#Time of Battle ~Hanzou~

[claire-starsword]

The Guardiana Magic School Run - Part 17

Hey everyone, remember this? I sure don't! I was swept away by the task of translating the novel and, while this haunted my every moment as something i didn't want to leave unfinished, i barely remember what was going on. I do remember being not excited at all for the boring battle ahead, but hey, chapter 6 is a difficulty spike, so let's get over this already.

First of all, let's make things even easier.

We're past easter and egg hunts, it's now time for fish hunts. Hanzou pops out as a reward of this silly puzzle, which is leagues better than his original hiding spot. Also we get to enjoy more chapters with him. That's right, he's a magic user! Totally valid for this run.

I also thought you needed to click on the fish to find him but you just have to stand on it. So he just jumped out while i was busy typing, which scared the hell out of me, don't do that again, man.

Anyway, his attack is massive, surpassing even Max, but his defense is uh, on par with Tao's. That's bad (she does have a couple Steel Rings to have that though). Because of that, I'm passing the Repel Ring from Gong to him so that he doesn't have to worry about counters at least. We can do even better though.

I completely forgot in the last updates, but Waral sells a unique item, the Wind Ring, which grants +5% evasion. I don't think I'll be needing too much money for a while, I'm holding back on a lot of promotions so mages and healers won't be using the late staves yet, also I remember there is at least one free Holy Staff next chapter. Also, evasion is very ninja-like, isn't? So I get two for Hanzou, one for Gong and one for Tao. I also set Hanzou with some Healing Seeds and a Shower Cure, as I have some of these just laying around, I guess? I really don't remember a lot lol

Anyway, it's time to leave Waral for what I consider the most boring battle in all of this game.

It's the ship. Again. It was easy last time too. Yay.

Truly this chapter is the filler arc of Shining Force. It even got a beach on it.

Anyway, the clear bonus is the Soulbuster, which has already shown up in the Deals section, but would be nice to get it for free instead. I probably already talked about it when it first popped up, but who says I remember that, and who says you can make me shut up. So, the Soulbuster is a sword made for human enemies. There are not many of those, I think the Dark Priests count, but! I believe it counts for Cain. You can see it's being given right before chapter 6. And while this run has been easy so far, I still fear Cain. I ALWAYS fear Cain. So yeah, I want this.

Thankfully this battle won't waste our time with enemies behind the ship. We can just advance. I believe more enemies will be spawning in the middle.

Domingo is my greatest tank by far in both HP and defense, so he can probably handle whatever.

Arthur apparently has good defense right now, which always takes me by surprise.

I assume there's no need to stress here, so I'm spamming heals with the healers to get exp, and I don't think Narsha's Attack boosts will be needed even everyone's pretty strong already, so I'm Boosting Anri's spells with her instead. She levels up for her troubles and get Attack level 3, which I don't think I ever used.

Turn 2. Only a Sea Bat came forth. I'm bored. Domingo continues to advance and taunt enemies while tossing a Freeze 1 at it. Arthur finishes the job.

My plan with Narsha was to boost Tao's spells next, but she doesn't need it, so I'm casting step on Anri instead to see if she can reach enemies, because this woman is behind on levels and it's sad. It's still not enough for her to reach anything yet!! dang it!!

Turn 3. Trying to bait a pegasus knight with Domingo while still trying to get rid of this Gargoyle before it reaches anyone squishier.

how is he real

Arthur is poisoned but I honestly don't think that matters. He levels up and gets +3 attack.

Oh I'm remembering now how absurd this woman currently is.

Khris is so nice that she actually reaches to heal 3 HP of Arthur instead of spamming for exp only. With this she nabs an important level up! She has Heal 3 now, which was my main reason for delaying her promotion. I'm still on the fence if I'll delay until level 20 for Aura, depends on the equipment we'll get next chapter, and if I'll even get opportunities to safely use these priests for attacking.

Turn 4. Finally the pegasus knights are coming, and more enemies have spawned. Unlike what I thought they spawn further to the right. The empty middle of this map really was just to waste our time. Fiiiiiiiller.

Domingo has a chance to do AoE, and I love that. I am a bit worried about Anri exposed, but I'm hoping she can survive at least one hit, and that they'll also be obsessed by Max as usual. I don't wanna miss the bonus so I need someone to go ahead.

Arthur finishes the bat. Tao sadly cannot reach anything. Khris can, but I'm worried so I'll continue spamming heal for now.

Hanzou debuts with style! And then I cramp his style by failing to screenshot that caption properly, it was a double attack.

Max obliterates a bat with unnecessary violence (critical i failed to screenshot), and also does his most important job: baiting everything and anything away from Anri.

Unfortunately these enemies are so easy that she gets only 16 exp from a kill, I'm fighting a losing battle trying to get anything useful out of this.

BWAH???

okay i completely forgot that Max's defense hasn't keep up with the enemies in this run, I'm way too used with this man being a tank. At least he does have lots of HP to spare. And the other enemies aren't nearly as strong as the knights (knights have 30 attack, conches have 22 and the bats even less).

Thankfully Lowe moves right away to help his roommate. Also Arthur kills a conch on counter, which is awesome.

On Turn 5 he one hit kills another Conch and I regret scrolling fast because he gets another massive level up which i would've liked to screenshot. Lots of 4 and 5, you had to see it. Really wild how good he is if you put in the effort.

Tao obliterates the greatest threat we faced here.

I decide Max can just tank for a while and maybe, just maybe, Anri can get something more out of this.

Since the battle is ending I waste a whole Aura of Narsha just to heal Arthur's poison damage. She gets 20 exp out of that, which is wonderful, I love mass healing.

Hanzou continues to be wonderful. I was right about the rings.

She gets a level! :D

Turn 6. I start worrying about the bonus and decide Arthur should just kill the final enemy. Arthur proceeds to miss. Then Domingo gets a Freeze on the thing and I decide to risk things a bit and wait for Anri to get the kill. Not like she can miss, I'm just paranoid about doing things tight like this.

But never mind that! Everything goes perfectly fine, and she gets… 9 exp.

Please let this filler end already.

[insert screenshot of the clear bonus here, i hit the image limit but we did get it]

Losses: 0 Deaths: 2

[y0ur-val3ntine]

Self Ship FNF mod that actually has some lore put into it:

The NG polycule get their mod "Pico + Friends Back2School"

SOOOOooo the old School, the one from Pico's School, after the shooting it got all fucked up, so years later, they decide to destroy it and build a mall over it. So Darnell listens to the news and proposed to the whole squad to head over there, maybe spraypaint some stuff or just, spend some time in there for the funsies, for the old times.

But they weren't the only ones who tought about that, since inside the School, the goths have been keeping Cassandra (and Hanzou. Both brought back with some demon magic, Cass it's a demon-zombie-penilian being, Hanzou it's just a headless kindof-zombie)

So everyone just finds eachother inside the school and they fight (first Cyclops, then Allucard, then Hanzou)

Every member of the team gets to fight against one of them (only got the concept of Nene and Vale fighting against Hanzou, because Hanzou was the one who cut Vale's head in the og shooting) and the final battle it's everyone vs big Cassandra monster thingy

[awkwardpenguinproductions]

Debrief

Part 7 of the Dragon of the Yuyan

Read on AO3 | Series Masterpost

…the thunder of crashing boulders…

…Hwan’s green eyes, wide with terror, framed by a Fire Nation Infantry helmet…

…the heat of the fires, bathing his face with the stench of burning hair and flesh…

…Father’s voice, sneering “suffering will be your teacher”…

The shriek of terror and remembered pain is strangled in his throat as Zuko snaps awake, drenched in cold sweat and panting like he’s been tree-running for an entire day. The Yuyan dorm is dark and quiet, everyone is still asleep, and Zuko simply lies in his bunk and breathes.

It’s been a week since Chihese and Haili Squads returned from Huzhen, two weeks since the battle (slaughter) itself, and Zuko has had nightmares every night. Every time he closes his eyes to sleep, he sees the captive earthbenders dressed in Fire Nation uniforms as they’re buried by their own countrymen, feels the fire thrown by the Third Infantry Corps as they overwhelm the tiny Earth Kingdom company… feels his face burn as Ozai caresses him with flames.

He wants to climb into Kai’s bunk, like he has every time he had a nightmare or a major panic attack in the last almost two years. But he’s turning sixteen in two months, he’s no longer a child, and hasn’t been since he was discarded in the Earth Kingdom wilderness like an unruly and unwanted house pet. He can’t go running to his best friend every time he has a bad dream anymore. They barely fit on the same bunk anymore, anyway—Kai has always been tall and lanky, but at the age of twenty has topped out at six feet and gained the shoulders to match. Zuko himself has shot up to nearly 5’6” and gotten his shoulders early, much to Kai’s chagrin. If Zuko tries to sneak into Kai’s bunk, one of them is going to end up on the floor.

No, he's not a kid anymore. He can deal.

He slips out of his bunk and silently works his way through the Stronghold to the komodo-rhino stables. The stables are quiet but for the sounds of the rhinos shifting and breathing in their sleep, and Zuko silently scales the building to perch on the roof, facing the east.He's exhausted, but he never goes back to sleep after one of these nightmares. If he's lucky, he'll only have a couple of hours before he'd wake up naturally from the sunrise, but tonight's not a lucky night––there's several hours between now and dawn. He sighs, and settles himself to meditate, feeling his inner flame race through his chi paths and chase away the chill of the mountain night.

His thoughts refuse to settle, though. They race around his skull like trapped rats:

How could Hanzou do something so horrible?

It was an excellent strategy.

It was cruel!

They were going to be executed or imprisoned anyway.

It was dishonorable!

There is no honor in war.

Then maybe the war should end.

Zuko opens his eyes with a gasp. End the war? The war was meant to bring the Fire Nation’s light to the world, to demonstrate their superiority to the other Nations.

How in the depths of Koh’s lair does murdering an entire squad of captured prisoners in cold blood make the Fire Nation in any way superior?

But that’s treason, to think like that. Zuko has given up on attempting to feel anything other than fear and contempt for Ozai, has given up believing in the power of his royal blood after being so very thoroughly disowned by his father and Fire Lord, but he is still a citizen of the Fire Nation, a loyal one.

But… how can he claim loyalty to a nation that commits crimes against other humans in the name of spreading greatness? He has no doubt that Ozai will reward Lieutenant General Hanzou handsomely for his actions at Huzhen—the Fire Lord has demonstrated repeatedly that he cares little for his own people, let alone helpless enemy prisoners of war, and will commend Hanzou for his creativity in solving two problems in such a simple action. This will encourage (has encouraged, Zuko can never forget his failure to prevent the death of the 41st) other generals to try equally ruthless tactics to earn the Fire Lord’s favor for themselves, perpetuating his bloodlust all over the world. Ozai has turned Sozin’s admittedly megalomaniacal dream of spreading Fire Nation greatness into a nightmare of fire and death for the other nations, and has turned the Fire Nation into exactly the kind of savages his people are taught to believe the other nations are.

This war has to end, and it can’t end with a Fire Nation victory. If that makes him a traitor to the Fire Nation, then so be it, but he would rather save his nation’s soul than perpetuate its cruelties. He doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but there’s got to be some way to end the fighting, end the war, without the complete destruction of one side or the other.

Uncle Iroh had come back from the Siege of Ba Sing Se with an urn containing the ashes of Cousin Lu Ten’s body and a quiet but powerful belief in the importance of balance. In oneself, in one’s life, and in the world itself. Zuko had thought the old man had gone a little nuts from the trauma of losing Lu Ten, but now… now he can kind of see what his uncle was talking about. It makes Zuko wonder if Uncle, too, saw how the Fire Nation was destroying itself as its leaders destroyed the world.

He can’t let it continue.

Terrified green eyes wide in a pallid face framed by a Fire Nation Infantry helmet…

A shoe scuffs almost silently on the roof, and Commander Toshiaki steps out of the darkness and settles himself a polite distance from Zuko.

Zuko’s nerves buzz and he has to consciously keep himself from tensing up. Damn his luck. The moment he makes the conscious decision to commit treason against the Fire Nation, and who shows up but his Agni-damned commanding officer.

The Commander softly snaps his fingers, and Zuko automatically gives him his attention.

It’s not uncommon for soldiers to have trouble sleeping after their first taste of combat, he signs, slow and easy, his expression serene.

Zuko grits his teeth. That wasn’t combat, Commander, he replies, signs sharp. That was a slaughter.

He fully expects to be reprimanded, but the Commander merely bows his head in concession.

I agree.

Zuko watches in mild shock as the Commander continues.

What happened at Huzhen was a tragedy and should never have happened, he signs. What happened to the 41st Division was a tragedy and should never have happened. The Siege of Ba Sing Se, the predations of the Southern Raiders, the attack on the Northern Water Tribe, the destruction of Taka… the genocide of the Air Nomads. All tragedies, none of which should have ever happened.

Zuko watches as his superior hesitates, just for a split second, completely invisible to a civilian's eye but as obvious and shocking as lightning.

Your farce of an Agni Kai was a tragedy, and should never have happened, Commander Toshiaki finishes, looking Zuko in the eye.

For moments that feel like years, neither of them move. Zuko barely dares to breathe. But when several minutes pass and the Commander makes no move to attempt to restrain him for arrest and return to Caldera, Zuko tentatively raises his hands.

How long have you known?

The Commander smiles wryly. I'd had no idea until Dr. Atsuko told me about two weeks after your arrival. Apparently her uncle was present.

Zuko does not want to talk about this, but his hands move without his permission. Him and the entire fucking Caldera, he snaps out, feeling the flash of heat over his eye that always accompanied even a passing thought of the spirits-damned mockery of a duel that was meant to end his life.

The Commander is still. Waiting, endlessly patient, like the hunter he's been training Zuko to be for almost two years.

Why didn't you turn me in? Zuko asks, morbidly curious. He hadn't hidden his identity, he'd just known that after six months of living by himself in the middle of nowhere, no one would believe him if he tried to insist that he was the missing Fire Prince. "Zuko" wasn't a hugely popular name, but it wasn't rare.

For a long time, the Commander doesn't answer. He just sits beside Zuko, not too close, and leans back on his hands and stares up at the stars. Zuko wants to get impatient, to snap his hands around the signs and demand answers, but he grips his knees until his knuckles and fingertips turn white and waits.

Finally, the Commander sits up, bringing his hands up to sign.

I have been a loyal soldier of the Fire Nation for seventeen years, he signs, not seeming to actually look at Zuko. I have done many things in the service of my country, but they have always been in line with my own morals. But that… that was a step too far. You are a child. You were a child then, and you are a child now. There is no action that you could take or had taken that should have been met with violence of any kind, much less on that scale. You should have been sent to bed without dessert, or made to write lines or do conditioning drills, not–

–Getting my face burned off? Zuko finishes, tilting his head and smirking lightly.

The Commander scowls at him, then a small smirk of his own breaks through and he chuckles silently.

I don’t know how to explain it any better, but after Atsuko left, I thought about you, and about how kind you are, and how much better things might be if you were Fire Lord, and suddenly I was doing everything in my power to keep you alive to become Fire Lord.

So I’m a bargaining chip. Zuko keeps his expressions and body tightly under control, burying his hurt.

NO.

He jumps at the force of the sign, at the way the Commander seems to double in size as he leaned forward with his shoulders thrown back aggressively, his hairless eyebrows furrowed low over his dark eyes, mouth turned firmly down. He may as well have been shouting.The Commander relaxes a bit as he continues to sign, but he still leans toward Zuko just a little bit in his eagerness. You are not a bargaining chip, Zuko. You are not some prize to control. You are the closest thing to a son that I am ever going to have, and I am so incredibly proud of the man you are becoming before my very eyes. I didn’t report you because what the Fire Lord did to you is wrong, it was cruel and despicable and the fact that no one else seems to have had any problem with it just goes to show how far our great Nation has fallen. You are a child, and I wanted to protect you and give you the time you needed to heal and grow and decide what it is you want to do with your life. If you decide to enlist officially in the Archers, I will be happy to help you falsify the documents you need and approve them. If you decide to move to Ba Sing Se as a refugee and live in peace, then I will do everything in my power to ensure your safe passage. He takes a deep breath, and folds himself into full kneel atop the narrow peak beam of the stable roof. It’s not a full kowtow, because he needs his hands to speak, but it shocks Zuko just the same.

If my Prince decides to take up arms against the tyrant Fire Lord, then it will be my honor and my privilege to dedicate my life and my bow to his service.

It takes Zuko a moment to realize what’s happening, but when he does he nearly falls off the roof. His spirits-damned commanding officeris swearing fealty to him, Zuko, the prince who was burned and thrown out of his homeland to die. This man saved him, risked court martial and prison and even death to keep Zuko from being discovered and executed by his father, and here he is, dedicating his life to some hypothetical and certainly suicidal bid Zuko might make for the throne. He can’t breathe.

Please… please get up… he signs shakily, and pulls on the Commander���s arm. The older man sits, but keeps his head respectfully bowed. Zuko gathers up the tattered remains of his composure. I don’t understand what you want from me. You would really just… let me go? After two years? If I said I didn’t want to continue being part of the Archers, or didn’t want to try to overthrow my father? You would just… let me go? He’s never felt like the Archers were keeping him hostage, but learning that his commanding officer knew who he was this entire time and had kept the knowledge secret is messing with his perceptions.

Commander Toshiaki looks heartbroken as he signs, Of course I would. All I want is for you to be safe and happy. If you decide to find that safety and happiness behind the walls of Ba Sing Se, then I will forge the paperwork required and escort you there myself. I would miss you terribly, and Kai may never forgive me, but I would rest well knowing that you are happy and safe.

Zuko is sorely tempted, the memories of Huzhen sending icicles up and down his spine. But his people would still be killing and dying and poisoning themselves and the rest of the world with their hate and unchecked aggression while he hid safe and contented behind Ba Sing Se’s massive walls, and he knows like he knows his own name that if he chooses that road, he would go crazy from the inaction.

He’s also tempted to hold to his and the Commander’s original deal, to enlist in the Yuyan Archers as soon as he was of age, but that would severely limit the kind of action he could take to try to end the war. He’d still be perpetuating the Fire Nation’s crimes, and he knows that eventually the dissonance of his beliefs and his actions would drive him just as crazy as he would be if he was hiding in Ba Sing Se and doing nothing.

There’s only one thing for it, then.

This war has to end, Commander, he signs finally. I want to have a hand in ending it. Do you have any ideas on how to go about that?

The look on Commander Toshiaki’s face is one Zuko has never seen before, pride so fierce and joyful that it makes Zuko’s face and ears and the back of his neck burst into flame with the heat of his blush. Only Uncle Iroh (only Mom) has ever looked at him like that.

You honor me, my Prince, the older man replies, and bows with the Flame. Zuko returns it, feeling like a few of the missing pieces of his soul have finally clicked into place.

They stay up on the roof of the komodo-rhino stables until nearly dawn, hammering out plan after plan after plan for every contingency they can think of, and a few that Zuko hopes will never come to pass because if they do, then the entire world is screwed.

In the end, they decide that Plan A is for Zuko to continue on as he has been, and enlist in the Archers the moment he turns eighteen. With his extra four years of experience, he’ll shoot up the ranks, and hopefully make Captain and have his own Squad by age twenty, which will provide him with command experience. Once Azula turns eighteen and is crowned Heir Apparent, it’ll only be a matter of time before she decides to seize power for herself, and by then Zuko will be more than ready to challenge her for the Caldera Throne.

It means another four years at least of war, of his people suffering, and that chafes at Zuko like sand in between his toes, but as he steps up his training in firebending, in swordsmanship, and in archery and stealth arts, he contents himself with the knowledge that this is the most logical path to ending the war. He cannot face Ozai. Just the thought makes his entire body shake and his mind race like a mouse in a trap. Better to wait for Azula to make her move and avoid the Fire Lord completely than to risk freezing up and getting killed for the hesitation.

A few weeks after the rooftop… thing (revelation? discussion? conspiracy? conspiracy), Kai corners him in the farthest corner of the training yards, where Zuko likes to practice with his dao.

What the fuck is up with you? He signs, sitting on Zuko’s stomach after ambushing him into a mild wrestling match. Zuko’s slippery, but Kai has height and weight on his side, and their matches tend to end in draws more often than not, but this time Kai isn't playing. Zuko's arms are trapped against his sides by Kai's knees, and the older boy is pressing down with just enough weight to ensure that Zuko can't break free of the hold, and his expression is pouty and annoyed but his eyes are concerned. Zuko relaxes into the pin, and simply raises his eyebrow.

Kai rolls his eyes, and gets up. Zuko sits up and takes a few deep breaths, but otherwise doesn't move.

Well? Kai demands, signs sharp with impatience, standing on the balls of his feet as though ready to move at a second's notice. You've been so weird since we got back from Huzhen. Honestly, I expected the nightmares, I've had them too, but you've stopped going to the stables and the hawks and you barely talk to anyone! All you do is train, you barely even eat or sleep! What the actual fuck, Zuko?

Oops. Zuko winces, scratching the side of his head. He hadn't meant to get so wrapped up.

You're right, he signs. I'm sorry, I've had a lot on my mind recently

.Kai frowns, and settles himself on the ground directly in front of Zuko. Talk to me. Maybe I can help, or at least be a friendly ear.

Zuko barely has to think about it for a second. Kai is his best friend, his brother in everything but blood, and he trusts him even more than he trusts the Commander at times.

He explains everything. His identity as the (former) Crown Prince, the Agni Kai, his abandonment in the wilderness. How the massacre at Huzhen had made him realize what the war was doing to their country, to their people. How the Commander had known all of this time exactly who he was, and how the man is helping him in his conspiracy to commit treason by simply being alive and planning to take back his throne when his scheming sister makes her play for it.

Through it all, Kai's eyes never leave his body, taking in everything. There are several points where it looks like the older boy (older man, Kai is twenty now, and when on earth did they all grow up?) might interrupt, but he restrains himself admirably. His face is pure rage when he learns how Zuko got his scar, and again when Zuko describes the realization that he had been left for dead in the mountains, but he doesn't move. When Zuko is finished, his hands and brain exhausted, Kai sits for a few moments, eyes closed.

You know, I always thought it was weird that an obviously full-blooded Fire Nation kid just randomly showed up here, he finally muses. Especially one so obviously noble-blooded.

So you’re not mad? Zuko didn’t think he would be, Kai loves a good prank, but it’s always helpful to know where he stands so that there aren’t any surprises.

Kai chuckles silently, and digs a knuckle into the top of Zuko’s head. Dumbass, he signs, grinning crookedly, his eyes warm with affection. You were doing what you needed to do to survive. Nothing wrong with that. I was just worried about you— there’s all sorts of horror stories about bad reactions soldiers have to their first combat experience. I wanted to make sure you weren’t trying to do anything stupid.

Thanks, Kai, Zuko signs, grinning.

I got your back, Prince Danger Noodle, Kai replies, winking at him.

With Kai in the loop, Zuko’s archery training takes off, as the older Private teaches Zuko everything he knows about hitting exactly where he aims every single time, no matter the conditions. They drill relentlessly, in any spare moment that Zuko’s not practicing his firebending or his dao.

The summer fades, and Zuko celebrates his sixteenth birthday by breaking into Shinu’s office, stealing the three massive jugs of baijiu the Colonel keeps there, and getting impressively drunk with Kai, Jiyoti, Min-Seo, and some of the other younger soldiers stationed at the Stronghold. He doesn’t remember much past the first several swallows, but he does remember it being one of the single best birthdays he’s ever had. Then the hangover hits in the morning, and he spends PT wishing that someone would shoot him and end his misery. Captain Hiroki and Commander Toshiaki are entirely unsympathetic, and Master Ryoichi gleefully pummels him in sparring, taking advantage of his infirmity to teach Zuko how to fight while impaired. It's grueling, and surprisingly vicious for the usually fair-minded Master, with any number of assailants jumping in and out at any given moment, but Zuko manages a pretty solid win, despite his spinning head and churning gut. Afterward, as Zuko sits on the side and wishes for a dark hole to crawl into, the Master announces that Zuko is a Firebending Master. Zuko responds by throwing up at the Master's feet.

Fall passes, and Zuko makes a consistent habit of breaking into the Stronghold's communications hub and reading every report he can get his hands on, with specific attention paid to the Fire Nation Army's movements in the Earth Kingdom. He learns everything he can, memorizes codes, locations, and personnel, some tiny, paranoid part of his mind urging him that no knowledge is wasted, even if it would be rendered obsolete within the next week. Despite obsolescence, no report is ever thrown away–– the hub contains scrolls dating back to Pouhai's founding as a frontier garrison in the very early days of the war, only weeks younger than the Yu Dao colony. It's here that Zuko encounters a written account of the Avatar legend, copied for posterity on the fiftieth anniversary of Sozin's attack on the Air Temples and then shoved in the back of the shelf and forgotten. Zuko skims it, reads maintains balance between the Four Nations, and finds himself wondering for a moment what life might have been like had the Avatar cycle not been broken. Then he shakes his head, replaces the scroll, and goes back to reading reports from the Southern Raiders.

On a freezing winter morning, as Zuko and his squad sit down to breakfast and tease Kai for still being half asleep, a herald reads a proclamation from the Caldera.

"The Avatar has returned, and is wanted alive for treason against the Fire Nation."

The mess hall is silent. Zuko nearly chokes on his tea. Unbidden, his eyes fly to Commander Toshiaki, who has gone white to the lips, but otherwise is composed.

The Avatar has returned.

This, Zuko thinks, as he listens to the silence break to the shattering sounds of all of his plans, changes everything.

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[gobureis]

My personal SW5 impressions of characters after playing the game once (plus some lol)  

note: I’m talking about all of them as characters in a video game. 

----

Nobunaga - ngl I love him. I feel his depiction might become a bit controversial among fans, but as a story it’s great imho.

Mitsuhide - I love him too lol deep down he’s pretty similar to his SW4 counterpart, but he also isn’t. He made different choices, and there are different settings (i.e. Akechi castle being burned down and his whole family dying) that made a difference, and then there’s his relationship with Nobunaga [but it isn’t just Nobunaga who influences Mitsuhide]

Hideyoshi - he’s such a fun character. It’s always a hit or miss with Hideyoshi and me in various media, and I admit i wasn’t a big fan of some parts of SW4 Hideyoshi, but this younger version who is all about making it big and becoming a powerful daimyou is refreshing and fun. There’s some rivalry between him and Mitsuhide (mostly one-sided), and respect for Ieyasu. The Hashiba group (Hideyoshi, Hanbei, Kazuuji, Kanbei) are very warm and almost family-like

Ieyasu - he’s also a nice character. I liked SW4 Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan a lot, and you can still feel the bonds here as well. He’s very, not serious, but he knows he’s not good enough and he works really hard to become a good samurai. He’s very loyal to Nobunaga, and he’s like a puppy around him. It’s cute.

Imagawa Yoshimoto - he’s pretty much there only to be a villain

Shingen - I was never particularly interested in Shingen (and Takeda clan and Sanada clan as a whole in SW4) so having Shingen as the enemy officer only is like shrug (he’s fun in the Uesugi vs Takeda stage in Mitsuhide’s chapter, but his presence isn’t strong overall, I know there’s one Ieyasu stage where Takeda are with them but I forgot what it’s about)

Kenshin - LOL this time Kenshin got some Kanetsugu’s characterization so he’s very loud, very opinionated, and all about righteousness, which isn’t GI this time but TADASHIKI. At the moment, he’s a bit annoying (but I also felt that way about SW4 Kanetsugu at the beginning, and he’s among my faves now, so...)

Mouri Motonari - he’s also there to be a villain and he does it well. He’s not a nice grandfather, he’s dark and shrewd, and it’s very different from SW4. 

Azai Nagamasa - he’s different, I’m still not sure if in a good or bad way

Matsunaga Hisahide - he’s fun lol (I mean I liked his SW4 version, and I like his SW5′s one too) He’s not really a joke character anymore, and he’s VERY interested in Mitsuhide. I’m glad he stayed as a playable character.

Nouhime - (no one calls her Nouhime lol ETA: Sena does) she is a great character but unfortunately her ‘screen time’ is way too short. Her interactions are mostly limited to Nobunaga, but I guess I just need to trigger more in battle dialogues. I like what they did with her in the IF stories.

Mitsuki - she was such a delightful surprise. She’s written well, and I really like her story, and also her involvement in Nobunaga and Mitsuhide’s story

Toshiie - he’s pretty much the same as in SW4, he’s Nobunaga’s childhood friend and just follows whatever Nobunaga orders, without questioning it much (the furthest he went was before Hiei-zan, but nothing really came from it anyway). He has bigger role during the early chapters, after Mitsuhide joins Nobunaga, Nobunaga apparently forgets he already had a BFF? idk lol 

Katsuie - he became more handsome, but at the core, he’s pretty much the same Katsuie too. But this time they decided to make Katsuie loyal primarily to Oichi and make him her bodyguard (probably to avoid any potential creepiness considering Oichi’s age this time). Toshiie and Katsuie don’t really have any familial relationship, and Hideyoshi calls him “danna” lol

Oichi - she’s a... child, basically (and I did like the mother-like figure in SW4, especially in SW4-2), but she keeps growing on me. 

Saitou Toshimitsu - he’s extremely loyal to Mitsuhide and he follows him no matter what. They have a nice lord/vassal relationship very different from all lord/vassal relationships that were in SW4, so it’s refreshing

Yamanaka Shikanosuke - he’s a great character, he’s friends with Mitsuhide, and they both swore under the moon to become stronger, so they could protect those who were important to them, and that promise made them move forward. It’s a great friendship, but tragic. (as everything in this stupid game is) Although, I admit that at this time, more than his relationship with Mitsuhide, I’m more interested in his relationship with Mori Motonari and Kobayakawa Takakage.

Hanbei - omg I love this version of Hanbei a LOT. I feel like in SW4 he wasn’t around that much, and when he was I just focused more on Kanbei, but do I love him in SW5. His characterization is basically the same, but he’s also more soft? And more on equal ground with Hideyoshi, whom he calls ‘Hideyoshi’, and while their relationship isn’t THAT different, Hideyoshi’s personality and age makes it different, and I love it. Because of his time with Dosan, he gets a lot of ‘screen time’ this time around, so that’s great too.

Kanbei - Kanbei is... young LOL He appears pretty late in the game, so I didn’t have much time to really focus on him because this time, I focused more on Hanbei. Their senpai-kohai relationship is cute though

Nakamura Kazuuji - he’s... there. He has a nice relationship with Mitsuki, but we also never really see them interact properly or hear about their past (maybe the citadel events?), and he’s very loyal to Hideyoshi, so that’s cool too. Like I said above I like the Hashiba group. 

Sena - Sena is great, different from the other girls in this game, more mature. 

Tadakatsu - he’s like a big loud puppy who follows his master Takechiyo. I didn’t focus on him much tbh I’ve always preferred Ieyasu’s relationship with Hanzou, and that didn’t really change. And this time there was also Sena, so... Tadakatsu was... just there, more like an older brother than a vassal

Hanzou - also great. The age difference this time made some changes with his relationship with Ieyasu, and there’s no ‘shadow to Ieyasu’s light’ symbolism this time, but it is still a nice relationship. 

Sandayu - he’s a character that’s very present and he goes from a nice big brother figure to ********, but I haven’t really made an opinion about him yet. He’s a good character, but I like others more, basically.

Kobayakawa Takakage - hahahahaha he’s very self-centered and at first I was like you’re so annoying, but he also started to grow on me, so we’ll see (I definitely do prefer SW4 though). Although, this Kobayakawa and this Hanbei would work quite well together. I need to replay the Hashiba VS Mouri stages.

Saika Magoichi - he’s a nicer version of his SW4 version with no weird womanizer thing thrown in (yet). Unfortunately he only serves as a villain and you don’t really get to know his story, but he’s a person with integrity

Yasuke - Yasuke only joins at the very end of the game, and he’s very cool. He definitely works better than Ranmaru for what this story is about.

Oda Nobuyuki - he was a nice character. tbh they could have made him fully playable because he was present for two whole chapters but well... 

Okabe - idk you fight against him

Katsuyori - I like that Shingen calls him ‘Jirou’ LOL otherwise it didn’t really matter to me if he had a special design or not (but like I said I’m not interested in Takeda clan) - he’s voiced by the same guy who’s voicing Kobayakawa so when I don’t particularly pay attention I’m like why is Ieyasu fighting Kobayakawa? lol

Kikkawa Motoharu - ??? he’s there. he’s the muscles to Kobayakawa’s brain, I guess

Mouri Terumoto - he’s young, he feels the burden, but he doesn’t have much presence

Dousan - well, Dousan is Dousan

Saitou Yoshitatsu - at one moment he’s laughing like a cartoon villain

Asakura Yoshikage - he’s so good. He has a bigger presence that Nagamasa, and it’s a shame he wasn’t made fully playable. But he also never joined Nobunaga... he’s a really nice lord who cares about his territory and people, and does everything to protect them

Ashikaga Yoshiaki - your usual incompetent shogun, I guess

Mitsubushi Fujihide - I love him! He’s very loyal to the shogunate and Yoshiaki and does everything to protect him. (even though the shogun is the way he is)

aaaand done. Future me, how did your opinions change?

TOP 5 characters: Mitsuhide, Nobunaga, Hanbei, Hideyoshi, Toshimitsu

[skjebne-a]

DEVELOPMENTAL  STATS  SHEET.

FULL  NAME.  Hanzo Shimada MEANING  OF  NAME.  From Japanese 半 (han) meaning "half" and 蔵 (zō) meaning "to hide". This name was borne by the noted samurai Hattori Hanzou (1542-1596). The name can also be formed from other kanji combinations. island rice paddy. Japanese: meaning 'island rice paddy', but not necessarily denoting an island surrounded by water (see Shima). The surname is listed in the Shinsen shojiroku and is found mostly in eastern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands. ALIASES.   N/A DATE OF BIRTH.   December 27, 2038  PLACE OF BIRTH.   Hanamura, Japan ZODIAC SIGN.   Capricorn  SPECIES.  Human with prosthetics.  RACE.   asian NATIONALITY.   Japanese GENDER. cis  male SEXUALITY.   Demisexaul.  PROFESSION.  former yakuza head, assassin, mercenary. 

HEIGHT: 5’8’ AGE: 38

BODY TYPE: MESOMORPH

HAIR: BLACK TIED BACK MAJORITY OF THE TIME IN A BUN.

EYES: BROWN

SCARS: VARIOUS FROM OVER THE YEARS OF ARCHERY, THERE’S MANY ON HIS UPPER ARMS FROM BOWS BREAKING, AND SCARRING ON HIS SHOULDERS. SCARRING ON HIS LEGS FROM THE BLADE THAT CLEAVED HIS LEGS OFF. DISTINGUISHING MARKS: PROSTHETIC LEGS, TRADITIONAL DRAGON TATTOO THAT STRETCHES OVER HIS CHEST AND ARM, BRIDGE PIERCINGS AND EARS. 

SKILLS: PRODIGY IN ARCHERY, SWORDMANSHIP, AND MARTIAL ARTS. IQ: 147

FAMILY: SOJJIRO SHIMADA (FATHER, DECEASED) HARUHI CHIBANA (MOTHER, ALIVE) SIBLINGS: GENJI SHIMADA (YOUNGER BROTHER, ALIVE)

TRAUMA: SURVIVOR'S GUILT, PTSD, UNDIAGNOSED BIPOLAR DISORDER, INSOMNIA AND DEPRESSION. 

FEARS: NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH,

LIKES: READING, WRITING, MEDITATION, SWEETS, SAKE, ARCHERY.

DISLIKES: FIGHTING ( WORDS NOT VIOLENCE), 

WEAKNESSES: CARING TOO MUCH, OR NOT AT ALL, DOING THE WRONG THING EVEN WHEN HE KNOWS WHAT IS RIGHT, CONTROL ISSUES, TRUST ISSUES.

SKILLS: STRATEGIES AND TACTICS, LEADERSHIP. KNOWN LANGUAGES: JAPANESE, CHINESE, ENGLISH, GERMAN, FRENCH, AND SPANISH BUT BARELY ENOUGH TO GET BY AS FAR AS THE SPANISH IS CONCERNED. 

MORAL ALIGNMENT.  chatoic netural JUNG.   ISTJ

COMPASSION. moderate EMPATHY.   moderate CREATIVITY.  moderate MENTAL FLEXIBILITY.   high PASSION.  moderate STAMINA.  high PHYSICAL STRENGTH.   high BATTLE SKILL.   high AGILITY.   high STRATEGY. high TEAMWORK.   high,  ( DEPENDS ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE)

STRENGTH.  high INTELLIGENCE. high WISDOM. moderate DEXTERITY. high CONSTITUTION. high CHARISMA. high REFLEXES.  high WILLPOWER.   high LUCK.  bad

[nefeliibxta]

“ immortal history “ ll hanzou & yuna

@paradiseburnt

      HATTORI HANZOU watches the other – his expression unchanging, as he examines the NEW COMER.

      He had been stationed in UEDA momentarily. Hired by their eccentric L O R D, to help out for a short time. With the permission of the man he served p e r s o n a l l y – he decided to take the job. If it would help out the person he’d dedicated himself to? He minded little who he needed to work with.

      However: He’d begun to be more aware of an oddity of this group – apparently, they had h a d a Hanzo working with them before. A man who had . . . disappeared.

       THAT WAS HOW THE NAME “ H A N Z O U “ worked, however. It was the very reason for it’s existence. To strike fear into those who would fight against IGA, the immortal “ H a t t o r i ‘ H a n z o u “ would always exist. Whenever someone failed or fell in battle, another would be given the name. And if history ever looked back at them, Hattori Hanzou will have always existed. It was a seamless transition. No one mourned the loss of IGA’s greatest shinobi. Because there was no one to mourn. They lost their individuality the moment they were mounted with the “TITLE/NAME” that became their identity.

       “Are you another of the Brave’s I’ve been informed I’ll be working with, for the time being?” Hanzou asks, raising a singular eyebrow. He was a professional – he wouldn’t ask more then that. He simply needed to know who were comrades and who was just travelers.

       He’d already sensed the mood-shift around here, when he’d introduced himself to some of the others – his very existence proved two things. ( One: The title no longer belonged to their friend. Two: . . . he likely would never return. ) The title only passed when the bearer died. But, he wasn’t sure if this young woman was also a member of the BRAVES . . . Or whether she knew that particular rule or not.

[indigozeal]

Shining Force character POWER RANKINGS

For my game, at least.

Max: I recall him doing respectably in battle pre-promotion.  Unfortunately, during his tenuous post-promotion period, enemy strength ramps up and combines with the aggro system and cheating RNG so that every time I tried to have him get some EXP by finishing off an enemy  -  NEARLY EVERY SINGLE TIME  -  a stray monster would wander over and get a "miraculous" double attack or stunning attack that would one-shot him.  Also, since he's the main character, his death means an instant Game Over.  Though he gains monster stats with each level up late-game, he never got the chance to level up much at that point, as I was forced to leave him and his lightsaber ensconced safely in a far corner of the battlefield for my party's survival.  Unfortunate, 'cause that's a very snazzy post-promotion outfit (to quote Lore Sjoberg).

Lowe, Khris: It's neat that healers can be viable attackers in this game, and I like that they gain experience from healing.  Unfortunately, their range of movement is middling, and their strike range is very narrow, so that by the time they get up to where they need to be to strike, stronger fighters are already occupying their would-be attack positions (or the enemy outright defeated).  That leaves healing as their EXP source, but they get such a dinky amount per spell and have such shallow MP pools  -  two or three heals, and they're out  -  that it's not a viable method of leveling.  The small MP pools (plus how close you have to be your target to heal via magic, particularly given how choked your front lines get late-game) make healers nonviable from the jump, honestly  -  they can be easily replaced by giving everyone a couple herbs, with their spots in the party better used by more efficient damage engines.  Lowe is a nonentity, but I feel bad leaving behind the plucky, adventuresome Khris.

Tao: Yeah.  Every guide I read says, "oh, Tao's OK in the early going, but she's quickly outclassed by Anri"  -  but my Tao was never anything but first-in-class.  The ehhhh mage movement range can be a little limiting, but you don't want her unprotected on the front lines, anyhow.  Since spells never fail to hit, her magic was invaluable late-game, when enemies start dodging nearly every attack your physical fighters throw at them (honestly, those Chimerae).  By the time she learned Blaze 4, she was my reliable damage engine and tied with Mae for the most precious piece on the board.  

Luke: Luke is the same class as Gort, but for some reason, Luke always got to the front lines too late.  He was never much help and got left behind relatively early.  I've heard some folks sing the praises of how Luke grew into a monster tank in their game, but, welp, that didn't happen in mine.  (I do think a lot of the "this character is godly/this character is garbage" ratings are greatly influenced by how the RNG happens to shake out in a player's particular game; look at the character FAQs, and you'll see a lot of variation in recommendations.)

Ken: Ken was a mainstay in my party throughout the game  -  I think he sat out only one or two fights.  He did great damage most of the game but lagged a bit in the end, doing OK but kind of middling damage (and sometimes not even that  -  and this was with a Power Ring equipped).  Part of the problem was the lack of ultimate weapons for centaur knights  -  only one long-range, which Mae had.  He did have one of the two short-range ultimate weapons, though, and was still doing not terrific.  I've heard that Ken gets monster defense for most folks, but that certainly didn't happen with me  -  he was markedly more fragile than Mae, who was an M1 Abrams by my endgame.  But he could still take a hit and dish out a bit of damage, and he was helpful in a support role with herb healing and using his Power Ring to boost other attackers, particularly given his great movement range.  *And,* I can't forget, he was a leading attacker most of the game.

Hans: Oh, I loved Hans!  His little jaunty Robin Hood hat and his shock of white hair beneath and the jaunty (can't get away from that word with Hans) way he held his bow and his small streak of cowardice and his general elven sprightliness.  I particularly loved how he delivered reliable, considerable long-range damage in the early going.  He continued being useful right up until the end stages.  Unfortunately, he got outpaced by Diane and Lyle in the very last battles and sank into the less EXP->smaller damage->less EXP negative feedback loop, so I couldn't justify keeping him in the party (though, I'll be honest  -  he probably would have contributed more to the final battle than Alef).  I bought an Ultimate Archer Weapon for him, anyhow.

Gort: Like Ken, I kept Gort in my party almost the entire game, except for one of two battles.  Like Ken, he starts to lag a little in the end  -  at 30 max, his HP was a little low to tank, and he did slightly less damage than Mae or Hanzou.  His damage was still respectable, however (with, I *think*, greater accuracy), and he remained a front-line fighter, though he got flatlined a bit more frequently than the rest. His attack animation is kind of stupid post-promotion, unfortunately.  I think he was the one who landed the final blow on Dark Dragon, though, so who am I to complain.

Mae: Nothing but good to say about Mae.  Huge damage, huge defense, huge HP.  My #1 attacker, leader of my front line, and (with Tao) all-around best gal.

Anri: Like Luke, Anri just never happened to get to the front lines fast enough.  I left her in the party in the later going due to the aforementioned issue with enemies dodging physical attacks, but she seldom did more than, like, 10 damage. She landed the final hit on Kane in my game, though, so, vengeance there.

Arthur: He has a reputation for being difficult to level, and that held true in my game.  I gave it a really good try, but it just didn't work.

Balbaroy, Amon: Flying attackers with no movement restrictions sound awesome, but they do piddling damage and fold like origami paper.  I gave Balbaroy (the better attacker) another try once high-level swords were available, but he did unimpressive damage and got reliably, promptly one-shotted.

Diane: Another archer with an adorable design!  Her bright pink hair goes so well against her forest-green hat.  Diane had stronger attack than Hans in my game, so she stayed till endgame; her terrific range and respectable damage (even at the end) made her a cornerstone of my team  -  she could take out or weaken enemies that were far away or on different tiers before they became a threat, and she could deal damage to tougher foes without taking positions away from front-line attackers. (You never learn in-game that she’s Tao’s sister!  What the hell is with that?!)

Zylo: Zylo's great.  His promotion hurts him: though he gained numerous levels and felled many foes afterward, he never regained the sheer battlefield dominance he had pre-promotion.  But he remained one of my front-line fighters, and his huge range of movement is formidable.  His post-promotion attack is markedly less cool (and seems to be less accurate) than his pre-promotion attack. (Side note: Back in the '90's, I subscribed to this RPG fanzine called Shining Forth, whose owner loved Zylo.  I therefore have fond memories of Zylo that date back before I even played his game.)

Pelle, Earnest: The centaur knights (well, save for Arthur) are terrific, with their huge range of movement, high attack & HP, and their ability to use lances to attack from long range.  At one point mid-game, I had all five centaur knights in the front lines of my party.  Unfortunately, the glut of new characters you get encourages you to rotate people out to experiment, and you are eventually confronted with a lack of respectable equipment for knights, so I decided to roll with my OG pair of Mae and Ken.  I do wonder if the time & equipment I put into Ken would have been better expended on Pelle or Earnest.  I do know that the time I spent experimenting with some folks would have been better invested in these boys.

Jogurt: I like the conceit of the character  -  a unit who can never be hit (at least by physical attacks) but can't deal anything more than 1 damage.  I perhaps should have taken advantage of it with some of the tougher foes late-game  -  used Jogurt to tank and attack with others long-range.  I prefer more direct means of combat, alas.

Domingo: Domingo served as a replacement for Anri most of the game, as he can actually get up to the front lines, being a flying unit.  He can also take hits like a champ, suffering only 1 damage from most physical attacks (though this is canceled late-game, when most foes use magic to attack and even mere brawlers are powerful enough to wallop him into double-digit damage).  Later in the game, his HP pool is a bit limiting (Freeze's increased expense puts it at a disadvantage to Blaze), and he tends to run out of MP in the early stages of battles.  But it remains useful throughout the game to have him fly into position and soften up or eliminate groups of troublesome enemies with a group Freeze spell, and even after his MP was expended, I still used his large range of movement to kite and to heal others.  A very valuable team member.

Guntz: It's not every RPG that hands you an armadillo in a mech suit, so I appreciate the effort there.  Guntz did deliver respectable damage for a good chunk of his tenure, but, like others, he eventually fell prey to his limited movement range, fell behind in level, and was replaced.  I understand he's a literal tank at later levels, but it didn't happen with me.

Lyle: It's also not every RPG that hands you a centaur with a bazooka and a Rambo headband.  Lyle was great and provided much-needed ranged support (combined with a centaur's scope of movement) and a bit mmore firepower than the other archers in the endgame.  He's a bit more fragile than Diane, though.  He also got one-shotted by a cheap "STUNNING ATTACK" by a trash enemy in the first couple rounds of the final battle, which is not a fate he deserved.

Bleu: I understand he's great if leveled, but he was doing like 1 damage one battle after joining.  C'mon, Climax.  You have no excuse for making a dragon this weak.

Alef: Yeah, I tried using her in the final stages for more magic power, but she just doesn't work.  She joins too late to develop and gets too little MP.  Bolt's a nice idea, but one use of it will drain her entire MP stock, and if you have enough enemies near you to make Bolt worthwhile, a) you're probably in too much trouble to survive, and b) Alef is near-certain to be targeted for destruction on the next turn.  Her levels are too low for her spells to do much damage, anyhow.

Torasu: I gave Torasu a couple chances in a few later battles, but he has the same problem as other healers: a couple spells, and he's dead weight.  His starting Aura (group heal spell) doesn't even heal for that much, and good luck leveling him up to something better.  You can't afford to expend a space on him at the end stages, when he joins.  (A few guides warn of certain failure if you go into the end battle without a healer, but I managed just fine with the Showers of Cure I'd saved, and I'm not even sure I wouldn't have made do just fine with herbs.)

Adam: See Bleu above, but substitute "robot" for "dragon."  I'm kind of miffed the designers just threw out so many characters near the middle & end stages on whom you have to waste a party slot for a battle or two to find out they're useless  -  you really need to use those slots to level better characters.

Hanzou: Very effective, with great attack, good movement, and OK defense.  You get him like three battles before the end, but given how dependable attackers like Ken and Gort were flagging to varying degrees in the endgame, another damage engine was very welcome.  He was one of my leading attackers against Dark Dragon, along with Mae and Zylo (with Gort & Ken on backup).

Gong, Kokichi, Vankar, Musashi: Didn't get them.  Evidently, you have to retreat from the first battles like a filthy coward to get Gong, and that never occurred to my valiant self.  I talked to Kokichi a bunch, but not at the right time, it seems.  Vankar I just totally missed.  I read the placard at which you need to look to get Musashi, but apparently it changes later in the game, and it's then you have to read it to get him to join, which is a lousy trick.

So my assessment of my endgame party:

Spearheads: Mae Hanzou Tao

Supporting Fire: Zylo Lyle (*honorary, as he was one-shotted early in the last battle, but he helped out a lot previously, particularly in that damnable Colossus fight) Diane

Lower-Tier but Still Effective Support: Gort Ken Domingo

Eh: Anri

No: Alef

Get in the Back: Max

In other news, I just learned via VGJunk that Shining Force II has ARMORED PEGASUS CENTAURS:

-  and thus must be played at some point along the line.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force All Ship HQ Quotes - JP & ENG

Regular HQ quotes here

HQ quotes from SF2 here

HQ quotes from Final Conflict here

Ken:

"It's my first time ever being in a ship this big."

Luke: english version is accurate

Tao:

"So this is a ship... I've always wanted to ride on one at least once."

Hans:

"What if I'm thrown into the sea... When I imagine that I get so, so scared. I wonder how the others feel."

Lowe:

"Unnngh, I feel sick... It'd be great to learn a spell that could heal seasickness..."

"Traveling by ship is great too... If you lend an ear to the sounds of the waves, you can hear the words of the ocean."

Gort: english version is accurate

This might contradict the GBA version, where Gort has a tragic story involving the ocean, and is not thrilled to battle at sea.

Of course, disliking to fight at sea isn't the same as dislike the sea, though. At the same time, Max’s diary also portrays him as seasick, so it does feel like the writers really had different ideas on this.

Mae: english version is accurate save for changing her intonation at the end

Khris:

"The others seem to be sick. Maybe I should’ve given them some medicine."

Anri:

"We're finally going to the eastern continent. I wonder if we'll ever see Guardiana again..."

Arthur:

"I have no experience fighting on a ship. Will I be able to fight well?"

Balbaroy: english version is mostly accurate, though I feel JP Balbaroy is a little pushier/passive aggressive

"Those of use who can fly are great in sea battles. Doesn't hurt to keep that in mind."

Amon:

"Has Balbaroy already talked to you about this? We are very helpful in sea battles since we can fly."

Diane:

"I bet my skills will be useful to intercept enemies from here on the ship."

Zylo:

"I can't relax while on this ship. It's far too different from a forest..."

Pelle:

"We knights might not be that good at a sea battle..."

Yogurt:

“…I don’t get it…”

As usual, Yogurt gets always the same line in japanese, while the localization decides to remove the gag and pretend he's a normal character.

Kokichi:

"Oh, I'm worried. What will I do if I fall to the sea? I can't swim..."

Vankar:

"Uugh, I feel sick... No, no, not from drinking, it's the sea."

Domingo:

“Ahem. Did yu know? No one here believs it but, the ocean and wivers are connected."

Guntz:

"I hate the sea! I mean, my engine and armor are all gonna rust here."

Earnest:

"I'm fine with sea voyages. Since I've traveled through many other countries, I've been in ships before."

Alef:

As I’ve shown yesterday, Alef has a line set up for this HQ in the US version of the game even though she’s not normally available at this point (both screenshots above are using Debug Mode). I have now confirmed the same doesn’t happen in the JP version, where she has an empty “0“ string like the other late game characters (Torasu, Lyle, Bleu, Musashi, Hanzou, and Adam).

Finally, the JP version also has an extra tidbit about Queen Koron having sent the ship’s priest:

"I'm a priest. Queen Koron of Pao asked me to come along you in this ship. Sea voyages can be dangerous, so I hope someone like me can be of help to you."

[mikawa-province]

1, 3, 5, 21, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 39

9 months. I could’ve had a baby already but I chose the otoge life, and it chose me in turn so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3: Who’s route did you play first?

Masamune-sama. I always have a bias for him in whatever media he’s in, so he’s always # 1 in my heart, my mind, in my soul, and in my life.

[I’d move to Sendai if I could but Tokyo is way, way better]

5: Least favorite route?

Currently on Takeda’s route, and it’s making me wince every time he’s on-screen.

I did not like Hideyoshi’s main route as well, even though I was pretty much okay with him in the first few story events he was in. Guess I could not stand the way he and MC ended up together.

Saizou’s was… let’s just say he and I are seriously incompatible and I would probably end up killing him with my bare hands if I had the chance.

21: Do you usually choose the Divine or the Noble ending?

Always Divine on my first run, then move on to the Noble ending. The only time I did not follow this was when I played through Date Shigezane’s route, as I was waiting for his voiced route to be released.

24: Is there any character that you want a route for?

It’s always been my wish for Sanada Nobuyuki to have a main route, but I would like Oniniwa Tsunamoto to have a main route in the future, or even a story event!

Naoe Kanetsugu should probably have a nice story event too… I don’t mind being the stepmom to his little girl lmfao

27: Do you like or hate the MC?

Depends on whose MC it is. I think she’s generally fine in most routes (Masamune, Ieyasu), but makes really questionable decisions in the others (Saizou’s, mostly).

Based on my friends’ stories of her in Takeda’s route, seems like she used her crotch to think, and not her brain.

But let’s see. I’m still going through this route anyway so I might change my opinion of her.

28: Favorite pair? (Example: Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, Saizo and Yukimura)

Bromance?

Shigezane and Nobuyuki are amusing together because they’re like the dudes who sometimes joins the Battle Events (for JPN anyway) and respect one another. Also, in the recent battle event in JPN, when Nobuyuki didn’t participate, Shigezane actually called out to him, saying that he should be part of the battle event.

Also, I love how Shigezane and Oniniwa are such shippers on deck for Masamune and MC in Masamune’s Act 2, despite the latter being against the pairing at first. Then again, Oshu’s relationship is the most tightly-knitted group among all of them, so any relationship combination among the four (Masamune, Kojuurou, Shigezane, Tsunamoto) would work.

There’s also Shigezane and Genya being bros with one another, as they often get along.

Oddly, Genya and Hanzou (silver-haired one) get along so well too, but that’s probably the Mikawa and Oshu alliance in play. Then again, they weren’t that antagonistic towards one another, unlike Genya and Sakuya, who are twins.

32: Did any scene make you cry?

None at all. Heartbreaking, yes, but I rarely cry.

35: Favorite CG?   

{SPOILERS} [CGs from JPN ver. of the game]Let me show you it.

39: Which character would you be best friends with?

I’d probably get along with Shigezane because I need positive vibes and smiles in my life. :)

[letting-them-take-liberties]

I am apologizing firsthand because this is tedious. From the slbp ask meme 3, 4, 24, 26, 28, 31, 32, 36, 38.

こんちゃ(・ω・)ノ

I’ve answered some of the questions you’ve sent on my fanfiction blog (mikawa-province), so I’ll just copy-paste it.

3: Who’s route did you play first?

Masamune-sama. I always have a bias for him in whatever media he’s in, so he’s always # 1 in my heart, my mind, in my soul, and in my life.

4: Favorite route?

It’s a tie between Masamune and Ieyasu. Masamune ranks higher because of Act 2.

24: Is there any character that you want a route for?

It’s always been my wish for Sanada Nobuyuki to have a main route, but I would like Oniniwa Tsunamoto to have a main route in the future, or even a story event!

Naoe Kanetsugu should probably have a nice story event too… I don’t mind being the stepmom to his little girl lmfao

26: Do you ever fall for another character when you’re playing a route?

So. Many. Times.

While I was romancing Kojunyan, I actually wanted Masamune to NTR MC.

Meanwhile, whenever Ieyasu appears in the other character’s routes, I also wanted him to NTR MC, especially when he made his appearance in Mitsuhide’s route. While I am fully aware that Ieyasu is using MC for his own reasons, he seemed way too concerned for her. Also, he said he wanted her to ‘go to his castle so that she could make sweets for him’. My friend calls it ‘Sengoku Period term for ‘Netflix and chill’.

In Yukimura’s route, I wanted to romance Nobuyuki instead. I have a thing for older brothers, you see... (//∇//)

Oniniwa tempted me to some extent, but not enough for me to go all, “YAAAAASSSS TAKE ME AWAY, TSUNAMOTO-SAMAAAA~!!!” I got pissed at him at one point in Masamune’s Act 2, and while he made sense and had his reasons, it didn’t change the fact that he pissed me off. We cool now tho.

(NTR = netorare = to cuckold. More info here, courtesy of TV Tropes.)

28: Favorite pair? (Example: Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, Saizo and Yukimura)

Bromance?

Shigezane and Nobuyuki are amusing together because they’re like the dudes who sometimes joins the Battle Events (for JPN anyway) and respect one another. Also, in the recent battle event in JPN, when Nobuyuki didn’t participate, Shigezane actually called out to him, saying that he should be part of the battle event.

Also, I love how Shigezane and Oniniwa are such shippers on deck for Masamune and MC in Masamune’s Act 2, despite the latter being against the pairing at first. Then again, Oshu’s relationship is the most tightly-knitted group among all of them, so any relationship combination among the four (Masamune, Kojuurou, Shigezane, Tsunamoto) would work.

There’s also Shigezane and Genya being bros with one another, as they often get along.

Oddly, Genya and Hanzou (silver-haired one) get along so well too, but that’s probably the Mikawa and Oshu alliance in play. Then again, they weren’t that antagonistic towards one another, unlike Genya and Sakuya, who are twins.

31: Funniest character?

Ieyasu never fails to crack me up with his very dry sense of humor and his frank way of saying/explaining things.

In the stage play, I actually cracked up when Shingen made fun of Masamune.

32: Did any scene make you cry?

None at all. Heartbreaking, yes, but I rarely cry.

36: Favorite event so far?

So many events to mention. Where to begin...?

For JPN:

Ieyasu’s Divine Ruler’s Princess (called 「天下の姫君)  and Melting With Your Heat (called 「熱で溶かして」) was great too. For Masamune, Moment of Resolution (called 「決意の刻」) was very memorable because it was also my very first Japanese story event.

For both characters, ‘Our Eternal Vow’ (called 「永遠の誓い」) was so sweet, it killed me. Add to that, the ‘Zenjitsutan’/Prologue Arc series, even though it ripped my heart out so many times that I lost count when I played Motoyasu/Ieyasu’s story events.

For ENG, the ‘Falling For You’ Story Event was so damn nice (especially Masamune-sama’s) and so damn hilarious because I still can’t believe Masamune used his 凸 to make MC forget about her bad dreams. My Eternal Love killed me too.

Ieyasu’s Blooming in Adversity is so good too that I’ve been playing his story event route nonstop. Also, his first story event, despite him being seriously mean towards MC, actually gave me dokidokis.

38: Favorite ship?(Romantic/Platonic)

Ieyasu with his MC; same goes with Masamune with his MC.

To some extent, Oichi and Katsuie is pretty cute too because she’s such a tsundere.

Other than that... I don’t think I have any other ship...?

[late-nightlove]

Musical Touken Ranbu ~Three-Hundred Year Old Lullaby~ Summary & Review

Summary of the whole play under the cut (with spoilers).

Note: History knowledge is limited for this time period (Sengoku Period) so I may have gotten some parts wrong. Also, speech pattern was somewhat difficult to understand but I did my best.

One important thing to keep in mind for this musical: while the first two musicals were all about preventing history from altering, this musical deals with reconstructing history (as the Japanese called it, ‘rebuilding broken history’).

Sengo Muramasa gets first dibs on the singing upon his arrival at the Honmaru.

Musical is based the memoirs of Ishikirimaru, as seen by him.

Nikkari Aoe and Ookurikara got sent on an expedition to Okazaki Castle in Mikawa [present-day part of Aichi Prefecture] (December 1592)

History Retrograde Army attacks the Matsudaira Army; a dying Matsudaira Hirotada entrusts an infant (Tokugawa Ieyasu) to Nikkari Aoe and Ookurikara.

Sword Boys become vassals/retainers of Tokugawa Ieyasu to fix history; this happened because the whole Matsudaira clan and its retainers got wiped out when the History Retrograde Army attacked them.

Original Tokugawa retainers and the Sword Boys’ counterparts:

Hattori Hanzou → Ishikirimaru Torii Mototada  → Monoyoshi Sadamune Honda Tadakatsu  → Tonbokiri Sakai Tadatsugu   → Nikkari Aoe Sakakibara Yasumasa  → Ookurikara Ii Naomasa  → Sengo Muramasa

As retainers of Takechiyo, four of them were involved with the child rearing; Ookurikara and Sengo Muramasa wanted nothing to do with him.

Monoyoshi serves as Ieyasu’s adviser during battles, as he knew how events would play out.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had a son, whom the “retainers” also took care of; he grows up to be Matsudaira Nobuyasu.

Ookurikara thinks that they shouldn’t be wasting time taking care of children; they should be fighting fighting. Ishikirimaru challenges him to a duel and taunts him that the way he attacks lacks the killing intent in it; when Ieyasu comes in, Ishikirimaru introduces Ookurikara as ‘Sakakibara Yasumasa’. Ieyasu is delighted because Yasumasa’s family served the Matsudaira and asks Ookurikara for his support. Ookurikara obliges.

At one point in history, Ookurikara encounters a farmer named Gohei, who was being bullied by other samurai for trying to be one of them. Ookurikara saves him, gets followed back, and is asked/begged by Gohei to teach him how to use a katana. Ookurikara refuses, but relents when it’s Nobuyasu who asks him.

During Gohei’s training session with Ookurikara, Nobuyasu, along with Ishikirimaru, asks Gohei for a favor: Nobuyasu wants to learn how to farm/grow flowers; Gohei agrees, but asks Nobuyasu for a favor too. He wants to learn how to read and write so that he could be of use to Nobuyasu. Nobuyasu agrees.

Years pass, and Ieyasu introduces a new retainer to everyone: Ii Naomasa (Sengo Muramasa).

At the Battle of Narashino, Gohei gets killed by the History Retrograde Army while protecting Nobuyasu; Ookurikara gets very confused over his death, as it made him feel emotions for the first time. He also thinks that having a mortal body is a hindrance when it comes to fighting.

Ishikirimaru visits Gohei’s grave, and duels with Ookurikara again; Ishikirimaru comments that Ookurikara’s strikes have more killing intent in them.

Ookurikara mourns for Gohei, remarking that it is not yet time for him to lay a flower at his grave because he still has something to do.

Time passes by, and Ishikirimaru reminds everyone that the day of Nobuyasu’s death by seppuku has arrived; at this, everyone starts wondering the reason why Nobuyasu had to commit seppuku. Even Monoyoshi doesn’t know the real reason, despite staying by Ieyasu’s side.

Ishikirimaru reminds them that Nobuyasu needs to be killed to protect history.

Nobuyasu gets into an argument with Ieyasu, as he doesn’t want to succeed his father.He also wonders how many people have to die in order to attain peace, and asks why Gohei had to die. Ieyasu reminds him that he is the heir, and that he has no other choice but to follow his footsteps.

Ishikirimaru finds Nobuyasu, who begs him to kill him in order to shake up the clan. As the five watch on, Ishikirimaru hesitates in killing him, and the Kebiishi makes an appearance.

All six of them are helpless against the sole Kebiishi, and Nobuyasu ends up sacrificing himself.

Timeskip to Ieyasu’s final hours; Ieyasu regrets what he did to his son.

A man wearing a straw hat makes an appearance; Nobuyasu actually lived and took Gohei’s name; Matsudaira Nobuyasu has been “dead” for some time ever since he changed his name to Gohei.

Ieyasu passes away, finally at peace with himself.

Highlights:

Sengo Muramasa’s introduction song

“SHALL WE GET NAKED?!”

Sengo makes reeeeeally inappropriate advances towards Tonbokiri

Tonbokiri, as Honda Tadakatsu, feels pressured to live up to his former master’s name

Sengo referring to Ieyasu as a ‘tanuki’ and a ‘plain guy’. Monoyoshi had to point out to him that in the end, Ieyasu became the person who unifies Japan.

Tonbokiri as the dad (a very, very dedicated dad at that)

Nikkari Aoe making a baby carriage for baby Ieyasu

Tonbokiri lifting child!Nobuyasu and child!Nobuyasu sitting on Tonbokiri’s bicep the whole time.

Tonbokiri breaking out into a song, startling Sengo (I laughed so hard over this)

Sengo breaking the fourth wall

Sengo’s gestures, along with the thigh flashing (Yes, we get it, your right thigh is flawless and meaty)

The lullaby itself (for Monoyoshi to still remember the lullaby so that he can teach it to Ieyasu and Nobuyasu was just amazing)

Ookurikara had to be told that his “mission” is to get the fangirls to like him, as he has no interest in anything other than fighting.

Ishikirimaru and Monoyoshi’s duet

Tonbokiri’s solo (which sounded like a love song + best utilization of his bilingualism, as he had to sing a lot of lines in English as well)

The song after Spi’s solo where they went to the audience area to interact with the audience while singing; I was seated on the left side facing the stage, and Nikkari Aoe came out from my side.

Tonbokiri x Sengo Muramasa fanservice; made me scream, in all honesty.

Taiko drum solo

Personal thoughts:

I’m glad they stirred things up with the third musical, as it shifted from ‘protect history from alternating’ to ‘reconstruct history’.

I think Sengo had way too much stage time when he’s practically the dude who doesn’t want anything to do with any of the historical figures involved.

The songs were amazing, as always.

Their version of the official theme song had my heart racing; maybe because third time’s a charm.

No betrayals this time around (FINALLY)

Everyone actually had a role to play in this musical, compared to Hachisuka going all ?????? around 80% of the play while Kiyomitsu couldn’t get along with the Sanjou.

No ‘Otoko Michi’ :( I was looking forward to it, in all honesty.

This is probably the heaviest TouMyu storyline to date for me; anything family-themed always gets to me.

There may have been parts that I misinterpreted/overlooked; I will try to secure tickets for the live viewing this April 23rd and make a separate post to cover what I missed.

Till next time!

[awkwardpenguinproductions]

Mission

Part 6 of the Dragon of the Yuyan

Read on AO3 | Series Masterpost

Please beware the tags!

Zuko crouches on the thick tree limb, bow poised and arrow nocked, and silently watches the small herd of fox-deer grazing down below. One of the animals shifts, and between one breath and the next, Zuko aims, pulls, and looses, downing a medium-sized buck. A split second later, Private Shun of Haili Squad looses and brings down a second buck. He catches his eye across the clearing and grins at him, feeling his facepaint crinkle a bit. Shun nods back, cracking a tiny smile of approval, his own Yuyan “mask” smooth and flawless.

The fox-deer have run off, spooked by two of their own dropping dead from flying sticks, and Zuko and Shun clean and dress the kills before lugging them back to camp.

Kai is mending a net and sulking a few feet away from the campfire as Zuko and Shun approach, and he turns to pout at them pathetically.

Zuko, Jiyoti won't let me help make dinner! He signs, puffing out his cheeks like a child, although his eyes twinkle behind his own facepaint mask.

Because we don't all want to die of food poisoning, dumbass, Jiyoti replies, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue. On a bamboo mat in front of her is a pile of chopped tomato-chokes and a kitchen knife, while a pot full of boiling water and noodles hangs over the campfire.

Captain Hiroki is sitting nearby with the Captain of Haili Squad, Satomi, pouring over maps of the local terrain. He watches the conversation with a smirk, and signs, I have orders from Commander Toshiaki himself not to let you cook anything, Private Kai.

Kai groans silently and flops backward onto the ground. Why is everyone so mean to me?

Zuko places the fox-deer carcass on a bamboo mat that Mika spreads out, and gently kicks at Kai's hip. Cheer up, if you really want to help out, you can do the dishes after!

Somebody kill me please, Kai signs limply, wrinkling his nose.

Captain Satomi rolls her eyes. You'll have to wait until the mission's over, Private. We've got a job to do here.

Zuko butchers the two fox-deer, separating some of the meat out to be cooked fresh, and using his firebending to dry the rest into jerky. Jiyoti takes the fresh meat and spears it on thin sticks to roast over the fire, and once Zuko is done with the jerky, he takes over control of the fire while Mika and Haili Squad's sergeant, Ai, divvy the jerky up between the two squads' supplies.

After dinner, Captain Satomi orders the two squads to gather for a briefing.

We're a day out from Huzhen, where the Third Infantry Corps is waiting to take the last Earth Kingdom outpost west of the West Lake, she signs. The 63rd and 59th Divisions will reinforce the Third, while we keep watch on the rear and make sure the Earth Kingdom forces don't attempt to surprise our own. When we move out tomorrow, Haili Squad will take point and Chihese Squad will cover until we reach the Third's encampment.

Zuko isn't thrilled about having to trail behind two whole divisions of infantry all marching across the Earth Kingdom for a whole day, but at least he'll get to practice his tree-running.

The two squads and the divisions they're accompanying break camp the next morning and are formed up and marching as Agni rises before them. Zuko spends the morning leaping from tree limb to tree limb, racing Kai until the moron misses a step and gets a tree branch in the gut for his trouble, then following the cart Kai is assigned to "protect" and making stupid faces at him. The small force marches all day, eating on the go and only stopping for a few minutes at a time to refill waterskins as needed.

The sun is low behind them when they finally reach the Third Infantry Corps' encampment. The commanding officer of the Third, a Lieutenant General Hanzou, greets the arrivals and relieves the two Yuyan squads of their escort duty. Captains Satomi and Hiroki are to report to a strategy meeting in the morning with the rest of the Third's command staff, otherwise the squads are to stand down for the time being.

Zuko sleepily helps Kai pitch the tent, starts the campfire with an exhausted wave of his hand, and collapses into his bedroll with a silent sigh. It’s been a long week, and he has a split second to enjoy the idea of not having any real duties tomorrow before he's fast asleep.

As always, he rises with the sun, and joins the Third's firebenders in their morning meditation and drills before returning to his squad for breakfast. After a quick meal of fox-deer jerky and noodles, the captains go off to their meeting, while the sergeants drill the half-dozen privates for morning PT. After PT ends and the captains haven't returned, Zuko decides to spend his downtime exploring the Third's camp. He shimmies up a tall tree to get a good look at the lay of the land.

The Third Infantry Corps is camped on top of a bluff overlooking the village of Huzhen, which is a ramshackle cluster of buildings hugging the shore of the massive West Lake of the Earth Kingdom. Between the Third's camp and the village is a good half mile of open ground, which Zuko figures is where the battle with the Earth Kingdom forces camped just outside the village will take place. He peers at the haphazard collection of green tents huddled in a tight square less than a hundred feet from the edge of the lake, and his stomach sinks as he compares it to the sprawling complex of the Third's encampment on the bluff. He can't imagine such a small force, barely a company's worth, being so much trouble that a whole corps, made up of five divisions of Fire Nation Army Infantry, is needed to ensure victory. It feels a bit like treason, but he can't help but think that the Fire Nation Army's response to this situation is a little excessive.

But if there's anything his burning and abandonment has taught him, it's that nobody with any real power cares what he thinks.

Zuko leans back against the trunk of the tree and breathes. He can distantly hear the sounds of military life coming from the Third’s camp, and he lazily scans the neat assemblage of red tents until his eye falls on a dark, squat, rectangular box about the size of a mess tent. It’s a mobile prison, meant to contain earthbenders captured in battle, and Zuko is immediately on fire with curiosity. He’s never seen an earthbender before, and this could be his chance to get close without having to worry about them burying him alive or grinding him to a bloody paste between a pair of boulders. No one can bend metal, after all.

Zuko makes his way to the mobile prison, grinning and waving at the soldiers who called out friendly greetings, and ducking away from the ones who leer or swipe out at him.

The squat iron building seems much bigger now that Zuko is standing beside it than it had when Zuko had seen it from afar, but he shakes off his sudden nerves and circles around it. It’s made up of multiple panels of iron bolted together, with a single door and one long narrow window at the top of each panel for air. It can be put together in a matter of hours, and taken apart just as quickly.

“Who’s there?” A powerful male voice rings out from within. Zuko startles, then takes a running jump and lands lightly on the prison roof. Each panel of the roof has a large square barred window for light and air, and he approaches the closest one and peers down.

Narrowed green eyes glare murderously back. “Well?” Demands the hugely muscled man they, and the voice, belong to. “Who in Koh’s name are you? What do you want? If you’re just here to gawk, then you can go right on your merry way and leave us alone.”

Another man, with less muscles but an impressive brown beard, stomps over to join his fellow in glaring up at Zuko. “Something the matter, Corporal?”

“Got another visitor, Sergeant,” the corporal replies. “Not very chatty this time around.”

The sergeant’s face goes slack as he stares up at Zuko. “Oma and Shu, that’s one of those Yuyan demons!”

Demons? Zuko’s pretty sure no one in his Troop is a demon, except maybe Lan during that time of the month.

“For real, sir? A Yuyan?” The corporal asks, hostility melting slightly into curiosity.

The sergeant sneers. “Yeah, you can tell by the face markings and the uniform. They don’t talk, though, so good luck getting anything out of it.” The sergeant claps the corporal on the shoulder and ambles away to sit against the wall with some of the other earthbenders. The corporal stays where he is, fist propped on one hip and the other hand rubbing his stubbly chin, stance wide and firmly rooted as he stares up at Zuko. He almost looks… thoughtful, if Zuko is reading his face right.

“Hey up there,” he calls, far more curiosity than suspicion in his tone this time. “You understand Common?”

Zuko rolls his eyes, but obligingly taps out yes.

The corporal blinks, and his mouth works a bit without sound. Zuko wonders if the man actually expected a response.

“Does… does that mean yes?” The man asks, voice slow and careful, as though Zuko is a mongoose lizard about to spit poison.

Zuko taps out yes again.

A broad grin spreads across the corporal’s face. “Wow, okay, what’s “no”, then?”

Zuko taps out no, then again when the corporal asks. Then, seemingly emboldened by their interaction so far, the corporal asks, "Are you actually a demon?"

Zuko wants to bang his head against the metal, but settles for a simple no.

The corporal smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, had to ask. Nobody's ever gotten close enough to one of you to find out for sure. My name's Hwan. Do you have a name?"

Of course Zuko has a name. But he can't teach this Earth Kingdom corporal the signal language, Captain Hiroki would throw a fit, and Commander Toshiaki would never let Zuko out of the Stronghold again. So he can't actually tell Corporal Hwan his name.

And why would he even want to? He wonders to himself. These are earthbenders. They're savages who refuse to submit to Fire Nation superiority. Earthbenders killed Lu Ten, and broke Uncle Iroh's spirit. Why is he even thinking about trying to communicate with them?

But how superior can the Fire Nation be when they sacrifice their own for a meaningless victory? When the response to a tired, bedraggled force on the verge of surrender is overwhelming numbers?

Yes, Zuko taps out.

"Huh, I don't know a lot of Fire Nation names… is it Lee?"

Honestly, that would've been a really good guess––Lee is a popular name in the Fire Nation. Zuko shrugs, and taps out yes.

Hwan lights up like a Solstice firework. "Awesome, first guess! Is it true that the Yuyan Archers are non-benders?"

Yes.

"Wow, that's amazing. I'm an earthbender, I can't imagine not being able to bend," Hwan says, then looks around himself and bares his teeth in a sheepish grimace. "Of course, that was before I was put in here."

Now that is a question Zuko would love answered. What in Agni's name is Hwan and his unit doing here? Why are they being held prisoner on the front lines? Most prisoners of war captured in battle are immediately sent back to holding facilities within Fire Nation territory, either to be ransomed for their Fire Nation equivalents (not that there are many, given that any Fire Nation soldier would rather fight to the death than be taken captive) or to be conscripted into labor for mines and factories that supply the war effort. Depending on how long ago Hwan's unit had been taken, they should've been sent on their way long before Zuko and the Archers had arrived.

Hwan asks more questions, and Zuko marvels as everything he was ever taught about Earth Kingdom people is systematically proven wrong. Hwan is friendly, inquisitive, and intelligent, and honestly makes Zuko wish he could talk without having a panic attack because he has so many questions. The other men in Hwan's unit scowl and glower and mutter darkly, but Hwan happily chatters at Zuko without regard for their status as enemy combatants, and it blows Zuko's mind.

A gong sounds, signaling evening mess. Zuko has to go back to the Yuyan camp, or Captain Hiroki will send someone to retrieve him.

"Do you have to go?" Hwan asks.

Yes, Zuko taps out, reluctantly.

The Earth Kingdom soldier bites his lip, looking conflicted. "Will you… come back? When you can?"

Zuko blinks. While their interaction has been pleasant, and for Zuko, rather eye-opening, he hadn't expected Hwan to want to continue talking to him.

Yes, Zuko replies, resolving to steal some writing supplies to use on his next visit.

"Bye then! See you next time!" Hwan calls, waving. Zuko waves back, leaps off the mobile prison, and books it back to the camp, mind whirling.

Normally Zuko wolfs his food down at meals, partially a holdover from his six months of surviving in the wilderness where every second he lingered over food was one more second something stronger and fiercer than he was could steal it from him, and partially so that he could use his hands to sign with his squad and his other friends. Tonight he eats slowly, thoughtfully, turning over his odd conversation with Corporal Hwan of the Earth Kingdom Army in his mind. Kai has to snap his fingers five times to get Zuko's attention, but before his best friend can even position his hands to sign, Captain Satomi is already doing so.

Squads, fall in for briefing, she orders. Zuko puts aside his noodles and does his best to focus.

The Third Infantry Corps will move out at dawn tomorrow morning, she says, and then pauses to draw a diagram in the dirt. The 63rd and 59th Divisions will flank the Third on either side, surrounding the enemy. Chihese and Haili Squads will be stationed along the bluff to protect the Third's rear. We'll move out before dawn to select perches. Everyone needs to do a weapons check and get a good night's sleep tonight.

Zuko suppresses a sigh and goes to his bedroll. With sure, practiced fingers, he checks over his arrows and his bow, waxes his extra bowstrings, and sharpens his dao and throwing knives. Looks like he won't be visiting his new friend any time soon.

Getting up before dawn is easy for a firebender who meditates with the rising sun, but getting his non-bender best friend up is a process as long and tedious as filing expense reports with the rice counters back in Caldera. Zuko finally resorts to kicking Kai in the ass, hard, which does the trick but results in Kai shooting him baleful looks all through the hurried breakfast of cold onigiri. Zuko ignores him. This is his first real military action, and he is not going to let Kai's determination to sleep in ruin it for him.

The squads split up, with Chihese going northwest and Haili going northeast. The bluff is lined with scraggly tree-bushes, and every couple dozen feet, a squad member sets up a nest. Zuko is positioned between Jiyoti on his right and Mika on his left. He sets down his swords (he would only need them if things went completely to Koh's lair in a handbasket), resettles his quiver on his back, and strings his bow. Sunrise is moments away.

The sky lightens as the Earth Kingdom forces array themselves before the village. Zuko digs out his spyglass from his pack and raises it to his eye. His initial estimate of the enemy's numbers was pretty accurate: there's barely two hundred Earth Kingdom soldiers on the field.

As dawn breaks, the Third Infantry Corps marches out onto the field. Lieutenant General Hanzou and two of his close subordinates ride out on mongoose lizards to meet the Earth Kingdom commander, but the meeting is only a few minutes and both parties return to their respective forces.

A horn sounds, and the Earth Kingdom soldiers roar in response.

A small group of Fire Nation soldiers move forward to meet them, but something is wrong. They're shuffling awkwardly, not marching, and it seems like… they're being prodded along… at spearpoint?

Zuko raises his spyglass, frowning.

The uniforms on these soldiers are ill-fitting… too tight across backs and shoulders, and bunching too much at joints. There's also… shackles?... around the soldiers' wrists and ankles…

Zuko's insides twist.

One of the soldiers turns around, and Zuko's heart stops. Hwan.

The huge earthbender's eyes are wide and his face is pallid in the frame of the Fire Nation helmet on his head.

The disguised Earth Kingdom soldiers shout in terror as their comrades on the other side of the field charge.

Rocks whistle as they fly.

The air fills with screams.

Zuko feels numb. He feels like throwing up. But he can't look away.

The Earth Kingdom soldiers are merciless. If they realize that they are fighting their own brethren, they don't show it. The disguised captives try to scramble backwards, but they're chained hand and foot to each other. They're stuck, and the Earth Kingdom soldiers are relentless.

The captives are slaughtered, one and all.

In the echoing silence after the last boulder falls, all Zuko can hear is his heart thundering in his ears. A quintet of Earth Kingdom soldiers creep out of their trench and approach the dead. Wails rise up as they realize what has happened.

Then an arrow flies, trailing a crimson ribbon. The Third roars in unison and attacks.

In minutes that feel like days, the Earth Kingdom soldiers are all but wiped out. The 59th and 63rd Divisions move in less because they are needed, and more because they want to join in the fun. The Earth Kingdom company is torn to shreds like a fox-deer under the claws of a tigerdillo.

Zuko drops his bow, sweeps his dao out of the way, and vomits.

Then he curls forward with his forehead pressing into the dirt and sobs.

Previous | Next

[jingu-tenno]

The Ultimate Naruto Timeline III

Welcome back to part 3 of the timeline, where people appear where they don't belong because Kishimoto wrote down their ages in the beginning of the manga to completely forget about them 400 chapters later. That sounds confusing to you? Believe me it is, especially when you remember the age of the various supporting characters when reading it.

We have left the 2nd Ninja World War behind us in the last part and are now going on to Kakashi Gaiden and the story of Uchiha Obito. Boy, this is fun. There's so much information in this that I have deliberately deleted from my memory because otherwise my headcanon can't handle this.

Kakashi is 26 years in 112, and therefore was born 15/9/86 (remember, German dating system). He became Genin at 5 years and Chunin at 6. Obito and Rin took a little longer on both, making Genin by 9 and Chunin at age 11. They both take part in the Chunin exam that Kakashi passes but don't pass the test themselves [599, 11-12]. We see that Obito trains for another exam in winter and spring, meaning that the next exam was in the following year. He (and presumably Rin as well) become Chunin then, which gives us something to calculate the age difference between Obito+Rin and Kakashi from.

If Kakashi became Chunin at 6, and Obito a year later at 11 (where Kakashi turned 7), than that would make Obito and Rin about 4 years older than Kakashi. Since Obito was 13 in Kakashi Gaiden [Databook 2, 43], Kakashi must have been 9 at the time. Makes no sense? Well, it doesn't. Also because Databook 4 says that Obito is 31 years in old in 117, which would put him at the same age as Kakashi – which is actually directly contradicted by the mentioned information from Databook 2. Make of that whatever you want, I'd already given up on logic at this point…

Because it gets better! Kishimoto is nice enough to give us a group shot of all the people that allegedly took place in Kakashi's Chunin exam [599, 2-4]. Prepare for hilarity to ensue.

From left to right we have: Ebisu, Guy, Aoba, Kakashi, Raidou, Rin, Asuma, Hayate, Kurenai, Genma [upper picture]; Anko and Ibiki [lower picture].

For those of you not familiar with the characters: Raidou, Genma, Aoba, Ebisu, Kurenai, Asuma, Ibiki Kakashi and Guy (sorted in order of age) were between age 32 and 27 in 113, therefore born in the years 81-86. Kakashi was 6 year old in that Chunin exam [Databook 2], so it was held in 92-93. This makes all of them between 6 and 12 years old.

Hayate however was 23 in 113 and Anko 24. Their birthdays are 2/11/89 and 24/10/88.

They would have been 3 and 4 years old at the time…

This just doesn't add up. Look the ages of the characters up in the databook if you don't believe me, check the wiki, it simply won't make sense. At all.

Anyway, on to Kakashi Gaiden for more fun times. Since Gaiden could have happened at a maximum of 18 years before the (then current) events of Naruto [239, 13] but after Kakashi had become a Chunin, I assume it to have taken place in the year 96 or 97.

[Quick explanation on the Japanese, skip this if you don't care for additional info:

Chapter 239 starts with a cartouche in the upper right corner of the page, that in the English version I have starts with the words "About 10 years ago…" Since this is the start of Kakashi Gaiden and the time we are going back from is the year 113 this statement is obviously wrong. Usually I would blame this on Kishimoto, but this is indeed a translation error.

Since a friend was so nice to get me the Japanese raw of the chapter I have the original text here:

今より十数年前。。。

"今より" basically means "from today on", the important part here is the "十数年前". 十 (ten) + 年 (year) + 前 (before) adds up to the "ten years ago" part. The 数 (number) in 十数 however indicates an unspecific number between 1 and 9, with 11 or 19 being unlikely.

"Around ten years ago…" therefore is deceptive in the sense that the events of Gaiden didn't happen ca. 10 years before the ongoing story but instead in a timeframe of around 13~18 years before that.

The mistake is purely translational here.]

Obito (and Rin most likely as well) is 13 years old and a Chunin at this point and Kakashi has already made Jounin (at 9 or 10 years of age). Therefore Kakashi commands the team while Minato is off alone to distract the Iwa troops that have already davanched to Kusa. So SWWIII was well underway in the year 96-97.

Sakumo killed himself before Kakashi made Chunin, so around 91-92. His saving of his comrades instead of finishing the mission is cited as one of the triggers of the war, which means it can only have begun afterwards. Looking at the events of Gaiden one can also assume that after the destruction of the Kanabi bridge the war didn't last that much longer.

I tentatively assume SWWIII lasted 93-97.

Houston, we have a problem… SWWII lasted till 92 (at least in Ame) and SWWIII started in 93. I tried to make it a bigger gap between both events, but no can do. This is how it was according to the timeline.

Shortly before the end of the war Kiri got their hands on Rin and made her the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. Kakashi had to kill her to prevent her from being used as a weapon to attack Konoha, giving both himself and Obito a Mangekyou Sharingan in the process [629, 17; 605, 4]. Also around this time there was the battle at the Kikyou pass that Orochimaru used as a cover story to give Kabuto a new identity in Konoha [Databook 1, 128; 584, 12].

Meanwhile in Amegakure, there were three orphans trained by the Sannin Jiraiya… because, as we remember, the brats were still alive and kicking at this point in time and actually not far away from booting Hanzou out of Ame [446, 11]. The man however had not survived the Sannin to lose his rule to a band of misfits, calling Danzou for help and promising him to help the one-eyed bastard in his quest towards the Hokage hat in return [446, 13]. In the end however none of them got anything out of the deal, since Yahiko died but Nagato went berserk and killed not only Hanzou but also Danzou's back-up Root army, becoming the god of Amegakure [446, 16 - 477, 13].

Nagato died at 35 in 116 [Databook 4, 127], therefore was born in 81. Assuming that him and Yahiko, who died at age 15 [Databook 4, 195], were of the same age, the coup on Hanzou happened in the year 96.

After that nothing mayor that we didn't cover yet happens… until Kushina goes into labor 10/10/100.

What happened then is well-known: Obito in disguise attacked Kushina and Minato, freed the Kyuubi and ran away as they managed to re-seal the demon into Naruto, both dying in the process. That's the story of the birth of Naruto.

Since Obito was 3-4 years older than Kakashi (going by the older databook entries over the newer), he was around 17 at that point. This would explain the difference in his build, height, and abilities. Furthermore the part of Zetsu that he gained after being hit by the rocks gave him additional strength, healing abilities and endurance. That's the only possible reason to explain why he could hold his own against Minato so well.

This is almost all of it. Now there's only the 12 years from Naruto's birth to the start of the manga missing from the timeline… but that's a matter for another post.

92 Sakumo Hatake kills himself

93-97 SWWIII

96 Coup on Hanzou

96-97 Kakashi Gaiden

97 Rin becomes the Sanbi's Jinchuuriki and is killed by Kakashi

100 the Kyuubi attacks Konoha, Naruto is born

Comments and criticism are always welcome. With this huge amount of information and dates there can always be mistakes, and it’s quite possible that I’ve made a mistake somewhere. It would be really helpful if you’d point out something amiss if you find it :)

Sources: Naruto manga, Naruto databook 1-4; indications in [chapter, page]

[All pictures are from the manga “Naruto”, rights belong to Kishimoto Masashi]

[project-rebirth]

Season II Arcs Masterpost

A Certain Magical Index: Rebirth Testament II

The Shadow King Arc (In progress)

In this arc, it's about two weeks since the Holy Grail War ended and peace has returned to Academy City, however,  a conspiracy is underway by a group called Shadow King, who plans on targeting espers such as Shokuhou Misaki for their own ends.

Agnese Hunting Arc (In progress)

Agnese Sanctis, along with Sister Angeline and Sister Lucia are being pursued by a pair of twins who bear a striking resemblance to the 1st Ranked Level 5. They seek shelter from Touma who agrees to help them flee Academy City after they were sent to investigate a being known as the God Hunter. When Touma finds out what's actually going on, who the God Hunter is and what the Church plans to do, can he help them reach a compromise before the real enemy makes their move? Pertains to @xbloodsoakedx​.

Illuminati Occultics Arc (In progress)

Touma suddenly finds himself in the city of Los Santos to see that it is much, much colder than it should be in the west cost of the United States. Not only that, but the entire population of Los Santos is missing as well. Touma and others investigating are attacked by strange creatures who are controlled by the Illuminati Occultics Company. Meeting up with Index, the group sets out to correct this anomaly and restore Los Santos back to its original state.

School Garden Arc (In progress)

Because of the events with Agnese, Kamijou is unable to return to his dorm until it is repaired. As a result the board of directors are able to arrange a deal for Touma to stay in School Garden of all places, specifically Tokiwadai. Dreading  what awaits him, he is unaware of the plot that MINUS plans to undertake in School Garden, specifically for the #5 Level 5, Shokuhou Misaki.

Precure Hunter Arc (In progress)

The Clock Tower of the Magic Association has put out sealing designations on the members of the Happiness Charge Precure, and has sent their enforcers to capture them.  A competition between Freelancers and Enforcers are underway as the girls become targets for Magicians looking for payment or notoriety, and Touma finds himself caught in the middle of it. Pertains to @rosecoloredmuses​

Shirai Assist Arc (In progress)

Following the events of the Precure Hunter Arc, Shirai Kuroko on behalf of Judgement starts to investigate the clues left behind from the conflict. Board Chairman of Academy City, Aleister Crowley feels that Kuroko, and others will learn of the existence of the Magic Side, so to that end, Aleister employs MINUS to have her assassinated to prevent her from learning too much. This will lead to a confrontation with Shirai and MINUS in the now abandoned Misawa Cram School Building. Will result in Touma getting severely injured.

Hamazura Recruitment Arc

MINUS, despite what happened in December, still seeks to have Hamazura Shiage to their side. To that end, MINUS attempts to blackmail him into joining them by threatening the safety of ITEM, specifically Takitsubo Rikou and the young Fremea Seivlun. Hamazura gives into their demands, at least from what it seems, only in reality, he plans to face off against those MINUS members by himself. Touma and (your muse) goes to the location to help him overcome the threat that is MINUS.

SISTERS REBIRTH Arc

A man in a suit manages to abduct Last Order, prompting Accelerator to go on a Manhunt for the assalant. Both he and Last Order are quickly found by Accelerator and Misaka Mikoto and Last Order is saved. However, the two Level 5s learn of a plot to restart the SISTERS Project, prompting Accelerator and Mikoto to take immediate action by destroying the labratories behind the plot. Later Misaka Imouto is kidnapped by a Researcher who is behind the plot and was once part of the original Project, prompting Touma to get involved, to save the Sisters. Includes new technology and Touma fighting a Researcher in a fist fight.

Konori Justice Arc

Touma and Bowen are brought in by Yomikawa Aiho to help Judgement and Anti-Skill in a operation against some forces of MINUS in the tunnels of District 7. There is a lot of push back from this from Anti-Skill and Judgement, but circumstances force them to help, whether the peacekeeping forces want it or not.  They end up working with Judgement member Konori Mii in order to help take down the MINUS forces in the tunnels after the three are separated from the rest of the force after a MINUS attack and cave in. Pertains to @tetsuwan-atom​.

- Solomon's Cross Saga -

Demonic Armor Arc

The Fallen Roman Catholic Church, after causing various crises around the world, deem Kamijou Touma to be an enemy they must eliminate for fear of the Kamijou Faction's rise. Solomon's Cross, a dark and secretive Magic Cabal controlling the Church sends one of their own members, Belrod the Magician Killer, along with members of the AX to Academy City for the sole purpose of killing Touma and anyone else who rallies to his aid. In direct response to this, Nessicsarius sends Itsuwa of the Amakusa Church and Kanzaki Kaori to protect him. Academy City and others plan and act against the Church. With the forces of Magic, Science, and the Third Side colliding for the sake of one boy, a new conflict rises.

SS: Delta Force

A short story involving Touma and his friends Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado Motoharu getting into mischief involving swimsuits and changing room antics. Nothing serious here.

Gospel of Tyranus Arc

A grimoire called the Gospel of Tyranus was stolen from the British Museum by Solomon’s Cross. The organization plans to use its contents in order to transform the Earth into a violent hellscape, thus destroying all of human civilization. The Magic Association requests the aid of Index, along with Touma as her manager and Bowen, as it is a grimore from the Meta Side and has the group with Miyuki, Othinus and Rosalia in tow head over to London. Chaos ensues moments after they land as the airport becomes a battle field between the forces of the Association, and the Church. Pertains to tetsuwan-atom.

Tower of London Arc

The Solomon's Cross Magician, after being defeated by the Association and Touma's group, is imprisoned within the Tower of London with the Church planning his rescue. Leivina Birdway is contacted by someone to prevent this from happening, and to that end she drags Touma and Co. along. Chaos ensues in the Tower of London as they not only have to deal with deranged prisoners, but another member of Solomon's Cross as well. Pertains to tetsuwan-atom.

The Flood Arc

With the first two days in London filled with nothing but chaos, Touma wants to enjoy his holiday to the fullest, but there is a complication: Lessar. Lessar from New Light mails herself to the Nessicarius women's dorm that Touma and crew are forced to stay (Since they are unable to return to japan because of the chaos from the Gospel of Tyranus arc) and tags along with them. However, the Fallen Roman Catholic Church declares the Magic Association to be enemies of God and another member of Solomon's Cross mounts their attack on London. Chaos ensues when the water manipulating magician takes control of the Thames in the conflict and riots are caused by a mind altering thaumatergical virus.

Thor Challenge Arc

The Magician Thor wishes to fight Touma once more, to that end, he gets him involved in rescuing the 10% of missing child cases in England from the hands of Solomon’s Cross, who continues to use them as disposable tools. Meanwhile, the Association and the Knights of England work together to find the hideout of the remaining members of Solomon’s Cross in London and defeat them. More chaos ensues.

- MINUS Saga -

(Note: The MINUS saga runs concurrently along with the Solomon’s Cross Saga after Delta Force SS and due to who it focuses on, it has more of s railgun feel and manga-like structure storywise. Meaning, they are longer in some cases)

Day 1.

After a phone conversation between Touma and the Railgang, Uiharu Kazari takes an interest in the boy, although is unable to properly remember his name and face because of how unremarkable it is. Meanwhile, Anti-Skill and Judgement conduct a joint operation against MINUS throughout the city. We learn that the Outsourcer for the Plan of Attack was a Pyschology expert by the name of Theresa Kihara Romefeller. The plan of attack results in tragety the side of Judgement and Uiharu seeks to uncover the identity of the Outsourcer, while at the same time conducting her own personal investigation into Kamijou Touma.

Day 2.

In her investigation into Touma, Uiharu asks her best friend Saten what he means to her. because of the timing of it, the question makes  Saten very uncomfortable  and is unable to answer due to having to go to school. Later, Uiharu continues her search for the escaped MINUS members, the identity of the Outsourcer, and more digging into Touma. Uiharu hacking into Touma's file results in her getting threatened by a sniper. She and Konori head over to Touma's school in order to gain information on a member of MINUS who used to go there. After this and more, Uiharu meets up with Saten again, the two argue for a bit regarding what happened earlier in the morning, but make up in the end. They meet up with Mikoto and Kuroko in order to question Touma in relation to his involvement in the Tower of London Arc.

After this, the quartet head over to district 10 in order to face off against the remaining 232 members of MINUS who are hiding there. Anti-Skill and Judgement once again working together, only this time with Anti-Skill leading the charge. Yomikawa also brings in outside help in the form of Hamazura Shiage, Hattori Hanzou, Kuruwa, and Violent Violet. As this operation becomes a battlefeild for the hackers, (Uiharu and the MINUS hacker), the four volunteers are paired with the Railgang in order to protect Uiharu so she can hack into the machines and auromated weapons that MINUS has under their control.

After the conflict is over, the Railgang encounters Thor in Heaven Canceller's hospital to steal some drugs he plans to use on Touma as it ties into the Thor Arc.

Day 3.

The war against MINUS continues as the organization makes their next move to recover their captured member from Anti-Skill and Judgement. Interogations will happen featuring the appearance of Shokuhou Misaki and Kumokawa Seria, and a disturbing revelation is discovered that could potentially put Academy City and Tokyo in danger. Anti-Skill and Judgement move to stop this plot along with the help of a newly reformed GROUP?!

Day 4.

MINUS is on its last legs with most of its members in custody. Uiharu finds herself on a bus with a bomb that is about to blow up and she has to figure out how to stop it. Kamijou Touma finally returns home after his escapades in London, but as expected, it may not be a peaceful return.

Foul Resurrection Arc

After the incidents with MINUS and Solomon’s Cross, Touma tries to  enjoy his return to Academy City, but all of that is thrown out the  window when he   and Index are suddenly attacked by a strange serpent creature. Later, they encounter a woman in blue and find out that the serpent has been going around killing people. Wanting to stop this, Touma gets caught up in a dark plot involving the return of a certain old foe of Accelerator and Violent Violet. Pertains to xbloodsoakedx.

Cube of Metatron Arc

A girl finds her self fleeing from the Fallen Roman Catholic Church when she learns they plan to use her properties for their plans of destroying the world. She flees and finds herself meeting Touma. However, Solomon's Cross and the Church catches up to her and mounts their attack. Meanwhile, Last Order and Takitsubo Rikou are infected with COD-X Virus, prompting Accelerator and Hamazura Shiage to make separate quests for the cure. However, they are attacked by A member of Solomon's Cross and Merryweather mercenaries, who want to use the girls for the Church's goals.

The Great Magician War Arc (Final)

With Touma's failure of protecting the girl from the Pope himself, as well as Last Order and Takitsubo being taken, Touma, Accelerator and Hamazura make separate journeys to rescue those they wish to save. In the middle of all of this, tensions between the Fallen Church and the world finally escalates to the point of armed conflict. An intense war between the powers of the world with their other worldly allies, and The Fallen Church with Solomon's Cross brews as Pope Benedict enacts the ritual needed to activate the the Metatron Cube Spell, involving Annalise, Last Order and Takitsubo. Chaos ensues when all of the forces of Magic, Science and Meta collide, on a scale similar of World War III. Even so, Touma sets out to destroy the illusions of the Pope and save one girl as Vatican City is turned into a floating Fortress to signal the end times.

If you are interested in writing any of these with me, please feel free to message me!

[claire-starsword]

Max’s Diary - Chapter 8

(26) Month of the Yellow Tiger, Day 33

We arrived at Runefaust. But, there's no sign of their army in the city. From what Mahato told me, the army has retreated and we must give chase. In front of the castle they just built, Darksol... Seems he's the root of all these evils. We attacked at once, but he fled to the depths of the castle, and in his place came Emperor Ramladu of Runefaust. Things happened one after the other and Ramladu also retreated further as the battle began. Argh, we must get to him.

The ninja Hanzou will be working with us from this battle on. He's a strong fighter who knows the instant death spell, Desoul. But, ninja are from the shadows. I'll leave him at headquarters. We'll defeat Darksol without borrowing the power of shadows. Probably.

___

(27) Month of the Purple Pearl, Day 4

With everyone working together, we somehow defeated the beasts with breath attacks, Blue Dragons and Chimeras. All that is left is to beat Ramladu.

Torch Eyes and Steel Claws showed up but, with our current power they aren't much of a problem. We're also faster and that'll be the key to victory, we'll quickly made work of those stupid machines. After destroying them we'll go after Ramladu.

Once only Ramladu was left, he finally got his heavy butt up to work. And, the moment Pelle got closer, he spun his weapon and sent him flying. Aah! Pelle was wrecked in one hit. Okay, time for the usual tactic of throwing all we have at him. Everyone do your best. I'm right behind you.

___

(28) Month of the Purple Pearl, Day 15

We infiltrated the Castle of the Ancients. It was a long path from what I recall. A lot of events started flashing back in my mind. After all this struggle, all that's left is to defeat Darksol. Let's move onwards.

Darksol isn't anywhere to be seen in the castle. Huh? Where is he hiding. As we searched here and there we felt the presence of monsters. Seems the castle's defense system has activated. Colossus started moving, and the Chimeras came to attack us. We were taken by surprise, but with Anri's Bolt and Tao's Blaze level 4, and Diane and Lyle's Buster Shots, we intercepted the Chimera and Blue Dragon combination. All that was left was Colossus. Let's surround them one by one to take them down. Huh? We defeated them with no injuries. So weak.

___

(29) Month of the Purple Pearl, Day 20

After turning Colossus into kebab without any trouble, we continued the infiltration. Finally we found Darksol. It's the final battle. Anri and Tao's magic shines, Gort swings the Atlas Axe. Diane and Lyle's Buster Shots blast fire, Balbaroy flies about. Pelle throws the Valkyrie, Khris and Gong run around doing the healing. Musashi cuts enemies in half with the Kiku-ichimonji, Domingo floats around without a care. And I finish everything off with the Chaos Breaker.

With this ultimate force we corner Darksol. His Demon Breath is intense but, as we hit him with everyone at once it doesn't matter much. Alright, we defeated Darksol! I was so glad, and as I celebrated like that...

___

Even now, in the Castle of the Ancients' "last chamber", Darksol works to awaken the Dark Dragon. Will the protagonist succeed in saving the world of light in the end? The answer to that question is something only the Chaos Breaker knows.

___

Notes:

(26): Big mistake on this one, when mentioning Hanzou’s instakill spell they call it Detox (Antidote in the original).

Also, those ellipses when Max meets Darksol in front of the castle... They have a bit more weight if you know Darksol's original dialogue.

"How many times have we met so far? I've begun to think of you as a friend, Max!"

"However, our friendship ends here as well. I've became quite busy here so I have no time to face you. My Dark Dragon... The legendary Dark Dragon who slept at the bottom of the ocean for a thousand years shall awaken by my hand! Wahahahahaha! By the way, and young Cain, is he well?"

"Oh I see, so he's dead? Even though he was quite useful. Well, so that's all he was worth. Oops, our talk turned out quite long. Excuse me now. I must go to the Castle of the Ancients. There are still rites needed for Dark Dragon's revival... If you wish to come then come as well. But ahead is my reception... Hah! Emperor Ramladu will be your opponent... You'll face hell... Well then, goodbye, though it hurts to see us part... For me and for you, Max! Wahhahahaha! Wahahahahaha..."

(29): Domingo saying only his own name in these doodles might be the reason he's like that in the GBA version? Even though it's just a joke.

Those final lines are from the final page of the strategy part. Because the diary doesn't mention the ending in any way I felt like adding something in to make it more complete.