I played/beat Tales of the Abyss for the first time over the past two weeks, and I absolutely fell in love with it--the world in general and the characters in particular. I haven't wanted to write fanfiction for anything other than Naruto for...a couple years now, I guess. Not for ANY of the many, many manga or anime I've read or watched...until now. For TotA, I do feel that tingle, that urge, that semi-breathless impulse to dabble in that world.

But...just how much I fell in love with those characters...it made me realise something, something a little odd, something that leaves me unsatisfied and uneasy and more than a little unhappy.

I love the Tales of the Abyss characters for what they are--their flaws, their quirks, and their positive traits most of all.

...And...I love the Naruto characters for what they could be. Not what they are, because for many of them, where they are now doesn't satisfy me in the least: I want to see them outgrow their flaws, not wallow in them.

That's something TotA does excellently, and that (ever since Part II began) Naruto has been consistently failing to do.

I can't give up on Naruto entirely, because that potential that I see in those characters (that I know others have seen in them as well) is too tantalising, and I can't help but write about how I want to see it developed, about where I want it to take them. But at the same time, I'm not sure how much longer it will be the primary subject for my fanfiction; TotA is looking mighty good right now.


Give me actual character growth and development over RANDOM CRAP HAPPENING and OMG LAME-O *~MYSTERY~* THAT TAKES FOREVER TO FIGURE OUT AND ENDS UP BEING A DISAPPOINTMENT ANYWAY any day.