Kyuden Shika

Fujiko was an artist, but one who expressed herself with brush and paint, not word and song. So, when the day's test was announced, she did her best to present her mediocre offering with as much poise as she could.

To speak frankly, her haiku wasn't good, but it was still a victory from her point of view, as she finally managed to not have an issue with her illness this time.

Perhaps someday, she might even actually meet Pei Pei's expectations.

Sky in the heat of summer
Where do you fly, little moth?
This is not a lamp

Words of love (original) fire 2 comp 0 | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 1

one opportunity to cancel strife, another to show off

Words of love (original) air 3 comp 0 | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 1

cancel one strife, show off

words of love (perform) air 3 perform 0 | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 1

cancel one, show off 1

total:
0 rolls passed
3 opportunities to show off
1 opportunity per roll
3 total successes
35 status
44 glory
52 honor

Poetry.

He wrote something passable, so he thought. Then after a closer look, decided to change the subject.

Trying to be a reciting crowd pleaser wasn't his thing. If he'd been allowed to use his family's delivery style, perhaps it would have been better, but a recital simply brought out the displeasing nature of his stare.

Laying in a field
The clouds told us our story
The horse's laughter

It was honestly a bit embarrassing but at least there was only one person there who would get it.

OOC
D4 poetry event, compose/fire, seize the moment | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 3 / Strife: 2

D4 poetry, refine, air/compose | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1

D4 poetry, perform, water/compose? | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 0


1 successful roll, 3 successes total
3 strife
5 opportunities, 2 fire opps to lower strife, 1 air to impress, 1 water to drop 2 strife.
Hikimasu is at 2 strife

Poetry. The one thing expected for most samurai to be able to do. Yet again is the event something that Unsei has no skill in.

One of these days it'll be something I know... Right? There has to be something I can do?

The words danced in her head as she walked into the room and sat down in the great hall. Her heart was already beating in her chest, but she had seen this in the stars. She knew it was coming and yet... she was utterly unprepared for the complete and total ass whooping the stars had planned for her today.

She picked up the brush and thought over a hiaku. Something for the stars, as they were her one true love. They were always there for her, no matter what.

Sparkling so bright
A beauty that knows no bounds
Guide me to safety

The words sat heavily upon the paper. The ink was slow to dry, giving the young woman plenty of time to stare at the complete pile of shit she had composed. Nothing had come of these words and she knew that nobody else would even think that it was okay. Yet it was a pile of shit she had no choice but to keep working on. So, work on she did.

And it sort of worked? She decided to change the first line to something a bit more fitting, but overall while you could polish a turd, it was still, at the end of the day, just a polished shit.

Watching me always
A beauty that knows no bounds
Guide me to safety

Yet even just rewriting that one part made her end on the verge to panic. She felt like all eyes were on her, just like if she was around her family. Even now, she could hear their taunting words in her ears.

'Unsei, why didn't you just spend more time consulting with the stars?'
'Unsei, you idiot! You misread that portent! Even your younger cousin could read it correctly and she can't even read yet!'
'No wonder Benten cursed you. You're so terrible that she took it upon herself to make sure no one would have to deal with you.'

More and more haunting words seemed to overcome her, even as she stood up and tried to recite her small haiku.

And then her voice cracked.

Though she had carried on talking, it was all ruined and she was left on the verge of tears. She knew everybody heard it, just as she had heard everyone elses mistakes. But she wasn't supposed to make mistakes. She wasn't supposed to show that she was bad at things. She was an Imperial. She had to be better than everyone. To show them that the Imperials were better. That's why they were the ruling class.

Yet why wasn't she better?

In the end, she bowed after doing everything necessary and once again ran away from all of her problems before she did actually being crying.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:
(Using the opp to get rid of the strife)
Fire/composition, D4 event. Please pray for me. | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1


(Using one opp here to get rid of a strife. I hadn't meant to keep the last strife/opp die. I was just getting clicky happy xD)
Refine that shit. Air/composition. Wheeze | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 3 / Strife: 5


(Damn. Did somebody say C tier material? I had accidentally forgotten to remove the skill die from the roller, but I didn't keep it)
Performing. Dear god. Anyway. Void/composition | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 1


Most rolls passed: 1
Most opportunities used to show off: 2
Most opportunities used to show off on a single roll: 2
Most total successes: 3
40
51
36

The young Seppun takes a moment to reflect on moments he had on the previous days and reminds himself of a classic tanka that matched what he felt alone the other night, waiting... but no one was there.

From Hantei Genji himself, he writes down

Would we meet again?
Did I truly see you or
you just disappeared?
Hidden behind the sky clouds
the face of the midnight moon.

Yuzu rises up, and despite his juvenile tone of voice pitching up and down, he passes the message across, cooling off his heart.

--
Generations of poetry to choose from: Earth/Composition
| TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1

1 to show off

It’s all about the tone of the speaker: Water/Composition
| TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2

2 to show off

Perform: Earth/Composition to cool passions + Opportunity used from last roll to add a Ring Dice. | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 2

1 to show off

Rolls Passed: 2
Opportunities: 4
Opportunities, single roll: 2
Total Successes: 2
Status: 50
Glory: 46
Honor: 61

It's never been the case that Senseki disliked poetry. He liked it quite a lot, in fact. It's just that the poetry he was most used to was not the kind favoured in courts, and the ones he liked the most were those that would be sang, or recited while one was working... or, if not, poetry that spoke of work and daily life.

Of course there was some poetry that did that and was also favoured in court. Some classics, even.

It was one of those that he tried to remember as he heard the others' recitations. It took him quite some time, but at the end he could finally remember it. It was... a song from a very old collection, if he recalled it correctly. The 'collection of a thousand leaves', or something like that... But then... no, not exactly that. He had heard it from his great-grandfather, once, as he was a kid, he thought. And then his grandfather would recite it again to him - said it was a Sparrow version of the classic... and that it reminded him of his father. Said it reminded them of the importance of their honourable work.

As he stepped forward to recite the poem to Pei pei, he had a serene, easy smile on his face, and he kept it during the recitation and as he explained where he knew the poem from.

It was simple, as it should be. No excesses, nothing beyond a plain recitation and explanation. But it worked. It was calming, and it would probably work to remind others that simple, at times, is actually good - and that by striving to do too much, sometimes we can let time go by.

小山なる
金日野の境に
霍公鳥
鳴く聲聞けば
時過ぎにけり
(koyama naru/ kinbinu no kyou ni/ hototogisu/ naku koe kikeba/ toki suginikeri)

"At the little hill
By the plains of golden sun
When I hear the call
of a little cuckoo's voice -
the sound of time passing by"

(Altered from the Man-yoshu book XIV, poem 3352 )

OOC:
Choosing path B - go with the classics:

B1: Generations of poetry to choose from - Earth/ Composition
D4 MM - Words of love; Go with the Classics, step 1. Earth/ Composition TN 2. | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 2
- 2 successes, 0 opportunities, 2 strife
Passed!

B2: All about the tone of the speaker - Water/ Composition
D4 MM - Words of Love. Step 2 - Tone of the Speaker - Water/ Composition. | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 2
- 2 Successes, 0 Opportunity, 2 Strife
Passed!

B3: Recite - Calming Passions
D4 MM - Words of Love. Step 3 - Caming Passions - Earth/ Composition. 1 VP to Seize the Moment! | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 1
- 2 Successes, 0 Opportunity, 1 Strife
Passed!

3 rolls passed
0 opportunities used to show off
0 opportunities used to show off on a single roll
6 total successes (the simple bare necessities!)
Status 30
Glory 31
Honour?

D4 Event, option A: original work. Spending a Void Point to seize the moment. Composition/Fire.

2 1: spent to show off.

Event, Day 4. Roll #2: Composition/Air

2 1 1. Opportunity spent to show off.

D4 event, roll 3: Recitation. Fire/Composition. Dangerous allure allows for the re-roll of 2 dice.
2

In all: 3 rolls passed, 2 opportunity spent to show off. 1 opportunity spent to show off as highest roll.

Oubaihime stood once again in front of Pei Pei. "Not this one again..."
? "Are you going to speak girl."

Oubaihime smiled. "Hai..."

Beautiful Forest
Whispers in wind flowers bloom
Rain washes our pain


//D4 MM Event Composition attempt at something creative Fire approach | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 0


D4 MM Event working out Kinks of what could be called a poem? Air approach | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 2


D4 MM Event Reciting in a friendly matter (composition) Water approach | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1

Use opportunity to remove strife

2 rolls passed
2 strife gained

Honor: 46
Glory: 44
Status: 30

Emiko spent some time trying to put together the perfect poem, however, while the actual poetry wasn't the best, her performing of it excelled.


D4 MM event path 1. Write an original poem Fire/Composition TN2 | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 0


D4 MM event path 1 roll 2 Air/Composition TN2 | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 1


D4 MM event roll 3 Recite - Water/Composition TN2 | TN: 2 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 1


Passed final roll only
3 opportunity used to heal 2 strife+1 from previous day
1 extra success

D4 MM event Write a original poem | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 3 / Strife: 2

D4 MM working out the kinks | TN: 2 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 3

D4 MM Recite step Water | TN: 2 | Success: 6 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 7


Present a poem, but well none came to her mind after the day so far. The eerie encounter in the hallway and all that followed.
No, she would need to carry the words with her heart and guide herself onwards by what is true about her and use this to make a splash, to make people know about her , to force them to look at her, not at those others but instead just her.
And while the wording of the poem might not be the best, and certainly not the one that showed itself to be the most refined.
It was said with earnest energy , a bushi and maiden wishing for bentens blessing , and as she moved , her voice not quite breaking but striking just the right chord it seemed she moved people , and herself as she closed her eyes and seemed adrift
The rain touches my face
the peach uneaten
Your words are lost with the wind.

3 rolls passed
5 opportunities used to show off
3 opportunities used to show off on a single roll
10 total successes
Compromised.

Bayushi thought only for a moment, and then his brush flew across the paper as he quickly wrote down his poem. Nodding to himself, making no changes, he strode up to the front and read his poem like the class clown:

crystal clear, rippling
inviting - a splash - no don’t!
swim in my sake


(D4, MM) Writing an original poem | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1


(D4, MM) Refining an original poem | TN: 2 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 1


(D4, MM) Delivering the poem humorously | TN: 2 | Success: 0 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2


Rolls passed: 0
Opportunities used to show off: 3
Opportunities used to show off on a single roll: 2
Total successes: 0
Status: 35
Glory: 46
Honor: 30