OTAKU EVENT: Poetry (D5, Late Afternoon)

[Shinjo Kemuri]

Out there on the plains
Fast and free is how I ride
Won't you come with me?

It was a poem, technically speaking. It wasn't a good poem, but it did qualify.

Kemuri's kanji, unfortunately, was not as good. In fact, the way the excess ink spread, it didn't even look like kanji. It was, maybe, a kabuto? This was why he didn't write stories down.



The young Marta wasn't much of a poet, and he certainly wasn't a scribe, but he wasn't a bad dancer. With a bit of flair, he showed off his odd creation and departed.

Poetry for the Poetry God: Pass
Fans for the Fan Throne: Fail
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: Pass

2 Points!

[Shinjo Hanashi]

Hanashi spent a good amount of time coming up with an epic bit of poetry.

Then found out at the last second that he'd have to write it all down upon only one side of the fan, and so had to throw most of it out. Fuming a bit he put started drawing the kanji onto the fan, but used common rokugani instead of High and just continued to embarrass himself.

Then in attempting to be fancy, he accidentally used the women's stance for dancing instead of the men's and sent entirely the wrong signals.

About as embarrassed as he could be, he left to find solace in his yurt and some of that tasty sake the Rokugani were raving about.

*************************
Poetry for the Poetry God; TN 15 Artisan: Poetry/Awareness Roll; Void, 2 Raises TN 25: 22 -2 Poetry Points
Fans for the Fan Throne: TN 15 Calligraphy (High Rokugani)/Intelligence: 6 -
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: TN 15 War Fans/Agility; Void for Skill, 1 Raise TN 20: 15 -
-2 Poetry Points Total.

[Kitsune Kumahime]

Of all the things she had thought she'd be called on to do in this miai, a poetry fan dance was not one of them.

Poetry has never been Kumahime's forte, and she manages something incoherent about forests and trees.

To hide her bad poetry, she gets more ambitious, going for more stylized penmanship than legible. Instead, it just turns out a horrible mess.

Knowing her work so far is a disaster, she pours all of her energy into this final fan dance. Unfortunately, most of her training into pouring energy into physical activities centers around hitting things really hard, so she wields her mess more like a club than a fan. It's a good display of clubwork, though.

It isn't until she's leaving the stage that she realizes she just gifted that fan to a judge... and she doesn't even remember which one!

((15 wounds, so no penalty.
Poetry, untrained, TN15: 2d10 7, fail.
Calligraphy, VP for skill, 1R, TN20: 3d10o10k2 9, fail. -1 point.
War Fans, VP for skill, 2R, TN25: 4d10o10k3 20, fail. The mauled bear now has a secret love.
Total: -1 points.))

[Togashi Udo]

Udo came to the event distracted. The miai was changing the last couple of days, going from something fun into something all too serious.

When they asked him to do poetry, Udo attempted to write something that was worthy of the loss of a samurai. No matter what he tried, though, he grew frustrated with the effort. No words seemed to be appropriate for the life of a samurai, and one that had saved so many others.

Less is more, he thought. If one can't express the right words, one shouldn't use words at all.

He took a brush and a fan and hastily, sloppily wrote a single word on it. Turning toward the Otaku running the event, Udo still felt the frustration of failure. He did his best to put on a performance. He opened and closed the fan quickly, smoothly, but too fast for the word to be seen.

Tired of this performance, Udo gracefully opened the fan to reveal the word "fallen." He then dropped the fan, bowed to the Otaku, and left the building.

---

Poetry Points = -2

[Kaiu Hiroji]

"Poetry":
Through the Woods.
There are.
Frogs.
Chirping like frogs.
And Rocks rocking softly in the air.

Hiroji despaired over the poem. What did people see in this pointless drivel of rhyming words on paper. He finally went with a somewhat (he thought) alright looking poem, which he transcribed carefully on a fan given to him by one of the Otaku.
Then he presented the fan, or at least he tried to, falling over his steps and accidentally flashing the fan to one of the Otaku judges. He hoped his slight would be ignored and left the trial, slightly flustered.

[OOC:
Poetry for the Poetry God: http://orokos.com/roll/508016
Fans for the Fan Throne: http://orokos.com/roll/508021 Success. 1 Point.
Flash Some Peeps: Void Point for skill. Using Lowest Dice. http://orokos.com/roll/508031 FAIL!

Total: 1 Poetry Point (No surprise there), 1 Secret Love (Wonder if it's an Orochi...)]

[Usagi Tsukimi]

... What.

Poetry, okay. Tsukimi was no poet, no artisan, she was a bushi, but she was always willing to try something new.

So she tried, and found she did not suck at poetry. This was news. It worked.

Then she wrote out her crafted poem on her fan, and didn't smudge any of the ink! What good fortune!

Lastly, she had to... present the fan. This was not dancing. Tsukimi could dance, but this was entirely different. She presented to a passing mark from the judges, and left the event with her head held high that she had succeeded in the task set out before her.

Artisan: Poetry/Awareness TN 15 Void 1k1: 4d10k4 20 = 1 Poetry pt
Calligraphy (High Rokugani)/Intelligence TN 15 Void 1k1: 3d10k3 18 = 1 Poetry pt
War Fans/Agility TN 15: 3d10k3 19 = 1 Poetry pt
= 3 Poetry pts

[Matsu Yurio]

Poetry . . .



Ah well, Yurio would do his best. The subject matter had to be his favourite of course. He was rather hazy on the syllable formation though.

Do you like cats?
I totally love cats.
Want to be my kitten?

Yes! That was winning poetry. Now to write it. In his excitement it was a bit smudged, but the important words of 'cats' and 'kitten' were easily visible.

Now to flash the signs! Well Yurio would have preferred it to be a dance more than a set of war fan signals, but he went for it. Total style and completely not inappropriate for the time of day at all. The only way he could have been more scandalous would have been to do it naked and give it to a male Otaku.

Then he reached the judges. He thrust out the fan for viewing and was then rather surprised as the Otaku took the fan off him without any further refusals.

OH KAMI. I DID NOT MEAN TO DO THAT!!! I so hope the Crane aren't watching.



The Crane were totally watching.

/ooc

Poetry for the Poetry God: VP for skill, 2 CR, TN 25 = 18 = -2 Poetry Points
Fans for the Fan Throne: unskilled TN 15 = 10 = nothing
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: VP for skill, 2 CR, TN 25 = 24 = -2 Poetry Points . . . or 0 Poetry Points when I actually read it right.

Magnificently Overconfident Total of -2 Poetry Points.

Achievement Otaku otaku kitteh fan unlocked.

[Moto Baatar]

How fortunate that Moto Baatar had been studying eastern poetry! Eagerly, he applied himself to composing an elegant poem in the tanka style. He even remembered the Crane's advice, that a proper poem should have a seasoning reference.

He hurriedly slopped ink onto the fan, trying to capture his inspiration on paper before the moment was lost. Some of the ink smeared a little, but this didn't matter, he decided; such trivial things were nothing when compared to true artistry.

As the Otaku judges called Baatar's name, the young Unicorn marched over and displayed his handiwork with a dramatic flourish:

Under the moonlight
Her body shimmers in silk
Skin pale as yak milk
Into her tent I hurry
She tastes like lemon curry

--
Poetry for the Poetry God with 2 called raises, Artisan: Poetry 23 missed TN25, -2 Poetry points
Fans for the Fan Throne, Calligraphy 12 missed TN15
Flash Cute Peeps, War Fans 25 hits TN15, +1 Poetry point

Total: -1 Poetry points.

[Doji Ameka]

Poetry. Poetry? Really? She was a visual person... words weren't really her forte. Otherwise she would presumably have been trained as a courtier. Oh, well... time to do her best regardless.

She chewed her lip for a few minutes. Words just weren't coming. Something... naturey? And... Like... maybe sweet? Allude without being direct. Something about plum blossoms, maybe... The candy she'd made earlier had been plum flavored... she kind of wanted to eat one... Thus distracted, she managed to compose a poem without second-guessing herself, coming out with something very passable for her lack of training with the subject.

The calligraphy wasn't fancy, but then, she didn't even try with that.

Now came the worst part... physical coordination. Keeping up movement and flashing fans long enough and not keel over gasping for breath. She went for broke, creating an elaborate yet subtle flow of movement, making the words appear and disappear just long enough, and wrapping it up with a winning yet demure smile.

Somehow, despite all odds being against it, the whole thing went off without a hitch. She even managed not to fall over until she got back to her yurt.

~~~

Artisan: Poetry: Success, 2 Poetry Points
Calligraphy: Success, 1 Poetry Point
War Fans: ................. Success, 3 Poetry Points

Total: 6 Poetry Points

[Moshi Asakiko]

The Moshi had prayed to her ancestors for aid to do this. And she started with a simple poem.
Beautiful Sun Light
Dance around the rain drops
Colors of wind blow

Asakiko took the brush to mark the fan as her hand was guided by her ancestral spirits.

She used the warfans gracefully even if Asakiko didn't have a clue of what she was doing.

****

Artisan Poetry TN 15 unskilled +3 from spell: 3d10k3+3 17 passed
Calligraphy TN 15 +3 from spell: 4d10o10k3+3 18 passed
Warfans untrained TN 15 +3 from spell: 3d10k3+3 27 passed

3 points

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Shinjo Liu Yue arrived in her kimono. She had thoughts of Mizuki racing through her mind, images of that night of bliss both pleasing her and haunting her. That moment of Desire had marred her forever more. But the beautiful Yogo was not to receive this poem. Her soul turned to Taira and the suffering she inflicted upon him. On her draft paper she wrote:

The flower is charred.
But pincers long to grasp it.
Since beauty remains.
May it never wilt away.
Despite the missing petals.

She looked upon it and nodded solemnly in approval for her work. She took the fan and stared at the brush set. Coming up with the words in Rokugani was difficult enough. Writing casually was still difficult for her! Time to get this over with. Her first stroke was an immense failure but still she persevered.

The burnt flower got to her feet with her imperfect fan in hand. She was glad now that she had some prior experience with using it to conceal her expression. Each verse was revealed after a spectacular swing with skill she did not know she possessed. In that moment of performance she knew when to reveal her scars, when to reveal her charming smile, when to reveal her longing eyes.

When she gave her final bow, she was simply shocked by how well she had done.

---

Poetry for the Poetry God TN 25 (2 CR): 27 Success! (+3 Poetry Points)
Fans for the Fan Throne TN 15: 11 Failure! (+0 Poetry Points)
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps TN 25 (2 CR): 34 Success! (+3 Poetry Points)

Total: 6 Poetry Points

[Doji Fukawa]

Fukawa felt like she was under massive pressure. As a prominent Crane at the miai, it was up to her to uphold the Crane's reputation for the arts. She was normally an adequate poet, but adequate was not going to impress the judges here. But to reach for the limits in poetry meant risking total poetry failure. Did she want to be rememebered as the Crane who wrote epicly bad poetry? Could she survive as the Crane who was merely adequate? She channel her desires, fears, and talent into the poem...and came up with one that was very very good.

Poetry God: 3 CR, 33 vs TN 30, pass! 4 points

Next, she needed to ink her masterful poem on to a fan. She really did not want to risk any of the poem with adding too much flair on the inking. Perhaps she should have pushed it more. The judges seemed to think she wasn't living up to her full potential.

Fan Throne, 25 vs TN 15, Pass 1 Point

And now came the presentation. These last moments were stressful, so Fukawa tried very hard to make sure the poem was displayed properly without ripping the fan......

And she succeeded, but again the judges wondered if she was holding back too much

Cute Peeps: 22 vs 15, Pass 1 Point

Total points: 6 out of 9

[Ryuuta Tsume]

Tsume makes an amazing poem about the fishwives of Yasuki Yashiki. Surely there is nothing wrong with this poem.

Bringing every bit of her determination to bear she smudges some ink across a perfectly good fan. Even she is unable to put a good light on what has happened. This does have the side benefit of making the poem difficult to read at least.

Finally she brings forth a few afternoons of martial training she had as a child to try and at least present it dramatically. Unfortunately, the flourishes she adds to try and hide the flaws causes her to drop the fan. A day of unmitigated failure.

Tsume offers bows and quits the field as quickly as honor allows.

OOC: 0 Poetry points.

[Soshi Taira]

Fans. Poetry.

Oh damn it all, what was this?

Still, Taira sat, and after some thought, composed a passable poem.

What I show to you,
Hides my heart, within my chest,
a fire still burning.


Then he remembered his morning, and his hands shook just enough that he splattered ink all over the face of the fan.

Expression like stone, he picked it up, walked over to the judges, held it in front of his face, snapped it open and shut twice, and then calmly walked from the room, only the ramrod rigidity in his back revealing his frustration.
___

Tn 15: Surprisingly got it, http://orokos.com/roll/508111 1 point
Tn 15+10: aaand "surprisingly failed" http://orokos.com/roll/508112 -2 points
TN 15: failed. http://orokos.com/roll/508113

Final: -1 points.

[Soshi Bantu]

Far from his strongest field, Bantu still dragged himself to the Admin Center to participate in the newest challenge.

Poetry? Really? Bantu thought as he had the rules laid out for him and tried to compose something suitable. It ended up being acceptable if not exceptional, but hopefully good enough.

He was much more comfortable in scribing it upon the fan he was provided, the ridges and grooves proving no obstacle to his wonderful brush strokes.

Thankfully the ink had dried before he began to perform the intricate movements of the warfan kata because he managed to drop one of the fans and ruin the performance, but the judges still seemed more impressed than not with his performance.


--------------------------------------------------------
Poetry for the Poetry God: TN15: 3d10 16 = Success = 1 point
Fans for the Fan Throne. Vp for skill, 2 CR. TN25: 5d10o10k4 37 = Success = 3 points
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps. VP for skill. 1 CR TN20: 4d10o10k3 18 Fail
Total = 4 points