evilpii

Much like the previous segment, this scene serves multiple functions.  First, Sasami will play an increasingly pivotal role as this story evolves, so I wanted to spend some time with her individually.  Second, as with Katsuhito, I wanted to study her character and think deeply about who she is.

But primarily, I quite yearned to play with Sasami's timeline.  As mentioned previously, I am drawing primarily from Tenchi Universe, where certain events are fairly set:  Sasami's arrival on Earth shortly after her sister, both being accused of rebellion against the legitimacy of "Yosho", and their subsequent journey back to Jurai.  Interestingly, Tenchi Universe never discusses Ayeka or Sasami's parents, presumably the rulers of Jurai before Kagato's coup d'etat.  While Sasami is shown being able to see and interact with a ghost, she is never shown to have prophetic dreams like in the OVA.  Also, Tsunami and her connection to Sasami are never mentioned in the TV series or films, but is a concluding point in the companion manga Tenchi Muyo! in Love 2:  Eternal Memory.  Adjacently, in the penultimate episode of Tenchi Universe, Sasami shares the vision perceived by Tenchi, Ayeka, and Kagato.

Here, I am taking the same tact I have before, that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.  Certainly, Sasami's parents existed, but must have been removed from her life prior to the start of Tenchi Universe.  She clearly has some extrasensory perception, whether through Jurai's power or otherwise, to see a ghost and share a vision.  And, just because Tsunami is not mentioned in the series proper does not mean she cannot exist, as supported by the Eternal Memory manga.

But, more importantly, how would Sasami feel returning home to an empty mansion, to a place so full of memories and ghosts?

That, I think, would be a good catalyst to explore not only Sasami's character, but also sprinkle in mentions of her visionary aspects.  While feeling the love of her friends and the absence of her parents, that vulnerable mix of emotions is further stirred by imagery and knowledge she cannot explain rationally.  Rumiya thus serves to anchor her, to be a friend and sounding board, not unlike how I am using Ramia and Sagami for Ayeka.

Lastly, unlike the OVA, I would like Sasami to start growing as a character.  As she and her peers are on the cusp of adolescence, this would be a good time to have her explore her own agency, to sleuth out her own path.  In previous editions of this story, I feel that I did not utilize Sasami at all.  Indeed, I think in hindsight that I included her mainly out of obligation, merely being one of the members of the Masaki household with noble lineage.  For this edition, however, I want her not to be just an obligation, but to have some effect on the happenings.

Having her and Rumiya make their way to the palace, much like having Katsuhito hurry to the hospital, is a major deviation from previous editions of this story.  I currently do not know what will happen from these two changes, but I am eager to find out.

This segment is a very brief denouement for the chapter, depicting the aftermath of the previous scene.  Certainly, not every account has been settled, but I thought the characters should have a moment of peace.

This segment serves as a denouement to the tale of Tensho and Ryoshu.  Likewise, certain scenes from Tenchi Universe become recontextualized here.  Ryoko and Ayeka discuss their previous encounters as children in episodes 2, 7, and 16.  Here, these are explained as Ryoko's mother trying to reach Nagi.  In episode 24, Nagi chooses to help Tenchi and Ryoko by acting as a decoy for the Juraian fleet.  Here, Ryoko speculates that Nagi may have acted out of self-interest for herself and her father, or out of familial connection to Ryoko, or merely to have their final duel.

One of the catalysts for Tensho and Nagi's plight is the death of Empress Misaki, Ayeka's mother.  Much like her father, Emperor Azusa, I am reading between the lines of Tenchi Universe episodes 2 and 15 to interpolate that Misaki can no longer be alive by the time the events of the TV series occur.  The details and causes of deaths of Ayeka's parents will be a plot point later, but the fallout of their demise is felt here by their subjects.

Some of this segment draws from experiences I have had in my own family.  I lost my mother in 2015, shortly after deciding to rewrite all these stories for a fifth and final time.  Her loss fractured my family, which bred many of the feelings I am channelling through Ryoko and Nagi's kinship here.  I have heard stories about close family members that conflicted with what I knew of them.  I have half-brothers and half-sisters who want nothing to do with each other.  I have even had the existential reflection of why I was born.

While I wrote the original version of this scene in 1998, writing it again in 2025 feels too real, particularly how Nagi was torn away from her father.

The planet Nebulos is taken from Season 4 of The Transformers G1, the planet where the headmasters and targetmasters are created in the American continuity.

This segment takes place 3-4 months after Tensho and Ryoshu became intimately involved.  Unlike the OVA, which seems to regard what would be scandalous relationships as insignificant, I wanted to capture what stresses and politics might rend such a star-crossed romance asunder.

As in the scene introducing Tensho to Ryoshu, I am drawing inspiration from Naoko Hasegawa's portrayal of Azusa in Hexagram of Love, where he is a more boisterous and just monarch.  Here, he would much rather drink with Tensho than indict him over affairs of the heart.

While they are appear briefly, I would imagine that Azusa would have had two knights, who would predate Kagato's knights Tetta and Tessei.  I haven't put too much thought into them at this point, but I'd like to think of them as more akin to Azaka and Kamidake in demeanor and aesthetic.

The names suggested by Ryoshu are taken from Tekkaman Blade, "Takaya" being D-Boy's birth name and "Miyuki" being the name of D-Boy's sister.  Tensho suggests "Ryuji", which is the name I gave to his distant ancestor, and "Nagi", which is the name actually chosen for our legendary bounty hunter.

On the other hand, the name "Alkanphel" is taken from the leader of the zoanoids in Bio-Booster Armor Guyver.

The segment takes place a three weeks after Tensho and Ryoshu's first date.  During the date, I had wanted to imply some prejudice against Ryoshu for her place of origin, but here, that bigotry is more clearly on display from the high priest.  These same pressures will weigh upon Ryoko and Nagi in due time.

This segment is the first in a brief series of flashbacks as told by Tensho to Tenchi, Ryoko, and Kamidake.  Here, Tensho recalls when he first met Ryoshu, who was escorted to Jurai by her father and her brother.

Ryua Ryoshu is my idea of what Ryoko and Nagi's mother would be in Tenchi Universe, since the family of neither is discussed in the series proper.  Here, I took aspects of both women and projected them backward, but who had different motivations, aspirations, and pressures from either of her daughters.  The name "Ryoshu" came from a portmanteau of "Ryoko" and "Washu", the latter being Ryoko's mother/creator in the OVA.

Likewise, Jurai Tensho is meant to be Nagi's father, here a young officer with a great deal of promise in parallel to Ryoshu.  For him, I amalgamated aspects of several Juraian men, such as Yosho and the knights, with some of Tenchi's naivety.  The name "Tensho" similarly is a portmanteau of "Tenchi" and "Yosho" to reflect that origin.

Emperor Azusa and Empress Misaki appear here as well, though I took their characterization less from the later OVA and more from the first novel of Naoko Hasegawa, Hexagram of Love.  There, Azusa is a more jovial king, and Misaki is a more levelheaded queen.

Ryua Murakami and Ryua Shinya, Ryoshu's father and brother, respectively, will play integral parts of a later story, where both have aged and risen in power.  Like Ryoshu, both are original characters I have written about previously, largely in the context of Ryua and its politics.

The main concept behind Murakami was that he would be Ryua's answer to Katsuhito/Yosho, a stoic and priestly figure with a sage wisdom and mastery of his people's powers.  Here, he is a slightly younger man, roughly in his fifties, as compared to when I wrote about him previously.  The name "Murakami" is taken from Masaki Murakami from Bio-Booster Armor Guyver, a favorite of mine.

Shinya, on the other hand, is effectively the loyal son, and the jealous brother.  His name is taken from Shinya Aiba in Tekkaman Blade, another favorite anime, and seems quite thematically appropriate.

This segment continues shortly after the previous segment and serves to split the cast into two main groups:  one following Ryoko and one following Ayeka.  Ultimately, a good bit of this chapter will establish the groundwork for later stories I have planned.

One particular theme continued by this segment is the seedier side of Jurai.  Much like how Tenchi Universe depicted Jurai as having subterfuge and conspiracy, this story has shown the Juraian nobility as being bigoted and insensitive to the plight of other peoples and worlds.  The exchange with the two security officers here is a symptom of a larger problem, which will be developed in this chapter.

This segment continues from the end of the previous scene, and many different aspects are in motion.

Foremost is the result of Ryoko's experience with Jezibel from the prologue.  While the telepath did not fully enthrall the former pirate, enough of her vile will seeped into our cyan-maned fury to compel this confrontation.  The aftermath of that encounter leaves Ryoko raw and exposed, very aware of her deepest and most guarded feelings.

Second are the continuing whispers into Ayeka's mind following her experience in the previous story.  These subtle nudges exacerbate the gap between the princess and the pirate, further alienating both.  However, unlike Ryoko, Ayeka is not freed from this influence, which will complicate matters.

Third, Tenchi is caught in the middle between them, both romantically and physically.  Since the emotions of both women for him are extreme, neither thinks completely logically when he is involved.  Consequently, both are prey to adversaries who prey upon those feelings.

The conflicts between the three, and the manipulation of each, will continue throughout this story, and the next.

This segment is very similar in theme and structure to the initial arrival on Jurai from Chapter 1, and shares several characters with that scene.  The goals here were similar as well:  (1) continue developing the character dynamics started in Chapter 1 and (2) put Tenchi in the mindset to storm out of the ball, setting up the next scene.

As before, I took characters liberally from Tenchi Muyo! and its spin-offs, rewritten as needed to allow them to exist within the continuity of Tenchi Universe.  Again, I apologize in advance for mangling character histories! 😅

What truly surprised me, however, was the direction the arguments leading to Tenchi's departure from the scene.  I expected that Ryoko's presence would be a focal point, but I did not expect the antagonists' disdain to turn toward Tenchi himself.  Yet, the transition seemed natural, given what I have in mind for Ayeka and Seiryo, as did shifting perspective from Tenchi to Ayeka. 🤔

Let me know what you think of the character portrayals and dynamics!

This scene effectively tells the true story of what happened in the bar, contrary to the illusion projected in the Prologue.  I have written this scene several times since its original release in 1998, and the combatants have changed a few times.  This version keeps the battle simple and intimate:  Ryoko and Nagi battling two newly introduced foes.

The foes themselves have also changed a great deal.  The character currently named "Senju Yukishi" was previously named "Shi Oniko" in previous versions.  Though his physical traits have not really changed, given his role in the story, I wanted to provide him with a more authentic and descriptive name.  What are your thoughts on his new appellation? 🤔

Ika Yoko is a new character entirely, who is replacing a character from previous editions.  The original version of the story was a collaboration between myself and friend from high school, who has long since left this project.  The original character Seia was his creation, and while I did retain her in successive rewrites, I feel that it is time to let her go.  Yoko plays a similar role, but much like with Yukishi, I am hoping that she will better fit the themes of the story.  Let me know what you think of her! 👀