characterizations (and stuff) upon request
I recently received a review on Petrichor asking me to write this entry, so I will do my best!
Sai
One of the reasons why I love Sai so much is (embarrassingly) because of how you can use his character in fanfiction. He could be an absolute martyr, and it hurts in all of the best ways.
Lots of writers have put him in situations where people (i.e. Sakura) "show" him emotions or something of the sort, but what really strikes me about Sai is his internal conflict. There's a seal on his tongue to prevent him from leaking secrets about Danzou, but the seal doesn't stop him from feeling. Emotions come with time, not with being shown them, and the more time Sai spends with Team 7 and other people of their generation, the more he picks up, the more attached he gets. And I never believed that he was devoid of emotions in the first place--after all, he always held onto the book of his brother even when it wasn't necessary for his job.
And the thing about Sai is that he's smart. He has the same edge that Sasuke does, the same skills, and the same callousness, but the main difference is that he cares. Sai and Sasuke see the exact same things, but Sai decides to do something about it and make himself a part of it. He knows how much Naruto loves Sakura. He sees exactly how loving Sakura destroys Naruto, and he understands without being explained to how Sakura tries to protect Naruto. Sai just gets it. With the little bit of inhumanity in him, he can take apart relationships and feelings like an equation and figure it out, and that, I think, is the most beautiful thing about him.
Shikamaru
I don't think I have too much to say about him that hasn't been pointed out in one way or another already. If I could date any of the Naruto characters, it would be Shikamaru. He throws everything under the mask of being annoyed and finding everything too troublesome to deal with, but he always pulls through when it matters. And when he pulls through, he doesn't kick and scream the entire time either--he just stands up and does it, without a single complaint.
Shikamaru operates on efficiency and couldn't care less about recognition. He gets the job done with little hassle. He understands how the entire world works around him, and fits himself into it to avoid the least amount of trouble as possible.
And my favorite part about him (because I am and always will be a masochist, I suppose) is how breakable he really is. He's toughened up over the years, but after the failed Sasuke retrieval mission? Asuma's death? He took up smoking after that, for God's sake. I think Shikamaru has always harbored some secret pain that he refuses to talk about--and most of the time, he gets by. He makes it to the end of the day without feeling too upset. But isn't that a plausible reason for why he's always so quiet and out-of-the-way? Like Kakashi, he lies around and thinks about all of his failures, as if trying to repent. And now there's more for him to cry over, since his dad's dead too.
Itachi
Don't you dare tell me you understand pain until you know the life Itachi's lived. Most of my thoughts (and feelings and pain) on Itachi are encompassed beautifully in Lady Silvamord's Requiem, and if you've never read it, please do, because it is absolutely worth it.
Itachi is selfless. Itachi is compassionate. Itachi is a black hole of gentleness and kindness, and that was what made him lose in the end. All he wanted was for Sasuke to love his village, and he failed that one goal solely because he was too kind. He would direct all of Sasuke's hatred to himself, try to make it as painless for Sasuke as possible (which failed in itself, because whose clan gets slaughtered without major emotional trauma, right), and in the end, he still couldn't do what he set out to do. If Itachi wanted to, he could do anything at all. But in the end, he was just too kind.
As for reading recommendations! I actually don't read a lot of fanfiction since I get distracted easily, but here are some of my favorites in no particular order (plucked not-so-subtly from my favorites list on FFN):
Sai
One of the reasons why I love Sai so much is (embarrassingly) because of how you can use his character in fanfiction. He could be an absolute martyr, and it hurts in all of the best ways.
Lots of writers have put him in situations where people (i.e. Sakura) "show" him emotions or something of the sort, but what really strikes me about Sai is his internal conflict. There's a seal on his tongue to prevent him from leaking secrets about Danzou, but the seal doesn't stop him from feeling. Emotions come with time, not with being shown them, and the more time Sai spends with Team 7 and other people of their generation, the more he picks up, the more attached he gets. And I never believed that he was devoid of emotions in the first place--after all, he always held onto the book of his brother even when it wasn't necessary for his job.
And the thing about Sai is that he's smart. He has the same edge that Sasuke does, the same skills, and the same callousness, but the main difference is that he cares. Sai and Sasuke see the exact same things, but Sai decides to do something about it and make himself a part of it. He knows how much Naruto loves Sakura. He sees exactly how loving Sakura destroys Naruto, and he understands without being explained to how Sakura tries to protect Naruto. Sai just gets it. With the little bit of inhumanity in him, he can take apart relationships and feelings like an equation and figure it out, and that, I think, is the most beautiful thing about him.
Shikamaru
I don't think I have too much to say about him that hasn't been pointed out in one way or another already. If I could date any of the Naruto characters, it would be Shikamaru. He throws everything under the mask of being annoyed and finding everything too troublesome to deal with, but he always pulls through when it matters. And when he pulls through, he doesn't kick and scream the entire time either--he just stands up and does it, without a single complaint.
Shikamaru operates on efficiency and couldn't care less about recognition. He gets the job done with little hassle. He understands how the entire world works around him, and fits himself into it to avoid the least amount of trouble as possible.
And my favorite part about him (because I am and always will be a masochist, I suppose) is how breakable he really is. He's toughened up over the years, but after the failed Sasuke retrieval mission? Asuma's death? He took up smoking after that, for God's sake. I think Shikamaru has always harbored some secret pain that he refuses to talk about--and most of the time, he gets by. He makes it to the end of the day without feeling too upset. But isn't that a plausible reason for why he's always so quiet and out-of-the-way? Like Kakashi, he lies around and thinks about all of his failures, as if trying to repent. And now there's more for him to cry over, since his dad's dead too.
Itachi
Don't you dare tell me you understand pain until you know the life Itachi's lived. Most of my thoughts (and feelings and pain) on Itachi are encompassed beautifully in Lady Silvamord's Requiem, and if you've never read it, please do, because it is absolutely worth it.
Itachi is selfless. Itachi is compassionate. Itachi is a black hole of gentleness and kindness, and that was what made him lose in the end. All he wanted was for Sasuke to love his village, and he failed that one goal solely because he was too kind. He would direct all of Sasuke's hatred to himself, try to make it as painless for Sasuke as possible (which failed in itself, because whose clan gets slaughtered without major emotional trauma, right), and in the end, he still couldn't do what he set out to do. If Itachi wanted to, he could do anything at all. But in the end, he was just too kind.
As for reading recommendations! I actually don't read a lot of fanfiction since I get distracted easily, but here are some of my favorites in no particular order (plucked not-so-subtly from my favorites list on FFN):
- Shades of Sunrise by mrie. Itachi/Sakura. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close; I was choking up on every emotion possible throughout the entire thing. I'm also not a fan of the ending, but I think it's just a matter of preference. Most stories centered around Itachi and Sakura set in canon are fleeting, hot, and passionate, but what sets Shades of Sunrise apart is that it is the complete opposite of all of that.
- Home by korinara. Sai/Sakura. Short, quaint, and seemingly inconsequential, but I think the characters were en pointe given the circumstances, and it gives me feelings every time I read it.
- Marrow by DeGlace. Kimimaro/Sakura. And essentially the only notable fic for this pairing because I haven't bothered looking for more. I don't think it'll ever be completed but it's one of those once-in-a-lifetime fics.
- Like a Heart That Stumbles Onto Knowledge by arabesque05. Sasuke/Sakura. I haven't read this one in a long time, but considering that I love all of arabesque05's writing and this is the only one I've actually favorited, then it must be the most stunning. She has a way of words, warm and resonating in that quiet sort of way, and you can't really understand what I'm saying unless you've read anything she's written.
- Just Persuasion by SilverShine. Sasuke/Sakura. Fits very, very well in the canon timeline that the story takes place in. I'm slightly iffy on Sakura's "as a woman, I can give you what the others can't" thing that she's got going on, but Naruto has always been built on a misogynistic society anyway, so it doesn't really have to do with how well the story is executed.
- Dawning by deleria. Shikamaru/Sakura.
- Nascence by PetitDejeuner. Neji/Sakura. Okay, not so sure about this one, but it does look promising!