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writeradamanteve · 2 years ago

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Lucy Carlyle & Holly Munro

I want to talk about this dynamic as it’s truly one of the most polarizing relationships in the book, for various reasons, and yet it’s really one of the best written ones, also for many reasons.

So, sit down and grab a cup of tea. This will take a while, and Reader, I don’t plan on holding back.

Race and Diversity

Let’s talk about diversity for a moment. For those of you who’ve read the books, you know that until Holly made an appearance in the series, the Lockwood & Co. books were lily white. It was so white. There wasn’t a whisper of there being any people of color.

I cannot claim to know Jonathan Stroud’s values, but having watched the show before reading the books, it was clear to me that Stroud, at least, wasn’t consciously or maliciously being racist when he first wrote these books, and that he did, in fact, acknowledge the lack of diversity by Doing Better, first by introducing Holly in The Hollow Boy, and then ultimately, while collaborating on the TV series, readily allowing for a wealth of diversity, even going so far as giving one of the lead roles, which was canonically white, to a man of Iranian ethnicity.

So whatever prompted Stroud to introduce a person of color in the Lockwood & Co. book series, he clearly wanted to do it right. He didn’t retcon existing characters like other writers I know (looking at She Who Must Not Be Named “He’s Actually Totally Gay! Even If It’s Not In The Books!” ~ugh~), nor did he tokenize them like Ms. Voldemort over there (“All The People Of Color in My Books Are Sidelined and If They Have a Speaking Part, Either Stereotyped or Tends to Be Mostly Unbearable.” ~what a cunt-). Holly was a real, fully fleshed out character, who had a positive, and/or complicated, impact in the story.

Now, if I didn’t read the books and just went by all the posts about Holly’s relationship with Lucy in my Tumblr stream, it would seem like a simple case of opposite personalities clashing, at best--jealousy at it worst, but this relationship is not simple like that. I don't want to call it complicated, either. What it is, is nuanced. There is a lot of nuance to Holly & Lucy.

"Welcome, Holly!" Said Lucy, Never

With Lockwood & Co. all narrated from Lucy’s POV, we are introduced to Holly with Lucy’s reactions, perceptions, and biases.

It is clear, then, that Holly’s sudden appearance in what Lucy considered her Safe Space was jarring and intrusive. Lucy was neither consulted on this nor forewarned, but in a world of landlines, archives, and dewey decimal shelving, there is no way to contact a person in transit, there is no instant messaging, and I don't even know if there are answering machines. In this case, Lucy was traveling to her rural hometown which was hours away, for a couple of days, for the obligatory visit to the family she had left behind.

Consider for a moment: Lucy’s trip home was not a leisure vacation by any means. In fact, it only cemented Lucy’s resolve that she belonged in London, and that she missed being in 35 Portland Row, her found family (a.k.a. Lockwood and George), and her independence—all of which Lucy fought HARD to attain and preserve. None of these things came easy for her, but she did earn it, and she was assured enough in her accomplishments to pay a visit to her hometown voluntarily. We all know how it is--when we're not in a good spot in life, we generally don't feel like reconnecting with people like former classmates or family we left behind. It's too humiliating to tell them that we aren't doing so well, but if we've been successful in our pursuits, those class and family reunions are So Welcome, like--"Sure! I'd love to see you all!" In Lucy's case, she wasn't terribly enthused to see her family again, but she felt strong enough to weather the doldrums of it, knowing full-well that she could tell her mother to Shove It.

So given all that background, Lucy is understandably pissed that Holly comes sashaying into Lockwood & Co., highly recommended, with Lockwood hastily making space for her and keeping her comfortable. Not to mention George instantly liking her.

Holly seemed to have effortlessly settled into Lockwood & Co. without the trials and tribulations Lucy had to endure. It probably didn’t help that by all appearances, Holly’s had it easy most of her life.

Holly was beautiful, refined, classy, and educated. We don’t know much about Holly at this point, but it is implied she is possessed of a pedigree equal to Lockwood, except that she wasn’t orphaned at a young age and that her parents were there to nurture her talents.

It absolutely did not help either that Lucy, as a person, has zero social skills. She, with her Blue Collar upbringing, was not raised to make nice or be diplomatic. We hear her thoughts because she is the narrator, and we think her thoughts judgmental, but thoughts, by their nature, are unguarded. If we’re being completely honest, we all make snap judgements about the people we meet. Some of us may be snarkier about it than others, but a lot of our thoughts are not always positive. I wouldn’t call non-positive thoughts negative, just stripped of the diplomacy and niceties we were taught worked best in social settings.

So Lucy does tend to sound a bit nasty sometimes, but is she, really? Or is it just that we see into her mind without the filter of social norms. The show portrayed it perfectly--Lucy is an observer, and some of those snap judgments make their appearance in her words and actions, but is it more extraordinary than some of ours?

So Lucy, for her part in the introduction of Holly, did pretty well, and her thoughts were quite straightforward: She was pissed about the whole situation with Holly, hired without a proper heads-up to her, without the hoops that Lucy had to jump through, and both Lockwood and George appeared to like Holly better than they ever did Lucy. That was Lucy’s knee-jerk reaction.

In the coming weeks, we see how Lucy fully acknowledges how beautiful and fashionable Holly was, and how efficient, doing exactly what she was hired to do with breezy, confident ease. She cleaned their disaster house, organized their schedule, fielded nuisance inquiries, and booked them profitable, resume-padding jobs. Oh, she can be a field agent, too, but she was a bit rusty, so it was the least of her talents.

Lucy clung to that last bit as her security blanket—something she had over Holly, who otherwise seemed so aggravatingly perfect. So when Lockwood, like the good boss he was, was very much willing to reignite Holly’s skills on the field with gentle support and enthusiasm, this again, made Lucy simmer in resentment.

Keep in mind that while all this was happening, Lucy was trying her best to make it work. She hated that Holly was trotting around like a responsible adult, cleaning and trying to make everyone eat healthy. But Lucy was mostly civil.

The tension between Lucy and Holly was palpable, but you can tell that Holly wasn’t trying to annoy her. They were both trying to make it work, and that Holly was sensitive to Lucy’s triggers.

Lockwood & George

Most of Lucy’s resentment stemmed from how much better Lockwood and George treated Holly than they did Lucy—at least from Lucy’s perception.

So I examined that. Is that true? Did they treat her so much better?

The immediate thought is that yes, they do treat Holly with a level of reverence and care that wasn’t exactly there with Lucy, but if Lucy thinks it’s because they liked Holly better, that would be an oversimplification of how Lockwood and George regards Lucy.

First of all, Lucy and George butted heads immediately. Lucy’s lack of social skills and George’s lack of filter was just an inevitably tumultos brew. They did eventually grow to appreciate one another, deeply and sincerely, but that's because they both saved each other's lives. That's what it took. They love one another now, but they had to go through a lot to get to that point. Also, they never stopped being snarky to each other, so there's that.

Lockwood, however, treated Lucy with respect. He was confident of her abilities and he made space for her, too. He offered her his room, for God's sake, and he didn't think twice about her missing 4th levels. He trusted in her skills well enough to bring her along for jobs, immediately. He was impressed by her Listening talent, and was even excited by how, with her, the agency would thrive.

So it wasn't that Holly was treated better; she was treated differently. Lucy is an field agent. By all appearances--her short brown, low-maintenance hair, her practical clothes, and the rapier at her hip, she was ready for action. She did not sweat details. She did not bother with the tidiness of her room. She certainly wasn't the type to pick up after the boys. Why the hell would she? She wasn't their mother. And she gave as good as she got. She didn't appear shocked or stymied by course language or behavior. She was not a delicate flower, so George and Lockwood treated her like the tough cookie that she was.

Lockwood and George respected Lucy this way, just as they respected Holly that way.

So while we understand Lucy's resentment, we have to keep things in perspective here.

Lucy vs. Holly

Lucy felt that Holly was patronizing, that she looked down on Lucy, and that Holly could do no wrong. It did not help that Lockwood was not acknowledging Lucy's feelings.

To Lockwood's mind, Holly was a godsend (she was), and that Lucy can try a little harder (she couldn't--that was truly the best she could do), and he seriously had very little time to make Lucy feel better about the entire thing. His patience was wearing thin.

Was it all Lucy's fault? No. Was it Holly's? No, but while Lockwood was making all the right moves for the agency as its founder and CEO, Lucy was not only doing her best to make her relationship with Holly work, but she was also grappling with her growing Talent and the use of it. Lockwood did not approve of what Lucy was trying to achieve with her Listening talents. It was dangerous to both Lucy and the rest of them--so much so that he threatened to fire her if she didn't stop.

We all know that Lockwood's threats of termination were empty, because in The Creeping Shadow, we were told that Lockwood did not want Lucy to leave and that he did everything to get her back. This threat was more a desperate attempt to curb Lucy. He is perfectly aware that Lucy cannot be stopped by normal means, but he needed her to stop, because what she was doing was risking her safety, and he would not have her killed because of it. Lockwood believed that by withholding his warmth, Lucy would realize how serious he was and come to her senses.

Because of all this, Lockwood grew distant and Lucy felt that keenly. That Lucy was turning to Skull as her confidante showed how lonely she grew in the midst of it all.

As we come back to Holly and Lucy's relationship, we begin to see that whatever Lucy's feelings for Holly were, they were being processed amidst all this upheaval, so Lucy was not having an easy time of it.

When we truly look at Lucy's and Holly's interactions, both of them were really doing their best, and they carried on well enough, but there was an inevitable breaking point.

Things would eventually come to a head at Aickmere's, brought there by the Chelsea Outbreak. Lucy and Holly would have it out, stirring the poltergeist.

From their argument, we find out that Holly was just as insecure about Lucy's gifts as Lucy was of Holly's. They both thought the other was being patronizing, and that neither of them actually looked down on the other. They picked a bad time to have this discussion, but it was had, and while it stirred the haunting to disastrous levels, it DID give Lucy and Holly a better understanding of one another. It was Growth at a Time of Poltergeist.

In Lucy and Holly's brief time working together to stay alive, we saw exactly how they would get along, how intuitive they were of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and how amidst the arguing, it was totally conceivable that they could come to like one another.

At the end of The Hollow Boy, when Lucy comes to the decision to leave Lockwood & Co., we know for sure it isn't because of Holly, even if everyone thinks it is.

Holly & Lucy

I am still absolutely tickled by the fact that Holly actually tells Lucy in The Creeping Shadow that she misses her, and that Holly wished Lucy had stuck around so that she would have someone to talk to. I did briefly, actually think that Holly might have had a crush on Lucy, because Lucy gives out bi-vibes (or maybe that's just me, Idon'tknow), but as I thought about it more, that would be a pretty annoying trope, where everyone falls in love with the heroine, so no. I think Holly was actually setting her sights on someone else, though Holly absolutely did miss Lucy, and she genuinely wanted to be besties with Lucy, especially because Holly thought Lockwood and George were so hard to crack (and by the way, this is so telling. Again, more proof of how differently George and Lockwood treats Lucy and Holly--not better, but differently. They are at their best behavior with Holly and as a result, they aren't vulnerable with her. The boys, however, treat Lucy like one of them, so she knows them the way Holly couldn't).

Holly's contributions to the narrative of The Hollow Boy were significant, in the same way that Kipps's contributions were significant in The Creeping Shadow. The Empty Grave treated us to the dynamic of having Kipps and Holly round out Lockwood & Co., fully entrenched into its maverick ways and the secret of the Whispering Skull.

Lucy and Holly's relationship found an easy cadence, and I especially loved how Lucy and Holly banded together instinctively to comandeer the two-bed room at the inn, leaving the boys to grapple with the second bedroom arrangements.

I cannot stress enough how well Holly and Lucy's relationship turned out, and how I will marvel at its development. I will always think of this relationship as well-earned. It was a journey, human and interesting. Stroud did a marvelous job forming it.

#lockwood & co #lockwood & co book spoilers #lockwood & co spoilers #holly munroe #lucy carlyle #The Hollow Boy spoilers #The Creeping Shadow spoilers #The Empty Grave spoilers

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chevelleneech · 16 days ago

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Oooh, BuckTommy shippers have really lost it. Saying Oliver is likely to have Buck’s bisexuality retconned now that Lou is gone. LOU!? Of all the love interests he’s had, got y’all crashing out to the point of insinuating an actor who has been nothing but kind, welcoming, and enthusiastic about portraying his character as any form of queer since season two or three, when Buddie first became a thing, is secretly biphobic? Okay.

I said it before and I’ll say it now, all of you who are reacting this way did not watch to see Buck discover his sexuality (which the show failed to do anyway). Y’all watched purely to see him make out with another man, and were hoping BT never broke up because you’re terrified Buck will date a woman again, thus “taking away” your fantasy of him only liking men, and this temper tantrum proves it, but newsflash! He don’t just like men!

Buck, as Oliver Stark has said multiple times, is bisexual. He likes men and women, and it was even shown in 8x06 that he checked out the woman who asked him to take the photo of her and her friends, which Tommy had no issue with. So this whole fake outrage to try and get Lou back on a show where he clearly was a GUEST STAR who didn’t bind well with too much of the cast to begin with, seeing as y’all also mad they didn’t give him a farewell party. Which is an insane thing to demand when y’all don’t know him nor the rest of the cast, nor the relationship between them.

Point is, you guys are losing your minds over a FICTIONAL relationship, for no reason. I understand it can be hard to part with something you enjoy, but reacting like this is insane, and trying to pad your decisions to be delusional by claiming Buddies harassed Lou so it’s equal, is equally as insane. Buddies are not exempt from criticism, but Lou wasn’t “harassed” for simply existing on screen. Nobody even cared about him for real until he also started charging people to talk to him online. The tide turned fully when his IG was found and his bigoted “sense of humor” was brought to light. Add that to the character of Tommy having a shit past, and he was bound to be disliked.

Does that mean people should tell him to kill himself? Absolutely not, but y’all, please understand the person you’re going up in flames over is an asshole at worst, and a halfway decent guy at best. You’re making up complete and total lies to defend his actions and y’all’s, which has been abysmal from day one. Most of y’all never watch the series from the jump and hate Buddie on principle, or you watched from the start and switched to BT because you thought it’d be Buck’s forever relationship, and started hating Buddie to save yourself from getting your hopes up again.

Now? Now you’re all up in arms because you talked so much shit about Buddie, Buddies, and Ryan Gúzman, that you can’t walk it back. You can’t say, “Damn, I fucked up.” and move on. Y’all are trying to stand on business, which is admirable, but you’re doing it wrong. Just say you don’t like where the show is headed and go. Stop watching, stop interacting. What you don’t need to do is make up lies and pretend things are happening that aren’t.

Oliver has wanted Buck to be queer for years. Upon Buck coming out, Oliver went to bat for him and has steadily stated it makes perfect sense that he is bisexual, given how many scenes over the years help play into the fact even during its FOX run where the execs refused to allow it to happen. So y’all don’t got to like it, but the truth is the truth. Y’all just mad.

#911 abc #evan buckley

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soullessjack · 1 year ago

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The cw walks up to you personally and tells you that they ARE going to be making supernatural season 16. Its going to be a complete retcon of season 15 and they want to give YOU complete creative control over Jack's arc including crucial plot moments and relationships with other characters. What would you change?

i wanted to save this for a Right Time when i could be super organized and detailed and big-wordy but fuck it . we’ll do it weird.

Crucial Plot Moments

I have so many posts on all of the loose ends in Jack’s storylines this’ll be an easy one. also, so much of this would realistically bank on a total rewrite of S15’s pacing but we don’t have time for all that.

for starters, there would be way more to show of the aftermath of soulless jack. all of his actions were in public, primarily on people of a high status (college professors, religious leaders), and even televised on the news. unless the assumption is that chuck erased everyone’s memory after undoing jack’s global mind control, he should be recognized all around from what he did. he does still canonically have an active FBI file marking him as armed and dangerous, too, so there should be more police/federal presence in the ongoing investigation, and it should also attract a whole slew of hunters (think the fanatics from Black Rock), especially the crew Bobby says is put together to hunt jack but never shows up.

this could also fall under relationships, but we absolutely need closure for Jack’s grandparents, Hellen and Jack Kline Sr. the first time we/Jack meets them, he lies and says he’s a coworker of hers, but vaguely confirms that she had a baby who loves her very much and that she was an amazing mom. he’s very visibly holding back tears to see his family—his grandfather is also his namesake, remember—and to know that he “coincidentally” looks like his mother. he ultimately went to see them to give them closure and so he could connect more with Kelly after her death. the second and last time we see them, jack is visiting to find familial connection again after Sam and Dean “rejected” him. he’s forcing himself to look normal and calm, but is still extremely unstable and psychotic, and it shows when his irritation at Hellen’s causes his powers to ‘activate’ more easily—which unfortunately winds up revealing his nature to them and terrifying them.

although the cutoff is literally meant to make us wonder DID JACK KILL HIS GRANDPARENTS!?, it’s eventually shown that he just left, and that he was also accused of killing Kelly, his own mother, by his own grandmother. The Klines never show up again afterwards and there isn’t even a suggestion that he sees them again or tells them the truth at some point offscreen. I don’t know exactly how it would go if he did, though; i think there’s too many directions to narrow down to The Right One, like.. if he did tell them the truth, would they accept him? would they still blame him for Kelly’s death if they knew the actual circumstances of it?

as a side note, almost all of Jack’s major plot points revolve around his relationship to someone else lol.

Rowena; he literally kidnaps her, she’s aware that he’s psychotic but trying to fix what he did / that it was an accident, and she has her own experience of grief making her violent when she tried to bring Crowley back. she’s never seen again until after jack dies and only ever has a silent sad reaction to learning about his death in the beginning S15. then she dies, becomes the Queen of Hell, and they never interact again. I am 100% giving them closure.

DEAN AND JACK. Holy shit. MY GUYS. MY SLIMES. Their relationship is literally so complicated and insane and real and it’s constantly done so shittily in the show and in the fandom bc nobody understands them the right way. I cannot stress enough how much I hate that people’s idea of them resolving their conflict post-Mary is to just infantilize Jack so Dean can’t be mad at him anymore WHEN HE’S WELL WITHIN REASON TO BE ANGRY. HE IS RELIVING HIS ROOT TRAUMA. It’s so painfully one sided and, as all babyjack does, only serves to make Dean look better without any consideration for Jack as a person or any of his actions.

There were also just generally a LOT of plot holes/loose ends surround Jack bc the writers can never fucking commit to anything when it comes to his character:

Harper (14x06) and Sylvia (15x14(?)) are both characters that Jack is written to either have emotional connections with or relate with them. Sylvia is last seen running off with a demon, I think, and Harper is never seen again after the last shot of her in her car writing a letter to Jack about how in love with him she is, still with the intent to kill him, bc as Yockey put it she’s a “psycho stalker” that Jack is entirely unaware of

(I also personally think there are some small parallels between Sylvia and Jack, like Sylvia being a ‘righteous punisher’ as Jack was under Heaven & both of them dealing with loss and disappointment).

The letter Jack writes in 14x04(?) to all three of his fathers before he plans to run away, before stopping altogether to help the enchanted girl, never gets opened or even acknowledged again.

“making it loud” in the empty after detonating. we literally never get an explanation or a follow-up as to what this means and why its bad and what will happen. presumably it means he woke up every dead angel and demon that’s in the Empty, but we can only presume.

Almost every traumatic experience he has ever endured. We almost never get his actual point of view or a clear focus on it in the show: Apocalypse World, Michael, losing his soul, the security guard in Tombstone, killing Mary and becoming psychotic, being literally suicidal with guilt and estrangement and feeling as if he’s “constantly letting his fathers down.” being struck down and murdered horrifically by his own grandfather, being in the Empty for months to even being Billie’s compliant weapon — all overlooked !!!

I need to finish this post soon because I know it’s been forever since you sent it to me, but as of right now I have a headache so I will wrap it on a sillier note !! For the final touches, I would ensure that

Jack is way more unhinged and spiraling, like 13x02 and 13x06. There are lasting effects of his trauma and everything that has been implied of his character but never fully fleshed out, like his soulless psychosis over Mary and the entire guilt-disappointment-anger arc from S15. See also, every traumatic event he ever experienced.

Jack would also be way more reactive to things, especially the sheer amount of unfairness given to him because of his heritage. AU Bobby quite literally said that the only reason he hadn’t killed Jack on the spot was his humanness, and then did an entire heel turn on it in 14x18.

I don’t think a real solid love interest would be a good addition to SPN but I do think he should kiss a boy or at least have something implied; it just means a lot to me that one of his desired “normal human” experiences was falling in love lmao

More gay little jackets 100%

Have bloodier kills and actually be bloody and fucked up

#this feels so rushed at the end I’m sorry #holdthypeace.txt #spn #jack kline #spn prequel #spn season 16 #spn meta

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totallynotqueer · 1 month ago

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Okay y’all! I’m looking for a Ben Ten roleplay! Long term, literate/multi paragraph and I primarily use discord atm! The roleplay will take place when the gang is in their 20’s but! I’d be super SUPER down to do a roleplay that starts in the og series and goes though and clear past the others! I’d love for the main focus to be a slice of life roleplay but of course I’m down with having action and high stakes sprinkled throughout! Now, a couple things

I only expect one or two responses a day or even just a couple a week! As long as we can yap about our characters in between I’m all good! My responses tend to get lengthy so I totally understand especially with real life being a thing that people need to deal with.

On that note- let me know if I’m doing too much or not enough and DONT feel pressured to match my length! I’m a yapper and while this will be a descriptive roleplay don’t push yourself! This is for fun!

I’m going to be using an oc and you don’t have to but you totally can!

I do double up and I promise I’m just as invested in your side as I am in mine ❤️

We can do two separate storylines or one story line! (Ie- if we both want Ben as a love interest we do different stories/time lines if that makes sense?)

If we start the roleplay from the OG series I don’t want to carbon copy it! That’s boring! Let’s cover the stuff they didn’t go over in the show!

Also! Don’t worry about cringe! I’m 22 with a hyperfixation on a kids show about aliens! Cringe is dead! I killed it with my hammer!

Lastly: communicate! I’m not psychic! I can’t read your mind! If you have a plot idea tell me! If you want to retcon, tell me! If my response is too short or if you think I can do better then tell me! I don’t bite! I just request that you use neutral language, tone tags or emojis even!

My oc will have Ben as a love interest and wears a version of the omnitrix. When they first donned the watch it pinned them together at the wrists and they struggled and fought and turned into heat blast. After they turned back there were *two* watches only my oc has a fucked up version that makes him glitch like a computer game. Ben’s watch is still fully functional.

Don’t be afraid to hmu! If you see this a week, a month, a year- hell possibly even a decade after I post this hmu! The worst that’ll happen is I don’t see your message for a bit!

#ben ten roleplay #ben 10 headcannon #ben 10 #roleplay #Ben 10 roleplay #Ben 10 af #ben 10 uaf #Ben 10 ua #roleplay search #long term rp #long term roleplay

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n-evermores · 2 years ago

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“Besides, you’re still in love with your old girlfriend.”

Let’s talk about this trope. I see this often with older male characters, and my only question is why? It’s so tiring and honestly, a little silly. And this is not me trying to diminish real feelings that teenagers can have. Many people marry their high school sweethearts and live long happy lives together. But you also grow together and build a life with one another. It’s very different.

If my math is correct, Joy and Parker dated when they were 15/16 years old. They went their separate ways their junior year of high school so they were probably 16 when they broke up. Our brains don’t fully develop until we’re about 26. Parker and Joy, even at 21, would be very different people from who they were at 16, and even more so at 26. They’re like 60 now. It’s safe to say they are strangers at this point.

This trope is so unhealthy to me, and usually painted as romantic by writers. Him not able to have a healthy long lasting relationships with women because he’s still obsessed with his high school girlfriend is not romantic. One could argue it's toxic. Honestly he needs therapy because this has to be some form of trauma. Yet, the writers love using women for male pain, and this isn’t any different. You’ll never see them write a female character incapable of having an adult relationship because they can’t get over their old flame, because they don’t use men as plot devices like they do with women.

It’s like when ALL of Gibbs’ relationships and marriages failed because he couldn’t move past Shannon. I totally understand this for him because they built a life together and had a child, (but it’s still unhealthy) As we get older the way we love changes. We mature and so does the way we love and how we love matures with us. There’s no reason Viv had to compete with a ghost from his teenage years. It’s downright silly and kind of unrealistic if we’re being honest.

I love Joy as a character and I love the actress. I feel like the writers need an excuse to prevent Parker from being happy just as they did with Gibbs. And I hate that. A part of me wishes they used Joy’s actress as Viv (I wasn’t too fond of the actress they used. Perhaps it was the way she was written or portrayed, but I’m not a fan), and just gave us a slow burn of him getting back with his ex wife of many years. I feel like that’s the direction they were originally going in until they retconned it with the Joy plot line.

And when Constance broke up with Parker, I felt sad for him, and then suddenly she hits us with the “you’re still in love with your old girlfriend” line, and I just eye rolled so hard. Like why? It’s so stupid. It pulled me out of the story and I love Parker, I do, but it kind of ruins his character for me just a little. It’s just weird. Like you were a child when you loved her, you haven’t seen her since you were 16. Move on, my guy. Move on. I just know a man wrote this into his story, that or I want to know who’s 14 year old child went into the writing room and suggested it. Because it’s silly.

Also just to reiterate that they usually don’t do this with women: Joy herself is a good example. When Parker asked if she was over him, we never saw her response. Clearly, that conversation didn't go in his favor because nothing came from it. Most likely, she rejected him. However they did allow Jimmy to fall in love again and be in a healthy happy relationship after his wife died, but Parker can't get over a girl he dated at 16? It's just a badly written plot and a trope that needs to die. It's not romantic, its not cute. I'm not sitting at my tv and going, “awww, he's stuck in his past which is preventing him from having healthy long lasting relationship, so sweet and romantic.” Yuck no.

Also please note this is not me hating on Parker. He is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. I adore him. This is just me complaining about NCIS writers. I love the show to pieces, but when it comes to characters like Parker and Gibbs, they love to throw these toxic tropes at us. One of those tropes being unbridled anger = masculinity (hello old wounds.) Anyway. Rant over ha ha.

TL;DR: Unless you have an unhealthy obsession, real people don't stay in love with the person they dated at 16, especially after 40-something years. That person would be so far from your mind. It's unrealistic and I wish writers would stop using this trope to prevent characters from happiness or having any healthy long-lasting relationships.

#ncis #alden parker #gary cole #leroy jethro gibbs #mark harmon #ncis meta #character analysis #ncis 20x21 #kompromat

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soul-dwelling · 4 months ago

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I think, with you mentioning watchmen, Horikoshi is more like Zach Snyder - kinda getting that "there is some deep problem" and wanting to do a dark story about the socio economic problems behind the glitz and glamour of hero worship - yet in the end, like Snyder, just ending up reinforcing it, enhanced by the comic book hype

Cause in the end its simmilar how Snyder missed the point and gave all the "heroes" cool action scenes and epic badass moments, so did Hori at the end not realise that maybe the whole commercialization of what is basically super cops isnt cool...

But maybe Im just screaming at clouds lol, guess just allways thought comic books just aesthetically was corny

Question received August 2, 2024, answered August 4, 2024--the official publication date of the last My Hero Academia chapter.

I think Horikoshi is more like the worst parts of Jon Favreau’s work on the first Iron Man film: this insistence that things have to be grounded in reality, the refusal to allow for any fairy tale logic or supernatural details or extraterrestrials or magic--just an insistence that this is just a story about a guy who makes a mech suit with the tiniest bit of sci-fi. That movie is so fucking boring to me.

(And, as a friend reminded me, the first Iron Man is also super transphobic: that just makes it all the more annoying getting Downey back but as Doom, because why cast a Romani actor in the role?)

To steal from Bob Chipman, Snyder is someone who thinks superheroes would be awful, miserable, hopeless people who exist just to disappoint us.

(Spoilers and triggering content below.)

I can appreciate how My Hero Academia wants to show us such a problem with Endeavor--but I kind of wish we showed it with more than just him. It gets tiresome making Endeavor all that is wrong with superhero work in this setting: desperate to get to number one, wife beater, potentially forcing her to have sex and more children and all the actual rape or rape-like coding that includes, physically and emotionally abusive to his kids and failing to understand how to help them with, in Touya’s case, a disability in which his superpower can kill him, got people killed in his hero work (see Vigilantes), irresponsible, hot-headed, does not cooperate well with others (until after the Rescue Bakugo arc says, just kidding, his sidekicks totally love him, this is in no way a bad retcon).

I know it would get tiresome to give us an assault of just hero after hero who is just awful. But I also want heroes who are awful in different ways. We got a bit of that during the Stain arc. Sure, Uwabami is concerned about looks and popularity--but we saw she is a good tracker and a committed rescuer. Fourth Kind was evidently supposed to be fixated on just the image of his sidekicks--but he does trash pick-up, that is good work regardless whether you treat it as noble in itself or just part of the job. Mt Lady improves throughout the series as a more self-sacrificing hero, and we got to see in the gag strips and from her actions in the main manga that her size means she causes as much damage as she tries to stop, trapping her in a vicious circle of having to make more money to pay off the damage from the good work she did that did save people and property but still caused damage.

Even Gran Torino has his flaws. I don’t just mean letting Nana do something so stupid as sending her child away to strangers and not making sure he didn’t keep his real last name to make it easy for All For One to find him--Torino could not have predicted all of that. But he is abusive, he doesn’t say things directly, he doesn’t speak in Yoda koans so much as just play dumb and hope his student understands in between beating the shit out of them. He doesn’t see hero work as about saving someone but potentially having to kill them. He didn’t even do much with his hero license that we can see beyond teaching All Might because Nana asked him to.

Chapter 430 pisses me off so much that the same old Pro Hero system persists without more obvious, if unrealistic but potentially still believable swift changes to make things better. Give me the happy ending, no matter how much you have to rush how the characters get to that happy ending at improving society. Show me Ochaco training kids in school with their Quirks; show what Shoji actually did to foster anti-bigotry, even if you have to pull from real-life examples (just be tasteful about it, not repeating the same mistake Horikoshi made when coming up with Garaki’s name).

That last two-page panel is very much the problem of “epic badass moments”: I didn’t want my last memory of the main manga to be the characters in off-putting seemingly off-model adult designs leaping into action on a street named after Star Wars, I wanted the last image to be how these characters did something that made the world better, and we’re just lectured at and told that, not shown that.

I love comics; I love the camp and corniness. My first introduction to superhero stories was the Adam West Batman--that is unfortunately the standard that I judge most superhero stories, whether they can be fun and trying to affirm some lesson while being tongue-in-cheek, queer, over-the-top, campy, colorful, and silly. That was some of the initial appeal to My Hero Academia: we begin with All Might puking up blood--that is so over-the-top gross while also comedic and reaffirming that this is a story about the serious dangers that come with putting your life at risk…and then everyone just survives this fight, and society pretty much stays the same even after a major war. That is disappointing.

#mha spoiler #mha spoilers #spoiler #spoilers #cw: rape mention #long post

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alaffy · 10 months ago

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Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Ep. 1 – Even for Kings (Spoilers)

I can’t be the only one who wondered why the cloaked figure at the beginning was breaking into what seemed like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, right?

So, this is the sequel to Revelation. The first episode is alright. It’s setting up the next storyline. I do kind of wish they had made it more clear as to how much time has passed, because it felt like this could have been anywhere from a couple of months to more than a year later.

Like the rescue mission for the souls would have happened probably not too long after the events of Revelation. However, they way they’re talking it seems like Teela’s been Sorceress for awhile; so who knows.

Going to go through one part real quick. We see Skelator is converting more of his minions for this Mother Board. But then Mother Board reports to Hordak. Hordak mentions how Mother Board was able to, I don’t remember his exact words, but she was able to bring Skeletor back to the fold; indicating there’s a history there. Now what exactly will that history be…well, it ain’t going to be exactly like the one from the original series. Due to…copyright and how Dreamworks own She-Ra, it’s doubtful that she’ll ever appear and so that backstory is gone. Anyway, Skeletor has knowledge of the Horde, but He-Man and the rest of the heroes do not. Also, Kieth David as Hordak? Yes, please.

But the story begins with the Masters of the Universe (and a cowboy? He must have been a later character) saving the souls of Fisto and Clamp-Champ from Subternia. And while they are successful in their mission, the souls are kind of stuck in limbo as they have nowhere else to go since Evil-Lyn destroyed Preternia. But the joy of the mission is short lived as we find out King Randor is dying of massive organ failure and no one knows the cause. So, Randor decides to spend his last few moments with his wife and his son that he totally loves and never, ever considered a failure (what kind of retcon bs is this?).

Meanwhile, we find out that Teela has been trying to…recreate Preternia?! (I know The Sorceress was supposed to be powerful, but she ain’t a god!). Anyway, she fails and Orko suggests that Teela go speak with the previous Sorceress (‘cause, uh, without Preternia, the spirit of The Sorceress is just kind of chillin’ in Greyskull). The Sorceress explains to Teela that, if I understand this correctly, their magic comes from Zoar, one of these three gods/cosmic entities/what have you. And it’s the combined magic of these three beings that created Preternia. So, if Teela wants to recreate it, she has to have magic from all three. So, Teela’s going on a quest.

Meanwhile, Randor explains to Adam that Adam is going to have to choose how he’s going to rule. Basically, will he be Adam or He-Man (but pretty much his battle days are over). Randor also mentions how Randor lost a brother, which seems to be a surprise to Adam and the Queen. Then, he dies. And… wow, Eternia does not waste time! The very next day, they have the King’s funeral. Adam has to give a speech and then he’ll be crowned King. So, Adam gives his speech and says he won’t be half as good of a King.

And then a voice from the crowed says that Adam should refuse the crown. And wouldn’t you know it, but Randor’s brother is alive and is saying that he’s the rightful king of Eternia. So, I guess we aren’t going with the story that Skeletor is actually Keldor or is this some sort of ruse? Also, Keldor is William Shatner?!

#MOTU: revolution #MOTU: revolution spoilers #he-man #skeletor #teela #orko #hordak #keldor

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bitimdrake · 3 years ago

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lots of thoughts on the types of abuse Bruce is most prone to during different eras and how that impacts his relationships with his kids

Because with Dick it was generally parentification. He was fairly emotionally open during the 'Dick as Robin' era, just not great with words, but in many ways he expected Dick to act as a competent adult and leaned on him as an emotional crutch in ways that were ultimately unhealthy for Dick.

This got cranked up to 11 with Tim, who saw it as his literal job to basically parent an overly violent and passively suicidal Bruce until someone better for the job could come along. Couple that with the mind games and the general inability to praise Tim, and you've got some solid foundations for a discussion about emotional abuse.

And of course his relationship with Cass is so complex because they're both so incredibly traumatized in vastly different ways but they, of all the Batfamily members, understand each other on a fundamental level...which then manifests in Bruce engaging in wildly unhealthy behavior to help Cass deal with her issues (which works, because he is right in that he knows how to speak the 'language' Cass speaks, but also forces both of them into situations where they hurt each other in ways that were completely avoidable if Bruce just acted like a normal person for once in his goddamn life)

and of course we could spend all day talking about Damian and how Bruce fucked up on multiple levels there

Ironically, Jason is probably the Batchild with the least canonical evidence of any kind of abuse at Bruce's hands pre-death (post-resurrection....different story; mostly physical abuse, justified by 'he's a villain/he kills now'). Except for like....the weird kidnapping origin story in Nightwing Year One, I guess, which most people tend to ignore.

yeah, yeah, so many thoughts, much to dig into.

There are ways that Bruce fails all of them--his consistent trend of keeping emotional distance rather than risk personal discomfort, his incredibly high standards and low tolerance for failure, his extremely shitty tendency to prioritize The Mission/Batman/his kids in their vigilante identities over being a parent/his kids as kids.

But he also has very specific relationships with each kid, and that’s one of the things that’s so interesting to me.

Personally I find it hard to really get a solid read on Bruce’s parenting of Dick in the early years, just because of all the time that’s passed and the retcons and crises, etc. Like anything I could declare about that feels less like interpreting an overall average portrayal, and more like picking one of many potentials, if that makes sense?

(The comment on eras is really true, because you can see the difference in prequel style comics. Bruce of the golden age is a completely different character than Bruce of the modern age, and his relationship with Robin!Dick is totally different in old 40s comics versus, say, Robin Year One, where Bruce’s modern day emotional distance and neglect is carried over into Dick’s early years with him. I definitely prioritize the modern era over pre-crisis, but it feels like shakier ground basing it off one miniseries and a few flashbacks instead of actually reading it play out in real time, yknow?)

Buuut by the time Dick is an adult (and, more importantly, we’ve reached post-crisis), a pattern definitely solidifies, and yep! There’s a reason I call Dick and Tim the emotional support children!! I don’t know if Bruce expects Dick to take care of him (I definitely don’t think he consciously does, but I’m dithering on subconsciously; he still benefits from it either way), but he absolutely expects Dick to maintain their relationship for him. It’s not like Bruce is constantly making emotional overtures with the other kids, and yet there’s this distinct sense with Dick specifically that Bruce knows he doesn’t have to put in any effort, never has to be the first to reach out, doesn’t have to try to express himself, because Dick will inevitably try to close the distance and patch it up for him.

(Second side note: however, I don’t really agree with the argument I periodically see ‘round these parts that Dick was constantly expected to take care of his younger siblings, because that is just Not a thing with Jason, Tim, or Cass. Even with Tim, who Dick was the closest to and regularly gave advice, I never really got the vibe that Bruce had set that expectation? It was just it’s own thing. Dick did take care of Damian--which started as a not-Bruce’s-fault necessity, but continued on with Bruce’s neglect after his return, so ig the part I really argue here is “constantly.”)

At the worst moments, Bruce expecting Dick to be the only one between them to manage emotions turns into Bruce not only making no effort to express himself, but making no effort to stop himself when he has something negative to express. Which. then leads into the physical abuse. Because sometimes being the emotional support includes being the punching bag :/

...did you expect me to write a novel because I didn’t expect me to write a novel, and we are only one kid in. Inserting a cut for the health of everyone’s dash.

Onto Jason, I agree! I’ve always thought Bruce was at his most parental when Jason was Robin. (There is another weird retcon note here in a few stories after Jason’s death/return portraying Bruce as never thinking of him as a son, regularly telling him so, and that he didn’t trust Jason, thought he was dangerous and awful, etc etc--but that is such a dumb retcon and will get ignored along with the NYO kidnapping.)

But then, obvs, you get to resurrected Jason. They have one (1) proper storyline together in Post-Crisis, and after UtRH interactions are sparse, but Bruce is by that point really pushing the “you are my greatest mistake, you are a terrible failure” thing....which is pretty much the only way he distinguishes between how he treats Jason and how he treats any other Gotham rogue. Jason avoids a lot of the emotional neglect by virtue of simply almost never interacting with Bruce ig? But, boy, he sure does get fought and injured in the pursuit of Justice because Bruce refuses to reach out emotionally or make any exception for his kid, but has no problem getting violent.

And then Tim! Okay. So I think one of the most interesting things about Bruce and Tim is that for the majority of their (post-crisis) relationship, Bruce is Not Tim’s Father. Capital letters, because that is a Point. Bruce has a whole thing about parents, and therefore (until Jack’s death) he never forgets Jack is Tim’s Real Father and has a weird amount of...I guess deference or respect, I’d call it for lack of a better word, for Tim’s relationship with His Real Father--at least, insomuch as that can be true when Bruce is also training Tim in crimefighting behind his back.

And that leads to this relationship that should be markedly different from the concurrent relationship Bruce has with His Actual Son Dick--and future relationships with Damian, and Tim and Cass, and Jason after his return--because for once, Bruce really is just Tim’s mentor and commanding officer as Batman, and not his parent or caretaker.

...but uh. It’s not that different. I mean, it’s different in that each relationship is a unique snowflake, but like. That’s kinda the pattern of how Bruce will treat all his kids from here on out.

BUT for Tim specifically, for most of their time knowing each other, Bruce doesn’t even have to feel like he should reach out emotionally, because, hey, he’s not Tim’s father! And so, while there are plenty of times Bruce leans more into the mentor/positive (or semi-positive) side of things, there are also plenty of moments where he hits his purest “there is only the mission and masks and soldiers” outlook with Tim, without any of that tricksy “family” stuff getting in the way.

The good news for Tim is that the Robin writer just after his adoption was clearly all about good dad Bruce and they get some sweet moments and a seeming change in their relationship as they work out how to be father and son! ...Until, you know, the next writer, where things are back to normal but now with legal connection.

I think the idea of tiny Tim Drake believing he can take care of adult Bruce Wayne’s emotional state, and Bruce reluctantly agreeing to this, is super interesting (and unhealthy), but tbh I...actually think we hear it referenced more than we see it happen. Bruce kinda relies on all his Robins to be the light in the darkness, but I can’t actually think of that many instances where he specifically elevates Tim to even more of a caretaker role.

What he DOES do all the time with Tim is the fucking mind games, and specifically trying to mold Tim into being just like him. Except instead of in the vein of Dick, who is a lot like Bruce in a Batman But Better™ way, Bruce has this terrible tendency to specifically try to make Tim take on? his worst traits?? Like, he actively wants Tim to be more paranoid and suspicious and constantly sussing out his friends and loved ones, and that is UNHEALTHY MY DUDE. Stop actively pushing your kid into that!!

(Side note number 3! That means it’s outright implied re this interactions with Tim that Bruce literally doesn’t think those flaws of his are flaws at all, and still actively believes his own paranoia and emotional repression are, like, admirably and positive qualities? This man so fucked up. For all the guilt Bruce possesses, you think he’d have more awareness of his actual flaws.)

Now Cass is also not Bruce’s daughter for most of Post-Crisis, but I think the really key distinction is that Cass doesn’t have another parent Bruce feels compelled to respect. (Cass has Babs as an almost mother, but, uh....Bruce does not kindasorta respect or maybevaguely defer to Babs about Cass the way he does with Jack and Tim.) So there’s none of that enforced distance, there’s just...the usual amount of distance. Because Bruce.

Bruce and Cass understanding each other is the double edged sword here. It’s the reason he so instantly trusts her with Batgirl, and it lets them click on certain things without needing explanation. But, wouldn’t you know it, it also gives Bruce another excuse to not explain himself and reach out less. And, worse imo, it makes him really expect her to be just like him.

Not in the Bruce and Tim “sometime in the future you will be me” way, but right now already. And that means when she isn’t like him, he just can’t or won’t acknowledge it. Find out Cass killed someone as a kid--he goes into straight up denial. Barbara keeps insisting she’s a teenage girl who needs a normal life--no, ridiculous, what are you talking about; she’s like Bruce, and Bruce only cares about Batman, so clearly all she needs is to be Batgirl, no other life or friends or hobbies or support system.

And then Damian. If I was going to try to pick an angle for Damian in the vein of your ask, distinct from the others (parentification for Dick, emotional abuse for Tim, physical for Jason, though obvs all bleed into each other), I would def go with neglect.

(The side note about Damian is that he may be the only character here to have gotten more development in the New 52 than pre-Flashpoint, so there’s a lot less to say about their relationship post-Crisis. I am currently reading Batman & Robin 2011 and it is giving me a lot of fascinating fodder that I will likely reread at some point, but I don’t think I’m ready to properly analyze it yet, so sticking to post-Crisis.)

Bruce’s treatment of Damian is...anger and ordering him around for the two storylines they interact, followed by Bruce dying, followed by complete neglect upon his return. Despite Damian being introduced as The Most Batman Son Of All, there’s like...not even a glimpse of a father/son relationship here. Bruce meets him, suspects he’s a plant from Talia, says he’s going to teach him to fight crime, screams at him for being a brat; later treats Damian 100% as a solider and sends him into battle; generally just seems to dislike him.

And then Bruce dies and Damian ends up with Dick--again, that part entirely not Bruce’s fault. But when he comes back, Bruce makes one attempt to work with Damian as Batman and Robin, declares it’s not going to work out, and then...goes to travel the world for Batman Inc and ditches him with Dick? Because obviously if they can’t work together in the field, there’s just no reason to interact with Damian at all, right. Surely no reason he’d want to spend time with [checks hand] his son who he barely knows.

With Damian it’s just... 40% Bruce thinks Damian is annoying and possibly evil, 60% Bruce thinks of Damian exclusively as a solider. And I am scraping my memory trying to come up with a single post-crisis moment he expresses any kind of parental love or concern or even interest in Damian outside of that. (He doesn’t want Damian to die ig? But Bruce doesn’t want anyone to die so uh. ...hey does bruce even like damian? i’m not sure he does)

anyway i’ve just written like 2k in one burst so you may have unleashed a monster. bruce’s relationships with his kids are fascinating!!! (and bad)

but yeah! There’s a fair amount of overlap, but they also each have a really distinct variation.

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hoediaz · 3 years ago

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who is agn? i've seen loads of posts about 'her' but idk who she is or what's going on

sorry to be an absolute bitch but she is the worst blog on this website for real. putting this under a read more so people who don’t suffer rage black outs don’t have to deal with this.

chelsea mentioned some of her highlights before which include some overt racism and homophobia but last night she really decided to up her game. first, she spent weeks pulling the word retcon out of her ass and slapping it on every plot point she doesn’t like or understand instead of rubbing together two brain cells to even attempt to comprehend how narratives might work (including eddie ana’s break up since, according to her, eddie was Clearly in love with ana in 4x13 during the follow your heart scene and yet at the same time he was a misogynist and treated her terribly :/ did you know panic attacks are misogynistic? shame all those panic attacks i’ve had have been out of misogyny and not mental illness if only i had known id be able to attend agn’s school of feminism and cure myself). but then with the end of bt (aka the departure of her most beloved girl boss who can do no wrong, since i don’t think she cares about bt at all past taylor since she actively hates buck) (and yet. while she hates buck she never treats him with the same vitriol she gives eddie. now i’d say that’s racism but according to her eddie’s white so! guess it’s texas phobic or something :/) she went completely off the rails.

part of this was of course! saying it was a retcon despite the multiple references to dosed but what can we expect from someone who learned the word retcon last week and never bothered to dig up the meaning. it’s ok i get it i did the same in the ninth grade with words like pathetic fallacy and i don’t think you need anything higher than a ninth grade education to work at fox news. anyway! that led to saying anyone celebrating the bt break up is a misogynist! bc idk if you knew this but apparently 911 is the taylor kelly show and everything should be about HER development, not buck’s, and if you celebrate buck’s development you’re a woman hater just like eddie ❤️ now EYE am actually a woman hater because i think taylor kelly and owen strand should move to ohio together to start a bed and breakfast, the bt bones celebration was just a bonus.

and when that wasn’t enough absolute bullshit stupidity for one night, she decided to use her time to type out a post onto oliver stark’s internet in which she called buck a “dirty firefighter” for not wanting his gf to report on an incident that involved his family, equating him to dirty cops that protect other corrupt cops. because that’s a totally fucking proportional reaction to having your fictional ship break up, because police corruption is not a genuine thing that happens in real life and impacts real people who aren’t taylor fucking kelly. i fr even hours later don’t even have the words to put together to express how fucking stupid and insensitive and offensive that is. it is genuinely beyond me how you could ever in your life see a FICTIONAL couple break up and become so fucking unhinged you think it’s ok to make light of real issues to force a fictional character into some make believe villain role just so you can avenge a side character on a ryan murphy production. get some fucking help for real.

anyway last night when she posted i reblogged it calling her an idiot and she immediately blocked me, just like she blocked every other person who tried to reblog it to point out how offensive that was which is always a good sign that you’re being rational.

oh also she said taylor and lucy should be together which was just personally offensive to me, a lucy understander, and then also, since miss agn can’t go three seconds without being generally offensive, she has to say taylor/lucy would be better than buddie bc buck and eddie are [checks notes] white men and taylor and lucy are oh dear…. yeah :/

in conclusion agn is racist, homophobic, terminally fucking stupid, and also cowardly to boot and i hope she has an absolutely terrible day. i hope fox news fires her. i hope megan west never has a job again just to spite agn. bt is finally bones and the fact that that makes agn feral is all i need, get fucked agn.

#asks #anon #fandom discourse #kinda i guess #sorry to reveal the real bitch that lives inside of me #but agn. makes me rage black out i don’t even remember rbing that post last night #i literally never call people out directly not even twitter people but agn…absolutely rancid #seriously don't open the read more if you don't want to see me in a different light #i'm so sorry beloved mutuals and followers

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miss-kittyy · 3 years ago

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Rewriting Briarlight and Longtail’s Deaths

So I am disabled, like very disabled, I am %50 of the teenagers ever diagnosed with my special combination of pain disorders, and I also unfortunately hyper fixated on warrior cats, which is bad news for me because warrior cats is super ableist, and to add insult to injury, the fandom can also be pretty ableist.

My biggest problem with the majority of “anti-ableist” AUs is that they “fix” the ableism stemming from the narrative and able bodied characters by making the disabled character less disabled, this so bad for many reasons. I’ve talked more about in other posts. The justification that real life disabled cats are less doesn’t make it not ableist, since when was warrior cats meant to be realistic? If you’re making an au where the disabled cats function like actual disabled cats you also have to make all the cats genetically accurate, and retcon Lionblaze lifting a tree.

My problem with warrior cats is not that the disabled characters cannot become full conventional warriors, I’d like it if they got to choose what duties the perform instead of being crammed into the medicine den, but I don’t care about Cinderpelt not being able to complete a marathon. Most of the fandom seems to think the issue is that the disabled character are not useful enough, instead of the way that able bodied characters deny of them agency and make remarks like “you wouldn’t want to return to a life like her’s would you?”. Disabled people do not need to be “useful” to be worthy and empowering.

It’s very obvious that most of the fandom just wants the disabled cats to be more palatable to abled bodied people, so I’ve decided to make my own rewrite instead to hopefully make myself feel better. A lot of these things are inspired by my own experiences and not every disabled person is looking for the same things in representation, this is totally self indulgent.

The goal of this AU is to highlight the many unique and valuable aspects disability and how being disabled does not infringe upon anyone’s worth, ever.

- Longtail doesn’t die in the storm, Briarpaw is still injured, but he’s found besides her, trying his best to help her cling to life.

- after Briarpaw begins to recover he stands up to Millie and other cats insulting her quality of life, he says her journey will be hard, but it is one worth taking.

- She asks him why he’s an elder, and he decides to request to have his warrior ship restored as Briarpaw is dreading the life of an elder.

- On his first patrol the cats accompanying him insist on speaking to him in an incredibly infantilism tone, and whispering amongst themselves over what he can or can’t do, without consulting him,

- He initially gives up on patrolling after that insufferable experience.

- Briarlight begins to create marks and blobs on the wall of the medicine den using crushed up dead herbs she asks him to retrieve some berries for her, and he complies.

- Jayfeather shows him how he navigates the territory with the help of some of the sighted cats, and Mousefur is quick to volunteer as his guide. He finds her company surprisingly empowering. He realizes that it was not his blindness which was limiting his abilities, but the other cats attitudes.

- Mousefur and Longtail return with mouthful of berries and herbs, Briarlight describes to him what she’s drawing on the side of the den and he helps he mound the materials into paint.

- The cats begin to pop into the medicine den to see Briarlights painting and soon Jayfeather has to kick her out occasionally so they’d stop crowding him, she’s given the walls of camp to decorate instead.

- She begins to illustrate Longtails stories of the old territory and Bloodclan, and this new form of storytelling becomes a tradition amongst Thunderclan.

- because more young cats are aware of the clans history it becomes harder for the dark forest to recruit them, unfortunately, Blossomfall’s resentment towards her sister means she never cared to listen.

- Ivypool is still recruited and trained like in canon, given her relationship with the dark forest was much more emotionally charged and manipulative than just plain lies.

- at a gathering Longtail meets Grasspelt who inquires about Briarlight, Longtail is surprised about how little he knows as the she-cat had mentioned how well they got along as apprentices. Despite Millie nagging him not to tell him the truth about her daughter he does anyways, but puts much more emphasis on how well she’s doing than Millie expected. Grasspelt thinks this sounds really cool and decides that he is going to see her and her paintings, and that nobody can stop him. Longtail makes sure to put any opposing cat in their place, but Briarlight is a very respected Clanmate, so most warriors don’t say anything.

- Briarlight is nervous and doesn’t want to come out of the medicine den at first, but when Grassheart darts into the den holding berries and flowers for her to paint with she quickly warms up to her visitor.

- Grassheart is happy to tell Briarlight that he’s never been able to be a “functioning” warrior, and that he has always imagined that his spirit is shaped different, the medicine cat says his body is normal, but he’s never been able to keep focus in a fight or react as quickly as he should be able to while hunting. (He’s autistic because I say so)

- As dusk nears he’s visually hesitant to return to Riverclan and when Longtail inquires on why he says that he hasn’t felt so “here” for a long time. On the way back he wanders off and comes back with a chipmunk, when returning to Riverclan territory his father, Mintfur, is shocked to see his catch. After talking with his family a bit he realizes that it was the noise from the river that was making him so tense and dissociated, Brackenfur, who was escorting him, notices that he keeps rubbing himself on the ground and wincing.

- For the next couple moons Grasspelt returned to Thunderclan to bring Briarlight plants that only grow in Riverclan territory, he begins trying to fish from the quite lazy stream in their territory and soon both him and Briarlight have got it down.

- Longtail notices the sadness present whenever Grasspelt left and exclaims that it’s rather stupid that he’s living somewhere so unsuited for him just because of words long repeated.

- Grasspelt confesses that he feels the same, but knew he wasn’t supposed to say anything. Briarlight tells Longtail that her and the Riverclan warrior had been thinking of each other as mates for moons.

- Longtail accompanies Jayfeather to the next half moon meeting where he proposes his addition to the warrior code, “no cat should be confined to laws which harm them due to an inherent physical or spiritual difference.” (Cats don’t really know how brains work, so they see mental disabilities as a difference within a cats spirit)

- A moon later the leaders meet to discuss this proposition, it is accepted and Grasspelt makes the journey to Thunderclan for the final time.

- Grasspelt is renamed Grassspirit when becoming a Thunderclan warrior, unlike prior renaming of disabled cats this is a celebration.

- Grassspirit spends most of his time taking care of the elders and kits, he’s incredibly compassionate especially with kits and is able to solve many problems within the nursery.

- When twigkit and Violetkit arrive in Thunderclan Briarlight and Grassspirit help raise them, after Violetkit is taken Briarlight and Twigkit paint her on the side of Thunderclan camp.

- Briarlight still gets sick and her illness progresses without any treatment, Grassspirit notices her trying to hide it and when Longtail finds out he’s very upset. Jayfeather frantically treats her, expressing his frustration that she didn’t tell them sooner, the second Millie steps out she breaks down and explains that she just wanted to deal with it herself, and perhaps if she were successful Millie would finally treat her like an adult.

- Longtail gives Millie a stern talking to, he tells her that Briarlight is a warrior of Thunderclan and as her clanmate she should show her some respect.

- Millie is inherently very reactionary, as she had not realized the full extent of her suffocation, but eventually after a couple moons her and Briarlight begin to rekindle their relationship, like adults.

- Blossomfall sees how Brairlight wasn’t basking in their mother’s attention like she imagined, and feels the urge to seek out an actual sisterhood after ignoring Briarlight for moons and moons.

- Briarlight isn’t really mad at her sister, and understands why she felt the way she did. Jayfeather suggests that Blossomfall help Briarlight with her painting, Blossomfall seems put off with the suggestion of being her sister’s assistant.

- The interactions that follow are less than ideal, Blossomfall commends Briarlight’s able friends (Thornclaw, Poppyfrost, Alderheart, etc) for being so nice to her, as if that’s not what friends do. She seems very sad the entire time, sighing when her sister dragged her legs around with her mouth to sit more comfortably, even though she was completely fine. When watching her paint she comments that it’s good she has “something to keep her busy”, and finally she expresses her view, of Briarlight’s injury and her (Blossomfall’s) suffering being all worth it because of her talents, as if her life was not worth living to begin with.

- Briarlight tells her that if that’s truly what she wants she’s going to have to put more effort into understanding and respecting her way of life, and that she won’t apologize for their mother’s actions.

- When Blossomfall has her kits they take a liking to Auntie Briarlight, and Blossomfall seems to have reflected on their past interactions, trusting her sister to watch her kits. Briarlight teases a bit, a subtle way of telling her not to rush things, but they do begin to feel like something close to sisters.

- Right before Briarlight’s Nieces and Nephews are made warriors Longtail dies of Greencough. Throughout the entirety of his sickness he kept his sense of humour, his mean streak, and his immense love for what he had made of his clan.

- At his vigil Grassspirit began whaling like a bird in new-leaf, he insists that the vigil is too sad, and that Longtail wouldn’t want everyone moping around, for Starclan’s sake, his life was good. Standing amongst them, Longtail’s spirit can feel every cat in Thunderclan standing around him, singing the song of a life well lived.

#I imagine grasspelt as a chill stoner dude #next I’m gonna revamp my Ivypool PTSD headcanons cause I also have that lmao #warrior cats #warrior cats ableism #ableism #disability #warriors #briarlight #Grasspelt #briargrass #was #Longtail #warriors au #autism #warrior cats au #wa riot cats rewrite

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letteredlettered · 2 years ago

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I have such weird feelings about the season finale of Strange New Worlds. On the one hand, I feel like it was clever and interesting and really celebrated the fact that Pike preferred peace and diplomacy. On the other hand, because Pike's peace and diplomacy failed, the ultimate message is that sometimes wiping out your enemy brings about the best future? Which is not a message I love taking home, especially from Star Trek.

But I gotta say what really bothered me is the way it pitted Pike and Kirk against each other--Pike as the quasi-pacifist (I say quasi- because he’s never claimed to be a pacifist and will totally fight if he has to; I’m trying to say that he wants peace; I’m not being sarcastic) and Kirk as the one who thinks the ends justify the means. Kirk does pursue the Romulan ship in the TOS episode, Balance of Terror, unlike Pike in the SNW episode, Quality of Mercy--I get that, but I'm just not sure that this is a meaningful parallel to draw.

For one thing, the speech that Pike gives to his crew in this episode about seeking peace is very similar to Kirk's speech in Corbomite Maneuver. Kirk might not be a pacifist, but he cares deeply about peace and avoiding war and believing that we can work together to understand each other and find peaceful solutions--at least, TOS often tries to convey that Kirk cares about those things.

Which brings me to my main issue. TOS was made in the 60s during a Cold War, and it is special for the way it attempts to address war: it shows that war is complicated, that sometimes hard choices need to be made--which is part of what Balance of Terror is about--but I would argue that more often than not, it shows that war is a bad choice to make. Both the Klingon episodes are about narrowly avoiding a war that neither side necessarily want. Many other episodes are about diffusing situations--often Kirk diffusing situations--that are needlessly violent or bellicose.

Part of SNW seems to be saying aren’t we better now? Because it highlights and features a character who cannot and will not choose war--but imo, it feels a bit like trying to take a moral high ground above TOS. But, okay. I prefer Pike’s approach, so fine, if you want to take a moral stance against TOS, in this case, I agree that SNW is showing us a better way to live in this world. But if you’re going to do that, at the expense of TOS, why would you then show that the just and merciful thing to do will fail and ruin the universe?

Look, I get sometimes justice and mercy fail in the real world. I get that sometimes you have to do something a little not-great for the great good. But I am so fucking tired of this message, this being the hero Gotham needs and not the one she deserves, this Jack Bauer on 24 it’s okay I torture people because I save many more people. I don’t care if sometimes it’s even fucking true; it’s just the only message anywhere in media these days; the message never seems to be if you’re actually trying to do the right thing you can, sometimes, be successful in getting people to come to the table and agree on something that can work. And we have to believe that is possible sometimes. We have to.

But this SNW episode doesn’t seem super interested in that message, despite how deeply it seems to want us to love and laud Chris Pike. Why? What was the point?

ETA: Also minor quibble but The Menagerie Part 1 very clearly states that Captain Pike is no longer captain of the Enterprise in 2266 because he was promoted; his accident happens after that. They could have at the very least say that Pike changing his own future also meant he turned down the promotion for some reason; why retcon this way when it’s just not necessary to tell the story you’re trying to tell?

#star trek #strange new worlds #tos #james t kirk #christopher pike

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captnjacksparrow · 4 years ago

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SNS Dynamics - Sasuke's Perspective

Lengthy post ahead

On completing my rewatch of Naruto part I and part II, many things which never made sense started to make sense. One among them is the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. I used to ask why Naruto is going so far for Sasuke. And why Sasuke is helping out Naruto even though he wants to kill him. And I used to think that Episode 478 was retconned to make the final battle ends in a draw and Sasuke somehow made to reconcile with the titular character. Yet, I instinctively felt, ‘Something is very different about them’. But on careful rewatch, all the clues which consolidate their relationship was there. The way they love each other is totally on a different level and the creator very carefully planned this from the beginning of the Manga.

Though I really don’t like the ending for making every characters into a child rearing machine at an age of 20 to make way for an abomination called ‘Boruto’, I still loved everything till Episode 479.

I wanted to discuss about both Naruto and Sasuke's perspective. But that cannot be accommodated in a single post. So, I decided to start with Sasuke. Since Naruto's side of SNS is very open and vocal, we clearly knew what is going on in his mind. But Sasuke's side is usually very subtle but much more intense than Naruto which makes it worth analyzing.

Before getting to that, for most of the characters in the Naruto universe (I mean 99%), Sasuke is a person who looks cool, aloof, rude, overbearing, blunt, genius and emotionless. And that’s the truth. Except for Itachi and Naruto. So when I say he is rude or arrogant, it is from the people’s POV. And since I always see myself in Itachi, I see Sasuke as that adorable innocent child who is very honest but forgiving.

I strongly feel that Sasuke has some innocent enchantment towards Naruto ever since he lost his family which later transcended into a bond which cannot be put under Friendship or Bromance. Enchantment, here I meant by, is not in a sexual way but more like the unconscious need to be in the presence of other person. Like walking beside each other eternally. Or even warming up next to a campfire near a chilly beach. You don’t want to fall into the fire but just enjoy the warmth. It maybe totally a platonic love like many claims to be. But his absolute disinterest in any other characters (even just as a friend) and the following traits he shows only to Naruto are clearly not just distinctive of platonic love either. It’s completely beyond platonic.

The following are the traits which Sasuke shows only towards Naruto, could have been avoided or delegated to other characters if the creator really wanted to assert their relationship as just friendship. There are lot of subtexts and emotions which I cannot accept it under the guise of bromance or friendship. It’s just not possible. If someone you like shows all these traits to another person, you should stop thinking about that person and move on.

The traits are :

Preferential Treatment

Attentive

Protective

My body moved on its own

One and Only

Powerful Eyes

Unconscious Closeness

Preferential Treatment

This is the very basic and first thing you show to someone whom you love. Meaning, I will treat this person much different from everyone else. When I was exploring this trait, I couldn’t stop laughing in many places. Because Sasuke is such a trolling machine who mercilessly trolls people who are in his way. He also inspire certain amount of fear which makes him even more unapproachable.

He has this cold bearing where people find it extremely difficult to manage or approach him. It comes off as very rude most of the times. One such example is Sai told Sasuke that he will get along better with him than Naruto. Sasuke put a Genjutsu on him for comparing himself with Naruto. LOL.

What's more funny is most people (Sakura, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sai, Hinata) usually talk to him politely with honorifics like 'Sasuke-kun'. But he didn't give two shits about them and shitted them all mercilessly.

Here is the infamous proposal from Sakura in part 1.

Well she deserved this one to be honest. Throughout the entire conversation Sasuke never saw her face and responded very bluntly even though she was pouring her heart out crying. There was no visible distress or sadness from Sasuke’s side.

Whereas with Naruto, in the final Valley of The End, we saw him turning towards Naruto and answer him properly when Naruto asked the same question of what Sakura asked. There were so many emotions throughout the battle and Sasuke’s pain of leaving Naruto was clearly shown. Which explains the difference of where Sasuke keeps Naruto in his heart.

The following is the one from Chunin Exams prelims where Sakura is begging for him to quit with tears. The response is an usual 'Stay out of my business'.

Me: Sasuke!!!! Even I don't know how to approach you!!!! I understand you don't like to talk unnecessarily so you just shitted on Sai. But Sakura is your teammate, isn't it?

And then there is this little orange blonde who literally trolls Sasuke.

I really thot Sasuke was going to trash Naruto too, like he could have easily said, 'Naruto, you should also stay out of my business'.

But then

These words are something precious for Naruto. He wished for these words to come from Sasuke someday in his lifetime. But not at that time. And he was truly shocked and very excited. Believe me, when watching that scene, it was really great. But while making analysis like this, it’s absolutely hilarious.

This dynamics is similar to

Sakura: *cries unbearably* Sasuke-kun, I am worried about you. Don’t act so strong.

Sasuke: Shut up. Mind your own business.

Naruto: Bastard! She is worried about you.

Sasuke: Alright, I love you. Now shut up.

ROOOFFFFL :-D

I thought all these childhood bickers were over by part 1 and we will never see it in part 2.

Nope. I was wrong. Kakashi and Sakura were the scapegoats here.

Here's another round of applause from Naruto.

And I honestly cannot comprehend what was going on in Sasuke's mind and why he is really rude to Sakura and Kakashi. It seems he was really irritated by their presence or he maybe thinking they were useless or both.

When Naruto asks him something, he responds without any insults. What baffles me most is that during Infinite Tsukuyomi, Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto for his Revolution and awaiting his fated battle. And yet he answers him properly.

Can you see the pattern here?

He shits on people asking some question even with an utmost polite attitude but when Naruto asks the same question he was like "Alright Sweetie, Am gonna answer anything you want and say anything you like".

The following is the beginning of everything where Naruto can't even swear properly but still Sasuke couldn't even bother.

In short, the way he treats Naruto is quite different and hilarious when compared to the others. With his cold bearing, he absolutely has no need to put up with Naruto's outburst but he still accepts without a care every time. RIP to those souls who got the short end of the stick.

He must have an extreme tolerance towards Naruto's tirades to the point where he can never insult him back. And I also believe 100% that, nobody dares to make such frequent insults on Sasuke to his face except Naruto.

I know SK shippers jump in here to say Naruto is not the only one. But still the dynamics between Karin and Sasuke is simply a mirror image of Naruto and Sasuke, probably she reminded him of Naruto and hence made some exceptions for her because Sasuke never gives a damn about any other clan other than his own, but when Kabuto tells him Karin belongs to Uzumaki clan, he was shocked. I am pretty sure the only other Uzumaki member he knew is none other than Naruto.

Now, does this means he is in super love with Naruto? No.

But the way he treats every other characters and how he treats Naruto exclusively speaks volumes and this trope shouldn’t have existed in the first place. The creator should have made Sasuke treat both of his teammates equally which could’ve deflected the shipping angle.

Attentive

Am not talking about how attentively he analyzes his enemies in the battles. Of course, in that department, Sasuke flies high. This is about how attentive he is to Naruto to the point where he can deduce what Naruto thinks and how Naruto looks without the need to communicate with him.

I know Sasuke suspected Sakura was acting strange before Chunin Exams when she said 'Good Morning' with some hesitation. But the difference here is that Sasuke can identify Naruto without even talking to him.

Funny thing here is that Sasuke was sitting somewhere far behind from Naruto and yet he could pick up Naruto getting freaked out without seeing his face.

Who could forget about the famous ‘Where’s real Naruto?’ episode during Chunin Exams?. It would’ve been fine if this happened once. But the creator went ahead and made this thing happen twice under entirely different situations. And everytime Sasuke can find fake Naruto without fail. This scene conveys Sasuke is very observant towards Naruto’s appearance & fighting skills (the way he evades an attack).

Now, being attentive to someone is not a special thing which attributes to love. But considering Sasuke’s personality who is aloof and focused on his own world, knowing Naruto like the back of his hand is way too descriptive. Only someone who really understands the other person or constantly paying attention can find out such subtle changes. It doesn’t end here.

This is the battle between Gaara and Naruto. Where Naruto was literally confused about how to save his friends from Gaara who is much more powerful. And yet Sasuke can find Naruto’s mood just by seeing him.

Me: Yes, Sasuke!!! Gaara happened to pass by Naruto and forgot to kill him on a whim!!! So, Naruto is scared to the shit!!

Also Me: You guys always bicker with each other and are not best of friends. Sasuke!!! How could you analyze his mood just by looking at Naruto????

In Shippuden, There’s no inner monologue like the above, but whenever Naruto appears before him (Orochimaru’s hideout, Bridge, War arc), Sasuke gives his undivided attention to him. He even went so far as to advice him to pay attention to the battle. And I was like “Wait!!! you wanted to kill him... why pay attention to him at all? Geez”.

As much as you want to think that Sasuke doesn’t care about anyone, he does care about Naruto to the point where he doesn’t want him to be worried. How thoughtful just for a ‘teammate’.

How did Sasuke knew that Naruto would worry about him?, I wonder.

But all these things started from this

This boy has been noticing Naruto from way back when he was around 7 when he lost his family. Of course he would know every little things about Naruto because for some undefinable reason he couldn’t stop paying his attention to Naruto. A lineup of girls vying for his attention because of his cool appearance, whereas Sasuke simply loved Naruto without any reservations but because of his childish and warm personality which reminded him of his family.

‘I couldn’t stop paying attention to you’ and in some translations the words were ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off you’. Either way, these words are not for someone you see just as a friend let alone a brother.

Protectiveness

I can go on and on about how protective Sasuke is towards Naruto. I can write a separate post about it. This is the most important aspects of this ship which makes it sail higher than any other ships.

Of course, this is the Ninja world where people wants to protect each other and at the same time kill each other too. Sasuke protecting Naruto and Naruto protecting Sasuke is not too special. In fact, one of the weak and pathetic character like Sakura was saved once in every three episodes by Naruto or Kakashi or even by Sasuke sometimes.

And yet here I am mentioning protectiveness as the most important aspect of this ship. So what differentiates?

The way Sasuke protects Naruto is one of the intense thing I’ve ever seen. When I watch this series, I gained this immense ability to put myself in other characters mind just like Naruto. When I put myself in Sasuke’s mind whenever he tried to protect Naruto under different conditions, I simply cannot put their relationship under Friendship.

Here, Naruto is fighting Gaara in part 1 and Naruto was repelled by his own attack from the paper bomb. Sasuke being already battered by his curse mark bruise and he couldn’t move an inch. And yet he is shielding Naruto even though it is completely unnecessary because Naruto bumping into a tree log is completely normal. The creator even went under a lot of pain to draw that panel which took 40% of the page.

Now you may question, many characters even died protecting someone. What’s so special with just shielding?

Like Hinata jumping in for suicide before Pain, Iruka blocking Mizuki’s attack, Tsunade blocking Orochimaru, Neji dying as a ‘Love Cupid’ for hinata and Naruto.... I can cite many things here. What’s common among them all is that they were all perfectly capable of moving around and yet decided to save Naruto.

But that’s not the only point.

Is there any need for him to save Naruto? No.

Will Naruto die if he didn’t shield him? No.

Then why? He could have spent that energy trying to do something for Sakura rather than do a pointless shielding.

And then there is Kushina.

Naruto’s mom was already on the verge of dying as she had Kurama extracted from her body and Jinchuriki without a Tailed Beast will die. Because of Uzumaki clan’s strong life force, she could hold off for a bit longer. When kurama attacked Naruto, she shielded him with her body and saved her son from an imminent death.

Even though Sasuke didn’t die shielding him, but there is a semblance.

Both protected Naruto even when their body condition is worse. That is, Protect at all cost attitude.

I intended to put Land of the Waves arc here as it is very similar to what happens with Kushina. But that’s for an upcoming section.

Now, as a Mother her instinct to protect Naruto is very strong.

But who is Naruto for Sasuke? What makes his instinct so strong to protect someone who is not even related by his blood? Until and unless you love that person dearly you won’t do it.

That brings me to the next thing.

Yeah, it kind of looks ‘very friendly’ to give a 3 layered protection to someone who is already powered up like you and most importantly you want to kill him.(Can I say that looks really romantic?). Anyways my point is different.

What really happens here is this

It is a well established fact that Minato, the Yellow Flash is the fastest shinobi in Narutoverse. It wasn’t surpassed yet. He uses the Hiraishin No Jutsu to teleport at the speed of light. It was invented by none other than Tobirama Senju who is the fastest shinobi of his time.

We basically have two fastest shinobi in the battlefield here. And Minato being the fastest among them, definitely don’t want to blow up near his son for whom he died protecting him once. He wanted to teleport somewhere away and before he could do it, Tobirama teleported the bomb back to Obito.

What many fails to notice here is that all these things are happening in mere seconds. But Sasuke realized it real quick as usual and protects Naruto in an instant. How fast his instinct you may ask? Quicker than the two fastest shinobi on the battlefield and one among them is Naruto’s dad.

What I want to say is Sasuke’s protective instinct is quicker than Naruto’s father and similar to Naruto’s mother.

And you know, I questioned myself during the Chunin Exams arc “I think in the Zabuza arc, Naruto conveniently happened to be near Sasuke, So he protected him at the cost of his life. What if Sakura happens to be there? Would he have done the same? Maybe he would’ve died protecting her too.”

But all of my questions were thrown into drain by Sasuke as if he was able to read my mind. The answer is “Hell! I don’t care if she died. That’s her loss. I will not die for her sake.”

This is really confusing, hilarious and romantic at the same time.

Me: Sasuke!!! I understand why you want to save Jugo... Even though you abandoned him in the Land of Iron. LOL. What are you going to do with Naruto anyway when the whole world is blasted off?

He proved this again in the Kaguya’s Lava dimension too. Before you tell me that he saved Naruto because he needs him to seal off Kaguya, the previous scenario nullifies your argument.

And SS wankers shamelessly defending that Sasuke don’t want Sakura to die by Kaguya’s hands, that’s why he left her to die. Geez!!! Who the hell is Sakura to Kaguya anyway? Even if she were to die by Kaguya’s hands, it would almost look like how Obito died. It’s not bad at all. But falling into the lava pit, burning, screaming.... sssshhhh. Wake the f**k up!!!

Now how can you convince me that this is just Friendship? What’s more funny is Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto later at some point. Throughout the War Arc I was always confused as to why Sasuke even care about Naruto at all? He didn’t care about him ever since he left him 3 or 4 years ago and he doesn’t have to. After all everyone have their own paths to walk on.

Even if I put myself in Sasuke’s mind and see Naruto just as a friend whom I want to kill, I wouldn’t go under so much pain to save him. I would feel like it’s better for him to die by something else rather than me. Because I can’t bring myself to kill someone I know well.

These scenes are not just put there by chance.

Such a strong reflex to protect someone is only possible when you consider that person’s life more than yours.

Does any other ship has such things to show? I’ll wait.

Yeah Sasuke protected Sakura from Orochimaru and Gaara. But he also went so far to wait for Karin and awakened a new power to protect her. So does this means he love those girls?? No. He was just showing a team camaraderie. But it’s funny that later, he tried to kill those girls knowing full well they are unprepared to fight him. While with Naruto, it always comes with a warning. Try to understand this difference. Which is exactly why I didn’t put Sasuke saving Naruto during his Chakra training, or falling from the waterfall and many more. Because they are just a team camaraderie.

I don’t even have to compare with other ships, did Sasuke ever protected anyone like this in the whole series?. These are the things which could’ve been avoided or handled in a different way, like there was no need to emphasize on saving Naruto alone while ignoring others.

My body moved on its own

I don’t need to explain this any deeper. There are many people who says Sasuke is incapable of showing his true feelings. He is cold, rude, aloof and stoic so he always hides his feelings for everyone (mostly this line was used by Sakura wankers who wanted to portray that Sasuke always loved Sakura deeply but never shows). But they fail to understand the irony that one of the most beautiful line in this entire series was told by none other than ‘Sasuke Uchiha’, “My body moved on its own”.

Yet I find Sasuke shows his honest and heartful emotions before the people he loves. If he can show that to Itachi and Naruto, why not with Sakura?

I know those wankers try to say Sasuke repressed all his feelings until Chapter 698, so he has some romantic feelings for Sakura too. Bullshit!!!

Even though he repressed those feelings in his mind, his body always betrays him in the end and his feelings pours out from time to time. That is what this section explores about.

Man, this is the most painful GIF I have ever made.

In his battle with Itachi, he was completely consumed by the feeling of revenge and hatred for his brother. But when Itachi approached him in his final moments with an intention (seemingly) to snatch his eyes, he still couldn't push Itachi away though he could have. Sasuke just looked into his eyes and let him do whatever he was about to do.

Why?, Because he loved his brother so much once that he don't know what to do but simply embrace that moment. These are the moments your mind says to close your eyes or even run away (he totally could have) but his body will not allow him to.

This is what I meant by your body betrays yourself. Even in your darkest moments, you cannot fake. You always show your true emotions towards the person you love. The more you suppress, the more it will burst out.

Here Sasuke’s hatred is glaring through his eyes because Sakura is persuading him to not do something he wants to (as always). His only motivation is to kill that man. His resolve is a real deal.

But in a matter of minutes after giving that long hateful speech with some heavy determination, when he saw that hungry blonde boy who was tied up for trying to steal food, Sasuke just acted on his own and served him food even though he was told not to which could jeopardize his career.

This bipolar dance is something to notice throughout the series and is always interesting to explore. When Sakura tries to dissuade Sasuke from something, he always retorts to insults or an angry stare. But when Naruto accidentally stands in Sasuke’s way, he always involuntarily helps him out.

In short, towards Sakura he was like “Even you cannot take that path away from me” but when turning towards Naruto, he was like “Well, I can risk everything for you at the cost of my path”.

This seals the real deal for SNS ship.

At this point, for us viewers, Naruto is just an orphan who has no friends but always carries his life with a positive spirit hoping that someday he will be accepted by everyone.

Unbeknownst the fact that he already has one person who was willing to die for him and putting all his dreams into fire.

Important thing to notice, It’s entirely at Naruto’s fault for them being in this situation. If Naruto had used a bit of brain to attack from outside the mirror, they wouldn’t have been in this situation. But still Sasuke plunged into the trap without any regrets. That’s the beauty of this scene.

What’s more thrilling is that the creator told us Sasuke loved Naruto in the very next chapter itself.

How?

By making Haku jump before Zabuza knowing full well that he is going to die which is not very different from how Sasuke shielded Naruto.

And not only that, but by making Naruto say “He really loved you”. I got to say the creator may sucks at writing Sakura and Hinata for God only knows for whatever twisted reasons. But when it comes to male characters like Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Obito... he was just amazing and on another level.

How?

By indirectly drawing parallels between Sasuke and Haku in a matter of successive chapters.

By dropping indirect hints and crumbs like these to tell us, the audience, the motivations of the characters.

I always had the thought why did he risked his life for a boy who always fights with him? This became more emotional when we get to know the real reason for why Sasuke risked his life much later in chapter 698.

Having faced all the turbulent things in his life, somehow seeing Naruto doing all those childish stuffs made him feel relieved. That warmth was what he needed at that time. He wanted to escape from it but couldn’t. That’s why he embraced his warmth unknowingly in his Team 7 days by constantly reaching out to him starting from asking tips, concerned about having breakfast and training with him to climb the tree.

Sasuke even come to like Naruto more than himself and that’s why he was willing to die for him.

This feeling is definitely not a bromance or friendship. It’s an innocent enchantment you hope to last forever. Which again explains why he tolerated Naruto’s insults and hostility all those times. Because Sasuke knew those childish things were the ones he got attracted to him ever since his childhood. Rather than saying tolerated, I should use the term enjoyed. He really enjoyed those moments being bugged by Naruto for no reason.

Because just like Itachi said to Sasuke once, ‘If you are excellent you become alienated and arrogant even though you were sought after at the beginning’ . But Naruto pestering him means he is very curious about Sasuke which no one else tried. He was adored by those girls for his coolness and revered by those boys for his excellence but nobody really tried to befriend him. But Naruto tried to befriend him through Rivalry. That’s why Sasuke unconsciously started to like him. This also explains why he roasted Sakura for badmouthing him even though Naruto attacked him and tied him up earlier.

If Sasuke can show all these feelings even though he was trying to suppress it towards Naruto and Itachi, Why can’t he show a single normal feeling towards Sakura??? Because there isn’t one. Except for an old Team 7 camaraderie where he saw her as an acquaintance and nothing more.

Many NH shippers claims, but Hinata loved her ‘Naruto-Kun’. She jumped in front of Naruto to save him from Pain, when in reality she just acted selfishly and couldn’t pull out the Chakra rods. Meaning she failed whatever she was about to do.

Another interesting thing to cite for NH shippers, they claim for Naruto, Hinata is the most important person his life. Since when? With that shitty movie called ‘The Last’ with shitty retconned stuff? In all the 699 chapters he always claimed Iruka Sensei and Sasuke were the important people in his life. And you know what? For Hinata to like Naruto, he has to jump in to save her from the bullies. But for Sasuke he just saved Naruto without any validation. He saw Naruto and liked his presence and just did it.

When you could accept that failed attempt as a love, why not accept Sasuke loves Naruto when in fact he succeeded in saving him and that too unconditionally?

This is one of the tropes which should have been avoided if the creator wanted Sasuke and Naruto to be just friends.

One and Only

This is something very special that is offered to that one person in his life. That is Naruto. Even Itachi knew it. That is the Power to influence Sasuke’s heart. This is the fact even Sasuke himself knew it and that’s why he wanted to kill him.

Now don’t compare this with the manipulation shit which Orochimaru and Obito were doing. It’s not that. Many Sasuke fanatics always blame Naruto that he is also manipulating Sasuke just like everyone. That’s totally wrong.

Manipulation is something you do by talking about some twisted facts and make the other person to do what you want to.

Naruto never did that. Ever. Whenever Naruto and Sasuke meet, they always talk about themselves and how they feel. Not the world, not Team 7 or anything. Which is exactly why Sasuke himself willingly left that space in his heart for Naruto when he left him in the Valley of the End which he badly wanted to destroy. Sasuke, of all people, know Naruto is also very honest.

Sasuke lost all his rationality when he went into darkness by stabbing Karin who was helping him in his battle with Danzo. She even replenished his chakra many times. He not only just stabbed her, after when he found her still alive, he decided to finish her off with his Chidori.

And then the pink haired bitch appears before him and started to concoct lies with malicious intent to kill him. This provoked Sasuke more and more to reach this point.

Believe me, when you are lost in darkness, all you need is a small light which can show you a path. Someone who can extend helping hands to lift you up with honesty.

Sakura, being a crass woman, riled up Sasuke further with full of nonsense.

If you want to picture the darkness,

This is exactly how Sasuke feels. He is in so much pain and don’t know how to face it or deal with it. So he started to destroy everything he sees. For him Karin, Sakura, Kakashi are all just some pebbles in his way and want to trample them as he goes. His entire life has become farce after knowing his beloved brother’s real pain and miseries. Now he has no one left from his family.

Until Naruto appears.

He may not be his family, but he is the only person left for him in this world. Which is established in many Naruto endings and even Sasuke himself accepts this with Sage of Six Paths.

But my Cherry Blossom queen really loved Sasuke, she only wanted the good of him. My question is ‘Then why the fuck she tried to kill him? She looked at Sasuke and find that he changed. She didn’t even bothered to find out what’s going on from his side.’ Then how is this considered as wanting only good for him?

Surprisingly Sasuke calmed down a bit, the moment Naruto appears and even started to respond to him which he didn’t before with Kakashi and Sakura. Deep down Sasuke himself knew in his heart that the path he is going through is Self-destructive. Just like Kurama tells Naruto ‘Destroy everything you see’ in the Pain arc when he sprouted upto Eighth Tail, Sasuke’s traumatic mind tells him to ‘Destroy Konoha’.

All he needed was someone to extend an helping hand to tell him what to do without any malice. Naruto did that. Just like what Minato did for Naruto in Pain arc.

After clashing Rasengan with Chidori ,they meet inside the White bubble space and Naruto talks to Sasuke which evoked all his past memories which he never wanted to awaken.

That’s why Sasuke was visibly shaken with Naruto’s words. Because those were the words which mirrors exactly how Sasuke feels too. He was surprised and shocked that Naruto also felt the same way without him ever openly confessing those feelings.

When everyone tried to kill him for his monstrosity, Naruto is the only person standing there seeing him as his friend. Just like how Iruka saw Naruto way back in 1st chapter.

Believe me, even at the depth of darkness, when you see the person you love so much, you will stop and rationalize.

That is exactly why Itachi left Sasuke in Naruto’s hands. He even admitted to Sasuke that his words will not reach him no matter what.

Sasuke may not have abandoned his ambitions at that point. But Naruto gave him a clear path. That is ‘Show all your hatred on me’ and then do whatever you want.

I know SS shippers will claim that back hug from Sakura changed his murderous behaviour during the Chunin Exams. Yes. That’s true. But right after that, when Sasuke was fighting Yoroi in a one-on-one combat, his Cursed Seal flares up again. He retracted that seal out of his sheer will and thought about both Sakura and Naruto who was freaking out without even knowing about the seal. So, it’s not only a Sakura exclusive moment. The creator even went ahead and drawn a panel asking Sakura to not say anything about the Curse Mark to Naruto. Why do that?

As far as I understand, Sasuke saw Naruto and felt the warmth of his family. He singled that out in chapter 698. When Naruto was placed in the same team as him, he started to extend his good side to his other team members as well. But the moment he decided to leave the village, he severed the ties with Sakura (was there ever one apart from considering her as a teammate?) by saying Thank You. Meaning, you helped me many times so thanks for all of that. What’s more pitiful is, he didn’t even look at her face for the entire conversation except for saying ‘You are really annoying’. There is nowhere in the manga where Sasuke singled out Sakura for making him feel anything and did something for her exclusively. It’s all in the context of Team 7.

If Sakura is the most important person in Sasuke’s life, he should have stopped the rampage the moment he saw her but instead he got riled up more and more. Which explains where Sasuke kept her in his heart. Literally nowhere. He threw her into the trash. LOL.

If Hulk can calm down after seeing Betty Ross and you call that love, why not accept Sasuke loves Naruto??

Powerful Eyes

You know, Even in real life, Our eyes always reflects our true feelings, just like how your body betrays your mind , your eyes even betray your body.

Just like how Itachi could never fake his evil brother act in his final moments.

Just like how Sasuke couldn’t turn away from Itachi when he was approaching him to seemingly snatch his eyes.

Uchiha boys being a romantic bunch, always expose their awakening/ reawakening/ evolving their Sharingan in a most distressed situation. Just like Madara and Sasuke exposed their brimming eyes for Hashirama and Naruto. But in this department, Madara is wildly romantic as always. LOL. Despite losing 3 brothers, he awakened his Sharingan only when he was breaking up with his ‘friend’. And Sasuke, he reawakened / evolved Sharingan when trying to save / breaking up with his ‘friend’. Such a Biological defect!!!!

Poor Sakura pathetically fails in this department.

Anyways this part is not about Sharingan anyway. It’s about how such a powerful eyes becomes powerless before those Blue Eyes.

Eye Symbolism is something I really enjoy exploring in this ship.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sasuke has never shown his emotions atleast starting from Part II. He usually never shows any positive emotions like happiness, laughing, pouting, love, excitement (although he has shown all these towards Itachi and Naruto) and is known for negative emotions like anger, annoyance, hatred.

Look at how Sasuke is glaring with hatred for her insensitive words. She deserved this to be honest.

Now, is there any need to show your fury towards Kabuto?

Since the beginning of the Shippuden, some facts have been established strongly:

1. Sasuke has changed by leaps and bounds in terms of his attitude and hatred.

2. Sharingan is pretty dangerous. Many characters including kurama acknowledges it. Sasuke is very adept at using his Sharingan.

Orochimaru maybe right. But he doesn’t know the weakness. LOL

His hatred has reached to a point where he couldn’t think anything rationally and started to kill everyone, just like how Naruto kicked Sakura in his 4 Tailed Kyuubi Mode engulfed with the hatred of Kurama. Meaning, to reach his goal, Sasuke will kill anyone in his path without any hesitation. This shot is the representation of this.

And yet when he saw those particular Blue eyes, he stops his rampage immediately and visibly shocked even. That’s the look of ‘why is that blue eyes here?’

You have every right to accuse me that I am over exaggerating this scene. I am not. Even I wanted to think that way too that I am deluding myself. The creator has only consolidated my view pretty strongly.

There’s no need to emphasize on eyes at all. The anime team has went under so much pain to animate this scene in a satisfying and compelling way.

What’s more? The creator even went under further extent to draw a whole page in the manga focusing on their eye contact after the Rasengan vs Chidori clash. Meaning, Sasuke has calmed down visibly and became very easy to reason with.

Trust me, even in your darker / vulnerable moments, your eyes will reflect your true feelings to the person you love. You cannot be stubborn.

Now did it stop here?? Nope, it happened again in the Final Valley of the End battle too.

Sasuke is usually confident of his Sharingan (rightfully so) and likes to flaunt his eyes just like Madara. He was very sure that he was going to win.

While Sasuke had a clear resolve to kill Naruto when he was showing his back, but the moment he comes close with those Blue Eyes, his heart even pounded strongly (in the anime), and lost the resolve completely which made his Sharingan retract itself unconsciously. Meaning, his eyes betrayed him.

It’s funny that not even a minute ago he was very proud of his Visual Prowess as an Uchiha and his victory is inevitable but the moment he saw those Blue eyes, he just lost. You think I am again exaggerating?. Nope!!!

Oh Dear!!! This doesn’t get more romantic than this. An inescapable gaze from those blue eyes he loved all along.

Sasuke!! What happened to your proud Uchiha eyes?. You just stole Chakra from Naruto, isn’t it? Hints like these are really heartwarming, to be honest.

My entire point is, every character from every arc hypes up Sharingan starting from Zabuza, Haku, Rock Lee, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kurama and many more, but why put a weakness for Naruto’s eyes?

What I really loved exploring is the way Sasuke totally expressed everything through his eyes in Episode 478.

Sasuke shows his vulnerability towards Naruto with just his eyes. These are not something you show to everyone. Even when Itachi departed finally after releasing Edo Tensei, Sasuke looked sad, shocked and pained but didn’t cry. He accepted the reality of it. The last time when we saw him crying, it was after knowing the truth of Itachi, facing towards the beach and was weeping unbearably because there was no one else for him in this world. But this time, he is next to the person whom he feels truly loved and he doesn’t mind showing it with his eyes.

Well, on multiple rewatches, the clues for their love was already dropped in the 1st Valley of the End fight itself. Sasuke already lost his resolve to kill by balling his chidori fist rather than ramming through his chest. So the feelings inside the bubble are their honest emotions like always.

The pain on the verge of their separation inside the white bubble is clearly evident from their eyes even in their monstrous form. Even in the manga it was mentioned that ‘I can’t turn my back Vs I am not letting you go’

But what they really wanted to be from their childhood was this.

Look at Sasuke, how entranced he was on looking at that innocent boy. Now put yourself at Sasuke’s mind. Will you ever look at your friend like that??? Now, they are probably just 7 here, am not romanticizing. But Sasuke looks enthralled innocently.

But somehow, their paths separated them for who knows how long. But the pain in both their eyes is unbearable. Even the databook, mentioned that separating from Naruto is like ripping half of his body. Well, this proves it.

Now, if they really wanted to portray this as friendship, they never should have given Eye symbolism at all. They should have gone with ‘I was always jealous of you’ thing, like they portrayed in that filler episode 450.I would’ve gladly accepted it as friendship. Because that’s how friends behave when they are jealous and I wasn’t feeling any romance at all. There’s no need of that lengthy monologue on how he was always looking at Naruto and felt pain.

I am telling you, I won’t be looking at my friend like this.

Unconscious closeness

Remember, I’ve written in the beginning of the post that Sasuke enjoys the warmth from Naruto. Meaning, he likes that person’s presence unconsciously and want to be near him. Sasuke proved this many times.

This is the most intense and confusing section I have to dissect for this post. But it’s the most entertaining nonetheless, atleast for me.

Starting from the Land of the Waves arc, here Sasuke is speed walking to match up with Naruto.

Initially I thought, he is trying to be competitive. But instead of walking ahead of Naruto to show who is faster, he just walks beside him. I find this really hilarious and adorable. This just shows Sasuke likes Naruto’s presence so much so that he wants to walk beside him.

Now many SS shippers tries to make this scene for themselves, when it is clearly not.

If you notice Sasuke in the Bell Training, he compares his strength difference with Kakashi and determines to get stronger. Same with Might Guy, he compares Might Guy’s speed with his own Sensei. Meaning, he respects people with strength. Naturally, he should’ve asked her and Sakura would have given him tips wholeheartedly. Because she really succeeded in that training.

Why bother to ask a deadlast?

The only reason I could find is that he wants to befriend him in his own stubborn way. But Poor Soul!!! He didn’t get the tips anyway. LOL. But despite getting the short end of the stick, he never hold it against him. Just like he never held anything against Naruto when he tied him up in Episode 3. All he did was just flaunt how he escaped.

Pretty cool for a 12 year old kid. Because If I were Sasuke, I would hold it for sure.

Once again Sasuke proves how he can care Naruto in his own adorable way.

He could’ve said ‘I am going to train too” if he really intended to train. There is no need to say ‘Going for a Walk’ and ask Naruto about breakfast. This explains that Sasuke simply missed the boy’s prolonged absence and reached out to him in his own cute way.

Now all these doesn’t mean he was in love with him. It’s just a childish attraction which makes him act like that involuntarily.

I just added this GIF to compare with the next scene.

Now Shikamaru falling on Naruto in an unconventional way doesn’t look anywhere romantic. Instead it’s the opposite. They are pretty friendly here.

But Sasuke’s approach to Naruto does looks undeniably sensual and I couldn’t deny the sexual tension that brings with it. (Even when I watched it for the first time having no idea of shipping anyone, I lowkey got creeped and thought, ‘Sasuke!! What have you become? ’)

This scene is something even I can’t dissect. Because honestly I don’t know. Sasuke is a person who never appreciates physical touches nor does he initiates either.

I get this crazy femme fatale vibe when seeing Sasuke with his sexy costume landing at a speed of lightning with his hands wrapped around Naruto and taunting near his ear about what was he doing there? The only reason I could think of is that maybe he missed him for 3 years which made him go unconsciously so close near Naruto. It’s also funny that he could’ve shoved his sword into Naruto’s heart before landing and no one could’ve batted an eyelid.

Damn you, Kishimoto!!! Is this scene absolutely necessary??? What are you trying to convey? Why do you give Sasuke, a sexualized aura?? I understand you love this character so much and you want this character to be desirable among women. Yeah, you succeeded by making Karin behave like a woman in heat, the moment they met. But instead of letting her get close to him, you made Sasuke to say ‘You... Don’t get so close’ whereas with Naruto, you made Sasuke to go willingly touch him in a half hugging stance. Geez!!!

Here comes the most interesting part in this section.

It may seem irrelevant at the beginning but trust me, it will make sense later.

Before that, I would like to appreciate the creator and especially the anime team to bring the battle sequence so lively and different in its own way. If you notice the purpose of every battle that happened in Naruto series, each carries it own meaning and deliberately distinguished. How you ask?

The fight between Deidara vs Sasuke.

Logically Deidara should be dead in the Gaara retrieval arc itself. There is no point for him to chase Sasuke who killed Orochimaru to whom Deidara had nothing to do with. It didn’t impact the story in any way. But the purpose of that battle is to show how far Sasuke has grown up in those 3 years. The way he can use his Sharingan to analyze his enemies abilities and weakness so quickly and take multiple steps ahead, the way he can use Genjutsu and other incredible jutsus in his arsenal were a visual treat.

Now, let’s analyze Sasuke’s arsenal of Jutsus. He can do Teleportation Jutsu, a decent Genjutsu, Chidori Senbon (needles), Raikiri (Chidori sword which ranges to 5 metres), Chidori Nagash (Chidori from his whole body), Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu Shuriken Jutsu with wire works, Kirin, Gokakyu No jutsu, Sword fighting, basic Hand-to-Hand fighting (I’ve never seen him do it ever since the Chunin Exams with Orochimaru), Archery fighting, Susanoo, Amaterasu and all the Rinnegan abilities.

Based on the jutsus he learned so far and how he applies in every battle, it all confirms two things:

Sasuke is a Medium-Long Range Shinobi

Sasuke’s battles are usually based on his Cleverness

Let’s go for Naruto. He can do Teleportation Jutsu, Sexy Jutsu, Harem no jutsu, Rasengan, Rasen Shuriken, Oodama Rasengan, Biju Dama, Tailed Beast Mode, Kage Bunshin No jutsu, Sage mode jutsu, Frog Kumite, Better Hand-to-Hand combat skills (better than Sasuke), Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu and all his Six path abilities.

Compared to Sasuke, Naruto’s jutsu variety is very less. But for every 4 punches from Sasuke equals 1 powerful punch from Naruto. Analyzing all of them,

Naruto is a Close-Range Shinobi except for his Rasen Shuriken

Naruto’s battles are usually based on his Jutsu Timing and Unpredictability

Now, Let’s rewind back to 3 years and look at the 1st Valley of the End battle. That battle was cleverly choreographed which carried very intense emotional baggage. Things we never knew about those boys until then were openly admitted and acknowledged. That is, for Sasuke, Naruto became his closest friend. For Naruto, he always wanted to be Sasuke’s friend way back when he was 6 or 7. For both, they already have some unexplainable bond by just looking at each other and smiling secretly.

The theme of that battle started as Am going on my own path vs I can’t allow you to tread on that dangerous path and ended up with I want to break our bond vs I don’t want to.

Now, this posture represents, Naruto is the one who pursues Sasuke to stop him from whatever he was about to do. Meaning, Naruto is the one who is constantly reaching out and Sasuke as usual kicks him out violently, that is he is pushing him away. That’s the essence of the whole battle.

Considering all the battles in the Naruto universe, I categorize them as follows:

Best Calculated (and emotional) battle - Itachi vs Sasuke

Best Hand-to-Hand combat - Kakashi vs Obito (what a fight it was!!!)

Best Mega Powered Up battle - Hashirama vs Madara

Best Emotional battle - Naruto vs Sasuke (1st valley of the end)

Best Unpredictable/Entertaining battle - Naruto vs Pain

Despite having all the potential to fulfill the above categories, The Final Valley of the End Battle never bested in any of them.

As analyzed before, the boys have grown up to greater heights. I expected a battle between Cleverness of Sasuke Vs Unpredictability of Naruto

But what I observed was something so intense. That is Unintentional closeness.

This battle symbolizes one thing: I am going to kill you to get lonely vs I won’t let you kill me because you will be alone.

Being a long range fighter, I expected Sasuke to go for this.

If you have to kill someone you love, it is best to keep your distance. Sasuke knows this full well when he battled with Itachi. Except for some Sword fighting, he maintained a certain distance to fight Itachi throughout, until the very end.

But when fighting Naruto, all I got was this.

That’s when I finally understood that this posture means, the fight is very personal. Which means, Sasuke or Naruto won’t be fighting by sitting on top of each other with their enemies or anyone else. That’s just between them alone.

There was no analysis or cleverness from Sasuke’s side or any Unpredictability from Naruto. It was very bland and Sasuke looked clueless throughout the fight.

It started with some boxing style combat, including stealing hand seals and then some power punches. Very quickly it propels to Susanoo vs Tailed Beast mode. I expected some Hashirama vs Madara level power battle.

But all we saw there was this.

I mean, Come on!!! Man. Even the most Crazy and openly Romantic Uchiha, Madara himself never fought like this in Susanoo with Hashirama (Though Madara must be thinking ‘Damn Hashirama! I should’ve tried this with you’. LOL). Those mega battles carried variety of tactics.

Another thing I noticed was, Sasuke is the one who does lots of talking and constantly pursuing Naruto. Whereas Naruto is uncharacteristically quiet for the most part.

And finally it leads to this.

Sasuke was unconsciously getting closer and closer to Naruto which is the opposite of what he wants to do. Because of that very closeness, he couldn’t look at his eyes with his Sharingan and eventually got an uppercut. It’s like Sasuke was screaming, ‘Hate me’ and Naruto was like ‘Keep talking’.

Every jutsu he had for attacking from a long-range were forgotten. He didn’t even try to put Naruto under Genjutsu. I mean with his Rinnegan, he was capable of putting all the 9 Tailed Beasts into a powerful Genjutsu. Why didn’t he try that with Naruto? There was no Chidori Stream or Lightning Blade.

I can imagine Naruto doing close range fights with someone or even sitting on top of the enemy. Example, part I, Naruto head bumped Gaara. He was literally fighting with his Shadow Clones against a Monster so he had to get closer. Naruto monstrously punching Deidara not knowing the fact that it was a clay clone.

But Sasuke??? Can you imagine Sasuke sitting on top of the enemy and punching to pulp??? No way. Not a chance.!!!

In one way or other way, Sasuke was always in the close proximity with Naruto throughout the battle and touching each other which is totally uncharacteristic of him when compared to his other battles.

Every battle he ever fought was always at a distance which is the clear representation of his own character. He is calculative, analytical, precise and moves fluidly with a flair like a true Ninja unlike Naruto who is always reckless, noisy, powerful and clumsy.

Sasuke is someone who never lets his emotions get ahead in the battle, unlike Naruto. This is evident from the War when he was yelling at Naruto to stop worrying about Hokage as they were Edo Tensei who can regenerate. Even when fighting with Itachi, he calculated every move and attacked Itachi without any emotions except at the very end. Sasuke in this final battle forgot who he was and telling us viewers “Am just gonna get closer to Naruto and punch him hard”.

In short, Sasuke completely forgot all his battle tactics he had with Itachi and let his emotions get ahead of his cleverness and got himself closer to Naruto which eventually ended up weakening his resolve to kill him. This is what I meant by Unintentional Closeness.

Anyways, what I understood was, the creator didn’t put all this by without any meaning. It’s all very deliberate and drawn carefully.

Moving onto the final and the most defining moments of SNS.

When I watched this scene for the first time, I can’t comprehend the exact meaning. And I forgot about this later because of my excitement to know what happens next. But what I understood on my rewatch is that, the feelings exchanged here is very pure and innocent but distressing.

Sasuke already lost his resolve to kill by not ramming Naruto with Chidori instead balled up his fist. So he is not contemplating whether or not to kill Naruto.

Sasuke made every effort to leave Naruto and succeeded in it too. But somehow, accidentally, when faced with a person whom he considers so precious in such a close proximity, despite have a stinging pain in his arm, he is feeling the warmth he once felt. He just wants that warmth to prolong for some more time and he can’t able to evade it. So he totally gave in to that desire and feeling it unconsciously. Sasuke always watched Naruto (unbeknownst to him) and felt warmth, relief and weakness. This scene is the symbolic and innocent representation of all those feelings when he saw Naruto and he is exeriencing it for the final time.

Does this means, does Sasuke wants to kiss him? No.

But every symbolism of that being happening is there. It’s just all open to interpretations. The creator could show us how Sasuke fell on his knees and staring at Naruto intently but never intended to show when he got up and left. I don’t understand this twisted mind of the creator.

Added to that, Sasuke was about to say ‘Naruto, I....’ God only knows what he was about to say. But every possibility of Sasuke confessing and kissing is there.

I know the creator cannot approach this directly considering the situations he worked under. But is there any necessity for such an intense scene? Even the anime creators loved this scene and made their own version of making Naruto’s eyes wide open and even more closer.

I wont be watching my friend or sister like that.

That explains all the way back to this fated accidental scene.

There is nothing special about this scene. It’s all very clear that the kiss was accidental. It was really funny. But my point is why Sasuke never beat him to pulp or even push Naruto away like he did with Sakura and Karin? Why did he stood up for Naruto before Sakura? Why did he let go off Naruto even though he tied him up? Too many leeway for a single person in a single episode. And the most important part is, Sasuke thought it was intentional and remembers the taste. LOL.

Does this means he enjoyed the kiss? Not at all.

Most probably he was shocked to see Naruto in such a close proximity after seeing him from a distance for all those years. And he enjoys this as just another prank from Naruto in his own innocent way. But he won’t mind getting another one from Naruto either.

So, to conclude

I believe I made this post from an objective standpoint without making crazy theories and I don’t have to..... since canonical resources were plenty. Obviously my own bias will also be there which is unavoidable. But I tried to question the creative choices of why this scene even exist in the first place many times. Because those are the scenes which made the most impact inside me.

My first watch of Naruto gave me the benefit of doubt that ‘Are they in love? Nah... They are friends. Maybe I am just overthinking... but why does it feel different??’ and that too only after finishing episode 478. After rewatching it again and again, it only consolidated my view.

For Sasuke, his worldly ties are pretty thin and runny. He was always a loner from the beginning even when he had his family. He never bothered to make any friends nor did anyone tried to befriend him. He was pretty close to his family especially Itachi. When he lost everything, somehow he got attracted innocently to Naruto and started to like him. But beyond Naruto he never bothered to add anyone in his heart. He considered Kakashi and Sakura were like his acquaintances who helped him a lot and that’s all.

Then after using Orochimaru, he gathered some high skilled shinobi for killing Itachi. But he made it clear that there don’t need to be any understanding but just co-operation would be enough. But along his way, he just abandoned Jugo, Suigetsu somewhere. He openly said to Karin that she is nothing but a burden to him. When his hatred reached upto a maximum boiling point, he didn’t even hesitate to kill Karin, Kakashi or Sakura. But the moment Naruto appears he calmed down. The proof? He was shocked to see Naruto at first. Then Naruto calls, ‘Sasuke!!!’, to which Sasuke responds with, ‘What?’. Despite becoming a maniac, he could find it in his heart to listen to Naruto.

It took an Edo Tenseified Itachi to bring him some rationality to question his beliefs about destroying Konoha. When Jugo and Suigetsu appear again, he casually asked them, ‘What do you want with me at this point?’, I mean, Come On, Man. LOL. Even during the war arc, when things were about to blast off he only cared about Jugo (who helped him many times, so understandable) and Naruto (Geez!!! LOL).

Even after their final battle, the anime went so far as to create a scene where they were alone in a bright Konoha. But Sasuke looked very peaceful and listening to Naruto intently. When Naruto freaks out about Infinite Tsukuyomi, he casually laughs off and says ‘you still care about the world’. Meaning, he is happy there spending time alone with the person he loves. Doesn’t give a rat’s ass about missing anyone else. (How romantic!!!). Honestly, Sasuke wouldn’t mind if they were to stay that way forever. He would gladly listen to Naruto all day. But when Naruto disappears he freaks out and starting to make up his mind about joining his brother.

It’s very clear that the people he adores are Itachi and Naruto. Towards Itachi, it’s super understandable, because he is his own brother. But Naruto??? Why should the creator go so far as to make Sasuke adores Naruto even after breaking up with him?

And why make Sasuke possessive about Naruto’s life? When Obito was about to kill Naruto with that Black Orbs, Sasuke blocked him and said ‘You are not the One to sever the past, I am’. I understand the logic behind Sasuke’s possessiveness on Itachi’s life because he destroyed his family, childhood and even Itachi wants Sasuke to be the one to kill him. But why possessive on Naruto? He is not related to him by blood. Naruto never did anything wrong to Sasuke to warrant any hate either. You will become possessive on something only when you truly hate it or wholeheartedly love it. There is no middle ground. My point is why put Naruto here at all in the first place?? Believe me, If Sasuke never paid attention to Naruto in the War arc, I would be the first person to jump out of this ship.

Just to give you a basic example, Imagine you are living in a place far away from your family, friends and that loveable person. When Corona hits everywhere and forced Lockdown to travel outside the city, and the situation is getting worse day by day. Whom would you desperately reach out first? You would reach the person whom you are connected well in your family and that loved one. You will prioritize your friends only later. This is the Universal truth. Sasuke was seen showing that same instinct in the War arc towards Naruto whom he was not related by blood. And you all just want me to believe Sasuke sees him as just a friend?? Give me a break!!!

If all those traits I’ve mentioned above have been avoided to a greater extent, I would be happy to believe that they are friends. If not all, at the very least delegate some of the tropes to other people or share some of the tropes with other people along with Naruto. But dumping it all on Naruto alone makes me only curious and incredibly romantic too.

It’s no wonder, Naruto would go so far as to reach out Sasuke even at the expense of his life.

Oh, Did I forget about the cutest and most exclusive trope to SNS?

U-SU-RA-TON-KA-CHI, the most personal word which carries its own meaning and is only for Naruto. So funny that Sasuke has to spend a certain amount of energy to call Naruto using a 6 syllabic word rather than NA-RU-TO, a 3 syllabic word which is much easier.

Disclaimer: This post constituted everything from from Chapter 1 to 699 or Episode 1 to 135 (part 1) + Episode 1 to 479 (Shippuden) excluding fillers. Though Sasuke shinden novel was made into anime, I don’t want to consider that here. As much as I loved the prologue in that novel, I still don’t want to cite that here, as I consider everything after 699 is $$$$ making bullshit.

FUN FACT:

If you put yourself in any character in the Naruto Universe except for Naruto, and ask them, ‘What do you think about Sasuke?’. You know the answer from Sakura, she will say ‘Sasuke-Kun looks very cool and acts aloof, that’s why I love him’. Kakashi will say ‘My favorite student’. And all the other people will say somewhat similar, ‘He is an excellent Shinobi who belongs to the proud Uchiha clan and Naruto’s rival’

But Naruto will be the only person to say this.

“Lot of fun to be around” ....... LOLLLLL.

Me: No, Naruto!!! Clearly not. No one in your universe can have fun with him except you. Go and Ask Sai, Team Taka or your own Team 7. They adore him for being Cool and Talented. But Fun is not the word that equates with Sasuke unless there is no You, Naruto.

Thanks for reading :-D

#sasunaru #narusasu #sasunarusasu #sns #naruto #sasuke #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #anti sakura #itachi #anti sasusaku #anti naruhina #naruto analysis #naruto and sasuke arent brothers as they never shared a womb #if you see your friend with all these traits then you are no longer just friend

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