#speaking of naruto he's next

[justice4sasuke]

Character Roundups Round 1: Sasuke Uchiha

So, now that we are done with Sasuke's story, what I would like to do is talk about the characters relevant to Sasuke's story on the whole. Specifically (because it's always about framing around here) the message I got from Kishimoto when reading the series and how I think the characters would have been more effectively written and/or framed. For main characters with a lot more going on I'll talk mostly about their relationship to Sasuke rather than their entire character. First up is of course the boy himself, Sasuke Uchiha.

How Sasuke is written and framed by Kishimoto: Sasuke was conceptualized as a rival to Naruto, the cool, smart and popular kid to Naruto's failing, attention-starved outcast. There were hints that there was something more going on with him, but who's to say if it was always as in-depth as it ended up being. Sasuke's story outgrew just being a foil to Naruto so much it basically ate Naruto's character and turned his motivation into being completely about Sasuke for the first part of Shippuden. And Kishimoto decided to fix that by forcing Sasuke's character which, once again, had outgrown Naruto to be about being a foil to Naruto again.

Sasuke's is emphasized as the cool, popular kid, the de facto leader of Team 7 when Kakashi isn't around, with hints of a dark and traumatic past. Of course when it comes time to learn about Sasuke's past, what starts being emphasized is that Sasuke was not the genius that his brother was and that he was vying for the attention of his father because Kishimoto can only conceptualize characters being relatable if they aren't "the smart one" for some reason.

After his retraumatizing by Itachi, Kishimoto frames Sasuke's change as a change to the "dark side". Kishimoto had set up the Curse Mark from Orochimaru as the threat for Sasuke "turning" but it truly has more impact on Sasuke's physical well being than mentally or emotionally until the meeting with Itachi happens. After that, he is shown as arrogant and the instigator in his squabbles with Naruto. He gets a talking to multiple times by Kakashi while Naruto gets none despite gladly taking part in their fight. Kishimoto downplays Sasuke's trauma by having Kakashi insinuate he has felt the same pain as Sasuke and therefore Sasuke should not be having any problems and his flashing out is not valid. Sasuke is portrayed very explicitly as villainous for the first part of the Valley of the End fight. Kishimoto gives Sasuke a little more sympathy after his backstory is fully explored, but ultimately Sasuke is framed as someone who is "misguided" and not as someone with full knowledge of what they are doing.

Early Shippuden Sasuke is very much just a shiny object the characters are fighting over until he finally appears again and even so the Sasuke we get leading up to the Itachi fight doesn't seem to have many thoughts or feelings about anything that isn't his goal. It is notable though that Kishimoto makes a point to tell us not to view Sasuke as "evil" since he doesn't kill anyone he spars with and doesn't plan on killing anyone except Orochimaru and Itachi.

After killing Itachi and being confronted with the fact that his family was actually killed by a government sanctioned genocide, we get one nice scene of Sasuke crying followed by Kishimoto doing everything in his power to make us view Sasuke as "evil" and that he has finally fallen from working with established bad guys the Akatsuki to basically every character telling us Sasuke is being evil.

The reunion with Itachi and their fight with Kabuto feels like it should be Sasuke's character self-actualizing and while there are some good moments of Sasuke confronting Itachi and asserting himself, the comments Itachi makes about Sasuke being malleable to outside influence and the fact that it ends with Sasuke going on a knowldge quest makes me feel like Kishimoto wants us to think Sasuke has a whole worldview to sort out rather than him mostly knowing what he wants at this point.

This is further evidenced by the fact that apparently hearing what the previous hokages had to say gets Sasuke to figure out his new worldview and we do a fake-out of Sasuke being "good" and wanting to be "hokage" just to make him look "evil" throughout the war and then rolling out his revolution plan when they win.

And let's be real the revolution plan is just "Sasuke has gone down the evil route and is being difficult so Naruto has to beat it out of him". Naruto himself explicitly says that and if you don't want to believe him then believe it based on the fact that there is no one in or out of universe saying that Naruto beating his "friend" into submission was wrong or a bad solution. As for Sasuke's plan, it no longer has anything to do with the Uchiha clan, they are no longer mentioned, apparently Sasuke didn't learn anything from his entire final interaction with Itachi, and now Sasuke wants to be hokage to the entire world and live forever. Of course, Sasuke is just a silly, hurt child and needs Naruto's love beaten into him until he realizes people cared about him so he shouldn't care about what happened in the past. Also Naruto is a really nice guy and all the villages that hate each other will get along now. So Sasuke may have to go on a redemption walk forever, but he'll marry Sakura and have a kid and be Naruto's best friend and isn't that a nice, happy ending.

How it should have gone: I actually think most characters in Naruto need very little changed. What actually needs to be changed is the framing. And that is true for Sasuke. He's pretty much set until the end.

If we are coming at the manga from Naruto's perspective, setting him up as the cool, popular kid is fine. But as soon as we learn about Sasuke as a character I don't think that should be the focus and Naruto should definitely have learned that being the cool, popular kid is not how Sasuke sees himself so he should stop talking about that whenever they meet if Sasuke is indeed his best friend. But more than that I think instead of focusing on Sasuke has someone ~seduced by the power Orochimaru offered~ or ~ungrateful for his friends~ it should have been framed as Sasuke being someone newly retraumatized, very hurt, and felt like he was out of options because no one was supporting him. That framing doesn't even necessarily have to come at the time things happen, but at least in retrospect someone could have realized they fucked up in how they were interacting with Sasuke.

The biggest thing for me though would be after Sasuke learns the truth, stop pretending like he's super evil and "in the darkness" and just say he's having a mental breakdown. That's what it looks like and the only thing that makes me know that's not Kishimoto's angle is because everyone keeps saying Sasuke is evil and we never reevaluate his behavior again after this. Hell, Kakashi and Naruto know what Sasuke knows and Naruto's still thinking they should probably just fight each other to the death to solve this and never have an updated opinion on that ever.

Lastly, I feel there are two possible options that would have made sense writing-wise, I think one is a good idea and one is bad, but I wouldn't have critiqued the story telling if either of these were used. But they weren't and instead we had Sasuke's character just stop making sense so we could have Sasuke be in the wrong and have a big end fight with Naruto. Option one (the bad option) is to have Sasuke, after hearing the hokages' stories, agree that his clan should have been wiped out for the good of Konoha and fight in the war, not having a fight with Naruto at the end because they are in agreement that ultimately sacrificing an entire clan for a village is the best decision. Option two (the good one) is Sasuke goes to fight in the war but once they deal with this Kaguya bullshit Sasuke once again wants his revolution. This time though Sasuke is upset about something that is congruous with what actually happened to him, his whole family being killed by his brother who was manipulated and threatened by village leaders, while also incorporating what he learned from the hokages. Maybe something about how people with power and money are the ones hiring ninjas leading to generations long animosity between clans and villages causing one to eventually stamp out the other for "the good of the village/our continued existence/whatever" (good time to call back to the time Suna wanted to destroy Konoha because their daimyo was using Konoha ninja because they were cheaper) and also maybe he's also just mad that the government killed his family and his brother was disgraced and no one knows about it. That means Kishimoto would have to just admit Konoha was wrong for that, and if there's a fight with him and Naruto then Naruto would look bad. But there doesn't even have to be a fight at all perhaps Kishimoto could actually give Naruto an arc instead and they team up to change the ninja world. Wild idea I know.

The main point I want to get across about Sasuke is what this whole blog has been about. Sasuke should have been treated sympathetically and someone who was very hurt, very troubled, and didn't always do the right thing but at least he wanted the right thing, not as someone bad or a "sulking friend who needed to be punched to snap him out of it".

[percabeth4life]

Not being able to write when I have multiple chapters for fics I need to update plotted out fully, multiple new fics in progress of plotting or completely plotted out and literally nothing to do at work is killing me.

[hirazuki]

Question for my Naruto mutuals/followers/whoever sees this:

How does Naruto address Shizune? Does he ever address her by name/title/nickname/anything?? I've gone through what I believe are their main interactions in the series, and the only time I've found that he's directly spoken to her, it was "Oi." (XDD)

Asking for fic-writing purposes >.>

[bainutwater85]

can i get nsfw headcanons about any naruto characters? your choice !!

characters: gaara, kiba, kakashi, shikamaru

cw: cum, anal, vibrators, dick sizes, fem reader with fem parts

a/n: hope u enjoy! also i’m writing for them during the time naruto and hinata got married (?) i know they were like 19-23 or 24

GAARA !

when you two are alone: he likes when you lay on him n he rubs your back inching his way down to you ass, rubbing it and kneading it in his hands.

twerk on this man, give him a lap dance i swear to god he won’t be disappointed by anything you shake. his eyes will be wide and he’ll have the biggest smile on his face, if y’all are drunk and doing this then you’ll definitely be fucking wherever you are at. Most likely will come in his pants..

his balls are tight and full, not big but average size for his age. Loves when you just lay next to him and invade his space then slipping a hand in his pants to massage his balls; especially when he’s cramping there to.

he’s not much of a sex guy but definitely prefers dry humping over the real dick in the ass thing, if yknow what i mean. you 2 just get the grind on..slow and sensual. & by dry humping— he’s not humping you like a wild animal, just dragging his boner across your leg/thigh. You do the same..just without ur panties (^_^)

Don’t get me wrong..he’ll have sex and release his load in you or on you a few times— he just has a..in between sex drive (?) basically: sex isn’t always on his mind unless you propose to it and if he’s having a rough day (which is almost everyday & barely resorts to sex to get relaxed) anywayss. With that being said i really feel like he likes to take sex slow so your foreplay will last about 15-20 mins and another 20 while he’s kissing every crack and creavice of your body.

⤴︎ i also feel like he’s big into role play. Like yes, i’ll be the princess and you’ll be the evil big bad wizard that needs my love and touch. Or yes you can be the UPS guy and i can be the mom of 2 college and highschool kids during the summer waiting for my dildo to arrive because me and my husband divorced a few months ago

he don’t lick pussy he SUCKS pussy. he don’t give you fast kitten licks he will head straight for the clit and suck on it like a pacifier and rub it when he’s done.

his cum has an easy flow and isn’t too thick but he spurts out a lot. Also average size with an average girth, 6.4 inches at best🙌🏾

KIBA !

biggg ash, GIRTH && LENGTH WISE. i’d say 6.6 at least. n he lovesss it when you whine and tell him it don’t or won’t fit & try to push him back a bit by his abdomen or run. just for him to grab you by the hips/waist and start pounding into you

unlike gaara he will dive in and lick your pussy clean. sorry not sorry, he has no pussy eating technique and does what he saw a man do on a porno he seen when he 12 years old. yeahhhp

why fuck one hole when you can fuck 3? we all say in usion. He’s an anal god & prefers the butthole than the vagina or mouth.

speaking of mouth..he likes a little teeth on his cock, not a lot tho😗 cause it “tickles” he says.

Guys..he does not have breeder balls..i’m sorry :(. They aren’t small they just aren’t as big but they don’t sag either..they’re TIGHT. tight like if he was to go soft rn his ball sacks would be a futon for his penis

also has bad ball cramps and whines so much when you can’t or won’t help him with it. But “its fine” he says, just don’t beg for any dick post- shark week 😒. && to top it all off he is a MASTER MASTURBATER. when he got with you he stopped watching porn and used his imagination with you being the the source of material.

sleeps bare butt ass naked with his balls all out jus free ballin like we’re in the paleoithic age💀

ass eater ass eaterr. he don’t care if you ain’t shower this morning he wants to go in and down. He’s a free and wild man when it comes to sex, LITERALLY.

whines the most and hates to admit it but he just can’t help how tight you are. Like you wrap around him just right and it makes him come on the spot sometimes

they don’t mind a bush or fuzzy peach. But kiba is the one to cry when you shave or get a wax down there 😗 the others don’t mind if it’s hairy, a little hair never hurt them and plus “we grown” kakashi, kiba and SHIKAMARU say in harmony 😭

+ all of the character listed above

KAKASHI !

always and i mean alwaysss has to have a hand on your ass and tits. it’s not even in a horny or sexual way— he just wants to squeeze and feel the squish of your body. Unknowingly massages them to and you don’t even point it out, then he’s moving his hand looking down at your nipple like “why is it hard?” man you just gave top tier massage that could clear migraines and cramps.

his dick is big and he knows ittt. Sitting on his lap is enough for his dick to go in ‘up mode’ he will nottt back down or let YOU back down when you tease him and try to leave him by hiself with a hardon, no ma’am..you’re gonna finish what you started.

never fully gets naked when you two are having sex. his shirt is off, pants down and his dick coming out the deisgined hole of his boxers. Your bra over your tits and panties pulled to the side.

he lives in the country and rural era of konoha so yes you suck his dick and he eats you out on his back patio, what about it?

doesn’t want you having any dildos, he doesnt know why it makes him so upset you need a FAKE cock to make you cum when you have him. The only sex toys he’ll allow is a vibrator and butt plug. Speaking of vibrators, he so fascinated by the way your plump pussy lips move when you use it😫

preps you all the time, you two could’ve been fucking since the day you got together, he’s still gonna prep you either way cause mans is BIG. he’s more of a shower than grower tho 😗

6.7in when soft and 7inch hard. His girth isn’t wide..it’s more on the skinny side but he reaches places better with the size and length. Once you cried so hard and almost reached your breaking point when his thrust kept getting deeper and slower cause he was hitting the entrance to your cervix and lord was it painful yet pleasing at once.

his balls are average but they sag, not low but they got some weight to em on the inside 😭

SHIKAMARU !

wants to makes movies with you and has made movies with you. But it’s premium tho so only you and him only see it.

always and i mean alwayssss has a hand in your panties or on your thigh. You two would be chillin in the living room, the floor or in the bed (most of the times the bed) and he’ll just sneak his through and just rub your clit. he doesn’t finger you just rubs you slowly, occupied with his phone and your pussy while he’s just strolling through social media and getting you off all at once.

fav position is most likely doggystyle. Why? because if you both are getting your freak on and wanting to watch something..you can do both.

lazy sex..need i say more? he’s got you laying on top of him with his dick barely all the way inside you and giving half ass thrusts while you both are half away and naked at the crack of morning

hates pulling out, says it ruins the good feeling when you’re about to cum. Naw sweetie he just wants to be a dad of a cheerleading team. He might wanna be one and done or 2 kids but the way he cums inside of you..😗 it says otherwise. he doesn’t even pull out till you guys wake up, and if he did so you can go pee and get it out your system— he’s gonna ease way back in and go to bed like that 😭

another sagger and shower but not a grower. He’s average, length and girth. 6.6 hard and 6.6 soft. It’s just limpy yknow?.

also sleeps naked well semi-naked. but you? oh he makes you strip down to your socks and earrings. he wants you skinned down to the toess. He only sleeps in a bare of boxers and time out time he uses rhat as his advantage. won’t even take them off to pull his dick out. he either slips it through the hole of his pants or over the hem of the boxers. Somtimes doesn’t even take it out himself and gets you to do it by grinding it agaisnt you or pulling you closer to it.

cums a lot and cums whenever and wherever tbh. on your face in your mouth, wipes it off for you tho. One thing he lovessss to do is slap his tip on your lips or cheeks he just loves slapping his cock all over your face anyways

[sweet1delusi0ns]

Naruto boys insecurity’s

──☆*:・ﾟ

!Angst!

Characters: Naruto🦊,sasuke🗡️,Itachi🥀, kakashi🍃, kiba🐺, shikamaru🀄️,shino🪲,neji🎋,Lee🥋,choji🍥,gaara⏳,kankuro🪆

Naruto🦊-*

He’s grown up an outcast so he’s slightly insecure anyways (poor thing). He thinks he’s a bother to you sometimes and gets himself in a slump. You noticed how hes been rather quiet with you, not asking for anything, not begging for cuddles or kisses, you knew something must have been wrong. And it was confirmed when you over heard him talking to himself in the mirror, basically just insulting himself

“Why cant i just do better…” “why do I have to be so annoying…everyone thinks I’m annoying…probably even y/n. They could do so much better why m-” “NARUTO DONT YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE” you bust down the door causing naruto to quickly wipe his teary eyes “hey y/n! W-what do you mean?” “You know what I mean naruto.” You reach for his cheek to make sure he keeps his eyes on you “your not a bother naruto. And you deserve me as much as I deserve you! Why are you saying this?” He’s in full blown tears now, ugly crying and everything “e-everyone already thinks that way about me I-I thought you would think the same after a w-while” he sniffs “foxy…do I need..to show you how much you mean to me?” His eyes widen at the fact that he actually means something to you. For the rest of the night you never left him alone once, you spoiled him so much more that normal which made him feel so much better. He loves youuuuuu

Sasuke🗡️-*

Also was treated like an outcast but it didn’t affect him in the way it affected naruto. He doesn’t really think he’s a bother, if anything he’s scared that you think your the bother, since he’s so “cold” towards you sometimes he’s scared your going to leave or think he doesn’t love you anymore. Once it got so overwhelming for him he had teary eyes for hours just thinking about how he acts, he decided he needed to tell you. Once he found you he ran towards you and engulfed you in a big hug. You thought this was adorable or him being silly until you felt something wet on your shoulder followed by a broken breath

“S-sasuke? What’s wrong…Are you crying?” You could hear a sad whimper coming from him. “I love you. I-I love you so much y/n please don’t forget. No matter how I act I-” “I know. Baby I know. I love you too, what’s this about, your scaring me?” He didn’t dare remove his tear stained head from your shoulder “I know I’m…mean s-sometimes but-” it finally clicked for you why he was so upset all of a sudden “sasuke… your not mean! And I know you love me no matter how you act.” “I..just thought…no one understands how I truly feel. I just Need you to know…t-that I do love you” he pulls away from your shoulder to wipe his eyes before turning away from embarrassment. He felt you wrapping your arms around him causing him to jump. “I’m sorry y/n. I’m just over reacting” “no don’t. Don’t say that… I think we should lay down. You need to relax do you need me to help you? I know you feel…weak” he takes a deep breath “please y/n… yes” you both walk together to your bed. Trust me when I tell you he is going to feel a lot better after some comfort *wink*

Itachi🥀-*

He just feels… worthless sometimes. He just doesn’t feel worthy of good things that happen in his life, aka you. He doesn’t feel worthy of you. But he is very open with you unlike others, he tells you what’s wrong no matter what.

“Y/n. I have uhm… I have some feeling I would like to share.” “Of course Love, what’s up?” “I…” You gaze softens realizing he’s going to get upset “I don’t feel worthy.” “Oh…tachi… come here” you pat the spot next to you but instead he took your lap instead, he reaches in for a hug before speaking up again “tell me you love me. Please. And tell me I’m worthy…” “you are the love of my life. And you are worthy of that love. No matter what you think you deserve love.” That is all he needs to hear. Although he gets very upset you can always calm him down. It does happen more often but you do not care. Anything to make him feel better.

Kakashi🍃-*

We all know he’s very attractive but that doesn’t mean he thinks the same. He doesn’t like his scar, he doesn’t like the story it holds and he doesn’t like the look of it. He can hold back the insecurity in battle because he knows it’s not worth dying because he thinks it’s ugly, but he cant hold back the insecurity on a day to day basis with you, he gets extremely timid with you. You see him with the mask off all the time so it’s kinda funny that you rarely see him without something covering his eye. But you just thought he forgets it’s there so you didn’t think about insecurity, but when you walk in on him washing his face he almost instantly covered his eye with his palm you knew something was wrong

“Ay? Why you covering that cute face?!” “Aha thanks y/n” he chuckles trying to make you ignore it yet he still kept his hand up “serious what’s with your hand?” “Well..ah you know..” he points to his eye with his other hand “what your scar? Babe I don’t care” he smiles softly before replying “I care…” “take your hand away” “I’d rather not-” “kakashi.” Groans “yes y/n…” he drops his hand and you let out a content sigh “there’s my baby” you grab his face with both hands and kiss his scar softly “you don’t find it odd?” He looks away while blushing “no kakashi I don’t find it odd because I love you.” He flashes a smile before turning back to the mirror with a weird look still on his face, to lighten the mood you grabbed him my the cheeks to shake his head back and forth before giggling at him. “Cutiee” you comment before kissing his beauty mark then walking back out the door.

Kiba🐺-*

He’s sensitive, he may be a big joker but if someone else says the wrong thing he will not be happy, normally the only thing he doesn’t like being called is a mutt or a dog. It makes him feel ashamed of him family quirk. Just because he loves animals doesn’t mean he is one right? He started thinking maybe he is just a dog. A Dirty, annoying, unfunny mutt. He started to feel like foolish for loving a dog so much, but he can’t help it it’s the family he was born into.

He has been rather distant from akamaru, still taking him on mission but recently he hasn’t been letting his puppy in the house as much anymore and he gets upset when you let him in instead. “Why did you let him in the house y/n!” “His a good boy he won’t chew up furniture if anything you would!” You we’re just trying to lighten the mood but it didn’t help “akamaru outside now!” He commands “come on why don’t you want him inside??” “You don’t need two mutts in the house y/n” this confused you for obvious reasons “two mutts? Are you talking about yourself? Your not…your not a dog thought?” He crosses his arms in protest “tell that to my friends, Or anyone because for some reason they all think I am a dog stuck in human form and it’s getting old.” You chuckle nervously “your not? If your talking about your dog like features and fighting style it’s just your quirk? It’s not your fault you can’t choose” he lowers his head “even you think I’m a dog sometimes!” “No baby. I dont I think that. your a human just with some animal features but most of your family is like that?” “If you don’t think I’m an animal why do you call me names like puppy.” He’s stretching, he loves it when you call him that he’s just in a mood “I call you that because you love attention and can’t go a day without seeing your loved ones. Plus your as cute as a pup!” His shoulders relax finally realizing he shouldn’t be upset over this. “I just feel ashamed of who I am sometimes y/n I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry. I love who you are if that makes it better” he chuckles “yeah…it kind of does make it better honestly…can you kiss me..?” He smile at his sudden change of mood “of course!”

Shikamaru🀄️-*

He knows he’s good looking but he also knows he’s not the best, he also knows your absolutely stunning, so it gets to him sometimes without realizing is, he changes his look every now and then to see if it would make him feel better. Maybe make him more attractive to you he hopes

“Dear could you turn around please?” “Sure shika whats u-” you stop dead in your tracks with a shocked look on your face “your hair is down!!!” You exclaim, the only time you see his hair down is when he is sleeping, you’ve never seen it down when he’s awake “I know, I’m trying something, does it look good?” You giggle “You always look good darling, just not use to it that’s all” you walk over to grab a handful of his hair which was slicked back but not up in a ponytail anymore. “Well I think you look handsome no matter what” he groans “don’t lie to me does it make me look worse?” You give him a nasty look “worse? You say that as if you already look bad…?” “Well eh-” “well what? Your very attractive Shika do you think other wise?” He puts his hands in his pockets “uhm sometimes-” “oh come on!” You grab his face “your soooo handsome no matter what you do with your hairrrr” you tease. He continued to make eye contact with you while a smile grows on his face. “…can I put a little braid in your hair?” “No” “Aw man.”

Shino🪲-*

He’s ok with his looks and doesn’t feel like a burden on you, oddly enough the only thing he’s insecure about is his voice. He thinks he sounds funny sometimes and doesn’t like how raspy it is, that’s why sometimes he doesn’t talk to you that much. Sometimes all he responds with is either nodding his head or shaking it which makes you feel bad

“What do you feel for dinner love bug?” “…” you looked around because maybe he left the room but no, he just didn’t respond. “Uhm hello???” “…” “are you hungry?” He shakes his head yes “with words please?” He looks around before responding quietly “yes I’m hungry” you giggle not quiet knowing what’s up with him “why are you so timid right now?” He finally speaks up “do you think I sound funny y/n?” “Uh no? Why” “sometimes I feel like my voice isn’t that pleasing.” “It sound pleasing to me-” he lightened up at the compliment “really?” “Yes of course!” When he’s insecure he normally gets over it fast, he’s rational and knows when he’s just being silly

Neji🎋-*

He knows he can choose his own destiny, he just wish the preset plan for him was burned into his forehead. He hated it so much, he was disgusted by it and therefor disgusted with himself. Sometimes you find him crying in the mirror over the symbol plastered onto him. But you always let him know that it doesn’t define him

You could hear cries coming from the bathroom and you couldn’t take it anymore so you decide to knock “sweetheart…are you crying?” He knew there was no point in lying anymore “y-yes..” “may I come in?” You could hear a cracked “mhm…” coming from the other side or the door so you walk in, immediately pulling him into your chest. “What happened. Did Someone do this?” He pulls away from your chest just to look back to the mirror to cover his mark while his lip quivered. You finally realized what was happening. “Give me your hand please..” he obliged lowering his hand. You grabbed his cheek and gave a very long forehead kiss. “Your worth more than this mark Neji.” You mumble against his head. You decided the best thing to do is go to bed and give him more love so that’s just what you did

Lee🥋-*

He may seem strong so it was shocking to you when he confided in you about how he’s insecure about almost everything about him (poor thing) he try’s to stay strong but he can’t help but get vulnerable with you

All you were doing was giving him love but he just felt unworthy of it. “My handsome, strong, perfect boy!~” kiss “well I don’t know if those words are accurate but thank you my precious!” You huff at his self doubt “don’t say that, your all of those things?” He laughs nervously “I don’t think so heh” “you are! You don’t think your handsome or strong…?” You frown “well uhm y/n…It obvious I’m not the best looking, and yeah I’m strong but…I could always be stronger.” He looked down at his feet in shame “Lee…take it back.” “W-what” “take it back. No one is allowed to insult my baby like that, not even himself.” He thought you were just joking until he looked up into your eyes to see the seriousness that laid in them, he could see tears forming in your eyes. “Please Lee. Take it back.” “I-I…I take it back y/n I’m sorry” “please…don’t ever say things that that again”

Choji🍥-*

He’s always been bullied because of his weight so of course he will be extremely insecure about it and anxious when your trying to love up on him, you knew he was insecure about it and you always told him it did it matter but you never realized to much it really affects him until your further into the relationship and you started to be more physically affectionate, he loves the affection just hates the body that it receiving it. All you were trying to do was hold him after a long day but he seemed so scared of if and you had to ask why

“Cmon let me hug you!” “No y/n..” you pout “why not! I wanna hold my fluff ball!” He cups his hands together then proceeded to look at the floor “I don’t think holding me is even possible…” your pout turned into a confusion “uh what do you mean choj?” He pinched at his stomach to hint at what he was talking about since he was to shy to actually tell you “oh…Choji you don’t need to worry about that I don’t care!” “I care because it means I can’t do certain things! How are you supposed to hold me!” You scoff “I’m confident I could carry you like a baby if I needed too.” “Your just saying that to make me feel better…” he crosses his arms and puffs his cheeks up out of timidness “I’m being serious Choji! I could totally carry you! Your not as big as you think you are.” He closes his eyes so tears dont form “I’d like to see you try y/n, you won’t be able t-” since his eyes were closed he didn’t see you walk over to his side, he only realized when he felt your arm latch around his shoulders and your other cupping around his legs. He open his eyes right in time to realize you just picked him up bridal style. He gasps in reaction, he turns to your face to see not a single ounce of struggle on your face “I told you! Your not that heavy choj!” This Moment honestly cured almost all his insecurity on that subject for a very long time. And sometimes he thinks “maybe she’s just really REALLY strong” he still loves the thought behind your actions. “Heh uhm…I guess maybe I’m not. Thank you sweetie!” “Anytime bubs~” with that you place him back down on his feet and give him a very passionate kiss

Gaara⏳-*

Most of his life he was basically controlling by either others or his inner demon so he didn’t have time to worry about appearance. But ever since he finally felt in control of his own life he now worries about his appearance sadly. He doesn’t like the mark on his head, he doesn’t really like his hair either and feels like his facial features just look wrong on him. He’s very good at hiding things so you didn’t realize until you overheard a conversation with him and his brother, he figured since kankuro is considered attractive maybe he should ask him for advice!

You were wondering around trying to find Gaara to ask him god knows what until you finally hear his voice along with kankuros, you walked behind the door about to knock until gaara’s question caught your attention. “So is there anything that could make me more ‘attractive’ or something along the lines of that?” “I don’t know? Maybe try face paint chicks dig it” you could hear a sigh leaving Gaara “I don’t want to attract ‘chicks’ I just want to attract y/n.” “What makes you think she doesn’t already feel attracted to you?” “I don’t know, I just feel like if I find myself unattractive maybe she does too.” That’s enough, you have to stop this. You knock on the door making them both look at it, you swing the door open and immediately look at gaara which was all it took for kankuro to take the hint “I’m just gunna..goooo…” you and him exchange nods before he leaves. Once the door shut you look back at gaara “what was all that?” “Oh so you heard?” “Yes gaara I heard, why do you find yourself unattractive? And why are you going to your skanky brother for help?” He turns his head to continue speaking “I can’t explain why I feel that way about myself, but I went to my brother because I know he is considered attractive to others.” You sit next to gaara and grab his chin to make him look at you. You lean closely to speak “how could you not love this face~” you whisper almost seductively while you drag your thumb across his cheek bone. “What don’t you like…?” His breath hitched out of fear of spilling his insecurity’s. “I guess…I don’t like the mark on my head, and I don’t like my nose much either, I also don’t really care for my hair it makes me look like a clown sometimes.” He’s waiting for you to agree with him but instead you lean closer to kiss everything he listed, first his little nose, then his marking and then you drag your hand through his hair which made him flushed. “Well I like Everything about you…” he finally makes eye contact with you, with red cheek. He took a big deep breath to reply “ok…thank you y/n. That makes me feel a bit better” you reach in for a hug which he gladly accepted!

Kankuro🪆-*

Even though he seems so hot and confident he’s much like his brother, sometimes he doesn’t like his bare face. He has make up on almost all day so rarely do you see him without any on, and when you do see him bare faced he’s weirdly shy which isn’t like him.

You both were in bed after work and you were just having a conversation, mostly it was just you talking which was weird because he’s normally high maintenance. “I couldn’t believe she had the audacity to say something like that, what do you think babe did she have a good point?” “I don’t know” his head is slightly turned to the side opposite of you which made it almost impossible to see him, he just washed his face so he’s completely bare faced yet won’t even look at you. “Babe? Cmon atleast look at me when I’m talking” “UGHHHHHHHH fine.” He turns to You shyly avoiding eye contact before replying “she’s in the wrong for saying that honestly-” you laugh “that’s exactly what I’m saying!……” you stared at his cute bare face for a little to long which made him anxious “what are you looking at y/n!” “I’m looking at your cute facee *boop*” he pulled away from your finger just to cross his arms “whateverr” you didn’t know at the time he wasn’t feeling his best but later he did tell you. But he still loves the compliment you give no matter how insecure he is at the time. Only you can make him feel better tbh

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

Ding dong, here’s the final chapter! I have an epilogue in mind so that may come later, but for now, Thanks  so so much for the response to this series and Enjoy!

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3

[talking] [talking passes]

Gai: You knew right away, didn’t you? Kka: Correct. I knew something was wrong when you weren’t trying to do situps or anything..... You little criminal, who smuggled that in for you? Gai: Naruto

Kks: How did you get him to do that? /I/ cant even get Naruto to do things. The tear tracks and shit eating grin are cute. Kinda wanna kiss you. Gai: Don’t let me be a hindrance to-

Gai: What are you giggling about? Kks: I just remembered

Kks: I get to hold over your head that I held mirai before you. Gai: You what?! Your first baby hold and I missed it? Get off of me Kks: So mean! Near death made you crabby. Gai: I won’t give into this Kks: You will, you always succumb. [gai sighs annoyed]

Gai: [Groans] When are they making you swear in as hokage? Kks: That’s not happening anymore thankfully. Gai: Huuuh?? Tenzou didn’t tell me that!

Gai: He said Lady Tsunade was retiring and you were the only choice. Naruto even tried to- Kks: Where do you think i’ve been all day? I convinced her to hold out until Naruto or whoever  took over next. Gai: How did you smooth talk that one? Kks: I agreed to do her paperwork and cover for when she needs R&R. I also advised her to ditch the elders so she can actually run this shit show right. Gai: And they... took that well? The elders? Kks: No, not at all. Let’s just say I said some... things that made them backtrack on their decision.

Gai: YOu cant just say that and not tell me now!! I gotta know! Kks: Well... Homura: Absolutely not! Kks: If I am appointed, I’ll be replacing you regardless. Naruto certainly will. It’s inevitable. Koharu: Those kids don’t know how this village runs!

Kks:Those kids just won your war and this is how you speak of them. Or are “those kids“ only respectable to you when they’re eager to die at your beckon call and shut up. Elders: How dare- Watch your tongue! Kks: I won’t be someone who you can walk all over. Things will change. Just so my intentions are clear

Gai: What next?! Kks: That’s is really. Kinda tuned the rest out and passed out for 3 hours. Gai: Rival, I was so invested Kks: Sorry Gai: So you agreed to essentially split the work of a hokage but not publicly take the title? Kks: Mhm Gai: So cool! Apologies, I had just assumes since you were gonna accept last time Kks:[hums] Things changed. Konoha’s not on the brink of war, Tsunade’s still here. The village can breathe and rebuild now.

Kks: After a glimpse of the hassle and public attention the last time, I’m just... Not interested in any of that. I’ve never dreamed or desired to be the hokage. That was always something others wanted /for/ me. So I said no. I know you were happy for me so- Gai: Kakashi

Gai: I’m so very proud of you for expressing how you truly feel. You and tsunade will do amazing work supporting the next generation. Even If you chose to retire today, I’d still be just as proud of you. Also a selfish part of me if happy to have more time with you. [kks huffs]

Kks: I’m proud of you too, y’ know. All your hard work, you’re fucking incredible. Glad my dad made me talk to the cool kid in the green jumpsuit. 2nd coolest shinobi. Gai: Only took 25 years, but I’ve finally caught your eye! Kks: Yup, let’s move in together.

Gai: WHAT?1 Whu-! Kks: I’m fixing up dad’s old house with Tenzou. you should live there with me Gai: Why? Kks: Why are yo suspicious? I’m serious. Space, accessibility for you... I want you around more. Gai: Ok Kks: Ok? Gai: An exciting change is just what my youthful journey needs!! Kks: So yes?

Gai: I would love to share a home with you, Rival [kks giggling] What now?

Kks: Did I just make you succumb, Gai-kun? Gai: When can we have a match next, I need to consensually slap you in the head [kks laughs] Why did you say it like that? Kks: I’m sorry! Your pout looks so cute.... You are still moving in with me, right? That wasnt a joke.

Gai: I’m gonna let you sweat on that one awhile... [whimpers]

Kks: Love you so much, Gai

[gai snoring]

[gai snoring]

[mochiajclayne]

Okay we all know that I love Five Kage Summit arc but what's interesting is about what happened NEXT after Naruto and Sasuke talked under that bridge. Naruto went ahead and told his friends that he'd handle Sasuke alone and naturally their reactions were how can you expect us to agree with that, we can't give in to your stubbornness, and it's pretty much an issue for the village and Naruto is like nope I'm not being stubborn and Kiba really called him out like thought you'd give us the details but I did not expect it to be this, we all made up our minds to kill Sasuke then Shikamaru really hit the nail in the coffin like you say that you'll take Sasuke alone when you're actually planning on protecting him. Naruto is like no intentions to protect Sasuke here and Neji is like Sasuke was weak at the time so why didn't you take him out and Sakura defended Naruto by saying that Madara was there then Kiba says you're a hero dude you can take him down like you did with Pain and Naruto sullenly replied that he wouldn't be able to defeat Sasuke the way that he currently is and then Choji is like what is it that you found out then Naruto fucking proceeds NOT TO EXPLAIN FURTHER and persistently says that no one should take Sasuke on and HE'S THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN FIGHT HIM as if that explanation would satisfy everyone (it doesn't) and keeps on giving them the runaround as he would tell them when the time comes. Even Sakura who was there when it happened has been mentally deliberating about what's Naruto has been hiding.

Now the interesting part is Naruto could've just explained WHY. Neji would've understood where he's speaking from as he also dealt with darkness, Shikamaru would at least try to see his point in sheer rationality making the others see his perspective but HE DOESN'T. It was a choice. Might be speaking out of the box here but with the way that everyone collectively decided to kill Sasuke behind his back, it was like a slap in the face realization for Naruto that no one really understands Sasuke like he does. And no amount of explanation would convince them otherwise--he wasn't exactly protecting Sasuke but he won't let them kill him either because killing him won't save Sasuke from his hatred. Naruto never intended to exist in a world where Sasuke dies and he made that clear in the bridge. People around them would look at their relationship like they're fucking insane but what's amusing about it is they never explained their bond to others--how can you even put into words the connection that transcends even the ninja system that fosters hatred and pain? And how can you expect the same people that unconsciously adheres to the same system to understand that?

[shanastoryteller]

Happy pride! More hokage daughter?

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Orochimaru wants to know what the hell Minato was thinking setting up the exam to be like this, but after his little stunt in his office, he figures he shouldn’t push his luck.

Still. He’s a kage, and now he’s got to hang around for weeks while the kids train or do whatever? At least he has people to visit here, what did he expect the other kages to do?

Whatever. Oto is much more efficient. Maybe next exam he’ll actually invite Minato so he can see how a proper one is run.

“What’s got you in such a mood?”

He glances up at Sarutobi, the old man biting the end of his pipe as he looks over their go board. “What makes you think I’m in a mood?”

“You usually would have won by now,” he says, eyes crinkling at the corners.

He glances down at the board and huffs. “Maybe I just want to extend our time together.”

“Yes, I’m so busy in my retirement, no time at all for you anymore,” he continues. He’s gotten bitchy in his retirement, actually. “I’m glad to see you back here. All three of you. But you didn’t need to.”

“It’s fine.” Sarutobi probably knows full well that he has spies in Konoha, besides Anko who hardly counts, but there’s no need to risk Kabuto by mentioning it.

He sighs and moves another piece. “You scheming never ends well.”

That is simply not true. “I founded a village.”

“I meant for me,” he says, grinning around his pipe.

That, Orochimaru concedes, is true.

~

Tsume looks over her students, already resigned.

Minato had torn her head off after the matches were announced. Really, if he was going to be like this, he never should have allowed his daughter to become a ninja in the first place. Not that it would have stopped her, probably, but it at least would have spared Tsume the headache.

“All right,” she sighs. “Sakura, I’m going to ruin your life for the next couple weeks and completely ignore the others. I assume that’s fine?”

Naruto places the back of her hand to her forehead. “Oh, Sensei, how could you abandon us so? Leaving me and poor Sasuke all on our lonesome.”

Sasuke isn’t even a thought to her. She’s sure he and Neji have already met up to choreograph a fight that puts all their best skills on display, although she assumes they’ll freestyle the end to determine the winner since she can’t see either of them conceding. Unless Naruto sticks her nose in.

Speaking of.

“You have a plan, right?” she says to her. “Please tell me you have a plan.”

She could train her too, but not effectively, not how she needs to be trained. Because Tsume knows damn well that Naruto has abilities and skills that she keep to herself, and she hadn’t needed seeing her perform her father’s Flash to figure that out.

“I have a plan,” she says confidently.

Sakura winces and Sasuke rubs the bridge of his nose.

Great.

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

Sasuke and his trouble: When you really love and care someone, you can't hide it.

☞ Offering his bento

Right before this scene, Sasuke gives a grand speech to Sakura about he needs to pass this exam to get his revenge. Even though he knew full well that if he shared the food he would be disqualified and not allowed to train as a shinobi… but… when he saw Naruto's face he threw everything away and risked his ninja career as well.

☞ Sasuke asking Sakura not to divulge about his Curse Mark to Naruto

When Naruto asked her about Sasuke's mark, Sakura remembers what Sasuke told her in the Forest of Death. The next thing we see is Sasuke asking her to promise him not to tell Naruto about the curse mark because he doesn't want to worry him.

This scene has appeared twice in the manga... once in this chapter (69) and the other in chapter 178. From her recalls in ch. 69, there was this dialogue that sasuke says: ｢いいか...これもチーム ワークだ｡｣ = ī ka ... kore mo chīmu wākuda = Listen... This is also teamwork”. But the interesting thing is that she doesn't include this dialogue in chapter 178.

What prompted her to recall the scene:

Sakura tried to come between Naruto and Sasuke when they got into a fight on the hospital roof top. And Naruto says this to her: 'Sakura...Don't get in my way!', but the way Naruto saying to Sakura with a sharp manner is completely new and you can see from the panel how much his words shocked her. We all know Naruto isn't the type to speak angrily to Sakura. And yet, we've seen Naruto put Sakura in her place twice when she was trying to get between his goals. Like in this scene and in the 5KS arc. Both of these scenes have one thing in common, which is that Sakura comes between Naruto and Sasuke.

The word Naruto uses here is 邪魔しないで (jama shinaide) which means don't get in the/my way; stay out of the/my way; don't disturb me; don't bother me. This expression 'jama shinaide', is negative and kind of strong to use towards other people. And it is not a polite word.

Then she recalls this:

Raw: 約束してくれ...このアザのことはナルトには言うな｡ あいつに余計な気を遣われても困るんでな...

Romaji: yakusokushitekure...kono aza no koto wa naruto ni wa iu na. aitsu ni yokeina ki wo tsukawarete mo komaru n dena...

Literal: Promise me... You won't say anything about this mark/bruise to Naruto. It's only going to trouble me if he unnecessarily/extra worries about me...

気を遣う (ki wo tsukau) is an expression which means "to be considerate," "to be mindful," "to care about somethone/something", or "to go out of one's way (for someone)"

Sasuke is expressing that he would be troubled if Naruto were to go out of his way to show concern and worry for him. Why would it troubles Sasuke to see Naruto worries about him? Even Sakura was worried about him during the Chūnin Exams arc.... Why couldn't her worries bother him, even a little? Towards Sakura, he was completely annoyed & distant whereas with Naruto he worries about him and also feels pain whenever Naruto get hurts.

[mayhem-neverending]

Nightmares

Gojo Satoru x Reader

Word Count: 2,213

Summary: Short fic about Gojo seeking you out after a nightmare. Friends to lovers.

Warnings: some violent graphic content

Note: This is my first time writing Gojo (on Tumblr - I'm very slowly working on a long fic on AO3). This came to me last night, and I thought it was a nice enough idea to write it. I know I'm a Naruto girly on here, but nothing wrong with expanding horizons, right?

Moonlight shone through the crack in your thick curtains, illuminating your deeply slumbering form. The room was still; the night was cool enough to leave the a/c off without turning on the heater. The only airflow came from the slight crack in your window. You were perfectly still, slow, deep inhales displayed in the gentle rising and falling of your chest. Your phone repeatedly vibrated on the other side of the bed, but it didn’t alert you in the slightest. Not even a twitch of your fingers to acknowledge the disturbance.

There was a low whirr that sounded in the middle of your room followed by shallow, erratic breaths. Soft, quick footsteps to the edge of your bed, the rustle of fabric, breath desperately trying and failing to be controlled. Fingers trembling in front of your face, a weak attempt to determine whether breath entered and exited your nose, but they were too out of it to tell. 

A harsh whisper of your name exited their mouth, and when you didn’t answer, a louder, broken call of your name dragged out next to your ear. 

You jostled awake, eyes shooting open and a sharp inhale as you scooted away from the voice. You were jumbled, your heart racing as you tried to compute what you were seeing. Your name fell from their lips again, a mix of desperation and relief, as your eyes finally met theirs. 

The faint glow of blue eyes in the darkness brought you back to reality. “Satoru?”

He looked wild and so vulnerable. He was only in a white t-shirt and boxers, hair wild from tossing in his sleep and blue eyes rimmed with red as fat tears poured from them. His shoulders shook as a sob broke from his lips. His hand landed on the bed next to you to steady his weight. 

“Satoru, what happened?” you asked, panic rising in your throat. He had never just appeared in your room before, and never in the middle of the night.

He shook his head, unable to speak. You threw the blankets off of you, instinctively coming up on your knees to bring your face to his. You inspected him with your eyes, looking for any injuries, but all you could find was his far away look. Whatever had happened, he still wasn’t quite with you. 

You took his face in your palm, thumb swiping at the unending flow of tears under his eye. He was shaking violently, you noticed. With your free hand you found his and entangled your fingers together, squeezing in the hope to ground him as your heart raced. He was looking into your eyes now, and you intentionally slowed your breathing, hoping to calm him enough for him to talk to you. 

Another sob escaped his throat and his weight collapsed against you. You barely saved the two of you from falling, having to use more strength than you wanted to admit to hold him. You softly shushed him, the hand on his face going to the back of his head and running fingers through his fluffy hair. 

“Come here,” you whispered. 

You readjusted your legs and helped him climb onto the bed, leaning back so that he could lay with his head on your chest. He curled his lanky body around you, touching you with every part of him he could and caging you in his tight grip. His long fingers dug into the flesh of your side, right beneath your ribs as he adjusted himself to lay his ear directly over your heart. 

You continued your ministrations to his hair; concern rising like bile in your throat. Feeling his tears pool on your shirt, you counted to your breaths in your head to keep yourself calm. In for four, hold for four, out for six. You repeated this action several times until your heart began to slow.

“What’s wrong?” you asked again as tenderly as you could muster. 

Satoru tilted his head to look up at you, the tears slowing but the far away look still clouding the edges of his expression. “It was- it was so vivid,” he choked. A dream, you realized with relief. He had a bad dream. 

“You can tell me about it if you want,” you wiped another tear from his eye. 

He sniffled and his fingers dug further into your skin. It was starting to hurt with how tightly he was holding you.

“You-” he shuddered. 

You patiently watched on, softening the muscles of your face and letting his eyes search yours. “Maybe I’m still in the dream,” he whispered to himself. 

His face scrunched in despair, a fresh wave of tears spilling from his beautiful crystal blue eyes. “Maybe they really did murder you, and I’m just dreaming you’re okay,” 

His breathing picked up and your eyes widened. He was having this visceral reaction over a dream where you were killed? He curled in on himself again, sobs wracking his body. It must have been a brutal nightmare for him to still be confusing reality. 

“Satoru,” your voice came out gentle but firm, hoping to reach him amid the sobs. 

He just barely moved his head to peek up at you with his now swollen eyes. Your heart broke for him. “I’m right here, I’m alive. You aren’t dreaming anymore,”

“You’re really here?” he asked into your chest, still unconvinced. 

The dream he had was horrendous. It started with you lovingly kissing him goodbye as you went grocery shopping, and giggling when he pulled you back in for a series of kisses all over your face. Then, he was somehow at the school, sprinting down the never ending corridor in a loop as he listened to you scream and beg for mercy. By the time he finally wrenched the door open, everything was silent. 

Your mutilated, barely recognizable corpse lay on the floor, limbs spread out and at odd angles. He dropped down beside you in the massive pool of your still warm blood. It was everywhere, still seeping from the wounds and bruises that littered your body. He saw everything with his six eyes. Everything that they had inflicted upon your innocent self. 

“I’m right here, sweetheart. What did you see?” you tilted his chin so that he was fully looking at your face. 

“They tortured you, I-” his tongue was heavy in his mouth, unable to form another word. 

Your hand gripped the one that was leaving bruises in your side. Lifting it up, you asked, “Where?”

“Where?” his voice came out strangled. 

He watched as you brought his hand up to your face. “Where? Did they hurt my face?”

He nodded slowly. You pressed his fingertips against the soft skin of your cheek. “Nothing here, see? No cuts or bruises,”

His breath hitched. “Where else, Satoru?”

He traced lower, stopping at the base of your throat, right above the collar of your shirt, ghosting along where the image of a large gash had been. He trailed lower, the hole in the middle of your chest fresh in his mind. He laid his hand flat over the spot on top of your shirt, but it didn’t help, he could still clearly imagine the way it would cave in under his hand. 

Wordlessly, you took his hand and guided it beneath your shirt, directly where his hand had been. He let out a small, relieved sigh at your soft skin and sturdy sternum beneath his fingers. He trailed lower, on his own accord, to feel across your abdomen, silently searching for the bruises and stab wounds he had so vividly witnessed. There was nothing there but smooth skin and soft flesh. He blinked hard, his senses fully returning to him now that he knew you were okay. 

He shuddered, laying his palm flat against your stomach as the last dredges of the dream washed over him and away. He looked up and met your attentive eyes, becoming acutely aware of himself. Aware of his hand on your bare skin, the wet spot on your shirt where his tears and spit collected. You watched his body coiled tightly around you, the tired tenderness you bore for him. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know what came over me,” 

He uncurled himself and sat up, removing his hand from your stomach, looking away from you. You took his other hand in yours. “Don’t apologize,”

He was exhausted from the sobbing, the dream, and the adrenaline crash that now sagged his shoulders. You continued, a raw edge to your voice “I’m glad to know that I’m important to you,”

His head whipped back to meet your eyes, his own widened in shock. No belittlement, no judgment, no mockery of The Strongest crying like a baby over a bad dream. His mouth opened and closed. He decided on, “Of course you’re important to me,”

More than he cared to let you know.

“Why are you sitting up? Come lay back down with me,” you tugged gently on his hand. 

“You’re not kicking me out after all that?”

Your brows scrunched together. “Of course not, you’re important to me, too, you know,”

He shifted, eyes cast downward. “But aren’t you bothered?”

“By what?”

He struggled to verbalize what he was feeling. He always did when it came to real emotions. When he finally spoke, he tried to say it jokingly, but he couldn’t quite reflect it in his tone. “Oh, you know, Gojo Satoru, The Strongest, blubbering like a baby in the middle of the night over a dream,”

You sighed out and he tensed, ready to face what he knew was coming, fingers twitching as he awaited you to kick him out. “Even if you’re the strongest person on earth, you’re still just a person. Just Satoru,”

You sat up and took his face in yours, forcing him to look at you. The ‘but’ he was about to say died on his lips. He held his breath as you pressed a kiss on his cheeks, lips wettening with the tracks of tears that remained. He could have cried again at the way you handled him so purposefully, not like a tool to be used but something precious to be preserved. 

The breath he was holding puffed out against his lips as you pulled away. You pushed his hair away from his eyes. He felt each of your touches linger against his skin. Why did you do this to him? Make him so weak?

You exhaled through your nose with humor, and he realized with utter mortification that he had said that out loud. Like he hadn’t embarrassed himself enough already. You hummed and cupped his cheek. 

Your eyes were bright and full of sincerity. He felt himself get lost in them, in the calm waves of emotion. He had never met someone as honest as you, who always knew what to say to him without himself knowing what he needed, or buttering him up. He loved that about you. He loved a lot of things about you. In fact, his nightmare reinforced the fact that he needed you and he didn’t know what to do about it. It terrified him more than any curse ever could. 

“I love you,” you said simply, the phrase easily slipping from your lips as if you’d said it a hundred times.

It took him a moment to register that your mouth had moved with how enraptured he was in your eyes. And then he heard it, repeating in his mind like a prayer to a melody. He inhaled sharply, eyes suddenly fervently searching yours. Did you mean that as a friend, or as a lover?

“You love me?”

You found his hand and squeezed his fingers between your own. “I do, I love you. You don’t need to say anything, I just wanted you to know, especially after that dream you had,”

You pulled your fingers from his grasp. “I’d like it if you stayed, but you’re free to leave if you want. I won’t be upset,”

His mouth was agape, illuminated blue eyes drinking you in. His heart beat unsteadily. “As-as a friend? Or-?” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. This night was bringing out all of his vulnerabilities and laying them out for you on a platter. 

You suddenly looked at him a little shyly, tucking your chin down for a moment before taking a breath to respond. “Or,”

Satoru laughed breathlessly, a grin splitting his tear stained face. He launched himself at you, suddenly uninhibited, and knocked you back against your pillows. He pressed wet kisses all over your face to which you couldn’t stop yourself giggling at. He hovered just above your lips until your giggles had just subsided, and kissed you. Once, twice, and then you got a hold of him, fingers scraping against his undercut as you slowly pressed your lips to his, moving them against his own. It was slow, a push and pull without hurry. 

“I love you,” he whispered against your mouth as you broke the kiss. He dove back in, the same sensual pace as your hands moved to explore each other. 

You pulled apart and he breathlessly repeated, “I love you, I love you, I love you,”

“Fuck, I love you,”

[sashi-ya]

YES, RENO-SAMA soft dom! ichikawa reno x f! reader. dom/sub

⋆ requested by: anon. Could I ask for Reno or Kalfa from Kaiju no 8 for dom/sub whichever you feel motivated to do. f!reader please and thank you. ⋆tw: mdni. explicit smut. soft! dom! ichikawa, he is very kind but dominant as well. oral (given). spanking. vag. ⋆wc: 2.2K // event masterlist

You would naturally think of Reno as a calm man, perhaps an even soft vanilla lover. But tonight, you are about to discover you were completely wrong.

Captain Mina has given you all a free day after a very rough battle; everybody left the base as fast as they can, nobody wanted to lose a single minute of freedom. Plus, nobody were sure when a new Kaiju might be attacking, therefore you all needed to make the most of that day.

“Uh… (Name), wanna… maybe- have a date tonight?” Reno asks, placing a soft hand on your shoulder.

Your relationship has been growing slowly since you both joined squad 3; only kisses and not much more were shared. Both were definitely too focused in learning and getting stronger. However, the click in which both have fallen for the other had been instant.

“Of course!” you chime happily, soon turning in a kinda embarrassed expression when his hand grazes your to grab it. Even if probably every member of the squad already know about you, it’s still all very new.

He gives you a delicate smile and grips rather strongly to your hand. Reno guides you outside, as if he had taken the lead the moment you said yes to his invitation.

You follow him, of course, as his steps are firm and steady. Something about Reno’s vibes tonight have you amazed; a dominant aura that you kinda want to submit to.

Both agreed not to attend any restaurant tonight; and despite the word “date” had been used, you were happy to have some hot instant ramen by a seven eleven on a random street of Tachikawa.

“You sure you don’t want to go to a fancy place, (Name)?” he asks, a little confused.

“Not really; I always wanted to eat ramen on a conbini with you” you smile as you slurp one single noodle with grace.

He scoffs sweetly, and taking a poor-quality napkin, Reno cleans the commissure of your mouth coming very closer to it.

You smile, allowing him to kiss your lips. First a peck, then a more passionate one. And then, another.

The tension built; the need implanted. The kisses given started to become mingy for the both of you. Your flesh and body have now started to ask for more ~

“Where are you sleeping tonight, Reno?” you ask, in between those breathtaking kisses.

“Uh… I think I’m coming back to the base. There aren’t really any trains at this time that will take me home” he honestly communicates.

“Oh, I see. Maybe you could come home if you prefer not to go back to the base” you murmur, fixing your eyes on the floating naruto on your soup.

Reno smirks, and it is probably the first time you get to see such evil tinted smile coming from him. He stands up, walking right behind you, passing his hand from your waist up to your belly bottom.

His chin rests on your shoulder, his arms squeeze you harder. The tall chair against the counter on the convenience store windows, only separates your back from hitting his abs.

“You want me tonight, (Name)?” he susurrates, surprising you big time. You didn’t know Reno was capable of speaking in such way.

You swallow with eyes opened big. That’s not a lie, in fact, you want him tonight and the following nights as well.

“Yep ~” you whisper, feeling your cheeks burning -and your core, even more-

You aren’t sure whether you finished or not your 200円 soup, but you are indeed sure there is something more delicious awaiting for you the closer you get to your apartment.

And here you are; right in the front of a 3-story building, typical suburban construction, with a teru bōzu still hanging from the side of your balcony. Reno hasn't said much during the walk there, so you are not sure what will happen next…

Well, the moment you open the door for the both of you to come inside, he snatches you from your waist to finally plaster his lips against yours.

His hands reach for the small of your back, pulling you against him. It is not surprising that you can feel his hardness through his dark grey jeans, and in fact is all you wanted deep inside you.

Despite knowing the hallway shouldn’t be used for this, there is nothing you could do to stop that silver haired man that’s willing to devour you.

“Re-Reno… I live on the second floor…” you manage to inform, as he bites your neck.

“The moment you cross that door you have to promise you will obey me, ok?” he whispers right in your ear.

What did he- why- is this… should I say no? should I say yes?

“Yes, I will Reno”

On its own, your lips spoke confirmation. Your body in charge, your brain shut down.

He softly pushes you inside, and him follows. Closing the door right behind him, he doesn’t care of any of the excuses you could probably mumble about the state of your living room. He simply aches for your body, for you submission.

“Please, (Name). Kneel down” he commands, dominantly and yet soft and calmed.

You nod and slowly let your knees reach the ground. You are not innocent; you know exactly the way your hands should be resting on your thighs; you know exactly he will make you wait enough for the next order.

He takes his bomber jacket off, letting it fall to the ground, and walks slowly towards you. His hips are now closer to your face, and you are dying to crawl on his leg like a kitty in need.

And in fact, that’s exactly what he wants you to do. His index travels down your chin, pulling your face up, making you come closer to his sex.

“Come here” Reno commands, patting his thigh.

You comply, grazing your palm from his knee to his hip bone. While your cheek already lays on his lap. The warmth of your breathing reaches his crotch, making that silver haired man squirm just a little.

His hand falls upon your face, soft, gentle but dominant.

“I didn’t know you were that submissive, (Name)” he comments, while a single look tells you to lower the zipper of his jeans.

“We seem to be a perfect match, Reno… I mean, Master Reno” you murmur, giving him puppy eyes. Your lashes casting shadows on your heated cheeks, as the light inside your apartment only comes from the big windows of your balcony.

Reno swallows; he might be a secret dom but is difficult to resist to your lulling enchants. His cheeks get a slight pinch of pink, his hand gets a little sweaty.

You proceed to kiss right on top of his boxer shorts, as he pushes you ever so softly against his hard rock sex.

Your eyes never leave his lilac tinted grey ones, as the tip of your tongue taste the precum dampening fabric of his underwear.

“Can I pull it down, Reno-sama?” you purr. “You may, (Name)”  Reno mutters, with difficulty.

You proceed, eager to see what he is hiding underneath, eager to taste his flavour right from the source...

The elastic hem slides down, getting stuck in his prominent hipbones. Delicious anatomy, muscle, bones, skin getting bumpier as the tip of your nails scratch softly his flesh.

Freed his sex, you take a little time to enjoy the beauty of it. Hard, of course. Pale, but with a blushed tip. The right size, even if it might be too long for your mouth and throat.

Sticking your tongue out, sexily showing the reddish wet tip of it, reaching so close to his very own tip. A drop of precum connecting both surfaces, forming a string of transparent deliciousness.

Unable to resist a single second more, Reno needs relief. Even the toughest can flaunter… “Suck it ~” he orders, with a raspier voice than before, with a serious -yet desperate- tone.

You nod and immediately after you surround his sex with your hand, pumping slowly as you take it to your mouth.

Deep, deep until you gag. His hands tangled on your hair, moving your head up and down, making it bob violently. Reno can’t go slow no more; and your teary eyes looking straight into his, can only fan the flames.

Your knees, still on the ground, have stopped feeling the pain of your body weight against the cold floor. Everything is focused on the way Reno grunts. Your arms, surrounding his hips. Your nails, carving tiny marks on the small of his back.

But Reno is not a man whose only purpose is to receive pleasure, and in fact, he is quite more interested in making you moan his very own name. And thus, he stops your oral delight -even if his body ached the moment your lips abandoned his hardness-

“Stand up, stand up” he orders, with a broken voice and trying his best to keep himself together.

You do as he asks and wait for the following instructions. However, he is barely able to think of anything besides pushing you softly to your couch.

Like a victim, waiting for a beast to attack, you wait for him to finally pounce on you. But him, being how gentle Reno can be, still is able to contain himself to undress you in the most sexiest way possible.

Only his long grey shirt covers his body now, as he has freed himself from the trousers trap around his ankles. Kneeled on the sofa, right next to you, he gets rid of your shirt.

Exposed your breasts, his smirk turns more visibly. Reno is pleased with the view, probably happy that he is able to see them for the first time.

Then, and without still touching you -leaving your expectant body desperate and hot- he proceeds to lower your dampened panties. Reno leaves your skirt on; he knows exactly what he is doing.

“Come here, sit on my lap” he commands, sitting comfortably on your couch.

You smile, and definitely jump on him. Your warm folds land on his throbbing shaft. There is still no penetration, but it is enough to feel flesh against flesh. And it is absolutely wonderful and intimate.

He proceeds to run his fingers through your ass cheeks, while his lips first land on your collar bones and then down your breasts.

You can feel his sex trying to reach your entrance, on itself, so desperate to finally bury so deep inside your walls.

With still a hand on your ass, moving you up and down, and the other one reaching for your clit, Reno traps one of your nipples into his mouth. He pulls and sucks, and traces circles on your very sensitive feminine spot.

Your head thrown back, whimpers leaving your mouth, nails carved on his shoulders, the wetness of your core slipping back and forth on the surface of his sex.

“You are making a mess on me, you know that (Name)?” he asks, devilishly and forcefully increasing the speed of his masturbating fingers.

“I- I’m sorry- I’m-“ you stutter with your own words, knowing you are probably unable to follow any orders from here.

Reno scoffs, sexily, knowing you are probably on the verge of climax; ready to burst.

He gives you a soft spank, making you whine. He gives you yet another one, it doesn’t really hurt. It feels exactly like a delicious spicy sensation on your skin.

“Don’t be sorry, you’ve been doing just right. Your wetness will be very useful…” he whispers, with his lips pressed against yours and pinning your arms right in the small of your back.

“Now, stand up just a little…”

You give thanks to your training on the JKDF, as you are able to lift your hips up even with your arms being held. Your sex, dripping with your own juices and his mixed up, awaits for that tempting hardness to be finally inside.

And it does, with Reno’s free hand guiding just enough for his tip to align with your entrance.

“Sit” “Yes, Reno-sama”

Little to no words were needed, as you flop down, allowing his sex to impale you to the point of feeling it as deep as possible.

His hips finally start moving up and down, you don’t even need to do it yourself. However, your body locks in, and synchronizes with his thrusts. Being the motions that intense, that your old sofa makes noises you’d never listen to.

His chin pressed against the middle of your chest, allowing your breasts to surround his innocent -only on the outside- façade. He is in heaven, and you are probably brought to the very pit of hell for such an impure lust.

Climax is right there for the both of you; you contort on top of him, you have lost track of your movements. Reno, however, who knows he is about to burst is ready to let you come first.

And so, never forgetting his role in this dominant submissive play, he just unpins your arms allowing them to be finally resting on top of his shoulders.

“You may come for me, (Name)” he commands, -as if it was necessary-. “Ye- yes, thank you, Reno-sama…” you moan. A moan that gets stollen by Reno’s lips. He inhales your whines, like sacred air to be breathe.

Bodies so close, about to melt into each other. Kissing so passionately, reaching to the max so deliciously.

Thank you for this night off, captain Mina…

[gainahan]

naruto driving headcanons

Naruto - definitely not licensed. debatable whether he actually knows which one is the brake pedal. as long as Sakura is alive he will not be allowed behind the wheel of a car. unknowable/10

Sasuke - also not technically licensed, but all things considered a pretty decent driver. probably started driving well before he was legally old enough to. 7.5/10

Sakura - road rage extraordinaire. swears up and down she goes the speed limit but in truth goes at minimum 10 over. “speed limit is a suggestion” more like speed limit is a challenge. at the very least she gets them where they need to go. 5.5/10

Sai - never learned to drive until he met team 7. between Naruto and Sakura’s influences, he won’t be getting licensed for at least the next 6 years. good luck/10

Shikamaru - truly cannot be arsed. if asked to drive he claims to not have a license, but he definitely does. another unknowable/10 but I like to think in a pinch he’d be pretty good at it.

Choji - reliable driver but has a tendency to be late. gets stressed out when he has more than a few passengers. 6/10

Ino - wants to be a passenger princess soo badly. unfortunately for her, she’s the best on her team. being good at driving is her curse. woefully, 10/10

Kiba - team 8’s designated driver, believe it or not. he is…not good at it, per se, but better than the rest of them. having two sets of eyes on the road tends to help. 6.5/10

Hinata - gets so stressed out she forgets how to brake. she’ll be white knuckling the wheel going 50 in a residential while her passengers pray for their lives in the backseat. -2/10 her dad’s insurance is through the roof

Shino - morally opposed to driving. he hasn’t confirmed why but the running theory is that a swarm of his bugs faceplanted into the windshield once and traumatized him. unknowable/10

Neji - doesn’t believe in right-of-way. refuses to use his mirrors. whole heartedly believes he is god’s gift to the interstate. by some miracle has never gotten into a crash, but if any of his passengers are sensible people he is banned from the wheel. 0/10

Tenten - makes Sakura’s road rage look like divinely inspired patience. honestly she’s not even mad she just enjoys it. has to be actively talked down from brake checking people. banned from the wheel 0/10

Lee - while technically a perfect driver (obeys every speed limit, never makes an illegal turn, maneuvers like butter), having him in the front seat is such an intolerable experience he’s also banned from the wheel. those unfortunate enough to have witnessed it don’t speak of their experience, but rumors involve something along the lines of a custom-made Gai inspirational quotes driving playlist. 0/10

Temari - grew up driving her brothers around. Absolutely hates it. when she’s in a car she’s got her feet up on the dashboard and always has the aux. if she were to drive again, 9.5/10

Gaara - an…extremely calm, level headed driver? side effect of RBF is that everyone is always waiting for him to snap and run someone over. he never has. probably listens to calming classical music or something while in traffic jams. 10000/10

Kankuro - I find it funny to believe he’s the actual passenger princess. unknowable/10

[leewritestoomuch]

can i rq shino & sai getting walked in on while in the act with their s/o :3 separate btw

Getting Walked In On

NSFW warning.

GN! Reader

Characters: Shino and Sai (separately)

Shino Aburame

Your legs are thrown over his shoulders as he thrusts into you, letting out soft groans each time. Your head is thrown back onto the pillow. You moan loudly, seeing as it’s your own house and you two are completely alone. His name falls off your tongue like honey as your hands cling to the sheets, gripping them like you’ll fly away if you let go.

You’re both so close, you can feel yourself contracting around him as the edge is in sight. His cock twitches, and it seems like this is it for both of you, but the door hitting the wall and a shouting voice interrupts you both.

It’s Kiba. He’s in shock.

“GET OUT!” You scream, throwing the bedside clock at his face. “YOU CAN’T JUST BARGE IN TO OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES!”

Meanwhile, Shino is covering you both with the comforter, hiding his face. He will not be able to continue after this. And next time, even the bedroom door will be locked even though it’s your own home.

Sai

His hands feel up all your curves, running along them, squeezing them, doing anything he can do, while his mouth leaves pretty, purple marks along your neck. To him, you’re like a blank canvas every time he gets to do this.

Well, not always blank. Sometimes, those marks he leaves are so good they last a while, and the next time, he gets to refresh those marks and leave new ones once he’s done admiring his work.

He trails his kisses down your body, until his head is between your legs. And he gets you so close to your orgasm as he teases you with his tongue and lips before the door opens.

“Hey, Sai have you seen— holy shiT, MAYBE LOCK THE DOOR???” Naruto shouts, covering his eyes and turning around.

Sai looks up, smiling that cheesy, snarky smile with either your slick or his own drool on his lips and dripping off his chin. He’s not ashamed in the least as he speaks, “Maybe you should knock before entering my room. I’m not giving any lessons.”

Naruto shouts back defensively about how he doesn’t need lessons as he fumbles for the door, finally getting it and slamming it shut, running off.

“Sai… that was mean. You cheeky bas—“ You get interrupted by your own gasp as his head returns between your legs.

[hemmingsleclerc]

Drive To Survive

warnings: When something is written this way it is because it is something you said, and when something is written like this it is because an interviewer is speaking and here its just the narrator of the race

''I remember as a child being able to hear the echo through the city. The sounds of the engines and the excitement filled me with curiosity''

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

A Netflix original series

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Race 2: Bahrain

''Carlos Sainz puts pressure on Fernando Alonso but he saw it coming! Carlos Sainz fights for his position against yn ln for sixth position, but she blocks his way''

Race 3: china

''Fernando Alonso was my idol but that doesn't mean that I will not try to beat him in a race, once on the track we're all rivals and we fight to be on the podium''

DRIVE TO SURVIVE

EP2 S1

''THE KING OF SPAIN''

6 months before the start of the season

Winter tests

1 month before the season starts

''On the Winter testing you get to see this year's new cars on the track for the first time and it is the first opportunity for the drivers to test them to see if they are as good as they expected, if they are as fast and reliable''

''¿How does the car feel Y/N?''

''So far so good, it feels light and fast''

''Copy that''

3 months later

Race 4: AZERBAIJANI GRAND PRIX Baku city circuit

Sunday,29 April 2018

''We are ready for the 2018 Azerbaijani Grand Prix''

''It is the fastest street circuit in the world. It is a very particular track because you have the first sector that is full of 90° curves. Drivers say it's like driving very fast inside some kind of cage. Sector two is very risky in the old part of the city and Sector three is almost all curved and straight''

And the race starts

At full speed until the first curve. Who will arrive first? !Oh no! An accident!

Alonso and Sainz go wheel to wheel Ocon crashes into Vettel! Sainz passes Alonso and now Hülkenberg is fighting against L/N They collide with YN!

''It was almost impossible to drive. The desire to continue the race and the helplessness of not being able to continue and fight but it was not the time to retire''

"The race is not over for us, you can catch them, go get them."

The two red bulls just crashed into themselves!

''What position am I in?'' P14 7 seconds behind gasly

"Grosjean just crashed!"

''Ok now you're P13''

That's how quickly things change in F1

And Hamilton wins the Azerbaijani Grand Prix!

''P10 Y/N, you did a good job''

''Thank you guys''

IN THE NEXT EPISODE...

Spanish Grand Prix

''The first time you're behind the wheel it's just you and the car.''

''Y/N L/N passes Leclerc and is now in sixth position''

''Fighting Alonso for position was almost surreal''

taglist @immortalfangirl @willowpains @rorabelle15 @omgsuperstarg @itsjustkhaos @o6hellnah @gh1239 @lariniee @borapsycho @laura-naruto-fan1998 @gaslysainz @woozarts

[why-are-you-still-awake]

Naruto boys w/ a partner w/ family issues

A/n: i am back from the dead, I wrote this in light of somethings that have been happening recently. I hope this is okay, it’s rushed :/

Characters: Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara

Warning/content: mentions of toxic families, emotional abuse, past parental neglect. Did I miss anything?

Sasuke Uchiha

❀ Sasuke knew that you didn’t have the best family, he didn’t enjoy the off-handed comments they’d make about you, be it something about your appearance or job he just didn’t like how they often ridiculed everything about you. ❀

❀ He saw how their unappreciated comments made an impact in your daily life no matter how hard you tried to deny it. He was never good with feelings and words but he wanted to make sure you felt loved in light of everything.

❀ He would always try to help undo the mental indoctrination that was forced on you. He is the embodiment of actions speak louder than words and will always show how much he cares about you, giving you a safe and stable place to turn to. Oh and don’t be afraid, he refuses to let your family treat you badly in his presence. ❀

Naruto Uzumaki

❀ Naruto never enjoyed how your family treated you, even when he was around, they’d verbally berate you for things that weren’t your fault, make backhanded comments about your appearance. Even at your insistence that everything was fine, he always got visibly bothered whenever that’d say things to you. ❀

❀ He tried to get you out of your house as much as possible, even if it meant insisting you stay the night at his place. He felt you were much safer with him, he didn’t deny his protective nature when questioned about his persistence by you. He experienced the same emotional abuse growing up from villagers that you’re receiving from your family. ❀

❀ It got to the point when Naruto couldn’t help himself anymore and made a offhand comment after your parents insulted you about something and that got you kicked out because their fragile egos couldn’t take when they were wrong. Naruto felt bad about what happened but was happy you were at least kinda out of that situation.❀

Gaara

❀ Gaara was well aware of your past and how your parents treated you, he sympathized with you and understood how you felt. He never wanted you to feel unsafe with him. He wanted to be your safe space just like how you were his. It took awhile to open up to him about the neglect you faced growing up but it got easier over time. ❀

❀ Your safety and wellbeing is the utmost importance to him, he’d never do anything to sacrifice it. Your parents have definitely tried to reach out despite your insistence to leave you alone. They have narcissistic tendencies and now want to come back into your life and play victim now that you’re with the Kazekage but Gaara won’t allow it. ❀

❀ He makes sure you’re comfortable at all times and has zero tolerance for anyone making you uncomfortable. He tries to take preventive measures to ensure that you’re always at ease but if something were to happen to possibly trigger past trauma, he’d always be there to make sure you’re okay and help you calm down. ❀

A/n: my sincerest apologies again for not posting an actual post in 2 weeks, I’ve been very unmotivated and overall not feeling my greatest but I am back from the dead and you’re to expect some consistent posting for the next week or two, thank you for your patience. Love u <333

@ssailormoonn

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 少年歌行/The Blood of Youth

The Blood of Youth is a 2022 live-action adaptation of the tale of a deposed, disabled, and incredibly cunty prince who's on his way back to settle the score with his asshole father, and the rag-tag band of weirdos he accumulates along the way, including Spear Girl, Bad Monk, and Fire Puppy (pictured above).

I hope you like shounen anime, because this is the most shounen anime something is allowed to be without actually being based on something running weekly in Shounen Jump. What if Nirvana in Fire were also Naruto? It would be the Blood of Youth.

This show is an underrated gem of action-packed fun that not nearly enough people in English-speaking fandom have seen. In an attempt to correct that -- and ahead of an announced second season and prequel in progress -- I'm here with five reasons you should try it out.

1. Zero thoughts head empty

You do not have to pay an enormous amount of attention to this show to understand what's going on. The show itself does not always know what's going on. It got distracted by a shiny object over there, and now we're all gearing up to go punch the shiny object. We'll get back to the main plot when we're done with the punching.

It has a million billion plot threads going on at any given moment. Bad guys roll in from sects you've never heard of before, using superpowers with stupid names, only to get kicked into next week. There's approximately eleventy thousand characters -- so many, in fact, that I ran into problems several times while making this rec post, because there aren't readily available photos of everyone I want to talk about. Just look at the DramaWiki cast list. See how it goes on for like fifty screens? That's a little what the show feels like.

Except I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, because the show knows it's doing this, and it acts accordingly. It telegraphs pretty well who's important and who isn't (and then it goes out of its way to color-code the latter, which is handy). What you're left with is absolutely a manga-style plot, complete with training arcs and semi-relevant sidequests, all working up to the final boss match.

It is an extremely self-aware show. On multiple occasions, something would happen, I would crack a joke about it, and then a beat later the show itself would make the exact same joke. I wouldn't call it an outright comedy, but it's still very funny, and on purpose. It has no illusions about being some kind of profound, meaningful epic. Mostly it's just here for a good time.

Yet this lightheartedness is what makes the powerful emotional parts really powerful by contrast. The show is not stupid; it's just goofing around most of the time. When it knuckles down, it can be devastating. And you know what? It does wind up being profound and meaningful about some stuff. How about that.

So yeah, if you're up for something that bops merrily right along and only occasionally rips your heart out, here you go!

2. Putting the poly in polycule

Bisexuals, rejoice! It's representin' time!

Here you go, I made a relationship chart of about 40% of the show's potential and canonical ships. I could have included so many more, but I only had so much space on the image, so I had to leave out some amazing ones, like the sword hedgehog who's real into this one cougar who could easily wipe the floor with him, or the rich nerd who thinks he has a chance with the aforementioned hot butch, or the fancy MILF who cheated on the emperor with a dreamy jianghu man and is trying not to cheat on him again with a different, slightly less dreamy jianghu man. See? There's just so much.

I would also say these are not exclusive ships. They are extremely inclusive ships. I am a fan of most (though admittedly not all) of the pairings listed here, and in fact of many of the three-and-more-somes indicated by these lines. They're such a cuddle puddle of shared intense feelings that it's hard to imagine anyone getting more than mildly jealous. Moreover, the potential for romance does not get in the way of hetero friendships; a boy and a girl who are each dating other people can go do adventures together, and (mostly) nobody gets weird about it, which is nice. If anything, what makes the overall dynamic so polycule-like is how equally friends and love interests get treated, meaning that it's not difficult to see a lot of crossover potential between those two categories.

If you're like me, you're hesitant about canonical romance, especially when it's straight, mostly because so many straight love stories wind up being tiresome, gross, and/or skull-poundingly boring. You will then be pleasantly surprised by how the canon pairings with members of the main cast are not like this at all!

Xiao Se and Sikong Qianluo are the main textual romance, and golly gee, they're just cute as heck. As the chart above indicates, I like interpreting them as two Kinsey 6's who have found their single exceptions, Mulder-and-Scully-style. Maybe one of the best things about their relationship is that it gets sidelined all the time for the plot. They're not so busy being in love that they forget to get shit done. Then they get a bit of downtime and get to go on a date, and you're like, aww, those sweet gay disaster babies are gonna do a little bit of heterosexuality. Just precious.

Tang Lian and Fairy Rui are right up there with the cuteness. She's a sex-positive dancing beauty who wants to ride that pretty boy like she stole him, and he's a shy sword boy so tightly bottled up that he'll explode if he sees a bare ankle. Avoiding spoilers, I will simply say that this is a pairing of two relatively soft people, until a bad thing happens to one of them and the other hardens up about it. If that's your jam, they're here for you.

Lei Wujie and Ye Ruoye are probably the most magical and the most practical of the bunch. They have a beautiful, super-dreamy, really horny sword-dance meet-cute, complete with its own pop song ... and then that's it, they're basically just together. She likes him, he likes her, good for them. In-laws aside, it's a refreshingly low-drama situation. Besides, I always love it when the hypercompetent woman gets the sweet, devoted himbo who'd do anything for her. Ruoye's had a hard life, and she deserves someone who can dick her down good at night and make her a nourishing breakfast the next morning.

And then there is, of course, The Ship:

Xiao Se and Wuxin are canonical, textual soulmates. The show treats their dynamic as more important than any other. It's so important, in fact, that the show has to sideline Wuxin for huge parts of the drama, lest everything get too damn gay. They each get a boyfriend catch on the other. They both do fairly reckless things when the other is in trouble. They are the secret hidden happy ending to the series. They share the kind of ride-or-die relationship built on mutually being the hugest bitches in any given room. Whether or not you think this is romance, it is extremely romantic, and the series agrees as much as it can, all things considered.

And if none of those flavors of love float your boat? Well, have you considered ... eunuchs?

3. She likes e4e

So I'm on record as being real into eunuch characters, right? Well, if you're with me on that, you are in for a treat here, because these are some absolutely buck-wild eunuchs.

There's five main ones, and I can't even begin to scratch the surface of what's going there. Like, really, I don't even think I understood all of what was happening with them. They're kind of the bad guys, but then they're kind of the good guys, but then some of them are the bad guys, but then they're just working for the bad guys, but then they screw over the bad guys, and ... it's just a lot, okay? It's a lot, and it's all happening with this bunch of catty bitches.

Also, you would not believe the difficult time I had finding any images for this section. I guess for some reason, fandom isn't way into a bunch of canonically dickless color-coordinated middle-aged men in weird hats? Whatever, man, they are missing out. If, however, you have the good sense to be into the intense and complicated (semi-romantic??) relationships among colleagues who also professionally just happen to be missing their external genitalia, buddy, strap in (and maybe strap on, depending).

Don't let me oversell how much these guys are in the show. They're not. They're vaguely important at points throughout, and they become incredibly important near the end, but they're hardly main characters. They're mostly back at the palace, doing their various schemes and looking absolutely fantastic.

So if they're such a minor part of the story, why do they get their own selling point? Well, I think their presence is a good example of two specific things about the show:

Specific thing the first: It's so queer -- not gay, but queer. Thinking back to my last selling point, you will notice how many of those straight pairings may look normie on the outside, but once you get down to it are not playing by cishet rules. (For instance, I've seen a lot of people read Tang Lian's resistance to sexual advances as asexuality, which, sure!) Likewise, there are lots of incredibly important, intimate relationships that don't conform to standard romantic pair dynamics. Add to that a lot of bodies with unusual characteristics and conditions, and you've got the makings of plenty of delightful non-normative love stories.

Specific thing the second: There are so many things going on with so many side characters that there's a kink here for everyone. Don't care for eunuchs? How about slinky villains with mind-control powers? Devoted servants who would do anything for their masters? Former bad guys who owe life-debts to the good guys who saved them? Bonded pairs traipsing around the jianghu together? Sons nursing legitimate grudges against the men who killed their fathers? Alcoholic widowers with incredibly slutty necklines? Mysterious cross-dressers with unconvincing moustaches? Vengeful brides? Martial siblings? Murderous royals? Guilt-ridden half-siblings? Boring star-crossed lovers? All these and more! It's a smorgasbord of rarepair fuel!

Also, I just love these toxic drama queens. It's like if RuPaul's Drag Race had the authority to have you executed.

4. The most intriguing outfits I've ever seen in anything (and yes, I'm including Winter Begonia)

Time for a fashion show!

The asymmetrical fits, the detailed embroidery on everything, the brilliant colors -- everybody just looks so good. And yet everything still looks ... eh, I don't know if "practical" is the word I want, but at least wearable. Nobody's dragging ten-foot trains of fabric behind them or wrapped in eighty floofy layers of gauze (except Rui, but she's special). Their outfits are strange and elaborate, but they don't defy physics.

What's truly stunning is how often they get new outfits. Xiao Se alone changes clothes about once every other episode, and more if he's getting a flashback. He is the fashion plate of the whole series, and every look he serves is pitch-perfect.

They're not outright color-coded, but the main characters do have certain colors associated with them -- which is extra-fun when you watch those colors bleeding into their friends' clothes as their relationships get stronger. I also think -- and I'm willing to be proven wrong on this point, but I think I'm right -- that they recycle some characters' outfits into parts of other characters' outfits. On more than one occasion, I'd swear that Lei Wujie shows up wearing the left half of something Xiao Se was wearing a few episodes back (tailored to fit him, of course, because that dumb ponytail boy is tall).

Where I think the costume design gets massive points, though, is that the costumes are themselves adaptations.

Before the live-action series, there was a 2018 3D animated donghua. I have never watched the latter, but apparently the drama is intensely faithful to the animated visuals, to the point where some fights are shot-for-shot remakes.

Of course, you can do a lot more with unreal clothing and bodies in animation -- and you can show a lot more skin, at least according to Chinese content laws. The live-action costumers chose to preserve about as many of the appearance beats from the donghua as they could manage, while still accepting the limitations of real-life bodies and materials. You can see some side-by-side comparisons here. The live-action outfits manage to be instantly recognizable without being slavishly devoted recreating to their inspirations.

So if you're sick and tired of dreary, ill-lit shows with bland palettes, this vibrant, colorful drama may be just the thing for you. It's a rainbow from start to finish.

5. Actually a good central plot?

Despite all the wacky delightful shounen nonsense that this show has -- and it has a lot -- the core of the whole narrative, which is Xiao Se's story, is surprisingly great and cohesive.

The short version is this: Xiao Se used to be Xiao Chuhe, sixth prince and somewhat heir apparent. Then he and his jerk-ass dad had a falling-out that resulted in the prince's having his martial arts abilities all but taken from him. He's been living the life of a very well-dressed innkeeper for several years, trying to avoid all of that palace garbage. But now his jerk-ass dad is dying, which means that a lot of horrible decisions are finally having unfortunate consequences for everyone, and Xiao Se's got to get back in there to make sure everything does not go to shit and land someone terrible on the throne -- even if it has to mean taking it himself.

His central conflict is between what he used to be and what he's become. Does he miss being Xiao Chuhe, high-ranked martial artist and future emperor? Or is he happier being Xiao Se, long-suffering nobody who can barely run a business, much less hold his own in a fight? What would he be willing to do to get back what he's lost? What are his obligations to himself versus his obligations to everyone else? How much is he responsible for his father's bullshit? And why has he wound up having to babysit this stupid Fire Puppy?

It's okay, they're best friends now. Lei Wujie decided.

No spoilers, but I liked Xiao Se's ending a lot. I feel it's very true to the character and shows a real understanding of who he is and what he values. And really, at the end of the day, sometimes all you need for a happy ending is your girlfriend, your girlfriend's girlfriend, your girlfriend's girlfriend's boyfriend who's also your boyfriend, your other boyfriend, his girlfriend, and your long-distance for-real soulmate.

Feel like giving the youths a try?

You can find them on YouTube or on Viki. But be absolutely sure that no matter where you watch it, you make sure to go watch the epilogue as well. (And if you get real into the story, well, here's a link to information about all the other adaptations.)

You are also welcome for how I did not spend this post going off for five hundred years on how much I love Wuxin and his funky relationship to Buddhism. I figured that's way too niche of a selling point for most people, and might indeed have even been counterproductive. But know that I could have.

Also, I'm very happy about the announcement of a second season, because that's going to mean Liu Xueyi has to shave his head again, and he looks unbearably good with a shaved head.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention the whole motorcycle photoshoot?

In case you hadn't noticed, the whole cast is stupidly hot. Hachi machi.