#murasama

[ninjastar107]

'I think if I can cut it up, I could make beads out of it and make a nice necklace!'

'Please allow my husband to serve you some tea. it is to *die* for.'

[O]

[florjb0rj]

Meanwhile, in an alternate universe:

[illusivesoulgaming]

"A notorious blade passed down through generations of the Rodrigues family. Sam had it modified into a high-frequency blade, enhancing the already astonishing properties of the original metal and giving it an ominous crimson glow. An explosive charge housed in the scabbard enables a lightning-quick draw"

[valentinecult]

Nagoriyuki’s Sword Theory Part 2.

Okay, so long time ago, I made a theory about Nagoriyuki’s sword being cursed. This is part one.

https://valentinecult.tumblr.com/post/633497545557016576/nagoriyukis-sword-theory

Recently, there has been new potential evidence I’ve discovered on his sword and it’s really some scary stuff. Before I dive in, I must remind you that this is only a theory, I may or may not be correct until we get official confirmation on how Nagoriyuki’s sword actually works. 

Let’s begin. In the first part of my theory, I’ve stated my belief that the sword is somewhat based off of the Murasama Sword Legend. The Murasama sword is a cursed sword that thirsts for blood and can drive those who wield it into a murderous rage. 

I also don’t think Nagoriyuki is a natural born vampire as stated in my previous post. I’ll dive more into that later, let’s talk about his sword and this particular detail that I find most concerning. His special move, Wasureyuki, we get a close up on Nagoriyuki’s blade as he caresses it. I rewinded and slowed down the animation because the reflection on the sword looked strange. Take a look:

You see it? Now you are probably wondering; ‘What the hell is that thing?’

I’ll tell you and since Guilty Gear has inspired me to look into Japanese folklore, this thing shook me to the core. Look at this image:

That is the same freakin’ image that is displayed on Nagoriyuki’s sword, just with slight changes. This is the Gashadokuro, a youkai or demon that takes the form of a giant skeleton. They are known for biting off the heads of people and drinking their spraying blood. The Gashadokuro’s body is made up of the bones of fallen warriors or people who died of starvation, which is why it is also named ‘starving skeleton’. The modified image on Nagoriyuki’s sword shows some horns on the skeleton’s head and the hilt of a sword. 

Here is my theory: I believe that the sword is not just simply cursed, it is possessed by the Gashadokuro demon. Unlike Slayer, when Nagoriyuki uses Blood Magic to unlock the true power of the sword (Blood Rage), his health decreases rapidly. See, Slayer can use blood magic without showing any signs of distress or danger to his well being, but Nagoriyuki...he is in likely a more dire situation than Slayer.

I think Nagoriyuki at some point in his life formed a contract with the Gashadokuro demon that resides in the sword. In theory, the deal could be that the sword would act as a magical conduit to help the vampire channel his blood magic better and utilize it more lethally. However, in exchange for using the full potential of the cursed sword, Nagoriyuki would have to lend his own life force/blood to the demon in order to deliver more powerful attacks. Think about it, when he goes full vampire mode in Blood Rage, WHY is this poor man’s health decreasing?! 

Reminder, in the old post, there was the image of when he begins to enter Blood Rage, he spews blood and the scariest thing is that the blood had a demonic face. 

Again, I don’t think it’s placed there just to look ‘cool’, it’s likely an implication or hint that the sword--or the demon is possessing Nagoriyuki. However, when Blood Rage is over, Nagoriyuki will put his mask back on. So, it is very likely that either Nagoriyuki has partial control over himself or the mask has a time limit on how long the sword can possess him.

Remember his theme song, What Do You Fight For? It talks about Soul Enlightenment in the beginning of the vocals. I’m pasting some stuff from my older posts here:

Soul Enlightenment’s definition varies, but what is it like when a person is spiritually enlightened? The qualities of that is that the enlightened person is a being of pure love and light, kind and compassionate. However, those qualities aren’t enough to truly define you as ‘enlightened’. 

You must purify your soul, heart, mind, and body. The back of Nagoriyuki’s kimono and the kanji written on his mask was written as ‘Heart’ and ‘Mind’, if I am correct. That matches the attributes of what one needs for spiritual enlightenment. 

Even so, the lyrics quoted: ‘You’re denying your thirst. Now it’s time to feast!’

This could refer to Nagoriyuki’s internal struggles on resisting his vampiric urges. As stated before, it’s speculated that his hannya youkai mask is special limiter that helps suppress his impulses. So Nagoriyuki might be struggling to control his vampire side and he could be using the culture and traditions of Bushido to obtain spiritual enlightenment to maintain self-control. Not only is he trying to maintain himself, but he is obviously very determined to keep fighting the demon in the sword. Keep fighting until it is his time to die. He might have a mindset of a warrior, someone who isn’t afraid of death, even though he is an ‘immortal’, a vampire. 

Onto his backstory, there is no information on Nagoroyuki’s past. He is simply called a mysterious swordsman that wields a sword that absorbs blood, but Daisuke claimed that he plays an important role to the history of Guilty Gear. 

If this is true, it is safe to assume that he’s seen a lot of pretty crazy events that transpired throughout the lore’s timeline. He certainly gives off the impression of an experienced warrior and a man with a story to tell. 

I believe his situation is no different from Sol Badguy. Sol was a human but due to some…bad circumstances, he became a Gear and as a prototype, he is insanely strong. Too strong for his own good to the point where he needed to create a limiter to suppress the Gear cells and his Gear instincts. There has always been this internal conflict Sol has with his Gear side. 

Nagoriyuki is probably a similar case. Long story short, he might’ve been human once in his lifetime, but the sword may’ve cursed him and turned him into a vampire--or at least something similar to one.  As a vampire, you would obviously begin to act out on your bloodlust and impulse to drink blood. Upon discovering the traditions of the Bushido Code of the Samurai, he studied it and tried to obtain inner peace with himself and his vampiric side. 

 While he does come off as a loner, I have doubts that Nagoriyuki built that mechanical mask by himself. He likely had help someone within the P.W.A.B. or something. Who that person is, it’s unknown and I’m not going to speculate it for we still don’t know all the details of the Strive story. 

Whatever the sword is, if there is a Gashadokuro possessing that sword and given it is named ‘starving skeleton’, I already know that this sword is very...very....VERY thirsty and hungry.

What is also weird is this stage in Strive:

Look behind Sol Badguy at the upper left, what is THAT?!  A giant skeleton? A Gashadokuro? Hell, there’s dozens more in the background further away! Is this a coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not, but with all of these subtle details, I can imagine that Strive might dig deeper into the lore of the Youkai and the Backyard. If these are actually Gashadokuros on this stage, why are there giant swords pinning them down? Who placed these swords there? And do they have a connection to Nagoriyuki? 

Until we get more info, all I can say is that this can be left up to anyone’s imagination. 

But with all these details shown, this further strengthens my theory of that sword being cursed and doing more harm than good onto Nagoriyuki.

That is my theory for now. Take it with a grain of salt, it’s all a theory, nothing else to it.

[caramelosmentas]

Están linda la estética de los juegos de vanillaware y eso que son fotos de mi tv nomas.

[xjoyce66]

La légende de Masamune et Murasama.

Les deux maîtres forgerons, Masamune et Murasama forgeaient des armes  d’exception. Masamune était un homme calme, mesuré et pacifique. Murasama était colérique et passionné. Pour distinguer ces armes parfaites, coupantes comme des rasoirs, il fallait les placer dans le lit du ruisseau. Les feuilles qui descendaient le ruisseau étaient coupées par le sabre Murasama. En revanche, les feuilles glissaient le long de la lame Masamune évitant le fil tranchant. Sabre de vie, sabre de mort.

Un moine avait tout observé. S'approchant, il salua bien bas les deux maîtres forgerons. Il expliqua ensuite ce qu'il avait vu.

"Le premier des deux sabres était à tous égards un sabre superbe, c'est toutefois une lame assoiffée de sang et une nature perverse et mauvaise, car elle ne fait aucune distinction entre ce qu'elle doit ou ne doit pas couper. Elle peut couper aussi bien des papillons que plusieurs têtes."

"La deuxième était de loin la plus fine des deux lames, mais était aussi bien supérieure à la première, car elle n'a pas coupé inutilement, elle a coupé les feuilles, mais épargner les êtres vivants, car elle ne coupe pas pour rien ce qui est innocent et n'en vaut pas la peine." 

[ninjastar107]

[ninjastar107]

'They say her heart blackened with the ashes of her throne...'