OTAKU EVENT: Poetry (D5, Late Afternoon)

[Kakita Nanami]

Nanami looked up from her work, nodding appreciatively to herself - and then glanced back over it, making sure every stroke was perfect. Suddenly, rereading the poem, she frowned.

"Oh no." She'd miscounted - there was too many syllables. Shinjo was two syllables! She sighed softly and shook her head. Still, she rose to her feet, looking confident and flashed the fan with all the gusto she could muster. She was, after all, Crane, and could flash with the best of them.

OOC Rolls:
Poetry for the Poetry God!: Artisan: Poetry / Awareness (1 Void for 1k1, 2 Raises called) vs. TN25 - 23 (Fail, -2 Points)
Fans for the Fan Throne!: Calligraphy (High Rokugani) / Intelligence (1 Void for 1k1, 2 Raises Called) vs. TN25 - 25 (Success, 3 Points)
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps!: War Fans / Agility vs. TN15 - 15 (Success, 1 Point)
Total: 2 Points

[Ichiro Daisuke]

Poetry... Daisuke knew in his heart he should skip this, if his sisters got wind of how he tried his hand at it. Well, he would likely hear the laughter for years to come. Still he had admired the Otaku he had spoken with, so skipping one of their events wasn't something he wished to do.

Starting with the poem he did what he could, and honestly he thought it was good. It wasn't his fault that he didn't remember to count the syllables at the end of it.. ( instead of seven wasn't to bad though was it?

The writing on the fan was the hardest part, he'd never tried such a thing before and in his struggle to find the best way to write on it he kept flipping the fan in different directions, resulting in a few of the kanji being upside.

Still he was not deterred. He'd at least give the atrocious thing to someone! That was the point of all this right. Amazingly enough in this he actually succeeded, his natural grace letting him somehow muddle through.

((OOc)

Poetry for the Poetry god: 1 raise, void = 16 Failed - 1 points

Fans for the Fan throne: Calligraphy = 7 Failed 0 points

Flashing them baby blues: ! raise void for skill = 31 Pass + 2 points

Total: 1 Point

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo comes into the event distracted and it shows in her poetry selection. However, she cannot get the words out of her head. It seems as if they roam her mind. The last two lines are weak and hurried but she just wishes this to be over.

Rain pours down to hide
What should have been joyous
Now to be erased

I hate poetry
It is merely a pretty lie

She takes a deep breath and writes it delicately onto the fan. It seems as if her sword technique and control have some benefit here. She writes the characters surprisingly well and clearly.

She strides onto the field, fan in hand. She has practiced with her warfan by herself, but has no great skill. Her movements are basic, but proficient. She finishes her work and ends the attempt, not even stopping to see the next presenters.

Another event where I cannot shine.


/ooc

Poetry selection: Picking a poem, no raises, one void, TN 15: 3d10k2 8 + 0 pts

Writing on a fan: Calligraphy time, one void, one raise, TN 20: 4d10k3 26 + 2 pts

Fan dance: Fan dance roll, no void, no raises, TN 15: 3d10k3 17+1 pt

3 pts

[Otomo Tenzo]

While well-read and well-versed in historical knowledge, travelogues, and all sorts of nonfictional matters, Tenzo had not ever been one for poetry and prose, as he showed the Otaku with his stilted poetic ramblings. Neither had he worked on transferring calligraphic work so intricately on a fan before, being much more used to the simplicity of both parchment and paper, and that he also showed the Otaku judges with the noticeable smudges in his brushwork. And for rarely having need to use a fan in such a manner, the Otomo certainly surprised himself on his flashing skills more than anyone. Alas, today was just not the day for this little not-so-artistic Imperial.

Poem: a mighty terrible FAIL of a poem! (-1)
Fan: a not-so-bad but still FAIL of a fan! (0)
Flash!: PASS (+1)

0 Poetry Points

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki wasn't really a poet, but inspiration hits, and she comes out with a decent poem.

However, in her hurry to write it down, she makes some smudges.

Finally, she flashes her fan acceptably.

Total: 1 Point

[Miya Mei]

Mei bows to all of the Otaku present and closes her eyes, mumbling softly as she thinks of a poem. After a few moments, she clears her throat and speaks softly

"As twilight settles
Maidens ride under moon light
silent as the night"

She bows again and sits into the seiza position, sitting on her feet, back straight. She picks up the calligraphy brush and gives slow, deliberate strokes to the fan. A few moments pass and she finishes, standing up and hiding her face behind it. She picks one of the judges and locks eyes, beginning a dance...

and promptly trips on the edge of her kimono, dropping the fan from her face, revealing a scowl.

She quickly gathers herself, bows, and rushes out of the administration center.

----Rolls----
[D5 LA] Artisan: Poetry/Awareness + 1k0 Void, 1 Raise TN 20: 4d10o10k3 20 +2 PP
[D5 LA] Calligraphy/Intelligence + 1k1 Void 1 Raise TN 15: 3d10 17 +1 PP
[D5 LA] War Fans/Agility + 1k1 Void 1 Raise TN 15: 3d10 9 +0 PP

Total: 3 PP

Edit: Total=1PP for accidentally leaving 1 Raise in roll description. oops!!!

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Dong-Ha had never been much of a poet, with esoteric studies have occupied most of his time. That didn't mean he was alien to the concept, however. Figuring he needed the blessings of his ancestors, the young mystic reached to touch of one his charms, running his fingers over the copper wire cradling the amulet, causing the positive energies of Fire flow through his body. Then he moved to touch his 'lucky amulet', a small chunk of amber dangling from a leather cord.

Figuring he had secured the best possible luck for himself, the man set to work. He tapped on the works of Moto Haddaw whose works he had stumbled upon some years earlier thanks to his mother's eccentric tastes.

What is love,
Benten don't hurt me,
no more.

It was by no means a masterpiece, but would probably pass as an acceptable attempt from someone who had never written a poem before.

恋をする事って、何々、
弁天神いい加減にして、
我輩もう我慢できない。

However, Dong-Ha's brushwork was top-notch as he was being able to draw from the lessons of his youth and the vibrant memories of his father mauling his fingers with a wooden cane whenever he botched a characters. Several painful lessons and broken bones later, no-one could have complaint about his writing.

Grabbing his fan, the young mystic did his best to perform before the Otaku judges, wiggling both his fan and his eyebrows in what he presumed was 'seductive' manner. A dance step followed another, with Dong-Ha trying to move as slowly as possible while maintaining a sense of motion. He didn't really want to try to move any faster, fearing he'd trip over his hem. Even if his fan-work was far from acceptable, the judges let him pass.

How the Ide did all this?
________________
Rolls here. 5 points. 3 Fire spell slots used, two Water spells slots used, one Void spell slot used.

[Otaku Imane]

Frankly the last thing on Imane's mind today was poetry. After the sudden death of Chi-Pu her focus was elsewhere. Still, this was an Otaku event, so she felt she had to take part.

Unfortunately, while a fairly competent musician, poetry was an art form that was rather lost on the little battle maiden...

My horse is nice,
We all can agree,
Now I need a husband,
For a family of three.

Well, the rhythm was good. Next up was the art, in which she was approximately half as skilled. Whereas a rainbow worked quite well on Almatar it made the fan look gaudy and childish. She hated it.

All that was left was the fan dance. Thankfully Imane was already a talented dancer and she pulled out one of the best performances of her life. The badly painted fan was a blur of colour in her hands that made up for its garishness, and in the end the audience's eyes were on Imane, rather than her creation...

-------
Rolls

D5 Poetry event. Roll 1. Poetry/Awareness. TN15: 2d10 8 +0 Poetry points.

D5 Poetry event. Roll 2. Calligraphy/Intelligence. Void for skill. 1CR. TN20: 3d10o10k2 4 -1 Poetry point.

D5 Poetry event. Roll 3. Warfans/Agility. Void for skill. 1CR. TN20: 4d10o10k3 44 +2 Poetry points.

Grand total: 1 Poetry point.

[Asako Hirase]

One would think that a trained courtier would be good at poetry.

In the case of Hirase, one would be painfully wrong.

The verse itself started out in a bad place. After all, the woman that he would have liked to have flattered with such a display had fallen and he'd learned of it very recently, leaving him...well. 'Out of sorts' was probably the most accurate.

"Blushing violet blooms
Vital glory, unbending
Meido's treasure now."

That was, if heartfelt, more than a bit morose. Still, pain motivates art, it was said, and certainly the brushwork that followed was lovely, the ink seeming to weep across the silk.

His flourish to the judges ended with a bow towards the new crater in the field, the last place where the one he would have chosen had touched the soil of Ningen-Do.

Quietly, with his head bowed, the Asako left the gathering.

Part 1: -1 Point
Part 2: 2 points
Part 3: 1 point

Net: 2 points and a case of the sads.

[Seppun Hideo]

Poetry? On a day with death? It seemed an odd choice, but the Unicorn were quite unique. His mind was distracted as he wrote the poem though;

in falls sudden storm
the warmth of the beating rain
Makes the time stand still

Hideo thought he'd found a lovely poem. He presented it with perfect writing, and performed the dance with no issues. It made him smile as he walked away

(OOC: rolls
D5 LA Poetry event - Poetry for the Poetry God. Poetry/Awareness unskilled TN15: 3d10 14 0 points
D5 LA Poetry event - Fans for the Fan Throne. Calligraphy/Int. TN15+2 raises (TN25) vp spent: 5d10o10k4 37 3 points
D5 LA Poetry event - Now Flash Some Cute Peeps War Fans/Agility TN15+1 raise. VP for skill: 4d10o10k3 23

5 points total)

[Seppun Aramoro]

After commanding the kami to his will after some duress, the Seppun delved into the centre of his soul to gain a deep felt emotion and worded it into his mind:

Once filled with high hope
having lost what was granted
now filled with blackness

He took his brush and paused, imagining it in his mind's eye. His hand followed it most elegantly onto paper. He was caught in an emotional state by what he saw once he opened his eyes to the fan as a whole, it hit him where he felt the most.

He took a few minutes before presenting it to the judges, using his connection to his soul one last time for the event. He could barely keep his composure, but prevailed.

Perhaps I will keep you, my little soul child he looked at his fan as he danced with it.

Mental Quickness TN31(2CR) 19 Fail (forgot about Black Scrolls)
Mental Quickness 2 TN31(2CR) 35 Succeed

Poetry for the Poetry God. Poetry/Awareness VPskilled TN20 40 succeed with 1 raise= 2pts
Fans for the Fan Throne. Calligraphy/Int. TN30 (3 Raises)+ VP 73 succeed with 3 = 4 pts
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps War Fans/Agility TN15 VP for 1k116 succeed =1 pt

Total=7pts

Damn you Orkos, I see what your are doing...

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru had little experience when it came to crafting poetry, which was something she would typically leave to her more sociable cousins. There wasn't a need for her to trade cryptic romantic missives for would-be lovers or venomous dead threats with her would-be enemies. However, her Bayushi blood demanded that she try her hand at it, at least. Sometimes even a Scorpion might even surprise herself that she knew how to swim all along! All part of the plan.

She wrestled with trying to craft a poem worthy of putting into writing. Surely topics like yearning and love might have been overdone by now and no need for her to dip into territory that was already commonplace. Instead, she focused on sticking to what she knew. When something dawned on her, she picked up the brush and began putting her thoughts on the fan:

Holy beacon to man,
Heavenly holy gateway,
Majestic Torii

...She wasn't stretching her creative muscles very much, to be truthful, but she managed to sell her barely passable poem with artful writing. Each character was balanced with even pauses and smooth strokes.

With her fan in hand, snapped it open with a flashy flourish. Oh, snap! Hotaru smiled winningly and presented her fan forward to the judge.

Poetry for the Poetry God: (Pass)
Fans for the Fan Throne: (Pass w/2 raises, just)
Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: (Pass)

Total Poetry Point: 5

[Moto Khulun]

Khulun is just bad at poems, but not so bad at dancing with fans.

OOC: Poem TN 15 - Poetry for the Poetry God: 2d10 9, Calligraphy TN 15 - Fans for the Fan God: 2d10 13, and War Fans TN 15 - Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: 4d10o10k3 16 for a total of 1 point.

[Seppun Hitako]

Hitako had learned many things. Some from her mother, some from her father, some from her first sensei, and a lot from her last sensei. But one thing that had never been covered was how to craft a poem. So, she called on the kami to guide her ancestor's to guide her.

Too bad she got the one that also hadn't learned to create poetry. 'Lets see, that's 5 syllables in the first line, 6 in the second, and 7 in the third. That's right, isn't it?' She felt the spirit agreeing, then returning to the Heavens.

She might not know how to construct a poem, but she did know how to write. She had a great deal of skill in this area, and the fan was practically a work of art! It was interesting, and actually could look different as different folds were opened or closed. If that was all she had needed to do, she knew she would have won this contest.

But, she had to flash it to someone. But, with her skill in writing it, she was able to twist her hand back and forth, and make the judges almost think the poem itself was good. Almost. It was a masterful display.

She finished the event, and headed to side, to await her score.


__________

Casting Never Alone, TN 16: 21 to succeed. +3 to all rolls for 5 rounds, or till I fail one.

Poetry for the Poetry God: Artisan: Poetry/Awareness, NA, TN 12: 9, failure. Bad poem. 0 points.

Fans for the Fan Throne: Calligraphy/Intelligence, Prodigy, 2 CR, VP for 1k1, TN 25: holy crap, 61! +3 points.

Now Flash Some Cute Peeps: War Fan/Agility, VP for 1k0, 1 CR, TN 20: What the crap? 51! +2 points.

If my math works out, I got 5 points.

[Ide Samai]

Samai felt nervous... poetry was a wonderful thing that she didn't do often. Still, she took her brush, and thought about a poem powerful enough for the purpose. Aha!

Purple is pretty
Powerful prose planting purpose
Proven plainly

There! Purple was the best color of course. Surely everyone would appreciate it! Sure, some of the word choice wasn't perfect, but her artistic integrity didn't allow her to sway from it.

The... powerful poem was planted onto the pretty fan with exell- pretty penmanship.

Unfortunately her waving around the fan of destiny did not, technically, constitute dancing.

-------------

OOC:
Poetry God: -2 Poetry points
Fan Throne: +3 Poetry points
Cute Peeps: 0 Poetry points

Total: 1 Poetry point