What are you reading?

[Pensive Rumination]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7021752/28/And-What-Alice-Found-There

Continues to update, though sort of moves slow.

Might be more fun in 5 chapter chunks.

On the plus side, it looks like the action might finally pick up in the next chapter!

[Jason_Miao]

Still knowing little about Fate, some thoughts:

1)Lupin barely ever kills, so having him as an assassin?  An archer would be less dumb at least.

On one hand, that completely makes sense.  On the other hand, if done well, it could be pulled off like Tylor, where being the worst at a role makes him best at it.

Of course, that's also fairly tough to pull off, and usually doesn't work, but when it works, it works well.

2)Fate doesn't have a role for a thief

And that's something that seems less workable, when combined with the first point.  Unless the writer is trying to go completely off the rails, in which case you'd expect that, but chapter 1 didn't strike me that way.

And point 3 just kills it.

So, that raises the question... what would be a good series to cross Lupin over with?

Not really thinking this through (we could revive the Ideas thread if we start to seriously discuss this), but just throwing odd concepts out there for the hell of it:

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne - Old "magical girl thief" story.  I doubt the series would mesh for a long fic, but a moderately length fic about both trying to steal the same painting might be fun.  This could be expanded to maybe one or two more series as well (Perhaps Mouse?).  Basically, painting is stolen and counter-stolen between groups as each group steals it from another, and the hapless police characters blunder over each other.  Since all those groups are "heroic thieves", you'd have to end the fic where everyone could be said to have stolen the painting. 

There's also the subgenre of "Thief and Detective work together to fight crime" or somesuch, but I don't really know any detective stories.  The only detective manga I've heard of is Detective Conan but have never read it, so no idea if anything could be done with that.

Besides those obvious matches, the challenging ones would be the series where killing isn't the goal, but rather, the obvious method towards the goal.  As I'd referenced above, this would be trying to aim for the same general effect as the Irresponsible Captain Tylor - not being goofy for seemingly its own sake, but being oddball and pulling off incredible results.  Maybe Black Lagoon?


And a fic:  http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9659792/1/The-Boy-in-the-Team

By the same guy who wrote the last two Naruto fics I posted in this thread.  Basically, story of a normal person thrown onto a team of super-powered badasses and must succeed or die.  Unlike the earlier two fics, which had decent writing but had hit-and-run characters and what felt like arbitrary plot twists appear out of nowhere, I haven't felt there was much that seemed like a random-plot twist.

A few points: Firstly, the writer has labeled this fic as angst, and is trying for angst, but I think it is more grit than angst.  Secondly, while it's explained in the author's notes at the end of chapter 1, gender flipping 2/3 of Team 7 still felt arbitrary.  Thirdly, this is an altverse and has corresponding altverse characterization so anyone who is enamored of the canon Naruto characterization may want to pass this one by.

That said, this story works for me since (1) I'm not emo, and while I can enjoy a story with angst, it's not something I like for its own sake (2) I read Naruto fics mainly because it's the series that everyone writes about rather than any fondness for the original series itself, so I don't really care (3) See #2.

[lolipettanko]

The Mouse of Konoha: www.fanfiction.net/s/6693171/


It's a very well thought out fic. You can see the character development, mostly because Naruto is like 6 where the fic starts, so his pronunciation is really off until Anko whips him in shape.

Naruto in this fic interacts with so many people her, it's personally why I find it intriguing. Not neccessarily the rookie 9 members, it's mostly with the adults or older members in the Naruto-verse actually.

Warning though, it's really slow-paced. As in, they aren't even genin yet by the latest update.

[Dracos]

Re: Boy in Team 7

I gave up after a few chapters.  It may as well be a wholly original ninja team with the way those dynamics are working, and it's hard to sympathize with either a Naruto that's a nonsensically suspicious bitch or a sakura that basically has no strengths (Even Naruto at least has a positive attitude and lots of chakra).  A fic with Sasuke being the most human of the set?  Yah, done there.

Re: Mouse
Even now?

:(

It kinda broke my disbelief after a while by the sheer level of training and variety of skills that Naruto was being trained up in before he even started at the academy.  A lot of cool ideas there, hampered really by just a lack of time motion for them to happen in.  This week he's learning to talk correctly.  Next traps.  Next sabotage.  How about disguise and infiltration?  Ninjutsu?  Assassination?  Oh, and super specially effective transformation with strangely ridiculous chakra rules?  I'm glad he's in the academy at this point, but they got him to the point he should've been top of class already by the time he started.

[lolipettanko]

I read the thing in chunks every few days. I can understand how many things were crammed in, the "witty" quips he makes are also a bit grating and less than believable for a kid to have thought up of. Still, I've caught up to it, might as well stick it through. I enjoyed it for what it aimed to be Coming off hiatus apparently.

[Jason_Miao]

Re: Boy in Team 7
I gave up after a few chapters.  It may as well be a wholly original ninja team with the way those dynamics are working, and it's hard to sympathize with either a Naruto that's a nonsensically suspicious bitch or a sakura that basically has no strengths (Even Naruto at least has a positive attitude and lots of chakra).  A fic with Sasuke being the most human of the set?  Yah, done there.

I'd mentioned both the altverse-nature and the characterization.  It is what it is.

I think the characterizations make sense given the particular changes of the altverse: Given that Sasuke in this fic grew up human, the fact that he acts human reinforces that.  Is "Sakura" at the beginning of this fic really worse off than Sakura in the beginning of canon?  Naru(ko)'s unreasoning suspicion over constant praise is jarring, and I suspect it was meant to be, but it's no less unreasonable than Naruto's constant optimism in the face of constant coldness.  And the reason for the character trait actually explained later on, rather than left hanging as "the main character is always loud and optimistic because shonen cliche demands it."*

My interest in this fic may play to my own favored-plot biases.  A story of someone who starts off objectively the weakest, but though cleverness or effort or sacrifice, grows into or even excels in his or her role, is more likely to pique my interest than "X is gifted with abilities that make X objectively better than everyone else."  Rather than read about a princess who is born to rule a kingdom, I'd rather read about the one who carved her own empire.  And so forth.


Mouse:
IIRC, most of us here who followed the fic had the same reaction once the Academy arc started: "Wait, the academy is still even a concern?"  After engaging foreign ninja and being entertained by nobility, showing up some school teachers and schoolchildren just doesn't seem like an engaging followup. 

I differ from Drac's view of the fic; to me, it seems as if Naruto is being set up to be top ninja of the academy.  But it doesn't feel all that important in the grand scheme of how the story developed, either.

[lolipettanko]

Re: Boy in Team 7

My problem with the fic is that the author seems to revel in cruel "plot twists". He even constantly mentions them in the A/N a lot. Which breaks immersion a bit because almost every chapter he has to inform everybody about the big bad emotional punch he'll be giving everyone.

[Jason_Miao]

My problem with the fic is that the author seems to revel in cruel "plot twists". He even constantly mentions them in the A/N a lot. Which breaks immersion a bit because almost every chapter he has to inform everybody about the big bad emotional punch he'll be giving everyone.

I with you there.  I've been skipping ANs on my first read-through, since "Hey guys!  I'm about to throw in a plot twist into the next chapter!  Look for and expect this plot twist!" defeats most of the point of the plot twist in the first place.  It probably doesn't help that some of the "shocking" events of this fic are predictable because he's foreshadowed them.

And now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure what the point of chapter-ANs are in general.  End of a book, sure, once the story has already been told.

[Empyrean]

So I read The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team recently, mentioned a few pages back. The author forgets punctuation occasionally, but the story itself is a hoot. I really enjoyed it. It's got the most powerful batch of Genin since Time Braid, and it plays to my Naruto/Hinata bias, which is always worth some extra points.

[lolipettanko]

Checked my watchlist and found... A Mother's Touch:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5455363/

Can't really say much beyond that it's interesting, considering it hasn't even crested 50k words. The scenario has a lot of potential especially after that last chapter, but it hasn't been updated in over 4 years...

[Arakawa]

So I read The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team recently, mentioned a few pages back. The author forgets punctuation occasionally, but the story itself is a hoot. I really enjoyed it. It's got the most powerful batch of Genin since Time Braid, and it plays to my Naruto/Hinata bias, which is always worth some extra points.

Only three chapters, so it was a fun little read.

Logical next step: these genin vs the Time Braid genin.

[alethiophile]

I'm pretty sure Time Braid wins; those guys have had a lot of time to cultivate extracanonical skillsets. But Time Braid beats most things power-wise.

[Dracos]

Re: Boy in Team 7
I gave up after a few chapters.  It may as well be a wholly original ninja team with the way those dynamics are working, and it's hard to sympathize with either a Naruto that's a nonsensically suspicious bitch or a sakura that basically has no strengths (Even Naruto at least has a positive attitude and lots of chakra).  A fic with Sasuke being the most human of the set?  Yah, done there.

I'd mentioned both the altverse-nature and the characterization.  It is what it is.

I think the characterizations make sense given the particular changes of the altverse: Given that Sasuke in this fic grew up human, the fact that he acts human reinforces that.  Is "Sakura" at the beginning of this fic really worse off than Sakura in the beginning of canon?  Naru(ko)'s unreasoning suspicion over constant praise is jarring, and I suspect it was meant to be, but it's no less unreasonable than Naruto's constant optimism in the face of constant coldness.  And the reason for the character trait actually explained later on, rather than left hanging as "the main character is always loud and optimistic because shonen cliche demands it."*

My interest in this fic may play to my own favored-plot biases.  A story of someone who starts off objectively the weakest, but though cleverness or effort or sacrifice, grows into or even excels in his or her role, is more likely to pique my interest than "X is gifted with abilities that make X objectively better than everyone else."  Rather than read about a princess who is born to rule a kingdom, I'd rather read about the one who carved her own empire.  And so forth.

Boy:
Yes, but Sakura shows no ambition, talent, or anything else really.  He reads like someone who should've been dropped out, rather than at least a try-hard dead last.  The entire setup comes off pretty weakly normally, but at least if you are doing it with a try-hard, it gives the notion that they bring something to the table that the elite may be lacking, a different perspective on life or whatnot.  Having demotivated non-conscripted army kid just comes off as a weird protagonist.

[Empyrean]

I'm pretty sure Time Braid wins; those guys have had a lot of time to cultivate extracanonical skillsets. But Time Braid beats most things power-wise.

Yeah, there's really not much contest. Time Braid just gradually builds up their power levels over decades/centuries until they're all just way beyond what anybody in canon is ever capable of, while World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team has them pegged at late-canon power levels.

[Dracos]

Time Braid (as with most of his stuff) basically takes off any real limits on capabilities to try and acknowledge just the ridiculous "I take down everyone in the entire world simultaneously" levels that he raises Akatsuki to, and in fairness, so Naruto Canon also basically gives some members of akastsuki the capability to deal with the entire world simultaneously.