#i'm so sick of people saying 'you can't be a REAL sasuke fan if you like sasusaku bc sakura felt entitled to him and pressured him!'

[teamsasukes]

ok in my opinion, many things are wrong with the idea that sakura viewed sasuke only as a prize to be won to boost her self-worth; that when it comes to sasuke, she's forever frozen in time as a 12-year-old girl who can't see beyond his good hair and great grades. this post is my attempt at thoroughly unpacking and refuting that notion

when we meet sakura in part 1, she is obsessed with societal standards and her admiration for sasuke is almost entirely rooted in that. he's the ideal future husband -- from an ancient clan, stoic, intelligent, skilled, and by sakura's own description, "cool" -- these are things that she has been conditioned to want! so this is the sasuke that she envisions, until...

until they get put on a team together, and sakura gradually comes to realize that perhaps sasuke is not what she's made him out to be in her mind. he talks about crying, about being afraid. he's paralyzed with fear in their first mission. naruto may very well be stronger and more capable than him! oh, and sasuke gets into silly fights with naruto all the time. none of that is "cool." suddenly he seems less like the ideal future husband and more like a real person with flaws and baggage of his own.

that sakura's view of sasuke changes is so apparent through how radically her behaviour around him shifts between the early formation of team 7 and the chunin exams (and any point after). sakura goes from being unable to listen to a bad word about sasuke (maybe even the ones that are deserved) to defying him when she deems fit. she even praises naruto at his expense, because societal views are not at the forefront of her mind when it comes to the two boys anymore -- they're just naruto and sasuke. they're her friends! she goes from calling kakashi out for bad-mouthing the uchiha clan because she's doesn't want to risk sasuke getting mad at her, to calling naruto out for a similar statement, not due to personal involvement in the equation, but simply because it's not right.

and people typically agree with me up to here. it's when we get to sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death that opinions diverge, and some people tend to think that sakura should have "gotten over" sasuke to propel her character development forward. i don't necessarily find this reading invalid -- it's certainly a more straightforward direction for her character to take. sakura's goal was sasuke, now sakura's goal is to be strong. the problem is that there was always more nuance to her goal of winning sasuke's heart than people afford it in fandom discussion, and similarly, i don't think that the progression needed to be as clear-cut as "sakura gets over sasuke" to still be meaningful. in this case, i feel like people's expectations about what should have happened following this scene might preclude them from seeing the growth that this moment did produce.

sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death is the critical point her arc built up to for all of part 1. sakura is insulted by the sound nin for pouring so much time into her appearance when her training is clearly not up to par, and she cuts her shiny and perfect hair in a declaration that she will no longer derive her self-worth from the validation that would come from romantic attachment (to sasuke, or anyone else). instead, it will be from standing shoulder-to-shoulder with (or even ahead of) her teammates in battle -- so that she can protect them rather than the other way around. then the flashbacks during her fight with ino make it explicit that sakura has wanted to become a skilled shinobi -- one who could match up to ino -- all along, but since that is not a socially acceptable goal from a girl, she instead declares them rivals over sasuke's heart. the boy is not important here (haha, it always sticks out to me that when she asks him out before the chunin exams, sakura is more bummed about sasuke's assessment of her skills than his rejection). she doesn't even think of sasuke while fighting ino, lol -- she grandstands about how only she can "get him," but that's for the purpose of riling up ino, so that there's no chance she'll go easy on sakura. sakura wants to know, definitively, that she can match up to ino. and she does.

in light of all of this, people often say sakura had "no reason" to like sasuke -- after all, i did spend the entire last paragraph establishing that sakura's pre-series crush on sasuke was an immature infatuation that had nothing to do with sasuke and everything to do with ino. but, again, team 7 spent months together on a team and sasuke and sakura became actual friends! he was a good teammate to both naruto and sakura, if a little rough around the edges. i don't think it's implausible for sakura to develop real feelings for sasuke during this time. and if that is not enough, if you need deeper, thematically fulfilling reasons -- well, i sort of object to that on principle. i think friendship, having fun with one another, being at ease around each other -- these are all perfectly good reasons to fall in love with someone. and you may say that naruto also fulfills this criteria, but if sakura was physically attracted to sasuke and not naruto -- well, i think that's fine too, and it certainly doesn't warrant any moral judgment. people say often that sakura should have ended up with lee or naruto -- the first of whom stated outright that he loved her because she was beautiful, and the latter who introduced her as a "pretty girl" -- but whether their feelings are shallow is not endlessly dissected. (it's not narusaku or leesaku i protest to here, just the double standard)

but for the record, i think kishimoto did write in enough for us to understand why sakura would fall for sasuke in particular. i discussed this in another post, but alongside ino, sasuke sparked the most significant character growth for sakura. he was the first to make her reevaluate her treatment of naruto (and by extension, her rose-tinted view of the world), he was the first (and only) of their teammates to express disappointment that she wasn't investing in her own skills, he figured out when she felt insecure and reminded her of the areas in which she was more proficient than the rest of the team. sakura's initial idealized view of sasuke does not endure for a number of reasons, one of which is that the real sasuke actually expects her to hold her own and sees potential in her. for sakura, whose main motivation as a character is to become stronger for her teammates, this must mean a great deal! we mostly lose track of this element of sasuke and sakura's dynamic in part 2, which is a shame, but when she cracks open the earth with only her fist, naruto and kakashi are utterly astonished, while sasuke just smiles -- like it is no surprise, like she's been capable of it all along -- so there is that, i guess.

(and for more on thematically fulfilling, see this post on what i think could have played out if sakura were not relegated to a side character in all but panel presence in part 2. but really, i find it so interesting that sasuke and sakura both repeatedly have a lot of trouble suppressing their compassion to do what is expected of them as shinobi. apart from sasuke, i think sakura is also the only character to express that human life has inherent value -- at least, she says something along those lines when she fights sasori.)

anyway, post-forest of death, sasuke version 1 has pretty much dissipated in sakura's mind -- the only place he ever existed -- and sakura's treatment of sasuke changes further. she stops intruding on his physical boundaries, stops flirting, stops asking him out -- she's there for him, but as a friend first. she hugs him in the hospital, but that's not necessarily a romantic gesture (she's physically affectionate by nature, which is why she ambushes naruto with a hug in the same manner at the end of the pain arc) and sasuke finds it comforting (signalled by many things, chief among which is that naruto leaves the room after observing sasuke's face). and yes, she confesses to being in love with him twice afterwards, years apart, but that is only because she is extremely stressed and panicked and wants him to stay for his own (and the second time around, add in naruto's) safety. her first confession is too centered on her own feelings, while the second is just woefully oblivious (through little fault of sakura's -- she doesn't know why sasuke is so intent on destroying the shinobi world), but neither of them come with the condition of sakura wanting sasuke to stay only so he can be with her. sakura wants sasuke to be safe! she wants him to be mentally sound! she lets him know that she cares about him!

i absolutely need to reiterate: at no point in part 2 does sakura display any sense of entitlement to sasuke. she always pleads with him to stay, rather than demanding anything of him. and even in the privacy of her own thoughts, sakura ponders bringing sasuke back in a few contexts: she wants sasuke to be okay, she is so sorry for burdening naruto, she needs to help naruto, and if sasuke comes back, they can all be a team again. romance does not even enter her mind. it is such a willfully egregious misread of the text to say that she only wanted sasuke back so they could be together.

moreover, it is honestly just nonsensical to me when people say sakura wanted sasuke as a prize, because it laughs in the face of her entire character arc and completely ignores why her pre-series crush existed at all. back then, sakura wanted sasuke as a status symbol. as of part 2, though, he is decidedly not what konoha's society would see as the ideal man. in the eyes of the state, he is a wanted criminal. sakura, meanwhile, is a student of the hokage, one of the most skilled medics in konoha at the ripe age of 16, and one of the most powerful shinobi of her generation (a feat achieved entirely through her own labour). she has stood next to her teammates in battle and helped take down a literal god. she does not need sasuke to feel fulfilled. nevertheless, she chooses, every day, to care about him, even though it would be infinitely easier not to. and if sakura wanted to haul around a status symbol in the form of a boyfriend, if only to bolster her already impressive profile (which she would not. that's the point!) -- naruto, konoha's new favourite traumatized teenager, is like. right there. but sakura loved naruto before he was proclaimed a hero by konoha, just like she continues to love sasuke even though he is very far from the coolest boy in their class.

my feelings on chapter 699 are... mixed, because the way things resolve for sasuke is just so sad, but what we see play out between him and sakura is: 1. sakura asks to come with him 2. sasuke is 100% comfortable saying no (how do the "sakura forced sasuke to be with her" truthers reconcile with that one, lol) 3. sakura appears mildly disappointed but like. she'll survive. that's it. then he thanks her, taps her on the forehead (but promises he'll see her soon, in an inversion of what that gesture meant from itachi), and we leave them in a pretty hopeful place, all things considered. there's room for reconciliation, for growth, for love. (and i don't want to hear about post-699 because i don't care. i don't consider it canon, and pretty much no one on tumblr does either, except to occasionally shit on ships they don't like)

this ended up being way too long, but i want to say: if you don't like sasusaku, that's your prerogative. i'm not here to change your mind. i certainly think they should have been written better in part 2 (but i'd argue that, like, 99% of those issues are just a natural consequence of sakura being continually sidelined by the narrative, rather than problems inherent to the relationship itself). regardless, i think too often people let their opinion of a ship impede character analysis. to claim that sakura relentlessly propositioned sasuke and that she saw him as a prize does such a huge disservice to how much she has grown and what she has accomplished over the course of the series.

[uchihakeimei]

The simp-ification of Kaisagi is my 13th reason, I'm not even gonna lie chief. Why, whyyy are most Kiis fics like that. Why is Isagi always the poor submissive uke who cries and begs, like, have you seen THEM?? Are y'all sure that any of them would be screaming and crying?? Let's be real, if Isagi saw Kaiser choking himself he would lend a helping hand 😭 God they're so amazing. And crazy. And sick. And batshit insane. I love them a normal amount, I swear-

And I love red-flag-Kaiser. Him being a total asshole, the master of gaslightining, of poor excuses and ghosting. The dude does NOT know how to handle a healthy relationship. He would go crazy if Isagi ever tried to ghost him for a whole day, though. Like, the nerve.

I'm absolutely living for the current Kaiser, crumbling and falling into desperation. I need to see him at his lowest, where not even Ness can help him up. I need to see Isagi step on him and rise. Yet I don't know how this will conciliate with my desire to see PXG win… My boy Rin needs to step on both of them and take his rightful crown. Ugh, I just love all of them. Can't both teams win?? Ego can change football rules, right??

(You brought up two ships that I absolutely despise too, NaruHina and SasuSaku. I barely consider them canon since it's just a poor attempt of catering to heteronormativity. To me they don't even exist. Yes, I do dislike Kainess, but not this much, at least it makes sense somehow. But Kishimoto straight up decided to pull these two ships out of his sorry ass lmfao) I sure would love to say that I miss Naruto, but then I end up remembering that shitty ending and the nostalgia fades… I do really miss its villains though!

Facts, sister.

I have never really understood the attraction in one person of a pairing being absolutely down bad for the other- like, is it really fun when it's so one sided?

In some fics, you can just see the author bias, like its so blatant- one partner is absolutely on their knees for the other.

(Although, I don't exactly mind if it's a pwp, iykwim, it's okay if that's Isagi's kink, no kinkshaming here ;p

Is it unrealistic? Possibly.

Is it kinda hot? Yes)

What really grinds my gears are the character driven fics in which none of them are actually in character.

I see this a lot in Victuuri fics too- some make Yuuri a total BAMF Badass and Victor's completely down bad for him- to the point that Victor's always the one apologising, no matter if Yuuri is in the wrong too.

Kaiser and his everything- character style, arc, personality- is so delicious, I just wanna gobble him up lol

If only everyone could win in a football match... (Ego make it happen please)

NaruHina and SasuSaku... I could rant about these two ships and the travesty that was the ending all day.

Hinata and Sakura and their obsession over those two was so pathetic. The fact that the boys were given to them as reward for persevering in their love makes me want to kill something. And everything after the war arc ended was a way rapidly drive off all the fans of the series.

Like, even if you somehow look past their shitty marriages of convenience and the sheer insult that was The Last, what the fuck was that Hokage Inauguration episode. The sheer anger I feel at the thought of that episode and the fact that people defend that bullshit is going to make me end up at the therapist. Naruto not getting to attend his own inauguration as Hokage was a garbage joke and nothing and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

Sasuke and Naruto deserved to end up together- and no, them being spirit brothers is a garbage reason to not ship them because it's not even fucking true. Transmigration and reincarnation are not synonyms, people.

Personally, I think Kishimoto also wanted them to end up together, but he wasn't allowed to do that. The official art is so couple-y, it's not even subtle. To say nothing of what he wrote in his own series.

Indeed KaiNess makes a hell of a lot more sense then SasuSaku and NaruHina. Atleast Kaiser and Ness are friends- toxic yes, but still friends.

[silalcarin]

And to anyone who dares to claim any of this as "FALSE" or "BLASPHEMY", here are @sekibeing's two blog posts regarding Boruto Episode 23, which features Sakura and Shin's INSERTED fight (which Luna already pointed out was clearly not in the Gaiden manga) that sekibeing (real name Chengxi Huang) himself animated:

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/165048222444/this-is-the-part1-of-my-work-in-boruto-ep23

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/165048249999/this-is-the-part2-of-my-work-in-boruto-ep23

And then, not too long afterwards, Huang drew an SSS fanart:

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/165963985244/boruto-sakura-uchiha-sarada-uchiha-sasuke

And to the SS people who turned on Huang because he dared to draw NH, his favorite couple as described in this official interview, cuddling after they have sex, he actually drew some cutesy SS fanart as well -- two with NH and one without NH:

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/152064851369 (with NH)

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/152157158144 (without NH)

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/163938289524/naruhina-sasusaku (with NH)

And Huang reblogged a post by @angelcake12 where an anon asked angelcake to draw SS and they drew Sakura for the anon:

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/152241145809/can-u-post-ur-ss-unfinished-works-im-a-drawer

Finally, Huang drew a fanart of Sakura:

https://sekibeing.tumblr.com/post/154552530369

Huang did all of this for Sakura and SS... and you Sakura and SS people have the gall to turn on him the moment he turns his attention to NH?? Which, again, he openly admitted to favoring ever since he was in middle school??

You people are the most ungrateful fandom I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. You people are a large reason as to why I'm sick and tired of the general fandom. You're salty over a cute and fuzzy FANART of another pairing -- a pairing that Huang personally sees as a sister ship to your ship, considering he drew NH and SS together in two of his fanarts.

It's not even official art that you're upset about; it's FANART. Huang has a job as a key animator/director for a series he's been a fan of ever since he was in middle school, and yet he does plenty of Naruto and Boruto fanart for fun to reflect his fanboyism and share it with his Tumblr/Instagram/Twitter followers. And you people ruined that for him due to your bitterness and saltiness. You people forced him to delete his FANART of his favorite ship because you can't stand the fact that both your ship and your precious kweenie don't get nearly as much love from him. How insecure are you people, hmm? You've got to be the most insecure "fans" I've ever known, to actually be bitching about FANART.

I'm so done, it's not even funny anymore. Begone, all of you butt-hurt "fans". Don't harass Huang or any other animator or Kishimoto. They literally don't give two fucks about you or your opinions. They never have and they never will. Take your shit elsewhere.

Oh and one last thing: If you don't believe @lunaneko14 when she says that even Kishimoto doesn't think highly of Sakura, here's the 2017 Jump Festa official interview to back up our evidence and prove you people wrong. 

Do take note of how Kishimoto officially says that:

1) he did not bring Sakura in as a special female character [basically admitting that Sakura is not the main heroine after all];

2) Sakura is only just another character to him [ditto];

3) Sakura is at the same level of importance as Kiba or Shikamaru, who are supporting characters [ditto];

4) he threw Sakura in the middle of NaruHina to create a messy love triangle [basically admitting that Sakura's only purpose as a character, her sole characterization, was to be a shipping tool, the FALSE love interest to Naruto, the Romantic False Lead to Naruto, the LOSER in a half-assed messy love triangle];

5) even though he threw Sakura in between NaruHina because he only created and used her to be a shipping tool, he explicitly and unambiguously stated twice that NaruSaku was never going to be canon;

6) he also stated twice that NaruHina was always going to be canon, ever since "pretty early on" and "from an early stage." He always saw Hinata as the one getting together with Naruto, the one getting married to Naruto, the one and only TRUE love interest to Naruto, the WINNER of the half-assed messy love triangle

Just found out something new about Sekibeing:

Apparently he was the one responsible for this Sakura vs Shin scene in the anime of Gaiden

Yonkou confirms it here

and when the episode came out he was praised all over Twitter for it

So yeah that scene SS was so proud of?

the one that’s never shown that much on panel was all him

So for them to just turn on him as soon as his attention is on another ship is even worse when he did so much for them and their “kween”.

I mean here’s the full chapter from VIZ, you can see for yourself that Sakura never lands a punch on Shin yet SS uses this to prove that she stood against someone with sharingans all over his body when in the manga we only see her land ONE punch when she pops up to protect Sarada while Shin is distracted by 4 other people. When she’s captured however, we only see the above, her running from Shin and shit being thrown at her. 

So nothing close to this happens:

and no, we don’t have to assume this shit happened just because its “framed in the manga” because then we can say that about a lot of shit in there, doesn’t make it canon and if SS wants to get the perks of this scene from the anime then they can’t be fucking hypocrites and deny other characters the same. 

And the fact that this man, Chengxi “Sekibeing” Huang wanted so much to do a good action scene and chose Sakura vs Shin to do it because he loved doing it only to face backlash, insults, demands, and selfishness from the very people who were just like, “YAAAAAS KWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!” at his work a few months ago is so tragic to me and it shows just how selfish, ego centric and shallow Sakura fans are. 

And I PROMISE you, after this, SasuSaku and Sakura fans burned their last bridge. 

Because Kishimoto doesn’t give a fuck about them, hell in the span of a few years their Cherry Blossom Kween went from “heroine” to “character that’s no more important than Kiba or Shikamaru” by Kishimoto 

and no animator gives a fuck about them anymore, not after this, because I promise you Sekibeing’s coworkers saw this shit too and are now probably afraid of doing anything extra in Sakura or SasuSaku’s favor because of the disgusting, deplorable attitude their fans showed to their friend.