#point is. very Akechi song 10/10

[senblades]

Tell the crows they can have their pound of flesh

[inapixelbloom]

My Archive of Our Own Wrap-up

I wanted to put together a thank you to all the fanfic writers who have gotten me through this year.

This wrap-up is me going through my history month by month to see which fics I’d visited the most (because you can be damn sure I read through them over several days, again and again).

So this is a celebration of the wide variety of fics I’ve read and/or bookmarked and/or subscribed to. Thank you to every writer on this list for keeping me entertained.

To every fanfic writer I've had the pleasure of reading the words of, and there are so many more of you than just this list of people, I want to thank you so very much of trusting your creativity to us readers. You are my rock, my joy, my comfort, and so many other supporting adjectives that I just want to give you all hugs and money for the holidays.

My first fic of 2024: dismantle the sun by StarryCleric

Summary:

Beau shudders and holds Caleb's hand, which he squeezes back tentatively. She can feel how it shakes in her grip. She does her best to steady him, despite the fact that she wants to shake apart herself and completely fall to pieces. “I am going to hazard a guess here,” Caleb says softly, “that we may have been drugged.” --- Tonight was supposed to be a fun night off. Unfortunately for Beau and Caleb, the universe has other plans.

2024 fics I kept returning to

January

Winter Song by @proantagonista

Yuri!!! on Ice, rated E. Completed 2018-03-25.

The set of Yuuri’s mouth softened into a private smile as Victor squeezed his knee beneath the table. His hands were bare, free from the gloves he so often wore when they were together on the rink, and the heat of his palm burned straight through the denim of Yuuri’s jeans. He slipped his own hand beneath the table and found Victor’s. Hidden from sight, their fingers began to flirt and play. A secret conversation all their own that needed no words. Yuuri was aware that at some point—a moment in time he couldn’t quite place—Victor had become his boyfriend. There wasn’t a single instant when it happened. It was a slow awareness, as if Victor had silently been asking the question for months now, and Yuuri had been giving him the answer a little more with each passing day.

February

blink by @frockbot

Persona 5, rated M. Completed 2020-11-13.

Summary:

Do you want kids? Ren asked Akechi two years ago, the night they decided to get married. Yes. He did. They do. So when they’re given the chance to adopt a pair of sisters, ten-year-old Maya and two-year-old Sai, they take it. They’re prepared for a rough transition: for arguments, and upset, and struggle. That, they can handle, or find ways to handle. They are not prepared for the resurgence of an old and familiar evil that threatens to destroy the tenuous family they’ve built. They probably should have expected it, though. After all, this always happens to them. [Takes place 17 years post-game and 16 years post-Doomsday. You don't have to have read my other fics to start here, but maybe you should?]

March

In Calm Waters by @dracosollicitus

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, rated E. Completed 2024-03-04.

Summary:

Rey Smith, an Omega who presented late, meets Poe Dameron, an Alpha unlike anyone she's ever met. Sparks fly, they fall in love — and fight against societal expectations. The two work together to build a relationship built on mutual trust and respect in a world that claims they should be nothing more than their biologies.

April

Investigation Check by @percivalium

Critical Role (Vox Machina), rated E. Completed 2022-10-09.

Summary:

She’s hot. She’s not usually hot. Blankets can be kicked off, but not this time. She’s also sore. She’s not usually sore, either. Muscles can be tender after battle, but not this time. Vex prys one bleary eye open, attempting to take in her surroundings. It’s her bed: check. Her room: check. Her blanket: check. A warm body next to her: check? A heavy arm draped over her belly: check?! Both eyes open now (literally and figuratively), she slowly rotates her head on the pillow to look at the foreign body next to her, smiling when she sees a floof of light-colored hair tucked carefully next to her shoulder. She can’t help herself and sighs contently, making some strands of his unruly tufts wave and ruffle. Her Percy: BIG check with a heart drawn around it.

May

Nightmares by @roninreverie

Star Wars Rebels, rated G. Completed 2016-01-01.

Summary:

After the events of the planet Gorse, Kanan and Hera adapt to living together as a crew, but things get off to a bumpy start.

June

three years, three rules by @akihmorn

Persona 5, rated E. Completed 2020-11-18.

“The truth is, I hate all alphas,” he stares at Akira coldly. “And that includes you.” Three years after getting married, Akira and Goro face an unexpected challenge. shuake week day 3: comfort

July

The Mind and The Maladay by @saltytothecore

Critical Role (The Mighty Nein), rated T. Completed 2022-04-06.

Of all the ways Essek thought he might find himself staring down mortality, his magic making a cancer of his lonely heart never even entered his consideration. But then, his calculus has never been able to account for the Mighty Nein. There is a remedy for his illness, of course. There is always a way to unwind magic, but there is always a price. The cost of Essek’s life, now that he’s contracted Hanahaki’s disease, can be paid two ways—one is higher than Essek can bear and the other, well. The other can only be paid by someone else. And if Essek could ask that, then he wouldn’t be sick at all, would he?

August

Witch Ways by @aliquistis

Baldur's Gate, rated M. Last Updated 2024-02-16.

Echo has lived her life tucked away in the forests of Tethir, learning magic through the pulse of nature and the songs of creation. She's good with magic, but not people, which isn't really a problem until she's scooped up by mind flayers and has to get along with six strangers lest they all share a tentacle-y doom. And she manages to get along with most of them -- but then there's Gale of Waterdeep. Despite a terrible first impression, she finds he is actually much kinder than all the mansplaining would suggest. This is a series of relationship scenes about my weird little mushroom hermit, a wizard who shows compassion and arrogance really can coexist, and how academic rivalry is like first base for wizards. Spoilers up to Act 2 for main plot and Gale's romance.

(image source)

September

Pacts and Bargains at Night by @feynwiddershins

Critical Role (Vox Machina), rated E. Completed 2023-03-04.

What passes while the sun is set is often the most revealing.

October

Filling the Hourglass by makkachincrossing

Critical Role (Mighty Nein), rated E. Last Updated 2021-10-27.

Every 25 years, omega Drows enter their period of fertility. The time is rapidly approaching for Essek as summer only grows hotter, and his husband grows older with no way to stop it. But he hopes Caleb can leave a piece of himself behind.

November

Learning to Listen by @fivedayslater

One Piece, rated T. Completed 2018-08-14.

For as long as Zoro's felt his soulmate echoes he's hated them. He doesn't know why Sanji, or the rest of his crew mates, care so damn much.

I'm finishing the year with

and on toward the edge of night by @j-plash

Critical Role (Bells Hells), rated E. Last Updated 2024-11-26.

Ashton would love every fucking alpha in Jrusar to take a long walk off a fucking cliff. Orym just knows it's not right that Dorian has to be so careful walking down the street at night. ("There you go, sweetheart, keep breathing for me.” Ashton doesn’t think he could stop breathing that in if he tried.)

Bookmarks (and notes) of 2024

These are the fics I've bookmarked (saved), and the summaries I add for my own understanding of what each one is, so I can come back it it faster.

even darkness must pass by dare_to_do_our_duty

The one where Caleb has a fever and Caduceus is tired.

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart) by @notaficwriter

The one where Vex and Percy don't start of as soulmates.

come morning light (you and i'll be safe and sound) by @chaseyesterdays

The one where Percy is a dad. Good wholesome cure for depression.

the mist upon the hill by BucketofWater

The one where Mollymauk's blood hunter skills are actively harming his soulmate, but Caleb is too frightened to admit it to him.

The Courage Or The Fall by Rowyndodendron

The one where Caleb should huddle with Mollymauk for warmth.

feverish, burning up inside by @ivelostmyspectacles

The one where Caleb goes into heat in the back of their wagon and Mollymauk assists.

burning out, helpless by @ivelostmyspectacles

The one where Mollymauk is forced into a heat and Caleb does his best to assist.

Ship to Wreck by Snailsnol

The one where Gale courts a prickly Drow.

The Wonderful Life of Caleb de Rolo by @historia-gloria

The one where Percy and Vex adopt the kid tortured with Whitestone residuum.

Strong Enough to Bend by @catgirlthecrazy

The one where Essek doesn't really have the drive for sex he expects himself to.

Blackbird by @okadiah

The one where Kanan's weapon possesses him in an AU where he's not exactly a Jedi.

Exit Wounds by @seti-fan

The one where Percy has bullets left over under the skin.

Feathers and Smoke by @feynwiddershins

The one where it's a canon character study of Percy and Vex and it's fucking amazing how detailed it is.

From a Swell in the Ocean by @goose-smoothie

The one where Vox Machina is a pirate ship and Percy was rescued by "privateer" Captain Vex'ahlia.

In Bloom, With You by @nekosd43

The one where Caduceus has a season and Fjord offers to assist.

Perceived Impressions by @acinonyx1

The one where Astarion shares a cell with a bear and angst happens.

As I end 2024, thank you again to the writers who've provided me with much comfort in a ridiculously tumultuous year.

It would have been a very low year without each and every one of you.

[vvyvernicus]

Rewatching Black Butler Season 1 (w/boyfriend who has never seen it)

Thought I'd share some thoughts since it's our first time watching it together. I've seen it before around 10 years ago and he's never seen it at all. 

We also decided to skip the non manga canon season 1 episodes when watching together to save time and potentially watch them after finishing the canon episodes. 

First Impressions (Episode 1)

My thoughts:

Lots of nostalgia. That first scene, the anime intro and then the morning scene with Sebastian and Ciel...

It will always hold a special place in my heart, but I also know that it's a little flawed when compared to the other episodes of the season. I am currently an anime only watcher and to my understanding episode 1 is different from manga chapter 1.

As I originally watched (and prefer dubs in general), we watched the dubbed version. Episode 1's voices were... a little rough. 

They cooked the Italian guy in their oven and somehow he got out and crawled away.

His thoughts:

He did not like the dub voices very much, specifically for the servants. He thought they were too over the top and grating (especially Mey-Rin's).

Thought Ciel was a girl at first, I assume because the voice actor is also female, and that he's very pretentious and brooding. 

Kept comparing the Italian guy to Mario because of the exaggerated Italian accent. 

Said that Sebastian was "Metro-sexual" and wanted to bang Ciel.

Summary:

Boyfriend was not a huge fan of episode one, but promised me 4 episodes to see if he'd warm up to it. 

Episodes 2 and 3

My thoughts:

More familiar characters and introductions, but the voices and plot improve from here. 

Sebastian was low-key Captain America when he threw that metal plate. 

That skull bush song in episode 3 clearly inspired Toby Fox when he made Undertale.

Even early on, I remember enjoying Elizabeth. Butler Grell was the best part of this though. 

His thoughts:

Continued to think of Ciel as a bratty child until he was kidnapped. 

I thought it was funny when he critiqued Sebastian's fork throwing ability. Not that in itself, but how the forks that hit people in the stomachs killed them instantly. 

Was initially annoyed with Grell and supported the character's wish to die. Cheered with Elizabeth removed the ladder under Grell's feet. Was surprised how Grell was alive after being hung up like a pinata, but was glad Grell was okay in the end. 

Wondered how Elizabeth decorated so fast.

I assume he was fine with Elizabeth, at least until the ring scene. He doesn't think she should have been let off the hook so easily. 

Summary:

Boyfriend was warming up to the show at this point and was pleased that the servants would appear less from this point onwards. 

We both agreed that Elizabeth impulsively smashing the ring was uncalled for, and that after getting over his initial anger, Ciel was honestly more forgiving than deserved.

Red Butler Arc

My thoughts:

This is where I really remember getting into the series. The episodes before this mostly felt like character introductions. 

I think that Madam Red and Grell were written very good here. I didn't pick it up on my first watch, but there are subtle ques throughout this that point to both of them as suspicious. One is that Madam Red is a doctor and another is that Sebastian makes a comment to Grell which points to him not being human.

Aleister shows up for the first time here! Honestly, didn't care for him much 10 years ago. I was too focused on Grell and Sebastian. But on this rewatch, I can honestly say that he's my favorite "minor" side character. He's just too suspicious. And that makes me want to find out more about him.

His thoughts:

This was where he really started to get into the show, since the mystery part interested him. 

Oddly enough, did not have too much of a reaction to Ciel in a dress. Just was a bit confused to why he was wearing one. 

He compared to Aleister to Akechi from Persona 5. Because according to him he gives "A-crappy" vibes (he also likes to pick on Akechi). But I thought it was funny because I like both characters. 

Didn't really care that Madam Red died, but understood her reasons and motives. 

As for Grell, I think he liked the first real threat? Didn't comment to much on the character, but nothing negative was said.

As for characters like the Undertaker, Ran-Mao and Lau, he didn't really have specific comments on them.

Summary:

Both of us enjoyed this arc and would probably be the current favorite episodes watched together. I believe that anime-wise, in season 1 this segment is among a lot of people's favorites. 

Indian Butler Arc

My thoughts:

Soma and Agni showed up, they are okay. Not my favorites back then, and now they are just meh. 

People are literally killing others to win a cooking competition. I get the queen will be there, but good lord.

Deer head Sebastian was as great as I remembered.

Aleister shows up again. He's amazing. Though I wonder who the lobster woman was supposed to be. The hair makes me wonder if it's Ciel's grandmother (though it would also make Aleister a lot older than he looks). There is a theory that he's not human so...

Also the crystal palace showed up in the last bit. Something I didn't pay attention to originally (it also appeared in another Victorian anime I watched recently). Sad that in real life it was destroyed, but anime has a nice way of preserving that history. 

His thoughts:

Oh man... He did not have a good time with this arc.

Let me start off with saying that my boyfriend is Indian American, born in the USA, but with parents who immigrated from Southern India.

To put it simply, this arc was very offensive and stereotypical, which made it uncomfortable for him to watch.

The accent for Soma was ridiculously stereotypical, Agni's was a little better. 

He thought Agni's name was dumb (saying who name's their child Agni) but later realized that Soma gave him that name and forgave it somewhat.

Disliked Soma much more because he was depicted as a man child and had a worse accent in the dub. 

He came around to Agni, but still didn't like the most things about this arc. 

Did not like the portrayal of the god Kali, portraying her as a violent monster when in actuality she is meant to represent the terrifying rage and power of a mother who's child is threatened. Outside of combat she is depicted as gentle, kind and with a sense of humor. 

Thought Agni's superpower mediation was weird and wrong (the term used for it wasn't accurate at all). 

Straight up said Agni cheated in the festival since he made multiple curries on his contest entry. (Though it wasn't specified if it was allowed). 

Said that the curry buns should have been disqualified since it's not actually curry—and that they automatically had an advantage because it was curry with an accompaniment.

Was happy that this arc ended.

Summary:

That curry scene with Aleister was greatly reminiscent of Food Wars. 

We mutually agreed that Mina was in the right here in that she was just trying to escape to a better life.

We're going to make the chocolate curry buns at some point. 

Overall thoughts:

This was a very nostalgic rewatch for me and it's fun to see these characters again. I admit I have not read the manga, but I just might do so since I know there's a lot of material that didn't get adapted/was changed in the anime.

Aside from the last arc, my boyfriend did enjoy it for the most part. He was relieved when I told him Soma and Agni won't be the main focus in future episodes (from memory I think the curry arc was their biggest appearance). 

We will be skipping to Book of Circus next (aka season 3). May make another post about it depending on how many people enjoy this one.

[vinegar-on-main]

Yeah uh, highly implied there’s timeloop stuff or something along those lines. And that’s what they call how many times you activated new game+ when carrying over your save data from SMT IV, I I rolled with it.

They’re on the same rooftop as before actually, and Kuze is very specifically dressed as Akechi today, as evidenced by Hikaru teasing him about being a prince. He just likes to mess around sometimes!!! Also it was annoying writing two girls in the same scene…

YEAHHH THE LITTLES!!!! I could care less about the timeline, but this takes place about 5 years before canon. So they are both 10!!! Perfect age for being silly but also perfect age for having random half forgotten memories to come up at the Worst Times

I LOVE DESCRIBING MUSIC WITH OVERLY FLOWERY METAPHORS!!! Remind me to send you the original version of this fic which has a different song, but I removed it because it didn’t fit. Though I still wanna use it!!!!

BEAN I AM SHAKING YOU LET ME KNOW WHEN YOURE FREE NEXT I LOVE THEM BOTH

I could sent you portions of the next fic when we reach another Story Point, but uh something something jojo spoils and you still need to tell me how much you know.

SMT APOCALYPSE FIC INCOMING!!!!!!!!! No spoilers!

Shinjuku. A place known for its nightlife, lies in disarray. This isn't new for the citizens of Tokyo. And hasn't been new for a while yet.

A girl sits on a rooftop. She is dressed in a brown school uniform of unknown origin, her dark hair flowing freely in the cold wind of Tokyo. She looks out of place here, too clean for the crushed buildings and unkempt streets. But she doesn't care. She never really cared at all.

She is scanning the entrance to the small courtyard. Trying to find someone. It has been a while since Hikaru has seen them, almost 25 cycles. Usually, she arrives around now, give or take a couple minutes. Sometimes she is late, sometimes she is not.

Hikaru’s gaze fixates at a newcomer. It is Vidé. The one who she can confidently call her friend. Not ally, not adversary, a friend. It is a strange relationship they hold, but it is held nonetheless.

Vidé walks smoothly, gliding across the broken asphalt like water on tile. She, or rather, he, is dressed in a gray peacoat. Messy, clipped white hair frames his face along an uneven part. His eyes are black, his skin pale, his gait confident. He pulls at one of his gloves, scanning the buildings, before finding his mark.

“Hikaru! Good to see you!” He yells up at the girl. His voice is a soft tenor, invoking visions of plastic smiles and barely-hidden madness.

As soon as Hikaru gets a closer look at him, she laughs. An unsettling thing. It is far too childish for a girl of her age, and reaches around any listener who tries to find the bearer. Vidé looks at her fondly.

“It’s good to see you too, prince.” She says, a sly smile on her face.

“I could say the same thing,” He chirps, “ How about we go to our usual spot?”

“Sure!”

———

A boy and a girl sat on a rooftop, overlooking city streets. Wind breezes past the both of them, carrying faint voices of Demons. Vide treasured these moments of stillness, before everything goes downhill. Or uphill, depending on one’s perspective.

Hikaru turned to him, a playful smirk on her face. “So… you gotta tell me where you’ve been these past few cycles.”

Vidé matches her smirk with his own. “I’ve been around. Recently got to look at a different form of chaos. To be honest, I don’t think you would enjoy it too much.”

“Hit me.”

A soft smile. “It was more of… a people celebrating their differences. It was hard to tell when the traditional ended and when the modern began. Mixing and matching culture and customs. It was pure anarchy. Creative chaos in the best way.”

Hikaru shrugged. “Chaos in culture, huh? Sounds fun, but not exactly my style."

“Don’t say I didn’t try selling it to you. Maybe a song from them would change your mind?”

Her face brightened. “Oh? Is that your song this time?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. Figured I’d revisit a classic.”

“Everything Stays?”

“How’d you know?”

She put her hands on her hips, wearing a snide smile. “You have so many attachments to that song. I would be surprised if you didn’t play that song in this area at least once.”

He scoffed. “Read me like a book.”

He spun out a familiar guitar, and the intercom below them crackled to life for the first time once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vidé smiled while he played, for he had an ace up his sleeve.

Elsewhere, A young boy was wandering the underground of a nameless district. He was playing hide and seek with a good friend, and he lost the game of rock-paper-scissors. He wasn’t exactly performing his task enthusiastically, but that’s not exactly a bad thing. For it got him into the right place at the right time.

The intercom above him made a feedback noise, distracting him from the task at hand. A rare occurrence. Those things hadn’t been working since the Firmament went up. He was naturally drawn to it, as any curious child would. A gentle song began humming from the loudspeaker, with soft piano and an even softer voice. The boy whose soul blazed like the sun listened to the tune, just like his twin who shone like the moon.

Hummingbird you found me resting on my own. Leave me be I'm colored sad. All the world's forgot me, left me all alone, Almost it's as if I'm mad.

Hear the way the sunset, Think we'll find tomorrow? Do you think tomorrow's different than today? Weary of my eyes, I've tired many tries. What is it you offer? I'll take what you offer.

So we share a moment, Is this not a sign? Whistle up a rhyme or melody. Both us move along, Our unity create, Two is quite a potent remedy.

The song was simple, the piano dancing with another instrument that the boy had never heard of filling in an empty space he didn’t even know existed.

What is it you'll find here? Why'd you even come here? What would make you want to stay?

Where is it you're off to? Curious of wonder, Maybe I could join you? Leave myself behind.

Another unknown instrument, this one more melodic in tune, began taking the stage with its own dance. The flute and unknown swaying in perfect harmony.

Look us sit and witness turning of the leaves, Fallen snow and death be had. Stuck here in my roots we hold into the breeze, This is why I'm colored sad. If you have the answer, Where I might belong to, Point to where I'll find my peace.

If you father pride, A sense of what you're after, Is not what you're after, Always just the same?

Hummingbird who share in Death be all but known, Flutter into sweeter times. Tell me that I'll be there, Observed and observing, Father of the future… times.

The song ended with a low note, and the boy released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He stared at the now-silent speaker, and wondered if what he heard was real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hikaru clapped. “Good song! Good song!”

Vidé smiled, letting the construct melt into his shadow. “Thank you, glad to see that my voice can continue to amuse you.”

Hikaru hummed. “Amusing isn’t the half of it. See you around?”

He made his way to the edge of the rooftop, listening to his friend. “Always a pleasure.”

Vidé bowed to her, then turned around and jumped off of the roof. A dramatic gesture, but what is he without theatrics?

Meanwhile in a distant district, a child dreamt of hummingirds and soft tones.

Kurokami smiled.

twenty-five cycles? concerning word there.

the girls(?) are here again!!!!!!!!!!! on a rooftop no less….. what are they plotting………

A BOY AND GIRL PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK YOU SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW WHO THOSE TWO ARE!!!!! A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and auh very good song…. you describing certian parts of it as they came up like the instruments and whatnot was very cool……..

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa im very excited for you to play apocalypse again becuase it’s so cool……… love this game a lot already…. excellent fic!!!!!

[kareofbears]

asymmetric styling

“I like the way you dress.”

Akechi looks up from his crossword (one word left, ten letters horizontally) to see Ann waiting for a response.

“What?”

—

read on ao3 or below the cut :) 

“I like the way you dress.”

Akechi looks up from his crossword (one word left, ten letters horizontally) to see Ann waiting for a response.

“What?”

“Your outfits are nice,” she clarifies, nodding at his winter attire. “I like how you present yourself, and the colors you pick. You have a knack for clothes, I think.”

“Okay,” he says for lack of a better response. “Why are you telling me that?”

“Because I want to?”

He sets down his crossword. “Why would you want to?”

Ann stares at him. “Because you have good outfits?”

“Yes, we’ve been over that, but you hate me, so why would you want to compliment me?” If this useless back and forth goes on any further, Akechi’s going to pop a vein.

“I can still hate people and compliment them,” she replies, rolling her eyes. “That’s called high school.”

“This,” he gesticulates at the empty interior of Leblanc. “Is us waiting for the rest of the halfwits and Sumire to show up, and that I’ve apparently been granted the unfortunate lottery ticket of spending alone time with you.”

“I think it’s called a blessing, actually,” she grins. “I’m something of a hoot. A rockstar. A Hollywood badass.”

“A nuisance?” he offers, smiling thinly in return.

“Are you always like this or is it because I’m just too pretty?”

“I feel like this is a trick question from how stupid it sounds, but it’s most definitely not the second one, I promise.” Akechi shrugs off his jacket, and moves to grab his crossword puzzle again. “How about you go back to your phone, and we can go back to the delightful silence we had before?”

Her hand slams down on the newspaper. “I knew it.”

Raising an eyebrow, “Are you about to tell me the final answer to this crossword? Because not only do I legally have to say that you seem like you’ve never attempted a mental aptitude test in your life, but because I’m generally against spoilers.”

“You do like fashion!”

Akechi represses a sigh. “What are you on about?”

“Your jacket,” she points at his brown peacoat. “That was on page thirteen of Vague, the July edition predicting sales on which winter apparel for men will take off later that year. That peacoat was rated number one in Japan and ended up being something like a self-fulfilling prophecy by using their earlier predictions and turned it into sales.”

He scoffs. “Okay, sure. Let’s say that I’m an avid follower of fashion.” Akechi leans forward, and his head tilts in mock-concern. “But doesn’t that mean that you rebuked your own statement? Since this was…what was that? ‘Rated number one in Japan?’ Won’t that mean that everyone would be trying to sell this coat? And it could be a complete coincidence that I have this jacket because it can be replicated in every fast-fashion store in downtown Shibuya?” He gasps. “Oh no, looks like you’re wrong about the very field you think you know the most in! How humiliating.”

Ann leans forward, her smile is wide but her eyes are sharp. “Silly me. I guess I forgot to mention a fact about this specific brand, color, and fabric on the very first day of release: it’s near impossible for manufacturers to try and replicate it.” She tilts her head to mimic him. “Humiliation’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

“Maybe, if I had ever experienced it the way you just did,” he replies pleasantly. “‘Near impossible,’ means statistically difficult, but not quite impossible.”

“Very true, but since that brand is on such high demand, they actually have a foolproof method to fight against fake brands. Perhaps they thought it was a good idea to have a small symbol that can be easily overlooked. Let’s say—” she reaches forward and grabs his coat, grin stretching even further when she points at one of the big brown buttons. “Something like a rabbit engraved on top of the first button?”

Akechi raps his fingers on the table. “Perhaps, but if you had done your research, this brand has two foolproof methods: the rabbit, as you annoyingly mentioned, and the code that you can enter in the website to prove its legitimacy. However, as you may have noticed—” he pinches the label near the collar of the peacoat. “No code. Sorry.”

Ann groans, throwing her hands over her face. “Dammit!”

Letting himself cheer internally, he makes sure the condescension is layered thick in his voice. “Not your fault. You tried your best.”

“Yeah…I’m sure you did.” Blue eyes peek from between her fingers. “Too bad you forgot the cute little fact that four years ago they actually put the code inside of the label.”

His shoulders tense.

“Do you mind flipping it for me, Akechi? Actually, no need,” propping her chin on her palm, he probably could have felt her smugness from three blocks away. “Even if there isn’t, I know that you live and breathe fashion as much as I do.” Her expression turns cheery. “Well, almost as much.”

“Congratulations, you beat me in a game you know you’re more knowledgeable in than I am,” he deadpans. “An outstanding feat. Can you let me finish my puzzle now?”

“I should’ve guessed you were a sore loser,” Ann says, ignoring him. “I still remember when Akira beat you in a round of Tycoon. Your face was stuck like—” she scrunches her eyebrows together and morphs her features into a menacing scowl. “For like four hours afterwards, it was great.”

“He only won because his cards were better than mine.”

“Actually, if I’m not mistaken, the cards you drew were basically as good as his, and you still lost.”

“Oh, I see, you’re trying to be funny. Hilarious. I can hardly breathe, please call an ambulance.” He rubs his temples. “I yield. I’m going to ask you this one last time: What do you want? And no games, I beg of you, you’re going to make my head burst.”

“Killjoy,” she sighs, before straightening up. “You know that we hate you.”

“I think I’m aware, yes.”

“And you hate us—”

“But Sumire doesn’t count,” they both say in unison.

“But you not only hate us, but I’m pretty sure you hate, like, everyone else,” she continues, gesticulating with her hands. “Japan, Asia, the world. I’m sure you have some random vendetta with some guy across the Pacific Ocean. He probably breathed too hard and made one of your hairs move two weeks later.”

“Is there a point to your prattling, or…?”

“I’m getting there,” she gives him an accusing look. “So with all that in mind, why does a guy like you, who would get in a boxing ring with just about anyone on the planet, know so much about something like the fashion industry?” Smoothing down his jacket, “Why do you put so much effort in how you dress when it’s so clear that you don’t care what other people think about you?”

“Is that what you think?”

Ann pauses at his tone. “Am I wrong?”

“No. Not necessarily.” She continues to stare at him, unblinking. “Do you ever learn to back down?”

That makes her grin. “Not in this line of work. If you think I’m bad, you should go a few rounds with Ryuji.”

“Sounds like a nightmare.” If information is the price for temporary silence, then he’s willing to pay the price. Even at the cost of prolonging his crossword. “I didn’t care what other people think about me, but I wanted them to see me in a certain light.”

She squints. “What?”

He finds himself fiddling with the edge of his newspaper. “The very first thing people notice about a person is how they present themself. In their hair, their expression, their posture. But above all that, is the clothes that they wear. The shoes on their feet, the jacket on their back, how expensive their watch is. All that information is melded together in an instant. That split second—” he snaps his fingers. “Is all they need to form an opinion of you. To define you, before you can even open your mouth.”

“I don’t care about fashion,” Akechi admits. “But I cared about what it could do for me. I got to have a say in who I am.” His eyes flicker to her. “Done?”

The look Ann gives him is unreadable. “You’re a liar.”

Akechi leans away, taken aback. “Well, yes, of course. I thought we all knew that by now.”

“You do care about what other people think about you, Akechi,” she accuses, realization dawning on her. “‘Want to see you in a certain light,’ my ass—all you’re doing is shuffling around what your words mean to justify your actions through your thick, annoyingly soft-haired skull. You’re right, you don’t care about fashion, because at the end of the day…” Ann shrugs helplessly, and her words are spoken with something like awe and dismay. “All you care about is how people see you.”

A beat passes. “Wanted.”

“Huh?”

“It’s ‘wanted,’” he corrects, unfazed. “Past tense.”

Ann gives him a hard look. “Correcting me on my grammar, now? Real mature.”

“Only because it changes the meaning of everything you just said.” Akechi reaches over to his jacket’s collar, and flips the label to reveal the code. “Thanks to your reminder, you helped me recall something.” He taps at the seemingly randomized set of numbers in front of him. “This lets you know when you bought the coat. What number is this?”

Reluctantly, she peers at what he’s pointing at. “‘10?’” she says quietly. “October?”

“I bought this about a week before my well-deserved beatdown in Shido’s ship,” he clarifies. “So about four months ago from today.”

“Okay? And?” she urges, still confused.

“And this coat is the newest thing I own.”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning…” how strange it was, saying this out loud to another person. “That something between Shido’s ship and now, I stopped caring. About up-to-date fashion, about appearances, and especially stopped giving a damn about other people’s perception of me.”

Ann is silent for a moment. “Was it because of what happened in Shido’s ship?” she asks. There’s no trace of superiority or teasing in her tone—only curiosity.

“Could be,” he answers honestly. “Perhaps I realized that there was no need to uphold a specific personality anymore. Perhaps I was just tired after playing that song and dance for as long as I can remember. Bottom line is: I don’t give a single shit about fashion anymore.”

Her lips quirk up, “Even though you got into a fashion pissing contest not five minutes ago?”

“That’s different. I love to win.”

“I can tell,” she breathes out a laugh. After a moment, a thoughtful expression clouds her features. “Can I say something?”

“If I actually had a say in that, we wouldn’t have had this conversation at all.”

“How would you, Akechi Goro, feel about trying to get back into fashion?”

For once, Akechi looks surprised. “Did you not listen to anything I just said?”

Her hands drum on the table eagerly. “Just hear me out. You don’t care about fashion because it sort of, kind of, maybe represents how much you tried to be someone you’re not, which hey, I get that, super relatable, and it’s great that you don’t care about that anymore. But—and give me a chance here—” Ann grins. “Wouldn’t it be more interesting if you wore clothes that you wanted to wear?”

She shifts in her seat, excitement radiating off of her. It’s difficult to watch. “I’ve been studying fashion ever since I could understand the color wheel, and if there’s one thing I learned is that fashion is power. If you make it your own, then,” Ann shrugs. “All the more power to you, right?”

Akechi is struck with silence, and is saved from having to reply when the door to Leblanc swings wide open. An entourage of loud teenagers steamroll into the cafe, all brushing off various amounts of snow from themselves.

“Took you long enough!” Ann yells over her shoulder.

“Sorry for the delay,” Haru answers. She raises her hand to reveal a full plastic bag. “But we got snacks!”

“Takoyaki?”

“Pork kebab.”

She makes a face. “Stop indulging Ryuji!”

“Mm, literally impossible,” Akira replies, combing the snow out of Futaba’s hair.

Akechi sinks back into the booth, waiting for Sumire to walk in and prance by his side, when Ann turns back to him. “By the way, I think it’s ‘asymmetrical.’”

“What is?”

“The last word on your puzzle,” she nods down at his crossword. “‘With two halves, sides, or parts that are not exactly the same in shape or size.’ I read it while I was grabbing your coat.”

“Oh.” He reluctantly scribbles down the answer, lacking the usual enjoyment he gets from finishing a crossword. “…Thanks.”

Somehow, she’s still not done talking. “I heard Akira went shopping with Sumire last week. She came back with the cutest dress I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“I’m aware.” He’s pretty sure he’s compiled enough for a slideshow of it by now, given how many pictures of it Sumire’s sent to him.

She hesitates, before seeming to steel herself. “Wanna go shopping tomorrow?”

Akechi blinks. Twice. He’s about to open his mouth to say no as rudely as possible, when he lets his eyes wander the cramped coffee shop. All of them are in clothes that scream their personality, even if it clashes or has horrible style (he can barely look at Ryuji’s winter outfit without cringing).

But, as terrible as some of them may look, all of them seem content to be in the clothes that they chose.

“Maybe.”

Ann’s smile is bright and genuine. “I can work with a maybe.”

[mykedrop]

Persona 5 Royal Thoughts

     Alright so there’s a lot I want to talk about here. Fair warning, this write up is actually like, really damn long. Also like HUGE spoiler warning below the cut! I played the original when it came out, bought a PS4 practically only to play Persona 5 not even knowing if I’d like it. But I did! I loved it, loved all of it. Beat the game in just over 100 hours I think. Easily became my second favorite game ever. So now here comes Persona 5 Royal, adds a bunch of new stuff, a lot of little stuff and some pretty huge additions and reworks, includes all the dlc from P5 which is nice. It’s a strictly better version of the game I already thought was amazing enough.

     I remember being a little wary of going for it and reading a non-spoiler list of all the changes, which are actually A LOT when you list them out. Then I thought about how much I loved playing the original, and figured I’m not doing much else right now, so I got it. And BOY that game just checks all the boxes for me. It’s the same game, but better now. There’s a little more depth to playing the game and more stuff!

   One of the biggest additions and probably my favorite addition is Maruki’s story and confidant. Everything involving him I thought was incredible. First of all the man is a dreamboat. Secondly great voice actor. Thirdly the story built around him was really awesome to play through. Every time some new story beats came through while playing through the first parts of the game I always thought how great it all fit in. It made sense, it kind of opened up the world of the game a little more narrative-wise and it all felt right. And the SONG (Ideal and the Real) that plays in Maruki’s office is so GOOD. That song plays in my head 24/7 and I love it. He’s got such a great personality and story and it was a great time getting to rank him up. The song ALONE made me want to hang out with him as much as possible. It’s an angle I wasn’t expecting, his story I mean, and while the “right” choice was pretty clear, it still made me think about what he was trying to accomplish. And they drove the point home real hard during the final stretch of the game before you figure out what’s going. It’s so hard to look at your friends having such a good life and go, “yeah no I don’t think so.” But that’s a whole different  discussion. It felt sort of morally ambiguous, which was really cool. And I also like that Maruki gives you a choice, not only once but twice. Which again, gives you pause, even if only a short one.

    So that brings me to another one of the biggest additions: the new palace. BOY I love this palace. From the way it’s first introduced so early on, to how you keep peeking in every once in a while making a little progress here and there. Until finally you’re able to just go wild at the end. This palace feels like the team designing this was told go all out. The aesthetic, the mechanics, the layout. Going through this I had a big ol smile on my face the entire time at how different it felt compared to those in the original game. Those are good too, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have any palaces I dislike. But I can easily imagine some ideas and how incredible some palaces would be with the level of detail and complexity of Maruki’s palace. It’d be kind of ridiculous and extremely difficult no doubt, maybe even a little too much to ask for I think. Anyway, seeing the garden section of the palace for the first time was INCREDIBLE. They went so crazy with making almost every part of that palace look amazing! And that last area was easily my favorite of the palaces in terms of looks and theme. They did a good job of conveying the scale of that giant tree where the treasure is at with those stairs. Plus it’s another great moment to show of the smaller details of the palace like some flowers, the lighting, some other really neat effects. It was great! And the whole boss fight at the end was so fantastic to watch! I’ll say that even at the hardest difficulty, my SO (who is a turn-based combat FIEND) didn’t have too much of a difficult time with the fight. But the mechanics of it were so interesting! I loved the ideas they went with. Again it felt like they really gave it their all with this palace. The story beats during the fight were incredible as well, and they gave me one of my favorite moments back that used to be in the Yaldabaoth fight: Press X to Fire! The fight with Maruki at the end was also pretty novel too, and so dramatic! The snow falling at the end, the glass platforms collapsing, it all looked so GOOD. One of my favorite things in any game like this (remake/remaster/GOTY version/etc.) is getting to listen to NEW MUSIC. And this palace KILLED IT with music, as did the rest of the game as usual. There’s no feeling that compares to being right at the edge of beating a Persona game. And this palace was a hell of an out of the park home run. After 170 hours, it was so bittersweet to beat the final boss and move on towards the rest of the story. I loved playing through that palace and it’s a shame I’ll never get to experience it for the first time again.

    On to one of the more advertised additions: Yoshizawa! My first thought when I saw her way back when when they first revealed her is I thought she’d be a female protagonist. Which I thought would be INCREDIBLE. Even if it’s not exactly my preference, I would’ve been so HYPE to romance one of the guys. I didn’t really think about it from a gameplay standpoint, as there are way more girl confidants than guys, but still I thought it’d be fun to potentially explore that! Obviously that wasn’t the case, but now on to what I think of the new confidant! I love her! Like absolutely 100% love her so much! Let me tell you just how those concept meetings went down when they were making Yoshizawa: Cute girl, in cute clothes, who has a cute personality. Done, the perfect character. Of course she’s much more than that, but on the surface level it’s easy to see where they were going with this character. Playing the game I had zero idea about her eventual involvement in the final section of the game, so seeing her only have 5 confidant levels I was a little disappointed! Maxed her out as fast as possible and waited... Seeing her story woven through the original narrative was also super fun. Like Maruki, I really liked seeing her in places where she wasn’t before, and adding new scenes and such around to flesh out her character throughout the first two semesters. Then came the new part of the game after the holy grail fight. I was absolutely not expecting that twist with Yoshizawa. I had no idea that they would go somewhere like THAT in this game! It totally caught me off guard and I LOVED IT. What an incredible story all around. And like super fucked! The whole reveal moment was FANTASTIC! Had my jaw on the floor and everything! Her entire confidant was fun, using her in combat was fun, and her romance path was extremely fun! There’s nothing I don’t like about her really. She had such a wild story and such an amazing arc that I can’t not love her! She’s not my favorite confidant, but still adding in a new character like her into such a tight-knit group like the phantom thieves that i already loved as is is such a risky move! It’s so hard to improve upon a dynamic like theirs I think, but they made it work when they needed to! Anyway I love her character a lot and her story and all that. Beautiful.

    Speaking of adding new characters to a dynamic, this might be my favorite addition/rework in the entire game: Akechi. Holy crap I can’t tell you how much I LOVED HEARING AKECHI JUST GO OFF EVERY BATTLE, or while we went riding through mementos, or just all his new dialogue and confidant level ups. Akechi very quickly and easily became one of my favorite parts about the new part of the game. His character was such a HUGE CLASH with every other character in the party, especially Yoshizawa! Which I have to imagine isn’t an accident. He is fuckin CRAZY. Unlocking his Showtime attack was BONKERS. That whole sequence with Yoshizawa and Akechi in Maruki’s palace was so GOOD. Having Akechi be part of the team was an amazing breath of fresh of air. Trust me when I say I have ZERO problem or complaint with the overly positive nature of the party. But MAN it is FUN to see Akechi just be an ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE. Every new interaction with Akechi was a TREASURE. Dropping the “detective prince” act was 100000% the right move. Even more fun was seeing Haru and Akechi’s interactions in mementos. The way every character acted towards him was pretty good, but something about Haru’s overbearing positivity towards him was really fun to watch. I can’t stress enough how much Akechi added to the experience of the final act of the game. His persona? Badass. His personality? Absolutely cutthroat and also badass. His hair? Still incredible. Also the only character in the game who will only play 701 in darts. That threw me for a fuckin LOOP the first time I invited him out for darts. Dude is a STUD in like every way. Love Akechi A LOT. He singlehandedly brought the experience up from an 11/10 to a 12/10. This game is so much better with Akechi being able to go batshit crazy. One of my favorite interactions is during battle: when you heal the whole party, with Akechi and Ryuji being two of the active members, depending on their order, you’ll have Akechi say “No time for thanks” right before you hear Ryuji say “Thanks!” Just thought that really exemplified how much of an ass he is, and how much I love him for it. He is THE badass asshole character this game didn’t know it needed but absolutely deserved. How much of a bad ass do you have to be to able to look at your inevitable death in the face and say “this is how it has to be.” One of the coolest parts of the whole game is him not only accepting his eventual fate, but actively driving you towards making that decision.

     Next up I suppose I’ll talk about Maruki as a character. Love the way he was included, and liked all his interactions with all the characters during the first part of the game. He’s just so likable and honestly very relatable for me. Helping people through counseling has always been a personal goal of mine, so it’s always interesting to see how characters doing the same are portrayed. And while his overarching plan is something I don’t agree with, wanting to help people drives you to do crazy things sometimes. I felt for the guy. I enjoyed all the hangouts with him, and felt like I really understood his goals. The way his entire story was crafted did an incredible job of divulging all the right information at the right time. Before Akechi 2.0 came around, he was my favorite part of the game! I love the confidants and the stories they tell and interacting with them and all that. I looked forward to ranking up Maruki and trying to see what he was all about. The more I learned the more I liked him. Before, during, and after the palace my feelings about him didn’t change much. The man went crazy sure, but I still couldn’t bring myself to hate him or even dislike him. I love the man! My SO had no mercy for the man during the boss fight, but I felt bad seeing her kick his ass! I thought they did a good job mixing up the motivations for Maruki as a villain. Making him a confidant made it so much more difficult to picture him as the big bad evil guy. Plus he has like one of the best songs tied to him in Ideal and the Real. I’ll mention that as much as I feel is necessary.

      So now I’ll go through all of the smaller details that I really liked in no particular order. Kichijoji was a great destination, gave me a lot to do over the course of the game. The phone calls after you hang out with a confidant are a very welcome addition! It’s a way to fit in more dialogue which I always love, and gives you a chance to rank up the confidant a lot quicker. There’s the fact that Morgana no longer forces you to sleep nearly as often, letting you at least mess around in LeBlanc, which helps rank up your social stats. I LOVE THE DARTS MINI GAME. And I’m so glad it also gave you an upgrade for your baton passes. I did not play enough darts. The jazz club was also MY JAM. Again more dialogue, great music, and a fun way to give your confidants new skills or stat boosts. One thing that I find really funny is the way they handled Valentine’s Day. They CHANGED IT. I know they added a lot of new stuff to them for new story reasons. but they CHANGED THE CONTEXT OF THE DATES. For example, in the original P5, Kawakami makes it VERY CLEAR what’s going down later. Ann too! But in P5R, that context is GONE LMAO they really went and changed the dialogue to be less sexual. It’s strange, but mostly I found it funny considering Takemi’s max rank conversation is untouched, among plenty of other ones. Anyway White Day was a GREAT addition! The final part of the date overlooking the city is AMAZING. That reveal made my jaw drop. Speaking of things that changed, the Christmas date also changed, and I like the change a lot! Watching the snow fall from the window on the bed was a great touch. The changes to boss battles and some parts of palaces because of the grappling hook were very welcome. The grappling hook itself was also extremely handy. The thieves den is an incredible addition that adds SO MUCH NEW DIALOGUE AND CONTEXT THAT IT’S A CRIME THAT IT’S HIDDEN IN THE DEN! Anyway. I’ll never say no to new personas. The showtime attacks are a GEM. The new music in this game is AWESOME. I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack. I really enjoyed getting to see a little bit of the dynamic between Sojiro, Futaba and Wakaba. I never knew just how much I wanted to see that until I saw the bit of it in the late part of the game. I don’t remember if it was in the original game, but I LOVE that one of Yusuke’s battle lines is “How do you want to do this?” LOVE IT. Oh Chihaya’s confidant boosting fortune reading was SUPER CLUTCH. Extremely good quality of life right there. I love the extra little bit they added to the warden’s confidant, getting to take them out of the velvet room and show them around. Super cute. Iwai’s gun customization was pretty sweet. Adding Jose to mementos was strange, but very welcome! It made going around much more interesting. Oh speaking of, buffing Ryuji’s instant kill was a GREAT idea. Haha Morgana go vroom vroom. The alarm in the velvet room was also awesome and made making the perfect persona a million times easier.

     It’s been a few weeks now since I’ve finished the game, and it’s unfortunate that I can’t remember more of the little things. This whole write up has been an on and off thing since I finished P5R. Still I love the game and don’t really have any complaints. Well maybe one: LET ME FEED YUSUKE. Someone please feed that man. I forgot how much I loved playing the original game, and going through it again with all the new stuff was a total pleasure! And obviously the 3rd semester was an incredible experience. If you like the original a lot, and it’s been a while since you played it, get P5R. If you never played the original but were interested in it, get P5R. Anyway that’s all I got to say about it.

[toreii]

21 Questions Tag

Tagged by: @nad-zeta

I thought I’d already done this one, but I guess I didn’t. Thank you for tagging me. :)

1. Name: Tracy

2. Nickname: Toreishi, Tori, Toreii, and I used to be called Yukari when I was younger. When I was a child, my classmates would just rhyme my name with crazy.

3. Gender: Female

4. Star Sign: Virgo

5. Current time: 1:37am

6. Favorite Artist(s): My flawless queen, Namie Amuro. I’m currently following the duo of Lotus Juice and Jack Westwood (Shunsuke Takeuchi) as AMADEUS. Tbh, my music taste is all over the place. It’s a mix of so many genres in a handful of languages, and sung by various artists. So, it’s hard to say if I have another favorite artist other than Namie Amuro.

7: Favorite Song: This would take so long to answer.😅 I’ll just name the one song that got me into Namie: 「SO CRAZY」.

8. Song stuck in your head: It was Stardust In Your Eyes by Namie Amuro (I kid y’all not. I love this woman.) But, I’m currently listening to some Inu-Yasha osts, so it has taken care of this.

9: Last movie you saw?: In theaters, Dragon Ball Super: Broly. On TV, Pokemon: MewTwo Strikes Back-Evolution. On my tablet, Nobunaga no Hitsugi.

10. Last thing I googled: This book on Mitsuhide Akechi. I wanted to see if it was good or not.

11. Other blogs?: Just this and my main blog.

12. Main: @toreishi

13. Do you get asks?: I very rarely get them.

14 Reason for your URL: It started out as a writing blog for me, so I needed it to be affiliated with my main blog. I was going to use tori, but it was taken along with torii. I didn’t exactly want to use tore either. So I tried torei, but that was also taken. I added a second i and it was available, so it was decided then. It took time to embrace toreii, but I identify with it now.

15. Average amount of sleep: I rely on Zzzquil to go to sleep. But, because I’m fighting allergies and congestion right now, I’ve been sleeping off Nyquil each night.

16. Lucky Number: I don’t have any. I don’t believe in this.

17. Currently wearing: PJ shirt that says Bride Squad (I found it on clearance), and pj shorts.

18. Dream Job: It was to be a writer, but my family never gave me support. So, that crashed and burned. At this point, I just don’t know what to do with my life.ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

19. Dream Trips: If things weren’t bad in Mexico, there are some places I’d like to see other than my family. I also promised I’d bring Mitsuhide flowers, so I definitely need to go to Kyoto. I always said my trip to Japan would be fueled by history. I would definitely like to redo my Parisian trip. Go back to Barcelona, too.

20. Favorite food(s): Noodles. I also like making pastas. I also make red enchiladas from scratch. I also learned to make charro beans from my mom. I’m a hoe for chicharron, too. Esquites (Mexican corn). Queso fresco. Popeyes chicken. And the best bbq ribs I’ve tasted so far in my life from my favorite bbq restaurant.

21. Play any instruments?: No. My parents never let me do anything as a kid. I mean, I eventually bought an electric guitar when I was a teenager, but it was pointless if I didn’t have any one to teach me. I tried teaching myself, but I was always scolded for making noise. So, I sold my baby girl one day to a musician who promised me he’d take care of her.😭 I watched him play it for a few minutes before I let him have it.

Well, I’m supposed to tag others, but it is way past my bed time. If any one wants to do this, you are more than welcomed to.😊

[sambart93]

2018.08.21-22 Sengoku Night Blood, SenBura Stage [Review]

Official Site here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Video Coverage 1, 2 DVD PreOrder here and here and here

CAST and CHARACTERS

ODA CLAN Kubota Hidetoshi as Oda Nobunaga Matsumoto Hinata as Akechi Mitsuhide Yokoda Ryugi as Mori Ranmaru Hagio Keishi as Niwa Nagahide Kishimoto Takuya as Shibata Katsuie

UESUGI CLAN Maeyama Takahisa as Uesugi Kenshin Jinnai Sho as Naoe Kanetsugu Aramaki Yoshihiko as Uesugi Kagekatsu

TOYOTOMI CLAN Akazawa Tomoru as Toyotomi Hideyoshi Sadamoto Fuuma as Takenaka Hanbei TAKA as Kuroda Kanbei Yamamoto Ikkei as Maeda Toshiie

Mizukoshi Ayumi as Yuzuki Fujiwara Natsumi as Imari (voice only) Sasaki Yoshihide as Ishida Mitsunari (voice only)

Ensemble: Ando Keisuke, Izumi Shintaro, Ichinose Yoshihito, Terada Yohei, Matsumoto Naoya, Shinozaki Atsushi

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: This was not as bad as I was expecting (Pre-Thoughts under the cut) but it wasn’t that much good to be honest. The story was pretty boring (it’s a carbon copy of the anime, I was hoping they’d spice something up) but the characters (in terms of personality) were different to what they are in the anime/game; the songs were cringey - especially where they placed them - and honestly were totally unnecessary -- keeping it as a straight stage would’ve been best. The action choreography was very boring, very repetitive, and none of them have unique fighting styles at all; except MakiChan who was obviously given the ‘OK’ to incorporate the choreography he’s learnt from TouStage into this stage. Some parts of this story just DRAGGED OUT while other parts of the story, that should’ve been longer, were short as fuck. The balance, and what they chose to extend, and what they chose to skim over were just all poor choices. The comedy in this IS good; huge kudos to KishiTaku, Ikkei, Tomorun and Taka for the comedic moments because they were very funny and got huge laughs from me and from almost all the audience every time. But the comedy is stretched out with no real rhythm; the entire middle section is just serious whereas the beginning and end is comedy; would’ve been better if they had spread it out more evenly rather than at either end. The costumes looked GREAT! I do give huge kudos to the stylist team because those outfits were very detailed and very well made, I really enjoyed spending time looking over them all. There ARE chunks of this stage that I did enjoy: Kagekatsu’s entrance, Shibata&Niwa’s banter, the higawaris, Tomorun as Toyotomi was perfect etc., but there was so much more that annoyed me or that I wish was different or that I wish had been added that my overall feeling for this stage is meh. And I just felt sorry for the actress in all honesty. I watched her during the curtain call everytime and she just didn't seem happy. When everyone was walking off stage, being stupidly and waving in the crowd, she just kept this small smile on her face with her hands behind her back and walked off quietly; she obviously knows the fans outrage but I wanted her to join in somewhat too. She was already there, she might as well enjoy it. I did feel bad for her. To be honest, the best part of this whole stage? The curtain call! The curtain call was absolutely hilarious! I watched 3 times so I got curtain calls from Sadamoto, Kubota, Hagio, MakiChan, MaeChan and Jinnai-kun. And their curtain call speeches were absolutely hilarious and so much fun! The three from Uesugi clan; Mae, Maki and Jinnai were absolutely hysterical! They were sooooo funny in curtain call!  There was no point giving them individual curtain calls because they all ended up talking together and messing around and doing some skits with each other; they were so funny! Absolutely hilarious! But it is technically really sad that the best part about this stage was the damn curtain call and when they were all able to be themselves again...  Rating: 4/10. If we include the curtain calls then 5/10 because they really were worth the 2 hour struggle.

SPOILER REVIEW

I had enough time, shhh we're ignoring the fact of how far behind I am on my OTHER reviews, to write down some PRE-thoughts and predictions and stuff. I like remembering what I was thinking and feeling beforehand too... So for the stuff this month (ie. in August), each one has this written.

Pre-Thoughts: I am so worried about this play! I was SUPER excited at first but then they announced it was going to be a MUSICAL and not just a stage... THAT'S a terrible choice in my opinion. I think this would be a lot stronger as a normal stage. Next worry I have, in particular, is Sadamoto Fuma and Yokoda Ryugi. Not because of the actors themselves, but because both of them are playing characters I ABSOLUTELY love and adore in the game and I really, really don't want them to fuck it up... Then we have Hagio who, from my previous things I've seen him in, I just don't understand his acting, I just don't like him. So that's another I'm not hopeful about. Then we have MaeChan and Jinnai... while I trust them as actors... for some reason I'm worried about them playing Uesugie and Naoe... especially because Uesugi is really popular and important and is a fan favourite, and Naoe... I just have a connection to him because he's a character in Honoo no Mirage so I already have MakiChan and Hiramaki Jin as my Naoe. Then my finally worry is the damn story... the only COMPLETE clan in this stage is Oda-gumi, so that means it'll be Oda-history-central. So does that mean we're getting ANOTHER stage about Honoouji no Hen? TouStage already covered Oda's history. We already have Hakuouki and TouMyu for historical musicals. So WHY is SenBura a musical and focusing on Oda?! Finally, the other story worry is... they announced the female character’s actress the Sunday two weeks before the damn show started... hmmmm.... ALSO the damn Arasuji-Synopsis hasn't even been put up yet! It STARTS in two weeks! ARGH!!! So yes I am completely filled with worry BUT that isn't going to stop me going and watching it three times...

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Real spoilers start now...

If you’ve seen the anime or played the game then you know the story so I won’t bother writing it out. Also we’ll be sign coded: ☆ for neutral or positives and ★ for negative comments.

General Comments:

★ The amount of empty seats at each show. Especially in the front rows just made me sad. The first show, the entire third balcony was empty. The second show, the third floor was half empty. And I think again for the third show, I went to, the entire 3 balcony was empty. There was almost no one for touji every time. And think their only sold out show was the first Sunday night show and that's it. Just hurts. And I always had at least 2 seats on one side of me all to myself; I had a 9th and 10th first floor seat. When I was on the 3rd balcony, I had the ENTIRE row to myself. Just hurts my heart...

★ The story is a carbon copy of the anime/game story which really bummed me out. I kind of wanted some of it to be different, especially with how great all the guys (personality wise) are in this, I wanted some more. I especially wanted more historical aspects and their relationships between each other to be more detailed and in-depth.

★ There isn’t so much of a plot.... I really felt like ‘why is she here?’ because even the romance plot-line was non-existent besides the one or two scenes she has with Toyotomi and the only reason Toyotomi has this plot line is because Tomoru is one of the lesser actors so fans won't get as pissy about it if it’s him with the plotline -- you can obviously tell who the bigger stars are by the way their stories are written and their relationship with Yuzuki (very much non-existent so the fans of theirs don't get pissy) and the fact that only THEY got SOLO SONGS. And even with her in, they don’t really explain WHY she is there. The mention Meguhime ONCE and that's all! And then we spend the rest of the play looking for her stupid phone -- why would she need it?! Why does she need it here?! It ain't gonna work! So why look for it?! Ugh... And they don't explain her at all. They very quickly go 'oh we know you have magical blood but none of us will use it as a weapon of war' and that's it! So why is she there?! Just ughhh.... you could've very easily taken her out of it and just kept it between the boys and their stories and their dynamic. She really was unnecessary. There’s literally nothing about her that is explained that’s linked to the main plot and there isn’t really a plot at all. But I guess that matches the games plot... sorry, I stopped reading the stories after the first Uesugi chapter xD

★ But going ALL against that, I feel like almost all their personalities in this are different to what they’re like in the game - or at least how I’ve imagined it. And this caused problems for me. But this also goes back to my non-spoiler comment of 'they spent more time on stuff that wasn't important and didn't flesh out the parts that would've been good' and one of these parts is the boys' personalities and histories and relationships etc. I wanted ALL that! I wanted more! AND the very short time we do spent with, say, Niwa...Hanbee...Kuroda...Ranmaru... I felt like ALL their personalities were SO different to what we've become accustomed to in the game. Especially Hanbei and Ranmaru. I LOVE these two in the game! Hanbei is CRAZY as shit in the game! He's so damn creepy and he's so risky and loves putting Yuzuki in danger, but in this stage? He is literally her BFF and just acts like a child. WHAT? That's not Hanbei! And with Ranmaru?! Where's his creepy as voice?! Where's his constant threaten to steal Yuzuki's blood in this?! There was none of it! Give me my creepy boys back! So yeah, safe to say I didn't like Fuuma or Yokoda as my favourite boys. BUT again, I blame this on the script, and the fact they didn’t want to piss fans off. If they had spent more time, especially with the Ranmaru x Hanbee fighting scene, then maybe we could've seen their personalities more, we could've heard their voices more, they would've had more time to show me the characters that I love. But no -___- Oh and MakiChan's character?! He changed him COMPLETELY! First of all his voice was no where near as soft and he very quickly changes all because of Yuzuki! Which pissed me off! Kagekatsu is supposed to be this shy, quiet, timid, I'm worried about what my father will do and what he thinks, type of guy but in the stage, MakiChan basically goes to Yuzuki straight away, he opens up STRAIGHT away, he goes against his father STRAIGHT away, he goes to save her rather than his father STRAIGHT AWAY. It really rubbed me the wrong way. Again, if we had spent MORE time with the transition of this character then maybe it would've been more justified but he literally changes within a day.

Sigh... let's get some good in here...

☆ KishiTaku, Ikkei and Tomorun were the funniest! They were absolutely hilarious! Their parts during the higawaris were genius and even when it was scripted comedy their timing and their performance of those comedic moments were spot on and perfect and had me laughing hard (and most of the audience) every time! They were so good as the comedic ones and I wish they had been given more time to be funny. TAKA and Hagio had a very funny moments too! They both were good but were a little bit inconsistent compared to the three above, but that could just be down to their personality/their acting style/their stage experience.

☆ TAKA looked very pretty as Kanbei and he did a really good job as Kanbei too!

☆ The costumes looked much better and more fitted in person than it does in the visuals and everything. Their costumes were so gorgeous and so detailed! I spent just as much time looking and googling all over their costumes as I did watching the play. They were seriously well made and looked so gorgeous!

☆ I realised afterwards just how many damn PuriStage actors there are in this! We have KishiTaku, Hinata and Ayumi -- okay maybe not so many but when I realised, it made me think that maybe the casting director had been to PuriStage and dediced to take a few from there. But PuriStage was a big project so maybe it's just a coincidence xD

Okay back to a few more bad points...

★ I wish...I really wish... I REALLY wish... I really, REALLY wish they hadn’t put the songs in this. They felt so unnecessary. And the parts where they did put them in felt so awkward and out of place and just didn't fit in my opinion. And the dances in them were so cringey too. Everything to do with the songs were cringey. They really were not needed. And the favouritism in the songs too! Only MakiChan, MaeChan and Ikkei got solo songs. Why? Because they're the most popular actors? Because they sold you the most tickets? Because they're getting the biggest salary? Because (2 of them) they did the game as well as the stage? Just what was the stupid logic against giving them solo songs? Their characters aren't even that important -- as in they aren't the main characters! Why give Oda a group song, then Maki and Mae solo songs, then a Toyotomi group song and finally an Ikkei solo song? Seriously, what was the fucking point besides 'cos their fans are the ones that'll be coming the most' such bullshit. And the songs... just why put them in.... and oh god the dancing during the songs.. especially Jinnai's dance during MaeChan's song... that was weird as fuck. I cringed so much in my seat.

★ There’s not enough comedy spread evenly. There's comedy with Oda Clan and Toyotomi clan but smack in the middle where we have this huge Uesugi plot line, there is no comedy and it really drags the story and the stage. Spreading the comedy out more evenly would've been best.

★ The fighting choreography wasn’t good. None of them were unique. They literally all had the same exact style, except for MakiChan who obviously was allowed to use his TouStage skills. It was bland, uninteresting, you couldn't tell any uniqueness between any of them, it was all very repetitive skills. Maybe I've just been spoiled by the magnificence that is TouStage's choreography but... even Shinobi no Saga (review still to come), every single character had a unique way of fighting and you could easily see the difference between them all! And that's supposed to be from a production company that's way below Marv and Kadokawa's level and even they managed! I seriously tried to find something different about each of their fighting styles but it was all the same...

★ The final point is me being nitpicky but I really hated how they did ‘Oda’s Castle’ and ‘Later that Night’ and ‘The Night Day’ signs in the background. I understand it’s because ‘ooohh just like the game!’ but it just felt condescending and pointless to me. We KNOW we’re at Oda’s castle, and it really doesn’t matter how much time passes or whether it’s the same night or not; it really does not matter for this story.

Back to the final few neutrals/positives!

☆ I noticed MakiChan is still favouring his left leg when he runs and fights and spins and stuff but it’s understandable. We don't want him going completely back onto his right leg and fucking it up again.

☆ I really, really enjoyed that for a lot of the play there is a lack of music and it's just the characters talking. I noticed it straight away and at first it was odd but I grew to love it very quickly.

☆ Imari is cute as all hell okay. I will fight anymore who thinks any different. And I absolutely love HOW they animated him and the different situations they put him in in this!

☆ Related to the costumes but, the wigs in this also are very well done! They looked very well made and they flopped around properly and looked really good!

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Now for specific parts; I’ll split this into the order in which the story flows:

1. Yuzuki going from her world to the introduction of SenBura’s world:

☆ The show opens with her. The introduction of her is very quick and they establish her transportation to the SenBura world very quickly too which was nice. Within the first 2 or 3 minutes we go into Senbura’s world and we get thrown right into a fight scene where all the members are individually introduced.

☆ I like how quick the opening is.

☆ I like how they introduce each character. They each come in and then they pause as their name and title pops up on the screen behind, and a spotlight is on them. A very quick and efficient way of introducing everyone.

☆ The yakuma/bad guys/creatures’ first entrance is really good and the stunts they do here is great! One of them does a back flip and such.

★ The Yakuma picks Yuzuki up but then immediately puts her back down. Why?? You successfully captured her at that point? I really don't understand, besides plot-armour, why they grabbed her and then put her back down...

2. With Oda Clan:

Yuzuki is very quickly snatched by Oda while Toyotomi and Uesugi bicker as to who should take her. So she goes to Oda's castle first.

☆ I really, really, really loved KishiTaku's comedy in this. He was so funny and so perfect as Shibata! He had so many good moments! A few to mention is just after Yuzuki gets comfortable there and Shibata decides to bring Niwa and Yuzuki along to go boar hunting with them, but before they leave, he wants to get some stuff so he's like 'You should come (with us on the trip). But wait here (while I get the goods)' but she doesn't understand if he just changed his mind about her joining and she goes 'well which one?' and his reply 'どっち？どっちでも 笑 // Which one? Both! *laughs*' and it was very well timed and delivered.

☆ So they go boar hunting but they spot Imari who they think is a regular tanuki, so Shibata declares 'change of plans! We chase the tanuki instead!' so they run on and off stage about 3 times chasing Imari (it's very funny) and eventually get more tired every time. It gets to sunset and they're exhausted with no boar or tanuki in hand. But they completely forget to check that Yuzuki stayed with them so Shibata turns around, sees her and goes 'yup... いるな / she's there!' and continues chasing the tanuki xD I really love the Tanuki chase scene so much. It’s very funny seeing them getting more and more out of breath as they keep going past.

☆ After chasing the boar, Shibata tries to hug Niwa but Niwa is like 'don't touch me! You're covered in sweat' but Shibata continues to try and hug him and jokes 'well from now on you can be... not Nagahide, but Asehide! (ase means 'sweat')'.

☆ Later, Shibata and Niwa manage to get the boar and bring back it's meat but they start arguing over who actually got it. 'I was the one who suggested we go' 'But I was the one who captured it!' 'But I was the one who brought the meat here!' And when they argue amongst themselves, Yuzuki laughs and says something like 'you both did well! That's so cool!' and they turn to her and immediately their faces soften and they go 'な！！！な〜〜 // I did it, RIGHT!! *Yuzuki talks* ...riiiight' all happily. It was very funny.

☆ Akechi gets injured and has to rest at one point and so all the boys want him to feel better. Ranmaru is on his way with food for Akechi when Yuzuki spots him and he gets all embarrased and lies who the food is for. Then Shibata and Niwa come back with the meat and try to give it to Akechi and Ranmaru is like 'at least cook it before you give it to him!', and then Niwa takes out these Obako leaves (= the English is 'Plantago asiatica'.) and tries to give them to Akechi but Ranmaru slaps them out of his hands and they fall to the floor. Immediately Niwa gets all quiet and depressed and is like '....洗ったのに / I even washed them.... I washed them.... even though I washed them...' and Ranmaru feels very upset so picks them up, cleans them and puts them in the rice porridge for Akechi. It was a very cute moment! The next moment was great too! So they're all in Akechi's room and they get super upclose to him as he goes to eat the rice porridge, in anticipation of what he thinks about it, but they get too close and so Akechi feels uncomfortable and stops, then tries again, then stops again, and tries again. Finally he does eat it and says it's good and they all smile and are relieved. It was cute. Also, because Akechi is okay and is enjoying the rice porridge, Shibata starts crying and Niwa looks up to the sky to try and stop himself crying.

☆ Shibata cries about two or three times while we're in this first section and it was adorable and really cute.

★ I was a little sad to find out just how much of the comedy was scripted. I really wanted the AseHide to be higawari, and I really wanted the 'どっち？どっちでも 笑 // Which one? Both!' to be higawari and/or ad-lib too but it wasn't. So I was a little disappointed, BUT kudos to KishiTaku who made it feel so natural every time and the timing was always so good!

★ The Oda group song is right at the end of their story arc and it just felt really sudden and out of place. It's not a bad song but the placing is really awkward and the dancing is pretty cringey. I think for the group songs they just used the anime clan ones, but the solo songs seem original for the play.

★ I wish we had been allowed penlights and audience participation because penlights would've been perfect for this Oda group song.

★ As predicted in my pre-thoughts, I didn't warm up to Yokoda's Ranmaru. First, his voice is too low, in comparison to the characters visuals and the seiyuu's voice in the game, and he just wasn't creepy enough and he didn't seem as innocent.

★ Oda just 10000% reminded me of Hakuouki's Hijikata in this. I know both of them were similar in real like; both are pretty disliked, both are stern, both are strict, but I didn't like how Kubota's Oda just reminded me of Hakuouki's Hijikata completely (FYI I HATE Hakuouki's Hijikata).

★ Hagio did well in some parts, like he got a giggle out of me from the Obako scene (his delivery was inconsistent for it though. The second show I saw, he did the best delivery of this scene), and I liked Nagahide and Shibata arguing at each other, but for the most part he was very.... forgettable. Outside of those two scenes, I don't remember him in this stage at all. He's just so forgettable to me. And one of these scenes, he's only good in it because he's got KishiTaku to work with who's really good at these angry but comedic scenes; he had someone to work with so it wasn't even with his own acting skills that I enjoyed those scenes. And Niwa is very much the same as every other character I've ever seen him play so he wasn't memorable to me in this. I know he has a LOT of fans so, 

DEAR HAGIO FANS: is there a stage of his you recommend I see? What was his best performance? I'm open to changing my mind!

★ At the end of this story arc, they end up fighting the Yakuma again and this is when Toyotomi shows up again to fight Oda, and Kagekatsu saves her while they fight amongst themselves. During this battle scene, I wanted more Ranmaru x Hanbei fighting so I could get a better opinion on the actors and their performance. But in this scene, they just clash swords and then run off stage, so all their fighting is done OFF STAGE. Which really annoyed me! Why not spend more time showing me the boys fighting and their dynamics? I don't need to see Yuzuki getting saved; you can do that off stage! Show me the boys fighting each other, give me interesting dialogue between them, show me their rivalry! ESPECIALLY show me a long fight between Ranmaru and Hanbei because they're my two favourite characters!!!! Ugh...

3. With Uesugi Clan:

So during the last battle, Kagekatsu shows up, almost like a spy because he's all covered up, and saves Yuzuki from the battle field and takes her to Uesugi's castle. Here Kenshin explains that Oda wants to use her blood as a weapon, but here they swear never to use it for such use and that she should just relax here for the time being, especially because she got injured during that battle so it'll take some time to heal.

☆ Kagekatsu gets attacked during that Oda-arc-ending battle pretty badly by the Yakuma and he ends up on the floor in a lot of pain, but being close to Yuzuki, who's leg was cut open, he can sense her blood and I really liked how here we had Kagekatsu's heartbeat as the main sound and every time his heart beat, Maki would jolt to the sound, it was very well done. I really liked this small moment.

☆ Also during this battle, Kagekatsu first comes on stage with a hood on, so as to hide his face, but when the Yakuma attack, his hood naturally falls down and it's really nice. In the third show actually, the hood even fell of his shoulders but he caught it very smoothly and just kept it in his hand as he pulls Yuzuki away from the battle.

☆ Again, staying with this battle at the end of Oda's arc, you can tell MakiChan got to choose and do his own choreography, because it was far advanced compared to everyone else's, and it at least looked unique compared to everyone else too. It's really obvious that it's his choreography from TouStage.

☆ I really, really liked the practise/keiko scene between Kagekatsu and Naoe. It was a small scene but I really appreciated and enjoyed it.

☆ Prior to MaeChan’s solo, there is a scene between him and Naoe where they talk about Kagekatsu and how he has changed as well as how Kenshin plans to keep Uesugi's clan alive and Naoe is like ‘I will protect you no matter what, I will always be by your side’. I really liked this scene between them.

☆ So we have MakiChan's solo... I'm on the fence about this one. It IS a good song and you can tell he was really putting his all into the song, and he's not necessarily a bad singer. BUT again, it just feels out of place to randomly have a song put here and there.

☆ At the end of this arc we have a battle between Uesugi and Toyotomi, Toyotomi's clan essentially ambushes Kagekatsu and Naoe so they can steal Yuzuki. Once Yuzuki has been taken, Kagekatsu and Naoe are to the front-right of the stage with a single spotlight on them and you just know that on the DVD/BR that is going to be a great two shot on it! Also you can clearly see the chemistry between MakiChan and Jinnai in this!

★ I feel MakiChan’s Kagekatsu was much different in this compared to him in the anime and game itself. It felt like he very quickly changed from being this shy and timid and worried character to suddenly defying his father and being stong and outspoken. It was all a bit strange and sudden. And it was even weirder when at the end he goes to save Yuzuki rather than his father which is also strange because he would never abandon his father, especially when you see how he is in the game.

★ MaeChan's solo song. It was awkwardly placed, it's not a good song and oh god the worse part is Jinnai in this song. Jinnai's dancing during MaeChan’s solo is weird. Weird as all hell. I hate the projection mapping visuals in this song too.

★ It was strange that MakiChan and MaeChan got solo songs in this rather than an group Uesugi song... Favouritism much?

★ This middle section arc with Uesugi has no comedy in it so while it is intersting to an extent, it felt like it dragged towards the end of this arc. Even though, I think, it's the smallest arc out of the 3 clans, it drags compared to the other two arcs because they have stupidity and silliness in them.

4. With Toyotomi Clan:

So Toyotomi ambush Naoe and Kagekatsu while they are in the forest looking for Yuzuki's phone (apparently a main plot of this stage, ugh. Why would you need your phone?! You cannot use it here! Dumbass.)

☆During the ambush, Ikkei came on stage with a kimono wrapped around his body and head and he was pretending to be a girl and stealing Yuzuki xD 

☆ Obviously Yuzuki is pissed when she's first taken to Toyotomi so she pushes him away and Toyotomi is just like  'chinmoku // you won't respond'. I really like the end of this scene when Toyotomi goes 'Ki ga Kawatta == I've changed my mind' and everyone think he's pissed because Yuzuki pushes him away but instead he's like 'let's go find your SumaBo'.

☆ I love how they call it a SumaBo instead of a SumaHo (for Smartphone). And after she's explained it they're like 'So you press it and then... do this. So thiiisss then thiiis / こうでおう〜' which got a lot of good laughs.

☆ The higawaris were gold in this! I'll try and break it down by each performance. The set-up for the higawari is that they get a letter and a stone from Ishida Mitsunari and he says it looks like something every time so then they have to improvise and each time a different member was chosen too. Tuesday Night: The rock was balancable so Ikkei tried to balance it on his purlicue but he kept dropping it and we all died of laughter. Wednesday Afternoon: The rock was omanjuu so Kanbei tried to eat it, but it didn't work so then he tried to cut it with his sword. And Ikkei was at the other side of the stage yelling 'Mada Kanbei Ikeru! // It's still alive Kanbei!' so Kanbei kept trying to break it.  Wednesday Night: The rock was a yakizakana (fried fish) and Sadamoto had to do the improve for it this time so he put the rock down and pretend to fry it and cover it in salt and everything. It was pretty funny.

☆ Toyotomi gets drunk one night and ends up running out of the castle. Eventually he comes back, claiming he's found Yuzuki's SumaBo and when she opens the box, inside is a まつぼくり/Matsubokuri/Pine Cone. At first she's like 'what is this?' and Toyotomi replies 'well you said it was something with lots of buttons and you press it and then you put it to your ear. Well, that's it!' and she's like 'this isn't it'. So in horror Toyotomi slowly turns to Kanbei for confidence and Kanbei just nods so Toyotomi turns back to Yuzuki, 'no, this is a Sumabo!'. But she replies 'but... what can I do with this?' and again he turns to Kanbei, but this time Kanbei turns away from Toyotomi's stare. There's a moment of silence before Toyotomi yells out in anger, picks up the pine cone and throws it off stage. Kanbei goes running for it and when he comes back (at least in the second show,) he jumps down the stairs and lands perfectly in front of Yuzuki and gives it back to her. The comedic timing in this scene is very well done and had me giggling everything time. During the Wednesday afternoon show when I saw this, part of Taka's outfit actually broke off and fell next to Toyotomi, and Tomorun picked it up so confused which got everyone laughing. It was almost like he was thinking 'why you giving me this?!' xD and then Tomorun smoothly gave it back to TAKA who was also confused, so he hadn't realised it'd come off xD

☆ Drunk Tomorun/Toyotomi was great!! He really knew how to act, and he would stumble about and the boys would try and keep him upright and such.

☆ TAKA's Kanbei was actually very good too! He looked very pretty too!

☆ There are scenes where MakiChan and Tomorun both fall to the ground and I thought both of them did very well at it. It looked realistic enough.

☆ Also Tomorun is really great with the big jumps he had to do.

☆ One thing I've always loved about Tomorun's acting is how fluidly he can switch between temperaments. There's some scenes in this where he goes from really happy and then suddenly gets really dark; or the other way around, and I love it when he switches between two. It really worked well for Toyotomi's character!

☆ There is actually a proposal scene from Toyotomi in this arc and it was really sweet; It's when they're going through the streets of his town and I really enjoyed it. It was super cute that he was like 'after this war, please be my wife.' and she replies 'are you proposing to me?' and, with a nice detail, he replies 'what's a propose?'.

★ For the Toyotomi group song, I really wish there had been audience participation for it because of how fun it is! The boys clearly were singing about and making it look like they were celebrating and having a party while singing, so it would've been nice if the audience had been allowed to clap and cheer along with them.

★ There is one part of this play that really irked me. So there is a scene where Hanbei explains, to make her feel welcome, that he'll make whatever she wants to eat, so she replies 'Pasta'. Naturally the boys don't know what pasta is, given the time period, so they ask her what it is and she replies 'oh that's difficult to explain'. Now the first time around, this didn't bother me, BUT upon my second and third viewing, my brain immediately thought 'hold up bitch, they fucking know what noodles are! Why not just explain that pasta is HARD, straight noodles?! Stupid idiot.' Seriously, noodles were brought to Japan from China about 800AD in the Heian Period, which is WAY before the Sengoku period! It really, really, really, really, really has gotten to me that she was too dumb to liken pasta to noodles!! THEY HAD NOODLES!!!! JUST EXPLAIN PASTA IS LIKE NOODLES!!! Can you tell how much this little skip-over in the script and the fact she didn't even both explaining what pasta is, has gotten to me?! Is Yuzuki supposed to be this stupid, ignorant 21st century adult who never paid attention to history class? Because I'm pretty sure IN THE GAME she realises who she's with and she realises 'oh I can't say what'll happen to them in case I change history' or was I making that part of the game up for myself? ALSO the freaking production company is MARV; they KNOW their audience knows and likes history, they KNOW this audience has seen Hakouki, TouStage, TouMyu, so WHY skip over this nice little tidbit of history that would've been a nice little addition to the script. But NOOOO she was too lazy to even bother to explain WHAT PASTA IS!!! I need to go breathe somewhere...

★Linking to this argument. There are two times in fact where she says '説明は難しい = this is difficult to explain' rather than actually explaining. That is SLOPPY, POOR writing. You could've easily just explained away the pasta thing. The other scene where she sloppily says this is when she's with them and she says 'Oh this place is much like my own world, yet it's different too' and they asks her 'why?' and she just replies '説明は難しい = this is difficult to explain'. But to me this is again just sloppy writing! You could've easily had her say 'oh the sakura trees and the architecture is the same but where I'm from we have these huge buildings and giant lights that stay on all night' or something like that. It just sparks laziness to me that the script writer couldn't be bothered to have her say even this much. Did they just want her to be dumb as fuck or something? Just *sigh*...

****Or maybe it's just me; maybe people usually just go to enjoy and to be entertained and don't think so logically about things. Maybe it's just me and my personality; I really love looking into such details, I really love thinking over such things; this is why my reviews will always have a negative to them. I don't go just to be entertained: I want to be entertained, but I also want to be made to think, I enjoy thinking things over. So yes, this really got to me! I can’t even think of pasta the same way anymore...

★ At the end of this scene, Toyotomi clan finds out that Uesugi have gone missing and that Oda have been ambushed by the Yakuma. It's at this moment that the boys are like 'lets take over their castles while they're gone!' but Yuzuki is against it and starts yelling that they should go and help them. Now I understand she had good intentions, but my god, her screaming and yelling is the worst ugh. It was really difficult to understand what she was saying because it just wasn't clear when she was yelling and screaming.

5. Final Battle:

So the final battle is when Toyotomi is finally convinced he should help Uesugi clan, who have gone missing, and Oda clan who are ambushed by the yakuma, and there is a giant yakuma roaming the land.

☆ There was slow-motion during Ikkei's solo as they were battling which I thought was really cool!

★ But why Ikkei got a solo song (besides favouritism and fan-service) I have no idea, because he isn't exactly a main character. But it wasn't a bad song.

☆ I really, really liked the duo fight scene with Kenshin and Naoe in this final battle.

★ But the choreography in this final scene was very obviously the same for everyone else and repetitive.

☆ Towards the end when Toyotomi swoops in and save Naoe and Kagekatsu, Kagekatsu tries to help Toyotomi out but he's like 'go to your father! Go and help him!' and Tomorun's final 'Ikeeeee / LEAVE NOW!' to Kagekatsu was so cool and so great!

★ I hated the synced fight-dancing from the rest of the cast during Ikkei’s solo song. At first they were fighting the yakuma but the second half of the song, they all just faced forward and did a fighting-dance thing and I hated it. I wanted to see them actually fight. Why not during this point do solo fighting scenes and switch in and out between them? Seriously, this stage is just LAZY.

☆ I loved when Oda demands he uses Yuzuki's blood so he can get his strength back and fight the final boss, and Toyotomi is just begging Yuzuki not to. But Toyo's also on the ground very weak so he drags himself over to her and when he tries to grab her hand, she's just far enough away that he misses and flops down onto the floor. I super loved this hand grab moment! You could see and feel the desperation in Tomorun's eye and voice. It was VERY well done. Also when he's like 'please don't make me take your blood (so I can fight too)' and you can tell he really doesn't want to and he’s on the ground yelling ‘fucks sake / kuso!!!’ because he’s too weak to help and save Yuzuki without her blood’s assistance. It was great acting on Tomorun's part.

★ There is NO henshin! They (3 of them) take her blood but none of them change their forms! I wanted to see their henshins!!

6. Ending Scenes:

☆ The ending was satisfactory because it ends with them all swearing they'll never use her blood as a weapon or for their own gain. They also swear that they won't get angry if she doesn't choose them. But it perfectly ends with her not explicitly choosing any of them, and suddenly it goes into the final song with all the boys singing as she walks off stage. It was the best choice for the ending they could've made without pissing any of the audience off.

Curtain Call Goodness

NOW FOR THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE PLAY! THE CURTAIN CALLS!!!

☆ TUESDAY NIGHT: Curtain Call Speeches from Oda/Kobuta and Naoe/Jinnai. Kubota talked about how much he sweats in his costume and that he's managed to lose 5 kilos so far just from all the sweating and he said he hopes to lose 5 more before the end of the run. Jinnai talked about how he and MaeChan have been working together and have been debuted for 8 years now and have worked together on a lot of projects and that it was his first time with MakiChan but he was enjoying it and having so much fun. To this point MakiChan replied and continued the conversation and talking about how fun their dressing room is with the three of them. It was very clear and very obvious how much Jinnai and MakiChan get along. It was very obvious how well all three of them get along which made me very happy! And at one point MakiChan burst out ‘Why am I talking during your speech?!’ and Jinnai hit him on the shoulder xD They also talked about they love playing the game 'UesugiGokkou' in the dressing room so they did an example of it for us all: It is/was Maki and Jinnai pretending to argue with MaeChan trying to get in the middle and being the mediator but the both end up hitting him on either side of his arms. It is/was very funny!

☆ WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: MakiChan/Kagekatsu curtain call greeting (sorry, I don't remember who else..) and when Tomorun said 'Kagekatsu!' Jinnai replied instead and everyone burst out laughing. As MakiChan spoke about his usual 'this is super fun, I love working with MaeChan again. We work together a lot actually. And it's so fun in the dressing room. I hope we can finish this run without any injuries' but then Jinnai suddenly complained 'your sword keeps hitting me every time you move!' so then MakiChan started doing it on purpose xD

☆ WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Fuuma and MaeChan's curtain call (I am so bloody lucky I got all three of theirs!). As MaeChan was talking and thanking people, MakiChan and jinnai slowly went around the back of MaeChan, and then came up in front so they were blocking his view of the audience, and then they started aruging between the two of them who Kenshin prides better/more. So then Maechan tried to break it up but of course, at the same time on either side of him, they hit him on the shoulders. MaeChan said they had been practsiing all day for this moment xD and Tomorun was like ‘we ALL do it you know! It's not just your group who does this in the dressing room!’ xD Fuuma's speech was just about how he had to do the rock higawari today and he hoped everyone could understand what he was doing and if it was fun. We all applauded so he understood we enjoyed it and understood it.

Seriously, the curtain call was the best part and so funny and it was so great being able to see just how well Mae, Maki and Jinnai get along ^_^ it made me very happy in my heart xD

*

And there we go! There’s a lot of negative but I think I gave enough positives so that people who aren’t as logical or critical as me will enjoy this stage. There is a lot to like about this stage.

[lyntendoswitch]

At the tail end of 2020 I discovered the video content of Tim Rogers who has inspired me to also voice my game opinions in an unnecessarily verbose and personal way. I don’t recommend clicking on the read more, but if you’d like to read a little bit about the best games I played this year, go on ahead.

10. What Remains of Edith Finch 9. A Short Hike 8. Disco Elysium 7. Personal 5 The Royal 6. Persona 3 Dancing In Moonlight 5. Vestaria Saga War of the Scions 4. Ring FIt Adventure 3. Final Fantasy 7 Remake 2. Hades 1. Animal Crossing New Horizons

2020 found me with an unprecedented amount of free time. I spent most of this year working for the government (a job with a very small brain effort that left me with evenings and weekends free to do whatever the hell). Additionally, I spent most of the year in quarantine with video games as my true, real friend and life companion. Compiling this list gave me more titles than ever to choose from, so I feel better about my list than ever. So here are the best games that I played this year.

Before I get into the top 10 I want to give 4 honourable mentions.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim This is the most recent game I played since making this list. I loved so many things about this game - the soft art style, the harsh music, the convoluted crazy plot. I love the aesthetic of this game and loved the characters - I believe it is rare to have an anime game where none of the characters irritate you. I even loved the combat, although I did not think I would. Something about shooting so very many missiles is so satisfying even when you don’t exactly know what is going on in the screen. The final battle in this game was definitely my favourite moment in this game - it was stressful, it was engaging, it was so extremely fun. The tragedy of this game comes down to personal taste. All time travel stories with complex timelines are bound to fall apart eventually, because no writer can keep all the threads together in a logical sense. 13 sentinels had so many story beats, plot twists, betrayals, and sci-fi tropes crammed into their storyline that I knew halfway through the story that there was no way they would be able to resolve all of it in a fulfilling way. I was, unfortunately, right - the ending explanation for all the chaos is, in my (correct) opinion, extremely lame. However, I certainly had fun on the journey.

Fire Emblem 3 Houses: Ashen Demons DLC I did not place this on my ranking since it is not really fleshed out enough to be considered its own game (unlike in previous years, where I have confidently but the Splatoon 2 Octoling Expansion as a separate title from Splatoon 2). However, this blog is, above all else, a Fire Emblem stan account, and I will not NOT talk about Fire Emblem. I do not care for the Abyss house. I think the characters are too close to being plucked out of the Fire Emblem Fates universe for comfort, and I mean this to be as profound an insult as possible. These characters are gimmicks above all else. I also do not care for the expanded lore that the sewer city brings to Garreg Mach. The idea of a centralized church school army is already so unstable, and to have a population of rat people living under it makes the whole foundation of the world crumble a little. However, the story and gameplay of the Ashen Demons DLC added something that the base game did not, which is challenge. (As an aside, I play on normal mode and am aware that there is challenge available to me if I wish for it.) FE3H offers you so many characters, so many paralogues, so many opportunities for training and stat increases, that eventually plot missions become completely boring. Ashen demons limiting everyone to new and interesting classes, limiting your available units, and preventing any sort of training made the chapters fun again. I found the chapter where you were supposed to outrun a golem before some gates closed fun as hell - it was my favourite part of the entire side story. 

Kentucky: Route Zero I played this game in February, and I remember not liking it at any point. It is confusing, disorienting, and lacked a clear goal. However, it has now been 10 months and I still think about it constantly - both the vignettes presented in it, and the way it made me feel. The Besties podcast made an excellent point about this game when they said that no one who plays this game ever compares it to other games - only books, movies, or paintings. The whole game is so fascinating and sticks with you - the wretched circle of a highway, the horse funeral. My favourite part is the live performance you attend at a run down diner with your party of four as the only audience. It is so quiet and contemplative and melancholy, and the scene is absolutely perfect. Kentucky Route Zero might be my favourite high concept artsy abstract artwork ever.

Blaseball As with everyone, it is difficult to call Blaseball a game. As the website says, it is a cultural event that I am so happy to participate in. I am so happy to have found a piece of media to fill the aching void that left by Homestuck when it ended, then re-opened the wound with their awful post-epilogue novel. I deleted my Twitter account this summer because I was tired of being angry and doomscrolling. And then, after Chris Plante on the Besties told me about Blaseball, I happily remade a Twitter account that only followed the official Blaseball account, the devs, and the numerous RP accounts. The quality of life improvement that having simulated, pleasant, hilarious social media to check every day is indescribable. It helped me cope with a rough life transition. Thank you, Blaseball. My favourite moment of 2020 is the 11pm boss battle of Shoe Thieves vs The Shelled One’s Pods.

And now....... The List.

10. What Remains of Edith Finch The start of 2020 was incredible because games journalism websites were churning out endless top 10 lists for both the end of 2019 as well as the end of the decade. I religiously picked through all of these lists and wrote down a list of 30 best indie games of this past decade that I missed out on for whatever reason. It was my first and last experience with a backlog - previously, I would simply impulse purchase games I really wanted to play, and I would not rest until the game is beaten. Having a backlog of things to try stressed me out endless and it dampened the impact of almost all of these quirky 1-6 hour indie experiences. However, not even the stress of meeting a self-imposed quota could dampen the impact of What Remains of Edith Finch. Exploring this house and playing through its various scenarios was so fascinating and beautiful. For me, the most impactful moment of the game was playing as the little girl who became an owl who became a sea serpent. That was when I realized I was not playing something that I would be thinking about for a very long time.

9. A Short Hike A Short Hike was the very first game I played off my backlog list of Best Indie Games. And boy, is it ever. This game takes 2 hours to finish but is absolutely saturated with heart and the exploration makes those 2 hours feel like you have been on a much longer and more fulfilling journey than you believed possible with so few hours. It is Animal Crossing and Legend of Zelda combined, condensed, and polished into a beautiful pearl. I was so instantly in love with the characters and loved doing the little side quests. I also loved getting totally lost because I wanted to see how far I could swim and ended up on a different part of the island. The most impactful moment of this game is its finale, which I won’t spoil, but it is absolutely incredible.

8. Disco Elysium Many people more eloquent than me have said great things about Disco Elysium, and they are all correct. As someone who loves character building and creating a character to roleplay instead of playing as myself in a game, I have never been more enabled to do just that than Disco Elysium. The mystery was so cool, the mechanics are exactly what I like, the exploration is great. The one drawback of this game is that I literally cannot remember a single song from it. Maybe it had an amazing OST? Every game that is released nowadays has to have an amazing OST. There is so much reading in this game that the music really has to be unintrusive, and so it faded right into the background and out of my memory. I love that you could create your own persona in the game, but that you find your identification later and discover who you were before. Also, I would die for Kim Kitsuragi. The finale of this game also kicks ass - I will not spoil it but there is a moment that is so quiet and intimate that it took my breath away. What an amazing experience.

7. Persona 5: The Royal In 2017, I did something that is not the deciding factor, but definitely contributed to, my being sent to hell after I die. I was in an unhappy relationship and really wanted out, but my boyfriend at the time had a PS4 and I did not, and I really wanted to play Persona 5. As such, when he got the game and I borrowed it, I tried to finish it as quickly as possible so that I could give it back and break up with him. To my dismay, Persona 5 is upwards of 80 hours long, and I was burned out long before it was over. I finished the game with such resentment in my heart that I could not fathom why anyone would like it. As someone who is older, wiser, PS4-er, and in a better mental state, I decided to give P5R a try. Playing the remake at a much slower pace and really contemplating the story and characters made for a totally different and much more pleasant experience. I finally was able to shed my dislike for these characters who held me hostage 3 years ago and really appreciate them. Additionally, the new content they added to the original was SO good. The new music in Mementos makes that whole section bearable!! Akechi’s entirely reworked social link!! Maruki is one of Atlus’s most interesting characters, and the final dungeon was so so so interesting!! I am profoundly sad that I can’t recommend this game to anyone because 120 hours is just prohibitively long. Most impactful moment: when Akechi joins the party and he is like, totally feral, lol

6. Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight Every once in a while my palms start to itch because it has been entirely too long since I’ve played a rhythm game. This palm itch feeling sunk me deep into Theatrhythm Final Fantasy back in 2017, and this feeling forced me to impulse buy Persona 3 Dance. I am furious that I liked this game so much, because I know it was created simply to extract money from fools like me. The story was so blatant about it! “It’s a dream, ok? We’re all dancing because it’s a dream and none of this matters. Go play a song, idiot.” I’m not even angry at this - I almost respect the hustle. Additionally, it was so wonderful to hang out with the Persona 3 crew again. I did also play Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight, but since I had already spent a hundred and twenty hours with the phantom thieves, there was no feeling of being reunited like with P3D. Also, in my mind palace, I consider P3D to have “actually happened”, and P5D to be the money grab hustle. S.E.E.S. is a cohesive unit. If Mitsuru Kirijo says it is time to dance, then dance we shall. I cannot be made to believe that Ryuji, Futaba, or Makoto will be compelled to dance even in a dream. Finally, having Elizabeth as your velvet room attendant did wonders. If there is a line between being a loveable eccentric and being annoying, Elizabeth tiptoes just around the former, whereas the twins are squarely located in the latter. The remixes in P3D also all kick ass (Burn My Dread Novoiski Mix? Deep Mentality Lotus Juice Mix?? Neither had any right to go as hard as they did), and I loved how they personalized the dance styles to the characters’ personalities. Even if this game was a money grabber, it was still made with love and respect for the series, and I loved playing it.  Most impactful moment: That first king crazy ranking on all night difficulty... god damn

5. Vestaria Saga: War of the Scions I had mentioned earlier that I appreciated the FE3H DLC for adding challenge back into 3 houses, but then I played Vestaria Saga and I realized I simply did not remember what challenge actually was. Vestaria Saga, the game by Fire Emblem’s creator, is the hardest Fire Emblem game I’ve ever played. This game honestly rules - it closes its door to the waifus of modern fire emblem games and is a return to form with political intrigue and smart tactical decisions and well-rounded characters. Every single chapter has these wonderful and deeply stressful plot twists and you always have to scramble to get all of the objectives complete without dying. There is a moment in this game where the main Lord, Zade, scolds princess Athol for being so reckless, how he had to force the army to fight a losing battle to rescue her, and look at how exhausted everyone is. He gestures to his army, and for the first time in a tactical RPG, I felt it. In all the fire emblems I play, my units end up being able to dodge and tank any hits they receive, but in Vestaria Saga finishing a map was a stressful, long, and sweaty process. I loved every second of playing this game - it is so rewarding in its gameplay and so rewarding in its story. Most impactful moment: the kiss!!! And how all of them face consequences immediately afterwards!!! I adore this game.

4. Ring Fit Adventure Ring Fit Adventure is the most fun I’ve ever had with a gimmicky fitness game. This game finally understands that they key to continuing with the game and building good habits is the ability to unlock and equip beautiful athleisure clothing. I actually got gains from Ring Fit Adventure, and I know this because I stopped playing it for a month, came back, and was unable to finish the reps at the difficulty I set for myself. This game make gym stuff so genuinely fun in a way that no one else has been able to do. I also really like the feel of the ring con! I have a few moderate complaints about it (a fitness game will never be perfect, unfortunately): you always start reps on the same side, and if you kill enemies then you don’t get a chance to try the other side at all, the motion sensor on yoga poses is wack, and FUCK the robot baseball minigame game to hell. Despite this, I absolutely adore this game and what it stands for. I may never beat the campaign, but it will always have a place in my heart. Most impactful moment: the first fight with Drageaux

3. Final Fantasy 7 Remake I was so so so curious about the hype surrounding this game that in the month before its release I manically played through the original Final Fantasy 7 so that I would have enough background information to be able to play and enjoy the remake. I was very glad I did. FF7R kicks ass. It is my favourite Final Fantasy game ever, and maybe it will always be so. I take a lot of issue with most FF games because they get too cosmically big and ridiculous and nonsensical by the end and that ruins the immersion of the story for me. Since FF7R only covers the Midgar portion of the original, it is forced to create grounded characters and a grounded, smaller scale story. And it is AMAZING. I loved every single minute of this game. The OST is incredible, and the art in it is absolutely unbelievable. I love how they incorporated random encounter enemies in this more realistic version. Also the dialogue!!! The way these characters banter with each other is so life-like and true to character that it boggles my mind. Even the NPC side conversations - never has a city or town felt so alive and filled with people than in FF7R. The ending of this game filled me with PRIMAL fear for the future, but it is so clear that the team making this game loves the world and its characters so much that I cautiously say I trust them to take the story further in the later remakes. Most impactful moment: Cloud saying “bring it on bitch” to an enemy made me black out laughing

2. Hades I generally stay away from rogue-likes and from real-time combat because for a game-liker I SURE am bad at video games. However, everything Supergiant Games ever makes seems tailor made for me, so when Hades came out of early access I bought it, and then I didn’t stop playing it until 80 hours later when I had unlocked everything ever. This game is SO good. The voice acting and storytelling is phenomenal. They did a spectacular job blending the story with the core gameplay elements. They made dying in a rogue-like fun and rewarding. The music is (as always) transcendent. I cannot say enough good things about Hades. Most impactful moment: a tie between the first time you watch the sunrise after your first successful escape, and the romance social link between Zagreus and Thanatos

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons Of course... Death Stranding may have prophesized the pandemic, but Nintendo created it to sell copies Animal Crossing New Horizons. This game saved all of us. The experience of having so many people I knew playing the same game all the time for the entirety of March and April was so incredible. I have plenty of quips about ACNH with relation to old games in the series (I loathe crafting, I loathe printing out Nook Miles Tickets one by one, and I worry that the sandbox landscaping feel of this game makes me less inclined than ever to actually talk to my villagers), but while they are all valid criticisms, they certainly did not stop me from pouring 350 hours and counting into this game. I have loved slowly, carefully crafting my island into a replica of Garreg Mach. I have loved collecting furniture and making turnip money and completing the museum. There is simply no other game that can be 2020′s game of the year. Most impactful moment: checking your mail and having one of your friends mail you an item that reminded them of you

[artstorieshusbandos]

1.Favorite warlord?- Mitsuhide Akechi

2. Least favorite warlord?-Motonari

3. Stay in sengoku with your man or the future?- The sengoku. There's very little future in modern times for undocumented immigrants and it's not like I have wealth or social status here.

4.How would I survive the Sengoku era?- That's a big question. I don't even know where to start with that. I guess by studying as much as I could about how people live there and try to work my own knowledge of modern methods into the mix as best I can.

5. Who's the biggest flirt Shingen or Masamune? Kenshin, it's just that nobody told him that "I will kill you" isn't a pickup line.

6. Favorite route?- Mitsuhide

7. Least favorite route- that's a tough one. I like something about all of them. .... I think it's got to be Mitsunari. I just can't seem to feel more than friendship for him.

8.Favorite in game event- the "No Moon For Masamune" story event (the one with the floating lanterns)

9. Least favorite in game event- Pick a collection event. I enjoy some of the stories from them but I don't care for the chibis and I got tired of being unable to get the stories of the warlords I liked so I quit trying. I still turn in the tokens I earn from my regular reading and princess lessons but I make no extra effort on them anymore.

10.route I'm looking forward to- Kicho

11. Warlord to meet in real life- It can only be Masamune Date.

12. what I want to see in the future of the series- Just keep giving us content and I'll be happy.

13. Sengoku merchandise-nope

14. Fan of stageplays- I would be if I could get a copy of the whole thing instead of just clips from youtube.

15.Manga volumes?- I don't own any

16. I got into Sengoku about 2 and a half years ago when facebook kept advertising it to me and I went "that art looks really nice I should check it out" I am not sorry.

17. Best friend- Sasuke

18. Most Romantic Warlord-Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi would be runner up but I just can't get over watching Mitsu read MC's love letter over and over again. Not to mention how he bought that sugar crane for her because cranes mate for life. Then there's the fact that he never tires of telling her how much he loves her and he has been telling her from the beginning even though he disguised it as a lie.

19. How would I spend a day with my fav warlord. Mitsuhide, hmm we could go riding to a nice quiet scenic secret place.

20. Do I share anything in common with the warlords- I can ride horses. I like sweets like Nobunaga and Shingen. I like cooking like Masamune. I like reading like Mitsunari (and cats). I love art like Yoshimoto. I can draw like Hideyoshi.

21. words of wisdom for the warlords- I probably do but nothing is coming to mind at the moment.

22. The most surprising thing I learned about any of the Warlords-Just how much influence Masamune still has on the culture of Sendai today.

23. Favorite thing about the Ikesen fandom-The endless amount of talent .

24. Least favorite thing about the Ikesen fandom- How a lot of them jumped ship to Ikevamp. I guess we all gotta move on eventually. I now also read Ikevamp so it's not that big a deal.

25. Which Warlord do I want to cuddle and pat their head? Mitsunari

26. would you wait for your warlord if you were sent to the modern world or move on? I'd wait for a time but there would probably come a point where you know getting back to them just isn't a possibility.

27. What songs would you associate with the warlords- If you follow my blog you know I occasionally do song dedications for my husbandos from various fandoms. I only have two up now but more are coming.

28.Opinion of new warlords- Yoshimoto- I want, Ranmaru- he's cool but he looks a little young for me. Motonari- I feel like he was created for the women who want to date The Joker."

29. How do I contribute to the fandom- I have this blog on Tumbler and I show up. I am hoping soon to scratch out some free time for some fan art as well.

30.Favorite animal- Shogetsu

31. Glimpse of my avatar- That would be her on my icon and also my blog header.

32.Warlord to bring home to my parents- Mitsuhide. He gets along with anybody, he's an eloquent speaker, and his manners are impeccable. I'm sure he can keep his occupation a secret.

33.Which warlord do I want as a brother? I don't really particularly want any of them as a brother but since HIdeyoshi volunteered......

34. What I tell people about Ikesen- Give it a try and see if you like it.

35. Memes I associate with the Warlords- None come to mind.

Ikemen Sengoku Questions Meme!

I decided to make this for fun, so ask away or reblog this post for others to answer! :)

Who’s your #1 favorite warlord?

Who’s your least favorite warlord?

Would you stay in the Sengoku Era or go back to the future with your man?

How would you survive the Sengoku Era?

Who’s the biggest flirt? Shingen or Masamune?

What is your favorite route so far?

Least favorite route?

Which in-game event was your favorite?

Least favorite in-game event?

Which route are you looking forward to the most?

Which warlord do you want to meet in real life?

What do you want to see in the future for the series?

Got any Ikemen Sengoku merchandise?

Are you a fan of any of the IkeSen Stage Plays?

Do you read any of the IkeSen manga volumes?

How and when did you get into Ikemen Sengoku?

Who would you want as a best friend?

Which warlord is the most romantic one in your opinion?

How would you spend your day with your favorite warlord?

Do you share anything in common with the warlords?

Got any words of wisdom for any of our warlords?

Most surprising thing you learned about any of the warlords?

Favorite thing about the IkeSen fandom?

Least favorite thing about the IkeSen fandom?

Which warlord do you want to cuddle or pat their head?

Would you wait for your warlord if you were sent back to the modern-day world or would you move on with life?

What songs would you associate with the warlords?

Opinion for the new characters, Yoshimoto, Ranmaru, and Motonari?

How do you contribute to the IkeSen fandom?

Which animal from IkeSen is your favorite?

Can we get a glimpse of your avatar?

Which warlord would you bring home to your parents?

Which warlord would you want as a brother?

What would you tell people who are interested in IkeSen?

What memes do you associate with the warlord?

Have fun and send me some through my ask box too! :)

-Admin Yukari

[chanoyu-to-wa]

Nampō Roku, Book 5 (34):  the Suppressed Display¹ of the Shukō Chawan [珠光茶碗] on the Nagabon.

34) Shukō-chawan・nagabon・kaku no gotoki kumi-awase kaburi-kazari nari [珠光茶碗・長盆・如此組合被飾也]².

[The writing reads:  (above the daisu, from right to left) sasa-mimi (サヽ耳), Shukō-chawan (珠光茶碗); (between the ten-ita and ji-ita) jo-jō (如常)³; (below the drawing of the kae-chawan) hakobite (ハコヒテ)⁴.]

    The kaki-ire [書入]⁵:

〇 This arrangement may also be done with the naka-bon.  This is a sketch of [the way the daisu is arranged when] the nagabon [is used]⁶.

    In the case of this arrangement, a ko-bon [小盆]⁷ should be brought out.  If the sasa-mimi will be placed on [the small tray], while the sasa-mimi is still on the jōdan, it is temporarily placed [directly] on the jōdan.  Then the chawan is moved to the exact center of the nagabon, and then the sasa-mimi is lowered [to the ko-bon]⁸.

    If there is no ko-bon, the [sasa-mimi] must remain on the nagabon until the end [of the temae]⁹.

    First the kae-chawan is carried out, and [then] the koboshi is lowered to the place [on the left side of the utensil mat] below the kae-chawan. The spot [on the ji-ita] just vacated [by the koboshi] should be purified¹⁰.  Then, turning [his attention to the ten-ita]¹¹, and doing things as described above¹², the sasa-mimi is lowered and placed in the spot that was vacated by the koboshi.  After that the nagabon, with the chawan temporarily resting [in the very center of the tray] should be taken up in the arms and lowered [to the mat]¹³.

    In the case of the taikai, and other [chaire] of that sort, [these] may also be lowered while [resting on] the tray¹⁴.  As the sasa-mimi should be treasured carefully, because of its height, [lowering it on the tray] is dangerous¹⁵.

    The fukuro should not be left on the jōdan [after the sasa-mimi has been lowered], so it is said¹⁶.

_________________________

¹Kaburi-kazari [被飾]:  kaburi [被��] means “hidden,” “covered;” and so, “suppressed*.”  This arrangement was originally a way to do honor to the Shukō-chawan, but by whom it was created is unclear.  Shibayama Fugen speculates that it may have represented the way that Shukō himself used this chawan, though that seems unlikely for two reasons:

- it appears that Shukō used this bowl as his kae-chawan, meaning that even if he did eventually use it for serving koicha to his guests, it is not likely that he would have honored it by displaying it on a nagabon tied in its shifuku†; and,

- the sasa-mimi was not originally used as a tea container‡, and only pressed into service as the number of practitioners began to expand dramatically (after several decades of contraction, owing to the deaths of the expatriate chajin who had come over from Korea at the time of the Ming military incursions on the Korean peninsula, and their aftermath), resulting in a paucity of utensils that the existing pieces could never hope to fill**.

    Thus, the most likely source of this temae was the machi-shū chajin of the early sixteenth century (and, indeed, its inclusion at this point in the collection, among the other temae that were the products of the machi-shū style of chanoyu, suggests that this was Jōō’s opinion as well).

    This temae was suppressed, however -- and by Jōō himself†† -- once the Shukō-chawan developed a crack.  Even though Jōō had the crack repaired in such a way that it was not apparent‡‡, the fact that it was damaged meant that it should never again be used on the daisu***.

    Because the sasa-mimi is shown resting on its shifuku, this temae was intended to be performed at the end of the gathering, when it was time to serve usucha.  This would allow the guests to inspect the Shukō chawan carefully, without its decorated interior being obscured by a layer of koicha. ___________ *That is, even though this temae was included in this collection, it should not be performed during a gathering.

†Indeed, the arrangement seems to be the sort of thing that would have been created after Shukō posthumously began to assume a demigod-like status among the Sakai machi-shū, as the creator (or at least champion) of “their” idea of wabi-no-chanoyu.  (While Shukō certainly was a proponent of this kind of practice, and was surely one of the people responsible for transmitting this approach to chanoyu to Japan, wabi-no-chanoyu must trace its origins back to the continent, where it seems to have evolved during the second half of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, as chanoyu began to spread among the commoners.)

‡On account of the fact that these containers were made as a gift-bottles for a perfumed, oily hair pomade, which would be very difficult to clean out of the container -- especially as these old pots were usually not glazed on the inside (meaning that the oil would permeate the clay, so even soaking the vessel in water would not remove every trace of the pomade).

**There was the option of having things like chaire made by the local potters, but part of the mystique associated with the daisu demanded the use of continental objects, whenever possible.  Thus, these hair-oil bottles, as well as various small containers that had been made as condiment containers that were placed on the dinner table, and even imported water droppers (if their mouths were large enough to permit the tea to be pulled out with the chashaku) were pressed into service at this time.

††Another theory holds that the temae was not suppressed until later -- after this chawan was destroyed in the fire at the Honnō-ji, in the summer of 1582,

‡‡In that period, repairs were done by painting over the crack with several layers of lacquer that had been made to match the color of the vessel.  This both strengthened the repair, and made it invisible.  Yet its presence would always be known -- if only to the host.

***Broken objects were considered inauspicious, thus their use when serving tea could be construed as ill-omened -- offering bad luck to the guests, along with the tea.  And this prohibition extended not only to pieces that had been broken and repaired, but also to chawan that had become stained by the tea (making the crackles in the glaze stand out clearly):  such bowls were originally discarded as soon as the stains became too intense to ignore.

    As a result, only impoverished chajin would use such things.  This has to be kept in mind when we reflect that, after buying Rikyū’s collection of tea things, Jōō gave the Shukō-chawan to the young Rikyū, as a sort of consolation prize (Rikyū had already received a smaller honey-colored Seto chawan from Dōchin, when Dōchin ended his lessons).  But the meaning (of both these gifts) was that, henceforth, Rikyū should give up any sort of pretentions of indulging in the elegant chanoyu of the shoin, and focus his ambitions on the pursuit of wabi.

²Shukō-chawan・nagabon・kaku no gotoki kumi-awase kaburi-kazari nari [珠光茶碗・長盆・如此組合被飾也].

    “The Shukō-chawan・nagabon they were assembled together in the manner shown in this suppressed arrangement.”

    The Shukō-chawan [珠光茶碗] was one of ten (or even twenty) similar bowls that were used (as kae-chawan) by the machi-shū chajin of the fifteenth century.

    These bowls were mass produced (for the curbside dining market) in South China from the Song to the Ming dynasties.  The bowls were formed on a mold*, with the details added later by hand (and these details are the only way to differentiate between the different bowls -- the number of impressions of the hera [篦] (a bundle of reed stems used to press the clay to the mold) on the outside of the bowls, and the incised decoration on the inside, were unique to each†.  The Shukō-chawan measured 5-sun 2-bu in diameter‡, and, according to the Yamanoue Sōji Ki [山上宗二記] it had 27 hera-me [篦目] on the outside.

    The Shukō-chawan is said, by some, to have passed from Shukō to his disciple Insetsu [引拙; his dates of birth and death are not known], and (after several additional changes of ownership) to Jōō.  It was already during Shukō’s lifetime that this bowl is said to have developed a small crack, which had worsened, while it was in Jōō‘s keeping, to the point where it became necessary for Jōō to take steps to have the bowl repaired.  For this reason, Jōō declared that it was no longer appropriate for this chawan to be used on the daisu (which is why this temae was “suppressed” thereafter).

    After Rikyū’s family declared bankruptcy, Rikyū sold his collection of tea utensils to Jōō, and Jōō gave him the Shukō-chawan as a sort of consolation prize.  According to the surviving records of his gatherings (after 1554), Rikyū used this bowl as his principal chawan until a point in the 1570s, when he sold the bowl to Miyoshi Jikkyū [三好實休; 1527? ~ 1562] for one thousand kanmon [一千貫文] of silver.  The bowl was later presented to Nobunaga, who regarded this chawan as one of his personal treasures**; and he was using it to serve tea in the shoin of the Honnō-ji when Akechi Mitsuhide attacked that temple on second day of the Sixth Month of Tehshō 10 [天正十年] (July 1, 1582 in the proleptic Gregorian date).  The Shukō-chawan was destroyed in the fire that consumed the Honnō-ji following his seppuku.

    These bowls were originally made for serving noodles at roadside food stalls in southern China, and were apparently sold in stacks of 10 (it seems that a traveling monk bought one or two stacks of these bowls, which he brought back to Korea as souvenirs to pass around -- or sell -- to his acquaintances, and the people who had donated money to subsidize his trip to China:  this would account for the relatively large number of virtually identical chawan that were brought to Japan by the Korean refugees during the second half of the fifteenth century). ___________ *That is, a slab of clay was pressed against a wooden mold that shaped the inside of the bowl, by striking it lightly around the circumference with a bundle of reeds, which pressed the clay to the mold.  Afterward the rim was trimmed, and the foot added, and an arabesque-like decoration was incised on the inside of each with a tool (that resembled a pastry wheel).  The bowls were covered with a low-quality celadon-type glaze.  Ming dynasty examples were fired at a much higher temperature than previously, causing the clay to resemble porcelain (this seems to have made the bowls more durable); these latter pieces are usually more yellow in color.

†According to the Yamanoue Soji Ki [山上宗二記] each of the bowls was named after the chajin who owned it.  Since the Edo period, bowls of this type (but which were not owned by Shukō -- the chawan that had formerly belonged to him was destroyed in 1582) are usually referred to as Shukō-seiji chawan [珠光青磁茶碗].

‡The Ming dynasty bowls tend to be a little smaller, due to shrinkage during the high-temperature firing.  The earlier examples, however, are of fairly uniform size -- as would be desirable for restaurant utensils.

**Nobunaga used the Shukō-chawan when serving tea with the naga-ita.  It seems he considered its being damaged appropriate to use in this setting.  The naga-ita had been created by Yoshimasa for use during his second retirement (in the months prior to his death in early 1490), at which time he used the utensils that had been salvaged from his burned-out storehouse, together with the iron furo and kaigu from his o-chanoyu-dana.

³Jo-jō [如常].

    “As usual.”

    The kaigu are arranged on the ji-ita in the usual manner.

⁴Hakobite [ハコヒテ].

    “[This is] carried [out].”

    The kae-chawan, containing the chakin, chasen, and chashaku, is brought out from the katte at the beginning of the temae.

⁵While only one kaki-ire is marked as such, the text is divided into two parts, though without any apparent reason for doing so.

   The full Japanese text of the kaki-ire is:

〇 Kono kazari naka-bon ni mo ari, kore ha nagabon no zu nari, kono kazari ni te ko-bon hakobite, sasa-mimi wo nose-sōrō ha ba, sasa-mimi wo jōdan ni te, kari ni jōdan ni oki, chawan wo nagabon no mannaka ni yose, sasa-mimi ko-bon [h]e orosu nari, ko-bon nashi ni, nagabon no uchi ni te shimawashi toki mo, hajime ni kae-chawan hakobite, koboshi wo kae-chawan no shimo [h]e oroshi, sono ato wo kiyome, tachi-agari, sasa-mimi migi no gotoku shite oroshi, koboshi no ato [h]e oki, sono ato nagabon ni chawan ha kari nosete kakae orosu beshi

taikai nado ha bon nagara mo orosu, sasa-mimi ha shōgan-koto ni sei-takaka shite ayauki-yue nari, fukuro jōdan ni nokosu-koto oyobazu [to] iu

[此カサリ中盆ニモアリ、コレハ長盆ノ圖也、此カサリニテ小盆ハコヒテ、サヽ耳ヲノセ候ハヽ、サヽ耳ヲ上段ニテ、カリニ上段ニヲキ、茶碗ヲ長盆ノ眞中ニヨセ、サヽ耳小盆ヘヲロス也、小盆ナシニ、長盆ノ内ニテ仕廻時モ、初ニカへ茶碗ハコヒテ、コホシヲカヘ茶碗ノシモヘヲロシ、其アトヲキヨメ、立アカリ、サヽ耳右ノコトクシテヲロシ、コホシノアトヘ置、其後長盆ニ茶碗ハカリノセテカヽヘヲロスヘシ、

大海ナトハ盆ナカラモヲロス、サヽ耳ハ賞玩コトニセイ高クシテ危キ故也、袋上段ニ殘スコト不及云、].

⁶Kono kazari naka-bon ni mo ari, kore ha nagabon no zu nari [此カサリ中盆ニモアリ、コレハ長盆ノ圖也].

    “[With respect to] this kazari, there is also the [possibility of using a] naka-bon.  This is the nagabon sketch."

    The name naka-bon [中盆] usually refers to the naka maru-bon [中丸盆] when it is used in the Nampō Roku, and that is the case here.

    It would be difficult to perform this temae with a tray that was any smaller than the naka maru-bon (such as the naka hō-bon) because the sasa-mimi must rest on its shifuku.

    At least in theory, either of these trays could be used for this temae.  However, since the performance of this temae required that the host have access to the original Shukō-chawan, this temae was probably not seen very often, even in Jōō’s time.

⁷Ko-bon [小盆] means a chaire-bon -- showing that this version of the temae is based on Jōō's modifications.

    As has been mentioned before, Jōō's chaire-bon was 3-sun larger than the chaire on all four sides, meaning that the tray appropriate to the sasa-mimi* would be 8-sun 2-bu square. __________ *The karamono sasa-mimi were usually 2-sun 2-bu in diameter.

⁸Kono kazari ni te ko-bon hakobite, sasa-mimi wo nose-sōrō ha ba, sasa-mimi wo jōdan ni te, kari ni jōdan ni oki, chawan wo nagabon no mannaka ni yose, sasa-mimi ko-bon [h]e orosu nari [此カサリニテ小盆ハコヒテ、サヽ耳ヲノセ候ハヽ、サヽ耳ヲ上段ニテ、カリニ上段ニヲキ、茶碗ヲ長盆ノ眞中ニヨセ、サヽ耳小盆ヘヲロス也].

    “In this kazari, a ko-bon is carried [out from the katte].  If the sasa-mimi will be rested on [the ko-bon], while the sasa-mimi is on the jōdan, [it is] temporarily placed on the jōdan.  The chawan is moved to the very center of the nagabon.  [Then] the sasa-mimi is lowered to the ko-bon.”

    When the sasa-mimi has been moved to the ten-ita, its shifuku is removed as well.  Some say that the sasa-mimi should be picked up together with its shifuku, and so moved onto the ten-ita, to the right of the tray*.  Once the sasa-mimi has been lowered from the ten-ita, however, the shifuku should be put into the host’s right sleeve. ___________ *The shifuku protects the ten-ita from being scratched by the foot of the chaire, just as it protected the tray.  However, some people say that this is not necessary.

⁹Ko-bon nashi ni, nagabon no uchi ni te shimawashi toki mo [小盆ナシニ、長盆ノ内ニテ仕廻時モ].

    “If there is no ko-bon, [the sasa-mimi] must remain on the nagabon until the end [of the temae].”

    Shimawashi [仕廻] is usually written shimawashi [仕舞わし] today.  The expression means "to come to an end," "to be finished."

¹⁰Hajime ni kae-chawan hakobite, koboshi wo kae-chawan no shimo [h]e oroshi, sono ato wo kiyome [初ニカへ茶碗ハコヒテ、コホシヲカヘ茶碗ノシモヘヲロシ、其アトヲキヨメ].

    “At the beginning, the kae-chawan is carried [out].  The koboshi is lowered to [the place] below* the kae-chawan.  Its vacated-place is purified.”

    Sono ato wo kiyome [其の跡を清め]:  ato [跡] literally means footprint.  Here it refers to a site previously occupied by something (that is now no longer present), thus “vacated-place” in the above literal translation.

    As in the previous temae, the host cleans the ji-ita with a towel that he produces from his futokoro. __________ *In other words, the kae-chawan is placed on the left side of the utensil mat near the heri, just forward of the host’s knee line.  The koboshi is lowered from the ji-ita and placed below the koboshi -- that is, to the left of the host’s thigh (which is the usual place it occupies during the temae).

¹¹Tachi-agari [立アカリ].

    “Rising up....”

    Tachi-agari [立ち上り] means the host straightens his body from the waist -- as he turns his attention to the ten-ita.

¹²Sasa-mimi migi no gotoku shite oroshi, koboshi no ato [h]e oki [サヽ耳右ノコトクシテヲロシ、コホシノアトヘ置].

    “The sasa-mimi is lowered, in the same way as was done at the right, and placed in the spot vacated by the koboshi.”

    In other words, the sasa-mimi is lowered to the ji-ita following the same series of actions* as when it was lowered to the ko-bon in the earlier version of this narrative.

    Because the text is written in vertical lines, from right to left, “at the right” means earlier in the narrative. ___________ *This is simply a device for abbreviating the narrative.  What has been left out is that, after the sasa-mimi has been moved to the ten-ita, the chawan is moved to the exact center of the tray, and then (in this case, following the cleaning of the koboshi-no-ato on the ji-ita) the sasa-mimi is temporarily lowered to the ji-ita.

¹³Sono ato nagabon ni chawan ha kari nosete kakae orosu beshi [其後長盆ニ茶碗ハカリノセテカヽヘヲロスヘシ].

    “After that, the nagabon, on which the chawan is temporarily resting [in the middle of the tray], should be embraced, and lowered [to the mat].”

    Kakae orosu beshi [抱え下ろすべし]:  kakae [抱え] means “to embrace (something) in ones arms;” orosu [下ろす] means “to lower;” and -beshi [べし] means “should do so.”

    As was mentioned in the previous post, this shows that this kaki-ire (and, possibly, the entire entry mentioning this arrangement) was added by someone other than the usual compiler/commentators -- who generally use the expression ryō-te ni tori-oroshi [兩手に取り下ろし], “lowered using both hands.”

¹⁴Taikai nado ha bon nagara mo orosu [大海ナトハ盆ナカラモヲロス].

    “With respect to taikai and the like, notwithstanding [that they are resting on] the tray, they may also be lowered [together with the tray].”

    While it might not be wrong to move them down to the ji-ita, like the sasa-mimi, other chaire* may be lowered while they remain resting on the tray. ___________ *Or at least thost that, like the taikai, are shorter than they are wide.

¹⁵Sasa-mimi ha shōgan-koto ni sei-takaka-shite ayauki-yue nari [サヽ耳ハ賞玩コトニセイ高クシテ危キ故也].

    “The sasa-mimi [is handled in the special way that was described previously] as a way to treasure it, since it is overly tall, because it is dangerous [to lower it while it is resting on the tray].”

    The original Chinese sasa-mimi were usually 2-sun 2-bu in diameter, and around 5-sun tall; moreover, they had an even smaller foot, making them easy to spill over -- particularly when being lowered on top of a very wide tray.  (We must remember that the sasa-mimi were originally made as hair-pomade bottles, and their narrowness would mean they would take up as little space as possible on the woman's dressing table, or in her cosmetics box.)

¹⁶Fukuro jōdan ni nokosu-koto oyobazu iu [袋上段ニ殘スコト不及云].

    “The fukuro should not be left on the jōdan, so it is said.”

    After the sasa-mimi has been lowered from the ten-ita, its shifuku should not be left on the ten-ita.

——————————————–———-—————————————————

◎  Analysis of the Arrangement.

    Two arrangements are suggested in the kaki-ire:  that were the Shukō-chawan and sasa-mimi are displayed together on the tsune-no-nagabon, and the alternative temae, where these utensils are arranged on the naka maru-bon.

    The first sketch (below) shows the arrangement of the daisu when the tsune-no-nagabon is used.

    And the second sketch shows the daisu when the naka maru-bon is used.

    As for the temae, this would follow the same basic format as the other machi-shū temae that we have been considering in this part of the Nampō Roku.  While a dai is not used*, the diameter of the Shukō-chawan was the same as the meibutsu temmoku-dai. ___________ *When the Shukō-chawan came into Rikyū’s possession, he placed it on top of a large, red-lacquered sakazuki, which he then handled like a dai.  But this temae was a product of Rikyū’s own saku-i [作意].  Previously, the Shukō-chawan had stood directly on the mat and been handled like any other large chawan.

[chrismerle]

30 questions meme

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20-ish blogs you want to know better!  POST ON A NEW SEPARATE POST!

1. Name/Nickname: Elsa, Els. Occasionally Shai. Shaddie if you’re Nixxie.

2. Gender: Demigirl. She/they.

3. Star Sign: Pisces.

4. Height: 4′10″

5. Time: 8:40 PM

6. Birthday: March 7, 1993

7. Favorite Band: Uh ... I fall back on Bastille a lot?

8. Favorite Solo Artist: //stares blankly into the distance while I try to remember if P!nk is a solo artist or not// My reliance on having some form of background noise at all times does not mean I actually know anything about music.

9. Song Stuck Stuck In My Head: Line of Sight by Odesza

10. Last Movie: My mom is in the middle of a movie right now while I am in the room, but I have no idea what it’s called. I think it’s set in the 50s.

11. Last Show: I meant to make some more headway on Critical Role while I was winding yarn, but I got distracted listening to a podcast.

12. When I Created This Blog: I wanna say January 2012? It goes through phases of ‘just all my random bullshit’ and ‘this is a writeblr’ and at this point I don’t even try to classify it anymore.

13. What I Post: Some writing. A lot of fandom stuff. Some queer stuff. Some stuff about disability. Some rambling about diabetes in particular. A lot of liveblogging of whatever games I’m playing; I think my most popular post is me making fun of how out-of-fuckin’-nowhere randomly Akechi brings up his orphan status.

14. Last Thing I Googled: Whether or not P!nk is a solo artist.

15. Other Blogs: I occasionally post pictures of my pets at @catdogcaaaaatdooooog

16. Do I get asks?: On very rare occasions, and usually just from my friend Jim with occasional exceptions.

18: Following: 219, but most of them are probably inactive

17. Why I Chose My URL: Shaicarus Ilthanuel is my favorite OC. They started in Fallen London, but they’ve migrated to original fiction.

21. Lucky Number: 8

19. Followers: 223

20. Average Hours Of Sleep: 8-ish? Usually

22. Instruments: I played piano and clarinet in elementary school. Liked the piano, but my instructor moved away after just a couple years of lessons. Couldn’t fucking stand the clarinet but my parents were SUPER insistent that i play an instrument.

23. What Am I Wearing: A black tank top, a floor length skirt in multiple shades of blue, and my AFOs.

24. Dream Job: I wanna write. That only rarely pays enough to actually make a living, so I’m also an editor, and I do like it. Would also be nice if anyone bought a good goddamn thing from my Etsy shop.

25. Favorite Food: I crave mac an’ cheese at all hours

27. Nationality: Mishmash of Italian, Scottish, and Polish.

28. Favorite Song: At the moment, I’m in love with a couple mash-ups I found on Youtube. One’s a mash-up of Bad Liar and Happier, and one’s a mash-up of two different songs called Happier.

29. Last Book I Read: Listened to a Paul Jennings short story

30. Top 3 Fictional Universes I Would Like To Live In: Mass Effect, Wayward Children, Neverwhere

Tagged by: @aditiwrites

Tagging: //closes eyes and throws a dart// Whoever I just hit