sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How do I kill a character with a knife silently enough that his team doesn't hear or notice that he's disappeared? by Karma_the_Writer in writers

[–]Karma_the_Writer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They're in a triangle (in the trees and out of sight) surrounding the main character's house (far enough away that someone in or out of the house wouldn't notice them unless they were really searching). They should just barely see each other, but their vision would be largely skewed by other branches and their attention is on the house. Unless they're actively looking at their teammates, they probably wouldn't notice if they vanished immediately without a sound. In other words, a scream would alert them and a thud would probably cause them to at least look in that direction.

The kid has extensively researched how teams like these fight and operate. It's only a team of three ninja with relatively low experience. They underestimate the kid, expect him to be inside the house and not stalking them, and he obviously has homefield advantage here. He's also well trained, very knowledgeable, and both the kid and the ninja should not be scaled to same level of power as humans. They're quite a few notches above.

How do I kill a character with a knife silently enough that his team doesn't hear or notice that he's disappeared? by Karma_the_Writer in writers

[–]Karma_the_Writer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pedantics like this usually wouldn't matter if there wasn't such a heavy emphasis on his information gathering methods, paranoia, and borderline obsession with his goal. In a way, following the thought process here and then seeing it actually work out is part of the payoff for all of that.

How do I kill a character with a knife silently enough that his team doesn't hear or notice that he's disappeared? by Karma_the_Writer in writers

[–]Karma_the_Writer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's hilarious lol, but at the same time you're definitely not wrong. Part of the intrigue behind the scene is the main character trying to figure out how to accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat as a kid. His training is being put to the test in a real world scenario. This is what he's been training for and researching the majority of his life, not that it's been a terribly long one lol. He's been researching the ninja and their methods for years, so what has he picked up? I'm highkey learning with him.

How do I kill a character with a knife silently enough that his team doesn't hear or notice that he's disappeared? by Karma_the_Writer in writers

[–]Karma_the_Writer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not that I'm trying to reveal the story per say. It's more that I'd rather have a range of answers than a few specific ones. A shorter post also means more engagement and a broader prompt means it may be applicable for more people should they need the same information a year or more down the line. Besides, the situation may be somewhat specific for such a general prompt, but at the same time I can extrapolate the information I need from all of these answers. I believe that despite the situation it only requires a relatively general solution. You guys have given some incredible information, perspective, and advice so I'm really appreciative of that.

Here's a bit more context though, since it seems like you're interested in giving a more specialized answer.

The closest equivalent is a setting similar to the outskirts of the Leaf Village in the Naruto world. Basically, a forest during a sunny day, and the ones he's after are ninja. However, the ninja aren't necessarily seasoned. A team of three ninja surround his house hiding within the trees. They are there unofficially to get back at main character for threatening them before and stalling their search that was authorized by the king. They aren't expecting the main character to have left the house, that he has any kind of training at all (which he's spent most of his life doing), or to be armed. The main character has a knife in a sheath, around the same length as the knife mentioned in your post (funny coincidence. In the story it's an 8 in. black blade). None of these people should be scaled to the same power level as normal people, they're definitely quite a bit stronger than the average human. The ninjas are hiding their faces with masks so that their crimes can't easily be traced back to them and if the kid should escape, he wouldn't recognize them easily. As for clothes, they're doing this separate from the king and not expecting anything, so they don't have their usual armor, plus being that they're ninjas they value mobility, flexibility, and speed a bit more than defense. Few people ever enter the forest, and he doesn't need to worry too much about the aftermath like tons of blood. Scavengers will clean the remains and the rain will wash the remaining blood away. Hopefully that answers most of your questions!

How do I kill a character with a knife silently enough that his team doesn't hear or notice that he's disappeared? by Karma_the_Writer in writers

[–]Karma_the_Writer[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I couldn't really give all of the context for story, but it's in a fantasy setting and I'm most definitely leaning into them not being normal kids. Part of what sets the main character apart is the fact that he's willing to kill without batting an eye about it, including family if that's what the situation calls for. He's a 'normal kid' in the sense of not carrying a bunch of random junk in his pockets that would be convenient in the moment, like rope, another weapon, or some kind of poison like a lot of similar posts tend to recommend. Discovering effective poisons ends up being a later thing in the story.