#rk week

[nekkyousagi]

“I have to admit, I’m a bit tired of wandering...” - Himura Kenshin

 Rurouni Kenshin Episode 1: “The Handsome Swordsman of Legend”

Rurouni Kenshin Week 2017 has begun! Today is May 14th an important date in the RK fandom! Starting off my tribute series with a sketch, but there’s more to come as I celebrate my love of this classic anime!

[plutonicmirror]

Remember that time Kenshin fought Vash the Stampede?

“The first one to strike gets the donuts” 

My late contribution to RK Week, born from a private joke with a friend. The first time I saw Enishi I thought he was an edgy Vash rip-off.

[mamoro2202]

Congratulations, everyone!

(Please note: there was a 3 way tie for best canon)

[friendly-neighbor-kai-harada]

My contribution to rk week is some art of one of my favs, Yukishiro Enishi. Probably one of my favorite antagonists of all time. (His hair is pain)

[mpougatsamaria]

- Kenshin, there’s something I need to tell you.

- What is it Kaoru-dono?

- Well you, see...

-Yes?

- I... *Kaoru keeps mumbling and blushing.

Sano is thinking: _This is taking forever_ *clears throat and shouts the above*

Rk week y’all, how’s it going?

Caption game by @akusokuzan and I’m all for it! The original image can be found at her blog.

[kondo-hijikata]

Piecing It Together Pairing: Saisa Prompt: All Is Fair In Love and War Rating: M Summary: Sano wonders how they went from being rivals to...this.

With their eyes closed and foreheads pressed together, they breathed the same breath through parted lips, drifting in a universe only large enough for two. And in this perfect moment of wanting nothing more, as his heart hammered and the racing of his pulse made him dazed and oversensitive, Sano had never felt closer to another person in his life.

Trails of haphazard scratch marks led to where his fingertips pressed deeply to Saito’s back, their tension mirroring the hand cradling his head against the pillow. Like this they remained, a pair of entwined statues suspended in some unworldly space between the shores of truth and reverie, until reality crept back in and made Sano hyperaware of his surroundings.

Everything touching him felt surreal and soft—the futon, the sheets, the covers…the sensation of lightness in his body, the memory of the kiss he could still taste even now. But no recollection, no matter how fresh, could replace the real thing.

Parched upon that thought, Sano tilted his chin up so their mouths met again once and then twice before his lashes slowly fluttered and he found Saito regarding him with a similar intensity. Their lips barely touched as they stared at each other, saying nothing out loud and yet everything with their eyes, until Saito finally slipped Sano’s calves from where they rested on his shoulders and gently lowered them to the mattress.

With his chest now rising and falling lazily, Sano watched as Saito reached for the nearby damp cloth and made quick but careful work of cleaning them both up. The fabric brushed across the scar on Sano’s pectoral first--why not begin at the beginning, indeed--and as Sano mused upon that, he succumbed to the ministrations which made him feel important and cared for.

His mind reiterated that. Sano felt important to someone else, for the first time ever--felt cherished and desired and worthwhile.

While he recognized and even accepted this conclusion, he was still perplexed as to exactly how he’d ended up there, and how it had all started with this scar. Sano’s fingertips raised, pressing to the place beneath his shoulder now cool from the cloth and wondered how a stab wound given on his right side could have pierced his heart.

His eyes opened when Saito finally pulled away to sit tall, reaching for his pack of cigarettes and then lighting up. It was a rare instance when he allowed himself the luxury of assuming a relaxed position out of seiza; now was such a time and it gave Sano the perfect opportunity.

He seized it, rising and resting his chin on Saito’s shoulder from behind as his arms slipped around his chest. “Ne, Saito,” Sano purred, distracted momentarily by the stronger presence of the scent he loved most here. “...Do you believe in fate?”

The cigarette glowed brighter as Saito took a draw and his reply was delivered with an exhale of smoke. “No.”

Sano hummed, neither disappointed nor surprised. “Figured.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just wonderin’.”

Saito huffed, inviting elaboration.

“I guess sometimes I feel like fate had to be involved with bringing us here.” Sano nosed his shoulder and pursed his lips against it in a moment of thought. “Y’know what I’m saying? I mean, we didn’t really meet in the most conventional way.” A grin pulled out to his cheeks when he heard Saito snort with muted amusement. “And I guess it’s just...it’s kinda unbelievable that we ended up like this.” Raising his head, Sano’s gaze found the side of Saito’s face. “Right?”

Leaning forward, Saito perched his cigarette on the ashtray but made no effort to turn to Sano. “At times, opposites attract.”

“Are we really that different deep down, though?”

“No. However, sometimes…” Saito continued as his hand covered Sano’s braced against his chest, “it’s a fine line separating opposite situations, making them more alike than different.”

With a groan, Sano closed his eyes and pressed his brow to Saito’s shoulder instead. “The fuck does that mean, old man? Look...” His fingers separated, threading between Saito’s and flexing them to intertwine. “All I know is that when we first met, the only thing I wanted was to obsessively kick your ass.”

“And now?”

“My mind’s completely changed.” A pause. “...But don’t worry. Ass and obsession are still very much in the equation.”

Saito exhaled sharply. “Aho.”

“Maybe. But...” Sano finally pulled away and shuffled so he sat back on his feet at Saito’s side. “It’s like...it should’ve taken a lot for me to change like that and yet, it was so effortless. You just moved into my head and rearranged all the furniture. I mean, first, we’re fighting. And then we’re fucking. And then we’re eating every dinner together and living under the same roof and sleeping in the same bed.”

“Incredulous, I know,” Saito replied with sarcastic indifference.

“And all the while, it all started because of some score that never even got settled.” Sano shook his head. “I still don’t know how it happened. How did we get from there to here? It doesn’t even feel real sometimes.” He looked up to find Saito studying him.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of my experience, it’s that very fine line I mentioned earlier, which sits between contradictory things. Rivalry and companionship, for instance.” Without taking his eyes off Sano, Saito reached for the tobacco again. “Between hatred and admiration, between war and...” He took a pensive draw and motioned between them. “...this. It doesn’t have to make sense. The rules skew at some point. As I said.” He returned the cigarette to the tray. “At times, opposites and unlikely pairs are simply more suited for each other than similar entities. It defies logic and explanation.”

“Well...” Sano’s voice was soft as he gazed at the tatami. “What would you even call ‘this’?” He found Saito’s face again soon after. “Because the opposite of war is peace and I wouldn’t say that word exactly fits us, y’know.”

"No," Saito agreed with the slight raise of a brow. “That wasn’t quite the word I was thinking of.” He reached for Sano’s cheek with a bare hand and coaxed him forward so their lips touched. The kiss was tame compared to the fervor of earlier, but this instance, though almost chaste, was rife with emotion. When Saito finally drew away slowly, it was only far enough so that he could look into Sano’s eyes through rims of dark lashes. “Care to try again?” he drawled.

Sano’s mouth opened and immediately closed. He blinked and drew in a breath as he went to speak again, but nothing came out. Finally, he rasped just above a whisper, “That’s...that’s so unfair, what the fuck.” He grabbed Saito’s arm, clutching it tightly. “You can’t just fucking say something like that and make me guess if what I think you’re saying is what you’re actually saying.”

“On the contrary, aho.” With a soft grin pulling at his cheeks, Saito leaned in. “All is fair in war.” And just before their lips met again, he added, “...And love.”

[thealmightybookwyrm]

I think the only question any of us actually care about is why didn't we get a Rurōni Sōjirō spinoff

[tact-and-impulse]

RK Round Robin Fic

Okay, so signup is closed, and thanks to Excel, here’s the order.

1. tact-and-impulse

2. @awritingpen

3. @kenkaya-fanworks

4. @mr-fujita

5. @rahmakapala

6. @somethinginreturn

7. @mpougatsamaria

8. @animaniacal

I’ll wrap up the fic once everyone’s done, so no one feels pressured to write an ending. The original post is here, if you need it.

200 words was way shorter than I thought, so the maximum limit is now set at 1,000 words. Of course, you don’t have to reach this. It’s perfectly fine to have 200 words.(Or less, even. Real life can get hectic.)

So...there’s not much to prepare for this. It seems like round robin fics are usually improvised, and the theme was designed with that in mind. But we have a couple weeks to get started. If it’s preferred that the story has some flow to it, then we can pool suggestions on how to communicate. (I was thinking keywords, if you get an idea you want to pursue.)

If anyone else thinks of something or has a question, please let me know...