Naruto Manga: Uzumaki Naruto x Haruno Sakura, the Fandom
I've been thinking about why Naruto x Sakura fics have only recently started to go towards the decent how I've been reading more Naruto x Sakura fics that are decent and that, on the larger scale, it is still much more of a work in progress. This was, unfortunately, brought on because my own utter frustration of writing the pairing that I adore - not that I rock at writing romance to begin with - but it certainly got me thinking. So here's a few things that as a writer who's trying to write a Naruto and Sakura fanfiction that I try to hit and here's a few things that I miss and what I see other people miss too when writing them.
First off, what I try to show:
1. Something intimate. Not necessarily involving groping, kissing, or reenactments of Icha Icha with costumes. We have Kakashi and Jiraya for a reason and we don't need repeats of their imagination on paper. But what makes Naruto and Sakura such an endearing couple to me is that they've been through so much and they'll probably go through a lot more in the future, so when I write a scene with them, I want the reader to have a sense of history, even if I don't mention it. The atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship should be tangible, and intimacy isn't always physical.
2. Chemistry. Because I am so sick and tired of hearing how people say they act like brother and sister. Umm... no. They act like kindergarten kids. Naruto provokes Sakura so that she'd hit him which means that she touched him, then he ogles her. In turn, when he's not looking, she sends him those tender looks. But, to spice things up, if she takes a bite out of him and if he hugged her really hard, there's chemistry there too. I thought the Kyuubi in him might like the biting part ;D Inner Sakura's a wild child, after all (and a lot like Naruto) and she's definitely perverted enough to try!
3. Humor. Because Naruto is a kindergarten kid trying to provoke the girl he likes so she'd look at him and, if he's really naughty, she'd touch him by smacking him around. Since I suck at humor, this isn't really my strong point but I do try to incorporate it. sigh Naruto's also a prankster and he does have a sense of humor. They are also surrounded by eccentric teammates, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, etc. So there should be many a humorous moments. Ninja hijinks, what can I say?
4. Angst. Like Naruto has issues with sharing pain because he's alone for so long. Sakura has issues with showing weakness, because she's always been the weak one and she hates being a burden. They're both trying to retrieve a friend who is both a traitor and refused their friendship. Hello. It's angst with like whipped, angsty cream on top! And despite Naruto's front, he's also trying to retrieve a best friend and rival, who he considers to be family, for both himself and the promise to the girl he loves. It just so happens that said girl is thought to be completely in love with said best friend. Triangle chasing ensues and we angst some more. This is my strong point, but I feel like I need to cut back on my angst in-take.
5. Perversion. Naruto's two teachers are both the biggest perverts in Konoha, seriously. Sakura shares one said perverted teacher, and she's got Inner Sakura. She is also a total fangirl. There must be perversion! Hence the biting.
What a lot of NaruSaku fics miss out on:
1. Friends can be lovers. Good long relationships are built on friendship and trust. Hollywood has brainwashed us, so whenever I read (and sometimes even when I write) a NaruSaku fic, I struggle with the platonic. It can be focused on support and friendship, but it doesn't mean they don't want to rip each other's clothes off. And, after Samantha in Sex and the City, I can say the ripping clothes off part rarely means love blossoming with birds and unicorns and fairys that grants you wishes.
2. Sasuke. Complicated feelings of love that are not always romantic gets really complicated when people treat Sasuke as: a) Gotten over by Sakura and Naruto in some way, shape or form, because he's a bad apple - even though the manga clearly shows that these two idiots can't seem to get it (grumbles) no matter how clear the truth of it is; or b) Sakura and Naruto still have the same old feelings but are now all "adult" about it, and sort of using each other for comfort before Sasuke comes back and change the dynamic of things. I propose option c) Sakura loves Sasuke still as much as she used to, just not the same way. Naruto is on the fence about what to do with how he feels and has to struggle with not only keeping his promise but what to do with maturing feelings for a girl he isn't just attracted to anymore, but who he genuinely loves. Look, we got angst and they can still love Sasuke. We got complex and most importantly, Sasuke's not written out of the picture. Because he can't be (damnit). No matter how much he's a bastard (most of the time), he's still important. (Stupid anti-hero.) Just remember, Naruto and Sakura are strong because Sasuke's a bastard and a genius, as long as he doesn't get all the cred, it's good to make him important in the story. Team 7 is Team 7 for a reason, after all.
3. Ino is probably not going to play matchmaker or be the sympathetic ear. Let me explain Ino and Sakura's relationship. They're like Naruto and Sasuke, sort of, without half the psychological and abandonment issues. Sakura wants Ino to see her as an equal, which means she can't show weaknesses to her one-time friend. Ino has a soft spot for Sakura still, but she's acknowledged that Sakura is her rival - not by choice but she did - and rivals don't confide to each other during PJ parties or coffee. They might tease and snipe at each other when they meet, and they might even try to be casual friends again, but until Sasuke is brought back and until Asuma's parting words to Ino about her not losing to Sakura stop echoing through the volumes, I'm not seeing this happening any time soon. Rivalry's a bitch, ain't it? But, hey, if you want to make them best friends, go ahead. The fact of the matter is, Sakura is more likely to confide in Tsunade or Shizune, accidentally, than to Ino. She might indirectly ask Kakashi using "my friend has a problem", even if he can see underneath the underneath and be completely uncomfortable with it. She might even slip something to Sai when he pisses her off. And if it doesn't concern her feelings for Naruto, she'd definitely go to him with her problems before anyone else. On top of all that, it is not yet stated if Ino is completely over Sasuke. Either way, if Sakura admitted to Ino in any way, shape or form that she's given up on Sasuke before Ino confirms that she's not interested, Sakura is also inadvertantly admitting to her rival that she's throwing in the towel. Can you see either one give in to admitting anything to that degree any time soon, even if it concerns a total traitor to the village? So, yeah. I mean, seriously, can you imagine Naruto confide to Sasuke about his "feelings" for Sakura when he considers Sasuke a rival for Sakura's heart - even if Sasuke's not interested? Seriously.
4. They are not the typical romantic couple. Please stop with the she's weak and he's strong, she needs him and he's a hero. Yeah, Sakura is not the strongest on Team 7, but she's certainly not going to willingly show her weaknesses. She doesn't want to be a burden to Naruto, she wants to help him. (It's hard when as an author I want to show them being vulnerable to each other, especially with Naruto so dense, but yeah, it's pretty hard.) Naruto's not Sasuke. He's not tall, dark, or mysterious. He's loud, obnoxious, a dork, and a dense, dense young man. He will not see what Sakura means until she spells it out for him, especially if he doesn't want to see it. He will probably not be the one to do the seducing either, unless something drastic happens (ex. Seduce My Wife) and he'd probably botch it up. Seriously, Naruto being the shy, sensitive type? Yeah, Naruto is the hero of the tale, but he's the type of hero who works hard and doesn't give up, he's the inconsistent hero. And he's especially dorky around Sakura. So, please, don't take the cute dorkiness away to make him the handsome smexy man in the story. He's not. He's the dorky one who Sakura finds endearing and wants to coddle - and she'd probably snarl at the people who wants to hurt him while she cries when she thinks that he's hurt. She'll even realize he is kind of handsome but then in the next second also be reminded of what a completely deluded idiot he is. That's the type of couple they are. It's a pain in the ass to do, but that's why we love those two, right?
5. Please keep them in character. Sakura won't swoon for Naruto, unless she's on a mission and someone a) poisoned her or b) knocked her upside the head. Naruto will say something completely cool to take her breath away, and then do something completely stupid to remind him that he's not Sasuke-cool and he's a little bit of a pervert who needs his ears pulled, twisted, and boxed sometimes. They're both mischievous deep into their bones and find the same kind of things funny, outrageous, and interesting. So, once in awhile, having them completely miss each other on most things and suddenly reacting the exact same way is probably very NaruSaku.
6. Their personal dreams. Okay. Naruto is a shounen manga, which means romance takes a back seat to action, adventure, and plot! Please, please, give your story more meaning by focusing not just on romance but something else. I don't care what. Missions, character-buildup, Sasuke-retrieval, Akatsuki hunting, becoming Hokage... whatever! Just don't make their dates the main focus, and if it is, let there be other things going on! Naruto and Sakura are very important to each other because they support each other's dreams and goals and are always there for one another, taking that away from them take a large part out of what makes them such an un-Hollywood, un-shoujo-dramatics, unique and fabulous couple. Please, show that they have lives outside of the relationship. They're in the same profession, it's not hard to have them work side by side, or showcase their skills and flaws as individuals.
7. They're not perfect and they like each other not because of just the goods, they like each other because of the bad too. Naruto's dense and Sakura's perceptive, Naruto's confident and Sakura doubts her skills all the time, Naruto thinks fast on the battlefield and Sakura is a great teacher. They compliment each other as much as they're alike. Showcasing and using this to show what a great couple they are will probably enlarge their fanbase. I am not above converting people, so yeah!
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Feel free to add to make writing them less a headache. It's rewarding in the end, but I need to remind myself of some of the taboo too. If I missed anything or you disagree with whatever, feel free to comment too!
And. Must. Channel. Out. Hollywood!
First off, what I try to show:
1. Something intimate. Not necessarily involving groping, kissing, or reenactments of Icha Icha with costumes. We have Kakashi and Jiraya for a reason and we don't need repeats of their imagination on paper. But what makes Naruto and Sakura such an endearing couple to me is that they've been through so much and they'll probably go through a lot more in the future, so when I write a scene with them, I want the reader to have a sense of history, even if I don't mention it. The atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship should be tangible, and intimacy isn't always physical.
2. Chemistry. Because I am so sick and tired of hearing how people say they act like brother and sister. Umm... no. They act like kindergarten kids. Naruto provokes Sakura so that she'd hit him which means that she touched him, then he ogles her. In turn, when he's not looking, she sends him those tender looks. But, to spice things up, if she takes a bite out of him and if he hugged her really hard, there's chemistry there too. I thought the Kyuubi in him might like the biting part ;D Inner Sakura's a wild child, after all (and a lot like Naruto) and she's definitely perverted enough to try!
3. Humor. Because Naruto is a kindergarten kid trying to provoke the girl he likes so she'd look at him and, if he's really naughty, she'd touch him by smacking him around. Since I suck at humor, this isn't really my strong point but I do try to incorporate it. sigh Naruto's also a prankster and he does have a sense of humor. They are also surrounded by eccentric teammates, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, etc. So there should be many a humorous moments. Ninja hijinks, what can I say?
4. Angst. Like Naruto has issues with sharing pain because he's alone for so long. Sakura has issues with showing weakness, because she's always been the weak one and she hates being a burden. They're both trying to retrieve a friend who is both a traitor and refused their friendship. Hello. It's angst with like whipped, angsty cream on top! And despite Naruto's front, he's also trying to retrieve a best friend and rival, who he considers to be family, for both himself and the promise to the girl he loves. It just so happens that said girl is thought to be completely in love with said best friend. Triangle chasing ensues and we angst some more. This is my strong point, but I feel like I need to cut back on my angst in-take.
5. Perversion. Naruto's two teachers are both the biggest perverts in Konoha, seriously. Sakura shares one said perverted teacher, and she's got Inner Sakura. She is also a total fangirl. There must be perversion! Hence the biting.
What a lot of NaruSaku fics miss out on:
1. Friends can be lovers. Good long relationships are built on friendship and trust. Hollywood has brainwashed us, so whenever I read (and sometimes even when I write) a NaruSaku fic, I struggle with the platonic. It can be focused on support and friendship, but it doesn't mean they don't want to rip each other's clothes off. And, after Samantha in Sex and the City, I can say the ripping clothes off part rarely means love blossoming with birds and unicorns and fairys that grants you wishes.
2. Sasuke. Complicated feelings of love that are not always romantic gets really complicated when people treat Sasuke as: a) Gotten over by Sakura and Naruto in some way, shape or form, because he's a bad apple - even though the manga clearly shows that these two idiots can't seem to get it (grumbles) no matter how clear the truth of it is; or b) Sakura and Naruto still have the same old feelings but are now all "adult" about it, and sort of using each other for comfort before Sasuke comes back and change the dynamic of things. I propose option c) Sakura loves Sasuke still as much as she used to, just not the same way. Naruto is on the fence about what to do with how he feels and has to struggle with not only keeping his promise but what to do with maturing feelings for a girl he isn't just attracted to anymore, but who he genuinely loves. Look, we got angst and they can still love Sasuke. We got complex and most importantly, Sasuke's not written out of the picture. Because he can't be (damnit). No matter how much he's a bastard (most of the time), he's still important. (Stupid anti-hero.) Just remember, Naruto and Sakura are strong because Sasuke's a bastard and a genius, as long as he doesn't get all the cred, it's good to make him important in the story. Team 7 is Team 7 for a reason, after all.
3. Ino is probably not going to play matchmaker or be the sympathetic ear. Let me explain Ino and Sakura's relationship. They're like Naruto and Sasuke, sort of, without half the psychological and abandonment issues. Sakura wants Ino to see her as an equal, which means she can't show weaknesses to her one-time friend. Ino has a soft spot for Sakura still, but she's acknowledged that Sakura is her rival - not by choice but she did - and rivals don't confide to each other during PJ parties or coffee. They might tease and snipe at each other when they meet, and they might even try to be casual friends again, but until Sasuke is brought back and until Asuma's parting words to Ino about her not losing to Sakura stop echoing through the volumes, I'm not seeing this happening any time soon. Rivalry's a bitch, ain't it? But, hey, if you want to make them best friends, go ahead. The fact of the matter is, Sakura is more likely to confide in Tsunade or Shizune, accidentally, than to Ino. She might indirectly ask Kakashi using "my friend has a problem", even if he can see underneath the underneath and be completely uncomfortable with it. She might even slip something to Sai when he pisses her off. And if it doesn't concern her feelings for Naruto, she'd definitely go to him with her problems before anyone else. On top of all that, it is not yet stated if Ino is completely over Sasuke. Either way, if Sakura admitted to Ino in any way, shape or form that she's given up on Sasuke before Ino confirms that she's not interested, Sakura is also inadvertantly admitting to her rival that she's throwing in the towel. Can you see either one give in to admitting anything to that degree any time soon, even if it concerns a total traitor to the village? So, yeah. I mean, seriously, can you imagine Naruto confide to Sasuke about his "feelings" for Sakura when he considers Sasuke a rival for Sakura's heart - even if Sasuke's not interested? Seriously.
4. They are not the typical romantic couple. Please stop with the she's weak and he's strong, she needs him and he's a hero. Yeah, Sakura is not the strongest on Team 7, but she's certainly not going to willingly show her weaknesses. She doesn't want to be a burden to Naruto, she wants to help him. (It's hard when as an author I want to show them being vulnerable to each other, especially with Naruto so dense, but yeah, it's pretty hard.) Naruto's not Sasuke. He's not tall, dark, or mysterious. He's loud, obnoxious, a dork, and a dense, dense young man. He will not see what Sakura means until she spells it out for him, especially if he doesn't want to see it. He will probably not be the one to do the seducing either, unless something drastic happens (ex. Seduce My Wife) and he'd probably botch it up. Seriously, Naruto being the shy, sensitive type? Yeah, Naruto is the hero of the tale, but he's the type of hero who works hard and doesn't give up, he's the inconsistent hero. And he's especially dorky around Sakura. So, please, don't take the cute dorkiness away to make him the handsome smexy man in the story. He's not. He's the dorky one who Sakura finds endearing and wants to coddle - and she'd probably snarl at the people who wants to hurt him while she cries when she thinks that he's hurt. She'll even realize he is kind of handsome but then in the next second also be reminded of what a completely deluded idiot he is. That's the type of couple they are. It's a pain in the ass to do, but that's why we love those two, right?
5. Please keep them in character. Sakura won't swoon for Naruto, unless she's on a mission and someone a) poisoned her or b) knocked her upside the head. Naruto will say something completely cool to take her breath away, and then do something completely stupid to remind him that he's not Sasuke-cool and he's a little bit of a pervert who needs his ears pulled, twisted, and boxed sometimes. They're both mischievous deep into their bones and find the same kind of things funny, outrageous, and interesting. So, once in awhile, having them completely miss each other on most things and suddenly reacting the exact same way is probably very NaruSaku.
6. Their personal dreams. Okay. Naruto is a shounen manga, which means romance takes a back seat to action, adventure, and plot! Please, please, give your story more meaning by focusing not just on romance but something else. I don't care what. Missions, character-buildup, Sasuke-retrieval, Akatsuki hunting, becoming Hokage... whatever! Just don't make their dates the main focus, and if it is, let there be other things going on! Naruto and Sakura are very important to each other because they support each other's dreams and goals and are always there for one another, taking that away from them take a large part out of what makes them such an un-Hollywood, un-shoujo-dramatics, unique and fabulous couple. Please, show that they have lives outside of the relationship. They're in the same profession, it's not hard to have them work side by side, or showcase their skills and flaws as individuals.
7. They're not perfect and they like each other not because of just the goods, they like each other because of the bad too. Naruto's dense and Sakura's perceptive, Naruto's confident and Sakura doubts her skills all the time, Naruto thinks fast on the battlefield and Sakura is a great teacher. They compliment each other as much as they're alike. Showcasing and using this to show what a great couple they are will probably enlarge their fanbase. I am not above converting people, so yeah!
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Feel free to add to make writing them less a headache. It's rewarding in the end, but I need to remind myself of some of the taboo too. If I missed anything or you disagree with whatever, feel free to comment too!
And. Must. Channel. Out. Hollywood!