Note:

This quest will inevitably, undoubtedly revolve around ritual suicide from the very first scene and onwards. Real and imagined abuse will be covered too. A few failure conditions include the our main character considering or even attempting to take her own life. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

At the same time, our character is massively mistaken over the seriousness of the situation she is in. She's got realism glasses on, and believes in the finality of all of her choices. The story she's in… doesn't. The quest might reach a bad end and end, but the characters might still dodge any final consequences and narrowly get a bittersweet ending anyway.

Full mechanics in the informational post to come, but yes, this quest is going to be a little unfair and have no dice rolls. Narrative convenience and misunderstandings are more important than fairness here.

Expect trans themes to feature on some level.

One final piece of wisdom, remember that failure is fun. Right?

---

One moment, you aren't sure if you exist at all, and the next, your eyes slide open, to the new world, to a different kind of reality.

You don't yet know what exactly happened, you still don't understand who you are or who you were, but your first look at the new world is certainly imposing. The wall before you holds something that you know is vitally important. There, a wrapped up sword is displayed, propped up almost like on an altar. Above, a massive banner is flying.

You should end yourself, it says there, the two massive kanji towering over you. Cut your stomach. End it all.


What?

No. You shake your head, close and open your eyes.

Seppuku, the two kanji literally spell out. It's a makeshift shrine to the ritual suicide. You have never seen this shrine before. You have eaten every meal of the past fifteen years looking right at it. Hoping.

Hoping for what?

You have not failed. Not yet. Have not failed what? You can just about recall it.

Where are you? It's easy! You're-

Ah.

Were there two of you just before this? You look around.

It's a small, but comfortable house. Barely furnished. A low table in the middle, close to where you're kneeling on the floor. Dishes are set for two, but only the side closest to you has any food left. Opposite to you, there's only an empty bowl, and unused chopsticks.

Was there someone else there?

No. You're alone here.

Have been alone for years. Have never set foot in this house before.

The bowl is set for Ranma, should they come back.

Ranma! You know that name.

You have lived and breathed that name for years. There's no contradiction there! Finally, a common thread.

You grab on.

It's frayed and messy, but you remember. You have spent sleepless nights reading all about Ranma. You have spent sleepless nights waiting, all for Ranma. You can close your eyes and can almost imagine the kid's-

Wait. You do not know which memories are real and which are fake.

Ranma Shimizu is your child. Taken from you as soon as he could walk. Stolen the first time she pointed at a dress. Whisked away after complaining about their training. Happily sleeping on the second floor bedroom next door to her adopted ninja sister, Konatsu Saotome.

There's quite obviously no second floor in this house.

Saotome.

You're her. Nodoka.

You're a monster. You're waiting for your daughter to come back and then put her to the blade.

You don't have a daughter! You're the victim! The boy was taken against your will!

The contract was to appease Grandfather's anger!

Like Ranma before, a one uniting thread between the two, you have stumbled onto something that is clearly entirely different, on the absolutely opposite end of the spectrum. Something that only Nodoka knows.

It doesn't matter that there's only one of you now - that's one single memory that you've unleashed from the deepest darkest corner of the mind that you have never read about. You haven't even seen a sketch of the man before.

And yet… Your hand involuntary raises to your cheek. The memory is too real. You dared to ask about training with the blade and he hit you. The heir can only be a man. You can feel the Grandfather's burning rage as he shouts the words at you for daring to ask. You never asked again.

You wish you could put the memory back. You remember the disdain your Grandfather had for you, for daring to be born a woman. You remember how he trained, no, tortured your father. You know the grave your father is buried in sits alone and untouched. You haven't been in years. You should go there.

You remember inheriting the ancestral family blade, to give to a worthy, manly successor of the Shimizu school of Martial Arts Blacksmithing. Was that why Genma took Ranma away?

You're still confused, and still frayed at the seams, but you're starting to understand. There is a method to navigate the waves of senseless frenzy. You still have your honor. The marriage that binds the Shimizu and Saotome families. The seppuku contract that Genma signed and had Ranma press their little hand onto. You know what being manly means, and you're sure Ranma is gonna meet and surpass your expectations!

You are prepared to protect him. Her. Them. You would save Ranma from the abuse, whatever the cost. However many children named Ranma you actually have. Save them all! You would punish Genma for all of his sins. You haven't done anything with your life but sat alone, day after day, meditating the banner in the most honorable spot of the room. Taking care of someone - now that's something you've been missing for years.

You remember taking care of your family. You remember a whole different set of regrets. No time to sit and mope, meditating the meaning of manliness and seppuku in those memories. Counting every penny, stretching yourself thin, to prop up a struggling relative or friend. Never taking any real time for yourself. Never fixing everything that was wrong, since there was always someone more important on the horizon.

Who are you?

You're Nodoka. You're something more. You're something less. You can't tell which memory is which, but some of them have extra texture, extra granular pointlessness - and that pointlessness is what gives them more meaning. For a part of you, the one most resonating with your name, time seems to have flown by lightning fast. You never had to care for the little things, never had to stop for a minor inconvenience.

You would be jealous, except it's all just you.

On the flip side, you feel a little like an important, but side character of a larger story. Of course you wouldn't remember any neighbours! Of course your life wouldn't be detailed to the little insignificant bits of information.

No. You refuse to pursue that line of thinking. You're real. The floor beneath you is real. The house is real. A part of you is simply injured and scared, broken by the cruel tenets of life that have been instilled in your very soul. You were just floating through life, subsisting on the act of waiting itself and on a fantasy of your child's return.

When you could, finally, tear down the banner demanding the ultimate sacrifice.

That… can break even a strongest woman. Have you ever truly lived?

It changes today.

A new day. A new you. An old you.

All at once.

All you.

It's easier to think after that realization.

There's still questions, massive gaps of memory and a whole lot of assumptions that might be true or not. Names of people you haven't met. Adventures of your children, stretching to an infinite possibilities - until you learn exactly where you have awakened.

Your name is Nodoka Saotome.

You were born Nodoka Shimizu, to a long and prestigious line of Martial Arts Blacksmiths, a tradition practiced only by men of the family. Your whole life has been spent inside. First, in the family estate, growing under the vigilant watch of your Honorable Grandfather Shimizu. Then, after a short and frightening adventure of tying your fate to another family via the arranged marriage at seventeen years old… you became Nodoka Saotome, and have moved into this house - until a male heir for the Shimizu school comes of age and the Honorable Grandfather deems him worthy of teaching him the advanced family techniques.

At some point - and you are all but certain it happened as soon as Ranma could walk - even if you can't remember if you had a daughter or a son - Genma took him. With the blessing of the Grandfather.

You have lived here since, under a flying banner that reminds you of the Honor Oath. Seppuku, it announces to the whole room, visible from every corner.

This is your life now.

…

You know all that, and yet, you still don't know many things. You spend a whole afternoon getting acquainted with your meager holdings.

A narrow garden between the one storey house and the street, mostly vines and a single cherry tree. A tabby cat watching you from under a wobbly bench. That's Orchid. He's a stray that keeps coming back, and you named him when you thought he was a girl.

Two small bedrooms. One for Ranma, and one for you - and perhaps Genma, if he ever returns. A black cat is sitting on your futon. That's Chaos. She's wild, keeps getting into fights and running away to hide inside your house. You have no idea how exactly she's getting inside, because you only ever have to let her out.

Your wardrobe is sparse. Three different kimonos and a pretty summer yukata. Not a single more modern outfit. You… like it that way? Maybe.

A pile of scrolls in the storage. A half forgotten piece of cardboard with a pager number and a name. A handful of letters. A few postcards.

Taking Ran to Korea for summer training. Genma.

The cheap postcard is three years old at this point. No return address, of course.

An envelope with money. Your monthly stipend, you realize. Just enough to make ends meet for one person living frugally. Return address is the old Shizimizu estate, in a different part of Suginami. Fear spikes the second you think about it. You haven't seen your Grandfather in at least fifteen years.

The old you wants to throw the envelope out immediately. The old you had gotten real good at not reading the return address, and not thinking about it. The new you hesitates, and places the envelope back on top of the pile of old correspondence.

You take a quick look at the kitchen - it's arranged in a way you actually remember and is fairly large for one person to cook in comfortably. Good.

Aside from the bathroom with a small furo for soaking in, that about covers the whole household.

You return to the main room, and kneel next to the table, automatically slipping into a formal seiza position.

The banner taunts you. Seppuku, it screams to the whole room.

You tune it out. Instead, you look at the wrapped up blade underneath the sign.

You have been forbidden to train with it. You are to care for it until the heir is of age to learn the dangerous techniques, or… until it is needed to fulfill the Oath.

A part of you screams that it's wrong, but like that blade was forged to take lives, you have been hammered into what you are by your life. You cannot change it overnight, or you're gonna break.

You need to figure out a lot of things.

What's first?

---

---

Rules and character sheet to follow in a moment.

For now, just listing starting crisis vectors. More is… in general worse, but can open extra options. Reaching crisis vector level 5 is risking a quest over. The table lists permanent values, and stress (you do not start at 0).


You do not need to be aware of the crisis mechanics to vote, and feel free to ignore the stress altogether for narrative choices. On the flip side, feel free to over optimize, the mechanics are designed so that some mechanically beneficial choices can bring interesting story outcomes.

A couple bonus votes this time for "character creation-tweaks".

---

Vote [Introspection]

Your character is built from a version of Nodoka, and a woman from our modern world. These two sides have different values and priorities, even entangled within each other.

You can weaken the modern woman side:

[ ] [Introspection] You're not in Kansas anymore. Move one permanent point from Regrets to Legacy (increase to 1)
[ ] [Introspection] You're not in Kansas anymore. Move one permanent point from Regrets to Caretaker (increase to 2)
[ ] [Introspection] You're not in Kansas anymore. Move one permanent point from Regrets to Honorbound (increase to 3) (unlocks more options)

[ ] [Introspection] Adventure calls. Move one permanent point from Precarity to Legacy (increase to 1)
[ ] [Introspection] Adventure calls. Move one permanent point from Precarity to Caretaker (increase to 2)
[ ] [Introspection] Adventure calls. Move one permanent point from Precarity to Honorbound (increase to 3) (unlocks more options)

You can weaken the Nodoka Saotome influence:

[ ] [Introspection] The suicide pact is illegal, you crazy woman! Move one permanent point from Honorbound to Know-It-All-Not (increase to 1)
[ ] [Introspection] The suicide pact is illegal, you crazy woman! Move one permanent point from Honorbound to Precarity (increase to 2)
[W] [Introspection] The suicide pact is illegal, you crazy woman! Move one permanent point from Honorbound to Regrets (increase to 3) (unlocks more options)

[ ] [Introspection] You live in a story! Why do you care so much? Move one permanent point from Caretaker to Know-It-All-Not (increase to 1)
[ ] [Introspection] You live in a story! Why do you care so much? Move one permanent point from Caretaker to Precarity (increase to 2)
[ ] [Introspection] You live in a story! Why do you care so much? Move one permanent point from Caretaker to Regrets (increase to 3) (unlocks more options)

Or... You can try to stay as you are, in balance.

[ ] [Introspection] Balance on the sword's edge. No permanent change.
(+1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Regrets)

VOTE FOR ONLY OPTION FROM [Introspection] VOTE

---

Vote [Otherworld]:

A part of you comes from a modern world, a universe where Ranma ½ exists! The memories are much harder to reach and distinguish than original Nodoka's but it doesn't mean your values and the things you left behind don't matter.

Who did you leave behind and who do you dream off returning to?

This choice is mostly cosmetic, but also very bi and trans, whichever option you pick. That part is built in in the sparse Not-Really-SI's back story.

[ ][Otherworld] A loving wife, and a young daughter. Past life aged ~35.
(-1 stress Honorbound, +1 stress to Regrets)

[ ][Otherworld] A loving wife. Past life aged ~25.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets)

[ ][Otherworld] A young daughter (and a distant husband). Past life age ~30.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets)

[ ][Otherworld] A loving partner and your pets. Past life age ~28.
(-1 stress Caretaker, +1 stress to Regrets)

[W][Otherworld] A group of close knit friends. Past life aged ~32.
(-1 stress Legacy, +1 stress to Regrets)

[ ][Otherworld] Two older siblings and a pet cat. Past life aged ~27.
(-1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not)

VOTE FOR ONLY OPTION FROM [Otherworld] VOTE

---

Vote for Major [Action]:

Usually the main updates will only have the major action vote. My intent was to always pick the winning option and the runner up for the main scene and half-scene. I can't figure out an easy way to fairly calculate it in such a way for this vote, therefore ONLY ONE OPTION WILL WIN.
This is especially so because there are options that can only be picked on reaching level 3 in Crisis Vector. And the ability to choose those depends on the result of the above choice. If the winning option is impossible (requires level 3 in a Crisis Vector, but the above vote for option to increase it to 3 failed), the votes on that option will be considered void.

Most of the stress stages that happen after option is picked will be signposted, except in the case of triggered crisis. You do not need to include the stress change text into the text of the vote.

A lot of choices can and will open other options on subsequent votes.

Dealing with Legacy:

Missing events, knowledge and contacts for more Legacy choices.[/H4]

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Legacy (impossible at this vote)) Visit the old Shimizu Estate without Ranma. Maybe the Honorable Grandfather is dead? You doubt it.
(-1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not)
[ ] [Action] You should visit your father's grave. It's been years.
(-2 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Action] Investigate your past as Nodoka Shimizu. Look for any hidden storage, old photos, dredge up old memories, ask around.
(-1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not)
(you don't have anyone specific to ask yet, but this might be just enough to find a trail)

[ ] [Action] If you want to free yourself from Genma (what a rebellious thought!), you might want to try and remember the wedding and the details of your honorable grandfather's arrangement with him. Maybe Genma's already in breach of something?
(-1 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Honor, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress to Precarity)

Dealing with Regrets:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Regrets) Light a candle for the family and friends you have lost. Settle in for a long haul.
(-2 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Precarity)
(only one Regrets level 3 choice can win the vote, the other counts as having gotten 0 votes)

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Regrets) You need to search for the way back. A way to communicate. Whoever can help. Search for Amazons' artifacts! Doctor Tofu! Deal with a devil! Anything.
(-1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)
(only one Regrets level 3 choice can win the vote, the other counts as having gotten 0 votes)

[ ] [Action] Old Nodoka had… very outdated views on gender and crossdressing. You need to lay some groundwork, should Ranma be exactly as you remember from the stories. Take yourself for a walk around Nichome, maybe?
(-1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Honorbound +1 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Action] You need to spend some time on yourself before you dive into the whole mess that is life with Ranma in it. Try to establish a home routine at home that isn't sitting and staring at a banner that says 'suicide'. Make yourself at home. Clean. Check up on the Garden. Rest.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Action] Tear down the Seppuku banner. Throw it away.
(-1 stress to Regrets, +3 stress to Honorbound)

[W] [Action] You have a pager's number. And a name. Taiga Hibiki. An old friend? There's a positive memory there. Place a call to the pager from a pay phone. Wait for a call back.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Caretaker)

Dealing with Caretaker:

Need to meet more people for more Caretaker choices.

[ ] [Action] Adopt the stray cats. Chaos and Orchid are wonderful and they shouldn't sleep on the streets ever again. Get them collars with their names on it. Make it official.
(-2 stress to Caretaker, -1 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Legacy)

[ ] [Action] Find the Furinkan High School in a phone book and place a call from a pay phone. Verify Ranma is real, and in Tokyo. At least find out if the Tendo sisters are there.
(-1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Legacy)

Dealing with Know-It-All-Not:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Know-It-All-Not (impossible at this vote)) You aren't outside much, but you're sure you're being watched. Photographed. Clearly, it's a lackey of Nabiki's, already looking into Ranma's family - you need to confront them and establish contact with Nabiki.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Legacy)

[ ] [Action] Apply for a kendo instructor vacancy at Seisyun High School. It's in some way important to the plot, so it has to work out. Who needs qualifications? Not you.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, -1 stress to Precarity +3 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Honorbound) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Hit the newspapers. Something has to be there to put you on the right track.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Investigate Ranma's fiancees, if they exist. Order in food from the Nekohanten. Visit Ukyo's okonomiyaki restaurant incognito.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress Precarity, +1 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] Search your house for artifacts or past rituals, or other proof of what could have happened in the past with Ranma. You know there could be ways to turn an unwanted daughter into a boy and while you're near certain this didn't happen here… you need to be sure.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, -1 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress Regrets, +1 stress Caretaker, +1 stress Legacy)

Dealing with Honorbound:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Honorbound) Go to the Tendo Dojo directly. Right now. Confront Genma and Ranma. Take a measure of Ranma's manliness!
(-1 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Legacy)

[ ] [Action] Meditate on the challenges before you. Consider the seppuku contract. What honorable ways are there for you to deal with the issues ahead?
(-3 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Visit the Furinkan neighbourhood in Nerima ward. See the sights. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of Ranma.
(-1 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Precarity) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Openly visit Ukyo's restaurant, if it exists. Meet the chef.
(-1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Visit the Nekohanten, if it exists. Meet the chinese amazons, as they are.
(-2 stress to Honorbound, +3 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress Precarity)

Dealing with Precarity:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Precarity (impossible for current vote)) This world is dangerous. You have various technique scrolls sent by Genma over the years, and scraps of Shimizu techniques. Time to train.
(-3 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Legacy, +4 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] Try to get a part time job in Suginami, close to home.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Legacy) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Try to get a part time job in Nerima.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Get a different wardrobe. Might be a little expensive but worth it.
(-2 stress to Precarity, -1 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress Caretaker)

[ ] [Action] Go out to meet new people. Neighbours. In the street. Anyone. You've been cooped up alone for too long.
(-2 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not)


VOTE FOR ONLY OPTION FROM [Action] VOTE

Most of the unchosen Major Action options should be available come next major action vote.

---

For now, no write-in options exist, but feel free to ask any questions and, if you feel like an option for an action is clearly missing, ask me about it, and I might stat it for the next major action vote.

As an estimate, voting can take up to a week, and then I should take the whole week on average (I hope) to write up an update after that. I will post updates earlier if I finish them earlier. Not all paths are pre-calculated or planned in full, and we might weer into a wildly different direction than my original intention was, but that's fine.

The speedrun to the quickest bad ending outcome should be about 9 updates, counting this one. But realistically there should be at least twice that many.

Unless there's a very clear and early majory preference, gonna call the end to the first vote sometime around 2025-02-27. There's no mandatory vote freeze, but feel free to discuss and ask questions before deciding.

The plot bunny behind the story was raised in Storytellers' Speakeasy community discord by Noswald95, even if I tweaked it a bunch and turned it into a quest.

I will try and figure out the built in vote counting tool. This is my first time, so be gentle 💙💙💙

Hope you all have fun 💙💙💙

Character Sheet​

General Info and Status

​

Age	34	Marital Status	Married
Named Stray Cats	2	Active Occupation	Instructor-to-be
Health	Good	Martial Arts Skill	Basics+ (?)
Blood Type	AB	Mental State	Directed Chaos
Social Life	Two friends	Grasp on Reality	maybe

Crisis Vectors and Stress

​

Shadows of the Past ​	Meddling in the Present ​	Obstacles of the Future ​
Legacy 0/5 ​	Caretaker 1/5 ​	Honorbound 3/5 ​
Stress [X][X][X][ ][ ]​	Stress [X][X][X][X][ X]​	Stress [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]​
Aspects​ - The Grave - Honorable Grandfather - Old Lessons - Family Blade	Aspects​ - Stray Cats - Ranma - Tendo Sisters	Aspects​ - Seppuku Contract - Marriage to Genma - Manliness of Ranma
Regrets 3/5 ​	Know-It-All-Not 0/5 ​	Precarity 1/5 ​
Stress [X][ ][ ][ ][ ]​	Stress [X][X][ ][ ][ ]​	Stress [X][X][X][X][X]​
Aspects​ - Acceptance - Road Not Taken - Friends and Family - New sense of Self	Aspects​ - Ranma's Abuse - Multiple Genma's Sins - Amazons - Nabiki's Yakuza	Aspects​ - The House in Suginami - Lonely and Cruel Reality - Self Defence - Income

Next Legacy crisis at Severity 1, Next Regrets Crisis at severity 4
Next Caretaker crisis at severity 2, Next Know-It-All-Not Crisis at severity 1
Next Honorbound crisis at severity 4, Next Precarity Crisis at severity 2

Spoiler: Old Format Table

Shadows of The Past​

---------------------------------------- Legacy 0 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]	- The Grave - Honorable Grandfather - Old Lessons - Family Blade
---------------------------------------- Regrets 3 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	- Acceptance - Road Not Taken - Friends and Family - New sense of Self

Next Legacy crisis at Severity 1, Next Regrets crisis at severity 4​

Meddling in the Present​

---------------------------------------- Caretaker 1 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [X] [X] [X] [X] [X]	- Stray Cats - Ranma - Tendo Sisters
---------------------------------------- Know-It-All-Not 0 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]	- Ranma's Abuse - Multiple Genma's Sins - Amazons - Nabiki's Yakuza

Next Caretaker crisis at severity 2, Next Know-It-All-Not crisis at severity 1​

Obstacles of the Future​

---------------------------------------- Honorbound 3 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	- Seppuku Contract - Marriage to Genma - Manliness of Ranma
---------------------------------------- Precarity 1 ----------------------------------------​	. . . [X] [X] [X] [X] [X]	- The House in Suginami - Lonely and Cruel Reality - Self Defence - Income

Next Honorbound crisis at severity 4, Next Precarity crisis at severity 2​

Full descriptions of the crisis vector and mechanics concerning them and crisis scenes caused by stress overflow can be found below.

Connections

​

Connection ​	Type - Strength (1-5) ​	Notes ​
Genma	Duty - 1 Dislike - 2	(Husband) Sometimes you forget about him. Sometimes you wish you could forget about him.
Ranma	Obsessive Love - 4 Acceptance - 1	(Son? Daughter? Child) You would do almost anything to get your child back.
Taiga Hibiki	Crush - 2 Friend - 3	Half-forgotten moment of weakness years ago. Your first new friend.
The Honorable Grandfather Shimizu	Fear - 4 Defiance - 1	The decrepit old man terrifies you even if you haven't seen or heard of him in years.
Kurara Konjo	Employer - 1	She's the vice principal of Seisyun High.
Hiromichi	Coworker - 1	He's the kendo instructor at Seisyun High. Knew your father.
Haru Yamada	Friend - 1	She's working in the local Seven Eleven, and is quite excited about swordplay and martial arts.
Uknown Kitsune	Distant relative ?	You've seen her visiting your father's grave
Orchid (蘭) and Chaos (乱)	Care - 2	Two cats that sometimes get into your house
Neighbours	0	You have them.
Market sellers	0	You buy rice often.

Known Characters

​

• Ranma - Your child. Your memories are conflicted. When exactly did Genma take Ranma away? Did Ranma love cats? Are there memories of Ranma wanting to wear dresses or did your mind make them up? You have no idea how Ranma looks. You remember hundreds of different paintings of Ranma. Girl. Boy. Neither. Both.
• Genma - Your husband. Your memories are a mess. Arranged marriage, you think. He's definitely older. A liar? Probably. A thief? Definitely. You remember debt collectors and old jaded opponents and victims, who sometimes still show up at your doorstep looking for him. You remember his handwriting. You wish you didn't remember your wedding.
• Taiga Hibiki - Your friend. Once, all you had was a card with his pager's number. It's been years since you last saw him. You like his voice even if you hardly remember exactly what he looked like. Tall. Well built. Maybe? Dark hair. Something about him being lost? He's a trainer of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, and very soon, your colleague. You had a couple of pleasant conversations with him, and you think he's shaping up to be a good friend and an ally.
• The Honorable Grandfather Shimizu - You're afraid. You don't remember him at all. He… is the reason your father is dead? He arranged the marriage to Genma?
• Kurara Konjo - the vice principal of Seisyun High. Light brown hair. Cheerful attitude. Catholic.
• Hiromichi - the main kendo instructor at Seisyun High. Old man. White hair. Knew and fought your father.
• Haru Yamada - the clerk in the Seven Eleven. She's cute, has got long dark hair, and is in her early twenties. Lives on the same street.
• Orchid (蘭) and Chaos (乱) - Two cats that live in the neighbourhood. Sometimes they sleep in your room. Chaos is the dark black, manlier one. You think… she might be a girl. Orchid is a tabby orange cat. A boy.
• Others - There have to be other people in your life, right? You get your groceries at a farmer's market, right? There's faces… but nothing to them.

Half-forgotten friends of the past

• 盟也 (Meiya) - Dark blue hair cut short. Piercings - both ears, one on lips. Mild alternative fashion leanings. Likes heavy music. Bad kisser. Non-binary. Roommate and a friend.
• 進慈 (Shinji) - Dark hair in a ponytail. Younger than you or Meiya. Likes board games. Works remote. Dating Meiya ever since you met. He's a roommate and a friend.
• 夢心 (Yumeko) - Bleached blonde, messy medium length hair. You studied something together before you dropped out. The girl still likes to go to clubs. An old friend. She was your temporary roommate a way back.
• 雨夜 (Amaya) - Dark, long hair. Glasses. Work friend at one of your temporary retail positions. Taught you about makeup. Sometimes visits on board game nights. She's a little sweet on Shinji.
• 作楽 (Sakura) - Dark coal color hair. Usually wears large earrings. Soft green-grey eyes. A loverly, disarming smile. You might have been a little sweet on her. Sadly, she's just a straight friend.
• 健 (Ken) - Black hair, with hints of white. Older man. He had a crush on you… way, way back. It didn't work out for obvious reasons. He's not really anything to you, but he's related to Sakura. He's also very gay.
• 亘生 (Nobuki) - Your brother. Has health issues. Can't find a stable job.

History

​

This is intended as a super laconic summary of the updates up to date.

• Arrival - You are an intertwined mess of two souls, and it's unclear where one begins and other ends. You are Nodoka Saotome.
• Introspection I - While you're still Nodoka, your values are skewed towards the modern perspective, and you wish to return to your friends, or failing that, make some new ones. For now, your past is a little more important to you than your present or future.
• Taiga - You've reconnected with an old friend. He still remembers you, after fifteen years. He told you Ranma's staying at the Tendo Dojo.
• Taiga II - You've spent some time with Taiga, and he's turning into your trusted friend. Maybe something more, if you're up for it. He's not gonna make a first step, so it's entirely up to you. You don't think he likes Genma, but he hasn't said so openly.
• Offer - You've got a job offer. Assistant kendo instructor… and a supervisor for the martial arts blacksmithing club in Seisyun High. You've accepted.
• Martial Arts - there's multiple flavors of martial arts out there, a lot of them written about and with competitions that draw in crowds - and your local clerk at Seven Eleven is quite an avid fan.
• Pager - Taiga has gotten you a little pager, a device to get wind of you should he (or anyone else you give the number to) need you. It's prepaid, and requires an occasional battery change.
• Grave - There was a strange woman close to your father's grave when you went for a visit. You're not sure if she's important or not, but she didn't seem to want to speak to you. You've left an offering and found a bit of inner fire to hold on to in the memories of your father.
• Dojo - On a restless night, you ran to catch a glimpse of Ranma. You scared potential burglar out from under the house and have seen a small girl that might or might not be Ranma before running away.
• Fever - You were haunted by uneasy dreams of the past and fears, and had to miss the planned first day at the new job due to an unexpected fever.

Crisis Vectors - Full Description

​

Legacy

Next crisis scene at level 1 severity.

Your family's legacy wasn't something you gave much thought to everyday. Except now, it's the one thing that's clearly different from what you expected. You might have forgotten much, but your arrival has helped shake loose some memories. Your extensive knowledge of Ranma… has not prepared you for this. An uncharted ground. A potential danger.

Known aspects:
- The Grave - There's a grave you should pay a visit to.
- The Honorable Grandfather - There's a man you wish to never see again.
- Old Lesson - You do not wish to remember.
- Family Blade - Shimizu family blade, forged by your ancestors.

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You devote your life to Grandfather's wishes, rejecting free will.
Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You face the Grandfather in a duel and, most probably, lose.

Regrets

Next crisis scene at level 4 severity.

Your old life. You do not remember much. It all could have been a dream. It doesn't mean that it will stop hurting anytime soon. Who even are you? Nodoka? Or someone else?

Known aspects:
- Acceptance - You need to accept what happened to you.
- Road Not Taken - Both your old and new life is full of regrets and what-ifs.
- Friends and Family - You hardly remember your closest friends, but you were living with two of them before. You miss having close friends in your life.
- New sense of Self - Who are you?

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You take drastic methods to try and return home, whatever the cost, however small the chance.

Caretaker

Next crisis scene at level 2 severity.

Your whole life you ache for someone to take care of. You had locked your maternal instincts with the tightest lock, but it's been too long. Ranma should be around sixteen now. You need to find him and protect him. In a pinch, adopting a stray boy or cat might do.

Known aspects:
- Stray Cats - You take care of Chaos and Orchid, who all but live in your house.
- Ranma - You haven't seen Ranma in, can it be, 15 years.
- Tendo Sisters - Soun might be a shining beacon of a father compared to Genma, but the girls need a mother figure in their life!

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You devote your life to the exclusive care of an unhealthy amount of cats. Cats don't go on training trips. Especially if you don't let them out of your house.

Know-It-All-Not

Next crisis scene at level 1 severity.

In your free time, in the half-forgotten life, you have seen and read it all. You know exactly how the plot of Ranma goes, to the minute detail of what conversation Ranma had with Ryoga before their first kiss. Except you're sure Ranma actually loves Nabiki and has never kissed Ryoga. Wait. You can't be in the canon timeline. What even is the canon timeline? You've read too many stories to be able to tell.

Known aspects:
- Ranma's Abuse - You know Ranma has to have been heavily abused! You need to take action!
- Multiple Genma's Sins - You're sure Genma is an irredeemable monster.
- Amazons - You're weary of the connections and artifacts the Amazons have access to
- Nabiki's Yakuza - Nabiki is a mercenary mastermind, with Yakuza connections, she could be a good, but expensive ally.


Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You ally yourself with someone who you really shouldn't have trusted in the first place. It breaks your family apart, and puts you in mortal danger. There's no coming back from the mistake.

Honorbound

Next crisis scene at level 4 severity.

Your childhood was all about making sure you remember that family honor is sacrosanct. Your understanding of honor and manliness might not be conventional, but you understand what is important.

Known aspects:
- Seppuku Contract - Genma made an oath, staking the family honor. Ranma must become man amongst men if any of you wish to live.
- Marriage to Genma - You are honor bound to keep your marriage to the man.
- Manliness of Ranma - Ranma must be manly. What does it mean to be manly?

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You enforce the Oath. Failing that, you remove yourself from the picture, as it's the only way for the family honor to stay intact.

Precarity

Next crisis at level 2 severity.

Your new life is dangerous. Your financial stability is laughable. Your legal rights and your ability to defend yourself are suspect. You need to feel safer. Your life needs new meaning. Now.

Known aspects:
- The House in Suginami - it's a familiar, safe place. Do you own it or does it belong to Genma?
- Lonely and Cruel Reality - You have been alive but you haven't been living in any meaningful way. For years. You need to get out of the cycle of loneliness and cruelty.
- Self Defence - You… don't know how safe you are in the world with martial artists on every corner.
- Income - How do you even make your ends meet?

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You break all ties and run away. Start a different life.

Voting and Choices

​

With a few rare exceptions (e.g. the very first update and first vote) that will say so, you should vote only for one option.

The first most popular vote will always happen in full. Votes on major actions will also have the second most popular option happen with reduced positive and negative effects.

Most of the mechanical effects of choices will be signposted. You should not include them in your vote.

Voting Example

Major action vote options:

[ ][Action] Attempt to Comfort Ranma
(Caretaker -2 stress, Know-It-All-Not +2 stress, Unknown +1 stress)

[ ][Action] Threaten Genma with the sword
(Honorbound -2 stress, Caretaker +2 stress, Regrets +1 stress)

[ ][Action] Attempt to teach Akane proper behaviour
(Precarity -1 stress, Caretaker +1 stress, Unknown +2 stress)

Vote result:

3 people have voted: [X][Action] Attempt to teach Akane proper behaviour
2 people have voted: [X][Action] Attempt to Comfort Ranma
1 people have voted: [X][Action] Threaten Genma with the sword

Mechanical outcome:

From winning vote, Akane's choice:
Precarity -1 stress, Caretaker +1 stress, Know-It-All-Not +2 stress

From second most popular vote about Ranma, reduced effect:
Caretaker -1 stress, Know-It-All-Not +1 Stress, Legacy +0 stress

Total: Precarity -1 stress, Know-It-All-Not +3 stress

Story outcome:

Full Akane scene; Incorporates bits from what would have been a full Ranma scene; Genma goes unthreatened and possibly unmentioned. If Know-It-All-Not stress cannot fit, additional crisis scene after.

Crisis Vectors - Mechanics

​

Each crisis vector has a permanent rating and a variable amount of stress points towards the next level. Choices will always reduce and increase stress in multiple vectors or keep stress levels the same, but never can push a stress below 0 or more than 5. Most of the stress changes a choice causes will be listed before the choice is picked.

Occasional choices will offer introspection scenes, which can move a point of permanent rating to another crisis vector with no changes in stress values. These are rare, and represent inner turmoil as the native and alien natures of the main character try to find new equilibrium.

Whenever stress in a vector is gained while 5 stress is accumulated, the permanent rating increases by one and then a crisis scene is triggered. High crisis vector values "unlock" more choices with neutral stress change. Crisis scenes clear the stress of the vector to 0, but can cause extra stress in other areas depending on the crisis scene.

Crisis scenes at level 1-4 should increase in severity as the level rises, but the severity will also heavily depend on the situation and the choice that takes stress over the threshold. Compelling Narration triumphs over exact severity levels. Sometimes that might end up in inconsistent scaling.

Crisis scenes occurring at severity 5 have the potential to end the quest early. This will depend on circumstances. If it fits the story arc better, the story will continue. Otherwise, it will be the final scene of the quest.

Crisis vectors do not increase past 5. In the case of narrowly evaded game over, the maxed crisis vector can still gather stress and cause another level 5 crisis on stress overflow.

Severity 5 crisis examples

Legacy

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You devote your life to Grandfather's wishes, rejecting the terrifying prospect of keeping free will.
Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You face the Grandfather in a duel and, most probably, lose.

Regrets

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You take drastic methods to try and return home, whatever the cost, however small the chance.

Caretaker

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You devote your life to the exclusive care of an unhealthy amount of cats. Cats don't go on training trips. Especially if you don't let them out of your house.

Know-It-All-Not

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You ally yourself with someone who you really shouldn't have trusted in the first place. It breaks your family apart, and puts you in mortal danger. There's no coming back from the mistake.

Honorbound

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You enforce the Oath. Failing that, you remove yourself from the picture, as it's the only way for the family honor to stay intact.

Precarity

Final Severity 5 Crisis (example): You break all ties and run away.

Connections - Mechanics

​

Connections simply signify an emotional connection to a particular person. Multiple connections can exist for the same person. Some choices will increase or reduce the connection strength.

High connection levels might influence available choices.

Dice and Combat - Mechanics

​

This is purely a narrative quest about resource management. Dice will not be rolled, and there's no separate combat mechanic, even if you decide to get into a fight.

This quest is a little unfair and unbalanced by design. Yes. Sorry about that.

If you want, the exact same information in the google doc I coped from.

This is an informal informational post. Not calling any votes yet.
(some are very close, and still on track for the planned call of the vote on sometime around 2025-02-27)

that said... these are my thoughts, having watched over the vote, and having sat down to think more about the future. Some minor information here and there and some comments that might be relevant to the future of the quest and my approach.

💙💙💙

Current Vote Pattern

I am seeing the pattern emerging from the vote already, so I can start slowly prepping for the next update. Still not calling the vote early, since I know at least one person who told me on discord that they plan to take a look and vote (unless their nickname is wildly different here and I miscounted). That, and some votes are super close.

I tested the vote counting with NetTally program a little, and also read up the guides on the built in vote tally too, and it seems that the labels I gave for tasks are working exactly as I hoped. I could have done a few tiny things different, had I known for sure, but that doesn't matter.

This is not final:
With 10 voters as of now...
The current top introspection option 6 votes are to transfer Honorbound -> Regrets, reaching Regrets 3 (not causing a crisis) (second option is at 4 votes, transferring Honorbound to Precarity)
The current top otherworld option is 5 votes for a group of close knit friends. (second highest option is at 4 votes for a wife and daughter)
The current top action option is to call Taiga Hibiki (4 votes). (Second place at 2 votes is to investigate the past)

Minor info - Min-maxing and Vote

There's no rules against or for min-maxing the vote.

The intent is for people to be able to choose an option both ignoring the stress impact (and rules altogether), and at the same time to allow people who want to pay attention to it to calculate things before hand. Either approach will interact with mechanics (hopefully) as intended. Story-only choices will obviously move the story along, and min-maxing choices will hit side-content that's there specifically for the purpose of allowing to move stress from one area to another. And the scenes I want or coud write! Which can lead to more choices and more scenes in the future.

On average, a major action should still increase overall stress by +2, that's by design.

Minor info - Charactersheet tweaks

I have changed the character sheet Crisis Vector table. The data didn't change, just the way I arranged it. As far as I've tested, it should look better on smaller screens. I've left the old table in, just spoilered. Feel free to compare and give feedback. Or... not 💙.

I've also added a link to the original google doc, if you prefer to read it that way. The information is the same, maybe ordered a little differently. I will try to keep the two matching.

And, to reiterate a sentiment I should have included and highlighted in the original post, feel free to participate and vote without even paying attention to the stress increases ar even looking at any of the stats. They're for me to resolve things, and to know when an extra (crisis) scene should be written.

Bonus - Ina's overthinking

As a sidenote, I have been low-key overthinking adding or not adding reactions to the people voting, as to not influence the vote, but I appreciate each and every vote, especially the people that come from the cosy corners of the ranma/writing discords I frequent to vote on this quest. But like... the hug is a blue heart... I should probably give everyone hearts. 💙💙💙

I have written the rules and the character sheet intending for them to be clear, which might have led to accidental wordyness. I am a chatterbox, if people let me. Sorry.

Oh, and I know that the action vote (especially for this first update) has no attached immediacy, so you're current vote is more... deciding the order of things to choose rather than making a vital choice that decides the fate of everyone. There will be more vital choices in the future, I just wanted to start on a slow jog.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, here or on discord, or any of the other social media I'm in. I'm InaNewmoon on tumblr and blue sky, for example.

Ina's writing speed and other stories (update frequency)

The updates shouldn't be massive (there might be exceptions), and I will try to limit my editing and overthinking. When writing stories these days I try to finish a whole arc before starting to post them chapter by chapter. This will not be the case here. My intent is to keep to the rough schedule giving roughly a week for a vote and then after calling it, giving myself another week to write/finalize the next update. (and the voting week is for working on my other stories (see the AO3 or SV links in my signature))

I hope to keep to it to the best of my ability, but if an unexpected bout of depression/dysphoria/physical health issue strikes, this can vary. Know that I am forcing myself not to rush too quickly, because I wanna evade potencial burnout. And give more time for votes. Time will tell if this decision is the right one, but I hope it is.

Thanks

Just wanted to again echo a thanks for everyone who voted, gave me advice and are in general looking forward for the quest's future (and/or the story I wanna tell here). I hope we all get surprised in good ways and have fun! 💙💙💙

💙 All art is commissioned from Beedok. She's amazing. 💙

Oh, and an extra bit of thanks to ClericalError87, an expert of ttrpgs and all things Exalted, for looking over the mechanics document for clarity and for letting me bounce some mechanical ideas off her. 💙

The plot bunny behind the story was raised in Storytellers' Speakeasy community discord by Noswald95, even if I tweaked it a bunch and turned it into a quest. 💙

I guess I should also shill the Storytellers' Speakeasy discord. Let me find the... free trial meme, er, the suggested advertisement for the server:

I hope this first quest succeeds, and after it ends... I might see you again in an entirely different one. 💙💙💙

Awright! Hoping the tool works. If this fails, I'll use the NetTally.

(the preview looks very weird, but I know the winners)

Calling the vote a little early, but only because I've already started writing, and I'm almost sure it is 27th somewhere in the world.

I'll go update the first post, and the sheets and then continue working on the update - should be somewhat sooner than my estimate of a week, since I've already written up most of it.





Stress change:
(-1 stress Legacy, +1 stress to Regrets)
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Caretaker)

Total:
Legacy -1
Regrets 0
Precarity -1
Honorbound +2
Caretaker +1

Vote Result Above

---

The Mirror

You find yourself in the bathroom, taking a cold shower. You used to like long, warm showers. Except your shower doesn't even have hot water now. Never had it. Your body is clearly used to the invigorating cold bite of the water.

Filling in the furo and heating it up was entirely too much work for the little relief you were looking for, so you just deal with it. Some other time.

Your own body… feels very different. Even if it's been yours for all your life.

In some ways, it's the best thing that happened to you. In others, it's like wearing an alien costume, completely different in all of the little ways. The balance is all off. The skin feels wrong. Even the water running down your face only reminds you that everything has changed.

Kami, you're gonna always feel like you're being dragged into two different directions at once, won't you?

You turn off the water and stagger towards the mirror, grabbing a towel along the way.

An unfamiliar woman stares right back at you from the other side. Her eyes are tired and a little wild. The color of her irises is so bright brown they're almost red. Unusual. Her hair is dark red, slightly wavy, even when damp. Surprisingly, it's a natural color. Her facial features are delicate.

She's pretty. You can't help but laugh at the thought. She's me.

You're her.

It appears that both sides of you had some aversion to spending a lot of time before the mirror, even if it was for different reasons, which is why this long examination of your own face brings out all of these strange feelings of otherness.

You reach out and touch the glass. The woman in the mirror does the same.

"Who are you?" you ask the mirror woman out loud.

You're Nodoka Saotome, the woman in the mirror replies.

Yes, but what does that mean?

You don't know. Not yet.

Who were you?

The non-Nodoka memories are much, much harder to decipher. The names are blurry, and the memories don't want to come into full focus.

Your memories are unreliable, but you don't think you have a family waiting for you. Sure, there's a half-formed vision of a daughter - but that's coming from a part of you that believes Ranma's been a girl since birth. Which might have been true - but you can't know for sure. Not yet.

The old life has always been you and your friends. Sure, you've almost gotten married once, but there was always something to put things off, a problem to solve or a debt to tackle. Having a very raw example of how well married life has gone for a part of you, makes you think it was the right choice.

You're almost certain your modern side is younger, but not by that much. Past you wasn't exactly happy with the life she had… and yet would exchange a married life like Nodoka's for the friendships you had in heartbeat. Sure, there's an instinctual pang of worry from what can only be the side of you raised with a traditional values side of you… reaching thirty years of age with no marriage or kids…

Sure, it would have been nice to settle down with a… there's no name, but you remember the girl you were in love with fondly - long ago, when you were still a student. The almost forgotten memory sends a buzz though the part of you that was once Nodoka.

A thought about wanting a marriage with a woman is as foreign as the found family you had surrounded yourself with in the other world. There's a moment of stillness as the different sides of you try to reconcile the memories.

It's not like you haven't found women beautiful before, it's just… The marriage you got to experience was a pair of shackles forged from fake honor. Not ones of your making, but still a chain holding you back from living. From trying things. From falling in love.

You can't live on duty alone!

The old Nodoka might have erupted in flames had she been to your old place without preparation. Your group of closest friends were queerer than she could have imagined possible, and yet at the same time you know they weren't anything exceptional.

You miss them. Of course you do!

Your relationship with your family had been strained - even if that didn't interfere with your annoying brother asking for help whenever he got too much in debt. You remember taking on an extra part time shift at a local tea shop just to make ends meet - after your brother burned through your meager savings again with yet another emergency.

That had been the drop to break it all, and the reason why you moved in with your friends, instead of trying to make it alone. Originally, it was a little more than just friends, an arrangement which instantly brings a hint of a blush to your new face, but one which didn't work out long term. Your friendship was strong enough to weather that storm, still.

You even remember a faint hope, that should you once more feel more at home in your body, you might even try something like that again. A thought which heightens your heartbeat. Your body… is in some ways an unexpected blessing. Slightly too thin, bordering on unhealthy, but you know how insane the beauty standards of this country can get. Best not dwell on that thought too long. Not now.

You wish you could conjure something more than little flashes of memory from the other life. At least a name or two, to go with the blurred faces. Your best friend had short, dark blue hair, constantly leaving blue hair-dye marks in the shower that you had to clean up, because they tended to forget. They weren't all that into alternative fashion, but the Nodoka in you is already instinctively horrified by the actually quite conservative amount of piercings and the ambiguous gender presentation.

The tall younger man with long ponytail, the one that kept dragging you to play boardgames every other Tuesday night, is viewed a little bit more favorably.

There's a part of you that has absolutely no context for the relationships you had, nor for the friendships you fostered. A part of you never had a single good friend, even in school. After all, your grandfather pulled you back to be completely homeschooled much earlier than was strictly legal.

After all this time, it feels like you just haven't let yourself have any friends.

Is that why you're longing for a reunion with Ranma so much? To fill the massive gaping void in your heart? Of course your mind had to wander to your kid, given a chance. An absolutely tiny morsel of a child, being taken away. Dark haired. Maybe.

Would girl Ranma be a redhead? you wonder. Since your hair is already quite unusual, especially for the Japan you remember from another life… would the curse call it out even more?

Probably, a part of you guesses. There's said to be kitsune ancestry in the Shimizu family, you half-remember. You hope you're right, and not just making it up. The curse might just shake it up, if it exists. There's a vague memory of your grandmother, seen only in portraits. She had bright red hair, like a flame. Kinda like what you'd guess Ranma to have in cursed form. If there's even a curse.

A whole lot of things a part of you deemed fictional are very much real here. Yokai exist, for one. You have no idea where, how or why you would try to seek one out, but they're out there.

Your mind returns to meeting the girl Ranma.

The easiest solution is death, a traitorous part of you whispers and you bite down on it figuratively and literally, slamming your teeth together so hard that it hurts. No!

The contract…

The suicide pact is illegal, you crazy woman!

You stare yourself in the eyes.

You know. It was never legal in the first place, you remember. No legal court would ever uphold it. No sane person would consider a one year old child slapping a piece of paper with an ink-stained hand legally binding.

You know all that.

And yet.

It was always a matter of honor. A promise between martial artists.

In the end, it would have to be Ranma's choice, not yours.

Should Ranma choose to honor the agreement, however bogus it is, your duty is to be there, to swing the sword… and follow Ranma to the afterlife right after.

No.

No.

No.

You refuse.

You latch on to the half of yourself that thinks it's a horrible thing. You force yourself to take a mental step back.

No one is dying. Not if you can help it.

It takes a while to win that fight against yourself.

By the end of that little staredown, you can swear that you can see the hint of your old eyes looking back at you, a much more normal brown irises. Except the vision fades and your eye color returns to the strange shade of red-brown. Maybe there's a lot more modern woman in you than you thought, missing memories and all, you're still enough of a different person to keep the most dangerous impulses at bay.

Knowing you're different today than you were just yesterday, is enough to remind you that even though all that numbing haze of your other past… you have arrived here at a cost.

You need to find a way to… remember things better. To send a message back home, maybe? To experience what you have never had a chance to experience. To make a friend. To have something more than a desperate longing to fill your heart.

You need to learn to live again.

The woman in the mirror has tears in her eyes.

It takes you quite a bit before you're ready to move on.

In some ways, you have found a new balance. A new answer to the question of who you are.

In others, you feel like you've ruined everything.

The air in the rest of the house tastes of old regrets.

The Call

You waste quite a bit of time looking for a phone.

First, for a mobile one, then, after realizing that you wouldn't have any access to a smartphone, nor a flip phone, nor even an old-timey block with buttons… you set out to search for a landline one.

You have memories of Kasumi and Akane calling this house in at least one of the stories. Maybe the landline phone gets connected here at a later time? Maybe before meeting the Tendos, Nodoka from the stories didn't have a need for a home phone at all?

Or maybe she got one after the fake-Ranma stayed over for a bit? No, it had to be a different house altogether, you realize. Ranma confronted Ryu Kumon by coming through a second floor window - or even a little balcony… and the house you live in has only a paltry attic for storage - and there's not much of anything there.

Is this another fundamental difference between here and now and the story you have read, or is this a case of minor divergence?

You linger at the weird shrine to ritual suicide, before sighing and picking up the wrapped family sword. You know you won't need it, and you'd rather leave it behind, and yet… It's such an ingrained habit, that it feels wrong heading outside without carrying it with you.

A part of you wants to throw it away. Another side of you clutches it even closer to yourself, because it used to belong to your father and you can't let anything happen to it. Never.

It's a short walk to the payphone. You're uncharacteristically nervous all the way there. Neither side of you have ever done this. Is there an operator that picks up? You know there's some sort of codes involved.

There's no quick way to google how pagers even work. Nodoka hasn't even seen a computer, much less knows if the internet is real or not. Maybe you should double check it exists at some point.

You're honestly surprised your house even has electricity and running water.

The walk to the phone is very short. There, attached to the wall of a nearest Seven Eleven, you find the green machine in a little see-through booth.

You run into the first obstacle as soon as you enter it.

You can't find the receiving number of the green phone printed on it, even as a handful of guides for its use make your head spin. You don't have a card nor do you have change in coins.

You sigh, and head right into the store to get some coins and advice.

The young woman working as a store clerk is happy to help. She looks to be in her early twenties, has long dark hair, and her smile is very warm. The memory of your past friendships… and more… makes you admit to yourself that she's kinda cute, which makes the whole interaction a little more awkward on your part.

You end up buying a phone card, just in case you need to make more future calls, a tiny little notebook for writing the number down and grab a few coins of change, too. They don't have the local booths number on hand, but instead you get a number from an operator you can call and ask for the number of the device.

It's all very… unusual, but makes sense.

Your calls go perfectly well, despite your worry.

The operator dictates the number on your first one, and then your second call is to the pager, and after a signal, you enter the number of the message - in this case just a phone number of the pay phone, since you have no idea how to encode an actual message - and actually want a call back.

Then… it's settling in to wait.

What… if he doesn't call?

How long would it take for him to find a phone? What are the chances it's still his pager's number? If he wanted to, he could keep the same number for future devices, right? You hope it's the case.

The last name Hibiki carried a whole lot of baggage in the other world. You chose a green phone, and it didn't have the domestic-only warning on the screen, so even if the Hibiki in question is lost abroad, he should be able to call you.

No one else comes to use the phone, even as you linger just outside, waiting impatiently.

Then, finally, a good half-hour after you sent the message, the phone rings.

"Hello?" You pick it up. In your head, you played this conversation a few times, except now that the call is here you completely forget what you planned to start with.

"Hibiki here. Is this about the training contract? I'm sorry, I'm running a little late," a pleasant man's voice echoes through the receiver, hurrying to explain a delay you have no idea about. "But I am already on my way to Tokyo, and I will get a taxi if it takes me more than a couple more days." There's faint sounds of plates and chatter somewhere beyond him.

"I'm sorry to bother you," you break into what you should have started with. "I'm Nodoka Saotome, thank you for calling. This is not about any contracts, sorry. I don't know if you remember me at all, but…" You trail off, hesitating again.

"Oh." There's a longer pause, as your heart grows cold with fear. "Oh! Nochan! Of course I do," he says and chuckles, dispelling your rising panic, and replacing it with a barely contained excitement. "It's been quite a while, more than a decade, right? I thought you lost the number and we'd never get to chat again. How are you holding up?"

"I… did," you lie, instead of admitting that it was always in quite an easy to find place. It's quite unusual for him to slip into such an informal form of address, but… you can't help but find it a little charming, and comforting. You haven't seen the man in so long, and yet, it almost feels like talking to an old friend. "I was tidying up, saw the old card with the number on it, so… Here I am. I thought it wouldn't work, not after fifteen years."

"Has it really been that long?" he asks and chuckles again. "Thanks for recalling the little old me. I remember you very well - like it was only a few months ago." He pauses for a drop. "I'm guessing you didn't get any of the letters I sent? I don't know if I got your address right, since you never wrote back."

What?

"I don't think so," you say, but you're looking through the old mail pile again the minute you get back. You don't remember seeing any letters from any Hibiki. "What were they about?"

"Well, you asked for me to keep an eye out for Ranma, and I promised I would," Taiga says. "I just learned a couple of months ago, there's a Ranma Saotome staying at a Tendo Dojo. I think it's somewhere in Minato? Have they come back home yet? Minato's right next to Suginami, right?"

You freeze. "I-"

There's a short pause.

"Nochan?"

"I've heard of it," you say the truth, even if you haven't seen the Tendo Dojo with your eyes yet. "It should be in Nerima, not Minato. Ranma hasn't been home yet. I- I'll check it out soon, thanks. It's more of a lead than I had in years." The last part… is true, since you don't know how much you can trust the memories.

"I'm sorry." There's a sigh on the other side of the line. "I know how hard it gets to spend years without seeing your children. I hope I get a chance to run into mine," he shares. "It's not often that I get a job offer in Tokyo, so I'm gonna head on home for a bit, and if I'm lucky, both of them will be there. It's been almost a year since I've been."

"Both?" you ask. Ryoga has a sibling?

"I've had to have told you about Ryoga, my son, he's grown up pretty strong," the man says, and then lets out a much more awkward laugh this time, something of an embarrassed cough. "But apparently I've got a daughter too. Yoiko. Can't believe I forgot about her, but I just couldn't get back in touch after I learned of her. The phone is broken at home, you see… I'll have to replace it first."

Isn't that… one of Ranma's disguises? "How… do you even forget about your daughter?" you ask, voice incredulous.

"Ryoga was very sure of it," Taiga replies and you can almost imagine him shrugging. Tall, strong, wide shoulders. Must be. "So she must be Chiyoko's - so either she's the one who forgot to tell me, or there's a whole different story there. But even if that's just some stray girl my boy wants to shelter in our family, I won't turn her away. I do hope I get to meet her."

"Maybe…" you almost say that you think it's your Ranma hiding at the Hibikis' in a disguise… but decide against it, at least for now. "Nevermind. I hope you get to meet her."

"Me too," he says. "Ryoga sounded pretty excited about her. But look at me, chattering away about my kids - there must have been a reason for your call and I'm wasting your time."

"No, no, you've already helped me quite a bit," you say. "I guess I wanted a friendly ear, most of all. But you've given me a couple of leads on Ranma to check out!"

"Good to hear," he says. "Feel free to page me anytime. I'll call back whenever I can."

"I- I will," you say. "Where are you heading to?"

There's a pause, followed by sounds of rummaging somewhere, culminating with the sound of a page turning a couple of times. "Seisyun High? If I can find it in time. It's a small job."

You rummage your memories. Entirely too many potential answers there for it to be useful. "You're a martial arts trainer, right? Kendo?" you guess.

"I teach martial arts, but not Kendo," he replies. "The Hibiki School of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. I work with teams or solo students, it depends. The competitions have been getting more popular recently, which means more work for me."

You can't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the discipline. But… this is normal in the world you're in right now… Right?

"I… think I know where the school you're looking for is," you say. You do. It's in Nerima, but quite close to your neighbourhood. "Maybe we could…"

"Sure, come on over whenever," he says. "I don't know if I'll make it in time, the job's only supposed to last a month or two and I'm still somewhere in Shikoku. Matsuyama, I think. I'll try and catch a ferry to Tokyo from the port."

"No, I meant, I could maybe lead you there?" you say. But as soon as you've said it out loud, you realize that without a mobile phone to coordinate, the chance of running into any Hibiki on purpose is incredibly slim.

"If I knew which ship and when I'm getting off, then maybe," Taiga says and chuckles. "If you wanna help, maybe you could take a peek at my house, instead? Check if either of my kids are home? You're fine with dogs, right? Can you write down the address?"

"I'll try," you say. "Dogs aren't a problem."

He dictates and you pen down the Hibiki residence address in Itabashi.

"Thank you kindly, Nochan. If there isn't anything else, I'll go ask the izakaya's owner where the nearest port is. I've asked to use their phone for this, and I'm already a little late."

Suddenly, you're stuck with inspiration. Hibiki's are always lost, aren't they? Who says he's actually in Matsuyama? "Could you ask the owner for the address and tell me first?"

"Sure, give me a minute." The receiver of the phone bumps on some surface. The sounds of chatter grow a little duller. You can almost make out someone ordering a few skewers.

Your fingers clench on the notebook. Seisyun High was a place of some competition that Ranma participated in. Definitely. Martial arts scating and Azusa? No, that one was different. At St. Bacchus? You had an idea to look for it, but now you can't remember what exactly was your initial plan there. It had something to do with Kendo, that's for sure. You remember at least one story where a Nodoka was a kendo instructor there! That's why.

It's as good of a lead as any other. Maybe even better, now that you know Taiga might be working there too.

"I'm back," Taiga's voice shakes you out of your thoughts. "Thank you, Nochan!" he says, and you can't help but feel your heart beat faster at the pure joy in his voice. "They said I'm actually in Tokyo! Southern Edogawa! Real close to a farmer's market my wife gets her groceries from, if I'm not wrong!"

"Going to get a taxi home?" you ask. You can't help but smile.

"Oh no, my home is right within walking distance," Hibiki says. "Gonna grab some takeout and head right there. Maybe eat it with my family, if I'm lucky."

"Edogawa is on a different side of Tokyo than Itabashi," you deadpan, rubbing at the bridge of your nose.

"No, it is not. I know the way."

"It is," you insist and sigh. "Give me the izakaya's address. Please."

He complies. You write it down.

"It's at least an hour and a half by train from where I am," you say. "Maybe half that if I get a taxi. And Itabashi is even a little further away from where I am."

"Can't be," he says, even as he sounds a little less certain. "Fine. I'll eat here first, and then take some takeout for the road and head on to Seisyun like I planned. I don't like taking the taxi if I don't need to."

The old regrets of never making the call make your heart beat strangely. You can't help but wonder at what could-have-beens.

The taxi fare to the izakaya would make a small dent in your budget, to the tune of thirty thousand yen.

But that's… probably your first friend in the hostile world. Doesn't that alone make it worth the trip?

"Can you wait where you are for an hour or so?" You ask.

"I can wait for a bit," he says. "Thinking of heading on over?"

"...Maybe."

---

Vote for Major Action

Both a winning option and the runner up will be chosen, for a full scene and a half-scene that incorporates a bit of the second choice. The impact of stress of the runner up will be reduced (halved and rounded down). New or modified options are marked as (NEW).

There's a handful of Unique options that are *only* available as part of the next action and that are partially exclusive to each other. If one wins, all of the votes for the second place one would be counted as 0, skipping it.

Extra complication for this vote only - if none of the "Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa" options win first or second place, you'll get an extra +1 stress to Regrets, and won't go.

A lot of choices can and will open other options on subsequent votes.

Special - Taiga Hibiki Legacy/Regrets/Caretaker/Know-It-All-Not:

Legacy
(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa. Pour out your fears about your Shimizu family's past to Taiga Hibiki. He's your first friend in this new world. So what if you reveal a little too much, it's fine. It's about getting your fears heard.
(-2 stress to Legacy, +1 stress for Caretaker, +2 stress to Honorbound)
(can only be picked this vote)
(can get a half-scene with other temp choices)

Regrets
(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Unique. (only available due to 3 Regrets) Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa. Bring Taiga Hibiki back, but to your flat. He can stay the night, you have the room. It's much closer from your house to Seisyun than from his house. You are still not sure what, if anything, such a suggestion could lead to.
(-2 stress to Regrets, +2 stress for Legacy, +3 stress to Honorbound)
(can only be picked this vote)
(exclusive with other Unique actions. The losing ones will get their votes set to 0)

(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Unique. (only available due to 3 Regrets) Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa. Help Taiga Hibiki to his home. Stay the night. Help to take care of the Hibiki household in the morning. You're not sure what, if anything, such a suggestion could lead to.
(-2 stress to Regrets, -2 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress for Legacy, +2 stress for Know-It-All-Not, +3 stress to Honorbound)
(can only be picked this vote)
(exclusive with the solo attempt to visit the Hibiki household, the losing one will get it's votes set to 0)
(exclusive with other Unique actions. The losing ones will get their votes set to 0)

Caretaker
(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Unique. Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa. Help Taiga Hibiki to his home. Help to take care of the household. Head home before it becomes too late.
(-2 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress for Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Honorbound)
(can only be picked this vote)
(exclusive with the solo attempt to visit the Hibiki household, the losing one will get it's votes set to 0)
(exclusive with other Unique actions. The losing ones will get their votes set to 0)

Know-It-All-Not
(NEW)
Won the vote:
[W] [Action] Unique. Take a taxi to the izakaya in Edogawa. Try to take Taiga Hibiki together to Seisyun High before the day is out. Maybe you too could get hired there. It's in some way important to the plot, so it has to work out. Who needs qualifications? Not you.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Honorbound)
(can only be picked this vote)
(exclusive with the solo attempt to get hired at Seisyun, the losing one will get it's votes set to 0)
(exclusive with other Unique actions. The losing ones will get their votes set to 0)

Dealing with Legacy:

Missing events, knowledge and contacts for more Legacy choices.

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Legacy (impossible)) Visit the old Shimizu Estate without Ranma. Maybe the Honorable Grandfather is dead? You doubt it.
(-1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not)

[ ] [Action] You should visit your father's grave. It's been years.
(-2 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Action] Investigate your past as Nodoka Shimizu. Look for any hidden storage, old photos, dredge up old memories, ask around.
(-1 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress to Precarity)
(you don't have anyone specific to ask yet, but this might be just enough to find a trail)

[ ] [Action] If you want to free yourself from Genma (what a rebellious thought!), you might want to try and remember the wedding and the details of your honorable grandfather's arrangement with him. Maybe Genma's already in breach of something?
(-1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Precarity)

Dealing with Regrets:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Regrets) Light a candle for the family and friends you have lost. Settle in for a long haul.
(-2 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Precarity)
(only one Regrets level 3 choice can win the vote, the other counts as having gotten 0 votes)

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Regrets) You need to search for the way back. A way to communicate. Whoever can help. Search for Amazons' artifacts! Doctor Tofu! Deal with a devil! Anything.
(-1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)
(only one Regrets level 3 choice can win the vote, the other counts as having gotten 0 votes)

(NEW)
Half-scene win:
[H] [Action] You should write down what you know about your past. What if it's all fading away? You need to keep the record of your past friendships, lest you forget them.
(-1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Old Nodoka had… very outdated views on gender and crossdressing. You need to lay some groundwork, should Ranma be exactly as you remember from the stories. Take yourself for a walk around Nichome, maybe?
(-1 stress to Regrets,+1 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] You need to spend some time on yourself before you dive into the whole mess that is life with Ranma in it. Try to establish a home routine at home that isn't sitting and staring at a banner that says 'suicide'. Make yourself at home. Clean. Check up on the Garden. Rest.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Precarity, [/B]+1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] Tear down the Seppuku banner. Throw it away.
(-1 stress to Regrets, +3 stress to Honorbound)

Dealing with Caretaker:

Need to meet more people for more Caretaker choices.

[ ] [Action] Adopt the stray cats. Chaos and Orchid are wonderful and they shouldn't sleep on the streets ever again. Get them collars with their names on it. Make it official.
(-2 stress to Caretaker, -1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Honorbound)

(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Visit the Hibiki household. Check up the house. Check if the phone is broken and if Yoiko Hibiki exists. If either she or Ryoga are home, make sure they aren't hungry. Walk the dog.
(-2 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress to Regrets, +2 stress for Know-It-All-Not)
(can expire)
(exclusive with visiting the Hibiki household with Taiga, the losing option will get it's votes set to 0)

(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Find the Furinkan High School in a phone book and place a call from a pay phone. Verify that Ranma is going there, learn what you can about them. Find out what's the Tendo sister situation. What class are they going to? Maybe everyone is in a different school?
(-1 stress to Caretaker, -1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Honorbound)

Dealing with Know-It-All-Not:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Know-It-All-Not (impossible)) You aren't outside much, but you're sure you're being watched. Photographed. Clearly, it's a lackey of Nabiki's, already looking into Ranma's family - you need to confront them and establish contact with Nabiki.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Legacy)

(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Search your house for the missing letters from Taiga Hibiki. Visit the local post office, and ask, just in case. Something has happened to them. It might be related to your current living situation, perhaps?
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Legacy)

[ ] [Action] Apply for a kendo instructor vacancy at Seisyun High School. It's in some way important to the plot, so it has to work out. Who needs qualifications? Not you.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, -1 stress to Precarity +3 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Honorbound) (can expire)
(exclusive with the unique Taiga option, the losing one will get it's votes set to 0)

[ ] [Action] Hit the newspapers. Something has to be there to put you on the right track.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Investigate Ranma's fiancees, if they exist. Order in food from the Nekohanten. Visit Ukyo's okonomiyaki restaurant incognito.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Search your house for artifacts or past rituals, or other proof of what could have happened in the past with Ranma. You know there could be ways to turn an unwanted daughter into a boy and while you're near certain this didn't happen here… you need to be sure.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, -1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress Legacy, +2 stress Regrets, +1 stress Caretaker)

Dealing with Honorbound:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Honorbound (impossible)) Go to the Tendo Dojo directly. Right now. Confront Genma and Ranma. Take a measure of Ranma's manliness!
(-1 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Legacy)

[ ] [Action] Meditate on the challenges before you. Consider the seppuku contract. What honorable ways are there for you to deal with the issues ahead?
(-3 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Visit the Furinkan neighbourhood in Nerima ward. See the sights. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of Ranma. You even know the rough area where to look for them.
(-2 stress to Honorbound, +2 stress to Precarity) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Openly visit Ukyo's restaurant, if it exists. Meet the chef.
(-1 stress to Honorbound, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress Precarity)

[ ] [Action] Visit the Nekohanten, if it exists. Meet the chinese amazons, as they are.
(-2 stress to Honorbound, +3 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 stress Precarity)

Dealing with Precarity:

[ ] [Action] (Needs level 3 Precarity (impossible)) This world is dangerous. You have various technique scrolls sent by Genma over the years, and scraps of Shimizu techniques. Time to train.
(-3 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Legacy, +4 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] Try to get a part time job in Suginami, close to home.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Regrets) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Try to get a part time job in Nerima.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not) (can expire)

[ ] [Action] Get a different wardrobe. Might be a little expensive but worth it.
(-2 stress to Precarity, -1 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress Caretaker, +1 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Action] Go out to meet new people. Neighbours. In the street. Anyone. You've been cooped up alone for too long.
(-2 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not)

(NEW)
[ ] [Action] Your local Seven Eleven has a cute store clerk with long dark hair. She's a bit young, but maybe you could strike up a friendly conversation all the same. You could really use more friends in the area. Maybe she knows something about you, or has heard of something useful? It's a very slim chance, but you long for a new friendly connection more than anything else.
(-1 stress to Precarity, -1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Caretaker, +2 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Honorbound)

---

---

Notes:

Hey, this was much faster than I planned. So here you go!💙💙💙

I did my best to stop myself from over-editing, so there might have been some awkward phrasings or mistakes, more than usually, I mean (I can never escape all mistakes anyway). I you notice something weird or off, please tell me, I'll try to fix it.

As always, feel free to ask any questions and discuss any ideas you have.

And... I'm done for tonight, see you later 💙.