#Because :) the Seiroku with the Date dies with him

[deathfavor]

“When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.”

Now when I tell you this is Soma and Seiroku coded-

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Anonymous said: Seiroku, you were prepared for Soma to die since you met him, weren't you? Why are you surprised he died?

" . . . "

Yes. But no. When Seiroku had first met Soma, it had been with the intent to stain the ground and rivers red with blood. He would gather all the valuable pieces of information to report back, and then carnage would ensue. It had been as simple of a plan as that. He had chocked on rage and hatred to play his part, all while plotting a grand massacre. He hadn't just prepared for the idea of Soma dying. He'd been it's originator. It had been his idea to spy on the Dates. Many of the other clans were easier to throw into chaos or sow seeds of discord into ; the Date had been the greatest threat of them all. They had numbers, strength, and discipline that others lacked.

And then he'd forgotten. Bit by bit, his original plot had faded like ink left too long in the sun until there was nothing left of it. Nothing of it remained in Seiroku's heart. And as time passed, he'd selfishly indulged in the idea that he could have this life. He liked the idea that he could stay by Soma's side and the Date. The longer he stayed the more he could forget the hatred that used his body and his name; the more the real him that could have been was let free to flourish.

The more time passed, the more Seiroku hoped for the Date's success. He never forgot his hatred for other bushi. But to them alone, he hoped for their success. Despite how the thought felt like betraying himself after so many years lost in the waters of rage, he had hoped.

The more time passed, the more he considered his own death. ( Because that is what would have to happen, and he would let it. )

Soma's death was not an option. It was delusional hope. Seiroku tilts his chin up slightly, jaw clenched as he forces his tears to not fall. It was pure, delusional hope that they could ever have a happy ending. He knew better ; but he had yearned for it so desperately that he'd indulged in the fairytale. He wanted to believe there was a way for the Date to stay safe, for Soma to stay safe. But the Obsidian Eight's success would mean their demise ; their success would mean Seiroku's demise.

He knew one of their death's would come. But be prepared for it? No. Seiroku hadn't been prepared for that in a long time. Because it wasn't supposed to happen.

" Why? " Seiroku lifts his eyebrows. " Because his strength is legendary, plus he had the benefit of a black heart without risk of insanity since he's so new. He's stronger than any of the other new people we've had in a long time. " Lies. It's all a bunch of lies. Seiroku couldn't care less about the legends and stories of Soma's strength. He knew it but that wasn't the reason. That wasn't the reason at all. Why was he surprised? Because Soma was never supposed to die. Because that was the man he loved. That was reason enough to believe he'd never die. Seiroku didn't want him to die. Maybe that's what doomed Soma more than anything else. The world loved to take and break everything that Seiroku cared about, to crush any chance Seiroku could have at being anything more than a beast of hatred. Soma wasn't supposed to die. He was. He told Soma where to stab him. It was supposed to be him that died.

But the answer he gave was Black dog like, wasn't it? It was something he would have said before meeting Soma, right? Right? Why wasn't he sure anymore? How could months replace decades of hatred? Who......was he? Who was Seiroku Inukawa anymore? It'd been easier. When he killed his past self full of optimism and taken a new name. Seiroku Inukawa was a monster. But now Soma had known him as Seiroku too. Now he wasn't sure who he was, monster or loved.

" I mean, who would expect a red bushi like him to - " die. It's a single word, and Seiroku can't say it. He knows it. But he can't say it. He swallows and looked away. " Most of the obsidian eight go mad, though battle is the next most common. " Facts, he needs facts to stop his pain for bleeding everywhere. " So of course it was a surprise. Especially given who he was against. Guess we should've killed that general sooner. " He says, but the words are flat and his heart isn't in it.

[deathfavor]

Water has always been an important aspect of Seiroku's life, and one of the few things he never came to hate about his past or part of his former band in a way. It's also why there was always a water theme to his original name and to his 'new' name so to speak. To them, water was their life. Rivers, oceans, lakes, Seiroku's familiar with it all. It's both something that has occurred on a skill level, but also on a biological level with his former band.

Many of his former band possessed a mutation in the PDE10A gene and the BDKRB2 gene. The PDE10A gene allows for a larger than average spleen size ; which in turns gives an oxygen reservoir for diving, allowing for a vastly longer dive time compared to the average person when it is paired with the BDKRB2 gene mutation, which is responsible for vasodilation and vasoconstriction which allow oxygen to go to only the most essential parts of the body. ( People with these mutation have been studied holding their breath 10-13 minutes and Seiroku leans close to 12 ). They've also been known to be able to dive to deeper depths without aid and drop at a quicker rate. All traits that Seiroku himself has, and only came to realize through his case studies on victims and idle observation once he'd left his original band. While he's not aware of the genes specific for this of course, he has realized it is a genetic trait that's essentially died off when he slaughtered his band. ( He never did hunt down though who'd already left the band, so there are still some around who have these traits. )

In terms of skills, he is a skilled sailor in a variety of different ships/boats/rafts and it is something he's kept up with over time. It's not as frequent as it once was, but especially since the Oni won't disturb him, he does enjoy sailing out at sea or river rafting or other traits. Because of this, he also possesses a rather extensive knowledge of aquatic life and hunting skills, and enjoys various forms of seafood. Similarly, he is quite good at astronavigation and is often more inclined to use that over other means, although he will consult maps, especially of areas he doesn't know. He's able to also craft out of fish bones should it be needed, like a needle ( although with his skill it isn't particularly necessary ) and other tools, and could probably figure it out with other kinds if needed. He's also well aware of using fish skin for burns and skin grafts as well as helping with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial aspects. It IS certainly a unique kind of knowledge, and I imagine it is quite new to others to see. He doesn't think anything of it - which probably made for some interesting conversations at the Date the first time he did this. It does also unconsciously hint towards some aspects of Seiroku's past without him actually intending to. He himself doesn't realize it because it IS so engrained as a basic fact to him.

While Seiroku long lost faith in anything and doesn't care for the idea of gods or goddesses, he does still recall ways he once did celebrate. And he doesn't hate it should somewhere happen to celebrate. He's inclined to participate, though he'll say it's simply to enjoy life and have fun or to bond with others if any of the other eight happen to be with him. If not though, he does still sometimes finds himself at the water during certain times when festivities would take place. He doesn't do anything special for it but sometimes is a bit more contemplative.

[deathfavor]

@deiscension said: holding a mic out for the commentary you mentioned in the tags of your last reblog

You are opening a can of worms. A bucket in fact. But i shall take them and go fishing and chatter away to the wind. ( And break it down muse wise so ppl can skip muses they don't care about. )

POST IN QUESTION.

So by FAR, those who relate to that the strongest are Lamia, Ling Wen, and Seiroku

He Xuan and Earl are more middle

Izana is the least but not for the reasons you might think. And as a bonus I'll mention Sekhmet bc she's interesting for why she ISN'T despite being vengeful.

I'll put this under a read more because this is turning out very long, way longer than I anticipated.

LAMIA does NOT forgive. She is the epitome of resent and remember if you've done wrong to her. She WILL hate you and she WILL enjoy your suffering. In fact, she probably purposefully has made your suffering worse. Go to hell might be too nice of a way out. Why not suffer here and THEN go suffer in hell for all eternity? She'll make sure she makes you suffer more when she gets to hell too. ( She's under no illusion she'd end up anywhere else if there is an afterlife. )

LING WEN also is very vindictive. It's beating a point to a pulp but we SAW what she did with annihilating Jing Wen's existence. ( And with help from Pei Ming in the process of destroying + her terrorizing his followers. ) Ling Wen.....does not forgive. Granted, those around her never would apologize. Not really. Pei Ming and Shi Wudu are probably the only exceptions and SOLELY because she knows if they did something, it was not on purpose and their apology would be sincere. Anyone else though?? Absolutely not. They can go through the agonies of feeling their very souls destroyed and she will sit with a cold, uncaring expression even if she does greatly enjoy seeing those who've wronged her or made her suffer now suffering.

AT THE SAME TIME !! Ling Wen has a hard time with herself after book 5 (or 8 or whatever the official is listen i follow the pre-official release versions okay) but when she essentially keeps her job because......literally no one else can run the Heavenly Realm and all the paperwork and such. Truly success is a burden. But in all seriousness, especially with Pei Ming......his forgiveness to her is a bitter pill. She never wanted HIM to suffer, she even invited him to their side in the final battle just to ensure he'd be safe. He forgives her and moves past it, but I think Ling Wen has a hard time. She never hurt him, she never wanted to hurt him, but being on opposing sides was hard. Mercy & Forgiveness can be HARD to swallow. ( Tbh i can ramble forever about this but i think this makes my point. Her rejection of forgiveness also is a sword over her own head. )

SEIROKU is interesting because in general, this only applies to Bushi. He can never forgive the Bushi as a whole, as a group. A lot of this comes from his personal experience, and it cemented itself as a core part of his personality. Especially after he died and his heart was replaced with the Black Hearts that amplify desires ; his is revenge and death to all Bushi. As a whole, Seiroku will always hate Bushi. The Date clan is the EXCEPTION, not the rule. When it comes to someone who isn't a Bushi though, Seiroku can be forgiving. He's not often in a situation where he needs to, but anyone else - a farmer, a seamstress, whoever, he is more inclined to forgive. So Brittney, why is he on the strongest? Because Seiroku's held this hatred and unforgiving attitude to the Bushi for over 100 years now. He WON'T let it go, at this point, he CAN'T let that intense hatred go.

HE XUAN is in the middle because if you are important to him, he can forgive. He might remember, he might put distance, but he CAN forgive. Especially when he cares about you. It might take time, he needs to think about it and mull it over, and the person needs to put in effort to show they genuinely are apologetic and deserve his forgiveness. His forgiveness comes in incriments. The potential is there. But he DOES lean heavily towards strongly relating.

He Xuan cannot forgive the crimes against him, his family, his fiancée. All who suffered not because of their fortune, not because THEY did anything wrong, but because HE XUAN'S fate was stolen. And their fates were tied with his. In truth? This is one of the most painful and intense sources of pain from He Xuan. He could have endured prison, an agonizing death, being broke, he could have endured countless sufferings. He might have been angry, but he wouldn't have been as powerful of a ghost as he ended up becoming. But BECAUSE the fact is that all of the people he loved suffered EXCRUCIATING fates because of his fate being stolen, his anger grew into something extremely intense. It didn't JUST effect him. It affected the people he cared about most. He became entirely hellbent on revenge despite having no clues for a long time. He can never forgive Shi Wudu.

And I think a part of him will always resent Shi Qingxuan. Despite it not being SQX's fault, there's a bitterness because, theoretically, had SQX's family listened, SWD and SQX would have still lived good lives because of family wealth. He Xuan was born into extreme poverty even BEFORE the fate switching. And it's not SQX fault but how can he not suffer and subconsciously resent knowing this person having HIS fate is why those he's loved perished in horrible ways? That SQX gets to laugh and enjoy life while blissfully unaware none of it is deserved? He genuinely does intend to never cross paths again if he can help it by the end.

EARL also is heavily towards the strongly agreeing side. He is a very distrustful person as it is, everyone around him knows it. It's important; his wariness and distrust has helped keep Legion powerful and ahead of all the other gangs and groups. He's always steps ahead of everyone else for this very reason. He gives his trust to very few. And if he gives it and you break it? It's over. He will not give it again. Earl may trust in someone's SKILL or an ABILITY or TALENT, but he will not trust THEM as a person. Go to hell indeed, he's never letting them close.

There are very few exceptions to this. Horo and Zoya are primarily the only two that he could change this. Because ultimately, he cares for them more than most other things. Horo is, genuinely, what Earl cares about above all else. Above Legion, above Zoya, he might not seem like it and people might never guess it, but Earl would do anything for his little sister. He really is a good big brother like that. If she did something....Earl could forgive her. He might be upset, but he could and would forgive. And the same goes for Zoya. He is more likely to express his anger or displeasure, but there's very few things she could do that would make him not be able to forgive her. Anyone else would be very heavily dynamic dependent. Earl can trust and care a lot, but he can also turn cold and abandon it if the trust break truly is something severe. ( Something silly however he might be annoyed but not care about. He WILL remember it though if you try to prank him. Few have ever succeeded. )

IZANA KUROKAWA is the least in agreement with this, but not for the reasons you think. Simply put? Izana doesn't trust people to begin with. There are VERY, VERY, VERY few people he genuinely trusts, and even that can fluctuate with how stable his mental state it. I would say MAYBE two at most are who he trusts. So if you fuck up? It's over. Izana will ANNIHILATE you - there won't be anything left to grant forgiveness to. Izana genuinely has no comprehension for people's limits. At 12 he hurt people so bad they were permanently disabled - kids and adults - as revenge. Not to mention what Izana drove the ringleader of the group that attacked him to do. He'll send you to hell personally. He's the least in agreement solely because you wouldn't be around TO be forgiven. He doesn't want you around and no one is going to disobey him.

SEKHMET is the most interesting to me tbh. Because as a goddess, if you piss her off, she WILL curse your entire bloodline for the entire length of its existence. Changing names doesn't change your blood, it will follow you and she will make sure the curse is effective thousands of years later. She's a VERY vengeful goddess if you earn her wrath. You will pray for oblivion because everything truly will be suffering.

But Brittney, then why is she not included?

For the same reason: Because she's a goddess. If you give enough quality offerings to her, if you do great feats in her honor or attribute them to her, if you celebrate immensely, beg and plead and praise her above others - she will forgive you. Maybe not YOU, but she will remove the curse from the rest of your bloodline, so your children and grandchildren and so on will not suffer because of you. THAT is mercy from a god. If you TRULY dedicate everything to her, if you are skilled enough, she might remove a curse from you herself, turn you into a champion for her and ensure glory to you and her name. This is mercy from a god. Sekhmet's wrath is on a WHOLE different level from humans or even from someone like He Xuan's wrath, but she ultimately can be appeased and grant a god's definition of forgiveness. Remember; she is a goddess. A god and a mortal's definition of forgiveness may not be the same, but it is still forgiveness.

[deathfavor]

Anonymous said: Seiroku, did you know when you'll marry Soma you'll be next in line to become captain? If he dies and has no heirs will you take over the Date for him, stay as a doctor, leave the band or try to die again?

  It can be quite peculiar how the brain works. Of course Seiroku technically already knew the facts that were being presented to him. It was rather standard procedure for the spouse to take over leading the clan in the absence of a direct heir or one that was not yet eligible to take over the duties. Although he also found it wasn’t uncommon in some regions for it to go to the spouse regardless, a small variation but the principle was the same. Yet there’d always been a disconnect to truly processing it on a personal level. Maybe it was because the idea of Soma dying was so unfathomable. Except, that wasn’t that true. Soma did seem almost impossible to fall to such a fate with his unwavering strength and determination. But at the end of the day, Soma was still a man. Seiroku had been privy to plenty of opportunities where he could have landed fatal blows or set traps long before they’d reached this point in their story.  There were thousands of ways death could come: a person, an illness, oni, a natural disaster, war, age, hundreds upon hundreds. Humans were every bit as fragile as they were tough. For Seiroku, there was one.  

  Except it isn’t really just that the idea of Soma dying seems absurd. It was because Seiroku had never pictured the marriage really going through. No matter how he longed for it, he’d already resolved to tell the truth before the marriage ever went through. And then what? That’s where everything crumbled. He had always figured that Soma would probably hate him. And on the off chance that he didn’t? The world was doomed anyways. It wasn’t as though any of it mattered in the long run. Because they would all die and so would Seiroku’s purpose. ( And thus him shortly after.) But this is just a hypothetical question. If the marriage went through. If Soma died. So many ifs. 

   What would he do? 

   “  It depends on if Soma already has plans in place. If in the event that such comes to pass and he has someone else in mind to pass it off to – “ His shoulders rise and fall.  “  – I wouldn’t fight them for it. Especially since it would have been Soma’s choice. His judgement I trust. “ Would he stay though? That was question that he was less confident in regards to for an answer. This future presumes that Soma is gone but that the world is still here ; that the black kishin has been defeated or imprisoned or something. Assuming that doesn’t kill him, Seiroku still won’t age. There are those he’s grown to care about greatly here but is it enough? If he leaves, it would be in death’s hand. It is a thought that makes the phantom sensation reappear where he’d held the blade to his chest, ready to pierce his black crystal heart. What would be his purpose? There would be nowhere for him to GO if he left besides to Death's door.  

   “ If he wants for ME to take over… “ There’s heavy situational irony in that idea. For the man who hated bushi and sought to slaughter them all to be placed in charge of one of the most powerful bands. (Then again, that irony is already heavy with falling in love with a bushi captain much less one of the grand generals – this was merely digging that pit deeper). Would Soma even consider that? Seiroku taking over the role and leading? Not to mention, once again, his near immortality would bring into questions a matter of how long he would be expected to lead for. How long would Soma want to see? What would he want?

" Of course I would take over for him." The answer is quiet, and it surprises even himself to a degree. He knew he wouldn't spurn Soma's wishes like that, but the ease at which he says it is shocking. If Soma thought he was fit and that there wasn't someone else he wanted to lead, then Seiroku would do everything to make sure the Date thrived and flourished. Even if the thought of dealing with some of the other clans still makes him sick to his stomach - he wouldn't ruin that. Ruining that would mean ruining Soma's legacy, what Soma held so near and dear to him. If Soma was dead, then he lived on through the Date. From their culture surviving, from the clan's success, Seiroku would do his best to ensure it continued to succeed for Soma. Maybe he might make him proud.

[deathfavor]

Anonymous said: Seiroku, how do you like being treated as royalty? Is it uncomfortable or is it better than the life you're used to? ✘

for 10 questions my muse must answer truthfully (send ✘ + question)  [ 1/10 ]

   He wonders what people expect from him with a question like that? Then again....His pride is also not so inclined to admit to certain facts of his own free will. He has a role to play like a surgeon in a surgery - there are expectations one way or another. 

   How does he even begin to start with this?   “  It isn’t solely one aspect or another.  “  It is the truth in its entirety, but that is not exactly what the question asks.  “  There are times where it is uncomfortable, though not through fault of anyone.  “  He’s always liked being around people, but such occurrences had dwindled through his life. With the original obsidian eight he’d still had those ties. But as some were killed or died to madness, it’d become isolating despite his efforts as the decades passed. To suddenly be thrust back into the light had both been relieving as it had been otherwise. Especially in the beginning, when he’d still been choking on rage with every breath.

  .  .  .  Funny. He can’t actually recall the moment his hate had evaporated for the Date. Only that it had, and suddenly he’d been talking and eating and hanging out with some of them. A smaller group, but still others. And of course Soma. Soma, who had really been the one to change it all. The man who made the impossible happen. Not entirely, he still loathed others. But even a few steps into the impossible was shocking ; it was still a few steps that were thought impossible to make.

   “  No, actually. Uncomfortable isn’t the right word. It is strange I should say. To be given that attention so freely when I’ve been used to having to push to get any. I....like it more. This life.  Not because of the royalty treatment. Truth be told, I’d already liked it more even without that. “  He’d missed being a doctor on the regular. Missed using that knowledge; missed something he never had had. That was the sort of life he had wanted when he was young, what he’d dreamed of, till his band had crushed it out till nothing remained of it.  “  Sometime it’s just a lot to try to process. It can be overwhelming.  “  To the point it’d brought tears to his eyes, he still remembers how his legs nearly gave out at his birthday, how hot the tears in his eyes had felt. It’d been so overwhelming that it felt like dying and finally living and breathing at the same time.

   He shrugs his shoulders slightly.  “  Sure, the royalty treatment is nice. I’m not going to pretend I don’t enjoy that extra touch to it. But really, even without that I would still like it more. And there are some downsides.  “  After all, image was everything and he was well aware of that fact. Less so on him than for Soma, but there was weight they both carried for it.