#itachi is an antagonist of all time too

[sunny12th]

no you are right! obito should’ve gone a little more unhinged, he’s a devastating character and a naruto foil to sasuke’s kakashi. speak more, who’s your favorite antagonist? both major and minor? favorite team (gai? and why?) also what’s your thoughts on the ame trio, i made a joke once on how they parallel team 7, and what do you think of the teams 7? (obirinkaka and narusakusasu)

I would've LOVED to see Obito decide him and Kakashi needed to kill each other or die together, in the end. Really would've been the cherry on top to the fucked up parallels between their dynamic and Naruto and Sasuke's.

This got kinda long lmao

My favorite minor antagonist is probably Hidan. His power was so cool and devastating when we first see it, different from anything we'd seen before. He's also like a figurehead to a cult and gets his power from some sort of deity, but that is literally never explored lmao. There could've been an entire arc dedicated to him, the cult, Jashin, etc. but we didn't get any of that. Regardless, his fights were always entertaining, and sometimes I love a character that's evil just to be evil. No tragic backstory here, just an insane blonde who has some weird connection to a deity. There's a theory that Jashin is actually one of the ninja aliens that come up in the end and that's why Hidan has such an insane power. I feel like there was a lot of potential in his character that was just brushed over. How did he get that power? Who the fuck is Jashin? It's a cult, so where are the cultists? What are their goals? Was Hidan like a vessel for Jashin? Is the cult performing human sacrifice rituals (seems like something Hidan would do)? Shikamaru should've been determined to kill every last Jashinist there was, and I would've loved to watch that play out.

All the Akatsuki members are pretty cool, I also really like Sasori. First, his fight with Sakura was her one big moment in all of Shippuden which is pretty lame, but it was still really fun. Just the mentality behind turning his dead parents into puppets that he can keep forever, then turning himself into a puppet - a body he has total control over. Turning people into puppets, so he can make them "perfect." Serial Killer Mentality for sure!! It's so fucked up. I wish Naruto was darker sometimes, so we could've gotten the full horror of the Akatuski members being completely wild and unhinged.

Itachi is another antagonist that I, and everyone else, go insane over. I do think Kishimoto went a bit overboard with trying to redeem him and make him sympathetic. Like, yes he was a brainwashed child soldier that was forced into following the order to massacre his entire family. But then, he was also apparently a double agent and was STILL LOYAL TO THE LEAF VILLAGE?? If he was spying on the Akatsuki, then why do we still know literally nothing about them by the time his double agent status is revealed? Was he passing along information or not? Genuinely, I think Kishimoto was not planning a lot of this shit out and was just making stuff up as he went along.

I think it's a necessary part of Itachi's character that he did break under the pressures of being a child soldier and that contributed to why he went through with the massacre. Instead, he turns out to be the Perfect Soldier who would never betray his overlords. OTHER THAN THAT, he's a really cool character and his antagonist status works so well for Sasuke's character. He also works as a great device to show the depths Konoha will go to maintain its power structure. If Konoha would order the massacre of a founding clan, what's to stop them from massacring the other clans or civilians? The entire point of the Village was to stop in-fighting between these clans. That would have been a really fascinating political point to explore if Kishimoto had wanted to. Also, the poison within the Uchiha clan ... when Itachi's dad took him to that battlefield (I think he was 3?) and Itachi killed someone for the first time, the pressures of being the heir and firstborn son, etc. The violence inherent to being born in this society that values violence above all else. I also love sibling relationships and the dynamic between him and Sasuke is so rich. There's no Sasuke without Itachi and vice versa. There's no Naruto without Sasuke. Itachi is one of the tragic characters of all time!

Also, to be clear, I don't hate that he was still loyal to Konoha because it contrasts to where Sasuke went. I hate that he was supposedly still a double agent, working for Konoha, on their orders to join the Akatsuki because it felt like a random choice to further redeem him and just didn't make sense with the story. If he had just stayed in that broken soldier mentality of remaining loyal to Konoha because he doesn't know any other way to live rather than having him literally continue to supposedly work for Konoha than it would've made more sense to me.

My favorite team has to be Team 7, my beloved garbage fire of a team. They all need therapy so badly. Team Gai, however, is what Team 7 could be if they got therapy and had a mentor that was significantly less toxic. Team Gai is just the happiest of vibes (minus Neji being a literal slave to his clan). We really should have seen Team Gai demolish the Hyuuga for Neji. I refuse to believe Gai would not have challenged the Hyuuga Clan Head to a fight to the death, politics be damned. Gai wouldn't give a shit about the politics. Lee and Tenten? Ride or die, they'll tear the Hyuuga compound to the ground with their bare hands. Team Gai chooses violence! Naruto is also there to help, of course. Team 7 was taking too damn long to start a revolution so Team Gai had to step in! I like Team 7 and Team Gai pretty equally, I think. They work well together, ya know? Not just because both team's mentors are literally married and retired now in Boruto.

The Ame trio absolutely parallels Team 7. Just like how Team 7 parallels the Sannin trio and Kakashi/Obito/Rin. The Ame trio is like the most tragic outcome that Team 7 could've been. The parallels are especially blatant since one of them has some funky eye jutsu lmao. They're also another sign that Jiraiya is THE WORST. Godfather that can't raise or even check in on Naruto, mentor that raises three orphans of war (trains them to be soldiers too) and then abandons them when they're still preteens, like!!! Jiraiya can't do anything right! Dude is somehow the worst deadbeat dad around and he's not even a father.

Kishimoto makes narsakusasu and obirinkaka parallel each other for sure. Rin, unfortunately, is barely a character and exists to be a tragic footnote in the backstories of Kakashi and Obito. Sakura, well, she's got more going for her than that, but she still isn't exactly a well-written character. I think Obito is very much what could've gone wrong with Naruto, had he experienced something similar. It does make you wonder how Naruto would react to seeing Sasuke kill Sakura. Because, uh, Naruto claims to have a crush on Sakura but Sasuke means way more to him than Kakashi meant to Obito. That's not to reduce what Kakashi meant to Obito (or what Sakura means to Naruto), but Naruto is straight up obsessed with Sasuke. It's literally revealed later on that they are soulmates. Sasuke did hurt Sakura a few times too and Naruto would get pissed, sure, but it'd just harden his resolve to "bear the burden of Sasuke's hatred and die with him." Which is such an INSANE thing to say, literally can't think about that moment for too long or I'll suffer physic damage.

Something I always hated about both Team 7s is that the female character clearly is there to build the bridge between the male team members. Rin was expected to bring Obito and Kakashi together. Sakura was expected to do the same but, hilariously, she didn't because Naruto and Sasuke were already tied together just in the most antagonistic way possible. This leaves Sakura as the 3rd wheel, in the team and the narrative.

[erimeows]

Naruto: Masterlist

Hi there! I'm Eri, and I write for all sorts of stuff. While I do have everything published on here, I personally choose to have my masterlists linked to my Ao3.

Most of my stuff is written during the original Naruto-Naruto Shippuden era. I do have a couple works set during Boruto, but I don't write the new gen characters and haven't watched the show (I thought it sucked but no judgment to anyone who enjoys it). Some of these are NSFW, so be sure to check the tags!

If you'd like to learn more about me, send in a request, or look at my works for other fandoms, check out my pinned post!

Multichapter/Series:

Compromise (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)- Pt. 1, Pt. 2

Verbatim (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Candy Hearts (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Lavender Clouds (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Shared Custody (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

To Be Alive At All Is To Have Scars (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Red (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

New Relationship Energy- Pt. 1, Pt. 2

Candy (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Holding Hands (Gaara x Reader)

The New Member (Various Akatsuki x Reader): Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3

Character x Character Oneshots:

Teardrops (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Antagonistic (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Like Lovers Do (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

The Moth And The Flame (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Under The Mask (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Then, There's You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Plus One (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Monster (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Hush Hush (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Teachers (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Friday Nights (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Wanted (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Slow Dancing In The Dark (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Cracks (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Always (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Ruin My Life (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

First Times (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Take Care (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Lovesick (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Rainy Days (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Like This (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Stupid (Kakashi Hatake x Anko Mitarashi)

Obvious (Kakashi Hatake x Anko Mitarashi)

Control (Kakashi Hatake x Yamato)

Home (Kakashi Hatake x Yamato)

Polaroid (Kakashi Hatake x Yamato)

Us (Kakashi Hatake x Yamato)

Snowfall (Kakashi Hatake x Yamato + Sai x Ino Yamanaka)

Groomsmen (Iruka Umino x Yamato)

Casual (Kakashi Hatake x Mei Terumi)

Break-Ups (Kakashi Hatake x Minato Namikaze)

Twilight (Kakashi Hatake x Obito Uchiha)

Against His Better Judgment (Kakashi Hatake x Obito Uchiha)

Not Anymore (Kakashi Hatake x Obito Uchiha)

Still Missing (Sasuke Uchiha x Sakura Haruno)

The Game That We Play (Sasuke Uchiha x Naruto Uzumaki)

Rising Action (Shikamaru Nara x Naruto Uzumaki)

Love Strategist (Shikamaru Nara x Ino Yamanaka)

Perfume (Shikamaru Nara x Temari)

Memento Mori (Shikamaru Nara x Temari)

When The Smoke Clears (Deidara x Sasori)

Complications (Deidara x Itachi Uchiha)

Sapphire & Gold (Kisame Hoshigaki x Itachi Uchiha)

Ten Years (Gaara x Rock Lee)

Single (Kankuro x Kiba Inuzuka)

Character x Reader Oneshots:

Hair (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

When I Wake (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Pink Bubblegum (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Exes (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Jealous (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Too Good To Be True (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Cat & Mouse (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

To Be Selfish (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Self Conscious (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Not Anymore (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Moonlight (Gaara x Reader)

My Queen (Yamato x Reader)

Who? (Might Guy x Reader)

Waiting Game (Neji Hyuga x Reader)

The Diary (Rock Lee x Reader)

Scary (Temari x Reader)

Truth Or Dare (Shikamaru x Reader)

Bloody Valentine (Obito Uchiha x Reader)

Rain (Iruka Umino x Reader)

Headcanons:

Kankuro NSFW Alphabet

[tozettastone]

would deidera be stronger than tobirama or madara?? cause he's rlly strong for a shinobi in the canon timeline but would he be stronger than those two...

addition to my last question!! - personally i think the average modern day (canon era) shinobi is stronger than people in the warring states, cause they have better healthcare, food supplies or education or smthn. since there's cooperation between a greater group of people, wouldn't they be stronger in comparison?? personally i think deidera could definitely take madara/tobirama in a fight

I think if you were answering this realistically... Well, the analogous question for us now is something like "are people under modern conditions generally healthier than people in the 19th century?" for example, and there are two answers because it depends on how you generalise.

One, yes, people in English speaking countries are certainly healthier, because of all the things you mentioned, like healthcare, technology, nutrition, etc. (Maybe there are some countries where this isn't true? but it's true of Australia and the UK and I think I've read it about the USA too, so I've gone with 'English speaking' here. What do I know?)

Two, no they're not, because people who would have died get to live instead. Infant mortality has plummeted and chronic illnesses and disabilities that routinely used to kill people are now treatable but result in a greater number of chronically ill and disabled people in our society, which does lower the overall "health" of people, if you choose to measure it that way. (This is not a value judgement. I'm one of the people who'd have been dead.)

So it depends on what and how you measure.

But anyway, in canon Deidara appears to be able-bodied (despite loSING BOTH ARMS?) and relatively well, except in the way all the antagonists are unwell. I think, therefore, if we were to talk about the Naruto setting like we talk about the real world, then you'd be right: Deidara would be well educated, using newfangled ninjutsu and evolved methods of warfare, well fed, vaccinated, etc etc. Deidara could wipe the floor with these guys from like a hundred years ago. Like, have you seen how big people born in 2000 are, compared to their great grandparents? Jeez.

But I think within the actual scope of the canon setting of Naruto... Deidara probably would not beat Madara.

Because Naruto is a story and is therefore beholden to all the elements of the story. This includes the expectations we develop about characters over time, right?

So we know that Madara is acknowledged as one of the most powerful shinobi in history. Even without his Hashirama cells, I think he would have to give the protagonists some trouble because of that.

And then, well, Madara is imbued with myth and significance to the narrative that Deidara lacks so it would not make very good sense for Deidara to win, given he is essentially a bit villain to Madara's big bad energy.

Aside from these points, Deidara also appears somehow destined to get fucked up and frustrated by every sharingan he encounters:

Itachi genjutsus him into submission

Kakashi vanishes his elbow from reality

Tobi is... Tobi...

By the time he meets Sasuke, Deidara is so frantic and overwhelmed that he starts shovelling handfuls of clay into his mouth and blows himself up

So... that doesn't bode well for a fight against Madara either.

For these reasons, I do not think Deidara would win in the canon Naruto setting.

However, I think if you wanted to believably write a fic where Deidara wins, that would be totally doable! He has plenty of skills you could use to justify his win. I just don't think that it makes sense within the scope of the general narrative we get from canon. The themes and concepts don't line up right. You'd just have to be doing something else, like writing a Deidara centric story, or trying to make it a "realistic" take on ninja-hood or something, you know?

[watermelonsloth]

Ranking the Akatsuki Based on How Well Liked They Are in the Organization

1 Kisame Hoshigaki - He’s surprisingly friendly for a former Blood Mist Village friend killer. He's honest, even if he follows strict “don’t ask, don’t tell” and “need to know basis” rules, and he seems be both loyal to the organization and it’s members. He’s agreeable, a good listener, and easy to get along with.

2 Konan - She doesn’t interact with the Akatsuki’s members very often, especially outside of missions. Some members regard her as boring, but she’s respectful enough, not antagonistic, and will go out of her way for the members if it benefits the organization. It’s a low bar for normal people, but the Akatsuki aren’t normal.

3 Pein - He’s respected for his strength, drive, and ability to pull something like the Akatsuki off in the first place. The members have an ongoing debate of whether his attempting his goals is courage or arrogance. He has a bad habit of going on philosophical tangents. Sometimes he says things during meetings and no one can tell if he’s teasing them or… Like Konan, no one knows much about him outside of that because he rarely interacts with them.

4 Itachi Uchiha - He usually keeps to himself but occasionally gets really nosy. He thinks he’s subtle. He isn’t. He doesn’t act like someone who would kill their clan and he refuses to talk to anyone about it. He’s sick and he’s tired all of the time, no one has agreed on what he’s like outside of that. Since he’s so unreadable, many members don’t know whether or not he’s trustworthy. Average brought down by Deidara.

5 Zetsu - Everyone is uncomfortable with how he insists on keeping tabs on them. Outside of that, opinions are mixed. Black Zetsu is rude but he makes sure everyone gets their work done on schedule. White Zetsu is an idiot but is the closest thing to good company after Kisame. Hidan and Kisame gave them the nicknames Dokuzetsu and Jozetsu and they just kind of stuck. Everyone has chosen to ignore the cannibalism. Pein and Konan don’t seem concerned, so he’s probably safe, right?

6 Kakuzu - He’s aggressive and short tempered, but he won’t bother anyone unless they’re late on work or go over budget, for the most part. He’s so stingy that most of the Akatsuki prefer paying out of pocket over fighting him about “unnecessary mission expenses” like food or shelter. Most members just ignore him and he ignores them right back.

7 Deidara - He’s good at his job, so everyone understands why he’s there, but he’s also regarded as loud, overconfident, dramatic, short-tempered, only interested in art, and immature. Him being the youngest member of the Akatsuki, even if it is only by three years, doesn’t help the immature allegations. Most members were over him by week 2.

8 Sasori - He’s critical and condescending. He is ready and willing to attack anyone who makes him wait. He is unapologetically nosy and doesn’t even try to hide it like Itachi. If you don’t tell him what he wants to know, he’ll just gather intel on you behind your back. If it weren’t for the skill and knowledge he’s accrued, no one would like him.

9 Hidan - He’s loud, vulgar, and will take any chance to preach about his religion. He has been kicked out of meetings on more than one occasion. If he gets too bored, on missions or not, he will start picking fights. He complains all of the time, even about things he doesn’t actually care about. He’s made it abundantly clear that not only is he neither loyal to the organization nor its members, he’s expressed that he hates both.

[theheirofthesharingan]

I like Itachi but I don't get why people praised him for the killings? obito, sasuke, pain and madara are shown evil for the same but itachi is praised as a hero? I don't like to think of him as hero but thats not what kishimoto has in mind.

Wait, did you just club Sasuke with Madara, Pain, and Obito? Sasuke hated everyone responsible for Itachi's sufferings. I don't understand why he's grouped with them when his idealogy is very different from theirs, especially Madara and Obito. Obito was directly responsible for the clan's downfall.

I don't think Sasuke is ever presented as "evil" and there's a reason Madara, Pain, and Obito are presented as antagonists and villains instead of heroes or saints.

There's a stark contrast between pre and post truth reveal Sasuke. Pre reveal Sasuke keeps his composure and refuses to kill people. It's a recurring message in his story. He does lose himself after Itachi's death. His rage is understandable. And yes, he does do many wrong things, for which he isn't presented as an angel. However, his morals aren't still corrupted because once he meets Itachi he changes his stance and ends up helping in the war.

No way one should place him with the other three.

Itachi, too, is different from the three people you mentioned. Obito, Madara, and Pain are not only much stronger than him, they also had unbridled power that Itachi didn't. He didn't know Obito/Madara's plans of Infinite Tsukuyomi. Most of all, unlike the other three he had no authority. And the choices he made were made under extreme duress. He was placed in the circumstances in which he was provided the options - not powers - to impede the tragedy. He knew what he'd done was unforgivable, because never does he try to make excuses for the killings.

The circumstances that resulted into the massacre of the Uchiha were the outcome of the fractured system of Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama, also furthered by Obito. Madara, an Uchiha, attacked the village, deserting his clan because the other Uchiha didn't support him. Hashirama broke the deal he made with Madara. And Tobirama, obviously, never left his anti Uchiha bubble he made since his childhood. Obito attacked the village. In short, the foundation of the Uchiha downfall was set by these people. Obviously, it was unintentional and that's not what the debate is about, but it's still relevant right now.

These people were older than Itachi ever got to be. He was a child. That's why he gets the sympathy. Itachi, unlike the main villains of the series, didn't go out of his way to harm people. Yes, he committed crimes, but they weren't committed because he had fun killing people. Of the two evils, he chose lesser of the evil, which cost a smaller number of people lives and his own reputation, name, honour. He didn't kidnap a helpless, wounded child and manipulated him into thinking a dreamland would fix all his problems. He didn't use the nuclear bomb equivalent of the ninja world and set the village on fire. The damage he caused he paid for them. He didn't need talk no jutsu to be told he was wrong and unforgivable. Even though he was a part of the Akatsuki, he was still a disposable pawn to them.

And as to people "praising" him, it's absolutely wild because characters' opinions on Itachi are taken as some sort of gospel truth as if the author agrees with it himself. As if the only unreliable narrator is Obito for the time when we need to discard his words on Itachi. Moreover, the people "praising" Itachi are:

Naruto. Naruto has a naive and very simplistic view of the things in which the village is always the priority. He sees his village as the flawless entity and anyone who is pro Konoha is good according to him. That's what he's been taught and that's what he believes in too. He sees Itachi stopped the war by taking the blame of the crime? Good. However, even then Naruto doesn't do anything to clear Itachi's name, despite becoming the Hokage. More than a decade later, Itachi is still a renowned criminal in the Shinobi world, not very different from the other criminals. Naruto's praise is hollow.

Hashirama. I really don't have to paste all the penals in which Hashirama describes how horrible the warring era was. People barely got to touch their thirty. 5-6 year old kids were sent to wars. One side killed the other in the battle, the other one felt entitled to the revenge and continued the mindless cycle of hate and violence. Hashirama was truly dedicated to ending this and bring peace. So, when he learned Itachi had taken a decision that stopped the fourth war that was inevitable, he was impressed. From his perspective, what he'd seen since his childhood, what he'd grown up with, didn't happen. So the massacre wasn't as bad as a war would have been. He didn't know anything about Itachi other than what he heard from Hiruzen a moment ago. If he did, the Edo Tensei Hashirama, despite being immortal, would have died of shame because Itachi went through exactly what he wanted to stop in his times.

Hiruzen. He praises Itachi for simply being a perfect Shinobi. He worked too much. He was a dedicated ninja. Thought like a Hokage? Oh, this child doesn't want endless violence, so cool. People remember Hiruzen praising Itachi, but not that he himself admits to making Itachi kill his brethren and going rogue, thus admitting to becoming the main cause of Itachi's sufferings. There's a lot of issues in Hiruzen refusing to hold Danzo accountable, yes, but we're talking about his opinions on Itachi.

Obito. Obito has to convince Sasuke so Sasuke can be of use to him against the village. In front of Sasuke, Obito eulogises Itachi, but then also thinks of Itachi as an "eyesore". While the information he gives us largely true, but saying that in front of Sasuke, he has his ulterior motives.

Now, only Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi (and maybe Tsunade) know his truth. He's still viewed as a dangerous criminal, let alone commemorated as a hero. Kishimoto shows him as a tragic figure, not heroic. People who say positive things about him have a bias, lack information on him, or just don't care. I will never understand why it's made such a big deal. I do have issues with the narrative not acknowledging what happened to the Uchiha clan was wrong, but it's not Itachi who deserve the blame. It's Hiruzen and Danzo along with the other two geezers who should be held responsible.

[chaosnojutsu]

fine i’ll say it. one thing the naruto series did exceptionally well was frame individual narratives in the eyes of the audience the same way that the characters would see them.

the initial perception of itachi is the most obvious example— regardless of whether you bought his story or were suspicious the whole time, “i killed my family to prove my strength” was the accepted truth by villagers and fans of the show alike. it’s not until after itachi’s death that the audience learns the truth (at the same time as sasuke, aligning the audience with the lead antagonist’s perspective, which was another powerful choice), and by then it’s too late to alter the course of his story. sasuke could put the truth on blast for the whole world to hear and no one would believe him. think about it— even though we all watched the same show and know the canonical objective truth, there are several Wildly Different subjective interpretations of itachi circulating fandom spaces.

in the same vein of traumatized older brother figures, everyone hated neji from the jump because he was merciless to hinata for (seemingly) no reason. we met him, he was established as a powerful opponent, he was established as an antagonist, and then the audience was left with anxious anticipation about how the chunin exams would end because, as much as we gripe about plot armor, there was not a chance of naruto winning that fight without significant assistance from The Powers That Be— it was painted as a fight of good vs evil against a mini-boss. except it turns out the mini-boss actually was justified, albeit misguided, in his anger. and even after the truth was revealed and naruto “changed” neji, fan perception of him is widely split between “i can’t forgive him” and “enjoyable background character.”

i mean, even naruto himself is part of this phenomenon. from the moment the series begins and we learn his ��everyone hates me for no reason” backstory, fans are subconsciously split between feeling sympathetic for him or aligning with the rest of the village— we have a certain level of metaknowledge even without knowing the truth behind naruto’s story because he’s the main character and we’re trained to know that the main character is always special, even if they’re hated at first. there are those that looked at naruto and cheered for the underdog from the beginning, and those who knew he’d be the underdog but still acknowledged his characterization: young naruto may have been the “chosen one” but he was also annoying as hell. excellent stylistic use of the “show don’t tell” principle, and it sucks the audience into the same in-world beliefs that the konoha villagers shared.

[atticoratticus]

DISCUSSIONS OF THE JJK MANGA

Okay so I just got fully caught up in the jjk manga after binging all 220~ chapters in the span of a couple days. I went in knowing some stuff about the characters, nothing major, but enough to set up some expectations for the story

All I'm gonna say is that those expectations were absolutely SMASHED. The action is intense, the development is amazing, the characters are well written, the story is very well paced, and the antagonists are EXCELLENT.

Speaking of antagonists, I love Mahito. He very quickly rocketed to becoming my favorite character in the entire series. He does a bunch of fucked up shit and it's awesome, because he's so blatantly evil that anything else would be disappointing. Yes he kills some very popular characters, but it simply wouldn't be in character for him to just let them live. He's consistent while still being unpredictable. Every panel he was in, I knew shit was going to do down and that it was going to be a hell of a time reading it.

Geto (well, I guess I should say Kenjaku) is amazing too. I love how he's both manipulative and also very clear in his intentions. He offers a more deliberate approach to the antagonists of the series, being more meticulous in how he goes about tackling his plans. Learning bits and pieces about him and his motives as the story progresses is so much fun, because it leaves you guessing how he's going to go about making his goals a reality (and holy shit, I did not expect for him to rope in foreign militaries into making his goals happen.)

Of course I have to sing praises for the main characters as well, because they make the story what it is. Itadori is put into such an interesting position from the start, both by being thrust into the world of sorcerers and purely by being Sukunas vessel. The way he matures throughout the story is such a gradual change that feels so natural, and it's something I love to see. He's not a static character - he's always striving to improve and get shit done and it's amazing.

Megumi is incredibly interesting to me. From the start you kind of expect him to take the path of the classic troubled anti-hero (think Itachi or maybe even Sasuke), but as you get to know him as a character it becomes apparent that he adverts all of those expectations. He's not afraid to kill people if he needs to, but he doesn't revel in it. It's a necessary evil, and his view on morality is incredibly interesting. He's not explicitly good, but he's extremely far from bad as well. His mental turmoil when faced with the threat of his sister being killed for something she had nothing to do with was heartbreaking, and seeing how all of his effort amounts to practically nothing when faced with her death is as soul shattering for the reader as it is for him (especially seeing as his body was the one used to kill her).

Gojo is a character I probably knew the most about going into the series. Hes THE character in jjk, and it's hard not know who he is if you're even a bit active in the modern animanga community. But even then I feel like his character is very easily misread by many people. He's seen as this childish guy with a god complex by many people who either haven't gotten far into the series are aren't bothered to take a deeper look into why he is the way he is. Especially in the chapters looking back on his past with Geto, it's interesting to look at the parallels between how he acts in the current timeliness and how Geto acted before he became an antagonist. He's grows very subtly throughout the series while still staying very similar to how he was at the start, and that isn't a bad thing at all.

Sukuna, similar to Mahito, is very blatantly evil. I mean, how could he not be. He doesn't show up a lot like I thought he would, but when he does it always leaves a hell of an impact. He acts for himself and himself alone, but he isn't unaware of the people/curses around him. We've seen very little about his past, and honestly I'm so pumped to see a bit more into what shaped him into how he is in the current point of the series. Him switching into Megumis body was such an adrenaline filled moment for me, because holy SHIT things are getting serious. You're reminded just how much of an enigma Itadori is, because up until that point you're used to Sukuna not being able to take control of his body as he pleases. But now? Megumi is practically powerless now that Sukuna took control of his body.

I have a lot more thoughts on the characters and just the story in general, but that's just my impressions right now dhajdjjdj

Didn't expect to write that much tbh

[vrishchikawrites]

I don't get why there's so much hate for JC. Fanon JC is still JC and there's realism to him too. Realism can be subjective but that doesn't mean its depiction is wrong or unrealistic. It is factually correct and righteous.

Are you new to the fandom? Because let me tell you, no one had a problem with JC until the fanon version of him started to pop up everywhere and people started to indirectly or directly undermine the series protags to lift him up.

And no one bothered to tag it. We don't care if you worship the ground JC walks on or relate with some of his character traits. We just don't want to read a fic for Wangxian only for everyone in the story to lift JC up, who is a canonical antagonist, and bash on WWX. Nothing was tagged. We just ended up being bombarded with fanon JC everywhere.

You know the feeling when you stumble across JC bashing and feel hurt because of it? Well, it happened all the time for us, without warning or consideration.

At some point, people started to rebel against the fanon narrative and started writing fics or seeking fics where THEIR FAVS AND CANON PROTAGS weren't needlessly bashed to just make JC rosy.

Do that if you want. But we reserve the right to create our own space without all of the elements undesirable to us. Which is why we choose to have a separate tag. That's why we generally mark our fics as not jc friendly.

Which isn't a courtesy given to us in return. We are expected to just deal with it because your interpretation of his character is more popular. We tag our posts and fics, you don't bother to do the same in return, and we end up stumbling over shit and have to work harder to keep our space clean because JC fans can't take the extra effort to just label their stuff properly.

The fact is simple. We're not interested in JC. We're not interested in redeeming him or elevating him, or worrying about his woes. In fact, we'd like to be as far away from that as possible.

But this fandom makes it *impossible* by not tagging things properly.

I'm not going to other people's inboxes and urging them to reconsider their stances on JC. I frankly don't care. I have loved bastard characters and antagonists that are worse than what JC can pull off in his lifetime. Itachi comes to mind, so does Aizen and Sesshoumaru, or Sephiroth.

Do your thing. But don't pretend this was started by us just because we didn't quietly submit to the popular stance on JC.

I won't argue on what's canon and what's not. We have done that to death already. At this point, I don't even care. I don't read fanfics directly, I just write them and read the books. There is no chance of me stumbling across a JC positive fic when I am reading only glittering or some other other I trust.

And there's no need to try to explain JC to me. I am a whole ass adult leading a relatively difficult but successful life. I know right from wrong pretty well.

[brotheramberland]

So I wanted to talk about how some of my "fictional father" rules and ideas work.

First up: What characters from what fandoms would make good fathers? (Sorry it's a long list. Also, if you're wondering why certain antagonists' were listed, there's more explanation further down).

Fandom: Naruto. Characters: Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Gaara, Yamato, Gai, Neji, Shikamaru, Iruka, Jiraiya, Itachi, Obito, Orochimaru, and Zabuza.

Fandom: One Piece. Characters: All of the Mugiwara crew, Trafalgar, Kid, Ace, Sabo, Crocodile, Doflamingo, Lucci, Smoker, Katakuri, the Akazaya Nine, Shanks, Buggy, Marco, and Rayleigh. (I could honestly write almost every character on here as a parent figure, but the list would be way too long).

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen. Characters: Lol, all of them.

Fandom: Attack on Titan. Characters: Eren, Armin, Levi, Jean, Reiner, Levi and Erwin.

Fandom: Black Clover. Characters: Umm... All of them? This fandom is beyond rich with potential parent figures, don't even get me started.

Fandom: Guardians of The Galaxy. Characters: Quill, Drax, Rocket, and Yondu.

Fandom: Marvel. Characters: Tony, Thor, Steve, Bucky, Bruce, Scott, Loki, Clint, and Sam.

Fandom(s): DreamWorks and Disney. Characters: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Bruno Madrigal, Grug Crood, Death the Wolf. (And a whole bunch of others.)

Fandom: Criminal Minds. Characters: Spencer, Derek, David, Matthew, and Luke.

Fandom(s): Alien movies like Predator, Avatar, or Transformers for some extra flavor and diversity.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Characters: Aang, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, and Jet.

Fandom: 911 and 911 Lone Star. Characters: All of them. Every main character within these two fandoms is amazing.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Why are certain antagonists listed?

Well that's because I'm obsessed with bad guys and I love imagining them in scenarios where they are actually good. Antagonists in general are very powerful, crazy and frightening, but if you keep those attributes and turn them into good people with good intentions, they make for some pretty awesome, likable parent figures.

So if I ever write an antagonist as a parent figure, just know that I'm intentionally making them good for the benefit of the reader-inserts and the drabbles. But, hey, if you wanna read and imagine them the way they originally are, then by all means I support you.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

I obviously have father figures covered, but what about mother figures?

There are lots of female characters I love, but I primarily want to focus on the males just because that is my preference. However, on down the road I do see myself writing mother drabbles. I wouldn't mind. And, considering the circumstances of the reader-inserts, a mother figure might be more suited for the plot. You never know.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

What will the reader-inserts be like?

For reader-inserts under the age of twelve, I will display it in the title as "child!reader".

For reader-inserts over the age of twelve, I will display it in the title as "teen!reader".

For child reader plots, I plan for them to be mostly fluffy and light-hearted. You know, young kids are curious, they're inexperienced, they're clumsy, they get scared, they get bullied, and so on and so forth. There's lots of topics and plots I can create for child reader-inserts.

For teen reader plots, things might get a little bit more angsty. As we all know, teenage years are absolutely insane. Teenagers are rebellious, they're curious, they're discovering their own sexuality, they're going through puberty, and they're trying new, dangerous and some times risky things. Teenagers are also very, VERY emotional, and under certain circumstances they can really struggle with anxiety, depression, social stability, loneliness and a whole bunch of other stuff. Of course there will be fluff in these drabbles, but also some light angst here and there.

For the most part the reader will be portrayed as the biological child of the character, but I do plan on writing lots of adoption stuff too.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

The father figures won't always be perfect.

As we all probably know, parents are anything but perfect. They make mistakes. Lots and lots of mistakes. And sometimes parents don't care that they make mistakes, nor do they ever try to right their wrongs and apologize. Some parents don't even want to accept nor understand their child. (I'm sure some of you know what I mean).

But whereas these fictional father figures may make mistakes, they also try to fix those mistakes and right their wrongs. That's what I plan to accomplish with my father drabbles. I want to create loving, supportive, understanding father figures who are willing to do anything for their child. Because when you're a kid and you struggle with life, a loving parent is all you really want.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

What about characters who are too young to have kids?

So an example for this would be any character that is around the age of 15-25 like Luffy. Well there are two simple solutions to this. Either I'll age up the characters or I'll say that the reader is adopted. It kind of just depends on what the drabble calls for.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Why am I doing this?

Well if you're like me and you had a rough childhood, then you just kind of want to reimagine yourself in a scenario where you're happy, accepted, catered, loved, protected, safe and cared for. I just want this to be something akin to a safe place for people to come and find joy and peace in the drabbles that I create.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Mild disclaimer: I know I have a lot of characters in mind to write for, but the process of my updates may be slow-going sometimes because I do have a full time job and annoying adult responsibilities. I try to write whenever I can. If updates seem slow, just know that I'm sorry and that I'm trying my hardest to supply you with all the fictional father goodness you crave.

Ta-ta my friends!

[kiljoius-writes]

Cooler Than Me - Chapter 5

Ao3 | FFN

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First Chapter

Chapter 5: Day One - Ino

Ino Yamanaka likes to stir the pot without being in the pot herself. Everyone knows this but doesn’t care because they want a piece of the action, too. No matter how ‘innocent’ everyone tries to pretend, no one is blameless in the game of gossip and rumors. Not even Choji, as sweet as he is.

The only person she might give a pass to is Rock Lee. But that’s because he’s physically, mentally, and emotionally incapable of hurting others who don’t deserve it.

He’s the only one of them that deserves that respect.

No one else gets Ino’s respect unless they willingly admit that they’re just as messed up as she is.

It’s probably why she keeps Sakura around. Tenten, Hinata, and Choji, too. She’s just about ready to kick Shikamaru to the curb. He says he’s ‘tired’, but Ino doesn’t believe it. No one gets tired of gossip. He’s a dirty liar and she tells him so. He tells her to come back when she’s feeling less antagonistic, but they both know he doesn’t want her to leave.

So as Ino gives a tired Itachi (also someone she knows isn’t immune to the grip of gossip) a wink, she feels satisfied when she leaves the Uchiha district.

“Yamanaka.”

Ah, another one she knows isn’t innocent, as much as he pretends to be. “Sasuke, it’s nice to see your ugly mug.”

Yes, Ino will call Sasuke ugly even if she doesn’t mean it. It’s the only way she can justify speaking to him after years of chasing his heart, only for him to throw hers away like junk when he managed to convince Hinata to date him. He’s an asshole and she realizes now that that is her type and she refuses to feel shame. She only feels shame she gave so many years of her life chasing this stupid Uchiha. There were plenty others. “Likewise. What’s your business here?”

“Gods,” Ino scoffs, leaning on her foot and folding her arms as she glares at him. “None of your business, asshole.”

“My district, my business.”

Ino hates the way that his scowl makes him prettier. “I’m in Interrogation. I go where I please.”

Sasuke chuckles and it makes her glare harden. “You’re not on the clock, flower girl.”

Ino’s ashamed to admit that nickname makes her heart flutter. Sometimes she wonders if he ever calls Hinata that. “Well, this has been a good chat,” she concludes, rolling her eyes. She smirks as she adds, “pig.”

Immediately, she begins skipping away, satisfied with the shocked look on his expression. She giggles to herself as she weaves through villagers on her way back to that flower shop he’d just been mocking her for. When she gets to the storefront, she pushes her way inside, the light clinking of the bells above a familiar sound. She smiles at her mother as she waves. “How did he like them?”

Ino sneers, shaking her head. “As much as someone with the emotional capacity of an Uchiha can like something like a nice arrangement of flowers.”

“Oh, stop,” her mother chides, shaking her head.

Ino shrugs. “Well, I’m off to investigation.”

“So soon?” Ino jumps at another familiar voice, snapping her gaze up.

“Shit, Choji!” she gasps, clasping her hand over her heart. He chuckles and she shakes her head, letting him embrace her for a hug. “When’d you get back?”

“This morning,” he responds, and she lets out a cough when his hug tightens to harshly. He laughs as he lets her go.

“Damnit Choji!” She shoves off of him, scowling. “How many times do I have to tell you not to crush me!”

Choji is as close to pure as one can get to Lee level pure, so Ino knows he’s not doing it on purpose. He just has too much love to give. “So, I’ll be there on Friday!”

“Oh, good.”

Ino smiles, genuinely glad to hear it.

Her, Choji, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata all meet for ‘tea’ on Fridays in Choji’s restaurant before it opens, tea having a double meaning here. It’s usually Ino and Sakura with the juiciest stuff, Tenten has a few things here and there, and Hinata and Choji sit quietly and absorb. Ino’s fine with that because at least they can be honest about their degeneracy. Plus, on the rare occasions Hinata or Choji do come in with gossip, it’s usually the juiciest thing they’ve ever heard. Jaw-dropping stuff.

Whenever one of them was gone on a mission or whatever it was that called them away from the village, it was always a little hollow. Especially Choji, when it was his restaurant. Just didn’t feel right gathering for gossip in his restaurant while his dad works in the back to get it set up. Ino’s tried inviting Choza to the tea session, but he’s never interested.

Just another dirty liar.

“Come get your flowers, Cho,” her mother beckons him and he nods.

“For the new restaurant?” she questions as he pulls from her.

“Only the finest flowers in the Leaf for my establishments,” Choji declares, eagerly. She smiles at him. He really is a gem compared to the rest. “See you Wednesday!”

Ino waves as she exits, saying an I love you to both he and her mother, then heads to the Hokage tower.

She always gets there early to do water cooler chat. Her shifts are towards the middle of the day when everyone is having a break (her shifts go into the night) and getting here early ensures she can listen in on anything interesting.

Today, she finds Sakura and Shino standing next to each other, tensely.

That’s another thing their terrible graduating class had in common: weird relationships she’ll never understand. How Sakura ended up with Shino remained a mystery, but Ino’s pretty sure Sakura got too drunk one night, and when Shino was kind enough to help her home, she jumped his bones. Sakura refuses to admit to it. It was one of those sad girl nights when they were bitching to each other about Sasuke and how disgustingly happy he and Hinata were. The only time they could freely complain about it was when they were alone together because the one thing this stupid village agrees on is that Sasuke and Hinata’s relationship is untouchable of gossip.

Not to Ino, though. Never to Ino. So yes, Sakura is her closest confidant for that.

Anyway, now here they are, locked in some sort of argument.

“What are you two doing here?” Ino pulls their attention, landing behind Sakura and digging her chin into her shoulder blade. Sakura shrugs her off and rolls her eyes.

“Turning in evidence from our mission,” Sakura clarifies, giving Shino the side eye, “and trying to figure out dinner.”

“You seem angry, dear forehead,” Ino teases, glancing up at Shino, who remains stoic, unwavering gaze forward.

“Because he won’t pick! He keeps saying ‘whatever you want’ but it’s never what I want!” Sakura sighs dramatically and Ino pinches the side of her stomach. Sakura squeaks and shoves her hand away.

“I’ve never said no before to your requests,” Shino responds, quietly, and Ino looks back at Sakura.

“Shino is picky,” Sakura continues to talk about him as if he’s not there, “no matter what I choose, he never eats it. He ends up eating something later in secret.”

Ino laughs, loudly. That sounds ridiculous. Shino sighs. “That’s not always true.”

“It always is!”

“That is an extreme thing to say. Why? Because it’s—”

“Why? Why? Why?” Sakura’s voice goes nasally and Ino frowns. She reaches up to close Sakura’s nose shut, who promptly glares at her. “Let go, pig.”

“Stop being ridiculous, billboard head,” Ino snaps back. Even she has to feel some amount of sympathy for Shino, even if he is a strange, strange man.

“You’re just lonely, and jealous.” Sakura’s voice comes out nasally as she folds her arms and Ino snickers at it.

“That’s right, turn your anger on me.” Ino grins a toothy grin with a wink. “Project onto me more.”

“You’re such a bitch.”

“Mhm,” Ino agrees easily, releasing her nose finally. She slaps her hands on each of their shoulders and Shino winces with raised eyebrows. “Go get soba. It’s Shino’s favorite, and the soba shop next to the dojo—”

“Which one?” Both Shino and Sakura interrupt her.

Ino bites back a laugh. “The one next to Sunny’s. It’s got the creamery next door so you can get dango afterward.”

“That sounds acceptable.” Shino nods and Ino smiles as Sakura grabs at his sleeve to yank him behind her.

“See you Friday!” Ino calls playfully.

Neither of them gives her a response, but she figured they wouldn’t anyway. She meanders over to the break room to prepare herself tea. As she brings it up to her lips, she shuts her eyes and searches for Sakura’s chakra signature. When she locates it, she invades her mind, as she’s so prone to do.

I’ve always wondered, are the rumors true about the Aburame?

She waits for a moment before Sakura’s irritated voice rings in her head.

What the hell are you doing—wait, what rumors?

You know. The ones about their…

You’re disgusting. GET OUT.

Ino feels pressure on her temples. Sakura’s become incredibly good at forcing her out of her mind.

She sighs, sadly as she looks into her tea. Ever since Sakura started dating Shino, she’s been no fun.

And to top it all off, there was no one here. Just her luck.

Or perhaps it is luck. She closes her eyes once more and searches again…

Shika…

She smiles as she senses him perk up. She can hear Lee going on in the background about visiting the Gaara in the Sand for a ‘friendly competition.’ She can almost feel the stress levels in Shikamaru spike.

What is it?

Meet me in the janitor's closet on the 2nd floor in five minutes?

Make it two.

Ino giggles, popping her eyes back open. She figures she’ll be nice, today, and give him some stress relief. She has a few minutes to spare, anyway.

(Optional) Continue to ShikaIno smut chapter ->

Thus ends the day one arc. I cannot promise each day will be five chapters, but I can promise every character will (likely) get their own chapter at some point.

On another note, because I think writing sex as part of relationships is important, you can check out the other work connected to this "Cooler Than You". It will be the smut chapters, essentially. Every day ends with one person, and they get their smut chapter in that separate work. I wanted to keep this rated T, and those aren't mandatory reading, but they are fun. Thanks.

[hirazuki]

Okay this might be weird ass timing, but I saw the asl someone sent you about Naruto, and your brief mention of the Villain type characters at least EMBRACING their flaws rather than glossing over like Konoha does, and while first I wanted to chime in with like, YES SAME, my favorite characters are Hidan and Kakuzu, ESPECIALLY Kakuzu, and that's part of why - and boy do I have beef with Kishimoto about how SHIT their arc ended because he wanted to show off how Cool and Smart Shika was and Naruto's new move (Kakuzu should NOT have been killed by that he's too smart his death was insulting I'll die on that hill, and I'm not even gonna start on Hidan) but like—

One thing that's always pissed me off is that when I read Kakuzu's backstory from the data book, I was STUNNED Kishimoto never once addressed it as a flashback like the other villains got - FILLER villains got more than he did and his story is SO GOOD - except I think one brief acknowledgement by Fu in some anime filler? Whatever, the point is, it occurs to me that his backstory makes both Takigakure AND Konoha look less than perfect, given the jist is that Taki yeeted him in prison for failing to kill Hashirama. I wonder if that's why Kishimoto never wanted to address it?

Okay, so first -- never feel weird for sending me Naruto asks!! Or Bleach asks! Or anything about any series/media/whatever I enjoy or I have even mildly dabbled in! Even if we have different opinions on things, I am always happy to geek out about shared interests ^^

YES EXACTLY, Kakuzu especially falls into this category (I love Hidan too, but he's a bit of a loose canon and as far as I can remember, doesn't have nearly as strong ties to his hometown as Kakuzu once had to Taki; I don't think he was ever enmeshed in upper level village politics like that). But yes, Kakuzu! I have no problem with how that fight played out or its conclusion, but I suspect that's only because while I enjoy these two, I'm not particularly attached to them, and the resolution of that conflict ticked off my own personal boxes for being "satisfactory," which is a very individual thing obviously. I absolutely get where you're coming from, and if something similar had happened to Orochimaru, for instance, I would be Very Upset.

Kakuzu's backstory is fascinating and honestly very demonstrative of the early days of the establishment of the village system and the various political considerations and machinations going on, ties in closely with our protag group since it directly involves one of the founders of Konoha, and is a compelling backstory to a member of one of the main antagonist groups of the series, so SAME???????? I was very surprised when I found out that Kishimoto had a super detailed, super relevant on multiple levels backstory for him that never got properly incorporated, and the only reason I can think of for leaving it out of the manga is it was cut due to editors. Idk why though, it's very well-developed as a plot point and backstory. I especially don't get why it wasn't included in the anime, given all the filler we get (< and I say this as someone who unironically loves fillers!!), because yes, you're right -- it's briefly alluded to by Fuu in the second chunin exams held in Suna, which is a filler arc towards the end of Shippuden. We've had filler mini-arcs within filler arcs themselves (for instance, Jiraiya's novel within Tsunade's tsukuyomi dream), so it wouldn't have been a stretch at all to do a brief glimpse into Kakuzu's past within the chunin exam filler arc... idk, dude, I've got nothing. I can't imagine it would be because it'd make Taki and Konoha look bad, because there's stuff like Zabuza and Kiri, Gaara and Sasori and Suna, and like... the entirety of Itachi and Konoha; all the villages including Konoha have looked less than perfect from the get-go. All I can think of is someone or multiple someones on the production team at SP didn't really care for Kakuzu so they never considered it, and it just came down to the team's personal preferences as to what they’d include as filler or not?

It's utterly baffling.

[achilleslyre]

but that’s my point— he wasn’t pretending or trying to achieve heartlessness at all. isolating himself? absolutely, that’s a complete different conversation though. appearing heartless was never a goal of his. he didn’t care to work with his team since they slowed him down. he wanted to succeed as quick as possible, get power as quick as possible, to be able to be at itachis level as quick as possible. it’s because of his trauma he acted like that— he does anything to get stronger faster. i mean it’s canonical that he doesn’t even eat food he likes, he eats foods that make him stronger. him not wanting to initially work with team seven doesn’t have anything to do with attempting/pretending to be cold/heartless, it’s just about catching up to itachi. there was no facade he was ever trying to play. sasuke is an extremely up front and honest character. he’s blatant about his intentions and ideals at all times. he doesn’t play any charade.

i never said sasuke was less traumatized in shippuden? he’s literally more traumatized lol. but anyways cutting himself off from others and cutting himself off from his loving self are two different things. i wasn’t responding to his isolation, it was in response to his love. he never was cut off from that. also not that it’s important or even pushes a point but i just want to say that when you’re that young there is a huge difference between being 12-13 and being 16-17. you’re not mature at 16/17 but compared to when you were 12/13…. you’ve matured a *lot*. 3-4 years isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but it is when you’re that young.

my chosen quote was not from after they established a relationship… it was from the academy days… literally some of their earliest days together before they were even team seven….. so i’m just gonna disregard that whole blurb lol

my point wasn’t intended to be that naruto is all consumed by his hatred, i was emphasizing the topic of the hatred inside him because that’s literally what the post is about. the point was is all his motives are based in the hatred/anger he had as a child for the situation he was put into, and that he’s not a character that is joyful or happy as a main characteristic. just that he has an actual human range in personality, but it all stems from his hatred. he most certainly is an empathetic character and exerts compassion and understanding to other characters (namely antagonists) with tragic pasts but.. the two of us definitely just view the way he interacts with his peers differently. the pranks and mischief aren’t done to gain laughter.. it’s to gain attention. he’s so attention starved as a kid that he does anything to garner it. often times his mischief doesn’t even result in laughter, just anger. so i don’t particularly see why you would interpret that as him wanting to bring joy/laughter to others. sure sometimes it does make people laugh, but it’s shown immediately in the animanga that he causes havoc which pisses people off. it’s always just been that he just wanted other people to look at him.

but he certainly isn’t only snippy and mean to authority figures. he is a major jerk to random people his age too, often times for no reason other than he didn’t like their initial impression. he teases, name calls and sometimes genuinely just tries to fight these characters. he’s just not a character that tries to bring happiness to everyone all the time. yes he certainly has empathy, and brings hope to people and inspires people and he cares deeply about the friends he does make, he’s a protagonist after all. but by observing his connections to people other than antagonists (when he has to exert his shounen protagonist model) he is often a jerk lol.

i feel that so many people seem to take the basis of naruto and sasukes characterization and switch them…. i see too many people infer naruto is made of happiness and love while sasuke of hate and anger but i have always seen naruto as a character that is full of hatred and anger and he has to let go of that with the love of others. sasuke as a character is so full of love yet he has to follow that through with grief and anger and learn to bear others hatred.

naruto never really had the heaviness of love in his heart until he went through the process of controlling kuramas chakra and had to confront the hatred inside him. frankly it says it blatantly that he had always held hatred in his heart for the situation he was forced into and the way the village treated him because of it, until he was able to accept and move past that hatred and have love for kurama and his dad and the people of his village. so i genuinely don’t understand where this notion that naruto is just pure sunshine and happiness came from. sasukes whole story starts out with wanting revenge on his brother because he loves his family and his clan so much. it’s a constant clear notion that he hurts so bad from his brother’s betrayal because he loved his brother, and that his rage against konoha is because he loved his clan that konoha sanctioned a genocide of. it’s constantly stated that the uchiha hold intense love in their hearts.

it’s sasukes connection with the people around him that formed his love where it’s the lack of that connection that formed narutos hate…. the way they expressed their emotions is very different because they’re both in insanely different scenarios no matter how much they understand the others pain. narutos hatred makes him want to finally receive the love that the village never gave him, but sasukes love makes him want the village to experience the pain that they inflicted upon him and his clan… maybe sasuke expresses his love more negatively and maybe naruto expresses his hate more positively, but that doesn’t change the fact that sasukes actions came from a place of love and narutos actions came from hate. they just needed each other to balance the other out….

[thinknicht]

Okay, okay, bear with me but… I think Kishimoto might’ve actually shipped Kakashi/Sakura. *hides*

Sounds crazy, right? I mean it’s definitely not something that could ever get published without editors all over the world having aneurisms but… Kakashi literally has more lovey dovey moments with Sakura – KAKASHI! (you know emotionally-stunted, used to be her teacher? That guy?) – than Sasuke ever did. What the hell, Kishi? And if you don’t believe me… well. The evidence is just–

I think these pictures are kind of self explanatory. However, someone COULD say that it’s just in the anime right? Wrong.

There’s plenty of examples of this in the manga, you know the actual source material, as well. Like…

that pose with her hand on his chest… ummm hello? i dont think thats routine behaviour between students/teachers ? Especially someone as non-physically affectionate as Kakashi? or am i the only one here who thinks this is… something?

them just kinda ALWAYS somehow finding themselves standing next to each other. all the time. Every second panel. (I could add more pictures but tumblr only lets me up to 10 per post)

again there’s the exact same pose but in a different panel. kishi drew it TWICE! he mustve really liked it huh

him holding onto her despite her added weight whilst literally dangling off a piece of paper over a volcano

ummm... in the actual anime he was literally stroking her face with his thumb. i mean if that aint a love soap opera move i dont know what is

More lovey dovey manga scenes. Seriously, am I the only one noticing how relaxed – dare I say, almost at home – they seem with each other? Like they draw energy just out of being next to each other, like they share in their exhaustion, taking comfort in the other, etc? Given, it could just be a very close friendship but it feels like more after seeing those other panels, y’know?

Kakashi literally standing straight to attention at the sight of sakura having a moment w Naruto. Or am I just imagining how tense he seems in this one? I mean normally he’s drawn slouching? And that bead of sweat running down his cheek? That downturn to his brow? Why add it, kishi?

Finally I present to you: Sasuke being a cold ass– er, cool avenger… and (surprise!) rejecting Sakura to… wander aimlessly around – surely this must be the pinnacle of unconditional love – but who’s the one standing next to her like: “yo? Still here? As in, actually here”?? Literally what did you mean by this kishi??? Was it a sign??? A message??

I’m beginning to think he made the lack of love between Sasuke and Sakura obvious on purpose. I mean nobody can be this oblivious, right? It’s almost like Kishi didn’t want Sakura to end up with Sasuke but someone was forcing his hand so he went with it, but kicking and screaming…

Seriously. You could even say that Sakura had moments with Sai. Sai. Like literally her helping him get over his Root conditioning (which is a big deal) and putting up with his attitude to see what lay beneath. Sai literally quit Root because of her and Naruto (though Naruto was a lot more antagonistic, if I’m remembering right, so sakura definitely played a big role there) and clearly cares a lot about Sakura (and there’s a panel where he asks Naruto whether he’s in love with her, so he obviously cares about that too). Their bond could be seen as sister-brother I suppose, I think kishi settled on that as sai faded into the background after being introduced, but still. Initially, sai calling her “ugly” is I think canon for him meaning the opposite. So yeah. Kishi definitely at least considered having sai be a love rival to Sasuke of some sort. I feel like kishi’s the type who likes to keep a lot of possibilities open to him (ie. for example flirting with Itachi being good or evil since the very beginning, probably unsure of which one he was going to pick, etc) but anyway. I’m getting sidetracked!

The point is sakura was supposed to end up with Naruto initially, I think. They had so many moments together and honestly, from a literary standpoint it’s what makes sense. The hero winning the affections of the princess who initially didn’t spare him a second glance, the heroine moving on from the toxic love she was embroiled in, etc. Like literally kishi based Sakura off on his wife and naruto on himself. But alright. The fans wanted Hinata to be with Naruto, so Kishi might’ve caved under the pressure… but he definitely couldn’t have wanted sakura to end up with Sasuke. I mean just look at what he did to them:

Every Sasuke/Sakura moment basically boil down to:

“Hn.”

*tries to kill her*

*tries to kill her again*

*abandons her with a baby*

Ummm… HELLO?! I’m seriously starting to believe Kishimoto (or at the very least a lot of someones at the animation studio) would rather ahip Sakura with Kakashi than Sasuke. And Kishimoto too, damn it! And then his evil editor decided that Sasusaku had to be the final pairing because popularity polls made Hinata into the better candidate for Naruto and because “otherwise she’d seem disloyal if she changed her mind after so long”. It’s called character development, doofus!

Seriously, to anyone who has watched Bakuman (meta manga by the creators of death note about writing manga), you know what the mangaka industry is like. I’m 100% certain that Naruto’s crappy ending had a lot more to do with shitty editors and popularity polls with a demographic of 14 yr. old teenage boys as the only participants rather than Kishimoto actually deciding a damn thing. In fact, it’s known that he wanted to end the manga at the pain arc and yet he was forced to continue it, so that proves that he wasn’t given a lot of choices in regard to what to do with his work.

And that’s why, as he drowned in his feelings of powerlessness, he pulled one last act of rebellion against his editors and snuck Kakashi/Sakura Easter eggs into the manga and conspired with the animators to help him. Maybe he even secretly writes fanfics and nobody knows. (I watch too many dramas I know)

[rogueninja]

hi kat, i love your blog and when you talk about naruto op/eds. so my question to you is which one do you think encapsulates the series the best? <3

rome, beloved, bless you for this question. it's been far too long since properly waxed poetic about a naruto OP/ED.

to me the easiest answer for which OP/ED encapsulates the series is hands down diver. which may sound biased but it's not even my favorite one!!! but it does encapsulate the series the best.

to start, something really interesting about it is that like most anime, in general naruto OPs follow the theme/story of the current arc, which usually means showing shots of the groups of characters that appear, and fights that play a large role. but diver doesn't do that. it has a story to tell and doesn't bother with any cruft.

it's worth nothing that diver is attached to the episodes in which naruto gets beaten up by karui for refusing to give up sasuke, resolves to travel to the five kage summit in order to beg the raikage for sasukes's life, and also learns from obito the truth about itachi and the uchiha massacre. so naruto is basically balls to the wall for sasuke at this point (i mean when has he not been, but sasuke is really not a popular guy right now). not only that, but naruto just finished saving the village from pain and basically has the love and support from others that he has always wanted. i think this is super important context for how we should look at diver.

we start out with naruto falling into a black abyss all alone. obviously loneliness has always been a major part of naruto's backstory.

next we see shots of obito and the other akatsuki - -these are main antagonists that naruto has faced, and just one of his many burdens. then we see SASUKE, grouped together with the antagonists, but he's much closer, and he's looking right into naruto's eyes EXACTLY like how he did in VOTE1. only this time naruto's eyes are open.

at this point sasuke raises his chidori to strike naruto, further driving home this framing of him as an antagonist. not only is he threatening naruto, he's doing it in a much more close and personal way than the other antagonists. at this point naruto starts to resist, and everything dissolves and turns red as if the weight of everything has become too much.

that's when other people, most notably team 7 and iruka, start supporting naruto and pushing him upwards. "bonds" are what i would consider to be the greatest theme in naruto. relationships with others, feeling their pain, this is what makes people strong enough to overcome evil and hatred (according to naruto). he believes this so strongly because when he was alone, others acknowledging him (notably iruka and sasuke) is what saved him. so after all this support from others, naruto, is pushed above the water and is saved.

but. he turns around and sasuke is still there. in a black whirlpool (uzumaki means whirlpool. coincidence???). and he has the mangekyo now, a something which is used to symbolize hatred but actually a sign of the loss of great love. and sasuke is preparing to use it as a weapon to achieve his goals of hatred and revenge. he's cut himself off from every bond. he's alone. naruto knows exactly what this means. at this point, he puts his headband on his head. he's been holding it in his hand the whole time. the headband carries a lot of meaning throughout the series. naruto actually doesn't even wear it the whole time during the kage arc, which i find very interesting (he wants to approach sasuke not as a ninja or jinchuriki but as his friend). but in this OP putting on the headband seems to symbolize some level of resolve, and/or perhaps similar to how naruto demanded sasuke put his headband on when they fought, as a sign they acknowledge each other as equal ninja.

the point is though, that naruto goes back for sasuke. naruto's whole thing always for for the end of time is that when he sees others' pain, he feels that pain, he relates, he empathizes, and he can't stand to see them go through the same thing he did (source: every talk no jutsu ever), and he admits later on that when he sees sasuke in pain, he hurts too. which is exactly why he goes after sasuke, because right now everyone is against sasuke, literally the entire five great nations have branded him as an enemy of the state. itachi is dead, and kakashi and sakura have all given up on him. sasuke has team taka but even they end up being abandoned by him during his quest. literally everyone is telling naruto to give up on sasuke, but he refuses. naruto recognizes that what sasuke really needs is someone to understand him, to be there for him, to love him, the way others had for naruto (including sasuke in the past!!). so naruto goes back.

but this is the end of the OP. we don't see if he succeeds, because that won't actually be resolved until the very end of the series. and that's why i think it perfectly encapsulates the series. naruto and sasuke's relationship encapsulates the series, their bond, their empathy for each other, their shared pain. every talk no jutsu naruto does in order to understand every antagonist -- sasuke is the pinnacle of that. and that's why i think it encapsulates the series :)

[verdantmoontruther]

thought i should do one of these to welcome you to my naruto hell

Favorite male character: gai

Favorite female character: tsunade

Second and third favorite male character: shino and sai

Second and third favorite female character: tenten and kurenai

Favorite and second favorite clan: aburame and uzumaki

Favorite kage: gaara

Favorite Hokage: tobirama

Least favorite Hokage: sarutobi hiruzen (kys old fart <3)

Favorite tailed beast: matatabi

Favorite canon couple(s): inosai and naruhina

Favorite almost canon couple(s): sasukarin and leeten

Worst canon couple: sasusaku

Least favorite fanon couple(s): narusaku, sns, sakuino, sasodei, kakuhidan

Favorite yaoi couple(s): kakairu or yamairu

Favorite yuri couple(s): i once saw kurenai x mei and haven’t slept soundly since

Couple(s) that you ship romantically and as friends: kakagai, naruino, sasusai (now hear me out on this one)

Favorite protagonist: tsunade

Favorite antagonist: haku and zabuza

Favorite Akatsuki member: kisame

Favorite Akatsuki couple: sasori and deidara (not romantically, i just like when they argue)

Which character do you think deserves more appreciation: shino, kankuro, fuu, and tenten out of the younger generation (i don’t watch or read boruto). anko, kurenai, and genma from the middle generation. maito dai from the older generation

Which character do you think deserves less appreciation: sakura (annoying and i don’t like her but im too tired to go into that rn), itachi (idc who told him to, mans still killed his entire clan and tortured his younger brother several times), and sasuke (you all appreciate him for the wrong reasons!!!! love him for being a revolutionary, not for rejecting his ideology in the end)

Which character(s) didn’t deserve to die: neji, haku, and zabuza (he should’ve lived to see his country be given stability under mei, he deserved it, argue with the wall)

Who do you ship Naruto with: hinata mostly but a small part of my brain screams ino

Which character do you think looks good with everybody: sasuke

Which character out of Teams 7(don’t forget Sai),8,10, Gai would join the Akatsuki: depends what akatsuki we’re talking about! original akatsuki whose goal was world peace through diplomacy? choji, lee, naruto, kakashi, gai, hinata. the akatsuki the characters actually interact with? neji, asuma, tenten.

Hottest female character: tenten or kurenai

Hottest male character: DON’T FLAME ME FOR THIS BUT KAKUZU LMAOOOO

Would you eat Ramen: yeah

Pro-ending or anti-ending: pro

How would your version of Naruto ending and Boruto play out (don’t be shy, make it VERY LONG, out touch the smallest details):

1. neji would live because hiashi sacrificed himself in place of his children. i dont really have anything further planned for him in my head but rest assured that he is alive.

2. konoha involves itself in inter-clan business and makes it a criminal offense for hyuuga main branch members to torture the side branch members. no new seals are placed.

3. boruto is not named boruto because what a weird fucking name, no thanks!

4. the truth about both the uchiha massacre and the destruction of uzushiogakure and konoha’s roles in them are revealed to the public.

5. the villagers and ordinary shinobi play a more active role in the running of the village and it moves away from bureaucracy and to tobirama’s original vision of a democracy. the hokage is actually elected, rather than proposed by officials to the daimyo and that’s that.

6. academy starts at age 8 or 10 and finishes at a soft 16 - if a student is particularly gifted, the lowest age they can graduate at is 14.

7. we actually get a scene between naruto and karin where they acknowledge and talk about their shared roots.

8. no sasusaku i’m sorry i just really hate it. sorry sarada. i think sasuke should be allowed to stay single.

9. more children!!! more babies!!!!!!! naruto and hinata have about 4, ino and sai have 2, karui and choji have 3. stop the population from dwindling

10. i actually like the fact that hinata and choji are like retired from the shinobi industry, i dont think they actually ever really wanted to be parts of it. but hinata plays an active role in the improvement of hyuuga intra-clan rapports, even if she’s not clan head.

11. i’d have killed off iruka and kiba but that’s just me. not because i hate them (i love iruka to the moon and back) but i think their deaths would’ve been realistic and meaningful (and also hurt a lot - can you imagine naruto’s reaction to iruka’s death, or kiba dying and leaving akamaru? pain)

12. naruto doesn’t become hokage. he’s a jounin-sensei :D

13. the older generation pairs off as well!! my heart goes soft for gai and anko, i think maybe they have a kid together

14. none of the electronic advancement you see in boruto. i want my bitches to continue suffering

15. orochimaru is either in prison or executed. in either case anko, yamato, and the other people they hurt get justice.

16. choza dies alongside shikaku and inoichi (again, not because i don’t like him), even if he isn’t at hq

17. no fucking rabbit goddess jesus fuck that storyline just about took me out lmao

[sapphic-sasuke]

So i was watching those fillers about kakashi’s anbu days and an question came to my mind Why did tachi directly choose to kill the clan instead of trying to warn their parents and/or the uchiha clan first did he think they were too prideful to back down or completely leave the village or maybe he didn’t trust his OWN family

I mean if i was in that kinda of a situation (or heck even in any kinda of situation) the first thing I would’ve done; go to mom dad warn them/ask them what should i do, what should ‘we’ do and cannonically speaking itachi was 13 at the time and fugaku really seemed to be the most reasonable person to go to(while other uchihas were unnecessary being harsh to civilians during taking them into custody fugaku was the one to warn them) so itachi either, A) was kinda of an idiot who didn’t really think things through (wich I don’t think so cause he was supposed to be a genius at the very least a very smart person) or B) he was so arrogant thet he thought (an exceptional 13yo kid A FUCKING CHILD) he might be more suited and experienced! to handle the coup instead of going to his parents and I know ppl say that he got manipulated n stuff but c’mon wasn’t he basically the king of manipulation I don’t understand how he couldn’t thought anything besides killing everyone, wouldn’t taking sasuke and running should’ve been an option to what do you think

Also sorry for the long ass ask and I just realized ur one of my favorite fics authors i hope u update looking for forgiveness soon didn’t read such a good fan fic in a while i like ur writing sm <3

HI!! don’t ever feel sorry for long asks i love reading long stuff . and AHHH WOW thank you so much i do plan to update my fic very soon. the chapters almost done but i had some rly funky writer’s block hope u like it <3

no ur so right anon the way itachi handled the massacre was so strange? and that’s why i like to headcanon that itachi had a really strained relationship with his parents (albeit slightly better with fugaku) where he never came to them with any of his emotions/problems growing up and internalised that until the massacre. i think the second option is more probable. we know he didn’t like most of the clan members and we even see him fighting some. what with all his achievements as a shinobi and his anbu status, itachi seems like the kind of person.

i think taking sasuke and running away would have halted the coup, with the clan heir and second son gone, however i am of the belief that the coup would have been inevitable. maybe due to strained relations or danzo’s machinations, konoha doesn’t help out much with trying to find itachi and sasuke and that increases tensions even further. we know that uchihas love fiercely and it could even lead to the clan more determined to go forward with the coup and then use further resources to find sasuke and itachi. it seems like a short term solution to marginalisation that’s been simmering for decades. it’s a far better alternative to him outright committing genocide however.

maybe itachi did think telling them he was being pressured into killing the clan would have gone badly. he’s very against the coup and has made this clear with his antagonistic actions after shisui’s death. i’m almost certain people in the clan didn’t trust him at all. he was definitely of the belief that more vocal members of the clan would use that as a further incentive to go ahead with the coup, even kill danzo and the elders. (danzo’s root however would be a major obstacle)

i think fugaku would have listened to itachi though. the uchiha coup is one that could be interpreted as a last ditch retaliation from a clan who were shoved to a corner. fugaku clearly loves the village—the coup was intended to be bloodless if it went according to plan. the elders wouldn’t even be aware of it if itachi stayed silent. (but i do think the other clans would not support an uchiha hokage because their reputation worsened after the kyuubi attack) and let’s be real, the elders were insanely corrupt. (but I am of the belief the corruption is only possible because of the shinobi system in place but then that’s a whoooole other topic) itachi’s spy status already puts him as a traitor to the clan which would be a huge betrayal for fugaku who believed in itachi when others didn’t. itachi would be disgraced by his people for even being considered as someone who would be asked to kill them, you know? in that sense, itachi must have seen everything as a lose-lose scenario and went with the option that wouldn’t hinder konoha that much and as such the “peace”

leaving the village is an interesting option. i feel like unless the uchiha clan find a secure place to hide (they do have those hideouts) that ultimately konoha is the safest bet for them at the moment but the possibility of even konoha being unsafe is very real with the threat of danzo. the fact that the elders even considered genocide shows the uchiha’s standing in konoha. hidden villages must have loads of safety measures in place to stop shit like kidnappings for bloodline limits (hinata’s kidnapping attempt was only possible to happen because of the treaty being signed) and state secrets, that i’m sure the uchiha clan have. in short, the uchiha are way too intergreted into the village’s foundations to simply leave without repercussions. it’s interesting because they aren’t actually intergreted into the village at all. i’m sure they don’t know that many actual secrets about the village. they aren’t trusted—tobirama mentions this. but if they ever decided to turn against konoha or join another village their insight into how konoha shinobi and clans work as previous comrades would be invaluable. essentially, the only way for the uchiha clan to survive if they decide to leave would be to go into hiding, really insane crazy genjutsu hiding (which i believe is possible with such a strong clan) in that case, then Yes, the uchiha clan leaving would work. but i think itachi’s of the belief that uchiha pride would prevent them from ever considering hiding. so i’m more inclined to agree with the second option B

the genocide just doesn’t fit with a child who supposedly loves his clan. you don’t kill a clan you love for the village. moral standing aside, solving peace with violence isn’t peace. how can he call himself a pacifist but then have so much faith in the system he’s willing to kill his own people for it? i’s stupidity. there’s so many inconsistencies to itachi’s character because if he really did all of this for sasuke then why torture him? that’s unnecessary mental damage. he could invoke hatred without torture. he’s stated to have the wisdom of a kage at 7 but then makes really stupid decisions that don’t fit in with his whole master manipulator like you mentioned. with all of this ive just come to the conclusion that itachi was probably originally intended to be an antagonist but shit Happened like a popularity jump or smth and suddenly the narrative’s calling him a hero lmao, way to go against the original anti establishment themes from part 1 naruto kishi u bum

this got long really fast omg im sorry? but i hope my insight helped in some way? (or not i tend to ramble a Looooot) anyways ty for the ask i could honestly talk about the uchiha clan all day