I'm glad to have this chapter online. I'm also very glad I gave in to my inner editor and took the additional time to smooth things out. I'd take even longer if needed. Editing is not supposed to be a one-time thing- you can always improve your writing.
Anyway, I think chapter 12 is one of those love-it or hate-it chapters.
You either love it, or you just hate it. I wouldn't be surprised if it actually induces people to stop reading the story.
So on to the A/Ns
OMGWTF, where is Harry’s kick-ass-ness?
First of all, my character’s name is Harry Potter, not Gary Stu. He’s not going to be able to fight a very experienced missing-nin and win, especially when other ninja and ninja-monks would be hard pressed to survive against the same missing-nin.
On a related note, I have to say the pacifist in me was not very helpful when it came to writing the whole 'fight' scene (if it can be called that).
I was tempted to detail some gore for the shock factor and to emphasise that fighting is not a joke, but people would have just concentrated on that for all the wrong reasons. And I didn't want to increase my rating level for the story.
Nothing changed from canon!
Really? Actually there were changes, subtle ones. And anyway, I never promised to follow any specific routes for the story.
Canon is Naruto's story. AtO's Harry has his own story that will be flavoured with canon. Take that how you will- just know that my plans will show up slowly, there are hints of it already but it'll all come together later (way later at my update rate).
Why is Harry so useless during the questioning?
Most people never really remember important events and tend to muddle up details after they survived a traumatic event. The Hokage knew the risks of asking Harry for information like this, even so, she didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Even so, I think Harry's information was ridiculously detailed.
Hedwig?
I completely had fun with her character in this chapter but I think Hedwig can pull of regal-ness rather well if given the chance. Oh Naruto, you naïve impressionable boy.
Sai?
He's the sort of person who grows on you with all his awkwardness. I really wanted to capture that because he's really trying to be a better friend.
Also info about Momen Tofu being his favourite dish was taken from the Naruto-wikia.
Ron?
Sleep-deprived friends always say the most amusing things. I should know, I've disturbed enough friends at the dead of night just for the hilarious pieces of friend-logic they spout.
Also when you've been friends with someone for 5 years or more, you tend to pick up nuances in the behaviour- like when they're hiding things, or sick, etc. Even someone as dense as Ron would be well-versed in Harry-speak.
Incense, shrine, photos?
I wanted to emphasize how Harry is in a foreign place and isn’t all knowing about the culture.
I also realised that Naruto has never had a chance to burn incense for his ancestors- if they do that in the Naruto-verse- and loved the idea of him wanting to do that all on his own.
Also I am mixing Buddhist, Shinto and maybe even some Taoist aspects here, because Naruto-verse seems to mix things.
Chakra and magic?
Well this chapter just has the second piece of the puzzle (previous chapters have various hints). I’m hoping to make things clearer in chapter 13/the future. Bear with me until then.
Chapter 13!
Not coming soon. All I will say is- even though it'll introduce one of my fav characters- I’m not going to start working on it for a while. There are some other things I want to finish (not just fanfics) before I can even contemplate starting chapter 13.
Hopefully that answers just about anything you would have asked me.
I'll be putting up all sorts of omakes later- I'll be spacing them out, no multiple blog posts.
Polar
P.S. Is it me or is AtO's word-count getting ridiculously large and intimidating?
P.P.S. Yay! I'm free to work on my KHR crossover- can you tell just how excited I am about that story? After that I want to finish my BleachXNaruto story... it's a matter of pride to me, I really want to finish the half-written things I pushed aside in favour of AtO or life.
P.P.P.S. Also, er... Go Canucks, Go! I've been sucked in to the NHL hype even though I prefer football/soccer. Either way lots of games to watch these days.
