theheirofthesharingan

[theheirofthesharingan]

Did Itachi ever dream about the moments he became the Hokage, wearing the Hokage hat and the robe, addressing the people of Konoha, while his parents stood in the crowd cheering for him, looking genuinely happy and hopeful. Sasuke jumped when he saw his brother as the Hokage, dreaming of growing up and accompanying him on the missions. There was Shisui, telling him "I told you so" because Shisui believed in him the most.

Except, it was just a dream. Itachi woke up to Kisame calling him. They both walked in silence on another Akatsuki mission. Itachi felt the pain he'd always felt, of his illness and unfulfilled dreams. It wasn't the first time had dreamed something like this, but it was the most vivid dream he ever had.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Was Izumi really the girl Itachi truly deserved?

It’s true that she was kind, gentle, understanding, and had been his friend since childhood… but I think Izumi’s innocent personality didn’t blend very well with Itachi’s. She never really tried to understand his feelings more deeply. We could say she liked him the way any other girl might — perhaps enough to suit him, but not to the extent that she truly matched him.

Still, the love story between Itachi and Izumi was beautiful and had its impact in the anime, especially that moment when he put her into his Tsukuyomi and showed her the future he couldn’t create with her…

I know Itachi doesn’t open up to just anyone, but I always wonder: what if there had been a girl in the anime who tried to understand his sorrow? Despite his difficult personality — the way he dislikes opening up or talking much about his personal thoughts — Someone with a spirit like Shisui’s: trying her utmost to support Itachi, ease his burdens, and listen to his pain… I think that would have helped him.

In other words, their bond wouldn’t be just a romantic relationship built on admiration and respect, but something deeper than that. And if she were from the Uchiha clan, would he have killed her just as he did with Izumi?

Thank you in advance ^^

Itachi and Izumi weren't in love. Yes, she must've had crush on him because he was a genius and more often than not, smarter kids get other crushing over them. At least in my country it happens a lot.

Izumi liked him but they were too little to truly know and understand the feelings of "romance". Itachi didn't care about those feelings anyway because his mind was not on that and had other matters to attend to. Maybe he liked her for the fact that she was kind to him and didn't burden him with the things like most other people did.

Still, the love story between Itachi and Izumi was beautiful

Ow, please don't say that. My heart. :(

I think more than a romantic interest, what he needed was a responsible adult. Because personally, he lacked that the most. At any point in his life, he needed a grown up he could look up to.

I also don't feel too deeply for the romance thing in Itachi's life, because it seems like if he had someone else, the love he had for Sasuke wouldn't be so special. In a better world, maybe but in the world he lived, Sasuke remained the only driving force Itachi needed to survive.

For me the romantic interest doesn't work for Itachi because he loves in the way where he can give. He wouldn't be able to accept love or care, because he either doesn't feel good enough for any kind of tenderness and he's hardwired to just give and give and not take. So if there's someone who would want him, I guess she'll have to work extra hard and it wouldn't be so easy. :(

[theheirofthesharingan]

[theheirofthesharingan]

Remember the kids in the Shinden arc who became Itachi's fans after he helped them out with that bully senior? There must have been kids at the Academy when he was a kid who must've liked him, idealised him, been in awe of his genius and talent, even if they never interacted. Then when the news of the massacre came they would have hated him, like it was expected. And when he died years later, as Konoha's Shinobi, they would have rejoiced.

The traitor was finally dead.

[theheirofthesharingan]

What grade level should vocabulary be for a good novel in your opinion? I think Stephen King said keep it at a 4th grade but I’m not sure what that is ha ha

Stephen King writes horror for a mass audience and churns out multiple books a year. He has a point, but it's specific to him and does not mean anything to every writer. Writing at a "grade level" is a hilarious concept in itself. It implies we're all writing for US school children and adults who never advanced past that. Not to mention in the US we had a popular game show for a while called "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" where adult participants were weekly bested by a panel of ten-year-olds at basic academics.

I've never considered what "level" my words should be at, I just write for the characters and narrator. Most books I love do that too, and in school I learned many big words by reading books above my supposed "reading level." Meanwhile, all my classmates who outspokenly hated reading loved "Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark" and dog-eared every copy of Goosebumps the school library had to offer. So that might explain Stephen King's philosophy. Scary books need smaller words to achieve their point, and "scary" can be understood by any audience.

Write what you want. Write characters who use small words or narrators who think in big words. If a reader thinks it's too hard to understand, they can read something easier.

[theheirofthesharingan]

One of my favorite ideas is 12 year old Sasuke finding out about Itachi’s truth. Like so many things would change if he found out while he’s still young, for him to realize that his brother does truly love him with all his heart and soul.

I feel like Sasuke would still leave the village but to find Itachi to help him, to keep him safe, and get him out of the Akatsuki.

Ahh, that sounds interesting. Sasuke learns the truth, is heartbroken that his entire life so far was was a lie, and there's a reason Itachi put him through that hell he's definitely agree and hurt, because he doesn't know what happened. He needs to hear it from Itachi's mouth. That he really did love him.

At 12, Sasuke would be far too vulnerable, being a child and having his world ripped apart from him, he would leave, without telling anyone, because he is suffering so much, but he learns Itachi suffered too.

He leaves leaves the village and fights Naruto. All the flashbacks during VOTE1 are much more gut-wrenching to him, because there's a chance that all is not lost yet it has been lost for so many years.

He finds Itachi. Or more like, Itachi saves Sasuke from Kabuto and Orochimaru, but keeps being anonymous because he thinks he needs to die and if Sasuke learns his truth things would go bad.

He's still forced to abandon his plans when Konoha, Orochimaru, and Akatsuki all start showing interest in Sasuke. Itachi then has to reveal what happened.

I don't see 12-year-old Sasuke being able to protect Itachi, but he'd be the support Itachi needed all the time. Sasuke wouldn't let that guilt fester inside of him, because Sasuke was all the hopes Itachi needed, all the motivation he needed to live and see another day.

It would be tricky for them both to leave the Akatsuki. But Sasuke will learn about Itachi's illness (yes, I hc that he developed his illness prior to his first appearance) and he could just look after Itachi.

That would be best kind of angst, because Itachi's self-loathing, Sasuke's love and care for him, and perpetual war of conscience Itachi would be going through — definitely a lot of room for delicious angst.

I'll be thinking about it a lot now.

[theheirofthesharingan]

being anti ai is making me feel like in going insane. "you asked for thoughts about your characters backstory and i put it into chat gpt for ideas". studies have proven its making people dumber. "i asked ai to generate this meal plan". its causing water shortages where its data centers are built. "ill generate some pictures for the dnd campaign". its spreading misinformation. "meta, generate an image of this guy doing something stupid". its trained off stolen images, writing, video, audio. "i was talking with my snapchat ai-" theres no way to verify what its doing with the information it collects. "youtube is impletmenting ai based age verification". my work has an entire graphics media department and has still put ai generated motivational posters up everywhere. ai playlists. ai facial verification. google ai microsoft ai meta ai snapchat ai. everyone treats it as a novelty. every treats it as a mandatory part of life. am i the only one who sees it? am i paranoid? am i going insane? jesus fucking christ. if i have to hear one more "well at least-" "but it does-" "but you can-" im about to lose it. i shouldnt have to jump through hoops to avoid the evil machine. have you no principles? no goddamn spine? am i the weird one here?

[theheirofthesharingan]

I know little about Itachi (yet), but I feel his character it’s about someone who dreamed of a better future and realized, very soon, that he was just a toy. Specially when he said, as a child, that he wanted to become a hokage. It felt like a sour joke about his life and true power. Am I wrong?

He really was a study of brokenness and lost dreams. The scene when he kills his parents and his father says he would have been a great Hokage and he'd be proud of Itachi, it was devastating in the cruelest possible way.

This kid had dreams. He looked towards a future. He wanted to live and make a peaceful world where people didn't kill each other. Being the Hokage was just a stepping stone for him, not the entire dream like Naruto had, but he wanted to rid the world of wars.

Yet none of what he hoped for ever happened.

His dream of becoming Hokage? Konoha would ensure it never happened. War happened either way. He wanted to live as Sasuke's big brother and go with him on the missions and be a good brother.

He never got any of those things.

He did his best, though. But not by being good. He remained a good Shinobi, sure, but not a good person. His core ideals never changed, but he could never apply them to his true self.

He's all about contradictions. Doesn't like violence. Had to be violent. Doesn't want to kill people. Kills people. Doesn't want wars. Becomes a part of an organization that kills people. Loves his brother more than anything and anyone can love him, yet becomes a nightmare for him.

It's like being torn constantly into pieces because your circumstances and ideals are entirely different.

No wonder he punished himself like that. Living on the medicines so he could die for his crimes. He didn't get a single moment to breathe for himself. It all makes injustice against him heartbreaking. Not just broken dreams, but everything else that follows and him accepting it because he believes he deserves it for everything he did.

He doesn't even give other people a chance to forgive him or be nice to him. That's the kind of tragedy he was. And it'll never stop being sad.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Sometimes I think the only reason that the ppl that hate Itachi are the ones that grew up genuinely believing he was evil/a villain and were angry when the truth came out, say the Kishimoto retconned Itachi and made him good at the end where as anyone with a brain can see from the get go that Itachi was good even from his very first introduction.

The hints were all there no matter how small or subtle they were but some given that they were kids refused to see it or look between those lines.

Hint #1 was the scene in the Manga where Sasuke is talking to Sakura about crying and it’s plain to see that he’s not talking about himself. It’s clear that someone was crying and

Hint: #2 is literally how Itachi treats Sasuke in any flashbacks, he’s shown to be a kind older brother, maybe a bit distance but that that’s still ready and willing to comfort Sasuke when their father is playing favorites, that “I’ll always be there for you” really doesn’t fit someone that 100% pure evil.

Hint #3 the blink and you’ll miss it pissed off expression Itachi gives Orochimaru when the snake talks about using Sasuke’s body, like he’s PISSED, you can easily tell. He’s not okay that thing is using his brother the way he is.

I can understand why kids back then wouldn’t pick up on stuff like that but to rewatching the show and rereading the manga the hints are still there and easier to spot but ppl still can’t accept that Itachi has been good from the start.

I've written about the fandom's possible reasons on why he might get more hate than the characters who did worse things than him. Here. And there were many other hints in the story about him being more than just the bad guy. More about it here.

What you say sounds valid, because when you see people hating him or pointing out only and only his flaws as if other characters are saints in the story, it reeks of stupidity and media illiteracy and hypocrisy.

They deny all the good he did because of the bad things he did, when both are the part of his character, and get mad at the fans for not hating him. Largely, it's a matter of being a hypocrite.

I found this on Instagram today, and couldn't help but see it in the context of the Naruto fandom as well. People defend their favorite characters committing crimes and judge Itachi for the crimes they're not comfortable with.

Manipulation? Bad only if Itachi does it. Madara and Obito are allowed to do it.

Violence? Bad only if Itachi does it. Every other character can do it. No worries.

Murders? Bad only if Itachi does it. Other characters don't get hate for the same.

Itachi doing the terrible things (manipulation, murders, and violence) is understandable (not justified) because there are actual, real consequences that could happen if he doesn't do them. He had no way of foreseeing the future which may or may not happen to gauze whether his actions led to severe negative consequences or things were not as bad. And in the given limited time and options, all he could do to ensure that minimum efforts bring the best outcomes necessary for the circumstances he thought were needed he did what he had to.

Yet we never see him remotely defending himself against any allegations. Murders, torture, violence — he ensures he is either punished for those or never forgiven.

People who hate Itachi seriously lack that understanding and empathy. They take a moral high ground and pretend by pointing out his wrongdoings they're doing a social service in the fandom. But when you look at their arguments, they're insanely terrible.

[theheirofthesharingan]

unfortunate news everyone i'm being told that apparently the only way to get really good at something you haven't tried before is to in fact try

[theheirofthesharingan]

(person who learned from childhood to make themself as small and unimportant as possible to avoid being a burden) yeah its okay we dont have to do my thing if you dont want i dont mind

[theheirofthesharingan]

Akatsuki-Ring-Analyse #10

Itachi Uchiha | 朱 (Shu)

1. The Hand (right)

In Eastern symbolism, the right hand embodies the yang principle: activity, control, dominance, action, visible power. It shows what someone does, how they appear, what energy they bring into the world. While the left hand conceals the soul, the right hand reveals the will to exercise power.

2. The Finger (ring finger)

In many cultures, the ring finger represents commitment, loyalty, and sacrifice, often romantic or familial love aswell. In Eastern thought, it is associated with heart energy, with connections that lie deeper than words. A ring on this finger means that the wearer has made a promise that they cannot break.

3. The Kanji  (朱 (Shu) )

"朱" means "vermillion" or "blood red," but it is not an aggressive red. It is a sacred, symbolic red. It represents bloodlines, sacrifices, secret oaths, rituals, and purity through suffering. In East Asian calligraphy, 朱 is the color of the seal that completes a work; a sign of authority and truth.

4. The Connection to Itachi

Itachi's entire life is permeated by invisible vows: To Konoha. To his brother. To what he believes is right. He shed blood to prevent more blood shedding. And he wears this ring (朱) not as a symbol of violence, but as a reminder. The right ring finger shows: Itachi is engaged to death. But not because he loves death, but because he wanted to protect life.

[theheirofthesharingan]

What's the best photos of Sasuke and itachi you like

There are way too many, but the one I am deeply in love with is this from this video. One of my favorite things to imagine is older Sasuke meeting the younger Itachi. It's either teen Sasuke meeting the pre-massacre Itachi or the adult Sasuke meeting the Akatsuki Itachi. Or just an older Sasuke meeting the younger Itachi in any scenario.

It's Sasuke flicking Itachi's forehead, telling him he's his little brother, and Itachi looks so stunned. The smirk on Sasuke's face is adorable too.

(I guess it's originally from the scene with Sakura but never mind.)

It captures an eternity. Something that can't be relived and the damage cannot be reversed. But it still happened and made the moment insanely precious.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Hi!!! I wrote smth (personal reflection & commentary) on Itachi. Lmk your thoughts, I think you’ll find it interesting 😅 https://www.tumblr.com/bonpourbruler/791510699598807040/when-im-in-a-crisis-i-used-to-distract-myself-by

I really love your words. Beautiful.

But I see now the “coldness” of Itachi’s reanimation as a facade to stay in control. For Itachi has only known himself as a weapon to be wielded by powerful people simply because he was such a gifted child and had shown promising prospects as early as 7.

This is very true.

Itachi’s sense of self-worth is dependent on “war value”— “I am a useful person as long as I have something to offer to the table.”

This too. And also because he feels responsible for the war. But he only sees himself as a thing others can use.

It was a neat insight in his character and I loved reading it. Thank you for sharing it with me. :)

[theheirofthesharingan]

I cried reading this. I want everyone else to cry too.

When Itachi left the village he’d intended for that to be the end of it. Of course, he’d meet with Jiraiya to dispense information occasionally, but he hadn’t thought he’d ever return to the village proper. The trouble was, just a few months later during his first briefing with Jiraiya, Itachi couldn’t help himself. He asked if his brother was okay. Jiraiya had just sighed, he grasped Itachi’s shoulder gently, and told him he did the right thing. The question hung in Itachi’s mind. He had to know.

That was how, less than a year after he’d slaughtered his family and reportedly betrayed the village, Itachi Uchiha found himself perched like an owl outside the window of his childhood home.

Sasuke wasn’t here. Itachi inhaled a slow breath and carefully slid the window open. He crawled inside Sasuke’s room in a quick smooth motion. The room was clean. Nothing was out of place. The bed was made perfectly.

Of course he wouldn’t stay here. Itachi smacked himself internally. But if he wasn’t here, where was he? A dark thought slinked into Itachi’s consciousness, what if sasuke was still in the hospital. He hadn’t harmed his brother but… Itachi shunshinned out of the house.

Security hadn’t changed much since he’d left. Itachi practically walked straight through the hospital in the anbu disguise he’d appropriated. No one wanted to question the hokage’s personal shadows.

He found sasuke in the psych ward after telling a nurse he was with T&I for the Uchiha boy. The sigh when Itachi opened the door was surprisingly calm. Sasuke was sleeping gently on the hospital bed. He looked peaceful. Itachi could almost block out why Sasuke was in this sterile hospital room in the first place. 

He couldn’t though, being here was too much. His red eyes were stained with blood, now they were spilling tears as well. Itachi silently placed a finger on Sasuke’s forehead. He had to leave.

With a final, agonized look at his brother’s sleeping face – memorizing the lines of grief already etching themselves too deeply for a child – Itachi moved. He stepped back into the corridor, sticking to the shadows as Anbu would. He pulled a window open and stepped onto the rooftop.

Itachi stood there for a moment, overlooking the leaf, his home.

[theheirofthesharingan]

I hear a lot of people on Reddit and other platforms calling Itachi a ‘Gary Sue’. So what do you think his flaws are? Ik you’re sick so take your time answering :)

His haters need to decide what it is they have an issue with — his flaws or lack thereof.

Half of his haters feel hopeless in humanity because he's so fucked up that they can't decide how can anyone with morals even like a character like him. On the other hand, they have the audacity to think he's a flawless Gary Stu.

According to the information of the term available on Google:

Gary Stu a male Mary Sue, a character who is unrealistically perfect and lacks meaningful flaws or weaknesses. They often dominate the story, possess excessive skills or abilities, and are rarely challenged or defeated. Essentially, they are a form of authorial wish fulfillment, where the character embodies the author's idealized self or desires.

Breaking it down further:

a character who is unrealistically perfect and lacks meaningful flaws or weaknesses.

Itachi is far from perfect. His entire story is about him developing a twisted worldview in the wake of his trauma and acting on it. And regretting it afterwards because no one in a healthy mindset would ever make those decisions he did.

How does Itachi deciding to traumatize Sasuke even remotely sound like the narrative painting him in the positive light?

What he's painted in the positive light for is his admission that he was wrong. Nothing else. Because admitting your wrongdoings requires a strength not many characters in Naruto showed. When he does, it's shown in the positive light. Because it is worth appreciating.

They often dominate the story, possess excessive skills or abilities, and are rarely challenged or defeated.

Okay, here, some of it is true. But not entirely. He is an important character and the storyline surrounding him is the most important one. But he's also associated with one of the main characters. So it's not just him, but his influence on Sasuke that dominates the story.

He possesses extraordinary skills for sure. But we know he's not the strongest character by any means. He remains undefeated and that's just it. He still hass flaw and he acts on them and learns from them.

Essentially, they are a form of authorial wish fulfillment, where the character embodies the author's idealized self or desires.

It's amazing that according to the guys on Reddit, he must be the self-insert of Kishimoto, when the man didn't even write Itachi beyond being Sasuke's brother.

Itachi is a deeply flawed, but also a powerful character. He behaves exactly like people living through the wars do. He views everything through the lenses of the violence he endured and committed, and believes surving through it is the only way to live, no matter how it is lived. That reflects in how he wants Sasuke to gain power, because that's what would help him survive through that war that Itachi never left behind and Sasuke never lived through.

Itachi had a very myopic view of the things and it doesn't get broken until he's dead and sees how badly his plans failed. Sure, he tries to fix things in his own way before that, like entrusting Sasuke with Naruto, and ensuring Sasuke doesn't have to kill his best friend to awaken his Mangekyou, he still needed to learn and let go.

I don't understand how a character with a tumultuous arc like his which is filled with tragedy, trauma, lessons, mistakes, growth, and letting go be considered a Gary Stu.

It sounds like a clownish excuse to hate him and his fans. And since it's Reddit I already don't have much hope from that website.

[theheirofthesharingan]

What do you think about the theory that Mikoto and therefore Itachi and Sasuke are descendants of Izuna Uchiha? It wouldn't be strange if he had left a son behind, considering the time period, and the resemblance between Mikoto, Izuna, and Sasuke is just too strong to be a coincidence.

🤔🤔

I always took Izuna's style being inspired from Sasuke, but it is an interesting theory, and I've heard of it before too. I personally don't feel too strongly about it though, because I don't care much about Izuna as a character.

Though what I find more interesting is the theory that maybe Itachi was Izuna in the previous life and loved his brother deeply. But that's a discussion for another day.