TomoFlake (Original Tokusatsu-Adjacent Quest)

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BagFullOfLizards said:
There's a difference between having parents who aren't loaded and having no parents at all. From what I remember, Ichigo's mom is our only source of financial support. What are we going to do if she cuts us off?
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When we reach the age of majority? Off the top of my head, look for other sponsorship options (Sakaki mentioned the university clubs are where people get scouted for Olympics and national gyms; there is money that way), take a student loan (she can likely pay it back if she entered a prestigious university on her capabilities alone), or - like any number of people who don't have loads of cash to throw around - go find a low-paying job to support herself and claw her way up to financial sustainability. This would be a fine time to start researching what exactly did her parents leave her with; not only Big Destiny-wise, but also in the way of earthly possessions. What happened to their house and earnings?

I mean, anything other than...
I think you need to find something that isn't this image you have of yourself, a distant object, only here because some parents want you to marry their son and you're milking that expectation for everything they're worth.
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...leading the guy on while holding him in contempt (that meal ticket comment really ticked me off), so that you could use his wallet to get ahead in life. Possibly made worse by the fact that the guy has a thick skull and is completely oblivious to the machinations going on in the background, and possibly thinks her act of "milking expectations" may be genuine (looks at the quest title). That sort of behavior and mindset have plenty of names, and none of them charitable.

She will be testing the waters to break away from her predicament, but the fact that she even thinks of this as an option makes me think less of her.
 
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I don't know what that is, but I suppose you are asking me for a 1d6? Rolling!

What are we rolling against, again?

"I want to find out the legal situation surrounding my parents and any inheritance they may have left me, monetary or otherwise."
Nevill threw 1 6-faced dice. Reason: Iron Vow Total: 4
4 4
 
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Nevill said:
...leading the guy on while holding him in contempt (that meal ticket comment really ticked me off), so that you could use his wallet to get ahead in life. Possibly made worse by the fact that the guy has a thick skull and is completely oblivious to the machinations going on in the background, and possibly thinks her act of "milking expectations" may be genuine (looks at the quest title). That sort of behavior and mindset have plenty of names, and none of them charitable.
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You realize the "meal ticket" comment is specifically about having to constantly look after and try to protect a flaky guy who keeps running off to do mysterious things and also about having to follow along with anything he does, not about the guy himself? Are you telling me you seriously wouldn't resent having to go along with whatever your friend wants to do because otherwise his parents will cut you off from all your resources, no matter how good a friend they were?

Also what the hell is with that "leading him on" comment? Mei has never made any indication that she wants anything more than friendship out of this relationship.
 
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GrayGriffin said:
Also what the hell is with that "leading him on" comment? Mei has never made any indication that she wants anything more than friendship out of this relationship.
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And yet she talks about marriage as the only future she sees and puts up an act for the parents to buy into, while also acknowledging the guy is as bright as an average anime protagonist.

How much of her situation she discussed with a person who is supposed to be her best friend?
 
Nevill said:
And yet she talks about marriage as the only future she sees and puts up an act for the parents to buy into, while also acknowledging the guy is as bright as an average anime protagonist.

How much of her situation she discussed with a person who is supposed to be her best friend?
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That is clearly the reaction of someone who's been controlled and manipulated for most of her life, and the whole point of this quest is to get her out of that depressed acceptance mindset? Not to mention she's probably not telling him about this because she wants to spare his feelings and feels it would be bad to tell him that she's basically being forced to be his friend and go along with his ideas?
 
Nevill Makes THE Iron Vow
  • Informational
    • Nevill said:
    I don't know what that is, but I suppose you are asking me for a 1d6? Rolling!

    What are we rolling against, again?

    "I want to find out the legal situation surrounding my parents and any inheritance they may have left me, monetary or otherwise."
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    OK.

    This is an Extreme vow, two ticks per marked progress, for three reasons:
    • Congrats, you've found one of the main subplots of the Quest.
    • The Kaneko family will fight you every step of the way, when, not if, they find out.
    • You don't even know what you don't know about your own family's legacy, which itself is at least Formidable.
    That said, you're not wrong that perhaps that Bond with Ichigo is a little bit stressed. That it might soon be Tested.

    For multiple reasons! Including the fact that both of them might resent that the Kaneko parents think this is a perfect match, but don't think they can do anything about it!

    I'll leave it at that.

    EDIT: .... hooo, OK. I know how to work this in, now.
    Fabricati threw 2 10-faced dice. Reason: And the Fate Dice say... Total: 2
    1 1 1 1
     
  • Informational
    • Nevill said:
    And yet she talks about marriage as the only future she sees and puts up an act for the parents to buy into, while also acknowledging the guy is as bright as an average anime protagonist.

    How much of her situation she discussed with a person who is supposed to be her best friend?
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    I mean, no shit she does. She's been thoroughly disabused of any notion that she's her own person, and the Mother explicitly wants her inheritance and is probably attempting to steer her towards Marrying the dude as an avenue to get at that.
    Fabricati said:
    For multiple reasons! Including the fact that both of them might resent that the Kaneko parents think this is a perfect match, but don't think they can do anything about it!
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    Huh...

    Now I'm wondering if Ichigo is gay as well. It'd fit with the Relentlessly hyperqueer tag. After all the title of the quest only says that our friend thinks we're in love with him, not necessarily that he reciprocates.
    Fabricati said:
    EDIT: .... hooo, OK. I know how to work this in, now.
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    BLURSED DICE, CLESSED DICE, WATCH HOW THE DICE DO TURN!
     
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    The3rdCorinthian said:
    I don't really understand what this means.
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    They're boxes I'm marking in the character sheet:
    Fabricati said:
    Destiny:
    [X] (Tragic) "I will have to marry Ichigo, and can afford no love."
    [ ] (Tragic)
    [ ] (Heroic)
    [ ] (Heroic)
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    Going along with them fills the boxes, granting you +1 on a future die roll. If it's Tragic, you mark 1 XP, to boot.

    When all four are full, they empty, and the Beast lurches closer.

    Fighting an aspect of your fate earns you the ire of those who want you to fulfill those aspects of your fate. Hence, "Strings attached".

    Also I'm trying to counteract, just a little, all these weirdly clursed dice.
     
    Huh

    Also side question: How is Mei's name spelled. You've brought it up with some of the other characters and I always like those kinds of facts.
     
    You Asked For It
  • Apocrypha
    • The3rdCorinthian said:
    With those rolls at the end, Mei's biological father is clearly satan :V
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    "The way he laughed at 'torioi', I figured, you know, he was a nekomata or something," Torioi Mayumi recalled. "Needless to say, when he turned out to be something much, much more beefy, well. I was very pleasantly surprised. Even more so when it turned out we already knew each other that time the cult tried to sacrifice me..."

    This is something you never wanted to know about your parents. Ever.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • GrayGriffin said:
    I mean, that's easy for us to say looking from outside. But Mei's life has been full of learned helplessness under Ichigo's parents, so it's kind of a big ask on her to just tell her to "break free" without considering that she has no other forms of support or any idea what she could do with that freedom.
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    Defying fate isn't easy, no matter how straightforward it seems. Heroes, kings, monsters — all of them alike fell into the trap of self-fulfilling prophecies because of hubris. There are cosmologies where destiny is set in stone, and nobody can fight fate. Fortunately, it's not a case here — Fabricati clarified.

    Yet if I ignore a supernatural side of things, escaping an arranged marriage doesn't sound hard. Mei wouldn't lose everything — people are getting by without having anyone to support them. Nevill has already pointed out the ways to achieve financial sustainability: sports scholarship, student loan, jobs. Or Mei can go to the countryside, get a house for cheap, and ignore the urban life altogether.

    Mei can break free but lacks the right attitude. Indeed, she has no idea what she could do with the freedom. Her learned helplessness clouds her judgement. But there are ways to get rid of it.

    Mei can find good friends and gradually learn how to value herself. Or find a hobby and lose herself in it. Or go off the rails and navigate the college party life :D. But I have to note that all these options carry a risk.

    Even more so, if I take the hidden side of life into account. What's the degree of influence Ichigo's parents have? Maybe even leaving the country won't let Mei escape their grasp.
     
    Speaking as someone with generally benevolent parents I need to depend on (because I'm disabled) and who meddle, there's a lot of problems they can cause trying to be helpful.

    I can imagine it being so, so much worse with abusive, controlling parents.

    Just as three not very random examples:

    whose name is her bank account under?
    Who pays for the phone she uses to call friends?
    and the internet she uses to find work?
     
    Huh I am kind of surprised Mei opened up so quickly and shared so much of her tragic background. Though she is a bit more cagey person, but apparently those two days shocked her quite a bit.

    I do wonder if Ichigo aware of the all marriage thing? Shonen protagonists are usually not very bright. Interesting to see why Ichigo's mother want Mei's magical inheritance in her family.
     
    Fabricati said:
    A fourth, extremely relevant example:

    Who's going to cosign her student loans?
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    Student loans for orphans, as I get it, usually don't require a co-signer.

    GrayGriffin said:
    Yes, it's so easy to tell your abusive, controlling guardians that you don't want to live the life they planned out for you. And there's no way they'd retaliate with their influence in any way.
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    They will retaliate. But who are they connected with: police, military, gangs? They can block several ways to escape, but it's unlikely that they are capable of blocking all of them. Enlisting in the military, for example, will help in a lot of cases.
     
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    sportoner said:
    Enlisting in the military, for example, will help in a lot of cases.
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    My signature said:
    Currently running: TomoFlake, a story about two friends, relationships, college, queerness, and secret shonen anime bullshit.
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    enlisting would immediately end this Quest, as it would head outside the scope I am willing to write.

    I also find it doubtful that joining JSDF would materially improve Mei's prospects.

    Yes, this is a warning.
     
    Threadbanned on QM request.
    Fabricati said:
    enlisting would immediately end this Quest, as it would head outside the scope I am willing to write.
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    Thanks for establishing the boundaries! It improves understanding.

    Fabricati said:
    I also find it doubtful that joining JSDF would materially improve Mei's prospects.
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    In my opinion, joining JSDF won't materially improve Mei's prospects, but it will give her certain protections. I don't know if these protections will be useful. Generally, they are useful against abusive and controlling guardians or family.
     
    Fabricati said:
    OK.

    This is an Extreme vow, two ticks per marked progress, for three reasons:
    • Congrats, you've found one of the main subplots of the Quest.
    • The Kaneko family will fight you every step of the way, when, not if, they find out.
    • You don't even know what you don't know about your own family's legacy, which itself is at least Formidable.
    That said, you're not wrong that perhaps that Bond with Ichigo is a little bit stressed. That it might soon be Tested.

    For multiple reasons! Including the fact that both of them might resent that the Kaneko parents think this is a perfect match, but don't think they can do anything about it!

    I'll leave it at that.

    EDIT: .... hooo, OK. I know how to work this in, now.
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    Checks rules
    Fabricati said:
    At the most extreme, Two Ones is always a Major, beneficient twist of fate.
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    Yesssssssssssss
     
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