新選組の誠

The development of their relationship in a nutshell.

#ichimura tetsunosuke #hijikata toshizou

Even though his brother escaped along the way, he loved Tetsunosuke, who followed him north to the end.

Tetsunosuke also admired Hijikata, who he had followed since joining the troop.

Hijikata was said to be a demon and was feared by many Shinsengumi soldiers.

But Tetsunosuke, who was close to him, could see another side of Hijikata.(Source)

“ When I was dreaming, I sang this song when you were mine…” - Aimer. (x)

#tetsusaya #edit

[ It’s 3 in the morning here and I’m having so many Tetsunosuke feels.

Tetsunosuke, who promised Ayumu that he would take care of her little brother and teaching him that there was more in life than just being a shinobi.

Tetsunosuke, who fought his own panic attacks and inner demons, who defeated his fear when he saw Okita injured, who fought against Yoshida and won, and vowed to never use his sword to kill, but to protect.

Tetsunosuke, who comforted Akesato after she learned of Yamanami’s death, telling her it was ok to cry as he embraced her.

Tetsunosuke, who admited to Ryoma he didn’t knew much of the country’s political situation, but still would fight at the Shinsengumi’s side because they were his home. His new family.

Tetsunosuke, who didn’t cared to give himself to the Kaientai so he could see Ryoma’s grave.

Tetsunosuke, who told Saitou he wasn’t any greater than any other human being and just because he could see the future that didn’t meant he just had to wait for fate to come, that he could do something.

Tetsunosuke, who admits he doesn’t knows Suzu very much and yet can’t hate him, because part of him sees where he’s coming but he doesn’t understands him enough to either forgive or hate him.

Tetsunosuke, who tried to redeem Saya but failed. And even so, he didn’t let heartbreak to go in his way and ran back to Toba-Fushimi knowing there was a battle so he could join the Shinsengumi again, despite Susumu’s protests and Hijikata’s original plan of sending him away.

Tetsunosuke, who held Susumu’s hand as he was dying, and listened as Susumu thanked him for being his friend, for showing him how beautiful life is, allowing him to die in peace.

Tetsunosuke, who tried to carry Okita in his back because no matter how sick or weak he was, he’ll always be his beloved teacher and the first person in the Shinsengumi who accepted him.

Tetsunosuke, who rejected his brother’s offer and chose to stay at Hijikata’s side in his darkest hour, knowing that the Shinsengumi were fighting a lost battle, because Hijikata needed him.

Tetsunosuke, who’s broken and traumatized in Ezo, wearing a cold and merciless mask, enduring the cold of the winter and the rejection of many members of the troops, and who broke to tears when he thought Ginnosuke was killed.

Tetsunosuke, who will try to stay at Hijikata’s side until the end and will shown him opposition when the latter sends him back to Hino, who will carry his master’ mementos back to his hometown as Hijikata fights his last battle.

Tetsunosuke, who fought like hell and was broken so many times, and yet tried to put a smile on his face until he couldn’t take more, and yet, even so, he never gave up or lost his strong will or broke his promise.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke everyone. ]

#ichimura tetsunosuke

[ This chapter completely broke my heart, but this scene alone made it all for me. ]

[ Reblogguing again because this page is wholesome, and because I love the father/son relationship between these two and their development through the manga.]

[ Ok people, I really, REALLY need to talk about Hijikata and Tetsunosuke’s relationship because my feels can’t contain themselves anymore.

I’ll be bold to say that I think their relationship is the more slowburn through the manga, because it didn’t started well from the beginning: young Tetsunosuke believed that Hijikata hated him and even wished that he would rather be Kondou or Yamanami’s page, while Hijikata only wanted to protect him of making a choice such as life-changing as killing with the psychological and mental state the boy was - traumatized, immature, lost - to no repeat the same mistake he did with Souji. They looked at each other with contempt, Tetsu being frustrated and scared of Hijikata because his coldness and cruelty in the battlefield, while Hijikata was exasperated at Tetsu’s immaturity.

But that starts changing in Ikedaya: Tetsu manages to defeat his inner demons and grows up, and Hijikata recognizes his efforts and officially aknowledges him as his page. After that, their relationship still remains a bit of a “cat-dog” like but they are more tolerant of each other, and you can even notice Tetsunosuke starts warming to Hijikata and talking kinder to him - like telling him to write haikus to no stress himself so much, offering himself to help Hijikata write New Year letters, small details like that, - while Hijikata, while still a tsundere, slowly starts watching Tetsunosuke’s progress and how he starts becoming stronger and stronger as both his body and mind start to develop into a young man, and he encourages him, even smiling when Tetsunosuke tells him how he managed to defeat forty opponents out of fifty in his training sessions. And of course, we can’t forget how Hijikata, after denying Tetsunosuke’s request of help him to redeem Saya, secretely asked Shimada to check on Saya’s situation to help the boy to free the girl he loved.

But is once the Boshin War breaks that they are brought even closer together. You can see the gesture of helping Tetsu to redeem Saya as kindness from Hijikata’s part BUT also it was an opportunity to let Tetsunosuke go and not being involved in battle when it was the confrontation of Toba-Fushimi. After Tetsu fails to free Saya, he still choses to come back to the Shinsengumi because his comrades need him. And after that, he tries to no part from Hijikata’s side despite that Hijikata is constantly pushing him away from the battlefield because he doesn’t wants Tetsunosuke to get killed or hurt, yet, Tetsunosuke sees this as uselessness from his part: he even tells Hijikata he doesn’t wants to be left alone and being powerless to do nothing while everyone is fighting.

And then, Kondou gets executed.

The day Kondou gave himself to the Imperial army was also the day Tetsunosuke witnessed Hijikata’s more vulnerable side for the second time (first one was when he parted from Souji) as the man cried and begged his friend to no surrender himself, because that would mean his death. Then the battle of Utsunomiya happened and, even if I can’t understand nothing of the dialogue, you can see from body language that Tetsunosuke knows Hijikata is completely alone now, holding a lost fight he can’t give himself to surrender. And he doesn’t wants to leave him alone, he wants to be there for him, hence why he bitterly parted away from his older brother and only family left, Tatsunosuke: while his brother may want to left the Shinsengumi, Tetsunosuke will stay, because his master is alone and suffering and Tetsu can’t bring himself to let him as he is. After the execution Hijikata falls into depression: he can’t sleep, he can’t move, he barely eats, and as we saw in the new released chapter, the ghosts of his fallen comrades and the guilt of not saving Kondou haunt him so much he drunk himself until he passed out and even almost got robbed if it wasn’t for Tetsunosuke’s intervention. The scene where Hijikata BREAKS TO TEARS because he can’t forgive himself for not saving his dearest friend is heartbreaking, but what made it more powerful was Tetsunosuke trying to fake a smile and giving him a hug, comforting him as if he were a scared child. For me, that was the crucial moment that defined their relationship at this point of the manga.

And in the flashfowards of volume 7, where we are already in Ezo and Tetsunosuke is cold and broken and suffering of PTSD because war trauma, we’ll see Hijikata worrying about him because he has closed himself to everyone else, including himself. This is the boy who stayed with him in his darkest moments and tried to gave him hope again, and now, he has lost all hope for himself. That’s why Hijikata asks Ginnosuke to stay at Tetsunosuke’s side, because he hopes he may open Tetsu’s heart again and return the old optimistic Tetsunosuke again. And, even if perhaps I’m looking too far to the end, I feel like Hijikata will also give Tetsu his hope back when he gives him the order to go back to Hino, as the prologue said, “What would change if you die here? At least, you must survive”.

So yeah, Tetsunosuke and Hijikata’s relationship is very important and had a very subtle development and it’s beautiful. ]

#hijikata toshizou #ichimura tetsunosuke #pmk meta

I may add as well that it was Tetsunosuke one of the reasons why Hijikata didn't comitted seppuku at Kondou's grave. Yes, Kondou and Okita's spirits calmed him, but it also made Hijikata to see that his men - Saito, Shimada, Nomura - and Tetsunosuke were waiting for him. While Shimada and Saitou told him he couldn't die yet, Tetsunosuke only approached to him with onigiri, telling him he had faith he would come back. While Hijikata was reading Okita's last letter to him, he ate Tetsunosuke's onigiri, and when he descended from Kondou's grave and saw all his men waiting for him, Tetsunosuke was the first to ran towards him to embrace him.

We later see in the recent chapters that Hijikata got so attached to Tetsunosuke that just asking him to leave again in Aizu was like peeling a wound, which tells me that their farewell in Hakodate will be equally painful for both. However, it adds a layer of mutual salvation to them: Tetsunosuke held Hijikata at his lowest and together with Shimada and Saitou and the rest of the soldiers inspired him to keep living, while Hijikata asked Ginnosuke en Ezo to open again Tetsunosuke's heart that was closed in the war, and at the end, will literally save his life by sending him away to Hino.

#ichimura tetsunosuke #edit

"He’s very strong-willed and hates losing, but his personality is also calm and composed."

- Hijikata Toshizou on his page Ichimura Tetsunosuke (source)

Saya appreciation post

Due to upcoming International Women’s Day, the mods chose to dedicate this post to the female lead and heroine (in Chrono-sensei’s words) of Peace Maker Kurogane, Saya, who despite her lack of screentime, needs more appreciation and love. Beware this post is a bit long.

CW for sexual assault mention.

Saya is Tetsunosuke’s love interest, and like many other non-Shinsengumi characters in the series, she doesn’t appears too much (even Chrono-san said that she felt bad for not drawing her often despite being the heroine!); because of that, it’s understandable many people think of her as a bit of a flat or bland character who is just there to be the love interest. But since fandom is, among other things, about exploring the canon, we thought Saya was a character worth to explore her hidden depths, specially since she has become more relevant in this recent arc.

Saya is a girl who, like Tetsunosuke, also lost her parents in a violent way: they also were murdered in the middle of the chaos of the Bakumatsu, but unlike Tetsu who had his brother to take care of him, Saya was left alone and eventually sold to a brothel in Shimabara where she would be trained to become a courtesan, which is the reason she was assigned as Akesato’s kamuro. She’s also mute. Because of that, it’s easy that she may be perceived as helpless - this is easily seen in her very first appearance, where she’s being harassed by some rounin and Tetsu comes to her rescue. However, it’s also in her very first appearance that she also helps in her own rescue by obstructing the view of the guy who’s holding her as hostage, saving Tetsu of being punched by him and freeing herself of his grip.

Later on when she meets Tetsu again on the temple to thank him for his help and she confides to him her name, her condition and her past. She’s the first who tells Tetsu when he’s having doubts of killing Yoshida or not for revenge that he doesn’t has to change who he is and his values in order to pursue vengeance. This shows Saya as someone who actually dislikes violence, and it’s supported in the Gonzo anime in an extra from her POV, which can be the view she reinforced or adopted after her own parents were killed, and it’s the reason why she serves as Tetsunosuke’s moral compass when he’s having doubts and the person whom he makes his promise of “never kill somebody” after he clarifies those doubts after the Ikedaya incident: Saya represents, in a way, Tetsunosuke’s “string” - similar how Hijikata asked Sannan to be his “string” that held him back when he’s “going too far” on his goals. There is a reason why her name refers to the sheath or scabbard of a sword: a sheathed sword is a symbol that connotes peace.

But even so there’s more on Saya than her relationship with Tetsunosuke, despite her lack of screentime. Both anime adaptations fleshed up a bit more her friendship with Hana, her fellow kamuro companion who’s outspoken, wish we could have seen more of them in the manga through, but given how Hana in her own way encouraged Saya to get with Tetsu in hopes he may redeem her and thus freeing her of a life of prostitution and worried about her, it tells they actually may be very close. Saya is also reported to have been sad when Akesato departed, and given how even after Akesato landed on the Kaientai as one of Ryoma’s companions she still sends money to the okiya so Saya continues working as a kamuro instead of a tayuu, it also shows that Akesato cares a big deal about Saya and Saya about her.

(Wouldn’t mind reading some spin-off extras with the three ladies)

The manga also shows that Saya has quite a temper at times, specially when Tetsu either dismisses her shamisen skills or doesn’t answers her letters when she fears of his safety. Hilarity ensured, but still serves to prove that Saya isn’t always shy and placid with Tetsunosuke as some people may think.

However, is when the war is approaching that Saya proves that, despite being the designated love interest, she actually can function well without Tetsunosuke. When put between the hard choice of being redeemed and possibly married off to a man who apparently caught interest on her and wait for Tetsunosuke, the young man she actually loves, with a civil war about to break, Saya makes the pragmatic choice to let herself be redeemed by another guy, even if inside it may break her heart. It’s actually surprising and incredibly mature from her part, considering in some recent shounen manga the female lead usually pins after the main character no matter what and regardless if he shows interest on her, as if the MC has the girl “secured” to him by the end of the story to marry her off and have kids. Here is shown that, as much as Saya may love Tetsunosuke, she’ll no wait for him forever, specially when a war is approaching - and it’s a hard lesson Tetsunosuke learnt when he found out she was already freed by another guy.

But alas, bad luck: the man that redeemed her actually was tricked by Suzu to buy her freedom in exchange of his wife’s safety, so that Suzu may have her as a prisoner to make Tetsunosuke suffer more. Saya is of course, scared of Suzu, yet that doesn’t stops her of trying to escape and being willing to beat the crap out of him with a stick while he’s sleeping or slice his throat when he assaults her. Likewise, she also shows a compassionate side when she discovers that Suzu actually has two personalities (or likely has dissociative identity disorder) , and that the one she knew once is still there and doesn’t wants to harm her, so she comforts him and plays cards with him as well, yet the moment he reverts to his violent personality she keeps distance of him again and remains defiant towards him each time he taunts her with Tetsunosuke. Recent chapters revealed that during her captivity Saya used her time to learnt medicine from Western medicine books that were in the Yamatoya mansion, meaning that even in such difficult circumstances she never gave up and very likely planned her own escape - a testament of how smart and resilient she is.

The manga still has to reveal more details on how Saya escaped and landed in that small rural hospital in Aizu, but a thing we can be sure is that she worked hard to earn a place on it, as she herself made a special medicine to prevent infections of what she learnt by self-taught and it works to the point her own patients went to defend her when one of the Aizu military doctors questioned her skills. Oh, and despite being mocked and questioned, Saya still kept insisting to the other doctors to examine her medicine. Whoah! It also fits a lot with her initial views that she dislikes violence, that she would dedicate herself to heal and help the wounded and the sick.

All description of above shows that, while not as prominent, Saya in a way had a similar arc to Tetsunosuke: despite their tragic pasts, they still lived in the protection and care of their respective new homes - either the Shinsengumi or the okiya - and their mentors who protected them of making harsh choices - like killing or debuting as a tayuu - , yet, the moment the war broke, their circumstances threw them into the crude reality where they had to survive in their own.

TLDR; In other words, Saya is a strong, intelligent, and compassionate young lady who learnt to survive on her own and adapt to the circumstances she was thrown in; she’s sensitive and also fierce and capable, being defiant to her captor and being autodidact to the point she made a very effective medicine which she’s praised of, while holding a strong moral compass and dislike of violence. She may had been designated to be Tetsunosuke’s love interest but she can function without him and prioritize her own safety over her love for him, if anything her only detriment is her lack of screentime due the focus of the manga, yet that doesn’t erases that in her appearances, she has shown to be very compelling and independent on her own.

(And also one of the reasons why she and Tetsunosuke make such a good couple, but that’s topic for another post)

Sorry for the long post, but since Saya isn’t a character that’s given much attention a bit of context was needed. Let’s hope Chrono-sensei may show more of her in the future and hopefully gives her a good ending as well.

#saya #pmk meta

#hijikata toshizou #ichimura tetsunosuke #izuminokami kanesada #horikawa kunihiro #pmk x tkrb crossover

The master, the page and the swords: Of memories and a legacy.

#ichimura tetsunosuke #saya #tetsusaya #pmk meta

This may be a random opinion, but I like how Chrono developed the relationship between Tetsunosuke and Saya. Romance may be a terciary aspect in this manga, yet the way she has shown them interacting and building a friendship since they were children, sharing casual moments together in their dates, with their growing attraction being mutual and explicitly showing Tetsunosuke’s feelings for Saya just like Saya feels for Tetsunosuke and the culmination with Tetsunosuke’s confession really sold the couple for me.

It’s refreshing, in comparison to other recent shounen manga series that only have the girl pin for the boy, with the boy completely clueless through most of the story until he suddenly “sees the light” and settles down with her. The way Chrono made Tetsunosuke realize his feelings the hard way - ie separating himself from Saya - to later build his resolution to confess his love while also respecting her own choices and knowing she could had reject him (when he believed she was already “married”) is something I really love about them. That, and the fact that Saya managed to have her own separate story aside Tetsunosuke once the war started, even if it was mostly off-screen (and being captive, but at least I’m thankful she managed to escape and became a pharmacist on her own).

certaingorgon-riseoftheronin

I just finished rise of the ronin I am outraged by the lack of fanarts for this game 😭 so I’m contributing

Generally, I think this game deserves more recognition I personally had a great time playing it

Hope I find people who love that game too here 💙

#okita souji

princemakr

The Assassination of Serizawa Kamo, 1863

#yamanami keisuke #okita souji #hijikata toshizou #hijioki #meme #lol

anemonetea

Posting this for the (probably) three other people on Tumblr who know who this is & what he’s from 😂 Some old fanart I did a few years back that I stumbled across today.

#yamazaki susumu #art by op

marloviandevil

New fic dropped - Peacemaker Kurogane edition^^

Title: The fleeting fragrance of tea under moonlight Rating: T (due to blood and death mention) Pairing: Hijikata Toshizou/Okita Souji Tags: POV Hijikata, Light Angst, Reflection, Feelings (and boy are they bad at those), attempts at poetry, canon-typical angst and violence (off-screen)

Summary: Night. The moon so bright there was no need for light. An ambush. And Hijikata Toshizou reflected - life and death and the one loss he knew he would not be able to bear and all the things he could not say. After all, he was already a dead man walking.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/74413526

Excerpt:

Blood turned black in the moonlight and the horror of death was stripped away with its colour. Slowly, it became abstract — remote — surreal. For a silent second before bodies hit the ground and with the sickening sound of lifelessness the tang of iron on steel rose like battle petrichor.

Life cooled on his skin. Death lingered on his katana.

Silence.

The whisper of steel being sheathed.

The slow receding sound of geta on the path.

Souji’s rattling breath, barely audible, at his back.

“You did not have to come,” the first words he spoke as their steps took them over the bridge.

The moon’s death-grin floating over black waters, mocking them. Mocking the fools who acted like they were alive.

Hijikata had known: he was a dead man walking. A shadow. His family was far away and would remain so. His life as it once was was gone. The only way to walk this path was to accept he was already dead.

Souji… Souji reminded him that it was more complicated. They still breathed. They still ate. They still felt. And as much as he could accept his own fate, it did not mean he had no regrets.

#okita souji #hijikata toshizo #hijioki #fanfiction #fic by op

Hi guys, long time to see. It's mod Tsubaki here.

Real life took me completely and had been very busy, but I still love this series, so I'll try to see what I can do to boost a bit fandom and this blog, while still patiently waiting for Chrono-sensei return.

#mod tsubaki #on the meanwhile i started reading the manga 'ooku' and it's peak #i highly recommend it

shinsengumi! (2004) deserves to blow up on here but idk how to recommend it to anyone given the extremely specific necessary background historical knowledge and the fact that I had to hunt for english subtitles which I was only able to download from some ancient forum page that was miraculously still active

the people need to experience fascinatingly dysfunctional homoerotic samurai relationships

redliongeneral

and also Hot Hijikata who loves murder

and poor doomed bb Soji

YOU GET ITTT watching toshi get more and more ruthless is the best part of the show im obsesseddd with how he plays the bad guy and does the dirty work to keep kondo’s hands clean… one of the characters of all time

if he smiles at you like this start running

redliongeneral

love the actor so much. I first encountered him in Sanada Maru and he was so fuckin good.

autistic goth Mitsunari my beloved

he lives in the library with his boyfriend