In Thunder's Echo (Legend of the Five Rings Quest)
- Location
- London, England
No, it would have been fine. I wasn't expecting Mulan references, but I could have worked with them.
Also, one Free Raise to @primemountain, because Haiku is always appreciated.
5.04 - Poetry and Sake
- Location
- London, England
As you watch, the first few cups of sake start floating their way down the river, untouched by those guests seated near the headwaters. This is of course merely polite - after all, some must be left for those further downstream, many of whom significantly outrank them.
The first is picked up by Iuchi Moshan, who raises it to his lips and drains the dish in a single gulp. He pauses for a moment to appreciate the sensation, then speaks.
"Under starlit sky
I ride alone with the wind
As I always have."
Having spoken his mandatory poem, he chooses to keep his sake dish in his lap, signaling that he is bowing out from the rest of the ceremony. A curious choice for one who did not seek to sit by the headwaters, but perhaps it was merely a matter of insufficient room.
Letting it passed unremarked, you opt to take the next one as it floats by. Better to establish yourself now, so that the attention of your fellow guests moves quickly onto others rather than lingering. Your learning does not extend to being able to judge the quality of the sake by its taste, but it is pleasant enough on the tongue before you swallow, a rather crisp and cool sensation that provides inspiration for your own poem.
"Sake crisp and clear
The taste of winter sunlight
Pleasant memories"
From there, the exchange of poems comes thick and fast, with each samurai taking cups as they come and reciting their lines as steadily as they may. Most of the samurai near the headwaters seem to have memorized poems in advance and are sticking to them, opting for ones composed by famous poets rather than relying on their own skills, which is probably a sensible course of action if you are not confident in your own skills. Others are composing their poetry on the fly, demonstrating their own skills and ability to keep a clear head despite the constant stream of alcohol they are ingesting.
For your part, you focus primarily on keeping up with those around you, hoping that by making sure you bow out at roughly the same time as they do you can avoid additional scrutiny and reinforce the subtle beginnings of camaraderie that you can eventually use to best effect. After three drinks, this becomes slightly harder as the alcohol begins affecting you, slowing your thoughts and filling you with a general sense of warm contentment. As such, it takes you a brief moment to place who is speaking.
"Swords clash and sparks fly
With fierce joy and no restraint
Two hearts beat as one"
Squinting slightly, you glance down the length of the river and pick out the reclining form of Bayushi Kimoko. While still easily deniable, that seemed to be a rather risqué choice of poetry, especially given the company you are sharing. You follow the direction of your superior's own glance, and find yourself looking at... Matsu Ketsui. Who is, ever-so-slightly, smiling.
Huh.
Trying not to think about how many potential problems that might result in, you look away and focus on your next drink. In retrospect, trying to match your nearest neighbors in a drinking contest when one of them is a Crab might not have been the best of ideas, but you can't back out now. Kaiu Hiraki appears to have figured out what you are doing and has taken it as a genuine challenge, and you can't let him beat you easily or you'll never get anywhere with the Crab.
Well, probably. You might also be making excuses because this is really quite nice sake. Either way, time for more drinking. And then poetry. Yes. That sounds like a fine idea.
-/-
Some time later
The floor is swaying quite alarmingly under you. You are fairly sure that it shouldn't be doing that, what with the whole 'built on a mountain' thing. Then again, maybe this is one of the defenses! Certainly it would be hard to take a fortification if the walls could just tip under you and dump all of the attackers back down the mountainside.
Alternately, you are just drunk. That is probably more likely. It has been a while since you were this drunk, but it was very good sake.
Perhaps more of a concern is the fact that you aren't quite sure where precisely you are. You could have sworn that this was the way back to your guest quarters, but you would have expected to reach it by now if that was the case. Instead, all you can see are darkened streets and swirling white snow, lit by the odd lantern swaying in the breeze.
Still, perhaps you can ask those Lion samurai where you are. There are rather a lot of them, so surely one of them must know the right route back to your quarters. You consider calling out to them, but it appears they have already seen you. Why else would they be moving towards you like that, spreading out to cover the width of the street...
Oh. Oh dear. This... could be a problem.
"What's the matter, Scorpion-san?" One of them calls in a distinctly unfriendly tone of voice. "You must be lost. Your kind aren't meant to be here."
Respond:
[ ] Write in
QM's note - Please bear in mind that Naoto is drunk at the moment, and as such probably not as eloquent as he might otherwise be.
The first is picked up by Iuchi Moshan, who raises it to his lips and drains the dish in a single gulp. He pauses for a moment to appreciate the sensation, then speaks.
"Under starlit sky
I ride alone with the wind
As I always have."
Having spoken his mandatory poem, he chooses to keep his sake dish in his lap, signaling that he is bowing out from the rest of the ceremony. A curious choice for one who did not seek to sit by the headwaters, but perhaps it was merely a matter of insufficient room.
Letting it passed unremarked, you opt to take the next one as it floats by. Better to establish yourself now, so that the attention of your fellow guests moves quickly onto others rather than lingering. Your learning does not extend to being able to judge the quality of the sake by its taste, but it is pleasant enough on the tongue before you swallow, a rather crisp and cool sensation that provides inspiration for your own poem.
"Sake crisp and clear
The taste of winter sunlight
Pleasant memories"
From there, the exchange of poems comes thick and fast, with each samurai taking cups as they come and reciting their lines as steadily as they may. Most of the samurai near the headwaters seem to have memorized poems in advance and are sticking to them, opting for ones composed by famous poets rather than relying on their own skills, which is probably a sensible course of action if you are not confident in your own skills. Others are composing their poetry on the fly, demonstrating their own skills and ability to keep a clear head despite the constant stream of alcohol they are ingesting.
For your part, you focus primarily on keeping up with those around you, hoping that by making sure you bow out at roughly the same time as they do you can avoid additional scrutiny and reinforce the subtle beginnings of camaraderie that you can eventually use to best effect. After three drinks, this becomes slightly harder as the alcohol begins affecting you, slowing your thoughts and filling you with a general sense of warm contentment. As such, it takes you a brief moment to place who is speaking.
"Swords clash and sparks fly
With fierce joy and no restraint
Two hearts beat as one"
Squinting slightly, you glance down the length of the river and pick out the reclining form of Bayushi Kimoko. While still easily deniable, that seemed to be a rather risqué choice of poetry, especially given the company you are sharing. You follow the direction of your superior's own glance, and find yourself looking at... Matsu Ketsui. Who is, ever-so-slightly, smiling.
Huh.
Trying not to think about how many potential problems that might result in, you look away and focus on your next drink. In retrospect, trying to match your nearest neighbors in a drinking contest when one of them is a Crab might not have been the best of ideas, but you can't back out now. Kaiu Hiraki appears to have figured out what you are doing and has taken it as a genuine challenge, and you can't let him beat you easily or you'll never get anywhere with the Crab.
Well, probably. You might also be making excuses because this is really quite nice sake. Either way, time for more drinking. And then poetry. Yes. That sounds like a fine idea.
-/-
Some time later
The floor is swaying quite alarmingly under you. You are fairly sure that it shouldn't be doing that, what with the whole 'built on a mountain' thing. Then again, maybe this is one of the defenses! Certainly it would be hard to take a fortification if the walls could just tip under you and dump all of the attackers back down the mountainside.
Alternately, you are just drunk. That is probably more likely. It has been a while since you were this drunk, but it was very good sake.
Perhaps more of a concern is the fact that you aren't quite sure where precisely you are. You could have sworn that this was the way back to your guest quarters, but you would have expected to reach it by now if that was the case. Instead, all you can see are darkened streets and swirling white snow, lit by the odd lantern swaying in the breeze.
Still, perhaps you can ask those Lion samurai where you are. There are rather a lot of them, so surely one of them must know the right route back to your quarters. You consider calling out to them, but it appears they have already seen you. Why else would they be moving towards you like that, spreading out to cover the width of the street...
Oh. Oh dear. This... could be a problem.
"What's the matter, Scorpion-san?" One of them calls in a distinctly unfriendly tone of voice. "You must be lost. Your kind aren't meant to be here."
Respond:
[ ] Write in
QM's note - Please bear in mind that Naoto is drunk at the moment, and as such probably not as eloquent as he might otherwise be.
mothematics
How wide is the concept of "you"?
- Location
- the bottom of a coffee cup
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Is there a mechanical component to being drunk? Raised TNs?
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
[X] "BLOOAAARGH" all over his shoes
The worst that could happen here is a punch up where some of the Lions give Naoto a kicking. But nobody wants to kick around somebody that's throwing up all over everything.
Unless one of the Lion samurai is our old friend Ginwei. Then Naoto's kind of screwed.
The worst that could happen here is a punch up where some of the Lions give Naoto a kicking. But nobody wants to kick around somebody that's throwing up all over everything.
Unless one of the Lion samurai is our old friend Ginwei. Then Naoto's kind of screwed.
- Location
- Leeds
I guess we can't romance Ketsui. Thank god, who ever came up with that idea should have been stoned.
- Location
- United States
[jk]
"Jo way. I finaly drunk enough to remememeber why I drank en...enuf."
"Jo way. I finaly drunk enough to remememeber why I drank en...enuf."
- Location
- Earth
Greet them with a shout:"Lion-san!" then continue in a normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-san." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and whisper "But it just keeps moving."
EDIT: With @Sirrocco tweaks:
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
Last edited:
Sirrocco
Pedantic
What happened to "-[x] Bow out before you get too drunk regardless."?
Avoiding situations like this was kind of the entire point of that bit of the vote.
Still, if that's the way it is, that's the way it is. Perhaps we failed a will check. For now, we're not really in a state to fight, so talking?
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
A few tweaks off of @primemountain's vote. Better that he catch the bit at the end, and I figure that Naoto's volume control is perhaps not the best right now.
Avoiding situations like this was kind of the entire point of that bit of the vote.
Still, if that's the way it is, that's the way it is. Perhaps we failed a will check. For now, we're not really in a state to fight, so talking?
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
A few tweaks off of @primemountain's vote. Better that he catch the bit at the end, and I figure that Naoto's volume control is perhaps not the best right now.
- Location
- Earth
- Location
- Leeds
I guess a drinking competition with a Crab happened. It does seem strange that in retrospect that vote was:
[ ] One drink then you're done: Designated drive Naoto.
[ ] Attempt to out drink the crab.
[ ] Drink untill you lose conciousness.
There just doesn't seem to be much mid ground
- Location
- Australia
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I amtrying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
Guess the people who wanted Ketsui as waifu are being NTR'd by Kimiko. I have to admit I find that highly amusing. 
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
- Location
- Spain
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I amtrying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I amtrying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."
- Location
- Earth
Soo, I've been looking at honor stuff. We will probably eat a -2 for walking around drunk. We may eat another -6 for not telling Genji today, as it was an order. Then, it depends what we did since we seem to have a rather large hole in our memory. And that, that could be very bad.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Greet them with a shout:"Lion-sama!" then continue in a probably-louder-than-normal voice "Lost? Yes, a bit. The Banquet was quite... pleasant. But Crabs and sake... Not my best Idea. You have gooooood sake Lion-sama." Blink a couple of times. "Could you spare a... guide? I am trying to get back." Look suspiciously at the floor and mutter "But it just keeps moving."