#char: Darui

[kumo-headcanons]

What do u think would be a cloud ninjas reaction to being called a tengu? Specifically c, darui, karui, etc?

Right, the tengu thing.

The reaction to getting called “tengu” can vary greatly from Kumonin to Kumonin depending mostly on the respective person’s temper. In general, however, you can expect it to be anything but positive.

The problem with calling a Kumonin “tengu” is that it’s become an incredibly loaded term over the years. What started off as vaguely jocular insult comparing Kumo shinobi to a mythological creature eventually devolved into a slur due to a combination of village politics, changing military tactics and good old civilian gossip.

“Tengu” in referral to Kumonin first came up in the days preceding the First Shinobi World War when tensions between the Five Great Shinobi Countries were on the rise and the number of border violations increased by the day. Usage of the term increased sharply after the failed peace ceremony and the Kingin brothers’ attempt at a coup d’état. A small but vocal minority of Konohans insisted that the peace ceremony had been staged and an attempt to assassinate the Second Hokage had been made. As a result, the stereotype of “untrustworthy Kumonin” began to pervade Konohan civilian opinions of Kumo. Consequently, foreign relations between Konoha and Kumo began to sour even more.

After Tobirama’s death at the hands of the Kinkaku Force, foreign relations took another turn for the worse, Konohans who had previously been neutral on the issue began to align themselves with those who had claimed the peace ceremony had been an assassination attempt, while those who had thought so from the beginning saw their suspicions confirmed. At this point, usage of the term “tengu” saw another sharp increase, this time beyond the borders of Fire Country even. Towards the end of the First Shinobi World War, the Third Raikage becomes aware of the existence of the slur, its use and its connotations and orders the first Tengu Raids. At this point, Kumo’s and Konoha’s civilians generally already had an unprecedentedly low opinion of each other.

Upon ordering the first Tengu Raid, the Third Raikage is said to have uttered the words, “They want to make monsters of us? Then, let them tremble before the terrors they created!” There are no official records backing this claim, however, the Fourth attributed the proclamation to his father back when he gave a speech after his inauguration during Third Shinobi World War.

(Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, tengu were also considered harbingers of war in Buddhism.)

Among Kumonin, the squads carrying out the raids were known as Vulture Corps, though individual members of the squads were often just referred to as Crows (or “Pigeons” if you’re feeling particularly funny. Though that one’s liable to get you decked by one of them).

However, Kumo claiming “tengu” and fashioning a variety of military strategies after it contributed further to the changing connotations of the word and why Shippūden-era (and even more so Boruto-era) Kumonin object strongly to the term. Because at this point, "tengu” isn’t comparing them to actual tengu anymore. Calling someone a Kumo post-Third Shinobi World War is essentially equalling them to kidnappers, bandits, murderers, even war-criminals depending on who you ask.

By the time Darui becomes Raikage, it is frowned upon to call anybody a tengu, especially since most shinobi of Darui’s age group and younger were too young to have participated in Tengu Raids. However, grudges don’t tend to just up and disappear. Altercations between young Kumonin and ninja from other villages, that got sparked by someone hurling an ill-advised insult are more common than anybody’d like.

The reactions are based on someone using the slur in a serious manner who’s really aiming to hurst someone personally, not someone throwing insults left and right without being aware of the context.

Honorary mention of A’s reaction to begin called a “tengu”:Rage. Uncontrollable if the word’s directed at him, but even worse when it’s directed at his subordinates. Expect lots of fist-shaking, stomping and bellowing. Self-awareness has never been his strong suit, he likes to forget that the vast majority of Tengu Raids were carried out under his orders and that he and B participated in their fair share of them under the Third Raikage. The other Kage never fail to remind him of that.

B – He is one of the very few Kumonin who won’t get offended when called a tengu, mainly because he did actually participate in a number of raids and he’s not proud of some of the things that happened back then. He’ll usually respond in a very serious manner and try to empathise and diffuse the situation, before eventually cracking a joke and changing the topic with a rap of his.

C – While C has quite the temper, he considers emotional outbursts utterly unprofessional, nor would he want to give someone the satisfaction of getting him riled up. He’ll narrow his eyes and depending on the situation, the change in demeanour will be quite noticeable. C generally communicates in a precise and succinct manner, but when angry there’s an additional layer of curtness about him that’s hard to miss. If it’s a guest or someone with some kind of appointment he’ll usually ask them to leave without further explanation. Another sensor might notice him keeping tight control of his chakra in situations like this in order to not give himself away too much.

Darui – Darui, too, will go through a noticeable shift in demeanour. His lips tighten, he stops slouching and unconsciously straightens up. Sometimes he glares. He’s doesn’t get offended or angry easily, but for Kumonin of his age group the insult is especially jarring because they’re old enough to remember the Vulture Corps and what happened during the Tengu Raids, but at the same time, they’re also the first generation that was too young to actively participate. Darui himself only narrowly avoided getting recruited towards the end of the war because the war ended before the decision was finalised. He’ll remain just civil enough to not let it interfere with his duty but if he’s somewhat rougher than necessary, then it’s not entirely coincidental.

Karui – Karui is too young to know about the details and the background of the Tengu Raids beyond what is taught at the academy, but she recognises an insult when she hears it and her first instinct is always to go for confrontation. There’s a 50% chance (65% percent if it’s someone from Konoha) that she will be the one to throw the first punch. Someone might have to hold her back. However, once the first wave of anger subsides she’s sometimes put in a somber mood. At the academy, she thought the Vulture Corps had a cool sounding name and admired them for being badasses but once she read up on their history her feelings were mixed at best. She loathes being insulted over crimes she had nothing to do with solely because she made the mistake of being born in Kumo.

Omoi – Omoi takes that insult hard. The other person won’t even have to elaborate because Omoi’s over-active imagination does a fine job extrapolating from that on it’s own. He’ll avoid confrontation as much as possible and start going over the previous interaction trying to figure out what he did to warrant such an insult. However, god help if you insult one of his friends. He’s quick to jump to someone else’s defence, much quicker than even Karui, and while he is of much mellower temper than Karui, he can be just as vicious if need be.

#ask #anonymous #Kumogakure #gen: culture #gen: history #gen: village relations #char: A (3rd Raikage) #char: A (4th Raikage) #char: C #char: Darui #char: Killer B #char: Karui #char: Omoi #char: Senju Tobirama #vill: Konoha #t: pre series #t: Boruto #cw death #cw kidnapping #cw racism #cw war #headcanon

[shinobi-sexual]

Do you have rules? Like what stuff will you NOT do? Are there any characters you don't feel comfortable with or don't know that well?

we have a rules page right here! there arent any chars we wont do fills for, some just might take longer than others ^^; ask away anon!

~ mod darui

#mod d #Anonymous

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Fruits Basket 42 - 43 (s2 ep 17 - 18) | HGPC 27 - 29 | Back Arrow 8 | Fairy Ranmaru 9

Fruits Basket 42 (s2 ep 17)

Now that I’ve been to Kyoto between the time I read the manga and watching this episode in 2021…it’s nostalgic in a sad way that I may never be able to go back, due to COVID.

The series seems to forget sometimes it’s starring a bunch of dudes (plus a few gals) who transform into animals…

It’s probably because she made some (zodiac figurines) at the start of the anime, come to think of it.

Ooh! Arashiyama yatsuhashi! (thinks about Kachou Fuugetsu) Nice choice, Furuba!

Oh, Tohru gave her mum some yatsuhashi.

Fruits Basket 43 (s2 ep 18)

(no notes, sorry!)

HGPC 27

It’s nice they show women aeronauts as well. (Had to check it up, but “aeronaut” is apparently what you call a balloon pilot, aside from using “balloon pilot” itself.)

TONDA = I would assume a pun on the car company Honda, but also it’s the past tense for the word “to fly” (tobu).

HGPC 28

Darui = sluggish. That’s why Daruizen doesn’t seem to care about much.

Nebuzoku = lack of sleep.

Kedarui = languid, listless.

D’aww. This was a good anime during its own time in the height of the COVID pandemic. It’s even better, now more strains are worming their way across the world.

HGPC 29

(no notes, sorry!)

Back Arrow 8

Those black soldiers…they looks like colour-inverted Storm Troopers (LOL).

[stuff about diplomacy and washing each other’s backs] - That’s…an odd way of putting it, but the Princess is right.

They’re different walls that have to be broken in the context of their anime, but I believe the Edger guys and the Yamada bros (HypMic) would get along.

Ohmigosh, this Shaft guy has a choir! (ROFL)

…is that a Char mask…?

Fairy Ranmaru 9

LOL, the lump on the sloth’s head.

LOL, the pot on Birika’s bag.

Sharing an umbrella now, Uruu…? *thinks about romantic connotations of sharing an umbrella*

I-Is that a giant water flea in the green image…? (Why would there be a giant water flea?)

This...This is Freudian. *points at Uruu*

They really are water fleas!!!

Uruu seems kind of forlorn there…

I just realised the cyclical nature of violence in these episodes is like a fable…sometimes there’s a happily ever after and sometimes there isn’t.

Is Bakkun some kind of storage for healing magic?

Aw, Uruu, poor soul…(I think I understand why people ship Ranmaru and Juka now, too.)

#simulcast commentary #Fairy Ranmaru #Back Arrow #Healin' Good PreCure #Fruits Basket #Chesarka watches F-Ran #Chesarka watches Furuba #Chesarka watches Back Arrow #Chesarka watches HGPC

[kumo-headcanons]

Maybe it’s just the angle or something but Raikage Darui of the Hidden Cloud nodding off in the middle of the chūnin exams after all Cloud genin got eliminated? Iconic.

#char: Darui #char: Kurotsuchi #char: Uzumaki Naruto #char: Gaara #pics #also #big mood #as if i needed more reasons to love darui #t: boruto

[kumo-headcanons]

Before the third Raikage and Naruto’s fight there was one more person who knew how the Third got the scar on his chest.

To your average four-year-old, the Third was quite an intimidating sight, if not flat out terrifying. And Darui was no different at first. He definitely was not enthused about the strange, looming figure who showed up at the orphanage one day and declared that he was going to be training him from now on.

The thing is, despite his sorta scary appearance, the Third isn’t actually that bad with children. Younger brothers, niblings, a son – he’s got experience. A lot of it. And if there’s one thing he’s learnt it’s that children love secrets and funny stories. The more embarrassing, the better.

One day before they start training in earnest, the Third sits Darui down and asks him if he can keep a secret. And he makes him promise to guard that secret as if it were the most precious thing he has. That finally captures Darui’s interest and the Third proceeds to tell him about that one time he fought the Eight-tails and goofed real bad.

And Darui, bless this kid, doesn’t laugh but rather looks up at him, wide-eyed, and asks, “You fought the Eight-tails?” because he might be young, but he sometimes snuck upstairs to eavesdrop behind the older children’s bedroom doors when they were telling scary stories, so he knows all about the Eight-tails and its horns as big as mountains, its fifty rows of teeth and hundred tails long enough to pull down the sky itself (what he does not know about yet is the concept of exaggeration nor has he ever heard of aptronyms).

That was exactly the kind of reaction the Third was hoping for. As he proudly declares, “Of course, and when I’m done training you, you’ll be able to take on the Eight-tails too!” he secretly thinks, “Gotcha.”

In the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War, C is absolutely livid when he finds out that Darui has known for years and never bothered to let him in on the secret when they were kids.

“That’s the one thing no history book ever wrote about! You knew I was practically dying of curiosity!”

“Yah, sorry. I kinda forgot about that...”

#gen: history #char: A (3rd Raikage) #char: Darui #char: C #headcanon #t: pre series #Kumogakure

[kumo-headcanons]

Would there be a procedure of any kind if a kumo nin were to be captured and held hostage while on a mission? Diplomatic and/or not?

Sorry this took so long to get answered. I had a hunch where this answer was going to go (or rather, where research would take me) and I needed time and a good mood to delve into the subject matter.

This ended up long-ish so I’ll be putting a cut right here.

The one canon “hostage” situation involving Kumonin we know of is this one in ep. 269:

At least, it’s the only one I remember right now. And there’s a number of things we can gather from the characters respective actions and reactions.

Just before Kinkaku attacks – making Darui choose between saving himself by dodging and saving Samui by staying put – Samui makes eye contact with Darui and nods.

Darui apologises and defends himself against Kinkaku and there’s this short moment where everyone involved, even the audience, is left believing that Darui considers Samui’s death an acceptable trade-off. Prompting Ginkaku to make the following statement:

The thing is, at this point, Ginkaku doesn’t know Darui’s about to attack him using Laser Circus. As far as he knows, Darui’s left the hostage to die and Samui’s resigned herself to that. And he calls them “true Hidden Cloud shinobi” for it. Getting chills yet?

Of course, Ginkaku might have been provoking them but if we take his words at face value, then pre-canon Kumogakure must have been a rough place. God help you if you were a Kumonin and got captured. Seems like the hopes of rescue were slim, if the village deemed your loss acceptable.

However, Ginkaku and Kinkaku are very much shinobi from a different age. At the time the events of Shippuuden are taking place, they have been dead for about 50 years and shinobi world has shown again and again that it changes rapidly. And Ginkaku’s opinion of “true Hidden Cloud shinobi” is completely at odds with how the Kumo characters actually treat each other.

I won’t go into detail this time around but just check the tag for A. I’ve lost count of how often I bring up the fact that A cares about his subordinates big time. The question is how he’d deal with a situation where said subordinates pose a risk to the safety of the village. Because every ninja that is captured has the potential to leak sensitive information.

Remember Kiyoi who refused to give up B’s location? Kumonin are stubborn, prideful and loyal to a fault. They were raised in a village that is notoriously secretive and absolutely will not sell out one of their own if left even the slightest choice. Reversing that argument, I wager that releasing sensitive information to enemy forces or outsiders is probably considered a serious offence.

The problem with that is, you know how Kiyoi would never give up B’s whereabouts voluntarily? Sasuke ends up putting him under a genjutsu and within seconds information is just flowing out of him, unhindered. And we all know the enormous shit show Sasuke and B’s fight kicked off. If there’s a captor capable of extracting information in this manner, loyalty doesn’t mean jack. Consequently any ninja that is taken hostage poses a risk.

Remember how Kiri went about protecting sensitive information when their Intel Unit got under attack? They had the Intel Unit killed. Of course, at that point in the timeline Kiri was in a league all of its own in terms of ruthlessness, but what I’m getting at is, hidden villages will go to extreme lengths to keep their secrets secret. Or at least, they used to pre-Fourth Shinobi World War, pre-Allied Shinobi Forces and pre-Shinobi Union.

Which is why I’m hesitant to go into standardised procedures for dealing with hostage situations. The moment one of their shinobi gets captured, decision will have to be made concerning

the hostage. There’s a Kumonin that needs saving.

the hostage’s value. How important is this particular shinobi to Kumo? Is extracting them/striking a deal with the captors worth the risk/cost?

the risk the hostage poses. Could the hostage/the hostage’s intel be used to harm Kumo?

Do you see how, going down this line of thought, things could get really dark, really fast?

Then there are the captors intentions to think of. Maybe they just want to strike a deal and are happy to exchange the hostage for another shinobi currently held hostage in Kumo. In that case, things might actually get settled rather quickly and with little collateral damage. But what if their intention is to gain intel? What kind of action would Kumo take? What would A’s orders be? At what point does pragmatism override his concern for his subordinates?

And since we’re at it, do shinobi go through R2I or SERE training? Because, truth be told, that’s exactly where I was afraid my current research binge would end up taking me and part of the reason why I procrastinated answering this particular ask. Since it’s usually people with increased risk of capture who have to go through that sort of training irl, maybe it’s required of shinobi who’re applying for promotion to jōnin and/or ANBU?

So, all in all, I’m kinda hesitant to make blanket statements about certain standard procedures but there probably are certain guidelines according to which decisions are made. But I’m no military strategist so take all of the above with a grain of salt.^^’

#ask #anonymous #gen: weaponry #char: Darui #char: Samui #char: Ginkaku #char: Kinkaku #char: Yotsuki Kiyoi #t: general #cw death #cw torture #meta #headcanon

[kumo-headcanons]

Secrecy is a big thing in Kumo. Really big. Even A doesn’t always realise the lengths his predecessors went to to keep particularly sensitive intelligence under wraps. If he did, he’d probably be appalled to learn about some of the skeletons in his father’s closet.

Especially since there’s one that directly concerns him.

At 19, with the Second Shinobi World War waging, a father who is one of the Five Kage, and the knowledge that he would in all likelihood inherit the title one day, A had had bigger things to worry about than his personal life. So when his then-girlfriend suddenly up and left him without so much as an explanation why, A hadn’t really taken the time to dwell on it, hadn’t felt particularly saddened either. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he’d say he felt relieved. That was at least one less thing to worry about and personal attachments only tended to weigh a shinobi down anyway. Then there was that kid-brother that needed looking after... Yeah, all-in-all A didn’t mind the break-up half as much as he’d expected to. Kitsui suddenly deciding to cut all ties had bruised his ego but life still went on as usual.

When he happened across her headstone a couple of years later, he felt a twinge of sadness, maybe a pinch of nostalgia too, but ultimately he decided to bring a couple of flowers with him next time he visited the graveyard and went about his day. He was just on his way back from his father’s memorial service and few emotions managed to penetrate the overwhelming numbness at that time.

The day the Third Raikage died, so did the second of the only two people to ever know that A was father to a child.

Kitsui might have been about to become a young mother, but she was a shrewd shinobi first and fiercely protective of her own. After a couple of months of going out with A – whom the Third had been grooming to become Raikage one day since childhood – she was adamant her child be spared the ordeal. On the child’s birth certificate, the field intended for the father’s name was left blank and people never bothered to ask questions. Friends helped her raise her child and she went on missions to provide for her small family until the day she was killed on one of them.

Much like his son, the Third heavily involved himself in whichever adoption processes he had the chance to. By pure happenstance, Kitsui’s child’s file ended up on the Third’s desk one day. Upon recognising the deceased mother’s name and remembering his son’s and her involvement, he did some quick mental math. When he realised he couldn’t fully exclude the possibility, the Third decided to pay a visit to the orphanage.

Recognising Kitsui’s child proved even easier than expected. The mother’s command of her kekkei genkai had been exceptional, and in the orphanage’s backyard, next to a little creek, there sat the child, experimenting with chakra already at the tender age of three. He could see A in the stubborn set of the kid’s jaw but otherwise the child’s face was all Kitsui. Never a man to overlook talent when it’s basically presenting itself on a silver platter, it takes the Third all of ten minutes to convince the director of the orphanage to let him take the matter out of his hands.

He conveniently forgets to mention that it’s his grandson he’s picking up. Wouldn’t do to have the Council accuse him of attempting to set-up a dynasty. It had already been difficult enough to get them to agree to let him supervise the Fourth’s training as closely as he did.

He also – entirely by accident, of course – neglects to inform the Fourth. (Look at how quickly he grew attached to that kid brother of his. The boy would never be cleared for frontline duty, if A knew and what a waste of potential that would be. Kumo’s in the middle of a war and war is where legends are made. Give it a decade under his tutelage and this child might just grow up to become one of the greatest yet.)

Besides, much to the Third’s chagrin, A had never shown even a lick of talent for the Black Lightning Technique.

Perhaps his grandson would turn out different.

(I remember getting two asks about this kind of thing back in February, promising to get to it ASAP and then procrastinating my way to hell and back before finally figuring out what to do about it. Sorry, anon. Never meant to make you wait for months.^^')

Also, I'm a sucker for the Raikage being a bunch of scheming bastards, dramatic irony, and family drama of Shakesperean, nay, of Sophoclean proportions. Besides, why the hell not? xD

#gen: families #char: A (3rd Raikage) #char: A (4th Raikage) #char: Darui #t: pre series #cw death #cw pregnancy #headcanon

[kumo-headcanons]

Its gotta be canon now-darui is A's kid and neither of them knows

I’m really glad you think so – I was sure if I was gonna get flak on any post it’d be either this one, or the thing about the tengu 😅

The one thing about this particular headcanon that irks me a little is that you’d be hard pressed to find any kind of physical resemblance between them that goes beyond “they’re both blond and black”.

Trust me, I spent the last three hours taking out of context screenshots and trying to do just that. I don’t think they’re even the same shade of blond.

And I’m not sure if them sometimes wearing similar-ish expressions helps the case. (I honestly feel like I’m grasping at straws here.) 

Funnily enough, Darui does end up developing similar wrinkles as A at the corners of his mouth once he hits forty and the fact that a younger A used to have that same habit of keeping his eyes at half-mast will never cease to amuse me.

I think I’m just gonna stick with the hc that Darui takes after his mother, regardless of who his father is. Although, if anything that side-by-side comparison makes me like the A-is-Darui’s-father hc even more.

That’s quite enough deliberation. You know what? You’re right. It’s canon. Not like Kishi’s doing anything with those characters.

#gen: families #ask #anonymous #pics #headcanon #char: Darui #char: A (4th Raikage)

[kumo-headcanons]

In 202, when Sasuke was met with Shi, Darui and A, he went to attack A but Darui attacked him with a water wall and he said(internally) " his attack, huh?" or "so he's the one", maybe it didn't matter but he seemed to show interest in Darui and/or his methods(Jutsu?), but what do u think it could be?

That scene, right?

tbh, I never really thought twice about that comment but since you’re asking…^^’

To me it looks like Sasuke’s analysing his opponents’ abilities. Since Jūgo feels the need to explain that those are Kumo jōnin and the Raikage they’re facing once Sasuke is pushed back, it’s probably safe to assume that he simply doesn’t know who he’s about to fight. To him, A and his bodyguards simply represent another obstacle on his way to Danzo.

Sasuke’s thought process is probably going somewhere along the lines of “so the one on the right uses Suiton” – which is relevant to him since Water Release has an advantage over Fire Release and it allows Darui to effectively counter his fire techniques, giving Darui the potential to become a troublesome opponent. I don’t think Sasuke’s interested in Darui personally in that moment.

#ask #anonymous #char: Darui #char: Uchiha Sasuke #meta #gen: jutsu #t: Shippuuden

[kumo-headcanons]

Based on this post from a while ago – have some more handwriting headcanons:

Mabui's is very clean, neat, with few flourishes.

C's is well-legible but his characters have a very distinct slant to the right when he’s writing horizontally. Before he started working at the Raikage Tower, it used to lean more towards a typical doctor's scrawl but Mabui insisted he work on it because it would make everybody’s life easier.

Darui’s handwriting, too, is on the legible side but he has a habit of cutting corners and combining strokes in certain characters/radicals which makes for quicker writing but also makes them harder to read, e.g. like Jiraiya, his ta (タ) tends to look more like a 9.

Samui's handwriting is clean but very small and narrow.

Atsui's is horrendous, characters tend to vary greatly in size and precision and depending on the direction he’s writing in his lines tend to slant upwards or to the left.

Karui's notes tend to have ink splotches here and there. She literally crosses out mistakes by drawing a cross over them rather than just striking them through with a straight line.

Omoi's handwriting would actually be decent if he didn’t cross out entire phrases at a time or try to squish in additional words as afterthoughts since he frequently has trouble deciding on how to word certain thoughts, sometimes to the point where no one can figure out what he was trying to say in the first place.

Yugito has the prettiest handwriting in all of Kumo, possibly the entire Land of Lightning. In her free time she occasionally practices calligraphy.

B handwriting is on the legible side, but he has a persistent habit of doodling absolutely everywhere – on his notes, on handouts, in his diary book of rhymes, napkins, everywhere.

#char: Mabui #char: C #char: Darui #char: Samui #char: Atsui #char: Karui #char: Omoi #char: Nii Yugito #char: Killer B #headcanon #Kumogakure

[kumo-headcanons]

Never thought about it before but darui kinda has those dark + mysterious yet strangely romantic eyes

Does he now?

Don’t really know what to say to this but have a couple more grade A Darui expressions:

#ask #anonymous #char: Darui #pics

[kumo-headcanons]

Soooo considering all of the previous ask(and this may be totally unrelated but) how(if at all) difficult do you think it would be for Darui to interact with people? If there would be a chance that he would make a new friend? Of if someone revealed that they admired him(bc saying "crush" is weird)? Would there be paranoia? Would be try to slip out of the situation or?

One of these days, I’m gonna lose track of all those related Darui-asks. xD

You know what, this isn’t all that easy a question to answer. Now that you brought it up, I’m a little worried that up to now my interpretation of Darui might have come across as a whole lot more dysfunctional than intended. Because he’s not. Despite everything that came up in those previous asks, Darui seems about as well-adjusted as any shinobi can get.

Sure, there’s that thing about excessive apologising and you occasionally get a glimpse of Darui’s potential for ruthlessness, but all things considered Darui seems remarkably normal, given the circumstances he grew up in.

Remember the scene in ep. 303 where Darui is dealing with the spooked Konohanin?

He attempts to give him a comforting pat on the back, but immediately backs away when it becomes apparent that the Konohanin is way too freaked out to let him near and he remains calm and patient throughout the exchange, leading me to believe that Darui’s got considerable emotional intelligence, at least concerning the people around him.

You know what, I’m gonna go a step further and claim that Kumonin as a whole are a rather emotionally intelligent bunch – or at least, less emotionally stunted than some of the shinobi of other villages. There’s B who managed to rid himself of his negative emotions enough to control the Eight-Tails, there’s Atsui with his straight-forward enthusiasm, there are A and Omoi and Karui who openly showcase their anger and grief over B’s disappearance (even if it was played for laughs), and there’s C whose so transparent in his worry over having to go to war that even Ao whose first couple of appearances consisted mostly of him chastising Chōjūrō for being weak or indecisive or insecure feels compelled to offer words of comfort. Compare that to Konoha’s gaggle of 13-year-old ANBU, the entirety of ROOT and basically anything relating to the Shinobi Rules and you’ll see what I’m getting at.

I might have brushed the topic before (this post, I think) and I still don’t know how they’re doing it, but despite its faults there’s something Kumo seems to be getting right when it comes to looking after their shinobi. Maybe they don’t train their shinobi to suppress their emotions but rather to channel their emotions into their fighting. I mean, Sai got a whole (filler) episode about “emotional energy” why shouldn’t one of the other villages have figured out how to make use of it?

Buuut I’m getting off topic again, the thing is, Darui is probably as skilled at interacting with people as he wants to be. He does have certain insecurities that  might rear their heads every now and then but he’s neither socially inept nor emotionally stunted – he couldn’t have taken over the position of Raikage if he was, especially if he had the Third and the Fourth’s legacies to live up to.

That, and, more importantly, he’s likeable. Darui probably would have no trouble making more friends if he actually cared to do so. Drawing on yesterday’s ask, if there’s a reason Darui choses to limit his circle of friends to a select few (if he does at all, because lack of canon information ad all that) it’s that it might take him a long time to decide whether someone’s worth getting close to. Though it might not be a conscious decision. Personal attachments carry the risk of loss, and the potential friendship would have to be worth risking that loss. The desire to have the person in question in his life would have to be stronger than the fear of the hurt that might come from losing them – same for a romantic relationship. I don’t think he’d attempt to slip out of the situation, rather he’d probably try to avoid getting into a situation like that in the first place.

#ask #anonymous #char: Darui #headcanon #meta

[kumo-headcanons]

Considering Darui's two habits of apologizing and saying the word dull, his apologizing is more sincere(since in ep. 394, 268-269 he only says "dull" out of convenience) but i hadn't noticed until ep. 313 when he was almost stepped on by the her I statue and kitsuchi saved him- he apologized twice and it sounded a lot like he felt like a burden to kitsuchi

You’re talking about the scene in ep. 276 when Tobi was going after the tools of the sage, right?

Because damn, poor guy can’t catch a break in that one, feels like he spends most of his time on-screen apologising.

I’ve already done a couple of posts about the dull-thing and the apology-thing but honestly, the more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that that’s not all there is to that.

You’ll notice that Darui apologises a lot for things that aren’t actually his fault. Rather, he apologises for what he perceives to have been a failure of his (except for when he’s apologising for A’s rashness), like failing to immediately stop Ginkaku, or failing to prevent the events that lead to A losing his arm, or failing to stop Madara from obtaining the Kohaku no Jōhei. And then there’s the episode with Kitsuchi where he’s almost crushed by the Gedō Mazō and then he apologises for bothering him.

That… doesn’t seem healthy.

Anyway, I’m by no means a psychologist but have you ever heard of Abandoned child syndrome? This is where things devolve into mere speculation again, but I’ve had the hc that Darui’s parents were killed on a mission he even started training under the Third for a while. Then he trained under him for about a year (at least as far as my understanding of the Naruto timeline goes) and all f a sudden the Third, the one person people believed to be damn near invincible, too, is killed in the Third Shinobi World War. Losing that many attachment figures at such a young age is bound to have lasting effects even with proper therapy but we all know that mental health care in the world of Naruto is practically non-existent.

I strongly suspect that, lacking a familial support system, a young Darui frequently felt like he was a burden inflicted upon whoever happened to be put in charge of him and used to try to make himself useful as much as he could out of the (mistaken) belief that he first had to earn his place at whatever home he happened to end up in (an orphanage? a foster family? the Fourth’s care?). And failing to meet the (unreasonable) expectations he set for himself often left him feeling as if he had failed his caretaker.

To get back to ep. 276, Darui apologises and ends with “It was my fault.” As in, he genuinely blames himself for failing to stop a bijū-powered monster statue and the crazy OP-villain hardly anybody ever even manages to lay a hand on, when there were thousands of other shinobi who failed to do the exact same thing. Darui gives himself very, very little credit here, despite the fact that aside from Shikamaru (who is a genius with an IQ of 200) he was one of the only shinobi to realise that Tobi would go after the Kohaku no Jōhei and come to that realisation fast enough to act upon it. In other words, I think Darui, like many other characters in Naruto, has the tendency to attempt to shoulder the weight of the entire world by himself and when he inevitably fails to do so (because once upon a time, Naruto used to be a show about the value of teamwork) he gets stuck in the mindset of “I failed everyone, I’m sorry, I’m not deserving of the trust you put in me”.

Which is what makes the way A reacts in the flashback in 269 when Darui apologises to A for failing as his bodyguard, so remarkable. The core message of “don’t worry about it, you’re doing great” is something Darui probably needs to be reminded of on a regular basis.

Damn, I really, really want to know what Darui’s childhood was like.

#ask #anonymous #char: Darui #headcanon #meta

[kumo-headcanons]

I've never thought about the thing with Darui including and not including C, and tbh i kinda don't get it. Why when in a fight not want C to join, but want him whenever he's not mentioned?

Maybe it makes a little more sense in context?

In ep. 202, where the first two screencaps are from, the conversation actually went something like this (based on the subtitles):Darui: C, check and see if they’ve got any other allies around. I don’t want to worry about more popping in.C: I’m sure there was one more. But if I focus on that one it’ll be hard to stay in the fight.To which Darui reacts by saying “We don’t need you. Boss and I can handle it.” which is (especially when looking at the Japanese omae wa iranē yo) a kinda rude way of putting it, but not really unusual since we know from earlier conversations that both, C and Darui, tend to be quite straight-forward or outright blunt with each other without the other taking offence. Darui is really just telling C to concentrate on finding Karin, while he and A will handle the fighting; he’s just being blunt about it. It’s only out-of-context that it really comes across as rude or dismissive.

Which is why it becomes hilarious when compared to the dialogue from ep. 269, where the last screenshot was taken from. Again, the whole conversation actually went like this:Darui: Boss… I’m sorry. I was chosen to be your bodyguard and yet you lost your left arm…A: Don’t worry about it.Darui: But…A: I don’t miss my left arm. After all, I have two right arms.Darui: Two?A: (raises his hand) This and (dramatic finger pointing) you.Darui: (stunned silence) (happy smile) How about including C and making it three?And the thing is, nine times out of ten, in any kind of show/film/book when a character has his superior acknowledge them like that, they almost always react with something along the lines of “it’s an honour”/”I won’t disappoint you”/”you can count on me” or whatever. And we know from Darui’s internal monologue in that episode that he does consider it a big deal and that he’s genuinely proud of being the Raikage’s right-hand man. Yet upon having the Raikage tell him that, it takes his mind literally ten seconds to jump from speechless to “How about including C and making it three?”, which implies that a) he considers C his equal as bodyguard of the Raikage b) he thinks there’s a benefit in having C around but also c) he respects C enough to think him capable of being a right-hand man to the Raikage, which we know is a big deal to him. (bonus points to A because he isn’t even surprised, just says “Well, all right. You can never have too many.” and that’s it.)

The reason I love the “How about including C” line is because, from a narratological point of view, there was absolutely no reason to include it. None. It’s not relevant to the plot in the least, just this tiny tidbit of character development for Darui somebody decided to stick in there, yet both the manga and the anime include it in that one episode that’s basically all about Darui. (also, kudos to his VA for what is probably Darui’s most enthusiastically spoken line outside of combat)

Finally, going back to ep. 202 knowing that Darui actually has quite a high opinion of C, the dialogue mentioned above suddenly becomes a hundred times more amusing because now, with shipping goggles on, it reads like Darui’s deliberately playing it cool in front of C (think “leave it to me. I’ll handle this”) rather than just telling him to stay back and do his thing while they’re dealing with Team Taka because putting it like that just wouldn’t have sounded tough enough. Because Kumonin are just that extra.

#char: Darui #char: C #char: A (4th Raikage) #t: Shippuuden #ask #anonymous #meta #personal #ship tag #remember how i said i think about this a lot? #that was a lie #i think about this entirely way too much

[kumo-headcanons]

Is it ok to ask about some of the characters feelings? Like what makes them nervous besides the obvious stuff-angry, happy, etc.?

Of course it’s okay, no need to worry about it. Let’s just dive right in, alright?

A – There’s a lot in canon about what makes him angry, so no need to focus on that for now, right? A’s emotional welfare is very much connected with the physical welfare of his shinobi. It’s always a great source of relief (and maybe pride too) when they return from especially difficult missions. A gets antsy, unconcentrated and irritable (more so than usual) when he doesn’t get in a certain amount of physical activity everyday. There’s a reason they keep workout equipment in the Raikage tower. Compared to other villages, his assistants have much more authority to make certain decisions without having to consult him in order to leave A with sufficient time to get in his daily workout.

Atsui – He thrives off validation and acknowledgment. A single compliment can elevate his spirits for hours, days even. On the flip side there’s no quicker way to infuriate him than by ignoring him, nor does he appreciate being told what to do by people he doesn’t consider worthy of his respect. Samui is probably the one person whose opinion he respects most whose constructive criticism he really takes to heart.

C – He’s a perfectionist who holds everyone to high standards, most of all himself, and quickly gets irritated when people fail to meet them (doubly so if it’s himself he’s disappointed in). Working next to charismatic people like the Fourth and Darui, C tends to get overlooked a lot which is why having somebody acknowledge and thank him for the hard work he puts in to support the Fourth and future Fifth will easily make his day. Not that he’d show it. Usually he clears his throat, puffs out his chest and claims that that’s nothing he’s just doing his job all while blushing three different shades of pink. Nobody is fooled but they’re not malicious enough to call him out on it. Also, he’s a bit of a walking encyclopaedia on chakra, ninjutsu and genjutsu theory (”nerd” is what Darui used to say back in the academy but what does he know) and loves when people come to him for advice.

Darui – He handles stress well but he does have a hard time accepting failure not because of the high standards he sets for himself but because he feels like he disappointed the people around him and the expectations they had. Especially after he becomes Raikage, it’s those little moments of people telling him that it’s fine, he’s doing great, and of course the job’s rough but he’s still the best person for it, that make it easier to keep going. Also, the Raikage Tower isn’t far from the Academy and when the windows are open and the wind isn’t too strong you can hear children playing. The Fourth sometimes got wistful over it and now that he’s the one in charge of protecting the village he gets why. On a different note, here’s the post where someone once asked what might make Darui cry. Though there’s something I’d like to add these days: somebody sacrificing themselves to safe him. That’d probably have devastating effects. (Though, tbh, who wouldn’t be affected by that?)

Karui – As a kid, Karui had a dream of making the world a better place and to this day, any kind of injustice still sets her off. Also, hurting the people she cares  about. Aside from that, Karui is actually a very optimistic person and doesn’t get nervous about a lot of things. While she likes receiving compliments about her appearance, she gets genuinely flustered when people compliment her for her smarts. Conversely commenting on her skills with a sword is liable to get you whacked over the head with the blunt side of said sword because what kind of idiocy is this? She trained under B-sama of course her kenjutsu is superb? Are you implying B-sama would train his students to be anything but fantastic?

Killer B – He is the very definition of “taking joy in the little things in life” from a flower next to the road, a steaming cup of ramen, or a particularly clever rhyme in his raps – B appreciates all of them in their own way. It takes a lot to get him angry, disrespect that stems from a clear desire to hurt someone is one of the things that really irk him, similarly, when he notices someone being taken advantage of by someone pretending to be well-meaning.

Mabui – She is probably one of the most patient people in all of Kumo but even she has her limits. Unwanted attention is something she deals with swiftly and efficiently and no one will ever hear the screams. She loves it when people with a genuine desire to help her offer to take some of the paperwork off her hands. Mabui’s good at what she does and even likes her job because she likes organising things but every now and then even she needs a pair of helping hands.

Omoi – It feels redundant to mention that Omoi has a nervous disposition and a penchant for overthinking. But the thing is, 80% of his worrying are actually spent worrying over his comrades, rarely ever himself. A few words of reassurance can go a long way with him. He probably doesn’t even realise himself how strong his desire to protect the people he cares about really is and how much strength he can draw from that. Perhaps he’s even a bit scared of his own strength because what if something happened to someone he cares about and he went off the deep and tore down everything around him on a quest for revenge? He’s seen it happen to other people and he doesn’t want to become one of them. (Not that he would, but is there anyone who can give him a guarantee for that?)

Samui – She abhors not being taken seriously and that particular feeling of powerlessness that comes with it which is part of why she always presents herself in a calm and professional manner. Dramatic emotional outbursts are not going to help with it and she wishes Karui and Omoi would finally get that into their thick heads. Not that she isn’t fond of the two brats (and Sage only knows how that happened), but being their captainis its own special brand of exhaustion that she never had to deal with on solo missions, although being Atsui’s bigger sister has helped her developed some sort of immunity to it. She really likes the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing a mission without a hitch. Also, Atsui probably didn’t notice back then, but the day he made chūnin Samui might actually have been the proudest shinobi of them all in a village that’s infamous for the pride of its shinobi.

#ask #anonymous #char: A (4th Raikage) #char: Atsui #char: C #char: Darui #char: Karui #char: Killer B #char: Mabui #char: Omoi #char: Samui #t: general #headcanon #Kumogakure

[kumo-headcanons]

Next to the academy, there is a small dango shop that’s been in the hands of the same family for decades. The little old lady who owns it is old enough to remember the reign of the First Raikage. Generations of academy students have spent their lunch breaks inside her shop or done their homework at one of the tables outside. She’s watched basically all of Kumo’s shinobi grow up and is adored by all of them in return. She was also a close friend of C’s grandmother who sometimes left C at the shop when she had errands to run.

When Furui came home from a particularly long mission he often took Motoi there for dinner and let him order as many servings of dango as a 4-year-old could eat.

After the Third Raikage took him under his wing, Darui usually passed the shop on his way home after training, which is how he got into the habit of hanging out there in the afternoons when he had nothing else to do.

Mabui sometimes snuck out from home to go to the shop because it’s the only place in Kumo that makes the chilli-flavoured dango she adores.

Karui once smashed a table after accusing Omoi of stealing some of her dango that one time B treated them to sweets after training. B made them repair it together after claiming they needed to improve their combination anyways. He also rapped A into submission talked A into sending the owner a gift basket as apology. Afterwards, he only ever ordered the dango for takeaway when he wanted to surprise Omoi and Karui.

The little old lady retired shortly after Darui became Raikage. Her grandson now manages the shop but sometimes she still lurks somewhere in the background waving her walking cane when he messes up an order.

#Kumogakure #gen: families #gen: history #char: A (1st Raikage) #char: A (3rd Raikage) #char: Furui #char: Motoi #char: C #char: Darui #char: Mabui #char: Karui #char: Omoi #char: Killer B #headcanon #t: general #t: pre series #t: Blank Period