#isn't Temari a bit more

[thatsneakymedic]

*leaves cookies*

@oneesands

"Oh. Hello, Temari-san! What's that you brought there?" He decides to look at it and he adjusts his glasses, "These cookies look delicious and well made! The children will love to have these after dinner, so thank you for delivering these. I know I shouldn't keep you from heading home, so feel free to stop by at the orphanage whenever you like."

Unless Inojin wants a brother or a sister and Temari doesn't want to go through the hassle of pregnancy again...

#@oneesands #hello there! #I had to read your bio since I was like #wait #isn't Temari a bit more #mean? #but it's road to ninja! #so that's fine! #I don't have a verse of that tbh #father verse

[leiandroid]

gaara&ino | a little outtake of a psychiatric ward au :)

ino is a "schizophrenic", she hears things which she believes are people's thoughts, and so claims she can read people's minds. she has motor ticks and a tendency for repetitive actions which is channeled through her hobby of arranging flowers. her room in the ward is filled with flower wreaths, arrangements etc, and she gets very anxious when they are out of place. she also has OCD.

gaara is a narcoleptic kid with anti social and behavioural issues. he wears a straight jacked most of the time and it only gets tied up when he exhibits signs of going into an episode (his episodes are characterised by violence and destruction and is a great threat to himself and those around him, but especially himself). his room in the ward is padded to avoid injury.

gaara often uses his narcolepsy as an excuse for getting out of trouble and avoiding certain conversations and people.

due to the heavy medications that gaara is always under, his emotions are extremely subdued and he doesn't feel any of them in any real intensity, the meds keep him emotionally invalid and numb.

ino and gaara become unlikely friends when gaara was going into an episode and some of the other patients were enabling him by feeding his anger by bullying him and throwing stuff at him. ino punched one of them in the face and dragged gaara away from them.

gaara bit her arm hard enough to draw blood but she withstood it through tears in her eyes and told him, "i won't hold that against you because i know you're scared."

when the nurses finally arrived, the worst of it had already passed but he was still given some medications to placate him. to which ino says, "he really hates those, you know?"

gaara just stares at her, puzzled. it is the first time someone has stood up for him and has voiced his thoughts that he keeps to himself.

from then on, she sticks to gaara like glue. he finds solace in her room because it smells of earth and flowers and it is very calm and quiet. ino's voice is bright and melodic and she has full conversations with him without him needing to open his mouth because ino says she can read his thoughts better than anyone else's; and he accepts this as true because more often than not she's right about what he's thinking.

because of this, ino speaks on his behalf to the nurses and doctors and other patients. gaara gets particularly moody when the doctors ignore ino's words and turn to him to ask, "is that right gaara? do you really feel [insert what ino said]?" he just angrily nods, and ino crosses her arms haughtily and reminds them that she can read his mind and "you don't have to talk to him like he doesn't understand."

they develop an unhealthy attachment that causes both of them anxiety when they are separated. ino needs to protect him and gaara needs the peace she brings him. however, gaara causes her a lot of grief when he destroys her room at times during his fits which triggers her OCD and she has to lock him out for hours or even days at a time to re-arrange her room. similarly, gaara feels exposed when she reads him too well, many times he can be heard yelling at her to get out of his head. their fights are as explosive as their friendship is easy.

gaara's once bare and empty room slowly gets filled by colourful blankets and pillows and plushies that ino buys for him. he can regularly be found sleeping under a large soft pile in the corner of his room.

ino is always excited to see temari when gaara's siblings come to visit. even though gaara isn't always thrilled or really feels like seeing them, he sits through it just so ino can get a chance to talk to temari. ino looks up to temari as a role model. and temari appreciates ino who takes care of gaara and has given him a friendship he otherwise couldn't have gotten in the outside world.

inoichi likes gaara because he sees how happy his daughter is around him, but he is wary of him due to his tendency for violence and only hopes he doesn't truly hurt ino.

#gaaino #gaara #ino yamanaka #NARUTO #my art #leiandroid #mostly definitely platonic #though they did try to kiss once and were like hmmm perhaps not #ino supremacy

[13as07]

Spitting Image #3

(Gaara Sabaku)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to Tamengkay]

Requested by: Myself

Word Count: 3,874

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Should I do a prequel of their night together? Hmm… probably

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The opal eyes my son inherited from his father are staring back at me from the door frame of my apartment. "Yoshiki isn't here right now," I mutter, clinging to the door I've cracked open.

     "I know. Shikadai and Inojin were playing with him at the flower shop when I stopped. I stopped at the flower shop, on the way, for these," Gaara races out, shoving one of the fancy bouquets toward me. Ino and I tease that it's the 'I fucked up' bouquet since its starting price is twelve thousand yen.

     "The thought is appreciated but flowers aren't a good present for a nine-month-old," I point out, a ting of sadness aching in my chest. Yoshiki has officially been out in the world longer than I carried him for.

     It's been about two months since Gaara met his son and since we met Yoshiki's family. The Hokage keeps randomly showing up, never going longer than a week without appearing back in the village. More often than not he's only gone three or four days, and while he's away his older sister tends to show up.

     The extra help is nice, for the most part. I'm still a bit on edge about letting Temari help though. I don't like someone I barely know around my kid, even if it is his Aunt.

     The only person stressing me out more than Temari is Gaara himself. He seems cold most of the time, definitely not the blushing 'oh my this is happening' guy he was the night we spent together. He also seems to not know what he's doing, which I get if it wasn't for the older son he has. It leaves room for speculation.

     That and I can only imagine how the sand village is reacting. It's a good half-a-day trip either way, and with him spending so much time in the Leaf I'm sure his council isn't too happy, especially since rumor has it our council isn't too happy with his constant appearance.

     Pair all that with the constant shove of money in my face and it doesn't sit too well in the gut. I know he's doing it in good nature, the fancy dinners, constantly buying new things for Yoshiki and leaving money around the house when I deny it from him. I know it's all meant in good faith... I think, but it stresses me out too.

     I don't need Gaara to take care of us, to take care of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Yoshiki's father can offer him the nicer things in life and a part of me is glad that he wants to. But it still stresses me out. It makes me feel like he's setting himself up for a 'you owe me'. Another worry that doesn't get stomached too well.

     I haven't used any of the money Gaara keeps leaving behind. I have been saving it though, squirreling it away, keeping it as a little nesting egg in case Yoshiki and I do have to make a run for it. My father might have kept me blind to the Shinobi world but he didn't keep me blind from ways to keep myself safe. Rule number one: always have a packed to-go bag and an exit plan. At the rate things are going, that might just come in handy.

     "I know that," Gaara says a bit defensively, pressing the flowers to his chest before leaning them back towards me. "I got them for you," he mutters, eyes jumping around the apartment I'm in the middle of cleaning. "What is it that you are doing?"

     "Cleaning," I answer, eyeing the flowers. Is Gaara acting suspicious or am I being paranoid? We shall see. "Yoshiki has grown out of his pre-me clothes and some of the other outfits he has so I'm going through them. Whatever Konah and his wife don't want is going to be taken to the women's shelter."

     "Pre-me?"

     "It's short for premature. Yoshiki was born just short of thirty weeks. He was really small, three point two pounds. He's doing good now. His doctors say he's still a bit underweight but it's nothing to worry too much about. Just something to monitor." During my rant I've shuffled away from the door, focusing on folding more of Yosh's clothes and placing them in the box to bring Konah.

     "I was born premature," Gaara whispers, following behind me to watch as I fold.

     "My mother was too, so the chances of Yoshiki being a pre-me was always there. Besides that's a thing that comes from the mother's DNA, so don't work yourself up over it."

     "I was not going to," he murmurs, eyes jumping around the small space as his cheeks slowly dust themselves pink. I hum in disagreement, carefully watching as Gaara makes the short walk from the living room to the kitchen. "Where do you keep your vases?"

     "I don't have any vases."

     "What do you mean you 'do not have a vase'?" He asks, face scrunched up as he looks at me.

     "Exactly what it sounds like. I don't own a vase. Never have cause I've never needed one."

     "I am going to get you a vase."

     "You really don't need to, Gaara. I don't need a vase and I don't need flowers. I appreciate the gesture but I'm good," I tell him, panic banging around my chest at the thought of him buying me something else, much less more flowers.

     His head tilts and his face scrunches more before he shakes his head. "I am going to get you a vase," Gaara says more to himself than me, nodding in agreement with himself. "And new cups," he mutters, opening the cabinet, being met with the mix-match cups I've somehow gained over the years. "You shall have a vase and new cups next time I stop by."

     "I really, really don't need a vase and those cups work just as well as any others. I don't need new cups or anything else from you. I'm doing fine for myself and my son."

     "Our son."

     "My son," I repeat, feeling like I'm going to throw up despite the hardass tone I've managed to maintain.

     Gaara blinks at me a couple of times, seeming a bit dumb-founded and looking it as he stares, still holding the 'I fucked up' bouquet. "As you wish," he mutters, finally back in motion. He sets the flowers down before opening random drawers in search of something. When he finds it - a pad of paper and a pen - he goes to work scribbling on it. "Nonetheless, I shall walk around and make a list of things you two need."

     I let out a laugh of disbelief, clothes completely forgotten because of the madman's words. "No, you are not. I already told you -"

     "If you wish me to stay out of your room I will, but yes, I am going to figure out what it is that the mother of my child and our son needs," Gaara freezes for a second, imaginary eyebrows jumping up. "My apologies, what your son needs."

     "Are you being a smart-alec right now?" I ask, another disbelieving laugh leaving my lips. "Is that what you're doing?"

"No," he says matter-of-factly. "You are not okay with me referring to Yoshiki as something we share, so I will avert from doing so."

"Dumbass," I mumble under my breath, turning my attention back to the pile of clothes I'm giving away. "I got knocked up by a dumbass."

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"I'm just saying, Gaara is being a little much," I grumble, messing with my keys in search of the one that unlocks my front door.

"And I'm just saying, Gaara wants to take care of you. What's the harm in letting him?" Ino asks, her eyes are shiny with amusement.

"If you like the idea so much, ask him to take care of you," I groan, finally managing to get the key in the lock.

She laughs focusing on the grocery bags she's shifting in her arms. "Ya let me just ask Gaara to give me a baby too. I'm sure that'll go over well. Honestly, I still don't know how you managed to talk him into bed."

"You and me both," I mumble, pushing the door and leaving it open for Ino to follow. She does follow after me, silence flaking between us as we head towards the kitchen to place my groceries down.

     "Welcome home!" Shinki calls out, racing into the kitchen to greet us. "Oh! Hello Auntie Ino!"

     As Ino greets him, I head back out to the living room in search of Yoshiki. Panic starts to rise a bit when I don't find him - or Gaara.

     The panic doesn't last long though, the two of them falling into view when I push Yosh's nursery door open. Gaara looks uneasy as he sits in the rocking chair, my - our - son fast asleep on his chest. "Hello," he calls, stiffening when our son stirs in his sleep.

     "Hello," I echo, softly closing the door before I head towards them. "You know you can lay him in his crib," I tell him, carefully picking Yoshiki off his chest.

Gaara stiffens again, face scrunching up as he inches forward. "I am aware. I did not wish to."

A smile weighs on my lips as I cuddle with my son, pressing soft kisses to his head as I rock the sleeping boy. "Do you want him back when I'm done?"

He blinks at me in his slow way, his face slowly softening as he thinks. "Yes," he mutters, relaxing in the rocking chair again. "I enjoy our time here."

"I'm glad," I hum, soaking in my greeting to Yoshiki for another beat before I gently lay him back on his father's chest. "Yoshiki enjoys it when Shinki and you are here too."

"Do you enjoy when we're here?" Gaara asks, eyes locked on me, his stone-face expression on it like usual.

I think about it for a moment, trying to decide what answer to give: honestly or sugar-coated. "I enjoy spending time with Shinki, he's a sweet kid. I absolutely adore him. I'm happy the two of you are in Yoshiki's life." Both, that works.

"Are you happy we're in your life?"

"Yes," I answer before I have the chance to fully think about it. It's not a lie, I do enjoy having the Sand Shinobis around. I truly adore Shinki and like having him around. Gaara isn't terrible to have around either, it's nice having an extra set of hands, to have a man for Yoshiki to grow up looking up to, and I might have grown a bit fond of the flowers and the pale blue vase he got me.

He nods to himself, slowly rocking himself and Yosh in the chair as he spaces out. "How was your grocery shopping trip with Ino?" He finally murmurs, opal eyes set on me in their intense way. I swear Gaara can't look at anything calmly.

"It was alright. I think I'm going to make homemade ramen for dinner. I'm thinking of topping it with pork and boiled eggs."

Another spaced-out look and agreeing nod. "You should wait until Yoshiki wakes up so I can help you."

"I think I'm capable of - "

"- I know," Gaara cuts me off, eyes scrunched in a way that makes the markings of his eyes stand out. "I am aware you are capable of a lot of things. I am here to help, so I shall help. I wish you would let me help you more often."

I open my mouth to respond but get cut off again, this time by a knock at the door. "Hey, mamas," Ino's voice rings out as she opens the door, slowly poking her head into the room. "I have a meeting soon so I'm going to head out. Shinki is working on putting the groceries away. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your meeting, I'll see you later," I call back, waving at my friend before she pulls the door closed again.

"Let me help with dinner," Gaara butts in once the door is closed, ending my attempt to respond before I can even start it. "I want my sons to see me helping around the house. It is not fair for you to work all day and then come home to do the household duties. Let me help."

I let out a long sigh, crossing my arms over my chest as my eyes jump around the nursery. "Fine, you can help with dinner," I say, giving in to Gaara's request.

I suppose there's no harm in letting him help more around the house, especially since he and his son spend most of their time in the village here. Of course they don't sleep here, it's only a small two-bedroom apartment, but if they're not sleeping or spending time with friends and family in the village, they are here. Which means they're here most of the day.

As I leave Yosh's room, thoughts of getting a bigger apartment cross my mind. Should I start looking for a three-bedroom or a four-bedroom? Probably a three-bedroom, I don't think Shinki would mind sharing a room with his younger brother... maybe. I'll just look for both. After all, at the rate we're going Gaara isn't going to let up anytime soon.

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"You're doing that thing again," I grumble, shifting the strainer back and forth to shake the water out of the noodles I'm prepping for dinner.

"What thing?" Gaara asks, his eyes still intensely on me as they have been for the last ten minutes. I swear he hasn't even blinked during the time.

"That thing where you sit there and stare at me. You did it during..." My mouth snaps closed, not sure how to refer to our night together so long again. Not really, it's only been eighteen months. Though a lot has changed in that year and a half. "Our time together," I murmur, shaking the strainer harder.

"Did what?"

"Just sit there and stare. Even in my drunk stupor, it creeped me out a bit."

Gaara finally blinks a few times, slow and steady as he thinks of his response. "You are a very beautiful woman. Besides, I like to look at the mother of my children."

The plural use of the word makes the strainer tumble from my hands, crashing into the sink as I lean down to rest my weight against the edge of it.

"Are you okay?" Shinki asks, his head popping up from the wood blocks he and Yoshiki are playing with. Shinki is trying his hardest to teach his younger brother how to spell his name. I don't think he has grasped the concept of how young Yosh is yet. Still, it's been cute watching him try.

"Yes, sweetie. We're fine," I call before letting out a silent sigh, my eyes snap closed as the sink edge digs into my palms. "What the fuck, Gaara?" I hiss out quietly, refusing to let the boys see me lose my temper with their father.

"What?" He asks, blinking in his slow 'trying to comprehend' way that's starting to piss me off.

"Child, the mother of your child. Singular, one, I have had one baby. In total. Not just one of your sons, one in total."

"Yes, I know that," he says, face scrunching in lack of understanding. "But you are the closest thing to a mother Shinki has known, and I fully intend to get you pregnant again. Perhaps we will have a daughter this time."

"What the hell, Gaara?!" I yell before I can stop myself, snapping my eyes open and standing up straight.

"There is no need to yell. It is not something I plan on doing soon. There are things we need to get in order."

"Like what?" I hiss quietly, shifting closer so it's easier to keep my tone quiet. I don't need the boys noticing the fit heating up, and Shinki's glancing eyes let me know he's starting too.

"Well, I would like to get Yoshiki and you situated in the Sand Village, again not anytime soon if you don't wish it but preferably within the next couple of months. Then we will need to get the events in place for the wedding and of course the papers to update Shinki's adoption order. Then the matter of getting pregnant again. I do not mind the age gap between the boys but I think it would be best to have our next child sometime before Yoshiki is three or four."

"Get out." The words come out airy, disbelief and anger rooted in my mind.

"What?"

"Get out," I repeat, anger quickly outweighing my disbelief. "I need you to get out of my sight. I need you out of my home, I need you out of the village. I need you as far away from me as humanly possible. Get out, now."

"What is it that I've - "

"Get out!" I repeat, shouting at him now. My hands jump forward, connecting with his chest before I start shoving him out of the kitchen. "Out! Get out! Get away from me! Get away from my son! Go away!" I yell, continuing to shove him.

"I do not understand what it is that - " Gaara tries to say, his hands jumping up and gently cupping my elbows, he's not even trying to stop my shoving.

"I swear to the lord I'm going to stab you, Gaara. Go away," I shriek, tugging myself from his grip before slamming the front door open. Once the door is open, I go back to shoving him out of the house, leaving the Sand Hokage in the hallway before slamming and locking the door shut.

When I turn back around, Yoshiki is crying and screaming in fear because of my yelling. Shinki is wide-eyed and his mouth hangs open as he stares at me. "I swear," I mutter under my breath, taking quick steps towards my son. I swoop down, picking him up before I try rocking him. "It's okay, Yosh. I know, I know. Mommy is sorry for yelling. Everything is okay," I coo, shifting us back and forth as I rub his back.

"Are you kicking me out too?" Shinki's soft voice calls out, the volume being his failing attempt to hide his sadness.

"No, no. Of course not, sweetie," I continue to coo, my fake calmness aimed at him instead of Yoshiki. "I'll never kick you out of my home, okay? You're always welcome here," I continue to soothe, dropping the arm not holding Yosh down so I can run my fingers through Shinki's hair.

"This is a safe space for you, Love. I'm sorry I've made it unsafe," I continue to soothe the older boy, placing his younger brother back on the ground now that he's calmed down. I fall to my knees in front of Shinki, wrapping my arms around him and pressing his head to my shoulder. "How about we put Yosh in his high chair and you can help me make dinner, okay?"

"Okay," the older boy whispers into my shoulder, willingly laying his head down now. "I'm sorry Papa upset you."

"You don't have to be sorry for him. Just because I'm mad at Gaara doesn't mean I'm mad at you, Sweetie," I tell him, littering the side of his head with kisses. "Let's finish making dinner now, okay?"

"Okay."

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Ino lets out a loud chuckle, hunching over the counter as she giggles. "I'm sorry, it's really not funny... except it is."

A groan escapes me as I lay my head on the counter, rolling over my fight with Gaara again. "I do not know what is funny," Sai says, looking quite confused as his head switches between his wife and me. "I think it is nice that Gaara wants another child."

"My dear," Ino says, wrapping herself around Sai's arm. "Gaara's bluntness is what's funny. They barely know each other, they are nowhere near close enough to get married, let alone have another child together."

     "Well, why not?" He asks, head tilting as he looks at his wife. "Gaara is here about as much as he's away. They practically live together and already have one child together. The only person in the village who knows Gaara better than her is Temari... well, and possibly Naruto. It seems that the only way they are not married is by the law of the Great Nations."

     Now it's my turn to giggle at Ino's unaware father of her child. "Well," she starts, mouth gaping like a fish as she struggles with her words. "The... there's not the emotional part of it. No one should marry someone they don't love, Sai."

     "Are you blind, my love?"

      "What?!" Ino shrieks, letting go of Sai's arm.

     "Please calm down. I meant it in a joking way, not literally. I am just saying it is obvious that Gaara enjoys her company."

     "What do you mean?" I ask, turning my attention away from the hissy fit Ino is throwing.

     "Like I said before, Gaara spends a lot of time in the village. I am aware it is to see Yoshiki, but he seems quite interested in taking care of you as well. If he did not love you, why would he be interested in your specific needs? Personally, if I was not interested in the mother of my child, my sole focus would be on my child. I would not care about the mother is all I'm saying. My child's needs would be met and that's it."

     Ino's lecture about the hypothetical situation goes into full swing, a few groans of manners and politeness thrown into the mix. As she gets after her husband, I replay Sai's words in my head. Maybe he had a point, or maybe he didn't. I don't know.

     Gaara's and Shinki's constant travels have been weighing on my mind recently though. They travel to and from the village at least once a week, if not twice. It would be a lot easier on them if we all lived in the same village, and well... it would be easier for Yoshiki and me to move to the Hidden Sand than Gaara and Shinki moving here. After all, Gaara is their Hokage, and leaving that job wouldn't be easy or smart, financially.

     "Maybe I will," I mutter, letting out another sigh.

     "Maybe you will what?" Ino asks, stalling her discussion with Sai.

     "Maybe Yoshiki and I will move to the Sand Village. It's the least I can do since Gaara is doing so much for us. Besides, it would be easier for me to get a new job at the same pay I have now than it would be for him."

     Ino and Sia fall quiet for a couple of minutes, the weight of my words hovering over them as much as it's hovering over me. Ino finally pipes up, saying "Whatever you choose to do, we'll support you. Always."

I swear I'm never drinking a margarita for the rest of my life.

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#naruto shippuden #naruto shippuden oneshot #naruto shippuden x reader #Gaara Sabaku x reader #Gaara sabaku #Gaara sabaku oneshot #gaara x reader #Gaara oneshot

[randoimago]

Ino, Sakura, temari and tenten with a Ditzy s/o who's affectionate and despite being Ditzy their really strong.

Affectionate and Ditzy S/O

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Temari, Tenten

Type of Request: Headcanons

Notes: You got it!!

Ino

Oh Ino thrives off of the affection. Loves being the annoying PDA couple. Has interrupted a hug with you to yell at Shikamaru for complaining before hugging you again.

You being a ditz isn't a problem for her either! You're very cute and love her and that's good enough!

Likes feeling like she has her stuff in order since you're rather scatterbrained. Usually she feels like she's rushing to get things done but you make her feel levelheaded.

As for fighting, hell yeah you're a badass! Always cheering you on because you're amazing.

Sakura

Also thrives off of the affection. She does get more embarrassed if she’s in front of others as she wants to look strong and respectable and can’t do that if she’s melting because of something sweet you said.

She’s used to ditzy people unfortunately. So she does her best to keep notes for you and make sure to remember things that you’re sure to forget.

Honestly becomes like a secretary to you as well as your girlfriend. She doesn’t mind it too much.

Is happy to have you on her side when a fight breaks out. She knows you’re strong and can hold your own. Definitely calls you two a dynamic duo with your combined power.

Temari

There are many times when she’s sighing and questioning why she likes you. Your constant vying for her affection also makes her roll her eyes as she pats your head.

You’re an idiot. You end up losing track of time or things that are needed. And you forget what you’re doing.

She supposes that your forgetfulness can be rather endearing. But it still gets exhausting having to clean up your messes or make apologies on your behalf.

You being good at fighting does help her mood quite a bit. She knows you’re reliable should a battle happen.

Tenten

Oh she’s used to Lee being scatterbrained with everything except training so to date someone that’s pretty much the same is interesting. Except Lee can be focused on certain things, you’re more of an interesting case.

Doesn’t mind all the affection, but there is a time and a place.

Probably also doesn’t mind being affectionate in public as long as it’s not too over-the-top and making others uncomfortable.

Tenten loves training with you and actually going into battle with you because you really thrive then. Just try to be careful.

#naruto x reader #sakura haruno x reader #sakura x reader #temari x reader #tenten x reader #ino x reader #ino yamanaka x reader #the-ultimate-puppteer

[ghoste-catte]

What is the "Lee wins" au? Lee wins the chuunin exam fight against Gaara? Lee wins everything? Lee wins at life? /j

LOL it's Lee wins the chuunin exams.

If you want a more detailed summary, TW for suicide attempt and nasty injuries below

Basically, the premise is that Gaara faints during their fight due to a combination of Lee crushing his ribcage with a kick and the sight of his own blood, letting Shukaku take over. Lee gets injured, but not as profoundly as in canon. The "4th Kazekage" (Orochimaru in disguise) declares they have to kill Gaara, but Gai intervenes and Kakashi becomes suspicious when he recalls that Gaara is the Kazekage's son. Matters get even more suspicious when Orochi-kage isn't able to use the magnet release to subdue Gaara. The invasion gets stymied as a result. With a joint cooperative effort from multiple nations' worth of shinobi, Gaara is eventually taken down - severely injured, but not dead. Some experts are able to stabilize his seal a bit, but not quite permanently and to excruciating pain.

And while jinchuuriki do have healing powers, the powers are imprecise and basically just focused on keeping the vessel alive. Gaara recuperates in the hospital in Konoha, after undergoing - under great risk & extensive seal work - a surgery that removes several dead organs from his body and reconstructs his ribcage. Lee visits him from time to time. Ultimately he is told that he will no longer be able to fight (in his mind - protect himself & assert his existence), so he throws himself off the roof of the hospital. The sand catches him, of course.

Suna attempts to transfer Shukaku to Kankuro, but the sealing fails because Shukaku insists on staying bound to Gaara.

Years later, both of their paths have been utterly altered: Lee remains a taijutsu specialist but has become a special jounin with a focus on assisting wounded shinobi through rehab and physical therapy. Gaara has become an avid gardener and agricultural scientist, though severely limited by his physical disabilities. In addition Temari has become Kazekage and is constantly dodging assassination attempts by the Council, who consider her a traitor's daughter. There are several attempts to marry her off to control her, one she almost goes through with until Kankuro walks into the council chambers and announces his intentions to kill Temari's intended and his family, at the risk of war.

Lee and Gaara stay in touch by mail, though Gaara's mental health is perhaps as poor as his physical health, and he spends much of his time researching a seal that wil lock Shukaku away for good. The story is mainly epistolary from here.

Ultimately, Lee and Gaara reunite in Suna when Lee is dispatched as support on a mission, realize that the feelings that have been growing between them are more than a lasting friendship, and ... well, you can probably guess the rest :)

Anyway, this fic is SO SO plotty, so I will probably never write it, but it's fun to think about sometimes!

#answered #anonymous #gaalee

[kiigan]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: Theia

PRONOUNS : she/her or they/them

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : Discord please! It's faster and it's easier and it has a lot of extra functionalities for both chatting and roleplay. I don't mind the tumblr DMs but they are very unreliable and more than once I've experienced not being notified that somebody messaged me or vice-versa.

NAME OF MUSE(s) : Itachi, basically. However, on discord I've dabbed a bit at writing Kimimaro, Temari, and Rock Lee mostly for fun with friends. And I suppose I should mention I also write muses in other fandoms? Though the Naruto hyperfixation has been real as of late, but yeah, I also have muses in Star Wars, Fullmetal Alchemist, Resident Evil, and several Final Fantasy games.

BEST EXPERIENCE : I would say it's that moment you look at a reply from your partner and 1) you are in awe at their writing and portrayal and wondering how did you get so lucky to write with someone so talented, and 2) you can't wait to get to replying back, no matter how long the thread may be, and in fact you find yourself having so much fun with it and getting so engaged that you easily write back twice as much.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : Uhhh I would say it's probably to feel that my partner isn't as invested as I am. For example, if we agree to plot but I'm the only one suggesting ideas and coming up with scenarios, and all I get back is short replies or something generic like "I'm okay with anything". Or if we have a ship together (doesn't even have to be a romantic ship) and I'm the only one coming up with headcanons and sharing stuff that reminds me of our muses. By all means, we don't need to talk/ plot/ roleplay every single day! I get very busy myself and sometimes go radio silent. And, as someone who's autistic, trust me that I know very well the feeling of being socially awkward. But roleplay is a partnership and requires mutual investment. If I start feeling like I'm the only one excited about our muses and plots, that's gonna make me feel like I'm annoying you and, in turn, that's gonna be the fastest way to make me withdraw from it.

MUSE PREFERENCES: I have recently confirmed that my muse type is Tall and Handsome and Full of Trauma, and occasionally also full of eye gore. But also I am very drawn to "accidental" heroes, heroes that are heroes not out of a prophecy but because, within their limitations, they choose to do what is right and what is needed. And I am also very drawn to big brother figures?? A lot of my muses seem to end up adopting orphans and/or raising other people's children lmao.

PLOTS OR MEMES : I prefer plotting because, from my self-experience, non-plotted interactions get dropped far too easily (either by myself or by my rp partners). That said, I am also a big fan of letting the muses talk and choose what they want, even if it may go against something previously plotted. And I don't think this is incompatible with memes? I do love memes and they are super good for breaking the ice between people who never wrote together! And also super good to provide new scenarios with which to plot and develop upon.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : I have the tendency to write a lot, so I'd say long replies? Which doesn't mean I'm not interested in short ones! Especially because, sometimes, my brain is too mush to handle the long stuff so it's nice to have short ones to get some writing done. I just find it that, with muses like Itachi who rely heavily on introspection, it really is easy for me to get into it and write a lot more than originally planned.

BEST TIME TO WRITE : Whenever my brain is not dead from work, I guess. As of late, it's been a lot easier for me to write during weekends for this reason. I care a lot about my replies and I don't like to give back half-assed stuff, so really the best time is whenever I can sit down, relax, blast some music, and get to writing.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : I am definitely a nerd like Tachi and his perfectionism + obsessiveness come from my own. We are also both introverts and we both often occasionally have... trouble to keep a normal conversation going lol. And, honestly, we are both idealists.

tagged by: @fightaers & @fighterbound ♡ tagging: if you're reading this you're tagged by default~

#[dash games] #[ooc] i hope itachi is having a good day #[queued post]

[herehavesomeheadcanons]

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… 8 Christmas Trees!

Tamaki Amajiki

💙🐱Let's be real here, getting the tree set up is a group effort with the whole big three. Although… Tamaki isn't much help. Mirio had the bright idea to visit a Christmas tree farm so you guys could pick out and cut down your own tree.

💙🐱It was cold and snowy, as most December days tend to be unless you happen to be anywhere south of Kentucky (*realizes Japan is south of Kentucky* FUCK- oh well). You guys were so caught up in arguing over what was the best tree that you didn't realize you had lost Tamaki! You eventually found him hiding in the middle of a grove of fir trees, just chilling. He looked so adorable that you couldn't help sneaking a cuddle session with him!

💙🐱Once you finally settle on a tree and get it home, Mirio and Nejire are struggling to get the tree to stand upright in the stand. You and Tamaki are standing by giving directions ("a little bit left… now right…" "that's too much! It's gonna fall down!" "Shhhh Tamaki it's fine.").

💙🐱Decorating goes pretty smoothly after Tamaki's initial panic attack about the tree falling down. Nejire uses her quirk to fly up and get the ornaments on the highest bows, Mirio is just tall enough to get most of the middle of the tree, and Tamaki sits on the floor slowly hanging icicle decorations. If you want to help hang ornaments higher, Mirio can give you a boost (and give Tamaki another panic attack while he's at it!)

Fyodor Dostoevsky

🖤🐀Decorating with him is not a group effort. He wants it to be a special moment for the two of you, and Nikolai's antics would absolutely ruin the romantic feel. Don't even try to act sympathetic for that crazy clown, you KNOW I'm right.

🖤🐀He'll take you to a Christmas tree farm because it feels more authentic, and real trees smell better than fake ones anyway. Also there's less of a chance he'll be recognized as a terrorist in a small town. Despite being an anemic wreck, Fedya is not bothered by the cold in the slightest. He's Russian, what did you expect?

🖤🐀Ok now here's the funny part. Even with all his careful calculations about the correct tree size… he still can't get the tree in the stand without help (I'm taking FULL ADVANTAGE of his canonic anemia for full comedic potential!) He'll struggle for a good hour and a half on his own before he finally asks for help. ("Myshka… could you please lend me a hand? I seem to have overestimated my strength…")

🖤🐀Other than that everything goes smoothly. For a rat, Fyodor has a great sense of style, and is slightly obsessive about how the tree is decorated. The lights have to be in perfectly neat spirals, as do the tinsel and garland. And the ornaments have be color coordinated.

Gaara

❤️🏜️How you got a Christmas tree in the desert I have no idea, but we're gonna say ninja magic because why the fuck not. It's Christmas, not everything has to be well-thought out.

❤️🏜️You'll be decorating with Kankuro and Temari as well. Family has to stick together around the holidays!

❤️🏜️Temari is the neat freak, Kankuro is the slob, and Gaara is just happy to be there. While Temari is repositioning Kankuro's ornaments and hitting him with whatever she happens to have on hand, Garra is just calmly hanging ornaments on the tree with a small smile on his face. It's really cute!

❤️🏜️If you want to reach the highest branches, Gaara can definitely give you a boost. No need for dangerous ladders, he'll lift you up with his sand. It's much safer!

Ling Yao

👑💛Knowing Ling, there is no way you guys went and got your own tree. You just hijacked Ed and Al's Christmas! The Elric brothers were just minding their own business trying to untangle the lights, when you and Ling just popped in through the window!

👑💛It's an entertaining afternoon, to say the least. Ling has no idea what he's doing, but he's certainly eager to help out (even if he's not actually much help…) Ed is going to get mad and start screaming at something every 5 minutes. The lights won't untangle, he's too short to reach a certain branch, Ling took the ornament he wanted to hang, etc.

👑💛Ling seems to have a fun time getting on Ed's nerves, honestly. He knows Ed can't do shit about it cause he's the emperor, and he's living for it.

Zenitsu Agatsuma

💛⚡Decorating with the Kamaboko squad is definitely something. They all have such wildly interesting personalities!

💛⚡Of course you have to go get your own tree. Inosuke definitely wants the biggest tree in the whole forest! But Tanjiro and Zenitsu are both a bit more practical, so they're the ones that ultimately end up deciding. Zenitsu whines about the cold the entire time, and only shuts up when you wrap an arm around his shoulder and hold him close while you walk. Then, suddenly, he's not cold anymore.

💛⚡Tanjiro and Inosuke try to work together to get the tree in the stand while you and Zenitsu stand by and give directions. Inosuke is not good at following directions at all, but he's strong.

💛⚡Insouke keeps trying to climb the fucking tree to hang ornaments on the highest branches, and knocking other ornaments down in the process. Tanjiro is the peacekeeper. Nezuko is just happily hanging ornaments on the lower branches. Zenitsu is constantly screaming at Inosuke. It's utter chaos.

Obanai Iguro

🖤🐍Decorating with Obanai is very much not a whole squad activity. Obanai is a bit of an introvert by nature, so he'd rather it just be the two of you (and Kaburamaru). There will be time to decorate a tree with the whole Hashira gang later, but now is not that time.

🖤🐍Yes, you have to go cut down your own tree. Thankfully, Obanai is not obsessive about this process at all. He's perfectly content to let you handle it, and then he'll help you carry it home.

🖤🐍Putting the tree up also doesn't take much time. He might not look it, but Obanai is pretty damn strong (for a 5'3 severely underweight stick figure who doesn't eat-). He's also generally good at following your directions.

🖤🐍Perhaps one of the least obsessive men out there when it comes to decorating. He's not haphazard and chaotic, but he isn't going to reposition your ornaments when you're not looking. He's just a sweetheart, honestly. His only request is that Kaburamaru can put the star on top of the tree!

Freed Justine

❤️🎄Decorating a Christmas tree with a Christmas tree? Fantastic! Throw in the whole Thunder Legion and you've got a recipe for a fun Christmas!

❤️🎄Team bonding time arguing over which tree is the best! You and Bickslow don't actually have an opinion, you're just giving Freed and Ever a hard time for shits and giggles. Eventually Freed will pick out a spectacular tree, once he learns to just ignore your pretend opinions!

❤️🎄It takes forever to actually get the tree set up, because Ever is the one directing the boys which way they should tilt it to get it perfectly even. It doesn't help that you're giving them wrong directions just to mess with them! ("Left… bit more right… now left… bit more… right…" "Ever, can we please hurry this up? My back is starting to hurt." "You're doing great Freed! Tilt it more forward, towards us!" "No that's not right, don't listen to her!" "Y/n, please-")

❤️🎄After like, 2 hours of torture for Freed and Bickslow, you can finally start decorating! Evergreen is still being obsessive over every detail, and repositioning everyone's ornaments. Bickslow likes to mess with her by putting ornaments in the worst possible spots. You and Bickslow are also definitely trying to secretly hang some of the smaller ornaments in Freed's hair. You make it a competition to see who can get the most ornaments in his hair without him noticing! ("Hm… that's strange. I could have sworn there were more of these ornaments, but I don't see them on the tree…" *barely stifled snickering* "what's so funny, you two?")

Envy

🌴🖤Ah yes, chaos time. When you dragged a whole pine tree into the house, Envy was definitely curious. ("What the hell are you doing, human?" "It's a Christmas tree, Envy.")

🌴🖤He's not gonna help you put it up, just watch you struggle. Good thing you planned for this, and had the Elric brothers come over to assist! With their help things go pretty smoothly.

🌴🖤He's not gonna admit it, but he's actually intrigued about this particular tradition. Also he just likes the shiny ornaments. I hope you didn't plan on making the tree look nice this year, because Envy is a little shit who loves to get on people's nerves. He's going to reposition your ornaments when you're not looking. Not to make the tree look better, but to make it look much worse. Somehow he'll also manage to get himself tangled in the lights so you have to help him out. Not certain how THAT happened… how embarrassing.

🌴🖤Try to hang ornaments in his hair. It'll be fun :)

#mha x reader #Tamaki Amajiki #tamaki amajiki x reader #bsd #bungo stray dogs x reader #bsd x reader #bsd fyodor #bsd fyodor x reader #fyodor dostoevsky x reader #naruto #naruto x reader #gaara #gaara x reader #fma #fmab #ling yao #ling yao x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #zenitsu agatsuma #zenitsu agatsuma x reader #obanai iguro #obanai iguro x reader #fairy tail x reader #freed justine #freed justine x reader #fma envy x reader #fmab envy x reader #sc's twelve days of christmas event #christmas event

[jesseevelann]

Are there any cool little things you'd like to add to the naruto universe? Like jutsus, lil plot points or fun traditions for anyone.

I want to see Naruto utilise his lava, magnet and boil release that isn't just in Rasengans. I want to see him spit out Lava and use more jutsu that isn't just shadow clones and Rasengans. I want to see Sakura use Genjutsu and use fire release, use jutsu like shadow clones or use massive ass weapons that no normal person can lift. I want to see Temari and Shikamaru team up and protect Shikadai using their combined intellect and power, or Temari use a bladed weapon like a sickle, something like what Kamatari uses. I want more unique stuff that not a lot of people would expect. Also I wanna see little inside things. Like Temari laying on a couch with Gaara and Kankuro passed out on top of her and beside her, or Naruto and Sakura playing cards or making stupid bets, or Shikamaru and Chouji talking about their wives over lunch. Shikamaru teaching Temari Shogi, and Temari falling asleep out of boredom. Sakura helping Sasuke cook and Sasuke getting embarrassed by how tall she is. Small moments that show a little bit more of the characters.

#jesse answers #naruto #naruto shippuden #boruto the next generation #naruto uzumaki #sakura haruno #sakura uchiha #temari no sabaku #temari nara #shikamaru nara #temashika #kamatari #gaara no sabaku #kankuro no sabaku #sasuke uchiha #sakusasu #sasusaku

[chattegeorgiana]

Hello!! I'm really interested in your story. May I ask what are the character's roles? Do Naruto and Sakura work? I hope in your story Sakura is still the Head of Medicine of Konoha. I'd love it if she's still director of her clinic, director of Konoha Hospital, Head of the Medical Department, teacher and head doctor. I hope you guys give Sakura what she deserves that she also has now but that the manga actually refuses to make canon for now.

I hope Naruto isn't a miserable Hokage either. Also do Temari and Karui have a job too? I hope Hanabi is the head of her clan and Ino is a florist. That's all I ask when I read. I love my successful Sakura.

Hi there! I'm assuming you read the manga version of Kaika Saisei.

Given everything is still in its early stages Naruto and Sakura don't yet work other than being shinobis, but I will have Naruto become Hokage of course & Sakura will have more than the director of her own clinic & Konoha hospital and all that.

What I have in mind in nature is similar to that, just tad bit taken to a bigger level.

But no worries though, Sakura will get her rightful spot. After all this is a story that centers on her development more than the medical aspect even.

For Karui and Temari I don't have much yet developed as for now I have focused on the development of Sakura, Hyugas & Konoha 11. But given the universe at large that I'm preparing and its adjacent plots, Karui & Temari will surely find their spots. :)

So all I can say is keep tight and follow Kaika. I'm sure you'll love what's in store. :D

Thank you for your interest in Kaika!

#sakura haruno #kaika saisei #kaika au #naruto #naruto au #naruto fanfiction #naruto fancomic

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my mind while watching this episode:

--Hang on, I'm still having a moment over the Tanjiro & Nezuko bond which carries this whole series.

--Also, "Unwavering Resolve" is such a good name to give the whole first season as a single arc, as Tanjiro truly as building more and more resolve over the course of this season not simply to find a way to restore Nezuko's humanity, but to follow Kibutsuji Muzan to the end of the earth to destroy him for all the suffering and ruin he's caused to demons and humans alike.

--Also as a brief aside to mentally take me back to the start of this episode instead of the end, "Gurenge" has such great drums. The timing of those of rolls on Tanjiro tumbling? Excellent. Also, the changing traditional patterns in the title cards? Very, very excellent. In the previous episode we had temari balls against a traditional arrow pattern, and in this title card we get a lovely blend of Nezuko's asanoha and Tanjiro's ichimatsu.

--Playing with the physics of Yahaba's abilities as a way to showcase Water Breathing continues to be fun! What a great review of common techniques, or at least the ones Tanjiro feels he can rely on most now for having used them in real combat! But, for as exhausted as Tanjiro feels using these techniques one after another in succession, I wonder how he'd look back at himself after learning to sustain Total Concentration Breathing?

--Meanwhile, Kanao is probably doing that much every night, without breaking a sweat.

--Meanwhile, Genya is biting demons for lack of any other way to stay alive when cornered.

--Anyway, Tanjiro pushing past physical exhaustion to grab his sword with his teeth is the kind of grit he's still going to have to rely on when fighting Muzan.

--There is a part of me that is sad that in Kimetsu Academy it's Kanao who is pursued by all the sports clubs, Nezuko should had at least been asked to joined the soccer club. Maybe Susamaru and Ume gossip nastily about Nezuko behind her back.

--It felt heavy handed the first time around having Tamayo state explicitly that she only gave Nezuko something to help in recovery, not something to make her stronger. However, being the meta person I am now, I appreciate how clear it is as a display how quickly Nezuko evolves, albeit in simplistic ways of just "get stronger, get stronger." Maybe she couldn't stand up to the ball before, but if there's her goal, then she can put her cells to it. This sets a good precedent for when Nezuko later needs to very rapidly give herself a lot more physical strength to overpower Daki; we know that she's been practicing this the whole time.

--Tanjiro states in this episode that he doesn't like that Nezuko is under a hex, but feels assured that she has a will of her own. His says this in response to Nezuko recognizing the humanity in Tamayo and Yushiro (which Tamayo so sorely misses), but Nezuko displays her conscious will more clearly in expressing her opinion that she wishes to stay at Tanjiro's side and fight, and her will to empower herself. How conscious she is of that self-empowerment, or how much of it was instinctual to her, is debatable.

--Jumping back a bit, Tamayo-sama is so beautiful when she uses this Blood Technique too.

--I forgot that the curse doesn't totally kill the demons, it just breaks them to pieces (and clearly, even Yushiro is shook but how brutal it is). Susamaru isn't put out of her misery until the sun comes up... poor child. The fact that the ball didn't disappear implies that this was the original one her father gave her, perhaps.

--Yushiro has so many good sound angry sound effects.

--Yushiro, I cannot focus on anything Tamayo is saying with all these great faces you're making behind her.

--This episode concludes with Tanjiro finding his way downstairs right after the sun comes up, the demons meeting him in the hall, Nezuko giving everyone hugs, Yushiro announcing they're leaving, Tamayo asking if they can take Nezuko with them for her safety, Tanjiro painfully considering it, but then declining after the clear display of Nezuko's wishes to the contrary (sorry Mom & Rokuta, Nezuko wants to fight, and she then starts bounding up the stairs). Tamayo wishes them well, Yushiro admits that Nezuko is pretty, and Tanjiro, very pleased to hear this, follows Nezuko.

--TWO PROBLEMS:

-----Nezuko, it's daylight, come back!!

-----Tanjiro, your ribs are broken, come back!!

--Perhaps there was a time skip of them spending the whole day in the basement together until Tamayo makes the offer in the evening, and Tanjiro still happens to be wearing his haori the same way over his shoulders. I don't have to nitpick. It's just fun to sometimes.

--Something that always bothered me about Nezuko's hex is that it's unclear how aware she is of her family having been murdered. I was always sort of waiting for the horrific moment she finds out she was duped, though it seems we somewhat got that in the form of Nezuko coming to this realization with full force as she regains her humanity. She also recalls a lot of faces in that time, including Tamayo's and Yushiro's, so my guess is that the hex lost effect over time as it was less necessary, as well as that she always sort of knew her family was dead and these were different people, whose faces she did indeed take in, but in her simple-mindedness she gave in to comforting delusions.

--I also wonder if Urokodaki never intended for her to take the "see all humans as your family" thing so literally, and instead all he really wanted to stress was the "humans must be protected" part.

--TANJIRO IMITATING TENNOJI MATSUEMON IN THE TAISHO SECRETS, THO

#kny rewatch #my art

[kudouusagi]

Kyou Kara Maou! S images

So, they announced last year in January that MaruMA was getting a new manga series called "Kyou Kara Maou! S" that was supposed to come out last summer but it never did, I don't think they ever said why it just didn't happen? I haven't been playing enough attention to this series though. They've just published a few pictures on comicbushi and I swear I was looking at the past pictures a few days ago when they posted chapter 0 for Yuuri's birthday that I just translated but now they've taken them down so I had to search the internet to try to find backups of them... I think I found them all? lol

They might not be the best quality anymore but I didn't think about downloading them when they were still up a few days ago. Since I didn't see that they were going to expire and they had been up for months.

Maybe now that they've published chapter 0 they'll actually start publishing the series.

There's also a short story from Takabayashi that they published for new years that I've been meaning to translate up on the comicbushi website but I saved that months ago I just need to work on it lol.

I also have 2 drama cds that came out in 2018 and 2019 that I am planning on translating soon too.

So here's the translations for these images

The first one of Yuuri and Wolf was published in January 2021 when they announced they were making a new series and it says

"It's still a bit in the future but please look forward to it~! (Matsumoto Temari: artist)

I thought about what the "S" stands for. Going in order of sa, shi, su, se, so: Surprise! Hot water (Sapuraizu! Sayu), Short! Shishamo (Shoto! Shishamo), Setup! Alderfly (Settoappu! Sennpuri), Sword and Sheild! Soumen (Sodo and Shirudo! Soumen). Choose whichever you like! (Takabayashi Tomo: Writer) "

(TN: This doesn't make much more sense in Japanese that's as good as I got lol)

----------------

The second one was published for valentines day last year and it says

Yuuri: Japanese chocolate is good, isn't it? That white one has a strawberry in it and this place one has alcohol in it.

Conrad: I like black so if it has brandy in it that's even better

Gwendal: ......

Wolfram: Your retainers shouldn't eat black things, it's disrespectful! ......so I'll take the white one. Note near Wolf: Black is the color of nobility for Mazoku

Paper on Gunter: Banned from chocolate. (So he doesn't get his juices on them)

---------------------

The third one was posted for white day and it says

Note: At the Shibuya Household

Shouri: Last month there was setsubun and national foundation day and this month is the vernal equinox. There's no time for whatever white thing you're talking about

Yuuri: Eh? But there baseball season opens this month, too

Murata: Like I said, this doesn't have anything to do with white day but I baked some cookies

(TN: I feel like there was a second part to this image but I can't find it online.... RIP second part. If you have it let me know lol)

------------------

The fourth picture doesn't say anything it's just for Yuuri's birthday last year.

#Kyou Kara Maou #MaruMA

[narutofanfics]

Temari fell back on her bed into her duvet fort, hugging herself tight as tears streamed down her already wet cheeks. Her vision was watery and blurred and her room was as dark as night. Instead of interrogating on why their sister was so depressed, her two brothers, Gaara and Kankuro had packed their bags and decided to stay in a hotel for the foreseeable future if they wanted their heads to be intact.

Temari though she was strong. She always though 'if he breaks up with me I wouldnt give a shit'. That's what she thought, but what was she doing? Crying herself to sleep everyday because a white haired he-demon decided he didn't like her anymore and decided to break up with her. When he proposed his idea to her she thought she felt overwhelmed, happy she was finally out of his controlling clutches, but then it really dawned on her how much she relied on him.

Who was going to pay for her school fees and house bills? Who was going to give her money to buy her groceries every week because she was too much of a miser to spend her own money. She groaned into the body pillow she had her leg wrapped around and more tears streamed down. And then she heard her phone vibrate over the pile of duvets and pillows, which required a bit of digging before she got hold of the device. "Hello?" The voice crack made her cringe so much she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Babes, you will not believe what I just saw!"

"What did you see?" Her voice was a little stable though the brunette on the other side seem to pay not attention to her voice.

"I really hate to be a barer of bad news but I just saw your boyfriend's post on insta of him kissing a girl that's not you!" She felt her heart shatter all over again. It hadn't even been up to a week and he already found someone else. She let out a slow, low breath to stop more tears from flowing out. Clearing her throat, she spoke up.

"I know, we kinda broke up-"

"What?!" She could hear her friend take in a really sharp breath over the phone, trying to calm herself down. "I'm getting a flight back to Konoha. That bitch is gonna die."

"TenTen calm down. I'm fine- managing, but fine. Don't let my break up get in the way of your honeymoon. When I'm done wallowing up in sadness, us and the gang can go kill him together." She could hear TenTen click her tongue on the other side and could sense a minor tantrum swelling up.

"Yes but-" she took a deep breath for the umpteenth time, "Are you okay? Have you eaten? What have you eaten that is not ice cream and yogurt? You better not be watching depressing RomComs, put some make up on! Have you gone for a run-"

"TenTen!" There was a pause on the other side before both parties let out a loud sigh.

"At least call someone like Shikamaru or something, the rest would probably be busy with babies and shit, you know what? I'm pretty sure you have a headache so go have some paracetamol and I'll call Shikamaru to come over to yours ok?"

"Wait-" Before she could oppose the idea, the line dropped. She click her tongue in annoyance as she sloppily dropped her phone and fell back into her depressing position. At times like these she wished to slap TenTen across the face, but this time the latter was overseas in the Land of Snow with her husband for their honeymoon. At least she was having a fun time, while she was back in Konoha, sulking and wallowing up in sadness.

Just then, her door bell rang but she didn't have the energy and dedication to peel herself out of bed and open the door for who ever was standing outside. After a few more rings and knocking on the door, the person finally got the memo and unlocked the door themselves. Now she was getting ambushed by someone who had her house key. Well isn't that fantastic?

"Temari?" A deep voice called into the deserted house and her tense muscles see to relax a bit, knowing she wasn't being ambushed by a stranger but her best friend. His footsteps become louder as he opened every door before opening the guest room door she was digging her grave in. As soon as he saw her state, he let out a disappointed sigh, "Seriously? TenTen told me to rush over to yours with a bunch of chocolate bars and tissues and McDonalds and a whole bunch of cup ramen. All Naruto's by the way."

Temari forced herself to not roll her eyes as she sat up, flinching slightly due to her throbbing headache. She felt like millions of hammers were being dropped violently on her head. She blamed her ex. "Well sorry for feeling sad when something bad happens to me. Besides, I thought I was being ambushed by an assassin who wanted me gone!" Now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"What part of you breaking up with that jerk is sad?" He scrunched up his nose, walking up to the messed up bed and climbing under the duvet tower she had made for herself. He placed the food down between them and stared into her puffy eyes, "For all I know, breaking up with him should be the happiest thing to ever happened in your life." Temari scoffed grabbing a chocolate and opening it. She bit into it and leaned onto his shoulders.

"But he was such a jerk though, so controlling and shit, I couldn't even go to sleepovers with the girls with him ringing me every two seconds cuz he thought I was cheating!" Shikamaru nodded his head and bit into his own chocolate bar, "And he was such a bitch as well, like it was engraved into it, like he was designed and programmed to be a professional in bitchiness! He put his legs in for little kids to trip over and then laugh, like do you know how low and immature that is?"

Shikamaru shook his head, slowly blinking his eyes, "That's just another level of mean."

"Exactly! And that asshole made me wear revealing shit, I don't even know how I fell in love with him in the first place, like what did I see in him?"

"I should be asking you that question, what did you see in him?" She shrugged her shoulders violently, still leaning on his. She offered his her bar of chocolate and he took a bite from it.

"To be honest, I don't know either. And he was so touchy as well, like I'd be cooking and he'd come and grab my ass like  excuse me, ever heard of consent? I didn't give you permission to grab my ass thank you!" Shikamaru frowned at her compliment. He chewed on his chocolate bar faster as his brows knitted closer together. "And he's always be asking me to seal the deed with him and when I say no he starts bitching about it saying I don't love him. That, he sure is right about!" She grabbed an umpteenth bar of chocolate and peeled it open.

She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting her head drop onto his laps. He felt her tears on his trousers and watched her hug herself into a small vulnerable ball as she squeezed her eyes shut. He placed his hand on her head, rubbing and massaging her scalp. "I'm just glad in have a good friend like you." He felt his heart crumble into pieces an fall into a deep never ending hole. Friend.

"Yeah." He spoke in a low voice, slowly nodding his head. "Hey, do you want to go out? Its's a bit dark and suffocating in here." Temari looked up at him, a cocky grin on her face as if she had not been on the edge of crying herself to sleep.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" She narrowed her eyes in a taunting manner, turning her body round to face him. Shikamaru only shrugged his shoulders, a knowing smile on his face. "Wait, actually?" Shocked, she sat up staring at him expectantly. The male only stood up and pulled the curtains open and allowed natural light to pool into the dark room. Temari hissed, hiding her head under the blankets to avoid the blinding sunray.

"Let's go for a walk." She blinked slowly at him, getting up slowly from her position,

"Um, ok..."

More of Shikatema on my Wattpad @xx_anyaforger. Hope you like it.

#anime #writers on tumblr #fanfic #naruto #shikatema #fiction #writers #shikamaru x temari #naruto shikamaru #temari #tenten

[13as07]

Spitting Image #4

(Gaara Sabaku)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to silent.rosario]

Requested by: Myself

Word Count: 4,077

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Part five? Maybe. Prequel? Also maybe. Y’all’s thoughts?

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     I have spent the last year and a half shifting between being thankful to Gaara and hating him. At this moment, I hate him. I am hot, sweaty, sunburnt, with sand in crevices I didn't know existed. And, this camel isn't too comfortable to ride. I am tired and irritable. Honestly, I'm just being a bitch right now and I know it. Sadly for Gaara, he's on the wrong end of the bitch stick.

     On the plus note, Yoshiki seems to be living his best life. Courtesy of his father's genes, the heat doesn't seem to bother him. If anything, he's enjoying the temperature and the feeling of the sand Shinki keeps playing with him in.

     "My Dear - "

     "Call me that again and I'll cut your tongue out," I hiss at Gaara, stopping whatever attempt at comforting he was going to offer this time. "I am not your dear, we are not together, you're nothing more than the father of my child. Don't let this move convince you otherwise."

     He goes stone-faced, slowly blinking in that dumb way he does when he's thinking. "Perhaps we shall spend the day cooling off once we get back to the village. I think the heat is getting to you."

     "And I think you're a dumbass with a weak pull-out game," I mumble under my breath, shifting on the camel saddle again.

     "My dear - "

     "I'm going to stab you."

     " - would you like me to get you down? Maybe stretching your legs will help you feel better. You get antsy if you stay still too long. Besides, I'm sure Shinki could use the rest."

"Jerk," I mutter, rolling my eyes at the man. As if he knows what will make me feel better.

I know he heard me, the proof being the slow blinking of his eyes again. Regardless, Gaara's hold on the camel's reins drops to grip my waist. He helps me down, sight as intense as ever as he settles me on my feet. "See? Better. Now, please be nice," he mutters, hands sliding over my sides to brush off some of the sand specks. "I'm not too fond of the attitude you have at the moment."

"Ya? You won't be too fond of my foot up your - "

"Papa?" Shinki calls, cutting off my empty threat. "Can Yoshiki ride the camel with me?"

"Yes."

"No," I answer, head snapping towards Gaara. "No, it's not safe," I repeat, glaring at the boys' father who seems confused by my decision.

     "It will be fine. Shinki has been carrying him, what would the difference be if he kept carrying him?"

     "Instead of a four-foot fall, it would be a seven-foot fall?!" I say more than ask, dumbfounded by the shinobi's thought process. "Not to mention it's a bumper ride than just walking with him in his arms. It'll be harder to hold him especially if he wiggles around."

     "It will be fine," Gaara repeats, lifting Shinki - with Yoshiki still in his hold - onto the camel.

     "It will not be fine. Gaara, get him down!" I shriek, panic quickly feeling me up. "What if he falls? What if - "

     "What if you calmed down?" He asks, leaning in to bump his nose against mine. I stand there stunned, blinking at the dumbass as my panic quickly grows into anger. "My apologies, Shikamaru does that to Temari when she gets a bit much to handle. It tends to calm her down, it does not calm you down."

"Of course it's not going to calm me down! My baby is up way too high! The chances of him falling and getting hurt"

"He is fine, my dear. Shinki is not going to drop him, and even if he does - which he will not - I am right here to catch him. Please calm down. Your irritation is starting to irritate me."

Before I can stop myself, my hand swings forward, having a mind of its own. A mind to smack the stupidity out of Gaara. The hit doesn't land though, he catches my wrist before I have a chance to touch him. "Perhaps while the boys take a dip in the springs, we can have some alone time. My brother tells me women can get irritable when their bedroom needs have not been fulfilled in a while."

He has to be kidding, right? Gaara can't be this stupid, this naive, this unaware of the things he says. "What the hell is your problem?" I hiss, trying and failing to tug my wrist out of his hold. "What part of 'we aren't together' do you not understand?"

Another round of slow blinking, making the black markings of Gaara's eyes stand out. I like his markings, the ones around his eyes, the one on his forehead. They're what originally caught my attention, but I can't think of that right now, because he is an irresponsible idiot.

"Would you like to sit on the camel with the boys? Would that calm you down?"

"Yes."

He lets out a soft sigh before turning away from me, going to work situating the three of us in the saddle. "Better?" He mumbles, his hand clinging to my thigh I have pressed against the sides of the animal.

"I guess," I murmur, trying to shake his hand off. "Can we get going? I feel like I'm melting."

"As you wish, Dear."

                      ————————————

All I can think about is a cold shower and a nap as Gaara leads us around the streets of his village. Yoshiki has the same idea, my son is fast asleep, cuddled up in the back wrap his father is carrying him in. Shinki is fast asleep too, my watchful eyes on him as he rests in the saddle.

     "My dear - "

     "Stop calling me that."

     "My dear," he repeats, stopping in his tracks. "What is it that you want made for dinner?"

     "What do you want for dinner?" I ask, leaning closer to take a peek at Yoshiki. "I can make whatever you want. I'm not really in the mood to eat anything."

     Gaara's head tilts as his face scrunches up. "You do not have to cook anything for dinner. We have chefs at the palace. They shall cook us dinner."

     "What?"

     "My dear," he annoyingly says for the hundredth time today. "There is staff at the Hokage palace. They take care of things so there is less I need to do. Cooking, cleaning, all that stuff."

     "Oh," I mutter, the fears that come along with this move amping up again. "That's... useful."

     "Yes, it is. I will have to get Yoshiki and you ID cards for the palace but for now it should be fine. I also - " Gaara goes on a ramble about the things he needs to do to get our son and me settled.

     I let his ramble go on as I follow after him. Soon a round-looking building with a red symbol falls into view, standing out from all the sandstone buildings. "Gaara?"

     "Yes, my dear?"

     I brush off the nickname this time. "What's that building?" I ask, pointing to the symboled building.

     His eyes flicker towards where I'm pointing before falling back to me. "It is my home, our home. It is our home," he rambles, tugging in the camel's reins before his free hand falls to grip mine. "Let me take you home," he whispers, tugging all of us forward.

     What I think is eagerness flows off the man who's almost dragging me forward. "You seem excited," I tease, letting my eyes flicker down to our joint hands. I don't know how I feel about it. It's not the worst feeling in the world, it's actually pretty nice. Maybe I'm being too harsh, maybe I'm not giving Gaara enough credit, or enough effort.

     "I am not excited. I am... I would like to see my family in my house. I would like to see that a lot."

     "So, excited?" I repeat, a smile crawling on my face. Maybe I should give him a chance, he is trying really hard after all. "Gaara?"

     "Yes, my dear? Have you given some thought to us enjoying our marital perks?"

     Just kidding. Gaara is an idiot who doesn't know boundaries. "No," I mutter, shaking my hand loose from his. "Just a reminder, we're not married."

     "Not yet, but - "

     "But never," I cut him off, leaning closer to him long enough to pull Yoshiki out of his carrier wraps. "We're not going to get married. Not now, not soon, not never," I hiss, holding my son to my chest as I storm away from him.

     "My dear? Will you calm down? I don't understand why you're upset," he calls after me, trailing behind as I rush towards the palace.

     "Because you're suffocating, Gaara," I shriek, quickly walking up the steps of Yosh's and my new home.

     "I'm suffocating? What do you mean? I don't understand, dear. Would you please explain what is happening?"

     "Dear Lord, Gaara!" I yell, turning to the side so I can look at him and not fall down the stairs. "That! You're trying so hard and... and... go away!"

     I storm the rest of the way up the stairs, Yoshiki now awake, my upsetness rubbing off on him and warming up his tantrum. "Ma'am!" A man at the entrance calls. His head is covered in a wrapping and one of those hourglass headbands I've seen around the village hangs around his neck. "You cannot enter the palace without showing your ID badge."

     "Bug off," I groan, storming past him to push the door open.

     "Madam, don't make you detain you," the man calls, jumping forward to tug my hand off the door.

     "Norio, unhand her this instant!" Gaara calls anger coating his face and his words. "She and my son are free to come and go as they wish. If you ever put your hands on her again, you will not be found by anyone. There won't be anything to find, am I understood?"

     He's fuming by the time the threat is let loose, jaw locked and murder swimming in his eyes. The look makes my heart pound in my chest and my arms tighten around my son. This isn't how Gaara acts, he's soft-spoken, he's gentle, he doesn't yell, and he sure as hell doesn't threaten to kill people.

     "Yes, Kazekage. My apologies, my lord," the guard says, releasing me before he bows. "My greatest apologies consort Kazekage."

     "My dear," Gaara calls, helping his son to his feet before working his way up the stairs. "Would you please calm down?"

     "Would you please leave me alone?" I shout, walking through the door before slamming it in his face.

     I storm through the palace, rocking Yoshiki who has started screaming in my arms. This village is suffocating, this house is suffocating, Gaara is suffocating. I thought he was just scary looking, that it was just how he looked, but after how quickly that threat came out and how upset he looked, I don't think it's just a façade.

     "It's okay, my love," I coo, shifting Yosh further up so I can cover his cheeks in kisses. "It's okay... we're just... in a village I know nothing about, with the only person I know being your father, who is scary as hell," I mutter more to myself than to Yosh. My soft tone works nonetheless, calming him down.

     As my son soothes down, I look around the random hallway we've ended up in. The thought of calling for Gaara crosses my mind, quickly being followed by the fear the scene outside has littered my nerves. "What position did I put us in?" I murmur, shifting Yoshiki in my hold. He smiles at me, hands landing on my cheeks to squish them as he babbles.

     "Lady Sabaku?" A voice calls, a young lady with a long head of raven hair asks, her head poking out from a door a few paces ahead. "Lord Gaara said you'd be home today. I have drawn an ice bath for you if you'd like to cool off. I'm sure the heat of the desert has gotten to you."

     My eyes flickered between Yoshiki and the woman, my nerves still shot. Is this a trap or am I just uneasy? However, I could use the cool down and Yosh is covered in sand. "Yes, I'd enjoy that," I finally decide, slowly walking forward. "Thank you...?"

     "Gou," the woman says, bowing once I'm stood in front of her. "My name is Gou, Lady Sabaku. I am your handmaid, my lady."

     "Handmaid?" I ask, shifting Yoshiki again. I don't know why he seems so heavy today. Probably because of the heat still seeping off my skin.

     "Yes, my lady," Gou says, standing up straight before she snaps her fingers. The door swings open wider, another lady - this one with short red hair - pops out from the room. "This is Sana. She is the palace nanny. Her primary focus is Shinki but until we find a nanny you approve of for Yoshiki, she will aid you in caring for him."

     "I... don't want her touching my son...s," I say, making it plural toward the end. If she's Shinki's nanny, Gaara must approve of her, so she's a good person... maybe? I don't know, especially after Gaara's little power trip.

     "As you wish, my lady. Give me a few moments to prepare your bath to suit Yoshiki joining you," the woman mumbles before turning on her heels.

     "Wait!" I call, holding my son closer to my chest as the Sana lady bows before walking down the hallway. Gou stops in her tracks, turning back towards me. "What... what is a handmaid?"

     "It means I am your personal servant. I am here to serve you in any way necessary, at any time, for anything you need. I am at your serves, my lady." She finishes off the little speech with another bow. "What you and our prince still like an ice bath?"

     "Yes, please."

                      ————————————

     My eyes are locked on the boys through the cracked door. As I've been soaking in the bath, Shinki and Yoshiki have been playing with Shinki's nanny. She seems nice, which has helped me calm down a bit. Shinki is bouncing on the guest bed, making his younger brother tumble around from the mattress moving. The nanny promptly sat on the bed, leaning over the mattress to help keep my son upright and not accidentally stumbled on.

     There's a knock on the door before Gaara's head pops in, cutting off my view of the boys. "Hello, my dear."

     "I've told you to stop calling me that," I mumble, sliding deeper into the bathtub.

     "As you wish, my... darling," he mutters the last word, imaginary eyebrows scrunching together as he walks into the bathroom. "It seems that you have settled. I have had Gou and some of the other servants unpack your things."

     "In there?" I ask, flickering my eyes towards the bedroom.

     "Of course not. It's been unpacked into - "

     "We are not sharing a bedroom," I cut him off, sinking even lower, the water settling over my shoulders now.

     "Not for the time being. You will stay in the master bedroom. I shall stay in a guest room unless you are comfortable with us sharing a bed."

     "I'm not."

     "Then I shall stay in a guest room," he mutters, his eyes scanning the bath water before they flicker towards the window in the room. His cheeks are a light pink color, a bit blown out as he stares at the street outside. "Kankuro tells me it sounds like I have scared you. Is that true? Did I scare you?"

     "Maybe," I mutter, skirting my fingertips over the surface of the water. "You were a little... harsh with Mr Security Guard. You don't usually act like that and... it was scary."

     Gaara lets out a sigh before he sinks to the tiled floor. His chin rests on the side of the tub, his cat-like eyes locked on my face as he stares at me. His eyes are intense, not the 'I'm going to murder someone' intense but the usual 'trying to figure you out' intense.

     "I did not mean to scare you," he whispers, eyes flickering down before they settle on my face again. "I just..." his cheeks puff out for a second as his eyes jump around, ending up settling on the boys still playing in the bedroom. "I did not like how it made me feel... seeing the palace guard grabbing at you. It made me a little... I don't know."

     "You don't know what?" I ask, blowing on the water to cause it to ripple.

     "I don't know how you make me feel. I enjoy... you, but you make me very angry. Especially when you get angry and won't tell what I have done."

     I scan the confused man for a moment, taking in the dark circles of his eyes that are more visible because of his scrunched-up face. Slowly, I move my hand out of the water to cup Gaara's cheek, confusion flickering across his face as his focus shifts to me again.

     "Gaara?"

     "Yes, my dear - er - darling?"

     I swipe my thumb over his cheek watching the confusion slide around his face. "You can be a little much sometimes. Just because we have a child together doesn't mean I want to, let alone am ready for us to be together."

     "I don't make you feel good?" He asks, his soft confusion is quickly bubbly to angry confusion. "You make me feel... nice. Why don't I make you feel nice? I do not understand."

     "You do, sometimes. You made me feel really nice the first time I met you - "

     "Well yes, that is what sex is for. To make people feel good."

     "Not just the sex, Gaara," I groan, dropping my hand from his face and letting it soak into the bath water again. "You move too fast. I am happy you want to be with me and I like having you around, but there are some steps between being strangers to being a married couple."

     "I am aware, but we... missed some steps. I like how you make me feel and you have had my son. I want you to be my wife, so you shall be my wife. That is what we are supposed to do."

     "Gaara."

     "My darling?"

     "I will make you a list."

     "A list?"

     "Yes, a list," I mutter, fluttering my eyes closed. "I will make you a list of stuff that makes me feel how I make you feel. When you have all the boxes checked off, you can ask me to marry you again."

     "Until then?"

     "Until then, stop asking me to marry you, stop talking about weddings, and just... stop talking about the future for now, okay? I just need some space."

     He blinks slowly as his eyes flicker between my face and my chest. "Alright, I will give you space."

     I let out a sigh, my shoulders relaxing at the spare-of-the-moment plan I came up with. It's not a lie, I do enjoy Gaara and a part of me will always love him especially since he is the father of my son. I'm sure if he slowed down I would fall in love with him, but if he keeps pushing I don't think it'll work out how we both seem to want.

     "Darling?" I hum a yes, opening one of my eyes to look at him. Gaara's eyes are soft and now locked on my legs instead of my chest. "I wish to join your bath. You should let me join you."

     I let out another sigh, deciding it would be easier to end my bath than fight the father of my child. "I'm getting out actually, do you mind grabbing me a towel."

     "As you wish, darling."

     "As you wish, darling," I mumble under my breath, a soft smile crawling on my face as I watch Gaara search for a towel.

                      ————————————

     A knock at the door stirs me in my bed. Like usual, my first reaction is to check on Yoshiki who's asleep in the bassinet next to my bed. Gaara tried insisting on letting him sleep in the nursery set up for him across the room, but the thought made me panic. So many people that come and go from the palace that I don't know, let alone trust. I would have never been able to sleep with him so far away.

     Another knock comes, pulling a sigh from me. I've sighed a lot today, courtesy of Gaara's failing attempts to give me space. On the plus note, he hasn't mentioned anything about marriage or weddings since our conversation.

     "Come in," I mutter, flapping back onto the bed. It's huge, easily fitting three people fully stretched out. Everything here is huge, the rooms, the dining room, the hallways, everything.

     The door slowly gets pushed open, the light from the hallway sneaking in. "Darling?"

     "Gaara?" I sigh out, eyes caught in the hanging drapes of the bed frame.

     "Can I come in?"

     "Sure."

     More light spills in before it's cut off by the door closing. The soft patter of Gaara crossing the carpet fills the space, soon replaced by the sound of him crawling into bed with me. The hot-headed Shinobi hangs his head above mine, his red hair fanned out and his forehead mark on full display, reminding me of the similar one our son has. "Hello, Darling. I have been looking over your list."

     "Ya?"

     "Yes. Should I do the things in order?" He asks, head tilting as his eyes run over my face.

     "Not necessarily, why?"

     Gaara settles down next to me, sitting against the headboard before he pulls out the paper. I shift in bed, mirroring his position. My eyes scan over the sheet, rereading the list I made for him.

     Date Nights

     Day trips

     Cooking together

     Late night cuddles

     Love Letters

     Star gazing

     Spa Nights

     "I don't know what cuddling is, but it is late at night. Would you show me?" He asks, cutting me off from finishing reading the page.

     My eyes flicker towards him, taking in the blankness of it as he looks at me for guidance. "Ya, I can."

     "What are the steps?"

     I let out an airy laugh, flickering my eyes around the room. "Just lay down, Gaara."

     "Why? Am I going to sleep? If so, I will need to change out of my day clothes."

     "Dear lord, Gaar. Fine, take off your clothes. Strip down to your boxes. I don't care," I groan, and lay back down on the bed. I snap my eyes closed again, soaking in the warmth of the bedding.

     The bed undips as he climbs out of it, the sound of his clothes shuffling off filling the space. "I am unclothed. Now what do I do?"

     I roll onto my back, letting my eyes scan Gaara's frame, the frame I haven't seen in so long. "What the hell is on your sides?" I ask, the imprints there snagging my attention but I am unable to make out what it is.

     "Your scratch marks."

     "What?"

     "The scratch marks from our night together. They made me feel... the ways you made me feel. So, I had them permanently stuck on my skin."

     "You tattooed the scratch marks I left on you?"

     "Yes."

     My eyes blink on over-drive as I look at the emotionally unintelligent man next to the mattress. "Lay down under the sheets," I muttered, lifting the blanket. Gaara does as he's ordered, laying as stiff as a board once he's in the bed. I slowly shift closer to him, laying next to his side and resting my head on his chest. "You don't have to be... unclothed for us to cuddle, by the way."

     "Alright."

     "It's love, by the way."

     "What is love?"

     "The thing I make you feel. It's called love."

     "Do you love me?"

     "I think so," I whisper, wrapping my arms around him. "You scare me so it's hard to tell, but yes, I think I do."

     "Do you know I love you?"

     "I mean, you gave me a son that's the spitting image of you so I'm pretty sure I know you love me."

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#naruto shippuden #naruto shippuden oneshot #naruto shippuden x reader #gaara x reader #Gaara oneshot #gaara sabaku #gaara sabaku x reader #Gaara Sabaku oneshot

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Unfinished Saturday

Sometimes two months still isn't enough time to complete a work, especially a long one. I want to celebrate everyone who has made progress on their WIP as part of this event! Below are some fics who had new chapters posted as part of this event. That's so much progress!! Congratulations on completing those chapters!

If you made progress on your WIP during this event, please feel free to reblog with a screenshot or snippet of your progress. Rough sketches, rough drafts, all are welcome as all mean you worked on your project!

If You Could Leave a Light On Please by Edai

Chapter 14 completed as part of the event. Naruto - Inuzuka Kiba/Kankurou, Gaara & Kankurou & Temari, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Aburame Shino/Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino/Hyuuga Hinata - Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Sibling Bonding, Polyamory, Chronic Illness, Psychosis - Rated T "“If you’re about to ask me if I’m sure this is okay, please just keep your mouth shut,” Kiba comments. Is he this easy to read? “I will then.” --- Kankurou moves in with the polycule."

A Wolf In The Fold by TheStarGayzingEtherian

Chapters 4 and 5 completed as part of this event. tumblr post for chapter 4. twitter post for chapter 4. tumblr post for chapter 5. NSFW - She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) - Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra) - Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Werewolves, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, mentioned transphobia, Trans Female Character, Eventual Smut, Blood and Violence, Fluff, Domestic Fluff - Rated E "After a painful tragedy, Catra has found herself retreating from the world, isolating herself in a cabin owned by her friend Glimmer. One day, however, Catra hears a loud cry from the nearby woods. Catra rushes out to find a rather large wolf caught in a trap, however, this is no ordinary wolf… and this beautiful creature's secrets will change Catra’s world forever. (Catradora, Modern/Werewolf AU)"

Carry Me From These Walls by HopeStoryteller, IllusionOfDeath

Chapters 17 through 23 completed for this event. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda), Urbosa/Zelda's Mother (Legend of Zelda), Daruk & Urbosa (Legend of Zelda), Mipha/Zelda (Legend of Zelda) - Characters Play Dungeons & Dragons, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Minor Character Death, Parent Death, Major Character Injury, Queerplatonic Relationships - Rated T "Link grows up playing Dungeons & Dragons with his neighbor Zelda, her moms, and a few other friends. It makes for the best few years of his life, before the DM is murdered and the group falls apart. Years later, in college, Link and Zelda reconnect—and, alongside a few new friends, start up a new campaign, not expecting anything more from it than maybe a bit of closure. Little does anyone know, a much larger conspiracy has been afoot for almost a decade now…"

Life After War by Mysticalbeingwithuntoldpowers

Chapters 3 through 6 completed for this event. Bleach (Anime & Manga) - Kuchiki Byakuya/Zaraki Kenpachi, Aizen Sousuke/Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia - Kuchiki Byakuya-centric, Soul King Kurosaki Ichigo, Politics, Announcements, Survivor Guilt, Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Thousand Year Blood War Arc (Bleach) - Rated T “Reconstruction is well under way after the massive destruction caused by the Quincies' invasion. Byakuya Kuchiki is secretly hopeful for the future and all the changes he can foresee happening with a new King on the throne. However, there are still huge day-to-day repercussions from the events of the war. Everyone was affected; even those who weren't known to be able to feel anything. His fellow captain of the 11th division is even more of a disgrace to his rank, drinking all day long or staring absently at everyone with no drive or care in the world. No one has dared confront the madman, especially with his newfound Shikai... Well, he is a Kuchiki and it is his duty. Kenpachi seems so out of it, he doubts he could be a threat to him. It's just too bad he is the only one that has the guts to shake him out of his turpor.... and why is the guy almost naked everytime he sees him…"

#finish what you started 2023 #finishwhatyoustarted2023 #all progress is good progress! #unfinished saturday

[evilkitten3]

naruto volumes i own rated by how much sasuke is in them

vol 37 - he's mentioned by naruto a couple times. shows up in the preview for the next volume. 0/10 where is he

vol 45 - we open with sasuke! couple pages of naruto, one of some unimportant kumo nin (and jay. dw bby ur important to me) watching sasuke, then it's back to sasuke thinking about all the teams he's been on. cut to naruto for some light reading (books with jiraiya: this time, it's NOT porn!), then back to sasuke. then we cut to a flashback but it's still of sasuke (and some masked guy who's mostly just there for sasuke to angst at (i know who tobi is before anyone @s me). now we jump to the raikage lifting a weight for. some reason, naruto gets a few more pages, and then sasuke returns, bringing with him the panels that got animated and eventually became the Is Nothing Easy meme. cut to jay for half a second before sasuke shows up and kills his lizard (also presumably jay. rip in pieces my guy you will not be forgotten). zetsu and totally-madara-why-would-you-even-ask-get-off-my-dick chat for a panel, and then we get a bit more raikage followed by team samui (i think this is their introduction??? idk i love these three tho). naruto does some more stuff, the cloud nin find jay, and i haven't seen sasuke in nearly 20 pages wtf. the tragic lack of sasuke continues, with the only tagentially sasuke-related thing being the revelation that nobody bothered to change the locks after itachi (officially) went rogue. finally we hit something more direct but it's still just kisame noting that killer bee pulled a fast one on him, followed by killer bee saying that sasuke (or, "that sharingan dude" is probably the toughest opponent he's ever faced (rip to the three other people who were also there i don't think he noticed), and that's the last we see of him. 7/10 strong start but we got offtrack

vol 50 - this time he's in the first panel!!!! and seems to be getting his ass kicked. lots of things are on fire. we have a bit of sasuke vs the raikage until gaara shows up and saves. honestly probably both of them (the other sand sibs are also there), and the raikage hacks his own arm off bc it happens to be one of the many things that are currently on fire. gaara projects on sasuke a lot, his siblings point out that he's kinda wasting his time (temari is the only one with a good argument here ngl), and sasuke doesn't really care about gaara's problems. we get a bit of danzou and some other people who are in the same room as him, and then it's back to sasuke vs the sand sibs (+ darui and sasori's corpse) but susano'o no sells all of them which i gotta say must feel really awkward bc this is three jounin and a kage against a guy who never made it past genin. sasuke gloats a bit bc he's earned it and then sets about destroying some shit having seemingly decided "fuck this building and everyone in it" (karin not included) but somehow no named characters die. there's some more sasuke-less panels and then we finally get everybody's favorite upside down sasuke! he and danzou glare at each other for a bit before some guy (mifune? i think???? idk) attacks him and accomplishes nothing. danzou fucks off and sasuke has to get through the mist nin now. the mizukage hits on him but unfortunately her name is neither Revenge nor Naruto so sasuke isn't interested. for some reason choujuurou thinks sasuke killed zabuza which. ok sure idc, and sasuke puts up a pretty good defense until he gets thrown through a wall and we learn that all his cells hurt (i don't know if that's actually physically possible but i don't care enough to find out). the mizukage seems to be the only person intent on actually causing sasuke some problems but fortunately (?) zetsu shows up to help out (sasuke. to help out sasuke. nobody else is having a good time). the iwa nin decide to maybe do some stuff even though the tsuchikage really doesn't give a shit (and credits sasuke with deidara's death. which. bro he did that to himself). karin thinks sasuke is dead and something maybe happens with kankurou but it's not clear what, but then tobi i mean madara shows up with sasuke's presumably unconscious body (he looks silly. i won't lie). cut to sakura being Up To Something, followed by kakashi on clean up duty, and naruto on sitting-around-thinking-about-sasuke duty. sasuke gets kamui'd, which nobody is happy about, and then so does karin, which nobody but her cares about (sorry bby). obito sits his gay ass down and vents at the assembled governments, call them all pussies for believing in hope, and declares war. lastly sakura tries to balance caring about multiple people and naruto continues to ignore his ongoing bisexual crisis. 9/10 so much sasuke

vol 51 - i'll cut to the chase this is basically sasuke the book the movie the tv show the bible the play. there's so much happening here it's a sasuke soap opera inside a sasuke soap opera. sasuke's replacement tells sasuke's boyfriend that sasuke's girlfriend is planning to kill sasuke. sasuke's teacher and sasuke's teacher's kouhai are also there. sasuke's boyfriend envisions the polycule shattering and sasuke's boyfriend's other sandier boyfriend shows up with his sibs to drop some hot info at the worst possible time. meanwhile sasuke's abductor/helper/cousin/uncle/guy who helped sasuke's brother kill sasuke's family talks to sasuke's current murder target. sasuke's target and sasuke's target's brainwashed minions attempt to fight sasuke's least/most helpful family member. sasuke's boyfriend dumps sasuke's boyfriend's other sandier boyfriend and sasuke confronts sasuke's maskiest relative and demands to be released (along with sasuke's girlfriend two electric bitealoo). sasuke's target shows off the result of sasuke's mutilated family members and sasuke demands confirmation on sasuke's brother's true mission. sasuke's boyfriend thinks about sasuke and has a panic attack. sasuke's target accuses sasuke's brother of treason (the one crime sasuke's brother objectively didn't commit, for better or worse), and we go into eyeball battle while sasuke's girlfriend two electric bitealoo tries to figure out wtf is happening. also sasuke has a hawk now. sasuke's target manages to piss off sasuke even more by having an open mouth with words coming from it, and sasuke's brother shows up to jumpscare him but it's actually just an illusion. sasuke gets trapped and sasuke's girlfriend two electric bitealoo tries to help but unfortunately she's a girl in a shounen manga so that's illegal. we learn that sasuke's worst chemistry teacher was working with sasuke's target at some point bc friends who war crime together win together i guess. sasuke's personal exposition machine exposits izanagi which he totally won't use to be a jackass later haha don't worry about it. sasuke's target also has a summon (@ english manga that is a fucking baku not a tapir good grief). sasuke tricks sasuke's target into thinking his eyes were still open and sasuke's girlfriend two electric bitealoo lets him chormp. sasuke's target isn't dead tho and manages to take sasuke's girlfriend two electric bitaloo hostage but sasuke really wants him dead so oops surprise break up via stabbing i guess. sasuke's evil senpai cheers him on, sasuke's target has a flashback and kills himself bc fuck you, and sasuke's girlfriend knocks out sasuke's girlfriend's sasuke hunting team to go on alone. sasuke's (ex) girlfriend two electric bitealoo has a flashback about a bear and sasuke's boyfriend tricks sasuke's teacher's kouhai and chases after sasuke's girlfriend. sasuke and sasuke's girlfriend try to kill each other but sasuke's teacher steps in. sasuke's teacher decides to try to kill sasuke himself and tells sasuke's ex girlfriend to kidnap sasuke's other ex girlfriend. 10/10 lots of break-ups but plenty of sasuke

vol 53 - ok this is scary bc more than the first half of this volume is naruto and he doesn't think about sasuke even once. is he ok. did he hit his head. what's going on buddy you can talk to me. but anyway kushina shows up and through the power of flashbacks we are given baby sasuke! who kushina thinks is a girl at first. he's only there for like three panels but ch 501 has a cover of baby sasuke and baby naruto, so there's that. we then get some more baby sasuke with pre-bad decisions itachi who makes a very sweet promise that he probably shouldn't have kept as hard as he did oops. 5/10 there was some sasuke but not very much. extra point for cuteness tho

vol 54 - naruto thinks of sasuke as a friend he's "not getting along with right now" which is a very interesting way to describe their past few interactions but alright. he's not mentioned again until deidara yells that he killed sasuke and the tsuchikage realizes no one bothered to tell him that sasuke is not only fine but probably forgot about that whole encounter three seconds after having it. 2.5/10 it should probably be a 1 bc sasuke is barely even mentioned but kisame is my favorite character so i'm giving this volume a bonus sasuke point in his honor, and a .5 for konan

vol 56 - the only sasuke is the ch 531 chapter cover. unacceptable. 0/10

vol 58 - naruto acknowledges that "madara" is influencing sasuke's hate, which seems to be the biggest reason why naruto knows he's a bad guy (also the nagato thing). he's only going to try talking to him after he's been stopped. sure naruto whatever you need to tell yourself. we get a cover for ch 548 with all three of the team seven teens (poor sakura is trapped in the middle and barely shows up in tankouban volume format... kakashi's stuck in the background too but at least i don't have to practically flatten the book to see him...) itachi shows up and is shocked to learn that his plan to give his little brother as much ptsd as possible left him ever so slightly not ok. itachi has an excellent response to this, by which i mean he tells naruto to buckle down on the lie so the uchiha family name isn't tarnished (...buddy.) and then says that he actually had a backup plan in case the first plan (traumatize sasuke -> die -> hope no one ever told sasuke the truth and also that no one immediately went back on their word and killed him anway) went to shit. of course this other plan happened to be "just strip him of his free will and force him to do what i want bc there's no way this could possibly backfire", which is now also no longer an option bc he just used it on himself. remember that whole "itachi loves sasuke more than the village" thing? yeah that's maybe not quite as true as he'd like it to be. luckily for itachi naruto sees blind loyalty enforced through brainwashing as a good thing (if it benefits him. if, say, someone had a secret army of brainwashed children and sent one of them to kill sasuke, that would be bad. but if itachi does the same thing it's good bc naruto gets to have him where he wants him regardless of sasuke's personal opinion on the matter. this is a healthy and normal way to react to this sort of thing). itachi tells naruto to never forget his friends (which i mention bc he immediately thinks of everyone except sasuke (and the sand sibs. rude)) and then destroys shisui's eye bc he can't use it against sasuke anymore. itachi says that he isn't going to talk to sasuke bc last time he tried that he failed (which. does not remotely cover the scope of his fuck-up but all right). finally we hit some actual sasuke in the form of zetsu carnage so he can have some practice with his eyeballs. it only lasts a couple seconds but he seems to be having. some kind of time. 3/10 not enough sasuke too much of the walking bad life choices zone (i'm sorry itachi i promise i really do love you i just can't go five minutes without giving you shit about literally your entire life)

vol 60 - first we see sasuke (and the rest of og team seven) in a commemoration by sato atsuhiro. then we see the boy himself cutting up... rocks i think? idk it looks like rocks. cut to suigetsu and juugo talking about sasuke and karin. there's another (chibi) sasuke in the 5th commemoration by taira kenji, and another sasuke in the 6th commemoration by itakura yuuichi. he gets another mention by kurama and then by yagura, both in reference to the kissing incident. we briefly cut to sasuke standing alone in the rain before he turns and smirks at... presumably nothing? idk. it also definitely wasn't raining before so maybe the rocks he attacked earlier were anti-rain shields or something. cut to karin fangirling over sasuke except plot twist she's actually about to break out of prison. yasss queen weaponize those assumptions. suigetsu and juugo continue to do... whatever they're doing (i can't tell if suigetsu is trying to get sasuke and karin together, thinks they're already together, wants to break them up, or wants to get them together for the purpose of breaking them up). anyway they get in a fight and suigetsu finds [undisclosed information] that he absolutely has to get to sasuke. who, as it turns out, is having some fun playing whack-a-clone with the zetsu gang, one of whom he keeps alive for the purposes of intel before beheading once he's done with his internal monologue about his ongoing divorce with naruto. he thinks about his eyes and also his brother and also his brother's eyes which it turns out are giving him (more) depression. after a brief flashback and madara unveiling his boob tattoo, we cut back to sasuke just as he runs into itachi. 7/10 he's mostly just in the latter half of the volume but he makes good use of his screentime. and who doesn't love disposable clone carnage?

that's all the volumes i have at present. if you read through all of this: why. why would you do that to yourself. do you have better things to do. i don't that's why i'm here. see ya

#naruto #naruto shippuden #uchiha sasuke #fun fact: sasuke is not my favorite character #he's probably the best character #but he's not my favorite #he's not even top five #my top five in order: kisame kisame again ino konan and then one more kisame for good measure #temari is right behind that third kisame #sasuke's probably in the top ten but as these tags should make evident i'm not the sort of person who ranks that stuff seriously #other fun fact: kisame is not my fave bc i think he's hot #he became my fave way before i started thinking that #...i don't know when my interest in sharks and my interest in kisame converged but at some point they definitely did #and it changed me #ranking meme #i ended up cutting some stuff that was funny but not related to sasuke which is the point of this post for some reason

[cartoonrival]

OK boruto verdict. thus far obviously. i assumed part 1 of the anime would be ending right before the timeskip shippuden-style but that isn't what happened lol. so i guess the split is kind of arbitrary. anywho its not as good as naruto which is to be expected. but its cute!

i was tbh pretty shocked that boruto stands out as his own character pretty well. he still has some of the Shounen Protag Syndrome that naruto had, meaning its not particularly difficult to guess what he would do in a given situation and there is an element of same-ness to him and every other cheery roughboy protagonist, and there's still a lot of overlap between him and naruto, but i think he's very cute. i love his stubbornness and black and white thinking. he reads as someone who grew up in a loving household but has a mounting frustration with feeling trapped without really knowing whats trapping him.

tbh my biggest issue with boruto thus far i think is that it feels very undercooked, like theres a ton of interesting dynamics that are introduced then barely explored, and if they are its in a kind of cursory way that doesn't really show a lot of respect for the characters involved. the biggest offender with this imo is naruto and boruto's relationship, but sarada and boruto, mitsuki and boruto (mitsuki and sarada on their own as well tbr), and sasuke and sarada are also big examples.

naruto's characterization sort of seems like its gotten lost in an attempt to make him more mature, which like Yeah he should be more mature and i don't think that "naruto is the hokage now and because of how dedicated he is to konoha and to maintaining peace and making everyone in the village feel like they belong, he ends up being stretched too thin and boruto starts to feel ignored and left behind by someone who should be his biggest supporter" is illogical, but his ability to verbally tell people he cares about that he cares seems to have taken a hit, not just his ability to SHOW it (which could logically be stunted by his role as hokage). there shouldve been more exploration into naruto's feelings about boruto as his wayward son who causes problems and doesn't know what he wants. boruto's pov was well and good, but the whole dynamic feels half baked because it's written in a way that naruto isn't supposed to be the focus of it, even though there are obviously two equally important sides to a parent-child dynamic. for naruto's feelings to be so unexplored beyond "i'm so busy" and "i don't want him to grow up" is just a bit of a let down. dgmw there were definitely still really powerful moments between the two of them, but considering parent-child relationships is sort of a focal point of the series i feel like the amount of direct attention that naruto's feelings towards boruto are getting is a disservice.

tbh though i think a lot of the naruto cast has been watered down at least somewhat in order to fill a role that needed to be filled, ive complained about temari a couple times, sakura is rarely seen without an apron on, etc. sasuke is honestly fine, but im genuinely sick with want for a look into how he feels about his and naruto's families in a way that doesn't feel like im being lied to, even though that will never happen. but to be honest his relationship with boruto serves as a pretty good indicator. lol.

i think its interesting that we're exploring a love/obsession/devotion sort of situation this round, again i think it could be made to hurt more but its fine. everything could be made to hurt more. but whatever. its an interesting way to expand on the power and value of love themes in naruto. its unique if anything, which is nice because there are a LOT of story beats that feel lifted right out of naruto. i quite like kawaki in a vacuum, he feels sort of like an odd one out in the cast though im not really sure how that could be remedied. i think he and boruto needed to interact more on regular terms before they started calling each other brother and saying i feel like i could do anything when im with you etc. slow down cowboy! but kawaki's situation as someone who was so horribly abused, finds a family that loves him and is truly and heartfully accepted by naruto as a son, then to become dangerously devoted to protecting naruto because he's the first person to make kawaki feel like his life was worth anything, is Quite interesting to me. if a bit sudden. but i guess thats intentional too.

the plot itself is very very much an ohhh you thought you defeated that guy? well he has SEVERAL friends! type situation. like this didn't need to happen and was clearly tacked on. but its p much exactly what i expected and its managed to create some pretty effective moments for what it is. the fights are really cool and don't drag their feet as much as the ones in naruto did, which is nice.

overall its good, its cute, the new characters are fun even if its at the expense of some of the OGs. there are a million things that i think need to be explored that aren't aliens, but i know they never will be etc. its fine. (it isnt.) it feels more cobbled together than naruto did. but its cute.

#txt157 #nrto #meta157 #ill probably read the manga. lol