#the other is...hagiwara

[alexiethymia]

Sato's charm and power is so great that not even 'would be asexual maybe if not for Ran so basically Ran-sexual' Shinichi is immune.

[respectthepetty]

For such a simple man, Hagiwara Kazuaki has depth.

And Nakarai Sei likes that.

When they go to eat after the gallery, Hagiwara makes this profound statement about how the vastness of the Toyko metro reminds him of how connected people are.

The Tokyo underground is very deep like an ant colony in a clear box. If you look at the Toyko underground from a section view, it must be full of holes. Maybe somebody similar to us is surprisingly close to us. I think that whenever I visit Roppongi.

But when Sei presses him about "Why Roppongi," which is a place known for its partying and night life, Hagiwra simply responds "Well, the Oedo line is extremely deep" since it sits 150 feet below ground. Then, the fun music sets in to let us know that this man is a fool.

But, once again, Sei likes that. He even teases Hagiwara later because it's clear that Hagiwara doesn't always realize how funny he is being.

Because Sei likes that Hagiwara, even in his foolishness, is very serious.

In the midst of their very serious relationship issues, Hagiwara constantly makes Sei laugh.

Hagiwara, through email, has been so serious about the difficulties he is having in his relationship, yet whenever he and Sei meet, he is actually this goofy little guy.

He laughs. He smiles.

But he is also very serious when it comes to feeling.

Fujisawa is always serious. He is serious about his work and keeping the distance in his arrangement with Sei.

But Kairo is always smiles. She is always joking her way out of intimacy with Hagiwara. Then, there is Hagiwara.

He is good at his sales job. He is popular among his coworkers. He is the party planner of the group. And he is serious about his feelings, which must be refreshing for Sei who lives with a man who never talks about feelings. But it must also be nice for Hagiwara as well to speak to someone about his feelings.

Hagiwara, in his foolishness, is actually quite sincere. Hagiwara speaks plainly to Sei, so when he talks about his emotions of feeling dirty and like a bad person, we can feel the weight of what he is saying. When he asks Sei questions about his feelings, we know it's genuine. We can trust Hagiwara because he isn't trying to hide his feelings when he is with Sei. When he feels, we know it's serious because he is serious.

In a sense, Hagiwara is the Oedo line running under Roppongi. On the surface, he is all fun times, but when looking below the surface, his depth is surprising. Unlike the one dimensions we've seen of Fujisawa and Kairo, the more Sei gets to know Hagiwara, the deeper he sees his emotions run. And that's why he is easy to read.

Unlike the other characters who keep trying to cover up and dismiss their feelings, Hagiwara feels his feelings, and he takes those feelings seriously, so maybe that's why the Oedo line reminds him of connection since in all his dark layers of depth in this ant colony of life, he is looking for "somebody similar to us [who] is surprisingly close to us."

Hagiwara simply wants someone to feel

the same way he does.

[cynicalruins]

Latest crafts project has been crocheting a Yukiho Hagiwara doll c:

It was a lot of work, but I'm proud of how she came out!

More pics down here

Here she is in the Yukiho Corner

Her head is movable and she can (kinda) stand on her own! No structure skeleton inside, just soles I cut out of plastic and put at the bottom of her feet

Her clothes are removable, for now I made her my fave outfit she's worn

For the doll base, I followed one of GreenFrogCrochet's doll patterns and then winged most of the clothes by finding other tutorials online

[manyeyedsphynx]

Ok... so let's play a game: ...CLAMP's work or Kazushi Hagiwara's work...? :D

...How did I come up with that stupid idea...? Well, since I love CLAMP's works (especially the older ones from the 90ies) but also really do love Kazushi Hagiwara's BASTARD!!, I just can't ignore how similar their works are at some points - YES, the shoujo mangaka-quartett and the shounen/hentai artist...! xD

I love that genuinely...! :D (I think the spirit in the 80ies/90ies was just the same for them all, so naturally their would be at least some similarities... also I think H.R. Giger must have had some influence on mangaka of that era too, when looking at certain paneels xD)

Even funnier so, because the CLAMP ladies and Hagiwara actually knew each other and seem to have gotten along well...? :D (they have meet and were guests on his (in-)famous mangaka-parties xD He states that in the comment section of this BASTARD!! volumes himself xD)

So yeah, maybe it was even an intentional homage to each other...? xD

...oh and yeah, BOTH of them, Hagiwara as well as CLAMP, seem to like drawing men and women sexy, just look at the paneels... :D

EXAMPLES:

The one image above the text is Luci from Bastard. Have some Kamui from X/1999 now in comparison xD

...and again, Luci...

...and Kamui:

Now what I meant by Giger-influence. Dark Schneider:

and Satsuki from X/1999 within her occult supercomputer Beast:

Kamui from X/1999:

...but it's not only the "tech-parts", but also more "fleshy/meaty" aspects: Scans are from CLAMP's "RG Veda". Ice-Demon:

Ashura and Yasha:

Ashura freeing Shurato (...especially these two pages could perfectly fit into Bastard as well... 'tentacle pr0n in my shoujo-manga? more likely than you think...' xD)

...and some more "bio-body-horror" (RG Veda by CLAMP):

...especially those designs and Shurato (Ashura's sword in RG Veda) design made me think of Anthrax from Bastard :)

but also the architecture fits I think xD

...now for the Bastard paneels:

Anthrax:

meaty/fleshy horror designs:

...will upload some more in the future^^ (It's a bit of a struggle to search through all the manga volumes, as they are quite a LOT... xD)

[anonymouslyel]

this genre of riku and yusei pose

[mineonmain]

Different forms of the same sentiment: How can we love each other if we are not equal in our eyes?

[nabi-unveiled]

The Desire to Be A "Good Man"

Sei continues to affirm that Hagiwara is a "good man".

It's really what Hagiwara strives to be. You can tell by his expression, but also in his actions that he WANTS to be a good man.

We see it in the way he takes care of his coworkers.

We see it in the way he respects Kaori's boundaries. He doesn't LIKE those boundaries, but he backs off immediately when she throws the walls up.

We see it in the way that he is constantly apologizing to Sei and others in case he made them feel uncomfortable or went too far with his questions. I'm not taking screenshots - the man apologizes a lot.

But that made this whole conversation interesting to me.

Because hasn't he been talking about his sex life with Sei this whole time? But it's actually consistent. He DIDN'T talk in detail about the actual sex. He evaded.

Even though he admitted he wasn't getting laid, he never blamed Kaori. He blamed himself.

And even in his breaking moment, he didn't blame her or say exactly what she had done. He just explained how HE felt.

Hagiwara WANTS to be a good man, but he feels his desires prevent him from being one.

Which is why when Sei reassures him that his desire isn't dirty, it isn't bad, it doesn't prevent him from being good - he sheds a tear.

But maybe it's not really about being a "good" man. Maybe the bigger deal is that Sei actually sees him AS a man at all.

And after so long of not being seen in that way, Hagiwara can't pretend it didn't happen. He doesn't want to.

He's refusing to go back into a room made of glass.

Although as @respectthepetty said in this post about Sei, I may be mentally stuck in that room until next week.

[yuurei20]

hi hi

I hope it’s not trouble to ask but, the anthology mangas are not canon right?

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 📕

The anthology manga were created by a total of 42 different illustrators (including bonus illustrations), none of whom were the game's creator Toboso Yana, though she did draw the covers!

We do not know how much oversight was involved in the content and there are parts in the stories that conflict with the content of the game, so it might be best to consider Twst's alternative media (the anthology manga / serialized manga / novels) as canon to themselves individually but probably not to the game, or to each other ^^

They are maybe similar to Square-Enix-branded fanart, like the art gallery books!

And here is a list of all artists, for the curious ^^

Volume 1:

萩原 ダイスケ (Hagiwara Daisuke)  赤井 ヒガサ (Akai Higasa)  NAOE 一色 箱 (Ichiiro Hako)  雨壱 絵穹 (Amaichi Esora)  鈴木 次郎 (Suzuki Jirou)  悌太 (Teita)  カズアキ (Kazuaki)  まくらくらま (Makura Kuruma) マジコ！(magico)  夏目 あやの (Natsume Ayano)  汐田 晴人 (Shiota Haruto)  竹田 羽角 (Takeda Hasumi)  藤本 桜 (Fujimoto Sakura)  優月 祥 (Yuzuki Shou)  かなめ もにか (Kaname Monika)  北国 良人 (Kitaguni Rato)  十束 椿 (Totsuka Tsubaki)  野原 もさえ (Nohara Mosae)  寝子 暇子 (Neko Himako)  鴉月 ルイ (Karasuzuki Rui)  銀野 佑 (Ginno Yuu) 宮間 諒 (Miyama Ryo)  渡 ざらめ (Watari Zarame)  いちるの望 (Ichiruno Nozomi)

Volume 2:

椿いづみ (Tsubaki Izumi) キナコ (Kinako) 清原 紘 (Kiyohara Hiro) 花ヶ田 (Hanagata) 双葉 はづき (Futaba Hazuki) さらちよみ (Sarachi Yomi) 尾崎ドミノ (Ozaki Domino) もち (mochi) 平井 るな (Hirai Runa) ���壱 絵穹 (Amaichi Esora) 藤本 桜 (Fujimoto Sakura) 寝子 暇子 (Neko Himako) かなめ もにか (Kaname Monika) 山田 リューセイ (Yamada Ryuusei) 霄之 ツキ (Sorano Tsuki) 和佳宮 テトラ (Tetora) 古町 ゆき (Furumachi Yuki) 栗栖 ゆん (Kurisu Yun)

[benkaben]

Sei doesn't expect anything out of the relationship with his best friend, but he wants something more out of it, even when he knows he won't get it.

He wants that connection, he wants intimacy, and it's frustrating because THERE IS SOME, but it can never be sexual and it can never be initiated by him.

He can't expect anything, but then there's these small surprises that end up hurting him, because he knows they can never be shared in the way he wants them to, and how can he not feel bad about it, when his best friend has given him so much?

And Hagiwara both wants and expects sexual intimacy out of his relationship with his girlfriend, something that is usually perceived as such, wanted, expected, yet he's been made feel that all of it it's dirty, a swamp that contaminantes a river, a conversation not meant to happen.

How can someone ask for sex when you can't even talk about it?

Because that's other thing, Kaori it's happy with the way things are now, and she's not in the wrong for doing so, but they weren't like this at the beginning, this perceived stability she senses is just silence compliance by a frustrated Hagiwara, compliance of something that was not disclosed beforehand, just started to crawl in there, slowly, and one day there's a lamp between their beds.

So they're both searching for a connection that will simply never been given to them, not because any of the people involved are in the wrong, it simply is how things are, and that makes it all more frustrating, and it builds up, and there's no other way for it to end than with an explosion, because the other option, eternal silence, stopped being viable when they got to met each other and actually voice their wants, and needs.

[bengiyo]

Ben’s Big BL Blurb 5: Let’s Talk About Sex

I was mostly planning to check in again after the current Japanese shows ended, but after three out of four sex scenes left me wanting this week, I want to write down my ideas. I maintain that bed scenes, like action scenes, need to tell us more about the characters. Many sex scenes serve as a release of tension or confirmation of existing feelings. As usual, MAME seems to understand this, and others should probably take notes. 

Call Me By No Name is Doing Nothing For Me (5/8)

I have just about given up on this show. I don’t get Megumi’s whole deal, why she’s so in love with Kohata, or Kohata’s reticence. I was really hoping that an intimate scene would open up some space for vulnerability and truth with them to give us some answers about why these two weirdos are drawn to each other, but that’s not what we got. I was hoping that when we saw these two go at it we’d learn how much Megumi has felt for women before, or how she responded to Kohata’s experience. Instead, I’m left feeling cold by the whole affair, and generally baffled by the conflicting themes around going somewhere she did cutesy girl nights before, and ordering the cute food. This one is a chop.

Impression of Youth is Wasting My Time (5/9)

I have my own squicks as a former teacher with stories where a teacher messes around with their student. However, I don’t see the point of doing a teacher-student story if we’re not going to explore any of the lines being crossed here. We also didn’t get a good arc about the student helping the teacher properly reconnect with a feeling, or discover something, that helped him get back to his art. We simply had him start painting on the beach again, the kid confessed, and then they fucked with awkward kissing. I was a bit let down by the brother’s fast encouragement of the whole thing. It felt like they were reaching for the same energy we had in Call Me By Your Name (2017) with Oliver and Elio, but it’s missing the component where Oliver knew what he was doing the whole time for me. The overall alignment feels off, and I’m getting so little emotion from this show as a result. On top of all that, they showed us the kid’s boxers before implying he was nude in the shower! Ridiculous! 

When It Rains It Pours is Being Shy About Sex in a Show About Cheating (5/7)

This is the biggest offender of the week for me. This show is all about how the leads cannot have sex from the people they love, and find someone they can commiserate with in each other. When the dam finally breaks and they both need the release in each other, I was so dismayed that the show tried to gloss over as much of the sex as possible. It’s so fucking annoying for me when the shows about sex get precious about it and won’t show it. I was thankful that they tried to capture all the emotions happening around the weekend they spent together, but I think we lost a lot in not having Hagiwara blow Sei, because you just know that man has a people pleasing streak that would require him to give pleasure back. The lack of sex also means that there is no gap time between the infidelity and the discovery. We don’t give enough time for the shift in their relationship to breathe before the crisis (@respectthepetty). I’ve lamented before about Japanese shows only showing toxic or breakup sex, and so it’s damned annoying that they’re doing that in the cheating show because they probably want these guys to be together by the end. I was really hoping Mood Indigo would have some company finally (especially after Love in the Air Koi), but I clearly need to stay patient. Cannot overstate how lame it is for the show about two guys cheating because their partners won’t fuck them being shy about the sex effectively sides with the partners who won’t fuck them. Finally, I am not over them getting the insertion angle wrong while making points about it!!

Your Sky Could Have Been A Good Follow-Up on 2gether

I’ve been sitting on this one for a bit because I don’t know what I want to say about this one. I was really into it in the beginning, but it felt like this show didn’t really know what it wanted to do after resolving the issues with Oh. I personally liked the dad being confronted by his wife and father about the way his homophobia was hurting his son, but I didn’t really enjoy it as a Very Special Episode. I would have also liked to see Teerak’s newfound assertiveness in this period beyond is refusal to cave. I think this show also deeply underutilized its own supporting characters, especially the side couples. Still, I thought Thomas was probably the most beautiful newest BL boy we’ve gotten, and I liked the way he and Kong worked together. I also really enjoyed Teerak being allowed to want sex, ask for it, and take charge of it. That’s so important for a cute character. Letting us know that Teerak has also become protective of the private moments he has with Fah, and is growing into his desire for Fah really is a great way to finish a show.

Final Verdict: 7, Recommended With Reservations. I find it hard to give this a stronger recommendation. I just think the show ends up being overall inessential from how much of it ends up being fluff that doesn’t connect much to each other. The biggest things I liked were Fah and Teerak, especially in the early episodes, and I liked the family dynamics. Still, I feel like this show didn’t know what to do without Tine’s internalized homophobia, and what to do with Fah’s ex that was mentioned. There’s just too much hanging off this to recommend it as a strong drama. Everyone is very pretty, and the performances are earnest. It’s a show that means well, even if it’s a bit indulgent. 

The Boy Next World Understands that Phu Has a Dick (5/10)

MAME, as usual, understands the assignment. There’s no way that their first encounter is going to be Cir showing up to stick is dick in Phu’s ass. He’s been obsessed with this boy for years in a way that prioritizes Phu’s wellbeing. It was absolutely correct to payoff that Cir keeps making Phu hard by having Cir take care of him, let us see that Phu enjoyed it. Like @babyangelsky I think it’s important that we let go of the notion that cute characters cannot want and enjoy sex. We got so much from this. We know that Cir likes to give pleasure, and that he’s not going to ask for it from Phu. We also know that Phu cares about Cir, too, because he asked about his time in the bathroom (Cir clearly jerked off and rinsed his mouth, y’all). What’s so excellent about putting a sex scene at this point is it means we’ll see their sex change after Phu learns that Cir has been stalking him for years. MAME is consistently the best storyteller at using the kisses and sex to help inform the arc of the relationship. Most importantly, she gets what the angles are supposed to be.

Ossan’s Love Thailand Is…Fine (5/12)

I’m not really into this one much right now, despite what I think is a pretty solid performance from Krit Shahkrit. I understand the choice to go back to making Kongdech a widower, but I don’t think giving him a daughter who initially opposed the romance added much to this for me. I’m hoping activating Thor’s character next week will add some energy to this for me, because I’m feeling a bit flat with it at this point. I’m glad they’re letting Earth and Mix continue to play adult characters, but it doesn’t feel like they knew what they wanted to do with office romance dynamics here.

Gelboys is a Welcome Return from Boss Kuno (1/7)

Started this today and I am seated. I really love how much it feels like we get to actually be inside of Bangkok. I love that we opened with an ad for the Bangkok rail system as a mechanism for freedom. I love how filming on iphones has enhanced the naturalistic feeling of the production. I also love how we completed the major arc of the het angst of Make It Right in the first like five minutes. Incredible stuff. I’m so excited to see the mess Fou4Mod is going to make of everything, and I’m excited to see Chian dickmatize that boy. Curious to see how much this feels like a bubble show. Shout out to Boss for showing us a naked teen at the start of this show to scare off the pearl clutchers.

RED BLUE is EVERYTHING (6/8)

This is not BL, but it’s got enough BL boys rolling on the floor and sweating on top of each other that I’m saying here loudly that I LOVE IT. Kimura Keito is fantastic in this, and I loved his fight with Okura Takato in episode 6. I almost didn’t recognize my boy from his role as Amane in If It’s With You with the change in his hair. I did not know I needed a wrestling show with BL boys…who am I kidding? We’ve been asking for this every year. This is hitting all the notes I want from a sports shonen show. It’s fantastic.

Please Use the Sex Well in Romance

I think there’s a real place for clean romance in the BL genre. Some of our favorites don’t involve sex being a major component of their romance narrative, but that often requires significantly more drama and better storytelling and plots. What I cannot abide is when I find myself bargaining about how a show that wants to talk about sex every episode seemingly doesn’t want to deal with sex. Romances about sex that don’t use the sex well in their stories are as bad as comedies with terrible jokes, or action flicks with no suspense and satisfying fight sequences.

Other than that, I dropped I'll Turn Back This Time. It’s just too stupid and incoherent for me to put up with it’s nonsense. Seeya next time. 

[colourme-feral]

Translation notes for Futtara Doshaburi / When It Rains, It Pours ep 1

I know I'm late, but I'd been on the fence about doing translation notes for the last few eps 🤣. I'll be doing these at my own pace, but hopefully they are helpful anyway. Since the main 4 characters are essential to the plot, I'm having some problems choosing what to do notes for, so if there is anything that I haven't included but you're interested in, do ask me!

@my-rose-tinted-glasses obrigada obridge (heehee) for your help.

General note: Since two of the characters share the same first name, Kazuaki, instead of using their first name, which I would usually use, I will be referring to them by their surnames, Hagiwara and Fujisawa.

I will definitely get these mixed up, so if I do, please let me know. 🤡

Note: This whole thing started because Hagiwara sent Sei an email by mistake and the difference in the email addresses lies in the service providers' names. Hagiwara uses kazuaki0927@kuhoo.com, which makes sense, since that's his first name, while Sei uses kazuaki0927@degole.com, perhaps so that he can feel closer to Fujisawa (Kazuaki).

In the past, there wasn't anything like a table in between (our) beds. Before I knew it, distance between (our) beds had started forming slowly and even if I stretched my arm out, I wouldn't be able to reach it. Every day, a ninja jumps over the grass that grows taller, little by little. Since when did I start spending rainy days alone, I wonder.

Fujisawa: Sometimes, I am unable to put a stop between an impulse and action. My body just starts moving on its own. Sei: Being able to take action is a good thing.

In this house, the rain is far away.

Note: Sei is saying doukikai, which is a party consisting of people who entered a company at the same time. In Japan, companies tend to have mass hires each year and all new hires will tend to start in April together. Those in the same batch of hires are considered contemporaries/equals, who are known as douki.

Note: The term Sei uses means freeloader.

Futtara Doshaburi / When It Rains, It Pours translation notes・Other translation notes

[respectthepetty]

I don't mind cheating (plots), so I'm thrilled to see what sex is going to be like for Hagiwara Kazuaki and Nakarai Sei next episode since I think it's going to be life-changing!

Especially because this was Sei's fantasy with Fujisawa, who shares the same name with Hagiwara, yet the real sex with Hagiwara seems to have more emotion involved due to the warm coloring of the scene above.

When Fujisawa says he doesn't like being impulsive, Sei says that being a man of action is a good thing, and Sei is also the one who presents Hagiwara with the counterargument that there are two types of men: those who seize the opportunity to have sex, and those who don't.

So Hagiwara being the one to initiate the sexual part of their relationship by politely letting Sei know he wants to have sex with him will be perfect since that is the type of man Sei wants, and Hagiwara only believed he was being polite to his girlfriend so he could have sex, yet he has been polite to Sei the entire time without intentionally wanting to have sex with him.

So the sex will finally show both men what they have been missing.

Hagiwara told Sei that his eyelashes were beautiful at the company dinner.

And he also wanted Sei to get his foot checked so he didn't hurt his waist.

Basically, he has been eyeing Sei's body since the beginning.

And it's always been sexual.

But he dismisses it because he just thinks it's because he is horny.

Yet he is only looking at Sei. He doesn't look at his friends or other people like he looks at Sei. He doesn't even really seem to care that other people are around since he is always thinking about Sei.

Hagiwara wants to see Sei, and more importantly, he wants Sei.

He sent a follow-up email after his first incorrectly sent email. He asked Sei for his email after Sei said he didn't have a LINE account. He asked Sei to dinner after work on Wednesday. He has been the one to close the distance between them.

Because he hates the distance that has grown in his relationship.

And Sei's in love with a man whose entire career is built on creating distance.

But these two no longer want the coldness that comes with that distance. They want the warmth of intimacy, and they don't need sex for that because they were intimate with each other before they even knew who the other person actually was.

Does Fujisawa know that Sei not only has met Hagiwara several times outside of work, but that they work together too?

Does Kaori know what they write about in the follow-up emails?

And that's why I don't mind cheating (plots) because it's not always black and white. This show revolves around how important sex is in a relationship, but it's really about what makes a relationship when sex is removed. So if both men can be in a sexless relationship, then both could also be having a sexless affair.

The relationship they have with their partners is superficial. They cannot be honest with the people they live with because anytime they try to be, their partners quickly end the conversation. They don't actually share their lives with those people because when they do, their partners run away. Instead they've been telling every little intimate detail to each other, so the affair started without sex.

They've been warming up to each other through all of their conversations.

Which is why the sex is about to be 🔥🔥🔥

It has to be, so they can finally set their cold existences aflame and burn their lives down.

[hughungrybear]

Is it really cheating when both of them are barely in a relationship with other people? 🤨

Fujisawa does not acknowledge that he is in a romantic relationship with Sei (because let's face it, they aren't. It's more of a toxic co-dependency rather than romance).

Kaori, on the other hand, might be calling Hagiwara her boyfriend but she has been treating him like lifelong bestfriend and roommate all these years.

Both Fujisawa and Kaori have long cheated Sei and Hagiwara of the chance to find better partners by giving them false hopes that tomorrow might be better

So really, in this sense, who is cheating whom?

[lurkingshan]

Seeing that you have watched ep 3 of when it rains it pours, in the ending credits where we see a sneak peak in episode four, what do you think Kaori meant when she said “whenever he shows his masculine side, it kills the mood”.

It was quite an interesting line, wasn't it? Here's what we've seen of Kaori and Hagiwara's relationship so far:

They liked each other immediately, and she was the one who really pushed for the relationship to begin

In fact, during their early dating era, she was often the one owning the typically more masculine coded romance tropes: she took his hand first, and confessed first, and ran to him

At the start, she seemed interested in physical intimacy with him, and then over time she drew away from it without acknowledging (to him, but maybe also to herself?) that she was doing so

She still seems to care for him, consider him her partner, and plan for a future together, and she is attentive to him except where sex is concerned

She makes food for him and takes care of his nails and finds him cute and seems happy and comfortable being with him--until he tries to initiate sex

She seems happiest when he looks cute and non-threatening, and most uncomfortable when he asserts his masculinity or touches her with sexual intent

Add to that her line from the preview explicitly saying seeing his masculine side "kills the mood." There are a couple ways one could interpret that. It could be that Kaori has some past trauma that makes certain presentations of masculinity uncomfortable for her, and she prefers to feel in control as a result. But I also think there's an intriguing possibility that what she's reacting to is being reminded he's a man at all. I would not be surprised to learn there is a double queer awakening happening for this couple.

[easterndelights]

Yatora: Hey Ryuji. Won't you tell me what happened? Ryuji: Everything in my room was thrown out by my father. My clothes. My accessories. My makeup tools. All of my favorite things. He can never accept me. Someone like me who doesn't fit in. Ultimately, the things I love couldn't protect me. I don't even know what I love. I lose track sometimes.

Yatora: I'm pathetic too. All I do is compare myself to others. No confidence, so the smallest things hurt me. When my artworks are criticized, I totally lose my footing. My nakedness… is flimsy and pathetic.

"Nakedness = truth" At the seaside, Ryuji taught me. I'm flimsy, and pathetic. Even so, that's me.

ブルーピリオド Blue Period (2024) dir. Hagiwara Kentaro

[nabi-unveiled]

When It Rains, It Pours is SO consistent and subtle in demonstrating parallels and differences.

We have Hagiwara once again reaching out to Sei and communicating his inner thoughts. It's something he can't do with Kaori.

We have Sei once again responding to Hagiwara and meeting him in that intimacy.

But unlike Fujisawa, Hagiwara isn't going to make Sei sacrifice to meet his needs. He knows what Sei personally likes/dislikes, and he acknowledges it.

But these two aren't letting one sacrifice for the other.

So they MEET IN THE MIDDLE...

In a place that holds meaning for BOTH of them.