#the case of the red rose

[theteddyandardenarchives]

Second draft of Red Rose is officially done, and she's officially being sent out to friends and family to get some outside opinions 🫣🫣

[illusidy]

Artwork for the new outfit combooo ❤️ Yeah nope the twin tails still rock. I think I'll keep them. XD

[hellsite-detective]

Dear detective,

Can you find the "roses are red, that much is true, but violets are not fucking blue" post please?

Thank you!

roses are red we know that is true i must find a post on if violets are blue

to find this post i needed advice so i asked my pal Google hopin' they would be nice

so i made my request so that i could go file it askin' for posts on how violets are violet

they passed me the post that i searched so hard for and i thanked that ol' Don for the post that they harbored

i filed the post another job done i laid down my head with another case won

Post Case: Closed

[redr0sewrites]

the duality of man

[dxscmfrt]

i know this is my blog and i can post whatever tf i want but i feel kinda bad about suddenly being obsessed with my own ocs right after having quite a few people follow me (presumably) for fanart lmao. so. have these guys again. this one was started on 29 feb (although finished a little later but still oldish), i have so many other drawings of these two that i plan to share but haven't because Fear Of Being Perceived By The Wrong Audience so this is all you get for now lol

[comikadraws]

Was the curse of hatred actually a real thing? or did danzo just demonize the uchiha;s anger? idk, being murderously angry or just angry in general is a reasonable and human response to oppression and genocide.

The "Curse of Hatred" Analysis

An interesting question. The Curse of Hatred looks dumb at first glance but there are also many misconceptions surrounding it.

Since it is such a hot mess to begin with, I will try to focus mostly on the in-universe canon and lore rather than making it even more complicated by bringing in too much real-world logic and criticizing Kishimoto.

There's a bunch of rambling in the tags though.

Kishimoto's Intentions

Whenever we talk about the "Curse of Hatred" the fandom will usually apply terms such as "racism", "bigotry" and "pseudoscience" - particularly in reference to Tobirama.

Again, I don't want to bring too much irl logic into this but I feel like we need to make a clear distinction between intention and interpretation over here. "[insert character] was a racist" and "the Uchiha were justified" is a valid interpretation of the story. But at the same time, I doubt that this was ever intended by Kishimoto.

I have talked about this at length in another post of mine, in which I analyzed Kishimoto's most likely intent and how exactly this information is relevant to us with a look at authorial intent in fiction. But the TL;DR version is that Japan is not exactly very sensitized to themes of racism and the "Curse of Hatred" is never framed as racist propaganda but exposition only. The lore also lines up with Kishimoto's personal views on how grudges are responsible for war (instead of corruption or racism) and the Uchiha's curse might be a metaphor for that.

In other words, the Curse of Hatred is real in canon. Even if it's a massive red flag and deserves to be criticized.

What Is The "Curse of Hatred" Even?

I have to admit, it's been a while since the last time I watched Naruto from start to finish, so I had to use the sources listed by the wiki rather than relying on my own findings and I might be biased. Because of that, I'd prefer everybody to regard my findings as headcanon or interpretation (especially further toward the end) rather than undisputed fact.

As far as I remember, the exact wording "Curse of Hatred" is only ever used by Obito. While not using the same wording, the curse is also referenced by Itachi, Hagoromo, and Tobirama who each have their own understanding of it. Unfortunately, we have no idea where exactly this wording or concept originated and we have no idea what exactly causes the Curse of Hatred that Obito refers to.

Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura, and even Danzo, while potentially influenced by Tobirama's teachings, do not reference the Curse of Hatred at all, at least not in relation to the Uchiha Clan itself.

Now here's the first one of my findings: The Curse of Hatred is supposed to be some sort of involuntary biological or cultural inclination causing Uchihas to become consumed by hatred but it is also something voluntary - a Nindo. While the former could be considered a "curse" in the traditional sense, the latter is definitely not.

For the Nindo, it is supposed to be some sort of antithesis to the Will of Fire. Because of that, it is not limited to the Uchiha but, according to Tobirama and Obito, closely associated. As explained later on in this post, most Uchihas do not follow this Nindo.

Core aspects of the Curse of Hatred as a Nindo:

Valuing a precious few above the many

Directing your hatred at those who took away your precious few

Growing stronger from those feelings of hatred (for the Uchiha, reflected in the form of the Sharingan)

A Biological Inclination?

Now back to Tobirama's theory, due to the narrative framing, we will assume his words to be truthful for the sake of this analysis. However, I will provide links to other people's posts delving into the fantasy racism discussion.

Tobirama is racist and his theories cannot be trusted.

Tobirama is not racist and there is validity to his theories.

I myself do not completely agree with either of these, but they might be interesting reads for you. If you do not agree with either of them, please keep it to yourself and do not bother the original creators.

Tobirama's theory goes as follows:

The Uchiha feel love and hate more strongly than other individuals

The strength of the Sharingan and the Uchihas' hatred are correlated

In a fit of hatred, odds are an Uchiha will commit evil

It is nowhere mentioned that the Uchiha are more likely to feel hate - only that their hatred is worse than the average person's and puts them at risk of being swayed by hateful ideologies.

A Cultural Inclination?

Aside from Tobirama's theory, multiple characters comment on the historical origin behind the Curse of Hatred.

We are talking, of course, about Indra. Obito explains that Indra's values and his hatred (particularly what later became the Nindo of the Curse of Hatred) were passed down to his descendants - the Uchiha clan. Tobirama's exposition implies the same thing.

Tobirama states that there "used to be a thought that [...] the basis of the Uchiha clan's strength was the power of their jutsu". It is very similar to Hagorormo's description of his son.

If this is correct, that would mean that the importance placed on powerful jutsu by the Uchiha Clan does inadvertently promote hatred due to the close correlation between hatred and the Sharingan.

But then again, in the story, it is shown that many Uchiha were not particularly fond of perpetuating hate and it is also implied that to avoid hatred, they sealed their emotions away. My interpretation is that they recognized the pain that hate could cause and then took steps to avoid it.

The Reincarnation Cycle

Sticking with Indra, another explanation that is frequently brought up is Indra's and Ashura's reincarnation cycle, which has also been described as curse-like or haunting and neverending. A fate seemingly set in stone.

There is not much more to say, other than that this theory suggests that Indra's reincarnates are just naturally inclined towards lusting for power.

The True Origin

Now, here's another thing that's constantly being overlooked. Aside from Obito's exposition in chapter 462 on the Curse of Hatred Nindo, Tobirama's exposition in chapter 619 on the Uchiha's tendency to follow said Nindo, and even Hagoromo's exposition on the reincarnation cycle in chapter 670, we get a vital piece of exposition in chapter 681.

Ladies, gentlemen, and anything in between. May I introduce to you...

...the real Curse of Hatred.

Or at the very least what I believe is the real reason why the "Curse of Hatred" exists in the world of Naruto.

From the very beginning, Zetsu approached Indra to take advantage of his hatred and turn it into a tool for his own purposes. He then did that again and again. He focused on the Uchiha in particular - Either because of the previously mentioned reasons (i.e. the Uchiha / incarnates have a tendency to become obsessed with hatred and power) or because the Uchiha were otherwise easy to take advantage of / manipulate (through Hagoromo's stone tablet that was left in the Uchihas' possession, an ill reputation thanks to Indra's / their ancestors' actions, etc).

In order to achieve his goal (awakening a Rinnegan), he had to somehow combine both Indra's and Ashura's power. It is implied that for this purpose, he instigated, perpetuated, and escalated wars and conflicts between Senju and Uchiha by pitting their reincarnates against each other. But unlike the wars he caused, Zetsu went unnoticed by the history books. Basically, he kept haunting the clans like a curse.

And without a doubt, had Zetsu never been there, 99% of the Uchihas' problems would not exist - regardless of what ideals, genes, or history the Uchiha hold. Indra's declaration of war, centuries of conflict, Madara's defection, Obito losing Rin, the Kyubi attack, the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke's defection, the 4th Great Shinobi War. All of these were directly caused by Zetsu or set off by a resulting chain reaction.

You could even think this further. Assuming the Uchiha clan really came across as "cursed", perhaps Tobirama's, Obito's, Hagoromo's and everybody else's explanations were just desperate attempts to make sense of anything. They didn't know that Zetsu was pulling the strings, so perhaps they tried to explain the Uchiha Clan's history in some other way. One that made sense without that missing variable.

What is actually going on here is, of course, uncertain. There are basically no definitive explanations on the matter and right now it looks like all of the above could be true and at the same time none.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

marshmallow gang goes camping 🔥 (self indulgent blorbo art)

[shinyzango]

People on twitter started drawing this bastard in flower crowns. I said why not.

But because I'm a dumb nerd who loves hidden meanings, the flowers used are picked for specific reasons :V have fun figuring them out.

[cocolacola]

i caved. im posting this for the world to see

[cubffections]

so argenxi . . argenxi at it's finest ꒰ᐡ⸝⸝σ̴̶̷̤ . σ̴̶̷̤⸝⸝꒱꜆

[miralines]

Extremely miscellaneous ouatis headcanons

The war ended in the month of August, and post-war, a lot of parents name their kids August or variants thereof (Augusta, Augustus, Auggie, Augustine, etc). Other popular baby names post-war include variants of Cordelia after General White and the names of all the noble twenty-three.

Eaerhart (Happy in Pump Shanty) wasn't a warrior, noble, or diplomat, but a member of the HMSS Huntsman's crew. When what she had been told was a supply mission ended with her entire crew dead, she didn't have much of a choice but to pump with Snow and the others, and she joined up with them because she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Rose Reds have incredible spice tolerance. This is a side effect of them being designed to be resistant to chemical warfare-- they're less affected by capsaicin the same way they are for tear gas.

The same goes for caffeine and alcohol. It takes a lot more of any substance to affect them.

There's a guy whose mother was a commander who was killed by one of the Rose Reds in her battalion (it was well-deserved, she was abusive as hell to them). Post-war he goes viral through a spMedium article he publishes about it and ends up with a modest but sizable following of Crown loyalists who listen to his podcast.

In a lot of the Empire (based on traditions on New Constantinople which Cole's invasions spread), white is a color that marks big life occasions and transitions. This includes weddings, but also births, funerals, and other major events.

[theteddyandardenarchives]

The Case of the Red Rose is officially drafted

[nocaffeineforlevi]

Me yesterday: I bet I could learn Rose Red on piano

Rose Red: *has a forbidden note*

Me today: I bet I could chart Rose Red on MSM

[detectiveneve]

okay one very small critique I do have specifically of the post-ritual ending where Tav is aghast at how Astarion has changed, I do wish the dialogues took more into account that Astarion’s vibes prior to the ritual weren’t exactly “sweet boy” in that one specific dialogue branch — I do understand the point, emphasizing how dramatically further down he’s fallen from himself. But like. This is a guy who goes “let’s go hurt someone >:)” when you click on him. I understand it’s to drive home the emphasis and all that but let’s be real with ourselves here. yes he is sad when he can’t see the sun and also yes he giggles about violent murder. both are true

[succikko-draws]

Obito for @seoz-seoz but also bc I really needed to put him in a skirt

[solvicrafts]

Nine people I'd like to get to know better

...except I'm getting to this very late and have no idea who has or hasn't done this yet, so consider this a free-for-all for anyone wanting to do this, too!

Last song: Follow Fi (extended) - good background noise when I'm working on my websites :)

Bregan D'aerthe fan-site will be returning soon-ish btw! PROBABLY in April or May but it really depends on how much more our relocation is gonna keep getting pushed back :(

Favourite colour: I am a BIG fan of colors just in general but um...

GREEN. Let's just say 'green' and make this a bit easier.

Last tv show/movie: Oh lord... I really don't watch tv much at all. As in... I've watched 1 show in the last 3 years, which is the Loki series.

Spicy/sweet/savoury: Mostly savory with a bit of spice. I do not usually like mixing sweet and savory. There's an Indian restaurant around here that makes great tikka masala and if I could only eat ONE meal for the rest of my life it would be that.

Last game: Minecraft. I was feeling a bit cynical after corporate put up some more ~woo~ feel-good brainwashing customer service posters so I fought back by putting up signs in my spooky scary underground dungeon saying shit like "positive vibes only" and a few other things that might be too much of a giveaway for where I work so I won't share them (YET!)

Last thing i google "do people seriously believe this crap?" with absolutely no added context because that's the mood I was in

@foxboyclit thank you for tagging me in this, it was fun!