#he probably realized it at some point when he was part of the theatre troupe

[sweatywagonmakercroissant]

my iwtv headcanon is that armand is trans and just brainwashed everyone into thinking he always looked like this. i don't even know how he transitioned he probably just sucked a guy on T's blood in the hopes that it'd work

[blogger360ncislarules]

Four seasons in and the ghosts at Woodstone Mansion are still finding new shenanigans to get themselves into.

Thursday’s episode of CBS‘ Ghosts saw Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) help Sam (Rose McIver) prepare to audition for a local musical, overcoming her stage fright and fulfilling a decades-long dream of being front and center on stage. All the while, Trevor (Asher Grodman) and Sasappis (Román Zaragoza) are trying to make a move on one of the women in the theatre troupe, which doesn’t go so well considering, well, they’re dead.

But, Sas finds a glimmer of hope when he encounters the woman in Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) dream and convinces himself that he’s found a loophole. That is, until he starts talking about how much they have in common, and Trevor and Pete (Richie Moriarty) realize Sas isn’t dating a new woman after all. He’s really just dating Jay.

In the interview below, Grodman spoke with Deadline about Trevor’s involvement in Sas’ somewhat embarrassing revelation and reflected on Season 4 thus far, which has already included a big arc for Trevor, who learned in Episode 4 that despite his death, he still managed to become quite a bigwig in the finance world.

DEADLINE: What have you been enjoying most about the season so far?

ASHER GRODMAN: Patience was a lot of fun. Any time that we can kind of delve into the American history of it all is always fun. It was kind of fun to have a villain for a few weeks. “The Work Retreat” [Episode 4] was really exciting and fun to have those three storylines all merging and affecting each other, between the Trevor’s job, and Isaac and his newfound ‘do and, of course, the whole rumor thing. I just thought the episode came out really well. I thought Katie Locke O’Brien, who directed it, just hit it out of the park, and the writers did a great job. From just a selfish Trevor standpoint, it’s a lot of fun. He gets to go on quite a journey. Usually a lot of what we’re doing is the ensemble work, and trying to hit a joke and trying to make a scene pop. But it was fun to be able to track that huge arc that he has. It gets to go dark, and it gets to go gleeful, and it gets to be funny, and it’s just a really creative premise.

DEADLINE: What did you make of the reveal that Trevor is kind of a big deal in the finance world?

GRODMAN: Speaking from the Trevor point of view, there’s something kind of dream-like about it, where I feel like we all hope and dream that we leave some kind of impact behind, but because of the nature of our show, these ghosts are forever very, very small and insignificant, just trapped in this one place and have no effect on the world. For someone like Trevor, who is, I think, more so than any ghost, because he’s the most recently dead, been desperately trying to connect to the living world as much as possible, whether it’s the dating apps or reaching out to his brother or his parents … for someone in that position who’s living this fairly tiny existence in the afterlife, and who is so desperate to contact and to be part of the world he left behind, I think this was a really profound and exciting experience. It’s weird all the stuff that he probably would have prioritized in life is not the stuff that had an impact.

DEADLINE: I hope it remains a recurring joke that Trevor has a remote job, because I can only imagine the shenanigans to come from that.

GRODMAN: I hope so too. It’s such a fun idea. Lord knows, Sam and Jay could use some money. So it would be fun to have this ghost who’s walking around with a ton of cash. I think the show, fundamentally, has a lot of fun with trying to bridge boundaries [between] the living and the dead, and then different time periods and all that. So the idea that he is off in a corner using all his might to keep up his day job is a very funny concept. I’d love to keep exploring it.

DEADLINE: I love that he calls Sam and Jay “mom and dad.” I know he sweetened the deal with his bonus, but what do you think it means to him that the two of them are willing to go to such lengths for him?

GRODMAN: I love that mom and dad and the multiple crazy kids dynamic, because there is something about these ghosts that feels like they’re all children in their parents’ house who do not have the agency yet to live out in the real world, so they’re just causing mayhem. So I think that dynamic is an accurate reflection of what we’re playing with. I can see a world where someone would be like, “Maybe Sam needs some help .. .to have some boundaries,” but at the same time, I’m gonna get a touch deep here: I think we all have this loneliness that walks around with us, and the idea of — it’s almost like the imaginary friend thing, and the idea of having different personalities and sides of us that exists within us. I think Ghosts finds a sense of family through a sense of loneliness, if that makes any sense, because it is all these very disparate personalities. So the idea that they would just so fully commit to helping one of these ghosts out, I think there’s a level of of intimacy and family. It’s the thrill of what could happen. And poor Jay goes along with it. So, really, the big question is, what is Jay’s point of view in all of it? Because he’s got the least to gain. Well, he does have the money, but he doesn’t get to experience, the journey. I guess in this one, he kind of did, right? He got to walk a day in Trevor’s shoes.

DEADLINE: I agree with your point about the series being a physical representation of what it means to feel seen.

GRODMAN: It’s almost like a physical manifestation of your internal reality, where you would have these different personalities who kind of live inside of you, but then having them outside of you, and being able to see the world … It’s kind of like this fun, vivid playground. Obviously, it’s not all in Sam’s head, but I think there’s a found family thing to it that is really thrilling, and you would go to a lot of lengths to help them out.

DEADLINE: Speaking of Jay, what did you make of the plot line in this episode where Sas sort of develops a crush on him, via this woman in his dream?

GRODMAN: Well, I guess, picking up on the fact that we’re all very deeply connected to each other, this falls right into that world. It’s so fun. What was really fun about it is the almost like the middle school or the high school vibe to it, like him coming to his friends, like, “Here’s what I’m going through. I have this crush on this girl,” and then kind of helping him find that perspective. Roman does such an amazing job with the storyline … there are no boundaries anymore. So this is definitely a way that we’ve crossed, maybe one of the final walls that were up. All I can say for poor Jay.

DEADLINE: When Trevor finally points out that Sas has a crush on Jay, Pete says he’s a little jealous. But I don’t think Trevor actually ever says how he feels about that situation. Do you have thoughts?

GRODMAN: I think that Trevor is constantly seeking fun, and so for him, it’s such a thrill, just the novelty of what’s happening, having this deep, deep friendship-crush on Jay. I think it probably annoys Trevor a little bit, but the the idea that Sas had been turned around, and the unwittingly dating him, my God. What friend wouldn’t enjoy just a little bit the suffering of that?

DEADLINE: At first, he seems a little jealous that Sas might be getting to connect with this woman who they both had a crush on. Is the reality a bit vindicating for him?

GRODMAN: Very true, very true. I think there’s a fun dynamic with Sas where he’s obviously been around so much longer than Trevor, but there is a little brother quality to it. So I’m sure there was a little bit of a jealousy, like at the moment that he thought, “How did you pull that off?” But yeah, the reversal of that because Trevor would not be dating Jay. But walking into someone’s dream would certainly be Trevor’s alley.

DEADLINE: So, what can you tease about these next few upcoming episodes, especially the Christmas episode?

GRODMAN: So you know, there’s a double possession, right? That’s not news. I can tell you that there’s some performances in that double possession episode that are just off the charts, and I cannot wait for people to see see them. I’ll say that. Next week has a really sweet storyline that’s kind of this reflection on pets, which I really loved. What else? We meet Jay’s family at Christmas.

[Jay seeing ghosts] is gonna be a lot of fun, especially because he understands, like a sliver of us, and then the juxtaposition between his expectations and reality, I think they do a really good job with and it’s fun to play with, so I can tease that as well.

DEADLINE: Any more Trevor backstory?

There is some fun Trevor backstory in Episode 6. Trevor has this kind of unique thing where he often feels like the least likely guy to get sweetness from, if that makes any sense, which then makes him kind of, I guess, fun to get some sweetness from. So we’re going to get a little bit of that in Episode 6 … There’s so much that I want to tell you, but I can’t.

[mokuhchi-manuscripts]

Spring troupe (separately) finding notes in their pockets from their s/o reminding them to take care of themselves and that they love them?

A/N: I wrote this as if it was an event that happened regularly! Hope that’s what you meant :) Also I loved writing this so much! This request was so cute, thank you so much anon ;^; Also Masumi has abandonment issues bc I said so and it makes a lot of sense with his character. And apologies Citron’s is the shortest, I’m still working on figuring out his character tbh

CW(s): slight mention of abandonment issues for Masumi

❀ Sakuya Sakuma

He’d be beyond himself when he found the first one

He blushes really hard whenever he reads them you’ve almost pavloved him into blushing every time he feels a piece of paper in his pocket

After a couple times of finding a note, he’ll definitely look forward to days where he finds them

He doesn’t do anything like run to his hoodie and check all his clothes everyday but when he happens to find one it always brings a smile to his face

He’d definitely text you to say thank you and respond with his own small message

He especially needs the reminders to take care of himself during spring though, as theatre takes up so much of his mind and he can get easily preoccupied

Sakuya sat outside in the courtyard, reviewing his script for the nth time. A cool breeze passed through and tousled his hair. He placed a hand in his hoodie pocket, not wanting to get cold; as soon as he reached in he felt a scrap of paper scrape against his hand. Sakuya immediately began to blush and quickly pulled out the paper.

"Reminder to eat today! Hope you have a great day and good luck with rehearsals <3"

He couldn’t help but let a giant grin spread across his face. Then the realization that he hadn’t eaten yet hit him. Omi had just been out not too long ago, or so he thought, to remind him dinner was ready. Sakuya had responded that he’d be there momentarily, but got distracted by the new script. 

He quickly got up and began to make his way to the kitchen and dining room. There at the table he saw a handful of the Mankai Company members, including Omi.

“There you are! I was about to go remind you again dinner was ready.”

“Sorry, I got distracted. What did you cook today?”

Omi shook his head. “I didn’t. Izumi did.” Sakuya nodded in acknowledgement, knowing exactly what that meant,

“It’s alright. Now sit down and eat!” Sakuya grabbed a plate and served himself some curry and found a place at an empty seat. He pulled the note out from his pocket again, reading and rereading it again and again just like he did with every note. 

After he ate dinner he made sure to text you a thank you.

❀ Tsuzuru Minagi

The first time he found a note he was shocked; he didn’t really have enough time to process it as he was on his way to one of his part-time jobs but during his shift he continued to fumble as he couldn’t get it off his mind

Tsuzuru reached into his pocket for a pen, fingers crossed he didn’t forget one to his server job. He quickly found the writing utensil, but next to it he could feel a scrap of paper. He figured it must have been a reminder he wrote for himself that he forgot about. He pulled the small piece out of his pocket and froze in his tracks once he read it. It wasn’t a note he had written for himself, instead it was a note you had written for him. 

"Remember that I care about you and don't forget to take care of yourself today!"

He could barely register the words as he read them, but the immediate emotion he felt was absolute love for you. 

He most likely finds any note on his way to a college class or while working one of his part-time jobs

If he finds one while he’s with a member of the Mankai company he probably won’t read it as he prefers to read them when he’s alone since they’re personal and special to him

He tries to keep them but sometimes he just gets disorganized so he may accidentally throw them away; he still has at least half though

He tries his best to follow the notes when they’re reminders (e.g. eating when you remind him to eat) as he doesn’t want to somehow accidentally disappoint you

He definitely needs the reminders when he’s writing scripts as he will not step away from his computer once it comes time for another play; if you leave him a note to eat or drink water there’s a higher chance he’ll at least eat something small or take some sips of water

Since he’s someone who tends to look out for other people, knowing someone is looking after him just makes him incredibly happy 

❀ Masumi Usui

He froze as soon as he opened the first note he received as he could barely think; his thoughts were too full of his love for you and he didn’t want it any other way

He probably immediately texted you as soon as he reads it to tell you he loves you and has continued to text you a thank you or ‘ily’ every time he gets a note and decides to check on you in the same message

He loves checking his jackets after he sees you to see if you’ve left a note; and once Tsuzuru told you he checks you started leaving them after every time you went over

He keeps all the notes in a jar on his desk; just seeing them all collected in one place brings a smile to his face

Whenever he feels lonely, or his abandonment issues act up, he brings the jar up to his bed and reads them one by one

Masumi sat in his desk chair, exasperated. He had messaged you a couple times throughout the day and you hadn’t responded despite looking at his messages and he was growing concerned. His mind was beginning to race and he began to assume and fear the worst. Then the jar on his desk caught his eye. He carefully grabbed it, tucked it under one arm, and climbed up to his bed. There he unscrewed the lid and one by one pulled out and read each and every note he had ever gotten from you. 

“Reminder that I love you!’

“Remember to eat and drink water <3”

“(ღ˘⌣˘)♥ love you!”

“This song made me think of my feelings for you- Stupid for You by Waterparks <3”

“Good luck with rehearsal today! (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)"

Tears began to well in his eyes and he made sure to wipe them away with the back of his hand, lest he ruin one of the precious notes with his tears. Never had he felt so loved before you, and he mentally noted to tell you how much he appreciated you the next time he saw you. 

After having dealt with his parents not being there and growing up with no friends, he values you and your reminders an immense amount

He may try to leave you notes as well, but he’d much rather express his love for you in person

❀ Itaru Chigasaki

The first time he found one of your notes, he was overwhelmed with love for you; he could practically see the ‘+10’ affection points above his head as he read it

Itaru probably finds the notes once he’s at work if you put them in his jacket

His morning is much too hectic to be able to read it while at the dorms, so he tends to read it every time he drains his LP (yes, every time; your notes brighten his day)

Itaru stepped away from his desk. He had been watching the clock as his lunch hour ticked closer and closer, and once the time was reached, he made his way out of the office. Once he got to his car and began to drain his LP, he reached into his pocket to pull out the note you had left in his pocket that morning.

"Don’t forget to refill your stats! Remember to eat something and drink water, and keep in mind that ily <3"

He couldn't help but smile at the note, unlocking his phone to both drain his LP and to message you a quick thank you in response to your nerdy reminder.

If you use gamer lingo or nerdy references in the notes he will be positively enamored

He tends to just put them somewhere in a designated desk drawer, sometimes taping his favorites down to the top of the desk to make sure they don’t get lost and to see them while he games

If he’s streaming and he sees one of the notes on his desk out of the corner of his eye, he always ends up smiling and tends to have a habit of taking a drink of water when he sees one

If you leave a note in his gaming sweatshirt, it may take a bit for him to find it but when he does he’s very grateful -even though he has a smaller chance of actually listening to it-

At times when he’s very preoccupied, he may forget that you leave him notes at all so it’s like a new surprise all over again

❀ Citron

He was incredibly happy when he received his first note from you

After the first note he received, he began leaving notes for you as well

Sometimes the notes can be hard to decipher due to him forgetting and switching up words but it’s the thought that counts 

You had left a note on Citron’s desk the night before, and when you arrived at the dorm the next day he thanked you for it and gave you a tight hug. While you were there he was telling stories of his home country. He spoke of the food, the towns, and his pet Juliano. 

Eventually it began to get dark and you had to bid your boyfriend a farewell. He gave you a kiss on your cheek as you departed, and offered a smile and wave as you exited out the door. 

  Once outside the bitter winds nipped at your skin, so you placed your hands in your pockets in an attempt to keep them warm. But once you did so, you could feel a scrap of paper scratch against your fingertips. You quickly pulled it out, wondering what it could be. You unfolded it and there in familiar handwriting you found the following note:

"Remember that I am loving you always! Have a safe trip home and do not forget to crink water!!"

You could assume he meant ‘drink’ instead of ‘crink’. His struggle with language definitely found its way into the notes he gave you, but if anything it made him that much more endearing. On your way home, you made sure to buy a bottle of water.

His notes may sometimes come off as nonsensical due to his issues with language

If you really need help translating it, just ask another troupe member and they should be able to help

He doesn’t check his pockets for notes since he loves the surprise of finding them

❀ Utsuki Chikage

The first time he found a note in his pocket he felt so happy and appreciated it more than anything, although you wouldn’t have been able to tell if you were there due to his amazing poker face

Chikage has guilt and baggage and the fact that you stay with him amazes him, but he’s so grateful

After reading them he does throw the notes away, not because he doesn’t like them, but because they feel so special to him he doesn’t want anyone else to have the opportunity to read the words you wrote especially for him

Because of this, he does his best to memorize them 

It was originally difficult to know if he was even finding the notes since he’d never let you know or anything of that such

You had been leaving notes in your boyfriend’s pockets for months now. They were simple notes, things such as, ‘Don’t forget to eat today!’ or ‘Remember I care about you and like you no matter your past’. It shouldn't have made you so nervous that you couldn’t tell if Chikage had actually found them, or if he found them annoying, but knots of anxiety were developing in your stomach. So you decided to call him. 

He picked up on the fourth ring, “Chikage Utsuki speaking.”

“Hey, Chikage.”

“Oh, hello. To what may I offer the pleasure of this call?”

“Um,” you paused, collecting your thoughts, “so, I’ve been leaving these little..notes? In your pockets? And I was just curious if you had gotten them or if you found them annoying because if you do I can stop-” a laugh on the other side cut you off. “What? What’s so funny?”

Chikage continued to chuckle, “No, I’ve found them.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, like he didn’t want anyone else but you to hear, “I really appreciate them. Thank you.”

“Oh! Well I’m glad.” you were almost positive Chikage could hear your smile through the phone. 

“Was that all?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’ll see you later. Bye!”

“Goodbye.” the click of the end call button rang in your ears, but you couldn’t help but continue to smile.

After a while, it’s easier to tell when he has recently read a note as he may come off as somewhat more affectionate but whether he does it on purpose or not you can’t completely tell 

· · ─────── · ☆ · ─────── · ·

Navigation | Masterlists | Before you Request

[delaixplaysgames]

Gift Cards (Minagi Tsuzuru x Reader)

Ship: Minagi Tsuzuru/Reader

Rating: sfw (one swear word)

WC: 2,901 words

A/N: The second reader insert I’ve written and I’m still not good at it lol. But I’m having a fun time! I’m also the absolute worst at giving stories titles and ending stories. Apologies in advance!

You visited the school library very often. Everyone was too preoccupied with whatever they were doing (whether it was studying or procrastinating), so it was a good place to study and work on assignments. You recognized some faces that also visited frequently; some of them were in your classes and others just came so often that you knew their faces. 

However, there was one specific person that always caught your eye. You didn’t have any classes with him, but he came to the library so often that his face became recognizable. Seeing the way he was so focused on his work was admirable. It was kind of cute to see his whole face light up when something started clicking in his head. And seeing him occasionally doze off a little while working was funny, too. 

Long story short, he was extremely charming. He looked like the kind of person who really looks out for others. You wouldn’t be surprised if there were other people with crushes on him. 

At some point, you started sitting in the same area as this university student. It’d be weird if you sat too close to him, so you’d always sit at a different table on the opposite side of him. That way, you could still steal glances of him diagonally and from far away. Was it a bit creepy? Yes. Did you still do it? Also yes. 

You eventually found out that his name was “Tsuzuru” when two other men (both of them were extremely well built and just a bit intimidating) came across him in the library one day. You overheard them talking about Tsuzuru’s next script.

His next script? So he’s a playwright… Well, if he’s in this area, then does he write for a theatre troupe on Veludo Way? 

After Tsuzuru packed up and left with his two friends, you discreetly looked up “Tsuzuru Veludo Way” on your phone. Surprisingly, you were able to find his name on the Mankai Company website, where you found out that Minagi Tsuzuru was both the personal playwright of the troupe and a member of their Spring Troupe as well.

You gently slammed your head on the table, trying to not make too loud of a noise. This was definitely starting to approach stalker territory. 

Months of watching Tsuzuru from afar passed. You kept sitting in the same area as him in the library when you had the chance. You watched a few of Mankai Company’s plays, especially if Tsuzuru was one of the actors in the play. However, you still couldn’t work up the courage to just go up to him and initiate a conversation with your crush. 

He was so immersed in his work in the library that it was hard to approach him. When you’d leave the Mankai Theater, you’d chicken out and run out of the theater before the actors come out to thank the guests for coming. You were fairly sure that he still hasn’t noticed your creepy behavior. As relieving as it sounds, it doesn’t erase the fact that it’s creepy. You were much too shy and nervous for your own good, but you knew that you had to take the initiative one day.

One early morning, on your way to your favorite area in the library, you found Tsuzuru completely asleep at his work area. You smile to yourself at the sight as you set your things down at a different table. This area wasn’t crowded at all. In fact, it was just the two of you so far. It must’ve been a perfect time for him to sneak a nap in.

It must be hard balancing writing scripts and school work�� Plus, he probably has rehearsals with his troupe. Yikes, Minagi-san needs a coffee… coffee?

You reached into your backpack and grabbed your wallet. Inside your wallet was a gift card to a nearby coffee shop that you received from your aunt not too long ago. You haven’t used it at all and you figured that Tsuzuru needed this much more than you. 

You grabbed a cute dandelion themed sticky note and pen from your backpack, wrote a message as neat as you possibly could, and stuck it onto the gift card. You get up from your seat again and nervously make your way towards Tsuzuru. You were mentally begging him to not wake up as you approached his little station and slowly slided the gift card on top of his laptop’s keyboard. 

You sighed in relief, knowing that your mission was successful, and snuck another look at Tsuzuru’s sleeping face. He looked so peaceful and cozy with his head nested in his folded arms. You smiled again at the sight, sincerely hoping that he’ll enjoy the free coffees he could get from the gift card. Happy with the good deed you did, you turn back around to return to your seat.

And then you realized the flaw in your plan. There was no one but you and Tsuzuru in that area. If you stayed around and Tsuzuru woke up, then he would’ve figured out that it was you who left him the gift card. You quickly stuffed everything into your bag and dashed to a different part of the library.

--

“Tsuzuru? Hey, Tsuzuru?”

He felt someone shake his shoulder a bit and groggily blinked his eyes. He yawned a bit and looked over his shoulder to see who woke him up. “Huh? Oh, hey, Fushimi-san. Guess I must’ve dozed off.” 

“You did another all-nighter to finish your paper last night, right? Are you alright?” Omi clearly looked concerned for his health.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was reading some lecture notes and ...Huh?” When Tsuzuru went to gesture to his laptop screen, he noticed a gift card on his keyboard. The card had a pastel green sticky note with dandelion seeds blowing away from the flower at the bottom. “Where did this come from? Did you put this here, Fushimi-san?” 

Omi shook his head. “Nope. I didn’t do that, but there’s a note on it. What does it say?”

“Let’s see… ‘You seemed a bit exhausted when I passed by and I think you need the caffeine more than I do! I hope this can keep you running through the day, but don’t forget to get a good night’s sleep!’” Tsuzuru flipped the card over and saw that it was a card for a coffee shop close to campus. “There’s no name on here, but wow, this is really nice of this person.”

Tsuzuru looked around the study area, but it was just him and Omi there. They must’ve come while he was asleep and before Omi woke him up. He really wished the person left a name or something; this person deserved a big thank you because he desperately needed the coffee.

“Maybe they just wanted to do a good deed for someone who needed it,” Omi suggested.

Tsuzuru scratched his head, still stuck on the idea of thanking the mystery person. He put the idea to rest for the time being and slipped the gift card and the note into his wallet. The gift card could get him at least five coffees from this shop. If this person was kindly giving him the money for coffee, then he better not waste it. 

--

Ever since then, you got into a bit of a habit of leaving little gifts for Tsuzuru every once in a while. It’d only be at times he left his seat in the library or was asleep like he was before. Whenever you went to watch a Mankai Company play, you’d leave a little something in Tsuzuru’s gift bin. You doubted that he would even notice it, but you made sure to use dandelion-themed message cards or sticky notes when you wanted to leave a message.

You also made sure to leave the area as quick as you came. You were fine with just leaving him little presents once in a while and not being recognized for them. If you had the chance to see him find the gift, you felt enough satisfaction from seeing him smile. It felt like a good way to show how you felt for Tsuzuru while not being hindered by your shyness. Just knowing that he appreciated them was enough for you.

--

One Saturday night, you went to watch another great play at Mankai Company featuring Tsuzuru as one of the actors. It was always a treat to see him on the stage and see how his stories unfold. Whoever was in charge of the outfits and hair styling really knew how to make Tsuzuru look even more charming than he already was. 

Since finals week was slowly approaching, you decided to get him another gift card to the same coffee shop from before since you had a feeling that he’d need the caffeine. You put it in a dandelion-themed envelope and left a card telling him how much you appreciated all the hard work that he put into his writing and his acting. You also told him to get some rest when he gets the chance since he’s probably exhausted from the busyness between school and the troupe this week. 

After the curtain call ended, you followed the flow of the guests flooding back into the lobby. A lot of the guests liked to stick around to personally greet the actors, but you just wanted to leave the present in Tsuzuru’s bin and head home.

You just pulled the envelope out of your bag when someone else accidentally bumped into you. It was just hard enough for you to lose grip on the envelope and it fell to the ground. 

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to!” the person said apologetically, leaning down to pick up the envelope for you. 

“No, it’s fine! It’s not a big-“ You clammed up the moment you realized who was picking up your envelope. 

It was the one and only Minagi Tsuzuru who was kneeling down and holding your gift to him in his hand. He looked up at you with a bit of worry. 

“You aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?” 

You weren’t able to form a decent sentence and just shook your head. The fact that Tsuzuru was actually talking directly to you wasn’t settling in your mind. You probably looked absolutely insane with the deep blush forming on your cheeks and the steam practically coming out of your ears.

He smiled. “That’s good.” He was about to hold the envelope up for you as he got up when he noticed that his own name was on it. “Wait, this is for me? Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!” 

“U-Uh… y-yeah…” 

“I’ll be sure to read it when…” His voice trailed off when something caught his eye. He was silent for a moment and then realized that he left you hanging. “O-oh, sorry. I just saw your handwriting and thought about how nice it looks.”

You looked up at him with wide eyes. “R-really…?” It was kind of embarrassing to hear your crush compliment something about you. 

“Y-yeah, it’s really easy to read. You have good penmanship. You know, I feel like I’ve seen it before on some other cards that I’ve gotten here…” Tsuzuru peeked up at you. “... Or at the library.”

“H...Huh?” Your heart stopped immediately. He didn’t just say that, did he?

“You… you always use letters and sticky notes with dandelions on them, don’t you? After noticing that, I kinda started recognizing your handwrit-”

“U-Um!” You quickly interrupted him, shaking from both anxiety and fear. “I-I… R-Really sorry, but I… I’ve got a test on Monday that I, uh…. Gotta study! Bye!”

“W-wait!” 

You weren’t able to hear him out because you ran out of the lobby as fast as you possibly could, leaving Tsuzuru absolutely in shock. 

--

The following Monday, for lack of better terms, you felt like absolute shit. You spent a good portion of the weekend moping over the fact that Tsuzuru completely found out who you are and most likely thought you were creepy. The other portion of the weekend was spent studying for the test in order to stop moping over Tsuzuru.

You started regretting starting this habit and cringed at yourself every time you thought of it. It didn’t matter that you passed your test thanks to all those hours of studying; your crush found out about all of your weird antics! You felt like your love life hit an absolute low. 

You found yourself passing by the library, something you always did after your last class. You stopped walking for a short moment before deciding to just walk past the building. As much as you wanted to go in and sit in silence, you were scared that you’d come across Tsuzuru. Mentally unprepared for that humiliation, so you sighed and started to go head home. 

“Hey, wait up!” 

You didn’t think much of the voice and kept walking away until someone grabbed your wrist. You turned around and saw Tsuzuru stopping you in your tracks. Both of you were quiet; Tsuzuru was catching his breath and you were too surprised by his sudden interaction. His eyes were serious and it looked like he didn’t want to let you out of his sight any time soon. 

“Um… M-Minagi-san?”

His eyes widened and that serious look in his eyes was replaced with a more embarrassed one. He quickly retracted the hand holding your wrist and stuffed it in his pocket. “U-uh, s-sorry! I-I just left the library to wait for you outside but then I saw you leaving so I, uh…”

“Y-You were gonna… What?”

Tsuzuru nodded shyly. “I was looking for you this morning, but you never came around. I had a feeling you were trying to avoid me, so I thought it’d be better to try my luck and just wait outside this time.” He laughed shyly. “Guess I got really lucky, huh?”

You rubbed your arm awkwardly. He might’ve felt lucky but you felt the exact opposite of that. You weren’t in the mood for any reminder of what happened on Saturday. “U-Um, did you need me for something?”

“Yeah. I wanted to give you something.” He shuffled through his backpack and held out a small envelope. “I...It’s a gift card for that coffee shop. I’m sure you didn’t know this, but I actually love going to that shop. I wanted to return the favor, so uh… here.”

You took the envelope and looked at it in surprise. Of all the things you thought he’d say, you didn’t expect him to give you a present. “Um… thanks.”

“Oh, and these, too.” Tsuzuru pulled out a small treat box from his bag and held that out to you. “They’re cookies. You said that you had a text today, right? I figured you might want something sweet after a test.”

“Y-You made these, Minagi-san?!” The cookies that you could see from the plastic window looked professionally made.

He laughed. “No, not me! Someone in the dorm I live in made them. He’s really good at cooking and baking. He made a lot, so I packed some for you.” 

Your cheeks felt warm. You really weren’t expecting any presents from Tsuzuru and having his attention like this was somewhat embarrassing. “Y-You didn’t have to… I’m just your average fan and--”

He smiled softly. “I did it because I wanted to. You always put really nice letters and notes on the gifts. Maybe it’s because you see how stressed I can get in the library, but you always seemed to say the right things or give me something when I need it the most.” Tsuzuru scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “And as creepy as this sounds… I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now. Even before you started leaving presents for me. I just didn’t know how to start a conversation with you.”

You laughed a bit. “That’s nowhere near as creepy as leaving presents for someone you’ve never talked to.”

“Well, it’s just as creepy to accept presents left at your seat by some mystery person,” he retorted, laughing with you. “Speaking of which, I think it’s time I learned your name. You already know mine, and I can’t keep calling you a mystery person forever.”

Finally relieved that he didn’t find you freaky, you told him your name.

“(Full Name)-san, huh? It really suits you.” Tsuzuru liked the way your name rolled off of his tongue and he was almost tempted to say it again just for the sake of it. Just thinking of your name brought a smile to his lips. “Well, you already know it, but my name is Minagi Tsuzuru. It’s nice to formally meet you, (Name)-san.”

You chuckled, thinking about how you never thought things would lead up to this. “It’s nice to formally meet you too, Minagi-san.”

He saw the way you smiled and he felt his cheeks warm up a bit more. “Are you doing anything after this? You see, I happen to have a gift card to that coffee shop, too,” he said in a joking manner. “Do you want to grab a coffee and talk a bit more there? I’ll pay for your coffee.”

You laughed at his little joke and nodded. “If I can pay for yours, then I’d love to!” 

[emilycollins00]

A3 actors! Art in bloom

Type: One shot

Pairing: Miyoshi Kazunari x Reader

Theme: Passion / Art / Clash

Contrary to what many people and even classmates of yours thought, being an art student was not something you should chose to do lightly.

Sure, it seemed enjoyable, cute even. But no one ever talked about how many hours you would spend with a single portrait, drafting about abstract concepts or trying to discern at two in the morning whether a sculpture should turn more sideways or look at the ground to create a deeper perspective. 

Art was wild.

But you loved it and, why not admit it, you took it pretty seriously. Maybe a tiny bit more than most people.

That’s why you had always liked how Kazunari Miyoshi, although being the loud person he was, frequently went on and on with you discussing ideas when there was some debate in class. That brain of his was something else. His works and usual approach when mixing modern and traditional Japanese culture fascinated you. It really did.

But that had been changing lately, and it angered you.

Up until this year you hadn't really cared about it. Everyone had their right to live however they wanted after all.

However, without being able to tell when it began, you started casually observing him. You watched him talk to your other classmates as soon as the lecture, frowned as he concentrated on the draft they had one hour and a half to finish or taking selfies and live videos of the works you all were demanded to do. You even discovered yourself staring and how the sun caressed his profile first hour in the morning.

He had a nice profile.

By that point, something inside you was getting frustrated. He participated in class and attended to the lectures, but at the same time…? you felt he was starting prioritising social media over art, or looking for people for one of his popular mixers, like so many of your other classmates, who had most likely entered this major without much thought, did.

You would understand if he would have a part-time job, but the thought of him being able to do so much more and deciding to stop midway left you speechless.

You wished for him to take more things seriously. 

“Miyoshi, were you able to clean all the supplies from last class?" you called him out between the break. Everyone in class traded places to carry the main boxes with brushes, paints and whatever main source they had to work with each week "Our teacher told me to take some clay from there. I'm planning to use them for my final project, but I can't seem to find the key in the secretary office”

The university student lifted his head from his mobile and tipped on his chin, trying to remember "Supplies from...? Oh man, THAT is why I had them in my working space!” He palped his jeans looking for it “My bad, I was totes in a hurry and just closed as soon as we were done!” 

You contained an exasperated groan “Why would you get the key unless it was to clean the practice room?” 

Kazunari laughed nervously under your intimidating glare “True, true! It's just that I was talking with some friends over the phone and they were in a hurry so…” he showed you the key taking it out of his pocket, maybe to show that at least he hadn’t lost it “Do you need them now? I could go clean for you” 

The vein you had tried so hard to maintain calm popped altogether. Not wanting to keep talking, you rapidly grabbed the key from his hand and headed to take the supplies. God grief how you hated that carefree attitude. 

                                         ……………………..…….

“No prob, dude! Next time just hit me up with a DM and I’ll come running to your uni here! In exchange, I’ll need your help to finish the flyers so…” 

Recognizing the flashy voice, you slowly looked behind, witnessing the blond with another person. Was he meeting with people to play around here too? 

You couldn’t believe it. You all had your final projects deadlines almost spitting in your faces! That’s why you had to come to this other university to ask for permission to use a kiln for your final, as you didn’t have lectures prepared today and your university didn’t have any. Didn’t look like it was Kazunari’s case. 

“Uh? No way, Y/N-pyon!” he waved at you with both hands, confirming it was you indeed, as he got closer “Looking fleek today too! What are you doing here in Yosei?” the person walking next to him whispered something “They’re a friend from my major Tsuzuroon, I told you about them, dude!” 

You mentally scoffed. Without returning his greet and turning on your heels, you headed for the teacher’s office.

 “You said friend but…” Tsuzuru squinted his eyes, watching you leave “…It doesn't look like they like you very much” 

“No worries! Nowadays they are always like that. But their works are so lit! Y/N-pyon is the ultimate remix of you, Ten-ten and Yukki!” 

“That’s… not a good thing, Miyoshi-san”

                            …………………………………………

“Y/N-pyon, about-”

“Miyoshi, sorry. I am on my way to Yosei University to finish my work and unlike your usual approach of work to play, I actually don’t have time to waste”

“Uh? My works are…”

“Are what? I’ve been seeing you doing half-assed things all over the semester. This last week you didn’t even come at the afternoon lectures” you were pretty sure this was just you venting at this point “You’re amazing Miyoshi, I honestly think that, so why? If… If you only put more of yourself into it, your art would be even more unbelievable!”

He went quiet, a rare sight.

“Art it’s not something you just do for laughs; I thought you were one of the few people here that felt the same and-” the phone in your bag started ringing. Head  teacher. Inhaling deeply, you answered it “Yes?”

“Y/N-san? I am so sorry. Could you come to Josey university?” 

Losing the eye contact you had been maintaining with the blond boy, your heart sank as you heard the words ‘kiln’ and ‘malfunction’. “…Please tell me my final project is ok” 

                                       ……………………………….

You stood in silence, looking at the mess when you heard a knock at the door.

“I know I shouldn’t have followed and am expecting you throw me out the door but…” you didn’t move an inch so Kazunari took that as a free pass.

Just as the teacher told you, the electricity in the small building had had an issue and there had been a combustion, meaning, the sculpture you had kept here while working for weeks was now cracked and in shreds. You sniffed, brushing away the tears that were trying to come out from your eyes. All your hard work. All the time spent, had been for nothing.

“The Kiln is burnt. I don’t have anything good to save” you felt emotionally exhausted “Damn, I should have used air dry clay since the beginning… or not tried to sculpt anything” your vision became blurry again “I don’t know why do I make everything more difficult that it is”

Kazunari contemplated the situation, studying the seemingly full cracked sculpture from afar.

“Teach probably told you she would wait for you to turn on the work, right?” He saw you vaguely nodding you head “You got this!” he put his hand on your shoulder, you barely glancing at him “Look, If you still wanna use this base I’ll go ask for some moisturize and clean water to mix. Then I will maintain the upper part as you work down there, not bad idea right?”

You stared at him, finally grasping that he had come all the way here and was now trying to help “Why are you here? I… was being a busybody telling you how to work in our major” you had realized you had crossed the line back then.

Kazunari laughed, shaking his head “You were not saying anything that was a lie though, I don't want to admit it, but it’s true I've been a mess for a while”

“I guess parties require a lot of work” you bite your tongue hard. He was being a decent person trying to help and you couldn’t stop for two seconds to pick on him? You wanted to punch yourself.

“Mmm? Ah, our theatre troupe is almost opening for performance and the next troupe is on practices so flyers and scripts are running at full gas”

You stopped looking at your sculpture. What did he just say about a theatre?

“…What?”

“You’ve never come, Y/N-pyon? Mankai company is the best theatre in Veludo way! You totes should come, I’ll even send you the tickets for our new performance!” before you knew it, he had already DM you what you imagined was all the background information.

The moment you unlocked it, you almost dropped the phone. The photos and drawings of the posters were amazing, and you just knew who it had done “You… never said you had a job”

Kazunari considered what you pointed out. Mankai had managed to recover from what they needed to pay but they still didn't have enough founds “I’ve never thought about our acts as a job thought”

Your mind was a mess. Being an actor and doing publicity didn’t count for him as he studied? No wonder he usually left early! Now you felt even worst. You had behaved like a… “Uh, are these original templates?” you browsed over the performances’ posters, each one more astonishing than the other “This is… wow and this one?” 

He blinked, noticing how the tone of your voice was now more soothing. You had somewhat calm down. He would high-key enjoy hearing you talk to him like that more often “Hey, enough about me. We have work to do”

You agreed, putting away your phone “You’re right but again I… I am sorry, Miyoshi. And thanks, for staying” 

“No prob, Y/N-pyon!” 

“Would you tell me what I could do so you stopped calling me that?” 

“Eeeeeeh why? I think it fits! It's super-duper cute, like you!” 

Thump!

No. You told yourself.

Coming back to your senses you told yourself the warm you felt in your cheeks was due to summer starting earlier. It definitely wasn’t because of Kazunari smile directed at you, helped you or how the sun reflected on his perfect profile as you both started working on your work. 

Art was wild… but it was also an evocative of feelings.

_________________________________________________________

This one has been a difficult one! I wanted Reader to kind of clash with his mindset

Hope you guys enjoy it. Have a wonderful day! 💕

[animaniachan]

A3! Act 3 Episode 9 Summary

Please read through this note before you start reading the summary!

whhhhew, finally finished episode 9 and THE EMOTIONS ARE ROLLING-😭😭

but ofc being the maniac that i am ive decided to provide a full summary of episode 9 for those who are interested!

Be warned that this is MAJOR STORY SPOILERS so i would recommend you be at least finished act 2 and all the events leading up to it before you read this. Otherwise you’ll probably have a hard time understanding the full context of things.

The last note I want to make is that this won’t be a detail-for-detail summary! I still want to keep things decently vague so people can still have the joy of experiencing the story for themselves while still providing adequate information to clear up any confusions and speculations. This summary will basically be a rough outline of the story that highlights some of the major events that went on. This summary will follow the order of how the episode played out, all the events will be listed in order.

Ofc, if anybody has any specific questions regarding the story that they want clarified or just simply want to discuss episode 9: always feel free to shoot in an ask or dm me! I’m always happy to provide with information and/or rant about these precious boys!

Well, without further ado, here y’all go~~

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST AND MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD~

the new groups of people now are the following:

High schoolers- Yuki/Muku/Azami/Kumon

Yosei University- Juza/Tsuzuru/Tenma/Taichi

Amabi- Kazunari/Banri

Adult group is still adult group~~

Apparently Tenma’s parents decided it would be a good idea to let him attend university so it was decided on the spot that he would be going through exams. He had to get Chikage to tutor to barely scrape by passing bc of how busy he was. Taichi on the other hand....Tsumugi the GOAT-

Omi now works as a professional photographer through a job his friend introduced him to.

Masumi decided to go to Fuyou University which is Tasuku and Tsumugi’s old university to study. Misumi’s brother, Madoka, also studies there. Although Madoka does not look like it, he’s actually 19... I know...

Azami decided to attend the same high school as Kumon which warms my heart honestly bc it just showed how good of friends they’ve become <3~~ Here’s his new uniform look <333

not sure how i feel about the red hoodie but eh, boy can pull it off so it doesn’t matter aha~

Guy is apparently opening up a new Zahra style bar with the help of the winter troupe members such as Homare who introduced him to an interior design company (same company that installed that brick wall in his room orz). Hisoka will also be helping out in Guy’s bar.

The entirety of Reni’s backstory (5 episodes in total) which describe his initial meeting with Yukio during high school to how they built Mankai together was described through the format of portraits (the autumn troupe signature). HIs backstories are basically just narrations of Act 3 1/2 if any of you read that when it was first posted.

Reni’s real name is apparently “Kamikizaka Reiji” and “Reni” is a nickname that Yukio gave him in high school bc Yukio thought that his real name was too hard to write out in kanji and pronounce lolol.

Reni keeps a journal which documents his time with Yukio (basically Act 3 1/2) in a safe in his office.

Kasumi’s nickname back in the day was apparently “Juriko”: stems from “Juliette” and “ko” which is a way to feminize someone’s name in Japanese. This was because he was the crossdresser that had to play Juliette in the OG spring troupe RomiJuri- heh.

 Shifuto is now the new “top” in GOD Troupe after Tasuku and Haruto who got demoted.

FRIEND ANGST BETWEEN AZAMI AND SHIFUTO HNGHHH and that’s all I’m willing to say oop-

GOD Troupe challenged Mankai to an act-off once again and this time appointed Tsumugi as the lead and Tasuku to be in the play and the theme as “devil” and thus...Devil Tsumugi was born.

The company was initially debating on whether to accept the challenge or not but Tsumugi and Taichi desperately wanted to show Reni who they have become as an actor and prove him wrong on all the things he’s said to them. Basically, everyone who was casted for this play had their own reasons on why they wanted to act.

Misumi’s dad’s name is revealed to be “Kusumi” which literally means nine-points/sides and I- top 10 betrayals? I was certain that his name will have something to do with a square but apparently not-

Although it was briefly revealed during Sky Pirates, Misumi’s dad is the official script writer for GOD Troupe. However, it is shown here that he has absolutely no talent in writing so what he does is get Madoka to act as his ghostwriter and write for him.

Hence this birthed Madoka’s complex of wanting to write in his own free will and not under the control of his father. Since everything he writes gets “edited” by his father but everything his father edited gets rejected by Reni and so Madoka has to fix it himself anyways.

Returning to backstory, Reni revealed that Yukio legit went to visit Misumi’s grandpa (Hakkaku) as a senior high school student to ask him for a script. As a note, Hakkaku was already a very famous script writer at that time and age wise he is about what both their dads would be. Ofc he was refused many times but Yukio wouldn’t give up and would not stop pestering Hakkaku until he finally caved in.

Honestly I loved the autumn and winter troupe dynamic throughout this entire episode- just the way they supported Taichi and Tsumugi is just-

Kumon had to act as the mediator between Azami and Shifuto to try and recover their friendship and the entire process was hilarious.

Yukio and Reni were actually Yuzo and Kasumi’s high school seniors at Nanakusa High. Yuzo was the “ghost member” that was only member of drama club in-name only that was mentioned earlier.

NAMIKAWA DAISUKE’S VOICE IN KASUMI- *deaded counter x1* as a tiny side note: i realized half way through that Tezuka (Reni), Sanada (Yuzo), and Ootori (Kasumi) were in the same high school together bc of their seiyuus. This is for my TeniPuri fans out there haha~~

During their last performance in high school, Yukio and Reni got boycotted by the other junior members right before their play. Reni ended up forcing a reluctant Yukio to go at speak act out the monologue Hakkaku provided for them and everybody ended up being overwhelmed by Yukio’s performance.

This is what ended up making Reni dedicate his post high school life creating Mankai with Yukio, he wants to see Yukio act on stage again. He describes Yukio’s acting as “someone who was chosen by God” and even went as far as using his own money his parents gave him when they kicked him out (strict family bs) to build the initial theatre while they both worked part-time. Reni was the one who designed the entire theatre according to Yukio’s wishes to “make it long lasting”. However, Yukio revealed to him that he has no desire to stand on stage again and instead wants to make others “full bloom”, this invoked a sense of betrayal in Reni.

Reni was also the one who recruited Syu, his childhood friend, into the theatre. From there on, Yuzo and Kasumi also joined. Kasumi was revealed to also be garbage at acting at first but Yukio appointed him as lead for their first play nonetheless.

There is apparently some outside force wanting to ruin Mankai as they even went as far as stealing a part of Tsuzuru’s script and provided it to Misumi’s dad who ended up plagiarizing. It is later revealed that Reni had nothing to do with this so it is currently unknown who the main perpetrator is.

 In order to get a better grasp on his devil character, Tsumugi opted to spend one day with each of the other winter troupe members (Homare, Hisoka, and Azuma) individually. This is to get more insight from people who had lived such different lives and accumulated such different experiences. Honestly, one of the most heartwarming moments ever.

MY ANGST MAN IS HERE WITH HIS FIRST APPEARANCE!!! SAKURAI TAKAHIRO’S VOICE OMGGGGG *deaded counter x2*

He met Tsumugi in front of the GOD Theatre and asked him to “save” Reni.

On the day of the performance, Tsumugi and Taichi decided to walk to the theatre. They met Banri and Juza along the way who were planning to do a street act to release some energy. On their way, they ended up being surrounded by numerous punks who were presumably sent by the same outside force who stole Tsuzuru’s script.

The night before the actual performance, the plagiarism was revealed to both sides and both sides were just as much caught off guard by this. Reni, however, refused to change the direction of the play since it was too risky as the performance is the next day. However, Shifuto refused to act out something that is plagiarized since he promised Azami that they would have a “fair fight like men”.

And so, he managed to convince Haruto to use Madoka’s script that he has written for the first time according to free will and changed the entire play in one night. With the help of Haruto’s authority, they managed to do it in time. (I’ve failed to mention this until now but these three has been building up chemistry all through out this episode and im so down for them tbh)

Banri told Juza to take Tsumugi and Taichi and go ahead while he stays behind to try and buy some time alone against all the men. Just when Banri was in a tight spot due to power in number...

BAM THIS OLD MAN COMES IN AND SAVES THE DAY!! by now y’all already know... YASUMOTO HIROKI’S VOICE HAAAAAAAAAH *deaded counter x3*

After Banri revealed to Zen that he was autumn troupe leader of Mankai, Zen gave him a card of his restaurant, “Gentiana” and promised to treat them to a meal there afterwards.

Costume reveal for GOD Troupe. Honestly, I love the chemistry that was built throughout this episode between Shifuto, Haruto, and Madoka. Haruto really did give out redeeming qualities and i don’t dislike him as much as before aha (even tho he is still a snob) and I acknowledge him as a character. Madoka’s script consisted of two characters and basically talks about two estranged brothers (his way of writing down his guilt for towards Misumi)

Costume reveal for Mankai as many of you probably have seen already- devil tsumugi and sexy tasuku is just-

 In terms of actual in-game plays, this was the second play that I’ve actually cried at, the first being Clockwork. Super emotional and well-written play and certainly it draws a lot of parallels to Sympathy for the Angel.

SAME RENI...JUST-SAME. TT

After the performances...i won’t reveal who won and by how much but Reni did officially apologize for all his past actions as he was reminded of his passion for acting through this play. Izumi thought this too but it is hard to 100% forgive him bc of the pain he’s brought on all the members.

He revealed why he quit Mankai, it was bc he and Yukio had become so divided that if he had stayed, the entire balance of Mankai would fall to ruins. He actually came to the conclusion to leave after being trapped in the time loop with Yukio for about three days aha~

Reni decided to create GOD Troupe bc he wanted them to win the Fleur Awards first and crush Mankai, that way, he may have the chance one day to accepted a lost Yukio in his troupe as an actor and not a director (obsessed much my dude??)

The last part of the episode is Reni wanting to talk to Izumi about the Ikaruga family and being invited to Mankai Dorms as a result. There he reminisced the days with the OGs before we are left with a cliffhanger-

Even though he only talked for two lines but ONO DAISUUUUKE~~~ *deaded counter x4*

The very last scenes showcased how the OGs are starting to come back together as they will be getting involved with the new Mankai members.

THIS OLD MAN LEGIT WENT AND HELPED THEM PICK CABBAGE I-

LOOK AT THIS EXPRESSION HE IS SO PRECIOUS-

~❀❀❀~

that concludes the rough summary of episode 9! i...this was an ordeal to get through aha and sorry for it ended up being such a long post...It was inevitable bc this episode consisted of 39 chapters. 

Honestly im so dead by the end of this that i didnt have the heart to check for any grammar mistakes so there’re probably quite a few that i ask you kindly to just ignore~ 🥺🥺

now, time to dig a hole and cry until episode 10 comes out...☠️😇😭

[ikevampeventarchive]

[ERS] Tonight, Upon Love’s Stage - Shakespeare & Vincent

Route Preview:

Along with Vincent and Shakespeare, I’m going to stand on the stage as the Princess Snow White. While I eagerly play the main role, the two of us discover complicated feelings....

When the curtain falls, a hidden desire is revealed—

[This is an unofficial work based on fan-translation. Copyright belongs to Cybird.]

Warning: Spoilers Underneath.

Route Summary:

Common Route

One afternoon, Shakespeare visited the mansion and asked MC to be a part of a play. Although she was hesitant at first, MC eventually said yes when Shakespeare assured her that he tailored the play in a way that anyone can be a part of it and that if she does not agree, the whole performance will be canceled.

Shakespeare is grateful she agreed and mentioned that it would probably ease her nerves if another resident of the mansion will have a part in the performance as well. At this point MC questions Shakespeare’s intentions, asking who else he plans to cast and it was revealed to be Vincent. 

Days before the curtain rises, Shakespeare hands out the script to the cast and Vincent exclaims the role of Princess Snow White would be perfect for MC. Hearing this, she thanks Vincent for saying so but refutes the statement saying an amateur like her is more fit for a role like Villager A but to her surprise, Shakespeare reveals that she is in fact cast as the lead actress. 

The other members start saying how MC is cuter than the actress that bailed on them. Shakespeare even goes on to say how grateful he is to have encountered MC and how he’s sure she’ll live up to their expectation with how honest and serious MC is.

Shakespeare starts introducing the other roles and an actor from the theatre troupe was given the role of the Prince while Vincent, on the other hand, got the role of the Woodcutter. Right then, MC was thinking about how she thought Vincent was going to play the Prince because of how gorgeous he looks.

It seemed Shakespeare knew what she was thinking, proceeding to tease her by asking if she wanted Vincent to be her partner. MC didn’t know what to reply and she felt her cheeks getting hot when Vincent suddenly spoke up.

Vincent: I would be happy to become MC’s Prince… but I’m glad I get to play the Woodcutter.

Vincent: After all.... the Woodcutter shares more scenes with the Princess.

As the practice was ongoing, MC was turning the pages of her script as she read what happens in the story. After Snow White is banished to the forest from the Queen’s jealousy, she encounters a kind Woodcutter and they started living together. One time while the Woodcutter was outside, Snow White took a bite of a poisoned apple from a witch and as she was about to fall, a Prince appeared and caught her in his arms before waking her up with a kiss.

MC notes that it’s almost the same story that she’s familiar with but it was interesting how Shakespeare arranged some details differently. It was at that point that she realized that she had to kiss the Prince towards the end but before she could think about it further, Shakespeare tells her to get ready for the next scene with Vincent.

The part they were practicing was the time when the Woodcutter offered Snow White to live with him because she had nowhere to go and MC notes how Vincent really fits the role of the gentle Woodcutter. Suddenly, Vincent admits he was a bit nervous because he felt like she was a real princess and they both realize they were still holding hands even when the practice ended, Vincent quickly apologizes saying he got too absorbed in the scene.

Shakespeare says it was probably time for a break and informed MC that the actor for the Prince wanted to speak to her. MC told Vincent she had to go and as she was walking away, Vincent was gazing at her distant figure gloomily. Shakespeare noticed his friend’s reaction and asked him if anything was wrong.

Vincent then asks Shakespeare if MC and the Prince would really have to kiss in the last scene. Shakespeare says the two would only need to embrace and bring their faces really close like what was indicated in the script. Vincent thanks him for answering before leaving with a forced smile on his face, an expression Shakespeare was surprised to see.

Once practice was over for the day, MC was helping store the props away when she saw Shakespeare writing something on his script. MC mentioned that the scenes were quite interesting and she was wondering if he was planning to change some things. He tells her that he wanted to make sure that the play would go on perfectly.

Shakespeare shared that the theatre troupe might get dissolved since it had no means of connection or money and that it’s normal that it won’t survive unless the product has value. MC reasons that everyone has been working hard.

Shakespeare: If passion alone can produce results, no one would have to work hard. 

Shakespeare: That’s why all you can do is to keep on trying. 

She notices all the scribbles Shakespeare has written on the script and it takes her back to the moment he asked her to appear in the play, MC suddenly speaks up and says that she will do her best to make sure the thoughts of Shakespeare and the other members will be conveyed to the audience.

Shakespeare was speechless for a moment but before he could answer her, the door to the storage room was opened by Vincent who came to collect MC since their carriage has arrived outside. Shakespeare tells MC that it was a pretty tiring day and she should have a good rest once she gets home.

The day of the actual play finally arrives and so far, things have been going so well. The next scene is the one involving Snow White eating the poisoned apple when there was a loud crash from backstage. When they checked out what happened, they saw the actor for the Prince sitting on the ground with his ankle swollen.

Despite the injury, the actor really wanted to continue the last scene but Vincent advised the man to not overdo it and that if he wants to keep standing on the stage forever, it would be bad if he pushes himself too hard now. 

Vincent says he understands what the man is feeling and that for him, he can’t think of his life without painting that’s why he doesn’t want the man to force it. Shakespeare also tells the man that he should prioritize his health and had someone accompany him to the hospital. Before leaving, the actor apologized to Shakespeare for the inconvenience and thanked Vincent for making him realize what he should do. 

Shakespeare then tells MC it was nearly time for her to come up the stage so she should prepare and she was getting quite worried about the last scene. Vincent comforts her, telling her that she’ll be alright and that Shakespeare is there and he’ll know what to do.

To calm her down, Shakespeare puts his hands on her shoulders, looked into her eyes and told her to believe in him and do as what the script said. MC felt her agitation disappear when she looked into Shakespeare’s eyes and she was able to perform calmly on the stage. 

Despite not knowing what will happen to her next now that there’s no Prince to hold her as the last scene begins, MC took a bite of the poisoned apple and as it rolls down from her hand the moment she falls, someone catches her in their arms. 

—

Shakespeare End:

The moment you touch his heart, a new love story begins.... 

“...My. This face, more than the one you gave upon the stage, is fascinating. So much so, I want to gaze upon it for eternity.”

—

As MC was held in someone’s soft embrace, the man continued on reciting the Prince’s lines. She had a feeling the one on stage with her was none other than Shakespeare and when it was time for the kiss, MC opened her eyes to see a pair of mismatched ones looking back at her.

Shakespeare: …..Ah. Just as I thought, even your eyes are beautiful.

Shakespeare: As it goes, I want you to come to my castle. Please become my Princess.

MC was nervous by how close Shakespeare was to her but he still leaned in closer, whispering in her ear to continue acting which brought her back to her senses so they were able to finish the play now that the Prince and Princess are finally together. 

Inside the carriage on their way home, Vincent and MC were discussing how the show went on. Vincent mentioned how great Shakespeare was, how the audience surrounded him afterwards once they recognized him as the famous playwright and since it would take awhile for him to greet all the people, the two went on ahead of him to go back to the mansion. 

Suddenly, Vincent asked her if she missed Shakespeare and MC told him that she doesn’t miss him but she does want to get to know Shakespeare better. Especially now that she feels she got closer to him the past few days and how she saw the many faces Shakespeare has during practice and on the stage.

MC asks Vincent what he thinks of Shakespeare and he tells her he believes Shakespeare is a kind man that can understand the feelings of other people, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to write lines that can remain in the hearts of various performers.

As MC was lying down on her bed that night, there was a sudden knock on her door. When she went on to open it, Shakespeare was standing in front of her. He apologized for bothering her so late but he hasn’t had the chance to thank her yet and decided to see her once he dropped by Vincent’s room.

MC figures Shakespeare was probably really tired at this point and hoped she was able to help him somehow. While giving her a smile that was a bit different from his usual one, Shakespeare tells her he was thankful for her help since she was able to follow along the script and didn’t lose to the other performers.

He bids her good night and as he was preparing to leave, MC suddenly calls out to him saying she also wanted to thank him for encouraging her earlier and that she wanted to grab this opportunity to talk to him a bit more. Shakespeare took a step inside her room and asked if it was alright if they could discuss his next story.

Once she agreed, Shakespeare revealed he wanted to write a continuation on Snow White and asked MC what she thinks would happen next now that Snow White was together with the Prince and she answered saying that since the Prince was kind, she believes the two would live happily. The moment he heard her answer. Shakespeare let out a loud laugh before locking the door.

Shakespeare asks her what makes her say that the prince was kind and MC remained motionless in surprise as he closed the distance between them before pushing her down the bed and pinning her wrists together with one hand, peering closely at her face with a smile.

Shakespeare: ...My. This face, more than the one you gave upon the stage, is fascinating. So much so, I want to gaze upon it for eternity. 

The story spun from Shakespeare’s lips is a tragedy beyond the happy ending.

Shakespeare: Snow White— how much can you sing?

Shakespeare: Why… do I turn happy stories into a tragedy?

—

Vincent End:

Something outside the norm  — his new expression sends your heart into disarray... 

“I will be the one to make you happy. These are not lines from the play, but rather my honest feelings.”

—

As MC was held in someone’s warm embrace, the man was trying to wake her up and MC opened her eyes a little bit to peek, only to see a pair of sky blue ones looking back at her. Vincent goes on and says that he might not be the Prince of the castle for he is merely a Woodcutter that met her through the help of fate. 

Vincent: The only one in this world who can protect your happiness… is me.

Vincent: As proof, I shall wake you up with this kiss.

Once MC felt something warm pressed against her lips, she opened her eyes and Vincent tightened his hold on her, promising to never leave her again while MC wraps her arms around him to return his embrace as the audience gave them a round of applause.

After the play has ended, Shakespeare thanked the two for their hard work since the play turned out great despite the fact that they had to change the ending the last minute and if the reputation spreads, the theatre troupe would be safe for a while.

Shakespeare then promises not to force her if she doesn’t want to but he asked MC if he can go to her the next time he’ll ever need someone to play the lead actress again saying the theatre trouped liked her. Emphasizing how the actor who played the part of the Prince wishes to have the chance to act together with her again.

Vincent, who was quiet throughout the ride home, suddenly spoke up saying he wants Shakespeare to stop. Realizing what he just said, Vincent apologizes but Shakespeare said he was joking and he’ll only borrow Vincent’s princess this time before bidding them a good night as Vincent grabs MC’s hand as they leave the carriage.

While the two were still holding hands, no one uttered a single word the whole time they were on their way to his room. The moment they were inside, she was being held tightly against him and he asked MC if she will always be with him.

MC’s confused as to why he would ask such a thing and Vincent mentioned that when he saw her performing, he thought about how she was as good as Snow White and was worried about what would happen if a prince suddenly appeared in front of her but MC reassures Vincent that he is the only one she likes.

Vincent then confessed that he felt really happy when Shakespeare told him he was going to replace the Prince in the last scene because he got to be with her again on stage but at the same time, he felt it was selfish of him to feel that way when someone got injured.

Thinking about how kind Vincent was, MC told him that there was nothing wrong about what he felt, that it was okay for him to be selfish and that it was a part of him that she accepts. She also told him that she wants to hear about the feelings he has been hiding all this time.

Vincent: ..…The one to save you, the one to make you smile, all of those things should be mine alone. 

Vincent: I will be the one to make you happy. These are not lines from the play, but rather my honest feelings. 

MC says she feels the same way then as their lips met, they can both feel each other’s warmth through their clothes. 

Vincent: Hey… all of you, give it to me?

After stepping down from the stage, his passion overflowed.

Vincent:  Hey… right now, no one else but me can see you so… won’t you become even more needy?

Vincent: Even if I’m greedy like this… will you forgive me… ?

Note: This is where the paid Epilogue starts.

—

Event Info Post | Comte & Leonardo Route | Dazai & Arthur Route

[austrohungarianwriteblr]

Follower Celebration/WIP Excerpt: The Night We Met

60 followers? On my simple country blog? Amazing! Here, enjoy a snippet from the part of the tale where Our Heroes meet and it’s awkward for everyone. (which can alternately be summarized as “Marta, quit being horny on main, you’re scaring the hoes”). 

WIP Tag List (As usual, please give me a shout if you’d like to be added) :  @carumens, @galsinspace, @writingonesdreams, @booksnotbookies, @ren-c-leyn, @kiesinger, @ella-writes-words, @fields-of-ink, @halleiswriting

(Side note: If you follow my main blog you may have seen a version of this before. Please forgive me for airing a rerun).

At least partially to avoid Ludwig’s unsettlingly earnest gaze, Marta glanced over his shoulder at the small orchestra, whose members seemed thoroughly professional and focused despite not being in the Court Opera. The violinist closest to her was certainly entirely absorbed by the music; Marta’s gaze lingered on him for a moment, absentmindedly admiring his slightly-too-long dark red hair and long, elegant fingers. She didn’t know much about the Odysseum Opera Company, but they certainly seemed to be turning out nice-looking musicians… Then the violinist lifted his head, just slightly, and glanced in her direction. Good heavens. Now that was unfair. If Marta ever met God, she decided, she would have to have a very stern talk with Him about allowing mortal men to have eyes like that. Eyes that particular shade of blue-green, and of that intensity to the point where they seemed to be lit from within, belonged on pagan gods from the old Celtic folktales Marta’s English governess had told her—the sort who did interesting things like turning into foxes and kidnapping mortal girls to be their wives. Eyes like that had absolutely no business belonging to violin players in birthday-party orchestras. Was he looking at her? He had to be looking at her, or Marta thought she might scream, or do something equally ridiculous to get his attention. She eagerly leaned forward, hoping to catch his eye, her heart pounding in anticipation. “Marta? Are you all right?” Marta came back to herself with a start, suddenly aware that Ludwig was looking at her with concern in his pale blue eyes. With a twinge of embarrassment, she realized that while she had been staring at the violinist she had completely stopped moving her feet, leaving Ludwig to shift her about awkwardly. “Are you all right?” Ludwig asked again. “You’re looking a bit…feverish. Are you feeling ill?” “No, I’m really…” Marta put a hand to her cheek and realized, with surprise, that her face was quite warm. Probably bright red, too. How funny. “Do you know what, Ludwig, I think I am feeling a bit poorly. I must be tired from all the dancing. Would you excuse me for a moment? I believe I’ll sit down and have a glass of punch.” “Well, if you’re sure,” Ludwig said with a frown. “Would you like me to come with you?” “Oh, no, that’s quite all right. The dance is nearly over anyway, and I’m sure Sophie would be delighted to dance the next one with you. Don’t let me keep you.” Before Ludwig could object, Marta ducked out of his grasp and hurried to one of the benches set along the walls, dropping into a seat from which she could watch the handsome violinist to her heart’s content.

----

It was an agonizing twenty minutes before supper was announced and the orchestra was finally permitted to take a break. As groups of guests found partners to escort them to the dining room Marta hopped up from her seat, determined to find her violinist before the musicians disappeared down to the kitchens or wherever the help went during these breaks. She wasn’t entirely sure what she would say to him (a wordless scream of admiration, while representative of her feelings, was likely to be startling), but she could learn his name, at least. And congratulate him on how lovely the music had been. And stare at him some more. Thank God, it took her less than two minutes to find him. He was in the corner where the orchestra had been set up, engaged in an intense conversation with the Baron von Braumark, and was nodding valiantly as the Baron gestured wildly. Marta paused for a moment, inspecting his clothes with a connoisseur’s eye: his black suit was elegant, if threadbare, and she could not help but notice that his trousers were perhaps an inch too short for his long legs. Strangely enough, the air of shabbiness around him only made him more attractive, in a tragic way. “Ah, the lady of the hour!” Baron Ulrich boomed, seeing Marta approach them. “Mr. Király, I don’t believe you have made the acquaintance of Countess Marta von Holstadt, the very reason we are gathered here tonight. Countess, my dear, allow me to introduce Andras Király, one of the orchestra’s finest new violinists, fresh out of the Academy.” Andras turned those glowing turquoise eyes towards Marta, regarding her so intently it made her breath catch in her throat. Of course he was even more beautiful close up, Marta thought, her heart pounding. His cheekbones had to be sharp enough to cut glass, and his eyelashes were the longest Marta had ever seen on a man. Even his nose—which was on the long side, and had a bump in the middle—was utterly charming. And what a name he had. Andras Király. It sounded thoroughly heroic. He had to be Hungarian, with a name like that. “Countess,” Andras said politely, dipping into a graceful bow. He had a lovely voice, low and seductive, with a hint of a husky accent; Hungarian, just as she’d thought. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Marta managed just the slightest of curtsies—if she bent any deeper, she thought, her slightly shaking knees were certain to give out. “Likewise, Mr. Király. And you must let me congratulate you…the music tonight has been absolutely lovely.” Andras looked down at her—quite significantly down, he had to be at least eight inches taller than her—and offered her a small but sincere smile. “That’s very kind of you to say, Countess. I won’t say I entirely agree with you, but then it’s not easy to be satisfied with one’s own performance, as I am sure you’ll know if you have ever played music yourself.” “Oh, yes, you’re quite right. I spent ten years taking piano lessons and I was always terrified of being asked to play at a party because if I made even the smallest mistake I’d be furious at myself all night. I remember once at Christmas when I was eleven I forgot what came next halfway through Silent Night and I wound up just playing the same line five times in a row…” Realizing she was starting to babble, Marta quickly bit off the end of her sentence. “I beg your pardon. What I mean to say is, you and the rest of the orchestra have been excellent, and we’re awfully grateful you’re here. The orchestra is lucky to have you, I think.” “On the contrary, I think I am the lucky one. It’s quite an honor to be able to work here in Vienna…” Andras’ jaw tightened as though he was suppressing a yawn, and for the first time Marta noticed the pale violet circles under his eyes, as though it had been a few days since he’d gotten a good night’s sleep. “…Though,” he added, looking away absentmindedly, “my father might disagree with me about that…” “Would he?” Marta leaned forward eagerly, sensing a hint of intrigue. “Why is that?” Andras blinked, as if only just remembering she and Baron Ulrich were there. “Nothing important,” he said quickly. “Forgive me for keeping you, Countess, Baron, I expect they’ll need you to lead everyone in to supper. Allow me to wish you a very happy birthday, Countess.” He bowed again, this time kissing the back of her hand—merely brushing his lips against her gloved fingers, but even that was enough to make Marta feel her skin had burst into flame. With this he departed, leaving Marta to admire the lean, graceful lines of his body as he walked away. “A very pleasant young man, that,” Baron Ulrich remarked. “Far too many of these artistic types, especially the Hungarians, have no sense of how to speak to their betters.” “Mmm,” said Marta vaguely. “He works for the Odysseum Opera Company, didn’t you say, Baron?” “Quite so. Not a bad little troupe, even if their theatre is a bit run-down. I believe their next production will be Don Giovanni; your family will have to accompany us to one of the performances.” “Oh, yes,” Marta agreed ardently. “I can’t think of anything I would like more.”

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

ASoUE REWRITE - Season 1; The Miserable Mill - Part i.iii

⇢ Klaus x Reader⇠

*not my gif*

<A//n: if any of you are confused as to why the reader hasn't shared her knowledge on the Paltryville fire, don't worry, that's on purpose. It's coming.>

    As the children walked back to the mill, Klaus brought up what had been mentioned earlier.

     "Did you say he only pays the workers in coupons?"

     "It's true. We are all paid in coupons, but it doesn't matter, we don't have any money to use the coupons with. I tried bringing up such matters, including the gum with Sir but he got mad at me and threatened to kick me out." 

     "That's awful."

     "I know that you have nowhere else to go, but why doesn't anybody else leave?" Violet asked.

     "They are quite weird about that." Y/n seeming to recall something.

     Before Y/n could elaborate any further, the children found themselves back at the mill, and the four reluctantly got back to work.

     They worked in silence for quite a while. Eventually, Violet looked up at her brother and noticed the familiar look on his face.

     "You're thinking something." 

     Y/n, who was working on the very same log as the eldest Baudelaire siblings, couldn't help but hear their conversation, but nevertheless, continued to work.

     "The new foreman. Phil said he just showed up last night. What if he's Count Olaf and being a foreman's his new disguise?"

     "He is cruel like Count Olaf," Violet admitted. "but Count Olaf runs a horrible theatre company, not a lumber mill."

     "But isn't it suspicious how we never see his face? And we only ever hear his voice over the loudspeaker."

     "The mill is noisy. Besides, it's probably the only way anyone could ever hear him. I know what you're trying to do."

     "Keep us safe."

     "Find a reason to leave. And we will, I promise, as soon as we clear our parent's names."

     Y/n focused all her attention on the log, feeling this wasn't something she had the right to hear.

     "I... I need a new debarker." Klaus mumbled.

     Leaving his sisters and Yn to continue the current log, Klaus decided to do a little investigating himself.

     Upon approaching the foreman, he had noticed that the man was sleeping, his left leg resting just outside the booth.

     Klaus moved quickly and he swiftly took a knee up against the booth. Cautiously, he reached his hand for the foreman's pant leg and slowly tried to raise it up, checking for a familiar eye tattoo.

     The pant leg had barely moved when the snoring foreman, twitched in his sleep causing Klaus to jump himself. He froze, staring at the foreman for only a few moments, before attempting to move the pant leg once more.

     Suddenly, the foreman woke with a start, frightening Klaus who removed his hand and jumped to his feet.

     "What are you doing, Midget?"

     "I... need a new debarker."

     "Spoiled brat wants a new debarker. Old rusty one isn't good enough for him, eh? They're over there, rich boy."

     The foreman extended his left arm and it was then that Klaus saw the long and awkward over-extension of the man's arm. The arm was completely covered by the uniform and long rubber glove, and it was the kind of length of arm one would have if their hands were missing and replaced with long metal hooks. Just like one of Count Olaf's most faithful theatre troupe members.

     "Wait..." Klaus mumbled the familiar sensation of his pounding heart was setting in.

     Klaus was thrown to the ground before he knew what hit him, which in this case, was the large rubber boot belonging to the foreman, who had kicked him to the ground, rather harshly. Winded and still quite confused, the foreman took the opportunity to step forward and with his rather large rubber boot, he stepped right on Klaus' glasses, cracking the lenses.

     "Whoops!" He said, before, coincidentally, lumbering back into his booth.

     "Klaus!" Violet cried.

     She had looked over just in time to see the foreman kick her brother to the ground, and step on something. Y/n, who grabbed Sunny per her request, was quick to follow.

     "Klaus! Are you hurt?" Y/n asked, still holding Sunny who was peering down at her brother in concern.

     "No, I don't think so. Just caught off guard."

     "You're glasses, they're--" Violet began.

     "Twisted,"

     "Cracked,"

     "Hopelessly broken," Said the crowd of lumber workers who had gathered around the scene.

     "They Look A-okay to me." Said Phil, giving an optimistic thumbs up.

     Klaus had stood up and had to hold his glasses on with one hand. One of the arms of the glasses was missing and both lenses were completely cracked.

     Violet turned to the crowd to explain. "The foreman kicked him and stepped on his glasses!"

     "How can I kick him when I'm up in this booth?" Came the voice of the foreman, from his booth. "It was probably karma."

     "Can you see?" Y/n asked.

     "A little," Klaus said squinting, still holding his glasses on with one hand.

     "He'll live. Get back to work." Barked the foreman.

     The lumber workers scattered, aside from Y/n, the Baudelaires and Phil who scoffed, which came out as more of a wheeze as he kindly gestured to Klaus. "He can't work if he can't see. He needs an optometrist."

     The foreman didn't seem to care. He merely shrugged his large shoulders and returned to his booth. Phil turned to Klaus and the others and put a hand on Klaus' shoulder. "Lucky for you, we've got a great one right here in what's left of our town."

     "You mean the building shaped like an eye?" Klaus asked, warily.

     "Oh, yeah, Dr. Orwell treats all the workers. You probably saw the coupon in your welcome packet. I better get you there."

     Klaus looked between his sisters and his friend. "I'll be fine. Maybe I can find some answers."

     "Maybe we can find some answers too." Violet smiled, sharing a hopeful look with Y/n and then Sunny.

     "We better hurry. And we have to be careful this time. Good luck, Klaus." Y/n said, and with that, the three girls turned and left.

     Klaus didn't know what was worse. Having to go to the eye building, or being separated from his friend and sisters. But one thing was certain. The further the girls were, the more the pit in his stomach grew, and the more danger he was in.

+ + +

     Reluctantly, he followed Phil and before long, Klaus Baudelaire was standing before the building shaped like an eye. Peering up at the tall, ominous building, he recalled a piece of knowledge from a popular book he once read.

     "In the book The Great Gatsby, there's a famous sign shaped like a pair of eyeglasses." He said, peering up at the wooden sign shaped like a pair of eyeglasses that hung off the side of the building.

     "Does it represent an optometrist?" Phil asked, curious.

     "It represents the eyes of God staring down and judging society as a moral wasteland."

     "Oh, that sounds like a fun book," Phil chirped.

     "Listen..." He said, extending an arm to Klaus once more. "I know going to the doctor can be scary. But doctors are your friends. Come on." He said cheerfully, guiding Klaus inside the eye-shaped building.

     Phil was wrong, of course. As anyone who's been to a doctor knows, doctors are not necessarily your friends, any more than butchers, mail deliverers, or refrigerator repair people are your friends. Especially, if any of these such people are conspiring with a villain who is after your fortune.

+ + +

     Meanwhile, Sunny, Y/n, and Violet had managed to sneak away from their station and into the library across from Sir's office.

     "We better hurry, before the foreman realizes we're gone," Violet said, her voice lowered.

     The three ladies had noticed Sir's office doors were wide open, but the office was thankfully empty.

     "Or before Sir gets back." Y/n pointed out.

     "We better get to work," Violet said, heading for a nearby shelf.

     "Here you are Sunny. Thank you for trusting me to carry you," Y/n said, resting little baby Sunny on one of the armchairs.

     "Yeeba," Sunny said, which meant something like, "And thank you!"

     Y/n smiled timidly and looked to Violet who quickly translated, as she walked along scanning the books on the shelves.

     "They're all The History of Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Who would want so many copies of the same book?" Violet said.

     Y/n reached up and grabbed a copy of The History of Lucky Smells Lumbermill and the two girls looked to the back cover.

     "Of course," Mumbled Yn.

     There on the back cover was a photo of Sir surrounded in his usual cloud of smoke you could hardly make him out. Below his photograph were the words "About The Author". Yn shook her head and quickly brought the book to the table, and began flipping through the pages. 

     "Do you think we will ever be able to find anything on the Paltryville fire?" Y/n asked as she quickly skimmed the pages.

     "Whenever Klaus reads a long, difficult book, the first thing he does is read the table of contents," Violet said.

     Y/n nodded, turning to the front of the large book, finally landing on the table of contents. She ran her finger down the list of chapters.

     "Let's see," the word 'fire' in particular caught her eye. "Here it is, chapter 12. The Paltryville Fire."

     Violet could hear the rather large lump forming in her friend's throat as she spoke. She felt awful dredging up her friends past.

     "Y/n, I'm sorry," she began.

     Y/n smiled weakly. "Thank you, Violet, but it's alright, really. I meant it when I said I want to help clear your parent's names,"

     Violet nodded appreciatively, and the girls returned to the book and flipped to chapter twelve, their hearts pounding.

     What they found is not what they were expecting. The entire page was inked out. It looked as if someone had gone through with a permanent marker and covered the entire page, save for five simple words.

     "'The Baudelaires were unequivocally responsible...'" Violet read aloud for Sunny who was still in the chair. "The rest is crossed out."

     "This can't be in all the books, can it?" Y/n asked.

     "Only one way to find out,"

     The two young girls began pulling books off the shelf and opening them to chapter twelve. Book after book, looked exactly the same as the first.

     Minutes ticked by that felt like hours as the girls dumped book after book on the table. And yet, just as their hope was wearing thin, the seventeenth book Violet pulled off the shelf was flipped open to chapter twelve, and sure enough, there laid an untouched book.

     "This one's not crossed out!" Violet cried, grabbing Sunny and Y/n's attention.

     Just as the two older girls were about to read the entry, a loud thud echoed down the hall, followed by the sound of heavy boots trudging down the hall.

     "Hide!" Whispered Y/n.

     Violet abandoned the book in order to grab Sunny and the three girls were able to duck behind the leather chair just in the nick of time. A phrase which here means, mere seconds before Sir poked his smoked covered nose in the library when he noticed all the books that were off the shelves.

     From where she was crouched, Y/n was able to peek over the leather armchair unnoticed. She watched as Sir inspected the open books, the only one that remained untouched to be exact, and the frown that crossed his features. He turned the book around to look at what it was open to and upon recognition, he glanced over his shoulder making sure no one watching. And with his one free hand, he ripped the page right out of the book, folded it up, and tucked it in his jacket pocket before walking away.

     Sighing heavily, Y/n sat down on her knees facing the Baudelaire girls. "Oh, no! He took the page! I'm so sorry," She whispered.

     "What are you sorry for?" Violet asked.

     "I could've done something. I could have grabbed it," Y/n felt awful her friends didn't have that information.

     Violet smiled weakly. "I could have too. But that's not what matters right now. We need to get out of here, and quickly."

     Y/n nodded firmly in agreement. It was then that Violet and Y/n looked to the youngest Baudelaire who spoke up, grabbing their attention.

     "Yuba," which meant, "Found something."

     Sunny pointed to a rather large book with very fancy decorations. It was titled, 'Very Functional Dictionary' in large gold letters.

     "A dictionary. But why are you showing this to us? You can't read." Violet asked gently.

     Y/n opened up the very function dictionary and found a note scribbled in the front that Violet noticed.

     The quote that Sunny found scrawled on the inside cover has been said by many associates over the years. It goes...

     "'In every library, there is a single book that can answer the question that burns like a fire in the mind.'" Violet read aloud.

     It wasn't the quote that caught Sunny's eye, nor was it the reference to fire that set Violet's heart racing. It was the handwriting. For when Violet saw the strong left lean of L's, and the confident closed loop of the O's, she knew who wrote it even before she saw the name on the library checkout card.

     "Bertrand Baudelaire," Violet murmured wistfully. "Father!"

     "Da-da!" Sunny exclaimed softly.

     Y/n smiled fondly, happy to see her friends have this small moment of peace. But she couldn't quite shake the feeling of familiarity at that passage.

     Where had she heard it before?

+ + +

     Sir was examining the papers at his desk, cigar in hand - and mouth - when Charles had brought him his goat cheese and beef jerky omelet.

     "They're good children," Charles said to his partner. "I don't see why we have to lie to them. The truth is right there in your book."

     "Not anymore," grumbled Sir, pulling out the page he had previously confiscated. "I had it redacted."

     "Sir, you defaced your own book?"

     "I didn't have a choice."

     "Charles, we made certain deals to keep this mill open." Sir said, rising from his desk and stepping towards his partner. "And if she wants us to cover up the truth and blame the fire on the Baudelaires, well... that's the cost of doing business."

     Sir was opposite Charles, his voice grew serious.

     "This mill is all I have, Charles." He crumpled up the missing page of the Paltryville fire and threw it into the lit fireplace, and it roared. "And you."

     Sir rested his hand on Charles's left shoulder, looking into his eyes. "Of course I have you." He gave his partner a smile and a pat on the cheek.

     Unfortunately, Charles had mistaken the mood and leaned in but Sir had already turned away and left his office.

     Unable to shake the pang of guilt and responsibility, Charles took the opportunity of his partner's absence to salvage the torn page that Sir had thrown into the fireplace.

     And yet, something the two men failed to have noticed in that short passage of time, was the three young girls who had been stuck in the library since Sir's return and overheard their exchange before escaping the library.

[fan-dumb-trash]

For your consideration: Remile Friends-to-Lovers featuring highschool theater shenanigans and self growth

Part Two Sis Part Three Part Four

Remy and Emile are friends, best friends in fact, but fate has a couple tricks up her sleeve to tear them apart, only to bring them back again. 

This got longer than expected but theres more to the story after this oh yes indeed so buckle up cause part two is gonna be typed tomorrow when it isnt one in the morning so HERE YA GO @happiness-is-regret

Warnings: Divorce, parents fighting, mild panic attack, self depreciation, if there's more let me know!

So its seventh grade aka awkward central because puberty and acne and awkwardness and it's just awful all around and theres lil Remy who is NOT confident at all by anyone's standards

His parents argue a lot and he learned staying quiet is the best way not to get involved or yelled at in the crossfire so yeah

And then you got Emilie who kinda knows what's goin on but not really. He wears tie dye shirts and aviator glasses sometimes until he had to get actual frames over the summer but it was no big cause he was used to glasses anyways

But Emilie is wiser than the other kids and thinks cliques are stupid and he just loves cartoons and english okay stop teasing him for being a lil bit awkward okay STOp

But yeah he doesn't get friends easy and he tries to squirm in other friend groups but it doesn't feel right. Until Remy. Who is incredibly shy believe it or not! They have no classes together but somehow Remy mustered the courage to compliment Emilies pink hair and BOOM FRIENDSHIP

They eat lunch together. Some days it's in comfortable silence and other times its complaining about teachers or PE miles or this brat kid who vandalized a bathroom stall

And Remy starts warming up and realizing maybe the whole world isn't against him. Just because his home is a literal war zone doesn't mean being friends with Emile is doomed.

At the end of seventh grade the duos lunchtime friendship is going great! Emile is starting to get into cartoons and their convos are “OMG OKAY SO VOLTRON SEASON 2 IS OUT AND IM SCARED REMY I WANT TO CRY FOR MY SPACE CHILDREN ZARKON CAN YEET HIMSELF OFF A CLIFF AND-” “Woah their Em, slow it down sis”

As Remy gets more comfortable there is more teasing and nicknames and laughing but they dont hug and Emile isn't super affectionate but hugs are a thing for friends right???

One day on a weekend it's pretty bad for Remy at home. His parents are yelling and its loud and his breathings picking up and his eyes are shut and he's crying because is it his fault??? Why can't they stop stop stop STOP!

And he has to get out because he cant take it hearing they two people who he loves most fight with each other when they are supposed to love each other and his little brother Janus is sleeping thank god but he needs OUT right fucking now

So he hops out his window and runs. Two houses down and around the corner there's an open field that should probably have a house or a park but low income neighborhoods be like that sometimes ya know?

He runs in the field but then there's trees and a little path but wheres the end and the sun is setting now so he sits and looks at the sky and cries

Emile likes his peace and quiet. Hes and only child but his house gets cluttered with his parents (DOT AND LARRY FITE ME) and their thespian friends on the weekends especially around showtime and tec week so he walks in the field.

So when he comes across Remy he screeches and cusses and they're both apologizing and it's a mess but wait was Remy crying?!?!

So Emile is concerned and sits him back down and they talk. Remy says his parents are probably going to get a divorce and how they've been fighting and all that and Emile starts to understand why he's so sheltered

Remy's crying again so Emile asks “Hey, You can say no but can i hug you?” And Remy nods so they hug and they melt right into itm and they stay there for a while and watch the sunset.

From then on they are attached to the hip. Nothing can separate them. Emile invites Remy over for dinner and out to see his parents shows at the community theater and its fun! Remy kinda gets to be a kid and he has sas now! He sees its okay to be a bit absurd with Larry and how jokes are fine with Dot.

The boys are in the field again after dinner and Emile is talking about Dot and Larry, and Remy cant help but be envious. They're all so happy and perfect and he’ll never get that. He goes home and the glitter fades and he sleeps with music to drown out the shouting but its still there.

Remy says “I wish my parents were like yours. I wish I had that. It's not fucking fair Em”

Emile says “I wish I knew how to help… but I can't. All I can do is offer you a slice of normal and hope you aren't allergic” To which they both laugh. But the insecurity sticks. Remy wonders if he's just going to mess things up later or if him and Emile stop being friends what will happen

And it haunts him. Its summer and his parents get a divorce, but the yelling in person is replaced with battles in court and over text. He has to go to mediation a couple times and Emile is there the next day with icecream and steven universe

Emile starts to notice things. The way Remy's eyes are filled with fire as he banters with Larry or when he rants about things he's passionate about. The way he runs so fast in field like nothing can catch him not even the wind itself. The way his whole face glows when he laughs or how when it's silent with them and the sky, he closes his eyes and hums a song he doesn't know.

And he realizes he's in love and he's so scared because Remy doesn't need romance he needs stability. His world is crumbling and he needs his best friend. And Emilie hides it and surprises himself. Remy doesn't notice the way Emiles hugs last longer or the way he sighs as he walks away. He doesn't notice the stars. His mind is on other things. Remy doesn't have time to feel the same or explore feelings so he doesn't.

Eighth grade things go as normal. Emile is still hopelessly in love. Some nights he cries and some nights he thinks his feelings are finally gone. Some nights Remy sleeps over and they sneak into his moms room and but on stage makeup.

Emile almost kissed him when Remy made him a Jake and Finn card for his birthday. And it was hella cute and cheesy and had “love u babe” on the inside and “happy birthday, bitch” on it and it was classic.

But yeah he totally wasn't disappointed it wasn't Bubbline on the card what???

But then things just… stopped.

Remy stopped going to the field on weekends. He was busy when Emilie wanted to hang out. Em was worried at first that something was wrong at home and that he was lying until he saw Remy around at school with other kids. He was growing his hair out and had a leather jacket and when Emile said hi Remy smiled tight, nodded, and continued to talk to his new friends.

Then he noticed how they were the kids who liked sports or girls or always laughed loud in the cafeteria. He noticed how Remy's sass grew into straight up ego and how his confidence wasn't just with Emile it was with EVERYONE

People waved to him as he walked by. Everyone was “babe” “hun” “sweetie” and “sister” and Emilie felt less special.

And not Eighth Grade was nearly over and Emilie had lost his best friend to the rest of the world. Yes he was happy that Remy was confident and Yes he was happy he made new friends.

But back when Remy needed him, back when they dazzling smile was meant for him, back when the problems were so big you needed two people not just yourself- Emilie could hang on to Remy

But now that Remy didn't need him, he was left for trash. Emilie was heartbroken. He swore to himself he wouldn't let another boy break his heart to the point where cartoons couldn't even cheer him up. He cried when Ruby and Sapphire got married and when Bubbline kicked ass and he prayed for the day when he would have that.

Summer was torture and he never saw Remy in the field. Little did he know Remy was there, just in the trees or wandering at nights when his mom came home yelling and cussing. Emile thought the pain of the divorce was over when Remy was going to court once every 6 months and to family counseling weekly but did it help? No.

Highschool came and Remy climbed to social ladder. He hid the bags under his eyes with sunglasses and kept his pep and sass with starbucks coffee. Combat boots to make him taller.

And Emilie was still alone until Patton came along with Roman. They sat together and then Logan and Virgil joined. Sloane and Corbin who are juniors swung on by. Kai and Elliot would join them the next year and together they became the theatre troupe.

Emilie felt whole with this diverse group of many passions and interests and he couldn't help but smile more. He didn't feel so alone. But part of him still longed for that old friendship he has lost- but there was enough going on to forget it.

Emilie didn't notice Remy staring at him with his fiery eyes when his own friend group were so loud they didn't pay him mind. Remy started to see how the tie die pink haired boy grew up and moved his children with dignity and didn't take their tomfoolery. He saw how he would catch conflicts and mediate them. He saw his goofiness shine through all his actions. And he started to care for this new Emile, but also remember when it was just the two of them. New thoughts lead Remy to think it was him holding Emile back from this all along.

He began to think Emilie was better off without him dragging him down with his million problems. So he too began to embrace to noise and forget.

Next it was Sophomore year when the universe threw them back at each other...

[1863-project-art]

OC-tober: Day 8

Jonas Sallowe - The World Turned Upside Down

Jonas thought that maybe getting back to nature would be a good way to ride out the war years. That...didn’t exactly go as planned.

Jonas was actually a member of Richard and Edmund’s theatre troupe - one of the comic types they’d picked up at some point, with a talent for playing the lute intentionally badly and generally playing put-upon types. When the theatre troupe disbanded (after someone burned down a theatre by mistake) and the members all went their separate ways, Jonas decided to remove himself from everything as far as possible and joined a group of Adamites, a Protestant sect that believed in free love, living communally, and not wearing clothes. This wasn’t a problem until the winter set in and Jonas realized he was constantly cold.

Luckily, there was a solution - if he became the Adamite commune’s representative to the closest town, he’d be able to at least wear clothes part of the time since he couldn’t go and fetch supplies and whatnot without wearing anything. Well, he technically could, but it probably wouldn’t go over very well. Jonas took the position on and proceeded to be the envoy to the town a few miles away for over two years, and somehow, despite another theatre troupe member, Mark Cod, landing in said town, they managed to never see each other once during this time and had no idea the other person was there, an impressive feat.

Jonas gets dragged back into things in 1647 when the Lords of Misrule stumble upon the Adamite commune and he’s recognized by Richard and Edmund, much to his dismay since it’s warm out at the time and he’s not wearing clothes. He elects to stay with the group and travel with them because, well, it means he gets to be clothed again. And hey, his old friends are here, and they’re not making TOO many jokes about the fact that he essentially became a nudist...

[zukalations]

Mori Keaki - 120% Darling: Part 1 Chapter 3 - Red skin of ‘passion’ (!?)

Mori Keaki published this essay book the month before her retirement as Top Star of Snow Troupe. It is mainly a memoir of her personal journey in Takarazuka, as well as her early life. Her writing/formatting style is kind of unique, and I tried to reproduce or reflect it as much as possible. 120% Darling has around 24 chapters, and I plan to post one every Friday.

It’s a really lovely book, that ended up making me cry many times. I hope you enjoy it!

For a table of contents with links to all the chapters, go here.

Red skin of ‘passion’ (!?)

In Takarazuka, besides the Grand Theatre, there is one other performance space called the Bow Hall.

So if you call the Takarazuka Grand Theatre the ‘large hall’.

Bow Hall is a ‘medium (or maybe it’s just small!?) hall’.

It’s a cozy theatre that fits about 500 people.

The performances held in the Bow Hall (let’s just call them ‘Bow performances’) are, as I’m sure you’ve guessed from the size of the theatre, on a smaller scale from the main performances in the Grand Theatre, and therefore the number of students who can appear is somewhere around half the troupe total. The length of the show’s run is also shorter, around 2 weeks.

So for us students, and for the younger directors, these Bow performances are another valuable opportunity to learn besides the junior performances.

Also, since it’s such a small theatre with such short performance runs, it’s possible to put on new, experimental kinds of shows that wouldn’t really work as a Grand Theatre main performance.

You see, since there are only about half the performers as there would be in a main performance, there are more chances for the junior students to have a real role! It’s fun in a rather different way to the Grand Theatre shows, so if you happen to go to Takarazuka, I think you really ought to see a Bow performance too, so please try it!! I really recommend them!!

Just a little advertisement. Ahaha……

I have a lot of memories of Bow performances myself.

But the first really strong impression I have is of a show called Dawn of Lombardia.

It was Ken-3 Mori Keaki’s first Bow Hall appearance!

So for a little baby student like I was this was a really, really delightful thing.

But, wait a moment! Even better, I was given a role! I would play Ricardo, the leader of a troupe of mercenaries - what a cool role!!

I entered rehearsals full of both nervousness and excitement.

As you’ve seen in the prior examples (!?) Mori Keaki ended up totally taken over by Ricardo and I spent the whole time trying to feel as much like him as I could.

And then the dress rehearsals.

The show opened the next day.

But, on the day of the dress rehearsal, something happened and it turned out that Nanao Tomo, who played the lead, might not be able to go on!

Nanao had injured her knee earlier and it had suddenly gotten much worse. As another stage performer I can understand what she must have been going through, to have a sudden collapse like that: so frustrating, so humiliating, you’d rather perform even if it killed you!! But it hurts so much… So many complicated feelings.

But the opening day of the show wasn’t about to wait.

In case of something like this happening, midway through the rehearsals ‘substitutes’ were supposed to be assigned to all the roles, but…

This time, somehow, who would substitute what had never been properly decided!

So. Suddenly.

Director Masatsuka Haruhiko said.

“You do it!”

To me…

I didn’t have any time to be surprised or confused or shaken, I just had to perform!!

The dress rehearsal started with me playing the lead role, Francois, while holding the script in one hand.

In the dress rehearsal we were all supposed to have the same costumes as in the real performance. However, I had to substitute so suddenly that I just went as I was. Ricardo had a red blouse: I’ll never forget that.

So I was wearing that and performing as if my life depended on it…

I ended up getting so hot all over.

And due to that heat, the blouse started losing its color! When the dress rehearsal ended and I took the costume off, my skin was totally red. Normally the stage costumes never lose their color like that. They’re made for Takarazuka shows full of vigorous movement and dancing, after all…

How much heat must I have been putting out for that to happen...it’s a mystery to me even thinking about it now…

Also, that blouse had some extra space to it, since it was designed for the medieval setting, so I was rehearsing with the script shoved into the front of it. I didn’t know a single one of my lines, you see.

“Why do you look like you’re pregnant!?” the choreographer said.

But, this was no time to care about appearances!! So that’s how things went.

By the time the dress rehearsal ended, there was still no conclusion regarding whether Nanao would be able to perform or not.

But, if by some chance the decision was ‘no, she can’t’ then there was nobody else to substitute for her role but me!

Director Masatsuka asked “Do you want me to come home and rehearse with you there?” which was very kind of him, but.

Before I could rehearse, I had to learn my lines!! After all, the show opened tomorrow!! I couldn’t perform with my script in my blouse, looking like I belonged in a maternity ward...no way, no way!!

When I left the rehearsal, it was raining outside……

It reminded me of my hometown...no, nothing that cool. But, rain. Compared to it all being bright and clear, it has a more serious feeling, doesn’t it!? So, I went home.

I didn’t sleep a wink in order to learn my lines…

I don’t really know myself how I managed to memorize them!! But I did! This was my first experience that made me think humans can discover amazing abilities when they’re pushed to the brink.

But I didn’t think about that until afterwards.

The next day was the opening.

When I arrived at the theatre in the morning, I asked the director, “Will I be substituting after all?”

But he replied, “We don’t know yet.”

“What am I supposed to do with my makeup, then?”

“Just do something that will work for either Ricardo or Francois.”

That was the conversation.

The decision finally came, 30 minutes before the curtain opened.

“Nanao-san will be performing,” was the decision.

“Ahh~, thank goodness!”

I sighed in relief, but.

After that.

I suddenly noticed.

My...actual role...had completely vanished from my head!?

And also, I hadn’t done any stage rehearsal as Ricardo… What should I do…

Even worse.

Huh?

I was totally shocked when I realized.

My voice wouldn’t come out!!

The day before, when I was so hot and sweating like my blouse was on fire, that had probably been a bad sign. Even so, if I had rested properly in a warm bed, I might have been fine, but…

But, but, but… I had been so desperate…

I hadn’t even noticed that my voice wasn’t working…

All the blood drained out of my face and I went completely white.

But the time of performance was coming closer and closer.

And the role I had been supposed to play in the first place, Ricardo, had. A solo.

“Director! If I sing like this the audience won’t be able to hear me at all!! Please, at least get someone else to sing for me!!” I pleaded.

“No. The song only has a point because you’re the one singing it. It doesn’t matter how your voice is, but you have to sing it,” Director Masatsuka said.

It’s like a scene in a coming-of-age movie, but it was real life.

So I went on stage in my original role of Ricardo. I was totally in a daze.

And then the curtain fell on the opening performance.

I had been in such a bewildered state that I had no idea whether I’d been able to speak or sing properly.

After the performance, Director Masatsuka came up to me. “You were amazing today!” he said.

I just started crying.

It wasn’t that I was miserable. Well, they weren’t exactly happy tears either. All the emotions from the time I had spent in a daze hit me at once and burst out through my eyes and throat like a fountain of crying. That kind of feeling.

I know that’s kind of an overused metaphor, but anyway.

I did it!! I did it!! I was able to do it!!

As I thought that, I felt like I had discovered something new about myself in all that confusion. I was inspired. And also a bit more relaxed.

That was such a hard trial… But that’s what opportunities always are, as a stage performer, maybe…

So I thought:

If you think ‘I can’t do this’, then you won’t be able to.

If you think ‘I can do this’, then you will.

In any case, you have to try!

If you try, you might learn something new, or develop somehow.

Although it was a tumultuous start to my first Bow performance, for the stage performer Mori Keaki it was a really valuable experience.

After that, I wasn’t scared of anything!! ...No, I couldn’t say that.

After all!

Mori Keaki’s challenges only continued!

[beigetortoise]

Synecdoche, New York

I just watched Synecdoche, New York.

There will be spoilers, but I don’t think the point of this movie is in its plot. You might need to watch it twice anyway.

What you probably know about it is: “A theatre director [Caden] struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play”. This is bollocks.

I.

Synecdoche, New York is a movie about how it feels to be stuck with no self-love, not knowing that you need it, not knowing how to get it. Never being loved unconditionally. Spending your whole life in this state. Having no idea what’s wrong with you.

Caden’s wife doesn’t even dislike his play—she doesn’t think it’s worth anything. “I can't get excited about your restaging someone else's old play, it just... There's nothing personal in it.” Later she leaves him.

Pretty Hazel is into Caden. But when she finally gets him to come to her place, she makes him beg for a kiss:

—Does [the drink] make you wanna kiss me? —Kind of. —Tell me why. —Because I feel a lot of longing. —Beg a girl, why don't you? —Please, Hazel. —On your knees. [...] I want you to beg me on your knees for a kiss.

During sex, Caden breaks down and starts crying: “I'm just really confused. I'm sorry. I... I'm really sick. And I think I'm dying”. Hazel’s response is “You should go”.

Fast forward, Caden is old now. Scroll to the title image and back. He is going to have sex with Tammy—an actress playing Hazel in his play. “You're very pretty”, he tells her, and follows with “Sometimes I wish I could be pretty like that”. Maybe he could’ve gotten unconditional... something... if he was a girl.

—What, you wish you were a girl? —Sometimes I think I might have been better at it.

Tammy tells Caden that he’s pretty, but he doesn’t believe it. Immediately after they are shown in a car. It’s morning. Tammy goes “I shouldn’t have drunk so much fucking beer last night”—his fear, I think, is validated.

Before dying, Caden’s daughter asks him “I want to forgive you, but I need you to ask for forgiveness first”. He begs, and then she says “I cannot forgive you” and dies.

II.

What does Caden do with all this?

After getting a MacArthur grant for his previous work, he decides to write a play. “You see, the idea is to do a massive theater piece. You know, uncompromising, honest”. So he buys a huge warehouse and hires a lot of actors.

How do you write something uncompromisingly honest? Caden addresses the assembled troupe during their first meeting:

“We'll start by talking honestly, and out of that, a piece of theater will evolve. I'll begin. I've been thinking a lot about dying lately.”

We don’t see anybody else “beginning”, though. For the rest of the movie, it’s mostly just Caden’s life. An actor playing Caden, and an actor playing Hazel. An actor playing Caden’s second wife, and an actor playing her new boyfriend after she leaves Caden. Paralleling everything happening to Caden in real life.

I had a similar idea when I was a kid, in a long-distance relationship (and my first relationship overall). “I had better save all chat logs”, I thought. “Later I will write a book about this relationship—just the whole history of it. It will be so awesome. Everybody will love it. And be jealous, too.”

Caden’s idea is: “if I show people my life, maybe this will amount to something”.

It’s not narcissistic rage (“and they will see how I suffered”). He doesn’t try to embellish anything, doesn’t try to present himself better than what he is, doesn’t try to draw a lesson. “Theater piece. Something big and true and tough. I'm gonna finally put my real self into something. [...] The MacArthur is called ‘the genius grant’, and I wanna earn it.”

In other words—if he manages to show people his true self, his idea of human experience (both his and others’), they will love him.

III.

Charlie Kaufman, the writer and director of Synecdoche, New York, doesn’t talk about it much. But it doesn’t matter, because three years after the movie he gave a lecture pretty much explaining it. I talked about it on my other blog—Charlie Kaufman does public self-therapy.

[When writing, do yourself, not somebody else.] It isn’t easy but it’s essential. It’s not easy because there’s a lot in the way. In many cases a major obstacle is your deeply seated belief that you are not interesting. And since convincing yourself that you are interesting is probably not going to happen, take it off the table. Think, ‘Perhaps I’m not interesting but I am the only thing I have to offer, and I want to offer something. And by offering myself in a true way I am doing a great service to the world, because it is rare and it will help.’

Caden tried it, but missed a crucial ingredient. He is not trying to help the world by offering his understanding of human experience—he is trying to sell himself.

But more importantly, if you’re honest about who you are, you’ll help that person be less lonely in their world because that person will recognise him or herself in you and that will give them hope. It’s done so for me and I have to keep rediscovering it. It has profound importance in my life. Give that to the world, rather than selling something to the world.

This is what he doesn’t do. He does it to be counted as a genius. He thinks he’s dying, and he wants to prove himself, to amount to something. Kaufman hopes to change himself by being honest about his experience—Caden thinks he’s already good enough, but nobody sees it.

Caden spends forty years trying to create a truly monumental play, all just to get someone, anyone, to relate to him. Imagine that.

IV.

In the end, by some twist of dream logic Caden merges with another character—Ellen, who was Caden’s runaway wife’s cleaning lady.

As a side-note: if you’ve seen the movie—note how Caden finds comfort in doing Ellen’s job. Cleaning is the only thing he does that is directly useful to others. It has meaning. If only he had figured it out earlier.

The shot above is not from the end of the movie. What happens in the end is better.

Everybody has left the set. Caden sees a woman. “Would you sit with me for a moment? Because I'm very tired and lonely.”

She does not reject him. She does not roll her eyes. They sit together. The woman is Ellen’s mother. “I feel like I've disappointed you terribly”, he goes. “Oh, no. I am so proud of you”, she replies.

By this time, he is no longer the director of his own play. He’s given up the role. He wears an earpiece telling him what to do, how to act.

“Ask her if you can put your head on her shoulder”, instructs the earpiece.

—Can I lay my head on your shoulder? —Yes. —I love you. —I love you too.

At last, unconditional love.

And then he dies.

P.S.

Kaufman’s preface to the published version of the movie script:

They want me to write an introduction to this thing. They’re pestering me. This guy, Keith, at Newmarket Press. [...] So here I am, as I knew I would be once I agreed to having this thing published, trying to write an introduction and being mad at Keith. I don’t even know Keith. I’ve never seen him, as far as I know, which may be completely untrue. I may have met him forty times and not paid attention. I don’t even know his job title, that’s how much Keith and this screenplay book are part of my life.

[...] He’s an annoyance to me. That is all he is. But if I stop and think about it, which I just did, if I try to broaden my view of the world, which I just did, I realize that every moment I exist as me, Keith exists as Keith. He is not the occasional letter in my e-mail box. Every moment of every day, he is living a life somewhere far away from me. As an experiment, I decided to e-mail Keith and ask him to tell me a bit about himself.

[...] Wow. Keith’s letter did way more than I anticipated. Now I love Keith. Now I feel a connection with him. There are so many things I love about Keith’s letter. Not the least of which is his willingness to participate and his openness in talking about himself, his leap of faith that I would not abuse the confidence. I love that he took me seriously. It made me think: How many hundreds of people have worked on this film whom I’ve never had a conversation with, whom I don’t know at all, didn’t think it was important to know?

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair Liveblog (Chapter 8)

As for this chapter’s art, just when you thought this series couldn’t get anymore detailed, it goes and does just that! I am consistently floored by the patterns Kato puts in these designs. The circles along the hem of Mahmut’s red outer clothes make for a simple design, but are made a little more complex by including three circles inscribed in each other. And that is just scraping the surface. I also love the poses haha. Anyway, let’s move on.

Chapter 8: The Thief in the Slum

I really liked the swirls of smoke in this panel, reminds me of the otherworldly atmosphere of series like xxxholic. And the hexagon pattern on the windows is a nice touch. But look at Mahmut go! He’s supposed to be on vacation, but he couldn’t hold back from jumping right into this thing last chapter.

Of course Mahmut is sitting far away from everyone else. I have no clue how this seating area is arranged though?? Looks like a couch...but it’s not...there is a rise in the floor that goes across the room, and it looks like the rugs were arranged to make a seating area out of it.

lol throwing shade at Mahmut there. Shara finally gets her smug moment instead of constantly being D:< or –.– 

Koko seems to have a nervous eating habit (she makes some adorable expressions too).

When I said I was going to catalogue his expressions, I meant it. Not sure what this one is, though...in the panel before he had a normal serious/concentrating expression, and this time it’s a little drawn, perhaps a small grimace of “I can’t possibly find this guy fascinating” when his goal is murder.

Very nice detailing on the comb here, instead of defaulting to a plain design. It certainly is...different from anything I’ve seen before.

Shara is quite the go-getter. Now you can see why she went ahead and accompanied Mahmut to go save Ibrahim. She certainly is quite tough in her own right.

Um, excuse me. Is. Is every person pictured here unique?? I mean, there are no repeats of patterns, except perhaps the two women in the middle to the right, they do have different expressions though. Notice that everyone is wearing something different, even though they are clearly from the same town. Some have scarves, others have patterns on their shirts/jackets. They also seem pretty excited for the show.

And of course there are those two ominous guys walking towards the front...

Good composition of this panel, as far as I can tell. The screentone for the sky gives it a nice depth.

And lol Mahmut you’re losing ground, maybe because your legs are so short. Mahmut is apparently only 5′4″ (forgot what that is in cm sorry).

Anyway, Iskander is on it. (though golden eagles don’t really fly around at night lol most birds are ‘blind as a bat’ at night)

Knew it wouldn’t be that easy. The uh black sludge water (?) looks very ominous.

Those are glorious wings. And you can see that nice teardrop shape on his forehead.

lol they are still calling him Mahmut Pasha.

o.O expression, maybe? He looks younger when he’s surprised.

Waaait, so the story ended up being true. xD

btw I like the official on the far left.

O-oh. That does not look like a happy thief.

And are you related to Zaganos. You both have that sort of medusa/my hair is going to eat my face if not for my hat or turban look.

lol she keeps giving him these looks and he just ignores it.

Mahmut really is all business, unless you drag him into having a good time (something I relate to). Plus, this is coming on the heels of his demotion, subconsciously he’s focusing on doing his best to grow to be worthy of his former title. He doesn’t actually know how to go about that, probably, but this is a good start. A pasha’s duty is to protect the nation, after all.

UH, way to look like the emissaries of darkness guys. They even made it a point of walking in a triangle formation! Who does that!

I was wondering why they had some pots and plates on the rooftop. Make for great weapons.

lol poor thing. Even her arms are noodly. Love how everyone else is all into it and she’s the only one with a semi-normal reaction: terrified.

This is why you should have kept your identity a secret, Mahmut.

This guy’s voice ought to be cool in the anime, I’d imagine.

Ok, I noticed that he hung the lamp on the wall and there’s a little hook there so it doesn’t look like it just disappeared or is floating.

Also, thanks to the anime I now can confirm this thing is a whistle! Sorta. It doesn’t require the user to blow into it, but it is meant to call Iskander to him.

Also, smug faced Mahmut is back. Slightly subdued though. Maybe wry?

This is also kinda interesting. He doesn’t strike me as the Robin Hood type. It’s a good thing he has that menacing face though, it makes it easier to tell that he’s being sarcastic, and I can even imagine how he’s speaking in my head.

Once again, very interesting life philosophy here. Doesn’t seem like he’s being sarcastic about this part...? I wonder if he had that ‘pride’ Mahmut is saying he must have thrown away by now. Did he actually have a sense of honor, or was it just an image that fit well with his thieving, and now that he’s lost face, he just gave it up? I’d bet on that last one, haha.

Very nice angle on the latticework there, but what are you–

OH MY GOD.

Dude, where do you keep getting all these eagles?? Once again, this is probably terrifying, especially at night when the shadows are long and dark, and you can’t see the birds clearly and they just all SWOOP IN AT YOUR FACE.

I always love the swirls and lines on Mahmut’s clothing, btw. The billowy shape of this type of clothing is different from what you normally see in manga.

*trying desperately not to curse*

WHAT THE HELL. I’m telling you, Mahmut is a bird whisperer. How much meat did you need to bribe these birds with to get them to all perch in this room to interrogate this guy.

The contrast of light and dark spots is very nice here, especially in a higher res image.

Once again, this guy’s life philosophy is interesting. Guess this is how it ties into the realization Mahmut came to in the last chapter.

That there are ways of life out there, in the country he was supposed to be protecting, that he knew nothing of. Because he never stopped to think how other people lived.

I think the word introspection suits Mahmut well. He seems to do a lot of it, in the quiet panels in which you get a glimpse of his eye or part of his face as he is thinking.

First of all: I forgot how bloody laws used to be in this part of the world’s history it’s been a while since I took history as a subject.

Second: The thief telling Mahmut to kill him there was probably to avoid a torturous death. The thief is honestly hard to pinpoint. I can’t tell if he’s being sincere about certain parts of the last few panels, or if they were part of an act, and if so for what purpose.

Then, this line of Mahmut’s is very interesting: “I, too, obey the rules of the world I live in.”

In a subtle way, this is the answer to the thief’s earlier statement explaining why he would go as far as kill over the uncovered treasure: “To us, our treasure is worth more than our lives. I don’t expect you people to get it.”

Typically, people in authority take the high road, and whether or not it is true, take themselves to be the moral good. They don’t understand the people who live at the bottom of society, and have no desire to.

That is why Mahmut’s statement is so intriguing. He is telling this man that he acknowledges his ‘world’ by comparing his own world and that of the thieves, something a person in authority wouldn’t normally do. He’s telling him that he does “get it”. But because he understands that the rules are different for different ways of life, he can’t accept the man’s request/command to kill him. Then Mahmut would be breaking the rules of his own ‘world’ (and, of course, his morals).

AND THEN, the narrative throws the bloody execution at you in technical terms, very little to misunderstand about the brutality of laws in the past.

It also throws this little gem at you:

Koko, who has generally acted like a normal person today would to these situations (like being terrified when armed men are attacking you!)...

...is actually saying “So mean” because the thief violated her expectations of who Fakir Hirsiz is in her imagination. Sliiight values dissonance there, yeah? On our part, of course. We don’t think the cutting off of limbs is an appropriate punishment for stealing (i hope), but the people in this world aren’t bothered.

OH, so it’s highly implied that the treasure’s location in the play was no coincidence. As they showed in chapter 7, the plays often took inspiration from current events, and the thieves and their treasure were just one of them.

Mahmut has a disapproving expression here, as she says. He figured it out at some point. Because the theatre troupe directly and probably deliberately benefitted from the misfortune of others, and caused the whole thing, including the murders by proxy.

But, to the very end, she claims it was all a “wonderful, fictional world”.

Very sneaky. And, perhaps, like with the punishments for theft and murder (well, the murder/execution thing is up for debate, but cutting off limbs for stealing I HOPE not), it is meant to leave you with a sort of hanging feeling. Everything is resolved as well as it could be, but...? That kind of feeling lol. Can’t explain it well.

ANYWAY, Mahmut is off! Feeding Iskander again :3 

He looks, well, a little sad. That isn’t a frown, but he also isn’t happy.

Ah, yes, some much needed light-heartedness.

lol his expressions. I happen to like his startled expressions, they are always amusing. And then he’s pissed in that third panel. xD

LOL he’s the subject of the next musical.

And that’s a wrap! I actually wrote quite a bit for this one.

It was a tiny arc, but jam-packed with the very start of Mahmut’s long journey to meet his goal of becoming worthy of the title of Pasha.

← back・onward →

[patriciaselina]

Seiyuu Picture Book: Komatsu Shohei

I think that I just normally don’t bring my feelings to the surface. I won’t be able to make it if I don’t push my comfort zone to the point of overdoing it, and isn’t that the fun of being onstage?

Da Vinci News’ solo interview/photoshoot featuring Idolmaster Side M and DAYS’ Komatsu Shohei! The entire interview can be seen on Wordpress but is also under the cut.

[Source]

We go interview seiyuu who catch the eye of our editors, seiyuu we have our eyes on, about their first jobs, up to their private time, and other things that we’ve noticed, and combine them with professionally-taken pictures for our popular project, the “Seiyuu Picture Book”.

For this 162nd chapter, we have Komatsu Shohei, who plays Idolmaster Side M’s Kizaki Ren, and DAYS’ Satou Hideaki, among other roles.

Komatsu-san, you became a seiyuu through your experience with stages; how did you start getting into plays?

Komatsu: As a member of the theatre club in high school, I joined a prefectural tournament in my hometown of Fukuoka, but I missed getting the grand prize, and that was when I thought I wanted to continue acting. As I was being handed the consolation prize, I thought I wanted to try for the top prize another time, so I went to the Kyushu tournament.

Why did you join the theatre club?

Komatsu: Somehow…my father’s a karate black belter, and I also did karate since I was in elementary – I’d strike at the sandbag we had in our garden – all that I’d done up to middle school graduation was related to martial arts, so I said that come high school, I’d like to try doing something I want to do. At first I was too shy to go onstage, so I’d been in charge of stage backgrounds. But, since there was so few male actors, I’d also done acting on the side, and it reached a point where I started thinking taking part in plays was fun.

So it’s because of you losing in that tournament that the current Komatsu-san is here.

Komatsu: During that time, it was then that I realized just how seriously I had come to take acting. But because I was in a high school that focused on getting its students into university, I had to stop taking part in club activities after my second year. For the sake of continuing acting, I tried out saying “I’ll drop out of school!” and running away from home (lol)

You ran away!?

Komatsu: My father was against my plans, so I took a night bus going to Tokyo, and up until I reached Kokura Station, I didn’t take any calls from my parents. But since I took a phone call from my sister, somehow or another my family managed to chase me to Kokura. When I saw my mother crying, of course I ended up thinking that I was horrible for making her cry. In the end they told me it was okay even if I didn’t go to college, as long as I finished high school, and I’d taken up part-time jobs in order to save up money so I could go to Tokyo.

Something straight out of a drama, wasn’t it. After all that, did your dad accept your choice?

Komatsu: Right now, they’re cheering me on. While I’m still far from getting the chance to be a lead actor, when they saw the live viewing at Fukuoka for the last Idolmaster Side M concert, he said something like “If that was me, I’d have done more. I’ll teach you how to kick.”

When I was still at my parents’ house, I’d taken up roles as an extra, but even then, if I didn’t take my morning prepwork seriously, my dad would get mad and I’d hear him say, “If you wanna do this, take it seriously!” I don’t think he’s given me his approval yet, but I think he at least recognizes that I am taking this seriously.

You’d been engrossed with the stage to such an extent – what do you think are its charms?

Komatsu: It’s probably because the stage is the only place where you can set yourself free of inhibitions, while still staying true to your real nature. Of course I’d caught the chuunibyou illness on my second year of middle school (lol) It came to the extent that my friends grew worried, and quickly stopped talking to me. I’d noticed that as I entered high school, so I kept to myself, didn’t talk much, stopped expressing myself.

So it was all thanks to your chuunibyou growing worse…!?

Komatsu: Well, it’s not just because of that (lol), I think that I just normally don’t bring my feelings to the surface. I won’t be able to make it if I don’t push my comfort zone to the point of overdoing it, and isn’t that the fun of being onstage?

In the beginning you belonged to the group called HIROZ. What kind of stages did you do?

Komatsu: Since I’d thought of going onstage, from the start I looked for a place whose main points were “action” and “performances”, and as part of that special troupe I’d been assigned to Kagawa prefecture; for around two years, every day, from morning ’til night, we’d do shows in the amusement park. As the stuntmen in hero shows, the main MCs on cruise attractions, as gourmet reporters, and the like. At the time, I was praised by people who told me “Your voice lingers in our ears.” I accepted that evaluation, and thought that, if I were to use [my voice] as ammo, wouldn’t it be better if I honed and weaponized it, so I set my sights on being a seiyuu.

And after that, you applied for the Seiyuu Awards’ Newcomer Discovery Audition.

Komatsu: I was around 23 when I left Kagawa for Tokyo – if I’d gone into a vocational school then, the risk would’ve been too high. So I self-studied with my voice, and as I searched for a company, I got accepted into auditions. I got rejected the first time around, and the second time I got into an internet training school named “Koebu”, and thankfully, during that year I was able to garner the most amount of votes. I wonder if that was the effect of me being able to do action and doing a high kick right there and then (lol)

Starting 2016, you became the voice for Idolmaster Side M’s Kizaki Ren. A carnivorous character, isn’t he.

Komatsu: Within the series his dancing is good enough to be considered top-class, and he’s a martial artist. I thought it best to apply for a role that suited me. Until a little while ago I knew nothing about the seiyuu industry, so I thought that if I became a seiyuu, I wouldn’t have to show my face [to the audience]. If that was so, I thought that I’d never get to take advantage of my own strengths, such as doing action [stunts]. But because Idolmaster Side M is the kind of franchise where one could actually end up singing and dancing on stage, if I take advantage of my action experience, I think that I’d be able to do a performance that won’t lose to anyone else.

That isn’t just limited to Idolmaster Side M; even in anime and games, there are lots of action-packed scenes.

Komatsu: For example, the voice that comes out when you punch someone – I have confidence that I can play that kind of situation with a sense of presence.

Last summer, you got to take part in the release event for your CD. What kind of feelings did you have, standing on stage as an “idol” for the first time?

Komatsu: More than the passion from just going onstage, I felt the power of the franchise even more strongly. I’m getting to see this scene through the eyes of the character I portray. That’s why, in order to prevent both the world within the franchise and my character’s image from collapsing in on itself, I make a conscious effort to only show what is expected from me, even if I’d want to show more.

As part of the three-man unit THE Kogadou, are there any things you keep in mind?

Komatsu: Taiga Takeru’s seiyuu Terashima Junta-san and Enjoji Michiru’s seiyuu Hamano Daiki-san are two people who I’d been deeply entangled with since I first entered the seiyuu world. I’m really grateful to have such good senpai as them, and thanks to that I think the atmosphere within our unit has become a good one. I’ve learned a lot from them in terms of performing, so I think I’d like to give back to them through my specialties of action [stunts] and dancing, and I hope to grow with them as both a member of the unit and as a seiyuu.

It’s now your second year since becoming a seiyuu. Did you get to have more seiyuu friends?

Komatsu: Sometimes I’d get to meet some when we work for Side M together. Because there’s little time for intermingling, we’d just chat about how we’d do our best together and stuff. I started as a seiyuu pretty late, so I’m older than everyone else. In the beginning everyone talked to me using keigo, but that doesn’t feel equalizing, so I’d tell them “casual speech is fine, let’s get along better.” One time we all went out for drinks, the next time we went flower viewing (lol)

If you go to an amusement park, you might confuse everyone, after all (lol) Do you have any hobbies you do during your private time?

Komatsu: Since I don’t have any hobbies and am searching for one, I got invited by my peers to play tabletop board games together, and I’ve started to think they’re fun. And then there’s muscle training in order to keep the muscles I have now. Since I keep saying action is my specialty, I’d get embarrassed if my friends from back then would think I’ve let myself go (lol)

You do your muscle training at home?

Komatsu: No – recently, I’ve found a nice place where I could do muscle training. It’s a public park near my house, but people never go there, so at night I do sit-ups on the bench, and I practice backflips (lol)

What kinds of works do you want to appear in as a voice actor from now on?

Komatsu: The fun in being onstage is where you get to interact with people, so as long as it’s a place where I think I can move forward with my own emotions, I’d do any kind of work, whether it be in anime or dubbing. Since I usually record my lines for app games on my own, and I’ve yet to have many lines in DAYS, I hope I’d be able to take part in more roles I can apply myself to.

Any current challenges?

Komatsu: Getting my emotions across, facing nothing but a microphone, with no conversation partner or audience in sight. It’s a very basic thing, but it’s very difficult and I still struggle with it up to now. I’d like to be better at acting.

Lastly, please go ahead and give a message to our readers.

Komatsu: If you know of a seiyuu named Komatsu Shohei – it doesn’t matter how you knew me; if you’d remembered me, that’s good enough. I’m not going about this [being a seiyuu] thing in the usual manner – I do stunts, backflips, and all that – but if you think you’d be fine with someone unusual, then by all means, please see the franchises I’d gotten to be part of. And from now on, I’ll do my best to be someone you’d be able to like more.

Profile (KenPro) | Twitter | Video comment

my translation index

The incident he mentions in the first question (losing at the tournament) is the same one he mentions in his first interview for Nizista.

Chuunibyou – the middle school second-year sickness; being an overly self-conscious teenager.

Like I kept saying in the Nizista interviews, Shohei means “action” in the sense of “action stunts”, so keep that in mind!

There are a lot – a LOT – of nuances that get lost in translation – he makes particularly deliberate word choices in some parts, but in some points the grammatical correctness wins out, and in some points the motive behind the sentence wins out. Like I keep saying, I can only promise up to “reasonable assurance” on this…

Keigo – polite speech, used by younger kouhai on their elders.

There is a picture of him playing what seems to be tabletop DnD with his Side M costars. He was the dragon.

Thanks for reading! Please do not redistribute this translation anywhere without credit or permission!

[chemicalperfume]

All That Takarazuka: Sagiri Seina x Towaki Sea Cross Talk

A couple of months ago, @chevalierene requested a translation of this interview (and very graciously provided materials for it to be made possible.) Read more below for some warm discussion between Chigi and Hitoko about “Caleb Hunt, Private Eye”, and the special system that is shinjin kouen. I also translated a small section at the end, with the reporter’s description/impressions of the leads of each 2016 shinjin kouen (from Shakespeare to One Samurai From Kagoshima).

Special thanks to @animaniacal for beta-reading and puzzling over English with me. <3

Snow Troupe Show Special Talk: Top Star x Shinjin Kouen Lead

A shinjin kouen is a regular show as performed by young actresses who have been with the Revue for seven years or less. In particular, the young actress who plays the lead, the same role as the Top Star, receives special attention. We spoke with the Snow Troupe Top Star, Sagiri Seina, and shinjin kouen lead, Towaki Sea, about “Caleb Hunt, Private Eye”, then we looked back on the up-and-coming actresses who starred in each troupe’s 2016 shinjin kouen performances.

-- What kind of man is Caleb, in “Caleb Hunt, Private Eye”? Sagiri: He is a very straightforward man, with justice as his core, who always pursues what he believes in. Also, the way he does not waver out of concern for himself or his surroundings, and just faces the case straight on, is another part of that wholehearted determination to help the weak and those in trouble. Isn’t that right?

Towaki: Yes, I also believe he’s a very straightforward person.

Sagiri: While he’s a private detective, which is not a common setting, I think there must be people working in normal companies and independent businesses who are like him. Caleb’s sense of justice can resonate with everyone, after all. As a play, it is not just a “hardboiled” crime drama, there are some comedic elements, too. You can see that through Masatsuka Haruhiko’s direction, and I think the play constantly switches gears between the comedic and the serious aspects of solving a case.

--Masatsuka’s works are known for their natural dialogue and characteristic manly worldview; doesn’t this make it a highly difficult production, especially for a shinjin kouen?

Sagiri: It is essential that we maintain the pauses and tempo of natural, everyday conversation, even with dialogue that is merely there to move the story along. This is difficult even for me, with all my experience, so I think this role will be a big challenge for Hitoko (Towaki). She’ll need to bring the role into existence while standing on stage as an otokoyaku within a very minimal world, wearing a simple suit as if it’s her everyday clothes…. A really big challenge.

Towaki: Yes!

Sagiri: I’m looking forward to seeing how Hitoko will make this role her own.

Towaki: I always watch Chigi-san (Sagiri)’s rehearsals, but I’m also aware that I shouldn’t become too much like Chigi-san’s Caleb...

Sagiri: Yes, that’s it! It’s amazing that you’ve noticed that.

Towaki: *laughs* I think that is especially important with this kind of play.

Sagiri: Yeah. Even if you use me as reference, you need to play it like it’s an entirely different part.

Towaki: Yes. This will be my third shinjin kouen lead, so instead of just studying by observation, I have come to first think about the part on my own, and then watch how Chigi-san acts it out in rehearsals. Seeing Chigi-san’s acting really helps me figure out the parts I don’t understand by myself.

--Such a dilligent youngster we have here!

Sagiri: Ain’t that the truth!

Towaki: Absolutely no such thing!

Sagiri: Even that first time she played one of my roles, in the “Maeda Keiji” shinjin kouen, she thought about the role and her acting very deeply, and asked some very perceptive questions. Even some that made me go “I hadn’t thought of that!” and then made me reassess some things *laughs*. There have been many times she’s asked good questions, which I enjoy. Throughout my own shinjin kouen era I was in a frantic state, so I think Hitoko is really amazing.

Towaki: Not at all! However, “Lupin III” and “Rurouni Kenshin” didn’t have particularly strong romance elements, while in this play I have a lover for the first time, and there are kissing scenes; it’s packed with first-time experiences.

Sagiri: Can’t wait *laughs*

Towaki: Chigi-san’s gestures are incredibly natural and cool.

Sagiri: Eh, I don’t think I’ve shown you much of that *laugh*

Towaki: No, it is all very educational for me!

-- What is Towaki’s appeal as a stage actor?

Sagiri: While she has all the makings of an otokoyaku and a Takarasienne, she also has the humility to not rely too much on her natural talent, as well as the ability to think for herself. That said, if instead of overthinking and then freezing up, she could add to her other qualities the daring to just go for it, even if that takes her in a different direction than she’d intended, I believe she would rise even higher.

Towaki: Before I go out in front of people, I’m scared of freezing up, so I end up thinking too much. I always want to give it my all and do it properly, though.

Sagiri: Yeah, you can do it, but something inside you is holding back.

Towaki: I lack confidence……..

Sagiri: No one is confident. We don’t have confidence, that’s why we rehearse.

Towaki: I think I’m scared of not being able to do it. Even if the rehearsal room is where you’re supposed to mess up, I don’t want to be seen messing up.

Sagiri: You are still too protective of yourself, definitely *laughs*

Towaki: I’ll do my best!

--What can one gain from performing as a shinjin kouen lead?

Sagiri: An endless number of things. Personally, more than anything else, I think I realized that no one can go out on stage alone; that a play becomes possible when everyone’s strengths become one. You are given the privilege of standing in the middle, wearing the most beautiful outfit, and having the brightest spotlight shine on you. You are automatically made to stand out, so you must grow into someone who can rise to the occasion. That realisation has probably led to where I am today.

Towaki: During my first lead, I realised I couldn’t do it without the support of everyone around me. The second time, there was the dread of having to exceed the first, along with feeling that I must pull everyone forward, and so it didn’t go well and I stumbled. This third time, as one of the senior actresses in shinjin kouen, I would like to look over the play in its entirety and also get to show off being the “energy at the centre”.

--Snow Troupe has many rapidly maturing young actresses. What kind of performance are you aiming to get in your troupe’s newest production?

Sagiri: It’s been a while since we had a completely original play and revue combination; therefore, I would like for us to enjoy our material, make the audience discover new, charming points in all our performers, and want to follow the show’s entire run.

2016 Shinjin Kouen Playback

Performed only once in each theatre during a show’s run, the shinjin kouen is a place of diligent study for young talents. The lead actresses walk their first steps to stardom, as the future hope of each troupe.

Shakespeare: Rukaze Hikaru, Haruha Rara

Rukaze, who joined the Revue in 2012, was chosen to play her first lead in her 4th year. Her vivacious role-building, robust singing and stage presence that capitalises on her whole 174cm of height, all made a memorable impression. Her classmate, Haruha, was the heroine. With her lovely looks, she exhibited high suitability for the position. A fresh and striking combination.

Rurouni Kenshin: Towaki Sea, Irodori Michiru

The second lead for Towaki Sea, the hopeful who debuted in 2011. Thanks to also being given the part of the “shadow” of the protagonist, Kenshin, in the main production, her sword-fighting is now magnificent. Her originality in building the role and her emotional singing charmed audiences. The heroine was Irodori Michiru, also in her second lead role. In the main performance, she got to display her aptitude for acting in a boy’s role, which earned her favourable reviews.

Die Fledermaus: Shidou Ryuu, Maaya Kiho

A highly difficulty production, adapted from Johann Strauss II’s operetta, served as Shidou Ryuu (class of 2010)’s first lead. With earnest singing and youth as her main weapons, she displayed quite the stately stage presence. The role of the heroine went for the first time to Maaya. She lived up to her reputation as a true talent of outstanding vocal and acting skills.

ME AND MY GIRL: Yuunami Kei, Shiroki Mirei/ Ayaki Hikari, Oto Kurisu

This grand musical was split into Acts 1 and 2, and the pairs of Yuunami / Shiroki and Ayaki / Oto played the leads in each. Yuunami built her role as noble and straightforward, while Ayaki used her raw talent to act with a remarkable aura. Shiroki and Oto, who got to shine in the main show as well, are both certified talents. It turned out to be a very high-level performance.

NOBUNAGA: Akatsuki Chisei, Yukarino Koyuki

With her excellent dancing skills and robust vocals, Akatsuki Chisei got to play an active part in the main show as well; this was the third lead for the strapping young star, who joined in 2012. She broke new ground for herself playing an imposing Nobunaga, quite different from her own personality. Her classmate, Yukarino, served as the heroine for the first time. A musumeyaku of adorable countenance but inherent vocal skill and charisma, she enchanted audiences.

Elisabeth: Rukaze Hikaru, Hoshikaze Madoka

The one to lead the shinjin kouen for this Takarazuka staple, was, for the second time, Rukaze. The role of Der Tod demands strong vocal prowess, and with her powerful singing voice, she gave an enthusiastic performance. The heroine was Hoshikaze from the 2014 class. Since she was chosen for her first heroine role in 2015, she is a rapidly rising musumeyaku star. She also delivered a great performance in the main show as young Rudolf.

One Samurai From Kagoshima: Amahana Ema, Kozakura Honoka

A combi that each received their first lead roles, Amahana and Kozakura. Amahana joined the Revue in 2012. Even in a difficult nihonmono role, she managed to enchant audiences with her dynamic acting and beautiful guise in casual traditional wear. The lovely Kozakura, of the 2013 class, also displayed staunch acting and vocal skill. It was a passionate shinjin kouen overflowing with youthful energy.