(D6, EE) Party: Children's Stories III (Library)

[Kakita Ahiru]

(Note: There are other events in the other areas of the Academy, posted by other Crane PCs, this is not the single party thread).

A small niche of the library had been carved out for storytelling. Comfortable cushions arranged in a circle would make for a rather cozy audience. Tea was at the ready, and a small box of freshly made monaka was at hand to give out in gratitude to the storytellers who would assemble.

Kakita Ahiru bowed elegantly to those who entered and explained the proceedings.

"Well met storytellers and entertainers. This evening I am honored to host a small gathering where we tell stories and tales of childhood and children, perhaps even from our own lives or from someone else's. Every clan offers unique childhood experiences that shapes each one to be unique samurai in service to their lord. In honor of Kisshoten as we stand between the innocence of childhood and the cusp of adulthood, let us celebrate our transition with stories."

Having finished her little speech, Ahiru bowed once more and surrendered the floor to the first storyteller of the evening.


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Rules: You may make a single Performance (Any) Skill Roll at TN 1 to tell a story about children. All who participate are awarded two pieces of plum blossom monaka. The best storyteller judged in order of: Most Successes, Most Opportunities, Least Strife, Highest Status, Highest Glory, Highest Honor, First Poster. will receive four pieces of plum blossom monaka. This is a informal event, so feel free to chat, comment on stories, and just enjoy yourself.

[Ikoma Aya]

(Will write some fluff as soon as I come up with something!)

OOC:

Children's Stories III - Performance(1)/Water(3) TN 1. | TN: 1 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1

2 sux, 1 opp, 1 strife; opp negates strife.

[Shosuro Kaoru]

Kaoru observed the audience for some time, sipping her tea, then finally exposed the point that was bothering her:

"I'm not sure which kind of tale you expect us to tell Kakita-sama. Children stories are often very simple, very repetitive, of little interest to non-children but for their nostalgic value – and we're way too young for nostalgia. As for real life stories about children, they're rarely charming.

Children are only innocent in the sense they're too ignorant, too naive to understand the full consequences of their actions. Children torture insects with glee. Children abuse their power over other children of lower status. If a child manages to put their hands on a blade, someone's blood is certain to be poured.

There is no true nice tale about children. There are nice tales featuring children, but these fictional children act as adults, with a moderation and an imagination no real child can boast, because they exist to inspire children into developing adult traits.

Lies are the cornerstone of children education. Adults have to reframe reality in a way the still incomplete brain of a child can grasp. A world where success can be achieved within the grasp of a child's concentration, where death only endures until the next telling of the story, where responsibility is a big, important word but with little actual meaning."

[Kakita Ahiru]

Faced with a long-winded speech about how honoring Kisshoten was pointless and that children were a scourge upon the land, Ahiru could do nothing except fan herself and laugh it off at the end. "Goodness, Shosuro-san. One might think you have an aversion to innocent fun and the simple joys that children find in life."

She made sure that Kaoru would have enough tea and refreshments. "If you do not wish to tell any stories, that is perfectly alright. Everyone is welcome, even those who just wish to listen. No one is being forced to do anything here." Ahiru smiled politely, hoping that would calm things down. It would be a terrible way to end the day with salt.

[Kuni Mitsuko]

The skinny Kuni girl, looking as irritatingly cheerful as it's possible for a Kuni to look, happily 'drags' the skinny Suzume girl to the library so she can show off for story time. The rather informal posture of the pair might be interpreted as disrespectful to the Crane, but they've clearly dressed well and carefully prepared their hair, and there's no doubting their reverence for the library and Rin's seriousness about story time.

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I'm not sure you remember what actual children stories are. Not courtly fairy tales that imitate in style not in essence children stories, but stories that children actually enjoy and that help them grow up.

Let's take an example. Scary stories for children. You know, these stories that play with fear, but aren't actually scary, even for children.

First, it's important to ground the story in unrealism. There must be elements that are willingly absurd, exaggerated, deformed, or just plain weird, so it's clear the story is indeed just an imaginary story, not a depiction of reality they should take to heart, and to encourage children to use their own imagination to create beyond what their senses can experienced.

Second, the true monster must be the monster, and the monster must be defeated. Ambiguous endings and alternative interpretations are allowed of course, but the story must stand on its own without them. There's a physical, unambiguous, source of danger, and it is taken care of.

Third, rules. The monster is still bound by some unnatural laws, and though understanding of these laws it can be defeated. In a way, the monster does not cheat, it is a fair opponent, a problem that can be solved by the protagonists on their own through strength and cunning.

Respect of these points make up for a story the children will greatly enjoy and that might even teach them a few things. But as adults? It just makes them so very much predictable. A good storyteller will of course manage to make such bland tales sound good to even adult ears... But it will be a mark of their talent, not of the story's own greatness."

[Suzume Rin]

The skinny Kuni girl, looking as irritatingly cheerful as it's possible for a Kuni to look, happily 'drags' the skinny Suzume girl to the library so she can show off for story time. The rather informal posture of the pair might be interpreted as disrespectful to the Crane, but they've clearly dressed well and carefully prepared their hair, and there's no doubting their reverence for the library and Rin's seriousness about story time.

Rin looks rather pink but does her best to greet everyone with appropriate formality with deep bows for the samurai who outrank her (deep bows for all!)

She listens with interest as the Shosuro discusses the nature of children stories.

"Oh, Minna-sama. I hope I, uh, we ain't interrupting. Just I'd heard there was storytelling to be done and I'm pretty predictable when it comes to stories. Did we miss the telling time or do we still got a little while?"

[Ikoma Aya]

The Ikoma, who had entered and bowed to Ahiru not long before Kaoru, kept looking at one and the other, then the Kuni and her sparring partner the Sparrow as the conversation continued.

Aya's face was mostly serious - she did raise an eyebrow at some of Kaoru's words, though, even if in a way she saw... something of a point in what she was seeing.

But then... didn't some of it come from the term itself? Children's stories... were they stories about children? For children? Created by children, even, in some cases?

She was ready to tell a story herself, but for now, and especially with Rin clearly eager to tell a story herself, she bowed and nodded to the Suzume, giving her the ground before telling her own story.

(The player having trouble sitting down to put a story down to paper has nothing to do with it. Certainly not!)

[Kakita Ahiru]

Ahiru listened once more to the Scorpion launch into a speech, making sure to nod at times to show that she was listening, even as she was sipping her tea and taking her time to admire the nice tea-set that they had been given to use today. And sometimes she'd give a nod to others arriving to show that she had noticed their arrival... but she was alas locked down by being host to the death of parties.

"Well, you certainly have very strong opinions on the matter, Shosuro-san," she remarked with a smile. "Ah, Suzume-san, good evening. There is still plenty of time to tell stories - and I for one would love to hear you tell one." Anything that isn't listening to this drivel. "Shosuro-san here I am sure would be quite interested in the renowned storytelling skills of the Sparrow."

[Suzume Rin]

Ahiru listened once more to the Scorpion launch into a speech, making sure to nod at times to show that she was listening, even as she was sipping her tea and taking her time to admire the nice tea-set that they had been given to use today. And sometimes she'd give a nod to others arriving to show that she had noticed their arrival... but she was alas locked down by being host to the death of parties.

"Well, you certainly have very strong opinions on the matter, Shosuro-san," she remarked with a smile. "Ah, Suzume-san, good evening. There is still plenty of time to tell stories - and I for one would love to hear you tell one." Anything that isn't listening to this drivel. "Shosuro-san here I am sure would be quite interested in the renowned storytelling skills of the Sparrow."

"Oh well, yah both too kind....but I do have a story in mind."
Seeing Aya enter as well, Rin bows to the Ikoma in turn.

Taking a central position and rolling up her sleeves
"See this story is actually about...a Sparrow. Now I know what you're thinking and no, I ain't it. This is the story of a tiny sparrow who lived long ago high up in the mountains..."
Dropping her voice

"And at the start of the story there wasn't a bird at all, just an old couple who lived in the forest making their means by cutting wood. Now the old man he was honest, he didn't have much but he'd always had enough. His wife though, she was real greedy. She'd never had enough and her poor lifestyle had always gnawed away at her."
Rin tuts

"One morning, the same as a thousand others, the old man goes out to cut some timber in the mountains when he hears a call for help. 'cept it's not a person calling see, it's a poor Sparrow whose wing had been crushed by a falling branch. The old man felt sorry for the bird, it could have been him hit by that same branch if he'd gotten up just a little earlier. So he decides to care for the sparrow and takes it home, even feeding him some of the family's rice.

Now, his wife didn't take kindly to this. They had little enough food as it was, and it wasn't like the sparrow was gonna pay them back. But the old man paid her no heed and kept nursing the bird back to health."

"But one day...the old man had to return to work in the mountains, so he left the bird in the care of his wife, and she had no intention of feeding it!"
Gasp!
"She decided she'd lock the sparrow in and go fishing. But anyone knows little birds they can get into whatever they want, and that sparrow found some starch left over in the house and he ate it all, grew at least twice in size I reckon. The wife comes back and she is not happy, she seizes the sparrow and cuts out his tongue before throwing him outside and slamming the door."

"Now, the old man returns and his wife says the sparrow left to go home. The old man misses his friend and decides to go out to find him. But there are a lot of birds in the forest and mountains and he asks each of them 'Have you seen a sparrow?' and they hadn't seen a sparrow but they'd seen a hawk, or they'd seen a sparrow, but it weren't his sparrow. And he searches and he searches until one day a sparrow comes to him."

Making her voice rather chirpy
" 'Old man! I know where your sparrow is! He's staying at the inn!' Now, the old man knew all the forest and mountains but he'd never seen no inn. But the bird was insistent 'Everyone's waiting for you at the inn! Follow me!' and he leads the man deep into a bamboo thicket and inside the thicket is this inn, and it's full of sparrows. And inside is his sparrow, he can't speak but they hug, finally reunited. And it turns out all the other birds want to give the old man a gift for his kindness, so they offer him two baskets. One big heavy basket, one small and light. The old man, he doesn't need anything and he knows the sparrows are very small, he doesn't want to take too much, so he asks for the small basket."
Rin nods approvingly

"Now, he gets home and opens up the basket and inside it's full of jewels! His wife can't believe it and she manages to get the location of the inn out of him and goes storming up the mountain and finds the other sparrows. They ask her which basket she wants and she goes for the big heavy one. They warn her though, don't open it until you get home."

Wagging her finger
"But she's a greedy person and she can't resist sneaking a peek up on that mountain and it ain't jewels in there, it's snakes! They lunge out and her and she's so shocked she trips and falls, tumbling all the way down the mountain back to her home. Lucky for her her husband can now afford to hire doctors and buy medicine. But that's why you gotta never let greed drive yah, and why the compassionate samurai is rewarded."

Day 6 Children's Stories, mostly fluff roll.

Performance/Earth, TN 1 | TN: 1 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 2

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Makes some magic

The Crab sits beaming throughout the story, nodding in agreement with each of Rin's embellishments. When she finishes the tale, Mitsuko restrains a proper Crab cheer for the effort, but she does rise and step closer to the Suzume, smiling proudly and saying emphatically, "Such an important and insightful story for children! And so well told, Suzume Rin-san," she gushes in a pretty un-Crablike way.

[Kakita Ahiru]

Since there was some story told now, Ahiru made sure to give the Sparrow her full attention, and she put her hands together with delight at the conclusion of Rin's tale.

"Thank you, Suzume-san, for honoring us with your tale. A good lesson to us all too, to be generous, kind, and compassionate to those we meet." She made sure to give Rin some plum blossom monaka, to thank for her participation.

"Where did you learn this tale may I ask?"

[Suzume Rin]

Since there was some story told now, Ahiru made sure to give the Sparrow her full attention, and she put her hands together with delight at the conclusion of Rin's tale.

"Thank you, Suzume-san, for honoring us with your tale. A good lesson to us all too, to be generous, kind, and compassionate to those we meet." She made sure to give Rin some plum blossom monaka, to thank for her participation.

"Where did you learn this tale may I ask?"

They give yah food for telling stories? Best.Party.Ever

"That one's from my dad, he heard it from his dad and he from his dad back and back until we don't know who first told it, maybe it was the old man? It''s a story every Sparrow child learns early. And if you eat all the sweets while mom's out she's like to start muttering 'bout finding the shears. Puts the fear of the fortunes into yah when you're little."

[Kitsu Masaru]

No self respecting student of the Ikoma would be absent from a story telling. Seeing familiar faces and new ones the Kitsu would bow to all gathered, a small smile on his lips "good evening samurai to be, a good night for story telling it seems to be." He said with an air of calm, his voice just at the volume that someone had to be really listening to hear.

"Childhood is an interesting thing, a time of innocence and naivete but so full of potiential. Not to say children can't be cruel but I think that is a product of their environment and not something that all children share. In fact I think more than anything children are a partially blank slate. They tend to take on what they see, they tend to be a mirror that reflects the world around them as it is rather than how we wish it to be. A child raised around Cruelty shadowed in courtesy will doubtless still reflect Cruelty until they learn how to mask it. However a child raised around hard work and earnest piety will reflect those things as well." A quick look to Rin at the last.

"Take this experience for example, in my village there were many children but for this tale we will focus on two, one the scion of a local noble the family for all outward appearances Pious and honorable people. Their son however a terror unless in view of his parents, swinging their status around as a bully taking what they want and doing as they please. The other the son of a poor farmer but undoubtedly kind and giving of whatever he could, his last zeni to someone hungry or the last ounce of energy to someone in need." He explained with subtle flourishes and shifts of tone not the grand display people may have heard when talking of the Ikoma but good storytelling none the less.

"Now when these two meet the bully lays into the farmers son taking his money which is freely given, forcing work which is gladly done. Eventually the bully grows frustrated and bored huffing off to a new target and the farmers son continues about his day tired and penniless but filled with purpose."

"Now one day a man is on the side of the road with a cart and a broken wheel he is elderly and clearly cannot fix it himself. The young noble comes by and is polite and respectful but in the end is too busy to help the old man and moves along with his day but the farmers son comes through and of course gives his all to help the man replace the wheel and let him on his way."

"Now weeks later an Imperial comes to the small town, quite auspicious and everyone is busy preparing. When the Imperial arrives he is in the company of the old man from before. The pair move past all the fan faire set up by the nobles of the town and head straight for the farm. The Imperial explains the old man was a personal servant and was carrying goofs for the Emperor himself and the farmers son's assistance was a favor not only to the servant but to the Emperor himself. The farming family was raised in Status and given Stewardship over the village while the nobles were moved to a smaller village." He finished.

the tale was a simple one and the themes were obvious but it was competently told. The Kitsu bowed and moved off the main area hoping people enjoyed the tale.

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D6 Children's stories performance/water | TN: 1 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2

[Ikoma Aya]

After Masaru told his story, Aya finally settled down to tell her own. A story unlike the cautionary tale style of the other two - which she approved with nods and even slight lines at the corners of her eyes. She kept taking her hands to her eyes, though, despite a mostly neutral face.

With a deep breath, she set out to tell it. It was a story of two youn girls, one a few years older than the other, although, considering the details of the story, the eldest was not older than 10. The two - who the story eventually made clear were sisters - often explored together. In the story, their explorations seemed like those of brave adventurers, although it was clear by the context that they were actually trips along parts of their village, sometimes venturing out to nearby roads and other villages, or the river not far to the north.

Their adventures involved learning about many different things in the world. The animals and plants around them. What was expected of them, and what they thought would be expected of them - which were often very different things. And, perhaps most importantly, how different and varied people were... and how sometimes they were not what they ought to be.

One day, while exploring close to the river, they saw a man, who they recognised as a relatively well-known samurai of some status from a nearby village, with a woman from their village. They seemed to be talking to each other, maybe even having fun... until, suddenly, the woman froze, her previously easy face overcome with... was that fear? Shame? Despair? She looked to one side and the other, as if searching for someone around - but the girls had hidden themselves behind a bush.

"What's he doing, oneesan?", the younger girl asked in a whisper. "I... I don't know", the older girl said, the angry expression on her eyes suggesting she did, but didn't want to talk about it. "But Miriko-san doesn't like it!". "We must do something!", the younger girl said, exasperated. The older girl just nodded.

Soon a stone splashed in the river, close to the two adults. The male samurai turned to look at what had caused the noise, nervous and, for a moment, frightened, his head turning to one side, then to the other. The woman took a step back, then another, hope and courage flooding her face. Seeing that, the man, confused and red-faced, turned to her again... but it was two late. The two girls had darted towards the man and, jumping, tackled him with all the force they could, holding stones in their hands.

Two kids against one adult, strong man - it was a difficult prospect. They couldn't quite topple him... but they unbalanced him enough to send one of his feet into the river. His hands flailed about, but with his foot stuck in the mud they were no match for the lithe, agile girls. They wouldn't keep there for long, though, of course. They quickly turned their backs to the man, took the woman's hands in their own and bid her to run - which she did, fast and without looking back.

The woman offered them her thanks - and dinner, which the girls gladly accepted. And that was that.

There was no clear moral (although perhaps there was one behind the surface?), no clear mysticism, nothing of the kind. Just a story about two young, curious girls discovering bravery to help a fellow woman, despite the odds. But it clearly brought some emotion to Aya's eyes as she told it.

Bowing and nodding, she gave the others a slight smile, a quick look to Kaoru, and stepped back.

[Suzume Rin]

Both Masaru and Aya's tales received furious approving fan shaking (Rin reckoned even the Crane can't object to a little fan shaking for a good tale).

[Kakita Ahiru]

Ahiru did not object to Rin's good-natured cheer for the stories, and she too enjoyed listening to the others share their tales.

"Thank you, everyone, for sharing these stories with us all. I really enjoyed listening to you. But I did find Suzume-san's tale to be particularly endearing, and she does her ancestors proud by maintaining the storytelling tradition of the Sparrow. I will personally find some inspiration in the future from listening to you."

The Sparrow was gifted four pieces of plum blossom monaka, as her "prize" for the evening. Everyone else recieved two pieces of plum blossom monaka.


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OOC: Suzume Rin has the most Successes and is our winner.