| Wait, what.; [Ask First] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 8 2014, 04:25 PM (599 Views) | |
| The One True Nobody | Apr 15 2014, 11:49 AM Post #11 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko's face went deadpan. "...Seven. I can count, y'know. Y'can get through life without readin', but y'ain't gonna get far if ya can't count." She didn't raise her hand. Raising her hand felt more than a little silly... and her face was turning a bit red just thinking about the question, too. Just how stupid did this boy think she was, just because she'd admitted to not having gone to school? Counting was something you could learn outside of school... The girl shifted in her seat, looking down and trying to make her face stop heating up so much. She gulped a bit. It didn't help that this Kakeru guy was--now that she thought about it, kind of nice-looking. She realized she wanted him to think she was smart, not stupid. Because--well, just because it would suck if a nice-looking boy thought she was a complete dumbass, Etsuko supposed. |
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| Prince Arjuna | Apr 16 2014, 09:28 AM Post #12 |
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-insert something witty here-
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"Oh," Kakeru scratched his head. "Sorry. That was thoughtless of me. Of course you can count..." he said. "Well, I guess math is out as well. Maybe I should think of another thing..." he crossed his arms before he got an idea. "Ah, how about a history lesson? Sometimes, we listen to our teacher's lectures in class too..." he said as he looked at Etsuko. |
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| The One True Nobody | Apr 16 2014, 08:23 PM Post #13 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko rubbed at the back of her head, now looking a bit sheepish. "Well, history's actually what I was thinkin'--" She broke off, and her cheeks tinged pink a bit. "History I do. Yeah. Let's go with history." History wasn't something one learned on the street, after all. Etsuko had only the broadest-stroke idea of how Japanese history had gone; she knew about things like samurai and feudal lords and World Wars but damned if she had ever picked up any of the details about any of it. Fidgeting a bit in her seat, Etsuko stiffly folded her hands together and looked to Kakeru, wondering what he would "lecture" her about and... ...and why he was humoring her like this. How she was supposed to feel about it. It was like playing House with her sister, except it was playing School and it was with a complete stranger. Part of Etsuko wanted to tell this guy to fuck off and just leave through the window she'd climbed through. Another part of her was just curious as hell, really. She decided it couldn't hurt to see what he had for her. If it was silly, well, she could retain her dignity by calling it silly! And then telling Kakeru to fuck off as planned. Yeah. That sounded like a good plan. |
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| Prince Arjuna | Apr 17 2014, 08:08 AM Post #14 |
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-insert something witty here-
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Kakeru smiled. "Alright. Let's start now. In any case, feel free to tell me if it gets boring. Lectures tend to do that to you," he said before he cleared his throat. "Now, let's see..." he thought about what kind of topic of history he wanted to use as a lecture. "Ah, how about Bakumatsu era?" he suggested. And so, Kakeru started. "Bakumatsu, or Late Tokugawa Shogunate is the time of the final years of the Edo period, in which the Tokugawa Shogunate ended..." this kind of thing was one of his favorites. "It also marked the start of Meiji government and the end of isolationist foreign policy of Japan..." using the chalk, he drew a crudely-made map of Japan on the writing board. "During the time of Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan was off-limit for foreigners, and only selected few could enter the country. At that time, there was anti-western sentiment growing among the Japanese, and that sentiment worsened after the arrival of Matthew C. Perry, a U.S Navy's Commodore who somehow sparked unease among the Japanese and its closed country policy. Shenanigans like shelling the harbor and some other things happened after his arrival. As one could say, his arrival marked the change in Japan's history..." Then, he continued. "During this era, there were two main factions clashing against each other, and some smaller factions that weren't important enough to be mentioned. These two were pro-imperial nationalists who called themselves Ishin Shishi and Shogunate forces, which included the famous Shinsengumi. The traditionalist Shogunate wanted to keep Japan closed from foreigners while the patriots Ishin Shishi wanted to open the country to the foreigners for trading purpose..." he drew two circles on the board. "This one is Shogunate," he tapped on one circle and then on the other one. "And this one is Ishin Shishi." Then, he drew smaller circles around those two circles. "There were also smaller factions showing up during the clashing, but were deemed insignificant and were just there to seize power. Just like pests, only more annoying..." After clearing his throat, Kakeru continued his 'lesson'. "The chaotic era of Bakumatsu went on from 1853 until 1867, before the Tokugawa Shogunate was decisively defeated by Ishin Shishi in Boshin War and the Battle of Toba-Fushimi at 1869. Victorious, the patriots established a new government to unify the country under a single imperial rule. The capital was transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo, and Meiji Restoration began. At that time, samurai class was abolished, causing the samurai at that time to take administrative jobs, working as police or entrepreneurial positions. But most of them were forced into poverty..." he sighed. "And this is just the beginning. Any question?" he asked 'Daiki'. He hoped that it wasn't too boring or too complicated for her. |
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| The One True Nobody | Apr 17 2014, 10:09 AM Post #15 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko listened, with rapt attention. She thought she recognized a grew of the things Kakeru spoke of--the Shogunate or the Ishin Shishi, maybe. Most of it was completely brand new, though. Was there really a time when Japan just wanted to keep other countries out? Sounded kind of silly to her. How were they supposed to grow if they couldn't interact with other countries and their ideas and inventions and stuff? What if those countries just happened to grow faster around them and Japan was left in the dust? She decided it was probably a good thing that the Shogunate lost that one, in the long run. But maybe that was just because she had a little too much personal experience with being isolated from knowing about things... When Kakeru finished talking, though, another question occurred to her, and she said, "Actually, yeah, um--" She stopped, blinked. Frowned. And then she raised her hand. "...uh, yeah. Those other factions thatcha said were pests or were tryin' t' seize power. How much o' that is what we definitely know, and how much of it is, um, assumin'? Also, whatcha mean samurai were forced inta poverty? If they fought in the war that made the new government possible shouldn't they've been rewarded, or given respect, or somethin'? Or was that just the ones from the losin' side?" |
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| Prince Arjuna | Apr 17 2014, 11:51 AM Post #16 |
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-insert something witty here-
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Kakeru smiled when his student was paying attention to the lesson. History lesson was surely a good call, after all. He listened to Etsuko's questions, nodding several times before he cleared his throat and then went to answer all those questions. Tapping his fingers on the table, he started. "Good questions, Daiki-san. Well, while both Ishin Shishi and Shogunate were the main players of the event, smaller factions also joined the fray. There were some of them who had the same goals as both Ishin Shishi and Shogunate, but there were also the ones who joined the conflict for personal gain. Bakumatsu was a turbulent, chaotic time where political assassinations, murders, lynchings and corruptions were the norms at that time. Of course there would be people who wanted to take advantage of the situation. At that time, Japan was such in perilous state, so there might be people who wanted to do anything for a couple of ryos," then, he added, "Ryo was the currency at that time, by the way." "And about samurai being forced into poverty, well... as you know, samurai served under feudal lords during Edo period..." Kakeru continued his explanation. "After Meiji Restoration, feudal lords no longer had real powers as the whole Japan was ruled under one government. Without feudal lords, samurai became unemployed. Some samurai served under the new government as police or military officers, some joined trading and entrepreneurship. But the low-ranked ones decided to become bandits or simple thugs. They even got their wives and daughters sold at brothels as prostitutes to make ends meet..." he said. "Tragic, indeed." "About the last question, it's more about luck. After the end of the war, samurai from both sides served under the new government..." Kakeru continued. "Here's an example. Hajime Saito was a captain of Shinsengumi, which was a part of Shogunate during the Bakumatsu era. After the end of the war, he served under the new government as a police officer in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department under a new name, Goro Fujita. By becoming a police officer, he was allowed to carry around a sword. There were some others, but Hajime Saito's case was more prominent..." "Any other questions? Or do you want me to continue?" Kakeru asked. |
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| The One True Nobody | Apr 17 2014, 11:59 AM Post #17 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko's head tilted to the side, a skeptical look coming over her face as Kakeru spoke. Maybe it was just her, but if she was going to try taking over the world or something, she'd try to do something so that people didn't get stuck in a hole. Living that way was more than a pain in the ass, it was a constant grind up one's spine like dragging your back across a nail-lined wooden plank day in and day out and if she had her way, no one would ever have to live that way. But what she actually asked was: "What's a brothel? Or a prostitute?" |
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| Prince Arjuna | Apr 17 2014, 12:07 PM Post #18 |
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-insert something witty here-
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Kakeru was a person who rarely got surprised, but Etsuko's questions definitely caught him off-guard. He scratched his cheek, looking at another way before he sighed. Well, there's nothing he could do about it. If she honestly didn't know about what brothels or prostitutes were, he might as well start explaining. "W-well... prostitutes are people, usually women, who get money from having sex with their clients. It's not necessarily sex, as they may act as companions or entertainers," Kakeru explained. "And brothels are the places where they usually work at. Get it?" he looked at Etsuko. Honestly speaking, he didn't even know much about prostitutes, considering his 'condition'. He could just explain things to Etsuko based on what he had read before. |
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| The One True Nobody | Apr 17 2014, 12:15 PM Post #19 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko blinked. Then blinked again. And then she scratched her cheek. People could make money that way? Maybe life on the street would have been easier if she'd thought of-- ...No. No, on second thought, that sounded kind of demeaning. Really demeaning, actually. And maybe a little gross. She'd probably wind up getting a lot of old and flabby ugly guys that girls wouldn't want to look at. No, all in all, she was glad she hadn't thought of that. What did you know, ignorance had its perks. But if we hadn't had Victor helping us out for so long... Apsaras whispered in a sober tone. This was answered by a low Oh jeez... from Cordelia. Etsuko felt her skin crawl a bit at the possibility of what might have been if things had happened differently. She kept her face impassive, thinking of Treo and how he never seemed to let things affect him. Had to look like she was okay. Otherwise Kakeru would feel weird about telling her this, right? So she nodded and said, "Ah, alright. Just never heard the words before, y'know? So go on. What were y'gonna say next?" |
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| Prince Arjuna | Apr 18 2014, 07:48 AM Post #20 |
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-insert something witty here-
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"Well then, let's continue with the lesson, shall we?" Kakeru said before he continued the lesson. "Now, let us focus on the important figures who were involved in the Bakumatsu era. Let's start with Ryoma Sakamoto, a ronin, or a samurai who serves no lord. He was involved in several plots to overthrow Shogunate and became a wanted men, particularly Shinsengumi. He dreamed of Japan without feudal lords and believed that all men are created equal. In order to do so, Japan had to compete with foreign countries so that Japan could advance. Alas, due to his vision, he was assassinated in Kyoto. At his time, the people were not ready to accept his revolutionary idea..." he said. "Next was Shinsengumi, nicknamed 'the Wolf of Mibu' and the ace of Shogunate and Bakufu..." Kakeru continued. "Initially stationed in a small village in Kyoto called Mibu, there were originally three leaders of Shinsengumi. They were Kamo Serizawa, Isami Kondo and Yoshio Tonouchi. Due to infighting, both Kamo Serizawa and Yoshio Tonouchi were assassinated by Isami Kondo, making him the sole leader of Shinsengumi..." he tapped his fingers on the table as he went on. "We may think that he killed the other leaders for power, but actually, Isami Kondo got those two assassinated because both of them were getting out of hand and weren't good enough to be the leaders of Shinsengumi..." And so, Kakeru went on with the details of Bakumatsu era, from the Four Hitokiri of Bakumatsu (particularly one named Gensai Kawakami, a hitokiri or manslayer who became an inspiration for a certain anime character with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek) to the wars and the rebellions and also the aftermath. "And that concludes my lesson. Any question so far?" Kakeru asked. |
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