"Shed A Light" The Poem Tell-Tale of Aozora Kurumi's Journey

shed a light A Poetic Tell-Tale of Aozora Kurumi's Journey a (non-canon) adaptation by A.K. SHIMBUN







shed a light A Poetic Tell-Tale of Aozora Kurumi's Journey a (non-canon) adaptation by A.K. SHIMBUN



DEDICATION For where thy idol the author first fell into Residing thy lofty majestic cloud palace And whose mix of genuine persona Mixed with a ‘diva’ voice Made someone a bit better than the last For Aozora Kurumi, to Project Kavvaii and to fellow Kurumate friends This piece is all in your honor. Released in Honor of Aozora Kurumi’s Debut Anniversary May 8, 2022



FOREWORD One of the beauties of contemporary literature is how the digital frontier of ‘virtual YouTubers’ or ‘VTubers’ have inspired the rise of creative lore backgrounds about their unique persona. The lore itself is the core foundation of how the VTuber acts, speaks and even interact with their supporters, followers and subscribers. This is especially evident in the case of Aozora Kurumi of Project Kavvaii, whose lore is a perfect balance of the embrace of the digital frontier and our own love for Greek mythology, with her being the apprentice of a Greek god, as well as lasting thousands of years to come to this point of being a virtual idol that entertains to a new wave of audience seeking new forms of digital entertainment. Despite her corporate background, her persona is not hindered by the huge looming figure she’s affiliated with. AirAsia, a Malaysia-based multi-billion dollar airline industry which has now ventured into the digital lifestyle space and ‘super-app’ competition, is no stranger into embracing new ways they can engage with their audience. As Rudy Khaw, chief brand officer at AirAsia says during the introduction of ‘Project Kavvaii’, the company has always supported various forms of people to improve on their talents such as athletes, so why not explore the ‘digital frontier’ itself, specifically the VTuber space. Interestingly, as a marketing/advertising journalist, the merge of pop culture and corporate themes has been a subject of interest for me, considering how many brands try their best in tapping into the modern consumer base like Gen Z. As my fellow VTuber friend Jusagi Chan said, the corporate integration of VTubers opens up a new world for brands in the near future to take notice on the rising popularity and seemingly mainstream attractiveness of these ‘virtual influencers’. This poetry tell-tale collection is an inspiration derived from my interest in following Kurumi, the first VTuber I ever followed devotedly, as well as to the hardworking team behind Project Kavvaii and AirAsia, whose VTuber initiative I do believe will help foster the existing industry in the Southeast Asia region that nests a diversity of potential influencers waiting for their next break.

And of course, this whole work is wholly dedicated to Aozora Kurumi, to whom I found a new profound interest to look up to someone, as well as finding a pill of happiness each time I visit her streams or VODs as well. I think it’s a profound thing on my end to deliver such big projects, in a way that I hope best expresses the fervor I have in support to someone who is genuine in providing content for all of us Kurumates. Onward we shall go in this fun journey of yours. Here’s to more streams, interactions and perhaps more ‘Zero Death’ gameplays on your end. :) A.K. Shimbun Author



prologue: the debut An air of excitement, nervousness prevailed The corporate offices of airasia A beloved brand within the folds of the Orient Nestled within Asia, home of diverse talents T’was a few days before this ‘D-Day’, D for debut When media frenzy was all over the place Some fascinated, others confused But all in all, excitement was all brewing Meanwhile at the lofty place Majestic Cloud Palace up in the heavens A regal fine lady was springing up in action All for this D-day to be successful And amid that chaos that was suspended Came forth a fluffy friend named Jetson Destined to give comfort to the lady

“T-minus five” said the team on Earth Our lady kept the composure Grace under pressure, some would say Like pure gold cast unto flames Still as valuable as she’ll ever be And we counted the seconds before her appearance Descending like a heavenly entity Where words on the digital realm Brimming with adoration, complements Some giggle over her gentle laugh She went with the show A year of excitement looms ahead Bringing joy amid the digital distance I’m sorry: did I forget the name Yes, my reader, she’s one you shan’t forget Aozora Kurumi, the heavenly milady’s name Destined to bring us laughs and melodies Destined to create memories

chapter one: the investiture Let us rewind several millenia ago When the mighty Greek conquerors Dominated the Mediterranean Had the reach to the Balkans and Persia Up to the deserts of Egypt and towards Asia Minor Where people worshiped the great deities Including the great messenger Hermes Whose search for a new novice Has come to a beautiful conclusion The temple goers of Hermes’s grandeur temple Witnessed in great awe and admiration As they welcomed the new maiden, hailing from the Far East Despite all the murmurs of a foreigner in Greece No one dared to question perhaps Perhaps all, except Argus Numero uno enemy of the great Hermes And yet, with the God’s great power And respect to diversity Banished Argus into slumber Protecting the maiden “Speak, my maiden”, Hermes ordered “Welcome to thy lofty places of Olympus” The maiden smiled, bowed gently in respect “O powerful Hermes, thy maiden Kurumi---” “---shall serve your presence with pleasure”

And the temple goers Seeing the great power of Hermes Have sung a song of praise to him And to the newly maiden under his care Bless thy new day of miracle A new maiden has unfolded Where despite disruptive debacle Never hindered thy holiness we existed We praise thee, great Hermes! And we welcome thee thy new maiden Milady of the Far East, destined to serve Yonder the presence of the bountiful Hermes! Bless thee, bless thee, omnipotent Hermes! We pray thee upon this new era The maiden Kurumi serve with ideals Bespoke of our God’s diversity!

chapter two: Greco peace On the months that have flown by Yonder the ages of Hermes defeating Argus The maiden Kurumi sent forth once again In gratitude of the goddess Hera Omnipotent deity of the agricultural scene Despite the Grecian era’s wealth And might that spanned mountains and seas The food for the people remained scarce An unfortunate famine devastated All implored to Hera As Kurumi descended into Hera’s realm All of its maidens and cherubims Once stricken by the maiden’s charisma Calm demeanor and soft-spoken Truly a sight from the Far East She spelt out a hymn of gratitude to Hera On behest of the totality of Hermes And the mass of its followers A thanks muttered on Hera’s lips And a request for the maiden Kurumi to spread Hear ye, hear ye, O most loyal patrons! To the ever-giving Goddess Hera Who gives square and fair To thy bountiful harvest of your fruitful labors Her Omnipotence implores to all of us For that faith to never falter, never back down For blessings are all-knowing and all-giving And she asks to you once more

To serve your commune fair and square For she grants those who play fair Bountiful blessings like of the Mesopotamia Flourishing like the cities of Babylon And scorn shall be upon those who trample others For the wrath that may come upon them Thy shall be struck with the wrath of Zeus A manifold of trembling lightning and thunder And the followers of Hera Their faith revived like a river once drought And once again sang their praise And a promise for the omnipotent deity To the mighty and ever-giving Hera of Olympus We hear thy requests, and we abide to thee We shall strike our blade of promise To live by our livelihoods fair and square And tell our brethren to follow your steps! Praise thee, praise thee, O Omnipotent Hera! For the message she had brought forward to us By the maiden of the Far East, Kurumi Praise thee, praise thee, O Gods of Olympus We thank thee as always with your own strength to govern us!

chapter three: Pax Romana The Greco empire was then gone But never the deities nor its culture faded away What started as a republic turned into an empire And where wars have been overturned into a peaceful field And within that era, Kurumi served her best Under the behest of Hermes, now Mercury Delivering messages across the vastness of Imperio Romana From the highlands in England to the plains in Spain To the deserts near Persia and Egypt As the messenger of the gods, her work became complex Just like the complexity of governing the empire Where she held noteworthy roles in the untold books of time Serving through villas, arenas, and public spaces Her descent into the human world Has been through Rome’s centerpiece of Pantheon Where the temple’s sun window Serves as her portal to the world Shining through the temple’s divinity

chapter four: little dark age But alas, all empires will fall And after decades the empire broke By the barbarians of the North Pillaging the culture, its people, and economy And all she can do With the rest of deities up in the heavens Was to watch in horror, being overwhelmed And for the many years to come They were helpless Tried to regained hope to mankind But a black curtain of death swept The once glorious Empire And many fell into disgrace Like eagles being dragged down by the hot air Falling down like rotten apples And all was left on her Was an air of sadness, mercy And that, my dear friends Is why her clock Will always be set by ten before two As a memory to the fallen souls That once adored her, once respected The deities she had served

chapter five: renaissance Amidst all that fear that loomed Once an empire, now split into new powers A rebirth was seen A profound appreciation of the Greco way of art Perhaps a dash of Roman victory T’was during this time The deities once again sang their hymns And Kurumi served with glee The muses were back again in their glory And perhaps with a more refined taste And remember the Pantheon? Once that served as Kurumi’s entry into the human world? By divinity, it was revived Now a new portal of revived love for art Which blossomed into a love for philosophy Like the Sun centering its divinity on Pantheon The Renaissance shining its ray of enlightenment And she was satisfied by the test of time

chapter six: victorian tribute As Kurumi continues her journey Mingling into the human side of this world Her fascination into other cultures outside the Empire Became a source of curiosity Like finding gems in the middle of a quarry As she traversed the heavens with her godly wings She saw a city below like no other A royal palace with red-clad guards marching And on top, a flag proudly flying with multiple crosses in it Descended she goes, she mingles with the crowd And feels the utter class of the people in their fashion And it is with this era she became inspired To draw an inspiration of regality Dashed with a fairy tale inspiration Of a lady in a little red hood

chapter seven: of the great wars darkness once again ensued where men of greed and power tried to create disputes and havoc and all she and the deities can do was to put mercy in their hearts ask for forgiveness, salvation and once again time stopped for them at ten minutes before two freezing their time was a symbol of being one with the world one in sadness yet one in anticipation that the road to peace was easier

chapter eight: city pop at last, peace was on our side again the Empire might have been long gone but the deities will always be omnipotent and Kurumi is their doorway to the world and her fascination to the world has been more heightened as she traversed the beautiful skylines admired as giant metal birds flew the skies with passengers and at last, one day she settled while having a cup of tea Mariya Takeuchi’s Plastic Love on the radio She settled to mingle with us humans Explore our beautiful culture Whilst serving the behest of the gods And as the lines went I'm just playing games I know that's plastic love Dance to the plastic beat, Another morning comes She smiled She has come a long way But in reality It was just the start of another beautiful journey

chapter nine: reaching for stardom while on her way traversing the city pop life she once encountered a multi-member group all singing with cheerful tones of inspiration as well as to keep life’s worries away smitten by inspiration she vowed to herself that she will be like someday with talents bestowed by the Empire’s muses she will make dream come true fast forward to many years later she discovered an audition by a company in the Far East A beloved brand in the Southeast Aria Etching a new era of entertainment and engagement She smiled, knowing her diversity A submission, an audition tape Was all it took And here, ladies and gentlemen Is how Aozora Kurumi aims to carve Her own path of history Through her sweet melody and talent Here’s to a bright future ahead Kurumates and Jetsetters





to another year of carving new memories!\"