Heart of the Garden is up. New fiction focusing on Unicorn, Meishodo and Shahai.

Man, that Shahai has quite a temper.

Liked it! I like the high school aspect of this story

All due blessings to Hantei Soroii, may he live the life he deserves, but Daisetsu for the Throne! This was phenomenally well done. Iuchi Daiyu's stillness in the face of the summons, Shahai's slow crumbling under pressure, a half-dozen different ways to enter a garden, the fact that the prince sees himself as Kakita wooing Doji.. *fingerkiss*

Nicely done. Also really hits home that this is a completely different story than the original L5R I knew.

Not what I was expecting, but I really liked it. They are certainly doing some work on Daisetsu. I like that he's so much more likeable than the rest of his family, but he has an edge to him that's clearly dangerous. I wanted this story to keep going. Stuff like this gives me a lot of hope for the new portrayals of the heavy antagonists from the old continuity.

9 minutes ago, phillos said:

Not what I was expecting, but I really liked it. They are certainly doing some work on Daisetsu. I like that he's so much more likeable than the rest of his family, but he has an edge to him that's clearly dangerous. I wanted this story to keep going. Stuff like this gives me a lot of hope for the new portrayals of the heavy antagonists from the old continuity.

He is interested in trying new paths, to see what has been denied by always sticking to tradition. The modern person in me of course cheers that, as we've seen how our own societies improve on challenging the grooves laid out by our ancestors as "well that is just how it has always been done."

But in this fictional world, challenging tradition always just seems to lead to tentacles and madness.

In a world where making a bad choice could leave your soul forever tainted, knock the elements out of alignment or cause you to fade away into nothing I think he is certainly playing with fire. Right now I'm rooting for him I like the path he's on, and I like that he's trying to be a friend to Shahai.

The only thing I do not like about this story is that now we’ll have to put up with @Manchu ‘s rambling about the lack of manners of the Unicorn.

The rest is perfect. I think it paints a very interesting portrait of Shahai. A good person, loyal and loving of her family, but prone to revenge and having it her way.

1 fiction is going to make me forget years of not liking Shahai? Really? At least they won't make me like Daig... omfg Daisetsu is Daigotsu... I like Daigotsu... NOOOOOO!!!!!!

Well this story was very cute and very sad at the same time.

I liked the budding relationship between Daisetsu and Shahai.

Also, kudos to the author for making the situation that Shahai is in have a proper amount of weight to it.

It really did feel like an oppressive force weighing down on her.

21 minutes ago, Waywardpaladin said:

But in this fictional world, challenging tradition always just seems to lead to tentacles and madness.

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

have you ever heard of economic crisis or discrimination towards the dark arts under the reign of yog-sothoth or Hastur? Of course not! Everyone is equally insignificant to the eyes of the Great Ones and they don't even need shugenja to interact with their deities!

----

the story was great

Daisetsu offering some therapy while akwardly trying courting her at the same time was entertaining. Glad to see him developing a more open mindset rather than stricly adhering unquestionably to tradition

Also loved the subtle implication that the dagger gift possibly held a more sinister meaning (though it's likely isn't so)

1 minute ago, mirrorcat said:

You say that as if it was a bad thing.

have you ever heard of economic crisis or discrimination towards the dark arts under the reign of yog-sothoth or Hastur? Of course not! Everyone is equally insignificant to the eyes of the Great Ones and they don't even need shugenja to interact with their deities!

----

the story was great

Daisetsu offering some therapy while akwardly trying courting her at the same time was entertaining. Glad to see him developing a more open mindset rather than stricly adhering u questionably to tradition

Also loved the subtle implication that the dagger gift possibly held a more sinister meaning (though it's likely isn't so)

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. He is the gate. He is the key and the guardian of the gate.

Sounds like there would be a lot of unemployment in his world, he does all the jobs himself!

5 minutes ago, Waywardpaladin said:

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. He is the gate. He is the key and the guardian of the gate.

Sounds like there would be a lot of unemployment in his world, he does all the jobs himself!

And he doesn't even ask for compensation!

Sounds to me he's much more reliable than some temperamental "Kami" who won't lift a finger without receiving an offering beforehand

It was good story.

I do like how this gave us dates we could theoretically start dissecting a timeline from.

Well I am starting to see a future civil war considering how much better Daisetu is than the heir.

Although his willingness to go off the path has potential for danger as well. But as a Dragon I appreciate his willingness to learn and expand.

Given the tone of the Shahai's card image, the damage to her clothing and to the roses, I wonder if this is post-dark wave breaking over Otosan Uchi.

I’m wondering if the “The Stories we Tell” fiction happens in the middle of this one.

At the end of that one, Daisetsu said to Shizue:

The prince seemed to be turning something over in his mind. “So the truth is merely what one believes it to be.”

And then he uses that new gained knowledge talking to Shahai. And then told her that he has to tell her the story of Lady Doji and Kakita, the same one that Shizue told him.

I think it is very likely FFG could go for a succession crisis with clans pledging allegiance to different heirs and end that in a storyline prize.

In any case, the story was very good. I look forward to more of Daisetsu and Shahai.

I find there to be something adorable about how Daisetsu seems to have trouble with what to say when Shahai shows up. Best Prince has a crush, me thinks.

Now to wait for the inevitable highschool romance drama to begin.

One thing I want to know if "daisetsu" hair is white

Daisetsu has some serious game. Straight baller move.

I love the imagery of Shahai literally walking in Daisetsu's footsteps.

Do we know who Shahai's mother was?

I'm seriously looking forward to how this one develops. Having only caught the tail end of Daigotsu's and Shahai's stories in the old game I can't wait to see where this goes. Even if it doesn't end up with them being the Shadowlands power couple I hope they will become, it's one heck of a good story so far.

My guess, after what we know so far, is that Daisetsu already had plans, and may have even put them into motion, to claim the throne. Shahai will hold back some of her teachings to the Seppun, but, instruct Daisetsu in private, and give him more advanced teachings, and their bond grows. I think Daisetsu is already aware of the path that Yori and Tadaka are on and he will offer to use Meishodo to "help" to them and their efforts to defeat/understand/utilize the Shadowlands, while Daisetsu actually has bigger goals in mind. I'm not quite sure yet how Junzo gets into the mix, but, I suspect Daisetsu could actually be duping the Scorpion, and preying upon Kachiko's desires for more influence, ultimately leading to pointing the finger at her directly or the Scoprion as a whole, when whatever big plot point comes down for the inevitable struggle for the throne takes place. I think in the old lore Junzo opened the scrolls because he felt the empire betrayed Shoju and this very well could be going that way if Kachiko's ambitions are not met. I betting we'll get a redemption story for the Scorpion, and/or Kachiko/Shoju, when Daisetsu reveals himself as the true villain, Daigostu, with his Bloodspeeker lieutenants, Shahai, Yori, Tadaka, and Junzo..................

It would be interesting if Daisetsu is playing on her emotions and ends up making an enemy of Shahai, when Daisetsu goes to claim the throne. When the Unicorn are forced to stand against Daisetsu's coup or risk being branded as a clan of usurpers, Shahai realizes that Daisetsu has twisted her teachings and ultimately lead to her clan being seen in the very light she was supposed to prevent, and ends up with her being a catalyst for her to abandon Daisetsu in his moment of triumph and help redeem/save Tadaka, Junzo, and Yori, turning them into the ultimate squad of witch-hunters, tasked with bringing down the Fu-leng infused Diagotsu.

Bottom-line.................. I think this is the plot-line we all need to pay special attention to. "Duh Ishi..............Daisetsu/Digotsu is important" but I think it's much more than that. I think tFFG will be mashing a bunch of the old important plot lines together so they can move the story forward having "cleaned house" of the old cannon, to allow the writers to move forward without us fanbois playing "armchair story team."

I'm sure we'll have Yoritomo and Yoshi fit into the bigger "Fu Leng finds his apprentice Daisetsu/Diagotsu, and breaks the empire" plot as well.

If I had put my money on which way things go, I'd put it on Shahai and Daisestu becoming the evil power couple, similar to what they were in the old lore. The story about Shahai wanting to watch things burn to teach the imperials a lesson is way to familiar to Daigotsu's old motto to be a coincidence, IMO. I'm thinking maybe Daisetsu is so in love with Shahai that he's willing to burn the empire to the ground for her................and that she turns out to be the Dark Daughter of Fu Leng, from her mother's side.

Did you notice that she refers to Grandfather Iuchi? I'm guessing this is talking about her ancestor.

Wuv! Twu wuv! :D

1 hour ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

Did you notice that she refers to Grandfather Iuchi? I'm guessing this is talking about her ancestor.

Or Iuchi Daiyu's father. No reason why 'Grandfather' can't actually be her grandfather on the Iuchi side (while also being a bit of a sly nod )

5 hours ago, Tabris2k said:

I think it paints a very interesting portrait of Shahai. A good person, loyal and loving of her family, but prone to revenge and having it her way.

See, what I've been enjoying about this?

Is how little I like Shahai by the end of it. And not in an "she's evil! EEEEEEEEVIL!" way, but rather in a "what did you think being a samurai entailed?" sort of way. She's a big ball of selfishness wrapped up in flimsy self-justifications. Reading this makes me understand her siblings' reluctance when Altansarnai suggested they make a dagger for her as well.

Not sure how much of this being too hard on her is old baggage (I really wasn't all that interested in her in the old days, for good or ill), but she really rocks the obnoxious teenager vibe a little too well for my tastes (in fairness, she is an obnoxious teenager whose mother was taken from her and whose family relations have always apparently been odd).

I mean, I get that she's not meant to be a perfect human being by any means, but her grasp of the big picture is downright pathetic-as Daisetsu, that dangerous young fellow, makes abundantly clear. "Kill yourself and what do you think is going to happen?"

5 hours ago, Waywardpaladin said:

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. He is the gate. He is the key and the guardian of the gate.

IA! IA!