Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

Kiba · Jun 21, 2020

[X] Action Plan: Timeskip?

Timeskip: Until Noburi meets the Toad.

Train.
Periodically check on projects if time available.
Have night out too. Don't forget that rest is important.
Delegate New Projects to the Clan:
- Are we doing anything with the iron mine?
- We need a better cheaper way of making wall. Maybe a construction jutsu, or a MEW seal, or something ingenuous that civilians can do?
- Buy three telescopes. One for our use, one for study and another to be taken apart by our craftsmen.
  - Or alternatively just move or adopt an entire family of telescope maker!
  - "Do you think if a telescope can see far away, maybe it could see tiny things up close?"

eaglejarl · Jun 21, 2020

Lailoken said:
Was there an edit,

Nope.

Paperclipped said:
Unfortunately, a death in the family torpedoed my writing speed the last time I gave it a shot. I'll try it again today.

Oh, crap. I'm so sorry. Obviously, take all the time you need.

Roomba said:
I'm a bit surprised Hazou didn't bring up Hana marrying Shinji. Mari trying to fit that into her theory of social dynamics would be quite the sight. It'd probably really spoil the mood though given their history, so maybe it was for the best that he didn't.

<Mari>
Easy: That was the clan elders and Hana each attempting to exert their power to shape the future of the clan. Which side won is up to interpretation, but it was clearly about power. Indeed, you have to wonder if Hana would have been so attached to Shinji if being with him didn't allow her to exert her dominance over her own life to such an extent.

</Mari>

Noumero · Jun 21, 2020

eaglejarl said:
"Because you'll stop them."

Aww.

Roomba said:
Yes Mari, you clearly were going to marry Jiraiya for power alone

I mean, yes, she was, by her own definitions. The problem is that her definition of "power" is confused and broadened to encompass a range of internal motivations so wide as to make the term useless. You could use the same trick to explain how everything is about having fun, or avoiding annoyance, or minimizing uncertainty, or finding your place in the world, or whatever.

zxzx24 · Jun 21, 2020

eaglejarl said:
"It's all tied up in what I've been worrying about with reality being in danger. If those entities were to break out of whatever prisons they're currently in, how much damage could they do? They could destroy everything."

Mari chuckled and stood up, collecting her book from the table. "They won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you'll stop them." She smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Good night, Hazō."

She walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts in front of the fire.

That's sweet.

Now if only I could decode all the meaning locked up in it...

Waffle · Jun 21, 2020

Byzantine said:
It happened a couple week ago, IC, so nothing we could react to.

Why are Hazou and Mari talking about the 'Five what' then? Yuno quite clearly spoke of the Five Forbidden Clans, they wouldn't have forgotten it so soon after the conversation.

I must say I'm not too fond of the Out/Eldritch Horrors/Reality is an illusion plotlines tbh. It's barely actionable and the tone feels out of place with the rest of the setting.

RandomOTP · Jun 21, 2020

eaglejarl said:
Mari chuckled and stood up, collecting her book from the table. "They won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you'll stop them." She smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Good night, Hazō."

Not going to lie, my eyes legitimately began to water. That's so sweet, her instant, casual, and unshakable faith in Hazou against literal eldritch beings with power on the Sage's scale... damn.

As for her personal views? She's a social jonin whose specialty was infiltration and manipulation. She's a woman who was used as Mist's tool for years. She's a woman who is deathly afraid to admit her maternal status in Hazou's life because of her self-worth issues. I think Mari's reciting her old beliefs out of habit, like someone who's grown beyond the person they were but haven't realized/internalized it yet. And any progress she's legitimately made can be easily written off, in-character, as chakra fuckery from her personal jutsu.

Side note: we're going to be in-contact with Tsunade regularly. I think if we check with Mari for a "101 Steps not to Anger the Goddess Instructing You" then we should be good. We already know Tsunade is hyper-focused on her job and wants nothing to do with politics. We know that Tsunade was skeptical about the construction of a non-combat MEW (I say we do it, by the way) and didn't think anyone would bother since it's not a shiny explosion or profitable. And we also know that she loathes stuttering and weak-willed individuals. We should totally use this opportunity to get to know more about her personality and, when she won't smite us for it, ask about Orochimaru.

Inferno Vulpix · Jun 21, 2020

Noumero said:
I mean, yes, she was, by her own definitions. The problem is that her definition of "power" is confused and broadened to encompass a range of internal motivations so wide as to make the term useless. You could use the same trick to explain how everything is about having fun, or avoiding annoyance, or minimizing uncertainty, or finding your place in the world, or whatever.

It's also ripe for The Worst Argument In The World-ing, as you can in one moment argue that a very benign pro-social romance is rooted in power for some very general understanding of power, and then in the next assert that because it's rooted in power it's no different than how Jun treats servant girls, a more central understanding of power-based romance. The logical flaw is obvious when highlighted like this but can be hard to spot in the moment when the person is capably equivocating (and guess who has sky-high social stats?)

ContextBot said:
And Mari is becoming a succubus again. Maybe we should pray to Jashin.

Hardly 'becoming again'. Ever since we knew her she's been a bit of a succubus, and the only period where she plausibly wasn't was when she was too busy being a nigh-suicidal sobbing mess. This is the result of a twisted upbringing and a seduction-spec career focus involving even more twisted things.

It not being new doesn't mean she's okay, but it also doesn't imply she's slipping, imo.

ContextBot · Jun 21, 2020

Inferno Vulpix said:
It not being new doesn't mean she's okay, but it also doesn't imply she's slipping, imo.

Before her breakdown she was extremly protective and even critical about Hazou and co drinking alcohol, but ever since her 'recovery' she has become pretty aggressive (including allowing Nobby to drink sake during the day).

So yes, she has been slipping in some ways. Mari is damaging herself with her genjutsu or in more mundane ways.

Shrooms · Jun 21, 2020

This is a perfect time for an interlude imo

Especially since it seems that we will be skipping Hazou's training

A few interlude suggestions/requests:
- Hinata & her reaction to Hiashi's death, up to present (pleaseeeee)
- Another Haru interlude
- An interlude of Noburi prepping to take over as clan head, Mari trolling him
- Game night (guess this is only sorta an interlude)
- Ami interlude or Hana/Ren. Some kind of Mist interlude basically
- Naruto and KEI interlude post-contest

[X] Action plan: Timeskip?

ContextBot · Jun 21, 2020

Shrooms said:
Especially since it seems that we will be skipping Hazou's training

That's ~12 weeks or so. We should better come up with some ideas.

Or tell Nobby what Toads he should get. And marry Yuno, or not.

And seals, make lot's of new ones.

RandomOTP · Jun 21, 2020

ContextBot said:
Before her breakdown she was extremly protective and even critical about Hazou and co drinking alcohol, but ever since her 'recovery' she has become pretty aggressive (including allowing Nobby to drink sake during the day).

So yes, she has been slipping in some ways. Mari is damaging herself with her genjutsu or in more mundane ways.

I'm not sure that Mari being a "succubus" is inherently damaging. Aside from the asexual side of humanity's sexuality's spectrum, most people enjoy sex and some people enjoy sex more than other people do. That's perfectly fine and perfectly natural. Jiraiya was built in a similar way and their relationship was slightly nontraditional so as to not constrain/smother that aspect of themselves. (*Edit: this is a gross oversimplification, but it gets to the heart of the thing*)

I hadn't really noticed Mari being more lenient about alcohol, but I'd attribute that more to a sense of rationality than anything. Team Uplift is part of a small, new clan in Leaf and we're pretty influential --if only because of who our founder was. So it's likely that we're going to be invited into important parties, meetings, and gatherings that involve alcohol. So I think Mari's stance is more "better they develop their tolerance here, where the fallout will be minimal, versus out there, where they could do irreparable harm to the Goketsu reputation."

As for if she's backsliding... I think Mari's always had a mixed opinion on humanity --look at her history, it's honestly amazing she's as good a human being as she is --so Mari's thoughts on the nature of power in romance shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us. Though, I'd like to point out that there is a dissonance between her words and her actions. She genuinely fell in love with Jiraiya -we know this based on her actions both before and after the J-man's death --and we also know that Jiraiya genuinely fell in love with her. But we don't know if Mari ever got to a point where she felt emotionally safe enough to admit to herself that she loved Jiraiya. This is the same woman who is Hazou's mom to the point where Noburi and Keiko have joked that "welp, looks like our mom has a favorite." But if we drew Mari's attention to her own feelings on the subject? Oh boy, the fallout would be huge.

Lailoken · Jun 21, 2020

eaglejarl said:
Kagome-sensei nodded, although there was a trace of wistfulness to it. He looked down, focused on Fifi who had curled up in his lap and was rumbling her satisfaction at his slow, steady petting.

Fifi decided to move with the clan! Why did we even bother building all those walls again?

(Fifi remains a secretly omniagent Orochimaru creation funneling intel to him- minus anything which might result in reduced chin scritches.)

In all seriousness, we really do need to finally nail down exactly where Kagome got her. Orochimaru is a contingency planner with a history of studying cat(?)s.

RandomOTP · Jun 21, 2020

[x] Action Plan: Hazou Talks to Akane
Words: 27

Hazou seeks out advice from Kagome about Akane's lack of self preservation/worth
Hazou thinks to himself for a bit
Hazou brings his thoughts and feelings to Akane

Kiba · Jun 21, 2020

Hazo: "I got an efficient construction jutsu!"
Tsunade: "Yeah yeah, whatever...how about you..."
<timeskip>
Hazo: "I found better tools and techniques for civilian healers!"
Tsunade: "Yeah yeah, whatever...how about you..."
<timeskip>
Hazo: "I found a way to reduce the occurrence of plaque!"
Tsunade: OMG, This is working "Yeah yeah, whatever...how about you..."
Hazo: "Excuse me? I was going to do that anyway. Can we cooperate to uplift the world too?"

roobee · Jun 21, 2020

RandomOTP said:
Hazou seeks out advice from Kagome

...why is Hazou seeking relationship advice from Kagome?

I'm down for a plan askign where Fifi came from

RandomOTP · Jun 21, 2020

roobee said:
...why is Hazou seeking relationship advice from Kagome?

I meant more about Akane's lack of self preservation... but honestly, Kagome's pretty damned insightful when he's not panicking. His take on why Mari "just throws away bottles" and the scene where Kagome gave his homemade jacket to Honoka --aside from being cute as a chakra bunny --shows that. I think Kagome deserves some time to further show that he's not just our "paranoid, explosives-crazy uncle," but a deep and complex individual with a unique perspective that's worth listening to.

Shrooms · Jun 21, 2020

RandomOTP said:
I meant more about Akane's lack of self preservation... but honestly, Kagome's pretty damned insightful when he's not panicking. His take on why Mari "just throws away bottles" and the scene where Kagome gave his homemade jacket to Honoka --aside from being cute as a chakra bunny --shows that. I think Kagome deserves some time to further show that he's not just our "paranoid, explosives-crazy uncle," but a deep and complex individual with a unique perspective that's worth listening to.

Why don't we talk to Sakura and Haru about it instead/additionally

Oneiros · Jun 21, 2020

Word count: 276
[X] action plan: leafs falling slowly to the ground

Timeline: till Noburi completes his summoner training

Hazou sets his affairs in order before starting Summoning training.
- Arrange for Mari, Gaku, or one of their subordinates to take over things Hazou would be doing during the training period (projects, meetings, etc.).
  - Hazou still expects daily briefings on important events and things that require Clan Head input.
The Talkwith Akane
- Hazou and her clearly still have feelings for each other
  - He's realized that not everything is a tool to be optimized
  - That there are other things besides his goals
- But with Summoning training if they got back together Hazou would be a terrible boyfriend
- Also neither one of them has ever been in a relationship with anyone else.
  - plus they feel for each other in the most traumatic time in there lives
- So Hazou proposes that after he finishes summoning training that they go on a series of casual dates
  - Just to ease back into a potential relationship without putting to much stress on either of them
- Firmly state that if she comes up with novel applications of Gouketsu techniques or seals, she should inform him first.
Game night
- Have a casual game night. Make sure to invite Sasuke and other peers
- Have a fun and relaxed time
- check with Mari first
  - casually let Sasuke know that if he makes a play for the porccupine scroll that we will back him. It'd be nice to have a friend to study with
Misc
- Buy three telescopes. One for our use, one for study and another to be taken apart by our craftsmen
- During summoning training, inquire in particular about what other Leaf summon clans think about the Dogs.

RandomOTP · Jun 21, 2020

Shrooms said:
Why don't we talk to Sakura and Haru about it instead/additionally

Because I don't think we know anything about Sakura in-character (she wasn't on the list of Noburi's list of clanless ninja worth adopting) and I don't think Hazou's friendship (if you can call it that) with Haru is quite at that point yet. Trying to force it would probably be bad

ContextBot · Jun 21, 2020

RandomOTP said:
I'm not sure that Mari being a "succubus" is inherently damaging

I am not shaming Mari for sleeping around if that's what you think, but the way she comments on it has changed, drastically.

RandomOTP said:
I hadn't really noticed Mari being more lenient about alcohol, but I'd attribute that more to a sense of rationality than anything

Velorien said:
"Hazō is not going drinking unless a mission demands it," Mari-sensei said flatly. "He is a young man with a growing organism, and besides, I will not be having him get used to alcohol as a coping mechanism."

Mari wasn't ok with some random drinking back then. But now it's ok?

RandomOTP said:
As for if she's backsliding... I think Mari's always had a mixed opinion on humanity --look at her history, it's honestly amazing she's as good a human being as she is --so Mari's thoughts on the nature of power in romance shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us. Though, I'd like to point out that there is a dissonance between her words and her actions.

She is a good human because? Her actions are proof that she cares about Goketsu, not anything more. That's not good or bad automatically. Also, someones terrible personal history isn't an automatic excuse.

RandomOTP said:
She genuinely fell in love with Jiraiya -we know this based on her actions both before and after the J-man's death --and we also know that Jiraiya genuinely fell in love with her. But we don't know if Mari ever got to a point where she felt emotionally safe enough to admit to herself that she loved Jiraiya.

Ok, she loves Jiraiya. So?

RandomOTP said:
This is the same woman who is Hazou's mom to the point where Noburi and Keiko have joked that "welp, looks like our mom has a favorite." But if we drew Mari's attention to her own feelings on the subject? Oh boy, the fallout would be huge.

Yeah, no.

Mari isn't fine, she might not be close to breaking, nor might this whole part being anti-her, but she is starting to get out of (her own) control again.

Sentient Tree · Jun 21, 2020

Oneiros said:
Timeline: till Noburi completes his summoner training

I don't think the QMs like it when we specify when an update will end. You may want to just ask them if this can be a time skip. Leaving it out and just asking would also reduce wordcount.

Other than that, looks good.
[] action plan: leafs falling slowly to the ground

Edit:
Found a plan that had telescopes.

Random thought. Just how did Sasuke start believing so fully that ninja were better than civilians? He grew up with civilians, so did they teach him that? Did the Hokage assign ninja to indoctrinate him as part of whatever therapy-adjacent thing they put him through to stop him from ending up like in canon?

Shrooms · Jun 21, 2020

RandomOTP said:
Because I don't think we know anything about Sakura in-character (she wasn't on the list of Noburi's list of clanless ninja worth adopting) and I don't think Hazou's friendship (if you can call it that) with Haru is quite at that point yet. Trying to force it would probably be bad

But they should be concerned for Akane's wellbeing too, no?

[X] Action plan: leafs falling slowly to the ground

Inferno Vulpix · Jun 21, 2020

Sentient Tree said:
He grew up with civilians, so did they teach him that?

Likely. Just because you are a civilian of the Uchiha clan does not mean you do not buy into the Uchiha philosophy. It would have been reasonable if the Uchiha took a swing in the direction of civilian-favourability, but it is also reasonable that the civilians of the Uchiha would still honestly hold to Uchiha beliefs that ninjas are better than civilians.

eaglejarl · Jun 21, 2020

RandomOTP said:
Because I don't think we know anything about Sakura in-character (she wasn't on the list of Noburi's list of clanless ninja worth adopting) and I don't think Hazou's friendship (if you can call it that) with Haru is quite at that point yet. Trying to force it would probably be bad

Note that for a while there, Akane, Haru, and Sakura were a team. They all went to the Exams with you.

CitizenTen · Jun 21, 2020

If we can do it....
[X] Action plan: Timeskip?

Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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