AC_D12: Sound's Strange (Part 1)

Despite my big hopes to post tons of stuff, this is going to be the final post for Advent this year. For the posts that I didn't get around to putting up, I'll post them after all the holiday going ons.

Speaking of the holidays, I hope you all have a wonderful time within the next few days- whatever you are celebrating or not celebrating.

For this final advent post, I'm actually going to start a new series on the blog- based on one of my old brainstorms- mostly so that I can explore writing with some different characters in an AtO-ish setting.

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AC_D11:An Alternate Temple Scenario

This is a partial fill for an Anonymous prompt sent in through the Ask Box, “Are the December prompts still open? If they are i had two suggestions: 1) A kinda angsty to eventual happy one for Monk Harry on ffnet. Naruto survives but Harry does not. This starts off a Groundhog situation for Naruto since Harry was never meant to die (cuz of the prophecy or since he doesn't really belong in the world, etc.) and the day loops continuously. The only way forward is to keep Harry alive. 2) Alternate Job-Professional Ghost Hunter.”

This is way too complicated for a prompt- groundhog day scenarios require a good amount of words and work to be anywhere near good. And the only groundhog day story I've ever liked is an Original fiction called Mother of Learning (Read it, you won't be disappointed).

So, I'm only going to do the slightly easier part- have a short fill for the angsty portion of the prompt.

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AC_D10: The Beginning of a Friendship

This is prompt fill for Mer “If possible, can you write about Hedwig visiting Konoha hospital, delivering poisonous snake heads to Sakura?”

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1.

Sakura squinted at the cramped text, grimacing at the amount of reading she had left to do before tomorrow.

A large tap made her look up and see a large white owl outside.

She hastened to open the window.

The owl swooped in, dropped a freshly cut snake head onto the boring text that Sakura had been working on and left with a soft hoot.

Glad to have an excuse not to read the boring text, Sakura grabbed her med kit and moved tot he snake head with anticipation.

AC_D9:A Reversed Change in Age

A fill for an Anonymous prompt sent in through the Ask Box. The prompt is “Harry gets turned into a toddler. The Naras, Naruto, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Itachi take care of him. Toddler Harry can bake. Fluffiness :)”

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Mindful of the soft but hurried knocks, Shikaku opened the door as softly as possible and stared. “Naruto?”

The blond looked at him with troubled eyes, his arms tight around a covered bundle.

“What's going on?” Shikaku asked.

“I need... we need help.”

“We?”

The small bundle in Naruto's eyes moved and green eyes stared back at him from under a distinctly familiar scarred forehead. Naruto pulled the blanket up and covered the bundle once more.

AC_D8: An Extended Stay at the Fire Temple (Part 2)

This is a prompt fill for foxsw “I'd like a followup to the story on ff chapter 7, where Tsunade and the clan-heads try to understand how their tame civilan Uzimaki Harry killed two unkillable, immortal akutsuki.”

In case you haven't read it already, the previous part of this story can be found here. 

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As Shizune entered the office, Shikaku gathered his papers and turned to leave.

“Stay,” Tsunade said and turned to her assistant. “Did you complete the autopsies?”

Shikaku straightened. There could only be one autopsy that Tsunade was waiting for.

“Did some extra tests, just in case.” Shizune nodded, the thick files in her hand coupled with with slight tinge of darkness under her eyes showed just how much work she had done.“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Shikaku asked when Tsunade didn't.

“Nothing,” Shizune repeated, her eyes fixed on the Hokage. “No poisons, no damaged organs, no real physical damage other than those self-inflicted ones that the pale one had. The one that matched Na...” Shizune paused and cleared her throat, looking away from the Hokage's hard eyes and down at her files. “They just died.”

AC_D7: Alternate Jobs- Fisherman

“You're a fisherman and you moved to Konoha?” The shop owner asked with disbelief.

Harry nodded as he examined the fishing rod in front of him. Sleek and smooth, it was fitted with strong metal fittings and looked sturdy enough. “I wanted a challenge instead of the usual.”

“Well, it'll certainly be a challenge to earn anything here. People can catch their own fish. The ninja are quick and don't even need a fishing rod.”

Harry shrugged. “That's okay.”

The old store owner stared at him. “You know, wanting a challenge is all well and good but it won't pay the bills.”

Harry nodded but said, “I'd like some extra line.”

“And tackle?”

Considering he didn't actually know what a tackle was, Harry shook his head. 

The shop owner looked ready to launch into some sort of lecture.

Harry said, “Can I fish at any location or are places restricted.”

“As long as it's not on a clan's property, it's okay to fish anywhere. Clans keep their compounds secure, so you won't end up there anyway.” The shop owner looked at him. “Anything else?”

x=x=x=x=x

AC_D6: Welcome Visitors

A prompt fill for Amberfox “Since you did a skit about Naruto in the Wizarding world it would be cool to read about Harry's friends visiting Naruto in his Strawberry Cake apartment.”

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“I'm sure there must be some in the hallway cupboard,” Naruto said.

Harry nodded and entered the hallway. He opened the small hallway cupboard, got a glimpse of the inside and slammed it shut.

“Nii-san?” Naruto questioned from the kitchen. “Did you find it?”

“I found something,” Harry muttered, reaching for his wand as he kept a hand on the cupboard's door handle. Whatever it was that he had gotten a glimpse of, it was most definitely not what the inside of a hallway cupboard should look like.

“Is it not opening?” Naruto asked, entering the hallway. “The handle gets jammed sometimes.”

Before Harry could reply, Naruto grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

He swallowed and stepped away from the open cupboard. “Did you...”

AC_D5: A Snapshot Omake for DtE

Even though I've marked Complicated Detour to Evolution (DtE) as complete on ffnet, I do still get fun snippets of ideas/scenes for it. And I thought I'd put some of them together for this post.

This omake is mostly centered around Sakura. And in keeping with DtE's overall tone, it's all fairly ridiculous but still loads of fun to write.

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1.

“What the fuck is that?” Grimmjow grimaced and flinched away from the swaddled bundle. “It took you nine months to create this ugly thing? You had to stay in Konoha for this?”

Sakura, sitting up on her hospital bed, rolled her eyes. Her husband, the blond foreign ninja whose name Grimmjow never wanted to learn, narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth but quietened when Sakura grabbed his hand. “Don't take his words so seriously, Shi.”

“But,” the foreign ninja said. 

“That's just his way. You should be used to him by now.”

“Bitch, don't pretend like you know me.”

AC_D4: Hedwig to the Rescue

This is a prompt fill for Haley Novak “Hedwig delivers a letter to one of Harry's ninja friends just in time to save their lives in a serious situation(Harry is not involved)”

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“They asked for me?” Shikamaru asked. “Me, specifically?”

His father nodded as he sipped on his steaming tea. “You must have made an impression people while you were in Suna.”

“I was in meetings the entire time.” Shikamaru felt the need to point out.

“We can't say no to the request without a proper reason.” His father, the heartless man that he was, grinned.

Shikamaru ignored his father's amusement. “You think they're finally open to making a proper deal with us?”

“It's a possibility.”

“Then do you really want me to go? I haven't even finished aunt's lessons on clan trading and negotiations.”

“Your aunt would say that nothing teaches better than first hand experience. Besides, I'm sure you know the basics. Don't sign any paperwork. Don't insult or threaten them openly.”

Shikamaru stared at his father with something like disbelief. “Harii was right. You do think that you have a sense of humour.”

AC_D3: Behind the Scenes (Part 3)

This is a continuation of my “Behind the Scenes”-verse and also a partial fill for a prompt that came in a while back. In September to be exact, but I never had a chance to work on it.

The prompt was “Can I request a scenario where the "fairy-tale" that Harry was asked to give circulates around Konoha and soon books, a fanbase, etc. start to pop into existence. Harry is then given another movie role, but as the creepy/snake/diary/evil man?”

To whoever sent this prompt in, I hope you don't mind seeing it so late.

Fyi, the fairy-tale thing that the prompt is referring to, is from a much older prompt that I filled out ages ago.

AC_D2: Scraps from AtO 15

For today's post I thought I'd post some rough/un-edited bits of chapter 15 that I cut out while revising- stuff that just didn't fit in anymore.

1. A conversation between Naruto and Harry

"Are you still complaining about Jiraiya'ss food choices?" Harry asked in amusement.

"Everyday for two years, nii-san. Two years!"

"Couldn't have been everyday if he visited the brothels as often as you said he did," Harry said.

"Nii-san, whose side are you on?"

"The most amusing side," Harry replied primly.

Naruto groaned. "Those two free-loaders have corrupted you."

"They're not free-loaders."

"But they have corrupted you!"

"Corrupted me with what, exactly?" Harry asked, his lip twitching upwards.

"With ridiculous one-liners," Naruto said. "They've taken away all your super niceness."

"But you were the one who kept telling me to be less nice."

"To other people, not to me!" Naruto huffed in indignation. "You're supposed to be nice to me forever!"

Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Even when you make fun of my hair?"

"Especially then," Naruto said.

"And when you make me eat too much ramen?" Harry asked.

"Even then," Naruot nodded sagely.

AC_D1: Deleted Scene Episode 8

It's Day 1 of 2016's Advent Calender. I'm not sure how many posts I'll be able to put up this year, but hopefully more than 8, at least.

I thought I'd start things off with a deleted scene from Gaara.

Warnings: Very un-edited.Takes place during chapter 14

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Q & A Session 5

Q1. Other than Naruto, Harry Potter, what other fandoms do you usually read fics from?

A. Is this a subtle ask for recs?

I actually don't read fics in the fandoms I write for. I spend so much time with my writing that when I read, I want something different, no more Naruto or Harry or Lucy. I wonder if other fanfic writers feel the same way.

Because of that I read in fandoms that I don't write in- The Hobbit, Worm, some Marvel, but I mostly read stuff after watching movies or TV shows and games.

Q2. You updated! Does this mean you've edited a big chunk or just this chapter? And if it's the first... can I ask if Kakashi got written out or not?

A. I've edited/revised only one chapter so that I could actually update AtO this year. I still have a lot of editing to do before any possible future updates.

Kakashi is around... as mentions most of the time and it's going to stay that way. He talks directly to Harry in a much future chapter but he'll never have too close of a connection/relationship to Harry.

One of the reviews I got for AtO 15 asked if Kakashi and Harry would be friends because Kakashi needs friends. And my reply to that is- Harry isn't obligated to become his friend. In fact, Harry shouldn't be able to make friends with everyone he meets. And I like the idea of Kakashi as an aloof acquaintance. 

 To read previous Q&As, click here.

2016 Advent Calender Announcement- Accepting Prompts.

Yup, it's that time of the year again.

I'll be taking prompts for Advent 2016.

In case you're new around here, my advent calender is basically a countdown to Christmas where I post stories up until the 25th.The posts might be omakes or deleted scenes for AtO or just other stories. And I try and fill out prompts sent in.

You can find previous years' advents in these tags- AC2014, AC2015.

If you're sending in a prompt you can either leave a comment down below or send something in through the "Ask Me" page.

Right now, I'm not sure how many posts I'll have in total, the number will range from 12- 24 depending on how much I can get done in time.

General Info if you're sending in a prompt
= You can send a prompt for any fanfic I've written. Or just any fandom I'm in.

= Due to the limited amount of posts I can make, I won't be able to fill out every prompt sent it. And due to my own preferences, I will mostly choose general and interesting prompts to fill.

= For AtO specifically, I won't fill any prompts that could potentially be spoiler-y or show up in future chapters.

= I will be continuing certain omakes: A Change in Age, Behind the Scenes. So there's no need to ask for anything related to that.

See you around,

Polar

Chapter 15 A/N

Ugh, this chapter.

There was a lot of future plot things that I needed to set up in this chapter. And that was the biggest hurdle I had because I wasn't sure what route I wanted to take.

If you visited my blog over the past year or so- you know I decided to go crazy and write a rough draft of AtO till the final chapter. The draft is terrible and needs ruthless revising and editing but it helped me decide which plot points I liked better.

Speaking of editing, this chapter's editing was... an experience.

Maybe I was just super out of practice with editing AtO because it took embarrassingly long to get through even one page of this chapter.

On top of that I cycled between two different docs, one that I had written much earlier. So some conversations that are friendly in the earlier draft is completely different from what I wrote in the newer version of the chapter.

Having to read through and merge conversations was tedious but I think overall it came out rather well. If nothing else, I hope that my writing quality has improved and is more noticeable.

Now onto chapter specific notes- of which I don't really have a lot of.

There's Something about Neji (Part 2)

Still struggling with a lack of free time for fanfiction, but I had a flash of inspiration to do some snapshots for this verse- which, in case you haven't read, is my take on the question “If AtO had any romance and Harry ended up with a male, who would it be?"

Here's Part 1. Beware of this post being unedited. 
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A Birthday Surprise

A little post for Naruto's birthday.
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As Naruto opened the apartment door, a wave of fragrant perfume filled his senses. Naruto stepped back and closed the door in confusion as he looked around. 

“I told you the flowers were a bad idea.”

Naruto frowned and leaned closer to the door.

“It wasn't the flowers that scared him off, it was that outrageous cake.”

“Outrageous?” Another voice retorted with clear indignation.

“Now will you all listen to me and let me go with my initial plan?”

AtO Timeline: Important Story Dates

I'm still very much in editing hell with AtO but one of the upsides is that I've had to revisit and solidify my story time-line.

I thought it would be interesting to put up a rough time-line with the days where big story events happens.

Obviously, I'll keep adding to this post with every chapter update.

July

10- Lands in Whirlpool. Meets Akira.

17- Leaves Whirlpool. Meets Itachi.

20- Parts ways with Itachi and reaches Wave Country.

31- Celebrates his birthday while travelling with Isshin's caravan.

August

1- Reaches Konoha and gets an apartment.

3- Hedwig gets injured after Harry messes with seal.

4- Meets Asuma and Shikamaru.

5- Meets Shikaku.

6- Meets Naruto.

9- Gets confirmation that Naruto is related to him.

15- Meets Ichigen and leaves Konoha to go to the Temple.

18- Reaches Temple of Fire

21- Akatsuki attack the Temple.

24- Asuma dies.

26- Asuma's funeral.

27- Hidan and Kakuzu are defeated.

29- Jiraiya shows up.

30- In Yugakure. Harry tells Naruto about magic.

September

1- Naruto finds about about Kushina

3- Jiraiya gives Harry his notes and leaves Konoha.

7- Harry starts trip to Suna.

14- Harry reaches Suna. Meets Gaara.

15- Meets Ebizo.

17- Leaves Suna. 

21- Harry is back in Konoha. Meets Iruka.

22- Kankuro learns that Harry and Naruto are related. 

27- Temari in Konoha. 

28- Meets Sentoki in the morning. 

30- Farmer drops them at Crossroad

October

1- Reach the top of temple mountain

2- Meets Itachi

 

A Peek into my AtO Folder

Did some organization of my AtO writing files on my computer and well...

That seems a bit excessive for one story, right? Especially since there are some other files on my USB only.

My drafts' sizes are ridiculous when I seem them all together like this- but I know that there are pages worth of brainstorming mid-story, and adding comments in the margins really bulks up the doc size.

Also, the actual chapter 15 is on my desktop for easy access. The chapter 15 ( also 16 and 17) in this folder is my old version.

I don't think there's anything too spoilery here. I mean there are hints to certain things but I don't think you can figure out how those things will be play out in AtO.

Polar

World Building Notes: Kikyō Castle

I've got a lot of headcanon and thoughts for various canon things. So I'm starting a new series on this blog- the World Building Notes- where I take something from canon and expand on it for story writing purposes after some google research.

I might use these thoughts in AtO or other fanfiction when I'm in need of extra details. And maybe some of my thoughts will help you in your own writing.

So first location, is the Kikyō Castle in Konoha.

In Canon, we only see this location during the Chunin Exams arc. It's where Gaara went murderous and where Hayate was killed. Here's the Wiki page for it.

My Thoughts

History

Historically, castles in Japan were fortresses. Wikipedia says that they were made from stone and wood and were used to guard strategic sites. Maybe Kikyō castle had a similar purpose in Naruto before/during the warring clan era.

Konoha was built around Kikyō castle because Hashirama had no problem building things in a short amount of time. And he wanted there to be as much space as possible for all the clans to live in Konoha. 
 

When Konoha was built, Kikyō lost it's primary purpose as a fortress because the village had expanded well beyond it's location. And Konoha never tore it down for space because it was something given to them by the Daimyo and keeping it was like a sign of respect?

July News

Editing

Still climbing the editing mountain with regards to AtO. I've found some plot point being repeated in various chapters so that needs sorting.

Most amusing typo that I found recently was the 'toast' sage. I'm not ashamed to say that I took a few minutes to imagine how a toast sage would work in the Naruto universe.

And then I wondered about cake sages.

Yes, the editing for AtO is slowly driving me a bit crazy.

But strangely enough, I've also been editing a 'Fairy Tail' fanfiction that is much shorter than my AtO draft. I'm hoping that editing between the two keeps me from getting too frustrated with either project.

Writing

I didn't plan to do any new writing this month. Just the re-writing that comes with editing.

But I couldn't help it.

I've been in a Fairy Tail sort of mood with so many new plot bunnies. I absently wrote out one of the ideas to get it out of the way and go back to editing.

But before I knew it I had more than 25,000 words in a very short time.

I don't know if it'll ever be uploaded like a lot of other stories I've written over the years. But it's nice to know that I'm getting faster with my writing.

Reading

On a reading front, I've actually not read a whole of fanfiction so far this month. I've just bookmarked things instead of actually reading.

Instead I've been reading some more creepy/unnerving/horror-esque writing on the “No Sleep” reddit. Not my usual reading material but it's kind of refreshing.

The series/stories I've really liked on there so far are: 

- Dad wears a Muslim amulet - but we're Catholic (has ghost/paranormal stuff but also tugs at your emotions)

- I'm a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service, I have some stories to tell (has creepy forest happenings)

- I Dared My Best Friend to Ruin My Life - He's Succeeding (has creepy person. No paranormal stuff. More of a thriller)

I haven't linked anything too scary but obviously read at your own risk. There are tons of other well written ones on there that really mess with you.

Anyway, that's all for now.

Polar

Editing Progress

I figured it would be good to make an editing log. It's good to read back and see how much things change or do no change.

So here's what I've done so far.

1- The Great Save (Done)

I made multiple copies of my first draft documents and saved them in a few different places. No more empty USBs.

2- The Re-name Game (Done)

I renamed my files as Draft2_1, etc. Felt nice to have a visible sign that I was working on a second draft.

Of course I felt so accomplished that I didn't actually open any of the files until a good while later.

3- The Ruthless Re-read (In progress)

While re-reading, I've been deleting quite a bit of content, striking through large parts that I'm not sure about and updating the chapter summaries on my master outline document

The one thing that I've cut out that had made a visible difference in my word count: 'seemed to'. I don't know why I'm so fond of using it, but I used it a lot. And I've made it my duty to cut it out whenever possible.

Other than that, I've come across repetition of certain plot elements, lost track of important characters in scenes and am constantly wondering what day/time it is in story. Those are just a few small things that need fixing. There's also character voice, plot stuff and my biggest weakness-descriptions that needs to be refined.

Am I overwhelmed by everything I have to do? Yes, definitely. Because I've just started.

But I'm working on it.

Polar

Naruto in the Wizarding World

A prompt that came in through the ask box ages ago. I wasn't completely sure how to fill it, so have a quick snapshot format for this.

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1.

“But I don't want to go shopping,” Naruto whined. “It's so boring. Can't we do anything else?”

“I promise to keep the shopping trip as short as possible. We just need to get a few things before we can go to the other places I have planned.” Harry lifted the innocuous looking figurine of a brown owl. “For now, make sure that you don't let go of this.”

Though still annoyed at the thought of even a little shopping, Naruto moved to Harry's side and got a good grip on the owl figurine.

Harry smiled and activated the portkey.

Naruto's thrill from the portkey travel evaporated as he eyed the Leaky Cauldron's dingy interior as they stepped out of the portkey arrival point.

Even though he was disguised, Harry greeted Tom with a polite wave and a nod and directed a bored looking Naruto through the pub and to the back where the brick wall was.

Harry tapped the bricks but kept his eyes on Naruto, grinning at the sheer amount of awe on his cousin's face.

Behind the Scenes (Part 2)

Here's a sequel to this mad idea as a celebration of Itachi's birthday today.

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“Do you really want to do this?” Kisame asked, hoping his partner to change his mind if he repeated the question multiple time. 

Itachi shot him a look, the same annoyed look as before. A look that said that nothing could change his mind. 

At least, Kisame thought that was what the look said. For all he knew, the look could be Itachi's way of telling Kisame that he was close to death at the younger ninja's hand. 

“But this is...” Kisame struggled for the right words. “This isn't the sort of place for us. We stand out even without the Akatsuki cloaks.”

Itachi turned away from him to look straight ahead. 

Kisame hunched down with a sigh, wishing he was shorter so he wouldn't tower over everyone in the slow moving line. The youngsters, most of them female, fidgeted in the line with an impatient energy that made Kisame antsy. 

He had to stop himself multiple times from drawing Sameheda out of pure frustration at the sheer grating noise levels from the others in line. 

He didn't doubt if he did something outrageous, Itachi would make him pay. He'd probably make Kisame watch that accursed movie again. 

Even though he knew that the line was moving, Kisame was still surprised when they reached the front in less than half an hour. He was even more surprised when the actor from the movie straightened with recognition. 

Updated Fanfiction Goals

I've finally crossed off all of my previous fanfiction goals. And even though I finished them in May instead of the end of March I had hoped for, at least they're done and over with.

I finished my AtO Draft, uploaded DtE completely and also some possible new summaries for AtO that I'm trying to decide between.

This means it's time for new goals. Goals that I'm hoping to finish by end of August but won't be too disappointed if it takes me till December.

1. Rough Edit AtO

This means taking out the things that I already know don't go anywhere in the draft and smooth over the gaps.

Like certain Orochimaru-esque things that don't actually feature Orochimaru? And some world building things that I don't care to have in the story anymore.

2. Add more chapters to Diverging Paths.

I want to reach at least 6 chapters on ffnet with this with something other than Alternate Jobs. Editing chapters for this is a nice and relaxing sort of writing distraction. And more than that, it also gives me a better understanding of different characters.

3. Upload a Fairy tail story

I have had this story draft written and forgotten for about a year. It needs a bit of polishing but I want to upload it and forget about it.

4. Make AtO 15 upload ready

Serious editing on AtO 15 can only happen after the rough edit, because there are future plot things I need to consider. I thought writing out the draft would help me decide on how I wanted to take things, but no, it's just made me more unsure.

So, that's a lot of editing goals for the next 3? months.

Wish me luck,

Polar

AtO Draft 1.0 Complete!

It only took me something like a year of on and off writing (more off than on. to be honest) but I finally have a draft that reaches the epilogue I'd written years ago.

I'm in a bit of a victorious daze, so this post might not be the most coherent, but I need to mark the occasion in some way.

Here's some random info about the draft:

= I've broken up the AtO draft into 5 separate documents which range from 500-1000ish KB in size.

= Characters I've contemplated death scenes for while drinking tea- Kakashi, Sasuke, Danzo, Itachi, the Naras, Naruto... do villages as a whole count for this? I'm not sure. (I won't tell you who I've actually killed off)

= I totally abused the add comments function. So the side of my draft word document are filled with yellow boxes.

= Sometimes I could finish up to 3 chapters in a week and other times it would take more than a month to write out a single chapter.

And here's some Plot things I can tell you:

= Harry travels, drinks and does stupid things. Mostly, he does stupid things.

= There's no animagus Harry- which seems to be a thing that people ask about a lot.

= Also Harry and Itachi do not become a couple- which is another thing that's frequently brought up.

= Harry doesn't learn how to use swords. So he does not become a master swordsman.

= In that vein, Harry does not become a ninja. Or a samurai. Not even a monk. Or a Daimyo. Not a Kage either.

= There's no Kaguya. She's interesting but she just doesn't fit into AtO.

I've already got a few plot paths that I'm cutting out when I start editing because they lead to no where in the story.

What about editing and updates?

I will edit and I will update.

I won't promise a schedule or a fixed date on when I will update. It will happen when I can make it happen. That's just how I am as a writer.

Polar.

P.S. I'm actually going to binge read some old fanfics that have been on my to-read list for ages as a bit of a celebration.

There's Something About Neji

This is my official answer to “If AtO had any romance and Harry ended up with a male, who would it be?”

Neji, I choose you.

So here is a a quick and short stab at how things start for this pairing. Obviously, this won't happen in AtO itself. 

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Q & A Session 4

Q1. Ttop 10 favourite characters of Naruto, who would you choose and in which order?

A. Let's see.

Based on the manga my list would be:

1. Naruto 2. Sakura. 3.Itachi 4.Jiraiya 5.Gaara 6.Sai 7.Konan 8.Tsunade 9. Karin 10. Orochimaru

I never really cared for Sasuke in the manga. The chapters he starred in were tedious to read at the best of times. After writing DtE, I have more fondness for him but still not nearly enough to put him anywhere near the top 10.

If you had to base my list on AtO (not counting draft material) and how I write certain characters, my list would be more like:

1. Naruto,Sakura 2. Izumo, Kotetsu 3.Itachi. 4. Shikaku. 5.Jiraiya 6.Danzo 7.Tsunade 8.Shikamaru 9.Ebizo 10.Gaara 

Q2. Are you moving all your story posts when you delete your blog? 

A. Err, I'm not planning on deleting the blog right now. In the distant future, maybe, who knows?

I'm just moving things to ffnet because it's easier to archive. Plus it gives me an excuse to edit, expand and rewrite some of the nicer stuff. It'll be a slow move there and I won't stop filling out prompts on this blog first.

Q3. Hey! Will Harry get together with Itachi? It would be really cute since Itachi is kinda more worldly and Harry isnt. :)

A. I'm assuming that you're asking if Itachi and Harry will end up in a romantic relationship. 

The answer is no. 

Even if I wrote romance into AtO, the answer would still be no because I just don't see these two as a couple. (Itachi's past actions aren't something that Harry will just ignore.) I'm sure you can find other fics where this pairing is written/the main focus if you're really craving it.

Also, if I had to pick a male romantic interest for Harry, I'd choose Neji.

To read previous Q&As, click here.

AtO Draft Update 3

When I first started this monstrous project of completing my draft for AtO, I had a clear and fixed idea of how many chapters I'd need to reach the epilogue.

But now, a couple hundred thousand words later, I have passed that expected chapter number and I still have a way to go to reach my epilogue. There's maybe an entire arc or so till the end? I'm not completely sure because things have diverged a lot from what I had planned.

Even with that unexpected increase in chapters, I'm super pleased with how much I've written out for AtO.

Now if I can tap into that same productivity when I begin editing, then I should be able to update AtO more than once this year. Wouldn't that be something?

Some of the things that have happened in the recent chapters of the draft

1- Harry gets injured. I'm still toying with how serious the injury and it's repercussions should be. But it makes sense to have Harry injured... for reasons.

2- The Uzumaki duo has become a trio. It shouldn't be too hard to guess who the third Uzumaki is. The circumstances of how they meet needs some fine tuning, but I'm pretty fixed on how they all interact with each other.

3- I've been quite determined to get Team 7 to do things so that I can justify them being on-screen so much. So I've been giving Sai and Sakura all sorts of things to do. Things that diverge from what they are shown to do in canon.

4- Harry has done some pretty awesome/crazy magic and impressed quite a few people and garnered someone's dangerous interest. The magic bits always makes me second guess how the plot should go though. I do like the idea of magic causing more problems, but how many problems is too many?

5- A whole lot of made-up Uzumaki history. Actually, just a whole lot of made-up history all around.

6- This is more of a confession- I still haven't put Kakashi into the draft. Everything that happens to him, happens off screen so that I don't have to write him. I will definitely try and change this while I'm editing.

Basically, the story has a whole lot of canon divergence, which shouldn't be so surprising. 

Harry causes all sorts of mayhem just by existing.

Polar

Q & A Session 3

Haven't done this for a while so I have a backlog of stuff sent in through the askbox from September.

I'm skipping some of the messages sent in- stuff that you've already gotten the answers from reading my normal posts. (Stuff like: Draft well wishes. When is the next update? Am I still alive and writing? What is the meaning of life? Etc.)

I'm also skipping the super nice messages that have been sent it because they're not really questions and they don't really need public replying to. But even so, I'd like to say that I really appreciate those nice messages you guys send in randomly.

Q1. Well I hope you're happy Missy, because i did procrastinate with you instead of writing my report! (my deadline got extended later XD) Regarding a previous ask about other characters showing up in AtO, it makes sense that Harry doesn't immediately interact with the entire main cast, however it felt strange that the others(Konoha11, IRUKA!) aren't insanely curious about Harry. I mean Neji and Hinata definitely know about the perils of family. And they all know how far Naruto goes for a precious person. And they would definitely feel protective of Naruto. What if the new civilian cousin gets involved with the craziness around Naruto and goes 'nope' and leaves? Good riddance obviously but it would hurt Naruto especially if he gets attached or had high hopes. I can imagine them ambushing Shikamaru (Ino in front) about details of Harry. Or maybe they'll stalk Harry around the village for a day. WAS ONE OF THEM THE NOSY OLD WOMAN IN CH:10? That would be so funny.

A. First of all, I hope you aced that report after all that procrastination.

To be honest, the more I write AtO, the less I care about the other teams of the Konoha 11. There's just no situation to bring them in for more than a brief mention. And I do not want to lose any momentum by trying to force them into scenes or conversations. 

They just don't interest me.

Naruto might have to interact with some of them sporadically due to ninja business, but Harry has other priorities and things to do. So, I'd rather focus on writing more scenes with the characters Harry already has connections to. 

As for them feeling curious, they probably are. But will they actually do something about that? I don't think so. None of them seem overly concerned with anyone else's family matters in the group. Not unless they're already really close friends or family friends.

I think the the whole protective feelings are something that make sense for team-mates who meet on a more constant basis. So having Sakura watch and assess Harry as part of her 'I'm going to protect my team' growth makes more sense to me instead of any of the Konoha 11.

Leftover Advent Prompts (1)

I'm in a celebratory sort of mood since I finished a particularly difficult chapter for my AtO draft so... here's one of the leftover prompts that I never had a chance to write during my Advent postings.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Could I see some guys trying to ask Harry out but Izumo amd kotetsu try to stop guys fr asking harry out?”

“You know I can go shopping on my own,” Harry told the man by his side. “I've been doing it for a long time.”

Kotetsu shook his head. “That was before. Things have changed. Things are much more dangerous.”

“How?” Harry prodded, unable to hide his annoyance at having an escort to go everywhere for the past week. “How is it dangerous? No one else seems to be in any danger.”

“They aren't. You're the only one in danger.”

“Shouldn't you at least tell me what kind of danger I am in?” Harry asked with exasperation. “You and Izumo have been acting weird for the past week.”

Kotetsu seemed to think about it for a moment and then dismissed the idea. “No, it's better if you don't know. There's no need for you to be bothered about it.” Kotetsu punctuated his words by glaring at a passing ninja, something that had become the norm over the previous days. 

I am bothered by your constant hovering, Harry wanted to say, but he bit back his words as they walked through the village heading to the markets.

They barely took a step forward before Kotetsu straightened with a stern expression on his face. Giving Harry a look to stay put, Kotetsu disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 

Harry blinked at the empty spot for a moment before he turned to walk forward but had to pause as someone blocked his way.

“Harii-san?”

Harry frowned as he looked up into amused eyes. “Is the Hokage calling me?”

The ninja, clad in the usual green flak jacket over blue, shook his head. “Ah no, I'm not here to deliver any messages.”

The Fanfiction Goals for 2016

First of all, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. Two weeks into the new year and I'm already swamped with life stuff to do. But I still made some fanfiction goals for this year.

How many years have I started off with a giant list of things that I planned to do? And then a year passes without me having done much of anything?

This year will be different! Hopefully. 

So here's my fanfiction goals for 3 months ( till end of March)

Complete DtE

Finally getting around to looking at DtE again, as you might have noticed with the new update today. It's really close to getting completed so I'm going to put in more effort for the final push.And when it's done I won't have to deal with the guilt of keeping it incomplete.

Work on/Complete the AtO Draft

I had to stop working on it over the holiday season. I'm sort of working on it intermittently at the moment when I can but I'm not making as much progress with as I would like.

Also, a part of me is just like- how many hours have I already put into this draft? And I have the editing to do before any of it can be uploaded! Which ties in to my next bit goal.

Edited Summary for AtO

Working on the draft has really made me think about the summary and I've been tossing some ideas on how I can re-do it. I'm thinking when I finish the draft, I'll have a better idea of what to put in the summary.

So basically, what this means is: When you see a new summary, you can be sure that I've finished my draft and started editing Chapter 15.

Does that mean chapter 15 will be up before/by March? Honestly, me not making it a goal should be enough of an answer. Miracles could happen, but let's be realistic here.

Moving AtO Extras to FFnet

Just the omakes at the moment. Not the deleted scenes.

Since the omakes are not actually tied in with the story, I think they'd be much easier to edit without having to worry about timeline and things. I will expand most of them so that they make nice sized individual chapters on ffnet.

The deleted scenes, on the other hand, will be uploaded much later on. I have some plans to rewrite and add certain things before I move them. Plus a part of me really wants to upload more to AtO itself before I work on this. So for now it's a future project (well after March, at least).

Let's get some stuff done, eh?

Polar