Isamu

Face-up artist(s):

BlueSand Aesthetics

Modifications artist(s):

Me (for the root-like webbing over the right eye)

Date of acquisition:

September 05, 2020

Provenance:

Ordered via a local dealer who specializes in Chinese brands.

Reason for choice:

Closed-eye (but non-winking) sculpt

Best Points:

Body: resin feels quite heavy, fairly good poser (he is the easiest to sit seiza-style of my male dolls)

Worst Points:

Head: the s-hook hole is rather narrow, and his mouth is sculpted a little too deeply (his teeth can only be seen in certain angles)
Body: default hand s-hooks are too large for the tiny wrist channels, the lack of thigh joints mean he has certain posing limitations

Eyes:

SOULinAboxDOLLS Magma

Wig:

Dollmore

Favourite colours:

Blacks and reds, some blues

Fashion style(s):

East Asian traditional, the occasional modern casuals

Name story:

Written as 勇, it means "courage".

Character age:

Mid-twenties, 28 at the start of the L5R timeline

Character gender:

Male, with bisexual tendencies

Offsite roleplay:

This doll's character is not available for offsite roleplay.

EDO PERIOD TIMELINE
Relationship tree here.

Isamu (whose honorary surname is Kuniyuki) was descended from war captives taken during a previous shogun's attempts to conquer a neighboring peninsula. His family was extremely loyal to criminal syndicate matriarch Ozaki Kaguya (also known as Adhara). She took on Isamu as her protege, grooming him to be her true successor and passing over her own grandson in the process.

Even though his relationship with Adhara was strictly platonic, he often clashed with her lover Guórén, who was jealous of the bond they shared. Still, the two of them could work together efficiently, as long as they kept their focus on the task at hand. It would later turn out that Isamu was carrying on an affair with Guórén's wife Hanako (who was more like a sister than a lover to her husband), and the knowledge that Adhara was "safe" from his erstwhile rival's attentions pleased Guórén. He happily overlooked his wife's affair, and Hanako in turn did not show any jealousy over her husband's clear preference for Adhara. In this manner, they all got along splendidly.

L5R RPG TIMELINE
Relationship tree here.

Bayushi Isamu was the first betrothed of Shosuro Kaguya. Even though it was an arranged marriage, and his fiancee was considered to be an unattractive woman, he fell in love with Kaguya after seeing her singing and dancing to herself in the gardens of the Bayushi palace. It took him a long time to convince the suspicious Kaguya of the truth of his feelings, but she eventually grew to return his love. They cohabited even before their actual marriage ceremony, in a relationship that was already that of husband and wife, in fact if not in name.

Unfortunately, hardly a year into their official wedded life together, Isamu's lord was framed for a crime he did not commit. As the trusted right-hand man, Isamu was obliged to follow his superior into exile, leaving behind his beloved wife. Unknown to him, Kaguya was already pregnant with their first child, but ended up losing the baby when news of her husband's loss reached her. It took ten years before Isamu and his lord were reinstated to their rightful positions, but by then, he and Kaguya had drifted apart romantically. Isamu sets her free from her marriage vows, paving the way for Kaguya to be with her lover Ikoma Jinsuke, who had a hand in clearing his name. Still, their separation was amicable, and Kaguya henceforth became his adoptive sister.

Isamu would eventually enter a steady relationship with Matsu Hanako, Jinsuke's former flame, whom he met during the wedding preparations to give Kaguya away to the Lion Clan. Their unintentional "love interest swap" was often a subject of good-hearted teasing between Isamu and Jinsuke, and as brothers-in-law, they got along reasonably well in that regard. Isamu is also the adoptive father of Kaguya and Jinsuke's eldest daughter Kokiden, who had to be raised a Scorpion as per her parents' marriage agreement.

Chemistry by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


Deathdealer 02 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


Ze Boys 1 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr
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