You know, I never really considered this pairing, but now I'm actually quite interested.

Reread Richochet and it's just as amazing and godlike as it was the first time. Seriously, Naruto/Kushina interaction has got to be one of the most entertaining I've seen in fiction ever. Godlike characters, seriously.

And despite the fantastic, comical dialogue it actually does angst really, really well. If anyone hasn't read it, do so.

Fearful Symmetry was a bit...meh. Mildly entertaining, but really, it's barely a Naruto fic at all. A completely OC character with a completely different personality and Naruto's name.

Also finally got around to getting up to date in Dreaming of Sunshine and not really impressed. Fillers are over, but it's still very boring and...vanilla. There's nothing special about it at all, it's basically canon. But even more dull, since you're experiencing it through a character who is a lot more normal within the universe. Shikako's personality and narrative isn't special, her relationships with others is pretty much normal, healthy relationships and no really interesting events have happened in a while.

Makes me realize how awesome Vapors really was. Subpar writing technically (And sometimes just downright lazy), but it managed to keep me hooked for 900k words and that's a feat - especially when it managed to do it again on reread. When I can be bothered, gonna Library recc it.

 

This thread has really gone places since I started it it seems lol.

Anyway, I'm in the mood for some decent romance in the fandom and was wondering if the DLP collective had any recommendations?

 

I love those early Ricochet chapters. The later ones are good, but a bit forgettable. The delightful repartee between Naruto and Kushina is so bright and distinctive that it outshines the rest of the fic.

I've just started reading it based on your recc. You're right, the writing hovers around almost good, but it still manages to keep me reading. The author has a sense of humour that intertwines well through the story and balances the action and drama. Sometimes she lets it get away from her and an occasional scene will unfortunately descend into farce, but for the most part it works.

I'm up to chapter 31. I've switched to the AO3 copy of the story because:

 

My only real problem with Vapors is that as time goes on Naruto has less and less of an 'on screen' presence in the story, and it becomes much more about the OC's romances with

Spoiler

Kakashi

and

Spoiler

Akatsuki members

I quit around the time that Naruto was taken off the main characters listing, after a PM trade with the author (who was admirably polite and engaged despite my criticisms), confirmed my fears for the future of the fic.

 

Vapors is pretty good.

Sadly I just couldn't keep reading.

It really seemed like the author was going to close out the story for good or at least end it in a good way.

And then....
SURPRISE.

Spoiler

AMNESIA. LOLOLOLOL TOBI KIDNAPS HER LOLOLOL SEQUEL PUNT

To which I promptly dropped the author from alerts and never looked back.

Like I get it, you changed your mind and wanted to continue the story.

So your solution is one of the most cliche story telling techniques and you do this in order to... essentially reset the SI/OC's character.

Greaaaaat. I'm. So. Interested.

 

As always, this fandom is seriously lacking in good stories.

I tried to pick fics that you possibly haven't read yet, so I ignored the most popular stories that contain romance. Additionally these range from great to just barely readable and I know you're way more critical than I am, so take this with a grain of salt. Here are a few:

Valediction Naruto / Tayuya
Wayne what happened to those fountains Naruto / OC - really worth the read
The Price of Peace Naruto / Hanabi
Heart of a Demon Naruto / Ino
Grin and Bear It Naruto / Ino

For most of these romance is not primary focus, so YMMY.

 

WalkingDisaster Mercenary

Dammit. I've been avoiding all spoilers for Vapors, to the point that I won't even look at the summaries of the sequel.

I read both of your posts as email alerts. Spoiler tags don't appear there. You'd think after reading Walking Disaster's spoiler [and it makes me sad inside; I'd hoped and expected that that relationship wouldn't develop in that manner] a few hours ago, I'd become more vigilant. But no, I figured that'd be the only big spoiler for some reason.

And then I read Merc's post in my inbox.

I should've known better. I'll unsubscribe until I finish/quit it.

 

Damn sorry dude. For what it's worth, I do hear Clarity, its sequel, is not too bad and worth the read.

Just for me personally I couldn't keep reading after seeing that "What a TWEEST" ending.

 

Vapors is pretty good and I enjoyed it all through about the ANBU arc. After that it sort of just tapered off. The whole Kakashi thing was somewhat annoying and wasn't interesting to me but did not take up too much time.

For me the story just got to the point where I did not particulary care enough to continue reading. Still a 3.5-4 out of 5 for what I did read.

 

This oldie: Naruto: Hands of Destiny.

If I recall correctly, it had a pretty good Naruto and Sakura romance, but this was a long time ago, and not everything ages like fine black wome- err wine.

Edit: Yeah, just tried to read it, don't . . . don't click on the link.

 

Re: Vapors

Spoiler

I was never really annoyed by the Kakashi romance. It was a one sided puppy crush for most of it and even the glimpses of Kakashi's "I really shouldn't be thinking these thoughts" never really eventuate into an actual relationship.

I think most of the issues appeared in the sequel, Clarity, with the whole amnesia and "Obito isn't such a bad guy" thing. The romance there was a whole lot cheesier.

I actually thought that Naruto's lack of on screen presence was a positive point to Vapors.

Let's be honest, Aiko is a bit of a Mary Sue. In all the little sub-plots she's involved in, she's the main character, she's the one who fixes the problems, and she's the one who kicks ass.

Having Naruto on for the ride would diminish him into a secondary character sort of role. By having him off on his own adventures, he gets to develop a certain way without being diminished, which you get to see here and there where he does re-enter the plot.

Spoiler

Good example would be that filler arc where they go back to Yondaime's time and you really get to see Sasuke, Naruto and Aiko all kicking ass equally.

I just remembered a good example that shows why I think ElectraSe7en's writing is just lazy at times. From the Gaara fight:

Spoiler

She might have been onto something with her use of water, because her move really pissed off the demon. It was hard to register anything beyond the enormous roar that filled the air, but she took the time to notice that the string of sand that grabbed around both her ankles and flung her headfirst into a tree was the smallest amount she'd ever seen him use at one time. She quirked a smile in the instant before the impact knocked her unconscious, coming dangerously close to snapping her neck.

In any other situation, she might have been embarrassed to be caught and carried to a safer distance by one of the genin in her care. Once she awoke, however, and learned that Naruto had flipped a switch into crazy town that had made Sasuke not entirely mind the retreat, she was too relieved to care. She came to consciousness the next day in a hospital bed, bandages over wounds she didn't remember getting and an iv securing her to the bed. She paled, closing her eyes and curling up as much as she could without moving her arm.

It's like the author couldn't be bothered actually writing that particular day, or that particular scene and so just wrapped it up in a paragraph. Then couldn't be bothered writing a scene of Aiko waking up from unconsciousness, so just did that in another paragraph.


It's clearly not that the writer can't write at a higher standard. Character interaction is written pretty well, but you just have these scenes (often in fights) where the author just skims over stuff like they're writing a summary.

 

Just to make sure we (read: I) haven't missed any of the popular romance stories out there, would you mind listing those as well? Please and thank you.

 

This question surprised me. I wrote that sentence to basically explain that I picked from the less popular stories to increase the likelihood that Inert hadn't read them, but now that you've asked I did browse through my bookmarks. I don't even read Naruto fanfiction that much so I'm probably in no position to say this, but this fandom is in a poor state. Apart from the sheer amount of stories it's nearly as bad as Bleach; I'll refrain from guessing as to why that is.

Anyway, what I consider to be the more popular stories that contain at least somewhat well done romance:

Naruto / Anko

The Tragedy of Repetition - The best Naruto/Anko and among the best time-travel stories.​

Naruto / Sakura

Medicinal Lullaby - No outright romance, but I distantly remember them playing house. It's been half a decade, so yeah. It was good back in its days.

A Scandalous Proposal - Funny oneshot.

Training for the Job - Older than some Naruto fans and it shows. It was good for what it is.​

Naruto / Yugito

Naruto: Eleven - I liked it, their relationship develops quickly and naturally. As far as I remember this story never really got started, though.

In the Presence of Enemies - Short but good. Great premise for a longer story, which we're still lacking.​

Naruto / Hana

Hooray for bad Intel - They're both very young and this fic contains some mating bullshit. Barely readable.​

Naruto / Mei

Shadows of Konoha - Disclaimer: I love this story, many people on DLP hated it. I'm biased.

It contains some serious Dark!Hinata wanking, but apart from that it's a well done dark, grim and gritty world and Naruto undergoes an impressive amount of character development and progression.

And, relevant to the current topic, this story does include a brief but amazing Naruto and Mei relationship. This is - in my opinion - the best and most realistic relationship between ninjas of different villages. Bar none. Their struggle between loyalties and duties to their respective villages and the feelings towards each other feels incredibly realistic and believable.​

Naruto / Haku

Making Uzumaki - Mostly just for two or three funny scenes.​

Naruto / Temari

An Uzumaki Amongst the Dunes - Old and fluffy wish-fulfillment, still an entertaining read in my opinion.​

Naruto / Sasuke

Reload - Needs no explanation.​

 

I rec that one too. Had it on my favorites list, and had completely forgotten about it until I saw Trig's post.

But yeah, a fairly well written slow burn romance. The author has managed to keep Naruto & Ino in character, apart from some easily explainable changes. In any case, something to read if you're looking for some Naruto/Ino stories.

 

You linked the last chapter.

 

That's the case for most of these, really. They aren't really great stories or well written romances, but if you're looking for something to read you can give those a try. Except for 'Wayne..', that one's great.

Fixed, thanks.

 

Any well down Mokuton!Naruto fics?

 

Tuebor. Sadly incomplete.

 

UGH don't get me started on the frustration that fic's incompleteness inspires in me. Outside of Houses of the Holy, and now Menace's Written in Reverse, Tuebor is the most well crafted AU I've ever read.

The Naruto was phenomenal and there was this aura of mystery surrounding him that was just a joy to read.

 

Personally, I'd give that spot to Howling Wind, but we're just arguing semantics there.