Total Victory - page 1

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a photo comic

words by Andrew Toskin, writing as Niccolo Florence

photography by hikaru starr

Heroics and deception in ancient Japan.

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Original comic script

Panel 1: HIK_7787.JPG \u2014 wooden box kanji lamp

\t\t\t\tTITLE AND BYLINE
\t\tTotal Victory
\t\twords by Niccolo Florence
\t\tphotography by hikaru starr

Panel 2: HIK_7637.JPG \u2014 dandelion cotton weed thing

\t\tIt began on a summer day, or an autumn day, depending on who
\t\tyou ask. Probably somewhere in those couple weeks where the
\t\twaves of heat and crisp cool march in tandem.

\t\tThis was back before Edo\u2019s immortal hero was a lord, when
\t\this name was still Tsukiakari, which means something like
\t\t*the glow of the moon*, for he was crafty and could spot
\t\tanswers when the night was too dark for others.

Panel 3: HIK_7654.JPG \u2014 gentle colors, red and purple
leaves over a green stripe

\t\tMost of the elders these days seem to \u201cremember\u201d Edo as
\t\thaving always been, from the beginning, the splendid city of
\t\tthe Floating World you know today, but this was long before
\t\tthen: Edo was but a fishing village.

Panel 4: HIK_7697.JPG \u2014 HDR, intense red and orange and yellow

\t\tAnd one day, one of the fishing boats dragged up a human,
\t\twho wriggled in the nets with the suffocating fish until
\t\tthey could pull him onto deck. And then they saw the mud
\t\tcovering his wounds, and he bled to death before they could
\t\tcarry him to shore.

Panel 5: HIK_7709.JPG \u2014 yellow autumn trees dripping leaves
over a lake

\t\tAnd then the first fire spread through the village, leaving
\t\ta smear of ash where houses once stood.

\t\tUnderstand, even tiny fishing villages can have rivals.
\t\tEdo\u2019s enemy of the day was a bitter collection of huts and
\t\tpaddies at the time known as Doro. The homes of Doro were
\t\tsinking into the mud like modern Venice, see, and the people
\t\tlooked with ambition upon their neighbors.

\t\tAnd the people of Doro had a new champion.

Panel 6: HIK_7723.JPG \u2014 green underlit trees, and a grassy
bridge

\t\tThe oni from Doro trampled the homes and fields of Edo
\t\tdaily, demanding that someone offer him a challenge. He
\t\tcursed an entire day\u2019s worth of fish to rot, he desiccated
\t\tthe rice field beyond what any amount of rain or flooding
\t\tcould revive.

\t\tHis was a ferociously ugly mug \u2014 blue-skinned, wild of hair,
\t\tand long of horn and tooth. The oni stripped off his tiger
\t\tskins and roared for another duel, and he slew the few who
\t\tjoined the contest, and he slew the many who did not. And he
\t\tset more fires.

Panel 7: DSC_6382.jpg \u2014 flowers tacked to a door.

\t\tUntil at last Edo mustered its own champion.

\t\tTsukiakari gathered the other peasants together at dusk and
\t\tannounced he would save them.

Panel 8: HIK_7735.JPG \u2014 blue-lit fog and rocks under a tree.

\t\tSome of the fishers tried to talk sense into Tsukiakari as
\t\the stuffed sprigs of holly under his belt and hoisted his
\t\tpet monkey to his shoulder \u2014 both of which were rumored to
\t\tward against evil spirits.

Panel 9: HIK_7741.JPG \u2014 blue fog with a white spotlight

\t\tBut Tsukiakari took his sword, which is also rumored to be
\t\tthe enchanted gift of a fallen ronin, and headed out into
\t\tthe night without another word.

Panel 10: HIK_1642.JPG \u2014 line of butterflies hanging from the
ceiling.

\t\tSome dozen young men watched breathlessly as Tsukiakari
\t\tdisappeared into the fog\u2026 and they followed him, to watch.

Panel 11: HIK_4490.JPG \u2014 the warrior prince / parade float.

\t\tAnd in the morning, the people of Edo woke early hearing the
\t\tboys singing tales of battle.

Panel 12: HIK_4141.JPG \u2014 Firework globe.

\t\tTsukiakari returned, covered in green blood, dragging the
\t\thead of the oni. And the people joined the chorus.

\t\tThey called him Lord, then. They changed his name:

Panel 13: HIK_4188.JPG d\u2014 Spectacular fireworks, with people below,
taking pictures on their phones.

\t\t*Hanabi*.

Panel 14: HIK_4248.JPG \u2014 women in kimono on the sidewalk watching
fireworks bloom over a bridge.

\t\tThe fishers strove to catch more and bigger fish for the
\t\tevening\u2019s feast. Fireworks bloomed in the air over Edo to
\t\tcelebrate the end of the fires on the ground.

Panel 15: HIK_4181.JPG \u2014 palm tree and firework.

\t\tThe boys in Lord Hanabi\u2019s entourage said to each other, \u201cDid
\t\tyou see when he spit the poison holly berries? Did you catch
\t\twhen his sword drank the oni\u2019s blood?\u201d

\t\tAnd the people asked the boys, \u201cAnd Hanabi received not a
\t\tscratch, in the whole battle?\u201d

\t\tAnd everyone agreed on their collective amazement.

Panel 16: HIK_4267.JPG \u2014 half a firework bursts around the
edges of a skyscraper

\t\tThe oni\u2019s head stood on a spear in the village center for
\t\tseveral days. Old Saito says he still remembers the look of
\t\tanguish on the monster\u2019s face, frozen in place as the oni
\t\tfinally received the resounding defeat he\u2019d asked for so
\t\tmany times.

\t\tYamaoka, however, who can be unusually perceptive sometimes,
\t\ttells me he at first guessed the oni wore a look of
\t\t*betrayal*.

Panel 17: HIK_4226.JPG \u2014 people sitting out in the streets
at night, waiting

\t\tLord Hanabi left the festival early, retiring to his hut. He
\t\tsipped cold tea leftover from that morning, and stared
\t\tblankly out the window.

\t\tI was there with him, feeling the same warm adulation for
\t\thim as the others. At the time, I wondered what he must have
\t\tbeen thinking.

\t\tI think I have a good guess now.

Panel 18: HIK_7775.JPG \u2014 starkly lit bamboo stalks over
black background

\t\tSee, Doro would soon be a nonissue; he would rip them out by
\t\tthe roots and leave them to dry in the sun\u2026 but there
\t\twould always be more oni \u2014 or kappa, or tengu \u2014 and he would
\t\talways be ready for them. He would have to be ready. He
\t\twould always need to keep a sword and handful of herbs or
\t\tbones or stones on hand. The upkeep involved in having a
\t\treputation is a lot of work.

\t\tFor one thing, the oni can grow their heads back if severed
\t\timproperly, and they are usually pretty grumpy by the time
\t\tthey\u2019re fully *recapitated*.

Panel 19: HIK_7755.JPG \u2014 tree trunk with ragged burlap sash
thing tied around its waist\u2026

\t\tI imagine the prospect must have been exhausting just to
\t\tconsider. Lord Hanabi won a few hundred worshippers, and
\t\the would have to continue actually protecting them for this
\t\tto last, for the homes and people of Edo were a
\t\tdisaster-prone lot.

\t\tThere would always be more spirits, monsters, and fires
\t\tdevastating Edo, and Lord Hanabi would always stand
\t\tprepared.

Panel 20: HIK_7761.JPG \u2014 Zen garden mirrored by the lake on
the bottom half of the frame

\t\tAnd he had to be careful to spin this as luck or a virtue,
\t\t*instead of a scheme*.

END.

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