Some random comments inspired by reviews

Hey, Dettol, Chiki, Jack, and other faithful reviewers,(you know who you are), Ogenki desu ka? I'm fine, sleepwise, for now, it's the summer and I don't have to work as much, since I work for a school. I get to sleep in a lot.

Dettol, you might be spot on about RK being atypical in it's attitudes about women and such.(You ask such interesting questions!) The women in RK probably aren't typical, but then again, they're not intended to be, I think. Kaoru is a female kendo instructor, how common was that? Megumi a physician, again rare. And the other women are ninjas. No, not your everyday Japanese women. Even their clothes aren't normal sometimes.

I love how in the manga Kenshin says of a 16 yr old Misao when he meets her, "She's not of an age to bare her thighs." All the while blushing like crazy.

I think we're looking at the exceptions rather than the rule when it comes to females in RK. I think I like it so much because it has strong female characters. Frankly, some anime doesn't.

I love Gundam Wing, but it's all about those 5 cool guys, really. The girls seem to be appendages a good part of the time. Speaking of Gundam, doesn't Duo remind you just a little of Kenshin? I always thought if he lived in modern times, he'd be a little like Duo. Partly the hair and eyes I guess, too. Kurama(Suichi, really) in Yu Yu Hakusho also reminds me a lot of Kenshin. All right, Duo is a lot more out there than Kenshin, although I think of Kenshin as having a silly side too.

Back on topic(I've been reading a lot of Gundam lately).

I guess I don't see Aoshi as a bad guy, so I can't make him be too horrible to Yuki. I can't see him as a child beater( sorry, can't go there, I'm sensitive). Also, he's pretty astute, and he understands the reason Yuki is acting like such a brat. It's partly his fault, you see. His own lack of ability to be demonstrative with her has caused her to be insecure and jealous. Would he punish a child for his own failing? Now, remember, this is Aoshi-"I sat every day in a temple for god knows how many years and meditated over my sins" Aoshi. He blames himself for a lot of things, including Misao's past unhappiness.

Aoshi is a psychologist's field day as a character, really. He's a perfect example of what shrinks call a "solitary" and "vigilant" personality style. Interestingly, children often can bring out inner emotional aspects of these types that no one else can. Misao is definitely childlike in many ways. Their pairing is very psychologically grounded. It explains why in my story, he and Kenji have a rapport, too. He understands his daughter better than you think too. His main problem with her is she's too much like him. (I think Misao said that somewhere.)

Also, don't you see history repeating itself in Kenji and Yuki's little battles? Remember in the past, Aoshi and Kenshin were deadly enemies, all of Aoshi's making. Yuki is repeating her father's mistakes, although on a smaller scale. Kharma can be a biyatch.

I also like Saitou, he adds a lot to RK, even if you hate him. I appreciate evil wit and a guy who can laugh and explain his philosophy of life while he's killing someone who drinks the blood of women and children. Uswei gave me chills worse than Shishio. I actually jumped and yelled "Yes!" when Saitou pinned him to the wall. I'm not exactly a pacifist, I guess. Aku Soku Zan is just plain righteous. If someone killed me, I'd want someone to kill them back. I'm an eye for an eye kind of person in some ways.

It was watching the Kyoto arc over again on anime and then re-reading the manga that gave me a lot of my ideas and premise for this story. Also, I don't feel like a old lady lecher lusting over Hiko-san. Love that hair. Muscles aren't too shabby either. Nice ass. slapping myself with a cold wet towel, whimper, whispering to self, "He's only ink, he's only ink."