#tsuzuru should play more villains just saying

[kibu-me]

"Sleep for all eternity, my foolish beloved".

(aka merlin and the "lord" of the lake a3! version)

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 32 - #FamilyPizzaParty

Izumi: Alright then, to Itaru-san being back home and to a job well done on a successful first day! Cheers!

Sakuya: Cheers!

Omi: The spring cabbage and bacon pizza is done.

Kumon: Looks real good!

Taichi: This sakura shrimp pizza over here is crazy good too~!

Kazunari: Looks like we’re having a pizza party today~.

Citron: It is time to tweet Itaru~.

Chikage: Tease?

Masumi: Beat?

Itaru: Hey, wait, no, don’t you go changing the intent.

Sakuya: I think it was supposed to be “treat”, right?

Tsumugi: Things were pretty hectic from beginning to end this time, weren’t they?

Yuki: I thought Summer Troupe was gonna have to jump in again.

Muku: We had already been talking about what to do.

Misumi: I really wanted to do it~!

Sakuya: I guess that just means you’ve got something to use in the future!

Tasuku: When the new Fleur Award started, I wondered how things were gonna turn out, but it turned out to be a very Spring Troupe-like performance.

Tenma: Yeah, I remember when I saw their debut performance.

Kazunari: There’s some audience impressions floating around social media, but overall it seems like the sequel was a hit~.

Tsuzuru: Thank God…

Sakyo: That means we should be able to safely connect the flow of the debut performance sequels to Summer Troupe.

Misumi: I can’t wait to play the Genie again~!

Muku: I wonder if I should read the original again.

Azami: Autumn Troupe’s debut performance too, huh… I wasn’t in charge of the makeup for that performance yet, so I’ll have to check it out again and come up with a plan.

Juza: The difference between these performances and the past ones is that we’ve got more time to prepare for our roles beforehand.

Omi: It’s been a while since I’ve played a villain, so I’m looking forward to it. I wanna add a little more depth to it than we did during our debut.

Taichi: I wanna show everyone that I’ve grown too, just like Spring Troupe did!

Tsumugi: The longer you’ve had a role, the better you get along with it.

Tasuku: Unlike with the other troupes, I really can’t imagine a sequel for Winter Troupe’s debut performance.

Azuma: That’s true, the last is the last. I wonder what will happen.

Homare: Surely it’ll be something different from the other troupes. I look forward to what you come up with in many different ways, Tsuzuru-kun.

Tsuzuru: Aah… That’s a lotta pressure, but I’ll do my best.

Sakyo: Regardless, it’s the rankings that matter the most.

Sakyo: If we don’t get good results, we’ll have to rethink the contents of and strategy regarding our performances.

Izumi: Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn, but…

Izumi: But we have no choice but to keep up the momentum from opening day, and carry it with us all the way to a Spring Troupe-typical finale.

Sakuya: We’ll do our best!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Hisoka: …Chikage, how was going to that place you didn’t want to go to?

Chikage: Well, let’s just say it could’ve been worse.

Hisoka: So you’re glad you took the risk?

Chikage: …I suppose.

Izumi: We still have another performance tomorrow, so don’t party too hard, guys.

Sakyo: It’s about time to start wrapping things up.

Masumi: Spring Troupe, don’t forget to post something individually on social media. Pics are mandatory.

Banri: Seems like we’ve got a new promo boss.

Sakyo: Less work for me.

Sakuya: Let’s take a Spring Troupe group photo!

Izumi: I’ll take it, then. Okay, everyone look over here!

*Camera clicks*

Izumi: I’ll send it to you on LIME.

*Phone notification*

Masumi: Post it now.

Citron: Your checking at every step is very strict~.

Sakuya: “#FullSpringTroupGathering!”.

Tsuzuru: “#FamilyPizzaParty”.

Chikage: “#TheCleanRoomIsForTodayOnly”.

Izumi: (Everyone’s hashtags have so much personality~.)

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[otomeramblings]

My thoughts on Act 2, Episode 5

Yes, I’m incredibly late to the party. It took me longer than I thought to finally be able to finish reading Ep 5 BUT here it is! I’m gonna try to summarize my initial reactions and how I feel about the main plot points here both for myself and for anyone that wants to read them.

Long post under the cut!

One small thing I want to mention before delving into the big stuff: seeing all the boys starting new stages in their lives was honestly super heartwarming; they’ve grown so much both as individuals and together as a company (and as friends), and it was a delight to see it. As a fan of small details, I loved to see that the conversation Banri and Yuki had in “Into the Night!” (about him taking acting seriously and maybe going to college to bring back the knowledge to the company) was reflected in his choice of going to Veludo Arts University.

But anyway! There’s 3 main things I want to talk about in regards to this episode:

First up is Masumi’s arc:

Hooooo boy, I hadn’t been this angry about a fictional parent since we learned about Misumi’s family. I think the main thing that irked me a lot about his dad was how little regard he seemed to have for his son as an actual human being. Especially because of how hypocritical it sounded when his secretary said stuff like "Mr Usui is concerned about you living without a parental figure for so long" because we all know that Masumi has been living basically on his own for a long time and the excuse of "Masumi has only been living in Japan this long due to his parent's desire to keep his environment as stable as possible while they were married" felt super empty because yeah, right, coming back to an empty home every day is the healthiest way to raise a child, it surely can’t affect his well-being and his sense of worth in any way.

Masumi saying "I thought it might make them happy if i got good grades or did well in sports, so I tried my best, but...nothing ever changed"  and the story about him begging his parents to come to the show and tell and his dad's response was just "Listen to your parents, that's all we want from you" was so heartbreaking. It made me incredibly angry but it also helped me understand Masumi as a character a lot more; no wonder he has attachment issues (which are mainly centred around Izumi/the MC) and his constant need for validation, he just wants people to be there for him and be proud of his accomplishments. He just wants a family but his parents were just too busy to even give a crap. 

Also, in relation to Izumi: I think he still needs to learn that the obsession he has with her is not healthy (and hopefully one day he can grow out of it) but it's clear that he doesn't do it to purposely make her uncomfortable; he's misguided and he doesn't know how to deal and express the affection he feels towards one of the people that genuinely cares about him. Also I'm not saying that he doesn't have a crush on her, I think he does but he behaves this way because he never learned how to express his feelings in a healthy way and he's probably scared someone "could take her away" at any moment because boy hasn't he had to deal with people going again a lot already.

About Masumi’s grandma: love her, she’s a darling and she clearly cares for her grandson’s well being. One thing she mentions is that her son changed when his company found success, and like, I get that he needs to put time and effort to keep his company afloat but like. not even considering what your son wants and feels? Maybe talking to him every once in a while? Being busy it's not an excuse; your son shouldn't have to wonder if his parents love him. But this also ties to the end of Masumi’s arc when his father finally lets him stay in Japan: I'm glad that Masumi's father apologised and realised the error of his ways, it doesn't undo the years of loneliness Masumi had to endure because of it, but it's a start.

Final thoughts on Masumi’s arc: 10/10 would read it again for the feels. I really loved the depth they gave him and how they made him realise that Mankai (not just Izumi) are important to him because they’re his precious family and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. One little moment after that warmed my heart was when Izumi tells Masumi that she's glad that he's been taking care of Tsuzuru while he's busy writing and he answers with "I mean, he is...family",,,,,,,,,,,I’m not crying, you’re crying. I hope we can get more moments with him in the future that are centred around his personality, his likes and dislikes, and his relationships with the other boys.

In second place, Chikage’s introduction and arc.

Let's see. I knew coming in that Chikage was a controversial character within the fandom and I knew the main reason why because of spoilers, but I didn’t know all the details. Also, something you should know about me is that I found morally grey characters interesting, so that made it so I went into this with an open mind.

Overall, I liked the episode and I ended up linking Chikage as a character well enough. But I’m not gonna lie and say that everything was perfect. The biggest issue I had with his arc was the way they handled his relationship with Izumi/the MC, especially in regards to the kidnapping. I’m usually pretty good at putting a dividing line between fiction and real life, which is what allows me to enjoy villains and morally grey characters; but as a woman who grew up with my mom saying “never leave your drink/food unattended”, seeing it done here and then having it go unpunished really left a bad taste in my mouth; because every girl grows up hearing this (and i know this is a problem that affects all genders) and it’s horrible because it has happened to so many people. So my biggest gripe about this part of his arc is the consequences, or more so the lack of them.

The only things that made it a bit more acceptable *for me* were three things:

This line from Izumi: "What Chikage's done is unforgivable. But I can't just ignore August's dying wish and Hisoka's thoughts on the matter." I have some mixed feelings about it but It just aligns with Izumi’s personality; she’s always been portrayed as incredibly selfless and giving, someone who’s ridiculously kind (to a fault) and who always tries to see the best in people and puts others before herself (and also because ~plot~ demands it, but that’s a thing with a lot of media these days) Do I wish she had been angry and wary towards Chikage after having been drugged and kidnapped? Yes, I do, it would have been nice to have a portion of the story dedicated to Chikage having to earn her trust back because what he did really was not okay.

Sakuya’s conversation with Chikage when he tries to leave after opening night and in particular these two lines from Sakuya: "This isn't about the play....for some reason, I get the feeling we shouldn't leave you alone right now" [...] "You're different now. I can tell you're broken and hurting. I feel like you've lost your way." Regardless of personal feelings, I think Chikage showed that he really was shaken by the weight of his own actions after he found out the truth. He knows that what he did was wrong and that’s why his emotions and all his guilt were crushing him all at once. He was driven by revenge and anger for so long that once he learned and accepted the truth, he completely lost himself. And seeing him have to deal with all of that made me really glad, because even if he’s not gonna have to deal with external consequences (aka having to deal with the rest of the company’s distrust, even though I wish he did), he still had to find a way to not only forgive himself but also to atone in his own way for what he did (aka putting down his walls, fulfilling his promises and making it his mission to protect everyone at mankai from the organisation) 

Now, as I’ve been saying, I really wish Chikage had been able to tell the others the whole story about what he did and why he did it but…..we didn’t get that. What I am glad about, though, is that at least he told them that he took her away on purpose (even if he didn’t tell them how or why); also both he and Hisoka pointed out that anyone who knows the full truth about their lives could be in serious danger and that having Izumi know was already risky enough. And yes, that is indeed very plot convenient but it’s the bare minimum and I’m willing to give it a pass this time.

tl;dr I think Chikage is an interesting character that has a lot of potential and I have hopes that he will get some more development in future events. BUT, I really think they could have handled his arc in this episode a lot better.

Now, all that said, if you still couldn’t bring yourself to forgive or look past what he did and you still don’t like him: no one can force you to like him after the things he did since it can be very triggering for a lot of people, so remember that your feelings are totally valid.

In third place and in relation to Chikage’s arc, I also have to mention Hisoka and the development he got as a result.

The only thing that bugged me in relation to Hisoka was that even though I knew he couldn't because of ~plot~ (and probably because part of him is still unsure about what he didn't remember and how it could affect the others even if he did say that the person he was before didn't matter anymore) but I really wished he had told anyone "hey so like......Chikage said some weird stuff to me just now and I might need help" because their first 1 to 1 confrontation was a threat if I've ever seen one.

But yeah, other than that I really love that we not only finally got to learn about his past, but also we got a good foundation for his development in the future regarding his interpersonal relationships with the winter troupe. The fact that he couldn’t remember who he was has been a point of conflict in the past and this brings that issue to a close in the sense that he is willing to tell them (part of) the truth once he sorts things out. And I loved loved how the trust Hisoka has in them is the direct result of all the ups and downs that the winter troupe has gone through so far in learning to open up to each other. I know they said during nocturnality that they’re not a family in the same sense the spring troupe is, but I honestly disagree; they way in which they’ve come to rely on each other shows how strong their bond is.

[desikauwa]

so i recently watched the old guard (aka it was just yesterday) and like i do with anything nowadays, my brain started thinking about an a3 au for them. I decided to just do akigumi for the main cast because it’s an action movie and akigumi is all about that action. (in other words an au where tsuzuru writes an old guard inspired play with sakyo and azami as the leads). anyways, here’s the cast as follows:

andy - sakyo quynh - omi nicky & joe - banri & juza booker - taichi nile - azami

spoilers from the movie as i talk about my casting choices under the read more

sakyo as andy (andromache the scythian): so this one is actually the easiest to explain. old tired warrior who everyone looks up to just screams sakyo to a T. also him saying, that the new kid [azami] has potential because said kid stabbed him is a really funny image and I can absolutely see sakyo saying that. look i’m out of words but sakyo as andy just makes sense and also i think sakyo and azami deserve to be co-leads. speaking of azami...

azami as nile freeman: look azami and nile have a similar dynamic of looking at this older established group and going “what the fuck is this” before proceeding to join in on the chaos. also just azami stabbing sakyo and just being like “you’ve got to be kidding me. i hate you old man” is very in character but also in character is looking at this ragtag group and being like “i guess you’re my family now” also azami just saving other members of akigumi feels good just saying. now i guess we should move onto banju as the immortal husbands...

banri & juza as nicky (nicolo di genova) & joe (yusuf al-kaysani): look the only reason why there’s only one entry for these two is because i keep changing my mind about who’s nicky and who’s joe. so here’s the lowdown. I personally think that juza is nicky and banri is joe because juza is quieter like nicky but also more likely to say something like “it was destiny” and then banri like joe winking at him. also juza calling banri “an incurable romantic” after banri insults the probably homophobic men who’ve captured them and then gives a whole speech about what juza means to him. the only reason why i struggle with that casting is because of nicky’s line of “the man i loved was from a people i was taught to hate” which feels far more like something banri would say than juza but other than that, i honestly feel that juza as nicky and banri as joe just makes sense. okay now we move onto the more complicated characters/casting starting with...

taichi as booker (sebastien le livre): so major spoilers for the movie but taichi has already been a traitor in canon so casting him in this role gives me complicated feelings but i honestly think no one but taichi could be in booker’s role and give it the justice it deserves. like he’s the second youngest member of akigumi just like booker is the second youngest member of the old guard. also taichi deserves a complex role where his betrayal comes from a deep depression and self loathing and i just think taichi deserves this kind of role. speaking of characters who deserve a kind of role...

omi as quynh | noriko: okay so the fact that omi was once known as the crazy wolf and just like quynh’s backstory with omi as quynh hurts in all the best ways. also im so sorry omi but putting you in a potential villain role is just too much fun.

I would have more things to say but thoughts empty and if i ever write this fic/them putting on a play, i’ll expand