AC_D8: Change in Age (Interlude)

This is the last post for today and for the Advent Calendar.

Jen asked for the deaged story to be finished. And I have to be honest, I don't remember a good chunk of what I had planned for this story. I mean I do have bit and pieces plus my haphazard notes, so I might eventually cobble up something coherent.

But for today, you'll have to settle for a super short filler chapter of this series.

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Pushed into wakefulness by the sound of delighted laughter, Harry sat up in confusion. The bed beside him was empty and cold to the touch. 

After another bout of laughter reached his ears, Harry got off the bed and followed the sounds until he reached Sai's half opened room door. 

Peeking in from the side, Harry couldn't help but smile at the sight inside the room. 

Seated in a veritable forest of ink drawings brought to life, Naruto was holding an ink bird close to his chest as he drew something on Sai's open scroll. His tongue poked out as he moved the brush with serious concentration. 

AC_D7: Ask Box Prompts (Part 2)

Movie marathon is still going strong but they're all sort of blurring into each other at this point.

The last prompts from the ask box that I'm working on today.

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“This is probably more of a question than a prompt... how would Harry act if he met Hidan in Atoverse?”  

(I had a crazy idea for this so I'm going to cheat and connect this to one of the earlier prompts I did today- “the Harry defeats Shikaku in shogi one” here. Hope you don't mind. ~Polar)

“Why do I have to know all this?” Harry asked for what felt like the millionth time that day. 

“Because...”

“If you say that I am the clan head one more time, I will kick you,” Harry said with an annoyed hiss.

Shikaku blinked at him. “Not saying it out loud doesn't change that fact that you are indeed...”

“Don't,” Harry said and rubbed his forehead. “The paperwork hasn't come through. And hopefully won't. So I'm not really supposed to be knowing the clan's deepest and darkest secrets.”

“It's only a matter of time,” Shikaku said. “Our people in the tower will ensure that the paperwork reaches the correct desks.”

Harry groaned. 

Shikaku seemed to feel some sympathy for him and said, “I suppose we could leave all the official items for another time.”

“Yes,” Harry perked up. “Instead let's play another game of shogi and fix this giant mistake.”

Shikaku shook his head, just as he had done the previous times that Harry had suggested it. “Once lost, the position cannot be won back.”

Harry sighed in annoyance. “Why are we in the forest?”

“There is a matter of some urgency to deal with,” Shikaku said as they stopped in front of a mound. “It seems that the fiend that Shikamaru trapped in here has been moving up slowly.”

AC_D6: Behind the Scenes

To the person who asked about the “follow by email subscription list” - it should still be working.

This post will be a fill for this prompt “The crazy movie director from Naruto's past is making a movie based on the founding of Konoha......Harry accidentally gets cast in the part of Madara.” that was submitted by Haley Novak.

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Naruto sped towards the tower,excited and ready to take on whatever mission he was being called in for. He hoped it was a super cool mission. Something that he could tell nii-san about later on.

Nii-san had loved hearing about all his older missions. 

All those dreams of important and flashy missions disappeared when he entered the Hokage's office. 

A familiar old man with blue tinted glasses and a brown outfit lit up with excitement as soon as he saw Naruto. “Ah, you've grown a lot over the years. kid.”

Naruto frowned, unsure of who the man was. 

AC_D5: Ask Box prompts (Part 1)

Super late due to the hazards of Christmas prep. After some epic bad luck, I got a cut right across my finger pads and had to use band-aids which made everything- including typing- very clunky and rage inducing.

Typing still isn't as fast as I would like, but at least I don't have to backspace every other letter now. I'll try to finish and upload my remaining Advent Calendar posts today in between today's Christmas movie marathon.

This post will be two prompts that I got from the ask box.

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“Harry and Itachi with some angsty interactions. Or just any interactions between them. Doesn't matter what kind.”

AC_D4: Uchihas' Gods (Part 3)

Day 4 of the Advent Calender is going to be another non-AtO related post. But still within the HpxNaruto crossover genre. More specifically my Uchihas' Gods plot bunny. The previous parts are: Uchihas' Gods, Uchihas's Gods: Additional Scenes

I keep coming back to this plot bunny and adding bits of ridiculous scenes to it. I'm hoping to eventually get a proper story plot. But for now it will have to be my strange little experiment.

No Madara in this bit, because I had Sasuke on the mind after working on AtO.
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With chakra silencing his steps, Sasuke crept after Tsukuyomi. Even in the dim light of the moon, Tsukuyomi's red hair seemed like a beacon in the dark forest.

When he finally stopped, Tsukuyomi stood at the mouth of a dark cave for a mere instant before he rushed in.

Sasuke followed but paused as he saw Tsukuyomi kneeling beside a heavily injured tiger.

Tsukuyomi glanced up, not surprised at his presence and motioned for him to come closer. 

Sasuke hesitated, wary as the tiger's faint pained sounds turned angry.

Tsukuyomi shushed the tiger with a gentle pat and motioned to Sasuke again.

Sasuke knelt beside Tsukuyomi and assessed the gash in the tiger's back, the gash that clearly showed bone. The tiger would most definitely die if it wasn't healed. If it couldn't be healed. For all that Sasuke had done since becoming a ninja, and since Orochimaru, he had never liked seeing death up close.

Tsukuyomi patted Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke leaned away from the contact. 

Tsukuyomi grabbed Sasuke's hand in a strong grip and placed it atop the tiger's neck with a stern and almost murderous expression. 

Sasuke froze. As far as he remembered, Tsukuyomi had never shown such an expression. He had always seemed friendly. 

The tiger seemed unusually calm as Tsukuyomi prodded it, it's pulse weak under Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke cringed at the pained sounds it made. “Are you going to heal it?” He blurted before he could help himself.

AC_D3: 'Monk' Harry

Prompt requested by DreamOfStories... and I sort of mixed up two different prompts for this. The two prompts were “Alternative job: Harry the Priest / Monk (Harry really does go off to the temple and stays for a bit - just a bit - cause reasons)” and “Harry gets handwriting lessons”

Also happy belated birthday, DreamOfStories.

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Staring around at all the items he had repaired, Harry took a deep breath and ventured out of the room. 

Even though Ichigen hadn't told Harry to stay in the room, Harry had thought it best to stay out of everyone's way while he repaired things. 

But now that he had finished that, Harry was bored. And he couldn't stand being in the room any longer. 

While exploring the Temple's layout, Harry stopped at every wall filled with carvings. Even though he couldn't decipher any of it, Harry couldn't help but admire the sheer amount of skill that had created the carvings. 

Absorbed by the carvings, Harry didn't realize that he had entered a room until a throat cleared.

Harry started. 

AC_D2: A Rough Sequel to 'King'

For the year's second Advent post, I thought I'd give you something not related to AtO.

This post is related to one of my older stories, King, a BleachXHarry Potter crossover. I really liked that crossover combination back then.

Anyway, these are bits and pieces for a sequel I wanted to do but never got around to completing for many reasons.

I hope you enjoy this even with the rough and unpolished writing.
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“Harii, you bastard!”

Harry rubbed his jaw with a wince. “What the hell? Who punches someone in the face as a greeting? Say hello like a normal person!”

“Don't act all friendly with me. You knocked me out and left me there when I could have helped you. And now you come by a week later...”

AC_D1: Adventures in Suna (Part 2)

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2015 Advent Calender.

Because of RLstuff, I'll be posting only once every three days. So there will be a total of 8 Advent Calender posts this year.

Hope you enjoy. 

This post is a continuation of this: Adventures in Suna

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"How long until you make the star chart?"

Harry started and turned, not having expected Gaara to break the silence. Over the course of the past week, Gaara had seemed content to let Harry explain what he was doing and then lapsed into silence when Harry used the telescope. "Ah sorry, I have been taking my time with that, huh? I'll work on finishing it soon."

Mid-November Writing Adventures

The draft has grown so much since I first started it. I don't want to give out the current word count because it's ridiculous but just know that the .doc file takes a few minutes to open.

So even with all of life's constant distractions, I've got a good amount of content for AtO.

Draft related Stuff

1. Timeline Woes 
I've sort of reached the area where in Naruto canon the Pein arc would be and I have some serious timeline stuff that I need to work out. Too many things happening and I can't tell when they happened in relation to each other.
Canon info doesn't help me much because I've said goodbye to canon ages ago. 
I have a feeling that this is going to be one of my biggest editing headaches. 

2. New Characters
Who don't have a lot of screen time in canon, either because they die or just don't have anything to do in canon. So I have to hammer out the details of how they would act, etc. I'm thinking of doing character sheets to keep track of them but I haven't found one that I like enough.
But the more I write them (because they get lots of screen time with Harry), the more they're inching up in my favourites list.
I can say one new character is a foreign Jinchūriki.

3. Battle Drama
Harry has been in some new quick battles/confrontations and has been nothing but a bystander in others. And I've been stuck toying with what kind of injuries (physical or mental, permanent or not) I should give Harry and another character. 
Crippling injuries make for good drama, right?

Non-draft/General bits and bobs

1. Strange Plot 'Guidance' for AtO
I recently got a PM about things that 'needed to happen' in AtO. I've gotten the occasional comment and PM on what could be added to the story (mostly inane pairing stuff), but this PM was different.
It asked me to incorporate stuff from the next gen stuff/Boruto movie.
The Boruto Movie.
Take a minute to let that settle in.
Yeah, so in case any of you have the same hope/opinion, I'll just say: That is never going to happen in AtO, just re-watch Boruto to get your fix please.

2. Advent Prep for the Blog (WRITING PROMPTS OPEN)
Is there some scene or prompt or something else from my writing that you really want to see written/continued/expanded upon?
If you have something, drop a comment down below or in the ask box in the sidebar (if you want to be Anonymous) and I'll give it a go and post it in December during the Advent Calendar postings.
Just please, no Boruto stuff. Unless it's just Mitsuki.
I'm not saying that me accepting prompts is an attempt at bribing you in case chapter 15 doesn't get published in December, but let's be real. This is probably my only way of bribing you in case I don't get chapter 15 ready for December.

On a more serious note, I hope that you are all safe wherever you are in the world right now.
Polar

Be Careful What You Wish For

A short little tidbit of a thing for Naruto's birthday because I didn't want to miss my chance to post on the day.

And I needed a bit of a small break with some non-important nonsensical writing.
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“If you blow out the candles in one breath,” Nii-san said, his green eyes brightening with each word. “Then your wish comes true.”

“Just like that?” Naruto asked. 

“That's what they say,” Nii-san said without hesitation as he lit the final candle. The bright neon candles on top of the large orange cake looked even better than Naruto had anticipated. “So think of something good before you blow them out.”

Taking the advise to heart, Naruto closed his eyes and searched for a good wish. He couldn't waste a free wish on something that be could or would accomplish eventually. That ruled out wishing for the Hokage position or Sasuke coming back or a date with Sakura or, actually that ruled out everything.

Wait, Naruto opened his eyes, there was one thing he could wish for. 

 

The flames flickered enticingly as though urging him to get on with it. 

Update Delay

If you've been on this blog for a while then I'm sure you're not surprised with AtO's update being pushed to a later date.

However unlike usual, I'm not sorry about this delay. I haven't edited, let alone looked at chapter 15 in ages because I've been busy trying to complete the AtO draft.

I'm in a really good place with my draft writing and I don't want to lose any momentum by going back to edit chapter 15. Editing will just bring my draft writing to a complete stop.

I've actually been so focused on the draft that I don't even have any what-if AtO snippets to post on this blog right now. (I had this one idea of Lily being in Harry's position and meeting Kushina...but I've ignored the temptation to work on that and pushed it to the 'later' pile.)

It's probably frustrating that I talk so much about the draft but have nothing tangible to show for it online, but I hope you'll bear with me as I work on it.

If all goes well, I'll finish the draft sometime in November (according to very hopeful calculations with my current writing speed) and then I'll be able to edit and upload.

So basically what I'm saying is, give me at least two months before you ask about updates. 
Polar

Come, procrastinate with me

Actually, with the amount of writing I've managed, I actually don't feel like I've been procrastinating that much.

But I have somehow ended up some fics that I can totally recommend in case you need something to procrastinate relax with.

1. You are the Princess to my Dragon by LullabyKnell (Avengers) WIP

I'm not interested in the Avengers fandom. Other than a few crossovers, I never really bothered to read stories in the fandoms. Especially not multi-chaptered ones. But the concept of this story just got my attention. 

The main character is Darcy Lewis and she's a dragon. That leads to some pretty interesting times in the whole Marvel universe. I'm very interested in learning more about the dragons and their past.

The story is on FFnet as well but it's only been updated to chapter 16 on there.

2. How Long is Forever by tradition (Naruto Time Travel) WIP
A Naruto time travel story with Sakura as the main character. A Sakura who's smart, sassy, sneaky and doing all sorts of dangerous plans to fix things. If you can't tell, I really like how Sakura is in the story. There's no moping around because she's determined to fix things for the better.

The chapters are not in chronological order, but somehow that just works rather well for the story.

There's some really fun bits in the story- Chapter 30 on a whole is my personal favourite because of the complete irony of Sakura's words in a previous chapter.

3. Road Trip at the End of the World by Zenthisoror (Naruto) Complete

This is a very different style of fanfiction. The author describes it as fairytale-esque and I have to agree with that. This oneshot does seem to give off that vibe.

The story revolves around Team 7 after they wake up with no memories in the shadow of a giant tree. I feel like I can't say anymore without spoiling everything. I will however say that this story might give you team 7 feels by the end.

4. Ride the Skies by dollarformyname (SupernaturalxDark Angel crossover) Abandoned
An old crossover between Supernatural (sometime around S5) and Dark Angel- features drunk Castiel at the start and tiny transgenics. Though it's abandoned, I did enjoy reading the chapters that are there.

That's all for now,
Polar

Q & A Session 2

Another short answering session for the comments sent in through the ask box.
Warning: This post does contain some spoilers for the Naruto Gaiden and next gen stuff. 

Q1. I only read the Gaiden till Suigetsu tested Uchiha daughter's genes. I stopped after that because it felt like it might turn into a melodramatic soap opera. So i'm not really sure who the blue-haired dude is. Sorry. But it's good you like at least one character from the manga! Right!? Even so i'm really disappointed in future Naruto. I expected him to be a guy who dotes on his family, because he never had one. Kids are unconditional love! which Naruto has never had. If you look through the whole story i can't find many examples of somebody genuinely liking Naruto without him fighting to prove himself(maybe Chouji/Shika/Shino/Kiba but he's not really close to any of them, although i guess they seem closer in Shippuden?) or you know likes him but doesn't try to kill him later(Haku). Since all roads lead to AtO, it's why i like Harry and Naruto's relationship. Unconditional family love for all!

AtO Draft Update 2

Another few thousand words of draft writing later and it's brought up some crazy moments and thoughts. Here are a select few of those moments. 

1. Have these two idiots been talking for 4000+ words? What they heck are they even talking about?

Harry is obviously one of the idiots in the conversation. And I don't know how it became such a long bit of dialogue and speaking. No one should speak that much in just one go. I didn't realize how big it had gotten until I was moving what I had written into another document. 

2. It's been rather peaceful for a while. No Shikaku anywhere... never mind, I spoke too soon.

I had just finished writing out a chapter scene and thinking- it's been a while since any Nara showed up. When I go to check on my plot table, what do I see? That I actually need to bring the Nara in so that Harry can have some sort of revelation or something. 

3. Let's play a game of -Where's Hedwig?

No, really where is Hedwig? Did I send her up ahead somewhere? Is she sleeping on someone's shoulder? Is she doing something menacing? Why can't I keep track of what I wrote she's doing? I don't have the answers for any of those questions. I'm seriously colour coding character names so that I can see where and when I've written everyone in. 

4. Have I already done this scene in a previous chapter?

Because it certainly feels like I have. This has happened quite a few times. And I couldn't even be bothered to look. I just wrote it anyway and put a sticky note thing on the side of the word document that says “Check if this is a repeat scene.” I apparently have very high hopes for future editing-me. 

5. When will Kakashi come out of my writing limbo?

Apparently, never. I'm giving his scenes to everyone else. Poor guy. But I am working on it. I'm sure I'll get him back in AtO eventually. Maybe he can have a nice and final heroic death. Off-screen. And then Harry could get his nin-dogs. I totally have not thought about his death scene at all. 

6. Speaking of possible heroic deaths, I wonder what Sasuke's been up to?

Nobody knows. Not Team 7 and most definitely not me. He's successfully keeping a low profile. I just know that the first time Sasuke appears in person in AtO, Harry's going to... well let's just say, it's not going to be a nice meeting for anyone. At least that's how I imagine it in my head for now. It's going to be a while before I write that scene.

While I haven't mentioned them, the Akatsuki do bring up their own share of crazy thoughts during their rare but deadly appearances. I actually just finished writing a possible Akatsuki scene and it was a bit... blah. I'm lost on how I've managed to make them so blah. And I'm going to have to figure out how to make them less blah.

So basically, let's all just pray for future editing-me.

Polar

AtO: Adventures in Suna

This is a what-if deviation for Chapter 14. The basic premise is that Harry can't go to Konoha (after fixing the puppets) for some reason or the other and is stuck in Suna with nothing much to do.

This is an experimental attempt to flesh out Suna and it's inhabitants for any future use in AtO. Not sure what its I'll use for AtO world building, but I figured it would be good just to see what comes out of this series.

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Harry squinted through his telescope and held his breath as he observed the star-studded sky. With a quick check, Harry straightened and added more notes to his paper. 

“You're not waiting for your owl tonight.”

Harry clutched his chest and glared at his visitor in annoyance. “Gaara.”

A Wild Uchiha Disappears

I was going through some of my old fanfiction story notes and found this gem "Madara just being a dramatic shit"... and well, I just had to write something with Madara in it.

This is a sequel to A Wild Uchiha Appears
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Harry felt a whole new appreciation for his magic as a peaceful and much-needed quiet settled over his apartment for the first time in two days. A quiet that was only interrupted by two sets of soft snores. 

Having to be a mediator between Naruto and Madara's constant squabbling had been a test of patience and sanity.

When they had started arguing because the other was apparently 'breathing too loud', Harry knew the usual head smacks just wouldn't be enough and finally resorted to magic.

While the two had been completely absorbed in their argument, Harry shot the bickering pair with a few spells. 

Thoughts on Naruto Gaiden

I needed a break and decided it would be a good thing to read the new Naruto Gaiden chapters after putting it off for ages.

I didn't go in expecting much but I was still disappointed by it.

There were only two interesting things that really stood out to me.

- Orochimaru's and Sakura's long hair ponytail.

- Mitsuki

No, seriously, Mitsuki is the only character I care about. I want to know his back story, his likes and dislikes and maybe even his dreams for the future. Why isn't he the main character?

You can see him in the poster for the upcoming movie. 

He's got blue hair.

He's cool. In fact, he's the only cool looking one in that poster.

Surely, I'm not the only one who sees that?

Polar

Alternate Route to Konoha

If you haven't done the 'Choose your own story' that I posted before, then this extra will be completely new to you. 

And if you did that, you probably know how this story goes.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this story bit.

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Five hours after entering Fire Country, Harry understood where the country got it's name. Even with spells to make the stifling heat and humidity manageable, Harry felt completely drained when he stopped for lunch. 

As he gulped down his icy water, Hedwig woke with a start. She tightened her grip on his shoulder and tilted her head in curious caution. 

Harry cast a Homenum Revelio but the spell didn't show any people in range. 

Something else had caught Hedwig's attention.

But other than the rustling of trees and droning buzz of insects, Harry couldn't hear anything to be worried about. 

Hedwig hooted, sounding more concerned than cautious now. 

Harry stood. “What is it?”

Hedwig jumped into the air with a hoot and zoomed forward.

Trusting her, Harry followed her through the forest and sped up as he heard faint sounds of distress. 

The forest shifted into a swamp-like terrain that seemed unnatural. With no swamp plants or creatures like flies and frogs, the swamp seemed like it had been plopped down there as though someone had set off the Weasley's Portable Swamp. 

It didn't take long for Harry to find the source of the distressed cries.

A small fawn struggled in the swamp's thick dark mud. It looked worn out, exhausted and resigned to it's fate. But the moment it caught sight of Harry, the fawn perked up and made a tired snuffling sound. 

AtO Draft Update

I'm still writing! Barring days when I'm just too bogged down with life, I've been pretty consistent with adding to the draft. If that isn't a cause for celebration, I don't know what is.

I recently passed the 85,000 word count but I'm nowhere close to the end, so I'm dreading the editing phase.

I haven't gone back to read anything draft I've written so far, because I know that I'll want to edit so much and that will stop me from writing.

The massive editing I'll need to do is the reason why I put September as the tentative date for the next AtO update.

As for how the writing has been going, well, here are some of the thoughts that go through my mind.

1. Shikaku, go away.
2. Oh hey Kakashi, it's been a while? Maybe I should put you in here talking and being informative... actually, you know what, I like it better when you're out of Konoha on a mission. You can take Yamato with you too. Goodbye.
3. Shikaku, seriously you've already had enough screen time, go away.
4. Tsunade, hey, maybe it's time to ... no? Okay then.
5. Shikaku, what the heck man? Why are you hogging the spotlight again? At least let it Shikamaru be the token Nara here.
6. Team 7, I don't know if all these mushy scenes of you guys will stick around in the final draft, but I'm going to write as many of these scenes as I can.
7. Shikaku, I'm making a nice long list on how I can kill you off. Don't make me use it.
8. Danzo, I'm seriously missing you. You won't believe what Shikaku's been doing. Please show up soon.
9. Kakashi, er, you want another mission outside the village?
10. Nara... how would you like to be in another HP crossover plotbunny that I've just created? You can be the main character and everything.
11. Oh my god, just how am I supposed to reach that ending now. I wasn't supposed to go on this tangent. Harry, no! Don't do that.

Yes, I'm exaggerating.

I never miss Danzo.

Polar

Q & A Sesssion.

This answering session is for the comments sent in through the ask box.

Q1. I'm so glad somebody asked about the 'Sexy Jutsu' because i kept thinking that if Harry found out he would be furious at Naruto's mentors for letting a little boy henge into an almost naked woman. It could go really badly, and that's if we don't talk how Naruto once used it to convince Jiraiya to train him. Harry would definitely hex Jiraiya HORRIBLY for that particular pervertness, intentional or not.

A. Personally, I've always thought that Jiraiya was just humouring Naruto. He always planned on training Naruto and passing on the Fourth's techniques. Pretending to fall for Naruto's technique was just one way to make Naruto feel better/confident and a way for Jiraiya to start making amends.

With Jiraiya's lifestyle and work, he knows when someone's trying to trick him. He has to be sharp if he wants to collect reliable information. If Itachi's ploy of using a genjutsu'ed woman didn't fool Jiraiya, then Naruto's technique certainly couldn't have fooled him. 

Also, regardless of the situation, it would be Hermione who did any sort of hexing, because she's a pro with that.

Q2. Hi! I don't mean to put you off but if you're focusing on AtO does that mean the update schedule will change? Like i don't mind because i adore your writing but i was just wondering.

A. I guess I'm a bit late answering this. But I stuck with the schedule I had and uploaded Mist Guardian. Next up is DtE's 2 chapters.

The only thing that can put me off from focusing on AtO is AtO itself. I haven't gotten tired of it just yet and I'm hoping that having other stories to edit in between will stop that from happening.

Q3. Drat! Took me several times to get to an interesting ending... and then I came back to see where other answes would have let me :-) That was a very fun game, thank you!!

A. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I probably should have put in some more bad/unhappy endings in there.

CYOS: An Alternate Path to Konoha

So today's post will have something a bit different. I converted an upcoming AtO alternate omake thing into a different story format. Instead of a plain old linear story format, I wanted to try doing a “Choose your own story/adventure” type format where you, the reader, choose what Harry does and see what happens.

There are 8 unique endings (which is probably a bit excessive) and multiple paths to them. It's an experiment with google forms, so don't expect too much from it. It's not very complex with plot or choices. And it's probably too obvious and easy to reach the 'true' ending. But I hope you enjoy it none the less.

Here's the link for it: An Alternate Path to Konoha

If you dislike the CYOS format or don't have the time to mess around with this, don't worry I'll post the linear story in a separate upcoming post.

Any feedback, corrections or suggestions would be appreciated.

Replies for Ask-box comments

1. Have you ever considered writing a book? Or an original piece of fiction? Your descriptions are a little confusing sometimes but you certainly have a lot of ideas (and i enjoy all of them!) so have you ever considered it?

Ugh, descriptions. The bane of my writing life. It's right up there with writing romance. Levelling up that aspect of my writing is a slow and painful process but one day... one day in the very far future I shall be able to describe a scene properly.

I do write original fiction. The biggest challenge with any writing for me, especially the big projects, is completing it. So while I do love the idea of putting out a book in the future, I think I need to be a bit more serious about my writing schedule and habits before that can happen.

2.Hey there! I just wanted to tell you that i sometimes have trouble seeing the comments after a bog post. And since i can't see them i also can't leave comments there either. Other than that i pretty much love everything you post!

I'm not sure why that's happening for you. Maybe if there aren't any comments on the post then the Disqus comment section just doesn't show up? I don't know what I can do for that but I'll look into it.

3. You know, in your "Against the Odds" story, I'm certain Naruto would go to great lengths to make sure Harry doesn't find out about his "Sexy-Jutsu"! Thoughts?

I actually do have something about the sexy-jutsu coming up (It's in the draft, don't know if it will survive all the edits before being published). I haven't gone with this route in the story, but I think it's definitely possible. Naruto would probably have a clone close to Harry at all times. And the instant someone tries to mention the sexy jutsu, bam. A clone rushes to interrupt/knock the speaker away/drag Harry away to some sort of fake emergency.

That's all for now,

Polar

Alternate Jobs: Bartender Harry

First, some quick replies to some messages sent in through the ask box.

1. Did you change your settings?I can't see your blog properly. I'm not sure if you can see this either.

I do break the coding a lot on here when I experiment with the layout. Over the past few weeks, I've deleted and moved some things as part of a much needed clean-up. But nothing seems broken to me. Could you be more specific about what you're having problems with?

2.So good to hear from you! LOVE all the excerpts you post and the many many interesting tangents you're brain goes through. Good luck with you're writing and that you finally reach the epilogue you had written years ago!

I'm glad you're enjoying the crazy tangents. They're fun to write because I'm never sure how they'll turn out. But they're also super distracting because they always pop up when I'm trying to add to my AtO draft.

Anyway on to bartender-Harry.

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“I didn't know that Soma hired anyone so young here,” the new customer said, his barely concealed confusion easy to hear as he sat at the bar. “You must have impressed him."

The dull green vest, the strange headgear that framed his face and the trained watchful air made Harry straighten in interest. His first ninja customer. Topping up the last glass, Harry pushed the tray to the waitress and said, “I own this bar now. What can I get you?”

The ninja blinked, the only outward sign of his surprise before he shrugged. “Anything that will silence the bad memories for a while.”

Harry couldn't help feeling sympathetic. “I've got just the thing.” Scanning the shelves behind him, Harry bypassed the bottles of bright multicoloured alcohols- the crystalline blues, the blood reds and even the glittering black ones- and grabbed an unlabelled bottle filled with dark purple. The strong berry smell that wafted up as he filled a glass reassured Harry that he had gotten the right bottle. 

His ninja customer eyed the purple drink that Harry had placed in front of him. “What's this called?”

Harry shrugged. “It doesn't have a name yet.”

Instead of the wariness that Harry had expected, the ninja downed the drink without hesitation. “That was good.”

“I had a lot of trouble making that one” Harry said, feeling his tension ease as he filled another tray of drinks and handed it to the only waitress who worked at the bar. 

 

“You made it?” the ninja said in wonder. 

Healing Touch (Part 3)

Another part for this AU (Here's Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed it). Yeah, I just can't help myself.

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“So you've finally come to check on your team-mate,” Jiraiya said, giving her a strong disappointed look. 

At his bedside, Orochimaru rolled his eyes. “He's been like this ever since he regained consciousness. You did the smart thing by staying away, Tsunade.”

As the persistent knot of worry about his condition faded into a relieved ease, Tsunade said, “I knew you weren't dying, so there as nothing to worry about. Besides I had family matters to deal with.”

Jiraiya gasped, looking betrayed. “I could have died.”

“Fools don't die so easily,” Orochimaru said. 

Tsunade nodded solemnly. “And you are a super fool.”

“You're both horrible. No one else has to suffer with such horrible unfeeling team-mates,” Jiraiya bemoaned. 

Ignoring his dramatics, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. “Your family?”

It took a moment for Tsunade to follow his line of thought and understand what he was asking, “Oh, no no. Everyone is fine and their usual selves. Nawaki made a fool of himself in front of Reina again.”

Orochimaru smirked in amusement.

“Poor boy,” Jiraiya said, sounding more amused than consoling. 

Happy Birthday Sakura

This isn't really a birthday piece- there's no birthday celebrating for Sakura. In fact it's the opposite of celebrating.

It's the start of a not-so-happy story that's been in my head, where Sakura is the main character. Something that a part of me wishes happened at the end of Naruto.

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Sakura painted the rest of the seals on the two bodies lying in front of her. Going over the information in her head again, Sakura double checked her symbols and seal lines. 

Reassured that she had done all she could, she took a deep breath and pulled on her chakra. The seal at the top of her head unravelled unleashing a rush of chakra that made her skin glow with energy. She grit her teeth at the heady feeling of power and channelled everything she could into the newly crafted seals. 

With a twist of power and an almost whispered prayer, Sakura said, "Impure World Resurrection." She wondered if she should have renamed the technique. After all the changes she had wrought, it only vaguely resembled the original.

The two bodies in front of her surged with life, the elaborate seals around them channelling her power and allowing the bodies to shift forms. 

After what felt like hours but was probably mere minutes, the procedure ran it's course and a strange aura filled the air. Sakura swallowed back her apprehension and stood, waiting for the two she had summoned to get their bearings.

It was the familiar blue eyes that blinked open first. "Sakura-chan?" Though hesitant, Naruto's familiar bright voice made Sakura's chest ache as he sat up. "Where... what?"

Beside him, Sasuke clutched at his chest as he looked around with narrowed eyes.

When Naruto looked at her, his blue irises seemed twice as bright against the black sclera. "Sakura-chan, you look different. Your hair..." Naruto paused.

A New Ally

This can be considered a sort of indirect sequel for this old ridiculous omake. I just wanted to write/explore something about Manda and clear out some of the ideas cluttering head since I'm hammering out AtO's first draft at the moment.

When I say I'm writing AtO's first draft, I mean I'm trying to write all of AtO from chapter 16 onwards and reach the Epilogue chapter that I wrote ages ago.

As you can imagine, it's been crazy. Putting together everything I've kept as separate snippets, working out what-happens-when, seeing certain characters do things that I only vaguely planned about and watching the word-count grow is all kinds of scary. But it's also encouraging and productive.

Anyway, on to the story.

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The ship's sails flapped and rustled in the wind as the ship cut through the blue waves. 

Leaning over the railings, Harry reveled at the way his charmed glasses fended off the occasional spray of ocean water and allowed him a clear view of the ocean.

Beneath the blue waves, dark silhouettes of unknown fish both big and small kept Harry suitably entertained when everyone else on the ship was otherwise occupied.

The floorboards creaked as footsteps stopped beside him. 

“We're almost there,” Yamato said, his eyes fixed on the ocean as he mimicked Harry's pose against the railings. “The captain says we'll be able to see the black patch of ocean water soon.”

Harry nodded. “And he'll stop at the edge.”

Yamato nodded. “He doesn't want to be right on top of the deepest part of the ocean.”

“Can't blame him,” Harry said as he pushed his glasses up. “Especially since we know what it houses.” 

Yamato didn't reply.

“You still think I'm going on a fool's errand?” Harry said. 

“It's hard to accept,” Yamato said. “We would have known about it long before because people would have talked about it.Orochimaru's snake isn't... he's either delusional or luring you into a trap.”

Harry shook his head. “Manda seemed genuine about needing help with his love life. Anyway, I have to do this because he kept his side of the bargain and brought Sasuke back.” 

Yamato's lips pursed into a thin line.

“So,” Harry said after a moment of thought. “Do you dislike snakes or Sasuke more?”

“I don't dislike Sasuke,” Yamato said, his eyes scanning the ocean intently.

Harry hadn't been surprised when the rest of Team 7- even Sai- had opted to stick close to Sasuke in Konoha. But he had been surprised when Yamato had volunteered to accompany Harry on his quest to help Manda.

“I don't,” Yamato repeated firmly. “And I'm fine with snakes.”

Harry pulled up his sleeve, uncovering the small purple snake coiled around his wrist. 

The wood around them creaked, a little louder than normal, and Yamato pointed to the black stretch of ocean under the sunlight with something akin to relief. “There it is. What are you going to do now?”

Healing Touch (Part 2)

A second part to that Tsunade and Harry AU bit that I wrote in December. I've named it 'Healing touch' for now but I might change the name later if I come up with something better.

Warnings: Not too edited.

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“Did you enjoy your outdoor survival training?” Tsunade asked in lieu of a greeting as a short brown haired boy, her six year old brother, trudged up to her.

With dirt in his hair and a scowl, Nawaki said, “Why didn't you tell it was going to be so horrible?”

Tsunade snorted and combed through his hair, shaking away the dirt. “I told you a week survival training was nothing to be excited about. But you just kept thinking it was a camping trip.”

“It was a camping trip from hell!” Nawaki said, “A giant leech fell on me. I thought I was going to die.”

Tsunade couldn't stop her lips from twitching as she guided her brother out of the newly built academy grounds. “You screamed, didn't you?” 

Nawaki held up a strong front for all of 30 seconds before he slumped in despair. “Reina laughed when she picked it off me and killed it.”

“That girl is going to be a formidable ninja when she graduates,” Tsunade said, stifling her laughter at Nawaki's continued bad luck with his crush.

January's Fanfic-I've-Read Round up

This is basically a small list of the fanfic I read and liked this month. Most of these were recced to me ages ago and I've just gotten around to reading them over the past month.

1. Ricochet by Strix 4

I admit the first chapter threw me off and I was tempted to stop reading- I'm not a fan of high school-esque AU. But I liked the dialogue and how it showed so much personality for various characters (mostly Naruto) so I kept reading. And I wasn't disappointed as I reached the latest chapter. Definitely a good read that will leave you in a mess of emotions.

2. Applied Cultural Anthropology or by jacobk

A Hermione centric story where we get to see what happens if she had joined Slytherin. And what a wonderful and rather scary Slytherin she makes. I like how things just change and I like the portrayal of Slytherin's inner workings. It all makes me curious to see how things will progress in the future. So check this out if you want a well done Slytherin Hermione fic.

3 Caveat Inimici by S.Rebeiro

This oneshot goes with the theme of scary/badass Hermione. It's an old oneshot but it really hits you with just how scarily protective and vengeful Hermione can be. I personally like the ruthlessness that Hermione shows. Well worth the read.

This is a super short list compared to my ever growing 'to-read' fanfic list. But I'm hoping to get through that list slowly and make a sizable dent in it by the end of the year. 

Polar

Life-Coach (Part 2)

A continuation of the life coach idea with a little more Kakashi. Not much because I still don't have a proper feel for writing him.

Warnings: Plotholes. Not part of AtO. And short.

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As Harry took a seat at his table, the restaurant owner smiled. “Harii-san, I'm glad you could come.”

“I never say no to free food.” Harry said.

“I'm glad I can repay all the help you've given me.”

“I didn't do too much, Kimiko-san. This restaurant is running because of your hard work.”

Kimiko huffed but said, “What can I get you two?”

A grey-haired man sat on the other side of the table, opposite Harry. A man who definitely hadn't been there moments ago. 

Happy 2015!

I'm only 11 days into 2015- so this New Year greeting post isn't too late, right?

Well even if it is, that's just how I am. Forever delaying things.

Anyway, I'm going to take another stab at putting up my fanfiction goals for the upcoming year.

1. For AtO, since I managed one update last year, this year maybe two updates isn't too unrealistic of a goal to aspire for. Also on the subject of AtO, I should probably arrange my haphazard collection of story notes into something sensible- that might increase my productivity.

2. Complete DtE. This old NaNoWriMo project should have been completed ages ago and I've just been putting it off because of my intense dislike of editing.

3. Finally read some of the many fanfiction stories I've bookmarked as "To Read".

I wanted to add some more- like finishing Mist Guardian by updating it constantly, but then I was like, woah, these 3 things are already pretty ambitious enough for 2015.

Yes, I'm aiming very low this year and hoping that I'll surprise myself at the end by doing much more than planned.

I can always hope, right?
Polar