Essay series, part 1
Twinness:
Sakon and Ukon are twins, and extremely close twins at that. Having the ability to share a body is one thing. Doing it nearly all the time? Something else entirely.
What this translates to is that not only does every one who knows them well (Sound Four etc) consider them to be one inseparable unit but that they do too. They are possibly the most co-dependant characters I’ve ever come across. I firmly believe that if one were to die the other would suicide, unless stopped by outside forces. They trust each other implicitly and to an extent that they trust no one else. They also coordinate easily and effortlessly. Everything they do (which to outsiders might appear to only be Sakon’s actions) is in concert one way or another. Ukon is quite content to let Sakon be in charge of their daily lives. And when Sakon is swept away by something that Ukon doesn’t agree with (when Ukon is being swept away himself) Ukon does speak up. And usually, Sakon listens like a good little brother. This probably hardly ever occurs in a way that others would be able to decipher, however. As close as they are, they probably have a very intricate form of nonverbal communication between each other (possibly to the point of almost seeming telepathic but I will think more on those aspects later and follow up with an essay) that was developed in part to conserve their secret.
Of course, they do have disagreements but these seem to be mild, rare, and quickly solved.
On the other hand they are a unit made up of two brothers and they do have some individuality. They simply see their brother as an essential other half to themselves, two parts of the same whole fitting perfectly but not quite the same stuff, not as a single cohesive whole. In this respect they very much expect those who know them to be able to tell them apart and will get quite annoyed when mistakes are made. As far as they are concerned the differences are quite obvious even without the hair and the necklace. Being able to tell them apart without relying on those physical clues will earn said person back some major points to counter the (probable) trillion they lost when poking hard enough to discover the twins’ secret in the first place.
Speaking of their secret, the twins hold onto it dearly (for reasons laid out in the Permissions meme. Go and read it if you haven’t already.) but there is one point I would like to address here. They are very aware that the second head is blindingly obvious. They are very aware that any decent ninja could probably figure it out on their own and even civilians would notice something’s up. This is why they are never startled when someone pokes them. Just very, very upset and annoyed. Because in a world full of ninja where unusual appearances can quite often mean some big bad justu or ability that can kill you? You just don’t pry. Ninja keep very strictly to their secrets, even the obvious ones.
Lastly, the twins do tend to respond to other twins differently. There is something of a “birds of a feather” sentiment as well as a natural gravitation. Other pairs of twins would have a better chance of understanding them and their twin quirks better. Likely in a way that even the rest of the Four never quite managed. So they are more inclined to be lenient with other twins and allow a very small amount of not-quite-trust because of that fact.
Trust:
The twins are generally paranoid and untrusting. Living as ninja where things like crossing and double crossing were almost a rule rather than an exception does not make one inclined to be a trusting person. Orochimaru is not Sandaime nor is Oto, Konoha. Sound-nin were likely gathered from dozens of places and backgrounds and arrived with a multitude of goals and attitudes. Backstabbing and jockeying for position with their new leader was likely almost expected. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Orochimaru would have encouraged such things. Not the best way to make a trusting and cohesive fighting force. Shared loyalties to a single, strong leader only go so far in replacing true trust.
So, the twins clearly don’t trust the world to do anything other than backstab and be untruthful, even in cases of close compainions. For example, Ukon readily believed that Kiba had abandoned Akamaru to save his own hide, even after seeing how close the two wore during the fight.
Still, the twins do show a great deal of trust and care for each other, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Four. Sakon spends a moment staring after Jiroubou after the others leave with what I can only interpret as a small amount of concern before telling him to hurry up. (I will write more on this later) He also shows great faith in Kidoumaru’s abilities.
On the other hand he readily expresses doubt and derision of Orochimaru’s choice of Sasuke, even while following Orochimaru’s orders obediently to the point of accepting Sasuke as “leader.”
Thus trust is the most important facet of the twins’ relationship with others. It determines how they will react to a great extent. Loyalty comes close second. While the rest of the world (mostly) can go fuck off and die the twins will do and risk a lot for those they owe loyalty to/share loyalty with and even more for those they trust.
Because of their paranoia though, gaining their trust is extremely difficult and can generally follow only after loyalty. The Four have had years to gain the twins’ trust and strengthen it to the point that it is now.
But, it is not impossible to do, just damn difficult. The person must first and foremost ping them as being potentially trustworthy. They must, among other things, completely and without fail, display guileless honesty and “noble” qualities like keeping their word and earnestness. In addition they must demonstrate loyalty, either to the twins themselves, the twins as part of the Four, or to Orochimaru/Sound.
Aiding them without being asked (in any manner but most impressively it would involve risking your life to save them from something they can’t handle), while annoying the hell out of them in general, will also go a long ways to inspiring eventual trust.
Having the trust of one of the other members of the Four is a big, big, BIG nod in that person’s favor.
So far, the only person that has even begun to complete these requirements is Rosalyn. More on the twins and her in her relationship meme. A coherent essay will be written up at a later date.
Morality:
The twins are not pure evil. Nor are they completely amoral. One does not develop strong trust based relationships with anyone if that is the case.
On the other hand, their morals are very skewed and/or non-existent in several areas. A list of several big/likely to come up in camp areas and their views on them follow.
Murder/killing: They are quite capable of just up and killing someone and would not feel any guilt over it on their own. (Upsetting someone they trust/care about? Is another matter.) On the other hand they don’t go around and kill people on whims. Generally provocation of some sort is involved (though that can be as simple as the other person being an enemy ninja), or orders. Without either the twins generally don’t see a need for killing and therefore. . . don’t. It really is as simple as that. They are content merely with the knowledge that they can kill you if they ever should decide to want to.
Torture(physical/mental): Pretty much the same deal as killing but the provocation generally has to be a lot greater.
But! They are both sadists and do enjoy harming/killing others and playing with their victims to a certain extent. So it can be ridiculously easy to get them to the point where they would try. Still, provocation is required. They aren’t going to just decide, “hey, this person I’ve never met would be fun to kill. Let’s do it.”
Theft/destruction of property: If someone can’t keep track of or protect their possessions it isn’t the twins’ fault. And they have no problem in taking/destroying things if they get the chance and are generally feeling mild malice towards the owner. Less likely to if they fear reprisals.
Betrayal: NO. They will never betray anyone they trust/respect/owe loyalty to. (This does, of course, leave the majority of the world open to backstabbing though)
They will not ever fight against Orochimaru, nor knowingly aid enemies in any way that could harm him, Sound, or his plans. They gave their lives to him and would readily die for him. And have. . . Which puts them in the very interesting position of being at a major turning point. On one hand they did everything for him that they were capable of and thus, repaid whatever debt they owe him in full. On the other hand, being alive again gives them the choice of going back and doing that all over again. Which isn’t that appealing because it will end the same. However, because they have died and Orochimaru continued on without them. . . Well, not returning to him doesn’t harm him, Sound, or his plans and therefore isn’t a betrayal unless he orders them to return. They could go start a new life, guilt free.
Besides Orochimaru they will also never betray anyone they trust in any way. The very idea of doing so causes them emotional discomfort. They won’t ever turn their back on the Four or abandon any one of them for any reason if they can help it.
Rape: A major moral issue. . . but will be included in the essay about sex/sexuality/relationships instead. Essay will be linked here when it is finished.
Multiple partners: Because it came up in camp. They twins share everything and are of the opinion that any future partner of theirs will belong to BOTH of them, provided both of them want that person. And. . . they really can’t imagine one of them wanting someone the other doesn’t right now so. Yeah. Multiple partners are a truly natural and expected thing for the both of them. And they would never begrudge any partner the chance to have partners of their own in addition.
Incest: Deserves an essay of its own, which hasn’t been written yet, so it will have to wait.
Sakon and Ukon are twins, and extremely close twins at that. Having the ability to share a body is one thing. Doing it nearly all the time? Something else entirely.
What this translates to is that not only does every one who knows them well (Sound Four etc) consider them to be one inseparable unit but that they do too. They are possibly the most co-dependant characters I’ve ever come across. I firmly believe that if one were to die the other would suicide, unless stopped by outside forces. They trust each other implicitly and to an extent that they trust no one else. They also coordinate easily and effortlessly. Everything they do (which to outsiders might appear to only be Sakon’s actions) is in concert one way or another. Ukon is quite content to let Sakon be in charge of their daily lives. And when Sakon is swept away by something that Ukon doesn’t agree with (when Ukon is being swept away himself) Ukon does speak up. And usually, Sakon listens like a good little brother. This probably hardly ever occurs in a way that others would be able to decipher, however. As close as they are, they probably have a very intricate form of nonverbal communication between each other (possibly to the point of almost seeming telepathic but I will think more on those aspects later and follow up with an essay) that was developed in part to conserve their secret.
Of course, they do have disagreements but these seem to be mild, rare, and quickly solved.
On the other hand they are a unit made up of two brothers and they do have some individuality. They simply see their brother as an essential other half to themselves, two parts of the same whole fitting perfectly but not quite the same stuff, not as a single cohesive whole. In this respect they very much expect those who know them to be able to tell them apart and will get quite annoyed when mistakes are made. As far as they are concerned the differences are quite obvious even without the hair and the necklace. Being able to tell them apart without relying on those physical clues will earn said person back some major points to counter the (probable) trillion they lost when poking hard enough to discover the twins’ secret in the first place.
Speaking of their secret, the twins hold onto it dearly (for reasons laid out in the Permissions meme. Go and read it if you haven’t already.) but there is one point I would like to address here. They are very aware that the second head is blindingly obvious. They are very aware that any decent ninja could probably figure it out on their own and even civilians would notice something’s up. This is why they are never startled when someone pokes them. Just very, very upset and annoyed. Because in a world full of ninja where unusual appearances can quite often mean some big bad justu or ability that can kill you? You just don’t pry. Ninja keep very strictly to their secrets, even the obvious ones.
Lastly, the twins do tend to respond to other twins differently. There is something of a “birds of a feather” sentiment as well as a natural gravitation. Other pairs of twins would have a better chance of understanding them and their twin quirks better. Likely in a way that even the rest of the Four never quite managed. So they are more inclined to be lenient with other twins and allow a very small amount of not-quite-trust because of that fact.
Trust:
The twins are generally paranoid and untrusting. Living as ninja where things like crossing and double crossing were almost a rule rather than an exception does not make one inclined to be a trusting person. Orochimaru is not Sandaime nor is Oto, Konoha. Sound-nin were likely gathered from dozens of places and backgrounds and arrived with a multitude of goals and attitudes. Backstabbing and jockeying for position with their new leader was likely almost expected. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Orochimaru would have encouraged such things. Not the best way to make a trusting and cohesive fighting force. Shared loyalties to a single, strong leader only go so far in replacing true trust.
So, the twins clearly don’t trust the world to do anything other than backstab and be untruthful, even in cases of close compainions. For example, Ukon readily believed that Kiba had abandoned Akamaru to save his own hide, even after seeing how close the two wore during the fight.
Still, the twins do show a great deal of trust and care for each other, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Four. Sakon spends a moment staring after Jiroubou after the others leave with what I can only interpret as a small amount of concern before telling him to hurry up. (I will write more on this later) He also shows great faith in Kidoumaru’s abilities.
On the other hand he readily expresses doubt and derision of Orochimaru’s choice of Sasuke, even while following Orochimaru’s orders obediently to the point of accepting Sasuke as “leader.”
Thus trust is the most important facet of the twins’ relationship with others. It determines how they will react to a great extent. Loyalty comes close second. While the rest of the world (mostly) can go fuck off and die the twins will do and risk a lot for those they owe loyalty to/share loyalty with and even more for those they trust.
Because of their paranoia though, gaining their trust is extremely difficult and can generally follow only after loyalty. The Four have had years to gain the twins’ trust and strengthen it to the point that it is now.
But, it is not impossible to do, just damn difficult. The person must first and foremost ping them as being potentially trustworthy. They must, among other things, completely and without fail, display guileless honesty and “noble” qualities like keeping their word and earnestness. In addition they must demonstrate loyalty, either to the twins themselves, the twins as part of the Four, or to Orochimaru/Sound.
Aiding them without being asked (in any manner but most impressively it would involve risking your life to save them from something they can’t handle), while annoying the hell out of them in general, will also go a long ways to inspiring eventual trust.
Having the trust of one of the other members of the Four is a big, big, BIG nod in that person’s favor.
So far, the only person that has even begun to complete these requirements is Rosalyn. More on the twins and her in her relationship meme. A coherent essay will be written up at a later date.
Morality:
The twins are not pure evil. Nor are they completely amoral. One does not develop strong trust based relationships with anyone if that is the case.
On the other hand, their morals are very skewed and/or non-existent in several areas. A list of several big/likely to come up in camp areas and their views on them follow.
Murder/killing: They are quite capable of just up and killing someone and would not feel any guilt over it on their own. (Upsetting someone they trust/care about? Is another matter.) On the other hand they don’t go around and kill people on whims. Generally provocation of some sort is involved (though that can be as simple as the other person being an enemy ninja), or orders. Without either the twins generally don’t see a need for killing and therefore. . . don’t. It really is as simple as that. They are content merely with the knowledge that they can kill you if they ever should decide to want to.
Torture(physical/mental): Pretty much the same deal as killing but the provocation generally has to be a lot greater.
But! They are both sadists and do enjoy harming/killing others and playing with their victims to a certain extent. So it can be ridiculously easy to get them to the point where they would try. Still, provocation is required. They aren’t going to just decide, “hey, this person I’ve never met would be fun to kill. Let’s do it.”
Theft/destruction of property: If someone can’t keep track of or protect their possessions it isn’t the twins’ fault. And they have no problem in taking/destroying things if they get the chance and are generally feeling mild malice towards the owner. Less likely to if they fear reprisals.
Betrayal: NO. They will never betray anyone they trust/respect/owe loyalty to. (This does, of course, leave the majority of the world open to backstabbing though)
They will not ever fight against Orochimaru, nor knowingly aid enemies in any way that could harm him, Sound, or his plans. They gave their lives to him and would readily die for him. And have. . . Which puts them in the very interesting position of being at a major turning point. On one hand they did everything for him that they were capable of and thus, repaid whatever debt they owe him in full. On the other hand, being alive again gives them the choice of going back and doing that all over again. Which isn’t that appealing because it will end the same. However, because they have died and Orochimaru continued on without them. . . Well, not returning to him doesn’t harm him, Sound, or his plans and therefore isn’t a betrayal unless he orders them to return. They could go start a new life, guilt free.
Besides Orochimaru they will also never betray anyone they trust in any way. The very idea of doing so causes them emotional discomfort. They won’t ever turn their back on the Four or abandon any one of them for any reason if they can help it.
Rape: A major moral issue. . . but will be included in the essay about sex/sexuality/relationships instead. Essay will be linked here when it is finished.
Multiple partners: Because it came up in camp. They twins share everything and are of the opinion that any future partner of theirs will belong to BOTH of them, provided both of them want that person. And. . . they really can’t imagine one of them wanting someone the other doesn’t right now so. Yeah. Multiple partners are a truly natural and expected thing for the both of them. And they would never begrudge any partner the chance to have partners of their own in addition.
Incest: Deserves an essay of its own, which hasn’t been written yet, so it will have to wait.