User Profile

Name: Brittany
Age: 19
AIM / E-mail: SageOfDarkness13, Sage_of_Darkness_@hotmail.com
Have you seen Cloverfield? Not yet…


Character Name: Akasuna no Sasori
Series: Naruto
Gender: Male
Age: Mid-forties
Species: Human (although he’s preserved himself)
Sexuality: Probably an invalid point, to be honest; considering what he’s done to himself---odds are, he couldn’t be less interested.


Appearance: Sasori appears to be a young man---quite young, and sort of small. He could probably pass for sixteen, if an effort was made, though eighteen is more understandable, and as likely. He’s got red hair, (too short to pull into a ponytail or similar style, and somewhat shaggy), and red eyes to match, although their colour has faded a little over time. He wears the standard Akatsuki robe, and his most interesting features can be seen whenever he’s caught without it. These include lines on his neck and joints where they’ve been severed and reattached after his preservation, a pair of wooden fan-like ‘hands’ that have been mounted on his lower back, the holder for puppet-storage scrolls which attaches over his spine (with the scrolls firmly in place), the container holding his heart, which is set into the left half of his chest, and the compartments made in his chest and stomach. The additional ‘hands’ have been treated with a pale stain and varnish; the container is marked with the sign for ‘scorpion’. The preservation process itself has left him with a faint chemical smell, maintained by the polishes and other treatments involved in his own upkeep. However natural it may still look, his skin has taken on a definite leather texture, and anyone in conversation may notice he rarely blinks.

In addition to the robe, he wears the uniform pants, legwarmers, and sandals. His ring is worn on his left thumb, and bears the kanji for ‘jewel’.

Personality: Sasori considers himself an artist, first and foremost; he has an immense pride in his work, although he’s come to expect a certain degree of revulsion as a standard reaction to it. In his own mind, this is entirely uncalled for---if anything, preservation as an addition to his hitokugutsu collection is a sign of respect for the deceased, as he does have certain standards. Those puppets are for use in battle, after all, in addition to being art, and weak or unskilled opponents are unacceptable. Art---real art---must withstand a test of time; worth of a work is determined by its endurance.

Principles of puppetry have heavily influenced the way in which Sasori sees the world, and people around him. Others are regarded as puppets themselves, albeit under their own control. This does not undermine the recognition of others as thinking beings, but any material thing is present to be moved according to any given means, mind and body being considered clearly separate. Still, there is no clear line between person and puppet---Sasori himself is an illustration of this.

He’s civil enough, being a private person and a practicing stoic. He most readily displays annoyance, being most irritated when he has to keep others waiting, or wait himself, although mild curiosity or amusement may be allowed, as well. He can seem reasonably normal, if a bit distant, at first acquaintance. Eventually, his artwork may arise as a topic, and it is at that point that defining attitudes may reveal themselves. Puppets have been preferable to human company for the largest amount of Sasori’s life, and while he doesn’t mind speaking with others, he doesn’t make a great effort to. He has, however, grown accustomed to Deidara’s company, and the other Akatsuki; he'll be inclined to be a little more social when speaking to his partner or comrades.

Coworkers have found him dependable, and he has demonstrated mercy on occasion, telling an incapacitated opponent that, if they wanted to live, he would leave them as they were. He is dedicated to what he cares about, believing, above all else, that things can be made to last. It is this belief driving him to perfect his art, and through perfecting his art, perfect himself as art and artist, if not a person: perfection unlocks eternity. Regarding what he feels should continue to be, Sasori can be very stubborn and selfish, holding on to whatever he can, whatever the cost. At other times, he is content, and even occasionally (quietly) playful---anyone interrupting Sasori at practice when he is in such a mood stands some chance of being caught on strings and pulled along into the crowd of puppets.

Words mean very little; all truth is in action. Since Sasori is reluctant to voice his feelings or allow them expression by face, they’re represented through gesture. For example, an injured ally (Sasori refuses to say anyone is anything more) will have no choice but to accept first aid. (He’s a far cry from a medic, but he can stitch and bandage; the man is a maintainer; he mends things.)

Abilities: Sasori's greatest strength is his will, which has allowed for the self-preservation, and an impressive self-restraint. Deidara teases his partner about being a control freak, and this is true. He is content with his self-control, and turned to controlling others around him, through jutsu use and poison.

His signature technique is 'kugutsu no jutsu'---chakra strings. He may use them to control the actions of others, manipulate objects, and direct as many as a hundred puppets. (A normal puppeteer, even as an expert, can control only ten; Sasori is capable of producing all the necessary strings from his chest compartment.) He is a master puppeteer; able to produce lifelike movements even with mundane strings, and craft numerous types of puppet---primarily hitokugutsu, which are a work unique to him.
In order to make one of these human puppets, a body is drained of blood, its organs are removed, and the eyes are most often removed as well, the sockets fitted with glass replacements afterwards. (Preserving the eyes is possible, but more hassle than it's worth; only especially worthy opponents have their own eyes, and it's as a sign of respect.) A thick chemical ointment is applied to the newly-hollowed cavity, and the body is then left to soak in a more fluid preservative bath. (A thorough knowledge of anatomy has developed as a result of this artwork.) Sasori's self-preservation varied very little from his standard practice; he kept his heart and preserved his own eyes, but otherwise followed the usual procedure.

His self-preservation has made him immune to a great many things. He cannot be poisoned, he cannot drown, he cannot feel pain or thirst or hunger, and he does not age.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if anything is working as it should. His chakra has been severely depleted, restricting jutsu use; while he has used mind-control and memory blocks in the past, they’re out of the question in Manhattan. Chakra strings are simple enough, with his practice, but that isn’t stopping them from using much more chakra than they should; while there is little to pulling a person off-balance or tripping them into a misstep, there will be only short, small practices until it’s….safer.

[Note: Since they’re physically attached to his body, I would like to allow Sasori possession of his puppet scrolls. The puppets themselves will be missing the weapons previously installed in them; total wtfery, and so will be reduced to more or less inactive art. …besides, he’s extremely possessive of the things; to a point when it in itself could be considered a weakness. Interference with art is most likely to break the stoicism enough for anger to appear; vandals be wary.]

In addition to his skill as a puppet master, Sasori is a poison expert; unfortunately, all his supplies are gone, and he isn’t familiar with anything he’s likely to find in Manhattan.

Weaknesses: Sasori's glaring weakness is his heart. It's the only part of him which hasn't been preserved, and so is the only thing maintaining the chakra loop which keeps him animate. If anything hits his heart with enough force to break or pierce his heart container, it will kill him. Other damage isn’t so serious, though he will have to withdraw to repair himself---healing doesn’t help.

The chakra loop itself is a weakness on par with his heart. There are serious ramifications should Sasori’s chakra be low or disrupted---and it’s already impaired in Manhattan. Should he exhaust his reserves past certain points---and it’s so much easier to do that, now---the serious consequences follow through several stages.
At first, he would have to resort to minimalist movement, to conserve energy. This would mean abandoning all efforts at imitating natural motion; one could easily tell something is strange about Sasori’s joints, as he would resemble a living doll more than at any other moment.
If this continued for a time (without rest), the chakra loop, running low, would begin to siphon chakra away from other default functions---it’s comparable to a suffocating body sending all available oxygen to the brain, even that in the nail beds. In this case, those default functions would be the maintenance of sight and hearing; they would cut in and out for a brief while, before being cut off. Since due to his preservation, Sasori has lost his senses of smell and taste, and severely impaired his sense of touch (it is, most likely, limited to impressions of temperature and pressure) this would effectively lock him in himself unless he were to recoup. He could continue to move, estimating where he was, but there wouldn’t be much of a point.
This may not be enough. If pressed further, Sasori’s chakra loop will eventually exhaust itself; it will falter and flicker, soon shorting out long enough to skip a heartbeat. There would not be another; it’s enough to end him.

The time that this would take (although his condition will deteriorate much faster in this new world of ruin) depends on jutsu use and chakra burn, possible additional energy loss, and sleep deprivation. Despite his preservation, Sasori still sleeps. He has to; it’s the only available option for recovering energy. (And, as far as ninjas go, he’s a heavy sleeper---this is a vulnerability which makes him uncomfortable.)

He has treated himself to become water-resistant, but is note entirely waterproof, preferring to remain dry or dry himself quickly, and can still be set on fire---a serious weakness, considering the chemicals he's coated in.

He is not difficult to annoy, as his partner well knows. He cannot resist the art argument, and will speak up to defend his view of art as enduring under any circumstances. He still cares for his parent puppets, and will act to prevent harm coming to them; he is extremely possessive regarding his art; he is proud.

Manhattanite or outsider? Outsider.

History: Sasori is native to Sunagakure, (the Village Hidden in the Sand) in the Land of Wind. His grandmother, Chiyo, taught him the jutsu for chakra strings when he was very young, having learned them from the original user. He proved to be something of a prodigy, mastering the technique and constructing his own particular set of puppets for battle. Even at present, these puppets are well known, and credited as the work of a genius.

Sasori was not a social child, relying on his family and his puppets for companionship, content with that. His parents were his world; this was brought to ruin when they were killed by Kakashi's father. In a desperate effort to keep everything of them that he could, Sasori preserved the bodies, turning them into his first hitokugutsu. The village did not approve, but there was little to be done; an effort to remove the bodies was thwarted. The adults could've succeeded, if they had put more effort into the attempt; Sasori reflected that if he had shown fear, they would have realized how possible their success was, and put forth that effort. From this point, what had previously been only an unusually calm and quiet nature became a serious practice of stoicism.

He stayed in Sunagakure for a decade more, but left the village after preserving himself in secret; greeted with unease throughout the village and frustrated with the rumours concerning his craft, he wanted nothing further to do with the people of Suna. He began to travel, adding to his collection, and developing his skill as a puppeteer; at some point during his travels, Sasori defeated an entire country by himself, using his 'performance of a hundred puppets', and his motivation for this remains unknown. At some point, he joined Akatsuki and was partnered with Orochimaru; after Orochimaru defected he sent Kabuto, under mind-control, as a spy, although Orochimaru broke the control and earned Kabuto's loyalty in the process. In the aftermath, he was partnered with Deidara. Despite their ongoing conflict on the nature of art, they cooperate well enough and find each other agreeable partners. Sasori is the leader of the pair, always referred to as 'Danna' by his partner.

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