#Like Naruto cared about Sasuke but what if it was the wrong kind of love

[justsasuke]

There's this thought that's been festering in the back of my head growing independently like an unwanted fungus and it needs to breathe for a second so I'm sharing it.

(This is is another me thinking out loud post so please think of it as an exploration of an idea rather than a presentation.) what if, what if, what if. What if Naruto was Sasuke's first love. What if he liked him. like liked him. And when he realized it it made him frustrated. Because he's supposed to be focused on so many other things but this stupid obnoxious useless team mate of his has forced his way under his skin and won't leave him alone. And it's completely one-sided. Naruto doesn't feel the same way. yes he's obsessed with Sasuke but he really does mean friends. Naruto wants to be the greatest ninja, he wants to be Hokage and somehow he's so focused on those things that he doesn't.notice. that Sasuke is suffering. Meanwhile Sasuke is in agony because everyday it just gets worse. he cares too much. The desire for connection starts overshadowing his entire reason for existence. He's losing grip on the loneliness that was fueling his goals. And his heart is starting to ache with something completely opposite of darkness whenever he sees stupid Naruto connecting with so many people in the way only Naruto knows how. and it begins to not matter anymore if he can avenge his clan or not. All he wants is to be with Naruto in that world. He would die for Naruto. he did once. But Naruto doesn't feel the same way. And the unhealed wound in Sasuke's heart is festering too much and he's hurting in too many ways that can't disappear on their own. And then he starts realizing that Naruto doesn't understand him. That the village they were both born in isn't his home but it is Naruto's. That Naruto loves it and wants to belong to it and is actually starting to. And Sasuke realizes how far he is from this world that Naruto is living in because Naruto was born with nothing but is getting everything and he expects it to be the same for Sasuke too. He expects it to be the same for everyone. That's how it was for him. And he tells Sasuke so. And it ruins Sasuke because he realizes that if he stayed he would be ripped apart entirely by Naruto's world view, that whatever love Naruto was giving him was only burning him and suffocating him.

So he walks away. because the love Naruto can give him is not the love that will heal him or help him. It's the kind of love that will kill him.

[sakuratruther]

it’s so sad that sakura and sasuke relationship is so overlooked by the fandom. i’m not talking specifically about romantic relationship, before everything they were friends; sasuke thinks of both her & naruto when he thinks of bonds, but for some antis (that are mostly sns shippers, sorry to say) it’s canon that sasuke doesn’t give a shit about sakura when?? it’s not true?? and because of association problems of The Brain i can’t stand sns anymore. i think both sns and ss incapsulate naruto’s themes. and even though i love sasusaku so much i think that they all should be together, in a weird toxic polyclue because they are each other’s family. and y’all leaving sakura out of it makes me wonder if you even read the thing throughly

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND FOUR

ROCK LEE vs HATAKE KAKASHI

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

practical and fashion-forward with his bright green onesie. Function over form, and is prepared at all times by carrying around a spare onesie he will give without question to anyone - even complete strangers

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

embodies the ideals of original series Naruto. True underdog, had nothing going for him, came from nothing with no legacy or powers, was so disadvantaged that he physically could not meet the bare minimum abilities of his peers. But he worked harder than everyone else and proved that he can be a great shinobi despite all the adversity he faced

Sasuke had to copy Lee’s moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

Gaara vs Rock Lee was one of the most iconic fights in the series, and everyone remembers where they were when they first saw Lee drop his weights. He owned that fight so hard that people forget he lost.

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn’t special and neither was [submitter], but we didn’t need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee’s got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn’t want them to think like that

objectively would’ve made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn’t like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they’re very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Kakashi

relatable as an adult

he is just an overworked guy who was told to watch some kids w LOTS of issues

needs therapy

good presence and guidance in Narutos life

interesting

cares about and is dedicated to his students very much

he is just cool

he is trying his best despite what he has been through in the past

is up for having fun but still knows when to be serious

was a narcissistic shit but grew out of it

has good intentions

sexy

wonderfully complex and well developed character

incredibly resilient and supportive

a sad and deeply broken man

always willing to give his life to protect them and his other precious people

just wanted everything to be ok for once in his life

hated Danzo

his friendship with Gai is adorable

the way he teases Tenzo is fun

he’s known as cool and aloof but in reality he’s a huge dork

Gai would want him to win

[theheirofthesharingan]

Very random but do you have any headcanons about Itachi and by extension Shisui's lifestyle in the modern era? For example, would they use Android or Iphone, or what sort of food preferences they would have like gluten free or vegan? Or what about their workout regimen? Not to mention, the kind of shampoo they would use (sorry if that's too specific)

I personally see Itachi as a very reticent person who would thrive in marathon training outside of any combat training. Do you have any opinions about that or anything related to Itachi headcanons in general?

In the modern AU, I see Itachi going through the same kind of things he does in canon, but on a lesser scale. His dynamic with his family and Shisui would be more or less the same.

Itachi is the Android person. He doesn't like showing off and is content with the simpler things in life. He is vegetarian. Shisui doesn't mind eggs and some seafood.

His favourite person is Sasuke. Obviously. But Shisui is up close as well. There were times in Itachi's life when he had no idea what was going on and Shisui stood beside him. Itachi is always thankful for that.

The only thing Itachi doesn't compromise with is his hair. So, he regularly does shampoo and uses conditioner on his hair. Shisui doesn't really care about his own and if he's running out of time, he doesn't mind using washing powder on his hair either.

Itachi is definitely introverted. Though since in the modern world he might not be training rigorously because he's not a ninja, he'll spend a lot of time studying.

He reads Kafka, Murakami, Plath, Dazai, Dostoevsky, Nabokov, and Camus a lot. Shisui tries to get him to read something else as well but Itachi gets bored of his recs real soon. Shisui and he argue a lot on the kind of books they like. Sasuke just stays out of their arguments because he's more of a comic book person. His arguments tend to be with Naruto the most. And they're never on the same page.

Itachi has a strained relationship with his parents. It's not too bad, but he feels uncomfortable whenever he's home. He knows he's loved, but he can't bring himself to be comfortable with his parents around. His strict father and his mom being an ideal wife have contributed a lot to him being inexpressive. Being a genius, a prodigy, best at everything is tiring. Everyone thinks he's having the best of all worlds, but in fact, he sometimes breaks down because he can't handle it. As if he's not allowed to fail. He wants his parents to be proud of him.

He knows he's the best at what he does. It's not outright arrogance but confidence that shows in his persona. He always ends up stealing the limelight, no matter who the object of centre is meant to be. It occasionally causes a rift between him and Sasuke. No, Sasuke doesn't say it out loud, but Itachi understands that Itachi stealing the attention that Sasuke deserved hurt his little brother. He hates seeing Sasuke sad because of him. Once he understands what is wrong, Itachi always removes himself from the picture, making last minute excuses why he can't make it. It happens with him and Shisui too. But Shisui tries to make him understand that he doesn't mind it and it isn't his fault. Though Itachi won't listen. He doesn't like being inconvenience to the people he loves.

Itachi is Sasuke's rock. Every time Sasuke needs something or wants someone to root for him, he always has Itachi's support. What he doesn't realize is that Itachi needs his support just as much. Itachi finds dinners with his parents comfortable only when Sasuke is around. Sasuke talks a lot, and that's therapeutic for Itachi. Sasuke's presence makes his life so much easier.

Both the brothers sometimes have heart-to-heart with each other. Sasuke mostly rants about his life and Itachi offers his opinions and suggestions, most of them work out for Sasuke. Sasuke wants to know about Itachi too and Itachi has no idea what to say about himself and his life. He doesn't want to burden Sasuke with all that he feels. Not that Sasuke doesn't manage to get some answers out of Itachi. He's understood that asking his older brother questions directly won't help. So he beats around the bush a lot until Itachi begins to speak.

One day when their parents were out of town, Sasuke managed to pry some answers out of his brother, and was horrified to know that the Itachi Uchiha had struggles too.

Ever since they were kids, Shisui would come over to the Uchiha household for sleepovers. And when Mikoto and Fugaku fell asleep, all three kids would indulge in pillow fights. Sasuke and Shisui would gang up on Itachi because that's one of those things that draw some reaction out of Itachi.

[aberrymilk]

No, but like, WHY do people care so much about other people ship preferences?

I get it, I don't ship the obvious ones or the "right" or what was given to me by the author, but IS JUST A SHIP.

Look, don't get me wrong, I'm not angry at other preferences when it comes to this. What I get annoyed at is that when there is an illustration, an edit, a fucking fic, any kind of media, that shows that romantic dynamic between the characters they will be like

"siblings 🩷" "omg no how could ship that? They aren't like that." "Have you read the books ?" "Omg, people actually ship them?" "The author said..." "omg but this (name of other ship), it's so much better," and so on.

My beautiful person who comments in every edit of (some examples, but I'm sure that there's more) harmony, lunami, zutara, sasusaku .... do you really think that they/we don't know or care about this ? Do you know what you look like when u comment stuff like that? An idiot who can't let others have a different opinion on literally fiction character's romance life, like that one kid in kindergarten who saw another kid getting a toy and go's on about how that toy is lame compared to theirs, a spoiled brat.

You have so many things to be arguing about in the actual plot, but you can't cus you think that the idea of nami and luffy together is so wrong that you go around in every media of them "oda said..." But with other members of the crew, oda said absolutely nothing... not only that, but are we really discussing this ? Can we be talking about I don't know... how racist and hypocrites are some people in this famdon? Really give your disappointment and disgust to that(what is actually important).

Harry and Hermione are another great example of "I know they aren't like that but I like the idea of it" WE KNOW THEY AREN'T LIKE THAT but we think is cute it could HAVE BEING cute, sometimes people just grow up shipping and seeing they as a possible couple, like people who grow hating sakura and now simply can't have a actually good argument of why she should be hated on... that was an ironic comment by the way but also not, ( no, her not liking the main character the same way shouldn't be one, or the author not giving her screen time either much less cus of the fact the the anime did her dirty with so much disconnect things from the manga, like her relationship with sasuke <his perspective of it > or naruto himself for that matter, hate on a literally 12 years old for saying shit that every fucking person in the village grew up thinking, funny, why not hate on the thirdkage then? The person who could have actually stopped the hate on a little kid) [Sorry that got out of the main point]

Or zutara, my God, people get personal with just as harmony, relax, just cus I like them doesn't mean I hate kataang, surprise or not I do think they are indeed very cute, I'm pretty sure some other people who ship zutara too... we just see the potential, what could have happened, once again, enemies to friends to loves, the plot, you know ? There is no need to get offended by the IDEA of it. We love the drama and the fic, the illustrations, the edits are just a format that represents and shows it, share if people who likes it, you don't like it ? Oh well, let me tell you a secret, ignore it, you probably ignore so much more important things, why not a fucking edit of ship you don't even like ?, oh you can't ? You can't see other people "toy" and shut about your disappointment on it, is it that hard ?, oh well, have you actually not known that there's an amazing thing within social media, when you hold/press or simply click on the 3 dots on the top of the post, there's a option there, that's right, BLOCK IT the algorithm will understand if you continue blocking it, unlike some people.

I'm just rambling about this because I'm sick and tired of people being such a killjoy, I just want to enjoy "my ship" and see the comments of people who actually likes it to, not yours "siblings 🩷" in post which is definitely not about that, or "oda said..." when i didn't ask what he said, you know people have different things that brings them a scape from reality that brings them a funny giggle (no killing others people joy, when it's such a basic no harmful thing), wave of emotion for those who don't get to feel much in the day-to-day life or simple just cus.

It just petty of you, be better.

Ps.. There is no offense for those who ship other characters within these plots(or different ones), original, popular, or unpopular. Do your thing. Be happy. Just don't spoil others.

Ps2... NO I'm not defending incest that's no it at fucking all ( sorry if I didn't make it clear). I said "siblings" when it came to lunami and Harry x Hermione (cus people like to comment that on posts that aren't even about it < the platonic soul mates comment>), they AREN'T related or grown up at such. Point is you hating the idea of it and going on every post about the ship and hating there. hate all you want, but not on ,obviously, posts that are for the fans of the ship.

[tamelee]

Hi… what do you think about people hating on naruto and saying that sasuke deserves better than naruto and that he doesn't love sasuke as deeply as sasuke does. And the way he talks in ch 698 like he doesn't want to come out. And he marries the first girl who chases after him to hide his sexuality like a closet gay behavior and live up to society's expectations (following according to his mother's word). Sasuke looked soo sad in Gaiden because Naruto had rejected his love for him. Some SNS shippers say that's why they hate Naruto.

I highly doubt you’re talking about SNS shippers/fans though. I have a feeling I know exactly what kind of stans these are because they’ll take every opportunity to hate on Naruto (and other characters as well). And if such people do claim they are then I’m pretty sure that the ‘🍥’ joining the ‘🍅’ is just in the bio for show. As if to say, ‘I ship SNS, therefore my unsolicited and biased criticism against Naruto is extra valid :)’ when it’s really not, (and vice versa) but I‘ll spare you the rant.

Using secondary source material (anything ’Boruto’) in order to invalidate main source material (’Naruto’ Manga) to then try and rationalize secondary source material-outcomes (the sequel) with assumptions to fill the gap in between these two (blank period) when it’s completely void of all previous logic in the first place, makes a well grounded argument in what way exactly?

In other words; why the hell would you look at the sequel and willing let that change your perspective as if it holds any merit to what we’ve already come to learn?

There is nothing wrong with a good hypothesizing session. I know from experience it can be somewhat soothing to rationalize a way towards something unwanted. In this case, it’s the sequel. ‘Gaiden’ is interesting for its own reasons. It’s sort of like, trying to come up with an explanation that makes an outcome seem a little less… bad. Which becomes easier because Naruto and Sasuke’s misery is fully on display. In the case of these haters though, they make it worse and just blame a character for a company’s money-grabbing decision. To let that be the deciding factor for them that fuels these unhinged claims about him being a bootlicker that acts through hatred or whatever strange mumbo-jumbo they also come up with. But anytime someone tries to make an argument about ‘Naruto’ and uses “because in ‘Boruto’…” you can already cast it aside as invalid.

Connecting two unrelated idea’s doesn’t say nor prove anything. You can’t even disprove it either because the argument doesn’t make any sense.

So it’s also ironic to hate on Naruto using Ch. 698 as an excuse to say he ‘doesn’t love Sasuke as deeply as Sasuke does’, when it’s primarily Naruto trying to explain how deeply he loves Sasuke as best as he can lol. I’m not sure if I’m impressed by the creativity or just dumbfounded that someone can read Ch. 698 and then come to such an irrelevant conclusion as if it has anything to do with ‘coming out’. It’s like having a conversation with someone about a very specific type of bird when another person barges in to ask why they’re discussing how to create your own carrousel. And besides, Naruto may exaggerate his denial profusely when someone brings it up (which is by itself very telling), but he never was good at hiding how he felt about Sasuke or how far he’d go (literally the entire story), even threatening war on behalf of Sasuke, dragging Konoha in it, indicating revenge for Sasuke if he’s harmed when really it was just a matter of his own personal feelings. As… obviously Konoha couldn’t care less and in fact would most likely side against Naruto anyway. He’s already boldly shared his intimate thoughts with the entire world during the war though, didn’t he. He literally connected his Chakra with everyone and spilled his brainrot about him freely.

You can create your very own narrative towards the outcome that is ‘Boruto’ and make it as crazy as you want, but it will still be based on assumptions. In fact, go ahead and write that story if you must, they tried and failed with Hinata’s movie for a reason. I'm sure an SNS-fan can do a better job, in fact, they have.

The idea that Naruto would probably struggle to accept how he feels and what it means, could very well be true. It would definitely be conflicting with the role he is expected to play as Hokage and it’s also something I’m exploring in the story I’m writing. But, so would it be possible that Sasuke will struggle, because we haven’t forgotten that love caused him to experience the most horrible pain through betrayal, yes? Naruto does care about how he’s perceived and he is a people-pleaser that was on a journey to realize that there is a difference between the conditions he must meet in order to soothe his sense of feeling unworthy of love and the unconditional love Sasuke proved to hold for him, regardless of anything else. “Because I feel relieved just looking at you as it reminds me of the love I’ve lost”.

Acknowledging is one thing, accepting is a whole other and then taking the action-steps to pursue it freely would imo require another story which would’ve been a fitting follow-up after Ch. 699 if that was even possible in the first place for Kishimoto to do. But it’s not.

Stop for one second and think about the amount of value you put onto the money-grabbing shit-stain on the franchise that is ‘Boruto’ and whether you want that bullshit, no matter the label, to invalidate everything you’ve loved about it in the first place. Rationalizing something when the bridge toward it is missing completely and where the outcome isn’t followed by logic is just people inventing an explanation to justify their own unhappiness with something. Aka; their hatred for Naruto.

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Itachi Uchiha

Itachi was evil!!!!!! Itachi did nothing wrong!!!!!! Itachi is the GOAT!!! Itachi loved Sasuke!!!!!!!! NO! WRONG! SHUT UP!!!!!! Itachi was a fucked up little man formed by his clan and the Shinobi nations to value power and loyalty above all. Because of the way the sharingan is activated trauma is inextricably linked to power which is why he keeps mind blasting him. He wants Sasuke to be powerful because he loves him, and to Itachi being powerful is the only way to survive the Shinobi world. That's why he does all those fucked up things to him. It doesn't mean he was right

Homura Akemi

She ends the world (over and over) for her love interest yet people say she does no wrong. She's take advantage of by a contractor and desperate yet people say she is pure villainy

There's been a decade long debate over this. She either did everything wrong or did nothing wrong. Probably the most controversial part of the franchise.

She's a 14 year old catholic lesbian, you'd be a little unhinged too. And sure, she did tear her beloved metaphysically in half after Madoka had ascended to godhood, but that was because she thought that that was what Madoka would have wanted. And she only imprisoned the human half because she didn't want Madoka to sacrifice herself again.But she had also stopped caring about anyone else, except instrumentally. She didn't ask the whole Madoka goddess if she endorsed her choice of becoming the embodiment of hope, and only listened to the fragment that said "uwu leaving my friends and family behind sounds scary" because she wanted Madoka back.Some parts of fandom tend to demonize her, some say her pivot to "villainy" in the movie came out of left field even though it's perfectly coherent with her previous characterization.

She kind of became the devil, BUT SHE DID IT FOR LOVE. So yeah it's a bit complicated but some people put her like this mega toxic devil whose forcing Madoka in a relationship OR that she would destroy all her friends just to see Madoka happy when she actually cares about them too, she's just willing to go to some extremes to meet her goals.

[ramen8baka]

dating sasuke headcanons!

tw: none I don’t think 🤔 if I should add any please just comment :)

I think sasuke would be a bit hard to communicate with because of his childhood. as in her might have trust issues or whatever from us know.. his whole family being killed

“Sasuke what’s wrong?”

“hmph” he turned his head away from you.

“please, I love you and I want to help” you hold his face in your hands.

“okay… I guess I’ve just had a rough day”

“do you want to talk about it?” he nods

despite it seeming like you’d take charge with the emotional parts in your relationship, sasuke does have a major soft spot for you. when you told naruto about how he treats you naruto almost spit out his ramen 😵‍💫

Cuddling with him would usually include spooning, (you’d prolly be the little spoon because he likes the thought of protecting you) him laying on your chest, or just holding each other

watching you guys’s “show” every Thursday together

going out on dates together to cute little restaurants or walking around town

sasuke would have the most adorable relationship with your parents/parent figure. they’d be proud of you when they saw the guy you cuffed 🤭

this might seems like a controversial opinion but I think he’d cool for you as surprises sometimes and it’d be kind of alive language for him

you guys adopting a dog or cat and treating it like your child <3

summers with sasuke would be the best cus y’all would go on SO many adventures. like little walks around town, go to the beach, double dates with friends, etc.

If any of you like gamer sasuke this is for you: he’d sometimes let you sit on his lap as he plays a game or even try to teach you to play it

“Wait, how do you shoot again?” “oh my gosh, y/n we’ve been over this like 1 times!” he rubs his eyes “sometimes i you make me wanna alt f4 myself”

even if he acts tough and like he doesn’t care about anything… he’s a lil sensitive and he does love you. a lot. like ion think y’all are hearing me, he LOVES you

hope this wasn’t too short but I love y’all 😘 and thank you so much for reading 😁 🙏

[cartoonrival]

ok + for goodness' sake sasuke so that the screenshot takes up less space

1)parallels between naruto/sasuke and naruto/kawaki. i think honestly carrying over and actually bringing attention to the love-obsession thing that was going on sort of mostly unaddressed in the original series (in terms of no one called naruto as insane as they frankly shouldve) has the potential to be very interesting, especially because bringing it into the sphere of a father-son relationship rather than a platonic/romantic one is not really something i've seen before, along with the fact that kawaki doesn't actually know naruto much at all, making this very much an idolization of an idea of the person who saved you, someone who can do no wrong and is so without flaw. it was what this dude said:

like kawaki's obsession is weird and emblematic of how he grew up. also, the way that both of them sort of end up treating the other like a thing to be protected or owned or passed around, kawaki trapping him in time prison with zero regards for the fact that no one wants to be in time prison, and naruto's famous "give sasuke back/dont talk about sasuke like you own him in front of me/i'll get sasuke back/ill break your legs if i have to", there is the dismissal of actual personal wants However.

kawaki does this because he thinks that naruto's life is worth more than anything ever, and the reason he thinks this is because he thinks naruto is the most perfect person in the world and the only one who can save the world from evil. in naruto's case, even though he has a habit of possessiveness, sasuke is very much still a person to him, someone he violently and desperately wants to be close to. he doesnt think sasuke is perfect or can do no wrong, he just doesnt really give a fuck what wrong things sasuke does because he loves him too much and wants him too bad to ever hold anything against him. anything sasuke does is understandable and forgivable. naruto wouldnt put sasuke in time prison to protect him because then they couldnt hang out, and he knows sasuke wouldnt want that anyways. while i think naruto's obsession is insane, its more possessive than dehumanizing, which is def the angle kawaki is taking. again, i think this could be interesting if it was expounded upon but i dont think anyone in boruto is enough of a character for this actually do be pulled off in any satisfying way.

2)boruto/kawaki vs naruto/sasuke. i think honestly i just dont really have it in me to even act like kawaki and boruto have a dynamic that even comes close to the bullshit naruto and sasuke have going on, but if i were to attempt to explain why i dont think this is the case than i think at least part of it (beyond the fact taht ever character in boruto is painfully undercooked) is that boruto and kawaki's bond is based almost entirely around both being marked by karma. like they become friends sort of on a more surface level same way boruto is friends with anyone else, but its definitely not the same as naruto and sasuke's inexplicable pull towards one another since they were kids. even though kawaki has like sort of stupid convoluted internal strife going on, boruto doesnt honestly have enough inner issues to even shadow the bizarre knot that is sns. boruto and naruto both didn't want to kill their wayward friends because it's hard to kill someone you care about, i don't think that reads as a strong parallel because its like . what kind of story would it be if boruto was just like Okay lets kill him... now! also if kawaki dies naruto stays trapped im p sure so if he kills kawaki he is also functionally killing his dad

3)naruto and sasuke are both terrible parents but sasuke is leagues leagues leagues worse and he sees boruto has his son more than he will ever see sarada as his daughter. to him, she is his daughter because that is the only way she should have the sharingan. he can't really stand being around her and any interaction he has with her is out of guilt. boruto is his son because boruto is naruto's son

4)why did they bring up that jiraiya might get resurrected and then just drop it or is this me forgetting since i watched boruto 6+ months ago

[demondwellersword]

it’s always been you.

sasuke x f!reader

warnings: gore/violence, angst, canon-divergent (instead of sasuke leaving he just disappeared; the reader takes the place of sakura but with different jutsus/skills. i also diverged from the original story of the fairytale a bit)

notes: i recently watched the movie belle (i highly recommend it!) and i absolutely fell in love with it. i thought sasuke would be a perfect fit for a beauty and the beast retelling, so i took a few liberties with the source material. enjoy! 

You were confident you’d never been more anxious in your entire life. Even your first mission felt like a walk in the park compared to the fear that currently had a vice grip on your entire body. Your heart pounded in your ears so loud you doubted you’d even be able to hear your name get called. Your chest hurt with such a ferocity that it felt as if something was slowly cracking your ribs one by one. Your hands shook so much you could barely pull the scroll out of your pocket to check (for the fifth time) if you were in the right place at the right time. 

There had to have been some kind of mistake, you thought to yourself, heart leaping into your throat at the sight of Shizune, I’m nowhere near strong enough to be going on a mission like this.

“I’m glad you could make it here on such short notice, (Name). I know this is all a bit sudden, but I figured you were the best person to take on a mission like this.” 

All you could do was bow and utter a meek, “Of course, m’lady.” 

“Let’s get down to business then. We’ve been fielding more and more complaints about people on the outskirts of the village seeing some sort of monster moving through the trees at all hours of the day. A few brave—in my opinion stupid—souls have tried to catch it, but not a single one has even gotten close.”

“Is that where I come in?” You asked timidly.

The Hokage nodded. “I need you to patrol the outskirts and see if you can catch a glimpse of what’s been terrorizing the villagers. You’ll be leaving with Sai and Naruto tomorrow afternoon. But (Name),” the Hokage beckoned you closer, lowering her voice slightly, “you have to promise me that you won’t tell Naruto why you’re in the village.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“I’ve told Sai the same. There’s a chance this could provide us with a lead on the disappearance of Sasuke Uchiha, and we can’t have Naruto, well...”

“Being Naruto?” 

“Exactly. I trust you and Sai will be more than equipped to handle this, but still exercise caution and use your best discretion. We don’t want anyone else disappearing, got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good.” As you turned to leave, the Hokage spoke one last time. “Be careful, (Name). I hope you’re able to find what you’re looking for.” 

*

Lady Tsunade’s final words rang in your head every sleepless hour that led up to your departure. What you were looking for, what you had always been looking for, was Sasuke. You were the last person to see him before his untimely disappearance, and the weight of it had crushed you ever since. No matter how good of a kunoichi you’d become there was a constant grey cloud hanging over your head—the belief held among many of Konoha’s citizens that you were the reason its brightest star had suddenly disappeared from the sky. 

You guessed it was why Lady Tsunade had given you the mission in the first place. She and Kakashi were the only people you had confided in about the relentless ridicule you’d been subjected to, so she knew better than anybody else how much it meant to you. It was why now, as you stood at the village gates waiting for Sai and Naruto to arrive, you felt as if the dango you’d eaten for lunch was about to rise back up from your turning stomach.

“Hey (Name)! What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited to be going on a mission? You talked to Granny Tsunade yesterday, right? How’d it go?” 

All you could do was blink in response to Naruto’s rapid-fire questions. Your eyes drifted over to Sai, noting that he looked just as lost as you did. 

“Good afternoon, (Name). You seem to be upset, is there something you would like to talk about?” 

“No, but thank you Sai.” You gave him a kind smile. “We should probably get going so we can get settled before ni—“ Sai shot you a dangerous look. “Before it gets too dark out. We’ll need to find a place to stay for the night before we do anything else.” 

“Good idea, (Name). You and I can take up the rear. Naruto, how about you take the lead and start heading toward the outskirts.” 

“Who died and made you leader?” Naruto remarked with a huff, starting with a leisurely pace toward the treeline in the distance. 

“Thank you, Sai,” You said once Naruto was out of earshot, beginning to bound through the trees a safe distance behind him. 

“Lady Tsunade informed me of the importance of this mission to you. I don’t know what kind of bond you two shared, but it seems that he means a great deal to you. Am I correct?” 

You nodded. “He was my best friend. I...” 

You swallowed thickly, the words dying in your throat. He was more than just your best friend or your teammate or your partner. For all of your shyness and all of his aloofness, it seemed you two were the only ones who understood each other. When you were young you’d been a calm, united force against the arrogance and unpredictability of Naruto; as you’d grown older you each became powerful in your own rights, but had never entirely abandoned each other. 

Until. 

“You’re much quieter than usual. It said in my book that often times subjects like this can be difficult for people to discuss, even if many years have gone by since it happened. I hope that you’ll be able to find Sasuke again, (Name).” 

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, your mind racing with thoughts. You had never entertained the thought of what might happen once you saw Sasuke again. It was always too painful, the wound always too fresh. Even now you felt a pain stab at your chest, but you couldn’t stop your mind from venturing to the thought. Would he remember you? Would he recognize you? You’d cut your hair since then, gained muscle, learned how to master the water change in chakra nature. You were different now, yet at the same time you felt as if you had remained exactly the same.

Even more concerning, would you recognize him? How much had he changed from the boy you’d promised to see tomorrow all those years ago? In your more heartbroken moments you allowed yourself to try and imagine what he would look like now, but what if you’d been wrong? What if he was unrecognizable? Would you still feel the same as you did then? 

“Hey! (Name)!” 

Naruto’s voice snapped you away from your doubts, bringing you to a screeching halt at the village’s outskirts. Sparse houses dotted the landscape, broken up by a few shops and restaurants that paled in comparison to the village proper. Lady Tsunade had arranged for the three of you to stay at a merchant’s house while he was off selling his products in another village, and Sai had been entrusted with the key a day prior to your departure.

He led the way to the modest home near the forest, which upon entering was found to be immaculately cleaned and finely furnished. Naruto immediately threw himself into a plush armchair, sitting back in it while Sai scolded him for disrespecting the house. 

“I think I’ll go rest for a bit if you two don’t mind.” You exchanged a look with Sai, making sure that he understood you’d be sleeping before you departed that night to look for the monster. 

“I’ll let you know when we’ve returned from talking to the villagers. Rest well.” 

* 

You awoke to Sai standing in your doorway, his hand raised and a smile on his face. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah, I managed to wake up on my own, but thank you for checking on me. Is Naruto asleep?”

“He just left for the bath house a few moments ago. I think I’ll join him. I wanted to stop by here and make sure you were awake first, and it seems you are, so I’ll be on my way. Please be careful while you’re patrolling, I wouldn’t want to get on Lady Tsunade’s bad side again.” 

You smiled, thanking Sai once again before he left. You pulled on your shoes and gathered your weapons, taking a deep breath before setting out into the night. The wind that met your face upon opening the door was pleasantly cool, marking the beginning of the shift from summer to autumn. It helped to wake you as you disappeared into the forest, bounding between trees while keeping your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. 

After an hour of searching all you’d come up with was a spider in your shoe and an overwhelming sense of defeat. You slumped back in a tree and sighed, wondering if Lady Tsunade had sent you on little more than a wild goose chase. As you rested your mind drifted to Sasuke, thinking of the low-rank missions you had gone on together as genin. It had always been the two of you taking care of the actual objective while Naruto got distracted, same as it was with you and Sai now. 

But you knew better than anyone all the ways that it hadn’t been the same for a single second since Sasuke had disappeared. In his wake he had left a gaping absence, a black hole that got closer to consuming you with every day that passed by. You hated it. Hated the feeling of waking up and knowing he wasn’t there, that for all you knew he would never be there again. Hated the way the villagers whispered about you, the way that they feared and reviled you. You who had shot their brightest star right from the sky. You who was no better than the Akatsuki members—why didn’t you just join them? It seemed you would fit right in. 

Yet for some reason you dug your heels in and kept stubbornly defending the Leaf, taking any mission that someone was kind enough to give you. No matter how dangerous it was, you had to prove that you were better than the rumors. You had to prove that you were strong enough to get Sasuke back. It hadn’t been a mistake that you were the one left behind, you just had to bring him back and—

Something moved beyond the tree line. 

You readied a kunai and slowly crept toward the shadowy figure in the distance. It was still for the time being, resting in what seemed to be a crouch. Its shape was unlike anything you’d seen before, the distance and darkness making it hard to pick out any specific details. Just as its image became clearer it stood up, quickly bounding toward a point in the distance. 

You immediately followed after it, breaking out through the trees to follow it on foot. You tried to move as quietly as possible, hoping that you could stay far enough behind it that it wouldn’t sense your presence. You could now see that it had a pair of massive, grotesque wings that looked like a pair of fleshy claws. It was vaguely humanoid, with a mane of thick black hair that bounced against its back as it ran. You allowed yourself to draw closer to it, making sure your footsteps were quiet enough that it couldn’t hear you. A pang of fear pricked at your chest when you realized there was a chance whatever creature this was could sense chakra, but it was too late now to implement any sort of measures to conceal yourself. 

You matched the creature’s every step, following the winding path it took with a grim determination. It was leading you further and further away from the village, which you could only guess was a deliberate move. The longer you travelled the more you could begin to see the landscape change, the empty grassland giving way to what appeared to be an abandoned village. The creature’s pace began to quicken, obviously drawing nearer to its destination. You took the opportunity to slow down and duck behind one of the empty houses, watching as the creature made its way to an expansive house in the distance.

As you drew nearer to the house you began to realize just how impressive it was. It was built much like any other house you’d seen in the Leaf, though far more elaborate and ornate. It was more well-maintained than it should have been, and as you passed through its front gate you were amazed to see that all the structures of it were seemingly intact. 

You walked along the corridor enclosing the central garden, peering into any doors that had been left ajar as you searched for any sign of where the creature had disappeared to. You could sense a distant chakra somewhere in the house, but every time you got closer to it it seemed to disappear completely. You sighed and stopped for a moment, walking through an open door into a wide, empty room with a few dusty pillows and a shredded tatami mat in it. You took a seat in the least cobweb-covered area of the room, giving yourself a moment to rest and collect yourself before you continued the search. 

Just as you lowered yourself to the ground you heard a loud crash from the other side of the house followed by a sharp yell. You ran toward the source of the noise, ducking into one of the rooms to hide as you looked for the source of the noise. You could hear the wood floors creaking, heavy footsteps drawing closer and closer to your location....

“YOU!” The growling roar of the creature’s voice filled your ears, making your instinctively shrink back and press your back into one of the corners of the room. 

You hurled a kunai at its chest, watching in horror as the creature deflected it and appeared in front of you. It reached a hand out to wrap around your neck, slamming you back into the wall hard enough to make your teeth rattle. You tried desperately to cast a jutsu that could get you out of its grasp, but before long your vision began to ebb and all you could think to do was claw at its hands in an attempt to grant your survival. 

“Why have you come here?” You continued to grasp at its hand. “Answer me!” 

“You...you’re....” 

Your head swam, blotches of blurred black occupying more and more of your vision. You stared into the eyes of the creature, knowing it would be your last sight before you inevitably died by its hands. And when you looked into them, a single thought occupied your mind:

Sasuke.

*

You could remember the first day you’d met Sasuke Uchiha like it was yesterday. Unlike the rest of the girls in Konoha you weren’t immediately enamored with him—in fact, you’d thought he was a bit of a stuck-up jerk. You were convinced the only reason he’d passed the tests was because of his natural talent, and you resented him for already being regarded as the best. You’d spent months training to pass the test, spending hours upon hours studying your family’s water-style jutsus in order to get a spot on a team. 

It wasn’t until after your first mission that you realized you had more in common with Sasuke than you’d previously believed. On your journey back from the Land of Waves the two of you had gotten to know each other, and you felt hopeful that the two of you would become good friends. 

As the months passed you and Sasuke began to forge a bond that would eventually lead to your current heartbreak. The more he opened up to you the more you fell for him, and the more you believed that you would have a real chance at a future with him.

You were so sure, in fact, that you had made a plan to ask him out on a date the day he’d disappeared. You’d worn your favorite dress and gotten a bouquet of the prettiest flowers you could find from Ino’s family’s shop, deciding you would ask him to meet you at Ichiraku so the two of you could talk. 

You had waited there for two hours. 

The shop owner had given you a free bowl of ramen when you had slumped into one of the seats, barely holding back tears as you picked your way through a bowl of tonkotsu. You wordlessly returned the flowers to Ino on your way back to your house, sniffling your way into your room without a word to anyone about what had happened. You didn’t know how long you laid in bed and cried, but to you it felt like an eternity. 

The sun was beginning to set when you finally dragged yourself out of bed to look for him, hoping that maybe Kakashi had passed him by in the village at some point that day. When you asked him he awkwardly asked if you had been crying, abandoning his inquiry as soon as your lip began to quiver. He’d told you he’d help you look and you made him promise to keep it a secret from Naruto, following him into the village with a heaviness to your heart.

Four hours passed before you concluded that he was simply gone. The last thing you’d said to him was that you couldn’t wait to see him again. Now the words felt like knives buried in your chest, stabbing at you as you fell to your knees and sobbed at the village gates. 

Weeks would pass without any sign of Sasuke, and each day that elapsed more rumors began to spread. You became something of a recluse, burying yourself in your training in order to fill the hole that had been left in your life. You’d barely even cared when Kakashi told you and Naruto you’d be getting a new partner—what did it matter, anyway? You liked Sai well enough but you had to agree with Naruto (something you would never admit to out loud), there was no replacing the empty space Sasuke’s disappearance had left behind. 

And now here you were, staring into the same red eyes whose powers you had once resented, now buried within the face of something you had described as a monster. 

You were surprised to awaken in one of the rooms of the house, watching as sunlight illuminated your surroundings. The door connecting the room to the rest of the house was firmly shut and sealed, and the windows all had paper bombs attached to them so they couldn’t open. Save for a few cobwebs in the corners the room was relatively clean, and it was furnished with a dilapidated futon and a few pillows. There was a small box tucked into the back right corner of the room which held two days’ worth of food and water and what you swore were the shedded scales of a snake. 

Whatever—or whoever—that creature was had forced you to stay here, but it seemed as if it wasn’t doing it out of pure cruelty. You would formulate a way to escape nonetheless, hoping you’d be able to make it back to the village before anyone went looked for you. But perhaps even more importantly than that you couldn’t rest until you saw the creature again. Its eyes....you knew they were Sasuke’s. You didn’t want to think about how it had come to possess them, but you had to keep grasping onto the hope that he was still alive somewhere in there. 

A day passed before you made a plan, and it wasn’t until night fell that you began to implement it. You were to cast your tidal wave jutsu directly at the door, hoping that one point-blank blast would be enough to break the wood and free you. You took your place at the opposite side of the room and began to cast it, stopping when you heard footsteps approaching. You lowered your hands and sunk down against the wall, sitting as if you’d been there for hours on end. 

The door slowly slid open, and before the creature could stop you you cast the jutsu and bolted for the door. You ran as fast as you could down the corridor, taking a sharp left and landing yourself in the western edge of the house. There was a single room tucked into the corner that you took the opportunity to hide in, flinging the door open as the creature closed the distance between you. 

The room seemed to be in a more severe state of disrepair than the rest of the house, and the sight of it gave you a pause that you knew would surely cost you your life. There was a single dust-covered window in the room whose light shone upon a single iridescent white snake, curled up and sleeping in the room’s center. You saw the shadow of the creature blot out the light, throwing a kunai at it to buy you enough time to escape. 

You ran from the house and into the empty area that surrounded it, heart pounding in your chest as you made your way for the village. You could hear the distant bark of wild dogs growing closer, fear in your eyes as you watched them skid to a halt and surround you. You tried to distract them with shadow clones, but their ferocity made quick work of them. Your hands were shaking far too badly to properly cast any justus, and you could feel in your heart that this would be the place where your story finally came to a close. 

You watched in fear as the creature grabbed you and pushed you behind it, taking a harsh slash to the chest from one of the dogs as its hands moved to cast a jutsu. Your heart lurched as you watched the creature cast a fireball, falling to its knees as the grass in front of it caught flame. With the last of its strength the creature grabbed you and gave its fleshy wings a flap, taking off from the ground and starting back toward the house. 

It began to rapidly lose altitude as its wounds gushed blood until it finally fell just beyond the front gates of the house. You carried it the rest of the way, heart pounding in your chest as you took it back to the room you’d been held in. You sat in the room for what felt like hours, casting a healing jutsu on its wounds until you could no longer physically sustain it. 

You collapsed by the creature’s side, tears prickling in the corners of your eyes as you finally allowed yourself to take a good look at it. In the fading light of the day you could see that scars had formed across its muted brown skin, and that it’s clothes had been torn in the fight. You sucked in a breath before directing your gaze to its face, heavy tears slipping down your cheeks as you took in the sight. Buried under the thick black markings across its face and the strange color to its lips you saw him. 

You saw Sasuke. 

The longer he slept the more his features began to return to their normal state, as if whatever jutsu had been cast upon him was reversing itself in midst of the peace of sleep. The man who laid before you looked as you had always imagined him, just as beautiful as you’d remembered him. The sight made you ache, knowing what would return once he awoke. You had no idea what this curse was or why it had been placed on him, but you were determined to do whatever it took to reverse it. 

You sat with Sasuke until he woke up, hating to see the way his features shifted back into the monster’s as he sat up and looked around the room. 

“You. You’re still here.” He touched the scars along his chest, looking back up at you. “Why did you save me?” 

“I...” Your breath caught in your throat. Why was it suddenly so hard to talk to him? “I couldn’t just leave you to die.” 

“So you carried me all the way back here? And for what? So you can feel a sense of accomplishment? Or was it to ensure that I was wounded and wouldn’t attack you again?” 

Tears welled in your eyes. You reflexively leaned back, pulling your gaze away from the venomous look in Sasuke’s eyes. “I-I healed you best I could—”

He scoffed at you in response. “So what is it then? Have you been sent to torture me with the hope that something might change?” 

Your lip began to quiver. “I just want to help you, Sasuke, please.” 

For a moment, he paused. You shifted away from him, worried for what would happen next. “What did you just call me?” 

“S-Sasuke.” 

“How do you know my name?” He barked, looking as if he were ready to attack at a moment’s notice. 

“Y-you don’t remember me?” 

You could barely swallow back the sob that tore its way out of you, your chest aching as a hand clasped over your mouth. How could he not remember you? Had you just been fooling yourself, childishly tricking your mind into believing that you meant something to him? Had you honestly thought that you could save him? You, the weakest one among all of Team 7. You who had tried so hard to shine as brightly as Naruto or Sasuke, but who could never even be a star in Konoha’s sky. You who had so naively believed that life was like some kind of fairytale, that all it would take was true love’s kiss to reverse years of heartache and torment. 

You who thought you were something more than what you are. 

“Answer me.” 

You tried to stand up, tried to run away and become the coward you always knew yourself to be, but felt Sasuke’s hand wrap around your wrist and grip it tight. He pulled you back down to a sitting position, holding you so tightly that you couldn’t move. 

“I...” Hot, heavy tears now streamed down your cheeks, and your voice came out as a raspy whisper. “Sasuke you have to remember me. Please.” 

His claws dug into your skin. “Who the hell are you?” 

“(Name),” You stammered, heart hammering in your chest. 

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. He studied you, your chakra, your clothes and everything that sat trembling before him. His scrutinizing gaze bore into you, laying you bare, breaking you down to your simplest of pieces. 

You were nothing more than a foolish girl who had wandered here believing that there was no force in the universe greater than love. 

How wrong you had been. 

Because it was hate that made beads of blood bloom against your skin. It was hate that manifested in two red eyes tearing you apart with more sting than the sharpest kunai. It was hate that had morphed the beautiful into the grotesque. It was hate that had wiped the slate clean, that had erased a life you’d thought you built. It was hate, all consuming and never ending. 

“Please let me go. I’ll leave and I won’t come back. I won’t tell anyone that you’re here, just please...” 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“You’re different. But your chakra is the same.” 

No waves of relief washed over you. Only a sick feeling deep in your stomach, heavy and dark  and thick as storm clouds. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, too afraid that you might see a shadow of his past self looking back at you. Any hope you’d once had that he would look at you with the same softened look he had before evaporated the moment he’d awoken. All you hoped for now was that you would make it out of here alive. 

He loosened his grip on your hand. “How did you know I was here?” 

How much did you want to tell him? “There....there were reports of-of something on the outskirts of the village....” 

“So they sent you here to investigate?” 

You nodded. “I didn’t want to hurt you, I promise. I-I didn’t even know it was you until...” 

You stopped yourself. Until I looked into your eyes. The curse of the Uchiha clan, always so beautiful to you. How many times had the power of those eyes saved you? How many more times did you think they would? Were you ready to let them destroy you too? 

“Why have you come here?” His voice had softened considerably, though it still held an edge of skepticism. His hand still held you in place, though no longer tight enough to make you bleed. And you, you were still terrified of him. You didn’t believe in any of this, not in the way you should have. Not in the way you had when you’d followed him here. 

To save you, Sasuke. To bring you home. 

Sasuke let go. “Why did it take so long?” 

You finally looked up at Sasuke. You saw beneath all that he had become. You saw that he was still the boy you snuck out to see, dancing across the rooftops of Konoha to the sweet melodies carried on the nighttime air. He was still the person you dreamt of every night, conjuring all manners of fantastical scenarios for your reunion. He was a monster now, yes, but this wasn’t the fate he would be resigned to. 

“I didn’t think I would ever find you again.” Your voice had returned, however small, your cheeks still shimmering with tracks of tears. “But I hoped I would. I never stopped looking for a sign that you were still alive.” 

“But why? I would think by now you would’ve given up.” 

“I-I couldn’t. I guess....” you sighed, “I guess I just couldn’t accept the fact that you were gone. The truth is, well...” 

I love you, Sasuke. That’s why I never stopped looking for you. I’ve loved you since we were kids. Not a single day has gone by where I haven’t dreamed of what it would be like to see you again. How stupid is that? I had always hoped this would be something magical but at this point I just wish you’d tell me to get lost. Please stop being so nice to me, it’ll only make what happens next hurt worse. 

“Well?” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to say it. Your hands fidgeted restlessly in your lap, eyes darting to the ground the second he looked at you. After all that had transpired you couldn’t even open your mouth, the words dying in your throat every time you tried to force yourself to get them out. 

A heavy silence settled between you and Sasuke. Did he know? Did he feel the same? Was he just waiting for you to say it, readying himself to reject you? Would the blow come soft, or would it hit harder than any jutsu that had been flung your way? You weren’t ready for the answers—but then again, you doubted that you ever would be. 

So in a moment of what would prove to either be pure stupidity or shocking boldness, you planted a hand on the floor, leaned forward, and pressed your lips into Sasuke’s. 

It felt as if time had frozen around you. Sasuke was motionless between your lips, so still that you cracked your eyes open to see if he was even there. Each second felt like an hour, ticking by at an excruciating pace. Just as you began to pull away in shame you felt his lips slowly press back against yours, a hand sliding up to gently cup your cheek. 

You leaned into him, his touch like pure electricity against your skin. It was utter bliss; everything you had ever dreamed of and more. When you finally opened your eyes and pulled away there was a moment where you felt as if you were in the twilight of sleep, worried that this was all some kind of cruel dream meant to distract you from the fact that you were still trapped somewhere in the house. But when you looked at Sasuke you knew this was as real as anything, a truth even greater than fiction. 

“Sasuke, you’re...” 

“An act of true love.” 

"What?”

“The person who cast this jutsu on me, the one who trapped me in this form, they said that the only thing that could reverse it was an act of true love. They said I would be stuck like this forever because no one would ever be able to defeat the hate in my heart. But you, (Name), you...” 

“I always did, Sasuke. Every single moment, I never once stopped.” 

Sasuke collapsed into your arms, no longer forced to bear the weight of what his past had forced him to become. You didn’t expect things to go back to the way they were, you knew that was foolish, but you did hope that the future the two of you would forge together would be a brighter one than the one you had long ago forced yourself to make peace with. 

In a few days’ time you would return to Konoha with Sasuke in tow. You knew there would be celebration, but you’d make sure he had time to recover first. You would make a bed for him on your couch or in your room or wherever he wanted to be, and you would go to sleep every night knowing that he was safe by your side once again. You couldn’t know exactly what would come in the weeks and months and years that followed, but you hoped that you would get the chance to spend them by Sasuke’s side. 

For now, though, it was enough knowing that he knew. It was enough to have said it without saying it, despite—or more likely because of—all that had happened. You held Sasuke close for as long as he needed, letting go once he sat up to look at you. 

“I always hoped it would be you that found me.” Sasuke’s eyes couldn’t quite meet yours. “I thought...I thought that you were the only one who could possibly break the jutsu.” 

You blinked. In all this time, had he wished for you the way you had him? Did he dream of this future too? Did it comfort him, or scare him? Had he believed you wouldn’t come, and was that why he lashed out the way he did? Was he scared of what would happen when you saw him not for who he was, but for what he’d become? Was he scared that you wouldn’t love him? 

“I’m glad I found you, Sasuke.” 

“I’m glad you did too.” 

You pressed another kiss into his lips, savoring the taste as if it would somehow disappear again. 

“Let’s go home, (Name).” 

[ludiharambasha]

Wow what a healthy romance is budding between these two. Essentially threatening suicide and fighting your loved one into submission is truly the romantic plot we didn't know we needed.

Now jokes aside, how can anyone in their right mind not see what a manipulative piece of shit Naruto is here? Obito just told him the truth behind the genocide, and not only does Naruto still stand by Konoha, but he also wants to beat Sasuke into submission! He is giving him an ultimatum!

How does the sentence "i am the only one who can handle all that hate" not sound alarming and manipulative? He literally sounds like an abusive ex! Just imagine that Sasuke was a woman for a hot minute. How many sns stans would still see this as romantic? A woman who suffered through a genocide is being harassed by a crazed moron who can't accept no for an answer and threatens he would kill her and himself? He minimizes her righteous anger and hatred towards a state that brutally killed her kin and wants to stop her from seeking justice? Now that is the context of this scene, the only difference is Sasuke's male. How is this exchange not completely terrifying and chilling to the bone?

I am not even saying that Sasuke and Naruto don't love each other (that would be blatantly untrue), but sns stans seem to misunderstand the nature and context of their love. First, it was not meant to be seen as romantic, as both Naruto and Sasuke said on multiple occasions that they feel like brothers, and are transmigrants of two actual brothers and are meant to try and resolve their conflict and feud (the core theme and plot of the story), so no that's not romantic love. Not every two men who have a deep bond are romantically interested in one another anyway, and frankly, it is rather homophobic to assume so, on top of feeding into this toxically masculine idea that straight men shouldn't express love and emotion amongst themselves.

Now, that aside, whatever the nature of their relationship (friendly, romantic or brotherly), it does not mean their relationship is particularly good, healthy or functional. Naruto is someone who protects the village that ordered the annihilation of Sasuke's clan-wanting, no, demanding that the two keep up a bond of any kind would be evil and cruel. Sasuke still caring about Naruto says more about his kindness and deeply caring nature. Naruto, on the other hand, is absolutely vile-he literally supports the genocide of Sasuke's people!! Why would anyone in their right mind see that as a romantic gesture??

( PS. This little speech bubble of Sasuke's reaction might be a little toned down, as I have read a version where he says, 'What the fuck is wrong with you?!'(it was even my pfp here for a short while).)

[sasukesun]

Hey, how are u?

Also, I wanted to ask what do you think about Naruto and Sasura’s relationship nature. I mean, do you think he ever truly loved her? His speech in shippuden about his feelings for her seemed really genuine, but except that I don’t really see love in his behavior, more like a childish crush? I don’t buy what was said in The Last about him trying to hit on her only to win with Sasuke, it doesn’t really makes sense to me. Anyway, what is your opinion? Thanks for answering xo

hello anon, i’m fine.

naruto’s behaviour towards sakura and overall attraction to women is inconsistent. we can easily tell that he truly never had romantic feelings for her, but a crush is, in my opinion, debatable… and really a crush in the sense of “she’s cute, i like her” kind of thing, which is basically what we see when sakura is introduced

now what is interesting is that the last wasn’t wrong to show that maybe it was about sasuke, it just definitely wasn’t so naruto could compete with sasuke

“i feel like i finally understand why i like her” right after sakura said she wants to be acknowledged by sasuke because she likes him? really? we know that naruto wants to be acknowledged by everyone, that’s the core of his character, but in this context, this just seems kinda ambiguous… he doesn’t wanna win over sasuke, he just wants his acknowledgement. when you take naruto’s interactions with sasuke and sakura into consideration after this quote, as well his behaviour, you see that basically naruto mimics heterosexuality by pretending to like sakura, while actually focusing his attention on sasuke, he mistakes his feelings/attraction for sasuke for a rivalry at first and a friendship later. i’ll give you some examples.

he doesn’t have much tact to compliment sakura. i know this is what she wanted to hear, but i just find it so funny honestly.

there are also a few more moments involving sakura’s appearance and naruto, in which a) naruto says haku is prettier than her b) naruto says after two years that they haven’t seen each other that she looked the same even though it seems by her body language that she wanted to be complimented and c) when other people called sakura ugly and naruto didn’t even comment about it or tried to defend her. now let’s look at this

is there some need to defend sasuke’s honour or something? no one is even insulting sasuke here, just comparing him and sai. the japanese word naruto uses here can be used to compliment someone’s looks btw and he not only says it, but he emphasises it at the end. there’s pretty much a huge gap between “the cute girl” he’s supposed to like a lot and sasuke, who is above it.

how about when naruto is just doing absolutely nothing but thinking of sasuke

until he gets interrupted by sakura… so he says he was planning to go on a date with her. are you for real?

this one is even funnier… sakura is taking care of naruto after he hurt his arm with rasenshuriken. someone in love would surely be happy to be closer to your loved one while they are healing you, and it’s what it seems that naruto is gonna say

until you turn to the next page

he’s just really happy they are in this together… for sasuke. you really can’t make this shit up.

i’ve also pointed out that in the chapter in which sakura decides to fake confess to naruto and go after sasuke to kill him, sakura says “that fool’s got such a crush on me” about naruto, and yet the only appearance naruto makes in the same chapter is him lying down and pining over sasuke. yikes.

the only “narusaku” moment during war on naruto’s part is when minato asks naruto if sakura is his girlfriend to which he reacts like

it’s not only that this is comic relief and it just seems like he wants to look good in front of his father, because he already knows about his mom’s speech and wishes when his parents died, it’s also that he hesitates to answer it.

but when he’s saying goodbye and really referencing the whole speech topic by topic and talking about important things…

he deflects the subject. very convenient and smart of kishimoto when he’s not allowed to explicitly say what he wants to, such as homosexuality.

and of course, there’s the infamous fake confession

in which naruto basically looks annoyed... not the reaction of someone who is in love, i would say.

and the cherry on top

the promise he made to sakura hasn’t changed anything, he would act the same with or without it.

narusaku dead and buried.

those inconsistencies happen over and over and they always involve sasuke somehow… like i said, projecting his real feelings for sasuke onto sakura. now if you think he thought she was cute and all, i can give you the benefit of the doubt, but being in love with her? no way. naruto has never loved her like that, and i honestly can’t even tell that he loved as a friend either when he pretty much treats her the same way he treats his other konoha comrades: takes responsibility for everything and doesn’t let anyone get involved…

…unless it’s sasuke, obviously, then he will bear his burdens and see so much pain that he just can’t leave it alone.

[dunmeshi-darlings]

apologies as i do not like being negative on here, i prefer positivity and fun. but something ive been thinking about lately. You know, maybe i am just an old hat on the internet. I remember things like AOL, Going to newgrounds to play flash games, Old youtube layout, And i Remember Fanfiction.net (gosh this definitely shows my age). Ive been in the online space for many years, easily over fifteen years to say the least. And ive been in the fandom side of the internet for most of it, And i remember how delightful and fun it was growing up. Fandoms were fun, people did amazing art and wrote fanfictions and had fun. They shipped all kinds of characters and every ship under the sun was possible and ships from entirely different series. and nobody cared what you shipped, hell some of the most popular ships of the time were "problematic" and nobody cared. Because at the end of the day everyone knew fandom was just fun and games and playing pretend. we were all basically playing with dolls in our minds and it was fun. When did it become so hateful and aggressive? people attacking each other over fandom stuff that was the norm years ago? Before id see people shipping themselves with sailor moon and naruto and everyone would love it. We would see sasuke shipped with his brother in the naruto anime, or inuyasha (200 years old) and kagome (15 years old) being the main couple of the inuyasha anime and everyone loved it? Fandom was fun and people could do whatever they wanted because its fictional, nothing mattered and how you treated real life people was infinitely more important that what you did fiction wise because it didnt matter. fiction is fiction and people can do what they want in it? and if we didnt like it? (and there were things i didnt like) we just blocked and moved on, called em squicks and that was the end of it. But now? now fandom is such a violent hateful place. People are at each others necks because they like pixels in the wrong way, or like two sets of pixels kissing the wrong way. It turned from this fun place people could be creative and do there things and basically played pretend to this contest of Morals and ethics where if you did something people didnt like you will get torn apart and attacked. Have some of the worst accusations possible casually thrown at you like the person wasnt saying such awful things. Calling people awful things and accusing them of the most horiffic things. People are doxxing each other, ruining each others lives, stalking and harassing them over fiction...Fictional fandom stuff?! ive seen people say such violent, hateful, even racist things toward others for there taste in fiction? Fandom has gone from this fun welcoming place where people have fun and do what they want. Because we all knew that what you enjoyed in fiction wasnt an indicator of how you are as a real person in real life. I mean Horror movies are incredibly popular, including things such as saw where the focuss is gore and death and people being killed. does somebody who like saw movies want to actually murder people violently? no clearly not. I mean hell, Game of Thrones was the most popular show for years and it was jokingly known as the incest show. Does that mean the people who liked game of thrones are into incest? no absolutely not. But for some reason stuff you like in fandoms and shipping makes you a monster? this is a sad thing.

People who view shipping and fandom as ethics tests and morality tests and attack and tear down other people because they like things in fiction have ruined fandoms and made being in fandoms miserable and its why fandoms are nothing like they used to be. There much smaller and less active and the level of love and dedication in them is nothing like it used to be. because its full of violent hateful people that cant separate fiction from reality.

[lorillee]

lorillee tell us about tsunade and sakura

tsunade. my best friend in the whole wide world. i knew i was going to love her before she showed up and i was completely and entirely vindicated shes an icon shes a legend she is the moment. theres not a single thing i dont love about her shes seriously one of the greatest characters of all time in any media ever everybody WISHES they had tsunade. shes like srsly so important to me and like okay the thing with a lot of "feminist" characters in a lot of media/fandom is that people assume that in order to make a feminist female character she has to be #feminism #girlboss #queen etc and cant lose at anything and Totally Owns The Boys With GIRL POWER ! but tsunade sucks at gambling and summons a giant slug (which im aware comes from the story she & jiraiya & orochimaru come from but in any other media she'd get something traditionally Badass tm like a wolf or something but no she gets a GIANT SLUG) and is more than happy to throw hands with an annoying 12 year old and gets drunk on the regular and has an obscene amount of debt on her hands and her pet is a pig but is absolutely able to hold her own and gets to be hokage and do cool and epic things and is so so so everything all of the time. im srsly obsessed with her relationship with jiraiya and orochimaru like you already know this but it genuinely kind of makes me ill that in the infinite tsukuyomi despite everything he's done orochimaru is literally. HES THERE. HES THEREEEEE like srsly what if we all blew up and died. huh

her relationship with sakura is also so so good and it actually kills me we didnt get to see it explored more because like pre-timeskip sakura doesnt really have a lot of confidence and doesnt really feel like she can contribute that much because shes next to three insane powerhouses who were kind of just born like that but after spending two years with tsunade and being able to come into her own shes much much more confident and outspoken and like its very clearly tsunade's influence that got her to that point and theyre so important to me im so fr. and of course tsunades relationship w naruto is also so insanely eveyrthing as well hes litearlly her special little boy like because he mouths off to her all the time but also clearly respects her so so much and she yells at him for being a brat but also clearly does enjoy their back and forths and SHES SO EVERYTHINGGGG its seriously . the situation is dire. shes so everything to me.

sakura..... sakura........... SAKURA.................... shes not even deeper than she seems if you HAVE EYEBALLS. WHICH APPARENTLY THIS FANDOM DOES NOT. LOL <- most passive aggressive lol in the history of lols. literally everybody ever is so wrong about sakura and the situation is actively dire its either "shes a bitch and annoying and a STUPID GIRL for [xyz stupid reason]" or "well im going to FIX sakura by making her a cardboard cutout #girlboss with three personality traits i think are generically cool on there and completely eviscerating her canonical personality and relationships because um well shes too annoying/stupid/useless/girly/whatever" its not even fine. the situation is dire. every time somebody complains about sakura i become further cemented in my opinion that she's never done anything wrong in her life ever. but the complaining aside shes srsly so important shes so good. i love her so much. like we've already talked about this a bit but it makes me srsly crazy insane her sense of responsibility for things that arent her fault (see trying to kill sasuke at the bridge) and i love her easily irritable nature and how much she cares like her fake confession to naruto is srsly biblical sakura moment and of course speaking of her relationship to naruto is seriously ITS SOOOO GOOODDDDDD like they are srsly best friends in the whole world and its so sickening theyre so cute and so good and so important like the progression from "the kid who everybody hates is obsessed with me and i need him to knock it off Now" to "my best friend whose chest i would cut open to massage his heart just to keep him alive" IS SERIOUSLY CRAZY INSANEEEEEEEEE ITS SO GOOD........... ITS SO EVERYTHING.............. ITS SO SO SO IMPORTANT. TO ME. and its honestly devastating kishimoto didnt give her and kakashi more scenes together if im being truly honest but their relationship too is soooooo soooo so cutiepie shes literally his special little girl............. anyways sakura i love you i love you so much sorry i wouldve probably typed more but ive been running around since 3:30 am and im about to crash. if im being real

[madara-fate]

I'm SO tired of the SNS fandom. I really don't care about what they have to say anymore about SasuSaku because i know they are going to have the most biased take ever. Is 2023 already. Naruto ended in 2014. I don't understand how they can hate Sakura so much. They always talk about how much they know Sasuke but the moment you tell them that they are just using their opinions on canon material they suddenly don't care anymore. It makes me mad because Sasuke never had any reaction to any man in the manga. He was disgusted with the accidental kiss. Sasuke knows what romantic love is, and the only person who he saw in romantic light was Sakura. I'm being serious when i say that i really don't like no one from that fandom. They can tell me they are fine with SS, but i know, i know that they are going to show their true colors at the end of the day. It has happened before. They make lies, they call a 12 year old girl pathetic for loving Sasuke. Sasuke is their favorite character but suddenly he is a bad husband and a bad father? I'm sick. I only came back for Sasuke Retsuden. And nothing, nothing has changed since 2014. How can people be this low? Is Sasuke a prize to be won? Is that it? They never gatekeep Naruto the same way they do with Sasuke. They feel so entitled to the media they consume that they don't realize that this is Kishimoto's work. Sasuke is a loving person, everything he does is for people the he loves. Naruto is one of them, but Naruto is never going to be above his wife and child. I don't understand the obsession that people has with sasusaku. They are literally the only couple that Kishimoto bother to write.... I'm sorry for the long post. I really admire you, after all these years and people are still trying to prove you wrong. I really like your blog. Also i'm sorry English is my second language. I hope one day we can get a Sasuke movie. Even if people say that kishimoto writing style is messy, i would still want him to do it because he was the one who gave us one of the most iconic characters in anime after all.

Yeah, there's not much I can add here. The Naruto fandom sucks eggs, but that's old news at this point because as you said, nothing has really changed since 2014. People have come and gone, but the sentiments from each side of the fandom (no matter how nonsensical they are) have largely remained the same. Thank you for the kind words though! And your English is perfect ^_^

[maoam]

This is the most ironic thing and this is going to be an unhinged ask but I used to not really care for Sakura. Your blog made me really appreciate her and what she brings to Naruto. Just seeing all the panels made me realise how pathetic each situation she gets into is and how she responds. Like, it's crazy cause she's actually interesting to me now. Everyone keeps changing her personality in fanon but I now really like what she brings to canon. Like yesss girl give us nothing, keep playing into the dissonance with the themes of Naruto.

A lot of people end up changing her in fics and all that, but I like her as she is. Probably because I like what she brings to the story. I just love how some things she does or thinks ends up being really messed up. You just end up with this jarring character that is soooooooooo interesting to see. Probably one of the reasons I'm insane about Naruto. I also like how she's unpalatable. She just unapologetically has a flawed personality. A bit of a narcissist and really defensive? Awesome! People who change that to make her better ironically end up doing the opposite because they aren't willing to confront her flaws before they change her.

More importantly, I find making flawed characters "perfect" just ends up making them bland as hell and it implies there's something wrong with this fictional character. They are treating the characters like actual people instead of the characters they need to be in the story. I really don't mind fanon but I wish there were still conversations where people could accurately talk about a character and their personality and how flawed they are while also liking them.

Anyways, if you find this take infuriating, feel free to bash me as much as you want, unrestrained. It's all just content to me anyways. Love what you do <3

Lol I don't mind if it makes you like Sakura. As long as people don't pretend she's some girlboss who is the strongest kunoichi ever or the smartest in team 7 or who needs to beat Sasuke up or should have become a Hokage or is a lesbian who needs to date Ino or is a kind sweet girl whose love for Sasuke is pure or who is in love with Naruto then we're good.