[Day 7 - Early Afternoon] RP Thread: Tsuneo's Shiro

[Boogiepop]

While much of the infrastructure was reserved for the Oshidama tournament to happen in the next hour, Kinsenka Breweries had already set up their bleachers for viewing the obstacle course event...and potentially their refreshment service and ads as well.

Wash those stresses away with a nice ice-cold can of Kinsenka ZERO!

Zero Alcohol!

Maximum Flavour!

KINSENKA BREWERIES

[Miya Kisha]

Kisha, knowing better than to put her petite frame against such challenges--she can embarrass herself easily enough without provoking it, thank you very much--sits in the stands, watching the competitors take their lumps and, rarely, break through. Her holodrone sits before her, parked but recording; this kind of content does well, she knows.

One of Kinsenka's people, having recognized her from the comments, whispers a few words to her, and, as she nods, a can of Lemon ULTIMATE Sour appears in her hand, which she soon opens and sips at.

Will she be alone?

(Quote me to get me, folks; I'd love to have you!)

[Yasuki Taraka]

Kisha, knowing better than to put her petite frame against such challenges--she can embarrass herself easily enough without provoking it, thank you very much--sits in the stands, watching the competitors take their lumps and, rarely, break through. Her holodrone sits before her, parked but recording; this kind of content does well, she knows.

One of Kinsenka's people, having recognized her from the comments, whispers a few words to her, and, as she nods, a can of Lemon ULTIMATE Sour appears in her hand, which she soon opens and sips at.

Will she be alone?

(Quote me to get me, folks; I'd love to have you!)

She would not be! Taraka was quite pleased with herself for not falling on her ass in the course. Oh sure, she wouldn't place, but the Crab in her had really enjoyed bashing the head off the foam zombie at the last minute. Maybe that'd make the highlight reel.

But speaking of highlights of the day, she approached the Miya.

"Good afternoon, Miya-san. How are you enjoying the show?" she offered with a bow.

[Miya Kisha]

Greetings!

"Yasuki-san!" Kisha says, smiling and happily returning the bow. "It's such a pleasure to see you, and it was a joy to see you make it through the course! I'd never have done so well, myself.

"How has business been for you?"

With Yasuki, of course, such is a just and fitting question. For others, maybe not as much.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka certainly seemed happy and about more than the run.

"Things are certainly looking up Miya-san. But you know how it is." she said, watching another contestant speed run through the course before getting bucked off by the oni-kage.

"No matter how quick you are, it doesn't matter if you doesn't matter if you don't make it into the shiro. How about you, Miya-san? Your viewership taking off along with the hope of the people?"

[Utaku Itsuka]

Immediately after finishing her run, Itsuka goes looking for Suh-Hyun for what would have been an *incredible* race!

[Kakita Hiroki]

The mud streaked Kakita had rushed off to get changed and be presentable for the Oshidama to follow, but eventually he returned. Whatever he'd chosen to wear for the competition to come was hidden under a Miyabi Blue Stars T-shirt that reached to his knees.

He stared at the obstacle course either wondering about what might have been, or if they'd let him have another go for funsies.

[Ikoma Nonoko]

After her completed run Lil Nonoko sat down and
watched the others run.

[Miya Kisha]

bidness is bidness

"Numbers are good," Kisha replies. "Offworld interest is up; you'll be pleased to know that the battle carp sequence has been going over well. So much so, in fact, that I'm editing a longer-form piece featuring it and you. I expect that subscribers will be quite pleased, and I'll be sure to include your business's contact information so that people can reach out to you for orders."

She smiles a little sheepishly. "That I got soundly trounced by Bayushi Senshuken probably didn't hurt. People like seeing a bit of a ditz get a bit of a comeuppance every now and again, after all."

[Yasuki Taraka]

bidness is bidness

"Numbers are good," Kisha replies. "Offworld interest is up; you'll be pleased to know that the battle carp sequence has been going over well. So much so, in fact, that I'm editing a longer-form piece featuring it and you. I expect that subscribers will be quite pleased, and I'll be sure to include your business's contact information so that people can reach out to you for orders."

She smiles a little sheepishly. "That I got soundly trounced by Bayushi Senshuken probably didn't hurt. People like seeing a bit of a ditz get a bit of a comeuppance every now and again, after all."

This prompted a small laugh.

"Well, I hope Bayushi-san watches her back. While there might be some people who want to see justice served to Kisha, I'm sure there are more who would demand justice FOR Kisha. At least I assume that the bulk of your subscribers aren't just hate watching. It'd be hard to imagine you being so positive without people who support you." she offers. "And thank you, I do appreciate your help in getting the word out for the business."

[Miya Kisha]

more bidness

"Hate-watching's still watching," Kisha says, shrugging slightly. "And views mean clicks mean revenue.

"But I'm of course happy to help a friend," she continues. "You've been good to me--you, and a lot of other people here, really. It's been nice to be around so many good people; not every world's like that, I promise you, even if every world has its mysteries and questions.

"And if I may, there're a couple I'd ask you about. Entirely off the record, of course, and not about any of your trade secrets--not on purpose, anyway; tell me if I hit on one, and I'll shut up about it."

[Yasuki Taraka]

"Hate-watching's still watching," Kisha says, shrugging slightly. "And views mean clicks mean revenue.

"But I'm of course happy to help a friend," she continues. "You've been good to me--you, and a lot of other people here, really. It's been nice to be around so many good people; not every world's like that, I promise you, even if every world has its mysteries and questions.

"And if I may, there're a couple I'd ask you about. Entirely off the record, of course, and not about any of your trade secrets--not on purpose, anyway; tell me if I hit on one, and I'll shut up about it."

Taraka grinned.

"No worries, Miya-san. If your questions get too rough, there's a nearby mud pit to toss you in." she joked. "Fire away."

[Miya Kisha]

jokes

"At least let me finish my drink first if you're going to do that," Kisha replies.

"I was talking with some people a couple of days ago, and someone mentioned an abandoned resort. I hadn't heard anything about it previously, but it seems to have attracted some attention locally. What all happened with it, do you know?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

jokes

"At least let me finish my drink first if you're going to do that," Kisha replies.

"I was talking with some people a couple of days ago, and someone mentioned an abandoned resort. I hadn't heard anything about it previously, but it seems to have attracted some attention locally. What all happened with it, do you know?"

Taraka looked at the intrepid Miya.

"Hotel Nakahama? I hadn't heard anything about it warranting local attention recently. But I can tell you a little about it at least. It was built decades ago, by someone who had way more money than sense. They had this grand vision of a luxury resort where you could take tours of the volcano while being able to see the entire bay from the comfort of your room. As you might suspect, building a hotel on top of a a semi-active volcano surrounded by hostile wildlife is as expensive as it is difficult as it is foolish. The budget ballooned out of control, everything from having to hire security and medical services to try to keep the workers mostly in one peace to costly rituals from local shugenja to keep the volcano from, you know, exploding like the climax of a low budget action film." she explained.

"Then when the money ran out, you started seeing the grand traditions of sunk cost and bigger fool kicking in. It changed hands several times. Someone even managed to sell it to the Mantis at one point, so points to them for getting a clan as savvy as the Mantis to take on this white elephant. Eventually, folks just gave up on trying to complete it, and the wilderness did what wilderness does and is slowly reclaiming it."

She took a sip of her beer.

"The path is blocked off and there's all sorts of warnings at the tourist board not to go there. Between the wildlife, the volcano, and the compromised structural integrity of what's left of the building, it's really easy to get hurt out there, and you would be a long way away from medical services or a rescue."

She shrugged a bit.

"Still, sometimes people head out there. Teenagers doing a 'Test of Courage' or Abandoned Places influencers going out there for views. They typically whisper about it being haunted, but the hotel never opened, so unless it's haunted by the spirts of people who were told not to go out there, I doubt that's true. "

She offered a bit of a toast to her partner with her cup.

"Hotel Nakahama: The greatest resort that never was, and constant reminder of why ambition needs to be tempered with common sense."

[Moto Shiwahime]

Sadly she had been denied a second run

So she took a towel and joined the rank of the competitors who had finished...for good or for ill.

[Miya Kisha]

kampai

Kisha's not about to refuse a toast, so she raises her drink--not done yet, surprisingly--and says "To wise investments" before taking a pull from it.

There's an etiquette about this kind of thing, after all.

"It seems 'ambitious' is a good word for it," she agrees. "And I said something about the teenager-thing in the conversation where the hotel came up. Which was itself an interesting thing, coming from that whole Edge of Darkness thing that happened."

She sighs a bit, shakes her head. "I'm still not sure how I came out ahead in that. We didn't really have that kind of thing in the dorms when I was there, or I never got invited to it, at least. But I'm learning that people get up to a lot more stuff than I'd been clued in on, and I'm not sure whether I'm sad to have missed out on it or not.

"Anyway, I appreciate you telling me about all that, Yasuki-san, and I hope you weren't one of the investors who got caught up in all of it."

Kisha will consider for a moment before musing aloud "I wonder if Yasuki Kaito was one of those investors, though. He seems to have been nervous lately. I'm not sure why, and I'm concerned about him. He was nice to me at the izakaya, and he cooked good squid."

Sadly she had been denied a second run

So she took a towel and joined the rank of the competitors who had finished...for good or for ill.

Kisha will not leave Taraka, but she will raise a hand in greeting to the towering Unicorn woman.

[Moto Shiwahime]

snip

While refreshing herself, Shiwa took notice of the Miya and raised a hand in return.

She wondered if that was a greeting or if she wanted to join her and the crab

Meh, why not

She moved closer to the pair

[Shinjo Suh-Hyun]

Immediately after finishing her run, Itsuka goes looking for Suh-Hyun for what would have been an *incredible* race!

Suh-Hyun wasn't immediately visible, but if they Utaku was worried her Shinjo comrade was feeling down then that worry was soon dispelled.

"Hey Itsuka-san!" The other Unicorn waved, having managed to get a quick wash off and change into something dry. Her hair was still mostly wet but at least the slime was gone. "Good run!"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Kisha Live!

Kisha will not leave Taraka, but she will raise a hand in greeting to the towering Unicorn woman.

"Oh, most certainly not." she said referring to the hotel. "Have you seen how much shugenja charge for routine volcano appeasement rituals? It's enough to make you blow your stack.

She leaned back a bit in her seat.

"Ah well, I suppose centuries have given us the time and resources to develop ways to relieve stress beyond drinking sake floating down a river and then spouting poetry. Take Golden Shotengai., Oh sure, you could just go there and drink at Grey carp, or get food at Muri Donburi, but just with Flying Battle Carps, Mechanuts, and Player Station Plus, you see a dazzling display of ways to entertain ourselves. Edge of Darkness is perhaps more than a little bit silly. I'm sure the ancestors would question whether it's really wise to pretend to be creatures of the night, something the Crab have fought against for centuries. But if it scratches some sort of itch that keeps even a single person from actually going in a bad direction, I think it's a good thing."

And then MOTO!

"Hey Moto-san, great run out there, I think you've got a pretty good shot at being the big winner today." she offered with a bow. "Yasuki Taraka."

[Moto Shiwahime]

''Moto Shiwahime, a pleasure to meet you Yasuki-sama'' The lead contestant bowed in return

She glanced at the scoring after the crab's words

''Thank you. The competition is good but...it looks like it. Although I did not see Miya-same here take her turn so she could always snatch the victory, I am sure.''