djcarnationsblog - Tumblr blog

djcarnationsblog · 14 hours ago

Text

That Time Furin Put on a Play- Ensemble

Return to File

Recovery date: August 4th, 2025

Description: Class 1-1 has an impulsive thought and decide to entertain the community in three steps! Step 1 A through CB, Step 2 A and B, and Step 3: Show Time!

Notes: God I love this play, if you're interested here's the script and here's a recording of a performance of the play. I would have gone more in depth for the performance, but we only have a handful of character names in class 1-1 and some people definitely wouldn't want to act. (Side note, I do still have requests but I'm going to start interspersing them with fics that I've been sitting on)

Word count: 3 319

Back to directory

It starts with a short video that Kiryuu finds hilarious, a moment from a play where someone keeps tossing the wrong props and there’s a dumb caption. No one remembers what it was anymore, but someone in class 1-1 asked if it was intentional or not. Then someone found the play, and somehow that ended with class 1-1 struggling to follow along because there were no subtitles. But even without subtitles, they were wheezing.

And now Sakura is standing awkwardly in front of Umemiya who is looking way too excited, as always.

“We think… it would be good for the community,” he trails off into a mumble because Sakura did not agree to be the spokesperson for this project.

He barely agreed to be the grade rep. He thinks if he were anyone else, Nirei and Suo would have had to peel him from the doorframe of the classroom. Like a cat being given a bath.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Of course he does. It’s Umemiya. “Let me know what I can do to help.”

“Huh?”

“It sounds to me like a class project! So the rest of us will happily support you however we can, but otherwise I’m sure you’ve got this handled.”

Sakura blinks once, twice, gears grinding in his head, and all he can manage is another– slightly weaker–, “Huh?”

Suo leans forward, Sakura sees him approach from his peripheral.

“I think we broke him.”

“It’s alright Sakura-san, we’ve got this!”

Step 1: Planning

There’s a list of things that need to be done before they can even think about an actual performance.

This play, aptly named The Play that Goes Wrong, has a moderate cast but an extravagant set. A set, mind you, that falls apart on cue. So there’s a lot of planning there, and then they obviously need a script. Someone needs to direct too, keep everyone in line and on schedule, and most importantly-

“Has anyone ever been in a play before?”

Sakura stands in front of the class, bracing himself on the podium, while Nirei scribbles away on the black board behind him. Suo stands off to the side with a clipboard and a piece of paper to keep a more permanent record of today’s meeting.

Nirei stretches awkwardly on his toes behind Sakura, and Suo smirks– maybe almost laughs– before tapping his shoulder with the clipboard and taking the talk from him. He finishes writing Class 1-1’s Play at the top of the board.

Someone slowly raises their hand.

“I was a tree in a grade school play.”

“I helped make a tree for a grade school play.”

Suo turned away from the board and asked, “You made a tree?”

“Well, painted it, it was kind of a mess.”

“It can’t be that hard,” Tsugeura declared.

“The set has to fall apart when we want it to,” Kiryuu said, “and not fall apart before then or anymore than it needs to.”

“See, not that hard!”

Kiryuu gives him a look that roughly translates to, Are you kidding me?

“Maybe we should start with something light,” Nirei interrupts, “like the script.”

Step 1A: The Script

The biggest problem is that only a handful of the boys in class 1-1 speak any english. Kiryuu is the best, having gone to a fancy private school, and a couple others know a few words from music or their favorite American movies. But it quickly becomes apparent that they aren’t the best at transcribing.

A group of four huddle in one of the corners of the room, someone’s phone is propped up, and Kiryuu is typing as fast as he can. But they trip up a lot because the actors speed through their lines and they keep running into words they don’t know. In the end, Nirei joins them.

“I can write the script if you guys translate.”

So they do one watch to write who speaks when, and then a second where…

“Uhh, pause. Okay, wait, so he said ‘Cornley Polytechnic Society’s’, I think that’s the name of the company, ‘spring production of The Murder at Haversham Manor’,” one of the boys says, leaning over Nirei’s shoulder to watch him scribble away.

Kiryuu’s voice is slightly distorted by the way his chin presses into his palm when he says, “We aren’t even past the introduction.”

Across the room, Anzai called, “Hey, what if you just found the script online?”

The whole class went quiet, and then there was a rapid clicking while Kiryuu googled something.

“Well, this is much easier. Oh look, it even has notes on the sets.”

Step 1B: The Set

“The set is pretty complex,” Kiryuu hums, scrolling through the script. “There are all kinds of notes in the script.”

Nirei leans over his shoulder, and then scrolls through the video timeline on the other phone to find a good shot of the set. It doesn’t look intricate. Sure there are things they definitely can’t do, like the elevator, but they can probably make their set fall apart. Probably.

“Do we have access to swords?”

Kiryuu is looking between the script and the still of the set. The owner of the phone takes a screenshot of the still and sends it to the class chat. Nirei pulled the image up on his phone and held it out for Kiryuu to see better.

“It’s pretty big too,” Suo notes, leaning between Kiryuu and Nirei. He hands Nirei the drink he’d gone to get, and then pointed at the window center stage. “We need to be able to move behind there, so even if we back this door,” he points at the door in the corner of the set, “into the wing, we need a really deep area.”

“We also need to be able to go around the set walls. So- Nirei, can I borrow some paper and a pencil?”

The blond rips a page from the back of his notebook and hands it to Kiryuu who turns to a nearby desk. He sketches a loose diagram; an open rectangle inside of a larger open rectangle, and then a few arrows of where they needed to move. Through the door, through the elevator to the top floor, through the window, behind the window, and around the side walls.

Kiryuu rests his chin in his palm, Suo crosses his arms, and Nirei leans on the desk.

“I know somewhere with a big stage.”

“We’re probably thinking about the same place.”

Nirei looks back at Suo, and then they both look to Sakura who’s just chilling on the other side of the room. Well, probably, he’s actually glaring at his phone in confusion.

“Hey Sakura!” Suo calls.

“What?”

“We’ve picked a venue, want to come ask about it?”

Sakura pouts in confusion. It’s a softer confusion than his usual explosive, I’m confused so I’m angry.

“We have a stage?” He asks, tilting his head slightly.

Nirei almost feels bad because he knows Sakura’s not going to like what Suo says next.

“No, but we know someone who does.”

Sakura, surprisingly, responds with a fairly calm if not agitated, “No.”

Step 1C: Casting

“Hey, how many people do we even need for this?”

Nirei takes out his phone. He, Kiryuu and Tsugeura are heading to Pothos to meet up with Sakura and Suo. The two of them had gone to visit Shishitoren and ask to borrow their stage, but they left Nirei behind with the script team. It was fine, it’s not like they needed everyone for a quick conversation. Nirei wasn’t even a little sad. Not at all. Nope…

Okay, maybe he was a little sad.

“Nine for the main cast, but even stagehands end up in the performance somehow.”

Kiryuu leans his head back in thought, looking towards the sky.

“Well, we have a class of thirty-one, right? So it shouldn’t be a problem. The question is how we decide on our cast.”

“Not everyone’s going to want to act, so let’s start by seeing who does.”

“I’d be happy to act.”

“Hm,” Kiryuu hummed, letting his head loll to the side to look at Tsugeura, “duly noted.”

“Hey! I’m serious!”

“I never said you weren’t. Maybe you’d make a good Trevor.”

“Who’s that?”

The three come to a stop in front of Pothos, and Nirei pockets his phone.

“Oo, that could be good, but let’s see who else in the class is interested. Maybe we can host auditions!”

Tsugeura opens the door, the bell chimes and Sakura and Suo look up from a table at the far end, and he holds it open for the other two. They greet Kotoha and head towards the back to join their friends, continuing their conversation.

“Auditions sound fun but, we need a director to pick our cast.”

“Doesn’t the director also tell people how to move and stuff?”

“Ya, so we need one anyways before we can start rehearsals.”

The three take their seats across from the other two, and Kotoha brings them their usual orders. Sakura is already halfway through his omurice, and Suo doesn’t have so much as a glass of water in front of him.

“What else do we need? We got our venue,” Sakura grumbles around a mouthful.

Nirei blinks once, twice, and then turns to Kiryuu, and then Tsugeura, and then back to Sakura.

“Hey, Sakura-kun… how would you like to be our director?”

Suo is already pushinGgSakura’s water towards him before he even really starts to choke.

“Now, now, Nirei. You can’t just spring that on dear Sakura like that.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just, he’s already been doing the job and everyone listens to him.”

“Just think of it like being the grade rep,” Tsugeura cheered. “It can’t be that different!”

Step 1C…A?: Costumes

“Obviously we should ask him for help.”

“Some of these outfits though… like that dress?”

“Well it doesn’t have to be that exact dress.”

“Who are we asking for what now?” Sakura asks, the straw of his juice box still resting against his lower lip.

He was just passing by Kakiuchi and a few others when he caught a glimpse of The Play that goes Wrong playing on someone’s phone. He refuses to admit how many times he’s watched it in preparation for this stupid show and this stupid planning. He was definitely not having fun, and was definitely not excited to see how this goes.

Kakiuchi looks back over his shoulder, a pocky hanging from his mouth and the pack held tightly in his grasp– no doubt on guard for his thieving friends.

“Hey, Sakura! Think you could ask Tsubaki-chan to help us with the costumes? There’s no one better for the job.”

He’s right of course, and they do need to start thinking about costumes now that they have their cast.

Sakura watches Anzai slowly reach across the desk and then-

“Wha-hey! Give me back my food!”

“Nu-uh!” Anzai laughs, knocking his chair to the ground when he stumbles out of it to run towards the door.

Kurita and Takanashi are already waiting for him, and Kakiuchi is hot on his heels. Anzai disappears out the door, and Kakiuchi grabs the frame to kill his momentum and looks back at Sakura.

“Please let me know what Tsubaki-chan says!”

“Wha-huh? Hey!” He crushes the now empty juice box in his hand. “Why am I the one asking Tsubaki-chan for help?”

But Kakiuchi is already gone, so he looks at the other two who were sitting with him.

“Well, he does like you.”

“He do-does not!” Sakura splutters, face burning red.

“Want us to go with you?” Suo asks, leaning back in his chair.

Sakura splutters some more before managing to choke out, “I can go myself, damn it.”

So he drags himself up to the roof because it’s a Wednesday and that means Tsubaki’s watching Umemiya garden. Why he knows this, he doesn’t want to think too hard about it. He also tries to prepare himself for Tsubaki’s overwhelming adoration for Umemiya so that he can get through this quickly.

He rests his hand on the roof door and takes a deep breath.

This feels oddly familiar. Damn it, how did he end up in charge of this project?

“Tsubaki-chan?” He calls out, pushing the door open before he can talk himself out of it.

Step 2A: Rehearsals

Sakura stares at the script, typed up and printed by Nirei, and covered in little notes. Next to the character names are the names of the actors, and then their costume details are penned into the margins. Little movement diagrams are scrawled throughout the rest of the script with little shorthand notes on actions. Then he looks up at the messy little drama room.

Who even knew Furin had one?

“Uh…”

Sakura wasn’t sure where to start. He had to get the script– all of the notes he’d spent the last two days making– onto the stage, which was way more complicated than he’d thought it would be. Sure he didn’t think it would be easy, especially because he was still getting used to this whole communicating with words and not fists thing, but he was invested.

He wanted this to go well. Not just for himself, but for his class, and the community.

“Sakura-kun?” Nirei asks, careful not to push him in case he still needs a second.

“Uh… we should. We need a set.” Then he turned to the room. “Hey! Let’s get our set setup, we need a couch in the middle and… let’s use some desks for the walls and a table for the platform.” He turned back to Nirei and pulled something out from behind his script. “Nirei can you- can you go find us our props? I have a list here.”

“Of course!”

Nirei takes the list and leaves the room, struggling briefly with the door. Seriously, how long had this room been unused. Suo’s a bit surprised Umemiya didn’t find a way to turn it into a greenhouse.

Suo and Sakura wince as someone starts dragging a desk across the floor.

Everyone was at least a little surprised at how many people wanted to act in this, and how many people were secretly really good actors. Kiryuu was the head of the fictional acting company and dead rich guy in the fake play, Suo was his butler, Tsugeura had– as Kiryuu predicted– won the role the lighting and sound guy, Anzai took the role of Kiryuu’s best friend, and other members of the class had filled in the other roles.

“Alright, we’re going to skip the opening for now and get straight to the start of… this is going to get confusing fast. We’re going to start at the start of the fake play which is page…” he flips through his script a bit, and then flips back a few pages, “page eight.”

There was a cacophony of fluttering pages as people flipped to page eight.

Step 2B: Building the Set

The set is one of the few places where Sakura doesn’t have to be super involved, but he still is. He pops by the workshop after school, and it’s weirdly satisfying to watch everything come together. Over the weeks he sees how planks and beams become a raised platform and fake walls. Then comes the painting.

It’s a Saturday and the sun is barely breaking over the horizon when Sakura makes his way through the empty streets, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. He opens them, rounding a corner, to find Sugishita walking down the same street with a cart behind him. Sakura thinks their eyes meet, Sugishita is squinting in the blinding morning light, because he stops suddenly.

“Morning,” Sakura greets, offering a polite wave.

Sugishita nods, and they continue towards the workshop.

They head in through the big garage door in the back to find a good chunk of the class already here. Kotoha’s standing by a long table with baked goods and water bottles, she looks up from organizing and waves.

“Sugishita, you can leave the paint over there! Sakura, good morning!”

“Ha, what are you doing here?!”

“Delivering goods from Cactus cafe, think of it as an upfront ticket payment,” she smiles.

People continue filtering in, Nirei’s shirt is on backwards, while they set up. They get the base coat down before everyone gets there, and it dries while everyone has breakfast.

Tsugeura helps the shop owner move a few of the beams to where they can be painted later, and some of the other guys are sitting around the wall designs while they eat. Kiryuu is carefully trying to lean one of the painted walls with Suo, and Anzai and his friends are screwing together the fake windowsill.

“I have to get back to Pothos, but I’m curious, why are you guys building everything here? I mean, how do you plan to get it to the Ori?”

Nirei points at the open garage door.

“We’re going to load everything into a truck and take it there once we’re done. The big platform is going to be assembled there.”

She nodded, picking her purse up from beside the table.

“Well then, enjoy your construction.”

Step 3: The Performance

Sakura peaks his head out of the curtain, watching the towns people filter in and join the members of Shishitoren in the audience. Umemiya and Kotoha sit right at the front with Togame and Choji, the boys quickly falling into excited conversation. Someone, maybe Tsubaki, calls Kotoha’s name and she looks up catching Sakura’s eyes. She smiles and gives him a thumbs up before turning to look back down the aisle where Tsubaki is fast approaching.

He watches Nirei walk out to “fix” the mantle, and a few of the other stage hands wander the aisles talking with the audience. One person has a squeaky toy, and another is shaking a bag of treats. Nirei looks around, and for a second Sakura is worried something is actually wrong, but then he walks over to the edge of the stage and brings Togame up.

Togame hesitates but Choji and Umemiya wave him off and he goes to help Nirei. Sakura takes the chance to disappear backstage for one last walk through.

He’s passing behind the curtained window when he hears Tsugeura speak into his mic-

“Hey, ya, you two. Careful, you’re under faulty li- oops, that’s the speaker-”

Sakura meets up with the rest of the cast on stage right, where everyone except Kiryuu enters from. Kiryuu is fussing with the tie of his robe, and Suo is pulling on his gloves before he helps Anzai with his tie. Everyone else tugs on the last of their costumes, checking each other over and making final adjustments. They stop once they notice Sakura.

Nirei comes back stage at that moment.

“Watch your fingers, drill bit coming through.”

Though faintly muffled, Togame says, “What?”

“Have you used that before?” Tsugeura asks Nirei who picked up the empty drill from behind the wall.

“No.”

Nirei turns the drill on.

“Is everyone ready?” Sakura asks while Nirei continues to torment Togame with the idea that he’s wielding a drill.

“Am I heading to the otherside now?”

“Ya, Sugishita is there if you need anything.”

Kiryuu gives him a thumbs up and bids everyone goodbye before running behind the set.

“Hey, are we ready to go then?” Tsugeura asks.

Sakura looks between his actors who all nod firmly.

“Ready when you guys are.”

“Great!” Tsugeura fiddles with his radio pack and then says, “Actors are ready. Nirei?”

“Yup, let me go relieve Togame-kun.”

He gives them a wave and then heads back out. The group watches Togame return to his seat, looking mildly confused and thoroughly amused.

Tsugeura switches his radio pack to the speaker and with one final thumbs up, starts the show. “Good evening, everyone and welcome to this evening’s performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor.”

8 notes · View notes