#I hate how people pretend taka is more supportive too like

[orangelemonart]

CANNOT stop thinking about how people misinterpret Naruto as being a selfish shill for the state who wants Sasuke to be docile when the literal text (pre-bort) makes it explicitly clear that he wants Sasuke safe from his suicidal self-harm and “bringing him back” never means make him a tool for village again, but to be happy and with people who want him to be happy. He’d literally rather die with Sasuke than let him be alone.

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

TPWP Chapter 19 Spoilers!!!

Hi guys! 

So, in chapter 19 of TPWP, I chose to go a more explicit route than it had been going previously. I decided to write about why I did that, as well as go over Mondo’s mentality during it all, since I don’t have his perspective written yet, oops.

It prolly will be best to not read this until after reading the chapter, though, or else this won’t make any sense, ha. 

You can find the explanation under the read more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Okay. So, when I was originally thinking about this story, I didn’t have much idea of where I wanted to go. Right? I was just like “I have the desire to write, so I’m gonna write.” No plans for where the story would go, no real end game in mind. Just… I wanna write, so I’m gonna write. Everything else will come with time. 

 It wasn’t until around chapter… 13, 14? that I started to have a strong idea for where I wanted this story to go. I’d had small ideas before, like in chapter 12 I knew I wanted to add a Halloween festival (which originally was going to be a dance before I remembered Japan does festivals, not dances), and I knew I wanted to have the sauna scene somewhere. Also, in chapter 9 I knew I wanted to have Chihiro befriend Mondo and have them tell Mondo their secret (which, by the by, was originally going to occur back in chapter 9 instead of in chapter 17. Rather than have Taka get all passionate and demanding, Taka and Mondo were going to overhear some dude harassing Chi in the library, they were going to follow the voice, and Mondo was going to be all “oh dude you’re gonna regret that,” ha. That was gonna have Taka be all “oh dude, he’s not all bad, is he?? Huh…” and Chi would be like “woah he’s a nice guy. Maybe I can tell him my secret???” But then I got sidetracked with the passion and couldn’t fit that in, but knew I wanted it somewhere. But I’m very much digressing, ha).

 Anyway! While I had individual plot points figured out, I didn’t have anything major. Nothing concrete, just a bunch of mostly unrelated ideas. 

 But then. Then, in chapter 13, I wrote the, uh… “nocturnal emission” scene. I did that mostly because I was growing tired of the slow burn and wanted some relief of having them kiss and confess, without it ruining my plan. But when I was writing and editing it, I kept thinking “man, wouldn’t it be cool if they did something like this? If they were all “dude you’re so awesome and I’m so attracted to you and I really wanna do ~~~sexual stuff~~~ with you, hahaha. Platonically, of course!!! Ahahaha!!!!”

 I didn’t think it would work at first. I knew I wanted this to be a slow burn and I knew I wanted to end this story right before winter break, so I couldn’t have them get together until this story ended. I was afraid that having them ~~do things~~ together would have them go too fast and would make things complicated. 

 But I was really starting to like the idea. I began seeing ways I could play with the idea without it being inherently romantic, with having them still deny their feelings. I didn’t know if it would work, but I decided to lay down the groundwork anyway. I wrote chapter 18, figuring it would be funny and make both boys painfully aware that they ~~~like~~~ the other (even if Mondo denies it), if nothing else. And then I figured, well. Why not write chapter 19? Worst case scenario, I don’t use it and write something else. And I usually hate doing things like that. Once something is written, that becomes my canon, usually, and it’s hard for me to do anything different. But I can do it, so I figured it was worth the risk. 

 I was very iffy with the chapter at first. The first part of the chapter was hard to write and was initially… not good. Very clunky and awkwardly worded and I didn’t like it. But I kept going because… whatever. I had the idea of making Taka aware of Mondo’s decidedly not platonic interactions with him, since I figured that even Taka would begin to see the truth when all the evidence points in that direction. Plus, I figured it would be good set up for what I wanted to have happen. Taka does not strike me as the kind of person who would do anything sexual unless he really liked and trusted the person he was with. I kind of head canon Taka as being somewhere on the ace spectrum, ha. Projection, I know. Maybe graysexual, with Mondo as a kind of exception, or demisexual, feeling attracted to Mondo now that he was romantically interested in him. But because of that, I didn’t think he’d just be willing to jump into Mondo’s bed, so to speak, if he didn’t have some inkling that maybe his feelings were reciprocated. 

 And as for the actual sexual encounter… that had come to me back in chapter 14, when Mondo and Taka were discussing all of that. The way I saw it, the idea kind of… stuck around in Mondo’s head. Now, I’m ace. Right? I don’t really understand sexual attraction. And while I do feel desire and all that, I definitely understand people who don’t feel anything sexual at all. But I imagine that allo (people who feel sexual attraction in general) people with no concept of what asexuality is wouldn’t understand something like that. They wouldn’t understand not feeling desire. And so, it concerns Mondo, who uses that sort of thing to destress and forget his troubles for a little while. 

 Upon hearing that Taka doesn’t, and knowing how tense Taka always is, it niggles at Mondo and makes him worry for Taka. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not feeling sexual desire and not wanting to pleasure yourself. I imagine that Mondo could even understand if Taka didn’t feel desire at all, and if he didn’t want to do things like that in general. But what concerns Mondo is that he KNOWS Taka feels sexual desire. I’ve not yet discussed this in the chapters yet, but, uh… ya know Taka’s “nocturnal emissions?” Well… let’s just say that he is very vocal during them. And he has been known to let slip a certain name. The owner of said name definitely hearing Taka and knowing exactly what that means, even if it kind of shorts his brain out to think it, ha. 

 Anyway. This has been rattling around in Mondo’s head for weeks by this point. If my timeline was how I originally had it, it would be longer, but since I had to condense everything, it’s been like… 2 weeks since Halloween? And Mondo has been thinking about it constantly despite himself. Even more so after the bath. He knows Taka is tense, knows that jerking off helps relieve tension, and he knows that Taka is attracted to him in some regard, even if Taka thinks it’s wrong. 

 And I would like to state for the record that Mondo ABSOLUTELY meant the offer innocently when he first brought it up. He just wanted to be all “hey bro. So, I know you don’t do this since you find it morally wrong, but it’s not, and it would be cool if you tried it. No one would blame you. And if you wanted to think of /me/ while doing it, well that would be cool too, HAHAHAHAHAHA-”

 But when Taka started getting all upset, Mondo started getting upset. He really cares about Taka, and he hates seeing him cry and be unhappy. And when Taka mentioned feeling broken and wrong, Mondo /hated/ that. He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with Taka at all. Even if Taka didn’t feel any arousal, he wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with Taka and would be 100% supportive. 

 But the thing is, he /does/ know that Taka feels arousal. He does know that Taka feels these things and is perfectly able to do it all, given his dreams. And so, he /knows/ that Taka’s problem is a mental one. And he thinks that maybe if Taka just… forces through the problem, like Mondo often will, well… maybe that would help. And Taka would feel better about himself. And he’d be able to have a way to relieve tension. 

 (And, of course, Mondo would be able to see the guy he’s unwittingly crushing hard on jerk himself off, but that’s completely beside the point, right???? Mondo’s just a really good bro and wants to help his bro in any way he can. Bro.) 

 He didn’t quite realize how much he’d enjoy the whole proceedings, though. And oh, did he enjoy it. Watching Taka touch himself. Watching Taka watch /him/ as he touched himself, his eyes full of desire and heat, clearly desiring Mondo deeply. It was the first time he realized that maybe… just /maybe/ there is something more to what he’s feeling. More than the familial love he’s been telling himself he feels. And it’s not like he’s never felt attracted to Taka, or like he’s never wanted him, right? He has. Many times. But those times he’d make excuses. Tell himself he was just horny in general and that it had nothing to do with Taka personally. That he didn’t actually want Taka but just wanted /someone/. But this… this is the first time he can’t really excuse it away, not with how much desire he currently is feeling. He does his best not to think about it, just keeps going, wanting to help Taka, but… it’s now there in the back of his mind. A tiny little seed of doubt and desire. 

 And when Taka pulls away, tears in his eyes, saying that there’s something wrong with him, that he’s broken, well… Mondo is so far gone by this point, ridiculously turned on, and he’s drowning in his concern. He hates seeing Taka so unhappy with himself, and he wants to prove to Taka that there’s nothing wrong with him. And with how far gone he is, he doesn’t think about how bad an idea this whole thing is. He doesn’t think about how supposedly straight guys shouldn’t do things like this. He doesn’t think about how he shouldn’t even be thinking about things like this at all, not if he were truly as straight as he tries to pretend that he is. All he knows is that Taka is distressed and unhappy. And that he’d do absolutely anything to make him happy again. 

 He didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as he does. Even with the niggling thought in the back of his head that he’d been enjoying the previous encounter a bit too much, he didn’t think he’d be so turned on by touching Taka. He thought he’d do it kind of militantly, a task he had to do, something that was kind of meaningless but important, nonetheless. 

 But that’s not how it felt. And Mondo was so far gone that he couldn’t begin to chastise himself for feeling how he was feeling. It was like a religious experience for Mondo, honestly. An epiphany. A moment of “oh. So that’s what I’ve been feeling.” He has no idea what it means, or why he feels like this, but he… he /likes it/. Likes touching Taka, likes making Taka feel good. He likes kissing Taka, too, and in that moment… he wants nothing more than to have Taka. All of Taka. He is so far gone that he can’t close the floodgates, can’t stop the desire he’s feeling. He loves Taka, he already knew that. But for the first time… for the first time, he realizes that he is /attracted/ to Taka, too. And it’s not as terrifying as he would have thought. 

 Of course… this all changes once they’re done, and the desire has faded. Now… getting a bit meta here. But like I said in the end notes, I initially had considered making Mondo completely fine with everything that happened. He was going to be like “well, guess we shouldn’t call each other kyoudai anymore, heh…” and it would be awkward, but ultimately, they’d realize they had sexual feelings for each other. 

 But! If you recall what I said earlier, I wanted this to be a slow burn. A VERY slow burn. Having them get together this early wouldn’t make sense in that regard. And honestly… it wouldn’t make sense for Mondo’s character, either. Not how I’ve been writing him. So, I made a decision. Rather than be okay with it… I’d make him deny and repress himself again. I came up with a reason for him to be so repressed and scared of his feelings later on, which if you’ve read the TPWM companion chapter for chapter 6 of TPWP, you have some idea of what his problem is. 

 Anyway. Ultimately, my decision to do this was less “hehe hot bois being lewd” or whatever, and was more “this could lead somewhere interesting and I’m intrigued to seeing how this will play out.” I started having an idea of where to go with this story and this plot line was very important to it, honestly. I usually hate smut that has no bearing on the plot at all, so I made this smut be purposeful and have meaning. It leads somewhere and has a purpose, I promise. 

 Also! Why I had Taka have, um… erectile disfunction issues. Mostly, I figured that he’d be the type of person to be super embarrassed by that sort of thing. And after spending at least eight years forcing himself to ignore and repress the fact that he’s gay, not to mention how upright and moral he forces himself to be, I imagine that pleasuring himself was low on his priorities. And there are people who get so very anxious at the thought of self-pleasuring, usually religious people, but I figured it would work with Taka too. Plus, it was the only way I could imagine nudging Mondo into doing such a thing. Mondo cares so much for Taka and seeing him struggling would make Mondo want to do literally anything for him. Including, uh… that, ha. And it allowed Taka to accept the help. So… yeah. I don’t know much about ED and wasn’t looking forward to researching it for this story, so I didn’t do much research and was like… it’s fine, ha. 

 Anyway, I hope that all made sense! And I hope my reasoning for it all is understandable. 

[koiyyo]

a request thing and then a question for all of you! request: how would all the classes celebrate april fool’s day? whether it be pranks or just chillin | and the ask: how’re you holding up during quarantine? have you picked up on any new hobbies?

hey!! mod kiwi here!! thanks for the ask, anon! ^^

here we go! all of the classes celebrating april fools!

written by mod kiwi, mod irusu, mod corn

edited by mod irusu

starting off with dr1! (plus komaru!)

makoto

tells everyone that he was going to get everyone gifts for april fools’ but he forgot to buy them

actually did buy gifts

 “see?? the prank is that.. i said that i forgot to get you guys gifts… but i actually remembered..!!! ahahaha!!”’

just… wholesome pranks only

either cries or is just really confused when anyone pranks him 

no inbetween

kyoko

doesn’t do pranks or anything

knows when people are trying to prank her

points out that she knows the person is trying to prank her

except if that person is makoto

she acts like she doesn’t know what makoto is doing and then acts surprised

byakuya

“april fools? isn’t that for children?”

gets really pissed when people prank him

slightly more or less pissed when makoto pranks him

but is… kind of grateful when makoto reveals what his prank was

VERY pissed when toko/jill pranks him

just. pissed in general

sayaka

 enjoys pranking people

 “here’s some lemonade! :)” “HA, IT’S ACTUALLY PEE!!! BAHAHAHA!!!”

 it isn’t actually piss. it’s watered down pineapple juice or some shit like that

“..can i have it back though”

thinks it’s funny when people prank her, most of the time

“leon please leave me alon e”

junko

 fucking LOVES pranks

 makes sure to prank everyone at least twice

 her pranks are very complex. she plans them months beforehand

tries to get mukuro to help her with her pranks

usually fails

loses her shit when people prank her

go crazy aaa go stupid aaa

mukuro

 doesn’t really understand pranks

 her pranks are just. pointing a gun at someone and pretending like she’s about to shoot them

scared makoto to death with one of her ‘pranks’

is just confused when people prank her

junko convinced her to dress up like her,, multiple ‘pranks’ ensued

chihiro

 doesn’t really try to prank people that often

 when he does prank people… wow are they complex pranks

his pranks are fun and harmless!

usually knows when people are trying to prank him

mondo

 thinks pranks are great

usually fails when trying to prank someone

just trying his best

either laughs or gets angry when someone pranks him

it really depends on the person

taka

his pranks aren’t even pranks tbh

usually upset when people prank him.. usually

“that’s a violation of the rules..!!”

but when they tell him it’s a prank he calms down

toko

doesn’t really get the point of april fools

whenever someone pranks her she starts ranting about how everyone thinks she’s disgusting so that’s why they’re pranking her

at some point she tried to use a mistletoe on byakuya despite it being april fools

her pranks are usually harmless but everyone fears she has a greater plan in mind..

most adventurous prank she did was switch komaru’s manga with actual books

jill

toko sneezes from a pepper-related prank and jill goes absolutely batshit crazy

then she realizes what day it is

oh no

her “pranks” involve holding a hostage until byakuya looks at her

hiro

people hide his weed as a “prank”

results in him crying so they just,, tell him where it is

“30% chance that you’re gonna die today.. a ha ha?”

isn’t sober enough to think of good pranks 

antagonizes gullible people

hina

thinks throwing food at people is a prank

gets pouty when she’s pranked

whines to sakura about it

when she gets pranked its just,, high pitched screaming

does not matter what it is

sakura

lets hina on her shoulders

they put a white sheet on,, and pretend to be a ghost

doesn’t fool anyone

except for dummies like hiro, prompts an exorcism

most “pranks” go over her head, she just maintains a stoic expression

celeste

set things on fire as a prank

until firefighters were called

keeps a stoic face like sakura when she’s pranked

will give a condescending laugh

hifumi

his ‘pranks’ consist of hiding hentai around

no one enjoys this. NO ONE. except tsumugi?

just. shocked when people prank him

will push up his glasses and pretend like he knew it was a prank

he didn’t. smh my head these hoes ain’t loyal

leon

“sayaka get pranked pleas e marry me”

that’s all you’re getting

“bro i’m so ugly.. just kidding april fools (:”

will fist fight those who prank him

,,well,,, try to

falls for every. prank.

EVERY. PRANK.

komaru

is usually the hostage that jill holds

just vibing

helps makoto and toko with their pranks

will always pretend to be scared / shocked

“omg.. you got me.. wahh”

dr2!!

hajime

 what the hell is a prank

his response is always old man grumbling

“DAMN kids.. damn april..”

just vibes with chiaki the whole day

almost strangled nagito for a prank doe

bless this man

nagito

doesn’t prank people because “me? pranking the ultimates? nooo, trash like me could never do such a thing..”

…does prank hajime sometimes, though

LOVES when he’s pranked, no matter what the prank is

“for an ultimate to put time and effort into playing a prank on trash like me… how wonderful!”

just does nagito things

chiaki

doesn’t prank people all that much

when someone pranks her she blinks before laughing awkwardly

she never gets mad because she’s nice like that

the only “prank” she’s done was BRUTAL..

she stole hajime’s switch and made rosie leave his acnh town

ibuki

FUCKING LOVES PRANKS

pranks all day. pranks every second. you’re never safe around her on april fools’

plots with junko

the type to put paint up on open doors and cause them to fall on people

constant screaming, in fear or to cause fear

mikan

 “h-huh? you.. pranked me..??”

very confused, 24/7

doesn’t prank people. barely understands what pranks are

gets pranked by ibuki every 2 seconds. bless her soul

usually the one to help everyone clean up the aftermaths of pranks

mahiru

 she never pranks anyone

usually against pranks

when someone gets pranked she immediately scolds whoever did it

she helped with a single prank and immediately apologized for it

peko

 what the hell is a prank x2

over protective of fuyuhiko

people have to tell her it’s a prank so she calms down

someone told her fuyuhiko died as a prank, she sobbed despite seeing him in front of her

“someone” was hiyoko

akane

 only does food related pranks

usually ends up eating the food before she can prank you with it

enjoys hina’s pranks cause it involves food

just trying to vibe and cromch

fuyuhiko 

 “god i fuCKING HATE APRIL FOOLS’”

,,,fucking hates pranks

tries his best to protect peko

she tends to get pranked a fair bit anyway

sonia

 “aha! i have pranked you! get.. pranked!”

you can usually tell when she’s trying to prank you

very supportive of pranks

“that was very funny! good job!”

kazuichi

 really gay pranks

“b-bro it was just a prank bro i’m not gay bro i swear bro it was for the prank bro,, bro,, bro i–”

tries to get people to spy on sonia with him to “prank her”

no one agrees to join him

teruteru

 makes bad food as ‘pranks’

tries to get the girls to wear lewd things, as a ‘prank’

heavy quotation marks on prank

just a horny dude as per usual

imposter

 scoffs anytime someone tries to prank them

thinks pranking is child’s play

finds it funny when others get pranked doe

hiyoko

 this is HER day to shine,, no one else

no one will escape her wrath

constantly lets bugs loose

has spent everyday planning, has customized plans for nearly everyone,,,

kicks people in the groin if they prank her, male or not

gundham

 tried to put a spell on himself so people legally can’t prank him

it failed, had a pie thrown in his face

the four dark devas of destruction licked his face clean,,

is extra cautious so his furry children don’t get caught in prank crossfire

kokichi once took one of the dark devas as a prank…

gundham has NEVER forgiven him and probably never will

nekomaru

will yell at any prank in fear

locked someone in the bathroom as a prank

let them out cause he had to use it,,

isn’t good at pranks pray for him 

dr v3!

shuichi

 doesn’t get pranked a lot because he just starts crying

almost had a heart attack one year

doesn’t understand how kaede can have so much fun

his only ‘pranks’ are him accidentally scaring people at 9 pm when he is scavenging the kitchen for grated cheese,,

targeted by kokichi and kaede majority of the time

maki

 will literally stab anyone who tries to prank her

except maybe kaede and kaito

bc they’re babies

one time kokichi hid all her weapons as a prank

she beat him to death

himiko

her ‘pranks’ are just magic tricks

will hex you if you say her magic pranks aren’t real

sleeps most of the day so no one really pranks her

also the fact that tenko is her bodyguard scares people away

“i have to much mana fear doesn’t effect me”

kaede

avid prankster

really wholesome doe, nothing to extreme

her jumping around a corner and yelling boo is considered a prank

attempts to play bdum tsh with piano keys

tries to act like she doesn’t scared,,, she really does

rantaro

really chill the entire day

not a lot of the pranks get him so he just awkwardly laughs

kokichi put a bucket on his head as a prank

kept it on the whole day. learned echolocation.

doesn’t really like pranking, too lazy

kirumi

scolds people for pranking

especially kokichi

isn’t one to prank really

thought adding extra vanilla to a cake was a ‘prank’

anytime she gets scared she beats the person with a broom

ryoma

people don’t prank him

they just can’t see him. too short.

 stoic the whole day

judgemental glares to everyone the whole day

vibing

korekiyo

who let the cryptid learn about april fools

will constantly harass angie about “atua doesn’t exist,, jk april fools”

throws shedded snake skin at people?? and occult books?? as a prank

“who wants to summon satan.. but only as a prank”

pretends to be people’s sleep paralysis monster 

(doesn’t need to pretend for me -irusu)

angie 

has beaten korekiyo with a bible multiple times

thinks pranking people won’t make atua happy

anytime she’s scared she yells “atua is displeased”

tenko

beats up all the boys as a ‘prank’

will literally DESTROY anyone who pranks himiko

it doesn’t matter how harmless the prank is

really nice and forgiving to the girls

no mercy. will beat up the babiest of baby boyes. even makoto :(

makoto is terrified of tenko on april fools’ for this reason

miu

horny time horny time horny time horny ti

only plays pranks that are sexual in some way

TERRIFIED when people prank her

it doesn’t matter what the prank is

angry at them afterwards

tries to get kaede to play the pornhub intro theme on a piano

gonta 

 doesn’t get pranks

will still get spooked

didn’t even know hiyoko was pranking him because he cherished the bugs,,,

“wow..! gonta thanks hiyoko for these bugs! happy day!”

is to nice/confused to prank anybody

just doing his best

kaito

doesn’t prank people but is very supportive of other people pranking each other

the victim of most pranks because of how nice he is about it

got dared to prank kokichi once

you can guess how it went

kokichi

oh no

OH NO

stay away from him at all costs

rantaro and shuichi tried to be nice since everyone was avoiding him and tried to hang out with him

he gave them meat cupcakes 

nobody ever pranks him because he holds grudges and will give you payback

his pranks are always wildcards. from dumping flour on maki to a whole entire elaborate prank just to make fun of kiibo being a robot, you never know

kiibo 

“wait, what?” 

gets targeted by kokichi

has no clue what a prank is

tries his best

has to get the prank explained to him when he gets pranked then he thinks it’s funny

tsumugi

 treats hifumi putting hentai everywhere as an easter egg hunt

“pranks” people by putting on anime on their tv then leaving

thinks people pranking her is funny and laughs every time

mostly condescending laughs

as for your question.. well, we’re all doing pretty good i think! (hopefully)

personally i’m not that affected bc,, i usually never leave the house often anyway,,, i’m not lonely bc i have you guys and all the other mods… love yall! i haven’t really gotten into new hobbies but i might get back into watercolor painting if i have the time (which i probably do)! -mod kiwi

my schedule hasn’t changed because i don’t have a life so.. but i’ve been playing animal jam! for some reason! :) also got into your turn to die. if corn can spread her anime propaganda i can spread mine  - mod irusu                        bro. u are my life ;flsuhed: -mod kiwi                                                               BRO - mod irusu

still an avid gremlin. my only hobbies rn are rewatching jojo and haikyuu, crying over it, and harassing the other mods with my stupidity. (narancia best boy watch jjba 2020) -mod corn

 mod cass is busy getting a virus for a butterfly game she played when she was like 10. let’s assume she’s like the rest of us - mod irusu

mod chie is fucking dead but,,, as far as i know he’s doing good :)) being horny rabid man as usual :)) he’s always asleep when we make posts bc he has a relatively normal sleep schedule

 -mod kiwi

update on cass: shes opening wine files now help

no i havent ivee been hungrye - mod dragon

?? no clue what that means either but best im gonna get from her - mod irusu

thanks for reading!

-mod kiwi

[silenthillmutual]

pride month, day nineteen: mutual support --

Sonia tilts her head, chin captured between her fingers, considering it for a moment before she shakes her head. Kazuichi slouches, shoulders sagging. “You just do not look comfortable,” she says. 

“Is that it?” he asks.

“I’m not fond of the color, either. But it is up to you to decide that, as it will be your dress, not mine.” Gundham comes by with another armful of dresses, some of which Kazuichi’s sure aren’t even from the same store. Sonia begins shifting through them, cheeks puffed out. “The color on this one is nice, but I’m not sure you’d deal with the lace...” 

“What d’you think?” he asks Gundham. 

Gundham appraises him for a moment. “It is befitting for a mortal, but it lacks the grandeur necessary for the dark lady’s entertainment.”

“I do not really care how fancy it is, just as long as he does not spend the whole evening looking as though he’d rather be naked.” Kazuichi snorts, arms over his chest in self-consciousness. “Are you sure you want a dress?” she asks again. “You do not have to wear -”

“I do,” he says. They’re both looking at him like that. “I do want to wear a dress. I’m just. I guess I just ain’t that comfortable with trying them on...in public.” It’ll be different when they’re in Sonia’s homeland, he knows that, but here’s it’s - well, it’s here, where so many of their asshole classmates shop, and they already look at him like he’s particularly stupid and laugh at him when he answers in class or pretend to be friendly so they can try and get the word on how weird his roommate is or what it’s like to be friends with a princess. 

Which he wouldn’t even know. He doesn’t know how he got to be where he is today when he was such a dick to them both to begin with, and it’s hard not to agonize over that even though they’ve told him hundreds of times to stop. 

“You are spacing out again,” Sonia tells him. She’s looking over at the register and he just knows she’s contemplating asking them if there’s somewhere more private they could do this, but.

He doesn’t want that to be his life. He takes the dress she’s been looking at and gives it a once-over. She’s right about the fabric - it feels itchy under his fingers. But he’s sure she knows plenty of good tailors who could do something about it if he likes the way he looks in it enough. 

There’s a lot of loud talking coming their way and he jolts for a second. Gundham’s arms are up in that weird defensive stance he does sometimes, but they drop easily. “It’s that trio of underclassmen,” Sonia tells him. 

“The one with the delinquent?”

“The one whose hair tempts the fates is not with them today,” Gundham says. “It’s the deceptively innocent one in his stead.” 

He’s not really sure how he feels about any of them since he hasn’t really gotten to know anybody outside of these two and Hajime, but if they’re in the club they’re probably alright. Makoto - he thinks that’s his name - waves at them and pulls his group over like a wave to the shore. He tries not to think about how intimidating his roommate looks with his thick eyebrows and strict glare. “Hey guys! Guess we’re all out getting clothes today, huh?”

“Indeed. These two will be accompanying me back home over the break, and need to pick out clothes for a party.” She swats Gundham’s arm. “He is still refusing.” She doesn’t add that he’s holding out for something with a cloak, because there’s no reason to get someone else involved in all their weirdness.

And Makoto doesn’t ask. “We’re here for interview clothes. Chihiro’s got a project that’s getting a lot of attention!” They blush under the praise that results in a lot of questions from Sonia that Gundham and that kid with the eyebrows look totally baffled on. Kazuichi understands a bit of it, but while they’re all distracted he’s just gonna hide himself in the changing room and hope he doesn’t look or feel like shit when he comes out. 

It’s getting hard not to, at this point. There’s not a thing about his build he doesn’t hate, his stupid hair or sharp teeth and the hearing aids he’s sure anyone can see at this point and - “Hey, uh, K-Kaz?” 

He almost doesn’t recognize it as his name. So few people shorten it, and he doesn’t register at first that the voice is probably Chihiro, so he stalls before he says, awkward, “Uh...yeah?” 

“Uhm...do you know how to tie a tie?” 

An odd question. “Sorta. Why?”

“C-could you help me?” 

He doesn’t think first about the dress, kinda forgets that he’s even wearing it when he opens up his door and peeks out. “Which one’re you in?” Chihiro opens up the door, shirt untucked and blazer a bit too big, tie around their neck in a literal knot. They look as nervous as he feels. He wonders if it’s the clothes. “I can try and show ya, if you want.” They nod and turn to face the mirror as he demonstrates on himself first, and then by taking their hands and walking them through it. 

He’s gonna have to wear a tie again one of these days. He doesn’t think prospective employers would take well to him showing up in a skirt, no matter what Gundham says about his spells and shit. 

The whole thing feels weirdly intimate - not romantic, but like a father teaching his son things and it just makes his stomach plummet in weird ways. He doesn’t know what it is his father thinks about him, how he’d react if he’d come out, and too often he finds himself wondering what everyone else’s home life is like. Some people are too quick to share it, proud of themselves and where they come from. He wonders if any of them are out, how their parents deal, and how you deal if they don’t. He’s never needed instruction manuals to work out cars or trucks or basic machinery, but life never handed him a manual or gifted him with the know-how outright. His dad doesn’t even know he’ll be out of the country this December. 

“Kaz-Kazuichi?” Chihiro’s looking up at him, tears dried up on their cheeks. “Are you... Are you okay?”

He wishes people didn’t ask him that. He never knows how to answer. “How do you do it?”

“Uhm... Do what?” 

He gestures his hand over their outfit. “Go back and forth like that. And in between. How do you get the confidence to do that?”

“Oh.” They press their fingers to their lips while they think about it. “I didn’t always. But since I got here... I have a lot of support.” Support, huh? “I was scared at first, but I know Taka and Makoto and Mondo wouldn’t let anything happen to me. And that even if something did happen to me, I’d still be alright.” He grunts, and nods. “You know, you have support too. Sonia, and Gundham. They wouldn’t be here with you if they didn’t.” 

He smiles. Yeah, he knows - or he guesses he does, when he lets himself believe it. 

Chihiro finishes the knot on their own this time and gasps, clapping their hands together in excitement. “I know I’m going to forget this the minute I leave, but we have to show Taka!”

He’s caught up for a moment and forgets again what he’s wearing, coming out behind Chihiro to watch their friends light up at their well-done work, Taka correcting their posture and teaching them how to give a proper handshake. He almost misses the way his friends (his friends? his friends) light up. “I think it looks wonderful,” Sonia tells him. “But...how do you feel?”

Kazuichi looks down at himself. The color goes nice with his skin. It makes his legs look great. He’ll need to get better shoes, but as long as this thing’s in his price range - “I think this is it.” 

Sonia claps.

But he will have to do something about the lace.

[feelingfredly]

The Fox Guards the Wolf

Part Twelve

Protecting the Pack

The pachinko parlor was dark and quiet.  Anyone looking in from the street would think it was empty, but the locals knew better, and knew better than to comment.

“It was terrible, just terrible.” Mahjong tiles clicked in the background, and Kisuke wondered whether the players in the back room were there to put him at ease, or to remind him that even having a room full of witnesses wouldn’t keep him safe if Mamushi decided it was not to be so. “And with one of my pets, no less. It’s almost as if someone was trying to send a message—the question being, was it a message for Okura-san, or a message for me?”

A tattooed hand reached out and poured whiskey into Kisuke’s glass. The blond had brought a bottle as befitted a guest in Mamushi’s house, but he would never be so rude as to pour his own. “But we both know Okura-san tends to underestimate the importance of self-preservation when he sets himself upon a particularly focused path. It isn’t a surprise that he overlooked the threat.  He has always believed he was the most dangerous animal in the room. It was a misconception that was bound to bite him sooner or later.”

Mamushi sipped his own drink and clicked his tongue in disapproval. If it weren’t for the scars on his face and the tattoos covering his arms, he would look like a disapproving uncle.  As it was, he looked like exactly what he was. Deadly.

“I hope he has learned his lesson.” Black eyes focused on Kisuke. “I would hate for someone to get the wrong impression. My poor pets have a bad enough reputation as it is.”

And there it was: a warning not to drag Mamushi into his business again. He’d be a fool to ignore it, but time would determine how things played out.  Perhaps he could sweeten the man’s disposition, though, just in case.

“I’m sure he has, Koyama-sama.”  Kisuke made a sound in his throat. “Another mistake like that could be deadly, and while Okura-san may not always have the strongest sense of self-preservation, I think after this close a call he will understand the need to be extra careful.”

His whiskey was almost gone, but Kisuke didn’t put his glass down.  He swirled the amber liquid slowly. “I did hear he refused to remain under a doctor’s care.  Already back to work, and on such clever things, too!  One of the people he recently hired came straight from one of the United States’ finest computer science programs.  They say Taka-chan recruited him right out from under his own government! It is impressive, even though it is rather depressing to know that there is so little loyalty to one’s own people these days.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a panda shaped thumb drive and slid it silently across the table. “I think loyalty is supremely important, don’t you Koyama-sama?”

The panda disappeared with a quick flash of fingers.

“It is amazing what people can do with computers.” The old man nodded his head sagely. “My grandson is studying them at the University of Tokyo. He intends to come back and work with his father. He has made the family very proud.”

Kisuke saluted the news with his glass. “Knowledge is almost as important as loyalty. You are lucky to have his intelligence, and your grandson is lucky to have such a supportive family.”

Koyama gave a wily smile.  “He is the epitome of the Japanese businessman. Not just some bakecho. Smart. He’s free from the bouhaijoukou, but he will be as dangerous in the boardroom as any of my family has ever been outside of it.”

“The news loves to report on the death of the Yakuza, Urahara-san, but they have forgotten one important thing.  Evolution.  Everything that lives, changes.  Family and history are important, but survival is what truly matters, and he is a survivor. He may never wear these tattoos, but he is still my grandson.

The whiskey bottle reappeared, and refilled both glasses.

“Okura-san believes that the new ways will sweep away the old, and in some ways he is right. In others, though, he is being short-sighted and running the risk of again being bitten by the snake he doesn’t bother to look for.”  The old man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “It is a pity he has forgotten the lessons of his sensei.  He would do well to accept his place in the larger scheme of things.”

Kisuke couldn’t help but agree.  Taka-chan never accepted his place in the world.  Never accepted anyone telling him where to stand, or what to do.  Failure had been enough of a stranger to him that in the end he was like a child who felt betrayed that the stove had burned him.  Every criticism was personal, and every debt had to be repaid with interest.

“Okura-san is undergoing his own evolution, Koyama-sama.  It will take time to see how he will answer the challenges posed to him.”

He sighed like a tired father.  “Answers are never easy.  They always lead to bigger questions, and the cycle starts all over again.”

They sat in comfortable silence, the ivory clicking of tiles the only reminder that they weren’t alone in the world, but there was still work to be done.

“Since your grandson is studying computers, maybe you could ask him a question for me.” Kisuke glanced back at the men in the next room. Four of them were armed. Two were clearly listening in on their boss. One was fiddling with his phone, which could be anything, but was probably him trying to record the meeting. “You remember my friend Tsukibishi-san?  He was telling me about something called data scrubbing the other day.  I must admit, it was a bit beyond me, but the one thing I kept thinking was…  if someone could create a tool so they could go into files full of data and make sure something is included, or isn’t included…  what is to keep them from putting in information that is simply fiction?  Could they just change them? I mean it just makes sense to think that if someone could write a program that did one of those things…  they could write a program that did the other.”

He gave a light-hearted shrug.  “But I suppose that’s what Okura-san’s highly paid recruits from the USA are here to stop, hmmm? I’m sure they can make sure that everyone’s data remains safe.”

The old yakuza boss froze for a second with his glass halfway to his lips.

“Stop? Yes. It would be very good of them to make sure of that.  I mean, a tool like that could cause trouble,” he said, eyebrows drawn together thoughtfully. “Someone might end up paying their laundry bill twice.”

Kisuke nodded. “And while the washerwoman might be pleased, the butcher,” he swallowed a mouthful of whiskey and looked solemnly across the table, ��would be very disappointed.”

Both glasses settled back to the table. Kisuke looked at the yakuza boss and wondered once again how he’d managed to get into a position where protecting the old gangster’s interests was the best of his choices. But, as long as the gangs were more useful and less noticeable than Tessai and his troops, he would play this game. Anyway, there were just some things the Director didn’t need to be involved in. Like protecting the Kurosakis.

He let the data manipulation concept linger between them for a moment and then spoke again.  “If someone were to alter a business’s records, it could cause some embarrassing mistakes.  One might lose enough face that one couldn’t even stay in business.  That that would be most unfortunate.”

Koyama’s fingers lightly touched the pocket where he’d stashed the thumb drive.

“Most unfortunate,” he agreed. “Luckily, good businesses develop good relationships, and the trust between them protects them both.”

“It does, indeed, Koyama-sama,” the blond nodded, satisfied that his message had been received loud and clear. “It does indeed.”

***

Ichigo watched the darkened windows of the pachinko parlor and fumed.

Everyone living within a five-mile radius knew this wasn’t just Inagawa-kai territory. This area belonged to Mamushi, and he was worse than the Kumichō when it came to keeping unwanted visitors away.  That didn’t matter to Kisuke, though. He just waltzed through the front door like he owned the place.

I’m going to beat him with his own cane when he gets out of there.

He didn’t know why it made his skin itch.  Kisuke could take care of himself, but something about the situation was just wrong.  He’d been watching the doors for almost an hour, sipping his lemonade and pretending to read under the little summer awning behind the bus stop, but it was getting darker, and he was going to have to move soon or become much too obvious in his stalking.

Like the man across the street.

A few minutes after Ichigo had arrived, he’d noticed him standing carefully carelessly at the corner.  He wandered into the convenience store a few times—never for more than a minute or two—and then resettled himself where he could watch the pachinko parlor doors.

“Hey hey, writer man,” a voice at his elbow startled him and he jerked his head around, his hand half-raised to defend himself before he could stop himself. “You don’t need to worry about Getaboshi.  Boss knows he’s cool.  Door’s always open for Sandal Hat.”

Unsurprisingly, the words of comfort didn’t help, coming as they did from someone Ichigo recognized from the neighborhood as one of the Kumichō’s strong arms.

“Thanks for the word, but I’m not worried,” he said.  Both of them knew he was lying, but still, he had to save a little face. “Just making sure that no one else is poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

He jerked his chin in the direction of the man on the corner.  “Some folks just don’t seem to belong around here, ne?”

The laugh that escaped the muscle man next to him sounded like air leaking from a balloon.

“Him?” The thug sneered. “He been sneaking around for weeks.  Thinks he’s slick but he smells like warehouse. Tagged him early, though, so it’s easier to let him be. Not like pulling him in will stop them watching.  This way we don’t have to work at watching them back.”

Ichigo refused an offered cigarette and nodded his understanding, but wondering what smells like warehouse meant.

The redhead stared for a moment at the man next to him, bothered by a familiarity he couldn’t place. “Do you have a younger brother?”

The wheezing laugh escaped again.

“Wondered if you’d remember,” his new friend nodded. “You broke Koito-chan’s nose last year.  He invited you to join the business, and then wouldn’t take your not-interested gracefully, so you made sure he got the message another way.”

That explained it.  Masuda Koito had been in his class in middle school before joining one of the enforcer teams that worked the neighborhood. This guy looked just like Koito would in another five years.  Bigger, meaner, and a whole lot more confident.  Luckily he also looked like he didn’t hold any grudges.

“Hope it didn’t cause him any trouble,” he said, but the bigger man just smiled around his cigarette.

“He looks better now, anyway.  Too baby-faced before.”

Ichigo didn’t know what to say to that, so he just nodded, and looked back over to the pachinko parlor.  Nothing had changed.

“So, Masuda-san,” he asked. “You watching me, or you watching the shop?”

The cigarette shifted, and then a shoulder raised briefly. “You. Just a little added security. Gotta make sure Koguma stays out of trouble, you know?”

Ichigo knew.  All the people in the neighborhood knew his dad and the crescent-moon shaped scar that he’d gotten across his chest when he’d waded into a yakuza turf-war and walked out not only having stopped the worst of the fighting but having saved the life of one of the Inagawa-kai’s favored sons.  Shinobu-san said the scar made him look like a moon bear, and from that point on the Kurosakis were known as Tsukinowaguma and his cubs.

“Koguma, huh?” He snorted. Little bear. Great. “What does that make my sisters?”

Masuda grinned and pinched out his cigarette, sticking the butt in his pocket. “Don’t tell them, but Rilakkuma and Tarepanda. The guys can’t agree on which one is which, though.”

Not tell them? Ichigo thought.  I’m going to buy two plushies and put name tags on them.

It almost made Koguma worth it.

“Warehouse is on the move.” Masuda straightened and looked towards where the other watcher stood. “You following or staying put?”

Ichigo was torn.  He wanted to stay and make sure Kisuke was safe, but he knew Masuda and his kind. If he said no one had a beef with the blond then it was true.  Mamushi’s men wouldn’t hesitate to declare someone persona non grata, and they were oddly honest for thugs.

He slipped his book back into his bag and tucked away his lemonade bottle.

“I think I’m going for a walk.” He rolled his shoulders and gave Masuda an innocent look.  “I hear the warehouse district is very photogenic at twilight.”

The older man had his phone out and was texting rapidly.

“You want me to have them tell Sandal Hat where you’re heading?”

Ichigo thought it was likely that everything he owned now had trackers hidden in it, but that didn’t matter.  If he was going to be pissed when Kisuke kept him out of the loop, it would be the height of hypocrisy to do the same.

“Yeah,” he sighed.  He felt like he was checking in with Isshin before heading off with his friends. This was so not cool. “You might as well.”

***

The man who’d been playing with his phone rose from his chair and made his way over to Kisuke and Mamushi.

“Excuse me, Boss,” he bowed to them and held up his phone. “You said you wanted to be kept informed.  Masuda-san says the target is on the move. He is going to follow him and see where he goes.  Plus, he says he’s got company.”

The older man gave Kisuke a wily little smile and finished the last of his whiskey.

“Don’t tell me Koguma-chan is accompanying him?” he said, the smile spreading wider.

“Yes, and he asked us to pass the information along to Urahara-san.” With that he gave Kisuke a little bow of acknowledgement, before turning back to his boss. “They will check in as soon as they know anything useful.”

Mamushi let out a creaking laugh. “Your new protégé would have made an excellent addition to the Inagawa-kai, Urahara-san.  It is too bad that the things that would have made him so successful are the very things that will prevent him from ever accepting that role.”

“Koguma-chan?” Kisuke sighed. “He strikes me more as a fox kit, like his mother. Either way, I thought he had a little more restraint than to wander off with strangers, but I suppose enthusiasm trumps caution in this case.”

“Masaki-chan was a clever vixen, but he is like his father in this, I think. Either way, Koguma-chan will never turn against you.” With that judgement the older man stood and gave Kisuke a minute inclination of his head. “You might want to keep an eye on him, though.  Okura-san might not appreciate his replacement wandering into his territory.”

Kisuke started to argue with the term replacement, but he didn’t.  That was exactly what Taka would think of Ichigo, regardless of the fact that Kisuke had never allowed Taka that close, even after years of training together.

He rose and bowed low in return, indicating his appreciation and respect.

“Cub or kit, he has a talent for finding trouble.  His curiosity is almost as bad as a cat.”

The old man waved him toward the door.  “You would know, Urahara-san,” he laughed once more, and walked away into the shadowy rear of the parlor. “Tell Yoruichi-san hello for me, and that her uncle misses her.”

[seiikas]

Hello! I need to catch up on Naruto and I would like to know since you are a fan of Sasuke why do you like his character ? I often think Sasuke is misunderstood by a lot of people, myself I have sometimes a hard time understanding him but I find him interesting ! Hope this question don't bother you, have a good day! :)

Hi! Don’t worry, your question doesn’t bother me at all! My reply is under the readmore. I’m sorry that it got so gigantic! It almost turned into a novel lol. It also may contain mild spoilers so please proceed with caution :)

One of the reasons I like him is because he’s human. Sasuke went through extreme trauma and mental torture at the age of 9, received absolutely no treatment or therapy for it, and was sent to live by himself in the same house his parents were murdered in. He didn’t get any help to deal with his trauma as he grew up. Would a normal human be able to get over such a thing simply because they found friends? to me the fact that Sasuke still suffers and is so affected by his trauma is what makes him realistic. He always needs to rely on a big life goal, put all of his thoughts and efforts into it, whether it’s revenge or justice or redemption, because if he doesn’t have one, it would be just him and his trauma to focus on, and would anyone be able to actually live like that? To me it’s amazing that Sasuke was even able to go on living by himself, to go to school and study and even find emotional attachment to people, protect them and sacrifice himself for them.

In general, most humans aren’t simply good or bad. The majority of us can be kind and generous while still being mean and selfish at times. We can be strong and still have moments of absolute weakness. The majority of us struggle with our mental illnesses and don’t just “get over it”, especially without any help. Sasuke is kind and selfless; he sacrificed himself for Naruto during the Haku fight, was ready to sacrifice himself again to save Naruto and Sakura during the Gaara fight, during the chuunin exams Kabuto pointed out how soft he was because he refused to attack him to get his scroll despite the fact that that’s what the exam required of him, in early shippuden he refused to kill anyone and ordered Taka not to kill, he learned how to extinguish the Amaterasu flames in order to save Karin, he threw himself in front of Sarada to protect her, he gave up on a peaceful life for himself for the sake of protecting their hard-earned world peace. But he also had times when he could be mean and selfish, when the pressure and the sadness were just too much, when he didn’t know how to deal with the trauma and the lies and the shock. And to me that’s a character that I can support, not because I think his mistakes were justified but because he’s not a messiah, he actually has to struggle with himself and his flaws, he has to fight against his trauma and his mental illnesses, which is what most humans are like instead of simply being wise and strong and flawless from the start.

What people fail to understand about Sasuke is that he’s a good person; that’s exactly the reason why his cruelty during the Gokage meeting arc was so shocking to every character in the story, because it was there to show that he wasn’t himself anymore; that’s exactly why the explanation of the “Uchiha curse” exists; and yet for some reason people tend to take that as being Sasuke’s actual personality, despite the fact that the manga had shown him in his normal state before, that we had actually gotten to see his gradual fall into darkness and his reason for it.

I like how Sasuke tends to be silent and distant on the outside but soft and kind on the inside. It’s thanks to him that team 7 gets accepted by Kakashi in the first place, because he decides to feed Naruto even though he was told not to. When he hears that Itachi is in the village, the first thing he worries about is Naruto’s safety, not his own safety or his own goals. He notices when Sakura is feeling down and comforts her by praising her abilities. He rarely ever expresses his feelings in words but he shows them with his actions; by sacrificing himself for someone, by protecting them, by showing pride towards their accomplishments, by gestures like the forehead poke. You’ll rarely find him saying cheesy things but if he cares about you and loves you, you’ll know. On the inside, he loves intensely. (Btw, how cute is it that he feeds cats and makes friends with them during his travels?)

Another thing I like about Sasuke is his extreme love and loyalty towards his family. Maybe it’s because I’ve been raised in a culture where family is always the most important, but I can’t help but appreciate how none of the things he did throughout the series were for himself, but for his family. People think Sasuke is disloyal because he “betrayed” Konoha but the truth is, Sasuke’s loyalty was never with Konoha to begin with, from the start it was always about family, he wanted to be acknowledged by his father, he wanted to join the Uchiha police force. He loved his mother and brother so much, cared about his father’s impression of him, was so proud of his family. And every single thing he wanted to do throughout the series was for them, wanting to avenge them, restore their honor, protect Konoha for Itachi’s sake. The fact that Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha saw “the Uchiha” and “Konoha” as two separate entities and were only loyal to one of those was a result of Konoha’s own choice to alienate the Uchiha; you can’t treat a group of people like shit and then expect them to somehow love you and be loyal to you.

Sasuke doesn’t fit any generic shounen character type. His character is complex. He starts off as the typical rival but soon his character goes its own way. He has his own goals, his own path in life, his own relationships and his story doesn’t revolve around the main character or catching up to him. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s Naruto whose story mostly revolves around Sasuke. He’s one of the characters who makes this story unpredictable and interesting. Because let’s be real, the plot of Naruto is rather predictable. Naruto meets villain, Naruto has training arc or gets a powerup, Naruto defeats villain, rince and repeat until he becomes Hokage. Even one of the biggest “mysteries” of the series, Tobi’s identity, was predicted by everyone after his very first appearance. Throughout all of this it’s Sasuke who keeps the story interesting, because you’re never really sure what he’s gonna do, how he’s gonna react to things, where he’s gonna end up. That’s the reason why he was/is often the main subject of discussion even among people who don’t like him. Even up until the very end some people were saying he was gonna come back and become anbu, some were saying he would leave with taka, some thought he would die. No one could really guess where he would end up, whereas with other characters things were much more easy to predict.

I like Sasuke because I actually stop to look at things from his point of view as well; I know it’s hard to do so when the narrative always presents things from Naruto and Sakura’s side. It’s easy to just look at the surface and say: Sasuke made Naruto and Sakura sad, therefore he is bad. But when I look at things from Sasuke’s point of view, I understand all of the things he does, and I realize the choices he makes are often the most realistic considering his situation.

Let’s start from the very beginning. A lot of people hate Sasuke because they think he “treated Naruto like shit” throughout part one. But if you actually take the time to read the manga, who was the one who showed contempt towards the other first? It was Naruto. He hates Sasuke because he’s popular and Sakura likes him. This is established from the very beginning. The accidental kiss happened because Naruto tried to provoke Sasuke as a result of his jealousy. Naruto was the one who attacked Sasuke first—tied him up and tried to kiss Sakura while posing as him. And yet only minutes after that Sasuke still chose to defend him against Sakura. Throughout the rest of part one Sasuke and Naruto do bicker and fight a lot, but all of those fights and insults are two-sided and yet for some reason I only ever see people focus on Sasuke’s side.

It’s the same with all of the more serious fights between them. The majority of them were actually started by Naruto. People claim that Sasuke mistreated and/or abused Naruto and Sakura; but the truth is, if Sakura and Naruto hadn’t chased after Sasuke, Sasuke wouldn’t have even met any of them between chapter 180 and 631. That’s the space between when he left Konoha and when he joined the war. That’s more than 450 chapters. Naruto is the one who started the first big Nar/Sas fight. He chased after Sasuke and told him he’d “break his arms and legs and bring him back like a broken stick” if he had to. The fight against team Kakashi in Orochimaru’s lair happened because they chased after him and tried to bring him back. The fight in the Gokage meeting arc happened because Sakura chased after Sasuke and tried to kill him by herself. Sasuke simply left and made it clear to them that he had severed their bonds; they’re the ones who went after him. You can’t be an abuser when you don’t even want a relationship with your so-called victims. Every single time, he was either rejecting them and/or retaliating against their own attacks. Am I saying they shouldn’t have tried to stop him even when he was a criminal? No, but people shouldn’t pretend that Sasuke was specifically going after Sakura and Naruto to hurt or “abuse” them, when they’re the ones who chased after him. He was an enemy of Konoha because the village had murdered his family in cold blood. It’s not about “abuse” or Sakura and Naruto’s feelings.

And it’s easy to only consider their feelings in this situation; oh, they loved him and wanted to save him but he rejected them, he’s such an ass. But the truth is Sasuke doesn’t have to go back to the village that killed off his family, made him miserable and offered him no support as a childjust to make them happy. He doesn’t have to put their feelings before his own. He doesn’t have to put them, teammates that he had been with for a few months at most, over his family that raised him for 9 years. People are allowed to reject relationships they don’t want. Yes, rejection hurts, but it doesn’t automatically make the person who rejected you an asshole.

It’s easy to judge Sasuke for his decisions without paying attention to the circumstances that caused him to make them. “He betrayed his friends and left Konoha”— even though he had just had the shit beaten out of him by his brother, had been mentally tortured for days within a genjutsu, had been told he was weak because he didn’t have enough hate. People just expect a twelve-year-old to deal with it and move on.“He flip-flopped too much”—despite the fact that he had had his entire world turned upside down because he had been told that his whole life was a lie, his abusive brother loved him all along and it was Konoha who had caused his misery. I don’t know how or why people expect someone to just stay strong while being put through all of that.

I have a lot of issues with the series itself and the morals it tries to convey. For example, the series tries to pit “talent” and “hard work” against each other; Kishimoto seems to think that talented people don’t work hard or that they are somehow assholes by default (it’s also hypocritical because later on we find out Naruto himself actually had a lot of natural talents and advantages as well). I see a lot of people make arguments such as “Sasuke had everything handed to him while Naruto worked hard”. They ignore how hard Sasuke worked to learn the fireball jutsu and the Chidori, or how he trained with Orochimaru for three years, they also ignore that Naruto was able to learn the Rasenshuriken with minimal effort because of his naturally high chakra reserves or that almost the entirety of his power as an adult relies on Kurama, something that was given to him at birth. They ignore that everytime Sasuke got a free powerup Naruto got one too.

I also hate how the series tries to portray Sasuke and anyone else who wants reform or justice as a villain. Kishimoto thinks status quo > reform. It doesn’t matter if keeping the status quo means sweeping genocides under the rug, trampling on the rights of smaller villages with less power, ignoring the discrimination happening within clans. As long as “the village” is still standing, everything is okay. Don’t try to fix anything. Accept the “darkness” of the village. I come from a country with a dictatorship, so it’s much easier for me to understand Sasuke who wanted change rather than Konoha and their obsession with keeping everything as is. Yes, Sasuke’s method of fixing things was wrong, but people forget that this boy’s role model was Itachi, the one who thought the best way to protect a little kid was to torture him and tell him to live with hate, and it’s not like anybody actually condemned those actions. Everyone who knew the truth about Itachi thought he was the wisest person in history—the fandom does as well. And yet people are surprised when Sasuke thinks the best way to fix the system is through making people hate him. Only then does the fandom start talking about how “Sasuke should’ve learned from Itachi’s mistakes”, despite the fact that every other time they deny Itachi even made mistakes. The fact that Sasuke is ready to live a life of misery where everyone hates him is proof of how selfless he is, because yes it’s a misguided decision but it’s not a pleasant one, it’s not something he’s doing for himself. In the end instead of finding a better way to fix the system, Naruto just decides to keep the status quo.

Of course I like his design and abilities as well. I mean let’s be real, the duckbutt is almost iconic at this point, lol. Sasuke has the most interesting fighting style, the swordplay combined with the fire and the way he evolved Kakashi’s Chidori into so many different weapons. Not to mention his switcheroo ability after he gets the rinnegan. In my opinion he also gets the most interesting fights as well, Sasuke vs Deidara is still one of my favorites.

Anyways I’m sorry that this post got so long. This is why I never write character analysis, I tend to ramble way too much lol. Hope you have a nice day and thanks for the ask!