#down bad naruto incoming

[dubiousanon]

Your kakanaru fic is actually my Roman Empire. I think of her day and night.

I’ve reread it like a million times. I truly adore it and how fucked they are about eachother. Also, I read straight porn and don’t even twitch but Your chapter of massages and licking literally had me blushing like crazy.

Also, rly curious if your going to lean into some more animalistic traits for Naruto like you did with kakashi. He did say kakashi smells GOOD and has no objections to the licking which feels like u were stepping in that direction. I want his teeth to ache too! I need him to reflexively settle and bare his neck with Kakashi’s weight on him.

Just over all bring an omegaverse vibe to the function the non-omegaverse world doesn’t know how to handle

I cringe soooo hard reading that whole part back I can't believe I wrote that 😭 I'm so glad other ppl like it I feel slightly less like a freak that way lmaooo

As for the animal instincts, I definitely plan to stir that pot! My plan right now is to— spoiler warning by the way— have Naruto grow increasingly more agitated when Kakashi makes no further moves to deepen their relationship beyond what it is. Like, why hasn't Kakashi kissed him yet? Why are they not discussing marriage? Hello? Naruto is like "well he clearly loves me so what's taking him so long 👁️👁️", and he's gonna try to hint at it without being pushy, but his lil animal side is gonna start pacing and it'll hopefully come full circle!!! Emphasis on hopefully 💔 I'm gonna try sooo hard fingers crossed.

[cebwrites]

tldr; how rio went back to being a shinobi

rio: some of us have separate lives, you know! i can't just drop everything to become a medic again just because you asked me t—

tae, a little quieter: oh. sorry for bothering you, then. i'll be on my way.

[ rio dropped everything to become a medic-nin again ]

[mayhemscorner]

Bells and Black Feathers

Itachi x f!reader

Slowburn. Itachi. OG Naruto setting. I really wanted my first Itachi fanfic to be longer since I’ve never written for him before and I usually only do quick stories. Please enjoy. Also, I apologize for the trauma and angst. But if this receives good feedback, I may make this in to a series 🫢

Bells. Bells were known in our clan as the harbingers of incoming change. We used them during clan ceremonies. Weddings, funerals, even birthdays. I was so sick of hearing bells. It was as if the drone of a metal ball racking around a hollow shell followed me wherever I went, even in to the village. Even worse, our clans genjutsu was hearing based, and you guessed it, we used bells. I almost thought I was crazy when I heard the telltale jingle faintly from beside me. I couldn’t help but check my pockets frantically to make sure mine were properly put away to not send anyone near by in to an accidental genjutsu. It was as if I’d gone crazy, hearing the chirp of a tiny bell pass beside me once again as I bump in to it,” my apologies.”

Bells don’t talk, and they definitely don’t have handsome features like the dark orbs that barely even spare a glance my way as they help me up from the beaten path on my way to the gates. 

“No, I wasn’t looking. It’s my bad, your bell made me think I was about to endanger everyone here.” I ramble on, completely awestruck at the cloaked man in front of me. Looking down, I can only hold my gasp at the sight of the all knowing red clouds. As a Jonin, we’re trained to watch for and decipher these cloaks to pinpoint the Akatsuki. But why would they be rash enough to lurk on the edge of the village out in the country? 

“Nonsense, I believe we both had our eyes on something that distracted us. As it is, I must be on my way.” He replies, not letting even one emotion bubble to the surface as his face stays as still as stone.

“Hey, what’s your name?” I ask, knowing it didn’t matter, he was a threat regardless. But the longer I could keep him here, the quicker I could subdue him.

“I believe that’s best saved for our next encounter. Farewell.” He’s already disappeared as his last word rings through my ears. It takes a second to shake the eerie feeling creeping up my back, but once composure is regained, I’m already breaking in to a dead sprint.

“Asuma! Hey! Asuma, damnit where are you?” I’m calling out to him before even hitting our usual meeting spot for missions, only to be answered with the wind. The only other shinobi with worse timing than Asuma was the only one to show up, lazily sauntering to our spot,” yell any louder and he might just hear you on the other side of the village, Y/N.”

“Listen, we’re being watched. What I’m about to tell you… you have to believe me.” I begin, gripping his shoulder so I can lean in and whisper,” the Akatsuki, they’re in the village.”

“Okay, I know we’re both well versed in pranking but this is a new level. Even for you.” Kakashi sighs, yanking at his ear lobe in mock pain. No, not mock pain… it was the signal that someone was possibly listening to our conversation. I had almost forgotten about it since we never had to resort to it, not for years anyways. It was a trick we would use in our younger years to signal when Asuma or Guy would attempt to listen to our private gossip sessions. 

“Anyways, if you’re done fooling around, I’m going to find where Asuma has wandered off to., you stay here just in case Guy shows up early.” He sighs, the only signal that shows he knows exactly where they’re at is his eyes darting to the right in the direction of the river. 

“Guy can figure out where we are, I’m coming with you.” I mutter, kicking at the dirt road and tailing directly on his heels. Kakashi spares a glance back, pointing to his eye and shaking his head no before covering it with his hand. I’m assuming it means don’t look, but my eyes wander anyways. I was good at taking in the scenery and doing the opposite of what I was told since I had the means to get myself out of trouble. What I wasn’t expecting to see was Asuma and Kurenai working as a team, yet still struggling against the man who had bumped in to me earlier and a new companion. Kurenai was in the river, looking winded as Kakashi, steps in front of me to block my vision, reaching down to grip my vest,” go find Guy. That’s an order.”

Kakashi stares unyieldingly until I relent, sprinting to the village. 

I heave deeply, resting against the side of a vendors stand when I see the familiar and vibrant neon orange leg warmers parading in the air as Guy walks on his hands. 

“H-hey! Guy! Come take a stroll with me real quick.” I huff out as quickly as I can between breaths, snapping one of his leg warmers to get his attention. 

“Y/N! I was just on my way to the gates to meet up with the team, what’s the hurry all of a sudden? Finally accepting my offer of a romantic stroll? This mission can wait for the sake of love if it must!” Guy sputters out, clambering back to the way a normal human stands. I can’t help but roll my eyes,” sure, yeah. Let’s move it. We got places to be Guy.”

He follows against my tight grip as I lead him to the river, quickly losing my patience as he mutters on. 

We finally reach the area once again, seeing not much has happened other than Kakashi looked to be wounded… internally? Maybe winded?

“The river? The perfect place for- Kakashi! No one messes with my rival except me!” Guy gasps out, quickly disappearing from my side. He lands between the two sides, splashing the water as everyone stays at a standstill. After a brief moment of communication, the two Akatsuki vanish, leaving the others to tend to Kakashi. I run across the water, quickly reaching for Kakashi with my medical abilities only to be stopped by Asuma,” he needs to go to the hospital, don’t even waste your chakra. Notify… someone.”

“Who, Asuma? There’s no time to waste, if I’m not needed here, I’m going after them!” I shout, already taking off for the treeline. 

“Y/N, get back to the village. You’ll be in worse trouble if you pursue them.” Guy calls out, quickly catching up. I can’t help but laugh,” with what hokage, Guy? We have the chance to take them out now. So let’s move it! There’s not currently a hokage to give us orders and I’m not going to sit around and wait.”

“Y/N, stop. You aren’t even thinking. His genjutsu is unbreakable.” Guy shouts, finally outrunning me to stop me in my tracks. I bluff my defeat, silently reaching for the bells at my side,” I’m sorry, Guy. I can’t let them get away.”

The bells twirl delicately around the metal rod they were strung to carefully by a clan elder the day I was born, twisting around to create a melodious genjutsu even Guy was too slow to release from. Normally, he had warning and could break it in time. But the look of betrayal as he’s frozen in to place, sends a pang through my chest,” I’ll show you the life you wish to have.”

Having to state my intentions of a genjutsu was a downfall, and I cringe at the thought of Guy’s ideal life. But I can only move forward to give myself enough distance with the bells, as once I’m out of earshot, the genjutsu may be broken within moments. 

After what felt like miles, I drop the bells back down, taking a brief second to slow down and catch my breath. The sky unrelentingly fades to grey as thunder rolls in,” because why wouldn’t it rain?”

I curse to myself, knowing the seconds before rain were precious in the effort to find any sign of tracks. I drop down to a single footprint that stops in the middle of a clearing, looking around frantically to find another. As my head whips back to the tree I was just in, a bell sounds just beside my ear. Ice fills my veins as I freeze in a slight terror.

“You’re alone.” The man from earlier breathes out. I force myself to focus my eyes to the ground and keep my cool,” yes.”

“That wasn’t a question but thanks for the clarification. You aren’t here to subdue me, you’re here for answers.” He continues, trailing a finger across my back as he circles around me, examining me almost before he continues,” you don’t know who I am, do you?”

“I don’t exactly keep my bingo book on me all the time, I just know you’re Akatsuki. It’s my job to train Genin now, not chase after criminals all the time.” I huff, refusing to look up as his finger prods at my jaw in an attempt to lift my gaze,” I’m not falling for your genjutsu.”

Regretfully, I still look up due to the persistent tug at my jaw, being met with the wondering dark orbs that I’d witnessed earlier. 

“If I wanted to place you under a genjutsu, I would’ve done so by now, Y/N.” He drops his hand, revealing the slightest smirk on his face. I confusingly take in his features as I try to figure out why they were so familiar before i land on the mutilated leaf headband that rested against his forehead, sweeping back his raven hair. 

“How do you know my name?” I mutter, reaching for the silver block on his headband to run my fingers along the slashed leaf in the middle. His hand is quick to grip mine,” you truly don’t remember do you?”

“Unfortunately, no.” I sigh, regretting that I was fully enamored with the handsome criminal in front of me. 

“We were Genin together. Itachi Uchiha.” He says coldly. The realization on how long it took myself to puzzle the pieces together hits like a ton of bricks. But I have no recollection of ever being in the same class, let alone knowing him.

I can only shake my head in response.

“If you can’t remember, let me show you.” Itachi sighs defeatedly, looking directly in to my eyes as his own bleed in to the notorious red sharingan. I prepare myself for a genjutsu, seeing as I find myself back in the classroom sitting at my desk. The day in question is hazy, but I still remember the doodle I was drawing. I also remember the pain I’m about to experience. As if on cue, my broken pencil I was trying so hard to continue to write with, slices my palm. I can’t control any movements, it’s a memory that can’t be altered. My tiny hand recoils in pain as younger me whimpers,” ah, dang it! I can’t bleed on this dress, my mom just got it for me.”

“Allow me.” The young boy beside me bubbles with a rising smile, quickly pulling a bandage roll from the backpack beside him,” my brother can be clumsy so I tend to carry extras just in case.”

“You callin’ me clumsy?” Young me accuses him sharply. I was always ‘abrasive’ as my sensei Shikaku regularly stated during our outings with Choza and Inoichi’s teams. 

“Not at all, do you always assume the worst so quickly?” The young version of Itachi questions back. My memory jogs and I can feel my current self mouth the same words I’m about to relive,” I can assume we’re going to be good friends if you’re brave enough to call me out on my crap.”

The scene fades to darkness, sitting at the end of the dock in the Uchiha compound with our feet dangling off the edge.

“Do it again!” A slightly older me shrieks in a fit of laughter as Itachi stands once again, sending a fire ball across the pond. 

“The simplest things surely entertain you. It’s amazing.” He chuckles, sitting back down as my body falls against the dock to look at the stars,” you amaze me, honestly.” 

I can still feel the heat against my cheeks at the confession I had made long ago. 

“Y/N?” He asks quietly.

“Yeah?” I question back.

“Even though we’re still young, do you ever get the feeling we’ll be together forever?” He questions sheepishly.

“We’ll always be friends, that’s not even a question. Don’t be so weird.” I laugh, reaching up to punch his shoulder.

“What if we’re destined to be more than friends?” Itachi continues with his questions, looking over to catch my pondering face,”… we’re still young. If it happens, it happens. We have plenty of years left to stay just how we are. Like you always say, it’s better to wait than spend the rest of your life regretting a rash decision.”

It flickers again, this time it’s my mother, uncontrollably sobbing at the kitchen table that woke me from a dead sleep due to the excitement of finally becoming a chunin,” mom, are you okay?”

I try to rub away the tiredness from my eyes as she shakes her head,” go back to bed, Y/N. It’s nothing you would understand at your age.” 

“Try me.” Twelve year old me crosses her arms as I watch my mothers sadness turn to anger,” you think because you’re a chunin now you can handle a tragedy in your own village? Well it’s time to grow up, kid. There was a massacre on the Uchiha compound. The whole clan is dead. Thanks to your little boyfriend, that Itachi kid. Stop putting your trust in others. Start becoming that ‘perfect’ shinobi you boast that you are Y/N. It won’t save our village, it won’t get those people their lives back. You will do so little, it won’t even matter by the time you’re my age, or even your death.”

She burst in to tears once again. Younger me couldn’t be upset at her, she was already upset with herself for having to end her career so early and our father leaving. I let her take that anger out on me, as long as it was never directed towards my sister and she never had to see it. 

“W-what’s wrong, Y/N?” I feel the small tug at my pajamas as my little sister clings tightly against my leg. I can only put a smile on my face as I lift her small frame,” moms sad because we aren’t getting the sleep we need, how about I tuck you back in to bed?” 

I still feel the pain in my eye sockets from crying throughout the rest of that night. Betrayal from my own mother and someone else I thought I’d loved. 

The genjutsu fades once again, unknown scenery flourishes around me. I look down to see I now bear the Akatsuki robe. I look forward to the faceless crowd that slowly comes in to focus, fingers pointing as they all unanimously mumble the word,” traitor.”

It becomes louder as the people begin encircling me, cornering me off like an injured animal on display. Several faces become distinct, my mother, my sister, Shikaku sensei and his friends, even the hokage that had just given his life for the village. As several kunai impale me, the genjutsu turns to red as the pain sets in.

I soon feel the gracious drops of rain replacing the stabbing ghost pains, quickly becoming a downpour, the genjutsu fades completely. I now realize why Kakashi had been so drained earlier, if it wasn’t for the ice cold adrenaline, I would’ve been passed out already.

“As you can see, we’ve met before. We were only mindless children then, cloaked by masks to hide our true identity.” He drops to a solemn tone, tilting his head upwards to bask in the quickly chilling rain before his red eyes flash back to me,” no matter how similar our paths are, our fates deserve to end differently. if you choose this life, it’s only the same. But you risk having your identity known nationwide and your idealistic life thrown away. Do you choose to face death everyday? Do you choose to betray a village you call home?” 

In the time it takes me to blink, he’s now mere inches from my face, hand outstretched,” if you can say yes, your heart is in the wrong place. Turn around and go back to the leaf. Do not pursue me any further, Y/N.”

Two of his fingers ghost over my brows for just a second, I can barely notice the thoughts running behind his tired eyes, but the slight flick of his view to the left gives him away. He decides to retract his fingers, and drapes his other hand to rest over the top of my head while I drop to my knees. My Jonin vest feels heavy with rain, maybe even regret that i didn’t even remember one of my closest friends as a child, maybe even my first love, but most of all the one who made it seem I wasn’t capable of loving anyone else. 

“How could I not remember anything you just showed me?” I babble, looking up to his now normal eyes as tears bubble at my lashes, only to be concealed by the rain. 

“Because It was a burden I relieved you of. You should be thankful.” He answers coolly, refusing either of us the blessing of breaking eye contact. I flick a collection of tears and water angrily from my face,” younger me was in love with you. We loved each other. You can’t deny that.”

His eyes trickle down to the hand fidgeting with the metal rod at my side, his face illuminating against a streak of lightning,” You’re a fool to think an auditory genjutsu would even begin to work on me.”

“No, but metal rods are great conductors of electricity.” I seethe, reaching my musical rod above me to the sky as I grip his arm that still rested atop my head. It was a weak last ditch effort, i couldn’t subdue him, but I could at least kill us both. As quickly as the white steak shoots down towards us, we’re transported further in to the forest. My hand is slightly burnt, but I find myself furled tightly in Itachi’s arms, back to his chest as his cloak billows around us in the increasing winds. I chuckle slightly,” so, you do still care about me.”

“Nonsense, I just prevented you from unnecessarily ending both of our lives.” Itachi utters out, clearing his throat.

“Bullshit. You could’ve let me fry in that lightning strike and saved yourself, easily.” I assert my dominance, twisting in his arms to face him as he refuses to let go. He looks down, smirking as he smoothes away a few strands of hair that cling to my face,” if I could love as easily as I fought against others, you would’ve been mine the day I bandaged your adolescent hand. This however, is not a life for love. My destiny is to die and I refuse for you to have any part of it.”

“Then just give me this moment.” I exhale, bringing a hand to rest on the side of his face,” I’ve just learned about you all over again and I refuse to let you leave without a word just like when we were kids.”

“You seen what I did to my clan.” He reminds me quietly.

“And for some reason, I feel like your hand was forced in to doing it. The Itachi I just witnessed loved his clan. He loved the leaf village. He defended the village he betrayed.” I share my quick observation. 

“This conversation is over.” Itachi warns, squinting his eyes in remorse and possibly a hint of anger. I just knew I was right. And if I’m able to return to the village, I’ll have some research to do. 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, then you’ll have to find a damn good way to shut me up, because I have a lot of questions.” I shoot back, anxiety of not knowing the story creeps against my body. And just as I’m about to start my rampage of questions, his lips crash against mine and his hands grip tightly at my shoulders, letting the cool rain water dripping from us both clash together, pooling down to our chins before it drips against the cloak that weakly offers us the tiniest bit of shelter. As he pulls away, his eyes flutter slowly, taking in my look of confusion. Sadly for him, it’s only created more questions, but most of all it also created answers.

“You still love our village. You still love me.” I gasp out looking at the furrow in his angering brows,” and to continue in protecting the things I love, you must not interfere or prod any further. Return to the village before you end up in the same position. This is my last warning, Y/N. Or this will end badly for the both of us.”

He pushes me against my shoulders, sending my body head first to the ground frozen, in a state of shock as the world melds to a red haze. Just as I hit the ground, an inky black feather drops on my face, restarting the chain of events over again. And again. And again. Each time I fall, the feather drops, I smack in to the ground and Itachi’s face melds against my vision as the sequence drones on for what feels like hours,” do you wish to be stuck in a loop of constant suffering? Living out your days where every last one is the same, ending with an unbearable pain… just to realize it’ll happen again. And again. And again. This is the constant pain you will feel outside of the village as a rogue. You don’t understand that by pressing further on this matter, by seeking me purposefully after this point, my only choice would regretfully be having to kill you.”

A scream tears at my throat, only to be cut off from hitting the ground again, and after what felt like a whole day stuck in the same loop, I find myself on the ground mere seconds from passing out once again. I look up to see Itachi’s face hovering above mine and feel his knees supporting my head. He swiftly brushes a rain soaked strand of hair from my face and leans in for one last breathy statement,” I truly hope one day you’ll be strong enough to understand. When that day comes, I will be long gone but I will never ask for your forgiveness.”

As my eyes shut, he scoops down for one last kiss and disappears with the sound of a ghost. Silence ushers a single black feather to land against my cheek, allowing me to finally give in to the depleted chakra ebbing towards unconsciousness. 

Bells. The pain of having to hear those stupid bells. A single chirp awakens me in a startle, grasping at the sterile white blanket around me as I gasp in the stale air. 

“Hey, lay down damnit. You’ve gone and gotten yourself in to enough trouble already, Y/N.” Shikaku sensei grumbles from the bedside, slamming me backwards as gently as possible as he sets my bell staff against the table.

“Why are you here sensei? Don’t you have more important village duties to attend to?” I mumble out, finally relaxing enough to stare at the ceiling.

He groans, pondering what he’ll say next,” with a lack of Jonin from the recent attack, Asuma rang in a favor to help track you so they could get Kakashi Hatake to immediate medical attention. We first found Guy almost six miles from you, stuck in a genjutsu. Wonder who would be rash enough to do that...”

“How’s Kakashi?” I ask, refusing to meet what I assume is his drained and less than pleased face.

“He’ll be in medical care for a while. Same goes for you. You’re almost worse off than him. With how much you two get in to trouble, I’m starting to wonder if you’re related. Anything else you want to ask, kid?” He questions, most likely already knowing the answer. I turn to look in to his unimpressed eyes,” I should ask you that first.”

He finally smirks,” we’ll keep this conversation between us so long as I don’t have to pry it out of you.”

I could always appreciate the fatherly bond Shikaku established since my early chunin days, realizing my own mother could barely provide the support or parental love for my sister and I. Shikamaru had even called me big sister begrudgingly. Shikaku finally parts his lips after thinking on it,” why did you put Guy under a genjutsu?”

So he knew it was my genjutsu after all.

“His taijitsu was too weak against our target. We were tailing the man that left Kakashi in the state he’s in now. I only did it to protect him.” I answer truthfully. It was best to avoid seeing Guy hurt, even if I feel no romantic attraction to all of his… not too subtle advancements. 

“So you proceeded to pursue someone as a one person unit you knew you wouldn’t win against? How smart. It’s a miracle you made it back with just depleted chakra and a burnt hand. It’s almost as if the target took pity on you.” He ponders, slowly moving his eyes back to meet mine in confirmed and definite disappointment.

“I was just able to use my staff as a lightning conductor to buy myself some time before being placed under a genjutsu. No one was hurt. That’s all that matters.” I huff out, turning my body completely away in anger before Shikaku sounds off my bells again in contemplation,” a genjutsu user falling for another genjutsu is unlikely, unless this genjutsu came from the power of the sharingan. I also trained my students to not pursue dangerous opponents with those kind of powers. But I know I trained my students better than that, right Y/N?” 

“Are you just here to lecture me, or are you looking for answers?” I sneer out, slowly becoming agitated at his sensei personality taking over his fatherly one.

“Both. Just as I and my jutsu are useles in utter darkness, yours is useless when you don’t use your mind to think properly. I think we can silently agree you won’t try and pursue Itachi anymore and you’ll stay here until you’re fully healed. Then we will go through some training. You, me and Shikamaru. Just like old times.” Shikaku chuckles out, revealing that without even telling him, he already knew. I toss my pillow at him in an attempt to stop his laughing,” does this mean you’re old self is coming out of retirement as a sensei?”

“Don’t throw the word old out so loosely. I’m only returning as your sensei because I think your own mind is dulling with age.” He smirks, returning to his fatherly demeanor, but I could still see the subtle look of worry behind the joking facade. I refused to notify him of my actual encounter with Itachi, but he leads me to believe he knew of our past and it’s easy for a Nara to put two and two together.

“Yeah, yeah. Now get out so I can rest up and show you I’m just fine without a sensei.” I laugh out as he shakes his head,” prove me wrong, Y/N. I’m not bailing you out of any future mistakes.”

“I’m counting on that.”

With a final word, he kicks a resting foot off the wall and throws his hands in to his pocket to stroll out the open door nonchalantly. I needed rest, and I was told not to press any further. But I had research to do, even if it was from a hospital bed. I was going to get to the bottom of this, even if my destiny entwines to meet the same bitter end as Itachi presumes his will be.

[badadder1]

Busting out my biannual System of a Down re obsession. (I cycle through music lol) I think I've been too invested in Kakashi lately. Help me I may have more Hokage/war bad, rebellious/angsty shinobi shit incoming. 🙃 It's all so good, (as it always is) but Naruto has melted my brain and I imagine silver hair everywhere and in everything. 😭😂 no media is safe

[fg083nrt]

What ships from Naruto do you like, except Kakuhida? I'm asking out of curiosity :)

Also your art makes me want to eat tables!!! RAAH!!!!! (/pos)

This is a surprisingly loaded question because I have so many and some of them span for almost 20 years now.

Also, as usual, disclaimer, since I've seen all the ship wars and holywars, THESE ARE ALL PERSONAL OPINION. PERSONAL OPINION ONLY.

(endless yapping below the cut)

In the past:

My first ship when I was 12 was Pain/Konan, and I think that was the first smut I've ever read like period. I was a big cheerleader of Hinata and Naruto/Hinata because I liked that Hinata just minded her business and stayed in her lane while everyone else was going thru shit (Team 8 had the best work-life balance, I think, they just clocked in and clocked out, no shenanigans). Obviously, Temari/Shikamaru and I loved Neiji/Tenten. I think as a kid these were like really fun dynamics. Once the anime reached the Akatsuki I was all over the Akatsuki LMAO.

But now, as a grown adult, I am almost 99% just KKHD, and Akatsuki ships are like the default absolute truth to me, but recently, I've been obsessed with more Naruto Yuri.

Love Ino/Sakura for that double-income spy who owns a secret flower shop/doctor dynamic; it's just nice. Like I am a firm believer that they could have solved their differences by scissoring or something. Also like, I think their backstory is like an insane missed opportunity (but what's written cannot be unwritten, so whatever) because these pages made me feel like I was reading some kind of josei backstory. Like, go ahead and read these pretending this is not from Naruto, and tell me where do u think this could be from.

Like "pussy from a girl who treats you like a small stupid animal (good until psychic damage hits)"

Like, I would be like, this is either a shoujo manga, or the next page is older Sakura crying in the kitchen with a photo of Ino or something, and then by the end of the story, they, like fuck in the field or something while Sakura is like "I can't believe my toxic female friend from school has 4 fingers up my pussy!", but this could just be projecting, but I still like the ship. On a serious note, Sakura being a crybaby who was picked on would have been a fun opportunity to play with her character and create more empathy for Naruto within her, but her role was more like tying the two characters together, which worked well, but lots of people were salty, but it pushed people to support her character more so it evens out.

Tsunade/Shizune is like my next super fave, especially after rewatching the Tsunade arc. Tsunade's character is just so well done when it comes to how people cope with grief by doing destructive things, I loved it; Kishimoto is fantastic at mature story beats like this weaved between magical ninja fights. But yeah I loved their dynamic like Shizune is essentially her attendant/pet girl/assistant who is extremely loyal to her, but also nagging in a way and also Shizune is just very animated and kinda dorky while Tsunade is a calm mommy- sorry a mature rich woman of status who needs to be taken care of (nearly blacked out writing this). Their back and forth is just chef kiss, too. Honestly, I think that's my favourite Naruto arc; the first part of Naruto is great when it comes to mundane details that I now have more appreciation for.

Their auntie banter!

GODDDDD THAT WAS SO LIKE IT HURTS SEEING OTHERS LIVING THE LIFE YOU DREAM OF

And obviously still love Temari/Shikamaru! I loved that Shikamaru was always very tsundere and going on about how much he hates girls, but deep down is actually like, "Me when a bad bitch tells me to do anything." it's a satisfying way to play with his "character flaw". Seeing him go soft on Temari was like a mini character arc within his already happening character arc during Sasuke's pursuit, like we saw him grow up twice, great stuff!

The entire chapter 235 is just an amazing growth for Shikamaru in elevating the like "men/women" way of thinking to like "what makes a person who they are" way of thinking I really love that. The character is also a great reminder for those afraid of failing btw.

Kakashi/Iruka is my fave, 50% from a historical standpoint; the fact that you can find Kakairu fanfic on Geocities from 2001, and I have some doujins in my collection that are more than 20 years old now is fascinating to me. Love how incredibly loyal the Japanese fans are to Iruka; these guys were holding onto hope for so many years till the Pain arc and then, boom, Studio Pierrot's final Naruto arc!!! It's just incredible fandom history. I love that kinda stuff, love the ship itself too, it's very homey to me, some of the legendary fic they had was fantastic, like entire book's length, incredibly loyal fans.

[twow]

i really love naruto (even tho i dont post abt it much lol) and while the writing is bad in some places i generally think a great manga with some really great writing in certain arcs. but god. sometimes i just randomly think of nejis death and get irrationally angry about it. bc usually when i personally disagree with a writing choice i can at least understand narratively why the choice was made but for nejis death its just bad on every single level. like objectively its one of the worst writing choices in the history of writing. rant incoming

nejis arc is one in which he is literally enslaved to the head family and feels despair over the fact that his "destiny" is to die for the head family just like his father did. naruto then teaches neji that nothing is predetermined and that he can choose his own destiny and that head families and branch families don't matter and naruto vows to help neji end the slavery in the hyuga clan. all of this is coupled with the context of nejis father dying in the place of hinata's father to protect hinata, with neji feeling bitter about it towards both hinata and her father. so the most obvious conclusion to this arc is to either 1. show neji rising up and overcoming his status as a branch member and toppling the unfair power system with his clan or 2. hinata's dad sacrificing himself for neji which would parallel and sort of "pay back" neji's dad for dying in his place by protecting his son, just like nejis dad died to protect hinata. it would also show a head family member sacrificing himself for a branch member, therefore following through on the theme of the arc that "destiny" doesn't matter and that head families and branch families don't matter, and that neji has made progress in dismantling the unfair power system considering a head family member was willing to die for him rather than vice vera. instead, neji dies in hinatas place. the person he is enslaved to. the very destiny that neji loathed so much when we first met him happens to him, effectively disproving the entire thesis of his arc - that he can defy his destiny as a branch member and does not have to die for a member of the head family and for hinata specifally. to make matters worse, the slavery of the hyuga clan is never brought up again. naruto never follows up on his promise to end the unfair claim system, and the hyuga clan never gets challenged on its ideas like we were promised. hinata's dad even becomes a "haha funny grandpa" character, completely ignoring the fact the he owned and tortured members of the branch family, including neji himself as a child. a lot of people argue that nejis arc was fulfilled actually since he "chose" to die for hinata out of fondness for her rather than obligation as a branch family member (and contrasting with the chunin exams fight where he tried to kill her) but that really does not sit right with me. its still him going down a predestined past - just one he accepts instead of resents. any version of events where neji dies for a head family member is unsatisfying because of this - it just proves the ji we get during the chunin exams right that his destiny is to die for the head family and disproves the thesis of that arc that defying and changing destiny is possible. i also personally take issue with a plotline in which someone being oppressed dies for the oppressor, no matter how much hinata and neji care for each other. that power dynamic is always there and it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth especially since that power dynamic never gets resolved to out knowledge. but again even taking away my personal feelings, it just narratively makes no sense and retroactively makes one of the best arcs in part 1 feel meaningless. okay im running out of steam but god that writing choice pisses me off endlessly. so so so bad no matter how you look at it. anyway i said this like 3 years ago and i still stand by it:

[34choco]

Laying in bed thinking up a Naruto modern day au like...

Ok so Sakura's a med school student and Naruto and Sasuke are her childhood friends who didn't have a plan for after HS other than "keep hanging out with Sakura." thankfully they grew up close to a good school so so she didn't even have to move away for college. Naruto and Sasuke just get some boring starter jobs and wing it.

The trio is always taking selfies and sending them to "dad" aka Kakashi, their old martial arts instructor from middle school. He hates the nickname but has long since resigned himself to it. It started when Sasuke accidentally called him "dad" once but it was after his own family died so to save him from being sad/embarrassed about it Sakura and Naruto both started calling Kakashi "dad" too, and then after a few weeks of it Sasuke started thinking it was funny how much it annoyed Kakashi so he starts doing it on purpose to be a little shit.

Of course Kakashi goes crying to his bf and fellow martial arts instructor Gai about how the nickname's officially never going away now that Sasuke thinks it's funny and Gai's just like "man i wish my students (Neji, Lee, & Tenten) would call me dad they must really like you" and Kakashi responds "TAKE THIS CURSE FROM ME I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!"

Neji actually comes from a long line of martial artists and grew up training with family till his dad died protecting his twin brother (Hina's dad) in an accident, then Neji started resenting his uncle and Hinata and joined Gai's team instead of continuing to practice at home. Eventually Neji grows out of hating his uncle and cousin during high school, after having a kind of epiphany about why his dad risked his own life to save his brother when Neji himself jumps between Tenten and an incoming car after she accidentally tripped off a curb trying to back up from some bullies from school. He's hurt bad but she only ends up with scrapes and bruises, so when he wakes up in the hospital he's just relieved that she's okay and that's when he suddenly gets it. After that he starts trying to be nicer to Hinata and they get close.

Hina grows up chilling with the "weird kids" at school cause she's shy and that gets her bullied sometimes, but Kiba (the furry/scene kid in middle school to grunge punk in high school) and Shino (ND kid who is wayyyy too obsessed with bugs) both instantly take a liking to her cause shes genuinely kind to them and interested when they're enthusiastic about stuff so they'll go to bat for her anytime (which lands them in the principal's office more than once)

Okay this is all i have rn but i woll return to add more to this lol uhhhh hmu if u wanna talk about it i guess lol im always down for more Naruto fandom friends

[bootlickerhawks]

7 and 16 for the hate ask game<3

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

... I'm gonna get sm hate for this ;w;

I will preface by saying that hate is a strong word for what I feel abt these characters and would prefer to describe it as "apathy" no I'm not saying this as a desperate measure to prevent myself from being stoned to death why would you say that

........ momo, tsuyu and kirishima...

You have to understand that I joined the fandom in 2017 and people were so fucking annoying abt these three. It was impossible to go into the tags back then and not run into posts like "You're a bad person if you dislike Tsuyu/Momo" or "It's possible to dislike Kirishima/Tsuyu" blablabla. And I'm the kind of person that if you try to shove something down my throat I will spit it back in your face just to prove a point.

I understand fans wanting to hype up their favs but I found Tsuyu and (especially) Momo to be extremely underwhelming so that behavior just turned me off. & Kirishima is bc the kiribaku fandom were a fucking menace back in the day.

Despite my feelings for them, they're all good characters that deserved better opportunities to shine (rip all the ex-naruto/class 1A fans that wanted to see the konoha 13 done right)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

omg I have sm fanon gripes, I'll just list a few otherwise we'll be here all day 💀

also sorry if I offend anyone

I never understood the trend in dabihawks fics to write Hawks as the functional sane perfect emotional support bf. He is an emotionally constipated indoctrinated murder chicken with serious mommy & daddy issues, how tf does that translate to perfect bf?

*widely gesticulates at Miruko's entire character* Miruko is the perfect example of widespread fanon characterization being absolute garbage. I get the knee jerk reaction of wanting to save her from Horikoshi's questionable writing, but in the process the fandom sand down all her rough ("problematic") edges & just leave her an empty soulless sock-puppet wearing Miruko's skin. Canon Miruko doesn't have much going for her but somehow Fanon Miruko manages to be even more shallow. #sorrynotsorry

I'm gonna get flack for this but I don't like the way fandom tends to portray found family. It feels inauthentic to me, especially when dealing with dysfunctional self-destructive and emotionally constipated individuals like the LOV. Found Fam LOV used to be my jam but I've grown tired of it 😔

And speaking of the LOV.... I love Spinaraki but I don't like the way most of the fandom interprets and depicts their relationship. Spinner's fanatic devotion to Shigaraki isn't healthy. Idk if I've talked abt it on this blog before but I see a lot of parallels between Killugon (hxh) and Spinaraki.

(Incoming spoilers for hxh chimera ant arc) In both cases you have person A (Gon/Shigaraki) going down a self destructive path, fueled by self loathing and person B (Killua/Spinner) that is extremely devoted to person A but bc of their lack of self worth is unequipped to truly help them and in the process unintentionally enables them.

I'm all for witnessing unhealthy devotion in fiction, I eat that shit up. But it does make me uncomfortable when I see people interpreting it in a purely positive light.

[aidontdraw]

I think we need to cut Naruto some slack when it comes to him perpetuating the system he grew up in. Naruto shows the most realistic way of dismantling a system in fiction. It's not a Dystopain YA Novel where after the hero kills the bad dictator everything magically gets better. It's a complex series that shows the harsh realities of systems like this.

One thing we have to remember when considering Naruto being the Hokage, is that while he is "perpetuating the cycle" of hatred, it's still the best option. Naruto is actively dismantling the shinobi system as Hokage. By maintaining peace with the other villages, the shinobi system is dying, and we know this from the final chapter.

Tenten can not make a profit selling ninja tools. With the symbolism we get throguh out the series that ninja are tools of war. We're bassicly being told there is no need for shinobi any more.

Naruto can not break the Cycle of Hatred with violence, if that worked, the cycle would have been over centuries ago. The same way Rome was not built in a day, it wasn't destroyed in a day either. You can not destroy a system quickly, especially since this violence is their primary source of income. They need to slowly transition these ninja into other job fields. Otherwise, you just get the Akatsuki again.

I think we forget, Naruto technically grew up in a time of peace. The Thrid Shinobi war ended a year before he was born, and all the villages chose to do a disarmament. However, that just created more problems. With out a steady streem income coming in, villages had to go to extreme measures. Some where on the break of failing, and all of their people literally dying.

Powerful shinobi, like Zabuza & all the members of the Akatsuki didn't have any income from their villages coming in. So Zabuza had to work with the Demon Brothers in order to put food on his plate. Like yeah, we could argue that he could have just gotten a job at non-Ninja McDonald's. But he's essentially a war veteran at age 15, with no other marketable skills than war. His best option for money was to use his skills to further captalisim.

The Akatsuki was able to rise in power because the villages could no longer afford to raise the type of Ninja required for certain missions any more. It became cheeper and more effective to hire the Akatsuki than to hire ninja from a village.

80,000 shinobi fought in the Fourth Ninja War, 10,000 died, that leaves us with roughly 70,000. That's just ninja from the Five Great Villages, there are ninja from other villages. This means if Ninjas as an occupation were to magically end that's at least 70,000 people who need to find new jobs, not including all of the industries who create the tools to support the military complex. This sudden ending could cause a massive issue toppling economy. And, boo-hoo the economy, except that's how people gain the resources they require to live.

In Gaara's book, we read that Suna doesn't even have adequate maternity wings in their hospital and their people struggle to eat after the Fourth Shinobi War. We are forced to sit with the reality of what a failing system actually means to its people. Because of how isolated Suna is we can only assume it gets worse. I'm suprised they even exist in Boruto with how bad we're told it is.

Then we have to consider the cultural loss. These people will lose their connection to their culture. Techniques will have no more use to be passed down. Yes, these techniques are murder, but they are still thousand year old traditions that will no longer exist. Which is sad.

Theres also the potential of more genocide, it's what happened after the Thrid Shinobi War. Essentially, the clans realized they wernt getting paid by the villages any more and started gaining outside power again. Because the village system was only 50ish years old at that point, it was relatively easy. Unfortunately it put a target on their backs, and they were genocided. So that's another fear you have to work with with dismantling this system. Some people like the system and want it to continue, so they can make money to live.

In Boruto, we see they aren't even having kids at replacement levels. Each character, besides Naruto, bassicly has one kid. If we think about Sasukes goal to revitalize his clan, how's he going to do that with only one child. What we can assume is, they know the systems dying, so they aren't bothering to make enough kids to fill that system.

Naruto is dismantling the system, it just takes time and has a lot of moving parts. He's only been Hokage for 3-5 years at the start of Boruto. It's barely long enough to make any significant change.

Naruto is also only 33. That is incredibly young. Like insany young. Like he's not even old enough to be president of the United States of America young. So he had a long road ahead of him to make the changes he wanted to see in the world.

Thinking about Naruto

The day you realize Naruto and all his friends are child soldiers being raised by child soldiers— you aren’t watching the same show twice anymore. The cycle of violence never ends because you raise child soldiers to forfeit their humanity in a nationalist society.

Don’t get me wrong— as Naruto gets older and understands more— he is able to break pieces of that cycle. He never escapes it though.

Naruto was a leader amongst his peers because he didn’t comply with apathy. Naruto let his empathy guide him throughout the world. In the society he lives in— empathy is a radical concept.

When you really think about the values the shinobi world drills into their citizens: unemotional, lethal force, and nationalism— Naruto’s desire to see others and understand them is defiant of those values.

Naruto’s capacity and willingness to see others as individuals first and strive to understand, and then see them as from another nation second separates him from the rest. Naruto’s empathy and love for humanity gives him the ability for open dialogue with people he thought of as enemies (Zabuza, Haku, Nagato, Gaara). He is able to cry for his enemies ( again— zabuza, haku, gaara, and sasuke). He is has the capacity for forgiveness and growth. Through these radical (in this society) concepts of empathy, understanding, forgiveness— Naruto changed people for the better. He changed his nation for the better.

He never breaks free though. Naruto becomes the hokage and continues the cycle. His village still raises child soldiers (in less harsh values)— he promotes incorporating empathy and extending your understanding outside of your own nation. The violence still continues. He still facilitates a violence society in raising these child soldiers— he is not the only one— gaara and the other kages are right along with him.

The show feels very different when you realize that Kakashi was a victim of a system that raised victims of a system— that went on to raise more victims of a system. The show feels different. Suddenly it’s not just a shonen battle anime with bright colors and cool concepts. It becomes thought provoking and reflects realities of a society and continuous cycles. Brilliant writing. Dark and layered undertones.

[ap-kinda-lit]

Not With My Daughter!

Rating: T Pairing: Kawasara mainly, with a dash of Sasusaku too Summary: Sasuke sees something that doesn't please him one bit and he faces a realization that is much less palatable for him

Was requested to do a fic where Sasuke or Sakura catches Kawaki and Sarada a while back, but I finally did it! Here y’all go!

For the hundredth time that evening, Sasuke glanced at the clock. It was twelve past eight now. He grimaced. They should've been home by now... The Shadow Hokage anxiously drummed his fingers on his chair's arm. Sarada had left hours ago to train with her new teammate, the boy that Naruto had taken in. Kawaki, he thinks his name was? It didn't really matter right now. All that mattered to the Uchiha patriarch was that it was past Sarada's curfew and she wasn't home. Sasuke kicked himself. He never should've let her go off with that boy. He didn't trust him. This 'Kawaki' was new to the village, little was known about him, he had several incidents of trying to escape, causing chaos, and lashing out violently...and he was getting too close to Sasuke's peanut. Sasuke huffed and stood up from his seat. He couldn't take it anymore. He was not going to wait around while his baby girl was who-knows-where doing who-knows-what with a boy he barely knew. He was grabbing his cloak and house key when Sakura walked in. "Anata, where are you going? Is something wrong?" she asked. "No, everything is...fine." he was slow to finish his sentence. Sakura gave her husband a look and sighed. "Anata, you're not going to hunt down Sarada and Kawaki, are you?" she spoke with exasperation. "...perhaps..." Sasuke mumbled. "Sasuke-kun, I know they're late, but it's not late enough for you to go and terrorize the village looking for them." Sasuke grumbled something in disagreement. He draped his cloak around his shoulders and buttoned it, then turned towards the doorway. "Anata, at least leave your katana!" Sakura shouted after him, but Sasuke did not heed. He marched to the door, opened it and- Sasuke froze on the spot. He had seen a lot of terrible things in his line of work, but none compared to what he was seeing at that very moment: right there before him was Sarada (his sweet, innocent little girl) with her arms wrapped around the shoulders of none other than Kawaki as the two were locked in a simple but somewhat passionate liplock. Sasuke was first in shock which evolved into horror then, ultimately, an overwhelming and powerful rage. Sarada and Kawaki finally realized his presence and pulled apart from each other. "Papa!" Sarada squeaked in surprise. Sasuke's eye twitched. "Y-you..." he could barely speak through his all-consuming outrage. Kawaki said nothing and only stared back, looking alarmed. Sarada saw her father's Sharingan form and she quickly noticed his hand reaching for his katana. "Papa..." Sarada pleaded. But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Sasuke's one-track focus was honed in on one thing and one thing only: the mohawked little bastard who had the audacity to put his nasty lips on his daughter. "You...prepare to die..." Sasuke growled out. "Anata!" "Papa!" Sakura and Sarada shrieks were lost in the ensuing clamor of Sasuke unsheathing his katana in a flash of electric light and Kawaki's arm morphing into a large shield to protect himself from the incoming blade which easily cut through. Kawaki leaped from the doorstep and hit the ground running from his attacker. Sarada and her mother could only stay back and watch as the family man pursued the poor young boy, attacking him blindly with rage. Sakura gave her daughter a nervous smile. "I'm sure Papa won't harm Kawaki...badly." she assured her. Sarada sighed.

+++++

Sasuke eventually returned home, disheveled but fine and not quite as furious as he was earlier. Sarada and her mother talked prior to his return and Sarada was forbidden from going out for the rest of the week as punishment for not being home on time. Sarada went to bed afterwards and Sakura was waiting for her husband when he came into their room upon his arrival home. Sakura was giving Sasuke a concerned but amused look as he changed clothes. "I'm not apologizing for tonight." he promptly said. "I didn't say anything." Sakura responded. "You were thinking it." "Not really." Sasuke finished getting dressed and climbed into bed next to his wife. Sakura shifted to cuddle her husband and he responded by leaning into her embrace. "You did overreact, don't you think?" Sakura murmured into his chest. "I don't think I did." his reply was flat and matter-of-fact. "Anata..." "He had no right. He kept her past her curfew and he...did that...in front of us, her parents." Sasuke's irritation was apparent in how he spat out his last sentence as if it was a morsel of the most disgusting food he had ever eaten. Sakura propped her head up on her hand to look at her husband's face. "Sarada and I talked and she told me that she kissed him." she pointed out. "Sakura, don't tell me that." Sasuke cringed in disgust. Sakura giggled. "Oh, anata, I know that this may be hard for you to hear but Sarada is a young woman now. She's very capable of doing things by her own accord, especially things that we might not like." Sakura explained. Sasuke said nothing. He felt his wife's hand rest over where his heart was and she gave him a meaningful look. She sighed and continued, "I don't like it any more than you do, but it's a simple fact of life. Our baby...isn't a baby anymore." Still, Sasuke said nothing. As just about always, Sakura was right. He admired how she was usually right, but at times like this he wished she could be wrong more often. He really wanted her to be wrong in this case, but no. She was spot on. Her and Sasuke's little girl wasn't so little anymore, whether he liked it or not. To him, it felt like it was just yesterday that he was carrying her on his shoulders as he took her around the woods and sitting on the ground of their home with her, playing with stuffed animals and her numerous toys and listening to her adorable baby babble. But now she was a lot bigger and walked on her own two feet, played with kunai and shuriken, and preferred the company of a mohawked punk over her father's. Melancholy and nostalgia built up in Sasuke and a lump formed in his throat. Sakura could tell right away what was going on in his mind. She nuzzled her head against his neck lovingly. "But it's not the end of the world. No matter how old she gets or who she's with, she's always gonna want her papa in her life." she said. Sasuke's silence clearly meant he took what his wife just said into consideration. "...okay." he said. Sakura smiled. She gave her husband one last kiss and they said their 'good nights'. With that, they fell asleep.

+++++++

A week later, when her punishment was lifted and she was free to go out, Sarada came bouncing down the stairs. "Mama, Kawaki and I are going to the training fields to practice with shuriken. Is that okay?" she asked Sakura. Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting in his armchair reading a newspaper. "It's alright with me. What about you, anata?" Sakura said. Both Sarada and Sakura looked to Sasuke, waiting for his answer. Sarada looked anxious about what he would say. Internally, Sasuke warred with himself. The overprotective part of him railed against its cage, decrying his daughter going anywhere with a young man who was that close with her, but to no avail. The Uchiha patriarch swallowed and said, "Fine by me." Sarada smiled. "Thank you, Papa." "Just be sure to be back by eight, okay?" Sasuke quickly reminded her. Sarada gave her father a peck on his temple. "I promise." she answered. After that, she gave her mother a 'good bye' and skipped away to see Kawaki. Sakura smiled at her husband. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" "Yes, it kind of was." Sasuke said. He sighed and added, "But I'll live." Sakura nodded at him. All was silent for a moment until Sasuke spoke again. "But if he tries anything with her when I'm around, I can't promise that I will be merciful with him." Sakura burst out laughing.

End

[tamelee]

Damn I read some of previous ask/answers and I can't help but wonder why Naruto fandom is so unfortunate and at each other's throats so often. I mean, one thing is disliking a ship of something specific about it, but another haressing fic writers, artists and even original anime staff. I'm not a die hard fan so I'm mostly outside fandom thus I never had any bad experience myself, but from what I saw almost everyone who makes content or metas got harressed at some point. It's basical principle of fandoms: my kink isn't your kink and that's fine + dont like? Don't interact principles

Yes, the more popular the fandom the more this and that people would it attract; one cannot invite sheep without expecting wolves to appear too. But idk what made ppl feel such degree of entitlement and self-righteousness to police others... I honestly hope they're under 16 and would know better when grow up.

On separate note your art is top notch! It's so beautiful :D and I agree about your post how Kishimoto might have planned for Hinata to die at some point bc it'd fill in the gaps of Hyuga slavery thing and Naruto never doing anything regarding her confession

Hi @noa-ciharu !!

lol

“my kink isn't your kink and that's fine”

No, but imagine everyone having the same hand-kink like me. I’d feel sorry for all of you. Also let's keep this a secret.

Half-jokes aside, you’re right! Naruto has such a huge fandom and it never ceased to be even when they robbed us from a satisfying ending or seeing them grow up in their twenties in a way that makes sense. And instead of seeing Naruto work towards becoming Hokage, as there was a lot more to it, we get this bullshit… and yet a lot of us can’t help but read/watch/secretly side-eye his demolished, adult self to see what’ll happen. 

That in itself already says a lot. 

Naruto.. if it had stopped at Chapter 699 or if they left it open-ended in another, similar way, then nothing of the sort would’ve happened. The SNS fandom would’ve been satisfied with the nested story within Naruto as we picked up on it already, SS and NH never happened anyway and for sure the War Arc would’ve turned out differently.  

Right now Naruto and Sasuke are dumbed down only to fit two girls who are in love with them, which means a guy should reciprocate otherwise he’s an asshole, right? Also.. babies. NH aren’t satisfied because Naruto is “a bad father, never at home, doesn’t show love for Hinata” which makes him an asshole anyway they say. SS aren’t satisfied because Sasuke is “a bad father, never at home, doesn’t show love for Sakura” but he isn’t an asshole he’s just Tsundere. (I’m being sarcastic). And non-shippers aren’t satisfied because: what the fuck. 

So I absolutely agree with everything you say! I’m just not surprised that the separation within the fandom has always been so prominent.

By spoon-feeding every single “group” a little bit of ‘content’ here and there with phenomenal timing from the marketing team, that is literally what they’re creating as that is what has been a huge source of income for so long. And the dissatisfaction is what eventually makes them go to Twitter and harass the company for more content.

That’s never okay, but they’re also kind of asking for it since they’re giving it to them easily too and they know it. Soon they’ll come back for more. *Sigh*   

That’s why I never really blame the fandom, not even the wolves. 

 “But idk what made ppl feel such degree of entitlement and self-righteousness to police others…”

Admittedly this is annoying though 😂

“On separate note your art is top notch! It's so beautiful :D” 

Thankyouuuuu so much! 🥰 Drawing wasn’t working out today, but reading this helped me finish my next post (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و💕💕

“and I agree about your post how Kishimoto might have planned for Hinata to die at some point bc it'd fill in the gaps of Hyuga slavery thing and Naruto never doing anything regarding her confession”

I swear, the more I think about it, the more it starts to make sense. Especially when you take out ‘Boruto’ and then go from the beginning. It’s almost perfectly set up.. aaah, I want to make a post about it.

I still think the Naruto fandom is laid-back compared to other fandoms I've been in and really, really quickly left 😂 (I've been in Korea for a few months, I'll take anime over kpop anyday.)

Hope you have a nice day! 🧡~

[riding-and-dying]

ROD High School AU

Note: Just reposting this officially onto this blog for posterity in case I delete my old blog. Also, I have ROD brainrot again RIP.

Thought of this idea after playing some other dating sim with the trope of girl that has a crush on a jock even tho her bff since childhood likes her, but won’t admit it. Basically everything is the same in turns of school for Brie pretty much.

The option to fake Logan as a student kinda gave me this idea, wherein he’s the number 1 quarterback in the school. Naturally, he’s popular and hangs in a social circle that reflects that. As a result, he’s “friends” with Brent and Ingrid.

Before coming to LA, he moved around a lot with his adoptive older brother, Vaughn (originally, his older cousin, until he stepped in for Logan’s mom). They moved wherever Vaughn thought they would get more business for his food truck, which eventually led them here. Logan didn’t care so long as they had some form of shelter and a place he could go to school to. Also, he’s just happy to be included in someone else’s life.

Vaughn is the main income provider; however, as soon as Logan was old enough to work, he did part-time outside of his school and sports in order to help Vaughn. As Vaughn had a knack for cars, it was natural that he taught Logan his love for them too, so Logan tended to gravitate to labour involving machines, which ended him up working for Kaneko’s Autoshop. The work is demanding but the pay fair, and it came with some bonuses too.

Logan had only moved to LA about 2 years ago, yet he had made a mark almost instantaneously.

Colt is the childhood best friend of Brie because of their moms’ being best friends since their youth. Colt’s mom (whom I dubbed Yuki) is actually her godmother/aunt and same with Colt and Brie’s mom. They even lived in the same neighbourhood, which was surprising since she was a single mother providing for two, but luckily Brie’s mom was owed a few favours by the landlady.

Growing up, Colt and Brie hung out a lot. They loved to practically do everything together. They ate together, napped together, played together, etc. They even went to all the same schools. They had an inseparable bond, unique to them. Colt was also forced to watch a lot of Sailor Moon and the like as a result, but in turn, he’d make her watch Naruto and Bleach, but was forced to stop by their parents after she kept getting nightmares from certain graphic episodes.

Colt was even friend with Riya. Even though he was only a year older than them both (a few months, Brie would retort), he acted like their older brother of sorts, protective yet mean. He liked teasing them a lot, but mainly Brie, but after going too far one time, and causing her to cry, he toned it down. He was also something of a chaperone for them if they wanted to go places but needed supervision.

They often spent time at the other’s place, since they were next door neighbours. It was normal for them to see the other already at their place and having a snack and making themselves at home.

Brie is also familiar with Colt’s dad, and so whenever Colt spends his weekends with his dad at his apartment, Brie tends to visit. She’s also familiar with his “step-mom”, Chia, and considers her her third mom. In turn, Kaneko is like her 2nd dad, weirdly enough.

In regards to Logan and Colt’s relationship overall, they are rivals and don’t get along usually, meaning that someone has to separate them. At the shop, they work harmoniously but still butt heads, while at school they act like the other doesn’t exist to avoid conflict.

Colt is bitter at Logan because of how he suddenly rolled in one day and became his dad’s new favourite while Colt spent his entire life trying to gain his dad’s approval and praise.

At school, Colt is the outcast bad boy with the motorcycle. Logan is the jock with the sleek car. Brie is the honour student that rides the bus… Very different worlds.

However, a bet with Brent changes all of that… Brent betted that Logan didn’t have the balls to get Brie to fall for him. What’s on the line? 10,000$, and when you’re struggling to get by… you don’t back down from that kinda money.

When Brie first met Logan back when they were Juniors, they bumped into each other and Logan helped her up. Ever since then, Brie has had a crush on him, but hasn’t made a move. She’s seen him mostly in the shop, so she tries her hardest to hang around there. When Colt found out why she has been acting weird and visiting the shop more often, he got livid and his relations with Logan worsened.

It’s not fair when the girl you’ve liked since you were kids falls for some nobody that suddenly enters their life acts like he’s king of the hill.

When Logan began the bet, he faked it that he needed help on his schoolwork even tho he’s doing pretty good already, so that Brie could tutor him. He also introduced her into the world of rallies and parties, and before he could stop it, he fell for her.

He even introduced her to Vaughn, which he has never done before with any other girl. He told her about his life on the road and the hardships he faced and the truth of his situation wherein he lives in the slums, and not somewhere great like how everyone at school depicts.

Logan meant to tell her about his bet, but Colt caught wind of it first and blurted it out.

Riya is an ambivalent friend, rooting for Brie no matter her choice. Evidently, Colt’s family and hers want them to get together. Ingrid and Vaughn are in Logan’s corner cheering him on.

[raendown]

A story for @insaneflowergirl as part of the @madatobigiftexchange! Only took me six days to realize it’s June. A grand improvement over the last couple months. xD

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4049 Rated: T+ Fandom: Naruto Summary: Trapped together by an avalanche in the middle of a mission, Madara and Tobirama make a passing attempt at dealing with the discovery that they are soulmates. And also the discovery that there is only one bed to share for the night.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Warmth in Winter Hearts

“I don’t suppose if I happened to suggest laying down to rest you might actually listen?” 

“You’re not my mother!”

Tobirama pressed the bridge of his nose tightly between two fingers and breathed slowly. “Gods but I hope not. I have neither the parts nor the patience for that.”

Across the cavern Madara scowled, looking very much like he was only moments away from sticking out his tongue. If he were perfectly honest Tobirama would not have been surprised in the least to see that sort of childish behavior after the emotionally taxing week they’d been going through. Getting put on a mission together was bad enough; they fought like cats and dogs in the tower with separate offices to retreat to, how Hashirama expected them to survive an entire month out here in the wilderness together was a mystery. Yet the worst part had to be getting snowed in separate from the man they were meant to be escorting with no way to make sure the idiot was still alive. 

“When we get out of here,” Madara growled, “I’m going to tear out that asshole’s hair strand by strand.”

“I’m not sure how much of a threat that is.”

“Excuse you, that is a terrifying threat.”

“Not everyone is as attached to their hair as you are,” Tobirama pointed out. 

He was already turning away to build up the meager fire he’d hastily thrown together upon realizing they were trapped in here. Still, he could practically feel the weight of dark eyes glaring at him from across the cave, probably staring at the back of head and judging the hair that he kept short purely for utilitarian purposes. If he hadn’t looked so ridiculous the one time he’d shaved it all off he would just do away with the stuff all together. What good did hair really do him? Not much. If his head got cold he could always throw on a hat. Beyond that he’d never found much of a use for it. 

“Maybe if you took better care of yours then you’d understand.”

“I very much doubt that,” Tobirama murmured under his breath.

The glaring intensified but he refused to take the bait. Feeding the fire and making sure they stayed warm throughout the night was much more important than tending to the quicksilver emotions of a man who, until today, had been nothing but a thorn in his side at every turn. If not for this blasted mission he never would have been anything else. Tobirama closed his eyes and counted his breaths in and out, in and out, slowly, evenly, searching for the calm balance that so many people mistook for unfeeling cold. It hadn’t been so difficult to center himself in years. 

As much as he tried, however, calm remained far beyond his reach. He could keep a placid expression for the idiot across the room but on the inside his emotions were tumbling over each other like a business of ferrets all fighting over the same morsel of food. They were soulmates. Even in his own head that felt strange to admit. So many years spent glaring across the battlefield, several more glaring across council tables and mokuton sturdy desks, only now to discover their connection mere hours before they got themselves trapped inside a system of caves by nothing more than a raging blizzard. Honestly if he weren’t so angry at the timing of it all Tobirama might have been impressed by the sheer volume of snow Mother Nature had seen fit to dump over their heads without warning. More so than the weather he was angry at their client. When he’d told that fool to stay close it had been for his own safety, not to ruffle his overinflated ego without reason. Now he’d trapped himself somewhere else in these caves by dashing off just before an avalanche of snow collapsed over the entrance. Madara had offered to melt through it all but there was little point. There would always be more to come down on top. 

Either their client would be dead of cold in the morning or he wouldn’t. Being here with them wouldn’t do much to change that outcome when he’d already declared that he would rather freeze to death than seek body heat from, in his words, lowly shinobi types. Tobirama would rather lose the income from this mission than let such an asshole touch him after words like that. 

“Ugh.” Behind him Madara sniffed a couple of times. “These smell terrible.”

“Probably because you’re still bleeding inside them.” Tobirama didn’t even need to turn around to know what the other was talking about. He’d wrapped those bandages himself only hours before. 

“I should probably change them. But it’s so cold…”

Standing up to brush the snow from his knees, Tobirama nodded shortly. “Cold indeed. An excellent excuse not to care for your wounds. I’ll be sure to share that one with Izuna when he asks how I could allow you to come home with blood poisoning.” 

A smile flickered across his face when the snuffling turned in to barely muted grumbling, probably a bad mockery of him since that was usually Madara’s last defense against being told to do something he already knew he should have been doing. It only took another minute or two of waiting before heavy footsteps were thumping across the snow-dusted rock to pause just at his back. The hand that shoved itself in to his view looked like some child’s imaginative drawing of a zombie, covered as it was in off-white linen turned black in some places with drying blood. 

“If you’re so worried for me then do something about it yourself!” 

“Use your manners if you want help.”

“Fuck you!” Madara snatched his hand back. When Tobirama looked he was cradling it to his chest with a pout that looked all the more ridiculous than usual when set above a full suit of battle-worn armor. “I’ll just do it myself then!” 

“Will you now?”

A raised eyebrow sent his companion storming off to where they had scraped the snow off a few square feet of ground. Dark mutterings made a lovely background tune as Madara dug through both of their packs trying to find the rest of their medical supplies. When he found them he gave a vicious little noise of triumph and then flopped down on to a nearby rock to pick at the knot on the back of his injured hand. It was hardly the only injury either of them had suffered during the past week of escorting their jittery client through one of the most dangerous sections of the border with Yugakure, just the most serious since it hampered the grip Madara needed on his infamous gunbai. He’d trained himself to use the other hand like most shinobi did but his effectiveness in battle was markedly different when doing so, forcing Tobirama to take point constantly rather than switching out by turns. 

“Don’t forget the ointment,” Tobirama called over helpfully, not bothering to hide a snicker when Madara lifted his head to glare in response. 

“I know that!” 

“Ah so you were leaving it behind in the pack, what, to keep it warm?” 

Madara tore off a strip of bandage and hauled it ineffectually through the air, shouting, “Leave me alone!” 

He should. In truth he really should leave the man alone. Both of them needed a little time to process the discovery of their unexpected connection. Unfortunately Tobirama didn’t have nearly half the interpersonal skills his brother did, he’d never really learned when to leave well enough alone, so instead of giving them both a little space he watched the fluttering bandage until it hit the ground and then lifted his face with a smirk. 

“Very effective. I’m all but shaking in my boots.”

“You will be if you ever let me catch you on the training fields alone!” 

“Go on then, we’re alone right now.”

“Fuck off!” Madara grunted.

Tobirama peeked over his shoulder to make sure the fire wasn’t going to collapse on itself and then turned back to his mission partner. “I don’t think I will. You are literally my only entertainment right now.”

“I am not your entertainment!” 

“No, you’re right. You’re more like a natural disaster that I just can’t help watching. It’s human nature, you know? Like a morbid curiosity.”

Even as he spoke the words he knew he was being an ass but, as he’d said, it wasn’t like there was much else for him to do in this godforsaken cave. He might as well get a few licks in while he still had the energy. Watching Madara’s ears turn red with anger was just as fascinating as it had ever been, though having to force his mind away from examining why he was so fascinated was new. 

“If anyone here is morbid it’s you!”

“Well I’m not denying that.”

“Be more insulted!” Madara screeched. “I hate when you do that!”

Tobirama folded his arms and lifted one hand to tap at his chin. “Do what, pray tell?”

“You’re always so fucking unflappable! Just- just- it isn’t fair! Be...flapped! Or something!”

“Flapped?” He’d never heard anything so ridiculous in his life. It was perfectly reasonable that he should throw his head back and start laughing, thoroughly amused by his companion’s loss for words. Madara didn’t seem to appreciate his reaction but really that wasn’t far out of the ordinary. For the most part Madara had never seemed to appreciate much about him at all and until recently that hadn’t exactly bothered him. 

Right now the only thing flapping was Madara’s jaw as the man tried several times to come up with a response, any response at all. In the end he simply tossed the end of the bandage roll in Tobirama’s direction with lethal force and snatched the closest bedroll, storming off to spread it out across the space kicked free of snow. 

It was a shame to have his entertainment taken away so quickly, even more of a shame to know that if he also tried to bed down right now the only spot to do so would be within range of Madara’s vengeful hands, so Tobirama was left very suddenly with the echoes of his own laughter and little else. The grin on his face turned rapidly in to a scowl. Patient he might be when the situation called for it but he’d never been a fan of keeping the company of his own thoughts. Books were much more pleasant. Much less likely to spiral out of control in to dangerous places or earn him another lecture from his older brother. Not having his library at hand was certainly the worst part of any mission he’d ever taken, filled as they usually were with down time in which he had little to do but plan his next move or stare aimlessly at the surroundings. 

As much as it would probably be more interesting to wander off and explore how far back these caves actually went he didn’t think it was in his best interests to take the chance at getting lost. If nothing else Madara would definitely tell on him when they got back to the village. 

For a minute or so their little cavern was filled with the rustling of Madara settling himself down to sleep, wrenching the blankets off again when he realized he hadn’t put away all the medical supplies, then fussing at them to cover himself a second time. Once he finally settled down for good there was nothing but the sound of the fire crackling merrily away. Sealed off as they were from the rest of the world, the fire was their only source of light. If not for the fact that the caves obviously went pretty deep in to the mountain it would have been a very poor idea indeed to let it keep burning away all their oxygen. Tobirama was grateful he didn’t need to put it out. Aside from giving him something to listen to besides the inside of his own head it also gave him something to look at. Or rather it gave him a bit of light by which to stare off in his partner’s direction, studying the length of Madara's body and the shapes he made under the regulation wool blanket. 

Not a good idea. Definitely not a good idea. Tobirama jerked his eyes away as soon as he realized what he was doing. Better if there had been no fire. He’d rather be blind for lack of light and leave himself at the mercy of the Sharingan for seeing any possible threats than to sit here and stare across the snowy rock like some lovelorn maiden. No matter what discoveries had been made that day they were not some pair of star crossed lovers. There was no need for whatever dramatics his face had just been doing. 

Digging both hands in to his eyes with a sigh, Tobirama decided it was probably best if he just went to sleep too. It was still too early for him to be very tired but falling asleep would at least stop him from following wherever the hell his thoughts had just been trying to go. Somewhere much too thespian for his tastes. He wasn't his brother, after all, there was no need for him to sit here and analyze his feelings or some other such nonsense. If the fire burnt down while they slept and he woke to darkness, well, he did still have Madara with him; just because he was rightfully leery of the Sharingan’s powers didn’t mean he was above taking advantage of them when he needed to. Perhaps a little mean when the man was injured by, hey, he wasn’t the one who could see in the dark and that was hardly his own fault. 

Another sigh caught at the edges of his teeth and slipped out sounding more like a hiss when he pushed himself up on to his feet, striding over towards their packs with careful footsteps. There was no telling what sort of uneven ground could be hiding under all this snow. So far away from the dancing flames his already poor vision was even worse so at first Tobirama assumed that Madara had simply kicked everything out of place while looking for the bandages. It wasn’t until he gathered all of the packs together and dug through every one of them that he realized one very important item was missing. 

His eyes snapped over to the prone figure only feet away. Madara lay stretched out and perfectly still on top of his bed roll. Or, more accurately, the only bedroll. In all the kerfuffle of their client running off and the avalanche trapping them in it appeared they had lost not only some of the food they’d been carrying but also their second sleeping mat. 

If not for the snow on the ground it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. He still had a blanket and it wasn’t like he’d never bedded down for the night without something comfortable to lie on, catching a few hours up a tree whenever he had to and doing so without complaint. The problem was that lying down on frozen rock had only one outcome and with both of them already injured in various ways he certainly couldn’t take the risk of waking up with pneumonia when there was a perfectly viable - if crushingly embarrassing - solution snoozing peacefully right there. He really hoped Madara wasn’t too comfy just yet. 

“What?” his partner snarled when he was nudged lightly with one foot. 

“Shove over,” Tobirama demanded. 

“The fuck? There is literally a whole cave of space, go make your bed somewhere else.”

“Can’t. I have to share your bed so shove over, Uchiha.”

Madara snapped upright so fast they both heard something in his back pop, though neither paid it much attention. “You fucking what now?”

“There appears to be a distinct lack of a second bedroll anywhere so unless you want me sneezing all over your bandages when I inevitably have to change them you will shove the hell over.” Tobirama crossed both arms over his chest like they could hold in all the confusing emotions trying very hard to bubble their way to the surface. 

He wasn’t sure what to think of the way Madara’s jaw hung open wordlessly, couldn’t properly make out the nuances of that expression without more light to see by. Maybe if he weren’t standing at such an angle as to throw the other man in shadow- but to step aside now so he could see better would be to admit how bad his eyes really were and that was a weakness he’d never bothered to share even with his own brother. He settled instead for standing his ground until that rounded jaw snapped shut again for Madara to harrumph loudly. 

“Fucking- are you serious? This is ridiculous! Where did the other bedroll go?”

“Probably lost in the snow somewhere but I would honestly much rather be sleeping right now than trying to guess at things I may never have an answer to. So. Shove. Over. I will not say it again.”

Ignoring Madara’s voice shouting in his ear was as easy as tuning him out, a feat barely comparable to the task of tuning out Hashirama in the middle of high drama. Tobirama untied his armor and set it all aside carefully. By the time he turned back he noticed that, although the screaming hadn’t so much as paused, Madara had gone ahead and moved over a few inches anyway. He did give vent to a few choked noises when Tobirama slid in under the covers with him but it wasn’t difficult to parse out why. Tobirama was still up on one elbow when he paused to examine their situation.

Which way was he supposed to face? They would both be warmer if he faced inwards and curled himself around Madara’s back but such a position felt much too intimate. Facing away from each other would be blessedly less intimate but there wasn’t exactly a whole lot of space on the mat beneath them and it would take only a single shift for one of them to roll away from the other, taking all the blankets with them. Sleeping on his back was generally the way he preferred but, again, space was the main issue. He would have to lay half on the snow to do that. 

“Just...just pick something and go to sleep,” Madara grumbled.

“Eager to cuddle?” Tobirama snapped at him, a response born more of habit than any particular ire. 

“Fuck off!” 

Just for that Tobirama slumped down on to his right side and made sure to curl in as close as possible, grinning viciously to himself as the other man stiffened noticeably. He himself was far from immune to the awkwardness but petty spite had always driven him faster than any care for his own comfort. If Madara hated this then he would lie here awake all night before he rolled over to make them both comfortable. 

It would have been nice, he admitted silently after several minutes, having enough mercy in his soul to relent and just roll over. Tomorrow promised to be an absolute bastard of a day, not least because the task of digging them out of this place would undoubtedly fall mostly on his own shoulders. He definitely could use some rest before tackling that. Instead he lay there with eyes wide open staring at the back of Madara’s head and wondering what reactions he might get if he pulled on some of that bristling hair. Almost as though the man could hear his thoughts Madara curled in to himself a little tighter. The movement was an innocent one. The way it pushed Madara’s rump in to the cradle of Tobirama’s hips was most decidedly not an innocent result even if it was obviously unintentional. 

“Nnngg!?” 

“Very intelligent,” Tobirama breathed, not wanting to speak louder for fear the sudden rush of want running through him might be heard in his voice. 

“That wasn’t- I didn’t- fuck off, Senju!” 

“I will have you know that it is taking all of my energy not to instinctually respond with an implication you would rather I fuck you instead.”

Madara’s screech could probably be heard through the several feet of snow blocking their cave entrance. “It doesn’t count if you still say it you idiot!” 

Yet for all the screaming protests he went on to ring both of their ears with, Madara’s reaction notably lacked one thing. He never once tried to move away. Oh he waved the arm he wasn’t lying on and jawed until Tobirama began to wonder if he wasn’t wearing down the bones of his own skull from overuse but not once did he so much as tilt his hips in to a different position. 

Such telling body language gave Tobirama all the clues he needed to figure out exactly what he’d missed in their earlier conversation. It was possible these types of clues were something he’d been missing in all of their past interactions, body language he never noticed simply because he tried to look at the other man as little as possible. To his shame such a habit had been built entirely on the premise that Madara hated it when people didn’t pay attention to him. From now on he promised himself he would pay closer attention - even if he might not let Madara see such efforts. Just because he was begrudgingly interested didn’t mean he was willing to set that spite down just yet. Some habits took longer to break than others. 

And some would never fade but maybe that was more of a personal failing than anything else. 

“White flag.” The words were out and hanging in the air before Tobirama even realized his mouth had decided to speak before his brain had a proper sentence ready. In front of him Madara stiffened impossibly further. 

“The hell are you on about?”

“I...am waving a white flag. We both need rest. This is, ah, comfortable enough. Let’s just put any further arguments or conversations on hold until tomorrow and go to sleep.” 

Madara seemed to chew that over for a moment until he asked very quietly, “Like this?” 

“I am comfortable if you are.”

He half expected to have the man roll over and deck him in the face for such presumptions. When the silence began to stretch he wondered if he was meant to take it as agreement until he heard very quiet words drift back to caress his ears, a softer sound than he had ever heard from this man in his life. 

“Your arms’ll go numb sleeping like that. Might as well...might as well stretch them out.” 

“Ah. I didn’t presume-”

Tobirama cleared his throat before very carefully shifting back to make room for where both of his arms were folded tightly against Madara’s back. When he stretched one out neither of them said anything about Madara lifting his head to make room for it beneath the pillow they shared. And when he stretched the other out with very delicate movements they both remained utterly silent as he laid it gently across Madara’s waist. 

It was the subtle relaxing of all the muscles pressed up against his front that finally made everything click. Oh but he was a blind man. A very blind man with terrible vision to boot. If anyone asked he was going to blame every misunderstanding on the man in his arms with zero shame. 

Tomorrow they would wake to fight their way past the snow and put in at least a token effort to find their wayward client. Somewhere along the way they would search for the supplies that got lost in the shuffle. But as he closed his eyes Tobirama smiled to realize neither one of them was likely to put a whole lot of work in to finding that second bedroll they had lost, not when it seemed their newly discovered bond was something Madara wanted much more than he’d let on before. 

[rayshippouuchiha]

so if you’re looking for hashirama being a bad brother and also mad worldbuilding and exploring naruto world politics and why building a village whose main source of income is from warfare and violence and expecting to maintain peace is stupid and how to do better, compass of thy soul by umei no mai on ffn and its sequel are v v good. its madara x oc which isnt my thing but i enjoyed it v much anyway, so.. also i tried to put this in an ask but your ask box cuts off the top of the captcha so i can only see the bottom 2 rows and i cant prove im not a robot when i cant read the instructions :(

~~~

Thanks for the rec darling! Do you have your screen magnification set above 100? Cause if you do then just drop it back down and that should fix the issue

[ophidae-a]

Orochimaru and the political implications that have kept him alive and free pre & post war...

This has been a long time coming, I will try to word this as best as I can given that it will involve a lot of actual research but I was simply exhausted of seeing people’s bad takes. Anyway let’s begin.

Assuming you could implement actual real world logic into the naruto world, that would mean all the countries are/were probably influenced by many of the economic movements that influenced and shaped the real world. Since the series seems to be set in a mix between ancient and modern times, it is hard to place it in a specific moment in history, so I will only be addressing the more general theories.

We know that Shinobi villages get commissioned for their assistance by other villages, and that seems to be a big part of the Shinobi Villages’ income, which means trade is a thing in that universe. Shinobi villages seem to specialize in exporting services ( aka the Shinobi ), which probably means they have to import everything that the common villagers cannot produce. Being within a country, that means the Shinobi village is subjected to the laws imposed by the Daimyo —— which means that international trade is also probably a thing.

No country is 100% self-sufficient ; in the past, people argued and theorized for and against international trade, trying to justify its need and place certain standards on it. The law of comparative advantage came to explain why certain countries still engage in international trade despite being good at producing everything it needs (absolute advantage)  —— it comes with the premise that if you can produce a product in large quantities and efficiently ( low costs ), than that is your specialty, and you should export that and buy the products you cannot produce with the same efficiency for that will be more beneficial to you. David Ricardo demonstrated that if two countries capable of producing two commodities engage in trade, then each country will increase its overall consumption by exporting the good for which it has a comparative advantage while importing the other good, provided that there exist differences in labor productivity between both countries. Basically he says that this comparative advantage is what makes international trade possible, opposed to what Adam Smith alluded in 1776 when he spoke about the absolute advantage.

Here is an example to make things easier:

Hours of work necessary to produce one unit

Country/ Product         X  ��      Y

Country 1                     100      120

Country 2                     90        80

For country 1 to produce one unit of both products it would take them 220 hours, for country 2 it would take them 170 hours to produce one unit of both products. Country 1 requires 100 hours to make one unit X, and Country 2 needs 90 hours for that. It is a difference of 10 hours. Product Y takes country 1 120 hours to produce a single unit, while it takes 80 hours for country 2 to make that.

That being said, country 1 is more efficient at producing X, while country 2 is more efficient at producing Y —— which means they should specialize in producing those products and buy the one they’re not as efficient from each other. And that will be financially beneficial to them. ( country 2 has absolute advantage, however even like that it is more beneficial to buy product x than to produce it themselves ).

Why is this important? Well, Orochimaru didn’t just leave Konoha and that was it, he founded a Village —— a Shinobi village in a land that previously had none. The land of rice is very small and probably lived off of exporting rice to the nearby villages and countries ; a commodity based economy is not very strong. That means Orochimaru not only opened a whole new industry in this country, but also brought with him intellectual property, in other words, technology. The land of rice now not only had a new economic pillar, it also has potential to join the big guys since with Orochimaru on the inside it means less importing more exporting.

Okay but what is Orochimaru producing Lua, I don’t get it! Not to worry, I shall explain. Orochimaru is a scientist, he produces what most scientists do : intellectual property —— vaccines, medication, anti-venom, research on treatments for a variety of illnesses, technology, industrial models, genetic research among others. All things that he can patent, and by extension patent to the land of rice. That is what he is producing, and that is what makes him so special and influential.

Throughout the series, we know of very few characters who are gifted in healthcare/science —— we have Tsunade, Sasori, Chiyo, Orochimaru, Shizune, Kabuto and Sakura. Those are the characters we canonically know are in this industry, however do you see where they are from? Land of Wind, Land of Fire, but what about the the other countries? It is stupid to think they do not have their own medically inclined people and industry, but given the fact that we know villages such as Ame and Kiri, the smaller villages, are heavily subjugated by the bigger countries, it is not absurd to think they’d turn to imports to supplement the fact that they might have a small or non existent industry for these areas. Even bigger countries must struggle to supply the whole population with things such as vaccines and medication, and that is where Orochimaru comes in.

Not only is he in charge of his own village, therefore doesn’t really have to worry about many regulations that might delay his production, he is also not bound by any other jurisdiction other than his own ( since it has been implied in canon that the daimyo is basically his puppet ). Orochimaru has absolute advantage when it comes to the medical industry, and that is what he exports to all the other nations —— I am talking mass production, with full control of the supply chain. This is what makes him so politically important, because a village in shortage of medication and vaccines is a village ready to die (healthcare crisis), especially when we talk about Shinobi Villages who are probably the ones that need these products the most.

And that is the reason Orochimaru hasn’t been hunted down and killed pre 4th war. The Kages and Daimyos know where these products are coming from, they understand the implications but they can’t do without them. No matter how much they’d like to deny it, they need Orochimaru alive. Otherwise they’ll have a huge problem in their hands.

Post war this need is even bigger —— they have just been through a war, a lot of people died, a lot of people are sick, need medication, vaccines, transfusions, surgeries and there aren’t a lot of personnel left. Not only that, but Orochimaru was a key factor on them winning this war —— without him, all of the current kages would have died, without him none of the previous konoha kages would have been resurrected therefore more death would have come.

That is one of the reasons after the war that he wasn’t imprisoned. It isn’t because Konoha is biased —- why would they be biased toward Orochimaru? It is because they know that if they lock him up, or kill him, they won’t have from who import the shit they need.

Throughout the whole series Orochimaru only really had beef with two major countries —— the land of fire, and the land of wind. Those were the only countries he really pissed off, and neither of those countries ever went after him with the intensity you would see if they actually wanted him dead. The other nations probably didn’t care about him other than his potential as a business partner, which probably influenced in him not being “held accountable” for the things he did.

When people mention the difference between treatments of Sasuke and Orochimaru, it kills me because they are not the same thing. Sasuke left the village and made himself a war criminal the moment he walked into that Kage meeting and tried to kill everyone to get to Danzo. Orochimaru is a villain, a criminal and in my opinion the best since he went ahead and made himself so important worldwide that he cannot be touched, and even managed to survive, however it is not comparable to what Sasuke did. Sasuke went ahead and made himself an enemy of the Shinobi alliance, not just one nation but all of them, Orochimaru did no such thing because he was at the time a fully grown man, not an angsty teen. Orochimaru knew what he was doing, Sasuke was fully controlled by rage. And it showed, that is why Sasuke wasn’t left off the hook, not only that but Sasuke doesn’t provide the nations with anything other than a threat —— Orochimaru poses a big threat but he also provides them with things they need to survive, so he is something that they have to manage, Sasuke? Not that much. Countries don’t like to feel threatened, that is why they rained down on Sasuke and not on Orochimaru.

Making yourself politically important can get you out of a plethora of situations, not only in naruto world. In the real world it is very much the same, it is why diplomats have immunity, why many politicians get away with countless bad things —— because their fall could impact a whole country or more.

[a-long-walk-in-the-forest]

Questions about Naruto world

How much do ninjas make on average? 

D-rank missions: from 5.000 to 50.000 Ryo

C-rank missions: from 30.000 to 100.000 Ryo 

B-rank missions: from 80.000 to 200.000 Ryo 

A-rank missions: from 150.000 to 1.000.000 Ryo 

S-rank missions: at least 1.000.000 Ryo 

how much of this goes to the state? how much is given to ninjas? were is the income going? on what bases are salaries decided? does ninja rank factor into what percentage of the mission pay they get? i highly doubt they have a consistent monthly salary. also even if jounin get more than genin are they okay with earning less money by taking low paying missions? Is being a teacher something they apply for? do they get an order for it? if so can they refuse (and I don’t mean in a formality, “will you do it” but there really isn’t a choice kind of way)?

we don’t know much about the value of Naruto currency and even if we know about exchange rates it’s pointless since we don’t know how much things cost in the naruto world.

Nagato was going on about how ninja villages are profitable for countries but they have high maintenance costs. So does that mean the country leaders contribute financially to the village maintenance? Also villages charge for missions and they don’t do missions exclusively for the land their in since the land of wind was hiring leaf ninja.

Do the villages have to pay the land owners for the village land? do they own any land or is it all the daimyos’ property? 

Does the village have its own currency? or is the village sign on the land of fire’s currency? 

Also the leaf is apparently financially stable according to Nagato, but all the walls look like they’ll collapse if you lean on them, the furniture is worn out, the cutlery is cracked...

seriously look at the walls... look at the ground ... it has a pipe coming out of it in the middle of the street. How did they manage to rebuild everything after the attack with this kind of economic situation? did they get a huge loan? Yamato can only do so much.

When team 7 first got to the land of wave no one commented on anything but later when they’re in town Sakura comments on the abundance and age range of the impoverished and lack of goods in stores.

No one comments about the worn down infrastructure though so is the leaf infrastructure as bad as the waves? if so how do the lesser villages even exist with such crumbling economies?

Just how poor are ninjas? They obviously aren’t middle class people given the kind crumbling buildings they live in and the cheap looking everyday clothes they wear (though the ninja attire with all that chainmail is probably expensive).

What is their social class exactly? during the chuunin exams we get a glimpse of the general mannerisms of the average ninja and they aren’t exactly classy. 

Just look at those people in the background behind Naruto. Imagine being a guest in a foreign country and participating in a military promotion exam and then you just spreading yourself across the table at the exam venue ... or putting your shoes on the seat like the shirtless guy at the front.

Just what is outside the map? 

we know practically all major countries have ninja villages according to Kakashi so is the stuff outside the ninja world map all minor countries? 

Also given this description, the fact that they can be hired by other Lands is strange.