Game On (D3 LE - VERY OPEN)

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Well, I mean I have a bunch of the koku coins that the empire uses. The Ide took care of trading out other stuff and figuring out the whole exchange thing."

Tsume's eyes shine bright for a moment.

"That would be perfectly acceptable, Monkhbaatar-san."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Well then, let's find some dice. I'm not sure what the dice are supposed to look like though," he says with a shrug.

[Doji Fukawa]

"I have never met a samurai who proclaimed 'all I want is to be partially honorable!' The goal should always be for the most desirable thing, with the recognition that one might not reach it."

Udo plays another stone onto the Go board and then looks back up at the Doji. "If I had been sent here to solidify an alliance or something similar, that would be the goal. But I was sent here as a gesture of our interest in the Unicorn Clan and our growing friendship. As long as I give no offense, my Clan will be pleased with the results... so why not aim for love?"

Udo shrugs a little. "Though it is an awfully short time to find it. Perhaps I will find it like a lightning strike: sudden and fierce."

Fukawa puts another stone on the board.

"Hopefully the friendship between the Dragon and Unicorn will grow, as will the friendship that the Crane have with the Dragon and desire with the Unicorn." she says.

She looks over the board.

"Ah, but love. An interesting path you've set yourself on, Togashi-san. One could say that half the artistic works in the Empire are about how wonderful love is, and the other half is about the tragedy is causes." she says. "Of course, I'll hope for the best for you."

[Togashi Udo]

He takes note of her move and plays his own. "Love certainly has its troubles," he agreed. "But nevertheless I shall also hope for you, Doji-san. Perhaps it is not your goal, but it certainly would not go amiss."

"At the very least, I think friendships will continue to grow. It seems that most are getting along splendidly."

[Doji Fukawa]

He takes note of her move and plays his own. "Love certainly has its troubles," he agreed. "But nevertheless I shall also hope for you, Doji-san. Perhaps it is not your goal, but it certainly would not go amiss."

"At the very least, I think friendships will continue to grow. It seems that most are getting along splendidly."

Fukawa wasn't sure what to make of being wished love, so she responded to the second bit, while playing a stone.

"Well, the Unicorn have been very friendly, and it seems the clans sent the people most likely to be forgiving of the various breaches of etiquette, so they are getting along well."

She looks over the board.

"However, there is still disharmony between the clans. I am somewhat concerned that if the Unicorn start picking up on that, how they will react to that. They remind me about Lady Shinjo being the last to give up on her lost brother. I'm not sure how well they'll take various clan squabbling."

[Togashi Udo]

Udo plays a stone into a ko position.

"There are squabbles, yes. They are like this ko. You cannot immediately take back when I have claimed, but soon you shall and I will be locked out. It could go on like this forever unless the rest of the board changes."

Udo points to the second stone he'd played, symbolizing the Unicorn's arrival.

"This stone may well make the difference, as it forms a bedrock for a new fight to emerge. It is this that might break us out of the ko fight."

Udo sighs. "So what do we hope for? I think the best is for something to create another ko around here," he gestures to the middle of the board, "which shall put all things back in equilibrium." He looks up at the Doji. "The sort of thing an onyx stone might very well do."

[Doji Fukawa]

Fukawa nods, and places a stone.

"Perhaps with a little wisdom, we might see that Togashi-san." she offers. "Of course, often times the problem seems to be too little wisdom."

[Togashi Udo]

"Wisdom is knowing when to direct the horse you're riding, and when to let the horse direct you."

Udo places a stone, but sees that he is beginning to lose the battle. "Is it honorable to continue a battle that is lost?"

[Doji Fukawa]

Fukawa grimaces a bit.

"There you go, throwing around the b-word again, Togashi-san, completely forgetting your initial argument that we're treating this as a simulation of court." she lightly rebukes.

She looks at the board.

"It depends." she decides. "Every moment you continue fighting, is a moment that is lost to the fighting. Sometimes, you can't win the overall conflict, but sometimes there are smaller wins that make staying longer worth it. Other times you're just wasting resources that could have been better used in the next conflict. What think you, Togashi-san?"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Baatar blinked a moment in startlement. "Um... err....." The young Unicorn was afflicted with sudden shyness as Hotaru invited him to her tent. Is this how it works? he wondered. What should I say? What would Khulun do?

"I would be glad to visit your tent, Bayushi-san," he managed to say at last, his cheeks reddening slightly.

Hotaru giggled, Aww, he's blushing! Wait...why is he blushing? "Wonderful, Moto-san! I would be glad to have you over at your convenience. Just let me know a bit in advance and I can get some tea ready."

[Togashi Udo]

Fukawa grimaces a bit.

"There you go, throwing around the b-word again, Togashi-san, completely forgetting your initial argument that we're treating this as a simulation of court." she lightly rebukes.

She looks at the board.

"It depends." she decides. "Every moment you continue fighting, is a moment that is lost to the fighting. Sometimes, you can't win the overall conflict, but sometimes there are smaller wins that make staying longer worth it. Other times you're just wasting resources that could have been better used in the next conflict. What think you, Togashi-san?"

"There are many conflicts in the game. The small conflicts adds up to the big one... I think we can never concede the large conflict, but that perhaps we should cede some of the small."

He pauses for a moment, placing a finger on his chin. "But, what do I know? This is no battle."

He looks down at the board in the hopes of hiding a grin.

[Ryuuta Tsume]

"Well then, let's find some dice. I'm not sure what the dice are supposed to look like though," he says with a shrug.

"They are painted with the words for the elements and winds, they are hard to mistake but it looks like we are mostly set up for go here."

She hunts around and eventually produces a battered set of wooden dice, light brown balsa burned with black words.

"Here we are."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Okay," he says with a nod. "Let's do a test round just so I can see how it works."

[Doji Fukawa]

"There are many conflicts in the game. The small conflicts adds up to the big one... I think we can never concede the large conflict, but that perhaps we should cede some of the small."

He pauses for a moment, placing a finger on his chin. "But, what do I know? This is no battle."

He looks down at the board in the hopes of hiding a grin.

Fukawa nods.

"I think you have a good grasp of the situation, Togashi-san." she replies. "It's good to be able to talk to one such as yourself about such things."

[Togashi Udo]

Udo looks over the board again before replying.

"In my estimation, the enjoyment of a game is more about the opponent than the game itself. If one has a good opponent, winning and losing no longer matters." He nods to the Crane.

"Of course," Udo says with a smile, "I'd still prefer to win." He shrugs. "Regardless, thank you for the game. It was quite enjoyable."