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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Speaking of Mountain, as y'all have been doing, there was some recent talk in QM chat.

"Hey, didn't we say that Mountain was about 100 people?"

"Yep."

"That's not enough genetic diversity for long term survival of a colony. Primitive tribes were typically <= 100-150 (cf Dunbar's number), but that's because there were other tribes around for exogamous marriage. Mountain has had no outside contact for 400 years. They would actually need to be about 500 people in order to survive that long."

"I'm okay with that."


So far as I'm aware, we have never officially shown anything about their population size onscreen and the 100-person number was purely OOC. If so, adjusting that OOC number to be 500 shouldn't cause issues.

@faflec, have I forgotten anything / is there anything that would need to be changed in order to conform to the new population number?
 
eaglejarl said:
Speaking of Mountain, as y'all have been doing, there was some recent talk in QM chat.

"Hey, didn't we say that Mountain was about 100 people?"

"Yep."

"That's not enough genetic diversity for long term survival of a colony. Primitive tribes were typically <= 100-150 (cf Dunbar's number), but that's because there were other tribes around for exogamous marriage. Mountain has had no outside contact for 400 years. They would actually need to be about 500 people in order to survive that long."

"I'm okay with that."


So far as I'm aware, we have never officially shown anything about their population size onscreen and the 100-person number was purely OOC. If so, adjusting that OOC number to be 500 shouldn't cause issues.

@faflec, have I forgotten anything / is there anything that would need to be changed in order to conform to the new population number?
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Did you ever figure out a number for how many ninja they had?

For that matter, have you worked out what the rough occurrence of ninja-level chakra reserves in the general human population is? That'd be interesting to know.
 
eaglejarl said:
So far as I'm aware, we have never officially shown anything about their population size onscreen and the 100-person number was purely OOC. If so, adjusting that OOC number to be 500 shouldn't cause issues.
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In terms of keeping the balance, do y'all want there to be something on the order of 80ish ninja still? (I feel like I've seen 80 thrown around as the ninja number...)

Ex: If Mountain had something on the order of 200 ninja, that might have weird implications depending on how this potential future arc goes.
 
MMKII said:
In terms of keeping the balance, do y'all want there to be something on the order of 80ish ninja still? (I feel like I've seen 80 thrown around as the ninja number...)

Ex: If Mountain had something on the order of 200 ninja, that might have weird implications depending on how this potential future arc goes.
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What is the percentage of ninja in the average population? I always think 20% including desk jockie genin but that might be a bit high.
 
MMKII said:
In terms of keeping the balance, do y'all want there to be something on the order of 80ish ninja still? (I feel like I've seen 80 thrown around as the ninja number...)

Ex: If Mountain had something on the order of 200 ninja, that might have weird implications depending on how this potential future arc goes.
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Yeah, if Mountain actually has a bunch more ninja than before, suddenly they're a lot more powerful and important. Hidden villages don't have all that many ninja, right? Something on the order of thousands? So a hundred or more ninja would be a fairly significant group. Admittedly, they would have already been pretty significant because of having multiple sealmasters, but having more ninja would make them even more powerful. Closer to being coequal partners with us than they would otherwise be.
 
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eaglejarl said:
@faflec, have I forgotten anything / is there anything that would need to be changed in order to conform to the new population number?
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IIRC Hidden Montain has a serious issue with chakra monsters, which makes sense if their population was, like, 80 ninjas and 20 civilians. But a population of 500 might not have that difficulty. Not an expert here, though.

Alternatively, you could just retcon it as there being a massive plague or something that happened within the last generation that smashed the numbers to the ~100 or so.
 
Let's see, if memory serves Fire Country has about 300,000 people and 1,500 ninja, of which 30% are clanless.

The basic math applied to this is 300,000/1,500 = 200 civilians per ninja, but that doesn't account for how ninjas tend to die really young.

Let's assume that the average civilian lives to something like 50 (disregarding baby death rates because they factor out of the equation of civilians and ninjas equally; we only care about kids old enough to get tested for chakra) and the average ninja lives for like 20 years (sketchy assumption since we've had multiple discussions on this before and I don't remember the exact answers, but we've seen desk genin around so between them and the ninjas who live like 50 years that probably counterweights all the cannon fodder genin who die at 12 or 13).

So if we assume the average civilian lives 250% as long as the average ninja, then civilians will be 250% over-represented in the demographic calculations. If we take that 200 from earlier and divide it by 2.5, we get 80 civilians per ninja. Mind you, this is in an environment where you have both the civilians spontaneously giving birth to ninja and the ninjas themselves giving birth to ninjas. If 1/3 of Konoha is clanless, then we can estimate that roughly 1/3 of Konoha's ninja population actually came from spontaneous civilian-to-ninja birth, driving our ratio back up to 240 civilians to ninja in absence of clans.

This means that an average civilian village with somewhere between 150 and 1000 people will have 1-4 ninjas per generation, which sounds reasonable to me.

Mountain is isolated and not in perpetual war, so its ninjas probably don't have the same horrible attrition that makes civvies live so much longer on average. Simply accounting for the lack of dead children applies a 250% modifier to Mountain's live ninja population from the same reproductive demographics. At 500 total people, that's... about 6 ninja. Mind you, this is with the assumption that 2/3 of its ninjas come from a sustainable clan population. To reach 80 ninja would take 13x the ninjas you'd expect for a population of this size.

This can actually make sense, though, since the ninjas who aren't dying at 12-13 are going to live and have children of their own, which should over longer periods of time massively inflate the population of ninjas relative to civilians. It could even be argued that it's a surprise there are any civilians left instead of them all getting outcompeted by the kung fu battle wizards.
 
Who wants to leak "The 7 tails jinchuuriki is in HM." to Akatsuki after setting up a BUTTLOAD of prepared sealmaster defenses in HM, getting their consent to do said battle, and hiding a pile of Leaf/Mist ninja underneath the village?
 
Oh, and here's a fun spanner in the demographics: if a child has a genetic predisposition towards having chakra, they go to Konoha and become a ninja. From the perspective of the civilian population in a village, being a ninja removes yourself from the breeding pool, which means there's a relatively strong selection pressure in villages against having chakra. The genes that correlate with being a ninja will increasingly concentrate in the hidden villages and fewer and fewer ninjas will come from the countryside, until almost all ninja are children of ninja.
 
Inferno Vulpix said:
Oh, and here's a fun spanner in the demographics: if a child has a genetic predisposition towards having chakra, they go to Konoha and become a ninja. From the perspective of the civilian population in a village, being a ninja removes yourself from the breeding pool, which means there's a relatively strong selection pressure in villages against having chakra. The genes that correlate with being a ninja will increasingly concentrate in the hidden villages and fewer and fewer ninjas will come from the countryside, until almost all ninja are children of ninja.
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This might be a bit off due to second order effects. Something that might matter at this population size. Also, I don't think we have any indication that Leaf gets allll of the chakra capable in Fire. While its unknown how they do that, they likely just have a few Hyuuga run around once a year or so? I wonder if other villages have something similar. We should ask Noburi if he can tell the difference between random kids and academy firsties just by being in a swimming pool with them.


Although, this makes me wonder if the dynamic that the Rice ninja have is good. They're pretty much a bunch of wandering ninja groups that are loosely allied, I think? Might help the gene pool as well as the chakra genetics problem. I wonder if squibs exist in universe.
 
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Chapter 253: Lost and Found
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    • Your homework this week is to make Ryūichi and Hiroko admit their feelings for each other purely through the correct selection and placement of physical objects. Your gold star is an official announcement of the relationship.

    —Mori Ryūgamine, the Angel Without Mercy


    The victory celebrations, the Gōketsu decided, would proceed in three stages. To go in reverse order, Jiraiya mandated that upon their return, there would be a Chūnin Exam victory celebration the likes of which Leaf had not seen since… since the time the judges had to ban Naruto from taking all three winning places.

    Hazō proposed that tomorrow night the Gōketsu would hold a truly epic gaming night. The entire Leaf contingent would be invited, of course, including the jōnin and any off-shift ANBU. So would all tournament participants, with plus twos for those who wanted to bring their teams or particularly beloved family members. Mum would naturally be invited. Aunt Ren would not, despite being a family member and also the Mizukage—Hazō had put his foot down, and firmly asked Jiraiya to come up with some diplomatic excuse if need be. Whether Keiko invited Ami would be determined by how tomorrow's meeting went, and while a strange little voice in the back of his head tempted him to invite Captain Zabuza just to see what happened, he still had missing-nin survival instincts.

    Hazō only hoped he had enough board games, or could hire someone to make rushed replicas. (Of course he'd brought his entire collection; he wasn't a savage.) He'd pitched the whole thing to Jiraiya as a unique opportunity to make friends, or at least contacts, and to display a side of the Gōketsu that wasn't ruthless politicians or equally ruthless warriors, and Jiraiya had accepted with the expression of a man already resigned to something going disastrously wrong. The fact that if the night worked out, Hazō would go down in legend as the first person ever to GM for the entire world was just a side benefit.

    Finally, Noburi had offered to make tonight a celebration for just the champion, in whatever fashion she wanted. Asking Keiko to plan it herself was a non-starter, not so much for Mori reasons as because she was still a wreck from yesterday's "betrayals", then being non-consensually declared family, then receiving a mysterious message from her sister, then being stared at by seemingly the entirety of Mist without having prepared a coping strategy (such as distracting herself by setting her brother on fire), and to top it all off, nearly being touched by Momochi Zabuza himself.

    Still, it said something that they knew her well enough to try. There were absolutely no people at the party except those she felt safe with (which was to say, Hazō and Noburi; they'd all politely ignored the fact that she hadn't invited Jiraiya, or that Nara either didn't qualify or was still in the doghouse). Instead of a restaurant or even the inn, they were sitting on one of the northern hilltops (she'd reluctantly admitted she had a favourite), with Hazō and Noburi wrapped in a hundred layers to stave off the cold while Keiko seemed comfortable, at peace even, wearing only her normal coat with the fan club scarf and mittens. Eventually, Keiko conceded to the boys' survival needs by consenting to the use of an air dome. At that point, there was cake, and Keiko's attempts to insist that she was unworthy of such extravagance were muffled by her having her mouth full. The rest of the time was spent quietly stargazing (Keiko somehow knew astronomy, and could point out the constellations), and having brief, vaguely philosophical exchanges.

    Based on her mood when they returned to the inn, Hazō and Noburi were now forgiven for all past crimes and maybe a couple of future ones.

    -o-​

    Kei walked the streets of Mist alone, at a brisk pace because she could not be a second late. Hazō and Noburi had asked to come along, and Jiraiya wished her to have an ANBU escort, and Kei had made it clear to them that their interference, any interference, was not merely unwanted but would be tantamount to an act of aggression, one calling for scaly violence.

    The man walking ahead of her slowed his step. If he continued at the same rate, they would soon draw even, and she might have to endure contact with a stranger. What interest could he possibly have in her? While there was an alarming possibility that her victory had brought her attention on a new scale, perhaps even positive attention, the idea of Kei having fans was nevertheless preposterous.

    No, in all likelihood…

    "Password," she snapped once the man was next to her.

    "Chārī the Kirin of Maidenly Love," the man said smoothly. "Counter-password?"

    "Assisted suicide."

    "Pleased to meet you, Gōketsu Keiko."

    She nodded.

    "You'll forgive me if I don't introduce myself," he said. "Ami wanted you to have an escort to confirm that you weren't being tailed."

    Kei rolled her eyes. "You are a Hoshigaki. Were I to visit your clan and describe your appearance, I doubt you would be difficult to identify."

    "Now why would you say that?" the man asked neutrally.

    "Around your wrist there is a Samekomon bracelet, a Class 2 luxury item cleared for export as part of the 1060 limited trade agreement with Hidden Cloud. The agreement focused on items that the Mizukage deemed to express Mist's unique mastery of the sea, including sharkbone goods. As production increased to meet demand from foreign merchants, domestic costs fell proportionately, and said goods gained popularity as inexpensive symbols of national pride. However, the Hoshigaki notoriously refuse to use any materials derived from their "lesser brothers", and favour more expensive wooden imitations. Are you aware that there are scratches on the underside of your bracelet that expose the base material?"

    The man stared. "You really are her sister, aren't you?"

    "I simply paid attention during my lessons. I assure you that her knowledge is encyclopaedic by comparison."

    The rest of the walk was conducted in satisfying silence.

    -o-​

    Kei recognised the house. It was once known as the Kanzaki residence, where Kanzaki Tomohiro, a common-born subcontractor for the clan, had lived with his wife. After their deaths during a skirmish with Leaf, ownership of the house had naturally reverted to the Mizukage's Office, but between the expensive location and popular belief that Kanzaki had been cursed for his impious lifestyle (those sent to collect his belongings had not found a single copy of My Vision), it had apparently remained unsold. As state property, it was naturally off limits, with severe penalties for those who arrogated the civil servants' right of entry.

    But none of that mattered at all. For Ami was here. Ami. Still beautiful. Still radiant. No longer hers.

    Why had she summoned Kei here? Kei had suppressed one instinctive thought, suppressed it with all her might. She could not survive a second fall. Being realistic, Ami was probably frustrated that Kei, via Hazō, continued to inconvenience her. Was that enough to justify meeting in person?

    Ami beckoned her to take a seat in one of the armchairs.

    "Ami," Kei said, "if you called me in order to punish me further, then I will of course accept it, but please, at least explain my transgression. What have I done to make you despise me so?"

    "Punish you?! Keiko, I would never punish you. You really think that's why I wanted to see you?"

    "Then why?" Kei appealed, the equanimity she'd struggled to build over the course of her walk evaporating like morning dew beneath the sun. "Are you offering me an opportunity to atone? Ami, I will do anything, anything at all. Please… tell me what I must do in order to for you to be my sister again."

    She held her breath. It was impossible. Hopeless. Any second now, Ami would express contempt, well-deserved contempt, for Kei's arrogance in believing that Ami could be bribed into reconciliation. Then she would instruct Kei to leave, and this time the dismissal would be open, formal, and final.

    "You don't have to do anything," Ami said. "Keiko, you never for one second stopped being my sister. I'm so sorry I made you feel you did."

    "I do not understand," Kei said awkwardly. She asked the impossible question she should not have asked. "Are you saying you forgive me?"

    "I'm saying there was never anything to forgive."

    Finally, the horrible truth dawned on Kei.

    "This is a dream."

    One of those dreams. Not the ones that tormented her in her sleep, but the ones that turned to torment as she woke. She was at the stage where she realised she was in a dream, yet still clung to the futile hope that perhaps this time it would follow her back into reality. But soon she would find herself awake in bed, and Ami would still be gone, and she would have to rise, dress, and attend breakfast downstairs while acting as if she was only in mild pain.

    Ami gave her a look of compassion that only amplified her suffering. "It's not a dream. Try using the Frozen Skein."

    Why would she… oh.

    Kei reached for the layer of clarity lurking beneath the edge of her daily consciousness. Her awareness began to expand.

    She quickly reversed direction, resetting herself to what passed for normality for someone like her.

    Mori did not dream of the Frozen Skein. It was not allowed. If Kei had access to it… then she was in the waking world and Ami's forgiveness was real.

    But there had to be other possibilities. This could be genjutsu. There were techniques that manipulated their victims using their heart's desire or their greatest point of weakness (indeed, there were people like Kei for whom the two were one and the same). Kei hurriedly used the Dispelling Technique.

    No? Then perhaps this was not the real Ami. But no, she had sent an escort who knew about the pink shuriken.

    Was Ami being coerced? Kei contemplated the laughable idea only long enough to dismiss it.

    Kei sought other possible explanations, but clearly she lacked the imagination to understand what was truly happening to her. What if, in defiance of all probability, this was real, and Ami had once again displayed her unique brilliance by twisting to her own ends a fact of life so basic that no Mori ever gave it thought?

    But if so, then why?

    "I do not understand," Kei repeated.

    "Because I'm an idiot, that's why," Ami said bitterly, reading her mind as casually as ever. "You deserve a far better sister than me. I'd suggest filing a complaint with the management if they weren't all dead and at the bottom of the ocean."

    A better sister than Ami? That would be like a light brighter than the sun.

    "I lied to you, Keiko. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped being your sister. I couldn't if I tried."

    Kei's higher brain functions were not responding.

    "But you have never lied to me. Not about anything important."

    "There's a first time for everything. Also a last time, which I promise this is."

    "But why?! Why would you ever say something that would bring me this much pain?"

    "Because I'm an idiot. Did I mention that part?

    "You're important now. Not just to me, I mean. You're the Hokage's daughter. You're the Nara consort. There are a lot of people in the clan for whom you'd make a great tool."

    "A tool?" Kei asked. "But I am no longer even part of the clan. You… you made that quite clear."

    "And I am so, so sorry for that. But the fact is, Elders Kōjirō, Sachiko, Mayuri, Shina and Reiji all have their own designs on you, and maybe others I've overlooked. And you do have a connection to the clan. Me."

    "You?"

    "Me. For as long as you want me to be part of your life, there's an opening for them to manipulate you. That's one reason why attachments suck. I thought the best thing I could do was to… get rid of that attachment, at least until you had a firmer position so you could fend them off on your own."

    "…"

    "Obviously, that didn't work out so good."

    "So to clarify," Kei said with slow, dawning horror, "you felt the need to make a significant decision about my future and it did not occur to you to consult me?"

    "I didn't see any way to—"

    "Are you insane?!" Kei exploded.

    "Well, yes, but I don't see what that has to do with—"

    "Every single one of you!" Kei shouted. "Can not one person accept that I am a human being with the rights and the needs pertaining thereto? However pathetic I am, however incompetent, this is my life to ruin! I am not a lifeless doll lacking any conception of agency!"

    "I never said you were…"

    But Kei was no longer listening. She was collapsing in on herself, no longer able to tolerate the cruelty of the world and every person in it. She allowed her head to fall into her lap and wrapped her arms around it so as to block out the light. If she could pretend, if only for a moment, that the world did not exist and therefore could not hurt her…

    Ami gave her time. Or at least she assumed Ami gave her time, because she ceased to speak, and then there was silence, and then she spoke again.

    "I brought cookies?" Ami said hesitantly.

    "Distressed, not suicidal," Kei muttered.

    "Store-bought, not homemade."

    "What flavour?"

    "Carrot, obviously."

    Kei uncurled. "I accept your offering."

    "I'm sorry, Keiko," Ami said. "I really am. If I'd realised just how much this would hurt you…"

    "No," Kei said, feeling the power of the cookie gradually reinvigorate her. "I now see that I am the one to blame for my suffering. I should have trusted that, as always, you were acting for my benefit, rather than tormenting myself over your motives and your feelings about me."

    Then, for reasons Kei was entirely unable to grasp, Ami facepalmed.

    "Don't take responsibility for my mistakes. I am the worst sister ever. Big sisters are for protecting little ones, not hurting them."

    "You are the best sister ever," Kei corrected her. "If you expected me to withstand the perceived loss without the cataclysmic effects your strategy had in reality, then it is my fault for failing to meet your expectations. I should have been stronger."

    "My expectations were wrong," Ami said. "That's not supposed to happen. I failed to predict my own sister's feelings, and that isn't just stupid. It's shameful."

    "None of this is your fault," Kei insisted. "Only mine."

    She took another cookie.

    "But now that I have undermined your plans with my lack of faith and/or resilience, what is our next step?" Given everything she had suffered at the mere belief of separation from Ami, she could not deny Ami's belief that the connection made her vulnerable.

    "I've been looking at this all wrong," Ami said. "I tried to keep you away from the elders by discouraging you. The other approach… is to discourage the elders themselves." A slow, terrifying smile stretched across her face.

    "Ami…" Kei said, "you cannot possibly be thinking of defying the elders. Even you cannot stand against the entire clan."

    "I don't have to," Ami said. "I've brought the clan glory and acclaim, and done things for them that few people could. My price has always been independence, and I don't think any of them realise how much they've paid for my services over the years. They're not going to get rid of me altogether—I'm too valuable, and they're rightly worried what'll happen if I become a true free agent. And if they try to hamper me in smaller ways, that makes it a contest I can win. It's not going to be an easy needle to thread, what with them having lots of power and influence and experience in crushing young upstarts like me, but they're not a united front either, and the older generation has more blind spots than a cave fish. I've run the numbers. If it's for you, I can figure out a way to do it."

    "You do not have the resources! You do not have sufficient compensation for the Bloodline Limit effects the way the clan as a collective does! Please, Ami, do not abandon your future for my sake!"

    Ami shook her head. "You'd be surprised, runt. You know what it means to be a Mori with a clear objective that you're passionate about, and there is nothing I'm more passionate about than you. Besides, I never said I was alone."

    "No?"

    "Mmm. Losing Yagura puts us years ahead of schedule. We're all going to be living in interesting times soon, unless Akatsuki blows up the world or whatever."

    "Ami, are you planning to become Mizukage?" Kei asked with appalled disbelief.

    "Are you kidding? That hat would clash with my hair something awful." Ami smirked. "Besides, have you seen all the paperwork? No way am I chaining myself down to that desk."

    "Ami," Kei said impatiently.

    "Also, do I look like I'm ready to fight on Kage level? I've only been a jōnin for a year. Even Lady Kurosawa could kick my ass, never mind the likes of Jiraiya of the Three.

    "Then again," she said thoughtfully, "adequate preparation trumps raw firepower every time."

    "One of Elder Ryūgamine's sayings," Kei said. "Do you believe you can challenge him if he sides with the others? He has always hated you."

    "He didn't hate me," Ami said off-handedly, "he just didn't want to be around me. I know it's hard to believe, but there was a time when I was young and foolish and didn't know how to escape consequences, and I suspect wouldn't have got away with half the stuff I did if Grandpa Ryūgamine hadn't pulled a few strings. Plus I've finally been able to badger him into giving me lessons again now that I'm a jōnin. I guess he's mellowed with age.

    "Also, I'm still doing the thing. There's no way the Angel Without Mercy hasn't figured out the thing, so if he hasn't shut me down, that's tacit approval of the thing, or at least he's waiting to see where the thing goes. I don't intend to disappoint him."

    Kei recalled their last meeting. She forced herself past the image of Ami's empty smile that she knew intimately from her nightmares. "What of the Nara? You asserted that they, too, had designs on me. Whatever you do to the poor, defenceless Mori elders will not reach them in Leaf."

    "I've done what I can with the Nara for now. The kid has had the error of his ways… explained… to him, and he knows what'll happen if he ever hurts you, or, through inaction, allows you to be hurt."

    "What?" Kei could not resist asking.

    "Not something fit for innocent ears to hear." Ami smiled.

    "Need I remind you that during the past week, I have set my brother on fire and nearly castrated a boy with an explosive tag?"

    "And I'm ever so proud of you. Now think about what kind of threat makes that sound innocent."

    Kei shivered.

    "I also got him to personally take a message for Lord Nara without going through the whole 'foreign letters get vetted to oblivion' business. It's another of the many things the elders would have a fit over if they knew I was doing it, but coins and shadows aren't going to cut it this time. Not that I'm pretending I can force Nara Shikaku himself to do anything he doesn't want to, but you know how persuasive I can get when I really want something.

    "Of course, I can also be a complete moron when I really want something," Ami said heavily. "Keiko, talking about my cunning plans is a great distraction, but I need you to accept that I screwed up. Even if you don't believe it because you're too blinded by my day-to-day awesomeness, this time I screwed up in a fashion so epic it ought to be written into the annals of history. I got you hurt because I tried to take the easy way out and put all of the burden on you."

    "No, you—"

    "Nuh-uh," Ami interrupted. "If you're going to trust my judgement in everything, then you have to trust it when I'm beating myself up too."

    The paradox struck Kei like a guided meteor strike. Ami did not make mistakes. Not about important matters. This was an important matter. Ami was saying she had made a mistake about it. Either Ami was correct, and had made an important mistake, or she was incorrect, which was in itself an important mistake.

    She looked to Ami pleadingly.

    "Sorry, runt, there's no easy way out of this one."

    "You should attend our gaming night," Kei said brightly. "Everyone of note will be there to celebrate the end of the tournament."

    Ami sighed.

    "Gaming night?" she asked after a second. "I should warn you that I have been banned from several casinos."

    "Board games," Kei clarified. "A typically if not necessarily competitive ludic activity defined by the use of cards, tokens and/or the proverbial board, each set unique to a given game and allowing for highly elaborate gameplay compared to conventional gambling and traditional games such shogi and go. Some fully or mostly verbal games, such as Yakuza, are also frequently considered to merit the classification as they are typically played by the same people in the same contexts."

    A fire lit in Ami's eyes. Kei felt a surge of pride.

    "New games."

    Kei nodded.

    "With new people."

    Kei nodded again.

    Ami's smile was equally beautiful and blood-chilling.

    "Await my coming, for I shall bring chaos. And carrot cake."

    -o-​

    You have received 0 XP.

    -o-​

    I was unable to get to the rest of the plan for reasons, but I at least figured I'd get the important Keiko stuff done so as not to have to pass it to @eaglejarl. The fact that I love writing Keiko is entirely unrelated.

    If you still want to break up the current plan into a series of more detailed ones, this is your chance.

    -o-​

    What do you do?

    Voting ends on Saturday 16th of March, 9 a.m. New York Time.
     
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    • *sob*

    This is great.

    [jk] Gaming night. Invite Zabuza+Extra.

    e: Also

    Hazou: "Everything according to Keiko"

    Nobby: "What?"

    Hazou: "Ami walked right into my trap card"
     
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    Velorien said:
    "So to clarify," Kei said with slow, dawning horror, "you felt the need to make a significant decision about my future and it did not occur to you to consult me?"
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    Oh dear.

    Of course the Amazing Ami explanation is that this is all according to Keikoku, as she knew exactly how Hazou would act on the second date when seeing Keiko for the first time in years.
     
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    For a moment there I was worried Keiko's agency issues would lead to a Bad End for that conversation as even Ami betrays her. Thankfully, her obsession opinion of her sister seems to have been strong enough to let Ami make amends.

    I've got to wonder, did you ever think something like this was in the cards at the start of the quest, or were you just planning to guide Keiko to a complete breakdown after enough time? Either way, I'm glad Keiko can know that Ami still loves her.

    (Also, I've mostly forgiven Ami for being so frustrating in our meetings. I have no doubt Hazou DM + Ami player is going to drive Hazou to distraction even more than Hazou's minmaxing torments Noburi, though.)

    Velorien said:
    The fact that if the night worked out, Hazō would go down in legend as the first person ever to GM for the entire world was just a side benefit.
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    How to get a god complex in one easy step.
    Velorien said:
    If he continued at the same rate, they would oon draw even, and she might have to endure contact with a stranger.
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    Minor typo here.
     
    Velorien said:
    "So to clarify," Kei said with slow, dawning horror, "you felt the need to make a significant decision about my future and it did not occur to you to consult me?"

    "I didn't see any way to—"

    "Are you insane?!" Kei exploded.

    "Well, yes, but I don't see what that has to do with—"

    "Every single one of you!" Kei shouted. "Can not one person accept that I am a human being with the rights and the needs pertaining thereto? However pathetic I am, however incompetent, this is my life to ruin! I am not a lifeless doll lacking any conception of agency!"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Hah! Even Ami has done this now.

    Velorien said:
    "Gaming night?" she asked after a second. "I should warn you that I have been banned from several casinos."

    "Board games," Kei clarified. "A typically if not necessarily competitive ludic activity defined by the use of cards, tokens and/or the proverbial board, each set unique to a given game and allowing for highly elaborate gameplay compared to conventional gambling and traditional games such shogi and go. Some fully or mostly verbal games, such as Yakuza, are also frequently considered to merit the classification as they are typically played by the same people in the same contexts."

    A fire lit in Ami's eyes. Kei felt a surge of pride.

    "New games."

    Kei nodded.

    "With new people."

    Kei nodded again.

    Ami's smile was equally beautiful and blood-chilling.

    "Await my coming, for I shall bring chaos. And carrot cake."
    Click to expand...
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    Hazou... I'm not sure whether you'll regret GMing, find this to be the greatest GMing night of your life, or both.
     
    Velorien said:
    She looked to Ami pleadingly.

    "Sorry, runt, there's no easy way out of this one."

    "You should attend our gaming night," Kei said brightly. "Everyone of note will be there to celebrate the end of the tournament."

    Ami sighed.
    Click to expand...
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    Hmmm. 'Discard' is a fairly weak paradox resolution. I wonder what it'd be like if Kei leans on Frozen Skein for this, punch through too the other side from adversary to clarity. Some concern about potential damage to clan relationship with Nara.

    That aside, I'm happy her overall emotional health is better.

    Aside aside, I'd been on an interlude binge. The scene of Mari in her negotiation with the clan heads really made me missed her something fierce. I hope we get back to Konoha and catch up on the other half of our family sometimes soon.
     
    Oh, we should also start to take it easier on Shikamaru. If Hazou heard all of that then he should know that adding more revenge is probably overkill at this point.
     
    Wonder if Ami needs any help with dissuading the Mori that we can do on our end. I'm sure Jiraiya would like the chance to help stick it to the Mori clan elders...
     
    First:



    Second:

    Wow! That ended up working so well! Beyond expectations. Ami Plot success! Go Team Hivemind!!! We bullshit-fu our way to another victory Let us learn from this success.

    Third:

    How to chop up the previous plan?
     
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