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Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)

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I assume Takeshi just wants his mom as an advisor and moral support?

With that caveat I will go with:

[] No
-[] She can visit, but she has duties of her own that require her to be at the palace.

Then again with how disruptive she is being to the dynasty... Has anyone checked her with Crystal?
 
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Alright well now that my gut has cooled and my paranoid suspicions have abated I might as well ask.

@gman391 what are the pros and cons of saying yes to Takeshi? Would the gesture of trust help? Would Ryoko going to the Lion give Hisao some rating with them with this gesture of imperial support? Or would it be seen as interference by the throne?

Edited: Changing vote to yes tentatively based on the fact that the whole point of this party was to mend fences with the whole family and saying yes might be enough for reconciliation between Ryoko and Hisao based on her illogical fear of being locked into a tower. (she wouldn't be able to do her duties if she was cooped up there)

[X] Yes
 
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She's running away in the hope that if she has her baby away from the courts eyes it won't shame us I think.
I think everyone else is kinda over reacting.
If we really need her then I would suggest that we say she can go to help Takeshi establish himself or whatever their reason is and then come back after a year.
But I am worried about how it will reflect on Takeshi, not just the suggestion of imperial control but also that he might not be capable of ruling alone.

@gman391 I feel bad voting for this as it doesn't advance the plot at all but ...
[X] Its certainly a possibility. I hadn't considered it. Would you explain you're thoughts.
 
@keenscythe
The Pros of saying yes to Takeshi is that you keep Takeshi from having to take sides in the interpersonal drama that has developed between Hisao and Ryoko. In particular it allows Ryoko to leave the Imperial Palace on hopefully good terms and Takeshi's hope is that she'll spend a few years with him before retiring to a peaceful life.

The cons are indeed that down the line that someone could argue Daio's Akodo branch are the true Toturi. This isn't actually an argument the Lion themselves are likely to make. The Lion due largely to their ancestral worship and communication have a near fanatical devotion to the concept of Emperor/Empress, they can be convinced to back different candidates, but they are unlikely barring another crisis like the start of the Clan Wars, to do so on their own initiative, its just not a thing they do. (Which yes is a little silly, but otherwise the Crane dominance of the Hantei makes no sense and I'm a little lazy)



@Dark as Silver
Write in is fine and in fact expected. Ryoko isn't actually going to the Lion for a pregnancy reasons. She was working herself up to leave the Imperial Court, but her original plan was different.
 
Okay, there is no way that Ryoko can´t see what her going with Takeshi will cause (She was the Empress for crying out loud!), so at this point she must be doing this on purpose.

The other explanation is that despite being wife to an Emperor she was either totally incompetent or an agent for The Lying Darkness.

I don´t know which is worse.
 
Personally, now that the dust has settled a bit on the whole blackmail issue, I'd rather pull out the answer I thought of at the time (sorry for not mentioning it).

- Talk with Hida Benjiro. "You're going to propose to my mother. Make it look good."
- Talk with Mom. "You're going to accept. Make it look good." Have her officially go back to being Crab.

To this, we can maybe add a further step.

- Talk with Hida Kuon. Suggest that he might be well-served to find some excuse for having one Kaiu Ryoko spend time in the Lion Court. Perhaps one Akodo Daiu would like to commission the construction of a new castle?

@gman391 how well would that all work?
 
@Sirrocco
It would work. I wouldn't say build a castle though. The Crane Lion Alliance is strong yes, but having their traditional foes work together keeps the Daidoji up at night, but it would work.
 
gman391 said:
@Sirrocco
It would work. I wouldn't say build a castle though. The Crane Lion Alliance is strong yes, but having their traditional foes work together keeps the Daidoji up at night, but it would work.
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I just figured that "build me a castle" was almost always the thing that got Kaiu deployed by the crab to non-Crab lands. Regardless....

[x] (eyes narrow) "I had been trying to get away from work today, but if I must.... So be it. I will not send her with you as Empress Dowager, but there are other ways."
-[x] Inform the Crab that Hida Benjiro is to officially propose to your mom, and make it look good. When the proposal arrives, inform your mom that she is to accept, as Kaiu Ryoko. Hint strongly to Hida Kuon that he'd be well-served to have one Kaiu Ryoko deployed in some fashion as a representative to the Lion court.
-[x] Let your brother know the rough general plan on the matter, one-on-one. Suggest that for his own sake, he shouldn't let her have *too* much influence at court, as she will be there as a Crab, and that could undercut him with his own people (she's almost guaranteed to push for more influence than she really ought to have). Still, she is your mother, and he is your brother, and you want to help make their lives better.

...because Love in Rokugan is suffering, but being Emperor means you get to cheat. Because serving the Empire doesn't *have* to mean making our family miserable, and shouldn't. Because having mom away from us, married to Hida Benjiro, with our Brother, and *not* officially the Empress Dowager is pretty much better for everyone involved.

...and apparently the Crane get to be the official woobie Clan in this game. Huh.
 
[x] Sirrocco

Nice compromise. Hopefully everyone wins.

One problem. Do we know if Hida Benjiro is already married?
 
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keenscythe said:
[x] Sirrocco

Nice compromise. Hopefully everyone wins.

One problem. Do we know if Hida Benjiro is already married?
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gman391 said:
@Sirrocco
It would work. I wouldn't say build a castle though. The Crane Lion Alliance is strong yes, but having their traditional foes work together keeps the Daidoji up at night, but it would work.
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I'm *assuming* that that's a "He's not married."

If it's not... Wow, mom. Wow. Way to stay classy.
 
@Sirrocco
I dont hate the idea.

But I think this is too much too soon. We havent even met Hida Benjiro yet. I am fine with proposing that as an idea.

But before we move forward, we should talk with our cousin and then met with Benjiro ourselves.

At the very least I dont want to fold on this issue too quickly and set a bad precedent where any lord can just sleep with the Empress Dowager and then pull this trick to avoid punishement.

That would be fucking catastrophic.
 
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Deadly Snark said:
But I think this is too much too soon. We havent even met Hida Benjiro yet. I am fine with proposing that as an idea.
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We did meet him when we told him to back off the Phoenix Patsy whose name I don't remember. (Shiba Misaki that was it)

He grudgingly gave in once Hisao personally told him about the plot. Admittedly that doesn't tell us how good a match they would be or the benefits of doing so.

@Sirrocco Maybe have her start on improving the roads inside the Lion's lands? Less hostile and you can always need more and better roads. As a bonus the Lion are smack-dab in the middle of Rokugan so it also benefits everyone who passes through their lands.
 
keenscythe said:
We did meet him when we told him to back off the Phoenix Patsy whose name I don't remember. (Shiba Misaki that was it)

He grudgingly gave in once Hisao personally told him about the plot. Admittedly that doesn't tell us how good a match they would be or the benefits of doing so.
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That's still a meeting of a Emperor and his Vassal. Not as a meeting as someone we want to judge as marriage material for our mother.
 
Deadly Snark said:
That's still a meeting of a Emperor and his Vassal. Not as a meeting as someone we want to judge as marriage material for our mother.
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We're *still* meeting him as Emperor and Vassal. As far as person to be married to our mother... well, politically he's only a step or two below Clan Champion, so that side isn't terrible, and *they are already involved*. They have been for years now. We're not *going* to spend the time to get to know him. We're going to arrange for a traditional Rokugani arranged-marriage-for-political-reasons that just so happens to involve people who have demonstrated clear affection for one another already.

Anyway, weren't you the one who kept getting enraged about her? I mean, they had a pregnancy scare already. "Shotgun wedding" is a few steps up from "We should have had you locked away in the goddamn Inner Palace." isn't it? Certainly, she'll have a better chance of being happy with him than with anyone else we might have had her summarily married off to.

And you know, if it doesn't work out? Sucks to be them. Honestly, by my interpretation, this one is better than they deserve - it's just Hisao being kind because she's his Mom (and also for his brother).

Deadly Snark said:
At the very least I dont want to fold on this issue too quickly and set a bad precedent where any lord can just sleep with the Empress Dowager and then pull this trick to avoid punishement.
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It's not a precedent because it's not common knowledge that there was anything between them. Also, he's avoiding punishment because we decided to not punish him. He's not going to be punished anyway.
 
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Sirrocco said:
Anyway, weren't you the one who kept getting enraged about her? I mean, they had a pregnancy scare already. "Shotgun wedding" is a few steps up from "We should have had you locked away in the goddamn Inner Palace." isn't it? Certainly, she'll have a better chance of being happy with him than with anyone else we might have had her summarily married off to.

And you know, if it doesn't work out? Sucks to be them. Honestly, by my interpretation, this one is better than they deserve - it's just Hisao being kind because she's his Mom (and also for his brother).
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Fine fine.

[x] (eyes narrow) "I had been trying to get away from work today, but if I must.... So be it. I will not send her with you as Empress Dowager, but there are other ways."
-[x] Inform the Crab that Hida Benjiro is to officially propose to your mom, and make it look good. When the proposal arrives, inform your mom that she is to accept, as Kaiu Ryoko. Hint strongly to Hida Kuon that he'd be well-served to have one Kaiu Ryoko deployed in some fashion as a representative to the Lion court.
-[x] Let your brother know the rough general plan on the matter, one-on-one. Suggest that for his own sake, he shouldn't let her have *too* much influence at court, as she will be there as a Crab, and that could undercut him with his own people (she's almost guaranteed to push for more influence than she really ought to have). Still, she is your mother, and he is your brother, and you want to help make their lives better.
 
I would be willing to switch however right now I want to block no from winning so I'll hold off reconsidering until either vote can force a draw.
 
[x] (eyes narrow) "I had been trying to get away from work today, but if I must.... So be it. I will not send her with you as Empress Dowager, but there are other ways."
-[x] Inform the Crab that Hida Benjiro is to officially propose to your mom, and make it look good. When the proposal arrives, inform your mom that she is to accept, as Kaiu Ryoko. Hint strongly to Hida Kuon that he'd be well-served to have one Kaiu Ryoko deployed in some fashion as a representative to the Lion court.
-[x] Let your brother know the rough general plan on the matter, one-on-one. Suggest that for his own sake, he shouldn't let her have *too* much influence at court, as she will be there as a Crab, and that could undercut him with his own people (she's almost guaranteed to push for more influence than she really ought to have). Still, she is your mother, and he is your brother, and you want to help make their lives better.
Adhoc vote count started by Lupercal on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:30 AM, finished with 33 posts and 12 votes.
  • [X] No
    [X] Its certainly a possibility. I hadn't considered it. Would you explain you're thoughts.
    [x] (eyes narrow) "I had been trying to get away from work today, but if I must.... So be it. I will not send her with you as Empress Dowager, but there are other ways."
    -[x] Inform the Crab that Hida Benjiro is to officially propose to your mom, and make it look good. When the proposal arrives, inform your mom that she is to accept, as Kaiu Ryoko. Hint strongly to Hida Kuon that he'd be well-served to have one Kaiu Ryoko deployed in some fashion as a representative to the Lion court.
    -[x] Let your brother know the rough general plan on the matter, one-on-one. Suggest that for his own sake, he shouldn't let her have *too* much influence at court, as she will be there as a Crab, and that could undercut him with his own people (she's almost guaranteed to push for more influence than she really ought to have). Still, she is your mother, and he is your brother, and you want to help make their lives better.
Click to expand...
 
[x] (eyes narrow) "I had been trying to get away from work today, but if I must.... So be it. I will not send her with you as Empress Dowager, but there are other ways."
-[x] Inform the Crab that Hida Benjiro is to officially propose to your mom, and make it look good. When the proposal arrives, inform your mom that she is to accept, as Kaiu Ryoko. Hint strongly to Hida Kuon that he'd be well-served to have one Kaiu Ryoko deployed in some fashion as a representative to the Lion court.
-[x] Let your brother know the rough general plan on the matter, one-on-one. Suggest that for his own sake, he shouldn't let her have *too* much influence at court, as she will be there as a Crab, and that could undercut him with his own people (she's almost guaranteed to push for more influence than she really ought to have). Still, she is your mother, and he is your brother, and you want to help make their lives better.
 
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