How to deal with friendships/relationships in a multi cross?

[Vilkath]

I wasn't really sure post this here or some where else but the basic thing is I really want to right a AU Naruto multi cross over story. One in which Naruto visist's multiple settings, dimensions worlds what ever via time travel space ships or what ever.

The main problem I see is, to many characters is difficult to deal with not to mention just slow every thing down. I want to have the normal experience in each world, make some friends, some possible romances, enemies etc but I don't think having them all follow the person around into every world is viable.

On the other hand having nothing ever carry over rarely works either. I don't just want to have it turn up to be another Multi Xover where the main character gains a bunch cool skills and abilities from each world, but leaves with nothing else.

One solution I can think of is perhaps Naruto makes the friends/rivals what ever and leaves them behind and they catch up later some how. Thus allowing to explore more worlds without the influnce of tons of characters. Sadly this has already been done by at least one popular Ranma multi xover Chaos Path to supremcy or how ever it was phrased. As such I kind feel most readers would end up comparing my fic to that one more if I tried pull that off.

Other option I can see is perhpas a soul shattering episode happens to Naruto at some point, instead of him going to many worlds one after another he is sent to multiple settings simutanisly. Thus able have each world by himself, and eventualy have all the efforts of his time without being dragged down by so much baggage. Downside is obvoiusly again I rember reading something like this before where Ranma was split into pieces to become the ultimate warrior from differnt worlds before re-combining. Plus I suppose it be a real effort to rember to write each world seperate from each other as neither Naruto would know about the others till they meet up again.

Last option I can really think of is Naruto simply makes no lasting relationships or they follow him around every where limiting what I can do in each new world. Far as I see it, by this stage the chances of new romances, new friends and such is almost dead by then as almost all his time be spent trying keep every one happy.

Thank you for any one read my post this far, and I really hope for some input on how to handle a multi-xover. I have enjoyed more then a few Ranma multi cross's and I look forward to trying to make a Naruto one work that has nothing to do with Kingdom of hearts. So far I feel pretty confident in the over all plot, and the events of each different world but I am at a loss at how to combine them yet and I look forward to any new idea's.

[CJN]

Well, the first thing you should figure out is how many multi really means.
This will help you to find out how much time to spend on each crossover.
Also, you need to figure out where the story will end, since obviously the relationships in the ending location will be the most important ones.
Thirdly, also consider seriously if it's really a multi-crossover and not multiple stories that you want to write.

[claymade]

Ultimately, I don't think there can be a real answer to this question independent of the question of the fic's overall plot. Is there any larger theme/quest/goal/mission tying the trips to the worlds together, and building to some overall climax? Or is each world's experience largely episodic, each with plot progressions leading to climaxes of largely equal weight?

Those kind of details should guide naturally the way characters interact and join (or not join) with each other. If Naruto is gearing up to face a Big Bad at the end of his world hopping, then accumulating allies makes sense. If he's just trying to get home, on the other hand, then not so much, unless he makes a friend/lover/rival so important that they'd leave their whole world behind for him--which would, indeed, limit the number of characters. But above all else, it should flow naturally from the plot itself. (Hence, not knowing the plot, all I can really do is speculate using general principles.)

Each character should have a purpose for being in the fic for exactly as long as they are, more than just tagging along to give a sense of taking things from a given world. Don't keep them around just for the sake of keeping them around. If they have a purpose, a plotline they're following, they'll be interesting. If not, they will indeed clog things, as you worry about.

So instead of worrying about choking the possibilities of the new world with the old characters, I suggest turning it around. Any characters brought from world to world should be milked new opportunities for interaction with the "locals." Give them separate subplots as well; you won't have to worry about "the chances of new romances, new friends and such is almost dead by then as almost all his time be spent trying keep every one happy" if they're doing their own things in the world, leaving Naruto "free" to do the same. It doesn't need to be all about him, in the end.

In summation, let everything flow naturally from your plot, and make sure each character has a reason for being there that is fleshed out through their plot progression, through a buildup, to a resolution. Other than that, there's really no one "mechanic" that can reliably be proscribed.

[Vilkath]

Hmm both bring up good points. First off I did not really think to much on the long term plot of this story, I had planned out Naruto’s childhood and such in his home world, and planned what I wanted to do in each world he visited. But I did not really think to much about any long-term goals. Now that I do though it is a tough subject to be original in.

Perhaps I was thinking of many different stories more than a big cross over, but since I wanted them all to feature the same AU world Naruto I made up I figured they had to be a multi cross. Which leaves me in the position of trying to figure out a long term plot that hasn't been used to much or splitting this up into a series of separate stories I suppose.

[claymade]

Which leaves me in the position of trying to figure out a long term plot that hasn't been used to much...

*shrugs* Originality can be overrated. You'd be hard pressed to find a story without some elements that have been (when boiled down to their essentials) used many times before. Sometimes it's better just to take the simple and well-fitting solutions, especially if it's not focused on to a large extent in the story--if it's not the point of the story.

Indeed, in those cases it can sometimes actually work to your advantage a bit. If done well, it allows the audience to easily say "oh yeah, that's an X plot element" and move on to the things that are the point of the story.

Hmm both bring up good points. First off I did not really think to much on the long term plot of this story, I had planned out Naruto’s childhood and such in his home world, and planned what I wanted to do in each world he visited. But I did not really think to much about any long-term goals.

There's certainly nothing inherently wrong with a premise where each world is its own, mostly self-contained episodic unit, each with their own complete plot, but joined into a whole by the character moving from one to the next. (The anime Kino's Journey, I believe, handles these kind of issues from what I've heard, although I've not gotten around to seeing it myself. Might want to consider looking at that for ideas/inspiration.)

Even in that case, though, there are still a couple fundamental questions you need to ask yourself. Why is Naruto moving from world to world? Can he chose to stay in a given world for an indefinite period of time? If so, why does he chose to leave?

Or to put it in a nutshell, probably one of the most important questions you can ask yourself (for a sense of character and plot development as well as for its logistical value) is "what are Naruto's goals?"