#ototachibanahime

[getmoneyghoul]

thought i wouldnt draw anything else this year but inspiration struck. congrats saber

[kaibutsushidousha]

Fitting given the recent FGO news, but what are your thoughts on Takeru?

Bundling all these asks together because they're inseparable. Probably the biggest askbox cleanup I ever did in one go.

The short version of the answer is "Fate/Samurai Remnant is the story of a pair completely enamored with each other's least favorite parts of themselves."

Saber was a complete natural. A child too strong. His father quickly noticed that and exploited Ousu as Yamato's mightiest colonizer. All they knew in life was violent conquest until Tachibana taught them love and kindness. But Tachibana was uncritical. She didn't talk Takeru out of their bloody path. On the contrary, she chose death so that the walk would continue. She loved Takeru's good and bad alike.

Through Iori, Saber met a new world. A world where the weak had the option not to fight. A world where rice was easily accessible. A world that had no need for Yamato Takeru's journey, thus no need for Ototachibanahime's death. And there he met an intriguing man who still wanted to fight in a world where this wasn't needed.

In their interactions, Saber grows to envy Iori's rational acclimation to the peaceful Edo. The ability to find solutions that don't require violence. To strategize conversations. To not do things aren't virtuous. To sympathize and empathize. To read and understand the thoughts of others. It's by emulating this that Saber changes.

Meanwhile, Iori is a thinker. His exceptional rationality allowed him to weasel his way out of a village massacre, which lasted until Munenori inadvertently saved his life. After this whole time desperately using his brain to survive, Iori witnessed the easy way out. With a slash that looked like the moon, the sword saint survived without resorting to Iori's tiresome trickery. That absolute strength was the symbol of survival Iori saught.

He learned from Musashi (and Kojirou) for as long as he could, but ultimately couldn't learn all. Without completing Niten's lessons, Iori was left capable only of doing what he does best: thinking, reading, and adapting. He designed his Five Stances model and began fighting by switching patterns according to his circumstances. The opposite of the all-purpose survival mechanism that he began his training for.

Through Saber, Iori saw his original inspiration. Right in the prologue, Iori is already gushing about how Saber fights with the swordplay of a champion who doesn't read or respond to their opponent, letting only themself dictate how they fight, like they were the only one in the field. Saber can survive any situation with far less effort than Iori.

In their interactions, Iori grows to envy Saber's force of character as an unmalleable force. Their outstanding technique is just like the moon he saw at the night at the port. Iori can't feel at peace until he surpasses it. No matter how much of himself he must trim down, he needs to find raw all-purpose power (the Fire and Void Stances). Saber's ability to push through any challenge without as much as evaluating it. It's by emulating this that Iori changes.

The conclusion of Entreat the Darkness sees Iori defeated by Saber's successful read of him. The talentless Iori continuously relied on his "petty" tactic of studying his opponent, so when the talented Saber started pulling the same thing on him, it was so thoroughly hopeless that he had to laugh it off and accept he got as far as he could. Iori was pacified by his own lessons being repeated to him by the person who heartfeltly absorbed them, in classic Ciel route style.

Saber and Iori were born in the wrong eras. The latter would have been more self-assured in an age where he could prove and elevate himself in duels that put the limits of life and death to the test. The former would have been more happy in an age where they could feel assured their treasured companion(s) would last as long as they did.

But through the short time they shared, they got everything they wanted. Iori found satisfaction in finding that insurmountable that confirmed that he became the very best he could possibly be. Saber found satisfaction in gaining a companion through a much more gratifying journey than the unification of Japan.

The logical conclusion to my opening sentence is that Saber and Iori had the missing pieces to each other's puzzle, and sharing those made both of them whole.

[chwurz]

FGO 9th Anniversary

My contribution to this year's anniversary message board! Happy 9th anniversary, FGO!!!

[nanabansama]

Quickie: Oto Tachibana Hime

In my research on Japanese legends concerning human sacrifice, I came across another story that I neglected to mention in my last post. I think it has some interesting connections to JSHK, though, so I think it's at least worth mentioning here.

Oto Tachibana Hime (弟橘媛) was the wife of Yamato Takeru, a very famous folk hero in Japan.

During one of his voyages at sea, his ship was caught up in a violent storm. Oto Tachibana Hime nobly sacrificed herself to save everyone, which appeased the sea god Watatsumi, allowing Yamato Takeru to continue his journey.

You'll notice that this story, once again, features a young maiden sacrificing herself to calm a water god. This time it's a sea god, though, which is tougher to reconcile as the god of Kamome. We've only seen the ocean in the context of The Mermaid supernatural. I don't think we've really seen the ocean outside of that, so it's hard to say if Kamome is a coastline town or not. A god of another body of water just makes a bit more sense to me right now. (But let's not forget Kamome literally means "seagull" so who knows!)

Anyway, what I really found interesting about this story is that Oto Tachibana Hime's name is spelled in a peculiar way!

The first kanji in her name means "younger", so her name is "Younger Tachibana Hime." However, nowadays the kanji 弟 is almost synonymous with the word for younger brother.

Considering Amane's younger brother sacrificed himself to save him, I just found that kind of amusing! And for another funny parallel with Amane, Yamato Takeru has an infamous story where he dresses in woman's clothing to kill someone. Gives Hanako-san vibes for sure.

...feels awkward to end the post on this image but what can ya do.

[nasuversekinkmeme]

I NEED to know what about water saber made otochibanahime go "ah yes I want this deranged cat"

Oh ho ho!

[chwurz]

[getmoneyghoul]

i can post these now yeah..weeks old but they still make me sick

[chwurz]

happy valentines (forgot to post it here)