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vsa-pieldepapel · 2 years

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Indulge my inner shipping trash-self for a bit. What exactly made Kris crush on Noelle? What do they like about her? Why prank her constantly? If they hadn't drifted apart, what would their relationship look like? (bonus Ralsusie question: How would it work if Ralsei couldn't leave the dark world?)

The indulgence is all mine as well anon

> what exactly made kris crush on Noelle?

When they were kids? Nothing too important. Just the closeness of the relationship and that noelle was a cute girl, and Kris would feel like a valiant knight taking her on adventures. Kids don’t really need super deep reasons for their puppy crushes

As they grow up, I think a big part of it is the mutual understanding they have. Both feel alienated and pressured for different reasons and there is a respite in each other; Kris knowing noelle trusts them with all her quirks makes her attractive (after they bond over dark world shenanigans of course, my take is right now as of chapter 2 they are only starting to heal). I also think kris is attracted to the idea of a “partner in crime” which Noelle has been for a long, long time

> what do they like about her?

Interestingly, the sides of her that are less public LMFAO it’s all part of the Confidence you see

Her taste for horror, her prankster side, her appearance (yes I think kris finds Noelle really cute lol), her sense of humor are all big ones. We all know kris pranks Noelle but in Ch.2 we can see her retaliate and be sarcastic and playful and sharp and I think kris really likes that, again, the idea of a partner in crime to stick with through clean and messy and dick around with. I also hc they like the serious side of her— like when she waxes poetic about growing wings in the Ferris wheel, or monologues about Dess? They have heard that type of monologue before and they like it

> why prank her constantly?

It’s a love language!!!! Kris knows noelle enjoys the adrenaline of getting spooked to a degree and extrapolates she will like them if they give her that thrill, and so pranks her to get her attention when they’re kids and it solidifies as a way to display affection. Kris won’t do a prank that goes too far, they know where to draw the line and how to tightrope it. They acquired the practice through going too far a couple times

They also know she will return the jabs and games, and they like that.

> If they hadn’t drifted apart, what would the relationship look like?

Lmfao is it bad if I said I think Noelle would have never gotten a crush on Susie if they hadn’t drifted apart cus that’s what I think. I dunno if they would already be dating but they for sure would have more complex feelings for each other, perhaps walking that awkward line of “but they’ve been my neighbour forever, they probably see me more as a sister”

Or maybe the feelings toward Susie would exist, but the feelings toward kris would also exist, with all the consequent implications. Teen drama ahoy (I think if she did feel attracted to Susie, it would be on a more physical level and conflicting with the feelings toward kris… kris also has problems expressing their own feelings toward Noelle and so the relationship is at a standstill)

(Doodle of kriselle endgame to finish)

>BONUS ROUND how would Ralsusie work if ralsei couldn’t leave the dark world?

PBTBTHRBTH this is so silly but I guess it’s time to talk about the Van Headcanon eH?

In @zixzs-ajk’s fics, there is this little world building bit that the shed in the forest is an entrance to the Dark World. I really like that, and I stole it to hc the following: a few years down the line when Susie is 19-Early 20s, she gets kicked out of the house for good. At this point she has bought a dinky secondhand van. When this happens she moves in there and drives it next to the shed, setting up camp- and lives this double life of sorts where she will have a part time odd job in the light world to keep the van working-ish and socialise with kris and Noelle, but the rest of her time is spent in the dark world with Ralsei, where she has food, shelter, a lover. (I dont doubt the others go visit her there, too)

I conflate it with Rals leaving the dark world so they sometimes sleep together in the van/camp when they want to be alone, but it works if he can’t leave the dark world, the difference being that she would gradually spend more and more time there. She will never 100% stay in it without leaving (she cares for her other friends a lot, and the van does need some degree of upkeep) but most of her life is spent being queen with ralsei because duh prince he’s gonna ascend to king with warrior queen in tow

Of course canon May shit all over this and adjustments would be done accordingly, but for now, that’s the idea for that one

#deltarune #ralsusie #kriselle #kris deltarune #noelle holiday #ralsei #susie deltarune #doodle #digital #vsa answers

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agentravensong · 3 years

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a deltarune post-snowgrave au feat. noelle and a clown

I had this idea the other night sparked by watching a DeltaRune speedrun where Noelle was temporarily equipped with JevilsTail to boost her Magic for the second Berdly fight. I thought about how any items you equip to Noelle on the Weird / Snowgrave route are basically lost once she leaves the party.

And I then thought: what if, when Noelle's back in the light world, catching her breath after running out of the hospital, she hears something strange. Not Kris's voice, but not the other voice she heard coming from them either.

Then she feels something rustling in her pockets. She reaches in, knowing there should be nothing there, and pulls out a Joker card. It's smiling at her.

And thus, we have what I'm tentatively titling:

the Jevil on Her Shoulder AU.

More details + some doodles below the cut!

To put it more plainly, the premise is that Noelle gets equipped with Jevilstail during the Weird Route and still has it on her when she leaves the party post-freezing Berdly. Back in the light world, Jevil can talk to her and even, as long as they're in the dark, appear as his dark world self. How is he able to do this? Because, meta, AU, bullshit, that's why.

So Noelle gets someone who has knowledge of the kind of big picture stuff that she’s brushing up against. Someone who will make her life hell for his own amusement, but who also seems to be trying to help in his own way, and at least brings humor, levity, and a strange kind of solidarity.

And if he turns on her, or just ends up being more trouble than he's worth? Well...

She's got a pair of scissors that can nip that problem in the bud.

Also, Jevil is def trying to help Noelle get with Susie. But his dating experience is exclusively from Seam and, debatably, Spamton, both of whom he is obviously divorced from. So, it's not exactly his area of expertise.

Other miscellaneous stuff and underdeveloped ideas:

- Lots of fun potential shenanigans with Jevil learning about the Light World

- Jevil pranks Noelle as much as he can in his (initially) limited form. He wasn't prepared for Noelle to be so hard to scare, to even laugh at his stunts. They're both reminded of someone else. Someone they might have considered a friend.

- Noelle's scissors may or may not become ice spears in the dark world. Might change it to a weapon closer to a pair of scissors, if I can find one. EDIT: I think I'm actually gonna go with a pair of sabre-type swords, the ones with a curved handle/hilt, cause that's kinda scissor-like, right? Also I just like swords. And, I mean, a "Kris" vs Noelle sword duel? Sign me up!

- I would love to include Spamton in this, but he's unfortunately stuck as Ralsei's new scarf by virtue of how Weird Route ends. Though, I suppose there's nothing explicit in canon (yet) stopping her from stumbling on the dark world in the supply closet and having an actual conversation with the fluffy prince... and even without the Spamton connection, that would be an interesting scene to witness...

- That being said, Spamton not being around would allow for a convo like this:

jevil: say, did you ever meet a silly little salesman? noelle: ....uh. maybe. were you friends? jevil: oh no no, he's a little cringer. lol. noelle: oh, alright! well, i... may have... killed him. jevil:

So, pick your preference, I guess.

- Speaking of Spamton... remember how Noelle finds his glasses and the door to his shop somehow nostalgic? Perhaps she's had past experience with him and the others like him that she slowly remembers as she befriends Jevil. Re-befriends? :)

- Let's talk more about Suselle in this AU, cause I thought of a new layer to it: if we have a player who would equip Jevilstail to Noelle just for the magic boost, then they probably equipped it to Susie earlier as well. So we get to have a fun twist where Noelle doesn't want to tell anyone, especially Susie, that there's a clown in a card talking to her, but then Jevil's like "Oh yeah I know her!" Then when Susie catches on she's like "You're stuck with him??? geez that's... you want me to take him off your hands for you?"

And maybe Noelle initially says yes... But she's still not up to talk Snowgrave stuff with Susie at this point. Jevil is the only person she feels like she can talk to about it, partly because he's seemingly the only one who would understand, and partly because he doesn't judge her - and even if he did, it's not like he can do anything about it. And she needs someone to talk to about it.

So she asks for him back. But Susie and Jevil continue to have fun banter, with Susie on one hand being generally disconcerted by him, and on the other finding him more fun and relatable than she's comfortable with. And Susie and Noelle get to bond over having to deal with him :)

(There's some good analysis of Susie & Jevil as a pair out there to draw on here. A couple of examples:

https://evenmywordsare.tumblr.com/post/666601721530875904/peaktorielperformance-evenmywordsare-jevil-doing

https://neitherlightnordark.tumblr.com/post/666418601619832832/i-do-think-the-intricacies-of-jevil-and-susies)

- Maybe Susie could even be the one to bring Ralsei - and, by extension, Spamton - into this? Because she's worried about Noelle and not sure if Jevil being able to interact with them in the light world like this is a bad thing, so she goes to castle town and has a talk with him, and maybe arranges a future convo between him and Noelle. As they're planning it, Ralsei is trying to ignore Spamton in his ear begging him not to bring the clown in. Then, after Susie leaves, he and Ralsei have an actually meaningful, if brief, convo themselves.

- Jevil helps Noelle to enter (find, create) and explore more dark worlds. At first for fun and to maybe help her toughen up a bit, but then, after the two of them put together that her sister might be that one girl stuck in the dark world working for the big G man, maybe... to try and rescue Dess.

- For angst reasons, I like the idea of an eventual verbal confrontation between Noelle and Jevil (think an act 2 low point) launching into a battle, and suddenly (maybe not until after she's gotten hit a few times and cries for help?) there's a red heart helping Noelle to dodge Jevil's attacks. And the two of them have this shared "Oh shit" moment, with Noelle doing everything she can not to think about, and thus alert the soul to, the scissors in her pocket (because I imagine this fight happening in the light world... somehow).

- But I would like this story to end with a happy ending. With Noelle finding her freedom from "Kris"'s puppet strings, and maybe helping them and her other friends with it too while she's at it. With a hard-fought-for reunion with her older sister. With her recognizing the strength she always had was already enough, and learning to use it for her own ends. Plus, her getting with Susie, as is wonderfully inevitable.

- And with Jevil realizing that his world being limited and artificial doesn't mean that there's no value in forming attachments to and bonds with the things and people in it. With him perhaps patching up some old connections of his own, and finding something new to live for. People to care about, who care about him.

In summary: if Noelle has to go through the Weird Route in some timelines, she deserves a friend whom she can commiserate with, who's already in as deep as she is and has at least started to cope with it. And of course Susie will be there for her no matter what, but sometimes... look, sometimes, you need a clown.

I may eventually write something for this, but I'd love to see what anyone else who likes this idea wants to do with it too! In fact, if you make anything for it, please @ me (along with including a link back to this post, preferably) so I can check it out!

For a last little bonus, take this song Spotify reminded me of yesterday which fits this AU to an almost scary amount.

#deltarune #deltarune chapter 2 #deltarune spoilers #noelle holiday #jevil #snowgrave route #weird route #jevil on her shoulder #image descriptions in alt text #fair warning: if i see anyone try to turn this into a ship thing i'm ending you on the spot.#i do not know how to accurately draw jevil from the side. especially with the limited colors of a basic pencil #but on the other hand i am *very* happy with how all three noelles turned out!!!#...though i now realize that i forgot her freckles. rip

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neitherlightnordark · 2 years

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4. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of [sock and buskin]? / 33. Have you ever stopped yourself from writing something? Why?

4. i have... a few lots :-) the final cut is of course still under construction!

my brother wanted me to make the mangoes sentient. he also wanted them as the pov of the climax. i told him that if i decided to do that i'd credit him (as "my brother"). he decided he no longer wanted this. the mangoes will NOT be the pov of the climax, and they are not sentient. i'm sorry

the cake poll was SUPPOSED to be relevant! i swear!!!!

tasque manager was going to rewire seam's speakers to play new wave synth pop. then susie was going to throw a cake at her and the lancer fun squad would take refuge in the café from her screaming

the second or third chapter was actually supposed to be from susie's or seam's pov???? this was before i learned about the exquisite amazing wonderful beauty of swatch being a little shit, and also tasque manager and queen's. everything

sweet cap'n cakes was going to be helping seam set up the speakers and they were gonna complain about queen and seam was gonna tell them a bit about queen too but it felt... contrived? 'cause the whole point of them being friends was always that sweet cap'n cakes just thought seam was cool and seam was like well i guess this was happening. it's a comfy sort of "they visit seam for random reasons and seam lets them talk but it's certainly not the other way around" or something??? i care about them

when i changed it to tasque manager second chapter pov she was originally supposed to visit seam when everyone's going to sleep to ask seam about queen. stupid crepescular cats

generally swatch was going to be more kind of... obviously conflicted about queen doing all her queen things? but now it's like. i am queen's silly rabbit while she walks into explosions and causes collateral damage because i get to tease her about it

you know this tali! jevil was meant to be more annoying and hehehehehehe i am in susie's brain! also so were queen and swatch. and there would've been more emphasis on susie's shadow crystal powers as related to equipped darkners but i was like Nahhh Writing Seven Characters Sucks and scrapped it for what is the new post concussion chapter 4

there was gonna be analepsis juice in seam's shop (also courtesy of my brother) (thanks dude :D)

the chalkboard used to be green

complicated things about portals that are now spoilers

queen was going to stream [something] so i could include berdly and noelle in the fic (this might still happen but it is not likely?????)

susie and kris were supposed to leave right after passing out cake but susie made the decision for me

in general this fic was really supposed to be shenanigans centered and then dip into being serious but i suppose it's now more... there's lots of relationships happening that i didn't expect. like jevil and susie just talking to each other. or all the lancer fun squad and queen and rouxls and lancer just casually joking about being a family. cause they are.

spamton wasn't fucking supposed to be mentioned at all THIS WHOLE MESS IS TASQUE MANAGER'S FAULT YOU KNOW. SHE CAUSED CHAPTER TWO TO HAPPEN

33. OH YEAH there was this noelle fic that i decided to scrap cause it was mostly her angstily yelling at the church. actually out of context that sounds hilarious i should write it again. usually if things get too dark or too mired in too many emotions for my taste i backpedal

#this was reALLY FUN. THANK YOU TALI #personal

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crazyclownthanos · 3 years

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Karra Marron

“I already know my worth and I don’t needed to be told by anyone”

“Passing on the will of Noelle Silva? Sounds fun I’m raring to go!!”

Character Information

Meet Karra Marron! Magna’s and Sol’s second child a commoner of the clover kingdom

Karra is the leading female protagonists in White Clover and is a member of the generations fearsome three

Latin, Irish, Gaelic origin meaning “beloved”

Alias

Delinquents Daughter (the villagers)

Will carrier of Noelle Silva

Little Rascal (By Sol & Magna)

General Infromation

Status: alive

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Affinity: Compound of Earth and Flame

Age: 11 (at the start of White Clover)

Birthday: April 17th

Constellation: Aries

Height: 149cm

Weight: 40kg (88.18p)

Blood type: A

Eyes: purple

Hair: light brown

Apperance

Karra is taller than the average 11 year old usually being 144cm while standing at 149cm.

Karra has neck length light brown hair, brown skin and purple eyes.

Karra’s regular clothing style would be a sleeveless top with white borders on each side with a few tares, navy blue shoulder length glove on her left arm that shows all her fingers except for the thumb connected to the sleeve and tied around her waist is a blue jacket with cotton on the borders she normally wears in winter. For the bottom Karra wears navy blue baggy pants and brown boots

Personality

Karra is the total oppsoite to Noelle. Because of her home environment of masculinity and femininity Karra just dosen’t care about gender and even mentioned once that dating both men & women are fine to her though growing up in a family where her parents argue about cereal every morning (usually) Karra has grown dense to love assuming marriage is all about arguing. Unlike Noelle Karra tends to be more open and isn’t afraid to be herself around anyone and not to mention her rowdy with her older brother. Any time a challenges occurs Karra is always the first to raise her hand and the last to runaway. When it comes down to business Karra knows when to be silly and when not to be in dire situations often relying on her strength to solve it.

Traits

Dense

Feminist

Dumb

Strong

Brave

Faithful

Extremely dumb

Relationships

Family

Magna Marron

Karra has always been a “daddy’s girl” from their love of spicy food to their wild and predacious personalities and because of Magna’s soft side he grew to have a connection for Karra from the moment he held her. Aside from all the cute shenanigans Magna and Karra are always the first ones to start a fist on fist rally

Sol Marron

Karra and Sol share the same traits of being both feminists. Sol cares deeply for Karra and has always been worried of her well being being afraid of her going through the same thing she went through as child. Karra is honestly the proudest daughter alive to have Sol as a mother being a member of the blue rose knights Karra would go on for ages on how amazing her mother is and her magic attribute though she never understood why she use to be attached to Charlotte for many years

Karra’s older brother

Karra and her older brother always had a close sibling connection both having an age gap of 4 years (Him being 15 at the start of White Clover and Karra being 11) aside from that Karra and him grew up both ruffians though he started growing a habit of being more tired and sleeping more and the duties as a magic knight leaving no room in his sechuldue to spend to time with Karra. Standing from the bigger picture these will always love each other

Fearsome 3 or New Light Triad

Ace Silva

Ace and Karra have known each other since diaper days and because of their dads close friendship they would always have play dates. Karra views Ace as her closest friend and wouldn’t hestitate to give up her life for him though at some stages Ace can get a little awkard and can seem nervous around her which only makes Karra confused but she pushes that thought away and overall appreciates him and everything he’s done for her

Mirage Aldai

As well as Ace, Mirage and Karra have known each other since diaper days. These two had always have that relaxed persona, sometimes Mirage has to play “mother’ in Karra’s reckless and mindless states. Primarily Karra shows a deep interest in Mirage’s magic affinity of Forcefield and sees unlimited potential in him and tells him every time whenever he used his magic yet Mirage does get nervous when’s he’s openly compimented leading Mirage in being a hot red mess however Karra tries to control this and not openly compliment him.

Others

Noelle Silva

Noelle is Karra’s mentor and the will carrier of Noelle’s legacy of the light triad. Despite their difference in magic affinities Noelle always wanted a student like how Mereoleona was to her mother Acier then Karra came along and made her life a little more brighter. Karra had always loved Noelle and always admired her strength and courage and would never get tired of her stories of her fighting on the battlefield and wanted to aim to be like her, Karra even asked her mother she wanted to live with Noelle when she got older.

Genji

Karra thinks of Genji as an emotionless robot who suffers to show emotion but when she does she’s always pointing it out, always cussing him headaches and trouble. Karra’s opnion on Genji is currently the person out of everyone they had less interactions with but always like starting a teasing partying for him.

Battle powers

Magic

Compound Magic/dual affinity: Karra possess the ability to use Flame and Earth magic but unfortunately the two however Karra can manipulate the crust of the earth and create as well manipulate hell fire and create fire

Creation Magic: Karra uses this form of magic to shape objects and entities from Fire & Earth

Abilities

Immense magic power: Its nearly impossible for commoners to wield such large magic power people assume that’s because she has two magic attributes she gets the upperhand but there might be another reason why she posses such high magic power, Karra has proven this from being able to use her hands underground to generate large mana to the point where she could move one of the teutonic plates without the need of a grimoire

High Durablity: Karra maintains a high durability through the toughest situations in a sparring match against Yami Karra was able to stand on her own and even able to him with 2 attacks

Enhanced Strength: Karra is nowhere near as strong as Asta but for her age group she is mightier even being able to carry both her parents if she eats the right nutrients in the daily

Creative Mana: Both of Sol’s children inherited her creative mana, able to create weapons & beings out of Earth and Fire if in the right environment

Neglected by Mana: The disturbance of mana waves in ones own body can cause affects of complication one having immense magic power and low mana read. Vice versa.

Mana moves: Being neglected by mana Karra cannot do simple hand signal spells she has to do body movement spells

Weapons

War Hammer: Karra can create a war hammer out of flame obstructed by earth this one of the only ways Karra can use both Earth & Fire magic

Physical Strength 4/5

Magic Amount 5/5

Magic Control 3/5

Magic Sensing 1/5

Cleverness 4/5

Toughness 5/5

Trivia

Karra was inspired by Korra from legend of Korra

Karra’s favorite food is Spicy Grilled Salmon Kabobs

Karra likes are mud baths and vine swinging

Karra has a strange fear of squirrels

Favorite color is blue

It’s estimated that if Karra wanted to become a Wizard king she’ll achieve it at the ages of 18-20

She easily forgets named

#White Clover #Karra Marron #Character Information #Joe Biden

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Sprints Towards Victory in Episodes 99-105!

Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm David Lynn, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 92-98, which brought an end to the epic fight between the powerful Sannin. This week we take a detour in the Land of Tea with episodes 99-105. After wrapping up Tsunade's inaguration as the new Hokage, we get a small breather from the heavy arcs and plot developments of the last few weeks. This comes in the form of our first full-fledged filler arc, which entails Team 7 going on an escort mission to ensure an important race in the Land of Tea goes off without a hitch. Hitches, of course, happen anyway—perhaps both in the story and the execution. Let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!

These episodes begin by wrapping up Tsunade’s arc, with her finally becoming Hokage. How do you feel about how the show portrays Konohamaru simultaneously processing his grandfather’s death and Tsunade taking his place?

Paul: The most interesting part of that conflict was how Tsunade resolved it by completely ignoring Konohamaru's antics. In his grief, Konohamaru's sulking in a booby-trapped room among his beloved grandfather's memorabilia and Tsunade just walks in like she owns the place (because she does), grabs a medical textbook, and leaves. Tsunade is straight gangster, and but she still gives Konohamaru room to grieve without coddling his selfish behavior. Joseph: I thought they gave that just the right amount of time to transition, especially for Konohamaru. He needed those moments, but it didn’t need to be more than an episode. Tsunade gets better and better each week. Jared: I think it works in the way that Konohamaru is a kid and truly thinks everyone’s just going to forget about the Third Hokage now that a new one is being instilled. He doesn’t know how to process that kind of grief and just evokes it in the only way he knows how. Tsunade coming through and just not caring about any of his traps though was pretty good. Kara: I agree, Tsunade handled it really well. Then again, she would have been in that position at one point herself, so she either knew via hindsight or example what Konohamaru most needed then. I do like getting to see how Konohamaru has grown, and just how many people including himself are really registering with Sarutobi’s passing that “Hokage” means more than “Cool Best Ninja.” Kevin: Honestly, I wish that they focused more on it. A new Hokage is a huge change for the village, and Konohamaru is one of the audience’s closest ties to the Third Hokage, so seeing more people’s reactions to Tsunade and dedicating more time to showing Konohamaru coming to accept her might’ve made for a stronger and more resonant transition. Noelle: I think it was handled fairly well. Like everyone has said, Konohamaru is a kid dealing with a tangible kind of grief for the first time, and everyone processes grief differently. There is no easy bandage to put over that, so Tsunade pushing her way past all that to establish her place felt pretty necessary. Carolyn: I love Tsunade and it’s great she is so strong and sure of herself… but is it necessary to establish her control to a grieving child? She’s been there, I would have liked to see her comfort him. Danni: I appreciated how her letting him sulk for a bit was just her way of attempting to procrastinate and how her committing to helping Lee any way she can amounted to her actually embracing the title of Hokage. Also, the scene of her walking through all the traps was pretty freaking cool.

Before our first big batch of filler begins, fan-favorite Rock Lee gets some more focus. In particular, it seems like his moxie has struck a chord with Tsunade, and things are finally looking up for him. Is the pacing of this subplot working for you? Paul: I'm still reeling from the tonal whiplash of jumping from “Lee, have the extremely dangerous, potentially deadly surgery!” to “let's all prank Kakashi until he takes off his mask”. That didn't work for me at all, especially since Lee's recovery is an order of magnitude more emotionally compelling than whatever shenanigans Team 7 is engaging in. Joseph: While I just said Konohamaru’s transition and grieving had just the right amount of coverage, I felt the complete opposite about this. Not that they should have spread it out, but it almost felt like they tossed it in this section haphazardly. What should have had a bigger impact felt overshadowed by what came before it and downplayed as a result of what followed. Still, loved that backstory between him and Guy. Jared: In the moment, I was very much into this and seeing where it was going to go, but it basically just getting dropped to go into filler city just sucked the wind right out of me. I don’t know if this is just a spot where the anime had caught up to the manga and they needed to buy time, but to have this serious episode and then to immediately go into some bizarre attempts at comedy just felt completely out of place. Kara: I love how Lee’s determination got Tsunade back on track. It gives a chance to, again, really dig into what being Hokage actually means. There’s a lot of caring and a lot of hard work, and I’ll be interested to see how the job makes her grow as a character, too. I really do wish there had been more focus on it, though. It was compelling but truncated, and then we go to cod lips and seriously what. Kevin: In more of a vacuum, I would probably say yes. Having too much of Lee’s story all at once would quickly becoming a lot more depressing and melancholic than the show tends to be. However, spacing out his subplot with the main three trying to see Kakashi’s face and the ensuing shenanigans just causes continuous emotional whiplash as we go from a horse pooping to Lee trying to come to terms with whether to take a coin flip on dying. Noelle: In general, I’m enjoying what subjects Lee’s subplot is approaching. He is a genuinely good kid and a character that deserves more, so I wouldn’t object to seeing more of him. However, in contrast to everything else, his portions are much more serious, which makes the plot-points surrounding this dire issue to feel all the more awkward. Don’t juggle two supremely contrasting tones, it never works out well. Carolyn: I agree with Joseph, here. I love Rock Lee and I’m glad he’s back. But he’s been gone a while and it feels sort of out of place. Danni: As much as I love Rock Lee, this whole subplot ain’t doing it for me. It was already extremely reckless of Guy to let Lee go as far in the battle against Gaara as he did, but he’s going even further telling him to have the operation that could easily kill him. Also, I know it won’t, and I feel like everyone watching it knows it won’t, so it feels like empty tension. I would much prefer to see Lee work his way back to the top again.

When I was younger, I recall the “unmasking Kakashi” episode to be a pretty popular and amusing change of pace. This time around, I’m not so sure it really fits in. Did it work for you? Paul: It didn't work for me at all, partly because of where it falls in the overall storyline, partly because it had a few bizarrely well-crafted animation cuts (which they proceeded to recycle repeatedly), and partly because I have zero desire to see a cartoon horse enthusiastically pooping right in the middle of the camera frame (not once, but twice). The “Let's Unmask Kakashi-sensei!” episode should have come way earlier, i.e. before the Chunin Exams. Joseph: This might have done it for me when it aired back in 2004, but I didn’t have the patience for it this time. My reaction to pretty much all the filler this week has me a little worried about future installments of REWATCH, so I need to steel myself and get ready for the true avalanche! Jared: Not at all. Coming from Rock Lee’s big episode to this was deflating. I was so ready to keep going with that story and then to see this was the next episode killed any momentum I had to keep watching episodes one night. I suppose it sort of works as a way to transition you into a completely different tone, but it isn’t great. Kara: I love gag anime a lot, and I am perfectly happy with funny, goofy episodes, but I just… what? Why. It doesn’t help that I called the punchline ten seconds in. Kevin: I am in the exact same place, and it really doesn’t work now that I’m looking at it with a more critical eye. If it were just silly filler as the Genin try to uncover Kakashi’s face, then it would be harmless fun. Throwing in ninjas from Kakashi’s past didn’t really work, and neither did putting Lee’s subplot between comedy segments. Noelle: As a kid, I really enjoyed this episode. It was funny, and team hijinks are always a good time. At the same point, this is right by Lee’s incredibly heavy episode so—really? You’re putting it right here? This is where filler starts to kick in and yeah, it’s not such a good start to it. Put this episode anywhere else, and it would have worked out okay but just not here. Carolyn: The episode wasn’t totally necessary and the punchline WAS predictable, but I thought Kakashi’s sly, “Pretty cool, huh?” was hilarious. Danni: It was a welcome reprieve from the Lee subplot for me. It definitely felt out of place, though. It would’ve fit in better within the first dozen or so episodes. Regardless, I thought it was pretty funny. After all the angst, it was nice getting to see Sasuke be a bit childish.

The Land of Tea arc gets started here, and with it we meet the headstrong Idate and resident villain Aoi as Team 7 goes on their escort mission. Idate gets a good chunk of character development here, but do you think it holds up? Paul: While I dig that they're exploring the ninja experience through Idate's trials and tribulations, overall the Land of Tea arc doesn't work for me. It feels like a watered-down version of the Zabuza/Haku arc. There's a similar sense of the powerful tyrannizing the weak, and there are similar questions of whether the ideal state of shinobi should be treacherous or loyal, but we've done this dance before. Joseph: Boy did my eyes glaze over during all of these episodes. I just couldn’t take any of its no-stakes narrative seriously. There’s such a wide gulf between this and the type of scenarios Kishimoto puts together in the manga. Jared: I feel like this arc would have worked better if we weren’t coming off the heels of everyone talking about how chaotic things are in the Leaf village. All of a sudden everything just seems fine. It probably would have worked better if it was just a flashback to something before the Chunin Exams or something instead of trying to be a continuation of what’s been happening. Plus, like Paul said, it felt like a rehash of stories we’d already seen in the very beginning. Kara: I was feeling the rehash myself. It felt very “by committee” (which it probably was, to be fair). A lot of it looked like they checked off which moments in the first 100 episodes people thought were coolest and just tried to reproduce them here. Like… oh, you lost your absolute mind when Lee dropped the weights, so you’ll love it when someone else does, too. Kevin: As a new character with maybe two or three episodes to get his backstory out and start developing, it’s not too bad. The problem is, as we’ve seen with a few people already and we will see with MANY in the future, it’s basically just Naruto’s backstory but as a different character. Having Naruto realize once or twice “oh, this person I have a problem with is basically just going through what I’ve been through” works as a story beat, but it’s repeated way too many times. Noelle: I remember the fillers being very hit or miss, and this reminds me exactly why. I know fillers are just there for padding and don’t actually contribute to the story but man, this is a painful reminder of that. Carolyn: I found it all pretty boring, to be honest. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I have to say that Paul is completely right with the Haku comparison. Danni: Overall it felt like pretty serviceable filler. Much like the unmasking episode, though, it feels pretty out of place in the current narrative. Also, why are they giving B—potentially A—ranked missions to a bunch of Genin without their leader? That seems extremely reckless.

Part of the Land of Tea story seems to be trying to play on our assumed appreciation for the Chunin Exams, even deciding that the hardboiled Ibiki is actually related to and has a fairly involved history with Idate. They even brought back Team Oboro from the forest! Are you happy with this attempt at connecting this otherwise innocuous story to the rest of the show? Paul: I enjoyed Ibuki demonstrating the ideal qualities of a ninja from the Leaf Village (selflessness, dedication to friends and community, a willingness to correct the mistakes of others, etc.), and I appreciated the additional insight into how the written portion of the Chunin Exam uses psychological warfare to weed out potential candidates who lack those qualities, but I wish the Land of Tea arc felt less like a digression. Joseph: With the exception of a few outliers like Idate, most of the characters here came off like the Hydrox to the usual cast’s Oreo. And yes, I realize Hydrox came first, but who in the world eats ‘em? Jared: Giving these characters a connection to others we’ve seen seems like a way for the show to make you care about them more than if they were just randoms. Bringing back Team Oboro was more like a oh hey those guys and also just a way to not introduce new villains. Idate’s backstory was fine, even if it’s another person that Naruto sees his old self in which has already been a plot point. Kara: Feels like weird fanfic to be honest. Kevin: In general, I quite like trying previous characters and stories into new material, so bringing back the Rain ninjas was actually something I’m completely fine with. I just wish that they actually advanced beyond one-off villains due to having previously lost and thus trained harder, or anything to that effect. Noelle: It’s trying to make us care more about random characters, and I can respect that. If they don’t mess too much with canonical material, they could at least play with characters that don’t matter too much in the long run. It’s semi-functional, but also, I don’t think I would miss it if they didn’t cover it. Carolyn: I have the exact opposite reaction. I hate when a show tries to force random characters on you without making them earn it. Danni: Throwing some already established side characters into the mix at least made it feel a lot less like filler. I think I prefer it to having a weird digression full of original characters we never see or hear from ever again.

And of course, what were your highs and lows this week? Paul: My low point was Might Guy promising to die along with Rock Lee if the surgery goes poorly. It's largely Guy's fault that his student was so badly injured in the first place, and such a suicide pact seems extremely irresponsible, since Guy still has two other students (and an entire ninja village) depending on him. My high point was Naruto using a combination of his Shadow Clone Jutsu and his Rasengan Jutsu to create an enormous whirlpool. That's the kind of outside-the-box thinking at which Naruto excels, and I enjoy seeing our hero's efforts pay off in creative ways. Joseph: My high point was Rock Lee having the potential to one day live out his ninja dream again. The low point has to be the Land of Tea arc, which I hope ends soon. When it first started I assumed it was a two-parter, but Paul was quick to inform me it runs through—and doesn’t end in—this week’s batch. I’m doomed. Jared: High point was Rock Lee, like usual. Although Sakura just yanking up the mast on the ship and swinging it around ruled. Low point was a lot of the Land of Tea arc. Aoi seems like the worst villain the show has introduced thus far and just feels incredibly boring. Maybe there’s a chance this arc ends on a high note next week? Hopefully? Kara: High point was Tsunade finally sitting herself down, crunching the numbers for Lee, and then her badass pose when she declared herself Hokage. Runner-up is Naruto attempting to parse Konohamaru’s character development: “I thought not wanting to be known as the Hokage’s Grandson was like, your whole deal?” Low point was the Kakashi unmasking episode, with special low point emphasis on the pooping horse. Kevin: High - Probably Lee’s various conversations. As everyone around him wishes him a speedy recovery, he already knows that the only way he’ll recover is with a surgery that is downright likely to kill him, and we see him go through all kinds of pain reliving that fact every time, but not lashing out or explaining the situation to them because he knows that they are just honestly wishing him the best. Low - Everything around Lee’s scenes. I didn’t particularly care for the Moya ninjas subplot, and the Kakashi face reveal thing should have been its own filler episode, instead of being lumped in with such heavy material. As much as it would have been more melancholic than the show’s normal tone, I wish that we had simply gotten an episode or two with Lee as the main character, seeing his current hardships and mental state. Noelle: High point, Rock Lee can get back in the game! I knew that wouldn’t be a permanent thing, but it feels really good to affirm that it won’t be. Lee deserves to live out his dreams, for sure! Low point, filler. I’d like to say this filler works out for me but it really, really doesn’t. Carolyn: Yeah, me too, high point as always is the return of Rock Lee. Low point is probably the Land of Tea arc. I was not interested in it at all. Danni: Low point is Guy’s weird promise to kill himself if Lee dies. The high point for me was when I watched the new opening and gasped as soon as I figured out what I think it’s saying about an upcoming Sasuke development.

Counters:

Bowls of Ramen: 1 bowl (4 times, but counting it as one) "I'm Gonna be Hokage!": 4 Shadow Clones Created: 26

Total so far: Bowls of Ramen: 36 bowls, 3 cups "I'm Gonna be Hokage!": 52 Shadow Clones Created: 340

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

- May 3rd features PAUL CHAPMAN, who will walk us through the inevitable Naruto vs Sasuke in episodes 106-112.

- May 10th, JOSEPH LUSTER will give us the deets on the Sound Four.

- May 17th we'll visit the Valley of the End with JARED CLEMONS.

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 99-105? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

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