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WIP A Voice in the Wind by tricksie - M - Naruto

Discussion in 'Naruto' started by ninjacom, Jun 28, 2011.

  1. ninjacom

    ninjacom First Year

    Joined:
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    Location:
    The Northern Wastes of Ontario, Canada
    Title: A Voice in the Wind
    Author: tricksie
    Rating: M
    Genre: Adventure/Romance
    Pairing: Naruto/Sakura
    Chapters: 30
    Words: 298,514
    Updated: March 26, 2012
    Published: March 19, 2010
    Summary: Sakura's friendship with a rogue nin is a lifeline for both, but it cannot last. Nothing ever lasts for him. So when a blonde Akatsuki shows up with the bleeding kunoichi in his arms, is she strong enough to unravel the mystery of who he is? AU Naru/Saku

    Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5827210/1/A_Voice_in_the_Wind

    I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this. I was expecting some stupid "Naruto captures Sakura but they fall in love and escape together and live happily ever after" shit but fortunately, this wasn't the case!

    The quality of writing is very high, with the author actually knowing how to write convincing and realistic dialogue. Her descriptions are also fairly well-done; I couldn't really find much fault in most of them. What really sold the story for me is the slow and realistic progression of friendship between Sakura and Naruto. The don't immediately love each other, or even like each other (as one kidnapped the other, who would'a thought?). The bonds of friendship that begin to form between the two of them feel extremely fluid and natural.

    Naruto and Sakura also remain relatively in character despite their different upbringings. For Naruto especially, you can see bits of his canon personality shine through (but in a good way). If anything, I like his personality a lot better than his canon one. It's an interesting mix of a smarter and slightly more jaded akatsuki!Naruto with enough of his determination and happiness being able to found to make him relatable.

    There is some your/you're confusion, and I don't believe that she knows the difference between the usage of its and it's. It's not extremely noticeable, however, and shouldn't really detract from the rest of the story. Another small gripe that I have relates back to the slow progression of their friendship; the plot is so damn slow! After more than 200,000 words, it still feels like not a whole lot has happened. Her update schedule isn't particularly fast, either.

    Anyways, it's a good story and you should check it out.

    Just as a little note: Katsuro is Naruto, just in case you might be scared off by the prospect of OCs. The author notes this on her profile, but I thought it might be good to write down here as well.

    4.5/5, rounded down to 4/5 because the plot is slow.


    Checked: June 11, 2012
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 11, 2012
  2. Dark Syaoran

    Dark Syaoran No. 4 Admin

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    Was about to make a thread for this but found it here already.

    Basically, the author writes very well. I can't recall coming across any mistakes of any kind, except maybe a few very small, very unimportant details. Very solid.

    Ninjacom pretty much nails it for most things, though I feel that the slow progression is rather more than a small gripe. I can understand building everything up, but it's been - as you say - 200k words and she still doesn't know what he truly looks like, what his real name is, or anything. It's more than slow. It's crawling.

    And with the recent sneek-peek chapter, it looks like it'll be a while yet before she finds out that Naruto and Katsuro are the same person, though we finally see Naruto as Naruto. Who knows how far that is in the future.

    But I can live with it. If the story doesn't get abandoned.

    Definitely worth a read, if you have time.
     
  3. Cxjenious

    Cxjenious Dark Lord

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    I'm only 6 chapters into the story, but this dynamic between Katsuro and his 'men' is grating on my nerves. He commands them, and surely he is stronger than them... why is he bowing to their demands? He seems like an angry pansy.
     
  4. disposablehead

    disposablehead Seventh Year

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2011
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    This was awesome. The whole think can be pretty much summed up as the best possible end result of Naru/Saku. Yes, with the irritating abbreviations and the / mark and everything.

    The fights are generally meh, the intrigue is adequate at best, and the fight with the Ichibi goes like this:
    Yup. And the story is still one of the most compelling I've read in forever.

    The author knows her stuff. She knows exactly what she means to do in each chapter: the relationship between Sakura and Katsuro develops perfectly. She knows where to let the characters relax, and then she looks in your eyes as she tears out your still-beating heart.

    She has some great writing. Her use of dramatic irony with 'Katsuro' in particular I really dug. Katsuro, you see, is Naruto. But he is never referred to as such, even though the readers know it. It pushes a peculiar button in my brain: I want Naruto to be in Konoha; I know that according to his mythos, that is where he belongs. But Katsuro, with his brown hair and freckles, his budding relationship with Sakura, and his entrenched phobia in all things Village-y, most certainly does not.

    tl;dr: This isn't trying to be an action story. It's a romance. But it's a great romance, with great characters and some beautiful scenes, and a wonderfully tragic central relationship. 5/5
     
  5. Chime

    Chime Dark Lord

    Joined:
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    A Voice in the Wind - Naruto

    Been recently lingering around on ff.net again and caught this.

    It's a rather standard story, but it's executed well. It's from the perspective of Sakura, mostly, so that may turn people off initially (it does shift perspective to Naruto at times). I'd rather not give away the entirey of the story here, as it's developed elegantly.

    To put it sufficiently: Sakura, on an alternative Team 7 (Sai, Sasuke, Sakura), is separated and captured by Itachi and his merry band of mercenaries. She develops a relationship with her captors which persists through the remainder of the story, which becomes one of (seemingly) all-out-war between Konoha and its border states. The romance is developed aptly, with the focus of conflict on trust between two shinobi (who really shouldn't trust each other).

    I hope people can enjoy it. I wouldn't recommend something like this if I didn't think it wasn't marginally worth everybody's time.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2013
  6. purple

    purple Groundskeeper DLP Supporter

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  7. Chime

    Chime Dark Lord

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    Blah. I'm blind. My apologies.
     
  8. yak

    yak Moderator DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    I missed it too. Reading now. Four chapters in and it's pretty good. Thanks, Chime.
     
  9. Dark Minion

    Dark Minion Bright Henchman DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    Threads merged.
     
  10. Dark Syaoran

    Dark Syaoran No. 4 Admin

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    Recently updated. Anyone still following this monster? I haven't been keeping a close eye, but whenever a chapter is posted, I'll skim over it. The latest few have been pretty good and finally -- finally -- it seems Naruto is going to reveal himself and start using his real name.

    It only took 38 chapters and 400k words to get to this point. Shit.
     
  11. Mutton

    Mutton Order Member

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    I do. It's enjoyable, but a lot of that comes forming reading the commentary after each chapter. If you don't like reading the author's ho's and whys it probably loses some luster
     
  12. Chime

    Chime Dark Lord

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    Well, some of the latest sutff has been pretty annoying, like with Naruto letting his team die. He's been trained by Itachi of all people, I'm pretty sure he was capable of protecting them. And... how he falls right into Akatsuki's plans? It's maybe a little too transparent, the authorial manipulation going on as of late.


    It's still enjoyable, I mean, very very few authors will build up a story like this. I'd say it's a good thing it took 400k words to get where we are. Maybe it's a little overkill, but I'd rather have a slower built up than a premature ejaculation, which is what we get with most fanfiction.
     
  13. Darth Disaster

    Darth Disaster The Waking Sith ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    I love the way the story is written.

    I'm not sure I'm looking forward to another 400k of Naruto In Akatsuki before Naruto and Sakura show any real progress. Ugh, plz no.

    Enjoyable, still love when it updates, but beginning to seriously doubt whether it will ever be finished.
     
  14. yak

    yak Moderator DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    I stopped reading at chapter 33 just because of how long winded it is. I'm glad it's finally going places. It's quite well written. Is it worth reading Ch34 onwards?
     
  15. Chime

    Chime Dark Lord

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    I would say not yak, I mean, I like the story, but you shouldn't bother picking it back up if you stopped there. Wait until it's finished to finish reading it, I'd say. Since 33, the author has pretty much just been writing Naruto into a corner so he's forced to join Akatsuki.
     
    yak
  16. Zilly Sawdust

    Zilly Sawdust High Inquisitor

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    An excellent story. For someone who hasn't taken up Naruto since ~no. 400-500 of Shippuden, trying to unravel what's going on behind the scenes, who knows what and what is being omitted is quite entertaining to me.

    Yes, it is slow-paced, but that makes it refreshing for a change due to how well-written it is. Definitely not something to just read through in an afternoon. I'm on ch. 28 right now and I'm taking a pause, because I hate being forced to wait for single chapters after I've caught up with how much is written.

    4.5/5. I'll give it a 5, since the author has managed to write a Sakura that I enjoy reading and rooting for.
     
  17. Dark Syaoran

    Dark Syaoran No. 4 Admin

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    A rare thing. Perhaps what makes this story somewhat special.
     
  18. Crash

    Crash Fourth Year

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    This updated in October and it looks like the plot is moving ahead. Honestly, I appreciate the length of it all - it's great to have a longer work to sink my teeth into and I enjoyed going through it. Hopefully the author will focus on this story instead of the others that have been more recently updated, though that's entirely their prerogative. It's good to see that the fic is close to the sneak peak in ch. 26.

    @yak, I'd agree with Chime. At this rate, it might be finished in a year or two. It would have been particularly satisfying to read the complete thing, but at ~400k words, for those considering giving it a read, it's definitely enough to occupy your time and entertain. You'll probably be left annoyed that the rest isn't there, though.

    Given the author's pacing, however, it's probable that the whole next chapter will deal with Naruto finally shedding his Katsuro persona once and for all and coming to terms with who he 'really' is. Hopefully it'll address his induction into Akatsuki, but from what's been written and the pacing there, that might be another chapter.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2015
  19. Crash

    Crash Fourth Year

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    Lol, or several more. Despite the glacial pace, it updated again in January and there's significant plot movement. I can't believe that was two years ago ...
     
  20. Xion

    Xion Robot Overlord Admin

    Joined:
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    A Voice in the Wind has been updated with a new chapter.

    Story Stats
    Chapters: 42
    Words: 473,466
    Updated: 2020-01-26 03:23:05 UTC
    Published: 2010-03-19 15:48:25 UTC
    Previously updated: almost 2 years ago
    New Summary:
    Sakura's friendship with a rogue nin is a lifeline for both, but it cannot last. Nothing ever lasts for him. But when a blonde Akatsuki shows up with the bleeding kunoichi in his arms, will she be she strong enough to unravel the mystery of who he is? AU Naru/Saku

    Brought to you by Scryer story thread updates.
     
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