[Day 7, MM-EN, EVENT] The Despair of Lord Ikoma [Limit: 9]

[Cearnach]

Ikoma Ryota's emotional core, strained as it has been these many months under the weight of his role in the Empire's confusion, has finally snapped as a result of the Empress' death. After being ushered out of the court in a near catatonic state after the announcement, he has spent the last two days largely unresponsive, wandering the halls of his castle in a daze. This state of affairs cannot continue.

This is an Event with nine time slots from the MM-EN. Each slot represents an opportunity for one character to influence Lord Ikoma. You will need to spend a timeslot to participate in this event, but you will post your effort in this thread. Lord Ikoma will not be verbally responsive, but unlike the last two days, he has enough wherewithal to process information. This makes him susceptible to both assistance and manipulation. Choose wisely!

Option 1: To Render Assistance.
You may not choose this option if you have the Consumed: Control, Consumed: Strength, Failure of Bushido: Compassion, or Insensitive disadvantages. Choosing this option represents taking the opportunity of an encounter with Lord Ikoma to try to persuade him to emerge from his despair.

You may:
* Make a Sincerity (Honesty)/Awareness roll at TN 25 to make an appeal from the heart
* Make a Lore: Bushido/Intelligence roll at TN 20 to appeal to his sense of honor
* Make a Lore: Theology (Fortunes)/Intelligence roll at TN 25 to appeal to his faith in a Fortune
* Make a Meditation/Void roll at TN 25 to guide him to find his center, or
* Make an Intimidation/Willlpower or Intimidation/Awareness roll at TN 30 to get him to just snap out of it, already! We've had enough of this!

Please be detailed in your appeal/argumentation. The ideas you use may have an effect later, if this option wins out.

Advantages: Benten's Blessing, Fukurokujin's Blessing
Disadvantages: Fukurokujin's Curse

Option 2: To Kick a Man When He's Down.
It's not your fault that a powerful man has chosen to make himself vulnerable at Winter Court. You know what would be your fault? You letting this opportunity slip by.

You may not choose this option if you have the Idealistic or Soft-hearted Disadvantages or the Paragon of Bushido: Compassion advantage. Choosing this option reflects a decision to use Ikoma Ryota's current vulnerability to cripple his ability to recover from his despair or to plant an insidious idea in his mind.

You may:
* Make a Courtier (Manipulation)/Awareness roll at TN 25
* Make a Temptation/Awareness roll at TN 20
* Make a Lore: Bushido/Intelligence roll at TN 25, or
* Make a Lore: Theology (Fortunes)/Intelligence roll at TN 30

Please be detailed in your approach. The ideas you use may have an effect later, if this option wins out.

Advantages: Benten's Blessing, Fukurokujin's Blessing
Disadvantages: Fukurokujin's Curse

Results
The option favored with the greatest number of successes and raises will be considered to have won out. If Option 1 is successful, Ikoma Ryota will be inspired by the ideas used to influence him. He will come out of his despair and work to see the Empire through the crisis.

If Option 2 is successful, Ikoma Ryota will be unable to overcome his personal crisis. He will gain the Doubt: Courtier and Doubt: Etiquette disadvantages. Furthermore, any ideas put in his mind in the course of Option 2's efforts will, of course, have repercussions in the coming days.

Only 1 character may make the attempt per timeslot.

The state of the slots
MM: Soshi Eiji
LM: Ikoma Honoka
EA: Kuni Shiori
MA: Jihen
LA: Agasha Yuna
EE: Asako Kenichi
ME: Daidoji Shinnosuke
LE: Doji Arai
EN: Kitsu Sayomi

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji had been mourning the Empress's passing as only an Ikoma bard could.

Seeing the Ikoma Lord so ravaged by grief called out to him. True, he had a Duty to show emotion for all the Lion that could not. Yet, surely he needed to recall his greater Duty to the Empire.

But would the Lord of the Ikoma listen to one wearing the red and black these days? Would he think it was some sort of plot?

He had almost worked through the correct approach when the Lord of the Ikoma moved on about his business.

Disappointing, I should not have hesistated.

Encourage, Bushido: 19 vs. 20 Fail!

[Ikoma Honoka]

(Late morning)
Honoka had heard the situation, and made her way to her lords villa. She was her usual positive self upon arrival, but when she saw the state Ryota was in was in there was a very rare faltering of her smile. To see the man so destroyed...she had seen hints of his distraction before but now it had gone so far.

She moved around to where he was, and sat down near him. She spent the hours telling him a story from her childhood, of how she learnt about the Ikoma. Of the strengths of Ikoma himself. And then finally, of Ryota. And then she started about the future, about how the Empire would grow, and how much there was to see. She spoke passionately, to inspire the man like she had before but also make him realise he could face this with the strength that Ikoma himself had done.

She only left once she was sure she had told him everything he needed to hear.


(ooc: D7 LM Lord Ikoma event. To Render Assistance option - Sincerity (Honesty)/Awareness roll at TN 25+2 raises (TN35). Bentens, VP, ILS 1 and 2 | 10k6 ⇒ 55 (TN: 35) passed with 2 raises

[Agasha Yuna]

D7 LA: After court (EA), after theatrical performance (MA)

When Yuna learned of Ikoma-sama’s trouble, she hurried to help.

She earnestly wanted to help a man she considered an ally, and admired. And he was the head of the Ikoma, responsible for the Ikoma library! It was time to act from her heart, from genuine care for him.

She remembered his own words to her. “In the future, when you are dealing with proud people---and they are all proud people---try not to offer help in words. It goes down much more smoothly."

Act. Don’t speak.

She arrived with a picnic basket prepared by her chef. Nourishing foods in perfect balance designed to tempt the appetite and awaken the memory of joy.

They could eat together in his rooms. Out of sight. He needed quiet help. No attention drawn to the situation.

She kept the conversation light. Words of admiration about the library. A place she knew he sincerely valued as the temple it was.

In the end, she added one last suggestion. Tenjin was the fortune of the written word. Ikoma-sama and his family had served Tenjin for so long. It was a practice in some places to write out feelings too heavy for the heart to hold, and then to burn the paper in offering to Tenjin.

A path forward. A way to unburden himself.

Offered from the heart.

https://sakkaku.org/r/16108 Sincerity/Awareness 29 vs 25 Success! Goal is help.

[Doji Arai]

Late Evening

Arai has been idly walking around the garden in the forecourt. The young Ishimoto stops to admire the view. She takes a deep breath and smiles slightly while leaning against the wooden rail in one of the decks.

That's when she notices him. She has heard the rumors around court and now she can see him for what he has ended up being. The once proud samurai is now a shell of himself. His movements, the way he walks, everything point to a person who has just resigned from the privilege of living. The Doji has seen this before. Within her own home. Her smile fades. She takes a step but stops herself. She has no right to intervene, no... What if he can be shaken up, though? What if there's a way for him to wake up from the living nightmare he's currently in?

Arai strides towards him. She stops at a distance and looks at him. A bow follows in haste. Another step forward. "Lord Ikoma." She hesitates again, but it's now or never. "You can be replaced in your duty to your clan. You must have heirs. Your clan champion can perform your duty as a host." A pause. "Your duty to your ancestors though. To your descendants. To the past and the future of the name you bear. This is only on you and it is a sacred one. You either bear it with honor, to the best of your ability, or be forgotten as the one who didn't have what it takes to make it into the history books."

With that said, she bows again and walks away to vanish into the night.

/
D7LE, For your ancestors, Lord Ikoma! lore: bushido/intelligence, VP | 6k5 ⇒ 30 (TN: 20)

Success for the 1st option

[Asako Kenichi]

(Dibs on early evening for the Phoenix that cannot read)

[Agasha Yuna]

(Note: Yuna is LA, not MA. I briefly wrote MA and then was reminded that is the player-run theater performance that she is in.)

[Kitsu Sayomi]

A single candle contributed further illumination to the room as Sayomi stepped inside, carrying a simple lantern in one hand. It was late, but she had been informed that the Lord Ikoma was still awake and in his room.

"My lord," she murmured politely and knelt to bow. When she heard no response in return, she straightened as she remained in seiza.

"So often do we become concerned with living the tenets of Bushido in how we interact with others, but we forget that we ourselves must be treated the same. With Sincerity, Courage, Courtesy, Honesty, Duty, Honor, and Compassion. When grief comes upon us, in these difficult times, we must go through each step."

Sayomi looked to her candle, keeping her voice calm and steady, as if she was telling him a story.

"It takes Courage to face our own feelings and difficulties. In many ways, it is an enemy more terrifying than any other foe, for it exists only within us and can't be defeated easily. It lingers. But we must be brave to face them, examine them, and understand them. And as we do, we must be Honest with ourselves - and allow ourselves to honestly tell our selves how and why we feel about it. It is the only way to truly process it, even if it hurts."

"When we have done so, we reach the painful part where we Sincerely vow to move past it, grow from it, become stronger. We have a Duty to our self to take care of our body and mind, and to be the best we can be. Anyone from the lowliest peasant to the greatest samurai must do so. And through this, you grant yourself Compassion and Courtesy. Kindness to yourself, giving yourself time, accepting that healing is a hard process and allow yourself to go through that."

"And when we see Amaterasu in the sky again, we remember that She and her Divine Children gave us all this to become whole. As Honor is the strength and soil of our souls, all the other virtues grow from it when nurtured, and give us this life."

She exhaled softly and looked to Ryota. "And you are alive, and your soul is still strong. All our ancestors look upon us, waiting for you to continue the path laid before us by Akodo-no-Kami."

With that, Sayomi picked up her lantern again, and bobbed her head in a bow. "Please rest well tonight, my lord. Heavens watch over you." Rising to her feet, she bowed once more, and departed.


---------

D7 EN The Despair of Lord Ikoma. Lore: Bushido/Intelligence. +1k1 Void. | 6k5 ⇒ 31 (TN: 20) - Helping Ikoma Ryota successfully!

[Doji Shinnosuke]

Honestly, Shinnosuke was probably one of the last people Lord Ikoma wanted to see. That nosy Crane actor who made a big fuss at the mine collapse he'd been hoping his court guests wouldn't notice, in the middle of the earthquake he'd also hoped everyone would pretend wasn't happening? Trying to cheer him up with his peppy little speeches about how as long as you were alive, there was hope, and sometimes even after--then rattling on about Noh plays where some despairing ghost character achieves transcendence after a monk's prayers or something?

Sure, great, wait to die and be bailed out by a Shinseist. Incredible advice, Crane. And he had that annoying little mop of a dog tucked under his arm the whole time, too.

---
Sakkaku telling me I need that Emphasis! Shin fails.
D7 ME--Despair of Lord Ikoma, Sincerity (Honesty). Prodigy, BB | 6k5 ⇒ 17 (TN: 25)

[Jihen]

Hearing of the condition of the Ikoma Daimyō Jihen arrived at the villa in the afternoon. He knew a number of the other attendees at court were most likely preoccupied which would ensure that the villa was bound to be rather quiet at that hour.

Once he found the listless daimyo sitting by the garden.

Jihen came and sat next to the man.

“Good afternoon Ikoma-sama. Do you mind if I sit with you for a moment?’

Hearing no response Jihen decided to take that as a ‘yes.’

“No words, huh? Alright… Words just make things harder sometimes anyway.”

Jihen had offered to pay back a favor to the daimyo for getting access to the library for his friend… and he would try to pay that back now.

“Breathe with me if you will sir…”

Jihen closed his eyes and exhaled slowly… letting his serenity flow out of him and into the Ikoma daimyo.

The two of them seemed to find a peaceful moment… Jihen hoping that the Void touching his soul would help to cut through the spiritual fog the man experienced.

“This feeling… This is the Way… It’s more than just trite sayings. It contains the mysteries of the universe. If you have questions… you need only seek the answers through the Way.”

He bowed deeply to the daimyo.

“Rest well Ikoma-sama … We’ll speak again when you are ready.”

————-

D7 MA, Ikoma Ryota Event, Meditation, VP | 10k6 ⇒ 34 (TN: 25)

[Asako Kenichi]

Kenichi found his beloved host in a sorry state. He sat next to him, and quietly retold his favorite tale, of the lone samurao braving the Isawa Mori and its various wonders, prevaiking through Bushido.

In the end, he sat quietly, braving to speak again. "You showed Compassion and Courage when dealing woth an unworthy hostage Ikoma-dono. The Empire, your clan and your famiky needs that Ikoma Ryota again. The Emlire's most stalwart sage, scribe and storyteller. Lead thencharge as only you can, Ikoma-dono."

OOC
Helping Ikoma Ryota
D7 EE Lore:Theology (Fortunes)/Int, Ikoma rvent, Asako 1 for FR, tn 25 vp for 1k1 | 7k5+5 ⇒ 37 (TN: 25)

[Kuni Shiori]

[OOC: Kuni Shoiri will pick up the slack and do the Early Afternoon slot]

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori quietly scratched the screen to the chambers of the Ikoma Lord. As expected, there was no sound and she found herself glancing at both sides of the Hall. She should likely assume that there he wasn't in the mood to talk and turn around, however, she also took that as a sign that nobody was occupying the space. It was a rather loose definition and she decided to make the most of her time and gently slide open the screen and let herself in. The space felt empty and there wasn't a sound. It was also nearly pitch black. The day was overcast with less sun but it didn't help there were drapes hanging, seemingly to keep all light out of the room.

She gingerly stepped through the door, keeping her presence quiet and avoiding stepping on anything on the floor as her eyes adjusted to the darkness a little more. It was always wise to carry a lantern when cave diving but she worked with the darkness enough that she made do with the lack of light, even unadviseable it might be. She would make her way to the screens and drapery, once she was a little more confident and peeled them back to reveal more of the room. There was almost a jump scare as it became obvious that there had been someone here the entire time, sitting at the low table without a word and almost seemingly like a simulacrum of the Ikoma daimyo. Sadly enough, this mental state of withdrawal wasn't unfamiliar among the Crab.

She sighed softly and made her way over to the daimyo, seeing the teapot had long since dried. Making tea wasn't her forte but she got to doing so, to make the living space less grim at the very least with some warmth in some hopes it might stir his soul. He likely needed something to drink or risk dying of dehydration. This wasn't exactly how she imagined she would make a first impression with a Lion daimyo. She would share a one-sided conversation with him as she made him tea and tidied up the space. Someone who could feel such burdens on their shoulders that they would find themselves crashing down on them with the Empress's death was likely one who had great empathy in their hearts, even if some samurai considered that weakness and hid it. Shiori did her best to speak to that heart, much of the Empress's legacy remained and there was much work to be done. Her remaining vision and the future of the Empire could only be realized by samurai of great heart like Ikoma Ryota.

She had a feeling her words wouldn't be enough but hopefully, the tea would be of use to warm the soul.

Roll
Day 7 - Early Afternoon, The Despair of Lord Ikoma with Sincerity (Honesty)/Awareness TN25: Void used for +1k1 | 6k4 ⇒ 33 (TN: 25)

[Cearnach]

Lord Ikoma is saved due to the efforts of the people of Rokugan. [huzzah!] Ikoma Ryota will be inspired by the ideas used to influence him. He will come out of his despair and work to see the Empire through the crisis.

Those ideas are:
1) The example of the original Ikoma
2) Letting go of the negative thoughts through cathartic action
3) The concept of legacy and duty to ancestors and future generations
4) Bushido, especially Honor
5) The Void (through meditation)
6) His own personal legend
7) His duty to the Empress' Legacy