Cosmos Quest (Naruto/Lupin III Collaborative Roleplay)

Well, my abdominal muscles are still pissed at me for coughing so much, and there's still all sorts of phlegm and shit in my lungs, but by the merciful intervention of my roommate I have acquired a roll of cough-suppressing congestion-easing lozenges, so let's see if I can't wrestle out something worth reading before I descend back into the endless cycle of breathe-in-burble-burble-cough-phantom-stab-in-the-ovaries-cough-COUGH!-COUGH!-sigh-cry-spit-in-tissues-breathe-in.

... yeah, sorry to be so graphic. It helps me feel better. .__.;

We can bear with that, as long as you get better.

Remember having that in december, have free feels: I know it sucks.

[X] What The Water Gave Me

When you lay down your pen from describing Earth, you decide it's about time you asked.

"Dad? What's all this meditation stuff for?"

He finishes his tea in a final, long drink. "What do you think it's for, Ino?"

Okay, this game, then. "I thought it was to help figure out my elemental affinity, but then you wanted me to go back and work on Earth after we already found out it's Water. Then I thought it was for sensing, until I tried it during tessen practice and found out why that's a terrible idea." You take a deep breath, and think about how you want to phrase what comes next.

"Yuji-sensei said that elemental meditation was originally developed to help with senjutsu training," Dad looks surprised that you even know what senjutsu is, "but it's also used for other stuff that isn't senjutsu, so it must have its own point; something it shows you that helps with senjutsu, but takes its own final route to some other destination. You said all of this was leading into a clan technique, and since you're not a sage-"

The pair of you share a smile that says, how would you know if I were?

"-my guess is that there's a special family genjutsu that requires elemental meditation," you conclude. "You can't teach me the mind-switching stuff because there's no way to find out before practicing it if I'll kill whoever I switch with, so you're gonna teach me the family genjutsu instead."

Dad beams. "Incorrect."

You slump. Of course.

He pats your hair. "The reason you haven't learned the Mind-Body Switch Technique yet is because no one learns it until they're at least ten. Medic's orders. It has nothing to do with your mental static."

Goddamnit, that's his answer every time you want to learn to use your family superpowers! But the most basic one? A C-rank? Even genin can do C-rank jutsu. "Why can't I do any cool stuff until I'm older?!" you whine.

"Excuse me?" Dad asks, glaring down his nose disapprovingly. "If you're forgetting, you're in the middle of learning something cool right now. Unless I should wait until you're in a better mood...?"

You quickly straighten up and shake your head. You didn't do all this meditation for nothing.

Dad gives you a that's-what-I-thought nod.

"Do you know the parable of the daimyo and the maidservant, Ino?" he asks in his story-starting voice.

"In the days before the hidden villages were founded, the daimyo of Earth was one of the most powerful men in the world, and well-known for the size, quality, and frequency of his feasts.

"One day, during a luxurious luncheon, there was a serious earthquake that collapsed the roof of the dining hall and crushed several dozen Earth Country nobles to death.

"When the families of those who had been attending the feast came to their ruler and begged him to tell them if their loved ones had escaped, and to release their bodies for burial if they had not, the daimyo found himself stymied. There had been no formal seating plan; how was he to determine who was who amongst the rubble and the gruesome mockery of tangled limbs? How could he be sure of returning the bodies to their rightful families?

"It was then that a maidservant spoke up, and began to point out where each guest had been seated, without any hesitation. In some cases she even managed to specifically note people who had left the hall before the earthquake began and when.

"Later, when all of her claims had been confirmed by personal effects found on the corpses, the daimyo was intrigued to know how she came to remember where everyone was sitting.

"Oh, it was simple, she replied. She merely had to arrange the tables in her mind along with what everyone had been served for their dinner, and everything else just fell into place."

Dad pulls a book off the shelf, and hands it to you. The cover reads, The World Inside The Gourd, with no subtitle or author listed.

"A room or house rebuilt inside a person's mind and filled with things or people that trigger recall of important information is called a memory palace." Dad's voice is more serious than you've ever heard it.

He looks you dead in the eye, and before you can look away he's flickered through a series of handseals.

Your eyes widen, and you gasp.

The living room is gone.

You and your father are at the park; you're sitting on a bench, he's standing balanced on the teeter-totter, one foot on either side of the fulcrum. The sky above you is clear and sunny, with the occasional cloud drifting by.

Surrounding the park on all sides is a wall, with hundreds of ninja standing shoulder to shoulder along its top.

You wave, for lack of anything else to do. A few of the shinobi wave back.

"A world designed to hold and defend multiple memory palaces," Dad says, "is called a dream complex."

On cue, flags spring up above the treeline in the village beyond the park, flapping in the light breeze.

You stare at dad.

"... I thought you said this wasn't going to be about genjutsu."

Dad shrugs. "It isn't." And, hopping down from the teeter-totter, he scoops you up and easily leaps the containment wall in a single bound. The guarding shinobi turn as one man and salute, then go back to watching the park.

The village is... well, it's still Konohagakure, but it's kind of creepy; there's no one around, despite the nice weather. And the signs on businesses seem to be different from what you remember; the ice cream store is a block and a half down from where it usually is, and it has a C in its logo instead of an O.

"Where are we?" you ask.

"The great weakness of genjutsu, that no illusion can match reality perfectly," Dad lectures, racing through the streets, "is the greatest strength of world-sculpting.

"No person's view of reality is the same as anyone else's, for the simple reason that no mind is the same as any other mind." With catlike grace he launches himself to the rooftops and leaps across the chasms between them. "All have received different life experiences; all process information in their own way."

You're halfway across town now. One of the closer flags seems to beckon you, but dad ignores it. "This means that when one enters the mind of a genjutsu target to do one's work, one is at the mercy of their suspension of disbelief; one must maintain the finest control of every detail to keep them unaware longer than a few seconds, doing as much as possible to simulate the real world.

"A world-sculptor has no such limitations."

And then the two of you are flying.

"No kai or physical injury can remove the subject from this world, because it is not the Yamanaka Clan's special family genjutsu. Rather, it is our ultimate expression of genjitsu. When people outside of the Yamanaka still practiced the technique, scholars called it 'the world inside the gourd'.

"To us, it is 'the throne at the heart of the mountain'."

"Dad?!" You cling to him - in a totally cool kind of way, not in a little girl kind of way. "Where are we?!"

"In my mind."

The pair of you descend, coming to rest atop Hokage Tower. Dad smiles at you. "Well? How do you like it? The view isn't the same as the real one, but..."

You look out at the panorama, but are too distracted by all this crazy new bullshit to really take it in. "How does this connect to the meditation?" you ask. "If you say the possibilities of what you can do in here are endless, why limit that to an approximation of the real world?"

Dad gestures at the city around you. "What you're looking at now is one of my earliest designs; I didn't want to disturb you your first time out, so I decided to take you to one of the Konohas. I have other complexes that are a lot wilder, believe me.

"Regardless," he continues, "in order to construct a new reality, you must first have a proper understanding of the one you were born into. You can't draw a landscape if you don't understand the concept of a horizon, and you can't build a world if you don't understand the elements as they relate to you and each other."

You agree with that, though you have to say, privately, that you think it'd help more to know about the real elements than the sparkly magic ones. And math. You think some good clean math would streamline this whole operation.

But, well... you hesitate, a new thought striking you. Anyone can learn to use math; nobody can be aware of exactly how someone else relates to the elements. This whole deal seems to be about custom modifications, with a side order of making the whole thing impossible to hack.

Dad bites his thumb, and traces a line of blood in the air. A doorway springs to life before you both, and he leads you through.

"Now, as I said, memory palaces store information; dream complexes house and defend memory palaces..."

The garden is warm and lush, with plants beyond number bearing fruit and flowers that sparkle like cut gemstones. Your father plucks an apricot the size of your head, and tosses it to you.

"... and the matrix builds them all."

Within the depths of the crystalline fruit, you see shadows of a beautiful sunset, of a city with a thousand pink paper lanterns, of a castle in the sky.

You briefly wonder what would happen if you tried to eat it.

"What the meditation has given you," Dad says, taking a seat and wrapping an arm around you, "and shall continue to give you, when you're old enough to move on to Fire and Lightning, is the level of comprehension necessary to transform your mind into a powerhouse of creation. When your training is complete, you will be a walking second reality, carrying labyrinths and armies and libraries with you wherever you go."

He looks solemn.

"Welcome... to the real world."

*pokes head out; consumptively coughs into hankie* I LIVE~inaverylimitedsense. Can I please have a blood sacrifice or something? I'm new to this being-a-GM thing; what do I eat? Is it fanart? Should I ask for that? Please send help. I am, like, Brock Samson immediately-post-Phantom-Spaceman-encounter levels of sick and lack his inherent hardiness. The only reason I'm still online is that I'm an addict.

I'm sorry this snip isn't up to my usual standard (oh god, what if this is my usual standard and I only notice how much I suck when I'm sick? That would blow so many eunuchs), I just felt like I had to get something out. Not least because there's a new Ino quest over on Spacebattles (which those of you who haven't tried yet should totally get into - Ino is Integra in that one! It rules) and I have no intention of letting people forget about me.

Hm. D'you think I should move this from tvtropes to Questionable Questing? It's nice having an intimate atmosphere with fewer players who all get a say and everything, but I really miss the days when I didn't have to ask people to change their votes just so there could be a clear majority. I feel bad about having to do that.

I wonder who the first person will be to tell me this is exactly how Tsukuyomi works and I'm not being original at all and have in fact out-Sue'd an Uchiha by making the technique even more overpowered.

edited 28th Feb '13 5:51:13 PM by FurikoMaru

I'd be willing to go to QQ if only because the site needs more quests. Also:sweet we get memory VR's!

Becoming the Fifteenth Head of the Programmer Clan > senjutsu. It is known.

edited 28th Feb '13 12:57:05 PM by FurikoMaru

This update was really cool.

Really? Aw, man, you don't know how worried I was. This wasn't quite as bad as the time I made the Inoichi's-Uncle-Heard-SB-In-His-Head post, but most of that update was written under the influence of whatever the hell kind of bronchial infection thing I've got.

Of course, now I want us to piss off a lollypop enough to see what happens when Tsukuyomi meets Throne at the Heart of the Mountain. I suppose it'll happen organically if we give it enough time, given Lupino's personality.

>Questionable Quests

I'll be here either way.

edited 28th Feb '13 6:41:12 PM by Guile

Well, it depends. If you suspect a Tsukuyomi coming, you can try - please note, try - to intercept it.

The thing is, in-character you have no reason to know the Mangekyou exists.

We should totally learn senjutsu and apply the shaping practice to a real world, with form manipulation of chakra to create alien geometries.

Character sheet update. I'll get to work on the new post-timeskip update tomorrow, if I'm still feeling on the mend.

On Questionable Questing or here ?

Here for the character sheet thing. QQ when my thing goes through.

Yay, you're alive! And okay enough to post.

@ Quality: We are reading it, so it doesn't suck as much as you think.

@ Questionable Quests: If you move, I will still read this, just won't vote, sorry.

why not vote?

For the start, I don't like registering at new forums. I stalked this one for monthes before getting an account, and only posted in two threads for a few more monthes.

Secondly, do they even have that "post anonymously" thing over at Questionable Quests?

no, its account based. still, it really only takes like a minute to sign up.

edit: nevermind, its your choice

Right, well, since Questionable Questing is apparently incapable of sending a bloody confirmation email on time, I guess I'll be writing the update over here.

=

The sky is bright, the wind is fierce, and Yamanaka Ino is about to take on the shinobi public school system.

You are psyched. You've been waiting for this day for ages; the day you finally get to start putting your skills to the test, making new friends and learning new things. You even pulled together an awesome outfit, just so everyone knows from the first day that you mean business.

Your Mom isn't quite sure she agrees that a red haori, blue hakamashita and grey hakama constitute an 'awesome' outfit for a six-year-old girl, but she seems rather touched that you decided to include the white rose-shaped hairpin she got you for your last birthday, so she doesn't kick up much fuss. She just reminds you to take out the hair dec and leave it with the teacher before sparring.

You make sure all your kunai and your tessen are secure in the pockets and holsters you had sewn into your sleeves, check your lunch for the third time (it is still a very satisfactory pb&j on whole wheat), and finally announce to mom you're ready to head out.

The schoolyard is already crowded with students and their parents by the time you arrive. You not-wave to a very groggy-looking Shikamaru as you approach; he returns it. His mom smiles at you (kyaa~!) and asks if you're excited to be starting school. When you answer in the affirmative, Shikamaru is, predictably enough, given rather broad hints that he ought to feel the same way.

He gives you a look that asks, Do you have to encourage her?

I'm not gonna lie to your mom just to accommodate your sluggishness, dude, your glance replies.

Chouji seems nervous as all get-out when he arrives, but calms a little bit when he sees you and Shika. He compliments your outfit; says it makes you look like one of the lady scholars in the Capital (he and his dad went there for vacation last summer).

Far sooner than you were expecting, the bell rings, and it's time to go in. Mom gives you one final hug and, with tears at the corners of her eyes, waits at the gate until you enter the school. You walk backwards the whole way, waving to her and smiling, knowing that if you cry too it'll just make things worse for her. You get off one final frantic hand-jiggle before the teacher manages to shut the door and get you to catch up with your class.

All thirty of you walk single-file down the hall (with you at the end) until you come to a classroom marked 1-A. Inside is an amphitheatre-like space, with a central staircase leading down to the 'teaching stage' and the blackboard, and long shared desks at different levels.

You decide to have a seat

[X] At the back with Shikamaru and Chouji.

[X] In the third row up, next to the Hyuuga heiress. She looks like she's about to pass out from nerves.

[X] In the front row, next to that brightly-smiling pink-haired girl. She seems even more excited to be here than you are.

[X] In the fourth row, next to that absolutely adorable little black-haired boy.

A hakamashita is the knee-length kimono-shirt-thing worn with hakama. If it's not obvious, I was trying to think of a way a six-year-old in a town where no one sells suitjackets would think to smoosh Goemon and Lupin's clothes together.

I... I can't decide between them! They're all too adorable!

[X] Sit with the heiress. Our awesome will rub off by sheer proximity.

[X] Make it a point to sit next to a new person each day, seating chart be damned!

edited 1st Mar '13 11:15:49 PM by Guile

[x] Shika and Chouji. Bros before heiresses.

[x] Make it a point to sit next to a new person each day.

edited 2nd Mar '13 1:08:08 AM by TheNobody

[X] At the back with Shikamaru and Chouji.

And bugger the rest!

[X] Sit with the heiress. Our awesome will rub off by sheer proximity.

[x] Shika and Chouji. Bros before heiresses.(because chouji)

[x] Make it a point to sit next to a new person each day.

I can't decide! I want them all!

[X] Sit with the heiress. We will make sure to make good with our bros later.

[X] Make it a point to sit next to a new person each day, seating chart be damned!