Progress: Chapter 7 almost halfway done!

So, yeah…the title says it all. That and…I am in need of some feedback on the material in regards to what the development of the characters should be like, primarily Yamamoto, Gokudera, Ryohei, and Chrome.

Ryohei and Yamamoto, I think, are especially tricky, since they haven’t completely found out about the entire mafia situation in regards to being grounded in reality as of yet. Tsuna, I think, will also be a pain, because I am trying to develop him from an adolescent boy into a full-grown man, and it is difficult due to the fact that I’m not a guy and that I do not always understand how men think. –is very ignorant–

Haru, as far as I can tell, is also a challenge. Most fanfic writers in KHR either make her godly (another term for Mary Sueish, which is really bad), or they make her absolutely silly without any form of intelligence whatsoever (even many good ones).

However, I see Haru as being capable of growing extraordinarily well without becoming too godly or anything. What’s more, I have heard from a few people who told me that the girl should not have a flame, mostly because it would automatically make her a godly character and ruin her development, and I have to slightly disagree, even if that’s me. If the flame is something that she cannot use without very serious, dire consequences, then it would at least force her into a bit of responsibility in regards to power. What’s more, I’m planning on having Haru be almost completely an operational (read: military mastermind) and sniper (top ace in weapons), since her flame will actually cause trouble for the group and bring a lot of enemies, both inside the Vongola and outside, if she does show her flame to anyone who will talk.

That said, I don’t completely know how I am going to take the pairings into this fanfic, but I will as promised. I admit, I started out with the idea of creating an epic action/adventure story with TsuHaru in it, and then 1896 somehow followed and everything came into it automatically. Sometimes, I wish I could stop coming up with so many ideas in one fic. -sigh-

So, um…feel free to tell me what you think, guys, because I truly wish for this work to work well, and I don’t want it to end up like certain other works (for instance, the Flames and Family series), all fanservice at the end and not much making sense. I want to make the ending with impact, something that will throw the reader off balance in its intensity.

About chapter 7 and 8...a delay that was unintentional...

To simply put it, I have some writer's block so far. It's difficult to get into the mindset of writing when I was just a few days away from the mindset of the finals. And damn it all...finals took priority over the writing just then, and now I'm trying to get out of that mindset.

Long story short: it is NOT easy to get out of a mindset that one is determinedly, stubbornly holding onto for dear life for the sake of surviving the finals. ESPECIALLY at an art school. To make things worse, it is NOT easy to shift that mindset into writing and inspiration, especially because I am so uptight about my focus and exceptionally paranoid about being perfect for my writing mood and all. That and...inspiration is just so damn fickle in my mind, since I jump from one to another so easily if I'm not careful, and I can easily mess up the entire conglomeration of them into a tied up ball if I don't untie them with caution.

Chapter 7 and 8 are going to have a few surprises, indeed. To my readers out there, Haru isn't exactly the same as the Haru in canon; she's more observant (due to her self-criticism for not being watchful enough of things), a tad more serious (though that is mostly due to the fact that she now realizes the situation she is in) and quite a bit more thoughtful. She has realized the extent of what is going on, and knows that the best way to proceed through the world is to help her friends find a way to not be sucked into the world of the underground like a black hole gravitation force. Tsuna, also, has realized a few things; he is no longer the Tsuna we know in canon, for he is now much more aware of the fact that he cannot live like he originally wanted to (thanks to Uni's death), much more accepting of the role due to the necessity (unlike the Tsuna who whines and cries about being forced into the role) and not willing to back down from changing anymore, especially since he now knows that being just Tsuna is going to drag everyone down.

And, that's not the only change here. Keep watching and you will see. ;)

An unfortunate delay on all the fanfics I am writing.

To my beloved readers:

It has come to my attention that a lot of you are anticipating my writing for a while now. Unfortunately, I have found that my academic situation is not getting better fast enough. The thing is...I have to maintain a 3.5 GPA in order to pay for the college classes that I go to at this school, and I have little means of finding another way to pay for them as I go there. Unfortunately...my grades are now average, and I cannot keep them that ways, since I need to spend much more time on them than I do now.

Also, I found that I have taken too much of a load this semester. My 4 classes this Fall 2010 are all heavy-duty classes that require all the attention I can give it (and maybe more), which means that I will have to delay all of my writing until December 18th...and that is an unfortunate thing, due to the fact that I cannot maintain my writing and my academics at the same time.

Next semester will be different, though. I made sure that I took 2 classes that are not so heavy-duty, as well as 2 heavier classes so that I could maintain my time and keep my attention on my academics enough.

So...in other words, I will have to tell you all this: December 20th to December 25th will be the days to expect the updating of the fanfics. Except for a few that are a bit more difficult for me to write, the majority of them (UtES, AUR, and IS and the Mukuro/Haru two-shot) will be updated by that time span.

I sincerely apologize to all those who have been with me for this time, because I have led on the idea that I can write while I study. Unfortunately, I was fooling myself with the idea that I could do just as well in my academics as I did with my writing, and now I pay the price.

I hope that this won't be too much for you all to bear, and I sincerely hope that this will not destroy your trust in me.

Primal Red

In regards to chapter 7 to 9 and later for UtES...

I should have announced this earlier, but I will not be posting UtES chapter 7 to later chapters until two weeks later and so forth, since my midterms have shown up and I am in a majorly critical time. ^^; Damn me for not planning well, as usual. But, I guess it can't be helped, since I'm far from superhuman and I am definitely not even capable of handling extremely complicated, multitask-required situations.

So, yeah...if anyone wants to ask about when it will be posted, chapter 7 is likely to come around the first week of November. And chapter 8 and 9 will follow along as well. The thing is, I am extremely worried about UtES becoming too big of a project (because, damn it, it wasn't supposed to be over 100 pages and all in total =_=), and it might be difficult for me to keep up with the quality of the chapters if I update more than one chapter per time. I don't want to rush a story, no matter how strong the demand is, since panic tends to make my stories not-so-well-written, and I don't want that sort of problem in my writing.

Anyways, I'm thinking about whether or not I should edit some of the earlier chapters a bit, just in case. Though it might be a bit redundant for some, I wish to at least make the story a bit more understandable and less awkward and more natural in flow and atmosphere and setting and all that awesomeness. The thing is, writing one-shots is a very different sort of thing from writing multi-chapters, especially if the multi-chapter is mostly a simple action/adventure story that blossoms into something major, and it is continuously frustrating me that my one-shot skills are deteriorating in ways and that I cannot improve my skill with words unless I practice more somehow. And already, that time is running out.

That and...I have a strong inferiority complex. I need to find the means to grow out of it, but...it's not as easy as it seems. Why I have this complex, I don't completely understand, but I do understand that I always see people who write so much more beautifully, etc. than I do as of yet. ^^; It is a mixture of appreciation and self-inflicted frustration.

Anyways, Primal Red signing out. I will sign back in in two weeks, so...yeah.

Edit: Chapter 7 through 9 will only start to come out in November 14th. My midterms turned out worse than I thought, and I am now battling a serious lack of discipline and an army habits that contributed to my issues from the beginning of this semester. So, before that, I suggest that everyone look elsewhere to find a way to spend their time, because I really can't afford to lose my grades for this semester. :( Damn it...

Of Battle systems and Combat settings in Under the Endless Sky

So, I've been thinking, mostly about the ideas of what it would be like for what the combat system could be in the series Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and what the potential fighting could result in. If flames could be categorized as the seven Sky flames and the seven Earth flames, then there is likely more than those 14 types out in the world. If there are boxes and rings and upgrades and so forth, then there is just as likely other forms of machinery/accessories/combat materials that are used for warfare in the world, though...the difference is that the Vongola just so happens to be the most powerful organization in the world because of its information system and organization and variety in such weaponry.

The problem, however, is that as with every single combat system in the world that exists at a certain time, it is always prone to overwhelming changes in the way such things are used. That and...such systems of combat are not exactly always the most powerful. The saying is that there is always a taller mountain to climb.

I want to portray that change, at least...and with the tenth generation Shimon showing up and overpowering most of the Vongola's tenth generation, I think it would be likely to at least portray that situation in ways: that the Vongola is not all-powerful, and that no system out there, without maintenance and serious leadership and constant vigilance, is without corruption over time.

So...here are a few ideas:

1) The Vongola X group needs a mastermind strategy center. Gokudera Hayato, as much as he is intelligent, he is also prone to outbursts of emotion in ways that can be quite dangerous if he is to face an enemy who knows how to control emotions better. Miura Haru, as I can tell, is also in this category, though she is the kind of person who I can see becoming more of a consigliere material, mostly because she is an outstanding planner and organizer. However, if those two were to start working together, I can see them becoming an outstanding strategic team with Tsuna as well.

2) The Vongola X group also needs serious teamwork. Unfortunately, I cannot see anyone else making this happen other than Haru and Gokudera and Tsuna himself, and that is due to several factors: 1) Hibari being anti-social 2) Chrome being unwilling to open up because of her sensitive background and 3) the group's rivalry and issues with each other in the worst of times. The problem isn't anyone else, but the entire team themselves. They each are powerful, but standing together they need to be much more than all of their power added together. They need to be much stronger and much more adaptive and much more willing to fight together and watching each other's backs.

So far, that's what I have in regards to what Tsuna's team needs. Now...let's see what they will be facing up against:

Espionage

Infiltration

Extortion

Assassination

Political Maneuvering

So far, that's what I can see from what mafia societies involve themselves in. The thing with KHR is that I see their leaders being the kind of business executives that have absolute power and are utilitarianistic, so it's only fair that they would use methods of extracting information that governments would also involve themselves in. The problem, however, is how the group is going to deal with all of this, since they are not experienced in any of these methods yet. Let me show you below what I mean:

Tsuna--naive in ways, and though he has great potential, he still doesn't quite understand the meaning of what it is to lead a mafia completely. He does know that it's wrong somehow and unlawful, but he still has the potential to fall into the darkness and turn corrupt if he doesn't quite understand how people become mafioso and if he doesn't face up to the fact that he has a gigantic burden of blood on his hands.

Gokudera--too hot-headed, though he does know what it means. Nevertheless, he is far from becoming a full mafioso at this time due to his morality (thanks to the fact that he is still a decent person and not thinking about killing people for the sake of business). What's more, he might have to be the one (other than Haru) who orchestrates the underlings to spy and infiltrate other mafia societies and so forth and find ways to get information.

Haru--she still doesn't completely know that a mafia can't be really reformed or anything. It's going to be a difficult task for her up ahead, mostly because she will be disillusioned very soon if she doesn't read more about how the mafia families do their business. I'm thinking of having her read about the Vongola's businesses and so forth, just so she finds out early on and get enough of a hint to watch out for Tsuna so that he won't end up breaking down and becoming a real mafia boss. Also, she might have to deal with the fact that she will have to learn how to infiltrate a mafia family for long term spying (no seduction, because Haru's personality is far too obvious and intense for a good seducer.)

So far, that's what I have. Any ideas, people? :) Feel free to speak up.

Primal Red

Chapter 6 is up!

So, as the title says, chapter 6 has gone up. However, I'm a bit worried about this and chapter 7, since it's going to be the last of the more peaceful times without the trainer coming in and making a ruckus for Tsuna and company. What's more, it will be at least...several chapters before the danger really starts coming in to an extent. Not completely like the Kokuyo Arc, but something that definitely will keep the cast on their toes.

So, any suggestions? I think that I might have not written enough for this chapter, since I didn't quite place in the changes in Ryohei or Yamamoto's thoughts yet. The fact is that both of them have changed from the beginning, as well as Gokudera and Hibari and Chrome and the others. The only one I can't see having changed much is possibly Lambo, who is too young to understand anything as far as this goes. However, he will eventually see a little of the reality when he gets to be old enough, and that will have a slight impact on him.

Also...I'm thinking of making a test to strengthen Haru's capacity for tactics and strategic combat, as well as for the others and on their training schedules. She might not read as much right now (she's been studying and reading in Italian and the other languages, as well as understanding a little through books, but she hasn't had hands-on experience yet), but it will get to a point where she will be going through Machievallian ideals and Sun Zi and Roman texts on military and philosophical themes. Also, maybe I could place in a few more chapters of the gang bonding well in ways, so that they will be ready for the onslaught of the trainer coming in. The fact is that Zhang Ling is not a nice person, patient and cunning as she may be, and she will most certainly look for Tsuna's weaknesses.

Anyways, Primal Red signing out. Damn sickness...XD

Regarding Under the Endless Sky's general plot...

I'm starting to think that I don't want to go the usual action/adventure road in ways for this fanfic. It is dark, but there is a major part of it that isn't all for angst. What's more, the compellingness of a story depends on how well-planned and orchestrated it is, not based on how dark or angsty it gets. This, I kinda think I saw in the writing of certain other fanfiction that made such a mistake, and I wonder if I should not take that road.

So...I think I might want to turn the plot in a direction that people wouldn't expect. Instead of having Tsuna completely accept the mafia and become corrupted by it little by little, as often is the case with many assumed settings in KHR fanfics, I want to take a different direction for Tsuna and Haru and the rest of them. I want Tsuna to find a means that actually makes his goal worthwhile, yet difficult to achieve. I want Tsuna to understand the maturity and necessity of being in a dangerous situation, yet not have to break and bend to such a world completely. It can get dark, but there still might be a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to make such a feeling, and though that light may be rather dim, it is still there.

What's more, the combat styles of the characters are going to vary (I'm not just talking about flames, but guns and other modern weaponry that will be used in realistic terms), and they aren't going to do shounen style fighting anymore. In the real world, fights like this depend on not just numbers, but also tactics. Tsuna and Haru and Gokudera and the rest of the gang will realize that strategy is the way to go, and that they will find out just how complicated everything is, and just how willing they are to find that direction they truly want to go towards.

Oh, and...thinking of espionage and infiltration and survival. So far, that may seem like a very unusual perspective, but it isn't. The mafia world is full of such tactics, and will involve a lot of spying (no seduction, though. None of the KHR kids have any of that potential, especially Haru. I might have to make OCs for such things), stealing information, going into places that are guarded and watched over extremely carefully, and surviving under surveillance for long periods of time without much contact. That will be what it is like for some of these people. So...be prepared for that.

Meanwhile, there is going to be a bit of leadership involved here. Mafia bosses, after all, can't just lead through power alone. They need influence, charisma, etc...and Tsuna is going to find out about that the hard way. Heheheh...

Anyways, Primal Red signing out. See ya in a few days!

So, the author of Under the Endless Sky is in need of help. Pathetic.

Inspiration, Inspiration, Inspiration...indeed, you are never a pushover when it involves matters like writing. In fact, you are the one that ties me down to the chain on the pole and forces me to starve until I give in. Damn it.

Which brings me to the subject: Under the Endless Sky will be posted by the end of next week on Sunday. I think it is a bad thing that my homework has fallen behind recently, and that my unfocused schedule (I'm taking 12 units at a strong art college, which means 10 hours of work per class outside of class time itself) has become rather a headache to deal with for the most part. What's more, I apologize to anyone who wishes to see chapter 6 as of yet...I am currently in a precarious situation in regards to my health and academic well-being, which means that I will not be able to update this week unless I finish everything tomorrow...and that is impossible, considering 40 hours is not enough to fit into even 2 days of work.

In other words, if any of you have ideas on how the chapter should continue, please give me a comment and say a few words. I don't plan to copy anyone's ideas exactly, but I would like it if I can find that sense of direction on where the fanfic is going. Admittedly, even I don't completely know where it wants to go, because the muse of this work is such a major problem that I can't stop it from taking over my nerves whenever I write from time to time. Which is exactly why I'm losing control on khrfest now and not posting on every single prompt that I signed up for.

Though, on that note, I should probably just go to sleep early, so that I won't have to wake up late tomorrow and end up with a bad attitude towards drawing and writing in general, since that would not reflect well on the story itself when I write for it. Dayum...

Thanks, everyone. Primal Red is signing out.