[Elestia]

Originally Posted by kidstandout

@elestia
Then you are simply not using that word correctly. refer to this https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emasculate

says i didn't read what he says, literally does the same.

No, this is me not using the word correctly, which I corrected early on. It's not my fault you didn't pay attention and forgot about it. So again, it's you not reading and remembering what I said, not the other way around.

so masato can't plead his case to convince her otherwise because of the mommy check system? and mamako is completely incapable of listening to his pleas because of said system?

Sure, he can plead his case and Mamako can reject it. Guess who wins if that happens? Mamako. She has absolute power over the selection process. You are being too optimistic about it. And you know what they say about giving a person absolute power. They become corrupted. Unable to stop abusing their powers and begin justifying it.

because if you go on further past that passage, the exact opposite was shown to be the case.

You mean the part where Mamako used the Mommy Check System, rejected the thief girl, and tried to get her arrested but Masato manage to convince her otherwise? If not, please provide your citation.

You dont know what a dictatorship is do you? by that logic the elective branch is a dictatorship because it has the potential to override congress via veto. again, wise is the best example of how quickly masato can sway positions to his benefit if he simply put his foot done. The system cant force him to play with mamako otherwise Wise wouldn't be here.

What part of complete control do you not understand? You are talking about executive branch, because there is no such thing as an elective branch in government. I'll explain it.

There are three branches of government: judicial, executive, and legislative (congress). They have these things in place called the "checks and balances", which the main objective is to prevent one branch from wielding too much power over the others. How does any of that sound like a dictatorship to you? I have no idea.

On the other hand, a dictator is, and I quote from dictionary.com, "a person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession. " So yes, Mamako is in a position of power similar to a dictatorship given to her by the system.

Masato isn't another branch of a government. He is a citizen under a dictatorship.
Yes. Masato CAN plead his case to Mamako. Just like how a citizen can plead with the dictator. Who knows? Maybe it's a benevolent dictator. But that citizen is at the mercy of the dictator, or as I said before, a whim. This is both laughable as a system, and for you to suggest Masato only has to plead with Mamako. And guess what kind of lives do citizens under a dictatorship live like? Hint: It's not pretty.

That's only a part of it, not the whole story. Did you miss the part where she lectured Wise prior to letting her in the party based on info provided to her from masato? he judged Wise based on a gut feeling, and when it turned out be on the mark, mamako addressed it.

Citation needed and clarification need. She lectures wise on reconciling with her mother, but decided to have her join the party as a member, not a daughter. How exactly does Mamako address it?

And while her insecurity resulted in intervening those situations, she has a basis to not trust Wise around masato based on behavior Wise herself demonstrated to her in person. is she over stepping her boundraries? sure, but i wouldn't exactly blame a mother for being protective around a girl who just tried to have her adopt her to avoid making up with her mom. that type of influence is counterproductive to the reason mamako set all this up.

You can't exactly blame her for the first time, but you can blame her the second time when Wise became depressed after seeing how powerful Mamako was. She sat down on the ground nearby and Masato came to check up on her. Even though the situation was quite harmless and quite a nice moment for the both of them to bond, Mamako still used her ability to break it up. What if Mamako continues abusing the ability? What happens if she used it because it was Porta and Masato alone together. Do you not see how much risk it is for Mamako to let insecurities get the better of her and continue to abuse the powers given to her by system?

If the positions were flipped and Masato had all the powers and did the same thing with her mom. You bet your ass I would slam him as hard as I am slamming Mamako.

the problem with that are these following quotes

Spoiler for c2:

“Mom does not mind sharing the room with Wise-chan......however, if that were to happen......”

Spoiler for c2:

“Mom’s a little worried......Maa-kun also seems to be quite interested in Porta-chan......and Porta-chan is......”

it's a lose lose situation for her and yet she trusted him around Wise more than Porta despite being aware that he seems to be gelling with Wise as well.

i'd like to remind you that your calling masato useless on the basis of one fight. you must have really hated kazuma from konosuba early on huh... in fact this whole argument is reminding me of people who though kazuma sucked in the beginning and look how that turned out...

It was two fights. The first time they fought outside the town because they had no money. The second time was with the slime in the cave. Both times Masato was useless and became depressed because Mamako overpowered everything.

I also never said I hated Masato because he was powerless. I hated how the system and Mamako make him powerless. Also, Kazuma doesn't put with the bullshit he has to deal with from his equally if not more useless party of Darkness, Megumin, or god forbid Aqua. He actually confronts everyone about their flaws and shoves it in their face with no shame whatsover and they do so as well. He actually has a healthy relationship with his entire party unlike Masato and Mamako.

We all thought Wise was useless too and yet look how they beat the slime. anyone who has played RPG's knows that there is no one DPS build that can solo clear everything. masato will get his time to shine especially since his knowledge of these games is the highest of the group. he also has the highest learning curve so he will grow faster than mamako, it's only a matter of time.

I'd like to point out that in both those cases, her intervention didn't prevent them from actually bonding, especially the second time. I'd call it cutting it short at most. but yes, she does need to better trust masato around other girls. but at the same time masato has to focus on repairing his relationship with mamako in order for her to get that. She can't improve if he doesn't or refuses to actually meet her halfway and talk things out.

they do have to interact together, that we all agree on. i just dont agree that masato needs to be on the exact same playing field in terms of game balance in order to accomplish this. he completely blocks his mom out IRL, and now the game is forcing him to be on the opposite spectrum where now he has to interact with her to get things across. are both ends of the spectrum fair? no, and that's the point here. by reversing the current dynamics, masato in this game is now subject to the very behavior he engages in IRL.

as for quotes see this

Spoiler for c1:

[Q: Will you become more intimate with your mother if you go on an adventure with her?]

【MMMMMORPG(temp) Participation Registration Form】

A booklet with such a title was placed before Mamako.

“This is......then, my application has been accepted!?”

“Yes. I judged that the mother and son of Oosuki household have fulfilled the condition for participating in this project. Therefore I will acknowledge your participation......Then, without further ado, please prepare.”

“Where is the strategy......the countermeasure for when my hero son dislikes adventuring together......”

“As if such a pinpoint strategy will be written on it. What do you think that guide book is?”

“【Knowing that your normal attack is all target double attack, your son will be delighted. You will be hugging each other as you adventure together】 was written on it, but it’s all lies! Maa-kun is not a tiny bit happy at all!”

“B-But......it is better not to talk about everything at first......adventuring together, accumulating various encounters, then realizing it yourself based on those is better......”

“......Sorry. Mom is not sure what and how to explain it. Shirase-san and others also have various circumstances, so mom doesn’t know how much she should say.”

Spoiler for c2:

“Why have our mothers accompanied us......that’s because, this game is MMMMMORPG, so......in other words, [Mama no、 Mama ni yoru、 Mama no tame no、 Mama to、Musuko moshikuwa Musume ga、Ōini nakayoku naru tame no、RPG] is the reason!”
(TL note: Mama’s, with Mama, for Mama’s sake, Mama and son/daughter, to get along better, RPG)

“This game was made for the sake of having parents and children adventure together and become more intimate. Hence the parents and children are transported together as a group, and then go on an adventure together......I don’t know how exactly was this game made and the details regarding it, but......I have confirmed one thing.”

“You cannot return to the original world if you don’t satisfy the clear condition of this game.”

“Oi oi, you serious? I never heard about this rule......Then, what is the clear condition?”

That condition was?

“For parent and child to become more intimate.”

“Good grief! Me too, when I was suddenly brought here and mama told me about this, I was so astonished that I went white-eyed! Even my snot dripped out!”

let me add that the entire criteria for selection of this game was the survey in the prologue. Shirase implied here that the only reason the adventure part exists is because

Spoiler for context:

“......Based on the survey conducted by the Cabinet Office, we concluded that many users who had played online games have wishes of ‘actually entering the game world’. Does Masato also wish for it?”

In conclusion, the adventure exists as plot devise in order to force the endgame condition to happen.

I'm tired. Dead like. I have spent way too much time writing out responses, so I will just summarize my points.

I believe that it is dangerous who the game company to give so much power and support to the parent only. It disrupts the power balance in the relationship and creates and even bigger gap between them. If a child cannot make his own decisions and has no control, he will not be able to respect himself much less the parent. Therefore, the current system designed by the game company is flawed. At worst, too much power given to a parent without safeguards to prevent abuse will inevitably cause a deterioration between the parent and child. Both parties must come together as equals in order to truly bond and become more intimate.