Omg omg omg omg you do not understand how excited I was when I got the notification for this fic!! Literally vibrating in my seat when I first saw it. I haven’t stopped thinking about this since and despite the fact that I feel bad that it’s taken me this long to write you comments, I’m actually kind of glad because it means I get to read this masterpiece over again.
Okay, right from the get-go, this first chapter had me hooked. I am absolutely obsessed with the descriptions of the Naruto characters because 👀 they’re so creepy??? Like, istg the way you’ve portrayed them is probably my favorite part of this entire story and I don’t even know why lmao. Your descriptions of Shikamaru in this chapter are pretty mundane in comparison to Gaara later on, but even then… I love how you can tell that there is just something *off* about this kid.
Okay anyways, back to the point of the chapter… what an interesting start to the story! I didn’t know what to make of it at first—was Shikamaru really looking for his Uncle? Nah, he couldn’t be, right? If he genuinely needed help, then he’d give more concrete details. It honestly seemed like he’s being vague because he’s looking for something in particular…
And then it hit me that he was using the police’s quirk registry to find someone with a dimension traveling quirk. And it all fell into line so perfectly. I loved it.
Especially!!! “He watches as various emotions flash across the boy’s face. What appears to be intrigue, shrewd analysis and smug satisfaction all zip by, appearing and disappearing so quickly Sansa can’t even categorize them properly. In mere milliseconds his expression is wiped clean, landing on blank neutrality without a hint of recognition.” THIS PART!!! The way Shikamaru finds what he’s looking for but doesn’t really give anything away—AHHHH
On another note, Shikamaru figuring out and messing with Tsukauchi’s Lie Detector quirk? Amazing. You can tell that there are some times where he’s testing it and other parts were he’s very carefully choosing his words so as to not trigger it, and I love it. So so so much
Also, the henge of Dabi is amazing 😂 plus the use of sign language translating so that Shikamaru can say he’s translating his uncle’s words so that he can still be truthful to Tsukauchi’s quirk without actually having to tell the truth… genius. It really reads like the sort of work around Shikamaru would come up with and I am very impressed by you for coming up with this
Going back to that thing about your creepy descriptions of characters… yeah. Dabi. My god the description was so good, I was like, enraptured just by your word choice there 😂
The police’s reaction to this whole encounter is also *chefs kiss* perfection. The way Shikamaru works around their questions and how they realize at the end what he’s done was so entertaining to read the first time, and it’s even better the second time now that I have the context of the rest of the fic.
And of course! The tie in to RtN! The comparisons to Katoshi!! AHH!!
“his colleague had never had been quite the same following the babysitting incident” *squints closely at the screen* is this… a reference to my fic???
“I remain constantly aware that young people can do some crazy things,” Tsukauchi says wisely. “That and Shinsou. Mostly Shinsou.” I love this so much because it really shows how much of a wrench Katoshi’s put into Tsukauchi’s perspective on the world. As he should 😂
Anyways, this first chapter was so fun to reread!! Thank you so much for writing this fic <3<3<3 I’m going to write more comments on the rest of the story soon, I hope, but for tonight I must stop here. Please know that you have all of my love, though
First off, that is an INSANELY long comment. I love it! Thank you!! - Naruto characters are creepy! Gaara especially, of course, even when he's trying not to be, but Shikamaru henged as a six year old? A little toddler analyzing your every move? Ridiculously creepy. - Haha I knew I wanted outside pov for all the chapters, so I thought it would be best to start off with a bit of mystery! Glad you caught on pretty fast because I was a bit vague at first. - I love the whole lie detector quirk setup and everything that has to do with working around it and messing with it. So of course I had to get Shika to have a little fun with it. I was worried he'd be caught super fast, but Shika is smart so he got to figure it out pretty quickly. - Yess I made him bunshin and henge as Dabi! I didn't have enough hints so it was really unclear in my first draft, but again super happy you got that! I mainly made 'Dabi' use Konoha sign because clones can't talk, and then realized it was a good workaround after! But oof, plotting for smart characters is tough! They're always too cunning for me... - I needed our detectives to realize what happened later but not realize too much, hehe. And of course, tie ins to RtN! Shika and Katoshi are so similar in certain ways so I had to use that. - AND YES, it is indeed a reference to your fic which I LOVED btw. Shinsou has had much impact on Tsukauchi's life and now he's joined the child soldier conspiracy theorist group with Aizawa. Thank you so much for your comment!! It was so fun getting you for the exchange and you're so sweet and enthusiastic! I appreciate the love very much :)
Comment on Chase the Shadows (To Get Back Home)
Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815) on Chapter 1 Tue 03 Jan 2023 06:20AM UTC
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Araived on Chapter 1 Sat 07 Jan 2023 11:01PM UTC
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