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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Velorien said:
"I know I'm running away from taking responsibility for my own life by thinking that way. Refusing to look for answers… it isn't just unyouthful, it's dangerous. It's how people's souls die. But reaching out for deep truths is hard, and frightening. I'm a good person. Loving, helpful, youthful, enthusiastic, dedicated. What if the truth is that I'm not? What if being hollow would be better, but at that point it's too late to go back?"
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Why do you call me out like this Velorien?
 
Me, a few lines in: "Wow, I'm gonna cry"
Me, a few lines later: "Wow, I am definitely going to cry"
Me, a few lines later: "Wow, I am definitely going to cry"
Me, a few lines later: oh no
 
Both my heart and my brain are pleased with this chapter, and really thats more than I could ever ask for.
 
Velorien said:
The earth clone performs the Shadow Clone Technique. The shadow clone behaves just like the original, which is to say it obeys Hazō's orders, but ignores its creator. It disappears when the Earth Clone Technique expires 10 minutes later. Hazō does not receive its memories. During a second test, he asks the earth clone about its memories, but can't get a meaningful answer.
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*smiles in QuirrellMMKII*

Step One, complete.
 
roobee said:
Hmm. More hints against polyamory.
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I'm with @Shrooms on this one. Love isn't a zero-sum game where the love I have for a sibling must be measured against the love I have for a romantic partner (or, were I a poly-individual, my love of one romantic partner against my love of another).

That's what I mean when I say that Hazou hasn't ("on-screen") thought about what kind of relationship he'd be most comfortable in (other than one that was suitably loving and equal, modeled after his parents' relationship). We don't know if Hazou's one of the flavors of polyamory or if he's of a more "traditional" bent. We know that he's not aromantic, at least. But eh, I'm okay with leaving the specifics of this particular subplot up to the QMs for reasons I've said a thousand times before.

(((Edit: Hazou's also a teenager... very few people know for sure what sort of relationship they're most comfortable in during their teenage years... And of those few, even less are correct. Hazou is more introspective than most, so that gives him a boost. He's also been positively exposed to nontraditional romances (through Mari and Keiko's respective relationships), so that also gives him an open mind. We've also seen Hazou attempt some form of open relationship with Akane before, so that'll give him a starting point. But yeah, it'd be a bit weird for a teenager to drop "yeah, I'm [insert type of romantic persuasion here]." At least, not without build up, thought, and discussion. There's been a lot of that, granted, but nothing... Final/decisive, I think. Luckily, Hazou has Keiko, Snowflake, Noburi, and Mari to talk to about this. Hell, even Kagome would provide a valuable perspective! He's insightful as hell when he's not panicking about Sealing Stuff.)))

That said, this chapter does seem to imply that Akane might prefer a relationship with only two parties, but I'm going to withhold my judgement on that. It was a throwaway line that I, personally, interpreted more as "love me as I love you, deeply and without reserve." Because Akane loves so deeply that she's in danger of losing her identity in her supporting loved ones (her love language, basically) and she simply wants to know that those feelings are returned unequivocally.

And... That isn't mutually exclusive towards multi-party relationships, not unless Akane explicitly says so. That said, this chapter was beautiful and, should Akane's character specifically desire a "traditionally monogamous" relationship with Hazou, I'm now okay with the story going in that direction. This chapter was beautiful, heartfelt, and made me cry tears of joy and awe.

I'll probably type up a "thoughts on Akane and Hazou" blurb like I did with Ami and Hazou, but not tonight.
 
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Velorien said:
In the end, which one of them are you?

Hazō the brother. Hazō the clan head. Hazō the lover. In the end, which one of them was he?

Yes.
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Channeling your faflec there I see.

Velorien said:
@RandomOTP, I hope this fulfils your request.
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<3

I don't know about him, but it fulfilled mine. Thank you @Velorien for a chapter that was touching, and true to the characters while showing real character growth and introspection.

@Lord Marshal looks like we don't need to pre-commit those votes anymore
 
Shrooms said:
Love isn't a finite resource (especially when you have shadow clone lololol). I can love someone 100% and still love another person 100%. It's not like you start loving each child you have less when you have another one. Akane may not see it that way though, idk.
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Velorien said:
"This is my selfishness. I want you, Hazō. I want everything about you.

"This love isn't hollow. It's not something I was taught. It's not something I borrowed. It's not the love of a follower. I didn't know it was there until I passed the Oracle's test and he showed me. This love is hungry, and uncompromising, and if it isn't leashed it will destroy.
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Velorien said:
Make me your world the way you've always been mine.
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Velorien said:
no room for escape.
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Velorien said:
"This is my selfishness, Hazō. I want you. All of you without exception."
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Yandere Akane when? :V
 
Sentient Tree said:
Yandere Akane when?
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I'd argue that any time you try to verbally explain romantic love, it's going to sound a little... odd.

Examples include... "my heart developed a murmur when you walked in." "I want to live together with you, always." "I want you to share your life with me, and mine with you, until death do we part." "I want my rotting corpse to lay next to your rotting corpse, buried under six feet of dead stuff!" "I want to spend a huge amount of money on a lengthy ceremony/afterparty that society requires, our god demands, and be surrounded by friends and family neither of us necessarily like." "I want to willingly sign this government contract saying that we'll love each other until one of us dies, upon pain of financial/emotional ruin, just so that we can save money on taxes and share health benefits."

Edit: Don't misunderstand, I'm actually a hopeless romantic at heart, but from an outside perspective? I can understand how romantic love might be described as a form of "socially accepted insanity."
 
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RandomOTP said:
I'd argue that any time you try to verbally explain romantic love, it's going to sound a little... odd.

Examples include... "my heart developed a murmur when you walked in." "I want to live together with you, always." "I want you to share your life with me, and mine with you, until death do we part." "I want my rotting corpse to lay next to your rotting corpse, buried under six feet of dead stuff!" "I want to spend a huge amount of money on a lengthy ceremony/afterparty that society requires, our god demands, and be surrounded by friends and family neither of us necessarily like." "I want to willingly sign this government contract saying that we'll love each other until one of us dies, upon pain of financial/emotional ruin, just so that we can save money on taxes and share health benefits."

Edit: Don't misunderstand, I'm actually a hopeless romantic at heart, but from an outside perspective? I can understand how romantic love might be described as a form of "socially accepted insanity."
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Man, when you put it that way I wonder why so many young people aren't getting married? :thonk:
 
RandomOTP said:
I'd argue that any time you try to verbally explain romantic love, it's going to sound a little... odd.

Examples include... "my heart developed a murmur when you walked in." "I want to live together with you, always." "I want you to share your life with me, and mine with you, until death do we part." "I want my rotting corpse to lay next to your rotting corpse, buried under six feet of dead stuff!" "I want to spend a huge amount of money on a lengthy ceremony/afterparty that society requires, our god demands, and be surrounded by friends and family neither of us necessarily like." "I want to willingly sign this government contract saying that we'll love each other until one of us dies, upon pain of financial/emotional ruin, just so that we can save money on taxes and share health benefits."

Edit: Don't misunderstand, I'm actually a hopeless romantic at heart, but from an outside perspective? I can understand how romantic love might be described as a form of "socially accepted insanity."
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I mean... for me the difficulty lies less in describing romantic love and more in differentiating it from that I feel for close friends. (Incidentally, this is why I consider myself incapable of monamory. The line is blurred to the point of nonexistence for me.)
 
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