#also i just realized this is my first ship with yasu lol like in any version of him

[kowaindar0u]

[ from here | @melancholicblossom ]

Yasu hadn't even been paying attention. He was too focused on kneading the dough in front of him, that Souza leaning toward him had barely registered.

But then he feels Souza's lips on his forehead, and he freezes what he's doing, hands clawing into the mound of noodles-to-be.

"... What was that for?" he asks, eyes closed. His face is taking on a shade to match Souza's outfit. "I... I mean..."

[dazais-guardian-angel]

I was tagged by @angelofawhitenight to do this fun Touken Ranbu question meme~ Tagging @archerazzure and @catastrophy-cat to do it as well, but only if you want to.

1. What is your name and which server is your citadel in?

My name is Dana, and server is Houki no Kuni.

2. When did you start serving as a saniwa? Please display your battle records.

September 27th, 2017~

3. Which starter sword did you pick? What is he doing now?

Kashuu Kiyomitsu. <3 I used to use him and Yasusada a lot because they were two of the swords I got to level 99 the quickest, but I haven’t used him in a while simply because I have stronger swords than him now that work better than I did before. I still love you, Kashuu!

4. Who is the first among your swords to reach the maximum level? What do you think of him?

I’m pretty sure it was Kogitsunemaru! I got him pretty early on as my first super rare sword, and so that’s one of the reasons I’m very fond of him. <3 He’s adorable and a sweetheart.

5. Who do you have in each of your squads, and how do you use them? If you haven’t unlocked all four teams yet, briefly describe how you plan to organize them.

Hate to disappoint, but I don’t really make much use of the separate teams lol; I just switch out people on Unit 2 depending on what the current event requires of me. Usually the team I like to go with is Jiroutachi, Taroutachi, Ishikimaru, and Iwatooshi all at level 99 and whatever two other strongest swords I have I think best fit, though now I can add Hotarumaru since he’s nearly at level 99 too, and I also finally have gotten a handful of kiwame tantous and a few kiwame wakizashis and uchigatanas, so I can use those too if I need to. Unit 1 I use solely to put an extra Yasusada I kept in the captain position so that he’s always my attendant sword and I always see him and hear his music on my citadel screen. >.>

6. Without considering the performance of the swords, which type of sword do you prefer?

Hmmm.... I guess the uchigatanas, since that category contains most of my favorites lol. But I love the tantous too; they’re so cute. ><

7. Next, we come to the usual questions. List the swords that you like and your thoughts on them.

Time to make this post unnecessarily long! :’D

Yamatonokami Yasusada - Hands down favorite sword in the game, he’s my pure precious child who needs a million hugs and love and comfort and he’s just.... ugh he’s so strong??? So brave? He’s so strong; he has one of the roughest pasts out of all the swords but he handles his grief so well. Anyone who thinks he’s whiny or annoying or talks about Okita too much can fight me, I dare you to. He tries so hard and has so much pain and passion and love inside of him; I know I wouldn’t be able to go through what he did and come out half as well... Also he’s just absolutely adorable, like my god how can you not love him.

Kashuu Kiyomitsu - Kashuu is amazing as well, and he also needs a million hugs and blankets ughhhhhh; his past too affected him terribly, and he closes himself off from it and tries to distance himself from it, the complete opposite of Yasusada, but it’s so obvious how much unresolved baggage he has. His insecurity about his poor place of “birth”, and his abandonment issues because of how he broke and had to be abandoned by Okita, both of which he tries to make up for/erase by making himself beautiful and hoping it will get him the praise and attention he wants from a new master, are all so sad. But it’s also so clear how much he deeply loved Okita and how he misses him as well, even if he’s conflicted about it and never lets it show because of what happened, and I hope that on his kiwame journey he will be able to truly realize and acknowledge this, and embrace the good parts of his past as a Shinsengumi sword.

Hachisuka Koutetsu - My ultimate favorite swords at the top of this ranking are the ones who I fell in love with through the TR musicals, and Hachisuka is definitely one of the ones where this is the most true, specifically with the second musical which focuses heavily on his relationship with his brother Nagasone, which is of course strained because of Hachisuka being a rare real koutetsu sword and Nagasone being a replica one, which Hachisuka uses to belittle him. Without giving spoilers, the musical’s version of Hachisuka forces him to spend extensive time with his brother as well as time in a situation in general that’s pretty alien to him, and he grows and changes as he ponders why exactly he feels the way he does, tries to figure out how Nagasone himself feels and why he acts the way he does, and eventually comes to a realization and understanding, and displays his acceptance of his brother in the most fitting and touching way possible. His development is sublime, and so this is my favorite version of Hachisuka and why I am so in love with him; there’s just so much potential with him and Nagasone’s relationship because of how different they are and their vastly different pasts (this applies to a lot of sword pairs, really), and so the musical Hachisuka is the one that’s canon in my mind. His kiwame just happened and I really, really, really hope it does a good job with him as well. <3

Nagasone Koutetsu - So of course Nagasone would be next lol, I love him a lot. He’s cool, funny, strong, pretty hot (lmao), and puts up with his brother’s shit so well, like damn that is some serious willpower. But he doesn’t let it get to him, because in reality he doesn’t care at all about being a “fake”, and I’m so proud of him for it. I still want to hug him though, because he still doesn’t deserve all those insults, and also because of course being a Shinsengumi sword is such pain and suffering :’’’’) and he has so much internalized grief, just like the other four do. Again, the second musical is mostly responsible for my love for him.

Izuminokami Kanesada - Katsugeki TR was my first introduction to the franchise, so even though I would later learn it characterized him prettyyyy badly lmao, I still fell in love with him first, like he was probably my first favorite sword when I still knew very little about TR. Now that I know that he’s really a giant dork with such a big heart and so much passion and drive and adorableness (just like Yasu), I love him so much. <333 He’s just so good. :’) The new musical is all about him and looking through it even without subtitles had my heart shattered into a million pieces for him; again, Shinsengumi swords automatically need a shitton of hugs and therapy, ugh.

Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki - HE’S JUST A GIANT ADORABLE PUPPY. HE IS AMAZING AND SUCH A SWEETHEART AND I LOVE HIM. I fell in love with him in Katsugeki first and episode 9 made me cry. :’) And I kept loving him. He seems very different in the new musical and it interests me; I can’t wait to see what he’s all about (and cry some more).

Horikawa Kunihiro - Of course I have to love Horikawa if I love Kane; he’s so sweet, and such a good support for the other Shinsengumi swords. He’s wonderful. <3

Ichigo Hitofuri - I love how pure he is as a big brother with the tantous, oh my GOD. It’s just the sweetest thing; he loves them all so much and they love him. ;____; <3 Also his design is gorgeous.

Kogitsunemaru - Like I said up there, first rare sword I got early on, so I’m partial to him. I love his design, and his creation myth. <3 He’s just so sweet.

Yagen Toushirou - He’s a great big brother to the little tantous <3 and I love how he’s their doctor in Hanamaru lol; it fits him.

Tonbokiri - I fell in love with him in Katsugeki; he’s a BIG PURE TEDDY BEAR WHO IS SO SWEET. how dare you make me think he was going to die Katsugeki wtf how could you do that. I desperately need to watch the musical with him in it nnnnngh.

Yamanbagiri Kunihiro - What a cutie, with his cape that he refuses to take off for poor Kasen to wash and his freaking dancing flower with its own little cape. I hope one day he gains self-confidence despite being a replica. :’) I dread the day the real one shows up, if he does.

Nikkari Aoe - Love his design, and just his general demeanor. And his backstory is badass.

Ookurikara - He’s pretty stoic, but I like whenever he loosens up a little and lets out a smile; it’s beautiful. <3

Imanotsurugi - The first musical made me love him; GIVE THIS CHILD A HUG, UGH. He deserves the world, and he and Iwatooshi are the cutest brother pair. ;____; <3

Sayo Samonji - AGAIN, GIVE THIS CHILD A HUG, MY GOD HIS PAST IS SO SAD LET ME HUG HIM AND TELL HIM I’M NOT GOING TO SELL HIM. D’:

Iwatooshi - The best big brother, and he’s been a saving grace to me in many a battle so how can I not love him.

Heshikiri Hasebe - He is so devoted to the saniwa, like oh my god bless his heart lmao; he’s utterly hilarious and wonderful.

Urashima Koutetsu - He’s the one thing Hachisuka and Nagasone will always put aside their differences for and it’s just the best thing ever, and he always tries to help them become closer... it’s so good, I love him. :’’’) <3

Gokotai - HE’S SO CUTE AND HIS NAMESAKE IS THE CUTEST THING

Otegine, Nihongou - Them together with Tonbokiri is amazing, good trio.

8. Are there any pairings that you like? If there, please list them. (No limit on type.)

Don’t ship anything in TR, never. My favorite brother relationships though are the Shinsengumi swords as a group, Yasu and Kashuu, Kane and Hori, Nagasone and Hachisuka, the Koutetsu bros group as a whole, the Samonji brothers group, Imanotsurugi and Iwatooshi, Gokotai and Nihongou, Gokotai and Tonbokiri, and the Toushirous and Ichigo.

9. Is your citadel an employee-friendly citadel or a black-hearted citadel that works your swords to the bone?

Well, I never break swords on purpose or leave them injured on purpose while I’m not using them, but I do send them out constantly in order to complete events, which sometimes involves sending them out while fatigued if I think I can still win with them being fatigued, soooooo that might be considered working them to the bone. *shot* But when there’s no event going on they all get to chill.

10. Have you ever done anything weird to your swords?

how dare you ever imply I would, they are my bABIES YOU HEAR ME-

11. Have you ever broken a sword? What happened, and who did you break?

Nope, never; I take extra care to make sure I never do. I couldn’t stand breaking even another copy of one I already have lol.

12. Who loses troops the most in your citadel? And who is the most skilled at making troops?

I don’t know, no one seems to lose troops more than anyone else that I remember. And Yasusada is always my attendant sword so he always makes the troops lol.

13. Another common question: have you ever done something with all of your might in order to get a particular sword? Please describe what you did and the results.

Oh yeah, back when we had that series of weeks where there was a smithing campaign a week for six weeks straight, I blew a lot of money to get swords lmao. Spent money for Juzumaru and Oodenta, and got them and Monoyoshi. Wish I could have gotten the rest too but realistically that was a pretty good turnout, and I was happy with it; I have Sengo now because of the last event, and hopefully Kogarasumaru and Koryuu will come back later. The other most daunting time I had was the first Osaka castle treasure hunt event I was around for; I played relentlessly to get Hakata, Gotou, Shinano, and Houchou to drop, those evil little demons. Was dead of boredom by the end but I got them!!! Didn’t have time to even think about attempting Mouri lmao but luckily I got him easily in the next one, when they amped up his drop rate massively on floor 99 (thank god).

14. Are you superstitious? (www)

Nah, at least in terms of doing things in the game; I do think my luck comes in waves though and goes back and forth between TR and other gacha games lol.

15. What made you join the TKRB fandom in the beginning? How about now?

Joined because of Katsugeki, stayed because of the musicals. :’) <3

16. What do you think of the current maps? (For example: which map is good for training/grinding, which maps do you get lost in the most, which map do you want to burn?)

Meh, I’ve beaten them all now and don’t return to them much; I usually train in events instead that give a lot better EXP than the regular maps. Era 6 was a nightmare early on of course, but now it’s fine. 7-1 through 7-3 can burn in hell for how difficult they are though lmao; 7-4 is surprisingly easy if you trigger the long path. The worst thing about all maps tbh is the dice feature and not being able to choose your own paths (usually); I get that there needed to be an extra gimmick, but it’s truly terrible and unfair sometimes, like when you get right near the boss node with no one in the red for once and then the dice sends you into a dead end. :’’’)))) 3-4 can burn in hell for the first time I had to go through it to get to continue fffffffffffff

17. Are there any game systems or improvements that you hope DMM will implement?

I really, really would love for them to let you be able to turn off the spotlight search animation when scouting pre-battle, which takes up a good portion of battle time and is especially annoying when the scouting fails or when the battle is too easy for your formation choice to really matter, but I don’t think they will. :’D Just... speed up the map moving/battle process in general; letting you click through the EXP screen is a good start, more please. ....I also think that the game requires waaaaaaaaaaaay too much EXP for kiwame swords to the point where I don’t think they expect you to actually level them up a lot and just use them as they are (which.... you can’t just do because the uchigatanas suck at low levels as kiwame, and I dread the day the ootachis and naginatas get kiwames...), because no one possibly has that much time, so I wish they’d nerf the amount needed some, but I know they’re not going to do that lol.

18. If DMM cooperates on an event with another game/anime/etc., what would you like to see?

Not really sure... I haven’t started Bungou to Alchemist yet, but I intend to, and I know it’s the same concept as TR except with famous writers (I know this cause I’m a fan of the anime that uses the same concept, Bungou Stray Dogs), so I wonder what that kind of historical crossover would be like.

19. Have you spent money playing TKRB? If so, how much? If not, do you plan to?

Ohhhhh yes, as I said above lmao; I’ve probably spent like... $300 in total for materials, ofudas, and sword space... *sweats* I’m gonna need to buy new sword space really soon again, at least.

20. Is there any merchandise that you would like to buy or see?

Please, Good Smile, make nendoroids of Hachisuka and Nagasone already. There’s other ones I’d love too but those two in particular.... pls... I’d also love anime versions of the musicals, which won’t happen, but I can dream. </3

21. Have you done any fanwork (fanfiction, fanart, etc.)? If so, what?

Not yet, I do plan to though... definitely draw some of the boys, and I have a few fanfic ideas.... I just need to force myself to do research of Japanese history/culture because I’m so nervous about handling this kind of thing and afraid I’ll botch it OTL; I know the Shinsengumi members etc are fictionalized versions of them, but stilllllll I’m nervoussssss because they’re real people lol.

22. What do you think you are like as a saniwa?

I don’t know.... I’d like to think that I’d try to spend time with all of them so no one is left out *looks nervously at how I use the same swords over and over in-game haha*, and make sure that the ones who need it the most get the comfort and love and reassurance they need. Plenty of them are still healing from their pasts, and need space as well as hugs, and I’d want them to make sure they feel like they have all of what they need from and feel comfortable around me. <3 Overall I’d just want to be with all of them a lot, because they’re not my servants; we’re all one big family and they need me just as much as I need them.

23. If the government asked you to choose a sword to kill yourself with in terms of emergency, who would you pick?

WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THIS. I couldn’t make any of them do this to me, never; that’d be horrible. Unless one of them insisted on it, though I can’t fathom who. But yeah, I’d let them choose if it absolutely had to be one of them, but otherwise I’d just do it to myself in some other way. D’: thinking about this upsets me greatly

24. The government has asked you to write a report: how would you describe the situation in your citadel?

We’re all good here, chilling out with a nice round 70 swords; Hachisuka is currently away on his kiwame journey and I and Urashima are eagerly awaiting his return, as is Nagasone, even if he won’t admit it. <3

25. What do you think of the Retrograding Army?

I hate them; they force my poor boys into such anguished and painful situations (usually having to cause their previous masters’ deaths when the HRA tries to keep them alive OTL), and they’re ugly, and the yaris and those kunai things are a goddamn pain in my ass in-game. *shot* They serve their purpose well enough as nebulous enemies to fight and to give the swords their missions, but I really wish we could just get some lore for this world already; where does the HRA come from, and why do they want to change history? Why are the saniwa’s swords the only ones who can defeat them? Why do the kebishii fight both us AND them? There’s just so much I want to know that I don’t think we’ll ever get answers to. :/

26. Lastly, please say something about TKRB from the bottom of your heart!

I love this franchise so so much; I never thought such a superficial concept such as anthropomorphic sword pretty boys would ever be something I would fall in love with lmao, but here we are. I really have the musicals to thank for my love though; they really use TR’s concept to its greatest potential, with all of the emotion that comes with having to face your turbulent past and trying to overcome it and move on, and having to deal with losing people you loved and looked up to (the animes do this too though, I’m not discrediting them). All of the boys are one giant family, and they love each other and have fun with each other and bond with each other and grieve with and support one another; it’s just so wholesome and poignant. :’) <3 Not to mention that it’s finally made me wake tf and learn some Japanese history already, smh. Thank you so much for existing, Touken Ranbu; I look forward to much more time being moved by you and also tearing my hair out over trying to get every new sword! ^_^ <3