#kankuro is my favorite but you know if gaara scared him he was like Temari Handle This Ill Clean Or Whatever and then did a halfassed job

[sea-owl]

on the sand cousins au, thoughts on sakura being in line for kazekage (it was hereditary, right? I can't imagine they'd elect gaara.)

also sand siblings with an intense ass grudge against sasuke lol

ur meeting ur gfs fam and u tried to kill her cousins, they've tried to kill you, and ur gf could've been kazekage, if she wasn't born in konoha.

You know I don't know. Was the kazekage position hereditary? Wouldn't surprise me if it was.

I don't think Sakura would be in line for it, though. In my head, it was always Mebuki and Karura, the sand siblings' mother, who were related. How closely related is up to you guys.

But lmao them having a grudge against Sasuke. Maybe that's how they ended up on the retrieval arch (seriously they had to he close for them to come to the rescue like that. Sand and Leaf are canonically three days journey from one another) The sand siblings were coming to visit and oh hell no. This dude made their cousin cry. Where's he at? Don't worry Sakura we'll go help Naruto drag him back to the village. Years later Temari sends a message to Kankuro and Gaara to hurry their asses up to visit Konoha. Not only do they got Shikadai to visit but Sakura came home with Uchiha and they have a baby. Gaara and Kankuro both curse because now there's no way of getting rid of Uchiha. Sakura why? Bad enough Temari procreated with that lazy ass Nara. They could have found you a nice guy in the Sand village.

Sakura is also pissed off when the Akatsuki took Gaara and poisoned Kankuro. You poisoned her cousin and then KIDNAPPED HER FAVORITE ONE?! Oh, someone was definitely gonna die. Her taking out a missing sand nin was just a bonus to her cousins' village.

Sakura didn't leave Gaara's side for three days after he got back to the village. She claimed it was to make everything was okay medically since he came back to life an all but really she was kinda scared to leave her family member alone.

Now fair warning I do actually like Matsuri and do ship her with Gaara. I think it's cute. I know some of you get weird about it. So stop here if you don't want to see GaarMatsu. You get weird about it I will use the block button.

At some point during Sasuke and Sakura's journey they make a stop in Sand where almost the whole time they're there Sakura is teaming up with Kankuro to match make Gaara and Matsuri.

Gaara will never admit it but Sasuke kinda helped in this area. Both Gaara and Sasuke are more reserved in their emotions. During one drunken night Gaara asks Sasuke how he was able to let go and show his love to Sakura. Gaara doesnt say it but he wants to be able to do that too with Matsuri. To he able to show her he loves her. Sasuke admits he is still learning but it's a process he's working on together with Sakura.

The next day during one of Kankaruo and Sakura's schemes that involve poor oblivious Matsuri Gaara listens to Sasuke's advice and takes the first step in showing his love to Matsuri.

Sakura is ecstatic, Sasuke is happy Sakura is happy.

[spidori]

Suna has been through this song and dance before.

Gaara was kidnapped? Official policy states this is no longer just Sand Village business, this just became bijuu business.

Send a message to the leaf, asap. Ask them to send over that Naruto boy, the one with the smile so bright it blinds you to the massive fangs it holds. He should be here to take care of this in a few days...

What do you mean he's here already?

What dO YOU MEAN HE CAME THROUGH A RIP IN REALITY AND BROUGHT ANOTHER HOLE IN REALITY WITH HIM?!?!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS ONE IS BIGGER!?!?!?

The sand elders may need a drink, or to drink until they pass out.

~meanwhile~

Kankuro and Temari are arguing.

"But sis-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"But he's rescued Gaara like this before, and he's even stronger now, we probably won't even lose anyone this time. Hell, knowing Naruto we might even gain a few new villagers."

"EXACTLY!"

"Huh?"

"Brother. If Naruto goes after Gaara, he will do what he always does, the very thing which makes him the most powerful ninja of our age, He will make friends. What are you going to do if Naruto makes friend with the void being and they start dropping in at random to take Gaara, our Kazekage, on adventures?"

"Fair point. Naruto would do that, wouldn't he."

"Knowing Naruto, yes."

"Sister, knowing Naruto, he'd manage to befriend the void being AND it's big brother somehow."

Temari doesn't even have a chance to chastise Kankuro for tempting fate before "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS ONE IS BIGGER?!" is heard through the door. Instead she just sighs, shakes her head, pushes her idiot brother towards the door, and walks away while massaging her temples.

Back in the room with the increasingly pale elders, Kankuro is explaining the situation. "So in summary, Gaara was kidnapped by an unknown and extremely dangerous entity. We need to track them down and get Gaara back before the Kage summit next week at the very latest. But before we get to that, what'cha got there Naruto?"

"Hm? Oh, a smoothie. Danny made them for us after we got Ramen."

"And Danny is?"

"Wondering about the technological level of your society" Danny cuts in.

"What?" One of the Sand Village elders asks.

"I need to know which of my friends to grab. Are we talking large cities with lots of electronic surveillance, or is this more of a lots of villages in the woods situation?"

"I don't think there are any villages which preferentially assign lightning style shinobi to citizen surveillance duty? So probably the second one?" Kankuro says.

"Sam it is then." Danny says, as he rips open the air, reaches through, and pulls through ANOTHER VOID BEING BY THEIR ARM!

"Hey Sam," he says, handing her another 'smoothie' he just pulled out of his chest. "We need to find some dude named Gaara who just got kidnapped, can you use your Undergrowth powers to ask the trees?"

"Danny? Where did you just bring me?" A wide-eyed Sam asks.

"I'unno. They've got freaking Amazing ramen though."

"Danny. Did you really just bring me to my veRY FIRST MANGA?!" Sam yells "WITHOUT WARNING ME?!" as she upends her smoothie over his head.

And oh gods, this is how the world ends isn't it? Three void beings was one too many. One was probably one too many, but the third was tempting fate just a little too much even for Naruto and now the death gods are fighting and now their entire world is fucking doomed!

"I THOUGHT THAT BLEACHED ONE WAS YOUR FAVORITE?!"

"IT'S BLEACH, AND YEAH!? BUT NOT MY FIRST!!! AND THIS IS THE FUCKING VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE FUCKING SANDS TOO!!!!! IS TEMARI AROUND?!"

"She went that way about two minutes ago." Kankuro says. He's been friends with the embodiment of benevolent chaos that is Naruto long enough that he knows it's best to just roll with it after a certain point.

Sam responds by slapping her hands down exactly like a summoning seal, except the glowing green runes which hurt to look at are complex enough that they might have scared even the Uzumaki clan. The pulse of power which blasts out from them, still devoid of any chakra but also leagues beyond even a Kage in terms of raw power, is certainly enough to terrify the elders.

"He's about two hundred miles that-a-way" Sam points "and moving fast. Ellie is with him, so they're probably flying. Good luck catching up to them. I'm off to talk fashion with my simultaneous goth and bi awakenings. Baiiii~" she waves as she waltzes out in the direction Kankuro pointed.

Last thing, just a thought... Gaara died and was brought back to life the last time he was kidnapped. That boy is liminal as fuck, but with chakra too, how's that gonna shake out?

You know how in Naruto, Sealing is a Finicky Art?

It's like computer coding, calligraphy, and symbolism had a super-powered/reality bending baby. You gotta think in VERY ADHD twirls and swirls too be any good at it. Which is why the Uzumaki rocked it so hard. But I digress.

Is Complexe AF.

Bends Reality and is EASY to fuck up.

Wanna bet? The BEST way to learn/use it? Is to copy already functioning examples? But Oh! How do you KNOW they are functioning? Safe? Well OBVIOUSLY, your Skilled At Seals teacher looks at it first! THEN gives it too you!

Using random seals you find in the dirt is how you get splattered across three different countryside in peices, after all. Possibly take out a nearly Town or two while your at it. No One Is THAT Dumb... RIGHT?

Enter Stage Right o/~☆ Humanity, Everybody! *polite, if strained, golf clapping*

They ABSOLUTELY Are!

Especially Ninja!

Ninja who, after fuckin MURDERING A WHOLE ASS VILLAGE OF SEALING MASTERS, decided to pick through the rubble! Because THAT is gonna work out GREAT! After all... it's not like you just KILLED the fuckers who could tell you what IS and IS NOT functional!

Was that once the "hazardous advanced class' sealing failures" bin? Or was it the "super awesome candy and rainbows" stash!? You don't know. NO ONE DOES NOW. You fuckin KILLED THE PEOPLE WHO DID.

They had their own REGIONAL Sealing Script.

You know, the one they taught to THEIR STUDENTS. Not outsiders. The students you KILLED, you absolute fuck nuggets. But hey! The threat of the Super Scary Sealing Masters is no more! Good job. You've successfully burned down the library. It can't hurt you ever again.

But NOW? You have piles upon piles of GIBBERISH.

You can only VAGUELY tell the novice seals from the master's. And even then? Do you have any idea what most of them DO? Nope. And after a certain point in training? The shaky, uncertain hand writing becomes smooth enough, that it all blends together in "Seals".

Now... what is the SMART thing to do?

Curse your hubris and the atrocities your fear allowed you to commit, obviously. But BEYOND that, Don't Touch Them. But we're Ninja. So WE are all suicidal idiots. The less smart but still Reasonably Precautionary thing to do? Study the amateur Seals. Learn Sealing from other masters.

Crack the Regional Script and slowly, painstakingly, work through each seal as we sort out what is and isn't safe. What can be salvaged. What can be used and how.

A process that will likely take years if not decades.

But of course, that's not GOOD ENOUGH for certain grabby handed, power hungry, short sighted, fuck weasels! No, no. It much EASIER to just throw human life into the blender until profit pops out! Completely IGNORING, of course, that SOME of these?

Could very well be the "Too Dangerous To Ever Use/Will Destroy Us All/Take Them All With Us" type of Seals that Kage usually LOCK UP. The kind you CAN'T destroy once you've made them, because the fall out would be WORSE. And?

Even if you are a murderous, middle management, go nowhere in your life, BASTARD of a ninja? Sometimes you can look down at the massive, intricately detailed, killer off nation's before you. Something that was WRAPPED in locks upon locks upon chains upon seals. And KNOW in your selfish, survival at all costs little heart... You DO NOT want anyone to fuck with this.

You CAN NOT let anyone fuck with this.

NO ONE can be allowed to touch it.

Not for ANYTHING.

You may fear S Class Kage and Missing Nin and what all else they may do to you. But THIS? Your eyes can't even properly FOCUS on it. It's like a tunnel that's lined with poetry, stretching all the way to the Earth's core. It's perfectly flat. It moves, a gentle rotation. But is that just your eyes, tricking you?

So much ink, it swallows the scroll, and this is when it's COMPRESSED.

How many nations?

How many NATIONS must this monstrosity span, when free?

It must have taken a Master decades, if not their entire life, to complete. Possibly a family, several generations. But... but gods it is a work of MADNESS. No wonder it was sealed. It speak, you... you THINK... of Death...

Of it's KING.

Something BEYOND the Shinigami. BEYOND Death and the Purelands.

Who the FUCK would try to summon something beyond GODS? Did they think they could control it? Chain it like the bijuu? You're so cold inside. Because you KNOW. You fucking KNOW, the ambitions and arrogance of those above you.

They'll think they can.

They won't listen.

You... you have to take this and RUN. You stand no chance. But no chance is better then oblivion. Anything is better then standing by and watching it happen.

You obviously don't make it. You never expected too. But at least... at least you won't have to watch whatever THAT is... arrive... fuck...

At least you TRIED.

And? Because leaf Ninja, specifically certain teams, have the MOST Shit luck imaginable? They arrive, having crossed paths with several other teams, on the way back home (yay! Warm food and real beds!) Just in time to see a desperate looking ninja from one of the small villages get fuckin pincushioned. Drop what is VERY clearly an Uzushio Scroll of considerable size and SEVERE SSS+ DO Not EVER Touch Grade Type Markings, and then some joining from that same village go to grab it.

Notice them.

You know... the multiple LEAF NINJA. Who TOO THIS DAY, wear the UZU swirl on their uniforms as a mourning tribute to the DEAR AND PRECIOUS ALLIES they could not save. The Uzushio Allies. Those ones. The ones that were, in fact, from Uzushio.

LIKE THE SCROLL YOU ARE HOLDING.

By the WAY! How DID you get that Scroll? Doesn't seem like something our dear friends would just HAND over, now does it? You didn't happen to LOOT THEIR FUCKIN GRAVES did you? Cause we sure would be MAD about that!

:)

Real Mad.

Dude obviously panics. Because that? That is a VERY pissed off bunch of Ninja, many in the bingo book, one of whom is Very Clearly throwing off BIJUU CHAKRA. And just said "my family's" Ha ha... Oh Shit that's an Uzumaki.

So he decides to USE THE SEAL.

What does it do?

He doesn't know! But it's probably SOMETHING big and impressive, right?

Yes. :) Yes it Does.

*Crack*

The SKY cracks. Like a pane of glass, struck by a hammer. Spiderwebbing as far as the eye can see above them, all from one central point, directly above the seal. The cracks there are concentrated. A point of impact. And through the cracks... something GREEN shines.

Brighter then the daylight around it, yet darker in color then the blue of the sky. Lazily whisping out like escaping mist. Time seems slow as their eyes all whip up wards. Even with senses beyond the normal human base, it is... inconceivable. SOMETHING winds back. They can not see it.

But they can feel it.

Like changing pressure as a storm rolls in.

*Crack!*

Green overtakes the blue. The sky a Kaleidescape of shards, held together by stubbornness alone. Reflecting a calm day that seems IMPOSSIBLE in the face of what's occurring. There should be wind. Great pressure changes in the face of so much FORCE, but the trees are eerily still.. utterly silent..

Nothing dares bring attention to itself.

Some distant part of their minds try to gather the thought that... that it could be an illusion. They... they should check. But they can FEEL it. Like a weight draped gently but without mercy upon their shoulders. It did not slam. But... but they can not move. Can barely breathe. It is beyond killing intent.

It is simply...

DEATH.

*CRASH!*

At last, the sky gives way. A fist, the size of towers punching through. It... it is almost elegant. A ring, almost in the shinigami's visage, wraps itself in a howling and snarled menace, around a great shining finger. A glove protects almost delicate looking, claw tipped fingers. The fist pulls back. Shard of sky falling, Floating, suspended in their moment of destruction, a glittering frame for the gapping wound that has overtaken everything.

Death...

Death has Green Eyes.

A crown of ice and starlight, pulled straight from the coldest north, hair that drifts like the drowned. His skin is that of a corpse. His breath a coldness that seems to suck all warmth from the world. There is no rage, no great irritation, his face merely twisted in slight annoyance. Mild displeasure.

And yet it feels like their greatest sin.

It BURNS.

They are ants. Less then ants. He... He LOOMS so TALL. The Green BURNS into their eyes, into their veins, chokes their lungs. The silence stretches. Those great eyes, the eyes of a GOD, move from them. To the man with the Seal.

He dies instantly.

Shit.

They... they need to... to...

Naruto wanders over and picks up the scroll, completely ignore the Giant Sky God Of Death and how all his friends are frozen in primordial fear. He roughly shakes the dirt off the delicate old relic, then squint at it. Figures he's holding it upside-down. Flipping it, he squints harder. Tilts his head and hums.

"Oh!"

He holds his hand up, turning to look at the terrifying Deity From Beyond Comprehension.

"It's me! I'm the Uzumaki! But, uh, I didn't actually summon you? Our stuff got stolen. Which really sucks!" He looks down again, brings the paper nearly to his nose trying to make out some thing. "Uuuuuh, huh. Got it! Can you get smaller? I don't got and BBQ or anything ON me right now, but Choji's Family makes REALLY good food! I can out to eat? Ooh ooh! Or RAMEN! You like Ramen, right?!"

"Yep, Definitely one of Shouta's."

Rumbles The Actual Fucking King Of Death, shaking the trees and ground under your feet. As you probably stare at your fellow Leaf Nin like WTF.

"Sure, man. Give me a second."

And suddenly? He's leaning forward. Shrinking and twisting in ways that are painful to look at. The sky is... is not healing, so much as UNcracking. Rewinding itself to a pristine state. Until only a large, floating, armored God in black and white floats above you. Glowing.

One that... that is apparently FRIENDS with the Uzumaki Clan.

Because of course he is.

Naruto's introducing his Toads. And teammates. You almost feel bad for Hatake. But like? Better you then me, buddy. THEN? Death? Decides? For some inconceivable reason. "You know what? Im'ma just turn into a human WITH NO CHAKRA NETWORK. Reeeeeally freak out the locals."

And now Leaf is INCHARGE of entertaining A GOD until he decides to leave.

Or (presumably) Else.

And!! Because life loves to kick ninjas IN THE BALLS (for their stupid, STUPID life choices, YOU FUCKERS) it just HAD to be the One God? That can SEE DEAD PEOPLE. Because it's not like ninjas have Death Related Traumas or anything!

*internal ninja screaming*

Feed the guy some BBQ! Stat! Please Akimichi! Save us!

@hdgnj @hypewinter @the-witchhunter @ailithnight @nerdpoe @mutable-manifestation

[mokutone]

i don't want to imply that last panel is resolution, or that, at this point, kankuro even knows How to be a good brother, they all have a ways to go

[iwasforceedagainstmywill]

How I finesse Naruto lore

I imagine it like: Sand = Defense (still good defense wise) Gold = Offense/Defense and Iron Sand = Offense

The Third Kazekage and Shinki both have Iron Sand and because Third's dead and Shinki's young both in and out universe nobody knows what Iron Sand is best with. I say offense because it counters(?) parallels Gaara who is known for his Ultimate Defense

Rasa (The Fourth Kazekage) seems to be specifically known for his Gold/Magnet Release and he stated he used to use it so Gaara/Shukaku couldn't use their sand because it was too heavy (which is kinda weird because Gaara apparently also has magnet release I'll get back to that later)

Okay so Rasa counters the Defense, that doesn't give me squarely offensive and in itself seems defensive, so half in half.

So you remember when Gaara's sand did this? Replicate his Mother.

I feel like this can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Kurura's love literally is so strong it can influence the sand to protect her son (rip to Temari and Kankuro I guess). So the sand in a way has a mind on it's own. (Canon, I think)

It's not Kurura at all, it's Gaara (subconsciously of course) he's always associated his Mother with protection even when it was Shukaku lying to him , he still called him "Mother". So basically the sand follows emotion.

(That's all I got)

Back tracking to Gaara's Magnet Release. It's described as Sparkling Metallic Sand I've always visualized it as silver but recently changed it to rose gold (because Rasa uses gold that's all) although realistically it's probably just sand colored. Anyway the Sand being rose gold explains why Gaara wouldn't be able to counter his Dad's gold dust by lifting it, if their Magnet Release is for different metals neither can truly get the upper hand.

Jumping back on subject.

Going with 2. Let's apply that (logic?) to all sand users specifically Shinki. The iron sand reacts to his emotions, it spikes when he's nervous or feels threatened, shifts a little or makes shapes when he's happy and Shields, Domes, Hands and Gaara when he's scared.

Yep that's what I said Gaara, just like Gaara with his sand mother Shinki can create Gaara out of his iron sand subconsciously simply because he equates Gaara with being protected.

After all He taught him how to use his sand, protected him even from little things (bugs, bad dreams the like ), raised him, and he is known for having the ultimate defense so his logic's pretty sound.

I feel think it would only present that way when Gaara isn't around meaning Gaara only knows about the shields and domes he taught him and the hands he makes sometimes.

(Random note Kankuro has seen it and he thinks it's adorable he's told nobody under the threat he'll no longer be the boy's favorite Uncle)

Unlike Sand Kurura, Iron Sand Gaara looks mildly annoyed depending on the situation as he's face changes ever so slightly i.e usually calm but irritated in high stress scenarios.

TLDR: I explain my personal thoughts on the Sand Kekkei Genkai of the Kazekages and Shinki to then elaborate that Shinki associates Gaara with defense and safety.

[your-nerd-is-showing]

Gaara x Reader: Desert Flower

I simp for many many anime men Naruto will always be one of my all time favorite fandoms! Especially Gaara 🥵

Credit to Artist

You were walking down the street with Temari and Kankuro on your way to buy dinner for you and Gaara.

“So (Y/N) are you ever going to tell Gaara how you feel about him?” Asked Temari

You looked at her shocked. “But-but how d-did you know?”

“Come on (Y/N)!” Started Kankuro. “It’s obvious! Both Temari and I see the way you look at him. You’re in love with Gaara aren’t you?”

“Shhhhhh!” You turned bright red and sushed Kankuro as if Gaara was listening. “Ye-yes I’m in-in l-lo-love with G-Gaa-Gaara.” You stammered and looked at the ground as you twiddled your fingers. “But I don’t think he feels the same way.” You sighed and hung your head in defeat.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other and laughed.

You looked up at them and got a bit angry. “Hey now! What’s so funny!” You shouted in a huff.

Kankuro patted your head. “Silly (Y/N), I think Gaara has the same feelings for you.”

You looked at Kankuro with question “What makes you say that?”

“We know our brother very well.” Started Temari. “He never lets anyone in…. We’re his own siblings and we only know some of the pain he holds inside…. You’re the only outsider he has ever trusted (Y/N)…. The fact that he made you his right hand and head of his security shows how much he trusts you…. You wandering into our village and meeting Gaara was the best thing for him…. Ever.”

“Oh my I was only seven when I wandered into the Sand Village so eleven years ago because I’m eighteen now…. Actually today is the day I met Gaara all those years ago….”

“Wait you were seven and you made it through the desert from the Mist Village?”

“Yes I was wandering the desert for about a week or so if I remember correctly. When I came upon the village Gaara was outside the walls, he looked at me very confused that a little girl just came out of nowhere from the cruel unforgiving desert. I simply walked up to him and asked if he would be my friend.” You smiled. “And he said yes. I feel like in a way he respected me from the beginning because I was so young and survived a week long journey by myself. Watching him over the years he truly tried to make connections with the people of the village but everyone was so scared of him.” A tear slid down your cheek. “In a way I knew how he felt…. My clan we were trained to be human weapons from a very young age. I was an outcast from the time I was born… my parents showed me no love no compassion…. I hated it! I just wanted to be loved like a child should! What my parents put me through no child should have to endure. So I left I wanted no part of my family and I got as far away as I could….” You started to cry a little. “seeing the same pain in Gaara’s eyes…. I just wanted to take his pain away….. I want…. I want to show him what it is like to be loved unconditionally by someone…. What it means to be something precious to someone…. He deserves someone who can give him the world….” You paused and smiled at the siblings. “I want to be that person.”

“Wow (Y/N) you have some pretty intense feelings for Gaara…. I knew you loved him but I didn’t know it was that deep.” Said Kankuro.

“All that and so much more….” You paused again. “But I’m too chicken shit to say anything.” You sighed in frustration. “Temari, Kankuro do you have any suggestions to give me the courage I need?”

Temari smirked and pulled a bottle of sake out. “Why yes I do! Here!” She handed you the bottle. “Drink this at dinner tonight with Gaara.”

You looked at her confused. “Sake? What’s this going to do?”

“Liquid courage as I call it!” Kankuro said.

Temari nodded in agreement. “Bring this along with his favorite food to eat for dinner and let the sake do the talking.” She smile and winked at you.

You looked at her wide eyed. “Really you think this will work?”

“Without a doubt!” Replied Kankuro.

You hugged the siblings. “Thank you so much for this! You two are the best! I still gotta go get dinner for Gaara and I! I’ll catch up with you two tomorrow and let know how things went!” You waved goodbye.

“Good luck!” They said in unison.

You made your way to the market to get Gaara’s favorite food, salted tongue and gizzard. “Yuck I don’t know how he eats this stuff!” You said as you stuck up your nose. You bought yourself pork dumplings and hurried your way back to Gaara’s office.

You knocked on the door as you opened it. “Gaara I’m back with dinner! I ran into your siblings and they gave me a treat to share with you too!” You smiled at Gaara as you held out the bottle of sake.

Gaara let out a small snort. “They really are trying to get me and (Y/N) together aren’t they…. To go to the extent of getting my favorite bottle of sake….” Gaara thought to himself.

“Gaara?” You said breaking his thoughts. “Are you all done with your paperwork?”

He looked up at you. “No…. Not quite yet…. Why do you ask?”

You poured both you and Gaara a shot of sake. “I don’t want your dinner to get cold silly. I got your favorite! Salted tongue and gizzards.”

Gaara looked at you and smiled a small smile. “She’s so thoughtful.” He thought to himself.

“Thank you (Y/N).”

“You’re very welcome.” You smiled at Gaara and cheered him as you both took a shot of sake. “Yum this stuff is pretty good.” You said as you poured another shot for the two of you.

Gaara let out a small chuckle. “You don’t drink often do you?” He asked.

“No this is actually my first time drinking…. What about you?”

“I don’t drink often but when I do it’s this sake. It’s my favorite.”

You smiled and cheered him again before taking the shot. You felt your head get warm and fuzzy as your cheeks flushed a light pink. You let out a small cute hiccup. “Woah I can feel that already.” You said before you hiccupped again. “Come on Gaara let’s eat I’m sure you’re just as hungry as me.” You tugged on his sleeve trying to get him to come sit on the couch with you.

“Hold on a minute I’m almost done.” He replied as he locked eyes with you.

“Okay I’ll go set the table for us then.” You started to walk to the table but Gaara stopped you. “Nani? What is it Gaara?” You looked at him with question as you sat on his desk.

“No stay here…. Next to me (Y/N).”

Your cheeks turned to a shade of red. “O-okay….” You sat there and stared at Gaara as he finished up his paperwork.

“There all done…. Let’s eat.” He put his paperwork away and followed you to the couch.

“I’m sorry it’s not homemade but you know that I don’t like to leave you alone for long. I did go to your favorite place though.” You said as you set out the food.

“No its fine I really appreciate everything you do for me (Y/N).” He looked at you and smiled slightly.

You smiled back. “Good I’m glad…. You know Gaara I would do anything for you….” You blushed and quickly took a shot of sake.

He looked at you shocked. “Y-you would?”

Your eyes widened as you blushed more and nodded your head. “Yes I-I would.”

Gaara took your hands in his. “Thank you (Y/N) that means a lot to me.”

You were at a loss for words and stuck in a daze when Gaara held your hands.

“(Y/N)? I-I….” Gaara stammered as his cheeks flushed pink.

You inched closer to his face. “Yes? What is it Gaara?”

Gaara took a deep breath in and composed himself before taking another shot. “I-I….” He sighed.

You cupped his face with your hand. “What is it Gaara?” You asked him as you searched his eyes.

“I think I need to drink more before I say what I want to say.” He poured you and him another shot. “Here.” He handed you the sake.

You smiled and cheered him. “Let’s eat!” You said as you dug into your dumplings. You looked at Gaara and he just stared at his food. “Is something wrong? Did it get to cold?”

He shook his head. “No…. It’s not that I’m just not hungry. My stomach is doing flips right now.” He took another shot of sake.

“Are you okay? Do you feel sick?” You asked concerned as you held your hand to his forehead to see if he had a fever.

“No I don’t feel sick…. I’m just…. I’m just nervous.” He took another shot.

“Nervous about what?” You looked at him confused.

“(Y/N).” He held your hand and brushed your cheek with his other hand.

You turned about eight shades of red. “Ga-Gaara wh-what are you doing?” You downed another shot.

He leaned in closer to you. “I want to be with you (Y/N)….” Your eyes widened in wonder as those words came out of Gaara’s mouth. “I want to feel the warmth of your breath on my skin…. I want to feel your heart race when I touch you…. You make me happy in a way I can’t explain…. When I am with you everything just makes sense…. You have seen me at my absolute worst and you never left my side…. You were never scared of me…. You are something so precious to me. I can’t…. I can’t imagine my life without you in it…. You helped pull me out of the darkness and set me on the right path…. For that I want to give you everything (Y/N). I-I’m in love with you.”

You looked at Gaara longingly and couldn’t stop smiling. “G-Gaa-Gaara…. I-I feel the same w-way….” You cleared your throat. “Ever since I have known you all I ever saw in your eyes was pain. I never got scared of you because you acted out because of that pain…. That loneliness…. I know what it is like to be alone and seen as a weapon…. As a monster…. All I’ve ever wanted was to take your pain away. You deserve to be loved unconditionally Gaara. You too are something very precious to me.”

Gaara pulled you in close and kissed you passionately. You locked lips and searched his mouth with your tongue as he explored yours.

You broke the kiss and couldn’t stop smiling. “Gaara I love you too.”

He smiled at you as he leaned in for another kiss, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you onto his lap. You lifted your leg over him and straddled his waist. Gaara broke the kiss and rested his lips near the nape of your neck. You shivered with pleasure as you felt him lightly nip at your skin.

“Mmmmm Gaara….” You moaned out.

“Do you like that?” He asked.

“Mhm….”

He bit your neck a bit harder this time making you moan louder.

You let out a small gasp as you felt a growing bulge between his legs. “Is he…. Getting turned on?” You thought to yourself. “I mean I’m pretty turned on myself right now….” Suddenly your thoughts were interrupted when you felt Gaara’s hand slip under your shirt. You looked at him shocked and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

He looked at you with pleading eyes. “I think you know what I want my love and I think you want it too.” He grabbed the bottle of sake and poofed the two of you back to his house.

You were now on his bed and Gaara was on top of you. You looked at Gaara and you could feel the heat rising on your skin. He leaned down and kissed your neck as he untied your shirt. You could feel your body getting hotter as you felt his soft lips move from your neck and down your torso. He stopped and smiled at you.

“Are you enjoying this (Y/N)?” He asked.

Your breathing was a bit heavy. “Y-yes very m-mu-much so Gaara. I-I want more….”

He smirked at you. “Your wish is my command. Here sit up a bit.”

You did so and he removed your bra. His green orbs widened in wonder as he looked at your perfect breasts. He licked his lips and started softly groping them.

“Ohhhh Gaaraaaa.” You moaned out. Your eyes closed and you felt the warmth of his mouth on your nipple. You squirmed in pleasure as he gently nibbled and sucked on it. You felt his hand move down your body, he stopped right at your womanhood and gently rubbed the outside of your pants. “Ohhhhhhhh!” You moaned again. “Gaara?”

He stopped nibbling on your nipple and looked at you. “Yes what is it?”

“I-I want to give you pleasure too.” You looked up at him innocently.

He smiled at you. “Very well.” He got off of you.

You smirked and tackled him as your lips crashed into his. He was taken by surprise at the sudden aggression but he liked it and let you continue.

Your soft lips gently kissed Gaara’s as you unbuttoned his jacket. You looked down in amazement and ran your hands over his perfect abs. “Gaara you’re so handsome.” You cooed. You gently nipped at his neck and a small moan escaped his lips. You giggled. “You like that don’t you?”

He looked at you and nodded. You giggled again and bit his neck a bit harder making him moan louder. You kept nibbling his neck as you fumbled to unbutton his pants. Success you got them undone. Gaara pulled you off of his neck and his face was redder than his hair. You looked at him confused. “Why are you embarrassed Gaara?”

“I’ve never been touched like this before its all so new to me…. All these feelings and emotions pouring in at once….”

“Do you want to take control again? Will it make you feel better?”

“Yes I think it will.” He replied as he placed his hands over yours and helped you pull down his pants and boxers.

Your eyes widened in wonder as you saw his rock hard member pop out of his pants. Your small hands gently grabbed his shaft and you started to move your hands up and down.

He tilted his head back and let out a low groan. “(Y/N) this…. This feels so good please…. Don’t…. Stop…..”

You smirked and slowly lowered your lips to his tip. Your breathing got heavy as you wrapped your mouth around his head and started to suck.

Gaara gently grabbed your hair as you bobbed up and down. His breathing got heavier as you picked up the pace. “Ugn (Y-Y/N-N).” He moaned out as he released himself inside your mouth.

You were taken by surprise by his sudden release but continued to lick until everything was clean. You released yourself from his member and innocently licked your lips. “Mmmmm Gaara you taste good.” You smiled at him.

He smiled back and leaned in to kiss you. “Now its my turn to pleasure you (Y/N).” He gently pushed you down onto the bed and pulled down your pants. “(Y/N)…. You’re so beautiful.” He said as he licked his lips before going down on you.

“Ohhhhhh G-Ga-Gaaraaaaaaaa!” You moaned out as he swirled his tongue around your clit. You let out a small yelp as he entered you with two of his fingers. “Th-this fe-feels a-am-amazinggggg!” You moaned as you gushed into his mouth.

He licked up every last drop and looked up at you. “You my love taste delicious.” He made his way back up to your lips ,kissed you long and passionately.

You kissed him back and wrapped your legs around his waist feeling his member becoming hard once again. You wiggled your hips making his tip rub against your clit. You broke the kiss and looked at him with pleading eyes.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you want me that badly?”

You looked at him innocently. “You have no idea how badly I want you Gaara…. Please take me…..” You whispered into his ear.

He smiled at you. “Your wish is my command.” He held you close as he entered you slowly.

You breathing got heavier as he entered you. You clung to his muscular back and let out a yelp from the pain.

He stopped. “Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” He asked concerned.

You smiled at him. “I’m fine Gaara the pain will only be temporary…. Please don’t stop….”

He obliged and entered you the rest of the way. He gently started to thrust in and out of you. Gaara picked up the pace as he hit your G-spot perfectly.

“G-Ga-Gaaaaaraaaaaa!” You moaned as he went harder and faster.

Suddenly he slowed down as he savored all of it. “I-I want to make passionate love to you (Y/N).” He said as he kept at a steady pace.

You smiled and moved in perfect sync with Gaara. You grabbed the back of his head and made contact with his lips once again. In and out in and out he thrusted his hips. You wiggled around for you were in pure ecstasy.

Gaara readjusted himself and lifted your legs up to get better leverage. He thrusted harder and harder.

“Oh-Ohhhhhh m-my k-ka-kami-s-samaaaaaa!” You screamed out in pleasure. “G-Gaara d-don't stopppppppp!” You moved your legs so your feet were resting on his chest, he readjusted with you and went in even deeper. You moaned and gushed everywhere.

Gaara pulled out and went back down to lick up all the juices. He nibbled on your clit while he slipped two fingers in.

You arched your back and couldn’t stop moving around. Suddenly you orgasmed and gushed all over Gaara’s face.

He cleaned his face off and was about to enter you again.

“Wait Gaara I want to get on top…. Can I?”

He smirked at you and nodded. “I like the sound of that.” He said as he laid down.

You got on top of him and rubbed your clit on his member, gushing all over the two of you. “Ohhhhhh Gaaraaaaaa!” You lifted yourself up and slowly slid down onto Gaara. You bounced up and down trying to get a motion going. Gaara held onto your hips and helped you get back in sync with him. “Ohhhhh baby I-I love you so-so much Gaara!”

“Ugn I-I love y-you too (Y/N).” He moaned out as he thrusted harder making you bounce wildly up and down on him. Harder and deeper he went you could feel yourself reaching another climax.

“G-Gaa-Gaara I’m-I'm go-going to cu-cummmmm!” You moaned out as you reached your orgasm.

Gaara thrusted a few more time and grunted as he reached his second climax. He smiled and kissed you as he pulled out.

You broke the kiss. “Oh my Kami-sama th-that was amazing Gaara!”

“Yes it was.” He pulled you in closer. “You’re mine forever now (Y/N).” He kissed the top of your head.

“Promise?” You cooed.

“I promise my beautiful desert flower.”

“I love you so much Gaara.”

“I love you too (Y/N).”

You rested your head on Gaara’s chest and fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

You woke up the next morning still cuddled up to Gaara. You smiled and kissed his cheek.

He stirred and slowly opened his eyes smiling at you. “Good morning beautiful.” He cooed.

“Good morning handsome.” You replied back before tenderly kissing him. “Shall we shower and get ready for the day?”

He nodded in agreement.

You pulled Gaara out of bed to go shower. You both quickly got showered and dressed.

You and Gaara headed out and spotted his siblings up a head.

“Hey Temari! Kankuro! Wait up!” You yelled to them as you grabbed Gaara’s hand and ran towards them.

“Hey! Good morning (Y/N)! Good morning Gaara!” Replied Kankuro. “So last night was pretty good huh?” He asked smugly.

You turned about eight shades of red. “B-bu-but how d-did you k-know?”

“(Y/N), I’m pretty sure the entire village knows…. You do not know how to be quiet do you?” Replied Temari as she shot a look at Gaara.

You got even redder. “Meep….” You were at a loss for words.

“If she isn’t screaming my name am I really doing it right?” Said Gaara smugly.

Your jaw dropped as Gaara said that.

“Wait did my little brother really just say that!?” Said Kankuro shocked.

All Gaara did was have a huge smirk on his face.

~End

[uzumak1dump]

i don’t exactly remember where i found these questions but i really enjoy answering them… anyway, this has been sitting on my drafts for way too long so here it goes lol

Favorite male character/s?

naruto, gaara and shino

well naruto is a giveaway lol, gaara coz i just freaking love his character development, he’s a fucking killing machine i am honestly scared back then but now he’s a walking sunflower enigma who loves his friend naruto, shino bc he is actually really funny without knowing he’s funny which makes him more funny lol plus my boy got da drip

Favorite female character/s?

hinata and temari

hinata coz hello, she’s like the loml! i’d fight for her lol temari coz she has big dick energy and also she’s the sister i want growing up, i think it also stems from my love for the sand siblings coz like they’re weird and are all equally crazy, i mean, daz mah jam.

Comfort character?

Neji. DEFINITELY NEJI.

Favorite soundtrack/s?

idk if this is an official soundtrack but “Strong and Strike”. when i fucking hear this starting to play in the background i lose my shit. you hear the drum beats and you know the villains are truly fucked. you know it’s time for the fucking trump card. i also like listening to “gaara’s childhood theme” when i’m feeling melancholic. AND BLUE BIRD!!! HOW CAN I FORGET THIS SONG IM GONNA PLAY IT IN MY FUNERAL

Favorite scene?

oh kami this is hard. hmmmm, i got so many! but i’m gonna go with this one

LMAO LOOK AT HOW DETERMINED LEE’S FACE WAS AND NEJI WAS SO DONE WITH HIM KDJDJDHDHD neji and lee’s friendship would be one of the funniest for me like lee pushing neji to do the most ridiculous stuff. ahhhhhh they really should’ve let hiashi go instead of neji :/

If you could meet an anime character who would it be?

oh wow can i say the whole naruto characters? except for danzo cuz he creeps me out. ok wait hmm my answer would deffo be naruhina and team 8 but if i meet them i’ll probably cling to them until the end of time… so i’m going to say.. suigetsu? coz he’s funny and crazy unstable, we might accidentally raise armageddon or something. also thinking of kankuro, so we can like scare the living shit out of kids with his puppets also he’s one crack character, too so i think i’ll have fun. maybe we can diss gaara until he chokehold us with his sand or tease temari on how she thought shika asked her to do it until she fan our ass out of suna lol

Which character is most similar to you in terms of personality?

hmmm man idk, kushina? maybe bc i ramble a lot irl lol idk idk

Favorite thing about naruto?

the fact that they have hinata in it 😅 and the talk no jutsus. and the fight scenes. the fight scenes are dayum.

Least favorite thing about naruto?

how badly female characters were developed lol

Favorite ship?

guess! loool, naruhina X)

Favorite crack ship?

shikamaru x neji - idk why but they look so cute in my eyes. you know like 2 boring kids who think like they’re 60 yr old geezers, idk why they haven’t play shogi together, i actually think neji can beat shikamaru in it and shika will be so shocked and immediately fall in love. plus they both have long hair. shikamaru asking neji how he grew his hair without a hint of split ends or how he maintain his silky hair something like that. they’ll get married and have that boring, lowkey relationship. shika coming home to neji babysitting himawari, them talking about some village budget cuts or diplomatic things while himawari braid neji’s hair and mirai with shikamaru’s. it’s cute to think about.

Favorite fight scene?

madara vs might guy. i watch it everytime i feel down. might guy fucking disrespected madara like that. i love it. 11/10. lives in my mind, rent-free. and and and itachi vs kakashi coz they’re hot lol

Favorite jutsu/s?

gentle step twin lion fists ;) and any hyuga clan jutsu, also i love eight gates, frakin sick it’s so cool but the jutsu i always like hearing is the uchiha’s katon no jutsus. itachi saying “katon” makes me go feral

Favorite art style?

hmmm i’m not really meticulous with the art style… actually i’m not sure to what definition of art style this pertains to like is this like the design of the character? idk but im just gonna go with that. yeah, i really dig the inuzukas’. it’s kinda edgy, the red fang markings really makes them distinguishable amongst other characters. like i remember when i first watch naruto, kiba was one of the first character i find cool, bc a kid… with a RED TATTOO… IN HIS FACE. plus i also thought the fur in his jacket is his hair and he also has a dog!!! so i was like “damn he’s cool, me likey”

Favorite team?

TEAM 8 AND THE SAND SIBLINGS. pls don’t ask me why or this post will never end, thank u very much.

[sakura-blossom28]

Modern Day Romance

Chapter 6 

Thank you to everyone who has read my story so far and left kind and encouraging words!! I have a feeling Gaara is a bit OOC in this chapter but I totally believe that in the moment of things he can be the perfect guy lol (probably because I think he’d be the best boyfriend out of all the Naruto guys) next chapter I plan to tell it from Sakura’s side to explain what she’s thinking to flesh her character out a bit! Please let me know what you think! Don’t own Naruto 

Ch 1 / Ch 2 / Ch 3 / Ch 4 / Ch 5 

The rest of the date went better than Gaara could have imagined.  Sakura was so absorbed in the clothes and models walking in front of them.  Not only did she ask questions about his sister’s designs, but she seemed interested in his family.  As the night went on Gaara found himself smiling, telling Sakura different stories about his siblings and the ridiculous things they got themselves into.  It made him happy to know that she wanted to know more about his family.  Sakura didn’t focus on the fact that Temari was a well to do designer and was more curious about what she was like as a sister.  

Towards the end of the show, Gaara spotted Temari peeking out from behind the curtains and they made eye contact.  Gaara still had his arm around Sakura, but he made no more to remove it when he saw Temari smirking at him.  He would get an earful later, but the way having his arm around Sakura was worth it.  When the show ended they quietly made their escape before the crowd made their way to the exit.  

Gaara felt like he was buzzing in his seat the whole drive back to Sakura’s apartment.  When was the last time he felt this good being around someone else?  They chatted quietly as they made their way to her door.  He insisted he would walk her in since it was getting late.  The day had been perfect for Gaara, it almost seemed to be good to be true.  As they got to her door they stopped to look at each other.  Both had a slight blush on their cheeks.

“I really had a great time with you today Sakura.  I would like to see you again,” Gaara said trying to keep it together.  

“I would like that too.  Thank you for walking me in,” Sakura said with a shy smile on her lips.  They stood awkwardly, both blushes growing.  

“Well, I’ll let you go then.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Gaara said as he made a step to walk away, but Sakura gently touched his arm.  The blush on her face was extremely noticeable, but Gaara was drawn to it.

“W-would it be okay if I kissed you goodnight?” she asked while still holding onto him.  

This was all new to Gaara.  Someone had never asked permission before, and he had never done that either.  All his past “relationships” were never focused on emotions, mostly just the primal desire to feel another person, but those urges always faded away after a few days.  Sakura seemed so soft to him at this moment, a foreign concept to Gaara.  With his past, nothing was ever soft and gentle, but Sakura was.  All these feelings were so new to Gaara he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act, but he knew he wanted more.  

“Yes you can,” he said with the color growing on his face.  He slowly bent down a bit so that he could reach Sakura’s lips.  Gaara was careful not to make any sudden movements and let Sakura lead.  The kiss was soft and warm.  He wanted to deepen the kiss but didn’t want to rush things between them.  When they broke apart they still kept their faces close to each other.  Sakura’s eyes were fluttering open as they came back to reality.  She looked very cute like that to Gaara.  He quickly gave her one last small kiss and backed away from her.

“I’m gonna get going.  Goodnight,” he said while rubbing the back of his head looking anywhere but at her.  He could hear her give a small laugh and whispered goodnight as she closed the door.  

Gaara felt like he was floating.  The kiss felt like it lasted forever but ended too soon.  His heart was in his throat the whole time and still pounded now.  These feels were new and exciting.  His mind was replaying the whole night over and over when his phone buzzed as he sat in his car. 

Sakura: Let me know when you get home safe <3

Things were definitely looking up for Gaara. 

X

The following dates were more than Gaara could hope for.  Walks in the park, movie dates, even mini-golfing.  With both of them working during the week they found time to see each other.  Already they had been seeing each other for about a month.  Gaara was ready to make things official, but he just didn’t know how to go about it.  His siblings’ advice, as usual, was bold and a bit forceful.  Gaara knew he could just tell Sakura how he felt, but he was still hesitant to do so.

Opening up to Sakura had been easy.  She was always willing to listen and he always knew how she felt by her reactions.  She could tell him exactly how she felt at any point in time and having her be so open helped him be that way too. He told her more about his past and she looked so sad as he told her about what he went through.  Never was the look in her eyes harsh or judgmental, she truly felt for him.  

Today’s date was the next step for them.  Gaara had invited Sakura over to his apartment that he shared with Kankuro.  His brother was away on work so they had the place to themselves.  Being alone with Sakura in public had been no issue with Gaara, but every time he thought about the fact that they would be completely alone, his heart started to race.  

He wanted to ask Sakura to be his girlfriend and knew he had real feelings for her, but he was worried the night would turn out like how all his past flings did.  He didn’t want Sakura to think that he was only looking for something casual.  Gaara knew how to fix his problems because he told his clients the same thing, just be upfront about how you feel and get everything off your chest.  He just never expected it would be this hard.  

Sakura was due to show up at any minute.  He had already informed the doorman that he was expecting someone and gave Sakura’s description. Typically their doorman would grill the visitor about their business calling upon the Sabku brothers, courtesy of their father’s orders, but Gaara would not allow Sakura to go through that.  He paced back and forth in front of the door buzzer.  All I have to do is tell her how I feel and things will be better, he kept repeating to himself.  Finally, the doorman called saying Sakura was on her way up.

Gaara had planned a quiet night in for them.  Sakura had a tough week and he wanted to do something nice for her.  He had been practicing all week how to make one of her favorite dishes that she had mentioned in passing.  As they had gotten to know each other better, Gaara learned that Sakura was a very giving person to everyone she knew, but had never received the same kindness back.  It was the least he could do.  

All of Gaara’s nerves relaxed when he finally saw Sakura standing in his door.  She looked tired but happy to be there.  Gaara insisted that she did not have to dress up at all and they would have a relaxing night in watching a movie.  Sakura looked comfortable in a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt with her bright pink sneakers that he had seen before when they went on walks.  Before she could greet him properly, she paused and started to smell what he had been cooking.

“You already cooked?  It smells amazing!” Sakura said as Gaara lead her into the kitchen.  

“I knew you’d be hungry after work so I got a head start,” Gaara said as he took her bag as she took off her shoes.  

“Gaara, seriously you didn’t have to do all of this,” Sakura said as she sat down in the chair that Gaara offered. 

“It was no trouble.  I enjoyed making this for you,” he said as they started their meal.  They ate in comfortable silence and Gaara could see how hungry Sakura was as she went for seconds.  When they finished she didn’t look as tired and the color returned to her face. She had a happy smile on her face.  They cleaned the table together and Sakura insisted that she could at least wash the dishes.  Standing together as Gaara dried, a question popped into his mind.

“Is it so shocking that I would cook for you?  Do I look like a bad chef?” he asked with a chuckle.  Sakura laughed too, but a sigh followed as she kept her eyes on the dish in her hands.

“It’s not that Gaara.  I’ve never had someone do that for me before.  That’s all,” but Gaara knew that wasn’t entirely the truth.  He didn’t want to pry as he would with a client, but this seemed odd to him.  

“I find that hard to believe.  I have a feeling you’ve done nice things for others right?” 

“Well sure, but…” she paused as she started to think. 

“But they never did show you appreciation back?” 

“Yeah…” Sakura still had a far off look in her eye like she was replaying a memory in her mind.  She shook herself out of it, “Gaara, I’m sorry.  I don’t want to emotionally dump on you, you do that for a job.”

“Sakura,” Gaara took her hands and dried them off so that he could hold them, “You are important to me, and if you ever want to talk about things I want you to know that you can come to me and I will listen.  I know I listen to people every day, but I can be there for you too.  I can see you’ve been hurt before, but I hope that you’ll let me make up for all the guys who didn’t appreciate you.  I think you’re amazing and…” Gaara only paused when he heard a small sniffle. 

He looked up to find big fat tears building up in Sakura’s eyes.  Oh crap, was the first thought that ran through his mind.  Had he said something wrong?  He was just saying how he truly felt.  Sakura started to chuckle as she brushed the tears out of her eyes.  

“You should see the look on your face!  Don’t worry I’m okay Gaara.  It’s just… I’ve always wanted someone to say that to be, to know I could depend on them… I’m just overwhelmed, and a bit scared if I’m honest,” Sakura said as she started to calm down, “I really like you Gaara, it almost seems too good to be true.” 

She looked so small at that moment, all the pain of past relationships was probably flashing through her mind.  Gaara instinctively wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug. 

“I’ve never been a boyfriend before but if you’ll let me I’d like to try,” Gaara spoke into her hair.  Sakura slowly hugged Gaara back and he could feel her relax into his embrace.  She nodded her head and hugged him back just as tightly.  All the stress from the worrying he did finally left his body.  

“Thank you,” Sakura said as she gently kissed him.  Then a playful smirk came across Sakura’s lips.  This was the side that Gaara was getting to know.  Sakura enjoyed seeing Gaara flustered and tried anything and everything to get him to blush.  She kissed him again but deepened the kiss and slid her hands into his hair.  Sakura took this as him being shy, but Gaara only backed away because he didn’t want to lose control of himself.  He carefully picked Sakura up and walked into the living room and placed her on the couch as she broke out in giggles.  Gaara walked away to get a blanket, not to hide the blush on his face.  

They spent the rest of the night watching tv and talking quietly to each other.  Sakura had wrapped the blanket around them as she curled up next to him.  Gaara could get used to this.  Especially the idea of Sakura being his girlfriend.  How could other guys hurt her?  It was a mystery to him.  He was up to the challenge to change Sakura’s mind that she was not the one who was difficult to care for.  All of his knowledge pointed towards that Sakura would take a lot of convincing that she deserved to be treated well.  Gaara didn’t mind, he would do anything to show his affections for her.  Not only did Sakura not care about his family name, but she also didn’t run when he opened up about his past. She genuinely wanted to be around him and returned his feels.  That spoke volumes to him.  They would both have to do a lot of work on themselves, but Gaara knew they could do it together.  Gaara pulled Sakura closer and she instantly snuggled into him more.  Yeah, they could do it. 

[ghoste-catte]

gaalee - 6, 20, 24 ❤

6. What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Hmm, this was a tough one, because frankly both of them are straight-up pretty weird looking. I know in canon Gaara has a bunch of Suna ladies that crush on him, but you’ll notice it’s only Suna ladies (and Fuu) which leads me to the conclusion that Sunan aesthetics are less about looks and more about power. Power = attractive, which is why Gaara seems to attract a flock of lady admirers, in my opinion. ‘Cause listen, the dude looks like he hasn’t slept more than a few hours in the past ten years, and he’s the only person I’ve ever seen who managed to make himself look worse by running a comb through his hair. Plus he smiles in a really unnerving way (Have y’all seen that photo of all the Kage from Boruto where Gaara’s making the grimace emoji expression? That’s what I’m talking about). 

Anyways, now that I’ve just dissed Gaara’s looks really hard, let’s talk about physical attraction. I don’t see Gaara as being particularly invested in his partner’s looks overall; he just doesn’t strike me as the type. I think he likes Lee because Lee is kind to him, and doesn’t hold a grudge, and is strong. I think he likes that Lee is in many ways his equal and that he doesn’t have to worry about protecting Lee (his thoughts on the relative vulnerability of his partner compared to himself comes up a bit in the Gaara Hiden light novel) ... at least, he doesn’t have to worry about protecting Lee from anyone but Lee’s own self-destructive impulses, for the most part. Physically, I think he would then be attracted to Lee’s body/muscles, because that’s a physical representation of his strength. Also I think Lee’s turtle mouth is cute, so let’s go with the little turtle mouth as well. 

Of the two of them, Lee is definitely the more physically oriented and probably finds a lot of things attractive about Gaara, although as I’ve already established, I hc that Gaara is a straight up little sand gremlin in physical appearance. But I think the feature that would sell him would be Gaara’s eyes. Not because they’re unique or because of the tanuki marks or anything, but because I think when he first starts learning to read Gaara’s expressions, he conveys everything in his eyes. The rest of his face is relatively impassive and inexpressive, so as they’re getting to know each other I think Lee spends a lot of time staring at Gaara’s eyes to try and figure out what he’s thinking and feeling. And that probably grows into something of a favoritism.

20. What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Oof, okay, this is gonna be a somewhat long one because they each have like three people who are the most important in their lives. 

So, for Gaara:

Kankuro thinks Lee is weird as hell, but ultimately well-meaning. He respects a guy who lulls you into a false sense of security by looking like an animated green bean and then straight up clocks you in the face so hard you shit your pants. I do think him and Lee butt heads on occasion, because they’re both stubborn as hell and Kankuro’s a bit of a bastard while Lee’s very noble, so they don’t have very well aligned values. And neither of them is willing to back down from a fight. So there are probably some family dinners where Kankuro gets this close to flipping a table because he can’t believe how stupid Lee is being about something, Gaara why do you even put up with this dude? But there’s definitely a respect there, and Lee is a genuinely nice guy, so Kankuro probably takes advantage of that a little bit (”Lee, can you run to the store and get me...” and Lee of course says yes even though Kankuro has two perfectly functional legs). 

Temari initially doesn’t trust Lee. I don’t think she believes at first that Lee isn’t playing the long con and going after Gaara for revenge. It takes her a long time to realize that, no, Lee really is just like that and that he genuinely doesn’t hold a grudge at all. She’s also the most likely to get worked up about the political implications and be scared for how this might affect Gaara’s standing. I think Shikamaru probably sells her on it a bit, because he’s known Lee for longer. And I think seeing how happy Lee makes her brother and how Lee makes Gaara come out of his shell really seals the deal for her. 

Naruto doesn’t get it, but he’s supportive. You know that meme that’s like “he’s not quite there but he’s got the spirit”? That’s Naruto’s approach to basically anyone’s relationship. He doesn’t have any room to judge anyway; his romantic life is a complete shitshow. And Naruto’s pretty guileless so I doubt he really even thinks through any of the potential pitfalls in their relationship. Gaara tells him and he goes “Oh okay, cool!” and then back to talking about Sasuke. 

As for Lee,

Gai does not trust Gaara at all after he caught him trying to kill Lee in the hospital room. I think that’s probably something he never even brought up to Lee, because he wanted Lee to focus on his recovery. So when Lee ends up bringing up that he and Gaara are dating, Gai kind of pales and goes quiet for a minute and then tells Lee very seriously, “He tried to kill you.” And Lee is probably like, “Haha, I know but that was in a match! Anyone could have killed anyone!” and then Gai has to drop the bad news that no, it wasn’t just during the match. Ultimately though he probably gives Gaara a very stern “what are your intentions with my precious student” speech (that Gaara mostly doesn’t understand because it’s so flowery), but is convinced enough by Gaara’s answers that he gives him a big snotty, tear-filled hug. 

Tenten has kind of the same wariness around Gaara initially as Gai does, but she’s much slower to warm up. She sees herself as Lee and Gai’s common sense/”angel on their shoulder” and she doesn’t necessarily believe that Lee has his own best interests at heart. She probably thinks at first blush that Lee is just overcome with infatuation like he was with Sakura or any other spur-of-the-moment crush that he may have, and definitely thinks Lee is going to get hurt. She absolutely threatens Gaara, more than once, even though she wouldn’t stand a chance against him in a match. In my opinion would be the last of Team Gai to come around. She’s probably the person on the morning of Lee’s wedding straightening his shiny orange bow tie and asking him if he’s sure he wants to go through with it. 

Neji (who is alive, damnit) also doesn’t trust Gaara, but he has his own emotional walls up about caring for Lee. So on the surface he tells himself “what do I care, that’s Lee’s bad decision to make and I’m not responsible if he gets hurt”, but he is definitely on edge and wary whenever he sees them together. I think he and Gaara are more similar in personality though, in the sense that both of them have trauma that has made them emotionally closed-off, and Neji recognizes something of himself in Gaara and is probably the first person to actually believe that Gaara means what he says and doesn’t have bad intentions. He sees himself in that inability to express one’s feelings properly in a way that convinces others that you’re genuine, and he probably is the one to bring Gai around in the end. 

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

I answered this one here!

OTP ask meme!

[misssunflowersandsangria]

My Baby You’ll Be

Ino

Sai tried to take deep breaths as Ino held tightly onto his hand. Sakura had just stepped out after checking her vitals. She still had time before she needed to start pushing, so right now his job was trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

“Aren’t you excited? In just a few hours our baby will be here.” Ino asked with a bright smile. Even while in the throes of labor she was still so dazzling. He just nodded wordlessly worried that if he began to speak the panic that he was trying to repress would come forward.

“Sai, honey are you okay?” She asked her husband worried making him feel worse. Here she was about to bring their child into the world and he was freaking out.

“Yes, of course.”

She frowned shifting to look directly at him. “Don’t lie to me.”

He sighed yet again, he knew that he couldn’t hide anything from her.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” He finally replied looking away, not wanting to see the disappointment in her sky blue eyes.

Ino looked at him genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if I can be the father this child needs. I didn’t have a father figure. I raised myself, how can I raise a son?” He felt the anxiety starting to surface.

“It’s natural to be nervous but I know that you can do this.” She tried to assure him.

He looked at her defeated and helpless. “How?”

“Because I know you and I know how wonderfully and deeply you can love. I’m scared too-”

“Don’t be you’ll be an incredible mother.” He told her cutting off her negative thoughts.

“How do you know that?” He looked at her directly.

“Because I know you.” His wife was incredible and excelled in all that she did. She was meant to be a mother and would be an amazing one. It seemed preposterous that she would question herself.

Ino’s hand came to gently rest against his cheek so that he couldn’t look away. “And I know you. Sai, you have to trust me. My mother died when I was younger so I only really had my father. It was tough sometimes especially when I just really needed a woman but my dad was the absolute best. I know what it means to have a good father. I would never have committed myself to you or started a family with you if I didn’t think that you could be an incredible father. Our baby is lucky to have you.” Sai couldn’t help but match her tears but nodded kissing her softly.

“Thank you my sweet Light. Once again you have pulled me from a dark place and put so much faith in me. I know that we will be okay because we have each other and soon this little one. I will do my absolute best for the both of you. I love you Beautiful.”

He knew that he still had some fears and insecurities that would pop up from time to time but he trusted his wife.  If she could believe in him, then maybe he could believe in himself.

“I love you too Sai.”

Shika

Temari smiled watching her son run around and chase the deer. It was quite seldom that she and her little Fawn had time to themselves and so she took advantage of that opportunity. They began their day early with some training and now they were taking a break by feeding the deer and resting under a large tree.

“Mama?” Shikadai came over to rest his head on Temari’s lap his bright green eyes looking up at her.

She gently ruffled his hair. “Yes, my little Fawn?”

“What was grandpa like?” The question threw her for a loop. He had always been an inquisitive child and would ask her and Shikamaru questions that seemed beyond his years. They had always tried to be honest and factual with him. He was intelligent and if they didn’t answer his questions he’d find a way. This question about his lineage was not something that she expected. Although, she remembered that recently he’d found some old pictures and wondered if that is what inspired this question.

“Well, your Grandpa was a strong leader. He was well respected and bright, just as smart or even smarter than your father. He was an incredible strategist and led the Nara clan for many years.”

He shook his head confusing her. “No mama, what was your dad like? Grandpa Rasa?”

Now she didn’t know what to say. She had long come to terms with her relationship with her father. While the reanimation jutsu was incredibly horrific it did allow her and her siblings to heal by facing their father once again. She was thankful that Gaara had a chance to heal from his old scars. She didn’t want to skew her son's opinion of the old Kazekage. She had forgiven her father for his mistakes but it did not mean that she could forget what he had done.

“He did his best. He made a lot of mistakes, but he did the best that he could. I know that he loved me, your uncle Garra and Kankuro but it was hard for him to love us. My mother died when I was younger and I know that it hurt him a lot to lose her and to raise us without her. Things were a lot different in Suna than they are now with your Uncle leading, but I want to believe that he did what he did to keep everyone safe.

“I would be very sad if you were to leave Mama.” He told her clutching her kimono ever more so. The worry in his eyes made her heartbreak. He was just starting to learn what missions were and how serious they could be.

“My little one, I will not let that happen. Your mother is the strongest and cruelest kunoichi to ever live. You’ll always be my baby and I will be around for a long time.” She assured him. She knew that the lives that she and Shikamaru led came with risks to their lives and health but the devil himself would have to drag her to hell to separate her from her family.

“Good. Do you think that they would have liked me?”

She smiled brightly at him. “They would have loved you. Grandpa would have put you on his shoulders and paraded you up and down the streets of Suna. Grandma would have taught you to build the biggest and best sandcastles.” It was such a sweet image to dream of a complete family that loved and cared for her little Shikadai.

“I talk to them sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“At night I think about Grandpa Shikaku, Grandpa Rasa and Grandma Karura. I’ll tell them about what I am learning in school, any new jutsu and I let them know how you and daddy are doing.”

This surprised her. He always had an active imagination but this was a new development. “And what do they say in return?”

“They’re very proud.”

“Well they should be, you’re growing into such an amazing little Shinobi.”

He shook his head yet again. “No mama, they’re proud of you and daddy too. They said that you’ve both grown up and that you’re very good parents.  I think that they are very happy for us.”

Temari tried to wipe her tears away before he noticed, trying to get these emotions under control. This was not how she was expecting this day to go.

“They also said that as long as we think about them, they’re never really gone. I think that's why Grandma Yoshino talks to Grandpa Shikaku so much, so that he stays around.”

Temari felt a sort of peace that she had never felt before come over her as the wind gently started to wrap around them. “Thank you Shikadai.” She pulled him into a warm hug her tears falling more steadily.

“Why mama?” He asked confused and worried about the tears in her eyes. His mama was strong, she never cried.

“For being you, for making me and your daddy parents. I love you my little fawn.”

He smiled and it reminded her so much of Shikamaru’s smile. “I love you too Mama.”

***************************************************

“Did you have a good day with Shikadai?” Shikamaru asked as he slipped into bed.

Wordlessly Temari curled herself into his chest as his arms wrapped safely around her.

“We have an amazing son.”

“I think so too.” He agreed kissing her forehead. He wanted to ask how she came to this conclusion, but it was better for her to take the lead in this conversation.

“Can we go visit Suna soon? I want Shikadai to learn more about that side of his family.” Their conversation and his interest today solidified her want to have her son be knowledgeable and proud of his Suna heritage.

“Of course Love, he should know just as much about his Sand lineage as he does about his Leaf.”

She nodded before kissing him ever so slightly. “Thank you Shika, I love you.” She whispered resting her head against his heart.

He smiled softly at her wondering what caused his wife to be so pliant and sweet but just chose not to question it. “I love you too Princess.”

Cho

Chouji looked fondly at the tiny infant lying safely, snuggled in her crib.

“She’s so small…”. Karui just laughed and kissed her husband softly.

“Babies typically are.”

“Not according to my mother. She claimed that I was the size of a toddler when I was born. She’s held it against me since then.”

Karui was well aware. Throughout her pregnancy, her mother-in-law told her horror stories of her pregnancy with Chouji and the ridiculous 30 plus hours that she was in labor with him. Thank goodness she’d been to war otherwise she might have been scared.

Chouchou was thankfully a relatively easy pregnancy. This made her worry about the future and that her child would be a handful when she got older to make up for it. During her pregnancy, Karui craved potato chips of every kind throughout, but she blamed that on her husband. Chouji was always so sweet and was able to get her some of her favorites from the Hidden Cloud. As cranky and vicious as she would become he would be there so loving and supportive reminding her just how fortunate she was.

Giving birth was exhausting and painful but she wasn’t one to shy away from pain and would gladly endure it to make their family complete.

“There’s nothing wrong with her right?” Chouji asked her, worry set in his eyes.

Karui warped her arms around him comfortingly running her fingers through his hair. “She’s perfectly fine, as though Ino or Sakura would ever let her be anything but perfect. She’s just small, she’ll grow. I was born prematurely and was much smaller than her. But I grew and became the strong, radiant woman in front of you. Chouchou has you as her father and me as her mother. She’s strong no matter what size she is or might become.” She felt him take a deep breath and nod.

“I know, I’m just a worrier I guess. When I met you I didn’t think that I could ever love anyone more. Then when I found out you were pregnant it was like this whole other part of my heart opened for her.” He smiled down at his daughter then up to his beautiful wife.

“Karui, just thank you. A gorgeous wife, and a perfect baby girl, these were all things that I could never have imagined for myself. I didn’t think that anyone could ever love me as I am and then you proved me wrong. I love you and Chouchou more than anything I’ve ever loved before. Sometimes when I think about it, it becomes overwhelming in the best way possible.”

Karui felt those tell-tell tears start to collect in her eyes. It had been an exhausting and emotional day but he still managed to bring her to such happy tears. She knew the extent of his self-esteem issues. She sometimes wished that she could have taken that pain and experiences that made him question himself so much. Although if she could ever do so, he wouldn’t be her kind, amazing husband.

“I am very lucky to have you as a husband and partner and Chouchou is very lucky to have you as her father. We will both love and protect her with everything we have. She’ll probably be stubborn but strong, loyal, but blunt and she will be loved more than she could ever imagine. She’ll always be our baby.”

Chouji nodded pulling his wife into a kiss. His heart racing as quickly as it did when they first started dating. Sometimes he wished that he could speak to the younger insecure child that he was and let him know that things turned out better than they could have dreamed. He had life long friends, an incredible wife and now with the addition of their little Choucho, a family that he’d lay down his life for in an instant. His life was full.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21048953

[kankuro-no-jutsu]

📑

Favorite part of your muse's backstory?

(This is an interesting one, since there are so many and not enough to choose from you know? I think my favorite part of Kankuro's backstory is the struggle of him trying to keep his family together. When I first saw the show as a kid I honestly had no idea what was going on and when the sand sibs made their first appearance I thought Kankuro was just a big jerk, Temari was really pretty and Gaara scared me, but when I started rewatching the show with my younger sibling I started piecing things together that I had missed as a kid and when I go back I just really like the fact that you can see Kankuro try to be there for his little brother even when Gaara wanted nothing to do with him back then. Even in the small scenes we got with them actually being kids you could see how much Kankuro wanted to connect with his little brother and all in all wanted to save him from his demon. I really like that part of his backstory since it plays in how protective he is of his brother now.)

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Unleashes Sakura With Episodes 29-35

Welcome to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Daniel Dockery aka That Dude That Won't Shut Up About One Piece, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 22-28, and we continue this week with episodes 29-35.

  This week, the theme is Naruto Minus Naruto, as we lose our title character pretty early on. But despite missing someone shouting about how they're gonna be Hokage one day, this actually seemed to work out pretty well, as it gave our favorite boy Rock Lee and the consistently underrated Sakura a time to shine. Sasuke did some stuff, too, I guess. We also got some bad guy reveals and Gaara being as Gaara as possible. So let's dive right in and let the Crunchyroll Features team give you their thoughts on a batch of episodes that didn't have an ounce of quit in them. 

  So, not a lot of Naruto in this set of episodes, huh? I mean, we've already gotten to know Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee, etc. pretty well so far, so it's not like they can't carry the story, but how do you like the show when the title character spends most of it unconscious?

Paul: I'm fine with it as long as the supporting characters have plenty of interesting things to do. Naruto's personal blend of lunk-headed enthusiasm hasn't really clicked with me yet, so I'm happy to see other characters take center stage now and then, and I like that Sakura finally got a moment to prove her mettle in these episodes.

  Peter: This was probably Sakura's biggest moment in Naruto... possibly including Shippuden. I forgot they combined her special haircut scene with the Ino flashback. The whole situation with the sound ninja was kind of a cluster but I felt like that sequence was particularly well-done. Episode 30 is easily the best in the series so far, I forgot how well directed the moment where Sakura realizes she's alone is.

  Danni: I've joked in my livetweets that I can't tell whether the main character of this show is Naruto or Sasuke yet, but that kind of became not a joke at all this time around, didn't it? That was kind of a shame, given that his material at the very beginning of this batch where he's chiding Sasuke is great. Luckily, the rest of the cast was great all around in this batch.

  Noelle: It is pretty funny to have the protagonist absent, but it's clearly not just wasting time. A lot of stuff happens while Naruto is out cold, especially the big fight where Sakura shines, and she needed to shine! A protagonist doesn't have to be there all the time, even if they are carrying the story, and these segments are proof of that.

  Jared: Having Naruto out for most of the episodes really made some other characters step up and gave them a time to shine like Sakura (finally) and Ino's group. You couldn't get away with having him be gone or KO'd all the time, but especially when the show just brought forth all these new characters, it worked.

  Kevin: It actually helped to up the stakes a bit and create space for more character development. Sakura hasn't needed to do much until now, since Sasuke and Naruto could fight instead. In this set of episodes, the boys were unconscious the majority of the time, so not only did she need to push herself to look after them, but she also needed to fight opponents that even seasoned Genin like Lee couldn't stand up against. Running or hiding weren't options.

  Carolyn: THIS is the Sakura I remembered and have been missing this whole time. I am fine with Naruto sitting out a spell so Sakura can rise.

    David: While I like that the other characters are getting the spotlight, I'm also not a huge fan of how they're getting it. Lee? He's allowed to be cool for a little bit, but still has to be undermined by his limitations that also define his character. Sakura? We have to square getting her development with her entire character revolving around Sasuke. Oh, and Sasuke? Got cool powers from the new bad guy, so the whole thing feels a little artificial by the end.

  Joseph: It kind of makes it seem like they just didn't know what to do with Naruto while other people have the spotlight, because knowing his character he would have to butt in no matter what, dattebayo! If it paves the way for more episodes like 30, which features out of this world choreography and animation, I'm all for it, dattebayo.

  Kara: I'm a Doctor Who fan - having the lead unconscious or straight-up missing for major portions of story is familiar territory. That said, I'm glad it was used to good effect here. I was hesitant coming into the Chunin Exam arc because there are Just So Many Characters, and a lot of them are completely new but clearly important. Giving Nart some down time while we get to know how they work (and how characters we've seen before are growing) was a good idea.

  These episodes are sort of bookended by two horrific reveals:

1) IT WAS ME, OROCHIMARU, THE WHOLE TIME

2)WTF, GAARA

How do you feel about these two? I've been playing a lot of Gaara in Jump Force, but I forgot that he pretty much opens his character arc in the show through intense murder.

Paul: I mentioned this on Twitter before, but although Orochimaru is clearly coded to be this big, scary, impressive villain, he strikes me as the ninja equivalent of that bad friend whom everybody kinda knows but nobody particularly likes. Orochimaru's the kind of guy who would get a little too drunk at the holiday ninja party, and then he'd awkwardly hit on your ninja girlfriend, and then he'd puke on your ninja couch cushion and then flip it over to hide the ninja vomit rather than tell you about it. Damn it, Orochimaru!

Gaara is just a comical murder-baby so far. Again, I know he's supposed to be frightening, but I just think he's a precious little sandy cinnamon roll.

  Peter: Given what Orochimaru's done so far, I'm actually curious if Kishimoto had a plan for him at this point. One of this lines in particular speaking with Anko is hilarious in retrospect. I have a new appreciation for Temari and Kankuro. The scene where they were trying to get Gaara to calm down was particularly good. You got a sense of how desperate and afraid they are of Gaara. Also I don't remember Orochimaru using so many... wind ki blasts? I think Kishimoto wasn't sure what powers he had yet.

  Danni: I'm a little disappointed that my perfect snake wife was just a creepy old snake man in disguise. I'm honestly more terrified of Gaara right now. Orochimaru seems like he actually has a plan. Gaara just seems a bit...unhinged...

    Noelle: I definitely agree with Peter, where Orochimaru in his introduction definitely wasn't as cohesive power-wise, as opposed to the snakes and more snakes that he becomes later. He is set up to be extremely threatening, but at this point, it's definitely more potential than it is factual. As for Gaara, Gaara is one of my faves, even if he starts out as a murder machine. The murder does not stop my appreciation for him. You go, Gaara.

  Jared: Now I want a redub of those scenes with Orochimaru except with the Higher Power reveal audio. They certainly make him seem to be a big deal, although it's still relatively shrouded in mystery. Gaara's showing fell incredibly flat for me. Unlike when we first saw him where he had this mysterious aura about him, this just felt like he was made to be the ultimate edgelord. Which if the folks above me are indicating, he gets better, so hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

  Kevin: For both of them, I feel like their introductions worked well to establish them as serious threats. Orochimaru as a somewhat unknown quantity that even the adults are scared of, while Gaara is a coldblooded Genin that doesn't bat an eye at killing people, to the point that even his teammates fear for their lives when around him. For Orochimaru though, I can't remember any actual reason why he's actually in the Chunin Exam. We'll get to future events in later installments, but why bother actually joining the Genin?

  Carolyn: I remember loving Orochimaru the first time I watched the show and thinking he was a major villain. They certainly set him to seem that way. I'm interested to see if my thoughts on that change as we progress. I also remember thinking Gaara was quite impressive and mysterious, though he was never a favorite character of mine. Rewatching the show, they definitely hype up his skills.

  David: Gaara having a team that is scared of him is significantly more scary than Orochimaru's clear long-term threat foundation going on here. It's kind of cheating but I think this matters a lot for how impactful this ends up being very soon, whereas Orochimaru's threat is much more broad and lore-spanning in the grand scheme of things.

  Joseph: Between Orochimaru, cursed Sasuke, and Gaara, there's so much DANGER in these eps. I love it!

    Kara: Holy crow, things got dark. I'm not saying that as a negative, either. I'll be curious to see what happens with Orochimaru, because that's some high-stakes stuff that got thrown into the mix. I had a feeling Gaara was gonna make Sasuke look like a ray of sunshine by comparison, but I'm with Akamaru on that whole situation.

  If you had to get into intense anime battles in your actual, half-anime life, and you had to copy a Naruto character's techniques, whose style would you use?

Paul: I will continue to stan for my main man, Choji Akimichi, and his ability to transform into the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Also, they never kill the chubby comic relief characters, so my plot armor would keep me safe from harm but not from embarrassment.

Peter: I feel like the correct answer is Gaara since you can just stand in place writing poems while sand kills people. Practically I think it's hard to argue that Sasuke doesn't have the most "ninja-like" style incorporating the three "jutsus" and leaning heavily on misdirection and outmaneuvering. Each requires having a pretty particular thing though, so it's kind of a lottery by birth.

Danni: Probably Orochimaru. Less for his actual fighting techniques and more because his Mr. Fantastic powers could come in handy when lounging around the house.

Noelle: Gaara's, having sand do my bidding would be pretty neat, and it's not like I sleep much anyway.

Jared: Rock Lee's techniques are what basically what I imagined myself when I was younger when thinking of having anime type fights.

Kevin: I would probably go for the Sharingan, largely due to how versatile it is. It gives amazing kinetic vision, allowing the user to dodge more and land more hits, lets them copy any ninjutsu the enemy uses, can make [REDACTED], or [REDACTED] or even summon [REDACTED], and that's without even getting into the unique abilities from [REDACTED]! Basically, it allows for a lot of flexible techniques, and just with the slight drawback of [REDACTED].

  Carolyn: Ooh, can I redact stuff, too? My favorite hasn't happened yet. Have I mentioned how much I love Shikamaru?

  David: Is it wrong to want to be Sasuke just because he gets the most well-animated fight scenes? I want to be as cool as he is in those.

  Joseph: I've always been a fan of the Shadow Imitation Technique of the Nara clan. I think this is the first time we've seen it in the anime, but throughout the manga I always found it awesome whenever, BAM, someone found themselves ensared out of nowhere.

  Kara: Gonna have to say Ino and the body-hopping. I'm so clumsy, the only way I'll ever effectively beat someone up is if I project into them and beat myself up.

So, Sakura gets a few cool minutes in Episode 32. I especially like the reveal that it wasn't a substitution and that she was actually dropping on Zaku and gutting through those Kunai. However, it's kind of mired in a lot of flashback and a weird "How does my face look?" backstory. How did you feel about it? I will say, for a little bit, I got hyped. Bleeding Sakura descending like Batman on this goon is a dope visual.

Paul: I'm glad Sakura finally got a chance to shine, and I didn't feel that the drama of the scene was terribly undercut by her childhood anxieties about having such an enormous forehead. It contextualizes some of her earlier, snappish behavior, and I was impressed with her growth as a character when she expressed a genuine desire to protect Naruto and when she offered Rock Lee her heartfelt thanks.

Peter: I'm kind of two minds on this watching it for the second time. If anything I feel like her dramatic move was undercut by the fact that there were two more Leaf squads that could have stepped in acting as a sort of safety net rather than anything actually relying on her. That said, I think the balance between her efforts in the moment and Ino remembering the extremely dumb stupid kid reason they stopped being friends was great.

Danni: I adored it. A woman's body in media is often portrayed as a priceless work of art. It's an object whose fragile beauty is meant to be fawned over and protected. The slightest mark of imperfection is detrimental to the whole piece. This either leads to strong women whose bodies remain unscathed or weak women whose bodies exist to be tragically violated. Seeing Sakura use her own body as both a weapon and a shield in this fight was nothing less than refreshing. She cast aside the beauty of her long hair, took three kunai to the body in order to get closer than her target, straight up sunk her teeth into him like a wild animal, and took a beating without flinching or letting go. It was so incredibly refreshing to see a woman actually fight with her whole body rather than an objectified version of one.

  Noelle: This is Sakura's big awesome moment, and she nailed it. She doesn't have signature jutsu like Naruto's clones or Sasuke's fire - all she really has are perfected versions of the basics. That she's able to use her intellect to her advantage; setting traps, tricking her opponents, it works for her character. The fact that she is unyielding is fantastic, considering that in a lot of anime fight scenes featuring women it it's rarely conveyed just how brutal they can get. Sakura's desperately fighting, and she will take kunai and even bite her opponents if it means she can help her friends. It's rough, messy, and great. Let girls have brawls too!

Jared: I'm a huge fan of the "cutting your hair to signify a big change" trope, so I was incredibly excited to see it here. This moment for Sakura was essentially what I'd been waiting for this entire time with her and it delivered. I was kind of surprised how much backstory we got here, but I think it fit well with everything that was happening around them with Sakura and Ino. Everything about how she attacks Zaku felt like she was desperately doing anything she could to survive, which included things like biting and not letting go. Plus, I'm surprised they showed her bloodied up.

Kevin: To put it this way, Sakura faking out Zaku is both my highest and lowest point of the week. I love that we finally got to see her fight and even out think her opponent, and I was even okay with seeing Ino struggle with their history when deciding how to act, seeing her friend-turned-rival in trouble. They probably could have cut one or two of the flashbacks and lost nothing from the storytelling though.

  Carolyn: I actually loved the flashbacks explaining her desire for long hair to impress Sasuke and her rivalry for his heart mixed in with Sakura being an awesome fighter. We saw where she came from and we see where she's headed. Her cutting off her hair (epic) was not just a clever tactic, it was her moving past her fickle, shallow priorities and stepping up. (And incidentally, finally winning Sasuke's respect.) I liked that contrast and I thought it made her powerful moments more meaningful.

  David: I don't like how being feminine was presented so constantly as a negative thing in the lead up to her 'level up', especially because it got immediately followed up by a line from Shikamaru to Choji about how they need to be the 'men' of the situation. I also don't like how it didn't end up even really helping the situation, but Sasuke's unintentional powerup did. I do like how the story clearly realized how drastically it was underutilizing its main female characters and tried to rectify that as well as it could within the characterization it had already established for them. So, basically, I like that it ended up where it was, but I wish it didn't have to do that in the first place.

  Joseph: Sakura's moment makes up for a lot of her inaction in previous episodes. It made it feel like a much more significant turn, and I think it's another great argument for the power of anime adaptations in taking certain aspects of the source material to the next level. I would also be remiss not to mention how major of a role she played in stopping Sasuke after he awakened to some straight-up Final Fantasy IV midi cover music.

  Kara: Sakura's characterization grew three sizes this week! Normally I have nothing against romance or a crush being a motivator (people in the real world act that way sometimes), but I was getting second-hand embarrassment whenever everyone and their mother used her emotions against her because she was that much of an open book. She was seriously dope in episode 32, and I do like that she didn't drop her feelings so much as compartmentalize them. Was it perfect? No. Was it better than what we've seen for the last few weeks? Very much. Plus we've spent so much time being told she knows her stuff, it was nice to see it in action.

  If you've read the manga, how do you feel about the pacing of the anime at this point?

Peter: I appreciate they're not trying to draw things out, past a few recap episodes. The only real filler we've gotten was a few more social scenes that ultimately helped build up the individual Team 7 members more so I'm good with them. Visually the series uses the manga as a direct roadmap the majority of the time but the departures, like in Naruto's fight against Haku, were extremely good.

Noelle: It's definitely a little slower, especially since you can read the same amount content much faster than you can watch it. Different mediums lend to different speeds. At the same time, it's not significantly slower - not like One Piece - so it's pretty tolerable. I can't say I have much complaints with the pacing.

David: It's gotten slower recently, but it's still MUCH better than I expect from long-running shonen adaptations even today. I never feel like a half hour isn't used effectively, which is impressive.

Joseph: They've chopped a few minutes off the absurdly long flashbacks at the start of each episode, so it's much punchier now than when it was covering the Zabuza fight. The adaptation nails some of the big moments, so I think they do a fantastic job of making the most out of Kishimoto's story and characters.

Last but not least, what was everyone's high and low points for this week, along with anything else you want to shout out?

  Paul: My high point was the fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru in Episode 30. Pierrot's animation team really pulled out all the stops for that one, and I was frankly blown away by how well-staged it was, especially since the previous episode was so janky, to the point where it gave us the "Naruto, you look kind of cool" silly face meme. My low point was the reveal that Rock Lee's ultimate technique is just a glorified Izuna Drop. I was disappointed by that, because I was expecting something really far out there.

    Peter: I'd have to say everyone involved had a low moment against the sound ninja. Rock Lee could have actually just kicked the guys head off so I'm not sure why he pulled out his ultimate technique. The master strategist Shikamaru really handled the InoShikaCho combo poorly (why not just have Ino knock the paralyzed guy out then 3v1 the last guy?). Feels like there were too many cooks in the kitchen while Kishimoto was trying to let Sakura stand on her own. High point was Sasuke's epic fight against Orichimaru... or maybe Gaara being Goth Prime?

  Danni: If you can't guess already, the high point of this batch for me is Sakura's battle. Naruto snapping Sasuke out of his daze and the whole fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru are close runner-ups. I can't say there were any real low, low points for me in this batch, but I could have done without the whole prolonged tension of them debating whether or not to open the scroll simply for them to move on without opening it. I really feel like that could have been a lot more condensed.

  Noelle: It has to be Sakura's battle. She's the last member of the team who hasn't really had a moment of growth, as she's mostly been stuck fawning over Sasuke. Now she has a moment of her own, to show that she really can be one of their peers in combat, not just because she's assigned to be alongside them. Sasuke vs Orochimaru was also fantastic to watch. Low points would probably be the Sound Ninja fight when Sakura wasn't the highlight, it felt a little too long.

  Jared: The true answer here is Sakura finally getting her moment as the high point. The flow of these episodes just kept moving until the end where things really slowed down, but that makes sense. Sasuke pulling out a Canadian Destroyer (front flip piledriver) was something I absolutely wasn't expecting. Maybe my low points would be Gaara's fight and then Naruto wanting to open up the scroll since it felt way too obvious that he'd do that.

  Kevin: Sakura's fight somehow managed to be both the best and worst moments. The best moment was when she uses Substitution multiple times to trick her opponent into giving her an opening, even though she needed to take multiple kunai wounds in the process. It was awesome to see her thinking, and there might've even been a bit of Naruto rubbing off on her, given how brazen the plan was. Unfortunately, it led to the end of her plan... biting Zaku's arm and just holding on as he kept punching her head. Great plan, Sakura.

Carolyn: The squirrel and the hair cut were high points for me. Also, just seeing everyone have respect for each other. Sakura thanks Rock Lee, Rock Lee acknowledges Sasuke's ability. Good stuff.

  David: It might not sound like it so far, but Sakura's fight is my high point for not just this bit, but the entirety of the show - it's one of the defining moments of the series to me, something that has stuck with me for decades at this point. So, criticisms aside, that matters a lot to me. Low point is how even when the show is trying to make Lee cool is still undermines him just as quickly, making it hard to believe it really appreciates his struggle.

Joseph: Episode 30 is an all-timer, so that's gotta be my high point. The low point was probably the Sound Ninja. Their powers are cool, and I understand jutsu is a term encompassing techniques in a wide swath, but to me they just had prosthetics and weapons. Hey, check out my jutsu *pulls out a gun*.

Kara: Can't decide between Sasuka vs. Orochimaru or Sakura finally Doing Things as my high point. Really liked both. Low point was probably every time I had to see Naruto squiggling around in snake guts.

  COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 14

Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups

Shadow Clones: 115

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on FEBRUARY 22ND, we’re looking at EPISODES 36-42 as I, DANIEL DOCKERY, IN MY TRUE BEAST FORM, hosts as the Forest of Death continues to torment! THIS IS THE ONLY INSTALLMENT WE'RE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS WEEK!

-Then on MARCH 1ST, we’ll talk about EPISODES 43-49 as NATE MING returns as we enter into one-on-one competition including a showdown between Rock Lee and Gaara!

  -On MARCH 8th, we move on to the final stage of the Chunin Exam with EPISODES 50-56, hosted by CAROLYN BURKE!

  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 22-28? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 29-35?

-------------------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter that he uses. 

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[noragottem]

Promise Baby, You'll Love Me Forevermore

So uh hi. ive never written a naruto fic before this really so i guess this is a good start. 

word count: 1961

Rating: T i guess 

inspired by this fic right here and my contribution to kiba week. give jaz some love this fic is amazing. also be nice to me maybe idk okay here goes

@princejellychu @ino-buta @for2buns

It’s a fine, nearly spring day when Kiba first lays his eyes on what has to be the finest boy he’s ever seen. 

The dogs are running low on food and Kiba’s been sent to fix that. It’s a good long walk usually canceled out by a car he’s no longer allowed to use. At least til his momma forgives him. He spots Naruto’s bright yellow hair as he enters the store and resists the urge to tackle him. Naruto’s not alone and Kiba has some kinda home training. “Que pasa pendejo?!” He yells across 3 aisles. Home training never included an inside voice. The group turns around and Kiba recognizes the redhead; Gaara, knows how to party, always brings coke but exclusively for Naruto. The tall blonde with the large space puffs that are out of this world he doesn’t recognize but she fits the description of the girl Shika’s so hung up about. Kiba thinks he understand, her legs do go on forever. He doesn’t focus on her for long because last boy, dressed in all black from his beanie, to his fingerless gloves, to his combat boots has his attention in a vice grip. If the outfit wasn’t enough the boy has on dark purple lipstick he’s matched to his eyeshadow. Kiba dubs him “sexy goth” and needs his name immediately. The sudden wave of dehydration makes him trip over his own feet. He doesn’t fall, thank god, his reflexes are usually on point. He smoothly gathers himself making his way over to Naruto. “Gonna scare all the customers with that racket, dog breath.” Naruto says with a smile slinging his arm around Kiba’s neck in a not so gentle hug. “I’m sure Lee wouldn’t mind.” Kiba replies when Naruto releases him. “Who do we have here?” “Well you know Gaara. This his brother and sister.” Naru says pointing to each respectively. “Temari,” the blonde says waving with the bag of chips in her hand. “Kankuro.” Sexy goth says, and offers his hand to Kiba. Kiba takes it with a lopsided grin. “Kiba. My mom owns the kennel, good friend of Naruto’s. Single.” Kankuro raises his brows, impressed. If Kiba takes too long to let go of his hand he doesn’t say. “You didn’t tell me your Suna friends were fine as hell.” Kiba says to Naruto in Spanish. “You never asked.” Naruto says. — Later when everyone gathers at the Namikaze house his friends shake their heads at him. “You ever met a bitch named shame?” Shika asks. He’s propped up against Naruto’s bed nursing a can of beer. “We’re not on speaking terms right now.” Kiba shrugs from the beanbag in the corner. “I cannot believe that worked.” Chouji says. “What can I say? I am a gentleman.” “If you’re a gentleman I’m fucking lawyer.” Naruto says from the edge of his bed. They all crack up and Ms. Kushina yells that they better laughing over that homework. — The next time he sees Kankuro it’s two days later and he’s working his shift at the kennel. He’s mostly waiting for lunch time. The dogs are clean and in their cages waiting to be adopted. Hana’s in the back serving them lunch when Kankuro stomps in donned in another all black outfit. Same boots, same fingerless gloves, but a black hoodie and baggy black jeans. Kiba notes he painted his nails the same purple as his eyeshadow and lipstick. Favorite color. Noted. “Welcome to Inuzuka Kennel,” he drawls and gives that same lopsided grin. “What can we do you for? A dog? A friend? Both?” He’s never been one for subtlety. Kankuro pretends to consider this. “I guess bit of both.” Kankuro matches Kiba’s grin and leans over the counter. Well then. The tension is strong and pulled taught. “I’m heading out for lunch Kiba you want anything?” Hana yells on her way out. Kiba doesn’t break eye contact with Kankuro and answers, “two pork shoulder sandwiches from Akimichis.”  He hears his sister confirm and the door shuts. “Why don’t you step back here and we can see about that?” — Hana comes back in exactly half an hour, ever punctual. Kiba is has his chair tipped back and his feet in the desk which his mom hates and Kankuro sitting on the desk which Hana frowns at. She hands Kiba the bag with the food and he hands Kankuro the other sandwich. “Aight, get back to work before Mom makes you scrub this whole place down.” Hana says. Kankuro takes that as his cue to go. “I think I might come back another time.” “Oh did you see one you liked?” Hana asks. Both boys smile. “Sure did.” — “I hope ya momma busts ya ass for fucking on the clock.” Chouji says throwing a couch cushion at him. “Speaking from experience?” Kiba says catching it easily and sticking his tongue out. He doesn’t tell them Hana slapped him upside the head twice but was merciful enough not to tell his momma. — “You sure you not moving too fast?” Naruto asks one afternoon in detention. Its almost summer. Almost vacation. He wears his mesh shirt to school because it’s just that hot and thinks the detention is worth it. Iruka sensei lets them do whatever for the hour as long as they don’t make too much noise or leave the room. Shika’s there for snoring in trig, Ino for skipping gym, Naruto got into another fight, and Sakura, apparently cussed out the history teacher. “Maybe,” Kiba says. They’ve only been on two dates at this point and yes Kiba is counting that time at work. He hogs the phone every other day just to talk to Kankuro. He never thought of himself as someone who could manage a long distance relationship but here he is. Except- “We’re technically not exclusive yet.” He confesses. Ino practically shouts, “Why the fuck not?” Iruka looks up from his newspaper and gives her a look that says, “Really?” Kiba shrugs and that only makes her more mad. “What’s the hold up? You like him, he likes you, you both are only seeing each other so what’s the problem?” She says waving her perfectly manicured nails around. (The elephant in the room blares but neither her or Sakura hear it) “There ain’t no problem. It’s just never come up.” Kiba doesn’t usually feel insecure but right now he’s uneasy. It’s too soon to say he’s in love, but he’s never had a relationship like this. “You should probably get on that quick then,” Sakura says. “It’s different when you can’t see them everyday.” Kiba doesn’t like the implication at all. His stomach sinks a bit and Iruka sensei dismisses them for the day. — Kiba doesn’t really ask for much for his birthday. He appreciates a good party even when it’s a few days late and loves being surrounded by friends and family. Even when certain friends abandon him for their new boytoys. Fucking typical. “Are you pouting, birthday boy?” Kiba looks up to see Kankuro and to say his face lights up is an understatement. “You came!” He all but tackles him and almost knocks the both them into Shinos table. Kiba can’t see his glare behind his shades but knows it’s there. He doesn’t care. “You’re surprised? Why wouldn’t I?” “Well,” Kiba starts. God since when does he get nervous? “We never really talked about being official or anything-“ “We haven’t? I’ve been telling everyone my boyfriend lives in Konoha.” At this Kiba laughs wholeheartedly. “That answers that.” “Sorry for not being explicitly clear, Scotty.” He presses himself impossibly closer and kisses him longer than ever necessary. “I also came bearing gifts.” “You mean you weren’t my present?” “Well yeah. Consider it my apology for not being able to stay.” Kankuro hands Kiba a tiny bag and smiles. “Only the best for the birthday boy.” “Holy shit I love you.” —

In a month or so momma Inuzuka will let Kiba take his permit test and Kiba will be allowed to borrow the car again. The first thing he plans to do is book it to Suna and spend a week in Kankuro’s bed. It’s just not fair he doesn’t get to go to Suna when Kankuro gets the privilege of travel from being a mayor’s son. Speaking of mayors sons-

“Ya boys are here to spring you.” His mom says as he’s finishing up a mornings worth of dog grooming. Naruto has the bright idea to take Shika to Suna to get him laid. Kiba doubts it will happen but now he owes Naruto big time and wonders if he should ask if he can read minds.

Kankuro’s tracing the scars on Kiba’s arms. They don’t hurt anymore but it’s still an ugly reminder. Kiba had called it “a present from Konoha’s finest,” always defaulting to jokes to keep the mood light.

Kankuro had given Kiba a brief tour of his room; from the various posters of metal and punk bands hung haphazardly to the small woodworking projects he’s accumulated over the years.

(This tour obviously ends with Kiba’s tongue down Kankuro’s throat. While Kiba enjoys hearing his boyfriend enthuse about his projects, that’s not really what his friends drove through a windstorm for)

“D’ya think Shika’s has any luck with Temari?” Kiba says comfortably snuggled up to Kankuro’s side.

“Nope. Which is sad because they’d probably be good together.”

“What’s the holdup?”

“It’s not him. It’s her and the fact that she’s currently into Hinata.”

“Shit, she is hard to compete with.”

“Just hope she doesn’t crush his heart into tiny pieces. That would make things awkward for us wouldn’t it?”

“Meh. Inconvenient more like.”

“Oh yeah I have something for you.” Kankuro suddenly remembers and Kiba pouts when he gets out of the bed.

“Why are you always the one getting me stuff.”

“I just like spoiling you.” He reaches into a drawer on his desk and Kiba hopes he’s not blushing too hard. “Plus, you did come all the way out here and it’s not like Suna weather is nice to you city folk.”

“Said the goth in the desert.”

“I’m committed to my art.” He holds up a chain with a single charm on it. Kankuro continues before Kiba can ask.

“My granny Chiyo gave this charm bracelet a long time ago. Don’t usually wear it because I’m afraid of losing it.”

“And this charm?” Kiba asks placing his hands under it.

“Is my favorite.” It’s a skull, painted a metallic purple with two black gem for eyes. “You gonna turn around so I can put it on you or just stare?”

Kiba’s never been one for jewelry but there’s no way he’s ever taking it off.

—

+

“So this is famous novio.” Tsume says as Kankuro steps out the car.

“Miss Inuzuka-“

“Please call me Tsume. I don’t know what my son has told you but I’m not that old. Is this for me?” She says pointing to the present in Kankuro’s hands.

“That it is. Kiba said you were also a fan of this brand. Thought you would appreciate it.”

“Oh boy you didn’t have to butter me up I already liked you.”

“It’s no problem Miss Tsume.”

“Come on in Hana just made dinner.”

Kankuro slips into the house and Tsume catches Kiba by the back of his collar. “You didn’t defile my car did you?” She asks him in Spanish.

“Who do you take me for?” Kiba asks, scandalized.

She hooks an arm around his neck and rubs her fist against his head. “I take your for my son.”

Kiba groans but he can’t argue. Lying to his momma is useless anyway. The inevitable punishment is worth it.

[iwasforceedagainstmywill]

I posted 1,457 times in 2022

That's 1,457 more posts than 2021!

38 posts created (3%)

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My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

How I finesse Naruto lore

I imagine it like: Sand = Defense (still good defense wise) Gold = Offense/Defense and Iron Sand = Offense

The Third Kazekage and Shinki both have Iron Sand and because Third's dead and Shinki's young both in and out universe nobody knows what Iron Sand is best with. I say offense because it counters(?) parallels Gaara who is known for his Ultimate Defense

Rasa (The Fourth Kazekage) seems to be specifically known for his Gold/Magnet Release and he stated he used to use it so Gaara/Shukaku couldn't use their sand because it was too heavy (which is kinda weird because Gaara apparently also has magnet release I'll get back to that later)

Okay so Rasa counters the Defense, that doesn't give me squarely offensive and in itself seems defensive, so half in half.

So you remember when Gaara's sand did this? Replicate his Mother.

I feel like this can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Kurura's love literally is so strong it can influence the sand to protect her son (rip to Temari and Kankuro I guess). So the sand in a way has a mind on it's own. (Canon, I think)

It's not Kurura at all, it's Gaara (subconsciously of course) he's always associated his Mother with protection even when it was Shukaku lying to him , he still called him "Mother". So basically the sand follows emotion.

(That's all I got)

Back tracking to Gaara's Magnet Release. It's described as Sparkling Metallic Sand I've always visualized it as silver but recently changed it to rose gold (because Rasa uses gold that's all) although realistically it's probably just sand colored. Anyway the Sand being rose gold explains why Gaara wouldn't be able to counter his Dad's gold dust by lifting it, if their Magnet Release is for different metals neither can truly get the upper hand.

Jumping back on subject.

Going with 2. Let's apply that (logic?) to all sand users specifically Shinki. The iron sand reacts to his emotions, it spikes when he's nervous or feels threatened, shifts a little or makes shapes when he's happy and Shields, Domes, Hands and Gaara when he's scared.

Yep that's what I said Gaara, just like Gaara with his sand mother Shinki can create Gaara out of his iron sand subconsciously simply because he equates Gaara with being protected.

After all He taught him how to use his sand, protected him even from little things (bugs, bad dreams the like ), raised him, and he is known for having the ultimate defense so his logic's pretty sound.

I feel think it would only present that way when Gaara isn't around meaning Gaara only knows about the shields and domes he taught him and the hands he makes sometimes.

(Random note Kankuro has seen it and he thinks it's adorable he's told nobody under the threat he'll no longer be the boy's favorite Uncle)

Unlike Sand Kurura, Iron Sand Gaara looks mildly annoyed depending on the situation as he's face changes ever so slightly i.e usually calm but irritated in high stress scenarios.

TLDR: I explain my personal thoughts on the Sand Kekkei Genkai of the Kazekages and Shinki to then elaborate that Shinki associates Gaara with defense and safety.

29 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

#4

Basic Megaman X fan with ZX: Oh no Zero doesn't remember X 😢

People of culture with ZX: Where is our boy, Axl? WHERE IS OUR SON?!

31 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

#3

So I looked up why "Your mother wears combat boots" was an insult...

Anyway 2012 Donatello called that Krang's Mom a prostitute

Specifically in a way it'd understand "The one who is called your mother wears the boots that are made for combat"

43 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

#2

Whether you look at them through a romantic or platonic lense Jessie and James from Team Rocket are PEAK relationship.

(They relationship is canonically of platonic)

That is all.

You know I'm right

96 notes - Posted August 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Dragon Speech

Dragons are much more affectionate in their language. When talking about the ones they love, dragons often add a chosen nickname to their name.

Note: These are (in universe) loose translations. And also how I'd write it.

Toothless has less a term and more so a tone as an he says Hiccup with a fond treble. He sometimes parrots back Hiccup's "Bud" with the same previously stated tone though it's more so translates to "Buddy"

Hookfang calls Snotlout something that either means "Fireball" or "Dud" depending on context.

Stormfly term for Astrid translates to "Astrid Dear" the term being at the end of Astrid's name.

Meatlug calls Fishlegs "Honey" similar to how an older woman may call someone such.

Barf and Belch have differing terms for Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Barf says "Ruff darling" and "Tuff dearest" and Belch calls them "Treasure Nut" for Ruffnut and "Cherish nut" for Tuffnut

"Soul Mate" is a term used by dragons to describe an exceptionally close Flock-mate. (I was going to say or mate but it seems dragon's don't commonly mate for life.

Meatlug says it the most with Fishlegs, Toothless uses it consistently for Hiccup, Barf and Belch use it for the twins often and Stormfly calls Astrid her soul mate as often as Barf and Belch do. Hookfang uses the term a little less.

Friendly reminder that Soul mate is NOT inherently romantic.

114 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sakura-blossom28]

Modern Day Romance

Chapter 2

Here’s chapter 2! I love Gaara, he’s my favorite character so this was really fun to write! Sorry his history is a little long I tried to make it as close to what it really was with it being modern au! Let me know what you think!! Don’t own Naruto!

Ch 1 /

Dating had not come easily for Gaara.  He was always alone, aloof, and reserved in showing any emotions.  Well, that’s how he used to be.  His upbringing had been a real struggle for his family.  When his mother passed away during his birth, it put a real strain on the family.  Instead of coming together with his father and siblings, they slowly drifted apart.  Being shut out by his own family lead Gaara down a dark and violent path.  With no supervision and access to their family’s wealth from a famous fashion magazine, Gaara was able to fuel early addictions that his young body could not tolerate.  

Gambling had started his descent into his spiral out of control.  By the time he was ten Gaara had started placing bets on games and dice in back allies behind the liquor stores in town, but the thrill of winning wasn’t enough.  Eventually, he found his way to street fights.  He was good of course from constantly fighting for years, but one night he bit off more than he could chew.  The pain was unbearable, but that fight, in particular, had knocked Gaara’s brain around so much that something finally clicked.  He needed to stop all of this, drinking, drugs, fighting.  It all needed to stop.  

Only at the sight of his siblings surrounding him with tears in their eyes did it all come together for him.  All the times that he thought they didn’t care about him, didn’t he notice the concerned looks in their eyes?  When he came home late at night, wasn’t there always some food and pain medicine left at the kitchen table? Seeing his brother and sister in such a state over him made him realize that he had acted cruelly towards them.  They were scared of their own brother and he wanted to change that, but how?

He looked over to his father and did not see any emotions of caring in his eyes.  More embarrassment at the situation.  Maybe some relationships couldn’t change, but as long as Gaara could have his siblings that would be enough for him.  He had no desire to attempt to change his relationship with his father, but it might be easier to deal with him if Temari and Kankuro started to like Gaara more.

“You’ve done enough to sully the family name.  You will be sent away to learn how to behave like a proper human being.  No discussions, you’re leaving as soon as you’re discharged,” his father said in a stern voice.  They locked eyes to see who would drop first in a struggle for dominance.  Gaara was the first, but he only closed his eyes.  

“Yes.  I will agree to that,” Gaara said quietly while keeping his eyes closed.   His father turned to walk out of the room, but when he heard Gaara’s voice again he stopped dead in his tracks.  

“Thank you… Father,” Gaara had not addressed his father with any form of a name since he was about six.  Hearing those words shocked Gaara’s father to his core.  The room went totally silent with everyone else holding their breath.   Their father relaxed his shoulders and said, “Temari, find a suitable program… for your brother,” and he left without looking back at them.  That was the first time that Gaara had been acknowledged as part of the family by their father.  Yes, this was a change that Gaara needed…

X

Years later Gaara finished his rehabilitation with the help of his siblings.  They had found a wonderful program that focused on violent behaviors and also allowed Gaara to go to school and earn a high school degree.  It was a school located out in the desert and it helped Gaara connect to himself and others in the program.  He was able to write letters to his siblings and that’s how they repaired their broken relationships and learned to care for each other again.  Not only was the staff educated on how to help Gaara emotionally, but they also taught him better ways to channel his anger.  

After graduating Gaara returned home.  He had picked up the knack of gardening and especially enjoyed cacti.  It helped him remember everything he learned.  He also took up material arts which was offered at the school.  Gaara was not surprisingly good at his new hobby, but he also made his first friend.  On the first day of lessons, Gaara had knocked Lee, the teacher’s assistant, around a bit too much, he had so much frustration built up that he lost control.  Gaara was so distraught about the whole situation he visited Lee in the hospital.  He expected to be run out by the teacher, but when he walked in Guy and Lee all smiled at Gaara.  He was so confused, but it felt so nice to be smiled at that Gaara stayed and got to know Lee.  On their way out of the hospital, Guy had said something that Gaara would never forget.  

“If you hadn’t come and visited Lee to make sure he was okay I would have kicked you off the team and reported back to the school that you might be unable to change, but the fact that you did speaks volumes.  You have a willingness to be a good person.  Keep working on yourself, listen to your teachers and people will accept you.  I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it will be worth it in the end when you are surrounded by people who truly love you,” Gui patted him on the shoulder, flashed him a toothy grin and thumbs up and ran off down the block.  Gaara hadn’t had any form of affection in years and he craved more.

X

Being on a dating app was not Gaara’s idea of fun.  He barely kept up with his own personal social media accounts, except for his secret page about his small garden.  Temari and Kankuro had created the profile for him.  Kankuro was a photographer for their father’s magazine and Temari was a designer for the label as well.  Most of his pictures on the profile were taken by Kankuro.  He often posed for his brother because he enjoyed spending time with his family, even though they all started fighting as the session dragged on.  No one could take charge.  Their father had every attention to give the company to Gaara after he earned his degree, but Gaara knew that was not the life he wanted to live.

When he walked into his father’s office when he was eighteen, walking tall and had an air of confidence about him, his father was shocked at the man before him.  Gaara was calm and spoke from his heart about how he had no intention of taking over the company, but wanted to go to school to become a therapist to help people that were like him.  And that’s exactly what he did.  His father saw that there would be no changing his mind, and he didn’t have the strength to argue anyway with the shock still rattling his brain that Gaara was this new person.

So here Gaara was sitting in his apartment looking at different girls in his area.  Life was going well and Temari felt it was time he finally found a nice girl to pull the stick out of his butt.  Gaara had never had a serious girlfriend before.  Only casual flings, but they never heald his attention for very long.  They normally weren’t a fan of his uncaring facade.  Secretly, he was still worried about being rejected like he was with his family so many years ago.  Was he willing to trust someone with such intimate feelings to have them leave if they didn’t like what they saw in him?  He was only overthinking everything because of his job.  Sure he helped people with addiction, but they also had their own struggles with relationships.  He was just awful at taking his own advice.

He did feel this was better than meeting some girl at a bar.  He didn’t typically go out much, but Kankuro insisted some nights to be his wing-man.  It was enjoyable to watch his brother fail at picking up women.  Temari was also no help.  She only recommended women who were like her and those women happened to be a bit too intimidating for Gaara.  At least on these dating apps, he could talk to the women first before deciding if they were annoying or not.  

Gaara didn’t have a type, but he did seem to be attracted to women who smiled openly in their pictures.  As he was scrolling he got a notification from one of his dating-apps.  Sakura liked your picture!  Tap to match!  He hadn’t gotten a like in what felt like forever.  Probably another goth girl who would find him boring once they started talking.  With his look of mostly wearing black, Gaara attracted a certain type of woman.  He dressed professionally while at work but during his downtime, Temari gave him everything that was off the rack that she thought that he would like.  These girls thought he was a fashion guru, but he disappointed them time and again when he admitted that someone picked them out for him and he really didn’t care about labels.  They seemed to ghost him after that.

When he opened the app he was met with a bright smile and sea glass green eyes that were like his own, but these eyes were filled with happiness.  Gaara’s caught his breath when he looked at this girl Sakura.  She was nothing like the girls who liked him before.  Sakura was all sunshine and bright colors from her pink hair to her clothes.  She was a nurse and enjoyed sweets and being outside.  What surprised Gaara the most was what picture she had liked.  

It was the very last picture on his profile and the only picture of him smiling.  He was embarrassed when Temari insisted that she HAD to put in on.  It was a dinner party a few months ago that Temari had thrown to announce her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Shikamaru.  Lee had eaten something a little too spicy for his liking and was being his ridiculous self and Gaara just had to laugh at his misfortune.  The fact that this girl Sakura looked at his whole profile and liked his picture was thrilling to Gaara.  He had to talk to this girl, she seemed different if she liked a guy like him.

His hands started to type out a message before he realized what he was doing and pressed send to match with a Sakura Haruno...

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