Ominous Hum

"We are united today to pay our last respects to Ari Kobewan, known to millions as Ominous Hum, the bass player of K-Music formation Kantsumi, few would recognize the slight woman in the casket compared to the stage presence, a hulking armor, and advanced technology she advanced the state of herself have everything to do with that. A graduate of Al-Samsang Jade University, she was a prodigy, earning top marks in the toughest program at that institution, and participating in an obscure college band at the time. DontSueUs. Her bandmates, less intellectually advanced, but focusing their creativity, wrote songs, lyrics, and designed a concept where they were cat maidens. They had immediate success in the college circuit."

The celebrant paused to drink water.

"A fateful meeting with a record label later, upon hearing that K-Music was a genre restricted to men, DontSueUs disappeared, and Kantsumi appeared two years later. They started to make the rounds of obscure stages, mostly pubs catering to foreigners, especially Kagomine foreigners, who seemed to love their music, and could not get enough."

"Another label approached them, the famed Akane Records, and signed them to a three record-deal. Through word of mouth, in three months, they had reached the hot adult contemporary #10, and both the Metal #1 and the Pop #1, which, considering K-Pop is a mixture of both genres, is still unprecedented today."

He took another sip.

"Their first three albums sold 12 million copies total, and they were negotiating a new deal, even as they were promoting the last album, Kaniapiskau, which is so far, their best selling to date."

"Unfortunately, that was not to be, due to an unfortunate accident over Lavali Airfield in Kagomei, where they were expected to perform to a packed stadium, that was not to be. I call to the podium her cousin, Bo-Bae Kobewan."

"My cousin and I never saw eye to eye on anything, she was always driven, both to perform artistically, and academically, showing off to the family, and in general, achieving high marks and high standards that anyone would be hard pressed to match. She had never told anyone but me about her band though, thinking that the family wouldn't approve that she was performing either in a masculine genre, or that she had to pretend to be a man to perform. She didn't even tell me she was the one behind the technology that let them appear to be who they weren't."

She took a deep breath.

"But, I guess that makes our loss greater, she didn't want to change who she was to be accepted, but told enough times she had to, she decided to change her band enough to pass, while the important part, their music, would stay true to themselves. The loss is ours, for not understanding them, welcoming them, before it was too late. It's tolerated for people to pretend to be in another gender except for music, at least, in our fair land, and that's robbed us of some of her greatness."

"She and her bandmates were not purely Gogurean, each of them had one or more Kagomine ancestors, and one had a truly muddled pedigree, it didn't matter, either, even though we do have prejudice there, as well. They were the expression of K-Music, they defined it, better than those that came before. Her bandmates may be buried in another city, the city of their birth, and their families, but I know they're together right now, in the elements.

 

"I'll recite now some words from Ari herself."

  I don't know who you think you are,
I think you don't care much about me,
You don't care if you go too far,
You just won't let me be.

I won't let you keep me down,
I won't let you wreck this joy I feel,
To me you're just a clown,
You can't tell your wishes aren't becoming real
 

Thank you for coming to share our grief."

 

— Opening statements, state funeral, Ari Kobewan, Miisan cathedral of the elements, 815AK.
Song excerpt from 'You're not real', track #2 on Kaniapiskau

"How dare they!"

"Primarch, they are distraught at the loss of their family member, surely those are overwrought words!"

"They will regret this!"

"But minister!"