#though i mentioned masumi once

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Backstage Story Translation - Kamekichi SSR - Zodiac Races: Crash and Dash - Part 3

requested by anon!

also proofread by myuntachis!

Omi: This makes the Dragon clan 5th and the Snake clan 6th. Good work.

Izumi: Banri-kun, Juza-kun, as well as Taichi-kun and Tenma-kun and Sakuya-kun, good work to you all!

Taichi: Hehe, thanks!

Sakuya: Huh? Where’s Masumi-kun?

Tsuzuru: Masumi? He hasn’t arrived yet…

Sakuya: That’s weird. I’m pretty sure he and Kumon-kun should’ve already set off using the car they spent all night customizing…

Tenma: Now that you mention it, Yuki and Muku from the Sheep clan should’ve been here a long time ago too.

Juza: I didn’t see ‘em on the way. Did something happen to ‘em?

Izumi: God left us this reflective water to watch the race from. Let’s try to look for them there.

Sakuya: Okay!

[Flash]

Taichi: … Oh, there it is! That’s the race car Masumi-kun and Kyu-chan painted white…

Taichi: “Hop, Hop, Rider Z”, now known as “Prince White Horse Z”!

Banri: They modified and renamed it, huh…

Banri: But, man, what are they doing? They keep stoppin’ and lookin’ for something…

Masumi: She’s not here… She’s not there either…

Kumon: Maybe Izumi-san from the Rat clan already finished the race…

Izumi: Huh, me?

Masumi: She said she doesn’t have a car for the race, so she must be participating on foot… I’ll get her out of there.

Omi: Ahhh… Are they looking for her without knowing I gave her a ride? 

Tsuzuru: Also, that car next to them is the Sheep clan’s “Oh, The Thrill! Flora Sheep”, isn’t it?

Sakyo: Why on earth did these three join the Horses?

Homare: Simply watching him as he searches for his beloved… How wonderful! I can feel inspiration welling up!

Yuki: For the love of… This stupid poemer of a sheep keeps saying things like that and following Masumi around without listening to us…

Yuki: He comes up with poems once every five minutes, and we’re making no progress whatsoever.

Muku: I can understand him, though. Seeing someone be so upfront about his feelings makes my heart pound… Boys in love are so wonderful…

Yuki: And here’s another sheep in his own dream world…

Izumi: (I-I feel kind of sorry for him…)

Izumi: Um, God… Can you let him know that I’m already at the finish line and waiting for him?

Voice from Heaven: You got it. Heeey, everyone from the Horse and Sheep clans!

Muku: Oh, it’s God! Are you calling out to us?

Voice from Heaven: That I am. The girl from the Rat clan has already finished the race. She told me to tell you she’s waiting for you guys at the finish line.

Masumi: !? Let’s go…

Kumon: Huh!? Masumi-san, wait a secoooOOOND!?

[Engine revving]

Homare: Let us give chase, we cannot stay here. I am certain new inspiration will come to me when we finish!

Homare: Come, you two, let us go to our car. We shall ride magnificently and thrillingly towards the finish line as well!

Muku: O-Okay!

-

[Masumi and Kumon arrive at the shrine]

Taichi: That was fast!?

Tsuzuru: They were basically here in the blink of an eye after hearing God’s message… Couldn’t they have gotten first if they took this seriously…?

Masumi: Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ve come to pick you up on my white horse.

Banri: The hell you mean you came to pick her up? She was already here.

Izumi: Thanks, Masumi-kun, and good work. You were searching for me, right?

Masumi: It sucks I couldn’t give you a ride, but the smile you welcomed me with is the cutest…

Homare: The étoiles of the Zodiac Race… have made it to the goal! ‘Tis us, the trio messengers from the Sheep clan!

Yuki: Phew. We made it, somehow.

Kumon: We’re a lil’ late, but I’m glad we made it to the goal! Everyone’s race cars are SO cool!

Muku: Everyone else made it already? Good work!

Juza: Yeah, good work to you guys too.

Tenma: So the Horse clan is 7th and the Sheep clan is 8th. Not many are left…

Izumi: (… Come to think of it, what’s Kamekichi up to? He seemed pretty relaxed about having a race car and all.)

[Flash]

Juza: The water’s showin’ two more cars.

Sakuya: These are… the Dog clan’s “Dog-lightful Patrol Car” and the Monkey clan’s “See no eviler, speak no eviler, awaken no eviler”, right? (1) (2)

Sakuya: I’m pretty sure these two said they’d happily start together, but…

Sakyo: Looks like they’re arguin’ over some nonsense…

Itaru: Come on, let us get to the finish line first.  We carry Hisoka for you sometimes, don’t we?

Tasuku: I’m the one carrying him, though, not you.

Hisoka: I got in your car so I’d get to the starting point faster, but it wasn’t comfortable at all.

Tasuku: You’re so…! Why were you expecting this kinda car to be comfortable?

Itaru: Why is you guys’ car so big and comfortable anyways? Jealous AF.

Chikage: There are three of us, so making it spacious was the logical course of action. I also modified it so it’d fit our Sleepyhead here.

Chikage: If you’re so jealous, you can just ask Tasuku to modify your car too.

Azami: It sure is spacious, and the ride’s comfortable, but it’s also got lots of mysterious buttons Chikage-san’s tellin' us jack about…

Hisoka: I pressed one of the new buttons earlier and the light that came out of the back of the car scared me.

Tasuku: So that’s what that light was…

Azami: Ugh, at this rate neither of us is ever makin’ it to the finish line. We should just settle this with an honorable rap battle now that it’s come to this.

Itaru: Uhhh, rap…? Welp, there’s a rap battle in the opening of this thing I’ve been watching, so maybe I’ll come in clutch if I remember that?

Kamekichi: Hold it!

Tasuku: ! That’s…

Chikage: A flying race car… I believe that’s the Rooster clan’s “Flying Bird Coupe”. (3)

[Tsumugi and Kamekichi jump down]

Tsumugi: Oh, oof… Phew… We landed safely.

Azami: You’re so slow, did somethin’ happen? Your race car can even fly, you shoulda reached the finish line ages ago.

Tsumugi: Ahaha… Well, the truth is…

Kamekichi: We’re late because we went off course despite it being a straight road, no thanks to Tsumugi’s mechanical ineptitude.

Tsumugi: I’m sorry…

Itaru: IC. Gotcha.

Tsumugi: What happened to you guys, though? You looked like you were arguing…

Tasuku: That guy over there said something about our car’s comfort, and then Chigasaki started saying we should modify it.

Itaru: I also want a monitor I can play games on in the car.

Hisoka: I might ask you to pick me up again, so you should get a pillow and a blanket too.

Tasuku: What on earth do you guys think this car is…

Tsumugi: There, there…

Kamekichi: This is the kind of time where all opinions need to be heard.

Kamekichi: I know you’re all good animals here. Come on, let’s talk nicely.

Kamekichi: … And while you do that, our car will quietly make it to the finish—

Chikage: And finished.

Kamekichi: What!? Chikage, when did you…!

Chikage: I figured this would happen, so I went on ahead and made it to the finish line.

Kamekichi: Damn! This leaves us no choice, let’s charge!

Itaru: Ah, wait! Tasuku, we gotta make it to the goal too!

Tasuku: *Sigh* Geez…

-

Muku: Everyone from the Monkey, Rooster, and Dog clans, congratulations on making it to the finish line!

Yuki: In the end, the Monkeys got 9th, the Roosters got 10th, and the Dogs 11th.

Izumi: (There’s finally one left. I wonder who it’ll be?)

Izumi: (I don’t see the Cat clan’s messengers anywhere, so maybe they really won’t participate…)

Tenma: Oh, a car’s coming. It looks like a camping van.

Tsumugi: It has “Mobile Store: Cat Journey” written on it.

Izumi: No way…

Azuma: Okay, we made it.

Guy: I’m glad we made it safely.

Citron: Thank you very much, you both! You were a great help.

Izumi: Azuma-san, Guy-san, and the messenger of the Boar clan, Citron-kun…! The three of you came together?

Guy: Citronia was going the wrong way from the starting line.

Guy: We transformed Journey into a mobile store, picked him up, and brought him here.

Citron: They let both me and my car ride with them. This is my car!

Citron: It is a bicycle named “Heavy Walking Cycle”!

Azuma: Go on. Go to the finish line, Citron.

Citron: Yes! I will put my all into pedalling and… I made it!

Kumon: Wow! Congrats, Citron-san!

Azuma: Congratulations, Citron.

Guy: Congratulations.

Izumi: Good work, Citron-kun, congratulations!

Citron: Thank you!

Itaru: That makes us twelve.

Izumi: But… are you Cats sure about this?

Azuma: As we told you before, we had no interest in this race to begin with.

Guy: Yes. We’re happy we were able to assist Citronia to the finish line.

Azuma: Well, we’ll be leaving. Let’s go, Guy.

Guy: Yes.

Voice from Heaven: Wait a second.

Voice from Heaven: Good work to you as well, Cats! Thank you for coming here.

Voice from Heaven: We’ll be having a party with all the new Zodiac members, so you should join in on the fun too!

Guy: Would that be alright?

Voice from Heaven: But of course! We’ll have delicious drinks, too.

Azuma: Fufu, thank you for the invitation. I can’t say no to a good drink, so we’ll be there.

Tsumugi: Come here, you two!

Guy: Yes, thank you.

Voice from Heaven: Good work on the race, everyone! Cheers!

Everyone: Cheers!

Izumi: Woah, there are so many delicious dishes here!

Kamekichi: There’s lots of rice too! That’s my favorite! God sure knows his servants!

Kamekichi: You enjoy yourself too, Izumi! This is a rice festival!!

[Dream ends]

Kamekichi: Zzz zzz… I can’t eat all that…

Manager: Hey, Kamekichi! Don’t land there and sleep, you’re getting in the way of my cleaning!

Kamekichi: Ha!?

Kamekichi: This is… I’m…?

Kamekichi: Huh!? I don’t look anythin’ like a well proportioned ikemen!

Izumi: Well proportioned? What are you talking about?

Kamekichi: My real form is that of a super cool ikemen! My hair is shining pink and gold, and I’ve got an elegant kimono that makes me look dapper…!

Kamekichi: And I’m a messenger for the Rooster clan of the Twelve Zodiacs, y’know! I can do anything, and I’ve got loads of fans…

Tsuzuru: The Rooster from the Chinese Zodiac, huh… That’d make for an interesting script.

Izumi: Come to think of it, why are the Chinese Zodiacs in that order? I feel like there was a story behind that…

Tsuzuru: There is. If memory serves, on a certain New Year’s Day, God decided…

Kamekichi: No, lemme tell you!

Kamekichi: You listening? God said there’d be a race on New Year’s, and the animals got in their race cars…

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

NOTES:

(1) originally わんダフル (wanderful), combining wan (the japanese onomatopoeia for barking) and wonderful

(2) switches up the three wise monkeys that represent the proverb see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil (article on the symbolism) to include one that sleeps, and makes the whole thing sound like a vehicle name

(3) originally とりバード・クーペ (tori bird coupe)... bird bird coupe

[the-himawari]

A3! Seasonal Event Translation - A Mechanical Christmas (11/11 Epilogue)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

The Formation of an Eccentric Duo?

Izumi: The magazine from Kasumi-san arrived, everyone!

Itaru: The one from the previous event?

Izumi: Yeah. It’s the special issue from when everyone helped out at Punk Park.

Kumon: Lemme see, lemme see!

Izumi: (I never would’ve guessed the condition for appearing at the event was also to appear in Kasumi-san’s magazine.) (I heard it's special one-off edition that contains a compilation of different shows, events, and stages that are held all around the world in December…) (But our report wasn't just about our play, we were also asked to do some interviews. It was a rewarding experience in more ways than one.)

Kumon: Ah, Omi-san’s interview is the first one up!

Tsumugi: If I recall correctly, the topic was about the food being sold at the venue, right?

Omi: That’s right. The roast goose was especially delicious. Ever since then, I’ve been going through trial and error trying to figure out whether I can make it here at home.

Homare: It appears Omi-kun’s repertoire shall grow once again.

Izumi: Kumon-kun, you introduced some souvenirs, right?

Kumon: I sure did! There were a ton of traditional handicrafts and sweets, so I had a super hard time choosing~!

Tsumugi: You introduced minces pies, chocolates, and cakes shaped like Santa and Christmas trees, right? There was a whole lot.

Kumon: Yep. It turned out to be all food in the end!

Izumi: Ahaha. And all sweet things to boot.

Masumi: Were they for Juza and Muku?

Kumon: Ehehe. When I was asked about souvenirs, those two just came to my mind for some reason.

Homare: Be that as it may, you don’t have sweet tooth yourself, do you, Kumon-kun? But this article also has a report on how they tasted…

Kumon: Ah, you see—.

Itaru: I volunteered as tribute.

Kumon: I was happy to buy them for the interview, but I realized it was gonna be hard to eat them all. So then Itaru-san stepped up for me. Thanks to him, I was able to nail the interview and pick out the souvenirs for those two. ‘Preciate it, Itaru-san!

Itaru: You’re very welcome. I’m gonna hard pass on sugar for the next few months though.

Izumi: Ahaha. Tsumugi-san and Itaru-san answered about the stage and the tree in the interview, right?

Itaru: That clock on the stage tickled our chuuni hearts.

Masumi: It doesn’t say that in the text.

Itaru: I practiced self-restraint, alright? Anyways, it serves its purpose well as the event’s symbol. Naturally, it’s a great spot to snap pics too.

Tsumugi: The tree was also beautiful. I understand why people gather there in the nighttime.

Omi: It was nice that it felt like a different world. It was very immersive.

Itaru: So… I guess Masumi and Homare-san were asked about the play itself then?

Tsumugi: They mentioned how the ending changed due to the adlib.

Kumon: I’m gonna be honest, I felt kinda flustered when that happened!

Omi: Haha. Those kinds of troubles are inevitable when you’re acting.

Itaru: Well, at least we were able to follow the script, more or less, despite that trip up.

Homare: I say, it would have been a bore simply proceeding as usual. We must utilize those troubles to our advantage! In any case, seeing as Masumi-kun and I had practiced together so many times over, I was certain he would be able to respond to my improvisation accordingly.

Masumi: Hey. That was pretty tough, you know?

Tsumugi: How that scene turned out depended on how you responded. You did a great job. The play turned out a success because of your hard work, Masumi-kun.

Homare: Hm-hm. Just like our script, I’m sure Masumi-kun and I could become quite the team!

Masumi: No way. We’re complete and utter opposites.

Itaru: One hit K.O, lmao.

Izumi: (All that being said though, I still think they’d made a great duo.)

---

previous |

[coelacanth-girlprince]

live reactions to power fantasy issue 6, under the cut for spoilers:

- loving "megadeaths" as a unit

- the set definition of "omnipath" is appreciated, feels like an actually good implementation of "omega level"

- "the singularity that walks like a man" is absolutely another the wicked + the divine reference, dionysus' introduction describes him as "the dancefloor that walks like a man"

- i know it's a bad thing but jacky's title made me laugh, perfect smash cut after last issue

- oh look at that, the orbital laser was a placebo safeguard. wow who could have guessed?

- still scared of wherever masumi is going

- mention that atomics aren't genetically determined is interesting considering the x-men theming

- more interestingly, look at that, something we once again only have ettiene's word on. doesn't seem like he'd have much reason to lie about this though

- possibly if he wanted heavy to build haven cause he thought it'd make him less likely to implode texas? that would actually lend credence to the idea that he actually gets fucked up by the singularity

- ah, context for that line, very funny

- and finally an explanation of why ettiene specifically asked eliza to stand by against jacky!

- hm. that cannot be good

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 25 - I’m Home

Izumi: Can everyone see everything okay? Is the sound working too?

Citron: “It is a-okay for me~!”

Sakuya: “I’m good too!”

Tsuzuru: “Sakuya, where are you right now?”

Chikage: “Isn’t that the Edo period?”

Citron: “Are you a time graveler!?”

Tsuzuru: “It’s time ‘traveler’.”

Sakuya: “Ahaha, when I told the supervisor about our remote rehearsal, he kindly lent me the theater’s stage to use for it.”

Izumi: I’m glad to see that you all seem lively. It’s kind of a relief since it’s been so long since I’ve seen your faces.

Tsuzuru: “For us, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since we’ve been talking on BlooCha.”

Izumi: Oh yeah, you did mention that you were going to try using that. Is it different from LIME?

Sakuya: “Because of our time zone differences, there’s a lot of times when we barely manage to bump into each other, but it’s still really fun. It’s kinda like a message board or collective diary.”

Tsuzuru: “If we get our timing right, it really does feel like we’re all in the same room.”

Masumi: “And you’re all just as annoying as ever when I’m trying to study.”

Tsuzuru: “That reminds me, when are you getting your temps, Masumi?”

Izumi: Huh, you’re getting your license?

Masumi: “I’m in driver’s ed right now. I’m just about to get my temps. I can’t wait to have you in the passenger seat, Director.”

Citron: “Leave the backseat to me!”

Sakuya: “You seem like you’d be really good at driving, Masumi-kun.”

Chikage: “I guess we’ll hand over the role of Spring Troupe’s designated driver to you, Masumi.”

Masumi: “I’m getting a two-seater.”

Tsuzuru: “You really only want Director riding along with you, huh?”

Izumi: Seems like Itaru-san is running a little late. Let’s go ahead and start warming up without him.

Izumi: The purpose of today is to prepare you for when you all come back next week and pick up rehearsals again, so just take it easy, okay?

Izumi: If you can move, move. If you don’t have the space, just run through your lines.

Izumi: I’ll let you know of any changes in direction as things pop up.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: --Alright, let’s stop here for a moment. It’s been a while for all of you, but you’re all doing a great job of remembering things.

Sakuya: “This is the first time we’ve done remote rehearsals, but it was kinda refreshing.”

Masumi: “We’re further away than when we’re in person, so it’s kind of like we’ve got to rely on your memory to know how everyone else’s acting goes.”

Chikage: “There’s still a bit of a timing delay due to our mode of communication, though.”

Citron: “I cannot wait to practice with you all phase to phase again~!”

Masumi: “Face to face.”

Tsuzuru: “By the way, Sakuya, your sword fighting really has improved a lot.”

Sakuya: “Huh, really!?”

Sakuya: “I’ve actually been really practicing my sword fighting skills for my current performance so I can apply them to when I play Romeo.”

Izumi: I can really see the results of that.

Tsuzuru: “Ah, right--.”

Itaru: “Sorry I’m late.”

Izumi: Good work today.

Sakuya: “Good work!”

Citron: “You are just in time!”

Izumi: Let’s start with the scene with Mercutio, Tybalt, and Father Lawrence.

Itaru: “Roger that.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: You guys were a little stiff at first, but once you started getting a feel for practicing remotely, you really managed to get back into the swing of things.

Izumi: It’s reassuring to see that Spring Troupe’s atmosphere hasn’t changed a bit.

Sakuya: “We’re still able to act together even when apart.”

Tsuzuru: “Even though we’re physically in different places, it’s nice to feel like we’re all still connected while standing on the same stage.”

Izumi: Alright, I’ve given you all my direction-related feedback, so let’s call it here for rehearsals today.

Masumi: “Do you have a minute after this then?”

Izumi: Sure, what’s up?

Masumi: “I just sent you a plan proposal on LIME. Can you take a look at it?”

*Phone notification*

Izumi: …A promotion plan? Huh!? Did you come up with all of this, Masumi-kun?

Izumi: (This is incredible, it’s got as much detail as a real corporate-level proposal…)

Masumi: “I’m doing an internship with the promotion department right now, and this is some of the stuff I’ve learned.”

Izumi: I see… I think this is really well organized and put together. I’ll be sure to discuss the contents of this with Sakyo-san.

Masumi: “Am I being useful?”

Izumi: Of course! It couldn’t have been an easy task for you to put this all together on your own. Thank you so much!

Masumi: “It’s nothing. I’m glad that I got a better understanding of just how hard you’re always working.”

Masumi: “So I want to help you from now on, too.”

Izumi: If you’re sure, then I’m glad. You’ll be a huge help.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Door opens*

Sakuya: “I’m back home!”

Izumi: Welcome home. You’re the first one back.

Sakuya: I was actually planning on coming back tomorrow, but the supervisor was nice enough to arrange for me to have today off…

Sakuya: I really wanted to be the first one home so I’d be able to say “welcome home” to everyone else.

Sakuya: It made me really happy to have everyone else say that to me when I went on my solo trip…

Izumi: I see. I’m sure you can’t wait to see the others.

Sakuya: Yeah. I want to practice with everyone as soon as possible. I’ve been thinking about my acting plans a lot while I was away.

Sakuya: Thanks to all the motivation and knowledge I got from the other theater company’s performance, I was able to come up with a lot of different ideas…

Sakuya: So I’ve got so much to talk about while testing out new things.

Sakuya: Actually--I’m gonna head to the practice room for a bit!

Izumi: Huh? Right now?

Sakuya: I just really feel like I wanna move right now!

Izumi: Ahaha, don’t tire yourself out too much, though.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: One, two, three, four…

Sakuya: (This will always be the most relaxing place for me to be. It really makes me feel like I’m back at home.)

Sakuya: (That reminds me, I wonder where all the other guys are right now. I’m guessing Citron-san and the others who are overseas right now have started making their way back…)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

tsuzuru has entered the chat.

tsuzuru: Morning

tsuzuru: I’m packing things up to start heading home now

Having some trouble because I don’t have enough space for souvenirs

tsuzuru: I wonder if I’ll be able to make all the souvenirs for everyone in the troupe AND my little brothers fit somehow

tsuzuru: Ah, right, better not forget my laptop

I’m gonna be working on stuff until the very last minute, so I need to remember that

Curry has entered the chat.

Curry: i’ll remind you about your laptop tomorrow

tsuzuru: Thanks, Masumi, what would I do without you

TorORo has entered the chat.

TorORo: i am jsUbt about to eatb Breakfasrb. i will beh heaDifn to the Airportb around noon. i caNnot waiite to Be surrounded by everEyone

UC has entered the chat.

UC: I’ve got a connecting flight, so I’m about to catch a plane to Narita. I’ll probably be back to the dorms around tomorrow afternoon.

Saku has entered the chat.

Saku: I got back a day earlier than I thought I would. I hope you all have safe trips back!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: (Itaru-san’s rarely in the chatroom. He must be really busy…)

*Door opens*

Tsumugi: Welcome home, Sakuya-kun.

Banri: Welcome home.

Sakuya: I’m home!

Tenma: Practicing already? I’ll join you.

Sakuya: Thanks! Would you mind being my sword-fighting partner then?

Sakuya: I was just gonna take it easy, but I just get extra eager the moment I step foot in this practice room.

Tsumugi: I can understand that feeling.

Tenma: I’ll hang around until you’re satisfied.

Banri: Aight, I’ll help ya out with some of the direction-related stuff.

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[writing-in-sin]

KaiShin HC: Yandere

Loosely a continuation to my Kaishin Mutual Obsession & Acceptance HC

Warning: there might be some disturbing themes

Now, when you think of yandere, killing usually comes to mind but that's something I rather explore in a dark kaishin au....murder husbands on the side of justice maybe? Something to think about one day 🤔

Anyways!

This is roughly along the lines of canon-compliant. We've seen Kaito pretending to be Shinichi a number of times and I thought, with their mutual obsession with one another, it could very well cross onto yandere territory

Considering the war against the BO, there'd been a time when Kaito put his life on hold and slips into Shinichi's. Originally, its just his way to help his detective and eventually, he succeeds

Including in fooling Ran too

Maybe in the past, Ran would be able to tell the difference but not anymore

Not in the face of Kaito's obsessive love for Shinichi

Kaito isn't just in love with Shinichi, he wants to completely be a part of who Shinichi is in a way that no one can ever tell where Shinichi ends and Kaito begins

And vice versa

That's why when Shinichi first saw Kaito as Kudou Shinichi standing together with Ran, Sonoko and Masumi on their way to school, it wasn't anger or dread he felt

It was relief

and dare he say it, gleeful joy

Because he knows deep in his bones that Kudou Shinichi is forever safe with KID and even though he didn't really understand it yet, Shinichi also felt an aching pang of longing to do the same-- to be Kuroba Kaito, have him forever be a part of himself

Which he eventually does once he regained his body

April Fools is especially very confusing for their friends and family, more so when they started dating. Because despite the fact they have very different physiques and features as they grew older, it genuinely feels like they're possessing each other

And maybe they are

Everybody has long since accepted that the pair of them are mad for each other so they just let it be

In case of possible suitors? No....just absolutely fucking NO. People learned early on that unless you want to be scarred and traumatized for life, don't even think about it

Ask the catatonic criminals, they know better ever since the first slew were stupid enough to harm either one of the yandere genius pair

The most extreme of their yandere tendencies would be of course in becoming each other as mentioned. While their friends and family have long since accepted it, some bits of it had alarmed them initially. Like knowing secrets and events that only the other should know or the scare the couple almost gave them when both Kaito and Shinichi had seriously considered copying each other's scars

Thankfully that never happened but it gave them all quite a scare

The less said about them being cremated together, the better

So yeah, they're mad and obsessed. They're unhinged. They're unapologetic. But most of all?

They're in love

[solarianvoidthearoace]

I really need to start plotting that “SaguKaiShin, Conan got snatched, Saguru alerts everyone, Kaito shows up as Shinichi, Amuro kicks the MPD around until they do as he says because he is more qualified dammit! And Okiya is trying to mitigate between Amuro and everyone because they are all worried but the boy probably has himself handled… somewhat. While Ran is awkwardly tiptoeing around Shinichi and Masumi is giving him (Okiya) a side-eye from heck”

Low stakes case, just Saguru and Conan on-scene

It can’t be a KID heist because I don’t want Kaito to be guilty on top of worried sick

So it’s probably a white collar crime first and murder second because that’s where I see Hakuba

Actually – it was a white collar crime but because he brought Conan along, well

Conan’s aura of a shinigami strikes again

It probably got late, so they are out past 8pm when things go off-kilter

So Saguru alerts EVERYONE in Tokyo (who doesn’t have a bed time)

Ran shows up with Masumi and maybe Sonoko because just try keeping Ran and Masumi away – if you want to lose your kneecaps that is

Okiya and Amuro show up together, causing Saguru to frown before he focuses on the matter at hand

Saguru knows about them but he doesn’t know about them; he’s just aware they are close-to-the-heart allies and confidants

And Saguru is fully aware Akai and Furuya are as deadly as Conan’s acquaintances get if push comes to shove, something all three hope won’t be necessary

While they are strategising Kaito waltzes in as Shinichi

Ran immediately tenses up because when Shinichi let her down gently she was anything but (yes I will stick with my opinion that she would smack him seven ways to Sunday if he broke up with her)

“Shinichi” shoots her a stink eye but it’s not the time nor place to lay into her for slapping him (Kaito in disguise) when he broke up with her

Saguru gets them back on track, although by pointedly possessively catching “Shinichi’s” attention

The briefing goes more smoothly than expected, Amuro and Okiya basically just directing the teen detectives to utilise their strengths/ fields of expertise

Amuro gets to work bossing around the MPD because he is more qualified dammit!

Okiya isn’t in the mood to try and calm Amuro but he does help keep up their civilian covers

Amuro let’s a mixture of Bourbon and Furuya’s authority shine through though, basically scaring everyone into compliance

Even Megure taking a step back and reassuring Okiya he doesn’t need to explain what, why, how

Because why and how the private eye waiter Amuro manages to wrangle a police unit with ease is… something Megure decided is above his pay grade

Okiya also mitigates at least towards the teen detectives

Masumi feels Amuro is sus but Okiya straight-up gets the stink eye

The further the case progresses, the more Ran gets mildly scared of Amuro

Amuro is sort-of in his element, bits of Furuya and Bourbon blinking through

Okiya knows he should reassure Ran about Amuro but honestly he likes when Furuya gets a bit carried away

Saguru and “Shinichi” are very worried and comforting each other but also do their best to solve the case

For Furuya it’s a nice change of pace not having to go through Kazami for once, although he would have if he hadn’t been so hard pressed to get moving to save Conan

Maybe Amuro slips up, since so much of Furuya us shining through anyway, and calls Conan “his kid” (if anyone noticed they don’t mention it, Akai just giving a short nod because yes, Shinichi is their kid, somehow)

Everyone is grateful for Amuro and Okiya taking over management of the crime scene/ case

Because Megure basically adopted Conan into his division and he can’t think all that clearly with his second foster-nephew missing

Okiya let’s Amuro have the reigns but also steps in and holds him in check, making sure everyone stays somewhat levelheaded

Akai decidedly likes that Furuya has characteristics of Bourbon but he also knows they aren’t always helpful

Narrative parallel between Saguru and “Shinichi” to Amuro and Okiya

Saguru and Akai keeping Kaito and Furuya, respectively, from being too obsessive

Basically Conan has two boyfriends and two adoptive uncles willing to commit crimes to rescue him

Conan was drugged but is otherwise fine – no grade schoolers were harmed in the making of this fic!

During the reunion, Kaito can barely contain himself, which leads to Okiya unceremoniously shoving the throuple into a side room until they calm down

Once worries have been soothed and kisses exchanged, they emerge with Conan held between Saguru and “Shinichi”

Fic ends with a car ride of Akai and Furuya berating Shinichi while Saguru and Kaito just smother him in snuggles

Shinichi, narratively, remarks that this absolute chaos of people is the best family he has ever had (no shade on the Kudōs but they are absentee parents)

I will probably hint at a dynamic akin to the Oven Mitt Family but also A Blood Stained Heist is an influence/ vague inspo for this

The switches between names/ aliases throughout the bullet points are deliberate, btw

ETA: Series was created here. Tumblr post about it.

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 6: Understudy Spotlight @arcvmonth

There are a few supporting characters in Arc V that I really like, but I think that Tokumatsu is probably my favorite. I thought that his backstory was interesting and tied in nicely with the world building of the Synchro Dimensions, one of my favorite aspects of the arc as a whole. He had a pretty cool and unique deck as well. His duel with Yuya was great and I loved how it restored his passion for dueling. It was a also good way to show more of Yuya's own growth as a performer with being able to reach out to others during their duel. Tokumatsu works really well as a supporting character for the rest of the arc. He has a fun likable personality and wanted to keep looking out for Yuya. He made sure to tell Yuya about the defeated duelists in the Friendship Cup being put to work underground and was constantly apologizing to Yuzu during their duel knowing that he would be sending her there if he won.

I also like how unconventional Tokumatsu was among the cast. Design wise, he looks like he would be a one-shot character, especially with his outfit, but he stayed around even after they got out of prison. It was kind of refreshing that they would have an adult with a design like that as part of the cast for awhile. Staying in Synchro afterwards also made sense when Tokumatsu's reputation among the Commons and Tops would probably be more helpful in moving towards their new future than being part of the Lancers proper. It was still nice to see him again during the Zarc battle and watching alongside the other Synchro characters during the finale though.

I also liked Masumi. She had a cool personality, a cool deck, a pretty nice design, a good rivalry with Yuzu and both of their duels were great, especially their rematch. She is the prime example of a fan favorite side character. To be honest though, I never had a problem with Masumi not becoming a Lancer. I can completely understand why fans wanted that for all of the reasons I mentioned and I was never really against the idea even at the time. But looking back, it just felt like her role was done after she lost to Yuzu. I can see the appeal of Masumi wanting to save Yuzu, especially when it seemed like she had more respect for her after their rematch and their pairing was gaining more traction too, but compared to Yuya, Gongenzaka and arguably even Serena, I think that they had stronger personal connections to Yuzu than Masumi did. I still used a Gem-Knight deck for awhile prior to the Arc V World update in Duel Links because I was that eager to try out Arc V era cards and archetypes.

I also want to mention Shuzo. He was mainly comedy relief for season one, but he still had some really charming moments. His duel against Yuya was one of my favorite matches in season one. It was such a good way to teach Yuya that it's okay that other people will learn how to Pendulum summon and the lesson itself was terrific too. Instead of being special by default as the only Pendulum user, Yuya needed to become an example as the one who opened the door to Pendulum summoning and using Yusho as an example was so good. It showed that even though he's a goofball himself, Shuzo can be a good and caring teacher to his students. He also wins the prize of being the best father in the franchise. Being so set on going to Academia to save Yuzu and holding onto her school uniform after he heard want happened was so heartbreaking and sweet all at once. I absolutely adore that his love for his daughter is what finally allowed him to regain his memories after Standard is revived into Pendulum. It's such a surprising kind of moment, especially when even Yuya couldn't remember Yuzu after the soft reset, but it was such a heartwarming way to show how strong Shuzo's love for his daughter ultimately was.

[godza]

hate when i have a good bit of writing and no idea on how to continue it... tenmasu drabble here that i cannt figure out another line for. its my fic and i can put in my autism headcanons.

Tenma was pacing around, and it was pissing Yuki off. That damn hack has the footsteps of an elephant, shaking the whole room, causing him to poke his needle in the wrong places.

Yuki throws a pillow at him. “What the fuck?” Tenma looks up at Yuki in his bed. 

“What are you doing, pacing like that?” Yuki looks back down at his embroidery, taking the brief moment of Tenma pausing to not stab himself with the needle.

“Just… thinking.” Tenma stops himself from continuing to pace.

“What could possibly get you stomping that hard?” Yuki ties a knot.

“I…” Tenma hesitates. “I think I’m gay.”

Yuki’s hand hesitates reaching for the next color of thread. He wasn’t expecting that.

He shrugs. “That’s fine. Being gay doesn’t make you any less of a hack.”

“What?” Tenma turns around to the usual insult, but realizes the double meaning. “...Thanks, I guess.”

“Anything else not that groundbreaking to confess?”

“Not that groundbreaking? I’ve been agonizing about this for ages!”

“Half the company’s gay, I’m used to it at this point.”

“Really? Who?”

“You haven’t noticed? You seriously think Homare of all people is straight?”

“Okay, now that you mention it, I guess.”

“Not that I really care, but what made you realize it at this age?”

Tenma cringes. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

Yuki thinks it’s probably serious, so he nods. 

“...I think I like Masumi.”

“WHAT?!” Yuki’s scream shakes the whole dorm and theater. Tenma cringes again, extremely embarrassed. “That guy? Really? Are you more insane than I thought?”

“I said promise not to laugh!”

“I’m not laughing, I want to send you in for a psychiatric evaluation!” Yuki moves his needle away so he doesn’t stab himself, even though he kind of wants to. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation, why? What about that psycho could you possibly like?”

Tenma sighs and sits down on the ground. “He’s… attractive, and his acting is really good.”

“Yeah, and that’s true for pretty much every single person in this company.”

“But he’s like, different. Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it!” Tenma picks up the pillow Yuki threw and throws it back.

A knock on the door. It opens, it’s Muku. “I heard a yell, are you guys okay?” He pokes his head into the room.

Tenma looks pointedly at Yuki, eyes signaling for him not to say anything incriminating.

“Yeah, Tenma’s just insane. You want to check him into a mental hospital with me tomorrow?”

“Oh no, Tenma, are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?” Muku enters the room, rushing over to Tenma.

“I’m not insane! You’re insane!” Tenma yells up to Yuki.

“That’s what an insane person would say.” Yuki says.

“How bad is it? Do you still remember me? I’m Muku, your troupe mate!” Muku pleads with Tenma, gripping him by the shoulders.

“Muku, I’m fine. Yuki’s just being rude.” Tenma gently pries Muku’s hands off him. “For no reason.” Tenma once again glares at Yuki.

“He’d probably judge you way less than I do, being a shoujo manga addict.” Yuki picks up his embroidery again. 

“Huh?” Muku perks up at shoujo manga being mentioned.

Tenma gives the middle finger behind Muku’s head to Yuki, trying to preserve some of his innocence. Tenma sighs. “I was telling him about who I have a crush on.”

Muku’s worried face instantly turns into an eager one. “Really?”

Tenma nods, looking away from Muku’s sunbeam of a face.

“Do I know them? Wait, let me guess. A co-star from a rival company? Everytime you look at each other you feel a spark but can’t act on your feelings due to your companies?” Muku starts to ramble, gripping Tenma’s shoulders again.

“Not even close.”

“Then, an intern on set? She applied your makeup and everytime her hands brushed your face it felt like electricity? You had to act out a love confession for the next scene but your eyes kept wandering off set to her?”

“Again, not close. It’s a guy.” Tenma flushes.

“Oh, that adds another layer to it!” Muku doesn’t even notice the effort that Tenma took to come out to him, he just gets sucked into his own fantasy world. Yuki laughs.

“Stop laughing!”

“Is it not a coworker?” Muku asks, finally releasing Tenma’s shoulders.

“Technically, no.” Sure, he works with Masumi but it’s not like either of them get paid for it.

“A school friend? No, a company member?” Muku grabs Tenma again.

“Let go! And yeah.”

“Is it Sakuya? Oh, that would be so cute!” Yuki laughs again, Tenma silently seethes. 

“Close,” Yuki jeers from his bed.

“Yuki, I am this,” Tenma puts his pointer finger and thumb together. “close to assaulting you.”

“But they’re touching…” Muku mutters. 

“Are they one of the older members? I support you Tenma, but you may want to think about giving up on them…”

“No, God no. It’s Masumi.”

Muku is silent for several seconds. Tenma smacks himself in the forehead. “Oh, Tenma…”

Muku’s reaction is somehow worse than Yuki mocking him. “I know, I know. I should probably give up.”

“No, never give up in the name of love! It may be difficult, but I know you can persevere!” Muku takes Tenma’s hands.

Being on the other end of Muku’s advice is weird, but Tenma doesn’t hate it. It’s nice to finally get some encouragement, even though it’s only been known to others for about fifteen minutes. “Do you really…?” Tenma doesn’t want to voice the question, he’s trying so hard not to get his hopes up.

“Yes! With enough perseverance, any love can happen!” Muku’s eyes sparkle.

“Yeah, you’re right! I got this!” Tenma nods his head, filled with new found determination.

Yuki sighs. He wishes he had another pillow to throw, though he might need to chuck the entire bed at Tenma to knock some vital sense into him. 

“Now, let’s formulate a plan!” Muku sits Tenma down at the table in the center of the room. Muku rocks back and forth gently with excitement. Tenma’s a little excited too, he takes a fidget toy out of his pocket to fiddle with while they discuss. It’s one of his favorites, a stretchy giraffe.

“So, how can we get you the guy of your dreams!” Muku starts rocking back and forth harder.

“Calm down, Muku. Don’t get motion sick.” Yuki calls from his bed. He may not in any way want to be part of the conversation happening on the floor, but he keeps his eyes on his two best friends anyway.

“Thank you, Yuki.” Muku takes a deep breath in. “Masumi is a very romantic guy, he would love a big romantic gesture… Maybe something like hiring a skywriter to confess, or giving him a hundred roses!” 

“Wait, we need to make sure he won’t reject me. He still has his heart set on Izumi, so how do I change that?” Tenma ties the giraffe’s neck into a knot, then unties it.

“Um, maybe be super nice to him? Like, hold the door open for him, leave leftovers for him, minor stuff that will have him swooning eventually!”

aaaaaand idk what else. i love writing yuki bc hes so mean

[midoropalace]

Yakuza: Like a Dragon -8-

Surprise bitch... I bet you thought you saw the last of me.

At the end of the previous chapter, Ichi and his crew died from a bomb blast.

Oh, uh... nevermind.

Turns out they... didn't actually die! Though the game doesn't quite explain how they survived the explosion, Nick helped hide them from Masato and the Omi Alliance. That's cool and all, but it seems a little too convenient that Ichi and his crew managed to escape the bomb blast relatively unscathed. I say relatively, because Ichi has visible injuries on his face. Mainly a bruise and a little bandaid. Sure.

Anyway, Aoki is pissed -- understandably so. He thought he finally vanquished Ichi, but Ichi got the upper hand on him! Ichiban warns Masato that there exists footage of him ordering the hit on Masumi, and that the footage will be leaked onto the Internet tomorrow. Masato calls Ichi's bluff, but Ichi drops an "I'm not joking bitch" and walks away. Their final duel will be at the Millennium Tower, where the footage is supposedly being held.

In any case, I get a notice from the Sujimon Sensei that a new dungeon has opened up in Kamurocho: the Kamurocho Underground Dungeon! Oh yeah, by the way -- we're in Kamurocho now. I forgot to mention that I guess. Whoopsie.

Before I head toward the dungeon, I decide to shop around at some outlets. I find this cool weapon for the Host class at Ebisu Pawn, and decide to give it to Zhao for the time being.

The Kamurocho Underground Dungeon is actually the same place that Ichi and Adachi infiltrated all the way back at the beginning of the game to gain access to Heian Tower. The difference here is that the enemies are now significantly buffed and we can now access the dungeon's second floor. The dungeon only has two floors, but floor two is massive and has some pretty hard-hitting enemies.

During one battle, I decide to call Robson as a Poundmate to see what he does. He promptly turns into a tiger and mauls the poor enemy I was fighting.

On the second floor, I encounter a handful of Invested Vagabonds. I am assuming these are supposed to be like metal slimes in Dragon Quest -- difficult to take down but extremely rewarding. My attacks either miss or only do 1 point of damage. This makes them difficult to take down. Just kidding. Turns out, Joon-gi, Eri, and Saeko can make quick work of them using their gun skills. And the reward for taking them down is worth it...

Goddamn that's a lot of experience! Because there are several vagabonds on this floor, I wind up gaining millions of experience points, and my character levels wind up shooting up into the 60s. Eri also "maxes out" the Idol job. As it turns out, a job is considered maxed out once the character has learned all skills from that job, though you can still gain job levels until reaching 99. But reaching job level 99 seems like too much work tbh. Still, because grinding now seems super easy, I'm probably going to grind out some job levels down here. Or at least go until I get the trophy for reaching level 70.

At the end of the floor, I am assailed by some really powerful enemies. They were honestly annoying and I almost wiped to them, but thankfully I was able to take them down after a loooong time. As a bonus, here are some shots of Kiryu and Majima in all their glory.

[kattitude130]

like i insist that it isn’t true because they didn’t erase her existence, they just faked her death, even though it was only mentioned once like 10 chapters ago but the line “death is how he distances himself from people he cares about” seems way too significant of a line, and i feel like the masumi wouldn’t keep something like that from chihiro if it affected his memory too

it DOES raise questions of where she was when shiba and chihiro visited samura’s house though. but i think she was just out. or maybe she did see chihiro from inside but was being emo and didn’t want to come downstairs

it does make me wonder if samura would have liked for them to meet, or was he keeping them from meeting for some reason…? seems like something you would mention…

wait pause chihiro was supposed to be a secret. kinda sad he wouldn’t trust his daughter to not tell anybody kunishige had a kid but ok now i get it

the faint possibility that chihiro and iori may have known each other before has plagued my brain so badly that last night i dreamed they did know each other, although instead of losing her memory/faked death iori was turned into a little black cat and chihiro was sad she wasn’t around anymore but she was just a little cat and couldn’t tell him it was her and it made me sad

[athela-3]

A Tag Game!

I’ve been tagged by the lovely @currywaifu, and who am I to refuse?

Rules: Answer 17 questions and tag (supposedly 17?) people. Well, I don’t know that many people, so I’ll see who I can nick

Nickname: Ari will do. But if you wanna come up with any new nicknames, be my guest! Always interested in collecting ‘em.

Zodiac: Leo. And that’s all I know about zodiacs.

Height: Depends. You want me standing on my left leg or my right? Right leg, 160cm precisely; left leg is about 2cm shorter. No, I never broke it. It’s just like that, the same way my knuckles are crooked for free.

Hogwarts house: Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Unsure which.

Last thing I Googled: Ha. Someone died under suspicious circumstances. It’s on the news quite often lately. I was trying to find more details on the case, but alas, news reports tend to make things so very sensationalised and overly wordy. Just give me the facts already, point by point, mate.

Song stuck in my head: Our Masumi’s own Sick Sick Sick.

Number of followers: 28. Cheers, all.

Amount of sleep: Oh, dear. I keep chaotic hours. Lately I tend to sleep at about half past two, but don’t really wake until like eleven... so it’s a normalish amount of sleep, but skewed like I’m in permanent jet lag. Since I was homeschooled, I’ve been doing this for years, and now that quarantine lets me work from home I’m back at it again.

Lucky number: Don’t have one.

Dream job: I’m fine being a ballet and piano teacher as is, but somewhere deep inside... I wanna make video games.

Wearing: a loose, sleeveless grey shirt and green batik shorts. Computer glasses and headphones if they count.

Favourite song: Aw, man. I dunno. Too many options to choose from. Let’s settle for a genre: jazz. I’m definitely a jazz person.

Favourite instrument: Ah, it’s how they interact with each other that makes or breaks the song! That said, I have a thing for muted trumpets. And slapping on the electric bass. And don’t let’s discount traditional and world instruments either! Gamelan is cool, and—I’m rambling. Again.

Aesthetic: Turtlenecks, fedoras, clothes in solid, cool colours. Victorian lit ebooks, Miles Davis in your headphones, ignored sheet music under your bed. 48 email drafts, most of them story notes, some untouched since 2017. Sitting draped sideways on a rattan armchair. A cup of Earl Grey at midnight. Being able to quote Shakespeare at the drop of a hat, but not knowing what Ohm’s Law entails. Absent-mindedly whistling a Mozart aria while playing video games. Not the classic definition of Chaotic Academia, perhaps, but I have no better term to describe it.

Favourite author: Hm. Let’s say... Terry Pratchett.

Random: I’ve already offered more information than strictly required, heh. How about this: I’ve tried learning French, Spanish, Italian, Esperanto, German, Swahili, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Vulcan, and Ancient Egyptian, but never to fluency. On the other hand, I am more fluent in English than in my own native language.

Tagging: I don’t have a lotta mutuals yet, I’m new here ahah... @meif-wa, @quenie-azryneth, wanna do this? And if I may be so bold as to reach out... @tooaya, @julias-cherry-garden, @beyondtheborderridiculous, I see you in my notifications, wanna come along and join in?

[izumi-fanclub]

A3! Translation: Chikage SR Card “You Can You Know” [ Secret Notepad ]

Chikage is gifted with something he doesn’t know how to make use of.

Chikage

Fu…

(I’m almost done. I’ll be able to go home soon.)

Boss

Utsuki, come over here for a second.

Chikage

What is it? Boss

Here’s a package addressed to you. I got it so I’m bringing it to you.

Chikage

Thank you very much.

Boss

Where’d you get it from?

Chikage

It’s from a business partner representative, the item is… stationery?

Boss

Heh, I’m curious to see what’s inside. Go on, open it up.

Chikage

Haa…

…A notepad and a fountain pen.

Boss

These are some pretty high-end ones, right? That company’s got a lot of money.

Chikage

They sent it as a thank-you for that successful transaction the other day.

Boss

You’re an upright representative.

But, how often do you use a notepad these days?

Chikage

That too… but they were kind enough to give it to me. I’ll be very grateful to use it.

Chikage

—So that’s why.

Tsuzuru

I see. So that’s the notepad you received.

Izumi

It’s sturdily made!

Citron

A must-have item for a man at work~.

Chikage

Even though I told my boss that, I usually mostly work on the PC. I rarely have a chance to use a notepad like this.

Itaru

True. You can just take notes on your phone.

Why not let Tsuzuru use it?

Chikage

You’re right. I mean, he’s a scriptwriter, he’s going to have more opportunities to write down notes. Shall I give it to him?

Tsuzuru

I’m not getting something that looks that expensive! I mean, please don’t try to give me things that people gave you.

Chikage

Just kidding.

Masumi

…You were definitely not kidding.

Tsuzuru

Or maybe take notes during practice, I think it’s better to use it for that.

Citron

…That is it! I have got an idea!

Izumi

Citron-kun, what’s up?

Citron

This can be used for role study!

Chikage

Role study?

Citron

Next performance, Chikage plays the role of an editor-in-charge!

If you are an editor, a notepad is essential. You can also use the notepad you have received, two birds with one stone!

Tsuzuru

An editor is required to have a notepad… well, I don’t know about that.

Masumi

Too on-the-nose.

Chikage

But you don’t exactly get to do this kind of analog work unless you’re fully aware of it, and it’s good to try it out once in a while.

Itaru

Senpai’s interest switch is a mystery.

Izumi

Ahaha…

Part 2

Izumi

That’ll be all for today. Thank you for your hard work!

Masumi

Good work.

Itaru

GJ.

Sakuya

Chikage-san, do you still have the notepad with you today?

Chikage Yeah, I’ve got it in my pocket close to me, as you can see.

Tsuzuru

I often see you taking notes these days.

Izumi

Now that you mention it.

CItron

Chikage, you are doing a great job!

Chikage

Thanks.

Itaru

I mean, what’re you always writing down?

Tsuzuru

Did you notice anything during our rehearsals?

Chikage

That’s part of it, yes… but I think it’s mostly personal.

Well then, excuse me.

Itaru

…I’m kinda worried bout what’s in those notes.

Tsuzuru

What in the world is written in those…?

Chikage

…

Izumi

(Ah, It’s Chikage-san.)

(Looks like he’s writing something on his notepad… he sure is eager about his role.)

Chikage-san, you’re writing down notes again.

Chikage

Director-san, yeah.

Izumi

Chikage-san, I’m glad you look enthusiastic.

Chikage

…Aren’t you curious about what I’m writing?

Izumi

Well, if you ask me whether or not I am, I’d say yes…

Chikage

I can’t show it to anyone else, but… I’ll let them know next time since the director will know.

Izumi

You can’t show it to anyone else, huh…

(Maybe it’s got something to do with Chikage-san’s organization…!? No, no, that can’t be it…)

Chikage

…I’ll never get tired of watching the hundreds of faces of director-san.

[ Option 1: Are you teasing me!? ]

Izumi

Are you teasing me!?

Chikage

I was just being honest.

Izumi

I don’t have hundreds of faces, at least not on purpose…

Chikage

I think it’s good that you get to express your emotions so well. Rather than be like me and get told that they don’t know what I’m thinking.

Izumi

Is that so…?

Chikage

I don’t dislike director-san’s facial artistry though.

Izumi

It’s not facial artistry!

Chikage

Haha, sorry.

Izumi

(He’s definitely teasing me…)

[ Option 2: What are you writing? ]

Izumi

What are you writing?

Chikage

It’s still a secret. It’d be boring to reveal the magician’s trick so early.

Izumi

That just makes me even more curious if you say that.

Chikage

That’s right… Director-san would be interested in this.

Izumi

I would…?

Chikage

That’s the biggest clue of it all. You can figure out the rest yourself.

Izumi

Hmm… It’s like a mystery solving game.

Chikage

Look forward forward to the major reveal.

Sakuya

We’re home!

Itaru

We’re back.

Tsuzuru

Welcome back, you two.

Citron

Welcome home~.

Sakuya

Something smells good!

Izumi

Tonight’s dinner is chicken and spinach curry.

Sakuya

Sounds delicious!

Masumi

Curry made by you is always delicious.

Kamekichi

Oi! Someone lost something! Whose is it!?

Tsuzuru

Huh, that’s…

Sakuya

Chikage-san’s notepad?

Citron

We cannot say until we have checked the contents.

Itaru

From what I can see, I think it’s senpai’s,

Izumi

I think it probably is, he hasn’t come home from work yet, so it’s hard to say…

Kamekichi

I’ll just leave it with ya for now!

Tsuzuru Wait, you can’t just throw something at me like this…!

Itaru

Look, it fell on the floor.

Citron

Kamekichi’s control is bonkers.

Kamekichi

What was that!?

Masumi

…The notepad’s open.

Sakuya

Looks like it opened from the impact of the fall.

Tsuzuru

I don’t think it’s a good idea to look without permission, you know?

Citron

It is an accident! It cannot be helped.

Itaru

Well, we can’t leave it like this.

Tsuzuru

You two just want to take a peek. Itaru

Let’s see… hm?

Masumi

This is…

Izumi

Could it be— a recipe for spice blends!?

Chikage

…Ah, I got found out.

Tsuzuru

Chikage-san!? When did you come back!?

Sakuya

Sorry! We didn’t mean to look…!

Chikage

It’s not like I was hiding it from you.

Izumi

Amazing! As expected of Chikage-san! Let’s try the formula next time!

Chikage

And as expected of director-san, I like how easily baited you are.

Masumi

Chikage’s only sly. I’ll do it too.

Itaru

…I wondered what kind of bad stuff you wrote about, turns out it was recipes for spice blends.

Citron

How very Chikage~.

Story Clear!

[the-himawari]

A3! Usui Masumi - Translation [SSR] Rosa Pura Yearning for Love (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set a Izumi

---

Tsuzuru: I’m home—. Woahh!?

Masumi: …

Tsuzuru: That gave me a heart attack… What are you doing standing out here?

*ding dong*

Delivery person: Good day~. I have something addressed to Mr. Usui Masumi.

Masumi: Thanks.

Tsuzuru: (There’s a mountain of cardboard boxes… Just what did he order so much of…?) Ah… Masumi, do you need any help carrying that?

Masumi: …Can you take these in then?

Tsuzuru: (Huh? They're lighter than I expected once I lift them up.) (Just what in the world is this…?)

-pause-

Masumi: Place them down over there.

Tsuzuru: S-Sure…

Masumi: …

Tsuzuru: (He opened the boxes right away and started getting something ready…) (Is this Director’s White Day present that he mentioned the other day?) (There’s a lot of stuff here though, and I’m pretty sure he was supposed to give her cookies…)

Masumi: …

Tsuzuru: (Balloons? Is he using them for a party…?)

Masumi: *Blows*.

Tsuzuru: (He’s starting to inflate them…) (Wait, is that box full of balloons…?) (Should I help him? But…)

Masumi: …Quit staring. If you’re going to help then help already.

Tsuzuru: … (Why am I the one getting antsy here?) (But at this rate, I can’t help it… I guess I’ll lend him a hand.)

-pause-

Tsuzuru: Phew… (We’ve finished blowing up the balloons, but there’s still some boxes left.) Hey, Masumi. Are these full of balloons too? I’m gonna go ahead and open them—.

*opens*

Tsuzuru: Is this… packing material?

*knock, knock*

Tsuzuru: Come in. …Huh, Tetsuro-san?

Tetsuro: …

Tsuzuru: Um… what are those big boards for…?

Masumi: We’re going to assemble them, so you hold this over there.

Tsuzuru: Wait, what!?

-pause-

Masumi: …It’s done.

Tsuzuru: What is this… A huge box?

Tetsuro: …

Tsuzuru: D-Don’t tell me…

Masumi: Tsuzuru, help me tie the ribbon.

Tsuzuru: Hey, Masumi? Let me just ask to make sure, but what I’m wrapping is…

Masumi: Me.

-pause-

*knock, knock*

Izumi: … (Hm? No one’s there…? Masumi-kun called me over though…)

-pause-  

Izumi: Excuse me—. What the heck is that huge box!? And what’s with all these balloons… Come to think of it, Masumi-kun said he had something he wanted to give me. This isn’t it, is it…? Nobody’s around. Maybe I’ll come back…

*rustle*

Izumi: (There’s a sound coming from inside the box… I-Is someone inside…?) Noooo. There’s no way, right…)  

*opens*

Masumi: Happy White Day.  

Izumi: (I KNEW IT…!!!) Errm… let me ask real quick, but what is all this for…?  

Masumi: It's your White Day present. The very best thing I can give you is myself. I want to give you my everything.  

Izumi: (He’s even more passionate than usual). (Masumi-kun’s earnestness to go to such lengths for me sure is dangerous…)  

Masumi: …Did you feel excited when you opened it?  

Izumi: Huh?

  Masumi: Here. Untie the ribbon already.  

Izumi: Fufu. Okay, okay. (…Well, I guess that’s also a part of Masumi-kun that never changes.)  

-pause-  

Masumi: …I’ll give you a test cookie I made.  

Tsuzuru: Didn’t you give yourself to her for White Day?  

Masumi: I want to see her enjoying eating the cookies I made too, so I’m planning to give her cookies separately as well.  

Tsuzuru: You’re asking for a lot.  

Masumi: …I know. No matter how much I give, I still can’t get what I want most from Director. (…Just like those cookies.) That’s why I want everything I can get now. And I intend to get it. …Doing that much is fine, right?  

Tsuzuru:  …You really are devoted. Well, do your best.  

Masumi: You don’t need to tell me. And stop patting my head. It’s annoying.

---

previous |

[icharchivist]

It just kinda hit me but, can’t we say that the Spring Troupe, thematically wise, can be defined by the instances of betrayal?

Like it can perhaps be a bit of a reach for a few of them but i feel like there’s a possible reading there, especially in the sense of how it stunned their ability to trust and open up with others and that it’s especially on this level that opening up to their troupe is changing them around.

We have the obvious ones in the characters of Itaru, Citron and Chikage especially but i’m extending it to everyone.

Sakuya’s situation can be read as being constantly betrayed by relatives. Sakuya spent his childhood setting up some expectations for how the family dynamic should go, always pushing back limits (”if i do the chores and don’t make a noise and don’t bother anyone maybe i’ll be loved”), and in that sense, his relatives had constantly been betraying those expectations and constantly instead pushed him further away. It might sound like a reach but i think it’s a possible reading for the general vibe. Sakuya’s yearning for a family and general fear of being replaced steam directly from this attitude from his family.

Masumi meanwhile had two experience of feeling betrayed by his father. One that he mentions, over how his father was basically the reason Masumi didn’t feel like he could open up to people, as he would sue anyone who would even accidentally hurt Masumi, which worked to isolate him. The second time is when he basically tries to take him away from Mankai at all cost and does similar threats. Masumi’s whole attachment issues, difficulties to open up, the way he keeps his distances with everyone and only really change his perception AFTER the company basically challenged his father, supports this reading as well. It sets up Masumi’s difficulties within his troupes as steaming directly from this specific experience with his father, and i’ll even say that his attachment to Izumi also steams from it. 

Tsuzuru can be in general one of those i’d consider a possible reach, but also would assume would work with his general thematic. Mizuno’s parents forcing the two apart seemingly overnight, basically not even leaving them an opportunity to talk about it so much so that Mizuno carried the guilt of feeling like he had betrayed Tsuzuru for it and that Tsuzuru might hate him, would align itself to this possible reading. I’ll include also, though it’s a vague memory so i might be wrong, the fact i think Tsuzuru has a bit of resentment for his travelling older brother for basically having left all his responsibilities on Tsuzuru’s shoulders, constantly forcing Tsuzuru in situations where he had to chose between his own dreams and being the responsible older brother of the house.  Tsuzuru’s issues in general steam from his responsibilities as an older brother and this loss he keeps trying to fix in his mind, and the fact there are some people that can be held responsible for it befalling him can make a case for it being a sort of betraying. Though, this is probably a reach.

In the sense it’s also ironical i would say the younger ones are the ones where it all feel like a possible reach, while the adults have a much more clear and textual approach to it. In a sense it can also be a way to showcase the difficulty of accepting this type of situation when you’re younger, the barging side of it all.

once again, covering my tracks here, i can understand it being a reach up until that point now when talking about the adults, which to me, have a clear storyline linked specifically to thematic of betrayal.

Itaru was betrayed by Tonooka, he textually refers to it as a betrayal and is the most upfront about saying he could never trust again after what happened, and that meeting the Spring Troupe is what tested this trust again. He, textually, voices this thematic when he mentions that maybe now he can trust again in the first Spring chapter, or in the Alex in Wonderland chap where he specifically tries to open up about it in the sense of showing off this trust, before we finally learn about the whole deal i mean. And if we want to keep it in the family as all the others have those feelings of betrayal possibly rooted in family situations, the whole fact his sister pushed on him to be some princely prince to hide his true self possibly can also feel as such, especially since it ended up being the groundwork to the Tonooka situation, but on this it becomes a reach while Tonooka is basically Right Here for this specific point.

Citron meanwhile is constantly aware that two of his brothers, and all the people supporting them, are always plotting to betray him. It’s something he has to thread around at ALL TIME, it’s always at the back of his mind. As such he tends to keep an open eye to his surrounding and being hyperaware, which also means he tends to catch everyone’s troubles more easily. Citron never really let his guard down and doesn’t share anything about his past until he’s forced to because of how this situation damaged his ability to trust, not especially out of thinking everyone is a possible enemy, but out of being aware that anyone in the known would be in danger for just this fact. In a sense, it’s like the knife of betrayal is always hanging behind his back and he’s always aware of it in some shape or form.

Chikage meanwhile has this thematic pushed to the extreme because of his role in the story, as an antagonist and with the way his more extremely “violent” background pushes the level of betrayals to another extreme. He felt betrayed by Hisoka, had to have a whole arc before realizing he was being misled, and then turned his perception of it around by feeling like he was the one who has done the betraying. (”the one who was betrayed by his brother was you by my own hand” thing). And with this perception shifting, all of Mankai becme, to Chikage’s eyes, also victims to his betrayal (compared to how he could have only seen them as tools, a mean for an end before this perception shift). And on top of that, while he is bargaining with this whole situation in Mankai, he still knows someone betrayed them in the organization, he’s still constantly aware that his greatest loss comes from betrayal, Hisoka was just not the one who comited it, but someone betrayed them and it’s still something Chikage has to cope with, in a more direct way since the threat is still hanging and is an actual, physical danger to everyone he loves.

In a sense, Chikage extends the thematic further in a way that, if we accept this as a thematic of Spring, adds another layer to their dynamic. In the same way that, say, Guy entering the Winter Troupe ends up being, in a way, a test to see how each of Winter members have managed to work through their specific trauma (ex: Homare’s broken cyborg plotline, Hisoka’s amnesia, and how all of it relates to Guy), the fact Chikage is set to betray them, and still feels like he betrayed them, tests the whole of Spring with the way to test out the way they learned to trust again and managed to look past the betrayals they’ve been through and have had to work on.

Like i’m still a bit hesitant about really putting it as a possible thematic because of how up-to-interpretation/reaching the situations are for the teens, but as it is i would say it would actually make a lot of sense narrativewise to read it as such.

And perhaps even so since their general thematic is one of family. If we stop at just, they’re from broken family and are yearning for a full one, it’s true, but i feel it can feel a little incomplete. Adding the betrayal aspect brings the aspect of how nurture, which is usually more associated to family, is the best way to take care of a healing wound such as this one.  Because there’s an aspect of family being an unconditional love (at least for family you make yourself), founded on unconditional trust. The fact all of them have trust issues in some shape or form therefore make their yearning for family, for the unconditional version of it, to be a way to further mend their broken hearts.

But reading in the specific betrayal aspect can not only in general point out the origin of the hurt, but explain also how heavily Chikage’s storyline is a way to test the rest of Spring (and Chikage himself), by being the most extreme version of betrayal and how hard it is to gain trust back after such a betrayal, both from Chikage’s storyline exploring both sides of a betrayal situation, and on how Spring has to work through it using what they had learnt.

And there are others characters in the franchise that can be associated to betrayal plotlines in general (i think Omi and Hisoka for instance falls under this theme as well), but even in the vaguest reach possible i feel like Spring has it being a more solid possibility in general.

Anyway, just kinda musing about it all but i think it’s an interesting angle to explore.

[moonlight-translation-archive]

Act 12 - Chapter 30 Translation

Misumi’s day isn’t over yet...

Warning: The chapter contains Act 2 and Sky Pirates Event Story spoilers. 

------------

Disclaimer: This chapter hasn’t been proofreaded (I did reviewed it... but still!) Neither English nor Japanese is my native language, but I did my best. If you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me. By the way, Director’s name will be Izumi.

I recommend to read it along with the voiced chapter for a more sentimental experience.

A “once-possible future” and the “reliable present”| Misumi

Misumi: Ahaha! Gramps, this play is so fun~!  Hakkaku: Acting is fun, you know. You should try it out someday.  Misumi: Hmm~ Maybe I should just watch them like this~  Hakkaku: So that’s what you think.  Misumi: Gramps…?  Misumi: Huh? Gramps, where did you go?  - Madoka is walking near the room - Madoka: … Misumi: (It’s Madoka! Father isn’t here right now…) Misumi: (I will make a paper plane!) Misumi: …I fold it here, and here. Misumi: (I hope my paper plane reaches Madoka and makes him smile at least a little…) Misumi: —Go! Misumi: …Huh? Misumi: (Why it didn’t fly at all…? It has gone farther other days…) Madoka: … Misumi: (Ah, Madoka will go away… Misumi: Madoka! Madoka: Hm? Misumi: Ahm, that paper plane…  Madoka: —Sorry.  - Madoka goes away… -  Misumi: —Wait! Madoka! Misumi: Madoka! Misumi: … Misumi: I’m all alone now…

Misumi: — Crow: Caw, caw! Misumi: I’m fine~ Please tell me if you see a pretty triangle.  Crow: Caw! - Madoka appears - Madoka: I’m home.  - Misumi jumps to Madoka - Misumi: Madoka, welcome back~!  Madoka: Woah!? Misumi: A welcome hug for you~  Madoka: Brother, where did you go?  Misumi: The roof~! Ehehe, hugging you makes me feel at peace~ Madoka: …Brother? Misumi: I’m feeling a bit weird.  Madoka: Feeling weird? Misumi: Maybe I’m hungry! How about some onigiri? Madoka: Mhm, I guess it sounds good…

Madoka: By the way, I met with Masumi at college. He looked exhausted. Is he alright? Misumi: Ah, well, he’s suffering from Director deficiency. Itaru-san mentioned it by LIME.  Madoka: Oh, I-I see… - Message sound - Madoka: Ah, I got a LIME…  Misumi: Who sent it? Madoka: It was Shifuto. There’s a change in the time for the next rehearsal. Madoka: Ah, Haruto-san quickly retorted him saying it was a mistake, not a change.  Misumi: Hehe, I’m glad Madoka isn’t alone anymore.  Madoka: … - Madoka goes outside of the room -  Misumi: Madoka? - He is back - Madoka: Here.  Misumi: Gramps’ triangle…  Madoka: Yes, you looked a bit lonely.  Misumi: Lonely…?

- flashback (Act 2 - Ch 7) - Izumi: Why are you living in these dorms, Misumi-kun?  Misumi: I don’t have anywhere else to go~ Izumi: … Manager: Now, I’ll call the police— Izumi: Misumi-kun, are you interested in acting? Manager: What!? Yuki: Did you lose your mind?  Tenma: You can’t be serious! Masumi: Are you going to let him in?  Misumi: Acting? I know about it.  Izumi: Don’t you want to try it out? You can keep your room if you do it.  Misumi: Can I eat onigiris too? Izumi: Sure. In the mornings and evenings.  Misumi: Okay, I’ll do it!

- flashback (Sky Pirates Epilogue) - Misumi: …I wonder why did I forget Gramps’ face, though~ Izumi: Hmm… Misumi: Every time I’ve felt lonely or bad things have happened, I remember Gramps. Misumi: That’s why I’ve never forgotten him before…  Izumi: Misumi-kun… Muku: Maybe there are more fun things than bad ones now. So you don’t get to feel lonely.  Izumi: I agree. You’re not alone anymore, Misumi-san.  Misumi: So that was it… I started to remember him less than before.  Misumi: …Is Gramps angry with me? Tenma: Not at all. He told you to show him the best performance with your best friends. I’m sure he’s happy now.  Misumi: Mhm, you’re right. Gramps must be watching it well.  Yuki: …Look how he called himself Misumi’s best friend in that line. Tenma: What’s wrong with that!? Yuki: Nothing.  Kazunari: But it’s just as Ten Ten said! The summer troupe is the best!  Misumi: Mhm. The summer troupe is the best!

Misumi: (So what I was feeling is called loneliness.) Misumi: (I couldn’t understand what was the feeling of being alone.) Misumi: (I felt it when I couldn’t talk to Madoka and when I couldn’t see Gramps anymore. But I kept it inside me and tried to pretend it didn’t exist.) Misumi: (And I searched for triangles to fill the emptiness inside me.)  Misumi: (But when I entered the troupe, met the summer troupe members, acted and created memories with them, I noticed how now it was full of precious treasures.)

Hakkaku: “Acting is fun, you know. You should try it out someday.” Hakkaku: “If you can find three treasures in your life, I’m sure you will be happy.”

Misumi: (Triangles, acting, and my friends— That’s the place where I found my happiness triangle.) Misumi: And also— Madoka: Huh? Misumi: (The place that showed me it’s alright to have many treasures.) Misumi: (I don’t feel lonely because I’m not alone anymore. And I’m not alone because Mankai Company exists.) Madoka: …Will you take that set square as your lucky charm for a while? Misumi: No need, I’m alright now. I have lots of precious triangles inside of my heart.  Madoka: I understand.  Crow: Caw, caw! Misumi: Ah, it’s the crow from earlier! It says it found a triangle!  Madoka: Who? The crow?  - Misumi disappears - Madoka: …Brother hasn’t changed at all. I see he still has those mysterious abilities.

Crow: Caw, caw! Misumi: Wow, it is a triangle!  Misumi: Thanks for this pretty triangle~!  Postman: Mail for Ikaruga-san. Misumi: Here~ Postman: It’s addressed to Misumi Ikaruga-san.  Misumi: Me? Misumi: Ah, it’s from Sakuya!

Sakuya: “Misumi, how are you? Sakuya: “Lately I’ve been playing with paper planes along with a child I met in the park. But they didn’t fly at all… it’s pretty hard.” Sakuya: “I thought about joining you and the summer troupe next time you make them. I want to learn how to make them well.”  Sakuya: “I hope you can teach me when the time comes.”

Madoka: A postcard? Misumi: Mhm, Sakuya sent it.  Madoka: He seems to be well. I’m glad.  Misumi: How good are the paper planes you make now, Madoka? Madoka: I’m not sure… I haven’t compared them, so I can’t tell.  Misumi: Then, let’s make paper planes! The one who flies more wins!  Madoka: Okay. I’ll bring paper.  Misumi: …We will make a paper plane contest with “everyone”. I promise, Sakuya. Misumi: And— Misumi: (I’ll keep making the best performances with my best friends. Gramps, look at them.)

[citowon]

spring troupe and gender neutral s/o watch horror movies

about time i finally write for this blog... i was hit with the image of masumi watching a horror movie with his s/o, thought how lovely it would be if there was content of that, then realized i have that power now

word count: 1,935

tags: established relationship, non-detailed mentions of horror themes (gore, monsters, etc)

sakuya sakuma

🌸 when the topic of a horror movie date first comes up, he’s a bit scared. he’s only seen a couple, one of which was for mankai play research.

🌸 when it’s actually showing, though, he’s pretty calm! the anticipation was the worst part, and he somehow doesn’t get scared even during the most terrifying movie of the year. he’s great at reminding himself it’s just fictional in the end

🌸 vampires? not scary. aliens? he thinks they’re cute! gore? well, yeah, it’s unnerving at first but it’s all fake, and once he reminds himself of that he’s fine

🌸 he gets scared at the littlest things though. there might be a continuity error where a knife is in its holder on the counter in one shot and then removed the next, and no one in the movie acknowledges it nor is it supposed to mean anything but he can and will psych himself out thinking about just what moved it

🌸 king of predicting plot twists! he might be very good at spotting continuity errors, but he’s even better at picking out little bits of foreshadowing and putting together the mystery

🌸 gets spooked the most by jumpscares. every time he squeaks a bit (on really bad ones he might scream) and every time he always does the same embarrassed sigh afterwards and goes to squeeze your hand to calm himself

🌸 psychological horror is definitely the best pick for sakuya. he thinks a lot about what’ll happen next in the movie and loves to discuss about movies with you regardless of the genre, so with thought-provoking psychological films it fits him like a glove

🌸 and hey, if things ever get too intense he loves b-list horror movies! he thinks the bad acting is endearing and always finds something to compliment even with the trashiest, corniest flick

🌸 if you ever get uncomfortable, he might commentate in the movie and try to poke fun at it- i mean, the killer clown is kind of funny! look how bright and colorful it is compared to the rest of the set! he keeps his voice light and sunny so you have something comforting to concentrate on

masumi usui

🎧 he loves the idea of horror night. cuddling with you, holding you protectively as the suspense rises, stealing kisses to distract you from the monster and erase your fear...

🎧 he’s only seen a few horror movies in his life, less than the fingers he has on one hand, but whatever. it’s a movie. it’s not real. if he got too immersed he could just tell himself it’s fake and be done with it.

🎧 spoiler alert: he didn’t.

🎧 masumi did not, and i repeat, did NOT expect to get so invested??? even if you’re scared, he’s definitely the most terrified

🎧 that’s not to say he’ll show it. he’s doing everything to keep a neutral face, and you’ll probably assume he’s holding to you tighter during the scary parts like he’s protecting you.

🎧 (it’s actually because you’re the one [1] thing grounding him. you’re protecting him, not the other way around! in hindsight, he likes being cared for even when he thought he’d be the one spoiling you, not the other way around. he just wishes it didn’t have to be during such a scary movie, that’s all)

🎧 will take his fear to the grave... unless you ask him directly about it. please hold him and tell him the monsters aren’t real, even though he’s a heavy sleeper he will stay up until 3 am, his mind reminding him how creepy the movie was every time he’s about to drift off

🎧 so does not fuck with ghosts, if he didn’t believe in them before he certainly does now. the poor guy looks up how to ward away spirits and ends up carrying around a salt packet on him for the next two weeks

tsuzuru minagi

📖 tsuzuru’s not exactly a horror fan. he claims it’s brainless and pointless

📖 (admittedly he’s a little scared of them, but he still thinks they’re dependent on shock alone, and have zero rewatch value since the writing is more focused on in-the-moment spooks than actual plot.)

📖 he’ll roll his eyes and tease you a little but eventually he’ll go along with watching a horror movie

📖 to psych himself out of his fear tsuzuru decides to watch them critically and note what plot points to do (or more likely not to do) for future plays

📖 this works out for the beginning but by the middle of the movie he’s enraptured. he can’t tell if it’s actually good or if it’s a car wreck he can’t help but watch

📖 does the corny move where he yawns and wraps an arm around you, and you’d almost buy it from his earlier cynicism but then the killer shows their face and he tenses up like hell and you just know

📖 gets embarrassed every time he’s scared- he even turns pink, and gets even redder if you try to hold his hand or cuddle him closer (even though there’s nothing he’d want more after something that creepy)

📖 by the end he’s got a few new ideas that might go to autumn or winter troupe’s latest plays, and admits okay, fine, maybe horror isn’t so pointless after all

itaru chigasaki

🎮 screw movies, you’re playing horror games instead!

🎮 most of itaru’s horror games are single-player, so one of you takes the controller while the other sits next to the player, but itaru’ll drape his arms around you from behind in a back hug the entire time you play

🎮 he doesn’t really shut up. the entire time, he’s either cracking a joke or trying to freak you out more, if only so he doesn’t get in his head and overthink the creepy atmosphere

🎮 asshole only quiets down when the game gets tense, and then suddenly puts his hands around your shoulders or neck to scare you. regardless if you fall for it or not, he always laughs at himself and just-so-happens to break the tension as a scary cutscene plays

🎮 still commentates when he’s the player, but gasps or jumps even at small atmospheric scares

🎮 itaru definitely overthinks the game. he gets super cautious over tiny details and makes the missions way harder than they should be since he keeps overestimating the enemy line of sight and how noisy the avatar is

🎮 if you happen to be playing a co-op horror it’s a constant “no u” battle over who should do the scariest tasks

🎮 “reader, we need to cleanse the room next. you should do it” “no, you should do it. you have the quartz item remember” “i can give it to you since you have the ghost ward” “the ghost ward doesn’t apply to this quest, besides, you’re better at this ghost attack quick time event than me” “no it does, and you’re more optimized” “i can just give the items to you-“ “no you should do it” “no you” “no you” “no you” “no y-”

🎮 you both lose

citron

🍋 citron loves horror movies! he thinks they’re... comforting?

🍋 turns out he’s only seen movies about cursed dolls and b-horror, which explains a lot- he loves dolls too much to be scared by them and he thinks b-list horror is hilarious- but he’ll still proudly proclaim he’s unflappable and swear to protect you from the bad guys

🍋 when you’re actually watching the movie you can’t tell if he’s faking his reactions or not. he’s very noisy

🍋 he gets scared enough during the gruesome and horrific scenes to hold you close and tight like a teddy bear, and during the worst of it he might muffle a scream by diving into the crook of your neck, obscuring his vision until the scene changes

🍋 and yet, he laughs at the next scene’s unrealism, and manages to poke enough fun at the movie that you giggle and his terror disappears, he loves your laugh way more than he can be afraid of monsters

🍋 can’t do gore for the life of him, but when it comes to the actual plot, he’s rather critical of characters acting dumb. he catches on to nonsensical writing quick, but usually asks you to clarify the plot holes before realizing that he found a loophole in the writing

🍋 whenever you’re scared and not even his goofy reactions and commentary can help, he plants a sweet kiss on your cheek, strokes your hair, and holds you close to his chest until the fear goes away. he’s surprisingly good at protecting you from the movie

🍋 after the movie he’ll say his country has a similar legend to the movie monsters, but he claims the legends are true in zafra, and zafrans have a very specific tradition to prevent the monsters from attacking them

🍋 the movie also gave citron the idea of creepily standing behind you silently until you turn around and get startled, or occasionally chanting in a strange, cultish language and pretending he didn’t say a thing, or making a doll with the same markings as the clown puppet from the movie...

🍋 citron continues to be even scarier than the actual horror movie, but can’t wait until the next horror night! maybe watching it was a bad idea after all...

chikage utsuki

🌙 chikage just doesn’t get the appeal of horror. it’s just a fake movie, why do people get so creeped out by terrible sfx and unrealistic monsters?

🌙 he’s seen scarier things than any werewolf pack, zombie outbreak, or witch coven can throw at him. if you insist on watching a scary movie, fine, he’ll be happy to let you sit on his lap, just don’t expect to creep him out as well, or else you’ll be sorely disappointed.

🌙 he analyzes the movie more than he watches it, but doesn’t speak up even though the fight scenes look pitiful. if this were real life, he’d sweep the whole brood of shambling monstrosities in record time and be back home in time for izumi’s curry

🌙 chikage runs his hands under your shirt whenever the monster’s on screen to scare you. it’s actually really creepy- his fingers are light and quick and always makes you flinch, even if you know it’s just your boyfriend

🌙 he’ll listen to your thoughts about the movie, but doesn’t have strong opinions himself. he thinks the scares are mediocre at best, even without considering his background, but won’t mention how unrealistic it was unless you mention it first.

🌙 psychological horror, however, is a whole different story

🌙 maybe chikage can’t get scared by generic spirit halloween monsters but once you introduce thought-provoking plot, questions and dilemmas, now he’s hooked

🌙 he really likes wondering if the protagonist is actually the good guy and making theories about the origins of the monsters and why they’re so destructive, even if he forgets about them once the movie’s over.

🌙 love love looooves the “the monsters were harmless creatures before humans dished out the first blow” trope. he knows how common it is, but there’s a lot of ways to go about it, especially on a subtextual level, and he just can’t get enough

🌙 the deeper the plot is, expect a longer conversation about the ins and outs of it. they get surprisingly thoughtful and introspective, even if chikage throws in a few bullshit stories related to the movie just to watch you squirm