How might Nerima change?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Alright then, Marumaru Kuno... the original idea for this character is that, in contrast to his parents, he's actually relatively normal (for a given value of the word), which eventually developed into the idea that he has rather a tense relationship with his father, due to various conflicts. The two most major are:

Conflict one: while Tatewaki is obsessed with the past (his delusions of himself as a samurai, etc), Marumaru is a technophile and otherwise obsessed with the future; he refuses to study kendo, bushido and similar "samurai" arts & lores, deeming them old fashioned and out of touch, he prefers sci-fi to history and would much rather be chatting online than meditating.

Conflict two: Marumaru's appearance is the second major source. While Kuno is, in his own words, ruggedly handsome, Marumaru's physical attractiveness definately leans into the "bishonen" turf. Tatewaki finds this intolerable, and begs Marumaru to try and add some masculinity to his appearance, preferably by getting some honerable duelling scars, or at least by devoting less attention to his appearance. The fact Marumaru's fondness for sci-fi has led to him altering his hair and eye color (either by a number of wigs and colored contact lenses, or -if the technology is availible- by tinkering with his chromosones to make it natural) doesn't help.

Marumaru's disdain for martial arts makes him the physically weakest of the group, and he'll undoubtedly remain so. However, his intellect and access to the resources of the various Kuno-controlled industries means that he can substitute technology for prowess. At first, he'll likely settle just for "borrowing" gear from the companies, perhaps even making some suggestions for new gear and/or upgrades. As the story progresses, he becomes comfortable enough/aware enough of his own intellect to start tinkering with his gear on his own, eventually being able to assemble his own devices from scratch.

Because Marumaru's "fighting style" is based around ranged weapons, his parahuman capabilities will likely be focused around the areas relevant to usage: accuracy, reaction, reflexes and the like.

For all his wealth and good looks, Marumaru is actually rather socially inept; as well as the boundaries imposed by being scion to one of the richest clans in Japan, he also has the added burden of his father's own weird reputation. Not only does he not get much chance to mingle with others his own age, but his "family reputation" makes them leery of getting close to him anyway. Prior to the formation of the "Neo-Wrecking Crew", Marumaru's likely only friends are online corrospondents, Sasuke and his own ninja-partner.

A vague idea we had for Sakuya Gosunkugi was that she has a crush on Marumaru and, fearful of his likely reaction (being a techno-guy) to magic, she tries her hardest to keep any and all magic away from him; ridiculing the existence of such a thing, keeping magic items away from him, trying to hide obviously supernatural displays, etc. The joke idea that comes to me is that, finally, she fails to do so, but Marumaru calmly accepts the existence of magic and the supernatural. In fact, he's had vague suspicions as to the stuff she's been hiding all along, and has always accepted the metaphysical as part of reality, primarily beca as he's had access to various bitz all along (the magic items tucked away in the Kuno vaults, displays of parahuman skill by his parents and Sasuke, etc).

Okay, I believe that's all the data we worked up for this guy. Details for his "ninja-partner" (the neo-Sarugakure) would also be discussed whilst we work with Marumaru, yes?

[Gideon020]

That all looks pretty good, so I would assume we work out the more commonly used items of tech and what sort of parahuman abilities Marumaru has in specific alongside details of the ninja.

Hmm, I would think that the most basic tech-item that Marumaru has would be the classic multi-purpose sci-fi gun; a pistol that can do anything from fire grappling lines to a high intensity particle beam to an energy net with just a change of the barrel module. That sound good for base tech?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Yes, I think actual gear, both current and future/potential, sounds good to me. I agree that his basic "tech item" would be the multipurpose pistol, though I think that at first it'd probably just be a stunner and he'd upgrade it to have different capabilities as the story goes- what do you think? Also, do you think we should have it he originally needs replacement barrels (kind of like in Paranoia, where the laser barrel defines the color and thus potency of the laser) and later simply "integrates" the various functions into the gun, ala Samus Aran in Prime and Prime 2, remains module-based all along, or actually is integrated function all along?

As he grows more... "combative... he'll probably focus on gadgets to better aid him in combat. More specialised weapons, boobytraps, perhaps even a form of exo-armour (in between mecha and power armour; think "Tactical Dreadnought Armour")?

Well, like I said before, his parahuman abilities would focus on his actual ability to handle his weapons; his ability to hit a specific target/point of a target, ability to draw and fire with greater speed, to lock onto a target and react to its presence, that sort of thing. Do you agree?

[Gideon020]

Hmm, I'm thinking he needs the replacement barrels before he creates an 'Omni-barrel' of sorts that can switch between the different functions without needing replacement. Marumaru would likely also create a rifle-version for increased power and other more exotic systems that a pistol doesn't have the space and power-supply for in the future.

As for defensive gear Marumaru would start with a basic flak or carapace armor vest, and I agree that sooner or later he'll decide that a suit of powered combat armour for the big fights and perhaps a small mecha would work out nicely but early on he'd likely figure out how to disrupt Ki attacks by creating jammers of sorts that prevent Ki attacks through disruption of the pathways; not enough to kill but enough that gathering Ki would be painful and slow. Combine this with various non-lethal mines and you have a decent and fairly dependable arsenal that he'd be continually upgrading as the opposition becomes stronger.

I agree on the parahuman abilities, which for my reference purposes I'll call Quick Draw (fast drawing, aiming and firing of his weapons), Rapid Fire(unnaturally high rate of fire), Critical Aim(targeting and hitting specific target points) and Danger Aim(sensing, locking onto and firing at a hidden/distant hostile target) as well as another called Sleight of Hand(changing attachments on the main weapon and swapping to other gear without anyone seeing the motions)and Danger Sense(a passive psychic ability that tells Marumaru where opponents are and whether there is anything in the environment he can use to even the odds).

Does all this look good to you?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Everything looks good; we'll just see what Heaven's Daemon says, but I think Marumaru himself might be done. Oh, what color hair & eyes should he have? Or even should he have no fixed color and they actually change just about every time he shows up (either due to the wardrobe of wigs and contacts, or because he can tinker with the requisite chromosones)?

With him done, I think we shall move onto the ninja. First question; male or female? I can't think of any possible gags if it's male, but if she's female, then we could have Sakuya consider her a rival for Marumaru's affections (regardless of whether or not she actually does care for her "master" in any romantic way), just like she does Michiko. In fact, something that suddenly comes to me is Sakuya declaring, upon discovering the existence of the ninja, that Michiko has just slipped down into second place rival. The other, and frankly rather obvious, joke is that the ninja does actually care for Marumaru, but he's not aware of it, primarily because she never does anything expressly romantic. Though obvious, it would be rather characterstic of Ranma 1/2, yes?

[Gideon020]

Female ninja works out nicely and as for hair and eye color of Marumaru, I think that if he's going to be changing them so often then its likely he has specialized nano-hair and cyber-eyes to do the job without the possible risks of fiddling with genes or have all that wardrobe space taken up by wigs and specialist contacts.

And while obvious, I think a one-sided crush on Marumaru by the kunoichi-chan would be a good running gag and lead to all sorts of hijinks with said kunoichi subtly sabotaging Sakuya's own romantic overtures and confrontations that would only occur when there is no-one around.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Yeah, I think cyber-implants work better for the color changing too now that you bring it up.

Alright, so the Neo-Sarugakure kuonichi is a female and the subject of a onesided crush on her "partner". She is normally lazy and a goof-off, but one of the few things that can motivate her to do something is the threat of someone stealing "her" Marumaru-chan, yes? What other details do we need to work out for her? Hmm... off the top of my head:
*What relationship (if any) is she to Sasuke
*How old is she
*What does she look like
*What are her capabilities as a ninja (Sasuke might be rather klutzy, but he has a frankly ridiculous tolerance for pain and abuse, he's pretty fast and something of an expert at stealth. When his klutziness doesn't give him away, that is.)
*What her hobbies, likes and dislikes are

Come to think of it, we may need to figure out hobbies, likes and dislikes for Lifen and Marumaru himself too.

[Gideon020]

Relationship to Sasuke; I'm thinking a distant cousin or a child of a family friend.
I'm thinking that the Kunoichi is at least the same age range as Marumaru and Sakuya while her physical appearance I'm thinking short red hair, gold eyes and athletic build and overall quite attractive.
In terms of actual skill, this kunoichi is actually a natural prodigy in terms of stealth and concealment, making it a difficult to impossible task is she's lazing about and Marumaru needs something done. She is passable in hand-to-hand combat but not to the level of the New Crew and certainly not up to the level of the Old Crew and when motivated is actually supernaturally accurate with throwing weapons while her agility is on par if not better than Olympic athletes but she only ever uses that to find places to have a nap without interruption.
Her actual hobbies I'm thinking would be naps and possibly playing with her partner by testing his reflexes by using shuriken and windmill kunai(throwing knives with a brightly colored windmill at one end) to deliver small parts for his experiments and messages from Marumaru's family and friends/rivals to see how well tuned his senses and reaction times are.
Her likes would include Marumaru obviously but I'm thinking that in tune with her laziness she likes cloudwatching primarily. Her dislikes would be unneeded strenuous activity and rivals for Marumaru's affections, primarily the magic user Sakuya.

What do you think? Anything else to add?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Yes, sounds interesting and applicable. We'll need to see what Heaven thinks, but I think we may have her settled. Oh, we might consider adding any/all of the following to her likes/hobbies: videogames, manga, anime. Do you have any suggestions for a name for her?

Alright, now, we have Sakuya Gosunkugi, the roughly detailed son of Ukyo and Mousse, and Michiko's four siblings; her elder brother, her twin brother, and her younger sisters. Who shall we discuss now?

[Gideon020]

Hmm,let's hear the details for Ukyo and Mousse's son, he sounds interesting.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Okay then, let me just try and gather together what details HD and I worked out for him...

Well, the first thing we worked out was the rough basis of his fighting style, which is essentially a combination of ninjitsu (the root-style of Ukyo's family style) and Hidden Weapons-powered greatweapon wielding. Basically, his general style is ninjitsu, but rather than using light, easily concealed weapons, he carries some form of greatweapon (a large weapon requiring two hands; battleaxe, claymore, polearm, you get the idea) and uses a modified form of Hidden Weapons to conceal it until he gets close enough to use it. He does practise Ukyo's style (Kunoji Martial Arts Okonomiyaki), but only in a casual way and only to please her, as he doesn't really think it much of a practical style.

We were also kind of patchy in terms of his personality, though the vague idea was that he's something of the "Ryoga" to Yemon's "Ranma"- a character who can be friend or enemy depending on the circumstance, and generally averages out to a rival. One idea sort of tied to this is that he doesn't know much about his father's "people", the Joketsuzoku, and Yemon's coming from that tribe is very much a source of interest to the Neo-Kuonji, prompting him to try and get Yemon to tell him about life in the Byankalas. This is actually one of the things that helps them reconcile after the inevitable falling out that comes with discovery of the precise details of each other's parentage; Yemon being allowed to teach/pass on various Chinese Amazon secrets Mousse wouldn't/couldn't reveal to his son.

Specific details about personality was that he's generally rather laid back, though he has a very wicked temper and something of a short fuse. He tends not to say much, and that coupled with his good looks and the fact he helps work the family restaurant means that the other students at Furinkan consider him a "shoulder to lean on", because he can be trusted to both be understanding/patient and to keep his mouth shut about what he's heard. He's not above reacting to or otherwise using the information he's heard, though he tends to interfere for non-selfish reasons due to equal parts nobility and pragmatism. He always seem to be in the right place at the right time to bail someone out of trouble or defuse a situation, as well as manipulating the students "for their own good".

For example, he learns that two kids have a crush on each other, but neither knows the other one feels the same way. So he "arranges" them to put into a situation where their feelings come out and they end up getting together. He's not like fanon-Nabiki in that he does this for profit, but he'd be lying if he claimed not to get some satisfaction out of seeing things go the way he wants them.

Perhaps tying to the above factor, perhaps more as a "difference" to his folks and Yemon, Mousse's son isn't above casual flirtation to help with whatever scheme he's got brewing. He doesn't string girls along or anything like that, but he doesn't hesitate to turn on the charm if he thinks it'll help him. He sees nothing wrong with it because he's attractive anyway, so he might as well make use of what he has.

You may want to check out pages 16 and 17 of this topic, as that's where HD and I discussed him. You may find details/info I missed.

[Gideon020]

Okay, so from what I can see we probably just need his name, what sort of weapon he uses while fighting along with backup weapons and other special items and his standing in regards to ability in the Neo Crew. That sound right to you?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

That sounds alright to me. Do you have any suggestions for those topics? I added the website I found with suggestions for Japanese names to my signature, so you should just be able to click on the appropriate link to go the right section.

For his main weapon, I could see either a two-headed battleaxe (the closest "real world equivalent" to Ukyo's combat spatula) or a claymore/zweihander type sword working, though you might have some other suggestions.

[Gideon020]

For the name how does Hiromasa sound to you? As for the great weapon the double-headed axe sounds fine but it didn't fit with his athletic build so a claymore or nodachi would work better in my opinion with a naginata as the better choice for a 'combat spatula' equivalent.

What do you think? Also, what sort of other combat items do you think this guy would have to distract opponents or increase the effectiveness of his attacks? I could see smoke bombs and shuriken as distraction weapons along with caltrops to force the opponent to watch their step.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Hmm... what's the nodachi again? My knowledge of real-world weapons isn't too hot... isn't it the katana-equivalent of a greatsword?

Hiromasa sounds like a good name. What does it mean?

Secondary weapons... hmm... I think we were originally envisioning this guy as an ambush fighter; he doesn't rely so much on disorientation but on the element of surprise to get to his foes and crush them under the massive blows of his weapon before they can react, as a result of which he's not particularly good at evasion or withstanding hits. Something of a glass jaw, I think is the term. So I don't know if he needs secondary weapons.

Wonder when HD will be back; be nice to get his/her opinion on the stuff we've worked out...