Sneakycat-bishes

To summarize: 1. Get uBlock Origin and make sure it's updated to the latest version. 2. Click on the gear icon to get to the dashboard, go to "Filter lists", and make sure that "uBlock filters - Quick fixes" is up to date

In the original, infected!Paul was manic (exuding forced joy as a reflection of Pokey’s glee at having caught him), but there were still many glimpses of the old Paul. For the first half of the song, at least, it wasn't clear to us if there was still some of the old Paul in there. 

Not this time! In the reprise, it's a lot clearer how being infected transformed Paul (other than the singing and dancing and having an even smoother leading man tenor voice). This infected!Paul in the reprise is confident, assured, and even predatory. Watching him perform “Inevitable,” it’s clear that that is Pokey. 

Lauren Lopez’s acting really sells how horrifying the scene is, and the choreography, lighting, and uncanny facial expressions and movements of everyone else emphasizes that. The infected corner her and chase her. Paul keeps grabbing her and dancing her around like a ragdoll, or grasping her hands tightly and not letting her go, uncaring of how terrified she is. 

And the editing in the proshot now?! When Paul and Emma first hug, just the little detail of his face being hidden as Emma smiles with relief gives an underlying note of suspense. 

And then Jon’s acting?? He pulls off infected!Paul so well. Truly in his villain era. Pokey shines through here, in Jon's performance, like nowhere else in the show. 

And the way Paul practically snarls at her, “If you give us one last show stopping number” before forcibly pushing her into the spotlight?! With Paul’s expression, it's clear how much he’s demanding it of her. Pokey’s frustration and insistence on having his way really shows through in that moment, too! 

My favorite underrated new choreography moment from “Inevitable” was after the line “Or I might be inclined to plant my seed”:

Paul stalks towards Emma, a spotlight trained on him. It’s like he’s glowing from within like the meteor, brimming with godlike power from Pokotho. 

The line “plant my seed” was always a creepy and rape-y line, but the choreography really underlined it. The way Paul stalks toward Emma filled me with visceral fear for her. This moment really felt like in a horror movie when the monster slowly and confidently approaches its victim.

And right before that, too, Paul already had Emma in his arms! He pushed her away, between the rows of the other infected, only to chase after her again. And isn't that exactly what Pokey is doing, reliving the chase and capture of Paul and his friends over and over again? 

Doodle.

So, Susanoo, little brother of Amaterasu, hears that Kaguya has gotten free.

He decides that yk what? Time to fuck with the big sister. Kaguya got sealed away for reasons anyways, so why shouldn't he at least make jokes about putting her back where she came from?

Meanwhile Amaterasu is busy yelling at Kaguya for hours then making out with her for even longer as Izuna stares in horror. (Tobirama does not give a shit, he got both of his brothers back at this point and could not be happier. As far as he considers, he's retired. His contract with Kaguya is half broken right now anyways)

So now lets fully shift gears away from Tobirama and Izuna's seeming end of the adventure, and turn to Madara's POV

So Susanoo finds Madara, whos a) compatible with his power via being one of Amaterasu's children. And b) The reincarnation of one of the original guys who sealed Kaguya away.

Perfect match!!

idk how he convinces him to help exactly, maybe Susanoo spins a bit of a story, maybe he pokes at and reawakens the parts of his soul with a grudge against Kaguya, maybe he, like Kaguya, offers him a wish-- Im undecided.

Long story short though, magical girl Madara with Susanoo as his sponsor

Somehow Hashirama finds out, and not one to leave his best friend to his task alone, now gets to join him in the adventure as the powerless backup!! Im such a sucker for that trope.

Susanoo does spend an especially long time squinting at Hashirama before saying something about he has surprisingly strong ties to the earth. Strong enough that he might be able to actually handle a contract with some sort of nature kami -- but only if he can find one willing to offer him their power.

Shrine maiden Mito makes a come back to help back them both up with some cool priest magic. Her ancestor helped to seal Kaguya away with Hashirama and Madara's past incarnation, and theres little clues that can help piece together their past lives and powers littered around her family shrine.

The story dives a bit into Madara and Hashirama learning about their past life. Before, they were able to avoid the karma (good and bad) theyd earned in that life via being ignorant to it. But now that they not only know about their past lives but have now interacted with the gods again (thanks Susanoo, really) they're getting regularly harassed by spirits and minor gods for an array of reasons. Past crimes, bets they lost and deals they forgot or werent able to fuffil,

Thanks Susanoo, really. Really.

So anyways, Susanoo kind of forgot the original reason he contracted Madara (he just got distracted having too much fun watch him be harassed by spirits)

But one day Tobirama shows up in costume while Madara is struggling, figuring hed help.

(Its important to note that just like before, unless you see the magical girl transformation in real time with your own two eyes, they're all prevented from recognizing/remembering each others faces when in costume. )

Susanoo is like "OH FUCK RIGHT!!" and starts yelling at Madara to like fuffill his destiny and punch out this guys lights

Madara is like ???? he helped me tho ???? but Susanoo points at the big glowing "I only gave you this contract so you could fight Kaguya and if you pull out now Ill leave you alone without the powers to fight off all these spirits who keep trying to eat you" sign

And Madara is like fuck and just goes for it

Tobirama does not appreciate his help being returned like this.

Quick interlude about Tobirama's situation:

So, last time we saw him, Tobirama was risking a full transformation into a moon monster. So why is he seemingly ok using Kaguya's powers now?

The answer is that its because hes stopped giving out contracts on Kaguya's behalf. He can handle Kaguya's power, just in small amounts. Though it still does sometimes cause some discomfort. At his lowest point he was basically acting like a battery for all the power Kaguya couldnt hold bc of how she was sealed. There was way too much power there for any mortal to hold, its honestly a miracle he survied. But now Kaguya is fully free and Tobirama barley even uses her power. (Why would he? He got what he wanted from it, his brothers)

He still has the contract with her because keeping it in place is what keeps his brothers alive. He cant break that without killing his brothers too, but he doesnt mind. Kaguya isnt that bad-- Even tho having Kaguya around means Amaterasu (and thus Izuna) is around too.

Anyways, Tobirama at his strongest is stronger than Izuna (he did kind of win that final battle in releasing Kaguya), but also risks going insane and or exploding from the weight of Kaguya's power. Even if he recovers after, the more times he uses that kind of power, even once, the more he risks long term damage. He now purposefully only uses power in small amounts to avoid that risk. Take that as you will

Alright back to the story;

So. Tobirama and Madara are fighting now. Madara does not want to fight but Susanoo is pretty much blackmailing him at this point and also cheering on loudly from the inside of Madara's head.

Tobirama meanwhile is very down to kick the ass of the apparent jackass who decided to take a swing at him after he went well out of his way to help him out. Also at this point hes a lot more experienced than Madara when it comes to fighting other magical girls, so.

Yeah. Madara gets his ass beat. Not too bad, but like, enough.

He kind of thinks he deserved it too, hes really embarrassed about it. He has MANNERS. Hed never DO this to someone who just fucking SAVED him. And they're the first other actual fr magical girl hes ever met !!!

Madara has his head in his hands in fucking agony rn, Susanoo why would you DO THIS TO HIM???

Tobirama stomps off to go tell Izuna about a seemingly weirdly prone to violence magical girl in town (Izuna, when told that Madara punched Tobirama in the face out of nowhere, quietly mumbles *damn I wish that were me.* Then gets his ponytail yanked on angrily)

(Amaterasu and Kaguya are actually mildly concerned, if only bc another magical girl = another kami physically present in town)

Madara slinks home to tell Hashirama the bad news about possibly having just made an enemy out of whatever community of magical girls apparently exists in town (and its to note that neither of them actually realized they were AROUND)

And then Susanoo drops the "oh yeah that guy was contracted by Kaguya btw so like youre going to either have to kill him or go through him and seal his deity if u wanna fulfill our deal ;)"

Madara: *agonized noises*

Well! At least the moon rabbit contractor isnt someone Madara and Hashirama actually know! Haha thatd suck. That would really, really suck.

So, with Madara's karma pulling in all sorts of spirits, minor gods and monsters to town, we return back to that 'villain/monster of the week' schedule

Meanwhile Izuna and Tobirama are getting pissed at whatever the fuck is attracting all these spookies into town. They thought they were going to get to be retired!!! What the fuck is this!!!!!! Somehow they're able to figure out all these monsters are being attracted by the pull of the new magical girl in town, who keep trying to start shit with Tobirama for seemingly no reason.

In one of those fun 'oh no my friend is in trouble and its all on me to save him!!!' moments, Hashirama manages to find and convince some earth kami to contract with him and join Madara in his fight. He cant just let Madara fight alone! And it may mean inviting the bad karma of his past life to haunt him, but so what? Hed do anything to help out his friend!

(and now there are TWO magnets for spirits gods and monsters to attract them into town, oops)

SO THEN !! With another fun funky turn in the story we enter an arc thats basically the most painful series of miscommunications and secret identities ever. Where Madara, Hashirama and Mito team up to fight against Tobirama and Izuna.

Only none of them realize who the fuck the other is.

Oh ?? Whats that ???? You thought I forgot about Touka and Hikaku?????? WRONG

While Madara and Hashirama fight with Izuna and Tobirama, shrine maiden Mito finds herself faced with two seemingly normal people, just like her. Only not exactly.

Hikaku is still armed with that kendo sword blessed by Amaterasu from the last final battle between Izuna and Tobirama, and now hes had plenty of time to learn how to use it. Sun sword time !!!

Meanwhile Touka has been practicing balancing more of Kaguya's power via a contract through Tobirama. With time, effort, and Tobirama's help, shes able to do some like cool partial transformation into a moon-monster or smthn. Maybe she gets a cool glowy arm?? I really dont know but something like that

I'm actually really into how they continue to contrast eachother. Like, Hikaku's sword contains the purifying light of Amaterasu's sun, which is what's used to chase out Kaguya's power. And Touka is filled with that same barley managed corruptive power of Kaguya's. It's neat! It'd also make sense from a tactical standpoint to pair them up together to fight. If the power gets to be too much for Touka and she starts to loose herself, Hikaku can give her a whack and hopefully help bring her back to reality.

Anyways, while the magical girls cant recognize eachother or be recognized, and Mito might have some fun seal to use to hide her own identity in a similar way, Hikaku and Touka dont!

Maybe they go into the fight without disguising themselves as like an accidental oversight on their part (too used to the protections Tobirama and Izuna have to consider themselves) or maybe they use basic masks, I dunno

Either way, trying to disguise themselves or no, I dont think Madara and Hashirama will fail to recognize their cousins.

Queue another "oh god I know their secret identity but they dont know mine and its !! someone !!! I know !!!!!!!" (can you tell I like this kind of agony because I do)

Well. At least the magical girls arent people they know !!! hahahahahahha. Yeah.

Back to Tobirama and Izuna's POV;

So, you might have realized it by now. But Tobirama's contract with Kaguya is what keeps his brothers alive. In other words, if Kaguya is sealed again, they will instantly die!

Yeah !!! So theres that !!!!

Even if Tobirama and Izuna werent friends, which they kind of are now (and maybe they should also kiss that would be neat) Even if Amaterasu wasnt really pissed and constantly yelling about the gall of some upstart nobodies coming into HER town and putting HER girlfriend back into the moon. Even if Izuna hadn't been interacting a bit more with the revived senju brothers--

Well, Izuna would still be helping Tobirama here. Hes not going to just let Itama and Kwarama die.

So yeah, safe to say that these guys are motivated and out for blood.

Good news Susanoo, you no longer have to worry about goading Madara into attacking first!! Izuna and Tobirama are out for his fucking head!!!

Anyways; No matter how it ends I dont think Susanoo especially actually cares about sealing Kaguya away fr. He really just came to fuck with Amaterasu, and then stayed to watch Madara flail as hes harassed by his past lifes karma.

because I dont want to see Kawarama and Itama fucking dead, Im gonna say Izuna and Tobirama will probably win this one around. Susanoo grumbles about loosing but then Amaterasu spots him and starts screaming directly into his ear

There is however a very fun ending out there where Madara and Hashirama win; In the process managing to make Tobirama go fully insane in his attempt to fight them with too much of Kaguya's power; killing both Itama and Kawarama; Putting Izuna in a coma; Leaving Touka now struggling with the moons power stuck in her without Tobirama to help regulate it; And leaving Hikaku with an arm now unable to ever hold his sword properly again.

Fun times!!

Season 3 after the bad ending is actually Touka and Hikaku picking up the pieces and trying to find a way to fix it all as Madara and Hashirama struggle to comprehend what they've unknowingly done to their own families.

All the plots, the characters' development you wrote about, the designs, everything

DJFBDJFJF IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT?? People keep saying they're invested and I explode every time. Its consuming my brain, I'm very happy with the direction it's gone in and am almost considering trying to either write a fic or draw a comic for it fr. But like, oh man the effort it'd take

Thank you sm tho!! Take some 1am doodles for it as thanks for your ask. I'll probably try to draw more later today once I'm off work, I really wanna draw Hikaku with his cool sword facing off w a moon posessed Touka, or maybe the death-god contracted team of Tobirama Izuna and Itama. So many ideas and such little energy

Has anyone done that yet? Am I going to have to be the one to do that? I'm totally going to have to be that guy aren't I. You know what tho, I think I'm ok with that

Alright;

✨️ Magical girl Izuna time ✨️

Where modern AU Tobirama inherits some ancient chest that acts as a little time travel mail box to the ancient warlord Uchiha Madara, who is only days from death where he and his army are trapped inside the walls of their own city.

After Madara dumps some bloodied bandages into the chest, it is transported to Tobirama's time, shooting out the top. Tobirama replies by trying to wash the pot out— only for the water to seemingly go nowhere, and a correspondence begins.

Madara mistakes Tobirama for a god, and Tobirama attempts to help Madara win the war from his side of the timeline by sending food, weapons, and hints of what may be yet to come as he studies the few crumbs of Madara's history that remain today— which becomes more complex as Tobirama sees history change in real time, corresponding with each new battle won and day lived where Madara should have died.

The fic ends w them never meeting but Tobirama going to a museum where he finds statues of both his and Madara's likeness (his own borrowed from a photo he sent upon Madara's request)

Clean water comes from the chest so Madara scrambles to try and collect as much of it as possible and eventually it stops and Madara's just stuck staring at an empty, slightly moist box. It has to be magic of some kind, or divine intervention.

So he waits and keeps checking the box for more magic and slowly his men are starving. So, in his desperation he writes a letter begging for help, explaing how he's in such a bad situation and he's desperate and he signs off with, "begging your assistance, Uchiha Madara." And then he waits and waits and keeps checking the box.

And there's nothing. So Madara goes to sleep with his stomach growling and panicking only slightly.

In the morning he checks the box and staring back at him are 2 10 litre drinking water tanks and bags of rice and chicken all wrapped up in an odd material that's thick and stretchy and waterproof (it's plastic). And he just stares at it blankly for a few moments before he realises what he's looking at and starts taking everything out and at the bottom is a piece of paper.

No bc literally everything u just said is so good what the fuck. I was picturing this as totally doable as a longer one shot but ough the additions of god of medicine Hashirama and god of war Touka and branch gods Butsama and unnamed wife,,,,,,,, suddenly it is spiraling into smthn so much longer as I just. Picture those little bits of the story. Ur actually SO genius for thinking of that Im taking that and running for the fucking hills

Idk if Id commit but I am for some reason picturing Hashirama finding out ab the box and sending Madara a letter and, well, yk that one sonic snapcube audio thats just eggman yelling "WHY ARE YOU CALLING SONIC ON OUR EVIL PHONE LINE. YOU CANT BE DOING THAT. STOP CALLING SONIC ON OUR PHONE LINE." Thats just Tobirama yelling at Hashirama ab stealing his pen pall

Actually note to self to draw that later in general bc thats really fucking funny

BUT LIKE GOD OF WAR TOUKA TAKING LIKE. ANCIENT AND MODERN WARFARE TACTICS CLASSES AS PART OF HER DEGREE / AS A FUN CLASS IN COLLEGE. PERFECT PERSON TO CONSULT. AND HASHIRAMA GOD OF MEDICINE BC HE WORKS AT A HOSPITAL. JUST. SO GOOD. IM SHAKING U.

Also the sort of outsider POV of Madara just retreating into his room and emerging some time later with a ton of food reminds me of the old brothers grim fairy tales Id used to read, I can not lie. Like it giving a mix of one of those call and response "please I need food -- the next day they woke up besides all the food they could ever need" fairytales but also one of those "a woman is told not to see her husbands sleeping face or smthn bad will happen" tales where so long as the woman never sneaks a peek, her life is magical-- but the second she looks to satisfy her own curiosity, she is punished for her hubris and loses it all

From an outsider POV Madara totally looks super fantastical here, Im sure the story is passed down for generations to come and maybe even turned into a fairytale of its own

"A great general faces his end, his troops starving and his walls besieged. "General, please, the men are starving!" says his second. The General hums, and retreats into his room to think. Half a candle later, he emerges with barrels of rice and water to cook enough porridge to feed the entire army. "General, where did you get this?" Gasps his second, but the general only shakes his head. "Do not ask, or our good fortune may meet its end!" But it is not long before again, the generals second is crying out. "General, please, the enemy are knocking at our door!" The general hums, and retreats into his room. Half a candle later, he emerges with detailed plans to counter the enemy, numbers of their troops, and enough arrows to man every archerer they had. "General, how in the world did you get this?" Gasps his second, but again, the general only shakes his head. "Do not ask, or our good fortune may meet its end!" The battle won, the generals second came to the general once again. "General, please, our men are all wounded and dying!" The general hums, and retreats into his room. Half a candle later, he emerges with strange medicine, and instructions to follow that save every last man. "Well, are you not going to ask me where I got this from?" the general demanded when this time, his second remained silent. "Of course not general! I don't want our good fortune to end!"

^ anyways something like that being passed down as a fairytale that seems to suddenly pop up out of nowhere for Tobirama to find in his research as he helps Madara

(Izuna was totally his second but Im definitely picturing Hikaku as the second mentioned in the story)

I was kind of set on a sad "and then they never meet" ending but @thybirbman's addition convinced me and I am now picturing like, the letters slowly stop as time seems to speed up on Madara's end, or maybe the chest breaks after Tobirama's 'duty as a god' is done or whatever

And so at this point, history has been changing before Tobirama's very eyes (being aware of the chests power somehow allows him to remember how things used to be) and now the Uchiha still exist as this successful clan turned business family-- including one Madara Uchiha, named after his ancestor (along with his brother Izuna and cousin Hikaku, also coincidentally named for long dead, important Uchiha. What a funny coincidence.)

And some months after the letters stopped, Tobirama manages to bump into this modern age Madara.

Tobirama is struck by Madara's strikingly familiar appearance to the rare portraits he'd seen of his Madara, and Madara is struck by this strange pull he seems to feel towards the seemingly random man. Neither of them know that this Madara is the reincarnation of that Madara, but they don't need to know that to fall in love all over again

The end <3

"Do you walk in the valley of kings?

Do you walk in the shadow of men

Who sold their lives to a dream?"

Ur brain is literally so big

I have fun with the silliness of the AU but then I actually sit down and think about it for a bit and begin to vibrate at the thought of the narrative weight of it

It's one of those "the laws made and people in charge were good for the time, but this is no longer that time, and the standards are no longer the same" situations

But it's the same guy in both times !! It's literally just the same guy!! But in each version, his standards are "up to date" with the time period!! That's so cool!!! He is pitted against a system he created in a past life that no longer fits the society that grew around it, and because he is who he is, he resolves to change it!!!

Idk I'm just so in love with the themes of how we as a society change over time and how sometimes a hard reset and fresh eyes is really whats needed to keep us as a civilization growing. The young are the future, even as they carry parts of the old with them!

Ok so we're gonna shuffle the Hokage's and their timelines around.

(Also note: at this point, Tora very sympathetic to the Uchiha bc of his relationships w Shisui Itachi and Sasuke)

So Sarutobi dies and people are going "oh noooo someone go and get Tsunade back"

And Tora gets PISSED.

They want another Senju to have the hat?? Are you fucking kidding him??? 2 in a row was bad enough but 3 sets a standard. Choose literally anyone else! Anyone!! Fucking Kakashi would make a better Hokage!!!

And then he stops.

Hmmm. Kakashi as Hokage.

That... wouldn't be too bad, actually?

Long story short: Tora starts to campaign for Kakashi as Hokage.

Kakashi does not appreciate this. Stop immediatley.

Tora is on the civilian council at this point (at the terrifyingly young age of like 17) and lowkey has them under his thumb. So he's able to get them all aboard, meaning Kakashi is officially civilian approved.

The Uchiha are into it to, with him lowkey being the closest they've been able to get to the seat since fucking Madara. He has one of their eyes, he's lead/taught both of the clan head kids, and hes visibly, publicly close to multiple Uchiha/Uchiha sympathizers (Itachi, Shisui, Tora)

He's the yodaime's student which gives him major points in the politics department, + he actually knows what it is like to be in the life of a Hokage, he has seen and been involved in that life firsthand

Hes also on good, personal terms with a few clan heads and solidly neutral terms w the other clans

His clan is innofensivley small (read: fucking wiped out) so there's no concern with biases of a guy coming from a specific clan, working w a bias for that clan

Perfect candidate!!

(Something something Kakashi quietly touching his eyelid and mumbling to Obito that he guesses he'll be able to show him even more of his dream than even he'd expected)

Danzo tries to intimidate him into not accepting it and while Kakashi does agree that he would be one of the worst options, the conversation kinda... leaves him a little less sure he'd really be the worst option.

Anyways, Kakashi as the godaime hokage!!

He hates it.

Tora Shisui and Itchi have to hunt him down the day of his ascension and fuckin wrestle him on stage (he's gonna go home and scream into his pillow later)

How would Naruto canon change with Kakashi as the Hokage so early?? Until this point, the au has mostly been sticking to the script (minus the Uchiha massacre) but this is a HUGE status quo change for a character decently central in the cast list, and it's a change that'd impact just about everything going forward! Don't ask me how exactly because I know very very little about the actual specifics and events of canon but holy shit it'd sure change the course of history, huh? If you wanna get really down to the nitty gritty technicalities, we could take serious liberties and kill off and or save several characters with the simple explanation of "different Hokage, different people assigned to different missions"

Anyways:

Team Ro gets to be his personal guards,, they need a replacement for the team since Kakashi left, maybe we can throw in someone else to join them and add some more chemistry in there

I don't think it'd be anyone on team 7 (I don't live in a world where I can see Kakashi tossing specifically THEM in ANBU that young, no matter how more powerful or better taught than cannon, sorry) also conflicting interests w THREE uchiha on a team or the Haruno siblings. Also, Naruto is Naruto, so. *political noises*

Actually the slot is a very valuable one since they're basically Kakashi's special little guys (anbu eddition) so it's really hard to think of a character that'd even conceivably be put on it. (Part of me wants to add Neji for literally no reason other than I suddenly want him in the AU but that'd bring a whole mountain of implications with him if Kakashi chose HIM specifically to join his personal guard + he's suddenly in ANBU, what??)

Wait would Kakashi even choose the replacement personally.

Wait wait ok. Record scratch. Rewind. Let's try this again.

So. With Kakashi's promotion, Tora gets to he team leader. One of the first things he's told is to find a new replacement for the team

"Shouldn't you do that yourself?" Says Tora

"You've got me to take the hat I refuse to move so much as a single fucking finger more at your request." Says Kakashi, who then delights in bodily removing Tora from the room via the window.

I don't know Neji's actual age but for the sake of this fic he's suddenly Tora's age or only a year younger (Tora is like 17 at this point)

Him and Neji do not get along!! At all!!!! Actually it was kind of hate on sight.

Uhh insert montage where they become grudgingly almost friends but still mostly frenemies

Neji is very talented and Tora is frustrated by how he seems to be being "held back" in some way. Like, he doesn't like the guy! But damn if he doesn't know how it feels to have the system itself fighting you, no matter how good you prove you are and how hard you work.

Anyways, Tora finding out Neji was skipped over and denied for different promotions or smthn bc hyuuga second class or whatever.

And him going "hmmmmmmmmm...."

He hands Kakashi a form with Neji's name on it and Kakashi signs without even looking.

When he scowls and asks if he's even going to look, Kakashi just gives him a dry look.

"Like I dont know whoever you've picked won't be for whatever plot you're cooking up next. Just don't set anything on fire where I can see it and I don't care."

A very, very confused Neji is suddenly told he's not only going to join ANBU but also the Hokage's private guard.

Hey Tora !! What the fuck !!!

They have one of those "You don't even like me??" "I don't have to like you to want to see how far you can go." moments

Queue Neji angrily revealing that it doesn't matter "how far he can go" or how many opportunities are afforded to him bc his limits are fuckin branded on him, and shows Tora his seal mark

Hey Neji !! What the fuck !!!

Hyuuga reformation arc,,,

Ok so not sympathetic Hiashi Hyuuga but like,, rational (deeply fucking flawed) person Hiashi who is able to leverage the "Neji has been ordered to work directly the Hokage" @ the Hyuuga clan elders to at least slightly loosen the seal on him.

TONNS of political drama in the Hyuuga house w Neji being chosen for such a huge position, but w the complications of "they can't fucking voice it outloud" bc ANBU identities are supposed to be super top secret, so it's kept to the really high ranks only

(There's an AU of an AU out there where instead of stopping the Uchiha coup, Tora went "ok but are they wrong tho", decided to help instead, and got the Hyuuga lower cast to join them)

(Look he wants to reform the government, right? Ok so why SHOULDNT he support an attempt to rip it up by the roots?? The Uchiha want equality but Tora wants reformation. They do not know what they just let into their homes.)

What the fuck did I come here to talk about again?

Right, sorry, Hokage Tora

Uhhhh pivoting again here we go ->

So Kakashi is Hokage!!! And he !! Wants !! Out !!!

Tora is a very very clear contender for "the next Hokage", even early on in Kakashi's career. He's basically the guy who MADE Kakashi Hokage (both arranging it and forcing him to accept) and most important people know it.

I'm ngl I kind of don't know how exactly we'd get to hokage Tora.

Maybe Kakashi is temporarily taken out of commission and he's just the obvious replacement. Maybe we do a proper Hokage switch and promote him when Kakashi got the job in the original. Dunno! But Tora for Rokudaime all the way !!

If not Tora I think Rokudaime Neji could be suitably dramatic and fun. Also has similar themes of "rising from the lower ranks against the odds" and just in general tons of interesting implications both politically and like,, character interaction wise.

Everyone expects Tora for the next hokage but Tora decides he likes being the powerful guy in the shadows to a Hokage who knows both how to listen to him and how to lead with a strength and surety he can trust. And decides Neji is apparently that guy who has the leadership and wisdom he can trust.

Callback to the earlier moment where Neiji, voice cracking, goes "you don't even like me."

And Tora gives him a smirk and goes "I don't have to like you to want to see see how far you can go."

Mmmm actually I think I like that ending best, it has the most weight to me. Like, yeah Tora as Rokudaime is cool and a kind of ironic "full circle" moment, but Neji as Rokudaime has that gut punch energy that will leave your skin buzzing and your eyes tearing up with written right

Have to get going but I might try to draw that scene tommorow if I find the energy in me after work (doubtful tbh)

I once read a fic where Tobirama dies, and Hashirama completely loses himself. He hunts down every single person responsible for the death of his last remaining sibling and wipes them out. I need exactly that but even more.

I want Hashirama to finish everything Tobirama never could. No mercy. No compromises. No Will of Fire. Just grief turned into something monstrous. And then he commits the ultimate taboo by bring Tobirama back with Edo Tensei.

Only Tobirama doesn't come back unchanged. He was already ruthless in life, but death burns away whatever restraint he had left. Hashirama, meanwhile, has become something almost unrecognizable. The kind man who dreamed of peace died alongside his brother. All that's left is the strongest shinobi in history with nothing left to lose.

Together, they're catastrophic.

Hashirama no longer needs someone to tell him where the line is, because he has decided there isn't one. Tobirama no longer cares whether crossing that line is justified. Between them, there is no voice urging restraint, no one willing to compromise, no one interested in forgiveness.

They don't fight to protect the world anymore.

They force the world to submit.

Entire clans disappear overnight. Villages that shelter their enemies become forests of splintered wood and silence. Every rebellion is crushed before it can become a war. Every betrayal is answered so completely that no one else dares to repeat it.

The Five Great Nations slowly realize the horrifying truth peace still exists but only because everyone is too terrified to challenge the Senju brothers.

And the worst part? Hashirama isn't being manipulated. He isn't possessed. He's making these choices willingly. Because the one person who always reminded him why mercy mattered is the very person he couldn't save.

Tobirama had spent most of his life stopping Hashirama from becoming a tyrant without either of them fully realizing it. He was the skepticism to Hashirama's idealism, the caution to his boundless compassion, the man willing to make impossible decisions so Hashirama never had to.

Without Tobirama, there is no one left to temper Hashirama's power. Without Hashirama's hope, there is nothing left to soften Tobirama's ruthlessness. They become two halves of the same nightmare. The world keeps waiting for one of them to pull the other back. It never happens. Instead, they drag each other even deeper.

By the time anyone understands that Tobirama had been the thing holding Hashirama back that he had been the only person capable of keeping Hashirama human it's already too late.

Instead of forcing the dead back through sacrifice and control, he spent years transforming it into a true resurrection technique one that required no human sacrifice, no bindings, and returned the soul to a living, human body with complete free will.

The first people he brought back were Itama and Kawarama.

But he knew the world could never learn the truth.

The brothers of the First Hokage had died decades ago. Their return would raise too many questions, and a technique capable of defeating death would inevitably become the most coveted weapon in history.

So Tobirama erased every record of the jutsu. Every scroll, every note, every trace of his research was destroyed. No one would ever be able to recreate it.

Then he introduced Itama and Kawarama to the world not as his younger brothers, but as his own children.

No one questioned it.

To Konoha, they were simply the Second Hokage's sons.

Only Tobirama knew that fate had given him a second chance.

The first time, he couldn't save them.

This time, he would make sure they lived long enough to grow up.

If we add Tōka into the equation as well:

By the time Tobirama completed the technique, there was no one left who could stop him.

Hashirama was gone. The only person who had ever been able to pull him back from the edge, to grab him by the shoulders and tell him to come to his senses, had died years ago. Madara had abandoned the village long before, Izuna was already dead, and Mito was carrying burdens heavy enough to leave little room for anything else. The people responsible for Itama and Kawarama's deaths had long gone.

The only one left who truly remember them was Tōka.

And if anyone expected her to condemn Tobirama, they didn't know her at all. Tōka was never just a distant cousin. She was family in every sense that mattered. She grew up alongside the Senju brothers, and the bond they shared was that of siblings, not relatives separated by a few branches of the family tree. Hashirama and Tobirama were her little brothers just as much as Itama and Kawarama were. After losing two of them, there was no chance she would ever stand in Tobirama's way if he found a way to bring them back.

She had buried the same brothers. She had watched the same tiny coffins disappear beneath the soil. She had listened to Tobirama go quiet in a way that never truly healed. If anything, she understood his grief better than anyone ever could.

When Tobirama finally showed her the laboratory, he didn't try to justify himself. He simply stepped aside.

There they were. Itama and Kawarama. Alive , breathing , laughing over something so insignificant it made Tōka's heart ache.

For several long moments she couldn't speak. Then she walked straight past Tobirama and wrapped both boys in a crushing embrace, tears streaming freely down her face.

Only after they had run off together did she turn back to her brother.

"So" she said, wiping at her eyes with a smile that was equal parts relief and mischief. "When are we forging their birth certificates?"

Tobirama stared at her.

"That's your first question?"

"What else was I supposed to ask?" she replied without missing a beat. "Whether resurrecting our little brothers was ethical? Please. They're alive."

She crossed her arms, already thinking three steps ahead.

"If anyone starts asking questions, they're your sons. End of discussion. Anyone who thinks otherwise can take it up with me."

For the first time since beginning his research, Tobirama almost laughed.Tōka never questioned his decision. She was already thinking about how to make it work.

She helped destroy every remaining scroll and seal formula, insisting that no one else should ever have access to a technique capable of overturning death itself. Then she helped create a new life for the boys, weaving records, histories, and identities convincing enough that no one would ever suspect the truth.

To the village, they became Tobirama Senju's children.