#pls don't take this as 'i dislike shipping and think it's useless'

[faggotryandtransjesterism]

being in fandom and aro is like i enjoy these characters' dynamic 'right? they're the perfect couple!' hmm well they're not together in canon, so that's not really the dynamic i'm talking about 'oh, so you don't ship them? i guess it's because you're aro, but that's okay! they can still be platonic!' free your mind.. please. do you understand that these categories of attachment are made up? are you capable of enjoying a relationship dynamic without first defining it?

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

This might not be normal but I’m dying to know your opinion on the ship wars. I don’t know why I’m obsessed with your opinion on the matter but I am very interested in your thoughts on it. 🙂

hi anon!!!

(pls note these are my opinions)

i don't have extreme opinions on the ship themselves. like lucien, elain, gwyn, azriel, and morrigan are all very boring characters to me. i feel like all of these pairings would be like watching paint dry. like let's think about it - elain's pov would literally just have to rework and rehash so many events in the story to make her likable (to the general audience). we've already discussed their vague human life and its clear sjm didn't really event that much lore about their lives before the story. elain has no conflicts with any members save for the whole weird and awkward mate / azriel situation. there's no established villain. azriel has no personality. lucien is in limbo and has no personality. the whole thing about lucien being helion son is ultimately useless and doesn't really change anything (the story is also arguing that i should root for helion despite the fact he just is okay with loa being abused). beron is a caricature villain who made his life harder by just reviving his age old enemy whom he dislikes and has since he was born. so how serious am i supposed to take him as a villain?

koschei is just there and is also another villain with no personality. morrigan also has no personality. gwyn is also just there and I mean I wouldn't say there's a lot of build-up for her either. but at the very least she has some inner conflicts to resolve. rhys is obviously not going to be a real barrier. there's literally no appeal to any of these characters IMO.

if the story would handle an illyrian plotline with emerie and azriel at the wing, i'd probably be interested but unfortunately sjm is the writer so it wouldn't be good. but yeah weirdly enough I would enjoy an emerie x az story (not romantic - but I wouldn't mind; I would love an emerie x female illyrian but alas there are no named illyrian females in this entire series besides her). i think the story unironically sets up an interesting dynamic between the illyrians and the night court but the story genuinely doesn't seem them as victims in any capacity - but I've got to admit its an interesting setup. think about it:

illyrians mothers raise these sons who grow up to hate them. women are isolated in these communities and robbed of their ability to fly; but these women are also semi-indoctrinated to sone extent to exalt this system of brutality and violence. mother's send their sons off to the blood rite to die so that they can serve and protect an utopia (velaris) that they have no access to. their high lord passes law - but is naught to enforce them because he recognizes who integral this oppression is to his political and militaristic aspirations. their high lord leaves their burgeoning communities without leadership for almost half a century to join forces with amarantha but then comes back after his tenure and SLAUGHTERS and tortures hordes of people for doing the same thing despite the fact he removed any court protection from them.

its interesting to me! id read that. it also kind of reminds me of the dynamic between paul atreides / jessica and their use of the fremen in dune (please read if you haven't! very fun and surprisingly easy read!)

[melody-of-lost-souls]

Helloooo,

So uhh, I just wanna rant a little bit... Pls answer if you have anything to add to whatever I'm gonna submit!! Thanks--

So when I was watching OG Naruto, the first thing I noticed was the looking down upon each other moment between Naruto and Sasuke. And BOY 😃 was I laughing while having second hand embarrassment when they kissed.. I didn't think much of it but it was hilarious. By the time I reached Chunin Exam I began to feel a sudden unusual dynamic between N and S. The affection they have for each other gave me a VERY "oh ok um.." Vibe. As always.. I ignored it.. Nah cuz I couldn't take them seriously 😂. I started to see the sudden change in S at the hospital when he suddenly wanted to fight N. From there, probably a little earlier I felt their dynamic kind of intensify a bit. VotE1, we don't talk about it. It was so emotional I'm pretty sure I cried. At the beginning of Shippuden.. The appearance of Sasuke was pretty intense (Sasuke's outfit was a big nono).. I then started to notice the change in Naruto (the character)... After then I started to get emotional, cuz my favorite characters started to fall.. You got Asuma's death, then Jiraiya's death.. No because when I saw Itachi's, I NEEDED a mental break.. So then I decided to surf the internet a little.. BIGGEST MISTAKE. I wanted to know more about characters and try to put myself in their shoes to see what actions I would take if it was me... And then I started peeking into ships.. That's where the trauma began. So I saw some analysis of ships to see which one makes the most sense.. The first one I saw was unironically SN/NS. Then the person who wrote the analysis pointed out things that I ignored. When I kept reading, I just continued getting surprised at the signs that I've noticed but decided to ignore. And I was like "Oh, ok... Interesting.." From there I basically had my suspicions cleared about their relationship (That's also when I found your blog, just a bit later)... The next one I saw was just.. 🤐🤐. SS was next.. Bro I'm not gonna lie.. When Sakura was introduced I already started disliking her. Right then and there.. No because as the series went on she was utterly useless.. Always whining and forcing her feelings on Sasuke who clearly did not like her back. Especially during the fake confession I just grinned my teeth so hard. I have a friend who watches Naruto, apparently she hates Sakura to the core as well. She said that she couldn't watch the fake confession episode and honestly, I get it 💀. She finished the series but still can't bring herself to watch the fake confession scene. Anyway back to SS... What I first saw were invalid points they made. Whatever crap they spewed out just made no sense because there was no evidence of whatever they were implying. Then they posted a page of Sasuke saving Sakura from hitting the ground after Gaara released her from his Chikaku grasp. Something that's normal for a teammate to do for the other teammate. But somehow it was romantic? So what I saw it as was that if I almost fell and my friend catches me, it means that he loves me? Because you know friends or teammates don't save each other on the regular basis apparently. As I kept reading I started getting frustrated. I didn't bother going to NH cuz.. HEH 💀💀💀. UM ANYWAY. It was a long process because I'm a bit slow. So, whenever I saw Sasuke and Sakura in the same scene, I felt frustration. My heartbeat started increasing because OMG. I JUST COULD NOT STOP CRINGING AT ALL THE TIMES SHE CRIED AND DESPERATELY WANTED SASUKE TO BE WITH HER. I was just like "Bro are you for serious? You got problems around you and you care about Sasuke?" I just subconsciously got mad whenever they were close. I took another break. And this time started looking at fan arts. It was really nice and relaxed me, until SS fan art appeared. I just got off Google and went to do something else. Then I go back later and then NH is what I see next, and I'm just like 😐😐. Then SNS fan art appears and I'm just like 😏😮😍😆. Back to the series. When Sasuke and Naruto are on the same scene I feel happy AND relaxed as they express how they felt about each other. My admiration for their bond was beyond

what I imagined. No because when Naruto said that he and Sasu would die together, and did I mention that it suspiciously sounded like a wedding vow? Anyway, whenever they'd share their feelings, I'd be watching and trying so hard not to scream. I just watched in excitement and was fan girling through the whole thing. And then I reached the War Arc. Then Neji died.. I was just like "😩😩 WHYYYY????" And Hinata started to act all bold, and I actually appreciated her in that moment when she brought N back to his senses. But then what came next just annoyed me. And I stopped watching. What kind of human would think about someone's hand when their cousin just died infront of them? ik it's a war, you're gonna need to suck it up but come on.... There was another reason as to why I didn't want to continue because, I accidentally came across a few spoilers.. Because I knew that after the war S and N would fight and then you got the monstrosity called Burrito that was upcoming.. After all of that.. I found myself just stalking SN/NS fan arts and stuff.. OH AND when Sakura started doing stuff when Sasuke showed up, it made me want to appear in the show and completely OBLITERATE HER SELFISH ASS. AND THEN SHE HAD THE AUDACITY TO SAY THAT SHE CAUGHT UP TO SASUKE AND NARUTO BECAUSE SHE CAN CREATE CRACKS ON THE GROUND??? DON'T GET ME STARTED WITH WHEN SHE GOT A STAB FROM MADARA, THINKING THAT SHE COULD BRING HIM DOWN BY PUNCHING HIM? AND STARTED WHINING LIKE A PUPPY IN HEAT BECAUSE SASUKE KUN DIDN'T GIVE 2 JACKS ABOUT HER???! AND HER ANNOYING, DELUSIONAL STANS SAY THAT SHE SURPASSED TSUNADE???? NEVER WILL SHE EVER, IDC WHAT UNIVERSE, BUT NEVER WILL SAKURA EVER SURPASS TSUNADE. THEY CAN YAP ALL THEY WANT BUT IT'S FACTS. DON'T COMPARE MISSY WHO WETS HER PANTIES AT THE SIGHT OF HER SASUKE KUN TO SOMEONE WHO, NOT ONLY LOST THOSE IMPORTANT TO HER, BUT THANKS TO THE LITTLE MOTIVATION SHE RECEIVED FROM NARUTO DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIGHT KABUTO, SHE GAINED THE STRENGTH TO GET OVER HER TRAUMA (even though it was all sudden, I really loved how she got over it). AND EVEN BEFORE AND AFTER TSUNADE MET DAN, SHE STILL HAD HER OWN MOTIVES TO BE A GREAT PERSON. TSUNADE ACTUALLY THINKS ABOUT PEOPLE AROUND HER OTHER THAN BOYS. HOW CAN THEY COMPARE SAKURA TO SOMEONE SO AMAZING??!!

And then you got SS stans saying that their relationship is "unique". I never heard an excuse as lame as that. Sasuke disliking being touched by Sakura, constantly avoiding her, and the indifferent attitude towards her whenever she's injured is considered unique? Idk about you but, It's a big red flag from my side if my husband doesn't seem concerned about me whenever I'm hurt. If anything, their relationship is whatever they want to call it.. But IT IS NOT UNIQUE, NOR CuTe, NOR LOVING. And a 'friend' of mine really said that Sakura deserved Sasuke 💀💀. Bro there are so many red flags that I just.. 😩😩😩. My parents marriage is looking a bit like SS.. First of all.. They don't like touching each other anymore.. In this, Sakura is the only one who wants to touch and be touched by Sasuke, but Sasuke's it's not the same. He doesn't want to be touched nor does he want to touch Sakura.. They both make little to no effort in the relationship, in SS case Sakura is the one making effort. Sasuke is just bleh. My dad works a lot but still wants to be home and, to be with us. Not just because of me but because he actually still wants to be home. In this case for SS.. How do I put this,, It's pretty self explanatory anyway... Uh, Sasuke does NOT come home but when he does it's usually because of Salad (the time they had dinner where Sasuke was just 😥).. Or to when he needs to reduce the boost if you know what I mean. AND HUNNY THAT ISN'T ROMANTIC, IT'S SAD 😃. I'm not saying he's using her, because I don't think he is but... Ahem... That's one of the very few times Sasuke touches Sakura.. And that's one of the very, very, VERY, few moments of SS 🤐. "But what do you meann!! They had sex, they love each other! It's real deal love!!" Where have you been? 😀 Since when does real deal love works like that in the real world? Because people have sex don't mean they love each other. It's called a one night stand for a reason. One night stands don't need no love. Whatever crumb the author throws at their desperate fandom, they take it and be like "SEE! IT'S REAL DEAL LOVE!!" 🤦. My little brother's attitude when my mom gives him an extra donut. They gotta learn the difference between actual love and guilt tripped love. Their very different things. Their pink mega mind, self absorbed, princess with down syndrome is not the one for Sasuke. And please, they need to stop editing panels to fit their sad ship. It's getting embarrassing.

Well you said everything jaja

What I can add, is that at the time I watched Naruto when i was 12, more than a decade ago...I always find it at least "weird" that you go to such extreme lengths and pain just for a "friend". It's not a question of culture or something, because some antis would say ñiñiñi is different in lalaland. I guess bonds and friendships can be handled the same in any part of the world, same with relationships with parents, siblings and lovers. It's not that in some countries idk you would fuck a friend but your relationship with a couple would be distant in comparison to a friend. So, there is no "friendly" or straight explanation for Naruto going that far for Sasuke. I have seen this dynamic on full metal alchemist, but they were brothers and their relationship was absolutely different than SNS beginning with no repressed feelings at all. And on shippuden those feelings get more intense and deep.

And what you said about Sakura and SS I agree.

Specially about the touching thing, some of the things that separate a friendship from a love relationship is touching. at least they are on a superior level of spirituality than they do not even need that, which is not SS case.

Sasuke doesnt like being touched at all, but he always started physical contact with Naruto and he is not disgusted to be physically close with naruto. on the other hand with sakura... Their relationship is not unique at all, in the positive way of the word... They lack of everything.

And that shit saying Sakura deserved Sasuke or viceversa is a total redflag because shows that you are treating a person like some prize. You dserve a prize if you did enough to win. What you do not deserve is a person. That shows how selfish they are as their cherry bloom princess, because technically LOVE is not about giving my feelings thinking if the other person will give me back what i deserve. Many times in the anime is showed that Sakura does and behaves in certain way in order to catch sasuke attention and get "his love." From there you see a scheme from her, because all of her actions are driven for a purpose of being close to sasuke which would lead to idk being his girlfriend. But is all about her and this again shows how she never loved him, as SS claims that she suffered that much poor girl.

It was always about her and her ego. She is such a narcissistic person and loving someone...is all about the contrary.

And this also is another win for SNS because Naruto love for Sasuke, and viceversa, never hid an scheme behind. Not a I will save you----> he will like me/he will do things for me. they always did and bring comfort to each other, because of real feelings and uninterested love.

SS and NH can never work having Naruto or Sasuke figure in between, you need to erase one of them to make those ships work and be "natural" and loving.

What i will always say for how SS and NH work in BORUTO is...Divorced-in-maybe-good-terms couple that just is still together for the sake of the children.

And SS and NH making mental gymnastics to justify why they are canon, is useless. THey are just canon to let the kids in boruto, have biological parents. thats it.

[tallysgreatestfan]

The Dragon Prince for the Fandom ask pls

The first character I first fell in love with:  I think Rayla? Though Viren apears fairly early too, and I think I liked him relatively early too?

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:  Viren. Ratty old white man. But he is so interesting and he is bi and submissive, of course I fall for him. (Also he is basically female Shadow Weaver)

The character everyone else loves that I don’t:  I am not sure? I don't hate Ezran, not at all, I just... don't really have a connection with him

The character I love that everyone else hates:  Viren. And Claudia.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: I think I am not long enough in the fandom for that

The character I would totally smooch:  Oh man so many. Janai. Amaya. Viren. Aaravos. Claudia. (The latter three only if there was guranteed no bad consequences though). So many pretty people in this show

The character I’d want to be like:  Janai. Or Amaya

The character I’d slap:  Viren. He deserves it.

A pairing that I love: Janai/Amaya and Viren/Aaravos

A pairing that I despise: I don't think I really have any? I dislike when Claudia/Rayla is brought down to uwu innocent useless lesbians because thats not just biphobic but also boring and takes away the potential this ship has, and obviously I am crept out by the incest ships, but I don't really have one.

[dayseternal-blog]

Hi Days! I'm a huge fan of your work and your tumblr blog bc you give so many naruhina fanfic recs and talk about your stories, etc.

To sum it up, you're my favorite person lol, I'm a bit shy so I'm asking this as an anon, but I wanted to tell you something random just because I've always just thought about it and maybe you would agree or comment on it.

Have you ever listened to mitski? If you haven't I recomend you do bc she's amazing, but anyways I was listening to a song of hers called "washing machine heart" and it reminded me of naruhina, like the fic "together you and I" but different you know, like naruto only married hinata because he couldn't have sakura, she was his second option and every time he looked at her he wished and pretended it was Sakura, so Hina tries her hardest to look pretty and try to be the person he wants, always getting saddend by the idea that she isn't the one he wants, she knows his heart will only belong to Sakura. She let's him trample all over her heart and use her because she loves him unconditionally, maybe cry to her on some nights because he longs for Sakura's love that will never come.

I've read so many fanfics and I've never encountered one using this concept, I'd write it myself, but I'm not good at writing, maybe I'm reaching but it could inspire an angst story made by you or just a prompt or idea/concept for anyone to use. The hurt in this could be inmaculate and I bet a good writer could bring everyone to tears if they read a story like this. You don't have to do anything ofc I'll love you either way, I'm not meaning to push you to write a whole story with this concept by any means or to even post this ask, it's just something I made up/ related to this certain song, so I wanted you to see it, perhaps share your opinion or thoughts on it or just think about it. I love pain a lot hahaha bc I'm not a narusaku shipper in any way, I actually dislike the ship a lot.

Thank you for reading this and pls keep up the awesome work!! I'll always be a fan and support you and your spectacular writing❤️❤️

GAH What an awful fic idea you have 💔

“The Ring that Binds” by softwind - Rated M, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Incomplete.  Naruto and Hinata are married.  So why is Naruto calling “Sakura” in his sleep?

“Girl No 10″ by meeiwen - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Naruto makes a mistake with a dancer one drunk night.  Years later when he meets her again, he begins realizing his perfect life is a lie, but he’s too late to fix it.

And

“Territorial” by @bunny-hoodlum - Rated M, High school AU, Multi-chapter, Complete.  When Hinata takes advantage of Naruto’s desperation for love, they’re both a little too much for the other to handle.

Are similar to what you have there.

HERE’S MY VERY QUICK AND INCOMPLETE STAB AT YOUR PROMPT IT’S UNEDITED UNREVISED CANON-DIVERGENT AU RATED T FOR LANGUAGE BUT I HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT I COULD COME UP WITH 😘  THEY ARE NOT MARRIED BECAUSE I WOULD BE TOO SAD

...

Naruto finally makes it to the Hokage’s office, having had trouble shaking off fangirls on his way.  He can immediately tell he’s the last one there, even though it’s the eve of the Rinnegan Festival.  Tense expressions greet him, the atmosphere somber.

Sakura whips her attention back to the desk before them.  “Rokudaime, with all due respect, I don’t think Naruto belongs on this mission.”

Her behavior has confused him all night.  First moving away from him so that Hinata would sit between them at Ichiraku when Hinata could have just sat on the other side of him.  Then pushing him to follow Hinata back home.  He said aloud that he’d be seeing her later, and that he wanted to catch up with everyone first, but Sakura just glared at him...

She’s been pushing him away, more and more every day, breaking his heart to smaller and smaller pieces...whether knowingly or not, he’s not sure about that, but she’s never rejected him from being her teammate on a mission.

Worried, he meets Kakashi’s gaze.

“I understand your concern, Sakura.”  His tone is heavy.  His usual careless attitude nowhere in sight.  “Call it just my gut-feeling...you’re going to need Naruto’s strength for this mission.”

-

Hanabi was kidnapped.

Hiashi and Hinata are nowhere to be found.

“What do you mean...?” Naruto finds himself asking.  “I just saw her.  We just saw her.  Not even an hour ago.”

“When Sai reported Hanabi’s kidnapping, believe me, Naruto, we moved to notify her family immediately.  Anbu can’t find them.”

“What?”  The last memory he has of Hinata abruptly leaving dinner and running off without hardly a word nags at him, inexplicably tightening his chest.  “She’s fine.  Hinata’s strong.  She can take on anybody.  No one would dare-”

“Naruto,” Sakura interrupts, her gaze cutting sharp.  “She’s nowhere to be found.  And as much as you believe that, no one is invincible.  Not even Hinata.  We need to form a plan, otherwise we’re losing precious time.”

“No one is invincible.  Not even Hinata.”

An emptying numbness invades his insides, discomforting slickness muting him.

This isn’t his fault, is it?

-

What if she needed to tell him something?

She was acting strange at Ichiraku.

Quiet, unusual for her as of recent...

But how was he supposed to notice?  Should he have followed after her, like Sakura said?  But they were supposed to meet at his apartment later on anyway, so why did she have to come out early like that and ruin the good time he was having?  She knows how he hasn’t given up on Sakura.

She knows everything about him.  She’s been his rock after Sakura tried to shut him down for good.  So how can it be that she’d just disappear?  There’s no way.

There’s just no way that she disappeared right after she left...

-

Hours.

Hours of wandering around in abandoned, desolate, war-stricken villages in god-knows-where, and nothing.  No one.

He’s asking for the hundredth time, but he doesn’t care, he’s past the point of desperation, and anxiety-laced tension fills the air.  “Taku, you really don’t see anything?!”  The Hyuuga they have on their team led them into this godforsaken wasteland.

Taku turns on him aggressively, getting in his face in reaction, and yells, “What about you??  You think I’m not trying my best?!  This is my family!  Just because you’re Hinata’s boyfriend doesn’t mean you’re any more worried than the rest of us!  You don’t sense her??”

No.  He doesn’t.

His Sage Mode has never been so useless.  In fact, he senses no one besides them in this place, and it’s with terrible unease that he begins to entertain the thought that she’s gone for good.

“There’s no one even here besides us!  Nothing!  Why’d you take us down here?  Where are we even?!  How do we get out of here in the first place?!” he argues back.

“Sakura-san was right!  You don’t belong on this mission!  I don’t know what Hinata-sama could ever see in you, I haven’t seen her smile in months!”

“What do you mean by that?!  She smiles all the time!  I’ve never seen her act so cheerful in my life!”

“So you fucking know it, too!”  Taku glares at him with an incredulous expression.  “That she’s just acting!”

“What the hell do you mean by that-”

And he doesn’t know what happened next, but Sai’s grabbing onto Taku and he himself is locked in Shikamaru’s shadow manipulation.  Chakra’s sparking off his own hands, while blue embers warp along Taku’s.

“Calm down,” Shikamaru orders both of them.  “We’re not getting anywhere if the two of you keep fighting.”  He waits for Taku to loosen his stance.

Sai lets go of him.

Taku throws an insulting glare around before sauntering off.

Shikamaru sighs.  Hard.  “Go cool your head, Naruto.”  He retracts his shadow, and Naruto wastes no time walking off in the opposite direction, far from wherever Taku is heading.

Yet Taku’s ridiculous words ring in his head.  “That she’s just acting.”

But she said that she’s happy to be with him.  That she doesn’t mind that he’s still in love with Sakura.  She said that she’s just happy to be with him.

She said that.  She did.  And she wouldn’t lie to him, right?

She was just acting?

“You’re not going to finish your ramen?” he asked her on their date last month.

“No...”  Suddenly, she smiled brightly, something she’s been doing more often ever since he mentioned that he’s always liked how genki Sakura is.  “Do you want the rest of mine?  I’m dieting.”

He scrunched his eyebrows at her.  “Dieting?  Why?”

“Well...”  She looked thoughtful for a moment before seeming to come to a decision.  “Naruto-kun, you like thin girls, right?”

He knew she was talking about Sakura.  “...I guess...”

“I want to make you happy,...” she started.  She bit her lips for a hesitating moment before continuing, “so I’ve been trying to lose a little weight.”

“Oh.”  He didn’t know what to make of that.  Unbidden, he looked her over. 

“Can you tell?” she asked, her characteristic shyness lowered her lashes, yet she didn’t fidget under his examination, and he could tell how she was trying her best to have that confident persona he admires in his former teammate.

Despite her recent changes in attitude, Hinata’s still been so physically small compared to himself and everyone else.  Under her jacket, he couldn’t tell if she looked skinnier or not, and even if she was, he doesn’t think she really needed to be skinnier.

But then she looked up at him with that heavy, hopeful weight in her gaze, and he couldn’t let her down.  Not when she’s trying so hard for his approval.

He fibbed easily.  “Yeah.  You look really good.”

She shined another smile at him that made him feel good.  Even if their relationship wasn’t traditional, he could at least still make her happy.  He could at least tell her some sweet words and see her sweet smile and-

She was lying.

She wasn’t happy?

He never made her happy?

Then what was the point of any of it?

No, she must have been happy, right?!  She said so!  She told him so!  Many, many times!

After all, he asked her.  All of those times he thought she was faking her smile, he asked just to make sure, and she vehemently told him that she was really happy to be with him.

She said he could talk to her about all of it.  That she could take on his heartbreak because her feelings were so much bigger than...

“Uzumaki Naruto.”

The unfamiliar voice has him leaping to his feet.

A man as pale as a ghost with piercingly icy eyes is floating down to him on some strange platform.  “You’re really as pitiful as I expected.”

“Who the hell are you?!”  He readies his stance.  He’s not in any mood for games, and he’s ready to let loose some of his stress on this very suspicious character.

“Hinata’s fiance.”

“Hinata?!”  Fire races through his veins, heating his feet, and he’s ready to leap at this guy.  “Where is she?!”

“With me.”

His heart rate exponentially explodes, beating into his ears, his skin practically bristling.  “Let her go,” he demands, and the threat of his words leaks from every pore of his being.  “Now.”

The man almost snorts.  “What makes you think she wants to see you?  You only ever used her, broke her...”  His collected expression hardens, and Naruto can sense that he has no intention of releasing her.  “I’ll make her happier than you ever could.”

Several thoughts fly too quickly through his mind to properly process any of it, leaving only residual uncertainty and that deepening sense of his culpability in her sudden disappearance.  But he doesn’t linger on the unpleasant sensations.  “What the fuck do you know?!”  And he’s charging at him, a Rasengan heavy in his hand.

The enemy is far more powerful than he appeared, immediately blowing him back with some kind of focused chakra.  “Weak, pathetic.”

“GIVE HER BACK!”  He replicates himself a dozen times, each of them throwing Rasenshurikens at the man.

Yet more of that strange yellow chakra protects him.  He’s unscathed even under his shadow clone onslaught.  “No.  I gave her a choice, and she came with me.  I’m just here to get rid of you, take revenge against you for her sake.”

He hardly comprehends the nonsense spewing out of the enemy’s mouth, and he rallies his clones into close combat, but the man manages to avoid many of the attacks while landing hits of his own.

Clones poofing away only to be replaced by more, frustration and fury starting to blind him into sloppier and sloppier moves.

“I love Hinata.  That’s why I deserve her.”

He chokes on his own breath, and in his momentary loss of concentration,...

He’s falling.

------------------------*

aaannnnd that’s as far as I want to go with that.  Imagine the rest of the team arriving in time to notice Toneri making his escape toward the sky, and I guess the rest of the story would sort of follow the rest of The Last...Naruto self-reflects a lot in a bundle of depression for a long time and yeah.

...ahhh...  I encourage you to write the fic you want to see in the world ❤️