Weeping Wisteria
-Yuu Fujisaki after his debut performance of Fuji Musume, 10 y.o
I've been slowly working on Yuu lore and how it'd affect the current twst story + his relationships and manerisms.
One of the things I've focused the most on is his childhood as an Onnagata trainee.
I think that to follow up on Yuu's literal " a genius that's god's punching bag" trope, I'd do a couple of retconning to his backstory. Most of these are minor changes, but methinks it will impact how he interacts with people— esp a couple NRC students.
(Base info pre-retcon about the Fujisaki clan can be found here)
To start off, Ataru (Yuu's father) would be laid off right before Yuu was born, meaning Yuu wouldn't have known a life before Kabuki training.
This would serve the purpose of reinforcing Yuu's belief that he himself is a bad omen or a bad luck magnet for people, as his family probably wouldn't have struggled so much if Yuu was not born.
Also, though it's common for women in JPN to be housewives after marrying, Yuu's mom, Kanna (環花), would probably also need to resume working if they're struggling. I think Kotonoha would also start tutoring underclassmen for some extra cash to help her parents out + save for college education. His family adores him and each other, of course. And would try to spend as much time together as possible, but sometimes it just can't be done.
This would change Yuu's upbringing in two major factors:
1. He would have spent a lot more time with both his grandfather and great-uncle, which would mean he'd be inducted in two very different sides of Kabuki + also very different, contrasting expectations of what he should be like.
2. He'd have to learn to be independent fairly quickly.
Hiroshi and Nagisa are complete opposites of each other. Whilst Hiroshi gives indiscriminately no matter how little he has, Nagisa is overzealous of the family's wealth─ both knowledge and resources.
Nagisa may have accepted his grandson back into the family, but he only accepted his grandson. He would pay for his education and help with Yuu's needs with a monthly allowance, but that would be it. The rest of the family would still be left to fend by themselves.
Yuu's not dumb, he would notice the difference. After all, why was he given expensive brand-name clothes and attended a prestigious academy that he had to be taken to and from with a private driver, whilst his sister shopped in thrift stores and went to their local public school by foot? Why did his dad never come pick him up from practice and was picked up by his uncle instead? Why were his parents so stressed about pinching pennies to pay next month's rent when grandpa's manor was full of empty rooms?
He would've caught on quick to his position as a very real bargaining chip to maintain his family's finantial stability.
So, I think that Yuu, even though he would grow to hate performing as an onnagata, would not quit Kabuki as soon as possible. In fact, I think he'd continue until high school, were he'd enter an indefinite hiatus just so he could have a normal teenage experience + focus on university before returning to perfom.
Also, I think with how close he is to his cousin Nagihiko, he would not want him to suffer under the stress of becoming the Fujisaki heir— at least not while their grandfather is alive and imposing such standards. He wants Nagihiko to have the carefree childhood Yuu was robbed of because of family politics.
Because of this fact, I think Yuu would be much more prone to sacrifice his happiness if it brought out a greater good. I don't think it's out of pure selflessness, though. He's very pragmatic about the pros and cons of things— and ifthe suffering of one ensures the happiness of many, he does not see any problem with it. I think he would also see his self value in what he is useful for, hence why he would eventually hone his abilities to the point of polymathy.
Then, there's uncle Hiroshi. God bless his man because he actually tried to give Yuu a normal childhood. Whenever he wasn't at his grandpa's slaving away at different subjects, he would be at his uncle's theater office or exploring the backrooms of the place. Hiroshi was a busy man, of course— he had his own business to run, but he did his best to keep him entrtained with what he could. He also was the one to notice Yuu's academic potential as the little bugger would rather read his uncles dusty finance and politic books than the fairytales and picture books he bought especially for him. Hiroshi would have been Yuu's biggest advocate, and since Ataru didn't have the money or leverage to fight back against Nagisa, I think Hiroshi would take that place instead. Hiroshi is described to be extremely generous to a fault, so, as a result, I think Yuu would've witnessed the various times his uncle was backstabbed and taken advantage of, yet still managed to rise back and continue working on his passion.
That's what Yuu's goal was before he got interloped; he wants to bide his time and keep his head down, so once he has enough strength and leverage himself, he can finally stand up for his family... or at least the side that genuinely cares about him.
Yuu loves and admires his uncle, but he does not want to be hurt as many as he was. So Yuu would end up being much more closed off and stand-offish than his own personal hero. He would be reluctant to have close friends and confidantes, effectively making most his relationships superficial except for maybe 3 or 4 close friends he holds very dear to him. None of which are from TWST. I think he's the type of friend that listens to all your problems and knows so much about you, but when you look back— Yuu's NRC friends would realize they don't know anything about him other than the very rare nuggets of trivia he allows them to have.
Yuu is also observant and patient. Let's be real for a second— Yuu is at an infinite disadvantage. He has no magic, no money, no family name, and his smarts can only get him so far in a world he knows nothing about. He knows he needs to play things safe if he wants to survive NRC and its students— at least until he finds something he can fight back with. Humans are endurance predators, after all. (He's still a piece of shit with a big mouth, though)
There's so much more I want to elaborate on, but much like Galatea, it'll take me a while organize all my word vomit. Either way, Yuu's backstory and family dynamics are something I have so much fun of thinking about, because his life was so rich before twst! He had friends, a family and responsibilities to take care of. It's both tragic and freeing that he got taken just at such a pivetal point in his life, where he would have to make the choice to continue living for others or start living for himself.
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what is with men being mad any time a woman raises her voice where did that even come from. someone posted a video of a small electrical explosion, and the top comment was of course the woman screams. the second comment is women try not to scream challenge, level impossible. i had to go back and watch the video again. there is, somewhat fainty, a little gasp emitted off-camera, more of a yelp than a scream. it is mostly lost in the crack of the explosion. afterwards, you hear her voice, shaken, say, are you okay?
i am helping one of my friends train her voice pitch lower, because she wants to be taken seriously at work. she and i do each other's nails and talk about gender roles; and how - due to our appearance - neither of us have ever been able to be "hysterical" in public. we both appear young and sweet and feminine. she is cisgender, and cannot use her natural voice in her profession because people keep saying she appears to be "vapid". we both try to figure out if our purposeful voice lowering is technically sexist. is it promoting something when you are a victim to it?
a storm almost sends a pole through a car window. in the dashcam, you can hear the woman passenger say her partner's name twice, crying out in alarm. she sounds terrified. in the comments, she is lambasted for her lack of calm. how is that even fucking helping?
in high school, i taught myself to have a lower voice. i had been recorded when i was genuinely (and righteously) upset; and i hated how my voice sounded on the phone speakers when it was played back. i was defending my mom, and my voice cracked with emotion. it meant i was no longer winning the argument: i was just shrieking about it.
girls meet each other after a long summer and let out a little joyful scream. this usually stops around 12-14, because people will not tolerate this display of affection (as it has the effect of being passingly annoying). something about the fact that little girls can't ever even be annoying. we are trained to examine each part of our lives (even joy) for anything that could make us upsetting and disgusting. they act like teenage girls are breaking into houses and shrieking you awake at 3 in the morning. speaking as a public school educator: trust me, it's not that bad, you can just roll your eyes and move on. it does not compare to the ways boys end up being annoying: slurs in graffiti, purposefully mocking your body, following you after you said no. you know, just boy things.
there's another video of a man who is not allowed to yell in the house, so he snaps his fingers when he's excited about soccer. the comments are full of angry men, talking about how their brother is unfairly caged. let him express himself and this is terrible to do to someone. eventually the couple has to address it in a second video: they are married with a newborn baby. he was trying not to wake the infant up. there is no comment on the fact women are not allowed to yell indoors. or the fact that it could have been really alarming or triggering for his wife. sometimes i wonder if straight men even like women, if they even enjoy being in relationships with them.
for the longest time, i hated roller coasters because it always felt inappropriate and uncomfortable for me to scream. one of my friends called me on it, said it was unusual i'm so unwilling. i had to go to my therapist about it. i don't like to scream because i was not raised in a safe situation, and raising my voice would have brought unsafe attention towards me. even when i am supposed to scream, it feels shameful, guilty. i was not treated kindly, so i lack a basic form of self-protection. this is not a natural response. it is not good that in a situation of high adrenaline - i shut up about it.
something very bad is happening, i think. in between all the beauty standards and the stuff i've already discussed - this one feels new and cruel in a way i can't quite express. yes, it's scary and silencing. but there's something about how direct it is - that so many men agree with the sentiment that women should never yell, even in an emergency - it feels different.
is the word shriek gendered automatically? how about shrill or screech? in self defense class, one of the first things they tell you is to yell, as loud and as shrilly as you can. they say it will feel rude. most women will not do this. you need to practice overcoming the social pressure and just scream.
most women do not cry out, even when it's bad. we do not report it. we walk faster. we do not make a scene. what would be the point of doing anything else? no matter what we do, we don't get taken seriously. it is a joke to them. an instagram caption punchline. we have to present ourselves as silent, beautiful, captivating - "valuable."
a woman is outside watching her kids when someone throws a firecracker at them. she screams and runs towards her children. in the comments, grown men flock together in the thousands: god. women are so annoying.
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