Amat Omnes Application

[monkeyjump]

PLAYER
» Journal: monkeyjump
» Birthdate/Age: 04/1989
» Characters Played: Yukimura Sanada [Sengoku Basara] (cubofkai)

CHARACTER
» Name: Sasuke Sarutobi
» Fandom: Brave 10
» Reference: The Brave 10 Wikipedia entry article summarizes the plot as: "The story takes place during the Warring States period, approximately a year before the Battle of Sekigahara. Kirigakure Saizou, a Iga Ninja in search of his life's path, comes across Isanami, an Izumo shrine maiden, being attacked by assassins. Isanami, who survived the burning of Izumo Temple by Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces, is traveling to Shinshuu to seek sanctuary with Sanada Yukimura. At the same time, Sanada Yukimura is in the midst of gathering 10 men of extraordinary valor, the Sanada Ten Braves, whose combined strength will allow them to alter the course of history. During the course of the continuing battles, the mysterious power hidden within Isanami will awaken soon."

Sasuke Sarutobi is the "leader" of the Sanada ninja, himself being a Koga ninja. He appears first when Kirigakure Saizou and Isanami travel to Ueda; he stops them in the forest and, due to his mistrust and hatred of Iga ninja, gets into a battle with Saizou. Isanami stops the fight, and they are allowed to visit Yukimura.

Not much is known about Sasuke's past; in his summary in the manga it is simply noted that he is “One of the ten ninja bodyguards that were said to serve Yukimura. He is known for his monkey-like agility and personality. He is said to be a Koga ninja, whereas his rival, Kirigakure Saizou, is an Iga ninja.”

He is often at the edge of the Braves, playing messenger or guard. Though he enters conflicts with Saizou and another Brave by the name of Anastasia due to their Iga natures, he remains accepting of them as Brave for Yukimura's sake.

Detailed information about the first three can be found by the episode summaries at Hidden Village.

There is also the Brave 10 Wikia page. Sasuke’s specific page can be found here.

» Canon Point: Post Season 1 (after the battle with the Five).
» Gender: Male
» Age: 18 (estimated)
» Orientation: Unknown.

Sasuke’s orientation is never specifically stated in either manga nor anime. However, there are some times sexuality is either shown or brought up around him. The points I wish to bring up as evidence are his relationships and reactions to Isanami, Anastasia, Saizou, and Yukimura.

Warning, the links below are not work-safe, as Brave 10 itself is a mature manga.

The first indication speaks of him as heterosexual. This is when he comes to deliver breakfast to Saizou and Isanami and finds Isanami wearing only a short robe. He gets distracted by her breasts, starting to blush and having trouble speaking.
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v01/c002/6.html (Isanami’s Breasts)

However, despite this reaction, he reacts only with irritation when another woman, Anastasia, literally rubs her breasts onto his chest flirtatiously. (See ‘Anastasia Talk,’ below.) He also does not react in such a manner to a very buxom enemy. http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v01/c004/22.html (Oukatsu Fight)

In the talk with Anastasia, sexuality comes up in several different manners. There is above mentioned flirtation, but also two other things of note. The first is that Anastasia suggests he finds a woman and relaxes some, to which he responds that she sounds ‘just like the master!’ This implies that though it has been suggested to him more than once, he is not known to participate in any relationships, sexual or otherwise.

The second is that due to the way he speaks of Saizou and rebuffs her at the same time, Anastasia herself questions his sexuality, stating that he must like men. He denies this most vehemently.

(Anastasia Talk)
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c010/27.html
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c010/28.html
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c010/30.html

Yet was is interesting is that the only other time he acts in any way similar to the way he does upon seeing Isanami’s breasts is whenever Yukimura compliments him. He reacts even more violently than he did with her, losing all composure, blushing, and then downright fleeing the scene. This happens twice, once in the presence of Isanami and once away from her, so she is not the cause. In the scene without Isanami, he actually goes from the point of yelling and scolding Saizou to flailing like an embarrassed teenager and bolting.

http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c006/25.html (Yukimura after beating up Saizou)

(Yukimura Compliment)
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c007/11.html
http://mangafox.me/manga/brave_10/v02/c007/12.html

These instances draw me to believe that Sasuke only becomes sexually attracted to someone that he likes on an emotional level. He shows fondness for Isanami almost immediately after meeting her, which leads to him to seeing her in a sexual manner just due to her small robe, and yet being completely unaffected by the much more blatant sexual displays of Oukatsu, who is an enemy, and Anastasia, who he hates due to her Iga heritage.

While he claims to not be interested in men, I feel it cannot be ignored that he reacts to simple compliments from Yukimura in a similar, yet even more exaggerated way than he did when faced with Isanami’s breasts. Yukimura is the one man in the entirety of the canon that he shows an actual fondness for, and he is also the only one to which Sasuke reacts with such shyness when complimented. Other Braves and even enemies compliment him, and it never seems to phase him.

However, in the end, there are no definitive facts either way, as even though he denies being interested in men, he never shows a solid case of sexual attraction to anyone. His blushing around Isanami could be put off as him being startled that an innocent priestess is in such a state of undress, and his reactions to Yukimura could be explained as being embarrassed that his superior thinks highly of him.



» Personality:
When placed on paper, Sasuke’s personality seems to contradict itself in many ways. On one hand, during the first episode, Sasuke seems a very harsh, judgmental character in his treatment of Saizou, to the point of even being cocky. He is undeniably skilled in battle and is downright relentless. Taking from that, he would seem to be a hard-hearted, vicious man.

This mask he wears in battle, however, is quickly shattered as one sees more of him. When not fulfilling his role as a Sanada Brave or the leader of the Koga ninja under Yukimura’s leadership, he is revealed to be a shy, quiet individual who seeks out the company of animals more than he does other people. He gets flustered and blushes, and in some cases will even flee an uncomfortable situation.

While these two sides of him seem to contradict strongly, one of the first insults Saizou throws at Sasuke is actually one of the best ways to think of him: as one might a dog, in particular, one that is not completely tame. When he is not threatened or incensed, he is shy. He will hover on the edge of people and bolt if too quick a movement is made. It takes a lot of time and patience to get near enough to him to even touch him.

Corner such an animal, however, and what was an instant flight reaction switches straight to fight, which it would do so most viciously.

To continue along with the dog theme, one can also point out his unfailing loyalty. It quickly becomes obvious that there is nothing more important in Sasuke's life than serving Yukimura loyally. He puts a lot of stock in being what he considers a "good" ninja, which consists of following and completing Yukimura's orders, and also protecting those around him. When he fails in a task, he can take it very hard, labeling himself a "bad" ninja, which he considers someone unworthy of serving his lord.

The “bad” and “good” labels seem simple and nearly childish from an outside point of view, and yet to Sasuke they are everything. They are artless words for a very deeply ingrained sense of pride and morality. Sasuke has a very fierce sense of pride, both for being a Brave and for being a Koga ninja, but he does not see them as immutable facts; much of his pride is derived from the fact that he is most often successful, useful, and in all ways a valuable member of both groups. That is why he grows so concerned when faced with a decision that forces him to choose between being a “bad ninja” or being a bad friend, and why he is crushed and feels unworthy of his membership when he actually fails.

Despite how hard he takes these failures, he does not bury them, however; as he remarks to Saizou at one point, he reacts to weakness by accepting it and honing his skills in those areas -- of course, after a short period of near-depression where he goes to seek his lord's forgiveness.

Failure is not the only time when the self-assured confidence he displays breaks down; when it comes to more friendly social situations, sudddenly the harsh ninja becomes very soft-spoken and downright flighty. Toward someone like Isanami, who he quickly becomes attached to as a friend and someone to protect, he mumbles in speaking with her. When his lord compliments him, especially in a situation where Sasuke was not expecting it, he loses all composure: he turns red and literally bolts into the forest.

It is to the forest Sasuke will head when he is uncomfortable because it is truly where he feels most at home and most wants to be. He has a great skill with animals, to the point he seems able to communicate with and/or control them. Almost always he is seen with a bird or a weasel, or sometimes even a wolf, and he cares deeply about these animals. When one of the Braves refused to let his weasel go, cuddling it, Sasuke acts with great distress. He does not seem to care about Yuri's emotional state, but instead the state of his animal friend. While he treats new humans with distrust, being introduced to a panther reduces him to a blushing state of love at first sight.

So while loyal and deeply caring to those humans he becomes attached to, Sasuke has an easier time turning it towards the animal kingdom than fellow humans. Even when he does care or trust his fellow humans, he does not seem to recognize the proper way to communicate positive emotions to the person he feels them for. This makes it difficult at times to tell what he feels about people; to Saizou, Sasuke always seems harsh and judgmental, but Sasuke tells Ana that he has faith in Saizou and believes him to be strong. When he gets to the point of discomfort in such a relationship, his reaction is to flee, as he does from Yukimura.

This is especially shown when he is ordered to rescue Isanami, but she refuses to leave her cell. The only options he can come up with are failing Yukimura or forcing Isanami through violence. Though he obviously does not want to hurt Isanami, for he cares greatly for her, he honestly does not know what else to do. The idea of talking to her and coaxing her to come back does not occur to him. In the end, Sasuke knows most of conflict and argument, which is why he acts so much more confidently when being violent or angry, and yet is so shy when it comes to friendly gestures or compliments.

» Appearance: Sasuke is a slight Japanese boy in his late teens. He is one of the shortest men in the series, likely standing between 5’2”-5’5”. He is very thin, with lean muscle like that of a gymnast, though he normally covers it in multiple layers of clothing that also serve to house his many weapons. He also seems to dress in clothing that is slightly too big for him, likely for ease of movement. Almost always, he has a green hat with a sun-like symbol on two sides.

He has shaggy brownish-red hair that peeks out from under his hat and goes wild when he does not have it on. His eyes are a light brown.

» Suitability: N/A

SAMPLES
» "amatomnes" First-Person Network Entry:
[ Sasuke does not trust this device, but he has observed enough to learn of its function. So now he is testing it, ever so carefully. Which is why there are a strange set of network posts become visible in a short time period.

First is a text. ]

From far and near,
Hearing the sounds of waterfalls,
Young leaves.

[ Once he has determined how to send that message and sees it on the network, he tries voice. ]

A pear tree is blooming.
By a collapsed house,
on an old battlefield.

[ That, too, he manages to post.

So that leaves only video.

Feel free to be confused, Atia, as to why there is a network post that is entirely of a squirrel burying an acorn. ]


» "amatomneslogs" Third-Person Prose Entry:
His normal sleeping companions had abandoned him.

It was Sasuke's first assumption as he felt a cool breeze on his skin and the distinct lack of warm bodies around him. Rarely did he ever wake up alone; at least a marten or two were certain to have crawled in with him, if not a wolf or a bear.

The fact that he was in a proper bed was likely a cause of that.

Sasuke jerked up quickly, startled as his body protested the movement both from his still healing wounds and from parts of himself that were rarely ever touched. What was it that had happened? His gaze flicked around the unfamiliar room at a rapid pace. Every hair on the back of his neck stood up; this was wrong, so very wrong. He could not remember a face, but he remembered sensations that threatened to arouse him again, even as a shock of fear ran through him.

Someone had done this too him, though whether by drug or some sort of magic he did not know.

He forced his initial terror down, expression becoming smooth and calm. There was no time to worry about what had happened to himself. If his kidnappers were crafty enough to subdue him, they could have easily taken his lord as well. Sasuke had to find him, and swiftly.

The ninja dropped off the bed into a crouch, ignoring the pains that shot this way and that. He needed to find a weapon. Some sort of covering, too, might be smart, as all he was wearing was –

Sasuke lifted his fingers to his neck, surprised as he found the feel of metal and leather. Small spikes, like those on the hilt of his knives, though they were much duller, rose out of a leather strap that encircled his throat like a collar. He quickly felt all around it, attempting to find a way to get it off, but there was no clasp and no amount of tugging would break it.

He scolded himself for wasting time. Whatever it was, it could be dealt with later. He needed to find his lord!

That was when he spotted his belongings, neatly folded upon a chair. What was this? He approached them warily, but everything seemed to be in order, aside from the new triangular box that sat on top of it all. What kind of captor gave someone the tools to escape? In fact, why had he not been bound at all?

Sasuke dressed swiftly. Whenever he found the person responsible for this, he would have many questions for them before putting them to his blade.