Viridian Dreams Forum

Discussion, reviews, questions, comments on OOTD Chapter 4 anyone?

I'd like to make a comment on how I think OoTD is really under-appreciated. It's a LOT better then most of the cra--Er, mediocre work floatin' around fanfiction.net. It's really sad to see such a great fic' get so little attention. =(

I think part of that is the bad rep attached to most fics with Original Characters. Often they are Mary-Sues, Gary-Stus, or outright self-inserts.

So... rightly or wrongly, most people steer clear of them. I think the only reason most people checked this one out is because they read Team 8 and decided to trust me not to bury them in crap.

Of course, being shorter in length doesn't help much either. I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

I think part of that is the bad rep attached to most fics with Original Characters. Often they are Mary-Sues, Gary-Stus, or outright self-inserts.

So... rightly or wrongly, most people steer clear of them. I think the only reason most people checked this one out is because they read Team 8 and decided to trust me not to bury them in crap.

Of course, being shorter in length doesn't help much either. I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

*le-gasp!* You wouldn't! ...Or would you? It's hard to tell with you. D=

In any case, I suppose if you put it like that it makes sense. I too have had my share sue fics, and they are not easy on the eyes nor the mind. Hopefully having it's own forum will increase the attention readers will give it. :D

HOPEfully.

However, as you said, the lack of... erm... tasteful OC's has caused many to give up hope on them, myself included.

I WILL NOT give up complete hope, though... I'm just hiding it... Under my chair... With my teddybear...

So... rightly or wrongly, most people steer clear of them. I think the only reason most people checked this one out is because they read Team 8 and decided to trust me not to bury them in crap.

Even then, it took me a long time to click on the story - ever since, I've regretted not having done it sooner. The first paragraph had me hooked on the snarky brand of humour Hikaru used. Despite the short length, he's one of my more favourite OCs, right behind Melissa Bulstrode.

Personally, I love the interaction between Naruto, Asuka and Hikaru. It's not a perfect friendship, Hikaru still lashes out and Naruto still says dumb things he probably should have thought through more, and Asuka still has her hang ups she says nothing about, but you can see the bonding happening. It's slow, it's awkward. It feels almost like Team 8 in that respect.

The addition of Anko to the story caught me completely off-guard (although I read few Naruto fics) and she's going to add a fun dynamic to the story. Especially with Hikaru already drawing looks for looking like the Snake Sannin!

I wonder what Orochimaru's reaction would be if he ever came across Hikaru? :?

I wonder what Orochimaru's reaction would be if he ever came across Hikaru? :?

"So THAT'S what happened after I visited that Rock country house of pleasures"

That's total one-shot material there.

...that almost begs to be written. Orochimaru's narration being as snarky and twisted as Hikaru's, like father like son! Scary thoughts.


Possible omakes for Out of the Darkness? If it ever happens, I'm there!

I wonder what Orochimaru's reaction would be if he ever came across Hikaru? :?

Bwhahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hm, an intriguing reaction! Further studies shall be made and conclusions drawn!

I think what will be far, far more amusing is Hikaru's reaction to seeing Orochimaru for the first time...

Explosive, violent anger at being associated with the Snake Sannin, even if just by looks? Heck, that would be my reaction, and Hikaru already appears to harbour ill-will towards Orochimaru. That was without Anko lashing out and generally making things exciting during this chapter.

Hm, at this stage it appears unlikely that Hikaru and Asuka will join Naruto in the Chuunin Exam, hence not coming into direct contact with Orochimaru just yet. Although, the pair of them are jinchuuriki so perhaps they can make up the lack quicker than most teams would.

Though, all things considered, Hikaru is getting to have a number of links to Orochimaru. Appearance (Hachimata) and jounin-sensei (chance) don't really add up to much on their own, but add any more elements relating to Orochimaru to the mix...

<snip>
I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

And we get yelled at for hinting things. *shakes head*

<snip>
I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

And we get yelled at for hinting things. *shakes head*

I think that we can tease--a little--on the boards. In, dare I say it, moderation. :D

Besides, we've been (mostly) good boys about that for, what, the past year and change?

Well, you have. I recently had my own spout of teasing, so I've got to hold off for another three or so weeks before I can tease again. :P

Unless someone else starts it and I just play along...

I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

*Squeek*.

Got to say, it may be the coffee this morning, but that one actually made me skip a heartbeat. It would make me laugh for a week though.

Then I would cry. I'm manly like that.

Have to say though, I'm actually more interested to see how this one turns out than Team 8. I definitely understand being leery when it comes to SI and OCs. However, they aren't all bad. Just the overwhelming majority.

In fact I have a testbed OC/SI fic that I've been working on. I'm actually taking it as a challenge to write one that isn't terrible. It's proven to be kind of neat experiment. I'll probably start posting it on FF.heck in a bit. I'm curious how many hits it'll actually get.

Of course I don't post things until I've got a backlog of 100+ pages. It means it gives me the ability to have a posting schedule. However I don't want to derail too much.

I enjoy the character dynamics in this a great deal. I think Asuka and Hikaru have an interesting relationship with Naruto. Also I like the fact that Naruto's subtle power (I call it the Uzumaki effect) to convince and inspire is portrayed well here. If you actually pay attention to him (which the OCs do) you begin to notice his effect on the environment, and you really begin to wonder just what he's capable of.

I like how the Uzumaki effect has been handled here much better than Team 8 actually. Though I know the emphasis is different, somehow it comes off better in this. Probably this is due to Hikaru's limited perspective, but whatever the result is, I like it. I look forward to more of this one. It'll be nifty!

That, and Anko is one of my favorite characters.

<snip>
I'll be doing more about that after I kill off Naruto and conclude Team 8.

And we get yelled at for hinting things. *shakes head*

Anyone who took that completely seriously needs some blank reality checks.

I know, but I was attempting to further confuse the plebes.

I totally had a cool reply written up for this thread, but I tend to write my replies over a period of time and eventually I forgot I had the browser open and had to reboot for one reason or another. The next time I visited the forums I was confused as to where my post had gone, but then I realized how dumb I am ;)

Anyways, some of the points of my original post have already been made by other people here, but I want to post in support of the OotD story. You're definitely right about people shying away from OC-based stories; heck, I'm one of those people. However, in this case, I happen to be granted the gift of ignorance with regards to the Naruto universe, so I got myself interested in this story before I even know it was about an OC.

The other bit I had wanted to post about was how much I enjoy the 'ticks' you seem to provide to characters in your stories. Ticks might not be exactly the right word - instincts, quirks, subconscious tendencies - whatever you want to call it. I love Hikaru's protectiveness of Asuka and the different ways it manifests itself, as well as the reciprocating need and protective traits coming from the other direction. This is a recurring theme for me in all your writing that I've seen, and is one of the things that draws me into your stories.

I'm sad this story doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

What I like most about this great fic, apart from the acidic thoughts Hikaru has, is the wonderful description of how is to see the vast world for the first time, how fascinating can be to see the sky, the changes of light,...
On the other hand the rest of characters rocks (quoting Naruto in team 8).
Dehamata!

"I think the only reason most people checked this one out is because they read Team 8 and decided to trust me not to bury them in crap."

Dude, even if i had no knowlege of naruto i'd have trusted you not to give me crap just based on any single chapter of HP:NOFP.

"I think the only reason most people checked this one out is because they read Team 8 and decided to trust me not to bury them in crap."

Dude, even if i had no knowlege of naruto i'd have trusted you not to give me crap just based on any single chapter of HP:NOFP.

Thanks! :)

Very few people seem to jump from HP to Naruto though. (From what I have seen, anyway.)

Not surprising if you ask me. Anime still has a stigma, even among some varieties of geeks. And to be fair, the original source material for Harry Potter is a LOT better written than Naruto, for any number of reasons (though both authors have incredible troubles thinking logistically).

But yeah, I don't think anyone who's read your work would even consider that crap would pop up under your profile.

Very few people seem to jump from HP to Naruto though. (From what I have seen, anyway.)

I did it ... and I have no regrets whatsoever .... on the contrary.

I have to agree that this is a good, and interesting story. Although I would rather see more Team 8, or NoFP first, I wouldn't be heartbroken by any means to see more of this as well.

On a side note it's kind of funny really, I read Team 8 first, and very reluctantly read NoFP. I wasn't much into HP fan fiction at the time, but it was written by S'Tarkin, (the only name I knew you by at the time). That was enough for me, and I have never regretted the decision.