Author has written 3 stories for Naruto, Bleach, and Twilight. I love fanfiction. I love seeing characters put in new settings and scenarios, I love seeing how different people interpret different characters and events, but most of all I love watching a character grow and change in new and interesting ways that I never would have even thought of. Since shipping is such a major part of fanfiction I suppose I'll take a moment here to talk about pairings I like and why I enjoy them. This might encourage people to flame me, but its not like anyone ever reads these things, right? Before I begin, just let me say that I enjoy all pairings, be it for the chemistry between two characters, or sometimes for the sheer absurdity of the two characters. There are very few ships I'm actually against and I have no intention of listing them here. If you like a pairing that I don't like, then more power to you. I'm not here to argue why two people should or shouldn't be together, I just want to list some pairings I myself have grown fond of and wish there was more fanfics and fanart of. Trust me, some most of these pairings are borderline crack pairings anyway. I don't know why I like these pairs, I just do. Also, I'm well aware that most of these are either impossible or decidedly non-canon. I don't care, let me dream! Now that thats cleared up, lets begin Naruto: Naruto and Tenten. I came across this one in a crossover fanfic between Naruto and (of all things) Iron Man. Maybe its just because Tenten herself is a bit of an enigma as she is quite possibly the only character in Naruto to not have a flash back, but something about these two just appeals to me. The woman of unlimited weapons, and the man of unlimited clones. Put them together and you've got one serious storm of sharpened steal heading your way. Bleach: Ichigo and Soi Fon I honestly have no idea where this one came from. I like Soi fon and I like Ichigo, it just sort of happened. Ichigo is wild and uncontrolled, while Soi fon is the definition of control and grace. Imagine if Ichigo could learn to concentrate all the power of a Getsuga Tenshou into a pinpoint strike like Suzembachi, nothing could take that. Orihime and Ulquiorra It was actually hearing about how Ulquiorra kidnapped Orihime that got back into reading Bleach. I have to admit; I prefer stories where Ulquiorra turns Orihime to his side as opposed to the other way around. I love when a bright, cheerful character runs into someone who can make them realize things about themselves that they were unaware of, or unwilling to acknowledge. Orihime always struck me as a character with a lot of strength and complexity, but also a real darkness to her that Ulquiorra could exploit. One Piece: Luffy and Robin A collection of oneshots featuring these two together got me into the idea. After that I just couldn't stop. The brainiac archaeologist with the simplistic one man army. It just strikes me as a pleasant contrast. Black Cat: Train and Sephiria I love Sephiria and really wish she had gotten more screen time and development. I would have to say that this stemmed from the (sadly) few moments they share onscreen together. I just always got the impression that there was something going on with these two behind the scenes that we never got to see. When Sephiria and Train first meet onscreen together in volume five really sold the two for me. The kind and easy way they spoke to each other made me think of old friends talking, and Train calling her Commander showed he still had enormous respect for her. Claymore: Miria and Raki Again, I blame fanfiction for this one. Once I read a story that shipped these two, the pairing just wouldn't leave my head. Miria has her abilities as a leader and drive to end the Organization and Raki has the training and insight from Isley along with his drive to protect those he cares about. If the two of them wanted to protect the same thing, nothing would stop them. Angel Beats: Otonashi and Yurippe I can not be the only the person who likes this pairing. It seemed to me that this was the intended pairing from the start, what with Yuri revealing her tragic back story and all the times she ended up alone with Otonashi. I was really disappointed when she got pushed to the back round and the paring was pretty much ignored. I like how they both want the same thing, to help everyone in the battlefront, but they go about it in two totally different ways. I would like to see a story where they have to confront the fact that Otonashi is doing the exact opposite of what Yuri has been doing since she founded the battlefront. Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Kyon and Yuki God, I love these two. Yuki is so damn adorable and Kyon's natural protectiveness of her is touching. The movie, particularly the ending scene where he practically threatens an advanced alien being to protect Yuki, especially since he does this down on one knee, solidified my stance on these two. I like the thought of the average joe reaching out to the shy little alien girl and helping her find her humanity. Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward and Riza I got nothing on this one. I know they have a big age difference. I know she's obviously devoted to Mustang. I honestly don't know what possessed me to put these two into the character filter together. I just know I'm glad I did. Harry Potter: Harry and Hermione I don't really have a One True Pairing that i'll defend to the very end, but this one comes pretty damn close. This is another one I took for granted as meant to be, only to once again end up scratching my head when it didn't happen. Hermione is fiercely protective of Harry and Harry wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it wasn't for Hermione. I always just assumed he would eventually realize this and they would get together. Instead everyone acted completely out of character and made stupid decisions in books six and seven (my least two favorite of books of the series, but thats neither here nor there) and the whole thing just fell apart. The Chosen One and his loyal genius comrade, both need each other to reach their full potential and neither would still be alive without the other Kingdom Hearts: Demyx and Larxene Once again, I can't quite pin down when I came up with these two. Maybe its how conflicting their elements are, or even more so with their personalities. Demyx seems to have a darker side to him that I love seeing get dragged out by Larxene, usually only to be annoyed that he's even more evil than her. Mixing lighting and water is usually a bad idea, but sometimes it can make something grand. Axel and Aerith Unlike the pairing above, I know exactly where this one came from. The Ansem Retort, one of the funniest (and offensive) web comics I've ever seen. The pairing of Axel and Aerith together doesn't really connect to the actual games since the personalities in the comic are so different they might as well be different people. However, the thought got in my head and wouldn't leave. The hot headed pyro who just needs and friend, and the kind hearted Ancient who will always help a someone in need. Opinion on Sasuke, and Sakura, Naruto Since my first story here has Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto as friends throughout, I feel I'm going to have to address this eventually. Since Naruto (The Manga) has such a large fanfiction archive, I've come across plenty of... Alternate Character Interpretations when it comes to these three. I just want to make my own feelings about these three clear. Naruto: I think Naruto is annoying. I really hate the classic Idiot Hero trope and Naruto is one of the worst in my opinion. I don't hate him, far from it. I just get annoyed when Naruto will suddenly ruin a scene by saying something stupid or making some kind of obvious mistake. Naruto is at the point where he should be far past such idiocy and it drives me insane when the whole plot has to grind to a halt because Naruto is an idiot. This is the main reason I find the Time-skip so irritating; Naruto doesn't change. He spends roughly three years training with one of the greatest ninja to ever live, and he is still as stupid as ever, with no new techniques. Every time it seems that Naruto has grown in some way over the time-skip, the story goes to great lengths to show that he hasn't. Konohamaru uses the Sexy jutsu, Naruto laughs it off and says Kono should be learning real techniques. He then proceeds to try and use an even more perverted jutsu, but is hit by Sakura. Naruto is trapped in an illusion and tries to use the technique he learned to break an illusion. He fails and Sakura has to pull him out of the illusion. This is a serious problem I had with Naruto is that he hasn't really learned anything over the time-skip. The only thing we really see is the big Rasengan, but thats not really a new technique so much as just amping up a current one. It just makes me wonder, what the hell was Jaraiya actually teaching Naruto? I've heard some claim that Jaraiya was teaching Naruto to control the Kyuubi. If thats true, then he did a piss poor job of it. The Rescue Gaara Arc and especially the battle on the bridge with Orochimaru showed that Naruto has zero control over the fox and his own temper. This actually is one of the biggest problems I have with Naruto. Naruto doesn't really grow stronger, he just kind of hacks his way to the top. Naruto spends the month of the Chunin exam learning how to use the Kyuubi's chakra instead of practicing any real combat jutsu or improving his skills. This does help him for a while, but then when Akatsuki gets involved, it becomes clear that going berserk on Kyuubi's power won't work against such skilled opponents. So we learn he has a wind affinity and he creates the Wind Rasenshuriken, a powerful attack, but we never see him do anything else with wind. No techniques or jutsu's to refine his control over wind, just the Rasenshuriken and a couple of training exercises. We then take a long break for Sasuke Uchiha show, but Naruto doesn't seem to grow in that time either. To prepare himself for Pein, Naruto learns Sage mode, once again bypassing the need for other training, and is able to go toe to toe with one of the toughest characters. Then once the war starts, Naruto gains (two) levels of power by properly controlling the Kyuubi and is suddenly a powerhouse again. To me, it comes off as Naruto having no real idea what he's doing. He just muddles around until someone reveals a way for him to become massively stronger and he just goes and does that, it's a terribly obvious use of New Powers as the Plot Demands. People accuse Sasuke of power hacking with all his Sharingan abilities (and believe me, he does) but Naruto is almost as bad as Sasuke is in that regard. The sudden power leveling really bugs me because Naruto actually has some serious weaknesses that he needs to work on. The most egregious that I can think of is how easily he falls for illusions. The first time Naruto meets Itachi post time-skip has him caught in an illusion and needing to be rescued. Given how most of the Big Bads in Naruto have the Sharingan in one form or another, you would think that being weak against illusions would be a major hurdle he needs to over come. Instead, I don't think anyone has ever even thought of trapping Naruto in an illusion besides Itachi. Think about Sasuke's big battle with Itachi, now pretend it was Naruto fighting Itachi instead of Sasuke. Itachi was firing off illusions to fast that even Sasuke with the Sharingan was having trouble keeping up. Poor Naruto would have been mind fucked eight ways from Sunday before he could even get a jutsu off. It really sticks out to me that (SPOILERS) in the fight with Obito and Madara, who are two of the strongest Uchiha, neither of them have tried illusions. You could argue that they're so powerful they don't need illusions, but come on! The entire point of the fight is that they want to buy time for the Jyuubi to form and cast the Infinite Tsukoyomi. An illusion to distract Naruto would be really helpful, but instead they don't even entertain the possibility It honestly seems like Itachi is the only Uchiha who knows how to use a decent illusion properly Now, I've ragged on Naruto so much you probably think I hate him and I don't. I just think of him as wasted potential. Naruto should have had to grow up and accept the hard facts of life. Instead he seems intent on ignoring those facts and getting through on life with sheer stubbornness. The most egregious example is how Naruto refuses to believe Sasuke is evil. The devotion to his friend was touching at first, but there is a limit to how much Naruto can ignore about what Sasuke is doing. My favorite part is when Naruto begs the Raikage to forgive Sasuke for (as far as they know) killing his brother, then acts completely shocked when the Raikage refuses. Call me crazy, but I'm with the big guy on this one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't really like what canon did with Naruto, which is why I love Fanon so much. Sakura: I'm going to say this flat out. I went through a long period where I absolutely despised Sakura. I wouldn't read a fanfic involving her unless she was bashed or made to be the villain. I have fortunately outgrown this frankly childish phase and am far less disinclined towards Sakura. I wasn't a big fan of how she really didn't contribute much to the overall story, and just seemed to sort of hang around. If there is one thing I hate, be it male or female, its weak characters who can't stand up for themselves. Not to say that Sakura was utterly weak and defenseless. Before the Time-skip she had several moments that hinted at how strong she could be, fighting the Sound Trio, defending Sasuke from Gaara, etc. When the time-skip happened I was honestly thrilled to see Sakura had gained so much strength from Tsunade. She still knocked Naruto around a little, but it was obvious how much Sakura now legitimately cared for the blonde. The Rescue Gaara arc led to what I believe is Sakura finest moment, her battle with Sasori. Sakura, with some help, managed to take on an S-classed ninja and not only did she hold her own, she came out on top. I was thrilled beyond words when I saw this fight. I was so excited to finally have a strong female lead to help Naruto on his journey and be a powerhouse force to be reckoned with. Then it all just went away. All of the sudden, Sakura is pushed to the back round and all that strength and fortitude she showed vanished. Now all the sudden she is crying at every turn and can't seem to do much of anything on her own anymore. This leads to possibly her worst moment, where after she fails to kill Sasuke, Sakura decides that the only thing she can do is believe in Naruto. Yeah, fuck trying to help her friend, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, forget about proving herself by standing by Naruto's side. No, all she can do now is stand on the sidelines and believe. Ugh. If anyone has any example of Sakura being useful after the Sasori fight, please tell me because I'm honestly drawing a blank here. I will admit that I only read the manga, so if its anything Sakura does in filler episodes than don't bother. Filler can be interesting if done right, but I still consider it non canon to the actual manga. This is just like Naruto in that Sakura ending up just being a huge disappointment. What happened to the Sakura who never took her eyes off her opponent? Who went toe to toe with an S-classed ninja and won? Sakura was all geared up for greatness, but suddenly she got smacked down before she could ever really shine, except for that one battle where she glowed like some kind of avenging angel of ass-kicking. Sasuke: Ah, here's the big one. I hate Sasuke, plain and simple. Much like Naruto and Sakura, however he had the chance to be one of my favorite characters. Sasuke has had some pretty serious trauma inflicted on him, I understand this. I'm not trying to say that Sasuke doesn't have good reason to hate everything. However, Sasuke seemed to actually value his friends, despite all his anger. Sasuke nearly killed himself twice trying to protect Naruto. Once when he intercepted Haku's needle rain, and again when he told Naruto to grab Sakura and run while he distracted Gaara. Given how powerful Gaara was and how exhausted Sasuke was at that point, both he and Naruto knew that it was a death sentence. Around that point in time, I actually really liked Sasuke. He had a painful past, but he was devoted to his goal and seemed to honestly care for his friends safety. Then the curse mark started to mess with his head, he fought Itachi only to be easily beaten into the ground (or the wall, in this case), and he sees Naruto improving by leaps and bounds. Its important to note that Sasuke has always had a bit of an inferiority complex. At first it was to his brother, but he grew out of it when he became the best in the academy. Being beaten by Itachi and being left behind by Naruto brought those insecurities back, not helped by the curse mark. So, yeah I do really understand why Sasuke left the Leaf. I don't just think Sasuke is some kind of emo idiot who never had a decent bone in his body. Sasuke simply doesn't know how to deal with his problems. He ignored everything around him and focused solely on his goal to kill Itachi. Instead of trying to deal with trauma of losing his family, Sasuke buried his feelings deep down inside. When he finally gets the chance to fight Itachi, he isn't able to lay a finger on him. This made Sasuke realize how far away he was from actually achieving his revenge. This harsh reality check made Sasuke question everything he's done to that point. As I said, he can't deal with his problems, instead he tries to ignore them. All these things weighing down on Sasuke causes him to lash out at the people who care about him and try to leave these problems behind by leaving the Leaf. That all being said, just because I understand it doesn't mean I have to like Sasuke. I think Sasuke got a really bad hand in life, but I also think he's doing everything in his power to make his life worse. The final nail in the coffin for my dislike of Sasuke was after the Itachi fight. Everything Sasuke knows about his brother has been thrown out the window. Now Sasuke has to find a new goal of revenge, because lets face it, avenging is what he does. Instead of, say, trying to stop the guy who started the Uchiha revolution in the first place and ultimately is the reason Itachi had to kill everyone, he instead decides to crush the Leaf. You know, for doing their job and protecting everyone in the village, as opposed to just a single clan. Sasuke acts like the fact that he lost his family when he was younger gives him the right to do what ever the hell he wants. I've given up hope for Sasuke at this point. There is a point in the manga where Kakashi tells Sasuke (who just attacked the Kage Summit, allied himself with a man who has declared war on the entire world, tried to kill the Raikage, killed the Hokage, nearly killed his teammate in the process, and just tried to kill Sakura) not to fall into the darkness. Ironically, Sasuke and I both had the same reaction this statement; We busted out laughing at the sheer absurdity of it. Yeah, I think the ship has sorta sailed on that one, Kakashi. The latest chapters seem to hint that Sasuke may be redeemed after all, but I stopped caring a long time ago. The real sticking point for me is that I KNOW he is going to turn good at the end. We wouldn't have spent such a long time following him around instead of Naruto if he was going to end up the main villain. My issue stems from how it is being handled. Sasuke could be an incredibly tragic character, he could be torn between the loyalty to his family and the bonds he made with his friends. We could see the inner turmoil he goes through as he questions whether he is making the right decisions or see how much he wishes he could return to the simpler times he spent in the Village. However, that isn't how it is portrayed. Sasuke has absolutely NO problems with the decisions he has made and has nothing but contempt for his old friends. I could just see it, after confronting Naruto and Sakura for the first time in three years, we could show a single shot of him by himself, shedding a few tears at how his choices have cost him his friends. Maybe a scene where he pleads with his friends not to get involved, because he doesn't want to hurt them. Nope, they aren't worth his time of day. If they get in his way, then he'll kill them without a second thought. It isn't tragic, it just makes Sasuke seem like he his beyond redemption. Sasuke from before the Time-Skip is a tragedy. Saskue after the Time-Skip is murderous psychopath. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke as a whole: Alright, I've ragged on the characters so much you're probably wondering why I even still read Naruto. The fact of the matter is, Team Seven had all the components necessary to be a perfect team. Think about it. Take Sakura from during the Sasori fight, when she is strong and decisive, Naruto from any moment where he isn't being a complete and utter idiot, and Sasuke from when he stilled cared about his teammates enough to sacrifice himself, and you have a perfect team. The components were all there, they just all sprang up at the wrong time, and were gone before they could be properly utilized. My all time favorite kind of fanfiction are the ones that make Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto the incredible fighting force they could have been. Fanfics where they are friends instead of bitter enemies and can help each other through their (numerous) problems. I look at Team Seven and all I feel is disappointment at seeing such potential go to utter waste. EDIT: I take it all back! Team 7 are back together and fighting on equal ground! Do I think Sasuke's redemption was poorly handled? Yes. Do I think that Sakura suddenly having Tsunade's seal and it being the reason she has been so weak all this time is a bit of an Ass-pull? Yes. Do I give a damn? Absolutely not! This Image:http:///art/Naruto-632-Team-7-reunited-374779405 Makes it all worth it! (kinda) |
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