- Pronouns
- He/Him
The scene between them is page 23 (reader mode) "Interlude: Sister-in-law". Not quoting because I couldn't actually see what you were looking for there.
Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
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- 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
Chapter 385: The Rainbow Fire That Changes the World
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"…and, like, this was such a brilliant idea, Lord Gōketsu, and I can't believe nobody thought of it before, and it's really true what they say about the Gōketsu being the crazy clan, only, no, I mean it in a good way, and seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting us, Lord Gōketsu!"
"Um," Hazō eloquently responded. "I mean, thank you for coming."
"Oh," the girl added as an afterthought, "I'm Tachibana Minori. Pleased to meetcha." She dipped into a quick bow.
"Tachibana Yuri," her partner introduced herself more shyly.
The pair was a study in contrasts. The taller girl who'd just given him her name had messy black hair, flowing movements, and a penetrating gaze that seemed like it was trying to read the secrets inscribed on Hazō's very soul. The shorter had practically luminous red hair, long and straight, and zipped back and forth as if failing to contain her excitement at the general experience of being alive. Hazō had a feeling there would be some kind of explosion if she and Keiko came into direct contact. Which was a problem because her next words were…
"So where's Lady Nara? She's here, right? Please tell me she's here. I've got respects to pay, and thanks, and maybe more respects, and I have sooo many questions. She is here, right?"
Hazō wordlessly pointed to a sofa at the far end of the main room of the largely-hollow granite shell that was in the slow process of being turned into the continent's greatest dedicated gaming space (that Hazō knew of). Today, among more important purposes, would be a test of the space's acoustics, making sure that the individual rooms were sufficiently soundproof after trials at the Naked Jaybird determined that having more than a couple of games going on in the same space was a catastrophe in audibility terms.
That was probably Keiko, insofar as she was glued to Tenten for emotional support as stranger after stranger accosted her with messages of gratitude and encouragement. The Snowflakes were also present in full force, having stated that parties full of strangers definitely counted as mental resilience training, and that the rare opportunity to gang up on the original in strategy games was just an added bonus.
Hazō frowned. "Did you say you're both named Tachibana? Are you cousins, or…?"
"Oh, my parents disowned me when they found out," Minori said brightly. "Joke's on them—being struck off the family register is legal grounds for changing your name. Who wants to be a lousy Inoue when you can be a proud Tachibana?"
They really were everywhere. Maybe he should let Mari know.
"Ooh, snacks! Talk to you later, Lord Gōketsu!"
Yuri watched her zip off with a fond smile. "I'd better follow her. Have a good evening, Lord Gōketsu."
They were the last of Leaf's officially-out gay population. The first to turn up had been Migaki Kagami, an intimidating taijutsu user with biceps Shikigami-sensei would have approved of, and reportedly one of Tsunade's least favourite people due to what happened to inpatient numbers whenever somebody so much as breathed an unkind word about her civilian girlfriend.
Flamboyant self-proclaimed sealing genius Okama Rintarō seemed to be under the impression that he was here because Hazō was in awe of his skills and winning personality, and this was a preliminary to adoption. Hazō half-suspected he was too self-absorbed to notice that his open homosexuality was in any way strange or controversial. He'd also had a quiet word with Kagome-sensei, who told him he had never heard the name.
Naishō Aburi, an older woman with a cold gaze and constantly twitching fingers, was acting as if the party was a trap waiting to be sprung, and Hazō had to keep reminding himself that, for all her hostile attitude, she'd taken the leap of faith and come anyway. According to Mari, her life had been destroyed by an act of blackmail by someone using her to target one of her superiors.
Yoku Hatten, formerly a nondescript desk jockey (which had made him very lucky as crippled clanless went), had chosen to roll with the punch after a poorly-timed ANBU internal investigation caught him with his boyfriend, and was now the owner of Leaf's most colourful wardrobe, the Elemental Nations' most stylish goatee, and an elaborately-carved walking stick he referred to as his fourth leg. He apparently took his boyfriend's refusal to attend as license to flirt freely with all the men, including Hazō, who had to be rescued by a well-timed Akane.
Seme Dosu and Maso Kyōsuke were grizzled chūnin who'd decided, after one near-death experience too many, that life was too short to let their happiness be determined by public opinion, and made a smooth transition from fierce rivals to equally fierce lovers. It was apparently rare to see them apart, the gentle, feminine Seme reining in the burly, aggressive Maso's temper while Maso rather more violently reined in the tempers of those around them. Right now, they were engaged in debating over his choice of tributes to fallen Leaf heroes, and arguing whether the famous Narukami-Hanamura duo had really been heterosexual life partners (Seme) or going at it like monkeys (Maso).
Finally, the newly-renamed Kei Anko had turned up last, only to congratulate Hazō on his growth and loudly demand when the next orgy would be starting. The party had nearly sunk there and then.
Unfortunately, that was that. Not to say the gaming night was a failure. The invitations had netted over two dozen other people, including seven Nara (in addition to Shikamaru and Shiori), one Yamanaka (in addition to Ino), one Inuzuka, and three Kei (including Kei Haruka). However, all were, at least allegedly, just supporters—the invitation had not inspired anyone new to take a stance.
"Hazō."
"Keiko?"
Keiko nodded. "Hazō, I would like to apologise to you."
"You do?" Hazō asked. "Whatever for?"
"Snowflake's behaviour towards you at Yuno's engagement party was… unacceptable. I was mortified when I remembered. Please, accept my most sincere apologies."
"Snowflake's… oh." Hazō felt himself blush, but after his experience talking to Yoku, it barely registered as uncomfortable. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't offended at all."
"Good," Keiko said. "You can be assured that we had words on the subject the next day. In fact—"
Then, something very strange happened.
Ami walked into the main room. (This in itself wasn't strange because this was, officially, an event to support Keiko.)
Keiko and the Snowflakes' heads simultaneously pivoted to face her, ignoring whatever they had been in the middle of doing. (This in itself also wasn't unusual.)
Then, after a second's hesitation, every Snowflake dispelled herself at once.
Keiko's eyes widened. "Excuse me," she choked out, then turned and ran from the building. Hazō made to follow, but stopped when Ami shook her head.
"Leave it, Hazō," she said softly. "She'll come back."
"Is she all right?" Hazō found himself asking what on reflection was a rather stupid question.
"Keiko's fine," Ami said. "How's the gaming night?"
"Still in the early stages," Hazō said. "We're letting people socialise for a bit before we split up into groups. I was hoping for more of a… gay presence, though."
Ami scanned the crowd for a few seconds. "Oh, there is one. But if they haven't made themselves known to you, I'm not going to do it."
Which, he supposed, was fair.
"Say, Ami," he asked before she could make a beeline for the snacks, "I know you've come tonight because of Keiko, but I have been wondering, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to…"
While he was still looking for the right phrasing, Ami shrugged. "Dunno. Can't really remember."
"You can't remember?"
"Mmm. Think we can get enough people together for a game of special-rules Yakuza, or should we save that for later in the night once all the gaming cherries have been popped and the newbies are up for some more serious action?"
Hazō could feel, with no need for information from his senses, Anko grin in delight as she overheard that one sentence from wherever she was at the other end of the building.
He gave a silent groan. "Ami, you know Kei Anko, right?"
"Duh."
"Go fix what you broke."
Ami paused for a second, bridging the inferential gap.
"It would be my pleasure."
-o-
"Get the hell away from me, you freak!"
Hazō, passing by outside on his way to get a drink, leapt into the room. "You were warned… Yasaki. There will be no intolerant behaviour—"
Yasaki, a prematurely-bald, hook-nosed ninja, ignored Hazō. "It's an orphanage, Midnight Oath. We are not burning down an orphanage! What is wrong with you?"
Yoku sitting next to her at the gaming table, gave a leisurely smile. "I am a massacre maiden of Lord Jashin, boy. It is my sacred duty to offer up a sacrifice of blood to him on a full moon. Or are you questioning my freedom of religion?"
"Excuse me," Hazō said. "Massacre what?"
"I gave them some of our old character sheets to speed things up," Noburi said awkwardly. "I did offer to take that one back, but after he tried a few lines…"
"Stand aside, Rolling Marble. Lord Jashin's hunger is beyond a mortal's power to arrest," Yoku added ominously.
"I thought you were playing Pony Country Adventures!" Hazō exclaimed.
"Oh, we are," Noburi said. "Yoku is playing a blood pony. Hanabi statted them out and everything."
"Back down, both of you," a third player growled. "There's no rule saying I can't use Create Icing Sugar inside your lungs."
And to think Mari had been sceptical when he'd suggested using a children's game to introduce beginners to roleplaying.
-o-
Hazō paused to take stock as the evening wore on.
Off to his left, a guest ran out of the building with his hands over his mouth. There were sounds of violent vomiting. Apparently, Dungeon Keeper Ami's Call of Kurama adventure was going well.
In a corner, a serious-looking Migaki had her hand on Shiori's shoulder, and was in the process of imparting some kind of wisdom to her. Shiori was arguing with her, but it didn't seem like something Hazō should get involved in.
All of the other Nara in attendance had gravitated to a Strategic Dominance table, where a returned Keiko had teamed up with Tenten and was busy systematically conquering the world as a preferable alternative to social interaction. The Tachibanas hovered nearby, providing running commentary and cheering Keiko on (to her irritation).
The Heterosexual Life Partner Faction and the Going at It Like Monkeys Faction had grown too large to compete directly, and their chosen champions were now engaged in a no-holds-barred game of Civilian Burger to settle the issue once and for all.
A few minutes later, as a series of cheers, lamentations, and people collapsing in nervous exhaustion indicated various games coming to an end, Hazō judged that the time was right.
"Everyone, thank you for coming," he said. "I appreciate that it must have taken courage to be here tonight, and I promise you that if you have any consequences from that, the Gōketsu will have your back all the way.
"Tonight has been about letting people be true to themselves. I don't think there's anything more important. Being true to yourself is the only way to be happy. Nature itself tells us that it's the right thing to do, because those who are best at it end up becoming jōnin, with their very self as one of their strongest weapons.
"Our society isn't set up to make sure people are happy and strong. At any time, it's the most vocal group that decides what society believes, and that can work out well—everybody believing in the Will of Fire is what makes Leaf the best of the villages—or it can work out badly, when the innocent get repressed by a hostile majority. Is it just, is it fair, for the minority to hunch their shoulders and submit, making themselves less than they are just so they can win a tiny bit of tolerance from their oppressors?
"The hell it is. We are all born equal. We all have our own strengths, our own contributions to offer to each other and this village. We're all different, but our differences don't make some better and others worse. There's no such thing as a person who doesn't deserve to exist the way they are. Yet even the strongest among us have to hide their true selves, or be dismissed as anomalies, errors in need of correction. I know many of the people here know how that feels first-hand.
"Tonight is your night, not mine. If there are any of you who want to share your story, please come up here. I would be very grateful to hear it."
The silence was deafening.
People watched, and waited, and nobody came forward.
Hazō was just about to give up and move on, when…
"Oh, this is so dumb!"
Tachibana Minori appeared in front of Hazō like a luminously red-haired fairy popping into existence out of nowhere to save the day.
"Come on, people, what is wrong with you? What do you think we're here for, the snacks? Snacks were awesome, by the way, thanks, Lord Gōketsu, I'll owe ya bigtime if you can get Yuri the recipe for those spicy twist things with the red powder. All right, maybe we're a little bit here for the snacks, but mostly we're here because Lady Nara's awesome, Lord Gōketsu's awesome, and they're doing for us what the coordinators have been doing for the whole KEI, a.k.a. standing up for us because apparently we don't have the guts to stand up for ourselves.
"Here, I'll show you how it's done. First, let me get this out there, boys suck. No offense to you, boys of the world, but you do. Everyone kept pushing me into dating boys, because apparently that's the best part of being alive, but boys have no style, they can't kiss to save their lives, and they think going around grunting like a shaved monkey makes you look cool. Now girls, girls are great, they're all soft, and squishy, and there's a thousand different ways to be pretty when you're a girl, and anyone with half a brain can tell boys are getting the better side of the deal, but I learned real quick not to say any of that out loud because… well, let's just say things were bad when I did. So I kinda resigned myself to dying alone and unloved, because if the alternative was having to spend my life with a boy—oh, uh, but no offense to you, Lord Gōketsu, I'm sure you're nothing like a real boy—well, either way, my specialisation has a low life expectancy, so I figured I didn't have to worry too much. A few years and maybe I'd get to be reborn as a boy, and then I wouldn't be able to kiss to save my life, but all the girls would be into me for some reason anyway, and that's what counts.
"Then one day there's this joint mission, and Cap goes, 'Here, meet Tachibana Yuri from', and that's all I hear, because damn if she's not drop dead gorgeous, and suddenly all my brainpower's reserved for soaking her in, and maybe I miss the rest of the briefing because of that and things go to hell later, but let's not sweat the details. So I figure, there's my plan, I'll die saving her heroically from something or other, and that way I can say my life had meaning, and if I'm fast, I might get reborn as a boy before the age gap gets too big and things turn creepy.
"Anyway, long mission, and guess what? She's not just drop dead gorgeous. She's smart, she's sexy—"Hazō could see Yuri digging herself into her armchair as if wishing it would swallow her—"she can logistic with the best of 'em, and she doesn't joke much, but when she does, she's got a deadpan to die for. And then… And then… this one night, way out in the ass-end of the Fire Country, I see her writing in a scroll by candlelight, and I ask what she's doing, and she tries to get out of showing me, but I'm the curious type and she might as well try to shake off a piranha, and half a night later, I finally get her to show me, and it's poetry. Like proper, classical poetry." Yuri's squirming intensified. "And that's it. Done caring that I'm a girl. Done waiting. She must be mine. Now.
"I said that. I swear to the Sage of Six Paths I actually used those words, because if I didn't do it that second, I'd think twice, and if I thought twice I'd realise how crazy it'd be for a girl to confess to another girl, and if I realised that, it'd all be over and I might as well go kill myself because I'd be too much of a coward to ever be happy.
"So I said, 'Be mine.' And she just stared at me like she couldn't say anything. And I figured that was it, I was screwed, and I might as well jump in front of an enemy kunai now, but then I thought maybe I just wasn't being polite, because that's a thing I have a problem with, and I added, 'Please.' And she still didn't say anything, because apparently I'd just killed whatever the part of the brain is that lets people speak, and instead she just rolled through the scroll a bit and showed me this… this… Yuri, how long did it take you to come up with that many rhymes for 'Inoue'?"
Yuri, bright red, didn't respond.
"Sorry, love, I'll make it up to you. Anyway, the rest of the mission was hell, because I may be dumb, but I'm not dumb enough to pounce another girl right in front of Cap and all the other ninja, and maybe also hell because did I mention I missed most of the briefing because I was too busy worshipping? Yeah, that mission? Most epic screw-up of my life, in every sense.
"Long story short, Yuri lived alone, I moved in 'because the rent was cheap', and suddenly everything was right. Seriously, everyone should find themselves a girl, boys, girls, everyone—even the boys who only like boys should at least find one to hug, because girls are squishy and it's fantastic. Only then it sucked because I still wasn't allowed to tell anyone that, and I couldn't shout about how awesome Yuri was from the top of the Hokage Monument either, which is like the most obvious thing to do once you get to know her." Yuri at this point had her hands over her face. "We were super discreet, and it… ugh. Like, yeah, we're totally just flatmates, and I am not hopelessly in love with this incredible girl, and why am I not allowed to kiss her right in front of you when all the boys who suck at kissing so much get to kiss their girlfriends wherever, whenever they like? How is that in any way fair?
"And then we heard about Lady Nara, who was like, 'Screw you, Clan Council, I can like girls if I want and there's nothing you can do about it', and it was like light from the Deva Path, and Yuri and I were all, finally, somebody gets it, and if Lady Nara could do it for her girlfriend, who, uh, I don't actually know anything about, but I bet she's really cool, then how lame would it be if we couldn't do it for each other when we don't even have politics to think about?
"So that's us now. We hold hands in public. Bring on the revolution."
Several dozen people stared in silence as their brains struggled to catch up with the flow of narration. Yuri was a bright, radiant crimson.
"Thank you, Tachibana," Hazō finally rallied. "Anyone else?"
However, after several seconds, it became apparent that nobody had it in themselves to follow that. Hazō mentally arranged the next part of his speech and opened his mouth when—
"Um. Excuse me. M-May I?"
A lanky man with untidy black hair stood up uncertainly.
"Um, it's, um, not something I've ever, you know, talked about. But maybe Miss Tachibana's, um, right. Maybe it should be talked about. Or something. I—I mean…"
"Take your time," Hazō said encouragingly.
"I mean," the man said, "it's never really made sense to me, you know? That is, why is it important? Um, I mean, men and women, they're just words. I look at people and I see, um, people. I don't know why it's important if they have breasts or, um, you know. Doesn't everyone say love is about what is, um, on the inside? So why is it right to love one half and, um, wrong to love the other one?
"Women are nice. Men are, um, a different kind of nice. I think. I've never, you know, been with a man. And, and I think Lord Gōketsu's right. Maybe that's not, um, fair. Hidden Rock is out there t-trying to kill us all, and I have to worry about who I love?" His voice rose. "It isn't right. It isn't fair. I-I know most people don't see the world like I do, but why am I not allowed to even talk about it? It's not treason! It doesn't put the village in danger! It's love! How can there be something wrong with love? The Will of Fire is supposed to be love!"
He glared up at the ceiling as if it was a representative of the public consciousness.
"Thank you…"
"Futa Ryōsei, my lord."
"Thank you, Futa. I really appreciate you sharing that with us."
"Come see me afterwards, young man," Yoku Hatten purred. "It seems we have much to discuss."
Nothing more seemed to be forthcoming. Time to finish up.
"I think I should say something about myself too," Hazō said. "Like you, I've been afraid. Not just afraid to talk; afraid to think. What if I'm attracted to boys myself? It's not something I've even been able to think about. But it's time for that to change. If I'm to help change Leaf for the better, then I have to be part of that change. I'm not going to let my fears stop me from finding out any longer. If I'm attracted to boys, so be it. I will remain true to myself, no matter what happens, and I hope you all support me in that just as I'm ready to support you in whatever trials you face."
The murmurs that had started up after Futa's story died instantly. Everyone stared at Hazō in shock. He caught sight of Akane's blindsided expression and inwardly winced. He also noticed Ino not looking anywhere near struck as he'd hoped she would be.
It wasn't true, of course. Hazō had never been afraid to think about his sexuality. There was no barrier for him to overcome with courage and resolve. It was just that… he'd never been attracted to boys. It hadn't come up. He'd been attracted to a few girls, and after fifteen years, that seemed like grounds to declare case closed. If he ever found himself attracted to a boy, that would be quite a shock, but he figured he'd just handle it the way he handled everything else—with introspection and support from his family, followed by a decision to either act or let sleeping dogs lie. This wasn't an act of self-revelation on his part, but an expression of empathy.
Of course, Mari had warned him that there could be consequences. As far as Hazō was concerned, what he'd said wasn't particularly controversial. Even the worst bigot would surely agree that it was better to know one's preferences than not to know them. But according to Mari, that innocent reading might not be the one Leaf at large took in the current charged atmosphere. The step between willingness to explore the possibility of bisexuality and wishing to be bisexual was subtle enough to be lost on many (and indeed, while Hazō had no particular wish to be bisexual, he could see a kind of sense in Futa's words), to say nothing of the interpretation that he was actually bisexual (to a bigot, nobody would be willingly open to the possibility of being gay or bi), or just flat-out gay and in a fake romantic relationship, like his sister and Shikamaru.
Still, he'd chosen to make his stand. He could hardly call upon people to come out of the closet and accept the social consequences if he was too scared of said consequences to let others even question his own sexuality.
And so, people stared. A few had what he hoped were lights of hope and admiration in their eyes. Most were stunned. A few… a few's expressions had gone cold, as if they'd recognised the hollowness in his words, and decided they were being talked down to. He hoped he'd be able to sway them in time.
"Everyone here embodies the Will of Fire," he said firmly, hoping to sweep the doubters into the tide of his greater point. "There is not one person here who is less loyal to Leaf, less prepared to sacrifice, just because they love a woman where others love men, or vice versa. All of us here will die for the village if that is what the Will of Fire demands of us. We are no different, no lesser, than the great heroes of the past. Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai. Tanaka and Ōta. Narukami and Hanamura. Others whose portraits stand side by side in this hall tonight. These men and women are uncontestable proof that a different love does not mean a lesser love—of each other, of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or of the Will of Fire. Their place in our legends is proof that sometimes it can even be greater.
"The Gōketsu will give no less than they did. We will go pretty damn far to change this world.
"You've all heard of the Hagoromo Clan's bigotry. They think my sister should apologise for being who she is. They think the Will of Fire is the Will of Hatred. I've read the First Hokage's works. I can tell you now, without hesitation: they are wrong. The Will of Fire is love. It is the love that protects. If the Hagoromo's interpretation threatens the unity of Leaf, if it threatens people's right to be who they are, then it is up to us to be the love that protects Leaf from their corruption. I will challenge the Hagoromo, head-on and in public. Will you stand with me?"
Silence. Discomfort. Shuffling.
"Hell yeah!"
Tachibana Minori.
"C'mon, what is wrong with you people? Isn't this what you've been waiting for, like, your entire lives? Didn't we spend our lives sitting around complaining until the coordinators gave the KEI a kick up the backside and it turned out we were unstoppable? Do we have to go through all that again? Look at us! We're here, we're finally all together, and we've even got a bunch of people who aren't gay enough for my liking but are pretty damn cool just for being here. Thanks, guys, I love you all! Lady Nara's proven herself ten times over, and Lord Gōketsu may be clan, but if he's ready to make the ultimate sacrifice of having to kiss boys, then he's one of us and no mistake!
"And the Hagoromo? The Hagoromo say straight up that they won't let me and Yuri get married because of the Will of Hatred, so I say if Lord Gōketsu wants to kick their repressed, bony asses, I'm gonna be right there handing him my spikiest boots! Only, you know, bigger, 'cause I have little girl feet, and Lord Gōketsu has big boy feet, and the Hagoromo have asses the size of the eastern continent even though they can't find them with both hands and a map."
Tachibana Yuri stepped up beside her. "It really is that simple," she said in a soft but determined voice. "There is a festering wound at the heart of this village. Most people turn their eyes away from the ugliness and pretend it doesn't exist. I've spent my life as one of them. But the Hagoromo are like maggots, breeding in the rot and nibbling away at the healthy flesh on the edges. They are a corruption of the holiness we were promised. We can be parasites, clinging to our individual little lives and letting the village sustain us until the rot finally kills it. Or we can start healing it. We may not be strong, or clever, or skilled. We may be hopelessly outnumbered. But the Will of Fire is with us, and while to the righteous it is the love that protects, to the corrupt… it burns."
After a few seconds, Yoku Hatten hobbled up to stand next to them, though he didn't say anything. Seme and Maso followed, arms crossed.
After a few seconds more, Anko joined them.
"Jeez, people," she complained, "the Gōketsu are inviting you to make trouble for the assholes who've been bitching at you their whole lives, and this is the best they get? Well, I'm in. You guys are going to feel so stupid when this village is one big sexy free-for-all and we're heroes swimming in studs and babes while you're sitting there all on your own 'cause you were too scared to step up."
The Gōketsu drifted in from across the room to make up the numbers. Noburi, taking advantage of Yuno's absence, gave the bouncier Tachibana a friendly wink. She mimed sewing her lips shut, but gave him the thumbs-up. Mari and Akane stood side by side next to Keiko, Shikamaru, Shiori, and Tenten. Kagome-sensei lurked in the background, as far out of public sight as possible, but unwilling to stay away. Hazō had hoped until the last minute that Haru would join them, but while the boy was in favour of both supporting Keiko and crushing the Hagoromo, it seemed he had his limits. Ami stood in the middle, unfairly obscuring Hazō with her greater height, and beckoned, leading several KEI ninja to join them.
Finally, Hazō judged that this was as good as he was going to get.
"We will be the fire that changes the world," he promised. "A rainbow fire that no one has ever seen before, drawing power from all the different colours humanity has to offer. The rest of you may not be able to believe it yet, but just keep watching. We'll prove to you that this is a fight that can be won, and will be won. Spread the word: a new world starts tonight, and anyone who's willing to stand against the Will of Hatred is welcome to add their fire to ours anytime."
-o-
You have received 4 x (4 – 2) + 1 XP = 9 XP.
-o-
2 days remain until Asuma's deadline.
What do you do?
Voting closes on Saturday 31st of October, 1 p.m. New York time.
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I think we should talk to Keiko about being hard on her clone-sisters. Sure, they're bad at socializing, but they're new to their identities and social interaction. Surely if Keiko can forgive all the times Hazou's dined on his own foot, she can be a little lenient with the growing pains of Snowflake/etc's social interactions?
Edit: or maybe I'm being to harsh with my interpretation of Keiko's conversation with Snowflake. Maybe it was less an outraged "How dare you..." and more an embarrassed "I can't believe you..."
Edit2: a lovely chapter, @Velorien! Made me smile and made my day all the brighter for having read it ^.^
Edit: or maybe I'm being to harsh with my interpretation of Keiko's conversation with Snowflake. Maybe it was less an outraged "How dare you..." and more an embarrassed "I can't believe you..."
Edit2: a lovely chapter, @Velorien! Made me smile and made my day all the brighter for having read it ^.^
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Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
Boy, that might not have been a great idea. Not that it isn't a great deal of support, but if we go back to living basically an entirely heterosexual life after this it might have...optics.
Still, on the whole, fuck yeah.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I feel like the whole point of that exercise is that Hazou should be able to say this and NOT have any optics
Any issues that do arise from it are what he was railing against when he said it, even amongst our own family. Latent bigotry is a thing even when you've reformed. Completely erasing those thought patterns takes some serious elbow grease and exposure therapy
- Location
- The state of Paranoia
Trying to improve Truth Lost In The Fog? That's the only way I can think of to forget one's own sexuality.
We f***ed up. If the Hagoromo get word that we're 'slandering the Will of Fire' we're in huge trouble since we did it before the marriage.
Also we just started a religious war. Why did we decide to start a religious war?
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I see what you did there.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I didn't understand that line either
Nah, we can just argue that the Hagoromo are slandering and warping the will of fire with their vile beliefs. The love and acceptance of the will of fire are what inspired us to reject our barbaric heritage and join leaf or whatever, so decreed by the fifth hokage, but this vitriol for Leaf's own people will only make us weaker.
- Location
- The Void
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Nahh chief this went pretty much as planned. And we started a religious war because it was the right thing to do and it raised the stakes
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
Basically this. Thread temperature has been rising steadily, and we were already planning on breaking the Hags over what they did to us and our sister. Might as well grab a religious victory too.
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I don't think so. The way I read Hazou's point was that heterosexuality is the "default assumption" for most people, and that he's never even considered questioning it. Or, if he's ever idly wondered --in the safety of his own mind --he's discounted it out of hand because the "default assumption" was close enough that there was never an undue amount of personal conflict.
My read of this chapter is that the conflict with the Hagoromo has given Hazou enough moral outrage to seriously consider "well, why should I assume the default is accurate? Why can't I honestly examine my own nature and preferences for anything different than 'the norm?' Because some old man on a power trip would waggle his finger at me? Because some bigot would think less of me? Fuck them, it's time for some introspection."
Besides, Hazou-as-a-character might examine himself and find that he's not at the far-straight end of the Kinsey Scale as he'd previously assumed. Or, Hazou-as-a-character might realize (as a product of his introspection) that a monogamous lifestyle really is/isn't for him and that such a relationship dynamic would kill his soul. Or perhaps Hazou-as-a-character will find that he's towards the demisexual end of the sexuality spectrum/gradient. Or maybe Hazou's polyamorous but also demisexual, or some other combination of romantic/sexual inclinations.
Point being, this update has laid a great deal of narrative groundwork so that the QMs have a great deal of freedom to write Hazou's personal character arc in whatever way they desire.
(While I recognize that this is probably a needless point to bring up, I would feel... remiss, I suppose, if I didn't point out that, just because someone appears to have a heterosexual lifestyle from the outside, that doesn't necessarily mean this is the case. To use a "relatively simple" example, a bisexual individual becomes neither heterosexual/gay simply because they're dating someone of the opposite/same gender, nor is that bisexual individual required to clarify their sexuality whenever outside parties look upon their relationship and come to an incorrect assumption. I know that this wasn't your intent, and that your only concern was the narrative implications of Hazou's words, but I just wanted to address the possible implications that a phrase such as "living basically an entirely heterosexual life" might imply, especially in the context of a teenager who's seriously examining their sexuality.)
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- Location
- Under a Rock
Huh. I kind of expected Lee to be there.
This was good. I mean, its obviously wonderful for the people in universe, but from a realpolitik powergaming perspective, it is super useful. This is yet another powerful and useful social organization that feels deeply indebted to us.
Is doubling down an option? We could submit the idea of an LGBT+ support group as one of our ideas for Asuma's contest. It is clearly beneficial, and forcing the Hokage to take our side will continue bringing the hammer down on the Hagoromo. Getting him to do that will be tricky, and forcing him might have serious consequences.
If we do go that route, we need a writing campaign. Leaf has a well oiled propaganda machine, see if we can use some of that machine to get as much conversation as we can going our way. Set Asuma up to become popular by taking our side.
This was good. I mean, its obviously wonderful for the people in universe, but from a realpolitik powergaming perspective, it is super useful. This is yet another powerful and useful social organization that feels deeply indebted to us.
Is doubling down an option? We could submit the idea of an LGBT+ support group as one of our ideas for Asuma's contest. It is clearly beneficial, and forcing the Hokage to take our side will continue bringing the hammer down on the Hagoromo. Getting him to do that will be tricky, and forcing him might have serious consequences.
If we do go that route, we need a writing campaign. Leaf has a well oiled propaganda machine, see if we can use some of that machine to get as much conversation as we can going our way. Set Asuma up to become popular by taking our side.
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- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
So, uh, what exactly does this represent for Shadow Clone? I'm not sure how to parse the (4 - 2) bit.
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
Thank you for the benefit of the doubt. Yes, I do know that one can have a lifestyle separate from the one they appear to have, but the appearance is what I'm concerned about. We've already seen that there's a faction that thinks they're only being pandered to, and I don't want to drive anyone away that might think we're 'lying' about being bi. Basically I don't want to accidentally walk into a face full of bisexual erasure if our political enemies decide to say we're 'not gay enough' in order to fracture support amongst our new allies.
This is probably veering into an unreasonable concern, since I somehow doubt we're actually going to be accused of not agitating enough, but I'm a categorically anxious person.
I think Asuma's contest is over. Not that the idea is without merit, obviously.
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- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
As a fellow anxious person, I might be a biased perspective, but I think your worry is a valid one. However, if Hazou's called out for "not being gay enough," then we can point out that they're pulling a Hagoromo and declaring that "you're not openly [lifestyle] enough, so I'm going to condemn you." Then we can follow it up with "not that's it's any of your business, but [aforementioned QM-decided personal revelations on Hazou-as-a-character's nature]."
Which, even if Hazou-as-a-character's revelations are of the "Okay, no, I'm the rare 100% heterosexual on the Kinsey Scale" variety, we can point out that part of this movement is, indeed, allowing people to comfortably question and examine themselves of the possibility of non-heterosexual/non-traditional inclinations without fear of judgement for whatever they might find. Sure, a percentage of people who honestly examine their sexuality will find that they are, indeed, heterosexual. But that fact doesn't undermine the tolerant environment that allowed such an honest introspection to occur in the first place.
Edit: I actually think the Kinsey Scale is kinda bad in how binary it is, by it's nature of a "scale," but it's a useful enough conversational shortcut to convey the points I'm trying to make.
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- Location
- The state of Paranoia
Well, no one got outed without wanting to be, so I'm happy about that. I don't agree with starting a religious war, but there's not much I can do about it either.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Organically, but it didn't take terribly long for her to develop a crush on Mari. I think it was made official in Chapter 30, when Noburi tries to confess his crush, and Keiko thinks he's sharing her admiration of Mari.
4 base, -2 brevity penalty, total 2/day.
Emstar
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Holy shit my bloody sides hahahahahahaha
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[x] Action Plan: A Plan of Action
Words: 174
Timeline: one day, max
Optimize with Mari, Keiko, Gaku and (only if they're available and also if enlisting their aid is sanity-checked by Mari) the Nara and Ami
Words: 174
Timeline: one day, max
Optimize with Mari, Keiko, Gaku and (only if they're available and also if enlisting their aid is sanity-checked by Mari) the Nara and Ami
- Aura, fight
- Mari, honesty time, how well would we compare against you in combat? Against Lord Hag?
- Do we know why he wasn't at BotG? Best guess?
- Would his age work against him? Bad joints, old wounds, stiff fingers, etc?
- Mari, train us against aura. Jiraiya thought it was pointless, but was also willing to help. Be gentle with us.
- If Mari advises against it due to possible injury, impacting eventual Hag duel: settle for info, followed by a spar.
- Mari, honesty time, how well would we compare against you in combat? Against Lord Hag?
- Papermill, crush
- Either through hired intermediary (sufficiently anti-Hag and stealthy, filtered by the aforementioned people) or personally (via summons/seals?)
- If intermediary:
- Suggest hiring Anko through KEI through Ami?
- Provide resources as needed (flammable oil (via Toads), sealwork, etc) pending sanity check
- If intermediary:
- Either through hired intermediary (sufficiently anti-Hag and stealthy, filtered by the aforementioned people) or personally (via summons/seals?)
- Blacksmith, get
- Write Letter, offer generous grant, negotiate all details except for being sole customer (filter/optimize through aforementioned people)
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- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
So, that's 16 base (4 base x 4 days), or do brevity penalties apply to SC XP where brevity bonuses don't?
Assuming base 16 for now, if you feel differently then let me know and I'll make a new one:
SC Math for Chapter 385 (Applied):
@eaglejarl, @Velorien
By the SOPs, Keiko is training with 4 clones and Akane is training with 3. With 16 base XP, the SC payouts are:
- Keiko: +6.4 XP (16 x0.4)
- Akane: +4.8 XP (16 x0.3)
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- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Added, thanks.