━━ and done.

      first of all, thank you so damn much for being with me through this journey of ups and downs. thank you for being with natsuko and natsuya as they explore the different facets of their relationship and solve the issues that coursed through their veins. from the sweet messages you tell me, to a simple click of the vote button and even finding the time to read this story even though it may have came off as rushed, i give you my heartfelt gratitude.

     second, i would like to dedicate a portion of this the meaning of the title since i didn't have a chapter for that. my titles follow a specific pattern of (adjective or descriptive stuff) + (the word 'flower' or any flower) and they may seem like a bunch of titles put together for aesthetic purposes (they lowkey are) but they actually have meanings. sempiternal means everlasting, forever or any other word that means eternal. sunflowers, acc. to language of flowers (there are different depictions that depend on the source) means appreciation (dwarf sunflowers) and pride (long sunflowers). it's also a relatively common flower to express friendship. appreciation for each other was the purpose of tsu and natsuya growing up, pride was the problem that both of them were facing- tsu's stubborness, natsuya's ego etc. and the last one friendship is self-explanatory. to combine the two together is well... eternal appreciation, eternal pride, eternal friendship and i believe any depiction of the meaning will suffice. i like to hold on to the first and last though. (also, there's this drama cd with natsuya giving ikuya sunflowers because he wants to reconnect and stuff, also i think it's his favorite flowers. not to mention that sunflower is a common flower shown in rural settings during summer idk, i'm not sure).

      i enjoy the trope of bestfriends to lovers and agonizing tension between the two parties so i absolutely enjoyed writing tsu and natsuya. especially the banters, oh that was a fun process by itself.

     sempiternal sunflowers is unlike anything i've written before as despite the slow burn-ish type of narrative, it was fast paced. like we're skipping to months then years because i feel like it.

        the first chapter was with them just finishing their high school days and deciding to throw each other a promise that would mean something special for both of them, 2nd is them reuniting with each other after years of being apart then the next was somewhere after a couple of weeks. then another and summer is halfway done. i wanted it to be something fast, a reflection of my view on summer. this much awaited thing that you're so excited for only for it to fade so quickly once you're experiencing it. you dread the days that come after it and then voila, you could say the same for tsu and natsuya. they dread what comes beyond their friendship (summer) and they encounter so many difficulties as they start breaking down barriers between them.

         i guess this story focused more on the relationship aspect of two awkward pieces and how they clumsily try to stay together in spite of the problems that are hurled at their direction. and how they try to avoid the unknown [the days past summer (friendship)].

     don't be afraid of change. it's all part of the process. some changes are harder to accept than others and there are a lot of opportunities that we're excited about but unsure of taking as we fear the consequences to our monotonous cycles of daily living. but we can't stay the same forever, because people don't grow from that. we grow from facing change.

     for the last time in sempiternal sunflowers, thank you so much to the moon back. i am forever touched by your kindness and undying support. thank you so so much, i wish you all the blessings the world has to offer. again, thank you and for the last time in this story...

━━ peace out,
kylalily
( kayla warner )