Reviews For Gaara's Little Friend
Name: Terrawolfs (Signed) · Date: 16/09/13 - 02:55 am · For: Gaara
Hah. I like how when gaara just got the hamster he was like "What does it do"
Name: DestinyGirl (Signed) · Date: 10/01/12 - 07:43 am · For: Gaara
Hamsters! I just love hamsters! I use to own quite a lot growing up, sadly they all died because they were allergic to this new brand of wood shavings. :( I do miss them though, they were my best friends as a child. This whole thing was very humerous, I really enjoyed it! When you just mention Gaara and hamster its bound to be funny...
Love your writing! Very descriptive, so descriptive I could picture it in my head. I loved the whole thing:P
Author's Response: I'm glad you enjoyed it! And yes, hamsters make the best friends - even for Gaara! It's a shame about the wood shavings... Were they cedar-based or something? That must have been really sad for you, especially as a kid. I'm sure you spoiled them otherwise though. It sounds like they were very precious little friends...
Name: Demon Fox (Signed) · Date: 24/08/11 - 12:11 pm · For: Oniwakamaru
Aww, I fell in love with hamsters now, they're so cute! Oniwakamaru was so adorable! This was a really cute and funny story, I loved it! Good job, BigSis!
Author's Response: Aren't they? Now you know why I love them so much. ;0) Thank you for the reviews and *big kisses from Casimir (my own hamster)* too.
Name: Rezzalia (Signed) · Date: 24/08/11 - 12:36 am · For: Oniwakamaru
This story was actually pretty adorable. :D I liked how easily you made Gaara out to care for the hamster (btw, after reading this, I kind of want to get one now). Wonderful job!
Author's Response: Thank you very much! Yeah, I always thought Gaara would do well with a hamster. It bothered me so much I ended up writing this. Hamster's are a lot of work, but very rewarding for it. ;0)
Name: Rezzalia (Signed) · Date: 24/08/11 - 12:32 am · For: Gaara
I love how blunt Kankuro was throughout the chapter. Great job!
Author's Response: Hee. Yeah, he's good at that. ;0) Thank you for reading and even more for reviewing.
Name: Ookami (Anonymous) · Date: 14/08/11 - 10:43 pm · For: Oniwakamaru
It was a very nice story I really enjoyed reading it
Author's Response: Thank you! =0D
Name: Konan (Signed) · Date: 05/07/11 - 09:09 am · For: Oniwakamaru
Hahaha! Loved it! Great job picking a name too! I feel bad for that guy who was talking about reducing the rat population, but it was amazing all the while!
Author's Response: Thank you, Konan! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. =0D
Name: WinterzDream (Signed) · Date: 22/06/11 - 08:18 pm · For: Gaara
OMG that was sooo cute! I couldn't wait to read the rest of the chapters before reviewing. Makes me miss my lil hamsters though :(
Author's Response: Awww.. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure they had good lives with you and loved you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed the story and found it cute. That was pretty much the effect I was going for.
Name: silverwolf1213 (Signed) · Date: 22/06/11 - 06:45 pm · For: Oniwakamaru
Wow, what an ending. I'm very pleased with how you finished this story. A conference with the hamster was just classic. Everyone's reaction to the creature was hilarious. And I really like the name. Way better than anything I could have come up with. Although I won't deny that I really would have wanted to see a hamster in the Naruto universe named Hamtaro. Maybe I'll throw that in somewhere for Rekindle the Lost Flame, perhaps your character's pet ;) But I must say, the best part of this chapter was Kankurou's last line. That officially made this story perfect, I swear. It was the best way to end the story. Great work!
Author's Response: As I say I very nearly went with Hamtaro. I did really like that as a name. It was much more creative than anything I would have come up with on my own (it was pure coincidence that I found the other one) - and it was humorous, which I felt was important. Part of me wishes I had gone with it - but I suppose Oniwakamaru suits Gaara's pet a bit better. If I do write a sequel I may just sneak it in - but by all means use it in RtLF. It would really fit with my character, wouldn't it?rnrnAnd I swear Kankurou's line has been in my head since I first conceived the idea for this story. It was such a relief to get it written down. I could practically 'hear' him say it for... I think it's about six months now? I'm so glad you thought it worked so well. To me it was the perfect follow up to the first chapter and tied it all up nicely.
Name: Rowanrose (Signed) · Date: 18/06/11 - 09:41 pm · For: Temari
Haha, my impression of this being cute has continued; the funniness has as well. Very adorable; I was also impressed by the thought that went into describing Gaara's one movement. I'd love to know how you wrote that part, the one where Gaara closes his book and looks at Temari. Did it come from observation? I need to work on that skill more, as I'm sure it's essential to being a writer. Or did it come from something else?
Author's Response: Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As for this particular scene: A combination of observation, character analysis and just general life experience, I suppose. People who have had less chance to develop their basic social skills as children tend to be a bit more awkward about little things that come with it like manners, social nuances etc. Gaara with his travesty of a childhood can be expected to be very awkward about that kind of stuff, but now that he's become less introverted and is trying to become, in essence, more sociable and accepted by everyone, he's would be putting in the effort to learn exactly the kinda stuff he missed out on. As a result there will be some things he's noticed, like the fact that it's polite to give people your full attention when they come to talk to you, and other things he's still getting wrong, like criticizing a present you've just been given in front of the very person who gave it to you. Luckily his sister has a lot of patience with him.
Name: Rowanrose (Signed) · Date: 18/06/11 - 09:27 pm · For: Gaara
Wah, cute, but Temari and Kankuro sure know how to give someone a gift, LOL.
Author's Response: Thank you! =0D
Name: silverwolf1213 (Signed) · Date: 12/06/11 - 11:39 am · For: Baki
Haha! Well first of all, I really enjoyed that story about your boyfriend that you shared with me in an earlier review. Haha, that so comical, I'm not sure if I believe it or not. But of course, it's hysterical nonetheless!
And then I read this chapter, and I laughed even more. Seriously, everyone's reactions to the hamster is really funny. Between Baki and Kankurou, this is just hilarious.
Hmm, hamster names.... Yukiko? Yoshi? I'm just coming up with Japanese names off the top of my head, but if all else fails, Hamtaro! Haha, just kidding ;D
Author's Response: Hee... Hamtaro - that's a good one. I actually like it and very nearly went with it. It's funny. I liked Yoshi too - though it made me think of SuperMario. Yukiko is a really, really pretty name. I loved it, but it's a bit girlie for a boy hamster. We'll have to save it for a different character. Plus even if I took pains to stress that we used different kanji, people would probably still think yuki=snow, wouldn't they? And this is a Suna hamster. I did think of Sunamaru, but... no. Just no. Doesn't work for me and a cute little hamster.
As I said, I very nearly went with Hamtaro - it was by far the funniest - but then I found this other name when i was doing some research and it just stood out to me (and it reminded me of my own hamsters, especially Caractacus. When I first got him I was always calling him my 'little monster'...), so I went with that. I hope you don't mind.Well as for my anecdote, if you don't believe me even when I just told you it's true, you can see why I only very loosely transcribed it into that scene. ;o) It wasn't quite the style of humour I was going for anyway. My hamsters have always been spoilt - and people's reactions to them have always been funny, so I had plenty of fodder for this story. A lot of it is based on truth actually. Hamsters are an endless source of entertainment for me.
I was considering a sequel to this story at one point, 'Naruto's Little Friend', which would have been an interesting contrast in pet-keeping styles; Gaara's obsessive spoiling vs Naruto's happy-go-lucky winging it, but I'm not so sure now. Maybe once I've got a few more chapters of SWB finished.
Name: Konan (Signed) · Date: 12/06/11 - 05:28 am · For: Baki
Hahaha, poor Baki, he's so confused. Wow, Gaara's really getting into caring for his hamster. Upadate soon!
Author's Response: That he is. ;0) Final chapter now up. Thanks for all your support!
Name: Konan (Signed) · Date: 11/06/11 - 06:45 pm · For: Kankurou
Hahaha their family must have to start adjusting to Gaaras new pet.. :) awesome job with this
Author's Response: Thank you! Yeah, I don't think they quite realized what they were getting themselves into...
Name: silverwolf1213 (Signed) · Date: 10/06/11 - 10:49 am · For: Kankurou
Haha, Kankurou's reaction to.... well, pretty much everything that happened was really funny. I'm really starting to like this story, it makes me smile at Gaara's care for the hamster. I really think the characterization is going really well, and your portrayl of this is really good for all of the characters. Nice work!
Oh, and I think I'll agree with Konan. Does the hamster, by any chance, have a name?
Author's Response: As I said to Konan, you're welcome to pick one for him if you like. ;0) I look forward to hearing your suggestions.
rnYou know this chapter was actually loosely based on something that really happened when I got my first hamster. I say loosely, because I couldn't make it more accurate as it would have just looked like I was trying to go for cartoonish gags and it just wouldn't have come across as believable...
rnrnI met my boyfriend on the stairs when I got back from shopping and was like 'Erm... just to warn you, you might be a bit confused by what's in the fridge at the moment. It's for the hamster. I know you'll disapprove, but it's good for them and stuff...'. He was like 'Go on. What have you done?', charged downstairs, opened the fridge and then just completely froze, almost literally with his jaw open. He said nothing for a few moments and literally just stood there, holding the fridge door, staring into our shelf-space with his jaw still open. Then he collected himself a little bit and sorta went 'oh-kay..', looked at me, looked back in the fridge, said 'okay' again and repeated the process about seven times. Then he seemed to gather himself a bit more and did the same thing another five times, but instead of 'okay' he said 'Hipps' (the name of the brand). Then it was 'Hipps. She brought Hipps babyfood' and he actually closed the fridge door and sort of turned around fully to look at me - then turned back around, opened the fridge door, and stared at the babyfood again and said 'She brought Hipps babyfood'. I think he did that two or three times, before he closed it and turned around to me and sort of half-screamed 'What the **** is wrong with you?!' and ran back upstairs.
He wasn't even doing it on purpose. It took him a while to get over that one. It was hilarious though afterwards - the kinda thing you'd expect to see in a cartoon, not real life. And babyfood is actually quite a common treat for pet rodents at that. I wonder if all their owners have stories like mine...
Name: Konan (Signed) · Date: 09/06/11 - 01:00 pm · For: Temari
Aww, that's cute how Gaara's taking care of his hamster. 0.o I just thought of something. I would like to see what he names it. >.< Haha, that would be very interesting.
I didn't know a hamster could do that. That's pretty cool.
Author's Response: Hamsters are exceptionally cool. I never cease to be amazed at all the amazing stuff they can do. They really are extremely strong and agile for their size, like most rodents, and sooo adorable to watch.
rnAs for the name, what would you like to call it? I wasn't originally going to bother, as I don't really see Gaara putting a lot of score by naming it (and also I don't know many Japanese pet names), but if you (or SilverWolf) think of something good I'll be happy to put it in. I was thinking maybe Chibi-chan or something like that... (I really don't know a lot of suitable names... =0( )
Name: silverwolf1213 (Signed) · Date: 09/06/11 - 09:52 am · For: Temari
Aw, so adorable! I think it is exceptionally cute how Gaara has actually taken interest in caring for the hamster. It shows great character development, I love it! Keep up the good work!
Author's Response: Yeah, I always pegged him as the type to get a little obsessive once he really gets into something (*coughabitlikemecough*), so I have great fun writing this, and I see him as quite conscious of the responsibilities that come with having been given a small life to look after, which I find cute. I also enjoy his interaction with Temari in general. She's always slightly motherly with him, which I enjoy writing, and puts up with a lot from him, which is useful. Gaara just makes for a great character to explore in general, I think, which is probably why he's my personal favourite (*embarrassed face*).
Name: Konan (Signed) · Date: 08/06/11 - 06:37 pm · For: Gaara
Aww, I've always wanted a hamster. Lucky, Gaara. Haha, I would like to see where this story goes.
Cute and fluffy and Gaara doesn't really mix, which makes it all the more interesting. Awesome!
Author's Response: Thank you for the compliment and the reviews! Yes, I think Gaara's actually really well matched for a hamster. They have a lot in common. My brother did say I ought to have given him a tanuki instead, but I was like 'Nah. He had one of those and they didn't get on so well...' Hee...
Hamsters are adorable. I think they make a really great pet for older teens and young adults... and adults in general and they're not too expensive compared to other pets, so you never know you might still get one day. If so I should probably recommend the book Hamsterlopeadia (which I went on about in the notes to Chapter 2 anyway) and MadAboutHamsters.com to you. MadAbout is actually a website owned by some (very prominent) hamster breeders in the UK, but their forum is used by some absolutely awesome breeders, owners and show judges from the UK and around the world and they are always delighted to help out people with their pets. There are other forums out there, but that's the one I used and I know it's brilliant and really friendly. There you go. That's my bit of responsible authorship done for the day. ;0) Now I can get on with the story.
Name: silverwolf1213 (Signed) · Date: 08/06/11 - 06:03 pm · For: Gaara
So I don't normally do this, but.... *anime face plant into the ground*
Seriously?! I can't believe you wrote this during a time of insecurity. This is still great! Seriously, you're writing is that incredible. Even when you're writing insecurely, you're better than many writers out there.
*Ahem* Now, onto the actual review...
Hamsters are so cute! It's actually a really good idea to give Gaara a pet, it is very good character development. Haha, can't wait for more! I can imagine this already. Keep up the good work with your stories!
Author's Response: Thank you! That's such a lovely thing to say. I always feel very honoured to know you hold me in such high regard.rn
Yes, the first three chapters of this were done before I started SWB. It was only when I was writing SWB that I started to feel more secure about especially the description in my writing and things, but the early chapters of SWB have had me go back over them again and improve what needed it (and some of it really did), whereas this has been left. It's not too bad though, as you say - much better than I feared. Heck... some chapters of SWB are probably worse...rn
I did always think Gaara really needed a pet when I was watching Naruto. It would have been a great way for him to practice establishing bonds and feel more secure after all that upheaval from the chuunin exams. I dunno. He's just always struck me as a 'needs a pet' type person, which was why I started writing this... By the way, did you notice? You might not remember as it was a while ago when you read it, but the hamster is actually featured in the first chapter of SWB as well. I couldn't resist adding him in. Gaara does just need a pet...