▌ EPISODE NINE: Graduation Day. 
❪ PART TWO. ❫

From this part onwards, the narration will be occasionally interrupted by the audience's livetweets in response to the events on screen. Not only it helps with making the experience a bit more immersive, but it adds elements that wouldn't be showcased in writing otherwise (though I failed in this part specifically...).

This being said, have a good read!

The students are standing on the stage, anxiously waiting for the voting to be over.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Oh, dear... It doesn't feel real. The show is ending soon.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― Right? [chuckles] But at last we got here, and that's what matters. I really want to debut with you.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― [holds YULIAN's hands] Me too, Yuji. Me too...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― I just don't think it will happen.

Moe tries to hold back her tears, miserably failing.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― [wiping xyr tears] I'm fine, really.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― I told myself "the show must go on" multiple times, and persevered because of that... But I don't have much hope left.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― Hey, hey...

Yulian holds Moe's hand tighter, yet gently at the same time, rubbing their fingers on her palm.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― Nothing is definitive until the final ranking. Let's have some hope, mh?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ MIZUTANI MOE ꜜ she/xe（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Alright... [sighs] Only because you're asking me to, though.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― [chuckles] Better than nothing, isn't it?

The votes continue coming in as the hosts continue talking to the students.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― It's been one hell of a ride, am I right? But at last, we're about to give some closure to this exhausting experience. How does it feel to have reached this point?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Amazing! I can't believe it, actually. But I miss Kyu a lot...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Right... [sighs] I can't believe incorrect Den got him kicked out.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― How did you call me.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― And that's what you're focusing on? [palmface] That's not what happened anyway...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [chuckles] The concept of Jayden slapping Rain-sunbaenim "by accident"...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ AMARI HARUHIRO ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― ... HUH?! Did I miss an episode or two? When did this happen...

Wouldn't you like to know?

As Hiro asks his question, the dreamy sound of a harp plays and introduces a flashback...

https://youtu.be/XfJsLFpSc4w

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── 𝄞 ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

❪ FLASHBACK ❫

The students in the Pop City are currently rehearsing in preparation for the third evaluation.

It is their first rehearsal since Yiyuan's elimination from last time.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― Alright, everyone! Put on your best performance... We can't let Rain-sunbaenim scold us again.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHU MINJEONG ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― Who gave him rights to begin with? Last time he tried singing my part, my ears nearly fell off...

Maybe we don't say that about our mentor, Minjeong...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― I know, I know... Nothing we can do about that, though, so let's get back to practice already~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ POP CITY ― Yes!

As they practice the main song of their play, an unrequested guest makes his appearance...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ RAIN（TEACHER） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― [focused] ♪ How about we get out of the same routines? Let's do it together ♪

✹ ﹒ ﹒ QIU YUNZHI ꜜ he/they（POP CITY） ― [stopping] Wait, Jayden-

Rain carelessly moves too close to the students who are currently rehearsing...!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHU MINJEONG ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― ...!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― [focused] ♪ I want to enjoy it to the fullest rather than complain- ♪

✹ ﹒ ﹒ QIU YUNZHI ꜜ he/they（POP CITY） ― ...

Jayden's hand accidentally hits Rain's face as he passes by!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― ARE YOU FUCKING SORRY?!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― Wait, no. I didn't mean that.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― I'M SO FUCKING SORRY... ARE YOU OK...

What the fuck, Jayden.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ RAIN（TEACHER） ― HONG INKYU.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― What.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ RAIN（TEACHER） ― I know you hate me... But a slap? Really? Is this because I pushed the Main Vocalist position onto you back in the day of the first mission in Class Three? This is NOT how adults solve things! You should be more communicative instead of resorting to these barbaric acts... After this long, too?!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― What the fuck are you talking about-

✹ ﹒ ﹒ RAIN（TEACHER） ― Don't think you can fool me, Hong Inkyu.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― I'M JAYDEN IM.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ RAIN（TEACHER） ― Lying about your identity too? I would NEVER confuse your face or your voice for that other asshole right there... Don't think I was born yesterday!

... WHAT THE FUCK IS HIS PROBLEM.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（TEACHER） ― ... How did you call me.

Meanwhile, the others have moved to a corner of the training room and are observing the scene from afar...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHU MINJEONG ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― Uh oh.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ QIU YUNZHI ꜜ he/they（POP CITY） ― ... I support whatever he does from this point onwards.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― You know what? Same.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― [cracking his knuckles] Come here and say it again if you're brave enough!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHA YUBIN ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [munching on popcorn, with sunglasses on] Absolute cinema.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ PARK SUWON ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― ... Where did you even get that.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHA YUBIN ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [shrugs] Who knows?

... Classic Cha Yubin, I fear.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── 𝄞 ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

✹ ﹒ ﹒ AMARI HARUHIRO ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― Of course everything happens while my stomach gives up on me...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ QIU YUNZHI ꜜ he/they（POP CITY） ― [patting his back] It's OK, it's OK.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― [sighs] That was... Something. But Kyu had already been eliminated at that point, so why did he even... You know what? I don't care.

...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― The whole shuffle band thing was even crazier, though.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ GUAN XIAOQIONG ꜜ she/glam（DIVA HOUSE） ― ...

Xiaoqiong turns towards Hansung, giving him a nasty look.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Hey there... [pouts]

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― No, no, you deserve that. Look at her eye!

Jayden removes the eyepatch from Xiaoqiong, revealing her black eye. For the sake of the viewers at home, her eye is censored on screen.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― HOW DID IT GET THIS BAD...?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ GUAN XIAOQIONG ꜜ she/glam（DIVA HOUSE） ― You hit me not once, not twice, but three times!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [nodding] That should count for attempted murder.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― I DIDN'T... I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE...

... He's about to pass out again, isn't he.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― ... Yeah, a lot has happened.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― Unsurprising, though, isn't it? [chuckles] But let's move on, shall we?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― As we wait for the voting to be over, we have something else to show you.

What is Moka talking about?

The lights dim, and a video starts playing on the big screen behind the students.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? ꜜ ???（???） ― Hi, twin!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHA YUBIN ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― Oh! Aren't those...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（DIVA HOUSE） ― ... Junseo and Ijun?

The first video to show on screen was recorded by the members of THE ONE!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "TAEHYUNG" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― "Twin" my ass... He's three years younger than you.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "HANBIN" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― [punching TAEHYUNG's face] Shut up, Taehyung.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "TAEHYUNG" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― THIS FUCKING HURTS.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "HANBIN" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― [beaming, not paying attention to TAEHYUNG] Hansung! Sweet child o' mine! I can't believe you arrived this far~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "JUNYOUNG" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― Watching you was so funny... Well, maybe not for the girl you nearly blinded with a drumstick...

Xiaoqiong makes threatening gestures towards Hansung as Junyoung reminds her of what happened during the Shuffle Band Evaluation...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "JUNYOUNG" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― But we also know you're a hard worker and that showed! So keep up the good work and debut... ʷᵉ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ⁿᵒ ʰᵒᵖᵉ ᵃⁿʸʷᵃʸˢ

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "HANBIN" ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― That's right! Just as it is true you're Choi Ha'a'ha Hanbi-

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEOK IJUN ꜜ he/him（THE ONE） ― THEY ALREADY HATE HER ON TWITTER BECAUSE SHE CAN'T RAP... SHUT UP, HANBIN.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― ... If that was my birth name, I too would change it legally. No wonder...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI HANSUNG ꜜ he/she（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― Hanbin... Ijun... You two will... You will...

Predictably, Hansung immediately faints as his nose starts dripping blood. Considering the recipient of the video message is now gone, the production stops the video from playing despite not being entirely done.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― ... Should we stop here?

... Apparently not, because the second clip starts playing immediately after.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? ꜜ ???（???） ― Is this on? I think it is...

It's Soyul's mother's turn now! Hopefully way more normal than the last...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN JIHYEON ꜜ she/her（SOYUL'S MOM） ― Soyul, sweetheart! My baby is growing up so fast... I'm so proud of you for reaching this point, and I'm even more proud knowing you didn't give up on your dreams in the first place.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN JIHYEON ꜜ she/her（SOYUL'S MOM） ― This industry is very competitive, and you might've barely hit the double digits with your album sales—

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― Is she looking for a fight here? [sighs] I don't have time to entertain her.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN JIHYEON ꜜ she/her（SOYUL'S MOM） ― ... But perseverance leads people far in life, and I'm sure this is nothing but the beginning of a fun and formative journey. I believe in you!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [emotional, wiping tears from her eyes] Mom... I'm so touched.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN JIHYEON ꜜ she/her（SOYUL'S MOM） ― Oh, right. Please debut and stop embarrassing yourself the Internet already. Your Twitch streams make me cringe.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― ... So she was looking for a fight here!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― Soyul, c'mon!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HAN SOYUL ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― What? You heard her...

The production team stops playing the video.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― [sighs, exasperated] Can you guys be normal even for just ONE second?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― [with a hand on his shoulder] Buddy, you're asking for way too much... In this studio? Really?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― You're not the only one to have a gun.

Junyeol pulls out a gun, surprisingly flashier than Moka's. It's a black and pink gun of small dimensions, which he aims at the sky before shooting...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ AMARI HARUHIRO ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― This studio's obsession with guns needs to be studie- AH!

... Confetti.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― [exasperated] Junyeol, the timing is off! This was for the beginning of the lineup announcement...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― ... Aren't we doing that now?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― No! We have one last clip, and then the announcement of the group name before we get to that!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― I can't believe I'm the only intelligent person here...

I wouldn't go that far...

The production plays one last clip on the large screen.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? ꜜ ???（???） ― Jiejie, please, come here!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? 2 ꜜ ???（???） ― No! Let me go!

It's the Chen siblings, Yuting and Yutian!

... The youngest is struggling to pull his older sister towards the camera to greet Yulian, though.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTIAN ꜜ he/him（YULIAN'S BROTHER¹） ― [pulling YUTING closer] Hi hi jiejie! You've done amazing... I couldn't be prouder than you!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTIAN ꜜ he/him（YULIAN'S BROTHER） ― Watching you makes me want to try harder, too... And that's exactly what I'm going to do! Maybe we'll meet in person soon and be co-workers, even~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTIAN ꜜ he/him（YULIAN'S BROTHER） ― Don't give up! You're so close!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― [wiping a tear away] Oh, Yutian...

In the meanwhile, Yuting is nowhere to be seen...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTIAN ꜜ he/him（YULIAN'S BROTHER） ― ... Jiejie, please.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTING ꜜ she/her（NIVEAU SEUIL²） ― NO.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTIAN ꜜ he/him（YULIAN'S BROTHER） ― DON'T EMBARRASS ME LIKE THIS... I BEG YOU.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTING ꜜ she/her（NIVEAU SEUIL） ― [groans] ... FINE.

Yuting eventually sits in front of the camera, visibly annoyed.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTING ꜜ she/her（NIVEAU SEUIL） ― I'm surprised an old granny like you made it so far... But remember we still have a bet going on!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― And of course, that's her first thought... [chuckles] But she's not taking Xiansheng away from me!

Yulian holds Moe's hand tight as they speak.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHU MINJEONG ꜜ she/her（POP CITY） ― [clapping] Happy Pride Month, Yuji!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JAYDEN IM ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― ... We're in January.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ PARK SUWON ꜜ he/him（POP CITY） ― Every month is Pride Month in this studio, though...!

He's not wrong!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YUTING ꜜ she/her（NIVEAU SEUIL） ― Well, just hurry up and debut already. I know you can do it... Urgh, how embarrassing!

Yuting runs away once again from an amused Yutian, and the video stops playing as it shows the youngest of the Chen siblings waving at the camera.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― Ah... She's so funny. Seeing both of them after this long was nice, though!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（BUBBLEGUM BASE） ― She's very different from how she acts around niveau seuil... But that's just how you guys fool around, isn't it?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（POP CITY） ― Yeah! Nothing serious... Playful banter among siblings, you know? I wouldn't have it any other way.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― [with a hand on his chest] How touching...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― Right?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HANAZAWA MOKA ꜜ she/her（HOST） ― Well, then! The voting is over! We can now proceed with the final lineup announcement~

The lights go down as the hosts are done speaking!

Who will debut in the final group?

FEVEN'S CORNER !!

¹ Also a member of the project boy group FRAGMENTS OF YOUTH, but they haven't been properly introduced at this point in time, so...

² ... niveau seuil, on the other hand, are already an established group: it makes sense to specify the affiliation in this case.

³ Yunzhi yo me mato por favor tienes que debutar 😭😭😭 can be translated as "Yunzhi I'm killing myself please you have to debut". The user in question is mainly a Spanish speaker and I wanted to emulate the experience of the subtwt having people send tweet in different languages.

⁴ Mi hanno pagato €10 per votare Nakyoung ditemi che ha vinto can be translated as "They paid me €10 to vote Nakyoung, [please] tell me she won" from Italian! Similar reason as point ³, except it's also because I picture this specific user being uninterested in Seiyuu Academy 2, and the only reason they watch it and vote in the first place is bribing from another #syatwt user...

♪

Hello everyone, and welcome to another part of Seiyuu Academy 2! We're so close to the final lineup announcement, and I couldn't be any happier about that. I absolutely can't wait to start working on the final group, and I hope you're also looking forward to see more of them!

I wanted to implement the livetweeting part better, but I didn't have much time left so we'll see how to do it in a less invasive way for the next two parts. Huge thanks to the On the Road appliers for their contributions! Notably (in order from who sent first to last) Rin, Zhi, Bee and Tiff. Thank you so much, and sorry for not including all the ideas you sent! You still helped so much you have no idea.

Well, then... See you in the next two parts! At last we'll see the final lineup — and I beg you, don't take it personal if your OC didn't make it in. There are still other plans, and you know there's only 9 spots to begin with... So please, be understanding!