Arslan Senki blog! Expect a lot of sobbing over my favourite characters and infrequent meta. This blog is NOT spoiler free (though I do tag/warn for spoilers). Please feel free to send any questions!
All my efforts came to nothing; I was trying to track down a very minor novel character who I was hoping I could appropriate as the subject of an anecdote in my WIP, but alas, he is unsuitable so now I guess I have to come up with a name of my own.
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'Arslan fixed his gaze on a single point.
"Lord Kishward, I leave it to you."
All eyes turned toward the former Grand General. Kishward’s face was set in a look of keen intensity. Everyone present understood Arslan’s intent: to restore the honor Kishward had lost during the campaign to Gilan. Kishward was a composed man, yet his voice wavered slightly.
“Your Majesty, to entrust such a grave responsibility to me...”
“Are you refusing to obey my command?”
Arslan’s tone was stern. Kishward lowered his head and pressed his clenched fists against the ground; then, Arslan’s demeanor shifted, and a smile broke across his face.
“Forgive me, Kishward. I had always wanted to say a line like that just once. This has nothing to do with favors or matters of honor. I wish I could provide you with more troops, but twenty thousand is the absolute limit. Furthermore, I can only spare five thousand cavalry. You are the only one capable of holding Soleymaniyeh with a force of that size.”'
Book 15. I do enjoy it when Arslan's sense of humour reveals itself!
I'm getting distracted (I'm meant to be looking for something in particular) but:
'[Hilmes] had previously lived in exile across various lands—Rum, Maledania, Galatia, Zalf, Kazar, and Dastad—yet, ironically, he had never visited Lusitania.'
Dropping this here so I remember to come back and properly try to figure out where these places are.
Rum I assume is drawn from the Sultanate of Rum? I need to check the original Japanese for the spelling of these as this is a Google Translation of a Chinese fan translation which can sometimes warp names quite a bit.
Kazar might be based on the Khazar Khaganate?
Galatia is likely this.
Maledania... Mauritania maaaaybe? Unless the Japanese puts it closer to Macedonia.
I dunno about Dastad and Zalf. Any thoughts?
Also, this:
'a thought crossed Silvermask's mind: had Militsa been a man—had she become the King of Maryam and commanded its armies—perhaps the kingdom would not have fallen.'
This actually feels kind of progressive for Hilmes. Though it's based on Irina's words about how Militsa resisted the Lusitanian invasion and held Akleia for two years, which is undoubtedly what Arakawa drew on in her portrayal of Militsa and the fall of Akleia.
Just wanted to share this moment from Book 14 (via Google Translate) where Arslan's generals suggest sending an elite force to Mount Demavand to slay the Snake King.
'Voices of agreement and offers to volunteer erupted among the generals.
"That won't do."
To everyone's surprise, Arslan shook his head.
"Why?" Daryun asked on behalf of the generals.
"Mount Demavand has become far more perilous since the time of the reconnaissance mission. I cannot send you into such a place."
"If I may speak plainly, we do not fear death. Leaving the enemy aside, if we can fulfill the wish of defeating the Serpent King Zahhak, then dying in battle would be an honor."
Isfan spoke his mind with flushed cheeks, but Arslan shook his head again.
"I know you do not fear death. But *I* fear your deaths. I have already lost Shapur; I do not wish to lose anyone else."
A hush fell over everyone at the round table. Arslan’s words struck a chord in every heart present.'
and then there's this from Narsus:
'"Sacrifices are inevitable. We will devise the best possible strategy to minimize them. Your Majesty’s greatest mission is to utterly defeat the Serpent King Zahhak and bring lasting peace to Pars. And beyond that, you must be prepared to bear the burden of the sacrifices that entails."'
It's not WIP Wednesday but I'm excited to share that the first draft of my Kubard/Shapur pre-canon fic is complete! This one is set in Year 317 of the Parsian calendar, where the Parsian army have just come to Maryam's aid and defeated the first Lusitanian invasion. Wish me luck with editing!
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An Isfan/Jimsa ficlet series — Arslan Senki canon-divergence AU
@acheneya-blog
Rest assured, there is more to come! Please feel free to point out any errors I made while trying to fit all our shared conversations into this little compilation ;-)
@acheneya-blog and I may have cooked a bit too much in the comments and this is what came out of it!
This might come as an unexpected pairing to some but we hope you're ready for our full presentation of evidence as to why they are a perfect match! It might yet surprise you as much as it surprised us.
Please feel free to share your comments, thoughts, hopes and wishes.
The first set of ficlets is currently with a friend of mine for beta-reading. I hope to share it soon! For now, please find below a little teaser:
Shapur survives Atropatene because Kubard, faced with a man who would rather die than retreat, solves the problem by knocking him unconscious and carrying him off the battlefield.
Later, Jimsa ends up responsible for a pair of wolf pups.
He has no idea what to do with them. Isfan does.
The pups take to Isfan immediately, and watching him handle them with such instinctive gentleness forces Jimsa to reconsider the blond Parsian he had previously regarded as irritating, dangerous and far too serious.
Unfortunately for Isfan, reconsideration soon becomes admiration.
Then attraction.
Then infatuation.
Jimsa has never doubted his own strength, skill, attractiveness or worth as a prospective husband. Isfan deserves the best, and Jimsa is entirely prepared to argue that this includes him.
Shapur, meanwhile, decides that Isfan must find a suitable partner.
Kubard offers to help.
Gieve joins in because Isfan’s annoyance is entertaining.
This goes exactly as badly as it sounds.
At its heart, Wolves, Ears and Tails is about Jimsa recognising Isfan’s worth with complete certainty while Isfan is still learning how to believe in it himself.
The wolves recognise him first.
Jimsa follows.
Everyone else interferes.
Some of what to expect from Wolves, Ears and Tails (definitely not in order):
Jimsa openly courting an increasingly flustered Isfan
wolf pups who appoint Isfan their mother
Shapur expressing love through an unbearable quantity of jewellery
Kubard becoming the camp’s suspiciously popular unofficial therapist (Farangis is called upon when actual reason is required)
Kubard and Shapur behaving far too intimately for two men who refuse to explain themselves
Isfan seeking therapy from Kubard because of Shapur
Kubard deciding that Shapur is the one who truly needs therapy
Gieve spreading rumours for the benefit of absolutely nobody
Kishward telling Isfan stories about Shapur, then revealing his hiding places whenever Shapur comes looking (retaliation for Isfan feeding Azrael fat)
Narsus taking revenge on everyone who interferes with his best night operative
Daryun watching that revenge unfold and regretting his proximity to it
Jimsa guarding Isfan like a dragon guarding treasure
Shapur objecting while behaving in exactly the same way
jewellery for Isfan, Jimsa and eventually the wolves
braids, earrings, ponytails and decorated tails
Shapur and Jimsa competing over who can fuss over Isfan more aggressively
Azrael and the pups fighting over who gets to feed scrawny Isfan (in comparison to Kubard, Kishward and Shapur, he is, just look at this piece of evidence)
Jimsa trying to push Kubard and Shapur together, despite the possibility that there is very little left to push
Isfan learning what he wants from a partner
Jimsa learning that care also means respecting Isfan’s need for solitude
pet names, failed pet names and one simple nickname that means far too much
adoption, found family and a steadily expanding pack
The overall tone will be domestic comedy, affectionate interference, slow emotional development and far too much gold.
And once again, I remain—one more of those nights, waiting desperately for the dawn, yet moments only twist, the night grows longer and sorrow creeps in. I do not sleep. Thoughts steal sleep from my eyes and keep calling: how I travelled a long road, only to realize now that all that effort, all that longing, all that meaning, has been scattered to the wind? I never understood why my life became so tangled in mistakes. With every rise, I sank deeper. I lost. The fire inside me burns mercilessly—destroys. I am not fierce-tempered, nor am I mad, but no one hears me unless I cry out. No one will ever understand how I can feel so wretched in this position of power, and yet look back with a vague longing at the hard days of the barracks. When there was still a glimmer of hope—for what I wanted to do, for what I wanted to be. I will not look to the sky anymore, yet I am too ashamed to face the earth. Is this what I fought for? Tonight, I threw the Golden Lion badge—once my pride—into a corner. I do not want the badge that weighs heavy on my heart. I want nothing anymore, except to be freed from this loud, deathly silence of the night. I will murmur an old song to the flickering light of the candle, until sleep takes me. Perhaps I will dream of home, of the mountain meadows, of wild flowers, of a white mare with hopeful eyes, perhaps...
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Should be a new ArSen chapter today, but I won't be here for it! I may not have a chance to catch up for a couple of days so please enjoy the new chapter without me.
A honest question... how many childre do you think Kubard has? I sometimes wonder about this, he may have even a dozen and not even be aware of it?
I've wondered about this a lot, too! Considering his reputation he's got to have some out there, right? While there may have been some methods of contraception in Pars they wouldn't be anywhere near as effective as modern versions so statistically it feels like a certainty that someone like Kubard probably fathered multiple children he's not aware of.
And, I mean, I don't think he'd want to be aware of them. He certainly wouldn't officially acknowledge it if anyone does claim to have a child by him, and doesn't care about having an heir whatsoever (well, this is my headcanon, anyway). (He'd probably use an excuse like "They don't look like me, they all have two eyes!". Obviously nonsense but I don't think he has any desire to be a father, just like he has no desire to get married.)
Maaaaybe, if I'm being charitable, I could see him slipping some money to someone raising a kid that's likely his if they're struggling, but honestly I mostly think he doesn't see it as his problem and likely doesn't tend to sleep with women who would try to make a child his responsibility anyway.
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Trying to write in this heatwave is a special kind of hell. My brain feels like a thick soup where I'm struggling to bring words to the surface, yet this is the most free time I've had in ages and I want to make the most of it! (If you're wondering where I've been, it's outdoor climbing season but it's too hot to climb today. I'm camped out in the kitchen which is the coolest room in my house.)
This might be a silly question, but how do you read on Mangago? Every time I try to click the arrow for the next manga page, it opens up a new site page for suspicious looking ads. The same thing happens if I click anywhere. I’m thinking maybe I’m supposed to click somewhere specific to be able to read the whole manga chapter, but I’m not sure where? I’m sorry if it’s something obvious and I’m just missing it, I’d just really like to be able to read the latest ArSen chapters!
It's not a silly question, unfortunately it's a terrible site riddled with ads. I don't actually read it there, I read it in KManga but you have to pay for the chapter there (or earn points) and it doesn't work in all regions.
For Mangago, make sure you're not opening the website in the Tumblr app. Copy the link to your browser instead. When you click the arrow for the next page it will indeed open a new tab with a dodgy ad, but you can just close this and return to the tab with the chapter and you should find it has loaded the next page.
I did briefly check and it doesn't look like it's out anywhere else yet but keep an eye on Weebcentral, hopefully it will be added there soon.
Edit: Anon, please see the useful tips from @hydrangeas-and-groves in the comments, they could go a long way towards sorting your issues out!
