soulping | TAKSHAKA

[when you insert the key and open the door, you'll find another humble cottage - the space bends on the walls, but there is a single door that leads to another room; though the door is closed, you can see through it—as if it's somewhat transparent. a wooden cradle sits in a plain room.

inside, a baby sleeps peacefully. when she stirs - calling for her parent, you are there to cradle her back to sleep.]

-

[slowly, the scene changes, fading in and out with various silent scenes—the baby coos pleasantly, giggling jovially when you (presumably) make faces at her; she tries to pick herself up and falls over, but she does not cry; a disagreement between you and her lead to a thoughtful discussion; the young girl carries a large laundry basket to do chores; she buys a pet bird, looking so proud for having earned the money all by herself; then the wall becomes opaque.]

[in the middle of the open doorway, a young girl the age of 10 stands, smiling at you. a bird with beautiful plumage rests on her shoulder.]

[this is your daughter. you tried your best to rear her, and she's been good to you. you know she is capable of anything if she puts her mind to it - even becoming a princess. but you also know it's not easy to become a princess - better she become a princess than go off to war, though. you could not stand to see your baby girl die on the battlefield. what will be will be, though - all you can do is try your best.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fair temperament.
+111 charm.
+137 intelligence.
+106 diligence.
Moral compass: good.

. . . I don't want Starly to marry that brat.

...That bully is quite the annoyance, isn't he?

I can't believe his parents are entertaining this! They're still too young to get married like that, what if he falls out of love in a couple years?

It doesn't seem like they know how to tell him no, so they'll entertain even silly whims like this.

Perhaps we can use that, however - two ten-year olds are certainly too young to marry, and we wouldn't want the noble's son to regret this engagement in the future.

What bad parenting...

That could work...! We can... um, ask them to wait for our reply for a couple years at least, so Starly and their son are a bit more mature and talk about it then?

If the prince is charmed by her when they meet, then the bully won't be a problem. If he isn't, then we can deal with him one way or another.

[ A nod. ]

Stalling for time may be our only option at this point...he may indeed fall for someone else in a few years, and then we would no longer have to worry about enraging his family with a refusal.

Of course, if she meets the prince and dislikes him, we could have the same problem with him as well.

If she dislikes the prince, but he likes her... It'll be hard, but we could leave the country, couldn't we? Move somewhere where this stuff won't be an issue, and start anew somewhere Starly can do whatever she'd like to.

Re: DISCUSSION

saburai - 2014-05-19 07:07 (UTC) - Expand

barrette - 2014-05-19 07:12 (UTC) - Expand

saburai - 2014-05-19 07:15 (UTC) - Expand

barrette - 2014-05-19 07:18 (UTC) - Expand

... Doesn't matter, to them. When that happens, they'll just get rid of her and find him a new girl. They're just going to give their kid whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.

. . . If they ever "got rid" of Starly, I'd start a rebellion.

I know. I agree.

Let's use some of our free time looking up marriage laws. And ways to get rid of power-abusing nobility.

We can try to stall the parents by asking them to wait a couple years, since Starly is too young to consider marriage yet.

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:04 (UTC) - Expand

barrette - 2014-05-19 07:07 (UTC) - Expand

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:15 (UTC) - Expand

barrette - 2014-05-19 07:17 (UTC) - Expand

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:19 (UTC) - Expand

We could try the old "she'd only marry someone who can defeat her in combat" ploy...

[i may really want starly to beat the shit out of this kid.]

Would it work if she is of lower status, though?

By this point, she should be a high enough level for her to have status based on that, right?

I meant socially...even if she were able to best him in combat, that likely wouldn't stop them from threatening her and us in order to get what they want. The bully learned his tactics from somewhere.

Yeah.

We're stalling until the prince gets here.

[ Nodding. ]

At this point, it's probably our best course of action.

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:17 (UTC) - Expand

saburai - 2014-05-19 07:20 (UTC) - Expand

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:29 (UTC) - Expand

saburai - 2014-05-19 07:33 (UTC) - Expand

experiencepoints - 2014-05-19 07:34 (UTC) - Expand

saburai - 2014-05-19 07:38 (UTC) - Expand

Six charm, seven martial arts, with the rest in free time. Free time will be spent looking up marriage laws, loopholes to those laws, and ways to get a title without marrying into a noble family.

Also a family dinner for SOLIDARITY.

Your daughter gains +18 charm.
Your daughter gains +21 diligence.

You learn, along with your daughter, that one way to get a title without marrying into a noble family is to do a brave deed in the battlefield - that's certainly true, but that'll take forever, and you're not sure you can hold his parents off for that long. Plus, in order to get that honor, you must fight against monsters - all of which have long been slain or have long since migrated!

However, you can annul any engagement if there is one that is already in place. There's only a little while left until the Summer Festival. . . . if your daughter could possibly dazzle that prince, she'll be able to get engaged with him ASAP, and kick that guy to the curb!

You may also annul any engagement provided you are of a higher class than your child's betrothed family, with the reasoning of being too young. It's a law only ever used for rich families who would rather not let their young girl run away and elope with a poor farmboy, and even then compensation money must be given.

Your daughter gains +6 intelligence.

You've been approached by the nobles of this town to be granted a title and a small plot of land! This means you'll be Barons among your people, and granted a title only second to the Viscount!

. . . . of course, this is only with your daughter's hand in marriage. And they're very persistent about it, too—don't you want your daughter to have a good life? With such a wealthy family as theirs, she'll live happily, of course. Don't worry about it - they should support young love!

What do you do?

... We say that we need to have some time to think, and that we will have an answer for them in the near future, after the Festival.

You decide to stall until the Festival.

You will get your results back after you find out what happens in the Festival. . . . will you have a happy ending?

ROUND 6

DISCUSSION

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CLASSES

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MORAL DILEMMA

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