Finally, though, the Elder Being chose an intervention point- something a bit more subtle. "Just nudge.... this."
"How does Naruto getting kidnapped instead of Hinata qualify as 'subtle?'"
"Well, it was a bit more subtle than what I'd originally planned."
".....look, one of these days you'll have to face it. You're generally about as 'subtle' as these people are, supposedly ninja nature notwithstanding."
Toltiir being an Elder Being, he didn't startle easily. He certainly didn't startle from this, despite that whoever had spoken to him was most certainly not him. This does not, of course, mean that he was not surprised.
Smiling in pleased bafflement, the entity that regularly opted to masquerade as a cat turned ospwards in the unplace he wasn't occupying, bringing his attention to his visitor. "That's part of the fun, though, isn't it?" Mischief asked. "Seeing just how much blatancy I can get away with without anyone actually calling me on it?"
"It can be, it can be. And it's sometimes fun to see you work 'with' Hiruzen-san, instead of around or on him." Wry amusement gave way to thoughtfulness. "But, you know, there are some times when actually being subtle can create a lot more fun and interesting results. And not necessarily by snowballing into huge, paradigm-shifting alterations, you know?"
The cat shrugged, inasmuch as it could (or was a cat). "I suppose, I suppose." He considered his proposed shift, then turned his attention to his visitor again. "....given your being here, I'm guessing you have an idea or two, though. Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered, right?"
"True, true." A much milder smile was given to the feline-formed Elder Being. "For instance- you've noted before that 'ninja' isn't the only way this set of worlds could have gone- but it's a bit more complicated than that, isn't it? For all that they call themselves 'nin' and have the trappings that NAW-87 and its parallels consider 'ninjaish,' they're not really ninja, you know. They're actually something closer to shugenja or outright mages who happen to use chi as an energy source rather than magic or some kind of external power. It's really quite easy to play with that without changing much of the plot.
"For instance, if you wanted to stay with your usual sledgehammer subtlety, you could just plonk a Europe-analogue continent down somewhere nearby with much more wizardy mages and have one or several of them get lost and wind up in the Elemental Countries. I understand that Sparrowhawk hasn't got much to do either, so Earthsea might work. Or you could add a 'Fist Country' or something like that- maybe even substitute it for Iwa while still maintaining the same rivalries and grudges with the other elemental countries."
Toltiir considered. "Hmm, but aren't I also doing that elseeverywhere?"
"Of course, but you can and do always make different decisions than you're making. Even I know that much."
"Guilty as accused."
"If you're really fixed on this kidnapping idea, there are plenty of ways and reasons you could use. Substitute Iwa kidnapping Naruto for Kumo kidnapping Hinata, a case of incompetent kidnappers- though I'd recommend diverging from the 'Larry/Curly/Moe' setup you're using in several other places, it's getting a bit predictable- maybe a kidnapper who takes both of them.... You could even do something subtler about it- have the kidnapping foiled by Naruto and his bizarre luck in a way that leaves him in other hands. With the way things are in Kumogakure, it could easily wind up with Naruto better taken care of, and with an 'oneesan' and 'oniisan' as well, in the form of Yugito and Bii. It's not an area that's been explored too heavily even by others, so you would be- well, come to think of it. You don't really care about justification, do you? At least you wouldn't be as easily accusable of copycatting."
"The accusation doesn't hurt much if it's true." Admitted seventy-six and a half black cats. "Though, we wouldn't have expected you to get this interested
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(Posted Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:24)
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