#i know very little about you aside from hikaru dragging you in the door for some reason

[raposarealm]

Here are the quest victory quotes for Inami Mitsuru! Credit to @muffinrecord for the screenshots.

Top: That was a lucky win… as they say, yeah? Middle: A-anyways, I’m okay... Bottom: Huh..? I actually won..?

As always, friendly disclaimer that my Japanese isn’t the best, as I’m still learning. If you spot a mistake, please let me know, and I’ll fix it!

[shizuokadivision]

It was a lot of work getting his giant crate of a gift and himself into Shizuoka, much less into the Kito family's manor. Yet here he was, standing alone in the spacious tatami room. Yano felt just an ounce of stress lifted from his shoulders now that he had accomplished the first step to his plans. Only an ounce, seeing that he knew this birthday surprise could easily be a big mistake on his part. Putting aside the fact that he was in some strange, unspecified relationship with a yakuza boss, he was growing more worried that the pounding in his chest was not fear, but something much, much worse.

“This is just courtesy. The Shizuoka team always spoils me f-for some reason… I gotta return the favor. Yeah, that's all. Nothing else. Just hand over the present and do my thing-”

“Hey there, Yano.”

The poor man froze in his spot at the utterance of his name. As Yano turned to face the voice, he couldn't help but shrink into himself once he saw the Kito-gumi boss watching him from the door.

“H-Hey Sakura…”

He stood silently, taking in her appearance. But before any of his mixed thoughts could form Yano began to panic as Sakura slowly approached him. Stopping her from doing or saying anything, the artist grabs her arms to keep her at a distance.

“W-Wait! Don't you want to see my present?” Motioning his head to the large wooden crate, he nervously rambled. “I wanted to get it out of the box before you got here but I guess your men were faster… It's nothing bad! Just needed to be packed well so it wouldn't break…”

With some effort and a lot of complaining that he could get it out for her, Yano revealed a new piece he had crafted: A large decorative mirror with a glass frame. Most strikingly, a large blue dragon sparkled along the left side of the amber frame, its mouth open in a silent cry.

Standing off to the side, Yano let her stare at his work. At that moment he used her distraction to his advantage to bumble around with the last part of the gift… Technically, it was just him, but he was putting in the extra effort of offering himself up with a collar and leash set that quickly fastened around his neck. Clearing his throat, he nervously stepped forward with the chain in hand.

“A-And of course… Knowing you don't really care about that stuff, you can have me… Whatever you want. Just for tonight! I-I can't stay here too long, since I have to be at an auction t-tomorrow. I'm doing this stuff since it's convenient you know? Seeing I am in the city for a few days-”

In an instant the end of the leash was snatched up by Sakura, yanking Yano close in a strangled yelp. Staring up at her, he felt the start of fresh tears collect in the corners of his eyes as all he could gasp under her intense gaze was a bewildered, pathetic, “H…H-Happy birthday?”

“Reika you bitch. You fucking knew didn't you?” Sakura thought as she stared down at Yano. She gave the chain another harsh tug as Sakura imagined the smug look on Reika’s face when she learned she was correct. Still, she wasn’t going to waste the gift Yano was offering to her, and well as much as she hated to admit Reika’s gift was going to be very useful at the moment. 

“I hope you know offering yourself to me like this was dangerous Yano but don't worry I’ll be gentle well at least in the beginning.” Sakura purred. Forcing Yano onto his feet Sakura walked out of the room dragging Yano using the chain collar like he was some sort of dog behind her to her personal quarters not at all caring that quite a few of her men were staring at the scene in front of them. 

“Should we…should we worry for Ietsuna?” Lucille questioned somewhat bewildered at the sight in front of her. 

“Lucy I love you dear but the Boss has been needing something like this for a while now.” Hikaru grinned glad that Sakura was going to get some tonight. 

“Agree but come on not even a little bit of sympathy for the man?” 

“I’m only questioning the Boss’ taste in men.” 

“Fengzhui rude.”

“You can't say you aren't thinking the same thing.” 

“Sensitive crybabies Nurarihyon supposes the Boss could do worse.” 

“Don’t ruin this for her you 5.” Shinji scolded from behind them causing all to slightly jump. “She’s trying her best here even if not what most people expect.”

“Do you have an opinion of this Shinji-san?” Irina questioned.

“My opinion of this is that I would like to get grandchildren.”

“SHINJI-SAN??!!”

[voltage-vixen]

The Great Pumpkin Surprise

Fandom: Kissed by the Baddest Bidder Pairing:  Eisuke x MC (Female)  Notes: This fic was written for the server gift exchange in the Kings of Paradise discord, and my recipient was @eikouxd. I really hope you like this!

The gentle breeze was chilly on the crisp fall afternoon, and there was a bright mixture of orangish-red leaves that painted the ground. Decorative ghosts hung from the stripped trees in preparation for Halloween since the spooky holiday was nearly upon them. Today, MC had convinced her family to travel outside the bounds of the city to visit a farm known for their festive autumn attractions. Eito was quick to agree, and her husband Eisuke voiced how amusing this trip would probably be for him if he did accompany them. 

A few hours later they were deep into one of the rural suburbs, with a smirking Eisuke and a giddy MC bearing witness of a rare moment where Eito was racing around the farm and acting like a child his age would be expected to act. MC typically would fret over Eito being in such a rush to grow up, but today watching him radiate in childlike innocence while he lit up at the sights warmed her heart. It wasn’t often the three of them were able to escape from their daily routine given the demands of Eisuke’s work schedule, and these occasions were something she treasured when they presented themselves. Well, the three of them and…..

“Eito, come take a look at this gourd!” Ota cried out, holding up the large disfigured fruit for the boy to see. “Doesn’t it remind you of Baba’s face?”“Ota!” 

Baba pouted, feigning annoyance by dramatically crossing his arms over the front of his chest. “How cruel of you! I hardly look a day over twenty! I’m sure everyone here would feel inclined to agree.” Glancing around, the thief’s gaze locked onto Soryu’s, who also happened to be standing nearby. “Sor, don’t you think I have an eternally youthful looking face?”

The mobster rolled his eyes and uttered a loud sigh for once again being dragged into the childish antics of the group. “I don’t know anything about that stuff. Stop trying to get me involved in your shenanigans.”

“You’re pretty uptight for a criminal, aren’t you now?” Mamoru muttered under his breath. Lighting his cigarette, he surveyed the food and beverage stalls up by the entrance. “Do they sell booze at this joint? I need something to help me get through this day that I was coerced into spending with you lot.”

“Ugh, must you really insist on smoking that here?” Shuichi scolded, massaging his temples at the headache he felt oncoming. Seeing Luke nearby, he barked at the spaced-out doctor next to him. “Luke, you’re a medical professional. Inform him at once how neglectful of his health he’s being by smoking those like a chimney.”

“Oh, how I do despise the colder weather,” Luke groaned, ignoring the nagging ambassador. “I can’t even sneak a peek at Sexybones’s exquisite collar bones when she’s wearing this many layers of clothing.”

“Don’t be weird, Luke,” Hikaru murmured, shaking his head over the doctor’s odd obsession. Wanting to ease some of the innocent tension among the bidders, Hikaru decided it would be best to change the subject. “Hey, I promised Maddy I would bring him back some souvenirs. Why don’t we all pick out some together as a group? I bet Maddy would really appreciate that.”

“Good idea, Hikaru!” Baba cheered, immediately beginning to assist Hikaru in ushering the grumbling guys over to the souvenir shop. “Hurry up, everyone! Time’s a wasting!”

Yup, you guessed it! Somewhere along the way, what was intended to be a family trip, somehow escalated into the Ichinomiya family + the auction managers = chaotic group outing.

 Despite the crashers, Eito who had been wandering through the patch in search for the perfect pumpkin, spun around and burst into laughter at the familiar sight of the men he considered uncles causing the same old commotion he had grown to associate them with.

“Remind me why they are here again?” Eisuke scowled, though there was a softness in his face that didn’t align with the harshness of his words while he watched the group disappear into the front of the stop.

“Because they’re our friends,” MC giggled, while she rested her head onto his arm. “Besides, look how much fun Eito is having! Isn’t that what matters the most?” 

Eisuke leaned over to plant a soft kiss on the top of her head, and tenderly stroked her cheek. “That face you’re making now isn’t the worst,” the CEO teasingly mocked. “I suppose a trip like this isn’t half-bad if it means I get to see more of that ridiculous grin you’re wearing.”

“I can’t help the fact that spending time with you two reminds me of how blessed I am,” MC sighed, nuzzling her head against his shoulder. “These moments are precious. They’re the ones I’ll forever cherish from now until the end of my time.”

Eisuke’s heart skipped a beat at the adorableness of MC’s confession, and a rare shade of crimson faintly painted his cheeks. His past self would never have been able to envision that someone like him would ever be fortunate enough to be experiencing his very own version of family bliss. Yet here he stood today as a husband and a father. He used to believe success was measured by one’s professional accomplishments. While the value of business metrics was still one of importance, Eisuke now also factored in the prosperity and good fortune he was privileged to be immersed in from MC and Eito.

“Always honest to a fault,” Eisuke retorted, trusting MC failed to notice his blush. “That’s a quality that deserves a reward, and I don’t intend on making you wait for reimbursement any longer. Come here, baby.” 

Reaching around behind MC, Eisuke placed his hand on her back. Pulling her into his embrace, MC’s body stiffened in a bashfulness from how intimately they were standing in public. The familiar masculine scent of his cologne radiated from his body as her husband wiggled MC even more snugly against him. Eisuke’s hot breath tickled the front of her neck, and his expression softened as he cupped her chin, and MC’s nerves instantly melted away. She wanted to kiss him, and she wanted to kiss him now. Rising on her tip toes, MC inched closer, drawing herself to the part of Eisuke’s lips until-

“Mom, take a look at what I found!” Eito boasted, interrupting his parents by suddenly making his way over. “I found you the perfect pumpkin!”Eito was grinning from ear to ear, his cheeks puffed out in pride as he held up a large, bright orange pumpkin. 

Stepping away from Eisuke, MC crouched down and extended her arms to greet Eito.“Eito, what a wonderful find,” MC cheered, genuinely impressed by the amount of though Eito was putting into ensuring he found her such an impeccable pumpkin.

“If that’s what you consider a superb pumpkin, then you have very juvenile taste,” Eisuke jabbed, miffed that his MC’s attention was taken from him. “Don’t ever present your mother with less than she deserves.”

“Eisuke….,” MC began to interject, but was left unheard since Eisuke was already headed towards the fields. 

“Don’t make excuses for him,” Eisuke replied. “Come on, Eito. Allow me to remind you of what constitutes as an Ichnomiya standard.”

“I don’t need you to tell me anything!” Eito argued. Despite his protests, Eito set aside his pride and chased after his father. 

MC watched from a distance as the two thoroughly inspected the rows of pumpkins. She was able to gather they were quarreling back and forth based on Eito’s everchanging facial expressions, but she was also able to observe the look of admiration Eito often held for Eisuke. Eito was intently hanging onto every word Eisuke spoke, and even divulged his appreciation by offering the billionaire a small nod in approval when they reached an agreement on the ideal pumpkin. Eisuke signaled for one of the workers to come assist, and Eito held the pumpkin proudly to his chest.  

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

A few weeks had passed since that fun day at the pumpkin patch. MC was about to leave their home and meet Eisuke in the lobby of the Tres Spades, when she caught a glimpse at the picture frame of the three of them on the coffee table. Her lips curled in a smile as she recollected that fond memory. Sparing one final peek at the happy photo, she eagerly stepped into the elevator.  

After riding down into the lobby, the doors to the elevator sprung open and MC gasped in awe at the marvelous scene decorating the entrance into the hotel. She could hardly believe that the entire face of the lobby was covered in pumpkins. Each was turned into a different type of jack-o-lantern; carved with intricate details, and brightly illuminating from the inside. The normal atmosphere was vastly transformed into a not-so-spooky Halloween theme.

 “Mom, you’re finally here!” Eito shouted as he ran across the room to greet her.

 “Conduct yourself more appropriately,” Eisuke scolded, frowning when Eito ignored him and continued to race towards his mother and tightly hug her.

“We had the farm deliver all of these pumpkins, and then dad and I asked Uncle Ota to design them since we thought it would make you happy! Did it work? Are you happy?” the little boy asked, his eyes widened in an impatient anticipation as he awaited his mom’s response.

“Of course, I’m happy! You two did an amazing job working together,” MC acknowledged in pride, also addressing Eisuke who had just finished walking over to join her and Eito. “What did I ever do to deserve to be spoiled like this by my two favorite men in the entire world?”

MC wrapped Eito up into a hug and reached out to grasp onto Eisuke’s hand. Knowing that Eisuke and Eito worked through their differences to come together as father and son and plan such an elaborate surprise for her was truly better than any physical gift they could present her with. 

“I love you, guys,” MC whispered, blinking back the tears of joy threatening to spill in elate of her excitement.

“Love you too, mom,” Eito murmured, blushing shyly at the direct confession.

Pressing a kiss on Eito’s forehead, MC captured Eisuke’s gaze with her own. Her eyes flashed in adoration when Eisuke lightly gave her hand a squeeze, and shared the sentimental smile he retained only for her.

I love you too, baby. I love you too.    

[kiboutomirai]

Everything was going fantastic.

Chisa hummed as she finished hanging the last garland from the doorway, finishing off the trim. Everything was exactly where it should be, decorations everywhere, the tree, the presents… and there were a lot of presents! She had a lot of people to buy for, after all! It had taken three nights between her and Kyousuke to wrap them all, though she did attribute part of that to the fact that Kyousuke was a total perfectionist and would spend twice as long on one gift than she did.

It had eventually taken until Juuzou came and assured him that he was in fact overthinking, and with the three of them combined they managed to finish without taking a whole week. Chisa wasn’t sure she would be able to take that long, anyway! Surely the children would have figured something out by then, and she was adamant that these kinds of things be a total surprise!

“… Chisa,” Kyousuke looked up at her from where he stood on ground level. Chisa herself was standing on the stepstool still, having finished her door trim. “Juuzou says we should start plating the food now, before the first guests arrive.”

“Ah! Of course!” She grinned and hopped down, unable to help the big grin that went across her face. “Do you think the kids want to help?”

Before she could even answer, a familiar smaller redhead came skipping into the living room. “Mom! Look!” She held up a wreath, which had been lovingly decorated with all kinds of little ornaments and tinsel. The most important contribution though were the little paper cutouts of their family, the six of them.

Chisa grinned. “Wow! That looks fantastic, Ayaka! Let’s put it up~” She took the wreath and hung it on the back of the front door. Once it was secured she lifted the girl up into a hug. “What an artist I have!”

“She gets it from you,” Kyousuke said with a faint smile. Chisa grinned in his direction.

“Let’s start setting up, shall we~?”

It wasn’t long before guests started arriving, and the festivities truly began. Chisa was grateful that their house was relatively big, though in hindsight maybe it would have been a better idea to ask someone like Hiyoko or Nagito to host, with their mansions. Then again, this kind of intimate atmosphere was better for this kind of party, wasn’t it?

The first ones to arrive were the Nanamis, of course. They arrived well before anyone else, enough time to help with preparations. Chisa gladly let Mikan help with some cleaning and the remainder of the cooking (she couldn’t keep Juuzou cooped up in the kitchen forever). She even showed her the wreath that Ayaka had made, though of course that led to lots of happy tears. Or at least, Chisa hoped they were happy.

Others started to trickle in, and soon enough Chisa had a full house on her hands. She was pretty sure an entire food tray alone was devoured entirely by Kagami… though she did see them feeding carrots to Ryouta, so maybe it wasn’t entirely their fault. She had to steer Peko away from the kitchen more than once, trying to reassure her that she really didn’t need any help and that Peko was a guest in her house. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Nagito bringing Kibou over, but at least the dog was well-behaved and she didn’t think anyone was allergic.

“Chisa!” She jumped at the sound of her name, but turned to see Juuzou beckoning her into the kitchen. Shaking off her initial surprise, she happily went in.

“Whatcha need, Juuzou?”

“I’ve got a problem.”

She blinked, tilting her head a little. “… A problem?”

He nodded and opened one of the cupboards. She knelt down a bit to look inside, and when she realized what was there she couldn’t help but giggle.

Inside the cupboards were two small purple-haired bodies, curled up around each other and snoring softly.

“How cute!”

“Chisa, I need to get to those pans if you want me to bake anything else.”

“But Juuzou, they look so peaceful!”

“Chisa…”

“Don’t worry about it~” She hopped up and ruffled his hair, stretching up on her toes to do so. “You shouldn’t let yourself be cooped up in here, anyway! Go have fun with Satou-chan.” She skipped out of the kitchen, off to see how everyone else was doing.

Hajime, Fuyuhiko, and Kazuichi were chatting over glasses of wine (or… was that orange juice? Did he bring his own orange juice to her party?), Nagito was sitting nearby with Izuru, Maki, and Kibou… Peko of course wasn’t far away from Fuyuhiko. Natsumi plopped down next to Nagito of all people; Chisa wondered when they got close. Satou was in the process of dragging Juuzou out of the kitchen to socialize (Chisa couldn’t help but grin a little at that). She was glad to see that Hisako-chan was no longer hovering around Kyousuke… she wasn’t sure what they were talking about but Kyousuke had that “I’m teaching you important life lessons” expression on. Hiyoko seemed to be bragging to whoever would listen about her perfect wife and daughter (said wife was more than a little flustered). She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on with Sonia, Akane, Nekomaru, Teruteru, and Gundam over by the snack table but she wasn’t entirely sure she would understand even if she asked.

She hummed and went down the hall, peeking into one of the reading rooms, and was unsurprised to find Mikan, Chiaki, Kumiko, Hikaru, Ryouta, and Chihiro in there. She wondered, if too many introverts chose the same hiding space would it no longer be a safe space for them?

“Enjoying the party~?” She asked, tilting her head with a big smile.

“A-Ah! Y-Yes, of course!”

“It’s lovely, sensei.” Chiaki gave a faint smile, squeezing Mikan’s hand gently. Chisa was glad to see that they weren’t too overwhelmed right now.

“Are you going to go check on the children?” Chihiro asked, looking up with a smile. Ryouta seemed like he wanted to know the answer too, so Chisa gave them both a grin.

“That’s my next stop!”

“Good… let us know how things are going.” She nodded, understanding. Kumiko and Hikaru seemed to be completely tuned out, Kumiko on her GameGirl and Hikaru leaning over to watch, so she skipped out to head towards the playroom where the other children were probably all hanging out.

“Nyooooooommmmmm!!”

Chisa paused in her step, and approximately three seconds later a pair of children ran right past her. “Ah… there goes Asuka-chan and Shinobu-chan…”

The next children to zoom past were Daisuke and Hisako, apparently Daisuke has convinced Hisako to ride on his back as he ran around after the two girls. She tossed a “be careful, Daisuke-kun!” after them, but she wasn’t entirely sure he heard them. But he was the big brother, so surely he would be responsible, right?

Once she was reasonably certain no more children were going to barrel her over, she peeked into the playroom. It seemed that Ibuki was content to spend time with the children, and she was currently reading some colorful-looking book with Mimi. Akihiko and Harumi were nearby, chatting with Iren and Kieran. She took a moment to admire Iren’s festive outfit—he really was kind of extravagant when it came to fashion!

“Everyone doing okay~?”

“Yup! Ibuki is doing super great! And Mimi-chan too!”

“… We’re doing all right,” was Akihiko’s contribution.

“Glad to hear it!” Chisa ducked out of the room and hummed, already starting to plan her next step.

“All right everyone! Gather around, I have gifts for you~”

“Ah… you didn’t have to get us anything, Yukizome…” Hajime blinked, rubbing his neck.

Chisa just gave him a grin. “Call me Chisa! And of course I did! You’re my precious students, after all!” Even after all these years, despite having multiple classes since then, she could never quite forget her first class.

“Here you go, Chisa.” Juuzou finished pushing out the large box she had set aside. “I still don’t know how you managed to put all these together…”

“Never question a wife’s methods~” She giggled and started opening it, revealing what was inside—a bunch of candy and sweets trays, one for each family who attended. The first one she pulled out was decorated with pink and purple ribbons, which she handed enthusiastically to Mikan.

“F-For us…?”

“Of course! I even made sure there’s some healthier options in there too~” She gave Mikan a knowing wink, patting her head as she started to cry again. She started dishing out trays to everyone else—some of them bigger or smaller of course depending on how many people were in the families. Once they were all passed out she sat back and enjoyed their reactions. Several of the children wanted brownies right now, the parents admiring her handiwork.

“… Thank you, sensei!” Nagito gave her a bright smile, kicking off a whirlwind of thank yous and compliments. In fact, Chisa started to feel a little overwhelmed, feeling her face heating up under all the attention. Once she started to recover though she returned the smile.

“You’re all very welcome! It’s my pleasure!”

“… Good job, Chisa,” came a quieter voice by her side, and she looked up to see Kyousuke smiling down at her. Something about that made her blush go twice as bright.

“Yeah, good job.” Juuzou joined in too, resting his chin on Kyousuke’s shoulder. Chisa couldn’t help but grin as she stood up and pulled the both of them into a hug.

“Happy holidays, everyone~”

[zukadiary]

Chateau de la Reine / VIVA! FESTA! ~ Cosmos Troupe 2017

Mixed feelings and spoilers ahead!

The Plot: We’ve been blessed with a full script translation thanks to @makalations​‘s hard work, so I’m going to keep it very brief: Mirion is running a scam by double booking two tour groups in the same famous hotel at the same time so she can scrape up enough money to prevent her tour company from going under. Tour participants include Maakun (a novelist trying to find inspiration for his Louis XIV love story) and a bunch of other weirdos, antics ensue as the tour company tries to keep the two groups apart and they all kind of get to know each other.

Overall impressions: On the plus side, pretty much all the main players in Soragumi down to the kumichous had their own little side story going on (except Rui Makise and Rukaze Hikaru who receded into the background for this one), which I appreciated as someone who loves the whole troupe and whose fave was just a black angel. I followed the story with no problem, and I think I always wind up giving extra points to shows that make me feel like my Japanese doesn’t suck. They definitely put together a style, and I enjoyed the ridiculous costumes. I was, however, left curious to know more about what the overall vision was; the backgrounds were so drab it felt like they splurged on a custom wardrobe and ran out of budget. Even though the aesthetics could not be more different, it kind of reminded me of Count’s Daughter in that they bothered to stay out of the recycle bin to tell a visual story, but Count’s Daughter took that down to the last corner of the stage and Chateau de la Reine fell short (maybe this is a DVD problem, I don’t know).

On the minus side, it was lazy comedy with no real character development. It reminded me of being 15 and dying laughing at a lot of truly terrible anime because I was just so into it that you could shove any tired trope down my throat and I’d swallow it enthusiastically and beg for more. Puns so simple I understood them, half the characters rolling their Rs all the time, Louis XIV’s dramatic entrances (you could taste the freeze frame allowing a gust of flower petals to blow by)… NO JOKE, Maakun literally crashes into a door like this:

BUT, there is most definitely a give and take with these things. The trade-off for  a one-act troupe showcase is relying on stereotypes for character development to keep the show under 5 hours. Looking at a theatrical masterpiece like Hoshiai, 3 people got really meaningful roles. So I guess as long as a star’s run has a balance of both, I’ll take this occasionally. I do wish the comedy had been a little more creative. I think I laughed the hardest when poor miserable Zunchan picked her chin up and agreed to lead her shafted tour group to see the opera house “from the outside!” because it was the middle of the night… that was cute!

People:

Asaka Manato as Kitashirakawa (yeesh) Ukyo, the aforementioned novelist, was not what I’d call brilliant because it was not the most brilliant character… but she got to do some things she is uniquely good at, namely being kind of a jerkface and performing physically improbable feats of weirdness with her lanky limbs. Entertaining within the parameters of everyone here being a caricature.

Misaki Rion was equally the lead and very much boss lady in charge. I heard a lot of complaints that Reiko was not a role worthy of Mirion considering she retired on it, but I’m not sure what more you can expect out of a career spanning 2 partners and iconic leads like Aida and Elisabeth. This was a strange little show and for what it was I liked Reiko; I also liked that she basically orchestrated the whole scam. It was a much more interesting premise than a love story. Despite it being Maakun and Mirion’s last show together I didn’t even mind that it was romance-lite; they finished on equal footing holding hands, and that pretty much sums up their wonderful partnership for me.

Makaze Suzuho as the apparition of Louis XIV, dwelling in the chateau that was formerly his and inspiring Kitashirakawa’s novel, was probably my favorite part of the show if I toss my biases aside. Her Louis exuded an air of being so very done with all of these ridiculous people, while simultaneously being completely unaware that he’s definitely the most ridiculous person present. It was delightful.

Aizuki Hikaru as a tacky old rich real estate magnate with a toupee, and his arm candy/former hostess Hoshikaze Madoka, were the height of caricature; we learn almost nothing about them beyond that bare bones backstory and what’s conveyed through their clothing and their age difference. Nothing against their performances, but on the show level this was one instance where despite a lack of effort put into characterization we’re just supposed to find them funny (he’s old and absurd and she’s young and silly and they’re dating, get it??). I do appreciate Aichan’s willingness to lean all the way into a completely over the top character. This was a layup for Madoka.

Sumiki Sayato plays Makoto, a kind of grumpy cop paired against his will with Sorahane Riku’s Crayon, who is ostensibly a man in drag (we’re not given enough information to nail down Crayon’s gender identity). Crayon takes a shine to Makoto immediately, and this is another trope we’re just supposed to find funny—grouchy dude doesn’t want anything to do with the always-cheerful, flamboyant drag queen who won’t take no for an answer. WORKING WITH WHAT WE’VE GOT, I enjoyed both of their performances. Akkii is too sweet to fully immerse herself in the jerk who’s just a jerk for the sake of being a jerk, which made her eventual softening both foreseeable and convincing. Riku was hamming it up, and the fact that she was a head taller than Akkii in her heels really made the whole dynamic. And they got a kiss!

Sakuragi Minato plays Togawa, another guide in Reiko’s tour company, responsible for the group that paid less and thus constantly struggling to keep them out of the hotel at the choicest hours. This role was a waste of Zunchan, yet I can’t imagine anyone other than Zunchan in this role. She was adorable and pitiful and 110% invested; I just watch her constantly evolving offstage and I’m waiting for that role that makes me go WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ZUNCHAN?!

Junya Chitose as the editor was another highlight. She’s both wholly supportive of Kitashirakawa’s eccentricity and a force to be reckoned with herself, and she spends most of her stage time drunk/ hungover/ flirting with Sora. When she’s stumbling, glasses askew, on the silver bridge, you can’t help but pray to the gods she’s not leaving with the next show.

KazukimotherfuckingSora as Pierre, the only one aside from chief bellboy Sao who really has to speak French, was A CHOICE, because she CANNOT DO THAT. There’s a scene where she tells everyone she remembered the name of a place and it sounds like she’s choking. But like everything else she does she took her adorable lavender blazer and ran with it, and I was in stitches, and honestly I don’t know who else she could have played. I miss you, you dumb idiot <3

Mentions: Kumichous were a married couple (<3), Reimi Urara was the memory of Louis’s lover with not a heck of a lot to do, and my not-a-real-character shout out this time goes to club singer Fuuma Kakeru (and Sao finding a way, at great pains I’m sure, to make issuing orders to the other bellboys sexy).

VIVA! FESTA! was not Hot Eyes but nothing will ever be Hot Eyes.

Quick hits:

Catchy theme song, catchier yosakoi chuuzume that had me dancing at work all day today feeling grateful I don’t go to the office

Worth it alone for Night on Bald Mountain featuring Kumichou taking center stage in a very Maleficent getup

I’m not into this boy band trend… but I am also aware that whether or not I am into this boy band trend in the moment depends heavily on who is pointing and winking at me

The festa theme could definitely have been more obvious throughout, but props to Nakamura S. for not falling back on Carnivale for a change. I could honestly watch an entire revue of yosakoi

Can I have a Sora angle? God that kid can dance. I REALLY MISS YOU, YOU DUMB IDIOT <3

Not a set of all-time winners, but I liked everything enough to watch again!

[thunder0-0sage]

Summerbolt (manga script) - chapter 16.5

CHAPTER 16.5: VEGA’S PROBLEMS

 We see Vega on the cover, playing a videogame, giving it his all and shooting dull green energy streams all around him, gritting his teeth in a wild comical way, veins protruding on his forehead.

‘Vega: ‘-Actually, I have lots of problems! One of my other obsessions besides alcohol is playing videogames!!’

Poor Vega. Is there any hope for him at all?!’

  ‘Sunbird’’s boys’ dorms are seen, the focus going in one of its halls where Hikaru’s walking by in the early morning, his hands in his pockets, looking around.

Hikaru: ‘-Weird. It’s a lot quieter here than it usually is.’

‘What’s the reason behind this calmness and silence?! Hikaru sets out to find the answer!!!’

The teenager hears a strange noise nearby, going to the room from which it’s coming, knocking on the door and then entering. Inside he finds a horrible mess, amidst which is laying none other than Vega, breathing heavily and holding an empty bottle in his hand while a lot more bottles and casks are rolling around, all of them empty as well, leading to the appearance of a comically disgusted expression on Hikaru’s face.

Hikaru: ‘-What the hell is going on here?!!’ (Vega barely manages to raise his head, extremely shocked when he sees his classmate but still unable to get up, falling back on the ground)

Vega: ‘-I need to drink … I really need to … fuckin’ drink, damn it!!!’ (Hikaru leans to his friend and grabs the bottle in his hand when energy sparks explode from the drunken bastard’s eyes and his grip around the glass tightens)

Hikaru: ‘-Man, the bottle is empty. Come on, just give it to me.’ (Vega continues with his attempts to take the bottle for himself)

Vega: ‘-Like hell!!! It’s mine!!!’ (Hikaru continues with the attempts to pull the bottle from his friend’s hands who keeps on pulling it to himself and eventually the mad genius goes on a rampage with a comical angry expression)

Hikaru: ‘-JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN BOTTLE ALREADY, SICK DRUNKEN FREAKAZOID ANIMAL!!!!’ (lightning bolts are shot across the room, the drunken bastard is fried and the bottle is blown to pieces)

Vega is crushed aside as Hikaru lifts him up, dragging him out in the hall, the energetic hero starting to regain his common sense.

Vega: ‘-Suru … is that you … ?’ (Hikaru turns to him with a slightly angry face)

Hikaru: ‘-Who else, V?’ (he takes him to his room, opening the door and throwing him on Seiren’s bed, sitting on his own and looking worriedly at his friend)

Vega: ‘-Ah, shit … (he touches his forehead with a painful expression) … my head’s about to explode any second now.’

Hikaru: ‘-Do tell me now. Why were you in such a state? Where’s King? Why was the room filled with ‘Jack Willshire’?’ (Vega looks aside with a thoughtful expression and then goggles his eyes in shock)

Vega: ‘-Ah! I remembered!! (he manages to sit on the bed as well, sighing) It all started yesterday, after school. (Vega is seen, leaving ‘Sunbird’ when suddenly Aria jumps in front of him with a cute smile, shocking him and making him blush) Aria surprised me. She asked me out. It just came flying out of nowhere!!!’

Hikaru: ‘-Did you accept?’

Vega: ‘-Damn right I did!! I dressed up as neatly as possible and waited for her in the place about which we had spoken earlier. (Vega is seen, getting his hair into a proper shape, then dressing like a real gentleman and finally standing next to a street light with a small bouquet of flowers in his hand) I waited for her for a long time but she never came. (Vega walks around the town afterwards, looking very down) I saw a restaurant on my way home and decided to go inside and eat up. (Vega’s extremely shocked expression is seen then, looking at Aria, sitting on one of the tables nearby with another boy, talking about something and laughing) There I discovered Aria. With another guy that looked a little bit older than us.’ (Hikaru’s brutally shocked, hearing this)

Hikaru: ‘-Damn, son!! I wouldn’t imagine she would do such s thing!!’

Vega: ‘-I was sober then, Suru. There’s no way I’ve mistaken her for someone else. She had lied to me on purpose, just to make fun of me because she knows other girls never invite me out.’ (Hikaru looks aside with a sad face)

Hikaru: ‘-I’m sorry, man. It’s a really shitty situation.’

Vega: ‘-I suppose you can figure out what happened from there on. (Hikaru nods and then Vega is seen in a pub, drinking in higher quantities than ever) I drank a lot and I mean really a lot. Then I went back to the dorms and caused a lot of ruckus there. (Vega enters the dorms, carrying tens of casks and bottles, wrapped around him with energetic chains, and starts shouting and shooting energy shots all over the place) King and Tora came to stop me. (the two battle rams land in front of the drunken bastard and a fight starts between them, leading to lots of destruction, Vega later being thrown in his room along with all the alcohol) When they saw they weren’t going to get the alcohol away from me, they gave up and left me alone.’

Hikaru: ‘-And this morning I came and found you in this horrid state. (Vega nods when Hikaru goggles his eyes and jumps up, picking the energetic hero and dragging him outside of his room, confusing him) Suru, what are you doing now? I need to rest!!’

Hikaru: ‘-We’re going to go and talk to Aria about this right now!!’ (the duo continues walking forward and then Aria is seen in her room, reading a book in bed and alone, the door destroyed and Hikaru jumping in with a most comical angry expression, scaring his schoolmate to death in a comical way)

Aria: ‘-AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Suru!!!! What do you think you’re doing here?!!!!?! (she then sees Vega who’s dragged along with a sad face, shocking her) Vega? You, too?’

Hikaru: ‘-Get your ass over here right now, young lady!! We’re going to sort things out without further delaying!!!’

Later Vega is sitting next to Aria on her bed while Hikaru’s sitting on the floor, the two of them looking down with sadness while the mad genius has folded his arms with considerable anger.

Vega: ‘-Suru, that was a little …’ (Hikaru looks at him destructively, silencing him)

Hikaru: ‘-Go on then, Aria. Explain everything to us. I’m going to be by Vega’s side as you tell us the whole truth!!’

Aria: ‘-Suru, you’ve got everything wrong. So does Vega. (Hikaru and Vega are equally confused and shocked, hearing this) The truth is … I really like you, V. (Vega is still shocked but now blushes as well while Hikaru’s face is more comical than ever) That’s why I asked you out. A few unexpected things happened, though.

 (she looks aside and her memories are seen, where the young lady’s taking a shower when an explosion erupts in her house and all of the sudden the water stops, confusing her) My brother has an explosive deva and he blew up a part of the house while trying to cook dinner. Thanks to that both the power and the water were cut for a long time. (Aria shouts at her brother with a comically angry and ashamed expression as he bows with a comically guilty face) When my parents came back it became even worse and the two of us had to fix it since they don’t have any devas. (Aria and her brother are seen, working on the repairs of the house and afterwards the duo is walking across Deckstoru, stopping by a restaurant) To make up for what had happened, my brother suggested to take me to dinner and he’s the boy with which you’ve seen me in the restaurant. I was so ashamed of myself for what had happened and felt very guilty so I didn’t even notice you were nearby. I decided not to cause you any more trouble from there on. I’m very sorry. I really am.’ (Vega puts his hand on her shoulder and shocks her, the two of them looking at each other)

Vega: ‘-It’s OK, Aria. There’s no need to feel bad about it because it wasn’t your fault, after all. And also you can cause trouble for me all you want because … I like you a lot, too.’ (Aria is mega-shocked, nodding with a shy smile and blushing after that as Hikaru jumps up and starts waving with his hands and an ultra-comical happy face)

Hikaru: ‘-Great then!!! So it was all just a …’ (Aria and Vega both smack him in the face with comical angry expressions, crushing him in the wall)

Vega, Aria: ‘-Would you shut up already!!?!!?!?!!!?!!!!’ (Hikaru falls on the ground with two huge lumps on his head and a comical beaten-up and puzzled expression)

Hikaru: ‘- … huge misunderstanding …’

He falls unconscious and then Aria and Vega look at each other, smiling and moving closer, the action stopping just when they’re about to kiss and transporting us back to Vega’s room, Hikaru standing at the door with great shock. In front of him lies a sea of bottles and casks, amidst which Vega is rolling around, hugging a cask and kissing it with a comical happy expression.

Vega: ‘-Aria, oh, you’re just so cute … definitely the best girl ever …’ (Hikaru steps in and smashes a historical electric kick in the drunken bastard’s jaw with a comical angry expression)

Hikaru: ‘-YOU REALLY DO HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH DRINKING, DUMB MOTHERFUCKER!!!!’

‘Whether it’s real or not, the most important thing is for us to be happy but we should never go too far!! Sometimes things can spin out of control in the most unexpected ways!!’

 THE END