#im being so serious i have never gotten so fond of a character this quickly in my LIFE

[irminsuls]

he is. everything to me

[basedsakura]

s-tier sasusaku fics

disclaimer: not all of these are necessarily romantic sasusaku, or even healthy sasusaku

these are my all time favorites for different reasons, but i guess i should establish some sort of standard according to which i judge fanfics: 

characterization: i don’t expect the characters to be identical to their canon counterparts, otherwise i wouldn’t be reading anything other than the original material. however i’m also not fond of fics in which the only aspect of the character the author had gotten right is the name. i don’t like fanfics in which sakura is a cold and calculated genius or ones in which sasuke is a sexually deviant casanova. you might as well create a whole new character and write original work

prose: ok so obviously this is very subjective and considering my taste has changed immensely from the start of this year, let alone during the last 5 years, all the fics below are going to differ greatly. i like to read stuff that hits the spot between purple prose and bland just right. vivid descriptions, exposition, world-building, all that jazz, but without treating me like an idiot. leave some stuff up to the reader. a bit of negative capability didn’t kill anyone

grammar: i mean -- yeah. not much to expand upon here. i’m not a native speaker, so i’m not exactly an authority on this, but solid grammar is a non negotiable for me.

style: i’ve got some serious pet peeves in regards to formatting (when the author doesn’t want to separate their paragraphs for some reason for example) but another thing is i hate when there’s random japanese throughout the fic. it’s fine if the author decides to use suffixes the way the characters do in the manga, or if they want to use japanese words for terms that are well known in the fandom (shinobi, bunshin, hitai ate, jutsu etc.) but stuff like ‘’teme’’ ‘’ hime’’ ‘’baka’’ ‘’kami’’ is cringe (to me (especially since its mostly used improperly))

pacing: obviously this is a matter of preference, i personally love slow burn, but pacing is SO crucial for a good romance fic. the writing can be great, the characters can be on point, but if i feel the relationship is moving at an unnatural pace, if the development feels unearned, it instantly throws me off. i understand a lot of authors wanna get to the sauce quickly, but if sasuke is a rogue ninja focused on revenge, no he’s not going to want to marry sakura as soon as he sees her again. he would be impartial, nostalgic at best. there’s nothing wrong with letting the feelings develop naturally

there’s probably more but im honestly too lazy and i wanna get to the fic rec part. these are in no particular order: 

blind by ObsidianSickle

It was almost time, Orochimaru was going to take his body as a vessel. He hated being used...he refused to be used. With that thought, he took the kunai in his hand and slashed across his eyes.

this is like a classic imho. i’ve read it after 5 years and while i do have some issues with the writing, it’s nothing terrible. it’s a sweet, sweet character-study slowburn

monomoth by Ohtze

Everything ends, eventually. Eight years after the war, Sakura's unhinged and Sasuke's obsessed. The fields are filled with corpses. AUish, canon-divergent, Sakura-centric.

this MAY be my all time favorite. the story, the pacing, the atmosphere -- probably one of the most serious and talented authors in the fandom. it’s a pretty dark AU-ish fic, definitely not the healthiest either sasuke or sakura have been, but a hell of a read. still not finished though

instant message by Keelah

She gave him names to kill, in order not to be killed herself. But having blood on her hands was turning out to be much worse than dying. "…There's still round 2…3…4…" When does this game end? She asked. "Don't you see, Sakura?" He said, "It never does."

i can’t believe that a first person POV, highschool! horror stalker AU fic is probably the finest slowburn i’ve ever read. each interaction feels so earned, you genuinely feel like you’re reading about sakura and sasuke from naruto and how they would act in this AU situation, not some random characters the author decided to call sakura and sasuke. possibly abandoned

once more, with feeling by jinnyskeans

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

this is a fun ballerina!sakura and tattoo artist! sasuke fic. the characters are not all that IC, but it’s definitely a fun read, and while it’s not a current favorite, i remember i used to cry over this shit when i was 14 lol. so there’s definitely some quality here if this seems like your thing. plus the author is an SS fic powerhouse, so plenty where that came from

i let it fall, my heart by arabesque05

Sasuke's memories of Sakura are not based on sight. No: Sakura was a press of desperation along his back, a sob to "please, don't hurt them". Sakura was a cool hand around his wrist, startling against his feverish, new-cursed skin. Sakura was the taste of apples; the breeze of an open hospital window; the stinging pain of a third Chidori. Sakura resides in the heart.

from their ss anthologies to their meta, this author came and went and left me with a gaping hole where their writing has been. honestly some beautiful stuff. this is a oneshot, but i seriously recommend everything this author has written 

shinobi: team 7 by gallyrat

while this is a team 7, not a sasusaku fic, it’s worth reading for both the world building, the team 7 dynamic, the sasuke and sakura as the author imagined them. i felt like their relationship was very ic, among many other things that are great with this fic. unfortunately discontinued

string theory by diwata

The aftermath of the war brings many things to Konoha; Sakura copes poorly. (1970s AU)

“He’s a war hero, now. So are you. It’s nice to have you home, Sasuke-kun. Welcome.” “Things are different now. But -- I’m home, Sakura.”

this is an anthology, but same as arabesque05, i recommend literally everything this author wrote. so incredibly good

ok im getting tired and bored i’ll probably update this but here you go for now

[bunny-banana]

I'd love to hear a director's commentary on La leggenda di Niccolo please :D Have a star as well ⭐

HA! Okay well, I’ll talk about the sections that I actually wrote so here it comes:

Chap 1

Engulfed in the never ending masses of water, he reckoned one should feel intimidated. No ground under his feet, only limited amounts of air to his disposal, and the uncertainty of what lies within the darker corners of the ocean should normally frighten you. And yet, he never felt more at peace than when he was floating so freely in the sea, almost as if gravity and the world outside didn’t exist

the fucking IRONY of me writing this while being deadly afraid of deep water. its honestly like “yeah,,,,, lemme list all the things i personally hate about deep sea…. and lets add ‘well, but theres something good too about that for sure,,,i guess,,,, ”

But what was more important for me was this contrast to what Ermal dreams about, his lowkey fantasy - and where he is irl, the icy south pole. I’m rather fond of opposing things/contrasts. 

The soldier breathed heavily in and out, but there was no time to rest as the next blaze of fire was aimed at him.He countered and evaded but his opponent was more forceful, his flames harsher, faster until the soldier’s back hit the cold railing. He was caught, and when his opponent mercilessly stroke once more, he knew he had to save himself by escaping into the cold water.The man remaining on the top deck smirked. Ah yes, he’d almost assume those new soldiers were just too easy to take on even if only for practice reasons, but it pleased him more to say that he still got it.

i really hope this introduction just tells you everything you need to know about Renga’s character.

How much sooner the war could have been won had it not been for the Poles!

While actually reflecting on the universe, i realised, it must be incredibly difficult for firebenders on the poles. like, I just assume they really, really arent fit for the cold which would make invading incredibly difficult for them. also lol, renga hates it at the poles obviously.

  Shaking so hard that kids ran towards their mothers and the watchtower fell over and when the fog cleared up, Ermal felt his stomach drop. ”No.”

Nothing, absolutely, nothing in that universe is more frightening than seeing the Fire Nation military pull up to your doorstep.  

Also, lmao, love to imagine Rinald quietly going “oh nooo my watchtower D:” 

Ermal pushed himself through the crowd until he was right in front of everyone, until he was the last barrier between the Fire Nation soldiers and the village.

Ermal has Strong Opinions™ about the Fire Nation, with reasons of course, and seeing them here is the absolute nightmare to him.

  “You mean the Avatar that disappeared off the face of the Earth? The one that nobody has ever seen and that was probably never even reborn? That Avatar?”And if his cockiness gave off a certain invitation to smash his face in, then this was perhaps a little bit Ermal’s fault.

to quote the Smiths: Bigmouth Strikes Again!

“B-but he’s- he’s so young? I swear to the Fire Lord, if this is yet another trick then-”

Chap 2

Niccolò had always been in awe of the Fire Nation’s advanced industrial sector. The machinery that originated from the Nation had always had cutting edge quality which no one in the world could quite imitate nor match. This ship however was beyond anything Niccolò had ever seen. This ship was fully steam-driven with the powerful motors roaring under his feet. And those weren’t the only novelties.Steel processed so professionally that it makes impenetrable walls and doors which opened and closed only through quite sophisticated lock mechanisms. It all looked so modern, it all looked so futuristic.

so the idea was, since Nic had missed an entire century, the ship looked super modern to him. while its a canon fact that the FN is quite advanced with machinery, the ship itself is just to an up-to-date standard. But to Niccolo personally it seemed futuristic.  i like the idea of him being amazed at things he has never seen in his life just to find out they’re pretty common in the current timeline. 

There was not much time left, Niccolò had to think quickly. Extremely convenient how his nose started tickling right in that moment.The powerful sneeze that followed had two consequences: One, the guard in front of him was catapulted straight into the metal door of the cell, rendering him unconscious.Two, Niccolò and the guard behind him were also forcefully pushed back to the other end of the corridor, crashing into the hard wall.Well, at least the guard did. The young airbender was spared that fate, by that nice pillow the guard turned out to be, so he quickly got onto his feet and ran as fast as he could with his hands tied behind his back.

so yeah ngl, this was just copied from the OG ep

Now that his hands were freed, he opened the first door that presented itself to him, but in front of him, he simply saw the quarters of General Renga who stared at his now roaming prisoner in shock. Okay, time to turn around, it seems.

listen, i just love the thought of overconfident General Renga being so shellshocked to see his prisoner escaping that he just gapes at him. And ofc Nic slamming the door shut immediately jsfkld

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Niccolò cursed as he evaded a burst of fire that was aimed at him before taking the next corner “Where’s the exit?! Where’s the goddamn exi- AH!! A DOOR!!” He pulled it open to reveal a startled guy sitting there just minding his own business. An unexpected sight, with an even more unexpected odor following. “Oh? uhm- Sorry man! Just- just take your time! Also, perhaps light a candle when you’re done. Bye!” The young Avatar swiftly apologised as he closed the door of what was most definitely not an exit.

Fav OC so far!  That simple FN dude was just trying to take a dump in peace but who would have known that all hell would break lose and the goddamn Avatar of all people would walk into him smh.  Also, I really enjoyed the thought of while this is all hectic and dangerous, Nic still being human enough to go like “oh, my bad! sorry dude!” at this random soldier. Who knows, maybe we should bring that one back some time later. And i kinda wanted the whole escape to be funny, since its Nic’s POV, and it just wouldnt suit his carefree spirit to make this super serious (yet). 

“I’ll give you that, hiding for so long was sort of impressive.” Niccolò heard Renga’s voice behind him as the General had caught up with him. 

almost wrote “century” there but then remembered  nah omg he can’t know yet 

A piece of ice may or may not have also hit Renga straight into the face but nobody would complain about that anyway. 

yeah i just love the thought of this super dramatic scene of Nic entering the Avatar State and then theres a chunk of ice knocking Renga unconscious lmao get fucked, dude 

“Nic!” Ermal ran towards the slowly decreasing water pillar to catch the unconscious airbender in the last second, dropping to his knees in the process. That was beyond anything anybody of that age should normally be capable of. That was beyond what any waterbender could ever be capable of. And yet, lying in his arms, Niccolò looked so exhausted, so weak. Just like any other kid. Not a trace from the sheer force that was unleashed moments earlier.

I think this was really the moment Ermal started feeling real responsibility over Niccolo. Just seeing him do all these crazy things and yet being reminded that this huge burden of being the Avatar is literally thrusted upon a simple kid.  Also, this is the first time he called him “Nic”

Various noises and sounds buzzed through the air that afternoon: The loud shoveling of snow from the bow, the quieter crackling emerging from the hands of the firebenders who were melting their frozen compatriots, the fast steps rushing left and right over the ship. All these different sounds were heard, but none of them were chattering. Nobody dared to chat. Not after this disastrous defeat. What a disgrace that had been, General Renga thought grinding his teeth.

Everybody on this goddman ship is just scared shitless that Renga will roast them if they so much like whisper. they know he moody, they know he’ll blame them for the avatar’s escape. so lets all just work and repair shit and keep quite. 

When he found consciousness again, he was left with not only one horrendous purple bruise on his face, but also with a half destroyed ship. 

jdsfksajfklf OK SO YEAH, my first intention was “lmao let a piece of ice hit him” but then i realised “oh wait he’d have a bruise afterwards”  and then “LMAOOOO he’d be like Zuko, how perfect is that”   ok so granted, unlike our dear fire prince, Renga’s bruise is only temporary, but i really hoped someone would pick up the connection to Zuko

Whatever had happened to the Avatar earlier, it left a colossal mark on the ship, and secretly, on Renga personally too. He might have gotten fooled once, but he wouldn’t get fooled again.

basically, he feels personally insulted about being beaten by a kid. what a loser lmao

“Martino!”

“Y-yes, General?” stuttered the lanky assistant with the askew glasses, clenching his hands around his writing board. One would think you’d get used to Renga’s harsh tone over time, but that was simply not the case..

rip martino but renga absolutely needed a poor anxious assistant whom he could terrorise

“We need the best of the best to defeat him. And I just know the right choice for that job…”

heeeeheeee ….. no comment ..for now.  but im curious to what you guys think about that 

Thank you so much! this was a lot of fun to do ! :)