And if you have to, Iajutsu still seems best.

So, I feel I must have talked about this before, but I still think it’s cool, so I’ll talk about it again. Ask me if I care I don’t.

So, I’m not clear if it’s in the code of Bushido (it probably is, but if it isn’t then it’s in some other warrior code), but there are a few principles which I think work really well together, and can apply to lives outside the battle.

First is the idea of the sheath being a place of peace. The sword is away, there is no fight. A place of peace, a time of peace. It works both ways too. If there is no fight, do not draw your sword. If your sword is not drawn, then there is no fight. And it does not return to the sheath until the fight is over and finished. A large part of what this means is that you must have the ability to recognize a fight. A sword does not draw itself. It is up to the warrior to recognize when it is time to unsheath it and release the war held within. The sword is still a tool, the skill is in the person wielding it.

Okay, second part is the part about having to taste blood. When the sword is unsheathed, it has to taste blood before it can go back. It’s not a rule, it’s not a law, it’s a truth. By unsheathing it, you unleash a torrent of battle. You can’t just pull it out and wave it around to scare people. This is Newton’s laws: actions have equal reactions. Invoking a great power is gonna cause a great change. And if you don’t have anything to apply the force to, it’s just going to come back to hit you. It’ll be your blood.

I like to note that this is a reflection of the value of efficency in Japanese culture. The idea of midevil europeans is of them with swords, and they’ll draw them to make a point or to scare people or to cut apples, whatever. But the thought of samurai are guys who show up with their swords still in the sheath, and then they don’t pull them out until the very last second before clash. And then every movement and step is towards making a killing blow, so that the sword can finish it’s job and be put back as soon as possible. Kind of like swordfight min-maxing.

But these two points lead to a saying that I think elaborates these ideas to another useful place. “The fight is best won with the sword still in it’s sheath.” The sentiment here is that even tho when necessary you can unleash hell, this isn’t the best thing. In reality, the best way to solve a problem is to not have to deal with it. A saying that more people may have heard is that, “An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure.” Either way you look at it, the meaning is that in most cases the best way to handle problems is to take care of them before they’re problems, or to just avoid having them become problems at all.

So the point to take away from this, is that ability doesn’t only lie in having great power or ability, but also in recognizing the right time to use it. Doing things at an inappropriate time are more then likely to come back and bite you in the ass. And the point that I want everyone to take home is that these are old sayings, but they are anything but outdated, and the culturial devide means nothing. Here and now, these ideas can help you lead an easier healthier and happier life.

I suppose this isn’t where I meant to post this then. I’ll put a copy of it over on guide2life.wordpress.com . Later. When I’m not asleep.

F*R*A*G: This isn’t a good silence. I guess I’ll fill with ad-libs. Woah, woah-oh-OH-oh! Sho~tay!

Holiday spirit.

So here’s what I’m thinking: A christmas variant for Wesnoth or based off of pokemon or something like that: basically some kind of game where you have a party made up of elves with RPG elements.

Every time one of your units level up, it’s elf-aggrandizement. This of course makes their stats go up: elf-improvement. After a battle, you can give them rewards for their performance: elf-approval. They can have personalities, and if you match the right reward to the right elf, they will really like it and perform even better next time: elf-satisfaction. Get them to a high enough level, and you can choose advanced clases for them to take, but to pick the right one for them you have to go through a process of elf-assessment. If a particular unit is losing a fight, you can spend some resources to give them a temporary stat boost: elf-pity. But most units will be at least compitent: elf-reliance. There can be a special unit that takes control of enemy units using elf-hypnosis.

If I actually make something based on this idea, then that means this post was an elf-fulfilling prophesy.

F*R*A*G: They were playing Christmas music in the games room. I couldn’t help myself.

Not 24, just straight forward at the begining.

My name is Peter Duncan. It’s 2:58 am, and my wife and daughter have been kidnapped.

Then there is a scene where with a car driving a high speeds down city streets at night. Slow close in on driver’s face (Peter)

Right. After that I guess…you go after to mob cause they have your family. Turns out the mob is actually a faction of the government, this leads to a military installation. You rescue your wife. Your daughter was taken away and experimented on. Secret laboratory. Your daughter is being used as a catalyst to…raise some demigod (to later harvest it’s power) or something. You fight the robot guardian in the lab as a distraction so your wife can go rescue your daughter. It’s slighly too late. The wife and daughter are safe, but then the demigod wakes up and kills the boss who wanted it’s power, all the scientists, and your family. Then flies away. you go insane. Another driving scene, following the glowing demon as it flies over the city. It takes roost in a skyscraper, transforming it with it’s twisted will. You fight up the tower until you get there and… I guess kill it after a long and intense battle. Very likely taking both of you off the roof. A feeling of relief washes over you as you see the demon disintigrate as you fall, and with nothing left to live for you are at peace with the fall. Slam into the ground. Then you open your new demon eyes.

Leaves room for a sequel.

Issues: 1) why is peter and or his family a part of all this? the pureness of his daughter? his underworld tie ins? the mother is also of divine lineage? 2) how to we make the player care for the mother and daughter so killing them is a really dark twist?