This story will be taken down immediately if [insert sword here] is released in the canon game.
Tales of the Undiscovered Swords is a series of bilingual Touken Ranbu Sailor Earth fics by Ki_no_Shirayuki
. Each entry in the series introduces an OC personification of a sword that hasn't been released in the game and details their first days adjusting to life in the Citadel as a sword warrior. The series is as follows:note - Tachi with the Princess Complex, Himetsuru Ichimonji, tachi.
- You Are My Sunshine, Nikkō Ichimonji, tachi (deleted as of Aug 2020; archived here)
- An Abundance of Foxes and Aoe, Kitsunegasaki, Aoe, tachi.
- Diary of a Wakizashi, Ishida Sadamune and Kiriha Sadamune, both Sadamune, both wakizashi.
- The Amazing Romantic Adventures of the Cherry Sword Boy, Hatsuzakura, Osafune, tachi.
- And the Snow White Prince Is, Sasanoyuki, Kanesada, uchigatana.
- The Daredevil Armpit Slasher, Hiromitsu, wakizashi.
- And the Deadly Snow White Prince IsSPOILER
- The Uninteresting, Unremarkable Adventures of the Possibly Most Boring and Average Sword in Japan, Hinata Aoe, Aoe, tachi.
- Wings of Old, Ōtengu Masaie, Mihara, uchigatana.
- Strange Case of the Manslayer Demon Blade, Ichinodō Shichido, Muramasa, uchigatana.
.Neither the sword OCs nor these tropes are made up:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Sasanoyuki, who also has a reputation of being this in history. Even Hachisuka is amazed by his sharpness. The guy himself isn't.
- Agent Peacock: Ōtengu insists on wearing very thick makeup plus an elaborate hairstyle into battle, the reason being he wants to feel pride as a treasure after the loss of his "wings".
- Aloof Big Brother: Sasanoyuki to Izuminokami, clearly beating him in terms of combat skills and is unrivaled in terms of coldness. Gets taken to its logical extreme later in the fic.
- Alpha Bitch: Himetsuru. It gets to the point that everyone wants him dead save for one Azuki.
- Amnesiac Hero: Kiriha, who, like Namazuo, has lost part of his memory in the Osaka castle fire
- Arc Villain: Ishida, Big Bad of entry #4.
- Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: The original game's outfit design is anachronistic enough as it is, but these fics take it further with Sasanoyuki's post-kiwame rectangular glasses. The glasses aren't part of the design from the beginning, he gains them. On a journey to the Sengoku period. How that is possible is a mystery.
- Badass Cape: Sasanoyuki wears a snow-and-bamboo patterned white cape.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Midway through Snow White Prince, a cat is dragged in and promptly offed in the next chapter to illustrate how cold and merciless Sasanoyuki is.
- Berserk Button: Do not touch Hinata's obi.Hinata: (Shinken Hissatsu) I don't care even if you stab my heart, but the second you touch my obi, you're as good as dead!
- Beware the Nice Ones: One certainly does not want to cross Nikkō; he actually likes fighting and is very scary once his Shinken Hissatsu is triggered.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Kiriha, big time, even when the way he narrates the horrific events indicates he doesn't know what's going on.Kiriha: (Shinken Hissatsu) I'll kill you and eat your corpse!
- Big Brother Bully: Ishida constantly insults and belittles Kiriha, constantly calling him a traitor for the slightest perceived slights against him because of Kiriha's being taken in by the Tokugawa clan from the Toyotomi clan, which Ishida perceives as an act of betraying the Toyotomi.note
- Himetsuru who keeps calling his brother Nansen an "alley cat" and doesn't treat him any better than he treats other people.
- Kasen seems to be this to Izuminokami, what with his onions and blatant unfair treatment towards his younger brothers.
- Big Brother Instinct: Kikkō takes a clear stance against Ishida's bullying of his other brothers, especially Kiriha.
- Kasen genuinely takes care of Sasanoyuki, even when this is clearly the result of favoritism.
- Bilingual Bonus: The OC swords are given Japanese Pronouns and various honorific uses and modes of speech that are only visible to those fully understanding the OCs' Japanese dialogues at various points in the fics.
- Bittersweet Ending: The 4th installment ends with both swords resolving to become better fighters and Ishida discovering the truth about his second master, but also with Kiriha's diary burned off in the Osaka fire on his training journey, which he takes rather well. He even decides to stop writing a diary and start writing a novel upon returning.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Entry #4, #6 and #8, especially #4. Its violence's being narrated in first-person makes this entry the most graphic to date despite featuring no battle against The Usual Adversaries of Revisionists and Kebiishi.
- Blood Knight: Nikkō, believe it or not. He desperately wants to be treated like a real sword - that is, allowed to fight - and grows extremely frustrated over the course of the story as his past as a shrine offering and his niceness prevents that wish from being granted. It gets to the point where he is nearly Driven to Suicide.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: At one point in entry #9, Shokudaikiri complains about having to play tsukkomi to the rest of his team. Also double as Only Sane Man.
- Braids of Action: Ōtengu wears an elaborate crown braid interlaced with a ribbon at all times, even in battle and in bed.
- Break the Cutie/Trauma Conga Line: Kiriha, an amnesiac Osaka fire survivor with low self-esteem, ends up bullied by his brother, having to stop his attempt to murder their master and later feeling guilty for it. It doesn't stop there – whatever new memories he managed to write down goes up in flames in the Osaka fire again on his kiwame training.
- Sasanoyuki suffered trauma hating himself for being an Absurdly Sharp Blade that took numerous lives, to the point where he decided to let his heart go cold as a coping mechanism. The journey he later takes to face his past does more harm than good as it makes him relapse into self-hatred again, even attempting suicide at one point.
- Broken Bird: Sasanoyuki's last letter reveals that he became an emotionless killer in order to cope with self-disgust for being an overly effective weapon.
- Bully Hunter: Kikkō, who openly defends Kiriha from Ishida's bullying.
It may have something to do with his and Kiriha's both belonging to Akechi Mitsuhide in the past. - Cain and Abel: All are downplayed.
- Ishida is Cain to all his siblings except Taikogane, and later Kiriha is Cain to his Abel.
- Sasanoyuki is Cain to Izuminokami's Abel.
- An indirect example: Nansen is indirectly Cain to Himetsuru's Abel for agreeing to send him on an Uriah Gambit.
- Cain and Abel and Seth: The Kanesada brothers seems to be doing just fine until Sasanoyuki comes along, which leads to Izuminokami's clearly developing Sibling Rivalry with him due to Kasen's blatant favoritism towards him.
- Camp Gay: Himetsuru, who wears wa lolita fashion, behaves in an over-the-top girly manner and displays non-platonic interest towards several swords.
- Captain Obvious: Sasanoyuki has a tendency to state the blindingly obvious due to his lack of emotion.Sasanoyuki: (after eating a dango) This dango tastes like a dango.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Sasanoyuki's story starts out nice and light enough until the nastier part of his cold, unfeeling personality is revealed. Then he goes on kiwame and things just get worse from there: he comes back re-traumatized and suicidal. Good thing everything gets fixed in the end.
- Classy Cravat: Ōtengu in his battle attire as part of Mihara dress code.
- The Conspiracy: Ishida seems to construe any and all slights, no matter how trivial, as "betrayal" against him.
- Cool Big Bro: Kitsunegasaki obviously views Juzumaru as this, even saying he is honored to have a fellow Aoe who is part of the tenka goken and wants him to be his mentor. Subverted since Kitsunegasaki is chronologically older than Juzumaru, so technically the latter isn't a "big" bro.
- Cool Crown: Himetsuru wears a tiara whether in battle attire or internal affairs gear, which bears his crest.
- Cool Mask: Ōtengu has a tengu mask crest plus an actual tengu mask as part of his attire.
- Cool Sword: Everyone.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: The fic makes sure to repeat over and over again how scary Sasanoyuki's blue eyes are.
- Creepy Monotone: Sasanoyuki.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The tameshigiri that Sasanoyuki was first tested in from which he learns of his lethality, leading to his falling into despair and self-hatred for a period of time before deciding to take on the mindset of a ruthless killer.Sasanoyuki: (Kiwame letter) You fool, what are you expecting? Aren't you a sword? Start being one, make everything your enemy and kill them all, he told himself.
- Darker and Edgier: Entry #4 compared to the rest of the generally lighthearted series, featuring no funny moments, a plot full of familial abuse and bullying, an attempted murder and both of its OCs having suicidal or near-suicidal tendencies. To make matters worse, it has a Shoot the Shaggy Dog ending for one of its OCs.
- Entry #8 is nearly just as bad, with our kiwame sword now outright suicidal. Thankfully he gets better and it ends with a humorous omake.
- Deconstruction: Entry #5 seems to humorously deconstruct certain Shoujo and Otome Game tropes.
- Entry #2 seems to deconstruct Silk Hiding Steel: Nikkō's gentleness and charisma results in other people, especially his master, to not take him seriously as a weapon.
- Decoy Protagonist: The real protagonists of entry #3 and #5 are Juzumaru and Ōkurikara respectively.
- Defrosting Ice King: Sasanoyuki for the entirety of his story, from manifestation to after kiwame. He starts out as a cold, unfeeling sword due to repressed emotions as a coping mechanism for self-hatred, then gets his cold stoicism broken after a journey to face his past re-triggers his self-hatred, and finally comes to terms with himself.
- Diagonal Cut: Entry #5 and #8 each has a tameshigiri scene, so naturally this will make an appearance.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Himetsuru may be a giant annoying dickbag, but that is simply not good enough a reason to put him to death. Azuki rightfully calls out the team on this and at least manages to have the sentence lowered to an Uriah Gambit.
- Does Not Like Spam: Nansen apparently really hates nattō in these fics, complaining about having to protect its invention in the first fic and spitting it out after Nikkō inadvertently charms him into eating it in the second.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Nikkō wants to be treated like a Worthy Opponent so bad Tsurumaru's crying over grievously injuring him drives him to Shinken Hissatsu.
- Double Standard: Kiriha calls Ishida out on this for not extending the same shitty treatment he's been heaping on him to Namazuo despite his and Kiriha's both changing clans and even being owned by the same person. Ishida replies that it's because Namazuo isn't related to him. He becomes a Big Brother Bully to Kiriha because he is his big brother.
- Kasen blatantly favors Sasanoyuki and never extends to him the harsh punishments that he gives Izuminokami. The reason? Because his name sounds nice.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: With the addition of sword schools not present in canon, the fics also assign dress codes to them:
- Tegai school gets fantasy elf-like tunics.
- Mihara school gets vampire-like vests and Classy Cravat.
- Driven to Suicide: Nikkō falls into suicidal despair over not being treated like a capable warrior because of his niceness and gentleness, until he snaps out of it. Violently.
- Ishida deems the world so rotten and full of traitors, he plans to kill himself after killing his master.
- After being retraumatized on his training, Sasanoyuki considers slitting his throat with his own sword form until he's conveniently interrupted by Kasen.
- Emotionless Boy: Sasanoyuki again, who claims to have a frozen heart, speaks in Creepy Monotone, is unable to appreciate beauty and is an unapologetic killing machine who prioritizes efficiency over comrade life.
- Epilogue Letter: The 4th and 6th entries end with the swords' kiwame journey letters.
- Establishing Character Moment: When Sasanoyuki offs the cat and is unflinchingly unapologetic about it, and even goes so far as to almost actually off Midare when the latter dares him to kill him, truly showing that Sasanoyuki is not afraid to murder anything and anyone standing in his way.Shinano: Even a little animal didn't have his mercy.
- Establishing Shot: Entry #7 makes use of a hang-gliding-off-Mt-Fuji scene to show that the Citadel is placed in Fujinomiya town, Shizuoka.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Nikkō is blond and almost everyone loves him. Averted with his brother Himetsuru, however.
- Evil Counterpart: Not that Himetsuru is all that sympathetic, but he has a lot in common with Ishida – both are extremely entitled Big Brother Bullies – the difference being that while the former's antics are all Played for Laughs until he's sent out to die, anyway and treated as no more than annoyance, the latter's actions are downright vile and spiteful and leave disastrous consequences.
- Extreme Doormat: Kiriha doesn't stand up to Ishida's bullying, doesn't speak up when his master misunderstands him and makes no attempt to get their attention, report Ishida's behavior or stop them from favoring Ishida over him. He only breaks out of doormat status near the end to stop Ishida from murdering their master, and even after his victory, he feels guilty about it.
- Fan Boy: Kitsunegasaki acts like one to Juzumaru, constantly calling him -sama, much to his dismay. Keep in mind that Kitsunegasaki is older than Juzumaru.
- Fantastic Aesop: The moral of Kitsunegasaki's story: "a sword should never attempt to fight in a way not intended for swords to do."
- Fiery Red Head: Kiriha of all people becomes this, delivering a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to his deranged brother and defeating him in a bloody Shinken Hissatsu.
- Fluffy the Terrible: Sasanoyuki – lit. snow on bamboo – may sound totally harmless, poetic even, but the name is actually a reference to his sharpness. The blade is said to cut "like snow falling from a bamboo leaf".Izuminokami: His name isn't as elegant as you think it is. He got it because he's sharp, not because of some artistic, poetic bullshit.
- Food Porn: Entry #9 features a pasta recipe with a mouth-watering photo of the dish. Later in the same entry, a full-scale fancy vegan dinner, complete with some Erotic Eating undertones.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Hinata is Foolish to Juzumaru's Responsible.
- Despite his favoritism, Kasen does make a good Responsible to Sasanoyuki's Foolish.
- Nansen is very much the saner and less selfish Responsible to Himetsuru's Foolish, but is Foolish to Nikkō's Responsible.
- Foregone Conclusion: Tanaka Yoshimasa didn't betray Ishida Mitsunari or steal Ishida Sadamune from him. The latter willingly gave the sword to the former.
- Foreshadowing: Shinano's fear of the Yuki-onna story and Kasen's remark that Sasanoyuki doesn't mind blood sticking to him are meant to hint at Sasanoyuki's true personality.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: The saniwa's father and the Sengen Taisha's head priest Mr. Shiraha in entry #7, a scary and bad-tempered middle-aged man who wears glasses.
- Freudian Excuse: Ishida who uses his personal experience with what he believes to be betrayal as an excuse to be an asshole to others.
- From Bad to Worse: Sasanoyuki before kiwame: cold and emotionless. Sasanoyuki after kiwame: depressed and suicidal.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: Nikkō during a Shinken Hissatsu episode.
- Gargle Blaster: Entry #6 mentions such a concoction called Ichigo Hitokuchi.
- The Generic Guy: Hinata seems to be the series' poster boy for this trope. The title and summary of his story try to paint him as the ultimate boring unremarkable guy, even warning readers to go read "some other, much more interesting tales", and the first chapter alone has him complain about his uninteresting history and wanting to be special.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: When Ichinodō switches in front of Ichigo and is about to kill him, Ichigo slaps him in the face to bring his "right" side back.
- Girlish Pigtails: Kiriha. Unfortunately for him, his red hair means that they're frequently compared to carrots.
- Gratuitous Japanese: The fics are peppered with center-aligned written Japanese lines accompanied by italicized translations. Those lines are stock lines that would be said if the characters were implemented in the game (all entries are prefaced with the OC's introduction line, and additional lines vary according to the fics. For example, the 3rd entry gives the OC a whole library description and the 4th and 6th end with the full text of their respective OCs' kiwame letters. Since the former introduces 2 swords, that is six Japanese passages in the span of the last chapter.).
- Gratuitous Latin: Title of entry #9 as a reference to the scientific name of the plant.
- Grumpy Old Man: Mr. Shiraha.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Nikkō.
- Halloween Episode: Entry #6.
- Happy Ending Override: Even with Sasanoyuki saying he can't go back to being his pre-traumatized self again, entry #6 ends on a hopeful note. However, comes the sequel and it's revealed his emotional state has gotten worse from the journey.
- Hidden Depths: Many of the OCs display this at some point.
- Himetsuru may be a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk, but he's still a valiant and capable warrior.
- Nikkō is actually a Blood Knight who wants people, especially his master, to accept that he's, after all, a sword.
- Kiriha may be a Shrinking Violet bordering on Extreme Doormat, but he is also loyal, morally upstanding and a brave fighter.
- Sasanoyuki is not so much an Emotionless Boy as he is a Broken Bird who loathes violence and killing despite his intended purpose.
- Hime Cut: Ichinodō is drawn with one in the author's illustration, though his hair is up in two Girlish Pigtails.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner:
- The defining characteristic of Sasanoyuki as part of his cold and efficient killer image. He even does this in the kitchen, while cooking.
- Ōtengu, to an even more absurd degree – his blade is never seen. Until his hair is unbound by accident, at which point he stops doing this and starts fighting slower but stronger.
- Izuminokami at the end of entry #8.
Izuminokami: While you (Sasanoyuki) were away, I brushed up on my battōjutsu like crazy. - Icy Blue Eyes: Sasanoyuki, since he's snow-themed.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The chapter titles for entry #3 aren't related to the story at all and are just a series of statements complaining about history until comes chapter 6 "But After All, History Is History" and 7 "And It Needs to Be Protected at All Cost ".
- Each chapter of entry #8 is a four-kanji proverb that has the kanji for "sword" in it.
- If I Can't Have You…: Ishida attempts to kill the saniwa due to jealousy over their spending more time with other swords.
- I Hate Past Me: Sasanoyuki already suffered from severe self-hatred to the point where he had to suppress his feelings, and facing his past self again on kiwame only exacerbates matters.
- I Have Many Names: Sasanoyuki's former name was Katagiri Yosaburō. As a nod to this, Izuminokami calls him "Katagiri" and Horikawa calls him "Saburō-san"note . He would later refer to his former name as though it were a separate entity from himself.Sasanoyuki: (Kiwame letter) I was once known as Katagiri Yosaburō, but Katagiri Yosaburō is not me.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: Sasanoyuki's sharpness and iai skills are taken to ridiculous extremes. Examples include creating a rain of paper snowflakes in one slash, slicing cabbages into tiny shreds in one slash, severing strands of hair without even touching, causing injuries that don't hurt and vertically cutting a cat in half.
- Informed Ability: Kiriha's fighting skills come off as this up until his duel against Ishida.
- Innocently Insensitive: After Sasanoyuki comes back from kiwame, the first thing Izuminokami does is making him perform tameshigiri, not knowing that it's probably not a good idea to do that to someone to whom tameshigiri was a self-hatred Trauma Conga Line catalyst.
- In-Series Nickname: Himetsuru is called Himecchi by Kenshin. Likewise:
- Nikkō: Nikoniko by Tsurumaru.
- Kiriha: Kirippa by Ishida, Kiri-nī by Monoyoshi.
- Ishida: Ishi-nī by Monoyoshi.
- Sasanoyuki: Saburō-san by Horikawanote .
- Hinata himself has none, but he gives some to others. He refers to Nikkari as "Nikki" and Kitsunegasaki as "Kissaki".
- Interrupted Suicide: Sasanoyuki nearly slits his throat in order to put an end to his existence as a weapon until Kasen unknowingly stops him just in time.
- It's All About Me: Himetsuru and Ishida are, hands down, the champions of the series in terms of selfishness. The former deems himself royalty and expects everyone to treat him as such, while the latter uses his (supposed) personal experience with betrayal as an excuse for entitlement and lashing out whenever anyone displeases him in any way.
- Jade-Colored Glasses: Sasanoyuki develops from an Emotionless Boy into an embittered cynic after kiwame. It helps that he literally wears glasses now.
- Japanese Honorifics: Hinata addresses the saniwa as oyakata-sama (an archaic way of referring to a lord).
- Japanese Pronouns: The lesser-used pronouns in this series include:
- Warawa by Himetsuru, which goes with his princess image.
- Sessha by Nikkō, which is associated with Samurai, while Nikkō is Miko-themed.
- Ore-sama by Kashagiri.
- Sasanoyuki uses watashi, which is nothing special, though rendered in katakana. However, he deserves a special mention – he switches to boku during Shinken Hissatsu after kiwame as a sign of O.O.C. Is Serious Business.
- Wagahai by Hinata.
- Ichinodō alternates between two as part of his Jekyll & Hyde personality: the "right" Ichinodō uses normal boku, the "wrong" one uses stronger and more masculine ore.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Ichinodō has two alternating modes: a "right" personality as a polite man with unshakable moral beliefs who wishes to own up to atrocities he helped commit in the past and a "wrong" one as an unapologetic sadist who delights in graphic violence, chastises having a conscience as "delusional" and openly embraces his Muramasa and "manslayer sword" reputation.
- Jerkass: Himetsuru.
- Ishida whose massive entitlement and bullying played dead seriously makes Himetsuru look nice in comparison.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Himetsuru bravely defends his friends from the enemies… while outright stating he still views them as "dumb, useless idiots" and that it is a "princess's duty" to protect his "people".
- Jidaigeki: The fics play a lot of chanbara tropes straight.
- Karma Houdini: In the end, Himetsuru still never gets proper punishment for his assholery and still behaves like an utter Royal Brat at the end of his story.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Sasanoyuki somehow manages to be a Lightning Bruiser Iaijutsu Practitioner while wearing fancy patterned furisode-length sleeves. Gets even worse after kiwame when his clothes gain several tassels.
- Large Ham: Kitsunegasaki's constant (incompetent) showing of power.
- Last Episode, New Character: Nikkō actually debuts at the tail end of Princess Complex before being formally introduced in the next story.
- Last-Name Basis: Nikkō addresses everyone by last name, followed by -dono. He switches to full name sans honorifics in Awakening mode.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Kitsunegasaki has a moment when he tries to wrestle the enemy leader while forgetting to bring along his sword form, to predictable results. No wonder Juzumaru is pissed off.
- Lightning Bruiser: Sasanoyuki, 'nuff said.
- Lolita Fashion: Himetsuru is a wa lolita, whether in battle wear or internal affairs wear.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Nikkō, Kitsunegasaki, Kiriha, Sasanoyuki and Ōtengu.
- Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: The Reveal that Mikazuki knows who Kikkawa Tomokane is.
- Manchild: Kitsunegasaki acts like an annoying child who can't shut up about wanting to be a wrestler despite not being physically suitable. Keep in mind that this guy was forged at the end of the Heian period, which puts him in the same age range as Mikazuki.
- Martial Pacifist: Sasanoyuki, but of a different flavor from Kōsetsu. While the latter is very vocal about his dislike of violence, the former keeps his mouth shut, represses his feelings and becomes a lethally efficient killer.
- Miko:
- Nikkō is miko-themed due to his past being a shrine offering. He wears the full garb, even including a chihaya overgarment.
- Apparently Ishikirimaru works as a rough equivalent of one at the local Sengen Taisha before the head priest fires him over his fellow swords' reckless behavior.
- Mood Whiplash: Sasanoyuki's first two letters are way too short and basically stating the obvious, as usual, only for the third one to devolve into a near Wall of Text explaining his tragic backstory.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Sasanoyuki using his iai skills to chop vegetables and in the sequel, his and Izuminokami's using it to slice strawberries and scrape vanilla. In the same story, Kasen's fancy name for the act of sticking an onion into Izuminokami's mouth to make him shut up.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Kiriha after his victory against Ishida. He's so depressed by the incident he decides to lock himself in a blanket closet and blames himself for existing.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Sasanoyuki, indicating sharpness, despite its apparent poeticness.
- Kashagiri Hiromitsu – cutting a kasha demon from hell.
- Ichinodō Shichido – slicing one body seven times (actually seven bodies in one sitting).
- Negative Continuity: The fics seem to be in a loose continuity (with Nansen being the attendant in every fic he appears in/is mentioned except entry #4 where he is briefly replaced by Ishida then reinstated, and Hasebe being appointed Captain of Squad 2 and staying such in the next story), but each entry doesn't seem to acknowledge that the OC in the previous one existed. Justified since the entries risk being
Outdated by Canon and taken down. - Noblewoman's Laugh: Himetsuru.
- Nobody Touches the Hair: Do not try to undo Ōtengu's elaborate crown braid. As the enemies find out the hard way, successfully doing so makes him go Shinken Hissatsu instantly.
- No Social Skills: Sasanoyuki doesn't seem to have a concept of manners because of his lack of emotion. First, he has snack without saying itadakimasu, and later offs a Kebiishi mid-sentence.
- "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: In the description of the series, the author has put a disclaimer that none of the swords featured in the fics are imagined by the author.
- Not So Stoic: Sasanoyuki turns out not to be so emotionless after all, he learned to repress his feelings to cope with self-hatred. It gets even more evident after his retraumatizing kiwame training when he starts developing suicidal tendencies, ultimately resulting in his breaking down in tears.
- Turns out, you can cross Juzumaru, as Kitsunegasaki can attest.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We never know what transpires between Kiriha's last diary entry and his kiwame training, and how he exits the blanket closet to decide to go on training in the first place. We also never see how Ishida is reprimanded for his actions, or how and why he's granted permission to go on training. Kiriha notes in his last diary entry that Ishida has mysteriously vanished without a trace after the murder attempt incident, and yet his own kiwame letters are presented before Ishida's, so it's also unknown who goes on kiwame first or whether Ishida disappears because he's sent on training.
- Old Windbag: Kitsunegasaki. Keep in mind that his age ranks somewhere around the likes of Mikazuki, and yet all he does is brag about how he kicked the collective ass of a whole clan/how he'll be the strongest wrestler known to man and sword/how awesome his former master was (whom nobody knows)note , and just be annoying in general.
- One-Hit Polykill: Sasanoyuki during a Shinken Hissatsu episode. He manages to behead a whole team of Kebiishi in a move so quick his blade isn't even seen.
- One-Man Army: Himetsuru, Kitsunegasaki and Sasanoyuki when they get their acts together.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Juzumaru gets seriously pissed after Kitsunegasaki's reckless behavior gets the entire team in danger, to the point where he fully opens his eyes and delivers a scathing "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Sasanoyuki's switch to the boku pronoun before Shinken Hissatsu signifies that his emotional state has become too much for him to bear.
- Painting the Medium: Ichinodō's speech in "wrong" mode is bold and in katakana.
- Parody Sue: Nikkō the nice and good Pretty Boy with a killer smile who unknowingly hoards all the saniwa's love for himself and causes everyone to – this is a direct quote – willingly [go] OOC for him without knowing it until it was too late. Most of the story is dedicated to a group of other swords trying to make him look bad.
- Pretty Princess Powerhouse: Himetsuru eventually proves himself to be one, wiping out an enemy faction on his own while in critical damage.
- Pseudo-Canonical Fic: The fics even take time to interrupt the narrative giving their OCs stock game lines.
- Punny Name: Ichigo Hitokuchi cocktail.note
- Rage Breaking Point: Juzumaru of all people hits it in entry #3 after Kitsunegasaki's reckless behavior gets their entire team in danger.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivered by the most unexpected people imaginable:
- One by Juzumaru to Kitsunegasaki after the former is badly injured from the latter's recklessness.
- Another by Kiriha to Ishida when the latter attempts to kill the saniwa.
- Reassignment Backfire: Himetsuru not only survives his Uriah Gambit but also proves himself much more capable than he seems.
- Red-Headed Hero: Kiriha, the narrator of his entry.
- Redheads Are Uncool: Kiriha is a quiet and awkward individual with two red pigtails which are often unfavorably compared to carrots.
- Reforged Blade: Kiriha.
- Royal Brat: Himetsuru, the self-proclaimed princess who manages to piss the entire Citadel off with his self-centered behavior.
- Rule of Cool: Special mentions go to Sasanoyuki's iai skills, which are simply very exaggerated compared to real life.
- Running Gag: "Who is Kikkawa Tomokane?"note
- Kasen's "Kanesada-ryū Tamanegi Sappō" a.k.a. jamming onions into Izuminokami's mouth.
- Mentions of a certain guy in a convenience store in entry #5.
- Samurai: A weird case concerning Nikkō's using the typical samurai mode of speech while his personality suggests another type of Japanese ideal entirely. Sessha pronoun, de gozaru and -dono all make appearances in his speech.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Sasanoyuki is scary enough as he is, but when he returns from his training with those rectangular specs over his icy blue eyes…"The man before them was neither Sasanoyuki nor Katagiri Yosaburō; just a deranged beast made of pure bloodlust, a murderous spark burning in those blue pupils behind rectangular lenses."
- Series Fic
- She Is the King: Himetsuru is the princess.
- Shirtless Scene: Kiwame!Sasanoyuki gets a brief one.
- Hinata is introduced shirtless save for his bandages.
- Shonen Hair: Kashagiri who has spiky blue hair with orange stripes.
- Shoot the Dog: Sasanoyuki believes that a critically wounded ally should be slain in order to carry on with a mission. Note that he is saying this about, and is about to off, his critically wounded brother.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog:
- Kiriha is an amnesiac, so he puts in a lot of effort chronicling his new experiences in a diary in order to not lose them again. He later loses the diary to the same fire that burned him, for added insult to injury, on his kiwame training.
- Sasanoyuki's whole journey discovering his past self seemingly proves useless when he comes to a bitter conclusion that he still can never once again be Katagiri Yosaburō. Even worse in the sequel where it's revealed that instead of helping him be at peace with himself, the journey has re-triggered his problems.
- Shown Their Work: See "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer above. The series also touches on Japanese culture tropes like Youkai and hyakumonogatari, Japanese history, sword arts like iai and tameshigiri and Japanese swordsmithing.
- Shrines and Temples: The Mt. Fuji Sengen Taisha, which the main characters crash-land via hang gliders into in entry #7.
- Shrinking Violet: Kiriha really wishes he has Ishida's confidence, seeing as he can't even interact with animals.
- Sibling Rivalry: Izuminokami clearly isn't too fond of Sasanoyuki because of Kasen's favoritism towards him.
- "Right" Ichinodō openly hates Sengo for what he perceives as lack of compassion and responsibility for his Muramasa background.
- Signing Off Catchphrase: Kiriha ends every diary entry with the word "Unsigned" before signing his name, a reference to his being a mumeitō.
- Specs of Awesome: Kiriha is already described as fairly capable and does prove to be such during his confrontation with Ishida. And don't get us started on Sasanoyuki…
- Spock Speak: Sasanoyuki is prone to this. However, his brand of speak is different – he uses the short, straightforward form of speech, as anything longer in Japanese would indicate politeness, which he simply doesn't have.
- Stock Animal Diet: The Japanese stereotype that foxes like fried tofu is loudly and hammily defied by Kitsunegasaki. The only food the narrative states he eats is fried chicken.Kitsunegasaki: If I hear one more person assuming I automatically like fried tofu, a table is gonna be flipped. What the hell is with you and your kitsune stereotypes?
- The Stoic: Sasanoyuki, even in battle and when exhausted. He still retains a quiet demeanor after kiwame, except the part where he breaks down in tears.
- Stoic Spectacles: Sasanoyuki gains a pair after he returns from his training.
- Sunny Sunflower Disposition: Nikkō is even seen arranging sunflowers at one point to emphasize his pleasant personality and dashing good looks and the fact he's constantly compared to sunlight, a reference to his name, even though, like Kitsunegasaki, he was named after a place and not whatever the narrative is comparing him to.
- Switching P.O.V.: Entry #4 is narrated by Kiriha from his diary entries.
- Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Sasanoyuki, my god. He spent a good chunk of his past hating himself for being too good a weapon, to the point where he had to shut down his feelings in order to accept what he is. Later, after he faces his past again, he becomes so tormented that he nearly commits suicide.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Sasanoyuki, who has long, sleek black hair and plays Aloof Dark-Haired Girl straight despite being male.
- Tengu: While not being an actual tengu, Ōtengu is obviously tengu-themed, from his name, his constant talk about "getting his wings back" and tengu mask motif.
- That Man Is Dead: Sasanoyuki goes through this twice. First, "he can never once again be Katagiri Yosaburō." Second, "how he wished he could once again be the Sasanoyuki before setting foot on this fateful journey" after said journey re-triggered his self-hatred and it's now impossible for him to suppress his feelings again.
- Those Two Guys: Ishida and Kiriha won't have much to their characters were they introduced separately like other swords; much of their characters stems from their relationship with each other.
- Too Dumb to Live: Kitsunegasaki forgets to bring his sword form with him into his first battle. Worse, he even tries to wrestle with the enemy leader.
- Took a Level in Cynic: Post-kiwame Sasanoyuki.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Kitsunegasaki likes fried chicken. Kiriha likes meat.
- Trauma Button: Sasanoyuki's is hit twice; first time on his kiwame training and second time in the tameshigiri his brother makes him perform.
- Truth in Television: Considering this is a Touken Ranbu fic whose entire purpose is to make OCs out of swords that actually exist but hasn't yet been released as characters in the game, this applies to all the OCs and their backgrounds. Also, as revealed in entry #7, though the Citadel doesn't really exist, the location it's established to be based in – Fujinomiya city in Shizuoka prefecture, with its landmarks Mt. Fuji and its Hongū Sengen Taisha – is real.
- Unreliable Narrator: Kiriha seems to think Honebami has gotten over his fire incident.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Himetsuru is a huge dick and everybody hates him. The entire thing is played for laughs.
- Kitsunegasaki is not as dickish, but he's an annoying, childish and embarrassing old man. The entire thing is, again, played for laughs.
- Uriah Gambit: Himetsuru ends up sent on one when the Citadel decides they've had enough of him. Note that this is requested by Azuki; he was originally going to be dismantled. Subverted, he later strikes down all the enemies on his own and returns from the mission alive.
- Violence Really Is the Answer: Kasen uses this line of thinking to convince Sasanoyuki it's okay to be a weapon.Kasen: To kill for a noble purpose, to protect the flow of time, that is what it means to be a touken danshi.
- Walking Spoiler: Notice how everything about post-kiwame Sasanoyuki is whited out?
- Wham Episode: The tone of entry #1 changes drastically comes its penultimate chapter, in which it's decided that Himetsuru is going to die.
- Wham Line: "You are a disgrace to the Aoe school." coming from the mouth of Juzumaru.
- At one point in Kiriha's final kiwame letter.
The notebook that I write down my new memories in up until now has gone up in flames in that fire.- The very first line of entry #8, not counting the introduction, signifying that Sasanoyuki's entire kiwame journey was completely pointless.
"To continue to kill, but not out of the pains of the past. Turned out, it was much easier said than done than he expected." - When She Smiles: Entry #8 ends with Sasanoyuki smiling for the first time, indicating that he's finally come to terms with himself.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Himetsuru and his brother Nikkō are both good-looking swords who wear female clothing.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Nikkō, who is very beautiful, extremely kind, super hard-working and has almost everyone, including the saniwa, hopelessly in love with him. This causes his fellow Kuroda sword Hasebe who has already lost his attendant position to become even more insecure, leading him to team up with Tsurumaru and Nansen to bring him down. However, Nikkō also desires to go to battle like a real weapon and treated like a fighter, and is disappointed when his nadeshiko-ness prevents him from being viewed as such.
- Yandere: Ishida. He starts out acting friendly and being very close to his master, even getting promoted to attendant at one point, before growing extremely jealous when they spend time with other swords, wounding others when they try to reason with him and ultimately attempting to kill his master.
- Yuki-onna: The narrative compares Sasanoyuki to one.
