EVENT ✨ Nightmare on Elph Street

[avalonmods]

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The ritual-wiping ritual wasn't the best news for Avalon and magic has been wacky for everyone since it was performed. However, if there was a time for it to happen, it happening before the Spring Equinox was just about the best time it could happen. The Spring Equinox, after all, is a time of renewal and rebirth. It's what you'd call a silver lining. As long as enough people participate in the Spring Equinox rituals, it should be fine... right?

CONTENT WARNINGS:

• 1st Prompt: --
• 2nd Prompt: --
  
• 3rd Prompt: --

This part of the event takes place on March 20th.

Though there is no Spring Masquerade this year as there had bene the last, there is a much smaller token of appreciation from the castle of Camelot to all of those who live within its borders: a gift basket with a salad of edible flowers, eggs, breakfast sausages, and a small bottle of champagne (or sparkling seltzer for those underage) and a bottle of orange juice to make mimosas with. Those of the vegetarian through vegan persuasions will receive vegan white chocolate eggs filled with coconut cream frosting and a mango puree 'yolk' and Avalon's best plant-based sausages. It's not quite a feast, but no one should go hungry on this day of celebration! Brownies will help to deliver these overnight, so you'll find them on your doorstep in the morning with a special spell to keep everything fresh through most of the early afternoon. Since there is no party this time, everyone will have the chance to see Avalon's plants begin to overgrow at a rapid pace within the city.
Those who saw it last year or locals who are normally residents of Avalon will tell you not to fear, this happens every spring. The plants grow around and not through structures, the buildings still safe and sound beneath large vines and leaves and pools and flowers. Most notably, huge beds of vines, open seed pools, and giantic flowers large enough to take a bath in have started cropping up around town, and they all seem to be filled with a vibrant, glowing liquid of some kind.  Each of these floral wonders, locals will tell you, is called a vernal soul pool. Upon entering one, you'll enter a lucid sleep state that connects you to everyone else in Avalon and the island itself. Doing so will cause your magic to be amplified and grow and stabilize, but also allow you to be cleansed and refreshed as a person. How much detail the person you're talking to gives is up to you (in case your characters would back off of it if they had the following details but you still want to experience it). Once someone enters, they will immediately feel as if they are at home and the pod will close over them gently, leaving them in a pool of that mysterious glowing substance-- vines grow further to encase, the pool closes, flowers close into buds instead of open blossoms.  Under normal circumstances, the pools would remain closed and in this state until the witching hour and slowly and gently awaken those within. However, even the magics of the spring aren't stable right now, and what ends up happening is the pools suddenly spill open before anyone's dream sharing can truly get underway, dumping their passengers out onto the ground into a state of jarring awakeness. With them, they will find they are unable to access their Avalon magics but instead have one of the following: Unstable, uncontrolled access to their canon powers. They may start shooting off random magic, they may be unable to shut down a normally passive ability gone into overdrive, or when they try to use their abilities, it goes outright wrong-- "Accio Excalibur" in an attempt to save the multiverse might result in all figurines of Excaliburs within 10 miles to come hurdling toward you, for example. Access to the beginner, untrained level of canon powers of someone whose shared consciousness you entered. Even if you don't have canon powers of your own, you will be able to access someone else's with this option.   This part of the event takes place late night on March 20th through slightly past midnight on March 21st.
	The fairy queen's envoy, Princess Bluebell, sends out a panicked emergency message (complete with the obnoxious alarm that sets off phones even on silent) after a couple of hours of this, and casts a mirror-travel spell to Nicnevin so that any may quickly arrive just outside of its borders, next to the river. The message states that the dream world and reality have melted together due to the majority of magic being funneled into the time freeze spell or the equinox ritual, which uses Queen Mab as a vessel through which the vernal soul pools channel everyone's magic. The Spring Equinox renewal did NOT go as planned, needless to say. Otherworlders must head to Mab's Cavern to locate Queen Mab and absorb some of her energy by touching her to stabilize their magics and drain the spring equinox's out of her before even bigger disaster strikes!
Mab's Cavern is typically a place forbidden to enter under normal circumstances. It is the world of dreams and nightmares takes from our subconscious what we most desire and what we most fear and our memories and turns them into reality. This is what your character will have to face without their Avalonian magic and the above either unstable or beginner-level powers. Mab normally goes into a slumber and connects herself to the whole of Avalon during the Spring Equinox to allow the vernal soul pools to utilize her magic, so she cannot let everyone in or help anyone navigate her realm. Mab's Cavern looks like a normal mountain from the outside, covered from head to toe in pink cherry and plum blossoms trees, shrouded in a fog that's pink itself from reflecting the petals. The entrance to the inside of the cavern is an ancient door, carved from white marble and enchanted to be impassible without an offering and engraved says: "Offer me your most secret dream and enter this forbidden realm. Dream with me for eternity." The offering, in this case, is simple: speak your most secret dream out loud for the door. The open door will allow one person to pass through per offering, and leads into a hall entirely coated in flowers of a variety of colors. These flowers speak, and will ask you how you are, warn you to turn back, tell you and whoever you're walking with that you make a cute couple, sing the national anthem of their people, whatever. They seem to get more and more chatterbox-y as you head inward and the lights grow dimmer until there is no light left. Even if you light one, it seems as if you are in a black space where nothing exists but you and whoever you walk with (if anyone), and voices.

This portion of the event contains a FOURTH WALL EVENT element and takes place on March 21st.
 

That is, until you hear a new voice and the chatterbox flowers hush. Anyone from any canon can appear and team up with you within Mab's Cavern as this is a fourth wall event. Guest characters will have access to their canon abilities, but cannot leave Mab's Cavern or affect the environment outside of it. Your new party member can accompany you through Mab's Cavern, which takes the form of a location from in-game characters' memories. Within it, their darkest fear will turn into a physical enemy and attempt to hunt them down. (How you interpret this is up to you as a player-- please create your own monsters based on your character's fears, even if they are more conceptual than physical.) Within it, their deepest desires may find fulfillment (we leave this to player
interpretation again, but be sure to ask permission if it involves another character who is in the game or a part of the fourth wall) and their new party member may need to convince them to leave instead of staying in the dream world forever. Characters who are able to get past both desires and fears will find themselves able to see a door that wasn't within their memory before. Upon going through it, they will be able to find Queen Mab, asleep in the center of what appears to be a glowing, underwater pond with stones that raise above the surface that lead to her bed some hundred feet in. Beneath the surface, more of the talking flowers start to cry about their woes-- unveiling that they failed against their fears and desires, and those who do will find themselves turned into flowers within Queen Mab's cavern, only able to escape if they are able to touch another living person!  If you've trusted the flowers, you'll find yourself in trouble. These are actually souls who crossed Queen Mab and attempted to steal their desires away from her cavern and bring them into reality. Their curse? They can escape if they trade another soul for theirs. Now would be a good time for a partner to help pull you out because as soon as you touch one of the flowers, they will turn into vines and attempt to wrap around you to pull you under the water and drown you! The "water" itself is the same liquid used within the vernal soul pools, so you'll find your life literally flashing before your eyes as this happens, making it very difficult to escape without someone else's help. If you die in the water, the flowers who did it will transform back into their original selves and flee, and you will be transformed into a talking flower yourself. If you make it to Queen Mab, you'll need to place a hand on her and all dreams and reality will sort themselves out within you-- that is, your broken powers will disappear and your Avalonian magics will return. As you head out again, the guest character brought in to help you will begin to fade away slowly enough that you can say your goodbye before they are gone. There is no way to stop this. All memories of fourth wall visitors will be retained as part of game canon. After enough people have come to take Mab's powers enough to deplete the effects of the Vernal Pools, the Fairy Queen herself will come to Mab and run a strange-looking dagger through her heart. All of the Spring Equinox magic that was being filtered through her will be released into the land and stabilize magic for everyone, and a flower will blossom out of Mab's heart around the dagger. Within the center of the bud glows a small child version of Mab, and anyone still in the cavern will find themself just wandering around in a dark cave. The Fairy Queen glows in the dark and will lead them out with little magic glow bubbles that try to make them follow if they get separated from her vicinity, but is still not speaking to anyone. She will also transport anyone who has been turned into a talking flower out of the cave via some kind of levitation spell and give them to someone they know-- whether they know them in a positive or negative light is up to you, she can only register connection on sight with magic, not emotion. A little research will reveal the following solutions to restoring your character: Siphoners and countercurse potions can remove the curse to get them back to 100% normal. Animal mages can transform them back into their original species (but they will still smell like flowers for the rest of their life). Green mages can use their magic to cultivate them into flower people-- who look like themselves, but now require sunlight and water to survive instead of food and occasionally sprout a flower or two in their hair.

Comments

tsumugi tsukioka | a3! | ota

[tsumtsuki]

A ❄ the dream he envisioned.

[ Well. Things sure escalated quickly. But that seemed to be a theme as of late around here, unfortunately. So although he's just a tad bit sleepy (it's quite late, if the stars in the sky are any indication), he's ready to do whatever's necessary. They can't afford another disaster so soon after The Wild Hunt.

Tsumugi looks to the door before him, to whoever's standing by his side, then back to the door with a nervous little laugh. Not that he's eager to share his secret dream - it's been a secret for a reason - but... ] I can go first, if you'd like? [ Might as well offer...? ]

B ❄ the memory of our eternity.
( location: veludo way )

[ A place like Mab's Cavern should logistically be a cavern. That doesn't feel like an unreasonable expectation. So Tsumugi's more than a little surprised to see a place so achingly familiar at the end of the flower-coated hallway. ]

Huh...? [ As far as neighborhoods go, Veludo Way might seem rather ordinary. Maybe a little more colorful and lively than some places, but what would you expect from a theater community?

It's hard not to fall back onto old habits - to walk the path that'd lead him to Mankai's dorms - but he reminds himself that he's here for a reason. For Mab. For Avalon. So he shakes off the urge and begins looking around. ]

C ❄ his own eternal theatre.
( location: god-za theater )

[ No matter how many years pass, Tsumugi will never forget how it feels to stand outside this particular theater. His hands clench into fists at his sides, digging crescent moons into his palms. At first, he's hesitant, but with a bit of time he'll eventually will himself to move one foot in front of the next, to climb up the stairs and approach those big beautiful doors at the top.

(His feelings around this place have always been complicated, to say the least. The actor known as Tsumugi Tsukioka had once died here, only to emerge years later from the ashes and dust (the angel feathers littering the stage) reborn anew.)

Once they're open, the scene shifts. Before him - and you - is a theater, opulence obvious even in the dim lighting, a singular spotlight illuminating center stage. It's packed, every seat taken by an excited patron chattering away about the performance. Encore, encore, the show must go on.

Tsumugi's gaze, of course, lands on that empty stage - or is it really empty? In a blink of an eye, the space fills with figures, their faces indistinguishable with the theater's lighting. The number of people keeps shifting, too. Four, five, sometimes less, sometimes more, upwards of twenty-three.

And it's funny - not a single word has been spoken by the actors upon that stage, but it calls to him. There. That's where he belongs. Where he wants- no, needs to be.

Mesmerized, he takes a step forward. ]

D ❄ the beauty, the brilliance, the recklessness.
( cw for near drowning/near death experiences in replies )

[ Even if he had his Avalonian magic and therefore access to his plant empathy, Tsumugi has no reason to distrust the flowers. So when they beckon to him, pleading for his help, he naturally responds. He thinks nothing of straying from the path leading to Mab and reaching toward the flowers beneath the surface of the pond, intent on saving them from their current state.

So when a vine wraps around his arm, he barely has the chance to exclaim ] Ah-! [ before it yanks hard, intent on dragging him under.

And it might succeed, if he doesn't get help soon. ]

E ❄ wildcard.
( what it says on the tin! I'm down for just about anything, but if you wanna talk things out, drop a comment here or reach out privately! )

D

[tantailizing]

[Taking in all of Queen Mab's chamber, Zidane's not paying too much attention to where Tsumugi is going, but next he looks, his troupe member is too close to the water and too close to those flowers. Unlike him, there's been plenty of experiences with plants that Zidane hesitant to believe they need help at all.]

[And he's proven exactly right when vines grab and pull at Tsumugi!]

Tsumugi!

[He shoots forward, reaching out to grab him.]

[tsumtsuki]

[ Tsumugi's never had the best reflexes, nor is he very strong physically. It's taking all he has simply to keep himself from tumbling head-first into the pool. So while there's a brief flicker of relief, feeling Zidane grab him, it's just that: brief, as the vines begin winding up the length of his arm, squeezing his bicep. ]

Zidane-kun! [ The panic in his voice is no act. And the more he struggles, the tighter the vine grips onto him. ] It won't let go!

[tantailizing]

Damn vine...!

[Not good, not good...! The plant really intended on pulling Tsumugi into the water, huh? Using his tail, he pulls out one of his daggers to slash at the vine. Both of them better brace or else they'll be falling back.]

[tsumtsuki]

[ There's only so much bracing he can do when he's pulling back against this vine with all his might. But when he sees that flash of metal out of the corner of his eye, he does his best.

While not enough to cut through the entire vine (which that might be a tiny bit of a blessing in disguise, as far as his arm's concerned. he trusts zidane, but not his own ability to not get hurt.) it's enough to give Tsumugi room to metaphorically breathe. ] Thank you- [ But that, too, is a fleeting moment, as he then notices movement beneath the water. Is it still just that one flower, or are more waking up, now that one's been disturbed? He really doesn't want to find out.

He keeps his eyes on the pool before them, nervous. ] What should we do?

[tantailizing]

[He can clear cut the rest of the vine, but at least he has Tsumugi back. Still, he doesn't like the way the water's shifting either. Scowling, keeping a hold on Tsumugi, he takes a step back, bringing his dagger into his free hand.]

... Retreat for now just to get out of their grasp and see what happens. Either way, I don't think you should try getting close for now.

c.

[kamikizaka]

( this is his stage. where his actors shine brightest, chasing perfection with each performance.

this is also the site of several humiliations, each teaching him something new. the most recent finding some old, calcified parts of him and shucking the layers of hardness off them.

it shouldn't be strange to be standing here, among a faceless crowd while equally indistinct actors fill the stage, but it is. something isn't right. )

Tsukioka! ( and speaking of humiliations, just what is this man doing here? at least there's no longer a grudge held against the lead actor of his defeats, but instead acknowledgement that he shines on stage in a fascinating way far different to the actors of God Troupe.

he doesn't regret rejecting him, but the words he said then... well. perhaps they were too harsh.

but those are musings for another day. Tsukioka is the only other face he can make out here, and that has to mean something, right? )

[tsumtsuki]

[ Of course he'd be here. This is, after all, his stage. His theater. His world. But "shocked" doesn't even begin to cover how he feels when he turns and meets his gaze.

There's no way he could truly let go of the words spoken after that fateful audition. As much as he acts as he's grown from that experience, finding his stride as an actor of Mankai and then Kaika Companies, the wounds on his heart are very real. And as much as he feels he should've moved on by now, seeing him in the flesh is a painful reminder of how far he still has to go.

He swallows the lump in his throat, remembering to speak, to breathe. ] Kamikizaka-san... [ His feet are rooted in place, unable to move closer to that stage or to Kamikizaka himself.

Where does he even start? How does he face this by himself? ] How did you get here?

[kamikizaka]

( fear and hesitation weren't the emotions Tsukioka showed when they met outside this theatre, just before the showdown act, but they're present here.

strange. one more thing among the myriad of strange things going on here.

how should he play this? is Tsukioka looking for a friend, or a villain? )

It's my theatre, of course. Why wouldn't I be here?

( truthfully, he has no idea, but he acts as though it's natural as anything for him to be here, hands spread out at his sides, nothing less than perfectly confident on his home turf. )

I should ask you why you're here.

[tsumtsuki]

That's-... [ When he puts it like that... it's true. It's him that doesn't have a place here, not Kamikizaka. Which is fine, really - he can't imagine being anything besides Tsumugi Tsukioka of Kaika Company. He's happy where he ended up after his years of wandering away from his dream.

But there's still "what if"s that linger, as mysterious as the faceless crowd they find themselves among. What does the Tsumugi that didn't run away look like? The Tsumugi that didn't get rejected so harshly?

The Tsumugi that didn't lose those years of acting with Tasuku, and stood upon the very stage before them as a member of God Troupe?

He shakes his head a little. ] I'm not sure... but we need to find a way out of here. [ ... Or does he, really? ]

B

[mashohiso]

[Something wasn't right. This Veludo Way wasn't right.

Hisoka had fallen asleep in one of his usual spots with the sun beating down on him, comforting, and cats curled up against his side. Upon waking up, however, the sun was still shining but the cats were gone and he had moved to somewhere in Veludo Way. It wasn't unusual for him to fall asleep in one place and wake up in another - he's aware of how often he's carried around like a sack of potatoes by Tasuku - but this isn't right.

Something about this place doesn't sit well with him. It's so familiar and yet... his skin crawls. He's on edge.

...Maybe he's still asleep, just deeper in a dream. Or a nightmare.





Whelp. Hisoka lays down on the ground. Best to go back to sleep then, in hopes of waking up for real.]

[tsumtsuki]

[ In all of Tsumugi's looking around, he doesn't think to look down. So he doesn't expect his foot to catch on something solid. ]

Ah-! [ Thankfully, he manages to catch himself before smacking into dreamed up concrete - it's close, and it takes him stumbling forward a few extra steps, but it's a success and that's what matters most.

He apologizes first, ] I'm sorry- [ then turns his gaze to whatever he tripped over.

Though, he supposes it's whoever. And he knows exactly who this is, no matter how curled up he may be at the moment. Is it possible, though? Is he really real?

(he wants him to be. he wants him to be so badly. there's been a lot of joys in his life in the seven months he's been here, but it's also been so, so hard.)

Hesitant, he kneels down next to the figure, hand just mere inches away from resting upon him. ] ... Hisoka-kun?

[mashohiso]

[Hisoka wrinkles his nose in protest upon impact but otherwise doesn't move. That is, until he hears the voice of his troupe leader.

On any normal day, Tsumugi's soft call would not have been enough to rouse Hisoka. But now is different because something isn't right and, whether it's a dream or not, he can't have Tsumugi sticking around when there could be danger. It's fine if it's just him, but not Tsumugi.

His eyes flutter open.] ...Tsumugi. What are you doing here?

[tsumtsuki]

[ Whatever composure he had crumbles in an instant. There's plenty of reasons he should still be skeptical: the door spoke of dreams, after all, and the fae are both mysterious and powerful. But his heart nearly bursts with a sense of longing he's managed to keep in control.

He's met many wonderful people during his time here - Mary, Minako, Zidane, Rosho, the list goes on and on - and he's never been without someone from Mankai. But Winter Troupe is something else entirely. It's not friends, nor is it family... it's just them. And he's missed them all so, so much.

His voice wavers, filled with emotion. ] I could ask you the same thing. [ He reaches for one of Hisoka's hands, just to prove to himself that if it's a dream, it really is a good one. ] I'm sorry, I'm probably making no sense to you right now, but... I'm so happy to see you.

C

[reloves]

.. Tsumugi-kun.

[ Minako isn't entirely sure why she's saying the other's name. It's just that it feels like the right thing to do in this moment. As they're standing here in what is obviously a theatre, but one that's just specific enough for Minako to know that it's not one she has ever visited before.

She doesn't know if the same thing goes for him here, but there's something about the way he steps forward, something about the look in his eyes.

Perhaps she's a little paranoid, but something about it feels like he might never come back if he steps too far off, so she tries to draw his attention. ]

[tsumtsuki]

- Huh? [ The sound of her voice - the call of his name - snaps him out of his apparent trance, at least for the moment. Whatever look he had before is replaced with an apologetic one as he turns back to her. ]

Sorry... I got a little lost in thought there. [ That's sure one way to put it. ] Let's keep looking around. Maybe we'll something useful.

[ He says, but he's not entirely convinced himself. The part of him not drawn to that stage is conflicted, to say the least. ]

[reloves]

[ It seems that they're both not super convinced. Not that Minako doesn't believe in Tsumugi, or in the words he's saying right now. But it's just that there's an odd feeling stuck in her chest that she can't get rid of in this moment, driving her to be kind of antsy.

It might be why she's reaching out to grab a hold of his hand, holding it in her own. As if she can't lose him this way. ]

You want to look closer to that stage?

[ That's the direction he was looking in, after all. ]

We can go look there to see if we can find something, but.. let's go together like this, okay?

[ Just in case. ]

[tsumtsuki]

[ He looks down at their joined hands, cherishing the warmth brought by her gesture, before nodding. ] It's just a hunch, but... I think there's more to that stage than meets the eye. [ Which is, again, surely one way to put it.

He gives her hand a small squeeze, for both their sakes, before taking the lead.

Despite how crowded the venue is, making their way up front is easy. The other patrons let them by without a fuss, too spellbound by the actors on stage to take notice of them.

And who could blame them, really? Everything's so blindingly brilliant here - beauty at its absolute finest. (the exact opposite of himself, but perhaps it's because of that that he admires this place so deeply.) It makes it hard to focus on anything beyond the stage, behind those rich, red curtains (the color of blood, like the blood, sweat, and tears the actors of this troupe pour into their craft).

Not to mention that spotlight. What was mesmerizing from afar is now practically hypnotic, as he simply stares at the illuminated space. He remembers so clearly the feeling of standing in that very spot, the nerves that melted into peace the moment the curtains rose and he became one with Michael. That performance was so fun - if only he could relive it.

Maybe he could.

His grasp on her hand loosens as he tries to climb up on stage. ]

C!

[flapsin]

[A casually-dressed duck finds himself there as well, after some time away from Avalon. Still, he recognizes the human boy looking up to the stage.]

Wow. This is some fancy set-up here! You don't see a theater decked up like this every day.

[He glances towards Tsumugi, who almost seems to be entranced by the stage. And not in a good-seeming way.]

Hey... You okay there?

oh my god i thought i replied, i'm so sorry

[tsumtsuki]

Oh- [ Now there's a voice he hasn't heard in a while. The surprise alone is enough to pull him from his reverie - at least, for the moment. ] Sorry if I worried you... I was just thinking how impressive this theater is.

[ Even more-so than he remembers, honestly. But that could be due to the magic of this place, or his own emotional state.

Standing here, he can't help but think he doesn't belong on such a shining, glamorous stage. But still. But still- ] It'd be nice to be standing up there.

Ah it's all good!

[flapsin]

Don't sweat it. I've pretty much been thinking the same thing!

[Though not to the point of distraction. There's no denying how magnificent the theater looks! But even so, the kid's reverie felt to Drake like it couldn't just be about admiring how fancy the theater is. He glances back towards the stage.]

It looks like a good performance up there, there's no doubt about that. But I don't see any openings in the cast.

A

[yankiisuwari]

[ Juza's gaze was up, looking among the stars scattered in the night. People used to navigate like that, but he can only gather a faint idea of where he suddenly is. He may be a loner, but he's glad to find himself next to Tsumugi soon. ]

...most secret dream... [ He'll read all the engraving out loud. Is it as straight-forward as it sounds? And even if he thinks about answering just so, it's when he wavers. ] I–...

[ Better than his conscious, some other part of him knows that whatever he was about to say wasn't the secret this door is looking for. To make Tsumugi do it first... Juza can tell he wants to keep his distance from the task too, but— ] 'kay... Sorry to make you go first.

[tsumtsuki]

[ As always, Tsumugi's quick to jump to reassurances and kind smiles, ] It's okay. I'm the one that offered. [ but once he's taken a step forward, toward the door and away from Juza's side, a general sense of unease settles beneath his skin. He's not running away - not now, not ever again - but it doesn't make this any easier.

It's not a secret in the sense that he's never talked about it before. In fact, it's something Juza already knows. But even after pouring his heart and soul out on God-za's stage and coming out on top for Winter Troupe, for Mankai, for himself, after a year and some odd amount of time and numerous plays under his belt, it's the fact that it still lives in his heart, roots dug too deep for him to unearth on his own, that makes this the only thing that comes to mind.

His voice is even softer than usual, but he knows he needs to be heard. ] ... I wish for his acknowledgment.

[ The door opens a crack. ]

[yankiisuwari]

[ Tsumugi-san, who seems quiet and timid, so that Juza naturally still feels like he might spook him right up until the moment they talk. Much better than him, Tsumugi knows what to say and there's a little relief as he smiles and takes a step. But just like standing there moments before the curtain lifts, his chest feels tight—Autumn troupe's members give a shout together to break up that kind of tension.

Yet even if Juza alone were to do it, Tsumugi might not be heard at all... The impossible weight on the hinges shifts, almost surprisingly. That, or it's that a person who looks so confident on stage, so at home under the spotlight, still holds onto something like this. ]

...... [ Only a little bit of light passes through from the other side. ] 's that not enough?

[tsumtsuki]

I guess not... [ Which makes sense in a way - how is a door supposed to know who he's talking about? - but now he's beginning to wish he didn't have to spell it out so clearly.

Not that he'd be able to use a wish like that to get through this. His feelings on the matter are clear enough in the way his shoulders sag. ]

... Um. [ But still, he clears his throat. Might as well try again... though if this doesn't work, he's not sure how he could be clearer. ] I want Kamikizaka-san to see my worth as an actor.

[ Mercifully, that seems to be enough. As the door creaks open, letting more of that light through, he turns back to Juza. ] ... Do you want me to go on ahead? [ It might not be smart to get separated so quickly, but he also wants to respect his privacy. ]