#Edo Decide 2020

[ellas-journey]

Time in Japan 🕰️

   Did you realize something different in the clock that the spider Oni showed Zenitsu? I will let you think. Yes, it does not have numbers. I mean it does, in the tiny clock within the clock. And there is a reason for that, the clock that he is holding is a Japanese clock. So, a clock made in Japan? Ah not really. Let me explain.    People in Japan, like in most of Asia, did not count the time like we do today. There is the conception that ancient people lived according to natural cycles, that for them the daytime was for the living and the nighttime for the dead. Taking a step further, that westerns were concerned with schedules, and non-westerners seem to act like they did not care, they did not have a time-consciousness at all. But that was not true. The way they counted time sure was different but was still a way of counting the time, they used the so called “variable hour system”.    As the name suggests, the length of the hours varied with the seasons. The day was divided in daytime and nighttime, and each divided further in 6 equal periods called koku ou toki [ji]. Each of the twelve hours had the name of an animal of the zodiac. They would know the what time it was thanks to a public time-telling bells or drums, that were installed in high towers (to those that like to read danmeis like me, you must be pretty familiarized with this concept) so that the sound would be carried into the distance.    The mechanical clock arrived in Japan trough the hands of the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier in the 16th century. It was gifted to the daimyo of Yamaguchi - Ouchi Yoshitaka - for him to allow Christianity in his territory, as soon more of this ticking machines would be asked to the Jesuits. Even Oda Nobunaga asked Louis Frois to see this intriguing machine, and, even tho this was an “useless thing” more and more clocks were brought to Japan to be used as expensive gifts. Even the Tokugawa family loved clocks even if they hated the westerns.    You should expect that since there was a flood of clocks in Japan that they soon would adopt this way of counting the time. That was not the case. The koku system continued in Japan until 1873, were in the 5th year of the Meiji Era the Emperor decided to adopt the Western calendar and way of dividing the time. But before that, western clocks were adapted into the Japanese way of seasonal time.     They were called “Wadokei - 和時計 - Japanese clock”. Why did this happen?  Well because “the clocks were counting the wrong time of hour!” Edo people were not used at not having the distinguishing between long and short hours, so they quickly decided to adapt the various types of western clocks into their system. “The mechanism of these clocks was practically identical to that of Western devices of the sixteenth century, with the only alteration being made to the locking plate of the alarm, which was modified to allow the clock to strike the number of times according to the Edo-period hour count, which consisted of double nine-to-four countdown series” - Frumer, 2012;    While it started as a novelty, by the 18th century clocks were not a rarity anymore. “Most mechanical clocks were only available to the rich and powerful, but the emergence of the economical and less decorative type indicates that there was some demand for mechanical clocks in the general society, possibly by merchants for their practical use in knowing the precise time.” - Hashimito, 2020; While we see the most expensive and decorative ones at museum, we must not forget that is exactly these characteristics that made their owners not throw them away, because in the case of a simple one you wouldn’t even think twice. “Clocks are not different from other museum exemplars suck as pottery or lacquerware - the existence of the state-of-art object does not imply that there were no simpler versions used by people of humbler status the daimyo” - Frumer, 2012;    Japanese clocks soon started to have both the Japanese hours and western hours, like in the clock that the Oni does have! While sure by the Taisho era the Japanese society would be fully adapted to the western way of telling the time, but imagining that the Oni was a human while this was the standard way of telling the time it is understandable why he does have that clock. Plus said clock had an specific time for the sunrise so can you really blame him for sticking to that? Same with the Ubuyashiki girl clock. Since they had to track the sunrise it would be way more easy to keep an old japanese clock that was the best a doing that job!

   FRUMER, Yulia. 2012. - Clocks and Time in Edo Japan. PhD. Diss. Faculty of Princeton University;    HASHIMITO, Takehiko, 2008 - Japanese Clocks and the History of punctuality in Modern Japan. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 2:1, 123-133. <https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-008-9031-z>    Linfamy. 2022- How christians intruduced the first mechanical clocks to Japan for GOD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQVNxAVlR44    Linfamy. 2023 - Traditional japanese clocks: 1200 years of history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5eJgqSV6eA&t=321s     

[borreloadsavagedragon]

alright tell all of us your thoughts about kaito :)

I did not forget… I have just been con crunching but now I’m free to become the worse

Minor Zexal and Arc V spoiling ahoy

How I feel about this character:

Oh no you’ve opened a floodgate… welcome to oversharing hour with Jay

I’m very normal about Kaito, just ignore the two full cosplays + the EVA foam Orbital work in progress I have mapped out, the wall scroll that’s at my work computer, my ita pin bag, and the fact that I’ve done everything I can to make his deck competitive viable and god dammit am I still trying please print this deck a god damn banger starter, Konami, I can’t keep doing this without your help-

Short story but I used to be suuuuper YGO Vrains favoring from 2020 into early 2022, but I found myself drifting from it because one can only tolerate so much subtweeting and catty behavior over personal preferences, and I’d never really finished Zexal before, just has a half baked idea how it ends, like I watched a chunk of it when it first aired but never finished and proceeded to forgot most of it, so I picked it back up after deciding to pick up Kaito to write in an RP server with some friends because I remembered liking him and… well I didn’t stand a chance when I got back to him fjdhdhd

I deeply relate to the theme of self-inflicted loneliness because it’s easier to be by yourself, just getting walked out on, left in the dark, or even being shafted for reasons out of my own control, I really get that

Also taking on too much if it means the people you love will be ok even if the ending result is you’re not ok, where he is after his Duel with Yuma at the end of Zexal I and getting to repair all of those relationships he was damaged by is where I want to get to in life

Bonus fact that’s minor spoilers for another spin off, but I’m… not a huge fan of his portrayal in Arc V, I like that he’s there and acknowledge that it’s a different Kaito and I love all Kaito Tenjos as they exist, including the Structures Cosplayer, but… yeah, not a fan, I’m a big fan of showing vs telling and Arc V to me feels like it’s ALL telling for all of its supporting cast most of the time

All the people I ship romantically

The better question is who I don’t honestly because that list is far smaller, but if I had to pick favorites I’m very partial to Ryouga, Mizael, and Edo-

Something about rivals to lovers resonates with my very being, even if Edo is less of a rival and more of an enemy until Arc V does it’s usual-

I’ve written for Challenge and AntiHero both already actually, my docs is 99% Challenge Wips that are slowly coming along tbh, and GalaxyMaster takes more time to write since most of those are… you know what I’m getting at LOL

I stg Gallop's one mission was to make Kaito Tenjo a dating sim protagonist because I have no other excuse for why they gave him so many boyfriends and even girlfriends across Zexal and Arc V, Yugioh’s surprising most eligible bachelor

My non-romantic OTP

nervous laughter

Chris.

I like to think of them more as divorcees who are just fine staying apart

Also gestures vaguely at the first answer

My unpopular opinion

I don’t know if I have many tbh, besides disliking Arc V’s rendition of him / not liking mentor at all lol— Like maybe how I genuinely believe he’s the strongest rival bc his record was the best even after he was put up against forces behind human understand and was even considered dying majority of the time of Zexal while remaining arguably mostly human, Zexal’s wack

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

Oh my god, the duel I hate the most in all of YGO is Kaito’s duel against Heartland because not letting Kaito win against someone who’s become representative of the garbage he was put through is SO UNSATISFYING

Yuma coming in and finishing it up is symbolic in its own right because of the importance of bonds, but to me that was and always should have been Kaito’s moment, let Yuma and Astral show up literally any other time and I’m fine with it

ALSO WE DON'T GET THE RYOUGA AND KAITO GRUDGE MATCH, though Kaito solos everytime, I’m so sorry Ryouga

[giigil]

how did you start to write? kinda curious to know your trajectory

story time! (really happy you asked, hehe.) note: if anyone's interested in going through my past writings, let me know and i'll probably make a google drive folder lol.

I've been addicted to gaming ever since I was younger and I've always had hyperfixations that would come and go. Middle school was when I realized I had a love for reading books (mainly young adult, romance, fiction + manga) and I used to always spend my time in the school library during my lunch breaks.

2012: I was 13 and almost graduated from middle school. I adored Zelda/Link as a ship so much that I Googled 'Zelda x Link' to look for cute art, only to stumble across a website: Fanfiction.net. Yep. That site.

I read through a couple of stories and found myself hooked. I made an account, and I decided to start writing my own stories.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl had a huge impact on my life and holds a special place in my heart. It was all I'd ever written and thought about when I first started.

( putting a read more to elaborate further on my writing journey. )

Around 2013, though, someone put a wrench on my Fanfiction.net journey by reporting my story -- it wasn't anything horrible, it was just a cringe Truth or Dare fanfiction that someone and their group said was "against" Fanfiction.net rules. That story got deleted, and out of impulse and feeling depressed, I deleted every single fanfiction I'd ever posted on my account.

I deeply regret doing so, because there were so many ideas that I can't look back on because my memory isn't able to recall a whole lot of them.

At least a few weeks after, though, I got onto Tumblr and got into Tumblr roleplaying! Fairy Tail was my next huge fixation and I made a roleplay blog focused on Edo-Cana from the Edolas arc (after I spoke with an Edo-Lucy blog). After I lost my inspiration for Edo-Cana, I moved on to Evergreen, and then Lucy Heartfilia.

I believe I lost interest in roleplaying on Tumblr around 2014.

2014: I was still writing on Fanfiction.net, but as usual, I would delete my fics when they didn't satisfy me. I wrote for a couple of other fandoms ranging from Big Hero Six, Rise of the Guardians/Young Justice, and more. I'd also joined websites like Quotev and Wattpad.

2015: In my junior year of high school, I made a friend who also had an interest in roleplaying. She introduced me to this one roleplaying website which allowed me to continue with writing.

However, as you can probably see, I have the absolutely terrible habit of losing interest in things quickly. I ended up quitting roleplaying due to that.

I also joined Archiveofourown. I don't remember if I'd ever posted anything around the time of joining. This is the one year I don't remember much for.

I also continued to post on Fanfiction.net:

As per usual, it lasted for *almost* a year.

November 10th, 2016 was the last time I ever posted on my Fanfiction.net account.

I had a dry spell when it came to writing for a good year and a half from 2016-2017.

April 21 2017: I played Final Fantasy XV and (it's what I hyperfixated on for a good 2 years). Around April 27-28, I already had a hankering for wanting to write fanfiction for it. I have so many ideas that haven't seen the light of day, and probably never will.

There's so many drafts, mostly unfinished, just sitting in my Google Drive.

August 2018: I posted a Prompto Argentum x Reader fic on archiveofourown, but eventually orphaned it and everything else I had posted.

October 2018: My hyperfixation for Red Dead Redemption 2 started. I thought up of ideas, plotlines, etc.

February 2019: I posted 3 Arthur Morgan x Reader fics. Which, you can probably already guess what the fuck happened to those. *orphaned. woooow.*

March 2019: I swore off writing anything else for my old Fanfiction.net account, and have left all of my fanfiction saved there.

2020-2021: Once more, I stopped writing and focused on trying to get through day by day life considering it was the COVID outbreak and I was only ever working. I never stopped reading fanfiction though. It's what's kept my writing decent -- at least, that's what I feel like. 2020 was when my hyperfixation on Final Fantasy 7/Remake started. I would think up of things.

March 23, 2022: (Not a writing thing, but I like to make note of it.) The start of my hyperfixation on Jujutsu Kaisen and Gojo!

December 2022: I finally posted a fic after so long. Haven't deleted it, and I swear I won't.

January 2023: Wrote my first ever M rated fic for Nero the Sable from Final Fantasy 7 Remake x Reader, and told myself I'd go back to writing. I haven't posted anything else on AO3 since then.

August 11, 2023: I learned of and created an account on character.ai!

September 18, 2023: I started making character.ai bots!

TL;DR:

As you can see, I'm an inconsistent person and have occasional moments of inspiration and eventually get tired of things. There will be times when I need a break from writing, so I apologize if it takes me a bit to get through all of my requests.

[hardynwa]

Obaseki has no right to order my arrest – Oshiomhole reacts

A former governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, has insisted that his successor, Governor Godwin Obaseki has no right to order his arrest. Oshiomhole, stated this while addressing journalists in Edo state on Friday. The former governor said his reaction to the allegation was one of amusement. The two personalities have been at war since Obaseki was forced to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party where he won his re-election in 2020. The state government had accused Oshiomhole of masterminding the demonstrations and violent protests in the state over a controversial naira swap policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the ensuing scarcity of new currency on Wednesday. Obaseki was quoted as alleging that the former governor mobilised thugs to vandalise banks and disrupt the peace of the state over the naira scarcity. The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement, said, “At this stage, we call on security agencies to arrest Adams Oshiomhole for questioning and to account for his movement, especially here in Benin City in the last few days. He deliberately instigated the protest of the people. “When I read initially on social media… that Obaseki has ordered the police to arrest me, I had a very good laugh. “First, because Obaseki doesn’t know that he doesn’t have the power to order the arrest of a citizen. And that’s the reason why some people have reservations about what people like Obaseki talk about state police,” the statement added. But, Oshiomhole, who is the APC senatorial candidate in Edo North, argued that it was up to the law enforcement agencies to investigate anyone they deemed a person of interest and that if found wanting, they may be invited for questioning. “The police have not – and I would be surprised if they have now – generated to the level of taking orders from a politician who is faced with a crisis of confidence and the people are revolting against him,” he added. Oshiomhole revealed his idea of an ideal political leader and how government should respond. “A governor or a leader must be able to win the hearts of his people and talk them out of bitterness, and above all, give them hope that whatever are the challenges that they face, the government is in a position to do something about it. This is what the government should do.” Oshiomhole noted that protests were part of democratic ideals, and denounced the riots that broke out across the state. He said, “I believe Nigerians have a right to protest against anything that they are not happy about. But I also want Nigerians to understand that there’s a huge difference between protest and rioting. “The problem of rioting is like shooting a gun into a market: you don’t know who it will hit. But when you peacefully decide to protest, that is what distinguishes a free people from slaves,” he said. Read the full article

[omokoshaban]

2020 Edo gov’ship election: Tribunal dismisses ADP, Iboi's petition against Obaseki

2020 Edo gov’ship election: Tribunal dismisses ADP, Iboi’s petition against Obaseki

The Edo State 2020 Governorship Election Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and its candidate, Lucky Iboi Emmanuel, that Governor Godwin Obaseki was not qualified to contest the election. The tribunal which delivered its ruling on Monday, March 29, 2021, stated that Obaseki did not present either false or forged certificate to contest the election. It…

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[sanjuno]

Meta Fic rides again

I'm a little stuck on how to word something in my Nano 2020 project so I decided to take a break by trying to read “Scum Villain’s Self Saving System” again and failed horribly because I got to the part when Binghe comes back and my interest died a quick and messy death for yet a third time. Someone write me a giant pile of gen-fic and LiuShen AUs to heal my heart.

Here, I’ll start us off:

Spite and Fury (or; PEDW is a hive of Scum and Villainy)

So bitter-old-man!Madara dies of old age after he passes his Epic Revenge Plot over into Obito’s keeping, and the Sage’s knockoff-brand cycle-of-transmigration peels Indra’s chakra out of Madara’s soul - which results in dying!Madara having a screaming ragefit that sends his spirit-and-chakra careening through the void between worlds

At which point shattered-and-fragmenting-more!Madara gets into an altercation with the System and since the System is a little bitch it tosses Madara into the worst possible Fate it can think of (see: PEDW)

Transmigration bullshit and Sharingan fuckery smash into each other in a gigantic clusterfuck of asspulls

Madara is missing bits because Indra’s imprint got ripped out

The Shen Jiu base soul is missing bits because torture and previous abuse of his character by the System

The resulting villain amalgamation is Not Pleased

Instead of landing in the divergence point chosen by the System - aka the Qi deviation fever shortly after Binghe arrives at Cang Qiong Sect – we instead have the jigsaw puzzle mashup of Mads-and-Jiu land in baby-slave Jiu’s body

The good news is Madara and Jiu stop fragmenting because they end up woven together - they’re stuck together as an almost-single person only with two different sets of memories

Character exploration is going to be an EVENT

Also the Madara part of them is really happy with the silky smooth hair

Also Yue “lets-Binghe-kill-him-because-he-thinks-Shen-Jiu-is-dead” Qi is cast is a much better light when compared to Senju “stabs-his-sworn-brother-in-the-back” Hashirama

So Mads-Jiu plays it close to canon for the first few years - the only real difference is that he tags his Jiejie with a tracking seal for after he escapes from slavery - he’s not leaving his ability to find her again up to chance or developing a reputation as a whoremonger if he can help it

When he gets bought by the Qiu is when Mads-Jiu starts being a manipulative little shit like we all know he is

Xanatos-pileup-or-bust!Mads-Jiu basically lets Yue Qi escape alone because he NEEDS Yue Qi to become Cang Qiong Sect Leader for his long-term plans to work properly

So Mads-Jiu warns Yue Qi that if he has to be CAREFUL because cultivating is dangerous and if Yue Qi comes back missing any pieces then Jiu will cut the EXACT SAME BITS OFF HIMSELF

And so Yue Qi is EXTREMELY safety conscious and the life eating sword drama is avoided entirely

Of course he’s also taking longer to reach his initial strength levels than in canon because he isn’t rushing

So there’s nothing like Yue Qi showing up early to trigger a plot divergence alert in the System

</mwahahaha>

Mads-Jiu is more pragmatic regarding Qiu Haitang’s so-called innocence this time around - and so he arranges for her to catch the Creeper Qiu bro abusing and assaulting Shen Jiu

Haitang is HORRIFIED AND DISGUSTED to see what her brother is doing to her fiancé and also TERRIFIED by the fact that he talks the entire time about how sweet it’s going to be when it’s HAITANG under him

The Qiu burn on schedule but Haitang kills her fair share - double Qi deviations FTW!

The system does not notice such a minor change in the background events - Jiu kills the Qiu, burns down their house, and Haitang survives the fire with vengeance raging in her heart

Mads-Jiu kills the demonic creeper that was hanging around because ew no and also keep your hands of Haitang

Again, it’s too close to canon for the System to notice - Jiu killed him in defense of a “childhood friend” so hahaha again

Instead of being used as a stalking horse by an evil master Mads-Jiu runs off with Haitang to track down and rescue his Jiejie

Shenanigans ensue

Afterwards Mads-Jiu “has an idea to help find Qi-ge” by asking around for him at the Immortal Alliance Conference

Of course there are more shenanigans and Yue Qi saves all three by claiming that they’re Cang Qiong disciples - so of course he drags all 3 of them back with him and wibbles at the current Sect Leader until he lets them all join

Still (mostly) following canon! Ha! So no “punishment” events get triggered in the System (which is mostly dormant because the Protagonist isn’t born yet XP)

Qiu Haitang was supposed to join a Sect! Jiejie got sold on schedule! Shen Jiu killed the Qiu and his “first master”! Yue pesters his Shizun into letting his sibling(s) join the Sect in an unorthodox fashion!

But the devil is in the details

And the devil’s name is Uchiha Madara

Jiejie ends up as Peak Lord for Talisman Peak because magic and seals saved her before

Haitang ends up Peak Lord for Hidden Peak because she refuses to be caught unawares by a dangerous secret ever again... also because she’s a mean sneaky bitch and owns it

Having more than one sibling for the Sect Leader to blatantly favour means less wholesale resentment directed at Mads-Jiu as well

However the Jiu part of them has memories from PIDW and also SVSSS - so he knows that shit is going to get horrible once Su Xiyan gets knocked up

Obviously the answer is to seduce all of his fellow peak lords into a glorious polyamorous clusterfuck so as to promote skinship and pack bonding and harmony among the sect leadership

(It worked for PIDW Binghe with his wives and SVSSS Shen Yuan with getting Bing-mei to chill his tits after all and nobody can trip you into bed quite like a shinobi)

And so Cang Qiong’s family aesthetics get rocked so hard that instead of panting after his Shizun baby disciple Binghe decides to seduce his peers...

... and his rivals

... and other sect’s disciples

... and the occasional demon

Mads-Jiu is really proud of his baby demon lord but makes sure not to single Binghe out - instead every Qing Jing disciple gets rewarded and punished at the same time

It promotes bonding! And teamwork!

And prevents the utter destruction of Mads-Jiu’s chrysanthemum via oversized demonic pillar!

There is totally going to be an extra where Mads-Jiu realizes that the average size of a male cultivators pillar is DANGEROUSLY EXCESSIVE

NOBODY NEEDS THAT MUCH PILLAR

Even HIS pillar hasn’t escaped the curse

BIGGER IS NOT BETTER!

How the fuck is he supposed to fight if he can’t even wear pants comfortably!?!?

(No wait come back Mu-shidi this shixiong is sorry it wasn’t mockery it was a perfectly reasonable tantrum that was a long time coming now stop sulking your dick is very pretty let shixiong make it up to you~)

And at some point there will be a wild Bing-ge who appears to cause trouble with a mirror that’s intended to temporarily transform people into the form of their last life - he aims it at the native Bingbing to get him out of the way so he can steal the “nice” Shizun

It would have been Pom time for Bingbing but Mads-Jiu pushes him out of the way

And cue giant explosion of dark Qi as a bonus expansion pack of Madara’s 10-tail Jinchuriki time with powers-and-memories gets downloaded into Mads-Jiu

Mads-Jiu the “Heavenly Demon Demi God” drops several mountains worth of flaming meteor rock on the invaders and then goes on a giant flaming skeleton rampage against Bing-ge

... Bing-ge has changed his mind he doesn’t want this Shizun take him back and oh gods the shrieking

How does he shriek so loud? Doesn’t he need to breathe?

... ok so Shizun breathes fire that’s good to know

Whelps time to bravely run away

And then the amassed sects need to figure out how to calm down the rampaging hell beast

The youngest Qing Jing disciple is brought out and told to cry for Shizun

Actually-a-broody-hen!Mads-Jiu whips around and starts fussing over his baby student

Because baby why are you crying stop it tell Shizun who hurt you and he will BURN THEM TO ASH

The last bit I have an idea for involves Mads-Jiu getting yanked though dimensions because Edo Tensei where he instantly twigs to what is going on and pushes the “righteous cultivator” skin to maximum strength

He shoves all the baby ninja behind him and keeps barrier spamming the zombie army - because ew no stay away from the children resentful corpses

Zetsu is included in the zombie army shall not pass smack down

Zombie!Tobirama is appalled because wut? Wasn’t this supposed to be Madara’s zombie? What is happening?

And I dunno something where he “notices” the resentful energy surrounding Danzo because stealing the eyes of the people you murdered is bad karma

So Mads-Jiu does a spirit thing and the ghosts of the Uchiha rips Danzo apart while screaming about his guilt in full view of the entire Village

And then Mads-Jiu goes home because filial little Bingbing came to get him and he’s not enjoying upending the shinobi social order nope not at all whom exactly do you take him for?

... Yes he’s done and ready to go back to his spouses now he’s sure the ninja have all learned better than to raise living corpses now anyway

The end

=/=

[midnight-in-town]

Hey! So I see you read Dorohedoro recently. Did you like it? Another question is what is the best manga you discovered in hellish year 2020? Thank you for your time!

Hey Anon! Yeah, I did read it last month and I loved the hell out of this series! 

Not sure if you’re asking for a rec or if you read it, so I’ll try no spoiler, but honestly I started it with 0 expectation and I read the whole thing in ten days, constantly reminding me not to spoil myself as I was so eager to know how everything would end. This series left me yelling “hell yeah”, being anguished and crying, all at the same time. 

It’s very rare to come across series like this one, I find: not only is it completely mad and full of dark humor, but the world-building is for real and so is fleshing out the characters, on top of incredible comedic or dramatic timing as far as plot twists go.  Additionally, the main themes and how the story concludes on them are absolutely magnificent, on par with the art style.

Finally, the plot. Didn’t expect one, didn’t expect it to be basically solved halfway through the series, leaving me to wonder what the second part of the series would be about, only to come into one of the most daring written arcs I have ever read, thematically-speaking. 

As for the cast, considering all the dark humor and grim world-building, I honestly didn’t expect to get attached to the characters or to be emotionally invested in their developments. Well, clearly I was proved wrong and the diverse cast is full of surprises. Even for characters I didn’t necessarily like for the most part, whenever they were at the heart of a plot twist or simply saving the day, I couldn’t help but cheer for them! 

Not gonna lie though, it is a visually gruesome series (I didn’t watch the anime, but, seeing the gif below, I can imagine they did justice to the manga), so in that aspect, maybe it can be a little upsetting to more sensitive readers. If you’re okay with it though, then you’ll have the time of your life. 

As for your second question...

“what is the best manga you discovered in hellish year 2020″

Okay so, considering manga series I discovered/started reading this year (from what I remember): 

Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin) 

Hellsing

Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori

OUT

Ajin (gave up halfway tho) 

Jigokuraku

Hokuhokusei ni kumo to ike

Dorohedoro

Ao no Flag

Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri

Currently trying to read Hunter x Hunter and BNHA

I honestly can’t decide between Dorohedoro and Blade of the Immortal, mainly because the genres are so different that it’s hard to consider which one between the two I Iiked more, considering I loved and devoured both series in approximately a week. 

The only common point would be the revenge theme for both. However, where Blade of the Immortal is a rather serious historical & political tale of Japan from Edo era with a touch of fantasy, Dorohedoro is an unhinged inter-dimensional fantasy horror story, lmao. Both gave me the time of my life, though! Definitely my best discoveries of 2020! 

I hope this answered your questions! Please have a happy new year, Anon! (^3^)/

[ryukyuan-sunflower]

Hi hi! I just wanted to ask how often you update your fic! I’m really excited to start reading it, as I love stories over 100k and I am just so happy to find something so eloquently written! I am not looking forward to not having any more chapters to read, but I am a patient person! I just wanted to know what your schedule is like and if it is anywhere near the end? :)

Hiya :D So this is a bit complicated for me to answer. Not because of you, but because of how I'm working on Finding the Four-Eyed Samurai.

The short answer is, it generally takes me 1 month to complete a chapter. Chapters are around 10,000 - 20,000 words and usually require a lot of research, whether historical, atmospheric or simply going back and rewatching scenes from the anime that are referenced or alluded to.

But...since April 2020, I have posted 9 new chapters, a one-shot, and rewrote Chapters 13-19. So that's...17 chapters in 10 months?

I've also just finish rewriting Chapters 8 and 9 but can't post them yet. So that's...19?

*sweating* That's a lot more than one a month.

Basically, now, I write...A LOT. Every day, when I can. Whether it's actually writing, or researching, or planning. The thing is, my updates before 2020 were not nearly that fast... And this is where the problem lies in answering about my updates.

The earliest chapters were written 9 years ago when I was a young teen. And they are not written good. I probably have lost so many readers who read those chapters and immediately backed out. I'm still surprised so many people decided to trudge through it, to see my writing grow through the years. (It still needs work even now but...)

As of now, I will not be posting Chapter 46 until all the early chapters are rewritten. This will take me a couple more months. And then, they will all be posted together. Now, when i say "rewrite", I don't mean I'm just revising for typos, and rewording sentences to sound better. I mean I'm literally OVERHAULING the plot of Chapters 1-12. The only things that have generally stayed the same is Mugen and Fuu's dialogue. (So don't worry about losing out on a favorite interaction! Those don't change.)

To give you some context of these "OVERHAULS", I'll talk about the rewrite of the "ghost arc" of Chapters 10 and 11.

Original on the Website now (posted when I was 14): Chapter 10-11. Just two chapters and around 10,000 words total.. Complete fluff, in which Mugen and Fuu get stuck in the rain and stay at an abandoned manor that may just be haunted. That's it... No plot, no other characters, just fun Mugen x Fuu interactions.

Revision to be Posted in May, 2021: Four Chapters now spanning 8-11, totaling around 50,000 words. (five times as long as the original). Yes, Mugen and Fuu get stuck in the rain again. Yes, Mugen and Fuu stay in a haunted manor again. However, this time, there's plot relevance that makes it feel more like a Samurai Champloo "episode". Not just fluff.

-During Obon Festival in Edo, they meet with a Shugendo Buddhist monk named Taikan in a temple graveyard, when Fuu is paying her Obon respects to Shinsuke (who died in Edo in the anime Ep 7.) This monk is heading to Bancho, Edo to perform an "exorcism" on a Hatamoto samurai's wife with strange behavior. The manor is infested with black worms which are believed to be associated with this "demon" or "ghost". Because Mugen and Fuu are starving, and have no place to sleep in the coming downpour, Taikan offers to bring them along to become servants to the manor's owner: Aoyama, and his "possessed" wife Chouka. It becomes a sort of mystery/horror arc in finding out what is causing the bizarre incidences in the house, still full of Mugenx Fuu interactions too, of course. (Even more than before actually!) But it also gives some references to real history, and a more meaningful reason for the chapter's existence and the characters' growth.

That is just one example! The Kokoro and the Yakuza arc, and Mugen and Fuu remeeting also need to be heavily rewritten too!

Now, for your very last question... Is the story anywhere near it's end?

Finding the Four Eyed Samurai is planned to span 60 total chapters. After revisions, I will be back to writing the new Chapter 46. One posted every month, likely starting in July 2021. So that leaves only 15 chapters left. It seems like a lot... (which it is, considering that's roughly over 150k words left to write) However, in context to the whole story...that's only 1/4th left to go. I already have the rest of their journey plotted out...And, it's strangely sad for me to think about. Hm...After revisions and all chapters, FTFES might just be around 800k words??? Um???

But yes! UM.

I highly recommend waiting until May to read the early chapters, when they are all rewritten. However, if you've already managed to get past the first 12 chapters, then thank you so much for trudging through that... And I hope you will still go back and read the new revisions when they're posted in May or June. I put a lot of work into them, just as much as writing all-new chapters.

Thank you so much for the questions, and for your interest in my Fanfic!!! It means so much to me, and just inspired me to go into writing mode today :D

May I ask if you have already started reading it yet? And if you have, what chapter are you on?

[chierafied]

Challenge Accepted! (SKW2020D7)

For SessKag Week 2020 Day 7, I tried my luck with the SessKag Trope Generator and got "Sesshoumaru mistakes Kagome's Sass for Flirting" & "Sesshoumaru's mobile day care". This bit of silliness ensued.

Also posted on AO3, Dokuga & FFnet!

When, in the final year of high school, Kagome had needed to fill out forms for career counselling and to start seriously planning her future… This hadn’t made the list.

For one, she had not been sure back then if she ever could return back to the Feudal era. 

But even when she had been considering that unlikely (or so she had thought) scenario, she had pictured it all very differently.

She’d had daydreams of her and Inuyasha. Of a peaceful life in the village together with Miroku and Sango. Or maybe one of adventure, back on the road and roaming across the Sengoku era Japan.

Being covered in someone else’s bodily fluids and wrangling a hanyou toddler gearing himself up to a full-blown temper tantrum hadn’t featured into her expectations. 

Not even in those rosy imaginations of her and Inuyasha’s possible future children.

She really hadn’t had a clue back then, huh?

To begin with, the well had reopened, and Kagome had abandoned all the plans she had made for the future in a split-second decision to return to the past.

Secondly, she and Inuyasha, well… It turned out they were the best of friends, but any romantic notions Kagome had once harboured had died a fairly quick death when expectations and reality did not quite manage to meet.

And finally, somehow, she had ended up running an unofficial orphanage in Edo.

It had probably begun because Kagome had been giving lessons to Shippou and Rin, as well as Miroku’s and Sango’s children. 

She’d wanted to fill her days with something productive, but it turned out that growing up in the 20th century didn’t really give you all the skills and knowledge needed to fit into the life in the 16th century.

But the one thing that she did have that most people around her in the village lacked, was comprehensive education.

In hindsight, deciding to put her knowledge into a good use might have been a mistake, Kagome reflected, struggling to tie the obi around the screaming toddler. 

Another young hanyou, twin sister of the charming boy currently preoccupied with throwing his tantrum, tottered in on unsteady feet, then latched onto Kagome’s leg.

Literally.

Kagome winced.

“Momo-chan, sweetheart, please remember to be mindful of your claws,” she told the hanyou girl clinging to her leg.

The girl solemnly looked at where her tiny hands were resting on Kagome’s bare shin, and then carefully eased her hold.

Kagome let out a breath, and as little Mr Cranky Pants was all changed up, set the snarling and shrieking child down.

He kicked his tiny clawed feet against the floor in utter fury, and Kagome had a snapshot of understanding what Inuyasha might have been like as a child. 

She'd probably dodged a bullet there. Imagine her and Inuyasha's offspring, inheriting their temper from both parents!

Not a rosy picture at all, that.

In fact, it suddenly made Shinji-kun seem a veritable little angel.

Or perhaps that title should go to Momo-chan, Kagome amended, as the girl knelt down by her brother and stroked his hair.

Awwww!

Moments like these, Kagome thought, warmth swelling in her chest, were what made it all worthwhile.

But first things first, she really needed to change into a clean kosode herself and wash the baby puke out of her hair.

“Rin?” she called out, hoping the young woman would be free to look after the twins while Kagome made herself presentable again.

All right, so she might have exaggerated a little, earlier. It wasn’t really an unofficial orphanage, and Kagome wasn’t quite running it either.

They had six orphans altogether, and although Kaede, Rin and Kagome were the main caretakers for the children, the whole village pitched in to help where they could.

Even Shippou, who was always a very sought-after playmate whenever he came back to Edo.

Most of the children were human, only the young twins were hanyou. 

The three oldest children, each old enough to look after themselves, for the most part, lived with Kaede and Rin. The arrangement suited all of them, actually, because Kaede was not getting any younger, and the additional help around the house was a huge weight off of her and Rin’s shoulders.

Kagome, meanwhile, had had the dubious honour of looking after the hanyou twins.

The logic there had been that, as a miko, she was the best suited for the task, as most villagers would not be a match for a pair of half-demons, toddlers or not. And unlike Kaede, she was young enough to keep up with the pair.

Kagome, technically, was also taking care of the youngest child, hence the baby puke in her hair.

In practice, though, the infant boy spent a lot of time over at Sango’s and Miroku’s, as Sango had very kindly volunteered to be the little baby boy’s wet nurse.

Rin still had not showed up, but all of a sudden, Shinji-kun’s temper tantrum ended, and the snarling and shrieking stopped.

Ahh, blessed silence, was all that Kagome had time to think before a flare of youki from the edge of the village raised her hackles.

Oh no.

He was back.

And he only ever did that stupid flare thing when he wanted her attention.

And he only ever wanted her attention when…

“Oh god, not another one!” Kagome groaned out lout, exasperation seeping into her very bones.

It was all the miko’s fault.

Sesshoumaru did not know how, but it was the only logical conclusion he could draw.

For years, decades, well over a century, he had wandered far and wide, in perfect solitude. (Jaken didn’t count.) 

But somehow, right after his paths had first crossed with the miko, he had met Rin. 

Eventually, they’d been joined by Kohaku.

After their victory over Naraku, he had parted ways with the both of them and resumed his peaceful lone existence.

And alone he had remained (Jaken still didn’t count), for a blissful three years.

Then the miko had returned.

And once again, inexplicably, he had come across a human child who had insisted on following him.

Then there had been two others, banded together until they stumbled on Sesshoumaru.

Then a pair of young neglected hanyou.

Then he had come across a raided village and had heard the wail of a human infant from among the ruins, tucked away into a safe corner, probably by its now-deceased mother.

Since it was all miko’s fault, Sesshoumaru had decided the children should be her responsibility, not his.

It was a stroke of genius, even if he said it himself.

Like killing two birds with one claw.

From the very start, the miko had been a complete mystery to him.

Not the least because of the mixed signals she was always sending.

It had always been obvious there was some sort of… involvement between the miko and his younger half-brother. Sesshoumaru hadn’t known or hadn’t cared to know the exact nature of it.

Yet, throughout their very loose acquaintance, the miko had been challenging him.

Even upon their first meeting, when she had watched from the side lines while he and Inuyasha had battled over the mastery of Tessaiga in their father’s tomb, the miko had still managed to stand up to him, by yelling advice to Inuyasha.

Then, adding insult to injury, she had been the one to pull their father’s fang out.

At every turn, she had defied him and stood her ground, talked back to him, demanded explanations of him, called him names, never shown fear... Always ready to pitch her will against his.

The miko had shattered his armour with her arrow early on in their acquaintance, and if that hadn’t been a challenge, Sesshoumaru didn’t know what was! Especially when she had promptly fired another arrow at him afterwards! 

So now, at last – and once it had become clear whatever there was between Inuyasha and the miko did not exceed the bounds of friendship – Sesshoumaru had started to challenge her back.

Currently, his preferred method of doing so was depositing the orphans he collected at her doorstep.

And to the miko’s credit, she had risen to the challenge marvellously.

Speaking of…

Sesshoumaru slanted a glance over his shoulder, and at the human boy following after him beside Jaken.

“We are almost there,” he informed them, his voice even.

Soon enough, they could see Edo in the distance.

A small smile rose to Sesshoumaru’s lips.

He was looking forward to the next encounter, eager to see how the miko would respond this time.

Sesshoumaru gathered his youki around himself and then let it flare up, sending a signal to his miko.

He was coming to give her her next challenge.

After finally getting Rin to look after the twins, Kagome marched to the edge of the village, where she immediately assumed a confrontational pose – hands on her hips, blue eyes glaring at Sesshoumaru.

Her gaze flicked to the young boy nervously fidgeting next to Jaken. He was human and looked to be around ten years old.

Kagome swallowed a sigh and turned to the boy.

“Hello, sweetheart. Welcome to Edo, my name is Kagome. I’ll talk to you a little later; for now you’d probably like something to eat, right? Jaken, please take him to Kaede’s.”

The kappa sputtered, but despite the grumbling under his breath, obeyed, telling the boy to follow along as he tottered away.

As soon as the two had left, Kagome whirled back to Sesshoumaru.

“How does this keep happening?” she demanded to know. “Where do you find these children? Why do you keep on bringing them here? I can’t do this anymore Sesshoumaru, I swear! This has gone on long enough!” 

She was pushing into his personal space now, all but wagging her finger at his face in righteous fury.

“I agree,” Sesshoumaru intoned smoothly.

“I’m telling you,” Kagome growled. “...Wait, what?”

“You are correct, miko, that is time to bring this charade to an end. Entertaining though it has been, I suggest it is beyond time for us to formalise our relationship.”

And just like that, Kagome’s anger was gone. Vanished, together with any sense she’d previously had of this entire conversation.

What was the infuriating daiyoukai on about?

“What relationship?” Kagome asked, suddenly apprehensive.

“Do not act coy with me, miko,” Sesshoumaru said, his eyes hooded. “We have been going around these circles for years now.”

“What circles?” Kagome was growing both more alarmed and confused by the second.

“I have presented you with multiple challenges,” Sesshoumaru told her patiently, nodding towards Kaede’s hut. “You have risen to each one and proven yourself brilliantly.”

“Challenges?” Kagome glanced at Kaede’s hut, then her own, then at Sesshoumaru. “You’ve been bringing me children because you’ve wanted to challenge me? What the hell?!”

“In part. Mostly I brought them because of the inconvenience. Nevertheless, I figured you would not be averse to a challenge, now that you and Inuyasha are no longer… involved.”

Flabbergasted. That was the word. That was what Kagome was feeling. Her mind simply wasn’t keeping up with the complete lack of logic of Sesshoumaru’s conversation.

“What does Inuyasha have to do with this?” 

“You have been challenging me since the beginning of our acquaintance,” Sesshoumaru began.

I have? Kagome wondered, trying to think back to see what on Earth Sesshoumaru could be referring to.

Maybe the time she’d had an arrow ready and aimed at him and had shouted the next one would be for his heart?

She grimaced.

“But for the longest time I was not certain if I should respond in kind, especially as Inuyasha had a prior claim,” he continued.

What claim? No. Kagome shook her head. No matter how much the daiyoukai tried to explain, none of this was making any sense.

“However I have now responded to you in kind. And you have proven yourself to me, and I assume likewise my performance whenever you have challenged me has met your approval as well. Thus, I think it is time to stop playing these games and make it official.”

“Make what official, Sesshoumaru?” Kagome snapped losing patience. 

Feeling stupid also didn’t help her temper.

Sesshoumaru blinked, slowly.

“Our mating, of course.”

Kagome’s mouth fell open. No words came out.

She was pretty sure that hell had just frozen over.

Unless…! Maybe?

She pinched herself and hissed in pain.

Nope, still in the middle of this absurd conversation.

She probably should say something.

Ask Sesshoumaru if he had completely lost his damn mind, maybe.

Be firm.

“M-mating?” Kagome squeaked.

Way uncool, Kagome, she chided herself.

Her mind was furiously trying backtrack. Trying to find a previous save point from a time when the world had still made sense.

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru said, unhelpfully, plunging Kagome further into chaos.

“So what you mean by challenging is…?” Kagome asked, in a vain attempt to recover some sanity.

“A typical behaviour of a suitor. How do you know if the object of your interest is truly worthy of your affections if you do not challenge them to prove themselves to you?” Sesshoumaru said, finally sounding unsure of himself

Oh.

The light bulb finally clicked on.

Oh no.

Was Sesshoumaru telling her… That basically the entire time they had known one another… he had thought she’d been flirting with him?

Kagome stared at him in mute horror.

He’d been bringing her orphan children in some convoluted and misguided effort to flirt back?!

Oh god.

“I sense some reluctance from you.” Sesshoumaru frowned.

No shit!

Kagome tried to gather her brain from the floor and scramble it for some sort of sensible words she might offer to Sesshoumaru, but before she could find any, he continued.

“Perhaps I have not proven myself to you yet? Do you wish to issue one last challenge?”

“I… Umm…” were all that Kagome’s poor brain had left to offer.

Sesshoumaru nodded gravely. “Very well. I accept.”

With three quick steps, Sesshoumaru had closed their distance.

All of a sudden, Kagome had to crane her neck in order to meet his eyes.

There was a look there, glimmering in those golden depths, that unnerved her more than this entire disaster of an encounter had.

As he leaned forward, Kagome’s eyes widened, her heart jumped, her stomach plummeted, her breath caught.

And then he was kissing her and… wow.

Wow. 

Okay, maybe this crazy notion of his did have some merit if this was what he had to offer.

His hand had come up to cradle her head. His fingers tangled in her hair, his claws lightly scraped against her scalp.

Whoo, talk about toe-curling.

One eternity later, Sesshoumaru pulled away.

Kagome drew in a quivering breath, her heart beating a mad, giddy rhythm. 

Had he proven himself?

You bet.

Still dazed, she looked into his eyes, the slow beginning of a smile blooming on her lips.

And then Sesshoumaru spoke.

“Are you aware that someone appears to have vomited milk in your hair?”

Ahh, yes.

That.

That they would probably still need to work on.

“Yes, I am,” Kagome retorted. “That tends to happen around babies.”

“Noted,” Sesshoumaru replied, deadpan. “So, have I proven myself sufficiently?”

Kagome bit her lip and took a moment to consider.

“You have proven yourself,” she said slowly. “But I am not ready yet to make our mating official. I think it would be fair if we tried some human courting, first.”

Sesshoumaru tilted his head.

“I suppose that your customs should require equal opportunity,” he admitted, his voice considering. “I must confess, however, that I am woefully ignorant of the ways of human courting practices.”

Kagome gave him a rueful smile.

Just as ignorant as she’d been about youkai flirting, she’d bet. But still, going forward, it would be best to avoid any further confusion and miscommunication.

“Don’t worry,” Kagome told him, reaching to take his hand in hers. “I’ll tell you all about it.” 

[rghhomes]

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[serene-faerie]

Ichihime Week 2020

Day 6: Alternate Universe (Historical #5)

Detective Ichigo x Chanteuse Orihime

New York City, America, 1941. Detective Ichigo Kurosaki has grown weary from all the crime he’s seen in the Big Apple. Despite his young age, he’s already seen it all, and just wants to be done with his work as a private eye. But one rainy night, he receives a visit from a gorgeous young woman: Orihime Inoue, a chanteuse with an innocent, yet strangely sensual air to her. She claims that her sister-in-law has been murdered, and implores Ichigo to help her figure out who killed her. Already won over by her unique charm and seductiveness, Ichigo agrees to investigate into her sister-in-law’s murder, only to discover that things are not as clear as he’d imagined, and that Orihime might be hiding some big secrets of her own. Even so, there’s a strange vulnerability to her that makes him more protective of her, and he finds himself gaining a new reason to continue his work as he learns more about her dark and mysterious past, and about what her sister-in-law had been like as a person.

Orihime has never really seen herself as sensual or seductive, but it’s a charm she’s managed to perfect ever since she’d become a chanteuse on 52nd Street. In fact, the only reason she’d taken up the career was to escape from her evil, abusive sister-in-law, who had most definitely been behind her older brother’s untimely death. And now that her sister-in-law is dead, Orihime needs closure, thus her attempt to have Ichigo investigate. However, she becomes fascinated by how gentler he is towards her, how he looks past her sultry facade, and God forbid, she starts to fall in love with him. Likewise, Ichigo also begins to truly fall in love with Orihime after getting a glimpse of her true self and her heart of gold, far from the seductive chanteuse she acts as.

But as the investigation goes on, more dark secrets begin to unearth themselves and reveal Orihime to not be as innocent as Ichigo thinks, and that her connection to her sister-in-law’s gruesome death is a lot stronger than he realizes. And with these revelations, Ichigo must decide whether or not Orihime is truly guilty, and whether this dark secret is truly worth being with her.

Previous: Trojan War, Medieval India, Edo Japan, 18th-century France

@ichihimeisfuckingcanon

[skippyv20]

🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊💜💜💜💜💜💜PG INTERPRETATION OF MM ANON💜💜💜💜💜💜😊😊😊😊😊😊🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

MM Anon

MM ANON …… Kate being scilly ……… ……… Borix nails down the caughin ………… roving explorer …………… phew! What a scorcher …………… Lions Arm-y…………… climate is a changing …………… ( get well mr, skippy 🌈) ……………beaches,stay away 😱😱………………Peer- pressure ‘ O brother!! …………… tick tick bite!! ……………”doctor, what’s growing on my arm.” …………… Williams conservs film

Thank you MM Anon…and for the well wishes for Mr. Skippy!😊❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Friday July 31/20

💜💜💜💜💜😊😊😊😊😊😊🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈Thank you MM Anon🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

July 31/2020 28 years ago this evening, l lost my mum☹️, seems like yesterday. I am so glad and thankful I have my Tumblr community and these riddles that challenge me and give me something to look forward to. I am ever so grateful and in all of your debt for you of all been so kind to me and will welcome me thank you💜🙏🏻😊🙏🏻🙏🏻😊🙏🏻G💜🙏🏻😊🙏🏻💜🙏🏻😊🙏🏻💜

Riddle #76

Kate being scilly ……… ……… 

Well the Cambridges are on holiday at the Isles of Scilly. I think it’s quite funny because a lot of people online are ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha Ha ha ha thinking that is Sicily and that they went to Italy ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Why on earth would they take their family to Italy with Covid oh that’s hilarious LOL anyways. They were seen riding bikes and having just a nice family time.Isn’t it nice that they demonstrate without preaching they just live their life and somehow, somehow they always get it right. Local tourism at its finest and don’t tell me they didn’t have a marvellous time or that they aren’t having a marvellous time. The only thing I wish is that people hadn’t made it public if they could stay private but I guess I mean that is  a lot to wish for.

Borix nails down the caughin ………… 

I believe he use the phrase putting the pedal on the brakes. Shocking lockdown arrangements orders whatever has been passed down. And a great many Muslims are going to celebrate Eid and now things are just thrown I’ll say it again like a spanner in the mix. A coffin for dead people is spelt the way it just appeared. Caughin Chaldean number 6 in numerology. But KOFN is the urban dictionary kind of describes exactly this. I will let you look up what that means and you can decide if you want to or not that’s up to you but I’m i’m not gonna put it here a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ! I am certain man is citizens feel exactly the way that that acronym the way that feels. Borix is a tool for editing. However I think it’s just a joking way of saying the name of the tool that is those of you know that’s flying from back in the day when you called somebody was being like a jerk, all that is a real tool! And so I think Borix is referring to Boris Johnson!

roving explorer …………… 

Roving means roaming or wandering. not assigned or restricted to any particular location, area, topic, etc.: a roving editor. not assigned to any particular diplomatic post but having a special mission: a roving ambassador. Explorer means a person who explores an unfamiliar area; an adventurer.

I know William and Harry, when they were young, they were taken on holiday to the isles of Scilly. I’m not sure if Catherine has been there.I know that their children definitely haven’t been so this might apply to them as well.

I know that Beatrice and Edo have taken a car trip for their honeymoon there driving all around Frantz. Just you know touring around just like a regular old couple with you are young couple. I don’t know that’s what this is roving then it was the explorers. 

phew! What a scorcher …………… 

I read it was 31°C in the UK today. And in speaking with a friend the last couple days have been quite warm. But I watch the BBC weather and it says it supposed to cool down a little bit so that’s good but it is the middle of summer right so you want the nice!! The other major scorcher that I am thinking of is the unsealing of documents in the GM case currently before the judge in New York City. I made a PDF And it’s currently sitting in my iBooks waiting for me to read it. Which I will at some point I’m just not in the mood for that today but yeah I will read it. So lots of hot stuff all around lots and lots! If you’re out please remember to use sunscreen and drink a lot of fluid! And don’t forget your for babies they get hot with their fur,  kids know that I don’t need to tell you that right right!

Lions Arm-y…………… 

A tourist had part of his arm ripped off by a lion as he slept in a tent alongside his wife during an exclusive African safari organised by a British travel firm. The snarling beast ripped part of Patrick Fourgeaud’s left arm off during the horrifying mauling in the Ruaha National Park, in Tanzania.His wife, Brigitte Fourgeaud, 63, said: ‘I will never forget that moment when I woke up to see the lion there.'I thought we were both going to die. The attack will stay with me for the rest of my life.'🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😮😮😮😮😮😮😬DM. OK what the heck? This happened in 2015! Why is this news today in the daily mail? What on earth I did that short story? Stories stories stories? Thank you got it! I’m talking to the software, I have truly lost my marbles! A few marbles I did have left rolling around in my head talking to this software and then talking through the software and then talking to the software oh my stars and garters!! This article even has photos which I will not include! sometimes I think they just put things in there just for sensationalize ation you spell sensationalize ation that’s not how you spell it sensationalize ation know that’s not how you spell it let me do it let me do it stop shut off shut off, sensationalization! Hair that’s how you spell it no I didn’t say here I said there that’s how you spell it! Whooooo it is in a mood today kids oh my gosh it’s been like this all day and I hope it doesn’t hear me. I hope it doesn’t hear me because it is very difficult selling very difficult today not selling or selling may be difficult to get spelling spelling has been very difficult today for this software and you know it’s OK tomorrow will be a better day right ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂.Oh I’m trying to give your kids a laugh I hope it’s working!

climate is a changing ……………

I think we’ve all heard about climate change and experienced it hotter summers or for us here is much milder winters with more snow. Talking about with the weather here. I think that she’s talking about the climate in terms of the mill you of how people are relating to one another in the last six months. The COVID-19 lockdown has left a lot of people out of money and with very short fuse is temporary and as we all know the Black Lives Matter movement has been all over the place and antifa has been involved in the UK branch of black live matter is very much a fascist organization. Now with the cancellation of Eid at the last minute and some stupid comments made by some MP that I will repeat his name but he basically said that he believes that it was people in the BAME population who were the most non-compliant with the facemask and all the social distancing. If the pedal on the brakes for the PM was not enough those comments by that MP, Sitting on fire all with Kinley nicely laid out and another piece of the wood that you use that to get with a call to start a fire it’s like pouring fuel on there and then hucking a match in there. You bet the climate do the relationships amongst different people in the world different populations different cultures you that there is changing and they are changing fast and violently. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 let’s pray let us pray really hard that it does not get worse.

 ( get well mr, skippy 🌈) ……………

There have been so many prayers said for you Mr.🐼. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you were home and that you are in normal sinus rhythm!! I want to thank you for sharing Skippy 🐼 with me and the whole world! That is a gift unlike any other! I wish you many many many many years of good health!💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻😊😊PG😊😊🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜

beaches,stay away 😱😱………………😁Me Shark attack in Maine!! It’s a chap on TV right now he’s talking about how they were trying to save certain fish and they changed some of the environment laws which now means a great rise in the Apex predator. And there is no bigger Apex predator except the killer whale then the great white shark! Oh my goodness! He’s saying don’t wear black  and don’t go in range of their hunting territory ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha well I think their hunting territory is water so it’s pretty much stay the heck out of the water ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha how brilliant advice from a scientist! Wonder how many years he had to study to learn to stay out of the water when you see great white sharks wow that is brilliant I would’ve never thought of that!! Now we’re back to serious.  😁livescience.commA fatal great white shark attack occurred in Maine on Monday (July 27) was only the state’s second recorded shark attack ever. But white sharks have long been in the waters of the Gulf of Maine. The second was this Monday’s attack, with a far more tragic outcome.  Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City, was swimming with her daughter when she was attacked and killed. A tooth fragment left behind indicated that the attacker was a great white shark.It’s likely that the shark mistook Holowach, who was wearing a wetsuit, for a seal, said Bob Hueter, a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory and also chief scientist for the marine research organization OCEARCH. Seals are common along the coastline of the Gulf of Maine, he told Live Science.😁

😁HURRICANE CENTRAL.Hurricane Warning Issued for Florida As Isaias Spins in the Bahamas; Weekend of Strong Winds, Heavy Rain For SE Coast. Hurricane Isaias (ees-ah-EE-ahs) is expected to strengthen as it tracks through the Bahamas into Saturday and then will move near Florida this weekend, before tracking up the East Coast as far north as New England next week.A hurricane warning has been issued for a portion of Florida’s East Coast, from Boca Raton to the Volusia/Brevard County Line.A hurricane watch has been expanded, now in effect for portions of Florida from north of the Volusia-Brevard County line to the Flagler/Volusia County Line, and for South Florida from Boca Raton to Hallendale County. A hurricane watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force wind, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. From Weather.com.😁Me now. I thought that was a very unique name for hurricane I’ve actually never heard that name before at all, Isaias! Oh I feel for people when it’s hurricane season. I’ve been so many bad ones and climate change is such a real thing such a real thing and we all know it. Pray for those people that are in the path of the storm. When I watched the weather earlier today, let me backtrack, when they forecast hurricanes or that’s not the right word but when they tell about a hurricane that there’s usually four or five models that they use to determine the track of the hurricane. The chap that was doing the weather, he said basically all the the the types of formulations that they use are basically all showing that same track that for the hurricane to go so that’s a really good thing there’s sometimes a really wide.😁Me

Peer- pressure ‘ O brother!! …………… 

Well the  PM handed out Peerages today.. His brother got one and a couple other chaps  also. The article I read the title was  cronyism at its finest I think. I am so happy  that John Bercow has a Peerage!  I really do I mean he served for years love him or hate him,he sure added a lot of colour to Parliament! I’m telling you I enjoyed watching him order!!order!! order!! all I can do I’ll hear that till my dying day! Sometimes I just go to YouTube to watch him! But I digress here is some information from the daily mail. 😁DM Cronyism row as Boris makes his own brother a peer alongside anti-Brexit ex-Tory chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond and Ian Botham - while Theresa May’s husband Philip gets a knighthood. Government publishes list of 36 new peers who will join the House of Lords.Boris Johnson is at the centre of a 'cronyism’ row after his brother was named. List is also headlined by England cricketing legend and Brexiteer Sir Ian Botham.Ruth Davidson, Philip Hammond Ken Clarke also set to join the upper chamber.Meanwhile, Theresa May’s husband Philip is set to be handed a knighthood. 😁End DM

tick tick bite!! ……………”

Oh I saw this in the paper today oh that tick in someone’s belly button gross! and then when I looked closer I realized it wasn’t belly button it was actually a hole in the skin was just absolutely terrible. OK here is I found it I found the article and here it is😁DM Two people in England are hospitalised after being diagnosed with rare infections spread by TICK bites.PHE confirmed case of babesiosis caused by parasite that infects red blood cells.Another patient has tick-borne encephalitis affecting the central nervous system.It’s the first UK-acquired babesiosis case and second of tick-borne encephalitis.😁End DM. So whether you’re in the UK or not chicks are no joke well chicks are no joke but if I said text I said chicks there we all text TICKS excellent! We finally got it kicks are no joke oh no it’s got kicks I think you all know we’re talking about ticks and the software is this software has been in a bad mood today. Anyways it is no joke! You need to remove them you could move remove them with a lit match or you can put alcohol around there or you can use tweezers to pull them but make sure you get the whole thing out of there. Check your clothes check everything and then give your scalp a feel to see if there’s anything in there if you’ve been out walking her out walking through the trees. If you have children you must do the same. If you have fur  babies you absolutely must do the same. You must check them all the time give them a while you’re giving them cuddles just check for any ticks.Because you do not want to get Lyme disease or an infection. And if perhaps you miss it and you notice of a red mark kind of like a target about the size of a quarter and I don’t know in other countries if you have a quarter but you can look it up online you need to go to the doctor for antibiotics like pronto this and I am being serious here!

“doctor, what’s growing on my arm.” …………… 

I almost posted this on my blog but I I was too embarrassed! But there’s a gentleman in the UK who had a bad infection in his perineum which is his personal area down to his anal area. He developed necrosis with his penis and it fell off. This is not a joke. But the doctors, after however many years of of him being deformed, have with his skin flaps on his arm they manage to fashion a sort of a penis. But for four years,this gentleman has had this appendage on his arm and at least the article I read there was no date of when that would be removed and then implanted In his genital area. Oh kids I don’t know, he said concealing it was a real challenge who can you imagine? Really but it’s amazing with medical science can do! I just hope sooner rather than later they can get that removed and put it where it belongs. They said in order for it to function in a sexual way he would need implants for that. But wow wow wow that’s quite the story and I almost put that on my blog but I didn’t.

Williams conservs film

Prince William to appear in new documentary about his conservation work. The Duke of Cambridge is  expected to appear in a new documentary about his conversation work. 

He has been filmed over two years for the ITV programme,  which has been announced as part of the broadcaster’s new autumn schedule.Well if it’s anywhere near as good as the documentary they did for Princess Anne’s 70th birthday it will be amazing. I don’t know what that documentary or a picture of them is still on YouTube I saw them with you right away when it was posted so I would highly recommend that if you get a chance to see that I would highly recommend it! Now back to Prince William.In the documentary, he describes how his mission to give nature a voice has felt even more personal since he became a father. ITV has said about the documentary: “The Duke of Cambridge reveals that young people hold the key to a more positive future relationship with the environment, and that their determined drive to tackle climate change has made him an optimist. “He explains how his mission to give nature a voice has felt even more personal since he became a father and that he wants to leave behind a better world for future generations. Working together to protect the planet, he believes that local communities have the power to protect and repair the natural world on which we all depend.”William has attempted to tackle the illegal wildlife trade through his umbrella body United For Wildlife.For more than five years the organisation’s Transport Taskforce has been working to facilitate collaborations between the transport sector and law enforcement agencies to prevent wildlife trafficking. Information from standard.co.uk

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

Thank you MM Anon…and for the well wishes for Mr. Skippy!😊❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Friday July 31/20

Thank you PG!  Again, so much fun to read!  Thank you for the kind words also, so sweet!😊💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[benichi]

MangaGamer’s annual licensing survey 2020

As usual MangaGamer has launched a survey for which games they should localize! One of the few chances for the voices of us Otoge fans to be heard, so if you enjoy Otome (or VN’s in general) you should definitely consider voting :)

You can find the survey link [here]

The following is very similar to my post last year since some of the games I suggested made the list but haven’t been announced (another year another chance!). The info at the beginning is updated though, since we’ve gotten some new releases since last time, so some things have changed.

For the people that want to look up some potential Otoge Mangagamer might be interested in the [Visual Novel database] is your best friend! I’ve already set the search to “Otome”, but you can add further filters if you want.

You may ask yourself “What kinds of games might be a good suggestion though?”. Obviously I’m not involved in localization matters, but we can look at a few things that we’ve learned over the years:

1) Rejet and Honeybee have no interest in the overseas market whatsoever. I know Dialovers is popular, it ranks high in the survey each time. But putting the fact that Mangagamer is already well aware of this popularity aside, we also know that Rejet is not particularily fond of the idea that their games might be localized. Same goes for Honeybee (Starry Sky series,…).

1.2) Vice versa companies that have had some of their games localized (Otomate, Hunex, Kalmia8, Primula…) are likely more open to give the overseas market another go. Companies that have no experience with localizaion could be hit or miss, though on the other hand everything has to start somewhere.

2) MangaGamer will only release games available for PC at this point in time.

Those are the two main points I think. Games that have a more frequent release date (I’d say after 2016) might have a bigger chance as well, ultimately that may not be the deciding factor though.

As you’ve probably guessed I’ve also done my homework this year. So if you don’t want to search through the VNDB yourself or think that there is strength in numbers here are some games that might potentially be interesting to Mangagamer in my opinion:

(Small disclaimer that all of the following info is from the VNDB website, I did not translate or take credit for any of this)

Kannagi no Mori

(Opening Movie)

The protagonist Kinami Mizuki has been able to see things that others could not since she was a child.

Her mother, who was the only family she had told her to keep it a secret from everybody and Mizuki has kept that promise. One rainy night while looking out her window Mizuki saw a person walking in the rain without an umbrella. That person looked exactly like her mother who had died three days ago. –On a rainy night, the dead will return… [continue reading]

This game has a very interesting premise. The reviews I’ve read praised its story as emotional and heart wrenching which is always good. With it’s release date in 2018 it’s also pretty new. The Developer and Publisher have not worked with the overseas market before so they might be open to the idea of a localization.

Tricolity Eyes

(Opening Movie Vol. 1)

Tlicolity Eyes is a part of “triAngle PROJECT,” a collaboration project between Otomate and Frontier Works. Each series will have 3 games released in span of 9 months for Windows under the same concept: one heroine, two heroes, and triangle love.

Tlicolity Eyes theme is entertainment industry x love comedy x triangle love. [Story] ――This is a story a bit ahead in the future. Approximately 30% of the population have a magical power and are called the “Ability Users.” It is rumored that many of ability users are shining in the world of entertainment… [continue reading]

Honestly the biggest advantage of Toriai is that Otomate and Idea Factory are involved. They’re both familar with the overseas market so they could be very interested in working with Mangagamer. I also like that the protagonists are adults working a job, since it’s a break from the often used school setting.

Majestic☆Majolical

(Opening Movie Vol. 1)

The magician Lapis is the youngest daughter of the distinguished Idocrase family. Her parent’s and four brothers are all elites with great magical power. However Lapis only has lower than ordinary magical abilities, she spends everyday at magic school getting ridiculed as the ‘Burden of the Idocrase Family’. In order to go to a higher school she challenges a certain test. The details are to gather the 'Twinkle Gem’ that is created from a strong 'feeling’ in a humans heart. And so Lapis goes to the human world in high spirits, where a bunch of hard to deal with men are waiting for her.

I’ve seen this game on Twitter a few times and found it a happy surprise that this is a PC Otoge. Like Toriai it’s split into 3 different Volumes that focus on different characters. I’m really liking the premise (Witches and magic are 👌) and the art is beautiful. Reviews also said that the MC is great which is always a plus. This is the publisher/developer’s (dazkarat) first game so they could be interested in getting more revenue from the overseas market. Also might be a good partner for the future.

Suggestion for R18 Otoge fans:

Yoshiwara Higanbana

(Opening Movie)

It’s the Edo era. Lust and desire swirls within the “other side” of the luxurious and gorgeous Shin-Yoshiwara. At the long-standing brothel called “Oukaya”, the protagonist Chihaya works as its top-ranking oiran (courtesan). In order to go back to her motherland, she enterains male strangers day and night. Her unchanging everyday life… Yoshiwara might be a small world, but to Chihaya, it’s a treasured place in which she can prove herself. The brothel’s owner, Shigure. Her servant, Yuzu. The strong-willed fellow harlots that work alongside her. Surrounded by irreplaceable people, though her line of work is called “the world of suffering”, Chihaya is proud of being a courtesan… [continue reading]

Obviously if you want some R18 content Mangagamer is the right place to ask for it. I’ve been wanting to suggest something but didn’t manage to find a good game on my own since a lot of these titles have very unpleasant themes and just generally bad plot. A lot of thanks to everyone on Twitter that helped narrow down my choice!

I’ve heard good things about Yoshiwara Higanbana, especially that the MC is proactive during R18 scenes and that the story is good. Similar as with Majestic☆Majolicalthis is the developers first game, so getting more revenue from the overseas market could interest them as well.

-

As usual these are suggestions. I can’t and won’t dictate what others vote, that choice is yours :) Whatever happens let’s hope that there might be some more Otoge releases in the future!

+ Reblogs are very appreciated, since this post is filled with links it’s not going to show up in the tags (thanks as usual tumblr)

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Ways To The Soul

“So what kind of a soulmate mark do you have?” The question came from one of her classmates; she couldn’t remember their name anymore. It had been a good many years since then. But it was innocent – almost everyone asked that kind of question sooner or later, especially if the answer wasn’t obvious.

Not all of the ways were. Not everyone had a clearly marked countdown on them or a mark waiting to glow at the right time or a name written on themselves. There were less obvious ways, of course, such as sharing dreams or healing via touch or when one couldn’t see colors until meeting one’s soulmate. There were even a few rarer ones – such as those who sprouted wings upon meeting their soulmate.

And in all of her years, Asuka hadn’t experienced any of that. No signs or clocks or names upon her, and she’d never shared a dream or felt anyone else’s thoughts and she could see colors as well as anyone else.

But they asked. It was just a thing. Sometimes marks didn't show up right away, after all.

“You really don’t need to worry about it,” Fubuki told her one afternoon, not long before he was to start his first year at Duel Academia. “I mean, there are so many ways that you could find a soulmate!” He strummed a little at his ukulele. He still wasn’t very good at that.

“I didn’t say I was worried about it,” Asuka replied, going through her deck. She still had two years before she could start at the Academy, but she did have a very important duel against one of her friends that weekend and she wanted to do her very best.

Fubuki blinked at her. “I know you are. You don’t have to lie to me. You’re worried because you’re one of the rare ones.” He tapped his fingers on his instrument for a few seconds. “You know, I bet you’re a Name-speaker. So there’s no way you’ll know your soulmate until they say your name.”

Asuka debated the ethics of grabbing the nearest magazine and whacking him upside the head. It was a very tempting thought. She kept her focus on her deck instead. The magazine hadn’t been invented yet that could get through his thick skull.

Why won’t he believe me? As far back as she could remember, she’d never been interested in having a soulmate. Once she’d checked out a book from the library about all the different ways that one could find one’s soulmate, and spent a very informative weekend checking herself to be sure that she didn’t possess any of them. She’d contorted herself into many unusual configurations making sure that there weren’t any marks on her back before giving up and asking Junko to check for her.

She’d never had a mark. She decided at a very young age that she didn’t want a mark. There were a couple of people that as she got older, she found mildly interesting but that was it – a mild interest than happily settled itself into warm friendships over and over.

Time ticked by, as it had a habit of doing. Fubuki went on to Duel Academia and vanished before the ending of his first year. Asuka held fast to the hope that he would return – Fubuki carried a song in his heart, a beautiful melody that his soulmate would know the other half of when they heard him singing. Because of that, he would return. She held faith in that.

Being able to spend time with Ryou helped ease the loss of her brother. She never asked about the odd mark on his right hand – the one grayed out, as if his soulmate perished. He never talked about it either.

She met others who had marks or signs of some kind. Juudai proudly showed off the name on his left arm, written in yellow and green – Yubel. A name she’d never heard of before – nor had Juudai. He held out hope that he would meet them one day, though.

Momoe’s timer wouldn’t run down until she was close to twenty-five. Junko already shared dreams with someone who she wouldn’t name. A few casual conversations she overheard indicated other options – rumor had it that Ayanokouji Mitsuru and Kouchou Ran ended up as soulmates, having brushed against each other at a duel tournament and knowing in that moment.

Quite honestly, Asuka could hardly go anywhere without talk of soulmates. They were almost as hot a topic as dueling was. At least Ryou never spoke of his mark, and once Juudai determined that no one in school knew who Yubel was, he was far more interested in talking dueling anyway. Misawa looked forward to late May of the following year, when his mark decreed he would meet his soulmate. Manjoume didn’t have a mark either, but he told a few tales about how his family tended to have the rarer signs, such as being a HealTouch or a TruthTeller. He had hopes of turning out to be a Name-speaker himself.

Shou’s mark was different from Ryou’s. Not all family members who had marks shared them, after all. His mark wasn’t one o the visible ones – he couldn’t see color at all, and wouldn’t until he met his soulmate.

Hayato had a name on his wrist as well, not one that anyone recognized. He said nothing about it, but Asuka suspected that he hoped he’d meet this “Sugiyama Takara” when he went to Industrial Illusions.

With every year that passed, there were more people who had marks. Some of them didn’t ask about hers – she would forever be grateful that Jim Cook wanted to talk more about geology than the mark on his own hand – but there were always those who could not help but press to know about hers and so many of them offered the same platitudes when they found out that she didn’t have one.

Most of those were the same ones that Fubuki offered before, promising that there were so many different ways that just because she didn’t have one now didn’t mean she’d never have one. It could happen any time. Maybe she was just a late bloomer. There would be someone for her.

“Maybe I don’t want someone!” Asuka snapped finally, on a day close to the end of her third year, when Fubuki checked in again to make sure she hadn’t had any shared dreams or unusual emotions overnight.

Fubuki stared at her, mouth open slightly, but no words coming out. He blinked a few times before he did manage to say anything.

“Are you sure?”

At least he didn’t deny the possibility. She gave him that much credit.

“Not yet. But it’s the best option I see so far.” She’d never really been more than superficially interested in anyone anyway, and never romantically. Potential dueling opponents only interested her. Not to mention she hadn’t yet decided what it was she wanted to do with her life. She waffled between teaching – which did have an appeal – and trying to enter the Pro Leagues or entering research related to dueling. Ayukawa-sensei had also suggested that she study medicine for duel purposes. With more injuries turning up related to the game, those who knew how to deal with that kind of ailment remained in high demand.

There was just always so much to do that wasn’t romantic and she wanted to do it.

Fubuki drew in a long breath and, of all things, smiled at her. “All right. I’ll stop asking. If that’s what you want, then I just ask one thing.”

Asuka crossed her arms over her chest. “What?”

“If you ever do decide to date someone – with or without a soulmate mark – let me know, please?” He tried to look a little like a puppy dog but she’d seen all of his looks growing up. That meant nothing to her.

But what he asked, she could do. “I will. Just don’t wait for it.”

Fubuki nodded. Asuka suspected it would be abut a week before he asked again.

At least more people were finding their soulmates and thus had less to talk about with their marks. Juudai knew who Yubel was – had fused their souls together, in fact. Asuka had to say she’d never heard about that before. Hayato wrote them all a mass e-mail gleeing over having finally met Sugiyama Takara. They hadn’t started dating yet but Hayato hoped to ask his fellow card designer out for tea sometime in the near future.

Misawa had settled happily into the Amazon Village with Taniya. It hadn’t taken long before he’d built a device that could transmit between the worlds – sort of a souped up mobile phone, as he’d described it, and started to make arrangements for long-distance lessons. He would be graduating with them, even if he couldn’t physically be there.

She’d learned that Professor Chronos also didn’t have a soulmate identifier of any kind, and she’d spent some time with him just talking about how sometimes their lives were far less complicated than those of their friends. She would miss being here for him.

As soon as Juudai defeated Darkness, Ryou’s mark flared into full life again – as did the matching one of Fujiwara Yuusuke. They hadn’t spent much time apart since then, learning about one another all over again. A great deal had changed between the last time they’d seen one another and now.

Maybe she would develop a soulmate attachment or fall in love in a different way. Non soulmate relationships existed, after all. She could see it when O’Brien visited Sea God’s Priestess. But right now, that wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life, and she couldn’t imagine being any other way.

The End

Notes: Asuka is asexual/aromantic in this. She doesn’t have a romantic soulmate at all. If she were going to have a platonic one, it would probably be Jim and/or Mizuchi. I might go into further detail on some of the ships mentioned here, and ones I didn’t mention (such as Edo and Saiou, who share an emotional link once the Light isn’t an issue anymore). But not right now. I’m getting ready to start finishing WIPs and write stuff that’s not GX.

[fierce-little-miana]

Meetings

Here is my first entry for the @saitofest​ 2020 following the prompt Fond Memories  |  The Best of the Best, beta-read by the lovely and frighteningly fast and efficient @fleeting-blossom-of-the-dawn​ (thank you so much). Thank you to @impracticaldemon​ for organizing and @queengurako​ for helping with the information.

This is a onceagainbutwithfeeling fic about Saito arrival at the Shinsengumi. Technically this is canon compliant and historically ‘informed’ (just like your favorite period dramas are). Enjoy!

(and if I made a mistake in the way people addressed each other just know that I am sorry, I did my best)

Edo was not as loud as Saito remembered it. The city was as heavy as the summer heat, but it was more bearable than it had been two years ago, like a wound which had closed. People’s accent wasn’t singing to his hear but it wasn’t accusing him either. He found himself capable of walking as he had done in Kyoto, one step after another toward a goal. Yet, he still caught himself stopping for a few seconds, looking for something familiar. Nothing came, even the cicadas chirping sounded foreign.

“And this our main courtyard,” Inoue said pointing to a square in front of them. “Kondo-san likes to organize contests here.”

Saito nodded to his guide who was smiling at him. The moment lasted a bit longer than it was comfortable and he saw the man’s muscles around his mouth twitch, the smile never disappearing. Had he expected another answer? Before Saito could even try adding something to show proper respect to Inoue the man declared with some affability.

“Well I guess you would rather want to meet everyone Saito-kun? Follow-me.”

This time the man turned away without waiting for an answer. Saito went after him in silence letting his eyes take the courtyard in a bit more. It was very neat. He had heard conflicting things about the Shieikan dojo, not all of them good, but everyone agreed on the fact that it brought together unusual men. He was glad discipline wasn’t disregarded nevertheless.

“You studied with Yoshida-san in Kyoto, right?”

Saito’s attention snapped back to Inoue. Tentatively he answered:

“Ha…”

“You didn’t want to continue there?”

He felt no ill intention behind the question, just honest curiosity.

“I was unable to attain the Menkyo Kaiden,” he answered while putting his right hand on the hilt of the sword he carried on the same side.

It was Inoue’s turn to answer with only a nod. He did so after a short instant of consideration. Then he kept leading him within the compound. Saito wondered what it must feel like, to welcome in one’s school someone who had failed somewhere else. Surely no-one wanted a student like that. Still as long as the man was ready to guide, he was willing to follow.  

Saito could now hear voices. Two more turns on the engawa and they arrived in front of a room whose shoji were wide open to try to create some sort of draught to fight the summer heat.

There was a dozen of men in the room, training with vigor. Two of them were directing the session.  The first instructor was the largest and the loudest of the two. He wore a green bandana and was correcting a group of three men at the same time. Saito was first taken aback by his conduct, but he quickly realized that the advice he was giving was clear and appropriate. The trainees looked attentive and eager to satisfy his demands. His stance was quite good too. If his apparent physical strength was matched by enough kenjutsu talent he could be a dangerous opponent.

But it was the second instructor that drew his attention. He didn’t look much older than Saito but clearly he was the one who most set the trainees on edge. He walked through the room, apparently relaxed, but his pass had something feline about it. Something that didn’t bode well for anyone crossing him. And indeed, when a trainee started to get distracted and sloppy the man would stop in front of him and fix him up until he was somehow capable of correcting his form. This was not an efficient teaching technique by any means, but Saito had to recognize that the instructor was razor sharp in noticing mistakes and lack of discipline. His green eyes seemed acute to his surroundings. Unsurprisingly they had fixed upon Saito when he appeared in full view of the room.

He wasn’t completely hostile but not far off and didn’t even bother to hide it. Still Saito did not budge. There was something about this man that gave him the urge to face him.

“Hey Gen-san, who is the visitor?” a red-haired man sitting at Saito and Inoue’s right asked.

“This is Saito-kun,” the man kindly answered. “He has expressed interest in our dojo.”

“Hajimemashite Saito-san. I am Harada Sanosuke and this is Todo Heisuke.” he said while pointing to his neighbor.

“Hajimemashite!” the latter exclaimed.

Saito slightly bowed to both of them while answering in the same manner. He felt a certain curiosity coming from both men but none as potent as the one of the green-eyed instructor.

“Sano-kun are Toshi or Isami around?” Inoue asked.

“No, they are out on business and Sannan-san is with them. Considering the hour I doubt they will be back before tomorrow, probably enjoying the pleasure of a night out.” Harada added with a grin.

Inoue sighed before turning toward Saito.

“I am sorry Saito-kun, I thought you could meet and discuss with them today. Would you mind coming back tomorrow?”

“I don’t mind Inoue-san,” Saito turned toward Harada and Todo. “It was nice meeting you two.”

“Same,” the red-haired warrior simply answered.

His guide started to walk back toward the entrance and Saito followed. As long as he was in view of the training room he could feel the green eyes of the instructor on him, unyielding.

*  *  *

“What was that about this afternoon?” Shinpachi asked while entering to join them for dinner.

This made Souji focus. Finally, a conversation that might be more interesting than Heisuke complaining about his seasoning. The Shieikan dojo did receive unannounced visitors from time to time but they were rarely coming with good intentions. Having an unknown left-handed warrior walking in the compound was probably bad news for Kondo. What was Gen thinking showing him around?

“No idea,” Sanosuke answered while moving to the right to leave some room for Shinpachi to seat. “I wanted to ask Gen-san but he apparently left to run some errands just after escorting our ‘guest’ out. He hasn’t come back, so I guess he joined Kondo-san and the others.”

“Come on! You talked to them, you know at least more than Souji and I do.”

Sanosuke’s eyes went to Souji who nodded his support to Shinpachi. The more they knew the better. If people thought they could just scout Kondo’s dojo before making trouble they were gravely mistaken. Sanosuke sighed:

“He wasn’t much of a talker, we introduced each other that’s all.”

“That’s an understatement,” Heisuke intervened. “The guy was gloomy!”

“You might want to take a page from his book. I doubt he was much older than you and yet he had so much more gravity,” Sanosuke added with a smile.

They were getting distracted. Who cared about the gravity of the man? It was just another way to add to his humorless demeanor. Souji couldn’t care less about that.

“And was our dark and not-so-tall stranger’s name?” he asked while putting his chopstick down.

“Saito.”

Souji snorted. So, mister mysterious was indeed surrounded by secrecy. Did he think anonymity would protect him from retribution? That was an issue though. It would be complicated getting info on him with just his name.

“That’s extremely convenient,” he finally commented.

“Is it?” Heisuke asked. “How many left-handed Saito could be running around Edo?”

“Are you serious? Do you realize how many people have this name? I know at least three left-handed Saito. One of them is working in tea shop. She is taller than you shrimp.”

Heisuke tried to send his elbow into Sanosuke’s side for that. The red-haired man only had to move a little to dodge it. They kept fighting even as Shinpachi said under his breath:

“That’s odd.”

Souji’s attention was entirely on him now. Shinpachi looked absorbed in his thoughts. While noisy the man had a head for politics that sometimes lead him into long and apparently captivating conversations with Kondo. Souji never took part in them but he stayed around. Currently Shinpachi had the same look on his face that when I was about to make some decisive point. Unfortunately for Souji he was staring to get pulled into Heisuke and Sanosuke’s oral jab.

“Keep talking Shinpachi-san.”

His three companions went silent. Their eyes were on him. They were uneasy. People, expect Kondo, sometimes looked at him like that. Sometimes he knew why sometimes he didn’t. His voice tone was probably off. In any case that served him well.

“It is nothing Souji, don’t worry.”

Ah, Shinpachi was already recovering from whatever he had felt. Usual. Souji had to act quickly because if Shinpachi decided to ignore him no matter what he would then do, even more deliberate things, it would just slip on the man. But before he could add anything it was Sanosuke who surprisingly came to his help:

“Just tell him. He has the look on his face that says that he won’t leave us alone until he knows whatever he thinks you are hiding. He is going to be an ass all evening.”

Well he didn’t exactly like the formulation, and he had to fight back the urge of retorting something - he didn’t know what but something - but it worked.

“It is just that it reminded me of something. One or two years ago two idiot kids ended up dueling each other. One of them was a Hatamoto’s son and the other one the son of a lowly samurai. Surprisingly it was the Hatamoto’s son who was killed. Long story short it was quite a scandal and the lowly samurai son was forced to flee Edo.”

“And?” Souji asked.

“I think the kid was left-handed.”

Souji found nothing to say to that, nor was Shinpachi ready to tell him more. Slowly the evening meal went back to its normal rhythm. While the chatter grew around him, Souji considered what he just learned. It didn’t mean that mystery man was the lowly samurai son of course. It was probably just a coincidence. And even if it wasn’t, having killed someone wouldn’t give his adversary an edge on him.

He forced his hands to open. At some point they had contracted on his hakama. No, whoever this man was, whatever he had done, it wouldn’t change a thing.

*  *  *

Saito came back. This time no-one was there to welcome him. He had hesitated at the gate. Wandering alone, and armed, in a dojo was a bad idea. Especially considering that he didn’t come to make enemies. Still he had been told to return today, so he entered.

He was able to come right to the middle of the Shieikan, where he had witnessed the training session the day before. Today the shoji were closed and it felt as if he had failed something. The cicadas were singing again making the day look like a distorted repeat of his first visit. He didn’t particularly like hot weather, but he usually endured it without a complaint. Right now, it was more suffocating than ever. He would have been lying if he said that at this moment he didn’t consider turning back, yet he called out:

“Pardon me, is anyone in?”

There was a movement on his right. The four men he had noticed in the training room yesterday were standing in the shadow of an engawa. The green eyes were once again fixed on him.

“Who is it?” the instructor asked looking like he had very much been waiting for him. “Did he come to challenge our school?”

Saito was expecting that. There was apparently no-one else around despite Inoue’s word. Probably they had made their decision before he came back and let their best students handle him. He saw no point in correcting their wrong assumption. The man was spoiling for a fight. The three others weren’t as antagonistic, but they didn’t look ready to stop their peer either. Well he was used to that. He could give the man what he was looking for.

Facing his silence, the green-eyed instructor joined him. His mouth was smiling but his eyes weren’t, and his informality had an edge to it.

“Follow-me.”

He went into the training room with him, the three other men following behind. Today the room was mainly closed which gave it a stifling atmosphere. His interlocutor gave him a bokken and they faced each other. The green-eyed man was still smiling when he started speaking again with faked candor in his voice:

“I still haven’t asked for your name yet, haven’t I? I guess I might as well ask while you can still talk.”

“Saito Hajime,” he simply answered unfazed by the bravado of his adversary.

“Saito-kun, ne? I am Okita Souji, nice to meet you.”

His surprise and his politeness were feigned but his confidence wasn’t. Saito assured his grip on the bokken.

“Shinpachi-san, could you act as our referee?” Okita suddenly asked to the other instructor.

“Sure,” he answered with a bit of hesitation.

The man took his place before turning toward Saito, much to his surprise:

“Hey, are going to be okay? Souji’s the star student of our dojo.”

“There is no need for concern,” Saito answered and he took his stand.

Okita’s smile grew wider and he joined Saito. There was a short moment in which their bokken touched and they were only facing each other. Both of them were intensely focused and Saito had no trouble believing what Shinpachi had said.

“Hajime!”

Saito kept his stance as it was but Okita changed his guard calmly, bringing his bokken behind him. Fine he would engage.

He went toward Okita at full speed aiming for his head. His adversary seemed surprised for a split-second but managed to dodge. Saito carried on with multiple thrusts, nearly landing a blow several times. Still he didn’t manage to actually make a hit. Okita finally warded his attack off and Saito was forced to draw back.

That was unexpected but not as much as the nearly immediate counterattack he barely managed to fend off. He was good. Very good. Saito hadn’t had an adversary like that in ages, forcing him on the defensive. He took a vicious blow on his left side, several inches under the heart. It should have taken his breath away, but he gritted his teeth and put all his weight in a counter blow that allowed him to regain some edge.

The referee had screamed something that Saito barely registered. He had to focus on his adversary, thankfully Okita seemed in the same mindset. They traded several other blows, perfectly countering each other none of them managing to gain the upper hand.

At some point they came to a halt, if one could call it that. Their bokken were pushing against each other and both of them were putting as much of their weight in their confrontation as they could without risking unbalance. Okita was panting as much as him but he still surprisingly managed to speak:

“You are stronger than I expected. No one’s been able to dodge my thrusts before.”

“You are the first person I fail to defeat in my first move.”

Okita smiled more earnestly this time, a bizarrely gratifying sight. Unfortunately for Saito his adversary was considerably taller than him and his superior size ultimately gave him the advantage in their current confrontation. He was once again thrown a few steps backward and they started giving and repelling blows. Someone else was screaming now. Saito didn’t recognize the voice and had no time to try to.

Suddenly Shinpachi and Todo were on Okita. Saito barely managed to take a step back in surprise before Harada caught his right arm. It took an enormous effort from Saito to break his fight like that, but he recognized an immediate request to stop when he saw one. He went still trying to find his breath back. In front of him Okita was struggling against the two men who had more or less physically restrained him. His eyes were still fixed on Saito.

Now that he was a bit more able to take his surroundings in Saito noticed that two men had arrived, one of them looking quite angered by what he saw but it was the other one who spoke:

“You were quite impressive!”

The compliment surprised him. He wasn’t used to this. He took two more breaths in before messily answering with a question:

“I fight using a left-handed stance, does that not bother you?”

His interlocutor seemed surprise, as if he hadn’t even noticed it. It was the other man, the one with the long black hair, who reacted. Somehow his comment seemed to have made him angrier but strangely not at Saito:

“Whether you use a right-handed stance or a left-handed stance, it doesn’t change the fact that you are strong.”

Saito was struck dumb. He had never expected that, maybe a grudging welcome, but certainly not at total acknowledgement. The men were talking in front of him. He had to focus to listen to them.

“He is the boy Gen-san told us about. I wanted to test him, but I think this won’t be necessary, don’t you think Toshi?”

“Indeed, I don’t think it will be necessary Kondo-san,” the man with the long hair answered with a smile on his face.

Kondo-san? So this man was the head of the Shieikan dojo. Saito knew he was supposed to bow to him but somehow he did not manage to. His attention was fixed on the man with the long ponytail.

“So, would you follow us uhm?” Kondo asked.

It took Saito a minute to realize that the man was talking to him. He was supposed to introduce himself. By the time he had actually intellectualized this Okita was answering for him:

“This is Saito Hajime-kun.”

“Would you follow us Hajime-kun? We have things to discuss.”

Kondo and the other man started to lead the way out of the training room. He wanted to follow. He wanted it so bad he might have never wanted something as badly in his entire life. But he couldn’t. Maybe if he started moving again all of this would disappear. He would again be the left-handed warrior no-one wanted to be associated with no matter what.

Someone gave him a friendly slap in the back. He was forced to take a step forward not to fall.

“Welcome Hajime-kun, I am looking forward to sparring with you again,” Okita said with a wicked grin while going after Kondo and the other man.

Everything was still here. The training room, his uneven breathing from the impromptu duel, Harada, Shinpachi and Todo next to him, Okita, Kondo and the black-haired man in front of him. The welcome was new. It was a good change.