Nevermind this post, was commenting about something resolved several pages back.

 

Okay now that we've resolved those issues I'd like to focus on some other aspects of Vapors that sort of went over my head.

Spoiler

Why the hell did Pain revive everyone? I can't understand him surrendering either, but the jury is still out on that.

He realized he couldn't win against his three opponents. Granted. For some reason he chose to not escape. But why would he agree to revive everyone? Pein's redemption in canon was because he chose to believe in Naruto after he chose to spare his life despite all the suffering he caused. That for me was the high point of the series. Not just because of the fight(which I still maintain is the greatest fight in the series), but because of what it led to. Forgiveness and understanding.
It showed Pein that there could be another way to peace, even if he couldn't see it.

Actually I do know the reason the author used I just want to know how she sold it. Because even if I didn't have a problem with the premise that would have destroyed the story for me right there

 

I think we should stop spoiler tagging things about this fic, its hard to do anything when the whole page is highlighted

 

Iirc, Jiraiya's talk no jutsu combined with

Spoiler

leniency for the people of Ame, given he knew Konan, Kisame, and Kakuzu had just been taken out and their forces had the country at their mercy. That's the same reason he didn't flee. He couldn't actually save Ame even if he managed to win the fight/destroy Konoha, and since the jinchuuriki wasn't there for him to seize anyways the attack was a failure.

 

Jiraiya's talk-no-jutsu failed in the canon and canon Pein cared little about people. It was always about the big picture for him. So you'll understand if I find that reason a little contrived. But if it works for you.....

 

So just to get back to the original thread.

I'm looking for soem feel good and/or curbstomp fics with NAruto as a main protag. Be it oneshot or mutli chaptered. I accept light or dark too.

Amuse me.

 

Let's go old school. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2292009/2/Never-Cut-Twice

I linked to chapter 2 deliberately. The prologue is kind of stupid and very ooc. This entire story is back from before Shippuden. Back in the day this was considered one of the best in the fandom. Doesn't hold up against gems like Shezza's fic or Inert's fics, but you wanted to be amused, right?

[And it's a completed fic with 133k words written.]

 

It was the only thing I needed to hear!

 

Please don't spoil stories in this thread. If you want to talk about spoilers and can't be arsed to mark them, create a separate thread.
Thank you.

 

Spoiler

Snape kills Dumbledore.

On topic, what are some of the best non team 7 stories out there?

 

Spoiler

Ron shags Hermione

 

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Harry dies

Spoiler

But he lives

 

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voldemort dies by deus ex machina... Well not really

 

Kind of gotten the tail end of this conversation by the looks of it, but actually smashed Vapors and Clarity over the Christmas break. It was a follow up to reading Reincarnation Roulette, Dreaming of Sunshine and needing more. Was actually half tempted at doing a library rec for it, but was really borderline in my head and looks like most people here are sitting on the other side of that line. Given how much discussion it warranted, might've been worth having a thread for it anyway...

On self-inserts in general, I find they're enjoyable to read because they're a breath of fresh air in a fandom that has been explored to death. You can almost view it as a piece of original fiction, except since you understand the universe, you know what to expect and like fanfiction, you still have all that forewarning of canon events. It's that cross of the familiar and the new.

In terms of writing style, Vapors is probably average (say 3.5/5). What's a bit disappointing is that over 900k words, I don't think the writer particularly improves at all (maybe even goes backward). But it's still good enough to be readable. What makes Vapors good is that it is 900k words long. There is something to be said about the level of immersion you get in long fics that can keep your interest most of the way through, and I certainly get a lot more into an average fic that is long and stays interesting, than a short abandoned 60k word fanfic which is top notch writing quality.

For people calling Aiko a Mary Sue, she probably is. But she's not that much more of a Mary Sue than the protagonists are in pretty much every single character recommended on this forum. Most fanfics we recc feature a main character and one who gets some big power ups and affects the world. If you don't like the main character, you don't like the main character, but you can't really claim that because that main character isn't Naruto, she needs to have a plot arc that involves her doing nothing important in the world.

The fact she and Naruto diverged in storyline was something I found interesting too. It allowed Naruto to go through most of his canon development and do his canon storylines, while allowing us (the audience) to experience something new. If Naruto had remained a main character, it could have been really cheesy. Like Aiko would help prepare and train Naruto and power him up and then we just go through the same canon arcs as normal (in which case why don't we just read about him instead), or Aiko overshoots Naruto in strength and protects him, in which case she ends up seeming too powerful. By sending them on different plot lines, Naruto remains relevant to the world and powerful. Aiko remains relevant by being involved in completely different plots. And you never really have to compare them side by side.

Aiko's development is interesting and has enough reasoning so it doesn't feel silly. She's an adult in a child's body, and as such can understand a lot of what they're teaching at the Academy faster. She can graduate earlier than Naruto because she's well, smarter (remember that Naruto failed 3 times). She spends 2 (or 3?) years as Kakashi's only Genin student. It takes her that long to make Chuunin (took some of the canon characters less than that). Even then, in terms of raw fighting strength, Naruto blazes past her once he has a bit more experience.

Aiko is portrayed as someone generally pretty weak who has lucked out on a couple of techniques that are really useful (not necessarily combat powerful). That usefulness allows her to be a political asset and get involved in a lot of the bigger happenings of the world. Again, I found this an interesting way of allowing her to be relevant. She isn't a powerhouse, but she's a political piece, she has a strong array of networks and some interesting missions have her doing some interesting roles (again, relying more on her brain and forewarning to get her out than her power/techniques).

Spoiler

For instance, when she gets Hiraishin (which isn't actually Hiraishin, it's a weaker version that taxes her chakra a lot more) she's met with worry from her superiors who remark that she's really not ready for that level. As a political asset, the ability to teleport is ridiculously immense. She's only a B-rank or A-rank at the time, but will be considered an S-rank target.

Her crush on Kakashi was actually enjoyable to read, mainly because 900k words later, Kakashi still basically ignores it. It's a crush. She knows he views her as younger and doesn't really expect anything in return. It's more something that is used almost as a comedy tool for some enjoyable interaction and absolutely zero smut. He's a complete troll, and she becomes one to try to imitate him. Makes her interactions with anyone pretty funny (like how she trolls Yamato, or her interactions with Tsunade).

Spoiler

Regarding Clarity, I feel like the author completely missed a potentially interesting concept. If you're going to make her lose her memories...how about making her lose all the memories of the Naruto world, but retain all her memories of her life before that? Could have been a bit more interesting of seeing her back to square one.

I've been enjoying Clarity more since she returned to Konoha. As someone else mentioned, brings back what I enjoyed about Vapors. Even the plot line of her trying to learn about who she was, and try to understand her relationships with everyone is interesting. Everything in between with Obito? Just boring though. And it did make her a bit too important in the world. Broke that balance of her being a weak person with a ridiculously useful skill.

Comparing Dreaming of Sunshine to Vapors? DoS is the better written fic, but I found Vapors more enjoyable. DoS definitely has a more believable development, where the SI isn't at all a Mary Sue - she's just a character who kind of experiences the events that all the other canon characters do. Vapors just seems more fun because you get to see different events and different things, even if Aiko feels like she gets away with way too many things (both in terms of not dying and in terms making enough friends in high places who let her get away with all her harebrained schemes).

 

To get back to posting actual fics ...

Shade of the Leaf is a relatively short (~50k) yet complete Naruto/Sakura story.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4094090/1/Shade-of-the-Leaf

The summary reads:

While the ANBU/Sasuke being back would suggest angst, it's not that angsty at all. I thought it was nice to pass the time and I'd recommend giving it a read. That said, it mostly deals with Sakura and Naruto coming to terms with their feelings for each other. There's not too much conflict or plot tension beyond that and a secondary plot that I won't spoil.

I sort of wish the author had finished it with an epilogue but as far as resolution goes, it finishes adequately. Found it while looking for N/S fics while I wait for A Voice in the Wind to update.

 

Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I felt about it as well. It wasn't particularly ambitious so it was fine. That lack of ambition does limit it though.

Are there any other good Naru/Saku stories or even good Naruto romance stories around? From what I've read, The Girl from Whirlpool is the best in the fandom.

 

I came across DoS while browsing ff.net. Vapors, I wouldn't have heard of if not for this thread. I guess I wasn't looking for them. AND THANK GOD FOR THAT!!

 

Have found a story that has potential and seems to be updating pretty fast. Writing seems fine and there is a focus on Kurenai as a character, which I find is rare in the fandom. Also a bit of a different take on the whole time loop thing than normally. Worth watching.

Pursuing Happiness
By: Matdeception
Naruto and Kyuubi make the best of eternity by pursuing the happiness of others. Benign intentions laced with challenging aspects to assure they aren't entirely bored through out the centuries.
Rated: Fiction M - English - Friendship/Romance - Naruto U., Sakura H., Shino A., Kurenai Y. - Chapters: 4 - Words: 49,854 - Reviews: 7 - Favs: 23 - Follows: 30 - Published: 18h ago - id: 10984424

 

I wouldn't hold my breath since that's been out on TFF since '09 and the fourth chapter was released back in '11. Unless this means he's decided to pick it back up.

 

It has a lot of clichés but its enjoyable 3/5