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waterscrollI don't have a lot of time to be writing but I want to be writing, so let's try this: A drabble series set in a genderbending Hakuouki AU I've been thinking about for a while. In this AU the Shinsengumi are all women, Chizuru is a man, and all other non-Shinsengumi characters (Demons, Sakamoto, the Shogun, etc) are their canonical or historical genders. (I haven't decided what to do with Kaoru yet.) Ficlets will be set on different routes. Here's one for Hijikata and one for Saito, and I have ideas for Heisuke, Sanan, Kazama and possibly some others. Requests are welcome. If I write a few more I might post them on AO3. Each ficlet will be 200 words.
1. Hijikata
The woman holding a sword to Chizuru’s neck was the most beautiful he had ever seen. Chizuru was a doctor’s son and had grown up away from politics but even he had heard of Hijikata, the terrifying vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, the she-wolves of Mibu, a savage group of women ronin. He hadn’t imagined she would be beautiful, her hair like cherry trees blooming out of season. Blue-white moonlight lit her slender face and shone from her blade. There was no doubt in her eyes that she was prepared to kill him, and yet she looked troubled. There was no kindness in her, but perhaps there would be mercy?
Chizuru’s father was gone and Chizuru didn’t know where or why. This attack had taught him that all his self-defence training was worthless. But it was more than protection that he needed. He needed hope. Hijikata’s eyes defied him to find it.
“I won’t run,” Chizuru promised. He did run, eventually, but it was only the once, before he learned to take Hijikata’s orders. Before he’d learned that her will was as sharp and as beautiful as her steel and that he would follow her to the end of their world.
2. Saito
Saito’s body was a sword, a precise instrument for her life as a warrior. Each stroke was defined and quick, there was no need for further elaboration. Chizuru had been taught by his master well, his blade was unclouded, and his purpose for coming to Kyoto was clear. With deep respect Saito sent Chizuru’s sword to the ground and her own blade to his neck.
“You thought you could kill Saito?” Souji had asked, falling over with laughter at the boy who imagined he could fight in a way equal to theirs. As a girl Souji had needed to prove herself to the men around her. Saito had never had that need, since from the moment she had first raised her blade there was never any doubt that she could kill. As a left-handed fighter only her honor was questioned.
Later, Saito helped Chizuru find clothes fit for a woman page, since no man could live among the women of the Shinsengumi. Saito had learned long ago that when a body is covered people see only what they imagine. No one had thought her a woman for many years, until she came to the Shinsengumi, sword strapped to her right side, to be drawn by her left hand.
1. Hijikata
The woman holding a sword to Chizuru’s neck was the most beautiful he had ever seen. Chizuru was a doctor’s son and had grown up away from politics but even he had heard of Hijikata, the terrifying vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, the she-wolves of Mibu, a savage group of women ronin. He hadn’t imagined she would be beautiful, her hair like cherry trees blooming out of season. Blue-white moonlight lit her slender face and shone from her blade. There was no doubt in her eyes that she was prepared to kill him, and yet she looked troubled. There was no kindness in her, but perhaps there would be mercy?
Chizuru’s father was gone and Chizuru didn’t know where or why. This attack had taught him that all his self-defence training was worthless. But it was more than protection that he needed. He needed hope. Hijikata’s eyes defied him to find it.
“I won’t run,” Chizuru promised. He did run, eventually, but it was only the once, before he learned to take Hijikata’s orders. Before he’d learned that her will was as sharp and as beautiful as her steel and that he would follow her to the end of their world.
2. Saito
Saito’s body was a sword, a precise instrument for her life as a warrior. Each stroke was defined and quick, there was no need for further elaboration. Chizuru had been taught by his master well, his blade was unclouded, and his purpose for coming to Kyoto was clear. With deep respect Saito sent Chizuru’s sword to the ground and her own blade to his neck.
“You thought you could kill Saito?” Souji had asked, falling over with laughter at the boy who imagined he could fight in a way equal to theirs. As a girl Souji had needed to prove herself to the men around her. Saito had never had that need, since from the moment she had first raised her blade there was never any doubt that she could kill. As a left-handed fighter only her honor was questioned.
Later, Saito helped Chizuru find clothes fit for a woman page, since no man could live among the women of the Shinsengumi. Saito had learned long ago that when a body is covered people see only what they imagine. No one had thought her a woman for many years, until she came to the Shinsengumi, sword strapped to her right side, to be drawn by her left hand.
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Date: 2020-04-29 02:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-29 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-29 05:12 pm (UTC)The Hijikata ficlet is gorgeous
and oh my goodness you made Hijikata hot in a way the game never managed to for me, and I love the character notes in Saito's ficlet. Your Okita and your Saito make sense -- how Okita's struggles change, but Saito's don't, really. And how that affects her and Chizuru's relationship, and that it's her who teaches him how to hide himself to pursue his goals. And eee, the last sentence.Since you mention you welcome requests...I'm curious about Itou! And the furies in general, and if the Shogun's-secret-weapon and the experimentation thing relates to the Shinsengumi being women.
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Date: 2020-04-29 07:20 pm (UTC)Yes, I think the gender change is going to affect the characters in different ways, which is part of what interests me about this AU. Hijikata's character arc about being a peasant in a samurai's job is very relatable to me as a woman in a male-dominated field, in a way that strikes me as intentional in a canon written by and for women. Similarly Saito's arc about being different from other people in ways that are clearly visible and coping with that through a strong sense of internal direction.
Shogun's-secret-weapon and the experimentation thing relates to the Shinsengumi being women.
Oh I am definitely going there. Because soldiers and women have bodies that are considered expendable in different but sometimes similar ways. Next up will be a Sanan piece that touches on that.
I'm definitely interested in an Itou piece! It probably won't be my first Heisuke-route piece but maybe after that. In this universe Itou is a woman so her faction becomes a second women-led militia, this time working for the other side.
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Date: 2020-04-29 07:50 pm (UTC)Hijikata's character arc about being a peasant in a samurai's job is very relatable to me as a woman in a male-dominated field, in a way that strikes me as intentional in a canon written by and for women.
Ah, this is interesting, I'll keep an eye out for this as I continue playing the route.
I hadn't really thought about reading Hakuouki from a career perspective, but...thinking about it, I kind of did, because I'm pretty sure that I ended up identifying pretty hard with Heisuke there. I'm at a similar place in my career where I'm still relatively new and trying to prove myself, and I played the route while considering a career change. :)
Next up will be a Sanan piece that touches on that.
I look forward to it! :D
In this universe Itou is a woman so her faction becomes a second women-led militia, this time working for the other side.
I definitely did wonder about that!
Also, in case you're interested, I found a pretty interesting interview by one of the directors here, mostly focused on the Kyoto Windows / Edo Blossoms remake and the new characters: https://otomeobsessed.com/hakuoki-interview/