Onmyodo Monogatari (Japanese Heian-era fantasy)
- Thread starter Magnusth
- Start date
- Fantasy Historic
-
- Tags
- hubris somehow japan wizard
The Eight
- Location
- Denmark
You bow, and make a small gesture with your hand. "Thank you, mother," you say. "But I'd prefer to hand it over myself… if that's alright?" The court ladies laugh, and your mother smiles. "Yes, of course. That is also very gentlemanly."
You bow again, and excuse yourself, and back out of the room - turning around might be too rude - then leave to enjoy the festivities.
The whole city feels… different as you walk out into it. The main street, which is very broad, is almost cramped now, full of people and stalls. The air is heavy with noise and the smells of food and the cheers of the people; but nothing is quite as claustrophobic and heavy as in the court.
You enjoy the feeling, the freedom, of just being able to walk through the streets.
You have some coins with you, and you buy various sweets and pastries as you walk past.
As you walk further south, along the main street, things become somewhat less opulent and luxurious, but no less festive, and the city is full of energy, the air electric. Everywhere you go, colours and sounds surround you.
After you've walked a while - half an hour, perhaps? - you turn west, to one of the big markets! It's huge, compared to, uh, you, and full of stalls of people giving and selling food and other things. You find Junpei and Aiko here, and find a corner with a tree and some grass, where you sit and enjoy your pastries. You notice that one of Aiko and Junpei's minders just
Soon after, you go watch the main parde, which goes from the imperial palace to the shimogamo Shrine, where they will placate the gods of rain and thunder for a mild rainy season.
Then you spend the rest of the day playing festival games with your friends, eating yourself nearly sick in candies, and generally enjoying the day. The sun is shining and the trees of the city are all in full bloom; many people are sitting under the trees, enjoying the sights, including you and your friends.
At one point, you see Tomiko looking at the flowers with a… strange expression on her face? Like she's… afraid? Or reticent? Aiko sees it too, smiles and plucks a twig from the tree and puts it in her hair, which seems to make Tomiko laugh! Then Aiko puts on in your hair, too, before you can protest, and her brother's too, who, though slightly sullen, doesn't seem to mind too much - or perhaps he just wants to make his sister happy?
In any case, the day quickly passes in the sun and laughter and pastries! As it begins getting later, Aiko and Tomiko excuse themselves - it's getting late - and take Tomiko's little brother with them. You and Junpei remain for a while, get something to eat, and play some go - one of his favorite pastimes - as well as enjoy time mostly free from minders and parents and studies. Eventually, you tell him about the poem and he teases you as you walk to the palace together - but he also seems… jealous? Only a little though.
At the gates to the outer palace, you bid him goodbye and turn east, towards Itsukushima Shrine. This road is still very broad, with stone walls separating houses, and people are still around, but things are quieter and more empty. You get a few odd looks - it's a bit late, but still, not too late, and you are young. It's a long walk, for you. About as long as when you went from the palace to the market earlier in the day, but you're more tired now, much more tired, though not by any means falling asleep on your legs or anything.
Your heart and body is aflutter, and there's a strange feeling as you walk. Your whole body is jittery with eager, nervous, anxious anticipation , and sorta restless as you walk, and it makes the whole walk feel longer.
Eventually, you arrive. The area is a park, full of residences, with a few shrines as well, a beautiful place. The shrine complex is small, and you quickly find the main shrine, which stands on a pond, the kujo pond, which also borders the grounds of the kujo residence. You purify yourself, ring the bell in front of the shrine, clap and bow, greeting the god and thanking it for letting you be here. It is a ritual you have done a thousand times before, and which usually feels a little peaceful, at least, but now you're just.. You're forcing yourself to slow down and do it right, not to rush.
Once you're done, and a small figure steps out from the side of the shrine. It is.. Tomiko.
She's bathed in the glow from the lake reflecting the sun's light, and she smiles, though she is shy and looks away. She's.. Pretty? You consider that for a moment. You haven't thought of anyone your age as.. pretty before. She has a flower in her hair, and she is wearing a different kimono than before, and she's smiling.
"Uh.." she starts, then she looks up. "Hi." She stops and looks down, then half-mumbles something. She looks up again. "You're… just in.. just in time. I have something i'd like.. To show you?"
You nod. "Uh" - you don't feel particularly bright - "sure."
She smiles again, and grabs your sleeve and pulls you with her, running over behind the shrine, where you can sit by the edge of the water.
As the sun sets behind the mountains and forrests in the distance, its golden red and orange light play across the pond, and it seems almost as if on fire, golden fire with tinges of red and orange
She turns to you and smiles. You're sitting next to her, and you notice that two of her fingers are on top of your hand.
"I saw this when i was here with my minders. And it reminded me of how you always make me see how pretty things are. And i thought you might want to see it too."
You nod. "Yes.. It's.. it's beautiful. Thank you."
"I hope… i hope you don't mind that i invited you out here? And that you liked my poem? And.. and…"
She stops, it seems she can't get the last words out, and eventually she just smiles, but you can see anxiety and trepidation in her face.
What do you respond?
[ ]: Write-ins only. Can be specific wording and actions or as general as "i let her down gently" or "I give her my poem," but I the possibilities are so endless and with so many possible variations in nuance that i thought it was better to let you formulate your response.
You bow again, and excuse yourself, and back out of the room - turning around might be too rude - then leave to enjoy the festivities.
The whole city feels… different as you walk out into it. The main street, which is very broad, is almost cramped now, full of people and stalls. The air is heavy with noise and the smells of food and the cheers of the people; but nothing is quite as claustrophobic and heavy as in the court.
You enjoy the feeling, the freedom, of just being able to walk through the streets.
You have some coins with you, and you buy various sweets and pastries as you walk past.
As you walk further south, along the main street, things become somewhat less opulent and luxurious, but no less festive, and the city is full of energy, the air electric. Everywhere you go, colours and sounds surround you.
After you've walked a while - half an hour, perhaps? - you turn west, to one of the big markets! It's huge, compared to, uh, you, and full of stalls of people giving and selling food and other things. You find Junpei and Aiko here, and find a corner with a tree and some grass, where you sit and enjoy your pastries. You notice that one of Aiko and Junpei's minders just
Soon after, you go watch the main parde, which goes from the imperial palace to the shimogamo Shrine, where they will placate the gods of rain and thunder for a mild rainy season.
Then you spend the rest of the day playing festival games with your friends, eating yourself nearly sick in candies, and generally enjoying the day. The sun is shining and the trees of the city are all in full bloom; many people are sitting under the trees, enjoying the sights, including you and your friends.
At one point, you see Tomiko looking at the flowers with a… strange expression on her face? Like she's… afraid? Or reticent? Aiko sees it too, smiles and plucks a twig from the tree and puts it in her hair, which seems to make Tomiko laugh! Then Aiko puts on in your hair, too, before you can protest, and her brother's too, who, though slightly sullen, doesn't seem to mind too much - or perhaps he just wants to make his sister happy?
In any case, the day quickly passes in the sun and laughter and pastries! As it begins getting later, Aiko and Tomiko excuse themselves - it's getting late - and take Tomiko's little brother with them. You and Junpei remain for a while, get something to eat, and play some go - one of his favorite pastimes - as well as enjoy time mostly free from minders and parents and studies. Eventually, you tell him about the poem and he teases you as you walk to the palace together - but he also seems… jealous? Only a little though.
At the gates to the outer palace, you bid him goodbye and turn east, towards Itsukushima Shrine. This road is still very broad, with stone walls separating houses, and people are still around, but things are quieter and more empty. You get a few odd looks - it's a bit late, but still, not too late, and you are young. It's a long walk, for you. About as long as when you went from the palace to the market earlier in the day, but you're more tired now, much more tired, though not by any means falling asleep on your legs or anything.
Your heart and body is aflutter, and there's a strange feeling as you walk. Your whole body is jittery with eager, nervous, anxious anticipation , and sorta restless as you walk, and it makes the whole walk feel longer.
Eventually, you arrive. The area is a park, full of residences, with a few shrines as well, a beautiful place. The shrine complex is small, and you quickly find the main shrine, which stands on a pond, the kujo pond, which also borders the grounds of the kujo residence. You purify yourself, ring the bell in front of the shrine, clap and bow, greeting the god and thanking it for letting you be here. It is a ritual you have done a thousand times before, and which usually feels a little peaceful, at least, but now you're just.. You're forcing yourself to slow down and do it right, not to rush.
Once you're done, and a small figure steps out from the side of the shrine. It is.. Tomiko.
She's bathed in the glow from the lake reflecting the sun's light, and she smiles, though she is shy and looks away. She's.. Pretty? You consider that for a moment. You haven't thought of anyone your age as.. pretty before. She has a flower in her hair, and she is wearing a different kimono than before, and she's smiling.
"Uh.." she starts, then she looks up. "Hi." She stops and looks down, then half-mumbles something. She looks up again. "You're… just in.. just in time. I have something i'd like.. To show you?"
You nod. "Uh" - you don't feel particularly bright - "sure."
She smiles again, and grabs your sleeve and pulls you with her, running over behind the shrine, where you can sit by the edge of the water.
As the sun sets behind the mountains and forrests in the distance, its golden red and orange light play across the pond, and it seems almost as if on fire, golden fire with tinges of red and orange
She turns to you and smiles. You're sitting next to her, and you notice that two of her fingers are on top of your hand.
"I saw this when i was here with my minders. And it reminded me of how you always make me see how pretty things are. And i thought you might want to see it too."
You nod. "Yes.. It's.. it's beautiful. Thank you."
"I hope… i hope you don't mind that i invited you out here? And that you liked my poem? And.. and…"
She stops, it seems she can't get the last words out, and eventually she just smiles, but you can see anxiety and trepidation in her face.
What do you respond?
[ ]: Write-ins only. Can be specific wording and actions or as general as "i let her down gently" or "I give her my poem," but I the possibilities are so endless and with so many possible variations in nuance that i thought it was better to let you formulate your response.
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- Location
- Denmark
She's the daughter of a different member of Empress Soshi's court. At implies that her mother is, at least, of relatively high rank? you're not sure who her father is, but you think he's a fujiwara. The fujiwara are the most esteemed and important family, but it's also huge and not every member is of equal rank, so it doesn't quite mean as much as you would think.
In any case, who cares? The pond is pretty, and she likes your poetry, and she... She likes you? you think. You're not certain, but you think so.
[X] Give her the poem. You're not sure how to react other than that though.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
Also hmm, suggestion @Magnusth. Throw together a page of characters with a summary (of greater or lesser length) so that we can keep track of the people around the MC. Maybe also include the Important People that he ought to know. A court environment is going to get complicated, fast, and that'd greatly help people stay abreast or refresh themselves on who is who.
Also hmm, suggestion @Magnusth. Throw together a page of characters with a summary (of greater or lesser length) so that we can keep track of the people around the MC. Maybe also include the Important People that he ought to know. A court environment is going to get complicated, fast, and that'd greatly help people stay abreast or refresh themselves on who is who.
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- Location
- Denmark
An excellent suggestion! I'll try to make sure that that's a thing! Might not be right now - i have a bunch of other stuff to work on too, unfortunately, and some examns coming up - but at least by the time you actually interact with court. Probably before that!
- Location
- Germany
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
-[X] Squeeze her hand back and tell her that you liked her poem.
Well, these two are already shaping up to be adorable.
-[X] Squeeze her hand back and tell her that you liked her poem.
Well, these two are already shaping up to be adorable.
- Location
- Leeds
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
- Location
- unknown
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
- Location
- Tarn-Vedra
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
Teloch
ಠ_ಠ
- Location
- The middle of nowhere
@Magnusth
Just bringing to your attention the issue with text coloring. As some users of SV are using bright interfaces, what they see instead of your content is this
Not an issue for me personally and those others who do vote, but some people who would try to pick up on your thread will certainly be frustrated.
Just bringing to your attention the issue with text coloring. As some users of SV are using bright interfaces, what they see instead of your content is this
Not an issue for me personally and those others who do vote, but some people who would try to pick up on your thread will certainly be frustrated.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
One of the core themes of Japanese aesthetics and thus culture is the beauty of the impermanent. The cherry-blossom season comes and lasts only for a brief spell. To sit and be moved by the beauty of the falling petals, knowing that the moment will not last, is the ur-example of this. Granted it can be somewhat overstressed, and the whole "live in the moment unafraid of death" Zen mindset can be taken deceptively literal as a result of the twisted and inaccurate version of bushido created almost whole cloth by militarist fanatics in the 1930s, but it's still definitely a powerful theme.
Admittedly I'm not sure the extent to which it prevails in the Heian period given the strong Chinese influences there. Still I think such a go-with-the-flow, accept things as they are while they are attitude and cultivating the appreciation of beauty of a true aesthete is a way to go in the game. A first crush is beautiful just like the sunset; it may not last just like the sunset does not, but that changes nothing.
Though let's not, as a group of voters, rush into the interminable Quest cliche of having the One True Waifu right away.
Admittedly I'm not sure the extent to which it prevails in the Heian period given the strong Chinese influences there. Still I think such a go-with-the-flow, accept things as they are while they are attitude and cultivating the appreciation of beauty of a true aesthete is a way to go in the game. A first crush is beautiful just like the sunset; it may not last just like the sunset does not, but that changes nothing.
Though let's not, as a group of voters, rush into the interminable Quest cliche of having the One True Waifu right away.
- Location
- Denmark
Oh! i am apparently bad at SV. Will try to fix.@Magnusth
Just bringing to your attention the issue with text coloring. As some users of SV are using bright interfaces, what they see instead of your content is this
Not an issue for me personally and those others who do vote, but some people who would try to pick up on your thread will certainly be frustrated.
Oh, no, in the heian period sighing wisfully and lamenting the impermanence of all that is beautiful is an appropriate reaction to nearly everything. It's an idea imported along with buddhism, and the direct result of the very chinese influences of the heian period. It is, in many ways, the heian period is time where this idea held the most sway. Even the iroha, a poem which served as a sort of ABC and was therefore taught to basicly everyone, starts with lamenting the impermanence of beautiful flowers.
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
So keep that in mind for the message conveyed when she's just barely touching our hand at all.
While I'm not precisely sure of the time period norms, I'm PRETTY sure that Japan is a lot less casual about physical contact than we are.
So keep that in mind for the message conveyed when she's just barely touching our hand at all.
- Location
- Denmark
While japan is a lot less casual about physical contact - and, in fact, in a few years you probably wouldn't be allowed to see a woman without her being behind screens. But you're a child, you haven't gone through gempukku, which is when people begin treating you as, well, a gendered being, so you have somewhat more lax restrictions. Squeezing her hand would probably send the message of 'i like you a lot' and that could certainly be inappropriate, but perhaps she likes you back and it's what she wants? She did give you a pretty lovey-dovey poem, then meet you at sunset in secret in new pretty robes.
Or perhaps she just likes your poetry and hasn't noticed that her hand is touching yours and you're just imagining things and oh gods what if you're just over thinking it and you touch her and she gets mad?
In other news, i plan to update tomorrow, and i'd like to hear general opinions on the situation. He's your character, after all, so i want to represent your wants and feelings as best i can in his inner monologue.
Teloch
ಠ_ಠ
- Location
- The middle of nowhere
IMO: a perfect situation to make some kiddy "when we grow up" promise, which may or may not play out as a funny/dramatic/funmatic landmine further down the road. Delayed waifu war!
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NuclearConsensus
Herald of the Thorned One
- Location
- the Philippines
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
Astra Myst
Do you want a wish?
- Location
- Milky Way Galaxy
[X] Hand her the return poem with a flourish and enjoy the sunset with her while it lasts.
- Location
- Germany
I was going on the whole still a child bit there, but I can see it being too strong a gesture. What I'm more concerned is giving the girl some immediate feedback instead of having her nervously sit through the flourish first though.
What I do find interesting is the fact that they do interact with some regularity. The next shared poetry session ought to have an interesting atmosphere after this. I'm also inclined to give a shy girl like her some props for gathering the courage to actually approach Kogitsunemaru on her own.
Ah but taking the invitation and staying IS showing positive reaction. Turning her down would be some form of "I have other engagements" and handholding...well its okay for kids but still a whole bunch forward