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mizunokami · 5 years

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Moonchild: Senju Tobirama’s albinism

Since this has been on my mind for a while and since it’s an aspect of Tobirama that I like to include in my portrayal of him, I’ve been wanting to elaborate on my take on his rather specific looks which I like to interpret as Tobirama having some form of albinism. Now I know that opinions can divert here, which is why I’m stressing that this is my headcanon and you may share it or not.

This is just an overview of headcanons and ideas that are connected to that condition. I’ve illustrated some so far and I might add more pictures in the future. :)

Health

Due to his genetic setup, Tobirama’s body can only produce very limited to no amounts of melanin. Melanin is a pigment in the skin, eyes and hair that causes their coloration and with it, helps in protecting the body from UV radiation in sunlight.

With this lack of melanin, Tobirama’s skin is highly vulnerable to sunburns. He only has to stay in sunlight for a few minutes without protection and his skin will already redden. Should he stay too long without clothing or protective ointment, he will get nasty sunburns.

As pigmentation in the eye is also important for normal vision, Tobirama’s eyesight is not very good. He does have a strong sensitivity to light and his eyes do get worse over time.

Fortunately he has an older brother who discovered his talent at healing just in time to save him from going blind. I like to think that Hashirama specifically taught himself to heal so he could help his beloved little brother.

Tobirama needs regular treatment from Hashirama (or someone else equally trained at healing his condition in specific) to keep his eyesight.

His degenerating eyesight is one reason why, as a child already, he focused on honing his fighting capabilities together with his sensing. So even if he went fully blind (e.g. after Hashirama’s death...), for fighting he could rely on his sensor abilities.

Family / Clan matters

Having been born with fair skin and white hair was not a surprise given his mother’s complexion, but when he opened his eyes for the first time and they reminded his father of the Uchihas’ feared sharingan, he decided to disregard the child and instead focus on making others.

Not that Butsuma was a bad man, but he saw early on that his second son would not be easily accepted by the Senju. Not only did his skin stick out against the tan many Senju have, but his eyes would forever remind them of their hated enemy. Perhaps it wasn’t just that for him, perhaps it was also the fact his son didn’t look like him at all.

Tobirama’s mother, Hatsumomo, had to accept her husband’s wish. She was a practical woman, and would not waste her energy on a son that Butsuma would not accept.

Hashirama though, with his four years, found his little brother to be a gift. Where the clan elders let him know that Tobirama was a child of the moon, forever cursed and hated by the sun, Hashirama spun that tale the other way around.

When Tobirama was old enough to understand he had him know that the sun simply loved the moon and all her children too much which was why it accidentally burnt their skin and hurt their eyes.

General stuff

Tobirama dislikes being called an albino, he does however accept ‘moonchild’ but only from those that love him.

There is ointment (kind of like sun cream) that he regularly puts onto his skin, allowing him to wear clothes that don’t cover all of his skin. The Senju have a good supply of this ointment and are crafty at making more of it, but should he be away for too long and run out of reserves, his skin will burn in the sun.

Hashirama always cared for his brother, and that included putting soothing aloe gel on his skin after they’d been out in the sun. Tobirama very much enjoys sitting down and holding still for someone (especially Hashirama) to put it on his skin.

More will be added if I come up with more. :)

If you enjoy the art but not the RP you can follow me on Twitter @Maelikki or my personal (art) tumblr.

#Senju Tobirama #tobirama #headcanon #hc

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