[X] Tell her the truth. You'll have to inform everyone else before you do. But you don't want to lie to her. And she could be a great help.
A Bro's Life (AGG-ish Anime Bro Quest)
- Thread starter LinkOnScepter
- Start date
- Original
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Well, yeah, if you want to be boring about it.
Heh.
At least he is not telling us how this park is a scaaaary place.
Wohoo! That's what I'm talking about!
"Emotions, how do I handle them?!"
Yeah, it could be a reincarnated person!
Pet of a true tomboy.
She is perceptive.
...Yeah, ooof.
[X] Change the subject. You don't need to deal with this now. Just leave it for later... or let her find out on her own.
[X] Go to the docks and skip some stones again. See if you can beat your record.
I am not fully against telling her now, but I don't think Hayato would want to drag her into this mess, since she has no connection or interest in the supernatural, especially now that the Organization is here. And I don't think her dad would be of any help, if he even was told.
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Mother fucker, I almost face palmed like SpongeBob.
[X] Write in...
-[X] Something went very wrong at the tournament, and it was a complete surprise. But at the same time, the way it went wrong is something I (our protag) has had to deal with before - another legacy of being homeless and effectively orphans. And with the ludicrous training crunch to take the Sole Participant spot, I was lucky in the sense of "preparation meets opportunity" to handle it without too much trouble. If you want details, let's up your martial arts training, and I'll be happy to tell you the rest when we can kick ass together
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
Short version; I don't want to tell her all the details because I don't think she's good enough at cloak-and-dagger bullshit to avoid having the truth used against her, she has a worse family situation than we do, and she doesn't have a YA~MA~TOOOOOOO super sneeki breeki bro to cover for her. But telling her THE truth, in some way, is a non-negotiable necessity.
So tell her the truth she really cares about that anybody who cares to investigate will already know - the story is false, shit went down, we handled it without any major problems and we're fine - then give her a clear criteria and goal for acquiring the rest at her leisure. Because if we're going to be rock-em-sock-em friends (or husbando, as the quest plays out) with Ritsuko, I am BOUND AND DETERMINED that she's going to be on our level as much as I can manage. Bonus points if we can expand her circle of friends with our sparring buddy and super-sensei.
And of course, we can't issue a challenge like that without immediately offering to walk the walk. So I'm voting for sparring.
As a final note for those who really really like "staying in character", all of this is perfectly in character for the majority vote of the CSC Feelings vote QM is referencing - setting high standards you think the other person will run away from is a classic self sabotage maneuver by socially fearful people.
Which brings up a question...
-[X] Something went very wrong at the tournament, and it was a complete surprise. But at the same time, the way it went wrong is something I (our protag) has had to deal with before - another legacy of being homeless and effectively orphans. And with the ludicrous training crunch to take the Sole Participant spot, I was lucky in the sense of "preparation meets opportunity" to handle it without too much trouble. If you want details, let's up your martial arts training, and I'll be happy to tell you the rest when we can kick ass together
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
Short version; I don't want to tell her all the details because I don't think she's good enough at cloak-and-dagger bullshit to avoid having the truth used against her, she has a worse family situation than we do, and she doesn't have a YA~MA~TOOOOOOO super sneeki breeki bro to cover for her. But telling her THE truth, in some way, is a non-negotiable necessity.
So tell her the truth she really cares about that anybody who cares to investigate will already know - the story is false, shit went down, we handled it without any major problems and we're fine - then give her a clear criteria and goal for acquiring the rest at her leisure. Because if we're going to be rock-em-sock-em friends (or husbando, as the quest plays out) with Ritsuko, I am BOUND AND DETERMINED that she's going to be on our level as much as I can manage. Bonus points if we can expand her circle of friends with our sparring buddy and super-sensei.
And of course, we can't issue a challenge like that without immediately offering to walk the walk. So I'm voting for sparring.
As a final note for those who really really like "staying in character", all of this is perfectly in character for the majority vote of the CSC Feelings vote QM is referencing - setting high standards you think the other person will run away from is a classic self sabotage maneuver by socially fearful people.
Which brings up a question...
What does "Aborted" mean? Is that a joke on your part, a reference to something I clearly don't remember, or a "The DM rolled the dice behind the screen and won't tell us what the roll is or what it's for"?
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LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
Do you remember back in the Tournament when one of the options was why Hayato doesn't seek out or seemingly understand that people can be attracted to him?
The choice that won was that he's scared he'll fuck it up or something.
Aborted means that Hayato himself choice not to pursue that line of thought. So, the CSC didn't happen.
I want to write an apocrypha omake about this, but I'm not terribly familiar with anime and even less familiar with anime romance, so I need a list of ROMANTICALLY DENSE MOTHERFUCKER protags aside from the two in this quest. Five or six or so would work fine.
LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
It is...not hard to find those in anime. You could throw a stone and hit one. Especially if you stick to older stuff. Off the top of my head:
Tsukune from Rosario + Vampire
Koji Kabuto from Mazinger
Ryoma Nagare from Getter Robo
Bell Cranel from Danmachi
Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Hey, I resent that. Tsukune is fully aware of multiple people having crushes on him, he's just romantically interested in only one girl.
Unless this is some difference between manga and the anime, I only read the manga.
LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
No, you've got a point.
I'm halfway through writing the omake, only to find out I need to replace one of my characters. I appreciate the correction, but now I have to ask - anyone got a recommendation for a RDM who's a doormat of some variety? Will save me from most of the rewriting.
LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
Not many. Usually they fall into two camps:
Protag is fucking great at fighting and finding simple solutions to problems, but due to this has no real stomach for or understanding of social situations. Usually aggressive and not a doormat but has a kind heart.
Protag is a fucking doormat that almost never stands up for themselves, but has more emotional maturity to make up for it. Thus allowing them to recognize that girls/guys like them and want to start relationships with them. They usually don't less because they don't like any of their possible partners, but more because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings...or are aware that if they chose one over the rest, the others would fucking kill them.
Hm. Well in that case, I'll edit the tsukune section a bit and hope for the best.
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Keitaro from Love Hina? At least that's how I've heard him being described as.
There's also the rarer variant of previous relationship ended badly and left them traumatized/afraid of romantic relationships.
Thozmp
Gets my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
[X] Write in...
-[X] Something went very wrong at the tournament, and it was a complete surprise. But at the same time, the way it went wrong is something I (our protag) has had to deal with before - another legacy of being homeless and effectively orphans. And with the ludicrous training crunch to take the Sole Participant spot, I was lucky in the sense of "preparation meets opportunity" to handle it without too much trouble. If you want details, let's up your martial arts training, and I'll be happy to tell you the rest when we can kick ass together
[X] Go to the docks and skip some stones again. See if you can beat your record.
Doing the stones because we just told her we still aren't 100%.
-[X] Something went very wrong at the tournament, and it was a complete surprise. But at the same time, the way it went wrong is something I (our protag) has had to deal with before - another legacy of being homeless and effectively orphans. And with the ludicrous training crunch to take the Sole Participant spot, I was lucky in the sense of "preparation meets opportunity" to handle it without too much trouble. If you want details, let's up your martial arts training, and I'll be happy to tell you the rest when we can kick ass together
[X] Go to the docks and skip some stones again. See if you can beat your record.
Doing the stones because we just told her we still aren't 100%.
Non-Canon Omake: Romantically Dense Motherfucker Downs
Okay, I slapped this out before my muse fucked off to do whatever she does, so tell me what you think. If you've never seen/attended a horse race before, I strongly recommend you watch the attached video here before you read the omake - I imagined this whole bit in the same style. If you have watched a horse race before, or already know that video, then feel free to skip it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u-Fr8CXCQ
The title, as will quickly be self evident, is "Romantically Dense Motherfucker Downs". Feel free to edit it a bit if you want to threadmark it.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Welcome, welcome one and all to the First block of the First round of the Romantically Dense Motherfucker Downs! I'm your host and announcer for this round, Estella Baudelaire -"
"And I'm your co-host and color commentator, Irina -"
"And we have a very special line-up jockeying for the win here today. But before we get into that, a quick run-down of what they get if they win - or more accurately, what they avoid if they lose. What have we got, Irina?"
"Oh, it's a terrible fate, Estella - for the jockeys anyway, I think some of our audience will approve. Anyone who doesn't win first place will spend a subjective three hours trapped in a room with a half dozen Slaaneshi Daemonettes as they talk about their feelings! Don't worry, ladies, we've had the finest mages available put up wards so your love interest will be returned to you untainted. The first place winner gets a month's supply of free food and booze, as well as moving on to the next round."
"Now First up is the hometown heroes, the Battle Brotherhood, Yamato Nagai and Hayato Nagai, riding their horses Another One Bites The Dust and Staying Alive, fine specimens indeed! Not the farthest gone of our contestants today, and even more infuriating for it!"
"Their only saving grace is that both of them see the harem potential the other one has, and they'll definitely point this out to each other. Hopefully they manage to remove those logs from their eyes, because they're currently the favorites to win this set. Too bad only one will be moving on!"
"Next up in the third slot (he'll need all the help he can get), The Bloody Simp, Keitaro Urashima! Riding out on the gelding We're Not Gonna Take It, he apparently is carrying a katana for some reason."
"Aaaand the referee is taking it from him. Now is probably a good time to point out that every contestant we have today has a ludicrous quantity of ass-pull power ups, so the more egregious ones have been disabled for the duration of the race. If they want to sabotage their competition - allowed under tournament rules, it's not like we could stop them wholesale if we tried - they're going to have to punch each other in the face like men! How will they do this from the backs of sprinting horses? No idea, I look forward to finding out!"
"Continuing our collection of doormats in fourth position, The Purposeful Puppy, Bell Cranel! His mount today is the What's Going On, from the up-and-coming SlackCircus stables! There was a lot of argument from the bookies about exactly what odds to put on this one since there's a disagreement on how much of his power constitutes an ass-pull, so hold off on placing your bets until after the intermission."
"Which reminds me - Mercer to Lot 3, Mercer to Lot 3, we need an expeditious clean-up please and thank you. Back to Cranel, he's a jockey that could go either way; neither he nor his horse are the brightest bulbs in the box so whether or not they win depends a lot on how quickly they stop fighting each other over where to go."
"The rest of our competitors are all united by one particular trait - being hotheaded battle junkies who practically define the term 'meathead'. We have a LOT of these in the ranks today, so get used to seeing their kind making up large portions of this whole shebang. Beginning our docket is a pair of Mecha pilots, the String-Along Shithead Koji Kabuto and the VEENGEEEAANCE Ryoma Nagare, riding the horses That's All and Burn It To The Ground respectively."
"Hey Estella?"
"Yes Irina?"
"Do you think these names and aliases are a little too on the nose?"
"The horses were already named and the aliases were decided by supermajority vote of everyone who bought a ticket, I didn't choose these."
"And the matching of horses to jockeys was randomly decided as regulations dictate?"
"Absolutely. We would never think of flouting regulations like that."
"Good to hear! Back to our participants, it'll be intriguing to discover whether riding Mecha translates over into riding horses. They're currently rated at 3:1 and 7:1 odd - apparently they expect Ryoma to spend more time brawling than racing."
"That could be said for a lot of our contestants Irina, especially this next contestant - the Titular Thug, Ichigo Kurosaki on the legendary Percheron I Stand Alone. Not sure why he's riding a decorated warhorse in a racing competition, but clearly he has a plan."
"Judging by how he's squaring up to Ryoma, he probably heard 'competition' and asked for the biggest horse they had. As you can see it's not doing him any favors, his odds are going right down at impressive speed."
"Nah, there's no way he could have done that. Horses are randomly selected, remember?"
"Ah, right. Silly me."
"In the third to last slot - poor guy just can't catch a break - we have the Scornful Scammer, Ranma Saotome and his - partner...a panda? Do we have any pandas in stock?"
"Hang on a moment, let me check the listings...apparently not, but his creditors finally caught up to him and sold Genma Saotome into indentured servitude. I don't think it will do Ranma much good in a race, but judging by the grin on his face I think he thinks it's a win either way."
"Well, we'll see if he still thinks that after the race is finished. Last but - hang on, why are Luffy and Zoro here? They weren't invited, and they're not riding horses."
"...Apparently they heard 'month's supply of food and booze', beat up the actual contestants, and took their positions. Do we let them compete?"
"Well, that raises an interesting question; are they actually Romantically Dense Motherfuckers, or do they just not care?"
"No idea - for all the shipping that gets slapped on them not even their fans seem to know."
"Well I kind of want to see if these two can actually race horses on foot, so until the sponsors tell us otherwise I guess we let them stay. Plus, if he loses watching Luffy deal with Daemonettes is going to be hilarious."
"Right you are, Estella. While we wait for our jockies to either stop punching their mounts, stop getting trampled by their mounts, or picking their noses as appropriate, I'd like to draw your attention to the Woman's Division of today's events."
"Excellent idea, Irina. We have plenty of RDMs on the female side of things as well, it wouldn't be fair to give them a pass. So let's switch cameras and hand off further introductions to our co-hosts managing that division, Maes Hughes and a very special guest from across the sea - Hoban Washburne!"
"Thank you kindly, ladies. Goooooood morning, fair viewers, I'm your host and announcer for the Women's Division, Maes Hughes -"
"...but Mooom, he followed me home -"
"Wash..."
"No dear, he's a Stegosaurus, you can't just keep one of them -"
"Wash..."
"besides, look at those spikes, you couldn't ride him even if you did keep him-"
"WASH!"
"ohshithangon - uh, er, and I'm your co-host and color commentator, Hoban Washburne, but just call me Wash."
"Right, our lovely counterparts have already covered the rules for today's events and the start time for the races is fast approaching, so let's move right along and introduce our contenders for the First block. In slot number one we have the Oblivious Gardener, Katarina Claes and her mount Do You Believe In Magic -"
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u-Fr8CXCQ
The title, as will quickly be self evident, is "Romantically Dense Motherfucker Downs". Feel free to edit it a bit if you want to threadmark it.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Welcome, welcome one and all to the First block of the First round of the Romantically Dense Motherfucker Downs! I'm your host and announcer for this round, Estella Baudelaire -"
"And I'm your co-host and color commentator, Irina -"
"And we have a very special line-up jockeying for the win here today. But before we get into that, a quick run-down of what they get if they win - or more accurately, what they avoid if they lose. What have we got, Irina?"
"Oh, it's a terrible fate, Estella - for the jockeys anyway, I think some of our audience will approve. Anyone who doesn't win first place will spend a subjective three hours trapped in a room with a half dozen Slaaneshi Daemonettes as they talk about their feelings! Don't worry, ladies, we've had the finest mages available put up wards so your love interest will be returned to you untainted. The first place winner gets a month's supply of free food and booze, as well as moving on to the next round."
"Now First up is the hometown heroes, the Battle Brotherhood, Yamato Nagai and Hayato Nagai, riding their horses Another One Bites The Dust and Staying Alive, fine specimens indeed! Not the farthest gone of our contestants today, and even more infuriating for it!"
"Their only saving grace is that both of them see the harem potential the other one has, and they'll definitely point this out to each other. Hopefully they manage to remove those logs from their eyes, because they're currently the favorites to win this set. Too bad only one will be moving on!"
"Next up in the third slot (he'll need all the help he can get), The Bloody Simp, Keitaro Urashima! Riding out on the gelding We're Not Gonna Take It, he apparently is carrying a katana for some reason."
"Aaaand the referee is taking it from him. Now is probably a good time to point out that every contestant we have today has a ludicrous quantity of ass-pull power ups, so the more egregious ones have been disabled for the duration of the race. If they want to sabotage their competition - allowed under tournament rules, it's not like we could stop them wholesale if we tried - they're going to have to punch each other in the face like men! How will they do this from the backs of sprinting horses? No idea, I look forward to finding out!"
"Continuing our collection of doormats in fourth position, The Purposeful Puppy, Bell Cranel! His mount today is the What's Going On, from the up-and-coming SlackCircus stables! There was a lot of argument from the bookies about exactly what odds to put on this one since there's a disagreement on how much of his power constitutes an ass-pull, so hold off on placing your bets until after the intermission."
"Which reminds me - Mercer to Lot 3, Mercer to Lot 3, we need an expeditious clean-up please and thank you. Back to Cranel, he's a jockey that could go either way; neither he nor his horse are the brightest bulbs in the box so whether or not they win depends a lot on how quickly they stop fighting each other over where to go."
"The rest of our competitors are all united by one particular trait - being hotheaded battle junkies who practically define the term 'meathead'. We have a LOT of these in the ranks today, so get used to seeing their kind making up large portions of this whole shebang. Beginning our docket is a pair of Mecha pilots, the String-Along Shithead Koji Kabuto and the VEENGEEEAANCE Ryoma Nagare, riding the horses That's All and Burn It To The Ground respectively."
"Hey Estella?"
"Yes Irina?"
"Do you think these names and aliases are a little too on the nose?"
"The horses were already named and the aliases were decided by supermajority vote of everyone who bought a ticket, I didn't choose these."
"And the matching of horses to jockeys was randomly decided as regulations dictate?"
"Absolutely. We would never think of flouting regulations like that."
"Good to hear! Back to our participants, it'll be intriguing to discover whether riding Mecha translates over into riding horses. They're currently rated at 3:1 and 7:1 odd - apparently they expect Ryoma to spend more time brawling than racing."
"That could be said for a lot of our contestants Irina, especially this next contestant - the Titular Thug, Ichigo Kurosaki on the legendary Percheron I Stand Alone. Not sure why he's riding a decorated warhorse in a racing competition, but clearly he has a plan."
"Judging by how he's squaring up to Ryoma, he probably heard 'competition' and asked for the biggest horse they had. As you can see it's not doing him any favors, his odds are going right down at impressive speed."
"Nah, there's no way he could have done that. Horses are randomly selected, remember?"
"Ah, right. Silly me."
"In the third to last slot - poor guy just can't catch a break - we have the Scornful Scammer, Ranma Saotome and his - partner...a panda? Do we have any pandas in stock?"
"Hang on a moment, let me check the listings...apparently not, but his creditors finally caught up to him and sold Genma Saotome into indentured servitude. I don't think it will do Ranma much good in a race, but judging by the grin on his face I think he thinks it's a win either way."
"Well, we'll see if he still thinks that after the race is finished. Last but - hang on, why are Luffy and Zoro here? They weren't invited, and they're not riding horses."
"...Apparently they heard 'month's supply of food and booze', beat up the actual contestants, and took their positions. Do we let them compete?"
"Well, that raises an interesting question; are they actually Romantically Dense Motherfuckers, or do they just not care?"
"No idea - for all the shipping that gets slapped on them not even their fans seem to know."
"Well I kind of want to see if these two can actually race horses on foot, so until the sponsors tell us otherwise I guess we let them stay. Plus, if he loses watching Luffy deal with Daemonettes is going to be hilarious."
"Right you are, Estella. While we wait for our jockies to either stop punching their mounts, stop getting trampled by their mounts, or picking their noses as appropriate, I'd like to draw your attention to the Woman's Division of today's events."
"Excellent idea, Irina. We have plenty of RDMs on the female side of things as well, it wouldn't be fair to give them a pass. So let's switch cameras and hand off further introductions to our co-hosts managing that division, Maes Hughes and a very special guest from across the sea - Hoban Washburne!"
"Thank you kindly, ladies. Goooooood morning, fair viewers, I'm your host and announcer for the Women's Division, Maes Hughes -"
"...but Mooom, he followed me home -"
"Wash..."
"No dear, he's a Stegosaurus, you can't just keep one of them -"
"Wash..."
"besides, look at those spikes, you couldn't ride him even if you did keep him-"
"WASH!"
"ohshithangon - uh, er, and I'm your co-host and color commentator, Hoban Washburne, but just call me Wash."
"Right, our lovely counterparts have already covered the rules for today's events and the start time for the races is fast approaching, so let's move right along and introduce our contenders for the First block. In slot number one we have the Oblivious Gardener, Katarina Claes and her mount Do You Believe In Magic -"
LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
Um, as a reminder omakes are meant to be PM'd to me first so I can go over them. I will let this slide for now though.
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
I'm sorry, I only watch horse races in the form of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby.
Hey, I know those two!
What is this, the newest part of JoJo?
Eh, honestly, man deserves it.
It's funny cause it is true.
...Jesus, how did I not think of her. If you looked "romantically dense" in the dictionary, you'd find her picture there. With Cid from Eminence of Shadow. Those two are thicker than reinforced blocks of granite.
Sorry, I thought "Aporcypha" and that rule slipped my mind. My bad.
LinkOnScepter
The One who Strangles Concepts to death
- Location
- Interwebs
It's ok. It's funny enough to earn a pass. And no errors from what I see so...
- Location
- USA
[X] Tell her the truth. You'll have to inform everyone else before you do. But you don't want to lie to her. And she could be a great help.
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
If we don't tell her she'll go looking for the truth and odds are she'll find that hate org what with it sending feelers out
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
If we don't tell her she'll go looking for the truth and odds are she'll find that hate org what with it sending feelers out
- Location
- Israel
[X] Tell her the truth. You'll have to inform everyone else before you do. But you don't want to lie to her. And she could be a great help.
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
Alright, to heck with it. I'll vote for this one. This could end really badly, so could every other option.
[X] See if she's up for some sparring. You want to see how much she's improved.
Alright, to heck with it. I'll vote for this one. This could end really badly, so could every other option.
Thozmp
Gets my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
Also, we literally just told Ritsuko that we still are not 100% recovered. She'll think us an idiot.