8.5 KiB
[RT][FF][HF] Marked for Death, Ch. 88 - Interlude: The Chuunin Exams
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Author: u/oliwhail Omake-Maximizing AGI*
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/5gm95d/rtffhf_marked_for_death_ch_88_interlude_the/
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Score: 10
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Created: 2016-12-05T14:47:17
Post:
The latest chapter by the incomparable u/eaglejarl is here.
Today, we get a glimpse of ninja combat elsewhere in the Elemental Nations.
There's also an omake by yours truly up since the last chapter, as well as another one by u/XxChronOblivionxX.
Marked for Death is an RPG-style story set in a rational reimagining of Naruto, where thread participants vote to control the actions of a single player character - part of a ragtag group of missing-nin, exiles who have come together to help each other survive against everything the world can throw at them.
The first chapter is here, and the story-only thread (if you’d like to get caught up quickly) is here. There’s also a guide to voting put together by Twofold, one of the thread participants. Drop by and join us in a world where death lurks around every corner, and where anything is possible for those with the cunning and determination of a true ninja.
The story updates every Thursday (u/Velorien of Lighting Up the Dark) and Sunday (u/eaglejarl of Team Anko, 2 Year Emperor and Induction).
Comments:
u/Cariyaga [+4] Kyubey did nothing wrong (5 hours later)
In which EJ is a dick and writes damn good fight scenes.
u/eaglejarl [+3] (6 hours later)
Hey!
u/oliwhail [+1] Omake-Maximizing AGI (6 hours later)
Eh? How's he being a dick? He made it very clear he wasn't copying player seal ideas, if that's what you mean.
u/eaglejarl [+5] (7 hours later)
I think it was because I
deliberatelyaccidentally made it seem like this was the Konoha chuunin exams that everyone has been clamoring for, and then right at the end I showed that it wasn't, that it was some minor village's exams far away.
u/Cariyaga [+2] Kyubey did nothing wrong (8 hours later)
Aye. Sorry if it seemed like I was serious, I was joking up there at the top comment :p
u/eaglejarl [+2] (9 hours later)
No, I got it. It was funny. :>
u/XxChronOblivionxX [+3] (6 hours later)
Maybe not writing the Konoha Chunin Exams that we've been dying to read since he said that we don't know enough about it already to justify giving us the free intel.
I just want the Naruto/Gaara fight so so bad.
u/oliwhail [+2] Omake-Maximizing AGI (6 hours later)
Rates 'Informative'
u/clawclawbite [+2] (7 hours later)
I thought it was a great example of ninjas who specialize and come up with a few good tricks based on their specialties.
u/reaper7876 [+5] (3 days later)
(u/eaglejarl)
Just out of curiosity, let me try something:
Hey, all lurkers: would you please make one post, either here or on the most recent MfD Reddit thread, stating that you read this? I'm curious how many are out there.
(If you wanted to add more information, that would be great but definitely isn't required. Good options would be why you prefer not to post (too complicated? too fast-moving? something else?) and how you found us in the first place.)
I read this! First found it from a post on the subreddit, shortly after it began. (The thing I remember from when I first caught up was Wakahisa's limb-grafting bloodline getting vetoed). I'd enjoyed other works from the quest authors, so I gave it a look, then kept giving it a look every couple days or so.
As for why I lurk:
lupchanzen are responsibleI tend to read much more than I post in general, so it's mostly force of habit. If I saw some low-hanging fruit that everyone else was missing, I'd post it, but the thread goers are quite attentive. (I'm definitely willing to interfere if a joke plan ever resurfaces, though).
u/adad64 [+2] Chaos Legion (3 days later)
Ditto. continues lurking
u/eaglejarl [+2] (3 days later)
Thanks for speaking up. Nice to get some names to attach to the view counts. :>
u/RidiculousAvgGuy [+1] (3 days later)
Yep, I read.
Been there from the beginning, or just about.
I mostly lurk because I'm in a lot of threads, and things in MfD are complicated enough that I would rather not step in. I still throw in the occasional idea, but that's about it.
u/eaglejarl [+1] (3 days later)
This seems to be a common thread -- people are lurking because it's too complicated to engage with. What do you feel is the most complicated part -- the voting system, the narrative itself, the planning process...? What could we do to simplify it?
u/RidiculousAvgGuy [+2] (4 days later)
The narrative is fine. I love a complicated narrative, and no doubt most of the other lurkers do as well. The issue is a mixture of the voting system and the planning process, leaning a bit more towards the first than the second. That said, both of those are symptoms of how you guys write the quest.
Most of the time, quests as fleshed out as MfD (i.e., not a CK2/spreadsheet quest) will have votes be more general; guiding themes of thought, not actual specific motions. Votes tend to be more about shaping the narrative than the mess of actions and sub-actions I tend to see when I look at a plan. The character is, well, trusted to be that character. Most of the time there simply isn't going to be a need for the level of micromanagement MfD tends to get up to. Sure, in high tension situations you'll get more specific voting, but even then, most of the time it'll be a 'framework' of ideas not a 'machine' of them. Big picture voting is what normally happens, if you get my meaning.
If you want to draw in more people, leave more up to Hanzou and less up to us. Oh! Recent example, the youthsuit retcon. In a normal quest like this, that wouldn't have happened the way it did because it was OOC for Hazou. He would have done his best to reach the goal 'get youthsuits to cheer up the team', but would have done so with IC actions/thought process.
/That said/ your currently active players probably enjoy the micro (at least in part), so changing things up might not run so well with them.
I'm not entirely sure what you should do. Maybe check with your most active players and see how they would take you guys simplifying things? Otherwise, keep on trucking.
TLDR; MfD is more control heavy than most expect for a quest of it's size/type, so voting takes more effort. So less people vote. If you want more active players leave more to the character. Just make sure you don't alienate the players you already have.
u/bigjdp345 [+1] Custom Flair (3 days later)
I too read pretty actively. I greatly enjoy reading the planning and discussion, and at the moment MFD is probably my favorite piece of serial fiction.
I lurk mostly out fear of the time commitment. I don't tend to really participate in things on the internet and I have an aversion to starting. I'm steadily working to convince myself to actually vote though.
u/eaglejarl [+1] (3 days later)
Good for you! Stretching your comfort zone is, by definition, not comfortable, but it feels great when you succeed.
As to this being your favorite: thank you. On behalf of myself and /u/Velorien, we appreciate the compliment.
u/eaglejarl [+1] (3 days later)
Thanks! Especially for being willing to intervene next time. That was a nightmare.
u/MatterBeam [+1] (3 days later)
Read everything.