The Day of Thunder

[Saru Ranmaru]

Amusingly enough, I always pictured Ranmaru as wearing a kimono but having the top half dangling around, like with the sleeves tucked into the waist. I just spent too much time describing his glistening muscles...

[Chuchu]

Oh that's delightful.

What inspired Ranmaru's concept for you? What did you have the most fun with re: playing him?

[Otomo Akutou]

I just spent too much time describing his glistening muscles...

Is there such a thing as too much for this?

[Doji Hikaru]

Oh, Ranmaru.

What's next for Ranmaru? Will he get to form his Pure Men society, or whatever?

[Saru Ranmaru]

Oh that's delightful.

What inspired Ranmaru's concept for you? What did you have the most fun with re: playing him?

I wish I had access to the document right now. But part of it started when I read a text about how there was a "Northern" and "Southern" mode of loving, aka heterosexual and homosexual. Women were said to be inferior to men because of reasons like "their breasts are superfluous appendages" and "they cover their faces with artifice while with a man you know if he's pretty or not."

Otherwise, part of the sexism was that I was recalling older versions of L5R. One odd part about recent editions is that I found Matsu (and to a less state Utaku) to be strangely matriarchal when the rest of the Empire had become more gender equal. It felt like Matsu in particular was screaming about feminism in a world that didn't have the same context as our actual one.

Besides that, I chose a gay man over a gay woman for this bizzaro philosophy since I felt like that would stand out more. A lot of times, the latter gets more acceptance because WLW relationships are more "aesthetically pleasing" or something of the sort. Yada yada male gaze, I could go much more into it.

Finally, if I had played him sooner, then I would have made him Mirumoto himself. It was definitely a crude joke of "two swords" that made Ranmaru have to use Niten.

Is there such a thing as too much for this?

Certainly not. And the player herself does not know how he manages it.

Oh, Ranmaru.

What's next for Ranmaru? Will he get to form his Pure Men society, or whatever?

On his own, pretending Hikaru's beside him...

My current brainstorm is the following:

• Ranmaru tries to sire a son. Once he receives his third daughter, he takes it as a sign from heaven, and decides to stop. He loves them each very much.
• Inspired by Kenji, he turns towards a more honorable life. If anyone were ever to call Ranmaru the greatest swordsman of the generation, he would instead point them to Kenji.
• Although he might be nicer to women, he does end up working on his unique technique and typically only teaches it to men. Any woman who joins would similarly need to be fully appreciative of the male form. You can blame Anjing for him being a little more flexible on his rules.

[Jiyo Sora]

FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Ranmaru threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Ranmaru has that never came up?

[Hiruma Naraku]

I'm really sad I didn't get to interact with Ranmaru, I wonder how Naraku and him would have meshed.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Oh Ranmaru. The source of many good laughs this game.

I'm glad to see that he and Satsuki went from hating eachother's presence to... tolerating one another when Ranmaru showed some growth. He still hasn't apologised for saying she should be a concubine though.

How much will Ranmaru hate Satsuki for taking the amazing Hikaru from him?

[Makime]

I am genuinely sad that Makime will only remember Ranmaru as 'that shirtless Dragon guy'. I'm honestly not sure how she would react to actually speaking with him!

[Saru Ranmaru]

FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Ranmaru threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Ranmaru has that never came up?

1. Ha! I did not think of him changing his ways in the least. But I'm a sucker for development and I tried to think of how people fell into MRA or adjacent philosophies. To me, Ranmaru was a young man with little to no purpose in this world. Putting down women, in a way, was his way of feeling bigger. I think it'll still be a long journey for him to realize this.

2. There was one moment where I was like, "Aww everyone is so mean to Ranmaru." And then I remembered that it's not a reflection on me at all, that I made him to be an easily mockable character. Kind of a funny reminder that my characters are not myself.

3. That would be Ranmaru's least favorite: Hikaru barely registering Ranmaru's presence. Truly a blow to his ego.

4. Hmm, for one of his dreams, I worked in this mysterious woman who helps him. I regret not approaching the GM Team on this to discuss who exactly she was. She could be a fragment of his imagination, an actual "angel" over his shoulder, or something else entirely. The thread with Satsuki brought up an interesting possibility that he choked out Doji herself when she was trying to do dream shenanigans. That wouldn't have shifted Hikaru from indifference to indignation, now wouldn't it?

But I did miss a lot of character showcasing by just not posting much at all. I would have liked to not rush him through his arc but so it goes.

5. Ranmaru was rather forthright, same with his narration. I can't think of anything.

[Jiyo Sora]

As I noted when I MMed his dream, I think you got an awful lot of pathos out of the guy, considering his baseline "gimmick." Like, genuinely, well done.

Sorry he never got to do a proper combat?

[Saru Ranmaru]

I'm really sad I didn't get to interact with Ranmaru, I wonder how Naraku and him would have meshed.

They did cross paths in the beginning, though it was so close to the actual game start that the thread kind of fizzled out. My general vibe was fizzling out for things I did. Ah well.

Hmm, I think Ranmaru would have disliked original Naraku and then appreciated his outlook on life later. Falling in love with a woman though? Ehhhhhhhh.

[Anjing]

Ranmaru was a man of great and terrible power. Anjing obviously had an interesting intro with him. But I think they figured each other out a little by the end. And ultimately Ranmaru was trying to do the right thing.

He’s welcome to come hangout with the Crab anytime XD

Where did he end up on his philosophy? And what fighting style will he create?

[Saru Ranmaru]

Oh Ranmaru. The source of many good laughs this game.

I'm glad to see that he and Satsuki went from hating eachother's presence to... tolerating one another when Ranmaru showed some growth. He still hasn't apologised for saying she should be a concubine though.

How much will Ranmaru hate Satsuki for taking the amazing Hikaru from him?

A lot of my characters do goofy things. This one, though, was basically constantly oddities...

I was glad to see them go through it too! And pah, he would at some point once he understands that it's a bit demeaning. I was thinking that his future husband probably has a girlfriend or something, distinctively not a concubine, and he relaxes a bit on that whole thing.

But as much as they get along, he will never accept it. It's not like Satsuki can assess Hikaru, focus on Hikaru, and then strike Hikaru with her sword the same way Ranmaru can... She isn't skilled in Iaijutsu, right? Anyways, I could see him discussing with Hikaru on how to develop swordfighting styles more. Otherwise, I think he would keep his distance out of woobie sadness.

[Saru Ranmaru]

I am genuinely sad that Makime will only remember Ranmaru as 'that shirtless Dragon guy'. I'm honestly not sure how she would react to actually speaking with him!

Ah I was very inactive myself. I missed many a bathing session with the female characters of the cast.

Ranmaru's reaction to Makime... Well, as I've memed before, I think he would appreciate her head for numbers, since that's a womanly thing to do. He certainly wouldn't like the idea of taking orders from her on the battlefield though, so definitely some schism there. But maybe they would make up in a way that he did with some of the other female characters in this game.

[Saru Ranmaru]

As I noted when I MMed his dream, I think you got an awful lot of pathos out of the guy, considering his baseline "gimmick." Like, genuinely, well done.

Sorry he never got to do a proper combat?

Thank you for noticing! It was my attempt to jumpstart some sort of development for him when I didn't dedicate enough time in other threads to do it instead. Dreams are a useful trope, so it seems.

Ranmaru was a man of great and terrible power. Anjing obviously had an interesting intro with him. But I think they figured each other out a little by the end. And ultimately Ranmaru was trying to do the right thing.

He’s welcome to come hangout with the Crab anytime XD

Where did he end up on his philosophy? And what fighting style will he create?

They did reach an amusing understanding with each other. It helped that Anjing brought up his mother.

For his philosophy, I don't think he's shifted too much away from his core belief that men and women are meant for different roles, that men are still the ideal form for a warrior. Can't just shake that out of someone in a week! But what he learned most from his time in this game is that people are different from him, as in he cannot assume that something that works for him will work for other people. And so, I think he will try preaching less and try to be so glorious that students instead come to him. Easy to talk, hard to act, that sort of thing...

I didn't dedicate nearly enough time for him to do something so awesome as wielding two naginata at the same time. Nor did I manage to get him to do something like a sword in his mouth or three swords in each hand. I don't think Ranmaru could handle so many swords... No, instead I have focused his efforts on Athletics and Strength because I feel like those are often underrepresented in PBP.