writing time travel .... sort of

[SirGeneralSir]

i have a naruto fic in the works and im now toying with an idea where its in a sort of armageddon and some OCs are going to use a jutsu (spell) using him as a medium to go back several years in time mentally to change decisions they had made effecting the timeline, Naruto on the other hand will remember everything that was.

what are some things that i should be aware of for writing a story involving time travel, what are the do's and dont's of it.

if more detail is needed i can go into it, but its still up in the air at the moment

[BronxWench]

Time travel is incredibly complicated as a concept. But, given your premise, we can eliminate the quantum mechanics, I think.

So, there will be a jutsu that will send Naruto back in time, presumably to a time where he also exists. Will the jutsu supersede his consciousness, or will his two selves co-exist? I'd posit that having the future version of Naruto act as sort of a mental voice of reason might be better, and more believable.

Then there's the paradox theory, that simply by altering the flow of the future, you change more than you anticipated. The whole things works on the principal of the butterfly's wings: a butterfly's wings flapping can alter air currents, and the change ripples along until you see an upheaval in the weather patterns on the other side of the world. So, Naruto will need to be very careful in how he alters events, or at least should have that concern in the back of his mind. He can't be rash and brash.

[SirGeneralSir]

good points.

but what im thinking is that one of my OCs its his mind that goes back in time in actuality, he tells him self mentally or whispers in his own ear to not do A or B instead to X or Y

but using Naruto as the medium, hes kind of frozen in a way, so hes in the same place in time, but in a different world now because the OC made the actual changes ordering his village to do or not do things effecting the actual history of Naruto's actual life at a level but its still the same.

like his parents werent killed when he was born, this didnt happen at all but that did and so on.

[BronxWench]

::nods:: So in essence the Naruto in your story, in the story's present day, may come out of this frozen state to find his world radically altered, perhaps beyond recognition...

It's bold. Very bold. So much about Naruto's character was shaped by his being an orphan, and having that need to prove that he's not this harbinger of evil that caused his parents' deaths. That alone will make for some interesting changes, I think.

The trick will be to think through the various timelines for each action that changes. You might even need to make serious notes to stay on track, and not slip back into canon.

[SirGeneralSir]

well what im thinking is that Naruto after the jutsu is used, wakes up in a bed so hes not like in an ice cube and breaks out finding hes in a new world.

he has all the memories of what his life WAS like and what happened up to that point.

the jutsu happens on a friday night, he wakes up saturday morning, the next day to find everything is changed.

his parents are alive, the 3rd is and even the 3 sain are in konoha, even the slaughter of the Uchiha clan didnt happen, so all of that is going to freak him out beyond reason, slowly his memories of the life of that world start to enter his mind bit by bit over time

[BronxWench]

The memories of the old world or the new? (I am confused and uncaffeinated...)

[SirGeneralSir]

he would remember everything that happened in the old world, have all his skills etc but memories of what he WOULD have experienced from the new world slowly start to enter his mind, he starts remembering things at random like a birthday as a child, becoming a Chuunin or Jounin and other random things in the life of the new world.

would also be painful as all hell at times too

[DemonGoddess]

The premise sounds very much like a Spander story I read where Xander is wished in to an alternate reality, and gradually his memories merge.

[BronxWench]

It's definitely a workable premise! You can always downplay the actual "mechanics" of the time travel jutsu, and focus more on the emotional and physical toll it takes on Naruto as his memories merge. It's bound to cause odd behaviors, and all sorts of peculiar situations.

[SirGeneralSir]

cool.

ultimately he would know and remember everything from both worlds of what he did and would have experienced, also plays into him having to re create his relationships with his old world wives and other things