#I say two but the second one is more sasuke focused | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

h8ani · 8 months ago

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Sasuke Uchiha x Reader

Word Count - 4k

Warnings - smut, angry sex, public sex, fear of getting caught, hair pulling, angst, slight paranoia, kinda non-canon structures (its been a long time since i watched naruto tbh so disregard the village not being exactly how the anime is), oral - male receiving, face fucking, gagging, degradation, penetrative sex, fem!reader, choking, reader is described to be wearing a dress in this chapter, there’s a voyeur

A/N - Just a reminder that if you have joined my taglist and change your username please let me know! If you haven't joined I put the link down below :) But holy hell you guys I can't believe I actually finished this after almost 5 months in my drafts, but I hope you enjoy it!

taglist! - @bloodsiren @blackfire2013 @benkeibear @suyacho @kodzukein

join my taglist → here

Part One → Part Two → Part Three → Part Four

It’s been a few days since the last time Sasuke was over. You’re used to the silence in between his visits; it’s become second nature to go days, even weeks, without seeing him, and the radio silence between each time he visits has become more common than the last.

It doesn’t bother you. It does. You could really care less. Sasuke has been the only thing that’s been on your mind. You absolutely hate him. You feel…conflicted.

Limbs tangled with one another, all you could hear were the heavy breaths that escaped both of your lips, your body rising and falling every time Sasuke took in a deep breath as you laid on top of him, his hands dancing along the skin of your back so featherlight it almost tickled.

Neither of you had uttered a word, just basking in the feeling of touching the other’s skin; the warmth radiating off each other’s body heat brought a sense of familiarity that you couldn’t quite pinpoint just why you felt most comfortable in his arms. You mentally shook the thought away; there was no need to focus on that. Your mind had already cleared up from the sex fog he had put you under and had started to race with a million different things that you wanted to bring up to him. Why did he do what he did? When was he going to leave again? He’s going to leave right away, don’t be stupid. When were you going to see him again? Why did he leave in the first place? You wanted to bring up so much, but you couldn’t brush off this feeling that something was about to happen, as if the rainstorm you were caught up in earlier today was a warning of a disaster brewing and about to happen.

“What’s wrong,” Sasuke spoke up, his words sounding more like a statement than a question. His eyes were trained on you, making your stomach involuntarily tighten with their intensity. He had been focusing on the multitude of expressions that had graced your face within the last minute; you were completely oblivious to his stare; somehow, he wanted to blame the sex for your lack of inattentiveness and not the fact that you may feel safe around him, no it couldn’t be that. Being distracted has nothing to do with him and everything to do with you being incompetent. Yeah, that’s it.

Your eyes met his, and before he knew it, your eyes lit up, a small smile appeared, and a simple shake of the head erased any form of contemplation he had previously seen. “Nothing.” You quickly say, “Just thinking.” Bullshit

“About what?” He interjects, his hands that were once dancing lightly across your back were now holding your hips, gripping ever so slightly.

“Just thinking, random thoughts, it doesn’t matter.”

“If it doesn’t matter, then you can tell me.”

Huffing a sigh, you stare back at him, his emotionless pools of black not letting you get a read on him, yours: uncertainty. “You won’t answer me even if I ask.”

He raises and sits up, causing you to reposition yourself in an upright position as well; your eyes stay trained on him as his stare hardens, almost as if what you just said offended him somehow. His eyes glance into yours as if he needs to be wary now. “I’m not answering anything about why I’m back in the village or why I left.” He blurts out quickly, a scoff following soon after. “You know you can’t say anything about seeing me. Don’t go blabbing about it to any of your little friends, or I won’t be coming back.” His stare solidifies as your jaw drops ever so slightly; the hardened look he’s giving you makes your chest tighten, and your body rises in temperature.

Sasuke sees your expression fall ever so slightly before you catch yourself and, in turn, sends the signature scowl he’s grown accustomed to back in his direction. Your eyes narrow while you sit up straighter, the discarded sheet on the bed now pulled tightly to your chest, and he curses at the way that made his stomach clench. He doesn’t care if you’re mad at him, but he can’t lie and say he didn’t want to ruin your two’s good momentum today. The sex was great, and he wanted to leave on what would be considered a good note for the both of you.

“I think you should go,” you say simply. You avert your glare and decide to stare at the wall instead, avoiding his eyes. “You know where the door is.” Ouch.

He rubs his face and sighs. “Look, you don’t get-”

“I don’t care, Sasuke. Like I said, it didn’t matter. So why don’t you just leave? I never saw you, and I’m not going to tell any of my “little friends.”

You sigh and throw the blankets off you, quickly grabbing your clothes and slamming your bathroom door shut.

Your throat tightened from the moment you got up, wanting to get away from him from the very moment he opened his stupid mouth. You take a slow, deep breath and let it out; the tightness in your throat drops to your stomach. Why would he even snap like that? What gives him the right to think he could speak like that to you? You miff another sigh out as the conflict in you bubbles up even more with the thoughts running rampant. How stupid could you be for thinking he actually could’ve been somewhat of a nice human being after today?

Your thoughts were quickly silenced by the sound of your front door opening and closing, the door shutting louder than necessary. Fucking asshole.

You shake your head to rid yourself of your thoughts as you look at yourself in the mirror, you fix your hair and check over your outfit in the mirror, quickly doing a little 360 in your mirror. Everyone had decided that tonight was a good night to hang out and have some drinks as no one had any missions for tomorrow, so there was no need to worry about any impending hangovers.

You changed into a nice dress that fell mid-thigh; it was form-fitting and casual enough that you didn’t overdress or underdress with it. You pulled your hair into a high ponytail and just enough makeup to cover any eye bags that were more prominent than usual, no less from your sleepless nights thinking about he-who-shall-not-be-named-or-thought-of. You looked yourself over in the mirror and smiled. You felt pretty tonight, and it was nice not constantly to be in work mode for once.

The stressors from work and the expectations you always got from everyone took a toll on your body more than you would have liked. You were expected to never make any mistakes and always be three steps ahead, and it was simply a lot. Was it fair? Probably not, but it was also what you got for being a perfectionist at such a young age. You gave everyone expectations where you could only rise instead of fall. If you fell, everyone would know, and you just couldn’t have that.

You leave your apartment and make your way down to meet your friends. The air had a slight chill to it as the sun was finally setting, but something along with the chill was bothering you. You couldn’t brush off the feeling that someone was watching you.

Your feet skid to a halt as you spin, eyes cascading along the rooftops of the buildings around you. Your breathing picks up as your heart begins beating, and you feel every thump as your anxiety spikes. You internally curse yourself for being so stupid as not to even bring a single shuriken with you. For god’s sake, you could’ve popped one in your purse just for safekeeping. The anxiety you feel is derived from being paranoid, and you have to remind yourself no one is watching you and that it’s just your own mind playing tricks on you. You take a deep breath as you hear a name call out to you; turning back around, you see Shikamaru and Choji waving you over. You speed walk over to them, swallowing down the feeling of someone’s eyes on you. Was Sasuke here again? You wouldn’t expect him to be over so soon after the fight you two had just days ago. He’s never over this soon after he leaves anyway. Usually, it takes weeks for him to come over, sometimes even months. Although his eyes being the ones you’ve felt had to have been it, there’s no other explanation.

The buzz of the alcohol was finally settling in; once you got inside, you decided you needed a tiny little shot to calm your nerves and anxieties, then another once all your friends arrived and wanted to take a group shot, and now here you are ordering your third. You’re a lightweight, no shock about that, and feeling a bit dazed as you stare at the shot of alcohol sitting in front of you. You’re so zoned out, not even realizing the presence of someone taking the seat next to you at the bar table.

“You look nice tonight.” A familiar voice catches your ear, and you turn, seeing Shikamaru next to you. A sudden rush of heat hits you as you stare back at him. “Oh, T-Thank you.” You stutter out and mentally smack yourself. You divert your attention back to your shot glass, suddenly remembering how intriguing it was just two seconds ago.

Suddenly, hearing the sound of glass scraping against the bar table, you look up and see a similar shot in Shikamaru’s hand. “Cheers?” He holds up his shot glass, waiting for you to do the same. A small chuckle leaves you as you hold yours up and clink your glass with his. “Cheers.”

You knock back the shot, grimacing over the familiar burn down your throat and the fuzzy feeling deep in your stomach. You sigh and slump back against your seat as you look at Shikamaru. “You look nice too, I think I forgot to compliment you back.”

He chuckles, “Thanks, I didn’t really know what to wear. I wanted to come in sweats and a hoodie, but Ino just about had a conniption when I mentioned that.”

“Oh, don’t lie, you didn’t even want to come to this.”

“And you did?”

“Well, you got me there, didn’t you?”

Laughter fills the air around you two as you continue to talk about past missions, the latest drama you’ve heard around the village, and even as mundane as the midnight snacks you two have had, you were actually…enjoying yourself; the thought of Sasuke had been dissipated like the rain that had come and gone from the prior days. Listening to Shikamaru talk was something you found yourself rather enjoying. Still, maybe that’s just the alcohol in your veins talking. Yeah, that was definitely it. “So, what’s new with you?” Shikamaru asks, his eyes finding yours, and the sudden tightness is once again back, whether that being because the only thing that seems to be ‘new’ in your life was Sasuke and every little defiling and obscene moment between you two replayed again in your head or because you actually might be liking the attention Shikamaru is giving you the world will never know.

“Ah, you know. Lots of training, lots of missions, lots of-”

“Staying in your apartment all day and night?”

You quirk an eyebrow up at him, lips slowly following suit. “Shikamaru Nara, are you stalking me?” An indiscernible giggle leaves your lips, which shocks not only you but also him. You can see the pink rising to his cheeks at your minor faux accusation; his eyes widen, and his hands immediately come up to defend himself. “No, I just hear Ino constantly nagging at me to hang out with her, that’s how I know. I don’t stand out of your window or anything like that. Do you know how much time and energy that takes? Do you know-”

“Shikamaru?”

“What?”

“I was joking.”

“Oh.”

“You know, for someone with an IQ higher than a tree, you’re kinda dumb.”

“You know what…Shut up.”

The air around you as you step outside drops a few degrees, causing you to shiver despite the multiple shots you had earlier. Glancing around, you notice how barren the pathways are and how barren the town seems. You glance back over your shoulder to see that Shikamaru is already on his way with his teammates, all drunk themselves, as you see them stumbling against each other.

Your apartment isn’t far from where you are, so you, in turn, make your way down the path. Bad idea. The more you walk, the more you regret that last shot you took and every single life choice you seem to have made tonight because the line you had been walking in had slowly turned into a wave, making you plant your hand on the building beside you. “Just a little more, and I’m almost home.” You blow out a sigh before taking another step forward. Looking up, your body freezes as you see a rock fly past you and fall to the floor to your right. Your senses come to realize that someone is near as you stare at the rock. The alcohol has slowed your reflexes because you’re yanked backward, a scream bubbling up in your throat. Still, before you can release it, a hand is clasped over your mouth, and you get dragged in between the two buildings down the small alleyway.

You begin kicking back and screaming into the hand, fighting as you’re dragged back further into the small space between the two buildings, your front pressed against the wall and the chills finding their way back up your spine once you hear his voice. “How stupid could you be?” His voice is loud in your ear, hand still firm against your mouth, not allowing you to utter a word. “Walking home drunk is one thing, but what the fuck are you wearing?” He seethes. Your dress is already riding up higher on your thighs, just below your ass, due to being pressed between the wall and the man himself. It took all of one big gust of wind to blow it up or one perverted old man to ‘drop’ something of his to catch a look up your dress. The anger that welled up in his chest was undeniable as he pushed off of you and spun you around to slam you harder into the wall itself. Your eyes caught him scanning over you; his already dark eyes seemed even darker tonight. The dress you wore hugged every inch of you perfectly, and it drove him madder seeing it hiked up higher than intended, all thanks to him. One more inch, and he could see the little lace thong he knew you were wearing. He finds your eyes and tsks at the dumbfounded look you gave him; just how stupid were you?

“Sasuke-”

“Shut up and get on your knees.” He cuts you off, hands gripping your arms and tugging you down until you plop down on your knees. The dirt underneath you digs uncomfortably into your skin. You look up, pupils dilated as you stare up at the ravenette. “Unless you want us to be caught, I suggest you not utter a single noise.” Without warning, Sasuke pushes two fingers past your lips and into your mouth, pumping the digits like they were his cock until they were soaked with your own spit. “I suggest you act right, given your circumstances.” He speaks, and your eyes narrow up at him; the urge to clamp your teeth on his fingers threatens to come to fruition, but you can’t ignore the subtle throb in between your legs. “Suck.” He says while pushing his fingers deeper and tugging his pants down with his other hand, pulling down the material along with his underwear, allowing his cock to spring out. You could feel yourself salivate just looking at him, wanting to trade his fingers for his cock against your better judgment. He presses his fingers down harder against your tongue, causing you to gag and choke on saliva; you can hear the snicker that comes from him as he watches you trying to quieten your coughing spout.

His hand threads into your hair, messing up your almost perfect ponytail, the grip burning your scalp as he pulls you forward, knees dragging against the ground while the tip of his cock presses against your wet lips, his precum smearing across them in an almost erotic way that Sasuke doesn’t think he could last by just looking at you.

You drop your jaw open while he pushes his cock past your lips, enveloping himself in the warmth that is your mouth. The grip on your hair grants you nothing but pain as his hips begin to move to their own rhythm, his cock hitting farther back than the last thrust. You try your best to breathe through your nose as he fucks your face to his liking; maybe if your mind weren’t so focused on Sasuke being here, cock down your throat and his eyes watching you so meticulously, you’d have the nerve to push back, make him slow down, maybe even explain why he knew you were out with your friends in the first place and not at home.

Tugging you even tighter, Sasuke pushes your head until your nose is brushing against his stomach; your throat tightens as he effectively pushes each inch into your throat. “You feel me? Do you think that Shikamaru could ever stretch your throat out like I do? He might as well try something with you seeing how fucking drunk you were tonight.” His hips rock forward until his dick hits further back into your throat. You choke around him, drool effectually spilling past your lips and down your chin.

Eyes squeezing shut, you sputter another cough, which turns into a gag around his length. A disapproving noise is heard from him as he pulls away, allowing you to take in deep breaths. As you open your eyes, you see him crouched down in front of you, a look one can only describe as displeasure. “How stupid could you be?” he says, slightly shaking his head before he speaks again. You’re supposed to be better than them.”

“Better than-”

Crack!

“Naruto! You idiot!” You gasp as you hear the rest of your friends walking down and getting closer to the alleyway you were in. They must’ve just now left the bar you all were at; this isn’t good; you need to leave; they can’t see you like this. You pull farther away from Sasuke as you see them pass the opening between the two buildings, all of them stumbling and unknowingly passing you as they walk.

Another tsk leaves his mouth as he shoves you forward; you catch yourself on your hands while grimacing at the sting that travels through the skin of your knees. You feel his hands positioning himself behind you, all while pushing your dress up to your hips and pulling your thong to the side. Suddenly feeling every bit of alcohol drain from your system, you become hyper-aware of what is really happening; you jolt forward, and before you can spin around to ask him what he thinks he’s doing, you’re yanked back by your hair, back arching to the point where you’re staring straight into his eyes. “Make sure to be quiet, or else everyone is going to see how much you love taking my cock.” A deep chuckle vibrates through him. “What would they think when seeing you on all fours in an alley? Perfect little (y/n) crying from how good my cock makes her feel; how would you ever live that down? You think Shikamaru would ever give you the slightest bit of attention after that?”

Letting go of your hair, a knee between your thighs pushed them further apart while you balanced yourself on your hands. The itching feeling that someone could see or be watching from a distance burns brighter than the pain in your knees. The swollen tip of his cock prods your already glistening entrance; you bite down on your lip to stop any form of a whine from slipping out. You swallow down the nerves as his hand leaves your hair to slip around your throat; the silent plea that he wouldn’t make this difficult left the moment his hips slammed into yours, his hand tightening on your throat, restraining the scream that threatened to bubble out. He gave you no time to adjust, his hand leaving your throat and falling to your waist, fingers digging into your flesh so tight as he slammed into you that you knew bruises would be there by morning.

You can’t help but glance up, fearing that any of your friends could leave the bar at any time and pass by, seeing you in the most compromising position you feel like you’ve been in. The subtle feeling that there’s a pair of eyes on the two of you grows larger while you scan around. No one has passed by the entrance, and this feeling could only be explained by you being scared of getting caught.

Sasuke’s breathy grunts found your ears, and a pang of alarm shot right through you as he was the one making noise. The subtle sound of skin slapping skin makes you even more fearful. The coil in your stomach is already winding tight; the quieter you have to become, the more your pussy grips him. You clench around him, pussy squeezing for dear life. Your nails dig into the ground beneath you, knuckles turning white.

“Oh, God…” You pant, dropping your head down between your shoulders. The sounds of everyone’s voices can be heard in the distance, and you try desperately to focus on anything other than the impending orgasm that’s slowly building up.

Sasuke shifts, bringing his hand in between your legs and fingers quickly to find your clit, rubbing quick little circles. You bite down hard on your lip, the silvery taste of metallic dancing on your tongue from allowing the moan that threatened to escape. No, You won’t give him the satisfaction of making you cum, especially this fast. You grab his hand to stop his fingers and feel his hand that was once placed on your waist slide across your skin and reach back up to your throat, drawing your back flush to his chest, knees digging deeper into the gravel on the ground and seemingly reaching deeper within you, a desperate whine left your lips as your eyes faintly rolled back. “Stop me from making you cum, and I swear to god, you’re going to regret it.” He growls while tightening his grip on your throat and bringing his other hand back to your clit. His hips snapped into you even deeper while he assaulted your clit. You struggle to gasp as the coil in you snaps; your body shakes as you lean back into him more, pushing him even deeper that you swear you see stars. You spasmed as you dug your nails into the hand that held your throat while he continued to pound into you.

He was chasing his own release, and the way he felt like you two would be caught at any moment spurred him on even more. He knew tonight was a lot, even on his standards of fucking you, but the way your pussy was fluttering around him, the deeper he got, and the rougher he became, he couldn’t stop. Your walls clenched around him, climax dragging out as your pleasure was heightened as he fucked into you; your name tumbled off of his lips before he bit into your shoulder, muffling the sinful moan he released as he came. You both fell forward, barely catching yourselves before hitting the ground, with heavy breaths syncing with one another while you catch your wit on what you two just did.

The feeling of someone watching you never did go away.

The angry pair of eyes attached to the redhead at the back end of the alleyway never left you two, either.

network: @enchantedforest-network

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badgalsasuke · 3 months ago

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My thoughts on the Naruto ending

So I had said I was gonna post about my feelings and thoughts regarding the Naruto finale that might contain a few hot takes for some people, so here it is.

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST.

The Naruto ending is universally disliked, there's not doubt in that. Veteran SNS shippers don't like it because Naruto and Sasuke end up with women they don't love and aren't attracted to, and believe Naruto and Sasuke could've end up "single" with no ships confirmed; younger SNS shippers that weren't there when Naruto was still coming out believe they should've ended up together even though that could have not been plausible due to the manga industry quite conservative practices. Het!shippers on the other hand, believe the ending is bad for two different reasons: the first being that some believe that Narusaku and Sasukarin would've made more sense than SS and NH (some say just Narusaku and Sasuke should've stayed single); the second being that although they like SS and NH and the potential they believe these ships have "but wasn't explored further", Kishimoto can't write romance so he messed up both ships, making them bland and barely romantic.

Another reason why the ending is disliked for non-shipping reasons and mostly by Sasuke stans, is that even though in the couple chapters before the 700th one Naruto and Sasuke talk about changing the shinobi system, we see in Boruto that the system has not been changed at all and instead Naruto and Sasuke are reinforcing it despite all the oppression and suffering they were put through it in its name. We even see Itachi, the man who committed genocide being lauded as a hero for his actions and zero reflection on Konoha as a genocidal State. Oh and the Hyuga clan still practices slavery.

So here I come to say the following: Naruto's ending makes sense.

Now before y'all tear me to pieces let me explain myself. The first time I read the finale I thought it was stupid, one reason being that the ships make no sense no matter the angle you try to look at them and the other reason being that Sasuke was now working for the same State that murdered his clan with Naruto now as the head of that same State and making no changes to the Shinobi system (not a very good look on him, right?), so I thought for many years that the ending sucked.

Then The Last, Boruto and Sasuke Retsuden came out and all I could think was "woah this is all really shit from the butt".

But then one day when I was thinking about the manga as a whole, mostly because I was starting to realize that Kishimoto was being intentional in his writing of Naruto and Sasuke's romantic bond and it wasn't accidental like most of the fandom thinks, I just started connecting dots and trying to make sense of the whole story and seeing how the ending fitted into that. I'm someone that whenever it comes to literary analysis and criticism always tries to think about what was the author intention before I label something as bad because it wasn't my personal preference how something was written.

And that's how I realized what there was theme to the Naruto ending is. It's all about conformity.

Now, don't get me wrong the Naruto ending still has flaws, two big ones in my opinion, which I'll point out further down the post, but what I want to do is show you the forest because I feel the fandom is mostly focused on a couple of trees when it comes to the finale. I want you to see the thread of events Kishimoto created and how he was trying to keep it as in character as possible.

So first things first. If you've read Kishimoto interviews over the years then you would know what was the ending he had envisioned: chapter 698. He talks about how he wanted Naruto and Sasuke to have their final fight, make ammends and change the shinobi system together. He achieved two out those three things he intended.

In a quite controversial interview that most of the fandom likes to ignore, Kishimoto stated that he had no emotional attachement to Naruto and Hinata as a couple and it was Studio Pierrot who had pitched the whole thing about The Last movie. He also states that he decided to make NH endgame after Shippuden had started and he had also considered Narusaku as well, but then in another interview that came later he started saying he had intended to make NH canon since the very beginning. He was constantly contradicting himself in these interviews over the years. Kishimoto has also expressed his distate for SS and Sakura's character in general in different interviews.

So what I personally believe is that Kishimoto's editorial, Shueisha, made him change his statements because saying he had no plans for NH and it was Studio Pierrot idea was quite damaging to the franchise (no wonder the interview got kinda buried too, lol).

I think the biggest challenge for Kishimoto was giving the editorial, the studio and most of the fandom the het!ships they wanted without compromising as much the characters the story of his manga revolves around, Naruto and Sasuke.

So we get to ch. 699 where I believe Kishimoto is laying the ground for the finale we ended up getting.

In ch. 698 it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke had been able to resolve their issues and been able to talk about their feelings for each other. Something Sasuke repeats in ch. 699, a chapter entirely narrated by him. However right at the end of ch. 699 we get what seems to be a regression of what we had seen in the previous chapter.

It is implied that Naruto and Sasuke had an argument off-screen hence why Sasuke thought Naruto would not come to see him and bid him farewell before his atonement journey. What was the argument about is never really explained, some fans speculate Naruto was upset about Sasuke going on an atonement journey considering Naruto had pleaded for Sasuke to not be imprisoned and saw no reason for Sasuke to go on a redemption trip. I personally believe it had something to do with Naruto failing to come to terms with his feelings for Sasuke because, as we see right away, Naruto gives Sasuke back his headband and Sasuke says he'll keep it until they have their real fight which is interesting, to say the least, because didn't we just see their real fight the literal prior chapter? basically, we're being told Naruto and Sasuke haven't been able to truly talk about their feelings and put into words what their relationship really is about hence why Sasuke keeps the headband. As long as Sasuke has the headband, it will mean Naruto hasn't been able to truly accept what he feels for Sasuke. In essence, ch. 699 is Kishimoto retconning ch. 698 to give way to what comes later.

After chapter 700 came out we started getting so much content, both filler and canon, that tries to explain how we got there. Let's start with The Last, the movie that tries to explain how the heck Naruto ended up with Hinata.

The Last is sort of a hybrid, it's written for the most part by Studio Pierrot employees who had the idea in the first place and Kishimoto corrected a few things here and there and is also what for me, makes the ending flawed for one big reason: Naruto's character assassination.

Naruto is a shonen manga that's more focused and concerned on it's emotional battles and communicates it to the audience through it's physical battles rather than the powerscaling stuff Naruto dudebros would have you thinking the manga is actually about. So this means that Naruto, its main character, spends the entire manga learning about his feelings and putting them into words. That's what his story is mainly about; learning to love and to be loved.

The Last undoes this in the stupidest way possible. To give Naruto an excuse on why he always ignored Hinata they intend to make the audience believe it's because "Naruto doesn't know what love is" by writing Naruto not being able to differentiate between loving someone and liking ramen. This is absolute nuts. We know that Naruto understands what is love, what is not love and that love doesn't come out of nowhere, we see that when Sakura fake confesses to Naruto, he's able to spot right away she's not being genuine because he understands those three things. So this is the first flaw of the Naruto ending for me.

The second flaw is the dismissal of Kurama and Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. I find the most embarrasing thing about The Last to be that they had to put Naruto through a genjutsu so he could hallucinate "memories of Hinata being there for him but he was too dumb to notice" but it's even worse once you remember that Naruto canonically should not be able to be put through a genjutsu in the first place. Studio Pierrot had to break rules of Kishimoto's universe in order to give NH some mediocre development and to me this will always be the worst part of the finale. If you can't make a ship work within the universe rules, then why make it a thing at all?

Some people didn't like that Hinata is totally useless in the movie, but for me this is not a flaw, as it is entirely in character with who she is in the manga. Making her a mary sue out of nowhere on the other hand, would be a flaw of the story.

Now that I've talked about what I think are the flaws of the Naruto ending, let's talk about the things that work in The Last (and I believe is where Kishimoto put his input) to make the finale make sense. The first one being that Sakura is the one that pushes Naruto to be with Hinata. In the manga we see several times Sakura is insecure about Naruto and Sasuke's bond and being jealous of Naruto's spot in Sasuke's heart. Even Hinata is baffled by Sakura wanting to help her and asks her why she's doing all that because she knows they're not friends. We then see Sakura think about Sasuke (who's also conviniently excluded from the movie) and simply say "we, girls, should support each other", she wants Naruto out of the picture so she can have Sasuke for herself and she succeeded. It's also important to note that once Sakura got what she wanted she no longer pretended to be a friend of Hinata, she didn't even kept close contact with Naruto either as we see in Naruto Gaiden, Sarada and Naruto don't know each other like that at all, if Sakura was being a genuine friend to Hinata and Naruto, she would've kept her family close to Naruto's but she didn't.

One more thing that I find works about The Last is that Naruto doesn't passionately fall in love with Hinata, but instead is constantly guilt-tripped into liking her, which is more true to his character. You have a man already struggling to accept his sexuality, who also has his deceased mother's expectation of marrying a girl and on top of that is a pathological people pleaser, of course he's gonna marry the first girl that tells him she loves him. It makes sense this all happened while Sasuke was not in the village. Naruto panicked about his sexual identity and rushed to marry an "acceptable woman" in the eyes of the people whose approval he craves, as we see in the special chapter Kishimoto wrote that came out after The Last: the villagers fawning over Konoha's hero dating the Hyuga heiress.

Likewise, Sasuke not attending Naruto's wedding helps the ending not be as contrived or out of character of them. Kishimoto never wrote anything on why Sasuke skipped the wedding as far as I can recall, but in the episodes that Studio Pierrot made dedicated to Naruto's wedding we see a Sasuke completely absent and detached from the event, something Naruto dudebros use to dunk on him because that made him a terrible friend from their perspective, but as usual they're not paying attention to the full narrative Kishimoto is creating here.

Making Sasuke be happy for Naruto and attend his wedding and give him a gift and all that crap, would've made het!shippers and Naruto dudebros happy but it would be at the expense of his character and the story Kishimoto was writing. Remember, Sasuke had kept the headband all these time until he could have his real fight with Naruto, meaning he was waiting for Naruto to be honest about his feelings for him, so him not attending Naruto's wedding is a way to communicate to the audience (at least the part that's paying attention) that Sasuke is heartbroken by the news.

I believe this is why Kishimoto designed adult Sasuke the way he did and makes him dress the way he does as an adult. All black and depressing. I also believe that Sasuke will stop dressing that way the minute he and Naruto have their real fight, if they ever have it, that is.

Additionally, Kishimoto nailed making NH canon before SS would be canon. Naruto, as I stated before, is the one that struggles with his identity and feelings for Sasuke and the one that has the expectations to marry a woman so it makes sense that he would be the one to marry a woman first. SS becoming canon first wouldn't make sense because not only is Sasuke more outspoken about his contempt for Sakura, whereas Naruto remains polite and neutral to Hinata's feelings, but Sasuke also has no reason to be with Sakura if Naruto is still available, in fact, Kishimoto making Sakura be the one to chase Sasuke after Naruto's wedding because Sasuke never came back, as we see it stated in Naruto Gaiden ch. 10, is also in character for both Sasuke and Sakura, instead of writing it the other way around like SS shippers wished, y'know their whole thing about Sasuke coming back to the village for Sakura and apologizing to her because he didn't realize how much he actually loved her because he was trapped in the darkness blah blah blah (I think this is what happens in filler novel Sasuke shinden lol).

If Naruto is not available, then Sasuke is in a very emotionally vulnerable position and Sakura took advantage of that. You see the narrative Kishimoto is creating here? There's a thread to follow on why stuff happened they way it did.

Now, I mentioned before that the theme of the Naruto finale was conformity. Here's where I explain how:

The first thing is Naruto's physical appearance. Kishimoto liked to draw a young Naruto all punk and grunge. He even had already made a design of adult Naruto where Naruto looks, well, cool and HOT.

Yet, for the actual finale he gave us an ugly Naruto, but also a Naruto that looks tired and exhausted. How does this tie with the conformity theme? when Naruto was young he used to go against the rules, defy expectations people had of him, tell authorities to fuck off. Like, when he was told to give up on Sasuke when he was 12, Naruto responded "If giving up on Sasuke makes me wise, I'd rather be fool my entire life", this man was a rebel. But as an adult we see him become the head of State that continues to reproduce the status quo that had once oppressed him. Naruto turned apathetic, his appearance reflects his attitude.

And this is consistent with the narrative Kishimoto's been crafting. Just in the same way Naruto conformed to society's expectation when he married a woman he doesn't love and barely knows, he also conformed and succumbed to the shinobi world status quo. It would *make zero sense* for Naruto to revolutionize the shinobi world while married to princess slaver Hinata Hyuga, that'd be an oxymoron, completely contradictory narrative wise. Certainly, Naruto always struggled to find an ideology, to put it in some way, when it came to Konoha and its ninjas practices and had a messed up perception of its villagers (see: the whole Dark Naruto mini plot) but he still wanted to change the shinobi world WITH SASUKE by his side, once the story established they don't end up together and Sasuke isn't by his side, Naruto doesn't care anymore.

This is why I don't find strange that Kishimoto wrote Naruto oversleeping in the eve of his name day as Hokage, a day Naruto had once dreamt about when he was a child. The spark is gone.

But the spark isn't just gone for Naruto, it's also gone for Kishimoto. Naruto didn't even attend his name day because he was knocked out by Himawari. This is Kishimoto being petty. He spent 15 years writing a story where the goal was to see Naruto become Hokage and he knew how anticipated this moment was and he still went and ruined it for the fans anyway. Naruto dudebros were furious about this, but not once did they stop to wonder about the implications of this, what it said about Kishimoto's relationship with his work if it had gotten to the point he went and "fucked it up".

Naruto cared about the state of the world before he became indifferent to it. This is why when Sasuke stans complain about Naruto not actually caring about Sasuke's trauma but can never really explain why Naruto is like that as an adult. They try to pretend Naruto never cared but this is a lie, kid and teenage Naruto was compassionate to Sasuke's trauma and pain even if he didn't always managed it in the best way possible. So, I always feel like they're missing this particular piece of the puzzle: if Naruto can't be his true self then he cannot change the world and neither can Sasuke.

Because the same thing occurs to Sasuke. One blog once posted that Sasuke not caring about his child is out of character, but Sasuke not caring about Sakura's child is very much in character and I feel that sums up Kishimoto's writing of both adult Sasuke and Naruto. This passiveness you wouldn't imagine from their younger selves, takes a hold of them once they become adults and gradually "get in line" to be a part of the real world. Sasuke doesn't care about his child because he had her with a woman he doesn't even like or respect. Sasuke is stuck in time still holding onto that headband, hoping he and Naruto will one day have their real battle.

Sasuke uses the forehead poke, a gesture he always hated, on his wife and child because he, just like his brother to him, wants to distance himself from them. Sasuke now serves the same village that plotted the mass murder of his clan and family because why not? his brother is lauded as a hero for killing his entire clan after all. Sasuke too, has conformed.

I actually wonder if this is in some way linked to modern Japanese culture. Japanese culture and society are deeply conformist with everybody is always trying to fulfill roles imposed in them, always trying to achieve what is expected of them. It could also be about how adulthood sucks the passion and hopes out of the youth (Kishimoto started writing Naruto when he was 24 and finished when he was in his forties). And of course, the closeting of queer people leading miserable lives as pretenders.

If Sasuke is meant to end up with Sakura and Naruto is meant to end up with Hinata then Kishimoto cannot make them happy marriages and give them happy families, he also cannot keep Naruto and Sasuke as revolutionary outcasts that stand up against the status quo, that fanservice would be out of character and out of theme.

This is what I mean when I say the ending makes sense, once you see the finale is all about conformity the thread of events becomes understandable and more heartbreaking too. You don't have to like it, but I do think we have to understand where is Kishimoto coming from when he wrote it the way he did.

The Naruto fandom wanted black and grey from Kishimoto and that's exactly what Kishimoto gave them, black and grey.

EDIT: I've written more on how the conformity theme starts to become present in the series as far back as in Neji's death, check it out HERE

#my thoughts on this fuckass ending #narusasu #sasunaru #anti sasusaku #anti naruhina #anti naruto ending #I guess #sns meta

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suikung · 3 months ago

Note

Sasuke left his girlfriend pregnant (without him knowing) before leaving the village, and when he returned he found a boy very similar to Itachi.

|Takes place when Sasuke goes back to the village with Orochimaru to revive the previous Hokage

NOT proofread

Alone. The only thing you had felt the months after Sasuke defection from Konoha. Never bothering to see anyone despite your friends constantly coming to check on you. It made no sense to see anyone if they weren’t him. Your life was thrown into a spiral after he had left, which explained not noticing continuous weight gain, and when you did putting it off as over indulgence in comfort food. No matter, you couldn’t put it off for long, not when it came with nausea and missing cycles. A trip to Lady Tsunade confirmed you hadn’t been alone these past months. Sasuke had left you with a piece of himself, one that would change your whole world. “Did he know? Did he do it on purpose?” The only thoughts to occupy your brain the entire pregnancy, a part of you always imagined the three of you as a family. You knew of Sasuke’s goals to restore the Uchiha Clan, so he must of planned this before he left. No matter what you’d take charge of raising your baby into a fine shinobi just like their father. A part of you understanding his desertion, but another anguished he left you in such a state.

It’d been 5 years since he left, in that time you moved on no longer clinging to hope he’d come back. Especially after he joined the Akatsuki and attacked the 5 Kage Summit. There was no reason for you to wish he’d come back and be a present father. You knew now this wasn’t Sasuke’s plan to leave you with a baby, he’d never be so heartless and to leave you pregnant and never once come to check on you. But maybe he was, you knew he wasn’t the same.

His eyes focused on the two moving figures, struggling to take in all the moonlight to ensure he was seeing right. What was below him was a little boy identical to Itachi, the same dark eyes and hair as him. However what set him apart was his distinct nose and mouth shape, a shape from a face he remembered well, the one of the woman standing next to the young boy. He knew it couldn’t have been anyone else but you, how you had changed. Even more beautiful than he remembered you, but what he couldn’t grasp was that little boy next to you. Was he perhaps your younger brother? No, unlikely your parents had you in their 40s, he doubted they’d have another child. “Mama can we go back home now! I’m getting tired.” What did he say….? He had heard right, that boy called you his mother.

“Sasuke what’s wrong, we don’t have much time to be standing still.” Orochimaru broke him out of his shock, he could see the way his vision was trained on you. It peaked Orochimaru’s interest, but they had an urgent matter to attend to.

The war was over. Sasuke was now a changed man who’s heart laid in protecting Konoha, protecting what he had left inside of it. His return to the village was filled with interrogations to make sure he was no threat. In these few days he spent under investigation all he could think about was finding you and the boy. He needed to know the truth. Naruto had come for him on his day of release, a heavily awkward walk back to his apartment. “So how’s everyone?” Sasuke breaking the silence. Naruto nodded looking up as the sky as he continued walking, “Everyone’s been okay. Of course training to get stronger. But I get the feeling you want to know about someone specifically.” Naruto had grown, or maybe it was just written all over Sasuke’s what he wanted to know. “She lives across the Yamanka flower shop, you’ll see it. Her family name is written on the door.” He was gone the second Naruto had finished his sentence.

After everything Sasuke had done, all the people he battled, all those he killed and somehow he could not bring his hand up to knock at your door. He could only close his eyes as he raised his hand to knock three times at your door. Footsteps came down the stairs, small quick ones. “Can I help you sir.” He saw no one in front of him as the door swung open. It was the same boy from before, eyes just like Itachi’s. “I’m looking for you mother, is she home?” The boy was suspicious, some random man just showing asking for his mom. “Yeah she is.” His eyes squinted. “You wait here, I’ll get her for you.” A second later the door was closed with such force Sasuke’s hair was pushed back briefly revealing his rinnegan. Back he was now to playing the waiting game, but he didn’t have to wait long. Footsteps now heavier approached the door, unconsciously Sasuke was doing a mental check of how his appearance looked. The door was opened, his eyes now leveled with someone. The boy was now on your hip, “Mommy this is him, he was asking for you.” It was an eternity spent looking at each other. All you could think to do was put your son down, “Karasu go upstairs and finish your breakfast. Mommy has to talk with this man.” Just like that both of you were left facing each other.

“Is he mine?” He was no man to beat around the bush, even if he, it was killing him inside to know. Expressionless but inside he burned with anticipation, searching for any look of rejection on you face. “The first words in years and this is what you tell me? I’m not even sure how you knew of him. But yes Sasuke he is yours.” God it all made sense now, back in the rescue mission when Sasuke both left, everyone told him how much you needed him but he never realized why. “I see.” He paused. “Karasu huh. He looks just like Itachi. A strong boy I would assume seeing who his mother is.” Something about him testing your son’s name like he had been there the whole time irked you. All this time and he’s saying his name like he personally named him. “Yes well he’s advancing quickly, dear I say I’ve raised him good.” Your words stung. He knew he’d never been there but he was so blinded by revenge and he never knew you were carrying his child before he left the village. Even so a small flame of happiness ignited knowing he began the repopulation of his clan without even knowing.

Lost in his thoughts he failed to notice your retreat from the door. Only when a breeze kicked his face did he realize you closed the door in him. He knew more than anything you didn’t care for him anymore. Didn’t care for him to rejoin the life of your son because all had been well without him, why would you change the dynamic now? He would respect that if he was anyone else, but Sasuke now felt the need to protect Konoha and that meant protecting his family. It wouldn’t take long for him to strike. You’d be crazy to believe he would walk away from this. He had all he had ever wanted in life, a family and he’d be damned if you kept it from him. He would have his perfect family.

He spent the rest of the afternoon going over how he’d do it and where he’d go. There was many perks to being from such a large clan, the most important to him right now was his ability to place anyone under genjutsu and the Uchiha hide outs scattered about the Land of Fire.

Night was the perfect time for all things considered a crime. Breaking and entering and kidnapping would fall under Sasuke was doing right now. How low he’d fallen he thought to himself. He’d start with you first, then move on to Karasu. As he roamed through the halls he could see now all the milestones he missed of his son, all the birthdays, trips, etc. It pained him, but he knew after today he’d be there for anything, he’d never miss any important event in his sons life. It didn’t take long to figure out which room was yours. A mother always kept her door open to reach their baby in time. Now standing over you, he couldn’t help really taking in just how much you’ve grown. Your face matured in way that showed the struggle of being a mother, but of course he couldn’t help noticing how you’d grown in other places. A light sleeper you were so it didn’t take long to feel a presence standing before you. It was common for Karasu to come sleep with you when he’d have night terrors. “Karasu did you have another bad dream baby?” Rising from your pillow expecting to see your soon to embrace him and talk away his fears, except you were met with glowing red eyes. Not able to say anything to him before falling limp into your bed. Next was Karasu, simple enough. He lightly shook him awake to allow him to fall under the genjutsu.

It took a few hours to reach the hideout. It was teetering on the edge on the edge of the Lands of Fire and Sand. A small one it was, placed here to house any Uchiha that need a place to call home on the way from a mission. Using his Susanoo to transport you both took a toll on him. By the time he reached the hide out he was exhausted. However he needed to prepare the place for when he’d release you both. Light dusting, changing of sheets and a few amenities was all Sasuke managed to do both he heard wailing in the other room. It was Karasu, he clung to your body shaking you violently. “Please mom wake up.” How had he managed to break from the genjutsu? Seeing Sasuke in the doorway Karasu stood guard in front of you. “What did you do to my mom!” His face was red and glossy from the tears. Sasuke didn’t know what to do. He only thought to tell the boy the truth.

He made slow cautious steps towards Karasu. “I brought you here both to protect you.” Karasu was even more angry. “We were perfectly fine in the village! Why would a man like you take me and mom! We don’t know you!” Before he could even register his next words, he blurted, “Because I am your father! And it’s my duty to protect you and your mother. Now you’ll stop crying and realize I’m doing this to give you both a better life.” He’d admit his words are harsh, he’s just never been around children. At that moment Sasuke would release you from the genjutsu in hopes to straighten this out with you. It didn’t take long to register what was happening, seeing your soon in front of you in an unknown place and Sasuke only a few feet away. Now it was time for you to stand in front of Karasu.

“I don’t know what sick joke this is Sasuke but you have no right to have brought us.” He stepped closer. “Take us back.” He laughed. “I can’t. I brought you here to be a family. I’m sorry I was away but I’m here now. Please let us be happy together. Karasu needs his father.” In a way he made sense, Karasu had always felt the absence of a father, but you in no way intended to place house with a war criminal. “We have been fine without you and will continue to be.” Why wouldn’t you stop being so selfish and understand him. “Let’s talk please. Listen to me.” You could only think to get your son out of here. “Karasu go outside. I’ll be there soon.” Following your words, he ran past Sasuke and went outside. He wouldn’t leave without you so he’d stay put waiting for you.

The two of you were once again alone. Sasuke closed the door behind him. Every second he took a step towards you. Every second you took one back. The room felt as though it was closing in, temperature riding enough in your thin pajama pants and shirt. “I want us to be a family. I didn’t know you were pregnant when I left. You knew how important restoring my clan is to me. I would have never left alone if I knew.” Eventually there was no more room to back into, a wall now embraced you with its freezing touch, a relief from this situation but a panic setter knowing you couldn’t go anywhere else. “We don’t need you Sasuke. I have no intentions of living a home life with you. We can co-parent to allow you to know your son better but never will I be your house wife.” What a displeasing answer. There was something more sinister now in the way he looked at you. “You’re nothing but a washed up ninja who didn’t go on more than 10 missions. Do you really think you have a say in this? I’ve made it easier for the three of us by bringing you here. Even if you tried you think you could fight me? Understand you are in the inferior position. I will have my family and the restoration of my clan like it or not. You both are now mine to protect and love and your lack of acceptance will not keep me from having my family. Do you understand.” It wasn’t a question, he knew you would understand because you knew you’d never be able to fight against him. He could kill you in any second. Head hung low as to not allow him to see your tears, what could you even say.

Rough hands brought your face closer to his, “I want the best for us. I’ve always loved you, and now you gave me all I’ve needed in life. So please, marry me.” It wasn’t a statement it was a fact. You would be his wife and you would keep intact a perfect home and family.

#naruto #yandere naruto #yandere imagines #yandere x reader #tw.dark content #yandere #male yandere #naruto shippuden #sasuke x reader #sasuke uchiha

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ecargmura · 8 months ago

Text

Wind Breaker Episode 11 Review - New Day, New Classmates

I’m a little confused. Tsugeura’s little motto revolves around the word “virtue”. In the manga, it’s virtue. The subtitles call it virtue as well, but I’ve seen some subs use “aesthetics.” What is the accurate word? A moot on Twitter says that the accurate word should be “aesthetics”. Virtue means a behavior showing high moral standards while aesthetics means a particular theory or connection to beauty or art. My moot told me that the word Tsugeura uses is actually more associated with aesthetic rather than virtue. I don’t know…. For now, I’ll just call it virtue since that’s what the subtitles say, but if they switch it to aesthetics or something, I’ll use that.

Anyways, it’s a new day, the fourth to be exact, and Sakura meets two new classmates. The first is Taiga Tsugeura who likes to talk about virtue, is a gym bro, and is an all around himbo. He speaks in Kansai dialect, by the way. While he’s a nice guy, he lacks personal boundaries, which is why everyone avoids him. Sugishita’s face says it all. Fortunately, Sakura, Suo and Nirei are nice enough to hang out with him after school. Tsugeura is a macho guy, but he’s surprisingly goofy and sensitive. While he doesn’t get along with Kiryu, he doesn’t let that bother him. He’s very funny, honestly. I think he brings a good dynamic to the group as the optimist in a way. His fighting style centers around wrestling with the way he did a German suplex to one of those scrubs.

Tsugeura’s voice actor actually surprised me. He’s voiced by Kengo Kawanishi. You might know him as Muichiro from Demon Slayer and Roland Fortis from The Case Study of Vanitas. Why I was surprised was because I normally associated with him quiet pretty boys, but remembering that he voiced Roland, he has the capability to go loud and dumb too. Also, another thing that surprised me about him was that Kawanishi always sounded like he could be Akira Ishida’s successor in terms of range and tone, but the voice he uses for Tsugeura makes him sound like Noriaki Sugiyama who you might know as the voice of Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto and also voiced Muichiro’s dad who appeared in the third season of Demon Slayer. Kawanishi’s range is seriously killer.

The second of the new classmates is Mitsuki Kiryu. He’s rumored to be from a rich family with the way he went to a rich kid’s school during junior high. His past sounds very interesting if he chose to rebel and went to Fuurin; I’m super curious as much as I am curious about Suo’s past. Kiryu is practically the total opposite of Tsugeura in every way. He respects people’s boundaries, especially girls’, but is rather effeminate compared to the macho himbo Tsuge-chan. He’s also a huge phone addict as he was first seen in episode 2 playing with his phone. I do wonder if he has a hamburger case alongside the hotdog case. His fighting style sort of reminds me of the Gentle Fist style from Naruto, especially with the way it focuses on deflecting as Kiryu deflects his opponents and sends them flying to his allies.

Kiryu’s voice actor is Toshiyuki Toyonaga. It’s been a while since I last heard Toyonaga voice a rather effeminate character. I actually really like his acting a lot! He has so much range that his voice is so hard to detect because he sounds so different in whatever anime he’s in. If you’re curious on what roles he had done in the past, some examples include Yuuri Katsuki from Yuri on Ice, Kazuki Kurusu from Buddy Daddies and Nayuta Yatonokami from Paradox Live. All three of those roles sound different, yet they come from the same person. Amazing, isn't it? I love how Toyonaga gives Kiryu a boyish voice; that tone is so cute.

The fighting scene in the anime was well-animated! All three have such distinct styles, but it meshes so well together. Heck, even Suo gets to be a part of the fight, despite him being at the back protecting Nirei and the girl Kiryu saved and only fighting when mooks try to run towards the back. I really like the part where Sakura is flipping around after Tsugeura throws in a punch and then Kiryu deflects a guy towards him.

The episode is also has some development towards Sakura as he gets new fighting allies in Tsugeura and Kiryu and even gets five new contacts in his phone. He’s the most chronically offline teenager, and he’s even slowly adjusting to the teen life by attempting to participate in group chats and stuff. I hope that Sakura becomes an expert at instant messaging by the time the story ends.

The episode ends with the second years coming to Sakura’s class in order to pick a Group Captain. What is a group captain? It’s like a top of the class or something. Suo volunteers Sakura to be captain. What happens next will be shown next week. However, the second years showing up is great because Enomoto is hilarious with the way he rolls his R’s. Can you believe that he’s voiced by Taishi Murata, who voices Pieyon from Oshi no Ko? Crazy, right? That’s the third voice actor with crazy range in this episode. Also, this is the introduction to Kaji but I’ll talk more about him next week as he’ll finally talk. I can’t wait to see people’s reaction to Kaji. He’s such a great character.

There are two more episodes left. With how popular this show is in the Japanese fanbase, I wouldn’t be surprised if a second season will be announced; I certainly want it. What are your thoughts on this episode and are you also wanting a season two like I am?

#wind breaker #windbreaker #Haruka sakura #Akihiko nirei #Hayato suo #taiga tsugeura #Mitsuki kiryu #takeshi enomoto #Ren Kaji #Yuto Kusumi #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

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belit0 · 1 year ago

Note

Itachi x reader age gap? Where yn is Sasuke's friend

For legal reasons, let's say that both sasuke and the reader are already 18 mkay?🤠🤠🙌🏻

(Y/N) sits on the ground in the same forest they used to practice in all those years ago, leaning on her arms and boredly watching Sasuke perform that kunai trick he had worked so hard to learn. It seems like yesterday when he was complaining to her about how his older brother ignored him, claiming that he was probably afraid he was better than him or would surpass him.

Paradoxically, the second strongest Uchiha in the entire nation finds himself obsessed with a stunt he managed to master years ago, having learned more grandiose and powerful techniques, but unable to stop executing this skill in his spare time for being attached to the past.

Finally, and after passing the age of fifteen, Itachi had deigned to tell him how to do it, and since then, he never stopped demonstrating it in front of everyone with pride. (Y/N) observes, for the eighth time, just to please him, but the thought never leaves her mind.

It's been a while since she last crossed paths with her childhood sweetheart, this one now being a busy Jonin with his new little team of Genins, and no time to waste. He also stepped up as leader of the Uchiha clan, his family's demand for him being immense. He had declined the position of Hokage, urging either Shisui or Kakashi should be the ones to take the position, preferring to teach the younger ones.

Uchiha Itachi became a figure to admire and respect, a proper man, who manages to make her salivate just thinking about his eyes, his hair, his hands, the way his abdomen is-.

"(Y/N)! What the fuck dude! Did you even see how I did it?" A kunai lands right next to her, and the surprise of a sudden threat awakens her from her fantasies. Sasuke, dressed in his ANBU gear, looks at her with one hand on his waist and tilting his face to the side, analyzing her expressions.

"You finally mastered it, Sasuke."

They both look in the same direction, the Uchiha turning his head and (Y/N) looking up towards the man sitting on a branch of the tallest tree, watching the interaction from above. Itachi smiles at his younger brother, and jumps down to the ground, joining the interaction.

"I got the hang of this a while ago, nii-san, what do you even mean?"

"Your movements were still jerky, too much wrist, too much momentum... you're doing better."

"Shut the fuck up." Humiliated Sasuke folds his arms, as a sheepish smirk escapes him and walks in the opposite direction, having decided his display concludes "Let's go, (Y/N). Our mission is almost begun."

The younger Uchiha disappears into the foliage, and when she feels he is far enough away to not hear the interaction she plans to have with his older brother, she gets up from the ground and proceeds with the heavy weapons.

"So, Itachi... you're looking good today..." The Jonin stops looking at the spot where the ANBU disappeared, and focuses his attention on her. With a half smile, he looks down at her from his height, long hair flowing in the unrestrained breeze.

"Why are you blinking like that with your eyes? Is everything ok (Y/N)?" He asks, in a mixture of sarcasm and affection. He folds his arms in front of her, and waits for her to speak, not needing to say anything.

"That was supposed to be a wink!" (Y/N) brings her hands to her face, inadvertently knocking the ANBU mask that hangs over the top of her head like a hat and causing it to fall to the ground.

"It must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line." Itachi picks it up for her, handing it over and smiling with genuine tenderness. He appreciates the girl's efforts, but she is still his brother's best friend.

"Come on, Itachi, help me out a little..."

"Next time, (Y/N)" He taps his forehead with two fingers, and instantly disappears.

She stands frozen in place, unable to believe the Uchiha deigned to touch her, the same gesture he has for his younger brother, and this must mean he loves her, right? Yeah... sure.

#itachi uchiha x reader #uchiha itachi x reader #itachi x reader #uchiha itachi #itachi uchiha #itachi #sasuke uchiha #uchiha sasuke #naruto imagines #naruto shippuden #naruto #uchiha clan #naruto x reader #everyone lives au #everyone lives/nobody dies #sasuke

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fabuloustrash05 · 10 months ago

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Courting a Salamandrian FAQ

Just some common questions I’ve received regarding my RaMona fanfic that I decided to answer all in a singular post.

“What inspired you to write this story?”

I’ve always loved Raph x Mona, since we were first introduced to this ship back in 2015. Around that time I was in high school and one night I had a dream about Raph and Mona getting married. The dream was so vivid and had so many details down to the guests who attended, the wedding decorations, to what the couple was wearing. I was so amazed by that dream, I just had to write it. I originally planned to only write the wedding, which I thought was only going to be around 5 chapters, but as I kept working on the first draft, I realized I wanted to also add a proposal scene. Then when I started working on that, I decided I wanted to add more to the proposal, like when he realized he wanted to marry her etc, asking Sal for his blessing, etc. but as I kept going my brain suddenly went “Wait… let’s add drama!” And the rest was history.

"When does the story take place?"

About 4 years after the S5 episode When Worlds Collide. Raph and Mona have been together for 5 years by the start of the fanfic.

"How old are Raph and Mona Lisa?"

In the beginning of the story Raph is 23 and Mona is 24. By chapter 19, they are 24 and 25. By the epilogue they are 38 and 39.

“What made you decide to make Bishop the villain in this story?”

Bishop was already a canon hater of RaMona, as we saw in When Worlds Collide he was very against the idea of Mona staying on Earth, so I decided to explore that more.

Also 2012 Bishop was my introduction to the overall character. After I learned that he is supposed to be a villain in other iterations like the 2003 series, it just supported my concept even more! I wanted to explore Bishop becoming the villain he was known to be in other versions.

"What is the relationship status of the other couples that appear in C.A.S. (ex: apritello, renetangelo, etc.)?"

Donnie and April are dating, they've been together for 4 years.

Mikey and Renet are together but they are not expecting a full commitment from one another. Basically friends with benefits.

Karai and Shinigami are dating (have been for a little over 4 years) and are living together back in Japan.

Slash and Alopex are crushing on one another, but are both in denial about their feelings.

Casey has a girlfriend that he just started dating by the time of chapter 19, her name is Gabrielle. If you are familiar with the mirage comics then you'll get this reference.

Leo is single and NOT ready to mingle.

"Why does Alopex have a kid in chapter 28?"

That was a reference to my TMNT 2012 OC, Sasuke! It was also a fun way to, I guess you could say, plant the seeds for future events with my TMNT 2012 future headcanon. Getting started on the next gen of TMNT lol

“Can we see a visual of what everyone wore to the wedding?”

Sure!

"Can I draw fanart based on your fanfic?"

YEEESSSSS PLEAAASSEEE!!! DO IT!!! All I ask is to please tag me for credit and also so I don't miss seeing it! <3

“Will there be a sequel?”

As of right now, no. I never really planned for a sequel or a second story, heck I didn’t even originally plan for this story to be 30 chapters long lol, but I would like to write some oneshots of married life RaMona along with moments with their kids. I’ve already written two so far: the two parter Family Vacation Gone Wrong and Once an Enemy Now a… Friend? (Though that one focuses more on Adult!Raph with one of his kids making a cameo). Feel free to check them out!

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lizajane2 · 6 months ago

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part 1 or shippuden?

Oh that’s tough for me. I have a deep love for both parts. They each have their own little moments and arcs that I enjoy. For example, I was starstruck with the fights like Kakashi vs Zabuza or Sasuke vs Gaara. I still think about Pain vs Naruto that SHIT was amazing. I loved Naruto as a character, he was rebellious and wild and wanted to prove everyone wrong.

The first part of Naruto has a special place in my heart, because it was the second anime i watched growing up as a kid. I have a lot of memories with my older brother and that was how we bonded. But as i got older I got into more anime shows like One Piece and Bleach and just never got around to rewatching it until now. Part 1 made me laugh and cry and taught me to cherish relationships.

Shippuden came out in 07 and i was all focused on One Piece at the time, like that anime consumes my life till this day. I didn’t watch shippuden until like two years later after its release. I enjoyed getting more interactions with the Akatsuki members, what their main goal was and who they were individually. Villains like that peaked my interest. I’m also gonna be selfish and say that i loved getting more content of Kakashi. And Naruto getting more time with him as his sensei. That was something I really wanted for Naruto.

I love both parts for very different reasons. I feel like there’s more world building in Shippuden than there was in part 1. But part 1 focused more on character growth and the friendship/rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke. I love their bond. You get to see where characters are going based on the impact Naruto has made on them personally. So I can’t really say which part of the series i favor. Just that i love it as a whole.

#anime #naruto #naruto shippuden #kakashi hatake #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #zabuza #pain nagato #akatsuki #gaara of the sand

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leportraitducadavre · 2 years ago

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I think canon did the Yamanaka, and thus Ino, dirty by necessity tbh. I don't like it, but also the show is mostly focused on front line combat and training for it. Which is the opposite of Yamanaka strengths, as a clan focused on spying, interrogation, conversion, and (in more gritty/dark fanon) seduction and subtle poison. If a Yamanaka is in a position where their skill is compared to a front line assault ninja, they've already failed, yknow? Their targets shouldn't even comprehend they're near a ninja. And I get why the show didn't focus on that, it was NARUTO Shippuden not INO Shippuden. But on that basis alone it's an unfair and futile comparison to set Ino up as Sakura's long term rival. If anyone it should've been Shizune, or more realistically Kabuto (and she ISNT Kabuto's equal, imo)

Hi there, I’m not at the moment replying asks and this might be unfair to some people that send me questions that I haven’t replied before (apologies), but I wanted to tackle this specific subject (Ino), as I don’t get that many asks about her.

I apologize, but I have to disagree with you, not on the fact that two-thirds of Team 7 focuses on frontal attacks (Naruto and Sakura -Sasuke, as Uchiha and a prodigy who also knows kenjutsu, can tackle pretty much any range of attack), and as the team with the most panel time they get pretty much highlighted throw out the series. Still, this manner of attack isn’t the story's primary focus.

The story in itself is about political warfare and the overall cruelties of the system, Sasuke -as an antagonist, it’s the main plot driver of the show (as are Obito, Nagato, and Orochimaru), and the main character that the narrative establishes as “the good ones” are reactors rather than causers.

Once this is established, I do agree that the show focuses mostly on front-line attacks as those are the ones the main duo (and some other fan favorites) possess, however, this manner of combat isn’t as relevant in the overall structure: Itachi and Nagato, for instance, rely on either genjutsu or upon their rinnegan and vast amount of chakra to control other people and perform their binding. Deidara fought against Sasuke while putting distance between them through his secret technique, and so on.

The relevance of such a style of combat is well established during the Chünin Exams: this type of approach is the most “spectacle-friendly” as it allows viewers to witness true carnage and visible consequences, cementing before the audience the overall military power of a village or a character –which is similar, if not equal, of how a shönen works for its audience.

However, it’s constantly highlighted, albeit secretly (as this portion of the tests isn’t shown to the rest of the civilian population as it lacks the “thrill” that combats possess and I’ll say some readers skipped it as they, too, liked to see displayed raw physical power, as that’s how most mainstream heroes are depicted, not having to think around their power shall it be more complicated than a powerful punch); the relevance of Information gathering skills, having an entire test dedicated to it: such exam, Sakura failed, as she never realized what the test was actually for. Ino-Shika-Chö passes it because Ino was the only one out of the three of them shown to have understood it and has the perfect technique for it, here.

There are, however, other mentions of such specialty relevance during the second stage as well, here and here –of course, this specific portion of the “information gathering” skills are to be more rudimentary as they’re more focused upon the shinobi’s survival rather than sharpening their spy qualities, but they are necessary to guarantee the success of a mission.

Obito specifically targeted the Intelligence Division where Inoichi and Shukaku were to guarantee his success as they worked quickly with the information they received of the battlefield to send specific teams to different locations to warrant the enemy’s defeat (like when they sent Team 10 to support Kumo and fight the Gold and Silver Brothers, or how they also asked them to defeat Asuma); Hashirama specifically asked for a Yamanaka to spread amongst the shinobi forces the information he had and Shikamaru’s strategy.

Sasuke and Naruto (or even Hashirama and Madara), are people whose strength isn’t the usual norm, as they’re particularly strong even amongst those considered “the strongest” in the military population (Kages), so them not having to rely on prior information to win a battle (despite them coming up with strategies all the time upon seeing how their enemies work –something Sakura isn’t shown doing, as she either relies on other people (Chiyo) or fails, as she did against Dosu) it’s an off the norm occurrence, only to be applied to them.

People's preference around which techniques are best or more "spectacle-friendly" -something necessary for a manga that relies on visual story-telling, doesn't dispute the overall value of Yamanaka clan's techniques inside the plot and structure Kishimoto established (they, after the UCM, became the clan with the most information-gathering relevance, as they were the only non-Sharingan users that could control their target and read their mind, and while the Saiko Denshin it's a T&I jutsu and not a Yamanaka one, it's clear by Ino's recollection of it that it's at least taught at its most basic form).

If a Yamanaka is in a position where their skill is compared to a front line assault ninja, they've already failed, yknow? Their targets shouldn't even comprehend they're near a ninja. And I get why the show didn't focus on that, it was NARUTO Shippuden not INO Shippuden.

I agree that Ino isn’t a specialized combater, although she did fight Asuma while controlling two Zetsu (I speak a little about the possibility of it being a technique she came up with here), so her taijutsu is -at least, better than Shikamaru’s who stood back as support; her family’s technique and her medical training taught her to stay out of conflict (as she did when vs. Hidan and Kakuzu) in order to be able to attend those wounded (the only ones able to fight are those that mastered Mitrocondrial Regeneration, as they are able to heal without using signs and have more chakra to spare since they stored it, x and x), as medics are also main targets during combats (x).

[If you are more interested in Medical skills, here’s a little post about it: x]

However, I’ll say that, as a secondary character, she got more panel time and development than many other characters who were pushed aside shortly after their introduction (Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai -to name some of Konoha’s). She was able to help discern, albeit with her father and an ANBU, Nagato’s location when sharing information about her mind-body switch control, she also realized one of the Paths used a similar technique to Inoichi’s (Saiko Denshin) and was given a few very powerful moments during the war, which is more than other fandoms were given.

But on that basis alone it's an unfair and futile comparison to set Ino up as Sakura's long term rival. If anyone it should've been Shizune, or more realistically Kabuto (and she ISNT Kabuto's equal, imo)

Do you mean, unfair for Ino to be Sakura's rival or the other way around? Kabuto is a far better medic than any of them, and Sakura, while impressive, didn’t surpass Tsunade at this stage –as she improved not Tsunade’s techniques, being solely able to master them prior in age to her mentor as Tsunade created them and had to experiment with her own body in order to use it and teach it afterward. Kabuto invented his own version of Mitochondrial Regeneration (x), which is the reason why Orochimaru chose him. He’s the only one who Tsunade considers surpassed her during her prime (x, x).

Sakura and Ino’s rivalry has less to do with their overall techniques and more to do with their attraction to Sasuke, which is the main focus Sakura puts upon their rivalry. Asuma claimed during his last speech to Ino that she mustn't lose either Ninjutsu or love, but the bars they both have about their techniques are completely different –Sakura, medical-wise, possesses a natural advantage that Ino doesn’t, which is natural delicate chakra control, something inherently necessary to learn the Yin Seal; while Ino’s medical skills (likely taught to her through Shizune), are rudimentary at best in order to do something else for her team while on a mission that doesn’t require her technique, in order to guarantee her safety.

Now, you might wonder, why does she have to be safe? Canonically speaking, besides collecting information, the team must guarantee at least one survivor who can pass on the knowledge (or, at least, a way to communicate the information). No other team is expected to ensure such a thing (x).

In that sense, Team 7, Team 8, and Team Gai are mostly viewed as expendable** (I am aware that all of the soldiers are viewed in such light, I’m specifically referring to such an idea when already inside that “disposable spectrum”). Only those front-lines combateurs that have techniques with enough power to defy even shinobi standards (Naruto, Hashirama, Tobirama, and some others –and I’m not putting Uchiha there as they are able to cover multiple ranges), are highlighted and rewarded with the Hokage title, the rest are sent to die or to distract the enemy in order to open space for teams more specialized in gathering the enemy’s secrets or strategies.

[Minato, also considered amongst the best, relied on other front-liners to plant his special kunais upon his targets and to take care of a big portion of the enemies, as he killed the rest. Saving the small group of survivors.]

Being rivals has nothing to do with having similar techniques, but either opposed goals (Sasuke vs. Naruto) or the same goal (Sasuke’s love reciprocation when it comes to Sakura and Ino).

Inside the manga itself, the notion of rivalry is shown to be deeply intertwined with shinobi culture, as they encourage such a mindset so shinobi would push each other to new highs of their respective techniques in order to win their competitions as long as they don’t put Konoha’s stability in jeopardy: Madara/Hashirama, Danzo/Hiruzen, Kakashi/Obito, Naruto/Sasuke, Sakura/Ino.

[**Sakura, as a front-line fighter, is expendable, as a medic-nin, slightly less, as she is expected to die, if doing so, last of all. Not to return alive, as Team 10].

In case you’re interested, I have some other post regarding kunoichi:

The infinite “who’s strongest Kunoichi” debate and the sexist erasure/degradation of female characters and an addition

Yamanaka clan techniques

Posts of my Naruto re-read

#naruto #ino yamanaka #yamanaka ino #yamanaka #yamanaka clan #sakura haruno #sakura #team 10 #inoshikacho #choji #shikamaru #sakura vs. ino #sakuravsino #kunoichi #kabuto #tsunade #tsunade senju #medical ninjutsu

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entityupdates · 1 month ago

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December 2024 General Update Post: Break Recap and Plans for 2025

I said I was going to take a fanfic break back in September and I was expecting it to be two weeks, maybe a month max, but instead it was like 4 months. I started a new job that I was expecting to kick my ass but nope. It was a class. I was consumed like I have never been consumed before.

Other stuff happened too and I was kind of going through it but I survived so it's fanfic time again.

I decided to end my break about halfway through December and immediately wrote two Creature Commandos fics:

Artificial Souls Don't Make Artificial Families is a platonic soulfamily AU oneshot where soulmarks appear on first touch with your soulmates. It's mostly Rick freaking out that he's soulmates with a bunch of monsters.

Artificial Souls Still Feel Pain is a queerplatonic polyamorous soulmate AU twoshot with the pain sharing soulmate trope. The first chapter shows Rick through the years feeling the Commandos' pain, with some focus on their mutations/transformations, and the second chapter is more Rick freaking out that he's soulmates with a bunch of monsters.

These will probably be posted this week. They’re all edited and everything. I just want to wait until the good posting hours but I have been sleeping through them unfortunately.

The painsharing fic idea came from my IRL friend who was originally a client of mine then I very unprofessionally became friends with and turns out she'd read one of my fics before meeting me. Crazy coincidence.

Anyway, she's got my DC obsession going again so expect more DC fics maybe but I lost motivation for the two I was working on (a wingfic AU and a SuperLantern thing)

My other WIPS are the stepdad Magneto adoption fic and that monster au Submas fic that I've talked a little about but haven't posted.

He Died Loving You (stepdad Magneto fic) has one arc written that needs editing and two more outlined. Someone wrote a fic of the fic which gave me some inspo for more family-oriented stuff so look forward to that.

Idk what's going on with my Pokemon one. Love the idea but I started writing it like a year and a half ago and it's barely started. Might just be one of those ones I work on forever because it'll probably end up being a long one.

The Masking series is being moved out of my WIP folder. I know people would like to see more but I am feeling unmotivated about the ideas I was excited for, and I know the stuff I wanted to write wasn't the stuff people were really interested in seeing. A sequel/seeing Zoroark Ingo back in the modern world just isn't interesting to me.

I have a folder that just has loose ideas/outlines that I always think I'm going to write immediately but I know I'm not going to. Lmk if you're interested in any of these and that might motivate me to write them but otherwise they're getting tossed into the old idea bin:

Dreaming of Sunshine fic where Shikako and Sasuke escort the film crew from the Land of Snow movie to the Land of Rain to film the Utterly Gusty Ninja movie and instead find Pein (it is a real plot point in DOS that they never got to)

HalBarry fic where Hal thinks someone is impersonating the Flash on dating apps so he schedules a date with them but actually Barry just likes eating with people. Obviously turns into real dating lol

Submas fic in a world without Pokemon where Emmet becomes a Pokemon TCG player or streamer or something after Ingo disappears but Ingo is 100% convinced he got isekai'd to the Pokemon world when he comes back so Emmet has to give up Pokemon because he believes all his pokemon stuff is harming his brother's recovery

Submas fic where Ingo is an opera singer. That's it basically.

X-Men 97 fic about Morph deciding to use his real face because reasons

My long term hiatused things:

MCU/Miraculous crossover after the Snap. I wrote the beginning and outlined the rest of it but lost motivation. Not posted.

Young Justice/Naruto crossover focused on a Green Lantern Sai. I started working on it since 2019 and it's been restarted so many times. Not posted.

Ben 10/Sanders Sides crossover where the Sides are aliens. Wrote it in 2020 and lost motivation to keep updating.

My current abandoned fics are a Ben 10 Halloween fic also from 2019 and a TMNT fic from 2018. Pretty good record in my opinion.

My 2025 goals are to keep working on the stepdad Magneto adoption fic, ideally writing those next two arcs, and making progress on that Submas monster au. Maybe also do more oneshots? I always make plans at the beginning of the year and don't stick to them. I want to chase my whims more and not have bigger WIPs so I don't stop myself from writing when an idea hits and I am ready to obsess.

If you want to see/see more of any of the fics I mentioned, feel free to let me know.

#my blog #zhingo posting #stepmag fic #status update

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leastdatablebracket · 1 year ago

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ROUND 3, MATCH 16

Propaganda under the cut!

Kenshin Uesugi

Propaganda

He is a cold calculating bloodthirsty warlord, who is also a yandere and overly jealous. Also is obsessed with MC's friend Sasuke, where he both loves and constantly threatens to kill Sasuke.

Cullen Rutherford

Propaganda

stupid racist cop creep whose fans cry about how hes "changed" and "you can't judge him he was addicted to magic drugs" nah he still chose to be a racist cop and abuse his power over innocent people and i hate him. the writers making him romanceable in da:i after how blatantly horrible he was in da:o and da:2 is baffling but i guess they had to appeal to the part of their audience who watch those "mafia boyfriend" videos on tiktok or whatever

He's creepy in origins, though still 100% willing to kill the female mage pc he's crushing on, as well as all the other mages trapped in the circle with him. He's the second-in-command in an even worse circle in 2, listening to and defending the increasingly obviously insane meredith until literally the end. He's one of the people still pushing for the circle system by inquisition, and yes he's going through withdrawals and working through the traumas of previous games. And to be brutally honest his was the first romance i took and while i don't remember much from it, its not worth all the girls going absolutely nuts over knockoff terrible alistair.

He's basically a cop who thinks being born a certain way can revoke personhood and by Inquisition still thinks mages are monsters to be controlled, not people. He gets a fairy tale cutesy romance that focuses on his personal struggles with addiction while showing absolutely no regard to the atrocities he committed and still thinks were justified. He can be romanced BY A MAGE and his actions and beliefs are just glossed over. He believes mages are 'not people like you (Hawke) and me', but if the Warden was a female mage he canonically had a crush on her and would deliberately hang around her despite the fact that he was her *jailer*. If that Warden romanced Leliana, there is war table dialogue in which he pesters Leliana for news of his 'former' crush despite her repeated statement that she doesn't want to talk to him about her. All this shitty behavior and lack of introspection gets swept under the rug by the game, not even giving the PC the chance to really challenge his beliefs. Like damn even Fenris could apologize when he lashed out due to past trauma with mages, and if anyone has a reason to hate mages it's Fenris. If you want an ex Templar hottie Alistair is RIGHT THERE. Tbh I know Cullen is a popular romance and I'm not here to tell anyone what they can or can't do or like in a video game, I'm just saying I think he is deeply undateable

Spends the first two games as an antagonist, fervently devoted to the cause of subjugating mages, then a bunch of "character development" happens off screen and the games treat him like he's completely reformed. However he's actions make it clear he still sees mages as dangerous and lesser. Not to mention if you romance him with an elf he doesn't pay your culture more than lip service respect like most of the devout characters

He was a total villain in the first two games who was violently prejudiced against mages and uses one single bad experience as an excuse for it (a bad experience that is pretty much exactly what he in his job subjected graduating apprentices to, mind you, but this is never brought up). Now he says he's changed, but his words and actions say otherwise. He still distrusts mages, sympathises with the rebel Templars trying to kill them, and he never owns up to the terrible stuff he did and helped others do in the past two games. He totally knew what Meredith was doing and says he doesn't, and he still tries to defend her intentions. And you have no option to call him out on it. If you romance him as a mage, he angsts about how he might have seen you as subhuman in the past but NOW you're one of the good ones, and when you ask him if he'll kill you if you get possessed, he dodges the question. And the PC is written as being almost sad that she's a mage? Like 'can you love me despite what I am??' Also if Leliana romanced a female mage PC in the first game who is still alive, he asks her creepy questions about their relationship. Fitting considering his original purpose was to be creepy to the female mage Warden.

I hate him and want to cause chaos. Plus his VA is an asshole.

Cop

I think you covered almost everything but don't forget that beautiful moment in DA2 - Act 2 where you find out some templars had a petition to lobotomize all mages and Meredith, THE HARDCORE TEMPLAR LEADER, rejects it, but Cullen says they got a point. Despite the fact that we just found out that those templars were using lobotomy (or the threat of) to rape people and get away with it. And then Cullen in DA:I is whining that anything that happened it's not his fault because Meredith kept the worse away form him so he didn't know, but also that anyway Meredith had a point and did what she had to do. Meredith does not go mad until Act 3, before she was of sound mind and Culllen was her second in command BECAUSE he hated mages as much as (or even more) than her. What the FUCK did she even hide from you, Cullen. Oh, but he changed! Because the writers make A VICTIM OF THE TEMPLARS say so. And anyway he only says so BECAUSE HE READS MINDS not because Cullen did anything to show it. Also the narrative wants to sympathise with Cullen for his drug problems while Cullen is openly attacking the only other character with the same problem for...having the same problem. And he's the antagonist, so there were OTHER things Cullen could be mad about. But he is mad about the drug problem. Also I'm not an expert on writing characters with addictions but he is an addict only when it's time to have a cut scene where you pity him. Otherwise it has zero impacts on everything else.

#round 3

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tamelee · 2 years ago

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Hey Tamelee,

Hope you’re having a wonderful day.

I just want to share with you my hypothesis while rereading Gaiden a few days ago; because I love to dissect that 10 chapters in my head but never got to really write it down somewhere. Here is my first try:

Orochimaru confirmed that it was Shin’s cells that was used for Danzo’s arm where he implanted all those sharingans, meaning Shin have been in existence for a long time already. It’s just not clear when Orochimaru lost control of Shin and even Kakashi is aware that Orochimaru are doing some clone experiments (check his quick phone conversation with Naruto)

Why I’m saying this, because I think after the war Orochimaru started doing another experiment this time involving the DNA of an Uchiha and an Uzumaki and trying to create something like the Sage of six paths. It will not be hard for him to create a new clone since he already have Shin as a basis.

Kakashi when he was still a hokage become aware of Orochimaru’s experiments and asked Sasuke to track down and stop Orochimaru, Sasuke agreed to help to prevent any more Uchiha’s to be created; while looking for Orochimaru that’s the time that he asked Karin to help him that’s why they were travelling together. And Sakura got to know that Sasuke agreed to take on this mission so she was able to track Sasuke’s whereabouts and join them or was allowed to tag along as long as she will not be on their way.

When they were able to locate the hideout and saw a full grown fetus floating in one of those big tubes that’s when Sakura begged /convinced/ guilt tripped Sasuke that she will just take care of the baby. Maybe they already know that Naruto already had a baby that time and so Sakura got jealous and wanted a baby of her own and seeing the fetus with an Uchiha blood it’s like hitting two birds in one stone: she can have her own baby like Naruto, and at the same time make Sasuke his husband. (I got this idea since Boruto is born Mar 27 while Sarada is Mar 31 so the jealousy in Sakura’s heart is still new so she will do anything to get what she wanted).

I think Karin helped in persuading Sasuke since she still have feelings for him and keeping the fetus alive will somewhat make her connected to Sasuke as well. ( this is what Karin refers to as “friendship between women” in chapter 10 because it takes both of them to persuade Sasuke to keep the fetus alive, and also when she was asked by Suigetsu if she have already moved on from Sasuke she just answered “connections come in many forms” while focusing on the umbilical cord meaning it’s what’s keeping them connected).

In the end Sasuke agreed or was just guilt tripped to keep the fetus instead of destroying it that’s why when he met Sakura in ch 6 he said that it’s his fault no matter how you think about it - he is blaming himself for being persuaded and agreeing to the idea.

So I strongly believe that Sarada is a test tube baby - Sakura never mentioned anything about carrying Sarada in her womb for 9 mos, she just keeps on saying she is my child (she can claim it since she raised and feed her, but biologically wise she is not Sakura's), also in ch 6 she said “I meant to tell you properly” to Sarada like she still have a lot of things to say to her. And Sarada is made of Uchiha (can be from Sasuke or could be from Shin or any other Uchiha DNA) and Uzumaki (Karin’s DNA – come on!! with her eye glasses and how Karin is aware on when her eye glasses needs replacement it’s like she is her second mother watching from a distance)

This is just a hypothesis or maybe a headcanon based on what I have read, but in the end Gaiden never really explained anything. Sarada just focused on feelings and bonds after her talk with Naruto and was completely pacified with a few words from Sasuke.

If anything it just shows how close Naruto and Sasuke is; how they kept in touch through out those years and could easily meet one another if they want to, but during those times together they never even bothered to discuss about their own families.

Thanks for reading and I hope I didn’t bore you with my scattered thoughts. I’m writing this at 2am 😊

Hi Non.e ♡ I am, hope you do too! Always fun to read a Gaiden analysis!!

"Orochimaru confirmed that it was Shin’s cells that was used for Danzo’s arm where he implanted all those sharingans, meaning Shin have been in existence for a long time already. It’s just not clear when Orochimaru lost control of Shin and even Kakashi is aware that Orochimaru are doing some clone experiments (check his quick phone conversation with Naruto)"

So yes! Well, I wonder. We know Danzo had connections with Orochimaru. It was also Danzo who gave Orochimaru those lists with the profiles of the Anbu members through Sai. Given his reaction to those documents.. they're well acquainted. Danzo also needed Hashirama's cells to make that arm which Orochimaru also had access to. (Main source for Wood release Kekkei Genkai, Yamato was a test subject of his...) Therefore it is safe to say that it is entirely possible that Orochimaru was involved as 'Gaiden' explains.

And well, Sasuke literally says it.

As did Orochimaru.

They already know Orochimaru was involved tying back to that "white Zetsu army" Sasuke talked about during that fb that Naruto had. (Lol, sorry I don't follow 'Boruto' so there is perhaps already more info on that.)

So, knowing this, it happened already a while ago as they don't pin it on Orochimaru. Snake man is living his best life but mentions that Shin is a 'problem' and it would be beneficial to him if Konoha helps him to get rid of them.

"Why I’m saying this, because I think after the war Orochimaru started doing another experiment this time involving the DNA of an Uchiha and an Uzumaki and trying to create something like the Sage of six paths. It will not be hard for him to create a new clone since he already have Shin as a basis."

Yeah, I've been saying something similar about the DNA mixing. Not just that but these Shin clones can perform a space-time Jutsu with Sharingan only. Obito uses MS for Kamui and Sasuke needs his Rinnegan. You'd need an insane amount of Chakra...

"Kakashi when he was still a hokage become aware of Orochimaru’s experiments and asked Sasuke to track down and stop Orochimaru, Sasuke agreed to help to prevent any more Uchiha’s to be created; while looking for Orochimaru that’s the time that he asked Karin to help him that’s why they were travelling together. And Sakura got to know that Sasuke agreed to take on this mission so she was able to track Sasuke’s whereabouts and join them or was allowed to tag along as long as she will not be on their way.

Oh man!!!! That would be something..

Well, I don't think that was Sasuke's mission as we can see in the fb he was talking a bit about his research. He looked too surprised to find someone with the Sharingan and Orochimaru is a little too comfortable to see as someone that supposedly was "tracked down" or "stopped". What is still funny to me is Boruto and Sarada's birth dates.

"I think Karin helped in persuading Sasuke since she still have feelings for him and keeping the fetus alive will somewhat make her connected to Sasuke as well. ( this is what Karin refers to as “friendship between women” in chapter 10 because it takes both of them to persuade Sasuke to keep the fetus alive, and also when she was asked by Suigetsu if she have already moved on from Sasuke she just answered “connections come in many forms” while focusing on the umbilical cord meaning it’s what’s keeping them connected).

I also think Karin's "friendship between women" had a double meaning tbh. As well as "connections coming in many forms".

Nothing else displays that her and Sakura are friends. Karin indirectly takes care of Sarada by proving the glasses, keeping the uc and is somehow attached to her but Sakura never even mentioned Karin to Sarada!?! Not sure about Sasuke though. I think after everything it would take a whole lot more to guilt trip or convince him to do anything. The result stays: he avoids them for 10+ years regardless. I can't imagine it unless there is another, bigger reason as well. Something "bigger than himself" and certainly more important than Sakura's selfish wishes for him to simply agree.

"So I strongly believe that Sarada is a test tube baby - Sakura never mentioned anything about carrying Sarada in her womb for 9 mos, she just keeps on saying she is my child (she can claim it since she raised and feed her, but biologically wise she is not Sakura's), also in ch 6 she said “I meant to tell you properly” to Sarada like she still have a lot of things to say to her. And Sarada is made of Uchiha (can be from Sasuke or could be from Shin or any other Uchiha DNA) and Uzumaki (Karin’s DNA – come on!! with her eye glasses and how Karin is aware on when her eye glasses needs replacement it’s like she is her second mother watching from a distance)"

The more I think about it, the more "test-tube-baby-like" Sarada becomes. So yeah, I agree. Unless this ALL was written for the sole purpose to only mock SS, it has to be true. True in the sense that Kishimoto made it "true" for 'Gaiden'. They always can change the narrative in 'Boruto' though.. as they've been doing so carelessly lately.. but Gaiden still stands as is. Regardless of whichever character "won" the feature for Kishimoto's upcoming short Manga.. I honestly am excited (though a little nervous) for it. I really love Gaiden because it does show how genius Kishimoto is as he's weaving two narratives together in one story. It's brilliant.

Thankyou for sharing! 💕💕

#asktamelee #gaiden

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lemonade-of-gods · 2 years ago

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random ramblings

I have an exam tomorrow on literary criticism (structuralism, bakhtin and all that jazz) so I was playing around with my old otps as an exercise while studying huzzah, and the more I look back on it, the MORE nonsensical all the ship wars are looking

Because its one thing to not prefer a ship and its ANOTHER to just go delulu and say that the canon ship should not have happened because *insert nonsensical galaxy brain level argument here*, and yes I am talking about sasusaku, renruki and nalu

Like Sasusaku has always been the obvious choice, starting from the moment Sasuke went “who did this to you” in his rage to when Sakura calmed him down with a back hug. Sakura got taken a peg down after Sasuke scolded her for treating Naruto poorly. Sasuke THANKED Sakura before knocking her out and placing her on the bench and leaving. Sasuke began attacking Sakura proper AFTER she tried to kill him. There is a dynamic between them, there is ACTION in a way you don’t see with either Naruto or Karin. I could go on and on, but my point is, Narusaku or even Sasukarin was honestly never going to happen. If these two had to end up with anyone, it would be with each other. This is a classic ETL couple folks!!

For Sakura particularly, Naruto represents an innocent and childish life (Naruto you’re a fine guy no lie, Hinata was suited better for you) and Sasuke is the dangerous option that forces her to sexually mature and grow up (remember, we’re focusing on structure here not the execution, whatever your opinions may be), so Kishi wasn’t wrong when he said that pairing Naruto and Sakura would have been unfair (paraphrased a bit). Naruto isn’t losing out much either, a gentle girl like Hinata who has loved him from the start (you see the pattern of first love coming up here?) was always his better match in the long run.

You can achieve the same effect with FTL as well, if we look at Renruki and NaLu. Kubo gave the angst of separation and pining with Renji and Rukia and the metaphor of “the stray dog barking at the moon”, which was not exactly a thing with Ichigo and Rukia. An argument can be made about “black sun and white moon”, but since Orihime gave the push to Ichigo for going to save Rukia, it didn’t quite feel strong. But in the interests of staying fair, I’ll say that we did have two options: bickering friends or, “we used to be friends but now we’re enemies”.

THEN came the nail in the coffin.

Legit all bets were off the SECOND Ichigo tossed Rukia into Renji’s arms and basically gave his blessing/aashirvad to run away and basically saying ”Jaa Rukia, jee le apni zindagi” (Translation: go Rukia, live your own life, this one’s inspired by DDLJ hehehe). Like I would not give away the woman I am in love with to my romantic rival and tell him to TAKE HER AWAY. HELLO. THIS IS GOING AGAINST THE NARRATIVE BEHAVIOUR. THIS IS GIVING SECOND LEAD SYNDROME BEHAVIOUR. ICHI HAS BECOME THE KULJEET TO RENJI’S RAJ (Or more accurately Simran’s dad lmao.)

So what’s the point in saying all this, you may ask. Well, now that I’ve said it I’ll make my argument: STRUCTURE and NARRATIVE decides whether the author’s writing decisions were poor and not the reader’s preferences. And I’ve taken a neutral stance earlier on the last ship in my list but now I’m committing: NaLu HAS to be canon.

I had said earlier that NaLi could potentially be canon, again for the sake of fairness, but looking at it now I’m changing my opinion. Natsu and Lisanna were set up to interact more but Mashima changed his mind halfway through and just didn’t do much with Lisanna. You can see how great his writing decisions are there, but the technicalities are to be reserved for another post, another day. If I am to try getting more fancy about it, Lisanna represents Natsu’s childhood while Lucy represents a mature and adult future.

Point is that by process of elimination, Natsu and Lucy have to end up with each other. Or remain as friends. Considering Natsu said to Lucy “we’ll be together forever”, these two will be a thing at some point in the future, unless Mashima pulls a HIMYM or something (TOUCHWOOD, even though the guy did canonize Gruvia, Gajevy and Jerza...)

#lemonade rants #more like rambles but you get the idea #sasusaku #renruki #nalu #le lit crit prof reading my answers tomorrow: ... at least it wasn't about kdramas this time

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quidfree · 2 years ago

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hello, i was the one sending the brothers ask, i thought i should send another one to say sorry because i should have worded it more carefully and been more specific to avoid confusion. What i meant to ask was: the most interesting thing you found in brother relationships in general? and because i found the amount of literary works on this subject is quite few compared to other types of familial relationships, i wanted to know that in your opinion, should there be more works focusing on brother relationships? i just want to clarify what i meant when i sent those questions, you don't have to answer this time. Sorry for making you confused

no need to apologise, i was being a bit flippant in my first response. but i appreciate your explanation.

i think my original point kind of still remains, in that while i can guess what sort of thing you’re thinking of, irl there is such an incredibly vast range of depictions of brotherhood in media that it would be impossible to distill it into something digestible. there’s no simple formula to it.

i also don’t think there’s a lack of brother relationships in literary works- i feel like it’s a pretty dominant category in (western) classics. think romulus and remus, castor and pollux, jacob and esau, abel and cain, and then less in the realm of myth you have your brothers karamazov, death of a salesman, les faux monnayeurs, or those sort of typical the outsiders type boyish gangs of brothers. for me your typical western type would be peter and edmund in narnia. but think of all the edgy brothers of tumblr: the lynch boys, the minyard twins, even the succession trio… and lest we forget the big guns that ive never watched but still know brother drama from: your supernatural boys / sasuke and itachi / alphonse and edward…

not that i’m complaining, mind, i love a sibling relationship in media- that’s why haunting of hill house is one of my longstanding favourite tv shows. though sisters need the brotherly screentime too, beyond your greek tragedies and pride and prejudice or little women. give me sasuke itachi dramatics but girls. shouto touya sisters. and so forth.

what sets brothers aside.. as much as i do think gender is a construct, society definitely places a great deal of value on maintaining that construct, so i think there is some merit in saying brothers have a distinct relationship to that of sisters, more of fostered competition and upholding a certain masculinity, especially in literature. the whole father and son thing refracted, if you will. but that’s a post for another day. point is there def is something to that vibe- edmund is peter’s second, kendall hugs roman until his stitches rip, etc.

i know you said you were an only child, and with that in mind i will say here’s my two cents for you as someone who has a brother: although no two families are the same, i think the fundamental similarity with most sibling relationships is the inherent oddness of knowing that they are the person most like you in the whole world (who else shares so much of your upbringing and your formative experiences) whilst still somehow being so radically definitively not-you. nurture and nature. there’s that dramatic weight and that profound pettiness to having siblings- when people say they’d take a bullet for their sibling but they’d choke them out before they let them play as P1 they’re being totally serious. for my part i feel very privileged to have a brother, despite how deeply annoying the experience has been at various points of my life.

#qui parle #qui repond #anon #literature #tropes #brothers #web weaving

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ilyshisui · 2 years ago

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this once, we all fall together- part two

part one part three find the fic on AO3!

There were some things that Sasuke genuinely learned from Shisui. Some of it, Itachi had already told him on the rare occasion they spent time together. It had Sasuke wondering how much Shisui had learned from Itachi, and how much Itachi had learned from Shisui.

…So maybe, Shisui was allowed to be Itachi’s friend. Sasuke could even say he liked Shisui. He had Sasuke’s stamp of approval.

There were more times Shisui and Sasuke ran into each other on the street, and though they never trained together, Shisui usually spent at least ten minutes chatting with Sasuke about whatever was on his mind, which always lifted Sasuke’s spirits. Even though he seemed harried and tired a lot of the time, he always made sure to make sure that Sasuke knew he was appreciated.

Still, Itachi never talked about Shisui. It was strange, knowing that Itachi had a friend, but never hearing about him from anyone but their parents. Sasuke didn’t know how to ask about Shisui, either. But based on Shisui’s personality- openly discussing Itachi with Sasuke- he knew that Shisui had told Itachi about meeting Sasuke. So, the two of them were both keeping Shisui from each other, an odd balance but a balance nonetheless.

The first time he witnessed Itachi acknowledging Shisui’s existence was when two men from the Police Force came to tell Itachi that Shisui was dead. He didn’t even say anything willingly. He was forced to by the situation. It… didn’t feel right.

Sasuke didn’t let anyone see, but he cried alone in his room after the situation calmed down. Not only for Shisui, but for Itachi. His only friend was dead and people were blaming him for it. Sasuke felt so bad for him.

He cried again when Izumi came over for a tearful goodbye, with packed bags and a runny nose as she loudly wailed that she would never forget Itachi. Mom was smiling and even Dad seemed to be in a good mood, but Itachi just seemed uncomfortable. “You’ll be back in a year,” he pointed out, not making eye contact.

Izumi was off to some fancy school in the country that focused on technical aspects of chakra transformation, training students to be inventors of new ninjutsu. Izumi didn’t seem too excited about it, but all of the adults were talking up the opportunity ad nauseum. Obviously, Itachi was quiet about it, but Sasuke knew that just meant he didn’t have any notable reservations.

“I don’t know anyone there,” Izumi whispered, holding a hand over her mouth. Probably nobody but Itachi, who was standing close to her, and Sasuke, who was holding Itachi’s hand, could hear her.

Itachi matched her volume. “You’ll do fine.”

“I better,” Izumi shot back, going to give Itachi a light punch in the shoulder. Sasuke watched Itachi flinch out of the way of the movement. He squeezed Itachi’s hand. Itachi squeezed back.

The second time he witnessed Itachi acknowledging Shisui’s existence was on the worst night of Sasuke’s life.

The moon was full and lit the bloody scene with an ominous glare. Sasuke wasn’t quite crying, instead his body was heaving up and down in dry sobs. “There’s only one way you will be able to surpass me,” said the voice above him, as dead as any of the bodies that surrounded them. “Obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan.”

It was said so easily, like Sasuke should have already been familiar with what that even was. He looked up at- at his brother, leveling a glare that couldn’t contain the rage and betrayal he was feeling.

“In order to obtain it… You must kill your best friend.”

Sasuke Uchiha thought he had a good grasp of his older brother's social life.

After all, it was easy to be aware of something that barely existed.

Shisui’s laughter rang in Sasuke’s ears. Itachi may have never spoken about Itachi, but Shisui had spoken about Itachi. There was so much affection there. That sort of thing didn’t come from nowhere.

“You must kill your best friend, like I wasn’t able to.”

For a moment, Sasuke felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe Itachi did have limits. Maybe he wasn’t as heartless as he had revealed tonight. Maybe… Maybe.

“Shisui is..?”

“He got away,” came the words, swift as a guillotine. Sasuke didn’t know how much further his stomach could drop. “He was stronger than I was. I needed this to improve. To one day kill him, and get those eyes.”

It was the only thing Sasuke could think about for the next few days, until Izumi got back to Konoha.

He was sitting on the edge of the lakeside pier when he heard someone running up behind him. He didn’t look to see who it was, his head felt too heavy to lift. “Sasuke.” Izumi’s voice was fluttering and light, not quite as strong as the emotions flowing through Sasuke’s head. “Sasuke!”

The footsteps started up again, until they were right behind Sasuke. At that point, he put forth the effort to twist around his head. Izumi was standing there, her face red and snotty and miserable. When she saw Sasuke’s face, which had been schooled into impassivity the past few days, she absolutely broke down. She scooped him up into her arms, deceptively strong still, and cried into his shoulder.

At that point, Sasuke started crying too.

Izumi couldn’t stay at the pier for long. Apparently, now that she was the eldest Uchiha left in Konoha, she had a lot of official business to attend to. “Wait, wait,” Sasuke said quietly. “Shisui’s alive. He said Shisui’s alive.”

Izumi’s face twisted up a little. “He… What do you mean?”

“He tried to kill Shisui, but Shisui got away,” Sasuke stressed. “He’s alive.”

Instead of filling with hope like Sasuke expected to see, Izumi’s face fell. She just shook her head, smiling sadly. “I’ll be back, Sasuke, alright?”

When Izumi came back, Sasuke was sitting at a fountain, which had been shut off recently.

When he saw her, Sasuke thought for a second about how strange it all was. Sasuke, Izumi, and Shisui. The closest three people to Itachi. Though, Izumi’s death had been avoided by accident. There was no way Itachi would have left her alive had she been at home instead of at the academy she’d been attending. Not when even their parents were spared.

He couldn’t help but think of Itachi when he saw Izumi. The association was too strong. ‘Some weird girl Itachi was going to marry.’ That was what Sasuke had seen Izumi as for as long as he’d known Izumi, which was almost his entire life. She was defined to him by Itachi.

Even as she moved Sasuke out of the Uchiha Compound and into an condo on the edge of Konoha. Even when she spent her weekends cooking meals for the two of them and packing portions into containers for the week. Even when she tried to laugh and joke with Sasuke, all he could see her as was Itachi’s friend.

It didn’t help the way that she talked about what happened that night. “I just don’t get it,” was her mantra, these days. “I don’t get why he would do it.”

Sasuke bit into his sandwich. All he could think about when this went on was how much he wanted to defeat Itachi, to kill him, to make him pay.

“Just… All of the sudden. He went and…” Tears filled her eyes, and she put down her sandwich to hold her face with both of her hands.

It pissed Sasuke off. Izumi wasn’t there when it happened. She was off at her academy learning about chakra transformations while Sasuke’s life fell apart around him. Izumi fell into sobs anyways. Sasuke put down his sandwich at that. Whenever Izumi got emotional, he tended to get emotional, which he hated. He couldn’t kill Itachi if he was such a crybaby.

He tried distracting himself by getting up to pour himself some apple juice. But, for whatever reason, Izumi didn’t notice him getting up. So, when she turned her head to the side to wipe her tears away while Sasuke was walking beside her, she saw Sasuke through her vision distorted by tears. And her face lit up.

Sasuke froze. Izumi realized what she was looking at. Her face fell.

She had seen Itachi.

Sasuke felt his face flush red, whether from shame or embarrassment or anger he didn’t know, and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him.

“Sasuke!” She was knocking on the locked door incessantly, saying “Sasuke, please, I was just-”

“Go away!” He wanted to scrub out his facial structure, to mar his own face just so he would never be mistaken for Itachi again. He felt disgusting.

The knocking stopped. “I’m sorry, Sasuke.” Sasuke ignored how dejected she sounds, how much her voice was full of grief. He didn’t want to think about it.

So he didn’t. Instead, he distracted himself with fantasies of Itachi begging him for mercy.

A few weeks after that incident, Sasuke realized that he’d been avoiding Izumi so much that he hadn’t seen her in three days. Not even in passing in the condo. They hadn’t exchanged any words in those weeks. They hadn’t even made eye contact.

It came upon him all at once; a wave of guilt. Profound sadness filled his lungs. He missed Izumi. The one who dragged him out of his old house, the one who left meals for him, the one who took on the ownership of the clan at fourteen years old. She wasn’t just Itachi’s friend, she was a shinobi and had been in training to become a ninjustu master. She was capable and strong and a human being who made mistakes.

Sasuke had his breakfast in the kitchen, expecting to see Izumi bustling about. He didn’t find her. He even went to knock on her door, calling out her name. The lights were off, though, and if she was in there she didn’t answer.

He went back to avoiding Izumi.

It wasn’t until another few weeks passed that they finally spoke to each other again. Izumi was sitting on the kitchen counter fully dressed in her shinobi gear, a backpack at her feet. “Ah, Sasuke.”

“You’re leaving?” Sasuke blurted out, confused.

“Yeah.” She gave a short smile. It was the first time he saw that smile since she had thought he was Itachi. “Someone has to find Shisui.”

Nodding blankly, Sasuke broke eye contact. He wanted to go, but… He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go with Izumi.

Without another word, Izumi jumped off of the counter and picked up her bag. “I’ll be sending letters to keep you updated on where I am. Feel free to write,” she said, even though they both knew he wouldn’t. “See you.”

His mind reeling, Sasuke nodded. “Bye.”

Izumi walked out of the condo. Sasuke waited until her footsteps were gone before he started crying.

He poured all of his time into training.

He used to pour all his time into training anyways, but it was different back then. Training was a way to get closer to Itachi, a game that Sasuke played. He excelled, yes, but it was just because he was good. But that wouldn’t be enough anymore. He had to be great. He had to be strong enough to defeat Itachi, to put a stop to him before he got to Shisui and- and got the Mangekyo.

Instead of training until he was tired, Sasuke trained until he hurt. And then he trained past that.

He improved, but not quickly enough to defend Shisui, to save his clan from Itachi, to make Izumi stay.

#uchiha sasuke #sasuke uchiha #izumi uchiha #uchiha izumi #itachi uchiha #uchiha itachi #au: this once we all fall together #original posts

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kiigan · 9 months ago

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ㅤOf all the times to be reminded that, for all their prowess and near-magical skills, shinobi were as human as any civilian. A single cut in the right spot killed them just as quickly, and, apparently, their bones were just as easily broken. How very humbling, even, to survive wars and massacres alike only to find a nemesis in something so mundane. Truly, whatever deities lurked above might be finding themselves terribly bored that day, to serve such lazy plot for the lousy humans to enact.

But what other option did they have, right?

«It's all right. I'm here now, leave everything to me.»

ㅤBold enough words, if not entirely on the arrogant side. Sakura was the strongest and one of the most talented kunoichi of her generation, certainly no damsel in distress and a far-cry from the shy little girl Itachi could remember seeing occasionally, whenever ANBU missions and general clan-versus-village drama allowed him minutes of free time to pick up Sasuke at the academy. If flowers bloomed under kindness and care, however, should she truly be so different? A matter that was greatly divisive to her, he'd well learned at this point. How much she struggled to see her own worth, no matter the thick mask of confidence and even bits of brashness. Something so obvious that even his blind eyes could see.

ㅤAnd something else that he was aware of, just as much, were the solutions chosen to cope with such troubled feelings. Sometimes, to punch a literal hole through a literal wall. Sometimes, to ignore it royally and pretend nothing was amiss, wishful thinking in hope that, if she paid it no heed, the issue would eventually solve itself. And, other times... to follow the strategy of choice she'd no doubt learned from her mentor. Something that Itachi had no right to judge, much less the wish to - but that wasn't to say it didn't worry him. One, because, at the end of the day, it truly solved nothing and only numbed pain that'd return later with a vengeance. And, two, because accidents were bound to happen.

Just like the present moment.

«How could you have failed me? I just got here.»

ㅤWords offered in gentle humor, as gentle as the hand that brushed back her messy bangs. Time to reach back into that ANBU captain composure, and handle the most stressful of situations like it was nothing; it was very much something, she was broken in pain inside and out and his heart was breaking for her along with it all. First things first, he needed to see. Carpets could be vacuumed later. Flying through the hand seals, and with a tiny gash to the side of this thumb, Satoshi poofed out of the smoke and went to perch himself on Itachi's nearest shoulder - almost immediately, the room returned from near-absolute darkness through his crow's eyes. Ai poofed out next, quietly landing on the bedside table; having to wait long enough only for Itachi to scribble a quick note for the hospital staff. Even with reasonable visibility now, and possessing some basic knowledge in medical ninjutsu, he was by far no expert. And no way he'd risk hurting Sakura further by attempting to move her. Better to let the true professionals come to them.

ㅤAfter moving away for a few seconds, for the sake of opening a window to let Ai out so that she could get her task done, Itachi returned to the previous spot. Very carefully, as though he was touching precious crystal that'd shatter under the slightest bump [an analogy perhaps not lost on her mental state, at present], he managed to leave Sakura's head on his lap, so that at the very least it was resting more comfortably than on the floor. He then began untangling the locks of pink hair just as delicately, slim fingers of a hand running through the strands as the other hand cupped her cheek and attempted to keep her attention focused. Knowing the luck of them both, there was no guarantee she had no concussion on top of it all. And then he started talking, tone full of fondness and some slight teasing.

ㅤ«After this scare, though, you lost every right you might have had to ever make me swallow bitter medicine again. From now on, you better make them all sweet and fruity.»

After her former teacher, Tsunade, introduced her to the concept of drinking one’s feelings away, Sakura had whole heartedly indulged in it. Any time she felt any kind of negative emotion, she would drink it away. Sadness? Depression? Ptsd episodes? All cured by drinking herself stupid. Some have been made aware of her terrible habit but for the most part, Sakura tried to hide it. She wasn’t proud of the fact that she was so weak that she had to resort to substance abuse to feel better. The fear of being judged gripped her and yet she couldn’t stop herself from returning to the habit time and time again.

Just… When Itachi entered her life, things felt different. He gave her something to look forward to. She genuinely enjoyed their time together just talking as she healed him. At first, she didn’t notice that she hadn’t been leaning much on the alcohol. Maybe due to the fear of him judging her or, possibly, it was because she had someone she could feel comfortable rambling to. Itachi made her feel like it was okay to open up, even a small bit. He has yet to actually see her cry. Sakura still tries to put up a front that she’s some harden, unbreakable being. The same image she tries to keep for everyone. She doesn’t want to seem weak. Crying wasn’t an option. No matter how upset she was. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Though, there were a few times while they spoke that Itachi saw some cracks in her shield. Even going as far as to admit to him that she drank quite a bit but he’s never seen the results of her drinking.

Not until today, that is.

It was a hard night for Sakura. Stress paired with countless nightmares from the war. She couldn’t escape it. For the first time in weeks, she turned to alcohol. Sakura drank herself stupid, and allowed herself to cry in the safety of her room. But, due to the heavy drinking, it caused her to be disoriented. When she tried to get out of her bed, her legs got tangled in her sheets, causing her to trip and fall out of her bed. Hitting the ground, she felt a snap and a sharp pain go up her arm, making her groan. In her attempts to save herself from the fall, she landed on her right arm wrong, breaking it in the process. But she was too drunk to completely feel the pain. She was just confused as to why she couldn’t get herself up off the floor.

Who knows how long she laid on the floor before Itachi showed up. Sakura couldn’t even remember if the sun was already up when she fell from her bed. She just knew that the alcohol was fading and now the pain of the break was hitting her at full force paired with the hammering in her head of a hangover.

‘Sakura?’

She blinked a few times in her confused, pained state. Unsure she actually heard someone saying her name until a soft hand tilted her tear stained face up to look at his. Itachi was a bit blurry at first until she managed to narrow her eyes into focus, “Itachi…?” Sakura slurred out his name in confusion, unsure if he was actually there or it was her brain conjuring up something to make her feel better, “M’ arm… I think my arm is broken.” She rolled from her side onto her back, holding the injured arm in question. It was bent in a grotesque way. The bone almost looked like it was about to pop through her skin, “I-i can’t get up, it hurts too much.” She couldn’t remember the last time she had a broken bone. Not since her training with Tsunade. This pain was not a missed one,

“H-help…” Now was not the time to be prideful. Even hungover, she knew she needed help. She couldn’t heal this on her own. There were already attempts on it but she was hurting too much to focus her chakra enough to do it, “I failed you…” He came for healing and instead found her pathetically laying on the ground hurt. It was humiliating. She just hoped he would have it in his heart to forgive her for such weakness.

#long post #hana-akari #hanaakari #[queued post]#[verse] the hand entangled in compassion

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