L5R Official Fiction: Darlings of the Court

[Yasuki Yamakori]

I want him to be a kickass villain, with no need of subtlety, like Chagatai was.

I want him to walk that line between hero and villian.

Like Magneto. The comic version. Sometimes a good guy, sometimes a bad guy, but always with an agenda, with no shame for that agenda... and always to be feared and/or respected.

[ToritakaTadaka]

I don't know about a tetsubo through the screen...I'm waiting for the Kuni to go: "Hello Susu...JADE STRIKE!"

[Iagosan]

I anxiously await the knife you'll put in our backs.

Oh they’re not going to trust each other in the slightest. It’s like anyone else working with the Scorpion: even when two parties are doing something mutually beneficial, you are pretty sure the Scorpion are going to screw you over whether they actually intend to or not. Only in this case the Crab/Spider will both assume the same.

Speaking of which, I actually see this being more of a Scorpion ploy than a Crab one. Having Crab operatives working with the Spider on a paperwork level might make it easier for the Scorpion to maneuver in their territorial disputes (I’m not even saying the Crab have to overtly act in scandal). Who knows what obligations Itsuko’s family might have to the Scorpion, and working to assist an ally while keeping the spider out of the Crab’s way in the colonies might be considered a win on two fronts for her personally.

As a thought I’d rather not mention, this could actually be a ploy against the Crab as repercussion for not telling the whereabouts of Paneki's Disgrace. This setup might make it easier for the Scorpion to falsify that the Crab are involved in the ‘stinging tricks’ along with them if they are ever caught, forcing the Crab to endure a Scorpion ultimatum.

Overall, I expect any Crab knifing or tetsubo-ing the Spider will be in the front. The Scorpion will do the back-stabbing.

[Kaiu Genkotsu]

Personally, I find it amusing that Takayuki thinks the Scorpion are going to "slip up" and give him something he can take all the way up to the Empress. I mean, it is -obviously- nothing more than a case of a bureau that is understaffed and overworked. And by the time you get that far down the priority list, well, sometimes human error happens.

Also, given that the first half of the story went to great pains to say "don't underestimate the Kuni in court," I'll hold out hope that yes, Renyu really can pull of that kind of subtlety.

[Rixy]

I don't want Renyu to be a villain (other than as a land-stripping ecoterrorist). Let the Yogo have the creepy title back, it really should be long to them anyway