I will go where the investigation leads you. For now, other than being seen in public, which was only implied, and remaining alive, which is both a stated duty and a biological imperative, Shishako's only goal is to assist Hajime in his investigation.

Whenever you post IC that you are heading there, I'll follow along, like a good girl. :)

And, at some point, Sakura & Kasumi have some private business with her. But that'll have to wait ...

Ummm, does anyone remember who negotiated the treaty with the Mantis?

Looking, but can't find -- was it ever clarified IC that the blade must be a Katana? Need to know that before I introduce my plot ...

 I think it's generally understood by the Crane that the katana is the premier blade in existence, especially in the current version the Dragon invented (hah!)

sorry for the long silence!  For some reason I thought there might be other reactions to Hajime's questions ^_^

It’s that time again!  Time for the annual holiday trivia quiz ^_^ The theme this year is Christmas Carols.  Once again the prizes are as follows:

Answering one question correctly gets you 1 xp OR a spoiler regarding an NPC of MY choice.

Answering two questions correctly gets you 3 xp OR a spoiler regarding an NPC of YOUR choice.

Answering three questions correctly gets you 3 xp AND a spoiler regarding an NPC of your choice.

Every correctly answered question after three gets you 1 xp or a spoiler regarding an NPC of of your choice.

1) Carolling or Wassailing is derived from a tradition related to an entirely different holiday.  What is that holiday and what is the dessert associated with that older tradition?

2) “What Child Is This” shares the melody with the song “Greensleeves”, what was the implied meaning of green sleeves in the 17th century?

3) The subject of “Good King Wenceslaus” was the duke of what nation and how did he die?

4) By the end of “the Twelve Days of Christmas”, how many birds have been gifted?

5) What is a wassail?

6) The carol “I saw three ships” has a geographic impossibility.  Why is it impossible and what could it be referring to instead?

7) The "Carol of the Bells" originates from a folk chant related to an entirely different season. What is that season and what modern holiday is associated with it?

8) One of the actors from the movie “Labyrinth” has a deep seated dislike for a particular Christmas carol.  What is the carol in question and with whom did the actor sing a counter point with for that Carol?

9) The author of "In The Bleak Midwinter" (the carol, not the novel) is more famous for another poem.  Who is the author, what is the poem she is best known for, and what was the name of the group of artists to which her brother belonged?

10) "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" was commissioned as a marketing ploy by which department store?

As before, you can look up any or all of these answers online, but I have a surprising store of useless trivia in my head and did not use anything to come up with the questions.  You have until January 3 to submit answers.  You may submit them in this thread or in PM.

Holiday Trivia Quiz attempt...

Holiday Trivia Attempt

 It's cuttin' and pastin' time! ^_^

crossing fingers ;)

Lol, two more days Byako ^_^

Happy New Years everyone ^_^

You would think I would have remembered this one ... *lol*. Cut-and-Paste. :D

1) Carolling or Wassailing is derived from the tradition of "souling"--when the members of the church went door to door collecting alms for the poor.  Souling was traditionally done on the day before All Saints Day or All Hallows Eve and, along with alms, the beggars received a dessert called a soul cake.  Besides caroling, souling also evolved into trick or treating.  No one got this one ^_^

2) In the 17th century green sleeves implied prostitution or promiscuity--which is ironic, since the woman in the song Greensleeves seems to be refusing the man for making that assumption. I accepted any answer that involved sex.

3)  He was the duke of Bohemia and he died via fratricide.  I accepted any answer that provided the general location and mentioned that he was murdered.

4)  184 = 1 partridge × 12 days + 2 turtle doves × 11 days + 3 french hens × 10 days + 4 calling birds  × 9 days + 6 geese × 7 days + 7 swans × 6 days  I also accepted 23 as an answer for the less literal counters.

5) A cheer involving a hot alcoholic drink generally provided by someone else, hence Wassailing.


6)  Bethlehem is landlocked and could not have any shops sailing in. I accepted any answer that mentioned this and provided a reasonable alternative.

7)  "Carol of the Bells" originated as a Ukrainian folk chant associated with spring, which is the Easter season. I accepted any answer that identified the season correctly.

8)   David Bowie dislikes "Little Drummer Boy" and sang counterpoint with Bing Crosby.


9)  Christina Rossetti is best known for writing Goblin Market and was the sister of Dante Rossetti, of the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood.  Random bit of trivia:  The actor who plays Kili in the new Hobbit movies also plays Dante Rossetti in the Desperate Romantics mini series.

10)  Montgomery Ward

Oops, fixed some coding errors, people should be able to see their xp awards now

Okay, so it looks like this game reset has crashed and burned :-( but I’m not ready to give up on it (because I’m stubborn like that, and I’ve been running this one for way too long).  I think, though, the plot line that was going was way too complicated, so I’m going to chuck it out the window, and find something a bit less...convoluted.

Just to confirm who’s still in:
Otomo Hajime
Kedo
Bayushi Kenshin
Daidoji Sakura
Daidoji Kasumi

If you’re not on that list (and want to continue) let me know, so I can figure you in ^_^

I may do some recruiting once I figure out what’s going on

I'm still here. :)

I'm still here!

First post!

I am still around.  ;)

Confirmed (x3).

Okay, so the next question, is: do people want to stick around Toshi Ranbo or go to other places?

 I'm surprisingly easy, having an essentially portable plot and a fondness for happening to other stories as and when they occur. ^_^

Heh. I've probably worn out my welcome around Toshi Ranbo, but I'm cool either way.

I would say that Hajime is fairly flexible and "mobile" as far as where he could be sent (stationed).  So he could stay, but he could go somewhere else as well.  ;)

Okay, so I’m probably going to chuck out everything that happened in Volume 2--the Go tournament (which never even got off the ground) and the internal Crane conspiracy (which was too convoluted for people to follow). I think it was way too ambitious and had way too many moving parts for me to manage.

Sorry Kenshin, but that means Lesson gets put back on its shelf.

In keeping with the idea that there should be some logical fallout from Volume 1, one of the conditions for coming to the Crane’s aid at Toshi Ranbo was that the Crane would surrender representation of the Minor Clans to the Mantis.  But...nobody told the Imperials or the Minor Clans.

The logical time and place to clear up any diplomatic snafus in this case would be the Tournament of the Emperor’s Favored--in which all the players will be free to participate or not--but it’s a neutral time and place where everyone can be gathered together without favoring any side of this four way negotiation (Crane, Imperials, Mantis, Minor Clans).

Does that sound like it works for everyone?