#tasuku would be like ''i don't get him i'm confused'' and i was just like ''you and me both man''

[icharchivist]

i finished act 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now there's just all these events I've yet to get to from a3en... plus reading through act 3 translations if those exist... i hope they do! but the FIRST thing I'm going to do is fill out my a3! name chart, haha :) okay but before i get ahead of myself: here's my thoughts on the rest of the winter story!

the moment they mentioned the fleur award, I knew within my heart that act 3 might have the members seriously tackle winning or at least getting a nomination, and hey, look, sakuya mentioned it at the end! there's lots of little things I could feel them start to set up, which is cool. like, haruto mentions that godza has new recruits! so I assume shift is gonna pop up in act 3. and then there's the hyakka theater company which sakuya adored so much winning the fleur award at the end... I wonder if we'll get to meet them? I also saw a character on a poll tournament once that I think was an old leader of spring? and since yuzo's already someone we've met, I wonder if we'll meet all the leaders of the old troupes... we've already seen quite a few bits and pieces of them, after all! then, of course, there's the thing with misumi's grandfather's old scripts and reni, which I'm sure will come into play... hopefully we'll get to see his brother, too... guy also recognized reni, so he's probably got some kind of connections with mankai, right? what if he was a leader of the winter troupe, or something? lots of possibilities. and tsuzuru's eldest brother could also bring something interesting to the table? he got his own sprite and all, and he seems pretty interesting, so I feel it'd be a waste if this was his only appearance...

since we're on that subject, I was very glad to meet tadoru. his and itaru's conversation was just really nice, and it was cool to see him kinda watching out for tsuzuru in his awkward way. for a moment i was confused by him randomly saying hello to itaru at the bar, though. was sitting there like. ...is itaru getting hit on? tadoru also gave me sort of chikage-esque vibes because he was just that friendly, and so when he gave itaru sake and was like. hey! bribe material! i was like. ah. nice. would love to see some more elaboration on what he says, though because... “I mean, back when everything was falling apart at home, I just ran off and left Tsuzuru to deal with it all himself.” is intriguing. tadoru says that tsuzuru probably resents him... i mean, he definitely has a right to, but i don't think he like, does, if that makes sense? like... his family is his family. he might not have been happy about dealing with stuff without his eldest brother around, but I don't think it's something that would... fester, if it makes sense?

I've gotten ahead of myself again, so let's rewind chronologically... it was nice to see the improv battle spark something in guy! also it's nice every time they run into haruto because like, tasuku probably calls him "yamada" on purpose but like, half of the time that people get his name wrong, I'm pretty sure it's totally sincere, which makes it even funnier... like homare being like. "ah, hato-kun, I think it was?" with no ill-will is amazing. i didn't actually make the connection that this was tasuku's second time playing raoul until now, which is quite a fun detail.

don't have much to say about the play itself... you made a really good point about how POTO relates to guy, so I don't have much to add except that there's a comment that izumi makes about homare as richard dragging emotion out of the phantom, and I thought that was neat, because it's homare that gets guy to laugh, too, with his silly chickpeas bit. all of winter getting drunk was sooooo cute. its so dear to me that tasuku and tsumugi are just like. intelligently critiquing theatre stuff. not even arguing. like how is their drunk habit just... how they are normally, it's great. and then of course there's homare who's in tears and super sappily composing poetry. love him. and love that he manages to elicit a truly wonderful-sounding laugh from guy the same way, later! what a BEAUTIFUL cg that was!!! homare looks so pleased with himself and he's right to be that way!!

the power outage for the last performance was such a cool moment, too... like, the way that this phantom's final line dedicates his song for his friend. where it's not about being a singer or taking his revenge, anymore. it's such a good way to reflect what guy says before the final performance, that being "all of you are the reason I am able to see myself as human again.” which is what chris does for the phantom, here. you can also hear in guy's BREATH how much finishing this play affected him, which is awesome. seriously, the VAs are so talented, but also whoever's directing them or the like has a really good eye for what kinds of voice performances to add...

watched the backstages and them at karaoke was cute! so they staged it with just music, i see... the part where they method acted like they were in a musical was really funny. yuki resorting to just saying he'll make them pay him every time they break out into song... the sakyo-influence. tsuzuru and yuki would actually be a really fun combo in terms of like, events, also. they've both got this midlly pessimistic way of talking. the SR hisoka was also really good... cant believe he sleeps in a coffin! no wonder tasuku got so into treating hisoka as a vampire during nocturnality lol. anyways what a great actor he is. i love that, with the possibility that hisoka was possessed presented to tasuku, who's seen magic happen before, tasuku is like. alright. time to act my heart out. i bet it was really good practice.

there's a bit where sakuya says "citron was still with us back then..." which. very misleading turn of phrase. anyways they're going to zafra!! whoo!! i think it's so funny that guy is like "I'm a wanted criminal" as like an expression of the fact that his presence is troublesome, completely unaware of the fact that two of the people he's gonna be travelling with are like, also wanted criminals. itaru has every right to call chikage a "menace" like he does here.

another hit out of the park with izumi going "I do not see." about chikage's illegal passport for guy. the structure of this episode is really interesting, though--winter had really big developments outside of their own story (tsumugi in act 1 plus a bit of tasuku, homare in the next play, azuma in the next + a bit of tasuku there, too, and then hisoka in spring's act 2 story. because they got such rich development there, it gives the story space to really work out things between guy and citron. like, apart from azuma and tasuku visiting azuma's old home, it's not like there's a particularly big event any of the other winter members go through? while spring has masumi's whole deal and though its minor, itaru has to open up a little to having a roommate. and summer had tenma's audition and dealing with that stuff, plus kazunari's career worries, alongside kumon's whole stresses (of which muku and juza obviously were major in helping him with). everyone in autumn gets a collage, but while it's not like the characters in winter weren't major presences, it was more like they were reflecting on stuff that had already happened, rather than having new things that developed them in some way? which allows for space.

as for guy's subordinate, mika, i'm like 80% sure their name is mika because it's meant to be like, "mikan"

we already discussed my opinion of zafra as a nation so there's no need for me to really go into that, but about tangerine!! firstly the fact that tsuzuru just has to instinctually correct his japanese is so dear to me, like, he can't rid himself of the impulse... also I can't believe I said muku probably reminded citron of tangerine and guy basically echoes my exact thoughts... like muku, he's rather cute and brave! running to save citron, and then making sure the fire is taken care of... what a good person! I'm sure he'll do well... didn't end up being twist-evil after all, phew. I'm glad I was wrong about that. the end was a little underwhelming in terms of how the king wrapped it up. i'm glad he did so kindly, but I think it's a rather big upheaval that just happened and it felt like things got wrapped up quite neatly... I feel like there's probably a more complicated and interesting way it could've gone down, that also makes zafra feel more like a real place, but that's for me to obsessively plot and headcanon my way around.

the moment they mentioned the chandelier i was like Ah. chekhov's chandelier!! also there's a literal chandelier fall in the actual POTO so like... yeah, of course. I ADORED how sakuya jumped in, improv wise. not even part of the cast! and yet! perfect reaction! he should be proud of himself. (my notes at that moment are just "THATS MY KIDDDDDDD!!!!")

the part where they save citron was also so good... like firstly, half the reason the plan to lure out citron works is because he thinks that it's mankai, which is a wild, would-be-tragic coincidence had not chikage and itaru saved him... speaking of!! what a good moment. those two are both kind of the "adults" of the spring troupe, so it was neat to see them put themselves in harms way while kind of redirecting the younger members. especially tsuzuru, who's fairly responsible... it's nice to see him get treated as young, yknow? anyways. it's up to dad and grandpa to save spring troupe's mom, right... i usually object to obsessively fitting found family into roles but since spring troupe has done this to themselves i can call them as i like!

the dynamic between itaru and chikage was really nice to see... they both know each other quite well, huh? the casual way they treated things was kind of fun. especially when chikage's like. close your eyes for a sec, would you, chigasaki? and itaru very cutely after being like ah close my eyes physically or mentally to your crimes? replies with roger that.

chikage rushing back in to warn everyone about the chandelier was also really really good... i love that his voice gets low when he's frazzled!

citron and spring's proper reunion was so nice... sakuya cried! and I really liked that guy talked to citron in zafran when telling him about being able to rediscover his emotions... “I was not merely ignoring my own emotions, but yours, as well.” was a really good point he made.

also with spring being family it's really awesome that citron calls them his second family.... that's right, they are! and then sakuya states the same feeling at the end, where he says "You're all my true family." which did, I admit, bring a tear to my eye. actually i started tearing up because before that he said "I guess I always assumed that we would always be here together as a company, you know? But that's not true, is it?" and then I remembered the a3en shutdown and got emotional.

still, it's such a sweet ending! excited for more, whenever I get around to it! and I can make my chart now!! I've just got one remaining thought, which is: I wonder who did guy’s scar makeup in zafra, since azami wasn't around? (probably azuma, is my guess)

YEEHAW CONGRATULATION!!! At least finishing the EN sever's content will be welcomed. (and then you'd caught up on me bc i still haven't started anything past that ahah…. ahah… cries). But congratulation at least on being introduced to the full cast now!!

under cut!

Congratulation on seeing it coming ;D yeah it makes sense honestly, after having sorted out some of their biggest emotional problems, it's time for them to start aiming higher eheh. And yesss there's so many set up. I haven't touched act 3 yet so it's just…. so far ahead for me lmao. We will get to meet the ex leaders of each troupes in act 3 though yeah! I really hope you're right in term of how Guy could see it coming too, and how everything is set up for more content in the future, hopefully. we'll see!

DFDLKFJDFL love thinking immediately that Todoru would hit on Itaru over just looking out for Tsuzuru, this is really funny. And ahah sake of chekov if you will. As for what you bring up, yeah… I think it's complicated. On one hand, it's understandable to want to run away when everything is falling apart - your parents are the one putting you through hell and ultimately you know it's going to ruin any possibility to a future you can have, so it's self preservation and all. But when you have siblings, it's leaving them to take the blow for you while you give up on them. It's selfish, it's understandable, i can't exactly blame him, but i blame him still because in the end it's the younger ones who had to take responsibilities while they could have banded together. But everyone was just trying to survive. When you see how Tsuzuru had to sacrifice everything for his family, you know Todoru should have done so too… But therefore it's even more unfair that Todoru dumped everything on Tsuzuru's shoulders. It's complicated, it leaves things to fester. So yeah. difficult for everyone involved.

Back to the plot, it was so nice indeed for Guy! and DLKJFDLKF yeah Tasuku is really just being petty that way. Also "Yamada" is Haruto's birth last name and also a very basic name? as in like, it's like "Smith" in the US, it's something a lot of people have, it doesn't stand out much. I think Tasuku is doing a couple things here. First, he used to call Haruto by his first name without honorific, which he doesn't even do with 90% of Mankai (the only people he calls by their first name without their honorifics are Tsumugi, Citron and Guy, so childhood friend privilege and the two without last name. Azuma stands as being the only one he calls by his first name + honorific. Everyone else is on last name + honorific basis). So it implies Haruto and him were close, yet by calling him by his last name again, Tasuku puts this distance between them. but it's also a name only Tasuku really knows, most people don't know Haruto like that. It remains something that denote how close they used to be, twisting the knife in the wound if you will. Meanwhile since Haruto wants desperately to be on top, to stand out, to be a star, it's also constantly reminding him that he's just like everyone else, that he's not standing out on his own, he's just a guy. it's so incredibly petty from Tasuku in general LDKJFDLKFJLD he knows what he's doing! But yeah the rst just, clearly isn't having this many hard feelings. I do think Azuma is being petty when he messes up (bc let's not forget also that the whole fight with Tasuku happened because of Haruto too, so Azuma may be entitled to be petty) but Homare? is fully genuine. It's so much. And yeah Tasuku and Haruto promotes POTO in act 1 when Tasuku is still working at the Godza! the more time changes.

And ahah i may have got ahead of myself there then -- but yeah Izumi's point here is very good, Homare truly is the emotion maker man. ALL OF WINTER GETTING DRUNK SO CUTEEE YES. and so true Tasuku and Tsumugi are so cute like that. hyperfixation goes brrr. meanwhile Homare, always a gem. he's amazing. And the fact he really gets to Guy is just 😭 Also not to be petty about fandom stuff here but i used to see a lot of jokes a few years ago about how Guy would be fed up with Homare's bullshit and would shut him down and be mean to him because of that and it used to make me SO angry because like Guy would NEVER, Guy would laugh and encourage him, it's HISOKA you want if you want to bully Homare damnit. This made me so angry. Homare has such a positive influence on Guy and Guy may be the one person in the Troupe who fully sincerely vibe with him (and not just to be sympathetic like Azuma and Tsumugi can be). I'm so glad you felt it. AND THAT CG IS SO CUTEEEE. A troupe symbolized by how hard it is for them to be honest about their feelings and how they closed all of them in, being able to laugh so openly with one another being silly. God i love them. Homare is so good.

YESSS Izumi's "the play will go smoothly" really didn't account for that lmao. I loved that everything went so damn wrong then. It made me think about how in act 1 every troupes except Winter have this moment of "The Show Must Go On" -- something that should have stopped the performance fully but the actors adlibed around the issue and all went well. Winter didn't have this moment in act 1, when Tsumugi fucks the play up no one knows how to fix it until the play is over. It really shows how quickly the others troupes went in synch with one another VS how Winter still had to work on their bond first. but in act 2, it's the opposite? For the 3 others troupes, all the problems happen before the plays, the plays themselves go rather smoothly. But Winter gets all sort of problems during their performance and they have to adlib ways to have the show going on even though they hit a deadend. i think it's a neat way to show that NOW Winter is fully in synch with one another. And i do think Guy is the ultimate way for them to make it happen, since Guy having so many of the issues the rest of Winter had to go through, the way they support Guy shows the way they learnt to support each other during the last year. But YEAH YOU'RE SO RIGHT ABOUT GUY'S PERFORMANCE. it's just so so good and the scene is so touching and gaah ;;-;;. the VAs are just so good and the directing is really incredible. Also something i love is coming back to the early plays and see how drastically different the acting for the acting is?? like, after reading act 2, they added voicelines to Alex in Wonderland, so i went back to check the event then -- and it struck me how, while they clearly had improved and weren't hammy at all, the acting was still miles away from being as clear than in Charlatant of Oz. Playing bad acting shouldn't be so hard, but managing to play "medium acting, not bad, but there's room to improve" seems like such a talent to me. the directing must be really tight because even just by VA's strength alone you need some guidance there man.

Glad you liked the backstages! it's so cute to me ahh. YUKI IS SO FUNNY he really became so cut-throat now, thanks Sakyo. God you're right, Tsuzuru and Yuki like "the two somewhat sane people against the world". until Yuki asks Tsuzuru to write a play that has fun costumes in and then he calls him Villager C again and now all hell breaks lose. RIGHTTT I LOVE IT. Hisoka has been sleeping in a coffin since his R from Nocturnality, and Tasuku already had to confiscate it then, and Hisoka was just "…….. i need to become a vampire brb" bc of that; But he basically kept this habit ever since until his SR. And i just find it sO funny that Tasuku tried to get Hisoka to stop sleeping and help out and Hisoka chooses violence instead. He's such a little shit he's so funny to me. And Tasuku just rolling with it because "well i've been stuck in a timeloop so it might as well happen" is so so funny to me. We managed to tame Tasuku into accepting the wildest of shit. god i love them so much.

Sakuya talking about Citron like he's dead fr. BUT YEAAAH ZAFRA! AND DLKJFDKLFJ DYEAH RIGHT. Guy: i'm a criminal // Chikage and Hisoka, with their fake IDs and actual criminal records: wow sucks to be you i guess. Itaru is so right about calling Chikage a menace. Chikage is one. fully.

Izumi's "i do not see" is SO FUNNY YEAH. It's her life now.

And you're so right about the Winter's structure. I think it really helped that well, dealing with Guy's problems is already a way to sum up how far they've come. Like… when Azami was going through his issues, he wasn't really communicating them and Autumn didn't know how to get him to communicate it, so they all shared their personal lives with Azami so Azami would make his own conclusions and all. But for Guy Winter mostly just learnt directly from how they helped each other out to help him instead so it's where the progress is seen, more subdued. But yeah, unlike say, Summer where everyone had a big plot to go through, Winter doesn't have that because it's been a bit spread out. Which i think fits them well. Winter isn't the type to make a big deal out of their own things, so everyhting kinda just happens around them. Act 1 only had them do big things because supernatural intervention happened. but it really helped the actual drama of the event to set in. I think this chapter had a huge task to make Citron be as important to its chapter than Hisoka was to Spring, while also having him absent most of the chapter. As such it needed more time to breath for Guy to really reflect on his past with Citron and stuff.

ooooh good catch!

nods yeah… And RIGHT i almost mentioned "i'm sure i saw Tangerine being fully compared to Muku" in the prev ask before it hit me it probably happened after lmao, but yeah!! it really is just that Citron saw his precious little brother in Muku and immediately became overprotective. Tangerine is so good so cute!! also as a result the fact Guy keeps calling Muku "Little Prince" because he sees Tangerine in him too? so adorable to me. Tsuzuru also not being able to help himself correcting Tangerine's japanese was very precious yeah in that regard. the Citron impulse too strong. As for the Zafra political drama yeah i agree, it was a bit "gotta wrap it up" type of ending lmao. fixing it with HCs is a good plan though fully.

Chekhov's chandelier indeed….. it's indeed very POTO in that sense. but YEAH SAKUYA SAVING THE DAY. BABY. THAT4S OUR BOY!!!!! It's exactly what he wanted like. he was inspired to do theater because of the pirate play that had to improvise evacuating people during a fire drill -- being able to do just that also during a fire drill must have been really the moment for Sakuya to come full circle. (THAT'S OUR BOY INDEED YOUR NOTES ARE SO RIGHT)

And god right. I love this bit so much. Citron just missing his family so much. The actual danger of it all; Chikage taking all the danger to himself, as redemption as well. The fact Tsuzuru is being considered a kid for once (especially after hearing how his brother left him to take all sort of adults responsibilities, i think it really makes it come full circle that in that moment even Itaru, who heard about that, stepped up to have Tsuzuru leave this responsibility behind for once and let the adults do the work instead). And god Itaru. His involvement there is so much. he would never have done anything that dangerous before, but now that it's all about protecting his family who cares. And besides Chikage can murder people he'll be fine. And yeah same, i don't like projecting Found Family's title on people and all but there's a couple exception: Sakyo and Omi being Dad and Mom (as per Yuki and Taichi always insisting and the fact they both answer to their given title like that), and the weird convoluted family dynamic of Spring (because they just love to play those up so much). Like, in the end also, the reality is that those titles don't fit them that much -- but it's a private joke in between them so it's fun to indulge. Dad and grandad on their way to save mom let's go.

Itaru and Chikage's dynamic was so so fun. They're really roommates in a deep way but i love the way Itaru is just getting used to Chikage's rascal ways like that while Chikage is really just unable to get rid of Itaru so now he has no choice but to get used to it. The close your eyes scene is SO FUNNY, the "physically or mentally to your crimes" is one of my favorite line it's just so on point. Itaru is too used to this bullshit. "might as well happen" type.

oghh Chikage…….; sighs lovingly he's so good isn't he. and yea his voice. so good.

CITRON'S REUNION YESS. Sakuya who's been already always left behind by all the family members who took him in, finally making himself a found family, and legit everyone almost leaving him at some point (except Tsuzuru)…. no wonder he cried when Citron was finally back. It's probably the last straw at this point for him. God. Family. And GOD Guy's quote as he talks with Citron. Crying.

Spring being so, so determined to talk about how they're really a family just keeps making me cry. Like, they really saw themselves as each other's family… ironically in the anime, when Citron and Izumi run away from the people that were sent after Citron, Citron does add a line about how in a way, he kinda hopes the troupe could become his family…. and the Ending song for Spring, Home, is also really about "and this home maybe could become a family" and it makes me cry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_rHEFJ3ME But them talking about the end of the company just makes me so unwell. A3en ending really ended up making all of that so, so hard to swallow sobs.

SO GLAD you liked the ending. Now you know everything you need to know before the events ;D and yeah, i think Azuma was the one to do the make up without Azami around. he probably knows a thing or two so it helps out ;D

there's a couple things linked to the events, else i also did the mistake to tag my dgm posts with massive spoilers with kiri dont look so it might still be a landmine...

i can delete the tag from the dgm tags so it can make it easier for you? but yeah else some events are in the way

anyway as always i'm so glad to have been able to read your thoughts <333 so glad you had fun and so glad you get to know the whole cast now. they're so sweet, always........

Take care and see you around ;D

[kalmeria]

reading shimanami tasogare again and tasuku describing his home life at the beginning of chapter 12 came for my fucking throat

[fukuokadivision1]

Sanyu's Thoughts on Sendai Division

Ryūzō Mizutori

"This guy is a professor at a university. ...Meh, not really an interesting profession, at least in my opinion. I know Ming goes crazy over that kind of stuff. But besides that..." Sanyu looks at Ryūzō's photo. "...It's obvious from his demeanor that this guy has some demons in his closet. Like he's done a lot of things he isn't proud of. Of course, that's practically everyone in Japan, but this guy... he seems to harbor a lot of pain and resentment. I guess we have that in common..."

Takumi Wakaba

"Another professor, only this one seems to be more focused on getting active than learning in a classroom. I imagine him and Tasuku would get along well in that regard then. They're pretty much one and the same: they both are perverted womanizers and have don't know the meaning of 'inside voices'."

Kotono Ohara

Sanyu stares long and hard at the physics teacher's photo. "This woman... I can't help but feel that I know her. I mean, I know she's a professor, but... there's something else..." Sanyu brings the photo close to her, her mouth slowly falling open as she continues looking at the photo, curious and confused.

"I'm not crazy. I know this woman from somewhere. ...But where? Chuohku? Possibly, but... it's not just that. She..." Sanyu stops speaking as her eyes lock on the pendant around the woman's neck.

"That pendant... where do I know that thing fr- ...Ah!" Sanyu stops speaking as her head is hit by an intense pain, like before. She falls to the ground, grasping her head, before screaming out loud and fainting.

Kiya Kara

Sanyu is in her room in her bed, asleep with the comforter concealing her entire body save her neck. On the side of her mattress is a billboard with all three members of the Sendai Division team. Ryūzō and Takumi have no writing around them, but Kotono has a circle drawn around her picture with the words: 'WHO ARE YOU?' written in all caps. A badly-drawn picture of her pendant is drawn underneath her photo. Underneath the drawing, the words, 'WHY DO YOU HAVE THIS?' is written.

[ariluisi]

Hanakotoba (花言葉)

- Tsumugi Tsukioka × Yume Character

— the Japanese form of "language of flowers".

— Episode 1 starts after the cut.

— Not proofread. Therefore, I apologize for the typographical errors and wrong grammars.

Shion or Aster Tatarius in Japanese flower language, it means "remembrance" or "I won't forget". (Wikipedia)

The sun, the gentle breeze, and the cicadas along with the field of flowers. Tsumugi watched her with loving eyes as she took a closer look at the purple flowers.

"These flowers are so beautiful." She whispered sofly as she gazed at the purple flowers.

"Those are called Shion and in flower language they mean 'I won't forget." The male said as if he already knew that the women would ask.

"Then this flowers symbolizes my feelings and my memories of you." She looked at Tsumugi with a sweet and gentle smile.

"Of me?" Tsumugi asked confused.

"Yes, because I don't want to forget everthing about you and I won't let myself forget. You are the best thing that happened to me." She smiled with a lonely yet content smile.

The male felt his cheeks flush and looked away and muttered, "You're always so sly. But, I'm the same, I don't want to forget."

——————————

Tsumugi's eyes fluttered as he heard the sound of his alarm as well as the sound of his roomate getting ready. Ah, was he dreaming of something before he woke up? He can't remember but he feels warm and sense longingness.

"Oi Tsumugi, wake up. It's time for morning practice." Tasuku Takato, a member of Winter troupe in Mankai Company as well as Tsumugi's childhood friend, said as he noticed Tsumugi waking up.

"Good Morning, Taachan..." Tsumugi Tsukioka, the leader of Winter troupe greets Tasuku still half asleep.

"I already told you to stop calling me that. Anyway, I'm going ahead." Tasuku said and left Tsumugi alone to get ready.

As Tsumugi starts getting ready he bumps in his desk and a book fell off. He picked it up, placed it back to it's usual place but something fell without him noticing. It was a bookmark with Shion pressed flowers in it.

——————————

The day passed for Tsumugi, there is nothing unusual. The dorm is just as lively and noisy as usual, but somehow he feels lonely it was as if he's yearning and finding something that used to be there but not anymore. He can't find out what is it though, no matter how hard he tries to think and remember, he just can't. Some of the members notice the small change in Tsumugi's behavior, and some thought that it's just him being the acting idiot like he usually is.

"Good afternoon Tsukioka." A voice suprised Tsumugi as he stares at the Shion flowers that just bloomed in the dorms garden.

"Guy-san, good afternoon." The male greets the newly arrived male.

"Is there something wrong?" Guy ask the male as he too looked at the newly bloomed flowers.

"There is nothing wrong, I'm just thinking about something. I just can't figure it out though." Tsumugi answered honestly not wanting to make the other worry more.

"I don't know what it is but, we are here to listen. Takato is also worried." Guy said

"Sorry for making you all worry but I'm really fine. And thank you Guy-san." Tsumugi thanked Guy and they continue sitting comfortably in silence as the suns light disappears.

—At the same time in different location.

She once again hear the sounds of the cicadas, she looked outside the window and saw the moon is already out, providing light in the darkness of the night. She stood up and put her book down.

"The Shion are in bloom once more, so is the loneliness in my heart and yearns for your love." She whispered in the thin air.

She stared at the book she just putted down, eyes filled with loneliness and yearning. Oh how she wish to see him once more. She doesn't want to be in the way of his growth and resolve, so she stepped away. 3 years ago, they both ended their relationship and not once they have spoken in those years. And every once in a while, she stares up at the moon and remember the happy days they have. What a lovely memory, she just want to bask in those memories forever if she can. Even if years already went by, she still sounds like a young girl inlove whose lover left her alone and broken, but she knew she can't act amd feel like, because that's not what happened. They both went seperate ways in peace. Also, Tsumugi isn't the only one who made a resolve and chased his dreams, she have to work hard too.

"Ame, are you done packing your things?" A man knocked in her door.

"I'm almost finish. I'm just taking a small break, Dad." The man who she addressed as her father nodded and left her alone to pack, "Veludo Way, never thought that Dad will personally suggest we move there. But that's not really important now is it? I better finish this now or else Dad might leave me behind tomorrow." she said as she picked up the book from earlier and placed it inside one of the boxes.

Masterlist || Next Episode.

Author's Note:

The first episode of Hanakotoba (花言葉) Act 1 is here!! I actually found this quite hard to write maybe it's because I want the characters to stay as they are in their original set-up for a more realistic feels (in my opinion). And I also want this to be kind of a long chapter that reveals what it needs to show but still keeping the female lead, Ame , mysterious and the flow interesting. And I still have alot of twist and turns that will be soon revealed as the story goes on, and I hope that I can reach all of your expectations. As well as provide a story that isn't boring and exagerated in any way. Also, I will *try* to update every 2-3 days but sometimes it might take longer because I want to provide quality and keep things original. Thank you so much for reading!!

With much love, Al.

[mankai-onlyfans]

"Hey guys!" Kazunari bursts into the lounge, tablet in hand, and flashes everyone a grin. "Check this out!"

Sakyo looks up, his eye already twitching. "We're in the middle of a meeting, Miyoshi."

Kazu nods, his energy not diminished in the slightest from Sakyo's chilly demeanor. "Yeah, I know! That's why I-"

"Then please let us finish." Sakyo cuts him off, gesturing towards Izumi to continue.

She gives Kazunari an apologetic smile. "Like I was saying guys, we're facing a real problem here. With everyone in quarantine, we can't put on any shows for the time being. It's just not safe."

"And without selling tickets to performances," Sakyo adds. "Our profits will go through the floor."

Sakuya makes a noise of disbelief from where he sits on the couch beside his fellow company members. "What?! But does that mean-"

"All of our hard work, down the drain..." Tsumugi says somberly, his brows furrowed with concern.

Izumi nods. "We can't let this place go bankrupt after all we've done to save it. That's why we have to figure out a way to earn money while everyone is staying home." She looks around the room at the twenty actors, all under her guidance. "Any ideas?"

Kazunari waves his hand around in the air. "Ooh, I have a-!"

"Maybe we could livestream some performances from here." Tasuku suggests. "Like one act plays, people could buy virtual tickets."

"That's a good idea!" Izumi points at him and turns to write it down on the whiteboard.

"But how would we advertise? All we have is the company website." Sakyo points out.

"Oh true." Izumi slumps. "We can't do street acts like we normally would to promote."

"And that's how we garner new fans." Sakyo says. "I guarantee that we would only get a tenth of our usual audience, maximum, without proper promotion."

Izumi hesitantly scribbles down the idea.

"Guys-" Kazunari starts to say, but this time it's Omi who interrupts him.

"What if we record videos and upload them online? Like vlogs and things. They're pretty popular right now, and I could help with filming."

Sakyo shakes his head. "That won't be showcasing our talents as actors. We need something more marketable."

"Guys, what about-"

"I know!" Citron interupts Kazunari this time, and jumps up from his seat. "We could make stuffings of ourselves and sell them!"

"Stuffings?" Tenma looks appalled.

"I am NOT being taxidermied, okay?" Taichi whines, curling up and hugging his knees with a shudder.

"I think he means 'stuffies'. Like plush toys." Itaru chimes in, busy as always on his phone.

"Plush toys?" Muku asks, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

"Yes!" Citron exclaims. "One for each of us. Yuki could sew them! A little Citron, a little Itaru-" he points to himself, and Itaru in turn. "-and a little Muku!" He finishes, leaning over to pat the pink haired boy on the head. "Soft, squishy stuffings!"

"Marshmallows...?" Hisoka asks, only hearing half the conversation.

"Wha-?" Muku blushes, seemingly overwhelmed by the idea. "B-but who would want a plushie of a shrimpy, no-good, wannabe actor like me...?"

Misumi hugs him with a chuckle. "You're not shrimpy, you're fun sized!" He pulls a triangular pebble out of his hoodie pocket and hands it to Muku to comfort him.

Yuki scoffs in agreement. "And if anyone here is a no-good, wannabe actor, it's the hack." He sniffs, shooting a glare in Tenma's direction.

Tenma balks and is probably about to retort when Izumi claps her hands for their attention. "Plushies would be a great idea. But I'm not sure if our fanbase is big enough to want to buy that kind of merchandise."

Sakyo hums his agreement. "We would need to weigh the cost of production with potential sales revenue. But Izumi is right, without a strong enough following, the idea would be a waste of time and effort."

"GUYS!" Kazunari steps into the middle of the room, waving his arms around frantically.

Everyone looks to him, slowly falling silent. "What's up, Kazunari?" Izumi asks.

Kazu lets out a breath of relief, happy to finally have everyone's full attention. "I have the perfect solution!"

"Care to enlighten us?" Sakyo asks, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

Kazu nods and whips out his tablet. "We need a way to make money, while still growing our fanbase and showcasing our talents, right?"

"That's the idea." Juza grunts.

"Say no more! I found this great website, where you can make an account and post exclusive content in exchange for moolah." He turns the tablet around and shows it to Sakyo, who adjusts his glasses to examine it. "They have multiple levels of subscriptions, so it's affordable for the casual fan, and super fans can pay more to get more content. Boom! Monthly income, and a way to grow our skills and fanbase."

Kazunari grins proudly at his little speech. Sakyo's brows lift slightly as he examines the price points. "This... might work. What's the name of this website?"

"Patreon." Itaru says, reaching for a sip of his soda.

"Nope! Onlyfans." Kazu replies.

Itaru promptly sprays soft drink all over the couch, as well as Tsuzuru and Banri.

"Ah, shit! Watch it, man..." Banri grumbles, while Tsuzuru wearily hands Itaru a tissue and claps him on the back while he tries to choke in a breath.

"Are you..." Itaru coughs, his eyes watering. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kazu asks, perplexed.

"It's just that... people sometimes..." Itaru tries to stammer out what he means to say, uncharacteristically flustered.

"People use that site for all sorts of things." Azuma chimes in helpfully, his hands folded in his lap. "It's very profitable."

"Right? That's what I'm saying!" Kazunari shoots a finger gun and a wink at Azuma, thanking him for agreeing. "It's like, totally a great way to make money. And check it out, the content is exclusive to people who subscribe, so it builds hype and mystery around what's posted."

"Oh, it's no mystery." Azuma chuckles to himself, his eyes glittering with amusement.

"So, what do you say, Frooch?" Kazunari turns pleading eyes to Sakyo. "I'll manage all the networking for it, and I'm sure Itaroon wouldn't mind promoting it either, right dude? You have a bunch of followers!"

At this, Itaru's cheeks turn curiously pink. "I-I'm... people might think..."

Sakyo stands up. "Very well. Miyoshi, you can set up this Onlyfans promotional account for the company."

Kazunari fist pumps the air in victory. Sakyo points a finger at him. "However, I expect you to take this seriously, alright? If I don't see profits by the end of the month, I'm pulling the plug."

"You got it, chief!" Kazu cheers, giving him a salute. Then Sakyo glances at everyone else. "I expect you all to cooperate and do as Miyoshi tells you. He's in charge of this project, but we all have to participate for it to be successful. Remember, this is catered to our audience."

"I'm sure they'll be overjoyed," Azuma smiles cryptically.

Sakyo then adjourns the meeting and leaves, taking Izumi with him to talk about budgeting. The others all chatter over each other, bursting with questions about this new endeavour.

"Whoa, whoa! One at a time, guys." Kazu laughs, thrilled to be the center of attention.

Homare raises his hand. Kazunari gestures for him to go ahead.

"How frequently will we need to post? I require inspiration to make anything truly worthwhile." He chuckles, twirling his hand in the air dramatically. "I cannot create on demand, you know."

Kazunari snaps his fingers. "Cool question. Answer is: whenever you want! Subscribers will be paying the same fee no matter how much we post, but posting more often will get more people talking about us!"

Sakuya raises his hand next. "What kind of content should we make? There's a lot of options."

While considering Sakuya's question, Kazunari either ignores or doesn't hear Itaru choke again. "I'd say we should do lots of stuff! We can post vlogs, like Omimi suggested, and scripted stuff, like Tax's idea. It'll give us good practice and show off our skills."

"What about fanservice?" Azuma says innocently, raising his hand as he does so. "Wouldn't it help us grow closer with our fans if we take their questions and requests?"

"Fanservice! Yes." Kazu agrees.

Itaru purses his lips, his eyes full of alarm he stares down at the carpet.

"You know, that's a good idea." Tsuzuru says thoughtfully. "Even though our fanbase is growing, we haven't really interacting with them on a personal level."

"Trust me, this will make it super duper personal." Kazunari assures him eagerly. Itaru tries to hold in either a laugh or a sob, his lips beginning to twitch from the effort.

"Maybe we should look at some other accounts to get ideas." Masumi suggests.

"Great idea!" Kazunari agrees, lifting his tablet. But before he can search, Itaru and Azuma are both on their feet.

"Don't-!" Itaru snatches the tablet away. "I... I have to get my login bonus." He gives the weak excuse and quickly makes sure Kazunari hasn't accidentally called up any questionable content.

Azuma pats Kazunari on the back, smiling apologetically. "I think we should come up with something unique, without any influence..."

"Y-yeah, sure." Kazunari looks between them, his eyes wide with confusion.

Mankai Onlyfans, now open!

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**Muku, Yuki, Masumi, Tenma, and Taichi are exempt from answering any questions or requests that their director deems too suggestive.

[act-addict-actors-matchups]

@otomeramblings said,

I'm a girl, 23 years old, around 162 cm, with medium length dark brown hair (almost black) and brown eyes. I'm one of those people who are often asked "are you okay? Are you mad?" and no, more often than not that's just how my resting face looks lol

I'm a Scorpio and an INFP. According to my friends, I'm usually very sweet but no one likes to be around me when I get seriously angry ^^; I guess it's because i'm generally very soft spoken and I try to avoid conflict as much as I can, and when I'm upset is one of the times when I actually raise my voice. I have people tell me that I'm smart, but I just consider myself to be an overall average person. It usually takes me a while to fully trust someone but once they've earned my trust, I cherish their friendship for life.

I can fluently speak English and Spanish, and I recently got my English Translation degree. I love to read (both novels and manga) and to discover new music, I also really like dancing (I did ten years of ballet) and I recently rediscovered my love for drawing and writing.

Qualities I would like in a s/o:

-passionate, about anything, really. I'm usually very reserved unless I have something I really want to talk about and I appreciate when others listen, and for that reason I love to listen to people talk about things they're passionate about

-mature, not in relation to his hobbies bit more so in the sense that he can have a serious conversation when needed and take responsibility for his actions.

-patient. Being introverted and kinda awkward, I usually need time to recharge after being social and even while spending time together there will probably be silences when I think of what to say or even times when I'd just rather we spent it doing our own thing while being together.

Qualities I don't like:

-shouting. I hate it when people shout at me when they're mad because it makes me tear up immediately, I would much rather you tell why you're mad in a calm tone so we can work things out.

✧ The way I scREAMED when I saw your url 🤭 I love your writing so much skdhksdhksjd thank you for requesting a matchup. 😳💞 Stay safe! I hope all goes well for you!

I’d match you with: . . .

➜ HOW YOU TWO FIRST MET ; The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze while you were on your way to buy new drawing pencils. Your current ones were not exactly in the best condition after being used too many times. A sigh escaped from you as you fastened your pace. In all honesty, you would rather stay at home and maybe watch one of your shows but you knew if you didn’t go out to buy those now, you never would. As one particular building came to your sight, you suddenly stopped in your tracks. It was a flower shop. The vibrant display of flowers covered the table outside. Bold purple, soft pink and light lavender flowers sat right in front of you as well as some others you didn’t know the names of. The sweet smell of blossomed flowers filled your nose as you inhaled and exhaled. They were so beautiful that you couldn’t help but to reach at a lavender, the purple petals felt like soft velvet against your skin. The chime of the door opening ringed into your ears, drawing your attention away from the flowers in front of you. A man with a blue striped T-shirt, a pair of black pants and black leather shoes came out of the building with a bag you thought had flower seeds in it. A brown trench coat with a blue inner lining slung over his shoulder, beautiful, dark blue hair rustling as he gave his thanks to the employee before closing the door. The man turned around and you swear you stop breathing for a moment, because oh my god how dare someone this handsome come in to your field of view without a warning. After realizing that you’ve been staring at a stranger for a good seconds, you hesitantly looked away. But just your luck, while you decided that it was the time to carry on with your mission, you dropped your purse to the ground. You groaned before bending over to pick it up but to your surprise, you see another hand reaching over it? And most importantly, you saw that it was that handsome stranger when you looked up??? He gave you a kind but awkward smile as he hold out your bag to you. You muttered a “thank you” before grabbing it. After that cliche moment, there was an awkward silence between you and the man, but he decided to speak up to start a conversation by asking if you liked flowers. The conversation smoothly flowed from there. He just had that aura of gentleness radiating that you couldn’t help but warm up to the stranger, who you later learned the name of, quickly. He even offered to accompany you to the shop you were going, which you agreed if he didn’t mind. Your relationship steadily developed from there. To be honest, it wouldn't be obvious at all that Tsumugi has a crush on you. He's friendly and sweet to everyone he meets most of the time so nobody thinks twice whenever he's with you, except maybe Tasuku. His underlying feelings for you would show in the little things he does, the way his eyes shine whenever you laugh, how his ears perk up whenever he hears your name, how he somehow memorized all your favorite foods after you offhandedly mentioned it once before. For someone who majored in psychology, it’s kind of hilarious how dense he is regarding his own feelings. He would mistake those feelings of his as a weirdly strong platonic attraction for you and continue spending time with you in hopes to appease the feeling but be confused as to why he always felt unsatisfied. He finally realizes how smitten he is for you after a long internal monologue he had after he almost had a heart attack when you hugged him once for whatever reason.

➜ PERSONALITY COMPATIBILITY ; Tsumugi is the walking epitome of every single thing you’re looking in a S/O. You want someone passionate about something? This man literally couldn’t give up on his dream and love for the performance art. He’d be more than willing to talk about how acting involved a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, the ability to interpret drama etc. He’d try bunch of different gestures in front of you and ask you which one you liked the best. He also absolutely loves it when you are the one who does the talking. His strength is CANONLY listening to others after all. He just gives off this aura that compels you to think that you can talk about anything and everything with him. Just like you, Tsumugi has a great need for harmony and dislikes any conflict so if there were to be any fights, they would be resolved in a day or two with the two of you talking it out. He majored in Psychology in university, and is very good at reading people so if you’re both in a social gathering and he senses you need to take a break, he will hold your hand and walk you somewhere with less crowd and noise. When you want to be alone, he’d give you the space you need and if you want to spend time he would be there. He is a pretty clueless baby at the start and would try to ask people for help on dating advice. He will however remember every single memory you two will and have made. You’ll never see him forgetting any milestones in your guys’ relationship. His way of saying “I love you” is through the flowers he picks and grows. As someone who can be shy to vocally express his love for you, he handpicks each flower based on their meanings with the hope that they could accurately convey the emotions he holds for you. The very sight of your smile as you watch each tiny plant grow kindles a budding warmth inside him, as if he’s a bee intoxicated by the nectar of your happiness. And to him, the vision of you happy is prettier than any flower in his garden, pushing him to always keep you bright and blooming.

➜ SHARED ACTIVITIES ; Tsumugi canonly moon/stargazes with Misumi so why wouldn’t he do the same with his S/O? It’s a cool, romantic and surprisingly unique activity to do together. There aren’t many activities one can plan for a date that are sweeter or more intimate than a night spent together under a beautiful, sparkling sky. You would ask each other questions about one another, without being afraid of letting the conversation slow down. This is a date to relax and linger over. If not that, I can totally see him taking you to a botanical garden. These places are beautiful and not too busy in general. Bonus points if you bring a camera and get some nice photos together as a couple. i’m so soft rn 🥺 But I feel like your most common date would be either tending the garden in the mankai dorm or just doing your own little things while being together. You might be writing on the table while he’s going over his script for the winter troupe’s newest play one more time or he might be grading his student’s test, since he’s a tutor and all, while you’re drawing. I see Tsumugi as someone who reads a lot so maybe both of you can read the same book together and discuss it afterwards. These types of dates are great for discovering how the other person views the world. One might learn that their significant other is passionate about a social justice cause, their favorite author, or their philosophy of beauty. These dates are great for sparking good conversations and they are introvert friendly. Or something even better: reading aloud. Reading out loud to each other can be incredibly sweet. And, as spiritual counselor Davida Rappaport says, "just the fact that you are both close and sharing space is ... a nice way to spend an evening."

➜ ZODIAC COMPATIBILITY ; Tsumugi is a Capricorn, his birthday being December 28th. When Scorpio and Capricorn make a love match, they get an opportunity to not only enjoy a loving relationship and learn the value of being a pair, but also to grow and mature as individuals. These two may be wary about sharing themselves with one another at first, and this emotional caution may dampen the initial impact of this relationship. These two tend to be a bit cautious (Capricorn) and pensive (Scorpio), and it takes a while for them to feel comfortable with a significant other. Though they may be shy of getting involved and not the quickest to trust and share, these two Signs will discover that they can have quite a profound connection — one of friendship and deep loyalty. What’s the best thing about the Scorpio-Capricorn love match? Their determination toward shared ideas and their strong devotion to one another. They can open doors to one another’s souls and show one another new ways of perceiving and feeling.