I dream of...sessha?

State of mind: giggly
Current soundtrack: Playlist name - series - song title (artist)

This is the post that finally convinced me to get up offa my tail and find out how to make an, um, LJ cut, if you will. If you weren't convinced I was crazy before, you probably will be at the end of this post. So, if you'd like to keep your impressions of me as a merely SEMI-crazy cynical-cum-romantic fangirl of weird things (phew, quite the mouthful), it might help to stop reading riiiight here. You've been warned.

OK, now that THAT's over with...you know, most women will have their mancrushes. Some people like THIS type and some people like THIS type and some people even go for THIS type. (Personally, I like this one.) Where was I getting to? Oh yeah. So, women. Mancrushes. Some have multiple. One of mine happens to be a noble-hearted martial arts master who's upright in nature and pretty good with children. He pulled himself up out of poverty (...somewhat?) and is sometimes a little silly. But most of the time, he's a deep and serious teacher who cares very much about all his students/disciples.

VERY unfortunately, if you haven't caught on yet, he also happens to be a) 2-dimensional and c) not exactly human.

This is Dyna-shihan (first and one of the last appearances in Ultra Ninja Manual)

YES, I likes me a piece of Dyna-shihan, and it is partly THIS man's fault.

Who, sessha?

Yeah, you. You, Himura Kenshin, with your bleedin' split personality. They think you're all sessha and obliviousness and sweettalk—next thing you know, shit goes down and out comes the ore, Hitokiri Battousai who plays nice no more. Stupid rockin' sexy Rurouni Kenshin. *grumbles half-heartedly*

Thing is, once I got the concepts of sessha and ore down pat, it was pretty hot. I liked the idea of a sweet, kind soul who would turn deadly and prove his true mettle if someone important to him was threatened. The torture and the angst and the bittersweetness preceding that, I didn't enjoy so much, but still. Granted, I didn't watch a lot of said torture and angst; I got that much from a senior of mine, and she'll clout me about the head if I mess this explanation up somehow. XD

And then, around the time I was 15, along comes this nice piece of work called Ultra Ninja Manual: Kotobuki.

Actually this is from UNM Ultra, but you have to admit, those are some mighty hot arms. :3

Ultraman luff: check.
Pre-existing Dyna fannage: check.
Martial arts fannage: check.
Feudal Japan fannage: check.
Mysterious angsty past overcome: check.
Kicks butt with style: check.
Supremely honourable: check.
Soft spot for children: check. (Strange, seeing how I generally don't like kids much.)
Oh my lookit them *arms*: CHECK.
Dual sessha-ore pronoun user: CHECK CHECK CHECKITY *CHECKERENA*. I was sold.

For a few years this went on, with relatively silent squeeage, because I couldn't explain why I adored shihan the way I did. Maybe it was Kenshin-nostalgia. Maybe I wanted a protector. Maybe I just liked the guy. It was kind of hard to explain the delicacies of the sessha-ore archetype because OF COURSE I delve into the definition of this and the connotations of that, and it sputters to a graceless finish. The comparison to Kenshin is not very clear beyond that. RK is like a fine willow tree reaching the peak of its maturity. Shihan is like a great crabbed oak—although, mind you, one places him at being in his late 20s/mid-30s. I just went on fanning shihan and taking inordinate glee in documenting Japanese pronouns, converting a grand total of one person to that club. And then, today, two kindred spirits discovered each other.

Digression time again. There's a fansite out there, Japanese in nature, which does the most fantastic UM art. The webmaster keeps a blog, on which s/he expressed happiness in winkling out the pronouns Ultras ostensibly use (There's an SMS service in Japan that sends off monthly messages and OH GODS, DO WANT.). Anonymously, through webclap, I gush that 'omg, I love shihan and his ore-sessha duality' etc etc etc.

Lo and behold. Today the webmaster's blog was headed by a familiar-looking character. Clicking on the thumbnail with great anticipation, I let out a great whoop of joy when I saw shihan standing tall within the drawing, and a little squeefit on how adorable the character was. Oh help. Oh mercy. He has other fans. He lives. It is a truly great moment, to realise that you're not the only one who loves this silly old crabbed oak, that someone else is watering it with the same fervour that you do. (And again, I said as much through webclap.)

Hi/r shihan happens to be very easy on the eye, too. Mmhm. :D

Himura Kenshin's a sessha. Dyna's a sessha. Hell, SD Gundam 3 Kingdoms' Guan Yu is a sessha. These are all good and upright men, so what's not to like? Keep your ores and bokus, if only for now. In my heart, I will always hope that one day, a good sessha will appear in my little circle.

One can always hope. :) [+/-] Of archaic pronouns, hot aliens and unusual metaphors