Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
It's fine, it was clear to me at least that you didn't mean anything bad by it, I just wanted to clarify for the future.
Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- naruto rationalist romance armageddon is looking better and better damn you kishimoto explosions everywhere explosives solve everyone if in doubt surrender to the mercy of zabuza it seemed like a good idea at the time looks like a really bad case of being a jōnin my god. where does the lore end? precommitting is the winning plan screaming in kagome screw the rules i have explosives something bad might still happen sometimes you gotta sociopath stabby zabby subsection c of paragraph 9 should include we can weaponize this so hard open voting
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
Clearly we need to lead by example here. This means we should develop clan secrets of our own, then share them with everyone to demonstrate how the world is a better place when we don't kill innocent people to protect secrets. I suggest we start with implosion nukes.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
I can see no way that this could go wrong and it is clear to me that you have no ulterior motives here.
Vecht
Self-Requested Ban
- Location
- Snarksville, Snarkland
Hold on now--this might not actually be a bad idea. We might actually stand a chance of lasting peace with MAD.
- Location
- Somewhere over the rainbow
Welp. Focused implosion nukes? Not technically a bomb big enough to change warfare, just
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Why bother with mutually assured destruction when we can just go with assured destruction?
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
It'll be hard to get this started though. It seems likely that 1) our teammates would shut it down if we brought it up with them, and 2) the initial response people would have would be to eliminate everybody with nukes/stop the flow of information. So, either we need to get pretty much everybody on board with it (in which case I think we've already won?), or we need to somehow distribute the information in a way that our teammates don't stop and the authorities cannot rescind or easily stop the flow.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think it would be most concise to say, "Kagome", and leave it at that.
You're offering handing over your client to be killed by the yakuza as an example of why avoiding violence leads to better outcomes. That's almost beautiful in a way.
The fact that the update covered only a brief time period was a factor, and I try to avoid giving the party fractional XP. But yes, the plan had some key flaws which held it back from the possibility of higher XP.
How do you know either of these things?
I can see where you're coming from, but I've always felt this was a tricky position. Are you still being "worse than killed" if somebody persuades you to change your beliefs? What if they do so through trickery, so that they make you a slightly different person in a way you wouldn't have consented to had you known? What about brainwashing versus subtle manipulation? Big beliefs versus small ones? It seems to me that you end up with a sliding scale of personality alteration, which doesn't mesh well with absolutes like "worse than killed".
I do think this came across less diplomatically than you intended: "This update was terrible - only somebody in truly dire straits could have written it like this".
I don't see how. The first quote says nothing about the team being from Mist, only that they implicitly dealt with Mist in a mercenary capacity. In fact, if you believe the latter, you'd be less likely to believe the former, since Mist is notorious for not being the kind of village its own missing-nin would want to deal with.
There's a certain element of truth to that. However, the plan literally said "get mad" as its sole instruction before launching into this rant. That felt as strange and abrupt to me as it does to you.
Fixed, thanks.
See above under "no witnesses". The Hyūga would still be the top suspects, but the Hokage isn't going to move against the village's strongest clan on suspicion alone, especially given the non-trivial possibility that one of their rivals was framing them. (Ninja make everything complicated.)
Spontaneous emotional outbursts seem entirely in keeping with Kagome's character, especially in a crisis situation where he's had to exercise willpower to stay silent.
Still in character. Keiko can get verbose when she's angry, although it's usually at herself, and at this point she is both angry and choosing to apply that anger instrumentally. Conciseness is not going to be uppermost in her list of values given what she's trying to accomplish and with whom.
That's one reasonable interpretation.
Honestly, the sexual interpretation didn't even occur to me when I was writing this. In fact, I'm not entirely certain what it is. I am open to alternatives if you have any to suggest.
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Shhh, I'm still deluding myself into thinking they just took his money and left him there!
- Location
- Australia
It is suggestive if you squint and ignore the context of the discussion. You could use different phrasing but I don't really think it needs to be changed.
- Location
- Europe
I am fine with Kagome becoming Minami's sex slave.
Anyway, less than one week with TeamUplift Collateral damage and we broke Minami. I seriously thought it would take longer.
Anyway, less than one week with Team
- Location
- Yes.
Didn't Noburi break her about 10 minutes into our mission?
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I enjoyed it, but then I also enjoyed his Superman fanfic, and I don't know what features of his writing you find objectionable.
Honestly, I don't know. Keeping conscious track of this kind of thing is a relatively new development for me.
I also find it mind-boggling that MfD has given you the things you list. I can't speak for @eaglejarl or our other worldbuilders, but I am far from being either a social or a medieval expert, and my only personal advantage with the latter is a medievalist partner with whom I can fact-check when she's around.
What are you referring to?
So, we still need some kind of plan for the next update. A couple suggested scenes...
- Apology to the team, Noburi specifically, for our big mouth. Hazou is probably responsible for camp chores for the duration of the mission, at the very least. We should also promise to get Jiraiya to put Hazou through some remedial OPSEC training when we get back to the village.
- Talk to Minami about how Leaf clans handle clan secrets being exposed to other members of the village. It's bound to happen every now and then since ninjas will have to use them in self-defense and defense of their comrades, so there's got to be some method by which they don't all kill eachother over it and have the village go into civil war. It might just be considered the polite thing to do to pretend they didn't see it and never mention it to anyone, or there might be some exchange of political favors, or even arranged marriages.
The whole "this is how experienced we actually are" thing, I believe.
- Apology to the team, Noburi specifically, for our big mouth. Hazou is probably responsible for camp chores for the duration of the mission, at the very least. We should also promise to get Jiraiya to put Hazou through some remedial OPSEC training when we get back to the village.
- Talk to Minami about how Leaf clans handle clan secrets being exposed to other members of the village. It's bound to happen every now and then since ninjas will have to use them in self-defense and defense of their comrades, so there's got to be some method by which they don't all kill eachother over it and have the village go into civil war. It might just be considered the polite thing to do to pretend they didn't see it and never mention it to anyone, or there might be some exchange of political favors, or even arranged marriages.
The whole "this is how experienced we actually are" thing, I believe.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now that was unquestionably a team effort.
- Location
- Yes.
Nah, Noburi was the one who said "we have this, we did this, oh BTW Keiko is the Pangolin summoner".
Cariyaga
Handsome Gentleperson
- Location
- United States
Doing our frickin' job, too.
Also, these.
Chapter 129.1: Kagome's Apology
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It happened at breakfast, after Noburi had finished helping Kagome-sensei recover from morning exercises with Minami.
The sealmaster rose shakily from his seat, and stood so that the rest of the group was facing him in a rough semicircle.
"I…" he mumbled. "I just wanted to… I… I wanted to say…"
He trailed off. His mouth opened and closed helplessly as if he was a hooked fish gasping for water.
Finally, his eyes lit up as if he'd hit on an idea. His gaze snapped into the middle distance.
"I mishandled a risk assessment and implemented a personal project without seeking feedback from the rest of the team," he pronounced like a Leaf printing press stamping words onto paper line by line. "I… how'd it go… I humbly apologise for this violation of procedure and am prepared to accept any disciplinary measures my supervisors deem appropriate."
His eyes refocused again. "I thought I was doing the right thing," he said quietly but clearly. "I really did. I thought getting rid of Dumbbutt, uh, I mean Minami, was just eliminating another risk, like we do every day. But I guess in all my years alone, I forgot that… there's a reason sealmasters work in groups. It means if one person screws up, somebody else might notice before the trial phase.
"I… Despite everything, when it counted, I forgot what it meant that we were a team.
"Back at the lab, they'd put me on meatbag duty for this—if I was lucky. I don't… I don't know what I'm supposed to do now, but I swear I'll find some way to make it up to you."
Kagome-sensei bowed, and bowed deep. The gesture of abject submission from Hazō's master made Hazō feel a little sick inside.
"I'm so sorry," Kagome-sensei said to the skytower floor. "Please don't hate me. Please don't kick me out."
The team exchanged glances. Nobody knew what to say—or, in Hazō's case, even how to feel.
Noburi was first to recover from his stupour, using the time-honoured technique of deliberately missing the point.
"Meatbag duty?"
Kagome-sensei took this as his cue to unbow.
"Front-line tester," he explained matter-of-factly. "Means that when there's a sealing failure you get blown up first, and everyone else either takes notes or runs like hell, depending."
"Apology accepted," Keiko said seriously, but Hazō recognised an ironic smile dancing somewhere behind her eyes without quite making its way to her mouth. "While we do not intend for you to atone for your act of unimaginable folly with your life, understand that there will be consequences, and I am not speaking only of the slow, laborious and painful process of rebuilding trust with those you have wronged.
"On which note," she turned to Akane, her tone changing not a jot, "I believe it is now your turn to carelessly place the team in mortal peril. I ask only that you do so after I have gained access to the Nara Clan Library."
Minami just looked between them, taking in everyone's expressions of calm acceptance. "You people really are weird."
Vecht
Self-Requested Ban
- Location
- Snarksville, Snarkland
I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
Eww no, then we'd have to get married!
- Location
- Yes.
Didn't she do that with nearly dying to her own stubbornness and chakra exhaustion? I thought it was Noburi's turn?
- Location
- Europe
1. Nobby nearly getting married
2. Kagome ignoring orders
3. Keiko yelling about her feelings
4. Akane collapses because of chakra exhaustion
5. Keiko abandons Team for 10 days
6. Hazou library incident
7. Hazou threatening Dr. Yakushi
8. Kagome blowing up Minami
Sounds like it's Barrel boys turn next.
LEWD
2. Kagome ignoring orders
3. Keiko yelling about her feelings
4. Akane collapses because of chakra exhaustion
5. Keiko abandons Team for 10 days
6. Hazou library incident
7. Hazou threatening Dr. Yakushi
8. Kagome blowing up Minami
Sounds like it's Barrel boys turn next.
LEWD
- Location
- The Void
- Pronouns
- She/Her
We can assume a strong probability that resurrection is at least possible in the MFD universe. We first have scary sealmistress in rice who had zombies. So to a limited degree we know that people can come back from the dead from direct observation. One might argue that zombies are not people which I would agree. We then have Kagome's speech about the sage killing people and them back after manipulating their minds. Finally we have the Naruto canon which has true resurrection. All of these things have increased the probability that resurrection tech is real enough to act as if it exist.
As for memory editing we have direct textual evidence that it exist with Truth Lost in the Fog. It might be a limited but it is a memory editor without question. Add an entire clan of mind readers to the setting and I don't see any way better memory editors don't exist
I mean, if you want to get real world, the technology to prevent someone from turning short term memories into long term memories and thus ensuring they forget something immediately after it happens (Truth Lost in the Fog) is a lot more obvious and within reach than editing long term memories. Of course I can't say what's possible with magic, but "I don't see any way better memory editors don't exist" seems to me to be over-stating the case.
Maybe memory editing is really hard to do! An entire clan of mind-readers sounds like a lot, but it's actually a pitifully small research pool for a really tough problem.