Hello.
Okay, so this not how I usually start my chapters. Meaning that this is special, as you can see by the chapter title. However, I think you guys are going to really like it.
So you've probably worked out that this is not going to be a chapter continuing the story (Which I am still in the progress of), but of something different indeed. This isn't another fantasy nor a 'ship sunk' note. This is something that is rather unheard of in the fanfiction area, and quite possibly writing in general.
This is an analysis.
Now, many of you have perhaps lost interest. Though I'm inviting you to view the characters in a new light, one that'll make you appreciate this story even more. I'll keep this VERY, VERY interesting for you. Especially with the incredible concepts of writing a story.
But I'm blabbering at this point. In this (relatively) short analysis, you'll see the character development of Sasuke and Naruto; including their relationship at this current moment of time. While I do leave a few things up to you guys as interpretation, I have carefully constructed this story for many purposes. So I'll start of with the easiest character.
Sasuke
Now, you probably think I'm smoking crack if Sasuke is considered the 'easiest' character to think about, but you'll be surprised by how simple his current character is.
This has been done purposely.
I've put Sasuke as a...blank canvas, shall we say? This has been done to create room for Sasuke to develop his own indentity. At the moment, there is nothing that separates him and a dozen Ojos. He was raised in the same circumstances and has done everything that is expected of him. He actually isn't special in any way if you think about it. His character is prissy, demanding and overall arrogant. Though it was interesting to see how you, the readers, reacted to his character…
He was meant to annoy you guys, to make you hate him and believe he is another annoying brat. Though it seems you had liked his character and you seemed to jump to his defence often. I was baffled at first. He was meant to be this useless baggage, more along these lines.
"By the way, Sasuke feels so useless to me, but I suposed it's because his an ojo, but yeah... When he was tending Kiba, it was refreshing" -Chapter 21, guest.
I wondered how you liked this character, but then I realised.
Innocence.
You all came to his rescue like a mother would to her child. And you believed that Sasuke was innocent like a child, one that needed protecting. I'm not saying you are wrong, in fact, it caused me to change him into a more naive character. After the positive feedback I got, I had created a Sasuke that is curious, innocent and quite naive. Though we know that traits of a person always change when faced with events or just time in general. In effect, Sasuke is no longer a blank canvas. He has a lot of development to go, but he has been established as intelligent and somewhat fierce. You actually get a piece of information from the story itself! Remember that women that read Sasuke's palm. What she said was untapped? Rebellion. Rebelling against what is yet to be revealed. Something that even I am to discover.
Though I want to talk about Sasuke and his role in my story. On first glance, you may perceive him as the 'love interest', but this could not be further from the truth. Sasuke is what you call an 'Unexpected protagonist'. All that means without the fancy words, is that person A (Naruto) is expected to be the hero or the leader, while the person B (Sasuke) is secretly the REAL hero.
Le gasp.
So Sasuke is the hero. Naruto is the love interest.
Double le gasp.
Now I know what you're thinking. They don't act like their assigned roles, so how are they supposed to be those characters? It's simple really.
Sasuke is the hero as he is the one the story is centered around. He is the one that makes or breaks the story. His actions and decisions is the 'butterfly effect' (quickly google it if you don't know what that is). He is the one with the 'struggle' in the story. This all suits to his hero character. Naruto on the other hand is the love interest. While he has other purposes (which I will discuss later) his main one is to be the love interest.
Though it may surprise you to know that Naruto is not the only love interest. He is one of three.
Oh my.
From SASUKE'S PERSPECTIVE; Naruto is the clique love interest. All that means is that he is the 'predictable' love interest, that the readers understand that he is the one the hero will mostly end up with. Neji is the rival love interest. His sole purpose to is be the opposite of Naruto. Be everything he is not. Neji is a pretty interesting topic actually...I'll get to him after I tell you about the third love interest. This is the mystery love interest. Someone you don't expect to be the hero's love interest, but is shown in mild romantic situations with the hero. This is good development. Because realistically, in a large group of people, there is bound to be more than one source of romance. The mystery love interest isn't one person, it can stem to multiple people. For example...Shikamaru could possibly be a mystery love interest, while Suigetsu could also be one at the same time. Some will be more obvious than others. The only exception to this is Sakura. She is the closest to Sasuke, but she is not the love interest. She is the 'helper' to the 'hero'.
Back to Neji. This is a bit...wishy-washy, since we've seen very little of Neji, but he has made a large impression. He is Sasuke's fiancee and rival love interest. Is he in love with Sasuke? Possibly. Is Sasuke in love with him? Hm, well, that's up to you guys really. As a person who studies psychology independantly, I can tell you that you can force yourself to love someone. Even 'true love' can be forced to a certain extent. With Sasuke's brainwashing from a young age, it probably wouldn't be extremely hard for Sasuke to 'fall in love' with Neji. I want to bring up a review someone said before concerning this.
"If Sasuke saw Neji with the sirens, does that mean that he really liked him?!" -Chapter 21, guest.
It's an interesting question. What does Sasuke feel for Neji at this moment of time? Is it love? Respect? Duty? I suppose that goes into what you all believe 'love' is. Personally, I think it's just a chemical reaction in the brain. Though that may be a little cold-hearted. However, Sasuke's idea of love is...hm, now that I think about it, I'm not partically sure...He wouldn't think of it as 'business' like his father would. He wouldn't think it's 'pure' like his brother does. He doesn't think that it's 'dead' like Naruto. All I can tell you is that he thinks love is simple. Not in the structual sense, but in a..."If you feel/think it, then it's there". At this moment of time, it's hard to say what he thinks about it truthfully.
I could probably write pages and pages explaining Sasuke. Why he acts kindly at times (even though it 'condradicts' his nature), why he acts as a protector for Sakura, or even Sasuke's palm reading. Though I'd be rambling...but I'll give a brief idea to why.
-He acts kindly sometimes. Explaination: Okay, so this is a bit weird to explain. It is up to intepretation, but personally I have an idea why. He knows what it's like to be treated like shit, and when he sees himself in others (Kiba being hurt for example) he wants to help in a way. This is because he is internally strong and subconsuciously wants to help himself. Sasuke isn't an idiot. He knows deep down that he is abused. Though he represses the thoughts because he doesn't think that he can do anything to stop it. Like a self-fullfilling prohecy (google it) in a sense. So seeing others in weak states causes a lot of empathy within Sasuke. Of course, Sasuke had NO fucking idea about this, it's all sub-consucious. So the reason that he also treats people like utter horseshit is just due to his upbringing and environment.
-He acts like a protector for Sakura. Explaination: Pretty simple actually, it's similar to the explaination from before. He acts to Sakura, how Itachi acts to him. A big brother. A protector. Sasuke wants to protect Sakura as she is his family, his sister. He sees his younger, defenceless self in Sakura and wants to save himself and her from the deeply rooted self-hatred he has got for himself.
-Sasuke's palm reading. Explaination: The rebellion will not be explained as I am unsure of how or when it will be implemented. Loyalty, he has a bit of a big heart and so his loyalty often lies in what his heart feels the most. He has a small amount of people that he cares about, but he keeps them the closest. Intelligence was pure dumb luck. His genes, his surroundings, his brother, his curiousness lead him to become smart. Lacking in a bit of common sense, but his natural instinct is on point.
Okay, so I've rambled on about Sasuke for about three pages and I don't want to disinterest you so I'll move onto my beloved blonde.
Naruto
This character in my story has proven to be...somewhat difficult? Not in this analysis, but creating a consistent character for him and sending the right message to the audience. So before I explain Naruto, here are what you guys mistake about him and the corrections.
-Naruto only acts flirtatious towards Sasuke.
Noooooot true at all. He flirts with almost every person, Sasuke was never an exception. He has a very flirty personality, he is quite promiscious. He ain't flirting with Sasuke for any other reason than to annoy him a little.
-Since Naruto had a sex dream about Sasuke, he likes him romantically.
Let me just stop you there. Karin also says in response to Naruto having a sex dream about Sasuke with "You need to stop having sex dreams about your crew" meaning that Naruto has fantasized on many encounts about others, even though he isn't romantically invested. Even in the dream he was aware that he wasn't awake.
-Naruto sees his mother in Sasuke.
I don't even know where y'all got that from. Like seriously. What.
-Naruto is emotionally open.
Actually, he isn't very opened…Alright, ready for a little canon? No? Too bad. Remember when Naruto met Dark!Naruto? If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's not really important. It was just a version of Naruto inside of himself; one of hate and resentment towards the village and how they treated him. I've decided to implement some of that. Naruto being somewhat bitter and resentful for the unfair life he's kind of had. Also to the royalists, since they abuse their power and that boils Naruto's blood. He isn't innocent and is a little bitter on the inside. Of course he is still bubbly and a ray of sunshine, but no one is 100% pure goodness.
Alright, I can't think of any more corrections for the moment...so I'll move on!
Okay, so I've already pointed out Naruto as the clique love interest (CLI), but that's only his primary objective in the story. He has a second role.
Say what?
So I'm about to drop some media knowledge on yo asses. So eat your heart out. (Pretty good reference for writing your own stories).
What I'm blabbering about is Vladimir Propp (fucking cool name) and his film theory about action stories. That any good story has 7 set characters, keep in mind that characters can take up more than one role.
-Hero (seeks something) Sasuke
-Villain (Opposes the hero) Technically, in this case it's the royalists and the class system
-The donor (Prepares the hero or gives them something that'll aid them) Sakura
-The dispatcher (Sends the hero on his way) Naruto and Sakura annnnd kind of Itachi
-The false hero (Falsely assuming the role of the hero) Naruto
-The help (Supports the hero) Sakura
-The love interest (You can guess what it is) Naruto, Neji, multiple others
And there you go, well done, you learnt something today. Though we're talking about Naruto specifically here, his character. So now you can kind of see his purpose, but he is the personification of controversy. He is meant to go against everything Sasuke was taught to believe. He is meant to shock and 'scare' Sasuke, which he's doing a pretty good job of doing. He's also meant to evoke feeling from Sasuke.
No, not just lust and love or whatever. But empathy, sympathy, guilt, anger. To make a human out of him. Becasue I FUCKING HATE IT when the entire story is just about romance like...Harry Potter wasn't just about magic, Naruto isn't just about Ninjas, and Attack On Titans isn't just about titans! You see where I'm coming from. That's why it isn't all romance and a lot of this story is character driven and goes to the perspective of others. Sasuke's perspective goes into his beliefs and thoughts, not just
"OH NARU-KUN! YOU MAKE MY PANTIES OH SO WET, DON'T LOOK AT ME, B-BAKA!"
Seriously. I've read the stories like that. Not my cup of ramen.
Anyway. Naruto is hard to explain other than he is like an iceberg. Yes, he is really cool, but what I mean is that there is more than meets the eyes. Like...go search up iceberg metaphor in images right now. You'll see what I'm saying. Though let's go back to the sirens.
#Nostalgia
Now, as you may remember, Naruto didn't see anyone, but only saw a silouette of a random figure. And no, the figure wasn't Sasuke. It wasn't anybody to be fair. You see, siren's form of attack is to lure their prey with the most desirable thing to that person. Nooo that doesn't mean they'll show who you love, but who you lust rather. The only exception is Sasuke, but I'll mention that later…
Anyway, Naruto doesn't have any particular love for anyone nor any particular lust. The main power that the siren's have to influence their prey is their voice, so the singing is what lured Naruto. You can probably guess why.
COUGH dead mom COUGH COUGH
I gotta get some medicine, seriously. Anyway, before I move on to the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, I want to bring a great review to attention!
"I don't know but this conflict with Naruto just come in the right time. This makes Sasuke grows, I think. He learns that little kind and honest gestures make friendship. And friendship is important. He learns that he can learn to stand and has others support as well. The question is if he becomes his own person from being detached from Naruto too long then he wouldn't seek comfort with Naruto anymore. And how will love grow? I love this" Chapter 28, guest.
YES. YES. A MILLION FUCKING TIMES YES.
Everything said here is so perfect I want to actually make love not only to the reviewer, but the review itself. COME HERE, SEXY MAMASITA. Cough, sorry. I'm soooo glad someone caught onto the fact that this confict was all planned from the beginning like ! Haha! So happy about this reivew, because it also goes into Sasuke's dependency on Naruto. Naruto's sudden cold shoulder is to make Sasuke grow, but also challenge Naruto for a change.
Whoop. There it is.
Usually, it's Naruto challenging Sasuke, but in a masive turn of events, it's the opposite way around! Sasuke is making Naruto feel something he never felt before. A glimmer, albeit small, of craving something more than teasing.
Did you guys ever notice that even though Naruto flirts with everyone, he doesn't make any actual proposals to sleep together or anything? Like, he crew wouldn't say no! Most of them would love the chance to spend the night with the sexy, blonde captain. So why doesn't he take advantage. Simple.
He isn't actually interested in sexual encounters with people he knows. Okay, so Naruto's view on love is that it doesn't exist. And every person he's slept with has been a stranger. His first time was with some whore in a brothal that Jiriaya took him to. If you asked, Naruto wouldn't even know if it was a girl or boy, nevermind the name. He always saw sex as a stress relief or just some casual pleasure. He has only slept with prositutes and people who are rather 'loose'. No one respectable or anyone that he actuallu likes in a romantic way. So why? Why does Naruto keep up a flirtatious front for everyone or is it just his real nature?
Well, both.
He is a flirty guy, but some of it is forced to a certain extent. I'll let you guys decide why~
Now onto the next thing!
Naruto and Sasuke's relationship
Okay, yes. This is a love story between Sasuke and Naruto, but I have to tell you that they aren't in love yet, nor do they have strong romantic feelings for one another. A lot of you think that they are close, they are to some extent, yet they are still getting to know eachother. I think chapter 29 or 30 will clear that up. Yes, there is sexual tension, but that's not too strange for them at this age. There isn't much of a bond, I need to strengten that before I can even consider anything romantic. I will make cute and fluffy moments, but that's mostly for you guys (fanservice y'all). However! Any concerns they have for each other are purely normal for the concept of 'friendship' or 'character building'. Pretty much how it is in the actual Naruto canon, even soulmates have to develop their relationship over time. Besides, it would be a shitty story if they instantly liked each other.
Though a lot of you guys are probably annoyed by this, I just have to make some god damn corrections.
-Naruto and Sasuke are in love!
No.
-Naruto loves Sasuke!
No.
-Sasuke loves Naruto!
No.
-They are starting to have romantic feelings for eachother!
Ugh. No. Not yet! You guys are getting romantic feelings and sexual frustration confused.
Okay. Let's start with Sasuke on this. Sasuke is 100% sexually repressed, like whoo daddy.
"Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing his or her sexuality. Sexual repression is often associated with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses" Definition of sexually repressed, google.
Alright, now let's look at some sources that explain the effects of being sexually repressed.
"But even today, it is widely recognized that repression of sexuality is unhealthy and quite likely to lead to health problems ranging from anxiety and aggression, and on a more serious note, there is also the likelihood that the person might seek inappropriate outlets for their sexual urges" Alexander Burgemeester, What Is Psychology?
Okay, let's look at this for a sec. Has Sasuke demonstrated symptoms of anxiety. You're damn right. The whole thing has ben an emotional rollercoaster for the boy, even before the kidnapping. Is Sasuke aggressive? Well...FUCKING OBVIOUSLY. How many times has he snapped at people or turned to aggression and threats in the span of a few seconds? A lot. So Sasuke is a sexually repressed person who is suffering ALL the side effects. Why? Mostly shame, guilt and religion. Shame from society as he is an Ojo and it's 'not proper' for him to feel sexual needs. Guilt because Sasuke isn't a asexual person, he has felt sexual desires (against his will by his own body) though felt bad for having them because he will blame himself for even feeling like that even though it's natural to do so. Religion is for obvious reasons because Sasuke is very religious and therefore believes unmarried sex is a sin, along with masturbation.
So the reason I've made Naruto give small sexual acts towards him; groping hands, wandering caresses, slapping asses. Alla that jazz. Is because Sasuke needs to learn to embrace that side to himself, Naruto is giving him baby steps into it. Yes, it may be sexual harrassment to a certain extent, but it's doing Sasuke a lot of good. Besides, who's to say that Sasuke doesn't secretly enjoy it? Fufufu, well, that'll be a chapter for another day…
Anywho, this is the sexual status of Sasuke. So with this and my eariler explanation of Naruto's promiscious behaviour, I can explain the sexual tension between them.
Sexual tension is build off of mulitple things. Something as simple as attraction can be cause or something complex as dependancy. The reason for the sexual tension between Naruto and Sasuke is for three reasons. One is the line between love and hate. Two is new found attraction. Three is natural selection that goes back for centuries.
Okay, so we all know how love and hate have a blurred line. There are many theories, but the one I'll be using to explain mine is the biological approach. The part of the brain that controls the strongest emotions (love and hate) are the same. So love and hate are controlled by the same part.
Mic drop.
And these can be recognised as one of the strongest emotions. What characters are well known for having heightened emotions to do with love and hate? Well, it's not the cookie monster. Naruto and Sasuke, even in my story, have shown some of the strongest emotions. Sasuke with his fierceness and Naruto with his passion. With this, every situation they are in has a larger spectrum of emotions that are more likely to be felt more. So each sexual scene between them increases the sexual tension from 0 to 100 real quick.
This links in with the second point. Attraction. Attraction is the base for the sexual tension between the two. Sasuke is presented with the sexually active, handsome blonde that oozes sex appeal. Naruto's entire aura is full of sex and passion. Sasuke isn't helped when Naruto flirts with him or corners him on purpose. And of course Sasuke is by far the most beautiful characters in the entire story. Everything he is desired to be, he is. Naruto wouldn't be able to deny that Sasuke is one fine motherfucker. This attraction only increase with time and costume changes. (Leaf outfit, Naruto shirtless).
And finally, the third reason. natural selection. This may sound a bit weird at first, but stay with me here. Since the beginning of time, most animals seek out partners for protection. Sasuke is protected by Naruto on many occasions and is always seeing Naruto demonstrating his strength. Naturally, Sasuke's primal instincts would deem Naruto a suitor. However, Naruto needs to 'beat' the other rivals to completely win over Sasuke. While Sasuke is desirable for producing offspring, his entire life has been building his body and making it so that he'll provide a strong and healthy baby with the odds in his favour for survival. Since it's very important to remember that in these time, the mother dying at childbirth was highly likely. So Naruto's primal instinct is to go for whoever can provide him with the strongest off spring. With Naruto and Sasuke filling each other's requirements. It makes it harder to deny the sexual interest they have in one another.
But let me remind you.
THEY ARE NOT ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED YET.
Romance will build soon, but it hasn't started yet. Because they've only known each other for 1 week and 2 days. Yes, it has been proven that people can fall in love within 4 minutes, but their first meeting wasn't exactly...loved up.
While I would love love love to go on. Sadly I must refrain. I can't give away all the secrets, I mean, I can't tell you why…
-Naruto has suddenly pushed Sasuke away
-Whether or not Sasuke would survive without Naruto emotionally
-If the current relationship between the two is healthy
-If they actually end up together (still deciding)
-Sasuke's rebellion
-What Tsunade and Jiraiya thinks of the relationship
-Karin's feelings (going to be revealed in under 10 chappies!)
-Sasuke's feelings about Itachi and Izumi's relationship
-Mystery rivals that'll seek Sasuke out more than others
-Why Naruto's eyes can turn red…
I'm guessing the last one got your interest the most, right? Heheh, well, it's not that...exciting...so...yeah...sorry...but it will be shown why.
Oh! And one last thing! Do you like the new cover? It's something I paint for this story, hope you like it! If you want more for this kind of stuff or you want to ask questions about the fanfiction.
Then go on tumblr and look for Failureoftheyear. You guys can ask me anything and I might even accept a few art requests (all free) from this fanfic…
Hope you enjoyed this! Moshi Mosh!
