I didn't really plan on making an info post this time, but I saw an insightful comment on discord... and I wanna highlight it for absolutely no reason, and since I was doing that, I figured someone might want a peek at the min-max table (although you're also very much free to ignore it).

A smart friend in a Discord far far away said:

So much story! yay
Also...
It feels like someone might be screening Nodoka's mail.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I can't confirm nor deny completely, but there's a reason why going to a post office increases Legacy stress.


Also, since I'm back here, I can share some overthinking, this time on why I decided to have a vote as it is now:

Oh, and the surprisingly quick write up of the update (even for myself) was what caused me to not have time or funds left this month for any new art, but maybe next time?

ScribeTransient said:

The unique option for either to stay the night has suggestive connotations I think would actually lead to more stressful options

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Can't confirm nor deny extra stress consequences further down the line, but currently Regrets is the main motivating force for Nodoka, and you picked the most romantically unattached option from the Otherworld, which... makes Nodoka notice people more. It doesn't mean it necessarily can or will lead to something... suggestive, but it might. If anything does... I will try to tastefully fade to black.
Maybe when you meet Genma, he might actually sweep you off your feet? Who knows?

Thanks again for reading and voting 💙

Awright! Calling Vote - ended up super close, especially due to the vote changes.



Winning vote:
(NEW)
[ ] [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)


Winning half-scene (with 1 vote since the other unique option is set to 0):
(NEW)
[ ] [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.
Full - (-1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not) (
Half - +1 stress to Caretaker


Total:
-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not
+2 stress to Legacy
+2 stress to Honorbound
+1 stress to Caretaker

(no crisis scene)

I will start writing today. Don't expect an immediate update, but hopefully I'll hash out the scenes over the weekend.

Will update the character sheet according to the new stress changes.

Winning Vote

Taxi

It's a long ride.

You had never been to Tokyo in your past life. As Nodoka, you haven't really experienced even a tiniest fraction of what the metropolis could offer. In some ways, it is and always has been a bunch of cities in a trenchcoat pretending to be one. A staggering amount of people huddled all in one place. Each city-ward has its own feel, but you don't know much about Edogawa city, except that it is the easternmost part of Tokyo. You've heard that it has a handful of foreigners living there, and can't help but wonder if you even remember your old language.

You're almost sure it wasn't English, but you can't… You know you used English a whole bunch, at least for reading the stories. It might have been your first language? You're sure you knew more than one.

Mercifully, the taxi driver understands a request to give you space and silence, letting you stew in the back of the car alone with your spotty memories. The tiny notebook you've just picked up is your only weapon.

It quickly goes from bad to worse. You realize that you can't really write anything down that you're fully, one hundred percent sure about.

Your first idea is to take notes in English, so they would be harder for someone else to read, but you find yourself unexpectedly struggling there too. You can certainly write some English words, but there's a sluggish uncertainty underneath it all. While you can understand what you just wrote, there's a harrowing doubt. Would you be able to read this tomorrow? Are you actually using the right words, or are you making up a language you'll forget the next day?

Nodoka has had about a year of lessons in English, when she was little - but her vocabulary is nowhere near good enough to check what exactly is happening. You should… compare whatever language you're writing in with actual English when given a chance. Test if you can understand and be understood.

Would you lose that skill in the future, or is it a fixed and internalized part of you; one that just feels a little rusty? You can't fully trust yourself.

Your hands are shaking, and coupled with the twists and turns of the taxi, it's making the romaji script even more of a mess. Even with all of the doubts, you still decide to take notes in English, it seems like a good way to protect it from most casual observers.

You return to picking bits and pieces of the past. You start with noting little things about your grandparents, and the details come to you easily. It's a firm, strong memory, unexpectedly so… except you realize, mid-description, that your grandmother in another life couldn't have had naturally red hair, not the likes of which you remember. Neither of them spoke a lick of Japanese.

Sighing, you cross out what little you wrote down and mark the other grandparents as forgotten.

Your parents? You remember the fights that can't have happened to Nodoka. There's vague memories of a nosy, meddling mother, something which Nodoka couldn't really remember even if she wanted to, because there was literally no mother in her memories.

You write it down.

There's a pang of instinctive guilt of writing anything negative about your closest family in another world, but then you recall why exactly you disagreed. They didn't accept you.

Even when your brother tried to get you to reconcile, you never got past careful, cold politeness.

You write that down, too.

Then, you fill in a handful of one-off memories. A hospital visit. A hard bout of flu. A girl who kept stealing your pencils at school. A doll you loved that your parents gave away to a neighbour's kid, because you should have grown out of it and found a different hobby.

The time you accidentally cut your palm while cooking. There's no visible scar there now… but that doesn't prove the memory isn't from Nodoka's side.

You're not sure if any of them are. You pepper the page with question marks.

Left-handed, you note down. Nodoka was taught to always use her right hand, but now… you switch hands for the next few lines, and it doesn't make much difference. You smile faintly to yourself. Ambidextrous now, maybe?

It continues like that. You remember wanting a creative job, but having to bounce from position to position, careful to not show your true self at half of the places you worked at.

There's a deep regret there too. You wish you could have lived your whole life as yourself. A part of you recoils at yourself - and you hate how the upbringing hasn't prepared you to accept others, at least not on an instinctive level. It's that damned question of true manliness again.

You're not getting into yet another mental standoff to yourself. Not now.

You move onto people in the past life. It's easier to know which memories belong where - Nodoka never made any friends. Except for Taiga. And yesterday you were content to let him go, rather than face the embarrassing, if positive memory of fifteen years back.

Yet another proof you've changed.

However much you try you can't recall any names, but wanting some way to distinguish the forgotten people, you give them local ones. Maybe giving them western names would be more accurate, but you don't feel like anything you can come up with fits. So instead you turn it around, and rely on the Nodoka's upbringing to supply a fitting Japanese name. After all, a lot of foreigners get one if they plan to stay. It's an acceptable compromise.

You write down Meiya for your dark blue hair sprouting friend, using the kanji for alliance as the base. It looks a little weird, among other notes in romaji, but that's to highlight they're fake names. Jolt down a few notes on the multiple piercings, including the one on the lips. You don't write down the time it bumped awkwardly into your teeth, sending an unpleasant shiver down your body from the sensation.

Should you have? You compromise with yourself and write down 'bad kisser' and let out a quiet snort.

Then you struggle for a bit trying to recall a name for non-binary people in Japan, if you ever suspected such could exist. Grandfather Shimizu, obviously, never taught you anything like that was even possible. You don't know any. Probably an English loanword. It doesn't matter, since you note it down in English anyway.

You pen a handful of little regrets. You had folded so much into yourself at one point, that you couldn't have seen a relationship with Meiya surviving. At the end of the day, you still remained close friends.

By the end of the trip, you've got a small, laconic list of old friends. They all fit into the little notebook, barely taking up a spread of two pages. At the same time, your memories couldn't hope to fit here, but it's a good start. Something to remember them by.

You read the whole list again.

• 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.

It's a pitiful list.

You couldn't even remember one thing about your brother's appearance. There's only the memory of the anger you felt the last time he came asking for help. There had to have been a lot more people, too - but none have left as much of an impact as the ones you've named here.

There's barely any real memories there.

You find yourself staring at the list, hoping it gives you something more, and then you catch yourself biting at the back of the pencil. A habit you're near certain Grandfather Shimizu would have had beaten out of you had he ever seen it happen in his presence, so it has to come from the side of you that knew the people on the page.

You miss them all. Someone to rely on, and in turn, being there for them.

"We're here," the driver announces suddenly and you have to jolt from your thoughts and have to collect yourself back to the current reality, to actually arrive at where you were heading. Hopefully, you were in time to find your new - old - friend.

You brush out a few stray tears out of your eyes, and look around. You catch a glimpse of yourself in one of the side mirrors, realizing with a pang of fear that you've gone out without ever putting up your hair. That's because you often used to leave your hair untouched after a bath - and that habit had won over the more proper hairstyle without much thought.

It's fine. It looks good.

You take in the multiple little restaurants lined on one side of the street, all on the first floor of a tall apartment building. On your other side, there's a high wall separating you from the Tozai metro line.

You pay the driver, hide the notebook in your breast pocket between the lapels of the kimono and get out. The address is the right one, but you can see at least three izakaya places from where you stand. Which one is the one you need?

Izakaya

Unlike the fading memories of the past life, the encounter of fifteen years ago flashes through your mind. That time, you had set out completely unprepared. You didn't even know where to start the search. What signs to look for.

This time, you're a little more sure of yourself, even when you're not yet sure who exactly the new you is.

You almost bump into the man - kinda like the last time - at the second bar you check.

He's tall. Not impossibly so, but almost a whole head taller than you. He's leaner than you'd expected, but still cuts quite a striking figure. Dark hair, slightly messy. Held back a little by a tiger-stripe patterned dark violet sweatband - no, a folded up bandana serving as one.

He's wearing a simple, worn down grey-blue suit, the jacket open, violet button up shirt visible and bright. On one of his shoulders, there's a huge traveler's backpack, hanging unevenly.

"Taiga?" you ask as you stand to a halt right before crashing into him.

Your mistake is forgetting about the wrapped sword you're holding. You don't stop it in time, but the man's elbow blocks the accidental strike. His brown eyes light up, as if you hadn't just accidentally tried to slam the hilt of the sword into his stomach, and a smile appears on his face. There's a light shadow of a stubble peppering his lower face. "Nochan, you came!"

His pleasant voice hits you a little unexpectedly. He sounds even better in person than he did over the phone. Maybe it's something in the subtly deep timbre of his voice, or in the way he pronounces things with a mildest accent you cannot exactly place.

Or, perhaps, it's the fact that this is the closest to an attractive martial artist you have been in fifteen years. You're quite aware of that fact clouding your judgement a little.

"I said I would," you reply, trying and failing to push the intrusive thoughts away. "You were just heading out?"

"Kinda." He chuckles and rubs at the back of his head. "I've walked out and back in twice already. Couldn't decide." There's a very short pause as he looks you over, and then he spreads his arms a little. "Would you take a hug? You look like you could use one."

You hesitate. For a part of you, hugging was a very much an everyday thing, not thoughts about it needed. And yet, you're painfully aware that Taiga is making a faux pass, since you're in public and not really that close.

So of course, the correct thing to do would be to take a step back, and say no.

You stumble into his chest. Awkwardly. Like you haven't been hugged in fifteen years.

He carefully puts his hands around you. And there's power there, but also a fair bit of gentleness. He's ready to let go the second you'd ask for it. That's more comforting than even the feeling of true closeness to another human, after all these years.

You recall your first meeting once again. You had been desperate and aimless. By chance, you ran into Taiga, and he was willing to lend an ear and a shoulder to cry on. He hugged you then, too. Once. You spent the rest of the night drinking. Nothing else really happened.

Still holding onto your sword with one hand you hesitantly wrap your other hand around his back, slipping your palm between the backpack and his jacket. Taiga smells of mountains and broken rocks, also a little of fur. There's a drop of sweat there too, but nothing you can't look past.

Oh, you needed this. Something to ground you in the moment.

Then, suddenly a sharp pang of guilt follows. You're a married woman, in public, your hair loose and wild, hugging a man who isn't your husband. What would your honorable grandfather say?

You slide out of his grip, and adjust your kimono, trying to return to a semblance of dignity. There's no hiding a faint blush that creeps onto your cheeks, however. "Thank you. It's been a long day," you say, and it's completely true, even if it's just late afternoon. "I haven't really felt… myself lately."

He grins at you. "Sounds to me like you're running on an empty stomach," he says and gestures behind himself, to a narrow space of the bar, where a handful of people are pretending to not stare at the two of you. "Want to grab a bite? My treat."

"I-" you hesitate, but only for a moment. You are getting a little hungry. "Fine. I could eat a skewer or two." Maybe a glass of shochu, too? No, you don't want alcohol to complicate things, even if you're sure a glass wouldn't do that much to you.

Both of you sit down at the bar, and make the order quickly. The short conversation while you wait is pleasant. You don't have much to share, since you don't want to get into the nature of your sudden awakening, but you do mention having a bit of a breakdown, just not the details of it.

Taiga, in turn, has a few little stories about his family. It's… calm. You remember being blindsided by the open agreement he and his wife have about external attachments fifteen years ago. Part of you now has more context. For a family that can never know when they're gonna meet each other again… it makes sense.

He does mention it among other things again, when he's done praising his wife for taking care of the household. This time, you don't even ask about jealousy. A part of you knows how it works. Of course there's eventually, inevitably, gonna be some friction or jealousy. It happens in more straightforward circumstances. You're all people, after all. Which is why you can behave against instincts. And work together.

You get that glass of shochu, after all, to wash down the two skewers you ate..

He pays for you, even when you try to protest.

"I have the money," he says, and that's that.

"And I'm still married," you drop the conversational bomb on him, as if it's relevant. Fifteen years ago, you claimed you were divorced on meeting him, before admitting the truth sometime after a fifth glass, but not before making an absolute fool out of yourself after a third by trying to flirt.

To the man's credit, he never made fun of you for any of it.

"I couldn't force myself to file for a divorce," you add. "I'm not the head of my family, but it's still my family's honor at stake. I - couldn't. Not when I would have been left alone with the choice."

He lets out a long sigh. "Didn't you say that you spent fifteen years alone anyway?"

You finish your drink before even thinking on what to reply. You can almost imagine what had gone differently if you had been a drop more open and hadn't gone for the sixth or maybe seventh drink that day. You have read a story like that once or twice.

You've also got a different memory. Shizuka. At one point in your life you definitely thought that would be how you'd name a firstborn daughter. Shizuka Shimizu - always had a good ring to it. Does it mean that Ranma was born a boy, because of the different name? No. It doesn't mean anything. Just a thought.

You decline a second drink. Smart idea, that. It's still the middle of the day, and you really don't want to spiral.

"I did. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone." You stand up from the bar. "Come, I'll help you get to Seisyun High, before it closes. We can talk more on the train. It's at least an hour long ride with a handful of transfers, if we're lucky."

"Why there?" he asks, curiously. An unasked question that is so bright in his mind that you can't help but read it is 'why not bring me home?'.

"I've got a good feeling about it," you tell a half-truth. "It's perfect for our first destination, too. You'll get your contract settled and I've got some things to ask the administration, too. Very convenient coincidence, that." You've got a faint memory of overhearing people talking about a kendo instructor that is thinking of quitting. You know Seisyun High is relevant to the story, even if you remember multiple different scenarios on how. And well, you do have a hunch about it. "I'll help you with directions after."

"Another lead for Ranma?" he guesses, accepting your reasoning, picking up his backpack from where he'd learned it on the floor.

"Maybe. I've heard they're looking for a kendo instructor. Two birds, one stone. Well, three." You gesture at him.

"Oh, I would have guessed it would be Iaido," he comments and points at your hidden sword. "Considering."

"It's Shimizu School of Martial Arts Blacksmithing," you say, a tiniest bit of pride sparking in you that there's a school to your name, even if you're… you. Even if you hate what the school did to your father. Even if a small, but not an insignificant part of you wants to leave and never look back. "There's bits of both, and a whole lot of fire and heat."

You have to tug on the hem of his jacket to stop him from taking a wrong turn. It's somewhat funny seeing the Hibiki curse - or is it just absent-mindedness - in action like this.

He whistles, quietly. "Would you be up for a little sparring match one day?" he asks. "I'd love to see it."

You laugh. It's not a happy laugh, but a choking, hissing mess of one.

He stops and looks at you, concerned.

"I cannot use it," you say, finally, having gotten it under control. "Sorry. It sounds dumb when I say it like that, but I've never got to practice it myself. Not once." Only in your mind.

"And you want to teach it to kids?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. Somehow, you don't feel like you're being judged, but he's clearly curious.

"I've watched a lot of lessons," you say. "I've been taught just enough theory, so I could pass it on to the… Shimizu School's heir, should Grandfather die early or be unable to teach due to health reasons."

He lets you resume the walk, following again. Doesn't say anything, thinking.

"But you're right," you admit. "I don't really have the qualifications for this job. Just a feeling that it could work out."

"I could help," he offers. "Lesson plans and such."

"They might not even want me, but thank you, I could use the help."

The Offer

They do, in fact, want you.

It's not exactly unexpected, because you've suspected something like this might happen.The hunch about Seisyun High being important to the story - and you.

The vice principal, Miss Kurara Konjo, has light brown hair, a cheerful attitude and seems quite excited to hear you're interested in the assistant kendo instructor's position. She's somehow familiar, and for a moment you think that she might be related to Ukyo… except it's Konjo, not Kuonji. Might just be a coincidence. She's got a little cross dangling on her neck, which makes you suspect that the name Kurara might have been inspired by St. Claire - especially since the name plaque on her door is in hiragana, instead of kanji.

The interview is split into three parts. The first one was just a short initial chat with the vice principal. Taiga let you go talk to her first, and then you switched out, waiting patiently in the corridor.

Then, before a second part can happen, there's a fair bit of waiting. Hibiki comes back and you end up listening to whatever little advice he can give you in twenty minutes.

For the second part, Miss Konjo introduces you to the main kendo instructor, a much older man, hair completely white. His name is Hiromichi. It was supposed to be the part where you prove your knowledge of the craft. Hower, the old man turns out to be completely uninterested in your actual skill or teaching experience.

You make extremely polite small talk, without saying much about anything, until Hiromichi mentions having known and fought your father. At that moment, you wish you could turn into mist and flow outside through the window, but instead, you're stuck there, shackled by your politeness.

There's a lot of bowing.

Hiromachi excuses himself soon after, without having judged your ability to teach or your knowledge, yet somehow still satisfied.

The third part, after another short break, is all about money. It's a surprisingly good offer, for such a meager position.

Until you notice a weird line in your employment contract. Supervising the martial arts blacksmithing club, it screams at you from the page, right next to the temporary assistant kendo instructor duties. In fact, right above them. As your main job.

This is what passes for normal here, you remind yourself amidst rising anxiety. A blacksmithing club in high school. A martial arts one. All perfectly normal.

Miss Konjo grins at you as you feel cold sweat on your back.

"What's this?" you ask, voice shaking a little. "You - have an official martial arts blacksmithing club?"

"Well, not yet," Kurara says, and follows it up with another disarming smile. You almost drop your sword. "We do have an interested student in second year, Seiichi Amata. He's currently in the kendo club, but he tried and failed to get two more students to found a martial arts blacksmithing club. You see, three students is our usual requirement for an official club. But… if we get you on staff, we could waive that limit entirely."

You nervously rub at the bridge of your nose. "And you have… the facilities for it?"

"The government offers generous grants for establishing high school Martial Arts clubs from the defence budget, and we're a private, prestigious school with high tuition fees," Kurara Konjo replies as if it's common sense. Maybe it is. You wouldn't know. "None of the other schools in the ward offer martial arts blacksmithing, so coupled with our private donors, it's basically a done deal. Between you and me, the school is gonna come out on top on the grant alone. And your family's gonna earn some extra from it."

"Er.. we will?" You ask, completely lost.

"I've already made a few calls," she reveals. "Shimizu school is listed in the martial artist registry. Where else would we get the best equipment for the club?" And she winks at you, as if she has just done a favor for you, and not signed your sentence.

If Grandfather's alive, you realize, he now knows.

You are so dead.

---

Vote for the Offer

[ ] [Offer] It's not that bad. You can still lead a martial arts blacksmithing club. You were forbidden from practicing, not from teaching. Technically. It feels like a bad idea, but you've got a Hibiki on your side. And the money is good.
(-2 stress to Precarity, +2 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 Stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Offer] It's not that bad. You could negotiate so you're only assisting the kendo club. You were forbidden from practicing, not from teaching. Kendo might not even count for the ban. Technically. If things go south, you've got a Hibiki on your side.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +1 Stress to Honorbound)

[X] [Offer] You refuse to back down in fear. Maybe the Grandfather's dead. You can teach whatever they want you to teach. If things go south, you've got a Hibiki on your side.
(+4 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +3 Stress to Honorbound)
(will reduce requirements for training choices in future updates)

[ ] [Offer] You need to stall for time. Say that you need a few days or weeks to think the offer over. See if any signs of grandfather appear. Try to be more careful. Choose later.
(-1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, +2 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Offer] You quit. You can't risk teaching martial arts and upsetting your grandfather. That's the only way out, even with a Hibiki at your side.
(-2 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Offer] You can't risk teaching martial arts openly and upsetting your grandfather. But… maybe you could still approach the kid with an interest in the art? If he's looking for a teacher, you could at least talk to him. Make a choice about teaching him later.
(-1 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Legacy, +1 stress to Honorbound)

VOTE FOR ONLY ONE OPTION FROM [Offer] VOTE

---

Vote for Hibiki

[X] [Hibiki] He's your friend. Promise to help with navigation when possible. Tonight, that would mean helping him catch a train home. He should be fine in the last stretch. You hope.
(-1 stress for Caretaker, +1 stress to Precarity)

[ ] [Hibiki] He's a useful contact. You can't promise you'll be there to take him places - he has to be able to take care of himself anyway. Give him directions to his house in Itabashi, but that's it.
(-1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Hibiki] He could be your shield. Find him a cheap hotel somewhere between Seisyun High and your home, and ask him to protect you for a bit? He wants to see his family, but you're certain you're gonna run into Ryoga eventually, and having a Hibiki nearby means you'd be safe from most dangers.
(-1 stress to Know-It-All-Not, -1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Regrets, +1 stress to Caretaker)

[ ] [Hibiki] (only available due to 3 Regrets) He's someone who could comfort you. Promise to help him with navigation when possible. Tonight, that would mean helping him get home. Stay the night there. You're got an idea what such a suggestion could lead to, assuming no one else is home.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress for Caretaker, +2 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Hibiki] (only available due to 3 Regrets) He's someone who could comfort you. Promise to help him with navigation when possible. Tonight, that means bringing him home. He can stay the night, you can put two futons next to each other. You're got an idea what such a suggestion could lead to.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress for Caretaker, -1 stress to Precarity, +1 stress to Legacy, +2 stress to Honorbound)

[ ] [Hibiki] (only available due to 3 Regrets) He's an old flame that got away. Nothing more. Not yet. You can't promise you'll be there to take him places - he has to be able to take care of himself anyway. Maybe you could make an exception tonight, and bring him home with yourself. Do something a nineteen year old you couldn't do. Live a little.
(-1 stress to Regrets, -1 stress to Precarity, +3 stress to Honorbound)

VOTE FOR ONLY ONE OPTION FROM [Hibiki] VOTE

---

Vote for Major Action

You've got time before your first lesson (if any) is due. Time enough for at least one major action. Maybe two. We'll see. I need the Offer and Hibiki choices to know how much free time you'll have from now on. If you have questions about timing, the offer choice will happen first, followed by the Hibiki one, and then, during the next couple of days in-universe, your major action choice will happen.

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).

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

Only one action in the Major Action list has been tweaked after this update, and should be marked by (NEW). Some choices have been removed. These... weren't marked in any meaningful way, and are just missing. More changes in this list should come with the next update (depending on Offer and Hibiki outcomes).

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)

[X] [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)

[ ] [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 on the house. Check if Taiga replaced the phone yet and find out if Yoiko Hibiki exists. If either she or Ryoga are home, make sure they aren't hungry. Walk the dog.
(-2 stress to Caretaker, +1 stress to Regrets, +2 stress for Know-It-All-Not)
(outcome is interconnected with the Hibiki choice) (can expire)

[ ] [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)

[ ] [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] 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)
(can expire)

[ ] [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)

[½] [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)


VOTE FOR ONLY ONE OPTION FROM [Action] VOTE

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Note:
Thanks for reading, voting and otherwise engaging 💙

I've finished writing, and decided to jump the gun to evade spending too much time editing. I've even gotten a quick commission from Beedok. She's amazing like always.💙

If you notice spelling or grammar mistakes, feel free to tell me, I will try my best to fix them.

If you're one of the people who cares about optimization, I've got a little extra for you right here:
... but you can ignore all of that and just choose as your heart wishes.

I can't remember anything else important, so feel free to discuss and vote. Or vote right away. Either works. 💙

Feel free to ask any questions.