#and obitos dissociation is too real

[thesauce8]

i always hate when people say thag the uchihas are more sensitive because theyre predisposed to mental illness as if theyre dramatic or respond disjointedly from their circumstances. im inclined to say theyre some of the only characters who behave believably in accordance with their trauma. like sasuke was literally psychologically tortured when he was 13. do we think thats gonna turn someone into a football loving go getter? they use characters whose trauma barely gets shown as a standard when its not that the uchiha are dramatic but that naruto just doesnt get much focus on the trauma that he should undeniably have.

[tora-the-cat]

The thing about Obito is that when his literal mask breaks.....he's still playing a part, but now the part he's playing IS Obito! Like hes literally trying to break Kakashi & Minato's (and by extension Naruto) spirit/hope and he thinks the quickest way is to show just how HORRIFICALLY they allegedly failed. So that speech, where hes all scorched earth and shit talking minato and fighting kakashi, isnt "madara." That isn't the character hes playing anymore. That is the meanest and rawest and most cuttingly pessimistic voice in Obito's head that he's almost always too dissociated to voice so directly, and is, quite honestly. the CLOSEST ACT TO HIS "REAL SELF" that we ever see until naruto slips into his mind.

So how, HOW am I suppopsed to watch *gestures at Obito's. everything just all of it* and then not get enough cognitive dissoncence to give me a migrane, when he tells Kakashi to be the Hokage? Are you kidding me? You want me to believe this bitch respects and trusts the usefulness of THE HOKAGE?? Obito "you're always too late when it matters most" uchiha? remember when he said he was glad his sensei fulfilled his dream and became hokage =) because now it's ruined the thought forever <3 <3 that's MY obito! The obito that summoned the nine tails ON RIN'S GRAVE would NOT! fucking! say that!!!

[delta-lethonomia]

H, P, R from the fanfic author ask meme!

H: How would you describe your writing style?

Hm… I like to think it's like if the Twin Peaks prequel movie Fire Walk With Me was a vibe, lol.

I hope for poignant and gripping, like watching an tragic accident as it unfolds that everyone knew was going to happen, the signs were all there, but it couldn't be stopped. I do realize it gets a bit dramatic though 😅 but I think the narrative is so colored by Tav's perspective it feels like being in her head, and I really like that, and that's what I want it to feel like. Personal but dissociative, everything is seen through a warped hue, and because it's so "in her head" it can be less precise and more intuitive, even if it's confusing sometimes. Taking the fun bits of purple prose and writhing in it.

P:  Where did you find the most inspiration for your story < insert title >?

So I assume you mean For All The Wrong Reasons because that's the big one lol. Tbh, because I developed Tav around Astarion, his influence and his story cannot be overstated, and there's a lot of personal character traits in her and me that I wanted to play with. Honestly I'm not really aware of the type of lowgrade toxic-yet-loving femdom in other media, so it's more that I wanted to write something that filled a hole I've been thinking about for a while. There are a lot of nice, endlessly giving Tavs in bg3 fic (or at least there were early on back when I was reading it), so I wanted to write something very different specifically to contrast. I will say though, I spent far too much time in the Naruto fandom as a kid and I think my obsession with Uchiha Madara rewired my brain chemistry. There's a lot of things with him and Obito that still make my brain go 'ping!', so those character stories/vibes still have a lot of influence I think.

Other than that it's mostly music. I wrote the majority of the earlier chapters and plot listening to Electric Callboy, specifically the songs "Parasite", "Hate/Love", "Fuckboi", and "Crystals." Other influential songs were "Crystaleyes" by AViVA, and some older songs by Florence + the Machine, such as "Kiss With A Fist," "Drumming Song", "Heavy In Your Arms", and "Hardest of Hearts."

Stinging Nettle Wine came about because I'm a sad tormented bisexual who's deep in the female side of the bi-cycle right now while married monogamously to a man, and I have a lot of thoughts about toxic sibling dynamics.

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

Ooooof. The Carnivorous Muffin and Vinelle, for their Twilight and Harry Potter fics, taking characters down plotlines that make perfect sense character-wise but are so utterly wild you'd never expect them. (It's like the movie The Substance - utterly insane in the best way, but positive, y'know? Like I understand how we got here, but the ride was something else.)

Anything by astolat, specifically her Game of Thrones fics, just because I can point to them and say, "Look, fanfic is real literature. This is phenomenal. You can be a real author and still write fanfic."

Diablerie by Oceanbreeze7, a Tom Riddle (HP) fanfic that haunts me to this day, and whose visuals and philosophical content matter made my brain very happy. Anything by Metalomagnetic (HP). Anything by Tozette (HP & Naruto), though Dirt & Ashes holds a special place in my heart. The Last Ones Standing by olliya (Naruto, for having a post-apocalypse and sticking to it.) Five Kingdoms for the Dead by Evil Is A Relative Term, another Naruto fic that had some influence over baby me for sure.

I feel like there's two distinct bins here, the fics I like for their tight plot and commitment to character development and agency, and the fics I like for the visuals and philosophy, how dark they are while not being torture porn 😅 When it comes to writing style though, I know I have liked fics with the sort of disjointed quality I tend to write in, but I can't think of them at the moment. I've only recently started bookmarking things on ao3 so there's a lot of stuff that's just lost to time and memory, even though I've been reading fanfic since 2005 or so.

[thousandbirds]

tagged by @goldenscar​ thnks friend ! tagging: @seireitei​ @pyrenji​ @purposeclaimed​ @uzchis​ @destructivour​ @bloominghands​

—    BASICS.  

▸     IS    YOUR    MUSE    TALL    /    SHORT    /    AVERAGE ? he’s taller than average, about 1′81m, but there’s still plenty of people who tower over him.

▸      ARE    THEY    OKAY    WITH    THEIR    HEIGHT ? yeah, it’s not something he has ever thought about.

▸      WHAT’S    THEIR    HAIR    LIKE ? very messy. it’s difficult to get it into shape so he doesn’t really try. softer than it looks.

▸     DO    THEY    SPEND    A    LOT    OF    TIME    ON    THEIR    HAIR     /    GROOMING ? not at all.

▸      DOES   YOUR   MUSE   CARE   ABOUT   THEIR   APPEARANCE   /   WHAT    OTHERS    THINK ? no. he is pretty distanced from things like that. doesn’t really think on it.

—    PREFERENCES.

▸     INDOORS    OR    OUTDOORS ?     outdoors. ▸     RAIN    OR    SUNSHINE ?     sunshine. ▸     FOREST    OR    BEACH ?      forest. ▸     PRECIOUS    METALS    OR    GEMS ?      metals. ▸     FLOWERS    OR    PERFUMES ?     flowers. ▸     PERSONALITY    OR    APPEARANCE ?      personality. ▸     BEING    ALONE    OR    BEING    IN    A    CROWD ?     he prefers solitude. ▸     ORDER    OR    ANARCHY ?     order makes more sense but he’s not against a little chaos. ▸     PAINFUL    TRUTHS    OR    WHITE    LIES ?     white lies when it’s about intimate things. painful truths if it’s other people’s business. ▸     SCIENCE    OR    MAGIC ?     science. ▸     PEACE    OR    CONFLICT ?     peace. he can’t picture what peace looks like, but he hopes it comes someday. ▸     NIGHT    OR    DAY ?     night. ▸     DUSK    OR    DAWN ?     dusk. ▸     WARMTH    OR    COLD ?     warmth. ▸     MANY   ACQUAINTANCES    OR    A    FEW    CLOSE    FRIENDS ?     few close friends. ▸     READING    OR    PLAYING    A    GAME ?      reading.

—    QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    OF    YOUR    MUSE’S    BAD    HABITS ? he has a bad handle on time management, he has gotten used to not caring about deadlines when he’s in the village and now he can’t seem to regulate his sleep and to time his mealtimes to the average. he keeps reading late into the night and not realizing he needs to sleep a bit before the sun rises up.

▸      HAS    YOUR    MUSE    LOST    ANYONE    CLOSE    TO    THEM ?      HOW    HAS    IT    AFFECTED    THEM ? he has lost many people. the ones that left the greatest wound on his life were his father, obito, rin and minato. even now he is still carrying their grief.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    FOND    MEMORIES    YOUR    MUSE    HAS ? any d-rank missions with the kids and the time they tried to look under his mask.

▸     IS    IT    EASY    FOR    YOUR    MUSE    TO    KILL ? yes. it’s really easy because he is used to it, but he still has nightmares and intrusive thoughts that torment him about it. even then, the actual action of killing someone is practically effortless.

▸      WHAT’S    IT    LIKE    WHEN    YOUR    MUSE    BREAKS    DOWN ? he has a few different reactions his trauma response can take ; depressive episodes, panic attacks, dissociation / depersonalization, nightmares, insomnia, headaches, chest pain, hallucinations ( both sound and visual ), intrusive thoughts, suicide idealization, irregular eating.

▸      IS    YOUR    MUSE    CAPABLE    OF    TRUSTING    SOMEONE    WITH    THEIR    LIFE ? yes. he takes teamwork very seriously, and while perhaps he doesn’t trust anyone with his innermost thoughts and intimate life, he does trust his comrades to protect his back on a fight.

▸      WHAT’S    YOUR    MUSE    LIKE    WHEN    THEY’RE    IN    LOVE ? he’s secretly a very romantic person, at least he likes to read about it, but in real life he is too scared to try to get that close to anyone. he has gotten crushes on people before, but there’s no desire to try and breach that limit from friends to lovers. in his mind he doesn’t deserve love. he’s no good. he would make a terrible s/o.

[whenthemarshmallowmettheslayer]

Could you do a Naruto fanfiction recommendation? I loved your Sakura one but I was curious if you would do one in general for the series?

1.) serendipity by stirringwinds. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Sasuke had never known Senju Hashirama in person, of course. But he had grown up hearing stories about the First Hokage at his mother’s knee—about the legend who had defeated the most powerful member of their own clan. Enough stories to recognise what he was seeing—and to know he was witnessing his teammate perform the impossible. Or, in the fight against Gaara during Suna’s attempted invasion of Konoha, the Ichibi’s attempt to kill Sakura awakens an unexpected power. It changes the destiny of Team Seven forever.

Yes, this is about Mokuton!Sakura but this is in Sasuke’s pov and, oh boy, is it so interesting in his point of view. There’s not only world building but nods to real life history that makes in the (casual) history nerd in me get really excited. So far we’ve only seen Uchiha clan politics that Sasuke remembers from when his family arrived but if this is ever continued the current politics is one of the main things  I look forward too.

2.) These Moments We Take for Granted by Applepie. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Kakashi dies to Pain’s attack and wakes up in another world. It’s a world where Kakashi hadn’t failed Obito’s final wish and sacrificed himself for Rin’s sake instead. It’s a Konoha too similar, yet so different that Kakashi can’t bear to impose. So he doesn’t – not as ‘Kakashi’, at least.

I’m dying for the next chapter of this. The cliff hanger is partially why the other reason is the story is just that good. 

3.) Yes, my weird depressed half-tree uncle by Aesoleucian. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Sarada is such a lonely kid, and Sakura has such a dissociative disorder. Where are Sakura's parents? Where is the support? Being a single mom is hard and therefore I crafted this AU where Obito survives the war and retires to help restore his clan which he helped murder. 

A good way to get me to love any fic: let characters who go through traumatic situations actually show they’re not okay afterwards. 

4.) your skeleton will carry by theformerone. On ao3. Rated E. Summary: He doesn't want to have children for the clan that murdered his father, or for the village that let it happen.

Neji and Sasuke discover that they are more alike than they think.

I’m so glad the author tagged this Anti Sandaime. That tag is the reason why I found this beautiful fic. 

5.) Just the Usual Habits by Applepie. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Sakumo has no idea where all of these habits of Kakashi's are coming from. In which five-year-old Kakashi forgets the existence of his left eye, loses his ability to lie believably, and is a little too knowledgeable about the Birds and Bees. Still, no matter what oddities went on in Kakashi's head, one thing is certain – the boy will always love his father, through thick and thin.

6.) Get Shisui by DoodlesOfTheMind. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Get Shisui. It was a common refrain throughout the Uchiha compound, though its meaning had shifted a number of times over the years.

Both beautiful and heartbreaking. 

7.) a beating heart of stone by FantasyDeath. On ao3. Rated Not Rated. Summary: During Iruka's first year teaching — on his own, because apparently there is a severe lack of teachers — he loses his curriculum, gets into a low-key fight with Shimura Danzo and accidentally creates an army. To be fair, none of this was planned.

8.) In Sound Judgement by NegativeAperture. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: The main question, she thinks, isn’t her chance at survival or whether she’ll stick to the plot. No, it’s whether she should change the inherently flawed system that has caused every single problem ever. Arguably, she’s in the best position to fix it. People are certainly more willing to listen to you when you threaten them with the giant fox demon in your gut. But what would the cost be? Her morals? Her humanity?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions after all. (In which a human rights lawyer is reincarnated into a world without morality, without logic, and most of all, without laws. Helping the world was easier when people weren’t ninjas.)

Even if self inserts or ocs are not your thing I still strongly suggest you read this.

9.) Mirage by xantissa. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Can be read as stand alone. Itachi's ANBU exam through Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi knew something wasn't right with the whole thing, he just couldn't put his finger on what exactly.

10.) Catch Me (If You Can) by BasicallyAnIdiot. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Five times the ANBU tried to catch Uzumaki Naruto (and that one time someone else did).

Why you should read this: “Knowing Naruto-kun,” Itachi interrupted from his locker as he checked his arm bracers, “If he had more than a hour, the traps were at least 2 layers deep.” He closed the locker door firmly, mask in hand, “But he can be caught.”

“Lies and hearsay.” Neko’s muffled offer came from the women’s shower area. 

“Impossible. Never happened.”

A delicate brow arched, and Itachi continued. “There is one person in the village who can successfully catch Uzumaki Naruto whenever he feels inclined to.”

Inu sat up like a shot, unheeding the bag of ice dropping to his lap with a thud. 

“Who? Is it the Commander? Hokage-sama?”

Shisui snorted, and transitioned smoothly to a new pose, “He means the only chunin in the history of chunin to turn down a full position in ANBU corps, complete with no probation and instant pay raise.”

Inu was silent for a moment. Then he declared, “I will find this chunin and make him my teacher.”

11.) Fish Stew by Masu_Trout. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: There was a bowl of stew in Kisame's lap, a cup of tea on the ground next to him, and a small blank-eyed teenager staring at him from over the rim of his own teacup.

Kisame's new partner is one of the strangest people he's ever met, and that's coming from a man with gills on his face.

12.) What A Big Heart You Have by LullabyKnell. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: In which a little red fox saves the big white wolf.

Bless this fic. 

In which Hatake Sakumo lives.

13): Autonomy by beetlebee. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: "But this Not-Sensei soulmate guy could be anybody," Naruto whines.

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "No. He tried to act like Kakashi, use his techniques. He must be familiar with him already..."

"They could be childhood friends!" Sakura gasps.

"Sensei has friends?" Naruto asks, squinting at Obito.

"Or he's a stalker." Sasuke grips the kunai he still hasn't put away.

"I'm not a stalker," Obito lies, pushing away the kunai edging towards him.

----

(A soulmate bodyswap AU)

I would kill to read a sequel of this where we see Kakashi’s in Obito’s body.

14.) Written with Heart by Brookelocks. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: "Sometimes just sharing your opinion or a conversation about something someone else enjoys, even if you have to grit your teeth through it, can be the little push of support that makes them keep pursuing their passion."

or Kakashi has a strange way of showing his support, Jiraiya doesn't mind.

15.) The Good Life by orphan_account. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: There had to be protocol for this. They were shinobi in a hidden village; there was protocol for everything. Sadly, the authors of the Konoha Mission Administration Office Employee Handbook had committed the potentially fatal oversight of not dedicating a single paragraph to the now more than hypothetical situation of your current Hokage starting a mostly one-sided screaming match with your former Hokage in front of your very desk.

16.) these chains on me won't let me be pg13. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: The first time you ever feel like a shinobi, you are ugly and messy and scared out of your mind and not even wearing your hitai-ate. — implied sakura/ino

Out of all the Sakura centric fics I’ve read - trust me I have read a lot - this is till one of my favorites.

17.) got a boy in the war by Lisse. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Naruto's parents don't so much fall in love as accidentally trip over it.

18.) sabotage by stirringwinds. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: “Itachi,” His mentor and commanding officer says grimly, his single visible eye angry, the line of his jaw tense under the black of his mask. “You forget that I was the Yondaime’s student. I may not be as politically influential as those old codgers sitting on the council, but there is plenty I can do to try and stop this shitshow.”

The horrible, cold feeling in the pit of his stomach hasn't vanished. But, staring at the firm, unflinching expression on his captain’s face, he feels the tiniest flicker of…hope.

Or: In another universe, Itachi breaks down and ends up spilling the beans to Hatake Kakashi.

Honestly, damn it why couldn’t this have happened? 

20.) Nothing like the storm by Aesoleucian. On ao3. Rated Not Rated. Summary: There's a girl in Kushina's class at the academy, with perfect hair and perfect poise. She's nothing like loud, angry Kushina, but she's not exactly shy either.

21.) Shine Bright, Shine Far, (Oh Sun of Mine) by Applepie. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: This Konoha is not the one Himawari knows; everything is wrong, and everyone is gone. A strange man who's not Papa is claiming to be the Hokage.

22.) i have a girlfriend!? by chadsuke. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: ino wants training from the best genin kunoichi - naturally, that means tracking down tenten.

23.) Eyestealer by nirejseki, robininthelabyrinth (nirejseki). On ao3. Rated Summary: Hashirama really doesn't approve of the thoughtful way his father looks at his younger brother's bright red eyes. He's sure it doesn't mean anything good for anyone.

He's right.

I just binge read this today (I haven’t even bookmarked it yet) and now I’m left wanting for more darker than canon Hashirama.

24.) Unison by Laylah. On ao3. Rated M. Summary: Kakashi knows damn well that it isn't a healthy coping mechanism.

Do read the warnings at the top of the author’s notes. 

25.) Got Nothing to Prove (but I'ma show you how I do) by GuardianMars. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Civilians and orphans are always used as cannon fodder. Sakura’s not sure where she first came by this phrase. Whether she heard it or read it, she can’t quite remember, but it stuck in her head and it stays in the back of her mind whenever Team 7 takes a mission.

When Sakura and Tenten get placed on a temporary team looking into a series of kidnappings of local village girls, Sakura is naturally worried. She doesn't want to be cannon fodder. When the mission goes to pot, Sakura and Tenten find themselves far away from home and with only each other to rely on. As it turns out being cannon fodder is the least of their worries.

26.) Once Again by pupeez4eva. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: If you asked anyone what they thought of Sasuke Uchiha, they'd say that he was cheerful, overly-hyper, and loved glitter and sweaters WAY too much.

(Mabel Pines is reborn as Sasuke Uchiha. Unsurprisingly, this changes things a lot).

27.) Blame it on the Moon by Tozette. On ao3 (you can only see this if you have logged-in ). Rated G. Summary: Itachi likes cats. In hindsight, that's probably his first mistake.

* * *

Really? Thought Itachi dubiously. He did it anyway. "For love and justice," he deadpanned flatly.

28.) Adoption by Defenestration; or, A Family Can Be A Fox Demon, Its Jinchuuriki, and Three Dozen Highly-Trained Assassins elumish. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: He will not be the ANBU who let the jinchuuriki plummet to his death out a fourth story window. Let that be another ANBU’s legacy.

[eyecanfixthat]

🔪 // put a knife to my muse’s throat .

Aggression / Sexual Tension Meme

That blade is pressed ever so subtly to the skin of Minato’sthroat. He can see the thin, red line forming behind it, and Shisui alreadyhates himself for it. This—this right here is treason. All this time,everything he’s done here��is it really all going to come to this? Halfway throughhis undercover work here, he’d known that he most likely wasn’t going home. Thereare things he’s done here that he can’t chalk up to self defense. There arethings he’s done here that never let him sleep at night. Going home… Going homeand pretending that everything is alright would’ve been nigh impossible. This isn’tthe kind of thing you told a shrink. This isn’t the kind of thing you toldanybody, really. This is the kind of thing that left you terrified of fallingasleep lest you relive everything in your dreams and speak of secrets you didn’twant the world to know. This is the kind of thing that made you lose yourself,made you lose touch with what’s real. So when whatever was left of theirplatoon had come here as prisoners of war, Shisui understood that they weren’t allgoing to return home. He’d understood that the person staying behind would behim—whether he’d be alive, dead, in one piece or not was something he’d neverreally stopped to consider.

But right now, stuck here between Toyoshi and Minato, knifeto his Lieutenant’s throat and the barrel of Toyoshi’s gun to the side of hishead where his pulse throbbed, Shisui is stalling for time. He’s hoping for aninterruption—for Kakashi or Obito or anyone who’s just managed to get away to either come in or set stage four oftheir plan into action, enough to cause a distraction. He’s looking for thatsplit second when Toyoshi’s trigger finger’s touching that metal a littlelighter than usual.

“What’s the matter, Shinkiro?” Shinkiro: an alias. The wordsare mouthed right up against his ear. He can feel those lips curl up in thatugly smile he knows all too well. “You’ve never said no to painting the wallsred before this.” Shisui can feel the beads of sweat forming across hisforehead at the same time the barrel is pressed harder against his temple. He’spretty sure that if there won’t be a bullet in his brain, then he’d have a niceround mark on his skin for days.

“What’s the matter? Pretty boy here take your fancy? You likehim too much, eh?” Shisui twitches ever so slightly at the click of something—he’sexpecting the worst, bracing for that impact that’ll end it all for him. Anythingcan set him off right now. “That why you keep seeing him in your room when I’mnot around, huh? I know what you’ve been doing.”

—Which, for a moment there, Shisui’s blood runs cold. For asplit second there he worries if they’ve been caught scheming (becausehonestly, there hasn’t been anything else besideshushed whispers about getting the lot of them the hell out of here). But he’slucky Toyoshi keeps talking since it clears up that doubt for him.

“I’m going to pretend you just missed me.”

Missed him. Huh… itdoesn’t take much for Shisui to vehemently try and push things to the back ofhis mind just then. He’s teetering on the verge of dissociating the way healways did when the man was pressed up against him this close and talking likethat, but Shisui fights with himself to stay alert. All it does is press thatblade just a little further against Minato’s throat. That vertical line ofbright red dipping past Minato’s collar and seeping into his neckline is whatbrings Shisui back.

When he looks at Minato, his eyes are pleading.

“Do it now, Detective.”

His eyes are begging for forgiveness, even when he hearsToyoshi in the background, now yelling at him about loyalty.

“Do it now or I’llblow your brains out first!”

And he knows that’s not an empty threat. He knows what theman got like when he went into a fit of rage, when jealousy and insecurityconsumed him. He’s seen it happen before. He’s let it happen before.

He’s let it happen and then crawled into each dead man’sspot. He’d had to climb up that ladder somehow.

This is karma.

And it’s about to come full circle for him today. This is where it ends, he thinks. This is where it ends, he reasons. 

Toyoshi doesn’t let up, either. With every click, every sudden movement, every little noise that cuts through the tension in those moments, Shisui feels like it’s the end. He feels like he’s dead, or should be dying. Every thought in his head is swimming, every ugly memory of the things he’s done hear rearing its head and making itself known, forcing him to remember. 

There’s a tremble in his grip and the pressure against Minato’s throat eases up a little.

Stuck in a whirlwind of threats and drowning in memories that keep pulling him under, he’s somehow made a decision.  

“I’m sorry…” Shisui finally blurts out, voice shaky, cornersof his eyes stinging with tears that refuse to fall. It’s to Minato, not to the man holding a gunto his head. It’s an apology—for choosing to spare Minato’s life over keepingup appearances and letting the mission go on. It’s an apology for choosingMinato over his country. “I can’t—”

—Click.

Toyoshi’s gun. 

it feels like the air around him just got sucked into a vacuum: a loud, empty bloop. 

Shisui screwshis eyes shut, heart pounding in his ears and teeth bared in anticipation for the inevitable…

[tora-the-cat]

one of the funniest things about Itachi and Sasuke is that they are BOTH so 'I love it when people play mind games with me. I will kill us both <3' coded likkkke!!

His FATHER spent Itachi's whole life grooming him to lead a coup and become the first Uchiha Hokage, and Itachi spent every second he could undermining that and then eventually has no choice but to kill him! Danzo (and Hiruzen) backed Itachi into a corner and made him do the unthinkable, so Itachi made a 10 year plan for his own death and fully intended to murder Danzo if he ever tried to pull some shit with Sauske village be damned, and THEN Sasuke finding out about the whole situaiton IS what killed Danzo in the end, and it WASN'T EVEN PART OF ITACHI'S PLAN!! Obito got so angry at this 6 year old for being an optimist and a pacifist that he killed his teammates and then actively assisted the kid in an ethnic cleansing to break Itachi's spirit and make him an ideal pawn for the Akatsuki, and Itachi just! Got super depressed (again, 10 year death plan) and hated his guts and starts dissociating whenever Obito talks!! He delays the Akatsuki's plans by years because Obito is now nervous to directly attack Konoha while Itachi's still breathing! and he's STILL spying for Konoha and Obito is either willfully ignorant because he thinks Itachi is a lame party pooper or too scared to do anything about it!!

And Sasuke???? SASUKE!!! Spends his ENTIRE LIFE under the thumb of people who think they know him and how to manipulate him and are wrong EVERY TIME! Orochimaru thinks his thirst for power is so all consuming that he doesn't care about himself or anything else outside of killing Itachi and is thus incapable of independant scheming or betrayal, and he gets KILLED FOR IT! Obito makes the SAME damn mistake he made with Itachi and underestimates Sasuke because he thinks that he's so broken by his brother's fate that he's suseptible to any and all suggestion, and Sasuke doesn't give a FUCK about ANYTHING besides his own plans anymore, and is absolutely just going to do whatever he thinks is right until it inevitably kills him, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised it Obito was on his hitlist- and, at the end of the day, Obito DOES end up dead!! Gaara tries to empathize but is still learning empathy so instead Sasuke just feels like his LITERAL GENOCIDE is being trivialized, and ALMOST dies for it! Danzo assumes he's just another corrupted wayward Uchiha, and gets KILLED FOR IT! Kakashi thinks that Sasuke is Just Like Him For Real and thus he knows that Sasuke is beyond saving and must die, and gets ALMOST killed for it and then proven WRONG!! Literally ALL of the fucking HOKAGE try to plea for Konoha's legitimacy and lie like DOGS using all of their politician plays of why Sasuke should Stop, and he calls bullshit on all of it anyway! Sasuke spent his entire young life getting passed around like a hot potatoe between men projecting their own trauma onto him and convincing themselves that they know his every move because they once were him, but NO ONE has EVER been doing it like Sasuke and none of them accounted for the fact that he's so scared of everything and full of love and never wrong and not afraid of death or any of them and they've been dead since Sasuke decided they were annoying!!

Naruto and Sakura were only able to get through to him at ALL because Naruto lacks the decorum to be manipulative and thus Sasuke can engage with his bullheaded arguments without feeling actively hunted (like he HAS BEEN his WHOLE LIFE) and Sakura actually DOES understand him and his motivations and his soul in it's entirety because she spent their adolescence studying him like a bug, so she can meet him EXACTLY where he's at. The only person in the world who ever successfully manipulated Sasuke was Itachi, which makes sense considering he mastered the art of it FIRST!!