2) Any formal agreement between clans needs to be moved through court and accepted by the Empress. In practical terms, that means that the presiding officer needs to agree. I made an assumption about what counts as a "formal agreement" between clans here that I realized might not be correct. Basica...

“If you begin by thinking of your story as neither heroic nor tragic, then no, maybe not,” Shinnosuke agrees genially. “Oh well.” “What sort of stories do you like best in the theater, then, Shiba-san?” "Oh, I'm a rank sentimentalist, Doji-san. I like stories where loyalty is rewarded, lost kin rec...

"Ah, well, understandable," Shinnosuke chuckles. Who wouldn't be jealous of the fabulous Haku and his at-least-equally-glamorous master? He reaches out and offers Sato his hand to inspect. "And do you hunt with him? What sort of quarry?" Haku is in classic small-dog-being-petted wiggle mode, writhin...

“Certainly, my Lady.” Shinnosuke rises and bows deeply. “The honor has all been mine. Until we meet again, then!”

With decorum but a spring in his step (he’s pretty sure that went well!), Shinnosuke makes his exit.

“If you begin by thinking of your story as neither heroic nor tragic, then no, maybe not,” Shinnosuke agrees genially. “Oh well.”

“What sort of stories do you like best in the theater, then, Shiba-san?”

<snip> "Oh, I'm sure not. Playwrights detest simple repetition, unless it's the poetic sort." The tip of Shinnosuke's closed fan, held in his left hand, describes a little circle in the air as if writing a single mysterious kanji for 'you know how those playwrights are.' "Hard to make a good play o...

"Nothing could be closer to my desire," says Shinnosuke with a smile and a tilt of the head that somehow suggests a bigger dramatic flourish than it really is. Look out, world! "I hope I shall not disappoint."

Ryusei blinked in what might be called baffled pleasure. "The very same, Doji-san." How he wished his House had done anything but flounder towards the grave at any point since the defeat of Fu Leng! He'd have more to offer as a rejoinder. "We're not up to anything quite so heroic these days, but th...

Residence question--is there enough space/screen dividers in the delegation houses to assume each of the delegates has a space functioning as their own 'room,' or is it more dormitory-like? Or does that depend on the clan?

"Oh, I see." Shinnosuke loosens up on Haku's leash, allowing the silky little creature to bobble its way over toward Kiuchi with its moplike tail oscillating wildly. "I'm afraid I don't know his lineage, myself," he explains. "My aunt had him from a friend of hers who keeps dogs--an Asahina, I belie...

"Ah, that sounds much more civilized." If only some rulebook writer hadn't decided to include a riding steed in his school equipment, perhaps Shinnosuke too could have enjoyed such comforts. "Sitting in a little cabin, out of the rain and cold, able to get up and walk about whenever you want."

"Well, I don't know most of my new comrades very closely yet," Shinnosuke admits. "Saving Asahina Minase-san, of course, who was not too far from my year at the Academy--I used to see her occasionally in deportment classes, I suppose she will not have changed too much--a genius. And, hm, I haven't m...

"Shiba-ke no kaishin Shigi Ryusei, bushi of the Phoenix Clan." Ryusei glided into the reception with absolutely no sign that he didn't attend this sort of gathering every day, and surveyed the room. [Quoting works about as well as PMing, but yeah, these things can blow up in a BIG way, so tag me so...

"Does Ikoma-san reside here, usually? Outside of the court season, that is. There must be a great many changes right now, since the Hantei doesn't visit often," Shinnosuke says in a rather innocuous tone, his elegant hands beginning the task of measuring and sifting the powdered tea. "It's certainly...

Shinnosuke stands upright again with hasty grace, while cleaning the drool off his fingers with a fine handkerchief. "Oh, good afternoon." He bows as well. "I am Doji Shinnosuke. This is Haku." Prudently, he shortens the white dog's leash just in time to stop it from making a beeline toward Kiuchi's...

Someone else had not been quite as successful at keeping his faithful companion hound away from temptation. "Don't fret, To-kun, it's just a little dried fish. It certainly won't do him any harm," Shinnosuke was saying, airily, crouching down to offer a flaky morsel to a creature which could probabl...

"Already quite busy. I feel as if I've run over half the Kyuden already, and it's only the first day," Shinnosuke says, a trifle wryly. "And seen the backs of the heads of every courtier in the Empire in court this afternoon, one at a time. Not that the sight wasn't worth seeing," he temporizes. It ...

"Can't we?" Shinnosuke's smile is gently rakish. "Set one's heart at the highest pitch, while keeping one's actions tastefully restrained--that's one of the great principles of drama I learned at the Academy. In that way, sincere and noble emotion can be conveyed without outlandish gestures." Shifts...

"Thank you for that guidance." Shinnosuke bows his head in acknowledgement. "Hmm. I have long aspired to meet Lady Akodo, and now I shall remember not to neglect Lady Seppun, either. Or the Matsukaze and Murasame of the Phoenix," he adds, making a playful reference to two sisters from a famous play ...

"If they are not too preoccupied to listen. Even the divine nightingale might struggle to make herself heard by warriors whose ears are already full of shouts of discord or the clash of battle, so I hope that is not too common here." He tilts his head slightly--it's a neat trick, seeming without obv...