#edo squad

[bbcreative-0]

IM SO DISAPPOINTED

I have never, NEVER, been so disappointed in all Leosagi/Leoichi fans!!! How could you!?! How could ALL of you miss the golden opportunity to make Leo + Edo Squad content!?!?!

We have been WASTING the perfect opportunity to make the most chaotic friend squad ever!!! For shame on ALL of us!!!!

Okay now that I am done being overdramatic, seriously why hasn’t anyone make this kind of dynamic??? All Yuichi’s friends (hell even Yuichi himself) are all criminals and you are telling me Leo isn’t their best friend???

Nah, we are FIXING THAT TODAY!!!!

Gen is literally a bounty hunter who has a twin, scared of spiders, and scared of germs. I know Gen and Leo are buddies in the sense they are covering for each other to lie to their family.

Kitsune is a thief, Chizu is a ninja, and Leo is both. Those three are besties and they are 100% gossiping together.

You might think Yuichi isn’t done for these crimes but WRONG! He is totally okay with it as long as no one is getting hurt and they don’t get caught. As long as no one crosses those two things, it’s fine. Yuichi might just voice his concern once in a while.

I also know missions with the Edo Squad plus Leo is chaotic as hell and we need more content of Leo vibing with Yuichi’s friends and Yuichi is in the background going along with it while once in a while voicing his concerns.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"BOY, WHERE'S THE FIRE?" -- THE FIFTH SQUAD, "SHI" BRIGADE IS HERE TO ANSWER THE CALL.

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1736×2560 -- Spotlight on an woodblock art print from the series江戸の花子供遊び・五番し組 "The Flowers of Edo Children's Amusement," Edo Fireman, the Fifth Squad, "Shi" Brigade. Artwork by 歌川芳虎/画 Utagawa Yoshitora, c. 1858.

Source: https://museumcollection.tokyo/works/6233568.

[recurring-polynya]

Are we accepting anime-beds to this discussion? Perhaps as supporting evidence?

The first one I thought of was Komamura waking up during the Halloween episode. He is, predictably, a futon-man. Wolfman. Whatever.

There was a similar shot with Isane waking up from her dream in the Lamp Society episode, and I was pleased by how consistent they made her bedroom to the shot you posted above.

You mentioned Rukia's Bount arc recovery situation being largely similar to Hisana's, and that checks out, although I have to say, Rukia's got the world's thinnest futon here. Maybe she just prefers a hard sleeping surface. Reminds her of her, uh, childhood of sleeping in the dirt, I guess? (or maybe Byakuya just thinks it does)

They move her around later when Ichigo and Renji come to bother visit her, whether it's because they move her around to wherever the sunlight is coming in, or Ichigo and Renji just aren't allowing the parlor or what, I don't know.

We also see Rukia's normal sleeping situation in the New Year's episode, which is still futons, although her futon looks nicer. Then again, the Bount Arc takes place in September or so, and this is New Year's, so maybe this is just her winter bedding.

PS: I guess this is her room? Which implies that when Renji comes over, they hang out in her room?? O! K!

Speaking of Renji, he slept on a futon when he was staying at Urahara's, which is in the Living Room, but is sort of...culturally...Soul Society?? I guess a lot of people sleep at Urahara's from time to time, and it's always futons in like, the big room they have for injured people, which is sort of analogous to the Squad 4 situation. Renji was here on a slightly more permanent basis, and he spent at least some of it uninjured. Anyway, I am not going to pass up any opportunity to post my Renji's-Urahara-Shouten-Sleeping-Situation screenshots, here they are:

That reminded me--I don't take anything that happened in Fade to Black as canon, but it does feature a shot of what passes for futons in Rukongai.

Finally, you mentioned earlier about Hitsugaya being a futon man, and I agree, so I was wondering what sort of accommodations were provided the time that the Karakura Kids had a slumber party in his office. The answer is: they slept on the floooooooooor

You've always been my go-to for all things Bleach lore and world-building! Do you think Shinigami all sleep in futons or beds? Or maybe it varies from character to character? We've seen the 4th division with beds in their wards, but I think every other character has slept in futons.

Haha, thank you! We do love a furniture deep-dive here, and people's headcanon speculations about shinigami life even more.

I started a list of any time we'd ever seen a character in some kind of bed (futon or frame), but it mostly just ended up being a long list of "_______ at the 4th," lol, so we'll see all those aside (almost all those aside). But canonically, there is a mixture! We see:

Hinamori in Aizen's futon

[Bleach 100]

Ukitake in his quarters

[Bleach e40]

Isane in her quarters

[Bleach 179]

Hisana at the Kuchiki house

[Bleach 179]

I think Rukia had a similar setup during the Bount Arc, as well.

Also, I'd like to note that for the record as I was retrieving *bed pictures* I got emotionally destroyed by my re-encounter with this panel. It is just SO deeply sad:

[Bleach 180]

The incredible, isolating vastness of the room, and the way the shadow cuts across the space. ToT <33333 It also reminds me of a really excellent meta piece done by afinepiece, where she analyzed the panels from Byakuya's story about Hisana and pointed out sections where the panel visuals might suggest Byakuya's memory/headspace more than physical reality. Her journal is deactivated but I know the reblog is on B3 somewhere! I'm inclined to go with that reading here, even though I also feel like the room probably just *looked like this* because every room in Soul Society is like this. (Maybe it's also for airflow, given her illness seemed partially respiratory and possibly contagious? ngl I'm basing this off that one anime elaboration scene and my co-blogger's post about Circus Hisana and Elephant TB).

In my mind Byakuya's convalescent setup was the same as Hisana's (is this the sad Seireitei equivalent of couples' outfits) but I was wrong:

[Bleach 180]

He's in a bed! But from the look of this building he's probably at the 4th and not at home. Put simply, this building is too brutish and workmanlike to be part of the Kuchiki complex:

[Bleach 180]

Hanatarou's quarters (implied)

[Bleach e259]

The tatami floor, layout, and big closet on the right-hand side seem to imply that Hanatarou uses a futon.

Abarai family quarters (implied)

[Bleach "No Breathes from Hell"]

This is probably not the only room in this house and they could put *anything* in those cabinets, but their sheer number and the style of the room suggests that this converts to a futon-filled bedroom, regardless of what might exist in other parts of the house.

Bonus 1: Renji in jail

[Bleach 118]

Is this at the 6th? Is this at the 4th? I always assumed the 6th, though obviously the 4th was involved. Idk, Byakuya left him on the ground. Maybe if you don't pick up your invalids the 4th just stashes them in their jail.

Bonus 2: Hitsugaya in Junrinan (non-shinigami, non-Seireitei)

[Bleach -16 (in between 286 and 287)]

These examples are pretty skewed in favor of futons, but if we think about this collection of characters, there is an overrepresentation of people who trend more traditional in terms of aesthetic, so they might not meaningfully represent the whole. Also, half the list is the same family.

We've seen a number of different offices and meeting rooms for each division, as well as some private residences, which have been a mix of Western and traditional styles in terms of the building itself and the furniture within it. Most of the offices seem to have Western furniture (or at least, the 10th, 6th, and 3rd), whereas Byakuya and Aizen, at least, seem to prefer the traditional at home.

Though, I don't know what this big-ass room is, but given its size and feeling of formal reception, this may well be the 5th's office?

[Bleach 100]

NB 1: I tried to look up what the office looks like under Shinji, but what is happening here:

[Bleach "No Breathes from Hell"]

NB 2: The 2nd also has traditional receiving rooms (used by both Yoruichi and Soi Fon, wherever the division between Shihouin and the 2nd is. But I assume Soi Fon's office is not the Shihouin Family Receiving room).

--

My feeling is that the differences are more regional/Division-based than personal preference-based, and *when*/by whom this design language was established depends on how much time and money the people in charge want to devote to furniture.

But that doesn't necessarily mean each Division is uniform, since we can see Isane and Hanatarou, both seated officers of the 4th, have different-style rooms! Maybe this is an effect of the 4th being an early bed adopter for their general professional purposes. Unohana is 100% a futon lady. I feel like Isane just accepted whatever was originally in the room, and that if there were no bed at all in the room she would sleep on the floor before asking to remodel. Does that mean a previous 4th VC wanted to modernize the VC quarters?

Was that previous 4th VC the original bedframe proselytizer, and got permission from Unohana to do up their quarters like a model home that gave examples of both types of room? Do Isane and Unohana live in an IKEA showroom?

What are the benefits of futons?

the room can be multi-use, a general common room by day and sleeping dorm by night

don't have to make a bunch of bedframes

Given what a big deal everyone makes out of transporting goods from the Living World, I feel like they probably make all their furniture and don't import particleboard from Nitori, so this would be expensive! Plus, given the amount of building reconstruction that needs to happen, I feel like there's probably a fairly small quota of wood released to civilians and/or divisions for non-essential use.

What are the benefits of bedframes?

BUNKBEDS

easier cleaning/long-term savings?

Yeah, you'd have to make the bedframes and have a whole separate common room, but having beds implies you've probably done away with the tatami in the room, since you're not really supposed to put heavy furniture on the mats. And I don't think in a barrack with heavy use you'd be able to rely on shinigami simply "being careful." Same logic as college dorms and their "IKEA, but completely indestructible" furniture.

So if you decide in the long-term that you don't want to do tatami maintenance/replacement and want wood furniture on wood floors, maybe the bed route is for you! ("You" here meaning "your division"!) At which point it'd be a matter of:

caring enough to do a cost/benefit analysis about this

whether or not you want to preserve the traditional aesthetic

whether you have the initial capital to invest in making the change

Some additional thoughts:

We know that at least a portion of the 2nd has heated floors, as financed by Oomaeda. I'm not a heated floors aficionado--though I stayed at an AirBnb once with a heated driveway--NUTS) but I feel like that would...not work with tatami? That over time the heat would dry them out too much and make them brittle? So maybe the 2nd has beds.

Despite the fact that the 10th office changes out their couch out a few times during the canon timeline, I feel like there's a 0% chance Hitsugaya has considered a bedding/architecture overhaul during his tenure at the 10th. He's spent the last 15 years developing a real filing system and an actual budget procedure. He didn't come in with extra money to put towards beds and the 46 doesn't generally approve that kind of line item. That's more of a "gift fund" expense.

Shinji is trying to get a Pod Hotel proposal approved, on the grounds that the idea would benefit more than just the 5th. They could implement it in the Tsumesho (Gotei WeWork)! And provide them in strategic outposts across Rukongai!

During what decade was the 11th briefly "HAMMOCK DIVISION" because it seemed like the cheapest, most low-maintenance option?

[karasukarei]

Wind Breaker Drama CD vol. 2 sample - Oedo-style Fuurin Story

This drama CD is set during the Edo period, so keep that in mind while reading this! Boufuurin has become Fuurin-gumi (“gumi” means group, like in “shinsengumi”) here, with Umemiya as the group head.

As always, if there are mistakes, feel free to let me know!

Other translations I’ve done can be found here!

Scene 1

Sakura (?): I heard that the barracks for Fuurin-gumi is supposed to be around here… is it that?

Nirei: E-excuse me, is this the barracks for Fuurin-gumi…?

Sugishita: *grunts*

Nirei: It is right, it’s obvious! It’s nicely written here right?

Sugishita: *more grunting*

Nirei: U-um, could you perhaps be from Sugishita-san from Tamonshuu’s First Squad?

Sugishita: *gasps of suspicion* You, could you be-!?

Nirei: Heeeeeee!!! I’m sorry I swear I’m not a suspicious figure!! I am Nirei, and I’d like to join-

Sugishita: Coming to join Fuurin-gumi, you sure have some guts! *draws sword*

Nirei: A-ah, I’m being you please don’t cut me down!!

Sakura: Oi! Stop it!

Scene 2

Hiiragi: You made one more mistake.

Sakura: Huh?! What more is there besides this?!

Hiiragi: The head of Fuurin-gumi is not me-

Umemiya 🩵: Ohh, Hiiragi! You’re here!

Enomoto: !! Umemiya-san! Thank you for yourrrrr harrrrd worrrrk!!!

Umemiya: Oh! (t/n: think of it like a sign of acknowledgement)

Hiiragi: Where have you been all this time? (t/n: this might not be accurate, I couldn’t quite catch what he said)

Umemiya: Ahh, sorry about that, here, I bought some dango as souvenirs to share with everyone!

Hiiragi: *grunts of gastric issues without GasCon 10* Anyway, those two over there, they’re new people who just joined today.

Umemiya: Oh?

Nirei: You’re… *excited sounds* It’s the real person! Sakura-san! It’s this person! This person is the top of Fuurin-gumi! The group head Umemiya-san!

Sakura: Eh?

Umemiya: Yo, Sakura! You really came, huh? I look forward to working with you from today!

Sakura: Huh? Huh?! HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!!

Scene 3

Suo: Huh? Over there, is there some sort of commotion?

Kiryuu: Something seems to be up, huh?

Kaji: That restaurant seems to have had someone eat and run.

Sakura (?): Eat and run?

Kaji: The granny from the shop said that the culprit was a man wearing a blue kimono.

Nirei: A blue kimono? Ah!

Kaji: What is it?

Nirei: Just now, there was a man in a blue kimono running down that road!

Sakura (?): Tsk, dammit. *starts running*

Kaji: Oi, hang on!

Suo: Let’s go too!

Nirei / Kiryuu: Yes! / Mm!

[olikaluku]

Chapter 1: ‘Dance to the unified sound’

Our acknowledgment and positive response to echoes of cries for a nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

Ekan

#endSARS was a decentralised social movement petitioning for freedom from police brutality. The series of mass protests called for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS); a unit of the Nigerian Police with a long record of abuse on Nigerian citizens.

Originating in Benin City, coral beads (ekan) represent power & freedom of expression in Edo culture. ‘Ekan’ is a tribute to the 12 protesters who lost their lives on 20/10/2020 using their voice to defend liberty, peace and justice.

Coral beads also represent hierarchy and dominance, the use of broken corals depicts the dismantling of hierarchical abuse of power.

[recurring-polynya]

Izakaya Kamenoya, Part 4

All right, it is time for the final article in my series on Izakaya Kamenoya, the bar all the shinigami drink at in filler episodes! Today, I will be making a valiant attempt to identify what kind of food items are available! Bleach is rather famous for portraying food as blobby lumps, so wish me luck!!

The history of izakaya is pretty interesting, but they basically evolved out of sake shops that started serving food to attract customers and also to entice them to hang out (and keep spending money). They tend to serve small plates, which are shared. This can span a really wide range, though, from just a few basic bar snacks, up to a fancy restaurant. Izakaya Kamenoya tends towards the more full-service. According to the article I linked above, people didn't do a lot of cooking at home in the Edo era--they cooked rice at home and purchased pickles and other simmered goods to top it with. This fits right into the Seireitei to me--shinigami have demanding jobs and disposable income (at least moreso than Rukongai folks), so they love to eat out.

Check out this Ladies' Night Spread, for example:

That looks like two big platters of sashimi in the middle to me, and that's clearly tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) on the far right.

The episode very kindly gave us this close-up of Assorted Meat Skewers.

I am not quite sure what the brown slabs served over lettuce are...tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets), perhaps?

In this shot you can also see some little fish. This looks similar to a picture I found of eihire (grilled stingray fins, served with mayonnaise), so I am assuming this is a something similar.

Boys' Night Out is going to be less fancy, because the boys in question are broke, but it's generally the same stuff-- sashimi, tamagoyaki, skewers, BUT they also have this cool table-top grill! It's called a shichirin, apparently, and is often used to grill yakitori, which it looks like exactly what they're doing. I feel strongly that this is a thing Iba is super into. Like, you go out drinking with Iba, you know he's getting the shichirin. The fact that shichirin translates to "seven wheels", cements this even harder into my heart: it is both grilling (manly!) and a reference to Squad Seven, what is not to love?

How about captains? Ukitake and Kyouraku seem like a pair of guys who enjoy a good meal.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT FISH.

So. Um. Well, it looked to me like it was a fish that had been made into sashimi and then the sashimi was sort of arranged over the skeleton of the fish, with the head in tact (If you are not able to tell how I was able to discern that from this potato-quality screenshot, it's fine, I'm not so sure either). Anyway, I looked that up to see if it was a thing and it sure is! It's called ikizukuri and you do it while the fish is still alive. Today, it's a controversial practice, but Soul Society be Soul Societin'!

In less upsetting news, it looks like they each have a little cup of chawanmushi (egg custard with savory mix-ins, like mushrooms or shrimp). Also, lots of skewers and bowl of colors (pickles maybe?)

I also have this shot from Kyouraku and Amagai's first venture, but I can't tell what anything is:

Clearly a less impressive spread, but they only just got there, so maybe there's more to come. Croquettes in the middle perhaps? I would guess that those little square cups are matcha pudding but Kyouraku hates matcha. The smaller plate kinda looks like more skewers, but it also seems to small to be skewers.

Moving on the other end of the price scale, what does the Extra Value Menu at Kamenoya look like? I'm sure Hisagi and Kira know!

The anime did not give much help here. It looks like they have more of those ?tonkatsu?. Kira's got a plate of...sliced cucumbers maybe? The beige lump in the middle has some colored specks in it, so I'm guessing a fried rice of some sort.

As a final note, I love these little blue cups of orange bulbs that Kira's emotional support team is enjoying here (also more tamagoyaki). They seem like they should be easily identifiable, but they don't look like anything in the two dozen "things to eat at an izakaya" articles I read for this. Is it a fruit? Is it chestnuts? If you have an idea (or you can identify anything else that I couldn't) please let me know!

earlier posts in this series: (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

[saikolikes]

“Black Silk in a Coffin”, an akeshu Royalty AU set in Edo Japan that I wrote for Vulpes as part of the latest bunxia exchange!

Akira, leader of a squad of the Rebel Corps, must infiltrate Shido’s castle as part of a bigger espionage scheme. All goes well until he disguises as Young Lord Akechi Goro’s new attendant… someone meant to serve him in more ways than one.

You can read the fic on Ao3!

[menacewithawolfcut]

I’ve been thinking about this idea/prompt approximately for a week, and it may sound silly, but please hear me out: basically, the lore is Mizu, Taigen & Ringo squad is doing plot stuff together, they need to sneak into a kabuki theatre (I haven’t made up the specific reason why), Mizu gets to “cross-dress” as onnagata for disguise purposes, the usual fighting action happens, and also in the background of all of that Mizu’s crush towards Taigen intensifies, but at the same time she experiences emotional flashbacks of her marriage to bitch Mikio (again)

Main inspirations behind this include: “Noel’s Lament” from Ride the Cyclone musical (the main one), “Vampire Empire” by Big Thief, du_duck’s fanart/video where Mizu also “cross-dresses”, a deleted scene from the show where she checks out herself in the mirror, and various historical & art stuff about kabuki theatre and Edo-era Japan in general that I found online and at the local museum, because I’m a nerd (derogatory)

[houseofbrat]

Unpopular opinion ahead HoB and I’m going to disagree with you:…

I hope KC3 does absolutely nothing to issue letters patent in his reign.

Why? Because no matter what he does, it’s going to come in for criticism and I’m sick and tired of him being the Royal Family’s media whipping boy and the person to clean up Saint Lizzie and Diana’s messes at the expense of his own public reputation.

Second, all he’s going to do is fix a problem for William who will probably shiv him for doing so and leak stories to paint himself as both the person who made the decision in the UK press who would applaud it, and the bigger person who would never have done it in the U.S. press to avoid being called a racist.

This pic from a BP reception this past week made me feel so sad. KC3 looks visibly pale and exhausted, which is how he usually looks after just getting treatment. Meanwhile his sons and their wives, who only have their wealth and priviledge by virtue of being his sons, aren’t there supporting and are rather indulging themselves on their latest vacation or jaunt.

I hope this man does nothing besides focus on his treatment, get more rest and encourage Camilla to wear bigger jewels from the vault. He’s beyond due for some time on easy street.

The Wales fandom like to delude themselves that Willy is a big tough alpha who is going to deal with Harry one day. So let Charles leave the mess for him to clean up!

We all know there is a plan to change the titles because Meghan brought it up in the Oprah interview.

The decision about slimming down the number of titles (& styles) originated before the millennium with the Way Ahead Group. QEII was too chickenshit and too much of a coddler to strip her granddaughters of their titles, even though Charles wanted it to be so.

Ed & Sophie took the smarter option of not using prince/ss title and HRH styles for their children, even though technically they had the ability/right to do so. They realized that it would be better for their children to a) not be known as prince/ss and b) not worry about having those titles & style taken away.

Charles wanted Beatrice & Eugenie to be styled as daughters of a duke a long time ago. I suspect that Charles has officially told them that he is going to do it, which is why Eugenie & Andrew weren't seen at Sandringham for Christmas. The Chinese "spy" scandal from December that implicated Andrew didn't make much sense to me in terms of timing because Andrew had already separated himself from Pitch@Palace years ago after his NewsNight interview.

I suspect that Andrew & Eugenie are salty about their upcoming loss of title & styles, which is why they didn't want to go to Sandringham. I suspect Beatrice initially may have gone along with her father, mother, and sister in protest until Edo talked her out of it, which is why there was a turn-around regarding attendance a few days before Christmas.

People think that this is just about taking Archie & Lilibet's titles away. Nope! This is about the streamlining that Charles has been mentally thinking about for decades. Beatrice & Eugenie are too much of a heat score for any future scandals due to their father. They're also never going to be working royals. Archie & Lilibet are too young to know the difference, regardless of how much the Sussex Squad whines about them going back to being not royals.

I've long wondered why it has taken so long for Charles to just issue the letters patent. I thought he would do it before his coronation? Nope. After the coronation? Also no. After the one-year anniversary of ascension to the throne? Nope. After the one-year anniversary of his coronation? Still no.

Finally, it's clear to me that the reason Charles has been waiting for a while to do this is because he doesn't want to strip Harry of his HRH style, even temporarily. Charles has no problem stripping Andrew of his HRH outright. (Andrew still technically has an HRH style.) However, he has a bit more of a problem stripping Harry because he has known about all of Harry's marriage problems and the likelihood that he'll divorce and return to the UK.

The clock is up on Harry's marriage. I suppose I can do another poll on when the Sussex divorce will be announced, but that's going to have to wait until March.

We only have a few more weeks to wait until the Wales fandom goes up in flames, which will probably be when Will & Kate go and hide for another month on another vacation. The kids' spring break starts on 28 March, which also just happens to be right before Mother's Day in the UK.

Are we going to get a new Mother's Day picture this year? Asking for a friend...

FIVE MORE WEEKS BITCHES!

[corallianassa]

Overinterpreting Uro Takako's Name

Sorry if this is poorly formatted, I cooked this up in an afternoon and it is hardly a pointed academic essay dissecting her character, more like a desperate yap session rooting around as much in the implications of her character as possible. Had to cut some content even though tumblr supposedly doesn't have a word limit, but before cutting it it wouldn't let me post, so I'll post post the second part sometime later. NAMES. NAMES. NAMES. Names are a central theme to Uro’s character, so when analyzing her I like starting there. Crucially, Uro did not have a name for most of her first life, only being granted one by an official within the Fujiwara clan in order to scapegoat her for him killing his own people. To clarify, Uro Takako is not the name she was given back then, the listed names of Culling Games players are from their modern vessels (evidenced by Yorozu, Uraume, Angel, Kenjaku, and Sukuna all being addressed by names we know to belong to their vessels. Furthermore, ‘Uro Takako’ does not follow the early-mid heian period naming conventions. however, whether they're their original names or not ,I think Gege’s choices for their vessels' name are quite deliberate, including for Uro. URO Starting with the family name, Uro (烏鷺) consists of two kanji, that of ‘crow’ 烏 (karasu) and heron 鷺 (sagi). This is not a random pairing of birds; crows and herons are often paired together in Japanese art to symbolize a yin and yang, black and white contrast. This is reflected in her visual design as well, where her lack of clothes and light hair leaves her completely white in the manga, save for the black sclera, bracelets, and choker, producing a ‘darkness within light’ motif that shows the dark, yang, can be found in the light, yin. Herons can signify a wide range of things in Japan, including negative and foreboding qualities, but the heron contrasted with a crow is generally a white heron. White herons are associated with positive qualities like purity and strength, and are seen as messengers of the gods.

In this color spread, Ryu and Uro are cuntily posed up next to a quote ‘The Flower That Blooms in A Sea of Death…Gets a Second Chance At Life’’. Unfortunately for Ryu, this quote only benefits Uro because he got turned into cake slices by Sukuna. Uro’s last life was characterized vastly more by the ‘crow’, the ‘dark’ in her name - an assassin whose role is to kill people, and as a member of the Sun Moon and Stars squad, she was relegated to the shadows. This is why I think Uro’s second life will be characterized more by the white heron; finding strength and change. Her role is not over yet. The Painting of Lovers Walking In the Snow, (Or Crow and Heron)

To continue about ‘uro’ and the concept of crows and herons, a famous painting associated with this phrase is ‘Lovers Walking In the Snow (Crow and Heron), made in the Edo period. It doesn’t have direct implications on Uro’s character or anything, I just like comparing it. In paintings, white (also yin, represented by the white heron) is associated with femininity while black is associated with masculinity. Especially in tradition, femininity, yin, is seen as submissive, while masculinity, yang, is seen as active and leading. In Uro’s character this association is flipped on its head. Her Heian period life is associated with the darkness in her name, but her entire life revolved around submission to the Fujiwara - denied all sorts of autonomy, including having a name for herself.  The Uro we see in the current timeline in Sendai is boisterous and stands up for herself, unapologetically feminine and strong. This actually makes me like my trans woman Uro hc a bit more, the themes of change and rebirth in both her name and character as a whole jive well with it. Her being seen as a man back in the Heian period while lacking the autonomy to live as herself, to being incarnated as a woman in the modern era with her white heron symbolism about transition would feel poetic and makes her second chance at life even more meaningful. Of course, this symbolism works really well with cis woman Uro too, as going from living in a society as unequal as the Heian period to the modern day would be a major transition in and of itself for any woman. A small note on the painting is that it may depict a michiyuki, a lyrical journey employed in plays (typically near the end in kabuki plays. One of the popular endings for such michiyuki is a double suicide of lovers when their love is at odds with the expectations of society. I like this interpretation for the piece because stories about the Heron Maiden I will look at next deal with impossible doomed love too. A tragic love story with Uro in her previous life is very plausible - if she was denied a name and forced to live in the shadows, it only makes sense that she was denied meaningful relationships, but love finds its way to people regardless. Ultimately, she was executed rather than committing a tragic double suicide, but perhaps she was targeted as a sacrificial lamb after breaking the rules imposed on her one too many times. 

The Heron Maiden

The second piece of classic art I wanna take a look at is the story of the Heron maiden. It feels fitting and poignant when applied to Uro. In it, a man cared for a wounded heron, and after he set it free he met a young woman. She was charming and the man quickly fell for her, leading to the two marrying. The woman was skilled at textile working, specifically weaving silk brocade. She requested him not to watch her as she worked, but one day he failed to resist the temptation and saw there the heron he saved weaving at the loom. Her non-human form discovered, she then sorrowfully left. Its theme of concealed identity resonates with Uro's character, existing as an assassin that was stowed away into the shadows unless needed by her superiors. Her lack of clothing in the modern incarnation can be read as her finally exposing herself to the world, casting off the expectation to be hidden all the time.

A kabuki play about the Heron maiden ends similarly tragically, though rather than the maiden turning into a heron and leaving, she succumbs to unrequited love. A failure to be recognized and seen by others is definitely a theme that can be seen in Uro, so it felt fitting to at least mention. TAKAKO Now, onto her given name, Takako. There’s a lot less to say about it; the first kanji, 亨, means to ‘go well’ or ‘pass smoothly’, generally used in words that evoke prosperity. The latter kanji, 子, is used very commonly in (especially feminine) names and simply means ‘child’.  Not much to interpret, insha’allah she can be a prosperous child in this second life. NOT HAVING A NAME Now, onto the next part of her name; the fact that she did not have one, until the man that had her executed gave her one. Not having a name has very different connotations in the Heian period than it does in the modern period. Having a first and last name was not a universal standardized custom in the Heian period. Those with a first and last name would generally be structured as [clan name] no [ given name], like Fujiwara no Tokihira, Sugawara no Michizane, etc. Important men were also often simply referred to by their title, their personal name at other times. As described in the notes of the edition of The Diary of Lady Murasaki I have, women lacking personal names was common; ladies in waiting were generally referred to as their role/rank/position and a name derived from a male relative’s title or land property. Their name was little more than a signifier of their job and the significance of a male relative. Even lady Murasaki herself (Murasaki Shikibu), her name was merely a nickname (Murasaki) combined with Shikibu (the ministry of ceremony where her father once held power). Rank

Because of this, Uro Takako was likely just referred to as ‘Captain’ (Taicho) or ‘Captain of the Sun Moon and Stars squad’. Between the two, captain is a very generic name and many people would hold a captain role within the Fujiwara, so she was likely often referred to by the full name of the squad. The fact that she lacked a personal name could mean that there was no further identification besides her role of captain - no male relative derived title to add to it. It wouldn’t be a surprise that an assassin that works from the shadows would not be openly associated with any relatives, both for their safety and to reduce individuality. In this context, a man ‘giving her a name’ could easily be interpreted as having a romantic meaning. For a woman like Uro that more than likely was fully estranged from relatives, obtaining a name through a lover or husband (the distinction was somewhat vague and non-codified in the Heian period) would be an option. The man that gave her her name being a lover is the easiest explanation, though a higher ranked man simply granting her a name through other means, like forging a fake personal history for her, is also possible. The Captain of the Sun Moon and Stars squad, a sorcerer squad that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Five Void Generals, sounds like a role that would have similar standing to functions like the Major Captains of the palace guards or military, but these were renowned positions often taken by court nobles, something Uro was decidedly not. It’s clear that despite the implied importance of her role, her social standing was incomparably insignificant compared to those captains.  Because so many functions would rank above her, I can’t theorize much on what position the official that betrayed her occupied. Unfortunately, the only flashback panel we get of him (presumably it’s him, because she gets so mad) is not very identifiable besides the fact he wears formal male courtly clothes. I would expect him to hold some high military rank, as that would connect most naturally with a sorcerer assassination unit.  The Five Void Generals

They’re not the focus of this post, but I want to take an aside to mention them because of their connection to Uro. They are described as standing shoulder to shoulder with the Sun Moon and Stars squad in terms of strength, but in social standing, I presume them to be incomparable. The kanji for void has the radical for tiger in it, so connecting the Five Void Generals to the Five Tiger Generals seems intended. The Five Tiger Generals, while not having direct historical basis, is a popular way to refer to the five top military commanders under a lord or authority, most notably as Liu Bei’s five most prominent generals in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, and Zhao Yun. The Five Tiger Generals were each well-recognized and famous military commanders, completely unlike Uro, who failed to obtain renown. If they are at all analogous, the Five Void Generals would be influential officials and essentially celebrities. For someone like Uro, who led a squad said to equal them in power, this would rub salt in the wound and serve as a symbol of how unfairly the Fujiwara treated her.  Incomplete Source List: https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/sagi-musume-the-heron-maiden-1df5337e https://enmokudb.kabuki.ne.jp/repertoire_en/%E9%B7%BA%E5%A8%98-the-heron-maiden/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/heron-japan-myth-folklore#:~:text=White%20herons%2C%20noted%20for%20their,or%20symbolizing%20purity%20and%20transition. https://theinkbrain.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/the-heron-maiden-a-japanese-folk-tale/

[shinsengumi-archives]

Okita Souji's work schedule

During the Edo period, low-ranking samurai working at Edo Castle had a "three-day shift," working two days and taking the third day off.

Working hours were shorter than now, and the work was divided into morning, evening, and night shifts.

This may sound somewhat enviable, but the pay was low, and the workers ended up working long hours at their own side jobs.

On the other hand, what was the work schedule like for the Shinsengumi, who were paid well but had to work hard?

Since there are no historical materials about the service shifts of the Shinsengumi members, I would like to speculate based on some records.

Since the Shinsengumi were often mobilized for emergencies, there were relatively few incidents, and I have referred to the events from the first year of the Genji Era to the second year of the Keio Era, when the organization seemed to be in place after the assassination of Serizawa Kamo.

Off-duty days?

In the first year of the Genji era, Tomizawa Chuemon, the village head of Hino and a fellow student, went to Kyoto and wrote in his diary that he often visited the headquarters.

According to this, on 2/2, Hijikata, Inoue, and Okita were at the headquarters from around noon to evening.

The following month, on 3/5, they attended the Peach Blossom Banquet hosted by Kondo and others. Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Okita, Todo and others were there and returned home the next morning.

On March 11, a cherry blossom viewing party was held. Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Okita, Toudou, and Takeda Kanryusai attended. After the banquet, they moved to Shimabara for an after-party, so it's likely that they returned home in the morning on this day as well.

Although we do not know the start time of either banquet, they must have been off duty that day or the next day.

The next month, on April 11, a farewell party was held for Tomizawa who had completed what he set out to do and was returning home. This was attended by Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, and Okita. Since the party was held in the evening, it cannot be said that they were off duty.

Work days

Except for emergency dispatches such as the Ikedaya Incident, there is nothing that shows Okita's work days in the First Squad.

The mistaken arrest that caused trouble with the Higo clan was introduced in the article "Okita Souji's Apology Conference". If this was the work of the First Squad, 9/8 of Keio 1 is a work day.

On the other hand, for some reason, an attendance record still exists for Takeda Kanryusai and the 7th Squad.

Takeda was involved in the capture of Masuya (Furutaka Shuntaro) on 6/5 of the first year of the Genji era and the Akebonotei Incident on 6/10. It is believed that he belonged to the 3rd Squad at that time.

In the 7th Squad, Yano Shigetaro was captured on 5/12 in the leap month of Keio 1. On 9/12 of the following year, there is a record of Sanosuke Harada leading his unit to the Sanjo Noticeboard Incident.

It's noteworthy that in the Sanjo Noticeboard Incident, it's clear from the subsequent historical materials that Squads 3, 5, and 7 were deployed.

Although the 1st squadron was not dispatched, the other odd-numbered squads were all dispatched together, probably because they were on the same shift.

Morning shift, night shift, 3-day shift?

Then, assuming that the "Peach Blossom Banquet" was off-duty, I created a shift based on the same "three-day shift" as that of Edo Castle.

Then, the "Tomizawa's Farewell Party" was also off-duty for odd-numbered teams.

Also, Hijikata Kennosuke, a member of the Sennin Doshin (Thousand Men Army) who had come to Kyoto, visited the headquarters and held a drinking party on September 18, Keio 1 (1865) [edit: corrected typo], also off-duty, and Okita and Inoue of the First and Third Corps attended all the parties.

Furthermore, none of the days when Takeda and 7th Squad were deployed fell on off-duty days, but rather on work days.

However, 2/2, when Tomizawa visited, was a work day on this shift. Considering that Okita and the others were drinking until the evening, they may have been on a different shift before the "Peach Blossom Party," or they may have been on duty from the evening.

Since the Sanjo Noticeboard incident also did not involve the First Squad, it's also possible that they were on morning-duty on this day.

This is just a hypothesis, but I think that the Shinsengumi took turns off-duty for each even-numbered and odd-numbered squad, and that there was a morning shift and an evening shift on working days.

There is a high possibility that the work interval is a "3 days shift", but if it's based on odd or even numbers, there will be days when all employees are dispatched, so there may have been another group.

However, when Iba Hachiro went to Kyoto, he worked once every four days. Other diaries from the same period show consecutive days of work and consecutive holidays, which are irregular and depend on the organization.

The Shinsengumi's work schedule was announced in the morning, so even if there was a general schedule, it would have varied.

Incidentally, according to this schedule, the day Okita wrote a letter to his hometown informing them of Sannan's death fell on a day he was off duty.

It may have taken him a long time to write that painful letter...

References

「新選組日誌　(上)」 菊地明・伊東成郎・山村竜也

「日本人は昔から働き者?知ると深い「江戸の労働」 濱田浩一郎

「幕末武士の京都グルメ日記　「伊庭八郎征西日記」を読む」　山村竜也　幻冬舎

「慶応���年御進発御用日記  十九歳の長州出兵記録」　日野の古文書を読む会研究部会　日野市郷土資料館

「新選組史料大全」　菊地明

[bbcreative-0]

A Deal for Love Chapter 12: A Deal

Chapter 12 where the Edo Squad is struggling and Leo is tired

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FIREFIGHTING AS A CULTURAL FORCE FOR THE WOODBLOCK ARTS IN EDO PERIOD JAPAN.

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1750×2560 -- Spotlight on "The Flowers of Edo Children's Amusement," Fireman, First Squad, "Man" Brigade (江戸の花子供遊び・一番万組), artwork by Utagawa Yoshitora [歌川芳虎/画], c. 1858.

COLLECTION OF: Edo-Tokyo Museum

TITLE: "The Flowers of Edo Children's Amusement"; Fireman, First Squad, "Man" Brigade

CREATOR: Utagawa Yoshitora

CREATION DATE: 1858

Source: https://museumcollection.tokyo/en/works/6233571.

[evilcokito]

Your au seems so cool and I'm SO lost (I've never seen/read Bleach)😭 I hope you don't mind if I ask what is the general idea?

YES OF COURSE!!! This is going to be quite long-

Bleach is about Shinigamis (angels of death) and how is the process of passing souls through the the Human World to the Soul Society: the world of Shinigamis. These are in different dimensions.

It could be said that it deals with the connection of this worlds... and others but we are not going to talk about it.

When someone dies, The shinigami goes to the human world and performs a rite to send that soul to the "Soul Society". If the soul stays in the human world for a long time, it becomes a Hollow...It's who they fight... 40% of the time...

In summary, that process (the rite of sending souls) we were talking about, maintains a balance between these places and others. Bleach's problems generally appear when that balance is broken (when humans pass into soul society: it's forbidden, the process is interrupted or not done for some reason, or someone intentionally seeks to break that balance).

HERE COMES THE DIFFICULT PART AND A LOT OF NAMES which is where the TWST characters fit into this Au-

The Soul Society is sustained in a Bureaucratic Order... That Order is called SEREITEI: It has 13 squads, with Captains of each one, Lieutenants and other Shinigami under their command. They go by rank and position. The captains are the strongest.

Now, you read that and you say: wow those Shinigami are really admirable and strong... but in reality they have human problems, many personal problems and the seriousness with which they take things is questionable...

ok, Important points:

for some reason, Soul Society is set in the Edo era.

all Shinigamis fight with a sword, which is called Zanpakuto (soul cutter) . Absolutely all of them have different powers... and they usually tell more about the character-

Shinigamis are Souls too, some were human or born here. Humans can't see them unless they have a special ability. Also, the passage of time is different (as with Malleus, they can be very old and look young).

the squads have different activities (Some are doctors, others are scientists and do research, some are in charge of security, communications, espionage etc.)

They have an insane amount of abilities: from very fast movements (Shunpo) to enchantments (Kido), sword fencing techniques or melee combat. The better, the more powerful.

ok, I hope this helps you a little Anon... IT'S A LOT BUT I TRY TO SUMMARIZE IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE a lot of text anyway sorry.

In this Au, Yuu/Mc is going to pass, for some strange reason, to the Soul Society (similar to TWST... COF COF GRIMM(?) but they are not going to receive Yuu with open arms, no no... THEY ARE GOING TO FIGHT-

[olikaluku]

Chapter 1: ‘Dance to the unified sound’

Our acknowledgment and positive response to echoes of cries for a nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

Ekan

#endSARS was a decentralised social movement petitioning for freedom from police brutality. The series of mass protests called for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS); a unit of the Nigerian Police with a long record of abuse on Nigerian citizens.

Originating in Benin City, coral beads (ekan) represent power & freedom of expression in Edo culture. ‘Ekan’ is a tribute to the 12 protesters who lost their lives on 20/10/2020 using their voice to defend liberty, peace and justice.

Coral beads also represent hierarchy and dominance, the use of broken corals depicts the dismantling of hierarchical abuse of power.

[rubylarkspur22]

Sunflowers & Thundering Fireworks(💕): Canon Divergence - Final Selection Timeline

So, as I'm sure many will be wondering, what is the timeline for my Ship Swap AU? Well, here's a rough draft of events:

(Notes: This contains manga spoilers, the years are based off the estimate that the main series takes place in 1915-1916, and this is liable to change.)

Kotoha throws Inosuke off the cliff and gets killed by Douma, and Inosuke is found by his boar mother.

The Kanzaki parents are killed by Douma, leaving a young Aoi to fend for herself. She finds her way into the woods, finding herself being raised by the wildlife.

Obanai escapes his family cult with Kaburamaru, and is rescued by Shinjurou. Not long after, Mitsuri loses her family and is taken in by the Iguro cult as a replacement for the runaway Obanai.

Tanjirou and Nezuko are kidnapped by bandits, and taken to a different location in Japan. Nezuko gets sold off to Tokito House in Yoshiwara/the Entertainment District a year later.

Kanao and Zenitsu meet, and arrive at Mount Kumotori ≤ a year later.

Kanae finds Inosuke while tracking down a demon, and takes him in.

Mitsuri escapes the Iguro cult, and is saved by Ruka, who kills the snake demon and take Mitsuri in.

Kanae(17) and Sanemi(17) battle Douma. They both survive, though Sanemi barely pulls through with severe injuries.

The Shinazugawa brothers reunite and reconcile after Sanemi recovers a bit from his injuries.

Muzan attacks the Kamado family, killing the four present children and turning Zenitsu(14) into a demon. Kanao(14) goes to Mount Sagiri to train under Urokodaki.

Nezuko(12) commits ashinuke, meeting and being taken in by Tengen, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma on the way out of Yoshiwara.

Inosuke(14) goes to Final Selection and passes.

Kanao(16), Tanjirou(15), Nezuko(14), Genya(16), and Aoi(17) all attend Final Selection, all 5 passing.

Other Notes:

After rescuing Obanai but before Ruka rescues Mitsuri, Shinjurou passes away from illness.

After passing his own Final Selection, but before the Kamaboko Squad's Final Selection, Inosuke gets injured and is forced to resign from the Corps.

As per canon, Amane and Kagaya were married at their canon time, and had that quintaplets two years later.

Tanjirou is rescued by the Kochou Sisters, and subsequently adopted by them and Inosuke at least a year after Nezuko gets sold off to Yoshiwara. I have no clue where to put this at the moment, so that it makes chronological sense.

Of course, this doesn't include other swapped ships due to being significantly earlier in the timeline(specifically, Yoriichi x Uta and Hakuji/Akaza x Koyuki, being in the Sengoku and Edo Periods respectively)