tortoise

The big thing to understand about the Scorpion is that they are, in the end, still a noble house of landed elite. They'll dress like a peasant to get close to their (noble samurai) victim, or to blackmail their (noble samurai) victim, but they won't exactly mingle with the dirty poors, that's beneath them. Like, the Scorpion peasants are NOT well treated or happy. They're probably the worst to their peasants second only to the Lion. That's why the Scorpion have so many celebrations - to keep the riots at bay.

As for the Tortoise, what most people in-setting know is that they are a minor house who's job is to maintain the capital city and house of the emperor, which legally makes them like, the Rokugani equivilant of second cousins to the emperor. Which in turn means giving members of the Tortoise shit - even if they absolutely deserve it - is a quick way to find yourself holding your own wakizashi at your own midsection. Of course, being neigh untouchable means the Tortoise get away with a lot. See, the Tortoise aren't VILLAINS like the Scorpion. They're just scumbags. They aren't creating vast complex networks of betrayal, they're just forging your clan symbol and selling it and spending all that money on rich foods and then bragging about their obesity. They aren't doing the Emperor's dirty work as the UNDERHAND, they're just kinda assholes.

The catch is that their actual reason for existing is something the other Clans are very much not supposed to know about, because the emperor themselves isn't supposed to know about it, much less sign off on it, because the Tortoise's job is keeping track of the gaijin. They actually maintain secret trade with other countries, because it turns out the best way to keep other countries away is to make sure they never give a shit about your country to begin with, so the Tortoise bring Rokugani goods (but never the best stuff) and trade it for gaijin goods, which they then keep track of in Rokugan to make sure no samurai ever get too interested and maybe think about contacting said gaijin. And yes, EVERY emperor knows and signs off on it, which again, is very explicitly not a thing most of the Great Clans would be cool with, so it's all gotta stay hush hush. So nobody is allowed to touch the Tortoise, in fear that their secret would come out.

So why aren't the Tortoise a big deal? Well, think about the Scorpion. They're sexy and dramatic. They have bloodline curses and cursed swords of ambition and secret societies and all that shit. The Scorpion are kinda lousy at their job, but they're great at making drama. But the Tortoise? They're explicitly bland and forgettable (and in fact will sometimes intentionally ugly themselves up) because they don't want to be noticed. They happily and easily mingle with commoners, because they're dealing and trading with commoners. They don't really have problems with arrogance and ambition because, quite frankly, life for the Tortoise is easy street, and they see no reason to change this fantastically good thing they got going on. They're also perfectly servicable ambassadors and diplomats, and happily help out the other minor clans in court, because, again, they don't give a shit about the Great Clans. A Fox and a Lion are gonna have problems because the Lion is gonna treat the Fox like trash and the Fox has to suck it up - a Lion tries that with a Tortoise, and suddenly . So they gotta play equals with this ugly motherfucker who's practically got a gold tooth and you know nothing about them is legit. The Scorpion was founded by a god who was way too dramatic for his own good; the Tortoise was founded by an anglophile nerd and his Portuguese boyfriend.