Operation: Spy& Seek is the ninth mission of the Penguin Secret Agency. The target of this mission is to get close to Herbert's location in The Wilderness, and reveal any information you can about his further plot. 'You've been contacted for a special mission to track down Herbert. Can you bear. The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk narrative experience about fate and happiness featuring the extensive use of pottery, bartending and impersonating people on the phone to take down a corporate conspiracy. The professed altruistic corporation Supercontinent Ltd is on the verge of releasing Social Psyche Welfar.

The Red Strings (also Heroes of America) were a group in the Confederacy during the American Civil War. They favored peace, an end to the Confederacy, and a return to the Union. They began early in the war as a group of Unionists and Quakers in the Piedmont regions of North Carolina and Virginia where slavery was largely nonexistent and the causes favoring secession were weakest.

Origin[edit]

With the war weariness increasing in civilian parts of the Confederacy during 1863, pro-Union activities began to become organized as resistance. The Loyal Order of the Heroes of America were started by several men from North Carolina, including Henderson Adams, North Carolina's State Auditor during this time. The actual leader was John Pool, later a Republican Senator from North Carolina, who spent some time in a jail in Richmond, and who traveled through western Virginia in 1864.^[1]

Their name comes from their insignia of red strings worn on their lapels or hung outside of their windows to distinguish themselves from the rebels. This symbol comes from the Biblical story of the harlot Rahab, who had helped two spies of Israel escape from Jericho with a red cord, and was advised by them to hang a red thread on her window as a recognition symbol and to show her faith. Joshua, Chapter 2, Verses 18, 21, and Chapter 6, verse 23: '.thou shalt bind this line of scarlet in the window which thou didst let us down by.. ..and she bound the scarlet line in the window.. ..And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had. And she dwellest in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.'

The organization was completely decentralized, and most knew only one other member for certain; most of their anti-Confederate activities were carried out in secret. Some estimate that by the war's end, as many as 10,000 people belonged to the Red Strings. They were comparably as disruptive to the Southern war effort as the Copperheads were to the Union.

Activities[edit]

'The best developed of the peace societies, the Order of the Heroes of America, may have been organized as early as Dec. 1861, though by whom and where is uncertain. Active in North Carolina, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee, the Heroes protected deserters, aided spies and escaped prisoners, and supplied Federal authorities with information about Confederate troop movements and strength to bring about a Confederate defeat. Brig. Gen. John Echols, who investigated the order in Virginia when it was discovered there in 1864, believed it had been formed at the suggestion of Federal authorities. Union civilian and military officials cooperated with the order by assuring its members safe passage through the lines and by offering them exemption from military service if they deserted, protection for their property, and a share of confiscated Confederate estates after the war. In addition to their signs and passwords, the Heroes identified themselves by wearing a red string on their lapels and thus were nicknamed the Red Strings' and the 'Red-String Band.'^[2]

The Order of the Heroes of America extended into southwestern Virginia as well. Paint Bank, Virginia was known as a Union-Hole because of the pro-Union membership in these societies. One of the members of the Order was a Christiansburg, Virginia wheelwright named Williams. It is not known if this is the same man named Williams that residents of Back Valley, Virginia spoke about as a member of the Loyal League.^[3]

In addition to the organized opposition groups such as the Red Strings and Heroes of America, there were other groups that were closer to bandits. Known as 'Buffaloes,' these men and some women were a mixture of Confederate deserters, draft-dodgers, pro-Union men, escaped slaves and other men escaping the noose such as arsonists, rapists and murderers. Living in small groups in the swamps of eastern North Carolina or the woods of the central and western parts of that state, they attacked isolated homes, often with impunity, since many of the men were away at war, and there was no protection from their lawlessness. 'The correspondents in the war records seem unaware that North Carolina, like all Gaul, was divided into three parts- the Confederate, the Yankee and the Buffalo. It was easier to let the Yankee garrison the strip of coast and keep him there than have the expense of it ourselves, but it is amusing to read of 'The Rebels Invading North Carolina.'^[4]

The 'Red Strings' were also interested in forming blacks into soldiers and having them fight for the Union as well. There are miscellaneous accounts of these black companies being formed during the war, as are mentioned in Elizabeth Lee Battle's autobiography, 'Forget-Me-Nots of the Civil War.'^[5]

After the war, they actively opposed the Ku Klux Klan. 'One of the main causes for the organization of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina was to combat the influence of the Union League. Governor William Woods Holden was the first president of the League in North Carolina, and James H. Harris, a Negro, was Vice-president. ' Prof. Lefler later recounts: 'If there had been no Loyal League in North Carolina, there would have been no Ku Klux Klan, or clubbing together of the white people there… Still the negroes [sic] operate upon each other, so that one dare not depart from the ranks; they are arrayed yet in a solid phalanx…' He later quotes from a Congressional investigation into the origins of the KKK in North Carolina: 'It was at a time when the Republican party had three secret organizations in operation in the state, the Union League, the Heroes of America, and the Red Strings. They had a paper called the Red String, printed at Greensorough [sic], edited by Mr. Tourgee (Albion W. Tourgée). Our friends thought it proper to organize a secret society for the purpose of counteracting that influence.- Ku Klux reports, North Carolina Testimony, pp. 8, 309-310, 318, 363.'^[6]

Red Strings Baseball Team[edit]

The term 'Red Strings' became popular among different groups after the war. Indeed, during the next generation, there was an exceptional baseball team formed in Yadkin County with the name, 'Red Strings.' They only lost three games out of some sixty games that they played in their brief career. Many of the players were trained in Quaker schools, although they denied any relation to the 'Red Strings' of the Civil War. 'How the name Red Strings originated is not known definitely. Members think Captain Gus Long, organizer and manager, gave the name… Elkin-ites didn't like the name Red Strings- too much like night riding political group about this time, the Red Shirts, reminiscent of the earlier Ku Klux Klan. They preferred to call them the Longtown boys.'^[7]

Red String Conspiracy[edit]

It is unknown if an earlier Southern conspiracy with a similar name, also organized by slaves and indentured servants, that took place in Georgia in the 18th century had any influence or association with the later Red Strings. In 1735 and 1736, a conspiracy among indentured servants was quashed in Savannah, Georgia and in South Carolina. The servants would be known 'by a red string tied around their right wrist' and they would kill the white masters and escape to join Native Americans, escaped slaves and other runaway indentured servants.^[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Turk, David S. The Union Hole: Unionist Activity and Local Conflict in Western Virginia. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1994. Pages 49-50.
2. ^'Historical Time Encyclopedia Of The Civil War' Edited by Patricia L. Faust.
3. ^Turk, David S. The Union Hole: Unionist Activity and Local Conflict in Western Virginia. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1994. Pages 83-84. The author is also quoting from the 'Report of Detectives,' October 10, 1864, published in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series IV, Volume 3, page 807.
4. ^Carolina and the Southern Cross. Volume 1 (9), November 1913, page 14.
5. ^Forget-Me-Nots of the Civil War. Chapters 13, 'Bummers and Red Strings,' and chapter 14, 'Ku Klux Klan,' pages 165-175.
6. ^Hugh T. Lefler. 'The Red Strings and the Union League in North Carolina.' In: North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries. Chapel Hill: UNC Press. 1934. Page 318-321. Also pages 332-333.
7. ^Dunnagan, Macon Rush. Red Strings Baseball Team of Yadkin County, N.C. 1896-1902. New Bern, N.C.: Owen G. Dunn, 1956.
8. ^Peter Linebaugh, Marcus Rediker. 2000. The many-headed hydra: sailors, slaves, commoners, and the hidden history of the revolutionary Atlantic. Verso Press, 2000. ISBN1-85984-798-6, ISBN978-1-85984-798-5. Page 197.

Bibliography[edit]

• Dunnagan, Macon Rush. Red Strings Baseball Team of Yadkin County, N.C. 1896-1902. New Bern, N.C.: Owen G. Dunn, 1956.
• Faust, Patricia L, ed. 'Peace Societies In The Confederacy.' 'Historical Time Encyclopedia Of The Civil War'
• Noe, Kenneth W. 'Red String Scare: Civil War Southwest Virginia and the Heroes of America,' North Carolina Historical Review Vol. 69 #3 (July 1992): 315-322. ISSN0029-2494.
• Elizabeth Lee Battle. Forget-Me-Nots of the Civil War. St. Louis, Mo., Press A. R. Fleming printing co. 1909

External links and references[edit]

Red String is a webcomic series created by Gina Biggs. Starting in 2002, this story chronicles the daily life of a Japanese high school student, Miharu Ogawa who discovers one day that she is the victim of an arranged marriage. The series premise is based on the red string of fate of Japanese and Chinese mythology. It has a definite shōjomanga influence and is primarily a romance story. The first three volumes were published by Dark Horse Comics. As of August 2013, the series has been completed.

Publication history[edit]

Red String was first printed in 2005 as a self-published work under Gina Biggs's all-female comic group, Strawberry Comics. On May 1, 2006, the author announced that Dark Horse Comics had licensed the title for publication.^[1] The first seven chapters of the series, mostly edited and touched up for print with Dark Horse Comics, were collected into Volume 1 and released on January 28, 2007.^[2] Volume 2 was released January 30, 2008,^[3] and collected chapters eight through fourteen. The third volume comprised chapters fifteen through twenty one and was released on May 8, 2008.^[4] No further volumes will be published by Dark Horse.

The series continues to be released online for free despite its completion. In addition, a full-color art book titled Threads was released by the author in 2006. Threads II, a follow-up artbook was released in early 2009 and is also self-published by the author.

There is also a radio play in production based on the comic. Crystal Miller of the Voice Acting Alliance initiated the project in September 2005, later passing the reigns to Biggs. On November 7, 2006, the first chapter was released, and as of April 2008, three chapters and one supplement have been released.^[5]

The comic is a member of the Create a Comic Project.^[6]

Characters[edit]

Main teenage characters[edit]

Most of the comic focuses on the life of Miharu and her teenage friends.

• Miharu Ogawa (小川美晴, Ogawa Miharu) is the main character of Red String. She is a sixteen-year-old Japanese High School student with bleached-blond hair, is rather out-spoken and trendy, and is close friends with Reika and Fuuko. She is also betrothed to a stranger against her will, however she soon discovers that she and her fiancé have actually already met.
• Kazuo Fujiwara (藤原和男, Fujiwara Kazuo) is the male lead of Red String, he is Miharu's 19-year-old fiancé. His family has firm plans for his future which he feels trapped by. He does, however, have genuine affection for Miharu, as she does for him.
• Reika Matsuo (松暢鈴華, Matsuo Reika) is one of Miharu's two best friends, and Miharu and Reika have known each other since childhood. Miharu helped Reika through some tough times in middle school that left a mark on Reika's reputation (despite Reika's innocence in the matter). She had a crush on Hiroshi Aizaku and begins a relationship with him but she later finds out the playboy side of him and thus, their relationship ended. She later on realises her feelings for Eiji and they become a couple.
• Fuuko Akimoto (淳元風子, Akimoto Fūko) is Miharu's other best friend. She is also 16 years old, and though she only met Miharu and Reika when she began attending high school she was quickly accepted as part of the group. Her family moves often, usually due to her father's company reassigning him. She was a big fan of her school's volleyball team and was in love with Maya Chiaki, the team captain. She moves to Tokyo in Chapter 15. Side Story 2, which takes place between Chapters 16 and 27, reveals that she has joined her Tokyo school's film club and started dating Hanae Niijima, who returns her feelings.
• Eiji Hayashihara (林原栄二, Hayashihara Eiji) is a friend of Hiroshi's who is known as a 'lone wolf' to most students. Initially, he does not seem to like Reika or Miharu very much, and demonstrates this with snide and piercing remarks and a rough attitude. However, he has been known to offer Miharu advice and he is a very responsible older brother. More recently he has begun to think of Miharu and Reika as friends, and a growing affection for Reika has undoubtedly been unfolding in Eiji. When Reika starts dating Aizaku, Eiji tries to talk her out of it because he knew Aizaku was cheating on her. This eventually led to a fight between him and Aizaku. Reika later on discovers Aizaku's playboy side, resulting their relationship to come to an end. Eiji and Reika get closer after the accident and they eventually become a couple when Reika returns her feelings for Eiji.

Secondary teenage characters[edit]

• Sayuri Morita (森田小百合, Morita Sayuri) is a girl in the same year as Miharu, Reika, and Fuuko. She is 'the envy of all the girls in school and the desire of all the guys', and a top student to boot. However, she has a superiority complex and especially likes to pick on Miharu and her friends. Her popularity has waned somewhat lately as Maya Chiaki's has increased.
• Hiroshi Aizaku (藍作豊, Aizaku Hiroshi) is an attractive student in the same year as the girls. Reika has a crush on him, but he is oblivious to her feelings. He seems to be a generally nice guy, but has a bit of a womanizing streak. He is a member of the Astronomy Club, which Reika also joined to get closer to him. If he's not hanging out with one or more girls, he may be found chatting with Eiji Hayashihara. He eventually dates Reika, not because he likes her, but to steal the person that Eiji likes as he becomes more popular than himself. Although he was dating Reika, he was playing with other girls. Thus, leading to a fight between him and Eiji, following a breakup with Reika. Aizaku then finds out that he had hurt many people and apologizes to Reika and Eiji.
• Makoto Yosue (代居命, Yosue Makoto) is a year older than Miharu and her friends. Makoto claims that he is Miharu's fiancé, however his appearance was actually due to a mix-up between Miharu's parents and his own. However, he was still determined to court Miharu and take over her father's restaurant - Ogawa-ya - one day, even transferring schools to get closer to Miharu (to her dismay). However, after meeting Miharu on the roof after school one day to apologize for his actions during the summer, he tells her that he will start giving 'Miss Karen' his fullest attention.
• Karen Ogawa (小川可憐, Ogawa Karen) is Miharu's older cousin. She works in Ogawa-ya as a waitress and she seems rather cold. She has been manipulative where Miharu and Kazuo were concerned, and nearly caused lasting damage to their relationship. She had been affected by painful memories.
• Maya Chiaki (千穐魔夜, Chiaki Maya) is the 17-year-old captain of the school volleyball team and the team's ace. She is friends with Fuuko and Karen, and also enjoys karaoke. She's also confused about her sexuality. Her father is American, so she's only half-Japanese.
• Seiko Hoshikawa (星河星子, Hoshikawa Seiko) is the president of the Astronomy Club, of which Reika and Hiroshi are also members. 16-year-old Seiko loves the night sky, and aspires to be an astronomer. She (correctly) guesses that Reika is a member only because Hiroshi is and offers her some pearls of wisdom, telling her that her pictures of stars are actually quite good.
• Jun Mataichi (又一巡, Mataichi Jun) is a classmate of Karen. He and Karen love each other, but Karen's engagement with Makoto Yosue prevents them from being together.
• Yuuki Kiyoe (清衛雄貴, Kiyoe Yūki) is the captain of the school's baseball team. He likes Maya, and tried to support her when almost everyone else gave her the cold shoulder because of some rumors about a relation between her and Fuuko.
• Kikuko Miyauchi (宮内菊子, Miyauchi Kikuko) attends Harusono High School and becomes Miharu's friend. She is a high class and somewhat snobby girl who grew up with Kazuo. She dislikes Tomi.
• Genki Nagahara (永原ゲンキ, Nagahara Genki) attends Harusono University with Kazuo and works at Café Charm.
• Tomi Hisamori (Hisamori Tomi) attends Harusono High School and becomes Miharu's friend. She attends Harusono to try to get a rich husband because her family is poor. She dislikes Kikuko.

Parents[edit]

The teenagers' parents are seen and mentioned in Red String on occasion, but they are most often relegated to background characters and comic relief.

• Miharu's Parents: Miharu's parents run the family business Ogawa-ya, a restaurant and sushi bar. Her aunt, uncle, and cousin Karen work there too. Her father Ryou (小川遼, Ogawa Ryō) runs the business and cooks and her mother Kazuko (小川和子, Ogawa Kazuko) is the head hostess.
• Karen's Parents: Karen's parents are Miharu's Uncle Jiro (小川二郎, Ogawa Jirō), and Aunt Akina (小川明菜, Ogawa Akina). They work at Ogawa-ya as a chef and waitress, Jiro is the younger brother of Miharu's father and even though they aren't twins they look incredibly alike. You can tell them apart because Jiro has an ear-piercing and Miharu's father does not. Also, Miharu's dad wears glasses and Jiro does not.
• Kazuo's Parents: Kazuo's parents are Emi (藤原栄美, Fujiwara Emi) and Kenta (藤原堅多, Fujiwara Kenta). Kenta works in the Fujiwara family's pharmaceutical company, and is in fact in line to inherit leadership. Kenta and Emi married quickly after finding that Emi was pregnant with Kazuo, after a whirlwind romance between his parents.

Siblings[edit]

Some of the characters have siblings who also make an appearance. Die hard nakatomi plaza 2002.

• Kazuo's Sisters: Kazuo has two younger sisters, the elder of two is called Mika (藤原美香, Fujiwara Mika), and the younger is called Yumi (藤原友美, Fujiwara Yumi). When they first meet Miharu they get confused and mistake Karen for her. They are slightly disappointed when they see Miharu, but they do warm up to her.
• Eiji's Brothers: Eiji has a younger brother called Saburou (林原三郎, Hayashihara Saburō), and an elder brother called Ken'ichi (林原堅一, Hayashihara Ken'ichi). All three Hayashihara brothers are rather alike.
• Maya's Brother: Maya has an older brother called Minao (千穐皆雄, Chiaki Minao) who is a fashion designer. Like Maya he is half Japanese, half American.

Chapters[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Biggs, Gina. 'Red String: Frequently Asked Questions'. RedString.StrawberryComics.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
2. ^ ^ab'Red String Volume 1'. DarkHorse.com. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
3. ^ ^ab'Red String Volume 2'. DarkHorse.com. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
4. ^ ^ab'Red String Volume 3'. DarkHorse.com. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
5. ^Biggs, Gina. 'The Official Red String Radio Play'. RedString.StrawberryComics.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
6. ^Rosa, Jamie Lee. 'Create a Comic Project.' http://carminemag.com/2009/03/15/the-create-a-comic-project/Archived August 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading[edit]

• Anderson, Lisa (2007). 'Red String v1'. Manga Life. Archived from the original on October 31, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
• Carlson, Johanna Draper (October 26, 2007). 'Red String Book 1'. Manga Worth Reading. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
• Scott, Sheridan (February 2007). 'Red String Volume 1'. Newtype USA. Vol. 6 no. 2. p. 135. ISSN1541-4817.
• Green, Jason (March 30, 2007). 'Red String Vol. 1 (Dark Horse)'. Playback:stl. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
• Dacey, Katherine (February 5, 2008). 'Weekly Recon, 2/6/08: Red String, Vol. 2'. Pop Culture Shock. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2011.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
• Moondaughter, Wolfen (November 16, 2009). 'Under the Microscope: Red String'. Sequential Tart. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
• Howard, Robert A. (May 5, 2007). 'Red String'. Tangents. Retrieved March 25, 2011.

External links[edit]