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#yes they bond over their obsession with naruto what about it
evilkitten3 · 6 months
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au where there's like a paperwork error and sasuke ends up on team eight. but no one else's placement changes. so kakashi has to deal with just naruto and sakura, who isn't filtering herself at all. or better yet, sasuke gets swapped with kiba, so kakashi has to deal with three loudmouth hotheads, one of whom can just track him down whenever he's late.
meanwhile kurenai's first lesson is homicide 101 and sasuke thinks he just hit the team jackpot
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almightyshadowchan · 1 year
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Hi, I always wondered about why do so many people neglect the trauma Naruto went through while writing fanfic, like yes Sasuke dealt with his fair share of shit but so did Naruto, for authors to write him as a character that has deep understanding of how psychological issues work is very oc in my opinion, like he never learnt how to deal with his own traumatic to begin with he just "pretends to forget and moves on "type of person, and it's even weirder when they pretend that he deals with his shit in a healthier way, if anything Sasuke at least understand where his anger comes from and while deals with it badly or in a non functional way, still understand that his anger is justified, Naruto on the other hand doesn't even question how his past shaped him as an adult, like it would be so interesting to see or read a fanfic that writes Naruto and Sasuke in this light, like Naruto bieng passive about what he went through and Sasuke loosing his shit over how uncaring he is over his own pain , sorry I was rambling lol
You're bang on about this one, Anon. Naruto's trauma is mostly glossed over even in the original work. I feel like it's because Sasuke wears his trauma as his war paint, while Naruto’s is mostly internalized. Yeah it's the source of his motivations, but once Naruto reaches his goals he's pretty much like: "Okay I'm all better now!"
Obviously that's not how trauma works in real life, but since Naruto downplays/internalizes it, it's easy to overlook as an observer (out of sight, out of mind, right?). And maybe it's not as "fun" to write about, since it's mostly on the inside and not as "colorful" as Sasuke’s.
Naruto is anxious and obsessive. He has abandonment issues. He has a savior complex. He's a walking example of "setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm." It does Naruto a disservice to ignore these parts of him, ESPECIALLY in the context of sns (since half the point is their bond was forged through shared trauma).
I think people get stuck romanticizing Naruto's role as Sasuke’s savior (and he is!), because that's largely what the original content focused on. But that's only half of the story. They both suffered, and they both saved each other. They both have lasting scars, and they both need each other in order to deal with them.
(And whether that means finding healing in each other or being an unhealthy codependent mess together, well, that depends on the writer 😉)
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ammy246 · 9 months
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While Narusasu will always be my otp, if I had to choose for Sasuke to end up with a woman, I would've picked Hinata over Sakura. Yes, it's true they never really interacted. However, there is a lot of potential.
Hinata lost Neji while Sasuke lost Itachi. The two of them could've met at the graveyard, and bonded knowing there's someone out there who understands what they are going through. Hinata was never shown to have a grudge against Sasuke for everything he has done, and she was also never one of his obsessive fangirls so he'd be more open to talking to her than other women. Hinata is the head of her clan yet is not as strong as Neji was or her younger sister Hanabi, so perhaps Sasuke would help train her. Hinata would be calm and easy to talk to, allowing Sasuke to feel comfortable and maybe even open up to her after awhile. As time passed, he'd think "what was the dope thinking ignoring a beautiful and strong woman like this?" and that's when he'd realize there was more to his feelings, and start suppressing them, because how could someone so good possibly love him? Meanwhile, Hinata would realize she was thinking about Sasuke way more than Naruto and enjoying the time she spent with him. She'd also grow protective and hate when her friends hate on him for having been a traitor, and they'd point this out to her, making her realize how much she truly loves him.
Now I'll address the elephant in the room; Naruto Uzumaki. Hinata confessed to Naruto, however he never addressed those feelings, or showed signs of returning them. Hinata felt awkward, and didn't confront him. However, Sasuke eventually convinced Naruto to stand up because he hated watching Hinata be sad over this unrequited love. Naruto admits he was never in love with Hinata and viewed her as a friend, but has feelings for Sakura, and never confessed because she still loved Sasuke. Sasuke says he does not love Sakura and convinces Naruto to consider confessing to her. Naruto agrees, and apologizes to Hinata for not being in love with her, and hopes for her to find someone who makes her happy. Hinata is sad the man she loved rejected her, but says "Ok" with a smile on her face, and tells Naruto to do the same. Sasuke is there for Hinata as she cries, and resents his best friend for making her cry, but realizes he is just as guilty for how he treated Sakura, making him resolve to finally end her delusions of falling for him. He eventually does confront Sakura, which results in her punching him in the face for all the pain he ever caused her, then running away. She later on apologizes for this, but he forgives her, because he knows he did more than enough to deserve it. Things stop being weird between them, and two eventually start becoming friends. Naruto eventually confesses to Sakura, and the two later on reveal to Sasuke and Hinata that they are together.
Hinata and Sasuke would grow closer overtime. The two would be hesitant at first; Sasuke didn't know how to love while Hinata was afraid her new love would be doomed like her previous. Sasuke felt like he didn't deserve Hinata, and Hinata was afraid to get too close. They grieved together, and started healing together. Eventually, the boundaries between them began to close. Hinata's happy someone returns her feelings while Sasuke doesn't have to keep his walls up around someone for a change. The two are inseparable, and other people are starting to notice.
Many villagers would not approve of their relationship- at least at first. For starters, Sasuke would really have to prove himself, because the Hyuuga would not want a traitor marrying into the family. They would eventually consider it, because the idea of a Hyuuga/Uchiha child would be really appealing. They will also notice how Sasuke has been a good influence on Hinata, and that she has grown stronger because of him, which redeems him in their eyes. Hinata may not marry Naruto which would've been preferable because of his Hokage status, but she married a strong and capable man who helped her become strong and confident as opposed to weak and shy like she once was and If they had any children, they would certainly become the most powerful in the village. As for the general citizens, they would not be trusting of Sasuke at first, but Hinata would help appease them, especially since the marriage would be willing and not arranged. How could Sasuke Uchiha be a monster if someone as lovable as Hinata Hyuuga loved him and was happy by his side?
The two eventually get married, and have a child. Their child grows up to be one of the most powerful ninjas the village has seen in centuries, and restores honor to the Uchiha name while leaving a good legacy behind for the Hyuuga. As parents, Hinata is kind and encouraging while Sasuke is quiet but guiding. The child would be judged for being an Uchiha but praised for his Hyuuga side, and their goal would be to make everyone accept both parts of their bloodline. Sasuke would eventually advise them on the Uchiha clans past failures and do his best to ensure his child never falls to the darkness while ensuring they had parents to come home to. Hinata would do her best to help them become a leader, and ensure they knew how to be strong when it counted most, but also kind to those around them.
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watermelonsloth · 8 months
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Sakura’s Character Motivations
I want to talk about the obsession/crush/love Sakura has towards Sasuke, specifically why I think it garners as much hate as it does in comparison to the other characters. Yes, other characters, and not just female ones. There are plenty of characters motivated by men in the Naruto series(though not women, but that’s a-whole-nother post). Naruto wants to bring Sasuke back, Sasuke wants to kill Itachi, Hinata wants to be like Naruto, Gaara wants to be like Naruto, all of team Taka is motivated by Sasuke in some way, Shikamaru wanted to kill Hidan then to carry on Asuma’s legacy, Deidara wants to fight Orochimaru and Itachi, etc. The Naruto series is about the bonds between people, so, go figure, a lot of characters are motivated by the relationships they have/had. However, people within the fandom almost exclusively talk about how Sakura is motivated by Sasuke. I’m gonna try answering why.
Sexism
To be clear, I’m not actually accusing anyone of anything here. I see a lot of people (on Tumblr) accuse the people who hate Sakura/Hinata as simply being sexist. I don’t know these people’s experiences nor do I know what part of the internet they’re on, but my experience with the male side of the Naruto fandom is them being really into power-scaling. Yes, I’ve come across the occasional objectifying joke, but those are more of the exception than the rule some of these posts may lead you to believe. Of course women can be sexist too, even towards their own gender, but those cases are also the exception. That’s all to say that people’s sexism may be a factor, but it seems to be greatly magnified by certain parts of the fandom.
Now that I’ve checked off my tangent for this post, let’s get to my point.
I think people, primarily women, hate Sakura’s love for Sasuke as a response to past experiences with sexism and poorly written female characters. A lot of women already enter male-directed series with extremely low expectations for the female cast and it trains them to be on the lookout for red flags in the female character writing. So, when the heroine we’re supposed to root for is introduced with her position in the love triangle, followed by her being a vain brat(even if she promises herself to be better), and then it’s revealed she’s motivated by her crush on a boy, a lot of women roll their eyes and pull back. Yes, being motivated by your crush at twelve is realistic. Yes, a lot of male characters in this series are also motivated by men. But the issue is over saturation. When a male character is motivated by a man, it’s just another of the many motivations a male character can have. When a female character is motivated by a man, it is a rehash of a motivation already done to death that is associated with damsel in distress heroines.
Of course many female fans don’t care about Sakura’s subplot with Sasuke, they’re sick of female characters having the men in their lives be the most important part of their character.
Lack of Depth
Something else that makes Sakura’s relationship to Sasuke stand out as easy to hate is it’s noticeable shallowness. Let’s compare it to Sasuke and Naruto’s motivations for a second:
Sasuke’s brother killed their entire clan for seemingly no reason. Because of this, he swears to avenge and restore his clan. So, for the entire series Sasuke is either motivated by killing Itachi or carrying Itachi’s legacy with him(literally represented by Amaterasu). Throughout the series his motivation is given more depth, it changes with Sasuke, it carries him through twists and turns, it asks questions about humanity and society.
Naruto grew up in social isolation that caused him to resent his home village while also craving its attention. Multiple characters are relevant to this part of his character, but Sasuke is the most important. Sasuke was one of the first people to openly acknowledge Naruto and that made him incredibly important to him. Because he’s so important, Naruto doesn’t want to see him get hurt or spiral, so Naruto does his best to prevent both. Throughout the series, this motivation stays mostly stagnant but it stays interesting because Naruto has to change his methods to both fit Sasuke’s changes in motivations and to juggle the other responsibilities he tries to take on. This relationship also asks most of the most thematically relevant questions of the series.
So, how does Sakura’s motivations hold up? What makes Sasuke so important to her? How do her motivations or methods change throughout the story? Uhhhhhh… To put it mildly, they don’t hold up(or at least for the most part, but I’ll get to that). We never get a canon reason for Sakura to “love” Sasuke. No, attraction is not love and it doesn’t explain away the lengths she goes for someone who clearly doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. No, Sasuke being a decent teammate isn’t a reason either. You don’t “fall in love” with every peer that’s decent towards you(are you trying to marry whoever pulls their weight in a group project???).
I’ve heard arguments that her lack of explicit reason is to symbolize “unconditional/pure love.” I’ve also heard that it’s following a Japanese cultural belief that love without reason is pure love. I don’t wanna shit on a whole culture but I also don’t trust SasuSaku fans that say that because 1. SasuSaku fans have lied about Japanese culture in the past to make their ship look better and 2. I have found this idea nowhere else. So I’m just gonna ignore that in this post, but feel free to site a source or explain this to me if I’m wrong.
Not giving reason behind Sakura’s “love” is just plain bad writing. It shoots her motivation in the foot before she goes to run a marathon. By not giving her motivation reason behind it, it limits the amount of people that will get invested in her character, it limits what can be done with her character, and it characterizes her as a shallow person motivated by shallow things. And I can’t imagine that Kishimoto was trying to make her a shallow character because that part of her character is never addressed in the story.
But maybe this isn’t a Sakura thing, maybe it’s a female character thing. After all, Naruto is one chapter away from being known for the bad writing of its female characters. Except the other female characters do have more complex motivations. Hinata wants to be like Naruto because she wants to overcome her inferiority complex caused by years of abuse by her family. Tsunade carries the legacy of her dead loved ones because of the expectations placed on her by the village and years of grief. Konan wants to achieve Yahiko’s dream of world peace because she grew up in an active war zone and watched him die and Nagato lose his mind trying to save her.
Sakura has no reason to have this simple of a relationship with Sasuke, especially when she’s supposed to marry him at the end.
Lack of Other Things Going On
Sakura is a main character, but she doesn’t have anything going on outside of her male teammates(at least in regards to motivations). Naruto wants to become Hokage, Sasuke wants to restore his clan, Sai is trying to understand his identity and others, Yamato is trying to build a life of his own. Sakura wants to become strong enough to not be a liability for her male teammates(a goal that is also debatable in how well it was achieved). Sure, Kakashi also doesn’t have much of anything going on outside of his teams(he wants to help Naruto achieve his goals and to move on from the tragedy of Team Minato). Except, both of his goals have depth while Sakura’s goal related to Sasuke doesn’t and her goal related to strength isn’t given enough time or attention to grow(ha ha, get it). If both, or even one with how low the bar is, did get the depth they deserve, I’m sure she’d be treated much more similarly to Kakashi by the fandom.
Failed Potential
If there was one way to describe Sakura’s character writing, it would be with “failed potential.” There’s a lot of things set up for Sakura’s character(genjutsu, Inner Sakura, her rivalry with Ino, getting bullied in the past, parallels to Kakashi’s teammate that killed herself and the Fifth Hokage who’s motivated by her grief, etc.), but most of it doesn’t get any proper pay off. Her motivations could be interesting, but they’re never given the chance to. Case and point: the Five Kage Summit arc.
Although I have a past of loathing the Five Kage Summit arc, I now find it to be one of the most interesting arcs of the Naruto series. In this arc Sakura is forced to face the fact that both Naruto and Sasuke are spirally and, despite her want to help, she hasn’t been able to do much of anything for them, just like she feared. On top of that, Sasuke now officially has a kill order on him, meaning that she now has to choose between her feelings for him and her loyalty to her village. And what makes it more interesting: she chooses the village! Since the bell test, the series has been building up the idea of prioritizing friends over orders and Kakashi was trying to ingrain that in his students and Sakura subverts that expectation! And it’s not because she’s insensitive, it’s because she’s empathetic. She asks the question that should’ve been asked a long time ago: “What right does she and Naruto have to prioritize Sasuke over everyone else?” She realizes that Sasuke has moved on to hurting people other than herself and Naruto and those people didn’t choose to take on that pain like them. In the Five Kage Summit arc almost all of team 7 fuck up in some major way, but it’s Naruto who’s being the selfish one in this regard. He’s choosing Sasuke’s life over justice for his victims and he’s making that decision without treating it with the nuance it deserves(yes he’s trying to stop the cycle of pain but he isn’t taking the need for justice into account). But Sakura is taking the needs of the victims into account and she’s trying to prevent Sasuke from hurting himself and others any more.
Then, when she tries to go through with it, she chokes. People shit on her for this, but it’s realistic. Since the Land of Waves arc, the series has been trying to say that shinobi aren’t tools, they’re human beings. And human beings can’t just shut off their feelings for others even when they think it’s the right thing to do.
Sakura is acting more in character than ever before and she hasn’t been this interesting since the Chunin Exams! This is the Sakura we could’ve have gotten! This is the Sakura Kishimoto is capable of writing!
This is why I and at least a few others have such mixed feelings towards Sakura. We like what we see when we get glimpses of what she could’ve been, but we know that’s not what she is.
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arvandus · 10 months
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Fun fact about me: I missed the whole Wattpad era and all that because I had a literal 10 year hiatus on fanfiction writing (and overall anime consumption).  I missed the Naruto era and all else that went down during that time between 2006-2016.
So I went from the Sailor Moon/Gundam Wing days on ff.net to tumblr years later, starting out with Loki and then shifting to BNHA (and the rest is history).
So when I think of fan interaction with my writing content, I’m coming from a place where on FF.net I had 15 devoted readers for my one multichapter Gundam Wing fanfic, and I was happy with that.  It’s just interesting to see the shift in fandom culture now, and it’s why I’ve never really worried much about numbers and all that.  The popularity of a post depends a LOT on the popularity of that character/fandom, so there are some writers out there that are making phenomenal content that doesn’t ever really take off because the target audience is so small compared to other, much bigger fandoms/characters.
In short, if you feel like your tumblr numbers are low, or you’re not getting enough notes or whatnot, try not to stress it too much. At its core, fandom is more about interaction/bonding over shared niche interests than it should be a popularity contest. I’d rather have 3-4 people that interact with my content consistently, providing comments in the reblogs and/or the comments section, than I’d rather have X number of likes/reblogs whatever. That may not be the case for others, but this is what works for me. Quality over quantity; and quantity doesn’t always equal quality. On the flip side, if you’re a consumer of fan-created content (e.g., a reader), then PLEASE interact with us. Scream in the tags, key smash in the comments.  We just want to know that we’re not alone in our obsession, and when we share our writings and crazy thoughts on here, that’s us extending the olive branch to connect.  By the simple nature of posting we are already saying that yes, it’s okay to interact with us. Not in an egocentric “I need attention” sort of way, but as someone looking for equals, a safe space to nerd out without judgement or guilt.
Also, don’t misunderstand my statement that numbers aren’t important = reblogs aren’t important.  That’s not the case at all. The very nature of Tumblr requires reblogs to be a part of the fandom experience to allow for maximum connection, maximum quality.  If you choose not to reblog, understand that you’re essentially inhibiting the reach of that content that you love so much, and therefore limiting the level of connection that creator is able to have/develop with others. And THAT is what makes creators want to leave the platform, because no one wants to scream into a void.  If creators didn’t care about interactions, then we wouldn’t even bother posting in these online communities.
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lovelynarusasu · 2 years
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Sasuke with Naruto: NARUTO you're such an usuratonkachi but you cannot die no I will die and sacrifice my ambitions for you but you have to live and make your dreams come true!! yet I clearly care way too much about you so I need to kill you Naruto because you're my closest bond but oh I cannot kill you!!! three years have passed now and oh my god is that Naruto over there let me lean on him real quick but NARUTO why are you so obsessed with me????? wait I need to talk to you in another dimension and share extra long looks with you and read your heart NARUTO!!!! you're my one and only that's why I need to kill you but before that I need to protect you NARUTO soulmate be careful!!!! Im the only one allowed to kill you because I fucking love you NARUTO let me cut our bond once and for all!!!!!!!! alright I admit it I've lost but what does friend mean to you Naruto? no but like seriously Naruto? oh am I actually crying and laughing because NARUTO told me he'll always love me??? fuck yes I am
Sasuke with Sakura: oh. is that you Sakura. do you happen to know where Naruto is
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etherealxgenie · 3 years
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Why Adrien is Better off Gay/Bi/Pan || Miraculous, Why?
(Before I begin, note that this is my opinion over the topic and am no way am bashing anyone’s love for the ship and/or character. I respect who and what you like, therefore expect the same courtesy. However, if this is something you cannot handle, please click the back button as this will be a heavily discussed topic. No flames allowed. Other than that, enjoy.)
I’m afraid I have to address the elephant in the room. Of how the hetero pairings for Adrien are about as real as Twilight. Sometimes it makes me wonder if Thomas Astruc looked at the ships in the end of Naruto and though… makes sense? That’s a long shot convo for another day.
I’m going to take the time in this chat to discuss why each female who has an interest in Adrien has no chance of having a healthy relationship with him and to why male characters have better chances! Let’s look at the girls one by once.
Lila: Let’s start with the obvious. Lila is clearly not interested in Adrien for his personality, but merely for the good looks and fame. She really hasn’t demonstrated any behavior that she cares for him genuinely and hangs off of him constantly as a possession. It’s clear Lila sets her eyes on Adrien because he’s famous, popular and wants him as a trophy husband. Lila is pretty toxic on her own to go so far as to sneak in and stalk Adrien. What’s worse is that she now has Gabriel’s permission to do so. If he were to be paired with Lila, it’ll break him and be nothing but hell.
Chloe: While it shows itself that Adrien has only platonic feelings for Chloe, she still hopes for something more. Adrien cares deeply for Chloe because he was her first friend, though it’s obvious Chloe wants more. Though Chloe has a mean streak and a possessive behavior where she tends to be cruel to people aside from Adrien and expects to get away with it every time. With the behavior she gets from being spoiled and trying to live up to her mother, would it be farfetched to say a future marriage between these two would be like Audrey/Andre? I don’t think so. Plus, she forgets his birthday. What kind of friend does that?
Kagami: Not going to lie, out of all the pairs, Kagami does have the most potential to be paired with Adrien. She meets him through fencing, they get time to know each other and they slowly start to grow as friend. However, that just about ends when it comes to such as Kagami is another girl who takes it a step too far. Like Chloe, Kagami follows too much in her mother’s footsteps and also is overly aggressive and competitive. She looks to quickly claim Adrien because they’re ‘perfect’, which is a word Adrien hates a lot under his façade. She’s gets possessive around other girls near Adrien and moves too quickly, also forcing Adrien to make his decisions as if he doesn’t have the time to decide.
And last…
Marinette: Marinette… in a way is a small combination of the girls combine. No doubt she’s sweet, shy and tries help at times when matters. BUT she’s also obsessive, possessive, and hypocritical. Things a potential yandere usually becomes. She invades Adrien’s privacy, stalks him, and steals from him more so than Lila. She doesn’t mind crossing boundaries as far as doing illegal acts such as breaking into his locker, copying his schedule? How even. She also tried to confess to Adrien on the day his mother disappeared/died which is a time for MOURNING and COMFORT! She also has no problems calling other people out on this behavior, yet she does the same things. Hypocrisy is never a good color to wear.
Not to mention she only is ‘in love’ with one side of him. As Ladybug, which is important, she tends to put him down as Chat Noir, doesn’t give him proper respect in public and doesn’t include him with important matters, especially with Master Fu. She treats him as his sidekick rather than his partner and leaves him in the dark. She thinks of herself as Batman and him Robin. If you read the comics or watch some of DC shows, you know how well THAT goes. Marinette cannot love Adrien without loving and respecting him as Adrien AND Chat.
Granted, she’s not the only girl who treats Chat badly, but she is supposed to be his ‘partner’ so… yeah.
For these girls it wouldn’t make sense. Not to mention at least once, the girls tend to make Adrien uncomfortable holding him on his arm and such. They don’t act like they care of Adrien’s well being at all (except for Kagami sometimes), but make him to be some prized to be won. Forced shipping is toxic shipping.
I can gladly blame the poor writing on the show, but pretty much it did it’s damage enough for me to say I cannot or will not romantically ship these girls with Adrien. If there were potential girls, girls like Rose, Juleka heck even Alix, but it’s safe to say that’s out of the question.
You know who DOES have the more potential, though? The boys.
Yes. As we take a chance to look at the friends he bonds with, its easy to say Adrien is more comfortable around the guys. The party before it was crashed, the video game tournament, these are just a few that aren’t shown often but do show more of Adrien’s comfort level. What guys you ask?
A perfect example for a ‘friends to lover’ romance would be Nino for example. He starts off subtly and gets to know Adrien from the start, not showing any animosity after the misunderstanding with Adrien and his childhood friend, Marinette. Nino also goes through lengths to help Adrien as far as to stand up to Gabriel to give Adrien a friggin’ birthday party! And got akumatized for it. Adrien also shows to go through the same lengths to help Nino hook up with Marinette so far as to set him up alone in the zoo. Nino is sweet, caring and he works well with Chat.
Another potential love interest (my personal OTP), Luka. From the get-go of how they met from a trip accident, Luka greets Adrien with kindness and welcomes him to the group in Captain Hardrock. In ‘Desperada’, that same friendliness still holds as Luka trust Adrien with his guitar, his most prize possession. Luka also does his best to keep Adrien safe and hidden away as Adrien returns the favor to save Luka from getting hit. Don’t push me about the locker scene because there are MULTITUDINOUS ways of how I can make so many ‘In the closet’ references. Also, that wink Chat gave, and the look Luka had? Need I say more? Good. And let’s not forget the icing on the cake and keep in mind to remember:
Adrien chose Luka to wield the Snake miraculous. ADRIEN, not ladybug, chose LUKA. Not to mention the fact, as Viperion, he was eager to work with Chat the moment they met and has nothing but good working with him as a teammate. That’s a bonus.
Many fans of the show try to depict them as rivals for Marinette, but only Luka shows that interest in which Marinette doesn’t really accept because of her obsession with Adrien. To make Adrien ‘jealous’ is really out of character, but another topic I’ll cover.
Truthfully, it would be an interesting twist of all the girls pushed up against Adrien, he would turn around and go for the cute guitarist or starts talking about how cute the guy is! Tell me that Degrassi twist wouldn’t add some good drama.
Overall, the show demonstrates so far that most of the girls for Adrien doesn’t really possess healthy qualities for Adrien to have a good future. The boys give him a more comfortable understanding a gentle nature for a kid like Adrien. You could pair him up with Ivan or Max and Adrien would STILL have more chemistry than them. Note that he’s sheltered, and we have no clue off what other mannerism he was raised on or how truly strict Gabriel and Nathalie are. Hell, we don’t even know how it was like when Emilie was even around.
But for any relationship to work, friendship before romance. Slow but steady at the pace both parties can go. People including Adrien, need that.
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dai-nana-han-agenda · 3 years
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HIIIII!! I really realllly love reading your tags on your retweets! It's one of my favorite things to see while scrolling down my TL. I was wondering if you have any of your fave TEAM 7 gen fics you could recommend? 💖💕 preferably no ships and just something that focuses on their dynamic and growing solidarity with each other!
HELLO! thank you so much omfg 💖 i’m so so sorry it took me so long to respond, i had the answer all drafted out and ready to go and then my dumb ass CLOSED THE TAB and i lost everything 😭 i had to rewrite the post which took a while FJDFSJ but it’s here now!! i really hope these are fics you haven’t seen/read before (omfg could you imagine if you’ve read every fic on this list i’d feel so bad 😭) but yeah!! i hope this helps!! 💖
(also side note, your icon is SO cute, i always see it in my notifs but i never got the chance to tell you until now LOLOL)
MULTI-CHAPTER
komorebi by tomorrowsrain ─ okay, i know you said preferably no ships (we’re already off to a rocky start FDJFKSJ) but this is literally my favorite team 7 fic ever, it’s impossible for me not to include it. it’s kakaobi, and team 7 doesn’t come in until ch. 3 of the first part, but i highly HIGHLY recommend it. seriously, this is my absolute favorite characterization of the members of team 7 & their dynamic, the author does such a good job of building their relationship from teammates to family. i will say the first chapter is a little disorienting (it’s in first person POV, which i usually tend to avoid when it comes to fanfiction, but the author does it so well and it does shift straight back to third person POV for the rest of the chapters). the author is currently writing the chuunin exams arc and it’s literally everything i wanted. 
tides by edenfalling ─ omg, this was one of the first team 7 fics i ever read waaay back on ff.net when i was like, 12 years old. unlike most of the fics on this list, this is set in shippuden, but it’s very much AU/canon-divergent. good character dynamics with team 7 learning how to work together again<3
how to make a team by Pleasedial123 ─ basically, kakashi gets his head out of his ass and actually invests time into strengthening the bonds between the members of team 7. don’t get me wrong, i absolutely LOVE canon!kakashi & i know he did his best (he was traumatized + not ready to be a teacher, i get it)... plus, if he was a good teacher in canon, there literally wouldn’t have been a plot. basically this is me saying fuck kishimoto because LOOK at what we could’ve had!! 
and so, the sensei supports his students by ihopethelightwillshineupon ─ this is really more kakashi-centric and it focuses more on his relationship with each of his students than on the dynamic between naruto, sasuke, and sakura (but kakashi is technically part of team 7 so it still counts!!)
ONE-SHOTS
for warmth by magnificentbirb ─ a scene i wish we would’ve gotten in canon.... like you’re telling me there are literally HOURS of filler episodes and we couldn’t get ONE soft, genin team 7 moment?? kishimoto & studio pierrot, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers. 
believing in heroes by guycecil ─ another moment i wish we got in canon because like... can we talk about how, in their genin days, these kids are 12 years old. are you fucking kidding me. also, now that i’m skimming over the fic, this may be more sakura-centric than team 7 centric, but i’d still highly recommend!
the pretty one by theformerone ─ it’s tagged as ot3, but i promise there are no ships! like maaaybe if you squint? but i honestly read it as platonic. one of my favorite fics ever tbh. answers the question that i’ve been thinking about since the manga was released all those years ago: what could have happened if kakashi was too late?
take the fight from the kid by theformerone ─ someone tell me why these 12 year old kids aren’t allowed to process anything on screen.... like, right after the wave arc, everything just went back to normal. like okay, yes, naruto had that moment to grieve for zabuza + haku, but i really just wanted to see a shift in the team 7 dynamics and we never really got it. so take this beautifully written fic instead!! god bless fanfiction. 
pray my name by Chancy_Lurking ─ ok so this is a fic that i found today and i’m OBSESSED. i do want to warn you, since you asked for no ships: it’s not tagged as ot3, but it could be if you squint. or, you could argue that team 7 is just very affectionate/very codependent. either way, right after i finished reading it, all i wanted to do was curl up in my bed and cry (but like, in a good way). 
just killing time by edenfalling ─ a very short but cute little one-shot that i also just found today! same author as tides, so if you read that first and you like their work, you should check this one out! (or vice versa)
did you inherit a sickness? did you blame god? by hotgirl ─ i literally recommend this fic to anyone and everyone because like?? it doesn’t exactly match what you’re looking for but it does have team 7 moments (heads up: it’s implied sns). this is honestly one of the best sasuke characterizations i’ve ever read. 10/10 would recommend.
of bruised brains and dog baths by sweetpotatopie ─ okay so these last three fics might not be exactly what you’re looking for but i’m adding them if/when you’re in the mood for cute, feel-good team 7 one-shots. this one is just a happy, post-canon piece where they actually get along<3
another day in paradise by ohthelinsanity ─ modern au where sakura and naruto bully sasuke, sakura and sasuke bully naruto, and kakashi is weird as shit. the friendship between naruto/sasuke/sakura that i wish i got in canon. hints of past itasaku and implied inosaku, but it’s very much a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
gotta see! finally know! kakashi-sensei’s true face! by Lolistar92 ─ my FAVORITE face reveal fic EVER. episode 101 from naruto is the only filler that deserves rights (and maybe the curry arc because i love team gai, the ramen episode, and all the episodes with konoha 11. but mostly ep 101.)
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dayseternal-blog · 3 years
Note
Bunny-Hoodlum's eblogs of your posts actually got me wondering: what's your top 5 fanfic?
TUMBLR DESERVES TO KNOW, DAYS
HMMM!! 
After thinking about this ask for probably too long, I think I have different Top 5s, like within different categories.  And like bunny, my faves are influenced a lot by who was writing when I first entered the NaruHina fanfiction world because they made the most impact on me in developing my own style.
I’m sorry, this is super long, like, I have a problem.
🙌🏼My Top 5: Best Characterization, Plot, & World🙌🏼
All of the following just set the bar really high when it comes to creating a living, breathing main character.  The storylines are daring and fresh.  Side characters are treated with careful attention.  Each chapter brings something important and new.  There are no wasted words.  The world the characters live in is vibrant and necessary.  Basically, these stories deliver in a way that I could never hope to even try to emulate.
Btw, these all have a strong or healthy dose of AnNGgSssT.
💯 “Tainted and Possessed” by cafrye017 - Demons/Angels AU. Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Rated E for a lot of things.  Adventure, Drama, Action, Eventual Romance. - Naruto, enslaved by the Sanctified for his Forsaken blood all his life, learns that he holds a power great enough to one day change the system, but he’s not on this journey alone.
💯 “Common Side Effects” by @katarinahime & “Medicated” by @szajnie - Crime/Modern AU. Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Rated E for a lot of things.  Drama, Action, Romance. - Naruto and Hinata, in a struggling relationship, must confront the pain inside before they can love each other.
💯 “Powerless” by @bunny-hoodlum - Mystery/Crime Modern AU.  Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Rated E for a lot of things.  Drama, Action, Eventual Romance. - His family’s past can’t be taken at face-value, and it comes clawing back to hurt him in ways that are out of his control.  DELETED FIC.
💯 “A Place in the Sun” by ihaveastorminme - Canon-Divergent AU. Multi-chapter, Incomplete Forever. Rated E.  Action, Romance. - Naruto realizes that he’s not enough to love her.  He’s not enough to save her, either.
💯 “Stolen Beginnings” by @utsus - Mystery/Crime Modern AU. Long One-Shot/Incomplete. Rated M.  Drama, Action, Eventual Romance (?). - Naruto always covers his tracks, not realizing he’s leading Hinata down the wrong trail.
Yeah.  Those five are the strongest I’ve ever read in technical composition.  The characters have depth, the plot is gripping, and the setting is alive.
❤️My Top 5: I Just Love Them So Much❤️
These next five are ones I’ve reread and practically studied!  I’ve taken pieces of these stories and pocketed them as essential to how I write characters, scene transitions, descriptions of smut, emotions of falling in love, etc.!  If these writers have ever read my stuff, they’ll be like, hey 😠 is she copying me?😠.  And the answer is, yes 🙇🏻‍♀️, yes I am 🙇🏻‍♀️.
These 5 stories align best with what I personally like, so basically, these are all the foundations of how I attempt to write:
💖 “Unless the World Were to End” & its successor “21 Days” by @bunny-hoodlum - Modern AU.  One-Shot & Multi-chapter, Incomplete.  Rated E for smutttt.  Drama, Romance. - Anonymous internet buddies decide to meet up IRL and give each other their first times.
💖 “Serenity Prayer” by @katarinahime - Modern AU.  Multi-chapter, Incomplete.  Rated E for a lot of things.  Drama, Romance. - When their fairytale endings smash to ugly pieces, Hinata and Naruto help put each other back together.
💖 “Love and Water” by nineetaaaillled - Canon-Divergent AU.  Multi-chapter, Incomplete.  Rated E for smut.  Drama, Romance. - The hardest part isn’t acknowledging that he’s in love, it’s believing that he can be loved.
💖 “Made in Heights” by @utsus - Spy AU. Long One-Shot/Incomplete.  Rated E for smut.  Drama, Action, Romance. - Hinata is definitely skilled enough to infiltrate the highly secured Uchiha party and steal sensitive intel that will save lives.  It’s just a matter of making it out alive.
💖 “Lady Usagi” by @mmmbuttery - Canon-Divergent AU. One-shot.  Rated G.  Drama, Romance. - A quiet girl working in an inn meets a noisy young lord, but all is not as it seems.
No matter how many times I read these, they never lose their shine.  I can always fangirl over those 5 (6) favorites.
🥵My Top 5: Favorite Smut Stories🥵
because yes, this definitely needs its own category, it’s very important.  I would put “Unless the World Were to End” in here, but also that’s just a general fave, so I won’t include that one on this list.  My favorite porn with plot, here we gooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😳 “Side Effects” by Cheating Death - Modern AU. Multi-chapter, Complete.  You can easily skip the rape and non-con without compromising the plot, the author warns you before it happens. - When Naruto and Hinata decide to participate in a high-paying clinical study, they wind up signing up for much more than they bargained for.
😳 “Money Shot” by callmesenorita - Modern AU. Multi-chapter, Complete. - When Naruto meets Hinata again, he can’t help comparing her to his favorite cam girl. 
😳 “Out With the Old” by agitosgirl - BDSM Modern AU. Two-Shot, Complete. - A poor submissive meets a new Dominant to take care of her.
😳 “Shinobi Passions” by HoneyWriter78 - Canon-Divergent AU. Multi-Chapter, Incomplete. - When a mission takes a surprising turn for the worse, only Naruto can help her through the night...
😳 “Ghost (touch)” by @linisen - Soulmates/Modern AU. One-shot. - A soulmate AU where you feel where the other person is touching their body and thinking about you - like a ghost touch.
Hmm maybe honorable mentions would be “Timer: Naruto Edition” by funkychicken67, “Differences” by EroPrincess, “Secrets of the Hidden Leaf” by Sessakag (wait, does that one even have a plot), and “I’m in Here” by @bunny-hoodlum (hmmm actually that’s definitely porn without plot lol).  There are tons of really good NaruHina smut fics, so this was hard.
✨My Top 5: Best of 2020✨
The stories of this past year that really, really made me look forward to checking the AO3 update list!!  Like, there were a ton of new stories last year, and I didn’t get to read a lot of them, and especially for the long multi-chapter ones, I just didn’t have the emotional capacity to start them.  But out of what I did get to read, the following were the most memorable and left an impression on me (pretending to exclude @bunny-hoodlum​’s “Territorial”, because that’s just starting to feel unfair of me if she’s in every list lollllllll).
💫 “Still Falling for You” series, especially “August” and “October” by @chloelapomme - Various AU based on the NaruHina2020 Prompts. One-shots and Multi-chapters, Mostly Complete. Various Ratings and Genres. - August: Despite differences in cultures, appearances, and current occupations, Naruto will always feel at home with Hinata.  October: Hinata has an unhealthy obsession.  Naruto does, too...
💫 “A fate worse than death” & “A risky bet” by Caelestia - ABO Canon Universe. Two-Shot, Complete. Rated E. Romance. - Improperly socialized for his inner Alpha as a child, Naruto struggles with the intimacy of his mating bond.
💫 “Harbinger of Light” by @mysterious-crimson-lotus - Canon-Divergent AU. Multi-chapter, Complete. Rated T. Action, Romance. - Hinata is his light in the middle of the war.
💫 “As Luck Would Have It” by @vegebulsoup - Modern AU. Multi-chapter, Complete. Rated M. Romance. - Two strangers wake up naked together in Las Vegas with no memory of the night before.
💫 “Come and Find Me When the Weather is Fine” by @badluckbrebis - Modern AU. Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Rated T. Drama, Romance. - When she comes back for a wedding, years later after moving abroad, Hinata catches Naruto’s attention...but is he ready for a relationship?
AHHHHH I’M FINALLY SATISFIED WITH MY ANSWER.  This took me sooooo long to put together because I kept rereading 🥺 all the stories I clicked on 🥺.  Time to go to bed.
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tuliharja · 3 years
Text
Phase tag game
Thank you so much for tagging me @callmeasyouwantidk!
Make a timeline of you life using phases that you have gone through and put a small description (if needed). (no need to include the age)
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Book phase -
I would take anywhere a book and read it if I was bored or didn't have anything else to do. I still read books, but not any more so obsessive manner.
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Tokyo Mew mew phase -
It was basically the anime that helped me to make online friends as we had a mutual interest that helped us to connect. Lots of fun and fandom bonding.
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Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle -
It basically lasted as long as the main series.
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KuroFai (from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle) phase -
TRC ship that most people shipped. The angst and hurt/comfort potential were massive and their dynamics were fun to write.
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Making AMVs phase -
I used to do AMVs that were full song lengths, but because it was hard to find material to do those and use music, it kind of died down. I still do AMVs, but much shorter ones.
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HaruYuki & Hatori&Ayame (from Fruits Basket) phase -
At one point I had read all fics concerning these couples in FF and commented on each fic. I'm not kidding. At one point there wasn't a single fic I hadn't read about them.
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Bleach phase -
One, single fanfic changed it all for me and I'm extremely grateful for it. Before that one fic I was just a casual reader of Bleach manga and didn't really pay that much attention to it but after that? I basically did research everything about it.
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Otome games phase -
One summer, I was obsessed with what came to Otome games. My phone was full of different otome games that I would play for hours while looking up from online how to get certain end.
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Naruto founders phase -
The main cast never got my attention, but Founders? Yes. So much mystery behind those and so many possibilities.
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MadaTobi phase -
I got really invested in this couple for a while.
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Webtoons/manhwas phase -
I would seek new one day after day and binge read one series like a madwoman. I still read those unfinished series, but much lax manner.
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Genshin Impact phase -
Technically, I suppose I'm still going through it as I still play the game and enjoy things about it, but at the beginning, I was extremely hyped over it and would have loved to talk your ears off it.
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Bleach phase ver.2 -
I think this will be my newest, renewed obsession as Bleach is back, baby.
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There have probably been more phases in my life, but these are the ones I could think of at the moment. Also, some of these phases actually overlap with other ones...
Tagging: @nobodysperfect2133, @the-con-she-called-conscience, @lemongrass-and-cedarwood, @snakesofindia-sursesaji, @littleeyesofpallas, @1dsoul1, @queenbonded and anyone else who wants to do this!
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torivikachu · 3 years
Text
okay I promised myself I'll get to this topic one day, so here's my venting about Orochimaru in the whole SNS dynamics and in general.
first of all -
there is a Russian expression that is roughly translated like "the crook-backed can only be changed by grave" and well that's like literally the case since he just made a fucking 180° spin after his revival /okay mb a 179° one he still is kinda creepy in some cute way /
so I wanna start from the beginning.
when Orochimaru was first introduced he was sort of an ultimate villain, a disgusting and merciless and heartless and just the epitome of fucking evil, you know?
I mean his tongue? dude that was the creepiest thing I saw by the age of 12 /and probably till my current age of proud 22 / and I already discovered some pretty heavy hentai shit by then /aaand showed to my 6 yo sister....talk about childhood trauma / so I was ready to pretty much everything BUT THAT
and his ripping off faces and reviving the dead and killing his sensei and all those experiments on humans .... he is THE CREEPIEST villain in Naruto. I mean it.
this is why seeing him on Boruto all cute and caring parent / even though his son is a homunculus / really throws me off.
but lets return to a moment he marked Sasuke.
first of all, when Naruto sees them battle, he charges right in and goes all kyuubi to protect Sasuke and encourages him / even if in a somehow mocking naruto-isch way - well what do you want a guy never had anybody encourage him before how is he supposed to know this stuff / - so Naruto already sees Orochimaru as a threat to Sasuke.
if you remember, Naruto was unconscious and didn't know about the mark since Sasuke asked Sakura not to tell him. so he just went on believing it was over and honestly thought he and Sasuke were okay / which they actually were until Itachi was back in town /
and then when the 4 of Sound find Sasuke and convince him to turn to Orochimaru, even though Naruto saw they were falling apart, he felt betrayed. and twice as much, because it was OROCHIMARU Sasuke turned to. fucking Orochimaru, who Sasuke believed to be better suited for helping him / even though it meant he'd have to sacrifice his body / then anybody in Konoha, even with his hands not functional Orochimaru was his choice and that must have hurt Naruto bad.
he chose to believe Sasuke was abducted, but then he caught up to him and discovered that he was not, that Sasuke was leaving him for the damn snake and the worry the betrayal the devastation he felt ...
it could have broken him, but he chose to fight. he channeled all of this heartbreak and pain into motivation. and that is exactly what I admire about Naruto.
so back to Sasuke, who made the hardest choice of his life / yet / and comes to Orochimaru. he is drained, physically and emotionally, but he enters the life of constant fear and being on guard, because he can't trust the snake - his intentions of taking over his body were clear as a day.
I am not sure if Orochimaru would make any sexual advances... I think he is into many nasty things pedophilia being one of them, but I like to believe he never did anything to Sasuke. he might have watched or examined certain parts way too intently but I think fucking a body that was going to be his would be too much even for him. but you never know with those psychos.
anyway, he admired Sasuke. way too much. and he felt like a collector owning the best precious thing in the word. and yes for him it was like that - he felt like he owned Sasuke and he liked it. he enjoyed it.
pretty sure Sasuke didn't like that and his rebellious and disrespectful way of speaking with Orochimaru sure shows that.
but Orochimaru never let it phase him. I think he got a bit dillusional after his fight with Sarutobi - whether it was his encounter with the deadly technic that chopped some of his soul or the aftermath... he got more careless and overconfident and he really must have believed he owned Sasuke since he didn't see it coming when the latter attacked him.
so, even if Sasuke did feel something towards Orochimaru, it was disgust, pity and maybe a little respect for all the power the guy harnested. there is a chance he developed some ill-motivated teacher/student bond with him / since the guy was a bit of a batshit crazy parody on a parental figure for three years for him / but it wasn't that strong.
but Naruto didn't know that. all data he posessed was
1. Orochimaru has a weird obsession with Sasuke
2. Sasuke went to Orochimaru
of course Naruto was fucking jelous of Orochimaru! no wonder he went kyuubi after Orochimaru flaunted his ownership of Sasuke on that bridge and almost destroyed a forest in his wrath while Orochimaru kept sliding out of bodies one after another and just enjoying the display of anger.
and when Sasuke killed Orochimaru, I bet Naruto thought that was it! nnnnice! Naruto vs. Orochimaru 1:0! Love wins!
uh huh.
then Sasuke goes on rampage with his band of Orochimaru pets / I think Naruto didn't like that aswell /
but then Sasuke suddenly needs an advice.
guess who he turns to?
a fucking Orochimaru!!!!!
but Naruto didn't know that, he was busy saving the world?? but then Sasuke and his messed up team of hokages and Konoha enemies join them and Naruto had to sense Orochimaru, but I guees he was too happy to see Sasuke to pay much attention to it.
and then Orochimaru is redeemed and can continiou his research / though outside of Konoha - I am pretty much Naruto still doesn't exactly like the guy / and Sasuke keeps using his help for his missions so Naruto HAS to put up with that. he does everything he can, he even lets a homunculus made by Orochimaru / no offense to Mizuki I like Mizuki / enter the academy, because he wants to be a good person and good hokage and not let bad feelings interfere with his ruling...
and Orochimaru agreed to lay low...
and I am pretty sure Sasuke didn't really see the problem and it annoys him when Naruto would bring it up. he doesn't consider Orochimaru to be better than Naruto, it was just a better choice back then and he is a good ally if you think about it.
and I am both relieved and disappointed. I mean I like the fact that he could be redeemed but he was such a strong villain... he had a purpose, he had some messed up principles, he was such a catalyst in SNS dynamics...
but good old days are over, so we have to live in a era of Boruto, where nothing makes sense anymore.
peace
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char-lotteral · 3 years
Note
Spill the tea. Don't worry about it being long XD
This has been in my ask box for a while now, and I keep forgetting to respond to some of my anons, so im sorry.... x))
This'll be a little debunk between Nart's feelings for Sak and Hina but first, LISTEN HERE
This isn't a breeding ground for discourse or shipping wars or whatever tf negativity you have going on, I just wanna ramble my thoughts. This is an innocent post and if you disagree with it, well--i really dont care :DD
Anw, here are my thoughts as to how different Naruto's feelings are for Sakura and Hinata
I just randomly thought of making this longass essay because apparently, there's been another "war" over on narutwt with NS vs. NH and ohmyGODDDDD, WHO CARESSSSS. SHUT THE FUCK UPPP PLEASEEE.
this shit should've ended in shippuden, I hate it here
If youre an nh fan, please I beg of you, let ppl ship ns if they want to, its really not that hard. It's so embarrassing seeing nh fans go rogue whenever they see an ns related post. Like please stop being rude to ns shippers, let ppl ship their drawings, who tf cares. Ur embarrassing the fandom ://
Okay so i think i wanna start off with how Nart fell for Sakura. They were kids. Kindergartners even. He saw Sakura as the "pretty, smart, popular girl" and like the attention deprived child that he is, he chose he wanted to be with her. It was a CRUSH. An innocent and childish one at that.
Did he love her? Yes. Was he in love with her? Debatable tbh. He was infatuated with her. It's a normal infatuation vs. real love type of shit.
I mean, he was too busy to even focus on himself and with the whole Sauce drama, so i doubt he even had the time to even sort out his own romantic feelings. I'm not even sure if his feelings for Sakura were really that deep rooted as what alot of fans claim it to be.
BECAUSE BECAUSE GETTHIS. If Naruto was really that in love with Sak, why didn't he introduce him to Minato when he was about to depart? If he was really that confident for his feelings for Sakura, then why didn't he share those thoughts to one the most essential things his mother imparted to him?
The only thing similar between Sakura and Kushina are their hot headedness. Even kishi himself admitted that scene with the girlfriend thingy was a herring. Even freaking Tsunade admitted that if Naruto were to be with someone as willful as him, they'd be butting heads all the time.
Do they have a special bond? Yes. Would they work out together as a couple? Yeah, as a bickering married one
And another thing, remember the fake confession scene? Sakura said "I love you" to Naruto. She said those words that Naruto himself has been "dying" to hear, so why didn't he get all ecstatic?
Because he knew she was lying!
Exactly!! He knew she was lying. He knew he'd never have a chance with her. He knew the extent of her feelings for Sasuke and respected it. He didn't act on it, he joked around with dates and what not but there was never any impactful romantic scene between them. Oh and shouldn't romantic scene have i dunno; mutual romance?
Theyre "the most developed ship" but Sakura has established mulitiple times that she was only in love with Sasuke. Narusaku was just as one sided as the other ships in shippuden but some of you aren't ready for that concersation.
Naruto would get rejected every damn minute or at every "moment" they had. How is that mutual??
They just had the upper hand because theyre mcs and they had the most screentime, let's be real
And what I absolutely hate the most about how people perceive Naruto's feelings for Sakura is that they see him as this pathetically in love, obsessed weirdo who only chose Hinata as a rebound or a second choice.
NEWS FLASH
PEOPLE MOVE ON. IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS
It's not rocket science, it's not some philosophical shit, it's healthy and normal and realistic.
Istg some diehard shippers are too detached from reality that they can't even grasp the concept of moving on from a crush.
They act as if Naruto didn't give a flying fuck for Hinata in the entire series or that he barely knew her name. I mean c'mon, it's self explanatory¿¿¿ He moved on. Same with Ino with Sasuke, they both moved on.
How👏is👏it👏that👏hard👏to👏understand
And I'd also like to compare the scenes with Naruto being rejected by Sakura wiith Naruto being rejected by Hinata.
Naruto gets rejected by Sakura - he gets beaten up - He laughs it off- He moves on
Naruto gets rejected by Hinata - crippling depression - looks like shit - loses all motivation - fights for the girl
Yeah, I'll leave that to you
I also see some say that Naruto needed a partner who could keep him in line and reprimand him for the stupid stuff he does.
Pft, like what? A mom?
What Naruto needs, as someone brash and acts on impulse time to time, is someone patient and understanding and considerate. Everything he didn't have growing up. He needs a partner, not someone who berates him for being all goofy and for being himself. Hinata in a way is kinda like a neutralizer.
Also, I think its important to remember that there was a TWO YEAR TIME SKIP AFTER THE WAR WHERE NARUTO AND HINATA CANONICALLY GREW CLOSER.
Man, none of this would have been up for discussion if Kishi just knew how to develop fucking romance between het couples. If we're being honest, sns would've made the most sense. Im not even kidding. Sns would've the only endgame couple that'd make sense. And this is coming from a person who loves NH xD
thus ends my ramblings :DD
I regret ever delving into the world of Naruto. Now I can't fucking escape
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avenger-hawk · 4 years
Note
Hi, can you talk a little bit about naruto’s dark, controlling and possessive side? Or if you already wrote about it, link me the post? Thankss
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I mentioned something here, here and probably there is smth in this tag. 
And like I said countless times since you guys just don’t care about other ppl, if you write n*ruto’s name entirely it will show up in the search pages and I am fed up with raging SN/SN.S/Nar stans bitching at me.
Sorry (nope, not sorry) to break someone’s bubble but Nar is not a happy ball of sunshine and he’s not selfless. 
He was neglected as a child, totally abandoned to himself with some money each month and an apartment he was supposed to clean and manage all alone. He was shunned or treated like sh*t by villagers and classmates alike, his only ‘parent’ was Iruka who couldn’t be with him always, and his idea of friendship, family, everything was twisted, cause try living all by yourself since you’re a child and you have no idea of why ppl hate you and avoid you. Of course he saw the Hokage as this big authority figure that everyone respects and ‘loves’ in his child mind, and of course he wanted to be Hokage so that ppl would finally respect and ‘love’ him. His idea of love is obviously screwed, and it’s a mix of respect, aknowledgement, deference.
He doesn’t have a sense of equality because he never learned what equality is. He was below everyone else being shunned and hated, and his role model was above everyone else, where he aspired to be.
He started to make friends and he’s all about comrades, yes, like all shounen protagonists. But it’s always him reaching out to them, him protecting them, him changing their minds about something (or about himself), him obtaining their admiration and respect from an initial situation of being the opposite, being considered a good for nothing and a loser.
Sasuke is considered the opposite since the beginning, he’s a good student and shinobi, he’s left all alone too and nothing is shown of his alone life but from the little things we see he learned to manage himself and the house better, he didn’t care about people probably talking behind his back about the massacre, and he obtained a good reputation in the academy, so the story starts with him in a different situation. And Nar considers him a rival, he’s clearly jealous of the ‘success’ he has, not realizing that he’s alone too. Because Nar is not empathic at all, and his child self is even less, being a child with clear difficulties in processing things, which makes sense since he had no education basically. He just sees external signs of adjustment and ‘success’ which is what he wants, so he ‘hates’ Sasuke and he provokes him all the time. They become rivals, then comrades (and rivals), then friends, but it’s always Sasuke who, despite his aloof personality, shows positive signs, first hand feeding him, then defending him against Sak*ra, then shielding him and many other little things while Nar is always overreacting or doing questionable, not to say bad things (like attacking him and tying him up to meet Sak*ra) to him.
Nar’s lack of empathy can be seen after the inn scene, cause instead of being I won’t even say supportive but, not irritating, he mocks Sasuke who just woke up after Tsukuyomi, provoking him so that Sasuke, already (re)traumatized and feeling worthless towards both his brother and Naru, challenges him. Right after waking up from a coma, basically. And ofc Nar doesn’t hold back.
When Sasuke leaves in part 1 Nar is enraged, ofc, and he reacts violently, even their fight is very violent, and ofc it is being a fight, but Nar is really really brutal, feral I’d say, and possessive, trying to bring him back. I don’t remember their fight well but if I’m not mistaken that’s when he first threatens Sasuke to break all his bones?
Then Sasuke leaves and Nar starts his own “sad boy missing his ‘best friend’ drama” and all the fandom is uwu look at him so sensitive, but he’s being abstract there, while when he faces Sasuke direcly or indirectly he’s different, more direct and not sentimental. As expected of a badass fighter, cause that’s what he is, that’s what everyone is in the story. when in part 2 Orochimaru calls Sasuke ‘his’ he goes berserk, and his search for Sasuke becomes even more obsessive, to the point of claiming that if they’ll fight they’ll both die and theyll be ok in the afterlife...this is kinda poetic but also creepy af. It’s stalker material tbh. Also because in that moment Sasuke just ‘killed’ Danzo, he’s exhausted, visibly blind, especially after fighting Kakashi, whose fight clearly took his toll on him (He avoided Sak*ra’s pathetic attempt to kill him but that was easy). Nar has all his energies and he’s stronger physically anyway having more stamina and kyuubi’s chakra. But he’s ready to fight him, even tho he gives a speech because ofc. too bad that Sasuke doesn’t fall for it cause he has his own personality and his own goals, which for Nar is unacceptable cause everyone must be on his side, especially the one he wants.
Sasuke remains on his own side until Itachi does his thing and bla bla bla, Itachi first is brougth close to Nar which was interesting to watch but also a huge narrative move to bring Sasuke to his side as well, getting to fight alongside his beloved brother and wanting to understand him and his ideal of protecting Konoha thus summoning Orochimaru, the 4 Hokage and deciding to join the battlefield. Then they fight together and even then it’s Sasuke who accepts Naru’s lead, not the other way round because Nar would never obey anyone who’s not himself especially he wouldn’t obey someone he wants to possess, metaphorically (but if you like also literally).
When the battle is over and their battle starts he shows his true colors. He’s no longer the one wanting to die with his ‘friend’, he’s a leader wanting Sasuke, his ‘friend’ who in his eyes took the wrong road, to get back to the village, because Konoha is HIS concept of happiness. In fact, Sasuke in Konoha is Nar’s concept of happiness. And to obtain it he uses every method, not just a good ol’ fight, the more brutal the better. In fact their last fight has a different vibe, it’s Sasuke the one who’s more stressed and emotional, he’s drained, completely, cause he wants his revolution and he wants to change the world to make him like Itachi dreamed of, and he needs to eliminate Nar for it, he doesn’t want to eliminate him but he needs to and he clearly explains him why in the beginning of the fight. The way he fights is desperate.
Nar instead is calm, his emotions are under control, he fights with his hands but also with mind techniques because he manipulates Sasuke all the time: he tells him that he didn’t understand his own brother (implying that he did it better. That he, who interacted with Edo Tensei Itachi for a couple of hours, understands him better than the brother who basically worships him!), that everything he believes is wrong, that he knows what’s best for him (which is interestingly exactly what he wanted in life, what a coincidence). And it works, cause Sasuke admits his own defeat, and, later, he is further brainwashed and guilt tripped, jailed and submitted until he’s a perfect Konoha dog. Even in his Shinden episodes he’s away but loyal and guilt ridden for his actions. He became Naru’s watchdog, his most loyal servant. Not his equal. He fulfilled Naru’s wish for him.
And, in case someone’s still not enraged because Hawk how dare you shit on their amazing bond?  shocking huh? yeah I write what I think and I am very interested in their bond actually, since it’s a dark unhealthy one, completely unbalanced, just like I’m interested in Nar very much when he’s not idealized, cause he’s much more complex and interesting with his dark side.
Every episode shows Nar’s lack of care and empathy, his inner violence and selfishness, but they also are justified somehow. I can understand why, since his childhood made him self-centered and lacking the ability to interact with people on an equal basis, basically he never grew up for real, he acted like a grown up person but he remained a child inside, a possessive child who wants something and then discards it. And it shows whenever he ‘saves’ someone with his TnJ, this someone becomes his ‘friend’, loyal to him forever, and he moves on to ‘save’ someone else, all the while having Sasuke as his ultimate goal. Too bad that after he saves him too, he discards him as well. Not as much as the other cause Sasuke is special to him, but not as an equal either. I won’t mention the jail moment while Naru is basking in his popularity cause some don’t see it as canon, but when in the manga Sasuke is leaving Konoha and stumbles on Nar he says he didn’t think the other would come greet him. This shows how their relationship isn’t so amazing, since one would imagine that Nar would be 24/7 with Sasuke after he comes back.
So, all these moments show a clear picture of him as a possessive and selfish person who only ‘cares’ about ppl because he wants to be ‘loved’ (=admired and respected and aknowledged as the best) by said ppl, and whose ‘love’ for Sasuke is possessive and obsessive to an extreme point, a desire to be aknowledged and respected but also to submit the one whom he most ‘loves’, because there is no equality in the way Nar sees himself and the rest of the world, including ‘his’ ‘best friend’.
(btw if someone disagrees, keep it for yourself, I don’t give a damn about discussing with you)
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tarithenurse · 3 years
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Nightingale - 19
Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: Yeah...this gets darker with some violence, a torture-ish situation, angst, sadness. A/N: Gotten to 347 of Shippuuden, btw. What a ride! As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag!
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Ch. 19
Her restraints haven't been altered, so Uguisu sits straight in the chair – the only display of freedom being a leg daintily slung over the other, allowing a foot to tap along in the air to an unheard melody as if she's bored. There is no fear in her face, just mild curiosity as she regards the towering man who has turned to her now. Gloved fingers move nimbly to release the gag.
"How are you feeling, Minami-kun?"
If she's surprised at the question and the (relatively) kind voice, she doesn't show it. "Much better, thank you. I don't believe I've slept this well since I was a teen."
"I suppose not..." Ibiki concedes, "but how come you managed to tonight? I would expect someone with your claimed experiences would have nightmares."
"Normally, yes. I guess I was too exhausted even to dream." The interrogator has begun circling the chair where she sits so her gaze lands on Kakashi instead.
"It can be a relief to finally tell the truth."
She nods. "Might also have helped that establishing the seal burned through all my chakra."
"The seal...yes." Pausing, he lets a hand brush against her shoulder, and while Kakashi holds his breath in anticipation, the woman merely tenses. "Do you feel...different with the seal?"
Uguisu purses her lips slightly as if in deep thought. "Well, apart from the physical effect...I'm not sure. It might be psychological that I feel free...like a looming shadow has been chased away...it probably is...but it's the best metaphor."
"You mentioned a physical effect?"
"It throbs, hurts. Not the worst I've ever felt but enough to be annoying." It’s impossible to tell she’s experiencing any discomfort when looking at her.
"Last night, you told us how the Curse Mark would be triggered if you used too much of your chakra or kekkei genkai." She nods at his words. "Is that the same now?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Why not?"
The little bit Kakashi knows about the woman, he can easily imagine that she's biting a sarcastic comment back rather than the calm reply she gives: "It seemed unwise to do anything without proper approval first...and I'm afraid to try."
"Explain."
"...which part?"
"The latter," Ibiki prompts less patiently but adds, "if you'd be so kind."
"When the mark activates, it's as if Orochimaru takes over mind and body and I...don't...want that."
Kakashi fears for one short moment that the woman will be asked to continue explaining, to retell in gruelling details what exactly she has suffered through at the hands of Konoha's enemy, and maybe that was Ibiki's plan as he bends over her to scrutinize her eyes and face because to the careful observer there's a subtle change in his stance.
He signals Inoichi who brings out a backpack together with a bundle containing the gear she’d carried last night.
“Is this yours?” The man with the long ponytail lifts the backpack.
“It is.”
“What is in it?” He places it on the end of the table that’s free.
A shrug. “I suppose that depends if anything has been added or removed since last I packed it.” Undoubtedly, Uguisu doesn’t trust the men very much. “There should be some tools, weapons, and clothing of mine. You’d also find a book from the Academy’s Library, a necklace, an alarm clock, someone’s favourite cup...washed, I might add...ehm, an also-washed sock, a photograph, and a pretty stone.”
Every item mentioned is procured from the depths of the luggage and lined up on the table.
Morino takes over again: “You have stolen these things, true?”
“Is it still considered stealing if the intention from the beginning is to return them?”
“Then why take them at all?”
A grim smile dances across the woman’s face. “The note explained why I borrowed the book. The rest? Proof that I could’ve killed but chose not to. I’m not the enemy.”
A smile is tugging at Kakashi’s lips behind the black fabric of the collar as he sees the interrogator momentarily at a loss for words – the skills he has honed over the years are telling him the explanation is true or at least not detectable as a lie.
"Then tell me," he recovers, "what you can do with your skill. Why was it so important to Orochimaru?"
"Because it can force people to go against their very nature." Only silence answers her. "One order from me, worded carefully, and the person will have no choice but to follow it to their best of their abilities. They will want to. Like an obsession or addiction nagging their mind until they give in to it because it's the only thing that matters to them. Orochimaru sought to use it to gain access to restricted places or during interrogations if a prisoner refused to tell him what he wanted. At the time, it wasn't necessary for the sake of carrying out murders but I'm certain he considered that as an option too," she sighs, "and probably more."
"Show us."
The onlookers were already silent but the hush that falls in the room makes it feel as though all air has been sucked away – a feeling that's intensified when Uguisu stares at the man with open mouth.
"Show? Are you...you don't mean that," she gasps, "or are...you volunteering?"
"Hm," Kakashi knows something's brewing when the interrogator begins to smile, "not me, no. However I'd recommend you demonstrate your skill on someone who has stated their devotion to you." Yeah, that makes sense. "Kakashi."
Even before Ibiki has finished saying his name, the jōnin in question has pushed to his feet. If Asuma had been there, he’d probably look at the white-haired friend in a way which would mean something along the lines of "told you so". The only Sarutobi, the old Hokage, shifts in his seat but doesn't object, allowing the addition to the people in the arena.
"Order him to follow the first order I give him."
Just do it. Kakashi nods to the woman, hoping to banish the fear from the doe-like eyes as she shifts her attention between the two men. I got nothing to hide.
“I must be able to sign,” she protests.
Without hesitation, the tall man in charge cuts her bonds and even allows her time to rub some life into hands and fingers before he motions towards the test-bunny. Is she hesitating? Just as Kakashi begins to wonder, Uguisu’s hands flies through a series of signs.
"Kakashi..."
Everything changes. The surroundings seem to fade away along with the people in it – even the shadow that once was Ibiki is unable to take form or speak audibly as it leans closer to Uguisu. Uguisu. She's washed out too, but her voice rings clear, somehow guiding him as she speaks again and he just knows that anything she says is important. Follow the order Ibiki gives me. It's a strange thing to say, but if that's what she wants then he'll happily do it and as he nods, the man in question begins to stand out clearer in the blurred world.
"Strangle her until she passes out."
A part of Kakashi tries to object, but his body moves on its own accord until he's leaning over her because this is what she wanted. She told him to follow the order. So he does.
The skin is soft and smooth under his fingers, the little hairs in the neck obediently bend under the pressure and it tickles a memory of having touched the blue strands before but in a different way. Above his hands the usually pretty face is distorted: mouth open, eyes watering and huge. She's afraid? But she wanted me to do this. It doesn't make sense, really, but he clings on to the one thing he knows for sure. Do as told. Her eyes roll backwards and the whites contrast the flushed skin. Almost there. Almost done as you wanted. Something wet lands on her face. Drops of something unimportant. She's resisting a bit now, but it's easy to avoid the instinctual flailing. Almost. And then she stops. The haze of the world lifts as Kakashi's hands fall to his sides and he realizes what he has done.
It takes four seconds to lower her onto the floor.
It takes five before he can hear the heartbeat, sluggish and faint.
It feels like an infinity before she gasps and coughs, each intake of breath shuddering through her body. It nearly breaks his heart to feel Uguisu stiffen as he pulls her into his lap.
"Truth..." Ibiki’s standing with his arms crossed, glaring down at the woman and smiling lazily as he takes in how she reacts even in her ally's arms. "Gotta admit I'm impressed it actually worked...maybe you're not completely useless after all."
"You wanna...see...usefulness?" she wheezes, pushing off of Kakashi and onto her feet. She's shaking, whether from the underlying trauma or the near death experience itself is unclear.
The man who ordered the attack strolls around the arena. "You didn't even try to fight him."
"Why should I...an order cannot be annulled..." Slender fingers tentatively stroke the angry marks left behind on her throat, making Kakashi’s gut tighten.
"Aï...The only thing I've seen so far is a scared woman crying and snivelling."
Something ignites within Kakashi almost as if he had been the target of the insult. But if I butt in...no...He knows the senior well enough to understand that this is part of the tactic, one move of many in an elaborate game of chess between him and the blue-haired girl.
Maybe she knows it too, at least she doesn't hide a tiny smile. "Fight back." Now her smile has grown into a full grin. "Perhaps a duel? Unless it's beneath you to fight a snivelling, scared girl like me? Hmm?"
"No involvement of others."
"Hm," she agrees.
Getting the hint, her white-haired friend retreats to his seat from before, only now realizing that his mask is wet.
Below, Uguisu is equipping the gear she normally wears and meticulously checks the contents of each pouch and sheath. Her hands are shaking. The sound of her breathing still has a slight creaking to it. Maybe for that reason, the scarred man is allowing her to take her time. He wants to see how capable she is.
Ibiki squares off at one side of the sandy floor. "The opponent must yield."
Again, she hums in agreement, taking her own place opposite of him. "Before we start...you might want to have a look in the book," she sweetly offers, "first page."
"Hah! Such a low trick won't work."
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Not that anyone asked (but seriously I’d LOVE for someone to talk to me about PokeSpe (just no spoilers past vol 13)) but since I made an offhand remark about my Top 5 favorite characters, it occurred to me that I actually DO have approximately 5 top favorite characters, and I’m procrastinating on work, so I’m gonna ramble
**just in case, note that a lot of this will revolve around my childhood experience with gender in a “I’m AFAB (and present-day me still identifies as a cis girl) but I don’t fit in with what media is telling me girls are like” way, a brief childhood feeling of homophobia, and probably general TMI about my opinions and emotions throughout my life, haha
1. Yellow
Okay, so, I was a little kid when Pokemon Adventures started coming out in English, back when manga was released as single-issue monthly comic books instead of complete volumes.  So I was rereading the same chapters over and over while anxiously awaiting the rest of the story (and wound up missing a bunch of issues anyway)
I enjoyed the RGB arc, I thought it was fun, but I didn’t LOVE the series until Yellow showed up.  At that age my ideal crush was “a cute boy my age who would be nice to me” and Yellow was presented to the reader as a cute boy my age who was sweet and kind and gentle, but also good in a fight, as all shounen protags must be.  Extra bonus points because they had just a few physically weak Pokémon and tried to fight battles in a way that minimized damage to their own and the opponent’s Pokémon, which meant they fought in a particularly smart and clever way.  And I was considered “smart” for being good at school, so being a SMART cute “boy” my age who would be nice to me, Yellow was PERFECT.  I mean, I loved the arc in general because of the clever battles, and the mystery of what had happened to Red, why these people were after Pikachu, why Yellow was so secretive about themself and their mission, etc was really engaging.  But also I adored Yellow as a character and partly in a “I wonder if ‘he’ would like me??” kind of way X’D  So to my tiny child self who didn’t even know it was possible to like-like someone of the same gender (because I hadn’t read Cardcaptor Sakura yet XD ), the reveal that Yellow was a “girl” was devastating—I had to cross out floating hearts on at least one drawing of us holding hands (scandalous!) and, while kind of stunned and shaken for a while, decided that what I’d felt all along was a deep, intense desire to be friends X’D (which probably wasn’t too far from the truth since I was pre-puberty and later turned out to be asexual)
(Also note that I never got the RGB issue that had the chapter where Red helps a little ‘girl’ capture a Rattata—later proven to be Yellow’s backstory—so the gender reveal really came out of nowhere for me.)
But anyways, I still love Yellow as a character for all the above reasons, without the crush aspects because I’m way older than them now.
Also when I reread the series ten years ago, I finally realized “wait, aside from surprising the reader, there’s no real plot reason for Yellow to pretend to be a ‘boy’ except that Green told ‘her’ to—so why did ‘she’ do it?”...and because at that time I didn’t even know that nonbinary genders existed, I decided it was cus they had low self-esteem and pretending to be a different person gave them courage (the same reading I had for Mulan at the time).  These days I’m more inclined to “yeah, I think Yellow’s nonbinary,” but that other interpretation was deeply relatable to me and only made me love Yellow even more.
2. Bill
Bill’s definitely a character I’ve grown to love more as an adult, since I’ve gone from seeing myself as “a protagonist doing cool things” to “a side character just living their life who hopefully gets to do something once in a while.”  But as a kid and now, I like him mostly for the slapstick and goofy expressions and the (early chapters Viz translations) outrageous accent  X’D  My brain desperately craves endorphins and the best way to get em is through a good laugh.
But also, I liked that he was introduced as a goofy character-of-the-week who got into ridiculous trouble and had to be rescued, but then kept being brought back, was slowly built up to be the “smart sidekick who explains things,” and eventually got to the point where he was participating in big battles (the Yellow finale on Cerise Island).  I rambled about this in the tags of another post, but I liked that he was a character who was “weak” without being “useless.”  As a kid who was good at school, I was obsessed with being good at things and had developed a black-and-white view of the world where either you were “strong/smart” or “weak/stupid��� to the point that failing or just being not-so-good at anything was devastating (it still kind of is), because that meant I was actually “weak/stupid” when I was supposed to be “strong/smart.”  So it was kind of awesome that this guy who kept getting into trouble and having to be rescued—and didn’t even want to BE part of the final battle—managed to hold his own and get through it and help out instead of being a burden that dragged everyone down.  Seriously, he used a MAGIKARP effectively—the Pokémon everyone makes fun of for being “useless” and he used its one attack to save his life!
(Bonus points for all this happening in contrast to my devastating childhood experience of stanning The One Girl Character in every popular shounen series, waiting desperately for her to get to do something in battle, and then her one spotlight episode revolved around her struggling because she was so weak...not only was that actually happening to a boy for once, it was actually happening in a more satisfying/empowering way :’D )
3. Gold
I have extremely specific tastes when it comes to “the dumb shounen/action movie protag,” because as a kid I hated it when the main character was “dumb” because I was “smart” (re: good at school) and people who were “dumb” shouldn’t deserve to be the main character and have all the cool powers and save the world and stuff.  As an adult, I hate it when male characters are dumb and/or jerks but it’s treated as fine or even sexy(??) and the other characters fawn over them, and I generally still kind of hate it when characters who are dumb and/or jerks get the big important role when there’s a female character RIGHT THERE who’s more competent (and OF COURSE she has to wind up falling in love with him)
But anyway, I have extremely specific tastes, and Gold is it  X’D  He’s the perfect combination of “unshakably confident in his own stupid/egotistic views” and “treated as annoying and/or comic relief by the rest of the cast” with a bonus dash of actually being really clever in battle (so my inner child goes “Ah yes, technically, he is ’smart,’ and therefore...worthwhile“)  Making me laugh while also impressing me is like the key to my heart.
4. Crystal
I’m too lazy to look it up, but when Viz was publishing Pokemon Adventures as monthly comics, they must have switched to publishing it as trade paperbacks only and/or had a huge gap between the end of Yellow and the start of GSC, because for YEARS I’d thought Yellow was the end of the series and was shocked the first time I saw later volumes.  (My dad was buying us the monthly issues at the local comic store, and either they wouldn’t have ordered the trade paperbacks or he wouldn’t have thought to check those shelves.)
Anyway, that’s a long lead-in to the statement of “Crystal would automatically be my #1 or #2 if I’d read her arc as a kid.”  She’s a girl, she wears pants, she’s EXTREMELY smart (genius-level “book-smarts” about every Pokémon’s behaviors and weaknesses PLUS being clever in a battle), was tough as nails (she KICKED her Pokéballs!!), had no interest in romance or her appearance, AND had a short arc about losing her confidence and training herself back up to full power.  I would have KILLED for a character like that when I was a little girl being told that “girls don’t like action shows like Dragon Ball Z” (but I was a girl and I did???) and that girls were supposed to be pretty and obsessed with fashion and dating, and that girls were never the main character of action series, just side characters who either did nothing or got one chance to do something and were pathetically weak (see above, and/or Sakura’s fight against Ino (Naruto), those couple filler eps where Téa/Anzu played Duel Monsters (Yu-Gi-Oh), Videl getting pummeled by Spopovich (DBZ), etc).
So anyway, she’s awesome, she’s exactly the type of character I would’ve loved as a kid.  The only reason she’s behind Gold here is because at my age, “makes me laugh” > “the kind of main character I used to wish I could be”
5. Green (the girl trainer...I’m just too loyal to the Viz version to call her “Blue”...)
I’m trying not to rehash the same “I’m a girl but none of the girls in my shows/comics are like me!” childhood woes over and over, haha, but as much as I always enjoyed Green for being extremely clever and outsmarting the boys and being funny when she did so, she always lost points with me for being “pretty” and flirting to get her way, because that put her in the box of “girls are supposed to be pretty and desired by boys and obsessed with their appearance and romance” that was so foreign and disheartening to me as a kid.
But her staredown with Ho-oh at the end of the GSC arc TOTALLY got me.  As a sad adult with anxiety, watching characters who are absolutely terrified overcome their fear, watching characters who are completely beaten down struggle back to their feet and keep fighting, is like my ultimate power fantasy.  That sequence genuinely had me in tears.
Also her bond with Silver is super precious, especially since that’s like the first time in the series we’ve seen her be genuinely emotional and vulnerable with someone instead of teasing or manipulating them.
Honorable mention: Sapphire
I haven’t gotten up to R/S in my reread yet, and I only read that arc once over like a weekend ten years ago, but I’m pretty sure she’s gonna be a Top Fave cus again there’s that “I'm not like other girls!” childhood feel  (last time I’m saying it, I promise)
It’s a story arc where one protag wants to fight the gyms and the other protag wants to win the beauty contests, but the one who wants to fight the gyms is the girl!!  And she’s the typical “dumb but extremely good at fighting” shounen protag but she’s the girl!!  She’s feral and illiterate and a total tomboy and wins all her fights and she’s a GIRL!!!!
--
Anyway, those are my kids and my dude and my probably way-too-personal reasons why.  If you wanna reblog, reply, or send an ask about your own faves...please
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conflictedmess95 · 4 years
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My take over what I think about NaruHina. (This will be long as I've been a passionate supporter of NaruHina since elementary and have gotten back into the show recently, so apologies in advance.)
I used to think the comment in The Last about Naruto not telling the difference between love for ramen and love for another was pretty dumb and meant so little. It rubbed me the wrong way. But then I watched the movie in a more forgiving light and remembered that ramen is practically the center of Naruto's universe. He would've married a cup of ramen if he had no love interests. Naruto eats it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; he's a frequent customer at Ichiraku because of his obsession. It's almost obvious Naruto attaches friendly and familial bonds to ramen because Teuchi fed him since he was practically a toddler. Ramen is Naruto's first connection to (and subconcious awareness of) love in his life.
For Naruto to equate his strong feelings towards someone to his love for ramen can make sense; it has less to do with him being dense and more to do with how he views strong feelings towards someone. Not once does Naruto come out and say he outright loves Iruka or Teuchi and Ayame or anybody he has deep feelings for who has taken care of him. But it's very obvious he does love them all. Even though I did think the "one-upping Sasuke" thing was odd, the ramen thing does symbolize his "love" for Sakura was superficial. (Personally, I always thought NaruSaku was played for laughs and never taken seriously by Kishimoto, but that's my opinion 🤷🏽‍♀️)
Sakura, in canon but in the novel, said Naruto and Hinata hung out together constantly after the war. Naruto's feelings probably started right after the war, but we never get to see that. Saying Naruto had no development with Hinata simply because we don't see the two years they spent together is like saying Naruto didn't train with Jiraiya in those 2 ½ years away from the village. And maybe saying Naruto's confession came from nowhere (no matter how much this confession leaves a bad taste in my mouth) is like saying Naruto's new jutsus after coming back to the Leaf came out of nowhere. Maybe there was supposed to be development before the events of the movie.
Back to my original point about the ramen, Naruto was around Hinata constantly after the war. He thought Hinata thought of him as a friend but her feelings were more genuine and he subconsciously picks up on that, driving him closer to her (after the war). He himself couldn't answer her confession (because it would've been too soon in the first place so they gave him two whole freaking years to confess) and couldn't realize what he felt for her during these two years. Instead, he equated his feelings to ramen which he has such an obsession over. Was he equating Hinata's feelings to ramen? I don't think so. With Naruto's heavy insecurities (I mean, they show up all throughout the show and make sense with how he grew up), he probably thought Hinata really did only love him as a friend should.
But regardless of how Hinata actually felt, he still got closer to her. Naruto, over the years, learned what it meant to be loved by friends and people he saw as family. Slowly but surely he understood what it meant to love his friends because they loved him back (almost all of them loved him as no more than a friend). Naruto gravitated to Hinata, despite thinking her love was platonic (as almost all the relationships he had), because her love was somehow "different" to him. All he knew was that he "obsessed" over her in the way he obsessed over ramen; he continued to see her after the war. More so than he did before the war. The movie focused more on the end result rather than the necessary buildup over the two years where he most likely developed his romantic feelings for Hinata. This part of their relationship is left to the imagination.
Let me move to the original series leading up to the movie to further explain where I'm getting at:
Should we question why Hinata never did anything and needed to confess again like her confession before meant nothing to Naruto? Yes, we should. Because it leads us to the answer that Naruto couldn't interpret someone having actual feelings for him (whether people hate that answer or not). It's one thing to see Sakura pour her heart over Sasuke, and another thing to see a good friend genuinely confess to him. Wanting to die to protect Naruto? Isn't that enough to prove love? Neji also sacrificed himself. Many people in the village sacrificed themselves during the Pein invasion and during the war; Hinata sacrificing herself for him made him think her confession was platonic. No one had ever said those words to him before and that threw him into a rage when Pein seemingly killed her. I don't think this was romantic, per se, but it showed he cared deeply for someone many anti-NaruHina people consider to be just a side character (as IF Shino or Tenten would spark this rage; people only say this because they think Hinata had absolutely no impact on Naruto). I mean, Naruto came to the battlefield finding out Kakashi was dead and didn't fly into a rage about it. Out of all the possible characters, Kishimoto chose Hinata to make Naruto go off the rails. Sakura had a better chance against Pein, but Kishimoto had her stay put, perhaps for medical reasons — but she could've left that to Katsuyu to go help a friend that she was secretly in love with (according to NaruSaku fans).
This began as a much clearer sign that NaruHina was coming to fruition even if much of it was ignored afterwards (and disappointed a lot of NaruHina fans). Why? Because literally only 32 chapters later when Sakura confesses, he blushes for a little but immediately became furious with her confession. Hinata, he accepted as a genuine confession of love (even if he thought it was platonic) but Sakura, he completely discounted. Saying he hates people who lie to themselves. And it was then that his crush on Sakura was barely noticeable for the rest of the series. His interest in Hinata started growing during the war as they mutually respected and backed each other; both of them giving each other the support they needed, though both of them have been doing this since early in the series. His inferiority complex would show up around Sakura and almost all other characters (except for Iruka), but he never put on a show in front of Hinata.
People have brought up a moment when Minato, upon seeing Naruto and Sakura, thought Sakura was Naruto's girlfriend. Naruto playfully acts as if it's true, and people make it seem as though the crush was still real. Later on, when his father is leaving, he brings up all the stuff his mother would've wanted him to do and that he did. One of the last things Naruto brings up is that his mother wanted him to find someone like her to marry. That someone like her would've been someone like Sakura. And Naruto dismisses it, saying that he couldn't do everything his mother asked him to do. It was a clear sign he didn't care for Sakura despite the war happening in much less than a week. But he didn't say anything about finding love either, so it's left open that he either didn't have feelings for Hinata or was unaware of them (because obviously he ain't, given the movie). Naruto was just aware Sakura wasn't the one.
After all of this, Naruto's relationship with Hinata before the start of the movie but after the war is where they had Naruto attach himself to Hinata as his emotional crutch. From what I remember, Hinata gave Naruto more emotional support than Sakura. Hinata would've been there if she knew about Jiraiya's death when Naruto was depressed, shy or not; Sakura knew but it was Iruka and Shikamaru (both of whom were unaware at first) who helped to snap him out of his depression.
Also let me add: I'm tired of people calling Hinata a stalker; she's rarely around Naruto and only had "stalker" moments in the academy where she was understandably always around her crush (they're in the same class and on the same school grounds, she'd bump into him and hide on multiple occasions). After the academy, this habit obviously stopped. And it's clear she gives Naruto his own space as she continues to train (which is evident in that she's much stronger from Part 1 to Part 2; as well as from the Invasion to the Ninja War; and from the Ninja War to the events of the movie). All we see is her interest in Naruto but what we don't see is her growing confidence and strength. And by that, I mean it ain't shown to us in front of our eyes. Her development is 80% off screen. So people dismissing her as nothing more than a stalker is ridiculous.
Anyhoo, that's the end of my understanding of Naruto and Hinata's relationship. I'm wondering how much I left out though lol. But I've written too much 😅
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