#lmao knew i had to make a tr version of this

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Does it still count as therapy even with the angst?

[moutheyes]

재희

so I'm finally making headway into the original Korean version of love in the big city, and I finished the first chapter today. I'll always love the snappy dialogue between the narrator (Young) and Jaehee. their friendship always felt so lived-in, and I'd say reading it in Korean makes it even more evident—there's just this fantastic rhythm to their dialogue. I'll just go ahead and post my favorite parts from this section of the book, in both English and Korean [self-translated parts in brackets because I don't have the English version in front of me so I can only scrape what's on Goodreads lmao]:

“In those days, we learned a little bit about what it was like to live as other people. Jaehee learned that living as a gay was sometimes truly shitty, and I learned that living as a woman wasn’t much better. And our conversations always ended with the same question: Why were we born this way? Who knows?” 그 시절 우리는 서로를 통해 삶의 여러 이면들을 배웠다. 이를테면 재희는 나를 통해서 게이로 사는 건 때론 참으로 좆같다는 것을 배웠고, 나는 재희를 통해 여자로 사는 것도 만만찮게 거지 같다는 것을 알게 되었다. 그리고 우리 대화는 언제나 하나의 철학적 질문으로 끝났다. —우리 �� 이렇게 태어났냐. —모르지 나도.

this section always struck me as a crucial part of understanding how Young approaches life, and hardships in particular:

나는 그 모습을 보고 나서야 이게 화를 내야 할 상황이었구나 뒤늦게 깨달았고, 화를 내야 할 상황에 누구보다 크게 웃는 게 나의 버릇이라는 것도 덩달아 알게 되었다. [It wasn't until I saw his expression that I belatedly realized I should have been angry in that situation, and at the same time I found out I had a habit of laughing louder than anyone else when I should have been angry.]

the laughing as a defense mechanism comes back a couple times in the chapter, but it's also thrown into stark relief in the scene where Jaehee admits to telling her boyfriend about Young's sexuality after being backed into a corner about her living arrangements. instead of laughing it off, he gets truly mad for the first time in the book; both of them are surprised by his reaction, and he realizes what he's feeling is betrayal. even though he's never really been in the closet, and he's not ashamed of his identity, something about the fact that it was Jaehee, his closest person, talking about him to an outsider, made the whole thing unbearable to him:

재희와 내가 공유하고 있던 것들이, 둘만의 이야기들이, 다른 사람에게 알려지는 게 싫었다. 우리 둘의 관계는 전적으로 우리 둘만의 것이라고 믿었기 때문에. 언제까지라도. [The things that Jaehee and I shared with each other, the stories that were ours only, I hated the fact that someone else knew. Because I believed that our relationship was always just going to be between the two of us.]

and that was the oh moment for me re: the depth of their relationship, or at least Young's dependency on Jaehee, and his loneliness because Jaehee was all he had. (while I loved his friend group in the show, they are decidedly NOT a major presence in the book, especially in this first chapter, where he is at his youngest and his loneliest.)

Young returned to that Jaehee-less isolation in the days leading up to her marriage; as her things physically disappeared from their apartment, he also learned more about her rather affluent family background, which put even more distance between their realities: him, scraping by financially as a writer, not even a single suit to his name to attend her wedding in, while her parents had bequeathed her and her husband a luxe apartment in Songpa-gu*. her insistence that he be a participant in the ceremonies, despite his reluctance, felt like her clumsy way of showing Young how important he was to her—she also only had him to lean on, at least for a little while—but it ended in a farce as he could barely get out a single verse of Fin.K.L's "Eternal Love."

(side note but I do think the lyrics of this song suited the situation a lot more than the song they replaced it with in the drama, although I'm not sure if there was a copyright issue involved in that creative decision or not—it's just so delicate and wistful and perfectly captures what Jaehee meant to Young. I mean, come on: In my small heart, I love only you??? anyway, I think they tried to incorporate the meaning behind the song in Young's monologue—see gif above—on their final night as roommates.)

(note that the wedding song scene was way less cathartic in the book; Young basically humiliated himself in front of a bunch of people he didn't even like and escaped as soon as he could.) anyway, after all that, of course there's the bittersweet ending to Jaehee's chapter:

“That’s when I realized that my time with Jaehee, which I thought would last forever, was over. She had always stocked the fridge with blueberries. Remembered the names and faces of every man I’d slept with, been the external backup drive of my love life. Smoking every­where, meeting the most unsuitable men. Jaehee, who had taught me that every season is its own beautiful moment—that Jaehee didn’t live here anymore.” 그때, 영원한 줄 알았던 재희와 나의 시절이 영영 끝나버렸다는 것을 깨달았다. 언제나 때에 맞춰 블루베리를 사다 놓던 재희. 내가 만났던 모든 남자들의 이름과 얼굴을 기억하는, 내 연애사의 외장하드 재희. 아무 데서나 담배를 피우며, 가당찮은 남자만 골라 만나는 재희. 모든 아름다움이라고 명명되는 시절이 찰나에 불과하다는 것을 가르쳐준 재희는, 이제 이곳에 없다.

the use of 영원한 (forever/eternal/everlasting) calls back to the Fin.K.L song, first of all. secondly, I love the cadence of the whole section in both languages and I wanna pick Anton Hur's brain so badly about how he translated that last line in particular.

*a note about Seoul geography: Young's family home is in Jamsil, which is also in Songpa-gu, like no more than 3-4 subway stops away from Bangi, where Jaehee's new apartment is. it's a very residential district, compared to the more boisterous neighborhoods that serve as backdrop to Young's story. just another subtle way to underscore the finality of Jaehee's marriage as this closing point of their friendship—to have her truly "settle down," and so close to the place he has left behind.

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

Pokemon Sword and Shield first thoughts

The Negative:

- The reduced pokedex. Hear me out before you go screaming about how we knew this was going to be a thing. While I would always be disappointed with the reduced pokedex like I was with generation 7, Sword and Shield’s pokedex somehow felt less full than generation 7 which is strange because they had about the same (small) amount of new pokemon. My guess is that it’s because a lot of the pokemon we saw in Sword and Shield feel like the ones fans use more often than not. Like sure there were combees and whatever, but I noticed most the pseudos and beloved pokemon like charizard and gengar made it in. And like there’s nothing wrong per se about that, but it honestly felt like less diversity, especially in a game that had 6 new dragon lines.

- The lack of “evil plot” until the end. Look I know there was a buildup in Sonia’s plot about the darkest day and so on, and I know pokemon has done games where the major evil plot event happens at/after the elite four before, but the lack of evil team in these games made it feel empty and lowkey like a ripoff of Lysander’s reveal in X and Y without the team flare stuff. Like I don’t know, the chairman was an interesting villain and the whole “Is he or Olenna really the mastermind?” red herrings thrown through Bede’s story (as a sidenote, justice for Bede tbh, like yeah he’s a prick but he deserved better than he got) and Olenna’s personality was good, but none of it felt developed enough. Like story wise it literally felt like I was playing X and Y but instead of the protagonist, I was Tierno until the last part. It also made the gym challenge/travelling seem a lot longer which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again, made it feel a little empty compared to past games.

- The version exclusives. No, I don’t care if this is a product of capitalism, I’m still gonna complain about it each game lmao. And I am especially going to criticise it with these games given you had to have a Nintendo switch online account to trade. Like I am someone who despises the idea of in game purchases, so the idea you need one to fill the pokedex is scummy to me.

- Hop. Whoever decided that he needed to make a comment every time you battled and did a supereffective or critical hit move on him needs to be fired because my god was that annoying. Just in general, I felt he was under developed in a way that made him uninteresting and pretty much a Hau rip off. And the sad thing is that like there was the makings there for him to be interesting. Him feeling like he had to live up to Leon + the shame/disappointment he felt from the loss to Bede and then you at the end along with him finding his own way in life and deciding to train to be a professor all sound interesting in theory, but it just didn’t come to life in the game in the same way I found Bede and Marnie’s backstories to be. I also kinda wish they built up the him wanting to be a professor thing more rather than just feeling like they added it on at the end.

- The graphics just popping in. Look, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild graphics given this is the first new pokemon game on the switch and it wasn’t in development for as long. But I am someone who hopes that this gets fixed for future games.

- It was handholdy/linear. So I will gladly admit this was much better than it was in generation 7 and again, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild but when you consider that technically in generation one, once you get cut you can do gyms 3 - 6 (7 if we’re talking let’s go) in whatever order you want and explore like 80% of Kanto, it feels restrictive that they flat out block you out of any town you haven’t been to/aren’t supposed to be in.

The Mixed:

- Sonia’s arc. I love that they showed through Hop and Sonia that becoming a professor is a genuine path because I feel like if I was in the pokemon universe, I would be a professor. But I felt the execution of Sonia’s story felt off. Like she spent a lot of it reminiscing/telling us about how she used to be a battler and supposedly Leon’s best rival and having Magnolia ask her what she’s doing with her life (which in itself was weird, I mean a professor making fun of someone for working towards being a professor???) just for Magnolia to hand Sonia the coat with no on screen resolution of any of that. Like I don’t know, I guess I just would have liked a big moment where she helped with the chairman or something whether that be through battling or her expertise and have that be an “aha!” moment where she decides to be a professor and Magnolia hand her the coat then or something of that calibre.

- The beginning. Basically I thought it was perfect except it still felt too long. Like having the champion give you pokemon, those pokemon showing their personalities in the choosing scene and being able to skip the catching and pokecenter tutorials were amazing. But even with those skippable features, the introduction felt long.

- The gym leaders. I like that Piers played a notable role in the story and his inability to use dynamax pokemon intrigues me. But quite frankly, the rest of the gym leaders are among the most forgettable we’ve ever had in my honest opinion.

- TRs. I feel like this was added for more competitive players who want a challenge which is not me if I’m honest, so I get it but would prefer TMs to stay multiuse lmao. I’m also kinda surprised at which particular TMs they chose to be TRs.

- The experience share. I’ll admit, even as someone who uses the new age experience share, I thought making it compulsory would be a horrific idea. But I genuinely feel like they balanced it out really well given I versed every single trainer with the same team without facing many wild pokemon and was still under leveled for most the gyms. My only gripe with it is that I tend to switch out my strongest pokemon throughout the main story to add a pokemon I don’t plan to use just to evolve it to fill the pokedex, so it being set up to mostly make you under leveled was a bit of a pain because as someone who isn’t big on versing wild pokemon and was just aiming to catch the new ones until post game, I couldn’t afford for my main pokemon to not be getting that experience. But I do recognise that that’s a personal thing and like not an inherit flaw of the experience share and it will definitely work well for nuzlockers and so on. 

- Dynamaxing. Basically I liked them for the raids but they still feel like a worse version of mega evolutions mixed with z moves to me.

- It felt longer than most games. For the most part this is good. Like overall it felt like a fuller game, in part due to the Wild Area being somewhere you can spend literal hours in without getting sick of it. As I mentioned though, I just wish the beginning wasn’t as long and their was more to the “evil plot” part of the story throughout the games.

The Positive:

- The wild area. This was by far the best thing they added to this game. A large amount of the time I’ve spent playing this game has just been messing about in there and none of it felt like I was doing it just to pass time. The weather changes throughout also added some nice variety and change of scenery.

- The raid battles. I thought these were going to be the worst part of the game if I’m honest, but I’ve actually really enjoyed them. I do wish they had a bit more variety, but in general I feel they’re fun and well balanced.

- Bede, Marnie and Oleana. Bede was a pratt at first, but again, his backstory along with game story intrigued me and I wish we dove further into that. Marnie was just a sweetheart and I love her and wish they did more with her connection with team yell and Piers. I also wish we got more about Oleana because I loved what I saw and feel like her team was perfect for her, but wanted more.

- The music. Whoever created the Slumbering Weald music needs a pay rise because that is literally the best music track pokemon has ever had in my honest opinion.

- LionHeartShipping. Leon/Sonia is the Rivals to Friends to Lovers ship we deserve even if it’s not cannon.

- The new pokemon we got in general. Yes I wish there was more and yes there were a few that I think were among the worst we’ve ever gotten (Looking at you Thwacky, Meowth and Cramorant), but in general I liked a majority of the designs even if I didn’t pre game.

- Old pokemon getting Galarian forms and evolving.

- The attention to detail in the speaking text. While a little stereotypical, using British slang was a nice type.

- Not having an elite four. Having a more anime style championship competition to make your way up to versing Leon felt like something new and a nice change of pace. I just kinda wish that it wasn’t the gym leaders you versed in the finals. Like if they wanted to go with the major/minor idea for the gyms, it would have been cool for the gym types not included to be the ones you versed in the finals.

- Exclusive gym leaders/types. So I know they’ve done this before with Iris/Drayden, but it is something that makes playing each version feel unique. Like I don’t think just the two was enough for me to want to play sword straight after finishing shield and I wish that just say sword had grass, electric, ground, fairy, ice, normal, poison and flying types while shield had fire, water, fighting, steel, dragon, ghost, rock and bug types with Marnie and Bede keeping their dark and psychic types, especially with them emphasising the minor/major league aspect, but it was something I hope pokemon continues to do in the future.

- The fossils being created from mixing and matching parts. Feels far more creative than past games.

Final Thoughts:

- Overall this was an okay game and a decent step into the console world. While there are some spectacular aspects of the game, the story leaving something to be desired made me feel like there was something missing on this journey. Given this and the probability of pokemon improving those well done features as time goes on, I imagine this game will be one that in time will be easily forgotten. Still, despite its flaws, I definitely see it as a necessary step to whatever comes next and am excited to see where it leads us.

[chelsanitys]

You should psychoanalyze justtotallyplatonic like she always psychoanalyzes Tessa lmao.

Thank you for this ask, nonny. I must admit, I was gratified to receive it because when I was a freshman at New York University (where I graduated with honors near the top of my class through no small amount of hard work and perseverance. Now, NYU is not an Ivy League university, but I have had several people whose opinion I consider very highly tell me that I am a far brighter and more perceptive student than many people they know that do go to Ivies.), I took a psychology 101 class and while I did not pursue it as a career, I had a professor who was so impressed with my insight that she practically begged me to join her research team. I had to kindly decline her offer because I personally have a host of anxiety disorders that stem from my high school trauma and while my therapist has told me she has never met anyone who has worked so hard and diligently at correcting these disorders, I am still working every day to become a better version of myself. 

Now a number of years ago when I was in high school (where I got a perfect score on my SATs), I had an English teacher who, after seeing me weep inconsolably during a reading of Romeo and Juliet, told me I was the most empathetic person she knew. I was deeply touched but also knew that being an empath is an enormous responsibility in this cruel world we live in. This is how I am so easily able to connect to Anna and see that she is a hugely narcissistic megalomanic with moderate-to-severe delusions of grandeur. Now how am I so easily able to get a read on her on Anna even though I have never met her or talked to her or interacted with her in any way and only became aware of her existence yesterday? Well, nonny, it’s because I’ve lived in her head for six years. There’s so much about her that I recognize: the monster-sized ego that enables her narcissism, the chip in her shoulder that is constantly broadcasting her achievements to everyone, and the unhealthy projection syndrome that is always shifting blame onto anonymous Canadian figure skaters.

She has a problem not being insufferable. I’m just going to say that straight. She has a problem admitting she does not know everything, and that perhaps her specific set of experiences does not apply to a woman she’s never met on the other side of the continent who she only become aware of a few months ago, or that she finds her existence so maudlin she has to constantly search for validation from people over the internet. Her internet friends do nothing but encourage her delusions and fall over themselves rewarding her for thousand word essays that don’t make any coherent sense and largely consist of her talking about herself. Perhaps they are intimidated by her faux academic speak? Personally, I am unperturbed by her purported intelligence - as I’ve mentioned, several people at the top of their respective fields have told me I could have attended an Ivy. 

Now some people may think I am being unduly harsh on Anna, but I have always had a reputation for being ‘unapologetically real’. I made a conscious decision to be that way a long time ago, in addition to being ‘bravely honest’, ‘ferociously kind’, ‘tremendously intelligent’, and ‘unassumingly gorgeous’. As a dear friend of mine who may or may not have been a descendant of the late Princess Diana wrote to me when I was sixteen, “You are just so…you, Chelsea. It takes so much strength and kindness and beauty the be one of the most adored creatures on earth, yet you do it with such grace and ease. I wish I could be just like you.” And I will not lie to you, dear readers, it is a terrifying and painstaking process to be as self-assured as I am, and most of you will not succeed. However, success is a habit, and I try just as any of you do to be the best person I can be so I can fall asleep at night (on two thousand count Egyptian sheets).

When I was six years old, I took my cue from the great Dr King (whose daughter I have had several pleasant interactions with on Twitter) and stood up for my rights at the sandbox. When I was a mere four years old, I never would have dreamed of doing that. Vulnerability is terrifying until you learn to embrace it. I can only hope that one day she’s able to live her life that way and be honest about the things that she struggled/still struggles with. I piss people off, but at least I know who I am and I’m comfortable with my choices and I don’t need the approval of random strangers to convince me of my value as a human being (which isn’t even necessarily a comment about her, more about the politics of this fandom, because some of yinz really need to learn how to not require the validation of people who don’t know you).

REFERENCES:

Levine AV, Faust J. A psychodynamic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of closet narcissism. Clinical Case Studies. 2013;12(3):199–212.

Perry JP, Presniak MD, Olson TR. Defense mechanisms in schizotypal, borderline, antisocial, and narcissistic personality disorders. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes. 2013;76(1):32–52.

Miller JD, McCain J, Lynam DR, et al. A comparison of the criterion validity of popular measures of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder via the use of expert ratings. Psychological Assessment. 2014; 26:958–969.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

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

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

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

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

September 27th, 2017~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time to make this post unnecessarily long! :’D

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. Are you superstitious? (www)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25. What do you think of the Retrograding Army?

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

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

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