#tenseiga meta

[twin-azure-dragon-wave]

The Complete History of Tenseiga - Part 2

Continued from Part 1

Chapter 129-131

After his latest defeat at the hands of his brother, Sesshomaru is in an extremely weakened state and is left to recover in a forest near a human village.

The humiliation of being taken down by Inuyasha probably stings worse than any of the physical injuries.

While he convalesces, he meets a mute, orphan girl named Rin who attempts to care for him. Due to the extent of his injuries, Sesshomaru is barely able to move and thus has to deal with the unwanted attention after he fails to scare her off.

Sesshomaru: Are those gluten-free?

Despite his refusal to accept her help and his insistence that she mind her own business, Rin continues to visit him during his recovery. When she returns one day with bruises on her face, it sparks Sesshomaru's curiosity and he asks her how she got them. This a significant moment in his character development since it's the first time he's ever been shown expressing concern about another person. It also demonstrates that Rin's persistence has has paid off and has had an actual impact on him.

This simple inquiry about her bruises raises Rin's spirits and she responds by smiling at him. Which—completely baffles him, as in addition to asking about another's well-being, it's clear that being smiled at is also something Sesshomaru is not remotely accustomed to.

I wanted to say this is about Sesshomaru not understanding human emotions, but considering it's *Sesshomaru*, he probably just doesn't understand emotions in general.

Sesshomaru eventually returns to full health at the same time that a pack of yokai wolves lead by Koga attack Rin's village and kill her. He follows the scent of her blood and finds her dead body. After scaring the wolves away from her corpse he begins to leave when he remembers Rin's smile from earlier and turns back around.

I'm sorry, but can we talk about how Rin completely changed the entire course of this man's life just by SMILING AT HIM. Like, your fave could never. Rin is, low key, the most powerful character in the entire series and this is the proof.

For the second time (since demonstrating the blade's inability to cut on Jaken in chapter 126) Sesshomaru draws Baby Tooth Tenseiga. He feels a surge of power from the sword and then we see a group of tiny, horned creatures descend upon Rin's body. Depending on the translation, these beings are called either the messengers or pallbearers of the Underworld (Personally I prefer pallbearers since it sounds cooler, so that's how I'll refer to them.)

Jaken: Does Not Compute.

As the master of Tenseiga, he is the only one who can see the pallbearers (when he cuts them later, Jaken's remark makes it obvious that they're only visible to Sesshomaru) and this unique ability to see them is the reason he's able to use the sword effectively. The pallbearers will appear around a deceased character's corpse every time Sesshomaru is successfully able to bring someone back to life. The key word here being "successfully."

Interestingly, despite never using the sword before, Sesshomaru seems to instinctively know that he's supposed to cut the pallbearers in order to activate it's function.

Tag yourself. I'm the one in the gingham loincloth with the trident.

Sesshomaru's prepares to "test out" Tenseiga on the deceased Rin. Him framing of his actions here as a 'test' isn't exactly inaccurate; since he's never used Tenseiga in this manner before, he doesn't know what will happen when he does or whether he's capable of making it's powers work like they're supposed to.

But acting like he's only doing it as a way to satisfy his curiosity is also a way to rationalize what is likely an unconscious desire to save Rin. After all, it was the memory of her smile that had compelled him not to simply walk away and forget about her, so using the justification of, "I'm just testing put my sword, it's not like I actually care about her or anything" makes for a convenient way to save face. And honestly, Sesshomaru has to have come across a lot of dead bodies in his time, so clearly Rin was a special case if he was only willing to try Tenseiga when it came to her.

In the wideban, Takahashi explained that she created Rin's character because she wanted to create the opportunity for Sesshomaru's heart to soften, and if you remember at the end of chapter 129, Totosai stated that Tenseiga's destiny was "up to Sesshomaru's heart." Meeting Rin is the inflection point where Sesshomaru stops treating Tenseiga like a cumbersome burden and begins to develop the compassionate nature necessary to grow the sword to it's full potential.

Tenseiga University is in session, bitches.

Whatever his real reasons, Sesshomaru cuts down the pallbearers, destroying them with Tenseiga's power.

It's so on brand for Sesshomaru that he gains the power of resurrection and it still involves him getting to violently murder something.

His 'test' is successful and Rin comes back to life. This shocks Jaken, both because his master just raised someone from the dead, and also because he's probably never seen Sesshomaru save someone's life before, let alone a human's life.

Jaken is shooketh.

"That's totally unlike Sesshomaru-sama..." Again, Rin is the most powerful character in the entire series. Fight me.

Sesshomaru is pleased by the result of his experiment but, based on his reaction, I do wonder if he was aware before this that raising the dead was an ability Tenseiga possessed. It's stated he'd kept it because he knew that there was more to Tenseiga than just being a sword that can't cut, but given how familiar he is with Tessaiga's capabilities, it's notable that Tenseiga is a total enigma to him. Did he never witness his father wielding Tenseiga? Did he never bother to ask Toga what his other sword was for? Totosai probably would've been willing to explain at least the basics, but by then Sesshomaru's too resentful of the whole situation to hear out anything he has to say.

It makes me think that Toga's acquisition of the Meidou Zangetsuha and the separation of Tenseiga and Tessaiga into two different swords (Uh, spoiler alert) was something that probably had to have happened pretty close to when the Inu no Taisho died if Tenseiga is this much of a mystery to Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru: I'm sorry I called you dull and blunt and useless...

Tenseiga: Ah, that's alright, don't sweat it—

Sesshomaru: And weak and a burden and a stupid, ugly piece of worthless garbage—

Tenseiga: Okay, you can stop now!

So, there we have it. Tenseiga has been "activated" so to speak and now that Sesshomaru is aware of the power it possesses, he's able to start his journey toward mastering it.

Chapter 157-159

The next time we see Sesshomaru comes in the aftermath of Inuyasha's battle with a powerful ogre named Goshinki. Sesshomaru, now traveling with Rin in addition to Jaken, smells traces of Tessaiga (the blade that had slain Goshinki) on the ogre's fang. He takes the ogre's head and brings it to the forge of Totosai's evil ex-apprentice, Kaijinbo, a notorious swordsmith who fell out with his former master due to, among other things—using the blood of murdered children to craft his blades.

Sesshomaru asks Kaijinbo if he can forge a sword out of Goshinki's fangs and it's clear that he's still not satisfied with Tenseiga and wants a sword he can actually fight with. And since Totosai refuses to make him one, he's sought out Kaijinbo instead.

Kaijinbo: I'd need the blood of like, 20 extra toddlers.

According to Kaijinbo, a decent sword can't be made from "dead" fangs. This turns out not to be an issue as Sesshomaru demonstrates his ingenuity by drawing Tenseiga to resurrect Goshinki's severed head.

SKREE

Using Tenseiga this way is actually really clever and resourceful and it demonstrates how quickly Sesshomaru is figuring out it's workings. It's also notable here how he's initially not using it for anything close to a 'compassionate' purpose. He employs the sword's 'healing' power purely for his own selfish ends—to get a shiny new sword with the might to rival Tessaiga. By commissioning a remorseless child killer, no less!

It's clear he doesn't really understand Tenseiga yet. He's learning how to wield the sword in a functional sense, but he's still lagging behind when it comes the internal and emotional growth he's meant to be gaining from it.

"Chewed and snapped the Tessaiga" Is the Tessaiga a piece of gum all of the sudden?

Kaijinbo agrees to forge a sword for Sesshomaru, creating the blade Tokijin. However, Tokijin's evil aura is too much for Kaijinbo to handle and he is possessed by it's vengeful will, slicing Jaken in half and killing him.

When Sesshomaru comes across Jaken's bisected body, he revives him with Tenseiga, making Jaken the second person after Rin to be brought back to life by the sword.

Sesshomaru: Not my imp, you bitch!

Hilariously, Jaken's body still remains in two pieces after he's revived. Although we unfortunately don't get to see how he manages to "pull himself together," he's extremely grateful to Sesshomaru for reviving him and I do love how Sesshomaru doesn't hesitate at all to use Tenseiga on Jaken. It shows that no matter how he treats him, Jaken is genuinely important to him.

"Wind Beneath My Wings" begins playing from somewhere...

Chapter 296-297

Tenseiga is all but forgotten about for over a hundred chapters until the Band of Seven arc ends.

It's pissed it's not getting any screentime.

In chapter 296, we find out that Naraku's incarnation, Hakudoshi (who has the power to look inside people's souls), has been beheading demons in an attempt to "catch a glimpse of the land between this world and the next." One of the demons beheaded is the father of a river otter yokai named Kanta.

When Hakudoshi looks into the soul of a dead yokai, we get a cryptic hint of what the land between worlds looks like ("a world shrouded in a white mist"), foreshadowing that it's a location that's already known to the reader.

You can just see in Kagura's eyes how much she hates that little shit.

Sesshomaru comes across the headless corpse of Kanta's father. Since the last time we saw him he was looking off into the distance while remarking on Tenseiga's agitation, we can assume that Tenseiga had somehow lead him there.

The reason for this seems lost on Sesshomaru though, and his presence arouses Inuyasha's suspicion when he shows up with his group. Kagome and Shippo (who know about Tenseiga's supposed powers via Totosai's exposition from chapter 129) beg him to help Kanta's father but Sesshomaru declines, saying it's none of his concern.

Kagome: *Pretty* please?

It's here that we find out how far out of the loop Inuyasha and co. are when it comes to Tenseiga. Namely, that they have no idea that Sesshomaru has, or even can, use it to bring someone back to life.

Having not been witness to Jaken or Rin's resurrections, Inuyasha reveals that he's still under the impression that Sesshomaru is unable to use the sword, a misconception shared by his friends.

If side-eye could kill.

What I find surprising here is that Sesshomaru is okay with letting them believe that he's not just unwilling, but incapable, of helping them. I say it's surprising because, given his spiteful and prideful nature, I'd almost expect him to revive Kanta's father just to prove that he could and it's interesting that he's willing to let Inuyasha especially, get away with thinking that he's less powerful than he actually is.

But maybe, (like with him calling his resurrection of Rin a "test") he's content to let the assumption slide to save face. He still wants to maintain the image of an unfeeling, ruthless asshole and revealing that he can do something only someone with a "loving heart" should be able to suits him worse than the brief appearance of incompetence would.

Tenseiga, as usual, has other plans and before Sesshomaru can leave, the sword's energy becomes unsettled. Sesshomaru interprets this intense reaction as Tenseiga telling him to save Kanta's father, likely the reason why it drew him to the yokai's corpse in the first place.

Sesshomaru: My Tenseiga sense is tingling!

The reason Tenseiga compelled Sesshomaru to use it becomes clearer when Kanta's newly resurrected father tells an odd story about going to a strange place, "a world shrouded in white mist," after he died. His description matches Hakudoshi's from earlier, but he's able to give more specific details that reveal that the mysterious place Hakudoshi is attempting to locate is the tomb of Sesshomaru's father.

Home Depot?

Sesshomaru leaves confused about what Tenseiga was trying to tell him and what it had to do with his father's gravesite. This part is interesting because were seeing how strong Tenseiga's influence over Sesshomaru has become. He allows the sword to guide him and he submits to it's will even when it's contrary to his own.

Tenseiga: Pssst...tell Rumiko to give me more screentime.

Chapter 318-325

While Sesshomaru and co. are trying to find an entrance to his father's tomb (which we now know is in the borderland between the living world and the afterlife), they encounter Kagura, who informs them that the gateway to the borderland has already closed, but that Inuyasha and Naraku have managed to get inside. However, she tells Sesshomaru about an alternate, but dangerous way in.

Is that a challenge?

Sesshomaru arrives at the gateway, where he encounters it's two guards, Gozu and Mezu. Supposedly, the only way to enter the gateway is to kill the two guards, but even then anyone who tries to enter will be bathed in a strange light and turned to stone since only the dead are supposed to be able pass through.

Sesshomaru's attempt to kill the guards with Tokijin fails and Gozu and Mezu tell him that they can't be cut by a sword from "this" world.

Tenseiga pulses and Sesshomaru realizes that, unlike Tokijin, it can be used effectively against the guards. But after drawing the sword, the gateway begins to open and Gozu and Mezu kneel before him, telling him that he's allowed to pass because he carries the blade of the afterlife.

All hail Lord Fluffy.

This is the first we hear of Tenseiga being able to cut "those not of this world." We know it can cut the pallbearers of the underworld, but now we find put that it has the ability to apparently cut any being from other world, including Gozu and Mezu themselves. Tenseiga saves in the "living" world, but kills in the world of the dead.

Jaken's clinging to that Mokomoko like it's a security blanket.

Sesshomaru enters into the borderland to join the fight against Naraku and there's a part here with Inuyasha that I want to mention because, even though it doesn't have anything to do with Tenseiga, it's going to become thematically relevant later.

During the battle, Inuyasha is given the chance to strengthen Tessaiga by defeating Hosenki (the jewel maker who created the black pearl that was in his eye) but decides to shield his friends from Naraku's deadly miasma instead. At first, Hosenki derides this attitude as emblematic of his half-yokai nature, but it's later revealed to be secret test of character.

When Inuyasha uses the Kongōsōha (Adamant Barrage) for the first time, Hosenki tells him that the diamond spears would have killed him if he'd only cared about strengthening the sword. But because Inuyasha valued his friends lives more than increasing his power, Hosenki rewards him with the Kongōsōha.

Hosenki secretly replaced the diamond fragments with Folger's crystals.

Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshomaru is a pure demon, and doesn't hold back in his pursuit of power, even if it means putting others in danger. This mindset will later come back to bite him and that's why I find this part of the story illuminating in light of Sesshomaru's future trip to the underworld and what he'll have to sacrifice in order to strengthen Tenseiga.

Naraku: You're not like the other girls, are you?

Part 3 Coming Soon.

[officialinuyasha]

Tenseiga's Time Limit Explained

Sesshoumaru noticed Rin getting attacked by wolves immediately in InuYasha Manga Chapter 130 -

In Chapter 131 - He even scared off the wolves.

In the anime version, the wolves and scene where Sesshoumaru scares them off were removed. But its still daytime in a shrowded forest. Based on the time of the attack: This means Rin was revived very shortly after her death. In InuYasha Manga Chapter 126 and InuYasha Episode 143 - 3000 Leagues in Search of Father Kanta says his Father's Head was cut off three days ago.

InuYasha Explains that demons don't die so easily which is why their bodies still move after their heads being cut off, and if Kanta's father's head was rejoined to the body, he can be resurrected. We know that by the time they caught up with the body, it died entirely.

Sesshoumaru became the one to resurrect him with Tessaiga immediately after the body died.

This is a key piece of information in regards to Tenseiga - It depends on whose being resurrected rather than the sword itself. In Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Episode 25 -

Toutousai says that he would be able to repair the broken Tenseiga in order to revive Setsuna in three days, Jaken says by three days it would be too late. That Setsuna needs to be revived within the next hour - The same amount of time frame when Sesshoumaru revived Rin. This is because Setsuna is a half-demon and can't survive the same amount of time the way a demons body can, even without its head. InuYasha Wide Edition 27 - Tenseiga https://www.tumblr.com/officialinuyasha/682161326105264128/inuyasha-wide-edition-27-translation-tenseiga

"those who died a long time ago can’t be revived, even if the Guardian of the Underworld is defeated."

[tcnseigad]

Sesshomaru's thoughts on Inuyasha [ kravitz says: lay that deeply layered complex and amazing brotherly bond on me!! ]

OHOHO friendo. Let me dig into my meta tag because I’ve screamed about this many times and I don’t want to miss anything......

“Like it or not, you and I are destined to fight until the day we die. Do not forget that.”

The predicator at the beginning of that sentence is crucial. Read between the lines of pride and understatement which are native to Sesshomaru, and that is close to an agreement of detente, or even an agreement that he is tired of their sibling feud.

While I think their father had good and shrewd intentions, it doesn’t help that while Tetsusaiga can be complete without Tenseiga, the reverse is untrue.  That is unfair and ultimately the aspect of the entire epiphany that can’t be overcome even with grown compassion and good will.

On the Tetsusaiga/Tenseiga crisisand what Touga might have been trying to accomplish:  https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/187653448057/meidou-zangetsuha

More general observations on Sesshomaru’s increasingly ambiguous, decreasingly hostile feelings toward Inuyasha: 

https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/190347970847/tcnseigad-sesshomarus-words-and-actions-are

https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/187780114132/handoftenseiga-sesshomaru-i-feel-nothing

https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/187717360337/the-day-of-days

https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/187668944002/sesshomaru-you-weak-half-demon-also-sesshomaru

https://tcnseigad.tumblr.com/post/187665249442/i-honestly-feel-so-bad-for-inuyasha-sesshomaru-is

I can talk EVEN LONGER if you want, lol, but here is what I’ve recorded to date :D 

[triumphorce]

I hope you enjoy these poems,

Been long enough since I’ve opened, but what’s wrote here is longer,

Sequoia length,

Hyperbolic-time flow in composition,

Bestowin lines of hopeful intervention,

Archs of ideas risen over an extended period, sheddin blood and perspiration,

No menopause, or birthin babies, no days off or on vacation, just endless effort,

An ellipsis stasis, pausing mentally to pay tribute and revisit thoughts degraded,

Or friends neglected,

Pausin like Nintendo, to eat some dinner before it’s cold and tastes of resentment,

Coldest chest bearin my truest intentions, similar to Sloths’ paws in my grip,

Skeptic in the presence of predators, pause to remain calm from all the norm’s digestion

On my South Paw Tekken method, so I stagger to keep them guessin,

In a mega melee between every one of these beings

And their baseless, no basis for patience, faceless and conceited bantering,

So, I’ll get angry if I get angry,

Pressin pause, once again before, just in case, breathing deeply,

Moment of recollection to intellectually understand the present,

And fast forward through every pressure, as I wordplay on endeavors,

All the while trying to buy me time and spare my mind displeasure

From hiding all these lines, wondering if it’s better to attribute pride

And be forever biased toward my dreams, ignorin finding securer ties

Amidst future porch-lit oblivions,

So I chose to approve all I choose with a stronger sense of what to do, Truth in use,

My Love for Truth reaches deepest distances to defining deeper motive behind the chosen,

Chase my dreams or loathe them, stop wasting time on goals or continue on toward them,

Still I end up writing my mind half the time, a bad habit of thinkin it’s lunch time

When it’s crunch time, bursts of ideas, floodin skies, rainin food for thoughtful animals

So now it’s hunt time and I’m roaming cranial parameters, ramblin in Rome-like stadiums,

A Rome of ages, no Brutus betrayal or Germanic invasion,

No collapsing, I make full course, my own track and traction,

Presidential pioneer of passion; a growth in hope from anger,

A ronin-rioteer, slashing throats of loathe and fear, lies and anguish,

Meaning is now the Home and I’m Forrester, on occasion,

Lovely to me to be left alone, to zone and be free from true isolation,

To redefine, no, renovate my limits, halls of castles spreadin from DNA,

To roofs, my being raising from half staff, saluting empires of past and present acceptance,

No predictions or master plans, only assumed direction and adaptive passion, always fittest,

Regardless of destination or where I land, its presence is foremost and always welcomed,

Whether I am or not, but okay, whatev, bet I’m still gone write, yep, bet I’m still gone type, gone but bet I’ll be right

Back, and bet I’m still gone knock, bet I still remain as obsessive as day one, towards an art,

So check the tech of this apex poet’s level in rap, floetry runneth over and I keep it coming like porno,

And…yea, good, that’s a wrap,

Horde of spun gears in wholesome work, cog-nizant abundance here,

An aggressive submissiveness, self competitive modes of progression shown in

An impressive stanza collection, goin all the way back, ’07, low and undetected,

007 impressions all the way to present moments, presenting poems,

Where 117 is now the logo, a present decree of freeing motives,

Steering hope to fearless and it couldn’t but be made more clear, this here

Can’t be on apprentice level s***, not anymore, I’m no where near, I’m better than,

Mirror Anakin, made aware of hidden traits, clearly bred colossal wake

As the inevitable dawn of day, endless skywalkin in either night or day,

On my Goku and Brolly game, got me on my jolly way,

So hold up, I’m bout to blow it up,

Bomberman noggin blogs, pardon the post-ignited fury,

Sparks from muse are used to light the fuse, moving through my spine,

To the keys I strike, to viewable words through screens of yours,

And then boom, my H2O line of sight crosses Alkaline insides,

Fleeting debris of my being sinking six feet in fire’s keep,

Leaving only a smoke flow of unspoken life, rise to flight,

About to air it out, openin insides to fair against the pain,

Another verbal hurricane, reign of Hadouken waved verses

Bringing pages, like a journalist, cursor brain attached to qwerty nerves,

Constant saving, birthing a freeze frame nature to nurture critiqued allure,

From observin to shining light on might of mind on mind excursion,

Lyrics of Merlin, magickal bound occurrence of astounding verbal wizardry,

Showin beauty in comprehension between the likes of those alike

And others who talk against,

So much hate, yet little mercy, despite what they claim to be in the first place,

So next to action, I narrate..

My part,

a poetic curator organizing deep extractions of Art within an Art,

Sorta clean cause of time off, still far from set Par,

Seeing only as far as I’m made able, free of cataracts

and until the rest is made available I place my faith in words,

Come out unscathed and church

Clean, from housing Temple worship,

Sermons of mental journeys, Hobbit-length, traversing Misty Mountain cliffs,

Where Stone Giants wage war, Bid on shoulder’s girth, a foundation never destroyed,

Only converted, only a change in surface, only courage

Made under fire, slay the dragon buried under the least of worries,

Traded violence and bias for brighter means of time spent,

Breaking dawn of storms, over shores of lore,

Growing force from self-remorse, stored distortion,

From getting used to moving forward,

overcoming obstacles, that before had me stuck in floors, all the lags had me glitchin,

Took a minute but I gathered, from the tension, a meta-genomic grasp

On philosophic-bloodlust in retinas of optics searching for oxygen,

yin-yang-third-eye watchin, a mind concaved to problem solvin at the microscopic,

Supplyin a macro-meson metropolis, comprising atomic gardens,

Ever meso-fixed in topless limits, I can’t stop, no need for friends,

Only accomplice to accomplishin, raising the bar again and again within myself,

Machine-like of John Conner, type neurologic, a bionic Laureate, I been on it,

A token-Conan,

A hint of Homer,

From scarlet bowties and formal clothing

To swinging forth the sword of warriors,

Spreadin life with an aura flourished in poetry,

Sort of like Tenseiga but just as sharp as Tessaiga to slay and defend what’s important,

So I Bakuryūha when cornered, no more warnings to get off my Case,

A Sherlock self-entitlist, just decipherin Edgar Poe whims,

With magnifying-focus, John Locked at poems coordinates,

Geologist-range, Rovin problems over with mecha-method,

reignin hectic over perfect tempo,

Mental metronomes, metabolic gyroscopic, hydraulic steps over all the bulls*** people talkin,

Supplyin medic-tomes to audiences, I guess,

Instead of poems, just a chivalric code in ir-realistic flow,

Just another dose of illness, to strengthen defenses

Here we go and, oh yea, that was just the beginnin’, oh snap, no he didn’t

lul.

So here is my written vaccination, a statement of my mission,

Sick of losing my mind and always seeing accepted ignorance,

Lettin go of trust, just to grab hold of hope I choose to trust again,

Desire to love and forgive poses more importance than holding in

Or holding on to thorns of torn rose stems,

Better at maintaining a utopia within, Jesus-morale through crucial friction,

Yieldin malice to oncoming Semi-driven peace,

Even when afflictions make it uneasy,

I make sure love is not only at its peak when toward family,

Because Kin is everybody I co-Exist amongst, an invisible brand in genes,

Givin me infinitely hope that I can defend beliefs of neighborly bred instincts,

Leading actions to condone sequence of repeated interactions,

Like dominos,

Between

people’s

compassion’s

path’s

Crossing

With that of

My own that I’m steady walkin, not really lookin back,

Exponentially increasing from lack of to getting back up,

Ours, as a world, to combine, or back up, and Choose disbelief,

Giving power to the powers To be, whose power to Be is defiling

Our Choice’s portrait of supposedly empty highlights, making ordinary

Unimportant, so thus this becomes the light of truth and leads life to corrupted view,

Either you losing sight of you or me of myself, misconstruing reason to pay it forward,

So I’m usin lucrative lines to lubricate the minds still a little prude to the nude of life,

Faded from strained engagement, makin the choice to die before you’re ever abused again,

To stand unphased in the face of hate and maintain a level stage of patience, that few appreciatin,

Proof that even in the height of uselessness, truth exist in a dimension fixed from vision,

Rooted fixture of a singularity, opposing ideals varying, extend as phloem,

Still can’t elude the speed of photons in a system of life and physics where the right to choose, itself,

Is the life in what lives stand for,

Beyond the physical, a Worth indivisible, formed from what we did and didn’t do,

Warm with smitten, passive light, passin every night and day,

By the hour, orbit revolutions of quintupled Arcturus regions, knowledge empowered brain,

Observin league’s descent uncharted, breeching in darkest hour,

Gravitate my beliefs to massive reason, dimension of must equalin mass of love

To not corrupt where hearts conduct or infest all I possess with lust,

Hope I can maintain the way I touch hearts and pump in months of hardwork,

I keep learning from how I feel to why I feel that way,

Found difference in being indigent and being ignorant,

Intelligence directly reflectin indignant wisdom, transmittin,

Referrals I purpose of personal Shells in ideals, splurging words earnestly

To enter these journals, but if I’m supposed to, what’s the purpose,

Who am I to deserve such a love to words, just an observer

With judicial poetic touch,

And if it’s certain, to whomever, that fate is written, a moral contingent imminent to emptyin,

then what’s the Purpose to existence other than fulfilling an omni-present minister’s wishes of progression,

So I’m administering this obsession to keep anyone who’s missin those “blessings” to please hold on for new direction because I’m tired of seeing depression used as weapons, ammunition from confusion spreadin, duly attentive to fully removin this sickness in sentenced remedies,

Imprison the Nil of pre-destined influences, bring immunity to kill tetanus infections,

Yet still refusing to refute my messages’ meaning even when people misread or dis-link from me

In fear of appearing foolish when light’s free, wool lids over open eyed fools,

Mule witted minds losin focus,

Allusive motive to controlling themselves,

Soo they leave it to forces brail, leaving me to expose

Where the heart is and what it is I was composed to do, go through,

With an ambition prone to fail, I suppose, According to premeditated rulings,

Meaning everyone can’t avail, so only some progress while others are rejected,

Some succeed, some fail, some live, some dwell, well, all alive, but none feel,

Not one well,

And once accepted they remain as frail as I stay mute, but that’s changin soon,

Realizing the truth to stay ahead, never aim to win, life is better played at whim,

Not a favor to anyone to stay blind because you believe you have no play in it,

And claiming peace, while inside, you fake as s***,

So no more resigned use of…

Of life in muses, only new identities I can side by, fuse with,

Away from what therein lies of pre-inscribed mysterious finds, binding will to higher kinds,

Leaving little clarity between actuality and their desire,

Entirety of irrationality blurring passions with pre-happenings,

So I’m writing packet-deep, massive thesis type lyrics,

Not on what life is, more on what it should look like,

Negate effects of strife in what we go through every day

In dreaming and seeking Faith, ending wake of endless waking, like Kenny’s nature,

Mysterion mind deliberating meaning in decisions that supposedly lead us, survival of the fated,

Achievements naked, blank sheet, feat-less wasteland of failures, aka

Someone else’s graceland’s sake,

Astray a world of involuntary reflexes, committed daily,

So what are we without the choices that we make?

And what are reached achievements if choices obsolete,

Our thoughts subjection leaning toward subjective mercy,

Always worrying things will turn for the worse, or should service us,

Circling merit, false in essence, always expectin credit, all these undeserved expectations,

Just another damn reason to instruct and detain, trained to hush,

Contained in corruption, so I break away and lead myself free of it,

Free of following a truth untold, or rushed through,

I slow it down,

Piercing meaning, rupturing relations between changes in Being

And being thankful for living,

Every reason I find, convenes in front of spleens,

Instead of wasting time slaving to understand something always changing

I can easily provide more beauty with “ordinary” in wording, ordaining my own action,

Than any do with reasons still a mystery because they believe in divinity’s selection,

Well I believe everyone, no matter skin, beliefs, see a peace, regardless of objective,

Peace is the seed that exist in you and me, me in you and you in me, nothing sexual,

Just technical, so here’s to findin triumph in effort hulled, fighting for survival of hope in better situations

Distribute it mainstream, with only precedence toward bestowing bravery,

Traversing in shoals of intricate migrations, from skull to throat,

Talkin over people trollin the same thing, about damnation, nuclear devastation, or no hope in humanity,

Betraying speaking peace in pieces, plain to see,

Disarray in creation of fate-sung predicaments

So I remain an algebraic humanist, Ethos patron instinctively,

Regardless of what will be, only means to believe in,

And I choose to believe then,

From the whole of me, giving heed in forms of rhyming reads,

Waiting for the time to reach and grab my chance before it passes me…

My chance to be, to chance is to breathe in depths of stress, under endless seas of probabilities,

Chance is the rise to waves accent to cling to being, where wind swiftly leads a symphony

Of dreams and just when air seems di-minished, chance then Links courage to cappin fear,

Ceasing deceasing of a dwindled breeze, bringing back forgotten memories,

Connected to the past, of where one love met another,

Growth in a happiness conceived bliss, paintings above everyone;

A past’s collage of pensive imagery, collision of Imagination and color,

As wind in the sky blows to soothe the dried, pacifyin,

Past trees, to carry seeds to where they land and breed,

Chance is the treaty between faith and reason,

So tired, so much time to chancing, less to myself, more to finding pride,

Wealth applied to build a health in a life worth more than itself, meant to help,

Enrich those left with doubt, pursued in talents used to salvage faith and shelter,

Compelling thoughts of jealousy and hatred, still a becoming, in the making,

No black and white, I’m in the gray, changin, becomin blanker to a race based on skin,

A lot of work in becoming the change I wish to see replacing all the deceit and greed shit,

To give people something to believe and then proceed to give them reason guaranteeing chance,

Fairing change in paths and enhance the passion made elastic by creating a canvas of emotions gathered

When faced with resistance in liberation from fated actions, I supply my own motivation,

I never tire, never slack, forever writing, sometimes gaming,

I design, repay debt and fines,

I find when lost,

I admire the quaint breeze,

I aspire to aspire,

Seeking others to re-fire fired dreams,

Finally seeing the beauty in dying leaves,

I am only but the comprisee, comprised to further ideas beyond that Comprising…

And at every Dawn of Morn’, perfect timing,

Lightly sun brushed adorned emotions course vibrantly,

Alarm chime got me up like Dug and Russell,

Carl Orff auricular consumption as I rise to shining,

Leaving bunks made comfortable, plying a nine to five,

Adrift corrupted, yet functional systems of injustice,

That people blindly trust in, such a numb to love world,

So I’m livin sure of what I want, but never deserving,

More for serving, because I see a turning in returning,

Learning TM 27, to defend without hesitation, those hurting,

Putting plenty work in, stayin sturdy, steady, stern,

So no more sleep, reenergize my mind with ultraviolet multi-focused drive,

Never tried thriving in just one type of art, renaissance rhymes or charcoal lines,

Bars of ideals primed in furnace fire,

Filled from philosophical mines I, from time to time, step inside to dig further,

Almost a decade, now, dedicated toward a storyline that transformed to novels,

From Lanowen to Cenoria,

From one part to over four, comic-concepts

From porch bottom to views with No horizon,

Just me and Hiz,

From RP to a simple Story, to a Foyer of plots,

Elevating floors high, Glory rises to tell of the dormant tales,

Tales of war, Tales of cheer, Tales Galore, Tales of Fears,

A tale of Fictional artists, just tryin to stay in chime tune with reality,

Eyes open, as trays of a balance-beam,

We only dream To chase them, after, running mentally to catch them,

Dippin off through darkened streets, literally,

And when dusk begins reality slumbers in Dippers over me,

Ephemeral solace into the evening, leaving me in

Pleasant never ending brinks, extinct of larks or peeps,

Sole existence of a solo dolo sidewalk dreamer,

A roamin Caesar, Rome enthusiast

To scenic artistry of stars gleaming in navy-bluest skies,

Light mists of moonlight sonata-like cloaks linger through the night,

A bliss as infinite as the stars are distant, holdin my hopes in suspension,

Ensuing thoughts to compose notes in my dome or on moleskine,

Brim-row view in opera lands, Baritone parlando, harking heartfelt cantos,

Stealing back the hope I robbed myself of, so no more dead silence,

No sounds, just NC headphones and instrumentals to get my mind scheming,

Socratic Luther King in Light and in my sleep,

Still a modern Machiavelli, to stand for what’s right,

Keep what’s on back and neck protected, look like an easy

Target, but I promise that that ain’t promised,

Fingers crossin keyboards like twist ties,

Butter bread lines, sun-beams, from always goin ‘gainst the grain,

In an Adidas skully over curls as I stroll the lunar World,

Lennon-shoes, solar-albedo Chuck Soles Chauffer luster, a sulfer glow of soulful surges from Sol-lit sources, shone off earth’s surface, in all directions, time reversin from my inertia, I surf a universe of Umi-verses, rainin fiercely, floodin nyxheim, floodin tumblr, floodin notebooks, on my flood the world s***, only observable once I give life to words shaped in a matrix muse, wor-ship of my curse or gift, I make that discernment, man what the hell, I been murkin, think it’s time for me to call the curtains, I’m outta here, peace and heart, hope you enjoyed the work,

Fin

[twin-azure-dragon-wave]

The Complete History of Tenseiga - Part 1

Since Tenseiga is my favorite sword in Inuyasha, I've decided to write a multi-part series that takes a comprehensive look at it's role in the story. For the sake of simplicity, this is only going to look at the original manga, although I don't recall the anime adding much in the way of Tenseiga lore, so I don't think focusing on the manga is going to mean missing out on anything.

Now, it's impossible to talk about Tenseiga without talking about *sigh* Tessiaga. The stories of the two swords are unavoidably intertwined with each other (and we'll find just how intertwined at a much later point in the story) and both Sesshomaru and Tessaiga enter the series at the same time, so it only makes sense that we start out there.

When Sesshomaru is first introduced in the series, he is portrayed as having a single goal: to locate and obtain his father's heirloom sword, the Tessaiga.

Chapter 12-18

My preeeciooousssssssss.

This desire to have Tessaiga for himself, usually by trying to stealing it from Inuyasha, is the single-minded pursuit Sesshomaru follows throughout his first three appearances in the manga.

The backstory for this is that, despite being his father's eldest child and a powerful, full-blooded yokai, the Inu no Taisho never intended to pass the sword down to him. Rather, it's Inuyasha, his hanyo half-brother who winds up inheriting it. Much to Sesshomaru's dismay.

Personal space, bruh. It's called personal space.

Their father even went so far as to hide the Tessaiga (in a tomb initially only accessible via a black pearl hidden in Inuyasha's eye) but to put a spell on the sword that would keep Sesshomaru from being able to wield it.

Sunrise and RT: This origin story for Tessaiga is getting retconned and there's nothing you can do about it.

Taisho's refusal to bequeath his sword to Sesshomaru raises some questions his relationship with his older son. Denying Sesshomaru an inheritance he believes is rightly his suggests the idea that he was the un-favorite. That his father didn't consider him a worthy heir and wanted his younger brother Inuyasha to carry on his legacy instead.

Inuyasha: Although, honestly, some cash would've been nice too.

Chapter 125-126

It's not until Sesshomaru's third appearance (when he yet again initiates a fight with Inuyasha in an attempt to acquire Tessaiga) that we find out that Taisho did leave Sesshomaru an inheritance; a different sword, the Tenseiga.

Tenseiga, in kanji is 天生牙, which of course translates to:

Huh? Baby tooth? That doesn't seem right.

Oh, okay, there we go.

How dare Sesshomaru disrespect Baby Tooth like this.

Now, Sesshomaru has been depicted carrying a sword with him since his introduction, but this is the first time that the blade is acknowledged and given a name. Before this, there was never any explanation for why Sesshomaru wanted Tessaiga so badly when he apparently already had a sword of his own.

Rumiko Takahashi would reveal the reason for Tenseiga's delayed explanation on her Twitter account:

"When Sesshomaru first appears, he is carrying a sword, but at that point it hadn't been decided what kind of sword it was. Even in the fight with Inuyasha that followed, he didn't have the timing to draw it. Tenseiga was something I thought of later. I wanted to make a sword that is the complete opposite of Tessaiga and also of Sesshomaru, a sword that saves people. A sword that follows you even if you throw it away."

It's during this story that his father's swordsmith Totosai shows up in the story. Totosai not only forged Tessaiga and Tenseiga, but was entrusted by Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father with the duty of helping them hone and develop their respective weapons.

Alright, calm down there, potty mouth.

Sesshomaru's disinterest in Tenseiga is so thorough that even Jaken, despite being his constant companion, knows nothing about it or the fact that is was passed down from his father.

His grievance with his father's decision is made understandable when he reveals the swords true nature. He 'demonstrates' the sword on Jaken and shows that Tenseiga is a blade without the ability to cut or do any sort of damage.

Baby Tooth isn't cutting it. He needs a strong, healthy Adult Tooth.

The sword can't kill or be used as a weapon, so as far as Sesshomaru ( a character who only desires power and seeks Tessaiga as a means to increase his battle prowess and become the strongest demon in the land) is concerned, it's useless to him. Dead weight that he continues to carry around, according to Rumiko Takahashi, on the off chance that it might one day serve a purpose. Even if, at this point, whatever purpose that may be completely eludes him. For now.

Sesshomaru: And I LOVE Killing!

Totosai helpfully explains what exactly the deal with Tenseiga not being able to cut is.

Look at Mo-Mo being cute in the background. That's MY precious.

The reason that Tenseiga can't kill is because it's actually a sword of healing. It brings souls back from the dead and is said to be able to save 100 souls in a single swing. This would make Tenseiga the life-saving counterpart to Tessaiga (a sword that can destroy 100 yokai with a single swing.)

Kagome literally sweat-dropping at the idea of Sesshomaru caring about anyone other than himself.

However, the ability to make use of this restorative power requires having a heart that cherishes others. It requires compassion. Obviously this requirement would be a serious issue for Sesshomaru had he any desire to actually save lives, but at this juncture in his storyline he doesn't seem like someone who'd care to save even 1 soul, let alone 100.

It makes total sense that he'd view Tenseiga as worthless and that he'd have no clue why his father would leave it to him or how it could benefit him. It's also deeply ironic that Sesshomaru would be given a sword whose entire stated purpose is healing and restoring life considering his very name (often translated to things like "killing perfection" or "complete destruction of life" or other phrases relating to murder or death) references his nature as a merciless killer.

"Everyone read Sesshomaru to filth" party.

Given that so far Sesshomaru hasn't displayed a smidgen of the kind of compassionate qualities that Totosai described, it's no surprise Inuyasha would dismiss the idea that Sesshomaru would be able to use it.

This is the last we hear of Tenseiga for a couple chapters but it sets up what's about to come. We know what Tenseiga's purpose is, what it's capable of and are made aware of how unqualified and ill-suited Sesshomaru seemingly would be in regards to mastering it.

He's 0-3 against Inuyasha at this point. I would simply never show my face in public again.

Chapter 129

During his latest battle with his brother, Inuyasha attacks with him with his newly mastered Wind Scar technique. Sesshomaru seems done for—except a mysterious light appears around his body, apparently protecting him and preserving his life.

Tenseiga: I got you, king. Don't worry about it😙

Sesshomaru: Fuck off🤬

So here, we learn that Tenseiga has an additional power to reviving the dead: it can create a barrier around it's master's body and ward off attacks.

And the fact that Tenseiga saved Sesshomaru in this way is proof enough to Totosai that Sesshomaru is the sword's chosen master.

Now that we've been assured Tenseiga is 100% on Team Sesshomaru, it's clear that the only thing keeping it from reaching it's full potential is Sesshomaru himself. He's resisted the sword for as long as it's been in his possession, but what would it take for Sesshomaru to finally utilize it's powers?

We're about to find out.

Well, that's...ominous.

Continued in Part 2

[tcnseigad]

//GOD but at the same time the whole reason Sesshomaru was initially given Tenseiga was “oh my older son’s a full demon and he’s more technically skilled and strong than my younger, unplanned, out of wedlock son, so let’s have him fix it then give Tenseiga back to Tetsusaiga so my younger son can have EVERY part of my inheritance” ????

I really want to believe that’s not true because that really is too much to bear. I really want to believe this meta that I wrote is still their father’s ultimate endgame.