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a-tkrb-farewell · 11 months

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dear touken ranbu

I started Touken Ranbu EN on its launch day. I didn't think much of it-- I was bored, I was curious. I didn't know anything about the franchise or Japanese swords. Johren's translations were a mess as I scrolled through the five starting swords but I eventually decided to go with Kasen Kanesada because I liked his gentle expression and thick eyebrows.

I'll probably stop playing this game within a week or two, I thought. Instead, I played the game from launch until today, a span of more than two years.

English TKRB launched together with Kasen's Special Investigation event and Hanjin's first smithing event. Unsurprisingly, I didn't bring Hanjin home, but I was okay with that. Kasen's SI was rough and I lost to the boss in the first map. I went back to the regular battle maps to level up some more. I persisted, and went on to finish the event two or three times. I know that many players don't like the dark tunnel section, but I thought it was so interesting. I drew maps in my notebook to estimate the best routes to take to the end. And I was so happy to learn more about my starter sword, his history, and his relationship with Kokindenjunotachi, Jizou Yukihira, Hosokawa Gracia, and the Hosokawa family. I felt like I had a duty to help him complete his personal quest.

By that time, I was already hooked. Every new event I came across was a joy (except for dango, haha). Every new sword I met was so exciting. I rushed to read fan explanations of their dialogues and histories. I did my best to fill out the recollections they had with each other. I think we all know that the actual gameplay is honestly quite bland; I would rather play something like Bloodborne or Final Fantasy. The thing that really shines are the sword characterizations. Somehow the developers took these historical blades and stories and made compelling, complex characters out of them. Then they convinced some very amazing artists and voice actors to breathe even more life into these characters.

When I found out Yuuki Kaji voiced one of the touken danshi, I was intrigued. I learned about this little tantou named Hyuuga Masamune who is always trying his best and wanting to help. I loved him immediately. The only problem was, he was a rare drop from the boss node in 8-2, and my account was only a few months old. I had only just begun to kiwame swords, but I spent all the time I could in game running 8-2 over and over again while being careful not to put any of my swords in real danger. My first kiwame team (Taikogane Sadamune, Gokotai, Taroutachi, Tsurumaru, Izuminokami Kanesada, Honebami Toushirou) went from level 40 to level 80 before Hyuuga finally came home. It was September 2021: I was having a hard time living by myself in a city where I didn't know anybody at the time, and it really felt like my son arrived to cheer me on. Among friends I am known for "camping" in 8-2 because I loved this tantou's attitude so much that I wanted to bring him to max ranbu. I recently raised him to ranbu level 5-- that's 26 Hyuugas-- on a two year old account!

This is part of why I cannot start over from zero on a Japanese account, at least not right now. I have maxed 17 kiwame swords. I have collected every sword except Oodenta and Nukemaru. I have so many memories invested in each of my swords, even from just a play period of two years.

As I say goodbye, I find myself thinking over those two years. English TKRB launched during a global pandemic, and it preciously allowed me to connect with strangers over a hobby while I was cooped up inside in America. I loved the characters so much I joined an online community of international fans to discuss the franchise. These fellow fans introduced me to the stage plays (sute), musicals (myu), anime, and movies. I jumped through hoops to buy streams and archives on DMM. I bought wanpaku, nendodroids, pins, artbooks, blurays. I wanted to someday visit Japan and take part in a stamp rally. I wanted to pay my respects to the physical swords and their history in person in museums. I bought expansions and items in game. I wanted my swords to live comfortably. I was happy to buy the English version of Touken Ranbu Warriors. Words cannot express how delighted I was to deliberately serve Kasen Kanesada some bad tea and see him frown. The gentle way Kasen took care of Hyuuga and everyone in Team 2 made me very happy. I loved to see everyone support each other.

I made some lasting friends among those international fans. I recently even got to meet one of them in person while I was on vacation, and I'm so happy to have them in my life. I can't wait to meet them again, as they've become more than just a fellow fan but a true close friend.

Besides connecting me with other people, Touken Ranbu also helped me to better understand myself. Despite the bland gameplay, the game was so comforting to me. I loved that there was less focus on the player character and no explicit romance elements. There was a big variety of sword character designs, and not all of them were sexy. In a world where romance elements are everywhere in RPG, or where any game marketed towards women was likely to have romance in it, Touken Ranbu was so refreshing. It was a lovely safe space I could have where in my personal Honmaru my saniwa was just friends with everyone. I appreciated that each player had the option to imagine their relationships, whether it was romantic or not. By examining why I loved the game so much, I slowly came to realize that I was aromantic and asexual. A lot of my past relationships and life events gained clarity, and I'm grateful to know myself better now.

As I say farewell to the game, I wonder where my swords will go. I hope that they find friendly Japanese citadels if they want to keep fighting. I hope that they retire and build happy lives if that's what they want. I regret not being able to bring closure to the swords I could not kiwame. I hope everyone can be happy and healthy, even without me.

Goodbye, Touken Ranbu. Thank you for what you gave me these past two years, even if it is a sudden farewell. I had my fair share of troubles with Johren's English version that partially stemmed from being an inconvenient afterthought to a game that was focused on its primary Japanese market. Despite all of this, I still loved the game. It's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye.

Saniwa sooshi of Bizen

#tkrb #touken ranbu #goodbye tkrb #johren #刀剣乱舞 #刀剣乱舞online

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asterparfait · 7 months

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toukentober day 31: free space (kashuu & yasusada) happy halloween everyone!!

#toukentober2023 #touken ranbu #kashuu kiyomitsu #yamatonokami yasusada #tkrb #touken ranbu fanart #my art #thanks to everyone for sticking with me through this wholeass challenge how wild i think i only missed 7 days...#i really appreciate all of the interactions with my art!! i read all the reblog tags..... yall are so funny im losing it #IM SO SATISFIED BUT SO TIRED #ill probably be sparse in november because im going to take an art nap and work on other projects SEE YALL AT SOME POINT GOODNIGHT GOODBYE

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kinships · 9 months

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Oh no, she's needlessly worried again.

#A Gentle Saniwa | Izayoi #goodbye EN TKRB servers

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weaseltube · 9 months

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Yesterday marked the end of TKRB English and Trad Chinese servers. I made some screencaps back in June to remember my account by. Kiwame aside the only swords I was missing were Sohaya, that bastard Onimaru, Ningen Mukotsu, Ishida, and Jikkyuu.

I remember missing Ningen Mukotsu by 200 beads and cursing myself because I'd been distracted right before maintenance started and was on the map poised to get him. It was silly trying to play on two accounts simultaneously and get every prize, but I enjoyed seeing how many unusual translation choices the Eng version made.

I felt that being a different citadel I would choose a different starter and focus on different swords, primarily ones relating to my second OC, but I couldn't help being biased. Near the end I started changing the attendant around because Gine has always been in charge of my JP citadel, and I thought Suishinshi would enjoy the responsibility while Tomoe and Shizuka went on expeditions.

I realised while playing that I was always anxious to treat my original account better in case "one day the Eng server shuts down" - and that anxiety was right. I think more so than the game I want to see more availability for the extended media. The game is so much grind and little play. People feel cheated out of hard work because reaching event milestones always goes beyond the initial fun of changed up gameplay and becomes a chore. I can do it to while away time quite happily, but not rushing for two separate accounts or to make the far higher goals. It's very true that TouRabu is a franchise you can enjoy without playing the original browser game, and there's an awful lot of stage productions I haven't been able to access. The many manga adaptations and anthologies are reliant on Japanese reading skills or fan translations. My favourite of the two anime, Hanamaru, has no English language home release, and the film trilogy have yet to be licensed and subtitled online. These are what I hope they can focus on in future and there is no poor profits excuse to be made about it given how many fans abroad already import goods from Japan, myself included. Media for female weebs can do well if only the less VPN/proxy savvy audiences had access to them. TouRabu is popular with a range of ages and shouldn't be dismissed as "too Japanese" for the rest of the world - it is a selling point. They trusted the Hige/Hiza musical as a cultural export with official subtitles, they can let us have our silly sword boybands. >:T

My English speaking swords are not asleep. They are simply searching for Koryuu.

#goodbye tkrb eng #release blurays of TBF while you're at it powers that be #LET ME GIVE YOU MONEY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES #admittedly i spent more on jp than eng

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mihotose · 2 years

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nikkari went into that scene with "make ishikirimaru laugh 0/1" in his peripheral vision, executed it perfectly, complimented him on his smile for good measure, and left before ishikirimaru could process what the hell just happened

#'do not question me i am gone now goodbye!!!!!!'#you stupid fuck.#gemitus #tkrb #toumyu

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seitenstrike · 4 years

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#say goodbye to all my tokens since I cannot get oni #'2 days limited' time my ass when I keep getting... tsuru and mikazuki.........#➠ FOUL BALL! !); OOC;#OH WELL......GOODBYE TKRB.

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sword-brainrot · 2 years

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Hi, can I request headcanons of three boys of your choice to react when they’re about to be killed by the enemies when male!saniwa jumps in and saves them by wiping them out himself either by a gun or pure physical combat. The sword boys are stunned by what their saniwa did and it turns out that saniwa served quite sometime in the military back in America?

Side note: why does mutsuno have a hand gun when it’s banned in Japan? Does he have a special permit or the government got rid of the rule? I don’t know about you but It has been plaguing my mind ever since I first played the game.

Hello! What an interesting prompt!! So fun to write for. Also that is an interesting question! There is not official "canon" lore for tkrb, it's up to the different saniwas to come up with whatever canon lore they want. However, tkrb does take place in the future! The year is 2205 when the game takes place. Digitarou, President of Nitro+ (who owns tkrb), brought up some lore about tkrb at a con but really it's up to the player what they wish to have canon in their world! I'll put the link to a pastebin of what he said if you would like to check it out <3 https://pastebin.com/nFVcsq9b

Ichimonji Norimune, Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, and Taikou Samonji Being Saved by their Saniwa (M!Reader)

Artist: Lack (Official Artist for Norimune) ♡ Mud dirtied the fine white of the Norimune's suit, as if that was his biggest concern at the moment. Norimune sat crumpled on his knees as his gloved hand gripped at the mush under him. His once perfect suit was now tattered with fresh cuts and his own blood stained it to match the red fabric he always wore with it.

♡ Who knew swords could bleed so much?

♡ His breath struggled to come out of his throat as his pale blue eye stared up at the army HRA who were planning to invaded his now loved citadel.

♡ it started off so easy. The first waves were so easy to take care of... but it didn't stop. They kept coming. There was more and more before the team could handle and all the swords quickly became exhausted from the constant battle.

♡ He knew that it was the end. He lived a long life and now it was time to accept death just like all those in the past. The old man was going to rest.

♡ Would the Ichimonji clan miss their Jiji? He wish he could see their faces again and tease them a little more... Though it wasn't so bad. At least they were left in capable hands.

♡ He did his job and left it to Sanchoumou to fill his shoes. Now he has to retire from his job as a touken danshi.

♡ He drew in a single breath as he closed his eyes and smiled. Awaiting for them to finish him off.

♡ "I've witnessed humans die all these years... I've witnessed things break all these years... Today just happens to be my turn..."

♡ A part of him didn't want to leave. He grown so attached to the citadel, Yasusada, Kashuu, ... His Aruji.

♡ Norimune swallowed at the thought of them crying when they hear the news, how he wished he just disappeared from their memories instead so they wouldn't have to feel the pain of saying goodbye.

♡ He was ready to accept the death that threatened him time and time again... But nothing came but loud bangs that he heard once before long ago...

♡ Gunshots.

♡ When he opened his eye, he saw no HRA standing before him ready to strike, instead black smoke as their bodies were already drifting into the air for the wind to carry them off.

♡ With the black smoke was mixed with gray smoke from the figure before him. The man who was holding the weapon that just saved his life.

♡ His Aruji.

♡ The normally teasing old man sat there with his mouth agape as he stared in front of him at his savior.

♡ "Can you stand?" He had asked, finally snapping Norimune out from his thoughts. A overjoyed smile came to his face as his aruji turned to face him.

♡ "Ah... I'm not sure. My knees aren't as they used to be-" A soft chuckle came from him, "Perhaps you can give me a hand, son."

♡ It was no lie that Norimune was struggling to walk. A mix of exhaustion, pain, and fear made his legs tremble and cause him to lean against the sage he was suppose to be protecting.

♡ "You better watch out, Aruji. Knowing how strong you are now, I may end up pulling my hip more often-" A mischievous smile shined at the Saniwa on the dark battlefield as Norimune held him close as they walked. Was he truly struggling to walk that badly... or perhaps it was a hug of gratitude for being saved from a fate he didn't wish to meet yet.

♡ It was a little secret that would never leave his lips.

♡ Pain spiked up from the deep wound that gushed every movement that Mutsunokami made. He had to keep going. He had to get away so he could get help. His left arm clenched over his abdomen and his right held his gun so tightly that the whites of his knuckled could sparkle in the darkness.

♡ A trail of blood made it clear the even if Mutsunokami somehow made it to get backup, they would just follow him right to the rest of the team.

♡ Limping could only carry him so far until his body couldn't take it anymore and he fell onto the cold ground. He already felt so cold... But the pressure of the impact made him realize he was still alive.

♡ His body pressed itself against a wall that was made for archers to hide behind. His back painting it red. His vision blurred as he heard a sound coming closer, probably the enemy finally catching up to finish him off.

♡ Was this how Ryoma felt before death? His murder was a surprise from a person who used to call a friend... Perhaps it was better that Mutsunokami didn't have to face that evil like his previous master did.

♡ Just like his previous master... Would he not see his dream come true?

♡ "What...will I end here...? ...I wanted...to see a new age..."

♡ His warm eyes stared down at the gun in his lap as his eyes grew heavy. He had no strength to hold them open. Darkness swallowed him as felt a warm blanket started to coat his body so he could finally rest easy.

♡ "Mutsunokami! Open your damn eyes right now! That's an order!"

♡ A familiar voice... Who was it again?

♡ His facial muscles tensed as he painfully fought his eyelids to open.

♡ A loud explosion sent a wave of hot air through him and made his ears ring as his orange eyes slowly opened upon his master with a gun in his hand and a grenade in the other. His expression was a mix of anger and worry. As soon he saw the sword's eyes were open, he smiled.

♡ "I'm going to get you out of here, alright? But you have to listen to me and not fall asleep."

♡ The Saniwa took up most of his vision but behind him he could see dark smoking coming from the ground... Trying to focus on the distance, he could see faint pieces of the HRA that were vanishing into the smoke.

♡ "What the hell, aruji...?" A painful laughed left him, "Why ya never tell me you were so cool with guns before?" His mouth tried to make the right shapes for the words but they were slurred regardless.

♡ A strong arm found it's way around Mutsunokami's waist as he was hoisted upward to stand.

♡ "Make it out of this alive and I might just teach you."

♡ Perhaps it was because the Saniwa wasted no time and hurriedly got Mutsunokami back to the citadel, perhaps because the Saniwa just gave Mutsunokami the best motivation and he was stubborn enough... But he held on and made it through the night to see another day.

♡ As soon as the cheerful sword could get out of bed again, he found his way to the master's room to start his begging for lessons.

♡ Anger pumped through Taikou's veins as he made attack after attack. They just kept coming. No matter how many HRA he sliced, there was always more.

♡ His movements became frantic and no logic followed them as he went on pure anger.

♡ His body screamed as blood ran down his body, his teeth ached from how badly he gritted them. If only his anger could take the form of fire and burn down every last one of them.

♡ The HRA didn't care how hard the small tantou tried, no matter how angry he looked, their attacks were brutal and kept coming to not give the Samonji brother time to catch his breath.

♡ His head banged against the floor of the forest. Pain spiked itself down his body as it finally began to give up. Anger tried to raise through him to be the last push to get back onto his feet again... But his body was limp.

♡ The only thing he could do was stare up, his brows furrowed, and hot tears poured from the corners of his eyes as the HRA enclosed on him.

♡ The tips of his flinched in an attempted to raise his hand to the full moon above him. The last thing to shine on him in this dark forest. A spotlight for the death that came too soon.

♡ "The monkey, reaches for the moon.... The name Taikou... is something too much for me..."

♡ Just like his previous master, he became too overzealous. Now he was going to drown in a sea of his own blood just like the parable always told him.

♡ Perhaps the Demon King was right about him and Hideyoshi... Just a foolish Monkey.

♡ His eyes stared motionless at the moon above him as a glimmer of a blade strike down on him to finish him off.

♡ As he waited for death... It never came. Instead black smoke clouded his view of the moon as a bang rang out in the almost silent forest.

♡ With no moon to look at, his head fell to the side to see the person he was hoping to see when he returned back to the citadel.

♡ Saniwa

♡ Taikou could feel the tear rise back up and a sob was choking him as he bit his lip, "Aruji-"

♡ More gunshots rang out before he could clearly see the face of the Aruji he treasured. He was all geared up in unusual clothing he had never seen before and weapons he only heard about from Mutsunokami.

♡ "Up we go!" The saniwa lifted up the tantou onto his back so he had access to his hands in case he needed to use his guns again. "You alright, Taikou?"

♡ A silent nod was what followed as the moonlight guided their way out of the forest. "I was really scared... Especially when I heard the gunshots. Guns are really scary and I was sure I was going to die right there... But when I saw you. I knew I was safe... Thank you, Aruji."

#Touken Ranbu #Touken Danshi #Tourabu #Touken Ranbu Headcanons #Touken Ranbu Imagines #Touken Ranbu x Reader #TKRB #TKRB Headcanons #TKRB Imagines #TKRB x Reader #Ichimonji Norimune #Ichimonji Norimune x Reader #Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki #Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki x Reader #Taikou Samonji #Taikou Samonji x Reader

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