#gm: queue

[guidingmirror]

Takechiyo has experienced 25 different types of deaths, and has died 821 deaths. So far.

[guidingmirror]

Hc + 👻 (For Anyone)

I'm gonna do this for Takeshi because it's funny.

So because Takeshi is supposed to be set in ROTR (Rise of the R0nin), (which for those who don't know it's a game in the same universe as N1oh due to the creators shoving all their games in the same universe.) he has absolutely ZERO knowledge of the supernatural.

He forgot everything, and not only did he forget everything but the game has very very little towards the supernatural. It's clearly not the focus of the games. So Takeshi's (violence) body count is purely human beings. Which is both terrifying but also absolutely hilarious because the absence of the supernatural means in stark contrast to every other Takechiyo, he is a skeptic of the supernatural. He doesn't believe it exists. He's genuinely never seen a Yōkai, ever.

[guidingmirror]

🌙 – And what if I made you bald?

The shogun paused, a hand coming to his head. Then a deep scowl graces his features. "What kind of a foolish enquiry is that?" He asks, hand lowering. "I would execute you. That is what would occur..."

He's still a little scared of his hair being taken, so he makes sure to add an: "Insolent fool." Yeah, that was sure to show them.

[guidingmirror]

🔆 + 🏳️‍🌈

Takeshi is the one variant who has no memories of any previous life. So he completely forgot he was gay. (He didn't take long to realise to be fair.)

He didn't really feel most of the conflicting feelings that Takechiyo felt, hence why he was far more forward and open about the whole thing. The only thing that stopped this man was the growing homophobia in Japan post the Meiji restoration. But even then he didn't hide it, he just didn't mention it at all. Which is a different thing entirely.

[guidingmirror]

What's the creature Taiyou struggles with the most?

The answer? Vampires.

See, Japanese folklore does not have a vampire in the traditional sense we recognise with western folklore. So the way I imagine vampires within his canon is that Vampires as we know them appeared in Japan with the arrival of either fleet of the black ships. Taiyou, a practicing Onmyoji, used a magic system originating in the Heian era, therefore he was not taught how to deal with them.

His knowledge of Vampires therefore is extremely spotty. He knows stuff from movies supposedly but he knows that movies misrepresent Yōkai constantly. So even if he knows how to deal with one, doubts himself heavily. He will often go back and think the answer to defeat a vampire is far more complicated than it may be due to his experience. He's defeated a vampire before but he still has no clue how he managed that.

[guidingmirror]

🏳️‍🌈

Taiyou's relationship with his sexuality is... Complicated. It's very complicated.

He is ashamed of being gay but not because he feels as if being gay is wrong. But rather he feels as if his homosexuality has incapacitated his ability to be 'normal' or at least the fact it's affected so much of his life despite it not being a bad thing. Whilst it's very easy to label this belief as internalised homophobia I wouldn't necessarily label it such due to the fact that Taiyou is not originally from our era.

This is gonna be a long post, because of this.

When Takechiyo was born, male male relationships in Japan were primarily socially accepted within the pederasty based structure of Shudō. In which older men would pursue much MUCH younger boys. This isn't necessarily gay or homosexual as we in the west or in our era would label male-male relationships. Shudō as an idea as an institution and as a trend was different. Incredibly so. Which is why Takechiyo, despite living in a society at the time that did not outlaw homosexual acts, found himself struggling.

Marriage as well during this time was seen as a way to ensure offsprings and the future of ones legacy. Male homosexual acts therefore, were seen as completely fine so long as they did not interfere with the primary responsibility a man had. Here in lies Takechiyo's problem, as his preference was seen as something complimentary to the social norm, when he himself felt only a desire for this specific kind of love. He did not want a complimentary male relationship, he ONLY wanted a male relationship.

Therefore, Takechiyo's struggle with his sexuality was not because of shame but because of how his sexuality meant he felt he was unable to fulfill the role he was expected to. This dilemma would've been something he could've dealt with his entire life in silence, but Takechiyo was a Tokugawa. This placed him in the spotlight of the entire country. He was already failing to meet his parents expectations of what an heir was supposed to be like, and his sexuality only played a role in that. So he ended up feeling shame over this in a society that didn't really place that kind of shame on that sentiment for reasons external to things such as homophobia was we recognise it.

So Taiyou's views on homosexuality carry a lot of weight from this alone, paired with the fact every man he loved his relationship has ended horrifically with. Koushin was killed by Iemitsu. (Who's views on his love for men was Takechiyo's shame on actual steroids.) Shinsaku had tuberculosis, and Takechiyo after the split didn't even get that long with Shinsaku in the grand scheme of things as Takeshi died in 1880.

Then Takeshi died and Taiyou woke up in a period where homosexuality got OUTLAWED. so he's very.... Nervous about the whole thing. His inability to accept the fact that he's gay isn't because he agrees that it's gross or wrong. But because him being gay meant that he struggled to be the person his parents wanted him to be, he failed to have a normal marriage with a woman, he failed to have this side of him be complimentary to his duties rather than his sole desire. Then the men he was romantically involved with made this worse.

To Taiyou today, to admit he's gay means to admit that he failed in his duties as a man of his era and that he failed the men he was with as lovers. He failed them both. It's just another extension of his several failures he holds himself accountable for, such as his country's history, the creation of Iemitsu, his brothers death, etcetc. He doesn't have internalised homophobia, at all, he just rather has shame on how he's navigated this side of him.

[guidingmirror]

“⏳” I receive, my muse will openly talk about a bit of their backstory.

Takechiyo, lowered his cup, frowning. "Ah, you're curious about my parents." He shifts in place, hands folded on his lap.

"It was the usual affair, our relationship that is. Well, at least for our class and status. I... was not born out of love, I was born out of purpose. My parents, they had an abnormal relationship all things considered. Usually shogun's have concubines alongside their partner. Future heirs come from either party. But my father had none. He only had my mother. He loved her very much." He explained.

"With this in mind, I was born sickly. Very much so. I spent my childhood bedridden, with my caretaker and tutor by my side. Fuku raised me. Not my parents. Caretakers are common with our family but she and I were inseparable. Then, my little brother was born, and my mother threw herself into raising him. She didn't have an easy life, and so having a healthy child she could raise. I think she just was overwhelmed with joy. Perhaps my parents did love me, perhaps they did care. But I was ill equipped to be the heir due to my health. So they poured their attention to the family's politicial future, my brother Kunimatsu."

Takechiyo lifted the cup to drink, lowering it back down again with a faraway stare. The young man didn't say much, just smacking his lips. "This changed after my grandfather named me heir. Although... I really wouldn't like to discuss that all too much. You must understand, it's a rather sensitive subject." Takechiyo offered a small smile.

[guidingmirror]

So, why is Taiyou's magic region-locked to JPN only?

Taiyou practices a system of magic called Onmyōdō. In the N1oh games, this functions as the only system of magic available for the player to utilise.

In game, you prepare talismans at a Kodama shrine and everytime you pray at the shrine you gain your used talismans back.

Taiyou, an Omnyōdō practitioner, (Which are called Onmyōji.) is restricted to the presence of these shrines in close proximity to him as he cannot restock his prepared talismans reliably without them. He can certainly use other means but these only can restore one or two uses, for full access he needs a shrine.

Since in game you can only refresh your magic at a shrine, Taiyou is limited to this. (as I wrote his magic to be tied into the gameplay mechanics for both fun and general combat balancing for him. N1oh protagonists are overpowered.)

Kodama are known to wander, and in the modern day they definitely could just wobble onto a plane and go elsewhere outside of Japan. But managing to get a sole Kodama to replenish his talisman supply is very tricky to do as it may not have the sole power alone depending on how elaborate and powerful the talismans are, and Taiyou is known to pack a punch.

Therefore, he voluntarily limits himself to Japan. Where there are an abundance of lived in shrines so that he can reliably replenish his talisman supply. Although he hates travelling, he would love to go abroad again, but his magic system forces him to stay in Japan. This is why some hunters consider his methods outdated (also because of how old he is.) but shit man. Have you seen what a hellshock talisman does to a room full of men? Old man's still got it.

Maybe one day he'll learn Kido like Himiko utilises, but in the meanwhile he's at those shrines frantically preparing his sloth talismans.