retrospec | LOADING...OVERFLOW

Hello and happy new year! A lot of poll results came in from R&D and we've almost fixed taste all the way. Horses are almost fixed, too. We've been working pretty much non-stop around the holidays to stabilize everything, so I hope this works!

Just so you guys know, while we were working on fixing the original problems we received some alerts of residual effects outside of our usual domain. Don't worry though! Remember what I said a while ago? We're still moving more resources around into better defenses to protect the city from huge storms like last summer. We'll be taking care of that really soon and isolating the unknown problem.

I wish I could tell you more, but we're all working overtime here to finish the final stages of a big project. No matter what happens you guys should be safe while we finish up, so just stay calm, okay? Don't get too reckless!

Joanne Wiseman
Technician 2nd class
Retr

spec Incorporated

As of this post taste tier 4 has been icly regained; tier 5 will go into effect on Saturday, January 6th at 9pm EST and taste will be fully restored!

Per the mod plotting post, you may use this post to obtain this month's freebie! This month's freebie can be earned by turning in a thread on this post that has 10 or more consecutive comments from you.

Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given. Usernames are the character's full real AU names, not aliases or chosen nicknames or usernames, and seemed to have filled themselves in; nothing characters do can change or obscure their names currently.

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((Continued from here!))

[Look, he totally gets the skepticism. If it wasn't his own memory, he'd be suspicious too.]

I'm... pretty positive? It certainly looked like one. No normal animal has a head quite that round, or eyes that beady. A classmate did say it spoke to her, in her own memories, though, so I can't be too sure.

[It takes Xiaolang a moment to do a quick google search on tachi swords-- but once he's satisfied with what he's seen, he switches the conversation over to private]

I see.

Being a sword, would you be able to identify other swords as well? I received this recently from Retrospec [And attached is an image of a jian sword], but I'm not sure which type it is, exactly. You-- I mean, your sword seems a better match to mine than a fencing foil or a wooden one, so I'd like to hear your advice on it.

Edited 2018-01-04 23:10 (UTC)

[ he takes a moment to examine the image sent over to him, inspecting it carefully. it looks different than the other swords he's seen so far, and while his recolle life is still catching up to his sword knowledge, there are still some facts that he can tell. so when he replies back, he does so equally in private. ]

i can recognize other japanese swords, but this one wasn't forged in japan. they usually have curved blades, but this one has a straight blade. the sheath is also a dull color, so it was probably used for fighting and not for display.
although... the red string decoration would definitely get in the way when you swing it, and that's an easy way to get yourself killed if you're fighting against someone — so you probably used this sword for some purpose other than just swordfighting.

[ which he concludes from his own sword being so decoration-heavy, and having been put on display at some point. ]

do you remember knowing any other ways to fight?

I don't, no. Someone here had implied I may have been a bodyguard to... a classmate of mine, so the other me probably did know at least some other techniques, but I can't be too sure.

But... I see. I sort of figured as much. I was gifted a book on Japanese weaponry recently, and this didn't quite match any of the tools listed in there, so it's good to have that confirmed, at least. I didn't think there was that much you could tell from just looking at a sword, though. I hadn't even considered the tassel being a liability, but now that you mention it...

But what else could you use a sword for that isn't fighting, though? It's a weapon, so isn't that their purpose?

they're mostly used for fighting, but i've seen them used for a few other things. they can be display items: like not just in museums, but in palaces from long time ago. they can also be placed at shrines for blessings and good luck! they might have other purposes, but those are just what i've experienced

also, this is what i— my sword looks like [ and attached is this image. ]

for most people, the gold chains on the side get in the way, and it jingles a little when i walk
have you tried swinging your sword, or sparring with anyone yet?

Edited 2018-01-10 03:19 (UTC)

[Palaces... if Sakura was a princess, like what Fai had suggested, would this mean this was part of it? Was he more than just a bodyguard, if he was entrusted with something like this? Like a knight, perhaps? (spoilers, it's not, Xiaolang, your past life was a lot less fanciful than all that)]

But the chains are just on the sheath, aren't they? So they probably wouldn't matter so much as long as you kept them against your body, or someplace where they wouldn't get caught onto someone else. It's probably not very good at being stealthy, but-- I can see why it was on display a lot. It's a very nicely made sword.

[--wait, would that also mean he's calling this guy pretty too?? IF HE'S ACTUALLY THE SWORD AND ALL.... probably best not to think too much on it.]

I haven't done anything quite like that yet, though, no. I thought it'd be better to see if anyone knew about it here first before attempting anything on my own. I don't want to be reckless about this. [He's a responsible kid, okay!! And also he got like a bunch of nicks on his fingers already from trying to handle it so it's really for the best to get others to help him.]

so you'd think, but i've seen people die while wielding me. it's fine for swords to look fancy, but to be useful in battle, it's better for them to look more practical first.
and thanks, my smith did a good job ( っゝω・)っ～ i can tell you it's super boring to be a display sword, though. you just sit in one spot for years, watching people come and go. i don't know if your sword is like mine, but make sure to give it a lot of exercise, okay?

[ xiaolang please!! but it's fine, he takes it as a compliment for his sword and not himself — which are the same thing but you know what, this is kind of confusing... ]

that's smart! but if you do decide to spar with anyone, you don't have to use your original sword — i sparred with someone using a wooden sword, and it still worked. there's almost no way you'll hurt yourself with one, even if you're a beginner like i was.

[ no more nicked fingers, safety first ]

[He blanches a bit as he reads the first bit of the message-- how could he say something like that so casually?-- before turning his eyes back to his own sword to give it a better look.]

So would it really be better to remove the tassel, then? It was already on the sword when I received it from Retrospec, but if all it's good for is decoration, I can do without it. I'm not so much concerned with how it looks than how it performs, anyway.

I'm not, ah-- sure if my sword has any personality or soul to it, but if being on display is like what you described, I wouldn't want to put it through that sort of ordeal, either. [Though no doubt if his jian DID gain something like that, it'd probably be as rigid and serious as Xiaolang was.] I'll make sure to have it stretch it's legs as much as it can, though.

But I figured that would be the case. You wouldn't want to hurt whoever you were sparring with, either. My cousin's in fencing, so I know they have practice foils, but since they're so much thinner than the one I have now, I wasn't sure if they were a proper option to try out. A wooden sword would probably be better for replicating the weight of it, too.

If you're a sword, though, would sparring with someone be the same as... fighting them hand to hand, then? [HE'S GENUINELY CURIOUS ABOUT THIS, OKAY]

[ it's the result of living for a thousand years... ]

i'd think about that after you remember your sword skills. if you used that sword in your past life with the tassel, then you'll probably know how to use it again in the present — so you might not need to remove the tassel at all. but i'm glad to hear that you'll take good care of your blade!

either one should work for jumpstarting your sword skills, but the wooden one might be better for practicing later on. i'm not sure if it's like this for everyone, but when i remembered how to wield a sword, i didn't recall every last detail. so i still practice sparring if i have time, killed some monsters here and there, and i'm better now than when i first started out.

[ he does pause to think about the last bit, since for something that seems obvious to wonder about, it's never crossed his mind before. ]

hmm... kind of, but not entirely! every time my sword clashes with someone else's, i do feel it somewhere — since i feel whatever comes in contact with my blade. but i have two hands and only one sword, so it's a little different that way. plus, i'm no good in actual hand-to-hand combat...

Edited 2018-01-16 10:14 (UTC)

LOADING...OVERFLOW

☽ tsurumaru

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