Sapphire Ambassadors

I don't really know if anyone has any questions, but if you do, here you go!

If anyone has any questions.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS?!

Oh, my sweet summer child...

1. Biggest curveball Nadeshiko threw you?

2. Favorite scene for Nadeshiko this game?

3. Your favorite presentation Nadeshiko made?

4. Biggest missed opportunity?

5. Coolest surprise?

6. What are Nadeshiko's short-term plans? (She, uhm, doesn't strike me as much for long-term plans )

7. Is Nadeshiko prepared for Mikan's grand romantic gesture?

8. Did Nadeshiko change much from conception to execution?

9. She seemed to be a friendly, loving soul, with only Kojiro really catching her ire that I saw. Was there anybody else she disliked?[/i

1. Biggest curveball Nadeshiko threw you?
A difficult question -- she and I were rather in sync in this game and it was easy to RP her. But I think she may have gained Enlightenment of some kind those last three days. IDK how that would reflect mechanically, but, she has this very strong feeling that love really is at the center of everything.

2. Favorite scene for Nadeshiko this game?
Oh, that's difficult. Hm. That's like asking me to pick a favorite child :( All the scenes I got to play with everyone were delightful.
I will say I cherished the RPs with Choudai, Hatsuki, Sriyani, Yoshiaki, Tatsuya, and Minori while her player was still here. And I enjoyed Yoshino's RPs (both with and without Nadeshiko), even if life kept smacking actually RPing with her out of reach -_-

3. Your favorite presentation Nadeshiko made?
I actually really like all of them, even the more poorly-written ones. I can talk about some fun stuff though. I went into writing presentations with a few things in mind:

#1: She wasn't actively trying to win. This was basically a fun vacation for her, and she would rather a non-Crane have been named Champion because it would shake things up among the Crane, who are rather complacent. Then eventually she had people she actively wanted to be the Champion, and out of that, she wanted Sriyani to win most so her life would be more free and considered, well, more important than it was before. (Of course, Sriyani also earned her damn win, let's be real!) I slipped a small hint in one poem... "There's a right way to lose" :)
#2: Instead, she was trying to write poems to express herself that she'd find beautiful and personally meaningful, judges and onlookers be damned. When re-reading the poems, I still like them, so I think it worked for me. Only Sincerity feels flawed but in the context it was written, flawed is fine; originally I wasn't going to write anything at all and just post a roll.
#3: As well, all but Duty's poem had to only be three... stanzas? Long. Longer poetry is her strong suit, so she was actively hindering herself, and I also chose that for practicality purposes -- I didn't want to spend lots of time writing them because I am not very good at writing poetry compared to actual trained poets and it would drive me batty. Duty, however, was special, because it was a romantic poem, which are her favorite to write, and so she gave herself the freedom to write as she would like and have as much fun as possible. It also broke up the monotony of her presentations and let her place a spotlight on her beloved Scorpions <3
#4: There were "fire" verses and there were "water" verses. Not necessarily about fire and water, though those are prominent themes in her poems, but some poems (Courage, Duty, Honor) were written to be fiercer, something to appeal to the warrior's spirit of the clans who held those tenets dearest while secretly hiding her own feelings on the tenet within them, if you dared look for them, whereas the "water" verses were much more personal, her own meditation on those tenets; opening her heart so you could peer inside, so to speak.
#5: Finally, each poem had a context piece to showcase other artisans, and the poem had to be linked to the context piece in some way. She collects a lot of art and wanted to have other artisans be acknowledged in some way, and that's what "we" came up with.

For the fire verses -- As I told you and Birb, the subject of Duty's poem was chosen before registration was even open. That it happened to hit stuff we built together over the course of the game was pure, delicious serendipity. I was also going to have Nadeshiko not share it if either of you players didn't want me to (figured you would, but I'm cautious) or if she realized what was going on between Choudai and Hatsuki before her presentation. She's the type of character who would actively take a dive for the people she loves. :)

For the water verses -- I cried writing the Sincerity poem. My grandfather had died that day -- we didn't have a good relationship so it wasn't hard on me in that way, but I still had Feelings about it -- and it helped a bit, writing that poem. It's not as good as I'd like and I maybe spent a half hour on it as opposed to the hours the others got, but I went from my initial concept about following the flame of your heart to something sadder and it spoke to ME the player more. I decided during the game that Nadeshiko had considered suicide (she's a Doji, forgive her) after her beloved fiance died in Naishou, and she felt she'd lost her one shot at true happiness with him. She never told anyone -- the only person who ever even knew was the Scorpion courtier who played with her heart, as he'd been the person to "helpfully" suggest to her the bridge she'd been looking down from for a good long while wouldn't suit her purposes. (Hey, some Scorpions ARE natural assholes, haha...) IRL I am someone who's struggled with suicidal ideation since I was a very young child, so it also holds meaning to me. It's just as personal for me as a player.

One final note: she has a minor phobia of lightning, so when she wants to talk about trauma or personal devastation, she uses lightning as a metaphor to do so. That's why lightning was in the Sincerity poem and in one of her Cry of Spring poems.

4. Biggest missed opportunity?
In general, how IRL kept exploding and either killing my motivation or killing things I wanted to do. I actually wanted to run a scavenger hunt that relied less on rolls and more on players deciphering poems for hints but nope, IRL. Same with RPs. Eugh.
Oh -- I would have liked a romance, but, didn't happen. I think that's just as well. In the end, that's me the player being selfish as romance subplots make my brain go stupid; Nadeshiko's much happier having had the love of friends. ^_^
I wish I'd done better with the context pieces too. I feel I floundered with them and the intent -- sharing the art of artisans who would otherwise have been ignored, and maybe getting them some recognition -- didn't land.

5. Coolest surprise?
The above mentioned serendipity of Duty poem & Hatsuki and Choudai's situation + her prayer for Sriyani actually being answered. Unironically, both were wonderful.

6. What are Nadeshiko's short-term plans? (She, uhm, doesn't strike me as much for long-term plans :lol: )
She absolutely is not one for long-term plans, especially considering her future in the Empire is still well up in the air -- once she marries she'll have something more concrete because she'll know where she is and her standing better, lol. She doesn't really want to climb political ladders. It's not for her.
Publish more poetry books, try to find a spouse she can at least like if not super-love-love (preferably a husband but she would be happy with a wife and adopting children), travel the Empire? Preferably with one of her beloved friends. She's really easy to make happy, and while she'll absolutely fucking murder someone on the battlefield if commanded, and probably will die on some battlefield someday (if her eyesight doesn't fail first), she is happy being a humble, lowly samurai nobody notices or cares about. You can be happy with a small life.

7. Is Nadeshiko prepared for Mikan's grand romantic gesture?
Kinda? She was planning on writing with Mikan and asking her to describe her the things she saw. All those paintings, well... they'll be extremely cherished. Unironically.

8. Did Nadeshiko change much from conception to execution?
Oh, yes! I've been developing this character for over a year. My original concept was "the white tiger of the Crane", a very deadly swordswoman with a hidden rebellious streak.
Then I remolded her a bit as the concept was tied to some interpersonal baggage I didn't want to keep bogging me down. More princessy type but still a deadly swordswoman and secretly rebellious. Had begun considering the blind samurai angle, too, because I like my cliches and being disabled, I really enjoy playing disabled heroes when I can. I think that's important for myself and others.
And then when actually building her for play I just decided to be a little silly and play something I thought would both fit the game and be good for my first game with Fallen Ash. So a much kinder, sweeter, more open girl who is less rebellious and more... hm. Unusual? Unique? Whatever you want to call it. I also tried making her fit Benten's Blessing -- who would Benten bless? That helped a lot too. Finally the secret sauce was some personal stuff thrown in. XD And writing all those damn poems before the game started. Cry of Spring super helped me get her background together.

Her getting a tattoo on her thigh during the game really REALLY amused me though as part of her original "white tiger" concept involved her having a secret tattoo on her inner thigh ;) the original was a butterfly (why, past me? probably transformation or somesuch) but in Fallen Ash it was cherry blossoms.

9. She seemed to be a friendly, loving soul, with only Kojiro really catching her ire that I saw. Was there anybody else she disliked?
Hm. Dislike is a bit hard for her due to her nature -- she accepts all feelings, good, bad, and neutral as temporary; the only thing that lasts for her is love. She absolutely wanted to throttle Kojiro but seeing he wouldn't learn jack shit from it, she quickly released her rage. ...still wants to bite him though. Or beat his ass. Yoshino's a sweet cute girl and Nadeshiko's #1 instinct since her ... whatever it was with that Scorpion courtier has been Protect Cute Girls From Asshole Guys At All Costs. But unfortunately continuing to engage with someone so far up their own ass they're tasting stomach acid wouldn't be good for Yoshino, either, or their hosts...
People who irked her, though? The judges (she is of the opinion if criticism doesn't actually teach anything or even actively stops pursuing someone from what they were trying to do, art or otherwise, it's useless and only stroking one's ego) and a certain Mantis who tried fibbing to her for profit ;p Yet, strangely, she didn't hate him too much... I wonder why :) (Sorry dog-bear!)
She wasn't irked by Mikan, mainly confused, but saw her value as an artist right away.
ETA: WAIT. NO. SHE HATES SRIYANI'S FIANCE!!!! FUCK THAT MAN!!!! AND NOT IN THE FUN WAY!!!!


I feel like you could sum up much of this with "the player is insane". I should go write actual replies maybe :(

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:08 am

I feel like you could sum up much of this with "the player is insane".

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Bayushi Choudai wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 8:46 pm

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:08 am

I feel like you could sum up much of this with "the player is insane".

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Gooble gobble!

Fukurokujin wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:53 pm

Bayushi Choudai wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 8:46 pm

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:08 am

I feel like you could sum up much of this with "the player is insane".

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Gooble gobble!

XD Yes, yes, I am one of you, yes. So when do we get with the stabbening?

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:08 am

ETA: WAIT. NO. SHE HATES SRIYANI'S FIANCE!!!! FUCK THAT MAN!!!! AND NOT IN THE FUN WAY!!!!

I feel like you could sum up much of this with "the player is insane". I should go write actual replies maybe

I feel like you have to be a little bit crazy to to PbP with the way it just eats your life. So..welcome! XD

I'm going to repeat your request for backstory. Like...I know there's a dead love, and that Scorpion jerk, and suicide attempt, and , and,... But I don't have the thread to entirely string them together. XD

So Nadeshiko didn't want to win...but what if she had?

Horiuchi Sriyani wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:49 am

I'm going to repeat your request for backstory. Like...I know there's a dead love, and that Scorpion jerk, and suicide attempt, and , and,... But I don't have the thread to entirely string them together. XD

Ooooh this is fun because so so much of her backstory never came up.

OKAY SO BEFORE I FORGET. Nadeshiko grew up in Kyuden Doji. Her parents were by all accounts an incredibly happy couple, her father marrying in from the Scorpion to be with his beloved Doji wife ;; I always imagined they had a playful relationship, with her mom winning over her dad by being able to read past his mask no matter what.

Nadeshiko lost her mother and older sister at a young age... to poisoning. The same poisoning that fucked up her eyes and some of the nerves in her hands. She never knew this, I left it totally open-ended as to who did it or what happened (was it her father? an enemy of her parents? some sort of accident? who knows!) and simply had it be something that changed her and her life for the worse. The poem Ajisai is about their loss -- mostly her mother, but to a lesser extent her older sister, too.

Over the course of the game I also kinda decided (sorry GMs for adding more lore as the game was going... that tends to be how I roll...) she probably had an older sibling who died at birth, making her the third sibling. I really wanna go hard on she's some kind of unlucky, lol. It's also why one of her eyes is deteriorating faster than the other -- if she lost her original bad fortune I'd just replace it with evil eye ;p

The only kids left were her and her twin baby brothers, who she basically mothered when their father was busy, kinda eating up her childhood some until she got brought into the Academy. The poem Nirinsou is about them. She super duper duper loves her baby brothers and they actually are about to have their gempukku come this game

Her dad did everything to take care of the living children he had and spoiled them all very much. He would tease Nadeshiko a lot growing up (which is why you can say mean shit to her face and she won't really care, lol) to try and harden her since she was a very soft child, and also told her many stories of his home in Scorpion lands. I also like to think he told her the tale of the Scorpion and the Frog... but each time it was different, and eventually she caught on it was more about how every Scorpion is different. Some are dangerous, some have purpose, some are allies.

She was brought into the Kakita Academy and was considered a prodigy during that time, though her inability to stick to conventional poetry was considered... a bit of a stain on her. But Hatsuki was also there at that time I think and took way, way more of a hit, which probably would have gotten a lot of heat off Nadeshiko's ass. Her time at the Academy is a lot of why she feels the Crane are complacent when it comes to art and need a kick to the ass, and it's why she values less traditional or accepted arts and artisans as well as feeling protective of them (and Hatsuki in particular).

She met her future fiance, Akihito, during her gempukku. That's around when her eyesight started to deteriorate enough it was a problem -- she could have had a real chance at Emerald Championship but the sunlight made her head hurt enough it effected her performance. Since then it's just declined more and more, and by the time of the Sapphire Championship keeping her eyes open for like, longer than a few minutes at a time risks her getting headaches that ruin her whole fucking day. If she wants to look at something she WOULD but she kinda avoids it to keep being able to function for most of her life.
ETA it was at this time she also learned even less savory stuff about the Crane... Akihito's a Daidoji and he was pretty honest with her at times about the stuff he knew he'd be expected to do and she was like. O_O But isn't that dishonorable?!? "Not as much when we do it." Her experiences at this time kinda changed how comfortable she was with her own Clan -- even so much as she was a Doji she was kinda like man. We need a good kick in the pants

The poem Ume is about her and Akihito's last day at their gempukku. Ume = apricot, which came up again in the poem Ayame, which is also about him once their engagement was announced. They were really good friends back then but he had a crush on her (Nadeshiko was oblivious even as she was yearning for romance... see Tsubaki (white) ) so he did push a bit on his end to try and marry her, specifically. They had a really sweet budding romance. The foundation of friendship made her feel comforted but then she was like... oh no... he's hot O_O when they met again bc he'd grown a bit taller and bulked up and matured more. (She had been 13, him 16, so four years did a lot for him heh... no more acne or teen boy awkwardness and most of his baby fat got lost)
Akihito basically did everything in his power to like, be a sweet gentleman, to try to win her affections. Even going so far as to try writing her poetry, bringing her sweets, just... anything and everything to make her happy. And it did. They were both really excited for the marriage and the life they'd lead together.
God they would have had the CHUBBIEST babies btw. Akihito's dad married in from the Crab so he was a Big Boi. XP And Nadeshiko's chubby too so. Chubby babies. <- weeps bc we don't get chubby babies

Unfortunately... Akihito, being Daidoji, got deployed to Naishou over Nadeshiko, whose eyesight made her a liability whereas her ability to have children was considered enough of an asset to keep her there. He was expendable and didn't come home. The closest she could come to writing about this was Sakura (one petal falling away) until her Courage day poem.

It really, really fucked her up. She spent months wearing white and just... walking through life like a ghost, doing her best to comfort people (it's fine I'm fine don't worry about it it's fine) until others started being like "hey you do have to move on, you have your duties to attend to and it's not like you were even married". Her dad was concerned enough he didn't actively push her marriage stuff forward and even arranged for the family to attend Kyuden Doji's winter court so they'd be together and he could keep a close eye on her.

That's where she met the one (1) Scorpion courtier who had the balls to show up as a Scorpion. She'd been standing on a bridge considering jumping off and he did his best to politely convince her not to, mainly because he'd been hanging around there and didn't want to get caught up in whatever it was because it would probably lead to a diplomatic incident (at best).
Over court they interacted more and more and it became like... weirdly intense? They had an instant connection, both kinda getting on each other's nerves, but also, Nadeshiko immediately understood him a lot better than most of the other Crane and weirdly just... didn't hate him. Once she'd heard the losses Scorpion had on their side she kinda realized she probably wasn't the only bride-to-be crying over a lost fiance and that just... couldn't really be enough to get her to hate them. It was politics she didn't understand. So he kinda pegged her (heh) as an ally and someone to manipulate to his advantage and she was happy to be useful for something.
Neither of them counted on each other actually becoming real friends. And they did. She even kinda got a crush on him, it was just like, a very natural and intense connection that she kinda came to rely on to help stabilize her.
But unfortunately it kinda got... horny. Bayushi Courtier-san had lechery as one of his disadvantages and eventually he kinda started pushing her buttons and playing with Nadeshiko to see what he could get away with, simply for his own amusement and the thrill of seeing how far he could get with a Doji maiden. (Just because they were genuine friends doesn't mean he wasn't still an asshole, lol) And Nadeshiko, being kind of a clueless, sweet, romantic girl, didn't really understand what was going on, and she was lonely and heartbroken and just... wanted to feel SOMETHING. So things happened. And she tried having a romantic relationship but that's not what he wanted, and like... he didn't care to be gentle with her. He played the game a little bit until he found it burdensome and then just was like "look, I have a wife, this was just for fun, I do it all the time" and she was like oh.

It... did not do well for her heart. And kinda made her think she just wasn't someone who could be loved. And also made her hate guys who take advantage of or push around or neglect cute girls!!! Which is why it's SUCH a fucking "I will end you" button for her.
ANYWAY her feelings about the whole damn thing were written in Tsubaki (Red) and Tsubaki (Yellow). Tho Tsubaki (Yellow) is also a bit about Akihito's loss too. And just her in general "man wouldn't it be nice if something nice happened again. Dunno if it will but maybe. Wouldn't it"

After *gestures* All That Bullshit she just got depressed again. Fortunately the anger kinda... helped though? So instead of suicidal she was just sad and mad. At any rate she had so many emotions and wanted to get them out, so she started writing poems. And when she shared them with people they were like O_O the Rokugani equivalent of Jesus Christ about it. And so she got an offer to publish it and happily accepted it because she was like... a lot of these poems are about my pain and trying to move on from it... I bet other people can understand and will feel something if they read it, too.

Her pillow book's what got her an invite to the Sapphire Championship, and the rest is history you can read!

Horiuchi Sriyani wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:49 am

So Nadeshiko didn't want to win...but what if she had?

I had thought about it some and if she had won she would have done everything in her power politically to help out everyone. Sriyani, Choudai, Hatsuki, Yoshiaki, Yoshino... if any one of the Ambassadors had any need, she'd basically have been a sword cutting through it to try and get them a happier ending. And would have actually, much to her chagrin, actually played politics and busted ass to try setting up the Championship so it was bigger, accepted more people, and did more to bring the clans together. You can see why she wouldn't have wanted it, lol. She prefers writing poetry and eating sweets to politics and fighting and whatever the hell's going on with anyone in power in Rokugan. It's too much work and stress and then everyone would be weird to her and she'd never know if people liked her for her or for her position.

I will say she would have also spent like ten seconds right after the announcement doing everything in her power not to tell them "give it to Sriyani". Just, fucking vibrating with "give it to my goddamn sweetheart friend you sonsabitches". It would have been a disaster for everyone involved if she actually did so she wouldn't have, most of all for Sriyani's sake... but she'd have spoken very highly of Sriyani (and everyone's work, but Sriyani first) in acceptance because HEY LOOK AT HER ART *gesticulating wildly* and HEY LOOK AT THEIR ART *gesticulating a little less wildly but still pretty wildly*

^^ That's actually what prompted the One Last Prayer thread, thinking about it both OOC and IC. Heh.

1. Did you have fun?
2. What thing from this game would you like to see in future games?
3. What thing from this game would you like to not see in future games?

Saibankan wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:23 pm

1. Did you have fun?
2. What thing from this game would you like to see in future games?
3. What thing from this game would you like to not see in future games?

#1: yes :3 <3 <- would not write all these damn essays if I hadn't haha, the more talkative I am the happier and more engaged I am!

#2: The camaraderie in general -- having multiple people reach out to establish character links is ABSOLUTELY what made this game for me, and helped me have such a blast -- and being trusted to competently play my concept in particular. I sometimes bring weird or silly appearing concepts to the table (so to speak) and I know Nadeshiko at first blush looks like a silly anime character type. But actually playing with her I hope everyone felt like she had depth and breadth to her, real heart, and that the sort of "life can be very painful for many reasons we don't always understand, but we still have to live, and have a real chance to live a good life despite that when we make connections with other people" emotional narrative I was trying to achieve with her came up realistically and was dealt with realistically. She's not altogether too weird for a character idea of mine (even if a bit silly at times) but she was heavy on the tragedy and I know if played poorly that can be annoying or feel like it's hogging the spotlight from other characters whose lives also have heartaches.
I also appreciate that nobody really poo-pooed my lack of setting knowledge or gate-kept things from me, and instead rolled with my punches and helped me too. Thank you all so much for your kindness, patience, help, and in general for being what made this game so special. Nadeshiko was great but she wouldn't have been without everyone in this world we shared <3

#3: The dropping out & lulls in activity -- though I understand why they happened. It's more, I wish circumstances were better and life not so exhausting. The games back to back, I know, didn't help people, either, so maybe scheduling a little downtime would be helpful, especially for low energy people like myself -- I considered joining the star wars game but I'm way too sick (and a little zapped from Sapphire) to comfortably play!

I'm in the same boat with the SW game. I have half a character. Really like the concept. Can't rummage up the energy to research enough for a coherent backstory. And realistically, I need another week to get Sriyani out of my head so someone else can move in. I'll wait for the next one.

Also? I adore that this is part of backstory land. XD

God they would have had the CHUBBIEST babies btw. Akihito's dad married in from the Crab so he was a Big Boi. XP And Nadeshiko's chubby too so. Chubby babies. <- weeps bc we don't get chubby babies

Yeah, sorry Nadeshiko, I think we're not letting you go now

Horiuchi Sriyani wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 4:34 am

Also? I adore that this is part of backstory land. XD

God they would have had the CHUBBIEST babies btw. Akihito's dad married in from the Crab so he was a Big Boi. XP And Nadeshiko's chubby too so. Chubby babies. <- weeps bc we don't get chubby babies

IT'S TRUE THOUGH THEY WOULD HAVE HAD THE CHUBBIEST BABIES! Little fat Cranes who would grow up to be big fat Cranes XD
I did want to go a little against the standard Crane build (if only for my own interest and amusement). She's still a Doji Crane so it's more curvy-fat chubby than Akihito's dad bod, but Nadeshiko is big, she takes up space, and she eats a lot. I thought that would be fun and interesting since I imagine it's not something that is played often for Cranes. XD

Oh yeah. I forgor to ever mention since it never really came up. Nadeshiko binds her chest to keep the kimono silhouette intact XD or more intact anyway...

Bayushi Choudai wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 4:38 am

Yeah, sorry Nadeshiko, I think we're not letting you go now

I'm being kidnapped?!?

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 11:58 am

I'm being kidnapped?!?

We prefer the word "claimed."

Bayushi Choudai wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:33 pm

Doji Nadeshiko wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 11:58 am

I'm being kidnapped?!?

We prefer the word "claimed."

Choudai, this isn't omegaverse, no one's biting Nadeshiko's neck.

Shosuro Hatsuki wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:41 pm

Choudai, this isn't omegaverse, no one's biting Nadeshiko's neck.

BAH!

Bayushi Choudai wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:51 pm

Shosuro Hatsuki wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:41 pm

Choudai, this isn't omegaverse, no one's biting Nadeshiko's neck.

BAH!

WHAT O///O *puts on scarf to protect self*

Oh my?

Lovely epilogue. Thank you for the scenes.

Did Nadeshiko not care much about Yoshino being ostracised by the Doji family? (As in, she ignored her black sheep-ness?)

How good a duellist was Nadeshiko?

What would she say about Yoshino going to Phoenix lands?

Doji Yoshino wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 08, 2022 3:23 am

Oh my?

Lovely epilogue. Thank you for the scenes.

Did Nadeshiko not care much about Yoshino being ostracised by the Doji family? (As in, she ignored her black sheep-ness?)

How good a duellist was Nadeshiko?

What would she say about Yoshino going to Phoenix lands?

Thank you Yuusha <3

She didn't -- Nadeshiko knows, from her past experiences with Hatsuki, that the Doji are willing to throw away and ignore anyone who's.... inconvenient. The woman herself is surprised she's been spared that fate (hint: it's because he dad's a secret Scorpion still ;p he's very protective of her so I imagine he's pulled a lot of strings over her life...) and in general tries being very thoughtful and considerate of why people get treated the way they do. Sometimes it's because they suck, many times it's because the clan would rather present a pretty face to the world and punt anyone who'd blemish that image into the sun -_-

5 ranks of iaijutsu + 1 from Prodigy, not including bonuses from her school. She's built like a monster and would have absolutely whipped ass if necessary. Iaijutsu provides her a lot of comfort so she continually trains in it and even when she goes blind she'll still be. Terrifying. Moving from using her eyesight to a more... sixth sense?
I figure by the time she dies she probably has eight ranks or something and nobody ever fucking knows because she busts it out like, once every couple years and then never makes a big deal after. There are upsides to people underestimating you.

... She would do her best to be Crane Polite about it while being. Very, very angry that It's Happening Again. Especially to Yoshino -- she won two best of in the competition; shouldn't they be finding their own best shugenja to help?!? AUGH! If there were strings she could try pulling she would since Kojiro is maddening and leaving Yoshino with him does not sit well with Nadeshiko, that's like a fate worse than death Had she won getting Yoshino out of there would have been a Goal...