Oh hey, that one's mine I was wondering when someone would get around to posting that here For those of you who are fans, chapter 7 IS coming along... Just slowly. I blame the plot bunnies :3

http://www.fanfictio...dicinal_Lullaby
http://www.fanfictio...Precious_People
http://www.fanfictio...irlpool_Country

and

http://www.fanfictio...8018/1/Mizukage

but Mizukage has a really long update time >_>

Also, want to buy closure.

I think a more logical explanation would be that it's just a scroll. More than likely he simply went into sage mode prior to the reverse summon, and simply hasn't deactivated it.

Holy crap... Epic cliffhanger is epic. Seriously, talk about emotional roller coaster jeez >_<

Ya well... Nightmares of Futures Past hasn't been updated in a week either XD I've gotten sunk into the Ring of Gold / Amulet of Stone / Jewel of Darkness Trio from KevinVoigt though, which are all excellent (if a bit dark).

Honestly, I should work more on my naruto fic, but I've got a serious case of plot bunnies, and they just keep multiplying like... well... bunnies.

I didn't mean to imply it was your fault, or anything. I completely understand that stuff comes up. This was just the first time in like the last two months where NONE of the stories I was reading weren't updated in a week. It sucks to be without material... I had to resort to harry potter fics XD.

God what's with the lack of like... ANY updates to the epic naruto fics this week >_<

Seriously, I'm actively reading 5 of them (+ one i'm not holding my breath on... you can still do it Training For The Job). I'm either missing all the other good ones, or it's "moment of silence" week for narusaku, or something.

(for the curious, the fics in question are: Mizukage, Precious People, Whirlpool Country, a few tiny ones I can't remember off the top of my head, and Team 8 (ya i know it's naruhina but it's good xD) )

The villain needs to be REAL. I don't mean in the sense that they exist, but rather in the sense that they seem plausible. Let's take Cloud's example of the Joker, and look at why that character works so well. The Joker is a character that seems entirely plausible in reality, he's insane yes, but that doesn't make him any less real. He acts a specific way, he has mannerisms and character traits that are consistent, and he responds in a way that makes him believable. If we look at Heath Ledger's performance of him in The Dark Night, you should be able to see what I'm talking about almost instantly. The character simply feels real, which brings me back to my point. In order to make a good villain, you need to make them human.

It's something a lot of fan-fiction writers tend to overlook, just because you're writing about a different reality, doesn't mean you should wildly change things once they're set in that reality. By this I mean that once you make a character act a certain way, they should always act that way in similar situations unless something has happened to change them. One of the key aspects of creative writing is the idea of themes. You need to relate your villain to the reader. Maybe not in the same direct sense as you would for the hero, but enough so that the reader can get inside the villain's head.

Taking up the Joker example once more, you can actually get into his head. You can see why he does what he does, and why does it in the way he does it. You can FEEL it in the way he talks, and how he acts. Creating a good villain is more than just coming up with a cool look, and special powers. It's about creating something that embodies something that people, as a whole, fear. In the case of the Joker, it's the sense of wanton malaise with which he carries out his attacks. He's simply a person who's been bent and twisted by his life to the point where he just snaps. It's something people see as possible, and it frightens them (at least at a subconscious level), and that is why the character works. Everyone, at one point or another, can relate at least partially to how the Joker is feeling. They may never even realize it, but that simple connection makes it all work.

I suppose the simplest explanation of what I'm trying to say is this: Don't create a villain, create a person. Yes, your villain may be more evil than the 9th plane of hell, but that doesn't mean he can't relate to the reader. If you spend enough time on the villain, you create a connection between the villain and the reader, which makes the villain feel real to them. When a reader feels something is real, they relate to it, and when they relate to a villain, they begin to see small parts of the villain in themselves. When your reader starts to feel like the bad guy, he begins to see the hero as more than just a character, but as someone who has stood up to the villain. This idea of juxtaposition is what creates a good villain. If we look at the Joker one last time, we see someone who's sadistic, indiscriminate, and almost random in the way he acts, but when we look at Batman we find the opposite. He's clam, calculating, and plans before doing anything, and this is why the characters work so well. They play off each other, yet the reader can relate to both of them. In short, the idea is that a villain is more than just something to oppose the hero, but rather the villain is there to show why the hero is a hero.