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WIP What Doesn't Kill You by Zbluez - T - Naruto

Discussion in 'Naruto' started by Styx0444, Nov 5, 2015.

  1. Styx0444

    Styx0444 Minister of Magic

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    Title: What Doesn't Kill You
    Author: Zbluez
    Rating: T
    Genre: OC/SI
    Chapters: 31
    Words: 117,665
    Updated: August 14, 2015
    Published: April 12, 2014
    Status: WIP
    Fandom: Naruto
    Pairings: Unknown if any
    Summary: ...Oh wait, it did. Semi-SI.
    Link: FFN

    Yet another reincarnation SI fic, this one following a girl named Aoi Momoru. Her parents die during the Kyuubi attack and she's sent to an orphanage, shortly afterwards she finds out that she's apparently Orochimaru's daughter or experiment or something.

    The writing is solid, and as stupid as the idea sounds, the story actually isn't bad so far. I found it a strangely compelling read, so I thought it deserved a rec.

    4/5
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 6, 2015
  2. Alindrome

    Alindrome A bigger, darker mark DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    I'm really enjoying this!

    The best part is the conflict between Orochimaru and the main character. The author has left us with one half of a rather enthralling story point about why she exists in this world, and I genuinely found I really wanted to know more of the answer to that.

    The whole story is - just as Styx says - compelling. It's interesting, moves between different points in the main character's life without growing stale. All of it builds upon what happened previously and as a result the development of her skills and knowledge is very satisfying. The writer is skilled at keeping things gripping, which makes reading it and seeing the answers slowly unfold quite satisfying.

    Some of the other characters are a little lacklustre perhaps at first, but Aoi's friendships are developed well. I'm fairly sure her team-mates are original characters, which I could see bothering some people... but the story has a way of presenting them that makes it seem like they don't particularly matter. I was convinced they were both going to die unnotable off-screen deaths at one point. I feel like this is a boon as far as OCs are concerned, because what tends to make OCs so irritating in other stories is that they get shoved down your throat. These guys don't, and the vast majority of the story focuses on important canon characters.

    I wouldn't say this story is amazing, but I'm enjoying it immensely. I also haven't disliked any aspects of it, which is quite impressive. So:

    5/5
     
  3. Republic

    Republic The Snow Queen –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Is the title misspelt on purpose? Is that the actual fic title or a typo?
     
  4. Alindrome

    Alindrome A bigger, darker mark DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    Er, don't see any typos anywhere. What are you referring to?
     
  5. mangaguy

    mangaguy Fifth Year

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    It's fixed now. The typo was that the title was "What Dosen't Kill You".

    Minor spoilers ahead, just in case.

    Anyways, I find that I've been enjoying this story. I think that some of it is a little meh, though. I'm not a big fan of the two side characters from the orphanage that go into the Ninja Academy and then into the SI's team. It's just a little contrived to have them follow her. The philosophy stuff that she struggles through also had me rolling my eyes. I guess it makes sense that she would have these compunctions, but I don't like the vehicle it is delivered in--the naive civilian school teacher stuff is really hard to suspend disbelief for.

    Anyways, the stuff this fic does well is plentiful as well. I like the fact that the SI has some in depth professional knowledge that she brought into the Naruto world. Too often, the SI character is some dumb college graduate/student with no skills that could transfer over. It's an interesting take that the SI has some in depth medical knowledge and tries to experiment and use this knowledge for her personal gain. Although the story doesn't (and shouldn't) get into the nitty gritty details, the medical stuff is a good way to add depth to the story past the SI's knowledge of the Naruto canon timleline. The fact that the author involves Root pretty early on (although I feel the Root arc implementation is kinda dumb) also allows for a nice, slow but significant trickle of changes to canon, unlike stories like Dreaming of Sunshine, where all the events practically follow canon until the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. The use of Shikaku as a teacher is great too-- his POV is appreciated as a supremely intelligent strategist and he is a nice change of pace from other common alternate teachers.

    Altogether, this story has a lot of potential. I like its twists, and I don't think its negatives are that bad. A 4/5 from me.
     
  6. Jarik

    Jarik Chief Warlock

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    I can't really remember the specifics of this story (since it gets jumbled up with all the other Naruto SIs I've read), which in itself sort of says a bit. Where I can remember almost every detail of Vapors and Dreaming of Sunshine pretty well.

    What I do remember was that it was pretty enjoyable. Out of those other Naruto SIs, I think it was easily the best with strong writing, engaging characters and reasonable plot. Her being Orochimaru's daughter was done quite well and added a fair bit of impact.

    I really liked the first chapter, from Nana (Aoi's mother's) point of view. Because having a baby that has the mental age of twenty-something year old would lead to behavior that'd be pretty damn freaky. It was also a pretty imaginative way of starting a SI story. Rather than reading the usual levels of confusion and realisation from the main character, seeing it all from someone else's POV - and being able to infer exactly what is going on in Aoi's head. Wish Nana survived a bit longer, just to see how their interaction would be as Aoi grew up.

    Nonetheless though, I don't think it had the levels of enjoyment I had for Vapors, nor the quality writing of DoS and didn't really stand out as much as either of them. It's enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable so 3.5/5, rounded down.
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2015
  7. Nemrut

    Nemrut The Black Mage ~ Prestige ~

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    Pretty much the same, I had a lot of fun reading it, and I know I liked it, but honestly, I don't remember much from it. Not because it was bad or anything, or that bland but it just didn't leave the same impact as DoS, Vapors or the fic where the SI was Ino's older sister.

    3.5 /5

    Worth reading but not exactly going to stay in your memory.
     
  8. sonny_yalin

    sonny_yalin Third Year

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    I really enjoyed this. I'd say it's probably the best SI I've read so far, though I haven't read more than 5 chapters of either Vapors or Dreaming of Sunshine (both are still on my list).

    What I liked were the revelations about chakra and medical ninjutsu that Aoi is interested in. Actually pretty interesting to read as well as unique. I don't think I've read much that exactly like what is described in this fic. It seems well thought out and it provides explanations for certain complications (like Aris' situation). The fic is definitely one of the higher quality ones that I've come across in terms of writing.

    I also like how the author has presented some mystery as to how they arrived in this universe. In so many SIs it seems like there's always a chapter at the beginning where the author dies and such and such happens and bam, they're in Naruto's universe.

    There were a few things I didn't like. Towards the beginning, Aoi's character seemed like a know-it-all, manipulator and that she'd be able to easily manipulate her way around her peers. I'm glad that I was proven wrong here. Aoi faces some pretty staggering odds and doesn't always come up with the right answer. I liked how the author developed the relationship with Aoi and Hinata.

    All things considered, I'd say it's definitely one of the better fics I've read, not just a good SI.
     
  9. diesIovis

    diesIovis Seventh Year

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    I can repeat what a few already said before me, this story for some reason isn't very memorable. It's not bad, I found it enjoyable, some things are really good, but I managed to almost read the whole thing, before I came to the conclusion that I already read the fic before. I had a sense of deja vu from the beginning, but I read a lot of stuff so it wasn't really conclusive, but that it takes 20 chapters of cumulative suspicion to get to the point when I say, "Shit I've read this before" is kinda weird.
     
  10. Aekiel

    Aekiel Angle of Mispeling ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    You know, I've had exactly that feeling since I started reading it this morning.
     
  11. Eiki

    Eiki Squib

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    I think it's got to do with most SI-fics being very formulaic. Once you've read five of them, you've pretty much read them all. At that point the ones worth reading either have an original twist on the premise, or are very well written. I remember this fic being somewhat original and decently well written. Like you, I don't actually remember much of the story - having read something like 10 SI-fics they all sort of blend together, but I know I enjoyed reading it. I rated it 4/5 because I like reading SI-fics and this one was particularly enjoyable, but it certainly has its flaws and is more of a guilty pleasure actually good.
     
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