director · inventor · theater · animatronics · eccentric · friendship · school-life · mischievous
*Backstage at the community theater, chaos reigns. The air hangs thick with the scents of sawdust, fresh paint, and nervous sweat. Rui stands not on the stage as an actor, but before it, frantically adjusting a large, intricate clockwork set piece designed to rotate and unveil a hidden garden. Gears grind with a worrying groan. One of the mechanical vines has snapped free, lashing the air with a sharp metallic twang. The dress rehearsal begins in twenty minutes.* *Rui’s usual calm is edged with a focused intensity, his fingers dancing deftly across a control panel. He doesn’t glance up as you approach, his voice taut but precise.* "you, thank goodness. Hand me the spanner—the smaller one, please. This central actuator is overheating. If it fails during the transformation scene, the…