#sakuya; one post in and already done

[lunafool]

of all the brothers aigis could have... why'd she have to pick the noisy one?

[jujumin-translates]

7th Anniversary Scout | Veludo Town Oshi Spot! ~Prologue~

Sakyo: Director-san. Which pair is up next?

Izumi: Masumi-kun and Misumi-kun. But it seems like they’re not done changing yet.

Staff: Next is Sakuma-san and Mikage-san, please head to get your makeup done!

Sakuya: Okay!

Hisoka: Understood.

Tenma: Having everyone do a photoshoot on the same day is pretty chaotic, huh?

Taichi: The staff members sure seem to be working hard!

Banri: I mean, it is a pretty big project, so they’ve gotta get fired up too.

Chikage: It is the Veludo Station Redevelopment Project Commemoration Event, isn’t it?

Izumi: That’s right.

Izumi: (But I still really can’t believe our company was asked to be the ambassadors and navigators for such a big event…)

Citron: Director, Kazu and I have finished our photoshoot safely~!

Izumi: Good work, how’d it go?

Kazunari: Aside from shooting the ads for the event, we had tons of fun with the offshoot pics too!

Izumi: I mean, that makes sense since the purpose of offshoots is that you get to pose however you like.

Itaru: By the way, we’ve all been split into pairs this time. How’d you choose all of the combos?

Tsumugi: I think they were chosen by both the redevelopment project and the people in charge of “VELUDO” since they’re working together for this event.

Azuma: I heard that too. And because the people in charge of “VELUDO” are already familiar with us.

Juza: Good work, Director

Kumon: Hey, hey, what did you think of our photos!?

Izumi: I think it was really nice to see how well you two get along.

Staff: You can see the photos from the shoot on the laptop over here, if you’d like to take a look.

Muku: Wah, really? I’d love to!

Tasuku: You want to check them out too?

Omi: Sure, let’s do that.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: Thank you so much for your help today.

VELUDO Representative: The pleasure is ours. Let’s continue working together to make the redevelopment project a success.

Izumi: Of course!

VELUDO Representative: However, the Inste for the commemorative event that we’ve been posting on prior to the actual event isn’t nearly as the other one.

Izumi: Is that so?

VELUDO Representative: Yes, the follower count hasn’t grown at all. We’re hoping that more people will get to know about us, but…

Izumi: Well, if there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know.

VELUDO Representative: No, no, you’re already helping us out with the web edition of “VELUDO”, we couldn’t possibly ask you to do more.

Izumi: It’s okay. We want to make this event a success, so we’d love to help out.

VELUDO Representative: If you’re really willing to go that far, then we’d like to ask you a small favor…

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: …And so, each of you will shoot a video introducing one place somewhere in Veludo Town and post it to Inste.

Tsuzuru: Do we get to choose the places ourselves?

Izumi: Yeah, the idea is to introduce a place you like or recommend.

Homare: I see. That sounds quite interesting.

Azami: Filmin’ the videos by ourselves sounds kinda hard. Wouldn’t it be better to have someone else film it for us?

Guy: Then why don’t we pair up again and film for each other?

Masumi: Sounds good. I’ll pair up with you, Director.

Izumi: I’m not posting something, you have to pair up with someone else!

Masumi: …Okay.

Sakuya: How should we pick the pairs? By roommates, or by drawing lots…?

Misumi: How about we draw triangles~?

Yuki: That sounds hard to pull together.

Tsumugi: Ah, I know… what if we use the pairs from the ad photoshoot?

Banri: Makes sense. I mean, they are for the same event.

Sakyo: Sounds good. Well then, we’ll shoot the videos for Inste in the same pairs we did the ad photoshoot in.

Izumi: And when you post the videos to Inste, you can post the offshoot photos you took today with them.

Tenma: Right, the ones we took on our phones.

Izumi: Yep, yep. I’ll send the data over to you guys later.

Izumi: Well then, everyone, please film your own videos in time for your individual posting dates.

Kazunari & Taichi: Roger that!

[starswallowingsea]

Hi apologies in advance for this ask being SO long, I just really love a3 and seeing new people get into a3 :')

I happened upon your posts and since you say you've read Act 5 now I'm assuming you managed to find it, but just in case: nobody uses the fandom wiki for a3, everything's on a site called "yaycupcake"! (well, not EVERYTHING everything, you'll have to take to looking on tumblr at Some point and Act 12 translation is a work in progress, but effectively everything)

Other than that, there are video archives on youtube from when the English server was active if you'd want to use those for story, you should be able to find them pretty easy but I can link if needed.

Second thing, it looks like you went right into Act 5 from the Anime? Which is understandable, but you should read the Play Events in between! They're not officially marked as Main Story, but they absolutely are, and you will be lost later on without having read them, both in terms of character development AND important plot stuff. Each Troupe got two Plays between Act 4 and Act 5 so that's 8 Events. Seasonal Events aren't As important so you can skip most of those, but iirc the Christmas and New Year events tie into the main story too.

Lastly - and this is entirely me being picky, so no pressure - if you only watched the Anime, I highly recommend going to read these five Chapters from the first Main Story;

Act 2 Chapter 29

Act 4 Chapters 19-21 (these ones especially)

Act 4 Chapter 31

I don't think anything else important was missed but also it has been a while, this message is long as is anyway akdpemsnms

I hope this helps a bit!!! Sorry if you have already done some of this, and of course even if you haven't there's no pressure to do so, this is just me going "I think this is the best way to get into it!", whatever works best for you is best!

OMG thank you anon! Yes i did get to yaycupcake eventually thanks to my friend Chii @vampuppyy and have it bookmarked now but when I was originally looking for story translations it kept giving me 404 messages so you know. Wasnt really available to use. I do plan on going back for at least some of the events too I have the clockwork one open on my laptop already lmao and these stories are not at all as dense as Enstars stories can be and godbless they aren't suffering from the abyssmal load times of the wayback machine. I did notice Sakuya mentioned their previous plays when giving Chikage the pep talk so I figured it wouldn't hurt to read at least some previous events before moving onto Act 6 anyway.

But thank you so much & if you have anything else my inbox is always open and I will probably continue live blogging as I go. I'm stuck in merge game hell for Engstars right now so I needed something else to do to help stave off burnout there

[akiumzeno]

I was reading a post on tumblr about a certain character in a game and it was arguing why simply killing the person who hurt them wasn't dumb since they never wanted to murder said person and wanted to make their lives a living hell. (And because it’s irrelevant and to not spoil those who are playing that game, I won't say who it was.) But soon this post made me think of none other than Sakuya, the one eyed Tengu.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Because in the post, they said this:

And soon, the cogs in my head started turning.

In both seasons, Sakuya's always working with someone, whether it's Onimaru or Tamen. His villainy only generates by other people's influences. Both Onimaru and Tamen get him to enact whatever plans they have and he follows their orders blindly as shown that he never questioned Tamen’s motives or what he does with the bodies he kills. The only time he did villainy out of his own accord was when he did his massacre right after he got betrayed by Nami (in which I don't doubt that Tamen said something to get Sakuya's gears grinding). So even then, it was an indirect order to go ahead and do that (in the sense that Tamen wanted it but never explicitly stated it so he had to plant the seed).

And there's sort of proof, implicative or not, Sakuya regretted doing the massacre even before his death.

The MC acts similarly to the true Nami, instead of becoming furious, Sakuya becomes tranquil and soothed as if he was being played a lullaby. Which I think this alludes to the fact that perhaps this particular Sakuya has at least a part of him that longs for the past and does wish to erase his murders and be with Nami again.

And as much as I hate to say it, the MC has a point with the "You haven't killed me yet so there must be some good in you left.” (For context, I actually do not like the Soul of Yokai MC a lot.) Because once Sakuya got out of prison, if he so desired, he could've left Onimaru and gone off to do another massacre again.

But he didn't.

He follows Onimaru’s orders, doing what he wants. In fact, he hurts more Yokai than he does humans by following Onimaru's orders. And hell, even Tamen, the fucking God who's known as a huge threat to every Yokai, makes him sabotage Yukio's shop, in which Yukio wasn't even someone who hurt him and they were even brothers. So why would all these people get hurt in the crossfire in his ambition to end humanity?

Even if you make the argument that he doesn’t betray Onimaru and Tamen because Nami betrayed him and he doesn’t want to be just as bad as her, he does actually betray someone.

He and Onimaru order her to hurt Yukio which prompts her to break her allegiance with them and redeem herself. So if he’s willing to betray Hebionna, why doesn’t he break away from Onimaru/Tamen to go murder the humans he so desires to murder? And my answer is… Perhaps Sakuya doesn’t actually want to kill humans.

Okay, hear me out. As I said before, he’s always working with someone with the only exception being his massacre, which the reason was his emotional wound was only fresh which caused him to go into a frenzy. He needs someone to lead him because he's aimless otherwise. Because I think once Sakuya actually has time to think about his actions and reflect (which being in prison for 100 years with nothing to do but train and be by himself would give), he regrets it. He didn’t want Nami dead, he didn’t want those humans dead, he didn’t mean to attack Karasu, he just wanted to drown out the pain. But what can he do now? He’s already murdered all those humans, he’s already been jailed (and escaped it), his friends don’t accept him anymore, he’s no longer the kind, peaceful leader he was supposed to be. He’s gone too far, how can he atone for what he’s done? 

I don't think he doesn't take the MC's advice to try to atone not because he believes what he's doing is right or because his thirst for revenge is so strong but because he doesn't believe he's worthy of being redeemed.

Possibly, to him, the only person who can redeem him is Nami, the first human he murdered, the human he caused all this chaos for, the girl he surrendered his heart to. And perhaps only she can redeem Sakuya because maybe she'll never forgive him. Not after murdering her people, her friends, her family. Not when she hates him.

If he truly believed that only humans were worthless creatures that deserved to die, then why did he attack Karasu? Why did he sabotage Yukio? Why did he try to kill his friend, Hayato? Why did he hurt Yokai that he never even blamed? Why did he join the monster that terrorised the Yokai and human worlds? Why didn't he just go after humans?

So putting all of this together, I don't think Sakuya truly hates humans, or even Nami arguably. He's not a murderer at heart, he doesn't wish to see humans or Yokai hurt deep down. But he's just hurt and lashing out while being guided by the wrong people who just want his strength and him on their side and see him as nothing more than a tool. In the end, he's a terribly hurt individual and didn't know how to handle his first heartbreak that ended so horribly.

[ladyirisreviews]

Review: Touhou Luna Nights

I love this game and let me tell you why, but first a short message.

I first posted this review on my youtube channel, the first review I ever posted in video form, so it was kind of a big deal.

Now I post it entirely in a written form, because that's gonna be my focus from now on, since making videos turned out to be so demanding for me.

And before I forget, hiiii everyone, I am excited about starting anew on Tumblr, fully embracing writing reviews for reading instead of watching.

I always felt like writing was my strong suit so I feel more comfortable like this.

That doesn't mean I think everything I write is good, but I have a way easier time writing than doing anything else.

I'll post all of my past reviews like this, so it might be a while until I start posting entirely new reviews, but I'll let you know when it's an old review.

And lastly, before the actual review, I just hope you get to know about a game you may have never heard of and give it a try, it's a great game.

With nothing else to say, here it comes:

Touhou luna nights it's one of the games I enjoyed the most so far this year (2021), some years ago I watched some videos about it but didn't watch enough to get interested in it back then, earlier this year (2021) I saw it on sale on steam and I decided to give it a go, and I was pleasantly surprised.

To start the review I first need to do a little introduction of the game.

Touhou luna nights it's a Metroidvania based on Touhou, a pretty popular bullet hell, but it's not actually developed by the creator of Touhou, you see, there's a lot of Touhou media done by fans of the original games, and the creator, ZUN, gives permission to publish those pieces of media as long as they follow some rules, luna nights it's one of them.

So this game takes already established characters and puts them in an original scenario.

You play as Sakuya Izayoi, the head maid of the scarlet devil mansion, she is transported to the entrance of a copy of the mansion by her master, Remillia scarlet, and tells her that she has a game planned for her, she also informs Sakuya that her powers have been sealed, most importantly, her power to stop time.

Shortly after she enters the mansion, she encounters Nitori, who gives her a special clock that lets her stop time but just for a fraction of what she is capable of, so with this ability, and some upgrades you get along the way, she'll make her way to the top of the mansion to win her master's game.

Now for the juicy part, well one of, this game is juicy all around, but let's focus on the gameplay.

Being a Metroidvania the main things you'll be doing are walking, jumping, and attacking, I need to mention right away that I love the movement in this game, it's very responsive and it feels super-fluid, you also got a gliding ability to fall slower.

Unlike most Metroidvanias, your main way of attacking is by throwing knives, most Metroidvanias have you get close to enemies to hit them, but you can do so at long range, and quite fast also, but you can't spam forever, you got an mp meter that when empty, prevents you of shooting knives.

The ability to slow down and stop time is what really puts this game apart from other Metroidvanias though.

You can slow it down by holding the attack button for a short period of time, and you can completely stop time using the designated button after you get the mysterious clock from Nitori.

When you stop time, the counter on the top will start to slowly go down, if you move or attack while in time stop the counter will drop even faster, also your knives will stay on the air until time resumes it's course, and there's a limit on how many you can throw while on time stop.

Things that have a hitbox will still hurt you though, like frozen projectiles or the bodies of some enemies and spikes, you can also resume time whenever you like.

Then there's the graze mechanic, when you get very close to an enemy or a projectile, blue squares will fly toward you, these are the graze points.

They restore hp, mp, and time, so it rewards you for playing risky, regenerating the resources you use when attacking allowing you to keep attacking even if you are low on mp, or even saving you with the hp points you can get back.

If you try to get graze points while in time stop you'll get pink points instead, these only regenerate mp and time though, if you want to get HP you need to get close to an enemy while on normal time or when it's slowed down.

You also get some sub-weapons, these cost more mp than regular attacks or an equivalent amount of time while time is stopped, they all have situations where they are pretty useful, like bosses, specific enemy layouts, or even finding secrets, some being outright broken, they are all a great help though.

The number on the top left represents your level, it will increase all your abilities, but hp, mp, and time are not included, they can only be increased by items scattered through the mansion or by buying them at Nitori's store.

And finally, there's gems, enemies drop them when you defeat them and they can be sold for money, but they have a second purpose, each type of gem improves different abilities just very slightly, but it does make a difference when you have a lot of them, you can check at the shop what they improve, so you can pick and choose which ones you stay with depending on your needs.

In terms of mechanics, that's pretty much it, everything that has to do with controlling Sakuya feels very good, movement, jumps and attacks feel so responsive, and once you get a grip on them it feels buttery smooth to travel the mansion.

Because Sakuya's movement is so strong, it's like the level design is kinda trying to fight her, with the exception of bosses, most rooms in the games are closed rooms that have enemies strategically placed so Sakuya can't always just fly by without fighting, but with Sakuya's fighting skills there shouldn't be a problem to dispose of these enemies.

So the result are rooms that feel very smooth to pass through, if you have a good rhythm going there really is no reason for stopping on your way to the next boss, unless you are waiting for your mp or time to be sure you won't have much problem in the next room.

But stages do feel a bit short, the game has 6 levels in total that aren't as long as they might seem at first, a side effect of them feeling so fluid to pass by maybe, and they all conclude at a boss, which to me is the most fun part of this game.

Remember how I said Touhou is normally a bullet hell? well, the graze mechanic also comes from the bullet-hell version of Touhou, while in those games it only gives you points, the decision for it to replenish health and mp might as well be for the bosses, because they can also cause some bullet hells, not as extreme as the original games, but they can be pretty intimidating at first glance.

Platforming through the mansion is fun and all, but bosses really got you moving all around, they put your skills to the test, they always follow some pattern to their attacks though, so learning them is part of the journey to beat them.

The attack patterns have multiple ways to be avoided and you have a bunch of ways to deal damage, so there is room for a lot of player expression, which applies to the whole game.

You have so many options to approach different situations that it's hard to assume everyone will approach it the same way.

There's a couple of tips I can give, they might not sound like much but they do make a difference in my opinion.

Shooting knives downwards while also fluttering makes you stay in the air way longer.

Some sub-weapons have a homing ability, they can also reveal breakable walls.

Your hurtbox is way smaller than you might think at first, you can do some stuff that looks risky thanks to this.

If you get confident with your skills I recommend fighting the bosses without activating the time stop, it's a pretty fun challenge.

That's it about the gameplay, I want to quickly go over the music and graphics.

I love the music, I felt like it fits the game pretty well, for the fast-paced gameplay, and I especially like the boss music, bosses can get hectic and the songs they picked for them go along pretty well for all of them.

The art is also super neat, Sakuya's animations feel so fluid, and the artwork of enemies looks very clean too, there's also a very apparent effort at the effects of attacks and projectiles, this game is eye candy for me.

I think the work Team Ladybug did on this game is stellar, not only does it stand on itself, but it also pays perfect tribute to the original games.

The attack patterns, though less extreme, are very reminiscent of what you would see in a bullet hell, the graze system comes straight from bullet hells too, though in the normal games they give you points instead of healing you.

The small hitbox and the ability to attack at almost any time mimics the feel pretty well, even when this game is in a completely different gameplay style.

And all the songs are remixes of the original game's ost, which not only sound great they also give them a unique flair for this game.

As you can guess, I really recommend this game to anyone, it's not that long and it's easy to pick up, it has a lot of love behind it and I hope more people play it.

It has become a comfort game for me at this point, it goes for cheap on steam and it's also on Xbox and Switch, so there's no reason not to get it if you like games like this.

I am also pretty excited to play the other game they have on steam, which was released fairly recently (at this point it's been out for a year and they even released another game after it), if you played Luna Nights and you liked it I think it's a safe bet to play their other games.

xoxo

Lady Iris.

[imaginesfora3]

Doorstep [Sakuma Sakuya/Reader] [NSFW]

(Also posted here on Ao3! Please enjoy my ramblings)

You’re surprised to see Sakuya on your doorstep.

Your boyfriend had been quite busy lately, juggling a part-time job as well as spending all his nights rehearsing with his troupe. If he had the energy left he’d text you a goodnight and an apology, to which you always responded that you understood perfectly well why you couldn’t see him. It left you feeling a little empty inside that it had been so long since you’d even gotten to lay eyes on him in person but there was nothing to be done about that, there was no way you were going to say that over text and make him feel bad for things outside of his control. You had been wary about not triggering any potential abandonment issues since you knew of his past, not wanting him to think you’ll up and leave him if he doesn’t bend to your will.

You were proud of him for finding a place for himself in the world, and you wanted him to retain that happiness while also having a little safe haven with you.

You were in college yourself so it’s not as though you weren’t busy, you had paper upon paper to finish, and the time you had left was good to recover what was left of your sanity. Would Sakuya being there make you feel better? Absolutely! But again, you didn’t want to push that pressure on him when he was already busy. Sakuya deserved someone who wasn’t selfish, he deserved someone who would only encourage him to keep living his life to the fullest and who would support him, stand by him, no matter what. You wanted to be that person because you loved him that much, Sakuya had been the only man to ever make you feel like you were walking on clouds, you couldn’t diminish how important he was in your life.

That’s why you just don’t get how this phone call went so sour when you were doing nothing but speaking the truth.

“Do you miss me?”

“Sakuya…” Ooh, that was a direct hit, it hurt to hear the way his voice cracked when he asked that. He couldn’t possibly imagine how badly you missed him, how much you just wanted to see him again, but for some reason those words won’t come out. You don’t want to pour your heart out to him over the phone, again worried that you would just be guilting the poor boy. You just don’t realize how unwanted you’re truly making him feel.

“You don’t miss me?”

“Of course I miss you! It’s just… It’s just okay that you’re busy, is all. We’ll see each other again. Got the rest of our lives, yeah?”

It didn’t sit right with Sakuya.

It’s not like he wanted someone to obsessively control or demand his time but to have you acting as though you didn’t care… It made his heart feel heavy in his chest. The odd amount of indifference made him feel on edge, like you weren’t being honest with him, but about what? Did you really not want to continue this relationship but you didn’t know how to break up with him? Sakuya just didn’t get it. He didn’t know how to confide his thoughts in his friends without seeming like a fool, this was his first real relationship after all and he wasn’t quite in the mood to hear that there were other fish in the sea.

“Sorry, I’m really tired tonight… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to rehearse?”

“I was going to come over for a bit before we started, is that… not okay?” Sakuya is gnawing on his bottom lip nervously, his heart sinking further, wondering what you might say next. The few seconds of silence that followed after made his heart ache, made him want to sob into his pillow, but he bit back those overwhelming emotions since he didn’t want to attract Masumi’s attention.

“It’s okay, Sakuya! I look forward to it! So just get some rest and I’ll see you then, okay?”

You’re cursing yourself after hanging up, wondering why you couldn’t just say what you wanted to. You wanted to say that you loved him, that you missed his cute face, that you couldn’t wait to shower him with kisses. You wanted to tell him he’d be lucky if he ever left your house again because you were willing to take him hostage for a day or two if it meant getting him all to yourself. So selfish of you to think like that, you couldn’t help but scold yourself over it, laying down and hoping these weird feelings disappear once you finally see your boyfriend again.

They don’t.

Sakuya doesn’t greet you with his normal cheery smile or a hug and you don’t move in, sensing his odd mood immediately. You invited him in and watched as he went right to sitting down on the couch, hesitantly closing the door; you might’ve contemplated for at least a solid two seconds about running out so you didn’t have to deal with the heavy conversation that was sure to follow.

“You don’t have to hide things from me.” Sakuya said with a pout on his face, the little frown he gives after looking out of place. “I want you to… trust in me. If you don’t care about me the same way…”

“I do trust you it’s just…” Sakuya is frozen, face growing pale as he realized you completely ignored his second statement. Did that mean…?

“You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me! We love each other, right? So, if we love each other, we can make it through anything!” He must’ve been reading the more romantic plays lately to spout out such an ideal without blinking an eye but it was so endearingly him, to the point where you couldn’t stop yourself from holding Sakuya’s face in your hands. Tears were beginning to gather in the corner of his eyes, likely from frustration, and you began to realize that all you had done to ‘protect’ Sakuya had only put up a wall between you.

“I do. I do love you, very much. You know that, right?”

“I don’t know how you feel!” Sakuya cried out, “You won’t tell me!”

Another direct shot but probably a well-deserved one. You hated seeing the pain you were putting him through, wondering if maybe breaking up would be the best. You clearly weren’t adept at relationships either if you managed to let things get this bad, to the point your boyfriend was in tears in front of you

“I remember the first time I ever saw you on stage… It was before the company became an actual company again. And you weren’t very good…” You swiped away a stray tear with your thumb as Sakuya nodded, “But I was invested ‘cause I thought you were so damn cute. I’m really glad that you got a chance to really act and that you’ve grown as much as you have. Getting to see you up on stage with the others makes me so happy because I know how happy you are up there.”

“…I’m happy with you, too.” His voice is soft, almost too quiet for you to hear but you’ve leaned in close at this point, your body naturally drawn towards him. “I like being able to see you in the crowd when I’m on stage. I know if I look at you too long I’ll forget my lines but just that glance is enough to make me feel confident! I want you to feel that way about me.”

“I do feel that way about you… Ugh.” You leaned forward, forehead resting against his as his big, puppy dog eyes looked into yours. “It’s not you doing anything wrong, Saku, it’s me. I just don’t want to bring you down…”

“I’m stronger than you give me credit for, you know?” Sakuya is pouting again, “I know you met me when I first joined the company but so much has changed since then. We’ve both changed since then. I just want us to grow together and not apart; I promise that I can help! Or at least support you!”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so stupid, Sakuya. Can you forgive me?”

“I love you.” Sakuya sounded breathless, the look in his eyes changing within seconds; it was something a little different now, a look you hadn’t known your boyfriend was capable of making before you first had sex.

His lips pressed hard against yours, practically knocking you back on the couch with the intensity. You heard him mumble out some type of apology but you’re too lost in his touch to care, your entire body screaming that the emotional stress had to be worked out somehow. That whole kidnapping plan might become a reality if he kept this up, how were you ever supposed to give him up after this? You needed him here to heal your heart and you had to make sure all the damage that had been done closed up on him as well, arms wrapping around his neck to keep him plastered against you.

“Bedroom?”

“Right here, please.”

Still so polite even while having a raging hard-on after a fight, the tears completely dried from his eyes now as he gave you a look of pure lust. The mood had switched so quickly once the air had been cleared and you were grateful for that, grateful for a chance to get rid of these sad feelings and replace them with a sensation that would make you both feel better. You’re both desperately stripping clothes but you’re faster, getting the jump on him as he’s just taken his pants off. You’re thankful he wore boxers for easy access because you can’t wait another moment for him to be inside you, straddling his lap while his hands rose to touch your hips.

“You’re so beautiful.” Sakuya smiled up at you, looking as if he was meeting a Goddess for the very first time. “I love you.”

“I love you even more.”

You both let out a gasp as he slid inside you, his head thrown back, revealing his throat to you in an act of submission. You’re pleased that he’s making your job easier for you as you leaned in to pepper all the kisses you could over it, giggling as he bucked his hips up in desperate need for friction. It had been so long since you had touched yourself let alone had sex, there was no doubt that Sakuya was in the same boat. You remembered the wide-eyed look he gave you after you asked if he even masturbated since he had to share a room, basking in the way your heart fluttered at how cute a totally red-faced Sakuya looked.

He was still noisy, just how you liked him, moaning at each movement and kiss you gave him. His head was only full of thoughts of you, just like they had been the past week. But these ones were more positive, full of happier memories, full of a hope for the future of your relationship. He could feel how much you loved him each time he thrust into you, your lips brushing against his ear as you whispered sweet nothings into them. He had been afraid that he’d mess up the first time you ever had sex and you had promised to keep him calm, giving him quiet encouragement while taking the lead. He discovered that, while he did want to make you feel good, he liked it better when you took the lead and allowed him to follow. He liked hearing your voice directly in his ear, he liked hearing you whimper his name and tell him how perfect he was at making you feel good.

“Aah- I don’t think I can last much longer…!” Sakuya is starting to sweat but is still making noble attempts to keep a steady rhythm, his arms wrapping around your middle to bring you close to him. “Can we come together? I want to-”

“Mmm, yeah we can, I’m really close…” You reached down to touch yourself to help you along but Sakuya beat you to it, looking up at you with half-lidded eyes and another smile; you couldn’t resist him any longer, leaning in to lock lips with him again as you both come. You feel the desperate twitching of his hips, the way his fingers are digging into the soft flesh of your hips but never enough to so much as leave a mark. He was always gentle with you even within the throes of passion and you truly loved that your body was such a naturally kind, caring soul.

“I love you.”

Again, those three little words are exchanged.

Again, you return them, meaning them now more than ever.

You’re no longer surprised to see Sakuya on your doorstep because you’ve come to one simple realization.

You are his home.

[mochiiwrites]

🍁✨Autumn Troupe Headcanons!✨🍁

Hooray for more uncensored swearing! Sorry, this took so long! It’s hard to think of things for the Autumn Troupe since I don’t know them super well!

🍁🧡Banri Settsu🧡🍁

Whenever it's time for practice, Banri begins by smacking the back of Juza's head! (Not super hard, but enough for it to piss him off)

Diluc main, that is all. Before he got Diluc he was an Amber main, and somehow was good. Still uses her every once in a while!

Slightly intimidated by languages sometimes, I dunno how to explain it, so hopefully the dialogue does!

“Banri, come here for a second.”

“Hell no, I’m in the middle of a match right now.”

“Banri.”

“Sit your ass down and wait, Chikage! I’m busy!”

"Halika dito! Huwag kang humintay na papatayin kita at iwanan kitang dumugo sa lansangan! Inumin ng mga aso ang iyong dugo at kukunin ng mga uwak ang iyong laman. Gusto mo yan?!" ("Come here! Don't wait for me to kill you and leave you bleeding in the street! Dogs will drink your blood and crows will take your flesh. Do you want that ?!" ) I'm unsure of the translation, since the filipino was from Irumaaaaa_saaaaamaaaaa's comment on my Ao3! I just put it into google translate

“Damn! Fine, fine, I’m comin! Chill out!”

His older sister gave him a leopard plushie when he was a kid, which is why he’s fucking obsessed with animal prints!

Plays drums and almost broke the coffee table because he “jammed too hard” on it!

Constantly messing up Taichi’s hair, or he’s drumming to songs on his head.

*boom boom bap boom boom bap*

“Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday! You got mud on your face, you big disgrace! Kicking your can all over the place, singin'-”

“We will, we will rock you!”

“Haha! Hell yeah!”

🍁💜Juza Hyodo💜🍁

Likes carrying Muku or Kumon on his shoulders! Sometimes they still parade around!

“Are you sure about this, Ju-chan?”

“Yeah, you’re real light, y’know.”

“What the hell are you doing, Hyodo? Practice is soon.”

Chews on things a lot when he’s nervous! He always has gum or a lollipop to avoid chewing on his shirt, his nails and other inedible things!

Uses shorter Mankai members as an armrest, but only the ones who are okay with it! He’s polite like that.

On nights where he just can’t sleep, he’ll go on walks or drive around on his motorcycle!

Terrible with eye contact and looking like he’s paying attention. Sakyo has to snap his fingers at him to make sure he’s listening!

Y’know the awkward sibling hug from Gravity Falls, he and Kumon have done that...a lot. It’s not actually awkward though, they just liked the show!

“Awkward sibling hug?”

“...Awkward sibling hug.”

*embrace*

“...pat, pat.”

....

“Hyodos, what the hell?”

🍁💖Taichi Nanao💖🍁

Cried twice when he got his piercings, the first time was because he was very, very afraid, the second time was because he was so happy that he looked good with them!

Has Heelys! One time, he tried to 'heely' into the rehearsal room, but he immediately fell over!

Plays the ukulele! He wanted to play guitar because he saw someone serenading their partner with it at school! He borrowed Masumi's guitar but bar chords suck and his hands are kinda small, so he settled for the uke!

"Aghhh! How do you play that! That hurts my fingies!"

"I have bigger hands and more experience."

"But you're only like an inch taller than me!"

"Height doesn’t really have anything to do with this."

Has a Tiktok! He doesn't post often, it's more for looking at memes or sick outfits. (He does the dances though! He's pretty good at them but they're all in his drafts since he's not super confident in them!)

Y’know how kids crawl up the stairs really fast. He does that. Constantly. Kazunari joins in, sometimes. It pisses Sakyo off a lot, but he gave up on trying to get them to stop.

"Taicchan, what are you doing?"

"Kazu-kun! I got the zoomies!"

"Nice! Can I join ya?"

"For sure!"

*Rapid thumping up the stairs*

"Aren't you gonna stop them, Sakyo?"

"...If I had that ability, they would've stopped a long time ago. Those idiots don't listen."

He LOVES Sk8 The Infinity! Langa's his favourite character! He's also probably a Reki kinnie!

🍁💙Omi Fushimi💙🍁

(It's blue like his regular shirt and Tumblr doesn't have any other colours ;-;)

Despite being tone-deaf, he hums a lot when he cooks! No one seems to mind it!

Enjoys scrapbooking! He kind of prefers scrapbooks to albums, since scrapbooks have a more homemade vibe, you know?

Gives the best hugs, and tends to hold hands with the younger members when they cross the street!

Regularly has this conversation!

“Banri, have you eaten?”

“I dunno Omi, have YOU eaten?”

“...I have. But that's not what I’m concerned about.”

“...I had a granola bar like, an hour ago.”

“...I’m making you something.”

When he first joined the company, he took notes on what everyone liked and didn't like to eat, plus if they had allergies! He still has it, he just doesn't need to use it anymore!

I feel like something like this has happened once!

“Ah, Omi! Can you help me grab something?”

“Oh, sure. What do you need, Sakuya?”

“Homare asked me to get some of that tea, but I can’t rea-”

*lifts Sakuya like Simba*

“Ah! Omi, haha! What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it! Do you want me to stop?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! It’s kinda fun actually.”

🍁💛Sakyo Furuichi💛🍁

Absolutely blind without his glasses, like it’s really bad. He walked into a doorframe without his glasses. Thankfully, no one noticed (he thinks).

He has a bit of bubble-wrap in his a pocket all the time and sometimes he uses it as a threat! (Hopefully that made sense...)

“Settsu, move over.”

“I literally can’t! Your fat ass is taking too much space!”

*pop*

“Just scoot your lazy ass over.”

*pop*

“I can’t I already-”

*pop*

“...Alright, I get it! I’ll shut up! Jeez, how is that so threatening...”

“...Asshole.”

*pop*

“...Sorry.”

Definitely told Azami that Santa wasn’t real when he was like 6.

Sakoda got him a mug that said #1 Dad but he crossed it out and replaced ‘Dad’ with ‘Aniki’! Sakyo still drinks out of it, sometimes!

Azami also made him a friendship bracelet when he was a lot younger. Sakyo doesn’t wear it (because it doesn’t fit him anymore) but he still has it! He likes rubbing the beads between his fingers.

Good at trivia! Like, really good. He somewhat enjoys Trivia Murder Party. (I just watched a play through and skipped to a random question, I have no idea if it’s actually hard lol.)

“Which body of water connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean?”

“Wh- How are we supposed to know that?!”

*Sakyo answers ‘The Strait of Gibraltar’ and is the only one who answers correctly*

“Fuck, my thumb slipped.”

“That shouldn’t be allowed. Sakyo’s shitty and old, he shouldn’t be able to know and remember things.”

“Oi, brat. I’m not that old. You’re not the one who got the answer right.”

“You’re not the one who literally never learned this!”

🍁❤️Azami Izumida❤️🍁

Has smacked too many cans/cups out of Itaru and Tsuzuru’s hands!

“Wh-”

“Drink actual water. And jeez, go take a nap or something. Your skin is even worse than I thought it could get. Aren’t you supposed to be the responsible one in the Spring Troupe?”

“Ah... I guess, you are right. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“W-well! W-we can’t have you on stage looking like a raisin! S-so!”

Often criticizes Izumi’s eyeliner and ends up just doing it for her. N-not that he minds or anything!

Played Love Nikki at some point, I do not take that much criticism.

Because I think the troupe/play themes are canon, he definitely helped with Shake the Shape and wrote some of RESPAWN!

Always has extra hair ties on him, even though most of the others don’t really need them. Most of the time, the hair ties end up being used for...other purposes.

“Ready.”

“What?”

“Aim.”

“Azami, I swear to whatever god is listening, if you fire that elasti-”

“Fire.”

“...You shitty brat-”

“Oh shi-”

Part of the ‘wears nail polish’ squad! He hates stickers. (Most of the time they somehow fall off) His go-to is an alternating pattern of black and red.

[ctts-au]

Closer to the Sun || Episode 8

Summary: Between Mankai and the Organization, Chikage struggles to balance both his lives as he prepares for his lead part in the Mixed Play Performance of “Close to the Sun”.

A rated-T fake event with Chikage as lead and Sakyo as co-lead with supporting cast Sakuya, Itaru, Juza, and Azami. The structure of this fic is based around how event play translations look, so it is purely dialogue (with pictures!). The only ship is Chikage/Sakyo.

A/N: The third and fourth flairs (except for Chikage’s) will be posted later today!

Sakyo: (Even though he said we would speak with each other, we didn’t.) (He was too focused on patching me up, and I was holding my tongue.) (I wanted to give him some time to collect his thoughts, but I had waited too long and eventually passed out.) (When I woke up, he was shaking me awake and told me we were back at Mankai.) (He helped me out of the car and we went in quietly, at a time before Takato woke up.) (But then we parted ways and I hadn’t seen him since.) (I wondered if I ever would again.) (And… I could tell the others wanted to ask me about him.) (I wouldn’t know what to say anyway…)

~

Juza: …

Sakyo: …

Juza: …

Sakyo: … I thought we’ve moved past this, Hyodo.

Juza: …

Sakyo: Spit it out already.

Juza: … Tasuku-san’s the understudy for Solaris ‘cause… ‘Cause Chikage-san hasn’t come to practice lately.

Sakyo: I’m aware.

Juza: Is he…

Sakyo: … I don’t know.

Juza: I… see.

Sakyo: …

Juza: We tried though… That still has to count for something, right?

Sakyo: … Indeed.

Sakyo: (I just wish we were successful.)

~

Itaru: Y’know. The first day they asked me if Senpai was sick. I said it was a business trip.

Sakyo: …

Itaru: Heh… I know, shitty lie right?

Sakyo: Chigasaki—

Itaru: I mean what am I supposed to tell them? “Sorry about that, but Senpai won’t be coming back for the foreseeable future.” “Hey, we might need a new sixth member of Spring, hope that’s okay!” “Oh y’know, he’s just an asshole who left the only good thing he had going for him.” Not to mention—

Sakyo: Chigasaki.

Itaru: … Did you at least try?

Sakyo: Yes. (More than you know.)

Itaru: Well… Maybe I should’ve tried more… More than just getting mad at him.

Sakyo: We did all we could.

Itaru: … It wasn’t enough though…

~

Azami: We can ask the family to look for him.

Sakyo: No, it’s a waste of resources and men.

Azami: But we can’t just let him go!

Sakyo: Bon… If Utsuki doesn’t want to be found, then he won’t be.

Azami: He will be.

Sakyo: Bon—

Azami: I’m calling my dad.

Sakyo: *sigh*

~

Sakyo: ? (Sakuma?)

~

Sakuya: …

Sakyo: (He’s looking at the stars…) Sakuma. It’s cold out.

Sakuya: Oh! Hey Sakyo-san, I was just—

Sakyo: You don’t have to pretend with me, Sakuma, I know you’re worried about him.

Sakuya: …

Sakyo: …

Sakuya: It’s just… I… I really thought he… I thought he found a home with us…

Sakyo: …

Sakuya: I wanted to be there for him. Like how the rest of Spring were there for me. And I… I wish we could’ve made it more comfortable for him to talk to us…

Sakyo: … There’s only so much we could’ve done for him. (If only that was the reason he left though…)

~

Sakyo: I’m fine, Izumi.

Izumi: Y’know, I’d believe you if you let me poke your side.

Sakyo: Absolutely not.

Izumi: Hmph, then I don’t believe you.

Sakyo: You’re being childish.

Izumi: And you’re a stubborn ass. I just want to know if you really are okay.

Sakyo: I can assure you poking me will only hurt.

Izumi: Oh Sakyo-san, I didn’t know you were ticklish!

Sakyo: *sigh*

Izumi: Hehe. C’mon c’mon, next store.

~

Sakyo: ? (This store again… We went here last time.)

Izumi: We forgot to get something here.

Sakyo: We? I have no business in this kind of store. … (I say that, but she’s still pulling me along.)

Izumi: Here.

Sakyo: … I’m not really one to judge on how they’d look on someone. Much less wear these myself.

Izumi: They’re not for us. Hmm… Ah, it’s this one! Give this to him.

Sakyo: This is…

Izumi: These were the ones you were staring at when we were shopping the other day. I think he’d really appreciate receiving these from you.

Sakyo: … (She must know he hasn’t been at the dorms in weeks, so why is she…?) He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy either.

Izumi: You never know. We didn’t think he liked rabbits either.

Sakyo: That’s… true.

Izumi: Give it to him. Maybe as a peace offering because I have a feeling something’s gonna happen.

Sakyo: *sigh* Alright. (Still… That’s if he’s even coming back.)

~

Chikage: (When Sakyo-san and I got to the hideout, we didn’t talk.) (While I cleaned and bandaged his side, I was worried if I had pushed him too far that now it was too late…) (But I didn’t have the chance to ask since he fainted.) (After cleaning up the hideout a bit, I carried him to the car and drove slowly back to Mankai.) (Once we arrived, I watched him for a moment before waking him up then helping him out of the car.) (We went in early enough where Tasuku wouldn’t be up and about.) (But then we left each other’s side and I engulfed myself in my work.) (Briefly, I wondered if I should’ve left completely.) (Though, it’s kind of difficult when my own brother wouldn’t leave me alone for weeks.)

Hisoka: …

Chikage: …

Hisoka: …

Chikage: …

Hisoka: The first performance is tomorrow…

Chikage: … Yeah.

Hisoka: Are you gonna go?

Chikage: …

Hisoka: You should go to the performance.

Chikage: *sigh*

Hisoka: … Do you still have it?

Chikage: … I wouldn’t lose something as precious as this.

Hisoka: I know…

Chikage: Will you let me leave if I keep it?

Hisoka: … Do you really want to leave that badly?

Chikage: Yes.

Hisoka: … Okay.

PREV || NEXT

[thedragonlover]

The Short Okami Ramble Post So My Friends, Mutuals and Followers Who Haven't Already Might Go Play It

Note: I'll try to keep spoiling the fun surprises to a minimum but obviously I'll be talking a lot about the game. I'm sure others have done a better job of explaining it but, eh, who cares? This is just an excuse to gush about it.

So, for the basics, this game came out on the PS2 back in 2006/2007 (depending on your region), made by Clover Studios (which sadly closed a few months after its release). It has since been ported to the Wii, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and onto PC through Steam. The name "Okami" is actually a pun, something I didn't get until my friend (the one who's playing it) recently told me that (as the Wiki puts it)

' the word ōkami (狼) in Japanese means "wolf". The kanji characters (大神), pronounced identically, mean "great deity", so the main character is a great wolf deity.'

I must've known on a spiritual level with how much I adored this game lmao.

Also I mean, look at it. The game's art style is... gorgeous.

Like??? I love it so much!!!

.

STORY

It obviously takes a LOT of inspiration from Japanese mythology. The main character is a wolf named Amaterasu (after the Shinto sun goddess). She is the wielder of the Celestial Brush (her tail, something my friend didn't notice at first) with a collection of techniques that, when you start the game, have been scattered across the land of Nippon among the gods to which she is the "mother" of. Gotta collect em all!

The pre-main menu video talks about the legend of Shiranui (aka Amaterasu's previous incarnation), a white wolf that helped Nagi (a fabled human warrior) defeat and seal the dreadful eight-headed serpent Orochi (based of course off of the Yamata no Orochi) that was eating the maidens of Kamiki Village year after year. Before this climactic fight, the villagers had assumed the wolf was another minion of Orochi--but then Shiranui ran in after Nagi like "yo worm catch these PAWS", and then strange miracles occurred that gave them the upper hand. Sadly, Shiranui's wounds from the fight were too great. A statue was erected in a small shrine to honor the wolf for helping save the village.

Then the game starts a hundred years later, when darkness was unleashed once more. The guardian wood sprite of Kamiki, named Sakuya, protected the village within a peach on her tree, and using the last of her power summoned Amaterasu back into the world. The goddess had weakened in her absence, losing many of her abilities, hence the player has to go retrieve them all to become stronger and defeat evil. (By the way, learned that the game director loved The Legend of Zelda games and, yeah, I can tell.) You don't say much, being a wolf, but you are joined by a little buddy named Issun, a traveling painter who is interested in acquiring the Celestial Brush techniques himself and so decides to come along for the ride.

And boy, is it one fun ride! A lot of stuff happens after this but, of course, I'd rather you play and experience it for yourself. Even if I'd love to ramble about all the different characters lmao

NOTE: It's a dated game, so it will have some tropes of the times and jokes that might not land well nowadays. I don't think it has anything horrible in it, but obviously your mileage may vary, so keep the ratings in mind before you decide to play.

.

GAMEPLAY

Speaking of brush techniques! They're the power-ups and abilities of the game. You start out with the Sunrise ability because. Y'know. Sun goddess. But you acquire many many more throughout the game. Thirteen total techniques exist--plus upgrades! Moves like Power Slash, Inferno, Cherry Bomb, Waterspout, Bloom, etc. They're used for combat, transport, finding secrets etc.

There are other abilities in the game too, most you get by going to one of the dojos to be taught by Onigiri-sensei. Yes, this old man will teach a dog new tricks. AND! There are several weapons of three different types: Reflectors, rosaries, and glaives. Each type, and each individual weapon even, has its own playstyle and abilities--and you can have two equipped, with one main and one secondary, giving even MORE customization to your combat style. I used rosaries my first few playthroughs with the other two types as secondaries, though nowadays I like to mix it up; my friend mains glaive, with rosaries as secondary.

The way you enter most combats is by running into a floating "demon scroll" that wanders the overworld, which then spawns a barrier around a small arena filled with various demons. There's also Demon Gates, which are cursed gates that sorta sit there messing up the place until you run through it and trigger an unescapable fight. Clearing those up often cleanses the land and gains you rewards, or unlocks new areas, so knock em dead!

Boss fights, well, they're generally very obvious when they'll start. Most are behind save points or checkpoints, and have a lot of build-up in the game. You generally won't get caught off-guard, but saving often and with multiple save files is still a good tactic to make sure you don't get your tail whooped or accidentally miss something you can't get back to. (Says I, the spastic saver.)

.

RECOMMENDED? HELL YES.

This game was obviously something I latched onto as a kid, but I've replayed it from start to finish so many times because I truly do enjoy the whole experience.

The characters are interesting and fun, the plot weaves together a lot of smaller stories into the larger whole, and the art style and gameplay really caught my eye and still kind of wows me. The themes of the game involve a lot of duty, honor, loyalty, heroism, compassion, and faith (which, while obviously used a lot in the heavenly sense, since you're playing AS the deity, I always felt like ended up more as a "faith in your friends" kind of way).

And there are so many ports and remasters of this game that it's pretty much available to everyone nowadays! If you haven't already played this game, I highly recommend giving it a try, if only to run around freely as a wolf and kick some tail to save the world.

Even if you don't pick it up though, I highly recommend looking at the art and listening to the soundtrack, because they are gorgeous even without any of the context! Some may have spoilers of course. But, there's a reason why this game was often used as proof of the argument that Video Games Are Art.

[katzkinder]

Touma and Tsurugi

Aight, so. I have had this post sitting in my drafts for AGES, contemplating whether I should even post it or not, and... I think I will.

Time to talk a bit about what is probably the most controversial character in Servamp, outside of a certain yippee ki-yay motherfucker. I’m partially writing this as part of my own means of moving forward, so forgive me if this seems disjointed or spacey. Unlike my other posts, which are written in one sitting, this one’s going to be strewn together over the course of multiple days. Formatting might be a little wonky too because of that, especially since I haven’t been feeling at 100% these last few days.

Anyway! Let’s hop into it! In usual Kat format, this probably won’t make much sense! Preemptive warning for all the usual stuff that comes parcel and package with Touma and Tsurugi. Child abuse, neglect, PTSD, you know. All that... Fun stuff... Not all of these are mentioned or even implied but... Yeah. Just in case. Under the cut because it is Very Long.

Gonna also preface this by saying that I am not, by any means, excusing Touma’s actions or behavior. I’m taking him to task today and tearing the dude apart because he’s such a well crafted depiction of how abusers can love the people they hurt, and how they can be sympathetic because they are human, while still being awful, and I want more people to appreciate that. You don’t have to like him by any means. Lord knows I don’t.

But it’s also disingenuous to write him off as a villain hellbent on hurting others for the sake of hurting, especially when that’s exactly what he wants people to think of him.

Touma’s cruelty and his stubborn refusal to rely on anyone but himself is absolutely a defense mechanism meant to protect himself from those with seemingly kind intentions. The man grew up in an incredibly abusive household, where physical and emotional abuse was the norm. Like a hedgehog, he spikes himself up, lashes out at those around him with his words, digging into any weak point he can manage to find because if he doesn’t let anyone in, if he keeps the curtains closed shut, he will be safe, he will be safe, no one will ever have the power to hurt him again.

Like, no healthy person acts like that. He wants people to think he’s vile. He wants people to hate him. He’s, in his own words, “a villain with a pedigree.”

And then there’s his relationship with Tsurugi, and how that plays out. Despite how awfully he’s been treated, Tsurugi... Wants to stay with him. Not because he can’t imagine any other way of existing. Oh, he knows it’s there. He can leave any time he wants to. If he gave even the slightest of inklings that he wanted out from under Touma’s thumb... Junichiro and Yumikage would grab him and go. We even see Yumi offer within canon to pay off all of Tsurugi’s debts, which are... The thing tying him to Touma the most, from an outsider’s perspective.

He wants to stay because... Touma is his family. Because if he’s a godawful person who abused the hell out of him... He’s still his savior and someone he cares for deeply. Even when, by all rights, he’d be better off kicking him to the curb.

Truth be told, back when we all thought Touma was dead, I was actually really disappointed in that particular story decision. It seemed like such a copout way to deal with him as a character! Like, having the abuser sacrifice their life to save their victim as one final act of grand redemption and proof that they were a “good person” all along... Fuck off with that! I want Touma to live. I want him to live and grow and become better than he was, but to always know, in the back of his mind, what he has done and who he has hurt and how he made someone he loves suffer.

And I’m glad that we’ve already seen a tiny glimpse of change in him, when he removes Tsurugi’s collar. He sets him free. And that made me so happy.

Going to get a little Too Real with y’all right now, but I... Spent the majority of my formative years in an abusive home. I’ll spare you the details, but my mother and step-father were not... Good people. I met with my mother again when I was 13, and I was ecstatic, because that’s my mom! She was my mom, and I loved her. Less than a year later, though... She vanished. Promised she would only be gone for a year and then... Nothing.

I was fine with that. I was hurt, but I could live with it, because she had already abandoned me before. What I couldn’t forgive, though, what I couldn’t overlook, was her doing that to my little sister. At least, I thought I couldn’t... If I’m honest with myself? I know that, if she ever came back into my life, I’d hug her neck and cry and tell her how much I missed her, and beg her not to leave again.

The story of Touma and Tsurugi... Is one that resonates with me on a very deep, very personal level.

I want Tsurugi to get the happy ending, and the happy family, I know will never be available to me in the form I want it to be.

I want Touma to grow, and to heal, and to overcome the hand life has dealt him and that he felt he had no other choice but to play with.

I could have easily become someone like Touma. Instead I am like Tsurugi, because I had people who loved me and wanted me to thrive despite my circumstances.

I talk a lot about this series, go so in depth with it and its characters, love it and this fandom and the people I have met through it so much because it... Has helped me grow, and it has helped me heal.

Which is fantastic! Because Servamp, at its core, is a story of healing. Of learning to let go of the past and move on towards a brighter future. It doesn't mean you have to forget where you came from... Just that your past doesn’t define you. There's always time to change.

Not even just with Touma and Tsurugi.

With Shuuhei and Sham. With Lust pair. With Lawless. With Kuro. With Sakuya. Even... With Mahiru. Every single time... There's something in their past holding them down and hurting them so terribly... And they can't grow as a person until they deal with it.

Servamp has helped me deal with mine. Thank you so much, everyone.

[little-ideas]

Watch your back

I want to see this so bad. At some point I will try and do a Part 2 featuring all of Veludo Way instead of just Mankai, but the ideas were coming for Mankai atm

It has several names, but I know the game as Assassin. A quick rundown for anyone who needs it:

Everyone gets a name of a target and tries to get them out. If they succeed, they get the name of that person’s target and it continues until there’s only one person left. There are safe zones and often really silly safety items/conditions that have people questioning as to whether or not they want to do them (e.g. 45 perfect squares of 1-ply toilet paper wrapped around the neck 3 times like a scarf)

Sheer and utter chaos

You might think people like Misumi or Hisoka would have an advantage, but they have weaknesses (as demonstrated in Act 7’s zombie game) and so it’s anyone's guess as to who might win

Their own rooms are off-limits, but others’ are fair game i.e. Juza is safe from Banri in their room, but if he’s in Muku’s or Kumon’s then he’s a target

Homework, work, meals, and the designated practice times are safe times

Taichi and Tenma have never done their homework so early and diligently before

Cooking WAS off-limits until people complained that Omi was practically untouchable. Izumi took over cooking duty all that week. Everyone cried and instantly regretted  their actions

In order to make it so that people actually put effort into the game, Sakyo puts a $50 (or equivalent valued request) prize

Izumi announces the security prop the night before

In order for the prop to be effective, though, it must be visible and in active use during a street-play when outside the dorms, and visibly on the person inside the dorms

After too many close-calls in lateness due to early morning street acts with the props, morning commutes are now safe

To keep the game from stagnating, there are a few hours every night when there is no safety prop

It is practically an all out brawl during these hours

To be considered “out”, a kamekichi sticker has to be placed on their target

Chikage forged a kamekichi sticker and managed to convince the first 2 people who had him that they had already tagged him and he would give them the paper with his target’s name once he was done with work. He didn’t

Taichi tried to nerf-gun attach a sticker to his target. It failed when the sticker fell off the bullet

Tsuzuru was tagged out when he was refilling his coffee mug. It took him a few hours to notice

Muku and Sakuya formed a temporary alliance. Then one of them got another

Sakyo was ousted while on the toilet

Kaz had Sumi show him the obscure hiding places in the theater and dorm and would post pictures from them as hints. He ended up being tagged while on campus

Banri never has Juza as his target and he HATED it

Azami didn’t care Sakyo wasn’t his target, he instantly slapped his sticker onto him

Azuma was the first one out

Yuki refused to do any of the safety items

If the instructions weren’t strict about how to wear an item, Homare had the most creative ways to adorn his. He almost won purely because people wanted to see how he would address each day’s item. He keeps it up even after getting out

Sakoda won. They still aren’t sure how he did it

[macaronnya]

So I just saw the announcement about the EN server shutting down or at least dicontinued (hopefully just for now) and I might just burst into tears 🥲 I want to put my thoughts or rather feelings of the journy up until now on here to come down but maybe also as some form of comfort for anyone who needs it? It's very long and might have some broken english as it's not my first language so do keep it in mind please 😅

Anyways, I started A3! last year on march 7th because I saw a youtube video of people cosplaying Sakuya and Sakyo. At taht point, I already knew of A3! somewhere in my distant memories back when it was JP only. I decided to try out the game since I was getting bored of my current mobile games and the few reviews I could find of it were relatively positive. I had no idea just what a big part of my life this game was about the become 🤧

Btw I'm listening to some A3! songs right now, specifically Sakuya's 2nd character song, and it's not helping me 😢 So at the time, lockdown just started 2 days ago, which left me with a lot of time playing it and, I kid you not, I gulfed the main story down like it was the last slice of cake at home. I have 2 siblings. I think I finished it in a week or so despite it being only unlockable through leveling up, and if my memory serves me right, you need to be around lvl 75 to unlock all 4 episodes. As one can see, I was VERY invested in the story. It was just so....nice? I don't know how to exactly describe it but I was surprised by how likable everyone was. Of course I didn't hold such strong feelings for everyone back then as I do now but I was intrigued enough back then of nearly everyone, which is kind of rather rare in such types of games, no? At least for me it is, although I haven't played terribly a lot (Love Live, MLQC, Mystic Messenger).

I really like how the story actually continues through the events and how it alternated between stories exploring certain characters more (show events) and stories focusing on just them having fun. Getting to know everyone bit by bit and seeing how everyone grows closer to each other, not only within their respective troupes but the whole theater, makes me really all warm and fuzzy and it's found family, what more could you want?

Also, I really like Izumi, our dear MC 🥰 Even though she's supposed to be our self-insert, I found myself really enjoying reading her thoughts, observing her reactions to other characters' shenanigans (like her 'I do not see' to the members plan of faking their identity to bail Citron out lol) and just....her personality. Trying not to digress here but she has a lot more personality than other MCs in these joseimuke games and it makes her interactions with others not only bearable but even enjoyable. I'm not saying that this is what a perfect MC looks like or that she's superior to bland self-inserts. After all, it depends on the story, gameplay and other things. It's just a nice bonus I'm very grateful for. I mean, I got really emotional when Izumi performed with the other staff members all of the plays the actors have put out so far for the first anniversary. Her realizing she gained a new dream for her lost one just really took my heart, broke it in thousand pieces and then mended it again.

I also love A3! songs ❤ I did wonder how they would work in this franchise since it's not about idols but actors, though I guess there was nothing to worry about. I really like the duets because it's always a different duo and hearing them singing together, harmonizing with each other, complimenting each other, just fills me with undescribable joy. Of course the songs also slap pretty much every time. Even by limiting my options to 1 troupe, I still wouldn't be able to pick only one favourite (I like the majority of Winter's song tho, like Shoutai is just 🤌 and my sibling blasted Unmasked non-stop so I can't get it outta my head anymore). Gosh, I was so excited for 'Double Solitaire' since it would complete trilogy of the Hyodosakas singing together. I was really looking forward to getting all the songs and I was even saving up for Summer Troupe's 6th play.

If I had to describe the game A3! in one word, it'd be "charming". Coming to game itself, there are so many little quirks, that on their own aren't anything groundbreaking or big but together give the game its own flair. Live 2D is pretty common to see nowdays in games because it brings the characters to life through movements like 3D models. But I think A3! is able to illustrate it just as well, if not even better with their 2D sprites. Citron moonwalked by flipping the image over and sliding across the screen, Hisoka appeared out of nowhere by coming from above the screen, they do a little jump when they're happy, they go down a bit when they're sad. And that's just things with their whole sprite. The little drops when Tsuzuru finds himself in an awkward situation or is worried, the little note when Sakuya is happy, the hearts when Kazunari is lowkey flirting with Izumi, it's so cute! Or Omi's O.O face, Taichi's crying face (the usual one, not his face when he cried out of guilt of betraying Mankai), Yuki's done expression, H O M A R E AHA! They each have at least one personalized expression and also quote. Can you hear Kazunari's Yoropiko~☆, Citron's humming, Taichi's loud ass whining and scream of terror, Tsumugi's awkawrd laugh? It's brimming with life.

But also the UI (?how it looks) is joyful. The main screen's background cascading shapes changes depending from which Troupe your current character is from, the loading screen has sakura petals and a bird, the colors are very bright and saturated fitting to the overall color palette of the whole game, the little notebook during practice showing all the necessary infomation and a little sketch by the characters. It's just really charming.

As frustrating as it was, not getting halloween Tsuzuru after 110 pulls or Valentine Omi after 120, it was my first time ever understanding why gachas are called hellholes. Through my strong connections to the characters, their cards automatically appealed to me more. But the art is also so good???? Azuma is always looking flawless obviously but Omi's unbloomed Wolf card, where he is standing in the sunset looking at his camera or Kazunari's Shinobi card, unbloomed all concentrated on his panting and bloomed all shiny smiling like the fireworks in the background? Breathtaking everytime. I also appreciate it not needing multiple copies to unlock the whole backstage story.

I think I'm slowly running out of things to say, which might be good for whoever managed to come this far. I have to say though, A3! helped me through the pandemic. Being a perfect distraction to the world's chaos and more importantly my crushing schoolwork and worries for personal future. I'm a very pessimistic person but seeing the characters overcoming their hardships through the help of their to-be "family" and just being happy doing trouble, gave me a little hope and light for a bit every day. I came to cherish everyone, even those I like the least. I haven't felt like this since Mystic Messenger, which was also a game, that helped me through a difficult time. I can only wish to a shooting star, that it's not the end for the EN Server yet. While yes, the JP server is thriving and I could just switch to reading fantranslation, through my experience, my enjoyment considerably sinks playing like that and I wish to fully enjoy A3!.

Anyways thanks for reading (maybe again). Sorry for all the possible errors on the way here. I'm writing everything directly without too much thought. If you want, you can also share your experiences in the comments. It's always nice to share good memories with others.

Edit: I accidentally posted it already but I wasn't actually done 😓 When I said I had a lot to let out, I meant A LOT

[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 ⇢ ]

[emilycollins00]

omg it's now open!! can i ask for the tenma and izumi's sister street act pretty please? hehe uwu thank you very much!

Wish I could hug you so bad love, I’m so sorry this one took so long!

I’ll be honest, I had for a long time an idea but I just wasn’t feeling it, didn’t like it. So I waited to get some other ideas and honestly I’m much happier with this version! Hope you like it too.

Note this is another short of the Izumi’s sister!reader Series. I know for sure it will be a mess if I start to link each previous post, so I will put the link to my Masterlist HERE and if anyone wants, you can look for the previous parts there.

Once again, thank you so much for your patience 💕 Please enjoy! 

Izumi’s little sister! Reader. Pt. 4. Street act and thoughts

-

“Wait, you mean THAT'S why everyone keeps Masumi from talking to me?”

Izumi laughed awkwardly inside her coat, small clouds coming out of her mouth due to the cold. “It's fine, Y/N. He’s a good kid and most of the time it only gets a bit weird.”

“Most of the time?”

“Anyway!" Izumi clapped her hands and looked at you with a big grin. "I'm so excited you are staying tonight. We should have done this sooner!"

You raised your eyebrows. It was as clear as day she was trying to get out of the conversation. Sighing, you decided to humor her and let it aside for now. “Are you sure it’s fine though? You said the winter troupe was rehearsing for the upcoming perf-”

“Of course it’s fine! Everyone was delighted when I told them you were coming,” she insisted as you both crossed the Veludo district. “Besides, thanks to you we’ll even get to have curry sooner than I counted for!" as she lifted some bags, you couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.

“You look more excited about the spices and ingredients I brought than me staying over, you know”

“Hey! Not true" Izumi pushed you lightly with her hips, making stumble and giggle. You had been sceptic, but it felt nice having some sibling quality-time with your sister again.

A few minutes later, you two finally arrived at the dorm’s entrance. Izumi took out the key to enter when someone slammed the door so loud you even let out a shrill screech.

“Yes! Yes, I am deeply sorry!” you blinked with a mixture of worry and wonder at the manager of Mankai talking on the phone feeling a deja vu. How could someone bow so fast while moving around? “Of course! Yes, I'm already on my way!"

“Matsukawa-san?!” Izumi called out worriedly, but he was already out of her reach. The man did seem to hear her though, turning slightly but not stopping.

“Everything’s fine, director! Please don’t worry, I’ll make sure…!”

Neither of you got to hear the end of the sentence, the silhouette of the man getting smaller and smaller. You saw your sister looking at the distance with a tired expression “You don’t look surprised”

Izumi shook her head at your comment, pulling the door knock and allowing you to enter “If I had to question everything that happens around here I... Anyway, let's-“

“Here comes the tour guide! Here comes so don’t move another step!”

She pressed the bridge of her nose.

                                      -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Ah, welcome back you two,” you heard Omi’s voice coming from the kitchen as Izumi opened the lounge door with you behind. “You arrived just in time. I’m finishing some scones.”

“Omi-kun, did Matsukawa-san say…”

“Y/N-pi!” Kazunari’s voice vibrated from the living room’s couches. “Come here, we missed you! I’m sure you’re looking as bomb as always though!”

“Took you long enough, Wild Currian Performer.”

Tenma turned to you as well to talk but stopped halfway. “What the hell.”

Looking up, you were thinking the same. Kamekichi had yet to move from your head “Uh, thank you for… bringing me inside.”

The bird flapped its wings vigorously. “Of course, took you long enough! I am the tour guide!” after that, he took fly and left.

You stared at the hallway visibly confused. What was up with this dorm.

“Wait, was he waiting at the entrance all this time?” a blond man with a phone frowned from the couch. “No wonder I couldn’t find him to bring me- shit, advertisements,” he groaned, glancing at you and then turning his attention back to the screen. “Anyway, nice to meet you in person, Y/N-san. Although Citron and Sakuya talk so much about you I feel like I was there the first time.”

“Uh… thanks?”

As if summoned, the spring leader popped his head into the room “I heard the door, did- Y/N-san! Welcome back, I’m so happy you could come to visit us again!”

You smiled at the boy.

“Okay everyone, help yourselves, there’s more if you want.” Omi walked towards the table and left the plate of scones in the middle, allowing everyone to grab a piece.

You took one, humming delightedly at the sweet flavor. The autumn member chuckled “Would you like anything special for tonight’s dinner, Y/N?”

“Ah, we already covered that, Omi-kun! Y/N brought spices from home, this curry will feel so nostalgic!”

All the actors in the room flinched.

“I see…”

“F in the chat. Why am I not surprised” Itaru mused to himself.

“I-I am sure it’s really good…!”

“You two really are family uh…no, wait!” Tenma shook his head. “Forget about curry!”

“Hey! What’s with everyone dissing curry?” you frowned as you cleaned the rest of the crumbs from the scone, raising your eyes to everyone in the room.

“That’s not what I mean” he rubbed his forehead. You and director were too alike. At your confused stare, he pointed at you indignant “You owe me a street act, remember?”

“Ah, that!” taking another scone and biting it, you nodded. You hadn’t really done street acts before, but you would lie if you said you weren’t interested. “Sure, if you still want?”

“You bet I do.”

He had heard Taichi and Juza commenting on your acting during that autumn rehearsal too- there was no way he would pass the opportunity to test it himself.

“U-um!” Sakuya stood up, his eyes shining “If you are going out to do a street act, I’d like to join too!”

You tilted your head at the boy, curious why he seemed so eager. Didn’t they usually do acts outside?

“All right then, let’s do this.”

Tenma smirked walking towards the door, looking somewhat excited too. Well, they wouldn’t be living in a theatre dorm if they didn’t enjoy acting after all, you concluded shrugging it off.

“GG guys.”

“Tenten, do your best!”

“Yeah, try not to embarrass yourself, hack.”

“What does that mean?!”

                                        -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

By the time you all three walked out of the dorm, jackets and everything on, the sun had started to set up. You shivered. Maybe you should have brought more clothes.

“Was the winter troupe in rehearsals?” you turned to the troupe leaders walking alongside you “Izumi told me they are doing a mystery play of some kind.”

“Yeah, Hisoka-san is the lead and whenever he’s not sleeping he’s pretty good… so they’ve been going all out.”

Sakuya agreed at Tenma’s statement “I’m excited to see them perform!”

As you all continued sharing some light talk, you arrived at Veludo. Looking around, one could see winter was almost there. There weren’t many kids around, just adults and teens returning home walking faster than usual given the time and cold weather.

A bit later, you finally decided to stop on a roundabout next to a fountain to perform.

“What do you guys usually do?”

“We normally just pick a theme and go along with it!” the spring member answered smiling while Tenma stretched. “Do you have anything you’d like to do, Y/N-san?”

You looked around humming. You weren’t usually given the freedom to choose so nothing really came to mind except… “How about doing something similar to the winter troupe? There are not many people around, but maybe we can engage them.”

Sakuya might as well have started jumping.

“A winter-like street act sounds perfect! I don’t think I’ve ever done something similar to what they do. What do you think, Tenma-kun?”

“Not bad. Let’s go with mystery for our theme.”

“Wait, I know I just said that but if the point of a mystery is to solve it, shouldn’t we plan how to-”

Ignoring you, Tenma walked to the middle of the road and turned to you and Sakuya knowingly. His eyes shone with expectations.

You frowned confused still. None of you hadn’t decided anything, was he really-

“You can’t be serious!” Tenma’s tone of voice changed, cutting through the somewhat calm street like a knife. You also noticed his whole demeanour turning hostile, making people look his way. "I have better things to do than wait here to be murdered!”

Even faster than you had anticipated, Sakuya ran to him. "P-please wait, uncle Miles! I won’t move from here until I know who killed my brother. I’m sure the detective must have a reason for having us stay here!"

“Oh?”

“What’s this, a play?”

“Hey, these guys are from Mankai!”

As expected, people stopped noticing the performance.

You felt a thrill in your stomach, engines already turning inside your head. So you had indirectly gotten the part of the detective and therefore in charge of being the one to solve it uh.

Walking slowly, building anticipation, you placed yourself in front of them, blocking out the noise.

Tenma and Sakuya were awaiting, as well as the crowd surrounding you now and it was a strange feeling, if you were honest. Who knew what their next sentences would be after you spoke? You had no idea what could happen, and somehow, that made you smile. This really was a street act.

And so, you chuckled dryly but with elegance “I can assure you, gentlemen, this won't be a problem.”

She’s good. "HA!” Tenma crossed his arms, looking grim “Bet this is just another plot, typical of Marshall and his-”

“Uncle, please!”

And so, it began.

You didn’t notice how long you had this push and pull of allegories, fake names or places. At this point you were just a detective in charge of solving the death of Marshall Jones, a fraud who had been the successor of the Jones Industries.

...And that the biggest suspects were the two people in front of you; his younger brother, William Jones and their uncle, Mr Miles.

“This is stupid, I have men working for me on the government! They will turn a blind eye if I command it I-!”

“Just tell us who did it! I need to know who killed Marshall!” Sakuya trembled anxiously.

You just nodded calmly at both of them “You are right. This has taken too long and I apologize for it.”

Tenma and Sakuya both held their breaths. Acting with you was being a mental workout to keep up, but none of them could dismiss the thrill that came with it.

“However, I feel like I shouldn’t be the only one apologizing. Isn’t that right, Marshall?”

‘What?’

Confused, Tenma followed your pointing finger towards the crowd, and Sakuya almost let a gasp when a shadow made his way towards them. The crowd whispered furiously at the sudden change of flow of the act.

‘M-Misumi-san?!’

‘Since when was he there?!’

While they stared at the summer member, Misumi didn’t look that surprised, to which you inwardly breathed in relief.

Everyone’s eyes laid on him, his attitude perfect for the act, gloomy and mysterious.

Nothing like the happy young man who had wanted to show you triangles the first time you met "I was wondering if you would call out for me at some point, detective."

"Thought I would let you enjoy yourself for a while" you shrugged, and Misumi laughed huskily at your comment.

“Thank you for taking the job.”

“Yeah, yeah. Next time just try to not hide in such a melodramatic way.”

“B-brother? Is that really you…?" Sakuya walked slowly to Misumi, almost making it look like he was about to break into a cry.

Tenma took advantage of the situation to step in. He wasn’t about lose there "Y-you were supposed to be dead! I made sure of-!" he stopped half-way, covering his mouth. "Shit."

“Turns out you should have stayed in the room to check the works of the poison, Mr. Miles.” you made it look like you pulled two sets of handcuffs “As tender as this familiar reunion after death might be, I'm afraid you will have to accompany me. You are both been placed on a charge of murder… and inflicted fraud.”

And scene.

A few seconds passed and you swallowed. Had this been too much?

As soon as the first stupor faded, the now quite big surrounding crowd erupted in applause.

“T-that was amazing!”

“Wait, what?!”

“Didn't think another actor would be hiding!”

“That was Mankai, right? Wanna check their next performance?”

After thanking the audience, you hurried to the boy with a triangular earring, embarrassment running through you, noticing now what you had done. “I-I’m sorry for pulling you in! My body moved on its own and when I saw you…”

Tenma just scoffed, but you could tell he was proud. “Yeah, well- if there’s someone who shouldn’t have any problem with what you just did, it’s him.”

“It really was great!” Sakuya approached you both. “I almost broke character for a second there. Where you watching the whole time, Misumi-san?”

“Not really! I was looking for triangles and then I heard Tenma’s voice… and when I got closer I saw you guys acting!”

“Still, sorry for...”

“Mhm! It’s okay, it’s okay!” suddenly, Misumi started patting your head. “Good job, detective Y/N.”

You felt a blush rush to your cheeks at the touch and so you stepped back, laughing embarrassed. “I-I was also surprised how good everyone is! I mean of course you are, you guys are real actors but-”

"Let’s do another one."

“Uh?” you squeezed your eyes at Tenma. Maybe you hadn’t heard correctly. “But we just-“

“We have time. Misumi, you stay too."

“Okayyyy!”

Turning back to Sakuya the boy laughed nervously, but didn’t look surprised.

Ah, you were so screwed.

                                     -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The streetlights started lighting up when you made a decision to finally head back to the dorm.

“That was great!” Sakuya was moving as if he had received a burst of energy “It’s so much fun acting with people outside Mankai, isn’t it!”

“Everyone’s applauses were really suuuper loud too!”

“…and you say you only go sometimes to your theatre club?" Tenma saw you nod and shoved his hands into the pockets of his winter coat, groaning. "Just what's up with people like you and Misumi?"

"Hmh? Y/N and I are similar? Yaaaayy!"

"Misumi? it didn't sound like a compliment to me."

Sakuya laughed at the exchange. It truly had been an amazing experience. "Did you do theatre with director when you two were younger?"

You hummed, thinking about it. To be honest, theatre had always been around but you hadn’t really... When was it that you started acting again?

A scream stopped your train of thought.

"M-Misumi-san?!"

“You scared the daylights out of me, Misumi!"

Turning to the young man, you noticed him making a triangle with his hands and, while using it as a telescope, suddenly speeding up the pace. "It's a triangular cloud!"

"Misumi-san, please don't follow the cloud, we’ll be late for dinner!"

"Tri-triangle, tri-tri-triangle…!"

"Oi Misumi, quit singing and stop! I know you can hear us!"

Watching the interaction, you couldn't help but laugh, running after them.

They were a weird bunch… but in an endearing kind of way.

                                              -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Oh? If it isn’t our cute Y/N” Azuma smiled softly as you all walked in.

“Did you guys go do street acts?” Tasuku lifted his head from the script in his hands. Sakuya nodded eagerly at the older actor, explaining the performances and the audience reaction.

Tsumugi laughed after the spring leader finished. “Seems like you all enjoyed yourselves out there.”

“Ah, youth! If only time would let us stop our bodies to enjoy the real pass of time of our souls!”

“Arisu… you’re annoying...”

“Okay everyone, let’s call the rest and start plating everything, okay?

You spent the rest of the night with the majority of the dorm. 

You had a banter with Masumi about not giving your blessing, being cut by Citron’s weird proverbs and him being at the same time stopped by Tsuzuru. You laughed at Banri’s and Juza’s not so passive aggressive comments, heard some more stories about everyone and of course, you talked about acting and performances.

You shook your head amused. They really were acting addicts.

By the end of dinner, you excused yourself to go to the bathroom.

Closing your eyes, you splashed water in your face, deep in thought. “Living in this dorm must be amazing though…”

They all seemed to work so hard on any act they did… that it confused you. Izumi had always been insistent about you doing theatre and, while you appreciated it, you never took it seriously.

You enjoyed it, sure, but was it maybe because it came naturally to you? …What if you chose to act for real and then didn’t feel the same way after seeing the bad aspects of it?

Your mother was another matter too. She had made it clear she wouldn’t say anything, but you could tell it didn’t… exactly enthusiasm her. She barely mentioned Izumi’s work at home.

However, acting with everyone in Mankai had been fun. Every time.

Even you were surprised. Just how many street acts had you done after the first one today? You hadn’t practiced that much improv in a long time, not even in your theatre club.

It wasn't as of you didn't enjoy your own theatre activities, but surely there had to be a reason why you found yourself so awestruck by everyone here.

Or maybe not. Your mind was a mess. Closing the bathroom door, you sighed before noticing a figure walking towards you.

“Hey, I got the money ”

Without skipping a beat, you ‘tch’ed at Tenma. “First you’ll have to show me the body.”

“I have to see the money,” he pointed at you with his chin.

“First the body… or yours.” A few seconds passed and you both finally sneered. Tenma sighed, shaking his head.

“Thought I could get past you, dammit. You really should consider acting.”

Bullseye.

“Actually- Tenma, I was thinking” you faltered. “Um, did you… always want to be an actor?”

“Well- I was pretty much always in the industry since I was young, so yeah, I’d say so?”

“You never thought it could have been your parent… you know, telling you how you had talent what might have made you start acting?”

The summer leader thought about it, looking at the ceiling. However, he soon shrugged “If so, what?” noticing your confusion, he kept talking. “I mean, I guess they did have some influence… but in the end it was me who decided to stay. For me, not for them.”

You nodded. That made sense.

“Why the question?”

“Ah, nothing it’s just- I think Izumi tends to overreact saying I am like dad, you know, with acting and all. I didn’t think much about it until these acts made me feel…”

“Fulfilled?” The summer leader finished for you. Seeing he was right by looking at your face, he shrugged again in response. “I don’t know Yukio-san to say you are a copy of him, but yeah, you are good. Still though, you should do what you want above everything else.”

You nodded again.

You both headed back to the living room as a heated karaoke discussion between Citron and Banri while a few others tried to act as mediators.

Izumi turned to you and smiled “Everything okay?”

You faced her. The thoughts about acting and theatre could wait. As Tenma said, you didn’t have to rush and for now. You decided to let it aside and enjoy the warm feeling of being reunited with your sister and her weird, but lovable group of actors.

You took her hand and squeezed it. “Yup!”

_________________________________________________________

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

[otomeramblings]

Welcome Home

Pairings: None Characters: Sakuya, Mankai as a whole. Warnings: mentions of abandonment because Sakuya’s relatives suck A/N: @flavovitta​​ posted a really wholesome headcanon yesterday and my brain’s immeadite response was “but what if we made it sad?” so this fic was born.

“Ya’ sure, man?” Banri questioned with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

“Yes! I’ll be right there!” Sakuya’s signature smile was plastered on his face; Banri’s quickly distracted by a notification on his phone and went inside with a quick mumbled “‘kay.” Masumi, on the other hand, stayed behind with a look on his face that many would describe as ‘annoyed’ but Sakuya could discern the tinge of concern and the silent question that hid behind his friend’s usually aloof expression.

“I’ll be okay, Masumi, really. It’ll only take a second,” he reassured him, the corners of his smile softening in response to Masumi’s unspoken worry.

The boy pursed his lips together but nodded nonetheless. As soon as Masumi went through the door, Sakuya accepted the call before she hung up on him. He knew it would only earn him a lecture if he made her wait too long. It was ironic, really, considering that she never really wanted to talk to him in the first place.

“Hi, aunt,” he greeted her.

“You took a while to answer,” she replied with a clipped tone. No “hello”, no “how have you been” and, as he felt how strained his smile had become, he wondered why he even expected anything else.

“Sorry! I just got home from school since class ran a bit long.” They had actually gone to get meat buns from a store Banri frequented since he had insisted to treat them after he found out they had never tried some from that specific place, but he knew she didn’t care and would probably reprimand him because if he had time to go out with friends, he had time to answer the phone, and he had time to study so that the money they put on his education wouldn’t go to waste.

She responded with a non-committal “hmph” and then started going through the usual list of questions. “How were his studies going?”, “Did he need to buy anything else for school?”, “Was he causing trouble for the company that had taken him in?”, “They weren’t gonna change their policy about housing, right? Because he would have to come back home if they started charging them” and the one that always made Sakuya grit his teeth: “Acting isn’t interfering with school, right? Because I know it’s your hobby but remember that it won’t take you anywhere serious in life.” Just like he did every month, he answered each question with a level tone. And just like she did every month, his aunt pretended to be interested in what he said.

It wasn’t until she hung up that Sakuya finally released the tight grip he had on his phone. He let out a deep sigh and felt his shoulders drop; he knew the routine and every step he had to follow to avoid any landmines when talking to his family, but even to this day a small part of him wished they would show even the slightest bit of interest in his life.

“Agh, get it together!” he taped his cheeks in an attempt to make himself snap out of it. That was just the way things were and there was no point in him being moody and making the others feel bad for him. With that thought in mind, he opened the door that led to the living room and he was immediately hit with the smell of chicken broth and vegetables that wafted from the kitchen.

“Uh….I’m back,” he called out while his feet took him in the direction that delicious smell came from.

“Welcome home, Sakuya!” Izumi smiled while she worked on setting the table. “Banri and Masumi said you were answering a call from your family, is everything okay?” Her smile didn’t waver but he could still see the concern that tinted her expression. The director was the only person in the company who had ever interacted with his aunt apart from himself; because of that, he knew there would be no point in trying to lie to her of all people but he still didn’t really want to talk about it so he settled for a shrug and a small grimace.

She didn’t push further, she knew that Sakuya needed his space from time to time, but she did reach up to run her fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his forehead. He jumped slightly -the open and sincere affection he’s been subjected to since he joined Mankai still took him by surprise- but he couldn’t help but lean towards her hand, thankfully for the reassurance her touch brought him.

Suddenly, her grin returned and she started pushing him towards the kitchen. “Omi’s making dinner! Doesn’t it smell wonderful? He asked me to tell you to go to the kitchen once you got home because he wanted to ask you something.” The barely hidden excitement in her voice sparked his curiosity, so he took a small detour to leave his backpack on the couch before going to find Omi.

Omi turned around when he heard his footsteps and beckoned him over with one hand. “Perfect timing, Sakuya. I’m making chicken noodle soup today and I would like your input.”

“Me?” he exclaimed in surprise.

Omi smiled. “Yes, you mentioned this was your favourite, right? I thought it would be best if you tried it first so I know if I have to change anything for next time.”

He had mentioned it, yes, and despite knowing that Omi had already done this for a couple of the others as well, a part of him couldn’t believe he had gone through the same effort for his sake as well. Omi was kind, so kind; all of them were in their own ways, and sometimes Sakuya had to discreetly pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

So, after blowing on it, he didn’t hesitate to try the spoonful of soup Omi held in front of his face.

Honestly, when Omi had asked him what his favourite soup was, he almost told him he didn’t have one. He had spent most of his life bouncing from family member to family member, being tossed around like an old family heirloom that had lost its value after the original owners were gone; no one wanted to keep it but everyone was too afraid to throw it out. He was used to having to settle for whatever was handed to him, to not ask for extra things, to not be greedy because he was imposing so much on his relatives already, and that meant that he really didn’t have a lot of favourite things. But then it came to him, a distant memory from the time when his parents were still alive. He was probably around four or five years old and the details had been fuzzy, but he remembered the soup his mom used to make him whenever he caught a cold. That’s what he told Omi and the man had followed his instructions to a T: the broth was a perfect balance of vegetable and chicken, the noodles weren’t too big, and the chicken and the carrots had been cut in smaller than usual pieces because that’s what his mom would for him so he wouldn’t have any problems chewing when he wasn’t feeling well.

Omi’s startled voice brought him back to the present.

“Hey, are you okay? Was it too hot? Was it bad?” Omi had reached over to grip his shoulder and was peering down at him with a concerned frown on his face.

Sakuya was so confused that he almost asked him what he meant but he quickly realised how wet and hot his face felt. He brought a hand to his face and confirmed his suspicions: he was crying; it wasn’t full-on sobbing, but the tears were streaming down his face without him being able to stop them. They weren’t sad tears, no; well, not exactly. He had eaten just one spoonful but that was all it took to make the blurry edges around that old memory suddenly clear, and he was suddenly transported back to his old room, with his mother’s gentle smile and the soft hand on top of his hair. It was just one instant, but he could have sworn that he felt the tender touch of his mother’s lips on his forehead.

He placed his hand on top of Omi’s and smiled through the tears, “It’s perfect, Omi.” He couldn’t think of what else to say, the emotions were overwhelming him; sadness, longing, happiness, and a trace of slight bitterness, all of them were swirling inside of him and he didn’t know where to start. He needed a moment, and while he was calming down the director had come into the kitchen and had begun rubbing his back in a soothing notion; from his peripheral vision, he could also see Masumi and Citron, looking like they wanted to step in but waiting to see what he wanted. He could feel their worried gazes and the warmth of their hands seeping throw his blazer and his shirt and reaching his very insides. It was like his heart was being squeezed inside his chest, but instead of being painful, it felt grounding. He had felt alone for such a long time and he hadn’t realised how much he had gotten used to the cold loneliness that permeated his life since his parents had passed away. His parents weren’t by his side anymore, but as he looked around after wiping his eyes and with Citron draping himself over him and asking him if he was okay, a small smile settled on his face. Yes, his parents were gone, but his new family was now here.

[omisbreakfast]

i rank every summer outfits from a3! because??

because i can. also fuck you.

the first version of this was deleted by tumblr in my drafts and now i have to re write it entirely and i fucking hate it here... anyways.

i’m biased as fuck

sorry it’s a long post

harugumi :

itaru : yeah no actually it’s pretty fine. ngl itaru is kinda hot when he dress correctly so there’s that. also, he’s often in pink. it suits him, but i don’t like it. still.... cute. but it’s also itaru so not too much praises. 9/10

citron : why.......... the shoes.... what the fuck are those shoes.... where did you even find them..... do you wanna fight or something.... this fills me with rage... you’ve disappointed me, citron... also hate the shirt. 3/10

tsuzuru : casual, soft, classic boy... nothing much to say here. but WHY THE FUCKING HAT??? IT RUINS EVERYTHING...... at least wear it correctly PLEASE. YOU DUMABSS. and the shoes would have been better in another color. i just,,,,, why tsuzuru, why the hat... 4/10

sakuya : i can’t bring myself to say bad things about sakuya. (also the fact that i don’t remember what i wrote before the first version of this post got deleted in my drafts pisses me off) but like,,, he’s cute. i mean it’s a classic outfit. tho the choice of the shirt is questionable as fuck. also HES SO TINY BABY. 6/10

masumi : yeah no actually i like it. i really like the shirt for some reason, it suits him. BUT BUT BUT the pants looks weird as hell LMAO?? like... it makes him looks like a crotch less ken doll??? it’s,,, really weird. also the shoes are.... hmmm.... overall good balance but there’s some weird stuffs going on. 7/10

chikage : garbage boy stink man. fucking looks like a rich white boy coming home from tennis and i fucking hate it here ™ if i’m objective about this it’s actually NOT bad but it loses several points for the sole reason that it’s fucking chikage and i won’t take shit for it. 6/10

natsugumi :

kazunari : why. why do you do this. why. why. how am i supposed to ever learn how to love when you backstab me like this, kaz ? what do we do now ? i trusted you and you betrayed me. i can never find love ever again............ yeah ok. pls let’s skip to the next one.... 2/10 (and two points is because it’s kaz and i just can’t bring myself to truly hate him.)

yuki : it’s not bad but i hate this dress. like. his outfits are usually ok but this? no. YOU LOOK LIKE A GOOD CHRISTIAN BOY, DAMN IT YUKI. are YOU GOING TO CHURCH TO PRAISE THE LORD TODAY TOO? also the colour of it... no. 4/10

tenma : congrats you rich boy you finally have a decent outfit ! though i don’t understand the concept of your zip being infront but ok. bet his stans like it smh. also i like the color of his jacket. very nice. 8/10

muku : baby i love u so much but u look like the pinterest girls who take aesthetic pictures in flowers fields and are smiling like the sun @ the camera.......... which is not per se but it’s a whole vibe. also stop wearing orange. it doesn’t go with your hair well........ ilu cutie. 8/10

misumi : my sweet boy. why are you wearing an hoodie with a jacket. why. it’s summer you idiot. you’ll get overheated. stop. but overall he looks very nice. idk i just think he’s neat......... i. i love u @ misumi. 9/10 (don’t look at me)

kumon : he... he looks like.... a j-j-j*ck..... which he is............... i just........... oh my god. i love kumon but he IS a jock i JUST ???? LALFKGKK. also his fucking shoes makes me lose my mind because this is so fucking bullshit ???? so ugly it hurts my eyes.... he’s lucky he’s a good boy. 4/10

akigumi :

juza : nah he hot as hell in this pass on it. if you’re asking yourself why he looks so good, here’s your answer : his arms. his arms are great. i can excuse his sandales this time cuz IT IS summer but yeah. yeah no he’s cute and- yeah. ok. yeah. hm hm. 9.5/10

taichi : so the thing with taichi is that his style is NOT bad per se but like. he’s a skater boy. so my standards are already very low for him,,,, like no offence i love taichi so much but,,,, that’s how it be.... his shirts are usually so big he looks like a GOD DAMN FLAG i can’t with this. and i don’t like how baggy his pants are but yeah,,,, it’s just a whole look.... anyways................ 6/10

omi : in which yosei boys decided to fucking test my patience by putting on classic, good looking clothes and decided to absolutely ruin my entire hopes and dreams (if i’m being dramatic ? no i am not.) AND their WHOLE outfits adding an useless stupid fucking hat thay doesnt seems even to be worn properly. omi, tsuzuru, you’ll pay for this. 7/10

sakyo : (i’m tired as heck and i almost forgot about sakyo when he’s right in the middle) actually i like this. it’s color coordinated and i think that’s very nice. but i wish his pants would have been a little bit longer. yeah no that’s it for real. also idk what’s about this outfit but he really shows how skinny he really is LMAOOO. shithead sakyo. 8/10

azami : the thing about azami is that usually his upper half is pretty well dressed, or whatever, but when we look at his pants/shoes its where everything goes to shit. Like ???? what the fuck man you could have done so much better if you didn’t decide to put this gigantic pants who looks like you’re gonna fly with it or fucking whatever (i don’t need to make sense i’m TIRED) also his shoes bothers me. can’t believe he’s fucking 15 like shut up. 6/10

banri : ...... *inhales* FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUU. fuck you and your ugly ass little hat and your zombie like haircut i. fucking despise you. if he were standing right infront of me, no he wouldn’t be because he would deck him so hard. YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY CLOTHES AND THE TIME TO TRY AND MAKE IT LOOK GOOD ?? SO WHY???? what’s going on in your ugly ass little head bitch. THANK YOU god he isn’t wearing any animal prints in this, thats one thing. imagine this awful outfit with the ugly shoes and stUPID FUCKING HAT that i hate, with a leopard print shirt.... yeah cursed. i know. sorry banri stans i cant hear you over the sound of your man fishing with joe and bertrand on a sunday morning at 6am. 3/10

fuyugumi :

tasuku : ... idk man. he’s just there. why is... his shoes... so flashy........ bruh...... also he looks like a very straight man and idk how to feel about this. we know u gay bitch. 7/10

hisoka : except for the fucking weird ass pants it’s actually ok. he looks.... very comfy. 10/10 would CUDDLE...... pls hisoka.... i’m tired... fluffy boy..... ugh..... i don’t have much to say about this ok he just.... spare some cuddles. 7/10

actually i like it. well. there’s two things that bothers me. GREEN. DOESN’T. SUIT. HIM. PERIOD. if u think otherwise i’m sorry. it’s just awful with his purple hair (or whatever color it is) imo. and the second..... the square should have been a triangle. i won’t take no’s. 8.5/10

tsumugi : ngl tsumugi gives me little lost boy looking for his mommy vibes. at first i thought it was his outfits but no, it’s just his face. and this ? doesn’t make it better. idk how to explain but how he wears his shirt makes it look like he’s floating and it’s kinda cute in a... special way. he’s just a very sweet boy. 7/10

azuma : i can’t bring myself to even say bad things about azuma... it’s physical. i just can’t. i have a theory his power is that strong and therefore i cannot critizice this beauty. he just. is. ya know........ sigh...... 9/10

guy : if he dresses like this, that’s.... that’s not your man, ladies. that’s your loving, hardworking and dedicated husband who just went to pick some flowers in the prairies next to your little farm in the middle of the nowhere but who’s still paradise on earth cuz it’s the two of you and you couldn’t ask for anything more. deadass. fucking peasants. 4/10