Editing Lion Clan (section)

==Clan Relationships==
The Lions do not play nice with anyone. Which is understandable, what with the many, many wars waged by and against them, as well as their more-Bushido-than-thou attitude. Condescension and judgement color most of their inter-Clan relationships, which is bad enough in times of peace but worse during a war. Particularly if they started (or decided to end) it.

However, just as every Clan has some beef with them, every Clan also respects them. No Clan discounts the staggering size and power of the Lion Clan army, nor the competence of its leaders. And while their bragging about their honor grates on the other Clans' nerves, they are indeed respected for their devotion to the highest ideals of Bushido and their determination to live by them; you can generally count on a Lion to do what's honorable for honor's sake. In most cases, it's a reluctant teeth-grinding respect for dicks who are extremely good at their job rather than genuine admiration for someone with positive traits. Not that the Lion concerns itself with the opinions of the sheep.

Because their military is one of the most powerful and active, their rivals always make sure to tread carefully at Court. The Lion's influence as the Right Hand of the Emperor, their reputation for honor, and their military might shape a great deal of the Empire's political landscape. Many decisions revolve around finding an ally to stand against the Lion, or convincing the Lion to either join or stay out of a war.

'''The [[Crab Clan]]''': Believe it or not, the Crab Clan might just be the closest thing to a Great Clan that the Lions don't actively despise. Oh, sure, they look down on how they are mannerless brutes who have forgotten what it means to be "civilized". And of course, there are the usual amount of conflicts popping up as a result of Lion ego or Crab bluntness. But aside from the fact that their lands are far removed with few opportunities for open war, the Lions have one attitude which dramatically improves their relations with the Crabs: They actually actively acknowledge and respect their duty to hold back the Shadowlands. This is honestly a step up from the more mainstream attitudes of "You're making this shit up", "We're not discussing this tainted stuff in polite company", or "Look, it can't be ''that'' bad, right? You don't ''really'' need all that rice, do you?". And while the Lions observe "etiquette" in many social situations, both they and the Crab tend to dislike all the social feints and masks which make up Rokugani court life. So rather than sending armies halfway across the Empire, they're content to stay where they are, gruffly acknowledge the other's duty, and bicker with their neighbors instead.

'''The [[Crane Clan]]''': The iconic rival of the Lion Clan, their acrimony comes from more than Kakita besting and refusing to bow before Matsu. Aside from the shared reasons others have for disliking the Crane (being entitled snobs who use Imperial connections, wealth, and social rules to dominate others and avoid consequences), the Lion and the Crane also have fundamentally opposed philosophies about what it means to pursue their duty as samurai. The Lion glorify war and sacrifice in the name of duty, while the Crane believe that the greatest duty lies in diplomacy and prosperity. Ironically, this leads to extremely similar reasons for hatred between the two: each looks down on the other's way of life, resents the other's high standing, and paints them as a jealous bully. Think of it like if [[Ferrus Manus]] and [[Fulgrim]] were bitter rivals instead of best bros.

'''The [[Dragon Clan]]''': Being the most insular of the Great Clans, the Dragon Clan seldom gives the Lion Clan reasons for open war. The Lions simply hold a cold disdain for their lives of monastic contemplation and non-traditional solutions, but rarely to the extent of their more open and bloody feuds. The Dragons, for their part, recognize the power (and danger) represented by the Lions, and take care not to foolishly provoke them. However, in the long history of Rokugan, they have had prominent reasons for a rivalry, given that the Lions suffered a humiliating military defeat from trying to invade the Dragons only to lose the majority of their troops to hazardous terrain and weather. Additionally, the Dragonfly Clan was raised as a Minor Clan from a feud between a Dragon samurai who fell in love with a Lion samurai's fiance and eloped with her.

'''The [[Mantis Clan]]''': Funnily enough, the Lion Clan doesn't totally hate the Mantis Clan. Sure, there's the general elitist view against the Minor Clans, and the traditionalist complaints of how they're unorthodox with a highly mercantile nature, but the Lions actually do respect the naval and martial prowess of the Mantis, and their locations make it hard for them to war with each other anyways. As for the Mantis, however, while later generations among their families have cooled, there's a lot of historical baggage and resentment. Besides the general view most Clans have of "respect their might and honor, but hate how they look down on everyone", the majority of the families in the Mantis alliance have specific grievances: the Lion attempted to conquer the Moshi, drove the Kitsune from their lands (though thanks to that they discovered their Kitsune spirits and could now have fox-lady waifus), and betrayed Tsuruchi himself (which the Lions, of course, tried to spin as a case of "That dishonorable mercenary had it coming!"). Only the Yoritomo have some respect for the Lions, in part because they are said to be descendants of Osano-Wo and a Matsu bride.

'''The [[Phoenix Clan]]''': There is, of course, tension between the Phoenix and the Lion. Each has a sizeable ego that rubs others the wrong way, and, much like with the Crane, opposed philosophies. The Phoenix, of course, venerate peace and their shugenja's magic while the Lions live by war and prefer to earn glory the old fashioned way with blood and steel. Phoenixes find the militaristic attitudes of the Lions barbaric, while Lions find their reliance on magic to be unmanly. It doesn't help that the fiance who eloped with a Dragon to later found the Dragonfly Clan was a Phoenix.

'''The [[Scorpion Clan]]''': Yet again, another Clan the Lions are heavily against. And much like the Cranes, for pretty obvious reasons. Scorpions hold Bushido in low esteem with the exception of Duty and Loyalty, and use all manner of cutthroat deceptions and blackmail, even on the battlefield. And the Lion Clan, being the Bushido-est of them all, hate everything about that situation, from the blatant defilement of their most cherished values to how the Scorpions have the gall to say "Oh, but we're only doing this out of Duty, we swear! Wink!" The Scorpions, for their part, actually aren't that bothered and don't have an active dislike for the Lions like everyone else. They tread carefully around their easily-bruised egos, but if anything, they actually like how the Lion Clan's stoic, honorable nature makes them predictable and easy to manipulate. [[Meme|All according to keikaku.]]

'''The [[Unicorn Clan]]''': Oh boy. You know those cold wars the Lion has with the other Clans, kept cold by either diplomacy or distance? Yeah, with the Unicorn Clan, it's a hot war. The Unicorn Clan shares borders with the Lion Clan, allowing both of them to [[RAGE|share polite and reasonable discourse]] more frequently. While each respects the other's proven might and military acumen, the super-traditional Lions have nothing but disgust for the unorthodox foreignness of the Unicorns, who reciprocate the feeling wholeheartedly. There are occasionally exceptions in their history where they try and make peace, but with both sides actively invading each other's territory while deliberately sabotaging most diplomatic overtures (usually making up an excuse about insults or offering terms the other party would never accept), conflict has been the norm between the Lion and the Unicorn. And of course, there's the whole ''gaijin'' thing where most Rokugani [[/pol/|view outsiders as soulless barbarians.]] To be fair, the Lions aren't the only ones thinking that...but they ''are'' the ones within spitting distance to act on that view. Even so, it's important to note: the Unicorns give as good as they get, and aren't exactly a poor, unfairly persecuted party.