*Or "Hotei's Hellion"

*waves* I suppose I should start one of these up too. I can't answer them tonight but will get to them in order tomorrow when time permits.

Hoshi's in Meido if anyone's wondering, and is likely going to stay there for a long while until she tries this 'life' thing all over again.

Don't know much about Hoshi, but at least I got your swords on their way back to Rokugan before I died.

Hi! Thanks for frequently being an RP partner!

Who's Hoshi going to haunt, do you think?

Very much appreciated, thank you Hida-san!

And oh, no no. No haunting for Hoshi, she's not bitter enough to become a ghost in the realm of the living. Apparently she doesn't have to wait long for good company there.

fair enough!

Mmm have a good few drinks Hoshi! Shame we never chatted ^^;

Kinda cruious how many times Hoshi thought about pushing me overboard >.>

@Mirumoto Tomoe: And I didn’t get the chance to meet Tomoe in person either, alas. We had conflicted scene schedules.

@Yoritomo Kaito: There were more than a few times I have to admit...As I mentioned to you, Hoshi just disliked Mantis for a few reasons. Upon first impressions, Kaito easily fit into that lazy greedy Yoritomo stereotype that she loathed, so he was the biggest target. It was no secret that Kaito probably didn’t think very favourably of her either.

When he was entertaining offers to trade fishes for duty, she was conflicted on whether or not to encourage him or not. If he was gone, the shift would be more bearable without him and she could point the officers to the sailor who avoided all work when reports were due. On the other hand, it left him out of her sights and if he was a Mantis, would be up to no good. No Mantis from the new recruits took part in the assault either... she assumed they were gambling on lives and finding ways to steal the ship. Typical Mantis!

*In major contradiction, her celebrity crush was Yoritomo Naizen too...

1. What actually made you disappear from the embassy?

2. What did you actually think about your fellow Scorpions?

3. What did your last thought mean?

What did Hoshi think of Yakusoku? I know she made an internal comment about her accent at one point that caught me a bit off guard so was just wondering what her opinion was.

Favorite NPC and Why? Least Favorite NPC and Why? Same for PCs. Totally IC.

We always say this . . . but one day we'll have characters that actually get along and spend time together. Loved Hoshi tbh, but not one Qian-Fan would be drawn to.

*collects responses, sits down with them for a bit*

@Bayushi Nobuyoshi:

1) Well the full moon on the same night wasn’t a coincidence on what happened to Hoshi that night. She was afflicted with Lord Moon’s Madness, and that was also true during 7 Scions but I passed that roll and kept that secret to myself. ^^ I was about as much in the dark of why and how she pulled it off when she was under the influence, something I’ll ask a GM later. Other than the deadly alley brawl she was involved in, I personally found it more fun how it was played out than the ‘waking up with blood that isn’t yours’ I was expecting. And she also got to make friends with Jada, which is a plus too.

*eats a cookie that supposed to be given away*
This is also where the title of “Fox Child” and “Hotei’s Hellion” for the thread comes from. Her condition was something she lived with since she was six, something the superstitious heimen labelled as a kitsune possession (her birthplace was also Kitsune Mori). Her parents, more fearing of the Fortunes, concluded that this was truly retribution from Hotei instead and Hoshi went for all of her life thinking she was cursed by Hotei.

2) *goes into Hoshi animated-mode that’s done better by other players*

Hoshi: Away from home again...Let’s hope the offering of Scorpions are a lot better this time...
Kichirou: Hi! I’m super smiling Scorpion. Cheerful and chipper! Nobody will ever expect me coming at them!
Nobuyoshi: Hi. I’m silent spooky stalker Scorpion. Quiet and quieter. A thousand men have died by my blade, and greater that number to their own. I have made lovers out of all their widows. Nobody will expect me coming at them...
Usan: -Missing from reel-
Hoshi: That’s...great. Let’s get up to the crow’s nest.

*Nobuyoshi proceeds to bounce off the mass like a tetherball, real footage used*

Hoshi: *facepalm and looks to the audience* This is going to be a long tour...

First impressions aside, Hoshi were able to take his fellow Scorpions much seriously later on. The times she had spoken to Kichirou were brief but appreciated the fact that he was trying to put some cohesiveness in the Scorpions here. No plotting had to be done but they should be at least one step ahead of everyone else.

Nobuyoshi was awkward but respected that he wasn’t so reclusive as his demeanour and proved to be a decent conversationalist. He also proved himself capable in the right situation, such as the debate with the Akodo in the map room. She had feeling that he had more than a few secrets and likely didn’t think well of her, which was fine to her so long he didn’t incur the wrath of the officers any further. The fact that he was trusted to be a part of the Captain’s entourage meant he must have done well for himself.

Edit: I forgot this one!

3) Hoshi has taken up some letter writing ever since 7 Scions. To at least one of them, she has been lying how she's been doing very well since her time there. There's a silly boy out there who needs focus on his family rather than worry about a friend.

@Ichiro Yakusoku: The comment about her accent was just her own general curiosity of the Badger, who reminded her more of a Crab than one she envisioned from the north, but she didn’t exactly have much experience to go on since Yakusoku was one of the first Badgers she met. Unlike some Great Clan samurai, her first instinct wasn’t to automatically think anyone from the Minor Clans as a country bumpkin, needless to say it was a trait that stuck out.

As for Yakusoku herself, she seemed like a samurai who took duty seriously while knowing when to relax during downtime, practical too. She could become a fellow crew mate she wouldn't mind spending time with. The shochu was most appreciated, but it irked Hoshi when she didn’t pour for the Scorpions (being bad luck to pour for oneself). Yakusoku’s concern when she went ‘missing’ was appreciated but she was naturally cautious in trusting her outright because of her good intentions. Perhaps if Hoshi stuck around, she could come to understand Yakusoku’s unbiased respect and loyalty of the crew.

(More to come!)

@Isawa Junpei:

Favourite NPC: “Jada from the Ivory Kingdoms. Her ways are strange, very strange but she pleasant enough to become one of the very few friends I’ll ever make here. She’s a curious little thing but very entertaining. It’s a pity that she only has one fate to resign to or I could have at least wished her well.”

No Hoshi, that deserves an honourable mention instead!
“Mm, hai. That would be Moshi-gunso. She may be a...Mantis, but the Moshi are the least Mantis in that Clan aren’t they? She’s not out to make friends with anyone and willing to be hard on everyone, she easily reminds me of my own gunso at home. Moshi-gunso is capable and strong woman who has my respect.”

Least Favourite NPC: “That heimen who was executed should have known his place but what can you expect of him? He’s heimen. We shall hope his sister will do better.”

Favourite PC: “-Ah. Hm.” *a puzzled frown* “So many samurai from different backgrounds, and so little I know of them. If there was one, the Hare is a pleasant person I’ve enjoyed talking to, if somewhat of a sheltered bumpkin. He’ll grow out of it, I hope so. And...there’s also the Kaiu and the Asahina who are worthy of mention. They’re both curious people with much to talk about, and from my instincts, also a source of much things to find.”

Least Favourite PC: “That Yoritomo is going to be the end of someone, whether intentionally or not. He’s got all the makings of an indecent Mantis thug and likely doesn’t have a shred of honour anywhere, he’ll sell his brother for a koku. I don’t like him, nor trust him. Sometimes it’s better to keep such a person close rather than far away.”

@Agasha Qian-Fan: Haha. It seems that we can only get one of those correct in our time together (you've started way before I did, and that was a long time ago), so we are half way there, there’s hope! Thank you, I was happy to bring her back for another run and things turned out...interesting. I was hoping to approach Qian-Fan for knife handling lessons but realized...Hoshi knows nothing about knives. Strange for one handling a kusarigama. ^^;

(*Gets to writing*)

Thoughts on Himiko?

Technically still in a scene, so... rain check on my questions for now.

Although will say - enjoyed your character, very much.

Rain cheques are fine, and thank you. It was a pleasure RPing with you again.

And here's an epilogue idea I've been tinkering with, inspired when I was made privy to a surprising tidbit from Rixy. Written with approval.
________________________________________

Two years later from the present...

Hoshi stepped forward to the pond and settled down into a seiza close to its edge. The pound was a little out of place here, almost seemingly disembodied from the rest of the realm but lacked much to draw much attention to it. There was water here but it was bare without any sense of mystery hiding the grey rock that made its bottom. Little of much claimed ownership over this place, there were times she would imagine pretty little fish could have made their home here but this wasn’t the realm for that luxury.

She wore a white furisode with only a faded red veil as the only hint of colour. Thankfully there little mind or concern paid to fashion here, it was a more than reasonable shift to hide those mortal wounds that made their appearance from time to time.

Tired of watching merely still waters, she reached out a hand to touch its surface and little ripples followed from it, decorating the fountain with activity before it faded off and returned to its previous stillness. For a brief moment, she was actually entertained.

“So this is your favourite place then?” A voice from a young man spoke up behind her to break her reverie. Her companions was dressed likewise in white with a haori that held little semblance to its original colour of blue. He was one of the few friends she made during her time in Kyuden Reju, one she had not expected to see so soon or here at all.

She smiled faintly and gave a few accepting bobs of her head. “Hai, that would be it.” A small pause followed as clarified after a small breath. “Well. As ‘favourite’ I can get with any place around here anyway.”

“Heh. It’s nice...”

“That’s not what you’re thinking.” Hoshi objected back with no feelings bruised. “You must think it’s boring.”

“Hardly.” The Daidoji chortled to brushed off the concern. “However...I am thinking.”

This caused Hoshi to look up and turn around. “-Ah? And would it be something worth worrying about now?”

“I wouldn’t think so. I was thinking that this place would be perfect to try my hand at painting finally.” He said optimistically before fading off with a dramatic sigh, as if suddenly discovering plight. “It’s unfortunate that there isn’t much here other than water and stone.”

“Hai...” She murmured, perplexed as she tried to follow with the idea.

“That’s something that can be fixed. It would be a far better view were there a woman’s natural form accompanying the scenery here. Volunteers here are hard to come by, but not too hard to find...I recall someone offered once. So then, how about it Hoshi-san?“ Kirai asked with a winsome smile.

There was an intent stare from Hoshi that went along the warily stressed brows that immediately asked ‘Really? Are you serious?’. The scrutiny didn't last so long as she couldn’t stop herself from breaking out in a rare genuine giggle behind a hand. He was only partially right, they did have a conversation implying that but never had she offered directly. She sighed, “Silly boy...”