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Update:   Wednesday, January 26, 2005

A lot of great new stuff today. Please do check out the new stories and artwork, everyone! Tir-synni, a new author at this site, has a great one-shot called Kurushimi no Dorei posted. Told from Hiko's point of view, it is a rather unusual look into one possible explanation for Kenshin's behavior throughout his life. Definitely something different. Although I may not agree with all the reasonings, I really was fascinated by this. Thanks so much to tir-synni for allowing me to post her insightful fic. Omasu Oniwabanshi has a few more chapters updated in her Choshu Chronicles story. As always, I'm very impressed by her detailed accounts of everyday Meiji-era life. And there really are some absolutely wonderful character moments in the latest three chapters. But I won't say any more lest I give anything away.... Centauri, a new artist at this site, has a humorous Kenshin pic and a cool Yahiko pic to add to the gallery. I like the inverted white lines on a black background for the Yahiko image. It adds an extra punch to the picture. Thanks for sending these in, centauri. Jelley has three lovely new oekaki pics. I particularly like the richly colorful "Mother and Son". And the lion/Kenshin hybrid pic was just too funny. Excellent work. Thanks so much for sharing your art, Jelley. Shinomori Misao has three very cute new pics. The "Chibi Juppongatana" pic had me giggling out loud. Shishio is so adorable in it, and his expression is simply priceless. Thanks a bunch for the new artwork, Shinomori Misao. Sherlgirl's new Aoshi pic is marvelous. I like the expression on his face, and the details are quite absorbing. Always a great pleasure to get new art from you, sherlgirl. Thanks very much for sending this one in. Kaoru~hime has been painting up a storm with eight new additions to her page. Beautiful, cool stuff. I especially like the Battousai pic, "Lost". The background adds a lot to the emotion of the pic. Thanks for sharing these, Kaoru~hime. One small announcement: In the past, my e-mail account has had a tendency to eat up e-mails from any AOL.com user. I have no idea why, but any e-mails from those people would disappear, never to be seen. I think the problem has been fixed now, so if you use AOL, and I've never responded to your e-mails in the past, it's because I never got them. I should be able to get them now though. My apologies for any inconveniences. Posted by hakubaikou, 1:18:00 AM EST. on today's updates.

Update:   Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Chapters 8-10 of Omasu Oniwabanshi's awesome Choshu Chronicles have been updated. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but do read this if you haven't had a chance to do so yet. Bakumatsu era Kenshin, excitement, danger, all amid detailed historical backdrops. Good stuff. Hikage Onna, a new artist at this site, has three lovely pics of Kenshin and Kaoru for the gallery. I really like the warm colors, especially in "Look Towards the Future". The light from the golden horizon is particularly lovely. Thanks so much to Hikage Onna for sending these in. CotoRojo has sent in one of the most unique fanart pics I've seen. He designed his own Kenshin tattoo and sent in a photo of the results. I like the characters he chose. And I'm impressed that he used himself as the canvas. Now that's a true fan. Thanks so much for sending in the pic, CotoRojo. Artist kendranoelle has a lovely new pic called "You Would Have Been Happy". I like the emotions in this one. And I really like the choice in title. It fits very well with the image. Beautifully done, kendranoelle. Thanks for sharing your artwork. Posted by hakubaikou, 1:56:00 AM EST. on today's updates.

Update:   Thursday, January 13, 2005

I've added chapters 7 and 8 of The Choshu Chronicles by Omasu Oniwabanshi. If you haven't read this fic yet, I highly encourage you to do so. It deals with Kenshin during the Bakumatsu, and it features some impressive historical references and settings. Do have a look, please. A side note. I've added another browsing category to the fanfic archive. Readers can now browse stories by length. I've got them separated into one-shots and multiple-part fics. Plenty of lovely new artwork. Please check these out, folks. Welcome to T.J., Shinomori Misao's younger brother, and our newest artist at the site. T.J.'s got an absolutely adorable pic of Sano added to the gallery. It's so cute, it made me smile. Thanks for sending in this pic. Another excellent pic from sherlgirl, who never fails to impress with her rich colors and beautiful lighting. This pic of Kenshin during the Bakumatsu has a wonderful background. Thanks very much to sherlgirl for sharing her art. Last, but not least, kendranoelle has a great new picture of Kenshin entitled Nikoko Otsu. Those who have seen the Trust & Betrayal OAV will catch the reference instantly, I'm sure. I like the emotional tone of this pic. And fantastic job on the coloring. Much thanks to kendranoelle for sending this in. Posted by hakubaikou, 4:36:00 AM EST. on today's updates.

Update:   Monday, January 10, 2005

Everyone who knows me well knows that I have a particular fondness for Bakumatsu-era RK fanworks. And everyone who visits fanfiction.net knows that good stories--especially from that era--are hard to come by. So imagine my delight when I found not one, but two fantastic stories from that era in one night. I was absolutely giddy. And I must thank both authors for their kind permission to allow me to post their stories. Omasu Oniwabanshi, author of The Choshu Chronicles, has a wonderfully concise style of writing that packs in emotion without sinking into melodrama. Her characters are complex, and her plot is even more so. With a rich historical backdrop and wonderful details on life as a Bakumatsu-era swordsman, this fic is a treat to read. Terry McElrath, author of Kyuushutsu (Rescue, Deliverance), writes incredibly exciting action sequences that are so clearly explained, one can easily picture the scene in one's head. Kenshin at his beautifully brutal best. An engaging story with great character portrayals. This is definitely not one to miss. And on a much lighter note.... Cconartist has a new one-page doujinshi posted in the gallery. This is another in the series of Kenshin/chocobo pics that is Cconartist's specialty. Beautiful bright colors and impressive detailing on the pics. And as always, quite a funny story. I really get a kick out of seeing all the Kenshingumi as birds. Posted by hakubaikou, 6:06:00 PM EST. on today's updates.

Update:   Sunday, January 09, 2005

Author Nekotsuki updated her awesome fic, Tanabata Jasmine a few days ago with chapter 25. The action continues in this fast paced, exciting fic. As usual, I don't want to give any spoilers away to those who haven't read it yet, but suffice it to say, be prepared for a wild ride.... Artist sherlgirl has sent in another gorgeous pic. Her artwork never fails to please, and this one's no exception. Beautiful warm lighting on this. And it has the added distinction of being the first Shinsaku Takasugi fanart I've ever seen. Thanks so much to sherlgirl for sharing her art. Bekah Wren has a new picture of Kenshin posted. The title of the pic continues the chess theme from her other artwork submission from this past summer. I like Kenshin's expression in this pic. The eye is especially nice here. Thanks to Bekah for sending this in. Wistful Eyes has two new pieces, one of Misao and one of Tomoe. I like the pose in the Misao pic and the coloring in the Tomoe pic. The flowers were a nice touch. Thanks so much to Wistful Eyes for the lovely artwork. Kaoru~hime has five cool new oekaki submissions. Multiple characters, multiple styles. All nicely done. I think my favorite one would be "And the Cherry Blossoms Fell", although "Hitokiri" is very cool too. Thanks so much for sending these, Kaoru~hime. Thanks to Rose Thorn, centauri, and Aurora Redwinters for sending in new Oro! sighting links. I didn't get to use all the ones they sent in, but I chose a few favorites and incorporated them into the Oro! page. The research contines.... Posted by hakubaikou, 10:27:00 PM EST. on today's updates.