SASUKARIN AND PHYSICAL CONTACT & PROXIMITY
Let’s begin with a canon-based, semi-subjective interpretation of Sasuke’s relationships with himself and others, both physically and emotionally.
In general, Sasuke does not care about his physical or emotional state and only sees himself as a tool. He’s proactive with regard to his goals (and even those aren’t his own - they’re derived from his clan legacy), but reactive/passive with regard to his relationships with others and his emotional needs.
This is the true tragedy of Uchiha Sasuke and it’s the reason I came to feel so much for him as a character, even early on.
Sasuke’s relationship with his own body and - semi-unrelated but - how he reacts to physical contact with others is heartbreaking. I was actually in a convo with A FRIEND the other day, and she had this to say on the matter: “Most of the time if someone’s touching him, it’s with violence. Physical or emotional - take your pick. Therefore anything that falls out of those parameters is simultaneously horrifying and desperately, desperately wanted.” You can see that in SASUKE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH NARUTO, with whom it was so difficult for Sasuke to cut ties during the VotE fight. And you can see it (I would argue), in his relationships with Itachi and Karin.
With regard to his relationship with Itachi, as my friend JOY puts it, it is “arguably the most fraught relationship in his life, and after the Reveal- the person who loves you the most has shown it mostly by hurting you physically and emotionally. extreme violence associated with deep emotional connection. so how do you deal with the emotion that is a) deep & true and b) doesn’t come attached to physical and emotional cues that you can parse (in this case, violence)?”
For good or for ill, Sasuke’s relationship with his brother has always been his primary emotional touchstone, now as much as ever before, and he always returns to it with reference to how he leads his life.
But it’s fucked him up majorly in all respects, from the Massacre to Itachi forcing Sasuke to relive the murder of his clan many times over via Mangekyou torture at the end of part 1, to finally finding out the truth about his brother and then knowing that he would “love [Sasuke] forever.”
And then there’s his relationship with Karin, which culminates in his final descent via the Curse of Hatred. I would argue, in Joy’s words, that “I relate Sasuke’s extreme/explosive violent break with both Naruto and Karin when he’s at the absolute edge partially to this inability to parse complicated and strong emotions without violence of some sort upon people inspiring such emotion (again, with the complicated specter of Itachi in the background, always). because Naruto & Karin both pull him out of his passive comfort zone.” If you’re curious, here’s HOW I INTERPRET THE STAB SCENE WITH THAT IN MIND.
All that being said, let’s look specifically at Karin’s interaction with Sasuke, and how different it is from most of his interactions with other characters, females in particular.
Lots of panels under the cut.
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They’re frequently sided by side when Taka is together. Another instance not pictured here that I can think of is when Taka’s standing in the rain together.
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He’s not disgusted by her. He may be TOTALLY CLUELESS as to how he ought to react to her attempts at flirting with him, but she does not repulse him. He doesn’t really understand what she’s doing to begin with and he has never, ever pushed her away.
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He doesn’t move away from her in this scene. She moves away the minute Suigetsu opens the door, not wanting to be seen showing her “dere”/softer side to Sasuke.
In the same vein, he allows her to continue dragging him along even when he says “Let go…I can walk by myself.” Why is he letting this girl all up in his business, seriously? He never lets anyone get that physically proximate to him. I’m not saying that it means anything, just that it’s notable, and very, very adorable. He doesn’t even bother going back to get Suigetsu, who Karin sent off in the wrong direction (and Sasuke knows this lol).
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He doesn’t mind getting close in order to protect her, even when she’s not asking for protection. This isn’t a particularly romantic moment, and I imagine Sasuke would do this for any comrade who isn’t strong offensively. But it is the focus on Sasuke’s hand and Karin’s expression that get me. She seems taken aback by his protectiveness. I’m not sure what that means, but there’s something romantic about it, idk. It’s just well drawn, such that there’s a certain tension there for some reason.
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She carries him to safety.
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They rest side by side.
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She supports him.
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Don’t get me started ON THIS.
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Then, of course, there’s the scene in which she runs up to him after breaking out of jail (she still has shackles on her ankles). It’s important to note that for the first time), Karin went “dere” in public. Not only does that make this scene unusual, but it’s also strange because Karin did not remove her glasses and her eyebrows are furrowed angrily. In the original Japanese, HER TONE OF SPEECH IS FURIOUS. Sasuke’s expression is something I will reserve definitive judgment on for now, but what we do know about this scene is that once again, Sasuke did not push her away. I think it’s likely that he was shocked/nervous because Karin has never acted like this before (because of the distinctions I noted earlier). They stand like this for a long time with all the kages and Taka watching.
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Guess we’ll have to wait for another bite scene, eh? SOMETHING TELLS ME WE’LL BE GETTING ONE.
#SASUKARIN#THEORIES#SASUSTUDIES
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