated

Haruka: Well, it's gonna be in the 5th period, so try to do your best during recess or something [pudding cheer]

Tamaki: If I get a bad grade again, XXrin and XXX-chan will get mad at me, please teach me, Isumin!!!!!

Haruka: Your nicknames are so unique that censoring them is pointless lololol

Tamaki: Isumin-senpai, please teach me 🥺 I'm your cute classmate too !!

Haruka: Don't call yourself cute lolololol Why don't you ask Izumi to teach you

Tamaki: Iorin will be away for work tomorrow morning, you’re my only hope!!!! Isumin!!!!!!!!!

Harukau: Ugh, I have no choice…

Haruka: Pay me back with melon bread from the store 😑

Tamaki: even though you’re also gonna get the 5 yen bread?

Tamaki: You really like bread, Isumin��

Haruka: You’re a nuisance lololol it’s a promise then!!

Haruka: 

Tamaki:

#isumi haruka #yotsuba tamaki #zool #idolish7 #idolish7 translation #i7 #ainana #id7 #idolish seven #drama collection #rabbitchat

[gffa]

All right, this is my best approximation of my Yoroiden Samurai Troopers collection, at least as far as I could find packed away in storage! It was so overwhelming trying to sort through this, oh my god.

DOUJINSHI: Mostly mix/gen anthologies, these are each ~220 pages, about the size of a paperback book, done by various artists.⇩

Mix/gen anthologies, primarily from Tachibana Kaimu/Laim Company, which tended to have a strong Seiji/Touma bent. Paperback size, each is ~100 pages.⇩

Seiji/Touma doujinshi, a lot of V-KIDS and Mizuki Ken, etc. Soft cover, but about paper size A4, like 8"x10", each ~50 pages long.⇩

Ryo/Shin doujinshi, size A4, ~50 pages each.⇩

A mix of pairings, a handful of Ryo/Touma, Seiji/Shin, etc., size A4, ~50 pages each.⇩

Three doujinshi artbooks (first two in the first row + Cotton Color, a Mizuki Ken artbook that has a lot of YST illustrations) + two more doujinshi (Seiji/Shin, then Ryo/Touma)⇩

NOVELIZATIONS + ARTBOOKS: Top row is five of the novelizations of the series (raw Japanese of course), slightly smaller than a manga volume in the US. Bottom row is two smaller pocket-sized artbooks.⇩

The Message series of artbooks, I never was able to track down #4, it eluded me and was one of the greatest frustrations of my YST fannish life. Duplicates of #2 and #5, as you can see, plus two more artbooks. (The second one, iirc is from the designer of the characters, so there's other stuff in there, but a lot of YST art as well.) ⇩

The Memorials books + the various other artbooks for the series. There's a duplicate of the first Memorials book, but the second one and the Memorials Deluxe were my favorite, they were EXTREMELY hard to get your hands on and I only had them because a friend was kind enough to send them. They're all hardcovers and of a hefty size, they're a little bigger than a hardcover book and probably twice as heavy. The other six (last one in the top row + bottom row) are all soft cover books.

In total, the weight of these are: doujinshi 42lb + artbooks 19lb. I'm willing to break up the collection between doujinshi and artbooks, but other than that, I need the collections to stay together because I feel like that's the only way I can part with them. I spent so long collecting these together that they're precious to me, I can't just throw them away, but I can give them away for the cost of postage, so long as all of it goes. Doing my best to calculate media mail (which I have no idea if it would actually come out to that much, because as heavy as these are, it seems like a low price), the doujinshi would be $40 and the artbooks would be $20. (I am skeptical because this stuff is HEAVY, but that's what the USPS site tells me.) Contiguous US only, unfortunately. Send me a message if you're interested and then I'll give you my e-mail, I just want the collection to go to a good home, because it's time for me to let go.

#lumi.txt

[be-netz]

a quick recap of the previous episode opens up this week’s show, reminding the audience of the twenty-odd idol hopefuls who have joined this year’s competition. it’s certainly a colorful bunch this time around with a few familiar faces peppered in among the crowd; do better plays in the background as the screen focuses on STEVEN and the winners of last season, now coaches for the new contestants, before bursting into the title screen and logo.

the scene shifts abruptly to the three judges, ceos YOON JIHUN and SEO RAN of studio delta and sr media respectively and YUNA, the face of lime entertainment. the trio sit at a shared table draped in a thick black cloth, elevated just slightly to give them a good view of a stage specially set up for this week’s evaluation, decorated in purple, teal, and pink like the show’s logo.

“who are you most looking forward to seeing?” yuna asks her fellow evaluators, hands clasped as she leans forward to glance over at both ran and jihun. 

“personally, i can’t wait to see more of HANGYEOL,” ran admits. a short clip of the contestant’s audition from last week and his subsequent first-place rank at the end of the episode plays across the screen. “he’s a talented young man and i have a feeling he’ll do well with this challenge.”

“actually, i think i’m looking forward to STEVEN,” jihun considers his words for a moment before continuing, “he’s already familiar with this type of mission, even though it’s a different song and dance from last year. i’m hopeful that he’ll show us a new side of himself this season.”

“since i asked, i should answer as well,” yuna smiles, “while i agree with both of you, i’m personally looking forward to seeing AHYOUNG’s performance. she has a strong personality and a lot of energy, so it’ll be interesting to see how that fits into the group.”

it’s no wonder that the judges are looking forward to the top three from last episode. they chatter for a few moments more before the talented emcee RHEE JIAN takes her position in center stage, ready to announce the first contestant.

ASAKURA TOUMA is the first contestant up, taking the stage shortly after a brief introduction from jian. the camera focuses in on his silhouette, silent except for the exaggerated sound of his breathing, as he waits for the music to start. just as it looks like the performance is about to begin, the scene abruptly changes to the very same contestant in the practice rooms provided for the NEXT GEN participants.

it seems that touma is quite the practice-bug, staying late hours in the practice rooms with KAITO and separately with HYUNKI, and stretching with JIHYUN. “i understand that i was doing more than i can chew, back then.” touma’s voice plays across a scene of him helping jihyun lean further into his stretch. “i’d like to think that i was able to balance things a bit more clean this time, focus on what i can do first.”

the scene fades back to the judges, their sharp eyes digging into the contestant even as the song has yet to start. “this will be… interesting,” jihun remarks. the two women remain quiet.

do better starts playing and the very first performance begins. touma is clearly enjoying the stage and while he starts strong with the rapping and his dancing isn’t bad, it’s singing where his performance begins to fall apart. the edit seems to highlight this, featuring every shaky note or slightly missed beat and making the boy’s performance out to be much worse than it may have been without the repeated cuts, replays of imperfect moments, or quick zooms into the slightest shake or wobble. 

even touma admits that he struggled; “it’s different from training,” he tells the camera, the scene suddenly cutting to the young man seated in a simple room. “i had to keep in mind the pitch and everything. i had to keep it stable while dancing too, somehow it’s easier with rapping.”

the performance comes to a close with an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air as the judges seem to collect their thoughts.

“i suppose i’ll start,” ran picks up her microphone and begins to address the contestant directly. “touma, i can tell that you took our advice to heart from last episode. we appreciate a trainee who’s coachable and applies feedback to their efforts, however…”

while ran seems at a loss for words, perhaps looking for a softer way to say what’s on her mind, jihun has no such delicacy. he takes over immediately: “just because we thought you were doing too much last time doesn’t mean you should have neglected your vocal training now.” he sighs, perhaps regretting that they were not more clear with their expectations, or that the contestants understood the assignment so poorly. 

“it’s a good thing that you can rap and dance,” yuna takes a more balanced approach to her critique, the carrot and stick method in a sense. “but for your sake, you should focus on learning to sing better. no matter how good of a dancer or rapper you are, the public will always perceive you as untalented if you can’t sing.” she speaks from a place of experience, her advice genuine.

there’s one last scene of touma in the interview room. “i’m happy i did it. i’m confident that i did my best, and i’m sure all my hard work will shine through somehow.” his optimism despite the rough critique is admirable. perhaps he’ll become a contestant to watch closely as the competition goes on.

“ah, well,” jihun sighs, “hopefully the next will be better.”

perhaps disappointed that the first performance was not a show-stopper, the judges moods brighten anyway as jian announces that CHOI HANGYEOL will be the next contestant on stage.

“mr. first-place,” yuna smiles warmly as the young man takes his place on stage. he bows politely and greets each of the judges.

“i’m sorry,” hangyeol announces, “i’m a little starstruck at the moment. thank you for this opportunity, and for your kind words of support from before. i’ll do my best to make sure you won’t regret them.”

“he speaks well,” jihun remarks, low enough that the contestant on stage can’t hear her just yet.

“he was working with my NAYOUNG this week,” ran informs the other judges, the scene shifting for a moment to show hangyeol and the trainee-coach in a practice room.

“how does it feel to have them say they want to sign you on day one? i'm pretty sure they didn't say that about anyone last season," nayoung asks her question of her student for the day, her competitive spirit obviously not at all dampened since her last appearance on television. 

humble as always, hangyeol’s response is as perfect as if written in a storybook: “it’s an honor, but one that i still feel like i need to earn.”

the scene shifts again, this time to just backstage as the young man stretches in preparation for his performance for the judges. a paper armband displaying his number one position wraps snugly around his upper arm, lest anyone forgets who wears the crown this week. suddenly, his arm flops down. “tsk…it’s heavy isn’t it? nobody tells you that part.” his tone is light, as if joking, but the viewer can read into the meaning behind it. first place is a heavy burden for a contestant to bear. will he live up to last week’s performance that earned him the title?

hangyeol once again seems to be a professional on stage. his mistakes are overlooked by the camera and the editors, zooming into his flawless expressions and sharp-yet-fluid movements which suit the heavy beat of the song well. it’s like it’s his personal music show… the captions praise him, the cuts suddenly looking very reminiscent of an idol performance as it cuts between different angles of the same performance. he’s stable, if a bit imperfect, but it’s clear that the powers that be behind the scenes are much more forgiving of their first number-one than they had been of the previous contestant.

all three judges clap their approval in a tiny applause as hangyeol finishes his performance.

“i’ll be honest,” jihun doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t look displeased either, “i didn’t expect you to be able to sing. you were surprisingly stable for someone who hasn’t done this before… have you?” he suddenly questions; it’s not out of the question that there may be small idols that disbanded or retired without the general public’s notice. 

“there were mistakes, but you never let them slow you down,” yuna nods her appreciation of the performance. “that’s hard to do, even for seasoned performers. it’s easy to get caught up on a mistake and make more because of it. your resilience makes you a stronger performer.”

“if i had one bit of advice to give, it would be to practice your enunciation more,” ran suggests, not unkindly. “your details with dancing are top notch, so i’d love to see the same attention given to your voice, whether you decide to pursue rapping or singing going forward.”

“good job, hangyeol,” yuna congratulates him, smiling warmly.

“if i can get yoon jihun himself to smile, i’ll consider it an accomplishment,” hangyeol’s voice is heard momentarily as he leaves the stage. for a moment, it seems as if his mission has failed. but after he’s gone, the tiniest upward curve is revealed on jihun’s lips.

“this is the part where i have to give you some not-so-good news,” jian announces to the judges, who frown as they listen to the emcee. “HAN YURA and MOON SOOYOUNG have both withdrawn from the competition for personal reasons. we wish the both of them the best of luck in their future endeavors and hope to see them on stage again soon.”

while the expressions of the judges don’t brighten they do give the two withdrawn contestants a round of applause to send them off of the show.

“with that, we’ll move on to our next contestant,” jian announces, “please welcome HAN JUEUN to the stage!”

the young woman walks out with a confidence rather uncommon among the contestants, which the judges pick up on immediately.

“she hardly looks nervous at all,” ran remarks.

“she doesn’t look nervous at all,” jihun corrects his fellow judge as all three stare down at the girl on stage.

“i’m pretty confident,” jueun herself confirms her aptitude for the stage, smiling at the cameras as she sits in the interview room. “with how hard i’ve been working, i don’t think i’m going to slip tremendously with this next ranking, at least.”

and she has been working hard; the scene cuts to the practice rooms, a montage of her sessions with various fellow contestants displayed. in each clip, she’s seen practicing a different skill, seeking advice from more experienced participants, and even giving advice of her own.

the scene settles on a moment shared between jueun and JIAYI, the two women talking together during a short break. “this whole thing is being televised,” jiayi reminds the other, followed by a confession, “i'm worried about that too, but i try to ignore all the cameras.”

“they’re kind of hard to ignore though, aren’t they? i mean, they are literally everywhere,” jueun laughs, perhaps betraying the slightest sense of nervousness with the sound. “but i’m trying my best as well.”

back to the present, to the woman standing confidently before the judges, and the music begins playing yet again. 

jihun notices something, though.

“she’s staring at me a lot, isn’t she?” he remarks. the women to his left and right have to stifle their laughter.

the performance wraps up and yuna is the first to speak this time. “you’re comfortable on stage, aren’t you? your expressions are good, and you didn’t look even a little bit nervous. do you have any acting experience?” she questions appreciatively, curious more than anything.

“like yuna said, it’s clear that you have experience on stage. i just can’t help but wonder why you seemed to only perform for ceo yoon?” ran’s tone is light enough, though her words more biting than typical of the soft spoken ceo. perhaps this is a sensitive spot for her. “yuna and i are also here, and also judges. picking one place to look is good for ballerinas who need to keep their balance while spinning, but performing to one person alone in the audience can make the rest feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“it’s clear that you practiced hard and put a lot of effort into this performance,” jihun shuffles the papers in front of him as he speaks. “your expressions are good and make for an engaging performance, but your skills could use a little more work. keep practicing, you’re doing well.” small words are a large compliment from the pickiest judge.

jueun is seen in the interview room one last time as her portion comes to an end. “i would love to see how much i grow skill-wise. i came onto this show like a blank canvas, and it’d be nice to see how colorful i become at the end!”

“HAN YUWOL,” jihun realizes who the next contestant is, echoing jian as she announces the next name. “he’s one of the odd ones, isn’t he?”

“this should be interesting,” ran agrees, though she appears to be more looking forward to this than jihun is.

the scene cuts abruptly to yuwol in the practice room, coach SEOJUN talking him through his session and addressing the contestant’s weaknesses as he approaches this challenge.

“i’ve never actually done any dancing before, much less performing dance,” yuwol admits. no dancing at all? certainly he has a daunting task ahead of him.

“i can help with that,” seojun assures his student, “i’ll do my best to having you knowing the whole routine in no time.”

the scene changes in such a way that it’s hard to notice that it’s a different time, a different person in yuwol’s company. it’s AHYOUNG now, abruptly pausing the music during their dance practice session. “enough!” ahyoung shouts, seemingly frustrated with the lack of progress either from herself or her companion. “i’m putting a random song on and dancing to that,” she proclaims. the camera focuses on yuwol’s face, taking in his reaction. 

“like we’re supposed to… freestyle it?” yuwol asks, as if it’s an entirely foreign concept to him. and, based on his discussion with seojun, maybe it really is.

how is he going to pull himself together for the judges? the captions drag out the tension, setting the contestant up for a disappointing performance if some miracle isn’t pulled off. the scene shows a few more seconds of awkward, stiff dance movements before fading to black. yuwol reappears on stage in front of the judges not a moment later. the young man takes a deep breath– is he also afraid of the results of his practice?

the poor thing. the cameras pan to the judges’ pained expressions as yuwol opens with an awkward rap, only made better by how the dance is somehow even worse. if ran and yuna try to mask their expressions, or at least soften them slightly, jihun does nothing of the sort. he frowns openly, disappointed with the performance before them.

an uncomfortable silence hangs in the air as the music concludes, the judges seemingly at a loss for words for a moment.

“yuwol,” jihun finally breaks the silence, “i think you know what we’re going to say. that just… wasn’t good. we thought you were a good singer in your audition, but we didn’t see any of that talent tonight. frankly, you have a lot of work to put in if you’re going to make it in this competition.”

“learning to dance is hard,” yuna tries to smooth over the harsh words of her fellow judge, giving the poor young man the benefit of the doubt. “it’s not something that can be done in a few days. i think you did your best to learn as much as you can in a short time. i can congratulate you on that.” somehow, even as she tries to find something nice to say, it falls flat.

“there’s nowhere to go but up from here, yuwol,” ran smiles, the kindest of the three despite the pity in her eyes.

the interview room makes another appearance, yuwol now seated in the center of it. “i looked… rather stiff, i’d be the first to admit that,” he confesses to the camera, “i’m new to all this, though that’s not an excuse… of course, it’s far from a perfect performance… there’s a lot to learn from it.”

“next,” jian’s lovely, smiling face takes over the screen after a brief pause in the wake of yuwol’s poor performance, “we’d like to welcome HWANG JINGREN to the stage!”

there’s not much preamble to jingren’s entrance to the stage. there’s only a short clip of him in the practice room, chatting with JAEYOUNG. “i don’t know if i’m any good. especially, considering how i ranked near the bottom,” jingren confesses, “i don’t have the natural beat at all.”

“everyone loves an underdog story,” jaeyoung offers encouragingly, “someone rising from the very bottom to the top. you have a whole arc ahead of you.”

will jingren rise or fall? 

as the music starts and the young contestant begins his solo performance, smiles are seen across the judges’ faces. the audio finally kicks in so the audience can hear what the judges do; a surprisingly stable voice, despite shakiness during the rap and imperfections in his dancing abilities. it’s not a winning performance, but it’s solid.

the judges applaud him regardless when he’s finished.

“to be honest, i wasn’t sure how this would go,” jihun confesses. “i was ready for another trainwreck on stage. you pleasantly surprised us, thank you for that. it wasn’t a perfect performance, but we can see your improvement already.”

“like jihun said, it wasn’t perfect. but we don’t expect perfection at this point. you’re all looking to become trainees, not to debut tomorrow. so i wouldn’t worry too much about being the best right now and just focus on continuing to improve your skills. you’re doing well, jingren,” yuna smiles through her feedback, encouraging the young hopeful before her.

ran is the last judge to speak, a little slow as she tries to find something to say that hasn’t already been shared by her peers. “it might be nice to see you enjoy the stage a little more,” she comments, “you looked a bit scared up there. i know this is all new and nerve-wracking but i’d love to see what you’re capable of if you can become a little more comfortable.”

“thank you, jingren,” jian congratulates the man on his performance as he’s ushered off the stage. “next, we’re excited to welcome HWANG YEJUN!”

“i like the way you dance,” it’s actually INHO’s voice that’s heard, the scene cutting to a practice room where the two young men rehearse together. yejun, the one on the receiving end of the compliment, looks flabbergasted more than anything. 

“thank you,” he sputters out.

the editors do him small favors to be a little more interesting, peppering the scene with rosy pink hearts and painting a picture of a practice room crush, at least on one another’s skills if not literally in a romantic sense. clips of yejun in practice, both in the main group classes, alone, and with inho and other contestants play in a short montage. and then, a clip of his singing voice, without dancing. he has skill, to be sure. will he be able to show it to the judges?

the camera catches his deep breath, the tremble of his hands as he stands before the judges.

“are you nervous, yejun?” ran smiles into her microphone. “it’s alright, we just want to see what you’ve learned.”

kind words can only do so much for the poor man’s nerves. but like it or not, the music begins regardless.

his nerves don’t completely disappear even as his performance starts, a shake in his voice and a wobble in his step even as he does his best to project confidence during his song and dance. that voice that was heard in the practice rooms lacks some of its power now, yejun’s energy split between singing and dancing. had inho been right to compliment the other contestant? yejun’s not terrible, but he may be his own worst enemy.

at least he hits the final note and pose, ending the song on a high.

the judges applaud for a moment before yuna is the first to pick up her microphone. “yejun, do you have stage fright?” she asks suddenly, “we could all tell you lacked confidence in this performance. you shouldn’t, you sing well and your dancing isn’t bad either. but when you make yourself seem so small, how are we supposed to react?”

“my trainees like you,” jihun adds. 

his commentary is interrupted by a clip of RENYI and DOHYUN discussing the contestants they’re supposed to be coaching. the camera shows yejun’s profile photo in renyi’s hand. “i think he’d be really good at a company that encourages his creativity, and we already know we get along well with him,” the trainee reveals the friendship he’s already fostered with yejun, though it’s yet to be caught on camera.

“i agree,” is all that’s heard from dohyun, though the cut is awkward as if he had more to say.

the scene returns to jihun, who has more to say: “but i don’t see why just yet. keep practicing and show us a better version of yourself next time. whatever it is your friends see in you, i’d like to see that too.”

“you’re here because we saw star potential in your audition, yejun,” ran cleans up the conversation kindly, unwilling to beat down a nervous contestant more than he’s already been beaten by himself. “i hope you’re able to show us that side again.”

yejun bows, utters his thanks, and leaves the stage. a gloomy atmosphere seems to hang in the air.

“well then,” jihun claps his hands together and leans back in his seat. “what do we have next?”

ITO SEIRA is the next contestant to showcase her skills, but before showing her on stage the screen cuts to the girl working in the practice room with HYUNKI. and then the screen splits to show her with JAEYOUNG. it splits again, now in quarters, to reveal her practice sessions with JIAYI and EUNWOL, and then into eight pieces with TOUMA, INHO, JIHYUN, and YUWOL, with the coaches CHAERIN, NAYOUNG, and SEOJUN, with JUEUN, STEVEN, and JORDAN.

the audio is filled with each time seira introduced herself to her fellow contestants, the voices multiplying clip over clip until it’s a whole chorus of introductions.

is there anyone who seira isn’t friends with? the captions suddenly question. it’s clear that the girl is quite the social butterfly, already befriending most of the contestants and half of the judges in the first week of practice alone.

“almost everyone was willing to help me,” seira appears in the interview room in the next shot, telling her story with a fond smile. “i was so surprised, nobody turned me away when i asked for help… we’re all in this together, we help each other. i don’t think there’s a single person i’m thankful for, i’m thankful for everyone, i hope people keep being willing to help, after all, this is a competition”.

and then, finally, seira appears on stage. the camera captures her bright personality, making it easy for the viewer to understand just how she was able to befriend the majority of the competition so quickly. “hello i am ito seira, my korean name is sunah, i am twenty-one years old, i’m thankful you’re willing to watch my performance, i hope you enjoy it!” the girl introduces herself, seemingly without so much as stopping for a breath.

“she must be a rapper,” the cameras catch jihun making the remark quietly to his fellow judges, who smile and suppress their giggles at the man’s rare attempt at humor.

the music plays again and very little is shown of seira’s performance, perhaps neither so good nor so bad that the editors felt the need to draw any special attention to any point of it. they are sure to capture the ending though, zooming in on the woman’s face as if an ending fairy in a music show. the camera catches the way she breathes heavily, despite trying to hide it.

“you’re a hard worker, aren’t you, seira?” yuna is the first to address the girl on stage, a fond smile on her lips. “we have staff report to us on your activities throughout practice as well watching your final performances, to see if you’ll be a good fit in any of our companies. i have to commend you for your collaborative efforts, even on a solo evaluation like this. it’s easy to get caught up in the competition but it seems that you have a knack for bringing people together.”

“you have some skill,” the ever-unimpressed jihun rubs his chin as he considers seira’s performance, seemingly undecided about his feelings on the matter. “you’re not perfect, obviously. you’re not debuting tomorrow. but there’s promise. and, as yuna so aptly put it, you have other talents that are just as important to have in an idol group. i think we’ll have to watch you more closely.”

“i heard you had a fall in practice, are you alright?” ran is the first to show concern for the contestant.

the scene suddenly cuts back to the practice room and seira’s practice session with JAEYOUNG. as they begin the dance, the girl somehow loses her balance and ends up flat on her back in the middle of practice.

silence fills the room for a moment, uncomfortable as if about to welcome in bad news to the wannabes working so hard.

jaeyoung breaks that heavy quiet; he laughs aloud. “how did you get on the floor like that?”

it turns out seira isn’t hurt, she’s smiling in return. “who knows? maybe i was adding breakdance into the dance.”

the screen returns to the evaluation stage and ran smiling warmly at the young woman before her. “i’m glad to hear you’re alright. please be careful when you practice, we’d hate to have to send you home due to any injuries. i’m excited to see what you’ll be able to show us next time.”

with those kind words, seira is dismissed from the stage.

"it wasn't exactly pleasant to see my name so close to the bottom," the scene fades into the next contestant, JANG HYUNKI, sitting in the interview room. clips from the previous episode play, the judges’ harsh words echoing over a clip of hyunki sitting quietly, as if haunting him like menacing ghosts. “it did make me want to work ten times harder to show everyone here and at home that i'm much more than what i showed in the audition."

will hyunki be able to show a better side of himself this time?

the scene cuts to the practice room, of hyunki and JUEUN standing in front of the mirror. "look,” jueun instructs him, “everybody knows you're a skilled dancer, but you've got to convince people that you're really feeling the music, and that involves using your face!"

hyunki, responding to her advice, straightens his posture and adjusts his face. “believable?” he asks.

“it looks like a customer service smile, if you know what i mean. your eyes are pretty much empty." jueun is honest with him, even if it’s not the results he probably wants to hear. 

as the pair continues to rehearse, hyunki’s voice is heard over the scene: "i worked exceptionally hard, and felt more confident this time around. i had the critiques to work off of and those all gave me a good starting point."

the scene changes again, this time to just backstage. SARANG is seeing the contestant off, playfully slapping his backside as hyunki steps up to take his turn on stage. "go kill it! one slip up isn't gonna kill you. you're gonna dominate this whole thing!" the trainee assures his student.

"all the coaches were super helpful," hyunki is shown in the interview room once more before his performance begins. "if i had to pick one, sarang's advice was probably most helpful for me this time around."

clips of sarang’s time on last season flash across the screen in a quick montage. if anyone could teach hyunki to be more expressive on stage, it would be mr. charisma sarang himself.

the camera pauses on hyunki as he stands on stage, building tension in the silence as he waits for the music to start. when do better finally starts playing, the young man begins moving, rapping, singing. it’s immediately clear that he took the criticism to heart; this performance blows his audition away entirely.

the song comes to a close and the young man bows, awaiting the judges’ response. all three are smiling, a much better sign than the last time they evaluated this contestant.

“well, hyunki, i feel like we owe you an apology,” ran begins, her smile wider than all the rest. “what you were able to accomplish in such a short time is a testament to your skill. we recognized your good foundation, but your ability to apply critique is unmatched so far. you worked closely with sarang? that was a good choice. he won last season for his charisma and stage presence, which was exactly what you lacked in your audition. excellent job.”

“i never regret my words,” jihun leans back in his seat, showing he’s impressed in his subtle mannerisms. “but you did make me eat them this time. you overdanced a little to the point your vocals suffered, but i can’t say you weren’t engaging to watch this time. good job.” rare praise from the strictest judge.

yuna pauses, smiling at hyunki before she speaks. “well done,” she congratulates him. “the audition was a bad time to have an off-day. i’m so glad to see we were right to bring you on the show, and that one off-day is not indicative of your abilities. i’m excited to see if you can continue to improve at this rate throughout the show.”

“great job, hyunki,” ran praises the young man again as jian gestures him off stage.

“he really did a one-eighty,” jihun murmurs aloud.

“did he actually impress you?” ran teases.

jihun shrugs. “maybe. maybe not.”

“i feel for whoever has to follow up that performance,” yuna remarks.

the lucky contestant is KIM ARA. a short clip of the girl stretching with KAITO in the practice rooms floods the screen. “next time, i’m going to bring my foam roller here too,” she announces, seemingly dissatisfied with the quality of her stretch without it. still, she bends in half easily, still having the breath and strength to chat with the other contestant even as she stretches. it’s clear that she’s flexible and a skilled dancer.

“i won’t be defeated by my placing,” ara tells the cameras in the interview room, suddenly reminding her that she’s fourteenth, rather low in the ranks. “but i will use it as fuel to further my ambition. there is room for me to improve and hopefully rise up.”

the girl is seen climbing up the stairs to the stage next, ready to show the judges what she’s prepared. 

the music starts and her flexibility in the practice room pays off as she reaches out to each movement in its fullest completion, never skimping or leaving a step incomplete even if the choreography is easy.

“i really did try my best to give a balanced performance and work on my singing,” ara’s voice is heard over the music just before the singing portion starts. and in the next moment, it’s her singing voice that’s heard through the speakers, surprisingly stable despite the dancing. her performance passes by quickly, the camera continuing to highlight the best parts of her dance ability, until the final pose is struck and she’s being greeted by the judges.

“ara, you did well,” yuna praises her immediately. “i wasn’t sure if you were going to sing well or not, but you even did well with rapping. i don’t think any of us expected that from you, so i want to congratulate you if you learned that well in such a short time or apologize if we overlooked your skill during your audition.”

“i do wish we saw a little more of your personality come through,” ran adds to yuna’s thoughts, “but honestly, it’s such a minor critique in the grand scheme of things. this was a solo performance but it felt like you were holding back a bit. it’s alright to be a little greedy in this stage. this is a competition, after all.”

jihun is quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts. finally, he picks up his microphone. “i don’t think i have anything more to add,” he admits. “ran and yuna have more or less said it all. you’re very talented and we’d like to see what you’re able to do with this talent going forward. thank you.”

“we’re excited to welcome the next contestant to the stage, MOON JORDAN,” jian announces as the camera shows a brief clip of the contestant climbing up to the stage to take his position in the center. 

the scene cuts to jordan in the practice rooms, rehearsing choreography that’s distinctly unfamiliar. what is he doing? the captions question as the young man runs through movements that the other contestants certainly had not been doing. was he given a different assignment than the rest?

“i attempt to turn things into my own to make it fun and enjoyable for those watching me,” jordan tells the camera in the interview room, a sort of confidence in his demeanor even as he’s sitting there. some might find it attractive; others might find it cocky.

back to the present—or at least back to the stage and the performance in front of the judges. jordan’s performance begins the same as every other contestant, dancing, rapping and singing do better in front of the three people who will decide his fate in this competition. but, as he nears the end, something is different. it appears that jordan has added his own dance break, something that no one else has dared to do before. it’s a risky move; just how will the judges respond?

silence falls on the room as the performance comes to a close. the cameras pan across the judges who scribble notes down on the papers in front of them before they give their verdict to the young man before them.

it’s yuna who speaks up first.

“moon jordan,” she reads his full name off the paper in front of her. “do you have a problem with following directions?”

a hush falls over the room again. yuna has been kind, if a bit strict with the other contestants so far. her voice nearly shakes, as if she’s holding in her anger for the sake of all the people watching her through the camera right now. a veteran idol knows how to take care of her image, after all.

“this was a test of your performance skills so we could better evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. this was not a test of your creativity or an invitation to modify the song given to you. this song may not have been performed by anyone else before this group of contestants, but that doesn’t give you the right to change it on a whim.” she sighs, trying to relieve some tension. “you know you’re all expected to perform this together on mcountdown later this week, right? how do you expect to do that when you’re incapable of following simple directions?”

even ran looks rather displeased, though she lets yuna do the bulk of the scolding. this was a mission right up lime entertainment’s alley anyway.

“you should keep in mind that we’re looking to sign trainees from this competition,” ran’s words are phrased more as suggestions for improvement than yuna’s had been. “your performance skills are important of course, but we’ll also be teaching you to improve your natural talents throughout this competition and if you’re signed to one of our companies. your intangible skills are just as important to us. that includes things like teamwork and listening skills and your ability to take critique and direction.”

jihun, the scariest of the judges, is the last to speak. he’s silent for a moment, scowling at the young man in front of them. “i can’t say anything,” he finally raises his microphone to his lips. “you did not complete the mission assigned to you, you just made up your own. i can’t critique a performance that doesn’t even remotely fit the rubric that was given to you.”

perhaps the lack of comment is the greatest insult of all.

jordan is dismissed from the stage. the scene changes to a staff member approaching the contestant backstage, pulling him aside from the other contestants as they deliver a message from the judges.

“i’m sorry, but it’s been decided that you will not be performing with the rest of the next gen contestants on mcountdown this week. the judges’ decision is final on this.”

a camera hangs onto jordan’s face for a moment longer, displaying his reaction for the world to see.

a moment later the scene shifts to PARK AHYOUNG backstage, chatting with various contestants as she awaits her turn. a staff member taps her on the shoulder and lets her know that it’s her turn on stage. jian’s voice can be heard announcing the girl to the stage, but just after the camera watches ahyoung hurry off to her position it shifts to her in the interview room, speaking her mind.

"i guess i've never really danced before outside of like, the club,” the young woman shares, her words met with an uncomfortable silence after she speaks them. “i'm a great dancer in the club, don't get me wrong, but it's not really the same thing.”

the scene cuts to her practice session with YUWOL, the same that had been shown earlier in the episode. now, however, the camera focuses on ahyoung’s dance moves as the pair shake off their nerves with random dancing. how did you learn these moves…? the captions question, though no outright accusations are made.

finally, the camera cuts to ahyoung on stage before the judges. as the music begins, so does her performance, and the judges’ sharp eyes watch her every movement, their ears listening to every word, as they assess her performance.

she starts strong, as many of the contestants do, but as do better goes on, she seems to be losing steam. her voice becomes more strained and breathless, her dance lacks some of the energy it had in the beginning. the camera flashes to jihun for a moment, his stern glance as ahyoung’s heavy breathing is exaggerated on the audio.

as the song wraps up, the judges scribble down some final notes on the papers in front of them.

it’s jihun to speak first this time. “i think we may have rated you too highly based on your audition,” he admits a mistake, though only to point out the failures of the contestant in front of him. “let’s just say what you and i both already know; you lack endurance. if you smoke, quit now. work on cardio at the gym. you won’t survive this competition with your current condition. i’m saying this for your health.” he seems to attempt to extend some kindness, even if it’s still tough love.

“i’m more concerned with your work ethic, to be honest,” yuna frowns at the wannabe before her. “plenty of your competitors came in with little experience in dancing. they’ve improved their endurance a lot in the short time they’ve been with us. i think you’re taking practice too lightly. do you want to be here? or would you rather be at the club?” yuna becomes vaguely accusatory, perhaps a bit sensitive as an idol herself who has heard all of these criticisms before. maybe it’s better for ahyoung to hear them now from someone who genuinely wants to see her improvement instead of blasted a thousand times at her online by anonymous netizens who have nothing better to do but complain.

“you’re a naturally gifted performer,” ran starts with compliments, perhaps trying to soften the blow of her fellow judges before her. “you definitely shine and capture attention easily on stage. but that’s not enough past this point. please continue to improve your skills, you’re here because we saw your potential and we want to see how great you can become. thank you, ahyoung.”

the contestant is dismissed from the stage.

"i'm not gonna pretend i'm an expert, but i had fun.” ahyoung tells the camera in the interview room. it almost seems like she didn’t take the judges’ criticism to heart at all…

“up next, we’ll be watching the performance of RYEO JIHYUN!” as jian announces the next contestant up to the stage, the camera cuts to jihyun climbing the steps and waving to the judges with a smile, a confidence in his movements even as he approaches what’s likely the most nerve-wracking part of this competition so far.

“why are you even here?" the scene cuts suddenly, TOUMA and jihyun in a practice room stretching together as they prepare to run through the dance again. the camera seems particularly interested in touma’s question, however. it seems a bit inflammatory, bordering on accusatory. is this a rivalry budding already? touma sighs. "is this a side gig to you? are you here to feel something again?" neither is a very charitable interpretation of jihyun’s participation in the show.

“can you guess which is right then?” jihyun retorts, seemingly not giving an answer to the other contestant. at least he can handle himself well without starting a true altercation, verbal or otherwise.

“there was some fear and guilt that was lingering at the back of my head.” the scene cuts to jihyun in the interview room quickly. is touma bullying other contestants? the accusation is never verbalized or written anywhere on screen, but the viewer may start to get a sense of the story that’s being told here.

regardless of backstage practice drama, jihyun takes the stage anyway. his performance begins and jihyun seems to capture the spirit of the song well; tough, fighting for glory and recognition, and unafraid of anyone in the room, yet still having fun with every step. maybe his supposed spat with touma had helped him find his attitude for the performance. he’s captivating on stage regardless, almost sensual in the way he moves.

but the illusion of the competitor is shattered at the very end when jihyun sends a heart to the camera instead of maintaining the same persona he had for the entire duration of do better.

a laugh bubbles up from the judges without their permission, both jihun and ran having to cover their mouths to try to stifle the giggles. yuna just smiles, though it’s obvious she’s also amused.

“what happened at the end?” jihun questions immediately, too amused to think about anything else. “you spent the last three minutes convincing us that you were really here to ‘do better’ than all the rest of the contestants… and then ending with aegyo?” it appears that jihyun has not yet earned his way out of the ‘strange crowd’ among the contestants. “i’ll be honest with you, it ruined the performance. it doesn’t matter how well you sang and danced, all i’ll remember is feeling like you played a joke on us at the end. staying strong and following the mood for the entire song can make a performance. in this case, it broke.”

“aside from the heart,” yuna picks up her microphone next, “your rap skills are… well, they’re lacking. while not every idol needs to be an all-rounder, it is important to have some foundations in all skills. if you debut as a soloist, it allows you to release a more diverse portfolio of music. in a group, it allows you to fill in for a member if a situation should occur that demands it. you may not enjoy it, but i still recommend developing your basics better in the future.”

ran smiles warmly at the contestant before speaking. “first, i’d like to apologize for laughing. that was unprofessional of us, but you did take us by surprise. i didn’t think i could still be surprised like that,” she admits. “you’re already showing signs of improvement, but i think we would have liked to see a bit more from you this week. i don’t think we saw anything surprising, like your skills didn’t improve so much from the last time we saw your perform that there’s much to talk about. please continue to practice and improve. you’re here because we want to see everything that you’re capable of.”

“thank you, jihyun,” jian announces his departure from the stage.

“it was something relatively new to me,” jihyun admits to the interview camera, “i think i did quite well for my first time, and i’m satisfied with it. but of course, i’m not stopping at just being satisfied. i’m going to be even better the next time and come back with an improved version of myself.”

the camera flashes to touma’s face for a moment once more, gauging his reaction to his supposed rival’s critique and response.

“RYU INHO?” the scene cuts to the next contestant quickly, CHAERIN calling out a contestant’s name from a clipboard in front of her as she meets some of the participants she’s in charge of. "is this your first time singing and dancing at the same time?"

"ya, noona, so formal," inho starts joking with her immediately, obviously comfortable with the coach far more quickly than his fellow participants had been. is his familiarity disrespect to the young woman in charge of helping him grow?

he does admit it, though: "i'm not much of a dancer at all, let alone singing and dancing at the same time."

cutting to the interview room, inho addresses the camera. "i wasn't expecting such a high ranking," he admits, but then after a short cut to remind the viewer of inho’s fourth-place ranking, he issues a promising statement: "i plan on continuing to do what got me there in the first place. that is giving everything i do my absolute best effort, and then some. alongside ensuring i use my resources, such as the coaches.”

oh, so is the young man trying to schmooze with the coaches? the editing certainly seems to imply such.

chaerin, seemingly only slightly ruffled by his overfamiliar greeting, clears her throat and looks down at her clipboard again. "have you memorized the choreography, at least?" she steps toward inho, not backing down in the slightest, her brow knit together in concern. chaerin, at least, is all business.

the scene cuts to a different time and place, now with inho and SEOJUN. again, inho greets the coach with unprecedented familiarity: "didn't expect to see you here. how have you been? it's been a while."

seojun makes no attempt to hide the friendly relationship he apparently has with inho. "didn't expect to see you here either," he responds amicably, “i've been good. busy since i've been training a lot. glad i get to see you again."

the scene cuts abruptly again to seojun in the interview room this time. “would it be biased if i mentioned inho?” he asks.

yes, it most certainly would be.

at least the cameras don’t do anything further to damage inho’s reputation on the show, cutting away again to the young man taking the stage in front of the judges. his smile is confident, cocky, as if already in character for the performance he’s about to give.

the music starts; inho dances, raps, and sings. there’s moments when the camera catches that confident smirk fading from his face, unable to remember to hold it throughout the performance. it catches the moments where he pauses and catches his breath; while it’s in the choreography, the heaviness of his breathing almost becomes distracting. his voice stays stable for the most part, and the raps are decent from a contestant who doesn’t have a ton of experience in this area.

inho is gasping for breath as he holds the final pose. the judges furiously scribble notes down in front of them, capturing their last thoughts for when they have to rank all of the contestants later.

“inho, i think you also need to work on your cardio,” yuna half-teases the contestant with a smile on her lips. “i was disappointed in your performance not because of your skills, but because i felt that your breathing distracted me from your abilities. ‘ah, if only he had the strength…’ that sort of feeling.”

“you sing well and your rap and dance wasn’t bad,” ran compliments the contestant, “especially for your first time attempting these things. but you’ll have to work harder to maintain your position in this competition. there are so many talented participants this season… it’s not enough to only be a good singer anymore. i hope you can improve quickly.”

jihun is the last to leave his remarks: “taking advantage of the resources offered to you is good. however, i’d be more careful to watch your image,” he advises on the content the coaches have seen of the practice sessions rather than the performance in front of him, which the other judges had already covered well. “please be sure to mind your manners with our trainee coaches. even if you’re friends outside of work, it’s important to give them the proper respect in our buildings and in front of your fellow contestants. they’re trying to help all of you improve, so they need to be taken seriously.”

“otherwise, your performance was mediocre. i expected better.” jihun shrugs.

inho is dismissed from the stage just after, the cameras following him to capture the initial reaction on his face to the judges’ critiques.

“RYU SIWOO is next,” ran reads from a cue card in front of her. “wasn’t he the one with all of the luxury brand clothes?”

the camera cuts to siwoo in the practice room, somehow still wearing luxury clothing items as the camera identifies the sweat-soaked t-shirt he’s wearing as ralph lauren. 

a disembodied staff member’s voice is heard behind the camera in the interview room, the cut trained on siwoo and his reactions as they ask the question: “you were introduced as someone who comes from money and luxury brands. how do you feel about that?”

siwoo pauses uncomfortably, seemingly put on the spot. “i’m…thankful for the interest,” he words his response carefully, “i’m really interested in fashion and i like to dress up a little. so i guess they aren’t completely wrong.”

he seems to address the camera a little more directly in his next statement: “i’m a lot more than just that though. i hope it shines through on the show.”

and just what does he show? the scene cuts to he and NAYOUNG in a practice room, the trainee coach trying to help him learn do better and perfect his performance.

“fix your posture,” nayoung barks orders like a drill sergeant. “stand up straight and keep your head straight as you sing. it'll support your diaphragm and make this easier." she seemingly has an endless tirade of critique for his performance. the editors animate a hammer dropping on siwoo’s head. this is almost as tough as the military… the captions read.

but nayoung wouldn’t say such things unless the critique was warranted. the next several seconds play several of siwoo’s failures and shortcomings and nayoung’s quick corrections, her words as sharp as a whip as they lash out at every little mistake that her student makes. is siwoo really more than the money and luxury he comes from? at least he seems to take the critique well.

the scene cuts to the stage, siwoo already introduced by jian and ready to begin his performance. while he may seem a bit nervous in the beginning, he’s smiling by the end. there’s mistakes in his performance and he’s breathing heavily like many of the previous contestants; maybe nayoung wasn’t harsh enough on him.

“siwoo, do you think you can get by on looks alone?” jihun rips into the contestant early, not pausing for more than a moment before tearing into his performance. “i heard that you worked closely with the coaches, but i doubt that any of them would have let you come on stage with a performance like this. please take advice from the song next time; do better.”

“ah,” ran seems a bit taken aback by jihun’s harsh words. he’s not incorrect though. “this is still a bit unfamiliar, isn’t it?” she tries to sympathize, “you don’t look like you’re enjoying being on stage. when you smile, it looks like it’s just something you think should be done rather than something you’re actually feeling. even if you don’t like the song, you should be trying to make your audience fall in love with it. convince us that it’s the best thing ever, even if you secretly don’t agree. it’ll make you a better performer.”

yuna frowns into her microphone. “this choreography was rather simple, but you still struggled to execute it. i understand we’re trying to move quickly through this competition, but please do not neglect your basics. strong fundamentals will help you move farther down this competition than quickly learning one dance and forgetting about it immediately afterwards. this goes for your singing too.”

just as it seems that the judges are about to dismiss siwoo, jihun suddenly adds one more complaint: “also, what’s wrong with the name NEXT GEN?” he accuses the contestant.

the scene changes, giving context to jihun’s words, as it brings up a practice room with JAEYOUNG. “i was just thinking about the name next gen,” siwoo complains, “an idol survival show called next gen. who comes up with these names?”

the cameras cut back to siwoo before the judges, jihun’s arms folded crossly in front of his chest. “i thought we made it clear that we’re looking for the talent to lead the next generation of kpop. you might want to decide if you really want to be a part of that.” there’s a subtle threat to jihun’s words; disrespect the judges and face the consequences.

siwoo is finally allowed to exit the stage.

the scene cuts to the next contestant and, coincidentally, the very same as the young man siwoo had been complaining about the name of the show to: SONG JAEYOUNG. jaeyoung starts in the interview room, a disembodied voice questioning him from behind the camera. “you didn’t seem very happy with your current placement,” a soft feminine voice remarks.

“yeah, i’m not,” jaeyoung scoffs, “but that’s not surprising, is it? it’s not a very good ranking, all things considered.”

a quick reminder that jaeyoung placed sixteenth out of twenty-one total contestants last week plays across the screen.

“what did you find challenging during training?” the same voice asks him.

jaeyoung’s answer is unhelpful. “a bunch of things,” is all he says.

to try to shed some light on his practice experience, the camera cuts to jaeyoung and JUEUN practicing together. during a quiet moment, jueun strikes up conversation.

“i heard you’re good at spinning things,” jueun asks, “can you spin this?” she hands him a water bottle.

“i swear, people will only remember me for that now,” jaeyoung appears in the interview room once again, clearly annoyed with the question his fellow contestant had asked him.

"it's funny that that's what's making rounds and not the performance itself,” he responds just as wryly in person as well, though he ultimately takes the bottle to demonstrate his unique ability. “jueun. this is for you…” he somehow still sounds sarcastic.

and, frankly, the cameras focus more on jueun’s reaction than they do on jaeyoung.

little else is shown of his practice sessions before jian is announcing jaeyoung’s name on stage, inviting the competitor to begin his performance for the judges. his introduction is short, though maybe that’s for the best considering how hostile all of his moments in the interview room have been thus so far. instead, he wastes no time showing his performance.

jaeyoung is a little different from the other contestants. while there’s others also proficient in rap, he spits the words out with a particular kind of venom. the words seem like a challenge, like an attack on anyone who dares to critique him.

the performance is cut midway to the interview room again. “do you think you did better with this performance?” the same disembodied voice asks.

“i put my all into it, that’s what i can say,” jaeyoung responds, “i danced, i sang, i rapped. it’s not easy, anyone here can tell you. but i wanted to make sure people hear; that i’m not just yelling.”

it cuts back to his performance, where it does very much seem like he’s yelling as he sings and dances, his perceived anger boiling over in the face of the judges. jaeyoung bows at the end of his performance, punctuating it with a polite gesture at least.

“you certainly have spirit,” ran decides to speak first, cutting off jihun who was reaching for his microphone first. “and passion is so necessary in this industry, it’s good to see. i do think your performance was a little… intense for this song. we want you to do better like the song says, but it shouldn’t sound like you’re declaring war either. if you could work on your balance in your performance the same way you’re able to balance things on your fingers to spin them, you’ll be able to really shine in front of us.” ran, as always, advises kindly.

jihun is never nearly as kind. he’s ready to jump in and say his piece before yuna can also stop him. “you need an attitude check,” he condemns the contestant in front of the panel immediately. “you’re not the best contestant here. you’re just not. so instead of complaining about your rank, do something about it. being angry at us and our staff will not change your performance. if anything, it’ll make your life harder here. i’ll tell you the same thing i tell dissatisfied trainees: you can get with the program or get out.”

an uncomfortable pause falls over the room as yuna attempts to pick up her microphone and say her own advice and critique. that is, assuming jaeyoung and his supposed hot temper will still listen to anything after being scolded by jihun.

“one of the most important traits a trainee can have is their ability to accept critique,” yuna tries to explain. “it feels like you lack that ability right now. until you’re able to hear us with an open mind, there’s nothing we can do to help you improve.” she keeps her feedback short, turning her mic off and placing it on the desk in front of her as soon as she’s done.

jaeyoung marches off stage as soon as he’s dismissed. the judges don’t look worried about whether they’ve offended him or not, though the atmosphere still seems tense even in his wake.

“i don’t know about you, but i could use a break,” ran suggests to her fellow judges.

jihun shakes his head. “we’re almost done here. let’s just hope our next performer is a breath of fresh air.”

they watch as jian introduces SONG JIAYI and welcomes the young lady to the stage. jiayi smiles brightly to the judges as she takes her spot on stage. but the performances never start so quickly. instead, the viewer is taken back to jiayi’s time in the practice room, working with JINGREN. the pair are talking in a different language, mandarin based on the chinese flags that suddenly appear on screen around them. are they keeping secrets? are they gossipping about their fellow contestants?

after a few comments back and forth, the broadcast finally replays them with subtitles in korean.

“you seem to be a natural at catching on to the choreography compared to me,” jingren compliments the woman.

“i’ve always been a dancer,” jiayi explains with a rather vain flip of her hair. “i’m confident i’d do it perfectly.”

the cameras show jiayi in the interview room, now speaking korean with the staff asking questions from behind the cameras. “i have to rank myself number one until proven otherwise,” she tells the staff confidently. 

she seems to have a bit of an ego… the captions spare no moment to criticize the woman’s confidence. however, it’s only empty boasting if she’s unable to back it up with her actual abilities. the scene shifts back to the stage in front of the judges and jiayi’s confident smile. "i practiced long and hard to show the judges something i'm proud of.” her voice echoes over the image of her meeting the judges’ eyes.

the music begins and it’s clear immediately that jiayi’s confidence in her dancing is not completely unfounded. she’s sharp, precise, and fluid when the movements call for it. where it begins to lack refinement is in her voice. yuna had called her voice weak in the previous episode, and it seems that that critique comes back to haunt jiayi even now.

at least her breath control is decent. by the time she’s wrapping up the song, she’s not half as gassed as some of the previous contestants had been.

the cameras cut to the judges, who don’t look nearly as frustrated or upset as they had been when giving feedback to the previous contestant. jihun may not be smiling and ran may smile even when she’s upset, but the smile on yuna’s lips tells the viewers all they need to know about the atmosphere at the judges’ table.

“jiayi, you’re right to be confident in your dancing,” yuna begins, addressing the girl rather frankly. “you clearly have a strong foundation there and there’s not much for me to say. but your voice is still lacking. work closely with your vocal instructor for the next challenge. just like your body, your voice is a muscle that needs to be trained and exercised. since you haven’t done that much before, it’s not going to develop overnight. but keep working at it diligently to improve.”

“just because you’re a good dancer doesn’t mean you’ll make a good trainee or idol,” jihun gives his critique much more harshly, as per usual. “do you want to be a backup dancer or an idol? listen to yuna and follow her advice, or else your future will be at the back of the stage supporting the main show.”

“be nice,” ran chides jihun gently, seeming to think he crossed a line with his latest criticism. “jiayi, you’re a beautiful girl and an excellent dancer. as yuna and jihun have said, that’s only half of what you need to be an idol. the good news is that there’s still time to work on the other half. we enjoyed your performance and i can’t wait to see you continue to grow.”

ran leads all three judges in a round of applause as they release the girl from the stage.

“up next we’d like to welcome back a familiar face,” jian announces from her spot in the center of the stage. “back again to chase down his dreams of being an idol, please welcome STEVEN PARK!”

a shaky smile from the young man floods the screen before fading away to a short recap from last season’s appearances. steven had been a little… unrefined at that point, to put it lightly. he joked around in practice, he never took anything too seriously. ultimately, it had been his downfall and the reason he was removed from the show before the finale. and despite the humiliation, the harsh words from the judges, and not even making it to the end let alone earning a chance at a contract, he’s back. not only is he back, but he took third place in the last episode. has steven park turned over a new leaf after all?

“i kinda missed the grind,” steven’s voice is heard as clips of him practicing with the new group of contestants flicker across the screen.

a voice is heard from behind the camera as steven sits in the interview room. “compared to last season, do you think you’ve improved enough?”

“i’d like to say that i have,” steven smiles.

the scene cuts to the judges briefly as they wait for the young man’s performance. they had already mentioned looking forward to him once; will he surprise them? or will it be the same old steven park who they had to eliminate last year?

“ah, finally,” yuna smiles as she watches steven take the stage. “he looks a bit nervous… good.” one might think that she wants to terrify the young wannabes if they didn’t know better.

“be on your best behavior in front of the cameras,” another flashback to the practice rooms shows steven with JUEUN, the latter receiving advice from the more experienced contestant on this show. he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “i’m not sure how great of tips i can give you… i didn’t last a long time here.”

steven’s performance finally is set to begin. the camera focuses in on him, capturing the slightest twitches in his expression that betray his anxiety. he’s taking this more seriously than he had last season, that’s immediately apparent. the music starts, and steven begins.

“he dances well,” ran murmurs to her fellow judges midway through the performance, the cameras suddenly picking up on her instead of focused on steven. “but he’s not making eye contact with any of us, is he?”

the other two judges shake their heads to confirm ran’s assumption.

steven is a talented dancer, that’s for certain. he controls his movements well, leaving himself with enough energy to breathe (and therefore sing and rap). “i think i could have probably worked a little more on the vocals,” his voice is heard over the dimmed sounds of his do better performance for a moment, before the original audio turns up again and the shakes and instability in steven’s voice can be heard more clearly by the audience now that they’ve been pointed out. he succeeds in finishing  the performance though, and the judges remain quiet as they wait to dole out judgement.

“steven,” jihun begins, the slightest smile tugging at his lips, “are you afraid of us?”

a chorus of giggles goes up from the judges. of course steven is nervous around them, who wouldn’t be? perhaps steven doubly so after his previous experiences. 

“you should know that we’re only hard on your when we think you’re not living up to your abilities or when you need a little tough love to reach your potential. there’s nothing for us to scold you about right now.” the man smiles a little more openly, suddenly softened in front of this contestant. “in fact, you did really well. it would have been nice if your voice had improved more since last season, but we can work with that.”

“congratulations on getting a compliment out of jihun!” ran exclaims, acknowledging that this is a major accomplishment for the man on stage. “those were probably the best words we could have told you, weren’t they? it’s true, we can tell already that you’ve matured a lot since we last saw you. however… i wish you weren’t so afraid of us.”

a short clip replays of every time steven had looked toward the judges but never quite at them, always above, below, or to the side of where they were actually sitting. the avoidance seems painfully obvious in the compilation.

“remember that until we invite others to sit in, we are your audience. you’re performing for us, so you should try to connect with us or… at least have the confidence to look at us. you’re a good performers when you’re focused, steven. i’d like to see you shine.” ran smiles warmly, hoping her advice is taken to heart.

yuna is the third and final judge to speak. “as a final word of advice, i’d try to keep in mind that you are the single most experienced contestant on this season. the others may start looking to you for leadership and guidance. try not to shy away from this opportunity; you’ll have more chances to shine by helping the people around you grow quickly as well. and it’s good to see you again, steven,” yuna smiles herself. 

it seems the judges have laid aside their past perceptions of steven and are looking forward to what he can show on this season. the three whisper and nod approvingly among themselves as they prepare for the next contestant. 

“up next is YAMAMOTO KAITO,” jian announces, but rather than show the contestant on stage the scene shifts instead to kaito in the interview room.

"what was the greatest challenge during this mission?" a voice from behind the camera asks him.

"i think that the greatest challenge was probably pushing myself too hard,” it may sound like a humble brag from kaito, but clips of him practicing until the wee hours in the morning, only to return nearly at the crack of dawn the next day fade into the screen, still overlaid with his own voice. he’s seen at different times with TOUMA, INHO, and ARA. “i tend to overwork myself when it comes to various things, in this case practicing and not being completely satisfied with my personal results."

the scene is overtaken by a particular practice session with TOUMA. it’s late, based on the quick cut to the clock on the wall, but things seem to running well as the two young men run through their rehearsal of do better again. it all comes to a halt as kaito makes a mistake, cutting himself off with a loud groan and kicking the air in frustration. “seriously!” he shouts out his frustration before turning to touma apologetically. “one more time…. just…. one more…”

kaito’s exhaustion is clear. from the way his shirt is soaked with his own sweat to the dark circles under his eyes, it’s hard to miss. touma picks up on it too, if the short temper tantrum hadn’t been enough to signal something was wrong. 

“this is a pretty good place to stop, i think,” touma suggests, laying a hand on kaito’s shoulder gently, “you did a lot already, you can pick it back up another day?”

“touma actually I've known for a while now.” the scene cuts back to kaito’s interview. “he's one that really helped when i was pushing myself too hard, again, and helped me realize that i needed a break before i ended up probably passing out, or worse." 

back in the practice room, kaito has to acknowledge touma’s suggestion. “maybe you’re right…” he admits.

“you’re already doing great. you’re getting fluid!” touma encourages his friend. “take a deep breath.” 

you’re already doing great, kaito! even the captions cheer him on with soft sound effects, trying to ease the young man’s pressure on himself.

“i just feel like i could be better. you know?” kaito confesses aloud and surely the other contestants can relate. so many of them must feel the pressure as the competition is kicking off with such a difficult challenge, and the looming threat of a live performance.

"i'm actually really confident,” kaito tells the camera once more, “with the amount of practice that [i] put in i'd like to say that i did the very best that i could.”

the scene cuts to kaito standing on stage before the judges. the camera catches his deep breath, perhaps the only thing betraying his nerves, as he waits for the music to start. and kaito’s practice does pay off; he dances well, though his singing and rapping struggles some with the sheer amount of effort he puts into his movements. he’s breathing heavily by the end of the performance, not unexpectedly, and the judges give him a short round of applause as he’s finally able to relax and prepare himself for their feedback.

“you’re really fun to watch perform, kaito,” ran begins with a smile. “you look like you’re genuinely enjoying every minute on stage and that’s always a pleasure for the audience to watch you do what you love. i do think your singing needs some attention. we can tell you worked hard, but i’d like to see you improve further moving forward.”

“we heard that you’re quite the practice bug,” yuna takes over next, “and it’s great to hear that you’re taking this competition seriously. it’s what we want to see from our contestants. but we don’t want to see you get hurt. things will only get more challenging from this point onward so please be sure to keep yourself healthy even as you’re rehearsing. we would hate for you to have to exit the show early due to injury or illness.” the judges seem genuinely concerned for the participants’ health.

jihun is the final judge to speak, his words never overly kind or as soft as those that came before him. “ran saying you need to work on your singing was an understatement,” he’s as harsh as always. “even rappers need to be able to understand how to carry a tune. while the future will allow you to play to your strengths more, please do not disregard practicing your vocal fundamentals. they’ll only help you as a rapper as well.”

“great job, kaito,” ran congratulates him once more before he’s dismissed from the stage. “i like him,” she tells her fellow judges once he’s out of sight. yuna smiles her approval, though jihun only frowns.

“our final contestant performing today is YOON EUNWOL,” jian announces from the stage, drawing the judges’ attention back to the next contestant up.

the scene shifts to a practice room, eunwol sitting by himself as other contestants practice nearby. is he hurt? he seems to be fine, physically. but a rather forlorn expression on his face seems to betray that there’s more going on in his head that meets the eye. 

“my greatest challenge?” eunwol is seen in the interview room. “working with others, acquaintances and strangers. well not strangers, fellow contestants, challengers. i’m not sure what we are called.”

is it awkwardness that keeps him from interacting with others? thankfully, there’s a social butterfly ready to help everyone out at next gen. SEIRA approaches eunwol with a smile. “wanna go over the moves with me? i keep forgetting them,” she offers.

"are you sure you want my help? i didn't place high and blanked," eunwol’s self-deprecation doesn’t cease even in the face of next gen’s friendliest participant. “i am currently debating with myself about walking out that door. i don't belong here." 

the editors leave an awkward pause between eunwol’s confession, before seira has a chance to respond. she’s determined not to be rejected, though. “last year’s season, the person who originally placed last made it all the way to the final,” she smiles warmly again, “who says you don’t belong here? do you know how many people auditioned for the show, and only twenty-one made it, you passed the auditions, you deserve to be here”.

it seems to convince eunwol enough and the two begin to work together, seira helping him to feel more comfortable in this competition through being the one to ask him for help.

eunwol survives, despite the hardships, and finds himself standing in front of the judges for his performance. the three wait patiently for the music to begin again; they may very well be sick of hearing do better after about twenty times today.

the music begins, and it’s clear very quickly that eunwol has taken a different approach than many of the others. a cut back to the interview room, and the young man explains himself: “well i’m not sure if it will work, but i did try and be cute,” he tells the cameras. the scene cuts back to his performance and the movements he modified to fit his vibe better. the performance plays in its entirety uninterrupted, not once betraying the judges’ reactions to the rather bold choice until it comes to a close, eunwol smiling brightly as he holds the final pose.

a pause takes over the room as the judges frown into their notes.

“eunwol, what about do better made you think that it was a cute song?” jihun wastes no time with his criticism. “this is a solo performance, but keep in mind that you’ll be performing this with a group very soon. we’re here to evaluate your performance skills but you covered them up with your cutesy act, so i’m forced to believe that you’re actually quite lacking. is that the message you meant to send us?”

jihun doesn’t stop laying into the contestant with his harsh words. “if you don’t want to be here, you’re welcome to leave. there’s thousands of children and young adults around the world who want to be exactly in the spot you’re in right now. if you’re not grateful for this opportunity, you may as well do them a favor and drop out now.”

quiet uneasiness lingers in the few seconds after jihun finishes his tirade. it’s ran who’s bold enough to break the silence. “eunwol, even if you don’t trust yourself, you need to trust us as professionals who have been discovering and refining talent for years now. if we didn’t want to see more from you, you would not be here right now. i hope to see better effort from you in the next challenge, but i do hope to see you still with us for that.”

yuna sighs, the tension in the room still hanging vaguely in the air around them. she’s not so much of a fan of when jihun gets heated. “you’ll need to re-learn do better to do it properly for the mcountdown performance with the other contestants. in a team, you can’t just do your own thing. that’s going to be more important going forward, so please try to make an effort to be more of a team player. working with others is how you’ll succeed.”

eunwol all but sprints off the stage as soon as he’s dismissed. he’s looking a bit green, so the judges make no further comment.

with all performances complete, it’s time to gather the contestants to the stage as one big group. jian smiles at them as they take their places, the judges’ deliberation finishing up in the background behind them.

“contestants, you’ve been re-ranked based on your performances today. we’ll be revealing your positions from last place to first.”

one by one, the numbers are revealed. it shouldn’t be a surprise that moon jordan takes last place, his punishment for going rogue still weighing heavily on his shoulders. things start to get exciting with the top five, however. stevie, hangyeol, hyunki, and ara all have a shot at being the centers of their respective genders.

“in fifth place is… one of the girls,” jian announces. “so we’ll know who our female center is once this rank is announced. who do you think it will be?” she asks a few of the contestants, most declining to give an answer. jueun and ara’s faces are watched closely by the cameras.

“our fifth place contestant for episode two is… han jueun,” jian finally announces. the participants congratulate ara and applaud jueun, now that the battle has been decided. stevie, hangyeol, and hyunki are all still in the running.

it’s revealed, however, that stevie took fourth place for this particular episode. it’s still a great rank, but it brings hyunki and hangyeol, rivals set up by the judges since the first episode, into the final competition.

“in third place…” jian draws out the tension, the camera zooming in on each potential center’s face as they try to guess whose name will be on her lips in mere seconds. “please congratulate… choi hangyeol!” the top three ranks are revealed at once, hangyeol in third, just below ara, and hyunki taking first place for episode two. “congratulations hyunki, ara, you’ll be our male and female center for your performance of do better on mcountdown next week. everyone, please give yourselves a round of applause!”

a roar from the contestants goes up, though some may be lamenting their ranks.

“i have good news for all of you; there will be no eliminations this episode. however, next episode they will begin. those of you in lower ranks should do everything you can to rise quickly. those in higher ranks, don’t get too comfortable! you’ve seen how high hyunki jumped up, the same thing could happen in the wrong direction to any of you,” she warns the idol wannabes carefully, hoping they know how serious the next challenge will be.

“your next mission is the PERFORMANCE EVALUATION,” she announces. “this will be a head-to-head teamwork mission lead by our trainee coaches,” the camera pans to SARANG, RENYI, SEOJUN, NAYOUNG, DOHYUN, and CHAERIN briefly. “each of our trainees will be overseeing their own team. coaches, your responsibility is to be a guide and resource for your team, but not a leader. the contestants are being challenged to come up with their own unique performance of a senior’s song from each company.”

“this is your chance to show your creativity and how you can transform an existing song to be your own,” jian instructs the contestants. “but here’s the twist: two teams will have the same song. you’ll be battling head to head for who was able to create the better performance. the winning team will be entirely safe from eliminations. the losing team… not so much.” a hush falls over the crowd as the stakes are finally revealed.

“take a look at your team assignments,” she gestures up at the massive screen, which already shows six teams, their assigned coaches, and what song they’re tasked with making their own. “we can’t wait to see what you’ll show us next week.”

do better plays one more time as the title card takes over the screen, episode two finally complete.

#be:ngs2p2 #be:ngs2

[always-a-joyful-note]

Hope you don't mind mind random PMs! I just thought I'd let you know how much I've been enjoying your Ainana posts as of late. I also thought I'd share one of my favourite ZOOL comics on Pixiv here (https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/84180511) that you might find fun. Scroll down to the one that's based on their Beyond the Period performance where Haruka tells the audience that he loves them for maximum hilarity. Veeeery rough and condensed translation but basically it goes:

Touma: (Wow, Haru is actually saying 'I love you' to the fans. He sure has become cool. Okay, I should say it too.) I love... you... (Huh? Those two are really staring at me for some reason.)

Torao: Did you hear that, everyone? Touma just said he loves me.

Haruka: No, he looked at me when he said it.

Torao: He was looking at me longer though.

Haruka: No, he was looking at me 5 seconds longer than you.

And then while Touma's being all what the heck are you guys talking about, it's like...

Minami: I'm the only one you didn't say 'I love you' to.

Touma: No, it's not like that, Mina. When I said 'I love you', I meant -

Minami: I'M THE ONLY ONE YOU DIDN'T SAY 'I LOVE YOU' TO.

Touma: OKAY OKAY YOU'RE SCARING ME

Feel free to check out the artist's other comics for more clueless Touma and possessive ZOOL shenanigans. <3

HELP I'M DYING. That was SO good! The expressions and the progression of events was GOLD. They are a comedy of errors or something, and thank you so much for the tl!! The fact that Toma is simultaneously Zool's father figure and collective son will never not be funny to me.

And nooo, I'm always happy to have my inbox spammed for these kinds of asks! Thank you, OP! That's so sweet of you to say, and to take the time to share fanart you like!

Also, tagging resident zool lover @msperfectsheep-posts

#fandom spamdom #note's notes #idolish7 #everyone look at zool being all possessive over toma #maybe its the kimcom lover talking in me but i sure love a found family who is all obsessed with their one member who is just a guy #a guy with a bowlcut that is #also i know i know we should found family every group that has more than one (1) positive interaction #but consider that im simply here to be insane and wrong #every time someone sends me an ask to spread joy i gain back all the psychic hp shows and media have stolen from me #which is why i always feel bad for simply forgetting to send asks.... #BUT IT'S VERY APPRECIATED AND I LOVE YOU ALL

[t-u-i-t-c]

Bistrot Jurer

13 → Favorite Location (Main Base) - Super Sentai

Bistro Jurer

A French bistro owned by Kogure, that is the base for the Lupinrangers. The bistro is used as a front for the Lupins while they search for pieces of the Lupin Collection. The Lupins also use their positions at the bistro to gain intel from the Patrangers, who frequent the bistro.

The Yard

A small area behind the bistro. The area is mainly utilized in two heavier scenes, in which Kairi's resolves are called into question. One point is to question his resolve regarding doing anything in order to retrieve a piece of the Lupin Collection even at Touma's expense. The other point is when Kairi shows how his relationship with Keiichiro is making it more difficult for him to keep a clear head and focus on his goal.

The Kitchen

Located off the main floor, in view of customers. The kitchen is basically Touma's space as he is the one tasked to do all the cooking.Touma was a chef at a top restaurant prior to the mass disappearances, and is shown to find joy in cooking, even though he claims otherwise.

Dressing Room

A room in the bistro where the Lupinrangers change into their Lupin outfits before following leads about the Lupin Collection.

Kairi’s Room

A nearly empty room upstairs. The room has few personal items, having only a photo of Kairi and his brother to indicate that it is his room. The lack of personal items aligns with Kairi not feeling that he has a home and shows how the Lupins must be ready to flee at any time.

Dining Area

Located on the main floor, this is the area seen most frequently. The Lupins serve their customers here and discuss their plans as Lupinrangers after closing. When open, Umika is in this area most, as Touma spends most of his time in the kitchen and Kairi sneaks out whenever he can.

The dining area is also where the Patrangers frequently interact with the Lupins unknowingly. It is due to the growing relations with the Patrangers at the bistro, and even expanding outside, that the Lupins struggle throughout the series and most memorably in the final arc. An important thing to note is that Umika and Touma are shown to think of the bistro as their home, while Kairi does not. In the end, Umika seems to have the strongest attachment to the bistro and the memories made there.

#kaitou sentai lupinranger vs keisatsu sentai patranger #lupinranger vs patranger #lupat #super sentai #tokuedit #please do not repost #umbrella.edits #umbrella.posts #umbrella.gifs #gif.requestprompts #all text is under the cut in case it's hard to read :) #long post// #bistrot is the french spelling of bistro so i used bistrot in the name but bistro as in the type of place #i really wanted to do some basic analysis/explanations of how each room works in the story #i tried to find fonts close to the sign but this was the best i could do so i hope it looks okay #can't really say anything definitive about kairi's room showing him not having it be his home bc we never see touma or umika's rooms #i do wish we had seen them bc i feel like umika would have a few more things but for touma i could see him having little just bc it's touma #but kairi's room literally looks like a blank slate and i think that says a lot #especially since it's so open and feels so lonely

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

45 for KeiiKai

He was a Cop, He was a Thief, Can I make it any more Obvious?

It’s not a big deal that you like Kairi, or if it wouldn’t be, if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re always running after those damn thieves. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for taking cute waiters on dates, not when you’re on call for a Gangler attack.

It’s an unfortunate situation, you vaguely think, but you’d rather have all of Japan be safe over worrying about your love life. Kairi will still be there when it’s all over, anyway, as long as you keep him safe.

What’s more worrying, anyway, is that you’re starting to. Well you’re not falling for LupinRed, that’s just IDIOTIC. But he’s showing up in your dreams, the kind you thought you had grown out of now that you’re no longer sixteen (and you never had many of those in the first place). You’re...irritated by his recklessness, and his tendency to put himself in danger just to get the Lupin Collection.

That’s all it is, irritation. It is certainly not worry.

Either way, it’s very confusing having feelings of various sorts for two different people. How do people deal with this? You want to kiss Kairi, you can admit that much to yourself (but not to others), but what your subconscious wants to do with LupinRed is something you’re taking to the grave.

You need to stop thinking about it, you’re aware. Your temper is short enough as it is, and overthinking makes it even shorter.

Well, the Patrangers need food, and Jurer has delicious lunches, so you might as well go there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whomst the fuck allowed feelings? You think as Keiichiro walks into Jurer, telling your heart not to skip a beat.

He’s not even your type, you remind yourself as you smile at the Patrangers, Sakuya going to bug Umika, Tsukasa looking resigned.

He’s actively stopping you from collecting the Lupin Pieces you need as a Patranger, even if he’s blushing as you flirt with him here, as Kairi. Touma certainly remembers this fact, considering the glare he’s giving you, but. Like. You know. You can’t stop who you fall in love with. It’d be nice if you COULD, actually?!

(You wouldn’t have guessed falling in love with a cop whatsoever. Aniki is going to piss himself laughing when you rescue him and you tell him about the idiotic crush you acquired while he was gone.)

God, this shit sucks. You just want to grab Keiichiro by his stupid uniform, drag him to an alley and kiss him, but there’s a Gangler call, which means once the Patrangers are gone, you have to go suit up as well. It’s second nature by now, but it shouldn’t have to be this way. Your brother should be here, telling you to go for it about your crush. You shouldn’t have to aggravate the guy you’re falling for just so that Umika and Touma can get the Lupin Piece, because he’s on the side of keeping people safe and you’re on the side of “get my brother back, no matter what.”

Oh well. It is what it is, even if it sucks major ass.

[valkyritchi]

Touma Pet Information Collection

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I can't got a Touma Pet (yet, I have ordered one!) but I've recently been really interested in the "knock-off" Tamagotchi style virtual pets. I think it's a bit unfair to call them "knock-offs" because from what I can see, they're good in their own right.

TOUMA PET V1

Appears to be the first release of the infamous Touma Pet. This is the model I've seen a few do video reviews on. I've only come across the shells above, but do let me know if there are other shell options I've missed. Some buying options have a watch attachment.

USB rechargeable and known for having demonic sound effects. I would like to pick one of these up.

I'll edit this and write more about it later if I get one of my own, as I'd like to go more in depth with the information for other people seeking it.

TOUMA PET V2

The second release of the Touma Pet. This is the one I've ordered for myself, and will update when I've had a chance to play with it.

Appears to only be the 3 shell colours shown above. Uses 3 x AAA batteries. Has a noticeably bigger screen than V1.

TOUMA PET V3

The latest Touma Pet release. Not much information out there on this one, but apparently it has a camera function. I will also try to get my hands on one of these.

#touma pet #toumapet #tamagotchi #virtual pets #virtual pet #virtualpet #digital pets #digipets #vpets

[betouma]

oily.

all things considered, getting a scholarship and studying overseas from his home country is a sort of privilege not many people receive. so in that regard, touma is grateful—but he can't lie and say he isn't homesick. the most obvious thing is the fact that he misses his younger brother back home ( on top of being worried over how he's doing too, but if he ponders over that for too long there would be no end to it ).

obviously he can't expect korea to be like japan, that would be insensitive of him and downright delusional. there are days where he misses his 'old' life though, and in those days he finds himself scurrying into @bekaito's apartment in a sort of hurry. they've known each other for a while—years, to be more specific—their first meeting being in one of touma's solo adventures to akihabara. it's funny that he's reuniting with the other boy in korea too, but he's not complaining. the more the merrier.

the reason why touma ends up frequenting kaito's apartment is because of the many local japanese snacks stashed in kaito's humble abode, followed by kaito's collection of manga that touma hasn't even finished surveying. it's a cozy place too, and kaito makes good company. the only problem here being kaito's roommate, who seems to be a terrible person to live with. hey, maybe they're okay as an individual—but touma would not want to share the same space with them.

when touma arrives it looks like he just barely missed said roommate, judging from the way kaito looks displeased. "uh oh, you look unhappy," touma points out. he looks behind kaito, slight curious as to what happened this time. "don't tell me your roommate did something again?" even after all this time, the name of kaito's roommate still slipped past his mind.

"did they get their grubby hands on one of your manga again?" he asks, a bit more specific in his line of questioning now.

#( kaito / oily ) #( threads. ) #bekaito #/ hehe here u go <3

[pocket-luv101]

Summary: Kuro discovers a checklist Mahiru made as a child of everything he wants in a husband. He fears he doesn’t fit his checklist. (KuroMahi)

“Wait, Uncle Toru. You’ll hurt your back if you carry heavy boxes like that. Kuro, can you get the box on the shelf for us.” Mahiru’s hand was occupied with a large bag and he needed to gestured to the shelf with a nod. After C3’s headquarters was destroyed, the staff did their best to recover their personal items from the rubble. They organized everything they could find into boxes that C3 members could claim. Mahiru didn’t fully understand the magic Iori used to organize everything but he offered to help.

The night shift was about to end and they were the only three in the storage room. To Mahiru’s confusion, his uncle insisted that they take Touma’s box back to their home. Mahiru was quick to become friends with people yet he disliked Touma since they met. He couldn’t agree with Touma’s beliefs nor his actions. On the other hand, Touma was important to Toru and Tsurugi. Mahiru knew the pain of losing someone so he kept his thoughts to himself.

“These boxes are heavy. Did Iori fill Touma’s boxes with bricks to mess with us or something? My little cat arms can’t carry much more. You even made me carry all the difficult ones because you’re too short.” Kuro pretended to whine as he climbed down the chair with the box. Mahiru rolled his eyes at him when he saw the small smirk on Kuro’s lips. “You’re always volunteering me for work. At least we’re not facing the end of the world this time.”

“You’re exaggerating, Kuro.” He pouted. Throughout their banter, they both knew that the other was merely joking and there was no true anger in his words. Mahiru playfully nudged his shoulder against Kuro’s once he reached the ground. “I’m cooking ramen tonight. It’s going to take time with my arm in a cast but I’m still confident in my cooking skills.”

“If I were you, I would ask everyone to pamper me until my arm is fully healed. You should do that.” Kuro said even though he doubted that Mahiru would. As much as he admired Mahiru’s kindness, he wished that he would take care of himself more. “Your uncle can actually have dinner with us. We can help cook and then relax after dinner.”

“Who am I to refuse your help if you’re offering? Thank you, Kuro.” Mahiru wanted to hug him but it was impossible with his broken arm. Lately, he had been offering to help around the house more. While he didn’t tell him directly, he knew that Kuro wanted to give him more time with his uncle and he was mindful of his injury. His thoughtfulness touched his heart. “We’re almost finished here. I’ll take out the trash and tell Iori that we’re leaving. Can you help my uncle carry Touma’s boxes to the car?”

“I can’t say no and you know that too.” Kuro shrugged. He carried the box to where Toru was sitting at the table but he kept Mahiru in the corner of his eyes. He told himself that he watched him because of their distance limitation yet the truth was he couldn’t take his eyes off him. Mahiru had a unique warmth and beauty that drew people to him.

Kuro felt someone watching him and he realized that it was Toru. He quickly turned away from Mahiru and returned to piling the boxes on the table. Since his uncle adopted Mahiru as a child, they were close as if he were his son. He didn’t want to give Toru a bad impression of him. “Should we take these to the car first or wait for Mahiru to come back?”

“You don’t have to be so stiff, Kuro. Mahiru told me about you already. He didn’t mention that you were a vampire though.” Toru said.

“I hope he didn’t say anything too bad about me.” Kuro wanted to hide how flustered he was but his own voice betrayed him. He placed the box haphazardly on the table and it tipped over the ledge. The box burst open and books spilled onto the ground. He cursed his own carelessness and then he knelt down to collect the books. Among the books, a single piece of paper caught his attention.

My checklist for the perfect boyfriend. He must be able to cook. He will take us out to the park and movies. Decorate the house with roses because they make you smile. He’ll be smart too! Kuro skimmed the rest of the list and his curiosity grew with each point. The items they recovered from Touma’s office were mostly research related to Servamps.

“This is Mahiru’s checklist.” Toru whispered with a mixture of shock and nostalgia. The words left him before he could stop himself and he immediately bit his tongue. “His mother joked about making a list of everything he wanted in a boyfriend and Mahiru took it seriously. Someone must’ve placed it in Touma’s box by mistake. Our offices were next to each other.”

Toru folded the note and then tucked it into his pocket. From his strained expression, Kuro knew that there must’ve been something more within the checklist Mahiru wrote with his mother. Why would either Touma or Toru have it? He thought of everything Mahiru listed of what he wanted in a boyfriend. He didn’t fit any of the things Kuro wanted.

“My shower is done so you can have your turn, Kuro.” Mahiru called into the living room as he walked inside. His brows drew together when he found that the room was empty. Usually, he could always trust Kuro to be playing a videogame on the couch and waiting for him. He would’ve told him if he was going to leave the apartment.

Before his concern could grow any further, he heard the balcony door slide open. Kuro strolled through the small gap in his cat form and he held a rose in his tail. For the past week, Mahiru would find a single rose in a vase. He assumed that he was the one who bought the rose since they started to appear once he returned home. He was surprised to learn that it was Kuro.

Kuro would do chores without asking and offered to learn how to cook as well. While he was grateful for his help, the sudden change in his behaviour concerned him. Mahiru liked cooking for others but Kuro might’ve become bored of his recipes if he wanted to make dinner instead. The rose Kuro picked also gave him more questions. Between the cooking and the rose, Mahiru wondered whether it was because Kuro liked someone. A hint of jealousy entered his heart.

He entered the living room as Kuro finished slipping the rose into the vase. The sound of the door creaking drew his attention and he turned towards him. He jumped slightly when he saw Mahiru in the doorway. Kuro accidentally bumped his hand against the vase and it started to tip off the table. They both rushed to catch the vase before it could break.

In their panic, they crashed into each other. Mahiru managed to catch the vase but he almost dropped it again when he felt Kuro wrap his arm around his waist. He only meant to keep him from tripping over the table leg and he didn’t expect Mahiru to lean against him. They both blushed at the position they found themselves in.

“Sorry, Kuro.” Mahiru said even though he didn’t know what he was apologizing for. They were close friends and neither of them were uncomfortable with the other. A part of him knew that he was apologizing with the fear that his budding feelings would affect their friendship. He had grown up alone and he didn’t want to risk losing Kuro. He placed the vase on the table and then he lifted the rose, “This is beautiful. Did you buy it from the florist across the street?”

“There’s a wild rose bush in the forest nearby. I don’t think the squirrels would miss a rose.” He told him. In answer, Mahiru only hummed thoughtfully. Kuro could hear the questions that he didn’t voice and his brown eyes appeared hesitant. Mahiru never pushed him with questions and he usually waited for him to tell him when he felt ready. The loneliness and yearning in his brown eyes compelled him to answer though. “You said you would like the house to be decorated with flowers.”

“What?” Mahiru’s brows drew together in confusion. He searched his memory for a time when he told him that he wanted to place roses around their apartment. However, he drew a blank. “I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

“Your uncle found a checklist for your perfect boyfriend. You want someone smart, who can cook, and gives you flowers. It was in Touma’s notebook. I thought your uncle would’ve given it back to you.” He explained but that only made Mahiru more confused. He bit his lip as bittersweet memories of his childhood returned to him.

Mahiru laughed and said: “That wasn’t my checklist for a perfect boyfriend, Kuro. I wrote it for my mother. She raised me by herself but there was a day she asked if I wanted a dad. Even though I was only four years old, I knew that my family was different from others. That probably sounds ungrateful because she did her best to give me everything a boy could want. I love her… I loved her.”

It was painful to correct himself now that she was dead and he needed to refer to her in the past tense. Kuro brushed his bangs from his eyes and then he rubbed his temple to ease the tension Mahiru felt. His shoulders relaxed and Mahiru turned to him with a weak smile. “That checklist was for her. I chose someone who could cook so she’ll have a break. She loved flowers. Though, I said he should be smart so he could help me with my homework.”

Mahiru twirled the flower between his fingertips and he watched the petals blur together into a sharp shade of red. The colour reminded him of Kuro’s eyes. Kuro hadn’t let go of him so he leaned into him more than he usually would. They were pressed against each other and he could feel his heartbeat through his black shirt. He held his breath and waited for Kuro to pull away. After a moment, Kuro rested his head on the top of his head.

“Toru worked at C3 and your mother might’ve as well. I guess she bought the checklist you made there by mistake or something. Though, I have no idea how Touma ended up with your checklist. Maybe she showed it to him?” Kuro mused and Mahiru nodded in agreement. He couldn’t picture his mother interacting with Touma even if he was once friends with his uncle.

Kuro traced his fingers along Mahiru’s hand holding the rose. He spoke the question on his mind without thinking: “What is your perfect boyfriend then? You’ll probably want someone simple.”

His own words squeezed at his heart because a vampire was the furthest thing from simple. His fingers stilled and, this time, it was Mahiru who moved his hand to hold his. He threaded their fingers together slowly. “I want someone I can lean on. I’ve always been afraid to be a burden to others but my boyfriend would be someone I don’t have to worry about that with. He won’t leave me because I’m an inconvenience.”

The words he heard at his mother’s funeral still weighed heavily on him. Yet, they all disappeared when Kuro gently squeezed him in his arms. He closed his eyes and he thought he felt Kuro’s warm lips on his hair. Mahiru sighed contently and continued: “If I’m overwhelmed, he’ll be there for me. We can relax on the couch, talking about our day or nothing at all. Every meal will be special with him. He’ll get along with my uncle. Someone like—”

Mahiru wasn’t able to finish when the front door flew open and his uncle strolled in. His voice travelled from the foyer to where they were in the living room. “I’m back from the store! I bought ice cream for you too, Mahiru.”

“I’ll help you put away the groceries!” Mahiru called back and he stepped out of Kuro’s arm. He started to leave but he paused a few steps from him. He faced Kuro again with a small blush on his cheek. “My uncle is back so you can’t sleep in his room. Do you want to have a sleepover in my room? We can finish our conversation.”

“Okay.” His answer made Mahiru smile. He went to help his uncle but he was looking forward to spending more time with Kuro.

#servamp #kuromahi #sloth pair #servamp kuro #mahiru shirota #fanfiction

[meli-r]

Hey, I've made some minor adjustments to chapter 16 in Redemption. The first paragraph has undergone some slight changes, and I've also added a new section at the end, which explores Touma's perspective on private property in connection with Makishima and the OC... xD

"I've amassed an array of possessions throughout my life, but I've never yearned for something as intensely as that book and the ones you've shared with me. It's a peculiar longing. Regardless of my efforts or the price I'm willing to pay, it always feels as if true ownership eludes me—much like a sculpture, meticulously crafted for my sake, remains ultimately the architect's creation, or a symphony composed in my honor belongs to the composer," Touma's voice deepened, his hands resting on the counter, his gaze locked onto Yashiro. "I may lay claim to many things, yet when I'm in your presence, when I'm with both you and him, I'm like a savage discovering the very concept of private property."

*****

Here's the added content from the Specimen Case investigation:

"We suspect that Hashida, who was the first to be discovered, might not have been the initial victim. If the girl was killed before him, the killer might have chosen a more brutal method for Hashida's death to create a stronger impact, leading the girl to believe she was the next target immediately after the murder. As a result, we've been collecting information on any sightings of the girl in the period leading up to the discovery of her body. Unfortunately, we haven't found much yet, but Shion, I need you to swiftly locate image data that matches the victim girl's face. Examine all available historical image data, not just recent records," Kougami informed the team in the lab.

"Do you really want to go as far back as possible?" Karanomori asked, her fingers dancing across the holographic keyboard.

"There's a possibility the girl's murder happened before Hashida's," Kougami explained, his eyes fixed on the projection of the crime scene photos.

“That's right. The culprit is an expert in embalming corpses,” Karanomori nodded, extinguishing her cigarette in the ashtray. The soft hum of machinery filled the silence.

"Any lead, no matter how insignificant, is valuable to us," he emphasized.

Karanomori continued typing, her holographic keyboard displaying multiple windows on the screen. After a moment, she leaned back in her seat, opening a report.

“No family register, child protection in Ogishima,” observed Masaoka, his voice low and gravelly.

"This is a photo of him when he was taken into care at the facility. His facial features are almost identical to the victim girl," Karanomori revealed, raising her head as the profile of a smiling child with brown hair, brown eyes, and a mole under his left eye was displayed on the screen.

“Well, what’s the child’s name?” Sasayama chimed in.

"Check the facility's personnel files. It's the same man who was seen around the exhaust compartment the day before the first victim was discovered," Karanomori typed on the keyboard again, and a sound echoed through the lab until a window with information opened.

"Touma... Kouzaburou?" Kougami and Sasayama asked in unison.

#psycho pass fanfiction

[geminmyeyes]

Chapter 2 - Beyond Light and Shadow (Tumblr Backup)

<- Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ->

Somewhere in the Youkai World, a palace plunged in the darkest shadow, leaking with powerful yoki energy much like a stray drop of ink darkening the once clear water. Lit only by faint azure flames, a cold, calculating youkai with a feminine form sat upon her throne of decaying bone.

“Goku Hyakki-Hime, your majesty,” Chiharu began, kneeling before the might of the frigid hearted queen he served so loyalty for saving his life. His Kenbumajin was by his side, being able to manifest without the need for him and Chiharu to switch places like they did in the Human World. “I’ve done the request of bringing back the requested youkai, however,”

“However, what?” The queen’s cold voice spoke, her voice not either curious or furious. It was devoid of tone, not even that or boredom or bemusement.

“There was a group of individuals who possessed various Youkai Watch devices that opposed my efforts, I was able to fend them off with the aid of the Genma and the Kenbumajin you have given me, even killed one of their Kenbumajin,” Chiharu began his report, trying to save face. “But they seem to have the current lord of the Youkai World on their side, meaning it’s possible for them to get intel on the location of the Sacred King’s Armory.”

“The Hellfire Judgement Lance is a big maybe given the Mikado Tribe’s connections,” Chiharu’s Kenbumajin piqued in, trying to remain as collected as possible despite the sarcasm and need to make a biting remark flowed through his veins. “But the others I greatly doubt, given how scattered a lot of them are, both in the Human and Youkai Worlds. Even then, it took me breaking the limiters on my armor to get rid of that one Kenbumajin, dunno when I’ll be ready for that kind of power again.”

“Don’t fret though, my queen,” The Kenbumajin added to his statement. “That lance wielder isn’t even the one that killed me the first go around, we should be more than fine.”

“Technically don’t we have a Scared King’s Armory in our possession?” Chiharu piqued. His queen looked dull, but something in her eyes gave something resembling worry.

“It’s grafted to something I’d rather not think about unless it’s a moment of desperation. Besides, there’s no telling where the holder of such a weapon is so we can’t even use the power of one of the Sacred King Kenbumajin against them,” Goku Hyakki-Hime gave a typical lifeless response. “The two of you can go recover for now. Chiharu, please visit me in this throne chamber when you wake up, there are necessary upgrades I must bestow upon you.”

As the two were dismissed, Goku Hyakki-Hime shifted her focus elsewhere, to a fellow Oni that had been dragged in by her loyal knights.

Shutendouji, who was gradually becoming more and more conscious, shot right back to reality when Goku Hyakki-Hime held up his chin. In her stiff motions, there was at the very least a valiant, noble attempt to try to give him a tantalizing look. Damn, she must’ve known his tendency to obey anyone who calls herself princess. Without Douketsu to tell him how much of a simpleton he was acting like, he felt himself not too keen to improve on such a weak spot. Plus he had to admit, despite her dead motions, this queen lady was really damn cute.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The events from last week were, to put bluntly and simply, a lot to process despite happening in rapid succession. Not only was this Chiharu kid on their level, but had a Kenbumajin that was insanely powerful, leaving Asura greatly weakened and Fudou Muyoou dead in Youkai Terms. At least, that's what everyone guessed, not a soul had seen the ruffian boy form he took when he wasn’t lending his electrifying power to Touma anywhere. The kids had a vague idea on where to get help, but it was cryptic and they were at the end of the day, a bunch of first year high school students.

Yes, they saved all of Human and Youkai kind from extinction when they were only in middle school, but this felt different despite seeming initially, a much less pressing threat on the surface. Taking over the world at least had a chance of reclaiming it as opposed to full on extinction, but those wanting to take it had one hell of a dangerous ace up their sleeve.

Just who was that guy, anyways? Youkai existed in legends beforehand, the portrayal of the people being a bit different to how it is in the reality of the Youkai World (Lord Enma being a particular example, he can’t even grow a beard), and it puzzled Natsume. She had spent a whole night reading upon legendary archers with possible sun affiliations. Legends of an expert archer who shot down the nine suns upon request, punished with mortality alongside his wife. Another about a child of a sun god who started one of the bloodiest wars by being offered the most beautiful woman in the world. Several words were read about a prince fearful to fight against his family, but being assured it would be okay in the end by the literal universe itself. Stories of a god of sun, light, kingship, and the arts possessing a powerful sling and being the father to an equally great, if not greater, hero. So much information, such little time. A board originally for keeping memos and the occasional cute pin was now covered in thumb tacks and string with several handwritten notes from various paper pads she had kicking around in her room.

“The sun motifs and archery could have melded together, alongside a bitter resentment from becoming mortal for simply doing as he was instructed to do…” Natsume pondered aloud, gripping the pencil between her hands. “That guy HAS to be Hou-Yi! If I turn out to be wrong then I’ll be–”

“Natsume, sweetie?” A familiar, soft voice spoke, the door creaking open without a moment’s hesitation between the gentle knock that preceded. From that string of actions and voice, she recognized her as her mother instantly.

“Y-Yes, mom?” Natsume choked out as politely as she could, trying to ease up from the sudden entrance of her mother and about to yell a swear. 

Natsume’s mother simply just looked at her board with a puzzled look but an earnest nod. “I hope you’re having fun with…whatever you’re doing right now, but remember you start school tomorrow so it’s not the best idea if you stay up too late, alright?”

Crap, she had been staying up too late going down rabbit holes of information again, hadn’t she?

“I-I will! Wow, time sure does fly sometimes!” The daughter answered back rather awkwardly, her mother closing the door gently as she left.

In a moment of awkward silence, Natsume realized she should probably go to bed soon. It was halfway past midnight already. Her brain was already fairly fried by looking up so much information and trying to piece it all together.

As she was turning off the lamp and main light in her room, the corkboard stared her down. “HOU-YI” was written boldly and confidently in the center of the board, alongside a crude scribble of what she remembered that Kenbumajin looked like. String connected points to points from different stories and legends. 

She hoped that she would be able to balance all of this alongside the turbulence of starting high school tomorrow. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A positive note for Natsume is that the day started out normally. Just take her seat, pay attention to what each teacher has to say, no sweat no problem. It was the first day after all, nothing too difficult would be given on the first day.

That would be the case if it wasn’t for the army of girls that manifested out of what felt like absolute thin air to crowd around one guy in particular. 

Whoever he was, he radiated with the distinct scent of lavender vanilla, and his skin was a divine smoky quartz free of any blemishes, glittering like the finest copper. Hair was a dark oxide red that had a few lilac hair extensions brushed in for extra effect. He was practically a modern Aprhodite, just casually going about with a posse of girls.

“It’s. It’s literally the first day!?” Natsume thought to herself, casually picking up the pace with walking to her classroom to avoid getting roped into whatever nonsense was going on over there. She took a seat, closed her eyes, and hoped whoever would plop into the desk next to her for the rest of the year would be tolerable.

 “I’m surprised that there’s a girl not instantly captivated by me,” The boy from earlier spoke, and to Natsume’s shock, was going to be right next to her for the rest of the year. Just great.

She didn’t bother to give him an introduction, making the kid’s smug face humbled slightly. This one would be a challenge, he thought.

“My name is Saito Mitsue, I kindly ask you to not forget such an important thing,” He tried to play it as smooth as he could, covering up his embarrassment and failing slightly at hiding it.

“I’m, uh, Natsume Amano,” Natsume answered bluntly within a bit of a bemused blurting out of an introduction.

Classes went by relatively normally, not even the homeroom teacher felt like they were secretly a malicious youkai this time around. Maybe this would all be normal. Aside from the aforementioned threats of a hostile conqueror of the human and Youkai worlds but that could wait until after a long drawl of classes. The last of these classes was next.

“Oh brother, Home Economics. Not my forte,” Saito bit his lip a bit in dread, Natsume looking a bit puzzled.

“Is it that hard? Mostly just learning a few different skills,” Natsume tried to reassure to the best of her ability. Saito looked off to the side a bit, his hand to the side of his face.

“Ehhh, I was never the best cook, I had to always get my brother to help me out–”

The rather fabulously eccentric boy’s train of thought came to a screeching halt when the door slid open and the one who would bear knowledge of home economics entered the room. He looked to be pretty toned and ripped. Slightly sunbaked skin could be seen through his mostly clean and professional look with a collared shirt and tie, but he had a scruffy, uneven beard, like he attempted to shave but the razor blades broke instantly on the first go around.

“Alright, let’s get this introduction brief and simple so we can get to the good stuff,” The man spoke, his voice strong yet gentle, crossing his arms to do his best to seem cool. “Name’s Mr. Kazama, and I’ll be your coach in showing you how to make the most of your home, from how to use appliances to how to cook well!”

As the last class of the day continued, Chiharu stood on the roof of the building, looking over something he was given this morning from his queen. It was a Youkai Arc, but the usually translucent white outer edge was pitch black, not a bit of light was allowed through despite its resemblance to a gemstone in terms of texture and weight. 

“This is a Dark Arc,” Her words echoed in his mind. “It gives a boost to a Youkai’s Shadowside form, but it can only be summoned in its Shadowside form and they will not really listen to you all that well. Summon them from a safe distance.”

He had asked about wanting to summon two fierce looking youkai he saw among the Dark Arcs, one of lightning and one of wind, but was ordered to refrain from summoning them due to the summoning system still being a prototype and those youkai in particular being a little more unruly. But perhaps if these Youkai Detectives prove themselves as a particular thorn in their side.

Initially, there was hesitation. A small part of Chiharu wondered if this was the right thing to do, something about the arc he was given and the ones his queen presented felt ominous in some way. 

But, an order from the queen is an order, and he had to obey to prove his gratitude towards his pointless life having been given some meaning.

In the same slot he would insert his Youseiken key into, Chiharu slotted in the arc, a shadowy energy coming out of the watch grafted to his arm as the face gave a faint glow. The words he was instructed to say flooded his mind and he held the dark arc over the watch face.

“One whose heart is sealed in darkness, let the world know your wrath!” The dark fog spread more and more until it summoned forth a youkai, where that youkai ended up or what it ended up being was unclear as the summoning coordinates seemed to be a bit off.

But what could be gathered was that this youkai had made the previously idyllically bright and sunny skies be covered in dense clouds that brought in buckets of hard hitting rain. Chaos was unleashed almost within an instant, it was quickly a record for schools to dismiss their students to let them go home early in this sudden freak storm. 

The blare of grating storm warning sirens and frazzled looking weather reporters, it was a delight for the wicked child.

In the midst of the sudden shift of weather without a single warning, among all the panic, a silver eyed university student was staying level headed, but was puzzled by the sight.

“The weather patterns for today…they didn’t line up like this at all!” Shirogane muttered to himself, pulling up a somewhat shady website on his phone, the occult reporting site Usuranura. There was no way that this was a freak accident of weather, he had forecasted that it was going to be clear skies from sunrise until sunset.

But was this all a work of something supernatural, or was he just a fraudulent meteorologist in training? Was this path even right? His mind was quite literally clouded.

Even then, the request was submitted, sitting in his university's science ward peacefully to try to inspect this bizarre phenomenon. 

To Shirogane’s surprise, there was a response to his request, and by the time he looked at it and put his phone down (the phone service on campus was a bit shoddy and slow), three spunky high school students stood before him.

“Oh hey, aren’t you that guy I ran into last week? Shirogane Inazuma was it?” Natsume asked, the aforementioned man nodding.

“Yes, it seems the rain keeps making us meet,” Shirogane commented, before getting back to the matter at hand. “As you can probably tell, there has been a sudden burst of rain despite there being no clouds as far as the eye could see earlier, and there’s no signs of it stopping either. It has the potential to become a Typhoon if it keeps up…”

“Shouldn’t you be headed home if the weather has the potential to be that bad?” Touma asked, Shirogane simply shaking his head in response.

“I’m a meteorology student, an understudy weatherman if you will, I can’t back down even when things look dire like this,” He answered, lost in thought.

“Well that settles it, this has to be the work of a Youkai, without a doubt!” Akinori concluded, Whisper looking up from his Y-Pad in a slightly shocked expression when the boy came to that conclusion.

Without further hesitation, investigation began to be underway between the trio, plus Shirogane and his knowledge of the facility. Something about this place, the Youkai causing this freak storm had to be around here somewhere…

Nearby weather radars kept monitoring, the rain being particularly intense around the facility’s building. The rain that was going over the building was less drops of rain and more of bullets battering the daylights out of the structure. 

Amidst the pour of rain there was…crying…sobbing? How strange. The four of them were the only ones in the building.

A shadowy presence could be seen down the hallway, Natsume pressed a switch on her Watch without a moment of hesitation to shine a light. 

Revealed within the cloud of shadow was a Youkai resembling a little girl, with blue skin and lilac hair that was sopping all over her crying face. Her torn umbrella dripped off waterfalls worth of water.

“I’ll try to lock the building where I can, we can’t have all that water trying to damage our equipment!” Shirogane made his intentions clear, meaning everyone would have to try to be careful within limited space confines, and a possible threat of flooding! Good thing this seemed to be a meeting room, so there was some space aside from a table in the middle of the room.

“Summoning, Shadow! Please come out my friend, Jibanyan!” Natsume didn’t hesitate in summoning the (mostly) reliable cat youkai, always there to lend a paw. That or perhaps it was merely just a habit. Regardless the feeling was summoned, but quickly reverted to his Lightside form when he was exactly what he was pitted up against.

“You expect me to square up against a kid?” Jibanyan questioned with a lot of hesitation to fight. “Look, I get it, I can punch a truck in half but I don’t beat up kids. I have a code of honor.”

The rainy youkai, having had enough of the bickering, casted forth some water to try to sweep the feline away, who just resulted in jumping onto a nearby fridge and hissed.

“You’re so…so mean and scary!” The smaller youkai sobbed, the water situation getting much worse by the minute.

“Possession, Genma! Yoshitsune! Lend me your strength!” Touma jumped in, figuring a smaller, less destructive Genma might be the key to winning this fight. In the meantime, Natsume fumbled around for another arc.

“Summoning, Shadow! Please come out my friend, Komsan!”

Within no time both the flute wielding Genma and the fierce shrine dog had made their appearances at last. Swiftly they took off into their own directions to deal with the situation at hand.

Yoshitsune was first to start things off, softly trying to approach the child.

“Is something troubling you, miss?” Yoshitsune asked politely, the child looking in the direction of the flute wielding Genma.

Her response was to smack the Genma silly, giving him a piece of her mind the whole time.

“There’s nothing wrong with me, you meanie!” She cried out, Yoshitsune backing off a bit after smacking the Youkai away with his small but handy sword. Something in her voice was a bit off however, like a child wasn’t this irrational to be calmly asked if everything was okay, right?

“It seems there is some sort of curse making this Youkai’s Shadowside much more violent and unreasonable than it typically is,” Yoshitsune gave his insight to the situation at hand.

“Alright, well it might be best to see if ol’ Komasan can get an opening on that kid and I can see if a little bit of Yojistu can get her out of her funk!” Akinori explained his plan, coordination on the fight being underway.

While waters began to rise in the small meeting room, Komasan tried to figure out how to knock over the Youkai without causing too much harm to a literal child. So using his finisher to summon a huge rock statue to crush her seemed to be an absolute last resort plan.

The dog’s thoughts were stopped by a jet of water being blasted into his direction, jumping out of the way made him run into a chair with wheels and nearly crashing into a wall had he not stopped himself at the last possible moment. Wait a second…perhaps…?

Leaping out of the chair, Komasan proceeded to kick it square in the direction of the rainy youkai, making her wobble a bit where she stood.

“Now!” Komasan barked, Akinori getting a smug look on his face.

“Alright, time to shine, take this!” The priest boy yelled, making a star formation out of magic and tossing it at the rainmaking Youkai, causing a burst of light to purify the troublesome youkai.

Finally, the rain had stopped. The sun started to break through the clouds, slowly starting to dry up the sopping wet ground.

“Is everything alright?” Shirogane asked from the other side of the locked door.

“All clear skies!” Natsume answered, all the locks in the facility being disabled and going back to normal.

All the flooding water that had resulted from the encounter had dried up and now standing was a much cheerier youkai bathed in sunny yellows and a less torn up umbrella. Her face was graced with an expression of pure, unparalleled joy.

“How did I end up here?” The sunny Youkai asked herself curiously, the teens approaching her.

“Hey there little miss, is everything alright?” Natsume inquired, the youkai just smiling in return.

“Yeah, I just got lost,” The asked youkai answered sickeningly sweetly. “By the way, my name is Hare-Onna, my shadowside there is called Ame-Onna but I often get mixed up with my mama if you aren’t super specific. Plus I like being happier and sunnier anyways!”

“Hare-Onna, do you know what happened to cause you to act out in such a way? You don’t seem like the type to do that often,” Touma added in, the girl thinking for a bit before giving a slight sigh.

“I don’t remember much, I remember seeing a mean looking boy as the last thing before my memory got really clouded.” Hare-Onna answered, trying not to seem too glum but perked right back up. “But! I think they might have put a spell on me to be really mean. Usually I stay in one place when I’m in my Shadowside form, I don’t like causing trouble.”

Mean looking boy, that’s probably Chiharu…

“So whoever this Queen of a Hundred Demons is, she must have something that causes Youkai to go berserk and violent,” Akinori thought for a moment, piecing it all together. 

“An evil queen? That sounds awful, please, let me help out in any way that I can!” Hare-Onna called to action, handing out her Arc without a moment of hesitation. “I pinky promise that I’ll listen and be nice, even when I’m upset and go into Shadowside!”

“Thank you, we’re doing our best to figure out how to stop her before things get out of hand,” Natsume smiled back, the sunny enthusiasm rubbing off on her.

Meanwhile, Shirogane thought to himself, some of the words the priest boy was saying. A Queen of a Hundred Demons? Why did that sound so…so eerily familiar?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miles and miles away, far off in France, a museum tour to a group of high schoolers was underway, taking them through a special exhibition showing off various weapons from across the world.

Swords, spears, shields, knives, bows and arrows, you name it, from all corners of the globe, they were on display. While each was a crafted thing of beauty to behold, there was one that caught the pale blue eye of one student that came abroad.

“Excuse me, could you tell me more about this really pretty archery bow you have here?” Ayame politely asked one of the curators, pointing in the direction of a bow made of pure platinum highlighted with bright cyan accents. 

“Yes, that bow was found by the curation team of this traveling exhibit, and they found it in the Yamuna River miraculously intact and without a scratch!” The curator gave a gentle smile and began to explain. “It’s a miracle such a thing of pure platinum didn’t seem to rust. Because of its ability to have been kept in pristine condition and where it was found, the curation team has decided to call it ‘Gandiva’. Shame that tomorrow we have to pack things up to go to our next stop in Japan…it’s a wonderful piece of weaponry and art.”

“Thank you, and I agree, it is quite a beautiful piece of artistry!” Ayame thanked, before starting to take mental notes, as something about the bow looked strangely familiar. 

She got out her phone to scroll through her group chat log between her and the other detectives across the continent and to the sea, further inspecting the engraving from the Youkai World she had been sent in the chat. It was a rhythmic pattern of looking at her screen and then back at the display case.

There was no denying it had a similar four gem set up with a colored diamond much like the other Youseiken she had seen. The primary color of cyan matched the depiction seen in the large engraving, even some of the distinct patterns were translated.

Making sure her hands were steady, Ayame got the best photos she could, getting a few closeups as well, making sure nothing was missed by any glares from the glass or random museum goers being in frame. Then, the photos were sent alongside a message and sticker of a cute rabbit with polka-dotted inner ears making a shocked expression.

“Hey guys, I think this might be one of the Sacred King’s Armory Youseiken you guys were talking about to me last week!?” 

“Woah! Do you know if it’s a permanent part of that exhibit or of a touring exhibit?”

“They said it’ll be on the road to Japan starting tomorrow, so it might be at a museum where you guys are all at! It’s called the Marvelous Weapons Of the Past Three Millennia exhibition!”

#yo kai watch shadowside #yokai watch shadowside #shadowside

[windfighter]

Post-travel sickness

Prompt: Stumbling

----

Touma stumbled as he stepped through the portal when they returned from a mission. Masaru watched him as he lifted a hand and put it against the wall for support.

”You okay, man?” Masaru asked.

Touma swallowed and nodded.

”Yeah”, he answered.

But his voice was tense and his body was tense. He clenched a hand and held his fist against his mouth. Masaru raised an eyebrow.

”Wanna go a round in the ring?”

Touma pushed himself away from the wall, straightened his back. He didn’t look at Masaru.

”As opposed to you, I have stuff I need to do.”

”I bet it’s all boring stuff.”

”It’s important stuff.”

”You call everything important”, Masaru teased. ”Even tying your shoe laces.”

Touma pulled a hand across his forehead and wiped it off on his shirt. Masaru crossed his arms over his chest.

”Bet you’re just too scared to take me on.”

Touma’s hands trembled bad enough that Masaru could see it. He stepped off the platform, closer to Touma. Touma let out a sigh.

”I’ll take you on later, I need to…”

Touma took another stumbling step, fell back against the wall. Masaru walked around him and looked at him. Touma’s cheeks were red, his forehead covered in a layer of sweat that plastered his hair to his face.

”You need to?” Masaru asked.

Touma frowned. Masaru shook his head, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dried the sweat off Touma’s face. Put the back of his hand against Touma’s forehead. It was hot.

”You need to rest”, Masaru said.

”I have… stuff? To do”, Touma answered.

”And that stuff is to rest”, Masaru said.

He wasn’t sure Touma would listen to him. Touma shook his head.

”I can’t. There’s… Reports need to be made, data gathered and…”

Touma trailed off. He looked confused.

”I’m fine”, he said.

”Uhu. What’s the square root of 144?”

Touma massaged his forehead and shook his head.

”I don’t have time for your games.”

”Yeah, it’s not like I know the answer either”, Masaru admitted. ”I would have trusted you whatever number you said.”

Touma blinked. Masaru grabbed Touma’s arm and put it across his shoulders.

”Come on, let’s get you laid down and resting.”

Touma didn’t pull away, but he also didn’t move. Masaru pulled gently at him.

”You’d be able to get to your stuff quicker than if you’re just stood here the whole night.”

Touma took a step. Even with Masaru supporting him walking seemed like a chore.

”How’d you even get this sick?”

Touma gestured back towards the portal-platform.

”Traveling through dimensions does that”, he answered.

”Nothing I ever noticed.”

Touma leaned heavier against Masaru and Masaru wrapped an arm around Touma’s waist. He started walking, led Touma towards the sleeping quarters they stayed in when they couldn’t go home. Touma stopped when they were almost there, pressed a hand against his mouth again. Masaru hesitated.

”You need the toilet?”

”’m fine.”

”You’re gonna be sick?”

Touma rolled his eyes and Masaru snickered. He pulled at Touma to get him walking again.

”There’s probably a trash can in the room, let’s just get you lying down.”

He opened the door, let go of Touma to turn on the lights and Touma stumbled over to the bed, fell into it. Masaru shook his head.

”Honestly thought it’d take more to convince you.”

”I’m not stupid”, Touma said.

He yawned and buried under the cover. Masaru laughed.

”You’re not”, he agreed. ”Want me to hang around?”

”You… probably have stuff to do”, Touma said. ”Don’t want to stop you.”

”Eh”, Masaru shrugged. ”It’s all boring stuff. Reports to write and data to collect. You know the deal.”

Touma laughed.

”I do.”

”Get some rest”, Masaru said and sat down by the desk. ”I’ll be here.”

#windy writes #whumpcember #digimon savers #touma h. norstein #daimon masaru #today's prompt gave me trouble #brain gave me a lot of scenes for it but none of them wanted to be written #so we took a break from frontier and wrote some tomato instead x3

[ofsavior]

assorted injuries. || @aevisong​

“You’re going to be fine. I promise.”

[ freyja to tsurugi ]

     She looks over his wounds like a mother to a child. Yet, he sees his wounds and thinks they’ll make for another scar. Another in a collection that dates back before he can even remember. What’s one more? However, he can’t bring himself to laugh it off as he normally does. Her touch feels foreign, and that sense of compassion is so unfamiliar it causes him to stir almost wincing.

     “ You don’t have to worry! Please don’t worry! ” Tsurugi’s words border on pleading, begging. “ It’s okay. I’m not important. I’m not as important as Touma-san or anyone else! That’s why it’s me who always protects them! ” He’s the expendable one after all.

#aevisong #( c. Tsurugi ) #( injury tw. )

[sr-colle]

i'd ordered some seiyuu bromides from the bushiroad online store for me and a buddy, and i felt worried about them going overseas in something flimsy, so i used this as an excuse to get some stuff from suruga-ya so i could have it consolidated into a box at tenso.

i had to really scrape my save-for-later lists to find stuff i wanted that a) would be just enough to hit suruga-ya's 1k yen free domestic shipping threshold and b) at least one of them had to be large enough that suruga-ya would use a box. i decided this item should be the 260 yen face towel of karasuma reiji, aka my first proper "embarrassing anime merch item". this was a very dangerous decision as i now covet the matching shu but he is much more expensive and much more condemning to own.

extra unfortunately, my ploy failed and suruga-ya shipped in a mailer anyway, and then tenso put it and the bushi mailer in a massive, overly tall box that made the overseas shipping cost over 40 usd because of the volumetric weight. i didn't know what it looked like until it arrived and thought that the reiji towel was simply large enough to necessitate a box that big 😭 oh well! the point was to keep the bromides safe, and they did arrive in pretty much perfect condition.

these are the ones i picked out! that masa was just too beautiful to pass up, i had to get my man arthur, and i've always had a soft spot for the handsome kousuke. both of these kousukes are such insanely cool shots to me... i would've loved to have gotten some toumas too. IF THEY'D SELL HIM :(

from suruga-ya, the aforementioned reiji towel came hilariously and unceremoniously stuffed into a plastic bag 😭😭😭

he's a little smaller in person than i imagined (size is 340x850mm, or roughly 13x33in) but he's also way softer than i expected!! it's kinda microfiber-y? i have realized i have no clue where to put this guy so he is currently in my lap like i'm an old man with a blanket. it is also 30C/86F at my desk as i write this so i'm sure he's having a great time on my legs 👍

also from suruga-ya, i got this nifty faniri keychain that i've had my eye on for a while, and the script to the chemistry voice drama. (plus reiji again in a nicely smoothened state)

faniri keychain will hang from miroir felix and dangle goofily over poor cipher byleth until i feel like fishing out a dedicated pin. i'd like to put it on my work bag; i just hope it doesn't make too many clinking noises 💦

i'm gonna have to take my board down to put up the bromides, which means it's not going to happen for a while lol. i hope i can figure something out for the warping problem soon, as a lot of things on my board have started bending again... :/ i'll probably hotfix it with additional pins until an idea comes to me.

i haven't posted about my last couple packages or my latest collection rearrangement, but that'll have to wait for when daylight hours return. until next time!! 🌸

#colle update #tenso #suruga-ya #argonavis