In a previous article released in Acrylic #7 entitled "Competition and Ego and Their Place Amongst Remorse Ascii", I touched briefly upon the topic of the Wu-Trank Clan. The common misconception that surrounds the the Wu-Trank clan is that many people consider it to be the now defunct PC Ascii group known as Trank!ascii, which was founded by Whodini shortly after Remorse ascii was put on hiatus in the Spring/Summer of 1995. In all actuality, this is untrue. Wu-Trank started out as just another name for Trank!ascii and the trank colly division which was dubbed by Fahrenheit, but it evolved into something much bigger and much better than merely another PC ascii group. Something that has been present longer than many of today's artists have been producing artwork.

I will attempt to refrain from boring you with an excess of historical information as I describe to you the origin of Wu-Trank, but first I must dip into the pool of history for a brief moment so that I may completely convey my message to you. As I previously mentioned, Remorse was founded in October of 1994, and there was a core of artists who seemed to bond almost instantanioulsy like superglue. This bond can be traced as the early stages of the Wu-Trank clan. It was hiding in the shadows until recently, but nonetheless, it still remians that the wu originated with the initial founding of Remorse in late 1994. I do not want to speak for other Wu-Trank brothers, but I believe they feel the same way I do, and will support my opinions.

If the Wu-Trank isn't an ascii group, then what is it, you ask? The most accurate description of the Wu-Trank is to call it a brotherhood, or fraternity of ascii artists. The artists who make up this "fraternity" are Hiro Protagonist, Whodini, Necromancer, Fahrenheit, Deep, Enigmatic, aCk, and OmicroN. What exactly is it we do then? We support each other, and back each other up, especially in arguments and disputes with other groups and artists. Loyalty is the key for the Wu-Trank. As long as the Wu has been around, we have all been loyal to whichever group we were currently in, and we all were loyal in helping each other with whatever was needed, such as ASCIIs, warez, you name it - we helped with it or supplied it to each other. Such a sight is not commonplace in the immature #ANSI scene that is thriving today. Never before have there been so many clueless children drawing ascii, creating and destroying groups, jumping from one group to another, and overall acting "stupid", especially on IRC.

"Wu rolls together as one, I call my brothers sun, because they shine like one." This statement holds true for all Wu-Trank clan members. Everyone supports one another, and no one disses another member. We all roll together as one, as we are all in the same ascii group (Remorse), and we have each others back in cases of ascii wars such as the one with Mark Ryder of the Euro Amiga Ascii scene.

There is no application for the Wu-Trank clan, and neither is there a member list. The easiest way to spot a Wu-Trank member is to look for the Wu-Trank logo in any collies produced by each member. Also you cannot "apply" to the Wu-Trank so please don't ask too. If you understood any of this article you would realize that we are not a group that brings in new people, we bring in long time acquaintances and fellow artists that we have gotten to know quite well over the years.

Finally, to sum it all up for you: Wu-Trank Clan is not merely another ascii group roaming around the scene releasing ascii collies and packs, it is actually a brotherhood or "fraternity" of artists who stick together and represent to the maximum allowed by law. Thank you for reading my article.

-OmicroN omi@alienz.org / omi@acid.org

It is about time i try to put to good use my PSAT Verbal score of 650 (93rd percentile). =)