#the competition presenter is nice and all but when she switches to English she still pronounces the composers' names in Polish manner

[if-it-isnt-cello]

October 8th

Morning session (Stage I)

Arisa Onoda (Japan) finished Juillard, now studies with Dang Thai Son

Bach [Pleyel, 1842] Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major (DWK I)

Mozart [Pleyel, 1842] Rondo in A minor [they say she made a huge memory mistake, but was able to recover nicely]

Chopin [Graf, 1835] Polonaise in G sharp minor (WN 4): very polonaise-y, but also... dreamy? lyrical. maybe that's the word. but also strong (how can you achieve both things???)

Maria Szymanowska [Graf, 1835] Polonaise in F minor

Chopin [Pleyel, 1842] Barcarolle in F sharp major: it's a too long piece for me to know it well, but everything flowed and drew me along

Recomendation: Chopin's Polonaise

Madoka Okada (Japan, France) (can I just say: bold clothing decision?! chose a blouse with some white pannels/kinda window frames with things pattern) plays piano and violin, like Arisa Onoda

Bach [Pleyel, 1842] Prelude and Fugue in D minor (DWK II): I feel like I missed the fugue?... idk

Mozart [Pleyel, 1842] Fantasia in D minor: having in mind what was said about this piece yesterday, it definitely felt like a fantasia [radio speaker: this piano is a bit too late for a Mozart piece, kinda confused why this choice]

Chopin [Pleyel, 1830 (copy from 2017)] Barcarolle in F sharp major: (very nice)

Chopin [Graf, 1835] Polonaise in B flat minor (WN 10) [radio speaker: the trio part is opera-based, I didn't know that]

Michał Kleofas Ogiński [Graf, 1835] Polonaise in A minor ‘Farewell to the Homeland’: a bit too fast? but nevertheless, sounded good even in that tempo

Rec:

Piotr Pawlak (Poland)

Chopin [Pleyel, 1842] Barcarolle in F sharp major

Mozart [Buchholtz, 1825 (copy from 2017)] Fantasia in D minor

Chopin [Pleyel, 1830 (copy from 2023)] Polonaise in B flat major (WN 17)

Bach [Buchholtz, 1825 (copy from 2017)] Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor (DWK I)

Michał Kleofas Ogiński [Pleyel, 1830 (copy from 2023)] Polonaise in A minor ‘Farewell to the Homeland’

Rec: Chopin's Barcarolle and Ogiński's Polonaise

Intermission with PR 2: this morning was a triple-Barcarolle, each one different and placed in a different position

Arisa Onoda (in 2015 and 2021 took part of Chopin competitions). Great musical sensitivity. Unfortunately, made a huge mistake in Mozart's Rondo, but was able to recover towards the end; her Barcarolle was really good, made an impression on radio speakers. During the short interview after her recital, Onoda called this piece an "unfulfilled dream of going to Venice".

Madoka Okada studied in Paris, is now studying period playing. A bit controversial choice of the instruments (Mozart on Pleyel---maybe for easy playing, maybe a French tradition, maybe to get closer to how Bach and Mozart were played in Chopin's times?). An interesting choice to put Barcarolle in the middle of her recital [also Okada said that for this piece she chose a piano that lacks one note that is needed for this piece?! hey say though it also resonates bass notes nicely which can help in Barcarolle---also she used the dolce sfumato pedal that made the piece stand out].

Piotr Pawlak winner of 2017 Darmstadt Chopin competition, a bit of mathematician. A bold choice to begin with the Barcarolle---a real challenge. Bach was intriguing; played on a Viennese piano, una corda used in fugue, one of the most interesting during this competition.

Takahiko Sakamaki (Japan) MA thesis (Köln) on the methods of tuning of period pianos. [radio speaker: sat on a typical orchestral chair, seemed very relaxed]

Chopin [Buchholtz, 1825 (copy from 2017)] Polonaise in D minor (WN 11): lovely

Mozart [Graf, 1835] Fantasia in D minor [a short improvisation and modulation to go into Kurpiński's polonaise]

Karol Kurpiński [Graf, 1835] Polonaise in G minor

Bach [Broadwood, 1846] Prelude and Fugue in G minor (DWK II): very lively fugue, with this constant motoric motion

Chopin [Broadwood, 1846] Ballade in F minor: he got me at subito piano near the end. but then his chords, one after another, seemed too fast. a nice, if maybe a bit strong, ending. [seems there was some memory mistake?]

Rec: Bach and improv

Kamila Sacharzewska (Poland) studies with Janusz Olejniczak in Warsaw (lovely classic dress)

Bach [Buchholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor (DWK II): loved the prelude. very motoric fugue.

Mozart [Buchholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Fantasia in D minor

Chopin [Pleyel 1830 (copy from 2023)] Polonaise in A flat major (WN 3): full of grace

Michał Kleofas Ogiński [Buchholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Polonaise in A minor ‘Farewell to the Homeland’: nice, very decisive. she had quite a bit of mistakes with grace notes, maybe because of the change of instrument (I had listened to a reminder that al these pianos have different key width last night)

Chopin [Pleyel, 1842] Ballade in G minor: aaah, ballade in g <3 quite a bit of mystery, but also playfullness where it was needed (those semiquavers)

Rec: polonaises (and ballade, honestly)

Viacheslav Shelepov (Russia) studies in Hannover with Zvi Meniker

Chopin [Pleyel, 1842] Polonaise in F minor (WN 12)

Bach [Buchholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Prelude and Fugue in E minor (DWK I)

Mozart [Buhcholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Fantasia in D minor

Karol Kurpiński [Buchholtz 1825 (copy from 2017)] Polonaise in D minor

Chopin [Pleyel, 1842] Ballade in G minor ["you can't unhear it"?! wow]

Rec:

PR2 recs: Bach on late pianos sounds very good, which you can't say about Mozart on same pianos... Imagination and individuality as the main characteristics of the winners, but together with some order, with thought

Piotr Pawlak about Buchholtz: in Bach, every voice sounds different, which is great for him. He chose the piano (Pleyel) by playing first bars from the Barcarolle. Radio speakers: he was able to find the affect in that piece, which is difficult (also, he began his recital with it!) Spontaneous improvs/ornaments in Ogiński's Polonaise that sounded very natural and beautiful (in Darmstadt, he got a prize for improvisation). Nice Fantasy, contrasting recitativs (going back to CPE Bach). Treated Buchholtz, a Viennese-type piano, as an "emanation of a harpsichord".

Takahiko Sakamaki: Bach played on Broadwood, which also worked. Intriguing, all played on una corda, which made it sound completely different. This Broadwood is identical to the one used by Chopin in England. Great Ballade, fascinating. Chopin's Polonaise: a bit too nonchalant; Mozart a bit like in "Amadeus" (but with a style). Sakamaki about Broadwood: very romantic. He chose a standard chair bc the piano one was too high while he wanted to sit really low, alnd he prefers to have a backrest as it helps him relax and concentrate.

Kamila Sacharzewska: sure, calm and composed. Bach, which was difficult, played very surely. Chopin's Polonaise very nice, non banal, with good articulation. Ogiński: finally a polonaise played like a polonaise, like a dance, a bit melancholic. Used the una corda pedal wisely. Ballade: one of the most interesting, unfortunately the sound was a bit too forced, too much for the Pleyel.

Viacheslav Shelepov: a bit tiring recital, lots of mannerism, emphasy in the phrasing, too much of agogic changes. A bit histeric ballade O.o nice prelude. Probably will not get into stage two.

#chopin #chopin competition on period instruments #mine #the competition presenter is nice and all but when she switches to English she still pronounces the composers' names in Polish manner #okay I had no idea that Buchholtz was a Polish piano #made in Warsaw by Fryderyk Buchholtz #you probably noticed but sometimes in radio recs they broadcast those short interviews made shortly after the participant finishes playing

[kidskingdomgo]

Improving Parent Engagement in High School

Educators recognize the significance of parental participation in a student's life. My statistics professor in graduate school informed us that parental support is an underlying aspect that influences all research projects. That is, regardless of what we as graduate students examined for our thesis, such as links between nature experiences and achievement scores in science class, parental support is an ever-greater predictor of academic success.

It is critical to leverage family influence, and I struggled with interacting with parents in high school. Emails, phone calls, and open houses did not generate the level of parental involvement that students required during such a challenging school year.

Emails were the most convenient for me because I could send them to an entire class of parents at once, but I rarely received a response or even confirmation that the email was read. I would then make phone calls. If you're anything like me, the prospect of phoning parents due to conduct or academics made you nervous. When I did generate the nerve and make the time to call my parents, I frequently left a voicemail and almost never received a back call.

I understand. Answering a phone call at work is not always possible. In this day and age of texting, I dislike chatting on the phone. Furthermore, open houses are a time when teachers stay late into the evening so that parents can meet them, but very few parents go. I had one family participate in such event last year.

There has to be more effective ways to engage parents.

EFFECTIVER STRATEGIES

Google Voice was introduced to me by an English instructor at my school. Last year, she bemoaned how parents never answered to emails, but when she began texting them via Google Voice, the response rate skyrocketed. She had talks with parents that she would not have had otherwise; parents became more aware of missing assignments, and children began turning in work, which resulted in higher class pass rates.

There are numerous advantages for teachers. They can still keep their personal phone number private, and they can switch off Google Voice at the conclusion of the school day to recharge both their phones and themselves. Teachers simply need a Google account to set up a Google Voice phone number. Teachers and parents prefer texting to calling because it saves time and is more convenient.

Interest-based open houses: A standard open house, in my experience, is rarely well attended. However, when we provided activities targeted at a smaller population of students at the school, parents went in considerably greater numbers. My school, for example, held an AP Info Night to discuss the benefits of AP and the subjects we provided. Introduction meetings for ACT Academy, an after-school program focused on ACT exam prep, were also well attended. Smaller, more personalized open houses centered on a specific interest boost parent engagement.

Attending extracurricular activities: Many parents are quite enthusiastic about their child's extracurricular activities, such as athletics, theater, arts, or robotics. I was requested a few months back to manage the scorebook for high school basketball games. Because I have trouble saying no, I blocked out 10 evenings in my calendar for this task. I had more nice chats with parents in the span of a few games than I ever had in my classroom. We discussed anything from prior professors to present academics to issues in our neighborhood of South Knoxville, Tennessee. I felt like I was a genuine member of the community.

Of course, athletics aren't the only extracurricular activities available to students. Teachers can engage with parents while also supporting kids at school musicals, marching band competitions, choral performances, and robotics competitions, to name a few examples. The presence of a teacher at these activities conveys to both students and parents that they care about children beyond their test scores.

Some teachers, admittedly, find it quite difficult to participate in extracurricular activities. Teachers may be responsible for smaller children who need to be picked up from day care or older children who are involved in their own extracurricular activities. Some teachers work part-time in the evenings to supplement their income. Other instructors work as bus aides before and after school, which takes a lot of time and energy. Attending extracurricular activities means going above and beyond the call of duty.

To be clear, this school year is hard, and teachers are already working a lot. There is pressure to make up for missed time due to closures and virtual learning, and kids are misbehaving, failing to turn in work, and being hooked to their phones, exacerbating academic problems. Teachers should not overburden themselves by attending every extracurricular event, which would be difficult given the number of activities available after school. It's important to understand one's own limitations.

Because parents and guardians are such key stakeholders in their children's education, let us as educators find the best and most successful ways to interact with them. Teachers need all the aid they can get throughout a school year that requires so much attention for mask demands, student conduct, boosting academic success, and providing a safe space for children.

[ofnoras]

               『 candice patton. twenty-nine. cis woman. she/her. 』 oh heavens, is that NORA BARLOW from FAIR LANE i see roaming around mapleview ? minnie may’s always calling them -CIRCUMSPECT & -OBSTINATE. i happen to think they’re not that bad ! they’re a pretty cool PET STORE OWNER and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +PROTECTIVE & +AMIABLE. i hope i see them around again ! 

hello friends ! my name is elle and i’m super excited to be here !! i’ve been eyeing this rp for a while with bones of an idea and once i saw thia’s connection after my zoom class today, i began to piece the puzzle together ! there’s still more i wish to explore about nora’s backstory and personality, but for right now, this is what i’ve got !

BASICS.

full name: nora june barlow.

birth date: april 10th.

zodiac: taurus.

age: twenty nine.

gender: cis woman.

pronouns: she/her.

sexual/romantic orientation: heterosexual.

current residence: fair lane, mapleview, north carolina.

living conditions: with boyfriend, adrien ryerson.

occupation: owner of pet store, happy tails.

languages spoken: english.

BACKGROUND.

birth place: york, pennsylvania.

education level: college graduate with a bachelors in business administration.

father: franklin barlow.

mother: marian barlow, deceased.

siblings: older brother and younger sister.

birth order: middle child.

children: one on the way !

relationship status: engaged to adrien ryerson.

pets: three year old tortoiseshell cat named lady.

PHYSICAL.

faceclaim: candice patton.

eye color: brown.

hair color: brunette.

glasses/contacts?: wears reading glasses.

dominant hand: left.

height: 5′6″

build: slim.

tattoos: none.

piercings: both ears pierced ( previous belly button ring that closed up ).

allergies: peanuts.

EXTRA.

+ traits: protective, amiable, optimistic ( tries to be, at least ).

- traits: circumspect, obstinate, impatient.

hobbies: knitting, reading, driving aimlessly around town with the radio blasting.

likes: cold weather, animals, pastel colors, making friends.

dislikes: being alone, talking too much about herself, a messy room.

alignment: neutral good.

BIOGRAPHY.

was born on april 10th, 1991 to franklin and marian barlow, their second child and first daughter. grew up in york, pennsylvania until she was eleven and her parents decided to move to mapleview due to being closer to other relatives. though she now lives on fair lane, she used to live on sycamore way up until she moved out. her father was a dentist and her mother a teacher, two paths she never wanted to follow, despite their encouragement. as a family, they were never incredibly close -- her father had quite the temper and three years after moving to mapleview, her mother had an affair. it was the talk of the town and nora, nor her siblings, could escape the gossip. her parents soon divorced and life was never the same after that.

more than anything, nora and her siblings fought. the divorce split them onto sides and their clashing personalities never had peace between them for too long. her brother was too much like her father and her sister never had a nice thing to say. still, when it came to others, nora protected them fiercely and when push came to shove, she always had their back, even if the feeling wasn’t mutual.

as a child, in an environment that made it seem like there was a side to choose, nora chose her father. it was good that she had, as she and her siblings spent their weekdays with him in his two bedroom apartment. the constant bickering and fighting grew worse as they got older, many arguments turning physical or ending up with something broken. nora always tried to be the mediator, but nothing could ever calm anyone down once they’d been riled up. instead, she filled her high school years with clubs and as many friends as she could, keeping herself out of the apartment, always busy.

nora was sixteen when her mother passed away. tragic car accident. the two hadn’t spoken in nearly a year and at first, nora was numb. she was grateful for it, especially when the guilt came next and it never left. her siblings hated how emotionless she was with their mother’s passing, at the funeral, in the days after. it wasn’t that she hadn’t cared, but that everything hit her a week later, once she was alone in her bedroom. there are many reasons nora hates being alone with her thoughts, but her mother’s death was the start of that. it’s also one of the contributors to why she prefers to keep busy.

she distanced herself from her siblings and her father, never quite being as open with them as she once was. nora took a part time job at her dad’s office, working there for a few years until she graduated. with the inheritance from her mother and scholarships, nora was able to leave mapleview for college. she wanted a fresh start and in her mind, she never planned to return to mapleview. nora went to college out west and majored in business administration with the hopes of starting her own business in... whatever made her happy. meanwhile her father’s business closed and he was forced to retire.

after graduating, she planned to follow where business opportunities would take her. all that crumbled when she got a phone call that her father was in the hospital. he’d had a heart attack and nora was terrified that if she lost her dad, the overwhelming guilt she’d felt with her mother would come back. out of her own selfish reasons, she returned to mapleview. her father recovered with surgery, but was never quite the same. his health was declining and doctors were able to determine he had early onset alzheimer's. nora made it her responsibility to come home and take care of her dad, getting a job at the local pet shop while she did. the money she’d been saving up went to a day nurse for her father. he was family, after all.

years passed. when she was twenty four, she met adrien. his charming personality was evident from their first conversation and while it didn’t take much for nora to be smitten with him, she definitely made him work for it. soon after, they started dating, and they’ve been together ever since. with adrien’s job and the both of them being focused on their careers, a future was something far off in the distance. marriage, kids... they’d briefly spoken about it, but left the conversation for down the road. it was never a question that she wanted to be with adrien, but the idea of a family scared her. she wasn’t sure if she’d be a good mom and the unknown was something she didn’t know she could come to terms with. that was, until she got really sick one morning and decided to take a pregnancy test. the positive terrified her at first, knowing they had wanted to wait and that there was no way they were ready... but seeing adrien’s response and thinking about the future definitely got her excited. now her pinterest is full of “nursery ideas” and “first time mom tips”.

it was a year after she met adrien that she became the owner of her own pet store. the place was local, owned by an elderly woman that treated nora like the loving mother she’d always wanted. they both bonded over the years and when she decided she’d be retiring to florida with her husband, she wanted nora to have the business. even as assistant manager, nora couldn’t possibly accept... but then the deed was being put in her name and she jumped at the opportunity. a local place that sells pet supplies and occasionally takes in surrendered pets to care for/find loving homes for.

and that all brings us up to present time ! nora has been pregnant nearly a month at this point, owns and works in her own pet store ( which will have a name soon enough ), and just really loves being back in mapleview. she missed it, she really did. she’s excited for this new path and what the future will bring her for the first time in... well, for the first time ever, really. 

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS.

old family friends/neighbors from when she lived on sycamore way.

cousins/relatives that her family originally moved to town for.

perhaps bad tension with the family of the man her mother had an affair with?

exes/childhood friends that drifted apart/competition rivals in school.

someone who has been best friends with nora since she first moved to mapleview.

moms who nora has been bothering about future mom stuff/pregnancy stuff.

frequent customers of her store/people who had adopted animals that keep nora updated ( please, she always Begs for this when people adopt out ).

i’m honestly down for anything !!

if u read all of that ... phew ... idk why u did but THANK U ! i know it’s long ... i’m sorry ... but if you like this, i’ll message you to plot ! i do have discord so if you’d prefer that, let me know, i just don’t have it up right now so i’ll need to know if you wanna switch to that !

#mapleviewintro #abuse tw #death tw #pinned post !

[rksakura]

FINALE, EPISODE 7 🔊: fiesta (solo) + nillili mambo ( lyrics + lines ) | group performance with 💖 sakura, woojin, daniel & zuho! coaches @rkxjinki, @junerk, @rkjinwook! mentions: @rkxkikwang, @yuzurk, @rkxminhee, @rkpwj, @danielxrk, @rkchwev, @rkmason, @rkzxh, @hyojinrk, @rkyuri​, @rkchoutzuyu trigger warnings: mild levels of anxiety.

this is the final performance.

one more episode that'll determine everything and where she'll go, whether she gets signed or not. 

faces being eliminated could be a high possibility as well. the thought of anyone of her teammates being eliminated makes her feel uneasy. while sakura is a complete ray of sunshine with a heart of gold, she still sticks to the honest side. this is a competition, she's against her friends who she doesn't want to lose either. while the tensions are at its highest stake, she has to see the positive outcome in this. even til' now she tenses at times, she does a wonderful job hiding it away from the camera which is a good advantage to her. that's because she's learned to smile through hard times but the adrenaline on the stage also excites her, the experience that made her develop into a better performer came from this opportunity.

she couldn't be any more grateful than to have a chance to broaden her connections, meeting the coaches wasn't intimidating at all. just like before, sakura makes bento boxes for her team and the coaches before the day ends and preps the meals accordingly to day-by-day. she was one who prefers homemade meals over going out despite her being a huge foodie. nothing beats the feeling of home sweet home. spending time with the team, she's gotten to know them more. it helps to know what they like with their dishes, sakura does her best to adjust to as they requested. hojung, jinki, and jinwook are coaches that she can ask feedback from comfortably without hesitating.

moments in the training room aren't simply singing, dancing, or rapping but conveying creativity and sharing ideas before all of them picked a final song. there are underlying doubts that reside in her when she hears that the tempo is following with hip-hop brands, she can't help it but reflects on her social image, a girl filled with aegyo and unique tone to rapping but she still feels it doesn't suit her. she's mentioned it to zuho, sitting down at the highest peak of a building to look over the dark skies. she's been wanting to receive feedback from the coaches, so she asks and they tell her that she needs to believe in herself more. sakura couldn't agree anymore. she's the type of person to motivate herself but can't do it all alone, encouragement from peers gives her the push that she needs to carry on.

the writing sessions with daniel are fun. at first, the impressions with sakura that she rubs off as a gentle, warm-hearted and that she might not be into all that with rapping, but she's been interested in song-writing for a while. this stems from her interest in poetry, writing haikus were her favourite past-time as a child. there's nothing but empowerment she feels from rapping, especially when it derives from her own resources. she's intrigued by his creativity levels, they're out of this world and she's sure to inform her teammate about his talents.

somewhere in the day, she's chatting with yuzu and notices that she's able to attend the live show with minhee. when she hears the good news, sakura instantly smiles and promises she'll work harder for the both of them. plus, she couldn't let the rest of her team down if she doesn't practise her facial expressions. the uneasy remnants remain trapped but she overrides that by giving practise her all. she needs to work on how she emphasizes certain words in korean, taking the time to memorise the lyrics as it's majority hangul than english. pronunciation is keycore, she couldn't make an embarrassment out of herself knowing that netizens out there could be out for her life. sakura has to be prepared for anything. she works hard in what she believes in, music is basically the air she breathes for.

most of all, she doesn't leave out to be there for her beloved ones. including mason and it honestly broke her heart when she heard the results from the last episode, but she doesn't mention it as she doesn't want to upset anyone. sakura can only wish him the best of luck and she does every time, rooting for mason and supporting his decisions. she even lets him know that she's afraid of not making it through when she's been this far and she's always listening to his stories within the industry. she takes a good time to hang out with her childhood friend and it breaks the concerns overwhelming her temporarily. she's overthinking but being side-by-side with her friends relieve any trepidation.

sometimes, she wants to ask yuri if she can stay over and have a sleepover with yuzu before all of this mga stuff happened? she wonders, will she lose everything if she did win and sign the contract? her friends are everything to her. sakura doesn't want to forget anyone or have herself be forgotten. she hasn't been able to see kikwang and tzuyu and it does run in her mind, bothering her to the point she'd write handwritten letters for them she'd give later on.

she doesn't ever forget her roots. ever.

it feels lonely without hyojin when he’s not around, sakura loves his company over. she wants to keep going on but she can’t help but think to send a text through, wondering if her good friend was alright after seeing what recently happened in the last episode. sakura doesn’t do so well dealing with loss. not that she’s a sore loser but when the ones she cares for experience such a thing.

the big day comes shortly. she wakes up from her bed with enough sleep to get on with her day, packing all the lunches she's made for her team the night before. there's also her hygienic duties, brush her teeth and fix her hair as well as eat her breakfast before she sets out to her designated destination. once she gets there, sakura enters the mnet building, greeting everyone familiar to her. waving her hands all around the place and wishing them the best, the energy pill is her, that roots for everyone! she feels that's the best energy she can give out. she's got everything packed carefully in her backpack, switching over to the outfit and her makeup's already done. the theme of the performance is interesting, different than what she usually does.

jinwook's birthday comes along, she brings mini mochi ice creams for everyone, including a pack for jinwook himself! celebrating birthdays gets sakura cheery, it makes her genuinely happy as it's someone else's important day and a nice day to celebrate with everyone. this week has been quite eventful with everything lining up with her school and volunteer work schedule to, but sakura feels that it's an escape, that's why going out and celebrating holidays make a great hangout. she sings happy birthday to jinwook, both in japanese and korean.

the choreography isn't hard to learn, but the focus on this episode seems like it was revolving around dancing than anything else but that's her weakest, that doesn't stop sakura from working around her barriers. she doesn't use that as an excuse to let laziness guide her. in fact, she uses it as willpower to take the challenge. she sees this as something she wants to overcome, something to be better at so that way in the future, she's overall a consistent performer. the sphere practise room is peaceful from what she remembers. the concept that she's been given is a trc-based but the doubts aren't bad anymore, sakura has all she needs. the right environment, the swagger of her own even if it doesn't suit the rappers from the original song. it's better to tweak it up to her own style rather than copy someone else anyway.

without vernon, it doesn't feel right either. a missing piece of the puzzle; another number down, a presence that her team is missing. she admired him for the tips she's learned from him in the rapping department, specifically. it's rare for sakura to meet rappers and when she does, she's sure to exchange information to keep in contact. she's met a couple more faces being in seoul. traveling around the world from youth, sakura's lost touch with a lot of friends that she was close to. she made sure that wouldn't happen as often present day. 

at least, she can rely on daniel with performance criticism and critiques.

he’s right. the song is enjoyable as long as she doesn’t break her concentration. she asks zuho again and again, what defines sakura’s swagger? she’d receive the same words to be herself and not force it. she did have an individuality, an enigma to her soul when it comes to being up on the stage. she’s going to show that off.

when she’s sitting next to her team on her assigned seat, it’s not much longer until her full name is called up. miyawaki sakura. she’s assigned to take a section of the mash-up, matching her own epitome is the song solo by jennie from blackpink. she’s small bits here and there researching trc’s trends a couple nights ago, keeping notes up in her bulletin board as she read over them during rehearsals. the song’s quite powerful, so much that it eventually grew on her. she found herself playing it on repeat during her commute times. she presents a polite bow to the contestants and the judges that will be evaluating them.

before the song begins, she’s wearing a pair of sunglasses and posing for the camera as the lighting gradually increases, lenses lock on the team. she throws them off as the music starts playing. woojin starts with the opening lines and sakura dances along to her formation, movements sharp as she’s highlighting on her dancing. she’s practised so many times that she’s memorised the moves efficiently. daniel, zuho, and woojin sing through their lines and when sakura reaches her’s, she doesn’t find herself breathy thanks to the techniques she’s learned. jinki also helped in that aspect too, taking deep breaths before any performance is the way to go. it keeps her breath control in check as well as her anxiety levels.

when her lines come up, she holds the microphone firmly in her hand and starts singing. it’s not anything too hard, she holds a nice melody with her sweet tone. it’s easy on the ears but not aggressive that it seems like she’s overshadowing her teammates. sakura didn’t want that at all. she wants everything to be a fair win.

bichi naneun solo bichi naneun solo

i’m going solo lo lo lo lo lo i’m going solo lo lo lo lo lo

she rolls her body to the melody, keeps up with the same energy with her lines and dancing to make sure she doesn’t look subpar. she shares this segment with daniel. she has a big smile on her face as she looks over her teammate and winks, posing up two peace signs as she’s delivering a wave of charisma with her profound valor.

geot gachi ttaekkaji geunyang sarado dwae geu malhaneun neon sujeosujeo georyeo nan saraminde so what~ sing it loud like

bichi naneun solo

invariably, her australian accent shows with any of the english lyrics. her signature trademark is her multilingual abilities. she transitions it well back to korean, then switching to english. by this, she can use a unique ‘switch’ with her rapping or singing flow. her voice is a tool, a part of her she can control than let any of the fears control her. it’s an instrument like what her choir teacher told her back in high school during her cheerleader days.

bichi naneun solo i’m going solo lo lo lo lo lo i’m going solo lo lo lo lo lo

the mash-up seems like a fast-tempo song, she’s somewhat surprised that she’s able to hold off on her own because if the current her was the same sakura from a year ago, she wouldn’t even have the ounce of confidence to be on this stage without trembling or shaking. anxiety doesn’t go away just like that, she has her moments too but she didn’t work hard for all of this to go to waste.

she’s jumping on the stage with a bright smile on her face as she winks at the camera again! she picks herself up to hit the dance moves duly, providing an excerpt of her rap.

give me more give me more geonjohan sok keun bul jipin neo gudeojin du bare tto hoheuphae anim michilgeol ganjeolhi gajgo sipeo neon allokdallok son japgo nun gamgo ipmajchwo neomgyeo baton

the cute charm remains (it’s never going away, isn’t that what everyone knows her for?) but sakura also wants to indicate her chic colours, she’s not reliant on her ‘soothing sound’ at the moment but wants to leave an unremarkable impression to the judges so that her name’s written somewhere out there and she’s not just another pretty face on the screen that seems talentless. that’d be the last she’d want to go by. to get to the top, she must survive her way to the bottom and fight her way to become a rising phoenix.

give me more

she’s learned how to harmonise with her team too! sakura didn’t know too much about in-depth singing features but it’s essential if she wants to sound good and hold a note. she doesn’t sound off-key and not too horrible but still isn’t at the peak where she can belt out high notes like the others do. jinwook and jinki have strong pipes which is why she asked for some pointers on her vocal control and the consistency of it. her vocals are soft, thin and sometimes airy but she isn’t doing adlibs so sakura holds a strong tune.

yongseohaejulge

the boys possess loads of charisma as well which compliment the entire performance, she can really rely on her team without a doubt to win this. it doesn’t even have to be first place but sakura’s one to appreciate the beauty regardless of the situation.

sunglasses are on at the end, she’s forming a v-shape with her fingers underneath her chin as she poses.

she’s given a lot of her energy but it doesn’t stop there. the song closes but another door opens. this was the most complicated piece she’d spend a good time on, endless nights and days of playing owl so that she didn’t stutter with her words. but like the last song, the sound of it was also energetic! she found a way to work around it.

pirates, argh matey and all. wooden boats and parrots as props in the setting. she thinks it’s an amusing concept, not one that seems typical of her but once she takes off the sunglasses, an eyepatch is revealed and she throws the sunglasses to the audience if someone wanted to catch it. daniel opens up with his rap and it’s the part where he wrote his own lyrics. she’d proud of his achievement and his ability and it expresses in her eyes whilst performing in the stage.

she jams to the melody of zuho’s swagger voice, he’s popping off as well and sakura’s happy for her best friend. it feels like there was nothing to be stressed over the entire time, not when she has zuho by her side to support her through tough times. she cherishes his company, doting on him a lot of the time. sakura keeps up with the movement of the dance, making sure to keep a friendly smile on her face!

aight~! jakjeonghago nawara  sarammada jeongsin nagan holiday igot bunwigin yeoreumbada  geollijeok georineun witdori taruihae eosuseonhage beongjjiji mara yangchigisonyeon gachi  sabangeul jeonjeonhamyeo Blah Blah donghaedo naega daibinghamyeon adamhan puljang joeda baksallaera click clack boom pow

being the only girl in the group felt scary at first but she’s aware that the boys have her back when she’s in trouble and they don’t bite at all. sakura’s the type of person to give people the benefit of the doubt. it often ended well for her as most people didn’t take advantage and don’t break her trust. there are a few cases but not many to the point she’d lose the spark of her generosity.

she’s doing what she loves on stage, living the dream. being able to rap freely, proving people wrong—not to judge by her looks, to see the soul with eyes. she lets the boys shine in the spotlight while following the formation of the dance.

(this is real b.b) (we be big pimpin)

baksuchigo sondeureo igeon baiking taljinhal ttaekkaji gyesok syauting bbbbrrrrrrrr~!

not one song but two, this was a lot and she’ll be tired after but it’s worth it.

she doesn’t have much longer. the song’s going to end soon. sakura doesn’t want to think about the countdown but enjoy and breath in the moment of the song. she takes heavy deep breaths but keeps the microphone away from her mouth so there’s no feedback. when it’s her time to shine again, sakura sings the last bit of her lines effortlessly.

nilliri rarara nilliriya nillirimambo nilliri rarara nilliriya nillirimambo nilliri rarara nilliriya nillirimambo

woojin closes the song. when the instrumental stops playing, she’s out-of-breath but thanks everybody for watching them. including the viewers, judges, and contestants. prior to leaving the stage, sakura takes a courteous bow on the stage.

adrenaline gushes through her system, it’s not leaving yet as she’s still going to root for the others, watching the remaining time of the mnet global auditions. she has to stay to see what the results are. regardless, watching the process of elimination is nerve-wracking. at least, she can enjoy the rest of the other performances and see what everyone else has to show off!

she didn’t calculate that she’d make it this far but being on this taxing and demanding show has polished a lot of her skillsets that she probably couldn’t do on her own with the help of her peers, friends, coaches, teammates, and any words she’s received from the judges about her musicianship.

she’s come a long way down this road. she’ll have to call her mother and father once they’re back from their business trip so she can catch up since it’s been a while she hasn’t contacted them. she’s been slacking in communications but she’s doing the best she can with the limited time she has.

#*solo.journey* #rkmga5 #rkmga5finale #( tagging later orz #wc: 3k

[idolizerp]

LOADING INFORMATION ON 1NFERNO’S LEAD VOCAL, LEAD DANCE JANG WOOSUNG...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: N/A CURRENT AGE: 21 DEBUT AGE: 18 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 14 COMPANY: MSG SECONDARY SKILL: N/A

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): Meongddaenam (멍때남) - short for 멍 때리는 남자 (zone out man), a slang coined by his fans to mean a guy who’s so good looking you zone out and stare at him; also used to tease Woosung for his habit of zoning out. Golden Boy - as he gets a lot of screentime, fans claim that he’s being favoured by the company. His fans call him it to mean that he’s skilled and talented at everything, while his antis use it to mock him, attributing his success to MSG giving him more screen time. INSPIRATION: Woosung has always loved dance. There is nothing he would rather do other than dance— it’s been his dream for as long as he could remember. Originally, Woosung wanted to be a contemporary dancer, the emotional and technical movements catching his interest. However, as a teenager, he decided to branch out and discovered a love for hip hop. He got scouted by chance, and decided to try branching out some more. When he discovered his love for singing, his goal switched from contemporary dance to being an idol, pouring all of his efforts into training until he was able to debut. SPECIAL TALENTS:

Speaks fluent English

Studied ballet, modern and contemporary dance until he became a trainee

Knows how to do makeup from his time as a competitive dancer

NOTABLE FACTS:

His mother was born and raised in the US and works as a Korean-English translator, so he speaks English fluently with her side of the family despite living in Korea his whole life

Has two younger half sisters from his dad

Studied at SOPA, but did not continue on to university

Joined a hip hop dance academy and was scouted out of pure luck only two months after joining

Has an interest in choreographing, but is only comfortable with contemporary routines at this point

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

Woosung really wants to improve his skills, focusing on honing and refining them. As the lead dancer in a performance heavy group, he feels a lot of pressure to look good onstage. While he is a skilled dancer, the majority of his training is in a completely different area, and he still feels that his movement quality doesn’t quite fit 1nferno’s concept, that he lacks the power and strength in his movements necessary for their choreography. He also wants to take his vocals to a higher level, as he feels like the difference between himself and their main vocal is a really significant one. He knows he has the charisma and presence to warrant a large amount of screen time, but he wants his skills to match.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

Woosung loves performing, but the reason why he’s in the idol industry is for the money. His mother did absolutely everything for him growing up, broke the bank trying to provide the best of the best for her son. He wants to be able to pay her back, buy her a nice house and let her live comfortably. Once he hits that point, he plans on stepping back from the idol industry quietly, simply by not renewing his contract at the next renewal opportunity. After that, he plans to devote himself to dance entirely, perhaps as a choreographer with MSG or a teacher at his own studio.

IDOL IMAGE

On stage, Woosung is a captivating performer. Explosive energy and charisma, a coordinated dancer and stable vocalist, with a cute yet handsome visual to boot. He’s magnet on stage, someone who fans’ eyes are drawn to despite not being the best dancer or vocal in the group. He can handle the experimental concepts that MSG throws at 1nferno and is able to take most of the intense concepts in stride, finding it not terribly difficult to get into a character and convey the appropriate image onstage.

Offstage, however, Woosung is incredibly different. Having a naturally meek, introverted, and insecure personality, he tends on the quieter side during interviews, lives, and other social situations, finding it hard to talk and share his opinions. MSG pushes him as a chic, artistic personality, capitalizing on his contemporary dance training as a testament to his artistry and emotionality. It’s an easy role for Woosung to play, as someone who is much more comfortable staying quiet regardless of his image. During public appearances, he tends to let the stronger personalities in the group take over, chiming in rarely and even then, it’s usually only when he’s directly referred to or asked a question. Some fans complain about this behaviour, calling him cold and distant from the other members of the group, but his dedicated fans claim it’s because of his emotive side, reasoning that he’s one to read the situation and observe in order to match the others involved, rather than take charge of things.

When Woosung does speak, he’s surprisingly insightful despite his shyness, a delight to both fans and the company. He’s the type to consider unusual perspectives, without being strange enough to be labelled as a 4D personality. He’s thoughtful and considerate, easily able to gauge the needs of others around him. He does have his spacey moments, though, tending to get lost in thought. Thankfully, it’s more endearing than frustrating, and is marketed as simply another aspect of his emotionally-tuned personality.

IDOL HISTORY

1998.

Jang Woosung has always been a boy caught between two worlds, even from birth. He is born on January 26, 1998 to a Korean father and a Korean-American mother, and given two names— Woosung, a Korean name given by his father, and William, an English name given by his mother. Neither quite fit, each one missing a component of the other, and as Woosung grows up, he comes to resent them both. His English name as a target of ridicule, the label of gyopo, his mother’s roots in America. His Korean name as a cover up, trying to conceal the other half of him; but also, as a constant reminder of a father who left him, who gives him that name before leaving when Woosung is less than six months old. His mother has already established herself in Korea, has already planned a life here for her son, so despite being alone, she stays, intent on raising her son like she had planned, just without Woosung’s father. And so she does, the two of them in a tiny apartment in Ilsan, an infant Woosung crying for a father he wouldn’t even remember.

2001.

There’s no reason for Woosung to attend nursery school. His mother’s job as a freelance translator means she can work from home, balancing her responsibilities for work and responsibilities as a mom. They don’t go out much, simply stay safe in their own little world. Woosung’s mom is all he needs, and his mother is happy to provide. That is, until Woosung turns three, and his mother takes him to America to meet his grandparents. Look at him, Mia, they tell Woosung’s mother. He never leaves your side. He doesn’t talk to his cousins. He hardly plays at all. He keeps to himself too much. He doesn’t know how to socialize. What kind of adult will William be if he doesn’t learn how to act as a child?

And they’re right. Woosung is withdrawn, looks at others with fear in his eyes, holds onto his mother’s skirt wherever they go. So, as soon as she gets back to Korea, she enrols him in the first activity she can find that will take three year olds— a ballet class at a studio just a fifteen minute bus ride away. Woosung cries during the first class. He cries during the second. He clings to his mother and begs her not to go. She hushes him, gives him a kiss on the cheek, tells him that if he goes to the class, tries his best, acts like a good boy, they’ll get ice cream later. Isn’t that nice, Will? Wouldn’t you like that?

This is where everything begins.

2003.

Woosung excels in his ballet class. He takes it very seriously, practices at home, hums the complex classical melodies even when class has long ended. He doesn’t become the most talkative kid in the class, not by a long shot, still insecure and devastatingly shy, but he comes out of his shell a bit, shares short sentences with a few of the other kids in his class before and after their lessons. I want to be a dancer, he tells his mom, and he’s good enough, loves it so much that she kisses his head and says of course, Will, whatever you love to do is something worth doing.

But then, Woosung starts school, and the bullying begins. In his dance classes, the other children were too young to understand what it meant when Woosung spoke another language with his mother, and they spent too little time with him to be bothered by it. The children at school, however, understand the difference. They realize that Woosung is different because he speaks a language that isn’t Korean with his mother, because the food he eats for lunch is a bit different from theirs, because he has two different names on his report. So they tease him, pick on him, call him a foreigner, a gyopo, a fake Korean. Woosung’s personality doesn’t help him either, his shyness and lack of interest in anything other than dance making him an easy target. It never progresses beyond name-calling, but it hurts just the same, presses down on Woosung until he withdraws entirely, speaks to hardly anyone. It’s then that he vows to never use his English name again.

2007.

It’s not until Woosung is nearly ten years old that he meets his father again. They never talks about him much, Woosung and his mother, and he would never visit— he lives far from us, Will, it’s hard to get here from Busan. Woosung was never able to forget him, though, reminded of his father’s existence by the cards and small pockets of money that double as birthday gifts and seollal presents. But one November day, when Woosung gets home from school, his mother tells him (in a voice so quiet, nearly sad, your father wants to visit you, William) and Woosung stops.

His father is tall, intimidating, dressed in a suit when he drives up to meet Woosung. (Even that detail is strange to Woosung— his mother has never had a car.) He takes Woosung for dinner, to a restaurant with food that Woosung doesn’t like but chokes down anyways because he’s scared of seeming impolite. He finds out he has sisters— two of them, aged five and two— that he’s never met or heard of before. Woosung, talking for the first time since his father picked him up, asks how they can be his sisters if they don’t have the same mom. His father doesn’t answer, takes him home twenty minutes later.

Back inside his house, the small apartment he shares with his mother, he feels like he’s back in the safe zone. But there is no safe zone anymore, the influence of another world with his father weighing on Woosung even when he’s alone with his mother. And so he withdraws into himself even further, stumbling along the line between two contrasting worlds that he must exist in at the same time.

2011.

Woosung dances every day, now. He’s moved on from ballet, branching out into contemporary, modern, other styles of dance that make use of his lithe frame and flexibility. He finishes school each day and goes straight to practice, logging long hours at the studio, coming home well past sundown and still slaving over his homework. He doesn’t do great in school, but his mother keeps on him, tells him it’s good to have a backup, Will, what if you get injured and you have to stop dancing? It’s a thought that scares him immensely, but he trusts his mother, so he tries his best, forces himself to keep going, stays up well into the night just to keep his head above the water.

But the lessons are getting expensive now, the older Woosung gets and the harder he pushes himself. He starts competing— starts winning, bits of money here and there, small scholarships to workshops— but the costs rack up. His mother is alone, just her and Woosung, and while his dad visits sometimes, he never provides. So it gets harder to put food on the table, harder to pay the bills, and the night that he notices his mother not eating simply because there isn’t enough food, Woosung breaks.

For the first time in his life, Woosung reaches out to his father. It’s not like Woosung has never contacted him before— since Woosung met him four years ago, he makes sure to message him on important days to wish him well, like his father’s birthday, or Parent’s Day. He’s a good son, polite, and he never asks for anything, never asked until that day, when he meets up with his father and asks him for money.

His father doesn’t agree. His father denies him vehemently, once he finds out what the money is for. He’s fuming, yells at Woosung, I already have two other kids to provide for, and you have the audacity to ask me for money for a hobby? For ballet? I won’t support something gay like that.

It’s the first time Woosung hears the word gay like that— used to describe something he loves so dearly, curled up into the seat of his father’s car, his head down and tears in his eyes. He’s heard it snickered behind his back in school, as he got older and the bullying had turned from shouts and jeers to things more subtle. I heard he dances ballet. And he’s never had a crush on anyone, he’s never even talked to any of the girls in our grade. Do you think he’s gay? It still hurt, a lot, his heart aching at each comment, but it was easy enough to tune out, used to it after eight years of snide comments and insults— but this is the first time he hears it so directly. He doesn’t realize why it would be a bad thing, his mother always telling him gently it’s fine to like what you like, as long as you aren’t hurting anyone. But from his father, it sounds bad. It sounds wrong. Woosung doesn’t even know what he likes yet, doesn’t know if he’s gay or not, but it plants the seed then— he can’t be gay, not if he wants to be loved.

Woosung goes home and cries, locks himself in his room, presses his face into his pillow and tries not to make himself as small as possible in hopes that he might disappear. He deliberates it for days, stays up all night thinking. The thought of quitting is unbearable, but there’s no way he can let his mom keep doing this to pay for his dance. After a few days, an idea comes to him, risky yet seductive.

If I get accepted into a good company for my dance, will you help mom pay for it? He texts his dad, too scared to ask him to his face after last time.

His dad agrees.

2012.

Woosung gets scouted less than three months later.

He’d cut out his ballet classes, cut out modern and contemporary, switched to something that people would be interested in him for. Something that people wouldn’t call him gay for. He joins a hip hop academy, fills his time outside of school with that. He learns the basics voraciously, dedicating every second of his time to be able to improve as fast as possible. He doesn’t have the power and swagger that the other dancers have, but he’s toned, coordinated, and expresses feelings well onstage, uses all of it to his advantage to put on a good performance. He tries his best to fit in, to not draw any criticisms, feigns confidence like it’s his job. Two months after he joins his academy, they put on a public performance, and someone in a suit approaches him as he leaves the venue. I work for an entertainment company, they tell him, but Woosung doesn’t hear anything, only sees the MSG on the business card they hand him. We’re looking for new trainees right now for an idol group. You should audition.

Woosung does. He goes to the first audition he can make it to, forks out the little bit of money he has saved to travel to Seoul for it. A week later, his name is on the contract.

2015.

Trainee life is exhausting. As much as Woosung wanted to leave school, dedicate every minute of his life to dance and performance, his mother and the company wouldn’t let it happen. He enrols in SOPA with the companies help, in the Department of Practical Dance, goes to school and study only to train into the wee hours of the morning. He moves into the dorms, away from his mom— as much as it breaks his heart, going between Ilsan and Seoul every day on top of his already intense schedule just wasn’t feasible. Woosung never takes it easy on himself, always pushing himself as much as he can, working as hard as he can. He’s self-critical, incredibly so, uses every second he can in the studios and practices until his body is screaming at him. It seems to pay off, getting him noticed by the company. He doesn’t rank too high in his evaluations, maybe a bit above average, but he gets compliments from his coaches, trainers, teachers. He doesn’t dare take any of it for granted, though; he’s seen it happen, talented trainees letting the praise go to their head, getting cocky, getting comfortable, and in the end, getting dropped from the company. He makes sure he’s always consistent, always hungry, searching to be better. Woosung doesn’t pay much attention to the other trainees, never really makes friends— it’s not like that’s something he’s ever been in the habit of anyways, after how his school life turned out. The cutthroat nature of the trainee industry makes it harder on him too, because the comments turn from general meanness to picking on the parts of himself he has confidence in. They pick on his dancing, about how he lacks power, how he’s too soft in his movements, how he stands out too much that he’ll never fit into a group. The comments break him down even more, tear his confidence to pieces. He doesn’t let it destroy him though, and he doesn’t back out— he’s come too far to quit now, and besides, what would his mother and father think? So woosung just does what he’s always done— keeps his head down, his mouth shut, and works until he can’t anymore.

Then at the end of 2015, right before Woosung is about to go home for the holidays, he’s called for a meeting with five other boys and told they’ll debut. Management explains the concept to them— experimental, powerful, conceptual. It doesn’t seem like it’s anything Woosung will fit into at all, especially when he’s given the label of lead dancer and lead vocal. He doesn’t have the strength behind his voice, the power in his movements to carry such a title. But the company assures him, all smiles, hands on his shoulders, you don’t need to worry, Woosung, you’re handsome onstage. It clicks then, why he’s gotten as far as he has, why the company always seemed to be a bit softer on him. It wasn’t because of his talent, because of his hard work— even though he’s a good dancer and a decent singer, what the company wanted him for was his looks. Everything feels fake now, the compliments, the encouragements, all the work he put in discounted. It feels like a weight on his shoulders, another thing crushing down on him. He resents himself for it, resents not being able to get by on his talent alone, resents the company having to lean into his looks to justify putting him into the group. And yet, months later, despite everything, he debuts.

2019.

Woosung has never had a crush. Never had a true friend, someone his age that he could talk to. Never had a goal other than dance. Never had an urge to open his mouth and speak his mind. But now, things are changing. Woosung has a couple people that he’s comfortable with being around, people who he trusts not to tear him down at the first chance they get. They’re few and far between, his friends, but at least they exist. People still intimidate him, strong, aggressive personalities easily overpowering him, and he’s still devastatingly shy, but he wants to work on it, wants to be able to open up more, be able to show himself in the hopes that people will like him. He has a crush now, maybe. He doesn’t know what it feels like to have a crush, but he thinks this might be it— the heart fluttering, cheek reddening feeling whenever that certain someone is around. He doesn’t think anything will come of it— who would want to date someone like him, twenty-one years old with absolutely no experience— but it’s there. (He’s not gay though. Or, he doesn’t think he’s gay. He can’t be gay, not after what his dad said to him.) He has fans, people who like him, hears good things about himself. They like his English, find him relatable, coo over him, find out his English name, call him Will without it twisting his stomach in the same way. There’s not as much direct bullying anymore, but Woosung is so used to it now, feeling like he’s being criticized for everything he does, that he finds himself being hard on himself. Late nights spent crying in the practice rooms, his body aching so much that it’s hard to get off the ground. He wants to snap out of it, but it’s hard— especially when he sees comments online, fans pitting the members against each other, pointing out how he lacks compared to the main vocal and main dancer. But he’s trying— really, he is— and maybe, one day, he’ll feel good enough.

#id.bio #id.1nferno #id.msg #id.no yoonho #id.honeypot

[impracticaldemon]

Nalu Week 2017 Day 5: He Sees Beneath Her Mask

A/Note: I wasn't able to write as much as I wanted for NaluWeek2017, but here is my third story, using the prompt for Day 5: Mask Day

The story is set in a kind of early 90s university AU, but the concepts and characters are mostly canon. I hope you enjoy it!

Words ~ 2300 | Also available now on FFN and AO3 (Impracticaldemon)

He Sees Beneath Her Mask Prompt: Mask Day

Lucy's first day of university was unremarkable—at least, it was unremarkable if you were the sole heiress to the Heartfilia fortune and used to your father being far more concerned than you were about outward appearances. In the midst of rushing walkers and bikers of all descriptions, Lucy was ushered onto the sidewalk in front of the registration building by the reliable, middle-aged chauffeur whom she'd known for years. While the majority of the students around her wore t-shirts of all descriptions paired with "lived-in" looking jeans, Lucy looked trim and demure in a crisp white blouse, perfectly-tailored navy capris, and pretty, matching sandals. She had the kind of accessories that didn't need a logo to tell you that they were expensive.

Her father didn't get out—he was already taking time out of his busy day to ensure that Lucy arrived on time and in proper style—but he did roll down his window and briefly clasp Lucy's hand. His words of farewell were more admonishing than encouraging, however:

"I'm still not sure about this place, Lucy, so remember our bargain: you can go here as long as you don't let yourself get dragged into any trouble by some of the weirder types you sometimes seem to hang out with—and as long as you meet your social obligations for the family and the company."

"Yes, Father. I understand. And I haven't forgotten next week's charity ball on Thursday evening." Lucy's serious, deep brown eyes stayed focused on her father, despite the stares she could feel from her soon-to-be classmates, especially the girls—women, she corrected herself silently.

Jude Heartfilia accepted Lucy's assurances, cast a last, scathing look at the chattering, excited students, and waved the chauffeur back to the car. He managed a tight, unconvincing smile for his daughter, and then put up his window and leaned back in his seat, a big, shadowy figure behind the tinted glass. Lucy's smile in return was more convincing and yet somehow also sad. She watched the big car glide away, and as soon as it had disappeared around a corner she sighed, squared her shoulders, and turned to hurry toward the registration area. Unfortunately, she stepped right into somebody's path—although 'trajectory' might have been a more accurate word.

"Ow! Sorry!" Only long years of dance and gymnastics kept Lucy upright.

"Hey—look where you're going!" cried the human missile, as he spun around with Lucy in a rather tight, although apparently unintended embrace. He was more agile than he seemed, though; he didn't stagger as they parted, and his hand under her elbow helped her own efforts at balance.

Not surprisingly, they eyed each other curiously once the world stopped spinning. The human missile was actually a young man of medium height and decidedly athletic build, with spiky, cotton-candy pink hair, dark grey-green eyes, and a dusting of freckles. Lucy saw the dark eyes widen slightly as he examined her in turn. The clothes and shoes and so on were bad enough, she thought, but anybody would stare at her up-swept golden hair, which had been formed into a perfect chignon at the back. It was very pretty—and made her look like a 1940s actress at an evening party rather than a regular university student of many, many decades later.

"Are you going in to register?" Lucy asked, determined to be friendly and polite.

"Huh? Oh, yeah—I think so?" The pink-haired guy ran a hand through his spiky locks and then grinned cheerfully. "I mean yeah, yeah I am! That's a pretty good hairstyle—is it a new thing? I'll bet you could hide notes and weapons and stuff in it!"

From behind Pink-and-Spiky, a slightly taller, leaner man muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "idiot". Lucy realized that she hadn't even noticed the second man, and then flushed slightly when she realized that he was wearing cargo pants belted loose over boxers and not much else. He was a bit less odd than Pinky—Lucy had a tendency to first give and then refine nicknames—but he also seemed slightly dangerous. Maybe it was the stylized bird tattoo on the right side of his chest, or his very dark eyes and hair. If I wrote these two into a story, he'd be Emo-Guy for sure. I'll bet he broods well. And Pinky would be Leaps-Before-Looking-Guy or Runs-Into-Trouble-But-Likes-It-Guy. They're both pretty attractive though.

"I can hear you, you know," Pinky said to Dark-and-Tattooed. Lucy jumped slightly: for a moment she'd thought he'd heard what she was thinking.

"I wouldn't bother to call you an idiot if you couldn't hear me," retorted D-and-T. He held out a hand to Lucy, and gave her a small, but apparently genuine smile. "I'm Gray. Flamebrain here is Natsu. We're in second year, but our friend Erza asked us to help out with registration—she runs the welcome table where you pick up your registration kits."

Gray's handshake was firm and literally cool, despite the warm sun. He was immediately elbowed out of the way by Pinky/Natsu. "Yeah, it gets us out of this afternoon's mega-line-ups with the general upper-year registration crowd," he told her. "Can't wait until everything's completely automated."

"Like that'll help you," scoffed Gray. "You're still in trouble for trying to hit a campus computer last year because it said your code had errors. Good thing Erza was there to stop you."

Lucy jumped in before things could escalate.

"Oh… Well, um, I'm Lucy—nice to meet you. Both of you." Natsu's hand was dry and calloused, without a hint of sweat. In fact, he seemed impervious to the heat, although wearing a white Fairy Tail U scarf wound loosely around his neck seemed excessive. Sometimes Lucy thought it was her fate to meet the strangest people at any given location. Then again, she was okay with that.

After a few more courtesies (cut short by Natsu "accidentally" stepping on Gray's foot) and a few more discourtesies (cut short by Lucy with the tact of one forced young into the cut-throat politics of charitable fund-raising), the three of them went in. Erza turned out to be a rather frighteningly helpful third year with honest-to-goodness red (not orange or auburn) hair. These people apparently spent a fortune on hair dye. Lucy had meant to change as soon as her father had left, and before talking to anyone, but fate and Natsu had conspired against her. One look at Erza's face told Lucy that she'd been recognized. The upper-year didn't say anything though; instead, she made Lucy's day by handing over her registration package without calling out her last name.

"Is-is there a washroom nearby?" Lucy asked, heartened by this kindness.

Erza was getting both guys set up with registration packages (and smacking them upside the head for hitting each other, which Lucy found slightly counter-productive as an example of good behaviour). She nodded at a doorway and said: "Down that hall, first door on the right.

When Lucy slipped back into the room several minutes later, she went quietly to the back of the registration line without speaking further with the upper-years. After all, Gray, Natsu and Erza were obviously friends of long-standing. In fact, Lucy had already realized that Erza was a well-known student leader and a competitive athlete of national standing—she should have recognized the name sooner. That probably meant that Gray and Natsu were just as important within the school community. Lucy didn't want it to seem as though she was presuming upon her chance encounter with Natsu earlier. He'd seemed very nice, though; she hoped that maybe she could find a way to get to know him better by proving herself as an up-and-coming Fairy Tail student. There was something about Natsu's grin that somehow stood out even more than the pink hair.

Lucy drew no attention at all as she patiently waited her turn, clutching at the key forms from her registration package. She was now wearing slightly worn cut-offs, a cute, rose-pink t-shirt, and the current popular choice in (cheap) canvas running shoes. The bracelet on one wrist was pretty, but not expensive. She had also managed to extract all hundred or so bobby pins from her hair (only a minor exaggeration!). After a moment's thought, she had decided to put most of her hair into twin-tails in order to beat the heat; she left her long bangs and a few other locks to frame her face, in order to escape from her overly-sophisticated "matchy-matchy girl" appearance of earlier.

When somebody jostled her slightly—clearly by accident—she decided to try out her new-found anonymity. She turned and smiled brightly.

"Kind of brutal in here isn't it?" she said to the pretty, dark-haired girl—woman—behind her.

"Yeah, seriously."

They exchanged the conspiratorial grimaces of strangers commiserating over shared misfortune.

"I'm Lucy—I'm taking English with a focus on creative writing."

"Oh hey—me too! I'm Evelyn. Nice to meet you, Lucy! Sorry about bumping you—gotta admit, I was admiring your bag. It looks like it won't fall apart like my 'student special' here."

"Well, um, yeah… it was a present from my… dad. He believes in practical gifts and things that keep their value and functionality." Ev laughed and Lucy relaxed. Switching clothes was one thing, but the expensive leather schoolbag was actually something she'd chosen and liked, even though she realized most normal students couldn't afford it.

Lucy wasn't used to referring to her father as "dad"; she have to work on that (though not with the man himself). And technically he had bought the bag for her. Her mother's estate provided her with a moderate allowance, but since her father had either inherited or managed the bulk of Layla Heartfilia's money and business interests, he paid for all of Lucy's living expenses. In a bid to retain as much independence as possible, Lucy had learned how to make her allowance stretch without being too obvious, which provided her with less expensive, more normal clothes and paid for the occasional unsupervised outing.

She had only been chatting with her new friend for a few minutes when she spotted a familiar head of pink hair weaving through the crowd toward them. Her first thought was that it was a coincidence, since she now looked very different—and why would Natsu be looking for her anyway? Once or twice she saw Natsu pause for a moment and wrinkle his nose, as if to sneeze, but otherwise nothing interrupted his brisk stride directly to where she was standing (well, there were people in the way, but most of them moved as he approached).

"Hey Lucy! You didn't come back to the table! We could've helped you register you know… Oh, is this a friend of yours?" Natsu didn't even seem to notice that Lucy looked entirely different now. Or if he did he didn't comment.

Somehow—Lucy couldn't quite fathom it—Natsu convinced her to leave the line (she'd already traded numbers with Ev) and come back to the table for registration packages. Partway there, he slowed down a little and started to frown.

"Lucy? Did you change something? Erza said you'd probably gone to put on your mask—or take off your mask, I can't remember which. You seem pretty much the same to me." He came to a full stop right in the middle of the room and squinted at Lucy. Then he started to walk around her, checking her out from all angles. "Heh. Well, it's good to see Erza wrong for once! And Gray backed her up, too! This'll be great!"

"Wait! Natsu!" Lucy tried to pull away, but her escort seemed very determined.

When they arrived, Natsu slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders. "See Erza! No masks! I don't know how she slipped by Gray! You going blind or something, bro?"

Lucy found herself turning a little red. Natsu's arm was heavy and warm, but also comforting and even pleasant, despite the sticky weather. Erza gave her a sympathetic smile; Gray, busy a couple of feet away, rolled his eyes and muttered something that only Natsu heard. He was wearing a t-shirt now, which struck Lucy as more appropriate.

"Natsu," Erza said at last. "Lucy has changed every article of clothing and her shoes and hairstyle."

"What? You did?!" Natsu held Lucy out at arm's length. "What did you do that for? We might not have found you again!" He paused, and then peered closely at Lucy. "You know… I think you're right Erza. Lucy! You messed up your hair! I'll bet that's why you had to change. You shouldn't worry about us, though. We don't mind if you want to dress like a stuck up rich girl—right Gray? Erza?"

"I refuse to be associated with that statement," muttered Gray.

"Natsu…" Erza sounded deeply chagrined.

"Besides, it doesn't matter. Lucy can change her clothes as often as she wants—or even put on that mask you were talking about, Erza! I'll always know it's her!"

Natsu sounded so certain that Lucy wasn't inclined to disagree. She still didn't know him very well, but that didn't seem to matter. When he grinned at her, she grinned back. How odd to think that there might be people who didn't care about masks, when she'd lived with them all her life. Her heart seemed to thump just a little harder against her rib cage at the thought and she didn't object when Natsu gave her another one-armed hug before getting back to his job for Erza.

Epilogue

Lucy didn't find out how Natsu could always track her down until several days later, at which point her vision of the power of love (or something like it) suffered a severe check. Erza kept avoiding the subject, but Gray answered her question directly, once she thought to ask him. It turned out that Natsu had a ridiculously good sense of smell.

"He… he smelled me?" Lucy demanded. "I smell?!"

Gray tried to reassure her, but she found herself putting on extra layers of deodorant for quite a while after that. Eventually, Natsu complained that she smelled like a chemical factory, and Lucy delivered a rather incomprehensible rant. Erza led her away murmuring that strawberry cream cake would help.

Eventually—after Lucy had been pacified by cake—Erza said thoughtfully:

"I think that you are losing sight of something important, Lucy."

"Oh." (sniff)

"I agree that Natsu could track down almost anyone, because of his sense of smell. But you are the one he chose to find."

[END]

A/Note: I don’t know if I’ll be able to do another chapter for Nalu Week, but I’d like to do at least one “more snuggly” one if I can manage.  I have a number of other writing commitments underway, so we’ll see!  All comments, notes, tags, likes and reblogs are much appreciated!

~ Impracticaldemon

@fic-writer-appreciation @ftfanfics @shell-senji @unashamed-shipper @nalufever @eliz1369 @nalu-natic @naluloverforever @miss-zei (humour me on this one, zeiyuu, I think it’s kind of fun!) @fury-ous 

#fairy tail #naluweek #naluweek 2017 #nalu #impracticaldemon #fanfiction #prompt: mask

[thehalfworld]

Fanfic MST: Forbiden Fruit: The Tempation of Edward Cullen, a Twilight fanfic [part 5]

I can’t fucking sleep. Have more of this nonsense.

Same warnings as before (rape references, some more consensual sexuality that stops shy of actual sex). There’s also a brief mention of self-harm at the very end of the chapter.

Recap: Tiaa went to the beach party, which was boring, but she did meet a few creatively-named goth girls who think she’s cool, so now she at least has friends. Also she and Edward almost had sex but didn’t because it was only chapter 4.

Chapter 1

Previous chapter

AN - can i have some reveiws pls

Here you go!

Chapter 5 - the talent contest

It was a week later and I felt like I was slowly dying inside. 

Relatable, but why?

My life had crumbled into pieces and I was alone in the horrible darkness of my mind. 

At least it’s nice and empty in there. Plenty of room to stretch out.

the four chearleaders had folowed me a round school and been mean to me for the last week making fun of my clothes and my purple streaked blond hair and saying i was too slim and that i had boobs like a pron star. 

Okay, fine, I’m going to comment on the cheerleader thing. Look… Bella being a cheerleader makes negative sense. Her main character flaw (according to Meyer, anyway) is being so clumsy she trips over flat surfaces. She doesn’t possess the coordination necessary for anything physically demanding. Also, she’s explicitly described as being nothing like a cheerleader in the first Twilight book, if memory serves.

It relay upset me. and also uncle larry had taken my clothed off and rapped me loads of times last week and even though dave and marie were back home now every time they went out to different places they left me with him and he hit me and made me sleep with was so horrible I wanted to die every time it happened.  

Don’t know why this is presented as a secondary concern to being picked on by cheerleaders.

Is there a reason Tiaa can’t tell anyone about what’s going on with Uncle Larry? Like, I can think of a lot of potential reasons why she might not be able to seek help here, but we aren’t given any reason, so it’s a mystery. Also, is she at risk of becoming pregnant, or contracting an STI, or is she being hurt badly enough to require medical attention? This guy is pretty violent and persistent, but her encounters with him are barely described at this point, so we don’t really know what’s been going down.

Which is probably a blessing.

Edward Culen stared at me whenever he saw me at school but i just anchored him and pretended he wasnt there i was so embaresed about watt had hapenned and I hated him for the way he made me feel and the fact that he was a cheater and an ass. 

Yeah, he’s like that.

I would probably have ended my life that week if it hadnt been for my lovley new freinds abbigaille rochelle and tyfanni, who were all totally cool and helped me fight off the evil chearleaders - i hadnt told my freinds aboit uncle larry and ewdard but it was nice to have some peopel who liked me anyways. 

Hold up a second. There are four cheerleaders. Counting Tiaa, there are four goth girls. So why is this portrayed as some sort of unequal battle? Both groups are the same size, and I assume Tiaa’s group has an edge because she’s a Mary Sue and the Sue always has an edge, so… why haven’t they sent the cheerleaders packing yet?

I wasn’t really picked on in high school, but I was picked on lots in middle school, and it was always about numbers. I didn’t have any good friends to back me up, so I was an easy target. If it was just one kid going after me I could hold my own just fine, but when I got ganged up on there was a problem. Having a few losers hurl insults at you when you have your own crew of losers to back you up isn’t a bullying problem because there’s no power imbalance. It’s just kids being rude to each other. It’s certainly not on par with, let alone worse than, being raped by an adult man when you’re sixteen.

I sat in the cafeteira with them at lunch

"hey tiana are you doing the talent contest tonite?" rochelle asked me

Oh boy. 

"no way im not good enough!" i said shyly

"omfg are you kidding! yor a AMAZIN singer your the best iv'e ever heard, no joke!" shouted Abigail 

So I only vaguely remember the talent show, but I’m pretty sure what happens is that Tiaa does compete, and she wins, and Edward loses his mind over it or something. I seem to remember an encounter in Edward’s car after the talent show, too, but we’ll get to that when we get to that.

"thank you but your just being nice, im' not THAT good an even if i was i wouldn't perform. I mean i hardly want to contract more attension to myself than i already have, the whole school is all ready talking about me saying watt a freak i am. I just wanna be an average person"

"come on tiaa you HAVE to do it!" tyffanie said, "jessica and bella and the chearleaders win every time with there dumb dance routine it is so annoying, they arent even talented someone needs to teach them a lesson hun!" 

"I dunno maybe" I pimpled mutely but I had no intension of actually doin it.

I feel like I’m watching a made-for-TV teen movie on Disney Channel, except this one has a lot of rape in it and also the love interest is a vampire. And the protagonist pimples mutely, whatever that means.

Later on me and my freinds sat in the crowd and wached the contest. The chearleaders did there dance ruotine and they werent that awesome, they were just wearing slutty cloths so all the guys could stare at them and cause they were popular no one was allowed to say they sucked. 

On the bright side, at least Tiaa’s competition is bad so she doesn’t have to be unrealistically amazing in order to win here. On the not-so-bright side, we all know Tiaa is going to be unrealistically amazing anyway and that Bella and her friends are being made to look bad in order to ultimately break up Edward and Bella’s relationship.

At the end bella ran into edwards arms and I felt flames of jelusy burning up inside me. they kissed for a long time and although he looked at me the whole time i still wanted to cry and scream.

I would too if a guy I didn’t know that well stared at me the entire time he was making out with his girlfriend. Fuckin’ weird.

The principal caked up on the stage and said

Hang on. He caked up?

"and now for our final act...atlantiana rebeckah loren!" everyone looked at me and I was shocked

"omfg who put my fringing name down for this!" I screamed

"who knows girl just get up there !" abbie pushed me towards the stage and I went up there.

Edward put her name down for it, right? I mean, I’m guessing from context that it wasn’t one of her friends who did, even though they all encouraged her to perform. If it was Edward, though, what did he reckon she’d do? Her friends at least have heard her sing, but as far as Edward knows Tiaa’s only talent is… looking pretty, I guess.

I sang total eclipse of the heart (punkrock verson so it wasnt sappy and lame or anythin!0 and everyone watched me. I was embarased at first but everyone semed to be enjoying themselves (exept the chearleaders who looked totally mad!LOL) so I sang louder and louder and my voice soared higher than ever was like magic.��

Or something.

I was waering a purple lacy top cut low enough that you could see my bra and a black skirt and purple fishnets and spiky black heels. 

I mean, sure, but you just criticized the cheerleaders for dressing in revealing clothes a few paragraphs ago.

the song finished and everyone looked happy and clangled at me and i went blushing to sit on my friends

They clangled? You went to sit on your friends?

"remind me to kill wichever one of you beeches put my name down for this!-" i said but i was smiling

"LOL" shouted rochelle "it wasnt us you no!”

Yep, it was Ewdard. 

"and the winner is...ATLANTIANA REBECKAH LOREN! " the principal screamed extatically. 

Is the principal okay?

I went back up onto the stage and shock his hand and everyone appladed me and screamed my name except for jessica and bella who looked like they were about to kill me, lmfao. 

What about the other two cheerleaders? Were they converted to Team Tiaa by all this?

My eyes strayed to where edward stood gazing baldly at me. I all most fainted right then at the sight of him looking so hawt and gorgeous. I dnt think anyone else had noticed but he had a MASSIVE erection it was so hawt and sexoy. 

Both of you need to calm down.

I saw bella and jessica storming out of the room angry that i had won, and I smiled.

For real, what happened to the other two cheerleaders?

Later on i walked home happily, then a car purred up beside me. It was ewdard!  

"get in the car i'll drive thee home sweet lady" he said in his beautiful old fashioned speech. I did as he told me without knowing were quiet for a minite

"you were awesome tonight, you have a stunning voice like silk and satin in the moonlight. You looked beyond beautiful up on that stage, like an old painting in a church. i wanted to charge right at u and kiss thine lips right there" 

I know the author is trolling, but I love the idea that this is what teenage girls find hot — a dude who talks in anachronistic Ye Olde English and gets boners from watching you sing. Because that’s normal.

Actually, I did read a fic once that seemed to be intended as serious erotica, and one character switched into Ye Olde English as soon as the sexy stuff began. And by “sexy stuff” I mean torturing and murdering a Yu-Gi-Oh character. No accounting for taste, I guess.

he still had a huge erection and i wanted to touch it so badly but i didnt. 

He’s driving, so probably best to leave that alone.

"i think BELLA might have had somethin to say about that!" i snapped "where is she neway?"

"at home sulking cause she lost the contest and had a total hissy fit and cryed for hours because thee was better than her in the contest"

At least someone is in character.

"how mature" I said sacastically. At that moment edward pulled his car to the side of the road and looked me in the touched my hand and I slapped him hard in the face

Seems a tad hypocritical when you were considering going for the dick-grab a minute ago.

'YOU WILL NEVER TOUCHE ME AGAIN U SICKO!" I wailed and kept hitting him in the face and chest "last week I fuckin BEGGED u to sex on me and you turned me down! I have never been so humilated in all my frickin LIFE! Watt the hell is wong with u? One mimite your all over me and the next its like i dnt even exist! dnt fuckin touch me. EVERR!"

All of this would be a perfectly reasonable gripe except that Tiaa acts the exact same way. I’ll cut them both a little slack — Tiaa for being sexually abused, Edward for internal conflict over whether or not to leave his girlfriend — but, come on, pot calling the kettle black.

"its complecated tiaa my lady. Im sorry i hurt thine feelings. Its just i cant resist thee, but i cant be with thy either. I never ment to drag thou into this mess, its not thee fault i totally ruin everything. Im so SO SORRY. IM DESPISABLE!"

Can’t argue with that. Mostly because “despisable” is not a word.

"its me or her "i said bluntly

"i cant make that choice tiaa - he wept

And I take it polyamory is off the table, because it always is.

"you are going to have to!"

"first thee have to tell me who thou relay are!" he said "who were thy parents?what are thee?"

"my mom dies when I was bored, I never new my father. Thats it." i said

"we BOTH no thats not the full story. Your a vampire, like me"

Though I’m glad that this fic at least avoids the cliché of having the Sue figure out that Edward’s a vampire way in advance, it seems odd that she’s given basically no thought to the possibility that he’s inhuman after he’s claimed to be a vampire multiple times.

-omfg i'm NOT a frickin vampire! I think id have noticed u total dipshit"

I’d think she’d have noticed too, but she seems incapable of noticing anything’s weird about Edward. The Ye Olde English doesn’t strike her as unusual? His looks aren’t odd? What about the change-color eyes? Mind reading? Really, dude isn’t very good at keeping up the human illusion, which is probably why he and his family typically keep their distance from humans. But there I go talking about canon.

"you don't drink human blood"- he asked

"i dont drink any blood u asshole. Is this ur idea of a joke, cos no ones laughing!" i got out of the car and ran away feeling insulted.i didnt want to see that stupid hawt jerk ever again! I went home. But i couldnt get rid of the memory of his sharp erection and deadly cold body. 

Oh yeah, and the temperature thing. I know some people run cold — I’m one of them — but we’re not talking 97 degrees instead of 98; dude is probably room temperature all the time, since he’s essentially dead. Tiaa doesn’t think that’s weird and inhuman?

i cut myself and went to sleep in tears.

Like a reel goff.

Next chapter

#forbidenfruit.mst #fandom:twilight #halfworld.mst

[prosperopedia]

Homeschooling: Applying Essentialism to Educating Children

Several years ago when my wife and I were preparing for our oldest child to go to school, we handpicked a nice K-12 private school that provided a great learning environment where moral and religious values aligned with ours were instilled right alongside a solid secular education. So that we’d have better access the school, we even moved a half hour north to a home that was only ten minutes away from the location where we were pretty sure we’d spend a ton of time with not just our first child, but the other children that would follow.

My daughter enjoyed three years of going to that school (American Heritage School in American Fork, Utah) from kindergarten through second grade. Her younger brother joined her there for kindergarten and also loved his experience at the school.

However, after our third year of having kids attend the school, we took them both out and decided to start homeschooling.

Why would we do that?

When we made the decision in 2013, we didn’t really think about whether there was an official label or a particular movement associated with our choice to educate our kids at home rather than in the school system. Our decision essentially boiled down to this: we simply didn’t have time for school.

Don’t have time for school? What kind of reasoning is that?

My wife and I thought the same thing at the time, but it felt like the best decision.

I’ll give you more context about how we made the decision and some details that may help us seem a little bit more rational, although I’ll admit that when we tell this story to a lot of people they still don’t understand the reasoning.

My wife and I tend to be very assertive people, especially when it comes to parenting, a role that we prioritize above pretty much any other outside of our relationship with each other and our relationships with God. That assertiveness tends to cause us to regularly take a look at how we’re doing things with our family and evaluate whether we need to make any changes.

Although my kids both loved going to school, we noticed a pattern that was concerning for us in regards to our family dynamic. We’d get our daughter and son off to school around 8am. We’d pick up my son, who was doing half-day kindergarten, around noon. My daughter didn’t get home until after 3pm. Ultimately, it began to feel like the school day was longer than it needed to be, especially when we considered everything else that we felt needed to be done during the day.

My wife and I decided early on in our marriage that we wanted our kids to have a range of experiences that included things that were highly physical, such as sports and athletic competition, as well as things that were more cultural and academic, including music and personalized study opportunities. We wanted them to have experiences that would help them develop their personalities and understand how things work in various real world environments. We also wanted our kids to learn how to be responsible by doing at least one or two chores each day that would teach them self-reliance. Most importantly, we also wanted to make sure that we spent valuable time with each of our kids.

During the third year of having our kids in the traditional environment for school, we started having discussions about how difficult it was for us to find opportunities to spend quality one-on-one time with each of them on a regular basis. After school, they would typically have some homework. Then they had a half hour of music practice. Later they’d often have soccer practice or some other sports activity planned. When we added in having them do a chore and a few other daily necessities, it was getting close to time for them to go to bed to start the process over again the next day.

A 2018 study that researched how much time families spent together put the figure at just 37 minutes per day. In an age when even younger kids often have their own smartphones, the amount of focused interaction between parents and children is even more limited, since spending time physically in the same space doesn’t necessarily mean actually spending time together. We didn’t want that to be our situation. We didn’t want to find ourselves down the road being parents to teenagers who really didn’t have a connection with us.

We needed more time interacting with our children than was available, considering the few other things we considered critical and also worth spending time on, when we enrolled our kids into school (even one that we considered a great school) for the bulk of the day. For us, needing more time with our kids meant that we had to make a choice, so we chose to switch to homeschooling.

Over the next several years, as our next two children turned four, we put them into a local preschool that lasted three hours each day. The following year, we’d put them into the same LDS private school for a half day of kindergarten to give them the experience of being independent and associating with peers in a school environment.

After kindergarten, it was time to get down to business, so we brought them back home for school. Although we started our daughter on learning an instrument (the violin) just before she was two years old (she was mature beyond what we could have anticipated and ready for music lessons even before we were), our boys are typically not ready to handle a 30-minute or more lesson and daily practices until they are about six years old. That timing fits with their graduation from kindergarten and their introduction to homeschool, which involves practicing a piano, guitar, cello, or other musical instrument.

My Introduction to Essentialism

For the past year or more, my wife and daughter have had a regular habit of stopping by my basement office and mentioning something they’ve learned from the latest self-improvement book they’re reading or listening to. One of the books that kept being brought to my attention was one by a fellow named Greg McKeown called Essentialism. Ironically, because of all the stuff I’ve always got keeping my attention, I never had time to read the book.

However, on a recent trip across the country, my wife brought with us the audiobook version of Essentialism. I learned a ton from the book, and I was convinced (although I’m still not disciplined to practice it religiously) about the merit of the German idea of “weniger aber besser”, which means “less, but better” in English.

In his book Essentialism, McKeown gives lifestyle advice based upon his experience training executives to be more successful, more fulfilled in their lives. He compares “the undisciplined pursuit of more” with the “way of the essentialist”, which involves establishing a pathway that focuses on “the disciplined pursuit of less, but better.”

Essentialism, as presented by McKeown, involves intentionally and purposefully removing things from your life that are not in line with your highest purpose so that you can focus on the most critical, vital things. Essentialism involves not being afraid of telling people no, with the full understanding that there are opportunity costs involved when you commit to something.

Applying the concept of essentialism to our approach to educating our children, we at least subconsciously added up the value that our kids would receive by going to school (subtracting from that amount negatives such as picking up bad habits, exposure to bullying – yes, even from kids going to a religiously-based private school – and similar issues that we often had to correct at home) and compared it against the value we felt they’d receive by being able to receive musical training and learn an instrument, play on sports teams, and also spend quality time with their parents almost every single day.

Although we hadn’t been exposed to the concept of essentialism and “less, but better” at the time, the decision we had made to say no to getting on the conveyor belt that everyone in the neighborhood used to set their schedules was based on that exact concept.

As I listened to the audiobook while traveling across the country with my family, I mentioned to my wife, “I’d be very surprised if this guy doesn’t homeschool his kids.”

That comment led to a discussion of how our decision to break from the stream of what’s considered normal and most acceptable by society (although homeschooling is becoming much more popular than it was when I was growing up) with the purpose of being more efficient, more intentional about how our children receive their education felt very much in line with the idea of Essentialism. My wife and I discussed whether anyone who believes in the concept of Essentialism would ever put their kids into a regular public or private school versus choosing one of the alternatives, including homeschooling, that give them much more control over how they spend their time.

I’d guess that you don’t find many children of Essentialist leaning parents in public schools, except in situations where parents do feel like that setting is the best option for their children to learn and for their family dynamics generally.

Wasted Time, Wasted Opportunity

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) published a statistic in its research entitled, “The Opportunity Myth”, in which it estimates that high school students spend three-fourths of their time on assignments that are not grade-appropriate. The result of such wasted time is a lack of preparation for college, which also contributes to the difficulty high school graduates are having completing college in a timely manner. That situation has contributed to a student debt crisis.

My response to that statistic, thinking from an Essentialist perspective, is, “Why stop at the grade level when considering whether assignments are appropriate?”

Each child is so unique that even the grade-appropriate work they are doing is oftentimes not person-appropriate or interest-appropriate. Having come across the concept of Essentialism and the research that went into creating that sort of an epiphany about living a more proactive life reinforces the decision we made to homeschool.

The post Homeschooling: Applying Essentialism to Educating Children appeared first on The Handbook for Happiness, and Success, and Prosperity Prosperopedia.

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#Prosperity #Wealth #Riches

[terryblount]

Hitman 2 Review: It’s a Hit, Man…2

It was many years ago that I first played as Agent 47, and I found the game series interesting but a bit too slow in how you must have the patience to wait for the right moment to kill your designated victim. I know, I know; these are stealth games so they have to be slow-paced. Given the pacing and my lack of skill in this genre, I’d just dabble in prior Hitman games back when game magazines would come with demo discs and such.

The only truly positive experience I had with Hitman until now was Hitman movie at the cinema. Even if the movie didn’t receive good marks I enjoyed it and I found it engaging, but we’re not here to discuss about the quality of movies-based-on-games.

Sixteen years after the first Hitman 2, it’s time to see if I can have a positive experience and stealth-succeed at this new Hitman 2.

They see me rollin’, they hatin’…

My Impressive First Mission

From the start, Hitman 2’s presentation is very grand. There’s a great opening cinematic, fantastic cinematography, seamless transitions between introductions and actual gameplay, excellent voice acting, and much more.

All this creates such a powerful draw, getting me fully engaged into the action, ready to direct Agent 47 towards his target. However, I actually find myself preferring to stay close and admire the panorama: a marvelous grey sky reigns over a beautiful beach, with the wind breezing by Agent 47’s bald head.

There’s so much wonderful attention to detail. Far away, in the distance, an exquisite modern villa can be seen. That’s the place I have to go to find someone to kill. The beginning tutorial is well-implemented, being unobtrusive, and clearly explains how to do what is needed with unnecessary information.

In addition, the minimal user interface lets me focus on the world itself to find my purpose, objective, and relevant distances and markers. This clean display is great for honing in on the real purpose of the game: the hunt.

The opening cinematic is just stunning!

Thanks to the excellent tutorial, I know how to gently switch off any camera around the villa, how to overcharge control panels, or how to break into blocked places. So I stealthily proceed into the villa.

To get in, the garage door seems useful: overcharging the switch, it opens without any issue. But in front of me, two corpses are on chairs meaning the owner doesn’t want guests. But apart from the silent duo, nobody seems to be at home.

Inside, somewhere the key information must be kept about my target and perhaps the mysterious Shadow Client, which claims to know everything about my/Agent 47’s past. It’s time to explore and investigate!

First up is my target, Alma Reynard, a dangerous environmental terrorist with some shadowy connections I need to know about. Searching her PC turns up some files, and then she arrives back home with some friends. This isn’t good!

I’m blending in! You can’t see me! Well, you can’t see who I really am, anyway!

I must remain silent because I need to work (aka kill her) without being noticed. Perhaps I should wait until she showers à-là-Psycho? Or perhaps another less disturbing method?

From this tricky multiple choices situation, it’s already clear that choosing the method of murder is a difficult and huge part of the strategy of Hitman 2.

Remember how I said I’m not one for slow-paced stuff? My chosen method is to shoot her as soon as she enters the house. BANG, shot in the forehead (headshot!) from a distance! Then I run away as fast as possible to some bushes by the beach. I proceed to disguise myself as a guard and take the boat to safety.

So there is the first mission. It seems easy in retrospect. What you didn’t see was the frequent saving in combination with helpful autosaves, which allowed me to finally, after many attempts, complete the mission.

Creative Studying, Planning, Executing

In thinking about my first mission, sure, I didn’t use as much stealth as possible, but that’s the strength of Hitman 2: it gives the player creative freedom. There’s so many variables to study and options to plan. And then there’s the actual playing out of the plan, which usually goes off track and requires improvisation.

More experienced players will find many of these missions quite simple probably, but the game does continue to offer new challenges to test your skill as much as you desire.

For instance, the second mission, in Miami, has two targets, a mess of people, many NPCs, numerous costumes for disguise, lots of eyes on you, and tons of guards. This chaotic scenario creates a great contrast to the first mission and gives a nice rhythm to the game.

I’m a waiter… because I wait?

Each mission continues to deliver a nicely recreated location around the world: from New Zealand to Miami, Columbia to India, and Austria and beyond! Each area is a “sandbox” to play with and structure the best strategy to kill the targets.

There’s such diversity of playstyles here. Each mission can be completed in dozens of different ways and can also be replayed to find the best mix of solutions. The more creative the player is, the more points the player will gain.

You can learn much about the world if you desire through not only the initial mission briefing but also listening to hundreds of NPCs chatting about everything, useful or not. Taking time to really study and listen is another great way to enjoy the game.

A Full Game Package

Drawing fully from the first Hitman reboot, there are episodes but they’re released as a whole game this time. No longer being forced to wait for the next content release makes the game feel more complete, which makes spending money on it feel more reasonable.

Here’s me doing my bench press…because it’s a bench…and the press. Get it?

Hitman 2 also includes two new game modes: Sniper Assassin and Ghost Mode. The first one gives you and one other player the chance to play together for a common objective, working as a team.

The second mode is a challenging mode where you have to be quicker and better than your rival in killing your targets. What makes this second mode interesting is that you and your opponent are located in two different identical copies of the same game world.

A sunny, breezy day. Ready for some creative killing.

And if you’re like me and haven’t played the first Hitman reboot, buying the Legacy DLC lets you play the “old” maps from the previous game in Hitman 2. This is a nice way to enjoy the first game’s missions in the second game.

Issues and Concerns

The only great flaw is the menu: aesthetically speaking it is great, but from a user point of view it’s a little bit of a mess. Some options are hard to find and can slow down the process of getting into the action.

A few other issues are noted in the Cons list below. There’s some time limited content, which is unfortunate if you want to play on your own schedule. Some missions can get a bit long.

Just out boating…definitely not here to hunt down and kill someone…

Conclusion

Hitman 2 may seem like an ordinary mission-based game, but it’s more than that: it offers so much quirky and creative gameplay moments. Stalking NPCs while they chatter on about life. Wandering around role-playing as a mechanic. Changing clothes in the bushes.

It’s certainly not a game for everyone, but for those creative players with plentiful patience there’s something very rewarding here. There’s a lot of slow downtime, but that makes the high intensity payoff moments all the more fulfilling.

This is a must have for the fans of the genre and the series, but even if you’re a “newbie” like me, you’ll notice that there is nothing out there like Hitman 2. I’m still playing the game, and I really want to discover every little detail of the game, enjoying all the cities on offer.

Hitman 2 is a unique game without much competition. It can teach you how to kill an important finance genius, who’s also a terrorist, while you wear a clown suit, and how to love and appreciate all of it.

Creative gameplay choices

Many details to discover

Graphically impressive

Very replayable

Great voice acting

Hitman 1 maps DLC

English voices only

Frustrating for newbies

Elusive targets time limited

Some missions are too long

Keyboard/mouse and joypad don’t play well together

Playtime: 30 hours total (and counting). Mathieu has not completed the game, but he’s still playing!

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit laptop computer, with 16GB of Ram, Nvidia 1050Ti.

Hitman 2 Review: It’s a Hit, Man…2 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[bangtan-sarang-dimple-japch-blog]

Transfer Fantasy (Pt 1)

Just a quick guide... you’ll meet the rest of the characters along the way =)

You: Y/N/___

A high school Korean girl transferring to a school in America for a year because of her dad’s work. Part of a group of friends that dance, sing, perform and are quite popular in both Korea and America. Shy, pretty, can speak English pretty well.

Dance group members in Korea-

Hanbyul, Daeho, Cheolmin, Eunkyung, Mijung

Really close to all of them. All very talented. Dance, sing, make MV’s, perform, popular in Korea and America. Dance group name is Shadow. (IDEK at this point, I just made that up..)

“Hi, my name is ___, nice to meet you all. I’m a transfer student from Korea, I’ll be staying here for one year. Sorry about my lacking English and accent, but I hope we get along.”

You head back to your seat once you finish. It’s second period. Apparently, you switch classes for every period and subject here. So you’re going to end up having to introduce yourself around seven times AT LEAST today.

 A pretty girl with red and brown hair smiles at you across the table and introduces herself as Lynne. 

“Hi ___, my name is Lynne. I’m a fan of your dance group!”

“Oh really? Thank you so much!”

“Of course! You guys are awesome. I loved your cover duet with Hanbyul of Dally! Do you want to join me and my friends during lunch? A lot of them really like your group too!”

“Really? That would be awesome! Thank you!”

“No. Way. You’re actually the ____ from Shadow?”

“Yeah... nice to meet you.”

“My name is Kate by the way, and this is Gwyneth, Rachel, Natasha, and Alysia.” 

“Hi!”

Lynne pulled you aside to get some food from the cafeteria. While walking over to the line, she grinned and asked, “You good? I know they can be a handful at times, but they’re really sweet and nice once you get to know them.”

You moved forward and replied, “It’s fine, not like I don’t deal with that when I’m with the group...”

After buying the snacks, the two of you started to head back to the others when you were bumped into by a guy. 

“Ah, geez, sorry, didn’t mean to do that. You good?”

“...yea, it’s fine.”

Lynne sighed. “Typical of you Robert.” Turning to you, she said sarcastically, “I present to you the oh so amazing Robert Choi. Popular athlete of the school, also known as Kate’s crush and the reason why this school’s basketball team does so terribly in games.”

“Hey, that was only one game! And it wasn’t that bad of a screw up!”

“Yeah, letting the other team get 14 easy points when it’s 46:44 isn’t that bad. Might I add that it was also the finals. AGAINST OUR RIVALS! Whatever. This is ___. She’s Korean too, and is a transfer student for one year, so help her out, hm?”

He shrugged and said, “Sure.”

Just then, a group of guys sauntered over. One of them threw an arm over Robert’s shoulder. “Flirting with the new girl already Robert? Don’t terrify her so much, it’s only her first day!”

Your heart skipped a beat. 

He was... really hot. 

Lynne rolled her eyes and exclaimed, “May I also present to you His Highness’s cocky sidekick, Philip Jung. Also Korean, also known as the playboy of the school. Philip, you already know ___ from second period, right?”

He winked and said, “Sure do. Can’t wait to have some fun, eh?”

You just stared at him, incredulous. Yeah, he was hot. But who was he to just start flirting with you? Offended, you remark in Korean, “You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you? Just stop. It’ll be fun while it lasts, but it won’t last long, and you’ll only end up as a sad mess later on.”

Robert’s eyes widened as you spoke, and Lynne decided that it would be better if the two of you just left first. She pulled your hand, and asked if you were okay.

“Yeah, just that his cocky player image pissed me off. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I get like that too. But Robert’s pretty chill for one of them.”

“Them?”

“Robert and Philip are both part of the most popular boy group in our school. Robert’s the most decent. Philip’s basically the leader. Ethan is Rachel’s boyfriend. Gwyneth likes Joseph, and I kinda like Philip when he’s not acting like an asshole. Like just now... I hated him.”

“Yeah...”

                                                    ....................

Philip’s POV

I stared at ___ as she and Lynne walked away. 

“Yah... she just legit rejected you so hard.”

I pushed Robert. “What makes you think I’m gonna give up?”

Y/N’s POV

School’s finally over. I plug in my earbuds, start playing some ZionT, and start walking to the bus stop. As I’m about to exit the school campus, someone shouts, “___!”

I turn, and find Robert running over to me and waving. 

Smiling, I take out one of my earbuds and ask, “Yeah?”

Switching to Korean, he says, “Where are you heading?”

“To the bus stop. And you don’t have to speak in Korean.”

“I’m more comfortable with Hangul... Anyway, I’m heading there too, wanna go together?”

“Sure.”

We start heading off, and quickly, awkward silence takes over. 

“So why did you come to America?”

“Dad’s work.”

“Ah... is it true that you’re part of the dance group Shadow?”

“Yeah. A lot of people have been asking me that. Are we popular here?” I asked that just as a joke, but he replies, “Yeah, you are.” in all seriousness.

“Wow... that’s really touching. What do you normally do after school?”

“Classes, basketball, hanging out with friends, homework... and dancing.”

“YOU DANCE?”

“Yeah, I was gonna invite you over to our studio if you were free...”

He saw the hesitation on my face and quickly said, “Lynne, Kate, Gwyn, and Rachel are gonna be there too...”

“Sure, I guess. What time?”

“How about 4:30 -ish?”

“Just let me stop by at home first then.”

We head into the studio, and my jaw drops. This place is really nice.

There are stretching bars, multiple practice rooms, super expensive speaker systems, and so much more. I’m still staring when I hear Lynne and Kate call me over to the other side of the room. I sit down next to them, changed into a camo crop top and sweats.

Kate looks at my outfit and exclaims, “Looking good girl~!”

I stare at the with wide eyes and say, “This place is a legit professional studio. How did they afford this?”

Lynne scoots closer and asks, “Oh, you already know that Robert and most of their group dances? That’s good. Yeah, it’s really nice. Our school decided to create a competitive dance club and rented out a few rooms in this facility.”

“Ohhh. In Korea, we were only able to get a dance room, nothing special like this place.”

“Well, I think we should start stretching. It’s gonna start soon.”

Philip’s POV

I’m stretching with Ethan and Joseph when Robert and ___ come in together. Her jaw drops and she looks all over the place. Cute.

I don’t think she noticed us yet...

Robert heads over to us, and I immediately ask, “Why did you come in with her?”

He looks over at me and says, “Oh I just walked her to the bus stop and invited her here to see if she wanted to join in for this year. Was that not a good idea?”

Joseph cuts in and says, “Nah, I’ve seen her group on YouTube. They’re fucking acrobats, so it would probably help if she was here.”

Interesting... I’ve only seen a few of Shadow’s dance practice videos, but I don’t remember any acrobatic moves... 

We’ll see very soon. 

#transferstudent #fiction #scenario #series #fluff #angst #highschool #love #badboy #goodgirl #partone #parttwo #comingsoon

[bronovatwelve]

Nina

Nikolina Bronova Mori, professionally known as Nina, is a brazilian and naturalized american, bulgarian, japanese and south korean singer-songwriter, rapper, composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, dancer, choreographer, television host and actress under Million Market and Columbia Records, also serving as the vocalist of the brazilian supergroup Tribalistas. She is amongst a small group of entertainers who have been honored with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Nina holds the record for the artist with the most singles to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Gaon Music Chart. She is also the only artist to have all south korean albums debut at the top of the Gaon Album Chart and all american albums debut at the top of the Billboard 200.

Profile

Full name: Nikolina Bronova Mori (Николина бронова 森). Stage name: Nina (니나). Birth date: December 7th 1998 (19). Birth place: São Paulo, Brazil. Nationality: Brazilian. Zodiac sign: Sagittarius. Chinese zodiac sign: Earth tiger. Height: 1.68cm. Weight: 51kg. Blood type: O. Voica type: Soprano. Vocal analysis: Well Rounded Vocalist and Star.

Curiosities

Animals: Miku (pomeranian) and Misha (rottweiler). Body type: Romantic (medium height, hourglass and voluptuous figure, medium to big bustline, small waist, fleshy arms and legs, small and delicate bone structure with a soft sharpness). Cup size: B. Ethnicity: Brazilian, bulgarian, italian and japanese. Face type: Classic (balanced and symmetrical). Family: Shigeru Mori (father), Ekaterina Konstantinova Bronova (mother) and Karolina Bronova Mori (youngest sister). Hobbies: Reading, drawing, listening to music, singing, dancing, watching movies and television series, exercising, traveling, collecting pens and notebooks, taking pictures, riding her bycicle and writing music. Instruments: Acoustic guitar, banjo, banjo ukulele, baritone guitar, bass guitar, clarinet, classical guitar, drums, electric bass guitar, electric guitar, flamento guitar, flute, harmonica, harp, keyboard, piano, synthesizer and violin. Languages: Bulgarian, english, french, japanese, korean, mandarin, portuguese, russian and spanish. Religion: Catholic. Sexual orientation: Heterosexual. Shoe size: 7.5 (US).

Early life

Nikolina was born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, the daughter of a bulgarian lawyer and a japanese farmer. She lived in Brazil until the age of seven, when she moved with her mother and sisters to Bulgaria, following her parent’s divorce. From the age of five, she wanted to become a singer, and took various musical classes throughout her early years. She moved to South Korea as an exchange student in 2013 and was discovered by a representative of Million Market after posting music covers on YouTube and signed to the label. In 2018, she made her american debut after signing with the label Columbia Records.

Personality

Positive traits: Adventurous, brave, broad-minded, charming, compassionate, creative, determined, diplomatic, faithful, freedom-loving, friendly, good-humored, honest, humanitarian, independent, intellectual, intuitive, jovial, loyal, magnetic, modest, optimistic, philosophical, realistic, self-confident, sensitive, sympathetic, warmhearted and well-liked. Negative traits: Competitive, compulsive, greedy, escapist, idealistic, irritable, obsessive, resentful, restless, selfish and a worrier.

She is known for being very nice to her fans. Many of them report being well treated by her whenever they meet.

Physical appearance

Black and straight hair. Green eyes. Fair skin. Curvy. Dimples. Two piercings on her left ear and three on her right ear. One tattoo on her left ribcage (written “to the stars to the moon”), one tattoo on her right shoulder (japanese writing of “Mori”), one tattoo on her right wrist (written “honey”).

Vocals

Critic Of Music

Vocal type: Spinto-soprano. Positives: Legendary interpretive wit, thanks to incredible knowledge of musical phrasing and vocal pedagogy. A defining, trademarked voice. Incredible breath support, showing no signs of fatigue and carrying extensive legato passages with ease. Incredible utilization of dynamics, using all volumes from fortissimo to pianissimo and everything in between to craft incredible phrases. Great control of her passagio and incredibly balanced instrument. Powerful, resonant belts that are mixed with head voice, that are well-supported and healthy, projecting massive resonance with ease. A master of breath support. Able to rapid fire mid and upper belts. Her low notes are also well supported, dark and full. The head voice is resonant and piercing, full and fluid. Her vibrato is well developed and rolling, and can be executed with ease. Her timbre is velvety and luscious and makes for a perfect midrange. She is also able to sing complex melisma in all registers, with every register well connected. Her falsetto is light and sweet. She also has unparalleled register transitions, switching from chest to head, head to whistle, and even chest to whistle without as much of a pause. Pitch perfect in 99% of performances. Technically, a brilliant singer. Negatives: Occasionally raises her larynx in upper-belts.

K-Pop Vocal Analysis

Voice type: Soprano. Strengths: The strongest female singer in South Korea and arguably the entire current music scene. Consistent support, very well connected head voice, transitions are flawless, extreme control of dynamics and mixing, runs are precise and well articulated, nasality is almost never present in her singing. Points for improvement: Head voice can show issues with upper-belts, complicated vowels can create tension in her voice. Agility: The top vocalist in terms of agility and precision amongst korean singers, able to keep control of and flexibility in her runs and melismas. Her runs are precise in pitch and generally very well separated, every note is clear and the overall flow is good and natural. Musicianship: Arguably her second strongest virtue, Nina is not one to be labelled as a “karaoke” singer. Taking note from the general idea of self expression and vocal freedom, she always shows creativity and never delivers vocal performances that are exactly the same as another, being generally filled with new vocal melodies, playing with rhythm and vocal runs added by Nina herself, notably being able to always deliver accurate and precise changes to covers and her own original song performances.

Albums and singles

Chat-Shire (2014) 11:11 Every End Of The Day I (ft. Verbal Jint) Instagram Pilot (ft. Woo Jiyoon) Why?

Relax Your Mind (2015) Automatic Galaxy Half Moon (ft. Gaeko) One Of These Nights Serendipity What To Do (ft. Crush)

Modern Times (2016) Don’t Say No Free Somebody Good Day I Feel You (ft. Yubin) Nineteen Peek-A-Boo

A New Empire (2017) Bad Boy Gashina Home (ft. Yoon Mi Rae) Playing With Fire Really Really (ft. Mino) Whistle

Yours Truly (2018) Into You Love Me Harder One Last Time Problem (ft. Big Sean) The Way Too Little Too Late

Vivid (2019) All I Want For Christmas Emotions I Wanna Dance With Somebody Love On Top No One Physical

Revival (2020) Bills, Bills, Bills Bootylicious If I Were A Boy Independent Women Say My Name Single Ladies

Here, My Dear (2021) Attention Can’t Feel My Face Diamonds Let’s Groove September Sexual Healing

My Voice (2022) Baby Baby (ft. Young K) Eyes, Nose, Lips Loser (ft. Leo Yang) Missing You Palette (ft. G-Dragon) Why So Lonely (ft. Yezi)

Lemonade (2023) Hold Up How Can I Ease The Pain Million Reasons My Immortal Perfect Illusion Sorry

Fever (2024) Bad Liar Dangerous Woman Do I Wanna Know? Psycho Killer Take Me To Church Wild Thoughts

Portrait (2025) Back To Black Chandelier Drunk In Love Love On The Brain Stone Cold Un-Break My Heart

Who I Am (2028) Because Of You Bleeding Love Fallin’ Halo If I Ain’t Got You I’m Not The Only One

Spirit (2030) Hello Rolling In The Deep Send My Love Set Fire To The Rain Someone Like You

Time (2032) Can’t Make You Love Me I Have Nothing I Look To You I Will Always Love You When We Were Young

How Does That Grab You? (2035) Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Dust In The Wind Every Breath You Take Killing Me Softly The Sound Of Silence

Katerina (2038) Bohemian Rhapsody Come Together I Want To Break Free Sign Of The Times Somebody To Love We Are The Champions

Waiting To Exhale (2040) Always On My Mind Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood Hurt The Blower’s Daughter Wonderwall

A Flower Bookmark (2042) Autumn Morning Last Night Story Let’s Meet On Friday (ft. Jang Yi Jeong) Secret Garden Sleepless Summer Night Through The Night

The Diary Of Nina (2045) Can’t Help Falling In Love From This Moment On Here Comes The Sun Loving You Yesterday You’re Still The One

Glassheart (2048) A Change Is Gonna Come All The Man I Need Cruisin’ Greatest Love Of All Let’s Stay Together Say A Little Prayer

Bird Of Happiness (2050) Dreamlover Hero Love Takes Time Someday Vision Of Love We Belong Together

Last Fantasy (2052) Ending Scene Fine Hold Me Please Don’t Rain You Were Beautiful

These Are My Blues (2055) At Last Feeling Good I Put A Spell On You Respect Something’s Got A Hold On Me This Is A Man’s World

Albums and non-title tracks

Chat-Shire (2014) Across The Universe Chocolate Don’t Like Her Everyday With You Glasses Heart I Would Peach Someday Stay Sweet And Easy (ft. Kisum)

Relax Your Mind (2015) Answer Cactus Flower If You I Need Somebody I Wait Lately, I (ft. Ant) Love Alone Moonlight Melody Night Reminisce (ft. Yang Da II) Star (ft. Heize) Take Me Where Are You?

Modern Times (2016) Faded Love Gemini Gone (ft. Jessi) John Doe (ft. Jiyoon) Knees Look Magic Rebirth Rewind (ft. Moonbyul) Sailing Talk To Me

A New Empire (2017) Back To You (ft. Leo Yang) Bae Black Out (ft. Ravi) Dance Dance Fool How Why (ft. L.E) I Just Let Me Know (ft. DPR Live) To Him Velvet Walkin’ (ft. Hash Swan) You&Me

Yours Truly (2018) Baby, I Bad Decisions Be My Baby Closer Fools For Him Gone And Found Greedy Higher How I Want Ya (ft. Jordan Fisher) How To Be A Heartbreaker I Don’t Care Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart Let Me Love You Never Wanna Know Only One Paper Heart Right There Sometimes Tattooed Heart Tears (ft. Clean Bandit) Touch Me Wild You’ll Never Know

Vivid (2019) All That Baby, I’m Yours (ft. Miles Kane) Body Language Boy Problems Can’t Sleep Love Come Alive (ft. Toro Y Moi) Cry Dorothy Dandrige Eyes (ft. Esperanza Spalding) Dust Is Gone Finesse First Time Gimme Love Hard To Say No I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance Maiden Making The Most Of The Night Primetime (ft. Miguel) Run Away With Me Say You’ll Be There Schoolin’ Life Sir Greendown Store The One Too Good To Say Goodbye We Were Rock & Roll Your Type

Revival (2020) 10-20-40 Be Alright Bound Countdown Cyber Stockholm Syndrome Ego Fantasy (ft. Amber Liu) Gave It Away Glow If I Ever Fall In Love (ft. Janelle Monáe) I Got The Juice (ft. Pharrell Williams) Kiss Me Better Knew Better Listen No Mythologies To Follow No Tears Left To Cry Oh No! Primadonna Girl Red In The Grey Ridin’ (ft. A$AP Rocky) Rose Gold Simple Things Slow Love Tears (ft. Clean Bandit) Ugly West Coast What An Experience

Here, My Dear (2021) 6 Inch (ft. The Weeknd) Adorn After The Love Has Gone A Lonely Night Broken Clocks Coffee Done For Me Emotion Every Kind Of Way Falling For You Fetish (ft. Schoolboy Q) Fire Rides Heart Less High By The Beach In Your Bed Love On The Weekend Lovely (ft. Khalid) Ocean Eyes Passionfruit Perfect Sad Girl Somebody Else Something About Us (ft. Daft Punk) Sure Thing Thinking About You Too Good (ft. Alan Love) Touch Me

My Voice (2022) Boy (ft. Miryo) Can’t Love You Anymore (ft. Dean) How Can I Say? I’ll Try I Wish Jam Jam Perfect 10 Secret Too Good To Me (ft. Jeon Soyeon) Weekend (ft. L.E) Wine (ft. Changmo) Woo Yoo

Lemonade (2023) All The Way Down And I Drove You Crazy Daddy Lessons (ft. Dixie Chicks) Don’t Hurt Yourself (ft. Jack White) Drowning Forward (ft. James Blake) He Don’t Love Me How Long I’m Your Doll In Time Landfill Lies Love Drought Me, Myself And I Mother Earth My Boy My Mind Numbers Phase Me Out Pray You Catch Me Sandcastles Secrets This Is Not About Us Video Girl Waiting Game Watch What Kind Of Man

Fever (2024) After The Storm (ft. Bootsy Collins and Tyler, The Creator) Are You Satisfied? Baby Boy Birth In Reverse Black Sheep Cupid’s Chokehold Empty Nesters Faster Forrest Gump I Wanna Be Yours Locked Inside Miracle Alligner Night By Night No Control One For The Road Puppet Love Redbone Run Baby Run Self Control Someone New Stockholm Syndrome Strange Mercy To Be Alone Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? Yeah Right Your Teeth In My Neck Zombie

Portrait (2025) Belly Ache Betsy On The Roof Bored Cake Copycat Django Sambo Eyes On Fire Hostage I Don’t Wanna Be You Anymore If These Walls Could Talk Liability Love Is A Losing Game Nicest Thing Pilgrim Reality Russian Roulette Serial Killer Something In The Way Talk Me Down Tears Dry On Their Own Teen Idle Tunnel Vision (ft. Shamir) Victory Until We Bleed Use Me You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore You Know I’m No Good

Who I Am (2028) Almost Is Never Enough As Long As You Love Me Bad Religion Cannonball Crave You Draw Your Swords Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic Fireproof Freak Home Just A Boy Let’s Get Lost Listen Malibu Midnight Bottle Moonlight Older Chests Only You Start Of Time Talking To The Moon Tell Me That You Love Me Training Wheels Valentine Volcano Whatever You Like When Your Mind’s Made Up

Spirit (2030) 57821 (ft. Deep Cotton) All I Ask Dark Paradise Hometown Glory I Can’t Get Started I Don’t Know You It Takes A Lot To Know A Man Love In The Dark Lucky Million Years Ago Never Been In Love Before Oh, Maker! River Lea Rumour Has It Salvation Speechless Sweetest Devotion Tightrope (ft. Big Boi) Turning Tables Venus Video Games Vultures Water Under The Bridge You Young And Beautiful

Time (2032) 9 Crimes All Of You Can’t Pretend Caught Don’t Look Back Emotion Illuminated I Miss You Jealous Little Boy Blue Love Nick Of Time Nirvana Nitesky (ft. Robot Koch) Nostalgia One (ft. U2) Palace Pink (ft. Grimes) Religion Remedy The Chain Wolves Wondaland

How Does That Grab You? (2035) All I Have To Do Is Dream Build Me Up Buttercup But Not For Me Can’t Live Without Your Love Heal The World I Fall In Love Too Easily If I Had You I’ll Be There I’m A Ruin I’m Gonna Find Another You Immortal It’s My Party Look For The Silver Lining Look Into My Eyes Make You Feel My Love My Funny Valentine Only Hope Pink Matter Quickie Solo (ft. Andre 3000) The Touch Of Yours Lips Want You Back Wonder You Don’t Own Me

Katerina (2038) Bloodsport Boogieman Come To Mama Holding On Ivy Japanese Denim Killer Queen Land Locked Blues Leave Me Lonely (ft. Macy Gray) Like Real People Do My Favorite Faded Fantasy Neon Valley Street Please Don’t Leave Me Regret Sally Ride Sinner’s Prayer Sober Slow It Down Somebody Told Me Stop The World Touch When You Were Young Who Knew Yellow Brick Road

Waiting To Exhale (2040) A Heartbreak Blood Dazed In Daydreams Delicate Elephant Everywhere I Go Freedom (ft. Kentorey Johnson) Guiding Light Heart Beats Slow I Don’t Want To Change You I’m Afraid In Chains Love Me Like I’m Not Made Of Stone Medicine No Such Thing One Flight Down Pink + White Put Your Number In My Phone Rootless Tree Run Say It To Me Now Ship To Wreck The Animals Were Gone You Don’t Have To Go

A Flower Bookmark (2042) All Alone By The Stream Dear Name Draw Me (ft. Yoon Mi Rae) Full Stop How Can Someone Be Like This? Lonely Nights Love In Color Now Try Your

The Diary Of Nina (2045) Big Jet Plane Blackbird Burning Love Clementine Color Me In Creature Fear Dogs Don’t Know Why Falling Slowly Flightless Bird, American Mouth Gravity Happily He Was Too Good To Me Love Has No Pride Lua My Ideal Paper Aeroplane Slow Dancing In A Burning Room Stand Tall Strong The Long Day Is Over The Moon Song Time After Time Waiting On The World To Change

Glassheart (2048) All This And Heaven Too A Woman’s Worth Believe In You And Me Crazy, Classic, Life Follow Rivers Hardest Of Hearts Honeymoon Avenue I Am Every Woman It’s Always You Like You’ll Never See Me Again Never Let Me Go One Night Only Picture Me Gone Radioactive Run To You Screwed (ft. Zoë Kravitz) The Light Is On Tired Of Being Alone Tomorrow (ft. Tame Impala) Valley Of The Dolls Want You Back You’re Still My Man

Bird Of Happiness (2050) Alterlife Always Be My Baby Anytime You Need A Friend Can’t Let Go Cosmic Love Dirty Computer (ft. Brian Wilson) Drumming Song Falling I Don’t Wanna Cry I’m Not Calling You A Liar Lay All Your Love On Me Like Someone In Love Living Dead Make Me Feel My All One Summer Night Shoot The Moon Suspicious Mind Take Me To The River The State Of Dreaming Wildest Dreams Without You

Last Fantasy (2052) Dreamer Falling Out Foolish Goodbye Lean On Me Letting Go Make Me Love You Meaning Of You (ft. Kim Changwan) My Medicine Only I Didn’t Know Voice Mail Zeze

These Are My Blues (2055) Ain’t No Way Buy The Stars Code Cold Cold Heart Don’t Judge Me Do You? Embraceable You How Deep Is The Ocean? Hypocrates I’d Rather Go Blind I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) I Want You I Was Here Lipstick Long Long Way Love T.K.O My Future Just Passed Take A Bite Too Much Heaven Valerie Voila What’s New? You Light Up My Life

Collaborations

2014 Bom Bom Bom (ft. Roy Kim)

2015 Dream (ft. Junho)

2016 Sseudam Sseudam (ft. 10CM)

2017 Whisper (ft. Ravi)

2018 Hymn For The Weekend (ft. Coldplay)

2019 You Know You Like It (ft. DJ Snake)

2020 Anti (ft. Leo Yang)

2021 Digital Love (ft. Daft Punk) I Feel It Coming (ft. Daft Punk)

2022 Loyalty (ft. Kentorey Johnson)

2023 Sensual Seduction (ft. Cardi B)

2025 Slide (ft. Calvin Harris, Childish Gambino and Offset)

2026 Yesterday (ft. Crush, Dean and Leo Yang)

2029 Lost On The Way Home (ft. Chromeo)

2034 Stay (ft. Mikky Ekko)

2036 Beautiful (ft. Miguel)

2043 Empire State Of Mind (ft. Kentorey Johnson)

2047 You, Clouds, Rain (ft. Shin Yong Jae)

2058 How Deep Is Your Love (ft. The Bird And The Bee)

Soundtracks

Cheese Trap (2015) If It Is You I’m Serious (ft. Day6)

Goblin: The Great And Lonely God (2017) Lost Love You Are

La La Land (2022) City Of Stars I Won’t Say I’m In Love The Audition

Call me By Your Name (2024) On My Own

Breakfast At Tifanny’s (2031) La Vi En Rose Moon River Once Upon A Dream

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (2033) The Bells Of Notre Dame

Pocahontas (2037) Colors Of The Wind If I Never Knew You Just Around The Riverbend Savages (Part One) Savages (Part Two)

Funny Girl (2041) A Piece Of Sky Don’t Rain On My Parade My Man The Man That Got Away Why Don’t You Do Right?

Anastasia (2046) Journey To The Past Learn To Do It Once Upon A December

The Nightmare Before Christmas (2049) Finale Kidnap The Sandy Claws Sally’s Song

My Love From Another Star (2053) I Will Come To You We Loved (ft. 20 Years Of Age)

The Prince Of Egypt (2057) Deliver Us When You Believe

Filmography (MC)

After School Club (2015-2017) Alongside Eric Nam and U-KISS’ Kevin (from 2015 to 2016) and Day6′s Jae and U-KISS’ Kevin (in 2017).

SBS Inkigayo (2017) Alongside GOT7′s Jinyoung and NCT’s Doyoung.

Filmography (movies)

Architecture 101 (2016) La La Land (2022) Call Me By Your Name (2024) A Bittersweet Life (2029) Breakfast At Tiffany’s (2031) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (2033) Funny Girl (2041) Two Days, One Night (2044) Anastasia (2046) The Nightmare Before Christmas (2049) I Am Love (2053) A Moment To Remember (2054) The Prince Of Egypt (2057) Amour (2084)

Filmography (television series)

Pocahontas (2037)

Theatre

Lés Miserables (2027)

Competition

King Of Masked Singer (2015) “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” against Son Heon-soo. “Hurt” against Kyungri. “Con Te Partiro” against Lee Hae-ri.

Covers (on YouTube)

2011 Everytime by Britney Spears. Like I’m Gonna Lose You by John Legend.

2012 E.T by Katy Perry. Paparazzi by Lady Gaga.

Cover performances

Gayo Daejun (2015) Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.

Golden Disc Awards (2017) Will The Circle Be Unbroken (with Lee Hi).

Super Bowl (2020) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

BBC Radio 1 (2022) Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.

American Music Awards (2024) Got To Be Real by Cheryl Lynn (with Cheryl Lynn).

Grammy Awards (2027) Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (with Pentatonix).

BBC Radio 1 (2031) Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez.

NBA All-Star (2034) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

BBC Radio 1 (2042) Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears.

MTV Music Video Awards (2049) My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.

Super Bowl (2052) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

Partners

Tidiou M’Baye (2012) Sho Wara (2018-2023) *married in 2022, divorced in 2023 Bill Skarsgård (2025-) *married in 2028

Children

Dario Skarsgård (2031) Isabela Skarsgård (2033) Luna Skarsgård (2035) Anton Skarsgård (2035)

[bronovaten]

Nina

Nikolina Bronova Mori, professionally known as Nina, is a japanese and naturalized american, bulgarian, south korean and swedish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, choreographer and actress under JYP Entertainment and Columbia Records. She is amongst a small group of entertainers who have been honored with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Nina holds the record for the artist with the most singles to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Gaon Music Chart. She is also the only artist to have all south korean albums debut at the top of the Gaon Album Chart and all american albums debut at the top of the Billboard 200.

Profile

Full name: Nikolina Bronova Mori (Николина бронова 森). Birth date: December 7th 1998 (19). Birth place: Tokyo, Japan. Zodiac sign: Sagittarius. Chinese zodiac sign: Earth tiger. Height: 1.68cm. Weight: 52kg. Nicknames: Goddess Of Music, Million Dollar Smile, Nation’s First Love, Queen B, Songbird Supreme, The Voice and True Visual. Blood type: O. Voice type: Soprano. Vocal ranking: Star and Great Vocalist.

Curiosities

Animals: Miku (pomeranian) and Misha (rottweiler). Body type: Theatrical romantic (medium height, hourglass and voluptuous figure, medium to big bustline, small waist, fleshy arms and legs, small and delicate bone structure with a soft sharpness). Cup size: C. Ethnicity: Brazilian, bulgarian, japanese and portuguese. Face type: Classic (symmetrical and balanced features). Family: Shigeru Sugahara Mori (father), Katarina Montes Bronova (mother) and Karolina Bronova Mori (younger sister). Fandom name: Beehive. Hobbies: Reading, drawing, listening to music, singing, dancing, watching movies and television series, exercising, traveling, collecting pens and notebooks, taking pictures, riding her bycicle and writing music. Instruments: Acoustic guitar, banjo, banjo ukulele, baritone guitar, bass guitar, clarinet, classical guitar, drums, electric bass guitar, electric guitar, flamento guitar, flute, harmonica, harp, keyboard, piano, synthesizer and violin. Languages: Bulgarian, english, french, japanese, korean, mandarin, portuguese, russian and spanish. Nicknames: Goddess Of Music, Million Dollar Smile, Nation’s First Love, Queen B, Songbird Supreme, The Voice and True Visual. Religion: Catholic. Sexual orientation: Heterosexual. Shoe size: 7.5 (US).

Early life

Nikolina was born in Tokyo, Japan, the daughter of a bulgarian lawyer and a japanese farmer. She lived in Japan until the age of seven, when she moved with her mother and younger sister to Bulgaria, following her parent’s divorce. From the early age of five, she wanted to become a singer, and took various musical classes throughout her early years. She moved to South Korea as an exchange student in 2012 and, after staring in the Broadway production of Lés Miserables and winning a Tony Award for her performance, she was discovered by a representative of JYP Entertainment and signed to the label. In 2020, she made her american debut after signing with the label Columbia Records.

Personality

Positive traits: Adventurous, brave, broad-minded, charming, compassionate, creative, determined, diplomatic, faithful, freedom-loving, friendly, good-humored, honest, humanitarian, independent, intellectual, intuitive, jovial, loyal, magnetic, modest, optimistic, philosophical, realistic, self-confident, sensitive, sympathetic, warmhearted and well-liked. Negative traits: Competitive, compulsive, greedy, escapist, idealistic, irritable, obsessive, resentful, restless, selfish and a worrier.

She is known for being very nice to her fans. Many of them report being well treated by her whenever they meet.

Physical appearance

Black and straight hair. Green eyes. Fair skin. Curvy. Dimples. Two piercings on her left ear and three on her right ear.One tattoo on her left ribcage (“to the stars to the moon”) and one tattoo on her right shoulder (japanese writing of “Mori”).

Vocals

Critic Of Music

Vocal type: Spinto-soprano. Positives: Legendary interpretive wit, thanks to incredible knowledge of musical phrasing and vocal pedagogy. A defining, trademarked voice. Incredible breath support, showing no signs of fatigue and carrying extensive legato passages with ease. Incredible utilization of dynamics, using all volumes from fortissimo to pianissimo and everything in between to craft incredible phrases. Great control of her passagio and incredibly balanced instrument. Powerful, resonant belts that are mixed with head voice, that are well-supported and healthy, projecting massive resonance with ease. A master of breath support. Able to rapid fire mid and upper belts. Her low notes are also well supported, dark and full. The head voice is resonant and piercing, full and fluid. Her vibrato is well developed and rolling, and can be executed with ease. Her timbre is velvety and luscious and makes for a perfect midrange. She is also able to sing complex melisma in all registers, with every register well connected. Her falsetto is light and sweet. She also has unparalleled register transitions, switching from chest to head, head to whistle, and even chest to whistle without as much of a pause. Pitch perfect in 99% of performances. Technically, a brilliant singer. Negatives: Occasionally raises her larynx in upper-belts.

K-Pop Vocal Analysis

Voice type: Soprano. Strengths: The strongest female singer in South Korea and arguably the entire current music scene. Consistent support, very well connected head voice, transitions are flawless, extreme control of dynamics and mixing, runs are precise and well articulated, nasality is almost never present in her singing. Points for improvement: Head voice can show issues with upper-belts, complicated vowels can create tension in her voice. Agility: The top vocalist in terms of agility and precision amongst korean singers, able to keep control of and flexibility in her runs and melismas. Her runs are precise in pitch and generally very well separated, every note is clear and the overall flow is good and natural. Musicianship: Arguably her second strongest virtue, Nina is not one to be labelled as a “karaoke” singer. Taking note from the general idea of self expression and vocal freedom, she always shows creativity and never delivers vocal performances that are exactly the same as another, being generally filled with new vocal melodies, playing with rhythm and vocal runs added by Nina herself, notably being able to always deliver accurate and precise changes to covers and her own original song performances.

Albums and singles

Chat-Shire (2015) 11:11 Every End Of The Day I (ft. Verbal Jint) Instagram Pilot (ft. Woo Jiyoon) Why?

Modern Times (2016) Free Somebody Good Day Insane Monday Afternoon Seventeen The Red Shoes

Invitation (2017) Don’t Say No I Feel You (ft. Yubin) Night Rather Than Day (ft. Hani, Moonbyul and Seulgi) Peek-A-Boo Playing With Fire (ft. Kasper) Spring Day (ft. Dok2)

Relax Your Mind (2018) Automatic Galaxy Half Moon (ft. Gaeko) One Of These Nights Serendipity What To Do (ft. Crush)

A New Empire (2019) Bad Boy Come Back Home Gashina Home (ft. Yoon Mi Rae) Really Really (ft. Mino) Whistle (ft. Kisum)

Yours Truly (2020) Into You Love Me Harder One Last Time Problem (ft. Big Sean) The Way Too Little Too Late

Vivid (2021) All I Want For Christmas Emotions I Wanna Dance With Somebody Love On Top No One Physical

Revival (2022) Bills, Bills, Bills Bootylicious If I Were A Boy Independent Women Say My Name Single Ladies

Lemonade (2023) Can’t Feel My Face Diamonds How Can I Ease The Pain? Let’s Groove September Sexual Healing

My Voice (2024) Baby Baby (ft. Young K) Eyes, Nose, Lips Loser (ft. Yang Ye Ming) Missing You Palette (ft. G-Dragon) Why So Lonely (ft. Yezi)

Fever (2025) Bad Liar Dangerous Woman Do I Wanna Know? Psycho Killer Take Me To Church Wild Thoughts

Portrait (2026) Back To Black Chandelier Drunk In Love Love On The Brain Stone Cold Un-Break My Heart

Who I Am (2028) Because Of You Bleeding Love Fallin’ Halo If I Ain’t Got You Million Reasons

Spirit (2030) Hello Rolling In The Deep Send My Love Set Fire To The Rain Someone Like You

Time (2032) Can’t Make You Love Me I Have Nothing I Look To You I Will Always Love You When We Were Young

How Does That Grab You? (2035) Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Dust In The Wind Every Breath You Take Killing Me Softly The Sound Of Silence

Katerina (2038) Bohemian Rhapsody Come Together I Want To Break Free Sign Of The Times Somebody To Love We Are The Champions

Waiting To Exhale (2040) Always On My Mind Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood Hurt The Blower’s Daughter Wonderwall

A Flower Bookmark (2042) Autumn Morning Last Night Story Let’s Meet On Friday (ft. Jang Yi Jeong) Secret Garden Sleepless Summer Night Through The Night

The Diary Of Nina (2045) Can’t Help Falling In Love From This Moment On Here Comes The Sun Loving You Yesterday You’re Still The One

Glassheart (2048) A Change Is Gonna Come All The Man I Need Cruisin’ Greatest Love Of All Let’s Stay Together Say A Little Prayer

Bird Of Happiness (2050) Dreamlover Hero Love Takes Time Someday Vision Of Love We Belong Together

Last Fantasy (2052) Ending Scene Fine Hold Me Please Don’t Rain You Were Beautiful

These Are My Blues (2055) At Last Feeling Good I Put A Spell On You Respect Something’s Got A Hold On Me This Is A Man’s World

Albums and non-title tracks

Chat-Shire (2015) Across The Universe Chocolate Don’t Like Her Everyday With You Glasses Heart Peach Someday Stay

Modern Times (2016) Bye Bye My Blue Gemini Hard To Love Knees Red Queen (ft. Zion.T) Sailing Shouldn’t Have Sweet And Easy (ft. Kisum) Sweet Lies (ft. The Barberettes) To The Beautiful You

Invitation (2017) Faded Love Gone Hopeless Love John Doe (ft. Jiyoon) Look Magic Rebirth Rewind (ft. Yubin) Talk To Me Yes, I Am (ft. Moonbyul)

Relax Your Mind (2018) Answer Cactus Flower If You Lately, I (ft. Ant) Love Alone Moonlight Melody Night Reminisce (ft. Yang Da II) Star (ft. Heize) Take Me Where Are You?

A New Empire (2019) Back To You (ft. Yang Ye Ming) Bae Black Out (ft. Ravi) Fool How Why (ft. L.E) I Just Let Me Know (ft. DPR Live) To Him Walkin’ (ft. Hash Swan) You&Me

Yours Truly (2020) Bad Decisions Be My Baby Closer Fools For Him Gone And Found Greedy Higher How I Want Ya (ft. Jordan Fisher) How To Be A Heartbreaker I Don’t Care Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart Let Me Love You Never Wanna Know No Tears Left To Cry Only One Paper Heart Right There Sometimes Tattooed Heart Touch (ft. Canvas) Wild You’ll Never Know

Vivid (2021) All That Baby, I Body Language Boy Problems Calling All My Lovelies Can’t Sleep Love Come Alive (ft. Toro Y Moi) Cry Dust Is Gone Finesse First Time Gimme Love Hard To Say No I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance Maiden Making The Most Of The Night Run Away With Me Say You’ll Be There Store The One Too Good To Say Goodbye Your Type

Revival (2022) 10-20-40 Be Alright Countdown Cyber Stockholm Syndrome Ego Fantasy (ft. Amber Liu) Gave It Away Glow If I Ever Fall In Love (ft. Janelle Monáe) Knew Better Listen No Mythologies To Follow Oh No! Primadonna Girl Red In The Grey Ridin’ (ft. A$AP Rocky) Rose Gold Schoolin’ Life Simple Things Slow Love Tears (ft. Clean Bandit) Ugly West Coast You Don’t Know Me

Lemonade (2023) 6 Inch (ft. The Weeknd) Adorn After The Love Has Gone A Lonely Night Bound Broken Clocks Coffee Done For Me Emotion Every Kind Of Way (ft. Wale) Falling For You Fetish (ft. Schoolboy Q) Fire Rides Heart Less In Your Bed Love Drought Love On The Weekend Lovely (ft. Khalid) Ocean Eyes Passionfruit Perfect Serial Killer Somebody Else Something About Us (ft. Daft Punk) Thinking About You Too Good (ft. Alan Love) Touch Me

My Voice (2024) Boy (ft. Miryo) Can’t Love You Anymore (ft. Dean) I Wish Jam Jam Perfect 10 Secret Too Good To Me (ft. Jeon Soyeon) Weekend (ft. L.E) Wine (ft. Changmo) Woo Yoo

Fever (2025) After The Storm (ft. Bootsy Collins and Tyler, The Creator) Are You Satisfied? Baby Boy Birth In Reverse Black Sheep Cupid’s Chokehold Empty Nesters Forrest Gump I Don’t Trust Myself With Loving You I Wanna Be Yours Miracle Alligner Night By Night No Control One For The Road Puppet Love Redbone Run Baby Run Self Control Someone New Stockholm Syndrome Strange Mercy To Be Alone Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? Yeah Right Your Teeth In My Neck Zombie

Portrait (2026) Belly Ache Betsy On The Roof Bored Broken Clocks Cake Copycat Drowning Eyes On Fire Hostage I Don’t Wanna Be You Anymore If These Walls Could Talk Liability Love Is A Losing Game My Boy Nicest Thing Pilgrim Reality Russian Roulette Talk Me Down Tears Dry On Their Own Teen Idle Tunnel Vision (ft. Shamir) Until We Bleed Use Me You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore You Know I’m No Good

Who I Am (2028) Almost Is Never Enough As Long As You Love Me Bad Religion Cannonball Crave You Draw Your Swords Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic Fireproof Freak Home I’m Not The Only One Just A Boy Let’s Get Lost Listen Malibu Midnight Bottle Moonlight Older Chests Start Of Time Talking To The Moon Tell Me That You Love Me Training Wheels Valentine Volcano Whatever You Like You

Spirit (2030) All I Ask Dark Paradise Hometown Glory I Can’t Get Started It Takes A Lot To Know A Man Love In The Dark Lucky Million Years Ago Never Been In Love Before River Lea Rumour Has It Sad Girl Salvation Speechless Sweetest Devotion Turning Tables Venus Video Games Vultures Water Under The Bridge Watch Young And Beautiful

Time (2032) 9 Crimes All Of You Can’t Pretend Caught Don’t Look Back Emotion Illuminated Jealous Lies Little Boy Blue Love Nick Of Time Nirvana Nitesky (ft. Robot Koch) Nostalgia One (ft. U2) Palace Religion Remedy Sandcastles The Chain Wolves

How Does That Grab You? (2035) All I Have To Do Is Dream Build Me Up Buttercup But Not For Me Heal The World How Long I Fall In Love Too Easily If I Had You I’ll Be There I’m A Ruin I’m Gonna Find Another You Immortal It’s My Party Look For The Silver Lining Make You Feel My Love My Funny Valentine Only Hope Pink Matter Quickie Slow Dancing In A Burning Room Solo (ft. Andre 3000) The Touch Of Yours Lips Want You Back Wonder You Don’t Own Me

Katerina (2038) Bloodsport Boogieman Come To Mama Daddy Lessons (ft. Dixie Chicks) Don’t Fall In Love With Someone New Holding On Ivy Japanese Denim Killer Queen Landfill Land Locked Blues Leave Me Lonely (ft. Macy Gray) Like Real People Do My Favorite Faded Fantasy Pain Please Don’t Leave Me Regret Sinner’s Prayer Sober Stop The World Touch When You Were Young Who Knew Yellow Brick Road

Waiting To Exhale (2040) A Heartbreak All The Way Down Blood Dazed In Daydreams Delicate Elephant Everywhere I Go Freedom (ft. Kentorey Johnson) Guiding Light Heart Beats Slow I Don’t Want To Change You In Chains Love Me Like I’m Not Made Of Stone Medicine No Such Thing One Flight Down Pink + White Put Your Number In My Phone Rootless Tree Run Say It To Me Now Ship To Wreck The Animals Were Gone You Don’t Have To Go

A Flower Bookmark (2042) By The Stream Dear Name Draw Me (ft. Yoon Mi Rae) Full Stop How Can Someone Be Like This? Lonely Nights Love In Color Now Try Your

The Diary Of Nina (2045) Big Jet Plane Blackbird Burning Love Clementine Color Me In Creature Fear Dogs Don’t Know Why Falling Slowly Flightless Bird, American Mouth Gravity Happily He Was Too Good To Me Love Has No Pride Lua My Ideal Paper Aeroplane Slow Dancing In A Burning Room Stand Tall Strong The Long Day Is Over The Moon Song Time After Time Waiting On The World To Change

Glassheart (2048) All This And Heaven Too A Woman’s Worth Believe In You And Me Follow Rivers Hardest Of Hearts Honeymoon Avenue I Am Every Woman It’s Always You Like You’ll Never See Me Again Never Let Me Go One Night Only Picture Me Gone Radioactive Run To You The Light Is On Tired Of Being Alone Tomorrow (ft. Tame Impala) Valley Of The Dolls Want You Back You’re Still My Man

Bird Of Happiness (2050) Alterlife Always Be My Baby Anytime You Need A Friend Can’t Let Go Cosmic Love Drumming Song Falling I Don’t Wanna Cry I’m Not Calling You A Liar Lay All Your Love On Me Like Someone In Love Living Dead My All One Summer Night Shoot The Moon Suspicious Mind Take Me To The River The State Of Dreaming Wildest Dreams Without You

Last Fantasy (2052) Dreamer Falling Out Foolish Goodbye Make Me Love You Meaning Of You (ft. Kim Changwan) My Medicine Only I Didn’t Know Voice Mail Zeze

These Are My Blues (2055) Ain’t No Way Buy The Stars Cold Cold Heart Do You? Embraceable You How Deep Is The Ocean? Hypocrates I’d Rather Go Blind I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) I Want You I Was Here Lipstick Long Long Way Love T.K.O My Future Just Passed Too Much Heaven Valerie Voila What’s New? You Light Up My Life

Collaborations

2015 Bom Bom Bom (ft. Roy Kim)

2016 Sseudam Sseudam (ft. 10CM)

2017 Dream (ft. Junho)

2018 Whisper (ft. Ravi)

2019 Anti (ft. Yang Ye Ming)

2020 You Know You Like It (ft. DJ Snake)

2022 Sensual Seduction (ft. Cardi B)

2024 Yesterday (ft. Crush, Dean and Yang Ye Ming)

2027 Digital Love (ft. Daft Punk) I Feel It Coming (ft. Daft Punk)

2029 Lost On The Way Home (ft. Chromeo)

2034 Beautiful (ft. Miguel)

2036 Stay (ft. Mikky Ekko)

2043 Empire State Of Mind (ft. Kentorey Johnson)

2047 You, Clouds, Rain (ft. Shin Yong Jae)

2058 How Deep Is Your Love (ft. The Bird And The Bee)

Soundtracks

Lés Miserables (2013) On My Own

Cheese Trap (2015) If It Is You I’m Serious (ft. Day6)

Skyfall (2021) Skyfall

La La Land (2023) City Of Stars I Won’t Say I’m In Love The Audition

Call Me By Your Name (2025) Redbone

Her (2026) The Moon Song

Breakfast At Tifanny’s (2029) La Vi En Rose Moon River Once Upon A Dream

Goblin: The Great And Lonely God (2031) Lost Love You Are

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (2033) The Bells Of Notre Dame

Pocahontas (2037) Colors Of The Wind If I Never Knew You Just Around The Riverbend Savages (Part One) Savages (Part Two)

Funny Girl (2041) A Piece Of Sky Don’t Rain On My Parade My Man The Man That Got Away Why Don’t You Do Right?

Anastasia (2046) Journey To The Past Learn To Do It Once Upon A December

The Nightmare Before Christmas (2049) Finale Kidnap The Sandy Claws Sally’s Song

My Love From Another Star (2053) I Will Come To You We Loved (ft. 20 Years Of Age)

The Prince Of Egypt (2057) Deliver Us When You Believe

Filmography (movies)

Architecture 101 (2016) La La Land (2023) Call Me By Your Name (2025) Her (2026) Breakfast At Tiffany’s (2029) In The Mood For Love (2032) The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (2033) Funny Girl (2041) Two Days, One Night (2044) Anastasia (2046) The Nightmare Before Christmas (2049) I Am Love (2053) The Prince Of Egypt (2057) Amour (2084)

Filmography (television series)

Pocahontas (2037)

Theatre

Lés Miserables (2013)

Competitions

King Of Masked Singer (2015) “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” against Son Heon-soo. “Hurt” against Kyungri. “Con Te Partiro” against Lee Hae-ri.

Covers (on YouTube)

2010 Everytime by Britney Spears. Like I’m Gonna Lose You by John Legend.

2011 E.T by Katy Perry. Paparazzi by Lady Gaga.

Cover performances

Gayo Daejun (2015) Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.

Golden Disc Awards (2017) Will The Circle Be Unbroken (with Lee Hi).

Super Bowl (2020) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

BBC Radio 1 (2021) Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.

Grammy Awards (2022) Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (with Pentatonix).

American Music Awards (2024) Got To Be Real by Cheryl Lynn (with Cheryl Lynn).

BBC Radio 1 (2027) Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez.

NBA All-Star (2032) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

BBC Radio 1 (2035) Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears.

MTV Music Video Awards (2039) My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.

Super Bowl (2042) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

Partners

Tidiou M’Baye (2012) Yang Ye Ming (2017-2019) Bill Skarsgård (2021-2024) Sho Wara (2024-) *married in 2028

Children

Anton Wara (2031) Isabela Wara (2033) Luna Wara (2035)

[rksakura]

🔊: run it ( 1:10~2:49 ) performed by 💖 sakura miyawaki! trigger warnings: some anxiety. mentions: @yuzurk, @rkxkikwang, @rkgray, @yienrk, @rkchoutzuyu, @rkmason, @hyojinrk, @rkyq

sakura likes to start with the good news first, she’s got the call back to make it past the first round. she’s stepped up in another territory, one she thought she wouldn’t come far to at first but she was proven wrong. she shouldn’t be storing disbelief to herself, but fill up with much more confidence if she wants to push through the battle. that’s the hard part though is being separated from some of her friends like tzuyu and kikwang. she didn’t cope up with letting go quite well as shown in her past mannerisms. she wishes that they could be on the same stage as her performing but sometimes, life doesn’t always work that way.

lies didn’t align with the australian gal, she wasn’t one to display her anxiety that’s written all over but she’s practised generating the proper facial expressions when up on the stage. it seems silly but body language was essential when performing on the stage. she couldn’t just be another body count, sakura’s made them believe that she was a vocalist at the start but offered a different dish on the table with some rapping fire! in fact, she was more of a rapper than a high-note belting singer ( she wasn’t at that peak at all ). so she spends most of her days, other than tending to the aquarium and her daily dose of school, she was working on what song she should perform next.

when it comes to rapping in front of a huge stage and the whole world watching then she best prepares to give it all she’s got. most importantly, keep up the same energy and flow when on the stage! she couldn’t break the chain of the words she’s about to memorise, sakura ran trial through the verses a couple of times and tried out styles that complimented her vocal mixture with rapping and how the instrumental went. that’s how her nights pass by until the bright lights and cameras are flashing all over the area. she’s not coming up first in the short line of female rappers, sakura was one of the few last as her last name started with an m. thank god for now, it serves as a good excuse pass but she shouldn’t rely on that too much.

she has to break the bad habits of letting anxiousness overwhelm her, she can’t deliver that on the stage when she’s meant to perform a rap that’s the polar opposite of her physical epitome and markings! sakura wants to break the poor judgments about her, being called too soft and cute to even rap. the only way that she can cut through is by continuing what she loved to do. the assignment, from what she’s been told is to showcase an ( ultimately, dominant ) skillset. sakura’s prepared her resources efficiently. she’s ( somewhat ) ready for the big day!

since facial recognition serves with influences on votes, she can’t look dead. she rises from her bed with a decent amount of energy but it isn’t enough to deliver a good verse. once she sips down her green tea, it’ll wake her up eventually. she doesn’t consume a huge meal in the morning as it takes some energy to muster eating a great portion but she’s good with a blueberry muffin and her everyday tea. it’s time to at least look like a presentable human being, sakura needs to cover her dark circles that are formed over the past few nights as she’s become obsessed with her work. she puts on some bb cream and concealer to cover it, lip gloss at the shade of light pink, natural to her colour. with her choice of attire, she fits something that’s comfortable with the weather today, a light blue denim skirt and some high ankle socks, her top was an off-shoulder pastel purple blouse that was tucked in her denim skirt. she’s wearing a pair of sneakers which won’t be too hard on her feet standing all day in long queues. when she leaves her house, it’s taking the commute down the building! she shoves her earphones gently in her ears and makes it to her desired destination.

after some time, she’s reached the grounds and greets some of the familiar faces she’s spotting right off the bat. hyojin makes her days better when it comes to this setting, sometimes it’s unsettling but she escapes that torment of anxiety when she sees his gorgeous smile. mason’s also there, she greets the older brother figure and stops by for a brief hug ( his presence was surely enlightening as she’s known him for like forever ) before she turns her direction elsewhere then catches yuqi, a fellow rapper and one she doesn’t intend to make an enemy out of. despite the mnet global auditions being regarded as a highly competitive stake, she’s still able to manage the joy she finds in her friends. she’ll never toss anyone over a reality television show. she can only show support and that’s about it!

hope for the best, after all? she pulls yena into a reassuring hug prior to walking out on the stage, the music playing as sakura makes her presence known. “hi guys! sakura again here and today, i’ll be showing you guys something else!” she puts up two fingers, showing off a ‘peace’ sign, winking and holds the mic tightly closer to her mouth to start spitting out her lines. the instrumental plays, she’s rapping over the beat.

ya hold up 구름다리 굴러가듯 무음 걸어 뭐든 힘든 거니까 라고 말한 무책임 성공가는 계속 들어 백기 들어 백길 언제 들어 걸어 야 뺏긴 후에 안 뺏길 걸 ya i know it big boy 얘 앞길에서 비켜 ya i know it big boy 니 이마에 비췄어 뒤쳐 지기도 지쳐서 너는 노를 저었지 각을 재기 전에 각을 잡았지 make it boogie make it boogie switch move it make a movie

the beat was moving at a much faster pace, one that’s at a higher tempo than she usually raps to but she’s learned to adjust to this kind of technique. it’s all about breath control which she’s learned a trick or two from her choir classes. she’s jumping up on the stage, smiling but with a serious expression on her face as she couldn’t be overflowing with aegyo with this kind of theme. sakura has to communicate with her charisma she’s been taught by her mentors, gray. other influences like yien and luna keep her up to become a strong rapper. she only takes a slight break but then hits it back with another verse!

일동 홀렸지 백문이 불여일견 보기 전에 부정이 널 가로막으니까 넌 그걸 부숴 두벌식의 키보드가 만든 편견 check it 누구에겐 폭력이지 쳇바퀴만 도는 하루 어때 너넨 이게 제 자리로 보이니 잿밥에만 고이는 쟤 침이 못 이긴 땀이 너를 바꾸지

she’s led to the path of a singer for a couple of seconds but it’s a nice switch, smooth and the transition clean with her soft vocals complementing the track. before she hits the notes, sakura pulls the microphone away and releases a breath and pulls her control back together. the singing isn’t going to overshadow any of her rap, hopefully. she’s got some of her australian colours unveiling, the english part covered easily.

baby oh the world is yours i'll give it to you can you hear me tell me oh your visions you make them come true you know we run it run it

we run it yah 챙길 건 챙겨 너를 위해 we run it yah 지금부터는 너의 시대 we run it 정상을 향해 boy where we at i just do it i just do it i just do it i just do it

it seems that the last few verses are much easier than the opening, she seems to catch her breath control easier when it comes to this time. she’s not getting all tongue-twisted with the korean lyrics, she’s able to enunciate it correctly along with the occasional english. she isn’t afraid to show any of her foreigner roots off, sakura lets her australian accent emphasize on her rap when it’s switching over to english. it makes it a unique attribute and kind of a signature mark as there weren’t many female australian rappers in south korea.

chasing dreams i got the feel 멈출 순 없어 i love the thrill i'm a beast i got to kill 두렵지 않아 i got the will 내 꿈을 향해 달리고 포기 따윈 없어 never no grind it out just lose control when it all falls down it's dominos you know i'll get up and try again i can see the light again 날개를 펴고 fly again winning is my vitamin yeah run this game i just get it once i got it i don't lose it grinding through these bumps and bruises i'm the best and i just proved it

she wants to end the day with nothing but good vibes. but the last few lines take her back to when her hopeful friends dreams are shattered due to the process of elimination but she’ll strive and fight on for them. sakura can put her name out there on stage and not just be another cute face. once the song ends, the lights dim out and then the light’s on sakura once more and all she can do is smile, “thank you guys for your time! thank you for your support and please support my friends!” she still wants to share generosity by involving the ones she cares for. before she takes the exit door, she bows to the judges and other contestants politely. “have a good day everyone!” the cuteness aura catches up to her, for sakura it’s something she can’t avoid.

#*solo.journey* #*mga.5* #rkmga5skill #rkmga5 #*tw:anxiety* #*mentions* #yuzurk #rkxkikwang #rkchoutzuyu #hyojinrk #rkluna #rkgray #yienrk #rkmason #rkyq #( she's not just trying to be cute but is cute at the end... ) #( wc: 1315! ) #( interview coming up in the next few days when my back doesn't hurt- )