And then I remembered that Kei is friends with Naruto, and that Ami is Ami. Kei is fine, and anyone dating Kei is probably given nine different "break Kei's heart and you're dead before the hour ends" speeches.
Evidently, Hazou's reputation precedes him

HAZOU: *smiles at some random KEI ninja*
*they run away screaming in terror*
HAZOU: What was that about?
KEI: Nothing out of the ordinary. You get used to it, trust me.
 
Evidently, Hazou's reputation precedes him

HAZOU: *smiles at some random KEI ninja*
*they run away screaming in terror*
HAZOU: What was that about?
KEI: Nothing out of the ordinary. You get used to it, trust me.
Meanwhile, in the background:

"OMWoF, he smiled at me."

"So what, Ritsuko? He seems pretty cute."

"Don't you remember what happened to the last KEI ninja to draw the interest of the high priest of the Fish God Sex Cult?"

"That was him? Head for Rice. I'll cover for you as long as I can."
 
Hazou feels that Noburi and Yuno need to seek counseling. Not Mari if Yuno hates her, but a social specialist who can navigate things better than Hazou. Hire Kurenai for a B-Rank or something if necessary.
I am pretty certain counseling does not exist in the Elemental Nations, I don't think this point is going to land well. A la a repeat of the Oro deal faux pas. I would stick to simply encouraging them to communicate, with an offer of maybe Hazou facilitating.
Hazou would like Yuno and Noburi to find someone that can help them talk to each other, so they can both be happier.
Same deal here. Couple's counseling ain't a thing. If Hazou wants it to exist he'll have to do it himself.

Would talking to someone help? Happy for you to hire a relationship counsellor (clan pays). Kurenai is discreet/socially adept. Ma and Pa are respected Summons and have a successful relationship (of sorts).
Since this is basically copied from Shrooms, I'll just note that counseling is not a thing, and that we shouldn't suggest it like it already exists. It'll confuse and anger the recipients
Kagome and Mari:
  • Tone: understanding, solution-oriented.
  • Kagome, your social skills can cause trouble. We're not upset, but we're worried - you can't always avoid these situations. We almost got in trouble with Kumokugo more than once.
  • Mari, can you help? Kagome has a lot of skills - worked in intelligence, knows how to keep quiet - which might translate to these situations with a refresher/some work.
I think we should also meet with Kumokugo and provide her with a (Kagome-approved) briefing on his character and skills. This can be offscreened, but I think it's important to making their first meeting go well.
 
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EDIT: who's writing the next update? If it's Velorien, then we might want to wait on Kagome...?

EDIT 2: Velorien says that he's open to writing Kagome and doesn't like writing Kagome because he feels he's bad at writing Kagome, but would like to practice, so small Kagome scenes seem okay. He's also writing the next update. Also, per Discord, Kagome can't get a crypto stunt to be better at socials.

I think that a lot of plans have good elements but none of them incorporate everything I want.

This plan is two, maybe three, scenes. What happens offscreen is low-stakes (writing a letter doesn't carry the possibility of failure IMO, given that Kei will nix the plan if it's no good) but carries the plot forward.

[X] Action Plan: Facilitate All The Things!

Word count: <300
  • Duration: ten days.
  • Kagome and Mari:
    • Tone: understanding, solution-oriented.
    • Kagome, your social skills can cause trouble. We're not upset, but we're worried - you can't always avoid these situations. We almost got in trouble with Kumokugo more than once.
    • Mari, can you help? Kagome has a lot of skills - worked in intelligence, knows how to keep quiet - which might translate to these situations with a refresher/some work.
  • Noburi:
    • Go sparring (away from prying ears).
    • Tone: brotherly. Support/empathy.
    • Do you want to talk about Yuno?
    • She's effectively from another world. Bridging that gap is hard. Everything to date speaks volumes about Noburi as a person and his love.
      • We want to offer support, resources, and ideas, in that order. What do you need?
      • Would talking to someone help? Happy for you to hire a relationship counsellor (clan pays). Kurenai is discreet/socially adept. Ma and Pa are respected Summons and have a successful relationship (of sorts).
        • Communication, boundaries, expectations, and relationships are hard - an expert might have new perspectives and tools.
  • Mareo:
    • Explain the Yamanaka to Kumafuwafuwa - their specialties/the YSJ. Would it be appropriate for Hazo to discuss this with Mareo, offering help?
    • If so, bring this up with Mareo. Does he want help? Discuss what assistance he's comfortable with.
      • Hazo might not be able to help - hasn't spoken to anyone. Not an expert, but he knows experts.
  • Offscreen:
    • Follow sealing SOP, research the easier seal:
      • Chakra adhesion activated ARS.
      • Two output seal ARS.
    • Miyuki:
      • With Kei's permission and input, write Miyuki a letter.
        • Include a tasteful gift - food, books, paper/ink?
      • Thank Miyuki for her grace in a trying situation. Apologize sincerely.
      • You want her to be comfortable visiting the Goketsu estate and recognize your errors.
      • Extend an open dinner invitation.
    • Akane:
      • Spend time. No pressure, just presence.
When we further clarified, Velorien said it seemed reasonable to have a crypto stunt specifically for not spilling the beans on secrets, but not for general social stuff. Tentative PONWOG, hasn't talked it over with EJ (who has more investment in Kagome's character), etc.
 
Couple's counseling ain't a thing. If Hazou wants it to exist he'll have to do it himself.
I don't actually want to do this personally though, which is why I say find someone who actually specializes in understanding social situations. You're telling me no social specialist is going to understand the concept of meditating? I can change the 'counseling' phrase if that's the issue but like, I don't think Hazou invented the idea of a third party intervening in a conflict between 2 people.
 
I don't actually want to do this personally though, which is why I say find someone who actually specializes in understanding social situations. You're telling me no social specialist is going to understand the concept of meditating? I can change the 'counseling' phrase if that's the issue but like, I don't think Hazou invented the idea of a third party intervening in a conflict between 2 people.
What about asking Ino if she's willing to help, or recommend someone that would be?
 
What about asking Ino if she's willing to help, or recommend someone that would be?
Ino has very little experience with this sort of thing and she's hugely busy. Yuno might also not be amicable to her as a counsellor compared to other folks. (Ma and Pa aren't threats, Noburi isn't going to try anything with the Hokage's consort, etc.)

Sidebar: if we don't get Ma and Pa as counsellors I'm going to have to think hard about EJ's rates. I really want to read that.
 
I don't actually want to do this personally though, which is why I say find someone who actually specializes in understanding social situations. You're telling me no social specialist is going to understand the concept of meditating? I can change the 'counseling' phrase if that's the issue but like, I don't think Hazou invented the idea of a third party intervening in a conflict between 2 people.
In a domestic conflict, with two parties of goodwill? He deadass might be. Although there should be a tradition of diplomacy to draw on.

I don't really want him to do it either. Maybe spend more wordcount fleshing out the idea?

Something like "Hazou feels that Noburi and Yuno might want to seek out a disinterested third party for mediation. Someone highly skilled in interpersonal conflict. Not Mari if Yuno hates her, but a social specialist who can navigate things better than Hazou. Hire Kurenai for a B-Rank or something if necessary."
 
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[X] Action Plan: Changing Minds
Word Count: TBD
Planned Length: 10 days
  • Meet with Kagome and Mari.
    • Clear communication no jutsu.
    • Go over what happened during Fujisawa's visit.
    • Explain that we are worried about Kagome.
    • That twice in our first meeting with Kumokugo, a mispoken word nearly ended our life.
    • Ask for Mari's help.
    • Ask if she can think of an out-of-the-box way to leverage Kagome's strengths into social situations.
      • Mechanically: stunt to allow Kagome to roll Cryptography/Sealing in place of a social skill when attempting to hold his tongue/not give away information.
  • Mareo could possibly use the Yamanaka's help with his senility.
    • Tell Kumafuwafuwa of the Yamanaka, their specialty of the mind, and Hazō's use of the Stability Jutsu.
    • Ask Kumafuwafuwa if he consents to us seeking the Yamanaka's aid, and if he thinks we should ask for Mateo's consent ahead of time knowing that the Yamanaka might not be able to help.
      • Ask for Mareo's consent if prompted.
      • Skip remainder of section if either decline.
    • Meet with Ino and Akane.
    • Debrief on Mareo and his condition.
    • Ask if there is anything the Yamanaka can do to help.
    • In exchange, Hazō will share what he learns from Mareo with Ino.
    • Hazō is willing to pass along offers that he believes won't damage his relationship with Mareo.
  • Follow sealing SOP, research the easier seal:
    • Chakra adhesion activated ARS.
    • Two output seal ARS.
I think that you should be very careful with telling Kumafuwafuwa of the Yamanaka; telling him before talking to Ino about it could be seen as a betrayal. Just say that we know ninja whose domain is the mind, and we ourselves use one of their jutsu to better our mental health.
 
Getting a social debrief-er is an excellent idea, as is having Mari work with Kagome to improve his social skills.




These ideas on the other hand, are not great. As Miyuki said, she already is a normal ninja, just one that can't speak. I think she would take offense to us trying to 'fix' her.
And spreading rumors of Noburi rejecting girls would just make Yuno more worried, because it implies that there are lots of girls who are interested in him and aren't staying away at the thought of death by Satsuko. I don't know if reassigning Nara is a bad idea, but it sounds like the kind of thing that would get us squished by Tsunade, so I'm skeptical.


These are good ideas. Noburi doing little romantic gestures for Yuno will spice things up for them both and probably at least help a little with her worries. The biggest thing they need right now is communication, but this certainly won't hurt on top of that.
Helpful commentary! Thank you.

Had worse trouble determining a way to help Akane. Was thinking of checking in with Team Gai to see how their pacifism weathered the war as a prelude. Internal validation is better, but maybe she wants atonement from them or to face a tribunal. Or meeting the Turtles could help when she gets a contract.
 
What is a social debrief-er?
Someone to give us/Kagome/Noburi/etc information on who we'll be meeting next and what to say or not say in order to make a good impression. Not sure if there's a real name for it.

Thinking of that role you see in movies sometimes. The assistant whispering in the important person's ear, reminding them who they are about to speak with. Their name, were they recently married or divorced, how many kids they have, what gift they recently sent you, grudges with other people at the event or idiosyncratic faux pas to avoid. That kind of thing. Someone who could get along with the clan and anticipate needs. Whose very absence makes you think twice about what to say.

Where did my pants go?
Exactly this.



Helpful commentary! Thank you.

Had worse trouble determining a way to help Akane. Was thinking of checking in with Team Gai to see how their pacifism weathered the war as a prelude. Internal validation is better, but maybe she wants atonement from them or to face a tribunal. Or meeting the Turtles could help when she gets a contract.
I think the best thing we can do for Akane is to give her cuddles and support, and listen if she wants to talk about it.
 
Akane is pretty good when it comes to talking about her issues. When she told Hazou they could date again, she was upfront about what she wanted and why (then gave Hazou all the time he needed to think about it). Akane was honest about "sometimes needing a push" when they reconciled, so that she wouldn't lose herself in Hazou's big dreams. Akane was upfront about why she was mad at Hazou for the Haru Incident (and then removed herself until she was able to talk about it calmly with Ino serving as an intermediary).

Akane will talk to Hazou when she's ready. [As it stands now,] We're there for her when and how she needs us to be. When she's finally ready to discuss her pain, we'll be there, too. With Ino and maybe also Snowflake (if Akane's relationship with Snowflake has progressed/continued all this time).
 
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Alright, time to get off my figurative ass.
226 words, including the "Planned Length: 10 days" thing.
Planned Length: 10 days
Why 10 days, exactly? Is it because that's how long until Noburi finishes his Akimichi training/Kagome gets Summoning? Perhaps this could be made more explicit for the sake of QM spoons?
That twice in our first meeting with Kumokugo, a mispoken word nearly ended our life.
Related to this, and I think it has been mentioned before: We should do our due diligence on this and talk to Kumokogo about the second Sealing-focused Summoner to help, and ask about the customs and approaches etc. etc. so that when we have this conversation about how to keep Kagome alive during the inevitable meeting, we have a list of things Kagome should and should not do.
Ask Kumafuwafuwa if he consents to us seeking the Yamanaka's aid, and if he thinks we should ask for Mateo's consent ahead of time knowing that the Yamanaka might not be able to help.
  • Ask for Mareo's consent if prompted.
  • Skip remainder of section if either decline.
Looking back, I feel uncomfortable asking Kumafuwafuwa for Mareo's consent, it makes me feel like Mareo doesn't have any right to his own choices (which in a sense he doesn't, but not enough that I would be OK with this). Maybe we could just say that we intend to ask Mareo (and explain what we plan to do/say here), then ask Kumafuwafuwa if he has any objections.
In exchange, Hazō will share what he learns from Mareo with Ino.
Any chance we could, uh...not do this? Ninja death world yadda yadda yadda, but I want to keep our relationship with Mareo with a minimum of giving-his-information-to-XYZ.
 
Plan feedback with vote commitments!
[X] Action Plan: Changing Minds
Word Count: TBD
Planned Length: 10 days
  • Meet with Kagome and Mari.
    • Clear communication no jutsu.
    • Go over what happened during Fujisawa's visit.
    • Explain that we are worried about Kagome.
    • That twice in our first meeting with Kumokugo, a mispoken word nearly ended our life.
    • Ask for Mari's help.
    • Ask if she can think of an out-of-the-box way to leverage Kagome's strengths into social situations.
      • Mechanically: stunt to allow Kagome to roll Cryptography/Sealing in place of a social skill when attempting to hold his tongue/not give away information.
Velorien nixed the stunt. I think that having this sort of interaction is very valuable - Kagome is going to be in a position where he needs to speak carefully very soon, if not at the end of the update. I think that asking for Mari's help and talking about the transferability of intelligence-analysis skills to social defenses (keeping quiet and thinking before you say something) would be a good idea. A quick Mari crash course in not getting eaten by a spider Empress seems like a good idea, at any rate.

Given that wordcount is available, I think it might be worthwhile to add something in like 'we're not upset - a lot of things went wrong there and most of them weren't in your control'.
  • Mareo could possibly use the Yamanaka's help with his senility.
    • Tell Kumafuwafuwa of the Yamanaka, their specialty of the mind, and Hazō's use of the Stability Jutsu.
    • Ask Kumafuwafuwa if he consents to us seeking the Yamanaka's aid, and if he thinks we should ask for Mateo's consent ahead of time knowing that the Yamanaka might not be able to help.
      • Ask for Mareo's consent if prompted.
      • Skip remainder of section if either decline.
    • Meet with Ino and Akane.
    • Debrief on Mareo and his condition.
    • Ask if there is anything the Yamanaka can do to help.
    • In exchange, Hazō will share what he learns from Mareo with Ino.
    • Hazō is willing to pass along offers that he believes won't damage his relationship with Mareo.
  • Follow sealing SOP, research the easier seal:
    • Chakra adhesion activated ARS.
    • Two output seal ARS.
I think that asking Kumafuwafuwa if we should go behind Mareo's back will significantly damage our relationship with him. We should simply explain what we know and ask how he thinks we should proceed.

I further think that talking about going behind his back is pointless because eventually, we're going to have to explain this to Mareo, who has thus far demonstrated that he has no interest in being coddled or handled. 'Hey, we went and got you this jutsu - your friend the huge bear said we shouldn't ask you about it first'. I don't see that playing out well.

I'd also like to see a line in there where we temper expectations - 'this probably won't work, but it might and if it doesn't we don't think any harm will be done'.

Meeting with Ino and Akane seems...reasonable, I guess, although I don't know that Akane will have much to add. We should explain what's going on to Ino and ask if a) she consents to our teaching this guy the YSJ and under what conditions (e.g., can we explain who the Yamanaka are to him) and b) if she has any other advice. I worry the current wording will come across like Hazo asking either for secret techniques or 'hey, anyone can do this, can you explain to me how this works so I can take a shot at it'? Worst case, she's offended, best case, she laughs at us for supposing that we could meaningfully help with a condition this complex with zero training.

We should not offer to share anything from Mareo, elderly and irritable ninja. Suggesting it to Kumafuwafuwa demonstrates such poor judgement (one does not share anything about a ninja to a ninja they've never met, even if you're all allies) that I expect he'll ban us from seeing Mareo ever again. Offering her some Goketsu resources for her help would be appropriate and might even put us in Mareo or Kumafuwafuwa's good graces.

I'd like to see sanity-checks with Mari and Cannai: Cannai can gut-check us on any strangeness with respect to talking to a Boss or their revered Summoner.

If you implement those changes I'll vote for your plan. I think that it can be done while leaving the spirit of the plan intact.

If there's word-count left over, I'd also really like to write Fujisawa a letter, as is laid out in my plan. A simple, low-pressure, and heartfelt apology seems like it could defuse a situation that could go backwards on us pretty easily.
[X] Enough is Enough!
Word Count: 291
  • Prep with Mari/Akane
  • Noburi
    • Invite your brother for a spar, far away from listening ears.
    • We can't go a week without some social calamity, eh?
    • Yuno's been threatening your womanizing still, and neither of you seem happy about it. Hazou feels obligated to say something.
      • When Akane dumped Hazou, he wasn't aware there was even an issue, because they failed to communicate.
      • Noburi would know: are Noburi and Yuno communicating? Establishing boundaries and expectations? Can't just wait for resentment to build, or we'll have another social explosion for Hazou to fumble horribly.
      • Hazou feels that Noburi and Yuno need to seek counseling. Not Mari if Yuno hates her, but a social specialist who can navigate things better than Hazou. Hire Kurenai for a B-Rank or something if necessary.
      • Hazou supports them both. He just wants everyone to be happy.
  • Yuno
    • Ask Yuno to help Hazou cook family dinner.
    • Hazou is concerned with Yuno constantly threatening Noburi. It isn't healthy for their relationship.
    • Sometimes Noburi's behavior makes her unhappy, which Hazou also doesn't want. Could she describe exactly how it makes her feel?
    • When Kei, Hazou, and Noburi were in Mist, they were outcasts in their own way. Years later, not all of that has healed fully. Sometimes still, Hazou is insecure about his ideas being valued, Kei is insecure about her self-worth, and Noburi remembers being constantly overlooked. Part of his behavior may stem from that neglect, to reassure himself he's loved and appreciated, desirable even.
    • Fear can be a useful tool, but it can't make someone love you, and Yuno deserves to be loved.
    • Hazou would like Yuno and Noburi to find someone that can help them talk to each other, so they can both be happier.
I wish that there was less that I liked in this plan so I could suggest cutting some of it and including more content. I'd love to see Ma and Pa suggested as counsellors - I actually think that might work (they're remarkably insightful when they put their minds to it and Yuno respects the hell out of Summons).

I actually think that the Yuno section could be cut or pared down. I don't think that we should actually suggest counselling to her - who knows what Isanese taboo we might step on by making relationship suggestions? (A bullet point about 'follow all Isanese customs' might be an idea, so we don't accidentally challenge her to a dance-off to the death because that's what cooking together means in Isan.)

I think that paring the Yuno section down to 'ask her to cook dinner together, ask her how Noburi's behaviour makes her feel, talk about how much we empathize with the struggle of integrating into an entirely different culture, and how much harder it must be for Yuno, where the divide is so much greater and she doesn't have anyone from her village around her' would be sufficient and much lower-risk while accomplishing pretty much the same thing. The rest of the wordcount could be put towards an Akane scene.

If you add some checks (Isanese customs, not overstepping when it comes to meddling in their relationship) you have my vote.
 
I think that asking Kumafuwafuwa if we should go behind Mareo's back will significantly damage our relationship with him. We should simply explain what we know and ask how he thinks we should proceed.

I further think that talking about going behind his back is pointless because eventually, we're going to have to explain this to Mareo, who has thus far demonstrated that he has no interest in being coddled or handled. 'Hey, we went and got you this jutsu - your friend the huge bear said we shouldn't ask you about it first'. I don't see that playing out well.

I'd also like to see a line in there where we temper expectations - 'this probably won't work, but it might and if it doesn't we don't think any harm will be done'.
Perhaps something more like this?
  • Tell Kumafuwafuwa of our Stability Jutsu, and ask permission to offer it to Mareo.
    • We don't know how much it will help, if at all, but we're confident it won't cause harm.
  • If allowed, run the situation past Asuma. If he agrees, offer it to Mareo.
    • The clan that made this knows other secrets of the mind. We don't know if they have anything else that might help, but they might. Would you like us to ask?
I also specifically add a clause to run the deal past Asuma because we really shouldn't be giving jutsu away to foreigners without Hokage permission, even if it's someone like Mareo who almost certainly will never use it against us.
 
I also specifically add a clause to run the deal past Asuma because we really shouldn't be giving jutsu away to foreigners without Hokage permission, even if it's someone like Mareo who almost certainly will never use it against us.
I had the inbuilt assumption that Ino would handle that sort of check, but, yes, I agree this is wise.

One day Hazo will be sufficiently versed in realpolitik that we won't have to include these sorts of things in our plans. What a wonderous day that will be.
 
Why 10 days, exactly? Is it because that's how long until Noburi finishes his Akimichi training/Kagome gets Summoning? Perhaps this could be made more explicit for the sake of QM spoons?
I believe that is what EJ stated was our ideal seal research cycle.
Any chance we could, uh...not do this? Ninja death world yadda yadda yadda, but I want to keep our relationship with Mareo with a minimum of giving-his-information-to-XYZ.
Good point, removed.
Meeting with Ino and Akane seems...reasonable, I guess, although I don't know that Akane will have much to add.
I don't think having Akane there would hurt, and we keep being told that we should spend time with her while she is recovering.
I also specifically add a clause to run the deal past Asuma because we really shouldn't be giving jutsu away to foreigners without Hokage permission, even if it's someone like Mareo who almost certainly will never use it against us.
Added, as well as getting permission from Ino to talk about the Yamanaka? I'm not sure on that part, it's sort of a chicken and the egg situation. Do we ask Ino permission to tell Mareo about the Yamanaka and their expertise of the mind? She'll want to know about Mareo and why we want to know this. Should we really be doing so much towards this with Mareo's consent? Ahhhhhh
 
Added, as well as getting permission from Ino to talk about the Yamanaka? I'm not sure on that part, it's sort of a chicken and the egg situation. Do we ask Ino permission to tell Mareo about the Yamanaka and their expertise of the mind? She'll want to know about Mareo and why we want to know this. Should we really be doing so much towards this with Mareo's consent? Ahhhhhh
IMO the best order is:

Kumafuwafuwa: 'our village may have techniques that would help Mareo's mental stability. May we have your permission to consult with somene who knows more than us, our trusted partner, about the broad strokes of Mareo's condition?'

Ino/Asuma: 'the Squirrel Summoner is a little batty but likes us. Are there any simple jutsu or techniques we can share to help him hang onto his marbles? We're confident he poses no threat.'

'our village' avoids the specifics. It's common knowledge in the EN that the Yamanaka do brain stuff - Ino showed off the Mind-Transfer jutsu during the Chuunin exams, and it's not much of a leap from there, but by keeping it vague (not even mentioning the YSJ) we're minimizing exposure.
 
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