#how orochimaru stayed and destroyed himself

[evilkitten3]

thinking about the sannin and abandonment and the past following you wherever you go no matter how hard you try to leave it behind and staying and clinging to whatever you have left until it twists you into something unrecognizable and chases you out and clinging to it even after that while getting worse and worse and watching everything you love die and pushing away whatever you have left and abandoning people who need you because staying is killing you and leaving and leaving also killing you and the worst coping mechanisms known to man and trying so hard not to remember when you were just three kids with a teacher who adored you before everything collapsed in on itself now none of you can stand the sight of each other and the devastation of war and fame gained through clinging to your life and being so defined by survival that you forget to do anything else and people trying to rely on you when you can't even rely on you and dying alone with your regrets and the endless cycle of rebirth and alcoholism

[primnroses]

One thing I find fascinating and hypocritical is that many people hate Sakura for loving and marrying sasuke but don't have that same reaction with karin. People go on and on how two characters that attempted murder on each other shouldn't be together, but at the SAME time, ship him with karin. By all accounts, they shouldn't be shipping them together. But for some reason, it make sense to them? And they mostly state that karin had a reason to like him? But he almost killed her. And was almost successful. Why is murder okay or even justified with sasukarin and not sasusaku?

Anything is okay for them because they hate Sakura, simple as that. A couple of years ago somebody tried to argue Sakura was a bad medic because what she did to Naruto in the war wasn't realistic by using real life CPR methods to justify it. Tells you a lot about how far people would go exposing their illiteracy to hate a fictional female character.

First of all, Sasuke is not a murderer by nature. Orochimaru and Suigetsu teased him a few times because he refused to kill innocents berating that "he's too soft" or that "he's indeed a Konoha ninja", so the fact that Team 7 met Sasuke after killed Danzo and commented on how corrupted he had become already indicated it wasn't him.

Sasuke tried to kill Sakura because she was his enemy in his quest to destroy Konoha while he was under the curse of hatred (that haters always deny exists), and Sakura agreed to kill Sasuke because he was a ticking time bomb ahead of a potential civil war. She pursued Sasuke out of her own volition and was ready to die trying because she loved him so much she couldn't stand watching Sasuke consume himself, and as a kunoichi she had a duty to protect her village and friends.

Sakura had a bond with Sasuke, wanted him to stay in the village and return to his old self and shared history together as members of Team 7.

Karin met Sasuke in a 20 second interaction during the Chūnin Exams where he saved her because he wanted her scroll but didn't attack her because she had the same scroll as Team 7, didn't meet him until after Team Hebi and constantly harassed Sasuke who needed to tell her to back off.

She stood by Sasuke's side, helped him get revenge and succumb into the curse of hatred that she could sense much better than anyone else; and he thought her life was so meaningless he didn't hesitate to pierce her heart just to get a clean shot on Danzo. How is that a better reason? Karin miraculously didn't die because she's an Uzumaki, but Sasuke did kill her and that's the lowest he had ever treated an ally.

Her feelings for Sasuke are constantly described as dangerous. Even though Sasuke did acknowledge his wrongdoings, he rewarded Karin with a dry apology. There was no way anything was possibly gonna come out of it.

Even if Sakura didn't exist, Sasuke's bond with Karin would remain the same. What Sasuke shared with Sakura was something he didn't have with any other of the few kunoichi he interacted with, which later transformed into something more.

I don't have anything against Karin and I think she was a great teammate from the shinobi pov, but some of these shipping discourses are simply ridiculous. It's one of the many reasons people just literally turn their brains off when talking about Sakura or sasusaku for the sake of hating.

[setting4sarcasm]

So im actually new to post on here but i wanted just somewhere to post about my Naruto swapped AU, also just to clarify im a narusasu truther but i have nothing against any ship as long as you're not toxic im an idgaf warrior tbh

Okay so, in this au i designed Naruto and Sasuke specifically, i only designed the two yet but i'm going to design sakura and kakashi!! I will post their design as soon as im done though

So here was my first sketch i ever drew of sasuke in that au, i wanted to get an idea of the overall look, still staying as close as canon as possible, a design he would ACTUALLY wear, also i love tansuke dont mind me

Here is the final product but PLEASE dont mind my anatomy it was from months ago, im gonna draw him again dw

In that au sasuke has a necklace from his family, the only thing he has left of it. Itachi was the one wearing it before, but after he slaughtered the uchiha he felt unworthy of wearing the uchiha necklace so he dropped it to sasuke, sasuke keeps it as a reminder to never forgive itachi.

Honestly it's just as close as possible of a sasuke staying at the village design i could come up with

Here is the Naruto design, here there is more to say than my sasuke design so let me start

Naruto wears a grey shirt with an obi (?) I dont really know how to call it, with 9 little ropes falling representing kurama's tails. Each one has a red pearl holding kurama chakra for battles in case Naruto needs it for stronger attacks. His orange design on his shirt was supposed to be kurama as well but i was lazy.... his little braids are a little reference to menma.

For the chakra training part, im gonna tell the story of the au, honestly im still building it. It's been 6 years since i last saw Naruto original and finished shippuden a year ago so in case you have any idea for that au im open !

Naruto never met iruka in that au, after stealing the forbidden scroll and getting attacked by the guy i forgot his name, the hokage came search for Naruto and saved him, scolding him etc. Naruto held frustration until chunin exams, in the end of the exam he actually lost it and destroyed half of the village, stopped by obito. Obito bringed Naruto to the akatsuki, training him with intensive chakra training, his arm was burnt so often by the training his body wasnt been able to keep up, making permanent marks.

Sasuke in that au still seeks the path of revenge but seeing Naruto go crazy he was shocked, in that au sasuke wants to save Naruto AND kill itachi, still resenting the village deep in his soul. He transforms his hatred into determination, kakashi helping him to handle his hatred like he can.

In that au sasuke isolates a lot, pushing people around him aside. He works on himself to actually have self control. Honestly it's all i could come up with, maybe i'll modify. I was thinking making jiraya know Naruto earlier, so he can give advices to Sasuke on how to save Naruto (?) Also about orochimaru maybe making an arc about him ? Anyway tell me what you think about this au so far please be kind about it 💔

[sasukeless]

(had to post screenshots because tumblr wouldn’t let me answer the long ask sorry. also the last sentence got cropped but there wasn’t much in it anyway so)

i’m sorry but the way this essay gave me such a headache reading… like half of it feels like bait if i’m being serious or someone who never touched naruto decided to give their opinion after skimming through antis comments or something…

like for starters op complains that sasuke is “all over the place” because his goal change from wanting to kill his brother to destroy the leaf to want to be hokage which is like Ridiculous complaint to me because characters ARE supposed to change and grow as the story goes, staying the same is not good characterization? calling sasuke illogical and incoherent when what they ask it’s nonsensical? but also the way it’s worded it’s silly as well because they act like these extreme changes in sasuke happen overnight with no reason at all when that’s far from what it’s going on.

sasuke is a character that’s been lied and deceived since he was a kid through his whole arc he keeps finding out truths that keep shattering his reality and rebuilding it and he tries to make sense of the world and himself with what he’s given. sasuke is objectified and treated as a vulnerable target by older figures trying to manipulate and use him constantly and his arc is about him doing everything to try to get his agency and be free from people’s control. he is, of course, affected by the influence these characters have in him and thanks to the lies and coercion it’s a rocky path for him. i said once that sasuke feels like a character who’s eyes have been blinded and the story progresses with him taking the bandage around his eyes slowly and coming to terms with the world he’s been denied to see.

the whole “naruto and sakura are willingly to help him take revenge” is mere useless thinking because that’s not the reason why sasuke left! sakura offered to help him (even if it was for her own selfish reasons to stay w him rather than caring for sasuke and his desire of revenge) and sasuke still rejected her. sasuke leaving happened due a domino effect of reasons why. it starts with him seeing how no one could give him the power he thought he needed, itachi coming back and making sure to remind sasuke to center his life on itachi and revenge again and obviously orochimaru cornering him and leaving no other choice but to seek him out due the curse mark. it has nothing to do weather naruto and sakura help him.

“He was the one who killed his brother. If he didn't attack Itachi, Itachi would still be alive.” again this has to be bait because otherwise i doubt someone can be this stupid? acting like sasuke wasn’t controlled and manipulated to kill itachi BY ITACHI’S OWN DOING? and sasuke’s anger at danzo it’s obvious sorry i’m not explaining this even dudebros get it.

“There is no logical reason for Sasuke to go and revive the Hokage. If Itachi, the only person he love and respect, couldn't convince him, no one can.” / “And last but not least, his decision to become Hokage and take over the world.”

i never understood why people miss so much the point of sasuke wanting to become hokage when he spells it out. literally after listening to the hokages reasoning he has a big collage thinking of itachi and then when he’s dying in he war arc his last thoughts are that he doesn’t want to fail for itachi’s sake.

itachi showed sasuke his unconditional love to sasuke and answered the question that sasuke is INDEED above the village (and his family it seems lol) by telling sasuke he would love him always even if sasuke destroyed the village he cared for and this indeed was what moved sasuke and made him want to change plans! sasuke went to the hokages because even tho he loves itachi, he still had conflicting ideas after everything he found out about the village so he wanted to hear konoha’s leaders to sort his goals. when he decides he wants to be hokage (on his own terms and way tho) he does it because he wants to achieve the peace his brother sacrificed himself for. in other words, it’s sasuke sacrificing himself for itachi’s will.

anyway this is all in the manga spelled out not even subtext or implied just outright there yet antis for some reason rather close their eyes and keep parroting the same bs that makes them look idiotic. and i pity them because imagine missing such a peak character as sasuke…. honestly i wasn’t planning to answer this because srly it’s BASIC READING but maybe i missed ranting

[sleeplesslark]

I love how much of Kabuto's story is centered on platonic bonds and, for better and for worse, bonds of choice.

Nonou may not his birth mother but she gave him his glasses, his name, his first identity, she taught him how to heal, gave him a place to belong and people to protect. She didn't have to. The orphanage certainly didn't seem to need more children with its limited resources. But she took him in and even gave him the glasses off her head. And he choses to be her son, to wear the glasses she gave him and to bear what she used as a last name years later. (I don't think Nonou Yakushi was her real name, she tells Danzo it isn't what she goes by anymore at least.)

Urushi as well, Kabuto is in some ways shown through his words, how different he is in his head to those words and when his actions speak louder than those words. He's characterized by his politeness most of the time and Urushi was shown drilling manners into him, telling Kabuto to say "thank you" where it was owed. He evidently forgives everything after the war, helping Kabuto to raise the orphans as their mother once did. He gives Kabuto another chance and there's no arguing that he could have walked away. After all Kabuto did in the war and beforehand. But his brother chose to come home and Urushi chose to ensure there would be at least one person to come home to, who would forgive him, who would be waiting no matter how long it took.

Orochimaru as well. Whatever else can be said about them, Orochimaru gave Kabuto a choice. They made him an offer and Kabuto decided to stay. He directly says he's there of his own free will. No there weren't many other places for him to go with Danzo after him, but he gave Orochimaru all he could regardless. Whatever hesitations he had in part one about working for them are gone after the time skip. Even after Danzo dies, Kabuto continues to cling to Orochimaru. Clings to their goals, their legacy, the identity that they gave him.

I love found family and I love that in a series where blood matters, where families can pass down powers and legacy is important, Kabuto never seeks out his birth parents on screen. He got to learn his healing from his Mom, but that isn't a bloodline trait. It was a choice. He gains Orochimaru’s abilities as well, but not by being their son. He's their heir in many was, gaining their power and taking up their goal of destroying Konoha, as he is Nonou's, as he eventually carries on her legacy helping orphan children.

It's a delight to see in Naruto. Again with all the bloodlines and the clans. Where power can be something you're born with, cursed with in some cases. But Kabuto is no one in particular's son. He is whoever of whoever choses him, it's his capacity for change and adaptation. He can love strongly enough to sacrifice himself for the other orphans to Danzo and he can be selfish enough to send a dying boy on a last mission to retieve another boy to someday have his body stolen by Orochimaru. This emphasis in his story that family can also be who you chose and who choses you fascinates me. He really could have been anyone.

[kissmekakashi]

Some Naruto x Sasuke headcanons I love to believe are true💞

Naruto bought a garden style house with a backyard and a tree on the outskirts of Konoha so that Sasuke can bask in the sun without anyone watching him

Sasuke learnt how to make ramen from scratch with Teuchi’s help so that he could surprise Naruto on his birthday

Naruto loves kissing Sasuke on his shoulder blades because he knows that weakens Sasuke

Sasuke loves how ticklish Naruto is and whenever he wants something to go his way, he starts a tickling fight

Naruto learns how to clean up after himself because he knows how strict Sasuke is about cleanliness

Sasuke loves cuddling Naruto as the big spoon and showering his face with kisses

Naruto knows Sasuke is not comfortable with PDA so he refrains from holding his hand no matter how much he wishes to

Sasuke knows how much Naruto yearns for reassurance and ends up holding his hand which makes Naruto smile brighter than the sun

Naruto kisses Sasuke’s knuckles whenever he can

Sasuke blushes looking at Naruto’s naked torso despite the fact that they have been together for years especially since Naruto became ripped over the years

Naruto makes the house a mini-zoo with cats, dogs and serpents being rescued all the time by him

Sasuke is on board with it

The house has a lot of photos of them, their friends and teachers

Iruka is the happiest to finally see them together

Sasuke has an arsenal of seductive weapons to destroy Naruto’s will, including the hooded eye look

Naruto loves Sasuke’s rinnegan and kisses his eyes everyday

Sasuke scavenged the remains of the Uchiha compound to find some things with Naruto

Naruto surprised Sasuke with a picture of his family and a picture of him and Itachi that he found at the Uchiha district

Sasuke loves to snuggle up to Naruto’s neck

Naruto runs hot which Sasuke loves

Sasuke starts making the dishes his mother made for him as a child to give Naruto a taste of his childhood

Naruto loves having Sasuke’s friends over and this warms Sasuke’s heart

Sasuke loves marking Naruto’s back with his nails and love bites on his neck

Naruto loves leaving bite marks on Orochimaru’s curse mark which makes Sasuke emotional

Naruto is bashful and shy about his relationship with Sasuke

Sasuke loves showing off his love bites in public with a resting bitch face

Naruto adores the way Sasuke calls him Dobe

Sasuke is the one to encourage Naruto into therapy

When they fight, Sasuke is the one to end it first because his heart aches

Naruto ends fights just as quickly and they resolve it calmly

With the help of Orochimaru’s research, Naruto and Sasuke welcomed Kawaki and planned for more babies (this is completely different from Boruto)

Naruto is the kinkier one between the two and loves trying new things with Sasuke

Sasuke, being the diva that he is, makes sure that Naruto begs before he agrees

Naruto’s all consuming love for Sasuke never ends

Sasuke fears the day he’ll die because he can no longer tolerate being away from Naruto for long

Naruto loves surprising Sasuke with little gifts

Sasuke brings trinkets from his travels to decorate the house

Kakashi realises how similar Naruto is to Minato when he sees him being domestic with Sasuke

Sasuke gets jealous of Gaara’s love for Naruto until he starts dating Lee (he is still apprehensive)

Their friends hate when either of them get drunk because they love to wax love poetries about each other (and their bodies)

Naruto loves being a father so much that he runs back home from work everyday to be with his kids

Sasuke slowly takes up the role of being stay-at-home parent until a mission calls for him, and somewhere, it heals him to bring up own his children and watch them grow, celebrating their achievements

Naruto abolishes child ninjas and raises the Genin age to 20 in order to destroy the concept of child soldiers

Sasuke helps open a orphanage and makes Iruka and Kurenai the heads

Naruto and Sasuke go out on dates every week and love spoiling with other with soft forms of love

Feel free to add more if you feel like it 🫂

[oh-no-its-bird]

@optimizerr

Ok so a) I NEED TO SEE THIS FIC WHENEVER YOU POST IT OH MY GOD PLEASE I LOVE OROCHIMARU AND I LOVE TIME TRAVEL AND I ESPECIALLY LOVE OROCHIMARU TIME TRAVEL PLS SEND ME THE LINK WHEN YOU POST IT ILL CRY

And b) JDBSOD HAPPY TO PROVIDE !!! I find Orochimaru to be such an interesting character, and also his existence in Boruto + the end of Natuto is just. So fucking funny. Oh teehee don't mind the war criminal who committed terrible crimes against humanity (and also famously killed our ninja president while desecrating the bodies of the other 2 ninja presidents to do so) and his loyal subordinates who also were once his experiments who wanted to see him dead, he's retired now and one of the best, most healthy stay at home moms in the village :D

The housewife Orochimaru agenda is insane and makes me lose my actual fucking mind every time I think about it. Do u think he's on the PTA? I bet he joined just to piss Sakura off. I bet he brings brownies.

Anyways like. He's one of those characters where you totally can just take him at face value (creepy evil scientist snake man tries to become immortal and is also kind of legitimatley insane sometimes) and that's totally fun and valid, but also like. You can take SO many liberties or try to dissect exactly how he got there— and almost anything you do with him instantly just creates so many fun, fascinating and honestly sometimes quite tragic implications.

Orochimaru is so childhood friends gone wrong / prodigy pushed to far / antisocial boy left alone to rot and carefully fed only the worst emotions and encouraged on his worst habits / scientist who fell too deeply in love with his work / man so scared of death he ruined himself and everything he ever touched -coded. It's so fun!!! The opportunities are endless!!!

He's shown he's more than capable of genuinley caring for someone, both before jumping off the deep end with Jiriyah and Tsunade, and also after he kind of recovers from his everything in Boruto w Mitsuki. And both of these instances happen in what's clearly some of the timeframes of him being at his most mentally healthy, even separated from his relationships

So I just want to see him at his worst and most detached accidentally tricking himself into remembering he's capable of caring, I think it'd be interesting. And then I want to see the fact that he cares for someone or something conflicting with his work, and him having to find a way to ground himself before he once again manages to ruin it all— not only for himself but for those he may now be attached to aswell. After all, Orochimaru has a great talent for both creating and destroying, as Sound very much proves

Again, never actually seen naruto, but I've seen so many takes of Orochimaru being deeply, genuinley upset by the fact that he can't access sage chakra due to all of his experiments on himself. I like to also pair that with "the Orochi were a snake clan who's members always were able to achieve sage mode, and it's actually really important to then culturally" to just make it feel even worse. Also pair that with various Orochi clan hcs, like all of their names start with "Oro" and the clan head is always named Orochimaru when they become clan head, and as the last remaining Orochi Orochimari is that clan head and has been since he was 10. So there's even more "I'm the last of my people and can't even do what they once did" angst

I want to see him have moments of clarity or the opposite, moments of just pure distressed madness, where he remembers and becomes viscerally aware of how he's destroyed his body and how he'll never be able to reach sage mode like his family once had.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum too, Orochimaru is like. A fucking cult leader? Girl how the fuck does he keep inspiring people to be so obsessed w following him. Why does he have so many loyal minions? It can't all be fear? I wanna see charming manipulative Oro content so bad!!!

Unrelated but if we're talking ab Orochimaru then I have to say that I also LOVE the idea that the fact that he's scared of bugs in canon is bc hes had times where he was stuck with his body literally rotting and infested with bugs, possibly multiple times.

Make him a clean freak obsessed w the condition of his own body because of the unfortunate few times where he was stuck inside what was effectively a rotting corpse!!! It's fun!!!

ALSO LIKE. POINTING AT UR PFP. TENZO ENJOYER SPOTTED!!!

Orochimaru and Tenzo's potential dynamic is SO good and I love every possible mix of it. The fact that them as a duo was played for comedy in the Naruto's wedding episode is so fucking insane I'd almost be offended if I wasn't so busy laughing my ass off at it.

I'm incredibly biased because I'm already planning to make them an incredibly disfunction family in chasing shadows, but I love any mix of their interactions. There's just SO much there to work with!!! Tenzo was undoubtedly irriversably traumatized by him as a child, but also you have to acknowledge that Orochimaru was in a very unique position of being the first authority figure ever in his life, which is just interesting. Then by the end of Naruto, theyre,,, chill? I have no idea what the actual fuck is happening over there tbh but whatever it is is fascinating.

Do u think Tenzo helped babysit Mitsuki sometimes. I think so. I think Mitsuki should get to refer to him as a cousin, it'd be funny.

There's also a very loose opening where as a writer u can take so many liberties with if Orochimaru knows where tf Tenzo comes from, or if he was a possible war orphaned senju bastard if u choose to go down that road (blood tests say what?)

Idk but just like. Them. Ugh. So good.

Honestly Orochimaru has really interesting dynamics with so many characters just by nature of being Orochimaru, u really can't go wrong with pairing him w people for interactions

Oops went on a bit of a rant but like !!!!! I really like his character, he's so fun to play with. Seriously tho lemme know if/when you post that fic, I'll eat it up I promise

Fic where Kakashi gets de-aged to like, under 5. Real, proper emotions and intuition over all logic child age, not even training under Minato yet so no hang ups or super deep character attachments other than just to his dad

And he doesn't recognize anyone— the best you'll get out of him is mistaking Gai for Might Dai. And he keeps asking for his dad.

Then they fucking lose him and through some convoluted roll of the dice, he winds up running into Orochimaru

But the thing is that Orochimaru used to be a friend of his father's. And he's aged really well and he's just very recognizable in general. So suddenly u have little Kakashi gripping onto the hem of his robes bc this is the only guy he knows he can trust. It's Tou-sans work friend!! Not any of these weirdo strangers who keep acting way too familiar (and overly invested in seeing his face under the mask, that means you Naruto)

Orochimaru loves this turn of events, what a fuckin chess piece!! Sorry Konoha, if u want ur baby genius back you'll have to pay the big bucks 💅

Same to you, Akatsuki guy who's weirdly invested in all of this (Obito)

Orochimaru doesn't even treat him that bad too, like he's definitley not a good guardian or anything, but he's not,,, bad? He has no reason to treat Kakashi badly or experiment on him, and he did once consider Sakumo a friend so there's some nostalgic fondness wrapped up in it all

Kakashi is legit living his best life out in the caves of sound, and hey, if he accidentally distracts and helps trick Orochimaru into being slightly less worse than canon, everyone wins, right?

[iidilio]

:O I just saw your new post about Neji and a reader that ahs eyes like Gojo, Can you make one smiliar but with Itachi or Sasuke please?????? :O

[ 🌸 ] I'll go with Sasuke this time since I'll be posting something for Itachi this week, so stay tuned <3

characters: sasuke uchiha,, some character mentions

genre: fluff;; light angst (sad sasuke)

warnings:  kidnapping mentions;; sasuke missing his family;; gn!reader(I hope you like annon);; sasuke experiencing love and denying being in love u.u

enjoy <3

- - -

he had done it

Sasuke had left his home to seek more power.

He wasn't enough, he needed more power and he wasn't going to get it if he stayed with his teammates.

Sakura had reached out to him, she had begged him not to leave, he had a hard time saying no and that made him angry even though he didn't show it. Despite his annoyance, he wasn't going to take it out on her, Sakura wasn't to blame for all his misery, it was Itachi's, his older brother.

Sakura was his friend, a very close one.

'I'm not going to hurt her' Even if Sasuke wanted to, he couldn't hurt Sakura, perhaps because he inadvertently became very attached to her along with team seven. They were almost like family to him.

Family.

How bitter that word had become.

"Sakura..." Sasuke heard the pinkhead's soft gasp as he stepped up behind her.

'I'm not going to hurt her' before he knocked her out, he let her hear the last words that would be directed at her. After all, maybe this would be the last time they would see each other, that she would hear his voice… 'thanks for everything' was what he wanted to say, but instead he just came out with a bitter “thank you”, before knocking her out...

Sasuke couldn't leave her at her house, that would take a long time, so instead he left her soft body on a park bench, in his mind it was the least he could do.

The next morning Naruto arrived. Both fought in hand-to-hand combat, between punches, kicks and harsh words that were given, sasuke remembered his family.

The death that hurt him the most was of his beloved Mother. His Mom who was so affectionate and the one who was by his side. Oh, how much he missed her. And it was too bad that the last time he saw her was when she was lying dead on the cold floor next to her father. Perhaps remembering his Mother would not be so painful if his last memories of her were when she said goodbye to him, giving him his breakfast that same morning of the massacre.

The feelings were confused with his Dad, but if what his Mother said was true, then his Father loved him too much and Sasuke loved him too, that's why he always tried to be the son his father would have wanted, fearing disappointing him even though he wasn't here anymore, Sasuke would always have that fear.

What hurt him the most was Itachi, he was his world and he was also the one who destroyed him until he did it in small pieces. Sasuke hated himself on the darkest nights when he missed his presence, and even so, despite declaring and swearing that he hated his brother, he had that feeling of hesitation in killing him, perhaps because if he did, he would be left alone

Naruto couldn't and never could understand him and his pain. How dare he compare his pain with his? Naruto was inept, a fool, a loser who was born with nothing.

And he wasn't going to leave without letting him know first.

Despite wanting to cut ties, wanting to kill Naruto, he couldn't, something stopped him. Perhaps later, in a few years he would realize what stopped him, was the fact that he by default was still a child and he was afraid of being left alone again... but Sasuke would never admit it, because sometimes his pride was too much. stronger than his own will.

When he arrived with Orochimaru he didn't feel intimidated and if he felt that way he wouldn't show it, as soon as he finished his training he would end the life of that disgusting guy.

'I'm an avenger' he was and he wouldn't let anyone hurt anyone else, at least not like he was hurt in the past.

Several months passed in which Sasuke could feel the difference, he felt stronger, much more than he was before. After having finished some difficult exercises to exercise his Sharingan, Sasuke was on his way to the showers and in the middle of his journey that's when he saw you.

You were…beautiful, well within what was possible, since the band for the eyes hindered the full view of your face, but with what he could see you were in fact very beautiful. Sasuke wondered in the back of his mind who you were, but he would never approach you with such a dumb question, this was not his goal.

With a snort he ignored you as he hurried to the shower, ignoring the wetness of his hands and the heavy drumming of his heart, when was the last time he felt like this?

"Ridiculous…" Sasuke muttered not realizing that you were paying attention to him.

"Mmm... what a strange boy" you dared to whisper when you stopped listening to the footsteps of the person who passed sulking next to you. 'Well, it doesn't matter, I need to give my report to Lord Orochimaru' you thought as you let out a long breath, this would be a long day.

.- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -.

The next time Sasuke saw you, it had only been a few weeks. You were talking to Kabuto about something.

"Aa Sasuke you're here, great" the man said before turning to you "Y/N this is Sasuke"

"A pleasure" you spoke, but your voice. Oh, your voice was so sweet and soft, it reminded him of his Mother's voice. Sasuke felt a little worried by that line of thought.

"I'm saying the same" he half muttered, Sasuke definitely didn't expect to meet you. He could feel his hands sweaty again. 'How annoying'

"Well I have to go, take care Y/N" Kabuto said turning to you "Sasuke" he spoke as he leaned a little towards him in farewell mode before leaving.

"See you Kabuto-san" you spoke, raising your hand a little, waving it as a sign of farewell.

Sasuke really didn't want to be around you, you put him in a way that he didn't want to be with, but before he could even turn around, you spoke.

“You are… the weird guy from the other day. I heard you sulking when you passed me" you spoke, as you went on in your sentence your voice became more smaller but Sasuke hardly paid attention to it.

Have you heard it? oh, Sasuke could feel himself cringing internally.

“... hn. forget it,” he muttered as best he could before walking away. no, he definitely wasn't running, he wasn't running and he definitely wasn't sweating or shaking or…

Who could he fool, Sasuke was so deep in thought that he didn't even think if you'd be able to get anywhere in the base by yourself with that eye band, he only started thinking about it when he got to his room with his head spinning and his heart beating hard against his chest.

'Shit…' he thought when he realized his mistake, he had left you alone.

with the same speed with which he entered his room was with which he left. Sasuke didn't know why he was so worried about you, it was ridiculous and yet he kept running to where he had last seen you.

'He's gone. How rude-' you thought before being interrupted by the same types of footsteps but more hurried from that boy. The footsteps stopped abruptly a few steps from you, you could hear his heavy breathing. He really ran fast, huh?

"I... are you okay?" you spoke without knowing exactly what to say.

"Yes..." the voice spoke a little agitated.

"And why did you run back?"

"because I'm sure you're a fool to guide yourself on this basis"

…wait, he really-

you felt a little offended now, but at the same time a thought came to your mind 'did he care about me?'.

“ummm… thanks” you really didn't know what to say next, so you said the first thing that came to your mind.

"So, do you want to accompany me to the dining room? I think I'm hungry"

From that day Sasuke would accompany you to dinner. It became like a routine for the two of you, at those meals you just talked incessantly and Sasuke always listened to you talk, and if you took a while to finish your food he would wait for you until you finished your last bite. He was sweet, in a way, it was like he was taking care of you.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was beginning to understand a little more about his feelings for you. Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew what these feelings were, Love.

he had seen that feeling first hand in the interactions of his parents, Fugaku despite being a serious man, even Sasuke could see his icy gaze melt when he looked at his mother. and now Sasuke could understand that phrase that his paternal grandfather told him; "Even strong men can fall for the women they love."

Oh, how foolish Sasuke felt for falling in love on his way to revenge on his brother.

.- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -.

Tonight you had decided to dine outside right under the stars, even though you couldn't see them, you wanted your faithful companion to feel comfortable with the view.

“is the sky beautiful?”

"It is…"

Just those words were needed to create a safe environment between the two of you, the food was hot and the breeze was nice, it was a perfect environment.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had a question running through his mind, why were you wearing a blindfold, he never asked since it was none of his business, but on nights like this when you looked so gorgeous? he couldn't help but wonder what your eyes would look like under that piece of cloth.

"Y/N..."

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing that blindfold?"

it was a simple question, but you were still surprised that he of all people would ask you.

"Well... I think it would be better if I show you" you spoke as you put down your tea, then reached your hands towards the blindfold.

when the blindfold fell, Sasuke saw you in the eye for the first time and you were more beautiful than he thought.

This was also the first time you saw him. You had already realized a few weeks ago that you were beginning to have feelings for Sasuke, always hearing his voice, but never seeing his face, now you understand why there was such a fuss when a woman saw Sasuke. he seems so ethereal.

"why do you hide your eyes?" You had almost missed the question, swallowing your nervousness and stopping the small blush, as you could you answered the reason why.

when you were born you had slightly weak eyes, you were five years old when Orochimaru kidnapped you for experiments. and they quickly gave results, your eyes became that way giving you various abilities but still your eyes needed to be at rest until it was time to fight. That was the main reason why despite your abilities Orochimaru did not possess your body.

After finishing your story, Sasuke let out a small whisper.

"I will become stronger"

"eh?"

"I will become stronger to protect you" he spoke louder this time.

Sasuke could make this promise to you for now, for while he would find a way to confess to you, perhaps he would when he has achieved all of his goals. perhaps he would think better of it when he had found the motivation to kill his brother again.

maybe he would put the hate aside, because Sasuke had found a new motivation protect you. Apparently his grandfather was right, how low can a man in love really fall...

* Sasuke is a love with you, but a tough guy towards others. * when you're a couple, he'll draw you when you're asleep, but shhh it's a secret that no one should know, including you. * will always follow you when he is not doing something important, which is usually training and getting stronger. * It is probable that Sasuke has lost interest in killing his brother, but who knows you already changed many things in him...

[sasukerevolution]

How do you think Sasuke's personality would be if clan was never murdered? I always see so many AUs like this but all of them keep his personality from canon which makes it weird. Naruto fillers aren't much better in this, so I wanted to ask what do you think? (;

Good question!

I think some of the basics would stay the same:

Goal-orientation - Sasuke would always be the kind of person who works on a goal-to-goal basis, setting his sights on something he wants and going for it without thinking too much. This is something that's inherent to who he is as a person - he does this when he's a kid (most notable example being when he teaches himself the Fireball Jutsu), he does it at the start of the series (he wants to feed Naruto so he feeds Naruto), he does it all the way through the middle and end (he wants to free Orochimaru's prisoners so he frees Orochimaru's prisoners, he wants to destroy the Leaf so he tries to destroy the Leaf). The only complicated examples of this in canon are killing Itachi and leaving the Leaf because he didn't want to do those, so he spent more time thinking it over.

Sincerity - Sasuke doesn't bullshit or lie. He's very "innocent" that way and would have stayed like that. If extreme trauma didn't change this about him then the absence of trauma definitely wouldn't. It's just part of who he is.

Skepticism - Sasuke doesn't just believe everything he's told, which is why Itachi has to work so hard to trick him. Even without the trauma, he'd remain a thoughtful person who considers what others tell him carefully and weighs it against his own understanding of reality.

Creativity and individuality - Sasuke works hard to set himself apart from others, taking pleasure in crafting new jutsu, having "signature" aspects to his fighting style, and changing his outfits more than any other character in the series. Especially with Itachi still around, I think this part of Sasuke would stay the same. He's got a brand and he works hard on it.

Trusting in his feelings - Sasuke trusts his emotions a lot and lets them guide him. We see this mainly in Part II - in Part I, he does eventually swallow down a lot of his feelings to keep pursuing his goal of killing Itachi, but he does still trust them and uses them as a guide for making decisions like not to kill Naruto. In Part II, Sasuke literally just does whatever he feels like doing in the moment. It doesn't matter if Itachi would be upset with him for trying to destroy the Village because he centers his own grief and suffering, and doesn't need to tell himself lies about how what he's doing is actually best for people, etc. In the absence of the Massacre, I think we might actually see this become more pronounced, because he has less reasons to do things that contradict how he feels.

Autonomy-valuing - Sasuke hates when others try to manipulate him and pursues his own freedom relentlessly. In the absence of every party in the entire world trying to manipulate him literally all the time, this might be lower-key, but he would still care a lot about making his own decisions and choosing his own path.

As for things that might change...

Clan pride - Sasuke would be much better positioned to form an opinion on the Uchiha based on their actual values and goals. In canon he never really has the space for this; they're dead and he didn't know about anything they were up to while it was happening. I can't see Sasuke automatically accepting whatever roles they might try to push on him as he got older; he would think through it himself and decide what he wants to do.

Friendless - Sasuke does show interest in other kids and pays some attention to class dynamics. He makes friends with Sakura and Naruto despite his best efforts, and after he breaks free from Orochimaru he immediately assembles a team of his own. If the clan were still around, he also wouldn't have the pesky Mangekyo if-I-make-friends-I'll-have-to-kill-them thing hanging over his head. Since the Uchiha are so insular he might not have many friends outside the clan per se, but he would have friends.

Disrespect - Sasuke's straight up disrespectful during the events of Naruto. In all the flashbacks from when he's a kid, though, we do see that he's quite respectful, so in the absence of the Massacre he would probably be somewhat more respectful than what we see in canon.

Curiosity - in canon, Sasuke asks a lot of questions and seems curious to learn about the circumstances of others sometimes, but generally he's too focused on his goal to pursue this curiosity to any significant degree. I think without the heavy weight of the Massacre he might show more curiosity and interest in others.

At the heart of it, Sasuke is Sasuke is Sasuke. The fundamentals of his character would stay the same, but without all the trauma it would express itself differently. Thanks for the question! ♡

[team7-headquarter]

Honestly I love and respect Sasuke so much for putting himself and his issues first, not his love life, not patriotism of any kind, not even Naruto.

One way or another, everyone in Konoha wanted him to pick a different battle, not understanding that he was not solely after revenge, but closure. No one knew the level of psychological damage he received from Itachi. It's not that Sasuke did not want to stay or that he didn't love his team. It's that it'd have kill him —to stay. No one there understood how he felt, no one there understood the magnitude of his suffering.

Yes, Kakashi went through awful things, lost the people he loved the most. Yet he found solace in following Sakumo and Obito's dream of defending the village and his comrades. He was honoring the memory of those he loved, Rin and Minato, Obito and Sakumo. He was loyal to their home.

That's why his situation can't be compared to the Uchiha Massacre. Sasuke was so much younger. He grew up in different circumstances, because Kakashi lost everyone at war, on the line of duty. Sasuke was betrayed by the person he admired and loved above all. They all talked as if they knew how it felt, they all told Sasuke how to deal with it, so yeah he was alone.

Not even Naruto understood, like I said.

With time, Naruto would reach the conclusion that his desire to save Sasuke was partially due his shinobi way of life, partially because Naruto could have ended just like that. Where Itachi was Sasuke breaking point (for the worst), Iruka was Naruto's saving grace. But such realization would take him years of anguish and suffering from both parts; why would Sasuke wait for them to see it?

The most important thing for Sasuke, right since the beginning, was his family, his clan. The most important person for him was Itachi, more than Naruto. His most important mission / goal was not protecting his friends or the Hidden Leaf, but finding closure for himself and his clan.

And like I said, I admire that with all my heart.

I'm not talking about if what he did was right or wrong, if he was in complete control of his actions or if he was manipulated by his trauma and other people, whatever. I'm not questioning his love for team 7 or how important they are to him. I'm not even undermining Orochimaru's connection with him, or team Takas importance, or if he should love Konoha or destroy it, if the Uchihas deserved his love and loyalty, if he deserved to live or die.

All I'm saying is that his reasons to put himself as his priority are as valid as Naruto's reasons to do what he does or seek what he seeks. Sasuke is not a worst character for not being like Naruto or any of his fellow konoha shinobis. He's not heartless for taking care of his own story or leaving a place where he can't find what he's looking for. For me he is one of the most real and human characters in the whole series, he's interesting, his motivation is complex in its roots and he is sooo much more than his simplified depiction in most fanworks.

I really enjoy Sasuke for himself, as an individual character with his own plot and decisions.

[bougiebutchbitch]

https://bougiebutchbitch.tumblr.com/post/682713389348405248/you-fools-you-absolute-bozos-you-cannot

Lmao i love your art 💛. Also ngl I bet Sasuke would rlly like the mask thing. Maybe not the eye patch but he would totally be into the mask and its added mysteriousness at that age.

I WAS THINKING SOMETHING SIMILAR OMGGGG

...really genuinely invested in the idea of writing a thing where Sasuke Stays and kinda develops more of a bond with Kakashi rather than getting trained by Orochimaru. And obviously he starts wearing a mask as part of that. Of course he won't admit in a thousand years that he looks up to Kakashi, but everyone is Aware and thinks it's incredibly cute, except Kakashi, who's in the tiniest bit of horrified denial that this kid seems to think he's an example to emulate

Bonus points: Sasuke still finds out about what happened to his clan and his brother. It drives a massive wedge into his relationship with the village. He starts brooding about revenge - of course he does; he's a fifteen year old boy who's entire world was ripped out from under him, only for him to discover it was the fault of the people he trusted most. The difference is, he's still embedded in the village when this happens. And Kakashi's loyalties are even more torn, between his home and the boy he raised.

The rules or his friends? Isn't that the age-old question?

Really, it's pretty obvious what he'll pick. Especially since Itachi was his kouhai, too.

Though he makes it clear that he's never going to do anything to harm Konohan civilians... Kakashi takes Sasuke's side. They stay as part of the village, all smiles on the surface. Doing this the ANBU way, the undercover way. Kakashi's helped Konoha bring down governments of enemy nations in the past. He's not betraying his country by doing the same here (so he tells himself). He's making it better. He's helping the last survivor of a genocide, enacted by their own people, lance a wound that should never have been allowed to fester.

Konoha needs to change, in order to grow. And if the old guard aren’t willing to admit that they are part of the problem...

Meanwhile, Sasuke is burning. Hate, misery, grief... But with all his friends around him - even if they don't fully understand what's going on - it's easier to remember that there are still innocent people in Konoha. He will not become the monster that the Elders tried to paint Itachi. He will uproot those who destroyed his family. He will expose them, and reveal the true tragedy of the Uchiha. And he will bring Itachi home.

(Not realising that this is the exact opposite of Itachi's wishes...)

Anyway, Sasuke and Kakashi do what needs to be done. But they do it quietly. Working together, in secret, to bring down the Hokage system and change things from within without killing loads of innocent civilians and establishing a global dictatorship lmao.

(That's quietly, not peacefully. Sasuke is absolutely going to murder the Elders and maybe Hiruzen despite Kakashi's attempts to stop him, and almost spark another ninja war. That's gonna cause Drama between him and Kakashi, for obvious reasons (I fought in those wars as a child, Sasuke! Think about the consequences of your actions, think about how many more children would have to go through that - that's the price we're talking about, here). But eh. Sasuke will deal with that when he gets to it)

And, uh, it goes without saying that they work together with Tenzou to fucking annihilate Danzo :)

[trafalgarya]

uchiha sasuke. he's such a well written character.

he was born in one of the most prestigeous, if not the most, clan of konoha, the uchiha clan. he grew up in a lovely and affectionate family, having a brother that's proud of him, a mom that loves him, and a father that recognizes his talent and loved him as deeply as his mother, although he didn't showed it. one night, he came back to his house only to find his whole clan and his parents massacred, lying in a veritable bloodbath. and the murderer was no one else than the one he thought was truly loving with him, uchiha itachi. his brother. his inspiration. his model. itachi put him in a genjutsu where sasuke revived more than 500 000 times, triggering the buried feelings that the curse of his clan force him to feel. from then, he only created one bond with the one that was respectful enough to make sasuke smile : the nine tails demon receptacle and the failure of the village, uzumaki naruto.

at age 12, he literally sacrified himself to prevent naruto's death. but, thankfully, sasuke was alive.

during the chunin exams, some curse mark was put inside of him by no one else than one of the 3 legendary sannin, the one who acquired immortality and had an interest to the uchiha clan : orochimaru. since then, sasuke's one and only goal was to gain power to avenge his clan's honor and to kill his brother that he hated so much. he proceed to desert and betray his village. in a fight against naruto, he wanted to kill him to pulverize the only thing that was holding back, his friendship with naruto. but he couldn't resolve himself to kill his best friend, the only one that was silently here for him during these years.

2 years later, a certain uchiha madara told him the truth about his brother that he fought in a fight to the death. sasuke, not believing it at first, deduced later that all of this is konoha's fault, with the intention of destroying the village. with the help of madara, he then went straight to konoha to kill the temporary-named 6th hokage, shimaru danzo. he then saw his friends and his previous sensei that he fought. he attempted to kill her fellow, sakura, before she was saved by naruto, and naruto had a talk with him that he will save him from his hatred because he's his friend, which surprised sasuke. back some days before, he had a flashback of how his life would be different if he stayed at konoha alongside his best friend, which made him sad.

he was able to see his brother one more time, when he ressurected. itachi confirmed him that madara's story was true, and that he did all that for the village. he saw his brother dying by his eyes for the 2nd time.

on his final fight against naruto, both of them losed an arm. the most plausible theory on why he stayed with a destroyed arm is to show to the world, and to himself, how naruto did rescued him from this hatred and painful life. they're also platonic canonical soulmates, as naruto is the embodiment of the sun by being ashura's reincarnation, and sasuke is the embodiment of the moon by being indra's reincarnation.

overall, i'd say sasuke is the best naruto written character. he reflected how we would've react to the death of our family and feeling soooo helpless about him. i identify to him so much. he's my highest kin. i love this man. i will defend him and his actions even in my coffin.

[captnjacksparrow]

Wait why are they trying to kill Boruto?

Sorry I don't watch the show because, as you said, it sucks. But I love reading your Boruto trash talk posts and I wanna be in the loop!

I tried googling it but all that came up was theories about whether they were actually gonna go through with killing him. (Which honestly i hope they do so they stop making this sh*t)

The way you don't hold back when trash talking is mad funny. Much love💕

Whether they were actually gonna go through with killing him. (Which honestly I hope they do so they stop making this sh*t)

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣God!!!! Such a Troll you are... Anon.. I don't know why I am laughing at this line endlessly!!!

I think it's better to stay oblivious about this but since you asked!!!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I can’t stop laughing!!!

So, here's the thing.

That Boruto brat has been given a Karma Seal which is very similar to Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. Unlike Sasuke who could control it and stay human.... Boruto might turn into an Otsutsuki Alien whose power is incomprehensible and will destroy the whole world by making some Chakra Tree and shit.

So, When Boruto was worried about himself that he might turn into a monster..... Sasuke said this,

To which that brat reacted like a Real Ninja in the Manga....

“The thought of dying in the battle scares me, but.... I’m still prepared for it, like every other ninja! It’s just.... If my body gets taken over and I stop being myself... I don’t know what I might do to everyone!!! That scares me even more!!!”

Back then when this chapter was released, every Hinata and NH fans went crazy.... They slandered Sasuke and they theorized that Naruto will kill Sasuke if he touches his Son. 

LOLOL...

And few chapters later... Naruto agreed with Sasuke’s decision.... This made the entire NH go koo koo crazy....

Even though this looks OOC, Right after 3 pages, Boruto was given some Magical Pills as a cure. So, I think Manga didn’t want to explore this pointless emotional drama. 

From a narrative standpoint, We all know that Boruto will never die... Alright??? And even Boruto was okay with dying rather than transforming into a monster who destroys the whole world. 

Now.... What Anime did was.... 

They thoroughly disrespected the Canon... By Making Naruto disrespect Sasuke... 

And play a LOVEY DOVEY FATHER CARD... All of a sudden Naruto puts Boruto above Sasuke.

And Boruto also became a lovey dovey son who wants to live more than anything... I mean everyone wants to live... but this isn’t what he promised with Sasuke....

LOLOLOL..... This is not at what happened in Manga at all....!!!! Boruto is like a cry baby here... Naruto put down Sasuke... And I don’t know how to take these scenes anymore.

Now the Anime is playing right according to NH peeps whims by making Sasuke into a clown. They all assumed Naruto will fight Sasuke for promising to kill his Son..... Though Naruto technically didn’t fight Sasuke... He did pull his Collars!!!! Only to be given some Life Saving Pill in the next scene. 

So, yeah!!! That’s the gist of N and S trying to kill Boruto.

[madara-fate]

Hey, maddy. I kinda wanna know what you think of this post: https://leportraitducadavre.tumblr.com/post/168085920069/you-talk-a-lot-about-nh-but-what-about-ss

Before you try though I just wanna warn you that it’s really long, I did read all of it and I disagree. Somehow the person making the post is somehow not getting much about it nor SS’ dynamic, like Sakura was someone so selfish who thought only of herself, but then again they are one of those Sasuke Reformist Fans that think Sasuke should’ve destroyed Konoha and one of those extremists that also think Sakura was making fun of orphans, so I don’t really expect much. They were not reading in between the lines like they think they do and constantly downplay SS’ moments like someone who’s in-denial. My personal opinion on Sasuke’s revenge is completely the same as Sakura’s, I understand the justice shit they preach about and I think Sasuke trying to kill Itachi was a right thing but Sasuke’s methods in trying to do so was obviously self-destructive and questionable and I think that’s what most Sasuke fans don’t understand. Back in the Chunin Exams when Kakashi tried fixing or doing something to the Curse Seal that Orochimaru implanted on Sasuke, Kakashi stated that there are chances are he might die if it takes over him, so Kakashi said he’ll stop the fight but Sasuke said not to do it. Sasuke knows he might die and yet he still wants the fight to continue, he’s becoming self-destructive borderline suicidal, Sasuke’s path towards revenge is self-destructive, he thinks his life is all about revenge to the point he doesn’t see value in his life or his needs or wants as a person and that he lives and breaths to kill Itachi and whether he succeeds or not is where his worth lies. That’s why Sakura got worried and ask him to pull out and Naruto scolded him to listen to Sakura, and when he didn’t listen and the Curse Mark took over him he remembered Sakura worrying about him and Naruto scolding him and he was able to suppress it. He started caring about his well- being because there were people who would cry for him if he died, someone who would scold him if he ever gets hurt or does something stupid, he found another reason to live besides giving his life for revenge. We all know Sasuke thought he was spared because he wasn’t worth killing that’s why he’s so adamant to get stronger and yet he met people who valued him and Sakura literally cried for him when he died and didn’t thought he was pathetic for dying like that or something. Yet, some Sasuke fans don’t get it and think Sakura or Naruto just don’t understand Sasuke. They were never against Sasuke killing someone from the very beginning the problem is Sasuke isn’t taking care of himself and as people who care about him obviously they get worried. They focus so much on that justice shit like Sasuke knows if he’ll leave Konoha he’ll be lonely again and their talk about closure, Sasuke managed to kill Itachi but I don’t see a smile or peaceful expression on that face. The thing is that Sasuke decided to sacrifice his happiness for strength because he thinks that Naruto and Sakura are distractions that his precious memories and bonds are distractions, he cares about them deeply but also keeps a distance because he’s afraid. Sasuke knows how it feels to love someone so much and lose them in a blink of an eye and he saw Team 7 like his own family. He left not because he didn’t care, it’s because he cared too much that losing one of them would put him to great grief. They have an affect on him and he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t like that. So he cut them off, the thing is that people think that revenge would bring Sasuke any happiness or any peace of mind, maybe it would’ve if Sasuke decided to stay at Konoha and Team 7 would hunt Itachi together but that’s not what happened. Sasuke would kill Itachi and he still wouldn’t have the happiness and peace of mind his fans hope for him in fact what happened just made Sasuke think that opening yourself to someone would mean weakness Sasuke would end up old and alone, and they always talk about how Konoha killed his clan as if Sakura or Naruto know about that from the beginning and even if they did. Sasuke was healing in Team 7.

Sorry that post is too long and I'm honestly just not willing to read all of that when I'm pretty certain that it won't contain any arguments that I've never seen before.

That being said, I agree with your critique of the post.

[phantomchick]

Naruto Fic Rec Masterpost!

Adoption by Defenestration; or, A Family Can Be A Fox Demon, Its Jinchuuriki, and Three Dozen Highly-Trained Assassins  by elumish Oneshot, Gen, Fluff, child neglect, Naruto gets unofficially adopted by his anbu guards and it’s incredibly cute Summary: He will not be the ANBU who let the jinchuuriki plummet to his death out a fourth story window. Let that be another ANBU’s legacy.

Being Over-Prepared is Impossible (and other mottos)  by Pleasedial123 Longfic, Gen, Team Seven, team as family, Bamf Kakashi, Bamf team 7, au, kakashi pov, Complete but part of a three part series and the third part is still ongoing, still highly recommend, what team 7 should have been, Skilled Teacher! Kakashi Summary: In one world, Kakashi awoke, felt grieved at being assigned a team he sees his own in, and he let that grief make him a lazy teacher.  He saw himself in Sasuke, Obito in Naruto, and Rin in Sakura. He woke, saw himself in them, and took a large step back, regretting accepting them as his new team.  In that world he was quite hands off - merely a watcher because it was so very painful to watch. He saw himself and all his mistakes in this new team of his. 

In this world, Kakashi awoke, saw the similarities, and instantly panicked. 

He suddenly realised what he had done, passing a team.  Kakashi was left scrambling not to repeat old mistakes and regrets. This team would not suffer the fate of his team.

In this world, simply put, Kakashi became a teacher.  This is the beginning of a new team seven.

Something in the water by maldoror_gw  Oneshot, Gen, Teen and Up for language, hilarious, Tsunade pov, fluff, mild crack, pre-shippuden post naruto,

Summary: "Sakura...what is that man reading?" Tsunade asked in a dangerous voice. Sakura's gaze twitched away from her ex-teacher to her new - and temperamental - mentor. "Erm...a book...written by a...well-respected member of the community...about...romance?" Tsunade noted with passing approval that Sakura was demonstrating both loyalty and quite a lot of imagination in defending her one-time team leader (who was now trying to edge around a pillar to get away from Tsunade's venomous glare).

backslide by blackkat Time travel, time travel fix it, mature, fluff, team seven, m/m, slow build romance, Naruto adopts himself, Uzumaki heritage, bamf Naruto, complete longfic, Summary: Naruto’s friends are gone, his lover is dying, Konoha is destroyed, and Madara’s second return has pushed the entire world to the brink. Hunted and harried, Naruto is sent back in time to upend Madara’s plan before it even starts, and sets about changing everything. Butterfly effect nothing: the world is at stake, and Naruto is hardly about to let it fall to ruin once more. Not while he’s still breathing.

Tobirama Kicks Some Sense Into Konoha by allseer15 Hurt/comfort, whump, emotional whump, time travel, fix it, time travel fix it, The ‘what if Tobirama came to the future saw an orphaned Naruto and adopted the shit out of him’ Fic, Iconique, child neglect, child abandonment, fluff, so much fluff, completed longfic, look I have a weakness for the time travel fix it trope at the best of times but this fic is good even looking at it without focusing on that! Prolonged Tobirama content, Senju lore, senju feels, Summary: The Hidden Leaf Village in Naruto's time seems to have forgotten just why the village was founded and have lost their way.  Through a mishap with a hiraishin seal, Tobirama finds himself during Naruto's time and he is having none of this nonsense. His brother may be gone, but he won't stand to have Hashirama's dream trampled so. And if he has to cause a civil war or burn the village down to the ground? Well that depends on how much resistance he meets. All Tobirama does know for certain is that no child will suffer underneath the protection of Konoha and if he has to take them in and care for them himself, then he will.

Hardest of hearts by blackkat Oneshot, Gen, look I really like blackkat’s naruto fic okay, part one of a completed three part series, all three parts are great, Fix its are the best, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix It, Orochimaru redemption story, the sheer shadenfreude of one baddie fucking over another baddie, in this case Danzo, Obito has a ‘bad guy but not that bad of a guy’ solidarity moment with Orochimaru at the start and I loved it so there’s that, featuring a low key constantly horrified at this turn of events Minato,

Summary: Orochimaru gets one more chance. Just maybe, it will be enough to save him—and the entire world as well. 

A Snake In the Grass, a Wolf At the Door by blackkat Mature, Completed ten chapter fic, Orochimaru redemption story, Orochimaru/Kakashi’s dad, you read that right, quality Sakumo content, Families of Choice, Humour, Fluff and Angst, somewhat crackish, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, baby Kakashi being a cutie Summary: Orochimaru is on the edge of breaking when someone unexpected pulls him back to solid ground. When the time comes, he returns the favour.

Nukenin by WhisperingDarkness Gen, dimension travel, team seven, team as family, Kakashi actually being a good sensei even when he’s not a sensei at all, possessive kakashi, Team Seven is his team, Kinda Fluffy, Protective Kakashi, the ‘this might as well happen’ adaptability is real, Kakashi adopts team seven and team seven adopts kakashi, even though he’s illegal, 4 chapter fic, marked as complete as author doesn’t plan to continue it, but even taking these chapters as stand alone this fic is great,

Summary:  In the sealed scroll he finds a Bingo Book – his own page marking him as an S-class nukenin with flee-on-sight orders.  “Ok. That is definitely different.”  In his head he blames Naruto – even if his number one unpredictable student had been nowhere near him on this mission. When things go this stupidly impossibly wrong it must somehow be the future Hokage’s fault.

Ear to the Wall by Vodkassassin Ongoing, it’s really really good though! great Kakashi content, Minato is very stressed and I love him, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, whump, PTSD’d Kakashi gets to relive his childhood but gets a little bit of a real childhood along the way, ADHD Rin, time travel fix it, look I like what I like and what I like is fix its and time travel apparently, Kakashi adopts Orochimaru before he descends into douchbaggery, Orochimaru Redemption story, everyone is alive,   Summary: The Minato-sensei beams at him, and replies, “Kakashi! I’m glad you’re awake,” and, yup, that’s Minato-sensei’s voice. Kakashi falls back down against the bed, closing his eyes. It’s too short of a way down, and he clenches hands that are too tiny and feeble and not his in dog-print sheets he hasn’t owned for decades.

How To Save The World With No One Even Realising by IncompleteSentanc (Erava) Gen, Teen and Up, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, time travel fix it, Canonically Accurate OP Team 7, SuperBadass!Sakura, SuperBadass!Sasuke, SuperBadass!Naruto, RegularBadass!Shikamaru, Canonically Violent Sasuke, Equally Violent Sakura, Saving The World One Murder At A Time, Various Jinchuuriki, Team 7 As Super Villains, Doing Super Villainy Stuff, Like Murder, And Professional Eyeball Removal, Poor Obito, Poor Minato, AKA The Worst Four Months of Minato's Life, And Everyone Else's Too, Dark Humor, Bittersweet Ending, Dark Comedy, Crack treated seriously, completed 3 chapter fic, Well worth the read, Team 7 To The End! Summary: Minato knows at the beginning of the week that it's going to be a hellish one. Mostly because it starts with the kidnapping of one of his two remaining students, only a year after they'd lost the first one. He just doesn't realise at the time that it's not going to be a hellish week - it's going to be hell for quite a bit longer than that. It all starts with Rin's kidnapping, and her subsequent rescue at the hands of a mysteriously appearing, monstrously strong, murderously violent woman. A woman with cotton candy pink hair. It only devolves from there.

Just Killing Time by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling) Gen, Oneshot, Short and Sweet, Classic of The Fandom, Ficlet, Team 7, Kids being Kids, Fluff, Fluff and Humour, Slice of Life, Cute Kids

Summary: After Wave Country and before the chuunin exam, Team 7 kills time while waiting for Kakashi to show up. 

there lies a trail of fire behind us by BowAndDagger Gen, Madara is extremely confused but mostly on board, Time Travel au, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bamf Naruto Uzumaki, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Except Zetsu, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Fix-It, Founders Era, clan wars era, Pre-Slash, POV Uchiha Madara, the Completed part one of an Ongoing/Incomplete series, completed 4 chapter fic, Summary: As he returns from a mission, Madara makes a strange encounter with an even stranger shinobi. Then, he’s summarily kidnapped to go on a quest to save the world by said weird shinobi. (He absolutely did not choose to follow the stranger on his own free will. He was kidnapped. He did not give chase. He did not.)

A Political Perspective by VJ Riddle  / MueraRashaye Ongoing, Possibly (Probably) Discontinued, Teen and Up, Gen, Team 7, training montage deluxe, Konoha is a murder village, Good Teacher! Kakashi, AU, slowly developing into Bamf team 7, Bamf Kakashi, slowly developing into Team as Family, lots of fun ideas, not crack, Minor Spoiler: Zabuza and Haku get x’d before their character development gets its chance to shine in this fic, Sometimes people don’t warn for that in the tags and it can be a dealbreaker in fic for me as I love those two, not a dealbreaker in the case of this fic though! Really good fic so far, kind of verging on dry in places but it always stays fun in the end with lots of interesting elements, I enjoy the character insight from the pov switching, and also how much of a headcase Kakashi is, graphic depictions of violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence,

Summary: Hatake Kakashi was a shinobi, and as a shinobi, the only people who could give him orders were his military superiors. The idea that a Council made up of civilians and peers was under the impression they could give him orders...displeased him. Or: He was ordered to pass Team 7. He was fine with that, until they actually passed.

Integrity by Liz_Starling Oneshot, Gen, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Compliant, Integrity, Child Neglect, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Reflections on Naruto’s inner workings as a person, promises,

Summary: Naruto keeps his word. Some people are loyal to their families. Some, their orders. Naruto is loyal to the only thing he’s been able to count on; the promises he makes.

Foundation (Build It Higher, Bury It Deeper) by RayShippouUchiha Ongoing, BUT EXCELLENT, it made me cry, Naruto feels, 6 chapter fic thus far, Bamf Naruto, Bamf Tsunade, Naruto deserved better, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mature, Team 7, Uzumaki Feels, Abandonment, Tsunade gives Naruto the personal talk he deserved instead of finding out from a chakra imprint when he was dying, so we stan, I love this fic

Summary: It’s just… he’d thought, given his fight against Neji and then his confrontation with Gaara, that someone would finally really acknowledge what he’d done.  That beyond Iruka-sensei’s crushing hug and Kakashi-sensei’s absent pat, someone would actually notice that he’d won against both of them.

That he’d beaten a genius on his own and then had battled another jinchūriki to a stand still.

So while he hadn’t really expected to be promoted too he’d still ...

¦ part 1 ¦ part 2 ¦ part 3 ¦

[gakkubi]

Ame Trio's Personalities: Yahiko

I want to share some thoughts on the Ame Trio/Ame Orphans because I do think they have one of the most complex, interesting and beautiful arcs in the Narutoverse.

I will discuss their personalities and thoughts. This post is about Yahiko, there are also Nagato and Konan.

(1/3): I'll start with Yahiko because he's the one who dies first and influences the others' personalities.

YAHIKO:

Also available in Russian: ссылка на русский перевод

Although Yahiko is arguably the character who appears “less” among the Ame Trio - naturally, for dying first - he takes up significant part of the flashbacks he appears in. Jiraiya, Nagato, Konan; even in Obito’s memory of the Ame Trio - which serve the plot purpose of showing how Obito started manipulating Nagato - he spends most of the flashback interacting with Yahiko. Yahiko was extremely remarkable to all the people who met him, there is no doubt that Kishimoto took every opportunity he had to tell us he was a very important character.

Something I find very interesting about Yahiko is how easily he could be a villain; he has many of the personality traits of of classical villains. This is not accidental - in Chapter 372, when Jiraiya finds and confronts Konan, his memories of the Ame Orphans lead him to believe Yahiko was the one who first turned evil (in their conversation, Konan never clearly explains whose ideology they have embraced; it’s very implied Jiraiya was inclined to believe that was Yahiko).

This is built purposefully to confuse the audience regarding Pain’s identity as the one who possesses the rinnegan is Nagato; one has the “villainous” personality, the other has the power.

Of course, we all know Yahiko is not a villain, even though he could easily be. Yahiko’s most powerful personality trait is his ambition; this trait is the one that will always surpass the others.

Yahiko is a survivor; we are shown repeatedly that he would do just about anything to to keep alive (and Nagato and Konan with him). We are shown some of his big and most drastic actions like stealing, but minor details like cooking, gathering supplies and stabilising a house for him and Konan - taking from the story and Nagato’s conversation with Jiraiya, it’s safe to assume Yahiko was the mastermind behind all the actions that allowed them to survive as children. Yahiko knew they needed power to survive, and we’re shown in the anime their journey to find Jiraiya and how he quickly learned to navigate in the warzone by being able to put himself in the shoes of his “enemies” and think like they did. Yahiko always had an extremely clear sense of what he wants and how to get there.

He is also a natural leader; we can’t say for sure how much of his leadership is actually his nature and how much it comes from needing to step up as the leader of the trio, given how Nagato and Konan have more passive personalities. The fact is, by the time Yahiko dies, he has been acting as a leader for more than half os his life; giving orders and being in control is his comfort zone. He will have control and boss others even if they don’t agree with him, which is clearly stated when he tells Konan he believes Nagato is the one who will bring peace; he put Nagato in that position regardless of Nagato’s opinions - Konan will support Nagato and not him, regardless who she thinks is the “bridge to peace” (Chapter 509).

In that particular flashback of Jiraiya, there are two classically villainous traits shown: the first is anger; it’s implied that Yahiko is a kid full of anger and hate, but in fact, he is a very emotional and sensitive person - in that, he is very similar to Nagato - although unlike him, Yahiko will almost always express his feelings. He’s angry because he’s in pain and won’t conform to his fate as a victim of a poor country. The second one is both his ambition and megalomania: He will change the country, no matter the lenghts he has to go through.

Another strong trait of Yahiko’s thought process is that ends justify the means. This is proven by many of his actions; to survive, he will steal; to defend others, he will put his own life at risk - the ultimate proof of this is sacrificing his life to save Nagato and Konan from Hanzo. They are the ones who must survive no matter what; no matter if he dies. Although the famous “the end justify the means” sentence is usually associated with Machiavellianism, Yahiko doesn’t display the other traits needed such as manipulativeness and indifference to morality to classify him as a machiavellian person.

Yahiko could easily become a “villain”; he has unbreakable ambition and he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to get what he wants regardless of the opinion of those around him. I could easily say just about the very same about Obito, Madara and Orochimaru with a few changes here and there; I could even describe adult Nagato like that.

Seeing this particular scene in Jiraiya's memory, his ambition and anger and a "well-intentioned world-domination" goal are enough to convince the reader to believe Yahiko is Pain, even before seeing his appearance. It's notable that Nagato doesn't reply anything while Yahiko is screaming at him, highlighting his more passive personality.

You, reader, must be rather shocked at what I'm saying, because Yahiko is the only one who was never evil among the three of them; in fact, the others turned evil because of his absence. Yahiko is such a special character because he was all those classically villainous traits, the key to his character lies in why he never turns evil despite all of that.

Ambition is the trait that will rule above all; but his vision comes second in command. We are shown Yahiko is a very sensitive child, he cries a lot, he's easy to anger because he's overwhelmed by the situation he finds himself in. In the same flashback that gives the audience all the reason to believe Yahiko could be Pain, Yahiko himself admits inflicting pain on others wouldn't work as a solution.

The very fact that Yahiko wanted help from the very people who were destroying his country and were directly or indirectly responsible for him being an orphan (that is, foreigners) shows how the end goal was more important to him than the mean of how to get there; Nagato's initial distrust was the feeling most people would have in their situation, which shows another difference between their thought process; Nagato holds grudges (he could accept Jiraiya individually, but not Konoha, and he couldn't ever get over his parents or Yahiko's death) whereas Yahiko doesn't ever let any past event, situation or prejudice come between him and the goal he wants to achieve.

But ambition, vision and idealism (which I have not mentioned yet) are all traits he also shares with villains.

What makes Yahiko different from other villains, especially Nagato, is that he develops an amazing emotional intelligence to deal with the information his sensitivity gathers from the world.

Yahiko was extremely hopeful, positive and emotionally intelligent, all characteristics he shares with other heroes like Naruto. Throughout his life, the "classically villainous" characteristics of his childhood were outgrown by the "classically heroic" traits that gained strength overtime. Yahiko walked away from the evil path he could have easily taken by confronting his "villainous" traits.

It was through the use of emotional intelligence that Yahiko dismantled the initial megalomania and revengfullness he displays in both Jiraiya's and Nagato's childhood flashbacks. It's important to highlight that Yahiko's "Savior Complex" was something that stayed with Nagato long after Yahiko no longer believed only a single powerful person could force peace upon others. Yahiko "grew out" of his childish megalomania - Nagato did the very opposite when absorbing many of Yahiko's characteristics after his death.

His emotional intelligence can be clearly seen in Obito's memories of him in Chapter 607; in that same instance Yahiko was one of the few characters to rule out the idea of the masked man being Madara. Yahiko was not especially powerful or intelligent, so he rellied heavily in taking accurate conclusions from his observations of the world.

Another sign of Yahiko's emotional intelligence is his mirroring of Jiraiya's behavior - although it may be first seen as something done just for comedy, it shows how Yahiko was eager to understand other people - mirroring is a display of empathy. The natural inclination he had to understand other people led Yahiko to develop his peaceful philosophy, and was also used for him to gather allies (as shown in the anime).

It was both his emotional intelligence and his vision that kept him from becoming arrogant (and doing things like stealing Nagato's rinnegan to himself, as Jiraiya considered plausible). Whereas villains will usually harvest power for themselves, Yahiko knew that the key to the success of his plans didn't depend solely on him and his actions. He had to support others and believe in them. Understanding the value in community and extreme loyalty was a value Yahiko and Konan shared - a value Nagato also had, which was eventually displaced by other traits. It's important to note how Nagato and Konan perceive their memories of Yahiko differently; of course their flashbacks serve plot purposes, but they also show completely different aspects of his personality, and these differences in perception reflect the own values of Konan and Nagato.

Although his ambition, energy and protectiveness are displayed in both of their memories, other characteristics vary in intensity.

In Konan's memories, Yahiko is much more kind and calm, happy but also introspective. In her childhood memories, he appears more joyful and carefree - as an adult, it's shown how he is hurt by the war, how understanding has made him kind and and how he wants to protect his comrades both physically and mentally. In Nagato's memories, he appears much more angry and harsh in comparison - the anime even takes an effort to "soften" some of his actions; in the anime Yahiko gives back some of the stealing and also prays for Chibi in his death (instead of just scolding Nagato for crying and mourning as he does in the manga).

I don't know how manga to anime adaptations work but it's possible that, due to the difference in pace between manga and anime, Studio Pierrot realized Yahiko would come across much more "evil" if he wasn't softened - and I like the adaptations because it makes Nagato's memories less different than Konan's; all they did was add moments foreshadowing a much kinder personality Yahiko would display on the chapters later on.

(Edit: I added this image from chapter 509 to better illustrate Yahiko's emotional intelligence using an actual canon moment where Yahiko himself reflects on his past feelings and how they changed as he grew up. I really like this chapter, and I think it's nice how soft and caring Yahiko behaves towards Nagato in Konan's flashbacks, worrying about his injuries and telling that "it's ok" and encouraging him to rest, as opposed to Nagato's own flashbacks that show younger Yahiko screaming and scolding him for behaving like a "crybaby" and "victim" while they were all struggling to survive. I think it's important to consider the scenarios of those flashbacks; Nagato's flashbacks find the characters all recently traumatized, while Konan's find them in a much more stable and safe period of their lives).

Yahiko was the first among the three to understand that the pursuit of "justice" would only result in more conflict as one's noble justice could be seen as mere acts of vengeance by another. All the Ame Orphans knew in their lives was war, suffering and trauma, so the decision to pursue a different path away from violence could only come from a person who could look inside their own heart without the fear of seeing ugly things and confront their feelings.

Yahiko's unshakable hope on his dream of bringing peace was a result of his ambition, his vision and emotional intelligence. His sensitivity led him to become a kind, caring person, who avoided violence as much as he could. We know he was extremely loyal to his ideals, preferring to sacrifice himself and die instead of giving up the peaceful philosophy he had established for the Akatsuki to fight Hanzo. The extreme loyalty and the will to sacrifice anything for that was another trait he shared with Konan.

Although I consider Yahiko's vision to be one of the pillars in his personality, he was also extremely naïve. Yahiko's hopefulness and faith in his dreams and plans were not countered by opposite personality traits like being cynical or hesitant. The first time we see Yahiko being naïve was at the very idea of approaching the Sannin and begging for training, which could have easily ended with them all killed (or, more likely, just ignored). Unfortunately for Yahiko, his biggest flaw was not putting limits to how much he believed his ideals, leading him to fall in a trap he could have easily avoided - I left this trait for last because the anime makes Yahiko's willingness to believe Hanzo a key reason for falling on his trap, even though the manga never shows evidence for that and only implies Yahiko's innocence by Nagato's perception of them being "still children." However, I still think it's fitting for someone who displayed early signs of megalomania to have such naïvety.

Other traits that were not mentioned are less about his ideals and more about his nature; Yahiko is also naturally expansive, friendly and unafraid- these traits help him to become both the trio and Akatsuki's leader. In Chapter 509 Konan mentions he was adored by the rest of the Akatsuki, and it's very implied in the manga (and shown in anime fillers) he lead the Akatsuki with a egalitarian philosophy, not abusing his positon as leader through authority, which is another important trait of his personality; Yahiko may be bossy and unreceptive to challenges on his orders, but he is not comfortable with hierarchy and the idea of some people acting as if they were better than others.

I won't talk much about Yahiko and Konan's romance as I don't believe "being in love" can be a part of someones personality, and I don't believe his decision to kill himself to save her and Nagato was influenced by being in love. His decision to sacrifice himself comes directly from his “ends justifying the means” logic, even if in that particular case the survival of Nagato and Konan is the end which can be justified by the loss of his own life.

I do believe, though, that there are many reasons why they could be attracted to each other and I'll highlight specially their loyalty. Yahiko and Konan are both extremely loyal people; Yahiko is loyal to his ideals, Konan is loyal to what she considers "her own'' - her friends, her people. They are also people who are full of faith in the things they believe in; we are never shown Yahiko having doubts on his plans, as well as we never see Konan ever doubting the capability of the people she supports. People who share such characteristics of loyalty and faith will find great comfort in each other, creating a positive circle of both giving and receiving love and support.

Yahiko's expansive and dominant personality, as well as his positivity and hopefulness contrast immensely with Konan and Nagato's passiveness and melancholy. He is shown to be a person who could deal with his pain and his traumas, and was likely the biggest emotional support of the other two; as he himself said, he had hopes and dreams, his dreams became Nagato and Konan's dreams. His death left an immense void that could not be filled with positive, healthy thoughts and feelings, as Nagato and Konan always relied on his hopeful ideals.

The very traits that could have easily made him a villain are the same ones which lead him to achieve his and the trio's survival. Yahiko's personality exists in a delicate ballance between many "classically villainous" traits and the abundance of other solid "classically heroic" foundations.

By taking a complete look at his character it's easy to understand why his death was something really, near-impossible to recover from given the circumstances, and why the love and respect they felt endured so long after his death.