Lol. Just as I was writing a scene involving those three (you can easily guess from the titles) and went to YT to maybe find some new music for the mood. Love when such things happen.
how are you so dedicated to something, that you devote so many hours to research and string the sentences so intricately?
how do i find that dedication and devotion?
Sorry for the late reply and thank you for asking!
I guess it's just in my character to research everything. At the age of 6, I was so interested in geography I scrutinized the atlas of the world, just flipped through it all the time and knew all the contries and their capitals by heart (no joking!) Or, when I was obsessed with Tolkien, I just had to learn elvish language too. When I'm interested in something, like really interested, I tend to tune out the reality and dive headlong into this thing. I think about it 24/7, I ditch my work and studying, I basically function on autopilot, and get annoyed with anything that distracts me (which is why I'm a terrible life partner.) I need to be engrossed in it for at least several days in a row for my thoughts to start to align into something good, for ideas to be born. There's a downside, though: I burn out after a while and need to switch to smth else or to focus on real life.
If I try to explain my state of mind when I write a bit further... Since I write lots of different things (or at least try to), fanfics as well as original stories in my native languge, it's like my inner world consists of many different sub-worlds, each associated with its own mindset, mood, music, even season and weather. Like, one period of time I'm in the mood for sci-fi, I think about the Universe, watch the stars through my telescope, listen to cosmic music and write my sci-fi novels. Another period of time, I turn to something historical, listen to another kind of music, read/watch smth related and write my other stories, etc, you got the idea. Music is very important for me to get into the mood. Almost all my playlists are named the same as my stories, I don't even listen to "normal" music just for fun anymore lol. Like, I have my dororo playlist which is like an instant teleport into this sub-universe, they're not even all Dororo ost but, for some reason, mostly Skyrim and other video games ost or epic instrumentals. Once I hear the first notes of "Harvest Dawn" or "Minstrel's Lament", I'm instantly there, in Ishikawa, with Dororo, Taho and Hyakki. There are times though when I'm completely unable to string words into coherent sentences and wonder how the hell were I doing it earlier ;_; In such times, I'm only able to consume information hoping the day will come when I create something again. Long story short, I'm very unstable person even with my tendency to fixate on things so strongly.
Lastly, how do you find that dedication? I could have given an advice but unfortunately, you see, I still didn't find a way to tame my own qualities. If I did, I would have already published at least one book! All I have is my innate peculiarities and interest which gives me enthusiasm and workability while it lasts. Oh! And also I'm not consuming much info, unlike many other people I know. Like, I may watch just a couple anime per year and several movies, read but a few new books. You need lots of fiction while growing up (I read books in tons during my school age) but I believe not so much later. At least for me, I prefer meditating a lot on those few things I've read/watched instead of consuming new fictional stuff everyday. I wouldn't have been able to write otherwise. When I feel lack of inspiration and get stuck, only then I let into my world some new stuff.
Have we misunderstood the meaning of “Tenka Fubu”?
“Tenka Fubu” is well-known to be Nobunaga’s “motto” for his ambition of unification. It’s generally translated as “Unify the nation with military might”.
However, I found an article relaying a story of how Nobunaga got this phrase from the Zen monk Takugen Sou’on 沢彦宗恩, who intended the 武 to mean “7 virtues of the warrior” (七徳の武) listed in the Chūnqiū Zuǒshìzhuàn 春秋左氏伝 (Commentary of Zuo from the Spring and Autumn Annals).
That is, “if you follow the 7 virtues, you will unify the nation”.
The 7 virtues are: jìn bào 禁暴 (prohibit violence), jí bīng 戢兵 (end wars), bǎo dà 保大 (maintain greatness), dìng gōng 定功 (ensure success), Ān mín 安民 (citizens living in peace), hé zhòng 和衆 (the people in harmony), and lǐ cái 豊財 (abundant wealth)
The writer cites “Masahide-ji Records” ( 政秀寺古記) as their source of this anecdote, which is a part of the “History of the Seven Great Temples” compiled by Junkei Washio.
i realise i am probably too late for the game, and you're probably inactive, but i pray this message reaches you in good health and best intention. i have been following your writings, and i wish to tell you how much i appreciate your work. i admire your writing style, it is ebbing with your passion and love for the anime, and every chapter shatters my soul and weakens my wrists. it takes great talent to dedicate so much research, time, and effort to write an post-canon fix it in such beautiful shape and form and i wish you knew how much your writing has inspired me.
i love dororo, in ways you can imagine. it saved my life, and it's undoubtedly the best anime i have ever watched, not only with it's heavy symbolism and top-tier storywriting, but also the characters and fights have been orchestrated so splendidly. i decided to write a fanfiction myself, but hesitated to press a single letter because i was afriad i might ruin in a perfectly good show. it's already perfect as it is, i would think. and in all my time i haven't seen someone articulate and describe each characters' stories, agony, anguish, and depth as much as you do. not to mention your art work in beyond astonishing. believe me when i dropped my jaw seeing your work. i want to learn a lot from you.
remember when munetsuna wished that he was to craft a katana so powerful that it would stop wars? that people would be so astonished by the sword, then would surrender? you are that sword. you have such great potential in you, and pardon my poor phrasing, as i am a novice writer and a mere admirer, i wish to learn a lot from you. im not exaggerating at all when i say that your works bring me to my knees. i am in love. truly. i apologize in advance, but i cried after i read the first chapter. it moved me that much.
if you were to write a book, please let me be one of the first few readers. i will support you with everything i got. i don't say this to pressure you, i simply wish you know how grateful i am to have found your work.
there are no questions.
thank you so much. thank you.
Wow. I'm speechless. You know, this is probably one of the best and warmest feelings in the world—no, not to receive a compliment, and not to feel proud and pleased with myself (vanity never does you any good and I try not to get carried away), but to meet a soul resonating with mine—at least in one way, at this moment—to be able to feel so deeply everything I've put into this story and enjoy it. A perfectionist that I am, I always wanted to create something that everybody would like, until I realized that popularity is nothing, just numbers. But to reach even one person's heart is what truly matters to me. Meeting that person is like meeting a friend, such crossing of the paths is always a miracle of sorts. So let me give you at least a virtual hug! 🤗
I'm sorry for the late reply, I don't check my tumblr often lately as you can see, not because I've moved on or lost interest though. I hope I never really move on from Dororo, at least not until this fic is finished. And even then Dororo will remain a huge part of me. But yeah, I switch a lot between things (not fandoms though—enough is enough 😅), various things I write. I really hope to finish at least one of them and publish a book one day, and if it happens, I'll gladly send you one of the first copies! Haha although it may not happen before we all turn very old, I'm afraid, since as you can see I am a veeery sloooow writer. Also, it will be in my native language 😅 (writing in English was an experiment at first, a challenge to myself, and I admit there will be times when I regret putting myself through this lol)
May I ask you something, too? Please, don't hesitate to press letters, write! Just start and let your worlds take shape, let them be born. I was inspired a lot by the authors I admired, many of them are ficwriters, I've taken a lot from them. I'm happy if it's now my turn to pass some of that inspiration further. Really, really happy. 💖
You may have noticed that I’m quite obsessed with Japanese history and Genpei War in particular, mentioning Heike Monogatari here and there, so I wanna share an anime I discovered only yesterday, which is titled, no wonder, “Heike Monogatari” (2022) Why didn’t I know it existed? A very stylish work! Really recommended! The plot follows real historical events yet the main character is a fictional girl raised as a boy (just like Dororo in the 2019 anime) ‘Biwa’ who is witnessing the whole thing unfold to later become a biwahoshi who narrates it. Some supernatural abilities are also present, but not too much. The tangle of historical figures and political plots may be a little hard to follow if you’re not familiar with them, since they are shown rather briefly, but it is worth to give a try!
Sketched my plan for the finale, adding some things to make it more epic. At last, this is a version that ties all the littlest lose ends together and explains everyone’s actions, which I couldn’t find before. Some bits of it were here but not the whole thing. (No, I never think through all the details I include in the early chapters 😅 But I trust they will all fit together in the end, they always do, call it magic of writing or anything, it just works.) So excited to write it! Although it won’t be an easy work. Why, my brain, do you work only once in a blue moon? I wish I could write whenever I want and have time to, but unfortunately I can’t :(
From The Story Of Flowing Water (Dororo continuation story)
Summary: Jukai thought it was finally the end of his sad and pointless journey.
But as it turned out, even in the eternal turbulence of the sea there were paths that continued.
So today I surprized myself and drew the next chapter cover. All of a sudden. I don’t know what happened?
Yes, I’m alive and hopefully will post the chapter itself soon (before we all get old)! In the meantime, you can try to guess which two characters are pictured here (hint: this is partly a flashback chapter.)
(another hint: one of them is a canon character)
On the side note, I have bad news. My fucking government has blocked AO3. I still can use it via VPN of course but there are talks that they wanna ban all the vpn next. Lets pray i can finish this fic before shit happens. If not... well. At least tumblr is still working. Or there’s always the good old LJ. Or fanfiction net. For now.
Just dropping by to let you know that I am still there, and I’m finally working on a few new chapters. Let’s hope I’ll break through the mess of the plot and find my way to the light before this world ends lol
From The Story Of Flowing Water (Dororo continuation story)
Summary: If he had known the things that would follow, would he have found the courage to leave the confines of that quiet village,Tahomaru can't help but wonder.
I’ve been obsessed with these characters for a while now, and loking for a pattern here I couldn’t help but notice similarities between them - the important similarities that basically shape their entire personalities. There are quite a few! Just look. (Spoilers ahead!)
(the collage is my old fanarts)
- Both have their important person’s attention stolen by some distant guy. The important person is his mother in Tahomaru’s case; his childhood friend/crush in Taichi’s case.
- No matter what they do, the said guy is always that bit stronger (brother-enemy for Tahomaru, friend-enemy for Taichi).
- Both are harboring feelings of jealousy and animosity while trying to be (and essentially being) nice boys.
- Both “go to the Dark Side” while pursuing the strength to beat the one guy.
- Both break their ties with the important person in the process (Taichi abandoning Chihaya and avoiding her; Tahomaru refusing to visit his mother and ceasing interactions with her.)
- Both face the inevitability of doom despite their best efforts (domain collapsing in ruins for Tahomaru; spending his whole youth and not getting there for Taichi.)
- Both care for other people a lot.
- Both are clever strategists who use their wits to solve problems.
- Both are the coolest boys in their circle (the heir, first in martial arts / first in the school in sports and academics, the popular handsome guy), both are blessed with status, wealth, good upbringing and are somewhat pampered in this sense, yet both have problematic relationship with their mothers and work hard to prove themselves.
- Both ultimately return to the Light side after having been defeated but acknowledged by their enemy, and both commit a symbolic seppuku (by accepting the ultimate defeat and returning the eyes / apologizing for standing in his way)
- Both start with Ta :D
Is it such a wonder they both evoke such a heart-wrenching feeling in me?
(Chihayafuru isn’t finished yet, but i don’t want the same lousy ending for Taichi, pls sensei. No.)
Hyakki and Taho being samurai, from my continuation fic (armor would suit Hyakki, right? but then again, what would not suit this gorgeous man?)
“There can’t be so many demons,” Hyakkimaru says, his voice confident. “Probably this is one single demonic substance, and it has a core. I’ve seen that before. If we strike that core…”
“Nice plan, but we can’t see it with these eyes.”
Tahomaru squints his left eye against the rising sun. There is a blind spot on his right, yet he still senses his brother’s gaze on him. He doesn’t turn to meet it. There is a tension in his shoulders, and in his neck.
Now, in the light of day, the size of the enemy coming in sight in the south causes the hairs to rise even on the most hardened samurais’ arms.
“About ten thousand, and more are still emerging from the mountains,” Maeda at his left concludes, repeating the words of the young, scared scout he chided so ruthlessly a while ago. “I have seen these numbers before only once: decades ago, during the Kakitsu uprising. It was poorly armed peasants under the guidance of some minor samurai.”
Now, it is demons, the unsaid words linger in the silence around them.
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