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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Anderkent said:
Though there is the obvious difficulty in asking the person with an initiative disability what she would like. But yeah it would be interesting to have a conversation with Kagome about what kind of life he'd like to have in 3-4 years. And Mari, once she's all better.
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Hrmmm... isn't there a chapter somewhere that says the initiative problems of the Mori and the motivation problems of the Nara are basically Yin Chakra poisoning? Could we just feed her Yang Chakra until it gets better?

If we don't go the mystic neurochemistry route, the only plan I can see is someone who Keiko trusts absolutely, who Keiko also trusts to understand her goals and dreams absolutely. That person's job would be to examine Keiko's mental state, help Keiko realize what her goals are, propose an initial plan that Keiko would optimize, and iterate on that. This offloaded initiative module would have to be very careful to steer Keiko's optimization towards what Keiko wants, and not abuse it, even subconsciously, into what they want.

Tenten is the only person right now that I can see myself trusting in that role. Noburi's unrequited crush disqualifies him, Keiko's unrequited crush on Mari disqualifies her, Jiraiya's power disqualifies him, Kagome is bad at reading people, and Hazou is way too goal oriented.

Honestly, at the moment I don't even think Tenten is ready for the role yet. Their relationship is fairly young. GI would give it a year or two to stabilize before even bringing it up.
 
You know what? Let's just try it and see. I will update this plan with suggestions re: the tournament.

Wordcount: 80

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Love
  • While practicing KI with Kei, attempt to project outwards Hazou's own soul. Not a will to destroy, but the will to protect. Even under the terrifying pressure of Kei's killing intent, Hazou projects a warmth of (sibling!) love that will melt the ice mirrors and deliver to Kei the spiritual and absolutely-not-physical hug that she so clearly needs. If Hazou is mentally sundered by the mirrors then so be it, Kei's Killing Intent will not push away his support.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
 
MadScientist said:
You know what? Let's just try it and see. I will update this plan with suggestions re: the tournament.

Wordcount: 80

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Love
  • While practicing KI with Kei, attempt to project outwards Hazou's own soul. Not a will to destroy, but the will to protect. Even under the terrifying pressure of Kei's killing intent, Hazou projects a warmth of (sibling!) love that will melt the ice mirrors and deliver to Kei the spiritual and absolutely-not-physical hug that she so clearly needs. If Hazou is mentally sundered by the mirrors then so be it, Kei's Killing Intent will not push away his support.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
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NO LET ME DO IT!
 
faflec said:
I mean, I'm pretty sure Akane still does harbor some level of romantic feeling for Hazou. It's just that the issues surrounding their relationship was too much to justify continuing it.
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We've literally just had a whole update from her perspective, where she explicitly compares herself to a doomed heroine of a romance novel. You better believe she still harbors romantic feelings for Hazou.

There's a palpable sense of loss to all of it though, no indication that she wants to go back. Which is good, it's better for both of them to stay friends for now.

MadScientist said:
On discord we've been discussing getting Hazou "Hope Intent/Hugging Intent/Pretty Damn Far Intent".

@eaglejarl @Velorien @OliWhail

Does any of this sound workable given your understanding of KI/jonin auras?
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Thematically, what would make most sense for Hazou would be a kind of Awe/Inspiration aura. His greatest successes in this story thus far lie in convincing people to believe in his ideals. That change for the better is possible, and that it's worthwhile to try. Look at Keiko's disposition this chapter. Hazou managed to get her to believe in Uplift. That's magic greater and more profound than any ninja bullshit.
 
MadScientist said:
You know what? Let's just try it and see. I will update this plan with suggestions re: the tournament.

Wordcount: 80

[x] Action Plan: The Power of Love
  • While practicing KI with Kei, attempt to project outwards Hazou's own soul. Not a will to destroy, but the will to protect. Even under the terrifying pressure of Kei's killing intent, Hazou projects a warmth of (sibling!) love that will melt the ice mirrors and deliver to Kei the spiritual and absolutely-not-physical hug that she so clearly needs. If Hazou is mentally sundered by the mirrors then so be it, Kei's Killing Intent will not push away his support.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
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I like this idea and we should give it a shot, but I think the best moment to try it (re: most narratively impactful, most likely to succeed) is at the same time as we buy the Forged in Fire stunt. Throw in some meaningful self-reflection in the same plan and I think we'll have the best chance of pulling this off.
 
MadScientist said:
INO: Eh, I've seen my family pull off better. Of course, they just used ninjutsu to switch around the victim's brain until it believed in what they wanted, but still: Try harder, Gouketsu.
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I know you're joking, but I very much doubt Yamanaka actually have access to consistently effective brainwashing techniques. The world would look very different if they did.
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
I like this idea and we should give it a shot, but I think the best moment to try it (re: most narratively impactful, most likely to succeed) is at the same time as we buy the Forged in Fire stunt. Throw in some meaningful self-reflection in the same plan and I think we'll have the best chance of pulling this off.
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Speaking of which, is it about time to declare what training we did and spend the relevant XP?
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
I like this idea and we should give it a shot, but I think the best moment to try it (re: most narratively impactful, most likely to succeed) is at the same time as we buy the Forged in Fire stunt. Throw in some meaningful self-reflection in the same plan and I think we'll have the best chance of pulling this off.
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When are we planning to get that, anyway?

That reminds me: we need to sort out Hazou's social build in a big way: It is no longer optimal to be a Deceit spec. With PEA giving us a combination of Being the Tankiest Tank and a huge Physique bonus, not to mention PTJ giving us extra physique, Youthful Fist, or some equivalent is now better for us than Roki (once we start leveling PEA, of course). Once that shift happens, Deceit is no longer anywhere near as useful, and right now, the levels are low enough that it's not a huge loss to switch over to Rapport/Empathy/Resolve. And if we do make that switch we get the double FYS applicability of Forged in Fire (it hits both Rapport and Empathy!!!).

In summary:
  • Forget Deceit.
  • Level PEA.
  • Buy Youthful Fist.
  • Level Rapport and Empathy.
  • Buy Forged in Fire.
and we reach a state where:
  • We get a huge physique bonus from PEA that helps Youthful Fist.
  • We get FYS on both our social attack stats.
  • Hazou's social build will actually somewhat reflect his personality.
I now open the floor to the inevitable yelling. Thank you.
 
MadScientist said:
When are we planning to get that, anyway?

That reminds me: we need to sort out Hazou's social build in a big way: It is no longer optimal to be a Deceit spec. With PEA giving us a combination of Being the Tankiest Tank and a huge Physique bonus, not to mention PTJ giving us extra physique, Youthful Fist, or some equivalent is now better for us than Roki (once we start leveling PEA, of course). Once that shift happens, Deceit is no longer anywhere near as useful, and right now, the levels are low enough that it's not a huge loss to switch over to Rapport/Empathy/Resolve. And if we do make that switch we get the double FYS applicability of Forged in Fire (it hits both Rapport and Empathy!!!).

In summary:
  • Forget Deceit.
  • Level PEA.
  • Buy Youthful Fist.
  • Level Rapport and Empathy.
  • Buy Forged in Fire.
and we reach a state where:
  • We get a huge physique bonus from PEA that helps Youthful Fist.
  • We get FYS on both our social attack stats.
  • Hazou's social build will actually somewhat reflect his personality.
I now open the floor to the inevitable yelling. Thank you.
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So you...want us to...take Akane's Taijutsu style.

I'm not sure...I'm not sure this'll happen.
 
>Practicing Killing Intent stuff with Keiko
pls. We have the best resource imaginable.

Also with wordcount to spare!


Wordcount: 234
[x] Action Plan: This is to go even further beyond!
  • On the way, try to grab an hour or so of Jiraiya's time, alone.
    • Mindset: This is going to be the most brutal thing you have ever experienced. Prepare mentally.
    • Ask him about the killing intent thing.
      • What's the deal there?
    • Help us practice resisting it, pretty please?
      • Its a critical vulnerability if some Jonin can just floor us by glaring at us, and then slit our throats.
    • Ask Jiraiya to floor you with a bit of his killing intent.
      • You are the scariest and strongest guy around, sir.
      • Please don't accidentally kill us or break our minds or something, though.
    • Now. Get. Up.
      • You are Hazou Gouketsu-nee-Kurosawa, son of Hana and Shinji, adopted son of Jiraiya. This is embarrassing.
      • You are a disciple of Gai-sensei. Giving in to fear and intimidation is not in your playbook.
      • You are a sealmaster. You have seen the horrors of the Out and lived. This is nothing in comparison.
      • The blood of Uchiha and Kurosawa alike runs through your veins. This is beneath you.
      • Your nerves are iron, and your body moves by your will and yours alone! Get the fuck up.
      • By all the kami in heaven, you will Uplift this world. Start by Uplifting yourself from the dirt.
    • Repeat a few times.
      • Try to at least raise your head and look Jiraiya in the eye.
      • But don't hurt yourself.
  • Proceed to the tournament.
 
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MadScientist said:
When are we planning to get that, anyway?

That reminds me: we need to sort out Hazou's social build in a big way: It is no longer optimal to be a Deceit spec. With PEA giving us a combination of Being the Tankiest Tank and a huge Physique bonus, not to mention PTJ giving us extra physique, Youthful Fist, or some equivalent is now better for us than Roki (once we start leveling PEA, of course). Once that shift happens, Deceit is no longer anywhere near as useful, and right now, the levels are low enough that it's not a huge loss to switch over to Rapport/Empathy/Resolve. And if we do make that switch we get the double FYS applicability of Forged in Fire (it hits both Rapport and Empathy!!!).

In summary:
  • Forget Deceit.
  • Level PEA.
  • Buy Youthful Fist.
  • Level Rapport and Empathy.
  • Buy Forged in Fire.
and we reach a state where:
  • We get a huge physique bonus from PEA that helps Youthful Fist.
  • We get FYS on both our social attack stats.
  • Hazou's social build will actually somewhat reflect his personality.
I now open the floor to the inevitable yelling. Thank you.
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100% agree. I feel Resolve/Empathy/Rapport is the social build that best fits Hazou's characterization (current and/or intended) and with the mechanical bonuses Forged in Fire will provide it's also the most efficient one for the numbers game (a game which while not more important than the characterization is relevant nonetheless).

Forged in Fire is something we would've taken at literally the first opportunity, but with the Tournament coming up we can't spare the 25 XP for it right now. That means it's priority one after the tourney.

Beyond that, I figure we can keep Roki/Deceit in place for a while (though not leveling them further) because Pangolin Earth Armor comes after Shadow Clone (and maybe Sealing 30 too) in our priority list, so the point where we can Physique our way through everything is still a ways off and Roki is still good against most enemies, but in the fullness of time that is what I'd want to see.

In summary:
  • Dump as much XP as possible into combat stats for tourney.
  • Buy Forged in Fire immediately afterwards.
  • Start our Empathy drip.
  • Up our Chakra to get Shadow Clones.
  • Maybe get Sealing 30 along the way.
  • Level Pangolin Earth Armor.
  • Switch to Physique-based fighting style.
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
Forged in Fire is something we would've taken at literally the first opportunity, but with the Tournament coming up we can't spare the 25 XP for it right now. That means it's priority one after the tourney.
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I'm not saying that it should be our final decision, but there is an argument to be made in favor of dropping the 25 now. There are going to be at least two extremely important social/emotional problems that happen in Mist.

First is Hana.

Second is how to leverage the fame we get from however well we do in the tournament. Remember, this is the last and possibly best chance we are going to get to spread the word of uplift for some time.
 
Immortal Lurker said:
Second is how to leverage the fame we get from however well we do in the tournament. Remember, this is the last and possibly best chance we are going to get to spread the word of uplift for some time.
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I think this would be better served by actually being impressive and actually winning the tournament than by a point or two in social skills.
 
@MadScientist @Inferno Vulpix

I protest the inefficiency here at getting both Rapport and Empathy leveled up from 10 in that new build.

I would prefer to keep Deceit, if only because we are a ninja and this will help us with any spymaster bullshit we may have to do in the future.
 
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