#sasuke matchup

[narutocharacterpolls]

First round will start tomorrow at 12PM EST

Match-ups listed under the cut

LEFT SIDE

ITACHI vs SAKUMO

EBISU vs NEJI

SAKURA vs SASORI

KAGUYA vs SAGE OF SIX PATHS

JIRAIYA vs TSUNADE

ZETSU vs OMOI

HINATA vs SHISUI

YAMATO vs SHIZUNE

MADARA vs RAIKAGE A

TENTEN vs SAMURAI

MINATO vs HASHIRAMA

GAARA vs FUGAKU

NARUTO vs NAGATO

KONOHAMARU vs GAI

BUTSUMA vs TAJIMA

DEIDARA vs SAMUI

RIGHT SIDE

SASUKE vs KOHARU/HOMURA

OROCHIMARU vs JUUGO

HIRUZEN vs GATOU

HIDAN vs INO

TOBIRAMA vs IZUNA

MIZUKI vs IZUMI

OBITO vs SHIKAMARU

RASA vs UDON

HIASHI vs KARUI

OONOKI vs IBIKI

KIBA vs M. SHIJIMI

KAKASHI vs YOJI

ASUMA vs YAHIKO

KARIN vs KAKUZU

KABUTO vs KILLER B

SUIGETSU vs GAMABUNTA

[youngersiblingstournament]

[Loser's Bracket] Round 3 Bracket 6

[black-and-yellow-bracket]

Here's the bracket!

Sorry for the delay, everyone! I've been getting all the assets for the tournament ready as fast as I can!

Here's a peek at the bracket for round 1!

as you can see, we have quite the scathing matchups! i mean...Leorio and Kurapika vs Sasuke and Naruto? i'm gonna lose my mind.

Polls will go live tomorrow, March 10th, at noon EST! i hope to see you there!

i'll also put it in text below the cut because unfortunately, the bracket maker i was using cut off the longer names.

ALSO TO WHOEVER SEEMINGLY MADE UP NEW GONCHAROV LORE JUST FOR THIS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I AM HONORED. so naturally i had to include it

Kazuki Kurusu + Rei Suwa (Buddy Daddies) VS Bumblebee (Transformers)

Janus (Sanders Sides) VS Nico di Angelo + Will Solace (Percy Jackson)

Tails + Shadow (Sonic) VS Ampharos (pokemon)

Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) VS Eraserhead + Present Mic (BNHA)

Yellow in the Night (Goncharov) VS The Signal (DC)

Kurapika + Leorio (HxH) VS Naruto + Sasuke

Sunny + Basil (OMORI) VS Blake + Yang (RWBY)

Zagreus + Melinoe (Hades) VS Misa Amane (Death Note)

Antauri + Nova (Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go) VS Cole + Vania (Ninjago)

Mami Tomoe + Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) VS Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)

Sollux Captor (homestuck) VS Cloud Strife + Zack Fair (Final Fantasy)

Yor + Loid Forger (Spy x Family) VS Terry Hintz (LISA)

Gene Khan / Mandarin (Iron Man Armored Adventures) VS Pikachu (pokemon)

Roxas + Xion (Kingdom Hearts) VS Celty (Durarara!!)

Gundham Tanaka + Kazuichi Soda (Danganronpa 2) VS Barry B Benson (Bee Movie)

Goro Majima (Yakuza) VS Roxie Road (Mysims)

Can you believe these matchups?

Also, i tried to do just one entry from each fandom,,,but pokemon made its way onto here twice. this is my bias. <3

[demifiendrsa]

IDW Publishing and Viz Media are collaborating on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto crossover comic series with four issues. Caleb Goellner (Sonic the Hedgehog) is writing the comic, Hendry Prasetya (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) is drawing, Raúl Angulo is coloring, and Ed Dukeshire is lettering. Jorge Jiménez and Prasetya drew the cover art for issue #1, which will ship on November 13, 2024.

Concept art

Synopsis

It's the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about. When teenage reporter April O'Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They aren't the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April's visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can't be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!

[ao3topshipsbracket]

give sulemio a break please

naruto x sasuke

hannibal ship

hanamusa

back-to-back-to-back, famous ship, ship really popular on tumblr, then hanamusa

We've seen a lot of people echoing this sentiment in the tags! The thing is, we didn't decide what the matchups were. We took the 2023 Tumblr Year in Review ship list, and (after removing Spirk for having won last bracket and condensing the Miraculous Ladybug love square into a single entry) fed it into a seeded bracket generator, and wrote down the results, exactly as the numbers were given to us. This is the same thing we did last fall with the AO3 bracket and if we run more brackets it's what we'll do again.

If we were hand-picking the matchups the bracket as a whole would look different in a number of ways; however, every ship on the list is, by definition, popular on Tumblr, and I don't know that we could have done better than "how much presence on Tumblr does this ship have, ranked in order of how much they were discussed last year" for seeding. So if the matches seem unfair, well, the person to take that up with is the data— and I'm not sure they were unfair, since in fact Sulemio won against the mega-famous ship, the ship very popular on Tumblr, and Hanamusa!

also frankly i don't think a single one of the mods would have predicted hanamusa doing as well as it did even if we had been hand-picking for fairness, but that's a response to a different question

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Y'all Hate Teens Tourney Bracket

(Bracket updated through Round 2c)

76 teens who are unfairly treated by the fandom for being teens. Who has it worst?

We tried our best with the matches, but sifting through several unique submissions does get to us... We apologize for any unfavorable matchups.

Please let us know of any name corrections. For Japanese names in particular, we denote long vowels and put given name first.

No guarantees on when the tourney starts, but we'll try to get it started within a week. We'll start by setting up the propaganda posts, which will be separate from the poll posts this time around.

Round 1 and 2 matchups under the cut. Color-coded schedule here; undescribed. Note that the listed order is not the same as the schedule.

Round 1

Alicent Hightower (House of the Dragon) vs. Abigail Hobbs (Hannibal)

Amy "Panacea" Dallon (Parahumans (Worm/Ward)) vs. Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Lady Kenna (Reign) vs. Lisa "Tattletale" Wilbourn (Parahumans (Worm/Ward))

Kokichi Ouma (Danganronpa V3) vs. Scott McCall (Teen Wolf (MTV))

Daphne Blake (Scooby-Doo) vs. Sophie Foster (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

Breezepaw (Warrior Cats) vs. Winter (Wings of Fire)

Gamzee Makara (Homestuck) vs. Yanqing (Honkai Star Rail)

Vriska Serket (Homestuck) vs. Haru (Beastars)

Dirk Strider (Homestuck) vs. Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Wednesday Addams (Wednesday (Netflix)) vs. Sylvester Ashling (Epithet Erased)

Yukine (Noragami) vs. Sayaka Miki (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) vs. Soyo Nagasaki (Bang Dream! Girls Band Party!)

Round 2

Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs *1

Marcy Wu (Amphibia) vs. Fatespeaker (Wings of Fire)

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones) vs. Charlotte Pudding (One Piece)

Olly (Game of Thrones) vs. Penny Carson (Bojack Horseman)

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) vs. *2

Mai (Avatar: The Last Airbender) vs. Peril (Wings of Fire)

Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender) vs. *3

Steven Universe (Steven Universe) vs. Gohan (Dragon Ball Z)

Adrien Agreste (Miraculous Ladybug) vs. *4

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug) vs. Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Muu Kusunoki (MILGRAM) vs. Misa Amane (Death Note)

Chloé Bourgeois (Miraculous Ladybug) vs. Candace Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

April O'Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)) vs. *5

Gwen Stacy (Spider-Man : Into the Spider-verse) vs. Dovepaw (Warrior Cats)

Damian Wayne (DC) vs. *6

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) vs. Kyuusaku Yumeno (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. *7

Shuuji Kayama (Digimon) vs. Gon Freecs (Hunter x Hunter)

Asuka Langley Sohryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. Youko Nakajima (The Twelve Kingdoms)

Rei Ayanami (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. Uzi Doorman (Murder Drones)

Akito Shinonome (Project Sekai) vs. *8

Ena Shinonome (Project Sekai) vs. Mafuyu Asahina (Project Sekai)

Katsuki Bakugou (My Hero Academia) vs. *9

Yuuma Tsukumo (Yu-Gi-Oh) vs. Megumi Fushiguro (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Wesley Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation) vs. *10

Ezra Bridger (Star Wars: Rebels) vs. Theresa "Scary" Marlowe (Dungeons and Daddies)

Hope Estheim (Final Fantasy XIII) vs. Tohru Honda (Fruit Basket)

Severa (Fire Emblem) vs. Taimi (Guild Wars 2)

Yukari Takeba (Persona 3) vs. *11

Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4) vs. Kotone Shiomi (Persona 3 Portable)

Goro Akechi (Persona 5) vs. *12

Yuuki Mishima (Persona 5) vs. Makoto Niijima (Persona 5)

Phew, that was a lot.

[worstshippoll]

WORST SHIP POLL 2023: ROUND TWO RESULTS

Since I have been shadowbanned, I do have to ask that everyone reblog this post if they can so the announcement gets out there. Notifications do not work on this blog, so most people will only be able to see my posts organically on their dashboard. Thanks.

Round three will begin tomorrow (5/8) at 2 PM PST. It will include BOTH sides of the bracket.

New matchups are typed out under the cut.

Reylo (STAR WARS) VS Star Butterfly/Marco Diaz (SVTFOE)

Lapis/Peridot (STEVEN UNIVERSE) VS Takami Keigo/Todoroki Enji (BNHA)

Katsuki Bakugou/Izuku Midoriya (BNHA) VS Alhaitham/Kaveh (GENSHIN IMPACT)

Zuko/Katara (ATLA) VS John Watson/Sherlock Holmes (BBC SHERLOCK)

Sasuke Uchiha/Sakura Haruno (NARUTO) VS Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas (HOMESTUCK)

The Onceler/The Onceler (THE LORAX) VS Greg House/James Wilson (HOUSE MD)

Light Yagami/Misa Amane (DEATH NOTE) VS Tom Wambsgans/Greg Hirsch (SUCCESSION)

Batman/The Joker VS Ash/Serena (POKEMON)

[scienceninjaturtle]

TMNT X Naruto

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is a joint effort between IDW Publishing and Viz Media. This four-issue series is written by Caleb Goellner (Sonic the Hedgehog) and illustrated by Hendry Prasetya (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), with colors by Raúl Angulo (NYX) and letters by Ed Dukeshire (The Woods). Jorge Jiménez (Batman) and Prasetya provided cover art for issue #1.

It’s the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about.

When teenage reporter April O’Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They aren’t the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April’s visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can’t be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!

Working with acclaimed manga publisher Viz Entertainment, IDW is pulling together two of the most popular comics in the world to bring you the four-issue comic book event of 2024!

[seikotakai]

hear me out...what if they don't fight but instead they fu-yeah i first i drew kazuya kissing jun and sasuke, now i'm making some old man yaoi between kazuya and wesker. i remember looking at madara uchiha fanart on tumblr and seeing someone ship him with multiple characters from the naruto franchise (might guy, minato, and even kakashi's dad). i figured i wanted to do something similar with kaz here. so i went and looked up the death battle fanon wiki and matchup ideas on this site to get ideas on which characters to pair kazuya up with. hey, if heihachi can fuck so many women which is why kaz has multiple siblings i can ship kazuya with jun and other dilfs okay?

Albert Wesker and Resident Evil is owned by Capcom

Kazuya Mishima and Tekken is owned by Bandai Namco

[whoishotteranimepolls]

→ Itachi Uchiha (18+) vs Sasuke Uchiha (17) vs Madara Uchiha (18+) - all from Naruto.

→ Itachi Uchiha (18+) vs Gaara (17, same picture as the gaaraVSgrell poll) - both from Naruto.

→ Gaara vs Shikamaru Nara rematch, with their Shippuuden versions (meaning, 17 years old) - both from Naruto. image for Shikamaru: https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Shikamaru_Nara?file=Shikamaru_Thinking.png#Part_II

→ Zoro (18+) from One Piece vs Grell Sutcliff (18+) from Black Butler

→ Minato Namikaze (18+) vs Kushina Uzumaki (18+), from Naruto. Manga versions. LINK Minato: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/minato-namikaze--80079699593985936/ LINK Kushina: https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Kushina_Uzumaki?file=Kushina%27s_Chains.png

→ Deidara (19) vs Sasori (35), both from Naruto. LINK Deidara: https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Deidara?so=search&file=Deidara_NXB.png LINK Sasori: https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Sasori?file=Sasori_Puppet_NXB_Tribes.png

→ Kisame Hoshigaki (25+) (Naruto) vs Arlong (30+) (One Piece)

→ Tenten vs Temari (Naruto) (whichever version of them)

→ Tenten vs Sasuke (Naruto) (adult versions, so techincally from Boruto)

→ Neji Hyuuga (18, i think) vs Hinata Hyuuga (16 or 17), bloodied versions LINK Neji: https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Neji_Hy%C5%ABga?file=Neji_dies.png LINK Hinata: https://www.facebook.com/Hinata-Hyuuga-116709111673810/photos/ecnf.100001746020432/161494730528581/

→ Neji Hyuuga (18?) vs Tenten, both from Naruto.

→ Neji Hyuuga (18?) vs Sasuke Uchiha, both from Naruto.

→ Neji Hyuuga vs Rock Lee, both from Naruto.

More bad request examples. Please do not ever do this. I have examples and rules for a reason. First, there are way too many matchups in a single request and the links. They triggered my dyslexia so severely that it made it difficult for me to read it, and to top it all off, there were three of these similarly formatted requests. So please don't ever do this. I requested for it to be reformatted and resubmitted, and it was, but again, please don't do this in the first place. It was one of the reasons why I referred to Naruto as the problem child fandom before you guys settled

[sugutoad]

Matchup Trade for @karlalove2002

╰┈➤ Thank you for doing Matchups at Sugutoad

╰┈➤ Kento Nanami ‘The Accumulation Of Those Little Despairs Is What Makes A Person An Adult’

He had thought no one would care if he died, Haibara was dead and his remaining friends were too busy struggling for their life to acknowledge one another. The short woman who had walked alongside Ino caught his attention, he had seen many beautiful women before but you were ethereal.

That optimism, big brown eyes and brown hair… You were too similar to Haibara. He tried to ignore you at first, he didn’t want any painful memories. Not now. Not ever. But when you would wave shyly at him in the halls as he passed you, he couldn’t help but nod. And smile… a small smile would crack at the corner of his lip. He was a bit too tired to notice though, after all love is shit. Just like work and sorcerers.

His MBTI and yours are quite similar. ISTP and ISTJ. The only difference between the two of you are your last letters. But the truth is, differences are good in a relationship. Not everything the two of you have to go hand in hand to the other person’s opinion. And differences can be good, after all it would be boring to have a partner the exact same as you. New sides of both of you can be opened, ones that have never been truly explored. He is a judger and you are a perceiver. How do you change one another? That’s up to you and he will follow your lead, picking the most logical route.

Not much can be said about zodiacs as they do not represent a person’s identity properly but Nanami, being the Cancer he is, was slightly different around you. See the passage I found, I think it describes the two of you:

“Leo and Cancer both have big feelings, which can make for a solid relationship when both parties engage in healthy communication habits. Leo won't be shy in sharing how they feel, and although Cancer may be a bit more guarded at first, their body language will be a dead giveaway. These two fall fast.”

He wants to spend his time with you. He promised himself that after Itadori is sent to safety, away from the glooming eyes of the elders who controlled all their lives like master puppeteers , he would retire. He didn’t enjoy life as a sorcerer, why must he experience the death of others first hand? Perhaps… if the two of you survive the challenges the world throws at you… you can leave everything. Say your goodbyes and move to Malaysia. 

He wants to spoil you so much. The amount of times you had told the blonde man, he refused. You were his girlfriend, you had to be treated the best. Just sitting with you on the couch, the pearl beaded necklace he brought for you glistening in the light. He was so happy. If you buy him even a loaf of bread, he will complain you spoil him too much. And then proceed to buy a ring for you. Who knows, maybe even a wedding ring? Atelat once a week, he takes you out to a fancy restaurant. His lover should dine in the finest of places. And if you wish to eat at home, he will cook for you, occasionally Ino comes to eat with the two of you. Probably some karaoke with you and Ino may be involved. Nanami would rather sit beside Gojo for five minutes before singing in front of other people.

He was never the time of man who could sit through a whole episode of a show. Always looking at his clock, just to be sure how much he was wasting and how he could make up for it. But after learning you liked anime, he sat down on his coach and watched the ones you had always mentioned about. He wanted to talk with you about it, always making theories and ways the storyline could have been better. Saying things like: ‘why is Naruto so obsessed with Sasuke? Can’t he leave him alone’ or ‘I think Annie is the female Titan, how can they not guess that?!”

He has your drawings hanging in his room, it’s so embarrassing to you yet cute. Whenever he is doing his work, he glances to the side to see your art pieces and reminds himself that you also work hard to create those pieces willingly.

He is so patient. When you want to say something, he will sit in front of you and listen to your thoughts. Nanami doesn’t care how long he has to wait, he just wants you to be revealed and not anxiety filled. He often smiles at your jokes, well most of the time. When a dirty joke spills from your sweet lips, a look of disgust appears in his face. He may or may not scold you for being so childish, depends upon his mood that particular day.

[narutocharacterpolls]

First round will start tomorrow at 12pm EST

Matchups listed under the cut

LEFT SIDE

KONAN vs SHIKAMARU

SASORI vs SASUKE

OBITO vs KARIN

YUGITO vs SUIGETSU

MADARA vs SAKURA

NAGATO vs TENZO

DEIDARA vs INO

KARUI vs MIKOTO

RIGHT SIDE

TSUNADE vs HIDAN

TOBIRAMA vs IZUNA

GAI vs KISAME

ANKO vs ITACHI

KAKASHI vs ZABUZA

IRUKA vs KUSHINA

HASHIRAMA vs KURAMA

KURENAI vs YAHIKO

[youngersiblingstournament]

Younger Siblings Tournament Bracket Reveal

A few things I want to mention before I reveal the bracket (and make the post really long because all the matchups will be listed in text):

Seeding of fictional characters in tumblr polls is inherently subjective. I did try to make it so that more popular characters/media would (most likely) face off against each other in later rounds, but I may be overestimating or underestimating the popularity of some characters/media, especially ones I'm not familiar with. There are some round 1 matchups that are probably a closer match but none of them are between the strongest candidates... I think.

The more niche characters will probably get obliterated in the first round as per Squimbus' Law. This is a tumblr poll and I do fully expect more popular characters to sweep, but that doesn't mean you can't encourage your friends to give your niche faves a fighting chance.

Also there are some matchups I literally just thought would be funny. Please don't take this too seriously.

I'm sorry BNHA fans.

(Preliminary Patch Notes 3/14: Swapped brackets 2 and 3, and brackets 19 and 21.)

[Image description: A 64-person tournament bracket labeled "younger siblings tournament" with a smiley face. The top-left quarter is labeled "quarter A" and color-coded red, the bottom-left quarter is labeled "quarter B" and color-coded green, the top-right quarter is labeled "quarter C" and color-coded purple, and the bottom-right quarter is labeled "quarter D" and color-coded gold. The starting brackets are labeled 1-32 and are as listed below. End ID]

Quarter A:

Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs. Ame (Wolf Children)

Malo (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) vs. Cat Valentine (Victorious)

Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom) vs. Fern (Adventure Time)

Skeletor (Masters of the Universe) vs. Shuri (Marvel)

Ryotaro Nogami (Kamen Rider Den-O) vs. Princess Luna (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch) vs. Sir Agravain (Arthurian Legend)

Dewey Wilkerson (Malcolm in the Middle) vs. Siobhan "Shiv" Roy (Succession)

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) vs. Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts)

Quarter B:

(9) Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) vs. Louie Duck (DuckTales)

(10) Falin Touden (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Saburo Yamada (Hypnosis Mic)

(11) Noelle Holiday (Deltarune) vs. Krel Tarron (Tales of Arcadia)

(12) Melinoë (Hades) vs. Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

(13) Abel (The Bible) vs. Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

(14) Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Greg (Over the Garden Wall)

(15) Dante (Devil May Cry) vs. Alisaie Leveilleur (Final Fantasy XIV)

(16) Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) vs. Kofuku (Real Life)

Quarter C:

(17) Luigi (Super Mario) vs. Genji Shimada (Overwatch)

(18) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) vs. Saki Tenma (Project Sekai)

(19) Fleabag (Fleabag) vs. Emerald Haywood (Nope)

(20) Sam Winchester (Supernatural) vs. Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)

(21) Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Gaz Membrane (Invader Zim)

(22) Manny Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) vs. Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill (Better Call Saul)

(23) Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Sunny (Omori)

(24) Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Mugman (Cuphead)

Quarter D:

(25) Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. The Knight (Hollow Knight)

(26) Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs. Ruby Rose (RWBY)

(27) Sensei Wu (Lego Ninjago) vs. King Clawthorne (The Owl House)

(28) Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

(29) Jinx (Arcane) vs. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role)

(30) Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

(31) Hop (Pokémon Sword and Shield) vs. Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

(32) Rhyme Bito (The World Ends With You) vs. Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Round 1 is ongoing! Matchups are linked (or if you prefer to scroll through the matchup posts, go to the "younger siblings tournament" tag on my blog)

[black-and-yellow-bracket]

LEORIO AND KURAPIKA from HUNTER X HUNTER VS NARUTO AND SASUKE from NARUTO

[laceyjane44]

GaaSaku 2023 FanFest Day1

Promt: Punch me/BAMF

He certainly hadn’t expected this.

Even in his recent months spent as the newly elected fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure, there were still few of Gaara’s people that approached him so boldly, and even fewer foreigners. It used to be his quiet and foreboding presence that kept others at a distance, but now that he’d softened around the edges, it was his grand title and honored standing that sat him at a pinnacle other’s thought beyond approach. In the past, eyes were cast down in fearful respect, now it was done with wise recognition.

Either way, direct gazes avoided him all the same, and it felt no different.

But this…this was different.

Sakura Haruno stood at the front of a gathering of fresh-faced genin all lined up in neat rows under the morning sun. She was center of them all and held the front spot in her line; a tall stance, shoulders squared, warm light shining on pale skin, eyes bright and facing straight ahead, straight at him.

On this arid and calm desert day, Gaara had arrived at the training grounds of Suna not twenty minutes prior; he had guests to welcome.

The bi-annual chunin exams were about to get underway, and Sunagakure had been chosen as the host city. It had been nearly two decades since the exams had been held here, and Gaara was keen on showcasing their growth in not only their military, but in their infrastructure as well. The passing of his father shifted the city’s focus from exponential military growth to more domestically centered focuses; improving education and academy access, repairs to their extensive systems of aqueducts that quenched the thirsty populous, upgrades to their medical facilities, and much more.

His people were happier, daily hardships were easing back just a little, and the city certainly breathed differently now than it had in his childhood. He was proud, he wanted to boast their accomplishments with confidence and pride, but now he suddenly felt…anxious?

“Could you repeat that, Sakura?”

“I said I’d like to spar,” she said again without hesitation, the slightest hinting of an upturn pulling at the corner of her lips. Her eyes hadn’t left his, his tongue was going dry, and just as that time in the forest, he was unshakably locked on those bright, dazzling emerald eyes.

He recognized those stood behind her as Shikamaru’s old team, it seemed that Sakura made the perfect match for them without Sasuke and Naruto to join her, but the incredulous look plastered across their faces was mirrored by most other genin in attendance. Here she stood; in line with all the other contestants, still at the bottom rung of the ladder through the ranks, and she had asked the Kage of the Wind nation for a spar.

He had only just finished his welcome to the contestants, encouraging them to make themselves at home and use any training grounds permitted to them as they saw fit, and hadn’t yet offered to answer any questions when she had stepped forward. It was as if no one else were present when she flashed a polite smile his way, thinly veiled by that mischievous look in her eyes, and asked if he could spare her some time. It was such a direct question, from effectively the last person he’d assumed would ask, that he paused his speech, his words failing him for a moment.

“I apologize,” he began, taking the opportunity to practice his manners. “But I am a busy man.”

She shrugged, still holding his eyes with her own, and he couldn’t tell if the sun had kissed her face just a little or maybe the heat was getting to her, but she looked slightly flushed. “I can be patient.”

He remembered she and Ino pit against each other before; an unfortunate matchup that perhaps tempted them to pull their punches against old friends. He had certainly found it mundane and unexceptional to watch. Either way, her strength may have been lacking at that time, but her tenacity had been clearly on display when she’d intervened between himself and Sasuke. It hadn’t stopped him, but it had slowed him down, clouded his thinking, and he was sure it was ultimately what saved the Uchiha’s life that day.

But she stood before him today a rebuilt and remade individual; there was confidence to her poise, an elegance to the way her high chin emphasized her neck, and her captivating gaze contained a knowing quality that left echoes of intrigue resonating through his body. She had seen him fight, she had seen him break bones and draw blood, she had even faced him and lived to tell the tale. Not many in her position had been able to say the same, and now she was essentially asking for a rematch in front of everyone.

He hadn’t mean to, but he heard himself reply, “All right,” before continuing with his welcoming address. The genin all bent an ear to listen, but he could tell that her public and very unconventional request had them distracted. It was a good thing he had gone over his talking points once again before starting, he was getting rather distracted as well.

Those eyes hadn’t left him, sparkling in the sunlight and bejeweled as they were, and no matter where he put his focus on the gathered crowd, he could still feel the weight of them on him. Where his palms getting sweaty?

It didn’t matter, he was finished with his piece as the head seat of the city and turned them over to Shikamaru who had come to explain the layout of the exams. Stepping aside, he was freed from her gaze as she gave the new speaker her attention and was allowed to more comfortably observe the curious happenings of his morning.

She stood just as proudly before Shikamaru as she had him, no longer the shuddering leaf that had been frightful of so many of their opponents before. His mind’s eye didn’t have the clearest picture of her back then, he’d found her so overlookable when outshined by her teammates, but he couldn’t overlook how inviting her figure had become, or how he found that he preferred the length that was returning to her hair, and how mature and defined the roundness of her face had gotten. She stood a bit taller now, they all did, and he could tell the definition of her muscles reflected the work she’d done to allow such confidence worn across her face.

Could a few years really change that much?

He’d been stared down quite enough since the start of the genin address, and he wondered how different he looked from her perspective. Had his stature reflected the improvements he’d undergone? Did his face look more mature as well or, now a little self-conscious, did he still look to be a boy wearing his father’s robes? With no necessity for it, he’d forgone most of the usual strength training done by those in their profession, but his fight with Lee had incentivized him to train otherwise; was it noticeable at all? He suddenly found himself conscious of his posture, second guessing the expression he wore, and found it difficult to keep his eyes from sliding back to this unexpected distraction.

Even after she had glanced his way, catching him mid-stare, he’d only looked away for a moment.

Soon, too soon given how he’d yet to find the words, the genin were all dismissed and gradually went their separate ways. A few senseis had approached him with a question or two, gratitude for hosting the exams, the typical formalities he’d been expecting, but in truth he’d only half paid attention to anything they said and whatever he strung together in reply. Again, he could feel those eyes on him, an itching in the back of his mind that made his pulse throb in his throat and an unfamiliar anxiousness to settle in his limbs.

Of course, he shouldn’t have been surprised when she walked up to him the moment he was free, her first words just some regurgitated pleasantries that the others had already said. Perhaps it wasn’t the approach that had surprised him, maybe it had been how favorable he found that sweet and warm scent of vanilla that clung to her skin, or how it was his own heart that was beginning to race against his chest.

He'd nodded to her gratitude, though by the look in her eyes he could tell that she knew he hadn’t listened to her words, nor looked her in the eyes as she said them. Something about the way her lips moved when she spoke to him was diverting his attention. “What are you hoping to achieve?” he asked, perhaps sounding a little standoffish due to his very real apprehension.

She shrugged, her eyes holding his gaze captive. “I just want to see,” she offered innocently enough, though the knuckle crack he’d heard from her gloved hand was anything but.

The clear challenge in her eyes stirred him. It had been months since someone provoked him like this, and they hadn’t been keen on his abilities like Sakura was; their arrogance had been born of ignorance and Gaara couldn’t help but wonder what her’s was born from. He tried not to smirk with his next words, though he failed, and returned her challenge in kind. “See how long you’ll last trying to hit me?” he goaded, the dignified tone of the Kazekage melting away as if to playfully deride her.

“No,” she refuted firmly, thought that sly expression still blessed her features. He could tell now that the sun hadn’t been the thing to kiss that color across her face, it had been a subtle flush across her skin, one that grew deeper when that smirk of his had slipped. Flushed or not, she was still fiery. “To see how long it takes me to hit you.”

Another unexpected outcome of his morning, another smirk he felt pull at his features, and this time she did break her gaze away from him, brushing her hair behind her ears and attempting to downplay her blush.

“Well,” he said, his tone casual. “Let’s go.” He began walking off to a more distant end of the training grounds, an area he specifically hadn’t set aside for visitor use.

She followed quickly after him, he could feel the steps she took atop the sandy earth, and he wondered how someone as petit and light of foot as her thought to approach him with such a bold request. “I thought you were a busy man,” she said, not wanting to sound displeased but wanting to convey that, yes; she did in fact know that he had other – more important – things to attend.

“I am,” Gaara agreed, looking over to Sakura who came to walk in line at his side. Again, he tried a smirk, wanting to see if it gave her skin that same rouge as before. It had, and she’d yet again avoided his eyes for a second. “But I don’t believe that you’re a patient woman.”

[isadollie]

★ matchup exchange with @sugutoad ! <3

♡ naruto uzumaki is your match!

★ your ideal first date sounds just like something naruto would ever dream of, honestly

★ being able to just spend some peaceful alone time with you, away from everyone, his head in your lap and also food?? perfection

★ he will definitely ask to repeat this kind of date over and over again

★ king of physical touch

★ i think it's his #1 love language, both for giving and receiving

★ 100% took you to out for ramen at least once

★ by "at least once" i mean at least once a week of course

★ we all know naruto is anything but quiet

★ however, as soon as he learns that you don't like loud noises, he will try to be a bit more considerate of that

★ imagine the looks on his friends' faces when naruto is suddenly silent?? like is he okay??

★ but in reality he's just happy, staring at you with lovey dovey expression

★ i also think he'd like to play with your hair a lot, especially since it's long

★ will ask you to teach him how to make different hairstyles

★ so that when you two are going on a date, he can do your hair!

★ will comfort you whenever you need it

★ gives you a hug, listens to you vent; whatever you need in that moment, he'll be happy to help

★ i also imagine he gives the best hugs:)

as soon as naruto returned to the village after a mission, he already set a brand new mission in his mind: he needed to find you.

you two were apart for way too long in his mind (it's been a few hours). but naruto was already missing you like crazy.

when he finally found you, walking around the village, he sneaked behind you and pulled you in a tight hug.

you immediately realized who's holding you. "welcome back" you said softly, and he gave you a small kiss on the top of your head. "i missed you sooo much." he mumbled, even though you saw each other just this morning.

soon enough, you found yourself eating ramen alongside your boyfriend, him telling you every single detail about his mission, and mentioning how amazing he did there. bonus points if you praised him too.

he didn't even notice when he started to feel sleepy. the next thing you know is his bowl being empty, his head resting on your lap as he let out a few snores.

he looked way too cute to wake him up now, so you just sat there, stroking his hair. it'll be worth it when he wakes up all flustered, realizing he fell asleep on you.

your second choice? gaara! i considered him a bit at first, but after reading further, i changed my mind and settled on naruto instead. especially after reading about your ideal partner! it could be gaara, but something just didn't feel right about this 🤔 also considered sasuke for a little second too!

a/n: thank you soo much for agreeing to do this exchange with me!! it was my first time doing a naruto matchup; it was fun! i hope you like it<3